Page:Essays ethnological and linguistic.djvu/37

Rh of the same tribe as the Cantii, the primary inhabitants of our county of Kent.

Of the other settlers in Spain it is unnecessary here to speak, as the purport of this essay has been only to discuss the question of the language spoken by the original inhabitants of the country in connexion with the Aquitani. They undoubtedly spoke among themselves, as we are also told they did, a variety of dialects such as we find the case in all countries and all ages. Among the Basques there are seven, and among the Gael and Cymry full as many. This, however, is not inconsistent with our argument, that the ancient inhabitants of Spain were Gaelic, of the same family of people as the Aquitani of France, who were distinct from the inhabitants of what Cæsar calls Celtic Gaul, the latter being of the Cymric family, while both were distinct from the Belgæ, inasmuch as these were Germans.

NOTE.

P. 17. — I pass over, as inadmissible, the later suppositions of the Armoricans having come originally from Cornwall when driven away by the Saxons. A few refugees might have then settled there among a kindred people, but we cannot suppose them to have been the first of their family settled in that district.