Beside it
stood the elaborate case which the piety of other ages manufactured for
the bell. It is such an easy matter to deck shrines and garnish the
sepulchres of the righteous when they are gone past the place where the
echoes of man's praise can reach. It is easier than hearing and obeying
the message which they carry. We were given a powerful magnifying glass
to inspect the workmanship of the shrine that held the bell, but my
thoughts would turn back to the plain common-looking bell itself. Still
I did admire the exquisite workmanship of the shrine, which could only
be fully appreciated when seen through the magnifying glass. It required
the magnifying glass also to fully bring out the richness of the
delicate tracery on the brooch of Tara. There were in another room quite
a number of short swords of cast bronze similar to the one presented to
me in Mayo. Some of them had been furbished up till they looked like
gold. There were some specimens of the bronze chain mail used by the
ancient Irish, and the foot covering, which they wore a good deal like
Indian moccassins, answering exactly to the description given by Scott
in the notes to the Lady of the Lake, of the kind of brogans of the dun
deer's hide which shod the fleet-footed Malise, messenger of the fiery
cross.
Pages:
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482