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THE SHRINE OF ST. PATRICK'S BELL. 281
out
each particular snake as if they were in very truth alive and
wriggling. Their eyes are of blue glass. The stones which still remain
in their setting are of little or no value; glass, crystal and amber
appear to have been the only objects used.
But
the beauty of the gold tracery is beyond expression. The photograph but
poorly represents it, and the engraving falls still further below the
original. It must be seen to be understood, and as the shrine may be
examined in its case at the Royal Irish Academy any day, we can only
hope that no visitor will ever leave Dublin without seeing it, no
matter what else he may leave unseen.
We return now to the history of the shrine.
The
inscription according to the general usage of Irish inscriptions begs a
prayer first for Domhnall O'Lachlainn, lord of Ailech (King of Ulster),
secondly, for Domhnall the Bishop of Armagh, and thirdly for Chathalan
O'Maelchal-lan the keeper of the shrine, and finally a
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