[From Original MS. Collections.]

CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL, DUBLIN. EVEN through the dusk of time, and deformity of various aiterations, some notion may still be attained of the former grandeur of this edifice, in days when the offerings of charity, atonement, and ostentation, were voluntarily accumulated to maintain its splendour. The feuds, poverty and disunion, which ever brooded over Ireland, prevented the improvement of architecture, as of the other arts, to that elegance which it had attained in England. The delicate fret-work-the aerial lightness--the decorations like embroidery, that astonished and bewildered the senses in the ecclesiastical remains in the latter country, were less observable in this cathedral; yet the bolder and more daring style of its architecture-the convenience and beauty of the edifice, founded, as it was, in the heart of the ancient city-the massy magnificence of its arches-the gigantic pillars looking the repose of ages-the spaciousness of its cruciforin structure-the long vista of its naives and aisles-the

trospect to Catholic times-the glittering of its altars-the paintings the images-the decorations-the monks in their rich dresses, pacing the beautiful triforia-the rood-loft glowing in the varied reflections of the painted windows, that then streamed over it, and, above all, the overflowing mass of a devoted population, that in the hours of service filled its every niche, must have produced an effect imposing and awful beyond description.

The aisles, which were finished with the ornaments appropriate to Gothic architecture, were divided by a range of ancient columns, constructed in the union of one large, and eight slender pillars, with intermediate mouldings, and crowned with capitals representing heads and foliage intermingled. From each of these, one of the slender pillars was continued throughout from the base to the stone-roof, where all seemingly formed the support of the ponderous groined arches, that embraced in their width a series of judiciously disposed windows, ornamented with simple carving, while the spaces between were filled with the cold monumental homes that thus associated the living with the dead.

The external appearance of this church is, however, heavy

and-uninteresting, and latterly rendered even less effective by the very recent but necessary re-building of various parts of the edifice. The navel from the west entrance to the transept is 103 feet long, and 25 wide, having now (by the damage sustained as heretofore mentioned,) but one side aisle which is 13 feet wide. In the transept which is 90 feet long, by 25 wide, and is, undoubtedly, the most ancient part of the edifice, the pointed arch is intermixed with the Saxon style. A triforium, or friar's walk, passes through the wall over the piers and arches of the side aisle, &c. overlooking the great aisle and transept from a succession of arched niches, each of three compartments. The choir is 105 feet long by 28 wide.

In the aisle is a very ancient monument traditionally marked as that of Strongbow, by some, however, supposed to be that of the Earl of Desmond, who was beheaded at Drogheda.Surrounding it are the more modern monuments of Mr. Thomas Prior, Lord Bowes, Lord Lifford, and Sir Samuel Achmuty. In the choir near the communion table, is an excellent piece of sculpture, to the memory of one of the Earls of Kildare, while the transept presents a very antique sarcophagus over the remains of Sir Edward Griffith, of Caernarvon, who died in the time of Henry VIII. The choir is newly cased in all the gloss of novelty, and plaister of Paris. Of the very voluminous records connected with this religious house, the following is but a very limited selection.

1038, About this time the foundation of this cathedral was laid, Sitric, the Danish Lord of Dublin, having given the ground, while Donat, its first bishop, consecrated the incipient structure, of which in all probability he was the designer and architect. Sitric further endowed it with the lands, manors, villains, corn, and cattle of Beldoyle, Raheny and Portrane, and withal as much gold and silver as paid for its erection. may be observed that the father and grandfather of Sitric had so fervently embraced the Christian faith, as to have died on their pilgrimage to Rome.

It

In its original monastic state, this church was styled the priory of the Blessed Trinity, and the superior of the establishment always sat as a Lord of Parliament.

1170, Strongbow gave the lands of Kinsaly, near Beldoyle, to find lights for the Holy Rood (i. e. cross,) in this church. And about the same time the choir is said to have been built by Laurence O'Toole, together with a number of chapels which are now no longer traceable here.

1172, This priory had a confirmation of its rights and liberties from King Henry II.

1177, Earl Strongbow died and was interred in this church, within sight, as the annals say, of the Holy Cross.

1185, A very important synod was held here.

1186, In a bull of Pope Urban III. the possessions of this church are very fully enumerated, all which were confirmed by a bull of Pope Celestine III., in 1194.

1200, Johanna, daughter of Strongbow, bestowed a moiety of the tithes of Kilcullen, for the support of a canon in this church, and for the perpetuating of masses for the souls of her father and husband. And about the same time King John confirmed to this ecclesiastical body the most important legal privileges.

1206, King John granted certain rectories and cantreds of land in Munster to this priory.

1212, John Comyn, the first Englishman who was advanced to an Irish prelacy, died and was interred in the choir of this church, under a marble monument on the south side, which he had repaired and enlarged.

ter, and in the same year the prior of this house, and the prior of St. John of Jerusalem, entered into a mutual compact, sealed and attested, to assist each other, and their properties on all occasions.

1249, This priory had much litigation concerning tithes, as well with the priory of Lanthony, in Monmouthshire, as with Sir Hugh Tyrrel.

1254, Luke, Archbishop of Dublin, who had considerably improved this church, was interred here in the same tomb with his predecessor, Comyn.

1262, There was much litigation between this priory and the City of Dublin concerning the right to tithe fish in the River Liffey.

1283, Certain of the Scotch nation, to retaliate upon some of the citizens for doing them an injury, set Skinner-row on fire, which communicating with this church, destroyed the steeple and chapter-house, with the dormitory and cloisters. It is recorded to the honour of the citizens on this occasion, that they agreed to make a collection for repairing the priory before they would repair their own dwellings which had suffered in the same conflagration.

1300, A final agreement was made between the prior of this house and the Dean and Chapter of St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was confirmed by the common seal of each chapter.The principal heads of it were, that the Archbishop should be consecrated and enthroned in Christ Church, that each church should be called Cathedral and metropolitical, that Christ Church, as being the greater, the Mother, and the elder church, should have the precedence. That the cross, mitre and ring of every Archbishop, in whatever place he died, should be deposited there, but that each church should have alternately the interiment of the bodies of their Archbishop, unless otherwise ordered by their wills.

1303, A licence was granted to the prior and canons of this house, to send one of their fraternity through the kingdom to collect alms for repairing their priory.

1306, The revenues of the various prebends and benefices of Christ Church were valued and rated to the tenths.

1308, A great scarcity happening this year, and the prior being in waut of corn, and money to purchase it, sent to the worthy mayor of the city, John le Decer, a pledge of plate to the value of £40, but he returned the plate to the prior with a present of twenty barrels of corn.

1316, A violent storm of rain and wind threw down the steeple of this church.

1338, The prior and Convent of Christ Church had a suit with the Mayor and Citizens of Dublin concerning the fishery of the Liffey and certain rectories.

1344, An old document of the priory contains an entry at this year of a pair of shoes bought for the prior at the price of five pence!

1362, Archbishop St. Paul was interred in this church of which he had built the choir.

1375, The prior was summoned to attend parliament, and again in 1377.

1377, The Mac Morroughs, O'Byrnes, and O'Tooles, captains of their respective septs, having invaded the English Pale, the Prior of the Holy Trinity was amongst others commanded to attend with his forces in the marches.

1380, It was enacted that no mere Irishman should be suffered to profess himself in this priory.

1230, About this time Gilbert, Bishop of Ardfert, granted the patronage of certain benefices to this cathedral.- I necessarily omit a number of similar grants, as also of lands made to Christ Church, in this and the succeeding centuries.

1235, Walter Fitz-Yvon granted to the prior and convent certain premises in the parish of St. Nicholas, Dublin, they paying yearly therefore, one pair of white gloves.

1242, The Archbishop of Dublin granted to this establishment the tithes of all the beasts, that should be taken in his forests in the mountains.

1244, Pope Innocent IV. confirmed their rights in various churches and tithes.

1247, Richard Blundus, of Ulster, gave to the prior of this convent three carucates of land, for the benefit of the souls of himself and his ancestors.

1248, This priory obtained an exemplification of their char

conquest.

1390, Maurice, Earl of Kildare, was interred in this church. 1395, Four Irish Kings, after having performed their vigils, and heard the Mass, received with great solemnity the honour of knighthood, from King Richard II, in the church of this priory, and were afterwards entertained by that monarch at his own table. 1402, A subsidy for the service of the state was levied from the Chapter of Christ Church.

1405, The citizens of Dublin made a descent into Wales and there did much mischief. They brought away the shrine of St. Cubius, and deposited it in this priory.

1450, A parliament was held here.

1461, A violent tempest did considerable damage to this church, destroying the old eastern window, and greatly injuring the jewels, relics, ornaments, and title-deeds of the fraternity. Such of the latter as remained legible were soon afterwards enrolted in the Exchequer.

1467, The grants made to this priory were excepted from the operation of the act of re-assumption.

and if we consider attentively the history of these changes, we must be convinced that they owe their origin and success to some peculiar, inherent susceptibility for such improvement in the disposition of the people. If in the same manner, also, we examine any other characteristic of a people, we shall uniformly find it satisfactorily accounted for only in the opinion, that they are endowed in a pre-eminent degree with those faculties which form that particular species of genius. This is the true reason of such varieties which we observe in national, as in individual character; and hence it is that of different Pagan nations professing a similar belief we find some delighting in sacrifice and displaying in all their rites and doctrines a fierce and gross spirit, while others worship in benevolent meekness of heart, and instinctively shun the perpetration of cruelty even on the mute creatures around them. Such, for instance, were the savage druids of the ancient Gauls and Britons compared with the humane and philosophic priests of the Irish; and even in nations blessed with the Christian dispensation we find some uniformly evincing a superstitious, gloomy fanaticism, while others exhibit an enlightened and tolerant piety. This strange circumstance shows the influence that certain qualities of the mind may exercise over the manifestations of others, and prove to us that those lamentable dissentions which have always disturbed society, particularly among persons obeying the same code of morals, or subject to the same laws, have had their origin more in the difference of disposition and opposition of temper between the sects or parties, than in any radical or important variance of opinion or belief. There is another consideration connected with this subject which deserves our attention,-it is the mode in which our advances towards improvement originate, or are conducted, and in which different objects of pursuit supplant each other and engross our minds. To man's limited perception of the scheme of divine providence it would seem that most of these great changes have had their origin in chance, while many, if not all, undoubtedly have sprung from the energies of the human mind itself. All people, however, have not equally profitted by them, but each has in its turn, in general, excelled the others in some particular instance, though the opportunity of advantage was equally common to all;-thus the Romans excelled the Greeks in war, while the Greeks taught them philosophy and the arts, and the French and Germans invent what the English apply with such superior practical utility.

This then is the proof of a greater innate genius or disposition in some people than in others for certain pursuits, and in proportion to this endowment will be found their excellence in them. It sometimes occurs that men and nations present the strange spectacle of pursuing objects at one time with avidity and success, which are absolutely opposite in their nature to objects which equally engross their attention at another, and hence it is argued by shallow reasoners that mankind are the creatures of accident, and can be adapted with equal facility to all circumstances. The apparent contradiction is no more than every man feels within himself in the ordinary operations of his mind; certain tastes or passions may at one time exercise almost exclusive influence over his conduct, and may again give place to other tastes and passions called by circumstances or their own energy into superior activity, but this does not prove that because a man may be at once a great painter, and a great poet, and exercise his different faculties at different periods, that every man who may be a great painter can also be a great poet. There must be the inherent ability or tendency in the mind for the pursuit or there never will be the manifestation in the conduct. It may be, however, that the want of excitement will leave a quality dormant in the mind till the occasion and stimulus to activity arise, and then its unexpected existence will surprise us. In some instances of this sort the enthusiasm of the temper, and the general accordance of the other faculties will give to the newly-awakened one peculiar energy, and contribute to produce unusual effects. It is in this manner that I account for the remarkable zeal of the Irish in the cultivation of religion and learning, almost without intermission, from the seventh till the twelfth century. Previous to the introduction of Christianity their religious faith, however mild and philosophical in its tenets, was not of a nature to awaken the deep sympathies of such a people; but the new faith contained within it all that was pure and exalted in morality, and opened to their understanding objects of unexampled grandeur. Hitherto they had sought in war the indulgence of that restless desire for action which an intellectual and excitable people always feel; but now all that could stimulate zeal and emulation was placed before them. Naturally pious and intelligent, full of fervid feeling and quick perception, gifted with the highest powers of reason, and surpassing almost

every nation in natural eloquence and enterprise, accustomed also to reverence and cultivate learning, they were, above all others, the people most fitted to receive with respect, to practise with sincerity, and preach with zeal the doctrines of Christianity.— It was this peculiar adaptation in the national mind to that faith, and their natural capacity for the sciences taught in connection with it, that led our ancestors to devote themselves almost exclusively and with such success to their study.

When we pause to consider the services they rendered to the cause of religion at this period, and the eminence they won, we must grieve bitterly over their melancholy fall. Let us, however, remember that they owed their glory almost altogether to themselves, and that their decay proceeded from causes over which they had little control. I have dwelt thus at length upon the subject not only to account for that pre-eminence in our countrymen formerly which is now regarded with such astonishment and denied with such reckless ignorance, but also to shew`my countrymen at this day what their ancestors have been, to remind them that they still possess the qualities, however dormant, and inactive they may now be, which illumined and instructed the world, and to teach them that they may, and should, again rival and excel the nations around them, if they devote themselves with equal assiduity to the task. They exist in times when excellence over others is more difficult than formerly, but when the means of excellence are more within their reach, and I trust the humblest of my readers will never contemplate the ancient glories of his country without a fond wish and fixed desire to behold her again the admiration and resort of civilized mankind. On the death of the princes Blathmac and Diarmuid, in 665, they were succeeded by Seachnusa, son of the former, who reigned between five or six years, without any distinction, and was then killed. He was succeeded by his brother Cionnfala, in whose reign a party of Picts, who had previously harassed Ulster, lauded on the coast of the County Down, and having pillaged the great monastery at Bangor, (called in Irish Beanchuir, from the quantities of the horns of cattle found scattered on the ground,) burned it to the ground. He was killed in 675 by his successor, who was a grandson to Hugh I. Fionnachta Fladhach reigned twenty years, but we find in the records of the time but a history of battles. These battles were, however, for the most part fought between the people of the country and their foreign enemies, for the Welch at this period began to make predatory incursions into Ireland, in many parts of which they committed horrible cruelties. They and the Picts, appear to have separately assailed Leinster and Ulster, but both were ultimately defeated by the people, and driven from the country. The reign of Fionnachta was in no other respect remarkable than as commencing the era of those invasions, the consequences of which it will be my duty to detail in future numbers. He is said to have remitted the Leinster tribute as regarded the cattle, perhaps on account of the sufferings of that province from the invasions of the Welch. He was killed in C.

695.

EARTH AND FLINT IN VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES.

NOTHING is more astonishing than the production of flinty earths in vegetable bodies. A substance is found in the hollow stem of the Bamboo arundo, Bamboo of Linnæus, called Tabasheer: which is supposed in the East Indies to be endowed with extraordinary qualities, like the imaginary stone, which Shakespeare has so beautifully eulogized, as similar in its virtues to the benefits derived from adversity. Some of this substance underwent a chemical examination, and proved as near as possible pure earth. It is even found occasionally in the Bamboo cultivated in our hot-houses. A similar discovery has also been made by Sir Humphrey Davy in the cuticle of various plants, of the family of grasses, in the cane, a kind of palm, and the rough horse-tail, Equisetum hyemale. In the latter it is very copious, and so disposed as to make a natural file, which renders this plant useful in various manufactures, for even brass cannnot resist its action. Common wheat straw when burnt is found to contain a portion of flinty earth in the form of a most exquisite powder; and this accounts for the utility of the burnt straw in giving the last polish to marble.— How great, says Sir James Smith, in his valuable Introduction to Botany, is the contrast between this production, if it be secretion of the tender vegetable frame, and those exhalations which constitute the perfume of flowers! One is among the most permanent substances in nature, an ingredient in the pri meval mountains of the globe: the other the invisible, untan gible breath of a moment.