4 The Rev. J. H. Todd on an Ancient Irish Missal. 



About this time I had been nominated by the Government one of a Com- 

 mission to prepare for publication the Ancient Laws and Institutes of Ireland, 

 commonly called the Brehon Laws ; and, knowing that among the Stowe MSS. 

 there was at least one important Brehon Law MS. — " The Book of Acaill," — 

 I made application to Lord Ashbuenham for permission to see the collection. 

 My name had been kindly mentioned to his Lordship by my friend — alas ! 

 I must now say my late friend — Mr. Holmes, of the British Museum ; and I 

 received a most polite reply, in which his Lordship informed me that he 

 was at that time building an addition to his house, for the reception of his 

 MSS., but that as soon as he had completed his arrangements, he would be 

 happy to see me at Ashbiu'nham-place. 



Accordingly, in the May of last year, his Lordship fulfilled his promise, 

 and sent me a kind invitation to visit his noble mansion, with its unrivalled 

 literary treasures. I went over to England specially for the purpose, and ar- 

 rived at Ashburnham-place on the afternoon of Monday, the 28th of May, — 

 his Lordship having most politely sent his carriage for me to the railroad 

 station — a distance of about ten miles. 



The next morning his Lordship introduced me to his MS. room, and gave 

 me free permission to examine the MSS. I had taken Dr. O'Conoe's Cata- 

 logue with me, and I examined everything in the Irish part of the collection 

 that seemed to be of any importance or interest. When I speak of the Irish 

 part of the collection, you will understand me to mean those MSS. only which 

 are in the Irish language: there is a large number of MSS. in the English and 

 Latin languages relating to Ireland, which are of the utmost value to the future 

 historian of this country ; but with these I did not meddle. 



By far the most interesting and important MS. in the collection is the ancient 

 Irish Missal, which will be the subject of the present remarks. Its venerable 

 ciimhdach, or cover, has been remarkably well represented in the plates which 

 accompany the second volume of Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scrip- 

 tores." These plates give a tolerably correct idea of the box and its ornaments, 

 as well as of the inscriptions it bears. Dr. O'Conoe has also published an elabo- 

 rate essay on this box, in the Appendix to his Catalogue of the Stowe MSS., 

 vol. i., App. No. I. ; but it is deeply to be lamented that he did not abridge some 

 of his " excursus," and give us instead a correct transcript of the very important 



