And thus much for the ladies, whose strange aduenture of their arriuall here, as it may seeme to manie & (with good cause) incredible, so without further auouching it for truth I leaue it to the consideration of the reader, to thinke thereof as reason shall moue him sith I see not how either in this, or in other things of such antiquitie, we cannot haue sufficient warrant otherwise than by likelie coniectures.  Which as in this historie of the ladies they are not most probable, yet haue we shewed the likeliest, that (as we thinke) may be deemed to agree with those authors that haue written of their comming into this Ile.  But as for an assured proofe that this Ile was inhabited with people before the comming of Brute, I trust it may suffice which before is recited out of Annius de Viterbo, Theophilus, Gildas, and other, although much more might be said:  as of the comming hither of Osiris, as well as in the [Sidenote:  Vlysses in Britaine.] other parties of the world:  and likewise of Vlysses his being here, who in performing some vow which he either then did make, or before had made, erected an altar in that part of Scotland which was ancientlie called [Sidenote:  Iulius Solinus.] Calidonia, as Iulius Solinus Polyhistor in plaine words dooth record.

¶ Vpon these considerations I haue no doubt to deliuer vnto the reader, the opinion of those that thinke this land to haue bene inhabited before the arriuall here of Brute, trusting it may be taken in good part, sith we haue but shewed the coniectures of others, till time that some sufficient learned man shall take vpon him to decipher the doubts of all these matters.  Neuerthelesse, I thinke good to aduertise the reader that these stories of Samothes, Magus, Sarron, Druis, and Bardus, doo relie onelie vpon the authoritie of Berosus, whom most diligent antiquaries doo reiect as a fabulous and counterfet author, and Vacerius hath laboured to prooue the same by a speciall treatise latelie published at Rome.

THE END OF THE FIRST BOOKE