Still more recently, the revival of Welsh national sentiment has inspired a hope, which has become a belief, that the Roman conquest was an episode, after which an unaltered Celticism resumed its interrupted supremacy.

These considerations have, plainly enough, very little value as history, and the view which is based on them seems to me in large part mistaken.

As I have pointed out, it is not the view which is suggested by a consideration of the general character of the western provinces.

Nor do I think that it is the view which agrees best with the special evidence which we possess in respect of Britain.

In the following paragraphs I propose to examine this evidence.