than did the sight of that unlicensed blaze in the
distance. Orders were issued to drag the offender against
the laws and the gods of the Island before them, and the
punishment in store for him was already decreed in every
heart. The Preacher, followed by his trembling disciples,
ascended "the Slope of the Chariots," surrounded by
menacing minions of the Pagan law, and regarded with
indignation by astonished spectators. As he came he
recited Latin Prayers to the Blessed Trinity, beseeching
their protection and direction in this trying hour.
Contrary to courteous custom no one at first rose to
offer him a seat. At last a chieftain, touched with
mysterious admiration for the stranger, did him that
kindness. Then it was demanded of him, why he had dared
to violate the laws of the country, and to defy its
ancient gods. On this text the Christian Missionary spoke.
The place of audience was in the open air, on that
eminence, the home of so many kings, which commands one
of the most agreeable prospects in any landscape. The
eye of the inspired orator, pleading the cause of all
the souls that hereafter, till the end of time, might
inhabit the land, could discern within the spring-day
horizon, the course of the Blackwater and the Boyne before
they blend into one; the hills of Cavan to the far north;
with the royal hill of Tailtean in the foreground; the
wooded heights of Slane and Skreen, and the four ancient
roads, which led away towards the four subject Provinces,
like the reins of empire laid loosely on their necks.
Since the first Apostle of the Gentiles had confronted
the subtle Paganism of Athens, on the hill of Mars, none