The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-05-15

Spanish account describes the MANY
common drinks. whey. hutternilk. milk,
broth. mead, wine and spring water.
They dressed their dishes with spices
OF the East. and drank the wines OF
Franco. Spain and the Levant. They
preferred soft cushions of dried grass
and haSsocks of straw, for their ease,
I" hard wooden seats; but they sat OH
benches. in order of dignity, at their
meals. Their manners were courteous.
Although they are devoid of all po-
lite training" wrote q. perplexed Span
lard. "thcy nevertheless treat each
other with such kindness and urbanity
that during six months I did not see
even the soldiers come once to blows.
This spirit OF concord seems to extend
to the horses and dogs. Wherefore I
am disposed to refer it all to the mild
ness Of the climate and temperature"
Their women were hospitable. gracious.
independent in property, and able "a :
take privileged place in public af-
fairs.
Ir VIC now turn to the intellectual
side we find chiefs, merchants, and an
educated class speaking Latin as their
second tongue. Many Of them culti-
waited literature. and chiefs were as
famed for learning as for war. The
fashionable books Of the Continent
were rapidly translated into Irish. the
same books AS We're read in Germany,
France or England. European law and
medicine were known to Irish students.
Tho bardic schools produced most ex-
cellent Latin scholars and translators,
worthy of emulation even now, and to
these were added municipal schools
under teachers highly trained in Eng
land or abroad. The cultured class
must have been very considerable, to
judge by the number of scholars who
were Of repute across the sea. We
never open any Athenaeum review Of
an Irish book without finding rhap-
sody on the horrible cruelty of the Irisi
to the Spaniards Of the Armada, and
the gruesomc light which this throws
on the cl,aract of tho savage Irish
and Of their corrupted Church-a re-
current idea which never fails to ap-
pear.
We are asked how anyone can sup
pose civilization possible to the abor-
iginal Irish. when the natives thought
only of robbing and numbering tho
Spaniards and the Church did not stop
them. Is 1t not time the writer should
with a full Quellen-critik analyzing
the evidence for his theory, and let
ting us know In full the authorities for
a favorable accusation OH which hs
lays so great a stress? ! have gone
as carefully as could into the reports
given in the state papers. and Cuel-
lars account and I find no support for
the theory Of the indiscriminate mas
sacre of the Spaniards BY the Irish:
while [ find what seems to be convince
ing proof of the contrary. The story
of a. scandal manufactured in the six
teenth century to make a perpetual
separation between the Spaniards and
Irish, and continued in the twentieth
century to make bad blood between the
English and Irish, is very informing.
1t is to be hoped that the professors
of the massacre theory will no longer
suppress their full theory, but will let
us have all the facts set out.
Another frequent accusation is that 4
the Irish chiefs were brought over by
grants Of monastic lands to forsake
their people and turn English support
ers. Given the fixed belief in Irish or
ignal sin, this mere assertion of course
carries it's own conviction with it. In
the course of my reading I have jot-
ted down any grants I happened to
come across in the state papers. One
or two requests were made by the
/! Desmonds to have special ancient hF-