The Irish standard., 1895-06-22
scholars met to discuss national affairs. Z !.
land Lady Aberdeen quotes IA "a vivid de-

4
scription Of one Of these assemblies,
showing how they gaYe oppor tunity for
the civilization Of poetry, music and
dancing, and served also as a literary
stimulus. Continuing, she said :t isssf
It must be remembered that the bards
who are SO prominent in these assemblies
were recognized as being practically the
sehoolmasters and historians Of the ma
| ton, as we'll as Its poets. They could
only attain the dignity of their position
| by years Of hard study, and there were
seven different degrees amongst them,
| each Of which had to be reached by
means corresponding to the modern ex-
animation. TO know by the highest
! it was necessary to know by heart seven
times fifty stories. They travelled about
the country from north TO south, follow
ed by their pupils, and everywhere they
were received with honor and suitably
| entertained, whilst in return they would
sing or relate the stories Of love and he-i
| roism which were so dear to the hearts
I of their hearers, the reciting Of which In
all parts of the country made the differ,
ent tribes to know about one another, to
| value one another's powers and In some
degree to realize the whole nation. The
fact that there was so much love for
| literature prevailing in the land, that
there were a considerable number Of
these bards in the country travelling
about, that they met from time to time
! to compete with one another and to con-
fer as to the correctness of the tales,
many Of which they mutually told, and
| the love Of literature that prevailed in
the land, all tend to make US believe that
the chronicles which We're thus handed
down from mouth to mouth, and finally
| gathered together and written down.
contains much that is true, and repre-
| sents in a very real way the life and
character of the early Irish.
The historian class Of poet sat In the
courts with the judges to quote historical
precedent and customs, and of the en-
! lightened character of those laws we can
have two great proofs.
| One is the position which they gave to.
women, which is always a certain sign of
the position OF the nation. This is shown
| both in their marriage and their proper
| ty laws, by which very full privileges
are maintained for them in the way Of
enjoying their individual property. If
a wife, too, were made a subject Of ridi-
crle by her husband, or if she were not
given her full rights in social and do
mestic matters she could separate from
| her husband. taking her own property
| and her husbands bridal gift with her.
| Every woman must have her free will,
is an axiom laid down as a principle.
Woman's names are found amongst
those of the judges, and even of the war
riors, aud we are told of various learned
women or Druidesses. When the FL
anna or Irish militia of the third cen
tury were established by the great King
! Cormac there were various conditions
necessary to be observed by candidates
! desiring to join it, showing intellectual
gift as we'll as military skill but the
| two first injunctions which were laid
upon every soldier were: .(Ds Neyergte
seek a portion with a wife, but to choose
her for good manners and virtue; (2)
Never to offer violence to a woman.
| is it much wonder, then, that Moore
should immortalize the reverence in
which the sons of Ireland have always
held their women from the earliest times
in those lines we all know SO well, be-
ginning, t'Rich. and rare were the gems
! she wOre?"
But the second proof Of the high char
acter of those Breton laws in which SO
many resemb blances to the commDn law
of England have beer found lies In the
! fact that St. Patrick, when called upon
\ to revise them in view of the conversion
of Ireland to Christianity, found but
comparatively little to altar Or to add.
| Did he and his two episcopal assistants
seek to supersede them by the Roman
laws? No; we are told that they de-
clared that the ancient Irish code con-
tanned ''the judgments of true nature
which the Holy Spirit had spoken
! through the mouths Of the Bretons and
| first poets Of the men Of Erin and that
'tthe law of nature had been quite right.
Consequently they only amended 1t so
| that it should not clash with the Word
Of God, and should take cognizance OF the
obligations OF the faith and the harmony
Of the church and people.
! After dealing at some length with the
character Of St. Patrick and his govern
| nient, which was built upon his intuitive
] discovery that there has ever been one
/ way to the Irish heart, and that is by
sympathy"-a discovery, by the way,
| which the countess put to the test during
the vice-regal stay at Dublin Of his ex-
cellency-the countess turned to the sub D.
4 lject of the evening in these words: The
fattractive personality of st. Patrick must
/ not make us forget that our chief con-
! Germ tonight is Irish literature and SO we
must consider him from the point OF
| view OF what ne did in regard to that,
and we can easily see that the attitude
/ which he took up Of identifying himself
with his converts and their laws. by
speaking and writing and preaching in
I their language, and by his enthusiastic
| support of their poets and their lore,
must have done a great deal towards
preserving all the stores Of Gaelic litera-
1 Iure now at our disposal scattered In va
4 rious academies and museums and mon
4 asteries. T 1t is related that he feared
! giving over-nauch time to the wonderful
histories Of the country he loved and he
consulted his guardian angels. Their
Iapprovtng answer was given, aud they
i bade him have the remnant of the. sto-
Tries inscribed so that they might be on
record for the mobiles OF Erin ID future
slAtime, 1t must not either be forgotten
4 THAT his own autobiography is the first
4 work of the kind In Irish. and it is touch
i ing to note how this great man, at the
i end of his grand life, begins by apologiz-
4 Ing for any errors Of style which it may
y contain, and says he bushes for his want
Il of gkill4to render in clear and consctse
q words what my spirit conceives.
4 Lady Aberdeen read here as an illus Illus
u tration Of the spirit Of the confession 2
p,em by Aubrey DsYere. ntinuing she
], touched lightly the centuries following
n ST. Patrick 81 death and their influence iIl
II fh.. Il 7esrpYnnn1nrt of S Irish n literature.