[Illustration:  FIG. 97.—­ROMAN STANDARDS.]

[Illustration:  FIG. 98—­Armed Soldier.]

Let us imagine a certain Scius to become a private soldier in a legion.  He was born in Gaul, in the district of Lugdunum or Lyons, and he is either a full Roman or sufficiently romanized to rank with Romans.  He is drafted to the Twentieth Legion, otherwise known as the “Victorious Valerian,” and finds himself stationed in the island of Britain at that farthest camp of the north-west which has since grown into the city of Chester.  On joining his company he is made to take a solemn oath that he will loyally obey all orders of his commander-in-chief, the emperor, as represented by that emperor’s subordinates, his immediate officers.  That oath he will repeat on each 1st of January and on the anniversary of the emperor’s accession.  For full military dress he will first put on a tunic reaching nearly to his knees, and, since he is serving in the northern cold, a pair of fustian breeches covering the upper leg.  On his feet will be a pair of strong sandals, of which the thick soles are studded with hobnails.  Over his breast, and with flaps over the shoulders, he will wear a corslet Of leather covered with hoop-like layers, or maybe scales, of iron or bronze.  On his head will be a plain pot-like helmet or skull-cap of iron.  For the rest he will possess also a thick cloak or plaid to be used as occasion needs.  In his right hand he will carry the famous Roman pike.  This is a stout weapon, over 6 feet in length, consisting of a sharp iron head fixed in a wooden shaft, and the soldier may either charge with it as with a bayonet, or he may hurl it like a javelin and then fight at close quarters with his sword.  On the left arm is a large shield, which may be of various shapes.  One common form is curved inward at the sides like a portion of a cylinder some 4 feet in length by 21/2 in width:  another is six-sided—­a diamond pattern, but with the points of the diamond squared away.  Sometimes it is oval.  In construction it is of wicker-work or wood, covered with leather, and embossed a blazon in metal-work, one particularly well known being that of a thunderbolt.  The shield is not only carried by means of a handle, but may be supported by a belt over the right shoulder.  In order to be out of the way of the shield, the sword—­a thrusting rather than a slashing weapon, approaching 3 feet in length—­is hung at the right side by a belt passing over the left shoulder.  Though this arrangement may seem awkward to us, it is to be remembered that the sword is not required until the right hand is free of the pike, and that then, before drawing, the weapon can easily be swung round to the left by means of the suspending belt.  On the left side the soldier wears a dagger at his girdle.  The writer of the Epistle to the Ephesians is thinking of all this equipment when he bids the Christian put on “the whole armour of God,” including the “belt of truth,” the “breast-plate of righteousness,” the “shield of faith,” the “helmet of salvation” and the “sword of the spirit.”  The officer, of course, wears armour, cloak, and helmet of a more ornamental kind, and must have presented a very martial and imposing figure.