THE STRANGE STORY OF A MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXI, Issue 52, 27 April 1894, Page 2

THE STRANGE STORY OF A MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT.

Through the establishment in tbe United Kingdom of Irish Literary Societies, and the efforts of Celtic scholars, much attention has been given in recent years to the valuable manuscript literatnre of Erin. Several Continental savants have lately visited Ireland for the purpose of acquiring such knowledge of the Gaelic tongne as would enable them to read with profit the MSB preserved in many libraries abroad. A merited rebuke to tbe nation generally was adminis'ered by German visitors some months ago, en account of notable neglect or apathy in tho matter of ancient lore. It is certainly humbling to Irishmen that foreigners not unfrequently show more appreciation of the beauties of the literature of the Itmda sanctorum et doctorum — the " Island of Saints and Scholars " — than many of their own gifted conotrymen. We have reason to glory in oar literary past, In tbe richness of manuscript literature Ireland holds a foremost place among the nations. The written evidences of the acivity and learning of the old Irish monks and missionaries are to be seen in most of the great libraries. Notwithstanding the devastations of the cloister-destroying Danes, the centuries of persecution when learning was practically proscribed, and the almost continual exiling of the people, the Irish language is richer in the number and beauty of existing MSS than any other European tongue. These records of learning and exquisite specimens of an almost lost art have been faithfully guarded by the peoples, who, to a large extent, owe their faith and civilization to the labonrs of the missionary children of Ireland. We are not surprised thj^t MSS in the Irish language, or, at all events tbe work of Iruft monks, are found up and down the Continent of Europe, when we remember what Montalembert has written on the subject of the

indebtedness of Europa to Irish missionary z al. The bons and daughters of Irish Catholics have occasionally to listen to an undeserved Uunt about the "ignoranci of the Irish" from those whose forefathers fruitlessly strove to make ignorance a birthright of the people they persecuted and enslaved. We have no reason to feel ashamed when we consider the present progress in true education of our kith and kin at home. We have every reason to feel pardonable pride when we read the literary history of the ages when studious Europe sat at the feet of the learned children of Erin. Speaking cf the nmeionary zeal of the old monastic orders which left the principal naionß of Europe " voder an everlasting debt of gratitude," the emmei t Frenchman says :— " Still more atiikiog than the intellf ct ml development of which the Imh monasteries were at that time the centre, id the prodigious activity displayed by the Irish monks in extending and multiplying themselves over all the countries of Europe, here to create new schools and sanctuaries among nations already evangelised, tbere to carry the light of the Gospel at the peril of their live?, to countries still pagan. Here is the number given by an ancient writer of the monasteries founded oat of Ireland by the Irish monks :— Thirteen in Sco'land, twelve in Eogland, seven in France, twelve in Armories, seven in Lorraine, ten in Alsatia, sixteen in Bavaria, fifteen in Bhetia, Helvetia, and AUemaine, without counting many in Thuringia, along the Rhine ; and finally, Bix in Italy. And it may be fully apparent how great was the seal and virtue of which those monastic colonies were at onca tt c product and the centre. Let us place by its side an analogous lilt of saints of Irish origin, whom the gratitude of nations converted, edified, and civilised by them has placed oa their altars as pa rons and fouodeis of those churches whose foundations they watered with their blood. In Germany, one hundred and fifty, of whom thirty-six were martyred ; in Gaol, forty-five, of whom six were martyred ; in Belgium, thirty ; in Italy, thirteen ; and in Norway and Iceland, eight, all of whom were martyred." Now, wherever the Irish moDk established his monastery, the copying of sacred Scripture and the transcription of learned works were sedulously attended to. Each hive of industry and home of learning had its " Scriptorium " or

That you may be enabled to form a correct judgment on the value of the narratives wh eh formed the tieme of many a medieval story, of the literary gem whija nas b.ei enahrin ?d by a s#e«t Irish bard in a caaket of delicious versa, permit me *\ w»y of preliminary observation, to say a word on navigation in ol Itn times. Waa it really possible in those rule days, when the compass was unknown in Europe, for a frail birk to cross th" ocian and reach America in safety 7 The close reader of the modern newspaper will immediately answer that what has been several times accomplished by daring adventurers ia very small craft in our own time, could, as f*r as the sizj cl vessel was concerned, have been done by tbe larger ships of the early centuries. Unhsa I am grevtly miftaken, the journey across the rough Atlantic was successfully mide not very long ago by one man in a very small yach', a veriuhle toy ship. Indeed a writer in the very last number of the Fortnightly Review says that the trans-A lantio j jurnay was recently ma ie by one man aod a dog in a dingy. The three caravels of Cjlumbus were of small tonnage and made of tarred wood. Ihe largest, tbe Saita Maria, was not more than one hundred tons. The Pint a was about seventy tons* burden, and the smallest vessel, La Nina, was only fifty tons— if evea that. We should not care to cross the Tasuan sea, trotn New Zaaland to Australia, in an open craft of fifty tons. As a matter of fact,, only two of the caravels of Ooiambus were decked throughout. In small vessels, generally open, except at stem aod stern, the ancients undertook long voyages over dangerous seas. They had stoutly built vessels made of pine aud cedar and oak. Many ships in the time of Trajan had bottoms sheathed with lead, and fastened with copper. The hardy seaman of the northen coasts, who had to contend with rougher seas and the great Atlantic swell, built strong compact vessels for their daring voyages;

Trade in ancient times was not confined to a few adjacent harbours. Roman vessels were to be found in every port of the Mediterranean. The Romans from a remote antiquity were a. remaikably maritime people. They fearlessly passed through tbe straits of Herculee by Gibralter, which they called Alube, crossed the Bay of Biscay, which has not recently acquired its character as

manuscript work room. After reading the forejj.ins passage of Count de Montalembert, we cease to wonder that tbe existing MSB., written by Irish copyists, are exceedingly numerous and are carefully treasured in different corners of Europe. Many of them are in Latin, which was " the usual language for regular composition" ; a large number, given to their disciples by the almost innumerable Iris i missionaries, were in the loved Celtic tongue. The old manusciipt of tbe 10th century, possessed by ihe Bibliotheqw National* in Paris, from which I take much information contained in this lecture, was written in Latin. It is not an isolated work. Fully twenty MS3. in diffirent places, all in substantial agreement, tell the same wonderful story. They are called tbe Brendan MBS., aud describe a " seven years' voyage in the western sea." There are two in the Bodleian L brary at Oxford aod one in th c library of tbe archbishop's palace at Nuremburg. There are also MSB., almost identical as to matter and detail, in French, Italian Dutch aDd Portuguese. The copy in Nurembur? i* a German translation. In the famous collection of the Bibliotheqw National:, Paiii, there are aa many «c thirteen we 1- preserved Latin MSS. of undoubted antiquity.

In this wonderful collection, begu^, we are told, in 750 by Pepin, son of Cbarle* Matte', tiere are about 2 250,000 volumes. The building, which is of comparatively modern construction, is visited annually by fully 150,000 readers, who consult nearly 400,000 volumes. This great institution was known under different n»me* at different times, according t j the prevailing regime, vie., Bibliotheque Jtoyale, Bibliotheque Imperial*, Bibliotlitque National*. A special department is given to manuscripts, and the Brendan MBS. are highly valued. They are generally found with other MBS. of the same antiquity! Any visitor to Paris can readily inspect them and personally verify what I shall say to-night.

Our manuscript came into the hands of th» authorities of the Biblwtheque Nafwnale from the abbey of 8t Martine (Haote Vienne). It is about 900 years old, was written several hundred years before the time of Columhnt, and contains the strange story of the discovery of America by an Irish sailor monk in the 6th century.

a dangerous sea, and frequently landed in Cornwall and the southern part of Ireland. According to Humboldt they knew the Canary Isles, and voyaged as far as the Gulf of Guinea. The ancient Irish for c mroercial purposes visitei Britain and Gaal, an I even traded with Pbosiicia. Visits were constantly interchanged between the Druids of Erin and the Druids of Mona (Anglesey) The oli Irish navigators must have had stoat b«rks in order to make voyages to the Shetland and Faroe islands, and cross the stormy seas to distant Ice'and. It is recorded in the old annals that Niall of the nine hostages transported large armies across the channel, landed in Gaul, and drove the Roman soldiers before him. His successor, Dathy, we are told, pursued them to the walls of the High Alps. On tbe Western coast traditions were long current even in the time of gt Patrick, of tbe daring voyages aod nautical skill of tbe TuUha de Dan&ans That the Christian moaks, so eminent iv the field of civilisation, inherited the fearlessness an i the knowledge of this ancient mari. time people, is suggest d in a m irked manner by the fact that eight of the oanooised saints of Norway and Iceland were Irish monks. That many of the early settler* of Iceland were of the Irish race is shown by nnnv names mputioned in the history of tie island. Tma NjUl (o'N.iil), Konall (O'Oonnell), Kjilakur (O'Oallaghan), K6 - maknr (Oormack) were not uncommon. A vessel which could weather tha storms of the B*y of Bisoa?, ctom aai re-cross the rough northern seas, could in safety naviga'e the stormy Atlantic. Even though the use of the compass was unknown in the Wert, the stars theo, as now, with unerring guidance, directed the mariner in his path through the trackless ocean.

We have come to believe, almost ts a dogma of historic truth, that Columbus was the first European to land on the shores of ths Western Continent. We laud him as the great discoverer of America. Now, whether the voyaee of Brendan be a pleasing fiction, or recognised as a well grounded narrative, it is certain that tbe great Gtnoesa was only the re-discoverer of America. Tbe hardy Norsemen h*d preceded him by five hundred years. " The Sagas," or Scandinavian annals, give more than probability to the Brcndanian seven yean journey.

Bot even laying aside for tha present tbe expedition of Lief Erickson and his followers, tbe recorded voyages to America from the Asiatic Continent help much to show the probability of an early discovery from maritime Europe. According to the Chinese annals America was discovered by a Buddhist mock named Hoei-Schin, in tbe fiJtb century of our era. He called the new land Fusang, and hia description of the inhabitants tallies wonderfully with accounts given of tbe ancient people of Mexico. The tradition of the Japanese that in early ages a junk accidentally touched on the shore* of a great continent, thtt the crew remained there over winter, and then returned home, is confirmed by even recent occurrences. la 1832 a Japanese vessel was wrecked on Oabu, one of the Sandwich Islands. The Hawaiian Spectator takes occasion to remark that the natives, struck by the similarity in features, and customs, came to the conclusion that they themselves had come from Japan. Mark, please, that this vessel had been blown ont of her course across the Pacific. She had nine men on board, and was bringing fish from a Chinese port to Teddo. The junk was tossed about for ten or eleven months, and finally stranded on the Sandwich Islands. In 1849 long before Japan entered upon her modern race of progress, an American whaler picked up the crew of a Japanese junk, 2,300 miles souih east of Japan. In 1833 another vessel, wandering far ont of her course, was wrecked on tbe coast of Oregon. A letter written in 1874 by Colonel Barclay Kinnon, formerly of the United Btates North Pacific Surveying Expedition, while it gives the aotbor's opinions as to " the possible passage at an early age of Chinese to tbe North American Continent," helps us to grasp and entertain the thought that pre-Columbian voyages to America, even from Europe, are far from improbable. This gentleman sailed for two years and upwards of 40,000 miles in a vessel called the " Penimore Cooper." The Fenimore Cooper was 75 tons, and therefore smaller than the Caravel in which Columbus sailed from Palos. She was originally a small New York pilot boat, and j 11 after leaving New York she went to Africa, Java, China, Japan, California, and back to Japan, where she finally laid her bones to dry." Colonel Kinnon writes : "Toa landsmaD, unfamiliar with long voyages, the mere idea of being • alone on the wide, wide sea,' with nothing bat water visible, even for an hour, conveys a strange sense of desolation, of daring, and of adventure. Bat in truth it is regarded as a mere trifle, not only by regular seafaring men, but even by the rudest races in all parts of the world, and I have no doubt that from the remotest ages and on all shores, fishermen in open boatß, canoes or even coracles, guided simply by the stars and tbe current", have not hesitated to go far out of eight of land. At the present day natives of many of the South Pacific islands undertake without a compasp, and successfully, long voyages, which astonisn even a regular Jack tar, who is not often astonished at anything. If these ein be done by savages, it hardly seems possible that the Aiiatic American voyage was not saccesefnlly performed by people of advanced scientific culture, who had, it is generally believed, the compa,s, and who from an early age were proficient in astronomy." Apply these words of an experienced sailor, who had sailed 40 090 iq a 75 ton boat, to the scientific and maritime countries of Europe— and Ireland was not last in tbe list of civilized nations— and you will perhaps marvel that it should be said by any one that Columbus was the first to discover America. To retnrn to Europe. I have mentioned that the old Icelandic chronic'es relate several early voyages to America. It will serve my purpose to say, on no mean authority, that Columbus was well acquainted with the story of the Norse voyages in the far Weit. Before Betting out on his own expedition he had made many preparatory trips. la fac we are told he had sailed in every known direction that a ship bad gone. We gather this from an extract in one of bis letters—" I have been seeking ont the secrets of Nature for 40 year , and wherever ship has sailed there have I voyaged." He visited the Canaries, Madeira, and the coast of Guinea. Humboldt is of opinion that he went to the extreme western outpost of Portuguese discovery. It is said, and his son is given as authority, that he twice visited Iceland, and from Iceland oace sailed 300 miles westward in tbe direction of the new world. There seems to be no doubt as to the repeated voyages of tbe Norsemen to the continent of America. Lief Brickson and his party in the 10th century were followed by others in tbe 11th and subsequent ages. They landed firat on tbe coast of Greenland, and then proceeded south as far even as the New England States. They called a part of tbe country Winaland, or Vineland. The whole country in the •'Sagas," or Icelandic chronicles, is called "Ireland it mikla"— Greater Ireland." The United States of to-day bid fair to realise the Norse anticipation. The •« Sagas" have been translated by an eminent Danißh scholar named Bafn. They report that Erickson found in the South of the new land relics and various utensils of early Irish voyagers. In fact, Professor Btfn tells us " they found a white people, different from the Esquimaux of the North, having long robes or cloaks' and frequently bearing crosses io a sort of religious procession, and

their speech was Irish." Whether these were the descendants of early Irish settlers or not, it is suggestive that Hoei-Schin, who was in Fuiang. or America, five centuries before the Icelandic xdventurers, speaks also of a white people. Father Nica describes the first Indian seen by him in 1539 «s a man of light complexion. Catlin, io bis " Letters and Notes on the Indians," published 1844, eaya that the Mandan Indians are almost white. "Oneistempted on seeing them," hesays, "to exclaim, ' these are no Indians.' Among the women are many who are almost white and who have grey eyes, or blue or hazel." Tbe Man Jans difidr from oiher tribes in physique ; the meo are generally 6 ft or 6 ft 2 in high, and wear their hair long, trailing two or three inches on the ground. They differ also from the other tribes in their ideas of the future state. Their hell, like tbe hell of the Northmen, is an inhospitable shore, oold and desolate, eternally covered with ice anl snow. I mention, as curious coincidences in salient points, these reports of travellers and relations of the old Scandinavian '' Sagas." Doubtless you are now prepared to hear " the strange story of a meditval MS ," and in presenting it to you, I shall mace use rot only of Irish Catholic authors, but of the report to the New York Gaelic Society, of a Protestant American. General Daniel Butterfield a few years ago when in Paris, to oblige a friend, paid a visit to the Bibliotheque Natiouale, and personally examined the 13 Brendan MSB, He very soon became engrosesd in the study of the subject which he had undertaken to investigate. He patiently waded through tbe several volumes, with the valuable assistance of an eminent antiquarian. Not satisfied with an exhaustive study of the Paris MSS , he insisted on an examination of the Brendan MS3. in Oxford. General Bat terfield, though, to use his own words, " neither of Irish descent or Boman faitb," and therefore able to speak (< without prejudice," felt himself compelled to express the belief that " if a Catholic Irishman was not the first discoverer of America, he Clused its subsequent discovery by Erickson and Columbus." He brought back with him a series of well executed photographs of the leaves of a selected manuscript which by tbe kindness of tbe French authorities he was permitted to take. Tbe Manuscript " begins with a description of St Brendan, and the confession made to him by Father Birinthus." Then follows a full account of the preparation for the voytga and the discovery of tbe new land. A few items in the life of the anti-Columbian hero will ba appropriate. St Brendan, " tbe navigator," as he was called in the old aanala, was born near Tralee in the County Kerry, a.d. 483 From his earliest years he was familiar with tbe sen, and soon bioame accustomed to the rough life of a sailor. Denis Florence McCarthy, in a beautiful poem, makes Si Brendan relate on bis return the incidents of the journey, and tbe events which precede! it to his foster-mother tbe great St Ita. Of his youth be thus speaks : — " I grew to manhood by the western wave, Among the mighty moantains on the shore ; Xy bed the rock witoin come natural care, My food wbate'er tbe sea or seasons bore ; My only occapatioa morn and nooa and night, Tue only dream my hasty c lumbers gava Was Time's unheeding, uaretuming flight And the great world that lies beyood tbe grave. Tbe details of his early life are interesting to the student of Irish Hagiology. He was carefully instructed io the Latin language by Bishop Ere, and made great progress in the learning of the time. He travelled much in different parts of Erin to increase bis knowledge, and to learn wiaJotn from eaintly men. On bis return, with matured mind, to bis native place, he built a cell, and a few disciples gathered around him. There is a hill in Kerry called to this day Brandon Hill, to the south of the Bay of Tralee. It rises to a height of 3127 feet above the sea and commands a magnificent view. He here build an oratory and established himself. I cannot refrain from quoting a lengthy, but choice passage from Dr Healy's fine work " Ancient Irish (Schools and Scholars," which will give you an idea of tbe influences which were at work silently moulding Brendan's character and preparing him for the arduous task he afterwards accomplished. "It was a daring thought," says tbe Coadjutor Bisbop of Clonfert, '• to build bis cell and oratory on tbe bare summit of this lone mountain, which it frequen ly oovered with clouds and nearly always rudely swept by the brecz s that rise from the Atlantic Ocean. But on a clear day the spectacle from its summit is one of sublime and unapproachable grandeur. All the bjld hills and headlands, from Aran to Kenmar", that go out to meet the waves, are visible from its summit. The rocky islets of tbe Skelligs and tbe Mahereeß are the sentinels that guard its base. Inland the spectator can cast his gata over half tbe south of Ireland, mountain and valley, lakeaad stream, and pLiaaad town, stretching far away to the .Bast and South. ;Bui tbe eye ever turas seaward to the grand panorama presented by tbe ultimate ocean No such view can be had in the British Islands ; and Brendan while dwelling on the mountain summit saw it in all its varying moods— at early morning when the glory of tbe sun was first diffused over its wide reaches ; at midnight when the stars swept round the pole that feared to dip

themselves in the baths of ocean ; at even — above all at even when tbe setting eun went home to bis caverns beneath th? sea, and (be of light along the glowins? west seemed a road of living fire to Fortnnate Islands, where the sorrows of death never enter, and peace and beauty for ever dwell." All along the western coast the belief in the existence of " Qy Brazil," a happy land in the western sea prevailed among the people ; some loiked upon it as an enchanted shore, where joy and peace reigned. Even at the present day the simple fishermen at certain times believe they see tbe Island of the Blessed, on the distant horizon, Other?, discarding the faiiy tales connected with this lovely mirage, came to believe in the veritable existence of land beyond tbe rolling sea. The green fields, and glittering domeß, and shining towers which fancy paints in tbe track of tbe setting bud, moved many an adventurous band to wander far in search of the phantom city. We are informed by the old writers that a monk, Mermoc by name, fled from his monastery, and took sail towards tbe west to seek a lonely retreat beyond tbe ocean. His spiritual father, Barinthus, with a strong loviDg desire to bring back the fugitive, which reminds us of St John and his erring disciple, followed in pursuit. Barinthus came back, and on his return described what he had seen and experienced. Tbe narration of bis cousin so impressed Brendan that, in his natural liking for travel and great zeal to win souls to Christ, bs resolved to brave tbe terrors of tbe ocean— of the " Mare tenebrosutn " — and discover new lands in tbe western Feaß. He travelled north to visit his old friend Bishop Enda, at Aran, and take counsel of that saintly man who knew so well tbe traditions of tbe mariners of the western isles. " When I proclaimed tbe project that i nursed, How 'twas for this that I his blessing sought. An irrepressible cry of joy outburst From his pnre lips, that blessed me for the thought. He said that he, too, had in visions strayed Ovtr the untrack'ed ocean's billowy foam, Bid me have hope, that God would give me aid, And bring me safe back to my native home." Action followed quickly on the resolution of this man of active life. He laid the whole matter before seven choßen men of his community. His address is given in the MS. Here is a translation by Gen. Butterfield : " ' My beloved fellow warriors, I ask of you counsel and help, inasmuch as my thoughts and my heart are bent on one desire, if it be the will of God. That land whereof Father Barinthus has fpoken is the land of promise of the saints I have Bet my heart upon. What Bay you ? What counsel do you give me ? ' Their answer was : ' Abbot, your will is ours. Have we not left uur parents, have we not forsaken our inheritance, have we not delivered ourselves up unto you 1 Therefore with you we are ready to go unto life or death. 1 " These stout-hearted men remembered the wellknown prophecy of St Patrick : " Looking ont upon the Atlantic from the highlands of Munster, he said " — I quote the words of our American friend, neither of Irish descent nor Roman faith — " that a man of renown would arise in these lands, and go out upon the sea and find the promised land." To the 6even volunteers other seven were added, and then 1( they made a camp near an inlet of the sea large enough to allow tbe passage of one ship." The manuscripts give minute descriptions of the careful preparations for the voyage. The vessel, to ba manned by fifteen men. was ribbed and planked frojn within. It wai covered with the skins of oxen, and all the seams were skilfully caulked after the manner of the time. A mast, provided with rigging and sails, was erected in the middle of the ship — for ship we must call a veßsel wbich carried so great a complement of men, and provisions for forty days. Three times the ordinary supply of fo d was taken because of the uncertainty of tbe voyage, also a large quantity of oil for use on the skins. Tbey likowise brongbt with them many utensils which pertain to the wants of human life." "At length tbe long-expected morning came, Whea from the opening arms of that wild bay, Beneath the hill that bears my bumble name, Over the waves we took our - ntracked way." When all things were ready, Brendan and the "good monks companions of his way " embarked ; tbe sails were unforled and the course of the compact little barque was directed towards the summer solstice. Denis Florence McCarthy thus finely describes that departure from Brin :— •• Our little barque, kissing the dimpled smiles On ocean's cheek, flew like a wanton bird, And then the land, with all its hundred isles, Faded away and yet we spoke no word. Bach silent tongue held converse with the past ; Each moistened eye looked round the circling wave ; And, save the Bpot where stood our trembling mast, Saw all things hid within one mighty grave." Tradition makes Brandon Bay, at tbe foot of tbe bill which bears the saint's name, the place of departure. It is suggestive that th« first Atlantic cable connecting Europe and America was laid by Cyrus Field in 1857, within sight of Mount Brandon. Tbe voyage

for the firat fifteen days was prosperous. They had favourable weather and made steady progress. Then the wind died away and the brethren had to take to the oars. Their stiength gave out, and they became dispirited as they looked at the desolation of the wide, trackless ocean, " Ob ! how we loneed and pined for eight of land I Oh 1 how we sighed for tbe green, pleassnt fields 1 Compared wiih the cold waves, the barest strand — The bleakest rock — a crop of comfort yields." St Brendan bad, like Columbus in la er years, to frequently encourage bis companion?, and with cheery words urge tbem forward. " Fear not, brethren," eaid he, " for God is in this a helper and seamen and captain. Take in all your oars and the rudder and give out tbe sails. Let God do with His servants and with His ship as He pleases." After much struggling with tempests and rough teas and enduring many privations, tbey fell in with a current — probably tbe Gulf Stream— and by it were borne swiftly along. Their eyes at length were refreshed by tbe sight of long-looked-for land. " A freshening bresza played on our moistened deckf, Tbe far horizon oped its walls of light, And lo I with purple hills and san-brieht peaks, A glorious isle gleamed on our gladdened sight." Tradition has it that, as was the case in after years with Columbos, tbe land first sighted by Brendan was an island. It is called by the old writers the " Paradise of Birds." — " Insula ad occidentalem plagam qaas vocatur paradisus avium." It is thus poetically described :— " It was the fairest and tbe sweetest seene — The freshest, sanniest, smiling land that e'er Held o'er tbe waves its arms of sheltering green Unto the sea and storm-vexed mariner. " No barren waste its gentle bosom scarred, Nor guns that brown, nor breezes winged with ice, Nor jagged rocks (nature's grey ruins) marred Tbe perfect features of that paradise. " Tbe verdant turf spreads from the crystal marge Of the clear stream, up tbe soft-swelling hill, Bose-bearing shrubs and stately cedars large All o'er the land the pleasant prospect fill. " Unnumbered birds their glorious colours fling Among the boughs that rustle in the breeze, As if the meadow- flowers had taken wing And settled on the green o'er-arching trees." Onco more they spread their sails and used their oars, and after Borne wandering rrashed the mainland, near, it is thought, to the Virginia Capes. Permit me to quote tbe words of General Batterfield (who gives the gist of the M 8 narrative) ; " After forty days had passed, bdcl all tbe supplies were exbansted, tbey approached a land exceedingly rocky and bigb. They found tbe bank high and steep. Streamlets descended from the summit of the island, and flowed into the sea, but they could fiad no resting place. They were troubled with hunger and thirst. Cruising about this land for three days they found an inlet capable for the passage of their ship-" They landed and recruited themselves after their long voyage. A journey into the interior of the country is recorded. After travelling for 15 dayß they reached a large river which they were unable to cross. According to the MS they were forbidden to proceed further by a noble person, who accosted tbem on the shores of what was probably tbe River Ohio. Brendan was told that "he bad gone far enough, that farther discoveries were reserved for other men, who would in one time, come and Christianize all that pleasant land." Ido not ask you to believe that tbe woras in the MBB, found in various parts of Europe, were really spoken. You must bear in mind that tbey were written 350 or 400 years after St Brendan. The story of tbe wonderful voyage was transmitted orally from mouth to mouth through the network of monasteries over Europe, with the wonderful agreement wbich ia noticeable, and doubtless wih tbe marvellous accuracy at to points of detail which characterized the Irish oral chroniclers. I ask you, however, to bear in mind that tbe words wbich a prominent American transcribed, and which I shall give yon in tbe original Latin, were written over 400 yean before the voyage of Columbus. If not really spoken tbey certainly, as General Bntterfied renarked, contain the language of prophecy :— " Ecce terra guam qusesisti per multum tempus. Ideo autem non potuisti statim earn in venire quod Deus tibi voluit ostendere diverse, sua secreta in Oceano Magno. Beverte Itaque ad terram nativitatie teas portans teoum, de fructibus istis et gemia quantum potest navicula capere. Ad propinquant enim dies peregrinationis toss ut dormias cum patribus tuis. Post multorum vero cunicula temporum declarabitur ista terra successoribas vestris quando Ohristianli advenerit persecutio paganorum. Istud vero flumen quod videtis dividit hanc ioeulam sicut modo apparet vobis maturis fractibus ita omni tempore permanet sine ulla umbra noctis. Lux enim illins est Chris' us." " Whan I read their translation," said General Batterfield, " to an Irish friend, tbe tears coursed down bis manly cheeks, and he exclaimed : ' Prophecy I prophecy I inspiration I God bleu

you, my dear General, for giving me the know'edge of the existence of such words in the 8t Brendan manuscript." Tbe following is the General's own translation of the words actually contain^d in a 10th century MS., and supposed to have been spoken to the Iri-h patriarch on the shores of the hiver Ohio :— " Behold the land which you have sought for so long a time. The reaeon you saw it not sooner w»s tbat God desired to Bhow you the secrets of the ocean. Betum, therefore, to the land of tby nativity, carrying with you of the fruits and gems all that yonr ship will carry, for the diys of your journey are near to a close and you shall sleep with your fathers. But, after the lapse of many years, this land shall be made known to your descendants when Christianity shall have overcome pagm persecution, Now, t bis river which you see divides the land ; as it now appears to you, rich in fruitp, so shall it always appear without any shadow of night, for its light is Chris." After wandering from land to land and shore to shore for, ss ven years, Brendan, longing, like every Irish exile then and since, to see once more bis native land, at length reached borne in safety. He returned to bis native K j .rry ; bat bood we find him again an apostolic wanderer.

He founded the celebrated monastery of Olonfert, which had at one time 3000 monks and students. Tbe fame of his seven years voyage brought students to his cells from many lands. They returned to Britain and Gaul and carried to their homes theaccountof anewcauntry. Thus it is that so many MSS , found abroad after the lapse of ages, recorded this wonderful tale of early Christian adventure. We cannot say that a commotion was created in Europe by the new discovery. We must remember, however, that in the 6th century there were no newspaper?, no cable message, no interviewers ia the modern sense. Students, attracted by the renown of Brendan, came to sit at his feet and learn lience tnd wisdom, and not to obtain matter for an exciting article ia a public journal. No doubt, the knowledge of the Brendanian voyage was gradually communicated to the learned men of Europe ; but koowledge flowed then in sluggish channels. Possibly, if the art of printing bad not been discovered in tbe West, and book-making made such rapid progress in the 16th century, tbe world would not have beard so much of Columbus and tbe brothers Pirzm. At any rate, we shall not wonder that tb« nations, occupied with their own troubles, took little heed of the story of St Brendan's voyage, when we remember tbat, while Erin at tbat time was advancing in sanctity and learning, Europe generally "lay prostrate beneath tbe Hun, the Vandal, and the Goth."

Quite a number of monasteries owed their existence and renown to his activity and fame. The first monastery built by him for men wai constructed at lochiquio, one of the many islands of Lough Oorrib. It has been described as a beautiful place for tbe home of a ■aiDt. A few miles away he built at Annaghdown a convent for his sister Briga, who dearly loved her brother, and came from Kerry to be near him for counsel and spiritual guidance. Tbe ruina on Inishgloria still recall to the daring man who ventures across tie rough strait in a curragh from the mainland, the heroism of the saint whom no physical obstacle could daunt in the prosecution of his works. St Brendan's great woik was the foundation of the monastery of Clonfert in 557, over which he presided for twenty years. To this great school of learning— for the monasteries were always " houses of free and religious education" — students came from ober parts of Erin, and many foreign countries. Adhelm, Abbot of Malmsberg, thonph educated by Maildoff, an Irish teacher, betrays a tinge of national jealousy wh«n he writes that the English swarmed to the Irish schools like beef, whilst ihe great echojl of Canterbury wa9 not overcrowded Cardinal Moran, truly eminent in tbe field of early Irish history, gives in one of his lectures an apposite quotation from Venerable Bede. Speaking of the seventh century, Yen. Bede says :— •' M»ny nobles and others of the English nations were living in Ireland, whitbir they bad repaired either to cultivate the sacred studies, or to lead a life of stricter discipline. Some of them became monks ; others chose rathsr to apply to reading and study, going about from school to school through tbe cells of tbe masters ; and all of them were most cheerfully received by the Irish, who supplied them gratuitously with good books and instruction." I would lik<3 Borne one to read during the session to iho Literary Society the translation by Clarence Mangan of an Irish poem, attributed to Aldfrid, king of Northumbria, who spent a considerable time in Ireland and visited its many achools, He says : — 11 I found in each great church more o'er, Whether on island or on ebore, Piety, learning ; fond affection, Holy welcome, and kind protection. '

St Brendan spent three years ia Britain, journey'ng from pltce to plice. He visited Heth or Tine, an island north west of lona. He founded churches in many places, eonae of which still bear his ntme. Thus Eilbrandon, in the island of Seil, near Obar, and Kilbrennan Sound between Aran and Eintyre show by their ntme, that he preached the govpel in the Scottish islands. We fiad him also at Ailech said to be Alytb, in Perthshire, and also visiting St Gildas in Wales. He might with truth be called "St BrendaD, the traveller,'' •■ well as "St Brendan tbe navigator." Tbe venerable prtriarch died at tbe age of 94 in the year 577, at the monastery of bis sister in

Annagh'io«»n. His memory has ever been held in the greatest rever* ence in Ireland and all the continental monasteries fcunded by Irish monk*, You will in all probability take away diff rent opinions as to thep narrative which I have given you. Eome will believe in the reality of the "seven years' voyage in the Western Seas." Others will perhaps te inclined to relegate much of what they hare heard to the realm of more than semi-romance. I want yon all to believe this, bat I have given you the story contained in a 10th century manuscript. I ask you to remember that the supposed discovery of the New World by early Irißta settlers is borne ont by the impartial authority of the Norse " Sagae." I have little doubt tbat Golumbm, who made many voyages and Btudied all the known routes for vessels and the reports of navigators before bis time, knew of tbe existence of the Brendan MSS, one of which is in the Portuguese language. Malt* Bran thinks that Columbus, when on a visit to ItalyJ heard of the exploits by sea of the Icelander?. 1 tbink he must fave heard in Rome of the well-known opinion of Virgilius of Salzburg abont tbe sphericity of tbe earth and the existeccj of Antipodes, aa well as the legend and stories of the Brendanun voyage. Before setting out Columbus insisted much on bis opinion about the rotundity of the earth. His auditors refused at first to believa that tbe earth was round. His great supporter was a Dominican mock, Diego. That opinion was advanced for the first time by Feargball or Farrell, known by his latin name, Vugilir.e, Bishop of Salzburg in the eighth century. Firm Magnussen the Daoisb historian conceives the discovery of America, partly as a continuation and consequence of the transactions and achievements of the old Scandinavians. I think we may believe with fair probability tbat Columbus was likewise influenced by the legends and stories of the seven years voyage of our sailor saint. It is said indeed that Prince Henry of Spain, years befcre Columbuß, fitted out an expedition to find the Island of Brendan, and it is recorded tbat an ancient treaty ceded from Portugal to Castile the Canary Isles and the right to Saint Brendan's land when found again. Isabella of Castile it was who proved th* great friend and benefactor of the recognise! discoverer of America.

To conclude — From what I have said you will not, 1 fanor, bave much difficulty in coming to the conclusion arrived at by General Butterfield that if St Brendan " wai not the first discoverer of America he bad caused its consequent discovery by Columbus." We can al), I am quite sure, subscribe to the wish of the fair-minded American Protestant when be saye, " may the name and fame of St Brendan never die."

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The Italian Premier delivered a very long speech in Parliament the Ist March, in explanation of his policy, especially that in connection with recent events in Sicily. People were under the impression that the S^ci.ian riots were exc.usively due to over-taxation and consequent public dissitisfactioD, but Crispi tells us tbat we are mistaken. The logs of so many lives, the numerous crimes, the serious riots, etc., are one and all to be laid at the door of tbe clergy I We are accustomed to bearing tbat this is tbe case from such men as Crispi, but must do tbe deputies justice by saying that, this time at least, Crispi'a words elicited nothing but sarcasms from them.— Catholic Timet.

It has been at length discovered that Mr Gladstone in refusing to give detui'a of bis Home Bule Bill at tbe general election was only following the advice of Lord Beacomfield. In a speech in Buckingbam as far back as 1852 tbe Tory leader said :— " I shall not for a moment trouble you wuh tbe details of any measure which we may presen*. We have been sometimes asked, 'Why don't you say what you will do?' Why, we ought not to go to the country upon detail?, but upon principle. A measure will be introduced; that is the principle. Yes or no? Tbat is the question," This should surely put an end to tbe endless Tory talk about tbe country not being con' suited at to tbe details of the Home iUlejßill.