The Placer herald., 1870-03-26
SAINT PATRICK.

Valley National Of March 17,b, 1870:
Thirteen hundred and seven y .seven ysars
ago to-day, ST. Patrick, after having labor.
ed for over haf = century to convert tbs
Irish people from Paganism. died At the
advanced aged OF ons hundred aod three
years. This great Irishman was not IN
lrislmsn ut all, but Frsncbman-at least
he WAS a native Of Gaul, then a Romsa
province. Hs fell a prisoner into the hssds
Of one Of the Irish Kings who used 10 make
hostile raids into the Gallo territory. aud
was carried ccptive. ut the age of six, cen.
eff to The Green Isle. where be became .
slave and was empl Dyed as q shepherd until a,
the age OF %. During this time he formed.
plan for the conversion Of he Irish people,
VIII ON tradition tells US. be dearly loved.
In pursuance Of this plan, be escaped to
Rome, where be prepared himself for The
priesthood. After an absence of nearly
twenty years, be. e.re,urued TO lhs Irish shores.
where bis reception was such as inspired our
christian missionaries with high bopes Of
mar.yrdom. Although ,ba, glory was not
vouchsafed to him, be yet had the heaven
bestowed privilege Of being stoned and 9th
erwise cruelty maltrea,sd by The fierce
Druids. By the aid Of Mary Mother and
Her Son, be was after many perils, enabled
to rench the beatben Capital, even "1arraa
Hail." on whose walls, the poet tells us.
The Harp had so long been banging mute.
1t was not mute then, by any means, bu.
old King Leary and bis vassals were cele-
braing His Msjes'ys birthday by dauciuq
to its strains. 10 The midst Of this "rsvslry
by night" Patrick made bis appearance in
the presence Of the multitude and began 20
preach of linn crucifed. lie was perfectly
familiar with their language and was thus
enabled to mako them undersland the divine
truths of Christianity with little difficulty.
There were soms obstacles, during Lis frat
sermon, in making them comprehend The
mysteries OF the Three in One, but. when
Patrick pucksd a bit of shamrock and
showed them how the three lsavss and s,em
were but one they understood the relation
Of the Father. Son and Holy Ghost instant
Iy, and Ireland may be considered converted
from that happy hour.
Everybody knows how the good Saint *.
tirpated the snakes and conferred manifold
blessings ofa like nature upon dear "ouid
Ireland" all Of which ia still green INF the
memories Of her sons and daughters, nov
scattered to the uttermost ends Of The earth,
Here's q health TO them!
BORON OF THE ATLANTIo.-Ths sound
ings which we're made between ireland and
Newfoundland before laying the Atlantic
CABLE have made the bottom Of the Atlantic
almost Is We II known as the surface OF Eu-
rope or America. 1t is covered with fine
mud, the remains Of microscopic insects,
which will doubtless some day harden into
chalk. OF The inequalities Of this bottom,
Professor Huxley says:
1t is prodigious plain. one Of the widest
and most even plains 10 the world. II The
sea were drained off, you might drive a wsg-
on all the way from Vaen'ia, on the west
coas. of Ireland, to Triu,y Bay 10 Nswfound.
land. And, except upon one sharp incline
about two hundred miles from Valeu,ia, I
am not quite sure that it would ever be
necessary to put the skid on, so gentle ara
the ascents and decents upon that long
route. The road from Valentia would lie
down hill for about two hundred miles, 10
the point at which the bottom 10 now Gov
cred by seventeen hundred fathoms Of sea
water. Then would come the central plain,
more than one thousand miles wide, the
inequalities Of the surface OF which would
be hardly percep'ibIe, though the depths Of
water on it varies from ten thousand to fif-
teen thousand ieet there are places 10
which Mount Blanc might be sunk without
showing its peak above the water. Beyond
this. the ascent on the American side com
mencss and gradually leads, for abou, thrss
hundreds miles, to the Newfoundland shore.