The Eagle

a Magazine supported by Members of
St John's College

E. Johnson, Trinity Street

Printed by Metcalfe & Co. Limited, Rose Crescent

Tennyson.

ROM the gateway of Cilurnum we ride away southward; for time presses, and this route is somewhat easier than the road which follows the course of the Wall over the great basalt hills to the west. At first we cross the fertile, undulating strip of land which lies between the river and the western slope of the valley; just beyond the suburbs a few tombs stand by the wayside, and then the road passes between fields and gardens, which nestle snugly in this sheltered basin; for to the south the valley is narrowed almost to a gorge, where the North Tyne chafes and frets his way over stubborn boulders and jutting ledges of rock, towards the wide haughs where he and his fellow river are presently to join their waters.

Soon the road takes a sharp turn to the right, and climbs to the neck which joins the great wooded hill of Warden to the higher ground of the north: a few minutes later we find ourselves at the brow of the LL

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further slope, and make our survey of that portion of South Tynedale which lies below us-a great curve of the valley, embaying a pleasant nook of cultivated land, through which the road is to lead us. Close by the river's bank there is a low bluff, and then the ground rises gently towards the half circle of moorland hills, which shelter it from the biting winds of the north and east. In the centre of this natural theatre is a large camp and a straggling village; for the place is used as a sanatorium and has some strategic value as a supporting station. Westward from Cilurnum the Wall forms a great curve, and here is its focus; from this spot supports may in a short time reach Cilurnum, Procolitia, or Borcovicum; and even Hunnum and Aesica are not too far distant to send hither for assistance.

But there is nothing of such special interest as to detain us here: we ride past the southern rampart of the camp, and set our horses to the long slope, by which the road mounts to the higher levels of the moor. To beguile the monotony of the ascent, we tempt our friend the Decurion into conversation, and he is ready enough to regale us with all manner of strange histories, drawn from his own experience or from the traditions of the regiment.

There is no lack of excitement in some of his stories, as, for instance, when he relates how only three months ago Marcus and Quintus, the Prefect's sons, ran away from home to seek adventures up the North Tyne valley. Marcus and Quintus, we learn, are the real, though unofficial, commanders of the Second Asturians, and, notwithstanding the claims of one Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius etc., the complete autocrats of Cilurnum: in fact, there is scarcely a man in the fortress, civil or military, who is not ready to neglect his duties, if Marcus' bow requires mending, or leave private business undone, if Quintus demands a stock of pebbles for his sling.