The Irish standard., 1893-12-09

SATU URDAY, DECEM
the Deluge, 90 will Brendan raise up his
monks and his people above the fires Of
Judgment, 60 that, through the power
and ruepiety Of Brendan, son Of Full
ugh, neither smoke, nor mists, nor sparks,
should touch them"
This quotation will give some idea Of
the Irish Life" It is curious to read
further on that Bishop Ere had not a
Emilchcow. for he received but moderate
aims offerings from the faithful. ''On 9
certain day, therefore continues the
narrative, ''he wanted milk for his foster.
child [St. Brendan) and he said; God
is able to provide , my eon.' After this
q wild COW ceme every day with its calf
from Slieveluachr, t, be MIXED by him,
and returned alone to the mountains,
after being MIXED" We read again that
Brendan, to save young man from his
enemies, changed him into stone which
was on the roadside, and the stone into a
man. "Then his enemies came to the
pillar stone, and they cut off it's head in
shape of his, and they wounded the pill
lar stone in the side, and leave the stone
beheaded, and carry the head with them
in the sh pc of the head of the enemy"
In his notes to the "Irish Lite" Father
O'Donoghue describes a stone in the
townland of Lerrig, with illegible Ogham
characters, which, at short distance,
has the appearance Of the mutilated
trunk of human figure This "Irish
Life" also describes how Brendan went
|up unto Brandon Hill, and how, after
having been told by an angel that he
would see the "Land of Promise" {" he
came back to his monks and told them
to construct ''three large vessels, having
three banks Of oars each, and three sails
Of hides, and twenty men in each vessel" "
"Then,' saith the history, ''Brendan, son
of Fuilugh, sailed over the loud voiced
waves of the rough crested sea, and over
the abysses of the wonderful, terrible,
relentless ocean, where they saw in it's
| depths the red mouthed monsters of the
sea, ard many great sea-whales. And
they found therein beautiful, marvellous
1 islands, wherein tLey tarried not.' So for
five years, during which mo man chanced
to meet them, and not one of all the
crews suffered any want" though {: :Bren-
dan had not allowed them to bring eny
provisions with them" Father O'Don-
oghue's~ notes on this "Irish Life" are
very full and learned, and show great in
dustry and great research.
During these five years wanderlngs on
the ocean the boats used by St. Brendan
and his companions we're mere currachs,
covered with hides. When the saint re-
turned he visited his ster-mother St
TIA, who told him that he could not find
the "Land of Promise in such vessels,
cut in craft made Of wood. "Thereupon
st. Brendan proceeded to Connaught,
where large and commodious ship was
built, and provided with the needful
equipment for voyage. Then he en-
barked, having crew of sixty men,
among whom were the shipwright and
the smith who had worked at the con
struction of the ship" According to the
Latin account OF the voyage, however, OF
which Father O'Donoghue's translation
is the first of it's kind that has been pub.
lished, the crew consisted only of four
teen monks, more likely number. This
Latin story is more consecutive and
more circumstantial than the Irish one.
It was the most popular version of the
voyage during the middle ages, "as the
story ITSELF" to quote the author again,
twas certainly the most popular of all
the medieval legends of which we have
any account" there being scarcely a
public library in Europe which does not
contain some MS. copies IT it. Had we
space, we should be very glad to give a
short account of it's remarkable story,
with it's curious tale of the whale which
used TO come and serve as an island on
which the Saint could, at sacred seasons,
celebrate the Mass. Unfortunately our
space is limited, and we can only say
that more interesting reading for anyone
who cares for Irish legend could hardly
be imagined. Whether st. Brendan ever
landed. on the American continent it is
impossible to say, and the problem is
likely to remain uneolved forever. The
Latin Life ends with q description Of
the landing e country extensive and
thickly set with trees, laden with fruits,
/ ms IN the autumn season, and with q
large river flowing towards the middle Of
the land, which they could not By any
means cross over Reading Father
Donoghue's chapter on = Vestiges Of Pre-
historic Irish Settlements and Missions
lin North America before the tenth cen
y