ICOLMK

religious and domestic duties they are strictly atten-tive, and in their dealings with others, display ascrupulous integrity. There are very few ot themwho cannot read and write, and many among thebetter classes would be distinguished, by their taste andlearning, in the most cultivated society of Europe.Perhaps there is no country in Europe in which thelower orders are so well informed.

Icolmkill, or Iona. The name of one of theislands in the Hebrides. Its original name, and theone by which it is still known in its vicinity, was I,signifying island ; but, St. Columba having foundeda monastery there, it was called f-Columb-kill (theIsland, Coluinba’s Cell). It is ab three miles inlength by one in breadth, and is separated from Mullby a channel about half a mile wide. Icolmkill ischiefly interesting to the antiquary for the ruins ofits ancient religious edifices. These were established,about the year 565, by St. Columba, who left Ireland,his native country, with the intention of preachingChristianity to the Piets. The remains of theseedifices, almost all constructed of fine sienite, togetherwith crosses and sepulchral monuments, form theprincipal antiquities now extant.

The principal edifice, a view of which is given inthe above engraving, bears evident marks of havingbeen erected at two different periods of time; that partof it east of the tower was, no doubt, erected at thesame time as the chapel of the nunnery, and the othermuch earlier. It is in the form of a cross ; the lengthbeing about 160 feet, the breadth twenty-four, andthe length of the transept seventy. That of thechoir is about sixty feet. The tower is about seventyfeet high, divided into three stories. It is lighted onone side, above, by a plain slab perforated by quatre-foils, and on the other by a marigold window, with spiralmullions. The tower stands on four cylindrical pillarsin the Norman style of architecture, about ten feethigh, and three in diameter. Similar proportionspervade the other pillars in the church ; their capitalsbeing short, and, in some parts, sculptured with illdesigned and grotesque figures, still very sharp andwell preserved. The arches are pointed, with a cur-vature intermediate between those of the first andsecond styles, or the sharp and the orna5nented,the twomost beautiful periods of Gothic architecture ; theirsoffits being fluted with a plain and rude moulding.A corded moulding separates the shaft from thecapital of the pillars, and is often prolonged throughdie walls at the same level.

Buchanan says that there were several chapels,founded by kings of Scotland and insular chiefs, all®! 'vbich is very probable. The cathedral itself wasdismantled by the effects of time, only a few years

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back. The remains of an ancient causeway are suffi-ciently perfect in some places ; but in others it hasbeen dilapidated, to build cottages and make enclo-sures, the stolen materials of which betray themselveseverywhere.

After Christianity was diffused throughout thenorthern parts of Scotland, this island became a seatof learning and piety. In time it rose to be the headof the Christian church in Scotland, whither theyoung princes of Scotland and Northumberland weresent for instruction; and it was also honoured withfretjuent visits from the neighbouring potentates inancient times ; while others sought an asylum herefrom the cares of the world. In the course ofthe sanguinary' wars, however, which disturbedthat barbarous age, it was frequently plundered bothby the Piets and by the Danes. From about thetwelfth or thirteenth century, its importance beganto decline ; and, during the rage of the reformation,most of its relics were destroyed, so that it is nowcovered with the ruins of its departed grandeur.Since this period, the island has become the pro-perty of the duke of Argyll ; and great pains havebeen taken by this family to preserve the venerableremains of antiquity still left on the island from fartherdilapidation.

Iconozo. The name of two immense natural bridgesin Colombia, in the province of Cundinamarca, onthe road from Santa Fe de Bogota to Ibaque, S. E.of the village of Pandi. They traverse the river ofSomma Paz, which runs in a narrow, deep valley, thatwould be inaccessible, if it were not for these bridges,which stand one above the other. The most elevatedis 325 feet above the river, 2870 feet above the levelof the sea, above forty feet wide, and is composed ofa solid rock, in the form of an arch ; its thickness inthe centre being seven or eight feet The second bridgeis more than fifty feet below' the other. It appears tobe the result of the fall of a part of the rock whichformed the first. In the centre is an opening, throughwhich is seen the abyss, and innumerable night-birdshovering above the water, which falls into a cavern sodark, that its sides are not distinguishable.

Ida. In ancient geography, the name of a moun-tain in the Troad, at the foot of which lay the city ofTroy, and whose declivity towards the sea forms thescene of the celebrated events during the siege ofTroy. Its southern part was called Gargarus, andone of its highest peaks, Cotydlus. On mount Idawas a temple to Cybele, who was called the Idmanmother. Here Paris ended the strife between thethree goddesses, and gave to Venus the prize ofbeauty ; here also Ganymede was seized and carriedto Olympus ; and, in general, mount Ida was thescene of many Grecian fables. A mountain in theisland of Crete was also called Ida, or, more properly,the middle and highest summit of the chain whichdivides the island from east to west. The easternpart was called Dicte, the western Leuci. Thishighest peak, particularly called Ida, has at its foota circumference of 600 stadia. This peak terminatesin two rocky summits, which are almost alwayscovered with snow and ice. It affords, from its height,an extensive prospect, and is covered with woods ofpine, maple, and cedar, but it is not very fertile.Among the few plants which grow upon this moun-tain is the tragacantha (goat’s thorn). Copiousstreams flow down its sides, and enrich the neigh-bouring country'.