108 ANCIENT INHABTANTS 



which his floor was covered, presided over the festi- 

 vity *" of his vassals. The smoke, which escaped 

 from an aperture left in the roof for that purpose, 

 " rose from a hundred trees/' blackening the rafters ; 

 while the harp and song of bards woke a tale of 

 other days : the wassaii cup passed round ; and the 

 chief heard with delight the glories of his ancestors, 

 until morning called him forth again to his falcon or 

 his hound, of which latter kind the segh-dog, -f* or 

 southern hound, — a large, slow race, now extinct, — 

 seems to have been a favoured attendant. 



The dress of this half savage people was, accord- 

 ing to some, a flowing robe of woollen texture ; from 

 others, a scanty hide, worn to meet the prejudices 

 of strangers, rather than from any actual want. In 

 stature, they were more tall than compact, their 

 habits frugal, and their manners barbarous. In the 

 cruel rites of their religious worship, the Britons 

 present the same picture as other uncivilized hordes ; 

 in one instance they stood alone ; a custom, as we 

 are informed by Caesar, prevailed among them, 

 which seemed detestable to other nations ; it was for 

 ten or twelve men, brothers or intimate friends, to 

 have their wives in common, a custom which seems 

 to have been in practice, if not also in its origin, 

 exclusively British ; it was distinct from the mar- 

 riages of the Gauls, and can find no parallel in any 

 of the western nations. 



In every state of society, some rank or order will 

 be found to excel the rest in the arts of life, in 

 knowledge and learning ; and it is only by weighing 

 their acquirements in the balance with other nations, 

 that we learn to estimate the real progress. The 



* From the spume of their cumin, or ale, which they drank on 

 high festive days only, they collected their burmen or barm : 

 yeast is commonly known by no other name in the west of 

 England to this day. Drew. 



t Segh — the moose deer of America; large bones, apparently 

 of this species, have been found in many parts of this country. 



