Plate I.

This full-page engraving depicts an elderly man identified as the Chief Druid. He has a long white beard reaching his waist. He wears a hooded robe that falls to his knees, leaving his legs and feet bare. In his right hand, he holds a long, plain wooden staff. In his left hand, he holds a book with a sprig of oak leaves and acorns resting on it. A small pouch or scrip hangs from a shoulder strap at his side. He stands in a landscape of hills under a cloudy sky. In the background to the right, there are two circular towers with conical roofs and a small thatched building. The entire scene is enclosed within a thin rectangular border.

Chief Druid: The high priest or leader of the ancient British religious order. Druidism: The religion and social system of the Druids in ancient Gaul and Britain. Oak branch: A primary symbol in Druidic ritual. Ancient writers like Pliny the Elder claimed the Druids held the oak tree and the mistletoe growing upon it as sacred. Isaac Taylor: A prominent English engraver active in the mid-eighteenth century. Staff: A traditional symbol of authority and the wandering life of a philosopher or priest.