Upon the whole it appears, that the dates assigned by Camden to the two first grand irruptions of the Picts and Scots, will be found as tenable as any; the first, applying to the time of Maximus, or rather the period which immediately followed; the second, occasioned by the secession of the Romans, in consequence of the trouble of Italy, and the sacking of Rome, A.D. 410: but the last irruption was, in all probability, agreeably to Richard of Cirencester and Dr. Stillingfleet, about the year 443.

The first supplies, under Stilicho, were sent about A.D. 396, or 399; the second supplies, A. D. 414, or 416; the third, A. D. 443.

We have now to contemplate new scenes and new transactions, in consequence of the arrival of the Saxons and Angles; first, as auxiliaries to the Britons, then as their enemies, and finally as their masters; until they established their dominion over the most important, as well as largest portion, of Britain; imposing their own language and laws on the inhabitants. All this fulfilled the purposes of Divine Providence, who sees the final results of all things: the land was first to undergo a severe scourge, from internal conflicts and the dreadful concomitants of war, until the end, the general happiness, should be effected thereby, in the fulness of time.

2. The arrival of the Saxons, under Hengist and Horsa; they resolve to settle in the country; their treachery; the battles fought between the Britons and Saxons; Ambrosius and Arthur, Ella, Cerdic and Kindric.

THE Picts and Scots were advancing rapidly, and carrying devastation wherever they went; while Vortigern was clamorous for foreign aid. But that prince wished a kind of force, at his command, that would enable him not only to propel the common enemy, but over-awe those princes who were hostile to his claims. There was an illustrious man of the name of Aurelius Ambrosius, brother to Uthyr, and son of Constantine, of Armorica, whom many wished to raise to the supreme command. This nobleman, full of youthful ardour, was viewed with a jealous eye by Vortigern.

At this juncture, three Saxon cyules, or small ships, arrived off the coast: enquiry was made, "What was their object; whence they came; what their tribes and their country?" Their leaders, Hengist and Horsa, made reply, that they had been exiled from their native shores: that, in obedience to a domestic law, which enacted that, in a superfluity of population, the youths should decide, by lot, who should emigrate, they had become the necessary exiles.

Whether the council of Vortigern is to be considered as preceding this event, or whether it was in consequence thereof that he proposed accepting of the aid of these foreigners; be that as it will, their admission into the kingdom was approved of, and the Isle of Thanet was the place assigned them. It was agreed upon that they were to fight the enemies of the Britons, to receive the

necessary supplies, and their valour was to be rewarded by assigning them a territory for their future residence. It is hardly to be supposed that the nation in general accorded with this measure; it may more rationally be considered as originating with Vortigern, and a few chiefs with whom his influence preponderated; and it may be questioned whether he did not rather assume the honour he had been long aspiring to, than receive it from the hands of the princes, and the states of the island. Having gained himself a strong party, he profited by the feuds and jealousies of those who were unfriendly to his claim.

In the Triads, Vortigern is called Gwrthenau, or The Gainsayer, because of the detested advice which he gave to invite the Saxons over; and his afterwards assigning them the Isle of Thanet for a residence. On that account he, along with Avarwy, who befriended Julius Cæsar, aud the Romans; and Medrod, who proved treacherous to his uncle Arthur, and was the cause of his ruin, are considered as names consigned to perpetual execration, as the betrayers of their country.

This wicked prince was for compassing the ends of his ambition, whatever might be the consequence; of which the chiefs, who coincided with him, were not aware. The Saxons were soon to become a more ter rible scourge to the Britons than ever the Picts and the Scots had been; an enemy whom they were fully competent to repel, had they been at unity with themselves.

But the blindness of man hastens the accomplishment of heaven's designs; and his own folly becomes the means of his own punishment. The enervated, the wicked, the contentious Britons, had filled up the measure of their iniquity; they were a people unworthy to exercise that dominion which they had newly received, by being made independent of Rome. The

Anglo-Saxons, also, in their turn were doomed to feel the fury of the Danes, and to resign the sceptre to the Normans.

Hengist obtained leave to send for a larger supply of his countrymen, in order that they might effectually suppress the Picts. When these additional troops arrived, the Britons and their new allies proceeded to meet the enemy, over whom they proved victorious. The British monarch, highly pleased with this success, in a season of festivity and rejoicing, was ensnared into those measures, which sealed the ruin of his country. Hengist, perceiving the ascendency he was gaining, conceived the ambitious project of obtaining a handsome settlement in the country. The beauty of his daughter Rowena, captivated the heart of the aged monarch; she was not denied to his criminal request. The Saxon then became bold in his demands; and, perceiving the dissensions that so fatally prevailed among the native princes, he presumed upon the thought of turning the Saxon arms against the Britons, in order to make a conquest of the country. In order to this, he secretly sent over for fresh reinforcements; he set the king at variance with his nobles; and was become so insolent in his demands, as to render himself insupportable to the Britons. Being confident of their own strength, which they knew how to augment at pleasure, the Saxons soon made it appear what their ambition aimed at. They entered

* There are three nations to be here distinguished under a general appellation; the Saxons, strictly so called, the Angli, and the Jutes. The country of the last-named is still called Jutland. The Angli came from the south of Jutland, or Angelen; and the Saxons from the country between the Elbe and the Eyder, comprehending Holstein, Ditmarsen, and Stormar. These were the people who transported themselves from the Cimbric Peninsula, and its vicinity, to Britain, in the fifth and sixth centuries. See Bede, Camden, Usher, &e.

into a secret compact with the Picts, and received also supplies from Germany, and thought themselves now competent to fulfil their ambitious project; for, not being content with the territory assigned them, they aspired to greater things. These things, along with the perfidiousness of Vortigern, gave the British nobles to perceive the public danger.

But although the Saxons could no less than perceive the dissatisfaction of the Britons, on account of the monarch's partiality for his foreign auxiliaries, they still appeared to depend on the support of that infatuated prince.

The chieftains, however, instead of boldly insisting on the departure of the Saxons, smothered their resentment, until further augmentations were incessantly pouring in, and Hengist clamoured for fresh supplies, in proportion to the increase of his adherents. Seventeen' cyules, or long boats, laden with soldiers, came to the aid of the Saxons, in Kent; besides forty who went to the north of the island under Octa and Abisa.

All this, it is said, met with the sanction of Vortigern, who was easily wrought upon by the specious insinuations of Hengist.

The British nobles at length remonstrated strongly with the king on the danger to which he was exposing the country, by admitting these foreigners in such vast numbers to reside in the land; for that soon they would be able to overpower the inhabitants. Vortigern paid little attention to these complaints; and, being aware of the disaffection of the nobles, he continued to support the Saxons, regarding them as a powerful guard against the discontents of his subjects, or the attempts of a rival. His infatuated connexion with Rowena, the daughter of Hengist, strengthened the Saxon interest; while, at the same time, it served to render him completely odious to