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THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL. 277
Cuailgne
in which he carried off twelve hundred cows and a multitude of captives
in revenge for the violation of the Bell of the Will."
Besides
the extraordinary high price set upon the bell as evidenced by the
number of cattle taken in revenge for the slight offered it, the record
is interesting as showing the relative values of cows and men. It will
be remarked that the horned cattle are carefully numbered as being
precious, while the human cattle are roughly lumped together as a
"multitude." This raid was followed later on by another in which "
cattle-spoil and prisoners " were carried off in revenge for another
violation.
During
the episcopacy of Donell MacAulay who occupied the see of Armagh from
1091 to 1105, the sacred bell was inclosed in the gorgeous shrine
which, though mutilated, still excites our admiration and envy. An
inscription runs around the shrine; it has been managed with such skill
that the letters seem to form an ornamentation rather than a break in
the gen-
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