of prince, of lord or of
chieftain, [or] of the synchronism of connexion of the one with the
other." He then explains how he collected the materials for his work,
adding, alas! most truly, that should it not be accomplished then, "they
would not again be found to be put on record to the end of the world."
He thanks the prince for giving "the reward of their labour to the
chroniclers," and simply observes, that "it was the friars of the
convent of Donegal who supplied them with food and attendance." With
characteristic humility he gives his patron the credit of all the "good
which will result from this book, in giving light to all in general;"
and concludes thus:--

"On the twenty-second day of the month of January, A.D. 1632, this book
was commenced in the convent of Dun-na-ngall, and, it was finished in
the same convent on the tenth day of August, 1636, the eleventh year of
the reign of our king Charles over England, France, Alba, and over
_Eire_."

There were "giants in those days;" and one scarcely knows whether to
admire most the liberality of the prince, the devotion of the friars of
Donegal, who "gave food and attendance" to their literary brother, and
thus had their share in perpetuating their country's fame, or the gentle
humility of the great Brother Michael.

It is unnecessary to make any observation on the value and importance of
the Annals of the Four Masters. The work has been edited with
extraordinary care and erudition by Dr. O'Donovan, and published by an
Irish house. We must now return to the object for which this brief
mention of the MS. materials of Irish history has been made, by showing
on what points other historians coincide in their accounts of our first
colonists, of their language, customs, and laws; and secondly, how far
the accounts which may be obtained _ab extra_ agree with the statements
of our own annalists. The _Book of Invasions_, which was rewritten and
"purified" by brother Michael O'Clery, gives us in a few brief lines an
epitome of our history as recorded by the ancient chroniclers of
Erinn:--

"The sum of the matters to be found in the following book, is the taking
of Erinn by [the Lady] _Ceasair;_ the taking by _Partholan;_ the taking
by _Nemedh;_ the taking by the Firbolgs; the taking by the _Tuatha De
Danann;_ the taking by the sons of _Miledh_ [or Miletius]; and their
succession down to the monarch _Melsheachlainn_, or Malachy the Great
[who died in 1022]." Here we have si