A ruined church is a common object, which, independent of the picturesque beauty it may possess, excites little interest; but the sight of a monastery carries us back to distant ages, and gives rise to a train of reflection which every mind of sensibility feels a pleasure in indulging. We remember that these places were the asylums of men who, voluntarily renouncing the seducing pleasures of the world, devoted themselves to the services of charity and of religion. Hither the aged peasants from the neighbouring hamlets flocked, in the hours of sickness and of affliction, to obtain the advice and consolation of the ghostly fathers, to crave the boon of charity, or implore the blessing of Heaven on the labours of their toiling offspring. Hither, during the ages of violence and rapine, those who by inclination were disposed to retirement and to ease could withdraw in safety from the dangers of contending factions, and devote themselves to the calm and tranquil pursuits of literature. These were the sacred retreats of learning, where the germs of knowledge were preserved till a more genial season bade them spring forth and flourish in open day. At the same time we cannot behold these antient fabricstheir long dismal aisles-their dark and narrow cells-without drawing a comparison favourable to ourselves between the gloomy and bigoted notions of monkery and the more enlightened opinions of modern days. Far from regretting their decline, the philosophic mind triumphs at the dissolution of institutions which were disgraced by vices of the grossest nature ; where superstition was fostered, and the streams of knowledge polluted at their source. In this very abbey a miraculous image of the Virgin Mary was preserved, by whose portentous movements, directed at will, the friars imposed on the credulity of many an unsuspecting votary. The Irish monastics, indeed, A very soon lost sight of that virtuous and rigorous system which in early times had gained them the esteem and admiration of surrounding nations.. Giraldus, who travelled in Ireland in the reign of Henry the Second, accuses the monks of that period of the greatest hypocrisy and licentiousness; and says that, amongst the many thousands in that country, scarcely one was to be found who, after the incessant exertions of fasting and praying, did not make himself ample amends during the night, for the privations of the preceding day, by large draughts of wine and potations of various kinds, to an excess which passed the bounds of decency; and he adds, that where wine had established its empire, it might be deemed a miracle if Venus did not also rule*. The abbey of Mucruss is a very picturesque object from seve ral points of view. It is seen to most advantage from the south and west, within the precincts of the grove. Here are -deep empty tombs, And dells and mouldering shrines, with old decay. * I transcribe the whole of the original passage, as to some persons it may prove interesting: "Sed utinam post longa jejunia, tam sobrii fuerint quam serii, tam veri quam severi; tam puri quam duri; tam existentes quam apparentes. Inter tot enim millia, vix unum invenies, qui post jugem tam jejuniorum quam orationum instantiam, vino variisque potionibus, diurnos labores, enormius quam deceret noctu non redimat, Diem itaque naturalem tanquam ex æquo dividentes, lucidaque spiritui, tempora nocturna quoque carni dedicantes, sicut de luce lucis operibus indulgent, sic et in tenebris, ad tenebrarum opera convertuntur. Unde et hoc pro miraculo duci potest, quod ubi vina dominantur Venus non regnat." Gir. Camb. Top. Hib. De Clericis et Monasticis. The whole length of the church is about one hundred feet, its breadth twenty-four. The steeple, built upon four lofty pointed arches, under which there is a free communication, stands between the nave and the chancel. The principal entrance is at the west end, under a large pointed arch of blueish marble, embellished by several plain mouldings, which are well wrought and in good preservation. From this entrance a very pleasing view opens of the great eastern window, which is seen through the arches of the steeple; and also of the large portal of the transept on the south side of the nave. The cloister was the best executed part of the whole fabric; and it is still perfect. It consists of a quadrangle of forty-six feet, encompassed by a vaulted walk six feet wide, whose pillars and arches are formed of blueish and pale red marble. The pillars are finished exactly alike, but the arches vary both in number and in form. At two of the contiguous sides they are of the sharp-pointed kind, commonly known by the name of Gothic, and are ten in number ; the corresponding sides contain twelve semicircular arches. How this capricious variety, so frequently to be observed in the religious buildings of those infant days of art and taste, was first introduced we can now only conjecture: beauty and utility. alike disown it as their offspring. It probably originated in the dissensions which arose among the brotherhood, before the style of their future residence was determined: and of the obstinacy. with which they contended, and the folly with which they compromised this important subject, the abbey of Mucruss to this day remains a striking and a melancholy monument. At two of the opposite corners of the cloister there are staircases leading to the cells over the vaulted walk, and to the chief apartments of the abbey. The latter are in a very dilapidated state. but several of the cells remain entire ; and under the little |