birds sang, 'Answer us, O God of our salvation, Who art
the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar
off upon the sea.'

They were wandering upon the sea for three months, and afterwards came
to the isle Ailbey, where they stayed until the middle of January. There
is here described a monastery with twenty-four monks, who were fed on
miraculously provided bread, and, except the Abbat, never spoke. There
is rather a curious description of the church, which was square, with
stalls round the walls. It had three altars, all of crystal, as were
all the altar vessels, and seven lamps which were lit every evening by a
fiery arrow which came in and went out at a window.

They left Ailbey, and were carried about on the sea until the beginning
of Lent. They then came to an island where there was abundant
vegetation, roots, and streams full of fish, but some of the brethren
became insensible from one, two, or three days, from drinking the water.
I own that this and the remark about the water in the Eden of Birds
seems to me to be very likely plagiarised from the wine-river in
Lucian's _Traveller's Tale_. Hence they went north for three days, were
beating about for about twenty, and then eastward for three more, and
then came back for Maundy Thursday to the isle of the provider, who
again met them. All went on as before, and a week after Pentecost they
started again from the Eden of the Birds.

It will thus be observed that the real times of voyaging in each year
are limited to the months of February and March, and from about the
early part of June to the middle of December.

Forty days after starting in this new year they were much alarmed by a
vast fish which seemed to be coming after them to devour them, but it
was killed by another monster, breathing fire, which appeared against it
from the East, and tore it into three pieces.

The next day they came to a large and grassy island, where they found
the tail portion of the monster fish. On this island they beached the
ship, pitched the tent, and stayed three months, during which the sea
was too stormy for travel. They lived for the three months on part of
the monster, the rest of which was devoured by beasts, but another
portion of a fish was afterwards washed up, and they made a salt
provision of it--though as to Brendan himself, it is remarked that he
was a consistent vegetarian, having never, since his ordination, eaten
anything wherein had been th