By William Long, Esq. 133 



massacred by Hengist. The writer of this account was probably- 

 ashamed of the iollies of the previous reign, and so gave this colour 

 to the transaction. This discrepancy does not in the least affect the 

 main point, the period at which Stonehenge was raised. Whether 

 it was in one king's reign or his successors', is, so far, quite im- 

 material. If 'on account of such variation we are to reject the 

 united evidence as to the period, we must strike out many other 

 facts in history. There is similar confusion about Robin Hood. 

 Sir Walter Scott associates him with Richard I. The Records, 

 on the other hand, gave the date of Edward II. It does not 

 signify : he lived about that time. Make the same allowance 

 for the story of Stonehenge. Although the bards and chroniclers 

 somewhat differed as to the origin of the structure they agree as to 

 the period when it was built — the fifth century. He was therefore 

 disposed to accept this date as the only historical one, and preferred 

 it to vague speculations made without any authority whatsoever. 

 This brings Stonehenge out as what it is most likely to have been, a 

 British work ; erected for British purposes — a strange structure in- 

 deed, but the times and builder were strange. Mr. Jackson then 

 produced some curious circumstantial evidence from the legends and 

 stories relating to Stonehenge, which he traced up to its source : all 

 of which were explained by adopting this period and the substance 

 of the story as told by the old British writers : but which were 

 utterly inexplicable in any other way. He considered the small 

 greenstone obelisks as the key to the history. They w^ere certainly 

 brought from some great distance, and had been a sacred circle of 

 great reputation. Like the Casa Santa at Loreto, a small cottage 

 said to have been the Virgin JNIary's house at Nazareth, but now- 

 enshrined in a magnificent church, so these obelisks, possessing some 

 great traditional value, were transpoi'ted hither, and enshrined in a 

 coi-onet of the mightiest Grey Wethers that Wiltshire could 

 produce. The central stone, commonly called the altar, he did not 

 believe had ever been used for any purpose of the kind : but that 

 was merely a station for some important personage during public 

 meetings. It was altogether different from the rest. He then 

 pointed out that the largest stones both at Avebury and Stonehenge 



