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interpreted than in the Phoenician tongue, where they have a plain, easy, and undeniable signification." It is true, that the Phoenicians traded to this country for tin, at a very early period, and we have substantial proofs of their having been here; but it requires morę direct evidence than we at present possess, to demonstrate that they were the first colony of ancient Britons.

There is a source of information, which appears to have an equal, if not a superior claim on our attention. The doctrine of the British bards and triads, is one of great importance as to the point in hand; especially if we reflect, that the Welsh have retained their language for almost three thousand years! The aggregate of information derived from British bards and triads, according to the statement of a modern author, is this: "That the original colony, which migrated to Britain, was conducted hither by a leader named Huysgin;'

that the first settlers of Britain came hither after a long and devious voyage by sea;"-" that they came from the summer country;"-" that they anciently inhabited Dyffro-banu," or more correctly, Dyffrynbanu, or Dyffryn-albanu, that is, the deep vales or glens of Albania, a country situated between the Euxine and Caspian seas;" that they were natives of a country in

a Preface, p. 4.

b"That the present Welsh language is the genuine daughter of the ancient British, spoken in the time of the Romans, cannot be disputed; because we have now extant MSS. writ in every age from the Roman times down to the present, which plainly prove the descent, and are not unintelligible to the present inhabitants of Wales."-Mallett's Northern Antiq. vol. i. Preface, p. 3.

"The Celtic dialects are now principally six; namely, Welsh, or the insular British; Cornish, almost extinct; Armorican, or French British; Irish, the least corrupted; Manx, or the language of the Isle of Man ; and Erse, or Highland Irish, spoken also in all the western islands of Scotland."-Toland's History of the Druids, p. 46.

Asia ;" and lastly, "that they came to Britain from a city called Gaf-is," that is, the lower Câf, the Arabic name of Caucasus, a mountain stretching between the Caspian and Euxine seas.

M. Pezron states, that the Gomerians possessed themselves of the provinces east of the Caspian sea, which is a rich and fruitful country, favoured with a temperate and delightful atmosphere. In process of time, increasing to a vast multitude, they could not always live in repose and tranquillity; the seeds of jealousy springing up among them, produced factions and commotions. Some of them imbued with the fostering spirit of civilization, coalesced into societies; while others, resisting the power of restraint, were vagrant and wild. The result was, that they who were the weakest either in number or strength, were expelled, and forced to seek for a retreat elsewhere. Of course, the separatists would direct their way as inclination, convenience, or compulsion, might dictate.

According to the Triads, mention is made of three colonies coming from the continent, in some remote age, to Britain." And the first is the Cymry, or Cymbrians; these came over from the German ocean, which they call Môr Tawch, or the hazy ocean, from the land of Hâv,” or the summer country, which, no doubt, was Asia. These came under the command of Hu Gadarn, who is styled the pillar of his nation, for he conducted the Cymry to Britain. Of him, it is said, that he aimed not at obtaining territory by war and contention, but in the way of peace and equity. The second was "The Lloegrwys, Loegrians, or Ligurois, who came from the land of Gwasgwyn, and were sprung from the primordial race of the Cymry. The third was, the Brython, or Britons, who came from the land of Llydaw, (Letavia,

Armorica, or Bas Bretagne,) and were also sprung from the primordial race of the Cymry. These were denominated the three peaceable tribes, inasmuch as they came by mutual consent and permission; and the three were of one language and of one speech." a These three, called benevolent tribes, were the first inhabitants of this country. The venerable Bede, says the Rev. P. Roberts, appears to have been ignorant of the first colony, but mentions the second and third as the original ones, and places them agreeably to the Triads. "It is said, that the Britons having sailed from Armorica, took possession of the southern part of the island, and proceeding from the south, embarked on the ocean in a few long vessels, and sailed to Ireland. Being refused a settlement there, they made for Britain, and began to settle in the northern parts, as the Britons had pre-occupied the southern.” b

The Rev. P. Roberts, in his Early History of the Britons, says, "The distinction between the Loegrians and the Brython is remarkable; the latter were of a common descent with the Cymry, and evidently descendants of those who went to Armorica, when Hu and his followers came to Britain. The Loegrians were not of the same immediate descent, though originally of the same stock. The latter were Gauls of the Loire, whose territory from thence to the Pyrenees, appears to have been denominated Gwasgwyn, that is Gascony, by the Welsh writers. In what part of the island these Brython were stationed, does not exactly appear; but the Gauls, according to the Triads, were settled partly in Cornwall, and partly to the north of the Humber." He also gives a character of the chieftain of the Cymry, in these words: " Hu THE MIGHTY appears to have been

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endowed with uncommon qualifications for the arduous task of conducting a colony to the utmost region of the then known world. Fortitude and wisdom must form the basis of the character which at once secures obedience, commands esteem, and attaches affection to itself. It must be adorned with some of the graces of the exterior, a prompt eloquence, and above all, that fascinating power, which, arising from a liberal heart and comprehensive mind, sways the passions to its will, and gives to compliance the sensations of spontaneous approbation. It does not appear with any certainty what was the fate of this great man after his arrival in Britain. It is very probable that it was he who afterwards was worshipped by the Cimbric nations, under the names of Heus and Hesus; and this opinion seems to be supported by an ancient piece of sculpture, on which Hesus is represented as cutting trees, a position which denotes either clearing the ground or pruning, either of which is suitable to the character. In Britain, he appears to have done little more than to have settled the original colony, and it is presumed he did not long survive this transaction, as he must have been far advanced in at that time. Nor does it appear memorial is in the records of the here."

years where he died. His nation he established

The country having been thus colonized, the second chieftain, Prydain, recorded in the Triads, who flourished about one hundred and fifty years after Hu the Mighty, reduced the whole island into the form of a regular government, several principles of which remain even to the present time. To this chieftain the island owes its appellation of Britain.a

a That Britain, at some remote period, and for no short season, enjoyed a degree of light and knowledge beyond what its neighbours

A popular author, with reference to Caucasus, whence it is supposed the first colony to Britain migrated, observes, "If mankind were born, as it were, a second time, in any imaginable situation, and from thence had migrated to distant parts, we may naturally suppose, that where their colonies were settled, they would not entirely forget their birth-place, but would establish by consent, at least, some memorial of their original. This principle is implanted by Providence in the human mind."

"Had mankind been born on a mountain, they would not have consecrated a plain, as an emblem of their native spot; had they been born on a plain, they would not have consecrated a mountain." Hence those various medals or coins that have been made as representations of Caucasus. He further observes, "As we must suppose migratory colonies to have been influenced by natural causes anciently, as they are at this day, so we cannot but observe, that the courses of rivers must have been then, as they are now, the guides of settlers and inhabitants in a state of progress. The reader, by casting his eye on the map of Asia, will perceive, that most of the considerable streams issue from Caucasus; and that from this mountain largely taken, the course of these streams may be considered as marking the course of mankind to remote parts of this continent. I would, therefore, for instance, suppose the sons of Japhet to

could boast of, seems not a little corroborated by certain Sanscrit MSS. disovered by Major Wilford, which describes the British isles, at periods of very remote antiquity, under the names of the White Islands, Isles of the Mighty, and Sacred Isles of the West, &c. where the gods had their abode, and where, of course, knowledge and wisdom abounded more than any where else in the world, and whence even Brahminical institutions derived their origin.-See Asiatic Researches, vol. xi. p. 11, &c. Monthly Magazine for Feb. 1813, and Cambrian Register, vol. iii. p. 6.