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Show ' EARLY IRISH CIVILIZATION'. In a communication to the New York Times Rev. Richard Henebry, Ph. D., professor of Celtic languages in the Catholic university at Washington, refutes the statement of another corre spondent that "neither priest nor layman, lay-man, learned or unlearned, can prove that Ireland since the flood was more civilized than England." Dr. Henebry submits the following real testimony. 1. AH the anMls of Ireland and England Eng-land corroborate each other in maintaining main-taining that the English could neither bless themselves nor write their names until they met with the priests from St. Columb Cille's monastery at Hi. 2. English students continued to fill the schools of Ireland for many centuries, cen-turies, receiving education, board and lodging gratis. See accounts of the colleges col-leges at Bangor, Armagh, Lismore and Mayo. From that circumstance the last mentioned place is called "Mayo of the Saxons" to this day. 3. The oldest English is written on an Irish phonetic schamei, a proof that Irishmen first wrote the language. This may be evinced by a comparison of the earliest Anglo-Saxon documents with contemporary Irish material. 4. The English, used the peculiar Irish letters and system of caligraphy down to the Norman conquest. As to the manuscripts, the Book of Kells, . preserved in the library of Trinity college, Dublin, in the centre case on' the right hand as you go up, is considered by Mr. Westwood, the beat living English authority on the subject, as "the illuminated glory of the western world" and the most beautiful illuminated book in th world." |