232 The Picts. 



time before conquered from them ; for the Picts and Scots, though \ 



they appear as joint invaders of the Roman Province, do not seem fi 



to have ever acted in concert, but as independent and unconnected nt 



plunderers. The Scots (or Gael) had the sole object of plunder, CI 



and it was not a matter of much consideration who was the object. of 



From one incroachment on the Picts they proceeded to another, % 



until they completely exterminated the whole race, under Kenneth \\ 



Mac Alpine ; and but for their colonies in Wales., Cornwall, and i 



Britanny, their descendants would not now exist, but the name of \ 



Cymbri would have disappeared from the earth." re 



" This Kenneth Mac .Alpin, King of Scots, having determined on A 



the conquest of the Picts, commanded his troops to destroy not only ! c t 



the men, but also the women and children ; and neither to respect tl 



sex or holy orders, nor to take prisoners, but to destroy every one with \ { 



fire and sword. Therefore in the sixth year of his reign, the Picts i \ 



being much occupied with the defence of their shores against the p 



vexatious and distressing depredations of the Danish pirates, Ken- \ \ 



neth attacked them on their mountainous border, called Drum Al- \ 



ban, or the back of Albion, which having passed, he slew many of ' ]j 



the Picts, put the rest to flight, and thus conquered and acquired \ 



both the kingdoms of the monarchy. The Picts recovered a little a 



by the help of the English, and for four years annoyed Kenneth. 1 Cl 



But after some ineffectual struggles, and destructive slaughters, in \ 



the twelfth year of his reign, he engaged them seven times in one \ 



day, and completely destroyed the whole nation of the Picts; and s 



thus was united, under one monarch, the whole country from the j | 



Tyne to the Orcades, as was lately prophesied by Saint Adamman, „ 



Abbot of Hye, which was, in all respects, confirmed. So, indeed, \ 

 not only were the kings and generals of that nation destroyed, but 



also the people, root and branch, and even their language is alto- ], 



gether obliterated, so that whatever is found respecting them of t 



old times, is considered by many Apocryphal." \ 



" We have now " says Sir W. Betham, 1 " satisfactorily accounted t 



for the disappearance of the Picts from Scotland, and . . shewn ( ] 



that the Welsh were originally a colony of Picts, who conquered 0 



1 The Gael and the Cymbri. 



