A few observations made by Mrs. Spencer, who had joined the party, led Mr. Wilmot to give the following sketch of the progress of Christianity, from its first introduction into this country, together with the origin and establishment of the protestant religion.
“Various are the opinions,” said he, “entertained respecting the precise period when, or by whom, Christianity was first introduced into this happy island. Nor can it tend to our improvement, though it might gratify our curiosity, to know, whether St. Paul, when he visited the ‘western isles,’ included England; or whether his immediate predecessors, or followers, preached the ‘glad tidings of salvation’ to the natives. It is sufficient for us to know, that the gospel found its way hither some time in the _first_ century; since, in the persecution of the Christians, by the cruel and tyrannical Nero, in the year 64, many of them fled hither for an asylum. Its progress in Great Britain, during the _three_ first centuries, is certainly involved in some obscurity; though it probably increased during the _fourth_ century, as we find three English bishops present, at the council held at Arminium, respecting the Arian controversy.
“About this period the Saxons, having subdued the country, pursued, with unrelenting cruelty, the Christians: multitudes of whom were put to death, and thousands sought and found a refuge in the mountains of Wales. History has stamped the character of our countrymen in this age with infamy. From the sovereign to the meanest of his subjects, licentiousness and gross immorality abounded; and it is cheering to turn from this darkened era, to the labours of the celebrated St. Augustine, and forty other monks, who, having been sent from Rome, for the purpose of converting our island to the faith, succeeded in persuading the Anglo Saxons to embrace Christianity, about the year 590. On Christmas-day, king Ethelbert and ten thousand of his subjects were baptized; and though, amongst this crowd of professed converts, there is reason to fear that few possessed more than the name of Christian, we may yet believe there were some on whom the ‘day-star’ had not risen in vain.
“In the _seventh_ century our island had almost universally received the Christian religion: popish superstition had, however, unhappily mixed itself with the pure faith, and increased rapidly. One great source of corruption in the clergy, was the practice that now prevailed of persuading people to relinquish their property to them, and go on pilgrimage.