In order to hasten that time, it appears thatSt. Malo, the youngest of the sea-faring monks, had wished, in his zeal,to baptize some one, and had therefore dug up a heathen giant who hadbeen, for some reason, buried on the blessed isle. Not only had he dug thegiant's body up, but St. Malo had brought him to life again sufficientlyfor the purpose of baptism and instruction in the true faith; after whichhe gave him the name of Mildus, and let him die once more and be reburied.Then, facing homeward and sailing beyond the fog, they touched once moreat The Island of Delights, received the benediction of the abbot of themonastery, and sailed for Ireland to tell their brethren of the wondersthey had seen.He used to tell them especially to his nurse Ita, under whose care he hadbeen placed until his fifth year. His monastery at Clonfert grew, as hasbeen said, to include three thousand monks; and he spent his remainingyears in peace and sanctity. The supposed islands which he visited arestill believed by many to have formed a part of the American continent,and he is still thought by some Irish scholars to have been the first todiscover this hemisphere, nearly a thousand years before Columbus,although this view has not yet made much impression on historians. TheParadise of Birds, in particular, has been placed by these scholars inMexico, and an Irish poet has written a long poem describing the delightsto be found there:-- "Oft, in the sunny mornings, have I seen Bright yellow birds, of a rich lemon hue, Meeting in crowds upon the branches green, And sweetly singing all the morning through; And others, with their heads grayish and dark, Pressing their cinnamon cheeks to the old trees, And striking on the hard, rough, shrivelled bark, Like conscience on a bosom ill at ease.
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