308 Observations on the 
they accomplished this before the introduction 
of bells, we do not know; but when these 
were introduced, probably a century or more 
before the Ostman invasion, they ‘must have 
invented some mode of hanging them. Their 
first Belfries, like their churches, were of 
wood, and for some reason now unknown 
the round form was adopted. The Ostmen, 
who introduced the art of masonry, perhaps 
merely imitated in stone what they already 
found existing in wood, so that though the 
Round Towers were built by them, their form 
was borrowed from the Irish. This would 
account for none of these towers being found 
in Denmark, and that there is so little trace 
of them, if indeed any, in England. In Scot- 
land there are two, those of Brechin and 
Abernethy ; but the communication between 
that country and Ireland was intimate in 
early times, and the plan of these, as well as 
the one at Holm Peel, was probably intro- 
duced from Ireland, or they were built by 
some colonies of Irish settled at those places. 
The stories, or floors, in the Towers were 
most probably for the convenience of as- 
cending to the bell, when necessary; indeed, 
without the intervention of such stages, we 
do not see how it would have been possible 
to attain the summit. In none we have ei- 
