THEIR HEIGHT, FORM, AND STRENGTH. 49 



24. 1599? According to Sir Walter Raleigh: 

 " The Irish in the last war have been victorious, 

 with an equal or even with an inferior force. The 

 reason is, that in place of darts, as of old, they are 

 now furnished with as good pikes and muskets as 

 England hath." The obvious meaning is, that Irish- 

 men are better men than the English, and, when 

 furnished with as good arms, would beat an equal or 

 even superior force of Englishmen. 



25. In the 16th century, Hadrian Junius, a Con- 

 tinental writer, who, no doubt, had seen the Irish- 

 men in foreign service, thus extols their warlike 

 courage, formidable form, and fleetness of foot, 

 which, he says, surpasses that of deer : 



" En ego, cum regni sceptro, mavortia bello 

 Pectora, et horriferas hominum, non fingo, figuras, 

 Qui cursu alipedes norunt praevertere cervos." 



26. About the end of the 16th century, Chassan, 

 a Frenchman or Spaniard, in his Catalogus Glorias 

 Mundi (Pars. 12, Consider. 57), says: "Ireland 

 has a people most apt for war, of beautiful and tall 

 body, of the strongest limbs, and of a fair com- 

 plexion Hibernia gentes habet bello aptissimas, 

 pulchro et elato sunt corpore, membrisque robus- 

 tissimis ac colore candido." 



27. In 1600, Primate Peter Lombard, a native of 

 Waterford, and of English or Norman blood, in hia 



D 



