The river Calybe now bears the name of Cabe: it rises in the hills of Cebrero and flows into the Sil at the foot of the vine-clad mountain on which stands the ruined monastery of San Esteban. St. Isidore thought that this river gave the name of Calybis to iron, but the ancient Calybes of the east (afterwards called Chaldeans, according to Strabo) are said to have been the first people to employ iron; so the Gallegan river must surely have derived its name from them. Another important river is the Eo, which, rising in Galicia above Salvatierra, divides this province from that of Asturias, and is the natural boundary line between Lugo and Oviedo. Galicia has upon her coast some of the finest harbours in Europe. Vigo, for one, has often been described as the finest natural harbour in the world; while Ferrol, once so famous as the Arsenal of Spain, is likely to become ere long, in the hands of English shipbuilders, one of the world’s greatest dockyards, and to supply ironclads to all the nations. One of the ships with which Columbus set sail to discover America was called _La Gallega_, and a book has been written to prove that not only did the great discoverer set sail from the harbour of Pontevedra, but his ship, _La Gallega_, was built in her dockyards with the wood of Gallegan pines.[38] Many of the beautiful trees and shrubs that help to make Galicia’s gardens so beautiful in our day were imported by Jesuits who had gone as missionaries to the New World. In [Illustration: THE RIVER SIL, ORENSE] short, if the traveller really wishes to understand and appreciate Galicia or any other part of Spain, it is imperative that, side by side with the objects of interest that present themselves to his view, he should become acquainted with the story of Spain’s glorious past. All who have studied Galicia are unanimous in their opinion that she contains more relics of that past and more trophies of antiquity than any other part of the Peninsula. CHAPTER III THE FIRST GOLDEN AGE Galicia’s first golden age--From Galicia to Palestine--The father of Spanish historians--His birthplace--_Civitas Limicorum_--An amusing story--Early life of Idatius--Arianism--St. Jerome--Paul Orosius--King Alfred’s translation--St. Augustine and Orosius--Orosius travels to Jerusalem--Roman pilgrims--Etheria--A plucky abbess--Her visit to the holy places--Gamurrini discovers the manuscript--Not Silvia but Etheria--A curious coincidence--Unpublished manuscripts