among the ancient Britons, was a sort of military signal used for collecting the distant and scattered warriors to the standard of their chief. A prince having immediate occasion for the assistance of his followers to repel some sudden invasion or engage in some expedition, besides striking the shield and founding the horn to give warning to those who were within hearing, he sent the crantara, or a stick burnt at the end and dipped in the blood of a goat, by a swift messenger, to the nearest hamlet, where he delivered it without saying one word but the name of the place of rendezvous. This crantara, which was well understood to denote destruction by fire and sword to all who did not obey this summons, was carried with great rapidity from village to village; and the prince in a little time found himself surrounded by all his warriors ready to obey his commands.