Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-03-17
81. PATRIck.
The Nan whose birthday We CeIebFate
Portraits OF an Early Christian
The LabOFs Of h I1IHstFt0us Apostle Of
Ereland-What he Accomplished
-The Great Holiday.

q III t1G AAcgkAD4A VI JIG AEl84 H6ODLC
may be set down IS a person Of apOtleEs
fame. It has been discussed graveiy by
profound philosophers and learned his
torians whether st. Patrick was not the
greatest man that ever lived. As q Chris
tan teacher he certainly had an unparal-
leled career, and his labor produced re-
suits that find no rivalry among the works
OF any OF b primitive apostles of the
church. IL Is no less honorable TO tha
Irish people than to st. Patrick that his
labors, his tolls and successes are held in
as fresh and grateful remembrance now as
q thousand years ago. That must be no
common lustrs Of character that can
pass through the storms and vicissitudes
OF fifteen centuries untarnlshed and I'M
dimned. It would furnish q profitable
philosophical inquiry the investigation
st. Pstrick's festival. All the nations of
Europe have their patron saints, but their
history and peculiarly are known only
to the antiquary. st. Georges, of England
Is almost q myth. The French revere no
sacred memory as q nation. Italy, with
her host of msrtys and sanity characters
cannot display anything Ike The devotion
of IrelSnd 70 Patrick. Even hero worship
is dying out In the world. But in the lat
ter half OF this m~aterialistic century, when
the Pr~edominstiDg CHARACTERISTIC of the
human mind is
I-CoEoCL&sM,
Il Is astonishing to find that st. Patrick
becomes more popular, and that his men,
DRY becomes more sacred every yesr. Tbs
gbostly heroes Of the world are getting
knocked on the head, so to speak, every
day; but st. Patrick not only escapes the
general destruction, but is surrounded by
serrIed ranks OF worshippers that grow
deuser and more dsvout with every re-
HOIu7n0 guGin nF tina Ha uEanHu m IN O
niche OF fame now that no desolsting in
huence can 5ver reach. And ne bids fair
to be one Of those characters that is des-
tines to outlsst sill the corroding in
huencsa of time, whose memory will re-
main in pristine splsndOr In the hearts
of millions until the world itself, with all
its idols, shall be rolled up like q scroll
and "time shall be no longer"
ST. PATRICK.
st. Patrick, it Is generally thought, was
born near BoulOgne.sur-Mer, about the
year 367. AT thai time the Irish were
called Scots. They were a daring, dsvas-
tating, warlike race, who lived principally
by their docks and plumber. In one of
their incursiOns into Gsul q squsd of
them fell sfoul of st. Patrick and made
him q prisoner. He became the common
property OF four brothers, who carried
him to the northwest Of Ireland, and pct
him to herding swine. BE must have had
q happy time Of It among those four
scoundrels, each Of whom, no doubt, tried
TO get as much out Of him as possible.
One of the brethren, by the name Of Mil
cho, who appears to have been q more sue
cesstul marauder than the others, and was
therefore better fixed. purchased the eX-
elusive right we Patrick from the other
three. After this the life of the young man
was more tolerable. he found his great
comfort, however, out on the mountains
alone, where he says he prayed q hum
dred times in the day and One hundred
times during the night, in all sorts Of
weather. Having been six or seven years
q slave, he escaped to France, and made
his way home. He studied for a season,
with St. Martin Of Tours, who was his
uncle, and after q time became 3 priest.
He spent some years with
ST. GERMAN,
of Auxerre, and sfterWsrd went TO Rome,
where be was commissioned by st. Ce-
lestine, Pope, to 60 to Ireland and con-
vert that pagan country. He landed
near Dublin, when he was fortY-dve years
old. Having Travelled considerable in the
island and made some converts, he re-
solved to visit Tara, the seat of the chief
monarch Of the island, and attack pagan
ism in its stronghold. This was a bold
undertaking, and shows that S.. Patrick
was g man of uncommon energy and bra
very. The king was surrounded by all
his chief drulds and religious people, who
were at the head of the frs-worshiping
system then pursued in Ireland. If
PATRICK
could only overcome these, his future
path would be not only easy, but pleas
ant. He preached before the king, and
with such good effect that he converted
the kings daughter, and got permission
from b old warrior himself 20 preach his
new faith to his people. Patrick lsbOred
with such success during a long life in
Ireland, that at his death he had the hap
piness OfknoWing there was not an uncon-
Vertsd soul on the island. So completely
did he finish the work he had determined
IN that he left three hundred churches
in Ireland, c0nsecrabed a great number OF
bishops, and even established the monss-
tic orders. A CREST number Of eccle-
siastical schools were IN furnishing
condition even before his death, so that
already young men eminently endowed
with the apostolic spirit went Out from
them to preach the gospel in foreign
countries.
his PERSONAL APPEARANCE N HABITS.
st. Patrick established his see at Arunsgh,
which Is yet the pr1msttsl see OF Ireland
with both Catholics and E~plscopalisns.
Old ~chrOuiclers represent st. Patrick as
being 2 person Of 3 tall, commanding
figure, benign of aspect, dignfhed and elo-
quent of speech, simple In his habits,
much given to prayer and fasting. He
travelled principally on foot until ne grew
old, when he frequently rode In q chariot.
He labored with his own hands, filling
the ground snd fishing. Whenever the
rich forced GIFTS upon him he fastened to
distribute them among the poor. He died
at the age of one hundred and twenty
years at DOwnpstriek, where he was
buried. It is the day of his death and not
that of his birth which is celebrated. This
is the usual custom Of the Church, for 1t
Is on that day the victory is accomplished
and the goal of the christians sbri7ings
won.
hymn OF THE ARL CHRISTIANS OF IRE.
LAND
Though Israel knew US not, OLord, though
Jacob owned us not,
By thee, our Father, Savior, Friend, we never
were forgotl
HGlad tidiDgs OF great Joy" thou'st brought
into the farthest west,
with thy gospels heavenly light this faY-
ored Isle has blesti
Though plunged before, with grief weovn, In
superstition's night,
With rapturOus gratitude we hailed. the first
approach OF light;
No stubborn wrath, no barbaroua rage did
thine apostle meet
We felt and we confessed thy yoke wac light,
thy burden sweet"
To thee the thanks, to thee the praise foronIy
Trough thy grace
Could such a change be wrought In as, a weak,
q sinful race;
Oh, still, dear Lord, that heavenly grace
vOuchsafe on Us to pour;
Oh, grant thy faith may flourish still on Erin's
emerald shorel
whatever, through the lapse Of ages, to as
thou, o2ord, our chtdrsn's stay, their sure
support and guide.
Though slavery, persecution, etc, may
long, long be their fate, still may they
keep Thy holy faith unstained, inviolate!
But should one day . brighter dawn arise
for them at last, may they In Joy, as well
as grief, still to Thy faith hold fast. May
1t still be their dearest boast, their pride,
their Joy, TO be, in evil and in prosperous
days, equally true to Thee.
TIE SPIRIT OF THE CELEBRATION.
It will be seen from what has been ssid
Of st. Patrick, that the celebration Of his
anniversary Is none other than q religious
observance, and no other Significance can
be attached to It. Out Of all the heroic and
noble names which Ireland has produced
names that are justly respected and
by the enthusiastic sons of that
beautiful island,-there is not one that has
sver for q moment, In any measure, |
dimmed tbs glory other national apostle.
The great men Of arms and of speech who /
have illustrated the richness Of the Irish
character In those departments, while re-
that need Of praise and reverence
which are their due, nevsr come into COM
with Patrick, because he stands
upon q higher plsne than any that can be
by mere people Of the world. The |
tribute that is peidto him on every recur-
ring Seventeenth of March is q tribute to
Christianity. The Irish people remember,
irst and abOvs all things, that Patrick
vas q Saint-the grandess and noblest
title that can be achieved by man.
THE KNIGHTS OF ST. PATRICK.
To day viii be celebrated By the
y-s-Lk@o E< Daew1oly The ,o1- ,-,-s-- /