Cambden observes, that this Apollo Grannus was the Apollo Akersecomes of the Grecians, i. e. "having long hair." having long hair." Grannus may come from the Erse, Grian, i. e. "the Sun," and in that language, Grianach signifies "hairy or spreading hair like the scattered beams of the Sun." The Romans, when in Britain, gave Apollo that

name.

In speaking of the Druid priests, priestesses, vates, bards, circles, carns, &c., I have all-along observed the vestiges of these which are yet to be met with in this province. I shall now add an account of some superstitious customs, still practised in this country, and which seem to have had their rise from the Druids.

In hectic and consumptive diseases they pare the nails of the fingers and toes of the patient,-put these parings into a rag cut from his clothes, then wave their hand with the rag thrice round his head, crying Deas-soil,-after which they bury the rag in some unknown place. I have seen this done; and Pliny, in his Natural History, mentions it as practised by the Magians or Druids of his time.

When a contagious disease enters among cattle, the fire is extinguished in some villages round. Then they force fire with a wheel, or by rubbing a piece of dry wood upon another, and therewith burn Juniper in the stalls of the cattle, that the smoke may purify the air about them. They likewise boil Juniper in water, which they sprinkle upon the cattle. This done, the fires in the houses are rekindled from the forced fire. All this I have seen done; and it is, no doubt, a Druid custom.

They narrowly observe the changes of the moon, and will not fell wood, cut turf or fuel, or thatch for houses, or go upon any expedition of importance, but at certain periods of the revolution of that planet; so the Druids avoided, if possible, to fight, till after the full

moon.

They divine by bones. Having picked the flesh clean off a

shoulder-blade of mutton, which no iron must touch, they turn towards the east, or the rising Sun, and, looking steadily on the transparent bone, pretend to foretel deaths, burials, &c. This osteomateia was much practised among the heathens; and the Druids consulted the entrails and bones of animals, even of human victims.

At burials they retain many heathenish practices, such as music and dancing at like-wakes, when the nearest relations of the deceased dance first. At burials, mourning women chant the Coronach, or mournful extemporary rhymes, reciting the valorous deeds, expert hunting, &c., of the deceased. When the corpse is lifted, the bed-straw, on which the deceased lay, is carried out and burnt in a place where no beast can come near it; and they pretend to find next morning, in the ashes, the print of the foot of that person in the family who shall first die.

They believe that the material world will be destroyed by fire. So general is this persuasion, that when they would express the end of time, they say Gu-Braith, i. e. "to the conflagration or destruction."

The use which the Druids made of Juniper, and their regard to the changes of the moon, shew that they were no strangers to the virtues of plants, and the influences of the celestial bodies.

I scarce need observe, that throughout this kingdom many places have their names, and some persons their sirnames, from the Druid cards, carns, &c., as Baird, Carnie, Moni-bhard, Tulli-bardin, Carnwath, Carn-cross, &c.

Many more of the Druid customs may be seen in Cæsar, Pliny, Tacitus, Amminianus, Marcellinus, &c. But I have mentioned only these customs, of which I have seen manifest remains in this Province.

I shall now conclude this article with observing, that any one who reads the account given by Dean Prideaux of the religion of the Magians in the east, will find that Druidism had a near resemblance

of it. And it is to me no less apparent, that both Magianism and Druidism are borrowed, in many particulars, from the Patriarchal and Jewish plan of religion. I shall mention a few of these particulars. They owned one Supreme Being,-used no images or statues,-used sacrifices; and, in high places, under spreading oaks, and with sacred fire, at first worshipped sub dio. Afterwards built temples. Compassed their altars by going Deas-Soil round them. The priests were instructors of youth,-had their academies and schools in retired places,―they had many ablutions and purgations, -they had a rod of office; and had mourning when at burials. I might add several instances more in which the Druids seem to have borrowed from the Patriarchs and Jews. This Druidism was the religion of the Scots and Picts, as it was of the Gauls and Britains, before the light of the gospel of Christ was made to shine among them. And this leads me to

SECTION II.

The Primitive Christian Church.

How early, and at what particular time, the gospel of Christ was first made known in Scotland, I will not pretend to determine. Here the Roman writers are silent. Gildas, Bede, and Nennius, do not touch this question. The loss of the Pictish records and writings, the want of ancient records of the Scottish church, render it difficult to throw any light on this subject. What is said of King Donald's conversion, A. D. 203, and of Regulus' arriving at MukRo88, (now St Andrews), about anno 370, is very uncertain; and yet I see it no way improbable, that, in the third and fourth centuries, Christianity had sure footing in North Britain. “Britannorum

inaccessa Romanis loca, Christo tamen subdita."* But, as Pagan Druidism must have been gradually, and not all at once, rooted out, -so the Christian faith must have been gradually spread; and indeed the gross ignorance which, till of late, prevailed, and the many heathenish customs that remained in some parts of the kingdom, show abundantly, that the knowledge of Christ advanced by very slow paces.

The first teachers and ministers of the Christian faith in Scotland were Presbyters, or Preaching Elders, called in the Scottish language Keledees. Our historians, not understanding the language, have called them Culdei, q. d. “Cultores Dei," and they derive Kil from Cella the Hut, or "house of the teacher." But any one conversant with ancient writings will easily discover the mistake, and find that they are never called Culdei, but uniformly Keledei,-a word compounded of Ceile or Keile, i. e. "a Servant, or one devoted," and Dia (in the genitive De) i. e. God, q. d. "a servant of God, or one devoted to him." A church or place of worship was called Kil, because it was set a-part for divine service. When the church of Rome dedicated churches to their legendary saints, the word Kil was prefixed to the saint's name, as Kil-Mhuir, Kil-Mhilie, i. e. dedicated to Mary and Milesius."

These Keledees and Primitive Christians in Scotland were men of great piety, and, for many ages, preserved the doctrines of religion pure and unmixt with any Romish leaven. Bede's words, though a zealous Romanist, show this,-" Verum qualiscunque ipse (Columba, who came into Scotland, anno 565) fuit, nos hoc de illo certum tenemus, quod reliquit successors, magna continentia ac divino amore, regularique institutione, insignes. In tempore quidem summæ festivitatis, dubios circulos sequentes, utpote quibus longe

Places of Britain inaccessible to the Roman arms were already under the dominion of Christianity.

ultra orbem positis, nemo Synodalia Paschalis observantiæ decreta porrexerat. Tantum ea quæ in Propheticis, Evangelicis, et Apostolicis Literis, discere poterant, pietatis et castitatis opera, diligenter

This at once shows their purity and freedom from Romish errors, -that they believed and taught only what is contained in the writings of the Prophets, Evangelists, and Apostles; and it evinces, that the Christians in Scotland did not consider Rome as their mother church, otherwise they would have early and fondly adopted all the innovations and usages of that church from which they had received their religion. But it was not without a great struggle, and not till the year 715, that the Scots submitted to the Romish innovations, as to Pasch, the Tonsure, &c. And it possibly was from the clerical Tonsure, that the word Maal came to be prefixed to some names. The word signifies a servant, and also Bare, Bald; so Maol Coluim, Maol-Riogh, is Columba the servant, or the shaveling; Regulus the servant, or the shaveling. The Irish likewise prefix the word Maith, i. e. good; as Maith Rechard, Maith Calen is the same as St Richard, St Colen.

I have mentioned these things to explain the names of churches and chapels in this province; such as Kiltarlatie, Kilchuiman, MaithRechard, Maith-Calen.

Having met with nothing peculiar to this country in the primitive state of the Christian Church, I go on to

• But whatsoever he was himself, this we know of him for certain, that he left successors renowned for much continency, the love of God, and regular observance. It is true, they followed uncertain rules in the observance of the great festival, as having none to bring them the Synodical Decrees for the observation of Easter, by reason of their being seated so far from the rest of the world,---therefore only practising snch works of piety and chastity, as they could learn from the Prophetical, Evangelical, and Apostolical writings.