Britain and western Gaul, left desolate by the Roman
legions, were often served by hierophants from Erin,
which, even in those Pagan days, was known to all the
Druidic countries as the "Sacred Island." Besides the
princes, the warriors, and the Druids, (who were also
the Physicians, Bards and Brehons of the first ages,)
there were innumerable petty chiefs, all laying claim to
noble birth and blood. They may be said with the warriors
and priests to be the only freemen. The _Bruais_, or
farmers, though possessing certain legal rights, were an
inferior caste; while of the Artisans, the smiths and
armorers only seem to have been of much consideration.
The builders of those mysterious round towers, of which
a hundred ruins yet remain, may also have been a privileged
order. But the mill and the loom were servile occupations,
left altogether to slaves taken in battle, or purchased
in the market-places of Britain. The task of the herdsman,
like that of the farm-labourer, seems to have devolved
on the bondsmen, while the _quern_ and the shuttle were
left exclusively in the hands of the bondswomen.

We need barely mention the names of the first Milesian
kings, who were remarkable for something else than cutting
each other's throats, in order to hasten on to the solid
ground of Christian tunes. The principal names are: Heber
and Heremhon, the crowned sons of Milesians; they at
first divided the Island fairly, but Heremhon soon became
jealous of his brother, slew him in battle, and established
his own supremacy. Irial the Prophet was King, and built
seven royal fortresses; Tiern'mass; in his reign the arts