330 Dr George Johnston on the 
to the barbarous system of warfare, which, in defiance of all 
international law, raged for centuries along the Borders. 
The chase and war were deemed the only occupations wor- 
thy of aman. Where the law of the sword alone prevailed, 
the very worst passions of our nature were engendered, and 
selfishness rode triumphant over all; even patriotism burnt 
with a flickering light, when the safety of a chief or the ag- 
grandisement of a clan were concerned. 
Previous to the embodiment and recognition of civil law, 
when might was right, religion was the sole controlling 
power, and, besides the military chiefs, its priests alone ex- 
ercised any influence for moral good, and for uniting the 
various tribes in some common cause. Amongst the ancient 
Britons, the ranks of the priests were recruited from the 
noblest families; their education, which often extended over 
a period of twenty years, comprehended the whole of the 
sciences of the age; and, besides their sacred calling, they 
were invested with power to decide civil disputes. Their 
dwellings and temples were situated in the thickest oak 
groves, which were sacred to the Supreme Deity. The 
acorn, and above all the parasitical misleto, were held in 
high veneration ; and the latter was sought on the sixth day 
of the moon, and when found was only cut by a priest of the 
highest rank, for it was accounted a sovereign remedy for 
all diseases. The practice of the healing art has ever com- 
manded the esteem of the rudest nations; hence it was the’ 
obvious policy of the priests, or Druids, to study the proper- 
ties of plants. Of their progress we have no record; but 
who knows from what a far antiquity comes the traditionary 
virtues of many of our native plants?) As we cannot ascer- 
tain how much of this kind of knowledge we owe to the 
Saxons, it might be instructive to know how much we pos- 
Sess in common with the present inhabitants of northern 
Germany and of Scandinavia. 
Early in the seventh century, the disciples of Cohuitibey 
from Iona, first preached the gospel with success amongst the 
barbarous Pagans who then inhabited the district. Their 
loving zeal for the truth was wrapped up in an anxious desire 
to promote the happiness of their people; but after atime their 
