CHAPTER X. Prophecy of the Saint regarding Colca, son of Aid Draignich, sprung from the grandsons of Fechureg, and regarding some secret sin of his mother. THIS Colca residing one time in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona) with the saint, was asked by him concerning his mother whether she was a pious woman or not. Colca answered him, "I have always known my mother to be good, and to bear that character." The saint then spoke these prophetic words: "Set out now at once for Scotia (Ireland), with God's help, and question thy mother closely regarding her very grievous secret sin, which she will not confess to any man." To carry out the advice thus given him he departed to Hibernia: and when he interrogated his mother closely, she at first denied, and then she at last confessed her sin. When she had done penance according to the judgment of the saint, she was absolved, wondering very much all the while at what was made known to the saint regarding her. CHAPTER XI. COLCA, however, returned to the saint, and remained with him for some days, and then asking about the end of his own days, received this answer from the saint:- "In thine own beloved country thou shalt be head of a church for many years, and when at any time thou happenest to see thy butler making merry with a company of his friends at supper, and twirling the ladle round in the strainer, know that then in a short time thou shalt die." What more need I say? This same prophecy of the blessed man was exactly fulfilled, as it was foretold to Colca. CHAPTER XII. Regarding Laisrean, the gardener, a holy man. ON a certain day, the holy man ordered one of his monks named Trena, of the tribe Mocuruntir, to go a message for him to Scotia (Ireland). While he was preparing the ship in haste to obey the orders of the man of God, he complained before the saint that one of the sailors was wanting. The saint immediately answered him, and uttered these words from his sacred breast, "The sailor who is, thou sayest, absent, I cannot just now find. But go in peace; thou shalt have a favourable and steady breeze till thou reach Hibernia. Thou shalt see a man coming to meet thee from a distance, and he will be the first to seize the prow of thy ship in Scotia (Ireland); he shall be with thee during the time of thy sojourn in Hibernia, and accompany thee on thy return to us, as a man chosen by God, who in this very monastery of mine will live piously the remainder of his days." What more can I add? Trena received the saint's blessing, and crossed over at full sail during the whole voyage, and lo! as his little ship was nearing the port, Laisran Mocumoie ran forward before the others and caught the prow. The sailors knew that this was the very man of whom the saint had spoken beforehand. CHAPTER XIII. How the Saint knew and told beforehand about a great Whale. ONE day when the venerable man was staying in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), a certain brother named Berach intended to sail to the Ethican island (Tiree), and going to the saint in the morning asked his blessing. The saint looking at him, said, "O my son, take very great care this day not to attempt sailing direct over the open sea to the Ethican land (Tiree); but rather take a circuit, and sail round by the smaller islands, for this reason, that thou be not thrown into great terror by a huge monster, and hardly be able to escape." On receiving the saint's blessing he departed, and when he reached his ship, he set sail without giving heed to the saint's words. But as he was crossing over the larger arms of the Ethican sea, he and the sailors who were with him looked out, and lo, a whale, of huge and amazing size, raised itself like a mountain, and as it floated on the surface, it opened its mouth, which, as it gaped, was bristling with teeth. Then the rowers, hauling in their sail, pulled back in the utmost terror, and had a very narrow escape from the agitation of the waves caused by the motion of the monster; and they were also struck with wonder as they remembered the prophetic words of the saint. On the morning of that same day, as Baithene was going to sail to the forenamed island, the saint told him about this whale, saying, “Last night, at midnight, a great whale rose from the depth of the sea, and it will float this day on the surface of the ocean between the Iouan and Ethican islands (Iona and Tiree)." Baithene answered and said, "That beast and I are under the power of God." "Go in B peace," said the saint; "thy faith in Christ shall defend thee from this danger." Baithene accordingly, having received the saint's blessing, sailed from the harbour; and after they had sailed a considerable distance, he and his companions saw the whale; and while all the others were much terrified, he alone was without fear, and raising up both his hands, blessed the sea and the whale. At the same moment the enormous brute plunged down under the waves, and never afterwards appeared to them. CHAPTER XIV. Prophecy of the holy man regarding a certain Baitan, who with others sailed in search of a desert in the ocean. Ar another time, a certain man named Baitan, by race a descendant of Niath Taloirc, when setting out with others to seek a desert in the sea, asked the saint's blessing. The saint bidding him adieu uttered this prophecy regarding him: "This man who is going in search of a desert in the ocean shall not be buried in the desert, but in that place where a woman shall drive sheep over his grave." The same Baitan, after long wanderings on stormy seas, returned to his native country without finding the desert, and remained for many years the head of a small monastic house, which is called in the Scotic tongue Lathreginden (not identified). When after a while he died and was buried, in the Oakgrove of Galgach (Derry), it happened at the same time that on account of some hostile inroad the poor people with their wives and children fled for sanctuary to the church of that place. Whence it occurred that on a certain day a woman was caught, as she was driving her lambs over the grave of this same man who was newly buried. Then a holy priest who was present and saw this, said, "Now is fulfilled the prophecy which St. Columba uttered many years ago." And this I myself was told regarding Baitan, by that same priest and soldier of Christ, Mailodran by name, of the tribe of Mocurin. CHAPTER XV. Prophecy of the holy man regarding a certain Neman, who was not a real penitent. AT another time, the saint came to the Hinbina island (Eilean-na-naoimh, one of the Garveloch islands), and that same day he gave orders that even the penitents should enjoy some indulgence in respect of their food. Now there was among the penitents in that place a certain Neman, son of Cathair, who, though ordered by the saint, declined to accept the offer of this little indulgence. Him then the saint addressed in these words: "O Neman, art thou not accepting some indulgence in food as it is kindly granted by me and Baitan? The time shall come when thou wilt be stealthily eating mare's flesh, as thou liest concealed in the woods with robbers." And accordingly that same man afterwards returned to the world, and was found in a forest with robbers taking and eating off a wooden griddle such flesh as the saint had foretold. CHAPTER XVI. Regarding a certain unhappy man who lay with his Mother, AT another time, the saint called out the brethren at the dead of night, and when they were assembled in the church said to them: "Now let us pray fervently to the Lord, for at this hour a sin unheard of in the world has been committed, for, which rigorous vengeance that is justly due is very much to be feared." Next day he spoke of this sin to a few who were asking him about it. "After a few months," he said, "that unhappy wretch will come here to the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona) with Lugaid, who is unaware of the sin." Accordingly after the few months had passed away, the saint one day spoke to Diormit, and ordered him, "Rise quickly; lo! Lugaid is coming. Tell him to send off the wretch whom he has with him in the ship to the Malean island (Mull), that he may not tread the sod of this island." He went to the sea in obedience to the saint's injunction, and told Lugaid as he was approaching all the words of the saint regarding the unhappy man. On hearing the directions, that unhappy man vowed that he would never eat food with others until he had seen St. Columba and spoken to him. Diormit therefore returned to the saint, and told him the words of the poor wretch. The saint, on hearing them, went down to the haven, and as Baitan was citing the authority of Holy Scriptures, and suggesting that the repentance of the unhappy man should be received, the saint immediately replied to him, "O Baitan! this man has committed fratricide like Cain, and become an adulterer with his mother." Then the poor wretch, casting himself upon his knees on the beach, promised that he would comply with all the rules of penance, according to the judgment of the saint. The saint said to him, "If thou do penance in tears and lamentations for twelve years among the Britons, and never to the day of thy death return to Scotia (Ire land), perhaps God may pardon thy sin." Having said these words, the saint turned to his own friends and said, "This man is a son of perdition, who will not perform the penance he has promised, but will soon return to Scotia (Ireland), and there in a short time be killed by his enemies." All this happened exactly according to the saint's prophecy; for the wretched man, returning to Hibernia about the same time, fell into the hands of his enemies in the region called Lea (Firli, in Ulster), and was murdered. He was of the descendants of Turtre. CHAPTER XVII. Of the Vowel I. ONE day Baithene came to the saint and said, "I want some one of the brethren to look over with me and correct the psalter which I have written." Hearing this, the saint said, "Why give us this trouble without any cause? In that psalter of thine, of which thou speakest, there is not one superfluous letter to be found, nor is any wanting except the one vowel I." And accordingly, when the whole psalter was read over, what the saint had said was found to be true. CHAPTER XVIII. Of the Book which fell into the Water-vessel, as the Saint had foretold. IN the same way, on another day, as he was sitting by the hearth in the monastery, he saw at some distance Lugbe, of the tribe Mocumin, reading a book, and suddenly said to him, "Take care, my son, take care, for I think that the book thou readest is about to fall into a vessel full of water." And so it soon happened, for when the same youth rose soon after to perform some duty in the monastery, he forgot the word of the blessed man, and the book which he held negligently under his arm suddenly fell into the water-pot, which was full of water. CHAPTER XIX. Of the Inkhorn, awkwardly spilled. ON another day a shout was given on the other side of the Sound of the Iouan island (Sound of Iona); the saint hearing the shout, as he was sitting in his little hut, which was made of planks, said, "The man who is shouting beyond the Sound |