THE PKESIDENT's ADDRESS. 39 



of the received text was either faulty or an inadequate render- 

 ing, — thus showing no mean scholarship in the early writers.* 



One day Finnachta, before he became monarch of Ireland 

 in 673, was riding to visit his sister, when he overtook a young 

 student, carrying a barrel on his back, and the youth, in stepping 

 out of the way of the horses, stumbled and fell, and broke the 

 cask, from which its contents of curd were spilt. He picked 

 himself up and ran along after Finnachta and his attendants. 

 The prince seeing the condition of the youth, stained with curds, 

 and pitying him, said kindly to him, "Do not be troubled, we 

 will make up to you the loss you have sustained." " Alas, sir," 

 said the student, who was unaware of the rank of the rider, "I 

 am in trouble indeed, for we are a party of three poor scholars 

 at Clonard, who attend on three noble students ; we go about in 

 turn begging for food for our support ; and what distresses me 

 now is that not only is our supply of curd lost, but that also the 

 barrel is smashed, and it was borrowed." 



Finnachta not only indemnified the lad for his loss, but kept 

 an eye on him afterwards, and, when this scliolar took holy 

 orders, appointed him to be his chief counsellor and director. 

 This poor scholar was Adamnan, the biographer of St, Columba.f 



He was something more. And what this is I will relate, 

 because it shows us how great and glorious a work was wrought 

 by the early monastic mothers who took the education of the 

 young women into their hands. 



Hitherto, whenever a king or chief called out his clan to 

 war, the able-bodied young women had to serve in the ranks as 

 well as the men. From this odious obligation Adamnan freed 

 them. He came one day on a battlefield and saw one woman 

 with a reaping-hook driven into the bosom of another, and so 

 dragging her out of the fray. Horror-struck at this exhibition 

 of savagery, Adamnan went about from one king to another, 

 and by his urgent representations brought about the great 

 council of Drumceatt, in which was repealed the obligation of 

 women to follow the standard. 



* Williams (Hugh) " Some Aspects of the Church of Wales " (Lond. : 

 Clark, 1895) pp. 24, 34, 35. 



t From a MS. by MacFirbis, quoted by O'Curry, "Man. and Cust." ii. 79. 



