2 EEE ER WEBER TEN 
GLASTONBURY ABBEY. 95 
place in the same year. The circumstances of the 
captivity and release of so remarkable a person as 
the British chieftain, were no doubt the topics of 
general conversation at Rome ; and we can hardly 
doubt, but that the salvation of the western bar- 
barians, must have been deeply interesting to the 
great apostle of the Gentiles, whose labours we 
know were extended to the extreme parts of the 
west. Itis therefore at least as probable that St. 
Paul himself preached the gospel in this country 
as any other apostle; and the following circum- 
stances render it not improbable, that he did in 
person preach the faith at Glastonbury, and 
founded there the earliest christian church which 
existed in these islands. 
Setting aside the possibility of St. Paul’s wishing to 
convert the subjects of Caractacus, which would cer- 
tainly have induced him to land some where on the 
coast of theBristol channel, we know that both before 
the invasion of the Romans and during their occu- 
pation of this country, a considerable trade was 
carried on between the inhabitants of Gaul and 
Britain, in the ores produced from the mines of 
the latter country; and that an emporium of no small 
importance existed at Uphill, the Roman Axium, at 
which place part of the produce of the mines of 
Mendip was shipped for exportation. This then 
was very likely to have been the landing place ofany 
person coming from Gaul, particularly if we sup- 
pose him already interested in the Silures or in- 
