Amid the Ruins of Iona [pp. 305-307]

1S'70.] LITERARUBE SCIENCE AND AI?R 305
AMID THE RUINS OF IONA.
A NATURAL passion for relics, and the interest attaching to the
name of Saint Columba, brought my wandering footsteps to
-the sacred island of Iona. It was a bright, clear day-one of those
summer days in Scotland which bring the American traveller insensi bly back to the beautiful spring of his native land. The grand Atlan tic rolled lazily among the many islands which stud the western coast
of Scotland. Far to the west stood "the wild Tyree and sandy
Coll;" eastward, like a glittering jewel on the ocean's breast, lay
Staffa; on the north, stretched "Ulva dark, and Colonsay,
And all the groups of islets gay,
That guard fair Staffa round " while on the south the islands of Scarba, Jura, and Islay, loomed in
the dim distance.
As we came in full view of this celebrated spot, we were forcibly
reminded of the words of the great lexicographer: "Little is that
man to be envied whose patriotism would not gain force upon the
plains of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer amid the
ruins of Iona." What a curious, quaint, green-looking spot it
seemed, with its gray and crumbling ruins, its isolated cottages, and
its primitive little village! Every house appeared to be cast in a similar
mould-two windows, a door, a thatched roof, and the peat smoke
finding its way toward heaven in the mode "that pleased itsel'." As
we neared the shore, the' Gaelic shouts of our irrepressible boatmen
became more and more vehement and interesting. A perfect hurri cane of intermingled English and Gaelic was kept up between those on
board and on shore, which considerably interrupted any preliminary
observations and meditations. "Noo, Donald-Neesh! neesh-Caw
Spector-mind yer heid, sir-suissee-Shaw neesh!" Imagine the
most beautiful green sea that the mind could conceive-a pure white
sand, and the fish distinctly seen, playing hide-and-seek at the bot itom, and you have some idea of the margin of this little island.
After scrambling over slippery rocks, and the most wretched apol ogy for a pier I ever beheld, we were safely landed on the sacred soil.
No sooner had our feet touched the dry land, than a rush was made
for us by about twenty of the native children, dressed in the charac teristic "garb of old Gaul," or short "kilt." Each one placed beneath
our noses a saucer containing specimens of the shells of the island, and
announced his or her wares in the best Saxon at their command.
"Only a penny "-" a tippence "-" a sixpence." "My good girl,"
said I, to one of the fairest of the train, "what do you call these pecu liar-looking stones?" She replied, with a mixture of modesty and im pecunious assurance:
"A penny, sir."
My first consideration was, of course, to rrocure quarters for the
night, and after considerable questioning I was escorted to the orPly
hotel on the island. This mansion was spoken of as the "Inns," al though upon what principle it had attained to the plural number I was
unable to discover. The "Inns" was not of the'nost inviting dimen sions, as it consisted solely of one kitchen, one bedroom, and a sitting room with concealed bed. Into the latter apartment I was immedi ately conducted with that courtesy and native dihnity peculiar to the
Highlander. Hospitality is a religion in the land of the Ceit. You
find it everywhere, from the great MacCallummore himself to the
meanest of his subjects. I very soon found myself seated in peaceful
contemplation before a homely but inviting repast of boiled flounders
and potatoes. Ye gods! what flounders. It is almost worth a man's
while to visit Iona, were it only to taste her flounders. Saint Columba must certainly have left them his blessing. Having invited
the professional cicerone of the island to join me in a "dock an dorish," a beverage extracted, by-the-way, from barley, and precipitated
with hot water, lemon, and sugar, it was not long before I ingratiated
myself into that gentleman's favor, and found myself discussing Druidical rites, fiery crosses, Fingal, Covai, and Columba, with as much familiarity as if I had been on visiting terms with these gentlemen from
boyhood. I found the above extract a most excellent assistant to traditional research, and would cordially recommend it, in connection
with flounders, to any of my successors desirous of comingto "ruins."
My guide was a most intelligent man, with a strong vein of commonsense, and a Scotchman's shrewdness. He kept a single eye upon his
grace the Duke of Argyll, and the other upon that excellent article
the main chance. From his remarks I gathered that the island was
about three miles long, by one in breadth. It was fast becoming de populated by emigration, and many families were year by year
packing up their "all," and sailing for the shores of America. It
seemed to me that I heard more of America, in that little island,
than in all the country put together. There were two ministers of the
gospel then resident, one belonging to the "Free Kirk," the other to
the Established, or Church of the Crown. Education was of course
good, as it is everywhere in the land of John Knox, and the English
language rapidly becoming more familiar.
The history of Iona, as known to the natives and historians gener ally, may be thus briefly stated: The earliest known inhabitants were
the Fingalians or Ossianic race. They held complete sway over Scot land from the earliest period of her history to the advent of the Druids,
and, although their name and doings are somewhat mythical, such a
race in some shape or form had evidently existed. They appear to
have been a noble, brave, and poetical people, and decidedly superior
in intelligence to their successors. Toward the close of the second
century, the Druids became possessed of the island. They built a
kind of seminary, and ruled with despotic sway over the so'ils of an
imaginative and credulous people. On the evening of Pentecost, 563,
Columba, the son of Felim, the son of Fergus, and grandson of the
haughty Neal of the nine hostages, King of Ireland, landed upon the
shores of Iona. His vessel was a rude boat, composed of wicker work and hides. He landed at a small creek called Port-a-hurich,
where the boat was buried, and a mound erected over it. Guarded by
two frowning precipices, and lashed by the unceasing waves of the
Atlantic, this memorial of the dawn of Christianity has stood the
wreck of time, and remained for centuries the landmark of a great
event.
It was a bright day for Scotland and for Christendom, when Co lumba set his foot upon the "Green Island of Trees." The early life
and self-sacrificing piety of this saint are now so familiar as to re quire but little comment. Suffice it to say, that his bold and un daunted fight for the Cross overturned the altars of paganism, and
paved the way for the glorious light of the nineteenth century. At
his landing he met with much opposition, and it was not until after
a two years' tour through the main land, that he commenced in real
earnest to erect those temples of learning which no,, stand but in
history and in ruin. His first work was thF Chapel of Saint Oran.
The story told of this chapel is, that when ij co,lrse of erection what
was built by day disappeared by night. A visinr, hnowever, appeared
to Columba, and told him that, until a living sacrifice was made, the
chapel could not be finished. Oran, one of his followers, emulating
the example of Quintus Curtius, offered himself, on condition that the
chapel should be called after his name. Two days after his interment
Columba, being desirous to take a last look at his friend, caused the
earth to to be removed, when Oran, still alive, exclaimed, "There is
no terror in death, and hell is naught." Enraged at such blasphemy,
Columba ordered the earth to be replaced, catering the words, now
passed into a proverb, "Earth! earth upon the mouth of Oran, that he
may blab no more!" The cathedral was not completed until the beginning of the seventh century; and, from the many changes which
it has undergone, but little if any of the original building now remains.!
Upon this island stood the first seminary of learning in Scotland,
perhaps in Britain. It was here that Columba and his Culdee monks,
in spite of the ravages of neighboring tribes, taught the blessings of
religion and the benefits of knowledge to thousands from all parts of
Europe. Columba promulgated laws which were separate and distinct from the See at Rome, and the excellent rule and purity of the
monastic life, under his rdgime, formed a marked contrast to the errors
and immoralities existing at that time in other branches of the Romish Church. The industry of the monks was great. They cultivated
the soil; and the adjacent island of Tyree (the garden of Iona, or Ii)
was set apart for their use. Celibacy did not exist. and altogether
their lives were models, not only for their successors, but the present
time. This man, whose works as a religious founder and reformer
have been seldom equalled and never surpassed, after a life of
piety and self-sacrifice, yielded up his soul on the night of the 5th day
of the Ides of June, 596, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, and the
thirty-fifth of his ministry. His remains are supposed to lie in a
vault some little distance from the arched entrance to the cloiste,.
Many changes have altered the religious edifices of Iona since (Co
l1870.]
;LITER ATU~RE, SCIEXCE, AXND AtRT.
305