‘* Scots and Irifh early Literature difcuffed. | 412 
_ Britain were utter ftrangers to it. Chrif- 
tianity was diffufed among the Celtic in-- 
habitants of Britain and Ireland, while 
the Romans remained matters of Britain. 
From the weitern fhores of Britain were 
its preachers conveyed to Ireland, ere yet 
the Pi&tith and Scottifh tribes of the north 
of Scotland had been converted. ‘The 
Irifh, at a time when, of the inhabitants 
of thefe Ifles, only they and the ancient 
Britons were chriftians, fent out apoitles, 
by whom the gofpel was propagated in 
the Hebudz, and among the Scots of 
Argylethire. But, it was not till after 
thele events had paffed, that the Norfe- 
men of Scandinavia,’ the Teutonic tribes 
of the north of Germany, or the Anglo- 
Saxons of England, embraced the chriltian 
faith. ‘The Norfe-men, or Danes, were, 
in various inftances, converted and bap- 
tized by the Irifh and the Hebudian Scots, 
whom their frequent defcents, from time 
to time, harrafled and fubdued. The 
Anglo-Saxons of England are recorded 
by Bede, to have had the gofpel preached 
to them, by miflionaries trom Jona, as 
well as by Auftin,-and thofe others who 
followed him from Rome. Boniface, one 
of the moft diftinguifhed apoftles of the 
nerthern Germans, is, by thofe Germans 
themfelves, believed to have been a Scot{- 
man. In the court of Charlemagne in 
England, in different places on the conti- 
nent, eminent Scotfmen from Jona, and 
of the dilciples of the famous Columba, 
are known to have, about a thoufand 
years fince, flourifhed. 
Now, Sir, permit me to apply this de- 
tail of facts to the folution of that hitto- 
rical problem which I have above ttated. 
It is trom their having been chrijlianized 
before the Saxons and the ancient Scan- 
dinavians, that the Scots and Irifh have 
derived the. praife of an earhicr literary 
illumination than was enjoyed by their 
neighbours. Ignorance is often prone to 
extravagant admiration. They to whom 
shriitianity. was firft communicated, 
through the intervention of the Scots, 
veneratedand praifed their infructors, as 
the moft enlightened of mankind. The 
miffionaries of Rome, while they rejected, 
as heretical, the chriftianity of Ireland, 
and of Jona, yet could not deny its ex- 
iitence, nor refufe to the Scots the praile 
ot being nearer to the kingdom oi heaven 
than the Anglo-Saxon heathens. This 
 praife thus acquired by the early chrifti- 
anity of the Scots, was, in the courte of 
thofe dark ages which fucceeded, conti- 
nually augmented by high pretenfions on 
the one hand, by ignorance, gratitude, 
and fuperftition on the other. Not till 
after knowledge had been revived through- 
out Europe, did the tales in which it was 
commemorated begin to be difputed, 
Hiftorical {cepticiim would rejeét the 
whole as fiétion. Candid inveltigation 
difcovers that there is, indeed, a real 
form, but one inveited with fai/e colours, 
and to the eye, enlarged to an unreal, gi- 
gantic loftineis by the mits through 
which it has been feen. The following 
propofition, then, may be henceforth re- 
garded as a genuine hiftorical truth. 
<¢ The Scots and Irifh, who were con- 
verts to chriftiamity, fooner than the 
Scandinavians, have, from thefe circum- 
ftances alone, derived that praife of early 
literary illumination, which has been 
eagerly claimed by themielves, attributed 
to them by many others, but now, at 
laft, generally denied to them, fince the 
age of more diicriminating hiftorical re- 
{earch had its commencement. 
Si. Andrews, May 17, 1798. 
—— Se 
To the Editor of the Mouthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
HE facility with which bank notes, 
efpecially thofe of one and two 
pounds value, are now paid and received, 
has been the means of introducing into 
circulation a number of forged ones, of 
the above defcription. The confidence 
which the public has hitherto repofed in 
the bank of England is likewife increafed 
by an erroneous opinion, which many per- 
fons entertain, that a/l bank notes are 
received as fuch at the bank, fome thou- 
{ands of pounds being appropriated every 
year by the company, to meet the lols 
they fuftain in cenfequence of forgeries. 
As the nominal value of forged notes, 
however, is aot allowed by the bank, but 
the perfon to ‘whom they can be traced 
back, is the fufferer, it is certainly a 
matter of fome confequence for each indi- 
vidual to adopt fome method which.may 
enable him to afcertain, with eafe and 
precifion, of whom he has received any 
particular bank note. This may, in ge- 
neral, be done by writing 02 the back of 
each note, at the time of recetviag it, the 
name of the perfon from swhom it is re- 
cerved. I have always practifed this 
method myfelf, writing the name-of the 
perfon in fhort-hand, which requires but 
little time, and takes up confiderably lets 
{pace than common-writing, and enables 
me, at any future period,.to trace every” 
note back. again, to the perfon from 
whom I received it. Were,the above 
meafure generally, praftifed, it would 
) prove, 
