The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1913-09-27

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'smadsr up \ De gathering. For seven
days they convened and the formal
matters Of .c4nsid Iteration were discuss
ed in the banquet hall. Elaborate
precautions to prevent quarreling
were taken. /. Anyone who struck an
other. wounded another, used insult.
ing. words s.syen, or stole anything
was liable to death. - ~"
Besides the athletic games and con.
tests in soldieriy skill and adeptness,
mention is made very early of the
game of chess in many manuscripts
and a chess board and a finely carved
set Of men was a gift At for, king or
popular post who had sung the glo-
ries OF CHIEF or his house to the sat-
isfaction Of the clan. The funeral rite
which had SO much to do with Irish
life. being the occasion, as we have
said. in the. early times Of the aenachs
and the consequent intercourse and
recreation that the fairs were the &C.
casion*of were of varied Sorts Three
modes prevailed of disposing of the
discrimination, as at present, the
body being laid to rest recumbent;
burial OF king or hero standing up
right or; astride horse fully accou-
tired and armed, defying his enemies
even In DEATH and incineration or
cremation, the body being re.
duced to ashes and the ashes placed
in an urn Of baked clay. These urns
were placed in rude stone collins
sometimes, or under huge burial cham
bers made bysgreat stone slabs super
imposed upon upright stones, the
whole called scraniechs, which remain
today scattered all over Iceland and
in which are found skeletons and bur-
ial urns containing burnt bones. Over
the graves Of many heroes great heaps
of stones called cairns were reared,
each friend, clansman or passerby fur
nishing stone to the structure.
Let me write a country's songs
and I care not who writes her laws, is
the sentiment OF a modern writer.
Some such conviction seems to have
been deep rooted in the ancient Irish,
for the poets Office was held in the
highest veneration among them and
the head bard ranked as high, II not
higher than the head brehon. though
the two Offices were often combined,
as the most ancient form of the bre-
hon law was ,yersified. The office of
bard was no sinecure. Seven years
Of severe study was the preparation
demanded for the bard. A complete
knowledge Of 'poetical form, thousands
of verses committed to memory, and
the ability to improvise on the spur
of the moment, made the bards ever
welcome to the chiefs board, where
he could entertain the chiefs guests
and hatter the family pride of his
patron at the same time. Not the
greatest herosbut thesbest song hero
Is the one the world crowns. Fonte-
noy outranks CrSmona, because a
Davis took it for the theme for one
of his most stirring poems. Balak-
lava, an insignificant engagement, out
ranks the charge of the Cuirassiers
at Waterloo because poet laureate
chanted Half asleague, half league,
half league onward Who has not
heard of Paul Revere and his mid
night ride because Longfellow sang
his deed Of daring. but who knows
Of William Dawes, who dared as much
and more, because he followed more
difficult and dangerous route, on the
18th of April In 10? &c.,.
MANY an old pagan chieftain is re-
membered today because some old
saga or bardic remains has handed
his name down to 'posterity. The
bartls were not, unmixed blessings.
however. While they could perpetu-
ate the grand deeds of valor and cast
glamour about them, even when
somewhat commonplace. they were an
irritable, touchy lot. and could satir-
tze as well as praise when the mood
was on them. They increased in num-
bers and arrogance and became a real
incubus upon the land. demanding
shelter, food and largess as a right.
not privilege. Many moves were
made to put an end to the order,
but they were never put into execu.
ton. During the Anglo-No,man inva-
sion they were prescribed by the law,
but the people sheltered them, and
they finally expired with Carolan, the
last of the bards. We might con.
slider some other institutions peculiar
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