in times of flood they broke through their banks, overflowed the flat lands, made new beds for themselves, and altogether did very much as they pleased. In many of the rivers the pearl mussel was found, so that Ireland was well known for producing pearls, unusually large and of very fine quality; and in some of these same rivers pearls are still found.*

There were the same broad lakes, like inland seas, that we see at the present day; but they were generally larger, and were surrounded with miles of reedy

morasses.

Minerals there were too, which, though not nearly so abundant as in the neighbouring island of Great Britain, were yet in sufficient quantity to give rise to many industries. That the mines were worked we know, partly from our historical records, and partly

Solid gold article (often called a fibula) found in Ireland, now in Trinity
College Museum, Dublin. 83% inches long; weight 33 oz. From Wilde's
Catalogue. Gold articles this shape very numerous in National Museum.

from the Brehon Laws, which lay down many regulations regarding them. The remains of ancient mines, of copper, coal, and other minerals, with many rude antique mining tools, have been found in recent times.

Chief among the metals

in some parts of Ireland. were gold, iron, and copper. From the very earliest times gold has been smelted-or "boiled" as the old Irish records express it: and that it was obtained in considerable quantities is proved by the great number of gold ornaments found from time to time buried in the ground, and now preserved in our museums. The chief gold district lay east of the river Liffey in the present county Wicklow, where gold is found to this day.

Wild animals abounded everywhere. Packs of foxes and savage dogs scoured the country at night, howling and yelping for prey. Otters were in great plenty near rivers and lakes, so that in later times their skins formed an important article of commerce; and so recently as the beginning of the fifteenth century rents were sometimes paid in otter skins. Wolves lurked in glens and coverts, and at last became so numerous and dangerous that the people kept a special breed of dogs to hunt them down, Irish wolf-dogs-great, fierce, shaggy animals—one of them quite a match for a wolf. These dogs were celebrated all over Europe, so that they were often sent as presents to Continental sovereigns, and were sometimes exhibited at the Roman games, to the great astonishment of the people, who had never before seen such large dogs. They have only very recently become extinct; and their savage antagonists, the wolves, were finally exterminated about two centuries ago. There were plenty of wild cats, large wicked rough looking creatures, very strong and very dangerous; and the race is not yet quite extinct, for wild cats, nearly twice the size of our domestic animals, are still found in some solitary places. Droves of swine roamed through the forests feeding on acorns and

beechmast. In the neighbourhood of the inhabited. districts these were domestic animals, owned by rich people and tended by swineherds: but in remote parts there were plenty of wild hogs. We know that in the olden time hunting the wild boar was a favourite amusement, though a very dangerous one, for the old Irish boar had formidable tusks and knew well how to

use them. The open pasture lands were grazed by herds of cows, sheep, and goats, which at a very ancient period were all wild; but the domesticated animals gradually took their place as the population increased and extended.

Then lived the Irish elk, a gigantic deer with great branching solid antlers, compared with which the largest of our present

deer are mere dwarfs.

We shall never see such deer alive again, though we often find their bones buried deep down in clay : in one place not far from Dublin, the remains of a whole herd of more than a hundred were dug up some years ago from beneath a bog. Complete skeletons are preserved in Dublin,

Skeleton of Elk in National Museum, Dublin. From plate of Royal Dublin Society. Human skeleton put in for comparison.

with antlers standing twice the height of a man and twelve feet across from tip to tip. Great herds of these stately creatures roamed over the plains or crashed their way through brake and forest, tossing proudly

burite occupation of some of the monks of old ing the Gospels or other portions of the Holy s, always in Latin, for the use of the inmates teries or of other persons who could read and ad the language and many devoted their es to this good work. Books of this kind are t, as well as the most beautiful, we possess, ving been written from the sixth to the ninth and nearly all of them are richly ornamented minated. For those accomplished and devoted s thought no trouble too great to beautify the itings. Some books of this kind are described 13 and 14.

the invention of printing it was customary in or individuals, or families, or religious comto keep large manuscript books of miscellaerature. In these were written such literary were considered worthy of being preserved in tales, poems, biographies, histories, annals, rth-all mixed up in one volume, and almost pied from older books. In those days books, written by hand on vellum-a very expensive were scarce and dear. The only places where to be found were the libraries in monasteries, e houses of kings or chiefs, or of some learned

the value set on them may be estimated fact that one of them was sometimes accepted for a captive chief.

lest of all these books of miscellaneous literahe Book of the Dun Cow, now in the Royal demy, Dublin. It was written-copied from ks-by Mailmurry Mac Kelleher, a learned ho died in Clonmacnoise in the year 1106. stands it consists of only 134 large vellum