It begins with a description of the
ancient meeting, of which the following lines are a part:
"... midst the eternal cliffs, whose strength defied
The crested Roman in his hour of pride;
And where the Druid's ancient cromlech frowned,
And the oaks breathed mysterious murmurs round,
There thronged the inspired of yore! on plain or height,
In the sun's face, beneath the eye of light,
And baring unto heaven each noble head,
Stood in the circle, where none else might tread."
The Druidical system was at its height at the time of the Roman
invasion under Julius Caesar. Against the Druids, as their chief
enemies, these conquerors of the world directed their unsparing
fury. The Druids, harassed at all points on the mainland,
retreated to Anglesey and Iona, where for a season they found
shelter and continued their now dishonored rites.
The Druids retained their predominance in Iona and over the
adjacent islands and mainland until they were supplanted and their
superstitions overturned by the arrival of St. Columba, the
apostle of the Highlands, by whom the inhabitants of that district
were first led to profess Christianity.
IONA
One of the smallest of the British Isles, situated near a rugged
and barren coast, surrounded by dangerous seas, and possessing no
sources of internal wealth, Iona has obtained an imperishable
place in history as the seat of civilization and religion at a
time when the darkness of heathenism hung over almost the whole of
Northern Europe.
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