Brendans Fabulous Voyage | Page 7

hast kept the Passover, there
shall ye keep it every year, and afterwards shall thou find that which

thou hast set in thine heart, even the land promised unto the Saints."
And when the bird had so spoken, it rose from the prow, and returned
unto the others. And when the hour of evening came, they all began to
flap their wings, and to sing as it were with one voice, saying, "Praise
waiteth for Thee, O God, in Zion, and unto Thee shall the vow be
performed in Jerusalem, through our ministry." And they repeated that
verse even for the space of an hour, and the song and the sound of their
wings was like harmony (carmen cantus) for sweetness. Then holy
Brendan saith unto his brethren, "Refresh your bodies, since this day
the Lord hath satisfied your souls by His Divine rising again." And
when supper was ended, and the work of God done, the man of God
and they that were with him gave their bodies unto rest until the third
watch of the night. And the man of God woke and roused the brethren
for the watches of the night, and he began holily to sing that verse, "O
Lord, open Thou my lips." And when the word of the man of God was
finished, all the birds sang out with wings and voices, saying, "Praise
ye the Lord, all His Angels, praise ye Him all His hosts." Likewise at
even for the space of an hour, they sang ever, and when the dawn
glowed they began to sing, "And let the beauty of the Lord our God be
upon us," with the same harmony and length of singing as in the
Morning Praises: likewise, at the third hour that verse, "Sing praises to
our God, sing praises, sing praises unto our King, sing ye praises with
understanding:" at the sixth hour, "May the Lord cause His face to
shine upon us, and be merciful unto us:" and at the ninth hour they sang,
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together
in unity." So by day and by night these birds gave praise to God.'
I have read this passage at length, not only because of its intrinsic merit,
but also because of its evident meaning. It is obvious that it is meant to
propound doctrines similar to those which a distinguished writer has
recently discussed under the title, Happiness in Hell. It is remarkable
that the Codex Salmanticensis omits the whole passage in this sense.
Possibly it did not suit the views of the transcriber.
In a week the provider came to them bringing more food and drink, but
warned them not to drink of the fountain, as its waters were stupefying.
He returned again at Pentecost, bringing more, but bade them now

provision the ship with water, and with dried bread. A week later they
started. When they were on the shore, one of the birds came and
perched upon the prow and said, 'Ye have kept the holy day of the
Passover with us this year. Ye shall also keep the same day with us in
the year to come. And where ye have been in the last year at the Supper
of the Lord, there shall ye be upon the said day in the year to come.
Likewise shall ye keep the Lord's night, the Passover Supper, where ye
have kept it before, that is, upon the back of the monster Jasconius.
And after eight months ye shall find the isle which is called Ailbey.
There shall ye keep the birth of Christ.' And so he flew back, and as the
boat sailed away, all the 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