1)00 
 
 iDiori 
 
 rs 
 
 rene 
 
 and Lrnesl I 
 
 ace
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 
 
 THE NATIVE IRISH 
 
 THEIR DESCENDANTS.
 
 IF EVER ON THY EYELID STOOD THE TEAR 
 THAT PITY HATH ENGENDER'D DROP ONE HERE. 
 COWPER. 
 
 YET THAT POPULATION IS ENDOWED BY NATURE WITH GREAT MENTAL VIVACITY, 
 
 THIERRY.
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCHES 
 
 THE NATIVE IRISH 
 
 AND THEIR 
 
 DESCENDANTS; 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE OF THEIR PAST AND PRESENT STATE 
 
 WITH REGARD TO 
 
 itterature, education, antt <ral $n$truttfoit. 
 
 BY CHRISTOPHER ANDERSON. 
 
 SECOND EDITION, ENLARGED. 
 
 EDINBURGH : 
 
 PUBLISHED BT 
 
 OLIVER & BO YD, TWEEDDALE-COURT 
 
 AND 
 
 SIMPKIN & MARSHALL, LONDON. 
 1830.
 
 Oliver A Boyd, Printers.
 
 In adversis etiam ida. 
 
 " Learning, which dawned in the remotest east, has hitherto moved westward like the 
 great luminary of day. It would he anticipating the ordinary course of human knowledge 
 to suppose that Ireland has passed her zenith ; it should rather encourage her sons, that she 
 has not yet come to her meridian." Camden's Hibernia by Gough. 
 
 THE DESCENDANTS OF THE ANCIENT 
 
 NATIVE IRISH, 
 
 AND TO ALL WHO BEFRIEND THEM, 
 THESE PAGES ARE INSCRIBED BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 2061254
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 SOME time hence, it will certainly require a consider- 
 able effort for any man to believe, that a people exist- 
 ed, in the nineteenth century, within the limits of this 
 kingdom, in the condition here explained. Literature, 
 Education, and Oral Instruction, involve the very high- 
 est interests of a community ; but, speaking general- 
 ly, these advantages have been so long enjoyed by the 
 people of this country, and so richly, that the positive 
 present circumstances of the Native Irish, when viewed 
 in connexion with all around them, will certainly appear, 
 to such a man, difficult of belief. " It is not merely, 1 ' 1 
 he will say, " that Ireland should have been about 
 the last of the countries in Europe, into which the in- 
 vention of printing was introduced ; but that above 
 three hundred and seventy years should have been 
 permitted to pass away after that invention, before the 
 natives were favoured with the Sacred Scriptures, in 
 one volume, in their own language and character ! 
 It is not that the progress of education should have 
 been slow, when it might have been rapid, but so per- 
 versely thwarted, that, after thirty years of the nine- 
 teenth century had elapsed, such an aggregate of this 
 interesting people should have been unable to read the 
 alphabet ! It is not that oral instruction in the native 
 tongue should have been neglected from one century 
 to another, but that, in the year 1830, there should not
 
 8 PREFACE. 
 
 have been a single edifice in all Ireland expressly devoted 
 to the purpose of proclaiming the truth of God in the 
 language of three millions, who speak it daily !" 
 
 " And for all this," he asks, " was there no reme- 
 dy. In the immediate neighbourhood of Britain, had 
 any thing occurred like that in Egypt, when artificial 
 light as well as natural was withdrawn, and the very 
 power of combustion withheld ?" Although there were 
 no analogy, it may be replied, for every day of the 
 one, we have had more than a hundred years of the 
 other ! But was there absolutely no remedy ? Yes, 
 there was and it was not only pointed out but en- 
 forced, two hundred and thirty, if not two hundred 
 and fifty years ago ; but, with two or three exceptions 
 of small extent, during that whole period all such ad- 
 vice was either despised or neglected, until at least 
 three millions of people were found in the situation 
 described. 
 
 But why need I refer to any man some time hence ? 
 Accustomed as we have long been to the possession 
 and enjoyment of these inestimable benefits, it is even 
 now not easy for many to form a conception, of what 
 is known, by a few, to be the undisguised condition of 
 this people. It is true that, since the more frequent 
 communication with the sister country, her real situa- 
 tion has been more forcibly brought home ; and yet, 
 frequently as the state of Ireland has engaged atten- 
 tion, nay engrossed the public mind, such a view of 
 the country as the facts about to be related must sug- 
 gest, has never, I believe, been once mooted, or even 
 glanced at, by a single member, within the walls of the 
 Senate-house. 
 
 The mist, however, is rising, though it has not yet 
 entirely dispersed ; and so, at the present stage of our
 
 PREFACE. 9 
 
 acquaintance with the country, it is still almost daily 
 inquired, " What can be the real causes for Ireland 
 being found, at this late day, in her present circum- 
 stances ?" The writer, it will be seen, is very far from 
 the too common error that of ascribing the whole to 
 any single cause ; but he will leave it to any inquirer, 
 whether he is not here furnished with one palpable 
 reason. 
 
 The objects in view are of a description with which 
 the feelings of party ought never to be associated, and 
 the writer greatly mistakes if, in any instance, he has 
 betrayed them. His object has been to interest one 
 part of the community on behalf of another, and, by 
 correct information, to excite the sympathy of the ge- 
 neral reader. At the same time, it is proper to state, 
 without any disguise, that the present is simply another 
 effort to clear away one of the most absurd and ungener- 
 ous barriers to moral improvement, which ever existed hi 
 a civilized country ; and to bring, if it be possible, the 
 energies of British benevolence and Christian philan- 
 thropy to bear upon those parts of our country which 
 still stand out in such contrast to the rest, that they 
 have often excited the astonishment of foreigners, and 
 exposed this nation to their just though severe re- 
 proach. 
 
 In the year 1815, a brief Memorial on behalf of this 
 people, with a view to their moral improvement, 
 through the medium of their own language, excited 
 some attention : but the community at large, whether 
 in Britain or even Ireland itself, was not then awake 
 to the extent of illiteracy the almost entire absence 
 of means or the real amount of the native popula- 
 tion. Each of these, however, in turn became with 
 some the subject of friendly discussion. Meanwhile
 
 10 PREFACE. 
 
 the past history of the people as to literature, educa- 
 tion, and oral instruction, that is, such as their lan- 
 guage had all along positively demanded, was full of 
 painful interest, and if brought down to our own 
 times, promised to furnish one of the most extraordi- 
 nary contrasts to every other class of their fellow- 
 subjects but there was no work in existence, em- 
 bracing, with impartiality and distinctness, the entire 
 history of their past and present situation. With a 
 view to supply this deficiency, in the autumn of 
 1828, the first edition of these Sketches was publish- 
 ed, but it has already for a considerable time been out 
 of print. The Author has therefore done what he could 
 to correct and improve this second impression through- 
 out, giving additional force to former facts, and bringing 
 up various statements to the present date. The pre- 
 face of the last edition, being more properly an intro- 
 duction, is now inserted as such, in this volume. 
 
 The actual condition of so large a proportion of 
 British subjects certainly cannot much longer be treat- 
 ed with cold indifference ; and it would be well for 
 them, if these statements were at last regarded as an 
 appeal, I will not say to the judgment only, but to 
 the justice and the humanity of the kingdom at large. 
 
 EDINBURGH, April, 1830.
 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Page 
 
 PRIMITIVE TRIBES in the west of Europe; four within the 
 United Kingdom ; the Public attention far from being suffi- 
 ciently awakened to the present state of one of these; the import- 
 ance of farther inquiry into their peculiarly neglected condition, 1 3 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 LITERARY HISTORY Or Gleanings from the Early Ages to 
 the Present Day, including some notice of the most eminent 
 Men ; references to Irish Typography, whether in Britain or 
 on the Continent ; and an Account of the translation and print- 
 ing of the Sacred Volume in the vernacular tongue, 23 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING Of early and modern date, including 
 some account of the attempts to employ the Irish tongue as a 
 branch of Education at home, and of the Schools either founded 
 by the Native Irish, or at their instance, for their Education 
 
 abroad, 103 
 
 iris 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION Including Historical Notices of all that 
 has yet been effected in preaching to the Natives in their verna- 
 cular tongue, and the present condition of the Country with re- 
 gard to a stated Ministry in the language of the Irish people,... 129 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 UNFOUNDED OBJECTIONS Against the employment of the 
 Irish language answered, and shown to be of baneful tendency 
 in every sense ; as it is not only essential to the effectual instruc- 
 tion of the people, but its neglect is injurious, as well to the pro- 
 gress of theEnglish language as to that of general information,. ..167
 
 12 CONTENTS. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Page 
 
 THE IRISH LANGUAGE With proofs of the extent to which it 
 is spoken at present, or used daily by the Natives as the natural 
 vehicle of their thoughts ; and this extent accounted for or ex- 
 plained, 206 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND Viewed apart by themselves, as 
 an object demanding special consideration and assistance, in- 
 cluding the number of inhabitants in each Island, 232 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 DESIDERATA BOOKS Or brief Catalogue of Desirables for the 
 Native Irish population, 250 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 DESIDERATA EDUCATION Through the medium of the Irish 
 language, whether by means of Stationary or of Circulating 
 Schools, 270 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION Or the necessity and 
 importance of ministering the Divine Word in a language under- 
 stood by the People, 291 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 To THE NATIVE IRISH More especially to such Individuals 
 among them as are interested in the Progress of Literature, 
 Education, and Oral Instruction, 319 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 PRIMITIVE RACES Continental and British Celtic Dialects,... 343
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Primitive Tribes on the west of Europe; four within the United Kingdom ; the 
 public attention far from being sufficiently awakened to the present state of one 
 of these, the aborigines of Ireland; the importance of farther inquiry into their 
 peculiarly neglected condition. 
 
 SCATTERED throughout several countries on the western 
 shores of Europe, there are to be found various confess- 
 edly ancient tribes of our fellow-men, between which 
 there still exists a marked affinity in point of language. 
 They are generally supposed to be the earliest waves of 
 that tide of population which proceeded westward in 
 Europe, till stopped in their progress by the sea, and 
 most of them occupy at this moment nearly the same 
 ground which they did in the days of Ceesar. If the 
 sources of some of those rivers with which we have been 
 long acquainted, have hitherto baffled all the enterprise 
 of our travellers, so has the origin of -those primitive 
 races, the research of the learned. Their dialects being 
 the children of one common Parent, and this unques- 
 tionably a very ancient tongue, these various tribes of 
 course, belong to a people correspondently ancient ; but 
 the neglect of their dialects has, in its measure, contri- 
 buted to a discordance of sentiment with regard to the 
 people. In the absence or deficiency of other data, lan- 
 guages have not unfrequently served to fix the antiquity 
 and lineage of a people, and hence they have even been 
 styled the pedigree of nations. 
 
 But whatever may be the opinion formed as to their 
 descent, the treatment of these distinct races is a question
 
 14 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 of far greater importance than that of their origin or 
 antiquity ; and it is certainly singular that every thing 
 which has hitherto been done for them in the business 
 of education or moral improvement, has been the result, 
 not of any kind and considerate legislative interference 
 or enactment, but of individual philanthropy and much 
 entreaty. Prejudices of the narrowest order have been 
 cherished for ages, particularly with regard to the lan- 
 guage in which they have been born, and left far be- 
 hind in the march of improvement, their present state 
 has actually been ascribed, and even lately, to inaptitude 
 for civilization, instead of its true and only cause, the 
 want of a vernacular literature, and of intelligent dis- 
 course with them in their own tongue. The language 
 spoken in the vicinity of each of these tribes is of course 
 that of the reigning power, and for ages most of them 
 have been told that their only chance for elevation lay 
 through that medium, though they did not understand 
 it, nor do they understand it now. 
 
 These remarks apply in all their force, not only to the 
 Basque language spoken both in Spain and France, and 
 of which there are at this moment several dialects, and 
 the Bas Bretagne spoken by a large population in Brit- 
 tany, Belle Isle, and on the banks of the Loire running 
 in towards the centre of France, but they apply to four 
 dialects of the same parent spoken within the United 
 Kingdom, including at least four millions of British sub- 
 jects, viz. the Welsh, the Manx, the Gaelic, and the Na- 
 tive Irish. Individual benevolence and earnest pleading 
 have at last achieved for Wales, and in part for the 
 Highlands and the Isle of Wan, what ought to have 
 been effected in ages long before the present generation. 
 Indeed Wales, as it will afterwards be shown, now stands 
 pre-eminent among these Celtic tribes for the advantages 
 which she enjoys; but in Ireland, where at least three 
 millions converse in Irish daily, to say nothing at pre- 
 sent respecting oral instructipn, the business of educa-
 
 INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 tion in the vernacular tongue is only just begun ! It is 
 not that there have been no resolutions passed by the 
 legislature in former ages, after deliberate and frequent 
 discussion, terminating uniformly in one opinion, the 
 necessity for employing the language spoken daily ; but 
 in the following pages the reader will find that all these 
 resolutions were as nothing, that in no instance did 
 they lead to any course of action, that each of them was 
 but the expression of an unpursued order Fox et prae- 
 terea nihil. He will find that so entirely has the subject 
 been neglected or opposed, that it is now above one 
 hundred and seventeen years since the last of these 
 public expressions of a sense of duty was uttered ; and 
 that, though Irish education and oral instruction were 
 precisely what this people at that time required, and re- 
 quire still, then it was that, in regard to these subjects, 
 all parties at home drew the curtains and retired to rest. 
 In the following pages, the reader will have frequent op- 
 portunities of observing, what others were doing else- 
 where, while they slept. 
 
 In becoming more intimately acquainted with the sister 
 kingdom, it will become a received maxim, that whatever 
 evils exist, they are not to be, as they have often been, 
 all run into one, or ascribed to one source, and of course 
 one remedy or one species of benevolence cannot meet 
 her condition. Each of those evils requires to be indi- 
 vidually and wisely met, with patience and kindness. 
 Particular departments of her four provinces differ from 
 each other as much as if they were a thousand miles 
 apart, the main land is surrounded, especially on the 
 west and south, by thousands of Islanders, living de- 
 tached in the adjoining seas, and the whole population 
 of seven millions and a half is divided into two distinct 
 classes, who daily speak two very different languages. 
 It is to one of these languages, the Native Irish, and the 
 people who use it constantly, that our attention must be 
 confined in the subsequent pages.
 
 16 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 If an accurate knowledge of the real state and condi- 
 tion of many a neglected district in Ireland be desired, 
 it is absolutely necessary that a vigilant eye be fixed on 
 this language. For illustration, I may ask, what should 
 we think of any man, when referring even to Scotland, 
 who should affirm, that in reference to it, there can be 
 no pressing occasion for carrying education much far- 
 ther at present, as the average now able to read there is 
 about the highest in the world. " If," he says, " you 
 have one in nine, if not eight, able to read, what can you 
 say to other countries ?" I reply, we have first to say, in 
 reference to Scotland, there happens to be another lan- 
 guage spoken there, and that the average in our High- 
 lands and Islands is but as one to sixteen or seventeen. 
 Now in the same manner, when any writer with regard 
 to Ireland numbers up her 600,000 English scholars, 
 then looks at the average as one to twelve or thirteen, 
 and begins to speculate as to the state of education we 
 have to add but there is another language spoken there ; 
 and oh what a falling-off is here, whether we look at 
 average or particulars ! Perhaps not one in sixty able to 
 read, and that only within these very few years, or only 
 one in one hundred andjifty under tuition, is an average 
 sufficiently melancholy. But every average supposes 
 certain particulars or exceptions, compared with which 
 the average itself would be a paradise. Now for the ac- 
 tual state of things, whether as to education or oral in- 
 struction, in certain Irish mountains and plains and 
 islands, we must refer the reader to what follows. 
 
 Did this people constitute only a small proportion of 
 the population, our duty by them would be the same ; 
 but when their number in comparison with the aggre- 
 gate body has become so large, it is not saying too much 
 when we affirm, that there is nothing which essentially 
 regards their best interests, that can safely be viewed as 
 inferior to a subject of national importance. It is not 
 denied that in contemplating the important interests of
 
 INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 the United Kingdom,, generally, the effectual improve- 
 ment of Ireland is now the question of by far the great- 
 est national importance. It is no longer important to 
 Ireland alone, but almost equally so both to England 
 and Scotland, and that not since the Union only, but 
 since the application of steam-navigation. For though 
 always lying in the bosom of Great Britain, as if intend- 
 ed by nature for the most intimate and cordial con- 
 nexion, past ages have shown how possible it was for 
 ' nations intersected by a narrow frith' to abhor each 
 other. These days are now past, it is hoped, for ever ; 
 at all events, the state is now one, and the moral condi- 
 tion of any given spot in it must needs become the in- 
 terest of all, otherwise it cannot now be long before the 
 effects are felt in every corner of the empire. Let not 
 then the present condition of the Native Irish popula- 
 tion be disregarded. Setting political union altogether 
 out of view, a bridge across St George's Channel could 
 not more effectually have opened up Ireland to us, or 
 this country to it, than the invention referred to has 
 done. To check or obstruct intercourse between the 
 people of these lands, if once practicable, is now impos- 
 sible. The channel between them is now no obstruc- 
 tion, and the people of both countries, to a great degree, 
 like kindred waves, must affect each other, if not mingle 
 into one. Already we have about ninety or one hun- 
 dred thousand of the Irish in London, about or above 
 thirty thousand in Glasgow and its neighbourhood, to 
 .say nothing of other places. 
 
 Past neglect may be regretted ; so it ought to be, and 
 so it will ; but the crisis to which we have come is not 
 to be deplored. It had been far better for both coun- 
 tries had it arrived long since. An interchange of kind 
 offices is now no more a thing of choice, a matter of 
 option, if we have any regard for the prosperity and 
 morals of Great Britain ; and it is a good thing, when 
 circumstances conspire to render the duty we owe to
 
 18 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 God and man imperative. If we are governed by sound 
 Christian principle, the improvement of such Irish dis- 
 tricts must follow as one effect of such frequent inter- 
 course. This may, or, at least, certainly should rouse to 
 the duties of brotherhood, and ultimately increase the 
 sum of national happiness, and peace, and power. 
 
 'Tis thus reciprocating, each with each, 
 Alternately the nations learn and teach ; 
 While Providence enjoins to every soul 
 A union with the vast terraqueous whole. 
 
 In such circumstances, the history of a people, with 
 reference to their intellectual and moral condition, must 
 prove interesting as well as profitable, and an acquaint- 
 ance with it is an incumbent duty. But the history of 
 the Native Irish, as such in any sense, has never been 
 written. Noticed they have been, casually, in con- 
 nexion with Danish and Norman invaders, with Saxon, 
 and English, and Scottish settlers ; but, viewed as an 
 ancient and distinct race, with a language peculiar to 
 themselves, to pursue the thread of their narrative is, at 
 present, next to impossible. The following pages, there- 
 fore, must be considered merely as an attempt, accurate, 
 I believe, as far as it goes, but still only an essay, which 
 may perhaps be of some utility to a future historian. 
 
 At the same time, the object in preparing these pages 
 was neither the amusement of the writer, nor the mere 
 entertainment of his reader. Interest him, he hopes, 
 they will, but something beyond mere interest is intend- 
 ed. As to their moral condition in past ages and the 
 present hour, here are certain tracts of our own country 
 or kingdom laid open for consideration, but with no 
 other view than to suggest how it is possible to convey 
 something more than fugitive good, or temporal happi- 
 ness only, to a long-neglected though warm-hearted 
 people. When we say long-neglected, the reader will 
 find that this is spoken advisedly, not in ignorance of
 
 INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 all, or rather the little that has been done in past ages 
 for the Native Irish, or of all that has been effected or 
 proposed, within the last ten or fifteen years. Yet, with 
 every disposition to rejoice in the recent exercise of more 
 benevolent feeling, it may still be added, when looking 
 at the great body of this people, without a vernacular 
 literature, without books, without schools, and without 
 the ministration of the divine word in their native lan- 
 guage, why marvel at the state of many parts of this 
 fine country ? If Wales, unable or unwilling to help her- 
 self, which she was not, had been so left, what had been 
 the condition of England? If the Highlands and Islands, 
 what the condition of Scotland ? But the population of 
 both these put together amounts not to above a third of 
 the Native Irish in number. Beside, the inhabitants of 
 Wales and the Highlands in general dwell apart and 
 alone. It is not so with the Native Irish, as the follow- 
 ing statements will prove : In every province of Ire- 
 land, and one might almost say in every county, there 
 are to be found the Irish districts, properly so called. 
 It is repeated, therefore, without a vernacular literature, 
 and solid Christian oral instruction, among an ancient, 
 shrewd, and interesting people, swarming through every 
 part of the island, are there no specific and appropriate 
 remedies ? When speaking in good earnest of this coun- 
 try, the writer has been too often there, and seen too 
 much of every province, to think for one moment of as- 
 cribing its present state to any one cause. He desires 
 not to dwell so much on the presence of evil as the ab- 
 sence of good ; but, until there be conveyed into the 
 possession of this people, through the medium of their 
 daily speech, some of the same blessings, which in ours 
 have raised us to our present level, all other schemes and 
 plans must prove in the infallible result just what they 
 have ever done, inefficacious and vain. 
 
 On both sides of the channel considerable curiosity 
 has recently been excited as to this particular branch of
 
 20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 British subjects, but a distinct account of whatever has 
 actually been done by them or for them does not exist- 
 The first Section of this volume, therefore, refers more 
 immediately to men and books ; the second to schools of 
 learning ; the third includes the important subject of oral 
 instruction. These, instead of having any such epithets 
 as literature, learning, or instruction applied to them, 
 some may denominate a history or sketch of illiteracy ; 
 .and, in certain connexions, it will be found, so does the 
 writer. Yet poor as the story is, although centuries 
 are included, and poor as it ever must be, he has pre- 
 ferred the titles given, that, in their extreme poverty, 
 we might read with greater effect, as well our obliga- 
 tions to bring up the arrear, as the extent of obligation 
 manifestly imposed on all who become acquainted with 
 the facts of the case. 
 
 The statements given thus far, if impartially consi- 
 dered, involve, it is presumed, an answer to all the ob- 
 jections which have ever been brought against the em- 
 ployment of the Irish language; but as these give occa- 
 sion to state various collateral proofs of the necessity and 
 importance of the vulgar tongue being employed, as the 
 only effectual agent in this instance, just as in every 
 other, the objections themselves, such as they are, have 
 been noticed in the fourth Section. As the extent of the 
 case, the extent to which the Irish language is in daily 
 use, has been much misunderstood, and is still much 
 disputed, thejifl/i Section will furnish the reader with 
 some data, which may enable him to judge for himself. 
 The sixth Section refers to regions in our native land 
 of which most persons have never heard, and of which 
 no distinct account is to be found in books; but, as the 
 peculiar condition of the Islanders of Ireland was never 
 before brought under the public eye, a hope is indulged 
 that they will not, cannot, now be forgotten. 
 
 As for the desiderata mentioned in the subsequent 
 Sections, the reader had best consult them for himself,
 
 INTRODUCTION: 21 
 
 {hough, of course, it is presumed that he has read thus 
 far. But it will there be observed, that the author pro- 
 poses no additional application to government,* no 
 nen foundations, the formation of no new Society, 
 no mere resolutions to be passed. The objects are va- 
 rious, and of various character ; some are moral, one 
 is of a sacred nature. In such circumstances, he would 
 rather appeal to the benevolent feeling of many intelli- 
 gent minds, resident in various parts of Ireland in va- 
 rious parts of Britain. He has no mere party purpose 
 whatever to serve, and he thinks the reader will watch 
 in vain for any expression throughout these pages indi- 
 cative of mere party feeling. Still, there is surely 
 enough here, and more than enough to excite the inquiry 
 from many individuals living upon Irish ground "But 
 is there any way, by which / could contribute some 
 share towards a better day ?" Certainly there is ; and I 
 trust there will be found at least a little group of hu- 
 mane and intelligent men in the various cities and towns 
 or counties of Ireland, who will be disposed to add, 
 " Laissez-nous faire," and we shall, should it be neces- 
 sary, unostentatiously report progress, and tell, not only 
 what is doing, but in what manner others could assist. 
 But in other instances, and ultimately in many, if not in 
 most, even this may not be necessary. It is quite pos- 
 sible to do much good on a limited scale, if energy and 
 perseverance are employed, where there is no incumbent 
 necessity for either saying or writing one word respect- 
 ing it. Time, which is invaluable, is thus redeemed, 
 both to the doer and those who must have stopped to 
 read his communications. In few words, should the 
 writer succeed in promoting a sense of individual re- 
 
 * At the same time, although no part of the money already voted has ever been 
 applied to the education of the Native Irish as such, he may surely be permitted 
 to inquire, why, when the vote returns, they should again be forgotten ? The 
 King himself annually devotes .201)0 to the Highlands and Islands ; and his Ma- 
 jesty is also the Patron of the Gaelic School*. 
 
 A2
 
 22 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 sponsibility, in awakening a deeper and more enlarged 
 sympathy for this long-neglected people in the hearts of 
 those who ought to be interested, the various and need- 
 ful remedies will be applied, and his end is gained. But 
 either mode, or both, can by no means supersede the ne- 
 cessity for the attention of others, and on this side of the 
 channel, being drawn to the fulfilment of long-neglected 
 duty towards such a numerous class of fellow- subjects. 
 The Irish language itself the writer cannot as yet 
 speak, and perhaps never will. As a medium of com- 
 munication, therefore, he cannot feel the enthusiastic at- 
 tachment of a native, and, it is presumed, may there- 
 fore be admitted as a safer, if not an unprejudiced wit- 
 ness. But, regarding it as a medium of thought and 
 feeling between the people themselves, havhig witness- 
 ed for himself the deep hold which it has of the heart, 
 he hesitates not to add, that in all the measures here re- 
 commended and enforced, the language itself alone will 
 be found to operate like the insertion of leaven, and will 
 lend to each of these measures a corresponding, an ir- 
 resistible energy. Meanwhile, if the reader desires to 
 understand the actual condition of this people, the au- 
 thor has only to request that he will suspend his judg- 
 ment till he has got to the conclusion, and then, taking 
 it all in all, let him say if there is to be found within 
 the limits of this kingdom a case of such urgency, where 
 we are called to an application of the remedy by recol- 
 lections of past neglect and long delay, at once so nu- 
 merous and so painful.
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 LITERARY HISTORY 
 
 Or Gleanings from the Early Ages to the Present Day, including some notice of 
 the most eminent Men ; references to Irish Typography, whether in Britain or 
 on the Continent ; and an Account of the translation and printing of the Sacred 
 Volume in the vernacular tongue. 
 
 IN this, as well as the following Section, the ultimate 
 object of the writer is quite specific, though almost un- 
 precedented. From whatever cause, there has long 
 existed such a disposition to accumulate the mere asser- 
 tions of successive authors, as so many independent 
 proofs of the cultivated state of Ireland in past ages ; 
 such an inclination to exaggerate, or embellish, or 
 theorize, that there has unhappily grown up, in many 
 very intelligent minds, a strong aversion from all candid 
 inquiry into certain parts of Irish history, and more 
 especially into the past circumstances of the aborigines. 
 Even the inquisitive have felt no inclination to turn, 
 their eye in this direction, and glancing on such a 
 volume as this, make their escape immediately to those 
 pages which describe the existing state of the country. 
 In the present instance, however, should the reader 
 have only perused the introduction, he is already aware 
 that under this head there is no favourite theory to be 
 intruded, no mere traditions about to be quoted, nor is 
 he to find the slightest tendency to any reliance upon 
 the vague assertions of fabulous narrative. 
 
 The object first in view is simply that of putting upon 
 record, in brief and regular succession, what will ever 
 prove, comparatively, a meagre statement of such parti- 
 culars as cannot be controverted ; and although the au
 
 24 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 thor is perfectly aware that, to certain individuals, the 
 title of this and the following Section must wear some- 
 what of the air of burlesque, both have been preferred 
 for several important reasons. 
 
 Were these scanty materials, here confirmed by dis- 
 tinct reference to authorities, drawn out merely for the 
 gratification of the curious in Irish antiquities, or to en- 
 list the Irish reader through the medium of his preju- 
 dices ; were no practical and even important conclusions 
 to be ultimately founded upon them, the present writer 
 had certainly never submitted a single page of such mat- 
 ter to general readers. But if, on the other hand, there 
 is here to be seen one class of our fellow-subjects, and 
 now confessedly a very large one, among which there 
 have been men, who, though labouring under peculiar 
 disadvantages, were far from indifferent to the cultiva- 
 tion of letters ; if in the very poverty of these two Sec- 
 tions, certain classes in this kingdom, more highly fa- 
 voured, are furnished with a demonstrative proof of the 
 injurious and mistaken policy of past times, as well as 
 the consequent obligations of the present age ; and if, at 
 the same time, the account here given, presents in con- 
 trast, at once striking and painful, the activity of certain 
 Native Irishmen chiefly abroad, and the indolence, nay, 
 heartless coldness of their British fellow-subjects at 
 home, who, during this long period, were bound by hu- 
 manity and sound patriotism, to have fostered their im- 
 provement in useful knowledge, then, surely, the writer 
 may rely on the patience of even general readers, for at 
 least one candid perusal. 
 
 . To the prejudiced, he is fully aware that all such de- 
 tail must needs prove irksome, more especially when it 
 becomes condemnatory of past neglect. Ages of long 
 delay arid mistaken policy are never likely to be calmly 
 reviewed by them ; but if any substantial benefit is thus 
 likely to ensue to the present generation, the judicious 
 and humane will not at once shut the book. They are
 
 LITERARY HISTORY: 25 
 
 fully aware how much the history of the past may, in 
 certain cases, give additional emphasis to the claims and 
 duties of the present day. Let this simple idea beborne 
 in recollection, and then, whether the succeeding state- 
 ments do not, in the end, bring every candid mind with 
 peculiar energy, to the far more important question of 
 present obligation, let the reader judge. 
 
 . Whatever may be presumed as to the character and 
 attainments of any race of men, it is only by the exami- 
 nation of their own written compositions, if they have 
 such in possession, that we can arrive at any precision 
 respecting the extent of their attainments in literature. 
 With regard to the native Irish, however, such has been 
 the singular fate of their manuscripts, and even such is 
 their present condition, that difficulties almost insuper- 
 able present themselves at the threshold of inquiry. 
 Many of these, unquestionably, perished in the Danish 
 invasions of the ninth and tenth centuries, and that sin- 
 gular species of policy which obtained for centuries after 
 the Anglo-Norman invasion, must account for the loss 
 of many others.* Collections of others are, it is true, 
 happily still in existence ; but whether those of greatest 
 value are to be found in this kingdom, or on the conti- 
 nent, it is impossible for any one to affirm. The proba- 
 bility is, that they are abroad. 
 
 I am aware of the valuable collection in Trinity Col- 
 lege, Dublin, of that in the Bodleian Library, and the 
 Cottonian manuscripts, as well as the treasure contained 
 
 * According to Ussher, in 8-18, the Bishop of Armagh and all the students were 
 expelled by Turgesius. Armagh, however, was pillaged four times in succession 
 from 890 to 913. Tria Thaum. 296. In 101G the library again sustained material 
 injury from the Normans and Ostmen. Ann. Innisfal. and Tria Thaum. 298. 
 Injured by fire in 1()"4, the city was rebuilt by the year 1091, but in the Anglo- 
 Norman invasion of 117S various literary works, which had escaped the Danes, 
 were destroyed in the libraries of the monks, so that the native Irish, in order to 
 harass and disappoint the invaders, began to burn the religious edifices with their 
 *wn hands. See Annal, quoted by Leland, i. 123.
 
 26 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 in the Chandos collection at Stowe; part of which, 
 in four volumes quarto, with a Latin translation, has 
 been recently printed at the charge of the proprietor, 
 his Grace the Duke of Buckingham. Besides these, 
 there are various manuscripts in the possession of Irish 
 gentlemen, members of the Iberno-Celtic Society, and 
 others, some of which are of considerable antiquity. Of 
 the more modern compositions of the two last centuries 
 the titular Bishop of Cork has at least ten thousand quarto 
 pages transcribed. Were, however, the more ancientlrish 
 manuscripts, now in the King's Library at Copenhagen, 
 or the still larger collection in the Royal Library at Paris, 
 examined; were the Spanish manuscripts deciphered, 
 or the stores which are believed to be deposited in the 
 Vatican, it is almost certain that the claims of the Irish, 
 to a very early cultivation of letters, would be admitted. 
 Ancient records, the very deciphering of which was 
 strangely regarded in former times, as tending to en- 
 danger the tranquillity of the kingdom, were not likely 
 to remain long in it, and hence we fully account for the 
 foreign collections ; but that, under the influence of the 
 same fear, the laudable and natural desire of translating 
 any part of these by a foreign power, should not have 
 been met and gratified, proves the extent to which the 
 dread of Irish composition had gone.* At such a pe- 
 riod, prejudice would consign to oblivion whatever came 
 within its power. Indeed, until the reign of James I., 
 if not later, it seems to have been an object to discover 
 every literary remain of the Old Irish, with a view to 
 its being either destroyed or concealed.t At the same 
 time, no individual can, even at present, distinctly in- 
 
 * In the reign of Elizabeth, the King of Denmark applied to England for proper 
 persons, who might translate the ancient Ir>sh book.- in his possession ; and an 
 Irishman in London, then in prison, being applied to on the subject, was ready to 
 engage in the work ; but upon a council being called, a certain member, it is said, 
 who may be nameless, opposed the scheme, lest it should be prejudicial to the 
 English interest. f Webb's Analysis, p. 121. Dub. 1791.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 27 
 
 form us, whether what we have in our possession be of 
 real value or not, or whether these manuscripts are not 
 nearly the only remaining source from which light might 
 be thrown on the ancient history of Ireland, and perhaps 
 discover to us some of their ideas respecting other coun- 
 tries as well as their own. The stores even in Dublin 
 have never been impartially and thoroughly canvassed, 
 nor does even a complete Catalogue Raisonne of the col- 
 lection in Trinity College exist. 
 
 I may repeat it, therefore, that the actual state of Irish 
 manuscript, for these last two hundred years, is one of 
 the most striking illustrations of the power of prejudice, 
 as to one branch of our national history, to which any 
 historian can point. In the most ancient and curious, 
 which, I presume, must be abroad, historical narration 
 there must be, of whatever value ; assertions also, many, 
 in which the author had no motive to falsify, though in 
 various instances he might prove to be mistaken. That 
 the Irish language is the repository of either much li- 
 terary excellence, or valuable historic information, no 
 one is less disposed to assert than the present writer. 
 All that he means to affirm is, that the amount of in- 
 formation in these numerous written compositions, no 
 man can tell ; they have never been thoroughly examin- 
 ed weighed in the balance with contemporary manu- 
 scripts, and found inferior. We have been printing, 
 very properly, ancient and modern Greek in parallel 
 columns, Turkish for the Turk, and struggling hard 
 to decipher the hieroglyphics of Egypt ; but the records 
 of one branch of the British population are still to be 
 explored. Of the manuscripts said to be in Spain, no 
 one informs us whether they are in the Escurial, or at 
 Salamanca, Alcala, or elsewhere. Of the King's Library 
 at Copenhagen, as there has never yet been a printed ca- 
 talogue, nor the written one completed, what those manu- 
 scripts were, which a former monarch wished to have 
 translated, we are yet to be told. In Paris, by a few
 
 28 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 these manuscripts may be known to exist ; in the Va- 
 tican they have slumbered since, and from before, the 
 days of Wadding. Fragments have been translated from 
 a few at home, and if all the rest are of no higher value, 
 we should have the less reason to regret their neglect ; 
 but chance specimens from a body of written composi- 
 tion are not like the specimens of most other things. In 
 our present state, there is no judicious man who would 
 hazard more than conjecture, and, perhaps, add, before 
 you decide, examine, at least, what seem to be the most 
 valuable, and are most valued in different libraries ; 
 and, before you return your verdict, forget not the 
 relative character of other nations at the same period. 
 At present we are prepossessed with unexamined opi- 
 nions ; and the positive assertions of national prejudice, 
 whether for or against the antiquity or value of Irish 
 writing, have yet to be met by a positive and candid exa- 
 mination of the writing itself. At all events, there is 
 one evil which has hitherto pursued the antiquities of 
 Ireland, " that the writers in general, who have known 
 her language, have been deficient in critical knowledge ; 
 .while those who have possessed the genuine spirit of 
 criticism, have not only been ignorant of her ancient 
 tongue, but despised it." The language, however, of a 
 people, which is as copious as our own, if not more so, 
 can never prove a proper object of contempt ;* and the 
 spirit which has begun to show itself in the nineteenth 
 century, if it only continue, will at last do justice to this 
 long-neglected race. 
 
 That Irish literature, properly so called, should be in 
 its present condition, is not owing to there having been 
 no anxiety expressed by others respecting it. Nearly a 
 hundred years ago, we. find even Dean Swift, who was 
 certainly no friend to the language itself, requesting the 
 
 * O'Reflly's Irish and English Dictionary (the last published) has upwards of 
 0,000 vocables.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 29 
 
 Duke of Chandos to restore to Ireland, by presenting to 
 the library of Trinity, then newly erected, a large quan- 
 tity of her ancient records, on paper and parchment, 
 then in his Grace's possession, which had been collected, 
 chiefly by Sir James Ware, and brought to England by 
 Lord Clarendon.* These, I believe, are still among the 
 manuscripts at Stowe. 
 
 Edmund Burke also expressed much anxiety respect- 
 ing the translation of these Irish records, and even pre- 
 vailed on Sir John Seabright to send his manuscripts to 
 Ireland for translation. The same feeling on this sub- 
 ject has also prevailed on the Continent. To quote only 
 one instance : " C'est un principe incontestable, que, 
 sur 1'histoire dechaque pays,les annales nationales, quand 
 elles sont anciennes, authenliques, et reconnues pour 
 telles par les etrangers, meritent plus de foi que les an- 
 nales etrangeres." " Plusieurs S9avans etrangers recon- 
 noissent que les Irlandois ont des annales d'uneantiquite 
 tres respectable, et d'une authenticite a toute epreuve."f 
 
 In the year 1 757, we find Dr Johnson writing to Dr 
 O'Connor : "I have long wished that the Irish literature 
 were cultivated. Ireland is known by tradition to have 
 been the seat of piety and learning ; and surely it would 
 be very acceptable to those who are curious, either in 
 the original of nations, or the affinity of languages, to be 
 further informed of the revolutions of a people so ancient, 
 and once so illustrious. I hope you will continue to cul- 
 tivate this kind of learning, which has lain so long ne- 
 glected, and which, if it be suffered to remain in oblivion 
 for another century, may, perhaps, never be retrieved." 
 
 Twenty years after this, Johnson is writing to the same 
 individual, and on the same subject : " If I have ever 
 disappointed you, give me leave to tell you that you have 
 likewise disappointed me. I expected great discoveries 
 in Irish antiquity, and large publications in the Irish 
 
 * Letter, dated 51st August, 1734. f Journal des Ssavans, October, 17&i.
 
 30 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 language ; but the world still remains as it was, doubt- 
 ful and ignorant. What the Irish language is in itself, 
 and to what languages it has affinity, are very interest- 
 ing questions, which every man wishes to see resolved 
 that has any philological or historical curiosity. Dr Le- 
 land begins his history too late ; the ages which deserve 
 an exact inquiry are those times, for such there were, 
 when Ireland was the school of the west, the quiet ha- 
 bitation of sanctity and literature. If you could give a 
 history, though imperfect, of the Irish nation from its 
 conversion to Christianity to the invasion from England, 
 you would amplify knowledge with new views and new 
 objects. Set about it, therefore, if you can ; do what 
 you can easily do without anxious exactness. Lay the 
 foundation, and leave the superstructure to posterity."* 
 
 The native Irish, it is well known, lay claim to high 
 antiquity with regard to literary pursuits, and the dis- 
 position to grant this, to a certain extent, seems to be 
 rather on the increase. That a prejudice should have 
 existed was not wonderful. The colloquial dialect itself 
 having been actually outlawed at an early age, and the 
 policy which dictated this measure having been pur- 
 sued for ages, it was to be expected, in the nature of 
 things, that corresponding feelings would ensue as to all 
 their written compositions. The reader, however, it is 
 repeated, need not be alarmed at the idea of being about 
 
 * Boswell's Life, anno 1777. The words in Italics were misquoted by Dr Camp, 
 bell in his Strictures, " if such times there were," although he was actually the 
 bearer of the letter to O'Connor. 
 
 For a specimen of the Irish remains still left in our own country, see the 
 Transactions of the Iberno-Celtic Society for 1820, vol. i. part 1. in which upwards 
 of a thousand separate tracts are mentioned. Though many of these are of no im. 
 portance but as curiosities, the second part promises the catalogue of others which 
 bear on the history and antiquities of the country. It is also very desirable that 
 Mr Groves should publish his " Irish Historical Library," for which he has issued 
 proposals, as a correction and enlargement of Bishop Nicolson is truly a desidera- 
 tum.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 31 
 
 to be involved in the labyrinth of Irish antiquities, or 
 lost in the traditions of a fabulous age. At the same 
 time, before coming to periods of indubitable certainty, 
 it is but fair that he should be put in possession of a very 
 few particulars, which may now be regarded as of equal 
 credibility with those of Saxon or Norman history ; al- 
 though, when speaking of literature or learned men, in 
 relation to those remote ages, the existing state of every 
 other nation in Europe is presumed to be kept in view. 
 It was then but a portion of the population, and, com- 
 paratively, a very small one, who possessed books or li- 
 terature ; for it is only since the invention of printing, 
 or rather in our own times, that these are becoming the 
 property of nations at large. 
 
 Every reader of history is familiar with the difference 
 between the seventh, eighth, and ninth, and the three 
 following centuries. In Irish history there will be found 
 a striking correspondence with the general idea entertain- 
 ed as to these two periods. The early invasions of Ire- 
 land by the Danes are coincident with the appearance of 
 learned men from that country in Britain, and on the 
 continent of Europe. This may enable us to form some 
 idea of the land which gave them birth and education ; 
 and serve to show, whether it can stand a comparison 
 with the Saxon or Continental literature of these times, 
 when pretensions to a certain extent of knowledge are 
 not now treated with contempt. 
 
 With the existence of Patric, the mission of Palladius, 
 or exertions of Columba, we do not interfere ; but, what- 
 ever may be said of Ireland at that or an earlier period, 
 by the seventh century there certainly must have been 
 something inviting in the island, before it could become 
 the place of resort. Bede states, that then many Anglo- 
 Saxons, of the noble and middle classes, left their coun- 
 try, and went there to study the Sacred Writings, that 
 the Irish received them hospitably, supplying them with
 
 32 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 books and gratuitous instruction.* It was towards the 
 close of the seventh century, that Alfred, the Northum- 
 brian king, in his youth, voluntarily went into Ireland, 
 that he might pursue his studies, and of whom it was 
 said, that the books revered by the Christians so en 
 grossed his attention, as to procure for him the character 
 of being most learned in the Scriptures, t This account 
 is in some degree strengthened by a poetical manuscript 
 jn Irish, of which he was the reputed author. The sub- 
 ject of it is, " Ireland, and the things he found there."! 
 . About the same period, Willebrod or Willibrord of 
 Northumbria proceeded to Ireland, the man who went as 
 a Christian missionary into Friesland, and ultimately 
 settling at Wittenburg, now Utrecht, founded its school. 
 Alcuine, the Anglo-Saxon, who afterwards wrote his life, 
 affirms, that he " studied twelve years in Ireland, under 
 masters of high reputation, being intended for a preacher 
 to many people." Willibrord died in Eptenarch in 739. 
 
 "The best writers among the Saxons," says Warton, 
 " flourished about the eighth century. These were Aid- 
 helm, Ceolfride, Alcuine, and Bede, with whom I must 
 also join King Alfred." 
 
 The Latin compositions of the first-mentioned are then 
 
 Bede, b. III. c. 27 Sc 28. See also Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons, 3d 
 edit. vol. I. 372. vol. III. 568. ' f Bede, Hist. p. 300. Turner, I. 377. This 
 Alfred of Northumbria, who is sometimes confounded with Alfred the Great, ap- 
 pears in Bede as the first literary king among the Anglo-Saxons. 
 
 $ A copy, preserved in an old and valuable vellum manuscript, is now in the li- 
 brary of W . Monck Mason, Esq. See Iberno-Celt. Trans, p. 48. The name given 
 by the Irish to Alfred was Flan-fionn. 
 
 ' Vit Willib. lib. i. et ii. The ideas of Alcuine may be inferred from his views 
 of the Scriptures, as expressed by himself." Study Christ," he says, as foretold 
 in the books of the prophets, and as exhibited in the Gospels ; and when you find 
 him, do not lose him; but introduce him into the home of thy heart, and make him 
 the ruler of thy life. Love him as thy Redeemer and 1 thy Governor, and as the 
 Dispenser of all thy comforts. Keep his commandments, because in them is eter- 
 nal life." Alcuine, Op. p. 1637. And again, in writing to a scholar : " I wish 
 the four Gospels, instead of the twelve Eneids, filled your breast. Read diligent- 
 ly, I beseech you, the Gospel* of Christ" Pages 1518 and 1561.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 33 
 
 said to have been " deemed extraordinary," and to have 
 " excited the admiration of other countries/'* a com- 
 mendation, however, which will disappoint any reader 
 of the present day who looks into his writings, owing 
 to his passion for alliteration, and his ungovernable 
 fancy. But still, for whatever learning he possessed, he 
 was materially indebted to Maildulf, an Irishman, who 
 had taken up his abode at Malmesbury. Under this 
 tutor, who supported himself by his school, Aldhelm 
 became versed in both Latin and Greek, and, though he 
 pursued other studies under Adrian of Naples, an Afri- 
 can, then in Britain, his earnest desire was to have re- 
 turned to Maildulf, for whom he seems to have cherish- 
 ed the strongest regard. " I confess," he says, <c my' 
 dearest, whom I embrace with the tenderness of pure 
 affection, that when, about three years ago, I left your 
 social intercourse, and withdrew from Kent, my little- 
 ness still was inflamed with an ardent desire for your' 
 society. I should have thought of it again, as it is my 
 wish to be with you, if the course of things and the 
 change of time would have suffered me."t 
 
 Some of the most eminent among the Irish of those 
 times were Albin and Clement, Claudius, Sedulius, 
 Duncan, Erigena, Dungal, and others. 
 
 Now, in the age of Alcuine and Bede, no mean jea- 
 lousy existed as to the attainments of these men, or the 
 eminence of their country. The allusions which they 
 make both to them and to it are frequent, and are be- 
 ginning to be regarded with the same candour which is 
 justly paid to their own acquirements. If Alcuine is 
 admitted to have been the instructor of Charlemagne, 
 why not admit his authority for Clement being one of 
 his Irish assistants at Paris, and Albin at Ticinum or 
 
 * Warton's History of Poetry, 9vo, I. cxxvii. Cambden's Wiltshire, p. 242. 
 t Alfred's Bede, v.c. 18. Malms, de Pont. 3. Gale, 398. Turner's History, 
 iii. 375.
 
 34 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 Pavia, the two earliest schools of learning in Europe ? 
 Whatever truth there is in the statement of Notker Bal- 
 balus, that, upon their arrival in France from Ireland, 
 they proclaimed " that they had wisdom to sell, and de- 
 manded only food and raiment for reward," the tradi- 
 tion, that they were engaged by Charles, stands on the 
 same foundation with the best authenticated traditions 
 of the times.* 
 
 As for Claudius and Sedulius, these are the two na- 
 tives of Ireland on whom Ussher mainly depended in 
 his " discourse on the religion anciently professed by 
 the Irish and British." The commentary of Claudius on 
 the Galatians is printed,t and his work on Matthew is in 
 the British Museum.^ An ancient copy of Sedulius on 
 the Epistles of Paul is now before me, which I have fre- 
 quently consulted with pleasure. 
 
 A work held in high estimation in the dark ages, and 
 taught in their seminaries, was a disquisition of Marci- 
 anus de Capella, who lived in the fifth century. It com- 
 prised the subjects of grammar and rhetoric, logic and 
 arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy. " Among 
 
 Ware's Writers of Ireland and others. John Mailros, a Scot, was also en- 
 gaged at Ticinum. 
 
 f Biblioth. Magna Patr. p. 794. 
 
 }. Bib. Rag 2, c. 10 and 4, c. 8. Murat Antiq. Ital. I. p. 814. 
 
 $ " Sedulii Scoti Hyberniensis, in omnesd. Paul! Epistolas Annotationes, &c. 
 Basilese, per Hen. Pttrum, 1538." In this volume, out of ten or more authors 
 quoted, Marcion, Aquila, Jerome, Augustine, Eusebius, Ambrose, Gennadius, 
 <S:c. none are later than the end of the fifth century. Trithemius speaks of him 
 as having come into France, then searched into Italy, Asia, and Achaia ; but into 
 the controversy respecting him, or the age in which he flourished, I do not enter. 
 Sentiments in this volume, however, might enlighten the present age, and a brief 
 selection In some of the periodical works might interest his countrymen even 
 now. On 1. Cor. xiv. 19, 20, he says, " It is better to speak a few lucid words, 
 rcrha Ivcida, in the right sense, than innumerable that arc obscure and unknown, 
 which do not edify the hearers ; because, better are a few words which profit, than 
 many which do not. Be not children in understanding, as if he had said, the de- 
 sire of various languages is childish, in which there is pleasure only, and not ad. 
 vantage, unless an interpretation follow. Or, be not children in understanding, 
 but ye ought to know wherefore languages were given." May not the English, 
 and the Anglu-Hibcrnian of the present day, both listen to this voice from the 
 tomb ? 
 
 5
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 35 
 
 the royal manuscripts in the British Museum," says 
 Warton, "a manuscript occurs written about the eleventh 
 century, which is a commentary on these nine books of 
 Capella, compiled by Duncan, an Irish bishop, and given 
 to his scholars in the monastery of St Rhemigius."* To 
 this Warton might have added, that the monastery re- 
 ferred to was in the county of Down. 
 
 Erigena, and Dungal, who was the correspondent of 
 Alcuine, are mentioned by name as two, among other 
 Irish scholars, who at that period took refuge in France,t 
 and in an ancient catalogue in the monastery at Pavia 
 written in the tenth century, is a book in Irish, under 
 the head of " Books given by Dungalus praecipuus 
 Scottorum."J John Erigena, or John the Irishman, is 
 known for his eminence as a scholar, especially as a 
 Grecian. About the year 860, he translated from the 
 Greek four treatises of Dionysius, styled the Areop- 
 agite, fa supposititious work written after the fourth 
 century ;) and the Scholia of Maximus on Gregory the 
 theologian, i. e. Gregory Nazianzen ; but his principal 
 work was entitled " De Divisione Naturae," written at 
 the request of Charles the Bald, of which some account 
 may be found in Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons. || 
 
 Such were a few of the Native Irish who assisted in 
 the work of instruction, both in their own country 
 and on the continent. It is true, we must not form too 
 magnificent ideas of these men, who were then patro- 
 nised by kings, or invited to promote their education, 
 and lay the foundation of schools which afterwards rose 
 
 * Warton, 8vo. v. ii. 384. Leland, the antiquarian, says that he saw this work 
 in the library of WorcesterJAbbey. Coll. iii. 268. 
 
 f Colgan, Act. Sanct, p. -236. 
 
 Muratori, Antiq. Ital. I. p. 821. Most of these books were presented to the 
 Ambrosial! library at Milan, by Cardinal Borromeo, where they are now said to 
 remain. 
 
 t " So abounding, however, with Greek phraseology," says Warton, " as to be 
 liardly intelligible to a mere Latin reader." 
 
 H Turner, 3d ed. III. 390."
 
 36 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 to eminence, especially at the revival of letters ; but, 
 amidst the scholars of his day, Erigena seems to have 
 been considered conspicuous. Even Warton admits the 
 probability of his having " taken a journey to Athens, 
 and spent many years in studying not only the Greek, 
 but the Arabic and Chaldee languages ;"* but this has 
 been questioned by others ; and though better acquaint- 
 ed with Aristotle than any man of his age, that he ever 
 translated any part of his writings into Chaldaic and 
 Arabic as well as Latin, seems to be also doubtful. Af- 
 ter living in France for about thirty years, he probably 
 died there, and before the year 875. t We forget not 
 that his principal work contributed its share to a species 
 of dialectic philosophy, or rather folly, which continued 
 through the dark ages to hold many in perplexity, and 
 drove others to infidelity : for of that great division of the 
 schoolmen in which all this terminated, the Nominalists, 
 Erigena has been considered the remote parent. It is 
 chiefly as a scholar that he is here noticed. When re- 
 ferring to him, Anastasius, the librarian of the Vatican, 
 in a letter to Charles, expresses his astonishment " how 
 that ' vir barbarus/ placed in the very ends of the world, 
 so remote from conversation with mankind, was able 
 to comprehend such deep things, and transfuse them 
 into another language." This is equally creditable to 
 his acuteness and scholarship ; but was every man, not 
 a Greek or a Roman, still denominated " barbarous ?" 
 or was this only one ancient specimen of that unfounded 
 
 Warton, 8vo, vol. I. cxxxvii. Spelman, Vit ^Elfrid. Pits. p. 166. 
 
 t Thus he appears in France in connexion with Prudentius, bishop of Troies, 
 MI early as the year 847, and the letter oT Anastasius, about to be quoted, speaks of 
 him in the past tense. John Erigena, or Scotigena, which at this period was of 
 similar import, is therefore not to be confounded with John of Aetheling, or he of 
 Malmesbury, whether these be the same, or two different persons. The former, a 
 presbyter and abbot, which Erigena never was, and who came over to our Alfred 
 about 884, is styled by Asserius, " Ealdsaxonum genere.' : If Erigena ever was in 
 England, it could be merely on his way to the continent, and long before the reign 
 of Alfred. At all events, Charles, to whom Anastasius wrote respecting Erigena, 
 and in the past tense throughout, died in 877.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 37 
 
 prejudice which yet exists in many against the fine na- 
 tural capacity of this hitherto neglected people ? 
 
 In an early part of the ninth century died Angus or 
 Mngus Ceile de, a Culdee, who, among other things, 
 wrote the " Psalter na rann," an abridged history, in 
 Irish, of the descendants of Abraham till after the death 
 of Moses. And even in the tenth, we have a glossary, 
 explaining the difficult words of his native language, by 
 Cormac MacCuillionan, in which there are many refer- 
 ences to the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew tongues. But 
 we have already past the brink of general barbarism. 
 The darkness of the ninth and tenth centuries is prover- 
 bial, as affecting every country in Europe, and Britain 
 fully as much as Ireland. To her history, therefore, it 
 is no disparagement that we can then find but little 
 worth notice. 
 
 In the eleventh century, about the time of the Nor- 
 man Conquest, one Irishman, by his talents, rendered 
 his name conspicuous, Marianus Scotus, who lived for 
 ten years at Fulde in Germany, i. e. until 1069, when 
 he removed to Mentz, and, dying there, was interred in 
 the church of St Martin's, in the year 1086, aged 58.* 
 His chronicle from the birth of Christ to the year 1083, 
 which is esteemed, has been continued by the Abbe Do- 
 bechin to 1200 ;t and an edition of it, with that of Mar- 
 tin of Poland, was printed in the sixteenth century by 
 John Herold of Basil, dedicated to Queen Elizabeth. J. 
 In the curious and learned catalogue of manuscripts in 
 the library of the Emperor of Germany, 8 volumes folio, 
 by Peter Lambeccius, composed in the seventeenth cen- 
 tury, we are told that there is a copy of " all the Epis- 
 
 * " Anno 1028," says a chronicle in the Cottonian Library, " Marianus, chro- 
 nographus, Hibernensis-Scotus, natus est, qui Chronicum Chronicorum composuit." 
 See also Dobechin's ed. of his Chronicle, anno 1069. Mabilon Annal. anno 1083. 
 
 f L'Advocat's Hist. Diet., letter M. 
 
 t Warton, 8vo, I. cclxii. After Ussher's account of this chronicle, he inti- 
 mates, that Gerard Vossius intended to publish a correct edition of it.
 
 38 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 ties of Paul in the hand-writing of Marianus Scotus, 
 done in the year 1079, illustrated with marginal andin- 
 terlineary annotations."* Trithemius says, that " he was 
 most learned in the Scriptures ;"t and Sigebert, " the 
 most learned man of his age." % 
 
 In the journal of the learned and accurate Humphrey 
 Wanley there is the following entry, dated 10th August, 
 1720 : " Mr O'Sullivan likewise acquainted me, that 
 the library of those learned men who went from Ireland 
 with Marianus Scotus, A. D. 1058, is yet remaining in 
 some church in Ratisbon, and has lately been seen 
 there." But Marianus of Ratisbon, also from Ireland, 
 who wrote some notes on the Psalms, and a harmony of 
 the Evangelists, is affirmed to be a different man from 
 the chronographer, who it is certain resided first at Fulde, 
 or Fulda, and finally at Mentz. 
 
 Tighernach, the Irish annalist, was contemporary 
 with Marianus, and died in 1088, two years after him. 
 His Irish annals to his own day, partly in Latin and 
 partly in Irish, were continued by one Magrath to the 
 year 1405, a copy of which is among the manuscripts 
 in Trinity College. || 
 
 The first tract in the Hibernica of Harris is a history 
 of the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland from 1 168 to 
 
 Lamb. ii. cap. 8, p. 749. See also Ware's Antiq. p. 66. Vossius and Demp- 
 ster have strangely mentioned Marianus as the author of the Notitia utriusquc 
 Imperil. That he wrote commentaries on this work is true, and, in the preface to 
 the Venice ed. of 1593, it appears that the work, after lying hid for ages, had come 
 to light in consequence of the copy written by Marianus having been found in 
 1557. 
 
 f Catal. Vir. Jllust. J De Script. Eccles. p. 172. When Edward I. summon- 
 ed the states of Scotland to appear at Norham to decide the claims of the different 
 competitors for the crown, his first step was to put in his own claim to the sove- 
 reignty of Scotland, and the chief authority to which he resorted was that of Ma- 
 rianus, the Irish historian. When Henry IV. renewed the claims of Edward, he 
 appealed to the same historian, adding, that his authority was irrefragable, because 
 he was a Scotchman. To this the states of Scotland replied, that Marianus was 
 not an Albanian Scot, but an Irish Scot, Ireland being the ancient Scotland. 
 
 j Nichol's Lit. Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century, I. p. 87. 
 
 II Iberno-Celtic Transac. p. 81.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 39 
 
 1171- This is a translation by Sir George Carew, after- 
 wards Earl of Totness, from the French. But the 
 French itself, which is in verse, after the fashion of the 
 time, is only a translation from the Native Irish manu- 
 script, written by Maurice O'Regan, the individual who 
 was employed by Dermod, King of Leinster, as ambas- 
 sador to Strongbow. This tract, such as it is, was trans- 
 lated into English, and published by Harris in Dublin 
 in 1757, or above five hundred and sixty years after it had 
 been written. Lord Ly ttelton, in his History of Henry the 
 Second, quotes the French translation from a manuscript 
 in the Lambeth Library.* 
 
 As " it cannot but seem strange," says Harris, " that 
 in the thirteenth century an Irishman should be courted 
 to undertake a version into French," Godfrey, or Goto- 
 frid of Waterford, deserves to be noticed. He was the 
 author of translations into that language from Latin, 
 Greek, and Arabic, of Dares Phrygius, Eutropius, and 
 the Secretum Secretorum ascribed (erroneously) to 
 Aristotle. Harris here alludes to Godfrey's own ex- 
 pressions in his preface to the latter, in which, address- 
 ing himself to a French nobleman who encouraged him, 
 he says, " To other books which you already have, you 
 desire to add a book called Secretum Secretorum, or a, 
 Treatise of the Government of Kings and Princes, and 
 for this end you have requested me, that I would, for 
 your sake, translate the said work from Latin into 
 French, which I already translated from Greek into 
 Arabic, and into Latin," &c.t In the library of M. 
 
 * Warton, 8vo, I. 89. Iberno-Celtic Trans, p. 87. Ware's Writers, p. 71. 
 
 t Ware's Writers, p. 76. The Secretum, erroneously ascribed to Aristotle, but 
 so highly esteemed In the middle ages, has been traced to JEgidius Romanus, a 
 pupil of Aquinas. " It was early translated," says Warton, " into French prose, 
 and printed in English. The Secret of Aristotyle, &c. with Rules for Helth of 
 Body and Soul, very gode to teche Children to rede English, newly translated out 
 of French, and emprented by Robert and William Copland, 1528.'" One trans-
 
 40 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 Colbert, these three treatises, on vellum, were long pre- 
 served in a folio volume, in which, besides an exposition 
 of the articles of Faith and the Lord's Prayer in French, 
 there is also included the Elucidarium. " Now," say 
 Quetif and Eckard, quoted by Harris, " all these are 
 written not only in the same hand-writing with the 
 other works before-mentioned, which are certainly Go- 
 tofrid's, but also the style and manner of orthography 
 are the same."* " The Lucydayre, printed by Wynkyn 
 de Worde," says Warton, " is translated from a favourite 
 old French poem called Li Lusidaire, a work in dia- 
 logue, containing the sum of Christian Theology attri- 
 buted to Anselm,"t and by others to Honorius of Au- 
 tun. J " Again," he says, " in the king's library at Paris, 
 there is a translation of Dares Phrygius into French 
 rhymes by Godfrey of Waterford, an Irish writer, not 
 mentioned by Tanner, in the thirteenth century ;" and, 
 referring again to this period, he adds, " Dares Phry- 
 gius, Eutropius, early translated into Greek at Constan- 
 tinople, and Aristotle's Secretum Secretorum, appeared 
 about the same time in French ;" thus confirming the 
 account already given of Godfrey, who seems to have 
 died in France, and probably at Paris. 
 
 Thomas Hibernicus, or Thomas of Palmerstown, born 
 in the county of Kildare, towards the close of the thir- 
 teenth century, and well known at the beginning of the 
 fourteenth, was an ecclesiastic who belonged to neither of 
 the orders of the Friars. He became a fellow of the 
 Sorbonne, and, from the Bibliotheque compiled by Quetif 
 and Eckard, it appears that he bequeathed the books he 
 had written, with other manuscripts, and a sum of 
 
 lation of the Secretum into French, Warton ascribes to Henry de Gande,i. e. Ghent, 
 for Philip of France. The name to which Godfrey dedicates his translation does 
 not appear. 
 
 * Ware's Writers, p. 76. f Warton, III. 364. 
 
 t The Elucidarium must not be confounded with the Elucidarium Bibliorum, 
 or Prologue to the Bible. See Saber's Wickliffe, lii. $ Warton, I. xxii, ; II. 415.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 41 
 
 money, to that college.* One of the tracts in the Sor- 
 bonne is entitled " Liber de Tribus Punctis Christianas 
 Religionis," or " three points of the Christian religion," 
 which he explains as matters of faith, of command, or 
 prohibition. His " Flores Biblicae," or " Tabula Origina- 
 lium, sive Manipulus Florum," first published at Venice 
 in 1492, has been often reprinted, as at Antwerp in 1568 
 and 1580; Geneva, 1614; and Paris, 1662.t 
 
 The fourteenth century, to which we have now come, 
 is rendered interesting by the appearance of one man, 
 who is well entitled to the grateful recollections of the 
 Native Irish Richard Fitzrauph or Fitzralph, Arch- 
 bishop of Armagh, frequently denominated Richard 
 Armachanus. The place of his birth is said to have 
 been Dundalk ; the precise year I have not been able to 
 ascertain ; but his various appointments being noted 
 with such accuracy, prove in some degree the interest 
 which his character had excited. According to Le 
 Neve's Fasti, on the 10th July, 1334, he was collated 
 Chancellor of Lincoln, and in 1336 became Archdeacon 
 of Chester ; on the 20th April, 1337, he was personally 
 installed Dean of Litchfield, by Edward III., and ad- 
 vanced to the see of Armagh on the 8th July, 1347, by 
 Clement VI. 
 
 This excellent man may not improperly be regarded 
 as the Wickliffe of Ireland ; and he deserves the more 
 attention, not only from his having lived in the age im- 
 mediately preceding Wickliffe, but on account of the re- 
 port respecting him, that he possessed, if not with his 
 own hand translated, the Scriptures of the New Testa- 
 tament into the Irish tongue. For the sake of Ireland, 
 therefore, as well as his own, he is entitled to some 
 special notice; more particularly as this tradition is 
 
 * Tom. I. p. 7*4. f Ware's Writers, p. 7*.
 
 42 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 rendered much more probable by the consideration of 
 his character and exertions. 
 
 From the year 1240, more than a hundred years be- 
 fore Fitzralph, the operations of the Mendicant Friars 
 had afforded matter of controversy and complaint ; but 
 the immediate occasion of his engaging to arraign them 
 cannot with certainty be traced. It has been affirmed 
 by a celebrated Irish Franciscan, Luke Wadding, the 
 historian of their order, that, obstructed in some attempt 
 to remove the ornaments belonging to a convent of Friars, 
 they were protected, and their ornaments preserved to 
 them, when Fitzralph entered into the controversy of 
 the day with great warmth and eagerness. Such an 
 incident, indeed, might perhaps awaken Fitzralph to ex- 
 ertion ; but it is of more importance to observe, that he 
 had been educated at Oxford, the nucleus of the contro- 
 versy, under Baconthorpe, a doctor of the Sorbonne, 
 and determined opponent of the Friars, who possessed 
 great influence over his pupils. Fitzralph also was one 
 of a select number of learned men who had sat at the 
 table of Richard de Bury, one of the most generous and 
 ardent cultivators of learning in the fourteenth cen- 
 tury.* But whatever was the exciting cause, in 1356, 
 Fitzralph having occasion to be in London, in conse- 
 quence of earnest solicitation, says Fox, he preached 
 seven or eight sermons against the abuses of the Friars, 
 which he afterwards repeated at Litchfield, and in Ire- 
 land at Drogheda, Dundalk, and Trim. Offended with 
 the positions contained in these discourses, the warden 
 of the Franciscans or Minorites, then established at Ar- 
 magh, and those of the order of the Predicants, cited the 
 Primate to answer for himself before the Pope at Avig- 
 non. To this bold measure on the part of the Friars 
 
 * Warton, 8vo, vol. I. cxlvii. Townley's Illust. of Biblical Literature, II. TO.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 43 
 
 there was presented strong encouragement in the well- 
 known character of Clement, who " defended the inte- 
 rests of the church with a zeal carried to excess, reserv- 
 ing to himself a multitude of benefices, which he pre- 
 sented at his will in defiance of all former elections."* 
 Fortunately, however, for Fitzralph, Clement died in 
 1352, and was succeeded by a man of different views, 
 Innocent VI., whose policy it was to encourage men of 
 literature, and oblige the possessors of benefices to re- 
 sidence. Another circumstance, probably in favour of 
 Fitzralph, occurred the following year. The controversy 
 respecting the Irish primacy was then in dependence, 
 and, in 1353, Innocent had decided that the Arch- 
 bishop of Armagh " should entitle himself Primate of 
 all Ireland, and the Archbishop of Dublin write him- 
 self Primate of Ireland." At all events, Fitzralph, in 
 1357, appeared at Avignon, and pled his cause at length 
 again and again. Innocent listened to him, and stayed 
 all proceedings in England during the suit. The ex- 
 amination being committed to four Cardinals, Fitzralph 
 was long detained, and never returned to Ireland, but 
 died at Avignon in November or December, 1360. The 
 MS. annals in the Cotton Library hint that he was 
 poisoned by the Friars : of this there is no certain proof ; 
 but they allege that the controversy was terminated only 
 by the absolute command of Innocent. One of the 
 Cardinals, on hearing of his death, openly protested, 
 says Fox, " that the same day a mighty pillar of Christ's 
 church was fallen." Ten years afterwards, his body 
 was removed to Dundalk, by Stephen de Valle, Bishop 
 of Limerick,t and a monument raised over it, which still 
 remained, says Sir Thomas Ry ves, so late as the year 1 624. 
 
 * L'Advocat, the librarian of the Sorbonne. 
 
 f De Valle or Wale, the Dean of Limerick, was made bishop in 1360, where he 
 continued till 1369-70 ; and it was while here that he deposited the body of Fitz- 
 ralph in the parish-church of St Nicholas, Dundalk. De Valle was afterwards 
 Bishop of Meath. See Fitzgerald and M'Gregor's Hist, of Limerick, vol. II. p. 404.
 
 44 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 The theme of Fitzralph at Avignon was founded on 
 these words " Judge not according to the outward 
 appearance, but judge righteous judgment." His va- 
 rious positions, committed to writing, he^tended to a 
 volume, which was afterwards published. The Friars 
 Mendicant were charged by him as in many things act- 
 ing directly in violation of their own rales, as under- 
 mining the stated duties of resident curates, but, above 
 all, as violating the express precepts of Scripture, which 
 he very frequently quotes, and to which he constantly 
 appeals as paramount authority. He laments over the 
 decay of learning, and informed Innocent not only of 
 the great decrease in the number of the students at Ox- 
 ford, but that " no book could stir, either divinity, law, 
 or physic, but these Friars were able and ready to buy 
 it up ;" nay, that " he himself had sent forth from Ar- 
 magh to the university four of his own chaplains, who 
 sent him word again that they could neither find the 
 Bible, nor any other good profitable book in divinity, 
 meet for their study, and therefore were minded to re- 
 turn home to their country."* 
 
 The writings of Fitzralph were various, amounting 
 to eighteen distinct tracts, on theological and other sub- 
 jects. Bellarmine thought that his writings "ought to 
 be read with caution." Prateolus and others allow him 
 to have possessed great accomplishments, but rank him 
 among the heretics ; though Wadding, already men- 
 tioned, and of course not favourable to his cause, is of a 
 different opinion. Trithemius, however, one of the 
 most learned men in the fifteenth century, has given a 
 
 # Defensio Curatorum adversus Mendicantes, STO, Paris, 1496. This discourse 
 has been printed repeatedly at Paris ; and a translation of it, by Trevisa, may be 
 seen in the MSS. Harl. 1900 fol. Pergam. 2. In the Public Library at Oxford is a 
 volume, which contains, in addition, various sermons of Fitzralph, MSS. Bodl. A. 
 
 4. 8. Vide et ibid. B. 3. 12. MSS. and Nicolson's Irish Hist Lib. p. 74 At Ben- 
 
 net, in Cambridge, there is a curious manuscript of one of Fitzralph's sermons, 
 which once belonged to Eston, a learned Benedictine of Norwich, and a witness 
 against Wickliffe afterwards at Rome, in 1370. Warton, 8vo, vol. ii, 127.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 45 
 
 character of Fitzralph ; and when it is remembered that 
 he was an Abbot of the Benedictine Friars, he will not 
 be suspected of partiality. This character he sums up 
 in these words " Vir in Divinis Scripturis eruditus, 
 secularis philosophise jurisque canonici non ignarus, 
 clarus ingenio, sermone scholasticus, in declamandis ser- 
 monibus ad populum excellentis industriae."* Of the 
 works of Fitzralph several are mentioned by L' Advocat, 
 the librarian and Orleans Professor in the Sorbonne ; 
 after which he adds, " These works prove their author 
 to have thoroughly studied the Holy Scriptures, and his 
 reasoning is very ingenious and forcible, but not entirely 
 free from the errors which were afterwards revived by 
 Wickliffe."t It is indeed not unworthy of notice, that, 
 in the very same year in which Fitzralph expired at 
 Avignon, Wickliffe, at the age of thirty-six, was allured 
 from his hitherto retired and silent life ; and that when 
 he came to write his Trialogus, he speaks of Fitzralph 
 as having preceded him, in terms of high commenda- 
 tion. 
 
 * " Since the canonization of saints," says Jeremy Taylor, " we find no Irish 
 bishop canonized, except Laurence of Dublin and Malachias of Down. Richard 
 of Armagh's canonization was, indeed, propounded, but not effected : but the cha- 
 racter which was given of that learned primate by Trithemius (De Scriptor. Ec- 
 cles.) does exactly fit this our late father : " He was learned in the Scriptures, 
 skilled in secular philosophy, and not unknowing in the civil and canon laws ; he 
 was of an excellent spirit, a scholar in his discourses, an early and industrious 
 preacher to the people." And, as if there were a more particular sympathy be- 
 tween their souls, our Primate had so great veneration for his memory, that he 
 purposed, if he had lived, to have restored his monument in Dundalk, which time 
 or impiety, or unthankfulness, had either omitted or destroyed." Fun. Sermon for 
 Bramhall, by Jer. Taylor, vol. VI. p. 441. While, however, Bramhall could thus 
 testify his veneration for the dead, it is to be regretted that he could not estimate 
 the same qualities in the living; for he will be found afterwards standing up, as 
 leader of the opposition against Bedell, when he was actually engaged in the trans- 
 lation of the Scriptures for the Native Irish, and eager for reaching the heart and 
 soul of the natives through the medium of their own language. 
 
 f L'Advocat's Hist, and Biog. Dictionary, under Richard of Armagh. 
 
 J " Ab Anglorum episcopis conductus Armachanus novem in Avinione conclu- 
 siones coram Innocentio 6. et suorum cardinalium ccetu, contra fratrum mendici- 
 tatem, audacter publicavit; verboque ac scriptis ad mortem usque defendit." 
 Wickliffe's Trialogus, 4to, 1525. 
 
 B2
 
 46 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 Were this eminent man, however, allowed to speak 
 for himself, the testimonies of others would not be re- 
 quired. Towards the end of his days he had committed 
 to writing the history of his own life, of which Fox 
 himself possessed a copy, and intended to print it. In 
 this he recounts at length the dangers and troubles 
 through which he passed ; mentions an embargo laid on 
 all the seaports by the King's letter, with a view to ap- 
 prehend him, a measure in perfect consonance with the 
 course of Innocent's predecessor ; he notices appeals 
 against him to the number of sixteen, and yet that it was 
 given to him to triumph over them all ; he records also, 
 in what way " the Lord taught him, and brought him 
 out of the profound vanities of Aristotle's philosophy, to 
 the study of the Scriptures of God." The sentiments at 
 the commencement of this piece, in the form of address 
 to the Saviour, are so descriptive of the man, that, as an 
 appropriate conclusion to this imperfect sketch, I cannot 
 refrain from quoting them : " To thee be praise, to 
 thee be glory, to thee be thanksgiving, O Jesus most 
 holy, Jesus most powerful, Jesus most amiable, who 
 hast said, ' I am the way, the truth, and the life ;' a 
 way without deviation, truth without a cloud, and life 
 without end. For thou the way hast shown me, thou 
 the truth hast taught me, and thou the life hast promised 
 me. A way thou wast to me in exile, the truth thou 
 wast to me in counsel, and life thou wilt be to me in 
 reward."* 
 
 Such was the individual, who, in the fourteenth cen- 
 tury, is said to have possessed a translation of the New 
 Testament in the Irish language, ascribed to himself. 
 
 * " Tibi laus, tibi gloria, tibi gratiarum actio, Jesu piissimc, Jesu potentissime, 
 Jesu dulclwime ; qui dixisti Ego sum via, veritas, et vita ; via sine devio, veri- 
 tas sine nubilo, et vita sine termino. Quod tute viam mihi ostendisti ; tute veri- 
 tatem me docuisti ; et tute vitam mihi promisisti. Via eras mihi in exilio ; veri- 
 tas eras in consilio ; et vita ens mihi in prsemio."
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 47 
 
 According to the information of Balseus, quoted also by 
 Archbishop Ussher, this translation, or a copy of it, was 
 concealed by him in a certain wall of his church, with 
 the following note : " When this book is found, truth 
 will be revealed to the world, or Christ will shortly ap- 
 pear." What precise idea Fitzralph attached to these 
 words it is impossible to say ; but in the year 1530, one 
 hundred and seventy years after his death, the church 
 at Armagh being under repair, the book was found, 
 though no vestige of this translation is supposed to be 
 now in existence.* About the year 1573, however, Fox, 
 in his Acts and Monuments, referring to Fitzralph, says, 
 " I credibly hear of certain old Irish Bibles, translated 
 long since into the Irish tongue, which, if it be true, it 
 is not other like but to be the doing of this Armacha- 
 nus ;" and as for the existence of such an Irish transla- 
 tion in his day, he adds, that it was testified to him " by 
 certain Englishmen who are yet alive and have seen it."t 
 Harris says, vaguely, some " have thought that he trans- 
 lated the Bible into Irish," but this is mere conjecture ; 
 although Ussher speaks of certain fragments of such Irish 
 translations being in existence even in his own time.lj: 
 
 The period immediately after the death of Fitzralph 
 was, in many countries, one of great excitement and in- 
 quiry. The schools of logic, falsely so called, which had 
 so long enchained the human intellect, began to be de- 
 serted, in order to cultivate a species of more satisfactory 
 and beneficial knowledge ; and the opinions then preva- 
 
 Balasus, Script. Brit Cent 14. p. 246. Ussher'g Historia Dogmata, p. 156. 
 
 + Fox, vol. I. p. 473. Alex. Petrel, p. 496. 
 
 % " It is towards the middle of the fourteenth century," says the librarian of the 
 British Museum, in reference to England, " that we must look for the first literal 
 translation of even a portion of Sacred Writ. About this time, we have instances 
 of those who were studious of the spiritual welfare of the flock over which they 
 were appointed to watch for good, being engaged in translating, for the use of their 
 respective congregations, more or less of such portions of Scripture as the church 
 in its service brought more immediately into public notice." Baber's Wiclif. pp.
 
 48 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 lent led to the assembling of a Council at Constance/ 
 an event which would not have been mentioned here, 
 but for one occurrence in connexion with Ireland. In 
 the third year of its sitting, 1417, some dissension arose 
 between the French and the English, respecting their 
 precedency as nations, which could only be settled by a 
 reference to antiquity. The English canonists referred 
 to Albert and Bartholomeus, and urged, amongst other 
 arguments, " that, the world being divided into three 
 parts, Europe, Asia, and Africa, Europe was distributed 
 into four kingdoms ; namely, first, the Roman ; second, 
 the Constantinopolitan ; third, the Irish, which is now 
 transferred to the English ; and, fourth, the kingdom of 
 Spain : from which it is manifest, that the King of Eng- 
 land and his kingdom are among the most eminent and 
 most ancient of the kings and kingdoms of all Europe ; 
 which prerogative the kingdom of France is not said to 
 hold."* A similar precedency had been observed, in 
 1255, at the Council of Lyons, when Albert Armacha- 
 nus subscribed before all the bishops of France, Italy, 
 and Spain,t circumstances which are noticed here, 
 however, merely as illustrative of the light in which Ire- 
 land wa& regarded. 
 
 The middle of this century, it is well known, was 
 marked by an art, which, as soon as the secret was dis- 
 covered, spread with almost incredible rapidity over all 
 Europe, producing everywhere, on the moral world, an 
 effect as striking as that which takes place in the physi- 
 cal, at the return of day after night, or spring after win- 
 ter, the art of printing, first practised atMentz, in 1457- 
 The first native of Ireland who appears to have been 
 connected with this memorable invention, should not be 
 passed over, even though he was thus engaged far dis- 
 tant from his native home, and more than half an age 
 
 ' 
 
 . 
 
 * Concilium Constansiense, A. D. HIT, Sets. 31. f Ware's Bishops, 65. 
 
 Wadding's Aon. I. p. 605.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 49 
 
 before a few types were permitted to be sent to his own 
 country, or a solitary book printed there. Maurice 
 O'Fihely, Maurice de Portu, as he is sometimes called, 
 or Maurice Hibernicus, and Maurice of Ireland, was 
 born in 1463-4, in the county of Cork, near Baltimore, 
 a town celebrated for its fine harbour, from whence ori- 
 ginated the addition of ' de portu,' occasionally employ- 
 ed to distinguish him. Wood, in his Athenae Oxonien- 
 sis, says, that he received instruction at Oxford, in 
 " grammar and trivials," i. e. grammar, rhetoric, and 
 logic, called the trivium, or threefold way to eloquence. 
 At an early age, however, he proceeded to Padua, and 
 was there engaged for several years in teaching the 
 liberal arts. About twenty years after the invention 
 of fusible metal types atMentz, Octavian Scott, a noble- 
 man and native of Mons, went to Venice, where he set up 
 several printing-presses at his own charge. Towards the 
 close of the century, Maurice de Hibernia was his prin- 
 cipal corrector of the press, an office which at this pe- 
 riod occupied the men of greatest learning.* Maurice 
 was the author of several treatises, still extant : one of 
 which, his Manual of Faith, was printed at Venice, with 
 this title, " Enchiridion Fidei, &c. doctoris magistri 
 Mauritii de Portu, Hibernici Ordinis Minorutn, Archie- 
 piscopi Tuamensis dignissimi, Venetiis 1 509," and dedi- 
 cated to the Earl of Kildare, then Lord-deputy of Ire- 
 land.t Another work of Maurice was a Dictionary to 
 the Holy Scriptures, entitled "Dictionarium SacraeScrip- 
 turae, universis concionatoribus apprime utile et necessa- 
 rium." This is mentioned by Possevin, as printed, long 
 after the author's death, at Venice, in 1603, " though," 
 
 * Palmer's History of Printing, 4to, p. 149. 
 
 f This vol. is in 4to, having this colophon, " Uenetijs per Bonetum locatcllum 
 presbyterum. Mandate et expensis heredum nobilis viri quondam domini Octaui- 
 ani Scoti ciuis ac patricij Modeliesis, 1509." Wood's Athena; by Bliss, I. p. 17. 
 Now, of the three printers under Maurice, mentioned by Palmer, this B. LocatelU 
 was one, which is thus confirmed.
 
 50 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 he adds, " it is not extant farther than the letter E in- 
 clusive."* But among the manuscripts in the Bodleian 
 library, there is a copy of it complete to letter Z, Zona ; 
 at the end of which is " expliciunt distinctionis fr'is 
 mauritij."t 
 
 By the printed title just quoted, it appears that Mau- 
 rice had been nominated to the see of Tuam. This ap- 
 pointment took place in 1506, and in 1512 he left Italy 
 for Ireland, and landed at Gal way. Soon after, however, 
 being taken unwell, he died there, on the 25th May 1513, 
 scarcely fifty years of age, and was there buried. The 
 spot in which he lies was long known, and pointed out 
 till at least within these sixty years. The stone under 
 which he was interred, says Harris, in 1764, " is yet 
 shown." 
 
 In glancing at Ireland itself, we find another individual 
 of the same surname, Donald O'Fihely, who wrote the 
 Annals of Ireland in the language of the country, car- 
 ried down to his own time. Sir James Ware says, that 
 he saw them in manuscript in the possession of Florence 
 Maccarty, at London, in 16264 Wood, who mentions 
 him as an Oxford student, that he was living in 1505, 
 and that he was valued for his unwearied industry in 
 matters relating to history and antiquity, then adds 
 ' ' In this man's time, I find many noted persons of Ire- 
 land to have studied in this university, who, as it seems, 
 have either been writers, bishops, or statesmen, in the 
 kingdom ; but most of their Christian names being de- 
 ficient, I cannot justly particularize them." Several of 
 these men, as well as others who studied in their own 
 country, might here be noticed, were it not from the fear 
 of becoming tedious, or extending these pages too far. 
 
 Apparat. Sacr. f Wood's Athenas by Bliss, 1. 17. $ Ware's Writers, p. 90. 
 
 $ I may simply mention Charles Maguire, whose " Annalis Hiberniae usque ad 
 sua tempora," continued by Cassidy to 1541, is now extant in the British Museum. 
 Thomas Fitch, who wrote De Rebus Ecclesiasuse," called the White Book of 
 Christ's Church. George Cogley, the author of a catalogue of the bishops of Meath,
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 51 
 
 During the latter part of the sixteenth century, how- 
 ever, one group of names cannot be passed over : Kear- 
 ney and Walsh, Donellan and Daniel, or O'Donell. 
 
 John Kearney, or Kearnagh, who had received his 
 education at Cambridge, was afterwards treasurer of St 
 Patrick's, Dublin. Nicholas Walsh had been a fellow- 
 student with Kearney at Cambridge, and was still his 
 beloved companion, having been appointed chancellor 
 of St Patrick's. These two individuals ought to be ever 
 remembered as the men who first began to pursue the 
 only effectual method of enlightening their Irish bre- 
 thren, so far as the art of printing in their own language 
 and character is necessary. They were the men who 
 first introduced Irish types into their country, and ob- 
 tained an order that the prayers of the church should be 
 printed in that character and language, and a church set 
 apart in the chief town of every diocese, where they 
 were to be read and a sermon preached to the common 
 people.* Accordingly we are informed, that, in the year 
 1571j Queen Elizabeth provided, at her own expense, a 
 printing-press and a fount of Irish types, " in hope that 
 God in mercy would raise up some to translate the New 
 Testament into their mother tongue."t 
 
 The first work in which Mr Kearney engaged was an 
 Irish Catechism and Primer, " Alphabetum et ratio 
 
 handed by Ussher to Sir James Ware as serviceable for his works. Nicholas Ma- 
 guire, Bishop of Leighlin, the writer of an esteemed Irish chronicle : these three 
 last were Oxford students. Richard Creagh of Limerick, who wrote " De Lingua 
 Hibernica ; Chronicon Hibemiae," and an ecclesiastical history. Thadeus Dow- 
 ling, who wrote " Annalis brcvis Hibernias," an Irish grammar, and other tracts. 
 Patrick Cusack, a man of family, educated at Oxford, and able schoolmaster in 
 Dublin, about 1566. He is said to have given great light to his country by his 
 learning, though he employed his time rather in the instruction of his scholars 
 than penning books. He wrote indeed one book, " Diversa Epigrammata," pro- 
 bably for the use of his school. Richard Stan yhurst , who was born in Dublin, 1646, 
 maternal uncle to Archbishop Ussher, the author of several works, and who died 
 in 1618, at Brussels. William Bathe, born in Dublin, 1564, who was president of 
 the Irish College at Salamanca. His " Janua Linguarum" became a standard 
 work for the instruction of youth. He died in 1614, at Madrid. 
 * Ware's Annals, 1571. f Dedication of the Irish New Testament.
 
 52 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 legend! Hibernicum, et catechismus in eadem lingua. 
 John a Kearnagh, 157V 8vo. In this, which was cer- 
 tainly the first book printed with a view to the instruc- 
 tion of the Native Irish, the types just mentioned are 
 said to have been used, and this is probable ; but whether 
 it were so or not, it is certain that more than thirty years 
 passed away, before the next publication in which they 
 were employed.* 
 
 The translation of the Scriptures of the New Testa- 
 ment into Irish now engaged the attention of both these 
 men, and, in the year 1573, Walsh began the work, as- 
 sisted by Kearney. In 1577. Walsh was elected to the 
 see of Ossory, but proceeded in his undertaking, till he 
 was stabbed in his own house, on the 14th December, 
 1585, by a profligate whom he had cited before him for 
 gross immorality. Providentially, some years before 
 this, Nehemias Donellan, born in Galway, but also edu- 
 cated at Cambridge, on returning to Ireland, had joined 
 these men in their undertaking. Thus it appears by a 
 privy seal, dated the 24th of May, 1595, when he was 
 raised to the see of Tuam, that " he had taken great 
 pains in translating and putting to the press the com- 
 
 * It has been strangely asserted by Lemoine, in his History of Printing, and 
 others, that an Irish liturgy was undoubtedly printed in Dublin in 1566, for the 
 use of the Highlanders of Scotland. The reference here is to the Book of Common 
 Order, which, it is true, is sometimes called Knox's Liturgy. But the truth is, 
 that this very rare Gaelic translation, entitled " Foirm na Nurrnuidheadh," i. e. 
 Forms of Prayer, was printed at Edinburgh by Bobert Lekprevik, and is dated 24th 
 of April, 1667. John Carswell, superintendent of the West, and bishop of the Isles, 
 was the translator. He'here laments the misapplication of the gifts of writing and 
 teaching, and says that much of the superstition that prevailed arose from the want 
 of good books, understood by all who spoke the Gaelic tongue." But there is," 
 fays he in his epistle dedicatory, " one great disadvantage which we the Gaeil of 
 Scotland and Ireland labour under beyond the rest of the world, that our Gaelic 
 language has never been printed, as the language of every race of men has been ; 
 and we labour under a disadvantage which is still greater than every other, that 
 we have not the Holy Bible printed in Gaelic, as it has been printed in Latin and 
 in English, and in every other language." One copy of this book exists in the 
 Argyle library, which is supposed to be unique. There is another, but imperfect, 
 in the possession of a private gentleman in Scotland.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 53 
 
 munion-book and New Testament in the Irish language, 
 which Queen Elizabeth greatly approved of." This 
 commendation is of course by no means to be considered 
 as excluding Kearney, who not only laboured in union, 
 first with Walsh, and then with Donellan, but seems to 
 have proceeded to other parts of Scripture. Harris in- 
 deed asserts, that Kearney " translated the Bible into 
 Irish, which was extant in manuscript in Ware's time :" 
 but this I have no doubt was a mistake of a part for 
 the whole, as no trace of such a complete translation was 
 ever heard of since. Part of the Bible, he probably ef- 
 fected, particularly the Psalms ; but had there been a 
 translation of the whole, we must have heard of it in the 
 days of Bedell. These three men, however, laid the 
 foundation, and effectually prepared the way for the 
 fourth individual already named, William Daniel, or 
 O'Donell. Being considered as well qualified for the 
 undertaking, at the instance of the Lord-deputy and re- 
 quest of the Privy Council he proceeded. Availing him- 
 self of the labours of his predecessors, he went also into 
 Connaught to procure such aid as he might think pro- 
 per, and it seems that he derived some assistance from a 
 native of that province, Mortogh O'Cionga, or King.* 
 At all events, we know, from himself, that this transla- 
 tion of the Irish New Testament was scrupulously made 
 from the original Greek, " to which," says he, in his 
 dedication to the king, " I tied myself, as of duty I 
 ought." Shortly after the accession of James the First, 
 which was in March, 1603, this New Testament was 
 published, with a dedication to his Majesty, the expense 
 
 * See Ware's Writers and Bishops. Letter from the Privy Council of Ireland, 
 15th December, 1605, in the Clogher MS. No 4. p. 375. Beling in his Vindicise 
 ascribes the translation itself to King ; but, with reference to the New Testament, 
 this is saying too much. King certainly was an excellent Irish scholar, and as 
 such was known afterwards to Primate Ussher, who recommended him to the no. 
 tice of Bedell. The reader therefore will hear of him again.
 
 54 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 being defrayed by the province of Connaught and Sir 
 William Usher, clerk of the council.* 
 
 The Book of Common Prayer he also translated from 
 English into Irish, with the exception of the Psalms. 
 This was printed at Daniel's own expense, by J. Franc- 
 ton, and published in quarto, 1608. In the following 
 year, Dr Daniel was translated to the see of Tuam, where 
 he died in 1628. He was one of the three first scholars 
 of Trinity College, Dublin, who were nominated by the 
 Charter; one of the earliest elected Fellows ; and, if not 
 the first, he was the second who received the degree of 
 D.D. from that University. Sir James Ware says, that 
 he " was a proficient in Hebrew," and, " indeed, a man 
 of distinguished learning."t 
 
 It is impossible to proceed through such ahistory as this, 
 without coming frequently in contact with James Ussher^ 
 
 * If this is the same individual elsewhere styled Sir William Usher the elder, 
 he was the son of John Usher, the Mayor of Dublin in 1574, who wrote a treatise, 
 De Reformatione Hiberniae, once in the possession of Primate Ussher, and depo- 
 sited by him in Trinity College. 
 
 t His attainments as a scholar may be presumed from the eminence of his asso- 
 ciates. In the register of the College Library the series of Fellows stands thus : 
 Henry Ussher (the uncle of Archbishop Ussher), Lucas Challoner (Ussher's father- 
 in-law), Launcellot Moine, James Fullerton, James Hamilton, Matthias Holme, 
 William Daniel, Charles Dun, John Brereton, Abel Walshe, James Ussher, &c. 
 The three first were the Fellows who had been named by the Crown, ' nomine 
 plurium.' James Fullerton, a scholar of Andrew Melville's, afterwards knighted, 
 and who resided at the court of James I., after the Accession, and James Hamilton, 
 created Viscount Clandebois, and afterwards Earl of Clanbrissel, induced, it is sup- 
 posed, to seek a foreign field for the exertion of their talents, had come from Scot- 
 land in 1587, and established a grammar-school in Dublin. After teaching on their 
 own account till 1592, they were admitted as Professors in Trinity College, which 
 was opened in 1593. Henry Lee, William Daniel, and Stephen White, had been 
 named by the Queen as the three first scholars nomine plurium." James Ussher, 
 afterwards Primate, who was the second matriculated student, had, from 1588, at- 
 tended the grammar-school of Fullerton and Hamilton. Daniel was buried at 
 Tuam, under the same monument with his predecessor, N. Donellan. Ussher lies 
 interred beside the grave of his preceptor, Fullerton, in St Erasmus's Chapel, West- 
 minster. See Parr's Life of Ussher ; Smith's Vitae j M'Crie's Life of Melville, vol. 
 II. 291-4; Stewart's Armagh, pp. 310-339. 
 
 $ Notwithstanding the almost universal practice of using a single letter, this 
 teems to be the correct orthography of the Primate's name. Harris in his edition
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 55 
 
 unquestionably one of the most learned men of his day; 
 but our notices of him must needs be casual and limited. 
 In 160910, Dr Challoner, the Provost of Trinity, hav- 
 ing died, Ussher was unanimously elected; but he de- 
 clined, from the fear of interrupting his literary pursuits. 
 By his importunate solicitations, however, William Tem- 
 ple, who, after occupying various public situations, had 
 retired into private life, was prevailed upon to accept of 
 the office, which he continued to fill with ability till his 
 death, in the year 1626.* The year before this, and but 
 a few days before the death of James I., Ussher had 
 been appointed Primate of all Ireland. He now looked 
 round for a successor to Sir William Temple, and fixed 
 his eye and his heart upon an individual, then living in 
 comparative neglect and obscurity William Bedell. 
 
 The New Testament in Irish was the only part of the 
 Scriptures yet published, with the exception of those 
 passages which were inserted in the Book of Common 
 Prayer. For the translation of the Old Testament into 
 Irish, we are indebted to the Christian zeal of this ever- 
 memorable man ; for, if Fitzralph, or Daniel, is to be 
 regarded as the Wickliffe, William Bedell may, with 
 equal if not greater propriety, be denominated the Tyn- 
 dal of Ireland. 
 
 This interesting man was born at Black Notley, in 
 Essex, in 1570. Educated at Emmanuel College, Cam- 
 bridge, he was chosen Fellow of his College at the age 
 of twenty-three, and became B. D. in 1599. Removing 
 to St Edmondsbury, in Suffolk, he preached there for a 
 considerable time, and with great success. When Sir 
 
 of Ware uniformly observes it. The double * is found in the manuscripts of the 
 day, and indeed it is printed in the title of his " Annals." London, 1658. It is 
 therefore adopted throughout this volume. 
 
 * This Provost of Trinity College, afterwards Sir William Temple, who was a 
 Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, and had been secretary to Sir Philip Sidney 
 when he fell at the battle of Zutphen, was grandfather to the ambassador and 
 statesman of that name.
 
 56 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 Henry Wotton, at a very critical period, was appointed 
 ambassador to Venice, Bedell was thought the fittest 
 man to accompany him in the capacity of chaplain. 
 Here he became most intimately acquainted with Paul 
 Sarpi, the historian of the Council of Trent, from whom 
 he acquired a perfect knowledge of the Italian : Bedell, 
 in return, instructed him in the English language. Hav- 
 ing resided for eight years at Venice, Bedell returned to 
 resume his labours, first at St Edmondsbury, and then, 
 in 1615, at Horingsheath, where he lived in great plain- 
 ness and simplicity, preaching to the poor of his flock, 
 for about eleven years.* In the year 1626, however, 
 though personally unknown to Archbishop Ussher, or 
 to any of the Fellows of Trinity College, t)ublin, he was 
 unanimously elected Provost. On this occasion the hu- 
 mility and modesty of Bedell were conspicuous. Al- 
 though Sir Henry Wotton had told the King, " that 
 hardly a fitter man could have been propounded in his 
 whole kingdom for singular erudition and piety," Bedell 
 replied to Ussher in the following terms : " I am mar- 
 ried, and have three children : therefore, if the place re- 
 quires a single man, the business is at an end. I have 
 no want, I thank my God, of any thing necessary for 
 this life. I have a competent living of above L.100 a- 
 year, in a good air and seat, with a very convenient 
 house near to my friends, and a little parish, not exceed- 
 ing the compass of my weak voice. I have often heard 
 it, that changing seldom brings the better, especially to 
 those that are well. And I see well that my wife, though 
 resolving, as she ought, to be contented with whatever 
 God shall appoint, had rather continue with her friends 
 
 * So retired indeed, and so little regarded, that when his friend Diodati came to 
 England, to his amazement he could not hear of him, till one day they met, by 
 mere accident, to their mutual joy, on the streets of London. It was while at 
 Horingsheath that he translated the latter parts of the History of the Council of 
 Trent, as well as that of the Interdict and the Inquisition, which he dedicated ta 
 the King.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 5J 
 
 in her native country, than put herself into the hazard 
 of the seas and a foreign land, with many casualties of 
 travel, which she, perhaps out of fear, apprehends more 
 than there is cause. All these reasons I have, if I con- 
 sult with flesh and blood, which move me rather to re- 
 ject this offer. Yet, with all humble and dutiful thanks 
 to my Lord Primate, for his kind and good opinion of 
 me, on the other side I consider the end wherefore I 
 came into the world, and the business of a subject of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, of a minister of the Gospel, of a 
 good patriot, and of an honest man. If I may be of any 
 better use to my country, or to God's church, or of any 
 better service to our common Master, I must close mine 
 eyes against all private respects ; and, if God call me, 
 I must answer, here I am. For my part, therefore, I 
 will not stir one foot, nor lift up my finger for or against 
 this motion ; but if it proceed from the Lord, that is, if 
 those whom it concerns there, do procure those who may 
 command me here, to send me thither, I shall obey, if it 
 were not only to go into Ireland but into Virginia; yea, 
 though I were not only to meet with troubles, dangers, 
 and difficulties, but with death itself, in the perform- 
 ance." 
 
 After this, the Archbishop and Fellows not only united 
 in urging his acceptance of the appointment, but peti- 
 tioned the King ; and Bedell receiving his Majesty's 
 command, cheerfully obeyed. During the two years in 
 which he held this situation, having rendered essential 
 service to the University, in rectifying disorder, resto- 
 ring discipline, composing divisions, and promoting the 
 interests of religion, he received the marked approbation 
 of his Sovereign, and was appointed, in 1629, Bishop of 
 Kilmore and Ardagh. If the College had demanded all 
 the energy and prudence of his character, his diocese 
 exhibited a scene sufficient to dishearten any one, except 
 such a man as Bedell. The cathedral of ^ffdagh and 
 the Bishop's house were fallen to the ground, and that
 
 58 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 of Kilraore had neither spire nor bell. The parish- 
 churches were without roofs. The payment of double 
 tithes, the extortions of mendicant friars, the exac- 
 tions of the spiritual court, the requisitions for the sup- 
 port of the military, united to a scarcity of grain, and a 
 mortality among the cattle, all conspired to render the 
 prospect of his usefulness almost entirely hopeless. 
 Added to all this, in each of his dioceses Bedell found 
 no more than seven or eight ministers capable of assist- 
 ing him. Each of these had many parishes to serve ; 
 but, being Englishmen, and the people Irish, they could 
 neither perform worship, nor converse with the people 
 intelligibly, while pluralities and non-residence were 
 quite prevalent. In such painful and desperate circum- 
 stances, did this indefatigable man, in the fifty-ninth 
 year of his age, commence his labours in the province of 
 Ulster. To induce the clergy to abandon pluralities, he 
 not only preached against the evil, but explained the 
 subject particularly in private, and then, adding to his 
 precept all the power of example, he actually gave up 
 one of his own bishoprics. Ardagh lay contiguous to 
 Kilmore, so that he could have discharged all its duties, 
 and the revenues of both did not exceed a competency ; 
 but residence was a duty of paramount importance in 
 the eye of Bedell, and Ardagh he resigned, when Dr 
 Richardson was appointed to occupy it as a separate 
 living.* The clergy could not resist such a pattern as 
 this. Impressed with the cogency of his arguments, and 
 
 * Dr Richardson, a native of Chester, and who, in 1601, when only twenty-one 
 years of age, had been appointed Preacher to the State, was ordained by Ussher, in 
 1633, Bishop of Ardagh. In the Chronological Annals of Ussher will be found 
 Richardson's Harmony of the Four Gospels, whom he styles, " that learned man 
 much exercised in the studies of the Holy Scriptures." In 1641 he was obliged to 
 leave Ireland, and died in London in his 74th year, on llth August, 1654. The 
 remarks on Ezekiel, Daniel, and the minor Prophets, published in the second edi. 
 tion of the Assembly's Annotations, were furnished by Richardson ; and, the year 
 after his death, were published at London, in folio, his " Choice Observations and 
 Explanations upon the Old Testament, with further Observations on Genesis," per- 
 used aud attested both by Ussher and Gataker, author of the Opera Critica.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 59 
 
 the louder voice of his example, the whole relinquished 
 their pluralities, with only one exception. This was the 
 Dean ; and so ashamed was he of his singularity that he 
 exchanged his deanery for another. 
 
 With deep regret Bedell now observed the neglect 
 and contempt with which the native Irish had been 
 treated, as though they were incapable of culture, or 
 only could be restrained by force, or ruled by harsh 
 measures. Clearly perceiving the path of duty, and 
 firmly resolved to pursue it, it was his determination 
 that the Book of Life. should be given to his Irish fel- 
 low-subjects, and that they should hear with their ears 
 the glorious Gospel of the blessed God in their own an- 
 cient and long-proscribed language. Above thirty years 
 before, the New Testament had been published : Bedell 
 resolved to give the whole Bible to the people in their 
 native tongue. 
 
 See, then, this interesting man, now in his sixtieth 
 year (1630), sitting down to acquire the language spoken 
 around him, and succeeding so well as not only to com- 
 pose a complete grammar, but to attain a critical know- 
 ledge of it. After much inquiry, he found a Mr King, 
 already mentioned, ten years older than himself, who 
 was reputed the best Irish scholar of his day. Provid- 
 ing for his support, and engaging also the Rev. Dennis 
 O'Sheriden, the father of one of Bedell's successors, they 
 commenced the translation of the Old Testament, The 
 Bishop's favourite study, for many years, had been the 
 Scriptures, so that the Hebrew and Septuagint were as 
 familiar to him as the English. Every day, after dinner 
 or supper, a chapter of the Bible was read at his table, 
 whoever were present ; when Bibles being placed before 
 each individual, the Hebrew or Greek was laid before 
 himself; and, since he had succeeded so well with the 
 native language, as he compared the Irish translation 
 with the English, so he compared both with the Hebrew, 
 the Septuagint, and with the Italian version of his friend
 
 60 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 Diodati, which he highly valued. For these compari- 
 sons of the text Bedell was peculiarly qualified. Latin 
 and Italian he wrote with great elegance ; and his perfect 
 acquaintance with the latter, acquired from Sarpi at 
 Venice, he could now turn to some good account.* 
 There, also, he had studied the Hebrew language under 
 Rabbi Leo, the chief Chachan of the Jewish synagogue, t 
 from whom he acquired the accurate pronunciation. J 
 During his past life, also, he had collected a large mass 
 of critical exposition ; and now, impressed with a con- 
 viction of the supreme importance of the work he had 
 undertaken, he pursued it with unwearied diligence. 
 " He thought," says his biographer, " the use of the 
 Scriptures was the only way to let the knowledge of re- 
 ligion in among the Irish," and he used to repeat a pass- 
 age of a sermon that he had heard at Venice by Fulgen- 
 tio, with which he was much pleased. It was on these 
 words of the Saviour, " Have ye not read in the Scrip- 
 tures?" and so the preacher took occasion to tell the 
 auditory, that if Christ himself were now to ask this 
 question, " Have ye not read in the Scriptures?" all the 
 answer which they could make to it was, No ; for they 
 were not suffered to do so. 
 
 * Hence the superiority of his translation of the two last books of Paul Sarpi's 
 History of the Council of Trent over the two first, by Sir Adam Newton. 
 
 t More properly C/iazan, or minister of the synagogue, who has the charge of 
 the sacred books, the second in authority under the Ruler. 
 
 $ With this Rabbi and his brethren Bedell had frequently discussions respecting 
 the Messiahship of Christ ; and the only escape they could find from his arguments 
 used to be, that they expounded the Scriptures according to the tradition of their 
 fathers. It was by means of this Rabbi, if not from him, that he procured that 
 beautiful manuscript of the Old Testament, which he afterwards presented to Em- 
 manuel College. It is said to have cost Bedell, or Sir Henry Wotton, its weight in 
 silver ; and let it not be forgotten, that it is to a Native Irishman we owe its present 
 existence. In the rebellion of 1641, Bedell's critical expositions, which filled a Urge 
 trunk, had been forcibly carried away, when a Native Irishman, to whom he had 
 been useful, went among his countrymen, and succeeded in bringing to him the 
 Hebrew manuscript and several other volumes. This MS., which consists of three 
 folio volumes, in pages of two columns, with an illumination round the first page of 
 each volume, and some letters gilt, has the vowel-points and the Masora. See 
 Bedell's Life by Burnet, and Dyer's Univ. of Cambridge, pp. 375, 376. 
 
 $ This was a period of great discussion, and even liberty of action, at Venice.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 61 
 
 Bedell, however, though so meritoriously employed, 
 was now about to witness in Ireland the effects of a blind 
 and misguided policy, which, indeed, has long survived 
 him. In a convocation held at Dublin, in 1634, the fifth 
 year of his incumbency, amongst other subjects the ver- 
 sion of the Scriptures and Prayer-Book for the use of 
 the Native Irish was introduced, when no small debate 
 ensued. Bramhall, Bishop of Derry, stood forth in op- 
 position, while Bedell appeared for the affirmative ; the 
 former grounding his argument on politics and maxims 
 of state, and especially on the act of King Henry VIII., 
 and the latter founding his on the principles of theology 
 and the good of souls.* Bedell, seconded by Ussher, pre- 
 vailed, and the convocation passed the following canons : 
 " Where most of the people are Irish, the church- 
 warden shall provide, at the charge of the parish, a Bible 
 and two Common Prayer-Books in the Irish tongue." 
 " Where the minister is an Englishman, such a clerk 
 may be chosen as shall be able to read those parts of the 
 service which shall be appointed to be read, in Irish." 
 
 In following up these canons, no one exerted himself 
 with so much zeal as Bedell. Already he had composed 
 a short catechism, which he had printed in one sheet, 
 English and Irish, in parallel columns, containing the 
 elements of Christianity, several forms of prayer, and 
 some of the most instructive passages of Scripture. 
 These he widely dispersed, for they were received with 
 joy by the Irish, many of whom now seemed to be hun- 
 gering for the bread of life. The Irish Bible required 
 by the canon was not yet, of course, in existence ; but 
 the Prayer-Book in Irish he ordered to be read in his 
 
 In another sermon, from Pilate's question, " What is truth ?" Fulgentio told 
 them, "At last, after many searches, I have found it out," and, holding out a New 
 Testament, said, " There it is, in my hand;" then, putting it in his pocket, h e 
 added coldly," but the book is prohibited." The auditory, so far from being of- 
 fended, is said to have been mightily taken with such boldness. 
 * Letter from Bishop of Meath to Boyle. See his Works, vol. V. p. 116. 
 
 C
 
 62 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 cathedral every Sabbath, for the benefit of his Irish 
 countrymen who now assembled there, while he himself 
 never failed to attend. His clergy he engaged to insti- 
 tute schools in every parish, and proceeding vigorously 
 with his translation, he at last completed it, resolving to 
 print it at his own expense. 
 
 At this advanced period of his life, however, pro- 
 bably the most interesting to himself during his whole ex- 
 istence, Bedell was called to the endurance of trials which 
 demanded all the fortitude and piety of his character. 
 It was about the very season in which he had been de- 
 prived of his esteemed partner in life, when he was to 
 find himself standing literally alone on behalf of the Na- 
 tive Irish ! To the publication of his Irish translation, 
 on which his very heart was set, an opposition began to 
 discover itself, more formidable than that which he had 
 so successfully overcome in the convocation four years 
 before this. His opponents, too, on this occasion, let it 
 be remembered, as well as on the former, were neither 
 Irishmen nor Catholics of any description, native or 
 foreign. The pretext which individuals employed at 
 this juncture was, that this able man, Mr King, was in- 
 competent for the undertaking, and that the knowledge 
 of his having been engaged in the translation would ex- 
 pose the work to general contempt. In 1633, Laud, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, had been chosen Chancellor 
 of Trinity College, Dublin, and now he, as well as the 
 Earl of Strafford, were induced to join the opposing party. 
 It was by the advice of Primate Ussher, and other emi- 
 nent characters, that Bedell had first engaged Mr King, 
 whom he had provided with a living, for which King 
 was peculiarly fitted, by his perfect familiarity with the 
 Irish tongue. Yet now, on the ground of some trivial 
 
 * Mrs Bedell died three years before the rebellion broke out, and the Bishop 
 himself preached her funeral sermon from these words : " A good name is better 
 than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's birth." His 
 whole discourse on this occasion was such as deeply affected all who were present.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 63 
 
 ecclesiastical delinquency, was this aged and worthy man, 
 without a hearing, deprived of his situation by the surro- 
 gates of the Archbishop, and even imprisoned; while his 
 place was bestowed on the informer, a man entirely igno- 
 rant of the Irish language.* For the unjust sufferings of 
 his aged friend, Bedell expressed great sympathy ; but die 
 insinuations against the Irish translation he felt bound 
 to expose ; yet, with Strafford and Laud in opposition, 
 and even Ussher afraid to befriend him, what wonder if 
 he had sunk? In these peculiar circumstances, he ad- 
 dressed the following letter to the Lord Lieutenant, dated 
 1st December, 1638, at once illustrative of the nature of 
 the opposition with which he had to contend, and of the 
 noble Christian spirit which he maintained under it : 
 
 " Right Hon., my good Lord, That which I have 
 sometimes done willingly, I do now necessarily, to make 
 my address to your honour by writing. The occasion 
 is not my love of contention, or any other matter of pro- 
 fit, but God's honour and (as he is witness) yours. I have 
 lately received letters from my Lord of Canterbury, 
 whereby I perceive that his Grace is informed that Mr 
 King, whom I employed to translate the Bible into Irish, 
 
 * What a pity that the conduct of Ussher on this occasion should have been so 
 unworthy of his uniform principles and sagacity! For some time, however, he had 
 suffered his mind to be alienated from Bedell, and for no other reason than that he 
 now showed the unshaken courage and constancy of a primitive martyr, in the 
 pursuit of his judicious plans for the benefit of the Native Irish, and because he 
 had openly condemned the unjust and violent proceedings of the Archbishop's 
 surrogates. Before this, indeed, Ussher had said, that the tide ran so high against 
 him, in reference to pluralities and non-residence, that he could assist him no 
 more ; but Bedell, not disheartened, thanked him for his assistance hitherto, and 
 added, " that he was resolved, by the help of God, to try if he could stand by him- 
 self." " Ussher was too gentle," says Bishop Burnett, " to manage the rough 
 work of reforming abuses ;" but this apology will not suffice. There are spots in 
 the sun ; and his conduct, in this instance, will not bear rigorous examination. 
 Besides, few men could be more gentle than Bedell, when gentleness was incum- 
 bent. Witness his patient continuance in well-doing amidst various provocations, 
 and his fine remarks in a sermon from " Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly." 
 " Finally," he says, " he that, in matters of controversy, shall bring meekness to 
 his defence, undoubtedly he shall overcome in the manner of handling ; and, if he 
 bring truth also, he shall prevail at last in the matter,"
 
 64 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 is a man so ignorant, that the translation cannot be wor- 
 thy of public use in the church, and besides obnoxious, 
 so that the church can receive no credit from any thing 
 that is his. And his Grace adds, ' that he is so well 
 acquainted with your Lordship's disposition, that he as- 
 sures himself you would not have g^ven away his living, 
 had you not seen just cause for it.' I account myself 
 bound to satisfy his Grace herein, and desire, if I may 
 be so happy, to do it, by satisfying you. I do sub- 
 scribe to his Grace's assured persuasion, that your Lord- 
 ship, had you not conceived Mr King to be such as he 
 writes, would not have given away his living. But, my 
 Lord, the greatest, wisest, and justest men do, and must 
 take many things upon the information of others, who 
 themselves are men, and may sometimes, out of weak- 
 ness or some other cause, be deceived. Touching Mr 
 King's silliness, (which it concerns me the more to clear 
 him of, that I be not accounted silly myself,) I beseech 
 your Lordship to take information, not by them which 
 never saw him till yesterday, but by the ancient church- 
 men or statesmen of the kingdom, in whose eyes he hath 
 lived these many years, as the Lord Primate,* the 
 Bishop of Meath, the Lord Dillon, Sir James Ware, and 
 the like. I doubt not but your Lordship shall under- 
 stand, that there is no such danger that the translation 
 should be unworthy, because he did it ; being a man of 
 that known sufficiency, for the Irish especially, either in 
 prose or verse, as few are his matches in the kingdom. 
 And shortly, not to argue by conjecture and divination, 
 let the work itself speak, yea let it be examined rigoroso 
 
 The Primate alas ! it was by hU advice and that of several other eminent per- 
 sons that Bedell first pitched on Mr King, and that too as one of the most elegant 
 writers of the Irish tongue then in existence. This whole business is well styled 
 by Bishop Burnet to have been " a deep fetch to possess reformed divines with 
 jealousy and hard thoughts of the work;" and, to crown the whole, it was the 
 fetch of men belonging to the same community .' Need I add, see how Ireland has 
 been treated.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 65 
 
 examine ; if it be found approvable, let it not suffer dis- 
 grace from the small boast of the workman, but let him 
 rather (as old Sophocles accused of dotage) be absolved 
 for the sufficiency of the work. Touching his being ob- 
 noxious, it is true that there is a scandalous information 
 put in against him in the High Commission Court by his 
 despoiler, Mr Baily, (as my Lord of Derry told him, in 
 my hearing, he was,) and by an excommunicate despoiler 
 as myself, before the execution of any sentence, declared 
 him in the Court to be. And Mr King being cited to an- 
 swer, and not appearing, (as by law he was not bound) was 
 taken pro confesso, deprived of his ministry and living, 
 fined an hundred pounds, and decreed to be attached 
 and imprisoned. His adversary, Mr Baily, before he 
 was sentenced, purchased a new dispensation to hold his 
 benefice, and was, the very next day after, as appears by 
 the date of the institution, presented in the King's title, 
 (although the benefice be of my collation,) and instituted 
 by my Lord Primate's vicar, and shortly after inducted 
 by an archdeacon of another diocese. A few days after, 
 he brought down an attachment, and delivered Mr King 
 to the pursuivant. He was trailed by the head and feet 
 to horseback, and brought to Dublin, where he hath 
 been kept, and continued under arrest these four or five 
 months, and hath not been suffered to purge his supposed 
 contempt by oath and witnesses ; that, by reason of his 
 sickness, he was hindered, whereby he was brought to 
 death's door, and could not appear and prosecute his de- 
 fence ; and that, by the cunning of his adversary, he was 
 circumvented, entreating that he might be restored to 
 liberty, and his cause to his former state. But this hath 
 not availed him. My reverend colleagues of the High 
 Commission do some of them pity his case. Others say 
 the sentence passed cannot be reversed, lest the credit of 
 the Court be attached. They bid him simply submit 
 himself, and acknowledge his sentence just. Whereas 
 the bishops of Rome themselves, after most formal pro-
 
 66 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 ceedings, do grant restitution in inlegrum, and acknow- 
 ledge that senlentia Romance sedis potest in melius com- 
 mutari. My Lord, if I understand what is right, divine 
 or human, these be wrongs upon wrongs, which, if they 
 reached only to Mr King's person, were of less consi- 
 deration. But when, through his side, that great work, 
 the translation of God's book, so necessary for both his 
 Majesty's kingdoms, is mortally wounded pardon me, I 
 beseech your Lordship, if I be sensible of it.* I omit to 
 consider what feast our adversaries make of our rewarding 
 him thus for that service, or what this example will avail to 
 the alluring of others to conformity. What should your 
 Lordship have gained if he had died, as it was almost a 
 miracle he did not, under arrest, and had been at once 
 deprived of living, liberty, and life? God hath re- 
 prieved him, and given your Lordship means, on right 
 information, to remedy, with one word, all inconveni- 
 ences. For conclusion, good my Lord, give me leave a 
 little to apply the parable of Nathan to David to this 
 purpose. If the wayfaring man that is come to us, for 
 such he is, having never yet been settled in one place, 
 have so sharp a stomach that he must be provided for with 
 pluralities, sith there are herds and flocks plenty, suffer 
 him not, I beseech you, under the colour of the King's 
 name, to take the coset ewe of a poor man to satisfy his 
 ravenous appetite. So I beseech the heavenly Physician 
 to give your Lordship health of soul and body. I rest, 
 my Lord, your Lordship's most humble servant in Christ 
 Jesus, WILLIAM KILMORE." 
 
 Such was the treatment experienced by a venerable 
 old man ; for by this time Mr King was on the borders 
 of eighty, and a man who had been so useful in the 
 
 * " Both his Majesty's kingdoms." I imagine Bedell here may have had the 
 Gael of Scotland in his eye. Let them think of this, and now do what they well 
 might for their Irish brethren.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 67 
 
 translation of the Sacred Scriptures ! His parentage or 
 birth-place we cannot trace : in the course of nature he 
 must have died shortly after this period ; but where he 
 lies interred no one informs us. His name, therefore, 
 must of necessity be left among the number of those 
 
 Who lived unknown, 
 
 Till persecution dragg'd them into fame, 
 
 And cbae'd them up to Heaven. Their ashes flew, 
 
 No marble tells us whither. Withtheir names 
 
 No bard embalms and sanctifies his song : 
 
 And history, so warm on meaner themes, 
 
 Is cold on this. 
 
 The tide of opposition, so far as it concerned Mr King, 
 even the unshaken energy of a Bedell could not turn ; 
 but still nothing could possibly turn him from his pur- 
 pose ! He now resolved to have the Bible printed, not 
 only at his own charge, but in his own house ; and, with 
 a view to prepare the Irish for the work itself, he trans- 
 lated, both into Irish and English, some of the homilies 
 of Chrysostom and Leo, containing eloquent recommen- 
 dations of the Scriptures, and these he circulated with 
 good effect, along with his catechism. At this moment 
 a cloud was gathering over Ireland, nothing but phy- 
 sical inability could have retarded Bedell ; but, alas ! 
 before he could accomplish his great design, the rebel- 
 lion broke out, and, before tranquillity was restored, he 
 himself had been taken away to a better world. 
 
 Before inquiring after the fate of his much-valued 
 manuscript, it would be unpardonable thus to pass over 
 the closing scene of such a life. Infinite wisdom hath 
 inquired, " Who is he that will harm you if ye be fol- 
 lowers of that which is good?" And the last days of this 
 estimable man afford a singular commentary on this pas- 
 sage. In the Autumn of 1641, when all around him 
 there was nothing but fire, and blood, and desolation, a 
 secret guard seemed to be set upon him, and upon all 
 that he had. He suffered, unquestionably, much dis- 
 tress, as no man could possibly be altogether exempted :
 
 08 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 but, from the 23d of October, when the civil commotions 
 began, to the 18th of December, Bedell and all within 
 his walls remained unmolested : indeed he was the only 
 Englishman in the county of Cavan who was suffered to 
 continue, during this period, in his own house undis- 
 turbed. Not only his house, but all the out-buildings, 
 as well as the church and churchyard, were filled with 
 people who had fled to him for shelter, many of whom 
 had lived in affluent circumstances, but were now glad 
 of a little straw to lie upon, and a little boiled wheat to 
 eat. On the 18th of December, when the Bishop was 
 removed from his house, he and his family were carried 
 to the castle of Lochwater, where all, except himself, 
 were at first put in irons. These, however, were after- 
 wards taken off, and on the 7th of January the family 
 was finally exchanged for other prisoners, and relieved. 
 During the four following Sabbaths, Bedell preached re- 
 gularly in his own church, and upon the last of these 
 from Psalm cxliv., on the 7th and llth verses of which 
 he dwelt with peculiar emphasis, repeating them again 
 and again. Next day he was taken ill, and, two days 
 afterwards, calling his children around him, he address- 
 ed them all in the most tender and scriptural manner. 
 " I am going," said he, " the way of all flesh, I am now 
 ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at 
 hand. Knowing, therefore, that shortly I must put off 
 this tabernacle, I know also, that if the earthly house of 
 this my tabernacle were dissolved, I have a building of 
 God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the 
 heavens, a fair mansion in the New Jerusalem, which 
 cometh down out of heaven from my God. Therefore 
 to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain ; which in- 
 creaseth my desire even now to depart, and to be with 
 Christ, which is far better. Hearken therefore to the 
 last words of your dying father ; I am no more in this 
 world, but ye are in the world ; I ascend to my Father 
 and your Father, to my God and your God, through
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 69 
 
 the all-sufficient merits of Jesus Christ my Redeemer ; 
 \vho ever lives to make intercession for me ; who is the 
 propitiation for all my sins, and hath washed me from 
 them all in his own blood ; who is worthy to receive 
 glory, and honour, and power ; who hath created all 
 things, and for whose pleasure they are and were cre- 
 ated." For some time he contiuued his address, bless- 
 ed his children and those that stood by him in an audi- 
 ble voice, and, after a brief interval, he closed by say- 
 ing, " I have kept the faith once delivered to the saints ; 
 for the which cause I also suffer these things ; but I am 
 not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I 
 am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have 
 committed to him against that day." After this, his 
 speech failing, he uttered but few expressions, and at 
 midnight, on the 7th of February, 1642, he entered the 
 eternal world. 
 
 To his own wishes, with respect to his body, consent 
 was obtained, and on the 9th he was interred close by 
 the remains of his wife. It was the most remote and 
 least frequented spot in the churchyard on which he had 
 fixed, desiring that he should be laid next to her, with 
 this modest inscription, " Depositum Gulielmi quondam 
 Episcopi Kilmorensis." ;.'<, 
 
 In his lifetime the natives used to call him " the best 
 of English Bishops;" and "the singular marks of ho- 
 nour and affection which they paid him at his funeral, 
 even in the great heat and fury of the rebellion, do 
 show, from experience, that the Irish may be drawn by 
 the cords of a man, and that gentle usage and Christian 
 treatment will prevail with them, when the contrary 
 methods will not. For they suffered him, although a 
 heretic in their opinion, to be interred in his own burial- 
 place ; desiring, if his friends thought fit, that the office 
 proper for that occasion might be used according to the 
 liturgy. Nay, the chief of the rebels, gathering his 
 forces together, accompanied his body to the church- 
 
 c2
 
 70 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 yard with great solemnity, and discharging a volley at 
 the interment, cried out in Latin, ' Requiescat in pace 
 ultimus Anglorum !' " while one of the priests who 
 were present exclaimed, " O sit anima mea cum Be- 
 dello !"* 
 
 In past ages, there is certainly no man who ought to 
 be held in higher veneration by the Native Irish, than 
 William Bedell. At the commencement of his labours 
 among them, the prospect was such as would have sick- 
 ened most men, yet his subsequent residence of twelve 
 years was one continued and energetic struggle for 
 their salvation. To say nothing of his singular hu- 
 mility or undaunted courage, his unexampled disin- 
 terestedness in regard to his own income, or his ge- 
 nerous hospitality to the poor and needy ; never let 
 them forget that he felt bound to their best interests 
 by an indissoluble tie, so that when even an English 
 bishopric was offered to him, he refused it ! But, above 
 all, let his pleadings in high places, in that early day, on 
 their behalf, and his unwearied exertions, at an ad- 
 vanced age, in procuring for them the book of God in 
 their long-proscribed language, be cherished with grate- 
 ful remembrance. These render him the brightest star 
 which ever rose on the gloom of their sorrow.t 
 
 * Richardson's History, &c. pp. 23, 24. 
 
 f His immediate successors will here very naturally be inquired for. Of these, 
 however, we can say but little, and literally nothing as it regards Bedell's favour- 
 ite and truly Christian views with reference to the Native Irish. These successors 
 were Maxwell and H. Marsh, Sheridan and Smith ; but until the time of Weten- 
 hall, in 1710, the object was not regarded by any incumbent of Kilmore. Robert 
 Maxwell, son of the Dean of Armagh, was appointed in 1643, and the see of Ar- 
 dagh, which Bedel had renounced, having also become vacant by the death of 
 Richardson, Maxwell accepted it. He is mentioned as having been a lineal de- 
 scendant of one of the Magnates Scotite in 1258, Aymer de Macceswell, and this he 
 might be ; but into the designs of Bedell respecting the Scoti of Ireland he certainly 
 did not enter. Here he remained for twenty-nine years, when, in 1672, H. Marsh, 
 Bishop of Limerick, succeeded. After Marsh's promotion, in 1681, William Sheri. 
 den was appointed, whose father has been already noticed as aiding Bedell in the 
 translation ; but the son does not appear to have sympathized with the views of 
 either. The manuscript was probably for years in his possession, as some time be- 
 fore hii promotion he had delivered it to Jones, Bishop of Meath. In 1693 Wil-
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 71 
 
 Yes, the period after Bedell's death was indeed in 
 every sense gloomy. He was taken away from the evil 
 to come, and it is marvellous that his translation was 
 preserved, as by far the largest proportion of his papers 
 and books were lost or destroyed. Not one step, how- 
 ever, was taken either in printing his manuscript of the 
 Old Testament, or reprinting the New, for about forty 
 years. Nay, the Irish types which had been sent over 
 by Elizabeth, and used for printing the New Testament, 
 after passing from the hands of one King's printer to 
 another, owing to the cupidity of one party into whose 
 possession they had come, were secured by the Jesuits, 
 and by them carried over to Douay, for the express pur- 
 pose of promoting their own views in Ireland through 
 the medium of the Irish language. Not a type remain- 
 ed in existence for printing any thing ; but thirty years 
 afterwards foreign productions were visible in Ireland, 
 executed, I have no doubt, by means of these very ma- 
 terials. In this, however, the Jesuits are not so much 
 to be censured as the party who sold them. Their con- 
 duct was a proof of their sagacity, and affords not a hint 
 only, but a lesson of instruction even to the present 
 generation. Before these types were carried away, they 
 were employed in one publication during the time of the 
 Commonwealth. It is a Catechism of some size, with 
 Scripture proofs, all in Irish, printed at Dublin in 1652 
 by Godfrey Daniel, with rules for reading the Irish 
 tongue, which, though brief, were considered to be ex- 
 cellent. 
 
 Ham Smith succeeded ; but still it was not till his successor, in 1699, had been bishop 
 for eleven years, that we find the incumbent of Kilmore following up the views of 
 Bedell. This was Wetenhall, nearly seventy years after the decease of his indefa- 
 tigable predecessor though he also failed in his attempt. See the third section, 
 anno 1710. 
 
 But now, after such long and miserable delay as that which we shall have occa- 
 sion to expose ; at Kilmore especially, one should think that, in the recollection 
 of Bedell's character, principles, and exertions, any incumbent might imagine 
 " the stone to cry out of the wail, and the beam out of the timber to answer it."
 
 72 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 Thus, after types had been procured in 1571, the 
 only purposes to which they had been applied, with the 
 exception of Kearney's Catechism, were one edition of 
 the New Testament in 1603, another of the Prayer-Book 
 six years later, and this Catechism in 1652. In other 
 words, though the materials for printing had been fur- 
 nished, here is the amount of all that was done in Ire- 
 land, (for in Britain there was nothing done,) towards 
 furnishing the Native Irish with the knowledge of di- 
 vine truth through means of the press, during a pe- 
 riod of one hundred and ten years, from 1571 to 1681, 
 when the attention of a few eminent men was drawn to 
 the subject. 
 
 In tracing, however, the symptoms and progress of 
 some reviving, though transient interest, on behalf of this 
 much-neglected people, towards the close of the seven- 
 teenth century, we are irresistibly drawn to the admira- 
 tion of one distinguished character. Other individuals 
 lent their needful aid and influence ; but, without him, 
 it seems almost certain that there had been no edition of 
 the Irish New Testament from 1603 to the year 1813 ! 
 nor any edition whatever of the Old until the present 
 day ! The reader therefore may well excuse some previ- 
 ous notice of one, who, though not what is called a Na- 
 tive Irishman, was born in Ireland, and continued 
 through life to feel so deep an interest in the aborigines. 
 
 The Honourable Robert Boyle was the seventh son 
 and fourteenth child of the first Earl of Cork. Born the 
 same year in which Lord Bacon died, it was left for him 
 to succeed to his genius and inquiries, so that the one 
 has been styled the student, the other the interpreter of 
 Nature. " Boyle's valuable experiments," it has been 
 lately said, " in various branches of science, show that 
 he had deeply imbibed the spirit of his great master's 
 system ; and, independently of his discoveries and im- 
 provements, they constitute a most important addition 
 to what Bacon had so loudly called on philosophers to
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 73 
 
 labour at attaining, namely, a more extensive and accu- 
 rate history of nature." But still, however much he was 
 indebted to his predecessor, and no man could admire 
 him more, as to Mr Boyle's pursuits, it must be remem- 
 bered, that even these delightful studies he by no means 
 regarded as his chief felicity. When the poor Native 
 Irish come to bless his memory, and that day will come, 
 let them not forget that all his generous sympathy for 
 them sprung from a fountain of tenderness, opened in 
 his heart in consequence of his profound veneration for 
 God himself. He was indeed a philosopher, a lover of 
 wisdom, and that chiefly because in him this love pro- 
 ceeded from the love of God, and was nourished by his 
 habitual esteem for his most holy word. This was the 
 theme on which he delighted to expatiate, and which, 
 notwithstanding the occasional peculiarities of his style, 
 lent to his expressions true sublimity of thought. Per- 
 haps more familiar with nature than any man of his 
 time, he had a pleasure in it, as a field for enlightened 
 induction, equal to any who have explored it since ; yet 
 all this familiarity with physical science was rendered 
 doubly sweet, in consequence of far higher satisfaction 
 in the inspired explanation of the secrets of wisdom. 
 Here it was that Mr Boyle occasionally felt at a loss for 
 expression, descriptive of his interest and enjoyment. 
 While his philosophical writings abundantly evidence 
 his delight in studying the works of God ; when he 
 turned to his mays, and especially to the Divine Being 
 himself, it was then that he found solid satisfaction, or, 
 to use his own expression, then that he cast anchor and 
 ceased roving. ' ' Though the pleasure of making phy- 
 sical discoveries," says he, " is in itself very great, yet 
 this does a little impair it, that the same attempts which 
 afford that delight, do so frequently beget both anxious 
 doubt and a disquieting curiosity. So that if know- 
 ledge be, as some philosophers have styled it, the aliment 
 of the rational soul, I fear I may truly say, that the na-
 
 74 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 turalist is usually fain to live upon salads and sauces, 
 which, though they yield some nourishment, excite 
 more appetite than they satisfy, and give us indeed the 
 pleasure of eating with a good stomach, but then reduce 
 us to an unwelcome necessity of always rising hungry 
 from the table." 
 
 How widely different were his expressions when he 
 turned to the Bible ! " It may be fitly compared," said 
 he, " to that blessed Land of Promise, which is so often 
 said in Scripture to be flowing with milk and honey ; if 
 not to Paradise itself, of which it is said that there the 
 Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to 
 the sight, and good for food, the tree of life also in the 
 midst of the garden." Or as at another time, " the 
 Bible is indeed among books, what the diamond is 
 among stones, the most precious and most sparkling, the 
 most apt to scatter light, and yet the most solid and pro- 
 per to make impressions." Not that such a man could 
 be insensible to the obscurity which at first or second 
 reading seems to rest on various passages of holy writ. 
 But then this he had by experience found to be only as 
 the mist in nature, " which seems thicker at a distance 
 than when one enters it ;" so that the obscurity was in 
 many instances " not intended to frustrate industry, but 
 punish laziness." Still these obscurities might bafflle 
 his research ; and did this illustrious native of Ireland, 
 therefore, throw the book away? Far from it. The 
 same modesty which he discovered as an inductive phi- 
 losopher, he felt more profoundly when looking on his 
 Bible. " I shall ingenuously confess to you, that there 
 are some things in the economy of Scripture that do 
 somewhat distress my reason to find a satisfactory ac- 
 count of, and that there are very few things wherein my 
 curiosity is more concerned, and would more welcome a 
 solution. But when I remember how many things I 
 once thought incoherent, in which I now think I discern 
 a close connexion ; when I reflect on the Author and
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 75 
 
 ends of the Scripture ; and when I allow myself to ima- 
 gine how exquisite a symmetry Omniscience doth, and 
 after ages probably will discover in the Scripture's me- 
 thod, in spite of those seeming discomposures that now 
 puzzle me ; when I think upon all this, I think it just 
 to check my forward thoughts, which would either pre- 
 sume to know all the recluse ends of Omniscience, or 
 peremptorily judge of the fitness of means to ends un- 
 known ; and am reduced to think that economy the 
 wisest, that is chosen by a Wisdom so boundless, that it 
 can at once survey all expedients, and so unbiassed, 
 that it hath no interest to choose any, but for its being 
 fittest." To his penetrating yet patient mind there seem- 
 ed a divine propriety or beauty in such passages being 
 found in the book of God ; nay, that " there may be 
 parts of Scripture whose clear exposition shall ennoble 
 and bless the remotest of succeeding ages ; and that per- 
 haps some mysteries are so obscure, that they are re- 
 served to the illumination and blazes of the last and 
 universal fire." There are men, indeed, who talk of 
 danger, in approaching such passages, and would there- 
 fore propose to withhold the book itself. But Robert 
 Boyle, certainly one of the most illustrious men that 
 ever drew breath in Ireland, would have trembled at 
 such a proposal. Hear again his own words : " As the 
 knowledge of those texts that are obscure is not neces- 
 sary, so those others, whose sense is necessary to be un- 
 derstood, are easy enough to be so ; and those are as 
 much more numerous than the oth*ers, as more clear. 
 Since God has been pleased to provide sufficiently for 
 our instruction, what reason have we to repine, if, in a 
 book not designed for us alone, we have provision also 
 for those that are fitted for higher attainments, espe- 
 cially since, if we be not wanting to ourselves, those 
 passages that are so obscure as to teach us nothing else, 
 may at least teach us humility." 
 
 Mr Boyle is said to have scarcely ever pronounced the
 
 ' 
 
 76 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 name of God without a pause ; his character as a phi- 
 losopher is admitted at home and abroad ; but in Ireland, 
 though a layman, let him never be forgotten for his ad- 
 miration of the Sacred Volume, and as a practical divine. 
 " I use the Scriptures," said he, " not as an arsenal to be 
 resorted to only for arms and weapons to defend this 
 party or defeat its enemies, but as a matchless temple, 
 where I delight to be, to contemplate the beauty, the 
 symmetry, and the magnificence of the structure, and 
 to increase my awe and excite my devotion to the Deity 
 there preached and adored." 
 
 Such was this amiable and eminent Irishman, who, 
 though but of a delicate constitution, lived a studious, 
 and busy, and useful life. Far from spending 
 
 The little wick of life's poor shallow lamp 
 In playing tricks with nature, giving laws 
 To distant worlds, and trifling in his own 
 
 He was indeed a child-like sage : a sagacious reader of 
 the works of God, and in his word sagacious what won- 
 der then that he should discover such interest in the 
 translation and circulation of the Sacred Volume ? 
 
 In the year 1678, we find that a copy of the Irish New 
 Testament of 1603 was quite a rarity, and it was to be 
 seen nowhere in actual or public use ! At this time a 
 native of Ireland, born at Cashell, who, in 1639, had 
 gone abroad to complete his studies, in 1673 had return- 
 ed to his native city, " desiring to spend the remnant of 
 his days unknown, to prepare for the long day of eter- 
 nity." Here he became acquainted with the Archbishop, 
 Thomas Price, who well remembered Bedell, having 
 been ordained by him at Kilmore. The following year 
 the attention of this man, Dr Andrew Sail, had been par- 
 ticularly drawn to the Scriptures, and being not only a 
 person of thorough education, but particularly skilled in 
 his native tongue, every thing in the language could not 
 fail to interest him. Yet in reference to the present pe- 
 riod he tells us " I do not remember to have seen more
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 77 
 
 of the Scriptures printed in Irish but the Psalms, with 
 our Common Prayer-Book, in handsome folio for choir, 
 of which I discovered a set to the Archbishop of Cashell, 
 and his Grace appointed a reading of them in his cathe- 
 dral."* In 1675, Dr Sail visited Oxford, and continued 
 to reside there till May, 1680. Here he received his 
 degree, and engaged in delivering lectures, and here he 
 became acquainted with the Honourable Robert Boyle. 
 In December, 1678, Mr Boyle having consulted Dr S. 
 as to reprinting the Irish New Testament, he acquaint- 
 ed him in return with its scarcity, as already quoted, and 
 gave his opinion in the following terms : " I bless God 
 for inspiring you to so holy a zeal, and those worthies 
 that join with you therein. I doubt not but it may con- 
 duce highly to the glory of God, good of those souls, and 
 credit of our government, if the other prelates and pas- 
 tors of Ireland did use such endeavours as the good Arch- 
 bishop of Cashell does, by communing with the natives, 
 and winning them to hear and read the word of God ; 
 and specially if in the College there were a course taken 
 for obliging or enticing such as expect to have Borders] 
 to read and declare the Holy Scriptures in Irish : for 
 me, I am more apt to lament than remedy it." 
 
 Mr Boyle now ordered a fount of Irish types to be cast 
 in London.f He first employed them in printing the 
 Church Catechism in Irish, with the Elements of that 
 Language, in 1680 ; J but the year before he had already 
 
 * This, however, is not, I think, an edition of the Prayer-Book and Psalms in 
 folio, but of the Psalms alone. The Prayer-Book of 1608 was in quarto ; and as it 
 had not the Psalms, they seem to have been printed separately afterwards. " I am 
 surprised in missing in our Common Prayer-Book in Irish the vulgar translation of 
 the Psalms, which until now I never observed, it having been a strange omission 
 that the Psalms, of such daily use in reading, should have been neglected." Dr 
 Jones to Mr Boyle, in Sept. 1681. 
 
 f- This Hibernian fount was cut by Mr Moxon, who founded at London from 
 1659 to 1683 ; and after Mr Boyle's time, it was sold at the sale of Mr John James, 
 the last of the Old English letter-founders. Mr Mores, the learned typographer, 
 says, " This was cut in England for Bedell's translation," and a " the only type of 
 that language we ever saw !" % Richardson's History, p. 26,
 
 78 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 resolved on also reprinting the New Testament. Mr 
 Reily, a native of Ireland, but educated in France, be- 
 ing well qualified for the work, and interested in it, Mr 
 Boyle engaged him to superintend and correct the press. 
 About the same period, Dr Sail having communicated 
 with Dr Price at Cash ell, and received from him all the 
 information he possessed as to the Scriptures in Irish, 
 whether printed or in manuscript, went over himself, in 
 May, 1680, and conferred with the Duke of Ormond, 
 then Lord Lieutenant, Dr Henry Jones, Bishop of Meath, 
 and Dr Narcissus Marsh, then Provost of Trinity Col- 
 lege. Finding " all three very willing to countenance 
 and further" the design, he informed Mr Boyle, and, in 
 1681, this edition of the New Testament was finished. 
 Mr Boyle had ordered for his own distribution 500; but 
 allowed the printer or publisher to throw off an addition- 
 al number. The whole impression, however, was only 
 about 700 or 750. In September, this year, copies were 
 forwarded, by Mr Boyle's order, to Drs Jones and Marsh 
 fifty bound, of which forty were left for the College, 
 under Dr Marsh, then much interested in training up stu- 
 dents to read and study the language; others were pre- 
 sented to influential persons, and 350 in sheets were for 
 general distribution. A large preface in English and 
 Irish, composed by Dr Sail, and translated by Reily, 
 was prefixed to these unbound copies. 
 
 The year before this, or 1680, the manuscript of the 
 Old Testament, by the venerable Bedell, having been 
 inquired for, was found in the possession of Dr Jones, 
 to whom it had been committed by Mr Sheriden.* Dr 
 Jones proposed its being examined by Dr Sail, and with 
 this view committed it to his care in December, 1681. He 
 found the sheets in confusion, and in some parts defaced. 
 With Mr Higgins, the Irish lecturer in Trinity College, 
 he got it arranged and bound, in order to a fair copy be- 
 
 * See Note, page 70.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 79 
 
 ing written out for the press. In February, 1682, Dr 
 Sail had engaged a transcriber, intending to send sheet 
 by sheet to Mr Reily, in London, for the press. " I 
 agreed with the scribe," says he to Mr Boyle, " for one 
 shilling for each sheet ; the Provost and Mr Higgins 
 think that to be the least he can expect, considering the 
 special difficulty of writing the language. I desire to 
 know your own opinion, with Mr Reily's, upon that; as 
 also, that the subscriptions may be immediately begun 
 and sent over, to defray the charges of this writing. I 
 wish my stock were as able as my heart would be will- 
 ing to bear all myself. My labour and industry I will 
 not spare, and will lay aside other studies I was engaged 
 in, to attend to this work, being persuaded that none 
 other can be of more importance for the glory of God, 
 and the good of souls, in this poor country. I have been 
 confirmed in this persuasion, by the great joy I see in 
 the country, for the publishing of the New] Testament, 
 with many blessings on you, and prayers for you, whose 
 bounty procured this happiness for them." Dr Jones, 
 who was now deceased, having previously informed Dr 
 Sail that he had gained his expected successor to join 
 him in this design, Dr S. had also succeeded with Dr 
 William Moreton, Bishop of Kildare ; and these two, 
 with Dr Marsh, he expected would propose subscriptions 
 in Ireland, and agree to receive or collect them. In less 
 than two months after this, however, (5th April), Dr 
 Sail having caught cold, died unexpectedly, which was 
 considered as a great stroke, though not a fatal one, to 
 the design. In 1681, Dr Marsh had begun for himself 
 to correspond with Mr Boyle. It was not from mere 
 politeness that he had first embarked in furthering this 
 work; and now that Dr Sail was gone, he says, " I in- 
 tend that the revising of the old translation of the Old 
 Testament, and its transcription, shall nevertheless go 
 on, with the help of Mr Higgins, and some other Irish- 
 men, whom I will call in to assist, if I can but discern
 
 80 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 that, by God's help, I may be able to guide and direct 
 the management of the work, what pains soever it may 
 cost me." By the month of June, that year, Dr M. had 
 with great care got 140 sheets fitted for the press. In 
 September, it appears that the Bishops of Meath and 
 Kildare were both, as yet, cordially united with him ; 
 and that Provost Marsh, in Avriting to Dr Sancroft, Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, who was contemplating a life of 
 Bedell, had informed him of Mr Boyle's design. In Fe- 
 bruary, 1683, the correct transcription was advanced to 
 Jeremiah, when Marsh, who was during this month ap- 
 pointed Bishop of Fern and Leighlin, obtained the cor- 
 dial aid of another man of genius and learning, Dr Wil- 
 liam Huntington. He succeeded him in the College, 
 and being well acquainted with Mr Boyle, had previ- 
 ously begun to correspond with him on the subject.* 
 Thus, by the year 1685, the whole work, composing 719? 
 sheets of manuscript, had been sent to London; and, 
 under the care of Mr Reily, it was published in quarto, 
 during the spring of 1686. The edition consisted of 
 500 copies ; to the expenses of which, and that of the 
 New Testament punch-cutting, transcribing, and print- 
 ing, Mr Boyle, with his characteristic munificence, con- 
 tributed L.700 sterling. For the expenses of printing 
 and binding the Old Testament there were besides some 
 private subscriptions. In March 1 686, copies were sent 
 over to Dr Huntington. " The first that was bound," 
 says he to Mr Boyle, " I carried to the Lord Lieutenant, 
 
 * Before this period Dr Huntington had forwarded the benevolent designs of Mr 
 Boyle. In 1670, having gone to the East as chaplain to the British merchants at 
 Aleppo, be visited Smyrna, Ephesus, and Thyatira, on his way, and remained 
 abroad eleven years. Ancient MSS. in Arabic, Syriac, Samaritan, Hebrew, and 
 Coptic, amounting in number to above 400, he collected and brought home. After 
 having visited Egypt and Jerusalem twice, and carried on an epistolary correspond- 
 ence with all the learned men In these parts, he returned, by way of Rome and 
 Paris, to Oxford, in 1682. When'Grotius, in Arabic, and the Catechism, in Turk- 
 ish, came out, through Mr Boyle's generosity, Dr Huntington, then at Aleppo, 
 had been active in their distribution throughout Turkey ; and now that he had re. 
 turned home, he was prevailed upon to become Provost of Trinity, and united with 
 Dr Marsh in furthering the views of Boyle as to his native country.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 81 
 
 and begged his encouragement of so good a work, which 
 he readily promised, both for its own sake and for yours, 
 that the nation may know at present, and the genera- 
 tions to come, how much they stand indebted to such a 
 benefactor." 
 
 Some interest on behalf of the poor Native Irish hav- 
 ing thus been discovered at last, though by only a few 
 eminent men, the reader may be curious to know in 
 what light this was regarded by others. Why was there 
 not, it may be asked, but one general approving voice ? 
 This, however, was far from being the case. The truth 
 is, that one individual already referred to, Dr Jones, the 
 Bishop of Meath, who revered the memory of Bedell, 
 and warmly approved of his exertions, before that Mr 
 Boyle had actually moved in the business, had been ad- 
 dressing the Earl of Essex, then Lord Lieutenant, but 
 he was borne down by the force of prejudice against all 
 such attempts. Thus in his first letter to Mr Boyle, of 
 August, 1680, he says, " this completing of the Bible in 
 Irish, added to \vhat is already printed, would be a work 
 greatly to God's glory, in bringing, by his grace, many 
 from darkness to light. I had once thoughts of repre- 
 senting this to our next parliament here, hoping for 
 public allowance and supplies thereby towards it. But 
 in discourse with some concerning it, I found it al- 
 most a principle in their politics, to suppress that lan- 
 guage utterly, rather than in so public a way counte- 
 nance it. This occasioned what I have some time writ- 
 ten (viz. 1676) in an epistle to the Earl of Essex, then 
 Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, prefixed to a small tract, 
 which is therefore herewithal for your perusal." Four 
 years after this we hear Dr Huntington saying, " How 
 far the public will interest themselves in the encourage- 
 ment hereof by any solemn act, I cannot determine." 
 And now that the work is finished without any public 
 aid, what says Dr Marsh, in March, 1686 ? " Upon the 
 hint in your letter of my Lord Lieutenant's favourable
 
 82 LITERACY HISTORY. 
 
 thought of this design of publishing the Bible in the 
 Irish tongue, I made bold to address his Excellency 
 about it, and that the rather because I have gotten a 
 great deal of ill-will from some great men in this king- 
 dom for what I have done in promoting this good and 
 charitable work, which has been no small discourage- 
 ment to me. His Excellency was pleased to promise his 
 encouragement and assistance towards the carrying it 
 on, both by his purse and otherwise ; but withal was 
 surprised to hear what I related of the discouragements, 
 and, indeed, threats that I have had on this account. 
 The unwelcomeness of this undertaking to many in this 
 country, I believe, was the reason why the Bishop of 
 Meath (Dr Dopping) flew off from prosecuting what he 
 designed and promised, and has ever since been wholly 
 unconcerned and sat neuter. Notwithstanding all which, 
 I hope to finish the designed (Irish) Grammar, where- 
 in I find many unexpected difficulties, and nobody able 
 to solve them. An account of the Irish language, as to 
 the original and nature of it, long since promised to the 
 Provost, (Huntington,) is now coming to me : if any 
 thing in it be material, care shall be taken that it be fit- 
 ted to be joined with the other. The great charges and 
 care that you have been at in printing the Old Testa- 
 ment, will, I hope, find that acknowledgment, and the 
 pious work find that acceptance amongst the generality 
 in this kingdom which they really do deserve ; and that 
 a means will yet be found out to commit the book of 
 Common Prayers in the Irish tongue to the press also ; 
 that so the design of the canons of this church, which 
 require every parish to have the Bible and book of Com- 
 mon Prayers in Irish, may be answered." 
 
 Thus it seems Mr Boyle might contribute large sums 
 to the propagation of divine knowledge abroad, in Ame- 
 rica and India, or found lectures for the defence of na- 
 tural and revealed religion in England he might print 
 " Grotius de Veritate" in Arabic, the Gospels and Acts
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 83 
 
 in the Malayan tongue, assist in the Catechism or New 
 Testament in Turkish, or even contribute towards the 
 printing of the Scriptures in Welsh for Wales, or Gaelic 
 for the Highlands of Scotland for all these things he 
 did, and for all his foreign operations especially was ex- 
 tolled. But it seems it was not thought politic in him 
 to pity his own dear nati ve country ; and he should not, 
 in the estimation of some men, have thus befriended the 
 Native Irish ! It was then whispered, no doubt, that the 
 boon to be bestowed could only be conveyed with safety 
 through the medium of the language of the reigning 
 power. This strange position we shall have abundant 
 opportunity of meeting afterwards. All we need to say 
 at present is, that before a people, and especially a people 
 of such heart and genius, could be brought in this way 
 to part with " the tongue which their mother gave them,"* 
 they must be debased to a degree which would actually 
 render them unfit for all the purposes of social and of 
 civil life. No, the exertions of Mr Boyle and his few 
 learned friends carried with them every attribute of ge- 
 nuine charity ; and it was a proverb then, as it is now, 
 that " charity begins at home," though it certainly should 
 not end there. But by the policy referred to, the pro- 
 verb was reversed, and his charity might begin any 
 where, and travel to the Antipodes, provided it did not 
 glance upon the land from which he had derived his 
 birth and fortune ! 
 
 We have now, however, come to the close of the 
 seventeenth century, one hundred and fifty years after 
 the invention of printing : and before proceeding to the 
 eighteenth, it is necessary to lift up our eyes, and look 
 abroad to see whether any thing was doing on the con- 
 tinent of Europe. Into the distressing peculiarities of 
 Irish history it would be unwise to enter, but happily it 
 is here quite unnecessary : Though to understand the 
 
 # The phrase used by the Irish themselves.
 
 84 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 baneful nature of that policy which has been pursued 
 for ages, in other words, opposing the education or men- 
 tal improvement of this people through the medium of 
 their vernacular tongue, it becomes our duty to fix the 
 public eye on some of its inevitable results.* Already 
 we have scrupulously stated all that had been already 
 done in their own country, however tardily, though of- 
 ten frowned upon, and never more so than in the cases 
 of the illustrious Bedell and Boyle. Now, it may afford 
 a lesson of instruction, even to the present generation, 
 if we look abroad, and observe how the native Irish were 
 employed there during the seventeenth century. Let 
 us see whether the proscribed language was regarded by 
 them as an instrument of no value or no power, and 
 whether the men who left their native country either- 
 abandoned the language, or, if they returned, were un- 
 able to converse with their countrymen. 
 
 The first book printed on the continent in Irish, and 
 of course in the Irish character, which I have been able 
 to trace, is a catechism at Louvain in 1608, the same 
 year in which Daniel printed the Irish Prayer-Book. It 
 was composed by a native Irishman from Ulster, Bona- 
 venture Hussey, (Hosceus'), who was afterwards lecturer 
 of the Irish College of St Padua, in Louvain. This 
 catechism, however, was reprinted at Antwerp in 1611, 
 and again, I think, at the same place in 1618, under the 
 title of Teagasg Criosdaidhe, or Christian Doctrine. 
 
 In 1618, Hugh MacCaghwell, Cavellus, a Franciscan 
 Friar, and Divinity Lecturer of Padua College, just men- 
 tioned, published, in the Irish language and character, 
 his " Mirror of the Sacrament of Penance," which Har- 
 ris, in his additions to Ware, erroneously places in ] 628 ; 
 two years after his death, on the 22d of September, 1626. 
 If there is an edition in 1628, it must be the second. 
 
 * It cannot for one moment be imagined, that these are here registered as proofs 
 of any high attainments ; but, taken as results of past policy, they may well be pon- 
 dered. Its folly and injurious consequences are thus most strikingly apparent. 
 
 2
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 85 
 
 In 1626, Scathan an Chrabhuigh, i. e. the Mirror of 
 Religion, a catechism in the Irish language and charac- 
 ter, was printed at Louvain by Florence Conry, or O'Mul- 
 conaire, a native of Connaught distinguished for his 
 acquaintance with the works of Augustine. He publish- 
 ed several works one of which, printed at Paris in 1641, 
 is entitled " Peregrinus Jerichontinus, hoc est de natura 
 humana feliciter instituta, infeliciter lapsa, miserabiliter 
 vulnerata, misericorditer restaurata," and at the end, the 
 propositions of the divines of Louvain and Douai against 
 the Jesuits, on the subjects of grace and the Holy Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 About 1626 also Florence Gray, born in Thomond, 
 and a lecturer in the same College, wrote an Irish gram- 
 mar ; but I cannot ascertain whether it was printed. He 
 returned to Dublin, where he was living in 1630. 
 
 In 1639, there was published in quarto, at Louvain, 
 by Theobald Stapleton, a secular priest from Kilkenny, 
 in parallel columns of Latin and Irish, a Catechism on 
 Christian doctrine. It is entitled, " Catechismus, seu 
 doctrina Latino-Hibernica per modum dialog! inter 
 magistrum et discipulum," a book which seems to have 
 been composed for the Irish students resident at Louvain 
 and the other Irish colleges then establishing, or to be 
 established, on the continent. At the end there is sub- 
 joined, in Latin and Irish Modus perutilis legendi 
 linguam Hibernicam. There is a copy of this book in 
 Trinity College library. 
 
 For ten or fifteen years, from the year 1629-30, 
 Michael Cleri, or O'Clery, a Franciscan, born in Ulster, 
 who had gone to the continent for his education, (in- 
 duced by Ferrall O'Gara, the representative of Sligo in 
 the Irish parliament of 1634), returned to Ireland, with 
 the design of collecting Irish manuscripts, and the re- 
 mains of Irish history. Assisted by five other individu- 
 als, he succeeded in transcribing as much as filled two 
 folio volumes, which have been generally known since
 
 86 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 as the Annals of Dunagall: the first of which is now in 
 the Chanclos library at Stow ; the second is in Trinity 
 College, Dublin, where the first volume, copied into two 
 quartos, makes this copy complete. Besides this work, 
 these men collected the " Book of Conquests" and the 
 " Regal Catalogue," &c. Whatever may be thought of" 
 these compositions, they afforded O'Clery the best op- 
 portunities of comparing Irish manuscript ; and as one 
 result, he published at Louvain, in 1643, his " Seanasan 
 Nuadh," a dictionary or glossary of the most obsolete 
 and difficult Irish words. These, which were explained 
 by words still used in modern Irish, were afterwards re- 
 printed by Edward Lhuid, in his specimen of an Irish 
 dictionary. A copy of this work was bought at the sale 
 of Vallancey's library, for six guineas : which I presume 
 to be the same that is mentioned in Watts' Bibliotheca 
 Biblica, under this title, " Lexicon Hibernicum pro vo- 
 cabulis antiquioribus et obscuris, Luvanii, 1643, 8vo." 
 
 In 1645, Anthony Gearnon, a Franciscan in the Irish 
 College at Louvain, afterwards resident in Dundalk and 
 Dublin, published a Catechism in Irish, Parrthas an 
 anma, or Paradise of the Soul, copies of which, though 
 very scarce, are still in the possession of several Irish 
 gentlemen. To glance for one moment on Irish ground, 
 we may notice here one work composed by Richard 
 Plunket, a poor brother of the Franciscans, at Trim, in 
 the county of Meath, a Foclair or Glossary of Irish, 
 Latin, and Biscay an, which he finished in 1662. The 
 original is in Marsh's library, and there is a copy in that 
 of Trinity College. Lhuid, in his Archaeologia Britan- 
 .nica, made great use of it, and commends the author for 
 his judgment and laudable industry ; but it was never 
 printed; so that we must still look abroad for any spe- 
 cimens of Irish typography. 
 
 The first book which seems to have been printed in 
 English and Irish was an Essay on Miracles, plainly in- 
 tended for the natives. It was published in 8vo, at Lou-
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 87 
 
 vain, in 1667, entitled, " Of Miracles, and the new Mi- 
 racles done by the Relics of St Francis Xavier, in the 
 Jesuits' College at Mechlin." The author, Richard Mac- 
 Giolla-Cuddy, or Archdekin, born in the county of Kil- 
 kenny, in 1 619, was a lecturer at Louvain and Antwerp, 
 where he died about 1690. This man published several 
 other works in Latin ; one of which, in three volumes 
 8vo, went through a number of editions in different 
 places. When the eighth was undertaken, sixteen thou- 
 sand had been sold, and there was a great demand for 
 more; the eleventh edition was printed at Venice, in 1700.* 
 The attention of the reader has been hitherto directed 
 only to the Netherlands ; but Antwerp and Louvain 
 were not the only places where an Irish press was busy. 
 Whether any thing had been printed at Rome in the 
 Irish character before this, I am not certain; but, in 
 1676, we find Irish types there, and these employed by 
 natives from Ireland. " Lucerna Fidelium," printed in 
 8vo, at Rome, in 1676, though a Latin title, is an Irish 
 book, containing an explanation of the Christian doc- 
 trine, according to the faith of the church of Rome. Its 
 Irish title is, " Lochran an Chreidmheach/' or Lamp of 
 the Faithful. 
 
 The following year, an Irish-Latin grammar was pub- 
 lished, " (irammatica Latino- Hibernica Compendiata," 
 Romae, 1677> 12mo, which Lhuid regarded as the most 
 complete Irish grammar then extant. It is, however, 
 imperfect, both in syntax and the variation of nouns and 
 verbs ; but the printing of it abroad may be contrasted 
 with the fate of such a work as that of Plunket in 1662, 
 already mentioned. Though scarce, both these volumes 
 are in Trinity College library. They were composed by 
 
 * Its title is " Theologia tripartite universa, sive resolutiones polemics, prac- 
 tics, controversiarum et questionum etiam reccntissimarum quse in schola et in 
 praxi per omnia usum principuum habent : Missionaries et aliis animarum cura 
 toribus et theologiee studiosis solerter accommodate."
 
 88 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 Francis O'Molloy, from King's County, who was after- 
 wards a lecturer in the Irish College of St Isidore at 
 Rome, and for a time general agent for the Irish in 
 Italy. Ten years before this he had published, in 8vo, 
 at Rome " Sacra Theologia." 
 
 There must, I think, have been several other compo- 
 sitions in Irish typography. Of these now mentioned, 
 however, editions were printed, and dispersed, or sold, 
 and in one instance there were two if not three distinct 
 impressions, perhaps more. 
 
 In concluding these notices of the seventeenth cen- 
 tury, in which Britain was tasting even the luxuries of 
 literature, and blest with all the satisfaction and benefit 
 which books afford, let us pause for a moment over the 
 situation of our native Irish fellow-subjects. It was now 
 a hundred and thirty years since Irish types had been 
 sent into the country, and the reader has observed the 
 three or four purposes to which they had, at distant in- 
 tervals, during that long period, been applied, that 
 these very types were purchased for a foreign market, 
 and mixed up with others, not there to remain without 
 use, but to be employed, it is most probable, in some of 
 the prints just specified. The reader has seen individual 
 benevolence endeavouring to put the Book of Life into 
 the hands of the fourth generation after types had been 
 actually furnished for printing it, and he has seen this 
 frowned upon, instead of being generously and fearless- 
 ly encouraged. What had been doing abroad I shall at 
 present leave to the reader's own reflections ; but should 
 he feel disposed to inquire what Britain had done for 
 herself all the while, the contrast is sufficiently striking. 
 Take only the English Scriptures as a specimen. By 
 this time there had been one hundred and thirteen edi- 
 tions of the English New Testament, the number of co- 
 pies being beyond the possibility of calculation. Oppo- 
 site to these, we have to place two editions of the Irish 
 New Testament, both distant from each other nearly
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 89 
 
 eighty years, and together including only 1000, or at 
 most 1200 copies ! Of the English Bible complete, there 
 had been one hundred and twenty-six editions, and op- 
 posite to these we have only one solitary Irish Bible in 
 quarto of about 600 copies, and that at the close of the 
 century! But, besides these, there had been also about 
 one hundred and ninety-three editions of portions of 
 English Scripture, or, in whole, four hundred and thirty- 
 two distinct publications, of which more than one hun- 
 dred and twenty had notes or parallel passages, explica- 
 tions, expositions, annotations, or comments. 
 
 In entering upon the eighteenth century, a period in 
 which the art of printing has been employed throughout 
 Britain with such distinguished effect, and to an extent 
 altogether incalculable, the contrast presented to us, in 
 the case of the native Irish, would be curious, were it 
 not so painful to follow the workings of unsound policy. 
 About the beginning of this century, an expedient pre- 
 sented itself, then no doubt deemed a happy one which 
 was, that, if this Irish language was to be tolerated at 
 all in the British dominions through the medium of 
 books, it must only be by using the English or Roman 
 letter. The jealousy which had reigned for centuries 
 over the language, now settled itself, as a last resort, 
 upon the appropriate character which belonged to it. 
 This, however, it will appear, was only preparatory to 
 the subject being dropped altogether, by almost all par- 
 ties, public or private, for a hundred years ! The Hon. 
 Mr Bovle had been successful in placing a few copies 
 of the Scriptures in the hands of the fourth generation 
 from the time that types had been first cast ; but three 
 generations more must pass away before the benevolent 
 action can be repeated ! 
 
 The history of the dismissal of the subject, from that 
 day to our own, is not unworthy of attention, as it may
 
 90 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 serve to confirm the opinions of those who have now 
 come forward to befriend this people. 
 
 In the year 1709, communications having passed be- 
 tween the Irish House of Lords and the lower House of 
 Convocation, respecting the native Irish, and the former 
 having intimated that they had more than ordinary oc- 
 casion for the assistance of the latter, to prepare and di- 
 gest what might seem best, various resolutions were 
 agreed to and passed ; among which were the follow- 
 ing : Resolved, " That the Holy Bible and Liturgy be 
 printed in the Irish language in the English character." 
 Resolved, " That some person be appointed to prepare 
 a short exposition of the Church Catechism, and that 
 the same be printed in Irish and English." 
 
 The next year, 1710, after several encouraging symp- 
 toms of attention to the state of the natives, a memorial 
 by Dr Edward Wettenhall, Bishop of Kilmore and Ar- 
 dagh,* as well as several other gentlemen and clergy- 
 men in Ireland, previously sanctioned by the Earl of 
 Anglesey and others, was presented to the Duke of Or- 
 mond ; in which, after stating that there were no print- 
 ed books of religion then extant in Irish, except a very 
 few Bibles and Common Prayer-Books, it was humbly 
 proposed, " that some numbers of New Testaments and 
 Common Prayer-Books, Catechisms, and expositions 
 thereon, Whole Duty of Man, and Sermons upon the 
 principal points of religion, be translated, and printed 
 in the Irish character and tongue ; in order to which the 
 only set of Irish characters now in Britain is bought al- 
 
 * Dr W., who had come to Dublin in 1672, and was an excellent scholar, had in 
 that city conducted a large school with success. He was the author of the Greek 
 and Latin grammar well known and often printed, besides seventeen other pieces, 
 chiefly practical divinity. He was now in Bedell's see, and entertained such vene- 
 ration for his character, as to direct, by his will, that, if he died at Kilmore, " his 
 body should be interred near good Bishop Bedell's." He expired, however, in 
 London, three years after presenting this memorial, and was buried in Westminster 
 Abbey. See also the note in page 70, 71.
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 91 
 
 ready." t At this moment there seemed to be a conjunc- 
 tion of circumstances, which filled with hope the en- 
 lightened friends of the native Irish. The Duke him- 
 self and Mr, afterwards Sir Robert Southwell, the se- 
 cretary, were both favourably disposed. The Rev. John 
 Richardson, of whose zeal some account will be found 
 in a subsequent page, was chaplain to the Duke, and 
 during the absence of his excellency, Dr Marsh, now 
 primate, was also senior Chief Justice of Ireland. The 
 Duke of Ormond being then in England, this memorial 
 was forwarded to him, he received it very kindly, 
 returned it to Dublin with a letter in its favour, desiring 
 the Lords Justices to lay it before the Primate and other 
 Prelates, then in Dublin. They gave it a favourable re- 
 ception, but replied, that the help and advice of parlia- 
 ment and convocation were required. The Duke then 
 obtaining license from Queen Anne to enjoin immediate 
 attention to the subject, it was also deemed advisable 
 that the whole affair relative to the natives should be 
 laid before her Majesty. A petition was presented ac- 
 cordingly, the subject-matter of which was recommend- 
 ed by the Archbishop of York as well as the Duke. 
 The Queen not only acceded, but was entirely disposed 
 to countenance and encourage the design ; but here, in 
 effect, the whole matter, so far as instruction through 
 the medium of the vernacular tongue was concerned, 
 came to an end. Objections were raised, both to the 
 memorial and petition already mentioned, and the old 
 policy prevailed ! The zeal of the petitioners, however 
 wise and well-directed, had gone too far for the preju- 
 dices then existing, and the insertion of but a single 
 
 f These were types from the fount cut at the expense of Mr Boyle, and they 
 seem to have been purchased by the Rev. John Richardson, of whom the reader 
 will find some notice in a following page. It is worthy of remark, that while this 
 memorial petitioned for Irish books, it immediately implored that English schools 
 thould be erected in every parish of Ireland. Not a word is said as to the neces- 
 ttty of Irish schools, I quote the whole that refers to Irish book.
 
 92 UTERARY HISTORY. 
 
 sentence relative to Irish books or Irish ministers proved 
 fatal to their wishes. By several individuals from Ire- 
 land, it was suggested that such proposals were " de- 
 structive of the English interest, contrary to law, and 
 inconsistent with the authority of synods and convoca- 
 tions ;" and although all such objections not only had no 
 foundation in Scripture, law, or reason, but were ground- 
 ed on a mistaken view of the memorial, to say nothing 
 of the positive step taken so long before by Elizabeth, 
 and the canons of the Irish church,* still, that tide of 
 mistaken and injurious prejudice against the language 
 began to set in, which was not to ebb for a hundred 
 years, and it was therefore deemed prudent to remain 
 stationary till the convocation should be again consult- 
 ed, and another application should be made to parlia- 
 ment. As soon, however, as it assembled, the Lower 
 House took up the subject, the end was approved, 
 the opinions respecting the means were various and con- 
 tradictory, the time for application to parliament for 
 necessary funds was passing away, when the Right 
 Hon. Charles O'Neil, at the request of a well-wisher, 
 moved that the matter should be resumed. A commit- 
 tee was immediately appointed, a report was made, and 
 resolutions passed, but any allusion to Irish books, or 
 the Irish language, would now, it seems, have proved 
 impolitic ! The House of Commons, however, unwill- 
 ing to drop the subject altogether as to the Native Irish, 
 still resolved, " That it will be requisite that a compe- 
 tent number of ministers, duly qualified to instruct them, 
 and perform the offices of religion to them in their own 
 language, be provided and encouraged by a suitable 
 maintenance." On the question being put, the House 
 
 " And where all, or the most part of the people are Irish, they (the church- 
 wardens) shall provide also the said books, viz. two books of Common Prayer and 
 the Bible, in the Irish tongue, so soon as they may be had. The charge of these 
 Irish books to be borne also wholly by the parish." Canon 94 of the Church of 
 Ireland. See also eighth line from the bottom, page 82. J j.-^i
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 93 
 
 agreed, that such among their number as were members 
 of her Majesty's Privy-Council should attend the Lord 
 Lieutenant, desiring that he would lay the whole before 
 the Queen, as the resolution of that House. Pursuant 
 to this order, a bill was prepared and sent to the Lords ; 
 but just as it was brought to the door of the House, par- 
 liament had adjourned, the other bills were soon trans- 
 mitted to England. No more could be done in the af- 
 fair during that session, nor was the subject ever se- 
 riously resumed from that time (1710) to the present 
 hour, whether relating to Irish education or any other 
 means whatever, through the medium of their own 
 tongue ! It is true the House of Commons published 
 their sentiments, dedicated to both houses of convoca- 
 tion, and in 1711 they again talked of " a sufficient 
 number of Bibles and Prayer-Books being provided at 
 the public charge, in the Irish language," as being ne- 
 cessary ; but it was all in vain. The entire abolition of 
 the language was about to become the prevalent and fa- 
 vourite idea, as it continued to be during the whole of 
 the eighteenth century, so that to this hour the real 
 merits of the case have never been brought before any 
 .sitting of parliament, whether in Ireland or Britain. 
 
 The benevolent wishes of these excellent men being 
 thus disappointed, one individual, who had been deeply 
 interested in the memorial, could not remain inactive 
 the Rev. John Richardson, Rector of Annah or Beltur- 
 bit, in the diocese of Kilmore. Though living at the 
 distance of half a century from Bedell, he seemed as if 
 he had caught his mantle. Like him, he had acquired 
 the language, and, indeed, while the discussions were 
 going on in public, he was printing a volume of ser- 
 mons in the Irish language; in which he was assisted 
 by another minister in the same county, the Rev. Philip 
 Brady, a man of genius and learning, and particularly 
 versed in the language of his country. This was a se- 
 lection on the principal points of religion, from Bishop
 
 94 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 Beveridge and others. It was published in 1711. Even 
 before this time he had been engaged in a translation 
 of the liturgy, which Bishop Nicholson, in the preface 
 to his Irish historical library, reports to have been con- 
 sidered " correct." This was in the press to the extent 
 of 6000 in 1712, and was printed in the Irish character ; 
 for which Richardson, in common with every enlight- 
 ened Irish scholar, was a warm advocate : there was 
 also a parallel column in English. An edition of the 
 Church Catechism in Irish, with Lewis's Scripture 
 Proofs, he also published. In the preface, he states that 
 his design had been not only encouraged by the Duke 
 of Ormond and others in Ireland, but that the generali- 
 ty of the English prelates agreed with his own senti- 
 ments, that the likeliest method of enlightening the 
 natives was " by proposing to them the saving truths 
 of religion in their own language, that being the only 
 tongue understood by some, and most acceptable to 
 all" At the same time he was aware that " the work 
 would meet with discouragement and opposition," yet 
 he was resolved to proceed, t( hoping that God would 
 raise up friends to his undertaking." " For whatever," 
 says he, " may be the causes of that great aversion which 
 some have entertained against the language, an open 
 and avowed attempt to abolish it is not the way to unite 
 the two nations in their hearts and affections." Mr 
 Richardson being a member of the Society for promot- 
 ing Christian Knowledge, applied there, and with suc- 
 cess. The result was 6000 copies of both publications, 
 part of which was distributed in the Highlands of Scot- 
 land, as well as in Ireland. 
 
 These benevolent and enlightened friends of the Na- 
 tive Irish were now hastening to the grave, and, during 
 this century, they had no successors ! I know not in 
 what year Richardson died, but this is the last recorded 
 instance of his benevolence. His printed proposals em- 
 braced an edition of the Irish Scriptures, in which he
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 95 
 
 was encouraged by the learned George Hickes and Ed- 
 mund Gibson, John Chamberlayne, Henry Hoare, Sir 
 George Wheeler, and above forty other respectable in- 
 dividuals in Ireland and England ; but no such edition 
 followed. The year after this, 1713, both Marsh and 
 Wettenhall died ; so that again we are under the painful 
 necessity of looking abroad. 
 
 Whatever might be resolved upon at home, the presses 
 on the Continent were not unemployed. In 1728 the 
 Elements of the Irish Language were published in 8vo, 
 by Hugh MacCurtin; but this was only preparatory to 
 a much larger work which he printed in quarto at Paris 
 in 1732, " An English-Irish Dictionary and Gram- 
 mar." This dictionary was, at least, completed by the 
 Rev. Connor O'Begley, the grammar was MacCurtin's ; 
 so the title-page bears, that the volume was the joint 
 production of both. This volume he proposed to follow 
 up by another, or Irish-English Dictionary. In the 
 preface to the present work, referring to his country- 
 men, he says, " To give them all the helps I can, I 
 propose to print several books in Irish on different sub- 
 jects, in which I have the good fortune to meet with 
 some learned public-spirited countrymen here, (Paris), 
 who have promised me their assistance, and are gene- 
 rously resolved to join their labours to mine in carrying 
 on so useful a work." MacCurtin, who was born about 
 1663, in the parish of Kilmanaheen, county of Clare, 
 was, at the time of publishing this dictionary, Irish pro- 
 fessor in Paris. He returned, however, to his native 
 place, carrying with him a valuable collection of Irish 
 books. After his death, all these, as well as others be- 
 longing to a brother, Andrew MacCurtin, and not a few 
 besides, collected throughout Clare, Kerry, and Lime- 
 rick, were conveyed over to France by Chevalier O'Gor- 
 man about the year 1770. In 1739 there was compiled 
 for publication a large Irish dictionary, containing many
 
 96 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 thousand Irish words more than in any previous lexicon, 
 by Teig O'Nachten ; but, like similar attempts on Irish 
 ground, it failed to meet with encouragement, and was 
 never printed. It is now in Trinity College library. 
 
 In 1742 another Catechism, entitled " Christian Doc- 
 trine, by way of question and answer," &c. in the Irish 
 language and character, with corresponding pages in 
 English, was published at Paris, with the approbation 
 of Louis XV., by the Rev. Andrew Donlevy, prefect of 
 the Irish community in that city. The author, who 
 compiled this work " for the education of the youth 
 of his country," had now been absent from it about 
 thirty years. In the preface it is stated, that P. 
 J. Perrot, Lord of the Manor of Barmon, had, of a long 
 time, been well-affected to the Irish nation, had often 
 given proofs of his affection for several of them, and that, 
 without his concurrence, the work would never have 
 seen the light. As this Catechism, which is in fact an 
 octavo volume of 574 pages, with a clear type and ex- 
 cellent paper, is more complete than any that had pre- 
 ceded it, some further notice of it may not be uninterest- 
 ing. " It is," says the author, " the great scarcity of 
 those large Irish Catechisms, published upwards of a 
 hundred years ago by the laborious and learned Fran- 
 ciscans of Louvain, and the consideration of those great 
 evils which arise from ignorance, partly from want of 
 instructive books, together with a great desire of contri- 
 buting to the instruction of the poor Irish youth, that 
 gave birth to the following Irish Catechism :" " The 
 plainest and most obvious Irish is used therein, prefer- 
 ring, after the example of St Augustine, ' rather to be 
 censured by grammarians, than misunderstood by the 
 people' Care also was taken to explain certain words 
 which are not used in some cantons of the kingdom, and 
 the words that explain them are set down at the bottom 
 of the page. As to the English part thereof, it was 
 translated, upon a second thought, perhaps too literally,
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 97 
 
 from the Irish, in favour of those who speak only Eng- 
 lish."* In his preface or advertisement, the author, 
 without a single reference to politics, laments over the 
 state of his countrymen, the Native Irish, as to their ig- 
 norance and want of books. He refers to " the negli- 
 gence, or ignorance, and impiety of parents, who com- 
 monly bestow all their care in educating their children 
 in vanity, and in the love of earthly goods j partly for 
 want of virtuous and well-instructed schoolmasters or 
 catechists, who would zealously employ their time and 
 labour in making youth understand the science of salva- 
 tion ; partly through the fault of children themselves, 
 who little care for instruction, and often shun it, to their 
 eternal ruin ; and partly, also, for want of little pious 
 books, whereby they may be instructed and formed to 
 devotion as soon as they are teachable and capable of re- 
 ceiving pious impressions ; for, as the Holy Ghost saith, 
 ' A child trained up in the way he should go, will not, 
 even when he is old, depart from it.' " The volume 
 concludes with the Elements of Irish Grammar, " in fa- 
 vour of such as wouldjain learn to read it, and thereby 
 be useful to their neighbour." With many of the senti- 
 ments contained in this book, the present writer will not 
 be supposed to agree, yet such are some of the expres- 
 sions contained in a volume published at this period in 
 France, for the use of Ireland ; and they serve to prove 
 what were the views and feelings of a Native Irishman, 
 when permitted to speak out, after an absence of above 
 thirty years from his native land. 
 
 In 1735, indeed, there was one effort upon Irish ground. 
 Seventeen sermons in Irish were published by the titu- 
 lar Bishop of Raphoe, James Gallagher, who had been 
 educated abroad. In conformity with the prejudice of 
 
 * Alas : is it not high time that such compliments were returned, and with com- 
 pound interest for past neglect, " in favour of those who speak only Irith t"
 
 98 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 the clay, these were printed in the English character, 
 and have gone through eighteen editions. 
 
 About the year 1750 also, two catechisms, one in Eng- 
 lish, the other in Irish, were published by O'Reilly, ti- 
 tular Archbishop of Armagh ; " and though there have 
 been many others written and printed since that period, 
 his work, particularly in Ulster, has the ascendant." So 
 says the titular Bishop of Dromore in 1819. This cate- 
 chism I have not examined, and into the matter of this 
 or any other preceding it, need not enter here. In 1750 
 also, proposals were issued in Dublin for publishing an 
 English, Irish, and Latin dictionary, by a Mr Crab of 
 Ringsend, near that city ; but the book was never print- 
 ed. Finding its way into the library of the late General 
 Vallancey, it was purchased, when his books were sold, 
 at the price of forty guineas, for a gentleman of Irish 
 birth, the Rev. Dr Adam Clarke. 
 
 These things were still better managed abroad. The 
 reader has observed, that an English-Irish dictionary had 
 been printed there in 1732 ; and in 1768 an Irish-Eng- 
 lish dictionary, in quarto, issued from the press at Paris. 
 It was published by Dr John O'Bryan, the titular Bishop 
 of Cloyne, and in the Roman character, most probably 
 in furtherance of his design. For, in a long English 
 preface respecting the Irish tongue, he says, " that the 
 work has been published with a view not only to pre- 
 serve for the natives of Ireland, but also to recommend 
 to the notice of those in other countries, a language 
 which is asserted by very learned foreigners to be the 
 most ancient and best-preserved dialect of the old Celtic 
 tongue of the Gauls and Celtiberians ; and, at the same 
 time, the most useful for investigating and clearing up 
 the antiquities of the Celtic nations in general." I shall 
 only add, that the present very low state of this depart- 
 ment of Irish literature may be conjectured from the 
 prices now affixed to this work, and that of MacCurtin's, 
 already mentioned. In a recent London catalogue, I
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 99 
 
 observe the two works together, advertised for sale at 
 the enormous price of eight guineas and a half ! 
 
 In but few words, the retrospect of this century is 
 much more painful than even that of the preceding. By 
 the year 1799 or 1800, it is difficult to say how many 
 editions of the Scriptures there had been in English. 
 Independently of portions and editions with exposition, 
 I have numbered 290 ; but, as if the Native Irish were 
 reserved to stand out in contrast to even every Celtic 
 tribe in the kingdom, by this time there had been print- 
 ed and circulated in Welsh not fewer than twelve editions 
 of the Bible, and as many of the New Testament, sepa- 
 rately, amounting to at least 120,000, of which 75,000 
 Bibles and 14,000 Testaments had been printed during 
 this very century, 3000 Bibles and 32,500 Testaments, 
 in Gaelic had been printed during the same period. 
 Even in Manx there had been thousands, and all this 
 before the Bible Society had been thought of: while, 
 for the Native Irish, there had not been printed one 
 single copy during the whole century ! 
 
 At length, in the very close of the eighteenth, or ra- 
 ther the opening of the nineteenth century, benevolent 
 feeling having come into more lively exercise, a better 
 day seems to have begun to dawn on this long, long ne- 
 glected people. The time in which their best interest 
 will be pursued, as it relates to the improvement of their 
 mind, is surely now at hand. The time in which their 
 vernacular tongue was thus treated has passed away ; 
 and, assuredly, if " the English interest," in every sense 
 of the term, is ever to be promoted, such policy and such 
 neglect have passed away for ever. 
 
 To this better day for the aborigines of Ireland, va- 
 rious circumstances have contributed their share of in- 
 fluence, and no candid writer would willingly pass over 
 any one of them. Whatever may be the thought of some 
 of his positions, the earlier writings of General Vallan-
 
 100 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 cey, the intended legacy of the late Henry Flood, Esq., 
 which will be again noticed in the next section, the 
 formation of the Gaelic Society of Dublin, now merged 
 in the Iberno- Celtic, one or two papers in the Trans- 
 actions of the Royal Irish Academy, each of these has 
 had, at least, some influence in awakening attention to 
 the language itself. In the opening of this century, also, 
 one is cheered by observing several publications in Irish 
 upon Irish ground, such as the Irish Grammars of Dr 
 William Neilson of Dundalk, of Dr Paul O'Bryan, Irish 
 Professor of Maynooth, of William Haliday, Esq. of 
 Dublin, the Synoptic Tables of Mr Patrick Lynch, and, 
 finally, the Irish-English Dictionary by Mr Edward 
 O'Reilly.* 
 
 The deceased Dr Whitley Stokes of Trinity College, 
 Dublin, began by exciting attention to the necessity for 
 printing the Scriptures in Irish; and DrDewar of Glasgow 
 also lent his influence in favour of the language. In 1814 
 the present writer visited Ireland, and, in " a Memorial 
 on behalf of the Native Irish, with a view to their moral 
 and religious improvement, through the medium of their 
 own language," endeavoured to plead their cause, with 
 what success it is not for him to say ; but the same feel- 
 ings led him to an argument which was printed after- 
 wards in England and Ireland in favour of the Irish 
 character being used, not the Roman ; and to a brief 
 memorial respecting the diffusion of the Scriptures, par- 
 ticularly in the Celtic or Iberian dialects, in 1819. This 
 lastwas intended as illustrative of the prodigious z'we^wa/z'ty 
 of supply already printed for these tribes. It proved, that 
 
 * There was one native of Ireland, Philip Fitzgibbon, who died at Kilkenny in 
 April, 1792, who is said to have been esteemed as a mathematician and an Irish 
 scholar. His Irish manuscripts he left to the Rev. Mr O'Donnell, among which 
 there was an English and Irish Dictionary, contained in about 400 quarto pages. 
 With his pen the author had, in imitation of printing, executed every word either 
 in roman or italic characters ; but there is a singular omission, the letter S, and 
 that he appeared to have entirely forgotten .'Ryan's Worthies, II. 131. 
 
 3
 
 LITERARY HISTORY. 101 
 
 while one party, the Welsh, were attended to, and fur- 
 nished with every variety, both as to the type and size 
 of volume, the Irish were not impartially considered. It 
 certainly was not without its effect, though it only showed 
 that nothing was to be done, without exhibiting our long 
 and strange neglect in the most glaring points of view. 
 
 In 1794, Dr Stokes had published Luke and the Acts 
 in Irish, with parallel columns in English, and in 1806 
 the four Gospels and the Acts. In 1811, the New Tes- 
 tament, and in 1817, the Bible, in Irish, were printed by 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society ; but all these 
 were in the Roman letter, and in the two first even the 
 orthography of the language was interfered with. The 
 question as to the expediency, nay the necessity and 
 importance of using the character in which the language 
 had always been printed of old, began to be understood 
 by all who had paid proper attention to the subject : 
 several small tracts and portions of the Scriptures have 
 been printed in it, and now at last, in 1828, one edi- 
 tion of the Bible complete, in its appropriate character, 
 has left the press. 
 
 Such then, and in such an important department, is 
 nearly all that can be said with regard to the Native 
 Irish ever since the revival of letters and the invention 
 of printing ! The benevolence of a few intelligent pri- 
 vate individuals, assisted by natives at home, working 
 against both wind and tide, the struggles of some of 
 the Native Irish themselves abroad, fill up the wide 
 space of more than three hundred and fifty years since 
 the art of printing, or of more than two hundred and 
 fifty years since Irish types and a printing-press were 
 sent across St George's Channel ! 
 
 After so long a night, in coming, as we hope, to the 
 morning of a better day, amidst a few primary exer- 
 tions in their favour for the last ten or fifteen years, the 
 propensity to self-complacency in the present age must 
 indeed be very strong, if there is any hazard of it here.
 
 102 LITERARY HISTORY. 
 
 Yet I have heard it already said, that much is now do- 
 ing for this people, and in their own language, and I am 
 mistaken if something like this has not, more than once, 
 got into print; but let all such expressions be now 
 brought into comparison with what ought to be done 
 for a population so extensive, and they will certainly not 
 be repeated for some time to come. 
 
 In this department of Books alone, to which the pre- 
 ceding pages have been chiefly devoted, very much in- 
 deed remains to be accomplished, and certain desiderata 
 will be pointed out afterwards in conclusion. Mean- 
 while the previous section, and, above all, the existing 
 state of this people, as still farther to be laid open, will, 
 it is hoped, set all such measures as may be necessary 
 in alight sufficiently strong ; though even here there are 
 certainly few men in the present day possessed of common 
 humanity who will not be disposed to exclaim " What 
 a history of the past is this, compared with what it 
 ought to have been !" 
 
 The best interests of the kingdom are interwoven with 
 the moral condition of any substantial quota of its popu- 
 lation ; and it is only a strong conviction that the pre- 
 sent state of the Native Irish embraces an object of far 
 greater magnitude and importance than has ever yet been 
 admitted, which has led to the publication of this volume. 
 
 " Every man is more speedily instructed by his own language, than by any other." 
 " He that voluntarily continues in ignorance, is guilty of all the crimes which igno- 
 rance produces ; as to him that should extinguish the tapers of a light-house might justly 
 be imputed the -aiamit:i> of shipwreck." 
 
 " To obscure, upon motives merely political, the light of revelation, is a practice reserved 
 for the reformed." JOHNSON.
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING 
 
 Of early and modern date, including some account of the attempts to employ the 
 Irish tongue as a branch of Education at home, and of the Schools either 
 founded by the Native Irish, or at their instance, for their Education abroad. 
 
 " THE ages," said Dr Johnson, " which deserve an exact 
 inquiry are those times, for such there were, when Ireland 
 was the school of the west, the quiet habitation of sanctity 
 and learning." By learning, of course, such a man intend- 
 ed the learning of the day as far as it had gone, although 
 how much he involved in the term he has not informed us. 
 I am perfectly aware that this department of our national 
 history is regarded by some only with a smile, as one 
 would some puzzled skein of silk, which it requires 
 great patience and fine fingers to rectify. It may be so ; 
 but from the length which even the writer has gone, at 
 intervals snatched from other avocations, he cannot but 
 believe, that so far as any man, possessed of learning and 
 patient research, shall proceed in a candid examination 
 of the Irish remains abroad and at home, if the times are 
 considered, at least the ancient school of Armagh, if not 
 one or two others, will rise in point of character. At 
 present the generality say, and with some truth, " we 
 have only heard the fame thereof with our ears." Pre- 
 cision, accuracy, and confirmation are required, and es- 
 pecially for those who seem disposed to question every 
 affirmation ; while certain Irishmen more deeply read, 
 and naturally interested in their past history, cling with
 
 104 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 
 
 fondness to these recollections of ancient times, by 
 some they are cherished, as one remembers the singing 
 birds in spring, which now sing no more. 
 
 The foundation of the school of Armagh is to be 
 traced to a very remote period, in the judgment of those 
 who are partial to Irish antiquity, while this seems to 
 be little more than conjecture in the estimation of others ; 
 but of its early existence there can be no question. In- 
 significant in its commencement, like every similar 
 school of learning in Europe, even of more modern date, 
 still such men as have been already glanced at, who 
 came out of Ireland in those early ages, there can be 
 little doubt, owed whatever learning they possessed 
 mainly to this seminary. Referring, therefore, to what 
 has been already said of them, I might add here, that, 
 even so late as the end of the twelfth century, though 
 many changes had taken place, and a long night of dark- 
 ness had intervened, we know, as matter of history, that 
 the last of the Irish kings, an encourager of learning, 
 augmented the income of the superior of Armagh Col- 
 lege; stipulating that this studium generate should be con- 
 tinued and kept open for all students, as well from any 
 part of Ireland as from Albanian Scotia.* If the reader 
 is curious on this subject, among others I might refer 
 him, for one account of the ancient School or College of 
 Armagh, to Stuart's Historical Memoirs of the City, 
 Appendix, No V., an interesting volume in many re- 
 spects. 
 
 In looking over Ireland after this period, we find no 
 seminary of learning worth notice, until the close of the 
 reign of Queen Elizabeth. Passing over the abortive 
 attempts of the fourteenth century, for in the fifteenth 
 there were none, it was in the end of the sixteenth that 
 the present University of Trinity College, Dublin, was 
 
 * Ware's Antiquities by Harris, p. 241. Tria Tbaum. p. 510.
 
 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. ]Q5 
 
 founded by the Queen's warrant, dated 29th December, 
 1591. During the following reign, the Native Irish are 
 specially noticed, and in connexion with the College, in 
 a letter from King James I., addressed to the Lord-de- 
 puty, and all others whom it shall concern, dated 
 26th February, 1620. " Because," says his Majesty, 
 " our Colledge of Dublin was first founded by our late 
 sister of happie memorie, Queen Elizabeth, and hath 
 beene since plentifully endowed by us, principallie for 
 breeding upp the natives of that kingdom in civility, 
 learning, and religion ; we have reason to expect that in 
 all this long tyme of our peaceable government, some 
 good numbers of the natives should have been trained 
 upp in College, and might have been employed in teach- 
 ing and reducing those which are ignorant among that 
 people, and to think that the governors of that house 
 have not performed that trust reposed in them, if the 
 revenewes thereof have bene otherwise employed ; and 
 therefore wee doe require, that henceforth special care 
 be had, and that the visitors of that Universitie be re- 
 quired particulerlie to looke unto and take care of this 
 point, and the supplying of the present want ; that choise 
 be made of some competent number of towardlie young 
 men, alredie fitted with the knowledge of the Irishe 
 tongue, and be placed in the Universitie, and maintain- 
 ed there for two or three years, till they have learned the 
 ground of religion, and be able to catechise the simple 
 natives, and deliver unto them so much as themselves 
 have learned ; and when any livings that are not of any 
 very great value fall void among the meer Irish, these 
 men to be thought upon before others, or to be placed 
 with other able ministers that possess livings among the 
 meere Irish, (where, for defect of the language, they are 
 able to do little good,; to be interpreters to them, and to 
 be maintained by them, after they are made fit for that 
 employment," &c. 
 
 I am not aware of any approach to a conformity with
 
 106 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 
 
 these instructions till the days of Bedell. While he was 
 Provost (two hundred years ago, viz. in 1627 and 1628,) 
 he had done what he could, in promoting an Irish lec- 
 ture in Trinity College, a measure of which Charles I. 
 expressed his decided approbation, through the Chan- 
 cellor to Archbishop Ussher. All this, however, died 
 away, and it was not till about thirty years afterwards, 
 under Dr Winter, the Provost of Trinity College, in the 
 time of the Protectorate, that we find anything akin to 
 it ; but this attempt also, which was about the year 
 1656, and of which some account is given, under the 
 head of Oral Instruction, in the next section, also failed, 
 and the subject was dismissed again for more than twenty 
 years. Jeremy Taylor indeed, who had been Vice-Pro- 
 vost of Trinity, addressing the Secretary of State in 
 1667, says, " It is fit that it should be remembered, that 
 near this city of Dublin there is an University founded 
 by Queen Elizabeth, principally intended for the natives 
 of this kingdom." He saw them to be " populus unius 
 labii, and unmingled with others," yet though he un- 
 dertook the task of collecting and completing the body of 
 statutes, &c. which Bedell had left unfinished, he does 
 not appear to have seen the importance of meeting the 
 partiality of the people for their native tongue. 
 
 In 1680, however, the Bishop of Meath, Dr Jones, 
 advised with Dr Narcissus Marsh, and during his pro- 
 vostship we find not fewer than eighty students attend- 
 ing on Mr Higgiris, the Irish lecturer, besides some of the 
 Fellows and chief members attending him more private- 
 ly ; we see the Provost Marsh himself, not only super- 
 intending the transcription of the Irish Scriptures for 
 the press, but composing an Irish grammar. We find 
 also, in the College chapel, an Irish sermon delivered 
 monthly, which was crowded ; the Duke of Ormond 
 himself attending, and promising his presence to coun- 
 tenance it. c< That which gives me the greatest hopes 
 of success," said Dr Jones, writing to Mr Boyle this
 
 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 107 
 
 vear, " is our good Provost's care and zeal in training 
 up the present youth in the College in reading the Irish, 
 which, by the books from you now in their hands, is 
 greatly forwarded. This may be a seed-plot for the 
 church. The harvest is great, and the labourers few, 
 therefore is the Lord of the harvest to be earnestly de- 
 sired to prepare and send forth more labourers." But 
 all this did not proceed without opposition or discour- 
 agement. It is even melancholy to contemplate the 
 withering of such a " seed-plot" as this before the breath 
 of blind political expediency ; but the truth is, that with 
 the removal of Dr Marsh to another sphere, the decease 
 of Dr Jones, and other circumstances, the whole course 
 was finally relinquished. 
 
 About thirty years afterwards, it is evident that the 
 subject had again been taken up in the University. 
 " We must not omit those means which have been lately 
 used in the College of Dublin," says Mr Richardson in 
 171 1. " The Rev. Dr Hall, present Vice-Provost, sup- 
 ported for some time, at his own charge,* one Denny, to 
 teach Irish privately to such of the scholars as had a de- 
 sire to learn that language ; and the present Archbishop 
 of Dublin (King) did and doth still encourage Mr Ly- 
 niger to teach it publicly. There is also a small allow- 
 ance settled in that house for natives, to which, if more 
 were added by the pious charity of persons disposed to 
 encourage this work, and a constant salary settled for an 
 Irish lecturer, there might be a sufficient number of 
 scholars trained up within a few years."t Mr Lyniger 
 had been three years thus employed ; but there is no 
 proof of his continuance after that period ; nay, rather 
 the reverse, as in three years after, viz. 1714, we meet 
 with a pamphlet published in Dublin, recommending 
 the language to the notice of the University. " The 
 
 * Why not by the College ? was it not founded principallie for the natives ?, 
 t Richardson's History, p. 43.
 
 108 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 
 
 present clergy," says the author, " are generally ignorant 
 of the Irish language, and therefore incapable of dis- 
 coursing with the mere natives" " but if exhibitions 
 were paid annually to such a number of students in the 
 College of Dublin as shall be thought convenient, who 
 shall qualify themselves to speak the Irish tongue, and 
 a new Fellow of the College was appointed to be pro- 
 fessor thereof, and allowed a stipend for examining such 
 exhibitioners, this would in a few years enable many to 
 converse familiarly with the natives," &c. All such 
 suggestions, however, were in vain ; and from that time 
 to the present day, if the Irish language has been cultivated 
 in schools of learning for these, as we have already done 
 for Irish books, we shall again be under the necessity of 
 looking to foreign countries, far from the native soil and 
 seat of the language.* 
 
 Before, however, dismissing this subject, it is of im- 
 poi'tance to record one most noble intention. It is worthy 
 of special notice, as a substantial and standing proof of 
 what one eminent man conceived to be a desideratum 
 in Ireland. The late Henry Flood, Esq. of Farmly, in 
 the county of Kilkenny, by his will, dated 27th May, 
 1790, had constituted Trinity College residuary legatee 
 to a considerable part of his property, valued, in 1795, 
 by Sir Laurence Parsons, afterwards Earl of Ross, at 
 L.5000 per annum, but since that period at about L 7000 
 annually. " I will," said Mr Flood, " that on their coming 
 into possession of this my bequest, on the death of my 
 said wife, they do institute and maintain, as a perpetual 
 establishment, a professorship of and for the Native Irish 
 or Erse language, with a salary of not less than three 
 hundred pounds sterling a-year." " And I do will and 
 
 * Within these few years there is indeed one Professor of the Irish language, 
 where the language is at least professedly taught on Irish ground, which will be 
 afterwards noticed in its proper place ; this is at Maynooth. But in Trinity Col- 
 lege, to the present hour, nothing of the kind exists !
 
 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 109 
 
 appoint, that they do grant one annual and liberal pre- 
 mium for the best and another for the next best compo- 
 sition in prose and verse, in the said Native Irish lan- 
 guage, upon some point of ancient history, government, 
 religion, literature, or situation of Ireland; and also one 
 other annual premium for the best and another for the 
 next best composition in Greek or Latin, prose or verse, 
 on any general subject by them assigned," " and I will, 
 that the rents and profits, &c. shall be further applied 
 by the said University to the purchase of all printed 
 books and manuscripts in the said Native Irish or Erse 
 language, wheresoever to be obtained ; and next, to the 
 purchase of all printed books and manuscripts of the 
 dialects and languages that are akin to the said Native 
 Irish language ; and then to the purchase of all valuable 
 books and editions of books, in the learned and in the 
 modern polished languages." 
 
 " This," says Lord Ross, " was the extensive range of 
 Mr Flood's bequest to the public. Having first mani- 
 fested in his will all the wise and tender anxieties and 
 cares for those around him, for whom duty and affection 
 taught him to provide ; having for these, when he was 
 about to retire from the world, provided every means of 
 competency, and spread every shade of protection which 
 a prudent and liberal mind could suggest ; he then 
 turned his eyes upon Ireland Ireland, for whose pros- 
 perity he had so many years illustriously toiled. His 
 great spirit, while it was just hovering over the tomb, 
 was still busied about the future fame of his country : 
 it dictated those expiring accents, which direct that the 
 materials of learning, from all parts of the earth, should 
 be from time to time collected and deposited in the bo- 
 som of our University." Before this passage, his Lord- 
 ship had said, " often did Mr Flood remark to me, that 
 while in the East ingenious men were collecting and trans- 
 lating, with such laudable industry, the ancient writings 
 of the inhabitants of that region between Indus and the 
 
 E
 
 110 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 
 
 Ganges, the valuable memorials of our own island were 
 neglected and perishing. He thought that many of the 
 truths of ancient history were to be found at these two 
 extremities of the lettered world ; that they would reflect 
 light and knowledge upon each other, and lead to a 
 more certain acquaintance with the early history of man." 
 Yet, notwithstanding the distinctness of this last will 
 and testament, there seems to have been some defect or 
 informality ; the validity of the bequest was questioned,, 
 the College instituted a suit for the purpose of esta- 
 blishing their claim ; but in the end that body has failed 
 of success, the will has been broken after a trial at bar, 
 if not an appeal to the House of Lords, and at the pre- 
 sent moment nothing approaching to any one of its pro- 
 visions exists in Ireland.* 
 
 * Had this bequest weathered the glorious uncertainty of the law, the library 
 of Trinity might have become the most valuable in the kingdom. Its previous 
 history, as it now stands, is rather singular. After the defeat of the Spaniards 
 at Tyrone and Kinsale, in the year 1603, the officers in the army having genercus- 
 ly subscribed L.1800 from their arrears of pay, devoted the whole to the purchase 
 of books, for a public library in Trinity College, then recently founded. Thu * 
 encouraged, Ussher immediately proceeded to London, and, while engaged in pur. 
 chasing books, first became acquainted with Sir Thomas Bodley, then in town, for 
 a similar object as to Oxford. The first donation of value to Trinity was that of 
 Ussher's own library ; the history of which is also worthy of remark. In 1640, 
 Ussher left Ireland, Intending or wishing to return ; but, the following year, his 
 personal property being destroyed or seized, with the exception of his furniture 
 and library, he secured the conveyance of the latter to Chelsea College. In 1645, 
 Ussher not only declining to attend the Westminster Assembly, but controverting 
 their authority, bis library was confiscated by order of the House of Commons as 
 the property of a delinquent. John Selden, his particular friend, employed T)r 
 Fealty, then, I believe, Provost of Chelsea College, to purchase the whole as if for 
 Selden's own use. It was in reality to preserve the entire library for its owner. 
 On Ussher's death, in 1655, although he had destined his books for Trinity Col. 
 lege, his misfortunes compelled him to leave them to his only daughter, Lady 
 Tyrrel, then the mother of a numerous family. Both Cardinal Mazarine and the 
 King of Denmark wished to purchase it entire, but the officers of Cromwell's 
 army could not bear the idea of its leaving the kingdom. Whether they had the 
 soldiers of Elizabeth, already mentioned, in their eye or not, actuated by a noble 
 and enlightened spirit they purchased the library for L.2200 sterling, in order to 
 present it to the University of Dublin. These men indeed were bent upon the 
 erection of a second college in that city, and this occasioned Ussher's library to be 
 deposited meanwhile in the castle an unfortunate step, as it occasioned the loss 
 of many volumes. In 1661, by the authority of Charles II., the whole were con- 
 veyed to the spot which Ussher himself intended. At the head of the benefactors, 
 therefore, we find the following entry : " Carolus II. qui anno 1661 dedit Biblio-
 
 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. HI 
 
 It is now nearly two hundred and forty years since 
 Trinity College was founded. The reader has before 
 him all that has ever been done for the natives in their 
 native language; and on whomsoever the blame has 
 rested, or at present rests, taking it all in all, to this sin- 
 gular and injurious course of procedure there is not a 
 parallel in Europe ; but there is a contrast which must 
 not need not now be concealed. In a previous sec- 
 tion, the reader has already observed, that while we were 
 idle, or opposed to the employment of a single Irish type, 
 elementary books in that tongue were printing on the 
 Continent: he may now see where these things were 
 employed, whether in Spain or Italy, in France or Bo- 
 hemia and the Netherlands. In not encouraging, by 
 every means within our power, the enlightening of this 
 people through the only medium, naturally and there- 
 fore necessarily dear to their hearts, just as much so as 
 our mother-tongue is to us, one cannot help inquiring 
 whether a more effectual method could have been devised 
 for withering one of the arms of the nation, or rather 
 infusing into it a power of rebounding against ourselves ? 
 All those who have cultivated the language have ever 
 ingratiated themselves into the affections of the people ; 
 and whatever mystery there may have been in the state 
 of Ireland, still there was all along as direct a road to 
 
 thec. Usseriana." He had, however, no share in the donation, except that of 
 complying with the original intention of the purchasers. At a more recent pe- 
 riod, in the reign of James II., the whole library was exposed to the most immi- 
 nent hazard, and, but for the vigilance of Dr Michael Moore, an Irishman, after- 
 wards mentioned as educated in France, but then the Provost of Trinity, it had 
 probably fallen into the hands of the Jesuits. (See page 122.) 
 
 The library is now valuable, including above a hundred thousand volumes, 
 among which are to be found the Fagel collection of 20,000 volumes, mostly bound 
 in vellum, purchased in Holland for L.8COO, and presented by the trustees of Eras- 
 mus Smith ; besides about 1200 manuscripts, once the property of Usaher Stearne, 
 Bishop of Clogher Provost Huntingdon, chiefly Oriental Carew, president of 
 Munster, Irish MSS. of Elizabeth's time, &c. This library, included in the book- 
 sellers' act, receives a copy of every new publication, a privilege, however, which, 
 for Ireland's sake, should have been extended to Marsh's library, so useful, be- 
 cause so open to every respectable stranger or resident, at all seasonable hours. 
 See Parr's Life of Ussher. Stuart's Armagh. Hist, of Dublin, -Ho.
 
 ]12 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 
 
 the heart of a native Irishman as to that of any man un- 
 der heaven. As the reader proceeds he will excuse this 
 digression. I need scarcely add, that the following cases 
 are brought forward, not as proofs of eminent learning ; 
 but as we have already done with books, so we now 
 proceed with schools, and they are to be viewed as re- 
 sults, conveying information at once curious, interest- 
 ing, and admonitory. 
 
 On looking abroad, we find that, before the founda- 
 tion of Trinity College was laid, there existed at least 
 two colleges for the direct use of the Native Irish ; and 
 others followed in succession, established in different coun- 
 tries. The following account, placed in chronological or- 
 der, contains a few notices in reference to each. These are 
 taken principally from Ware's Irish Antiquities by Har- 
 ris ; but his statements have been compared with other 
 authorities, and other particulars of a more recent date, 
 have been added, so as to bring up the account to the 
 present period. 
 
 1. Salamanca, 1582. The first country on the Euro- 
 pean continent to which the Native Irish were accus- 
 tomed to resort for education, was Spain, the land in 
 which, according to one impression among themselves, 
 their ancestors once lived ; and the earliest foundation 
 of which any authentic account can be given was at Sa- 
 lamanca, in Leon, once so famous for its university. At 
 the instance and solicitation of an Irishman, Thomas 
 White, from Clonmell, Tipperary, a college was insti- 
 tuted in 1582, of which White was the first rector. 
 Small at first and poor in its origin, it was, however, 
 maintained for many years, till, in the years 1610 and 
 1614, buildings were erected and a spacious library was 
 formed. It was in this college, about fifty years after 
 this, that Dr Andrew Sail, already mentioned, was a 
 professor, and here that different individuals, named in
 
 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 113 
 
 these pages, in whole or in part received their educa- 
 tion. The number of students, however, has never been 
 great. Thus, at the period of the French revolution, 
 there were 32, and up to the invasion of Spain by 
 France, in 1807, the number was never above 30. At 
 present there are supposed to be only about 12. Count 
 Beerhaven, of an Irish family, was a benefactor to this 
 seminary.* 
 
 2. Alcala, 1590. About the year 1590, Baron George 
 Sylveria, born in Portugal, but of Irish extraction, his 
 mother being a Macdonell from the north of Ireland, 
 founded a college at Alcala de Henares, for 30 Irish 
 students, four chaplains or professors, and eight ser- 
 vants ; for whose maintenance he allotted the sum of 
 L.2000 sterling annually, and one thousand pounds for 
 the erection of the chapel. 
 
 3,4. Lisbon and Evora, 1595. In this year there 
 were two colleges founded in Portugal for Irish stu- 
 dents ; one at Lisbon by one Ximenes, (not the cardinal 
 of course, -he died in 151 7, but not improbably the Spa- 
 nish lawyer,) to which Mr Leigh, an Irishman, was a 
 benefactor. It seems to have been but a poor founda- 
 tion ; yet, from its funds, after receiving his education, 
 any student returning to Ireland received five pounds 
 to pay his passage home, besides provisions for his voy- 
 age. From 1792 to 1807 there were from 20 to 30 stu- 
 dents; but since then and at present only about 12. 
 The College at Evora, founded the same year, was soon 
 alienated from its original design. 
 
 5. Douai, 1596. Before the close of the sixteenth 
 
 * Peter French, from Galway, educated here, went as a missionary to the Mex- 
 ican Indians. There he remained for thirty years. He composed a catechism in 
 f&e Mexican language, and finally returned to Ireland, where he died in 1693.
 
 114 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 
 
 century, the Native Irish had begun to resort to French 
 Flanders and the Netherlands, induced, it is not improb- 
 able, by the influence which Spain then enjoyed in these 
 parts. To Douai, in particular, they had repaired ; but 
 in 1596 the foundation was laid of a seminary for their 
 exclusive instruction, by one of their own countrymen, 
 Christopher Cusack, an Irishman from Meath, probably 
 the son of Christopher Cusack of Gerrardstown, near 
 Rateeth.* This man spent his own patrimony in the 
 cause ; and, procuring the assistance of other friends, 
 was instrumental in first founding the Douai College. 
 From hence, too, by his exertions, also sprang the semi- 
 naries or colleges at Lille, Antwerp, and Tournay. Cu- 
 sack was the first President of Douai, styled the Mother 
 College, and he acted as the superior of the Irish youth 
 throughout Flanders, until his death, in 1619. Mr Lau- 
 rence Sedgrave, a cousin, succeeded him, and continued 
 till 1633, when a Mr James Talbot succeeded as his uni- 
 versal heir. In 1706, Edmund Bourke, and in 1713, 
 Christopher French, both from Galway, were Regents 
 of Douai College, and both of them authors. Bourke 
 returned to Dublin, where he is said to have written his 
 essay in opposition to the Jesuits, and died at Rome 
 about 1738. In the year 1740, the President of Douai 
 was Mr Patrick M'Naghten from Ireland, who furnish- 
 ed Mr Harris with an account of these Netherland semi- 
 naries ; and it was here also that Patrick alias Christo- 
 pher Fleming, related to the Lords of Slane, received his 
 education. He was successively a lecturer at the Irish 
 Colleges of St Isidore at Rome, at Louvain, and Prague, 
 leaving his Life of Columbanus, which was published at 
 Louvain in 1667. Before the French revolution there 
 
 # Ch. Cusack, whom I presume to be the Father, "made a book of collections," 
 says Harris, " relating to Irish affairs, in 1511, which is extant in manuscript in 
 Trinity College library," and which Primate Ussher so valued as to prefix to it 
 several genealogical tables.
 
 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 115 
 
 were 40 students here, under two superiors. At present 
 I do not know of any. 
 
 6. Antwerp, 1600. About the commencement of the 
 seventeenth century the College at Antwerp was found- 
 ed, of which Sedgrave, already mentioned, was the first 
 President. In 1629, however, he paid 13,320 florins for 
 a house and garden, which, with the consent of the Bishop 
 of Antwerp, he erected into a college for 12 or 16 stu- 
 dents from any of the four Irish provinces ; but the esta- 
 blishment would afterwards admit of double this num- 
 ber. Archdekin from Kilkenny, already mentioned as 
 an Irish author, was Rector in 1676. About the year 
 1792 there were two superiors here, and under them 30 
 students. 
 
 7- Tour nay, 1607- This year a seminary for young 
 Irish students was opened at Tournay. Villani, the 
 Bishop, left 9000 florins for the support of the President. 
 This, however, was but a poor foundation, and, having 
 to look to Antwerp for aid, was ultimately given up. 
 
 8. Lille, 1610. The seminary at Lille, which was 
 founded at this time, was also of small extent, and after- 
 wards confined to students from the province of Leinster. 
 It continued open, however, for many years, and before 
 the Revolution there were eight students under one 
 master. 
 
 9 & 10. Louvain, 1616. At Louvain, this year, the 
 first stone of a college for the Native Irish was laid by 
 the Princes Albert and Isabella of Spain, which is ge- 
 nerally styled the College of St Anthony of Padua. Flo- 
 rence Conry from Connaught, the author of an Irish 
 catechism already noticed, used his influence with Philip 
 III. to found this seminary; but in 1624 another college 
 was opened here, of which Roch MacGeoghan was the
 
 116 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 
 
 first provincial. It was afterwards enlarged by two 
 Irishmen, named Joyce, about 1656. Ferral, " no bad 
 poet," (says Ware,) and Archdekin both taught in one of 
 these colleges. About the time of the French revolution 
 there were 40 students in attendance under two masters. 
 
 11. Rome, 1625. The number of Irish students in 
 this city has never been great; but there are various 
 particulars in relation to the colleges there which are in- 
 teresting, and deserve notice. 
 
 In the year 1625, several buildings at Rome, with 
 ground attached, which had been employed by Spain for 
 despatching the business of that kingdom and the Indies, 
 having fallen under debt, which they could not defray, 
 the parties concerned advised with Luke Wadding, an 
 Irishman, as to the best mode of redeeming the concern 
 from its encumbrances. Wadding, the eighth son of his 
 father, a respectable citizen of Waterford, had left Ire- 
 land in the fifteenth year of his age for Lisbon, and com- 
 menced his studies there in 1603. Having, in addition 
 to Greek and Hebrew, acquired a correct knowledge of 
 the Portuguese and Castilian languages, he removed to 
 Salamanca about the year 1616. Here he continued to 
 preside over the Irish College for two years, when he 
 was sent, as chaplain of the Spanish embassy, to Rome ; 
 and there he remained, labouring with an assiduity which 
 is scarcely credible, did not his voluminous writings 
 alone sufficiently prove it. 
 
 To say nothing of smaller works, and unpublished 
 manuscripts left at his death, although his other occu- 
 pations were so numerous, says Harris, " that it is diffi- 
 cult to conceive how he could find time either to write 
 or read," we may form some idea of the prodigious ac- 
 tivity of this man when it is stated, that during his life- 
 time he wrote and published ten volumes in folio, two 
 in quarto, and four in octavo; besides preparing, with 
 great labour, sixteen volumes in folio for the press, and
 
 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 117 
 
 superintending four others of the same size. Of these, 
 fourteen he got printed at Rome, twenty-one at Lyons, 
 and one at Antwerp, or thirty-six in all ! Twelve of 
 these folios form the best edition of the works of Duns 
 Scotus, with critical notes by Wadding. Another work, 
 his Annals or Lives of the Franciscan Friars, in eight, 
 was extended and republished at Rome, in 1731, in six- 
 teen volumes folio ; a copy of which is in the Advocates' 
 Library, Edinburgh, with his life prefixed, written by 
 Francis Harold, his nephew. From this life it appears, 
 that a splendid Concordance to the Hebrew Scriptures, 
 in four volumes folio, was the first work which this Irish- 
 man superintended and published, in 1621, the " Con- 
 cordantiae Sacrorum Bibliorum Hebraicorum et Latino- 
 rum," of Marius de Collasio. The author having died 
 in 1620, Wadding could not bear the idea of such a 
 work being either lost or concealed ; but unable himself, 
 of course, to bear the expense, he applied for assistance 
 and succeeded. This Concordance of Collasio, on which 
 that of Buxtorf is grounded, was republished in London, 
 1747-1749, to which every king in Europe was a sub- 
 scriber. The treatise prefixed, " De Hebraicae linguae 
 origine, praestantia, et utilitate," was written by Wad- 
 ding. 
 
 Having been applied to with reference to the build- 
 ings already noticed, Wadding, after consulting with 
 several men of authority and influence, offered to pur- 
 chase the whole concern, and thus secured a college, with 
 an especial view to the education of his countrymen from 
 Ireland. Barbarini, who had founded the College de 
 Propaganda Fide, befriended the undertaking. On the 
 24th of June, 1625, Wadding entered on possession, and 
 having appointed Anthony Hickey, a learned Grecian 
 and divine, born in Clare, to be principal lecturer in di- 
 vinity, and Martin Walsh, from Donegal, the second 
 lecturer ; Patrick Fleming, son of Captain Garret Flem- 
 ing, of the county of Louth, to be lecturer on philosophy ; 
 
 2
 
 118 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 
 
 and John Ponce, from Cork, the second lecturer, he in- 
 vited any of the natives of Ireland, then on the Conti- 
 nent, to avail themselves of the education here presented 
 to them. The students in a short time amounted to 
 thirty. After enlarging and improving all the buildings, 
 Wadding added a noble and well-selected library of 
 books, rather for use than ostentation, consisting of five 
 thousand volumes, mostly folio, and about eight hun- 
 dred manuscripts. The founder being elective every five 
 years, Wadding was chosen five times in succession be- 
 fore his death, in 1657. Though but a poor friar from 
 Ireland, yet from the time of his arrival at Rome, in the 
 thirtieth year of his age, he had so risen in the estima- 
 tion of the inhabitants, that, from their voluntary bounty 
 rather than his importunity, in the first five years, viz. 
 from 1625 to 1630, he had expended 22,000 crowns. 
 This, however, was only an inferior proportion of the 
 expense connected with an undertaking, for the whole 
 of which Wadding provided, and which has been very 
 well known since his day as " the College of St Isidore 
 at Rome." 
 
 12. Rome, 1628. Opposite to these buildings stood a 
 house, afterwards named the Ludovisian College. In 1628, 
 three years after Wadding had entered St Isidore, at his 
 instance the Cardinal Ludovisius paid 150 crowns for 
 furniture, and assigned 600 Roman crowns annually for 
 the use of this building and the education of six natives 
 from Ireland. But as Ludovisius at his death bequeath- 
 ed a vineyard or farm and 1000 crowns annually to the 
 institution, the house was purchased, named after him, 
 and became a permanent institution for twelve Irish stu- 
 dents, who also attended all the lectures at St Isidore. 
 
 13. Rome, 1656*. The year before his death, 1656, 
 Wadding founded another seminary for twelve Irish 
 students, preparatory to St Isidore, at Campranica, about 

 
 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING, 119 
 
 twenty-eight miles from Rome. Francis O'Molloy from 
 King's County, the author of two pieces printed at Rome 
 in 1666 and 1667, already noticed, succeeded Luke Wad- 
 ding. At some one of these seminaries there were about 
 sixteen students in 1792 or 3; but, even before the French 
 invaded Italy, the Irish College had no existence, and 
 whatever Irish students have been there since, sometimes 
 twenty or twenty-five, but of late only eight or ten, have 
 been accommodated in different ways, and they attend 
 with the other students. 
 
 14. Prague, 1631. The Irish College at Prague in , 
 Bohemia was founded in 1 631 at the solicitation of Ma- 
 lachy Fallon, and being afterwards enriched by the le- 
 gacy of an Irishman in the Imperial army, General Wal- 
 ter Butler, a chapel was built, and the college so enlarged 
 as to admit of seventy inmates. This legacy of 25,000 
 florins was in 1652. In 1700, Count Sternberg built for 
 them a spacious library, and furnished it with a library 
 of many thousand volumes, which had been collected 
 and left to him by his brother. Another legacy of 9000 
 florins from a native of Ireland, Count Hamilton, in 1738, 
 was employed in perfecting and enlarging the buildings. 
 The first superior was Patrick Fleming, already men- 
 tioned under Louvain ; but, in the same year in which 
 the college was begun, Prague being about to be besieg- 
 ed by the Elector of Saxony, Fleming, having left the 
 city, was murdered by the country boors, then up in 
 arms. Francis Magenis, who was with him, escaped, 
 and afterwards became superior. Harold, the nephew 
 and biographer of Wadding, was a professor here, and, 
 at a later period, Francis Walsh, the author of an Irish 
 dictionary, which he either took with him to Dublin, or 
 composed there, where he died. The manuscript never 
 was printed, but it is now in Marsh's library. 
 
 15. Toulouse, 1660. After the marriage of Louis XIV.
 
 120 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 
 
 to the Infanta of Spain, the French court having come 
 to visit Toulouse, the Irish, who for many years had kept 
 a seminary there depending on casual bounty, petitioned 
 the queen-mother, Ann of Austria, for support. They 
 succeeded. She declared herself foundress of the Irish 
 College in 1660, and Louis ratified the patent of founda- 
 tion. The number of students about the year 1792 was 
 ten, under one master. 
 
 1 6. Bordeaux, 1669. This year the seminary at Bor- 
 deaux also became a college, through the same means. 
 This seminary, however, had been in operation from 
 1603, in consequence of Cardinal de Sourdis, the Arch- 
 bishop of Bordeaux, having cherished and supported it. 
 A number of Irish, during the last century, seem to have 
 been educated here, and at the Lisbon college. Before 
 the Revolution there were forty students, under three 
 masters. There may be a few at present. 
 
 17- Poitiers, 1676. An Irish seminary was founded 
 at Poitiers this year, of which Ignatius Brown, from 
 Waterford, who had been educated in Spain, was ap- 
 pointed rector ; but he died, while on a journey to Ma- 
 drid, in 1679, and it does not appear who succeeded. If 
 this institution existed so late as the end of the last cen- 
 tury, it shared the fate of various other seminaries. 
 
 18. Rome, 1677- At the instance and solicitation of 
 John O'Connor, two convents at Rome were this year 
 appropriated to serve as a place of education for the 
 youth of Ireland, of which a Dr James Fitzgerald was 
 elected the superior three times in succession. Besides 
 casual bounty, one Nicholas Antonio consigned 4000, 
 and the Dutchess of Cajetan, whom O'Connor had ac- 
 companied from Spain, gave 6000 Roman crowns. This 
 institution however is now, I believe, extinct.
 
 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 121 
 
 19. Nantz, 1680. About the year 1680, by the en- 
 treaty of Dr Ambrose Madden from Clonfert, and Dr 
 Edward Tonery from Waterford, a seminary for the 
 Irish was established at Nantz, into which, during the 
 last century, thirty-five pupils were received from any 
 of the four Irish provinces. There were not fewer than 
 eighty students here, under three masters, just before 
 the Revolution. 
 
 20. Bouley, 1688. In the year 1688, an Irish college 
 was founded at Bouley, by Leopold, the Duke of Lor- 
 raine, and father of Francis I., Emperor of Austria, a 
 man who used frequently to say, " I would resign my 
 sovereignty to-morrow, if I could do good no longer." 
 This foundation was begun at the earnest solicitation of 
 Bernard Plunket, and the Earl of Carlingford was a 
 considerable contributor ; but I believe it does not now 
 exist. 
 
 21. Paris, 1677-81. Among the most important of 
 any that have been mentioned is the Irish College at 
 Paris. The erection, denominated the College for the 
 Lombards, subsequently the College de Tournay, and 
 after that the College d'ltalie, having been nearly abah- 
 doned, and falling into a ruinous state, two Irishmen, 
 Patrick Magenis and Malachy Kelly, in 1677 and 1681, 
 obtained letters-patent to rebuild it for the reception of 
 Irish students, and Magenis endowed it with 2500 livres 
 annually. About thirty or forty years after this, several 
 old houses contiguous having been purchased by an 
 Irishman from Dublin, Michael Moore, the whole were 
 pulled down, and elegantly rebuilt in the form of a col- 
 lege, with a chapel and commodious library. These 
 buildings are still in existence ; the writer having had 
 an opportunity of seeing them about three years ago, ap- 
 parently in good repair. Of this college the Archbishop 
 of Paris was superior, with four Irish provisors under
 
 122 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 
 
 him, one for each province in Ireland. The first of these 
 was Principal, who, with the fourth, took charge of the 
 school of learning. A separate department was called 
 " the Irish Community," under the direction of a Pre- 
 fect and Sub-prefect, the students of which were ad- 
 mitted to all the degrees of the Sorbonne. Moore and 
 Skelton, Donlevy and Nary, not to mention others, be- 
 longed to this college. 
 
 Dr Michael Moore, born in Dublin in 1640, a man, it has 
 been said, of taste, integrity, and learning, educated at 
 Nantz and Paris, who, besides taking charge of this Irish 
 college, was twice chosen Rector of the University of Pa- 
 ris, was also Principal of the College of Navarre, and had 
 been also nominated Royal Professor of Philosophy, 
 Greek, and Hebrew. Having returned to Ireland, he 
 was for a short period Provost of Trinity College, and 
 to his special care has been ascribed the preservation of 
 the books and manuscripts then in the library, James 
 II. having intended to convey that college to the Jesuits. 
 Dr Moore not only prevailed with him to alter his de- 
 sign, but, when the buildings were used as a garrison, 
 the chapel as a magazine, and many of the chambers as 
 prisons, with most vigilant attention he preserved all the 
 literary stores then intrusted to him as Provost. From 
 Ireland he went to Paris, taught a college for some years 
 in Italy, and then returning to France, died at the Col- 
 lege of Navarre, Paris, in August 1725', aged eighty- 
 six. For some years, however, before his death, he was 
 blind, and obliged to keep a man to read to him. This 
 man embezzled and sold many hundred volumes of his 
 choice collection ; " thus, he who had saved the noble 
 library of Trinity from alienation or destruction, was 
 ungenerously pillaged of his own books."* 
 
 Dr Walter Skelton, from Queen's County, distinguish- 
 
 * Ware's Writers, and Stuart's Armagh, p. 402.
 
 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 123 
 
 ed for his knowledge in mathematics, was educated here 
 about the beginning of last century. Returning to Ire- 
 land, he died titular Dean of Leighlin, in October, 1737- 
 
 Dr Andrew Donlevy, who was Prefect of this college 
 in 1761, was the author of the Catechism in Irish and 
 English already noticed. " I take occasion to mention 
 him/' says Harris, " out of gratitude for many favours 
 I received from him ; particularly by his transmitting 
 me, from time to time, several useful collections, out of 
 the King's and other libraries in Paris." 
 
 Cornelius Nary, from Kildare, born in 1660, received 
 his first education at Naas. At the age of twenty-four 
 he proceeded to Paris, where he completed his studies, 
 and continued to act as Provisor in the Irish College. 
 In 1694 he took the degree of doctor of laws in the col- 
 leges of Cambray and Paris, and, about 1697, returned 
 to Dublin, where he continued till his death, in 1738. 
 He translated the Vulgate New Testament into English, 
 with notes, which was published in London about 1705, 
 and again in 1718. On the title-page of this octavo vo- 
 lume, which is now very scarce, it is said to be the work 
 of C. N. C. F. P. D. i. e. Cornelius Nary, Consultissime 
 Facultatis Parisiensis Doctor. In the year 1720, he pub- 
 lished in folio, a History of the World, grounding his 
 chronology on the computations of the Septuagint, which 
 he undertakes to prove to be that of the ancient Hebrew 
 Scriptures ; and, some time after this, he also printed a 
 short History of Ireland, the copies of which are now 
 very scarce.* 
 
 The Revolution in France, which affected the Irish 
 colleges in so many other places, was, of course, fatal to 
 that in Paris. At that eventful period there were not 
 less than 180 Irish students, viz. 100 in the College des 
 
 * ReiUy's History of Ireland, with the articles of Limerick, &c. by Dr Nary, is 
 but a thin ISmo in small type, it may be got for 12s., but has been sold for a 
 guinea.
 
 124 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 
 
 Lombards, under four masters, and in the Irish Com- 
 munity, Rue de Cheval Vert, there were 80 more, under 
 three masters. This seminary, however, has been so 
 far restored by the late King, Louis XVIII., and is now 
 called College Britannique, as it unites the three ancient 
 colleges, denominated English, Irish, and Scotch. In 
 the Irish department, the professors, sometimes exclu- 
 sively Irish, at others, French and Irish, are selected by 
 the President, who receives his ultimate appointment 
 from the King of France. 
 
 In conclusion, of these foreign seminaries it may be 
 stated that there are at the present moment about one 
 hundred and forty students at different colleges on the 
 Continent. Seventy of these are at Paris, about twelve 
 at Rome, and the remainder at Salamanca, Lisbon, and 
 various private French seminaries. A good many who 
 go abroad do so without any certain destination, but the 
 great body intend returning to their native land. The 
 funds still remaining in existence, consisting principally 
 of foundations made by Irishmen, as already stated, who 
 either funded sums of money abroad, or sent them from 
 Ireland, are calculated to be sufficient for the support of 
 about sixty students, at 800 francs annually for each, 
 if the entire income be so applied. 
 
 The great change produced by the French war and 
 Revolution suggested the necessity of Maynooth College. 
 It was resolved upon in 1795. The statutes, however, 
 were not printed till 1800, and in the list of Professors 
 there will be found one for the Irish Language : but the 
 fact is, that though there was a Professor of Modern 
 Languages in the original draft, the vernacular tongue 
 Itself was entirely overlooked ; at least it is certain that 
 there was originally no provision made for an Irish 
 Professor. But the set time for treating this long-pro-
 
 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 125 
 
 scribed language with common candour and more en- 
 lightened policy, it is to be hoped, had nearly arrived. 
 The tongue itself, however, as if in conformity with 
 ancient usage, must not, it seems, even yet receive, in 
 every respect, any formal and legal acknowledgment ; 
 yet indebted, as it had often been, to individual bene- 
 volence and an attachment most natural, it was at' last fa- 
 voured with a Professor's chair, upon its own native soil, 
 and the appointment has been printed among the others 
 since the period referred to. It was a single individual, 
 and he an Irishman, who enjoyed the gratification of 
 thus far befriending his country. Mr Keenan, a scriv- 
 ener in Dublin, " sunk one thousand pounds of his hard- 
 earned property, the produce of a long, laborious, and 
 economical life, for L.60 per annum, to support an Irish 
 Professor for teaching and instructing the students the 
 Irish language in the Irish character."* Accordingly, 
 in July 1802, the Rev. Paul O'Brien, author of the Irish 
 Grammar, in the Irish character, already mentioned, 
 was appointed to the chair. In June 1820, he was suc- 
 ceeded by the Rev. Martin Loftus : but even this chair, 
 the only one in Ireland, was vacant recently, and I am 
 not aware of any successor being yet appointed, other- 
 wise I should have mentioned the name. The books 
 used, besides the Irish Grammar and MacCurtin's Dic- 
 tionary, are the Irish New Testament and Donlevy's 
 Catechism. 
 
 In the effectual education of any tribe, there is a course 
 to which nature not only points, but constrains. In 
 every instance it is demonstrable, that the benevolent 
 visitor or resident must sit down and begin with the 
 people where God and nature begin with them. If we 
 
 * History of Dublin, vol. II., p. 929.
 
 ]26 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 
 
 descend not to their level, we shall never raise up any 
 save a mere fraction of the community, nor will that 
 fraction raise the remaining body. As to the vernacular 
 tongue, whatever that be, if we will not go back and 
 start here, the people, as such, stand still, and are left 
 behind. But truly, on such a subject as that of a libe- 
 ral education, naturally and necessarily taking its rise 
 from the first tongue in which a people have spoken, 
 and been accustomed to think, embracing too such an 
 aggregate of human beings under the British crown, and 
 after such a detail as the present, one is greatly at a loss 
 what to say. It has been drawn out, and facts placed in 
 this new light before the intelligent reader, in the hope 
 that they will instantly suggest to many the imperative 
 but pleasing duty of pursuing a course, more congenial 
 with the love of country and the good of Ireland. If 
 these poor dear people wish to have education, and let 
 the reader point, if he can, to that class in this kingdom 
 who desire it more, and if the language is dear to them, 
 as dear it is, let them have it to their hearts' content, and 
 as the only basis, too, of all effectual information and 
 happiness to the Irish mind in its present condition. 
 
 Within these few years, it is true, Irish education, 
 properly so called, has been making progress in various 
 districts, which will be afterwards noticed ; but still, if 
 a population so large is waiting without doors for in- 
 struction by the only medium through which they can 
 at present comprehend and estimate any moral or reli- 
 gious subject, how can it consist with our highest obli- 
 gations for matters to remain in their present state with 
 regard to schools of a higher description ? The bequest 
 of Mr Flood has failed ; but, oh ! surely, without wait- 
 ing for any eleemosynary windfall, were the enlighten- 
 ed members of Trinity College to take the subject into 
 impartial consideration, something might and ought to 
 be done, whether within or without the walls. To say 
 nothing of the kind spirit which is now abroad as to this
 
 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 127 
 
 language, they have not to proceed against a wind and 
 tide so strong as that which once unhappily prevailed. 
 In some of the Provosts of other days, there is this one 
 object which they prosecuted con amore ; and if busts or 
 pictures are desirable, assuredly Bedell and Boyle, 
 Marsh, and even Hall, deserve them in Trinity College 
 for this alone. When, however, the visitor of any school 
 of learning begins to commend it, for the past pre-emi- 
 nence or zeal of any of its members in any one depart- 
 ment of useful knowledge, there is an awkwardness felt 
 in receiving the compliment. A living representative 
 within the same enclosure, with all the improvements 
 which time has given, is wanted. And, oh ! had but a 
 few able men with undaunted constancy only walked in 
 the first foot-prints of Bedell, in what a different state 
 had Ireland been at the present hour ! Ere this time we 
 must have had authors upon Irish ground, and in other 
 tongues beside their own, who would unquestionably 
 have contributed to raise the character of this kingdom. 
 
 Were I, even here, in conclusion, to beg the intelli- 
 gent reader to fix his eye on the opinions, so decidedly 
 expressed, by successive monarchs of this country, cer- 
 tainly he would reply, " But horv is all this ? Has 
 there been all along, somewhere, behind the throne, a 
 power greater than the throne itself? As for the 
 eighteenth century, then, it should seem, all slept ; 
 but have you not already referred to Edward VI., Queen 
 Elizabeth, James I., Charles I., and Queen Anne?" 
 True, I reply, and they must be referred to once more 
 Meanwhile it only remains for the King again to lift his 
 voice, and see whether no change for the better can be 
 effected in a University of royal foundation, founded, 
 too, and plentifully endowed, " principallie" with a view 
 to the natives. 
 
 But, independently altogether of a Professorship in 
 Trinity College, or in the City, or both, (for rivalship 
 here would do great good,) there certainly ought, at all
 
 128 SCHOOLS OF LEARNING. 
 
 events, to be at least one fine school in Dublin, where 
 Irish should be taught thoroughly, grammatically, and 
 with taste, as a normal or model school for the country ; 
 and not only so, but in Cork, Limerick, and Galway, for 
 the benefit of surrounding districts, there ought to be 
 one of a similar description. This, however, will be 
 glanced at again, after we have noticed a subject of still 
 greater importance, one which, had it been regarded, 
 would have produced, as only one effect, all that for 
 which we now plead ; and the English language also, 
 very naturally a favourite theme with many in Ireland, 
 must have acquired an ascendency very different from 
 what it has done to this hour. However strange it 
 may seem to some ears, I refer to Irish oral instruction, 
 or Irish preaching, a subject which, in the present state 
 of the country, deserves the most deliberate and serious 
 consideration. 
 
 " It U fit that it should be'remembered, that near this city of Dublin there is an Univer- 
 sity, founded by Queen Elizabeth, principally intended for the Natires of this Kingdom." ; 
 
 JEREMY TAYLOR. 
 
 " We have reason to expect that in all this long tyme of our peaceable government, some 
 good numbers of the Natives should have been trained upp in that College." 
 
 JAMES I. 
 
 " Prudence and skill for the management of ourselves in reference to others, in civil at'- 
 fain, for public good, U much the fairest flower within the border of Nature's garden." 
 
 JOHN OWEN.
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION; 
 
 Including Historical notices of all that has yet been effected in Preaching to the 
 Natives in their vernacular tongue, and the present deplorable condition of the 
 Country with regard to a stated Ministry in the language of the Irish people. 
 
 READING one day an account of Ireland, of compara- 
 tively recent date, and considerable value, when refer- 
 ring to some of the Irish gentlemen resident in certain 
 parts, who are able to speak in Irish and converse with 
 the people, I found the writer add, in passing, that they 
 are thus able not only to ' ' ascertain their wants, but to 
 assist with their advice, and restrain by admonition." 
 
 Any man, therefore, who, in these parts, cannot thus 
 talk, let his profession be what it may, it seems cannot 
 well do any thing of this sort cannot ascertain these 
 wants assist with this advice or restrain by this 
 warning. I not only understand, but, in some degree, 
 can confirm this remark, having, when in the country, 
 tried the effect of only two or three words in Irish, 
 and the response was immediate they had reached the 
 heart. 
 
 But then there is such a thing as the care of the soul, 
 there are wants of greater moment than any which 
 relate to this transitory state of being, there is advice, 
 which may prepare for a dying hour, admonition, 
 which may avert dangers beyond it : and if Irish is ne- 
 cessary for the good and the comfort of these our coun- 
 trymen, as peasantry, I presume it will not be denied
 
 130 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 that it must be much more so, when they are regarded 
 not only as rational and intelligent, but accountable be- 
 ings. But if so, to every minister of Christ, standing 
 upon Irish ground, this is an important and serious con- 
 sideration. " Not having been able to speak Irish," 
 must another day be regarded as a poor apology ; and 
 if there is to be such a thing hereafter as the confronting 
 of parties, for the establishment of criminal neglect and 
 greater condemnation,* the ability of Irishmen in higher 
 walks to converse with their dependants on the affairs of 
 this life may well be pondered by those whose duty it 
 is, through the same medium, to " rest and expatiate 
 on a life to come." Besides, not only by men of his 
 own particular communion, but by all those who upon 
 Irish ground have so long neglected a duty at once so 
 manifest and incumbent, it should never be forgotten 
 that a witness of no common character has gone before 
 them 
 
 Bedell's grave 
 Is in thy keeping and with thee 
 Deposited, doth this man's holy dust 
 
 Await the archangel's call. 
 
 But for the present, sat verbum sapienti ; here at least I 
 forbear to add more, and proceed to facts. 
 
 It is rather a singular circumstance, that at such a 
 remote period in the history of Ireland as the fifteenth 
 century, in the year 1483-4, we find an archbishop of 
 Dublin petitioning parliament to relieve him from the 
 inconvenience which its outlawry of the Irish tongue 
 had occasioned ; nay, he succeeded in obtaining a statute 
 to be passed, which explains the inconvenience. It 
 shows, that because the English clergy were ignorant 
 of the Irish tongue, the cure of souls in some parts of 
 his diocese, in the very neighbourhood of Dublin, was 
 " piteously neglected ;" and it enacted, that he should 
 
 * Matt xii. 41, 42.; Ezek. xxxiii. 8. ; Prov. xxiv. 11, 12.
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 131 
 
 have liberty to present natives to certain of his livings, 
 a thing which, at that time, under Richard the Third, 
 and long before, was contrary to the statute law.* The 
 liberty here granted, however, was to last only for two 
 years, which turned out to be the close of Richard's 
 usurpation. It is true that, in this early age, so far as 
 the performances of public worship were concerned, an 
 ability to hold conversation with the inhabitants was 
 not requisite, as the service was conducted in Latin ; 
 and yet it appears, from this application, that ignorance 
 of the vernacular tongue was even then regarded as in- 
 jurious to the interests of the natives ; so that the first 
 testimony thus given, let it be observed, comes to us at 
 a period previous to that which has been styled the Re- 
 formation. 
 
 I have spoken of this period as early, since it is nearly 
 three hundred and fifty years from the present day ; 
 and it will remain for the reader to notice, whether the 
 grievance referred to has ever been redressed. But 
 there is another point of view in which such an incident 
 should be observed, and that is with reference to the 
 ages which had preceded it. It was now more than 
 three hundred years since Henry II. had invaded Ire- 
 land, yet it should seem as if the Irish language were 
 still almost universally prevalent. Whatever scepticism 
 may still exist as to earlier ages, therefore, if the precise 
 extent to which the Irish tongue was then spoken can 
 be ascertained, it seems proper that the reader should 
 here be apprised of it before proceeding farther. The 
 Irish septs or clans, it is admitted, " were still uncon- 
 nected, and their attention confined to their local inte- 
 rests. Several lived peaceably in the English counties, 
 but others maintained an independent state even in the 
 very neighbourhood of Dublin."t Now, with respect 
 
 * Stat. 2 Rich. III. c. 10, and 5 Ed. IV. anno 1465. t Leland II. p. G8.
 
 132 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 to the language, there is a treatise or discourse in manu- 
 script, extant in the library of Trinity College, in which 
 the affairs of Ireland are copiously examined, the date 
 of which cannot be later than the year 1494, and the re- 
 searches of the author have been subsequently pro- 
 nounced to be accurate. He recounts no less than sixty 
 regions or districts, of different dimensions, still govern- 
 ed by Irish chieftains, according to their ancient laws and 
 manners, together with a long catalogue of English, who 
 had degenerated and renounced obedience to the English 
 law and customs in several provinces. The Pale, as it 
 has been called, he confines within the narrow bounds 
 of half the counties of Uriel or Orgiel, Meath, Kildare, 
 Dublin, and Wexford, that is, in fact, only a narrow 
 stripe of territory along the east coast, from about New- 
 ry to Wexford, and yet the common people of even 
 these districts he represents as conforming to the Irish 
 habit and language." The truth is, that the intercourse 
 with the Native Irish, by fostering, marriage, and al- 
 liance, was general, the Lord Deputy himself having 
 set the example. The remedies proposed by this author 
 I need not specify, my only object being to glance at 
 the extent of the Irish language more than three hun- 
 dred years after Henry the Second. Many of these re-- 
 medics, however, were afterwards tried, as the discourse 
 itself is said to have been presented to the King (Henry 
 VII.) and his council. 
 
 Forty years later, the wide extent, if not universal 
 prevalence, of the Irish tongue is manifest from the 
 terms of a parliamentary statute. It was passed in 1537, 
 the 28th year of Henry VIII., in which, bent only upon 
 extending the English order, habit, and language, not 
 the direct and real progress of knowledge, it was enacted, 
 that f' if any spiritual promotion within this land at any 
 i 
 
 * Pandarus, sive Salus Populi. MS. Trin. Coll. Dublin.
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 133 
 
 time become void, such as have title to nominate shall 
 nominate to the same such a person as can speak Eng- 
 lish, and none o/ter, 1( "unless there can be no person as 
 can speak English will accept it ; and if the patron can- 
 not, within three months, get any such person that can 
 speak English, then he shall cause jour proclamations to 
 be openly made, at four several market-days, in the next 
 market-town adjoining to the said spiritual promotion, 
 that if any fit person that can speak English will come and 
 take the same, he shall have it; and if none come within 
 five weeks after the first proclamation, then the patron 
 may present any honest, able man, albeit he cannot 
 speak English.'^This, however, was not all. By the 
 next clause of the same act, should the patron have no- 
 minated a native who could not speak English, contrary 
 to the form here prescribed, the nomination was void, 
 when the king presented ; and should " the king be 
 interrupted, he shall have a quare impedit against the 
 disturber." Nay, should the king present a man who 
 could not speak English, contrary to the form, the pre- 
 sentation was void, and reverted to the patron. After 
 all this, in the event of a native being the only person 
 to be found and appointed, it was under an oath that he 
 " endeavour himself to learn the English tongue and 
 language, if he may learn and attain the same by possi- 
 bility ;" and another oath, " that he shall, to his wit 
 and cunning, endeavour himself to learn and teach the 
 English tongue to all under his governance, and shall 
 preach the word of God in English, if he can preach." 
 The ecclesiastic appointing any one, contrary to this 
 form, to forfeit, for every time, L.3 : 6 : 8, one moiety to 
 the king, the other to the pursuer ; and every incum- 
 bent, for the first offence, six shillings and eightpence ; 
 for the second, twenty shillings ; and for the third, his 
 promotion itself! 
 
 Such was the act passed at this period in reference to 
 all those natural signs which this ancient people had 
 
 ^
 
 134 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 been accustomed to employ for ages, when communi- 
 cating to each other their thoughts and intentions, their 
 purposes and desires. So strange does the instrument 
 of speech appear, when in the hands of a human legis- 
 lator ! The act itself might have been passed over, had 
 it not been so frequently referred to, in subsequent ge- 
 nerations, to enforce the purposes of a baneful expedi- 
 ency, and because it may serve as a contrast to the 
 noble exertions of Bedell in the preceding and following 
 pages. 
 
 What steps were actually taken to enforce this act, it 
 is unnecessary to inquire, (the parliamentary commis- 
 sioners of our day have said, it is impossible to ascer- 
 tain,) but as to the state of the country, when the best 
 of evidence was produced, only fifteen years after this, 
 in 1552, no wonder that it was deplorable. " Hard it 
 is," said Sir Thomas Cusack, the Lord Chancellor of 
 Ireland, under Edward VI., " that men should know 
 their duties to God and the King, when they shall not 
 hear teaching or preaching throughout the year." At a 
 period when England had so far burst the shackles of 
 ignorance, and when the common people were begin- 
 ning to hear gladly, then it was that this Chancellor 
 complained of Ireland " Preaching we have none, 
 which is our lack, without which the ignorant can have 
 no knowledge."* Meanwhile, says an authority which, 
 on this department of Irish history, will not be ques- 
 tioned, " Even within the English pale the Irish lan- 
 guage was become predominant " and " in those tracts 
 of Irish territory which intersected the English settle- 
 ments, no other language was at all known ; so that 
 here the wretched flock was totally inaccessible to those 
 strangers who had become their nominal pastors ;" while, 
 at the same moment, such men as " spoke to their coun- 
 trymen in their own language were heard with atten- 
 
 * See Cusack 's Letter to the Duke of Northumberland, dated 1552. MSS. Trin. 
 Col. Dublin.
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 135 
 
 tion, favour, and affection."* It is true, that the year 
 before this, 1551, the 5th of Edward VI., the English 
 Common Prayer-Book had been ordered to be read in 
 the Irish churches ; but what could this avail in a coun- 
 try where the people, whether high or low, knew neither 
 the meaning nor pronunciation of the language.t 
 
 In the following reign, however, even these measures 
 were abandoned, till the accession of Elizabeth, when they 
 were again resumed. Two large English Bibles were 
 then sent over, in 15o9, at her expense, for public per- 
 usal, and an opportunity was offered to the people for 
 hearing them read in the cathedrals of Christ Church 
 and St Patrick in Dublin : but this alteration had no 
 other effect than that which might have been anticipat- 
 ed. It " disgusted the natives especially, who were not 
 at all regarded in it," the public worship being to them 
 as unintelligible as ever. And what continued to be the 
 condition of the country at large, or even as far as the 
 English authority had extended, the language of the 
 Irish parliament will best explain. The reader will ob- 
 serve it marks its preference for the Irish tongue ; but 
 then this act of Henry VIII. Elizabeth's father, stood 
 in the way, while now it seems that ministers speaking 
 English were nowhere to be found ! Thus situated, 
 what was to be done ? Hear the preamble to the Act 
 of Uniformity : " And forasmuch as in most places of 
 this realm there cannot be found English ministers to 
 serve in the churches or places appointed for common 
 prayer, and that if some good meane were provided^ 
 that they might use the prayers, &c. in such language 
 as they might best understand, the due honour of God 
 should be thereby much advanced; and for that also, 
 
 * Leland, II. p. 94. 
 
 t At the same time I am aware that King Edward, in his instructions to Sir 
 James Croft, wished the service to be translated into Irish, but this was only the 
 first of a class, which may be entitled, " royal orders unfulfilled."
 
 136 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 that the same may not be in their native language, as 
 well for difficultie to get it printed, as that few in the 
 whole realm can read the Irishe letters : We do there- 
 fore most humbly beseech your Majesty, that it may be 
 enacted by the authority of this present parliament, that 
 in every such church, where the common minister hathe 
 not the use of the English tongue, it shall be lawful to 
 say or use all their common and open prayer in the 
 Latin tongue." Enacted accordingly, so it was, by the 
 statute 2d of Elizabeth, sect. xiii. anno 1559, 60. If 
 any thing can be more lamentable than the policy thus 
 adopted towards our Native Irish countrymen, it is the 
 coolness with which it has been referred to by historians 
 since. More than two hundred years after this, so late 
 as 1783, says Leland, " if this did not effectually pro- 
 vide for the edification of the people, it, at least, served 
 to sheathe the acrimony of their prejudices against the 
 reformed worship !" 
 
 Eleven years after this act, in ] 571 , it may be remem- 
 bered that the Queen herself provided a printing-press 
 and Irish types ; but no one had as yet urged the impe- 
 rious necessity of proclaiming the word of life in the 
 vernacular tongue. The first individual who advised 
 this did so with great earnestness, in consequence of his 
 visiting the country itself, having " passed thorough 
 eche province, and bene almost in eche county thereof." 
 This was Sir Henry Sidney, the affectionate playfellow 
 and companion of Edward the Sixth, and in whose arms 
 he expired, now appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland. 
 " His disposition," says Dr Powell, " was rather to seek 
 after the antiquities and the weal-public of these coun- 
 tries which he governed, than to obtain lands and reve- 
 nues within the same ; for I know not one foot of land 
 that he had either in Wales or Ireland."* On returning 
 
 1 Powel's History of Wales.
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 137 
 
 from his tour, which lasted six months, having resolved 
 to lay before Queen Elizabeth the state of the country, 
 and the absolute necessity for ministers of the word; in 
 his letter, dated 28th April, 1576, he says, " in choyce 
 of which ministers for the " remote places where the 
 Englishe tongue is not understood, it is most necessarie 
 that soche be chosen as can speake Irishe, for which 
 searche would be made first and spedylie in your own 
 universities ; and any found there well affected in reli- 
 gion, and well conditioned beside, they would be ani- 
 mated by your Majestie ; yea, though it were somewhat 
 at your Highness' chardge ; and on peril of my liffe you 
 shall fynde it retorned with fayme before three yeares 
 be expired. If there be no soche there, or not inough, 
 for I wish tene or twelve at the least to be sent, then I 
 do wish that you would write to the Regent of Scot- 
 lande, where, as I learne, there are many that are of 
 this language, that he would prefer to your Highness so 
 many as shall seem good to you to demande of honest, 
 zealous, and learned men, and that could speak this lan- 
 guage ; and though for a while your Majestie were at 
 some chardge, it were well bestowed, for in short time 
 their own preferments would be able to suffice them, 
 and in the meane time thousands would be gayned to 
 Christ, that now are lost, or left at the woorst."* 
 
 Twenty-five years after this letter, in 1601, Lord Ba- 
 con, then in retirement, and reflecting on the state of 
 this country, wrote a, letter to Secretary Cecil, enclosing 
 certain " considerations touching the Queen's service," 
 in which he embraces " the causes of Ireland, if they be 
 taken by the right handle ;" " to which purpose," says 
 he, " I send you mine opinion, without labour of words, 
 
 * In this long letter, written with his own hand to the Queen, one name is men- 
 tioned with special commendation, Mr Hugh Brady. This was a progenitor of 
 Nicholas, the versifier of the English Psalms. Both Tate and Brady were Irish, 
 men.
 
 138 ORAL INSTRUCT ION. 
 
 in the enclosed ; and sure I am, that if you shall enter 
 into the matter, according to the vivacity of your own 
 spirit, nothing can make you a more gainful return." 
 The second division of this paper is entitled " The Re- 
 covery of the Hearts of the People." Towards this he 
 says, " there be three things in natura rerum. 1. Reli- 
 gion. 2. Justice and protection. 3. Obligation and re- 
 ward." " For religion, to speak first of society and then 
 of policy, all divines do agree, that if consciences be to 
 be enforced (invigorated) at all, two things must pre- 
 cede ; the one, means of instruction ; the other, time of 
 operation ; neither of which they have yet had." Ac- 
 cordingly, when Bacon comes to specify his " course of 
 advancing religion indeed," he proposes sending " some 
 good preachers, especially of that sort which are zealous 
 persuaders and not scholastical, to be resident in the 
 principal towns ; replenishing the college begun at Dub- 
 lin, placing good men to be bishops, and taking care of 
 the versions of bibles and catechisms, and other books 
 of instruction, into the Irish language." 
 
 In the year 1620, a letter was addressed to the Lord 
 Deputy of Ireland, Lord Chichester, by King James I., 
 to which reference has been already made.* " Because 
 we understand," said his Majesty before the passage 
 formerly quoted, " that the simple natives of that our 
 kingdom are still kept in darkness, &c., which proceed- 
 eth through want of Ministers who could speak their own 
 language, whom they may understand," and because 
 the College was founded " principallie" with this in 
 view; therefore he added, " when any livings that are 
 not of any very great value fall void among the meere 
 Irishe, these men (towardlie young men, alreadie fitted 
 with the knowledge of the Irish tongue) to be thought 
 upon before others, or to be placed with other able mi- 
 
 * Page 105.
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 139 
 
 nisters that possess livings among the meere Irishe, 
 (where, for the defect of the language, they are able to 
 do but little good,) to be interpreters to them, and to be 
 maintained by them after they are made fit for that im- 
 ployment." 
 
 Thus we have Sidney and Lord Bacon urging the 
 necessity of an Irish ministry, and the King himself 
 still more urgent; and what was the result? There 
 was one, and, as far as it can be ascertained, but one so- 
 litary instance of compliance. This was a Scotch High- 
 land minister, Mr Donald M'Feig, who was incumbent 
 of Cahercorney, in the -county of Limerick : at least so 
 it should seem by the records of the Board of First 
 Fruits. 
 
 In the second year of the following reign, 1626, 
 Charles I. wrote to Archbishop Ussher much in the 
 same strain, not only ratifying the instructions of his 
 father to the Lord Deputy, but desiring to " make some 
 necessarie addition to the same." He therefore requires 
 of Ussher to " take especial care, that the people there 
 may be instructed in the principles of religion by those 
 to whom it appertayneth ; and that the New Testament 
 and Book of Common Prayer, translated into Irish, be 
 frequently used in the parishes of the Irishrie; and that 
 every non-resident there do constantly keepe and con- 
 tinue one to read service in the Irish tongue, as is ex- 
 pressly commanded by the said orders," issued by King 
 James. The fact is, the propositions in this letter were 
 suggested to the King by Archbishop Ussher.* By this 
 time nearly fifty years had passed away since Sir Henry 
 Sidney had strongly urged the absolute necessity of mi- 
 nisters in the native language being employed Lord 
 
 * Lay hands suddenly on no man, was a maxim of the Primate's ; yet in the 
 course of his life he ordained one man, who, though not versed in the learned lan- 
 guages, was well acquainted with the Scriptures and books of practical divinity. 
 When this person first applied to Ussher, he remarked that his preaching would 
 be of little use, unless it was understood by the people. The man promised to ac- 
 quire the language of the natives ; and effecting this in one year, he was then or- 
 dained, when his ministry is said to have been very useful
 
 140 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 Bacon, James, Charles, and Ussher, having followed 
 him, and each of them alike in earnest in recommending 
 the same measure, but literally nothing had as yet been 
 done. 
 
 At this juncture Bedell arrived in Dublin, and no 
 sooner had he set his foot upon Irish ground, than he 
 almost immediately turned his attention to the prepara- 
 tion of young Irishmen for public usefulness. Where he 
 had found a suitable person does not appear; but although 
 he was only two years Provost of Trinity College, even 
 during that short period he had instituted an " Irish 
 lecture." So in the year 1629, only the third of his re- 
 sidence in Ireland, Laud, the Chancellor, having occa- 
 sion to write to Primate Ussher, says " the King likes 
 wondrous well of the Irish lecture begun by Mr Bedell, 
 and the course of sending such young men as your Grace 
 mentions." Bedell himself, also, in a letter to Ussher, 
 the 18th September, 1630, mentions one of these young 
 men as having translated his catechism into Irish, who 
 had been instructed at the Irish lecture in Dublin, in- 
 stituted in the time of his provostship. 
 
 Four years after this, at the convocation of 1634, we 
 find the subject referred to, at least with reference to the 
 Scriptures being read, and service performed in the Irish 
 tongue, as already noticed." To the instructions then 
 given, however, alas ! no person paid any attention ex- 
 cept Bedell, notwithstanding the success which had at- 
 tended his exertions under circumstances so unpropi- 
 tious. The melancholy state of his diocese has been al- 
 ready described ; but nothing could discourage him 
 from following out his principles. The propositions of 
 statesmen, the official recommendations of royalty, the 
 deliberations and resolutions of a convocation were not 
 necessary to kindle his zeal in the cause. The senti- 
 ments contained in them all, when urging a ministry in 
 
 * Page 61.
 
 ORAL INSTRCCTIOtf. 141 
 
 the language of this or of any other country, were in- 
 deed his own, and it is known also that they were 
 his before arriving in Ireland ; but, in his mind, these 
 sentiments were also living principles of action, such 
 as no power upon earth could have generated, and 
 from which no consideration under heaven could 
 turn him aside. It is indeed refreshing to meet with 
 such a man at such a time, devoted to the best in- 
 terests of a people who had been so long neglected^ 
 more especially when it is observed that they have been 
 neglected since, nay are neglected still. In all stages of 
 society those unquestionably deserve grateful and ever- 
 lasting remembrance, who, outstripping the rest of their 
 contemporaries, rise up in solitary majesty amidst a 
 host of prejudices, combating intrepidly on one side, 
 however assailed on the other. And though it is humi- 
 liating to reflect, that the perplexities which Bedell was 
 called to suffer arose simply from his upright zeal, in 
 fulfilling the recommendations and recorded sentiments 
 of many preceding years to him belongs the credit of 
 having first trodden a path in which other men of our 
 own day must yet follow. 
 
 The existing state of things in Cavan being once as- 
 certained and surveyed by Bedell, not a day was lost in 
 applying to his work. His setting himself in good ear- 
 nest to acquire the vernacular tongue, was soon observed 
 to be regarded by the natives in the light of a great 
 compliment, while it lent grace and consistency to his 
 fixed purpose with regard to others who were called to 
 engage in the ministry around him. Both his dioceses 
 being inhabited almost wholly by Native Irish, an abi- 
 lity to preach in their language " he looked upon as an 
 absolutely necessary qualification in every minister to be 
 employed under him ; and therefore he rejected several 
 simply for want of this." Assured that the natives 
 could not understand the way of salvation, except 
 through the medium of the language which they had
 
 142 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 used from infancy, in all his collations he kept this in 
 view, and, on such occasions, was in the habit of address- 
 ing the individual in the following terms : " Obtesting 
 you in the name of the Lord, and enjoining you, by vir- 
 tue of that obedience which you owe to the Chief Shep- 
 herd, that you will diligently feed his flock committed 
 to your care, which he purchased with his own blood ; 
 that you instruct them in the Catholic faith, and perform 
 divine offices in a tongue understood by the people." In 
 his own church, while the Scriptures in Irish were 
 read, he was always present, till at last he was well able 
 to engage in the service himself. The efforts of this en- 
 lightened man were not in vain. Not only were he and 
 others made useful to the people, but some men of ta- 
 lent were converted to God, and several of these after- 
 wards employed by him in preaching to their country- 
 men. Bedell, however, did nothing superficially. He 
 had no idea of spending time in winning over any man 
 to a mere creed or solitary scriptural opinion. Into 
 such, therefore, as now came willingly for instruction, 
 " he took great pains" to convey " a true sense of reli- 
 gion," that so they might prove Christians indeed. The 
 trumpet gave a certain sound, but the object of his de- 
 sire was to be found not only warning every man, but 
 " teaching every man in all wisdom, that he might pre- 
 sent every man perfect in Christ Jesus." Such exer- 
 tions will ever be found the best preparation for seasons 
 of agitation, turbulence, or distress. Thus, in the year 
 1641, of those well-informed persons under Bedell's mi- 
 nistry only one solitary individual relapsed.* 
 
 With the death of this excellent man almost all ac- 
 
 * Thus also, in a district of our Highlands, I may add, that, amidst the public 
 commotions of 1688, scarcely any of those Highlanders who had received even 
 Irish Bibles through the bounty of Mr Boyle, or had been instructed, through 
 Gaelic, in the knowledge of the truth, were at all implicated, nor did they join 
 the adversaries of the settlement at that period. 
 7
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 143 
 
 tual exertion died likewise. His Irish manuscript was 
 allowed to remain for above forty years without being 
 printed, as already noticed ; and as for any man preach- 
 ing to the people in their own language during that pe- 
 riod, frequent attempts have ended in discovering not 
 more than two or three instances. These, however, 
 certainly deserve to be recorded, were it only for the 
 purpose of preserving the chain of attestation to the ne- 
 cessity of measures which have not been pursued even 
 to the present hour ! 
 
 The first of these instances was in the time of the 
 Protectorate. Amidst the perplexities of that period, 
 various individuals, equally eminent for learning and 
 piety, visited Ireland, and the condition of the Native 
 Irish could not escape their notice. In the year 1649, 
 Dr Owen having one day called on General Fairfax, 
 just before leaving London for Coggeshall, Cromwell 
 came in, and this being the first time he had met with 
 Owen in private, he walked up to him, and laying his 
 hand on his shoulder, said, " Sir, you are the man with 
 whom I must be acquainted." Taking him aside into the 
 garden, he mentioned his intended expedition to Ireland, 
 and requested his company with a view to the affairs of 
 Trinity College. After using entreaty, Cromwell had to 
 employ his authority, and Owen returned, not to regret 
 his compliance, but to urge it upon others to cross the 
 Channel too. Arriving in July, 1649, he took up his 
 residence in Trinity College, and afterwards in Dublin 
 Castle. Here, though not in his usual health, and bur- 
 dened with manifold employments, he was, at the same 
 time, engaged, he says, in " constant preaching to a nu- 
 merous multitude of as thirsting a people after the Gos- 
 pel as he had ever conversed with."* Owen remained 
 only about six months in Ireland, but he saw enough to 
 
 * Owen's Works, 8vo, vol. v. p. 649.
 
 144 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 affect his mind deeply, and on his return had resolved 
 that others should, if possible, feel with him. Accord- 
 ingly, on the 28th of February, 1650, a day of humilia- 
 tion throughout the kingdom, having returned to Lon- 
 don, and being called to preach in public before the par- 
 liament, his heart was full of anxiety respecting Ireland. 
 In the course of his sermon, therefore, he addressed par- 
 liament in the following terms : " God hath been faith- 
 ful in doing great things for you, be faithful in this one, 
 do your utmost for the preaching of the Gospel in 
 Ireland. Give me leave to add a few motives to this 
 duty. 1. They want it. No want like theirs who want 
 the Gospel. I would there were for the present one 
 Gospel preacher for every walled town in the English 
 possessions in Ireland. The land mourneth, and the 
 people perish for want of knowledge : many run to and 
 fro, but it is upon other designs knowledge is not in- 
 creased. 2. They are sensible of their wants, and cry 
 out for supply. The tears and cries of the inhabitants 
 of Dublin after the manifestations of Christ are ever in 
 my view. If they were in the dark, and loved to have 
 it so, it might somewhat close a door on the bowels of 
 our compassion ; but they cry out of their darkness, and 
 are ready to follow every one, to have a candle. If their 
 being without the Gospel move not our hearts, it is 
 hoped their importunate cries will disquiet our rest, and 
 wrest help as a beggar doth an alms." Again he says, 
 " What then shall we do ? This thing is often spoken 
 of, seldom driven to a close ! First, Pray the Lord of 
 the harvest, that He would send out, that he would 
 thrust forth labourers into his harvest. The labourers 
 are ready to say, ' there is a lion in the way, and diffi- 
 culties to be contended withal.' And to some men it is 
 hard seeing a call of God through difficulties ; when, if 
 it would but clothe itself with a few carnal advantages, 
 how apparent is it to them ! Be earnest then with the 
 Master of these labourers, in whose hand is their life
 
 OKAL INSTRUCTION. 145 
 
 and breath, and all their ways, that he would powerful- 
 ly constrain them to be willing to enter into the fields 
 that are white for the harvest. Secondly, Make such 
 provision, that those who will go may be fenced from 
 outward straits and fears, so far as the uncertainty of 
 human affairs in general, and the present tumultuating 
 perturbations will admit. And let not this, I beseech 
 you, be the business of an unpursued order ; but, third- 
 ly, Let some be appointed (generals die and sink by 
 themselves,) to consider this thing, and to hear what 
 sober proposals may be made by any whose hearts God 
 shall stir up to so good a work. This, I say, is a work 
 wherein God expecteth faithfulness from you : stagger 
 not at his promises nor your own duty. However, by 
 all means possible in this business I have strived to de- 
 liver my own soul !" 
 
 This powerful appeal was not in vain ; and the effects 
 which followed it well deserve to be recorded, more es- 
 pecially as, before the first edition of this volume, a dis- 
 tinct account of them had never been published, and 
 here it is considerably enlarged. 
 
 It was in July, 1649, that Owen went to Ireland, 
 where he remained till January following, On the 28th 
 February he preached the sermon just quoted, and 
 one week after this, that is, on the 8th of March, 
 1650, parliament passed an ordinance for the encourage- 
 ment of religion and learning in Ireland. By this act, 
 certain lands were devoted to the support of Trinity Col- 
 lege and the endowment of its professors ; for erecting 
 another College in Dublin, and maintaining its teach- 
 ers ; and for the erection of a free school, as well as the 
 support of the master and scholars. Nor was this " the 
 business of an unpursued order," as Owen had depre- 
 cated. Parliament immediately appointed four commis- 
 sioners to proceed to Ireland ; and also requested Dr 
 Samuel Winter of Queen's College, Cambridge, then at 
 Cottingham, near Hull, to accompany them. Renoun-
 
 146 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 cing a living of L.400 per annum, and without stipulating 
 what support he should receive for himself and his fa- 
 mily, he consented and went. His appointment was 
 first fixed at only L.100 a-year ; but, being possessed of 
 some property, he resolved to lay himself out for the 
 benefit of Ireland. Being appointed Provost of Trinity 
 College, under his care it revived and flourished ; for so 
 zealous was he in promoting its interests, that, upon his 
 leaving it before the Restoration, it was indebted to him 
 a considerable sum, which he had disbursed for the pub- 
 lic good out of his own property. 
 
 Owen, however, in his discourse before Parliament, 
 had also said, " How is it that Jesus Christ is in Ireland 
 only as a lion staining all his garments with the blood of 
 his enemies, and none to hold him up as a lamb sprinkled 
 with his own blood to his friends ? Is it the sovereignty 
 and interest of England that is alone to be there trans- 
 acted ? For my part, I see no farther into the mystery 
 of these things, but that I could heartily rejoice that, in- 
 nocent blood being expiated, the Irish might enjoy Ire- 
 land so long as the moon endureth, so that Jesus Christ 
 might possess the Irish." Accordingly, four days more 
 had only elapsed, when the Parliament also resolved to 
 send over six of the most eminent preachers to Dublin ; 
 but the number who went to Ireland ultimately was far 
 from being confined to six. Besides Dr Winter, the city 
 enjoyed the labours of Mr Thomas Patient, Mr John 
 Murcot, Mr Christopher Blackwood, Dr Thomas Harri- 
 son, Mr Charnock, Mr Samuel Mather, Mr Edward 
 Veal, Dr Daniel Williams, Mr Nathaniel Mather, and 
 others ; not to mention those ministers who either went 
 at their own charge, or were sent and settled for a sea- 
 son in Waterford and Clonmell, Cork and Kilkenny, 
 Limerick and Galway, Lurgan and Carrickfergus.* 
 
 * These excellent men I have mentioned in the order in which they went 
 across the Channel, where, for several years, we find them preaching with consi-
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 147" 
 
 The condition of the Native Irish, for whose sake, 
 "chiefly, these names are mentioned, was not overlooked. 
 
 derable effect. Da WINTER, who accompanied the first commissioners, in 1650, 
 went with them into the four provinces, was their domestic chaplain, and preach, 
 ed in public every Sabbath, wherever he came. Settling down in Dublin, he 
 used to officiate regularly in the Cathedral ; but as soon as other ministers came 
 over, who took their turn, not willing to be idle, he set up a lecture in St Nicholas, 
 every Sabbatli morning at seven o'clock, and even this early service was frequent- 
 ed by the Commissioners, the city Magistrates, and many others. While Provost 
 of Trinity, Dr W. had occasion to preach one day at Maynooth, and the people be- 
 ing so very attentive, he rode over every three weeks, and preached there for some 
 years, where God was pleased to bless his efforts by the conversion of many Eng- 
 lish and Irish, who flocked to hear him. He returned to England in 1662, and 
 died In Rutlandshire, 24th Dec. 1666. See his Life; London, 1671, ISmo. MR 
 PATIENT, from New England, if he did not accompany the first Commissioners, was 
 in Ireland as soon, since a letter from him is to be found in Milton's State Papers, 
 dated from Kilkenny, 15th April, 1650. After travelling into various parts, he re- 
 mained for several years in Dublin ; preaching at the Cathedral, with Dr W., and 
 at Christ Church before the Council. He was then appointed an evangelist to 
 preach up and down through the country returned to London about 1660 was 
 co-pastor with Mr William Kiffen, and died there six years afterwards. In 1651, 
 MR JOHN MURCOT, invited by the Commissioners, and also from Belfast, went by 
 sea, and was exposed to great danger from pirates, then infesting the coast. He 
 officiated both in Dublin and Cork with great acceptance ; but died 3d December, 
 1654, at the early age of 30. In the year 1652-3, MR BLACK WOOD went with Fleet- 
 wood and Ludlow, to whom he dedicates his treatises on Repentance, Excellency 
 of Christ, &c. in 1655. He preached at Kilkenny, Wexford, and ultimately in 
 Dublin for years. In 1655-6, Dr Harrison, Mr Charnock, and Mr S. Mather, came 
 to Ireland. DR HARRISON, trained up for the ministry in New England, preached 
 with acceptance at Christ Church, and though affected by the Restoration, as all 
 these men were, he continued to preach in Dublin till his death a few years after. 
 Much grief was expressed at his decease, when his funeral sermon was preached 
 by Dr Williams. CHARNOCK used to have many of the higher ranks for his hear- 
 ers ; but he did not remain above four or five years. Ma S. MATHER, the author 
 of the treatise on the Figures and Types of the Old Testament, who had gone with 
 his parents to New England in 1635, was educated at Harvard College, and was its 
 first Fellow. On his return to Britain, having been chosen one of the chaplains in 
 Magdalen College, Oxford, he was sent with the Commissioners into Scotland, and 
 preached for two years at Leith. On coming to Dublin, he officiated at St Nicho- 
 las became Senior Fellow of Trinity, and though also affected by the act of 1662, 
 he continued his ministry over a Christian church in this city till his death, 29th 
 October, 1671, in the 16th year of his age, where he was succeeded by his brother 
 after mentioned. Mr M. was the eldest son of one eminent minister, the brother 
 of three others, and uncle of the well-known Dr Cotton Mather. When a com- 
 mission was drawn out by the Lord-deputy, for removing the episcopal ministers 
 of Munster, it was Mather who declined, saying, that " he was called into the 
 country to preach the gospel not to hinder others from doing so." MR VEAL, who 
 went to Dublin about 1657, during his abode in Trinity College was eminently 
 useful in the instruction of the students. He returned to London in 1662, was 
 chaplain to Sir W. Waller, and died in June, 1708, aged 76. He was one of the 
 publishers of Charnock's Works. DR DANIEL WILLIAMS, the founder of the li- 
 brary in Red Cross Street, London, went to Ireland in 1667, as chaplain to the
 
 148 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 These commissioners and Dr Winter having landed in 
 Ireland, within two years we find the valuable Irish 
 catechism, with rules for reading the language, already 
 referred to (page 71) had been printed; for it seems to 
 have been in the reign of Charles II. that the types 
 were carried away by the Jesuits. And with regard to 
 an Irish ministry, in the books of the Privy Council of- 
 fice we find the following extract, dated from Dublin 
 Castle, and subscribed by the four parliamentary com- 
 missioners : " Upon reading the report of Doctor Win- 
 ter, Doctor Harrison, Mr Wooten, and Mr Chambers, 
 touching Mr James Carey, and of his fitness and abili- 
 tyes to preach the word, both in English and Irish, and 
 upon consideration had thereof, and of the useful- 
 ness of gifts in order to the conversion of the poore ig- 
 norant native, it is thought fitt and ordered, that the 
 said Mr Carey doe preach to the Irish at Bride's parish, 
 once every Lord's day, and that he doe occasionally re- 
 pair to Trim and Athye, to preach as aforesaid, and that 
 for his care and paines therein he be allowed the sallary 
 of sixty pounds p. annum, to be paid quarterly," &c. 
 " Dated at Dublin Castle the 3d of March, 1656. 
 
 R. P , M. C , R. G , M. T ."* 
 
 Countess of Meath, and was pastor of a church in Wood Street, Dublin, for twenty 
 years. In 1687 he returned to London, where he officiated till his death in Janu- 
 ary, 1716, aged 72. Dr Edward Calamy was his assistant for seven years. MR N. 
 MATHER, educated partly at Harvard College, and partly in England, who was first 
 at Harberton and Barnstaple, and afterwards at Rotterdam, came to succeed his 
 brother in Dublin, in 1671, where he continued to preach for seventeen years. In 
 1688 he removed to London, where he died in July 1697, aged 67. A Latin epi- 
 taph to his memory may be seen among the lyric poems of Dr Isaac Watts. 
 
 These initials may be considered as standing for Richard Pepys, Miles Corbet, 
 Robert Goodwin, rnd Matthew Thomlinson : the first being Chief Justice, and the 
 three following the Commissioners or Government under the Parliament for the 
 years 1653 and 6, or Councillors, as they were now styled in the commission sent 
 to General Fleetwood. In three different publications I have observed this extract 
 dated " the 3d of March, 1665 ;" but this is a misprint for 1656, when these men 
 were in office. Upon the representations of Fleetwood, that Ireland was begin, 
 ning again to be neglected, a new council was appointed in August, 1654, with new 
 instructions, and they arrived in September. These were Robert Goodwin, Colonel 
 Hammond, (son-in-law of John Hampden,) Colonel Thomlinson, and Miles Corbet,
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. ]49 
 
 This attestation in favour of preaching to the natives 
 in Irish is the more to be regarded, as being an inde- 
 pendent testimony borne by men who were called to visit 
 the country for a season, and impartially to observe and 
 record its necessities ; and there can be no doubt that, 
 had they been permitted to remain in Ireland, the ob- 
 ject would not only have been kept in view, but pursu- 
 ed. Before, however, even another testimony can be 
 found in favour of such a course, most of the existing 
 generation must pass away, just as others had done be- 
 fore it. 
 
 Bedell had now been dead many years, but the 
 seed sown, though long buried, it appears, could not 
 die. Or, to change the figure, " the words of the wise 
 are as goads," and it seemed scarcely probable that in- 
 structions, so pointed and solemn as those which this 
 wise and conscientious man emploj^ed at ordination, 
 could either be forgotten or disdained. The usefulness 
 of such a man seldom if ever ends with his life. It is, 
 however, rather remarkable, that we find such evidence 
 of his personal influence at the distance of more than 
 thirty-five years after his death ; and though the effect 
 of that influence on the attempts in preaching to the 
 Native Irish, about to be mentioned, was not what it 
 ought to have been, still it is distinct, and it seems due 
 to his memory to trace it. 
 
 Dr Thomas Price, a native of Wales, educated at 
 Trinity College, Dublin, and subsequently a senior fel- 
 low, had been ordained by Bedell, and afterwards be- 
 came Archdeacon of Kilmore. Whether when Bishop 
 of Kildare, from 1G60 to 1667, he had it in his power to 
 follow out his principles, does not appear ; but having 
 
 continued. But Hammond died in November, and Pepys was next year chosen in 
 his room. The most important article in the new instructions to this council was 
 one which authorised them to dispense with the transportation of the Native Irish 
 to Connau^ht
 
 150 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 been appointed Archbishop of Cashel, and though, at 
 the period to which I allude, in the seventy-ninth year 
 of his age, we find that he had not even then forgotten 
 the solemn " obtestation" delivered to him in Kilmore so 
 many years before. Price was born in 1599 : it was 
 now 1678, when a copy of the Irish Testament was not 
 to be seen ! but an Irish Prayer-Bcok, and Psalms, in 
 handsome folio, having been discovered by Dr Andrew 
 Sail, and presented to Dr Price, he appointed them to 
 be read in his cathedral. Before this period, however, 
 having been for ten years resident at Cashel, he had paid 
 special attention to the Native Irish, and is said to have 
 " maintained many Irish clergymen to preach to them in 
 their country language."* Whether these Irish minis- 
 ters were numerous, as here stated, is I think doubtful ; 
 but there can be no question as to Dr Price's zeal on 
 this subject. In the year 1676, in addressing the Earl 
 of Essex, then Lord Lieutenant, Dr Jones, Bishop of 
 Meath, urging the necessity of attention to the Irish 
 language, then adds, " I cannot but mention and re- 
 commend as a precedent to others, the zeal of the pre- 
 sent Archbishop of Cashel, who has set himself on that 
 work industriously, by instructing the Irish in their own 
 language, and hath already gathered the comfortable 
 fruits of his labour, the number also of such increas- 
 ing." Thus also, in 1678, Dr Sail refers to him when 
 writing to Mr Boyle, " I doubt not but it may con- 
 duce highly to the glory of God, the good of these souls, 
 and credit of our government, if the other prelates and 
 pastors of Ireland did use such endeavours as the good 
 Archbishop of Cashel does, by communing with the na- 
 tives and winning them to hear and read the word of 
 God." These measures, it is true, met with no small 
 opposition, while the Archbishop is represented as main- 
 
 * Ware's Bishops, Dublin, 1761, p. 487,
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 151 
 
 taining an uninterrupted struggle with every one on this 
 subject, and continued a decided advocate for preaching 
 in Irish, to the day of his death, in August, 1684, at the 
 advanced age of eighty-five.* 
 
 In the year 1680, Dr Sail, then living at Oxford, was 
 hesitating between an English and an Irish residence. 
 Mr Boyle seems to have urged the latter, and in setting 
 off for Cashel in May that year, Dr S. replied, " Whi- 
 ther I do intend to set forth from thence in three days, 
 God willing ; there and elsewhere preaching in Irish, I 
 will endeavour to prepare the way for the reading of 
 your Irish Testament ;" and in five months after this he 
 writes, " Since my last to you, I have spent my time 
 preaching and catechising in English and Irish, every 
 Sunday, in this city and in the country near it." 
 
 It has been already stated, that Dr Sail was the author 
 of the preface prefixed to the Irish New Testament; but 
 so impressed was he, at the same time, with the neces- 
 sity for an Irish ministry, that he concluded that pre- 
 face in the following terms : " Finally, students in 
 schools and universities, who design to live by the cure 
 of souls in Ireland, shall, upon a serious consideration, 
 find it their precise duty to procure such knowledge in 
 the language of the natives as may enable them to help 
 and instruct the souls committed to their charge, and of 
 which they are to give account to God ; for, notwith- 
 standing all the statutes and endeavours used to bring 
 this whole nation to a knowledge of the English tongue, 
 experience shows it could not be effected ; and it is 
 apparent, that in Ireland there are many parishes, baro- 
 nies, and whole counties, in which the far greater num- 
 ber of the common people do understand no other lan- 
 guage but the Irish. This being so, how can it be pre- 
 sumed ofmy godly pastor of souls in such places, that 
 
 * Boyle's Works, folio, vol. I. 603605.
 
 152 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 he will not procure the spiritual welfare of those men 
 by the sweat of whose brows he hath his bread, enabling 
 himself to preach, read to, or converse with them in the 
 language they can understand ? that being the way to 
 gain their good-will and thereby to win their souls to 
 God : For very true and experienced is that which 
 Aristotle said, plurimas amicitias laciiurnitns sola dissol- 
 vit, (silence alone dissolves many friendships), want 
 of communication breeds want of love and union." 
 
 Dr Jones, Bishop of Meath, was another character 
 who, at this time, was, of course, deeply concerned on 
 the subject of Irish preaching, and it required but little 
 to kindle his zeal. In early life he had been Dean of 
 Kilmore and Ardagh, and affords another proof of the 
 power of Bedell's example. No sooner was Dr Sail in- 
 troduced to him, when inquiring after Bedell's manu- 
 script of the Old Testament, than the recollections of 
 former days returned upon him. Immediately he open- 
 ed a correspondence with JMr Boyle, and in his very first 
 letter, dated 4th August, 1680, he wrote as follows : 
 " I have dealt with our present Provost of this College 
 of Dublin (Dr Marsh), that he, according to what was 
 some time practised by Dr Bedell, his predecessor, 
 would encourage the reading of Irish, and that Irish 
 prayers, &c., as others, might be publicly used in the 
 College, for thereby fitting our labourers for the harvest 
 of souls, which may, by God's blessing such endeavours, 
 be hopefully expected." Nine months after this, on the 
 3d of May, 1681, he writes from Dublin to Mr Boyle, 
 " I shall shut this up with what I have in my last given 
 you joyfully, and with what is since then, of the pro- 
 gress of Irish preaching in this College chapel. The 
 first Sunday in each month is designed for that. The 
 first, as you heard, was on Easter-day ; the next, which 
 was that day month, was so enlarged that the whole 
 area of the chapel, with rooms adjoining, above and be- 
 low, was unusually thronged. Among these were Lord
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 153 
 
 Dillon, and other eminent persons. The Lord Lieu- 
 tenant intends to afford his presence for farther coun- 
 tenance and encouragement." This warm friend, Dr 
 Jones, died on the 5th of January, 1682 : in three months 
 afterwards, Dr Sail also followed him to the grave ; and 
 the above, like every other similar attempt, withered 
 and died away under another blight of mistaken politi- 
 cal expediency.* 
 
 In point of time, the next feeble effort in the way of 
 addressing the natives of Ireland is rendered interesting, 
 from its affording the earliest modern proof with which 
 we are acquainted of the identity of the Gaelic and Irish 
 languages. After the siege of Londonderry, 1688, 9, 
 many of the Native Irish having left their habitations 
 in the barony of Innishowen, Donegal, and gone to the 
 south with the army, several families from the High- 
 lands of Scotland came and settled there. Not under- 
 standing English, they petitioned Dr King, Bishop of 
 Derry, for a minister who should be able to preach in 
 their own language. Two ministers were readily grant- 
 ed, one of whom held an Irish living, and the other re- 
 ceived a competent allowance from the Bishop. The 
 consequence of which was, that not only the Highland- 
 ers but the Irish attended, to the number of four and 
 sometimes five hundred, none of whom could understand 
 an English sermon. 
 
 About the same period, or within a year after this, 
 many families from the Western Isles landed near Car- 
 rickfergus, and settled in the northern parts of the 
 county of Antrim. At first they went to church, but 
 not understanding what was said, they gave it up, and, 
 had nothing been done, the consequences must have 
 
 * Dr Jones was the third son of Lewis Jones, from Wales, sometimes called, on 
 account of his age, the "vivacious" Bishop of Killaloc ; who died at Dublin 
 in 1646, in his one hundred and fourth year, and lies interred in Werburg'* 
 Church.
 
 154 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 been melancholy : but the effects produced in Donegal 
 were so manifest, that certain individuals petitioning 
 the Bishop of Down, a Mr Duncan M' Arthur was sent 
 to them, on whose ministry they attended with great sa- 
 tisfaction. At his death, a Mr Archibald M'Callum 
 succeeded, on whose ministry the Irish as well as the 
 Highlanders attended. He was rendered useful to both 
 parties ; and, for ten or fifteen years, there were, be- 
 sides Mr M'Callum, three, if not four, preachers of a si- 
 milar description, each of them having considerable con- 
 gregations. All such efforts, however, were soon dis- 
 couraged ! How many Highlanders emigrated I have 
 not been able to ascertain, but their descendants going 
 on to increase, are now mingled with the Native Irish 
 population ; yet is there, at the present moment, no 
 such person as a Gaelic minister in the north of Ireland, 
 although, in a very short period, if not at first, he would 
 be equally intelligible even to the Irish as if he had 
 been born in the country. Surely every Scots High- 
 lander will not read this in vain. 
 
 In the year 1702, one interesting case occurred of an 
 Irish clergyman being impressed with his obligations to 
 attend to the natives, and communicate with them 
 through the medium of their vernacular tongue, Mr 
 Nicholas Brown, Rector of the parishes of Donagh- 
 cavey, Dromore, and Rosorry, in the counties of Fer- 
 managh and Omagh. Applying himself with industri- 
 ous zeal to the interests of the natives around him, he 
 became a perfect master of the language. In the first 
 instance, he made it his business to gain the affections 
 of the people by kind and humane treatment, and, ob- 
 serving that they were wonderfully pleased with hear- 
 ing divine worship in their own tongue, he took every 
 opportunity of thus instructing them, holding public 
 meetings, and visiting them in their cottages. Mr 
 Brown, it will be observed, had three livings, but his 
 preaching in Irish was not confined to one. From 1702
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 155 
 
 to the end of 1705 he laboured in the parish of Rosorry, 
 in which part of the town of Enniskillen is situated. 
 Then, removing to Dromore and Donaghcavey, conti- 
 guous livings, in the county of Omagh, he continued 
 the same course with more success, and it was while 
 here employed that a Mr William Grattan, of Ennis- 
 killen, visited him on his death-bed. During this his 
 last illness he discovered a most tender concern for the 
 Native Irish, and told Mr G. that, if the Convocation 
 would agree to prevail on Parliament to encourage Irish 
 preachers and schoolmasters throughout the kingdom, 
 he had no doubt that within a few years the success 
 would be great. The translation of some choice books 
 into Irish he also conceived to be of vital importance, 
 and, in order at once to convey useful instruction and 
 meet the feelings of the natives, he had already trans- 
 lated the first part of Thomas a Kempis. This transla- 
 tion is pronounced to have been a good one, and it was 
 fairly written out for the press, but never printed ; indeed 
 it seems uncertain whether it is now in existence. After 
 his decease, an attestation to the value and importance 
 of his exertions was subscribed by the Provost of the 
 town, Mr William Ball, and fifteen burgesses or inhabi- 
 tants, in which they say, " To this day (28th January, 
 1712), the memory of Mr Brown is, upon that account, 
 valuable among the natives of these parts, as in their 
 common discourse we have often heard them declare." 
 To this useful course of exertion, in which Mr Brown 
 persevered till his death, in the spring of 1708, he was 
 not only encouraged but advised by Dr St George Ash.* 
 Mr Brown's allusion to the Convocation had probably 
 some reference to a resolution which was sent from the 
 
 # The Bishop of Clogher, a Fellow of the Royal Society, and once Provost of 
 Trinity College. He was afterwards Bishop of Deny, published several sermons 
 and mathematical tracts, and bequeathed his mathematical books to the College 
 Library.
 
 156 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 Lower to the Upper House on the 3d of March, 1703> 
 in which, referring to the Native Irish, it was declared 
 to be the opinion of that House, " that preachers, in all 
 the dioceses of this Kingdom, preaching in the Irish 
 tongue, would be a great means of their conversion." 
 To this resolution the Upper House replied, " As to 
 preaching in the Irish tongue, we think it useful where 
 it is practicable ;" but there the matter had rested at the 
 period of Mr Brown's decease. 
 
 About the time of his death, but in a part of the 
 country far distant from Mr Brown, another solitary in- 
 stance occurred of an Irish clergyman, who engaged 
 strenuously on behalf of the best interests of the natives. 
 The Rev. Walter Atkins, treasurer of the cathedral 
 church of Cloyne, being appointed Vicar of Middleton, 
 half-way between Cork and Youghal, resolved to acquire 
 a competent knowledge of the Irish language. The 
 Earl of Inchiquin having furnished him with an Irish 
 Prayer-Book, which for a number of years he continued 
 to use, the voices of the natives were heard in the Lord's 
 Prayer, and the responses before it ; the attendance was 
 good, and his labours most acceptable. His Bishop, 
 Dr Charles Crow, had come over to Ireland in 1680, in 
 the humble capacity of amanuensis to Dr Sail, already 
 mentioned, and, as might be expected, Mr Atkins re- 
 ceived his sanction and cordial encouragement. Now 
 here is a parish, in which, at the distance of one hun- 
 dred and twenty years, " the lower classes commonly 
 speak Irish." This is stated in a statistical account of 
 the parish published in 1819 ; and yet under the head 
 entitled " Suggestions for Improvement and Means for 
 meliorating the Condition of the People," all that is 
 printed is the single monosyllable None. 
 
 Besides Mr Brown and Mr Atkins, there were several 
 other ministers who followed their example, and with 
 corresponding success. Some of their hearers were not 
 merely pleased but much affected when hearing the
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 157 
 
 word of God ; and two men of thirty years of age bought 
 primers, and learned to read, that they might be able for 
 themselves to search the Scriptures. 
 
 In the month of June, 1709, we find the Lower House 
 of Convocation resolving, " that some fit persons be pro- 
 vided and encouraged to preach, catechise, and perform 
 divine service in the Irish tongue, at such times and 
 places as the ordinary of each diocese, with the consent 
 of the incumbent of the parish where such offices shall 
 be performed, shall direct : That such clergymen of 
 each diocese as are qualified by their skill in the Irish 
 language for this work, and are willing to undertake it, 
 may have the preference not only in their own parishes, 
 but in any other part of the diocese." Again, in 1710, 
 as soon as the Convocation had assembled, the Lower 
 House again took up the subject, and resolved " It 
 will be requisite that a competent number of ministers 
 duly qualified to instruct the natives of this kingdom, 
 and perform the offices of religion to them in their own 
 language, be provided, and encouraged by a suitable 
 maintenance." 
 
 Surely, after so many resolutions, the reader, had he 
 not read the previous pages, would now exclaim, " At 
 least some steps are about to be taken !" But, no ; each 
 of them, and in succession, he is to regard as merely, in 
 Owen's language, " the business of an unpiirsued or- 
 der." The last of them was engrossed in the bill before 
 referred to, with the fate of which the reader is already 
 acquainted.* Too late to be passed into a law that ses- 
 sion, the subject was never again revived from that day 
 to this. This said resolution was passed in 1710, one 
 hundred and twenty years ago, three generations 
 have since that time passed away, and the fourth, al- 
 ready far on its way, must soon follow to the grave ! 
 
 * In the note page 71, there is a reference made to this place, it should have 
 been to page 90.
 
 158 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 While such resolutions were discussing, and passing, 
 and repassing, Primate Marsh, long satisfied as to the 
 necessity for such efforts, united with some of his clergy 
 in a subscription for maintaining two ministers or mis- 
 sionaries to preach in Irish to the natives of Armagh ; 
 and Dr Hickman, Bishop of Derry, with his clergy, did 
 the same for that district of country ; but they both 
 died in the same month of the same year, November, 
 1713 the latter in London, the former, aged 76, in 
 Dublin ; and with them, and one or two of their con- 
 temporaries, seems to have expired all disposition or 
 desire to obey the Saviour's commission in the Irish 
 tongue. 
 
 I do not forget George Berkley, the Bishop of Cloyne, 
 who, in 1735, put many important questions to his 
 countrymen on both sides of the Channel, in his tract 
 entitled " The Querist." He asks (No 260) " Whether 
 there be any instance of a people's being converted, in 
 a Christian sense, otherwise than by preaching to them 
 and instructing them in their own language ?" But to 
 this, as well as many other queries, no proper, no prac- 
 tical answer has been given to the present hour. On 
 the contrary, one of his successors, who, fifty years later, 
 wrote a tract on the state of the Irish church, which 
 reached to the seventh edition, talks in it, wildly, of the 
 Irish language, where it obtains, being an insurmountable 
 obstacle to any intercourse with the people ! 
 
 Here, then, let the reader pause for a few moments, 
 and look back, or look forward for here, alas ! the mea- 
 gre history of preaching the everlasting Gospel to the 
 Native Irish in their vernacular tongue comes to an end, 
 and that throughout the whole course of the eighteenth 
 century ! To thousands in Britain this must appear al- 
 together incredible ; but of the last century as well as 
 others the retrospect is a peculiarly painful one as it 
 regards the immortal interests of this ancient people. 
 
 I have before me a small tract by the deceased Dr
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 159 
 
 Coke, published in 1801 ; but mine is actually a reprint 
 at Philadelphia, in America, dated in July of that year, 
 which contains the first intimation of any reviving' in- 
 terest on this subject.* By this it appears that two or 
 three individuals, for two years, had been engaged in 
 preaching to the people in their own language. And 
 now, at the distance of so many years, after nearly a 
 century of silence, what were the effects ? Just such 
 as might have been expected, and such as had been 
 fully realized in past generations. The old men and 
 women drew near and heard with deep concern, " and 
 when they heard them speak in the (Irish) tongue, they 
 kept the more silence." The Irish language seemed to 
 possess a charm in their ears, which even amazed the 
 speaker, and old critics in it, who came to judge, went 
 away, not unfrequently, with the tear in their eye. In 
 1805, there is said to have been eight individuals so 
 qualified for addressing their countrymen ; but at pre- 
 sent I am not aware that there are more than a few, and 
 comparatively very few who are thus engaged, and their 
 efforts all along, though of an essentially important cha- 
 racter, have not been stationary or permanent in any 
 one place. 
 
 Such, then, is the whole of the poor account of what 
 has been already done, and of the manner in which, for 
 ages, the paramount duty of preaching the word of life 
 to the Native Irish has been treated by the nation at 
 large. Sir Henry Sidney, whom this people used to 
 style " the good Lord Deputie," was the first to recom- 
 
 * As if to provoke the people of this country to jealousy, this reprint was ac- 
 tually with the view of recommending the subject to the Americans, and securing 
 from them some pecuniary aid. In conclusion, the writer, speaking of an Irish 
 ministry, says, " It is my humble judgment, that the whole empire is, in a politi- 
 cal view, concerned in it* success ; but that which, above all things, should influ- 
 ence us, is the salvation of souls. The Native Irish have passions the most sus- 
 ceptible of impression of any people I believe in Europe : if, therefore, their warm 
 affections can be engaged on the side of truth, they will probably become one of 
 the most religious nations on the globe."
 
 160 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 mend this, after perambulating the whole country, and 
 the reader has seen how warmly he did so. But it is 
 now more then two hundred and fifty years since he 
 wrote that letter.* 
 
 Without any regard to party, or party names, I have 
 gleaned every particle of information which I could 
 find, and I believe there never has been any account so 
 full and circumstantial laid before the public eye before ; 
 and yet, alas ! this is all that can be collected or said on 
 the subject. When one turns round and looks over it, 
 he may feel astonished and inquire, But is it possible ? 
 is any like this the actual condition of Ireland ? It can- 
 not be. On this side of the British Channel the light 
 of that Sabbath never returns, in which the glad news 
 of salvation, through a Saviour's blood, are not pro- 
 claimed, regularly, in four distinct languages. It is not 
 that there are two or three individuals, wandering up 
 and down through Wales, the Highlands, and the Isle 
 of Man, preaching to any casual number who may 
 choose to stop and hear. No, there is the Gaelic and 
 the Welsh minister, properly so called. Many imperfec- 
 tions may exist in each of these districts in Britain ; 
 but, on the other hand, in how many pleasing instances 
 there is the minister well qualified, and fixed to his post : 
 He appears at the appointed hour, the voice of praise 
 and prayer is heard ; and whether it be in English or 
 Gaelic, in Welsh or Manx, the people hear, in their 
 own tongue, the wonderful works and ways of God. 
 On the morning of the returning Sabbath, many a 
 Welshman, with the book of God in his possession, finds 
 his way to the well-known spot, where he has long re- 
 gularly listened to the man, who, " commanding away 
 the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in crafti- 
 ness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully," has re- 
 
 * See pages 136, 137-
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 161 
 
 gularly, as the day returned, " by manifestation of the 
 truth, commended himself to every one's conscience in 
 the sight of God warning every man, and teaching 
 every man, in all wisdom, that he might present every 
 man perfect in Christ Jesus." 
 
 And surely, replies, it may be even my reader, you 
 do not mean to insinuate that such things are not to be 
 found among a similar population in Ireland, and a po- 
 pulation three times the number of all the Highlanders, 
 and Welsh, and Manx-men in Britain ? No, my reader, 
 I do not mean to insinuate, but to assert it. Instances 
 there may be, in certain quarters, in which, through the 
 medium of their native language, the poor people are 
 occasionally dissuaded or warned against the practice of 
 vice ; but with regard to the standing ordinance of 
 preaching, the scriptural exposition of God's most holy 
 word, or obsequious conformity to the high commission 
 of our Redeemer, now hanging over us in all its origi- 
 nal force and obligation, all this has yet to be known 
 and felt among the Native Irish ! 
 
 In reference to the country at large, I know of three 
 or four ministers, stationary, who are able to preach in 
 Irish, and who, especially of late, have felt the vast im- 
 portance of the subject.* Recently there may be, and I 
 hope there are others who are acquiring, if they have 
 not yet acquired the language ; but what are these to 
 the field before us ? Yet, with these exceptions, did I 
 know of any other instances in which the minister comes 
 forward with regularity as the day returns, having for 
 his grand object, in his own pulpit, to preach to his own 
 stated congregation, the everlasting Gospel in the Irish 
 language, I should delight to mention them ; but if such 
 exist, I know it not. And as for even the large Cities 
 
 * " I wish," says one of them, " there was a professor of Irish appointed in 
 Trinity College all the ministers of the Gospel should know the Irish language 
 upon Irish ground."
 
 J62 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 and Towns in that fine country what would be thought 
 if I could say we have no such thing as a Gaelic chapel, 
 where the Gospel is proclaimed, in Glasgow, Inverness, 
 or Edinburgh no such thing as a Welsh chapel, for a 
 similar purpose, in Liverpool, Bristol, or London, and 
 in some of which it may soon become, if it is not already, 
 an imperative duty to have an Irish one ? Yet nothing 
 of a similar kind yet exists either in Dublin or Cork, in 
 Limerick or Galway, and many other parts, where the 
 call for it is far louder than that which led to the exist- 
 ence of a Welsh or Gaelic ministry in the cities or towns 
 of Britain ! 
 
 In few words, there is at the present moment, not one 
 single building in all Ireland, dedicated to the injinitely 
 important purpose of proclaiming the word of God in the 
 Irish tongue. Here is the fact on which the public eye 
 should rest. More than three millions of intelligent and 
 accountable beings, and these our own countrymen, dwell- 
 ing in a land which for a period extending over twenty ge- 
 nerations has been nominally united to our own, have not 
 one single building dedicated to the purpose now mentioned. 
 Since we have enjoyed, so richly, the invaluable benefit in 
 our own tongue, and all the while have been enjoying it, more 
 than seven generations of this interesting people have al- 
 ready passed away ! And should we reckon from that ab- 
 surd and most injurious act of Henry VIII., in ] 537, the 
 tenth generation is now daily passing away before our eye ! 
 
 Surely, should a third edition of this volume be call- 
 ed for, it would be strange indeed if such a fact could 
 be repeated. 
 
 I very well know it will be said here, ' But the 
 Scriptures have been printed in Irish.' Yes, in confor- 
 mity with the manner in which the language has always 
 been read, it is at last restored to its just claims upon 
 us, and one edition, in octavo, of the Irish Bible com- 
 plete, in its own character, has at last left the press ! 
 ' And then there are Irish schools.' Yes, for about one
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 163 
 
 soul in one hundred and fifty or twenty thousand out of 
 a population of more than three millions ; or say there 
 were only two millions, then apply this average to Scot- 
 land, and observe how the number would sound, or ra- 
 ther resound throughout the country.* ' But there are 
 men who read the Scriptures.' Yes, comparatively a few 
 men are thus employed ; but what is all this to the sub- 
 ject before us ? Are all these, united, and though carried 
 to the utmost extent, considered to be a substitute ? Do 
 these relieve us from the obligation to obey the express 
 authority of Immanuel? Has He vacated his own com- 
 mission with reference to this people, or have we found 
 out a way, through books, and education, and reading, 
 though it be his own word, which supersedes the neces- 
 sity for doing, simply what must be done, in every other 
 nation, if his kingdom is to prosper there ? 
 
 Much have we heard, indeed, in modern times of the 
 noble invention of printing, and much respecting the 
 power of education ; and I do not imagine that any can- 
 did reader who has proceeded thus far can suppose that 
 the writer is indisposed to give to each its own appro- 
 priate place. At the same time, he conceives that they 
 may not only be perverted, but prevented from doing 
 that good which they otherwise might accomplish. Fot 
 example, if they be permitted to occupy that place in 
 our esteem and expectation, which belongs to a divine 
 and sovereign appointment, then may they not only be- 
 come as chaff when compared to the wheat ; but, awak- 
 ening the jealousy of Him, who will not give his glory 
 to another, our employment of education only, and with 
 all the energy which the art of printing has given to it, 
 may turn out to be nothing more than giving activity 
 
 As for English, the proportion of those now learning to read is most cheering. 
 Many on this side of the water are not aware that, upon an average, the number 
 of such readers in Ireland is now above England ! When the education of the whole 
 kingdom therefore is referred to, this fact should be observed, and the blank as to 
 reading Irish will then appear in its true character.
 
 164 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 to the powers of the mind, without directing and con- 
 trolling their movements. Education will humanize and 
 improve, inmost instances; but to save from ultimate 
 destruction, properly speaking, never was within its 
 province, and never will be. Yet since the time in 
 which many have been roused to see its necessity, there 
 has been a phraseology often used respecting it by no 
 means warrantable. Education, but above all, Scrip- 
 tural education, will do much. There will always be an 
 indescribable distance between a people so favoured and 
 any other left without such means. But if we expect 
 more from it than it has ever produced, and, above all, 
 if we apply to it the language furnished to us in the 
 Scripture, and which is there exclusively employed with 
 reference to an institution of God's own sovereign ap- 
 pointment, we may be left to witness the impotence of 
 education instead of its power. Hence we have read of 
 the system of some one of these educational societies be- 
 ing so adapted for the regeneration of Ireland ; and the 
 terms employed in Scripture to the labourers in the vine- 
 yard of God, have been unsparingly employed by reli- 
 gious people to the exertions of Schoolmasters, or those 
 who superintend them. This is not merely incorrect, 
 but it is unwise and unwarrantable. Every one knows, 
 that, in all such cases of agency, every thing depends 
 upon the expectations and intentions of the agent ; but 
 the language referred to is teaching us to expect from 
 him, what in a thousand instances the agent neither in- 
 tends nor expects himself. The Schoolmaster may have 
 gone abroad, and, if a man of principle, will do great 
 good ; but to apply to him or his efforts the language of 
 Sacred Writ, which regards another order of men and 
 another exercise, is calculated to injure the work of his 
 hands, as well as blind our own minds with respect to 
 another duty, a duty which, so far as the Native Irish 
 are concerned, is at once not only incumbent, but as yet 
 unfulfilled.
 
 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 165 
 
 Unquestionably the privileges of reading the Scrip- 
 tures, and being taught to read them in our native lan- 
 guage, are of inestimable value ; but were they even 
 universally enjoyed, in no single instance could they 
 supersede the necessity of hearing the word ; of hearing 
 it explained and applied by a Man who is apt to teach, 
 by one who himself believes, and therefore speaks. 
 How frequently did the great Founder of our faith him- 
 self exclaim, <e He that hath ears to hear, let him hear," 
 that is, let him listen ; and now certainly, if the atten- 
 tion is to be awakened and fixed, if the general truths 
 of revelation are to be applied to the consciences of men, 
 or afterwards to the varied experience of the Christian 
 life, the human voice can neither be dispensed with nor 
 superseded. " When an important subject is presented 
 to an audience," says a living writer, " with an ample 
 illustration of its several parts, its practical improvement 
 enforced, and its relation to the conscience and the heart 
 insisted upon with seriousness, copiousness, and fervour, 
 it is adapted in the nature of things to produce a more 
 deep and lasting impression than can usually be expect- 
 ed from reading. He who knows how forcible are right 
 words, and how apt man is to be moved by man, has 
 consulted the constitution of our frame, by appointing 
 an order of men, whose office it is to address their fel- 
 low-creatures on their eternal concerns. Strong feeling 
 is naturally contagious ; and if, as the wise man observes, 
 ' as iron sharpeneth iron, so doth the countenance of a 
 man his friend,' the combined effects of countenance, 
 gesture, and voice, accompanying a powerful appeal to 
 the understanding and the heart, on subjects of ever- 
 lasting moment, can scarcely fail of being great. But, 
 independently of the natural tendency of the Christian 
 ministry to convert the soul and promote spiritual im- 
 provement, it derives its peculiar efficacy from its being 
 a Divine appointment. It is not merely a natural, it is 
 also an instituted means of good ; and whatever God
 
 166 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 appoints by special authority, he graciously engages to 
 bless, provided it be attended to with right dispositions, 
 and proceed from right motives." 
 
 Is it possible then, in the nature of things, that Ire- 
 land is doomed to remain longer in this condition ? 
 That the Native Irish in particular are to continue from 
 Sabbath to Sabbath to spend that day as they have 
 done for ages? It cannot be. Shall men continue to 
 leave their native shores, and go far hence to the heathen 
 only ? Will the inhabitants of Ireland itself, and those 
 of Britain, continue to encourage and call forth such 
 men for their work, and shall our countrymen and fel- 
 low-subjects be forgotten ? Shall we enforce the neces- 
 sity and importance of acquiring the languages of In- 
 dia, of China, and Japan, in order to reach the heart 
 through the ear ; and shall it seem a hard task to acquire 
 the use of a tongue spoken by such a multitude in the 
 immediate vicinity of our own, nay, spoken by our fel- 
 low-subjects, intersecting a sister country in almost 
 every direction, and now dwelling to such extent in 
 every city of the empire ? 
 
 " I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all : yet, in the Church, I hail 
 rather speak five words, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand 
 words in an unknown tongue." PAUL. 
 
 " Obtestantes in Domino, et pro obeilientia qua Summo Pastori teneris injungentes : ut 
 ejus gregem quern suo sanguine acquisivit, tibi commissum, diligenter pascas, et in fide 
 C'atholica instituas, qfficia divina Lingua a populo intellects, peragas ; exemplar ante 
 umiiia tcipsum prabeas fidelibus in bonis operibus, ut erubescant adversarii, nihil haben- 
 tes quod in te reprehendant," BEDCU,.
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 UNFOUNDED OBJECTIONS 
 
 Against the employment of the Irish language answered, and shown to be of bane- 
 ful tendency in every sense; as it is not only essential to the effectual instruc- 
 tion of the people, but its neglect is injurious, as well to the progress of the 
 English language as to that of general information. 
 
 THE preceding pages may be said to involve an answer 
 to every objection against the employment of the Irish 
 language in the business of education or instruction, 
 Avherever it happens to be daily spoken ; but as the ob- 
 jections themselves furnish occasion for adducing a cu- 
 rious, if not instructive variety of collateral proof, they 
 are here noticed. The same objections were indeed an- 
 swered in a memorial on behalf of the Native Irish in 
 1815 ; but that has been for some time out of print. Of 
 course I often employ the same language, but with many 
 additional facts. 
 
 I. Such measures mould give too much encouragement 
 to the language itself, for the sooner it is destroyed or 
 abolished) so much the better. 
 
 This is an ancient objection, and it is still heard on 
 both sides of the Channel, though within these fifteen 
 years a great change has taken place, and all who have 
 paid attention to the subject see through its fallacy. To 
 expect that any language will decline by denouncing it, 
 is vain. Nay, only neglecting to teach the people to 
 read it, though at the same time enforcing the reading
 
 168 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 of another as the only channel of instruction to the poor, 
 and as the only road to preferment or indulgence, is an 
 attempt, the merits of which can very easily be put to 
 the proof and examined by the result. The following 
 cases not only include a reply to the objection, but fur- 
 nish so many powerful arguments for immediate, and 
 cordial, and general attention, as well to the language as 
 to the circumstances of the Native Irish people. 
 
 ENGLISH. The argtimenlum ad hominem is not with- 
 out its value, and may be employed here with some force. 
 It is but fair, and may not be unseasonable, to remind 
 the Englishman of this day, as well as the Anglo-Hiber- 
 nian, that when Ireland was invaded in the twelfth cen- 
 tury, English was not the language of authority and 
 command, but French. When Henry II. himself was 
 retuming from Ireland, in the spring of 1173, and pass- 
 ing through Pembroke, a Welshman accosted him. The 
 Cambrian, supposing that a King of England must un- 
 derstand English, addressed Henry in that language, 
 calling him ' gode olde Kynge.' Understanding nothing 
 of this salutation, his Majesty said to his esquire, in 
 French, ' What does this man mean ?' and the esquire, 
 who had been so situated as to converse with the Native 
 English, had to act as interpreter. Thus the fifth King 
 of England after the Conquest did not seem to know the 
 signification of the word King in the English tongue. 
 His son and successor, Richard, probably knew as little, 
 at least it is certain that he could not hold a conversation 
 in English though, sitting upon the throne of England, 
 he is said to have made amends for this deficiency, by 
 speaking and writing well the two languages of Gaul, 
 both north and south, the language of out and the lan- 
 guage of oc !* The English tongue, therefore, such as it 
 
 * Brompton, p. 1079- Thierry's Norman Conquest, vol. iii. p. 180.
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 169 
 
 was in these days, was indeed spoken by men in that 
 army ; but all the chiefs were Norman-French. English 
 was spoken by soldiers in the streets and markets within 
 the pale; but French was the language in the castles 
 and houses of the Barons. Thus the men of English 
 race, upon Irish ground, occupied only a middle state 
 between the Normans and the Irish. Their language, 
 indeed, at that period was, in fact, proscribed, and in 
 their own country despised, while in Ireland it held but 
 an intermediate rank between that of the new govern- 
 ment and the ancient dialect of the aborigines. Taught 
 as the English or Anglo-Saxons had been, by this time, 
 for a century, and were to be for two hundred years 
 longer, that the edicts or dicta of the reigning power 
 cannot wrest from a people the use of their mother- 
 tongue ; was it not strange that they could not perceive 
 that the Native Irish were certain to act by their verna- 
 cular tongue, just as they themselves had done by theirs ? 
 Yet is it not a little remarkable, that the evil under 
 which the Native Irish have laboured for so many ages, 
 and up to the present hour, is the precise evil under 
 which England groaned for three hundred years, from 
 the time of the Norman invasion ? This last territorial 
 conquest in the west of Europe is never to be forgotten, 
 as having introduced a species of policy into this coun- 
 try which has checked the diffusion of knowledge per- 
 haps more than any one circumstance which can be 
 mentioned. It was a sort of crusade on the colloquial 
 dialect of the subdued party, and it certainly had its 
 effects. It checked the diffusion of knowledge among 
 the Native English, it sank the lower orders into dark- 
 ness, and restricted all useful and scientific information 
 to a privileged class. But did this experiment of three 
 hundred years' duration root out, diminish, or abolish 
 the English tongue ? No such thing. Long after the 
 Conquest the preaching of the Normans was not at all
 
 170 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 understood by the audience ;* and though the court, the 
 law, and the nobility used French, the Native English 
 never, as Robert of Gloucester informs us, abandoned 
 their vernacular tongue. In the first part of the reign 
 of Edward III. Norman-French had reached its highest 
 ascendency in England. Boys in the schools were in- 
 structed in the French idiom ; after this, in some in- 
 stances, came Latin, and there was no regular instruc- 
 tion of youth in English. The children of the nobles 
 were even sent abroad to secure correctness of pronun- 
 ciation. Yet what signified all this unnatural proce- 
 dure ? Rolle, or, as he is sometimes named, Richard of 
 Hampole, who died in 1348-9, intimates, that the ge- 
 nerality of the laity understood no language except the 
 English ; and the English versifier of the romance of 
 Arthur and Merlin asserts, that he knew even many 
 nobles who were ignorant of French. A change of fa- 
 shion was now at hand. In 1362 the act passed which 
 recited that the French language was so unknown in 
 England, that the parties to law-suits had no knowledge 
 or understanding of what was said for or against them, 
 because the counsel spoke French. It therefore ordered 
 that all causes should in future be pleaded, discussed, 
 and adjudged in English.t After this, English immedi- 
 ately so superseded its competitor, that by the year 1385 
 the teaching of French in all the schools had been dis- 
 continued, and English substituted. J te How hard a 
 matter it is," says old Brerewood, " utterly to abolish a 
 vulgar language in a populous country, may well appear 
 by the vain attempt of our Norman Conqueror, who, 
 although he compelled the English to teach their young 
 children in the schools nothing but French, and set 
 
 * Hist. Ingulf, p. 115. f 36 Edward 3, c. 15. 
 
 $ Turner's Hist, of England, 4to, tol. ii. p. 574. Three years after this, in 
 1388, the English was introduced into Parliament, though the absurd custom of 
 recording the statutes in Norman, continued for ninety-five years longer. It was 
 abolished by Richard III. in 1483.
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 1J1 
 
 down all the laws of the land in French, (which custom 
 continued till Edward the Third, his days, who disannul- 
 led it,) purposing thereby to have conquered the lan- 
 guage together with the land, and to have made all 
 French ; yet all was labour lost, and obtained no other 
 effect than the mingling of a few French words with the 
 English. And even such also was the success of the 
 Franks among the Gauls, and of the Goths among the 
 Italians and Spaniards."* Brerewood here may be said 
 to underrate the influence of the Norman-French; but 
 still it is certain that it can by no means be charged with 
 the greater part of that difference, which exists between 
 the Anglo-Saxon and the modern tongue. 
 
 After passing through such an ordeal as this, it might 
 have been supposed, that of all the nations on the face 
 of the earth, the English would have been the last to 
 have pursued measures which they themselves had shown 
 to be abortive, and which had been also followed by 
 such injurious and barbarizing consequences to their 
 own ancestors. 
 
 Independently, however, of this instance, the follow- 
 ing cases will fully settle this objection, and they are the 
 more worthy of notice when the coincidence of dates is 
 observed. Abroad and at home, in Germany, in Wales, 
 in the Highlands of Scotland, and the Isle of Man, as 
 well as in Ireland, there seems to have been (uncon- 
 sciously) a unity of design which, in all the attempts, 
 proved abortive, and evinced, at the same time, what to 
 some may appear strange, that if any colloquial dialect 
 is to decline, and the language spoken in its vicinity is 
 to gain the ascendency, the most direct and effectual 
 process is that of teaching to read the colloquial dialect 
 itself. 
 
 * Brerewood's Inquiries touching the Diversity of Languages, dec. London, 
 1674, p. 27.
 
 172 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 WENDEN. For about thirty years, viz. from 1678 to 
 1708, an attempt was made to destroy the Wenden lan- 
 guage, which is a dialect of the Slavonian, spoken by a 
 tribe of people called Die Wendens, living in the circles 
 of Upper and Lower Lusatia, Silesia, &c. In a Latin 
 letter to J. Chamberlayne, Esq. from the Rev. Dr Jab- 
 lonski, first chaplain to the King of Prussia, dated Ber- 
 lin, 5th May, 1714, there is the following distinct ac- 
 count of this business: " Worthy Sir, I thought it 
 would not be unacceptable to you, or the Rev. Mr 
 Richardson, if I should write you a short account of 
 some things here, which seem to be parallel to your 
 Irish affairs. There are to this very day some consider- 
 able remains of the ancient Venedi (called by us the 
 Die Wendens), who formerly inhabited the banks of the 
 Vistula, but now live along the Oder and the Sprea; 
 their country runs through both the Lusatias, into Mis- 
 nia on the one hand, and Silesia on the other. Part of 
 them are subject to the Emperor and the Elector of 
 Saxony, and part to the Elector of Brandenburgh." 
 " This people being originally Sarmatians, speak the 
 Slavonian tongue, and most tenaciously keep up the use 
 of it to this day, notwithstanding that they have so many 
 ages lived in the midst of Germans. Some of them hav- 
 ing passed the Elbe in the days of Charles the Great, 
 settled in the country of Lunenburg; but their lan- 
 guage, by reason of the small numbers of those that 
 spoke it, as we may imagine, having lost ground by 
 little and little, was at last quite disused within the me- 
 mory of our fathers, nay of some now alive. Some while 
 since several attempts were made to bring our Wendens 
 likewise into a disuse of it ; and to that end there was a 
 German school set up at every church ; to most of their 
 congregations were sent German pastors ignorant of the 
 Slavonian tongue ; and no books were printed in that 
 language, that so this illiterate people might be under a 
 necessity of learning the German tongue. 
 
 9
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 173 
 
 " But none of these methods had the desired success ; 
 for the schools, which seemed most likely to effect it 
 were found to be insufficient, because the Wendens, be- 
 ing husbandmen, do not inhabit cities or towns, but vil- 
 lages only, which, being often far asunder, their children 
 could not, without difficulty, go to school, especially in 
 winter, which was the only time they could be spared, 
 as their parents could not dispense with their assistance 
 in summer at their country labours ; thus they wilfully 
 forgot that in summer which they had unwil lingly learned 
 in winter ; which their parents, who were not willing to 
 change their own language for the German, secretly re- 
 joiced at. The German pastors of these churches had 
 very bad success in their employment ; for, being ' bar- 
 barians' to their hearers, the greatest part of them, and 
 especially the women, were not at all edified ; and it was 
 found by experience, that, after the space of thirty years 
 and upwards, neither the pastor nor the flock understood 
 each other. Finally, the want of books of piety in their 
 own language tended naturally to foment their igno- 
 rance, but not to kindle in them any desire to those in 
 the German tongue ; for they, not knowing the good of 
 such books, perfectly despised them. 
 
 " And now you may easily judge what a miserable 
 condition these unhappy people were in, who were alto- 
 gether unacquainted with letters, had not one book, no 
 spiritual food, nor any other helps for devotion, but a 
 few prayers, and some hymns to be got by heart. 
 Neither was any part of the Sacred Scriptures printed 
 for the use of so many numerous congregations ; but 
 every minister, instead of a sermon, read to them some 
 portion of the Word of God, translating it himself as 
 well as he could from the German into the Wenden lan- 
 guage, too often with little accuracy or judgment. 
 
 " At last the king (Frederic) applied a remedy to these 
 great evils ; the Rev. Gottlieb Fabricius; a godly and 
 very zealous minister of the Gospel among the Wen-
 
 174 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 dens, having by his great piety contributed much there- 
 to. After he had with no small labour learned the 
 Wenden language, and translated a catechism into it, 
 he soon betook himself to a greater work, and, in the 
 year 1709, published the whole New Testament in that 
 language. He is now employed in publishing an ela- 
 borate version of the book of Psalms and several Hymns. 
 This man, being called to the parish of Peitzens, which 
 consists of six villages, whereof he hath now the charge, 
 and finding no Wenden school there, though he met with 
 some difficulty at first, from the opposition even of his 
 own parishioners, yet he so managed the matter, that a 
 schoolmaster was immediately placed for the benefit of 
 two of these villages. This man so faithfully discharg- 
 ed the trust committed to him, that, in a short time, 
 not only these two villages were much pleased with 
 reading their own language, but the inhabitants of the 
 rest desired that schoolmasters might be placed among 
 them too. These they soon obtained ; three were sent 
 to them, Fabricius himself having, with a great deal of 
 pains, first taught them to read, and then how to instruct 
 the children committed to their care. He soon saw the 
 happy effect of his pious labours. Not only some hun- 
 dreds of children were now taught to read by the indus- 
 try of these masters, but the parents themselves, (who 
 formerly thought their children might live as happily 
 without letters as they had done, and out of a kind of 
 secret envy would not have their children more know- 
 ing than themselves) learned to read from their own chil- 
 dren, and practised it in their daily devotion at home. 
 Nay, in some places, which could not be supplied with 
 masters, while the servants were taking care of the horses, 
 some one of them, who had happily learned to read, 
 would often take that opportunity to instruct the rest in 
 reading." 
 
 The sentiments of Frederic in relation to this affair 
 are excellently expressed in a rescript of his to the go-
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 175 
 
 vernment of Newmark, dated 22d September, 1708, which 
 is inserted at length in the above Letter, when the Doctor 
 concludes as follows : " This, however, is certain, that 
 the small progress some of the Venedi have made in 
 reading, hath so much raised their appetite, that they 
 do now of their own accord apply themselves to learn 
 the German language, that so they may enjoy the bene- 
 fit of books written in it ; whereby it is come to pass, 
 that what was believed would be a hindrance to the 
 German tongue, doth on the contrary evidently tend to its 
 increase."* 
 
 BOHEMIAN. The above is not the only instance within 
 the German empire. At so recent a period as the year 
 1765, the idea of destroying the vernacular tongue of 
 Bohemia was entertained. The Bohemian, or Tschech- 
 nish dialect of the Slavonian language, is spoken gene- 
 rally by the peasantry, and by many of superior rank ; 
 yet " in the year alluded to, an attempt was made, but 
 without success, to introduce German teachers into all 
 the schools, so that the Bohemian language might be 
 entirely abolished."t The wakeful and judicious bene- 
 volence of the present day has operated, in this instance 
 also, in a more excellent way. Editions of the Bohe- 
 mian Bible, amounting to thousands of copies, have been 
 printed within the last twenty years ; and these appear 
 to be insufficient to gratify the desire which prevails 
 among the people to read the Scriptures in their own 
 tongue. This desire to read will spread the German 
 language. 
 
 To come nearer home ; the scheme of abolishing a 
 language, by either neglecting it or teaching another, 
 has been a favourite one within the limits of the United 
 
 * Published at the end of Richardson on Pilgrimages. Dublin, 1727. This letter 
 might have been glanced at in page 94, as the final effort of Richardson, 
 f Historical and Political Descriptions of Germany, 4to, London, 1800, p. S3.
 
 176 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 Kingdom, and that for ages; but with what success let 
 the following accounts testify : 
 
 WELSH. So early as the year 1567, the Welsh had 
 been favoured, by the zeal of a private gentleman, Wil- 
 liam Salesbury, with a translation of the New Testa- 
 ment in the vernacular tongue ; and I cannot, by the 
 way, but notice here, that neither Queen Elizabeth nor 
 her advisers required any reply to the objection we are 
 now answering. On the contrary, it has been already 
 seen, that, in 1571j she had sent Irish types and a 
 printing-press to Ireland, and it appears that eight 
 years before this, that is, in 1563, when ordering, by bill, 
 the translation of the Welsh Scriptures, " for the souls' 
 health of the flocks," in the principality, it was also in 
 order that such as did not understand the English lan- 
 guage might, " by conferring both tongues together, the 
 sooner attain to the knowledge of the English tongue." 
 These are, in fact, the express terms of the statute ; and 
 had such a self-evident course of policy been also pur- 
 sued from that time in Ireland, the country would cer- 
 tainly not have been in its present condition. The com- 
 paratively ample provision made for the Welsh, in re- 
 gard to the Scriptures and other books, will appear af- 
 terwards. Yet it is strange, that, during the last cen- 
 tury, the short-sighted policy which we now reprobate 
 was attempting to exert itself even in Wales. 
 
 In allusion to the endeavours of some to banish their 
 language by teaching English, we find the Rev. Griffith 
 Jones of Llandowrer, the original promoter of the Welsh 
 Circulating Schools, pleading as follows : " In the or- 
 dinary way, it is as unlikely to bring the whole body of 
 the Welsh people to learn the English tongue, as it would 
 be to prevail with all the common people of England to 
 learn French. I am much at a loss to know what me- 
 thod should be tried. Should all our Welsh books, and 
 our excellent version of the Holy Bible, Welsh preach-
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 177 
 
 ing, and the stated worship of God in our language, be 
 taken away, to bring us to a disuse of our tongue ? So 
 they are in a manner in some places ; the more our 
 misery ; and yet the people are no more better scholars 
 than they are better Christians for it. Welsh is still the 
 vulgar tongue, and not English. The English Charity 
 Schools, which have been tried, produced no better 
 effect in country places. All that the children could do 
 in three, four, or five years,* amounted commonly to no 
 more than to learn very imperfectly to read some easy 
 parts of the Bible, without knowing the Welsh of it : 
 nor should this be thought strange, considering that they 
 were learning to read an unknown language, and had 
 none to speak it but the master, and he too obliged to 
 talk to them often in Welsh; insomuch that they, who 
 have been so long in English schools, could not edify 
 themselves by reading, till many of them lately learned 
 to read their own language in the Welsh Charity 
 Schools." " Sure I am, the Welsh Charity Schools do 
 no way hinder to learn English, but do very much con- 
 tribute towards it ; and perhaps you will allow, Sir, that 
 learning our own language first is the most expeditious 
 way to come at the knowledge of another, else why are 
 not your youths in England, designed for scholars, set 
 to Latin and Greek before they are taught English? 
 
 " But I am next," says Mr Jones, " to consider an- 
 other part of the objection, viz. c Why should the king's 
 subjects in Wales only\ not be brought to understand 
 English ?' We are to acknowledge ourselves greatly in- 
 debted for being admitted to enjoy the same English 
 liberties in common with you, which we have been 
 blessed with for many successions of reigns, and con- 
 
 * Five winters, for they could attend only at that period of the year, though 
 but few of the poor could stay so long. 
 
 t There is an allusion here to the contemporary but vain attempts in Ireland, 
 in the Highlands of Scotland, and in the Isle of Man, thus to destroy the Irish, the 
 Gaelic, and the Manx !
 
 178 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 tinue to enjoy under his present Majesty ; but for our 
 being of a different language, it is hoped the reasons al- 
 ready given will so fully account for it, that where- 
 insoever this may be a misfortune or disadvantage to us, 
 you will condole instead of being offended with us. 
 Was our language understood, we could express our loy- 
 alty in the strongest terms, and its not being so shall in 
 no wise make us worse subjects. Although we have not 
 the happiness of being able to express our allegiance in 
 the words of your language, yet we hope that in deed we 
 shall not be found defective in it." Again, says this ex- 
 cellent man, " Experience now proves beyond dispute, 
 that if ever it be attempted to bring all the Welsh people 
 to understand English, we cannot better pave the way 
 for it, than by teaching them to read their own language 
 first. This method will conduce, more than any other 
 I can think of, to assist whatever attempts may be made 
 to spread the general knowledge of the English tongue 
 in this country."* 
 
 As an appropriate continuation of the account of the 
 Welsh Schools, I must not omit to notice the laborious 
 exertions of the late Rev. Thomas Charles of Bala, a 
 man whose memory will be cherished with fervent gra- 
 titude in the principality for a long period to come. 
 Not being acquainted with any account of his efforts so 
 minute and satisfactory as that which is contained in a 
 letter of his, addressed to the present writer, dated 4th 
 January, 1811, I shall take the liberty of inserting the 
 greater part of it here, after respectfully requesting the 
 candid attention of gentlemen in Ireland to the argu- 
 ment throughout, as it affects our sister country. 
 
 " The important intelligence which your letter 
 brought me of the benevolent intention of charitable 
 persons in the north, of forming a society in Edinburgh, 
 
 * Welsh Piety, or a Collection of the several Accounts of the Circulating Welsh 
 Charity Schools, from their rise in 1737 to Michaelmas 1753, in three vols 8vo.
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 179 
 
 lor the design of encouraging schools in the Highlands 
 and the Islands of Scotland, to teach the poor inhabit- 
 ants to read their native Gaelic tongue, appears to me 
 highly laudable, and gives me very great gratification. 
 In compliance with your request, I shall here attempt 
 to give you a comprehensive and succinct account of si- 
 milar institutions with us in this principality, their na- 
 ture, and the success of them. 
 
 " The Rev. Griffith Jones, about A. D. 1730, made 
 the first attempt of any importance, on an extensive scale, 
 to erect schools for the instruction of our poor people to 
 read their native language. Before that time, the whole 
 country was in a most deplorable state with regard to 
 the acquisition of religious knowledge. After the de- 
 cease of this very pious and laborious minister, A. D. 
 1761, the schools were continued on the same plan by a 
 pious lady of fortune, an intimate friend of Mr Jones, 
 and a constant attendant on his ministry her name was 
 Mrs Bevan. In her will, that lady, who lived several 
 years after Mr Jones, left ten thousand pounds, the in- 
 terest of which was to be applied, for ever, towards per- 
 petuating those schools. Her executrix, a niece of hers, 
 disputed the validity of the will, so far as it applied to 
 this money. It was thrown into Chancery, where it 
 continued for thirty years before a decree was obtained. 
 About two years past, a decree was granted in favour of 
 this charity ; and the interest of the ten thousand pounds, 
 with the accumulation of it by interest all the years it 
 was in Chancery, is to be applied, under certain specific 
 regulations and restrictions, to the support of circulating 
 charity schools throughout the whole principality ! This 
 was a consummation to be devoutly wished indeed ! And 
 the more so, as we had all despaired of ever seeing the 
 money applied to the proper object. There are now 
 forty schools erected in different parts of the country, 
 and the number is continually increasing. In the course 
 of a few years after the cessation of these, on the demise
 
 180 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 of Mrs Bevan, the country gradually reverted into the 
 same state of stupor and ignorance in which Mr Jones 
 found it when he first thought of those institutions. Be- 
 sides, though Mr Jones' schools increased to the amazing 
 number of two hundred and twenty before he died, yet 
 there were many districts in this mountainous country 
 never visited by his schdols, or but once, and that for a 
 very short time. In one of these districts it pleased the 
 will of Providence to place me. Soon after I assumed 
 the care of the parish, I attempted to instruct the rising 
 generation, by catechising them every Sunday after- 
 noon ; but their not being able to read I found to be a 
 great obstacle to the progress of my work. This in- 
 duced me to inquire into the state of the country in this 
 point of view. I soon found the poor people to be in 
 general in the same state of ignorance. Two or three of 
 the children of the wealthiest were sent to the next town 
 to learn English, and this was all ; the generality were 
 left totally destitute of any instruction. As Mr Jones' 
 schools had ceased to circulate, no relief could be obtain- 
 ed from that quarter. A thought occurred to my anxi- 
 ous mind, for so it really was, that, by the charitable as- 
 sistance of some friends, I might be able to obtain means 
 of employing a teacher, and to remove him from one 
 place to another, to instruct the poor ignorant people. 
 When I had succeeded in obtaining pecuniary aid, the 
 great difficulty of obtaining a proper person to teach 
 occurred. This difficulty was removed by instructing a 
 poor man myself, and employing him at first near me, 
 that this school might be, in a manner, under my con- 
 stant inspection. The next difficulty was, to obtain pro- 
 per elementary books. In this point Mr Jones' schools 
 were very deficient, as the books used in his schools were 
 little better than the English battledoors, and very ill 
 calculated to forward the children in their learning. 
 This obstruction also was gradually surmounted. I com- 
 posed three elementary books, besides two catechisms,
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED, 181 
 
 which are now used in all our schools, and very essen- 
 tially assist the progress of the children. My teachers, 
 as my funds increased, multiplied gradually from one to 
 twenty ; but of late the number is decreased, as the ne- 
 cessity of the week-day schools, is superseded by the in- 
 crease of Sunday schools, and my attention is drawn to 
 the extension of them as wide as possible. The circu- 
 lating day schools have been the principal means of erect- 
 ing Sunday schools ; for, without the former, the state 
 of the country was such, that we could not obtain teach- 
 ers to carry on the latter ; besides, Sunday schools were 
 set up in every place where the day schools had been. 
 My mode of conducting the schools has been as follows : 
 My first greatest care has been in the appointment of 
 proper teachers. They are all poor persons, as my wages 
 are but small ; besides, a poor person can assimilate 
 himself to the habits and mode of living among the poor, 
 as it is his own way of living. It is requisite that he 
 should be a person of moderate abilities, but, above all, 
 that he be truly pious, moral, decent, humble, and en- 
 gaging in his whole deportment ; not captious, not dis- 
 putatious, not conceited, no idle saunterer, no tattler, nor 
 given to the indulgence of any idle habits. My care 
 here has been abundantly repaid ; for my teachers in 
 general are as anxious as myself in the success of the 
 work, and the eternal welfare of those they are employ- 
 ed to instruct in their most important concerns. In in- 
 troducing the school into a place, I pay a previous visit 
 there, after conversing a little with some of the princi- 
 pal inhabitants on the subject ; I convene the inhabit- 
 ants together, after having sent a previous message to 
 them, intimating my intention of visiting them, and spe- 
 cifying the time of my coming. When convened toge- 
 ther, I publicly address them on the vast importance of 
 having their children taught to read the word of God, 
 and afterwards I inform them of my intention of send- 
 ing a teacher to assist in instructing their children, and 
 
 H
 
 J82 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 also grown-up people who cannot read, who will attend 
 him on Sundays, and as many nights in the week as they 
 please. I conclude by exhorting the parents to send 
 their children to the school. I converse familiarly after- 
 wards with the parents, nd promise to assist them with 
 books, if they should be -too poor to buy any. I take 
 kind notices of the children also ; and thus, in general, 
 we are kind friends ever after the first interview. The 
 teacher is to take no entrance-money is charged not to 
 encroach upon them, and intrude himself upon them, 
 unless particularly invited into their houses ; and then 
 he is charged to have family-prayers night and morning, 
 wherever he goes to reside for a night ; to introduce 
 conversations respecting his own work, and not indulge 
 himself with them in vain idle talk ; that in him they 
 may see how a Christian lives, and how they ought to 
 live. His time is entirely at my command, and to be 
 devoted wholly to the work ; he is engaged in the even- 
 ing as well as through the day, and that every day. Be- 
 fore the school is removed, I go there twice, if possible, 
 and examine the children publicly; these public exami- 
 nations and catechisings I have found most profitable to 
 the parents and grown-up people : I have often seen 
 them exceedingly affected by the intelligent and proper 
 responses of the children. "Before I leave them, I ex- 
 hort them earnestly to support the Sunday school that 
 had been begun among them, to prevent the children 
 from forgetting what they have learned, to further their 
 progress in learning, now they have happily begun ; and 
 this they generally comply with. 
 
 " At first, the strong prejudice which universally pre- 
 vailed against teaching them to read Welsh first, and the 
 idea assumed, that they could not learn English so well, 
 if previously instructed in the Welsh language ; this, I 
 say, proved a great stumbling-block in the way of pa- 
 rents to send children to the Welsh schools, together 
 with another conceit they had, that if they could read
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 183 
 
 English, they would soon learn of themselves to read 
 Welsh; but now these idle and groundless conceits are 
 universally scouted. This change has been produced, 
 not so much by disputing, as by the evident salutary 
 effects of the schools, the great delight with which the 
 children attended them, and the great progress they 
 made in the acquisition of knowledge. The school con- 
 tinues usually at one time in the same place six or nine 
 months, which depends on local circumstances, the num- 
 ber of children, and the progress which the children 
 make. In some districts they learn with much greater 
 rapidity than in others ; the causes of this are various, 
 which I cannot enumerate here. This has been my mode 
 of proceeding, subject to some local variations, for above 
 twenty-three years ; and I have had the only satisfaction 
 I could wish that of seeing the work, by the Lord's 
 blessing, prospering far beyond my most sanguine ex- 
 pectations. The beginning was small, but the little 
 brook became an overflowing river, which has spread 
 widely over the whole country in Sunday schools, the 
 wholesome effects of these previous institutions, fertiliz- 
 ing the barren soil wherever it flows. 
 
 " As to the expediency of teaching young people, in 
 ihejirst place, to read the language they generally speak 
 and best understand, if imparting religious knowledge 
 is our primary object, as it most certainly ought to be, 
 in instructing immortal beings, it needs no proof, for it 
 is self-evident. However, I beg your attention for a 
 moment to the following particulars, making no apology 
 for the great length of this letter, as you desired me to 
 be particular. 1. The time necessary to teach them to 
 read the Bible in their vernacular language is so short, 
 not exceeding six months in general, that it is a great 
 pity not to give them the key immediately which un- 
 locks all the doors, and lays open all the divine treasures 
 before them. Teaching them English requires two or 
 three years' time, during which long period they are
 
 184 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 concerned only about dry terms, without receiving one 
 idea for their improvement. 2. Welsh words convey 
 ideas to their infant minds as soon as they can read 
 them, which is not the case when they are taught to 
 read a language they do not understand. 3. When they 
 can read Welsh, scriptural terms become intelligible and 
 familiar to them, so as to enable them to understand the 
 discourse delivered in that language (the language in ge- 
 neral preached through the Principality ,*) which, of 
 course, must prove more profitable than if they could 
 not read at all, or read only the English language. 4. 
 Previous instruction in their native tongue helps them 
 to learn English much sooner, instead of proving in any 
 degree an inconveniency. This I have had repeated 
 proofs of, and can confidently vouch for the truth of it. 
 I took this method of instructing my own children, with 
 the view of convincing the country of the fallacy of the 
 general notion which prevailed to the contrary ; and I 
 have persuaded others to follow my plan, which, with- 
 out one exception, has proved the truth of what I con. 
 ceived to be really the case. 5. Having acquired new 
 ideas by reading a language they understand, excite- 
 ment is naturally produced to seek for knowledge ; and 
 as our ancient language is very deficient in the means 
 of instruction, there being few useful books printed in 
 it, a desire to learn English, yea, and other languages 
 also, is excited, for the sake of increasing their stock of 
 of ideas, and adding to their fund of knowledge. I can 
 vouch for the truth of it, that there are twenty to one 
 who can now read English to what could when the 
 Welsh was entirely neglected. The knowledge of the 
 English is become necessary, from the treasures con- 
 tained in it. English books are now generally called for ; 
 there are now a hundred books, I am sure, for every one 
 
 * What a contrast, I may add, to the present state of Ireland !
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 185 
 
 that was in the country when I removed from England, 
 and first became a resident in these parts. English schools 
 are everywhere called for, and I have been obliged to 
 send young men to English schools, to be trained up for 
 English teachers, that I might be able, in some degree, 
 to answer the general demand for them. In short, the 
 whole country is in a manner emerging from a state of 
 great ignorance and ferocious barbarity to civilization 
 and piety, and that principally by means of the Welsh 
 schools. Bibles without end are called for, and read di- 
 ligently, learned out by heart, and searched into with 
 unwearied assiduity and care. Instead of vain amuse- 
 ments, dancing, card-playing, interludes, quarrelling, 
 and barbarous and most cruel fightings, we have now 
 prayer-meetings, our congregations are crowded, and 
 public catechising is become pleasant, familiar, and pro- 
 fitable. One great means of this blessed change has 
 been the Welsh schools, 6. By teaching the Welsh Jirst, 
 we prove to them that we are principally concerned 
 about their souls, and thereby naturally impress their 
 minds with the vast importance of acquiring the know- 
 ledge of divine truths, in which the way of salvation, 
 our duty to God and man, is revealed ; whereas that 
 most important point is totally out of sight by teaching 
 them English ; for the acquisition of the English is con- 
 nected only with their temporal concerns, and which 
 they may never want, for they may, as the majority do, 
 die in infancy. In my opinion, in the education of chil- 
 dren, it is of the utmost importance, in the first place, 
 to impress their minds with a sense that they are candi- 
 dates for another world, and that the things pertaining 
 to their eternal felicity there are of infinitely greater 
 importance to them, than the little concerns which 
 belong to our short existence. The neglect of this is, 
 I apprehend, a very great defect in the education of 
 children. 
 
 c( What I have put down here is, I apprehend, equally
 
 186 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 applicable to the Irish and the Highlanders as to the 
 Welsh. Praying for your success, I am, yours respect- 
 fully/' &c. 
 
 In the course of the same year in which the above 
 letter was written, Mr Charles turned his attention to 
 the importance of establishing adult schools, of which I 
 had the pleasure to receive the following notice, dated 
 the 18th of December, 1811 : 
 
 " I am much obliged to you for your kind favour re- 
 ceived by this day's post, and I rejoice at the persever- 
 ing efforts made to teach the poor Highlanders. The 
 schools go on here with increasing success, and the ef- 
 fects of them in many parts of the country are visible, 
 in the increase of the knowledge of the sacred Scrip- 
 tures, and melioration of the morals of the plebeians in 
 general. 
 
 " I have of late turned my attention more than ever 
 to the aged illiterate people in our country. On minute 
 inquiries I find there are very many who cannot read, 
 and of course are very ignorant, though I had before 
 given general exhortations on that head, and invited 
 them to attend the schools, but with very little success. 
 At last I determined to try what effect a school exclu- 
 sively Jbr themselves would have. I fixed upon a district, 
 where I had been informed that most of the inhabitants 
 above Jlfly years of age could not read, and I prevailed 
 on a friend to promise to attend to teach them. I went 
 there after a previous publication being given of my 
 coming ; published the school, and exhorted them all to 
 attend. My friend went there, and eighteen attended 
 the first Sunday. He found them in a state of most de- 
 plorable ignorance. By condescension, patience, and 
 kindness, he soon engaged them to learn, and their de- 
 sire for learning soon became as great as any rve have 
 seen among the young people. They had their little ele- 
 mentary books with them whilst at work, and met in 
 the evenings of their own accord to teach one another-
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 187 
 
 Their school is now increased to eighty persons, and 
 some of them read their Testaments, though it is not 
 three months since the school commenced. Children 
 are excluded from this school ; but we have another 
 school for them. The rumour of the success of this 
 school has spread abroad, and has greatly removed the 
 discouragement which old people felt from attempting 
 to learn, from the general persuasion that they could 
 not learn at their age. This has been practically proved 
 to be false; for old persons of seventy-jive years of age 
 have learnt to read in this school, to their great joy. 
 Several other similar institutions have been set up since, 
 and promise similar success." * 
 
 MANKS. If it had in any instance been practicable 
 directly to abolish a colloquial dialect in Britain, one 
 might have expected to have witnessed success within 
 the very narrow limits of the Isle of Mann ; and, indeed, 
 about the year 1740, it was confidently affirmed that the 
 " ancient Bishop of Sodor and Mann (Wilson) had 
 found means to bring the Manks into disuse." How 
 this assertion came to be made, what it could possibly 
 mean, or with whom it originated, I cannot ascertain, 
 but it was certainly far from the truth. On the con> 
 trary, the Manks is such an interesting case, and one so 
 much in point, that I make no apology for inserting 
 some account of it here in reply. 
 
 * In the last letter with which I was favoured from this indefatigable man, lie 
 says, " The tidings respecting the charity schools are favourable, and our schools 
 are more crowded than ever with adults as well as children." " I have to lament 
 much that I have in a degree spent half my time, though very busy, yet not in 
 that line in which I see now most good might have been done. Now my strength 
 begins to fail me for great exertion. Last summer (1813) I was laid aside for two 
 months by great debility of body, owing, my doctors say, to over-exertion. Through 
 mercy I am considerably recovered, but still incapable of pursuing my usual la- 
 bours with that assiduity and exertion I used to do." During the following spring, 
 Mr Charles often said, while superintending an edition of the Welsh Scriptures, 
 " As soon as I have finished this, I shall be content to lay my head on my pillow 
 and die." This work was finished on the 19th of August, and Mr Charles died on 
 Wednesday morning, the 5th of October, 1814,
 
 188 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 Even so early as the beginning of the seventeenth 
 century, J. Philips, a Welshman, and Bishop of Mann, 
 is said to have translated the Scriptures into Manks ; 
 but if he did, no remnant of his translation was known 
 in the last century. It certainly was never printed, 
 though the book of Common-Prayer, by him, in manu- 
 script, was then extant. But, notwithstanding the con- 
 fident assertion already quoted, so far was Bishop Wil- 
 son from being accessary to such an idea, that the first 
 book ever printed in Manks was by him, and of his 
 composition his " Principles and Duties of Christi- 
 anity," in Manks and English, published so early as 
 1699. Indeed the two individuals who are now quoted 
 by way of eminence, as the Bishops of Sodor and Mann, 
 are Bishops Wilson and Hildesley ; and it is certain 
 that, with the former, the Manks translation of the 
 Scriptures originated, and under the latter it was com- 
 pleted. 
 
 The translation of the New Testament, in particular, 
 into Manks, was first concerted in 1722, between Bi- 
 shop Wilson and Dr William Walker, one of his vicars, 
 while they were wrongously imprisoned in the gaol of 
 Castle Rushen by the governor of the island ; and under 
 their direction the Gospel of Matthew was completed 
 and printed. The other Evangelists, with the Acts, 
 were left prepared for the press by this venerable man, 
 who was fifty-eight years Bishop of the Island, and 
 died, in 1755, at the very advanced age of ninty-three. 
 Of the parts now mentioned, Dr Walker was the trans- 
 lator. 
 
 The principal place, however, is due to Dr Mark 
 Hildesley, Bishop of Mann, who succeeded him. Im- 
 mediately upon entering on his charge, the translation 
 of the whole Scriptures was taken up by Dr H. with 
 the deepest solicitude and ardour. The number of 
 translators employed may serve of itself as one evidence 
 of his zeal in his cause. The Old Testament remaining
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 189 
 
 untranslated, he divided it into 24 parts, which were 
 first given to 24 different persons, viz. his vicar-general, 
 archdeacon, rector, a chaplain,* fourteen vicars, four 
 curates, and one gentleman, who seems to have had no 
 clerical appointment. These were all resident in the 
 island : the twenty-fourth individual, to whom the 
 minor prophets were committed, was one of the episco- 
 pal ministers in Edinburgh at that time, the Rev. Wil- 
 liam Fitzsimmons. The work, thus far completed, was 
 then committed to the care of Dr Moore and Dr Kelly, 
 after-mentioned. 
 
 Dr Hildesley himself applied with great assiduity to 
 the Manks, and succeeded so far as to conduct the pub- 
 lic service in what the islanders called " very pretty 
 Manks." " I would give five hundred pounds," said 
 he, " were I enough master of it to be able to trans- 
 late, and I believe I shall give half as much to promote 
 the improvement of it in those who can." Having ap- 
 plied with success to the Society for promoting Chris- 
 tian Knowledge, and secured, through his own zealous 
 exertions, the liberal aid of various other persons, for 
 which he was good-naturedly called the mendicant Bi- 
 shop, it was not long before the Gospels and the Acts 
 were ready and circulated. Upon which the Bishop 
 writes to Mr Moore, after-mentioned, " the vast eager- 
 ness and joy with which the first specimen has been re- 
 ceived and sought for have amply convinced me of the 
 utility of the undertaking, had I had no previous per- 
 suasion in my own mind of the real benefit it must 
 needs be to the souls of the far greater part of the peo- 
 ple of my charge." As this good man proceeded, his 
 ardour continued to increase ; and no wonder, for it 
 met with many things which were well calculated to pro- 
 mote it. " My whole heart," said he to a correspond- 
 
 * Not the Bishop's chaplain, for he is recorded never to have kept one, but offi- 
 ciated himself, every Sabbath, in his own chapel. 
 
 B2
 
 190 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 ent, " is set on Manks translations." Hie labor, hoc 
 opus est. A poor woman in this parish, upon her son's 
 reading a chapter to her, cried out with great exulta- 
 tion, " We have sat in darkness (dorraghys) till now." 
 
 In this design, however, Dr H. had to encounter 
 both ridicule and indifference, if not opposition ; as in- 
 deed all have had to do, in a greater or less degree, who 
 have endeavoured to promote the translation and circu- 
 lation of the Scriptures in any of the Celtic or Iberian 
 dialects. None of these things moved him, however, as 
 appears in his letter of the 21st Dec. 1763, to Mr frfoore. 
 " Now, Sir, in answer to your letter of the 17th, I have 
 to observe, that I know of no Manksman who has shown 
 any dislike, as you seem to suppose, to the Society's 
 proposal ; but to the scheme of the poor wrong-headed 
 Bishop for introducing Manks printed Gospels and Li- 
 turgy several are disapprovers, both north and south, in 
 this Ellan-shaint ; as if he were intending to ruin the 
 country, by extending the light of our holy religion to 
 them who sit in darkness, for want of a Manks book, 
 whereby to see, with their own eyes, the wonderful dis- 
 pensation of God's revealing goodness to the sons of 
 men. But that the printed proposals were also received 
 coldly is also too sure; and that by those who, I would 
 have thought, would have lifted up their hands and 
 voices to Heaven in thankfulness for such providential 
 assistance. Discouraged, my friend : No ! Those, or a 
 .hundred pails of water poured on my design, will never 
 quench the living fire of my zeal to pursue it, so long 
 as I have breath to spe"ak with, or a pen to write." 
 From the Manksmen, indeed, Dr H. met with warm 
 returns of gratitude and praise ; but, on the one hand, 
 . as he could not be moved from his zealous constancy, 
 . so, on the other, he never lost his characteristic lowli- 
 ness of mind. " Your compliment," said he one day to 
 Mr Moore, " your compliment about my importance to 
 this diocese, especially with regard to the design I have
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 191 
 
 in hand, I note that it comes from a friend too partial 
 in my favour. What my enemies say, if I have any, 
 perhaps may be more serviceable to me, by letting me 
 see my real self, and thereby helping to humble me." 
 
 In reference to this translation of the Sacred Vo- 
 lume, the Bishop had frequently been in the habit 
 of saying, " I wish but to live to see it finished, and 
 should then be happy, die when I would :" and these 
 words gave a peculiar emphasis to the closing scene of 
 his life. " On Saturday, the 28th of November, 1772, 
 he was crowned with the inexpressible happiness of 
 receiving the last part of the Bible translation : upon 
 which occasion, according to his own repeated promise, 
 he very emphatically sang, nunc, Domine, dimiltis ! in 
 the presence of his congratulating family." The next 
 day, in his own chapel, he preached on " the uncertainty 
 of human life;" urging, with much energy, the duty of 
 providing for our summons hence, and standing before 
 the great tribunal. In the evening he again called his 
 family together, and resumed the subject, and this with 
 such convincing force, and so friendly a feeling for his 
 domestic audience, as drew tears from every eye. Thus, 
 " in something like prophetic strain," did the good man 
 seem to have anticipated and prepared others for his 
 decease ; for on the Monday following, the 30th of No- 
 vember, 1772, after dining and conversing cheerfully, 
 he was seized with apoplexy, which in a moment de- 
 prived him of his intellectual powers. In this situation 
 he remained a week, and then calmly resigned his spirit 
 in the 74th year of his age. His zeal for the completion 
 and publication of the Manks Scriptures had continued 
 unwearied through life, and he is said to have " carried 
 it with him to the grave, and even into his grave : as he 
 had by his will directed that the funeral office and sermon 
 should be in the Manks language, and left three hundred 
 pounds to the Society for promoting Christian Know- 
 ledge towards a future edition of the Manks Bible, &c."
 
 192 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 The Rev. Philip Moore, a native of the Isle of Mann, 
 has been repeatedly referred to. He had been educated 
 under old Bishop Wilson, and was rector of Kirkbride, 
 in Mann. At the request of the Society for promoting 
 Christian Knowledge, and under Bishop Hildesley, he 
 undertook the revision of the whole translation, in con- 
 nexion with Dr Kelly, and he was favoured with the 
 advice of Bishop Lowth and Dr Kennicot, both of whom 
 took an interest in this work. One capital article in the 
 bond of union between Bishop Hildesley and Mr Moore 
 was certainly his deep interest in the Manks translation, 
 which the latter even left on record, in rather remark- 
 able terms, in his will, dated 14th December, 1778, as 
 follows : " Auspicante Deo, et per totam vitam favente 
 Christo, I, Philip Moore, rector of Kirk-Bride, and 
 chaplain in Douglas, now in the 49th year of my minis- 
 tration, and the 74th of my age ; yet of sound mind, 
 good memory, and health uncommon at this time of life ; 
 for which, and all the blessings and comforts of existence, 
 I cannot too much magnify, bless, and adore the Almighty 
 Lord and Author of our happiness ; but, above all, that 
 I had a capital hand and concern in the Manks Scriptures," 
 &c. After a few hours illness, Mr Moore died in the 
 year 1783, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. At 
 the time of his decease, all the clergy of the island, ex- 
 cept four, had been educated under his care. 
 
 The Rev. Dr John Kelly, already mentioned, was born 
 at Douglas, in 1750, and at an early age discovered such 
 proficiency in the language as marked him out for es- 
 sential service in furthering the Manks translation. At 
 the age of eighteen he entered on the work, and for the 
 space of four years and a half was incessantly engaged 
 in it. . He transcribed, fair, the whole version, from 
 Genesis to Revelation, for the press. In connexion with 
 Mr Moore, he revised the proof-sheets, corrected the 
 press, and superintended the whole impression as far as 
 the Epistles, besides the subsequent editions of the New
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 193 
 
 Testament. During the progress of this work, one cir- 
 cumstance occurred of considerable interest, which is 
 mentioned by Dr Kelly. " I began," says he, " to re- 
 vise, correct, and transcribe the Gaelic (Manks) transla- 
 tion of the Bible on the 1st June, 1768. The Penta- 
 teuch was soon also ready for the press, and we arrived 
 at Whitehaven, where the work was printed in April, 
 1770. On our next return from the island to White- 
 haven, the 19th of March, 1TJ1, with another portion, 
 from Deuteronomy to Job inclusive, we were shipwreck- 
 ed in a storm. With no small difficulty and danger the 
 manuscript was preserved, by holding it above the water 
 for the space of Jive hours, and this was almost the only 
 article saved !" This work was completed, as already 
 stated, in November, 1772. In 1776 Dr Kelly became 
 Episcopal minister at Ayr, in 1779 he engaged as tu- 
 tor to the present Duke of Gordon, then Marquis of 
 Huntly, in 1791 he was Vicar of Ardleigh, near Col- 
 chester proceeded LL.D. at Cambridge in 1799; and 
 on being appointed Rector of Copford, not far from Ard- 
 leigh, he resigned the latter. In the year 1803 he pub- 
 lished his " Practical Grammar" of the Manks, and in 
 1805 issued proposals for a " Triglot Dictionary of the 
 Celtic, as spoken in the Highlands, Ireland, and the 
 Isle of Mann;" but, in 1808, the sixty-three sheets 
 printed off were consumed by a fire in the office, and the 
 work has not since appeared. Dr Kelly died next year. 
 In the course of about 36 years, viz. from 1762 to 
 1798, there was raised above L.4000 in aid of the Manks 
 Scriptures, and other publications in that tongue. 
 Among the benefactions there appears one, in 1770, of 
 L.500, from the Right Hon. Mary Countess Dowager 
 Gower, part of the charities of her deceased father, 
 Thomas Earl of Thanet. There was also a Lincoln- 
 shire Baronet, Sir John Thorold, a most benevolent cha- 
 racter, who entered into the design with great ardour, 
 and gave at different periods to the amount of L.500
 
 ]94 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 sterling. Both the Bishop and his translators were ani- 
 mated in their progress by the letters of this truly-ex- 
 cellent man. As for our own day, the following para- 
 graph from the Eleventh Report of the Bible Society 
 may suffice : " The Right Rev. the Bishop of Sodor 
 and Mann, having recommended to his clergy to ascer- 
 tain the want of the Scriptures in their respective pa- 
 rishes, and returns having been made in compliance with 
 that recommendation, thirteen hundred and twenty-six 
 copies of the Monks New Testament, together with 
 some English Bibles and Testaments, charged at reduced 
 prices, have been sent to the Bishop for the accommoda- 
 tion of the inhabitants of that island." Future demands 
 are also anticipated; for the New Testament in the Manks 
 language, which has been provided for the sole use of 
 the inhabitants of that island, is a stereotype edition. In 
 1821 a society was formed for teaching the people to 
 read their own language, pleading the Gaelic and Irish 
 precedents as examples which they had found mtist be 
 followed. The number of inhabitants is at present above 
 forty thousand, of whom twenty-five or thirty thousand 
 are Manksmen. 
 
 GAELIC. About the beginning of last century, the 
 opposition to the cultivation of the Gaelic language was 
 so strong, that several true friends to their country found 
 it absolutely necessarjr to draw up and circulate a paper 
 on the subject, entitled, " An Answer to the Objections 
 against Printing the Bible in Irish."* From this docu- 
 ment the few following sentences are extracted : " It is 
 not to be doubted, that a great many who make this 
 
 * The Irish and the Gaelic language are tiie same, and at this period it was ge- 
 nerally said to be the Irish which was spoken in the High lands of Scotland. Those 
 who have attended to this subject must have observed, that the word Irish was 
 gradually changed into Erse, which denotes the same language that is now gene- 
 rally called Gaelic. In 1814, the writer of this, when in Galway, found a vessel 
 lying there from Lewis, one of the Western Isles, the master of which remarked 
 to him, " the people here speak curious Gaelic ;" but he understood them easily ;
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 195 
 
 objection do it without any bad design, but only through 
 their not considering the matter sufficiently." The im- 
 possibility of exterminating the language in that age, 
 by the various methods proposed, is then shown, and 
 the improbability of its being effected in succeeding 
 ages, or for a great while to come. " Where," it is ask- 
 ed, " is there an instance of any such thing that has 
 been done anywhere in the world, except in such places 
 where the conquerors have been more numerous than 
 the conquered? It is known to all who are acquainted 
 with the state of Europe, that in most kingdoms there 
 are some provinces which speak a different language 
 from what is spoken in the rest of the provinces of the 
 same kingdom." It has not been known or heard of in 
 this age, nor, for any thing we can learn, in some past 
 ages, that any one parish where they have been wont to 
 preach in Irish, has learned so much English as not 
 still to need a preacher in the Irish language.* " It is 
 very considerable, [[worthy of consideration^] that in 
 Kintyre, whence the Highlanders were expelled, and 
 where others who spoke English were planted in their 
 stead, in process of time, by frequent conversation with 
 the neighbouring Highlanders, many of them, instead of 
 
 and commerce is actually carried on between the Highlanders and the Irish 
 through the medium of their common language. There is now before me a 
 " grammar of the Gaelic language in what is called the Irish character," published 
 in Dublin in the year 1808. This is just an Irish elementary work. 
 
 * The pertinacious adherence of mankind to their " mother tongue" might be 
 verified by a number of remarkable proofs : " It is a curious fact," says a writer in 
 the Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. xx. p. 490, " that the hills of King's Seat 
 and Craigy Bams, which form the lower boundary of Dowally, (parish in Perth- 
 shire), have been,/or centuries, the separating barrier of the English and Gaelic. 
 In the first house below them, the English is and has been spoken ; and the Gaelic 
 in the first house, not above a mile distant, above them." In different parts of 
 Ireland something similar to this will be found. It is said, that, on crossing the 
 river Barrow, a very striking difference is observable : on the eastern bank English 
 is spoken, and Irish scarcely known; a little way interior it is quite the reverse. 
 There is also a very curious case in the barony of Forth, Tacumshane, near Wex- 
 ford, opposite to Pembrokeshire, into which the Welsh might inquire, as it is said 
 to be the British of the twelfth century. Ledwich says much older. The present 
 incumbent, on the other hand, speaks of it as allied to the language of Chaucer in 
 his Canterbury Tales.
 
 196 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 propagating the English language, have learned Irish ; 
 so that now they preach once a day in Irish in the chief 
 churches in the country." 
 
 Notwithstanding the powerful arguments then addu- 
 ced, the Gaelic language stood in need of a subsequent 
 advocate ; for it was on behalf of this people that, above 
 sixty years afterwards, Dr Samuel Johnson addressed 
 the following admirable letter to Mr William Drum- 
 mond of Edinburgh : 
 
 " Johnson's Court, Fleet Street, 13th August, 1766. 
 " SIR, I did not expect to hear that it could be, in 
 an assembly convened for the propagation of Christian 
 knowledge, a question whether any nation uninstructed 
 in religion should receive instruction ; or whether that 
 instruction should be imparted to them by a translation 
 of the holy books into their own language. If obedience 
 to the will of God be necessary to happiness, and know- 
 ledge of his will be necessary to obedience, I know not 
 how he that withholds this knowledge, or delays it, can 
 be said to love his neighbour as himself. He that vo- 
 luntarily continues in ignorance is guilty of all the crimes 
 which ignorance produces ; as to him that should extin- 
 guish the tapers of a light-house might justly be imput- 
 ed the calamities of shipwreck. Christianity is the high- 
 est perfection of humanity ; and as no man is good but 
 as he wishes the good of others, no man can be good in 
 the highest degree who wishes not to others the largest 
 measures of the greatest good. To omit for a year, or 
 for a day, the most efficacious method of advancing 
 Christianity, in compliance with any purposes that ter- 
 minate on this side of the grave, is a crime of which I 
 know not that the world has yet had an example, except 
 in the practice of the planters in America, a race of mor- 
 tals whom, I suppose, no other man wishes to re- 
 semble. 
 
 " I am not very willing that any language should be 
 totally extinguished. The similitude and derivation of
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 197 
 
 languages afford the most indubitable proof of the tra- 
 duction of nations, and the genealogy of mankind. They 
 add often physical certainty to historical evidence ; and 
 often supply the only evidence of ancient migrations, 
 and of the revolution of ages, which left no written 
 monuments behind them. 
 
 " Every man's opinions, at least his desires, are a little 
 influenced by his favourite studies. My zeal for lan- 
 guages may seem, perhaps, rather over-heated, even to 
 those by whom I desire to be well-esteemed. To those 
 who have nothing in their thoughts but trade or policy, 
 present power, or present money, I should not think it 
 necessary to defend my opinions ; but with men of let- 
 ters I would not unwillingly compound, by wishing the 
 continuance of every language, however narrow in its 
 extent, or however incommodious for common purposes, 
 till it is reposited in some version of a known book, that 
 it may be always hereafter examined and compared with 
 other languages, and then permitting its disuse. For 
 this purpose, the translation of the Bible is most to be 
 desired. It is not certain that the same method will not 
 preserve the Highland language, for the purposes of 
 learning, and abolish it from daily use. When the High- 
 landers read the Bible, they will naturally wish to have 
 its obscurities cleared, and to know the history, colla- 
 teral or dependent. Knowledge always desires increase*; 
 it is like fire, which must be kindled by some external 
 agent, but which will afterwards propagate itself. When 
 they once desire to learn, they will naturally have re- 
 course to the nearest language by which that desire can 
 be gratified ; and one will tell another, that if he would 
 attain knowledge he must learn English. 
 
 " This speculation may, perhaps, be thought more 
 subtle than the grossness of real life will easily admit. 
 Let it, however, be remembered, that the efficacy of ig- 
 norance has long been tried, and has not produced the 
 consequence expected. Let knowledge, therefore, take
 
 198 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 its turn ; and let the patrons of privation stand a \vhile 
 aside, and admit the operation of positive principles. 
 
 " You will be pleased, Sir, to assure the worthy man 
 who is employed in the new translation, that he has my 
 wishes for his success ; and if here, or at Oxford, I can 
 be of any use, that I shall think it more than honour to 
 promote his undertaking.* I am sorry that I delayed so 
 long to write. I am," &c. 
 
 After such a letter as this, it may seem strange that 
 schools for the education of our Highlanders, directly 
 and in the first instance, to read their own language, 
 were not established until 1811, more than fifty years 
 afterwards. Such, however, is the fact. After an ac- 
 quaintance with the state of the Highlands, all along 
 the western coast of Scotland, in 1810, the writer could 
 find nothing of the sort. The practice universally was, 
 that of teaching English first ; and no small prejudice 
 was then discovered at the idea of teaching at once the 
 vernacular tongue. There was then even no elementary 
 book, save Dr A. Stewart's large 8vo grammar. The 
 letter procured from Mr Charles of Wales, already 
 quoted, was among the steps preparatory. Now the 
 prejudice is gone. His Majesty, on visiting Scotland, 
 through Mr Peel, with great cordiality became Patron 
 of the Society for the Support of Gaelic Schools, and 
 since that period the Society for propagating Christian 
 knowledge and the General Assembly have cordially 
 taken up the same idea. 
 
 In regard to the exertions which are now making to 
 instruct the Highlanders in reading their vernacular 
 tongue, as the particulars are in the possession of the 
 public,it is deemed quite superfluous to insert a single ex- 
 
 * Dr Johnson here alludes to the translation of the New Testament into the 
 Gaelic language, by the Rev. James Stewart of Kiilin, which was printed in 1767, 
 at the expense of the Society in Scotland for propagating Christian Knowledge.
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 199 
 
 tract. Suffice it to say, that there are scholars at this 
 moment learning the Gaelic, with remarkable avidity 
 and profit to themselves, and that from the ages of five 
 and six to eighty and even ninety years. There would 
 seem to be a fascination in these Celtic dialects peculiar to 
 themselves ; for whatever may be said in reply, we have 
 never evinced such intense delight in our native lan- 
 guage. To these Gaelic schools have resorted not only 
 the child of tender years, but the old man and old 
 woman stooping for age. Never, since education was 
 promoted by any body of men, was it found necessary 
 to supply assistance to the eyes themselves : yet such 
 has been the eagerness of certain aged scholars in the 
 Highlands, that within these two years, in order to 
 meet it, the Gaelic School Society have had placed at 
 their disposal not fewer than one hundred and twenty 
 pairs of spectacles ! But I must not enlarge, and shall 
 simply advert to one school in the Hebrides, where 237 
 scholars were present at the examination, of all ages, 
 from literally a great-great-grandmother down to the 
 child of five years. And, oh ! why should not such a 
 heart-stirring sight soon be seen among the long, long- 
 neglected islanders of Ireland?* 
 
 After this ample detail, which, but for the views 
 which have been entertained by many, would have been 
 quite unnecessary, the reader, it is hoped, will now be 
 prepared for this certain, and, with respect to our sister 
 country, most important conclusion, that, if it is desir- 
 able to enlighten the minds of this class of British sub- 
 jects, and at the same time extend the limits of the Eng- 
 lish language in the Irish districts, the only effectual and 
 the most expeditious way of doing so is by teaching 
 them to read their own tongue, the Native Irish. Thus 
 you implant a thirst for knowledge ; and eventually 
 
 * These exertions will be glanced at again, when we come to contrast them with 
 the truly deplorable condition of the islands round the coast of Ireland.
 
 200 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 make the learning to read English a matter of choice and 
 desire, an important object indeed, but one which can 
 never be effected either by violence or neglect. 
 
 II. But though the Irish is spoken to great extent, still 
 many, of the people understand the English language, and 
 the English is daily spreading among them. 
 
 Certainly the reader is now competent to answer this 
 objection. He will 'naturally advert to several parts of 
 the preceding pages. Hence it will appear, that the 
 cultivation of the Irish has been proved to be the most 
 efficient means of accelerating the progress of the Eng- 
 lish language ; and as to these people at present under- 
 standing it, the assertion must be received with very 
 considerable limitations. The truth is, that the great 
 majority do not, and even with regard to those who do, 
 to what extent are they acquainted with the English 
 language ? Every language, let it be remembered, has, 
 what may be styled, its different departments commer- 
 cial, political, and religious. Does it therefore follow, 
 that because a Native Irishman can buy and sell, or be- 
 cause an Irish waiter, at a country inn, can reply to a 
 traveller, in English, that either of them can reason in 
 this language, or follow the argument and address of 
 moral and religious discourse ? By no means. The Irish 
 is still the language of his heart, and even of the best 
 part of his understanding. In it, he still continues to 
 express his joy or sorrow ; for this is the language which 
 is associated with his earliest recollections. In it, his 
 mother hushed him to rest in the days of his infancy ; 
 and in youth, if he had an ear for music, it was charmed 
 with the numbers of " Culan," or of " Erin gu brath." 
 The very language of the Irish gentleman, therefore, in- 
 terests his feelings, while, as long as things remain in 
 their present state, that of the mere Englishman never 
 can. There can therefore be no doubt, that the degree
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 201 
 
 to which the great body of Native Irish peasantry un- 
 derstand the English language, is quite compatible with 
 absolute ignorance of Divine revelation, and indeed, as 
 far as English is concerned, of abstract reasoning on any 
 subject whatever. 
 
 III. But the Irish language, which is spoken by the po- 
 pulation, is not the same which is to be found in books. 
 
 In reply to this objection, I have to assure the reader, 
 that it has now been fully ascertained to be founded 
 wholly in mistake. It is probable that the idea origi- 
 nated in the circumstance of some Irish gentlemen, who 
 had not studied the language, having said, upon first 
 looking at an Irish book, that they could make nothing 
 of it. " But no person," said Dr Stokes, " would ex- 
 pect that one who could speak and read English, and 
 could also speak French, having never read it, should 
 be able to read French at first trial. If, indeed, the let- 
 ters had the same sounds in different languages, and 
 that all letters were sounded, men might read a new 
 language at sight, as they do music; but this is far 
 from being the case." 
 
 Let us proceed, however, to matter of fact. " I have 
 read," says Mr Richardson, " the Bible in Irish to the 
 common people both publicly and privately, and they 
 declared that they understood very well ; and that I 
 might be satisfied they did so, I caused some of them to 
 translate several sentences, which they did exactly; be- 
 sides, if the case were not so, care might be taken for 
 the future to print the Irish as it is spoken." Thus it 
 was above a hundred years ago, and so it is now. The 
 Rev. Mr Graham, curate of Kilrush, county of Clare, 
 in a letter dated the 3d of February, 1806, when speak- 
 ing of certain young people, who understand and had 
 learned to read Irish, says, " they are in the habit of 
 reading in the intervals of labour, and particularly dur-
 
 202 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 ing the long winter nights, to circles of their friends and 
 neighbours, who are illiterate, and understand the Irish 
 only. By this means the knowledge of the divine truths 
 of Scripture are propounded to the hearts and under- 
 standings of multitudes, who would otherwise have gone 
 to the grave as ignorant as myriads of their ancestors." 
 Whenever Dr Dewar announced that the Scriptures 
 would be read in the Irish language, crowds not only 
 came to hear, but they listened with manifest pleasure 
 and eager intelligence. " I was astonished," says this 
 gentleman, " to find, in the wildest parts of Donegal, a 
 man with neither shoes nor stockings, who gave me a 
 clear and correct account of the peculiarities of Irish 
 grammar." In 1814, the writer, in passing through 
 Connaught, found a schoolmaster teaching a school on 
 his own account, who, for several months, had been in 
 the habit of reading the Irish New Testament to his 
 neighbours ; and as a proof that his labour was not lost 
 to those poor people, one of them brought a candle al- 
 ternately, or at least they furnished light, while he read 
 to them the Irish Scriptures. On reading the affecting 
 parable of the rich man and Lazarus, he said, they called 
 out to him, " Read it again read it again ;" and they 
 also had their favourite passages in consequence of this 
 exercise. 
 
 But it is in vain to multiply proofs, and happily now 
 unnecessary. Any individual who chooses to acquaint 
 himself with what has been going on for the last few 
 years, in the business of teaching the Native Irish to 
 read their own language, will find many practical an- 
 swers to every theoretical objection. Might I not ra- 
 ther ask now What would the heathen abroad say, if 
 they heard the pitiful objections that have been, and are 
 still occasionally brought forward, to the enlightening 
 of this particular branch of the empire ? How would
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 203 
 
 they feel amazement at our listening for one moment to 
 such objections as these ? " The Irish is a barbarous 
 language ; many indeed speak, but few can read it ; 
 there are few or no books in it j and, therefore, teaching 
 to read it is of little consequence ; indeed the sooner the 
 Irish is extinct the better." What ! might they not say, 
 does all this mean ? Why are not any, or all of these pre- 
 judices in operation as to us? How is it, that the same 
 nation who have translated for us the Bible into our own 
 tongue, have multiplied copies, supported schools for 
 our instruction, and whose missionaries have actually 
 acquired our own language so as to address us in it ? 
 how is it that they should have vowed such vengeance 
 against one class of their own fellow-subjects, in doing 
 so against the medium by which, from their infancy, 
 they have held intercourse with each other as rational 
 and intelligent beings ? 
 
 In conclusion, let every objector well consider the in- 
 vincible attachment of the Native Irish to their mother 
 tongue. It is of ancient standing, and it still remains. 
 So early as the beginning of the fifteenth century, 1417, 
 when the Irish septs were at deadly variance with each 
 other, from whatever cause, there was even then one 
 consideration, which could awaken and charm them into 
 common sympathy. Sometimes, when a particular sept 
 was in danger of total ruin, from the victory of some 
 English force, their neighbours were persuaded to come 
 to their rescue, and for what? " for the sake of the Irish 
 language," for so the manuscript annals express it, as 
 quoted by Leland. As septs they might be distinct as 
 the billows, as to the language, they are one as the 
 sea ; and whatever may be said to the contrary, this at- 
 tachment does remain, and in all its power, nay it is 
 common to all the Celtic tribes. There is a fascination 
 in the language itself ; and though there were not, the 
 treatment it has received is sufficient to account for the 
 present feeling ; but this very attachment may be turn-
 
 204 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 
 
 ed to the best account, and there is no occasion for fight- 
 ing with it. Indeed it has lately been remarked by a 
 French author, that " there seems to be in the language 
 of the Celtic populations a principle of duration which 
 sets time and the efforts of man at defiance."* I am in- 
 clined to go much farther than this, and apply the re- 
 mark to any colloquial dialect whatever, when suffering 
 under violent or abusive treatment. So it was with 
 our own English or Anglo-Saxon ; and the other in- 
 stances adduced prove the fact. If we are to believe the 
 Scriptures, the mysterious power which put an end to 
 the erection of Babel was, no doubt, in the first instance 
 meant as the punishment of a presumptuous design : 
 viewed in another light, and in its effects, it was as evi- 
 dently an interposition, and in favour of man, though 
 in what way I need not at present specify ; but from 
 the moment of that confusion, and often since, language, 
 an instrument in the hands /of Omnipotence, has been 
 invincible ; and though monarchs have repeatedly em- 
 ployed all their power to abolish one, it has been in 
 vain. In no other country in the world has the expe- 
 riment been so often attempted and so pertinaciously 
 pursued as in our own, and the consequence is, that our 
 history holds out to other nations a demonstrative proof, 
 (whatever may be our philosophical theory respecting 
 the origin, the formation and progress of language), that 
 once spoken, once it is in use, language is an instrument 
 which it is above the power of man as a conqueror to 
 subdue. To one remark, therefore, already made, we 
 are constrained to return and adhere ; that if any col- 
 loquial dialect is to decline, and the language spoken in 
 its vicinity is to gain the ascendency, the most direct 
 and effectual process is that of teaching to read the col- 
 loquial dialect itself, leaving the rest to God and nature. 
 
 * Thierry's Norman Conquest, vo). II. p. 273.
 
 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 205 
 
 To an Irishman in particular, or an Irish boy, you can 
 then say " Now you stand on the first spoke of the 
 ladder of knowledge, but one effort more, only one 
 spoke higher, and you are equal to the English around 
 you." 
 
 In conclusion, let the Native Irish in general have 
 only one fair and unfettered opportunity of starting 
 from this point, and it will soon be seen whether many 
 among them will not proceed far beyond the narrow li- 
 mits of their native tongue. 
 
 " There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them without 
 signification. Therefore, if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that 
 speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me." 
 
 PAUL. 
 
 " All external actions depend upon the tongue : ne man can know another's mind i* 
 this be not the interpreter ; hence as there were many tongues given to stay the building of 
 Babel, so there were many given to build the Evangelical Church. Difference of tongues 
 caused their Babel to cease, but it builds our Zion." 
 
 HALL of NORWICH.
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 THE IRISH LANGUAGE, 
 
 With proofs of the extent to which it is spoken at present, or used daily by the 
 Natives as the natural vehicle of their thoughts ; and this extent accounted for 
 or explained. . . 
 
 IN Britain it has for ages been a favourite idea with some, 
 that the perfection of territorial unity can only be at- 
 tained by uniformity of language; but it is still true, 
 that there is not a kingdom in Europe where only one 
 language is spoken. Even within the narrow limits of 
 Denmark there is German as well as Danish, and in 
 Sweden we find Norse and Finnish as well as Swedish, 
 while the monarch of the day, like our Norman Con- 
 queror of ancient time, speaks French. In France there 
 are three if not four languages, independently of French 
 proper. In Spain and Prussia there are at least three, 
 perhaps four in each. In Austria five or six, and the 
 Czar of Russia, whether his kingdom in any sense re- 
 sembles Nebuchadnezzar's image or not, like him, in ad- 
 dressing his subjects, may truly say, " The King, unto 
 all people, nations, and languages." As for the united 
 kingdom of Britain and Ireland, within its own compa- 
 ratively little boundary, from before the days of Caesar 
 until now, there has always existed diversity of language. 
 At present there are five colloquial dialects, and in some 
 of the early ages such diversity has existed, owing to the 
 entrance or invasion of other tribes, that the tongue once 
 spoken by different tribes, in different parts of Britain
 
 THE IRISH LANGUAGE, &c. 207 
 
 and Ireland, even still engages the research and the dis- 
 cussion of the antiquarian.* 
 
 Meanwhile, if the subjects of the British crown at 
 home are ever destined to be in fact * populus unius labii,' 
 it seems strange that so many political advisers have been 
 so long in perceiving, that the end, if attainable, is cer- 
 tainly never to be reached by a direct attack, but by 
 fetching a compass, not by legislative enactment, but the 
 exercise of humanity. For certainly it is not under the 
 influence of a disposition which led to our denominating 
 the dialects spoken by the subdued tribes, barbarous, 
 and in France to that of patois, and then coldly dismiss- 
 ing the subject, that these parts can ever contribute their 
 share to the strength and unity of the empire. Such 
 feelings, it is to be hoped, are now rapidly declining in 
 our own country : many, indeed, as if conscious of past 
 harshness and injustice, begin to feel a peculiar interest 
 in the actual condition of these neglected populations ; 
 and abroad, the same wise and considerate humanity is 
 now discoverable. " In place of what we call patois, 
 we find complete and regular languages ; and that which 
 appears to us now but as want of civilization, and a re- 
 sistance io the progress of improvement, assumes, in past 
 ages, the aspect of original manners, and a patriotic at- 
 tachment to ancient institutions. It were falsifying his- 
 
 " The cause of the obscurity into which these populations have sunk," says 
 Monsieur Thierry, " is not that they have been less worthy to find historians than 
 the rest : indeed most of them are remarkable for an origiuality of character 
 which powerfully distinguishes them from the great nations with which they have 
 been incorporated. >? But, to use in part the language of the same author, the dis- 
 position of historians to go at once from the conquered to the conquerors, being 
 more willing to enter the camp of the triumphant than that of the fallen, or to 
 represent the conquest as completed as soon as the conqueror had proclaimed him- 
 self master. Each of these tendencies has contributed to the mystery and confu- 
 sion in which the antiquities of Britain have been involved. Hence, to notice only 
 modern times, in scarcely one of the authors who have treated of the history of 
 England, do we find any mention of Saxons after the battle of Hastings, and the 
 coronation of William : and, I may add, hence the terms ' English and Irish,' in 
 the Irish history of the twelfth century, (if not the thirteenth), although Ireland, 
 correctly speaking, was then invaded by the Norman-French, and the Anglo. 
 Saxons in their train.
 
 208 THE IRISH LANGUAGE 
 
 tory, to introduce into it a philosophical contempt for 
 every departure from the uniformity of existing civili- 
 zation, and to consider those nations as alone worthy of 
 honourable mention, to whose names the chance of 
 events has attached, for the present and for the future, 
 the idea of that civilization."* 
 
 As to the Irish tongue, one of those which, under the 
 influence of something like this ' philosophical con- 
 tempt,' has been often denominated ' barbarous,' seve- 
 ral remarks with regard to the language itself will be 
 found in the Appendix ; a question, however, which, 
 whatever happen to be the opinion of the reader, has no 
 connexion with the point now before us, or at least no 
 practical bearing upon it. Wishing, therefore, to avoid 
 here every thing of a disputable or theoretical nature, 
 we proceed to notice the extent of the Irish language as 
 now spoken. 
 
 When contemplating the present condition of Ireland, 
 this is a subject of vital importance, and it is one which 
 should certainly no longer be treated in the manner in 
 which it has been for the last two hundred years, but 
 especially during the eighteenth century. It was du- 
 ring that century that all reasoning upon the subject was 
 condemned, and that every statement of facts was either 
 hushed into silence, or treated with the most perfect in- 
 difference. If at any moment the subject chanced to 
 cross the path of any writer, the blindest policy passed 
 for sound wisdom, and the wildest theories as to abolish- 
 ing the language were vented with perfect confidence of 
 success. 
 
 " I am deceived," said Dean Swift, " if any thing hath 
 more contributed to prevent the Irish from being tamed 
 than this encouragement of their language, which might 
 easily be abolished, and become a dead one in half an 
 
 # Thierry's Norman Conquest, Introduction, p. ii.
 
 AND ITS EXTENT. 209 
 
 age, with little expense and less trouble."* Again he 
 says " It would be a noble achievement to abolish the 
 Irish language in the kingdom, so far, at least, as to 
 oblige all the natives to speak only English on every oc- 
 casion of business, in shops, markets, fairs, and other 
 places of dealing : yet I am wholly deceived if this might 
 not be effectually done in less than half an age, and at a 
 very trifling expense ; for such I look upon a tax to be, 
 of only six thousand pounds a-year, to accomplish so 
 great a work."t 
 
 Dr Woodward, the Bishop of Cloyne, after having 
 stated that " the difference of language is a very general 
 (and where it obtains an insurmountable) obstacle to any 
 intercourse with the people," adds, very coolly, in a note, 
 " If it be asked, why the Clergy do not learn the 
 Irish language, I answer, that it should be the object of 
 government rather to take measures to bring it into en- 
 tire disuse."| Nay, though it is quite practicable to 
 speak both English and Irish with the utmost propriety, 
 the childish bugbear of an Irish accent was held over 
 the head of any gentleman who should think of acquir- 
 ing the use of the Irish language. Even in Hardy's 
 Life of Lord Charlemont we find the following passage : 
 " I have heard many gentlemen among us talk much 
 of the great convenience to those who live in the coun- 
 try that they should speak Irish. It may possibly be 
 so ; but I think they should be such as never intend to 
 visit England, upon pain of being ridiculous ; for I do 
 not remember to have heard of any one man that spoke 
 Irish who had not the accent upon his tongue easily dis- 
 cernible to any English ear !" 
 
 To refute such opinions as these is now quite unneces- 
 sary. But the Bishop of Cloyne's method of quieting 
 the consciences of the clergy was certainly very simple. 
 
 * Swiff s Works, 4to, vol. viii. p. 263. + Swift's Works, 18mo, vol. xiii. p. 66. 
 
 Present State of the Irish Church, seventh edition, London, 1787, p. 43.
 
 210 THE IRISH LANGUAGE 
 
 Unhappily it exposed him to the irony of the echo in 
 Erasmus, " Quid est sacerdotium? otium !" and he 
 was asked in return, whether it would not be easier for 
 one man to learn Irish than for a whole parish to learn 
 the English language. As for the scheme of Dean Swift, 
 which was to have finished its course in about fifty 
 years, and banished every Irish word from the land, at 
 the small cost of three hundred thousand pounds, per- 
 haps the secret died with him, for he gives us no parti- 
 culars : but it is certain, that since his time upwards of 
 two millions sterling have been professedly spent upon 
 gratuitous English education in Ireland, while the num- 
 ber who speak Irish has been going on to increase since 
 the day on which he wrote these sentences. 
 
 Very different indeed have been the sentiments of 
 some other men. Having noticed the exertions of Bedell 
 and Boyle, " But government," says Reginald Heber, 
 the late Bishop of Calcutta, " which ought to have given 
 the first impulse, was bent on a narrow and illiberal po- 
 licy of supplanting the Irish by the English language, 
 to which the present moral and religious instruction of 
 millions was to give way, and which, though it has in 
 part, succeeded, (through circumstances of which the 
 march was altogether independent of the measures taken 
 to forward it), has left a division of the national heart 
 far worse than that of the tongue, and perpetuated pre- 
 judices which might, at first, have been easily removed 
 or softened."* 
 
 The loose and erroneous estimates which were formed 
 for many years respecting the prevalence and extent of 
 the Irish tongue, and which long passed current, must 
 
 Life of Jeremy Taylor, p. cxix. The "moral and religious instruction of mil- 
 lions" haying been thus neglected is unquestionably by far the most painful retro- 
 spection. At the same time it may,be observed, that unwise policy, to say the least, 
 is always very expensive. Hence it is, to mention but one proof, that only " seven 
 thousand nine hundred and five children (educated and) apprenticed, have cost just 
 one million sterling." See First Report of Parliamentary Commissioners, p. 30.
 
 AND ITS EXTENT. 211 
 
 have led many to overlook the subject, or disregard it 
 as of no moment. During a second visit to Ireland, in 
 1814, I remember it was admitted, that the Irish lan- 
 guage Avas indeed spoken in many parts, but then, it 
 was added, that these were to be found almost exclusive- 
 ly in Connaught and Munster, not in the other two pro- 
 vinces. It was publicly asserted, in 1815-16, that the 
 number of persons in Ireland who absolutely required 
 the employment of this tongue, in order to their moral 
 and religious improvement, was not above half a mil- 
 lion ; a number, by the way, larger than the population 
 of our Highlands and Islands ; and that all the rest of 
 Ireland might be considered as capable of receiving solid 
 and useful instruction through the medium of English. 
 It is not two years since a gentleman from the county 
 of Tyrone affirmed to myself in conversation, that there 
 was little or no Irish in that county. Nay, even as to 
 the whole of these Celtic dialects, it has been recently 
 asserted and published, that they " are falling away into 
 oblivion, being superseded by the English."* 
 
 Such vague and erroneous assertions as these, however, 
 can no longer be received as evidence, and it is time, 
 whatever be the remedy, that the eye be opened to the 
 facts of the case as it respects Ireland. In a former pub- 
 lication, the writer had occasion to notice this subject ; 
 but it may be useful to refer to it again in a manner 
 somewhat more distinct, and with more decisive proof, 
 especially because this volume might otherwise be deem- 
 ed deficient. 
 
 In the year 1806, some pertinent observations were 
 printed and circulated in Dublin by the late Dr Whitley 
 Stokes, of Trinity College, on the necessity of publish- 
 ing the Scriptures in the Irish language. In this small 
 tract we find the following passage : " In order to show 
 
 * Foreign Quarterly Review, No. ii. p. 395.
 
 212 
 
 THE IRISH LANGUAGE 
 
 the importance of the subject, I shall state such infor- 
 mation as I have received of the prevailing language in 
 most counties of Ireland. I acknowledge my informa- 
 tion has not been precise, or methodically obtained, but 
 I suppose it was fairly given, and is sufficiently accurate 
 for my present purpose." That the reader may be the 
 better able to compare the opinions here given with the 
 following pages, I shall throw the whole into a tabular 
 form, and insert also the population of each county, ac- 
 cording to the last parliamentary census. 
 
 LEINSTER. 
 
 County. 
 
 Population. 
 
 Irish Language. 
 
 Louth, 
 
 ....141,011 
 
 mostly spoken. 
 
 Meath, 
 
 ....159,183 
 
 mostly spoken. 
 
 Dublin, 
 
 150,011 
 
 scarcely any. 
 
 Wicklow, 
 
 110,767 
 
 scarcely any. 
 
 Wexford, 
 
 170,806 
 
 N.W. pretty general. 
 
 Kilkenny, 
 
 168,716 
 
 prevails greatly. 
 
 Carlow, 
 
 78,952 
 
 S.W. considerable. 
 
 KiHare, 
 
 99,065 
 
 scarcely any. 
 
 Queen's, 
 
 134,275 
 
 spoken by very few. 
 
 King's, 
 
 131,088 
 
 spoken by rery few. 
 
 Westmeath, 
 
 128,819 
 
 mostly spoken. 
 
 Longford, 
 
 107,570 
 
 no return. 
 
 % -wroiift * nj 
 
 Antrim, 
 
 Down, 
 
 Armagh, 
 
 Tyrone, 
 
 Deny, 
 
 Donegal, 
 
 Fermanagh, 
 
 Cavan, 
 
 Alonaghan, 
 
 ULSTER. 
 
 ....262,860 
 
 ....325,410 
 
 ..,.197,427 
 
 ....261,865 
 
 ....193,869 , 
 
 ....248,270 
 
 ....130,997 
 
 195,07 
 
 174,697 
 
 ..spoken by a few. 
 
 ditto. 
 
 ditto. 
 
 ..half and half. 
 ..no return. 
 . .more than half. 
 ..scarce any. 
 ..spoken by many. 
 ..spoken by many. 
 
 Such were the opinions received by Dr Stokes, and 
 it should be observed, that the population of these two 
 provinces amounted by the last census to 3,755,986 ; by 
 the official corrected return since to 3,787*663 ; or, at 
 the present moment, to above four millions. As for the
 
 AND ITS EXTENT. 213 
 
 affirmations respecting the Irish tongue, the reader may 
 observe them, and then suspend his judgment till he has 
 finished this statement. With regard to the province of 
 Munster, containing 1,935,612 in the year 1821, and by 
 the corrected return 2,005,363, in the tract referred to 
 it is said, that " Irish prevails in all the counties ;" and 
 of Connaught, containing at that period 1,110,229, or by 
 the corrected return 1,053,918, that " Irish is more pre- 
 valent than in the rest of Ireland." To say nothing more 
 therefore at present of Leinster or Ulster, with regard to 
 the two last provinces, the Doctor adds, " In all the 
 counties of the province of MUNSTER the Irish language 
 prevails beyond comparison, if we except the large 
 towns, their immediate neighbourhood, and some of the 
 country along the coast. The native language is more 
 prevalent in CONNAUGHT than in the rest of Ireland. In 
 this province the gentlemen often find it convenient to 
 acquire the language, in order to deal with the peasantry 
 without an interpreter." Now these two provinces alone, 
 where Irish is so remarkably prevalent, include, at the 
 present moment, a population of about three millions 
 three hundred thousand souls, or one million more than 
 the whole of Scotland ! 
 
 In a statistical account of Ireland, published in 1812, 
 the author of which had travelled for two years through 
 by far the greater part of Ireland, the subject of the Irish 
 language frequently occurs. It may be previously re- 
 marked, that this gentleman evidently appears to have 
 had no predilection for the Irish tongue, nor any idea of 
 the necessity for its being employed as a medium for 
 education. On this account some may be more disposed 
 to listen to his testimony. 
 
 LEINSTER. In Louth and Meath, " the language uni- 
 versally spoken is Irish." In Queen's county " the Irish 
 language is very common." 
 
 ULSTER. " The people who reside in the mountain- 
 
 i2
 
 214 THE IRISH LANGUAGE 
 
 ous districts" of Antrim, Down, Armagh, and London- 
 derry, " retain the ancient Irish language, and to them 
 it is chiefly confined." " Those who wish to become 
 acquainted with the real state of the country must ex- 
 tend their journey to the mountains, where they will 
 meet with a language intelligible only to those by whom 
 it is spoken." " The mountaineers in Donegal speak the 
 Irish language," and, in general, " never emigrate from 
 the country." " On the coast of Donegal I met with a 
 peasantry who appeared to be Native Irish, and who 
 were very different from the people in the inland parts 
 of Ireland." " Most of them speak the original language ; 
 many do not know a word of English, which they called 
 Scotch." 
 
 CONNAUGHT. " On the Leitrim mountains, which I 
 crossed in the month of August, 1809, the Irish is the 
 common language." Again, " the mountainous districts 
 of Leitrim, stretching across Sligo into Mayo, are fully 
 peopled, the poor all speak Irish." " In the province 
 of Connaught, the gentry understand Irish, which faci- 
 litates their intercourse with the peasantry ; they are 
 consequently enabled to become acquainted with their 
 wants, to assist them with advice, and restrain them by 
 admonition." 
 
 MUNSTER. " In the southern part of Ireland, the 
 (Irish) language is everywhere nearly the same ; even 
 in the city of Cork, and in Youghall, the common peo- 
 ple speak Irish."* 
 
 Having quoted the testimony of an Irish and an 
 English gentleman, it may be proper to adduce one from 
 Scotland. The Rev. Dr Dewar, who, from his know- 
 ledge of Gaelic, was able to converse familiarly with 
 the Native Irish, published the result of his observations 
 
 * Wakefield's Statistical Account of Ireland, passim.
 
 AND ITS EXTENT. 215 
 
 in 1812. " The number of people/' says he, " who 
 speak this language is much greater than is generally 
 supposed. It is spoken throughout the province of 
 Connaught by all the lower orders, a great part of whom 
 scarcely understand any English ; and some of those 
 who do, understand it only so as to conduct business ; 
 they are incapable of receiving moral or religious in- 
 struction through its medium. The Irish is spoken 
 very generally throughout the other three provinces, 
 except among the descendants of the Scotch in the 
 north. It cannot be supposed that calculations on this 
 subject should be perfectly accurate, but it has been 
 calculated on good grounds, that there are about two 
 millions of people in Ireland who are incapable of un- 
 derstanding a continued discourse in English." " But, 
 supposing this calculation to be overrated by half a mil- 
 lion, there remain a million and a half, a number that 
 is five times greater than all the inhabitants of the High- 
 lands." Dr Dewar then enforces the absolute necessity 
 of educating the Native Irish through the medium of 
 their own tongue, and quotes, for illustration, part of a 
 letter from the late Mr Charles of Bala to the present 
 writer, fn consequence of his having addressed him on 
 the subject. The fact is, that during the winter of 
 
 1810, in the prospect of the formation of " The Society 
 for the Support of Gaelic Schools/' which took place in 
 
 1811, his attention was directed to the consideration of 
 all these Celtic dialects, simply with the view of ascer- 
 taining what was the proper course to pursue ; and the 
 Highlands and Islands having been taken up by the 
 public, it was impossible to overlook the still more 
 claimant condition of the sister kingdom. 
 
 In the summer of 1814, the writer visited Ireland, 
 having for his object the extent to which the Irish lan- 
 guage was in use, and the condition of the people with 
 regard to education through that medium ; his previous
 
 216 THE IRISH LANGUAGE 
 
 connexion with the Highlands having created in his 
 mind a strong desire to befriend, if it were possible, this 
 interesting but long-neglected race. For to whatever 
 extent the language was daily spoken, from his previous 
 intercourse with Highlanders, and acquaintance with 
 the state of Wales, he felt assured that to that extent it 
 must be employed for the moral and religious improve- 
 ment of the Native Irish. About five years before, he 
 had travelled through Meath, Monaghan, Tyrone, 
 Derry, Armagh, Antrim, and Down, and yet during 
 that journey, paying no attention to the subject, the ne- 
 cessity for education, through the medium of Irish, had 
 not once occurred to him ; and so it had happened 
 in a previous journey through the Highlands of Scot- 
 land, when the real state of things was not made an ob- 
 ject of investigation and inquiry. He mentions this 
 merely to account for the vague and contradictory re- 
 ports of travellers, unless they have taken up the sub- 
 ject with candour, and then pursued the inquiry. In 
 1814, however, he laid aside every other consideration 
 except this one point. Leaving Dublin, he went into 
 each of the four provinces, and the result at that time 
 was an assurance that there could not be less than two 
 millions to whom the Irish was vernacular, and in con- 
 stant use. The amount of his inquiries was then pub- 
 lished in a " Memorial on Behalf of the Native Irish, 
 with a View to their Moral and Religious Improvement 
 through the Medium of their own Language." The ob- 
 jects there recommended are now no theory. They 
 have been reduced to practice, and are heartily ap- 
 proved by many individuals, though to the present hour 
 the magnitude and urgency of the case are by no means 
 understood. 
 
 More recently this important subject has attracted the 
 attention of the Commissioners on Education in Ireland ; 
 and in their first report laid before Parliament, dated 
 the 30th of May, 1825, there is the following passage :
 
 AND ITS EXTENT. 217 
 
 " It has been estimated that the number of Irish who 
 employ the ancient language of the country exclusively 
 is not less than 500,000 ; and that at least a million 
 more, although they have some understanding of Eng- 
 lish, and can employ it for the ordinary purposes of 
 traffic, make use of their tongue on all other occasions, 
 as the natural vehicle of their thoughts. This estimate 
 agrees with the opinions of Dr Stokes, who published 
 the results of his inquiry in 1806, of Dr D. Dewar in 
 his observations on Ireland in 1812, and of Mr C. An- 
 derson in 1814 ; it has been adopted also on the more 
 recent investigations made by committees of the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society and the Hibernian Bible 
 Society, previous to the resolution which they succes- 
 sively took of reprinting the Scriptures in the Irish lan- 
 guage, according to the translation of Archbishop 
 Daniel and Bishop Bedell. A similar inquiry was 
 made, and the same conclusion drawn from it, by a 
 sub-committee of the Society for promoting the Educa- 
 tion of the Poor of Ireland, in the year 1819 or there- 
 abouts."* 
 
 When the Memorial referred to in this extract was 
 published in 1815, my impression was, that there could 
 not be less than two millions who were incapable of fol- 
 lowing an English conversation or continued discourse 
 upon any one moral or religious subject whatever, and 
 with whom therefore we were under the absolute ne- 
 cessity of employing their own language as the natural 
 and only effectual means of education. I added indeed, 
 " say one million and a half" chiefly with the view of 
 abridging discussion on a point comparatively unimpor- 
 tant, and in order to secure an active and immediate 
 co-operation in educating the long-neglected aborigines, 
 whatever their number should prove to be eventually. 
 From that time to the present, however, this subject 
 
 * First report of the Parliamentary Commissioners, p. 82.
 
 218 THE IRISH LANGUAGE 
 
 among others has not failed to engage attention and in- 
 quiry, and, but for many hinderances, had been publicly 
 noticed long since. It will be obvious that the number 
 just specified was fixed upon at the commencement of 
 such investigations, but I feel no hesitation in now af- 
 firming that it has been greatly underrated. The esti- 
 mate then made was such as it was felt could not be 
 controverted; but the proportion of two millions was 
 much below what had been asserted even then. " We 
 have descriptions," said one author, " and histories of 
 the most distant parts of the globe ; our travellers favour 
 us with the account of the habits, manners, and politi- 
 cal institutions of nearly all the nations that have been 
 called into being ; but of Ireland, a country under our 
 own government, we have little that is authentic. We 
 know that it is now a part of the British empire, we 
 are ignorant, however, that only a minority of the people 
 speak our language, although the country is almost 
 within the range of our own vision. Of the reasons for 
 this we are unacquainted, and seem careless of being 
 informed on the subject." Such was the language used 
 in 1812, when the whole population was estimated at 
 five millions and a quarter, by one who was in no de- 
 gree an enthusiast in regard to the Irish tongue, to 
 whom the necessity for its being employed in the busi- 
 ness of education had not occurred, and who therefore 
 did not suggest the necessity for the people being 
 taught to read it. Again, in 1818, when the aggregate 
 was known and admitted to be six millions, it was as- 
 serted, by a resident in the country itself, that the Irish 
 language, " after an active proscription of many centu- 
 ries, is still the vernacular language of three millions of 
 people in Ireland."* Similar opinions from other quar- 
 ters might be adduced, but I forbear. 
 
 Now although, in the present case, the truth may be 
 painful as well as perplexing to some most benevolent 
 
 * History of Dublin, ito, Loud. 1818, vol. ii. p. 926.
 
 AND ITS EXTENT. 
 
 219 
 
 minds, and the reluctance to admit farther investiga- 
 tion may be strong ; still, could these general assertions 
 be substantiated, the fact is most important, more espe- 
 cially since the eye can no longer, with safety, remain 
 shut as to any fact affecting the great question, not of 
 nominal and unproductive, but of the effectual instruction 
 of such a large proportion of British subjects. Let us 
 therefore be willing to descend to particulars, and mark 
 the result. We shall first notice a number of indivi- 
 dual parishes, and then each of the counties in regular 
 succession. 
 
 With regard to Connaught, I may previously remark, 
 it is not disputed that Irish is prevalent throughout the 
 whole province. Take the following as a specimen of 
 the state of some of the Munster parishes, to which we 
 shall affix the population of each, according to the last 
 parliamentary returns. 
 
 MUNSTER. 
 
 Parish. 
 
 Inbaba, 
 
 English Language. 
 
 Irish Language. 
 
 AlUMGII 
 
 2344 
 
 Tolerable English, but 
 
 Irish generally used. 
 
 BALLYVOORNEY 
 
 3354 
 
 Spoken generally 
 
 Very few speak. 
 
 CARRIGALINE 
 
 5267 
 
 English spoken, but 
 
 Irish' most frequently. 
 
 KlLCORNEY 
 KlLGERRIF 
 
 .5002 Understood, but 
 10,954 Spoken and taught 
 
 Speak Irish invariably. \ 
 General, and daily used. 
 
 MACROMP 
 
 5390 Spoken generally 
 
 But Irish also. 
 
 MARMULLAXE 
 
 1169. Better sort speak 
 
 Irish universal. 
 
 MIDDLE-TON 
 
 8140 Spoken and taught 
 
 Lower class all speak. 
 
 ST MARY'S SHANDON 
 
 12,522 1 English general, but 
 
 To each other generally. 
 
 TIIACTON ABBEY 
 
 7955jSpoken and taught 
 
 Irish generally. 
 
 STRADBALLY 
 
 6646; Many speak it 
 
 Irish mostly. 
 
 DRUMCANNON 
 LISMORB 
 
 6572 Partly understood 
 739H Many speak, but 
 
 Constantly and generally. 
 General and daily. 
 
 NOUGHAVEL 
 
 1119 English spoken, but 
 
 Irish universally. 
 
 K.ILMANAHEEN 
 
 10,122 Spoken and taught 
 
 In general use. 
 
 KlLRUSH 
 
 22,209 [Gaining ground, but 
 
 General, and daily used. 
 
 CAHIRCORNEY 
 
 1490 
 
 Some English 
 
 Lower class speak Irish. 
 
 KlLFERGUS 
 
 4103 
 
 General 
 
 A few speak Irish. 
 
 CARRICK 
 
 10,724 
 
 Understood, Lowlands 
 
 Universal, and daily used. 
 
 While the Irish tongue reigns to such an extent in 
 these two provinces, many have imagined, if not assert- 
 ed, that most of Ulster and Leinster were almost to be 
 exempted from its prevalence. Let the condition of the 
 following parishes, therefore, be observed :
 
 220 
 
 THE IRISH LANGUAGE 
 
 ULSTER. 
 
 Pariah. Iihabs. 
 
 ' ' 
 
 English Language. 
 
 Irish Language. 
 
 DUNAGHY 
 
 BALLINTOY 
 
 2969 
 3951 
 
 English general, but 
 Universally used 
 
 Irish in the upper parti. 
 
 FINVOT 
 AGHALEB _ . . 
 
 509d 
 5815 
 
 English spoken, but 
 Usually spoken 
 
 Irish by the natives. 
 
 GLENAVY 
 
 6491 
 
 Exclusively 
 
 
 RAMOAN 
 
 3l>76i English common, but 
 
 Irish very much used. 
 
 \KI)CM\!S AND LAID 
 
 5014 
 
 Many English, but 
 
 General, and to each other. 
 
 TEUPLECABNE 
 
 3250 English general, but 
 
 Many Irish speaker t. 
 
 CLONMANY 
 
 55?9 Tolerable knowledge of 
 
 Generally used. 
 
 KILBARRO.V 
 
 Cl'LDAFP 
 
 9.nr> Generally 
 5530' Spoken and taught, but 
 
 Irish frequent. 
 Irish general. 
 
 CLONCHA 
 
 61 10 Spoken and taugln, but 
 
 Irish general. 
 
 INTER 
 
 10,235 English common, but 
 
 Irish as much to. 
 
 DUNOIVEN 
 
 5184 Spoken and taught, but 
 
 Much pure Irish. 
 
 MAGHF.KA 
 
 11,590 Spoken and taught 
 
 Many Irish. 
 
 KlLLELAGH 
 
 239s! English general, but 
 
 Irish also general. 
 
 BALLVMOYEK w ' 
 
 11 65 General 
 
 A few Irish. 
 
 SEAGOE - [ 8592 Universally used 
 
 
 TAMLACHT - 2743' English generally spoken 
 
 Irish by the lower class. 
 
 ARDSTRAW - 16,558! Exclusively 
 
 
 ERIGAL-KEROGB 7923 English spoken, but 
 
 Much Irish. 
 
 A NX MIII, r . 35i'6 Exclusively 
 
 
 HOLYWOOD 
 DEVNISH 
 
 4035 English general A few trim. 
 6890 General, but \lrish in the hills. 
 
 BAILLIEBOROUGH 7087 General 1 
 
 LEINSTER. 
 
 Pariah. 
 
 Inhabt. 
 
 English Language, 
 
 Irijh Language. 
 
 ADAMSTOWN 
 CARNE ' - ' ' 
 
 2000 Generallyunderstood 'out 
 665 Generally understood. 
 
 Irish spoken by many. 
 
 ENNISCORTIIY 
 
 10,268 General. 
 
 
 KILLEGNY 
 
 1531 .Spoken bv minority 
 
 Generally converse in. 
 
 KlLLESK 
 
 5315 English general, but 
 
 Irish spoken by sotne. 
 
 TACUHSHANE 
 
 3844 General. 
 
 
 TlNTERN 
 
 5575 Universally spoken. 
 
 
 WHITECHURCH 
 
 1596 English general, but 
 
 Converse in Irish. 
 
 AHKLOW 
 
 9163 Exchuively spoken 
 
 
 BALLYMASCANLON 
 
 6235 Gaining ground 
 
 Irish generally spoken. 
 
 CLONMORE 
 
 740|English spoken, but 
 
 Prefer among themselves. 
 
 CRBGGAN 
 
 12,l!!i English gaining, but 
 
 All speak Irish. 
 
 FA UGH ART 
 
 1694 
 
 Most speak tolerable 
 
 The common language. 
 
 li \-IIIDItl MMIN - 
 
 FlDDOWN 
 
 17DO 
 5000 
 
 English understood, but 
 English spoken 
 
 Irish generally used. 
 Gen. in the Mountains. 
 
 GRANGE SILV* 
 
 2093 
 
 Can speak it, but 
 
 Most converse in 
 
 KII.MACAIIILL 
 
 1328 
 
 Spoken, but 
 
 Understood generally. 
 
 LlSTERLING 
 
 676 
 
 Spoken, but 
 
 if any only understand. 
 
 TULLAROAN 
 
 3894 
 
 Spoken 
 
 Spoken. 
 
 AGHABOB 
 
 5253 
 
 English universal, but 
 
 A few use Irish. 
 
 LEA or LEACH 
 
 7580J Universal. 
 
 
 ROSBNALIS 
 
 14,520jEnglish used, but <Notso much as Irish. 
 
 ARDBRACA.V 
 SYDDAN 
 
 3043|Spoken and taught, but Generally speak Irish. 
 4636iEnRlish siwken, but Irish to each other. 
 
 RATUCLINE 
 
 3050 
 
 Spoken by minority. \Spohen generally. 
 
 SHRUEL 
 
 4846 
 
 English spoken, but Au "^"^' and " W "*; 
 
 RATHCONRATH 
 
 3012 Spoken generally, but Irish to each other. 
 
 KILBERRY 
 CLONMACNOIS 
 
 1511 .General 
 3759lGeneral, but 
 
 A few speak It ish. 
 Irish to each other. 
 
 * See note as to this parish, p. 195.
 
 AND ITS EXTENT. 221 
 
 These nineteen parishes in Munster include above 
 130,000 souls, and the fifty-four in Leinster and Ulster 
 not far from 280,000, or above 400,000 in all. In these 
 instances we see to what extent the language at present 
 prevails. But of these notices respecting the Irish 
 tongue, carefully gleaned from the pages of the Statisti- 
 cal Account of Ireland now publishing by Mr Shaw 
 Mason, it requires also to be observed, that the writers, 
 in almost every instance, delivered their opinions under 
 impressions by no means in favour of a large Irish ag- 
 gregate. I can only here assure the reader, that there 
 are hundreds of parishes in Ireland which afford still 
 more striking proof of the prevalence and uninterrupted 
 use of this language, as the natural vehicle of their 
 thoughts, sentiments, and feelings. 
 
 Suppose that we should now proceed to a different, 
 and more enlarged view of the subject ; and, taking a 
 survey of the whole population of the country, let us 
 observe what has been more recently said as to the rela- 
 tive proportion of those who daily speak Irish. Every 
 such statement remains open for correction of course, 
 and invites inquiry ; but a return having been made to 
 the late Rev. Dr Graves, (Professor of Oratory in Trinity 
 College, and Dean of Kilmore and Ardagh,) as secretary 
 of one of the Dublin institutions, I shall here insert it. 
 
 LEINSTER. Irish. Eng. ULSTER. Irish. Eng. 
 
 South Meath and Westmeath,...5 to 2 Tyrone 5 to 3 
 
 Dublin, Kiluare, \Vieklo\v, 1 to 6 Donegal 4 to S 
 
 King's and Queen's Counties, ....2 to 5 Armagh and Down, 2 to 5 
 
 Carlow, south-west 4 to 3 Antrim, east coast, 3 to 4 
 
 Kilkenny, 5 to 2 Derry Mountains, 9 to 5 
 
 Wexford, south-east, 2 to 5 Fermanagh, 1 to 6 
 
 Ditto, north-we^t 5 to 2 Caran and Monaghan 4 to 3 
 
 MONSTER Province, 5 to } CONNAUGHT Province, *... to 
 
 The prevalence of Irish in several counties is local ; 
 but the proportion stated has been restricted to these 
 parts. Louth and Longford, the only counties not men-
 
 222 
 
 THE IRISH LANGUAGE 
 
 tioned, we shall consider as about equally divided, and, 
 in the calculation about to be made, all the cities are left 
 untouched, and considered as wholly English." Yet, 
 excepting them entirely, if we apply the proportions 
 here stated to the several counties, taking the popula- 
 tion at only 6,801,827 the last census laid before Par- 
 liament, the following will be the result : 
 
 County. 
 
 English Language. 
 
 Irish Language. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Louth, 
 
 50,500 
 
 50,505 
 
 101,011 
 
 Meath, 
 
 45,481 
 
 113,702 
 
 159,183 
 
 Dublin, 
 
 314,462 
 
 21,430 
 
 335,892 
 
 Wicklow, 
 
 94,944.... 
 
 15,823 
 
 110,767 
 
 Wexford, 
 
 i 128,104 
 
 42,702 
 
 170,800 
 
 Kilkenny, 
 
 iuj*f- 68*576 
 
 113,3/0 
 
 181,946 
 
 Carlow, 
 
 - 74,511 
 
 22,559 
 
 97,070 
 
 Kildare, 
 
 84.913 
 
 14,152 
 
 99,065 
 
 Queen's, 
 
 . 95.911 
 
 38,364 
 
 134,275 
 
 King's, 
 
 93,536 
 
 37,552 
 
 131,088 
 
 Westmeath, 
 
 36,805 
 
 92,014 
 
 128,819 
 
 Longford, 
 
 - 53,785 
 
 53,785 
 
 107,570 
 
 Antrim, 
 
 206,533 
 
 56,327 
 
 262,860 
 
 Down, - 
 
 232,436 
 
 92,974 
 
 325,410 
 
 Armagh, 
 
 rj *'r> 149,044 
 
 56,406 
 
 205,450 
 
 Tyrone, 
 
 120,861 
 
 141,004 
 
 261,865 
 
 Derry, 
 
 , 166,173 
 
 27,696 
 
 193,869 
 
 Donegal, 
 
 106,401 
 
 141,869 
 
 248.270 
 
 n 7 
 
 Fermanagh, 
 
 112,283 
 
 18,714 
 
 130,997 
 
 Cavan, 
 
 4-<f 83,604 
 
 111,472 
 
 195,076 
 
 Monaghan, 
 
 74,870 
 
 99,827 
 
 1/4,697 
 
 Leitriin, - 
 
 3,913 
 
 .115,872 
 
 .124,785 
 
 Sligo, 
 
 10,444 
 
 135,785 
 
 146,229 
 
 Roscornmon , 
 
 14,909 
 
 . 193 820 
 
 . .208,729 
 
 Mayo, 
 
 20,936 
 
 272,176 
 
 293,112 
 
 Galway, 
 
 "v" 49,889 
 
 287,405 
 
 337,374 
 
 Clare, '* . 
 
 44,589 
 
 163,500 
 
 208,089 
 
 Limerick, 
 
 105,851 
 
 171,626 
 
 277,477 
 
 Kerry, 
 
 46,323 
 
 169,862 
 
 216,185 
 
 Cork, 
 
 235,610 
 
 494,834 
 
 730,444 
 
 Waterford, 
 
 56,072 
 
 100,449 
 
 156,521 
 
 Tipperary, 
 
 74,334 
 
 272 572 
 
 346,896 
 
 
 
 
 
 * At the same time this is not to be considered as abating, in any degree, from 
 the language already employed as to any one of them, Dublin included. See, for 
 example, pages 120 and 162.
 
 AND ITS EXTENT. 223 
 
 Such were said to be the proportions of those who 
 daily spoke Irish ten years ago ; and if even tolerably 
 correct, they certainly, in their result, verify what has 
 been already quoted as the language of one author in 
 1812, " But we are ignorant that only a minority of 
 the people speak our language/'* 
 
 I am perfectly aware, that, immediately on running 
 down this Irish column, it will be said, Yes, but how 
 many in this column can also speak English ? nay, how 
 many are under the necessity now of even speaking it 
 daily? True; but as for the English which they do 
 speak, look again at this, hear it. What is it in thou- 
 sands of instances ? Such as an Englishman himself 
 can scarcely understand. And then as to its extent,- 
 here is the question. At best the language of barter, 
 or mere business, it may refer to the trifles of the mo- 
 ment, or of a day, yes, literally a day ; for let it refer 
 to the prospective arrangements of only a month or a 
 year, and the parties are again in perplexity. But, 
 granting they were not, when conversing on some af- 
 fairs merely secular is this English expressive of the 
 thoughts, the opinions, the feelings of the man ? Not 
 at all ; he has another medium, to which he instantly 
 flies, and when his sentiments and feelings are to be 
 heard, they may sound like a jargon in the ear of an 
 Englishman, precisely as English sounds in his ear when 
 so employed. These two men may plough the same 
 field, or drive the same machine; they are brought into 
 contact ; but as for interchange of sentiment and feeling, 
 it is denied them. Here, then, is the point where com- 
 
 * The English column amounts to 3,061,610, the Irish to 3,740,217/ or to- 
 gether, 6,801,817 ; but by an official corrected return, of a later date, the total is 
 seated to be 6,846,949, and at the end arc the following words : " When the de- 
 ficiencies in this table shall have been supplied by the final returns of the enumera- 
 tors, as certified by the magistrates, the total number of the inhabitants (in Ire- 
 land) will, it is thought, amount to upwards of seven millions;" that is, in 1821. 
 The population at the present moment is known and understood to be seven mil- 
 lions and a half in round numbers.
 
 224 THE IRISH LANGUAGE 
 
 pulsion ends. Independently of all benevolent feeling, 
 common sense, and even one's own interest, now enforce 
 accommodation. I wish to get at the mind ; I desire to 
 enlighten, to animate, instruct, and raise up the moral 
 being. Then, on my part, there must be an accommoda- 
 tion, and it is acceded with cordiality and with kindness. 
 To the Irishman, as it regards his language, for a season 
 at least, I become as one of themselves, and I gain the 
 Irishman.* 
 
 Many, I am also aware, may startle at the proportions 
 above-mentioned, when they see them once applied to 
 the population of each county ; but let them not, there- 
 fore, be despised. Others may question the proportion 
 in certain instances, and if in any it can fairly be re- 
 duced, so much the better ; but the English insisted on 
 must be something more than the language of mere se- 
 cular business. Did the whole population speak one 
 tongue, it would be much in its favour, as it regards the 
 purpose and desire of an Englishman ; but, since it is 
 not so, there is no occasion for the subject being treated 
 with warmth or temper ; it certainly can no longer be 
 safely treated with indifference. The aggregate popu- 
 lation of Ireland is now ascertained to be seven millions 
 and a half, and an impartial survey of its several coun- 
 ties would soon prove that, in regard to this subject, 
 many have been greatly mistaken, others entirely mis- 
 led. But is it strange that in Ireland much misappre- 
 hension should have existed ? The language itself was 
 proscribed, while assertions regarding it came from 
 many who were not then aware of its necessity as an 
 engine of improvement, and from others, who, it may 
 be, were somehow interested in saying that it was fast 
 passing into oblivion, or many wished this, and there- 
 fore believed it. Indeed, after the language of Dean 
 
 * See also the answer to the second objection in the preceding section, page 200.
 
 AND ITS EXTENT. 225 
 
 Swift, and many others, one need not wonder at any 
 assertion, however erroneous, or far below the truth. 
 
 That something approaching to the above may be the 
 result as to the Irish language is not unaccountable. Du- 
 ring the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, or 
 rather, I may say, from the thirteenth to the middle of 
 the seventeenth century, there can be no question that 
 this language increased with every accession to the in- 
 habitants from without. It is a well-known fact, that 
 the children of those English who went into Ireland in 
 the early ages, and settled there, not only abandoned the 
 English tongue, but forgot it, and hence those " dege- 
 nerate men of English name," as they were styled even 
 in acts of Parliament ; nay, even in the middle of the 
 seventeenth century, in the year 1641, '' the old English, 
 for the most part, spake the Irish language ; they had 
 all, in some degree, adopted Irish manners, and both 
 races were intermixed by marriage."* In our own day, 
 I have myself seen and heard the parties, whose imme- 
 diate parents, if not themselves, had removed from the 
 east to the west coast, conversing together in the Irish 
 tongue. 
 
 In attempting to arrive at some conclusion on this 
 subject, it seems to have been forgotten, or not known, 
 that, in 1672, thirty years later than the period just re- 
 ferred to by Leland, the number of inhabitants in Ire- 
 land was estimated by Sir William Petty to be only 
 1,320,000 ; or that, in the year 1712, the aggregate was 
 considered to be just 2,099,094. t Now, had the Irish 
 people then been taught to read their vernacular tongue, 
 and the practice continued, since there were so few Irish 
 books in existence, it is possible, that, in many instances, 
 the language might have flitted away, like the mist from 
 the mountains, before the light of a tongue in its imme- 
 
 * Leland's History, vol. ii. p. S~. 
 
 t Last Parliamentary Census, preliminary observations, p. vii.
 
 226 THE IRISH LANGUAGE 
 
 diate neighbourhood, so rich in literature and books. 
 But as education, even in English, was neglected, and 
 in Irish entirely denied, what has been the consequence ? 
 Why, that the colloquial dialect, of course, has main- 
 tained its ascendency. 
 
 When the moral or religious necessities of some par- 
 ticular districts in this kingdom become the subject of 
 consideration, if the inquirer forgets, or has not ob- 
 served, the rapid increase of the population, he must 
 feel as if just awaked from a dream. In our Highlands 
 and Hebrides, there are double the number of High- 
 landers now speaking Gaelic, to what there were when 
 English schools were first instituted, with the vain hope 
 of thus diminishing the speakers of that language ; and 
 this independently of those who are now mingled with 
 the Native Irish, and the numbers who have gone to 
 America. Many persons are not aware that, only sixty 
 years ago, there were not so many inhabitants in the 
 whole of England and Wales as there are at this moment 
 in Ireland.* Or, to notice Ireland more directly, and 
 with reference to the aborigines, the reader may per- 
 haps recollect of a bill for their express benefit having 
 passed the Irish House of Commons, and being sent to 
 the door of the Upper House, that the subject there 
 rested, and that after the exertions of Mr Richardson, 
 and the last efforts of Marsh, Wettenhall, and others, all 
 parties chose to dismiss the subject for a hundred years, t 
 Farther back than this we have no occasion to go. In 
 the year 1712, just two years after the period when the 
 subject of Irish instruction, or at least the printing of 
 the Irish Scriptures, was discussed in Parliament for 
 the last time, and the subject was engrossing the anxiety 
 
 * See the Estimate of England and Wales for the year 1770, it was 7,428,000, 
 a proof, by the way, that the rapid growth of population has not been peculiar to 
 Ireland. 
 
 f See pages 9093, and 157, 158.
 
 AND ITS EXTENT. 227 
 
 of a few benevolent minds, there were somewhat more 
 than two millions of souls in Ireland, as already stated, 
 but now, after more than a whole century of sad neglect, 
 there are seven millions and a half ] It is therefore to the 
 natural increase of the people themselves that we must 
 look for the great cause of the present number who speak, 
 and who will speak Irish. This is their mother-tongue. 
 Much has been said, if not written, on the influence of the 
 female character ; and here it must be owned, the influ- 
 ence is somewhat like, or rather somewhat more than, 
 imperial authority. I need not here ask if any effort 
 has ever been made, commensurate with the necessities 
 and number of the people, to instruct them in the art of 
 reading through this medium ; which, however strange 
 it may still sound, is the only measure which could have 
 effectually reduced the proportion of Irish speakers. 
 The language, therefore, of course has gone on to in- 
 crease with the natural increase of the population. 
 
 I am quite aware of its being almost everywhere re- 
 plied in answer to all this, " But the English language 
 is increasing, and in many districts." I know it is so, 
 and that it cannot be otherwise, but this is no criterion 
 by which to judge of the broad surface of Ireland. The 
 question is not whether the English language is increas- 
 ing, or has been, in certain given places, for of this there 
 is no doubt, but whether the Irish language on the 
 whole has all this time been declining, that is, declining 
 everywhere, so as to come down from its high propor- 
 tion in the mountains and hills as well as the plains; or 
 rather in the country at large, as well and as generally, 
 as in the immediate vicinity of cities and great towns. 
 There is no competent individual who will say that it 
 has ; but if not, then look at the natural increase of the 
 whole island, and then say, is it unaccountable that, in- 
 stead of one million, as in the days of old, we should 
 now find more than three millions who daily use this 
 tongue ? 
 
 The fact is, that the true cause which has kept up the
 
 228 THE IRISH LANGUAGE 
 
 proportion of those who speak Irish, and must do so, ' 
 if they speak at all, has been in general overlooked. 
 Those who use this language have from time immemo- 
 rial inhabited at least all the remote, all the mountain- 
 ous and less fertile regions of every county, and almost, 
 if not all, the islands. Meanwhile those of them, a mere 
 tithing, who came into towns or their neighbourhood, 
 were laying aside their native language, and their chil- 
 dren also of course spoke English, while no instance 
 could be found, in such parts, of persons \aying aside that 
 tongue ; hence it was concluded by some, that the Irish 
 language was upon the decline, the great natural in- 
 crease of those who used it elsewhere, and on a far 
 larger scale, being altogether excluded from the gene- 
 ral estimate. 
 
 To magnify the number of the Irish population, pro- 
 perly so called, the present writer can have no tempta- 
 tion, nor any interest whatever to serve, were he to at- 
 tempt it. He has, however, been too long acquainted 
 with this interesting part of the kingdom, to rest satis- 
 fied with the vague assertions of individuals on this 
 subject ; and as he feels assured that this is a question 
 of essential importance to the effectual illumination of 
 the Native Irish people, all that he desires is to arrive 
 at the knowledge of the facts of the case. It is happily 
 now too late to bring forward general assertions, the 
 advocates for a trifling Irish population must come to 
 particulars. It is very possible, that, in some instances, 
 the number in certain counties may have been mistaken 
 and overstated, in others, I have little doubt, it has 
 been the reverse. But there is one most important rea- 
 son for the truth as to every single county being no 
 longer concealed. English education is making de- 
 lightful progress in Ireland ; now, if there is any desire 
 for the effectual and permanent advance of that educa- 
 tion, then should the proportion of those who daily 
 speak Irish be calmly and impartially ascertained and 
 9
 
 AND ITS EXTENT. 229 
 
 observed. In the north or north-west of Ireland, the 
 writer himself has seen scholars reading English who did 
 not understand the language ; and as for the south, when 
 referring to scholars in its largest county, it has been 
 said, " Of these the greater part derive no eventual ad- 
 vantage from their schooling, being recalled at an early 
 age ; mixing then with a family who speak only Irish, 
 the little smattering of English they had acquired is 
 soon lost." Again, speaking of this immense county, 
 embracing a population at this moment approaching to 
 800,000 souls, Mr Townsend has said, " Except in the 
 towns they seldom use any language but Irish, and, 
 even in some of the best-cultivated districts, most of 
 the people speak no other ; they are, however, willing 
 enough to send their children to school when the op- 
 portunity offers, though the little (English) they learn 
 there is often forgotten soon after they return to their 
 parents." 
 
 The truth is, that large sums of money have been 
 spent in vain, both in Wales and our Highlands, in 
 former years, simply in consequence of reversing the 
 order of nature, by teaching English first, and before 
 the reader could comprehend a word.* There is no 
 
 * " I could find thousands in the Highlands of Scotland who will read the Eng. 
 lish Bible tolerably well, but cannot understand more than yes or no,- and being 
 thus obliged to continue reading a language completely unintelligible to them, it 
 gives them no pleasure, but rather disgust ; and the moment they leave school, if 
 they remain at home in those districts where nothing but their mother-tongue is 
 spoken, they lay their books aside, and never look at them more. I know some men 
 who were at Inverness at their education sixty years ago; they could read and 
 write (English) when they left school, and to-day cannot read any." After mention- 
 ing that the pastors of this people preach to them in their own language, the writer 
 adds " The clergy read no more than the text, whereas if they would read, every 
 Lord's day, a chapter or two out of the Holy Scriptures, the people in that case 
 would be inclined to bring their Bibles and follow the minister. Even in the 
 present day, I venture to say, that there are a few of the clergy in the Highlands 
 and Islands of Scotland that cannot read a chapter out of the Gaelic Bible." 
 Letter from a Highland Clergyman, in a " Prize Essay on the State of Knowledge 
 in the Highlands of Scotland, by John Anderson, W.S. 1827," p. 109. It would 
 be easy to corroborate the first statement by letters addressed to the present writer 
 from the Highlands fifteen and sixteen years ago. I quote this simply as a recent 
 
 K
 
 230 THE IRISH LANGUAGE 
 
 occasion for doing the same thing over again in Ire- 
 land ; but if it should be persisted in, the result will be 
 the same. Sooner or later education must begin, wher- 
 ever Irish is daily used, as it now does both in Wales 
 and the Highlands that is, if we are in earnest as to 
 two objects the moral benefit of education, and even 
 the extension of the English tongue. I suspect, how- 
 ever, that at present money is thus spending in vain, in 
 many instances, where it would go five times farther if 
 the mother-tongue were employed as the medium. At 
 all events, of the large sums voted by Parliament from 
 this country for Irish education, none of it has ever been 
 applied towards the native Irish language ! 
 
 If Irish, therefore, requires to be used at all in the 
 business of education and oral instruction, and of this, 
 I am sure, there need be no question now, for what- 
 ever may be said, there is certainly no help, no substi- 
 tute for it, but this being granted, my deliberate im- 
 pression for some time has been, that there are certainly 
 not fewer than three millions who require it. Two mil- 
 lions, the number specified in the memorial of 1814, 
 will be found in Connaught and Munster alone, a 
 number equal to the whole population of Scotland ! 
 
 At the same time, I cannot conclude without observ- 
 ing, that until Irish oral instruction make some advance, 
 no wonder that there should be perplexity or contra- 
 diction with regard to the precise number of those 
 who require to be taught to read the Irish language in 
 the first instance. Let enactments be multiplied to any 
 extent, what do they signify ? Language still remains 
 a thing of choice, or a matter of taste. ' ' Doth not the 
 ear try words as the mouth tasteth meat?" is one of the 
 
 and independent testimony. But what will the writer of this letter or the author 
 who prints it say to the present condition of Ireland, as already described in the 
 preceding pages ? But while the Gaelic population is somewhat more taan 400,000, 
 the Native Irish is about eight times the number 1
 
 AND ITS EXTENT. 231 
 
 oldest proverbs in existence, twice recorded in perhaps 
 the most ancient written composition in the world. But 
 in any country, every such instance of oral instruction 
 is not only music to the ear, it is like a torch illuminat- 
 ing the path of incumbent duty. Following in this 
 path, education must of necessity come with a relish to 
 the mind ; and the extent to which it ought to be carried 
 is then no longer a subject of calculation or vague con- 
 jecture. But, independently altogether of this, and 
 every other consideration, a case has been already 
 proved, sufficient to excite the sympathy of the nation 
 at large. 
 
 " And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give * 
 distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped ? So likewise ye, 
 except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is 
 spoken ? for ye shall speak unto the air." PAUL. 
 
 " But ye ought to know wherefure languages were given. Better to speak a few lucid 
 \vords in the right sense, than innumerable that are obscure and unknown. 
 
 SEDULIUS. 
 
 " The ground of mor&i behaviour> and all moral government and regulation, is society, 
 or mutual intercourse and social regards. The special medium of union and communica- 
 tion bttween the members of society, and the being of society as such, is conversation : and 
 the well-being and happiness of society is friendship. It is the highest happiness of all 
 moral agents ; but friendship, above all other things that belong to society, requires con- 
 versation. By this not only is it maintained and nourished) but the felicity of friendship 
 is tasted and enjoyed." " Moral agents are social agents ; affairs of morality are affairs of 
 society. It is concerning moral agents as united in society, in a Commonwealth or King- 
 dom, that we have been speaking. Particular meral agents so united need conversation : 
 the affairs of their social union cannot well be maintained without it." " The happine.-s 
 of God's moral government consists in an inferior degree in the members' enjoyment of each 
 other's friendship; but infinitely more in the enjoyment of their head. Therefore, hire 
 especially, and above all, is conversation necessary." 
 
 EDWARDS,
 
 Viewed apart by themselves, as an object demanding special consideration and 
 assistance, including the number of inhabitants in each Island. 
 
 ONE important feature of Ireland, hitherto passed over 
 in a vague and general style by all writers, consists in 
 the great number of islands scattered round her shores, 
 in most of which the Irish language is generally, in many 
 almost exclusively, spoken. The extreme length of Ire- 
 land is 306 miles, its extreme breadth 207, and, speaking 
 loosely, the circumference is about 880 miles. " The sinu- 
 Q'US line of its seacoast, however, exclusive of such parts 
 as lie within estuaries, or above the first good anchorage 
 in every harbour, but inclusive of the river Shannon, as 
 far as the tide reaches, and the shores of Bantry Bay, 
 Dunmanus Bay, and Kenmare river, will, u accurately 
 followed through all its windings, be found to measure 
 1737 miles. In this line there are not fewer than one 
 hundred and thirty harbours, and places where ships 
 may anchor for a -tide, or find shelter."* Round the 
 coast of this fine country, and including her inland lakes, 
 the number of islands and islets cannot be calculated at 
 less than six hundred. In Clew Bay alone, on the west 
 coast, the islands, islets, holms, and rocks above the sur- 
 
 * Newenham' View of Ireland, 4to, Londcn, 1809, p. 6.
 
 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 233 
 
 face of the water, have been rated, I think, as high as 
 three hundred which, if they were planted, would 
 cause this inlet of the sea to exceed in picturesque beau- 
 ty any thing of the kind in Europe. In Strangford 
 Lough, on the east coast, there are fifty-four islands, 
 small and great, known by particular names, besides 
 many other nameless. As to inland lakes, to say no- 
 thing of Loch Coirrib, Loch Ree, or Loch Deirgeart, 
 from the centre of an island in Loch Erne, called Ennis- 
 macsaint, may be seen twenty-seven islands in view at 
 once. 
 
 To the admirer of nature, all over these coasts, here 
 is many a magnificent though neglected field for admi- 
 ration and ecstasy, were it not so sadly shaded by the con- 
 dition of thousands for whose use or gratification all this 
 was made. The curious ruins too to be found here and 
 there, where the arch or the rampart and the wall seem 
 to lament and languish together, will lend to the scene 
 a sombre character, and frequently excite the association 
 of opposites, the suggestion of contrast how different 
 is this place or spot from what it once was ! But better 
 days are coming for Ireland than she ever saw in ancient 
 times, whether mainland or coastways. Meanwhile, to 
 continue this digression but a little longer, before no- 
 ticing the people themselves, the reader, I think, will not 
 object to a fffw slight notices respecting some of these 
 islands. 
 . 
 
 RAGHLIN, Rathlin, or Rath-erin, the Ricnea of Pliny, 
 the Ricinia of Ptolemy, about 6 miles distant from the 
 north coast of Antrim, which is nearly 5 miles long, and 
 3^ in extreme breadth, abounds with some curious ar- 
 rangements of basaltic pillars, similar to those of the 
 Giant's Causeway. It affords a considerable quantity of 
 sea- weed for kelp, and, where cultivated, produces ex- 
 cellent barley. A religious establishment was founded 
 here in the sixth century by Columba, but in 790 it was
 
 234 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 
 
 ravaged by the Danes. The attachment of the natives 
 to their little island is extreme, and one of their worst 
 wishes to any neighbour who has injured them is, that 
 he may end his days in Ireland. Raghlin is memorable as 
 the retreat of Robert Bruce of Scotland in 1306 : it was 
 here that he planted his standard, and obtained some aid 
 from the inhabitants, before he proceeded to the Hebrides. 
 Dr Francis Hutchinson, Bishop of Down and Connor, 
 who published an Irish Almanack, and a Defence of the 
 ancient Historians, with application to the history of Ire- 
 land and Great Britain, in the year 1712, procured for 
 the inhabitants of this island a translation of the Church 
 Catechism into Irish, with the English annexed. It was 
 printed at Belfast, but in the Roman letter, and the or- 
 thography of both languages was interfered with, other- 
 wise this publication might have been noticed under the 
 first section, in its proper place. I know not whether 
 a single copy of the Raghlin Catechism remains in Ire- 
 land ; but the attempt was not a judicious one, though 
 perfectly characteristic, as the feeble and expiring effort 
 of a narrow and illiberal policy. 
 
 TORY, about ten miles or more off the north coast of 
 Donegal, but united to the parish of Tullaghabigly, is 
 about three miles long and one broad. The name of this 
 island is thought to be of Runic etymology, and Thor- 
 eye, now corrupted into Tory, denotes that it was con- 
 secrated to Thor, the Scandinavian deity, who presided 
 over stormy and desolate places. The inhabitants are 
 unacquainted with any other law than that of their old 
 Brehon code. They choose their own chief judge, and 
 to his mandate, issuing from his throne of turf, the peo- 
 ple yield a ready obedience. Round a tower and church 
 built by Columkill, there is a grave-yard to which pe- 
 culiar sanctity is ascribed, and where no one now is per- 
 mitted to be interred. The people but very seldom come 
 to the mainland. About two years ago, a fishing-boat,
 
 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 235 
 
 containing seven or eight men, being driven by stress 
 of weather into Ards Bay, on the coast adjoining, it 
 turned out that not one of these men had ever been in Ire- 
 land before ! The trees belonging to Mr Stewart of Ards 
 (the uncle of Lord Londonderry) actually astonished 
 them, and they were seen putting leaves and small 
 branches in their pockets, to show on their return. In 
 August, 1826, the poor people in this island, amounting 
 to nearly 500, were visited by a great calamity. A 
 strange and unforeseen storm set in from the north-west, 
 which drove the sea in immense waves over the whole 
 flat part of the island ; the waves beat even over the 
 highest cliffs all their corn was destroyed, their pota- 
 toes washed out of the ground, and all their springs of 
 fresh water filled with that of the sea !* Their deplor- 
 able situation constrained them to several communica- 
 tions with the mainland their condition, in other re- 
 spects, then excited pity an Irish teacher is about to 
 be sent them ; and so this frowning providence may prove 
 to have been only the precursor of better days than they 
 have ever seen. 
 
 INNISMURRV, about six miles distant from the coast of 
 Sligo, is but small, containing about 130 acres of shal- 
 low soil. In this isle there is a large image rudely carved 
 in wood, and painted red, which the people call Father 
 Molash, to which it is affirmed they pay devotion ; and 
 they have an altar built of loose round stones, called ' the 
 Cursing Altar/ to which they are said to apply if any one 
 has injured them. 
 
 ACHILL, or Eagle island, so named from the great re- 
 sort of eagles thither, is the largest of the Irish isles, be- 
 
 * See an interesting and characteristic volume " Sketches in Ireland, descrip- 
 tive of hitherto unnoticed Districts in the North and South." By the Rev. C. 
 Otway Published by W. Curry & Co. Dublin, 1827.
 
 236 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 
 
 ing thirteen English miles long, by nine or ten broad, 
 but no minute description of it has ever appeared. Al- 
 though this island contains about 4000 souls, it and three 
 others are united with Burrishool on the mainland ! 
 
 SOUTH ABRAN ISLES, the Canganij of Ptolemy, which 
 once gave a title to the Butler family, and now to that of 
 Saunders Gore, are very fruitful in oats and herbage for 
 cattle. The abbey erected here was destroyed in the year 
 1020,, and sixty years later the island was pillaged by the 
 Danes. 
 
 I might refer to various other islands which would 
 furnish matter of curious remark to Inisboffin, with 
 the ruins of her old monastery, in which Colman, the 
 Bishop of Landisferne, dwelt to Iniscathy, or Innis- 
 cattery, with her cathedral and her eleven churches in 
 ruins, and her round tower of 120 feet high to Cape 
 Clear, and the ardent attachment which the poor Capers 
 cherish for their apparently desolate island, where even 
 temporary banishment to the mainland has been found 
 so severe a punishment as effectually to prevent crime- 
 but I forbear. 
 
 Now it is simply in some such manner as this that the 
 islands of Ireland have too long been introduced to the 
 notice of the reader, and then dismissed. To many the 
 subject as a whole has appeared too intricate, and to 
 others of no consequence ; but it is with the inhabitants 
 that we have to do, and it is surely more than time that 
 the eye of pity should linger for a season among this 
 long-neglected class of fellow-subjects. 
 
 I well remember the surprise and regret which were 
 felt and expressed, both in England and Scotland, when, 
 in 1811, we had to announce that there were sixty-eight 
 inhabited islands on the west coast of Scotland in a state 
 of great destitution, as to both education and books. 
 We shall now, however, have occasion to enumerate more 
 than double this number round the shores of Ireland and
 
 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 237 
 
 in a state far more destitute ! Here and there a few of 
 these Islands have been noticed incidentally, but the 
 reader will search in vain for any distinct account or 
 even list of them as a whole. It is in this light, how- 
 ever, they ought to be viewed. Hitherto left out of all 
 calculations, especially of a moral or religious character, 
 let them now be observed distinct from the mainland. 
 As an important object of separate consideration to the 
 benevolent and humane, let such only conceive in what 
 a lonely and neglected state thousands of these islanders 
 have lived and died, from generation to generation. Close 
 upon our own native shore, yet as devoid of all the calm and 
 profitable satisfaction which books afford, as if they had 
 lain in the bosom of the Pacific, here it is that, as far as 
 Christianity is concerned, our countrymen have seen 
 Sabbath after Sabbath pass silently away, from one year's 
 end to the other, no church -going bell, no gatherings 
 of the people to hear the sweet sounds of divine mercy, 
 or, as the Native Irish say, " the story of peace," they 
 have for ages lived and died amidst one unbroken fa- 
 mine, not indeed of bread and water, but of hearing the 
 word of the Lord. 
 
 These are not the parties who have figured in the 
 pages of authentic Irish history at any period, and, 
 though round the whole mainland, within sight of 
 shore, they come before us as a people almost entirely 
 overlooked and forgotten. The writer had, in repeated 
 visits to Ireland, made inquiry respecting them, and 
 for years searched after a distinct enumeration of all 
 these islands in books, but could find none ; and as for 
 any account of their respective populations, it could not 
 have been given till within a very short period. As 
 soon as the last parliamentary census was examined, 
 however, in its minuter and scattered details, with the 
 assistance of some other means, it then appeared possi- 
 ble to come near the truth. By making the islands an 
 object of consideration, distinct from the mainland, or 
 
 K2
 
 238 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 
 
 the parishes to which they have been nominally attach- 
 ed, it is hoped that the wants of this people, with regard 
 to Irish education and an intelligible ministry, may now 
 be met. At all events they are now in view, in a man- 
 ner and to a degree in which they have never been be- 
 fore : and who would not be instrumental of introdu- 
 cing to benevolent consideration a portion of his native 
 country, of which almost every man has been as igno- 
 rant as of Borneo or Sumatra, and of which, conse- 
 quently, many among us have cared as little ! 
 
 We shall commence with Innismurry, a small island 
 on the west coast, already noticed, simply because it is 
 the first towards the north belonging to the province of 
 Connaught ; and, if the reader chooses to take up the 
 large map of Beaufort, and proceed southward round 
 the whole coast, till he arrive at the point from whence 
 he set out, he will find the following islands in regular 
 succession. Even in this large map, however, there is not 
 room sufficient for some of the names ; but the islands are 
 all laid down, and the reader can be at no loss by follow- 
 ing the order now mentioned. I have corrected the ortho- 
 graphy of a very few of the names given by Beaufort, 
 and have numbered the islands for the sake of calcula- 
 tions in a subsequent page. The next column of figures 
 contains the number of inhabited houses, and the third 
 the population in each island, by the latest returns. 
 The present aggregate will be glanced at afterwards. 
 
 No. 
 
 Islands. Houses. Inhab. 
 
 No. Islands. Houses. Inhab. 
 
 1. 
 
 Innismurry, 
 
 17 
 
 61 
 
 12. 
 
 Derlane, 
 
 3 
 
 19 
 
 a. 
 
 Demish or Derig, 
 
 5 
 
 32 
 
 13. 
 
 Innisbigle, r * 
 
 10 
 
 54 
 
 3. 
 
 Coney, 
 
 24 
 
 176 
 
 14. 
 
 Anagh, 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. 
 
 Oyster, 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 15. 
 
 A chill, 
 
 710 
 
 3880 
 
 5. 
 
 Bartrach, 
 
 3 
 
 23 
 
 16. 
 
 Achillbeg, 
 
 21 
 
 113 
 
 . 
 
 Kid I., 
 
 
 
 
 
 17. 
 
 Roe, 
 
 8 
 
 43 
 
 7. 
 
 Eagle I., 
 
 
 
 
 
 18. 
 
 Innishurkin, 
 
 7 
 
 40 
 
 g. 
 
 Innisgloria, 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 19. 
 
 Inniskellive, 
 
 22 
 
 9 
 
 9. 
 
 Inniskerach, 
 
 
 
 
 
 20. 
 
 llanmore, _ 
 
 11 
 
 52 
 
 10. 
 
 Enniskea North ) 
 
 
 
 21. 
 
 Derrenish, 
 
 11 
 
 56 
 
 11. 
 
 Enniskea South J 
 
 27 
 
 157 
 
 22. 
 
 Knockylanc, 
 
 8 
 
 45
 
 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 
 
 239 
 
 No. 
 
 Islands. Houses. Inhab. 
 
 No. 
 
 Islands. Houses. Inhab. 
 
 23. 
 
 Inishturk, 
 
 8 
 
 55 
 
 69. 
 
 Dynish, 
 
 12 
 
 
 24. 
 
 Inishcuttle, 
 
 6 
 
 33 
 
 70. 
 
 Furnish, 
 
 19 
 
 112 
 
 25. 
 
 Inishgowley, 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 71. 
 
 Inisherk, 
 
 6 
 
 32 
 
 26. 
 
 Inishlyer, 
 
 7 
 
 44 
 
 72. 
 
 Nappagh, 
 
 6 
 
 31 
 
 27- 
 
 Tagart, 
 
 4 
 
 32 
 
 73. 
 
 Littermullin, 
 
 78 
 
 438 
 
 28. 
 
 Clynish, 
 
 15 
 
 96 
 
 74. 
 
 Mutton, 
 
 2 
 
 16 
 
 29. 
 
 Cullen, 
 
 32 
 
 184 
 
 75. 
 
 Hare I., 
 
 
 
 -*. 
 
 30. 
 
 Inishraher, 
 
 3 
 
 20 
 
 76. 
 
 Eddy, 
 
 10 
 
 72 
 
 31. 
 
 Inishgurt, 
 
 3 
 
 26 
 
 77. 
 
 Deer I., 
 
 
 
 
 
 32. 
 
 Inishdaff, 
 
 4 
 
 23 
 
 78. 
 
 Aranmore, South 
 
 387 
 
 2276 
 
 33. 
 
 Inishleaguc, 
 
 1 
 
 13 
 
 79. 
 
 Innismain, 
 
 63 
 
 386 
 
 34. 
 
 Murrisk, 
 
 9 
 
 43 
 
 80. 
 
 Innishere, 
 
 65 
 
 417 
 
 35. 
 
 Clare or Clara 
 
 257 
 
 1395 
 
 81. 
 
 Inniskerry, 
 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 36. 
 
 Cahir, 
 
 
 
 
 
 82. 
 
 Inniscattery, 
 
 11 
 
 85 
 
 37. 
 
 Inishturk, 
 
 78 
 
 456 
 
 83. 
 
 Hog or Inisbeg, 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 38. 
 
 Innisdegal, 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 84. 
 
 Innismore, 
 
 23 
 
 157 
 
 39. 
 
 Hanachreen, 
 
 
 
 
 
 85. 
 
 Fergus, 
 
 
 
 
 
 40. 
 
 Ilanaminc, 
 
 
 
 
 
 86. 
 
 Low I., 
 
 10 
 
 105 
 
 41. 
 
 Darilan, 
 
 
 
 
 
 87- 
 
 Horse, + 
 
 13 
 
 86 
 
 42. 
 
 Lion, 
 
 
 
 
 
 88. 
 
 Cannon, 
 
 6 
 
 49 
 
 43. 
 
 Inisboffin, 
 
 193 
 
 1053 
 
 89. 
 
 Innisherk, \V 
 
 3 
 
 20 
 
 44. 
 
 Inishark, 
 
 28 
 
 180 
 
 90. 
 
 Ennistubret, 
 
 3 
 
 20 
 
 45. 
 
 Friars I., 
 
 
 
 
 
 91. 
 
 Coscory, ^i j 
 
 2 
 
 14 
 
 46. 
 
 High I., 
 
 
 
 
 
 92. 
 
 Aghenish, 
 
 33 
 
 20 
 
 47- 
 
 Crua I., 
 
 
 
 
 
 93. 
 
 Foynes 1., 
 
 19 
 
 109 
 
 48. 
 
 Omay, 
 
 41 
 
 224 
 
 94. 
 
 Carrigue, ^ - ^ 
 
 21 
 
 136 
 
 49. 
 
 Ennisturk, 
 
 12 
 
 66 
 
 95. 
 
 Fenit, 
 
 35 
 
 205 
 
 50. 
 
 Tarbert, 
 
 15 
 
 90 
 
 96. 
 
 Magharee, 
 
 
 
 .. 
 
 51. 
 
 Dunloghan, 
 
 
 
 
 
 97. 
 
 Inistuiskar, 
 
 
 
 j 
 
 52. 
 
 Ballylany, 
 
 
 
 
 
 98. 
 
 Innisbeg, 
 
 
 
 _ 
 
 53. 
 
 Innisdanrow, 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 99. 
 
 Great Blasket, 
 
 
 
 54. 
 
 Crump, Si&n 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 100. 
 
 Inisnebroe, > 
 
 18 
 
 128 
 
 55. 
 
 Innisnee, 
 
 48 
 
 319 
 
 101. 
 
 Inismakelan, J 
 
 
 
 56. 
 
 Croaglin, 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 102. 
 
 Valentia, 
 
 377 
 
 2128 
 
 57- 
 
 Cruanakily, 
 
 
 
 
 
 103. 
 
 Inchbeg, 
 
 
 
 
 
 58. 
 
 Cruanakarra, 
 
 
 
 
 
 104. 
 
 Benners, 
 
 11 
 
 <;4 
 
 59. 
 
 Mason, r . 
 
 14 
 
 71 
 
 105. 
 
 Puffins I., 
 
 
 
 
 
 GO. 
 
 Moynish, 
 
 87 
 
 499 
 
 106. 
 
 Scrieff, .-' 
 
 
 
 
 
 61. 
 
 Feenish, 
 
 18 
 
 131 
 
 107- 
 
 JVlelan, 
 
 
 
 
 
 62. 
 
 Inishtrava, 
 
 13 
 
 38 
 
 108. 
 
 Dinish, 
 
 
 
 
 
 63. 
 
 Inislacken, 
 
 18 
 
 122 
 
 109. 
 
 Twohead 1., 
 
 
 
 
 
 64. 
 
 Macdara, 
 
 5 
 
 28 
 
 110. 
 
 Rossdughan, 
 
 
 
 
 
 65. 
 
 Freigh, 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 111. 
 
 Ruffmore, 
 
 
 
 
 
 66. 
 
 Spit, 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 112. 
 
 Dunkerron, 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 67. 
 
 Littermore, 
 
 48 
 
 263 
 
 113. 
 
 Grenane, 
 
 1 
 
 14 
 
 68. 
 
 Garomna, 
 
 210 
 
 1281 
 
 114. 
 
 Cappanacoss, 
 
 1 
 
 12
 
 240 
 
 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 
 
 No. 
 
 Islands. Houses. Inbab. 
 
 No. 
 
 Islands, Houses. Inbab. 
 
 115. 
 
 Dursey, 
 
 45 
 
 276 
 
 156. 
 
 St Patrick's I., 
 
 _ 
 
 
 
 116. 
 
 Bere or Bear I., 
 
 399 
 
 2115 
 
 157. 
 
 G minis I., 
 
 __ 
 
 __ 
 
 117- 
 
 Whiddy, 
 
 86 
 
 591 
 
 158. 
 
 Donen, 
 
 _ 
 
 _ 
 
 118. 
 
 Small Isle, 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 159. 
 
 Taggart, 
 
 3 
 
 23 
 
 119. 
 
 Carbery, 
 
 __ 
 
 __ 
 
 160. 
 
 More I., 
 
 
 
 
 
 120. 
 
 Bird I., 
 
 __ 
 
 
 
 161. 
 
 Bawn 1., 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 121. 
 
 Innisfad or Long I 
 
 .,42 
 
 230 
 
 162. 
 
 Castle I., 
 
 17 
 
 102 
 
 122. 
 
 Castle I., 
 
 14 
 
 97 
 
 163. 
 
 Maghea, 
 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 123. 
 
 West Calf, 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 164. 
 
 Reagh, 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 124. 
 
 Middle Calf, 
 
 5 
 
 30 
 
 165. 
 
 Wood I., 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 125. 
 
 Illane Hummisk, 
 
 11 
 
 74 
 
 166. 
 
 Rough, . ' . 
 
 
 
 
 
 126. 
 
 Goat I., 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 167. 
 
 Bird, 
 
 
 
 
 
 127. 
 
 East calf, 
 
 5 
 
 25 
 
 168. 
 
 Copeland, 
 
 15 
 
 67 
 
 128. 
 
 East Inisbeg, 
 
 25 
 
 102 
 
 169. 
 
 Cross I., 
 
 4 
 
 23 
 
 129. 
 
 West Inisbeg, 
 
 20 
 
 99 
 
 170. 
 
 Meu I., 
 
 
 
 
 
 130. 
 
 Scheams, 
 
 7 
 
 42 
 
 171. 
 
 Muck, 
 
 
 
 
 
 131. 
 
 Hare I., 
 
 46 
 
 250 
 
 172. 
 
 Rathlin, 
 
 199 
 
 1104 
 
 132. 
 
 Ringaroga, 
 
 _ 
 
 
 
 173. 
 
 Inch I., 
 
 185 
 
 1094 
 
 133. 
 
 Innisherkin, ^ 
 
 193 
 
 1053 
 
 174. 
 
 Aughnish, 
 
 2 
 
 18 
 
 134. 
 
 Cunny, 
 
 13 
 
 48 
 
 175. 
 
 Raigh or Roy, 
 
 7 
 
 54 
 
 135. 
 
 Clare Island, 
 
 190 
 
 886 
 
 1J6. 
 
 Tory, 
 
 59 
 
 296 
 
 136. 
 
 Horse 1., 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 177. 
 
 Innisbeg, 
 
 
 
 
 
 137. 
 
 Rabbit I., 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 178. 
 
 Inis-duh, Dowey, 
 
 3 
 
 22 
 
 138. 
 
 Quince I., 
 
 
 
 
 
 179. 
 
 Inisbofh'n, 
 
 43 
 
 252 
 
 139. 
 
 Inchidoney, 
 
 380 
 
 2091 
 
 180. 
 
 Inis Irhir, 
 
 
 
 _ 
 
 140. 
 
 Butman, 
 
 _ 
 
 
 
 181. 
 
 Gola, 
 
 
 
 
 
 141. 
 
 Spike, 
 
 
 
 
 
 182. 
 
 Owey, 
 
 12 
 
 76 
 
 142. 
 
 Hawlbowline, \ 
 
 50 
 
 349 
 
 183. 
 
 Cruit, 
 
 
 
 
 
 143. 
 
 Rocky, > 
 
 
 
 184. 
 
 Aranmore, 
 
 132 
 
 78 
 
 144. 
 
 Great Island, 2223 
 
 9405 
 
 185. 
 
 Rutland, 
 
 29 
 
 173 
 
 145. 
 
 Foly or Foaty, 
 
 26 
 
 200 
 
 186. 
 
 Innisfree, 
 
 25 
 
 171 
 
 146. 
 
 Little 1., 
 
 138 
 
 979 
 
 187. 
 
 Innisceragh, 
 
 8 
 
 47 
 
 147- 
 
 Bally Cotton, 
 
 
 
 
 
 188. 
 
 Inniscoo, 
 
 8 
 
 53 
 
 148. 
 
 Gible, 
 
 
 
 
 
 189. 
 
 Eighter, 
 
 7 
 
 42 
 
 149. 
 
 Ikean, East, \ 
 
 
 
 190. 
 
 Innisal, 
 
 5 
 
 32 
 
 150. 
 
 Ikean, West, J 
 
 40 
 
 267 
 
 191. 
 
 Edderuish, 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 151. 
 
 Saltees, 
 
 
 
 
 
 192. 
 
 Duck, 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 152. 
 
 Tuskar, 
 
 
 
 
 
 193. 
 
 Tully, 
 
 8 
 
 44 
 
 53. 
 
 Dalkey, 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 194. 
 
 Roanuish, - r j 
 
 
 
 
 
 154. 
 
 Ireland's Eye, 
 
 
 
 
 
 195. 
 
 Inniskeel, 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 155. 
 
 Lambay, 
 
 6 
 
 34 
 
 196. 
 
 Rackibirn I., 
 
 
 
 
 
 Here then are to be found one hundred and ninety- 
 six Islands, of which at least one hundred and forty were 
 3
 
 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 241 
 
 inhabited, seven years ago, by an aggregate of not less 
 than forty-three thousand souls. Arranged according 
 to their respective provinces, the following will be the 
 result : 
 
 Nos in the 
 List. 
 
 Province. 
 
 Number of 
 Islands. 
 
 Number 
 Inhabited. 
 
 Population. 
 
 1 80 
 81 150 
 151156 
 157196 
 
 CONNAUGHT, 
 AIUtfSTEB, 
 
 LEINSTER, 
 ULSTER, 
 
 80 
 
 70 
 
 6 
 40 
 
 62 
 50 
 
 1 
 27 
 
 15,592 
 22,827 
 34 
 4,546 
 
 
 
 196 
 
 140 
 
 42,999 
 
 Before making any farther observation, there is yet 
 another point of view in which almost all those Islands 
 should be considered, that is, in connexion with immense 
 parishes on the adjoining coast, an arrangement, one 
 effect of which has been that of sinking them in oblivion, 
 just as it was with our Hebrides, till they were, but a 
 few years ago, made an object of distinct consideration. 
 If no provision has been made for the islander, dwell- 
 ing in an island distant from the parish to which it is 
 attached, perhaps ten, fifteen, or twenty miles, and if 
 the parish itself contain from three to ten thousand souls, 
 and there be no Irish school even on the mainland, I 
 leave the reader to imagine what has been and what 
 must be the condition of the people. 
 
 We shall take twenty parishes for illustration, and see 
 what will be the effect. I only remark, that the first 
 column of figures refers to the numbers in the first list, 
 by which the reader will be able at once to ascertain the 
 names of the Islands.
 
 242 
 
 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 
 
 Parish. 
 
 Vus by the former 
 List. 
 
 No of 
 Islands 
 
 Populat. 
 of the 
 
 Entire 
 Parish Po- 
 
 
 
 attached. 
 
 Islands. 
 
 pulation. 
 
 TEMPLECROAN 
 
 184193 
 
 11 
 
 1442 
 
 6,472 
 
 TULLAGHABIGLY 
 
 176179 
 
 3 
 
 570 
 
 5,757 
 
 MOYBUS 
 
 55, 56, 5966 
 
 10 
 
 1243 
 
 6,449 
 
 OMAY 
 
 48, 49, 50 
 
 3 
 
 380 
 
 4,454 
 
 KlLCUMMIN 
 
 6973 
 
 5 
 
 679 
 
 8,099 
 
 KlLLANIN 
 
 67, 68 
 
 2 
 
 1544 
 
 7,098 
 
 BURRISHOOLE 
 
 1518 
 
 4 
 
 4076 
 
 13,252 
 
 Kir.MivA 
 
 1933 
 
 15 
 
 820 
 
 7,284 
 
 KlLMORE 
 
 812 
 
 4 
 
 183 
 
 7,559 
 
 K.ILGEVER* 
 
 3538, 43, 44 
 
 5 
 
 3090 
 
 10,253 
 
 AHAMLISH 
 
 1,2 
 
 2 
 
 93 
 
 6,405 
 
 KlLCHRIST 
 
 84 
 
 1 
 
 157 
 
 2,344 
 
 KlLDYSART 
 
 8691 
 
 6 
 
 294 
 
 3,784 
 
 KlLRUSH 
 
 82, 83 
 
 2 
 
 92 
 
 8,256 
 
 K.ILLAGHANENAGH 
 
 116 
 
 1 
 
 2115 
 
 6,159 
 
 KlLMACOMOGUE 
 
 117118 
 
 2 
 
 598 
 
 12,145 
 
 KlLMAXAGH 
 
 115 
 
 1 
 
 276 
 
 4,337 
 
 TULLAGH 
 
 133, 134 
 
 2 
 
 1101 
 
 3,583 
 
 AGHDOWN 
 
 127131 
 
 5 
 
 581 
 
 5,461 
 
 WEST SKULL 
 
 121126 
 
 6 
 
 446 
 
 6,739 
 
 
 
 90 
 
 19,780 
 
 135,890 
 
 Now, in Scotland at least, we know well what has 
 been the result of such arrangements in our Hebrides. 
 As to the consequences round the coast of Ireland, I 
 shall not at present enlarge. But here we see only 
 twenty parishes embracing a population of not less than 
 one hundred and thirty-five thousand eight hundred 
 and ninety souls, and of this number we see nineteen 
 thousand seven hundred and eighty living detached, in 
 the adjoining seas, in not less than ninety islands ; nay, 
 in three parishes, embracing nearly thirty thousand 
 souls, it will be observed that above nine thousand are 
 
 * As a specimen of euch an arrangement I might notice this instance. The 
 Rev. Mr S. can preach in Irish, and, I believe, does so. But No 37 is distant from 
 him at least fifteen, and Nos 43 and 44 from twenty to thirty miles! Besides, if 
 I do not mistake, Mr S. has removed to another part of the country.
 
 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 243 
 
 so situated. At the present moment we shall find, I 
 believe, one hundred and forty thousand souls, at least, 
 in these twenty parishes, or an average of not less than 
 seven thousand to each parish ; while of this number, 
 above twenty-one thousand reside in these ninety islands ! 
 But the inhabited islands which we have already enu- 
 merated amount to not fewer than one hundred and 
 forty ! 
 
 On referring to these islands in general, it may be 
 said, many of them are small. They are so ; seventeen 
 of them contain only one family, and ten not more than 
 three in each ! The feeling of solitude here occasion- 
 ally must be extreme ;* but they live in the vicinity of 
 other islands, and a plan may be suggested by which 
 the art and delight of reading may be introduced to 
 every one of them, provided they are instructed in their 
 own vernacular tongue. In the preceding list, perhaps, 
 some would except Great Island near Cork, as not being 
 like others. It is reported, indeed, to have above 900 
 scholars in attendance, but then above 800 of these are 
 in the town of Cove. Among a country population of 
 at least 3000, I suspect not one in thirty is learning to 
 read, and of these I believe not one in Irish. But still, 
 independently of Great Island, here are only eleven 
 islands, containing in all above 20,000 souls. Here are 
 sixteen islands, each of which contains from one to two 
 hundred inhabitants. But why may not every island 
 containing fifty immortal beings have a circulating Irish 
 teacher ? Even his temporary residence would kindle a 
 
 * Not so much so, however, as in one of our Hebrides, the island of Rona, about 
 30 miles north from Lewis. During seven years, excepting one visit from the 
 boat of the Fortunee, then cruising after the President in 1802, the occupant of 
 this farm, tending 50 sheep, had seen no face but that of his employer and his own 
 family, consisting of six individuals ! Such is the violence and height of the 
 mountain-billows which break on this island, that the dykes of the sheepfold are 
 often thrown down, and large stones removed from their places, at elevations 
 reaching to 200 feet above high- water mark ! The highest point of land in this 
 island is about 600 feet.
 
 244 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 
 
 flame, which, far from expiring when he left, would in 
 many an instance maintain and even propagate itself. 
 Now of these we have not less than thirty, which, at 
 fifty each, would be 1500, while these contain at present 
 more than two thousand souls. 
 
 It must now, however, also be observed, that at least 
 several of the islands, respecting which I could come to 
 no conclusion, and have left blank, have inhabitants ; 
 therefore I have included them, to elicit information ; 
 and the population in others, I have good reason to be- 
 lieve, has been underrated, perhaps in many. For ex- 
 ample, in the island of Tory, ten miles from land, there 
 were returned, in 1821, only 297 souls, but there were 
 said to be 59 houses. Now the average family in most 
 of these islands, the reader must have noted, is very 
 large generally 6 and 7 ! This would give more than 
 350 souls ; but the aggregate of Tory has been recently 
 stated as high as five hundred every one of them speak- 
 ing Irish. Taking these circumstances into account, and 
 the natural increase within the last seven years, Jifty 
 thousand souls may certainly be regarded as a moderate 
 calculation ; but the total is probably even more than 
 this. 
 
 With regard to the dialect of these long-neglected 
 islanders, while I am perfectly aware that an English- 
 man will hear his own language spoken by individuals, 
 and from them he will obtain replies to such questions 
 as a traveller may put, just as it happens in the Western 
 Isles of Scotland still the Irish is as prevalent as Gaelic 
 in the Hebrides. An Anglo-Hibernian may wander 
 among these hundred islands, visiting ruins and tombs, 
 admiring, as he must, the scenery, and picking up ame- 
 thysts some of the islanders may kindly accommodate 
 him with English, while fishermen and kelp-makers may 
 seem to go on full smoothly with the English terms 
 needful in their calling; but all this amounts to no- 
 thing when we are looking into their moral condition
 
 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 245 
 
 and the medium for its improvement. Even in secular 
 affairs they much prefer Irish ; and so, though there is 
 some difference, the Hebridean and Irishman carry on 
 barter in their common language. (See the note, page 
 194.) In Irish they feel more at ease, and need not to 
 cast about for a word. In such a case as that just sup- 
 posed, the writer, at least, has only to recollect how it 
 was in the Western Isles of Scotland, when Gaelic schools 
 were introduced there, and though when visiting them 
 he was accommodated with English, not only by the 
 boatmen, but other individuals ; yet being under no bias, 
 and desirous only of fixing on what seemed essential to 
 moral improvement, he drew a very different conclusion 
 from what some Anglo-Hibernians would do, in refer- 
 ence to their seacoast and islands ; but the truth is, that 
 Irish is the rule English the exception ; and not only 
 so, but much of that English is certainly to be classed 
 with that which has been already characterized as spoken 
 on the high road of the mainland, with that of an Irish 
 servant at an inn, or even that of the Irishman living 
 within the precincts of many a gentleman's or noble- 
 man's domain.* 
 
 * One illustration will do just as well as another ; take only one from a respect- 
 ed friend. The scene is Lord Bantry's domain." A shower of rain drove us to 
 seek shelter in the hut of the man who looks after the pheasants. He was alone ; 
 and with all the civility that never deserts an Irishman, he welcomed us in God's 
 name, and produced stools, which he took care to wipe with his great-coat before 
 he permitted us to sit on them. On inquiring from him why he was alone and 
 where were his family ; he said they were all gone to Watch-Mass, (it was the 
 Saturday before Easter-day.) And what is the Watch-Mass ?' He could not 
 tell. And what day was yesterday ?' He could not tell. And what day will 
 to-morrow be ?' He could not tell. What ! cannot you tell me why yesterday 
 has been called Good Friday, and to-morrow Easter-Sunday ?' No !' Turning 
 to my companion, I was moved to observe with great emphasis, how deplorable it 
 was to see men, otherwise so intelligent, so awfully ignorant concerning matters 
 connected with religion. Not so fast with your judgment, my good sir,' said my 
 friend ; what if you prove very much mistaken in this instance concerning the 
 knowledge of this man : recollect you are now speaking to him in a foreign tongue. 
 Come now, I understand enough of Irish to try his mind in his native dialect.' 
 Accordingly he did so ; and it was quite surprising to see how the man, as soon as 
 the Irish was spoken, brightened up in countenance ; and I could perceive from 
 the smile that played on the face of my friend, how he rejoiced in the realization
 
 246 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 
 
 After thus roaming over these Irish islands, when the 
 eye is cast but a little farther to the north-east, although 
 even there much remains to be done, what a singular 
 contrast do some of the Hebrides present ! They also 
 were long and sadly neglected, but within these seven- 
 teen years we began to teach their vernacular tongue ; 
 and now in only one Gaelic school we see 368 scholars, 
 of whom 224 are above twenty years of age : in another, 
 287, of whom 143 are also above twenty ; but both these 
 are in one island, nay there are ten schools besides, or 
 in the whole about 1500 pupils : all this is in Lewis. In 
 Skye we see 330 ; in Islay above 530. To these west- 
 ern isles also, independently of the Gaelic schools and 
 .the books for their express use, only since 1824, there 
 have been voted above 1100 Bibles, 1650 New Testa- 
 ments, and 1100 Scripture extracts, or in all above 3850 
 distinct volumes. But the Glasgow Society have been 
 in the habit of following up these Gaelic schools with 
 English. There is beside, the useful schools of the Society 
 for Propagating Christian knowledge ; and to close the 
 account, the schools more recently established in the 
 islands alone, under the sanction of the General Assem- 
 bly, now amount to seventeen, in which not only Gaelic 
 is taught, but English, writing, arithmetic, and geogra- 
 phy, three of these are in Islay, three in Skye, and one 
 in Lewis. And from whence has all this more recent ac- 
 tivity in conveying instruction sprung ? I have no he- 
 
 of his prognostic ; and he began to translate for me as follows : I asked him what 
 was Good Friday ? ' It was on that day that the Lord of Mercy gave his life for 
 sinners ; a hundred thousand blessings to him for that.' ' What is Watch-Satur- 
 day ?' ' It was the day when watch was kept over the holy tomb that held the in- 
 corruptible body of my Saviour.' Thus the man gave, in Irish, clear and feeling 
 answers to questions, concerning which, when addressed in English, he appeared 
 quite ignorant ; and yet of common English words and phrases he had the use ; 
 but like most of hit countrymen in the south, his mind was groping in foreign 
 parts when converging in English, and he only seemed to think in Irish ; the one 
 was the language of his commerce, the other of his heart." SAr/cAfs in Ireland, 
 by the Rev. Ccesar Otway.
 
 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 247 
 
 sitation in adding, from the simple operation of having 
 begun to teach the people their native language. 
 
 Now at the present moment, a man may wander over 
 all these Irish islands, which, though smaller in size, are 
 more than double the number of the Hebrides but he 
 will meet with nothing but one unbroken contrast to 
 such proceedings as these now mentioned a contrast 
 for which not a single reason can be adduced to those 
 who know the country, which is worthy of one mo- 
 ment's reflection. Yet the writer well remembers the 
 time when there was nothing of this kind known, even 
 in the Hebrides and then it was, that the idea of teach- 
 ing the vernacular tongue was scouted, and then too, op- 
 posed by those who now see its absolute necessity and 
 importance. In Ireland, therefore, let the patrons of 
 privation but stand a while aside, and admit the opera- 
 tion of positive principles they will soon behold the 
 same results, and, like former opponents of similar mea- 
 sures in Britain, they also will rejoice to assist. 
 
 it: ..,,' . ;' .v :.;-)Y,; ,i,-;ii ' V- - 
 
 It may now, however, very naturally be inquired, 
 But are there no schools in any of these islands? I re- 
 ply, there are schools in the islands of Raghlin, Inch, and 
 Aranmore, in Clare and Inisherkin, such as they are, and, 
 of course, in Cove, situated in Great Island, and perhaps 
 one or two more. But none of these are Irish schools, 
 though Irish is spoken. One Irish school has bee pro- 
 posed for the island of Tory, where, out of five hundred, 
 about half a dozen can also speak English ; but as for 
 all the rest, the eye will search in vain for schools or 
 scholars, or places of worship. When the peculiarity of 
 their situation is observed, and the number of genera- 
 tions is remembered, which, alas ! in this state must 
 have passed away, surely there is no man of common 
 sympathy who would not instantly inquire, " What can 
 be, what shall be done for them ?" During the long 
 and dreary past many a bark has foundered upon their
 
 248 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 
 
 shores, but they, themselves, in a sadder sense, have 
 been wrecked by one common storm, and, though ac- 
 tually within sight of our shore, have scarcely ever heard 
 of our common and glorious Deliverer ! 
 
 I am perfectly aware of their natural shrewdness, and 
 how much they can entertain a traveller by their occa- 
 sional replies ; but still " one thing is needful," and 
 while that is wanting, perhaps some readers may not be 
 able to refrain from accommodating the lines of the 
 poet : 
 
 Metbinks I see them straying on the beach, 
 And asking of the surge that bathes their feet, 
 How often it has wash'd our shore In sight ! 
 You see one weep, and his are honest tears, 
 Like patriot's for his country they are sad 
 At thought of her forlorn, neglected state, 
 From which no pow'r of theirs can raise her up. 
 Thus Fancy paints them, and, though apt to err, 
 Perhaps errs little, when she paints them thus. 
 These, therefore, I must pity placed so near 
 To all that science traces, art invents, 
 Or inspiration teaches. 
 
 In but a few short years circulating Irish teachers, if 
 they were men who fear God, might work wonders 
 here ; and what a field is this for the powers of oral in- 
 struction ! There was once ONE who not only taught 
 in the temple and the synagogue, but preached on 
 mountains, and in barges and ships his immediate 
 followers imitated his example convenience for the 
 time was consecration of the place ; and the voice of that 
 authority under which they acted, reaches to the end 
 of time. Were this voice but once heard and obeyed, one 
 can scarcely conceive of a more delightful change on a 
 Sabbath morning, than that of the voice of praise ascending 
 from these numerous islets of the sea. By the blessing of 
 Heaven they would thus form, as it were, a wall of fire 
 round this long-neglected country, not forgetting what, 
 by similar means and an Irish ministry, might also, before 
 long, be styled the glory in the midst. For why should 
 not this praise be heard in the language natural to this 
 people ? And what perverse policy is that which would
 
 THE ISLANDS OF IRELAND. 249 
 
 forbid it ! I know not why I may not add, what heart 
 must he have, who would stand proof against their own 
 simple and plaintive petition, uttered lately by one of 
 their best friends ? It at least shows what an anxiety 
 is felt on the subject of vernacular instruction : 
 
 And oh ! be it heard in that language endearing, 
 
 In which the fond mother her lullaby sung, 
 Which spoke the first lispings of childhood, and bearing 
 
 The father's last prayer from his now silent tongue : 
 That so, as it breathes the pure sound of devotion, 
 And speaks with the power that still'd the rough ocean, 
 Each breast may be cahn'd into gentler emotion, 
 
 And Erin's wild harp to Hosannas be strung. 
 
 And soon from the cliffs, by the ocean surrounded, 
 To that milder shore, by the shallow sea bounded, 
 May the call of the Shepherd be faithfully sounded, 
 O'er marshes and mountain, through isle and through grove! 
 
 At all events, their situation being now brought more 
 fully before the public eye, I cannot believe, that, in 
 such a day as this, these islanders will be suffered to 
 remain longer, much less die in their present condition, 
 without any regarding it. It may indeed seem to the 
 reader as if a mist had risen and dispersed, exhibiting 
 to his view an assemblage of his countrymen hitherto 
 unknown ; but no man can innocently desire that this 
 misty obscurity should descend again, to conceal them 
 from the eye of the intelligent and humane. 
 
 In the inhabited Western Isles of Scotland, amounting to sixty-eight in number, there 
 are at present above seventy schools, where the vernacular language is taught, and in many 
 of these, other branches of education : In the inhabited islands round the coast of Ireland, 
 amounting to one hundred and forty, we know that there has been appointed one Irish 
 school ! but know not whether it is yet in active operation. 
 
 " If obedience to the will of God be necessary to happiness, and knowledge of his will be 
 necessary to obedience, I know not how he that withholds this knowledge, or delays it, can 
 be said to love his neighbour as himself." JOHNSON.
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 DESIDERATA BOOKS, 
 
 Or brief Catalogue of Desirables for the Native Irish Population. 
 
 HAVING endeavoured to collect every particular which 
 might serve to be of use in forming some fixed opinion 
 as to what is so much wanted for this long-neglected 
 people, I may be permitted to say How meagre is the 
 history of the past compared with what it ought to 
 have been in such a country as this ! In a country so 
 near, and which ought to have been so much more 
 dear to every British subject, how melancholy the re- 
 flection that centuries are embraced, and that, after so 
 long a period, such upon the whole is the present con- 
 dition of above three millions of our fellow-subjects ! 
 Is it possible, it may be asked, is it true, that these 
 people, in their successive generations, have thus breath- 
 ed away their existence and died, in a country which, 
 as to its natural position, has been reposing in the very 
 lap of Great Britain, and nominally united to it for 
 more than six hundred and fifty years ? So it should 
 seem ; and would that, with the sombre review of the 
 past, here also terminated the prevalence of those things 
 which make the aspect sombre ! 
 
 Meanwhile let it not be imagined by any one, that a 
 retrospect such as this, however painful, is impolitic, 
 unprofitable, or vain. Nothing as to Ireland, and par-
 
 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 251 
 
 ticularly her aborigines, can be more incumbent. Let 
 us the more value the example left us by the discerning 
 few, in whose hearts it was to have enlightened and 
 elevated a people so often and so long left out of all cal- 
 culations meet and necessary for their present comfort 
 and their future good. Let there be no false delicacy 
 now to whisper that we should be tender of prejudices 
 which were grounded upon political expediency an 
 expediency which has proved so hollow and foolish in 
 itself; weak as to its professed end, nay, so injurious 
 withal every hour of its continuance to the immortal 
 interests of so many generations. 
 
 It is indeed a very easy thing for us now to dwell 
 upon what has been called the back-ground, or dark 
 side, of the picture with regard to Ireland, though I 
 envy not the man who is capable of doing so without 
 feelings either of sympathy or self-reproach. 
 
 But no let us no more contend, nor blame 
 Each other, blamed enough elsewhere; 
 
 For what can this avail, or does it befit the lips of their 
 countrymen, to whom we can say as to all things else, 
 and at any period " And what hast thou which thou 
 hast not received ? and why glory as if thou hadst not 
 received it?" What would the rest of this kingdom 
 have been if left without books without learning 
 without an intelligible ministry ? So far from being 
 surprised at any thing said of this people, and there 
 have been many things said which are not correct, my 
 astonishment is, that they are to be found in their pre- 
 sent condition, destitute and deplorable as it confessedly 
 is. Naturally shrewd, and, as far as natural education 
 goes, superior in quickness of perception to any pea- 
 santry of the empire often cheerful, under circumstan- 
 ces which in others would have induced habitual me- 
 lancholy retaining a buoyancy of mind under frequent 
 extremity, and so susceptible of gratitude for disin- 
 terested kindness there are none who know them
 
 252 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 
 
 thoroughly who would not say " And I have loved 
 them better still, even in extremity of ill." 
 
 It would be easy too to repeat the fine things which 
 have been said about the circulation of bank-notes, 
 which being in English, have proved an incentive to 
 those who see them and ever possess any, to acquire 
 our language ! to talk of the people being said to be 
 ashamed of their native tongue, and desirous of acquir- 
 ing ours a shame which, if it ever existed in some of 
 the baser sort, like a Sunday's coat is laid aside as soon 
 as you turn your back, or they return home, where 
 Irish holds on to sustain the tear and wear of their 
 thoughts. No, let us hear no more of the glory of ex- 
 tending the English tongue in these districts in the man- 
 ner hitherto proposed or pursued. Man, it is true, is a 
 creature impatient of his end ; but in a course which it 
 is above the power of kings as conquerors to pursue ; 
 where we are called to contend with sympathies of our 
 nature so strong, and in which there is no crime; to 
 contend with an invincible attachment to the first sounds 
 the tongue was taught by a mother to express, let us see 
 and understand that no feeble enactment of ours can 
 ever reach the case. The path marked out for us is 
 straight forward and easy ; it has the sanction of 
 Heaven, and any other devised with reference to an 
 inferior, not to say purblind policy, will prove just as 
 inefficient as it has done hitherto : 
 
 In human works, though labour'd on with pain, 
 A thousand movements scarce one purpose gain j 
 In God's, one single doth its end produce, 
 And server to second to some other use. 
 
 That " other use" in the present instance will certainly 
 prove to be the extension of the English language, as 
 far and as fast as it can be extended. 
 
 Let us proceed then no longer with faltering steps or 
 slow nor with a scanty or meagre policy, whether it 
 regards the proclamation of the divine word in the lan- 
 guage spoken by the people the circulation of the
 
 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 253 
 
 Scriptures in Irish and some other useful books, or the 
 very best and most expeditious mode of teaching the 
 people to read. 
 
 At the same time I ought to remark, that when a 
 case like the present is made out and reviewed, there is 
 such a thing as hastening after a cure. One or two 
 plans, as they are called, are hastily devised by an indi- 
 vidual more ardent than wise, and the idea prevails, 
 that by some one grand wholesale remedy, which be- 
 gins to be much talked of, the evils, all the evils are to 
 be redressed all the wants supplied in almost a given 
 time ; though, in designs such as these, few things are 
 so fatal as precipitancy or blind zeal. 
 
 In looking over the present state of the Native Irish, 
 as it refers to the design of these pages, there is happily 
 at present but little call for much ingenuity of con- 
 trivance. The means which have been successful in 
 other cases, only require to be applied ; but calm intre- 
 pidity, constancy, and patience, with the exercise of 
 kindness and love to the people, are indispensable. If 
 these are possessed, the means at the same time involve 
 very different qualifications, in different individuals, and 
 it is not by amalgamating all these that most benefit is 
 to be expected. If independent of each other in them- 
 selves, let them so remain ; and so independent are 
 they, that three men may here be pressing towards the 
 accomplishment of one end, and yet scarcely, perhaps, 
 ever exchange words. One man at his desk is pa- 
 tiently balancing the precise difference between two 
 Irish synonymes, arid is daily tasking himself to give no- 
 thing save an accurate and luminous translation of his 
 author. The second is a schoolmaster, whose heart is in 
 his employment, and is mainly charmed by the progress 
 of his pupils. While the third, if qualified for address- 
 ing his fellow-men on the things of God from his own 
 book, has been fitted from on high, by Him who alone 
 can qualify, and who alone doth give such gifts unto 
 
 L,
 
 254 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 
 
 men. But a very few individuals, therefore, of requisite 
 wisdom, in any one of these departments (though in a 
 variety of independent spots), proceeding with ardour 
 and patient perseverance, without printing or sitting 
 down to report every thing that they do, might accom- 
 plish much. Nor should a solitary individual feel dis- 
 couraged : for what is the history which has just been 
 read, if it is not that of a very few solitary individuals, 
 ending occasionally in a heartfelt union which never 
 rose above three or four ? This has been styled the age 
 of mechanism and management ; but, after all, amidst 
 the various schemes of the day, " in all probability, the 
 improvement of mankind is destined, under Divine 
 Providence, to advance just in proportion as good men 
 feel the responsibility for it resting on themselves, as 
 individuals, and are actuated by a bold sentiment of in- 
 dependence, (humble at the same time, in reference to 
 the necessity of a celestial agency,) in the prosecution 
 of it."* 
 
 In farther specifying what is now so much wanted 
 and so desirable for the Native Irish, we shall follow 
 the order of the three first sections, and therefore advert 
 first to the subject of Irish printed books. 
 
 BOOKS. 
 
 It was the opinion of Dr Johnson, that if a man wish- 
 ed to be counted amyong the benefactors of posterity, he 
 must add by his own toil to the acquisitions of his an- 
 cestors, and secure his memory from neglect by some 
 valuable improvement. " This," he adds, " can only 
 be effected by looking out upon the wastes of the intel- 
 lectual world, and extending the power of learning over 
 
 * Foster's Essay on the Evil* of Popular Ignorance, p. 259.
 
 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 255 
 
 regions yet undisciplined ; or by surveying more exactly 
 our ancient dominions, and driving ignorance from the 
 retreats where she skulks undetected and undisturbed. 
 Every science has its difficulties, which yet call for so- 
 lution before we attempt new systems of knowledge ; as 
 every country has its forests or marshes, which it would 
 be wise to cultivate and drain, before distant colonies 
 are projected as a necessary discharge of the exuberance 
 of inhabitants." 
 
 In the preceding pages the reader has had an oppor- 
 tunity of observing how little can be said on the subject 
 of Irish printing, and it is hoped that a perusal of the 
 narrative itself may suggest to many the appropriate re- 
 medies for such a state of things. At the same time, it- 
 may still be of service now to consider briefly the ac- 
 tual condition of this people so far as the art of printing 
 is concerned. In doing this I have thought that it is 
 nothing more than common justice to bring forward 
 another Celtic population in contrast or comparison 
 with the Native Irish, viz. the inhabitants of Wales. 
 Here, in that part of England which lies nearest to Ire- 
 land, looking across St George's Channel, out of a po- 
 pulation of about 720,000 are 600,000 to whom the 
 Welsh is vernacular, or about a fifth part of the Native 
 Irish. Let us see then how it has fared with these two 
 classes in comparison. 
 
 To begin with the Scriptures. It is now two hundred 
 and sixty-three years since the Welsh New Testament was 
 first printed, and about two hundred and twenty-seven 
 years since the same volume was first printed in Irish. 
 Again, the Bible complete in Welsh was printed in 
 1588 in the Irish not till about a century afterwards, 
 viz. in 1686. Now, let the reader observe, up to the 
 year 1811, when the Irish Testament, though in the 
 Roman character, was published, there had been a few 
 hundred copies of the Irish New Testament circulated 
 about the beginning of the seventeenth century, and
 
 256 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 
 
 about as many towards the close of it, with perhaps 
 three hundred of the Old Testament ; while for Wales 
 by the year 1811 there been such a variety of editions 
 of the Welsh Bible complete, and of the New Testament 
 separately, as amounted to above one hundred and 
 seventy thousand copies, of which more than one hund- 
 red and forty thousand were entire Bibles ! An equal 
 proportion for the Native Irish would have been seven 
 or eight hundred thousand perhaps there had not been 
 above eight hundred, and certainly not a single copy 
 printed for one hundred and thirty years previously to 
 1811! 
 
 Or cast an eye over the last century, during which 
 the Native Irish population has so increased, and you 
 will find that in Wales there had been about eighty- 
 nine thousand Bibles and New Testaments put into cir- 
 culation, at about twelve or fourteen different periods of 
 time. In Wales too, out of the edition of the Bible in 
 1718, a thousand were given to the poor. The editions 
 of 1746 and 1752, both in octavo, and consisting to- 
 gether of thirty thousand copies, were sold at four shil- 
 lings and sixpence each : yet by the year 1768 they had 
 been all bought, and the edition of the next year con- 
 sisted of twenty thousand more. While these things 
 were going on for Wales, and that before a Bible Society 
 was thought of, in Ireland, or for the Native Irish any- 
 where, there was during the whole of the eighteenth 
 century literally not a single copy printed ! 
 
 But, in addition to such bare though painful chrono- 
 logical comparisons, we must not forget the mighty dif- 
 ference between the book of life and salvation having 
 been used in a country, and read from generation to ge- 
 neration, for above two hundred years, almost within 
 sight of Ireland, and its scarcely being so read in Irish 
 at all. Since the Scriptures in Welsh have been from 
 time to time coming into the hands of the people, seven 
 generations have been passing away, with all the bene-
 
 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 
 
 257 
 
 fits thus conveyed, but of course the same number of 
 generations in Ireland have also gone the way of all 
 the earth. Though therefore it be but a painful memo- 
 rial, urging to present duty, a kind of sepulchral in- 
 scription over our fellow-countrymen, or certain de- 
 parted subjects of the British crown, it may be of use to 
 the surviving generation of the Native Irish, if we place 
 the editions of the Scriptures in these two languages 
 in contrast with each other, from 1567 up to the year 
 1800 a period of two hundred and thirty-three years. 
 
 Welsh Scriptures. 
 
 1 j 67 New Testament,... 4to 500 
 
 1588 Bible, folio 5;0 
 
 1620 Bible, folio, 500 
 
 1630 Bible, 8vo 1000 
 
 1647 New Testament,... 12rao 1000 
 
 1 1651 Bible, 9vo, 6000 
 
 1654 New Testament,. ..8vo, 1000 
 
 1672 New Testament,. ..8yo, 2000 
 
 f!678 Bible, 8vo 8000 
 
 Irish Scriptures. 
 
 1603 New Testament,...folio,* 500 
 
 1690 Bible -folio, 1000 
 
 11690 Bible, 8vo, 10,000 
 
 1718 Bible Svo...... 10,000 
 
 1727 Bible 8vo, 5000 
 
 fl746 Bible 8vo, 15,000 
 
 +1752 Bible, 8 vo,'.... 15,000 
 
 1752 Test, and Psalms, 2000 
 
 fl769 Bible, 8vo, 20,000 
 
 fl198 Bible, 8vo 10,000 
 
 f!798 New Testament,..8vo 2000 
 
 1800 Testament, SaIop..Var......lO,000 
 
 1681 New Testament,...4to,... 
 1G86 Old Testament, ...4to,.... 
 
 * Small folio, scarcely above quarto size. 
 
 f The number of copies thus marked have been accurately ascertained, and the 
 others are founded on the " Historical Account of the British or Welsh versions 
 and editions of the Bible, by Thomas Llewelyn, LL.D." Of tlie last article the 
 Doctor says, under date 1752," The New Testament, with Psalms, has been fre. 
 quently printed at Salop (Shrewsbury), from this date and forward." The edition 
 of 1718 was the first printed by the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, 
 and, with the exception of the Shrewsbury New Testament, that institution was 
 concerned in all that followed. But all that had preceded was the result of indi- 
 vidual benevolence. The edition of 1620 was promoted by Dr Parry, Bishop of 
 St Asaph of 1630 by Rowland Heylin, Esq., Sir Thomas Middleton, and other 
 citizens of London. The editions of 1651, of 1672, and 1678, were promoted by 
 the Rev. Thomas Gouge that of 1690 by Mr Pierce Lewis, and the 8vo edition 
 of that same year by the Marquis Wharton and others.
 
 258 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 
 
 So it has fared with these two classes for seven gene- 
 rations back. Above one hundred and twenty thousand, 
 of which one hundred and two thousand were entire 
 copies of the Scriptures, had been at different intervals 
 dispersed or sold at a cheap price to the one ; and about 
 eight hundred or a thousand copies of the New Testa- 
 ment and about three hundred of the Old had been cir- 
 culated among the other ! For the rest of the Irish im- 
 pressions of 1681-6 were sent by Mr Boyle to the High- 
 lands of Scotland. 
 
 But since the commencement of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury it will be instantly replied, a very great change 
 has taken place, and there have been copies of the 
 Scriptures printed for the Irish as well as for the Welsh. 
 There have ; but let not this prevent our observing the 
 singular inequality or contrast with which we are fur- 
 nished by a review of the last twenty-one years. 
 
 Welsh Scriptures. Irish Scriptures. 
 
 1808 Bible, 12mo,..20,000 
 
 Testament, 12mo,... 10,000 
 
 1811 Bible and Psaluns, .8vo 20,000 1811 Test., RoOT<znletter,..12mo,..20CO 
 
 1813 Bible Var 10,191 
 
 Testament, Var 50,948 1813 Test., 7Jo!aletter,..12mo,...3000 
 
 1811 Bible, _ 8vo, 2500 
 
 1817 Bible, Roman letter,.8vo, 5000 
 
 1826 Bible Var....60,351 1826 Bible, Roman letter, 8vo 5000 
 
 Testament, Var 85,684 Testament Var.. 29,018 
 
 1828 Bible, Var 10,096 1828 Bible,* Irish letter !...8vo,...5000 
 
 Testament Var 12,638 Testament, Var...20,170 
 
 1829 Bible, Jr. let. at press, 24mo,..5000 
 
 1829 Bible 12mo, 5000 Bible, 3 vols, do. do....l2mo, 2000 
 
 Testament, 12mo,...10,000 Test do. do... sMmo, 4000 
 
 Could these numerous Welsh editions, as contrasted 
 with the Irish, have been inserted, year by year, pre- 
 cisely as they issued from the press, the contrast would 
 have been still more glaring ; but it is abundantly so, 
 when viewed at successive dates as above. The result 
 of this comparison is as follows : 
 
 * The editor was Mr M'Quige, but the whole was read also by Dr Moock 
 Mason or another individual. Dr Mason, Mr O'Reilly, &e. superintend the i'imo, 
 and also collate the sheets of the 12juo editions, DOW in the press.
 
 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 259 
 
 Welsh. Irish. 
 
 B. *nd F. Bible Society 274,958 B. and F. Bible Society, 69,188 
 
 Christian Knowledge Society.......22,500 Hibernian Bible Society ,900fr 
 
 Christian Knowledge Society 2000 
 
 That is, 297,458 for the inferior population, or about 
 a Jlfih part of the Native Irish, and for them 80,188 ; 
 but even in regard to these we have^several important 
 observations to make presently. 
 
 Having, however, said thus much respecting the 
 Welsh, I cannot but advert at this point to another 
 Celtic tribe on this side of the Irish Channel the Scots 
 Highlanders. The statement as to Wales, and especi- 
 ally after it is finished, (for we must return to it once 
 more,) may be considered as a loud call to the inhabit- 
 ants of England. Let us see whether there is any 
 voice addressed more especially to those in Scotland. 
 The following statement, besides, will serve to show 
 how we at present stand, as to the supply of 
 
 Gaelic Scriptures. 
 
 1687 Bible, in Irish, by Mr Boyle, t. e. of 1681-6 4to, 200 
 
 1690 Bible, under Mr Kirk, Roman letter, 8vo, 1000 
 
 Testament, ditto, 8vo, 3000 
 
 1754 Test. Irish, O'Domhnuil, Glasgow, by Orr, say only 500 
 
 1767 Testament, Gaelic, by the Society in Scotland for 
 
 propagating Christian Knowledge 12mo,... 10,000 
 
 1796 Ditto, ditto 12mo....21,500 
 
 1802 Old Testament, 3 vols. by ditto, 8vo, 5000 
 
 1807 Bible, 2 vols or one, by ditto, 12mo,... 20,000 
 
 Bible, by British and Foreign Bible Society, 18mo,... 20,000 
 
 Testament by ditto, ..18mo,... 10,000 
 
 1810 Testament by ditto, 12mo,... 10,000 
 
 Testament by Christian Knowledge Society, 10,000 
 
 1821 Bible by B. and F. Bible Society, brevier,12rao and 8vo,... 17,577 
 
 Testament by ditto, 12mo and 8vo,... 19,739 
 
 Testament by Christian Knowledge Society, 12mo,... 10,000 
 
 1825 Bible B. and F. Bible Society, brevier, 12mo,... 10,000 
 
 1826 Testament, ditto, stereotype, 12mo,... 10,000 
 
 1827 Bible, Christian Knowledge Society, 4to, WQ
 
 260 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 
 
 1827 Testament by ditto, pica, 8vo, 2000 
 
 Testament by Edinburgh Bible Society, 12mo, .5000 
 
 1828 Bible, small pocket-size, by ditto, 24mo, 7508 
 
 Testament, ditto, 24mo, 5000 
 
 1829 Bible by B. and F. Bible Society 12mo, 5000 
 
 Testament by ditto, 12mo, 5000 
 
 Testament by ditto, pocket-size, 5000 
 
 Bible by Edinburgh Bible Society, I2mo,... 10.000 
 
 Bible by ditto at press, 8vo, 5000 
 
 Bible by ditto, gocket-size, 2d edit., , 10,000 
 
 Thus, including the two last at press, it appears that 
 there have been printed for the Gaelic population, or 
 less than a seventh of the Irish, not fewer than 239,016, 
 nay, only since the year 1807 above 197/'00! And 
 should we draw a comparison here, as we have just 
 done with the Welsh Scriptures, the following will be 
 
 the result : 
 
 TMii-irJw -<: *< 3<;J Jbiuiay'H * **" 
 
 Gaelic Scriptures. Irish Scriptures* 
 
 XVII. centuiy, ......4200 XVII. century, w ...1750 
 
 XVIII 32,000 XVIII none! 
 
 XIX 202,816 XIX 78,438 
 
 But the reader may now be disposed to look back and 
 take in the whole supply at one view, Welsh, Gaelic, 
 and Irish, from the day on which the translation of the 
 Scriptures into Welsh was enjoined, "for the soul's health 
 of the flocks," to use the words of the bill itself, fc in order 
 that such as do not understand English may, by confer- 
 ring both tongues together, the sooner attain to the 
 knowledge of the English tongue ;" or, in other words, 
 from the year 1563, a space of two hundred and sixty- 
 seven years, and touching upon four centuries. Then, 
 if under the term Scriptures, we include copies of the 
 New Testament along with the entire Bible, in each of 
 the cases, the account will stand as follows :r
 
 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 261 
 
 Welsh. Gaelic- Irish. 
 
 XVI. century 1000 none none. 
 
 XVII 30,500 4200 1750 
 
 XVIII 89,000 32,000 none. 
 
 XIX 297,458 '202,816 80,188 
 
 In every point of view the retrospect is painful. Let 
 the relative disproportion between these three classes of 
 British subjects be observed, then the result will stand 
 thus : 
 
 Language. Population. Scriptures. 
 
 WELSH 600,000 417,958 
 
 GAELIC 400,000 239,016 
 
 IRISH 3,000,000 81,938 
 
 That is, for Wales more than two copies for every 
 three, and for the Highlands more than one for every 
 two individuals, for Ireland one copy to thirty-seven. 
 After comparisons, painful and extraordinary as these 
 must be to every reflecting mind, many affecting facts 
 present themselves to our consideration. Thus, out of 
 the trifling number of copies above mentioned, for an 
 Irish population so far superior to the other two, it may 
 be observed, that 11,000 have not yet left the press, and 
 more especially that out of the remaining 69,188 there 
 are no more than 5000 Bibles in the Irish character ; 
 so that if every copy were in use, this would be no more 
 than one Bible to six hundred of the population ! Here 
 also, let it be observed, is the Jlrst edition of the Irish 
 Scriptures, in their proper type, for 142 years; (for so 
 long have we delayed in returning to the good common 
 sense of 1686, and the noble example left to us by Mi- 
 Boy le ;) and here also is the first edition of the Scrip, 
 tures, in one volume, Irish letter, which has ever been 
 published for the Native Irish people ! Why, a hundred 
 and thirty years ago, when the Welsh population must 
 
 L2
 
 262 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 
 
 have been small to what it is now, they had more than 
 six times this number in circulation. Even if the beau- 
 tiful pocket Bible were out, (as it is nearly ready,) and 
 all in use, still this would be but as one to three hundred. 
 I select the Scriptures in the Irish type, because it is 
 this which the people want, and it is this to which they 
 are enthusiastically attached. But it is in vain to dwell 
 upon a case which certainly never had a parallel, and 
 which certainly never will. Our business now is to roll 
 away the reproach which belongs to such an inequality 
 of provision. 
 
 " When manna fell in the wilderness," said Dr Owen 
 after visiting Ireland in 1649, " when manna fell in the 
 wilderness, from the hand of the Lord, every one had an 
 equal share ; I would there were not now too great an 
 inequality in the scattering of manna, when secondarily 
 in the hand of men ; whereby some have all and others 
 none ; some sheep daily picking the choice flowers of 
 every pasture, others wandering upon the barren moun- 
 tains, without guide or food. Ah ! little do the inhabit- 
 ants of Goshen know, whilst they are contending about 
 the bounds of their pasture, what darkness there is in 
 other places of the land ; how these poor souls would be 
 glad of the crumbs that fall from our tables." Were we 
 to include the English Scriptures, so far as the mere 
 distribution of the Sacred Volume is concerned, might 
 not this language be repeated now and with ten-fold 
 emphasis ? 
 
 As for any remarks which can ever be adduced, coolly 
 accounting for all this, or referring to some peculiari- 
 ties in the Irish population, I have only to ask, Does 
 the party know what was the state of the Welsh popu- 
 lation when this distribution of Scripture began among 
 them? I suppose not.* No, the fault as to Ireland most 
 
 * Let him only read the dedication to Salesbury's Welsh Testament of 1567, 
 reprinted in Llewelyn's History of the Welsh Versions.
 
 DESIDERATA BOOKS.. 263 
 
 decidedly lies upon the more highly-favoured classes in. 
 this country. The ' golden rule' has been for ages 
 thrown aside : We have not done to others as tve should 
 wish them to have done to us ; and this is the more 
 to be lamented, inasmuch as, since a trial has been 
 made, there is, in fact, no part of the United Kingdom 
 where there has been such heart-stirring encouragement 
 to disperse the Word of Life, provided that it be given in 
 the native language and its appropriate 
 
 It may be remarked, that we have as yet adverted 
 only to the Scriptures, and it would certainly not be do- 
 ing justice to stop here ; though had Wales enjoyed no 
 other advantage, this would have been more than suf- 
 ficient to have created a difference between the two 
 countries, such as no man can estimate. But the print- 
 ing of the Sacred Writings in any language (generally 
 among the earliest books ever since the invention of 
 printing) has always brought along with it a train of 
 other blessings. At the same time, the ignorance which 
 seems to prevail even among intelligent men, as to the 
 prodigious superiority of Wales over every other Celtic 
 tribe in this kingdom or the continent, suggests the ne- 
 cessity of concentrating in one view a very brief account 
 of Welsh literature. The chief inducement, however, to 
 do so in this place, is the hope that, by the force of con- 
 trast, it may, if not must, excite a deeper sympathy for 
 that other Celtic tribe just across the Channel. In the 
 following catalogue we also insert the Scriptures for the 
 sake of some farther particulars : 
 
 1547' Dictionary in Welsh and English by William Salesbury, 4to. 
 
 1550. Introduction teaching how to pronounce the letters, by do. two eds. 
 
 1551. Dictionary of Salesbury, reprinted by Robert Crowley. 
 
 A Welsh Rhetoric by Salesbury enlarged afterwards, and again 
 
 published by Henry Perry, B.D. 
 1567. New Testament by Salesbury, printed by Henry Denman. 
 
 Welsh Grammar by Gruffwydd Roberts. This, which is the first 
 
 grammar properly so called, was printed abroad, at Milan, by 
 the author, who belonged to the University of Sienna in Tus- 
 cany.
 
 264 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 
 
 1588. Welsh Bible in folio, translated by Dre Richard Davies Wil- 
 liam Morgan Wm. Hughes Hugh Bellot David Powell, 
 
 author of the History of Wales Edmund Prys or Price, 
 
 the author of the Welsh Metrical Psalms Richard Vaughan 
 and John Salisbury, Bishop of Mann. 
 
 1592. Welsh Grammar Cambro-Britannicae, Oymeraecaeve, linguae In- 
 stitutiones et Rudimenta, &c. by John David Rhese. After 
 studying at Oxford he went abroad, took the degree of M.D. 
 in the University of Sienna, and having a perfect knowledge 
 of the Italian, he was elected Moderator of the School of Pis- 
 toia, and wrote several woiks in Italian, which were esteemed. 
 The first Hebrew in any quantity printed in England was in 
 Dr Rhcse's Welsh ' Institutiones.' 
 
 1(503. Welsh Grammar by William Middleton. 
 
 Welsh Metrical Psalms by Middleton, printed in London. 
 
 1620. Welsh Bible in folio, by Dr Richard Parry and Dr John Davies 
 
 af'.er-mentioned. The copy presented to James I. is now in 
 the British Museum. 
 
 1621. Rudiments Antique Lingua? Britannicae, by Dr Davies, 8vo. 
 1630. Welsh Bible at the charge of Rowland Heylyn, Esq. and others. 
 1632. Dictior.arium Latino- Britannkum by Davies in folio. Editions 
 
 in 8vo and 12mo of the Rudiments, and the Dictionary by 
 Davies, were printed in 1630, at the charge of Sir T. Middle- 
 ton and Mr Heylyn. 
 
 1638. The Rudiments and Dictionary again in octavo. 
 
 1647' Welsh New Testament in 12mo, without marginal references. 
 
 1648. Welsh Metrical Psalms, 12mo, by Dr Edmund Price. 
 
 1654. Bible, superintended by the Rev. Stephen Hughes This edition 
 of 6000 was offered for sale at low price by the generous exer- 
 tions of the memorable Thomas Gouge. Mr Hughes pub- 
 lished besides about twenty religious books in Welsh, and 
 some of them at his own expense. 
 
 1654. Welsh New Testament, 8vo, large type, through Mr Gouge. 
 
 1672. Welsh New Testament with Psalms in prose and verse, through 
 Mr Gouge. 
 
 1678. Welsh Bible and Liturgy, 8vo. Out of 8000 printed, one thou- 
 sand were given to the poor bound and clasped, it sold a* 
 low as 4s. 6d. through the exertions of Mr Gouge. 
 
 1690. Welsh Bible, folio, printed at Oxford under Dr William Lloyd. 
 
 -i Welsh Bible, 8vo, of ten thousand copies at least corrected by 
 Rev. David Jones at the charge of Marquis Wbarton and 
 private individuals. 
 
 1718. Welsh Bible, 8vo, under the eye of Rev. Moses Williams, who 
 aided Di> Wotton in publishing the Leges Wallicas. This 
 edition was chiefly at the expense of the Society for promoting 
 Christian Knowledge. 
 
 1/27. Welsh Bible, 8vo, but without contents and references, by the 
 same Society.
 
 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 265 
 
 1/27- Welsh Grammar, by John Gambold. The Moravian Bishop, 
 author of ' Ignatius,' a learned man, was a Welshman, born 
 near Haverfordwest, where also he retired and died. I ima- 
 gine this to have been one of his early productions. 
 
 1728. Welsh Grammar by John Rhydderch. 
 
 1746. Welsh Bible, 8vo, by the Society for promoting Christian Know- 
 ledge. 
 
 1752. Welsh Bible, 8vo, by the same Society. These two editions, 
 amounting to thirty thousand, cost '6000 sterling, and were 
 all disposed of by 1768. They sold at 4s. 6d. per copy. 
 
 1752. New Testament, the same as 1672, by the same Society. 
 
 The New Testament with Psalms frequently printed at Shrews- 
 
 bury from this date and so forward. 
 
 1753. Welsh Grammar by Rev. Thomas Richards. 
 
 1769. Bible, 8vo, by the Society, consisting of about twenty thousand, 
 
 and probably an additional number of New Testaments. 
 1798. Bible, 8vo, by the Society. Ten thousand were printed. 
 
 New Testament, 8vo of two thousand copies. 
 
 Such were the editions of the Welsh Scriptures and 
 principal elementary books up to 1800; but the cata- 
 logue of books in Welsh, by Moses Williams, in 1710, 
 included above seventy different articles. For a century 
 past, an almanack in Welsh has been regularly publish- 
 ed, and, for the last fifty years, various periodical works. 
 At present there are seven magazines published month- 
 ly, and one quarterly. On Arithmetic and Mathema- 
 tics there are two or three treatises in Welsh; one on 
 Agriculture ; two on Farriery, a Gazetteer and Geogra- 
 phy of 550 pages with maps. They have Calmet's Dic- 
 tionary of the Bible in Welsh, 3 vols 8vo. A transla- 
 tion of the History of the Jews by Josephus, and the 
 Bible, with Matthew Henry's commentary, is now pub- 
 lishing in numbers. They have also a Concordance in 
 quarto ; the first edition of which was printed at Phila- 
 delphia, for the use of the Welsh tract in Pennsylvania, 
 a community since scattered. In short, there are about 
 twelve printing offices in the principality to supply the 
 demand for Welsh books, besides what are printed in 
 this language at Liverpool, Chester, and Shrewsbury.
 
 266 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 
 
 Were a catalogue printed now, it is supposed the nutn* 
 ber of volumes or different articles could not be less than 
 eight thousand.* 
 
 What a contrast is now presented in the condition of 
 two Celtic tribes, within the precincts of the same king- 
 dom, the enlightened or favoured party consisting of 
 about 600,000, the other of 3,000,000 ! But if the state 
 is now more emphatically one, and the British heart be 
 in a healthy condition, to what quarter of the empire 
 should the tide of philanthropy and benevolence flow if 
 not to the long-neglected ? 
 
 Many are the voices which speak, even from the 
 tomb, enforcing this upon us. With regard to the Irish 
 Scriptures in particular, there is a voice even from the 
 grave of Erasmus with all his faults, sufficient to awaken 
 them that are asleep. More than three hundred years 
 ago, when publishing his Greek New Testament, he 
 could not forbear casting his eye over to Ireland and 
 upon the Native Irish. " The mysteries of kings," said 
 he in his preface, " the mysteries of kings ought, per- 
 haps, to be concealed, but the mystery of Christ strenu- 
 ously virges publication. I would have even the mean- 
 est of women to read the Gospels and the Epistles of 
 Paul ; and I wish that the Scriptures might be translat- 
 ed into all languages, that they might be known and 
 read not only by the Irish and the Scots, but also by 
 Saracens and Turks. Assuredly the first step is to make 
 them known. For this purpose, though many might 
 ridicule, and others might frown, I wish the husband- 
 man might repeat them at his plough the weaver sing 
 them at his loom the traveller beguile the tediousness 
 of the way by the entertainment of their stories, and the 
 general discourse of all Christians be concerning them ; 
 
 For these last paragraphs I am indebted to a correspondent of the Scotsman, 
 resident in Wales, dated the 13th of February, 1828.
 
 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 267 
 
 since what we are in ourselves, such we almost constant- 
 ly are in our common conversation."* 
 
 In supplying copies of the Scriptures generally, how- 
 ever, there is one consideration which may not be un- 
 seasonable. Although the Saviour, when here below, 
 could multiply loaves and fishes at his will to an inde- 
 finite extent, yet even He, and at such a time, demanded 
 of his disciples, that they should gather up the frag- 
 ments that nothing might be lost. " The food divine 
 for pious souls," as I remember a Native Irishman once 
 phrasing it, demands much more regard. It has, how- 
 ever, frequently seemed to the writer that in presenting 
 children or adults when at school, with complete copies 
 of the Bible, in many instances there was much of need- 
 less waste. That the Scriptures should be read at 
 school is an infinitely important measure ; but instead 
 of one hundred Bibles, in most instances ten or twenty 
 would answer the purpose much better, by simply di- 
 viding each of these copies into ten or five parts. Bind 
 these separately, and then the book will not be soon 
 injured, the back of it will not then be broken, nor 
 the boards worn away from it, as is too frequently 
 the case when entire copies are given to each scholar. 
 In short, the books would not only preserve their first 
 appearance much longer, but the interest of the scholar 
 would be excited and kept up by the circumstance of 
 receiving a different book so frequently. 
 
 Independently of this expedient, I would venture to 
 suggest the extension of an excellent old custom to the 
 Native Irish which their fellow-subjects have frequently 
 and long enjoyed, that of printing, separately, certain 
 distinct books of Scripture. The proverbs of Solomon 
 
 See the preface to the Greek Testament of Erasmus ; which was indeed the first 
 published edition of the Greek Testament after the invention of printing ; for al- 
 though the Complutensian edition was first printed, it was not published till 1522, 
 but that of Erasmus came out six years before, in 1516, or three hundred and 
 fourteen years ago.
 
 268 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 
 
 were at one period generally so used, in most of the pa- 
 rochial schools of Scotland. For example, the Psalms, 
 Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, in one neat 18mo ; Luke, the 
 Acts, and the Epistle to the Romans, in another ; Mark 
 and John, with the Epistles of Peter and John, in a third ; 
 might be of great use not merely as school-books, but 
 for general and extensive circulation, at small expense. 
 
 As for other books, it is difficult to know where to 
 begin but it is strange that Bunyan's Pilgrim's Pro- 
 gress has never been translated into Irish. The man 
 who shall accomplish this may be assured that the Pil- 
 grim never met with a warmer welcome than he would 
 do in an Irish cabin of a winter evening. Only it 
 should be done with great care, by an individual who 
 understands the original. There is a translation in 
 Gaelic, but I am not sufficiently aware of its character, 
 though it might be of considerable service for an Irish 
 version.* There is also a translation of Newton's Life 
 and Burder's Village Sermons. Scott's Essays and 
 some of Beddome's Village Discourses would have good 
 effect in Ireland. For single tracts, M'Laurin's Sermon 
 on the Cross ; the Excellency of Christ, by President 
 Edwards ; Extracts from Archbishop Leighton ; from 
 Bishop Hall's Contemplations on the Old Testament ; 
 the Sermon of Dr Grosvenor on Luke xxiv. 47; Ex- 
 tracts from Owen, Howe, Richard Baxter, and some from 
 the Honourable Robert Boyle, would be of great use. 
 
 With regard to useful and safe but entertaining 
 smaller works, thirty or forty of a most valuable de- 
 scription have been published in Dublin, by the Society 
 for promoting the Education of the Poor, and the Cheap 
 Book Society, from which at first two or three of the 
 fittest might be selected for translation. 
 
 * Since the first edition of this volume in 1828, a translation, I believe, has 
 been at least commenced, with a view to publication.
 
 DESIDERATA BOOKS. 269 
 
 A very cheap periodical work, if well-conducted, by 
 a man of principle, who, upon certain subjects, well un- 
 derstood the doctrine of non-interference, but was tho- 
 roughly imbued with the desire of benefiting his coun- 
 trymen in every way, cautious of admitting speculative 
 opinions, and determined to insert no mere idle reports, 
 on whatever authority, but resolved to put the Native 
 Irish reader of the day in possession of what is indubita- 
 ble as to Nature, Science, and Art, would be of essential 
 service. There is not a people upon earth who would 
 read such a thing with as much avidity, nor would any 
 reader have a greater number of such eager hearers. 
 
 Since the first edition of this volume was published, 
 eighteen months ago, even the Highlanders have got their 
 Gaelic Magazine but I forbear as certain very de- 
 sirable elementary things for the Irish will occur more 
 naturally under the next section. 
 
 " Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica,' who received the word with 
 all eagerness, daily searching the Scripturss whether these things were so. And many in- 
 deed of them believed, and of honourable women that were Gentiles, and of men not a. 
 few." VULGATE. 
 
 " And I wish that they might be known and read, not only by the Irish and the Scots, 
 but also by the Saracens and Turks. Assuredly the first step is to make them known. 
 Kor this very purpose, though many might ridicule, and others might frown, I wish the 
 husbandman might repeat them at his plough the traveller- beguile the tcdiousness of hit 
 way by the entertainment of their stories, and the general discourse of all Christians be con- 
 cerning them ; since what we are in ourselves, such we almost constantly are in our com- 
 mon conversation." Anno 1516, ERASMUS- 
 
 " I use the Scriptures, not as an arsenal to be resorted to only for arms and weapons to 
 defend this party or defeat its enemies but as a matchless temple, where I delight to be, 
 to contemplate the beauty, the symmetry, and the magnificence of the structure, and to 
 increase my awe, and excite my devotion to the Deity there preached and adored.* 
 
 Hon. ROBERT BOYLE* 
 
 .
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 DESIDERATA EDUCATION 
 
 Through the medium ef the Irish language, whether by means of Stationary or 
 of Circulating Schools. 
 
 " It certainly were ridiculous enough," says Mr Foster, 
 " to fix on a labouring man and his family, and affect to 
 deplore that he is doomed not to behold the depths and 
 heights of science, not to expatiate over the wide field of 
 history, not to luxuriate among the delights, refinements, 
 and infinite diversities of literature; and that his family 
 are not growing up in a training to every high accom- 
 plishment, after the pattern of some neighbouring fami- 
 ly, favoured by wealth, and perhaps unusual ability, com- 
 bined with the highest cultivation in those at their head. 
 But it is a quite different thing to take this man and his 
 family, unable perhaps, both himself and they, even to 
 read, and therefore sunk in all the debasement of igno- 
 rance, and compare them with another man and family 
 in the same sphere of life, but who have received the 
 utmost improvement within the reach of that situation, 
 and learnt to set the proper value on the advantage ; who 
 often employ the leisure hour in reading, (sometimes so- 
 cially and with intermingled converse,) such instructive 
 and innocently entertaining things as they can procure ; 
 are detached from constant and chosen society with the 
 absolute vulgar, have acquired much of the decorums of 
 life, can take some intelligent interest in the great events 
 of the world, and are prevented, by what they read and 
 hear, from forgetting that there is another world. It is,
 
 DESIDERATA EDUCATION. 271 
 
 we repeat, after thus seeing what may, and in particular 
 instances does exist, in a humble condition, that we are 
 compelled to regard as an absolutely horrible spectacle 
 the still prevailing state of our national population." 
 
 Again he says " One of the most melancholy views 
 in which a human being can be presented to us, is when 
 we behold a man of perhaps seventy years sunk in the 
 gross stupidity of an almost total ignorance of all the 
 most momentous subjects, and reflect that more than 
 three thousand Sundays have passed over him, of which 
 every hour successively has been Ids time, since he came 
 to an age of some natural capacity for mental exercise. 
 Perhaps some compassionate friend may have been 
 pleading in his behalf. Alas ! what opportunity, what 
 time, has the poor mortal ever had ? His lot has been to 
 labour hard through the week, throughout his whole 
 life. Yes, we answer, but he has had three thousand 
 Sundays ; what would not even the most moderate im- 
 provement of so immense a quantity of time have done 
 for him ? But the ill-fated man (perhaps rejoins the com- 
 miserating pleader) had no advantages of education, had 
 nothing in any sense deserving that name. There, we 
 reply, you strike the mark. Sundays are of no practical 
 value, nor Bibles, nor the enlarged knowledge of the 
 age, nor heaven nor earth, to beings brought up in es- 
 trangement from all right discipline of their minds. And 
 therefore we are pleading for the schemes and institu- 
 tions which will not let human beings be thus brought 
 up." 
 
 All this language, and much more to the point in 
 which we heartily concur, the esteemed author, about 
 ten years ago, expressed with reference to England* 
 though at the same time a place is reserved throughout 
 these pages, of which of course he would approve, for 
 
 Essay on the EviL of Popular Ignorance, pp. 93. 143.
 
 272 DESIDERATA EDUCATION. 
 
 the appropriate, and, blessed be God, the ordained power 
 of oral instruction on the character of sinful men, though 
 sunk and hardened by long-practised habits. But, oh ! 
 how affecting does this subject of longevity become, when 
 carried across the Channel and applied to Ireland ! Here 
 we can point, as it were with the finger, to about three 
 hundred and fifty individuals who have spent their four 
 thousand Jive hundred Sabbaths to nearly two thousand 
 who have measured their four thousand, and to more 
 than eighty thousand who have spent the number dwelt 
 upon in the preceding passage ! But let the reader re- 
 flect, as he now can, on the comparative difference be- 
 tween these four provinces, and then observe, that of the 
 three hundred and fifty alluded to, here are not far from 
 two hundred who had lived in Connaught and Munster 
 since or before the year 1721 nearly two thousand, of 
 whom seven hundred and sixty had there resided since 
 or before 1731, and more than twenty-nine thousand 
 since or before the year 1751 ! 
 
 It would certainly be wrong to leave this subject here, 
 though it should detain us for a little while before we 
 get down to the interesting youth and children ; but 
 this it need not do. The better way will be, to bring 
 the infants of five years old and under, into view, along 
 with the old man of silver grey, who stoopeth for age, 
 even although the picture should prove the most affect- 
 ing which can be held up before the British eye, in re- 
 ference to the United Kingdom. When poring Over 
 the minuter details of the last parliamentary census, 
 again and again we had been interrupted and struck by 
 this subject, and intended to enter into it most fully. 
 Happily, however, it has been taken up in an interest- 
 ing volume by two Irish authors, and I prefer their state- 
 ment at present to one of my own, because it is drawn 
 out upon the ground, and because it is indicative of that 
 precise kind of interest in Irish gentlemen, which might 
 ultimately contribute to raise up their native country.
 
 DESIDERATA EDUCATION. 
 
 273 
 
 SUMMARY OF COMPARATIVE LONGEVITY. 
 
 Provinces. 
 
 Gross popula- 
 tion. 
 
 From 70 to 
 100 and up- 
 wards. 
 
 Proportion 
 to popula- 
 tion. 
 
 From 90 to 
 100 years. 
 
 100 years 
 and up- 
 wards. 
 
 ULSTER, 
 
 1,998,494 
 
 31,155 
 
 I 64 
 
 669 
 
 94 
 
 LEINSTEH, 
 
 1,757,492 
 
 20,821 
 
 1 84 
 
 534 
 
 62 
 
 MUNSTER, 
 
 1,935,612 
 
 18,598 
 
 1104 
 
 452 
 
 89 
 
 CONXAUGHT, 
 
 1,110,229 
 
 10,617 
 
 1 104 
 
 308 
 
 104 
 
 
 6,801,827 
 
 81,191 
 
 1 83" 
 
 1963 
 
 349 
 
 * Or nearly 1 84, the average of Ireland. 
 
 It is worthy of observation, that in each province in- 
 stances of longevity are most numerous in those counties 
 bordering on the sea. That they should prevail in those 
 districts where employment, and consequently superior 
 nourishment, and other comforts abound, is not a matter 
 of wonder. Hence the longevity of Ulster exceeds that 
 of Leinster by a ratio of one-fifth, and that of Minister 
 and Connaught by two-fifths per cent. This may also be 
 in part attributable to its northern situation. 
 
 Dividing the population of Ireland into four grand 
 classes with respect to age, the census of 1821 presents 
 to our view the following lamentable picture of the state 
 of a country abounding with every means of industry, 
 and with able and willing hands to cultivate it, in the 
 most civilized period of the world : 
 
 Infants of 5 years and under,. ..1,040,666.. .one-half at least badly clothed and fed. 
 
 Children from 5 to 15 1,748,663...!, 500,000 destitute of education.* 
 
 Operatives from 13 to 70, 3 ) 931,6G0...1,094,84o destitute of employment. 
 
 Aged 70 to 100.......... il, 191. ..a great proportion of whom are paupers. 
 
 These particulars are taken from a valuable piece of 
 
 f But in addition to these, who are at present out-growing the very season of 
 education, how many more of the oiher four millions, from 15 to 100, have out- 
 grown it ! And yet of these we see that there must be many thousands who are 
 at once unable to read a book and out of employment! the mind quite unfurnish- 
 ed the hands unemployed ! 
 
 7
 
 274 DESIDERATA EDUCATION. 
 
 local history, Fitzgerald and M'Gregor's History of Li- 
 merick, published in Dublin about four years ago. At 
 the same time it is to be remembered that the population 
 now is seven millions and a half. That education in 
 English has been making rapid progress during the last 
 nine years so much so, that at this moment the average 
 in that language is above that of England. Very much 
 indeed remains to be done in Ireland, though this fact 
 gives point and meaning to the language quoted from 
 Mr Foster, as well as to many other passages in his 
 essay. But as for the Irish tongue I may here now leave 
 it to the reader's own judgment, whether the subject has 
 been even estimated; and what encouragement is due to 
 those classes who have already made a beginning, or to 
 such judicious and humane individuals as may hence- 
 forth determine to employ it in the business of education. 
 At the same time it must be remarked with regard to 
 Irish education in the native language, that some con- 
 sideration is due, even at this moment, to the peculiar 
 and most interesting complexion of the pupils ; many of 
 them, and in two or three counties by far the largest 
 majority, consisting of persons in mature age. Some 
 provision as to a safe and useful variety of reading is 
 therefore naturally suggested. I only plead for three 
 millions to enjoy, what the Welsh have long enjoyed, 
 and the Highlanders are now daily receiving. Would 
 some of the gentlemen connected with " The Society for 
 the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge" but turn their at- 
 tention to this field, and get up for the Native Irish neat 
 and cheap elementary books, accurately printed in Fry's 
 beautiful Irish type, or in one cast on purpose, it is im- 
 possible to say, not only how much knowledge, but ra- 
 tional enjoyment they would diffuse throughout Ireland. 
 Or some of those intelligent and benevolent individu- 
 als in Dublin might gratify themselves by so doing. 
 Were such cheap elementary things accurately rendered 
 into Irish and well got up, on Arithmetic, Geography,
 
 DESIDERATA EDUCATION. 275 
 
 Natural History, Agriculture, Cottage-economy, &c. any 
 one who has heard a class of Irish youth examined can 
 tell with what avidity they would be received and read. 
 But indeed this quickness of theirs requires to be wit- 
 nessed in order to its being duly appreciated ; though it 
 is remarkable that even the descriptions of the thirst 
 after knowledge have not excited more attention, and 
 drawn the heart more powerfully to Ireland. I may as- 
 sure the reader that such has been the eagerness to ob- 
 tain education, that children have been known to acquire 
 the first elements of reading, writing, and arithmetic 
 without a book without a pen without a slate ! And 
 indeed the place of meeting was no other than a grave- 
 yard ! The long flat stones with their inscriptions were 
 used instead of books, while a bit of chalk and the grave- 
 stones together, served for all the rest! But then this 
 eagerness for knowledge, though more generally felt, is 
 not novel. Let any one inquire minutely into local cir- 
 cumstances during the last fifty or sixty years, and he 
 will find it here and there as a strong feature of the Irish 
 character. Or take the following as a specimen of what 
 has been acquired, without the intervention of the Eng- 
 lish language, and when it could not be attained. Mr 
 Patrick Lynch, with whom the writer once had an op- 
 portunity of conversing on these subjects, was, it ap- 
 pears, " born near Quin, in the county of Clare, in the 
 year 1757- He was educated near Ennis by Donough 
 an Charrain, i. e. Dennis of the Heap. His master knew 
 no English, and young Lynch learned the classics 
 through the medium of the Irish language. After ac- 
 quiring in this way an excellent knowledge of Greek, 
 Latin, and Hebrew, he was compelled by family mis- 
 fortunes to turn farmer, and for five years held a plough. 
 From this employment he was happily relieved, and was 
 subsequently able to better his condition. Six years he 
 passed as tutor in a gentleman's family, and after sundry 
 experiments of the same kind he settled at Carrick on
 
 276 DESIDERATA EDUCATION. 
 
 Suir. Here he commenced author. He had written a 
 Chronoscope, but had no means of publishing it. In con- 
 cert with a barber of the town, he procured some types, 
 and by means of a bellows-press, he actually set and 
 printed his first work with his own hands, and establish- 
 ed the first printing-press ever seen in that place. He 
 next wrote and printed at the same press, a Pentaglot 
 Grammar, in which he instituted a comparison between 
 English, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Irish : correcting 
 several errors in the Saxon etymologies of Johnson. 
 From Carrick he removed to Dublin, where his abilities 
 were soon recognised. He was one of the first persons 
 employed under the record commission, and was after- 
 wards engaged in investigating the records of Ireland. 
 He was secretary to the Gaelic Society of Dublin, and, 
 among various publications, before his death was em- 
 ployed in a geographical and statistical history of Ire- 
 land."* 
 
 Yes, when we advert to the Native Irish, and educa- 
 tion in their native tongue, we see what avidity can sug- 
 gest. Then we can mention evening scholars, who have 
 been endeavouring literally to go on by the help of moon- 
 light for want of a candle, and even men and women, 
 particularly within these few years, acquiring an ability 
 to read in so short a period, that, until the facts of the 
 case are examined or witnessed, the statement might 
 seem incredible. With us it is generally regarded as a 
 
 * History of Dublin, 4to, vol. II. p. 956. " In passing through Mitre Alley," 
 says the author in another place, " the eye is attracted by an angular sign-board 
 projecting from the wall, on which is the following inscription : ' Domestic Me- 
 dicine prescribed from Irish manuscripts,* and a couplet of Irish poetry follows. 
 Attracted by this notice we visited the Doctor, in the hope of meeting with those 
 Irish manuscripts from which he derived his prescriptions. Nor were we disap- 
 pointed. We found an old man of a genuine Milesian aspect, possessed of seventy- 
 three very old volumes of vellum, bound in modern covers. They contained se- 
 veral thousand receipts in Latin and Irish, written in a beautiful but very old 
 Irish character. From this ancient repertory the Doctor collected all his know- 
 ledge of the healing art, and practised with some success among the poor of hi* 
 vicinity."
 
 BESIDERATA EDUCATION. 277 
 
 s'low process, if not almost a hopeless task, when men 
 and women think of learning to read; but in the case of 
 the Native Irish at this moment, by far the largest pro- 
 portion of the present pupils consist of men and women, 
 many of whom have arrived at mature age. This is one 
 consideration which suggested the importance of trans- 
 lating most of the articles already specified. 
 
 In the present state of the Irish country districts, there 
 is scarcely any measure of greater value than a good 
 model-school for the training of schoolmasters. What 
 immense benefit has already resulted from the English 
 model-school in Dublin ! Now, were that city to take the 
 lead in an Irish one, other places would follow. But 
 Cork, Limerick, and Galway should by no means wait 
 for this. If the first of these looks across Munster, the 
 second does the same in return, or down towards Kerry 
 and over to Clare; and Galway over to Connamara or 
 up to Mayo. It is not enough that a mere school-house 
 be opened or books printed. Every thing still so de- 
 pends upon the moral character and disposition of the 
 man, and on his understanding his business, that one 
 such well-conducted seminary, however humble in all 
 its appurtenances, is worth a score of others. Nothing 
 can be more injurious to any country, and particularly 
 to the Native Irish, than the appointment of schoolmas- 
 ters incompetent in any sense, or not in love with the 
 occupation. Apply the idea to a gardener or a plough*, 
 man, and see what work would follow ; but indeed the 
 multiplication of trifling or inefficient teachers will never 
 raise such a peasantry as the Native Irish. They have 
 too much mind to be raised up by weak or heartless 
 men. 
 
 If, however, we leave cities and towns, leave the east 
 and go to the west or north-west and south-west, we 
 find distant and destitute and mountainous or hilly 
 
 M
 
 278 DESIDERATA EDUCATION. 
 
 tricts, and we see the numerous islands along all this 
 coast. Now it is fortunate that we here require to do 
 nothing more than examine and study the precedents 
 furnished by the Welsh and Gaelic circulating schools. 
 In consequence of attention to both of these, and some 
 concern once in the management of the latter, as well as 
 an interest in the scheme, now confirmed by the expe- 
 rience of seventeen years, the following hints are sub- 
 mitted. For years indeed they have been acted upon 
 in Ireland by two different classes, but the magnitude 
 of the case, and the way in which some persons speak 
 of much being now done in our day for the Native Irish, 
 warrant their insertion here. 
 
 IIRSH CIRCULATING SCHOOLS. ? 
 
 I. The schools to be opened should be for the sole 
 and express purpose of teaching the inhabitants of those 
 districts where Irish is spoken to read their native lan- 
 guage. 
 
 II. Alphabet-boards, containing the letters of the Irish 
 alphabet, in the Roman and Irish character, in parallel 
 columns, to be used in teaching the alphabet ; and syl- 
 lable-boards of two and three letters to succeed these. 
 
 III. The elementary books to proceed gradually with 
 " spelling and reading lessons ;" each short set o"f les- 
 sons advancing only by one letter, up to the longer and 
 more difficult words. The Irish New Testament might 
 succeed, and after this the Old, without note or comment, 
 beginning with the easiest parts. 
 
 IV. As to the school-house, no costly preparations are 
 necessary, especially as the teacher sent is not to be a 
 permanent resident; and the Native Irish, who are so 
 remarkable for hospitality and kindness, will not cer- 
 tainly fall behind the Highlanders, who, in a very suc- 
 cessful attempt to teach them their own language, have,
 
 DESIDERATA EDUCATION. 279 
 
 in general, most cheerfully provided the necessary ac- 
 commodations. 
 
 V. When a school is to be begun, all other things 
 being ready, intimation should be given that it will be 
 continued only for a limited period, not less than six nor 
 more than eighteen months, during which time the 
 young and old who attend should be instructed gratis. 
 
 VI. The moral character and competence of the school- 
 master in such a plan as this is manifestly all in all. 
 Without some competent share of wisdom and human- 
 ity, and delight in his work, he may fail, but the scheme 
 is still finely adapted to its end. There is a Teacher's 
 Guide, printed, for conducting the Gaelic circulating 
 schools, including every particular, which might be of 
 service if adopted and further improved for Ireland. 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 1. The adaptation of the circulating plan to the country 
 itself should recommend it. As many, if not most of the 
 inhabitants, live, not collected in villages, but in abodes 
 dispersed through the range of many thousand acres, 
 and as " children of tender years, though of sufficient 
 age to be capable of learning, cannot go very far from 
 home for education,"* how can their instruction be so 
 generally promoted as by this method ? 
 
 2. The economy of this scheme is a strong recommen- 
 dation. It comes in an humble outward appearance, 
 and is the better suited to the condition of the people. In 
 Wales, they found that about twelve children could be 
 instructed in reading their mother tongue, for the same 
 expense which was incurred in teaching one to read 
 English. To learn to read Welsh required three or font 
 
 
 
 * Parliamentary Reports of the Board of Education fur Ireland.
 
 280 DESIDERATA EDUCATION. 
 
 months ; to learn English, four or five successive win- 
 ters. What a saving was this both of time and money ! 
 The case is precisely similar in teaching the Native 
 Irish. 
 
 3. Nor should the effects of this system on the spirit 
 of the people be overlooked. In Wales, and in the 
 Highlands of Scotland, the circulating schools have not 
 only shown the inhabitants at what a cheap rate they 
 may educate themselves and their children, but the re- 
 moval of the schoolmaster has induced them to attempt 
 doing so. This is an important advantage ; it is, in fact, 
 making them take the first step of that road, which will 
 bring them, in the end, to the independent spirit of a 
 people, who will pay with gladness for their own in- 
 struction, and to all the inestimable comforts belonging 
 to a self-educated community. In every system adopted 
 for the relief or moral improvement of a country, the 
 prudent benefactor should have it in view to render the 
 people, at a certain period, independent of such assist- 
 ance ; otherwise, however laudable the attempt, his in- 
 terference will cherish a spirit of mean and listless de- 
 pendence. Some people talk as if education were not 
 like any thing else, and that you cannot be too lavish in 
 the pecuniary means afforded. No mistake may do more 
 harm than this. There is such a thing as beggaring a 
 district or degrading the spirit of a people by the very 
 mode in which you apply the means of education. About 
 eighteen years ago, I remember of a district in our High- 
 lands, in which the people were so destitute of all sense 
 of their own obligation to give their children education, 
 that the principal or at least the first reason for its not 
 being accomplished was, not their inability from their 
 poverty, but simply that the proprietors, or some bene- 
 volent persons, had not established a school on their 
 farm or near their own door. Being in company with 
 two or three of the inhabitants here, the following con- 
 versation ensued between an intimate friend of the
 
 DESIDERATA EDUCATION". 281 
 
 writer and them. Addressing one of them, " Well, 
 my good friend, I am astonished that you do not in this 
 country attend to the education of your children." One 
 of the others, not the one addressed, replied, it was sup- 
 posed with a view to set their neglect in a glaring light 
 to themselves, " We don't send our youths to school, 
 since we have not the school in our own farm." " Surely," 
 it was said, " you do not contend so, to the injury of 
 your offspring ?" The person first addressed, as if touch- 
 ed in a tender part, fretfully replied, " Neither do we, 
 nor should we, when we have as much right to have 
 the school in our farm as any others have to have it on 
 theirs." It was then supposed to him, that a ship laden 
 with meal had anchored off the second farm next to his, 
 and that the load was designed for the use of the whole 
 country, " Would you let your children starve for want 
 because the ship did not anchor off your farm ? Sup- 
 pose the proprietors did not feed or clothe your children, 
 should you allow them to starve ? Besides, think of your 
 accountability to your Maker. By this your criminal 
 conduct you shut them out from one means of coming at 
 the knowledge and enjoyment of God and happiness." 
 With considerable gravity he replied, " We are more 
 concerned for Martinmas rents than for these things." 
 In justice to the Highlander, however, it must be men- 
 tioned, that the school referred to was an English one, 
 in the year 1810. And therefore the same individual 
 added, with a view to Gaelic circulating schools, (which 
 began to be established the following year,) " This in- 
 difference to education is never likely to be removed, un- 
 less by means of diffusing the knowledge of letters among 
 them and if they were taught in their mother tongue, 
 they would soon find the pleasure of reading. I have 
 heard of individuals there, and do personally know indi- 
 viduals in other places, who learned to read fluently the 
 Gaelic in a few months, though they knew not a letter 
 of the alphabet till they had passed their fiftieth year."
 
 282 DESIDERATA EDUCATION". 
 
 The perfection of any eleemosynary plan of education 
 consists in its working towards a conclusion or end 
 having its own dissolution or cessation in prospect ulti- 
 mately and its keeping this in view at every step, in 
 its whole frame of procedure. And the day on which 
 it dissolves is a day of gladness and mutual congratula- 
 tion, not of mourning or regret in any sense. But in or- 
 der to this it must be a kind effort put forth and adapted 
 to help the people to independence. Its operations should 
 somehow be ever and anon reminding them of the supe- 
 riority of their own resources, and that it is far more 
 blessed to give their children education, than for them 
 to receive it. Now it so happens, that in various parts of 
 Ireland there is a feeling we are told for one by Miss 
 Edgeworth, in the notes appended to Leadbeater's Cot- 
 tage Dialogues, that " the very poorest of the Irish 
 shrink from the terror of their children being reproach- 
 ed, in after life, with having gone to a charity-school. 
 This prejudice," she adds, " if it cannot be removed, 
 may at least be obviated, by annexing a stipend, how- 
 ever small, to the privilege of attending the school ; a 
 penny would take off the stigma, as it is, perhaps, falsely 
 considered." This feeling, on the part of the Irish pea- 
 sant will, on the plan recommended, be turned to good 
 account. If the people are not able, or are not called 
 upon to show their good- will to the cause, in the provi- 
 sion of a school-house or its accommodations, as will be 
 the case in some districts, still a small trifle is exacted 
 for the elementary books ; and though the teacher should 
 instruct gratis, he removes > which removal is also calcu- 
 lated, not only to awaken the sluggard to regret, but to 
 excite both hope and desire in the people of the sur- 
 rounding districts, who are now waiting for the cup to 
 come round for the first time to them. 
 
 4. The bearing of this plan upon the English lan- 
 guage will be to many gentlemen an important recom- 
 mendation. The teaching of Irish and English cannot 
 indeed be combined in the person of the same man
 
 DESIDERATA EDUCATION. 283 
 
 without abandoning one of the greatest excellencies of 
 the scheme, viz. the locomotion of the teacher, or cir- 
 culation of the school ; but what then ? As soon as an 
 Irish circulating schoolmaster has fully and successfully 
 performed his duty, and is about to remove from any 
 district, intimation should be given to some one of the 
 other benevolent institutions for instruction in the Eng- 
 lish language, with the managers of which a good un- 
 derstanding can be established. In such a district will 
 be found a thirst for knowledge, and there also a desire 
 for acquiring the English tongue. The instances which 
 have been recorded under a preceding section abun- 
 dantly warrant this conclusion, so that it may seem 
 unnecessary to adduce an additional testimony, though it 
 be one of the highest authority. I allude to the remarks 
 of an esteemed Christian friend and correspondent, the 
 deceased Rev. Dr Alexander Stewart, when speaking of 
 the remote Highlander remarks which apply with equal 
 force to the many thousands of Native Irishmen. " By 
 learning to read," says he, " and to understand what he 
 reads, in his native tongue, an appetite is generated for 
 those stores of science which are accessible to him only 
 through the medium of the English language. Hence 
 an acquaintance with the English is found to be neces- 
 sary, for enabling him to gratify his desire after further 
 attainments. The study of it becomes of course an ob- 
 ject of importance; it is commenced and prosecuted 
 with increasing diligence. These premises seem to war- 
 rant a conclusion, which might at first appear paradoxi- 
 cal, that, by cultivating the Gaelic," (and I may add 
 the Irish,) " you effectually, though indirectly, promote 
 the study, and diffuse the knowledge of the English."* 
 5. The plan recommended is no theory. In a country 
 deplorably destitute, poor, and ignorant, the schools of 
 
 Introduction to the Gaelic Grammar.
 
 284 DESIDERATA EDUCATION. 
 
 the Rev. Griffith Jones did wonders, although they -were 
 far from being so complete or so well-appointed as the 
 circulating schools of modern times in Wales and tho 
 Highlands of Scotland. The following abstract truly 
 deserves to be put on record. It is taken from the close 
 of the third volume of the printed reports, entitled 
 " Welsh Piety," &c. which are long since out of print ; 
 and it will serve to show, that extensive attempts in the 
 way of education have not been confined to the presents 
 day: 
 
 WELSH CIRCULATING SCHOOLS; 
 
 Year. 
 
 No. of 
 Schools. 
 
 No. of 
 
 Scholars. 
 
 Year. 
 
 No. of 
 Schools. 
 
 No. o. 
 Scholars. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Brought up, 
 
 64,721 
 
 1737 
 
 37... 
 
 2400 
 
 1749 
 
 142 
 
 6543 
 
 1738 
 
 71... 
 
 3981 
 
 1750 
 
 130 
 
 6244 
 
 1739 
 
 71- 
 
 3989 
 
 1751..... 
 
 K9 
 
 5669 
 
 1740 
 
 150... 
 
 8705 
 
 1752 
 
 130 
 
 5724 
 
 1741 
 
 128... 
 
 7995 
 
 1753 
 
 134 
 
 5118 
 
 1742 
 
 89... 
 
 5123 
 
 1754 
 
 149 
 
 6018 
 
 1743 
 
 75... 
 
 4881 
 
 1755 
 
 163 
 
 7015 
 
 1744 
 
 74... 
 
 4253 
 
 1756 
 
 172 
 
 7063 
 
 1745 
 
 120... 
 
 5843 
 
 1757 
 
 220 
 
 9037 
 
 1746 
 
 116... 
 
 5635 
 
 1758 
 
 218 
 
 9834 
 
 1747 
 
 ...110... 
 
 5633 
 
 1759 
 
 206 
 
 8539 
 
 *748. 
 
 130... 
 
 6223 
 
 1760 
 
 215. 
 
 8*587 
 
 Carry up, 64,721 Total number, 150,212 
 
 So that one hundred and fifty thousand two hundred 
 and twelve persons were taught to read the Welsh Scrip- 
 tures during the above twenty-four years ; and that 
 through the superintendence and influence of this single 
 clergyman, who was but of a weak constitution, and in 
 a poor state of health for several years before his death. 
 Nor was this all ; for Mr Jones informs us, at the close 
 of one of his reports, that " most of the masters instruct- 
 ed for three or four hours in the evening, after school-
 
 DESIDERATA EDUCATION. 285 
 
 time, of those who could not attend at other times, and 
 who are not included in the above number, about twice 
 or thrice as many as they had in their schools by day :" 
 and, further, he says, that " in many of the schools the 
 adult people made two-thirds of the scholars ;" thus rais- 
 ing the total number benefited to above 400,000 souls ! 
 Persons above sixty attended every day, and often la- 
 mented, nay, even wept, that they had not learnt forty 
 or fifty years sooner. Not unfrequently the children 
 actually taught their parents, and sometimes the parents 
 and children of one family resorted to the same circu- 
 lating school, during its short continuance in a district ; 
 while various individuals, who, from great age, were ob- 
 liged to wear spectacles, seized the opportunity, and 
 learned to read the Welsh at that advanced period of 
 life.* 
 
 6. In conclusion, I repeat, one prime excellency of the 
 circulating system consists in its tendency to generate 
 the idea that it is not only possible for persons, though 
 in limited or indigent circumstances, to retain and even 
 promote tire art of reading among themselves, but that 
 it becomes the incumbent duty of parents to aim at this, 
 and especially after such temporary residence of a regu- 
 lar schoolmaster. The knowledge that he has come for a 
 given period is calculated to excite all along both atten- 
 tion and diligence : but the anticipation of his- day of 
 removal powerfully suggests what a pity it would be 
 that the little fire he had kindled should die out. The 
 teacher, of course, has no interest but to promote this 
 feeling. Two or three, if not morej have been distin- 
 guished for their proficiency and delight in reading. 
 " Can one of these," says the teacher, for a month or 
 
 * This excellent man, (Mr Jones,) who died on the 8th April, 1762, in the 78th 
 yar of hU age, was generally styled "the Welsh Apostle;" and if there was any 
 propriety in this appellation, the present generation will testify how richly the late 
 Mr Charles of Bala deserves to be-stjled his successor. 
 
 M 2
 
 286 DESIDEKATA EDUCATION. 
 
 two before leaving, " can one of these not keep an 
 evening school when I am gone ?" " Why not ?'' say 
 the people, and here begin the first workings of a spirit, 
 which, in various instances, will not rest till they are 
 independent of all necessity for commiseration from any 
 transient visitor. Such a feeling would prevail with 
 peculiar force in those numerous Islands round the 
 coast. I think I see the morning of the day on which 
 the boat must leave for the neighbouring isle, which 
 now for some time had anticipated his arrival, some of 
 whose inhabitants by this time had witnessed the effects 
 of his residence at his present station. If there should 
 be regret in one spot this morning, and gladness in 
 another, all this, I am sure, would not, could not die 
 away in a relapse. But the same feeling would also 
 prevail in the mountains and hills, as well as many 
 other districts on the mainland, which have mourned so 
 long because no such man as this had gone forth and 
 walked over them. Our blessings brighten as they take 
 their flight, and the very movements of a judicious cir- 
 culating teacher operate as a call that is felt by the 
 people at such a moment to retain the blessing by their 
 own efforts. 
 
 There is one individual in Ireland, who has been in 
 the habit of teaching his countrymen to read Irish on 
 one condition, that the individual so instructed should 
 in return, as payment, engage to teach twelve others, 
 an instance of philanthropy which, I suspect, cannot be 
 matched, in reference to the English language : and I 
 have known a circulating Gaelic school terminate not 
 only in a permanent and independent one, in which 
 Gaelic was taught, but English also, with writing and 
 arithmetic. 
 
 In some districts of the Highlands, it is true, certain 
 parents, who had little or no regard for the souls of 
 their offspring, were at first indifferent to education, 
 except in English, with a very mistaken view, as it re-
 
 DESIDERATA EDUCATION. 287 
 
 gards only the present life. And the same policy which 
 we pursued once, has, it seems, begun in some parts to 
 produce the same effects in Ireland. This request, on 
 the part of illiterate parents, has been lately spoken 
 of as a discovery. To us it is by no means new ; but 
 it is of importance that the fact, which has been pub- 
 licly affirmed, should be just glanced at, or it may be 
 observed, as a proof of the necessity of what has been 
 advanced elsewhere. Grant these parents their request, 
 and in hundreds, if not thousands of instances, both 
 money and time are wasted. Nay, they themselves 
 will be unconsciously the occasion of this waste, while 
 they go on perpetually talking Irish, which they must 
 do, if they speak at all. There is, of course, no reason 
 for a word of censure as to their request, but they know 
 not what they ask. The reader will recollect what has 
 been already asserted as to the very transient effect of 
 English education in Irish districts (p. 228-9) : but if 
 any one party who had begun with Irish, listen to an 
 argument so weak as this, let them be assured that they 
 have been misled. No; let all such keep steadily to 
 their object. When a Gaelic circulating school was first 
 proposed, it might be slighted by some, as not convey- 
 ing what they call lernin in the Highlands, and laming 
 in Ireland ; but no sooner was a commencement made 
 than the parents were delighted. The promoters of 
 the Gaelic circulating schools may be suspected of par- 
 tiality by those who have never witnessed their admi- 
 rable effects, not only in planting knowledge (for what 
 signifies the mechanical art of reading, if it does not 
 implant knowledge ?) but in advancing English per- 
 manently : but, independently of their testimony, one 
 of many years and long experience deserves to be quot- 
 ed. The Society in Scotland for propagating Christian 
 Knowledge, now venerable for its age, having promoted 
 English schools in the Highlands for more than a cen- 
 tury, with a candour which did them credit, delivered
 
 288 DESIDERATA EDUCATION. 
 
 their sentiments on this subject more than twelve years 
 ago. The following extract from their minutes is dated 
 " Society Hall, Edinburgh, 1st May, ]817: " 
 
 " The Directors having taken into consideration, that, some time 
 ago, copies of the Gaelic Spelling-book, drawn up at the request of 
 the Society, by the Rev. Mr Stewart of Dingwall, for the purpose of 
 being introduced into those Society schools, which are situate in dis- 
 tricts where the Gaelic is spoken, had been printed at the expense of 
 the Society, Resolved to order, and they hereby do order accordingly, 
 that copies thereof be sent without delay to all such schools; that in 
 teaching the children of Parents whose ordinary language is the Gaelic, 
 the teachers of. these schools be instructed to begin with the Gaelic 
 Spelling-book, and that presbyteries which have Society Schools esta- 
 blished within their bounds, be respectfully requested to instruct their 
 visiting commitees to attend particularly to the effect, which com- 
 mencing with the Gaelic is found to produce on the successful 
 prosecution of, the education of children, and to make this a part of 
 the Reports of the visiting of the Schools annually transmitted to the 
 Society." 
 
 The course here referred to, indeed, stands to reason, 
 it is only a falling-in with the order of nature, it is 
 simply doing to others what we should wish to be done 
 to ourselves, while, at the same time, however indivi- 
 duals may advise to the contrary, endeavouring to damp 
 the ardour of pursuit, or sway the mind from the straight- 
 forward path, it is scarcely to be supposed, that bodies 
 of men, that institutions of only ten or twenty years 
 standing will disregard the voice of one more than a 
 hundred years old, uttered as to another Celtic district^ 
 after the experience of a century. The printed instruc- 
 tions which have been sent out, confirmatory of this 
 resolution, should be perused by every one who wishes 
 to be more fully informed on the subject. 
 
 Here also it may not be improper to notice one resolu- 
 tion of the Gaelic Society School, which in its oper- 
 ation has been found to be most salutary, " That the 
 teachers to be employed -by this Society shall neither 
 be preachers nor public exhorters, stated or occasional, 
 of any denomination whatever." This was not only of 
 
 7
 
 DESIDERATA EDUCATION. 289 
 
 value to the heathful play of the circulating scheme; 
 but the slightest invasion of a sacred institution, to be 
 conducted on other principles, and demanding gifts of 
 another order, in the exercise of which the gifted party 
 should be absorbed, was deprecated. The schoolmaster 
 was presumed to be a man of conscience, and, having 
 his seasons of teaching to read laid down to him, so as 
 to occupy his whole time, could not be supposed con- 
 scientiously to vary from his instructions; but still it 
 was deemed prudent, nay incumbent, to express their 
 sentiments distinctly on the subject. The province of 
 education and that of the ministry of the word are quite 
 distinct. Never let us expect from the one what it is 
 iij the Divine Mind and intention to produce by the 
 other. 
 
 To. conclude. When adverting under a previous 
 section (p. 162-3) to the total number of Irish readers 
 under instruction, I have stated them at about twenty 
 thousand. I had then in view the returns of both the 
 voluntary societies now in operation, which depend from 
 year to year on the bounty of individuals, and but for 
 whom, there had been but very few Irish scholars in 
 existence. The number may be somewhat more, for 
 happily it is increasing. But what is this to the aggre- 
 gate so repeatedly mentioned as requiring education ? 
 And yet, compared with illiteracy, in the whole range 
 of causes, what is there which renders the stability of a 
 country so insecure ? Men have not only understood 
 but felt this, in times of public calamity or commotion ; 
 but, (and more especially when the population lias 
 reached the " maximum" which ours has done,) what 
 an insecurity must that be, which, whether prosperity 
 or adversity be our lot, remains still the same ? " If," 
 says Mr Foster, " if through a miracle there were to 
 come down on this country, with a sudden delightful 
 affluence of temporal amelioration, resembling the ver- 
 nal transformation from the dreariness of winter, an
 
 290 DESIDERATA EDUCATION". 
 
 universal prosperity, so that all should be placed in ease 
 and plenty, it would require another miracle to prevent 
 this benignity of Heaven from turning to a dreadful mis- 
 chief. What would the great tribe of the uneducated 
 people do with the half of their time, which we may 
 suppose that such a state would give to their voluntary 
 disposal ? Every one can answer infallibly, that the far 
 greater number of them would consume it in idleness, 
 vanity, or abomination. Educate them, then, educate 
 them ; or, in all circumstances and events, calamitous 
 or prosperous, they are still a race made (as it were) in 
 vain !" 
 
 " Education and instruction are the means, the one by use, the other by precept, to 
 make our natural faculty of reason both the better and the sooner to judge rightly between 
 truth and error, good and eril." HOOKER. 
 
 " In our recovery from a lapsed state, which the religion professed among us aims at, 
 there are two things to be effected ; the restoring reason to its empire over the sensitive na- 
 ture, that it may govern that, and the restoring religion and love to God to their place and 
 power, that He may govern us. While the former is not done, we remain sunk into the 
 low level with the inferior creatures ; and till the latter be effected, we are ranked with the 
 apostate creatures that first fell from God." HOWE. 
 
 " Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and mo- 
 rality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriot- 
 ism, who should labour to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, the firmest props 
 of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect 
 and cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public- 
 felicity. And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintain- 
 ed without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on 
 minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that na- 
 tional morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. Promote, then, as an object 
 of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion 
 as the structure of government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opi- 
 nion should be enlightened." From his farewell address before retiring into private life. 
 
 WASHINGTON.
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION, 
 
 Or the necessity and importance of ministering the Divine Word in a language 
 understood by the People. 
 
 WE have placed this subject last, not because it is con- 
 ceived to be either last in the order of time, or inferior 
 in point of importance to the preceding subjects of 
 Education or Books ; but precisely the reverse. It is 
 first in the order of nature and time, and continues to 
 be invariably first in point of importance. Besides, in 
 conclusion, I am desirous of addressing myself, not so 
 much to measures as to men, to such as are living with 
 the Native Irish all around them, to such, especially, 
 as are already engaged in preaching the Divine Word ; 
 and that, not with reference to what they can give or 
 bestow in such a cause, but what they might them- 
 selves do with heart and tongue. 
 
 A number of individuals there are, with whom the 
 writer has repeatedly much enjoyed the opportunity of 
 conversing, and there must be many more, who, with 
 a heartfelt interest in the truths contained in the Sacred 
 Volume, are already furnished with all the advantages 
 of a liberal education. Oh ! would they but add yet this 
 above all, an ability to converse in the Irish language, 
 it is impossible to say what might be the extent of their 
 usefulness, not in changing some isolated opinions, 
 for this is worth no man's pains, and far below the
 
 292 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 ground on which the " legate of the skies" should stand, 
 but in spreading around them the savour of life unto 
 life, and advancing the kingdom of Him who died for 
 us, and rose again. 
 
 Besides, I have occasionally thought that it was pos- 
 sible that some might censure, and say it did not become 
 me to close such a detail as this without imploring the 
 men, who, from their professed engagements and their 
 dwelling-place, are so immediately concerned ; already 
 on the field of labour, and already preaching in one 
 form of speech. 
 
 At the same time I am perfectly aware, that others 
 may say, all this comes with no good grace from one 
 who remains in Britain, and who, if sincere, might have 
 tried first to set the example. I frankly own, that I am 
 far from being insensible to this remark, though all I 
 can add at present be, that if ever Providence should 
 cast my lot in Ireland, with these views, certainly one 
 of my first objects would be, not only to procure the 
 grammar and dictionary, but sit down and converse 
 daily with an intelligent Irishman, of correct and dis- 
 tinct enunciation, till I should be able to do so with the 
 Native Irish on the things which belong to our com- 
 mon and everlasting peace. In the meanwhile, at in- 
 tervals snatched from other incumbent avocations, I 
 have thus endeavoured to collect together what perhaps 
 may be of some little service in resolving the present 
 question. 
 
 For still, this ministry of the Divine Word, in a lan- 
 guage understood by the people, as Bedell used to say, 
 returns upon us as the last and most important of all 
 objects, because it is a sovereign, it is a divine appoint- 
 ment, under a commission which none can revoke. If 
 men below occasionally press the other measures, on 
 this subject, the Christian, and especially those who 
 have taken it in charge to minister the Divine Word, 
 will hear the voice that cometh out from the throne.
 
 DESIDERATA^ORAL INSTRUCTION. 293 
 
 The terms of that commission we need not repeat, every 
 word of which is so pregnant with meaning and duty 
 to us, so full of pity from above for man below. But 
 every age presents some peculiar seduction from the 
 plainest path of duty, whether to God or man ; and at a 
 season when no day is allowed to pass without some 
 eulogy on the power of the press, the noble invention 
 of printing, or the sovereign efficacy of education, it is 
 well to remember, that, however powerless may be the 
 preaching of the present day, it wa& not so once, and 
 ere long it will not be so again. 
 
 Men, indeed, have in all ages, perhaps very natu- 
 rally, panted after the abridgment of labour. This is 
 the age of discovery and invention. New and easy 
 methods have been discovered, and applied with great 
 effect in agriculture, mechanics, and education, yet cer- 
 tainly we need not expect that any human ingenuity 
 shall ever invade this province of labour, or in any de- 
 gree supersede its necessity. But, besides, there is such a 
 thing as a country having sunk into such a state as in 
 certain points shall set at defiance all the wisdom of 
 man, and bring to nothing the understanding of the 
 prudent. Whether such be the present condition of 
 this most interesting part of the empire, I leave to the 
 reader's own reflection ; but though it were, to the eye 
 of an enlightened Christian there is nothing in all this 
 which seems appalling. When the harvest stands ready 
 for the sickle of Divine truth, and is just about to be 
 gathered by the arm of the labourer, it is happily not 
 supposed to have passed under some preparatory pro- 
 cess of human device. A figure should never be pushed 
 to an extreme, and here it is the Christian minister's 
 privilege that the figure does not harmonize with the 
 natural world. " Say not ye there are yet four months, 
 and then cometh harvest ? Behold, I say unto you, Lift 
 up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are white 
 already to harvest." At whatever time, therefore, we
 
 294 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 see a country sunk in darkness and destitution, should 
 there only spring up in it a spirit of inquiry, then may 
 we say, that the fields are ready indeed for the moral 
 husbandman. Now, whether other parts of the British 
 dominions are as destitute as many districts in Ireland 
 or not, yet where is there to be found such a spirit of 
 inquiry as exists in these at present ? What then re- 
 mains for us, but to fall in with the simple device of 
 Infinite Wisdom, and remember that the brighter days 
 for this fine interesting country are to be ushered in, 
 " not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith 
 Jehovah." 
 
 To the ministers of Christ already stationed in Ire- 
 land, one cannot help saying, that, however the eye of 
 sense and human reason may turn towards Britain, the 
 eye of faith looks over to you, and the very places where 
 you dwell. Your every abode appears to be a station 
 marked out for proclaiming the truth. With fields of 
 usefulness all around you, however unpromising to the 
 eye of sense, yet to the eye of faith already white, what 
 though you hear a language daily that you understand 
 not ? Methinks every word of it sounds like a cry for the 
 one thing needful.* Nor is there any thing at all formi- 
 dable in acquiring this language : quite the reverse. Men 
 of weakand feeble patriotism have magnified this separat- 
 ing wall, as the children of Israel did the walled towns of 
 the sons of Anak ; but all such fancies might be answer- 
 
 * When placed in circumstances analogous to yours, even as to the affairs of 
 this present life, the necessity of such an acquirement as that which we now press, 
 has been deeply felt. One of your own countrymen, and once Lord Lieutenant of 
 Ireland, the late Marquis of Hastings, addressing one day the students in the Col- 
 lege of Fort-William, with reference to India, in an admirable speech, used these 
 words : " If indeed we wish to know a nation, it is peculiarly desirable to possess 
 an independent and extensive familiarity with its language ; and this must be an 
 object more than desirable, it must be indispensable, when in the bosom of that 
 nation we are charged with the execution of the most serious and solemn offices 
 of human life." India is regarded here as a part of the British empire : but shall 
 such sentiments be held as sterling at the distance of half the globe, and be de- 
 spised within the bosom of the mother country ?
 
 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 295 
 
 ed by an English monosyllable of only three letters 
 TRY. Believe not that the barrier is so very formidable ; 
 even by a little assiduity you may leap over it, and then 
 a welcome indeed awaits you at every step, not only 
 from this ancient people, but in the language itself, a 
 parent language, which, on this account, it should be re- 
 membered, enjoys certain advantages, calculated at once 
 to interest the mind, and urge the student forward. I 
 might refer for illustration to that delightful feature in 
 many of the words, which may be styled, self-interpreta- 
 tion, a feature which has already been beautifully il- 
 lustrated in several of the replies given by Irish youths, 
 when reading the Scriptures in their native tongue. A 
 language containing all its roots in itself, receiving its 
 modifications from within, and conveying ideas therefore 
 with point and precision, must needs be interesting and 
 valuable as a vehicle for intelligent and serious discourse ,' 
 and thus it certainly presents one peculiar advantage for 
 proclaiming the truth, which may encourage you to 
 commence learning to-morrow, if not to-day. I remem- 
 ber well receiving a letter from a Highland minister 
 some years ago which will explain this advantage. 
 " While the Gaelic," said he, " continues to be generally 
 spoken in the Highlands, it must always be the language 
 best adapted for conveying religious instruction to the 
 people. In Lowland parishes, where English alone is 
 spoken and preached, it may be fairly presumed, that 
 some of the auditors, though they speak no other tongue, 
 do not understand the whole of the language they hear 
 delivered from the pulpit : but it is one of the peculiari- 
 ties of the Gaelic, that the illiterate speak it with as much 
 propriety as those mho have received the advantage of edu- 
 cation j and that, as far as regards language merely, the 
 common herd mill understand the best orator." 
 
 Thus it is precisely among the Native Irish ; so that 
 you may rest assured, in the language itself once begun 
 there must be some of its features which will interest 
 your own mind. Much of needless ridicule has been
 
 296 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 cast upon Irish antiquities, although the tongue being- 
 confessedly ancient, the people must be so too ; but still 
 there can be nothing of imposture in the language itself. 
 De Rentsi or Vallancey from abroad, OP Halliday and 
 O'Reilly at home, but all grown up to manhood before 
 they knew a word of it, could not become so enthusias- 
 tically fond of the language for nothing, or by mistake.* 
 There must therefore be in it that which, independent- 
 ly of the duty imposed, is interesting to the student. 
 
 * What should we have thought if our language had possessed sue!) enticing 
 allurements, as that several of our earlier and later elementary books, our gram- 
 mars or dictionaries, should have been composed by foreigners who had come into 
 the country, or by persons living in it, who had grown up before they could read 
 or speak a word of it. Such is the fact with regard to the Irish language. Sir 
 MATTHEW DE RENTSI, above mentioned, a descendant of George Scanderbeg, was 
 born in the year 1577, at Cullen, in Germany. He had been a great traveller, and 
 coming into Ireland, he spent there the latter part of his life : he was, it is true, a 
 general linguist, but felt particularly interested in the Irish tongue : he died in 
 the fifty-seventh year of his age, at Athlone, on the 29th August, 1654 ; and upon 
 his tomb-stone, which was visible when Harris published bis edition of Ware, and 
 may be so still, these words were engraved " He gave great perfection to this 
 nation by composing a grammar, a dictionary, and chronicle in the Irish tongue." 
 The Irish language seems to have engrossed his study for about three years. This 
 monument, which is on the Weastmeath side, was erected by bis son of the same 
 name. General VALLANCEY, who was born in Flanders in 1730, and died at Dub- 
 lin, in 1812, at the advanced age of eighty-two, first resolved on learning Irish 
 when engaged in a military survey of the country. He published his grammar in 
 1773. WILLIAM HALLIDAY, the son of a respectable apothecary in Dublin, though 
 be had a critical knowledge of the classics and some modern languages', was not at 
 all acquainted with Irish till the later years of his short life ; yet he not only ac- 
 quired such a facility in understanding the most ancient Irish manuscripts as sur- 
 prised those whose native tongue it was frem infancy, but published his grammar, 
 containing some curious observations on the declensions and prosody of the Irish 
 tongue, though he died at the early age of twenty-four, in August, 1812. Mr E. 
 O'REILLY, the author of the latest Irish dictionary, was also arrived at manhood 
 before he knew the language, though born at Harold's Cross, and educated in 
 Dublin. Indeed his application to the study of it was occasioned by what some 
 would call a mere accident. In the year 1794, a young man of the name of Wright, 
 who was about to emigrate from his native country, had a number ot books to dis- 
 pose of, which consisted chiefly of Irish manuscripts. They had been collected by 
 Morris O'Gorman, who had taught Vallancey and Dr Young, Bishop of Clonfert. 
 This man's library, which filled five large sacks, O'Reilly purchased, and on exa- 
 mination found himself possessed of some of the rarest Irish manuscripts ; for one 
 of which he has since refused fifty guineas. Master of this repository, he com- 
 menced the study of the language ; so that, to say nothing of any other pieces, the 
 last Irish Dictionary, containing about or above 50,000 words, was composed and 
 published by an individual who, at the period referred to, could not speak a word 
 of the language. After instances such as these, one cannot wonder at the attach- 
 ment of the natives to their ancient tongue. See Hist, of Dublin, voL II.
 
 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 297 
 
 But although there were not, you have read the account 
 of Brainerd preaching to his Indians ; or if not, you have 
 seen an Englishman, in the sixtieth year of his age, sit 
 down, two hundred years ago, and acquire the Irish 
 language : and you have read that this " was soon ob- 
 served to be regarded by the natives in the light of a 
 great compliment." No, a kind compliment was not 
 thrown away upon the Irish then; and though you live 
 among the seventh generation since he set this example, 
 the Native Irish, especially as it regards the language, 
 you will soon find to be of the same blood with the con- 
 temporaries of Bedell. For whether it be that kind 
 compliments to them have been, like angel visits, few 
 and far between, it is but seldom that one is thrown 
 away on most of them.* 
 
 Waiving, however, all minor considerations, if you 
 are ever to be the blessed instrument of saving many 
 around you, it is certain that, as to acquiring this lan- 
 guage, " necessity is laid upon you." To reach the 
 heart through the ear by any other medium, is out of 
 the question. Man, it is true, has been described as 
 
 * In a previous page, (147,) I have noticed a circle of eminent men as preachers, 
 who visited Ireland in the middle of the seventeenth century. One of these al- 
 ready noticed, as dying at an early age, Mr Murcot, seems to have made a deep im- 
 pression on the minds of his hearers. At the foot of an exquisitely engraved por- 
 trait of him, prefixed to his works, (1657,) in the writer's possession, there are 
 these lines : 
 
 Here stand, and live in thy immortal page 
 Thou golden preacher in an iron age. 
 Ireland laments thy toss : whose powerfull word 
 Wrought on her greater conquests than the sword. 
 Tfieir bodies were subdu'd by arraes and arts, 
 But thou (blest conqueror) didst win their hearts. 
 
 From his works, like some other eminent individuals, it should seem that much 
 of the usefulness of this young man must have been owing to his talents as a 
 preacher, to his manner as well as the matter of his sermons ; but if such power, 
 at such a time, attended English preaching, what might not be expected from an 
 Apollog in the Irish tongue ? The author rejoices that, since the first edition of 
 this volume was printed, there have been some proofs afforded, by one or two indi- 
 v iduals, of the power which accompanies the word of life when delivered in the 
 Native tongue.
 
 298 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 ' a divider of the voice,' or, in other words, an utterer of 
 articulate sounds ; but in order to clear his way he must 
 accommodate himself to the articulate sounds which have 
 preceded his approach to any given spot. Let these 
 sounds have been what they may, his own form of com- 
 munication will not suffice. In every instance, spoken 
 language takes precedence of all other means, and hence, 
 in improving the condition of any class of men, we pro- 
 pose Jirst to talk with them, then teach them. So it 
 ought to have been all along, and certainly at least two 
 hundred and fifty or three hundred years ago with the 
 Native Irish ; and whatever any may say to the contrary, 
 so it must be now in the nineteenth century. 
 
 But there is here another consideration of no inferior 
 kind. If spoken language is first in the order of time, it 
 continues to be first in point of importance. The noble 
 invention of printing is powerless here, to move it from 
 its ancient and unchanging pre-eminence. The power of 
 the press, great as it is, is here at least far below the 
 power of the tongue ; for, independently of the natural 
 power of the living voice, he who made ' man's mouth' 
 hath so ordained it. The volume of revelation itself in- 
 deed has been printed, but what then ? After all, in 
 every instance, he who regards it not as vocal, can never 
 know its meaning never feel its power. It began in 
 audible sounds by the Creator himself to the parents of 
 mankind the rest he inspired, and holy men of God 
 spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. The 
 volume hath closed, and the original mode of communi- 
 cation hath ceased, all truth having been uttered which 
 was needful for any age or people. But the communica- 
 tion itself remains, and revelation still is literally and 
 truly a voice clear and expressive it is the voice of 
 God 
 
 And Scripture, unsopbisticate by man, 
 Starts not aside from the Creator's plan ; 
 The melody, that was of old design 'd 
 To cheer the first forefathers of mankind,
 
 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 299 
 
 Is note for note delivered in our ears, 
 
 In the last scene of these &ix thousand years. 
 
 But still, even while revelation was in the course of de- 
 livery, intelligible speech respecting it was not dispensed 
 with. Inspired men were but occasional teachers, and 
 there were long spaces wherein no prophet appeared. 
 Nay, even in the time when prophecy flourished, the 
 standing ministry were not prophets, and we may see 
 the very prophets send the people for instruction to the 
 " Levite and the teaching priest," or reprove both for 
 neglect.* 
 
 So also, while Revelation was in the course of delivery, 
 there might be, and there were decays. " For a long 
 season Israel had been without the true God, and with- 
 out a teaching priest, and without the law," and thirty 
 years more passed away before it was otherwise. But 
 in the third year of Jehoshaphat " he sent to his princes 
 to teach in the cities of Judah," and with them he sent 
 Levites and teaching priests, " and they had the book 
 of the law of the Lord with them, and they went about 
 throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the peo- 
 ple." The consequence immediately recorded is strik- 
 ing : " And the fear of the Lord was upon all the king- 
 doms of the lands that were round about Judah, and 
 they made no war against Jehoshaphat." Nay then the 
 Philistines brought him presents of silver, and even 
 Arabia brought of her flocks to the amount of thou- 
 sands.t Such a course for a king may now seem to be 
 
 * Haggai ii. 11. Malachi ii. 6,7. Jeremiah viii. 22. All the cities of refuge 
 were full of Levites or teaching priests, and in them were to be found no weapons 
 of war. Indeed the forty-eight cities of the Levites were just so many points or 
 centres of instruction. Gilead, for example, was a city of teaching priests, and it 
 happened also to be celebrated for its balm. But it was the living voice it seems, 
 it was vocal instruction which was to convey balm to the heart. Hence the point 
 of Jeremiah's inquiry" Is there no balm in Gilead ? Is there no Physician there f 
 Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered ?" 
 
 f See Chron. xv. 3. xvii. 111.
 
 300 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 of small account ; yet such was Jehoshaphat's way of 
 securing both the peace and the prosperity of his sub- 
 jects. 
 
 And if it were so in these early days, under the new 
 covenant there was no change, even although the oppo- 
 sition to Christianity as spoken has always been by far 
 the greatest a valuable testimony, by the way, to the 
 power of language as an instrument of usefulness. 
 
 The Founder of our faith suffered in consequence of 
 his words, and his good confession before Pontius Pilate, 
 yet did he not change his determination as to this pre- 
 cise mode of advancing his cause. The confusion of 
 tongues had dispersed mankind the gift of tongues was 
 intended to gather into his sheepfold ; and his followers 
 replied " We cannot but speak the things which we 
 have seen and heard." " Woe is unto me," said ano- 
 ther, " if I preach not the Gospel J" 
 
 Yet gifted as these men confessedly were, what was 
 their very highest aim upon earth ? Intelligible dis- 
 course. No men were ever so impressed with the im- 
 portance of intelligible preaching. Understanding well 
 the true ground of action in religion that the connected 
 sense of Scripture is the only true sense, correct testi- 
 mony the only ground of faith, and fair argument the 
 only ground of upright action, preaching from their 
 mouths became ( serious discourse' indeed. Sound, 
 mere sound, in their estimation, was nothing : intelligi- 
 bility, wherever they went, was their aim. Debtors to 
 the Greek and to the barbarian, to the wise and the un- 
 wise, no sooner did they step across the boundary of 
 any one tongue, than they took up the vernacular idiom 
 of the spot on which they stood. They might indeed 
 have to preach in one language to-day, and in another 
 to-morrow, and this miracle from on high remains upon 
 record, like a pointing finger to the path which Heaven 
 would approve, when man was to be left to pursue his
 
 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 301 
 
 course with the graces that remain Faith, and Hope, 
 and Charity. 
 
 Nor was this all even on the spot where these men 
 stood, intelligibility in that language was still their aim. 
 Language, let it be which it might, pleased them not, 
 if k affected only the ear. If a man " uttered by the 
 tongue words easy to be understood," he met their ap- 
 probation ; if he did not, they called it " speaking to 
 the air." But old Sedulius, the Irishman, they would 
 have esteemed, when he said, perhaps above a thousand 
 years ago " Be not children in understanding, but ye 
 ought to know wherefore languages were given. Better 
 to speak a few lucid words in the right sense, than in- 
 numerable that are obscure and unknown." 
 
 After all this, it was at once an amiable and important 
 as well as an exemplary feature in these, the original 
 preachers of Christianity, that they had frequently as 
 much anxiety respecting the frame of their own spirits 
 in preaching, as they had respecting the hearts of their 
 auditors in hearing. Their own temper of mind they 
 certainly ranked among the subordinate and ordained 
 requisites of success. In the most painful and perilous 
 circumstances, " approving themselves as the ministers 
 of God, in much patience, by pureness, by knowledge, 
 by long-suffering, by kindness and love unfeigned." 
 " We also believe," said they, " and therefore speak." 
 Eloquence, or even being ' mighty in the Scriptures/ 
 without love, was in their ear but a tinkling sound. 
 Such was at least their regard both to matter and man- 
 ner to the letter of their discourse and their disposi- 
 tions in delivery. To some, their example may seem 
 too high for imitation, but it has been drawn out and 
 left on record assuredly with this intent ; for while 
 these are to be our patterns and guides, they are 
 the only human guides whom it is safe in such a course 
 to follow. 
 
 Is it at all unwarrantable to regard the first propaga- 
 
 N
 
 302 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 tors of Christianity ? Are their principles and procedure 
 not to be followed ? or is it forbidden to apply such ex- 
 amples to the present state of Ireland ? How then 
 would these men have acted there ? Would they have 
 waited and seen the people die around them, without at- 
 tempting to acquire their vernacular tongue? Would 
 they have waited till it should be the unwise and vain 
 policy of some human power to attempt bringing it into 
 disuse ? Would they not rather have styled every other 
 language ' barbarous/ except the one uttered on the 
 spot?* Would they not have seized upon this as the 
 only adequate and speedy medium of reaching the 
 mind ? Certainly they would ; and any minister of the 
 truth now in Ireland, who shall sit down in good earnest 
 to acquire this lively and expressive medium of com- 
 munication, with a view to his proclaiming in it the 
 message of salvation, the unsearchable riches of Christ, 
 is following the example of those who, of all other men, 
 most closely followed their Lord, and best understood 
 the terms of his commission. 
 
 Independently, however, of the force and peculiar 
 attraction of such examples, which we have no doubt 
 were intended, not only to be admired but followed, the 
 very frame and structure, the forms of expression and ike 
 disposition of the parts of Divine Revelation, prove that 
 oral instruction was intended to accompany it. 
 
 The Sacred Volume complete, in the Irish language 
 and character, has left the press. It is an aera which 
 may well be accompanied with thanksgiving to God, 
 and I rejoice the more in that it has been printed on 
 Irish ground: but then this is at the same time an event 
 
 1 Cor. xiv. 10, 11. There are, it maybe, so many kinds of voices in the world, 
 and none of them without signification ; therefore, if I know not the meaning of 
 the voice, f shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh a 
 barbarian unto me.
 
 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 303 
 
 which involves other obligations, and seems to call for 
 reflection upon them.* 
 
 When the Mahometan imposture arose, there was no 
 success for the Koran till its author laid his sword across 
 it, and proclaimed the prospect of sensual blessedness. 
 He told his followers, that the system he came to settle 
 must be propagated by the sword, and not by the word, 
 and that all who would not receive it must be extermi- 
 nated. The hope of plunder in this world, and a vo- 
 luptuous paradise in the next, account for his success. 
 What a contrast to all this do the Sacred Writings, when 
 considered simply as a volume, present ! in which large 
 portions stand out before us as among the effects of 
 faith, not the original cause of belief, either in the writer 
 or in those to whom he addressed himself.t 
 
 And now that all truth is spoken, and the volume 
 finished, let us observe its contents. The doctrines to 
 be believed, and the supernatural truths to be received, 
 are unfolded to the mind, not in regular series, not in 
 what men call systematic order, not in any way analo- 
 gous to arithmetical progression. They are not dis- 
 posed into common-place, nor arranged at all in the 
 manner which we usually style methodical. And yet 
 taking the volume as a whole, on searching it, there is 
 no disposition of language to be found, making the most 
 distant approach to method so exquisite, in which there 
 
 * " It is worthy of notice/' said Mr Fuller, in reference to India, " that the 
 time in which the Lord began to bless his servants, was that in which his holy word 
 began to be published in (he language of tlie natives. The heavens had long de- 
 clared to those people the glory of God ; but it was reserved for the law of the Lord 
 to convert their souls. God by this no doubt intended to put an honour upon his 
 own word, and upon those who made it the foundation of their labours. Great ac- 
 count was made of the foundation of the Lord's temple being laid' among the 
 Jews after their captivity. That was the honoured period from whence their pros- 
 perity was dated. ' Consider now," saith the Lord, ' from this day and upward, 
 from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the 
 foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider it from this day will I blest 
 you.' " Periodical Accounts, vol. Hi. preface. 
 t e.g. Luke i. 14; 2 Peter i. 1.
 
 304 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 is such constant mutual respect of one part to another, 
 and such vital dependence of one truth upon all the rest. 
 Prophecies and historical writing, prayers, and songs, 
 and epistolary correspondence are intermingled : yet in 
 all this, and precisely as it stands, there is a designed 
 and harmonious connexion, and that so perfect, that 
 much of the obscurity of which some complain must 
 arise either from ignorance of the truths referred to, or 
 from hostility to them. So very important is this pequ- 
 liarity of the Scriptures, that the best criterion of a good 
 system is simply its agreement with them. " That view 
 of things, whether we have any of us fully attained it or 
 not, which admits the most natural meaning to be put 
 upon every part of God's word, is the right system of 
 religious truth. After this, to be without system is 
 nearly the same thing as to be without principle. What- 
 ever principles we may have, while they continue in 
 this disorganized state, they will answer but little pur- 
 pose in the religious life. Like a tumultuous assembly 
 in the day of battle, they may exist, but it will be with- 
 out order, energy, or end."* 
 
 Thus it appears that the disposition of the several 
 parts, with the whole form of expression in Sacred Writ, 
 is calculated, and therefore was intended, not to make 
 men expert in notions, or subtile in dispute, but wise un- 
 to salvation : and it is also a fine testimony to this form 
 of Divine Revelation, coming to the church as its occa- 
 sions required, and now as a whole laid before us, that 
 no part of this book was ever wrested, save by the un- 
 teachable and the unstable ; and that its doctrines and 
 precepts have never been rejected, except by those who 
 walked, and were determined to walk, after their own 
 lusts. Even Lord Rochester, after a life thus spent, 
 roust leave this testimony behind him. Laying his hand 
 
 * Fuller.
 
 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 305 
 
 on the Bible, he would say, " There is true philosophy. 
 This is the wisdom that speaks to the heart A bad life 
 is the only grand objection to this book." 
 
 Such being the methods of Him who is infinite in 
 wisdom such the very structure of the volume wherein 
 his voice is heard, the business of a public expositor is 
 of course not to disturb, but to point out this harmony. 
 One great use of such an expositor is, that the people 
 may hear a man who is himself a believer, not only com- 
 paring spiritual things with spiritual, and rightly divid- 
 ing the word of truth, but at other times expressing his 
 profound reverence for truths which are too mighty for 
 his grasp or see him fixed in admiration over the depths 
 of sacred discoveries. Hence it is, that more positive 
 good has accrued to men from pausing over the expres- 
 sions of such a man as Paul, even when lost in wonder 
 at the riches of Infinite Wisdom, than from all the dog- 
 matism in the world.* 
 
 Yes, among all the other ends of Infinite Wisdom, to 
 which this disposition of the various parts of divine re- 
 velation is subservient, one of the most important is that 
 of rendering useful and necessary the great ordinance of 
 the ministry. " God hath not designed to instruct and 
 save his church by any one outward ordinance only. 
 The ways and means of doing good unto us, so as that 
 all may issue in his own eternal glory, are known only 
 unto Infinite Wisdom. The institution of the whole 
 series and complex of divine ordinances is no otherwise 
 to be accounted for but by a regard and submission 
 thereto. W T ho can deny that God might both have in- 
 structed, sanctified, and saved us, without the use of 
 some or all of those institutions to which he hath obliged 
 us ? His infinitely-wise will is the only reason of these 
 things ; and he will have every one of his appointments 
 
 * Romans xi. 33 ; Ephes. iii. 819, 20, 21.
 
 306 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 on which he hath put his name to be honoured such is 
 the ministry. A mftns this, which is not co-ordinate 
 with the Scripture, but subservient to it ; and the great 
 end of it is, that those who are called thereto, and are 
 furnished with gifts for the discharge of it, might dili- 
 gently search the Scriptures, and teach others the mind 
 of God therein revealed. It was, I say> the will of God 
 that the church should ordinarily be always under the 
 conduct of such a ministry ; and his will it is, that those 
 who are called thereto should be furnished with peculiar 
 spiritual gifts, for the finding-out and declaration of the 
 truths that are treasured up in the Scripture, unto all the 
 ends of divine revelation.* The Scripture, therefore, is 
 such a revelation as doth suppose and make necessary 
 this ordinance of the ministry, wherein and whereby 
 God will be glorified; and it were well if the nature and 
 duties of this office were better understood than they 
 seem to be. God hath accommodated the revelation of 
 himself in the Scripture with respect unto them ; and 
 those by whom the due discharge of this office is de- 
 spised or neglected do sin greatly against the authority, 
 and wisdom, and love of God ; and those do no less by 
 whom it is assumed, but not rightly understood, or not 
 duly improved."t 
 
 Stationary instruction, generally delivered in a well- 
 known, and on this account an endeared spot, is not the 
 only mode held out to us in Scripture. Granting to it 
 all the power of which it is susceptible, still there are 
 certain districts in Ireland to which this can never reach. 
 Look at these distant hills these Irish mountains 
 these numerous islands mourning in moral destitution, 
 I need not say from Sabbath to Sabbath, but from age 
 to age from father to son. If every one of them might 
 
 * See Ephes. iv. 1116. 2 Tim. iii. 1417. 
 f Owen's Work*, vol. III. p. 459.
 
 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 307 
 
 adopt the words of the man of Macedonia, will no ear 
 vibrate to the first monosyllable of the commission of 
 Jesus ? 
 
 But is there no precedent to encourage hope in such 
 a case as this ? In the eye of primitive Christianity the 
 unlettered population, however distant or difficult of ac- 
 cess, seemed even as a part of the land of promise. The 
 mere professor may sit still and talk only like the ten spies 
 the Christian will resemble Caleb and Joshua, and also 
 ponder over the original triumph of Christianity. ' This,' 
 he will say, ' has been recorded for our learning.' It 
 formed indeed a striking contrast, in various respects, 
 to the genius of the former dispensation. The Jewish 
 economy was mercifully intended, it should seem, for the 
 preservation of light, or to prevent its entire extinction 
 in our world the Messiah has it in view to banish dark- 
 ness from the earth by the brightness of his coming. 
 Many a man might indeed knock at the door of Judaism 
 be admitted, and, standing within the walls of Jeru- 
 salem, take the cup of salvation, and call upon the 
 name of Jehovah ; under the present dispensation this 
 cup is to be ' handed round' among all nations. " Thou 
 hast scattered us among the heathen," was the complaint 
 of old, and for the time being it was the death-blow to 
 the administration of Judaism ; but that which was the 
 death of the former will prove the life of the present dis- 
 pensation ; so much so, that even the present scattering 
 of this ancient people shall turn to Christianity for a 
 testimony. " And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the 
 midst of many people, as a dew from the Lord, as the 
 showers upon the grass, which tarrieth not for man, nor 
 waiteth for the sons of men." 
 
 It is, however, not a little extraordinary, that an idea 
 should have prevailed, and have even been acted on in 
 this country, that men of very inferior qualifications are 
 good enough for employment in such unlettered dis- 
 tricts. The ancient method and order have been, re-
 
 308 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 versed, which supposed that the commencement, in such 
 cases, demanded some one or two of strongest faith and 
 largest grace. Were Israel to be led into Canaan ? Ca- 
 leb and Joshua shall do this. Was the temple to be re- 
 stored? Were the walls to be rebuilt? an eye is fixed on 
 Ezra, and Zerubbabel, and Nehemiah. When the land 
 of Judea was visited by the Sun of righteousness, while 
 it was traversed in every direction, Galilee was the chosen 
 spot : and the people who sat in darkness saw that great 
 light upon the men sitting in the region of the shadow 
 of death that light arose. The word which we preach, 
 ' Jirst began to be spoken by the Lord.' When even 
 the twelve were addressed by their Lord, he said, 
 " Other men have laboured, and ye are entered into 
 their labours." The twelve preceded the seventy, and 
 both these the evangelists, and so all this ended in sta- 
 tionary and stated instruction. 
 
 Besides, when contemplating districts like these in 
 Ireland, wherever they are to be found, it should seem 
 but the dictate of wisdom, that the people lowest sunk 
 or longest neglected, imperatively demand the men of 
 largest grace and richest talent, the men of greatest zeal 
 and wisest address. To minister to such, I am aware, 
 has seemed, in the eye of the world, to be a mean em- 
 ploymentbut mean is the man who thinks it mean. 
 So thought not that " Minister for the truth of God," 
 who from his throne in the skies descended " to- confirm 
 the promises made unto the fathers, and that the Gentiles 
 might glorify God for his mercy." No cl'ass indeed did 
 he overlook or disdain ; to every one there was service 
 rendered in due season : yet did it appear to him one of 
 the peculiar glories of his rising kingdom, that to the 
 poor the Gospel was preached. Constituting, as they 
 ever have done, the great mass, among them he spent his 
 strength among them he found out his twelve apostles, 
 and richer fakh on the seacoast and borders than ever he 
 met with in the capital of the country. So then, He
 
 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 309 
 
 went about doing good, nor could any consideration turn 
 him from his course. It is true, that " the people sought 
 him and came to him and stayed him, that he should 
 not depart from them, but he said to them, ' I must 
 preach the kingdom of God to other cities also, for there- 
 fore am I sent.' And he went about all Galilee, and his 
 fame went throughout all Syria." 
 
 One peculiar feature of this ambulatory mode of in- 
 struction seems to have been in a great degree over- 
 looked in our day. The fishermen of Galilee were not 
 sent out in twelve different directions, nor the seventy 
 in seventy others ; they went in pairs, two and two, and 
 the deeds of the disciples afterwards prove that they did 
 not regard this as a mere circumstance. Hence Peter 
 and John act jointly together among the Jews, and when 
 going to the Samaritans they do the same.* And as for 
 the Gentiles " Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the 
 work to which I have called them/' said the Holy Spirit 
 So also we read, not only of Paul and Barnabas, but 
 Paul and Silas Barnabas and Mark Paul and Timothy 
 Paul and Titus. " Whether any do inquire of Titus, 
 he is my partner and fellow-helper concerning you; or 
 our brethren be inquired of, they are the messengers of 
 the churches, and the glory of Christ." 
 
 Engaging though they did in this cause with their 
 whole soul, even an apostle, when left alone, could not 
 bear up occasionally in the absence of his companion. 
 " When I came to Troas to preach Christ's Gospel, and 
 a door was opened unto me of the Lord, I had no rest 
 in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother : but, 
 taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Ma- 
 cedonia." I am aware that the distress of Paul at this 
 time arose from peculiar circumstances ; but the moral 
 effect of two such men, so attached to each other, travel - 
 
 * Acts viii. 14. 
 
 N2
 
 310 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 ling together, could not but be great, while it furnished 
 themselves with some peculiar occasions for celebrating 
 the condescension and the love of God. " I am filled 
 with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribula- 
 tion ; for when we were come into Macedonia (still) our 
 flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side ;, 
 without were fightings, within were fears. Neverthe- 
 less God, that comforteth those that are cast down, com- 
 forted us by the coming of Titus." 
 
 The mutual support and encouragement thus merci- 
 fully secured by such an arrangement, was not its only 
 advantage or end. It is not difficult here to perceive 
 the wisdom of the Divine eye fixed on the advancement 
 and triumph of his cause among men. A solitary Chris- 
 tian minister going out, however eminent, can but 
 exemplify one view of Christianity, while its social cha- 
 racter is not within the compass of his power. But the 
 kingdom of the Messiah among men is a system of social 
 love, and peace, and joy ; and two men, whose souls are 
 knit together like David and Jonathan, or Peter and 
 John, or Paul and Titus, afford everywhere a perpetual 
 commentary on this kingdom. Their very behaviour to 
 each other is remarked and remembered. Their mutual 
 love, grounded on mutual esteem, their Christian cour- 
 tesy, their mutual hope, and their happiness in one 
 common object, are sure to win regard, their unity in 
 doctrine, like chain-shot, is sure to have greater effect ; 
 and, before biding adieu to any spot, " As God is 
 true," may they say, " our preaching toward you was 
 not yea and nay." " For the Son of God," said Paul, 
 " Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even 
 by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and 
 nay, but in him was yea." 
 
 In this cause especially, it should seem that " two 
 are better than one, because they have a good reward 
 for their labour." Who can take it upon him to say how 
 much of success may be suspended upon attention to
 
 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 311 
 
 this simple circumstance in the mode of procedure? 
 God our Saviour is the blessed and the only Potentate 
 over his own kingdom ; and in his way and manner of 
 promoting his own glory upon earth, He must be per- 
 mitted to reign, unquestioned and alone. But never is 
 he more condescendingly gracious than when we meet 
 him in his own ways. I leave the reader to judge, 
 whether, when he rode forth triumphantly, conquering 
 and to conquer, he did not sanction this mode. Whe- 
 ther he did not begin it himself in the days of his flesh, 
 and pursue it, by his Spirit, after that he ceased to be 
 visible. 
 
 Indeed, I am not aware of any important objection 
 that has ever been started to such a course. True, we 
 have heard something to this effect : " Be assured, that 
 only one we should be happy to find, and endowed with 
 the qualifications which seem to be essentially requisite, 
 even this is difficult ; but where are such numbers to 
 be found as sending two at once implies?" To this I 
 answer, Numbers are not essential, numbers may 
 spoil all : two at any time will suffice. " But then it is 
 suck two." Ah ! now you have struck the mark. Yes, and 
 among ten that might offer, it is very possible that a 
 pair is not to be found. It is not two individuals who 
 are able to talk, or even to teach only : it is love and 
 Christian friendship which are wanted. He, with whom 
 remains all hope of ultimate success, is not seeking for 
 numbers only. It is two brethren, whose voices shall 
 symphonize, because their hearts are one. Two, to 
 whom he has said, " If two of you shall agree* upon 
 earth, as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall 
 be done for them by my Father which is in heaven." 
 Two, to whom he may say, on going out, " The har- 
 
 'SvftQuwnHrn. Of different voices to form one symphony, to 
 agree by consent.
 
 312 DESrDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 vest is great, but the labourers are few ; pray YE the 
 Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers into his 
 harvest." 
 
 To the taste of some this mode of procedure may 
 seem discouraging, and the whole manner of the thing 
 may not please. It is now six-and-thirty years since 
 Melvill Home put the following words into the mouth 
 of an objector, in the shape of an apostrophe to the 
 Lord of the harvest himself: " If thou wilt force us to 
 cultivate this unpromising field, do not think of sending 
 out immediately, but let lay schoolmasters go to receive 
 the first fire, and teach the little children reading and 
 writing ; and then will we go and enter into their la- 
 bours : for the experience of ages, has taught us, that 
 where preaching of the Gospel makes one Christian, 
 education makes ten. Hence, instead of preaching first 
 to the parents, and then establishing schools for the 
 education, of the children, as the apostles did (who 
 knew that the sword of the Spirit was of heavenly 
 temper, an instrument into which the God of glory 
 had wrought all his attributes, we, having lost the art 
 of using it, and that arm which gives it the deinonstra~ 
 tion of the spirit and of power,) we go to work another 
 way, by educating children first ; and many are of opi- 
 nion, that the best way of enlightening is by putting 
 the moon in the sun's sphere, and having children to 
 instruct their parents, rather than parents to teach their 
 children." 
 
 Others there may be who seem most warmly to ap- 
 prove for a season, and yet fail of success. They are to 
 go to work in good earnest, but the number referred to, 
 even to begin with, is as nothing to them. They in 
 truth look to quantity in most things, not quality to 
 numbers more than qualifications. At all events, every 
 thing must be undertaken upon what they are pleased 
 to call a great scale, or no good, say they, can come out 
 of it ; and it is not worthy of their pains even to com- 
 
 7
 
 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 313 
 
 mence in any other manner. But still " God's ways 
 are not our ways, neither are his thoughts our thoughts/' 
 though never is there such a contrast to both, as when 
 some men set about what they conceive must be done 
 before success can follow, or be even expected. Noise, 
 bustle, publicity, as it were the blowing of a trumpet, 
 must be heard, and all before any thing be done, or 
 perhaps be attempted ; but the kingdom of God never 
 did, and will not now, so come. Thoughtfulness and 
 retirement, a heart deeply impressed, and secret sup- 
 plication to Him who is even now crowned with glory 
 and honour, although we see not yet all things put 
 under him, are suitable preparations. Consciousness 
 of unworthiness to be employed, and consciousness of 
 weakness when once engaged, these, these are dispo- 
 sitions which were never felt in vain and never yet 
 ended in nothing being accomplished. 
 
 Surely no considerate reader will ever suppose that 
 there is one word said here which should for a moment 
 discourage any one servant of God, much less prevent 
 him from going out by himself; nor can there be in an 
 idea, which seems, without violence, to be deducible 
 from many parts of the divine word, a single considera- 
 tion which should depress him, when going out alone. 
 In an age wherein the secret of primitive success seems 
 to be lost, is it strange that we should search about in 
 all directions till we find it ? And could we find it, we 
 should then perhaps see that both methods being employ- 
 ed, the other, of course, never followed, save when this 
 fine harmony of spirit, this sweet interweaving of in- 
 terests, this abnegation of self, was both felt and seen. 
 Among a set of men, who, as individuals, had so devoted 
 themselves, so yielded themselves unto God, and their 
 members as instruments of righteousness unto him, no- 
 thing was more natural than that peculiar friendships 
 should be formed, and that a number of individuals 
 should as it were pair off. At the same time, the unin-
 
 314 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 tentional the almost imperceptible occasion which gave 
 rise to it would often afterwards excite both wonder and 
 gratitude in their own minds. 
 
 Mysterious are His ways, whose power 
 Brings on that unexpected hour, 
 When minds that never met before 
 Shall meet unite and part no more. 
 A transient visit intervening, 
 And made almost without a meaning ; 
 Hardly the effect of inclination, 
 Much less of pleasing expectation, 
 Produced a friendship, then begun, 
 That had cemented them in one. 
 
 But in the meanwhile the idea thus thrown out does 
 in no respect whatever militate against many another 
 divine assurance. " He that goeth forth and weepeth, 
 bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with 
 rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." A venerable 
 servant of God, who, on the high places of the field, has 
 laboured in India for the usual period of a generation, 
 said, at an early stage of his exertions, " It has been a 
 great consolation to me, that Abraham was alone when 
 God called him." I called Abraham alone, and blessed 
 him, said Jehovah ; nor was this all " I will bless thee, 
 and thou shalt be a blessing:" and surely, if we know Him 
 that redeemed us from the curse of the law, we cannot 
 overlook his intention in so doing, " that the blessing of 
 Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus 
 Christ ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit 
 through faith." Nothing more is wanted for accom- 
 plishing whatever Ireland may still require : more espe- 
 cially since He hath said, " Lo, I am with you alway, 
 even unto the end of the world." 
 
 In addition to those ministers of Christ resident in 
 Ireland, and daily surrounded by the Irish tongue, there 
 is another class of our countrymen on this side of the 
 Channel, if not more than one ; and to certain gifted in- 
 dividuals of this class, one should suppose that the ex-
 
 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 315 
 
 i sting state of the Native Irish must become a subject of 
 thoughtful consideration. I refer to those who speak 
 Gaelic or Manks but especially Gaelic. The reader 
 has seen that at one period there were several Gaelic con- 
 gregations in Ireland, and that, summoned as by the 
 sound of an Irish harp, the Irish attended. The busi- 
 ness between the Hebrides and the Galway coast has 
 been transacted for years through this medium, common 
 to both parties. The experiment of a Highland minister 
 being intelligible has been tried again and again with 
 success. One of these, when on a visit in 1827, had, I 
 believe, as many as two thousand hearers at one time. 
 
 These descendants of the Native Irish are, in a pecu- 
 liar sense, your brethren ; and if the soul is to be con- 
 sidered as the standard of the man, you may well be 
 pleased with this alliance. You will suppose that I am 
 in some degree aware of the connexion existing between 
 Ireland and the Gael of Scotland, that it was once ra- 
 ther a delicate subject of reference with some, and the 
 matter of needless controversy with others. But the 
 days of petty jealousy may well pass away, for there is 
 nothing left now which need create dissension. Already 
 the writer has had some opportunities of evincing his 
 interest in our Highlands and Islands, and in all such 
 cases as the present, when the Gael of Ireland and Scot- 
 land are brought into contact, it has seemed to him to be 
 time, and more than time, for us to remember the words 
 of good Archbishop Ussher, " It is known to the learn- 
 ed, that the name of Scoli in those elder times was com- 
 mon to the inhabitants of the greater and the lesser Scot- 
 land ; I will not follow the example of those that have 
 laboured to make dissension between the mother and 
 daughter, but account them both as of the same people." 
 
 Individuals, therefore, to whom the Gaelic language 
 is familiar, wha are qualified in other respects, and in 
 whose hearts it is to do somewhat for the advancement 
 of the divine glory upon earth, would seem to be here
 
 318 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 specially addressed. After all that you have read, surely, 
 you require no Native Irishman to appear in vision, and 
 cry, " Thig thairis gu Erinn, agus cuidich leinne." May 
 you not assuredly gather that there is a call here to go 
 and preach the Gospel ? Were he to say " Tarr go Erinn, 
 agus tabhuir cabhuir dhuinne," could you not under- 
 stand him ? Yes, in one short month, or perhaps less, you 
 would be sufficiently intelligible in many districts. Your 
 brethren too, the descendants of the Albanian Gaels, are 
 there. You may have observed the period when a number 
 of your countrymen left the Hebrides and Highlands for 
 Ireland. How many I cannot ascertain, but they must 
 be their grandchildren and great grandchildren who now 
 live in Ireland. Is there to be no such thing then as 
 kindly going to see how they do on the mountains of 
 Donegal or the seacoast of Antrim ? As an encourage- 
 ment to proceed farther, if you will, one of your own 
 ministers was intelligible even far down in the south. 
 You are aware who it is that hath said, " As a shepherd 
 seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his 
 sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, 
 and will deliver them out of all places where they have 
 been scattered in the cloudy and dark day." How wor- 
 thy of the best and most powerful talents, and the warm- 
 est heart, would be such an employment ! His special 
 presence and aid would not be denied, who hath said 
 so much, in such tender terms, about searching for souls 
 when they are scattered abroad ; and who, in his word, 
 laments so deeply when no shepherd can be found, con- 
 scientiously and carefully and wisely to do so. 
 
 In taking leave of this important subject, and looking 
 over Ireland as now described, it is unquestionably a 
 most momentous consideration that the commission of 
 God our Saviour has been so awfully disregarded, and, 
 to speak calmly, this ought to become the subject of na-
 
 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 317 
 
 tional feeling on the part of Christians throughout the 
 kingdom. 
 
 That there should not be a single building in all Ire- 
 land, expressly and exclusively devoted to the procla- 
 mation of the truth of God and the unsearchable riches 
 of Christ, in the native tongue, is a reproach which ought 
 immediately to be wiped away. There is largeness of 
 heart in Ireland, I well know > and know the men who 
 possess it. I mean not that other men should be eased, 
 and they burdened ; but I know the " forwardness of 
 their mind," and that to their power, yea beyond their 
 power they are willing of themselves ; but surely two 
 or three of these might at least light the first torch, and 
 soon have a suitable place of divine worship in Dublin 
 and Cork. One should rather think that they would feel 
 emulous as to who should be the first to afford one fair 
 opportunity for the Redeemer's last ascending request 
 being complied with in the Irish tongue. Let the mis- 
 sionary depart, by all means, " far over sea and land," 
 but let not Ireland be forgotten. Amidst all his other 
 cares, a King upon the throne once gave himself no rest, 
 until he had found out a place for the Lord, and though 
 not allowed to build, this anxiety of his was richly re- 
 paid. Under the Christian dispensation, however, I 
 speak of a house simply as a fixed point of instruction ; 
 but though only viewed as a matter of convenience, a 
 meet and necessary measure, it would prove before long 
 a place of mercy indeed ; or, like a well in the desert, 
 round which, instead of the thorn* would come up the 
 fir-tree, and instead of the brier would come up the myr- 
 tle-tree or, as the Chaldee has it " instead of the 
 wicked would arise the just, and instead of sinners, such 
 as fear to sin." 
 
 Yet, in regard to what is most evidently demanded, 
 why need I specify such a trifle in the path of incumbent 
 duty as this ? Other towns, the country at large, must be 
 regarded, where perhaps no such erections are at least
 
 318 DESIDERATA ORAL INSTRUCTION. 
 
 generally called for. Many, many are the buildings there, 
 which long ago ought to have echoed to the language un- 
 derstood by the people ; and, at least in certain parts, one 
 might point with the finger, and say, " comparatively 
 speaking, to what more important or more needful use 
 could this be applied?" But the needy shall not always 
 be forgotten, the expectation of the poor shall not perish 
 for ever ; still, in such a case as this, the commission of 
 Christ should, like Joseph's sheaf, be that to which all 
 other things should bow. 
 
 " Agus dealraidh iadsan a ta glic mar shoilleireachd nan speur ; agus iadsan a 
 thionndaidheas moran gu fiieantachd mar na reultau fad saoghail nan saoghal." 
 
 Gaelic Sa-iptures. 
 
 " And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament ; and they that 
 turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." DANIEL. 
 
 " The eternal High Priest, the Pastor and Bishop of our souls, employed much time and 
 labour to instruct his apostles ; and afterwards commanded them, in giving them their mis- 
 sion, to instruct all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
 of the Holy Ghost ; and to teach them to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded 
 them. People then, come to theiise of reason, ought necessarily to be instructed ; they must 
 hear the word of God, am! learn what they are to believe and observe, and even learn how to 
 observe it It is true, that this is no easy task ; and that it requires much labour and pa- 
 tience ; but that is necessary j a soul is worth more than all that. This great ransom, the 
 death and passion of Jesus Christ, will 1)6 of no use to such as know not their religion, and 
 remain hi ignorance." DONLEVY. 
 
 " An order, be it remembered, not appointed like the priests of pagan antiquity, for the 
 performance of ceremonies, but for the inculcation of truth ; not to conduct the pomp ot 
 lustrations and sacrifices, but to ' watch for souls as those that must give an account.' 
 Nothing similar to this was known in the heathen religions ; it is peculiar to Christianity, 
 and evincing the simple wisdom of its Author, is as original in its conception as it is ad- 
 mirable in its effects. Its simplicity, its distance from whatever is dazzling in the eyes of 
 mankind is one of its highest recommendations ; for the Christian minister is beautifully 
 compared to a fisherman, who would only be embarrassed by those instruments and append- 
 ages which belong to more splendid, but less useful occupations." HALL.
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 TO THE NATIVE IRISH, 
 
 More especially to such Individuals among them as are interested in the Progress 
 of Literature, Education, and Oral Instruction. 
 
 WHILE it is desirable that your fellow-subjects should 
 befriend you, and certainly incumbent on them so to 
 do, the writer cannot conclude without returning to you 
 yourselves, with a view to whose benefit every line has 
 been written. He has not disguised, or rather he has 
 been incapable of disguising, that he feels a peculiar in- 
 terest in every thing relating to your present circum- 
 stances, and has only to lament its not having been in 
 his power to discover it in some more substantial form ; 
 while at the same time he can never forget the warm 
 and grateful language which has been so repeatedly 
 conveyed to him, in reference to a slight Memorial on 
 your behalf, published about fourteen years ago. 
 
 On reading the preceding pages, he trusts that you 
 have not found any one passage inconsistent with fair- 
 ness or candour, or respect for j'our feelings as neigh- 
 bours and fellow-countrymen ; and should there seem 
 to be anything bordering upon this, of which, however, 
 he is unconscious, he has no doubt that you will give 
 him credit on the whole for the kindness of his inten- 
 tions. It is very possible that individuals among you 
 may possess some things valuable in Irish type, and that
 
 320 TO THE NATIVE IRISH. 
 
 you may be acquainted with facts of which he is igno- 
 rant. Should it be so, and you communicate the infor- 
 mation, in a third edition of this volume it would cer- 
 tainly not be neglected. On the other hand, it is as 
 probable that many among you may here find a variety 
 of particulars, in regard to both your ancestors and your 
 present state, of which you had but imperfect informa- 
 tion. These are not only interesting in themselves, but 
 they seem, as with one voice, to assert, that the improve- 
 ment of the mind and the progress of knowledge are among 
 the great ends of our existence. 
 
 You have read also how the Welsh have been acting 
 for generations back by their language, and may inquire 
 of them whether they have not gained by the attention 
 which they have paid to it. I know it has been said, 
 that " crowded numbers and great wealth together give 
 prodigious advantages for educating, civilizing, and en- 
 lightening a people ;" and you may be ready to add 
 the first we have, but not the second. But Wales in 
 past ages was actually in as destitute a state as almost 
 any part of Ireland is at this moment. It would be easy 
 to describe this, and even substantiate the account, so as 
 to leave no doubt of the fact here stated. Various 
 causes, it is granted, have contributed to a better day ; 
 so that Wales, though about five times as populous as 
 our Highlands, is supposed to be four times as rich. 
 But among these causes, I again refer you to the way 
 in which they have been proceeding with their own 
 vernacular tongue, and see whether this will not account 
 for many of the advantages which they now enjoy. 
 
 Lay hold then of the medium of the Irish tongue in 
 the same spirit act by it in the same manner, and be 
 not discouraged. The noblest use certainly, though not 
 the only one, to which your Irish types can ever be ap- 
 plied, is that of conveying to your countrymen the vo- 
 lume of Revelation entire ; and the noblest use to which 
 your ancient and expressive language can ever be ap-
 
 TO THE NATIVE IRISH. 321 
 
 plied as spoken, is when it is employed in uttering the 
 words of Him who gave us this soul. As men of other 
 tongues and former days have proved, your countrymen 
 will then find, that " all the words of His mouth are in 
 righteousness that there is nothing froward or perverse 
 in them that they are all plain to him that understand- 
 eth, and right to them that find knowledge ;" and that, 
 let the pressure or peculiarity of a man's earthly state 
 be what it may, there is nothing which can prevent 
 him from borrowing comfort from this fountain of life 
 and wisdom. 
 
 Besides, the days are at last come, we trust, when 
 you will find many a kind and intelligent friend cordi- 
 ally willing to help you on your way, whether it re- 
 gards the printing or possession of books, or the bene- 
 fits of education. But whether this be the case or not, 
 after all that such can do, these are but subsidiary things 
 these are but means to an end ; and to yourselves as 
 men I now rather turn, and to yourselves, ultimately 
 at least, I look for a better day. 
 
 In most parts of Scotland we have, and have long 
 enjoyed, benefits such as these. Books and schools we 
 have in abundance ; but it by no means follows as a ne- 
 cessary consequence in these parts, though Christianity 
 be professed, that the people are in possession of her 
 purifying faith, her animating prospects, or that love 
 which is the balm of the soul, and the last end of God 
 in all that he bestows. No; come over to Scotland, 
 where in most parts, on an average, you may find one in 
 eight who can read, which is about the highest in the 
 world ; yet in many a district you will see, that, with- 
 out .the living voice without the language of the heart 
 addressed to the conscience all around is cold, and 
 withering into the grave. No ; there is One above who 
 hath not revoked his own commission " Go into all the 
 world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." " Go, 
 teach all nations ;" and, without obedience to these
 
 322 TO THE NATIVE IRISH. 
 
 words, no country can enjoy substantial gladness, nor 
 any land yield that return of gratitude and praise for 
 which he created it ; and so it must be with the coun- 
 try in which you dwell : but this commission once 
 obeyed, the solitary place itself will be glad, the moral 
 desert will rejoice and blossom as the rose. 
 
 With most of the discouragements which you might 
 immediately bring forward the writer is not unacquaint- 
 ed ; but then it is not wise to look upon a country, and 
 think only of what it ought to be, or might have been, 
 by this time. No; it is the part of wisdom to take it 
 up just as it is ; and, upon calm reflection, discouraging 
 in many respects though the prospect be, there is no si- 
 tuation into which a people can be plunged, in which 
 there may not be descried some circumstances favour- 
 able to the design of enlightening the mind and saving 
 it from ultimate ruin ; and who can tell but that in your 
 present situation there may be found some things favour- 
 able, and which almost seem to say, that the Messiah 
 himself is on his way to bless you ? At all events, let 
 us rather search for encouragements, however small, or 
 of whatever kind. 
 
 After all that can be said of the worst parts of Ireland, 
 we cannot say ihat they are over-run with pernicious 
 and debasing publications in the Irish language, as some 
 other parts of the kingdom have been with such things 
 in English. Now, this is a circumstance favourable to 
 every measure here recommended. 
 
 Even with regard to poverty, let us look into this, 
 since it cannot be removed but by degrees. Nay, let us 
 look into it before it be removed, and see whether in the 
 meanwhile any good can be done to the people. In .his 
 own estimation, the rich man's wealth is his strong city, 
 and in many instances the destruction of the poor is 
 their poverty. Thus, many who are poor seem to ima- 
 gine that their mere poverty excuses them from almost 
 all obligation. But if riches profit not in the day of
 
 TO THE NATIVE IRISH. 323 
 
 wrath, neither will poverty; yet even in the state of 
 poverty, as such, there may be some encouragements 
 for us to hope for a better day. From the rest of the 
 community, it is true, the people seem almost as if they 
 had been cut off; and so the state has been described 
 by the French word degage, disengaged. But though 
 poverty in many respects may detach that part of a 
 community from the rest, still when religious truth is 
 considered, thus disengaged they are often nearest of 
 all others to free inquiry. The senses of seeing and 
 hearing are the same with those of their superiors, and 
 their faculties of observing and reflecting often less 
 sophisticated. 
 
 Some men, and benevolent men too, talk as if all the 
 evils that afflict a community were summed up in one 
 word ignorance, and they see no ground on which to 
 fix the anchor of their hope, save an increase of know- 
 ledge; but this is, at the best, but a very superficial 
 view of human nature at large, or of any one commu- 
 nity upon earth. The cause of confusion or discord, 
 misery and distress, has its root in the dispositions of the 
 heart; and although knowledge unquestionably pro- 
 duces both peace and power, no radical cure can be 
 effected till the dispositions are changed. For example, 
 " What is the source of contentions in common life ? 
 Observe the discords in neighbourhoods and families, 
 which, notwithstanding all the restaints of relationship, 
 interest, honour, law, and reason, are a fire that never 
 ceases to burn, and which, were they no more control- 
 led by the laws than independent nations are by each 
 other, would, in thousands of instances, break forth into 
 assassinations and murders. From whence spring these 
 wars ? Are they the result of ignorance ? If so, they 
 would chiefly be confined to the rude or uninformed 
 part of the community. But is it so ? There may, it is 
 true, be more pretences to peace and good-will and 
 fewer bursts of open resentment in the higher than the
 
 324 TO THE NATIVE IRISH. 
 
 lower orders of people, but their dispositions are much 
 the same. The laws of politeness can only polish the 
 surface, and there are some parts of the human charac- 
 ter which still appear very rough. Even politeness has 
 its regulations for strife and murder, and establishes 
 iniquity by a law. The evil disposition is a kind of 
 subterraneous fire, and in some form it will have vent." 
 But make the case, if you will, more deplorable, and 
 even to poverty add affliction, in any or in all of its 
 forms, is there not a remedy which may be conveyed 
 and applied as effectually to the poor as to the rich, to 
 those who have been long neglected as to those who 
 have been long supplied ? " Whether Christianity," 
 says the author just quoted, " whether Christianity or 
 the want of it be best adapted to relieve the heart under 
 its various pressures, let those testify who have been in 
 the habit of visiting the afflicted poor. In this situation, 
 characters of very opposite descriptions are found. 
 Some are serious and sincere Christians ; others, even 
 among those who have attended the preaching of the 
 Gospel, appear neither to understand nor feel it. The 
 tale of wo is told, perhaps, by both ; but the one is un- 
 accompanied with that discontent, that wretchedness of 
 mind, and that inclination to despair, which is manifest 
 in the other. Often have I seen the cheerful smile of 
 contentment under circumstances the most abject and 
 afflictive. Amidst tears of sorrow, which a full heart 
 has rendered it impossible to suppress, a mixture of hope 
 and joy has glistened. ' The cup that my Father hath 
 given me, shall I not drink it?' Such have been their 
 feelings, and such their expressions ; and where this 
 has been the case, death has generally been embraced 
 as the messenger of peace. ' Here/ I have said, parti- 
 cipating in their sensations, ' is the patience and the 
 faith of the saints. Here are they that keep the com- 
 mandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. This is the 
 victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
 
 TO THE NATIVE IRISH. 325 
 
 Who is he that overcoraeth the world, but he that be- 
 lieveth that Jesus is the Son of God ?' "* 
 
 Not altogether satisfied, perhaps you still reply, 
 " But our people, in many districts, are sunk and desti- 
 tute to a degree of which thousands in Britain can form 
 scarcely any conception." All this the writer knows. 
 He has seen this again and again, and in places more 
 numerous than even thousands who live in Ireland itself 
 have ever seen ; and often since has the heart bled 
 over it ; nay, he may truly add, it does so now. But 
 still, to his mind, all this would rather incite to such 
 exertions. Kindness and liberality, attention to the 
 poor, and employment of those who are able to work, 
 are moral and Christian duties, incumbent on every one 
 to the extent of his means ; yet, after all this is done, 
 nay, before it be, there are blessings which the heart 
 and tongue of man are able to convey to the heart and 
 home of others, which money is too poor to purchase, 
 and which its most ample supply cannot procure. Yes, 
 there is ONE who knows more of the state of any land, 
 and sees far more deeply into its miseries, than any who 
 reside in it and look upon it daily ; the stability and 
 glory of whose government consists in attention to the 
 poor and destitute. When he was upon earth it seemed 
 to Him a feature of his own life and times worthy of 
 special notice, that to the poor the Gospel was preached, 
 and He is still the same. " He shall judge the poor 
 of the people, he shall save the children of the needy." 
 And more than this, they are not the last in any nation 
 upon whom he casts the eye of his benignity, far from 
 it. At what time "all kings shall fall down before 
 him, all nations shall serve him," one moving cause is 
 immediately assigned, which applies to the point in 
 hand ; "for he shall deliver the needy when he crieth ; 
 the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall 
 
 * Fuller's Works, vol. III. 138.-
 
 326 TO THE NATIVE IRISH. 
 
 spare the poor and needy, and save the souls of the needy. 
 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence, and 
 precious shall their blood be in his sight." Just as if to 
 Him alone were left those parts of an empire which had 
 gone far beyond the feeble humanity of man, or had 
 long baffled all the expedients of the political economist. 
 Now, these are the assertions of Infinite Wisdom ; and 
 all this is said without one word about silver or gold. 
 As the effect of such a glorious change, indeed, whether 
 on a great scale or a small, whatever money is needed 
 will not be withheld. " And he shall live," it is imme- 
 diately added, " and to him shall be given of the gold 
 of Sheba : prayer, also, shall be made for him continu- 
 ally, and daily shall he be praised." 
 
 Thus it is that you have laid before you what he can 
 do with only a handful of corn, though sown on the top 
 of the mountains ! But all such figurative expressions 
 borrowed from nature, yet outstripping the course of na- 
 ture, are plainly intended as powerful encouragement in 
 cases which appear discouraging, or even hopeless to the 
 human eye. In many instances were those truths, 
 which are first in the order of expression in the Divine 
 Word, onlyjirst in our minds as to weight and import- 
 ance, it is impossible to say what success might follow. 
 Thus, f< I will shake all nations, and the desire of all 
 nations shall come ; and I will fill this house with glory, 
 saith the Lord of Hosts. The silver is mine, and the 
 gold is mine, saith the Lord of Hosts." 
 
 No : you may have heard much said in Ireland about 
 collecting money for various purposes, an d^ you might 
 hear far more in Britain, and much said about it when 
 collected ; but all this need not lead you to imagine for 
 one moment, that pecuniary means can ever hold any 
 place in promoting this cause, except it be the last and 
 the lowest. Never forget to think of Him, who, while 
 he provided even a nest for the bird, " had not where 
 to lay his head ;" nor of the men he trained, who could say
 
 TO THE NATIVE IRISH. 327 
 
 individually, " Silver and gold have I none," yet who 
 ever did so much lasting good in the world as these men ? 
 
 Now, there are those among you who fear God, - 
 who love the Redeemer, who enjoy the hope of life 
 everlasting through hjs vicarious sufferings, his ato- 
 ning death and glorious resurrection. But does not the 
 possession and enjoyment of these infinite blessings 
 mark you out as debtors to your countrymen ? " Thou 
 shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." And ask not, 
 " who is my neighbour ?" Ask not, " Am I my bro- 
 ther's keeper ?" Rather go read the parable of the good 
 Samaritan, and on this subject observe the great sorrow 
 and continual heaviness of Paul, respecting his country- 
 men, or kinsmen, as he calls them, according to the flesh. 
 
 Let me then entreat, that you sit down and study the 
 Sacred Record for yourself. Read, mark, and inwardly 
 digest it. The advantages of deep reflection here are 
 incalculable. Compare spiritual things with spiritual. 
 Penetrate into the grand scheme of redemption through 
 the unutterable sorrows of a Redeemer, who, though 
 enthroned in glory, looks down upon you, observing 
 how his commission is regarded by all who have re- 
 ceived Him as their Lord and Master. 
 
 Every Christian man is certainly bound to communi- 
 cate what he knows of divine things, and he is expected 
 to contribute in his measure to the light of the world ; 
 but think not that I imagine that every such man is 
 called to become a preacher, far from it. This you 
 cannot suppose, after what you have read. If all were 
 teachers, where were the taught ? Even in the days of 
 our Saviour there were professed teachers many, and 
 this there will always be, wherever emolument or honour 
 from men is affixed to the mere title ; but the labourers 
 vr ere few. Numbers he asks not, and especially at first ; 
 this never has been his manner; but qualifications are 
 indispensable, and they are literally ALL in ALL. From 
 above these qualifications must descend, since the Mes- 
 6
 
 328 TO THE NATIVE IRISH. 
 
 siah was exalted on high to bestow them. The founda- 
 tion of the ministry is in the gift of Christ, the ground 
 of all qualifications, that he hath bestowed them ; and 
 the employment of every talent absolutely hinges upon 
 the fact, that it has been received.* 
 
 This is a subject which it braces and encourages the 
 mind to study, and which it is most animating so far to 
 comprehend. The man himself, however richly endow- 
 ed, or rather, I would say, the more he is so, dwells 
 upon his own insignificance and his own insufficiency as 
 positive truths ; and, discharged from the weariness and 
 vanity of going forth in his own strength, he the better 
 understands that the sword of the Spirit, when wielded 
 by the arm of conscious weakness, is irresistible. 
 
 When such a man turns aside to contemplate any of 
 those great recorded changes which have been or are to 
 be effected only by Almighty Power, he discovers, 
 about the period of their commencement especially, 
 something which is at the utmost distance from exten- 
 sive arrangements or formidable preparation, some- 
 thing which to the eye of sense has often seemed inade- 
 
 * Read Ephesians iv. 7 16, and then return to these words, " Now that he 
 ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the 
 earth ?" Descended, not only to assume humanity and a state of humiliation, but 
 into the grave, as the end of it. Why does the sacred writer introduce this paren- 
 thesis ? Pause over it. Why thus mention here Christ's descending.' Was it to 
 take advantage of a word ? Because, having mentioned his ascension, that he must 
 notice also his descension ? No : this is not the way of the Spirit. There must be 
 reason for mentioning it absolutely in this place and in this connexion ; and what 
 could that be, if not with reference to the end in view ? In Christ's descending 
 into the lower parts of the earth, as though he had said, there is that to be found 
 which will at once account for this great gift of the Ministry, and contribute to- 
 wards it in all succeeding generations. 
 
 The burial of Christ was the evident testimony of his actual death, and the Mi- 
 nistry grew out of this great event. Nothing has been more trifled with, it is 
 true, nothing more abused, than the Ministry, nor any employment more lightly 
 esteemed ; but there is, as it is now revealed, no question, that had the Saviour 
 not died for it, there had been no such thing in existence, nor any such order of 
 men ever known. In the Mediatorial Kingdom, die he did, and so thus and 
 then, blessed be his name ! received gifts for men, yea for the rebellious also, that 
 the Lord God might thus dwell among them. " Thus it behoved Christ to suffer 
 and to tise from the dead the third day that repentance and remission of sins 
 should be proclaimed, among all nations, in his name."
 
 TO THE NATIVE IRISH. 329 
 
 quate if not weak, or vain if not foolish; but this to 
 him is no ground either of surprise or despair. " The 
 excellency of the power/' he says, " will thus appear 
 to be of God." Nor is it merely to the rise and pro- 
 gress of any little corner, to which he applies this " ex- 
 cellence in working" on the part of God, but to the 
 whole field of operation, and to changes of the greatest 
 magnitude. Such passages as the following are at once 
 encouraging and familiar to his thoughts. " I will take 
 you one of a city and two of a tribe, and I will bring 
 you to Zion ;" after doing this, it follows, " And I 
 will give you pastors according to mine heart, which 
 shall feed you with knowledge and understanding ;" 
 and so " at that time they shall call Jerusalem the 
 throne of Jehovah ; and all the nations shall be gathered 
 unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem : neither 
 shall they walk any more after the imagination of their 
 evil heart." Again, " ye shall be gathered one by one, 
 O ye children of Israel;" then after this it follows, 
 " And it shall come to pass in that day that the great 
 trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were 
 ready to perish in the land of Assyria and the outcasts 
 in the land of Egypt, and shall worship Jehovah in the 
 holy mount at Jerusalem." " For the Jews require a 
 sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom : but we preach 
 Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and 
 unto the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them which are 
 called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, 
 and the wisdom of God, For ye see your calling, bre- 
 thren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not 
 many mighty, not many noble call you, but God hath 
 chosen the weak things of the world to confound the 
 things which are mighty, that no flesh should glory in 
 his presence." 
 
 Prophets and Apostles and Evangelists are gone to 
 their reward, it is true, and have left the earth, but 
 Christianity as left by them, in its faithful yet tender
 
 330 TO THE NATIVE IRISH. 
 
 announcements to the children of men, in its calls and 
 invitations, is more than a match for sin, though it should 
 have even gathered strength and endurance by long- 
 practised habits. This is an encouraging view of divine 
 truth, as spoken in faith by a man who loves God, and 
 therefore the souls of men. There is a blessing promised, 
 there is a power which will accompany such a voice, the 
 effects of which it is not possible to calculate ; falling as 
 it will do, at times, like the small rain upon the tender 
 grass, and in other cases, ploughing up the ground of 
 that heart which has lain long fallow. Or, in other words, 
 finding its way into the mind of the unbeliever, and 
 showing the man to himself, it is only with the view of 
 introducing to Him who hath said, " I am the light of 
 the world : he that followeth me, shall not walk in dark- 
 ness, but have the light of life." 
 
 At all events, whoever shall engage in such employ- 
 ment as this, whether they be men to whom the Irish 
 language is vernacular, or those who shall acquire it, 
 both, we presume, will agree in saying, " the harvest is 
 great, but the labourers are few ;" and if so, perhaps we 
 should do wrong to conclude, without expressing our 
 admiration of the spirit which breathes through the 
 words that immediately follow : " Pray ye therefore 
 the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth la- 
 bourers into his harvest." 
 
 Before thus going out, the Saviour would not only 
 enlarge their mind with respect to the greatness of the 
 work before them, but guard them against the mean and 
 selfish disposition of monopolizing the employment to 
 themselves. Pray ye, that he would send forth more. 
 Among different bodies of men, it has been observed, 
 that there is a sad propensity to an ungenerous, if not a 
 suspicious estimate of each other's exertions, while some 
 will insidiously endeavour to divide those who are al- 
 ready united in a common cause. Joshua of old, gener- 
 ous and open as his natural disposition seems to have
 
 TO THE NATIVE IRISH. 331 
 
 been, said to Moses, when referring to Eldad and Me- 
 dad, " My Lord, Moses, forbid them." But Moses in- 
 stantly replied, " Enviest thou for my sake ? Would 
 God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that 
 he would put his spirit upon them." Some of the fol- 
 lowers of the harbinger of Christ would seem to have 
 indulged the same spirit, and thought to sow jealousy 
 in his mind. " Rabbi," said they, " he that was with 
 thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, be- 
 hold the same baptizeth, and all men come to him." 
 But did John encourage them in this insinuation ? Far 
 from it. " If it be so," as though he had said, " this is 
 perfect joy to me." " He that hath the bride is the bride- 
 groom : but the friend of the bridegroom which stand- 
 eth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the 
 bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 
 He must increase, but I decrease." Nay, even among 
 the Apostles themselves a spirit was displayed too much 
 akin to that which the Saviour would banish for ever 
 from our minds. " Master," said John, the mild and 
 beloved John, " we saw one casting out devils in thy 
 name, and he followeth not us: and we forbade him, 
 because he followeth not with us." But Jesus answer- 
 ed, " Forbid him not : for there is no man which shall 
 do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of 
 me. For he that is not against us, is on our part. And 
 whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that be- 
 lieve on me, it is better for him that a millstone were 
 hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea." 
 
 The Redeemer, therefore, in thus addressing his ser- 
 vants before going out to labour for him, would prevent 
 the indulgence of this unlovely and injurious disposition 
 of mind. " Go," as though he had said, " the time of 
 ingathering has come : property of all others the most 
 valuable is about to be recovered to its lawful owner ; 
 but the harvest is great, and you have not the exclusive 
 privilege of preaching my Gospel. Nay, to you your-
 
 332 TO THE NATIVE IRISH. 
 
 selves I look for increase, both as it regards the harvest 
 itself and hands to reap it. Pray ye, therefore, the 
 Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth la- 
 bourers into his harvest. To see the general produce 
 of a country run to waste would be affecting, and the 
 more so from the labour previously bestowed. Let not 
 souls be thus lost, and more especially since I send you 
 forth to all the joys of ingathering, and upon my ac- 
 count. But the harvest is great, and my purpose is to 
 employ others, who, with you, will enter into the joy of 
 labour ; others, to whom the employment of body as well 
 as mind will be a delight ; but these are not to be ob- 
 tained on my part, without prayer on yours." What a 
 responsibility ! The Saviour once suspended the saving 
 of a child from disease, on the faith of his parent, which 
 made the man to cry out with tears of entreaty ; but 
 here the harvest itself the salvation of the multitude is 
 in view, yet the labourers are not to be sent forth on his 
 part, without prayer on theirs." 
 
 * But was this to be the concern, was this the duty of these men alone ? Never 
 will there be more of success in the cause of God, until there is more of the " Spi- 
 rit of supplication." Prayer must, in fact, be regarded as an essential part of the 
 labourer's, nay of every Christian's employ. Epaphrasof Colosse well understood 
 this. Coloss. iv. 12. Here too the mind has ground to rest upon of a peculiar na- 
 ture : for if the counsels of God are his highest affairs, and his own purposes are 
 precious in his sight, these are expressed in promises, as so many grounds on which 
 the suppliant is to rest, and as so many excitements to draw forth his desires. Be- 
 sides, let it be remembered, that not one sincere desire has been, is now, or ever 
 will be, in vain ! No, so far as the spirit of supplication in the heart, has met with 
 the spirit of promise and prophecy in the Sacred Record, not an aspiration has 
 been, or will be, in vain ! The prophets of old, far from indifferent to the sig- 
 nification of what they spake before hand, inquired and searched diligently ; and 
 it would be well if Christians would now begin to study and observe the analogy 
 between the ' Spirit of Prophecy' under the former economy, and the ' Spirit of 
 Supplication' under the present ; for He, and He alone, is distinctly the moving 
 cause of the last, as much as he was of the first. Before the ' coming of the Lord' 
 there was a long and connected series of prophecies remained to be fulfilled ; and 
 before the ' knowledge of the Lord' shall cover the earth as the waters do the sea, 
 there must, it now seems, be as rich a body of supplications to be answered. There 
 has been, unquestionably, much of active exertion in our day ; but let all who 
 talk of ' public usefulness' pause and consider, for upon this principle some of our 
 forefathers may still be far ahead of us, and we in the end may find that we have 
 held but a very inferior place in the series of the divine procedure. There is such 
 a thing as presumption in the ways of men perhaps the highest is exertion with.
 
 TO THE NATIVE. IRISH. 333 
 
 In such a case as this of the Native Irish, some men 
 would talk only of ( looking about' for suitable instru- 
 ments ; but the province of oral instruction is a sacred 
 enclosure, where every movement essentially depends 
 upon God, and this will not do. Look upwards we 
 must, and if we do, it would be impious to imagine that 
 we shall look in vain. Men of his sending are essential, 
 and, in such circumstances, we have no reason to pre- 
 sume upon them but in the way prescribed. Many who 
 may never be able to acquire the Irish language could 
 assist here. This harvest is not past it is not over and 
 gone. In Ireland some may say it is yet to be gathered ; 
 there too the harvest is great, and there, as it regards the 
 Irish tongue, the labourers are emphatically few. 
 
 The path, however, is plain. To be admitted, or ra- 
 ther to be invited into the presence of the Lord, is at all 
 seasons an honour to be permitted to address him con- 
 cerning his own cause is greater still. Oh ! were the 
 faithful in this kingdom but alive to the importance, and 
 the necessity, and the glorious consequences of earnest 
 supplication here, what seasons of prosperity might we 
 not witness ? Such intercessors may have been laughed 
 to scorn, and may be now ; yet -amidst ail those happy 
 days which have passed over other parts of this favoured 
 Britain, who can say how much may have been owing 
 to individual, genuine, unostentatious Christians improv- 
 ing their own personal interest, at the foot of the throne, 
 on behalf of the general good ? 
 
 If then, in conclusion, all that has been proposed 
 
 out earnest prayer. If then the spirit of supplication in us, comes instead of the 
 spirit of prophecy in former ages, for Christians pray acceptably only through the 
 indwelling power and guidance of the Spirit, let us implore this Spirit. We need 
 not indulge in dreams about miraculous agency but fervent prayer has not been 
 shifted from the precise place which it occupied in the divine economy in ancient 
 times that is, it must still precede the season of God's gracious interference, 
 James v. 16 18. It must still precede the fulfilment of the richest promises made 
 and confirmed to the Redeemer himself, on the ground of his own dignity and 
 worth, his death and merits. 
 
 o2
 
 334 TO THE NATIVE IRISH. 
 
 throughout these pages might be effected through the 
 medium of the colloquial dialect, the Irish language, \vhy 
 should it not be employed for such invaluable purposes ? 
 But I add nothing more : perhaps the set time is already 
 come when this long-neglected tongue will be employed, 
 not merely as a medium of intercourse between man and 
 man respecting the trifles of a day, but for all those in- 
 valuable ends to which, in common with every other 
 form of human speech, it has been all along destined by 
 the great Author of Nature, and the time also when 
 these ends will be gained, not only in a distant or ob- 
 scure corner, here and there, but in some degree com- 
 mensurate with the necessities of the country. 
 
 " We even doubt whether it be possible to possess one genuine virtue without the love 
 of country. But it is the Christian religion which has imparted to this love its proper 
 measure and its real beauty. Christianity has made it a principal and not an exclusive 
 love. That is a charity which begins at home, but never ends there." 
 
 " Ar son tig'e an Tig'earna ar n D6; iarrsa m6 mait' d'uitsi." 
 
 Irish Scriptures. 
 
 . ... . 
 
 Yet the day-star shall rise on the gloom of our sorrow, 
 Woe reigns to night here, but joy comes to-morrow ; 
 From the fountain of life we may comfort still borrow, 
 Which earth and her princes can never bestow." 
 
 Native Irishman ofMagfiera. 
 
 - 1..'
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Primitive Races and their respective Dialects. 
 
 THE various points of inquiry, which are merely glanced at in 
 this Appendix, the writer has not yet enjoyed the opportunity 
 of investigating to the extent he could have wished. He at- 
 taches, therefore, nothing of that importance to them which is 
 generally felt when any favourite theory is to be defended ; and 
 if, by those who are more conversant with these subjects, he 
 should be found incorrect in any particular, this will neither 
 affect the argument of the preceding pages, nor weaken our ob- 
 ligations with regard to the present race of the Native Irish. 
 
 Among the learned men who have studied the subject of 
 European antiquities, there seems to be but one opinion with 
 regard to the quarter from whence the great body of her popu- 
 lation came. They all profess to discover a rolling tide pro- 
 ceeding from the east, wave following after wave, the weaker 
 giving way to, or pushed forward before, the more powerful ; 
 and though to point out the abode of all the Nornade tribes in 
 given periods may be beyond the power of human research, yet 
 writers of the most opposite opinions agree in regarding the 
 most westerly as the most primitive or ancient nations. First 
 in the possession of the soil, at the very dawn of history we see 
 them first disturbed, and never having been entirely destroyed, 
 remnants of them still remain. Without any discordance of 
 sentiment, we may advance at least one step farther. The in- 
 dications of three distinct and successive populations are gener-
 
 336 APPENDIX. 
 
 ally recognised by all the best authorities two pervading the 
 western and northern regions of Europe, and the third its east- 
 ern frontiers. These three, according to various authors, are 
 the Celtse, the Goths or Scythians, and the Slavonians ; or the 
 Celtse, the Teutones, and the Sauromatae of Dr Murray. With- 
 out multiplying authorities, or proceeding farther back, it may 
 be remarked, that Dr Percy, the bishop of Dromore, in the 
 year 1770, distinctly marked two of these the Celtic and the 
 Gothic, a distinction recognised by Mr Pinkerton, notwith- 
 standing his opinions respecting the former. To these the third 
 is now generally added, the Sarmatian. Other nations more 
 recently entered, but these are the main sources of the ancient 
 European population. It is to the first of these three, confess- 
 edly the most western division of this great European family, 
 that our attention is here directed. 
 
 Upon opening the map of Herodotus by Major Rennel, we 
 find the Cynetse and Iberi on the'western shores of Europe, 
 and immediately behind the former at least, the Celtse. The re- 
 peated assurances of Herodotus, that, although in his time the 
 Celts had spread from the Danube to the Pillars of Hercules, 
 there was another nation still farther west, called the Cynetae 
 or Cynesii, accounts for this distribution on the map. " These 
 Celtse are found beyond the Columns of Hercules ; they border 
 on the Cynesians, the most remote of all the nations who inha- 
 bit the western parts of Europe ;" and, referring again to the 
 Celtse, he adds, " who, except the Cynetse, are the most re- 
 mote inhabitants in the west of Europe."* Strabo, when re- 
 ferring to the Cantabrians, mentions the ' Cantrabi Conisci.'t 
 Festus Avienus, in the beginning of the fifth century, or about 
 870 years later than Herodotus, notices the Cynestes, as a peo- 
 ple inhabiting the border of Spain and Portugal.^ In many 
 later writers we read of those who are called the Cunei, and in 
 the Welsh triads we meet with a people denominated the Cynet. 
 Modern authors have not entirely overlooked this ancient and 
 primitive race. " Beyond the Celtic hordes," says Townsend, 
 " in the utmost extremities of Europe, towards the setting sun, 
 the Cynetse (KBTI) either fed their flocks, or more probably 
 
 * Herod. Etoterpe, 33. Melpom. 49. f Strabo, lib. III. p. 162. ed. Pari, 1620. 
 $ Ora Maritima, 00.
 
 APPENDIX. 337 
 
 were to be numbered among the hunting tribes.* " Herodo- 
 tus," says Mr Sharon Turner, " places a people, whom he calls 
 Cunesioi, beyond the Celts." t In the history of European lan- 
 guages by Dr Murray, while he ranks the Native Irish under 
 the general term of Celtse, he uniformly speaks of them as the 
 most primitive division the original stem which had penetrat- 
 ed in the earliest ages into the west of Europe. 
 
 But the Iberi as well as the Cynetae are placed by Herodotus 
 on the western shores of Europe. Now Dionysius Periegetes 
 (verse 281), about the commencement of the Christian era, 
 mentions them in the same position : 
 
 On Europe's farthest western border dwell 
 Tlr Iberians, who in warlike might excel. 
 
 And Strabo, in his description of Gaul, confirms the statement 
 of Herodotus, that the Iberians were a separate nation from the 
 Celts. Speaking of the inhabitants of Gaul, seemingly with 
 reference to the account which Julius Caesar had given of them 
 half a century before, he says, " Some have divided them into 
 three portions, denominated Aquitani, Belgae, and Celtse ; but 
 the Aquitani differ from the rest entirely, not only in language 
 but in person, and resemble the Iberi more than the Celtse. 
 As for the others, their appearance is Celtic ; their language is 
 not wholly the same, but in some respects varies a little ; in 
 government and manners they are nearly alike." The other 
 inhabitants of Gaul, here contrasted with the Aquitani, seems 
 to evince that Gaul as well as Spain was anciently occupied by 
 people of two distinct nations, of which the more eastern were 
 the Celtae, the more western the Iberi and Cynet*. 
 
 With regard to Britain, Caesar affirms, that " its interior 
 part was inhabited by those who were immemorially natives of 
 the island, but the maritime part by those who had passed 
 thither from the Belgse, intent on predatory hostilities." Taci- 
 tus, a century later, says, that those who dwelt " nearest to the 
 Gauls resembled them," but that " the brown complexions 
 
 * Townsend's Character of Moses, &c. vol. II. p. 62. f Hist, of Anglo- 
 
 Saxons, 3d ed., vol. I. p. 40. t Strabo, lib. IV. p. 319. See Greatheed's In- 
 
 quiries respecting the Origin of the Inhabitants of the British Isles. Archa-ologia, 
 vol. XVI. part 1. p. 98. $ De Bello Gallico, lib. V. cap. 12.
 
 338 APPENDIX. 
 
 and curling hair of the Silures intimated that the ancient 
 Iberians had passed over from Spain, and had occupied that 
 part of Britain."* The Iberians, however, had certainly 
 stretched into Aquitain (according to Pliny formerly called 
 Armor ica), and it is possible that the migration now referred 
 to, might be from Gaul rather than Spain. 
 
 The connexion between the early inhabitants of Ireland and 
 those of Britain will be again adverted to ; though here we may 
 observe, that, notwithstanding the fables with which it has 
 been intermingled, the Irish tradition, which states their an- 
 cestors to have come from Spain, appears worthy of credit. 
 Even the sceptical may admit this as likely to account for part 
 of its inhabitants, as it is not inconsistent with the certainty 
 that there were other immigrations. 
 
 In giving these brief and imperfect notices of the primitive 
 populations, it seemed expedient not to overlook the denomina- 
 tions given to the most western, although they are by most wri- 
 ters only glanced at and then dismissed, or lost in the general 
 term of Celtic. Though in the present stage of inquiry into 
 the original populations of Britain, and the western shores of 
 the European continent, some will hesitate to admit the entire 
 theory of Mr Greatheed in the Archaeologia, it is at least pos- 
 sible that the scattered rays of evidence may even yet lead to 
 the conclusion, not only that the people now denominated Na- 
 tive Irish, being the farthest west now, were the farthest west 
 then, but that, sprung from the most primitive division of the 
 Celtae, they may be traced as descendants of the ancient Iberi 
 or Cynetffi, if these were not in fact one people, speaking, it is 
 probable, kindred dialects. Granting, however, that these terms 
 were dropped, and that the Irish are to be considered as a 
 branch of the great Celtic family, we now briefly notice the 
 light in which they have been thus regarded. 
 
 In taking a view of the original, or at least the ancient po- 
 pulation of Europe, Dr Murray gives a place to the Native 
 Irish, which he carefully preserves throughout both of his vo- 
 lumes. " The primary tribes of Europe are," he says, " as is 
 generally known, 1st, The Celtse, ancestors of the Irish; 2d, 
 
 Vita Agricolae.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The Cymri, progenitors of the Welsh, Cornish, and Armori- 
 cans." " In the west of Gaul, and in Britain, there is evi- 
 dence to presume that the greater part of the population con- 
 sisted of that division of the Celtic race whose posterity now 
 possesses the name of Cymri ;* but in Ireland the population 
 was wholly Celtic, of that original stem which had penetrated 
 in the earliest ages into Gaul, Spain, and the British isles." 
 " The ancestors of the Cymri were of Celtic origin, but they 
 had remained nearer to the east, in the heart of Europe, while 
 their kindred reached the Atlantic ocean. Savage war and 
 emigration at length drove the Cymri before the Teutones into 
 the west, whence they expelled the Celtse, and took possession 
 of Gaul and Britain." Again he says, " The allies of the 
 German Cimbri and Teutones were not Celts of the Irish divi- 
 sion. That primitive race had been expelled from the conti- 
 nent, a few tribes only excepted, before the dawn of history." 
 
 The primitive populations of Europe have, for several gene- 
 rations, formed a standing subject of controversy, to which, 
 unquestionably, the confounding of generic with confederative 
 terms, and the want of accurate acquaintance with the lan- 
 guages spoken, have contributed. At least it is surprising to 
 see the confidence which has been maintained by some who 
 had not thought it to be essential that they should first 
 thoroughly investigate the colloquial dialects. If languages are 
 admitted to a certain extent to be the pedigree of nations, 
 the forlorn hope of greater unanimity seems to rest on such in- 
 vestigations, provided they are conducted with due patience 
 and candour. Some languages, it is true, have undergone great 
 changes, and words remaining have entirely changed their 
 meaning; though, after all, language is one of the most en- 
 during and unchangeable things with which we are acquainted, 
 both with regard to its terms and even its very tones or accent. 
 The productions of the soil may, in many instances, be torn 
 up and exported, or the manners and customs of a people may 
 so change, that the relics which remain shall baffle the se- 
 verest scrutiny ; but not so their language : this remains and 
 
 * This title, borne by the present Welsh, is not very ancient ; nor was it given 
 to their ancestors in Gaul or Britain in the time of Casar. Murray, voL H. p. 315.
 
 340 APPENDIX. 
 
 descends like their family-features, and whether neglected or 
 proscribed, long survives all such treatment. If, in addition 
 to this quality of endurance, the changes to which any lan- 
 guage has been exposed, should be found in general to have 
 in fact only obeyed a law, then the investigation becomes, not 
 only more interesting and precise, but the access to the anti- 
 quity of nations by this line is less affected by the lapse of 
 time than that of any other with which we are acquainted. A 
 different opinion indeed has been entertained by some, and we 
 do not forget the idea of Horace : 
 
 As when the forest with the bending year 
 First sheds the leaves which earliest appear, 
 So an o!d race of words maturely dies, 
 And some, new born, in youth and vigour rise ; 
 Many shall rise that now forgotten lie, 
 Others in present credit soon shall die, 
 If custom will, whose arbitrary sway, 
 Words, and the forms of language, must obey. 
 
 But a simile, however beautiful, is no argument, and better 
 philologists have entertained a very different opinion from the 
 poet in this instance. " I am now convinced," said the late 
 Dr Murray, " that the wildest and most irregular operations 
 of change in every language obey an analogy which, when it is 
 discovered, explains the anomaly ; and that, as is common in 
 the study of all progressive knowledge, a view of the gradual 
 (and progressive) history of human speech, in any consider- 
 able portion of the world, leads directly to a scientific acquaint- 
 ance with its principles, which may be of the highest use in 
 illustrating obsolete dialects, in preserving the purity of our 
 own, in facilitating the intercourse of any one nation with all 
 others, and in completing the moral topography of the globe."* 
 
 # As an illustration of the necessity of attention to the languages spoken, as far 
 as this is practicable, I may notice a degree of discordance between the assertions 
 of two authors, which this attention alone is likely to remove. In referring to the 
 progress of emigration westward, " There can be little doubt," observes Dr Mur- 
 ray, " that it proceeded in this order ; first, the Celtae, by the way of the 
 Euxine, and along the Danube into Gaul; next, the Cymri in the rear of them, 
 and originally part of them, though changed in point of language by long separa- 
 tion. At length the Cymri occupied Gaul and the adjoining countries ; but they 
 were soon followed by the Teutonic nations, whom they for a time resisted ably, 
 and even invaded in their territories beyond the Danube, The Cymraig Gauls
 
 APPENDIX. 341 
 
 But whatever may be the opinions formed of these ancient 
 tribes, whether the Irish and the Scots Highlanders are to be 
 denominated Cyuesian, Iberian, or ancient Celtic ; and the 
 Welsh, Cornish, and Armorican are to be distinguished as 
 Cymri or Cymraic Gauls; and the inhabitants of Beam and 
 the lower Pyrenees, who speak the Basque, are to be associated 
 with either, or, more anciently, with both, or whether the 
 whole continue to fall under the general denomination of Cel- 
 tic, describing the difference between them by a more accurate 
 analysis of their several dialects ; still there is so much of affi- 
 nity, that the whole must be regarded as the children of one 
 common parent stock. .-^*- 
 
 A few remarks with regard to the languages spoken by each 
 will conclude this Appendix. Two of these are generally said 
 to be extinct, the Cornish, and a dialect sometimes styled the 
 Waldensian. The living languages are the Basque the Bas 
 Bretagne, the Welsh, the Manks, the Gaelic, and the Irish, 
 which we shall place last, as desirous of leaving it to the read- 
 er's consideration, in connexion with the general subject and 
 design of these pages. 
 
 Cornish. 
 
 This language, which has sometimes been denominated the 
 Lloegrian, is supposed to have been spoken by a people who 
 once dwelt on the banks of the Loire, but who fled to Britain 
 before some of the Teutonic tribes. It had at one period been 
 much more extensively spoken, the people having occupied not 
 only the south-western but the interior parts of England. 
 This dialect is now extinct in this country, having died away 
 in a great degree by emigration to the Continent, after having 
 been driven into the narrow compass of Cornwall. In this 
 
 carried their arms along the Danube into Illyricum and Dalmatia ; they took pos- 
 session of the Alps, and colonized the whole north of Italy." VoL II. pp. 40, 41. 
 Dr Pritchard, on the other hand, says, " It is remarkable that it is with the Irish 
 dialect of the Celtic that the barbarous portion of the Latin coincides. The Cel- 
 tic people, therefore, who inhabited Italy in early times, were akin to the Irish 
 Celts, and not to the Britons or Celtic Gauls." VoL II. p. 150. At thesametime, 
 it may be observed, that when Dr Murray speaks- of the Irish having left the con. 
 tinent, he, as already quoted, says, " a few tribes only cxcepted.'"
 
 342 APPENDIX. 
 
 county, during the reign of Henry VIII., Cornish was the uni- 
 versal language. In 1602, Carew, in his survey, speaks of it as 
 declining. In 1610, Norden, in his History -of Cornwall, says 
 it was chiefly used in the western hundreds. About the 
 middle of that century, however, several parishes discovered 
 strong attachment to their native tongue, and in 1640 Mr Wil- 
 liam Jackson, Vicar of Pheoke, found himself under the neces- 
 sity of administering divine ordinances in this dialect, as his 
 parishioners understood no other. About the beginning of the 
 eighteenth century, 1701, Cornish is said to have been confined 
 to five or six villages. But, even so late as 1746, Captain Bar- 
 rington, sailing on a cruise to the French coast, took with him 
 from Mount's Bay a seaman who spoke Cornish, and he was 
 understood on the coast of Bretagne. The last individual who 
 continued to speak no other language than Cornish was a fe- 
 male, who lived till she was about if not above one hundred 
 years old. 
 
 Emigration must in a great degree account for the extinction 
 of this language in England, as it still greatly survives in the 
 colloquial dialect of some parts of Brittany ; but, at the same 
 time, it was, of all the other Celtic dialects, the most exposed 
 to inroad. A singular confirmation of its extensive use at 
 one period may be mentioned. " Let any one," says Mr 
 Greatheed, " consult the Archseologia Britannica of Dr Lhuyd, 
 and he will find the differences of its sounds from the Welsh 
 minutely described. Now, in all these, the Cornish so remark- 
 ably agrees with the English pronunciation, that there is 
 scarcely a sound in our language in which we vary from other 
 European nations that may not be traced to the Cornish or an- 
 cient Lloegrian."* 
 
 The Waldensian. 
 
 In the time of the Protectorate, Sir Samuel Morland was . 
 sent by Cromwell to intercede with the Duke of Savoy, at Tu- 
 rin, on behalf of the Waldenses ; and to relieve their distress, 
 as far as money could do so. Above L.38,000 sterling was raised 
 (a large sum indeed at that period,) and he resided for some 
 
 * Archseologia, voL XVI. p. 113. afa
 
 APPENDIX, 343 
 
 time, chiefly in Geneva, dispensing this bounty. Secretary 
 Thurlow and Archbishop Ussher had suggested to Sir Samuel, 
 that he might employ his leisure time to good purpose, in col- 
 lecting documents respecting the history and religious princi- 
 ples of this ancient people. Sir S. succeeded in procuring a 
 number of manuscripts and other pieces, the greatest propor- 
 tion of which were written by the inhabitants of the Valleys, 
 and many of them in their own language. These papers, con- 
 sisting altogether of twenty-one volumes, numbered A, B, C, 
 &c., were presented by this gentleman to the public library of 
 the University of Cambridge, and lodged there in the month of 
 August, 1658. " In the volume F are collected and written 
 on parchment, in that which is called the Waldensian language, 
 of a very ancient, but fair and distinct character, the gospel of 
 Matthew ; the first chapter of Luke ; the gospel of John, the 
 Acts, 1st Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1st 
 Thessalonians, 2d Timothy, Titus, the eleventh chapter of the 
 Hebrews, with 1st and 2d Peter, the two last imperfect."* 
 Whether this manuscript be written in the ancient and genuine 
 Waldensian, I cannot at present affirm with certainty, espe- 
 cially as one or two of those which are said to be in the lan- 
 guage of the inhabitants of the Valleys, are written, in fact, in 
 the colloquial dialect of the age, which, of course, underwent 
 considerable changes, according as the French or Italian influ- 
 ence prevailed. Parts of the manuscripts which are quoted by 
 Morland have been considered to be specimens of the Catalo- 
 nian, or a language nearly allied to it. 
 
 The distance of the Waldensian from the other dialects men- 
 tioned, in point of local situation, would render the most dis- 
 tant resemblance between it and them a matter of considerable 
 curiosity ; but the resemblance between the Waldensian and 
 the Irish or Gaelic seems to be by no means distant. " The 
 Irish," says Davis, " appears to be, on the whole, better pre- 
 served than either the Erse or the Waldensic : it contains 
 abundantly more of written document ; but as the difference 
 between them all is trifling, I shall speak of them in general as 
 Irish." Chamberlayn, in his Oratio Dominica, has not inform- 
 ed us from whence he procured his specimen of the Walden- 
 
 * Holland's History of the Churches of Piedmont, p. 99.
 
 344 APPENDIX. 
 
 sian ; but that the Irish and Gaelic reader may see how nearly 
 that specimen resembles their respective dialects, it is subjoin- 
 ed from this author, who is generally considered not an inferior 
 authority. 
 
 The superior figure ( 8 ) used below, answers the same purpose 
 with the superior () or point used by the Irish when printing 
 in their own character, and it corresponds to the h of the Gaelic 
 orthography. 
 
 THE LORD'S PRAYER IN WALDENSIAN. 
 
 Our Narme ata air neamb 3 . Beanich atanim. Gu diga do 
 riogda. Gu denta du hoill, air tain? in mar ta ar neamb s . Tab- 
 har d* im an miigh ar naran limb 2 ail. Agus mat (Puine ar 
 fiach ambail near marhmhid arjiacha. IVa leig s?n amb* aribh 
 ach soarsa shin on olc. Or slttsa rioghta combta agus gloir gu 
 sibhiri. Amen. 
 
 I have had no means of ascertaining the correctness or au- 
 thenticity of this specimen, but the reader will recollect the as- 
 sertion of Dr Pritchard already given, that the Celtic people 
 who inhabited the north of Italy in early times were akin to the 
 Irish Celts, and not to the Britons or Celtic Gauls. 
 
 The Basque. 
 
 Of this dialect, sometimes called Vase, Gascon, Biscayan, or 
 Cantabrian, the most opposite opinions have been expressed, 
 probably owing to its peculiar and complicated formation, it 
 being a mixed language, having received large accessions from 
 the Latin. Adelung, indeed, thought that it could not be re- 
 garded as a branch of the great Celtic family ; but Lhuyd has 
 given a list of derivatives from it, which are still extant in the 
 Irish tongue. One reason why some may have hesitated to as- 
 sociate it with Celtic is perhaps to be ascribed to its having 
 lost one peculiarity common to these dialects, that of chan- 
 ging the initial consonants of words according to the connexion 
 or relation in which they stand ; somewhat in the manner of
 
 APPENDIX. 345 
 
 the Masoretic Hebrew. Its radical terms, however, are usually 
 to be found in one or another of the Celtic or Iberian dia- 
 lects, and some of them in all of these : and it retains one cha- 
 racteristic feature in the most striking manner, that of conju- 
 gating and declining the present and imperfect tenses of verbs 
 active, not by inflections, but by the use of auxiliary verbs. 
 It is, however, only from the radical parts of its words that a 
 judgment of its real origin can be formed; but this criterion, 
 when ascertained, is decisive. At least so says Mr Greatheed, 
 from whom this account is taken ; but other authorities are not 
 wanting. " The Vase," says Dr Murray, " the Irish and 
 Welsh, are radically the same." And it is worthy of observa- 
 tion, says Townsend, that " Bowles, an Irishman of strong un- 
 derstanding and extensive information, who for many years re- 
 sided in Spain, was struck with the marks of resemblance be- 
 tween the customs of the Biscayans and those of his country- 
 men, and delivered it as his opinion, that they were one people." 
 Within these few years, a history of ancient and modern Spain 
 has been published by Chevalier Bossi at Milan, in which he 
 professedly treats of the early Celtic and Phoenician influence 
 exercised over Spain, confirmed by the traces which it has left 
 in the manners, ceremonies, and language of the country. 
 Perhaps this work throws additional light on the subject. 
 
 Of this language there are several dialects, the principal of 
 which are said to be the Biscayan and the Guipuscoan. The 
 natives call the former simply Escuara, i. e. vernacular. 
 
 There is a grammar in the Basque and Spanish tongues by 
 Larramendi, adapted to the Guipuscoan, a Latin and Can- 
 tabrian Dictionary in manuscript, which seems to have belong- 
 ed to the late Bishop of Durham, or was under his care, as well 
 as a version of Genesis and Exodus in Cautabrian. An edition 
 of the New Testament in Basque was printed at Rochelle so 
 early as the year 1571. It was published by JUAN LIZZER- 
 AGO, a native of the province of Beam, at the expense and 
 with the authority of Joan d'Albret, Queen of Navarre, to 
 whom it is dedicated in French.* The Gospel of Matthew 
 was lately published at Bayonne, in Basque, entitled " Jesus 
 Christoren Evangelic Suindua, S. Mathiuren Arabera. Itculia 
 
 Le Long, I. p. 446.
 
 346 APPENDIX. 
 
 escuarara Lapurdico Lenguayaz, 1826." Within these five 
 years a copy of this ancient version of the Gospel in Basque 
 was found in the University library at Cambridge. 
 
 The extent of this language demands the attention of those 
 who desire the improvement of this ancient people, the de- 
 scendants of the Cantabri and Vascones, whose language once not 
 only extended along the banks of the Ebro (Iberus), but more 
 anciently throughout Spain itself. At present it is spoken 
 chiefly by a people who live on the western side of the Pyrenees, 
 and inhabit Navarre, Alcava, Biscaya, and Guipuscoa ; but it 
 is spoken also by a considerable portion of the population in 
 the south-west of France, inhabiting Basse Navarre, Soul and 
 Labour, who understand no other language, and to whom there- 
 fore the Scriptures in French are altogether unintelligible. 
 
 Armorican or Bas Bretagne. 
 
 The average of education in France is extremely low. Du- 
 pin has lately affirmed, that it is only as one to thirty ! and at 
 all events it is far below many other countries, or rather every 
 other country in Europe, except Spain, Russia, and Turkey. At 
 the same time, it is chiefly owing to the south of France being in 
 such a neglected state that the average is so low. The southern 
 half of this kingdom is a kind of contrast to the northern, cor- 
 responding to that which exists between the Lowlands and 
 Highlands of Scotland, and arising from precisely the same 
 cause, the neglect of the vernacular dialects. We have noticed 
 one class of French subjects to whom the Scriptures in that 
 language are a sealed book ; but the truth is, that there are as 
 many as nine or ten millions, to whom a book in French, 
 though read to them, is almost if not altogether unintelligirjle. 
 In short, every such book in these districts is of no value what- 
 ever. The vision of all is to them, " as the words of a book 
 that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, 
 Read this, I pray thee : and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed : 
 and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, 
 Read this, I pray thee : and he saitb, I am not learned." 
 
 Now it is a curious fact, that the whole of this southern 
 ground is strongly impregnated with Celtic. The dialects 
 called Patois are, in fact, regular languages ; and if the reader 
 wishes to know the present state of these districts, he may ob-
 
 APPENDIX. 347 
 
 serve what has been recently said. " The departments in the 
 centre of France, where ignorance and rudeness are most pre- 
 valent, are exactly the ancient seat of the Celts. In the western 
 part of this tract the Celtic race preserves its original language^ 
 and throughout the whole of its extent we have reason to be- 
 lieve that the basis of the population is Celtic still. The inha- 
 bitants of these districts, in short, are at the bottom of the same 
 family with the Welsh, the Irish, and the Scots Highlanders."* 
 
 Lagonidec, in his Breton Grammar and Dictionary, talks of 
 there being above four millions of inhabitants who speak this 
 language, an assertion which should be verified, and if true, 
 made generally known. The number may be overrated ; but 
 there are unquestionably above 900,000 souls in the two depart- 
 ments of Finisterre and Morbihan, in Lower Brittany, where 
 the language is universal, yet it must extend farther than these, 
 and the probability is, that all these tribes having been treated 
 much in the same way as our own ; they require some decided 
 friend to examine their actual state and publish the result. 
 
 The language is, we know, closely allied to the Welsh, and 
 history seems to account for this ; for the Armor ican Celtae, 
 about the beginning of the sixth century, received a new colony 
 of British Celts.t These colonists, who landed on the shores of 
 Brittany, afterwards stretched into the interior of the country 
 to Rennes, and southward as far as Nantz, and these again 
 were followed by others to such extent, that the names of De- 
 von and Cornwall (near Brest) were imposed on the districts 
 occupied or seized. 
 
 There are above thirty different volumes printed in this lan- 
 
 * To this passage it is then strangely added, that these are " tribes which, even 
 at this day, are much inferior to the Gothic race in aptitude for civilization!" but 
 that " education, a free press, and continued peace, will do much to improve the 
 people of the south." Foreign Quarterly Review, No II. p. 496-7. To this I only 
 add, that, except the education is through the medium of the colloquial dialect, the 
 press will be powerless, and whether there be peace or war, French schools will be 
 of as little value as English have been in our Celtic districts. Try the native lan- 
 guage, and if there is any " inaptitude for civilization" then, so far as education 
 can civilize, it will be the first instance on record in any Celtic tribe. Had the 
 " Gothic race" pursued a different policy, there had been no lack of civilization in 
 these districts. All the Celtic tribes are distinguished for mental vigour. 
 
 t After the capture of Belle-isle by the British, in 1761, such of the soldiers as 
 belonged to Wales were easily understood by the country people, and by means of 
 their Welsh language served as interpreters to their English comrades.
 
 348 APPENDIX, 
 
 guage, a proof that the art of reading is not entirely neglected. 
 Their condition as it regards the Scriptures has excited some 
 notice, but at present the country must be in a state of almost 
 entire destitution ! 
 
 The Welsh. 
 
 Next in point of antiquity to the Irish, and as far as books 
 and the art of reading have influence, more cultivated, the 
 Welsh has been placed. In the rear of the Celts of Ireland 
 not removing so soon, because perhaps more powerful, but ori- 
 ginally part of the same people, though changed in respect of 
 language by long separation, came the progenitors of the pre- 
 sent inhabitants of Wales. The languages are radically, but 
 only radically, the same ; and a variety of causes have contribut- 
 ed to the difference which now exists between them. 
 
 " The Irish and the Welsh, when they were separated from 
 the dialects of eastern Europe, are said by Dr Murray to have 
 had ' inflections of nouns, consignifications of gender, and va- 
 rieties in verbs, but in the woods of Gaul, Britain, and Erin, 
 they lost those complicated improvements.' And although this 
 may be questioned by some who have not paid the same atten- 
 tion to the subject, it will be allowed that the circumstances in 
 which the two dialects were placed, after their importation to 
 Ireland and Britain, were extremely different. Separated from 
 each other by the sea though narrow, the lapse of time alone 
 would certainly influence ; but the British or Cymraig of Wales 
 were exposed for centuries to the influence of the Teutonic 
 dialects and the Latin, as well as to the Saxon and Norman 
 English, which the Irish were not. The power of corrupt pro- 
 nunciation too has been felt by the Welsh as well as by the 
 Irish ; but the former have withstood many encroachments on 
 the form of the words, which the latter have admitted."* 
 
 There is some difference between the dialects of North and 
 South Wales. The Bry thon or Strathclyde is supposed to have 
 contributed its share of influence on the north, and the Cor- 
 nish, or, as it has been sometimes called, the Lloegrian, on the 
 
 * Murray, II. 318.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 south. This may account for the difference of speech in Gwy- 
 nedh or North Wales,, and Deheubarth or South Wales, a dif- 
 ference which consists not in pronunciation only, hut in the use 
 of various terras peculiar to each district. 
 
 The orthography of the Welsh having been changed with e. 
 view to adapt the written to the spoken knguage, which the 
 Irish has escaped, this may be the reason why at first sight some 
 have imagined, that there is a greater dissimilarity between 
 them than that which actually exists. 
 
 The object which the writer has in view with regard to Ire- 
 land has been abundantly answered in Wales, as proved by the 
 statements previously given. Sound policy now urges the ex- 
 tension of the same incalculable benefits to the sister island. 
 
 The Monies. 
 
 This has been regarded as the connecting link between the 
 Irish and the Welsh ; and it has been said to be not more dis- 
 tantly related to the former and to the Gaelic of Scotland than 
 Portuguese is to Spanish. It is a curious circumstance, that 
 the incorporation of Icelandic terms is said to constitute the 
 existing difference between the Manks and Irish or Gaelic. In 
 the Manks, however, they also write and print as they pro- 
 nounce, a measure which tends materially to obscure the 
 affinity existing between children of the same parent. 
 
 The Gaelic of Scotland. 
 
 This dialect is much more closely allied to the Irish than 
 either of the two preceding. The words are almost the same, 
 the structure every way similar, and the inhabitants, in many 
 instances, conduct their little shipping connexions through the 
 medium of the language common to both parties. There is, in 
 short, much greater difference between the vernacular dialects 
 of two counties in England, and they have greater difficulty in 
 understanding each other, than an Irishman and a Highlander. 
 
 That this should be the case is not at all surprising ; for 
 .whatever may be affirmed of times more remote, the irrup- 
 tions from Ireland to Scotland are matter of authentic history.
 
 350 APPENDIX. 
 
 The Native Irish. 
 
 It has been the singular fortune of each of the Celtic dialects 
 to be treated contemptuously in succession ; and the Irish, 
 whether ancient or modern, is the last of the series in the 
 United Kingdom, which has begun to be regarded with en- 
 lightened candour. If the extent to which it is still spoken is 
 observed, as an instrument of moral improvement it will be 
 found not the least important, though it has been by far the 
 most unfortunate. Regarded with indifference by all classical 
 scholars, and men well acquainted with the other living lan- 
 guages of Europe, it has been also viewed with some jealousy 
 even by Celtic scholars to whom one or other of its kindred 
 dialects was vernacular ; while the vain attempts to extermi- 
 nate the Welsh, the Gaelic, and the Manks, have been as no- 
 thing when compared with those which poor Erin has had for 
 ages to sustain. To these dispositions, however, there have 
 long been honourable exceptions. The laborious Edward 
 Lhuyd, keeper of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, a Welsh- 
 man, who, in the close of the seventeenth century, travelled 
 through the Highlands of Scotland, through Ireland and Brit- 
 tany, at his own expense, collecting and comparing these lan- 
 guages, gives the highest rank in point of antiquity to the 
 Irish ; and there have been other instances in succession from 
 that period. One of these, alluding to the ancient written 
 Irish, has said, " To the antiquary this language is of the ut- 
 most importance ; it is rich in pure and simple primitives, and 
 which are proved such by the sense and structure of the long- 
 est written compounds; by the supply of many roots which 
 have been long obsolete in the Welsh and Armorican, but still 
 occur in the compounds of these languages ; and by their use 
 in connecting the Celtic dialects with Latin, Greek, and Gothic, 
 and perhaps with some of the Asiatic languages." Alluding 
 again to this language, he elsewhere affirms, that, after we have 
 discarded its eastern terms, and others which cannot be derived 
 from the native roots, it " presents the most accurate copy of 
 the Celtic, in its original and primitive state, in the same man- 
 ner as the Welsh does that of the cultivated or druidical Cel- 
 tic. But in order to obtain a sound and deep knowledge of the
 
 APPENDIX.- 351 
 
 general and discriminative character in the Celtic, we should 
 compare all the dialects together."* 
 
 Fortunately all these dialects have at last been once compared, 
 and that by Dr Murray, who, not being himself a Celt, will not 
 be suspected of undue partiality to any one of them. This 
 comparison, it is true, must have been pursued under some dis- 
 advantages from the paucity of manuscripts and comparatively 
 modern character of the Irish writing yet brought into view. 
 But still the testimony of a scholar so eminent, will probably 
 secure, for the long-neglected Native Irish, a portion of that 
 respect and veneration with which every thing at once ancient 
 and useful ought to be regarded. The length to which Dr 
 Murray had gone in such investigations, must increase the re- 
 gret for his premature decease ; but the progress he had al- 
 ready made, although remaining open to future corrections, 
 will probably be found of the highest value. After carefully 
 examining the whole vocabularies and grammatical structure 
 of the Teutonic dialects, after comparing these with the corre- 
 sponding parts in the Greek and Latin, he also compared the 
 Celtic dialects with one another, and with all those languages 
 already mentioned. Although he found the Teutonic to be 
 the least corrupted and most original of all, he says, that the 
 Celtic and Finnish " display the most ancient signification of 
 words," and that the Celtic in particular " possesses an un- 
 rivalled and striking originality in its words, a resemblance 
 to the oldest varieties of language, and internal evidence that it 
 is derived from the earliest speech of Europe." So great indeed 
 was the assistance thus afforded to him in his researches, that 
 he elsewhere says, " I am almost inclined to assert, that with- 
 out a knowledge of this language, no man can make much pro- 
 gress in studying the philological history of Europe." 
 
 It was not likely that the comparative antiquity of the Irish 
 should escape the notice of such a man, after such an investi- 
 gation. This he carefully studied, and has repeatedly noticed. 
 To him, at least, the inhabitants of Ireland appeared to have 
 " spoken from the first ages a dialect of the Celtic peculiar to 
 
 * Davies' Celtic Researches, p. 233, 234. Although his researches are much in. 
 jured by his imagination, he has contributed to gain for the Welsh remains more 
 attention than they had been accustomed to receive.
 
 352" APPENDIX, 
 
 themselves," which is to be distinguished from the British or 
 Cymraig of Wales and the continental varieties, " by a smaller 
 number of words coinciding with the Teutonic, and by an in- 
 dolent and soft species of pronunciation, which has extended 
 itself over the whole vocabulary." " The allies of the German 
 Cimbri and Teutones were," he says, " not Celts of the Irish 
 division. That primitive race had been expelled from the con- 
 tinent, a few tribes only excepted, before the dawn of history. 
 As one proof of this, their ancient written language indicates, 
 by form and inflection, their long and early separation from the 
 parent, as well as from every other stock." Other authorities, to 
 the same effect, might be added, were the writer at all solicitous 
 on this point : though it is not many years since it would have 
 been hazardous to the reputation of any author to have assert- 
 ed, that, in point of antiquity, the Irish tongue would ulti- 
 mately be placed at the head of all the dialects in the western 
 world. The more recent investigations of the most learned and 
 impartial philologists seem to be verging to this opinion ; and it 
 only remains to be seen whether historical research, patiently 
 and impartially pursued, will not lead to the same conclusion. 
 
 Whatever opinion may be formed by any man with re- 
 gard to the substance or the particulars mentioned in this 
 Appendix, it is cheering to think that for Ireland a better 
 day is surely about to dawn. Her native language, long un- 
 justly and foolishly reprobated, is gradually rising in import- 
 ance even in a literary point of view. After a long and dreary 
 night, a numerous body of our fellow-subjects come before us, 
 in want of the very means of improvement which have given 
 to Britain whatever superiority she now enjoys above the na- 
 tions around her, and many circumstances unite in saying, that 
 our duty toward them is as imperative as it is manifest. A lan- 
 guage in ilself so expressive and copious, spoken at this hour 
 by a population so large, in a country of such importance to 
 the whole kingdom, must of necessity be cultivated aad taught. 
 Independently of its necessity as the only effectual instrument of 
 immediate and permanent moral improvement in so many parts 
 of Ireland, it is an ancient record, which, when properly regard- 
 ed, will lend its aid in unfolding antiquity, and in resolving at 
 least some of the mysteries of general philology.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 ACHIL, or Eagle, Island of, ~ 235 
 
 Aged Irish from 70 to 100 Tears, 273 
 
 Alcala de Henares, the Irish College of, 113 
 
 Aldhelrn, taught by an Irishman ...32, 33 
 
 Alfred, the Northumbrian King, in Ireland 32 
 
 Antwerp, the Irish College of, 115 
 
 Armagh, ancient College of, ....103 
 
 . burnt and repeatedly pillaged 25 
 
 Arran, South, Islands of, 236 
 
 Bacon's (Lord) advice respecting Ireland 137 
 
 Bas Bretagne, a Celtic dialect ...346 
 
 Basque, a mixed language, but Celtic 344 
 
 Bedell's early Life Abroad and at Home 55, 56 
 
 noble disinterestedness 56 58.62.70 
 
 - Exertions in Trinity College 57. 106. 140 
 
 in Kilmore and Cavan... 58. 141 
 
 . in translating the Scriptures 59 
 
 at the Convocation of 1634 61. 140 
 
 Defence of the Irish Translation 62 68 
 
 Trials previous to his Death 67 
 
 Sickness, Death, and Funeral 68, 6SI 
 
 Irish Manuscripts preserved 78 
 
 Hebrew AISS. preserved by an Irishman Note 60 
 
 Posthumous influence 149 
 
 Irish Old Testament printed 7880 
 
 Books suggested for translation 268. 274 
 
 Bordeaux, the Irish College of, 120 
 
 Bouley, the Irish Seminary of, 121 
 
 Boyle's (Hon. Robert) Life and Character 7276 
 
 Exertions in publishing the Irish Scriptures 7683 
 
 Bramhall's reverence for the character of Fitzralph Note -..45 
 
 opposition to Bedell 45. 61 
 
 Burke's (Edmund) interest in Irish MSS 29 
 
 Building, not one in all Ireland dedicated to the ministry of the 
 word in the Irish tongue, 8. 162. 317 
 
 Charlemagne employed Irish Teachers 33 
 
 Children, Irish, from 5 to 15 Years of Age 273 
 
 Classics taught by an Irish Schoolmaster .275 
 
 Connaught, Irish districts of, 213, 214. 221 
 
 Constance, Irish Nation recognised at, 48 
 
 Cornish Dialect, or Lloegrian 341 
 
 Culdee, Angus the, 87
 
 354 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Desire for Education in Ireland 275, 276 
 
 Douai, the Irish College of, 113 
 
 Dublin, Trinity College 104. 54. 111. 126 
 
 Education through the medium of Irish 270 290 
 
 , power of, limited, in every Language 163 
 
 , vanity of expecting too much from, 163. 323 
 
 Elizabeth (Queen) sends over Irish types 51 
 
 sends English Bibles to the Irish people 135 
 
 Preamble to her Act of Uniformity 135 
 
 English spoken, but very partially understood 200. 223 
 
 Schools in Wales abortive 176 18(5 
 
 Schools in the Highlands ditto 229. 287 
 
 Schools in Ireland ditto 229. 287 
 
 Erasmus, the wish of, for the Irish 266 
 
 Extent of the Irish language 206231 
 
 Fitzralph's Life and Exertions 41 47 
 
 French Schools in England abortive 170, 171 
 
 Celtic Districts 346, 347 
 
 Gaelic Language 315,316.349 
 
 Scriptures, list of editions 259 
 
 Circulating Schools 198. 246. 278 
 
 Scholars of mature Age 199. 246 
 
 Prayer-Book of 1567 Note 52 
 
 Ministers once in Ireland , 153, 154 
 
 German Schools in Bohemia abortive 175 
 
 Schools in Lusatia ditto 172 
 
 Guipuscoan, a Dialect of the Basque .....345 
 
 Henry VIII., absurd act of, 153? ;>....132. 162 
 
 Highlanders, Scots, in Ireland ....154 
 
 , peculiar obligations of, towards Ireland 314316 
 
 Hildesley, Dr Mark, his character and exertions 188 191 
 
 Ignorance in a Family, evils of, 270, 271 
 
 not the only evil to be removed 323 
 
 Infants in Ireland of 5 Years and under ....273 
 
 Innismurry, the Island of, 235 
 
 Johnson's (Dr Sam.) interest in Ireland 29 
 
 Letter as to the Gaelic Scriptures 196 
 
 Ireland and Wales contrasted 255 266 
 
 Irish Language and its Extent 206 231 
 
 _ _ Infants of 5 Years and under 273 
 
 Children from 5 to 15 Years ib. 
 
 Operatives from 15 to 70 ib. 
 
 Aged above 70 to 100 Years ib. 
 
 Aged above 100 Years 272,2/3 
 
 Literary History or Gleanings 13 102 
 
 Septs in the Fifteenth Century 131. 203 
 
 Act of Henry VIII 132. 162 
 
 Act of Uniformity, preamble to 135 
 
 Manuscripts 25 29 
 
 New Testament, first, by Fitzralph 46 
 
 New Testament, translation of, 52 54 
 
 Prayer-Book printed 54 
 
 Book first printed in Ireland 52
 
 INDEX. 355 
 
 Irish book first printed on the Continent* 84 
 
 types procured by Mr Boyle 77 
 
 Circulating Schools 278 
 
 Model Schools proposed 128. 277 
 
 Schools, proportion to population 163. 281 
 
 Scriptures, list of, 257261 
 
 Testament, preface to Boyle's, 151 
 
 Books suggested for translation 268. 274 
 
 Eagerness for education 275, 276 
 
 Professorship 125127. 161 
 
 Oral Instruction 129166. 209229 
 
 Tongue finely adapted for oral instruction 295 
 
 Ministers entreated to acquire it 294 314 
 
 Islands of Ireland 232249 
 
 One hundred and forty inhabited 240. 244249 
 
 Knowledge, the impotence of mere, 323 
 
 Language, no European Kingdom of one, 206 
 
 determined adherence to vernacular, 195 
 
 Irish, and its present extent 206 231 
 
 Learning, share of the Irish in the earliest of Europe 3336 
 
 , Schools of, abroad and at home 103 128 
 
 Leinster Irish districts 212, 213. 220, 221 
 
 Lille, The Irish College of, 115 
 
 Lisbon, The Irish College of, 113 
 
 Literary History or Gleanings 13 102 
 
 Longevity, comparative, in Ireland 273 
 
 Louvain, The Irish College of, 115 
 
 Lyons, Irish Nation recognised at, in 1255 48 
 
 Manks language 349 
 
 Scriptures and Schools 187 194 
 
 Manuscripts, Irish, 25 29 
 
 Marsh's interest in the Irish Scriptures 78 -80 
 
 interest in an Irish Ministry 158 
 
 library Note Ill 
 
 Maynooth, Irish Professor 108. 125 
 
 Monster Irish districts 213, 214. 219. 221 
 
 Nantz, The Irish College at, 121 
 
 Native Irish, to the, 319334 
 
 New Testament, the first Irish, 46 
 
 Objections answered 167205 
 
 Obscurity of British Antiquities partly accounted for 207 
 
 Operatives, Irish, from 15 to 70 Years of Age 273 
 
 Oral Instruction by the Irish language 129166. 291318 
 
 , Want of, in the sixteenth Century :...134 
 
 , Want of, in the present day 159162,317 
 
 , Instituted power of, 163166.292 
 
 , Necessity for, 291318 
 
 On the author's copy of this very rare book, by B. Obhadhasa, Hosseus or Hussey, is 
 written ' Dermitius Cartseus et Hibcrnis Commorantibus, 1619 :' but this seems to be the 
 first edition, though it has no date. It is beautifully executed in square 24mo the leaves 
 only are numbered.
 
 356 INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 Oxford, early Irish Students Note 51 
 
 Parents' wish for English noticed 228, 229. 286, 287 
 
 Paris, The Irish College in, 121124 
 
 Poitiers, The Irish College of, 120 
 
 Poor to be regarded 322326 
 
 Poverty, the state of considered 322 
 
 Prague, the Irish College of. 119 
 
 Printing, the Irish, early employed in, 48 50 
 
 Raghlin, The Island of, 233 
 
 Rome, The Irish Colleges at, 116118. 120 
 
 Salamanca, The Irish Colleges of, 112 
 
 Schools of Learning 103128 
 
 , French, in England abortive 170, 171 
 
 , . -, German, in Bohemia ditto 175 
 
 , German, in Lusatia ditto 172 
 
 , English, in Wales ditto 176186 
 
 , English, in the Highlands... ditto 229. 287. 288 
 
 , English, in Ireland. ditto 229. 287 
 
 _ . , English, in the Isle of Mann ditto 194 
 
 Sidney's (Sir H.) advice respecting Ireland 13?. 159 
 
 Spanish Celtic Districts 344 
 
 Stationary oral instruction, not the only mode 306 
 
 Tory, The Island of, 234. 244 
 
 Toulouse, The Irish College of, 119 
 
 Tournay, The Irish College of. 115 
 
 Trinity College, Dublin, founded 104 
 
 , , Instructions of James 1 105 
 
 , no Professor of Irish hi it, 108. 111. 126. 161 
 
 , early Scholars at Note 54 
 
 , Library .Wbte 110 
 
 Types, Irish, carried abroad 71- 148 
 
 Ulster Irish districts 212, 213. 220, 221 
 
 Unlettered, Christianity regards the, 302. 307 
 
 Unfounded Objections answered 167 205 
 
 Venice, Irish corrector of the press at 49 
 
 Waldensian, ancient Dialect 342 
 
 Wales and Ireland contrasted 255266 
 
 Welsh Language 348 
 
 Scriptures 255 266 
 
 Literature 263265 
 
 Preaching 160. 184 
 
 Circulating Schools 178187.284 
 
 Wenden, vain attempt to abolish by teaching German 172 
 
 Wilson of Sodorand Mann 187 
 
 Page 49. Oxoniensis, r. Oxonienses. Page 158. Berkley, r. Berkeley,
 
 PRINCIPAL NAMES MENTIONED. 
 
 Page Page Page 
 
 Albin 33;Edgeworth 282 Lynch, P 275 
 
 Alcuine 32, 33 J Erasmus 266 
 
 Aldhelm 32lErigena 33. 35 Macarthur 154 
 
 Alfred 32 Macallum 154 
 
 Angus 3? Fitch SOMacaghwell 84 
 
 Archdekin 87. 115| Fitzgerald 120 Maccurtin 95 
 
 Atkins 156IFitzralph 41. 47jMacguire 50 
 
 Flood, H 108. 126:Magenis 121 
 
 Bacon, Lord 137 Fulgentio 60 Maildulf. 33 
 
 .54 
 
 Marianus, Scotus....37 
 
 Marsh 78.106.158 
 
 Maurice, 49 
 
 Bathe 51 Fullerton. 
 
 Bede 31,32 
 
 Bedell 5570. 106 Gallagher 97 
 
 140. 149. 166 Gambold 265 M'Naghten 114 
 
 Beling 23 Geamon 86 Middleton 264 
 
 Berkeley 158 Gotofrid 39 Moore 111.122 
 
 Bramhall 45. 61 Gouge 264 Moore, P 192 
 
 Brown, N IMJGower 193 Murray.. ..327. 348. 351 
 
 Boyle 7283.150. 
 
 ...152. 269 
 
 Gray, Fl 84 
 
 Nary 123 
 
 Burke 29Halliday 296 Nicholson 80.94 
 
 Butler 119 Hamilton 54 
 
 Harris 112O'Brian 12 
 
 Carswell 52jHerodotus 336 O'Bryan 98 
 
 Ceolfnde 32|Heber, 210O'Cionga. 53 
 
 Charles 178;Heylyn, 264 O'Clery 85 
 
 Claudius 33,Higgins. 78.79 O'Donell 51.53 
 
 Clement. SS^ildesley 188O'Fihely 49,50 
 
 Cogley 50 Huntington 80'O'Molloy 88 
 
 Corny 85. HSJHussey 84.355 O'Mulconaire 85 
 
 Creagh 51 Hutchinson 234 O' Regan 39 
 
 Cusack, P 51 O'Reflly 98 
 
 Cusack,C 114 James 1 138 O'Reilly, E. 28.100.296 
 
 Cusack, Sir T 134 Jablonski 172 O'Sheridan 59 
 
 Johnson. Dr 29. 196Ormond. 91 
 
 Daniel, W 51. 53 Jones, Dr 78. 152 Owen 128. 143. 262 
 
 Davies,Dr 264 Jones, G. 176. 179. 284 1 
 
 Davies 351 jPrice 76. 149 
 
 De Rentsi 296 Kearney 51 j 
 
 Dewar 100. 202. 214 Keenan 125'Reily 78 80 
 
 Diodati 56 Kelly 192 Richardson 58 
 
 Donellan 51. 53 King 53.59.62 Richardson, J...91. 94. 
 
 175 
 265 
 
 Donlevy....96. 123. 318 
 
 Dowling 51 Laud 62. 63 Richards, 
 
 Duncan 33. 35 Lloyd 264 ! Rhese, 264 
 
 Dungal 33. 35 Lhuid 86.350 Rhydderch, 265
 
 358 PRINCIPAL NAMES M 
 
 Page 
 Roberts 263 Svlvma 
 
 ENT 
 
 Page 
 113 
 
 .106 
 .207 
 193 
 40 
 
 Salesbury 263 
 
 Taylor, Jer 
 Thierry 
 Thorold 
 
 Sail 76. 150 
 
 Sedulius 33 34 
 
 Sidney, Sir H. 136. 159 
 Skelton 122 
 
 Thomas 11 ib . 
 
 Tighemach 
 
 38 
 
 
 Usher, Sir W 
 Ussher 54. 63. 
 Ussher, H 
 
 ..54 
 315 
 ..54 
 
 .Stany hurst . . . . ; 51 
 
 Stewart 203.288 
 
 Stokes 100. 211 
 Strabo 244, 245 
 
 
 296 
 116 
 
 Strafford 6266 
 
 Wadding 
 
 Swift 28. 208.210 
 
 
 Page 
 
 Wakefield 213 
 
 Walsh 51 
 
 Walsh, F 119 
 
 Ware, Sir J 112 
 
 WetenhaU 90 
 
 White 112 
 
 WicklifTe 45 
 
 Williams 264 
 
 Wilhbrord 32 
 
 Wilson 187 
 
 Winter..l06. 145148 
 
 Woodward 209 
 
 Wotton, SirH 56 
 
 Ximenes 113 
 
 717 
 
 LANGUAGES NOTICED. 
 
 Page 
 Anglo-Saxon, .169. 207 
 
 Armorican 346 
 
 Bas Bretagne 346 
 
 Basque 344 
 
 Biscayan 344 
 
 Bohemian 175 
 
 ( antabrian 344 
 
 Cornish 341 
 
 Cynesian. 
 
 .341 
 
 Page 
 English 168 
 
 Erse 194 
 
 Escuara 345 
 
 Gaelic 194.349 
 
 Gascon 344 
 
 German; 172. 175 
 
 Guipuscoan 345 
 
 Iberian 337.341 
 
 Icelandic 349 
 
 Page 
 
 Irish 350 
 
 Lloegrian 341 
 
 Manks 349 
 
 Norman 169.207 
 
 Slavonian 172.175 
 
 Vase 344 
 
 Waldensian 342 
 
 Welsh 348 
 
 Wenden 172 
 
 THE END. 
 
 OLIVER & BOYD, PRINTERS.
 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 
 
 Return this material to the library 
 
 from which it was borrowed. 
 
 tt'O LO URL 
 
 OCT 64 
 
 UCLA YRL/I 
 
 
 
 _L
 
 3 1158 01204 6503 
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY TACIUTY 
 
 HIIIII III! "HI !" '"' 
 
 A 000032265 1
 
 a>