the praise of God;
The time shall come when lauding monks shall cease,
And howling herds here occupy their place;
But better ages shall hereafter come,
And praise re-echo in this sacred dome."

Striking miracles were ascribed to him; his prophecies almost
invariably came to pass, and he had marvellous visions. Columba's
mother dreamed, one night before his birth, that a person of
superhuman mien and figure presented her with a veil of the most
beautiful texture; that in a short time the giver resumed possession
of his gift, and, raising it up, it flew through the heavens.
Gradually the veil extended itself on all sides, till it spread over
mountains and plains. Grieved at the loss of such a valuable article,
she expressed her sorrow; but he who had given and taken away,
comforted her with the assurance that it was an emblem of the child
soon to be born, who, he assured her, would prove a blessing to the
nation. One day, while the saint was a youth, a young girl, pursued by
a barbarian, came running to him for protection; but before he could
lift his slender arm to save her, the monster pierced her through with
a spear. One who witnessed the tragic deed exclaimed, "Ah! how long
will this atrocious crime remain unpunished?" To this question Columba
replied, "The soul of the murderer may yet be in hell as soon as that
of the murdered is in heaven." Scarcely had he uttered these words,
than the unhappy criminal fell a lifeless corpse. At another time the
saint observed a man falling from a considerable height, and beseeched
an angel to uphold him. The good man's prayer was heard: a heavenly
messenger, with a speed swifter than that of lightning, came to the
rescue, and the man escaped unhurt.

In olden times there were sixteen ducks that usually swam about a
certain lake in Ireland; but when any injury was done to the church or
clergy they flew away, and did not return until satisfaction was given
and reparation made for the wrong perpetrated. During the absence of
the ducks, the water of the lake, naturally clear, became corrupt and
smelt so badly that man and beast refused to taste it. If any person
injured one of those birds, condign punishment was sure to overtake
him. A kite having caught one of them, flew to a tree with it, but
immediately all the ravenous bird's members became so powerless that
it could not devour its prey. At another time a fox caught a second
bird of the flock, but he had better