The Irish standard., 1892-12-24
gan; the thirty life OF st. Co
extant at Louvain in 1745; but in the

Thomas O'Sherrin endeavored to exploit
some Of the collections. and published il
Louvain among: other works a life o.
Father Ward, and Fleming's COLLECTION
OF the Arts Of Columbanus. O'Shelrir
died IN 1873, and enthusiasm in the cause
OF collecting Irish MSS seems to have
grown cold. Anyway 10 successful at
tempt was made to publish the materials
in the hands Of the Irish Franciscans al
Louyain. Eventually all the manu-.
scripts and records Of the Franclscane
were transferred partly to the library Of
the Duke OF Burgundy at Brussels and
partly to the College OF st. Isidore at
Rome From Rome and Brussels the
MSS and publications made their way
to Dublin about twenty years ago; sc
that some precious treasures are now
locked up in the archives of the Francis
cans at Merchants quay. There are
thirty-n volumes, all told, and these
are cared most ecrupulously. However
ignorant one may be of the language in
which they are written, however, little
one may know of the spidery characters
scattered over the vellum growing dark
with age, one cannot turn over the pages
without feeling of real pleasure. What
a thrill of JOY the scholar who loves bis
Homer would feel if he could only lay
his hand upon manuscript known to
be written by the blind old bard of
Sclo' s rocky isle!> IF you walk into the
apartment Of the British Museum in
which the MSS of great men are kept
you will 6nd eager watchers peering at
them--peering at the clumsy scrawl
traced by the hand of their favorite poet
or novelist-and reluctant to go away
from the glass-case in which the treasure
is securely locked up. 1t would be diff
cult to define this strange feeling ;but, af-
ter all, it is not 81, hard to account for it.
You experience similar feeling in the
library at the franciscan Convent The
MSS are locked UP in sfireproof safe.
The first Of them is very valuable vol
Fume "a book off hymns Iiber FL ymnorun
partly in Latin and partly in Irish. It
consists of twenty four leaves ornamen-
tai and colored initial letters. The Sec
ond is fragment of ancient Latin psal-
;er in the Irish character, on vellum; an
imperfect copy of the psalm beginning,
s.beati immaculate via" This Ms is as
cribed to st, Camin. The third volume
consists of ten leaves Of the Book of
Leinster, containing an imperfect copy
of the Martyrology of Tallaght. in irish
vellum. The fourth is the Dialogue of
Sages,'' in Irish, and the fifth the life Of
Christ, in irish. endorsed "Vita Christi.
The sixth is narrative in Irish of the
battle of Maghlana; and the seventh-a
most valuable work-"Irish Martyrology,
or Calendar of the Saints" by Cathal
Mcguire. Glider copies, ,of this MS are
preserved in the Royal Irish Academy
and Bodleian. The eighth volume is
bound in peculiar leather cover; it is a
life of Columbia in Irish, by Manus
O'Donel. The ninth volume contains a
history of Charlemagne and lives of st.
Moling and 'Brecan, in Irish; and the
tenth, eleventh and twelfth-unbound
MS on vellum- contain the story Of
Troy, also in Irish. The thirteenth is
the original Bull Of Pope Paul V. for the
foundation Of the Irish Franciscan Col
lege at Louvain. The fourteenth is the
consent of Albert and Isabella to the
establishment Of the College at Louvain; /;
and the fifteenth some documents of the
Bishop Df Mechlin. The sixteenth con-
tains the names Of persons received at
the Irish franciscan College, Louvain,
from 1907 to 1917, and Of the parts of
Ireland from which they had come. The
seventeenth nfa list Of Friars from Ire
land. The eighteenth is q copy OF the
first volume of the Annals ofthe Four
Masters, and the nineteenth and TWEEN
tieth two separate copies IN Irisk Of
Keating's Hisfpry Of Ireland, one dated
1885, the othsr 1872 TIE tventy-frst
volume contains the Genealogy Of the
Kings and Saints of Ireland, IN Irish. by
Michael O'Cery. Volume % 4is Arch
bishop Fleming 8 appreciation Of Michael
O'Clery's works, and volume q is 9 Lett
ter from Stephen White to Father Col
gan on his labors in connection with
Irish hagiography. The twenty fourth
contains papers for funds to promote
Father Colgan's works, the twenty-ifth
is letter from Colgan to Commissary
Maners dated 1852; the twenty sixth
Cormac's Glossary Of Irish, with the au-
tograph Of O'Clerys; the twenty seventh
q history Of Ancient Empires; the twen-
ty-eightl, life Of our Saviour; thetwen-
y ninth, Dialogue Of Sages; the thir-
tieth, the Battle Of Inagh Macruimne
and the death Of Onchu ullain; the thirty
6rst, pedigree Of O'Doynee, BY u Re-
E;5Es f.s., ta,,maiK II IN Kjrhth Page