and even those of the countless generations yet to come. Which shall a near posterity most wonder at-the au dacity of the impostor, or the blindness of the dupe?-the immensity of the worship, or the pettiness of the idol? "Such is the world. Understand it, despise it, love it; cheerfully hold on thy way through it with thy eyes on higher loadstars.'

EUGENE O'CURRY.

(1796-1862.)

EUGENE O'CURRY, the great native scholar who, as Mr. Douglas Hyde says, "possessed a unique and unrivaled knowledge of Irish literature in all its forms," was born in Dunaha, County Clare, in the year 1796. His father was thoroughly acquainted with the Irish language, and had a wonderful knowledge of the traditions and antiquities of his country. He possessed, besides, a number of Irish manuscripts. He taught his son Eugene the Irish language, and stored his young mind with the legends and stories of his native country.

On account of this accomplishment, and through an accidental acquaintance with George Smith, the enterprising publisher of 'The Annals of the Four Masters,' he was chosen in 1834, in conjunction with O'Donovan, and under the direction of Dr. George Petrie, to make extracts from Irish manuscripts. His labors were unremitting, and when Government in a fit of economy put a stop to the work, over four hundred quarto volumes had been collected, relating to laws, language, customs, antiquities, etc., of ancient Ireland, a considerable portion of the research and transcription having been accomplished by O'Curry. (See the account of the life and labors of O'Donovan later on in this library.) While thus engaged, he was one day visited by the poet Moore, in connection with which visit is told an anecdote that points its own moral. "The first volume of Moore's 'History,' "writes O'Curry, 66 was published in the year 1835, and in the year 1839, during one of his visits to the land of his birth, he, in company with his old and attached friend, Dr. Petrie, favored me with quite an unexpected visit at the Royal Irish Academy, then in Grafton Street. I was at that time employed on the Ordnance Survey of Ireland, and at the time of his visit happened to have before me on my desk the 'Books of Ballymote' and Lecain,' and 'Leabhar Breac,' 'The Annals of the Four Masters,' and many other ancient books for historical research and reference.

"I had never before seen Moore, and, after a brief introduction and explanation of the nature of my occupation by Dr. Petrie, and seeing the formidable array of so many dark and time-worn volumes by which I was surrounded, he looked a little disconcerted, but after a while plucked up courage to open the 'Book of Ballymote' and ask what it was. Dr. Petrie and myself then entered into a short explanation of the history and character of the books then present, as well as of ancient Gaedhlic documents in general. Moore listened with great attention, alternately scanning the books and myself, and then asked me, in a serious tone, if I understood them, and how I had learned to do so. Having satisfied him upon these points, he turned to Dr. Petrie and said: 'Petrie, these huge tomes could not have been written by fools or for any foolish purpose. I never

knew anything about them before, and I had no right to have undertaken the History of Ireland.'"

We next find O'Curry in the Royal Irish Academy, copying various Irish manuscripts and making catalogues in company with Dr. Todd, for use by the Irish Archeological Society. The Irish manuscripts in the British Museum were also placed in order and catalogued by him. He was appointed professor of Irish history and archeology to the Catholic University on the establishment of that institution. In his later days he transcribed and translated the Irish laws, in conjunction with his learned colleague O'Donovan, for the Brehon Law Commissioners, for which it seems he received a very poor remuneration.

His Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History' was published in 1861. It gave an account of the lost books of the earlier period of Irish history, namely, 'The Yellow Book of Slane,' 'The Psalters of Tara and Cashel,' 'The Books of Cluainmic-Nois,''The Speckled Book of St. Buithe's Monastery,' 'The Book of Clonfert,'The Black Book of St. Molaga.' Although this work contained perhaps profounder knowledge and deeper research in Irish literature than any up to that time published, O'Curry says of it, in his simple, modest way: "I may claim for it at least the poor merit of being the first effort ever made to bring within the view of the student of Irish history and archeology an honest, if not a complete, analysis of all the materials of that yet unwritten story, which lies accessible, indeed, in our native language, but the great body of which the flesh and blood of all the true history of Ireland-remains to this day unexamined and unknown to the world."

·

He also translated the oldest part of the Annals of the Four Masters.' He continued laboring energetically both as a lecturer and as a writer, almost until his death, which took place in Dublin, July 30, 1862. Dr. W. K. Sullivan published in 1873 three volumes of his scattered writings under the title 'Lectures on the Social Life, Manners, and Civilization of the People of Ancient Erinn.'

DESCRIPTION OF THE SEA.

From The Battle of Magh Leana.'

The dark, impetuous, proud, ardent waters, became as white-streaked, fierce-rolling, languid-fatigued Leibhionna1 upon which to cast the white-flanked, slippery-thick, straight-swimming salmon, among the dark-prowling, foamy-tracked herds (of sea monsters) from off the brown oars; and upon that fleet sweeping with sharp rapidity, from the sides and borders of the territories, and from the shelter of the lands; and from the calm quiet of the shores, 1 Leibhionna. The word Leibheann is found to mean a stage, platform, or deck in all ancient Irish manuscripts.

they could see nothing of the globe on their border near them, but the high, proud, tempestuous waves of the abyss, and the rough, roaring shore, shaking and quivering; and the very quick, swift, motion of the great wind coming upon them; and long, swelling, gross-springing, great billows, rising from the swelling sides of the (sea) valleys; and the savage, dangerous shower-crested sea, maintaining its strength against the rapid course of the vessel over the expanse, till at last it became exhausted, subdued, dripping and misty, from the conflict of the waves and the fierce winds. The laboring crews derived increased spirits from the bounding of the swift ships over the wide expanse, and the wind happening to come from the rere, directly fair for the brave men, they arose manfully and vigorously, with their work, and lashed the tough new masts to the brown, smooth, ample, commodious bulwarks, without weakness, without spraining; without stitching, without overstraining.

These ardent, expert crews put their hands to the long linens (sails) without shrinking, without mistake, from Eibil to Acht-uaim; and the swift-going, long, capacious, ships passed from the hand-force of the warriors and over the deep, wet, murmuring pools of the sea, and past the winding, bending, fierce-showery points of the harbors, and over the high-torrented, ever-great mountains of the brine; and over the heavy listless walls of the great waves; and past the dark, misty-dripping hollows of the shores; and past the saucy, thick-flanked, speeding white-crested currents of the streams, and over the spring-tide, contentious, furious, wet, overwhelming torrents of the cold Until the sea became rocking, like a soft, fragrant, proud-bearing plain, swelling and heaving to the force of the anger and fury of the cold winds; the upper elements quickly perceived the anger and fury of the sea growing and increasing. Woe, indeed, was it to have stood between these two powers, the sea and the great wind, when mutually attacking each other, and contending at the sides of strong ships and stout-built vessels and beautiful Scuds; so that the sea was as showery-tempestuous, growl

ocean.

1 Eibil. The Editor has never before met this word; but from its being placed in opposition to Acht-uaim (properly Ucht-fhuaim), which means the breast or front of the sails, it must signify clew.

ing, wet, fierce, loud, clamorcus, dangerous, stages after them, whilst the excitement of the murmuring, dark-deeded wind continued on the face and on the sluices of the ocean from its bottom to its surface.

And tremulous, listless, long-disjointing, quick-shattering, ship-breaking was the effect of the disturbance, and treacherous the shivering of the winds and the rolling billows upon the swift barks; for the tempest did not leave them a plank unshaken; nor a hatch unstarted, nor a rope unsnapped, nor a nail unstrained, nor a bulwark unendangered, nor a bed unshattered; nor a lifting1 uncast down; nor a mast unshivered; nor a yard untwisted; nor a sail untorn; nor a warrior unhurt; nor a soldier unterrified; excepting the ardor and sailorship of the brave men who attended so the attacks and howlings of the fierce wind. However, now, when the wind had exhausted its valor, and had not received reverence nor honor from the sea, it went forward stupid and crest-fallen, to the uppermost regions of its residence; and the sea was fatigued from its roaring and drunken murmuring, and the wild billows ceased their motions; so that spirit returned to the nobles, and strength to the hosts, and activity to the warriors, and perception to the champions.

DRUIDS AND DRUIDISM.

From Manners and Customs of Ancient Erinn.'

All that I have set down here is taken directly from our most ancient manuscripts, or those compiled from them; and they show clearly as the historical tradition of the country that each of the older colonies in Ireland was accompanied by its Druids; so that the suggestion of modern British writers that Druidism came first from Britain, or from Anglesey, into Erinn, is totally un founded. I now proceed to select from the long list of Druidic references found in our old books, such as may

1 Lifting. "Lifting, the higher part of the stem of a vessel, marked by the seat of the king or admiral, whence commands and orders were given to the rest of the fleet."-Veralius notæ in Historiam Gothrici et Rolfi, p. 94. Upsal. 1664.