should give less thought to conquest and more to the comfort and
advancement of their followers. At the same time it seemed to me that
really Lanc was the more combative of the three; so much so that, even
in time of peace, he could not forego this contest with his own
brethren. Neither of the others seemed very fond of him, for they were
each, as was easy to see, proud of their chieftainship, and anxious to
use their authority, referring continually to those noble ancestors from
whom it was derived; while Lanc, though he was equally well born, took
the view of the common men upon every occasion, claiming that the
interests of the many were superior to the privileges of the few.
In a word, Crassus, if you could imagine a free-booting Gracchus on one
side, and two piratical Patricians upon the other, you would understand
the effect which my companions produced upon me.

There was one peculiarity which I observed in their conversation which
soothed me very much. I am fond of these Britons, among whom I have
spent so much of my life, and I wish them well. It was very pleasing,
therefore, to notice that these men insisted upon it in their
conversation that the whole object of their visit was the good of the
Islanders. Any prospect of advantage to themselves was pushed into the
background. I was not clear that these professions could be made to
agree with the speech in which Kenna had promised a hundred hides of
land to every man on the ship; but on my making this remark, the three
chiefs seemed very surprised and hurt by my suspicions, and explained
very plausibly that, as the Britons needed them as a guard, they could
not aid them better than by settling on the soil, and so being
continually at hand in order to help them. In time, they said, they
hoped to raise and train the natives to such a point that they would be
able to look after themselves. Lanc spoke with some degree of eloquence
upon the nobleness of the mission which they had undertaken, and the