But perhaps the most interesting of all the Columban relics are the three manuscripts which are said to have been written by the Saint's own hand. That Columbcille was an indefatigable scribe we know from the witness of many of his contemporaries, and one of the greatest of modern authorities (Mr. Westwood) sees no reason for setting aside the tradition that the "Book of Kells" and the "Book of Durrow" are both mainly, if not altogether, Columba's work. The "Book of Durrow," indeed, bears an inscription stating that it was written by "Columba the scribe in the space of twelve days," while the "Book of Kells" has always borne the title of the "Great Gospel of Columbcille." To the objection that a busy man like Columba would not have had leisure to execute the exquisitely minute decorations which are the astonishment of all admirers of Celtic art, it can be urged that many old manuscripts which still exist in an unfinished condition bear witness to the fact that it was customary for the initial letters and ornamental parts of the manuscript to be sketched roughly in, and finished by another hand. This is especially to be noted in the "Book of Kells," the decorative work of which is certainly of a later date. Both the "Book of Durrow" and the "Book of Kells" are to be seen in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. The third manuscript, the famous Psalter which gave Columbcille to Scotland and which is preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, fell, after the battle of Cuil Dreimhne, into the hands of the O'Donnells, Columba's own clan, who treasured it as their most precious possession. It was called the "Cathach" or "Battler," and if borne into battle by "one of pure heart and of clean hands" was believed to ensure them the victory over their enemies. It is the least ornamental of the three, and bears traces of the haste with which it was executed. The existence of these pages, written with laborious care by the hand which has long since mouldered into dust, makes a living link across the centuries with Columbcille the Beloved, the great Apostle of Scotland. CONTENTS CHAP. I. CHILD OF THE MOUNTAIN AND THE LAKE II. THE SCHOOLING OF A SAINT III. DERRY AND DURROW IV. THE COW AND THE CALF V. A BITTER PENANCE VI. THE ISLE IN THE WESTERN SEAS VII. THE APOSTLE OF SCOTLAND VIII. THE CONVENTION OF DRUM-CEATT IX. FOR CHRIST AND HIS LOVE X. THE GIFT OF VISION XI. THE LIGHT ETERNAL CHAPTER I CHILD OF THE MOUNTAIN AND THE LAKE