198 Mr. PETRIE'S Inquiry into the Origin and 



Christ. But another partition dividing the pavement of the house into two equal parts, extends 

 from the eastern [recte western] side to the transverse partition lying across the breadth. Moreover 

 this church has in it many windows, and one adorned doorway on the right side, through which the 

 priests and the faithful of the male sex enter the church, and another doorway on the left side through 

 which the congregation of virgins and women among the faithful are used to enter. And thus in one 

 very great temple a multitude of people, in different order and ranks, and sex, and situation, se- 

 parated by partitions, in different order, and [but] with one mind worship the Omnipotent Lord. 

 And when the ancient door of the left passage, through which St. Bridget used to enter the church, 

 was placed on its own hinges by the workmen, it could not fill up the passage when altered and 

 new ; for the fourth part of the passage appeared open and exposed without anything to fill it up. 

 And if a fourth more were added and joined to the height of the gate, then it could fill up the en- 

 tire height of the passage now lofty and altered. And when the workmen were deliberating about 

 making another new and larger door to fill up the passage, or to prepare a board to be added to the 

 old door, so as to render it sufficiently large, the before-mentioned principal and leading artisan of 

 all those in Ireland spake a prudent counsel : ' We ought this night to implore the Lord faithfully 

 beside St. Bridget, that she may provide for us against morning what measures we ought to pursue 

 in this business.' And praying thus he passed the whole night beside the monument of St. Bridget. 

 And rising early and prayers being said, on pushing and settling the ancient door on its hinge he 

 filled the whole aperture ; nor was there any thing wanting to fill it, nor any superfluous portion 

 in its height. And thus St. Bridget extended that door in height, so that the whole passage was 

 filled up, nor does any part appear open, except when the door is pushed back in entering the 

 church. And this miracle of the divine excellence is quite plain to the eyes of all beholders who 

 look upon the passage and door." 



It is but fair to acknowledge that not only the antiquity of this Life of St. 

 Bridget has been doubted by some learned men, but even its authenticity denied 

 by others, in consequence chiefly, if not altogether, of the very details given in 

 the preceding description of the church of Kildare, and which in the opinion of 

 the learned Basnage, the editor of Canisius, " smelt of a later age." But, though 

 I not only freely acknowledge that there is great reason to doubt that the work of 

 Cogitosus was, as Colgan, Vossius, Dr. O'Conor, and others, even the judicious 

 Ware, supposed, of the sixth century, but shall even prove that its real age is 

 the early part of the ninth, I by no means concur in the sweeping scepticism of 

 Dr. Ledwich as to the truth of the description of the church, which he regards 

 as altogether fanciful, and posterior to the twelfth century; nor can I acknowledge 

 that the reasons assigned by him for this opinion have any force whatever. Dr. 

 Ledwich writes, that " what evinces this work of Cogitosus to be supposititiovis, is 

 his Description of the Monuments of St. Bridget and Conloeth on the right and 



