THEIR HEIGHT, FORM, AND STRENGTH. 163 



called the Parthenon of Celtic Art, still exists,' I 

 admitted, ' and Oxford has Erse MSSV ' But to be 

 sure,' he assented eagerly, ' and San Gallen, in 

 Switzerland, has some ; and North Italian Celtic 

 foundations.' All quite true ; but pictures of our 

 andarte, our gallowglasses, were not likely to be 

 treasured by the librarians of the dominant class 

 in Ireland ; and, if found in the keeping of those 

 who would have cherished them, portraits of our 

 irregulars would have been highly compromising 

 possessions. There are old books still in Ireland 

 that have been buried so often (lest they should be 

 seized in accordance with the law), that they are 

 now absolutely valueless, except as pieces de convic- 

 tion in our suit against our rulers. 



" As Diirer was above all things accurate, we Irish 

 may take it that we have from his hand a faithful 

 likeness of our gallowglasses. 



" The original is no longer in Vienna. The Berlin 

 Museum bought it some time ago, a fact which 

 added not a little labour to my search. 



" The ' pawern ' could, perhaps, be matched to-day 

 in Ireland, and the two ' krigs man ' are so like 

 living Irishmen, that they might serve as their 

 portraits in fancy dress so true is it that ' none 

 but the Jews are so tenacious of racial characteris- 



