Sligo, where he was beaten; abandoned by his men, and unmindful of the miseries inflicted on his country by his treachery, he solicited the command of a battalion in William's army, and met a fate too honourable for his deserts in Flanders. After these events, the inhabitants of this district sunk into a state of political insignificance and apathy; not that they were indifferent to the fall of their country, but the voice of their Chiefs was heard no more; the bravest had fallen at Aughrim, or expatriated themselves, to maintain in foreign fields, the rights of their sovereign, and the glory of their country.

The recollection and recital of these deeds forms a singular feature in the character of this people. Associating the glorious feats of arms of their expatriated countrymen with the renown of the soldiers of France, the child inherited the predilections of the father for the warriors of that nation; and whether Te Deum was chaunted by despotism, for Landen, Fontenoy, or Laffeld; or that the Tocsin of democracy sounded the victories of Jemappe, Fleurus, or Valmy, the descendant of the Belge equally participated in the triumph.

This spirit, however, did not lead to acts of violence, or of insubordination to the laws; alike remote from scenes of oppression and reaction, they were not participators in any of the lawless unions, which at various times and places were opposed to the government. Secluded within their mountains, the tranquillity of their lives was rarely disturbed; and when the torch of insurrection blazed throughout the land they beheld its progress unmoved. Calm as the havens which indent their coast, the arrival of the French warriors on their shores, in the end of August, 1798, first startled their repose and roused them to action.

A serene and cloudless sky, and brillant sun, rendered the 22d of August one of the finest days of that remarkable

season.

It was on the morning of that day, whilst proceeding from Palmerstown to Killala, I first beheld a ship of war; three vessels of unusual size, magnified by the still calm of the ocean, stretched slowly across the bay of Rathfran, (on the larboard tack,), weathering the reef which divides it from the bay of Killala: a smaller vessel appeared in the offing.

About twelve o'clock the frigates were visible from the steeple hill and the higher parts of the town; they showed English colours.

The collector and some other persons proceeded on board; between two and three o'clock, p. m. the frigates were standing across towards the bay of Rathfran; marks of agitation and restlessness became now apparent amongst several of the inhabitants. I met O'Kearney, the classical teacher, as he was returning from the "Acres," a remote and elevated quarter of the town, a half suppressed smile of satisfaction played on his countenance as he saluted me; it was the last time we ever spoke. At four o'clock the agitation and alarm increased; the revenue officers had not returned. The inhabitants were fronted on the Steeple Hill, Captain William Kirkwood of the yeomanry, now joined in uniform, as were several of his corps, who now begun to make their appearance. Two officers of the Carabineers arrived from Ballina; they had been at the Cape of Good Hope, and were judges of all those sort of things; we awaited their opinion with anxiety-they could form none. "Here," said Captain Kirkwood, handing his telescope to an old seaman belonging to the town, who had served under Howe and Rodney, "here, tell me what these vessels are." 66 They are French, Sir, (replied the veteran), I know them by the cut and colour of their sails."

Quitting the crowd, Captain Kirkwood was accosted by Neal Kerugan, (afterward an active chief of insurgents,) inquiring, what nation the frigates belonged to. "Ah, Neal, (replied the Captain) you know as well as I do." Returning now to Palmerstown, I had scarcely arrived, when a neighbouring peasant on horseback, breathless, and with the perspiration of terror streaming down his forehead, announced that a body of strangers in dark uniforms, had landed from the ships were distributing arms-had been joined by several of the inhabitants, and were actually advancing."There they come," said he, pointing to an eminence a mile and half distant, over which the road passed, and we beheld a dark and solid mass, moving onwards; their arms glittered in the rays of the declining sun. They were occasionally visible as they passed over the inequalities of the ground, till emerging from a banky part of the road, within a quarter of a mile of Palmerstown, we beheld their column of about 800

men, silently, but rapidly, advancing. They were preceded at some distance by a single horseman, a robust middle-aged man, dressed in a long green hunting frock, and high conical fur cap; stopping for a moment, he saluted us in the Leinster patois of Irish, with " Go de mu ha tu." (how do ye do?)—) A general officer (Sarrazin) and Aid du Camp (Mr. Tone were now close up, a laugh of approbation was interchanged between the Chasseur and his General.

The Commander-in-Chief (Humbert) seated in a gig now advanced at the head of this celebrated band of warriors, which regularly, but with precision, pressed rapidly forwards; calm and unconcerned, they presented no indication of men going into combat. Having crossed the bridge of Palmerstown, about 300 men were countermarched and bivouacked on the green esplanade in front of the village; the remainder marched on to Killala.

The sun had set behind the western wave and the grey twilight of evening was fast advancing, as the French, descending the hill of Mullagharn, beheld the yeomanry and a party of the Liecestershire fencibles, forming on a commanding ridge, at the entrance of the town; Captain Kirkwood had been just apprised of the hostile landing, by a fisherman, who had crossed at Rathfran, whilst the French detoured by Palmerstown; and had ordered his men to this post, from which, however, they retired into the town, on the nearer approach of the French. Three streets diverge from the centre of Killala, in the form of a sportsman's turnscrew: one southerly towards the "Acres;" a second westerly, by which the French were advancing; the third or main street, easterly, winding by the Church-yard wall, on a steep declivity to the Castle; and onwards towards Ballina.

It was on the edge of this declivity, the military re-formed; Moreau could not have chosen a more judicious position for a retreat. Humbert on reaching the outskirts of the town, made his dispositions: he detached a party under Neal Kerrugan (who had first joined him), across the Meadows, to enter by the " Acres,' road, in order to cut off the retreat of the military by that rout, or turn them if in position; he advanced a few sections, en Tirailleur, to occupy the ridge from which the military had retired. The Chasseur gallopped into the town to reconnoitre; he was scarcely out of sight in the winding street, when a single shot was heard, followed at a short interval, by a random scatterry volley:-it was a moment of anxious suspense, but the Chasseur bore a charmed life. On approaching the Market-place, he was challenged by a yeoman, (a young gentleman of the place), who had loitered behind his companions, with "What do ye want, you spy?" the answer was a bullet through the body, and he fell dead into the door of a house at which he was standing. The veteran then reconnoitred the line of the military, and receiving their fire, returned to his comrades: he related these events with the sang froid of an amateur; he had been in twenty battles, and had never had the honour of receiving the entire fire of the enemy's line before. The Tirailleurs were warmly engaged; the column redoubled its speed, and at the centre of the town, a party of Grenadiers which marched at its head, deployed on the main street; they were received by an ill directed volley from the military, at about one hundred yards distance: their Captain was struck with a ball on the foot, foaming with rage, he ordered his Grenadiers to charge. It was refused by the Military; the Yeomanry first broke ground and were soon followed by the Fencibles. Protected by the declivity and the church-yard wall, from the French fire, the yeomanry escaped through the Castle gates; the Fencibles fled onwards towards Ballina; Captain Kirkwood turned down, by his own house, to the strand, expecting to reach Ballina, unperceived, by that route. man alone remained, Mr. Smith, the respectable apothecary of the town; aged and afflicted with gout, he was unable to keep pace with his companions; excluded, on shutting the castle gates, he struggled to reach his own house, it was not distant one hundred yards, but his days were numbered; the Chasseur was at his heels, eager to make Captain Kirkwood, (whom he first observed) his prisoner, he disdained the same favour to a soldier belonging to the ranks he fired and the unfortunate man fell a lifeless corpse. A. I.

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No 50. Vol. I.

JUNE 8, 1833.

GLEANINGS OF NATURAL HISTORY IN

IRELAND. No. V.

THE NIGHT SINGER.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE DITBLIN PENNY JOURNAL.

SIR-The" eloquent music" which your correspondent C. O'H.* had the good fortune to hear, was, in all probability, "discoursed" by the REED SPARROW OF IRISH NIGHTINGALE, (Passer arundinaceus, Passer torquatus, in arundi netis nidificans), the only nocturnal singer, of the feathered tribe, visiting our Island, whose powers of melody could have suggested the comparison, which the second English appellation involves, with those of the bird of Milton.Speaking of our subject, under the above names, Rutty, in his Natural History of the county Dublin, says " It is good food! and [the inferior consideration] eminent for the variety of its song, and, as it sings in the night, has been called the Irish Nightingale." Bewick, tells us, speaking of the Black-headed Bunting, Reed Bunting, or Reed Sparrow, (Emberiza schoeniclus, Lin:) "Its chief resort being among reeds, the seeds of that plant are supposed to be its principal food; it is, however, frequently seen in the higher grounds, near the roads, and sometimes in corn fields. They keep near the ground, and seldom perch, except among the low bushes. The male, during the time of hatching, has a soft, melodious, warbling song, whilst he sits perched among the reeds, and is frequently heard in the night time. It is a watchful, timorous bird, and is very easily alarmed. Birds of this species frequent places where there are abundance of rushes, [reeds?] among which they nestle. The nest is composed of dry grass, and lined with the soft down of the reed; it is fixed with great art between four reed-stalks, two on each side, almost close to each other, and about three feet above the water." Stewart, (Outlines of Natural History), so far as his succinct notice goes, agrees, in the main, with the unrivalled graphic delineator of birds just quoted: "Frequents marshy places, most commonly among reeds-nest fastened to three or four reeds, suspended from them like a hammock-cavity deep but narrow; feeds on Arundines -sings in the night as well as the day."

The testimony of these good men, and true, points directly (in my opinion) to the "wakeful bird" heard at Rathgar, and" in the wood at Luggelaw." But let me tender some negative proofs." Titlarks in cages sing in the night perhaps only caged birds do so. I once knew a tame Redbreast in a cage that always sung as long as there were candles in the room; but in their wild state no

No. 47, p. 371.

one supposes they sing in the night." I have been told that the Hedge Sparrow (motacilla modularis) also sings at night, when caged; his prison song may be good, but when abroad, he can't sing, or won't, and only says "something like Tit-tit-tititit."-(Bewick.)

"BIRDS THAT SING IN THE NIGHT ARE BUT FEW : Nightingale, Luscinia. "in shadiest covert hid."Milton.

Woodlark, Alauda arborea: suspended in mid air. Less Reed Sparrow. Passer arundinaceus minor.Among reeds and willows."

This is not our vocalist " pouring the unpremeditated strain," but a mere pains-taking mimic, the Motacilla Salicaria of Linné, who, having no song of his own, borrows by turns, from the Sparrow, Swallow, Sky-lark, and other birds; whence it is called The English Mock bird." It has no personal resemblance whatever, to the subject of this inquiry; though, according to Bewick, its habitat and mode of nidification are similar. Stewart says it "builds its nest on the undermost branches of trees."

The amiable and diligent Historian of Selbourne, (the Rev. Gilbert White), from whose book, the above list of "NIGHT SINGERS" is taken, shows, by limiting the number to three, that as such, at least, the Irish Nightingale was no acquaintance of his; and unless I have missed some page of his volumes (bearing evidence to the contrary) it would appear to be wholly unknown to him.When describing his Passer, as "singing ceaselessly, so that if it happen to slumber or be silent in the night, and a stone or clod be thrown into his bush," we again hear "his surprising variety of notes, resembling the song of several other birds;" he observes, with the discrimination of an out-door naturalist, (as he styles himself in a letter to Daines Barrington), "but it hath a hurrying manner not at all to its advantage"-quite true; but the gentle biographer thinks the criticism harsh, and adds, compensatively, as if he were handling the character of a neighbour, "It is, notwithstanding, a delicate polyglot." The tunes or snatches of tunes, which this Musical-box is capable of, might be now heard in Miltown fields: in days past, I have frequently listened to him there, and never without laughter, (it is irresistible), except on our first meeting: he happened, at that moment, to be "Skylarking" in a hawthorn close by my ear; invisible, certainly, but what matter?the song and the rustling leaves, assured me that there actually, was, the Alauda arvensis! a new fact in ornithology, worth communicating even to my friend Cooper Haffield: he smiled, and told me all about the sportive rogue.

If the Nightingale or Woodlark should be charged by any person, hereafter, as perpetrators of the song heard on the night of the 11th instant, under "the Moon-lit haze," and so forth, at Rathgar, it will cost little trouble to prove an alibi hors du Royaume. Dr. Rutty, to be sure, finds every bird of the air in the county Dublin; but ĺ can place no general reliance on his book; which has one mark, at least, of a compilation: he never fails to tell us, who-reverent of music-do not eat singing birds, (as the French, Germans, Italians, and others do) when such, and such a warbler is fattest "and estimable food," no matter how exalted for his minstrelsy amongst the "wandering voices." The Doctor, if his work reflect his own opinions, stands convicted of preaching from that pernicious text, (literally understood)" One in the hand is worth two in the bush." Sixty years since is some excuse; but I trust our boys, with "Bow-Arrows" will not misapprehend, and read the proverb as it is written. As for those of riper years, but yet "green in man," I would gladly impress them with my own belief-that a visible line has been drawn, by the Divine Hand, between the plumed creatures we may blamelessly use, and those we must never approach with ungentle thoughts. On this side (free ground) are

the tuneless Gallinae, Anates, Tetraones, and the rest : beyond a Preserve, stocked with the privileged race whom God has marked, as inviolable, with the attribute of song; and given to us, perhaps, (as he surely gave flowers) for our amusement, and delight!

In looking over these memoranda, I perceive that the dress of the melodious Reed Sparrow is yet to be described. I should not, however, Mr. Editor, be tempted to a further trespass on your time by the desire of supplying this omission, but that, in doing so, an opportunity is afford. ed me of noticing a curious variance between the accounts of Bewick and Stewart, regarding the outer tail feathers:

Size less than the yellow Bunting-eyes hazel; head, throat, fore part of neck, and breast black, excepting a little white line from each corner of the bill, passing downward a little, and forming a border which reaches the back part of the neck; upper parts of body and wings of a reddish brown, with a streak of black down the middle of each feather; the under part of the body is white, with brownish streaks on the sides; rump and upper tail coverts, bluish ash colour, mixed with brown; quills dusky, edged with brown; two middle feathers of the tail black, with pale brown edges; the rest wholly black, except the two outer ones, which are almost white; the ends tipped with brown, and the bases black; the legs and feet dusky brown." B. " The head black; the body grey and black; the outer tail feathers marked with a white cuneiform spot.”—S.

I saw the "white spots" in May, 1827 : the bird started from a reedy (or rushy) plash, close to the Canal side, near Hazlehatch, and continued on the wing over, round, and about it (apprehensive, no doubt, of some evil intent on my part and stirred by many a fear for the lady in the "soft down") during the few moments that a desire to see the nest, hardened my heart against his poetry of motion. As to the "two feathers" it is, after all, safely presumable that both specimens are truly described; and my faith in the accuracy of Bewick "moults no feather," because his bird showed two white ones.

Would C. O'H. (my address is enclosed) have the goodness, in a short note, or a long visit, to inform me whether he knows any situation in the neighbourhood of the "Old Castle" where the instinct of the Emberiza schoeniclus, would lead it to build? I strongly suspect that the bird of humble note, heard far off, was the female; twittering her thanks to the sweet Serenader, and telling him that all was safe at home-herself, and his hopes. H. E.

HISTORY OF THE ANNALS OF THE
FOUR MASTERS.

The manuscript collection of Irish records commonly known by the appellation of the "Annals of the Four Masters," has supplied so large a portion of the previously unpublished historical matter to be found in our preceding numbers, that our readers must necessarily feel some curiosity and desire to be acquainted with the origin of its compilation-the evidences on which its claims to authenticity rest-and the circumstances connected with its past history, and present locality, and state of conservation. The requisite information on nearly all these facts will be found in the following memoir which was addressed by Mr. Petrie to our national scientific and literary body, the Royal Irish Academy, on the occasion of his depositing the original autograph of the work in their valuable Irish library, in which it is at once secure from future injury, and accessible to literary men. We only deem it necessary to add, that this national historic treasure, when it came into Mr. Petrie's possession, was apparently in a state of almost hopeless ruin and decay, some portion of every leaf of the work being mouldered away, and otherwise injured, from exposure to damp, and having been, for a century perhaps, without binding or cover. now presents a very different appearance. The Academy, with the anxious care and disregard of expense which the preservation of a work so inestimable deserved from its appropriate possessors, have had it elaborately repaired and splendidly bound in two volumes folio; and the skill and praiseworthy care of Mullen, under Mr. Petrie's direction, have been so admirably employed in its restoration, that it may justly be said to appear now in its pristine state of perfection and beauty.

It

TO THE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY.

MY LORD AND GENTLEMEN,

Having recently had the good fortune to obtain for the Royal Irish Academy, the most important historical remain of our ancient litera ture, the original autograph of a portion of the first part or volume, and the whole of the second volume of the work usually designated the Annals of the Four Masters,-1 feel it incumbent on me to lay before you a statement of the proofs of its authenticity, together with such circumstances connected with its history, as have hitherto come within my knowledge.

With regard, in the first place, to our acquisition, being the undoubted autograph original of this most invaluable work, it is to be observed that the manuscript itself furnishes the most satisfactory internal evidences for such a conclusion, evidences even more decisive than those which have been brought forward in support of the autograph originality of the first part, now the chief treasure of the magnificent library of his Grace the Duke of Buckingham, and which has recently been published through the munificence of that patriotic nobleman.

In the front of these evidences we find, the dedication of the whole work to Fergal O'Gara, Lord of Moy O'Gara and Coolavin, in the County of Sligo, the chieftain, under whose patronage, and for whose use the Annals were compiled; and this dedication, not a copy in the hand of an ordinary scribe, but committed to the peculiar durability of parchment, and wholly in the hand-writing and signed with the proper signature of Michael O'Clery, the chief of the Four Masters, who were employed in its compilation. As this dedication throws much light on the history of the work, and has not been hitherto published entire, I shall take leave to introduce it here, as literally translated by the venerable Charles O'Conor.

"I invoke the Almighty God that he may pour down every blessing, corporal and spiritual, on Ferall O'Gara, Tiern (Lord) of Moy O'Gara and Culavinne, one of the two knights elected to represent the County of Sligo in the parliament held in Dublin, this present year of our Lord, 1634.

"In every country enlightened by civilization, and confirmed therein through a succession of ages, it has been customary to record the events produced by time. For sundry reasons, nothing was deemed more pro fitable or honourable than to study and peruse the works of ancient writers, who gave a faithful account of the great men who figured on the stage of life in preceding ages, that posterity might be informed, how their forefathers have employed their time, how long they conti. nued in power, and how they have finished their days.

"I, Michael O'Clery, brother of the Order of St. Francis, (through ten years employed under obedience to my several provincials in collecting materials for our Irish Hagiology, have waited on you, noble Ferall O'Gara, as I was well acquainted with your zeal for the glory of God, and the credit of your country, I perceived the anxiety you suffer from the cloud which at present hangs over our ancient Milesian race a state of things which has occasioned the ignorance of many, relative to the lives of the holy men, who, in former times, have been the ornaments of our island; the general ignorance also of our civil history, and of the monarchs, provincial kings, tigherns (lords,) and toisachs (chieftains,) who flourished in this country through a succes sion of ages, with equal want of knowledge in the synchronism neces sary for throwing light on the transactions of each. In your uneasi. ness on this subject I have informed you, that I entertained hopes of joining to my own labours, the assistance of the antiquarians I held most in esteem, for compiling a body of Annals, wherein those matters should be digested under their proper heads; judging that should such a compilation be neglected at present, or consigned to a future time, a risk might be run that the materials for it should never again be brought together. In this idea I have collected the most authentic Annals I could find in my travels through the kingdom, (and, indeed, the task was difficult.) Such as I have obtained are arranged in a continued series, and I commit them to the world under your name, noble O'Gara, who stood forward in patronising this undertaking; you it was who set the antiquarians to work, and most liberally paid them for their labour, in arranging and transcribing the documents before them, in the convent of Dunagall, where the Fathers of that house supplied them with the necessary refreshments. In truth every benefit derivable from our labours is due to your protection and bounty; nor should it excite jealousy or envy that you stand foremost in this as in other services you have rendered your country; for by your birth, you are a descendant of the race of Heber, which gave Ireland thirty monarchs, and sixty-one of which race have died in the odour of sanctity. Eighteen of those holy men are traced to your great ancestor Teig, the son of Kian, and grandson of the celebrated Olioll-Olam, who died King of Munster, A. D. 260. The posterity of that Teig have had great establishments in every part of Ireland, viz. :-The race of Cor. mac Galeny, in Leyney of Conaght, from whom you are descended, as well as the O'Haras of the same Leyny, and the Ŏ'Haras of the Rout; the O'Carrolls also of Ely, and the O'Conors of Kianachta Glengevin, in Ulster. In proof of your noble extraction here follows your genealogy,

"Ferall O'Gara thou art the son of Teig, &c. &c.

"On the 22d January. 1632, this work was undertaken in the con. vent of Dunagall, and was finished in the same convent on the 10th of August, 1636. I am thine most affectionately, "BROTHER MICHAEL O'CLERY."

Immediately following this dedication we are presented with the ori ginal certificate or testimonium of the superiors of the Franciscan con vent of Dunagall, in which the Annals were compiled, signed with their autograph signatures, as on the said 10th of August, 1636. This too, is written on parchment, and has also affixed to it the signature of O'Donell, Prince of Tirconnell; and while I feel it necessary to my purpose to transcribe the testimonium, (which I also give in the transis tion of Mr. O'Conor,) I beg that those interested in the question will observe how considerably it differs in its wording from that prefixed to the Stowe MS., and how far more copious it is in its information rela. tive to the sources from which the work was compiled

"The Fathers of the Franciscan Order, subscribers hereunto, do certify that Ferall O'Gara was the nobleman who prevailed on Brother Michael O'Clery to bring together the antiquaries and chronologers, who compiled the following Annals, (such as it was in their power to collect), and that Ferall O'Gara, aforesaid, rewarded them liberally for their labour.

"This collection is divided into two parts, and from the beginning to the end has been transcribed in the convent of the brothers of Dunagall, who supplied the transcribers with the necessary viands. The first volume was begun in the same convent, A.D. 1632, when Father Ber. nardin O'Clery was guardian thereof.

"The antiquaries and chronologers who were the collectors and tran. scribers of this work we attest to be Brother Michael O'Clery; Maurice O'Maolconary, the son of Torna, who assisted during a month; Fergus

O'Maolconary, the son of Lochlan also, and both those antiquaries were of the county of Roscommon; Cucogry O'Clery, another assistant, was of the county of Dunagall, as was Cucogry O'Duigenan of the county of Leitrim; Conary O'Clery likewise of the county of Dunagall.

"The old books they collected were the Annals of Clonmacnois, an abbey founded by holy Kiaran, son of the Carpenter; the Annals of the Island of Saints, on the Lake of Rive; the Annals of Senat Mac Magnus, on the Lake of Erne (now called the Ulster Annals ;) the Annals of the O'Maolconarys; the Annals of Killronan, compiled by the O'Duigeneans. These antiquarians had also procured the Annals of Lacan, compiled by the Mac Firbisses, (after transcribing the greater part of the first volume,) and from those Lacan Annals they supplied what they thought proper in the blanks they left for any occasional information they could obtain. The Annals of Clonmacnois, and those of the Island of Saints, came down no farther than the year of our Lord 1227. "The second part of this work commences with the year of our Lord 1203; and began to be transcribed in the present year, 1635, when Father Christopher Dunlevy was guardian, and these Annals were continued down to the year 1608, when Father Bernardin O'Clery was for the second time elected Guardian.

"Brother Michael O'Clery above mentioned, Cucogry O'Clery, and Conary O'Clery, have been the transcribers of the Annals from 1332 to 1608. The books from which they transcribed have been the greater part of O'Maoleonary's book ending with the year 1505. The book of the O'Duigenans, aforesaid, from the year 900 to 1563. The book of Senate Mac Magnus ending with 1532; a part also of the book of Cucogry, the son of Dermod O'Clery, from the year 1281 to 1537. The book likewise of Maolin og Mac Bruodin from the year 1588 to 1603; the book moreover of Lugad O'Clery from 1586 to 1602. All those books we have seen in the hands of the antiquaries, who have been the compiler's of the present work, together with other documents too many to be mentioned.-In proof of what we have here set forth, we have hereunto annexed our manual signatures in the Convent of Dunagall, August the 10th, 1636.

Signed "BERNARDINUS O'CLERY, Guardianus, Dungallensis. "BROTHER MAURICE DUNLEVY, &c. &c."

Before we proceed further, let us reflect for a moment on the matter furnished by those interesting documents, to which the writers were so anxious to give all possible durability. How prophetic were the just apprehensions of that chief compiler, "that if the work were then neglected, or consigned to a future time, a risk might be run that the materials for it should never again be brought together." Such, indeed, would have been the sad result. Those fearful predictions were made on the very eve of that awful rebellion which caused a revolution of property, and an extent of human affliction, such, perhaps, as no other country ever experienced. In that unhappy period, nearly all the original materials of this compilation probably perished, for one or two of them only have survived to our times. Even this careful transcript was supposed to have shared the same fate, and its recent discovery may be considered as the result of a chance almost miraculous! What a solemn lesson, then, is here given us of the necessity of giving durability, while yet in our power, to the surviving historical remains of our country, and thereby placing them beyond the reach of a fate otherwise almost inevitable. To me it appears a sacred duty on culti vated minds to do so. Had this compilation been neglected, or had it, as was supposed, shared the fate of its predecessors, what a large por tion of our history would have been lost to the world for ever!

But to proceed. It is to be most pertinently observed, that, from the above testimonium, it appears that, in the original manuscripts, the writers left blanks for the purpose of inserting subsequently any occa. sional information they might obtain, and by a reference to the MS. now under consideration, it will be found that such blanks have been frequently filled up in various parts of the volume.

Secondly-We learn from this testimonium, that, contrary to the opinion of Doctor O'Conor and others who have written on the subject, the second part or volume commenced, not as they state, with the year 1172, but with the year 1208. So we find it is in our MS. in which the period from 1170 to 1208 is substantially divided from the subsequent annals, not only by the aforesaid dedication and testimonium, but also by a heading prefixed as to the commencement of the second volume.

Thirdly-The testimonium states that Michael O'Clery, Cucogry O'Clery, and Conary O'Clery were the transcribers of the Annals from the year 1332 to 1608, and by a reference to our MS. we shall find, not only that the writing of those three scribes is strongly marked by their individual characteristics, but also be able, by a comparison with any of our own MSS., in the hand-writing of Cucogry O'Clery, to ascertain what portions of the Annals were so written by that admirable scribe. I have to add to these evidences, another of yet greater importancenamely, that a great number of loose leaves accompany the volume, which, on examination, prove to be the first extracts from the original ancient documents, copied out without much regard to order or chrono. Jogical arrangement, previously to their being regularly transferred to the work. There are also additions in the hand-writing of Michael O'Clery, the chief of the Four Masters, bringing the Annals down as late as the year 1616, which appears to have been the last entry ever made in the volume.

These evidences will, I trust, be deemed amply sufficient to establish the fact of this MS. being the veritable original autograph of this im. portant work, written, as the title now prefixed to the Trinity College copy properly states, ad usum Fergalli O'Gara -The circumstances relative to its history, which I shall now have the honour to submit, will enable us, I think, to trace its possession with tolerable certainty to the last direct representative of the family of its illustrious patron.

It has been hitherto generally believed that no perfect copy of the Second Part of the Annals of the Four Masters was in existence, and that the mutilated volume in the College Library which is deficient in the years preceding 1335, and was never carried farther than the year 1605, was the only original to be found. The recent acquisition to our valuable collection of MSS. of a perfect transcript of the whole of the work, proved the supposition to be an error, and that at the period when it was transcribed an original autograph of the second volume had been in existence.

In each of the volumes of this Transcript we find an advertisement by the Chevalier O'Gorman, for whom the copy was made, stating that "the original of the first volume was the property of Charles O'Conor, Esq. of Belanagare, and the original of the second, that of the Right Honourable Colonel William Burton Conyngham, who lent it to Chevalier O'Gorman, by whom it was duly returned to Colonel Conyngham, but has been since mislaid " Thus far we can trace our MS. as being the original from which the Chevalier's copy, now in our possession, was transcribed, and its ownership to Colonel Burton Conyngham, whose library passed, subsequently, into the hands of the late Mr. Austin Cooper, at whose recent sale the work was acquired. The Chevalier O'Gorman's advertisement is without date, but a certificate, in the hand. writing of Charles O'Conor, Esq., is prefixed, stating that the tran. script was made for the use of his friend, the Chevalier O'Gorman, in his house at Belanagare: "This," he says, "I testify in Dublin, May

the 10th, 1781." Now it is remarkable, that, from a letter written by the Chevalier O'Gorman to Charles O'Conor, dated January 10, 1781, the same year, (published in the Testimonia to the first volume of the Annals in the Rerum Hib. Scriptores,) we learn that our MS. was, at that time, the property' of Charles O'Conor. In this letter the Chevalier says, "I have seen Gorman" (the Scribe)" this morning, I find he has copied but the first volume of the Four Masters, which Colonel Burton told me you were pleased to return to him. I expected he would not only have copied the second, but also, the Annals of Con. naught, both your property." From this it appears certain that our MS. had belonged to Charles O'Conor, previously to its being transferred to the possession of Colonel Conyngham, but for what reason that transfer was made it is not for me to conjecture.

Let us now proceed a little earlier, and we shall find that Mr. O'Conor got the original copy of the Annals made for the O'Gara, from the direct representative of that Lord, as early as the year 1734. In the Prologomena to the first volume of the Rerum Hib. Scriptores, p. 51, the following extract is given from a letter written by Charles O'Conor to Doctor Curry, and dated Roscommon, July the 16th, 1756. "In regard to the Four Masters, I shall write to Colonel O'Gara, in St. Sebastian, where he is quartered with his regiment, and reproach him with giving more of his confidence to a little ignorant ecclesiastic, than to me his nearest relation in this kingdom, his father and mine being brother and sister's children. I got that work in 1734, throngh the interest of Bishop O'Rourke, my uncle." It is remarkable that this same letter is again quoted in the Testimonia,' prefixed to the Annals, in the second volume of the same work, but as addressed, not to Doctor Curry, but to a Mr. O'Reilly. It also differs in the wording, as will appear from the following extract: "I shall write to Colonel O'Gara, &c." "This expedient will, I hope, confirm the book (the Annals of the Four Mas ters) to me." From this it would appear, that, though he had gotten the work from the O'Gara family, as early as 1734, there was, never. theless, a claim put forward to it, on the part of some branch of that family so late as 1756. In the same Testimonia,' p. 11, Doctor O'Conor quotes his grandfather as writing that he obtained the work in 1734, from Brian O'Gara, Archbishop of Tuam, viz.—

"Liber hic nunc pertinet ad Cathaldum juniorem O'Conor, filium Donchadi, &c., et ejusdem libri possessio tributa fuit ei per Brianum O'Gara, Archiepiscopum præclarum Tuamiæ, A. D. 1734.

"CATHALDUS O'CONOR.'

And in the memoirs of his grandfather, written by Doctor O'Conor, there is the following passage: "Colonel O'Gara, who commanded a regiment under James the Second, made a present of the Four Masters to Doctor O'Rourke, Mr. O'Conor's uncle, who gave it to him: it is now in his library, and an autograph."-Memoirs, p. 256.

Lastly-In his account of the MSS. in the Stowe library, Doctor O'Conor says, "This volume was carried into Spain by Colonel O'Gara, who commanded the Irish regiment of Hibernia, in the Spanish service, in 1734. He sent it to his relative, the late Charles O'Conor, of Belanagare, as the person best qualified to make use of it."

In these various accounts there is evidently some mystification or error which it is not easy to understand; but the object in all seems to be to prove, first, that the original autograph of the Four Masters belonging to the O'Gara family was given to Mr. O'Conor; and secondly, that the volume now at Stowe, was that very one so obtained. The first of these positions may be readily granted, the second, however, appears to me to be extremely doubtful, and for the following reasons:-Bishop Nicholson, in his Irish Historical Library, published in 1724, describes that very volume as being then in the Irish manuscript collection of Mr. John Conry, or O'Maolconaire,) a descendant of one of the compilers, who had also in his possession the imperfect copy of the second volume, now deposited in the library of Trinity College. Doctor O'Conor himself acknowledges this fact in the Testimonia,' and indeed it does not admit of a doubt.

What claim then, we may ask, could the O'Gara family have to these volumes ?-and how could Colonel O'Gara have carried them into Spain? and how could he, or the Archbishop, bestow the former on any one?

Moreover, we find that in seven years after, that is, in 1731, those MSS. of Conry's were on sale, and that Charles O'Conor appears to have been the purchaser. In that year he writes thus to his friend, Doctor Fergus, relative to their purchase for him: "Dear Sir, I beg you will take the trouble of purchasing for me, Conry's MSS., now in the hands of Charles O'Neill," &c.; and further on, he says, I again request that you will be active in procuring for me Conry's MSS.my collection is very imperfect, and wish to save as many as I can of the ancient MSS. of Ireland from the wreck that has almost over. whelmed every thing that once belonged to us."-(Memoir of C. O'Conor, p. 173.) That he did succeed in possessing himself of these MSS. can hardly admit of a doubt, as most of them can be traced as belonging to him subsequently. It was the same Doctor Fergus, to whom this letter was addressed, that, as Mr. O'Conor states, put the first volume of the Annals into better condition for him in 1734, (the very year in which he got the work from Bishop O'Rourke,) giving it, as he said "vigour enough to outlive another century " And it was from the hands of the same gentleman, Doctor Fergus, that the imperfect copy of the second volume, together with other works of Conry's collection, which had undoubtedly been the property of Mr. O'Conor, passed into the library of Trinity College. That Mr. O'Conor should have parted with that mutilated volume will not appear strange, if we account for it by the supposition of his having had our perfect volume in his possession at that time.

It is of importance to this sketch also to add, that the first volume, now at Stowe, as well as the second in Trinity College, afford internal evidences of their being, not the original autographs of the work, but transcripts made by one of the writers for his own individual use. These internal evidences are, that the volume in Trinity College library is written uniformly throughout by the same hand-and we have the testimony of Doctor Fergus prefixed to it, stating, that the second volume agrees in every respect, as to paper, writing, &c. &c., with the first volume now at Stowe. In this, Doctor O'Conor concurs, who says emphatically, it is all in the one hand-the hand of Michael O'Clery. (Catalogue of the Stowe MSS.) Further, it is to be observed, that those volumes were evidently transcribed from the originals before the work was entirely completed, for there are no entries after the year 1605, though the dates are placed at the tops of succeeding pages for some years later; and the blanks left to be filled up whenever any addi. tional information might be procured, have never received such addi. tions as they have in our manuscript. It should be remarked also, that the certificate and dedication prefixed to the Stowe MS. are written on paper, not parchment, as in our MS.

Under all these circumstances, I trust I shall not be deemed rash in concluding, that the MS. now bought for the Academy is not only the original autograph of the work, but also, that there is scarely a doubt of its being the very copy which passed from the representative of the O'Gara family, into the hands of Mr. Charles O'Conor, and which subsequently became the property of Colonel Burton Conyngham, at the recent sale of whose books I had the good fortune to purchase it. I have now no ordinary feeling of pleasure in resigning to it

proper depository, the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, this truly inestimable work, which in the words of Mr. O'Reilly, "is far above all our other Annals in point of value;" and as I have had the good fortune to purchase this work at my own risk, and might, by letting it pass out of the country, have been a great pecuniary gainer, I trust it will not be deemed presumption in me to indulge the hope, that the resignation of it will be received as a memorial of my attach ment to the ancient literature of my country, and of my zeal for the interests of the learned body to which I feel it so great an honour to belong. GEORGE PETRIE.

March 5. 1831.

THE FIRST CAMEL EVER SEEN IN IRELAND.-It would appear from the following, notice in the annals of the Four

Masters, not hitherto translated, that the first camel, or rather dromedary, ever seen, in Ireland, was sent over by King Edward IV. in 1472: viz.-“ A.D. 1472, a wonderful animal was sent to Ireland from the king of England; it resembled a mare, having a yellow colour; the hoofs of a cow-a long neck, thick head, a large tail-ugly, scarce of hair. She had a peculiar saddle of her own; wheat and salt were her usual food; she used to carry the largest sled suspended from her tail :-She used to kneel going under any door, (gate) be it ever so high, and for her rider to mount." J. O'D.

THE ABBEY OF INCH,

COUNTY OF DOWN.

The Abbey of Inch, or Inniscourcey, was erected by the renowned John de Courcey, for monks of the Cistercian order, supplied from the Abbey of Furnes in Lancashire, and dedicated to the blessed Virgin, on the 3d of June, A.D., 1180.

Though at present, a very delapidated ruin, enough remains to show that it was originally an abbey of great importance, and architectural beauty. It was in the usual form of a cross, and had a lofty belfry on the south side. Of the latter there are at present no remains, except of the arch on which it stood, which appears to have been of very elegant construction; and of the church, itself, there is little to be seen except the east end, or chancel, which has three noble lancet windows, upwards of twenty feet in height, in its east wall; and two windows of similar form, and nearly equal grandeur, in each of the side walls. On the south side of the altar, are the remains of the seats for the administering priest and his assistants. Owing to the accumulation of weeds and rubbish, there are no sepulchral monuments to be seen within the ruins.

The circumstances connected with the foundation of this monastery are characteristic of the spirit of the age. Sir John de Courcey, having in his struggles for conquest with the native princes in this district, found it necessary to demolish a Benedictine abbey, called Erynagh or Carrig, which, from the strength of its position, had been con

verted into a garrison, and did him much mischief, he founded this Abbey of Inch in atonement for his sacrilege, and endowed it with all the lands of the extinguished house. It is not improbable that the hardy adventurer was influenced in no small degree to perform this act of atonement, by a reputed prophecy of a St. Evodius, the first abbot of Erynagh, who on the day of his decease gave directions that his body should be interred in the Island of Inis, saying that his own abbey would in aftertimes be destroyed, but that one should be built on that Island.

The error which Harris, the Historian of the County of Down, and Archdall, fell into, in supposing De Courcey's abbey to have been the first founded on this island or peninsula, as well as that its present name has been derived from that foundation, has been already corrected in a preceding number of this Journal, by our worthy contributer, Mr. O'Donovan, the most able and judicious Irish scholar and topographer, which Ireland has produced for the last century. In his notes to the foundation charter of Newry, (No. 13, p. 104,) he shows that the ori ginal name of this island now corruptly called Inniscourcey, was Inniscumhscraigh, pronounced Inniscooscry, and that an Abbey had existed on the island from a very remote time. "Tighernach," Mr. O'Donovan observes, "Abbot of Clonmacnoise, who died in 1088, records, that in the year 1002, Sitric, King of the Danes, arrived with a fleet Uladh (Down) and plundered KILCLIEF and INIS COOSCRY. The anuals of the Four Masters and Keating, in the reign of Brian Boru, concur in recording