It is the so-called Book of Kildare, which was publicly destroyed by the fathers of Protestantism in this country, but which has happily been described by Giraldus Cambrensis, a writer whom none will suspect of bias in favour of our Irish Church. We will give the original text of his description, which may not, perhaps, be easily accessible to the reader:-- "Inter universa Kyldariae miracula nil mihi miraculosius occurrit, quam liber ille mirandus, tempore virginis Brigidae (ut ajunt) Angelo dictante conscriptus. Continet hic liber quatuor Evangelistarum juxta Hieronymum concordantiam, ubi quot paginae fere sunt, tot figurae diversae variisque coloribus distinctissimae. Hic majestatis vultum videas divinitus impressum: hinc mysticas Evangelistarum formas: nunc senas, nunc quaternas, nunc binas alas habentes, hinc aquilam, inde vitulum, hinc hominis faciem, inde bovis, aliasque figuras pene infinitas, quas si superficialiter et usuali more minus acute conspexeris, litura potius videbitur quam ligatura; nec ullam attendens prorsus subtilitatem, ubi nihil tamen praeter subtilitatem. Sin autem ad perspicacius intuendum oculorum aciem invitaveris, et longe penitius ad artis arcana transpenetraveris; tam delicatas et subtiles, tam actas et arctas, tam nodosas et vinculatim colligatas, tamque recentibus adhuc coloribus illustratas notare poteris intricaturas, ut vere haec omnia Angelica potius quam humana diligentia jam asseveraveris esse composita. Haec equidem quanto frequentius et diligentius intueor, semper quasi novis obstupeo, semperque magis ac magis admiranda conspicio" (_Topogr. Hib._, ii. 38, pag. 730).