70 



and at periods of time considerably apart. One stream descended 

 the great river-valleys of North Germany, and, crossing the North 

 Sea, peopled the northern part of Great Britain, the whole of 

 Ireland, and the Isle of Man. The other flowed in a more 

 southerly direction, peopling ancient Greece, Italy, a great part of 

 Spain, France, and the southern part of our own Island. At least 

 this is the testimony afforded to us by the study and comparison 

 of the Indo-European languages, if the study and comparison of 

 languages be of any value in lending aid to the researches of 

 History and Ethnology. Those who spread over the north of 

 Britain, Ireland, and the Isle of Man, are now distinguished from 

 the others by philologists, by the term Gadhelic, or Hiberno-Celtic. 

 Their language still survives in the modern Gaelic of Scotland, the 

 Erse or Irish, and the Manx. The southern Celts are known as 

 the Cymri, or Cambro-Celtic race, and their language is still 

 spoken in Wales, and by nearly three millions of the inhabitants of 

 Brittany in France. The Gaelic, Erse, and Manx have a close 

 relationship, being only, in reality, varying dialects of the same 

 tongue ; the same affinity exists between the Welsh and the 

 Breton; but between the two languages themselves, i.e., between 

 the Cymrio and the Gadhelic, the relationship is no closer than 

 that between modern English and German. Now these nations 

 must have overspread Europe in ages long anterior to the 

 historical era. They were a numerous and powerful people in 

 Gaul in Ccesar's time, and when he crossed over to Britain, he 

 found them no less powerful or warlike. They were not altogether 

 unacquainted with agriculture ; they had an established religion, 

 with its hierarchy, temples, groves, grove rites, mysteries, and 

 ceremonies. In short, there is nothing to lead us to think they 

 were strangers in the land, but on the contrary, much to lead us 

 to conclude that they had long been in possession of the " Isles of 

 the West" More than two thousand years ago, the then 

 inhabitants .of Cornwall supplied the Phenician traders with tin 

 from their mines. 



By the time the light of history does break in upon us, we 

 find another wave of people flowing westward and approaching our 



