The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

2
THE BRITISH ISLES.
by well-defined indentations of the coast, are likewise countries distinguislied by-
special features wbich could not fail of exercising an influence upon their inhabit-
ants. The mountainous part of England, to the north of the Humber and Mersey,
forms a fourth natural province, differing from the remainder of England in its
geological structure no less than in the history of its inhabitants. The Cheviot
Hills, which run across the island from sea to sea to the north of the Solway
Firth, form a well-defined historical boundary, and so does the lowland plain
which stretches from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde. The sterile moun-
tains and valleys of the Scottish Highlands form a most striking contrast to the
low plains and gentle hills stretching away to the south.* At two places these
natural frontiers have been marked, as it were, by lines of fortifications, yiz.
between the estuary of the Forth and that of the Clyde, and farther south, between
the mouth of the Tyne and the Solway Firth, where the Romans constructed
ramparts and towers to put a stop to the depredations of the Highland tribes.
The contours of Great Britain are at once symmetrical and bold. In its general
structure that island strikingly resembles the peninsula of Scandinavia. Like the
latter, it stretches from north to south in the direction of the meridians, its
plateaux and mountains rise near the west coast, and its principal rivers flow to
the eastward. Ireland, though it too has fine contours, is far more massive in its
configuration than the sister island. Its mountains form the nuclei of distinct
provinces, whose inhabitants made war upon each other ; but on the whole its
features exhibit greater geographical unity than those of the larger island.
The British Islands rise upon the submarine plateau of North-western Europe.
The strait which separates England from France is narrow and of inconsiderable
depth, and from the heights above Dover the grey cliffs of Gris Nez are distinctly
visible on a clear day. Still, Albion, to the ancestors of the modern Frenchmen, was
a distant country. Squalls of wind, rapid and changing currents, sand-banks, and
steep cliffs rendered navigation perQous. In time of war communications between
the two countries ceased altogether ; whilst during peace, owing to the danger
which attended them, hardly any but sailors and merchants profited by them. The
mass of the nation was thus little affected by events which took place on the conti-
nent, and remained insular in its mode of life, customs, and ideas. The Romans,
moreover, only succeeded in subduing a portion of Great Britain, and the influence
they exercised was therefore far less jDowerful than in Gaul. The highlands of
Scotland and Ireland never formed part of the Roman world at all, the remote-
ness and the perils of the ocean affording them a protection against the legions
of the Caesars. It was only slowly and by degrees that the tribes inhabiting
those countries were affected by the civilisation which had Rome for its centre.
The British Islands thus occupied a position, relatively to the general history
of mankind, analogous to that which they hold to the fauna and flora of Conti-
nental Europe. Numerous species of French and German plants, perfectly
adapted to the climate of England, are nevertheless not found there, and Ireland is
still poorer than Great Britain in its animal and vegetable forms. The migration
* Buckle, "History of Civilization in England."