The genuine history of the Britons asserted against Mr. Macpherson ...

tHE SRITONS ASSERTED. 22^
very many years, refident in the monaftery \ re-
quefting proper information from him concerning
the obfervanee of Eafter '. The information was
given, and all the Pifts conformed to the Saxon
mode *. And in 7 1 6 Egbert, a Northumbrian
clergyman, went among the Scots, refided 15
years with them,- and converted numbers of
them to the fame mode s. From this particular
detail of fa^ls it Is plain, that Bede had fuffi-
cient opportunities of converfing with the Caledonians
and Caledonian Scots, and of knowine
the origin of the latter from the uiiited accounts
of both. The political and religious prejudices
of the Saxons are (hewn to have been pretty equal
againft the Caledonians and Iriih. And the
Northumbrians appear to have had a much
greater irttercourfe with their neighbours of Caledonia,
than with the natives of Ireland. The
political prejudices of the Saxrons againfl the
former did not, as Mr. Macpherfon imagines,
make the communication between them fmall,
but naturally operated to increafe it by the
redu(5lion of a large extent of Caledonia, and
aftually united a very confiderable body of
the Pi6ts for many years to Northumbria. And
»L. V. c. 21. * Ibid,
* L. V. c. Z2. and p. 33,
Q
their