ancestors.

We have already compared the shape of Erin to a shield,
in which the four Provinces represented the four quarters.
Some shields have also _bosses_ or centre-pieces, and
the federal province of MEATH was the _boss_ of the old
Irish shield. The ancient Meath included both the present
counties of that name, stretching south to the Liffey,
and north to Armagh. It was the mensal demesne, or "board
of the king's table:" it was exempt from all taxes, except
those of the Ard-Righ, and its relations to the other
Provinces may be vaguely compared to those of the District
of Columbia to the several States of the North American
Union. ULSTER might then be defined by a line drawn from
Sligo Harbour to the mouth of the Boyne, the line being
notched here and there by the royal demesne of Meath;
LEINSTER stretched south from Dublin triangle-wise to
Waterford Harbour, but its inland line, towards the west,
was never very well defined, and this led to constant
border wars with Munster; the remainder of the south to
the mouth of the Shannon composed MUNSTER; the present
county of Clare and all west of the Shannon north to
Sligo, and part of Cavan, going with CONNAUGHT. The chief
seats of power, in those several divisions, were TARA,
for federal purposes; EMANIA, near Armagh, for Ulster;
LEIGHLIN, for Leinster; CASHEL, for Munster; and CRUCHAIN,
(now Rathcrogan, in Roscommon,) for Connaught.

How the common people lived within these external divisions
of power it is not so easy to describe. All histories