m ■Anl "^j^fi^jfasyij^aTj 1 "Tl ^^u^^^^^l 1 i |_J ^^1 liRARY^/r .^ ^lllBRAfiYQA^ ^^ ^g ^^liBRARYQ;^ ^(JOJUVDJO"^ ^OF^CAIIFO% "^OJITVOJO^ ^iOPCAllFO/?^ pe _ _, 00 jji\rt)}ifvEi?% l^^lOS^ANCElfjiv JJrtEUNIVER% ^v^OSANCElfj-^ ' %avjiain'^ %avaan-^^ L1F0NT ABBEY, of saints and scholars ; and at one time, the admiration of our land, as a gem of rare architectural beauty. Before going back to the shadowy past, let us endea- Tour to trace amongst its ruins the outlines of the ancient buildings, and to explain the special use and meaning of each in the monastic economy, when white-robed monks trod its cloisters, and knelt and prayed before the altars in its church. Each of the Cistercian churches and monasteries was built upon a uniform plan, with some slight modifications, arising perhaps in all instances from peculiarities of site and local difficulties. Around the whole pile of monastic buildings, and girdling an area of some thirt}' acres or more, comprising gardens, orchards, meadows, ran a high wall, called the "Enclosure Wall," which served to isolate the denizens of the cloister, and prevent as far as possible all ingress of the world. En- trance within the precincts of the monastery was obtained through a spacious and lofty gate-house occupied by a trusty Lay-Brother, whose duty it was to receive visitors, and dispense hospitality to the poor and the way-farer ; thus he formed a connecting link between his brethren within and the world without, from which they were cut ofif. Extending on either side of this gate-house, or " Porter's Lodge," as it was known in monastic language, was a range of buildings for the exclusive use of strangers of every grade. There were the Hospice proper, an infirmary for the sick poor, with stabling also, in the immediate vicinity, for the horses of travellers : — " Whoever passed, be it barou or squire, Was free to call at the abbey and stay ; No guerdon or gift for bis lodging pay, Tuough he tarried a week with its holy choir." The old tower which is passed as one approaches the ruins of Mellifont, was the "Porter's Lodge," and right MELLIFONT ABBEY. S under it ran the avenue which led to the abbey, but which was converted into a mill-race when Mellifout had reached its last stage of degradation. The present road- way was constructed in order to give access to the mill. The remains of old walls can still be traced stretching on both sides of the tower, and prove its ancient purpose in connection with Cistercian usage, as described above. Some gate-houses of Continental monasteries, which have till now subsisted intact from the eleventh or twelfth century, bear a striking resemblance to this one at Mellifont. That of Aiguebelle, in particular, near Grignan, in the Department of Drome, France, most closely resembles it. There can be no doubt that a pile of buildings once occupied and enclosed the whole space from the old gate- way to the church, forming a rectangle, of which the church was the fourth side. The precise purposes these buildings served at Mellifont can now be only conjectured; for, in different monasteries, local wants determined in a great measure the allocation of this site to uses which varied with the circumstances of each community. That is not, however, to be understood of what are called the " Regular Places ;". for these were held to be indispensable, and occupied almost the same position in every monastery. The intervening space here between the gate-house and the church is now covered over with the debris of ancient buildings, which local tradition says once occupied the side of the hill on which, and about where, a few modern cottages now stand. Approaching nearer to the ruins, a modern mill obtrudes itself upon the scene, and one cannot help wishing it transported beyond the plane of his observation.* * The " Tourist Company " have recently fitted up a compartment of the old mill, where a cheap and substantial lunch can be had by visitors who may desire it. 4 MKLLIFOiNT ABBEY. Arrived at what is now the entrance gate, the visitor beholds in front of hiin the four remaining sides of what was once an octagonal building, and somewhat nearer on his left, a small roofless edifice. These are commonly, but erroneously, called the " Baptistery " and " St. Bernard's Chapel." Their true purposes shall be explained further on. Immediately at his feet now, extend the sites of the church, and of the once magnificent cloisters. Of these latter not a trace remains, except a mere outline on the green sward, and a few squares of concrete to indicate the position once occupied by them. The plan of the church extends to right and left : the western portion of the nave running towards the river (see Plan), and the entire length is dotted at intervals with blocks which mark the sites of the piers. These concrete blocks were laid by order of Sir Thomas Deane, under whose direction the excavations were made here some few years ago. The length of the nave cannot now be ascertained with certainty, but judging from the position occupied by some very old w^alls at the south-western side, it may be roughly stated to have been 120 feet ; while 54 feet 6 inches was the width of the whole church, including the aisles. These latter were each 10 feet wide. The nave had seven bays, and like all Cistercian churches, it was divided into two parts by the Rood-loft and Choir- screen, which stood about midway. This Rood-loft served a twofold purpose ; on it was a lectern, where the Lessons of the night-offices were read by the monks in rotation, and thereon the Abbot announced the Gospel proper to each festival, chanting or reading it, according as the office was sung or merely recited, after which, with crosier in hand, he gave his solemn benediction. It answered, too, as a partition between the choir of the monks and the stalls of the Lay Brethren ; the former on i Entrance. 11. Former Novitiate. Abbot's House. 12. Cloisters. Guest House. 13. Stairs to Dormitory. Stablea. Churcb. 14. Calefacl-ory. I.'5. Refectory. IB. Kitchen. Cull for Books (Common Box). 17. Lavabo (Octagon). The amplcr^o Dormitory. 18. Cemetery. 19. St. Bernard's Cell. Piirloiir, 20. The Prior's Chambers. 23. Lesser CloUter. 34. Hall for Thesea. 2.5. Theological Sciiool. 26. Intirmary. 27. Common Room of the Infiri 6 MELLIFONT AHBKY. the eastern, the latter on the western side of it. This Choir-screen formed a sort of reredos to the two altars, which were invariably found in this position in the churches of the Order. On these altars were offered up daily Masses for living and deceased benefactors — a practice which continues in the Order and which dates back to the foundation of the Cistercian Institute. Further west was a tribune or gallery, where guests and the dependants of the monastery assisted at Divine Service, Office and Mass. Inside the Rood-loft, was the Choir proper, which extended thence to the Chancel, or " Presbytery Step," as it is called in monastic parlance. A small space was provided between the Choir and the Chancel, in order to allow a passage to those who pro- ceeded from the Sacristy to the High Altar within the Chancel. Two rows of stalls ran down on each side the length of the nave. These stalls were generally of carved oak, and were artistically tinished. The outer rows were for the novices, and the backs of their stalls formed the desks used by the professed monks, whereon they rested the ponderous tomes containing the sacred psalmody. During the High Mass the stalls next the Chancel were used, and the place of honour, that is, the first stall on the Epistle, or south side, was given to the Abbot. The Prior, as second superior, occupied the first on the opposite, or Gospel side. The other monks according to seniority occupied the stalls on either side. On the other hand, at Matins and at all the offices, except that in connection with High Mass, the Abbot's and Prior's stalls were farthest from the Chancel, and next the Rood- loft, and the order of the monks was reversed. In token of his jurisdiction the Abbot's crosier was fixed at his stall. The Cistercian monks call this Rood-loft the ''Jube" from the first word spoken by the reader when MELLIFONT ABBEY. 7 he asks the blessing before commencing the Lessons. The whole nave here at Mellifont seems to have been paved with beautiful tiles ; a few of which may yet be seen in their position near the great pier on the north side. At the intersection of the transept with the nave, is the space called the " Crossing," or " Lantern." Over this rose the bell-tower, which was supported on solid piers, from two of which sprang the Chancel arch, and from the two others, that of the nave. These piers were formed of clustered columns, but their remains (about live feet high), vary both in dimensions and in style, manifesting, thereby, the partial renovation that took place from time to time. The material of which the whole building was constructed is a butf-coloured sand- stone not found in the vicinity of Mellifont, but brought, it is said, from Kells, some twenty miles away ; a thing not very difficult, seeing that the river is so convenient. Some, again, are of opinion that the stone was brought from Normandy ; which seems to be improbable. The total length of the transepts is 116 feet; the width 54 feet. The northern one is some four feet longer than the southern. They seem to have had aisles, an unusual arrangement in churches of the Order. In the northern transept were six chapels, the piscinas of which are still to be seen in the piers adjoining. The number of these piscinas cannot fail to strike one as something very singular. Their presence is accounted for in this way. At the date of the foundation of Mellifont and for centuries later, it was the custom for priests of the Order to wash their hands at the foot of the altar before com- mencing Mass, the server pouring water on his hands, which he dried with a towel that had been previously laid on the altar. The water used was then cast into the piscina. It was also the custom with them, at that time. S MELLIFONT ABBEY. to descend from the altar when they had consumed the Sacred Species out of the chalice and to wash their fingers over the piscina. This northern transept seems to have been a favourite spot for interments; for during the excavations numerous skulls were found there. At Clairvaux, the corresponding site was strewn with the graves of bishops, who selected it as the place wherein to rest after life's weary struggle. No record or memorial of these survives, or of any of the dead interred at Mellifont, to point out the occupant of a single grave. In the northern wall of this transept is a beautiful door-way with jambs of clustered columns. Hard by, the wall was pierced to make a loop-hole when Mellifont was transformed into a fortress. On one side of the door- way are the remains of what must once have been a superb chapel ; on the opposite side are a few steps of a spiral stair-case, formed in the thickness of the wall, which led up to the tower, as is to be seen at Graignamanagh, Co. Kilkenny, and other houses of the order in Ireland. The level of the floor here is some five or six feet lower than the adjacent road-way which was raised by the accumulated rubbish of former buildings that extended along the hill-side where the cottages now stand. The southern transept may have had its six altars also. The aisle seems to have been built up, and when the alterations which took place in the whole fabric in the fifteenth century were made, a large portion of this transept would appear to have been allocated to the uses of a sacristy. No trace of a sacristy remains elsewhere, and this would be a very convenient place to utilise as one. The remains of some walls lead us to suppose such an arrangement probable. In Cistercian monasteries, a stair-case in this transept near the cloister led thence to the dormitory, but no remains of such a stairs have been MELLIFONT ABBEY. 9 discovered at Mellifont. When Sir Thomas Deane had the earth and rubbish, or, as he calls it, the " grassy mound," removed, he discovered the foundations of two semi-circular chapels in each transept, in a line with the site occupied by the High, or principal Altar. (See the dotted lines in the Ground Plan). Describing them, Sir Thomas writes : " Within the circuit of the external walls are the foundations of an earlier church which indicate four semicircular chapels, and two square ones between. Of this church we have no distinct record, but the bases of semi-detached pillars would indicate the date given for the erection of Mellifont." These four semi-circular chapels in line with the High Altar, formed an exact counterpart of the church of Clairvaux which was erected in 1135, and which by St. Bernard's express wish, served St. Malachy as the model for Mellifont. The chancel terminated in a square end, and was 42 feet deep by 26 feet wide. It was raised about six inches over the floor of the nave, and a slab of limestone extended the entire width with which the tiled pavement was flush. Almost in the centre of the chancel, that is to say, nearly midway between the two piers, are two sockets sunk in sandstone blocks. What uses they served cannot be affirmed wath certainty. However, it may be conjectured that they served to receive the supports on which a violet curtain was suspended during Lent, screen- ing the " Sanctuary." This curtain spanned the space from pier to pier. The custom is still preserved in the Order. Here on this central spot, a lectern was placed, at which the sub-deacon at Solemn Masses sang the Epistle. Here, too, the celebrant of the Community Mass on Sundays blessed the water with which he sprinkled the brethren, who presented themselves two by two before him. It was here, also, that the Abbot blessed the 10 MELLIFOIST ABliEY. candles, ashes, and palms, on Candlemas-day, Ash "Wednes- day, and Palm Sunday respectively. This was called the " Presbytery Step," and the whole space within the chancel, the " Sanctuary." The basis on which the High Altar was built still remains. It is distant some few feet from the eastern wall, in order to allow a passage for the monks, who on Sundays and Festivals received Holy Communion at this altar, after which they walked around it in single file, and passing on by the Gospel, or northern corner, returned to their stalls in the nave. The basis is ten feet long by three and one half feet wide. On the Epistle, or southern side, are the piscina surrounded with a dog- tooth moulding, and the remains of the sedilia or stalls, which were occupied by the celebrant, deacon, and sub- deacon at High Mass. Under these sedilia a tomb was discovered during the excavations. A skull and some bones, together with a gold ring, were raised from their resting-place ; the bones were replaced and covered with the slab of concrete now seen at this spot, but the ring was sold by a workman and could never be recovered. No inscription or tradition identifies the occupant of the hallowed grave. Could it have been that of the famous Dervorgilla? She was certainly buried at Mellifont, but unfortunately, we do not know the spot where her remains were laid when " life's fitful fever" was over ; or it may have been the resting-place of Thomas O'Connor, or of Luke Netterville, both, successively, Archbishops of Armagh ; for they, also, were buried at Mellifont. On the opposite, or Gospel side, is an arched recess having an ornamental moulding around it. This would seem to have been the Founder's tomb, or rather, the remains of it. In the Cistercian Constitutions no special place was allotted for the tombs of Founders, and only the MELLIFONT ABBEY. 11 indefinite permission was given, that they, kings and queens, bishops and such like exalted dignitaries, might be buried within the churches of the Order. A general custom, however, prevailed in Ireland of appropriating to the Founder's tomb a space iu the northern wall of the chance], and directly at right angles with the High Altar. Others, besides Founders, were buried on the north side in the chancel. Thus, in the Annals of St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin, we are told that Felix O'Ruadan, who had been a great benefactor to that house, was buried in the chancel of the abbey church, on the north side. And Felix O'Dullany, the first Abbot of Jerpoint, and afterwards Bishop of Ossory, was interred on the north side of the High Altar, at Jerpoint. The door on this side of the chancel is a puzzle, as in no other church of the Order is one found in this position. There is no evidence of a building having adjoined with which this door communicated, so that its use is un- known. Quite close to this door there is a shallow recess in the wall, which may have been a provision for the Abbot's throne, when he officiated pontifically, as that is the site usually occupied by it. Some five or six feet high of the chancel walls is all that is left standing ; and, though not up to the window level, what remains of the cut stone and water-tabling gives an idea of the beauty of the whole, and what a loss we have sustained by its destruction. In the original church, that is, the one erected in St. Malachy's time, there were ten altars we are told, but on the ground plan seven only are shown. Two more at least were in front of the Rood-loft or Juhe, and the remaining one very probably was in one of the aisles. The church of Mellifont was remarkable, not so much for its vast dimensions, as for its architectural beauty ; yet, 12 MELLIFOiNT AJilJEY. in this it was surpassed by St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin. Sir Thomas Deane writes : " From the fragments of the church which remain, it is easy to trace the vicissi- tudes the building underwent. I have great doubt that any portions of the structure above ground are those of the earliest church erected on the site, or date as far back as 1157, which is given as the year of its consecration. . . . The details of the piers (the older ones) are in my opinion a century or more later in date. They still indi- cate a foreign type, and the arrangements and obvious plan show that the transepts as well as the nave had aisles. . . . Portions of the piers discovered are of the fifteenth century, other parts of the church of the four- teenth. ... A second portion dates probably from 1260, another from 1370, and another from 1460. I am not prepared to follow from the history of the Abbey the causes of such restorations ; but it is certain that rebuild- ings of portions of the church occurred from time to time, and that violence or decay was the cause." Neither to violence nor to decay can the alterations be attributed, which the church underwent at the three periods mentioned by Sir Thomas, but rather to the practice then common to the whole Order, chiefly in the monasteries of Great Britain and Ireland, of adopting the advancing changes in the Gothic style, and to the laudable efforts of the monks to make the House of God worthy of Him as far as art and skill could be made subservient to that purpose. Thus in the Annals of Fountains and Furness, there are abundant proofs of this constant change going on in those monasteries even down to the date of their suppression. One Abbot considered the eastern window too low and narrow, and had it enlarged; another thought the tower rested on too slender a basis, and he built substantial piers and flanked them on the outside with buttresses, and so with others. MELLIFONT ABBEY. IS To better understand the surroundings, it will be neces- sary to bear in mind the general plan on which all Cistercian monasteries were built. On this subject there is a good deal of misapprehension, even on the part of those who seem to have given close attention to the matter. The church and buildings necessary for large communities were so arranged as to form a square, thereby combining simplicity with economy. It is said that the monks borrow^ed this idea from the form of a Roman villa. The church formed the first or northern side (for in temperate and cold climates the other build- ings, as tbey lay to the south, were sheltered by the church.) The sacristy, chapter-house, and other halls were on the east ; the calefactory, refectory, and kitchen on the south ; and the Domus Conversorum completed the square on the west. Within this square were the cloisters, always contiguous to the main buildings, and forming a communication with all the parts of the monastery. Tbey were a sort of covered ambulatory,^ whose roof rested on the one side against the main buildings, and on the other was supported by open orna- mental arcades, which, however, in these climates were glazed. The cloisters were often vaulted iu richly moulded stonework, and were fitted up with benches for reading, chiefly on the side adjoining the church. The space or quadrilateral area enclosed by them was called the Cloister- Garth, in the centre of which a statue or handsome fountain stood. The cloisters were generally entered fz'om the church by the south aisle, at the point where it adjoins the transept; but here, at Mellifont, the entrance was direct from the south transept itself. This a glance at the ground-plan will show; though it may have been otherwise in the primitive church ; for, when it underwent altera- 14 MELLIFONT ABBEY. tions, the transepts were widened by the addition of an aisle to each ; and, the cloister being thus encroached on, a change was necessary in it also. Adjoining the transept, and at right angles with the cloister, on the left, was a narrow hall or cell which contained books, chiefly the Sacred Scriptures, and the writings of the Fathers. This cell, which had no window, was called the " Armarium Commune," or "Common Box;" for its contents were common to all the monks. Its situation was convenient to the reading- cloister, which lay along the south wall of the church. In this cell the monks were provided with an abundant supply of good books, but treatises on the Canon and Civil Laws were forbidden to be kept in it : the Prior was charged with the custody of these. Behind this cell, and communicating only with the church, the Sacristy was placed ; but, as before observed, there is no trace of one here. Some writers on monastic ruins, confidently assure their readers that this cell was a prison, and that it was called the "Lantern;" casting upon the monks all responsibility for the name, and supposing them to have formed it on the lucits a non lucendo principle, seeing the cell was dark. The error was all their own ; for the Lantern, as has been already shown, was in the tower over the crossing of the church ; and the true use of this cell has just been stated above. Here (at Mellifont), in close proximity to the transept, is the ruined two-storied building we saw as we ap- proached, and which, from its present striking appearance, must have been one of the most beautiful within the ancient abbey's precincts. This is commonly, but erroneously, known as " St. Bernard's Chapel." Why it was reputed to have been a chapel, must be from the close resemblance it bears to one. It was, in reality, the From Photo by W. Lawrence, Dublin. Gate\7ay (Porter's Lodge.) See page 2. IG MELLIFONT ABBEY. Chapter-house. That it was, is quite evident to anyone who has studied the plans of Cistercian monasteries : (a), from the position it occupies, and (h), from the internal arrangement and decorations such as are found in other like edifices of the Order in Ireland. A stone bench ran around the inside of the building, and which, when covered with a rush mat, served as a seat for the monks. In Graignamanagh Abbey, Co. Kilkenny, the ancient Chapter-house still remains, closely resembling this one at Mellifont, both in style and ornamentation, as well as in dimensions. The historic Chapter-house of St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin, which was unearthed a few years ago, exhibited in every detail a striking resem- blance to this also. That at Graignamanagh was remarkable for its beauty. At the entrance to it from the cloister, was a magnificent arched doorway, con- taining within it three smaller arches of blue marble, beautifully carved. A grand central column, called by the inhabitants of the district, the " Marble Tree," supported the roof. It stood eight feet high from base to capital, whence the branches spread to meet the corre- sponding ribs on the groined roof. Sir William Wilde describes the Chapter-house at Mellifont, as he saw it in 1850. He says : " It must have been one of the most elegant and highly em- bellished structures of the Norman or Early English pointed style in Ireland." He calls it a Crypt ; for it Avas overlaid, and surrounded up to a high level by heaps of rubbish. He goes on to say : " It has a groined roof underneath another building evidently used for domestic purposes, and was probably part of the Abbot's apart- ments. The upper room, which contains a chimney, must have been a pleasant, cheerful abode, and its windows commanded a charming prospect down the MELLIFONT ABBEY. 17 valley, with a view of the distant hills peeping up from the south-west. The building is 30 feet long, by 19 feet wide. There are no remains of muUions or tracery of the east window. At present, there are two lights on each side; but upon a careful examination of the masonry both within and without the building, it is, we think, apparent that in the original plan, the upper window on each side alone existed, the others being evidently subsequent innovations. The original windows* are still beautiful, deeply set, and, though their stone mullions are rather massive, each forms, with the tracery at the top, a very elegant figure. The internal pilasters, which form an architrave for the northern window, spring from grotesque heads, elaborately carved, and which appear as if pressed down by the superincumbent weight. A fillet of dog's-tooth moulding surrounds the internal sash. A projecting moulding courses round the wall, about two feet from the ground, which, while it dips dowm to admit the splayed sill of the upper or original windows, continues unbroken by the lower ones, an additional proof that the latter did not exist in the original plan of the building. Three sets of short clustered columns, four feet high, one in the centre, and one in each angle, spring from this course, and terminate in elaborately carved floral capitals, which differ slightly one from the other. The centre rod of this cluster descends as far as the floor. From these spring the ribs, which form the groining of the roof. . . . The grand architectural feature, and most elaborate piece of carving, was the door-way, formed of a cluster of columns, very deeply revealed on the inside, but apparently plain on the outside. . . . Nearly the whole of the western end * See Illustrcalion, p. 19. 18 MELLIFONT ABBEY. has fallen, so that nothing but the foundations of this very splendid door-way now remain. A figure of it has, however, been preserved in Wright's Louthiana (reproduced here),* published in 1755, where we read that it was 'all of blue marble, richly ornamented and gilt,' but ' which,' the author adds, ' I was informed was sold and going to be taken to pieces when I was there.' All the pillars and carved stone work of this building were at one time painted in the most brilliant colours, the capitals light blue, the pillars themselves red ; portions of this paint still remain in the curves and amongst the foliage." The Chapter-house i* is little changed since Sir William Wilde penned the foregoing, and time seems to have dealt leniently with this magnificent ruin. One of the windows has had its mullions restored under the Board of Works ; a number of curious objects — capitals, corbels, and portions of arches and cut stone, flooring tiles, etc., has been collected there, and a gate to guard them has been erected by Mr. Balfour, the owner of the ruins and surrounding property. It is very dubious that the upper story ever served as a part of the Abbot's lodgings, as these are generally found further east. This room may have been the muniment room. It has two port-holes remaining, relics of the days when Mellifont was turned into a fortified castle, and the cry of fierce, contending men was heard on this hallowed spot, over the graves of the sainted dead. In the first volume of The Dublin Fenny Journal, there are very interesting articles from the pen of a Mr. Armstrong, a native of the locality. He tells us that this Chapter-house was converted into a banqueting-hall by the Moore family, and that in his time (1832), it was used as a pig-sty. * See IllustKition, p. 23. + See Illustration, p. 35. From Photo ^y ^- Laiorence, Dubli7i. North Window or Chapter-Hocse. See p. 17. 20 MELLIFONT ABBEY. Another account of the fate of the beautiful arched door-way of blue marble is, that it was lost at a game of piquet, and the lucky winner, whose name, unfortunately, has not been handed down to us, had it removed to his mansion, and set up as a chimney-piece. The floor of the Chapter-house is now laid with some of the tiles which were found in the church during the excavations, in order to preserve them from destruction or appropriation by " relic-hunters." Abbots, generally, chose the Chapter- house of their abbeys for their burial place ; but, as no grave was found here, when the rubbish was removed, during the excavations, we may conclude that the Abbots of Mellifont were buried either in the church, or in the cemetery with their monks. The glazed tiles and their manufacture were a specialty with the old Cistercians, in these; countries. Similar tiles are seldom met with amongst the ruins of other churches. Here at Mellifont, those found are red and blue, and the vast majority have the legend Ave Maria inscribed on them ; others are impressed with a Fleur de lis, a cock, or some typical device. It is Avell known, that specimens of tiles found at Fountains, in Yorkshire, bear a close resemblance to these. There, the motto of that monastery was impressed on the tiles discovered — "Benedicite fontes Domino'^ — "Ye fountains bless the Lord." No doubt, here, too, some bore the motto of Mellifont, if only they could be found. A very pertinent question arises now : how could this small building give sitting accommodation, not only to one hundred and fifty monks, which this monastery is said to have had, but even to a third of that number ? It seems impossible. It may be that, on becoming numerous, they used as Chapter-house some other building no longer standincr. At Graignamanagh, the MELLIFONT ABBEY. 21 monks, finding their Chapter-house too SQiall, converted the eastern window of it into a door, and built a large and spacious hall, as a new Chapter-house, the old one sersring as an ante-chamber to it. No such addition had been made here ; for the window remains intact. What a change has come over this grand old Chapter- house since it saw its Abbot, who ranked as a peer of the realm, walk up its centre with solemn and stately tread, and mount the steps which led to his seat, on the east ; and the grave assemblage of white-robed monks enter in silence, and take their places on either side, while one of them sang at the Lectero, the Martyrology, and a chapter of St. Benedict's Rule ! From this custom of having a chapter of the E,ule sung there every morning, this apartment derives its name. In the interval, between the singing of the Martyrology and the chapter of St. Benedict's Rule, one of the priests gave out certain prayers, to which all responded. These prayers were chiefly petitions to the Lord, that He would deign to bless and guard them during the coming day ; for the hour of chapter, or of the assembling of the Brethren, was generally aboitt 6 am. The Abbot then explained the chapter which had been sung, dwelt on the obligations incumbent on his hearers, by their profession, to observe the teaching which St. Benedict inculcated by his Rule ; then called for the public self- accusations of breaches of monastic discipline (external faults only), and imposed penances commensurate with each transgression. The Chapter-house was the hall wherein were held the deliberations or councils relative to the administration of temporalities, and here novices were elected or rejected by secret ballot. On leaving the Chapter-house one finds himself again on the site of the eastern walk or alley of the Cloister, as 22 MELLIFONT ABBEY. it is called, and proceeding along it southward, one sees a wall some seven or eight feet high without door or window of any sort. It is doubtful that this was portion of the ancient building; for then Mellifont would not have followed the general plan of all the houses of the Order. That it was not one of the original buildings is probable, both because the masonry is more modern, and the remains of an old building running at right angles with it were found when the excavations were made a few years ago in the potato garden, at the rere of this wall. That old structure measured about fourteen feet wide. It is shown on the ground plan. In the plan of Clair- vaux, of which Mellifont is said to have been a counter- part, a long narrow hall ran off the Cloister here, parallel with the Chapter- house. It was called the "Auditorium" or " Parlour." It was there that each choir monk's share in the manual labour was assigned him every day by the Prior. There, too, confessions were heard, and the monks might speak to the Prior or Abbot on necessary matters ; for the adjoining Cloister was a place of strict silence. As at Clairvaux, the novitiate was placed further south where the novices Avere trained in their duties by a learned and experienced monk, who, according to St. Benedict, " would know how to gain souls to God." Over the buildings on the ground story, that is, over the Sacristy, Chapter-house, Parlour, and Novitiate, was the Dormitory, which was entered by a stair-case, in the south-eastern angle of the transept, on one side, and by another stairs at the junction of the east and south walks of the Cloister. When the monastery at Mellifont was changed and remodelled after Clairvaux (for this latter underwent a substantial change in 1175), the monks mav have used the old Parlour as a passage leading to other buildings which covered that plot of ground beyond the i^lJ':slj4l--.--».v-.--v'---!MiJl«aJ A. Scntt d- Son, Architects.. Drorjheda. Doorway of CHAVTER-HofsE. See p. IS. 24 MELLIFONT ABBEY. Cliapter-house, now a potato garden. In the plan of Clairvaux, all the space in that direction is covered with buildings. (See plan of Clairvaux.) In the general view of Mellifont, given in frontispiece, the plot whereon these buildings stood is that where the man is seen tilling the garden. But if one ascend the hill, keeping close to the ruins, it will be evident how suitable a place it was for building on, and the remains of walls peep up here and there over the surface. The level at that spot is, indeed, much higher than in the Cloister, or Chapter-house, but that is partially caused by the debris of ruined buildings which has accumulated there. At the extreme end of this eastern walk of the Cloister and at right angles with it, are the remains of what was once a spacious building. It had a fire-place at the eastern end, and a door which led out into another build- ing that formely adjoined it. It is 96 feet long by 36 feet wide. No idea can be formed now as to its original use. In some monasteries of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, chiefly the more considerable ones, there was a spacious room or hall located as this was, and furnished with benches and writing-desks, where the monks studied and wrote. It was called the " Lectorium" or Beading room. It must not, however, be confounded with the Scriptorium, which was the official quarters of the copyist. It is well to remark here that the plot of ground lying north of this building was not dug up during the excava- tions, but only skimmed over in order to trace the course of some walls which at intervals appeared above the surface ; but, even this slight investigation was sufficient to reveal the outlines of numerous buildings that once extended in that direction and covered that whole area. Again comparing the site with Clairvaux, we find that the Infirmary and its surroundings would lie in that direction. MELLIFONT ABBEY. 25 At the extreme end of the easleru walk of the Cloister wliere it joins the southern one, are the remains of a stairs, Avhich formerly led up to the Dormitory from this part of the monastery, as at Clairvaux. Near it is what is commonly called a vault, an arched chamber measuring sixteen feet by fourteen. It has a chimney, and it would seem to have had a narrow window also on the outer or southern end. Here is where the Calefactory stood in almost all the old Cistercian monasteries. This Calefactory was heated by a stove, at which the monks warmed themselves after their long vigils in winter ; but their stay there was restricted to one quarter of an hour. Pope Eugenius III., when a monk at Clairvaux, under St. Bernard, had charge of the stove there, as was commemorated by an inscription over the door of the Calefactor}'. A son of the King of France discharged the same lowly office afterwards at Clairvaux, as the Annals of the Order testify. Adjoining this vault is a covered passage, having an entrance into the next building, which runs parallel with it. Its purpose cannot now be known. It may be that the vault or Calefactory had been converted in later times into a store-room for necessaries which were brought thence by this covered way into the Refectory, which is the next building. The Refectory measures 4S feet by 24. A few coarse flags remain in their original position, from which it may be inferred that the whole floor was once formed of them. In its western wall was the turn- stile, through which the food was served from the kitchen that adjoined the Refectory on that side. Now, we come to the great puzzle, the remains of the octagon building, which was commonly called the Baptistery. Sir William Wilde, who saw it as it was in 1848, calls it the oldest and by far the most interesting 26 MELLIFONT ABHKY. architectural remains in the whole place ; and he goes on to describe it : * " This octagonal structure, of which only four sides remain, consists of a colonnade or series of circular-headed arches, of the Roman or Saxon character, enclosing a space of 29 feet in the clear, and supporting a wall which must have been, when perfect, about 30 feet high. Each external face measures 12 feet in length, and was plastered or covered with composition to the height of 10 feet, where a projecting band separates it from the less elaborate masonry above. The arches -f- are carved in sandstone, and spring from foliage-ornamented capitals, to the short supporting pillars, the shaft of each of which measures 3 feet 5 inches. The chord of each arch above the capitals is 4 feet 3 inches. Some slight difference is observable in the shape and arrangement of the foliage of the capitals, and upon one of the remaining half arches were beautifully carved two birds ; but some Goth has lately succeeded in hammering away as much of the relieved part of each, as it was possible. The arches were evidently open, and some slight variety exists in their mouldings. Internally a stone finger- course encircled the wall, at about six inches higher than that on the outside. In the angles between the arches there are remains of fluted pilasters at the height of the string-course, from which spring groins of apparently the same curve as the external arches, and which, meeting in the centre, must have formed more or less of a pendant, which, no doubt, heightened the beauty and architectural effect. Like the pillars and stone carvings in the Chapter-house, this building was also painted red and blue, and the track of the paint is still visible in several places. The upper story, which was lighted by a window on each side of the octagon, bears no architectural * Hee Illustration, p. jn. t See Illustration, p. 47. MELLIFONT ABBEY. 27 embellishment which is now visible." He then adds, how Archdall, in his Monasticon, asserted that a cistern was placed on the upper story, whence water was conveyed by pipes to the different parts of the monastery ; hut shows how such an arrangement would have been impossible, on account of the weakness of the walls, and the position of the windows. This building was known, in monastic terminology, as the " Lavabo." A fountain of water issued in jets from a central column, and fell into a basin, in which the monks washed their hands, before entering the Refectory for their meals. It is quite easy, from the construction of the roof, to imagine a number of branches springing from the capital of the column, and meeting the ribs of the groined roof, in the same manner, as the "Marble Tree," in the Chapter-house of Graignamanagh. Drains in connection with this building were discovered when the excavations were made, and Sir Thomas Deane is of opinion, that it was surrounded on the outside by a wooden verandah, or shed. Certainly, in the plan of Clairvaux, a low building is shown, adjoining the Lavabo, at its east and west ends; but no use is assigned it. Very probably it was the Lavatory. Petrie thinks the Lavabo may have been built as far back as 1165, but that can hardly be held ; for Clairvaux had not been remodelled till 1175, and it had no such ornamental structure in the time of St. Bernard, ^e remarks, too, that fragments of bricks were discovered in the building, and says they were never employed earlier in any other building in Ireland. It is now certain, that it was the monks of Mellifont who first manufactured bricks in this country. This Lavabo was not isolated or detached from the Cloister, but, as at Clairvaux, a door led from one into the other, opposite the entrance into the Refectory; 2f:j MELLIFONT AHBKY. and, sioce the excavations, portions of the door-way are visible. Some small shafts and their bases remain. Even at the present day, in one of the most recently constructed monasteries of the Order (near Tilburg, Holland), what might be termed a semi-octagonal Lavabo, having its fountain and basin, has been built. It answers the same purpose as those in ancient times. By keeping the Lavabo before one's mind, one can form an idea of the Cloister itself; which, consisting of arcades, closely resembled this in every detail, except that these were glazed, and in all probability its walks had a lean-to roof. The site of the east walk of the Cloister is easily traced, and the places occupied by the piers being now concreted, mark their positions. This eastern walk was 21 feet 6 inches wide. The opposite, or western one, was some 19 feet 6 inches ; that on the south, 14 feet ; and the north one, adjoining the church, and which was usually the Reading-Cloister, may also have been 14 feet. Thus, we would have an enclosed space or Garth, 100 feet square. Beside the Refectory lay the Kitchen, which was a small building, and around it are the ruins of smaller structures, which may have been store-rooms in connection with it. Under the Kitchen ran a copious stream of water which carried off all the refuse. It is remarkable that at Clairvaux similar remains are found in exactly the same position relatively to the Kitchen there. With the Cistercians, the Kitchen was always square ; with the Benedictines, it was round. To the rere of the Kitchen, and almost directly opposite the covered passage, is the old well which was covered over for a long time, but was discovered, and re-opened in 1832. Near it a portion of the old wall fell in, but the masonry, owing to the singu- larly cohesive character of the mortar, holds together despite the action of the elements. MELLIFONT ABBEY. 29 Of the western walk of the Cloister no trace remains, and only a tottering wall of the Domus Conversorum, which once adjoined it, is standing. There is no trace either of the northern walk, though this was the most important of all. There the monks read and copied, in cells called " carrols," which were placed near the windows. When not employed in chanting the Masses and Offices in the church, or busied with domestic concerns, or working in the fields, the monks passed all their intervals here occupied with study. The Abbot had a chair here also ; and, from a raised pulpit opposite it, one of the monks read aloud every evening, the lecture before Compline, at which the whole community assisted. Turning westward and approaching the Eiver Mattock, we enter, at the left, an enclosed space, bounded by the river on one side, and by the remains of the outer wall of the Domus Conversorum on the other, we find ourselves in a potato garden, which, on close observation, appears strewn with pieces of bones. This was "God's Acre" at Mellifont, the cemetery of the monks. Some forty or fifty years ago, a Scotchman, who then rented the mill and a farm adjoining it, perceiving that the clay of this old cemetery was particularly rich and loamy, dug a spit off it a foot deep or more, and carted it out on his fields for top-dressing. Amongst the stuff so carted were human bones of all kinds, skulls, etc. ! ! ! This was done in a Christian land, and no protesting voice was raised against the horrid profanation ! ! The cemetery is shown in the general view at the extreme left, where the plot of ground appears laid out in ridges and surrounded by a wall. The Eiver Mattock flows peacefully still by the old abbey as it did over seven centuries ago, when its course being first arrested, it was harnessed and compelled to take its share in many useful and profitable industries. 80 MELLIFONT ABBEY. One old solitary yew tree casts its shadow on its water and bears it company amid the surrounding ruin and desolation — sad and sympathising witnesses of Mellifont's fallen greatness. No bridge now spans the river here, though formerly it was probably arched over, and the slopes upon the Meath side were laid out in terraces and gardens. The present mill was built over one hundred years ago, together with some out-offices; the latter, being situated almost midway in the nave of the church, were removed when the excavations were made. The mill has not been worked during the last thirty years. When Mr. Armstrong wrote his interesting papers on Mellifont, in the Dublin Penny Journal, 1832-33, a few cabins nestled under the shadow of the old ruins. The last building that deserves notice is the small ruined edifice on the hill, which, after the suppression of the monastery, was used as a Protestant place of worsliip. Sir William Wilde was of opinion that it dates from the fourteenth or fifteenth century. The western gable which rises in the centre into a double belfry contains a pointed door-way, and above, but not immediately over this, is a double round-arched window. One small narrow light occupies the eastern gable. At a few paces in front of this building there stood, at the time Sir William examined it, two very plain and very ancient crosses, one having a heart engraven on it encircled by a crown of thorns, and the other having a fleur de lis on the arm. The latter cross has disappeared, but the former can still be seen prostrate on the ground, in that half of the old cemetery beyond the road-way, that is, on the side to the south. After the suppression, this was used as a Protestant burial-ground, though the presence of Catholic emblems would go to prove that it was once Catholic. Of late years the interments here have been but few. We are MELLIFONT ABBEY. 31 nowhere told, nor does any tradition still linger to indicate the former use of this ancient building, but it is most probable, that it was the church in which the tenants and dependants of the Abbey assisted at Mass and other religious functions — in a word, that it was the parish church of Mellifont, which was served hy the monks. This seems to be the most likely explanation ; for the law of " Enclosure," that law of the Church which debarred females from entering within the monastic enclosure, ("Septa monasterW^ as it is called), was in full force at the Dissolution of monasteries, as appears from the Decrees of the General Chapters of the Order about that time, and also from the Episcopal Registers of some of the English dioceses which have lately been published. In these latter are found reports of the bishops, who, either officially or by delegation, visited some monasteries and adverted to the law of enclosure as an important point of monastic discipline. This old structure, then, would have been constructed purposely outside the wall for the use of the tenants. Such a chapel is still to be seen outside the enclosure at Bordesley Abbey, an old Cistercian monastery in Worcestershire, of which we are expressly told, that it was the place in which the monks, tenants, domestics, etc., attended Mass. Another purpose may be assigned to this old chapel at Mellifont, as that attached to the College, or Seminary, which once flourished there. The surrounding hill is locally and traditionally known as College-Hill, and the old road which passes over it and leads to Townley Hall, is called the College Road. Little more remains to be said of the ruins or of the site itself. Standing on this hill and looking into the valley beneath, we are struck by its singular natural features. It would seem as if the waters of the Mattock had been suddenly dammed up, and that the pent-up 82 MELLIFONT ABBEY. waters, bursting their barriers, hollowed out this sheltered little valley, after the angry element had cleared away the rocks and other obstructions ; and having swept it clear of the rubbish, made it a fit and proper place whereon to rear a temple to the true God, in which praise and sacri- fice might for ever be offered to Him. No buildings seem to have been constructed on the Meath side, as no traces of them remain. In this, Mellifont differed from Clair- vaux, whose buildings filled the valley and spread out wings high up the hills on either side of the River Aube. Just due south from where we have been standing, on the hill, and distant about a few hundred yards, the Guide will show a singular earth- work, shaped. like a moat, and having an elevated mound in the centre. From the presence here of old conduits built with masonry, there can be no doubt that this was a reservoir to contain a copious supply of water which flowed from wells on the hill. Lower down than this moat, that is, at the rere of the Chapter-house, lies buried beneath some feet of soil the Abbot's house, where Mellifont's puissant rulers received their guests, and whose hospitable board was honoured by the presence of kings and bishops, as well as chiefs and warriors bold in all their pomp and panoply. It is doubtful that any vestige of the enclosure wall remains, nor can it be conjectured even, what, or how much, space it embraced. As we ponder over the scene, Keats' words find an echo in our hearts: — " How changed, alas ! from that revered abode Graced by proud majesty in ancient days. Where monks recluse those sacred pavements trod, - And taught the unlettered world its Maker's praise." MELLTFONT ABBEY. 33 CHAPTER II. ST. MALACHY FOUNDS MELLIFONT. 'Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer Than this worhl dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day, For what are men better than sheep and goats, That nourish a blind life within the brain. If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and those who call them friend ? For so the whole round earth is every way Bound by gold chains about the feet of God." (Lord Tennijson. ) T the time that Saints Robert, Alberic, and Stephen Harding were laying the founda- tion of the Cistercian Order, in the dense forest of Cistercium, or Citeaux, whence the Order derives its name, or to be more precise, in 1098, a lovely little boy eight years old, with golden hair and dove-like eyes, and ■with nobility of birth stamped in every lineament of his features, was playing in his father's chateau at Fontaines, near Dijon, in France. This child of predilection was the great St. Bernard, who is justly styled the Propagator of that Order which was then in a struggling condition. It has become a proverb, "that the child is father of the man," and a very clever writer exclaims — " Blessed is the man whose infancy has been watched over, kindled, and penetrated by the eyes of a tender and holy mother." It was St. Bernard's singular privilege to have such a mother, one who sedulously watched over his youthful c 34) MELLIFONT ABBEY. days, and inspired him with a love of all virtues. Hence we are told, that even in early childhood, he evinced a love of piety that was remarkable, and that he constituted his mother the grand model which he was hound to copy. He considered it the summit of his ambition to do all things like his mother — to pray like her, to give alms and visit the sick poor like her; for this noble lady was wont to go along the roads unattended, carrying medicine and nourishment to the indigent. He distinguished himself at the public school where he received his education, and returned to the paternal mansion where he soon after experienced his first great sorrow in the death of his loving mother. He was now approaching manhood, and he must needs select a state of life befitting his high birth. At that time, only two professions were worthy of the consideration of young noblemen — the Church or the Army. With Bernard's distinguished talents, a bright and rosy future presented itself before his youthful imagination, and then the eloquent persuasions of his relatives, who promised him their powerful patronage, were not wanting to arouse his ambition ; but, the image of his saintly mother dispelled all dreams of promotion, and her pious instructions, which sank deep into his young heart, acted as potent antidotes against the allurements of worldly pomp and short-lived honours. After much reflection he made up his mind to renounce ail honours, and to become a monk. By his irresistible pleadings he gained over his four brothers, with other relatives and friends, to the number of thirty, and at their head, presented himself at the gate of the Abbey of Citeaux, where St. Stephen Harding joyfully admitted them. Two years later we find him leaving that monastery as the Abbot of a new colony, on his way to found Clairvaux, being then in his twenty-fifth year. Here, his light could 36 MELLIFONT ABBEY. no longer remain hidden, but burst forth into a luminous flame whose splendour aroused and powerfully influenced the whole Christian world. The Bishop of Chalons, in whose diocese Clairvaux was situated, was the first to discover the transcendent abilities and eloquence of the youthful Abbot. At his request, St. Bernard consented to deliver a course of sermons in the churches of his diocese, which were productive of incalculable good, and spread the fame of the zealous preacher. Priests as well as laymen, attached themselves to him and accompanied him to Clairvaux on his return from those missions. One of the Saint's biographers cries out — " How many learned men, how many nobles and great ones of this earth, how many philosophers have passed from the schools or academies of the world to Clairvaux to give themselves up to ihe meditation of heavenly things and the practice of a divine morality." His fame reached even to Ireland, and we are told that in this country the little children were wont to ask for the badge of the Crusaders which the Saint distributed. In a word, his voice was the most authoritative in Europe. Kings and princes dreaded him, and accepted him as arbitrator in their quarrels. Even Popes themselves sought his counsel. In his lifetime, his own disciple, Bernard of Pisa, occupied the Chair of Peter, as Eugenius III. It may be truthfully said, that St. Bernard reformed Europe and infused a new spirit into the monastic orders. Even Luther does not hesitate to place him in the forefront of all monks who lived in his time; of him he writes: "Melius nee vixit nee scripsit quis in universe coetu monachorum." Whilst the Church in France was reaping the benefit of the holy Abbot's preaching and example, a zealous Irish prelate was actively and successfully eugaged in eradicating vice which sprang up in this country, as a MELLIFONT ABBEY. 37 consequence of the long-protracted wars with the Danes, and the demoralising effects of intercourse with that people. Nevertheless, Ireland had then its saints and scholars, and the ancient seats of learning, such as Armagh, Bangor, Lismore, Clonard, and Clonmacnoise were once more inhabited by numerous communities. This saintly prelate was St. Malachy, who, being on his way to Rome, heard of the sanctity of the great St. Bernard, and would fain pay him a visit. This visit would St. Malachy have gladly prolonged ; for then and there sprang up a mutual affection, which, writes our own Tom Moore, " reflects credit on both." St. Malachy was so enamoured with what he witnessed at Clairvaux, and particularly with the wise discourses of the learned Abbot, that he determined to become one of his disciples. Innocent IL, who then ruled the flock of Christ, on the Saint seeking his permission to retire to Clairvaux, would not hearken to his request, but giving him many marks of his esteem, appointed him his Legate in Ireland, and commanded him to return thither. If St. Malachy might not live at Clairvaux in the midst of the fervent men whom he there beheld earnestly intent in the great work of mortification and expiation, he resolved, at least, to have a colony of them near him in his own country, that by their prayers and example, they might promote God's glory, and in a measure, repeat the glorious traditions of the ancient monastic ages in Ireland. In furtherance of this happy project, he singled out four of his travelling companions, whom he gave in charge to St. Bernard, with these words: "I most earnestly conjure you to retain these disciples, and instruct them in all the duties and observances of the religious profession, that, hereafter they may be able to teach us." On receiving an assurance of a hearty 38 MELLIFONT ABBEY. compliance from St. Bernard, he took cordial leave of his friend and returned to Ireland. Not long after he sent more of his disciples to join those whom he had already left at Clairvaux, and on their arrival, St. Bernard wrote as follows : " The Brothers who have come from a distant land, your letter and the staff you sent me, have afforded me much consolation in the midst of the many anxieties and cares that harass me. . . . Meanwhile, according to the wisdom bestowed on you by the Almighty, select and prepare a place for their reception, which shall he secluded from the tumults of the world, and after the model of those localities which you have seen amongst us." The place selected by St. Malachy as the site of the future monastery, was the sequestered valley watered by the River Mattock, situated about three and one half miles from Drogheda, Co. Louth, and much resembling Clairvaux, which, too, was located in a valley, shut in by little hills on all sides. Donogh O'CarrolI, Prince of Oriel, the lord of the territory, freely granted the site to God and SS. Peter and Paul, munificently endowed the monastery with many broad acres, and supplied wood and stone for the erection of the buildings. This grant was made in either 1140 or 1141. The charter of endowment by O'Carroll has not been found. It would appear from another letter of St. Bernard to St. Malachy, that he had sent some monks from Clairvaux to make preparations for those w^ho were to immediately follow, and that already their number was augmented at Mellifont by the accession of new members from the surrounding district, who had joined them on their appearance in that locality. In this same letter St. Bernard writes : " We send back to you your dearly- beloved son and ours. Christian, as fully instructed as was possible in those rules which regard our Order, hoping. MELLIFONT ABBEY. 39 moreover, that he will henceforth prove solicitous for their observance." This Christian is commonly supposed to have been archdeacon of the diocese of Down. He was certainly first Abbot of Mellifont, and his name shall turn up in connection with important national events later on. With Christian came a certain Brother Robert, a Frenchman, a skilful architect, who constructed the monastery after the model of Clairvaux. That these were the pioneers of the Cistercian Order in Ireland cannot for one moment be doubted, both from the very important fact, that the Abbot of Mellifont took precedence of all the Abbots of his Order in this country, and also, because it is an historical fact, that St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin, the other claimant for priority, did not exchange the Benedictine for the Cistercian Rule till, at earliest, 1148, when the Abbot of Savigni in France, with the thirty houses of his Order (Benedictine) subject to his jurisdiction, were admitted into the Cistercian family by Pope Eugenius III., who presided at the General Chapter of the Cistercians that year. St. Mary's was founded from Buildewas, in Shropshire, and this latter was subject to Savigni. Various reasons are assigned for the adoption by these ancient monks of the name Mellifont, which signifies " The Honey Fountain." Some are of opinion it had a spiritual signification, and had reference to the abundance of blessings which would flow, and be diffused over the whole country from this centre, through the unceasing and fervent intercessory prayer of its holy inmates; for next to their own sanctification, their neighbour's wants claimed and received their practical sympathy. Like divine charity it gushed forth from hearts totally devoted to God's service and interests, and this zeal would be halting and incomplete did it not embrace the spiritual 40 MELLIFONT ABBEY. and temporal concerns of their fellow mortals. Others derive the name from a limpid spring which supplied the monks with a copious, unfailing stream of sweet water, which had its source in Mellifont Park about one quarter of a mile distant, and which was conducted V)y pipes through the various parts of the monastery. This seems a very plausible account, and as the spring rose at a high level, it had sufficient pressure to obviate the necessity of a cistern as was erroneously supposed in connection with the Lavabo. It was customary with the old Irish Cistercians to give their monasteries symbolical names at their foundation, and these names often denoted some local feature or peculiarity. Thus, Newry was called of the " Green Wood," from the abundance of yew trees around the monastery there; Corcomroe, Co. Clare, was known under the title of the " Fertile Rock ;" Baltinglas, Co. Wicklow, as the "Valley of Salvation," etc. It is said that the " Honey Fountain" had its source in Mellifont Park, but it seems that few of the present generation living in the vicinity of Mellifont know or appreciate its virtues. In the Ordnance Survey, it is stated that it rose in Mellifont Park, which was formerly a wood, and that to the north of the well, a few trees still remained at the time of the Survey, when the farm belonged to a Mr. James Curran. MELLIFONT ABBEY. 41 CHAPTER III. AN EPITOME OF THE RULE OBSERVED AT MELLIFONT AT ITS FOUNDATION AND FOR ABOUT A CENTURY AND A HALF AFTERWARDS. " Here man more purely lives ; less oft doth fall ; More promptly rises ; walks with stricter heed ; More safely rests ; dies happier ; is freed Earlier fi'om cleansing fires ; and gains withal A brighter crown." (^Saint Bernard.) 'N the foregoing verses St. Bernard sum- marises the manifold advantages accruing from the profession and practice of the rule which he and his fellow abbots drew up for their followers. In that age of chivalry yj j^ and wide extremes, men's minds were profoundly moved by the world-wide reputation and dis- courses of an outspoken, fearless monk, who confirmed his" words by incontestable and stupendous miracles. Then, it was nothing unusual to see the impious sinner of yesterday become a meek repentant suppliant for admission into some monastery to-day, where he could expiate and atone for his former grievous excesses. The innocent, also, sought the shelter of the cloister from the contaminating influences of a corrupt and corrupting world ; and in the spirit of sacrifice presented themselves as victims to God's outraged justice. At that same period, that is, about the middle of the twelfth century, there was witnessed an unwonted movement towards 42 MELLIFONT ABBEY. monasticism in its regenerated condition, as the Church Annals abundantly testify. This happy tendency was mainly due to St. Bernard's influence and popularity, and was well illustrated by the saying of the historian : " The whole world became Cistercian." In essaying to reform St, Benedict's Rule, the first Fathers of the Cistercian Order sought only to restore its primitive simplicity and austerity, but they, nevertheless, added some wise provisions which established their reform on a firm basis, and which the experience of ages proved to be indispensable. First of all, it was ordained, that all houses of the Order should be united under one central controlling power, and that all the Superiors should meet annually for deliberation on matters appertaining to the maintenance of discipline and the correction of abuses. This assembly w^as called the General Chapter, over which the Abbot of Citeaux presided as recognised head of the Order. Till then, no such institution existed, and an Abbot General, as we may call him, had it in his power, from incapacity or any other cause, to disorganise a whole Order. Under the General Chapter such a catastrophe Avas impossible. Besides this wise enactment, St. Stephen drew up what he called the " Chart of Charity," by which it was ordained that the abbot of a monastery who had filiations (that is, offshoots or houses founded directly from that monastery) subject to him, should visit them annually either in person or by proxy, and minutely inquire into their spiritual, disciplinary, and financial condition. The abbots of those filiations were bound to return the visit during the year; but they did so in quality of guest and not as "Visitor," the official title of the Abbot of the Parent House ; or, " Immediate Father," as he is called. Thus the bands of discipline were kept tightly drawn, and harmony, with I 44 Ml'JLLlFONT AliBEY, uniformity of observance, was maintained throughout the entire Order, The denizens of the Cloister at that time consisted of two great classes, who, indeed, enjoyed alike all the advantages of the state, but differed in their functions and employments. One was busied with the cares of Martha, the other was admitted to the privilege of Mary. The former were employed chiefly in domestic duties, and various trades, and were entrusted with the charge of the granges or outlying farms. These were the Lay Brothers. Frequently their ranks were aug- mented by the noble and the learned, who, unnoticed and unknown till their holy death, guided the plough, delved the soil, or tended the sheep and oxen in the glades of the forest. The other class resided in the monastery and devoted their time to the chanting of the Divine Office, alternating with study in the Cloister and manual labour in the fields and gardens. These were the choir monks. Their dress was white. By vigorous toil and strict economy, these good old monks wrested a competency from their farms, and freely shared their substance with the needy and the stranger. They exhibited to an astonished world a practical refutation of its corrupt maxims and habits. Thus by their very lives, they preached most efficaciously ; for by their contempt of worldly honours and pleasures they gave proof abun- dant of the faith that enlightened them to recognise the sublimity of the Gospel truths ; of the hope that sustained them to courageously endure temporal privations for the sake of future rewards; and of the charity that prompted them to liken themselves to Jesus Christ, their Master, who, being rich, became poor for their sakes. Some may be inclined to consider all this as the effect of monkish extravagance, weak-mindedness, and folly ; but MELLIFONT ABBEY. 45 modern investigation, instituted and carried to a success- ful issue by honest Protestant writers, has brushed aside such calumnies as hackneyed catch-words, and has proved that beneath the monk's cowl, there were found hearts as warm and minds as broad as in any state or grade of society. It must also be remembered, that for centuries the monks were the teachers Avho moulded and fashioned the youth of the upper and middle classes. Two o'clock A.M. was the usual hour for rising, when the monks, obedient to the Sacristan's signal, rising from their straw pallets and slipping on their sandals (for they slept fully dressed, as the poorer classes of the time are said to have done,) they left the Dormitory by the stairs that led down to the southern transept, and proceeding noiselessly, they reached the Choir where they immediately renewed the oblation uf themselves to God. Then the Office of Matins was commenced, and it Avith Lauds occupied about one hour. On solemn festivals the monks rose at midnight, and the Office lasted over three hours ; for then the whole of it was sung. Matins and Lauds over, they proceeded to the Reading- cloister to study the Psalms, or Sacred Scripture, or the Fathers: some prolonged their devotions in the church," where with clean, uplifted hands, tliey became powerful mediators betw^een God and His creatures; too many of whom, alas, ignore their personal obligations. At that time, too, the priests might celebrate their Masses, as the ancient Rule gave them liberty to select that hour if they felt so inclined. We do not know how many priests were amongst the Religious at Mellifont soon after its establish- ment, but they must have numbered about twenty, since there were ten altars in the church. And judging by the number of priests in other monasteries of the Order at that period, this figure is not too high. "We know that in 4G MELLIFONT AUIJEY. 1147, there were fifty priests at least at Poutigny, one of the four first houses of the Order. About five o'clock the monks assembled ia Choir for Prime, after which they went to Chapter, where the Martyrology and portion of the Rule were sung, as has been already ex- plained. Chapter over, they entered the Auditorium, where they took off and hung up their cowls, and each went thence to the manual labour assigned him by the Prior. In winter, nearly all went out to work in the fields, grubb- ing up brushwood and burning it, and so preparing the ground for cultivation. After some hours spent in labour, they returned to the monastery where they had time for reading ; they then went to Choir for Tierce and High Mass. During winter the Mass was sung before going out to work. In summer they dined at 11.30, after which an hour was allowed for repose, and None being sung they resumed their labour in the fields. In winter, dinner was at half-past two; the evening was spent in study and in chanting the Offices of Vespers and Compline, and at seven they retired to rest. Ia summer the hour for repose was eight o'clock. The Office of Completoriura or Compline always closed the exercises of the day, and all passed before the Abbot, from whom they received holy water as they left the church. Each went straight to his simple couch where sweet repose awaited him after his day of toil and penitential works. His frugal vegetable fare, without seasoning or condiment, barely sufficed for the wants of nature, and even this was sparingly doled out to him ; for during the winter exercises, that is, from the 14th of September to Easter, he got only one refection daily except on Sundays, when he always got two. Wine, though allowed in small quantities at meals in countries where it was the common drink, was not permitted here, but in its stead, the monks used beer of their own L_ ,ti>i^^^i>:^^-'^ From Photo by W. Lawrence, Dublin. Arch of Lavabo (Octagon.) See p. 26. 48 MELLIFONT ABBEY. brewing. Their raiment consisted of a white woollen tunic of coarse material and a strip of black cloth over the shoulders, and reaching to below the knees, gathered in at the waist with a leathern girdle. Over these, when not employed in manual labour, was worn the long white oarment with wide sleeves, called the cowl. The tunic was the ordinary dress of peasantry in the twelfth century, and was retained by the reformers of St. Benedict's Rule, partly because it was the prescribed dress of the monks, and partly as an incentive to humility ; a mark of the perfect equality which reigned in monasteries, and which removed all distinction of class. Such was the ordinary routine of life led at Mellifont, but then certain officials filled important offices which necessarily brought them in constant contact with the outer world. Such, for instance, was the Cellarer, who had charge under the Abbot of the temporalities of the monastery, and catered for all the wants of the com- munity. Some were deputed to wait on the guests and strangers, while others cared the sick poor in the hospice with all charity and tenderness. For the maintenance of the sick poor large tracts of land or revenues arising from house-property were very often bequeathed by pious people, and the monks were then their almoners ; but, with or without such a provision from outside, the monks did maintain these establishments from their own resources. The Abbot entertained the guests of the monastery at his own table, dispensing to them such frugal fare as was in keeping with the Rule ; for meat was not allowed to be served, except to the sick. He had his kitchen and dining-hall apart, but in every other respect, he shared in all the exercises with his brethren. Though he occupied the place of honour and of pre-eminence in the MELLIFONT ABBEY. 49 monastery, yet he was constantly reminded in the Rule, that he must not lord it over his monks, hut must cherish them as a tender parent. His object in all his ordinances should be to promote the welfare of the flock entrusted to him, for which he should render an account on the last day. From this relation of the manner of life at Mellifont, we see that it was in strict conformity with St. Bernard's definition of the Cistercian Institute, when he writes : " Our Order is humility, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, Our Order is silence, fasting, prayer, and labour, and above all, to hold the more excellent way, which is charity." I> 50 MELLIFONT ABBEY. CHAPTER IV. MELLIFONT TAKES ROOT AND FOUNDS NEW HOUSES OF THE ORDER. "Even thus of old : Our ancestors, within the still domain Of vast Cathedral or Conventual church, Their vigils kept ; where tapers day and night On the dim altars burned continually, In token that the House was evermore Watching to God. Religious men were they ; Nor Avould their reason tutored to aspire Above this transitory world, allow That there should pass a moment of the year When in their land the Almighty's service ceased." ( Wordsworth.) ;HE history of Mellifont may be justly said to reflect the concurrent history of Ireland. It is so intimately connected and inter- woven with that of our countr}-, that they touch at many points, and we can collect matter for both as we travel back along the stream of time and observe the footprints on the sands, where saint, and king, chieftain, bishop, and holy monk, have left their impress and disappeared, to be succeeded later on by the baron and his armed retainers. How different the Ireland of to-day from the Ireland that Christian, the first Abbot of Mellifont, beheld when he and his companions settled down in the little valley, in the laud of the O'Carroll ! How many changes have passed over it since, leaving it the poorest country in Europe, though one of the richest in natural MELLIFONT ABBEY. 51 resources ! But these considerations appertain to the politician ; they do not lie within the scope of the present writer. Next to building their church and monastery, the first care of the monks on their immediate arrival at Mellifont, w^as to prepare the soil for tillage; for, judging from the nature of the surroundings, it must have been overrun with dense brushwood, unbroken, save at distant intervals, by patches of green sward. Most houses of the Order in Ireland had to contend with similar conditions at their foundation ; of Dunhrody, Co. Wexford, we are expressly told, that the monk sent by the Abbot of Buildewas to examine the site of the future monastery, found on it only a solitary oak surrounded by a sivamp. But these old monks were adepts in the reclamation of waste lands, and soon the hills rang with the instruments of husbandry. Pleasant gardens and fertile meadows rewarded their toil, and their example gave a stimulus to agriculture, which, till then, was neglected by a pastoral people. At the same time, they manufactured bricks in the locality, and employed them in their buildings. Then rumour on her many wings flew far and near, and spread the fame of the new-comers to that remote valley, and soon the monastery was crowded with visitors intent on seeing the strangers and observing closely their manner of life. The sight pleased them. The ways of these monks accorded with the traditions handed down of the inhabitants of the ancient monasteries, before the depredations of the Danes, and the hearts of a highly imaginative race, with quick spiritual instincts, were attracted towards St. Bernard's children. Immediately began an influx of postulants for the Cistercian habit, and every day brought more, till the stalls in the Choir were filled, and Abbot Christian's heart overflowed with glad- ness. In consultation with St. Malachy, Abbot Christian 52 MELLIFONT ABBEY. decided on founding another monastery, as his own could no longer contain the now greatly-increased community. A new colony was sent forth from it, and thus in two years from the foundation of Mellifont, was established ** Bective on the Boyne." Some say that Newry, which was endowed by Maurice M'Loughlin, King of Ireland, at St. Malachy's earnest entreaty, was the first filiation of Mellifont. The charter of its (Newry) foundation happily has come down to us, but it bears no date. However, O'Donovan, who translated it into English from the Latin original in MS. in the British Museum, says it was written in IIGO. As it is the only extant charter granted to a monastery by a native king before the Invasion, a copy of the translation is given in the Appendix. Under the patronage, then, of St. Malachy and the native princes, and by the skill, industry, and piety of its inmates, Mellifont rose and prospered, and merited an exalted place in popular esteem. The monastery was in course of construction, and their new church nearing completion, when a heavy trial befell the monks in the death of their unfailing friend, wise counsellor, and loved father, St. Malachy, which took place at Clairvaux, in the arms of St. Bernard, A.D. 1148. St. Bernard delivered a most pathetic discourse over the remains of his friend, and wrote a consoling letter to the Irish Cistercians, condoling with them on the loss they and the whole Irish Church had sustained on the death of St. Malachy. He, later on, wrote his life, and willed, that as they tenderly loved each other in life, so in death they should not be separated. Their tombs were side by side in the church of Clairvaux, till their relics, enshrined in magnificent altars, with many costly lamps burning before them, were scattered at the French Revolution, and the rich shrines were smashed and plundered. Portions of MELLIFONT ABBEY. 53 their bodies were, however, preserved by the good, pious people of the locality, and their heads are now preserved with honour in the cathedral of Troyes, France. The writers of the Cistercian Order claim St. Malachy as having belonged to them ; for, they say that being previously a Benedictine, he received the Cistercian habit from St. Bernard during one of his visits to Clairvaux. They add that St. Bernard exchanged cowls with him, and that he wore St. Malachy 's ever after on solemn festivals. The Saint's life is so well known that it needs no further notice here. Before his death, he saw three houses founded from Mellifont, namely, Bective, Newry, and Boyle. Two years after St. Malachy's death, that is, in 1150, the monks of Mellifont experienced another serious loss when their venerated Abbot, Christian, was appointed Bishop of Lismore, and Legate of the Holy See in Ireland, by Pope Eugenius III., who had been his fellow- novice in Clairvaux. Christian's brother, Malchus, was elected to the abbatial office in his stead. Malchus proved himself a very worthy superior, and Mellifont continued on her prosperous coarse, so much so, that in 1151, or nine years from its own. establishment, it could reckon as many as six important filiations, namely, Bective, Newry, Boyle, Athlone, Baltinglas, and Manister, or Manisternenay, Co. Limerick. In 1152, St. Bernard passed to his reward, after having founded IGO houses of his Order, having edified Christen- dom by the splendour of his virtues, and astonished it by his rare natural gifts, which elevated him far above all his contemporaries. From the moment that he accepted the pastoral staff as Abbot of Clairvaux, till his death, that is, during the space of forty years, he was the figure- head of his Order in whom its whole history was merged 54 MELLIFONT ABBEY. during that long period. In fact, he became so identified with the Order to which he belonged, that it was often called from him, Bernardine ; or, of Claraval, from his famous monastery; and it was in a great measure owing to his influence, and in grateful acknowledgment of the splendid services which he rendered the Church in critical times, that Sovereign Pontiffs heaped so many favours on it. He was the fearless and successful champion of the oppressed in all grades of society, and all looked up to him as their guide and instructor. And yet this paragon of wisdom, this stern judge of the evil- doer, was remarkable for his naturalness and affectionate disposition. On the occasion of his brother Gerard's death, he attempted to preach a continuation of bis discourses on the Canticle of Canticles, but his affection for his brother overcame him, and after giving vent to his grief, he delivered a most touching panegyric on his beloved Gerard. To the last moment of his life he entertained a most vivid recollection of his mother, and cherished the tenderest affection towards her memory. It may be doubted, that any child of the Church ever defended her cause with such loyalty and success. One stands amazed on readijig what the Rev. Mr. King writes in his Church History of Ireland, where he taxes St. Bernard with superstition, because the Saint relates in his Life of St. Malachy, how that holy man wrought certain miracles. So evident were St. Bernard's own miracles, that Luden, a German Protestant historian, calls them "incontestable." 'Twere supreme folly to accuse a man of St. Bernard's endowments and culture, of the weakness that admits or harbours superstition, which generally flows from ignorance, or incapacity to sift matters, and to test them in their general or parti- cular bearings. Oq the whole, Protestant writers speak and write approvingly of him. MELLIFONT ABBEY. 55 In that year (1152), a Synod was held at Mell, which, according to Ussher, is identical with Mellifont, though now a suburb of Drogheda is known by that name. Other Irish writers say that this Synod was held at Kells. At it Christian, then Bishop of Lisniore and Legate of the Holy See, presided. In the Annals of the Four Masters it is related, that a "Synod was convened at Drogheda, by the bishops of Ireland, with the successor of Patrick, and the Cardinal, John Paparo," etc. O'Donovan, quoting Colgan, tells us that Mellifont was known as the " Monastery at Drogheda." In this same year occurred the elopement of Dervor- gilla, wife of Tiernan O'Rourke, Prince of Brefny, with Dermod M'Murchad, King of Leinster. She is styled the Helen of Erin, as it is commonly supposed that her flight with Dermod occasioned the English Invasion. When O'Rourke heard of her departure, he was " marvel- lously troubled and in great choler, but more grieved for the shame of the fact than for sorrow or hurt, and, therefore, was fully determined to be avenged." It is mentioned in the Annals of Clonmacnois that O'Rourke had treated her harshly some time previous, and that her brother M'Laughliu connived at her conduct. Dervorgilla (which means in Irish, The True Pledge), was forty-four years of age at the time, whilst O'Rourke (who was blind of one eye) and M'Murchad, were each of them sixty-two years old. O'Rourke was the most strenuous opponent of the English at the Invasion, and was treacherously slain by a nephew of Maurice Fitzgerald at the Hill of Ward, near Athboy, in 1172. He was decapitated, and his head hung over the gates of Dublin for some time. It was afterwards sent to King Henry, in England. From 1152 to 1157 the monks attracted no attention worth chronicling; for during these five years they 56 MELLIFONT ABBI-Y, passed by unnoticed in our Annals. It is, however, certain that they were busily engaged in the completion of their church and in making preparations for its solemn consecration. And what a day of rejoicing that memo- rable day of the consecration was, when Mellifont beheld the highest and holiest in Church and State assembled to do her honour ! This ceremony far eclipsed any that had been witnessed before that in Ireland. What commotion and bustle filled the abbey, the valley, and the sur- rounding hills ! A constantly increasing crowd came thronging to behold a sight which gladdened their hearts and aroused their piety and admiration. For, there stood the Ard High (High King) of Erin, surrounded by his princes and nobles in all the pride and pageantry of state, the Primate Gelasius, and Christian, the Papal Legate, with seventeen other bishops, and almost all the abbots and priests in Ireland. Then the solemn rite was per- formed, and many precious offerings were made to the monks and to their church — gold and lands, cattle, and sacred vessels, and ornaments for the altars, were be- stowed with a generosity worthy of the princely donors. O'Melaghlin gave seven-score cows and three-score ounces of gold to God and the clergy, for the good of his soul. He granted them, also, a townland, called Fiunabhair-na- ninghean, a piece of land, according to O'Donovan, which lies on the south side of the Boyne, opposite the mouth of the Mattock, in the parish of Donore, Co. Meath. O'CarroU gave sixty ounces of gold, and the faithless but now repentant Dervorgilla presented a gold chalice for the High Altar, and cloths for the other nine altars of the church. Mellifont looked charming on that propitious occasion, and presented a truly delightful picture, with its beautiful church and abbey buildings glistening in the sun in all the M ELL 1 FONT ABBEY. 57 purity and freshness of the white, or nearly white, sandstone of which they were composed. Yet, beautiful as were the material buildings, far more so were those stones of the spiritual edifice, the meek and prayerful cenobites, who were gathered there to adore and serve their God in spirit and in truth. From that valley there arose a pleasing incense to the Lord — the prayers, and hymns, and canticles, which unceasingly resounded in that church from hearts truly devoted to God's worship, and dead to the world and themselves. 58 MKLI.IKOJST ABBEY. CHAPTER V. MELLIFONT CONTINUES TO FLOURISH UNDER SUCCESSIVE EMINENT SUPERIORS. " This is no common spot of earth, No place for idle words or mirth ; Here streamed the taper's mystic light ; Here flashed the waving censers bright ; Awhile the Church's ancient song Lingered the stately aisles along, And high mysterious words were said Which brought to men the living Bread." {W. Chatterton Dix.) FTER the consecration of their church the monks settled down to their ordinary- quiet way. The erection of the monastic buildings had hitherto kept them occupied ; now that these were completed, they de- voted their attention to the improvement of their farms, which they tilled with their own hands, and to the embellishment of their immediate surroundings. Even at this early period of her history, Mellifont was a hive of industry where all the trades flourished and many important arts were encouraged. At that time hired labour was sparingly employed by the monks; for they themselves bore a share in the work of the artisans as well as in the ordinary drudgery of tillage^ Labour placed all on a footing of equality whilst it gave vigour to the body by healthy exercise in the open air. Perhaps, this healthy exercise was one of the secrets of the longevity for which the monks were remarkable. MELLIFONT ABBEY. 59 Regularity of life continued for years contributes to a state of health which dispenses with physicians. Where- ever monks settled down they inomediately erected mills for grinding corn, for preparing and finishing the fabrics of which their garments were made, etc. St. Benedict enjoined on his monks the necessity of practising all the trades and arts within the walls of the monastery, so that they need never leave their enclosure for the purpose, or under the pretext, of having their work done by externs. Eleven years passed without Mellifont receiving any notice from our native chroniclers, and then at the year 1168, it is recorded, that Prince Donogh O'Carroll, the Founder, died and was buried in the church there. Ware tells us that bis tomb and those of other remark- able personages had been in the church. As it Avas an almost general custom in Ireland, that the Founders of religious houses were interred on the north, or Gospel side of the High Altar, so it may be justly inferred that he was buried within the chancel, and that the recess on the north side is where his monument was erected. Thus, King Charles O'Connor's tomb occupies the same place in Knockmoy Abbey, Co. Galway, of which he was Founder. So, too, in Corcomroe Abbey, Co. Clare, the tomb of Conor O'Brien, King of Thomond, grandson of the Founder of that abbey, is still to be seen in a niche in the wall on the north side of the High Altar. No doubt they were buried under the pavement. The ancient Statutes of the Order permitted kings and bishops to be buried in the churches, but assigned no particular part as proper to them. In 1170, a monk named Auliv, who had been expelled* * The Annals of Ulster simply state " for the monks of Ireland did banish him (Auliv) out of their abbacy, through lawful causes." The Four Ma>ROGHEDA. 1 TRIMGATE STREET, NAVAN. 149 ADVERTISEMENTS. J. NOLAN, Frxnfer, Boaksellcr, SfaHoner, Neiusagenf, Toy and Fancy Goods Warehouse 11 LAURENCE STREET, JOHN COLLINS, 32 & 33 SHOP STRSST, DROGHEDA. IRONMONGER. HOUSE FURNISHER, PLUMBER & IMPLEMENT AGENT. ESTABLISHED 123 YEARS. BELEEK GOODS. - Tea Services, Vases, Ornaments, Crosses, Fonts, etc., At Very Low Prices. PETER McQuillan, iroiiur, Chandlor S: ©il Jmprtq, 90 WEST STREET, 150 ADVERTISEMENTS. THOMAS LYONS, &ROCEE, BAKER, Corn, Meal, and Flour Merchant, 54 & 63 TRIMTY STREET, DROGHEDA. PATKICK DEEW, YICTUILLEH, 8 WEST STREET, DROaHEDA. BEEF & MUTTON OF BEST QUALITY, A/ways in Stock at Lowest Prices. WILLIAM TAAFFE, GENERAL MERCHANT, ARDEE. ESTABLISHED 1863. Drapery. Ready-made Clothing. Boots and Shoes. JBepartments : Seeds and Manures. Timber, Iron and CoaL Ironmongery. Paints, Oils and Colours. Commissioner for Affidavits in the Supreme Court of Judicature. DISTRICT STAMP DISTRIBUTOR. 151 ADVERTISEMENTS. IMPERIAL HOTEL, DUNDALK. fN this long established and popular Hotel will be found Large and Airy Bedrooms, and Comfortable Sitting Kooms. CHARGES MODERATE. BUSSES ATTEND ALL TRAINS. The Proprietor and Staff leave nothing undone to secure the comfort of Visitors. PATRICK O'TOOLE, Proprietor. ?P Wl IP 'O m ^ a, ^ ^ 4^^ ^ Restaurant and Dining Rooms, 11 (fe 12 EARL STREET, DUNDALK, CONFECTIONER and FANCY BISCUIT BAKER. Creams, Jellies, Blanc-manges, and Christening Cakes. Balls, Suppers, Pic-Nic, and Wedding Parties, supplied on the shortest notice. THE IRISH CISTERCIANS; PAST AND PRESENT. Second Edition is in preparation for the Press, and wiU soon be ready. I Ilustratei. Price Is. nett; By Post, Is. 2d. ^ V. 152 ADVERTISEMENTS. THE IRISH TOURIST. Published Monthly during the Tourist Season. Full of Interesting and Useful Information, and Photo- graphic Illustrations. PRICE ONE PENNY. VISIT IRELAND. A Concise, Descriptive, and Illustrated Guide to Ireland. THE BEST GUIDE EVER OFFERED FOR 6d. THE IRISH GOLFERS' ANNUAL: CONTAINING : Club Directory, and Description of Principal Links, Together with a large amount of Information most useful to Golfers. PRICE ONE SHILLING. Tlie F. W. GROSSLEY PUBLISHING CO., LTD., 24a Nassau Street, Dubi:.in. ADVERTISEMENTS. GREAT NORTHERNJAILWAY CO. (IRELAND). ROYAXi MAZZ. ROUTS liKTWKKN NORTH OF ZRZ:i.ilNB &. EirCI.A.ND Via KZNCSTO'Wir And i:XPRZ:SS service via north "WAT^Js (DVBX.IN) or GRESSrORE and HOI.YHEA.D. Direct service of Trains and .Steamers with every comfort and cron- venienee. Special Messenger in charge of Luggage between London and Kingstown. FASTEST AND MOST DIRECT SERVICE liKTWUK.V IRELAND AND SCOTLAND Via BELFAST, and MAIL SERVICE TWICE EVERY EVENING, Via ARDROSSAN and Via GREENOCK. Cheap Fares between Dublin and other Stations with Glasgow and Edinburgh An Omnibus runs from the Great Northern Railway Terminus at Belfast on arrival of the train due at 9.0 p.m., and convej's Passengers, with their personal luggage, for the Ardrossan Mail Steamer. It also conveys Passengers from the incoming Steamers leaving Donegall Quay at 7.10 a.m. in time for the 7.30 a.m. train from Belfast to Dublin, etc. Dining, Luncheon and Breakfast Cars are run on the principal trains between Dublin and Belfast, and also through between Belfast and Kingstown Pier, thus saving all transferring at Dublin. Tourists' Tickets are issued at Dublin, Londonderry, Belfast, and the principal Great Northern Stations : To WARRENPOINT, for Rostrevor, Newcastle, the Mourne Moun- tains, and County Down Coast, including Hotel Accommodation. „ GREENORE. for Carlingford Lough. „ ENNISKILLEN and Bundoran, for Lough Erne, including Hotel Accommodation. „ BUNCRANA, Rosapenna, Dunfanaghy, for the Donegal High- lands, including Hotel Accommodation. „ DROGHEDA, for the Valley of the Boyne. „ HOWTH, for Hill of Howth and Dublin Bay. „ MALAHIDE, including Hotel Accommodation. „ CONNEMARA and Killarnev. ., PORTRUSH, for the Giants'" Causeway. ,. - Circular Tours have also been arranged, emb|&cing all places of most interest in the country, and giving a succession of picturesque scenery, and the finest shooting and fishing in Ireland. The fares are low, and reductions made when two or more persons travel together. Tourists travelling by the Great Northern Railway will find their comfort and convenience studied in every respect. Passengers landing at Londonderry or Queenstown from the American Steamers can book at greatly reduced fares, to the principal Stations in Ireland, also to Scotland and England. To obtain the Company's Time Tables, Illustrated Guides and Programmes, and full information as to the fares, routes, excursion arrangements, etc., apply to the Superintendent of the Line. Amiens Street Terminus, Dublin. HENRY PLEWS, Dublin, 1897. Ge>eral Manac.ek. "^/^aaAiNn-awv^ ^immYO/^^ A^mmYO/:-^ Miwmm/h ^mm iLir:! iiinrt ti-r* t^ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles ^^/SmM This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. MAY ^ 4 ?991l 315 /^ A>M-IIBRARYG.^ ^TilJONVSOl^ %J13AINa-3UV^ %0JnV3J0'^ "^tfOJllVDJO^ .^WE•l)NIVERS/A , ^OfCAllFO/?^ ^0FCAlIF0/?4 ■^1 ^5 >— - .^ c,' >&AavaanAV ^>5^^l-lIBRARYG^. .K^ILIBRARYQ^ ^WEUNIVER% ^lOSANCElfx^ ^^aojiTVD'jo'^ ^'^a^my^^ -^•smmm'^ %a3AiN(i3Wv' ;^OFCAllF0i?^ .aOFCA[IF0% LUI '"^ommr^ ^^Aavaani^ .\WEUNIVER% ee ■ ■ ^ ^ ^^ ^lOSANCEltr^ o