"All of it, I hope, Sir," said I; "I shall try to do so. I like to hear of those old times. But would you please to tell me, what is an Iberian?" "My dear," said Mr Cameron, smiling, "I would gladly give you fifty pounds in gold, if you could tell me." "Sir!" cried I, in great surprise. He went on, more as if he were talking to himself, or to some very learned man, than to me. "What is an Iberian? Ah, for the man who could tell us! What is a Basque?--what is an Etruscan?--what is a Magyar?--above all, what is a Cagot? Miss Caroline, my dear, there are deep questions in all arts and sciences; and, without knowing it, you have lighted on one of the deepest and most interesting. The most learned man that breathes can only answer you, as I do now (though I am far from being a learned man)--I do not know. I will, nevertheless, willingly tell you what little I do know; and the rather if you take an interest in such matters. All that we really know of the Iberii is that they came from Spain, and that they had reached that country from the East; that they were a narrow-headed people (the Celts or later Britons were round-headed); that they dwelt in rude houses in the interior of the country, first digging a pit in the ground, and building over it a kind of hut, sometimes of turf and sometimes of stone; that they wore very rude clothing, and were generally much less civilised than the Celts, who lived mainly on the coast; that they loved to dwell, and especially to worship, on a mountain top; that they followed certain Eastern observances, such as running or leaping through the fire to Bel,--which savours of a Phoenician or Assyrian origin; and that it is more than likely that we owe to them those stupendous monuments yet standing-- Stonehenge, Avebury, the White Horse of Berkshire, and the White Man of Wilmington." "But what sort of a religion had they, if you please, Sir?" said I; for I wanted to get to know all I could about these strange fathers of ours. "Idolatry, my dear, as you might suppose," answered Mr Cameron. "They worshipped the sun, which they identified with the serpent; and they had, moreover, a sacred tree--all, doubtless, relics of Eden. They would appear also to have had some sort of woman-worship, for they held women in high honour, loved female sovereignty, and practised polyandry--that is, each woman had several husbands." "I never heard of such queer folks!" said I. "And what became of them, Sir?" "The Iberians and Celts together," he answered, "made up the people we call Britons. When the Saxons invaded the country, they were driven into the remote fastnesses of Wales, Cumberland, and Cornwall. Some antiquaries think the Picts had the same original, but this is one of the unsettled points of history." "I wish it were possible to settle all such questions!" said Flora.