The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1878-03-29

centuries anterior to the time Of Columbus,
and that everything Is in favor of the
correctness of st. Brendau's statement.
He lived many years after his return from
his wonderful voyage, and took pleasure
III relating his adventures to his scholars.
He founded the celebrated Abbey of CIon-
fert, in the County of Galway, in which it
is related that ;hree thousand students at
one time, from various parts of Europe,
received their education. St. Brendau
died about the year 81, and was buried in
bis own monastery of Cloufert.
To show how grea ly Columbus was in
dehted to lri>hmen for the information he
pOSS'sd on the true geography of the earth,
| should mention that there are no less
than eleven Latin manuscripts in the Bib
Hotheque Imperial, at Paris, the dates Of
which vary from the eleventh to the four
teenth century, ia proof Of this discovery,
while several moIe in French, Dutch. Ger
man, Italian, and Portuguese are to be
found on The continent. But the work
published by Professor RAIN at Ccpeuha-
gen IN lS3. is conclusive OH the subject.
The shetland and Faro | les form as it
were stepping stones to Iceland, which is
SIX hundred miles from she coast of Nor
way, aud only one hundred aud forty from
Greenland. Iceland is patt OF America
The subject of the mduueU in which
America first became inhabited is one of
absorbing interest. We know that in
1888 Japanese junk was driven on shore
in California, but what about the Pata>
gouians, or the Dingos uf Aus ralia? aud
then the West India Islands were thckly
inhabited in the time of Columbus, the
Aztccs had reached high degree of civil
Zatiou, and former race seemed to have
passed away, namely the mound builders.
One Of the most distinguished of the
Irish miss SiouarieS who preached the Gospel
III Germany, about the middle Of the eighth
century, along with St BOnifaCc, was the
learned Feargal O'Farrel, known in histo-
y as NIrgilius, Bishop Of Saltzburg. lie
arrived in France in The year 743, aud was
houOred with the friendship of Pepiu, son
Of Charles Martel, who was afterwards ele-
waited to the regal dignity being the fist
king of France. Pepin retained Virgilius
in his. palace with himself for two years,
and then recommended him 10 OtilO Duke
of Bavaria. ST. Bonface, Archbishop of
Metz, was Virgilius ecclesiastical superior
and as they differed on some points Of dis
cirliue Bonifacc had information thereof
conveyed to Pope Zachary. The chief ac-
cusation was that he, NirgiliuS, asserted
the spherici.y of the earth, the motion of
the earth round the sun, and shat there eX.
listed antpedes or people living under the
Garth with their feefFointing to ours. The
Pope was misInfSrmed, the statement be
ing ;hat lao taught that there was another
world under our earth, and different race
Of men inhabitinG it. Pope Zachary wrote
! to him in 748, and his letter is still in ex-
istcuco. demanding an explanation, which
/ lac received to his full satisfaction.
/ 1t Is interesting to know That an Irish
monk should be the first to entertain a
I true notion Of the existence Of antipodes,
/ Of the spEeiicify of the earth, and of the
, motion of The planets, and of the earth
round The sun. These are the principle,
afterward taught by COpernicus, another
} Catholic priest, about 1850, for which he
was prosecuted by the philosophers of hi
day, as was Calico by the scientists auC
philosophers of the school of Aristotl,
Ptolemy; but tho Popes in each of thes,