Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1874-04-02

4
awaited him. He fed! From bondage
this great APOSTLE. shivering through th,
hills Of Scotland and England, sough
|. abe tender fare. the sweet smile and th,
burning :ove Of his dear mother far ava,
in Armorican Gaul. But e'er be reached
her. ere her loving embrace caught tn,
darling. long lost child to her bosom 'ers
be heard the gentle accents Of a mother.
voice in gladness. he caught floating on
the wings Of siumber the wailing of na.
ticn, and in dream he heard the voice
of Ireland in her sorrow. aid saw hei
benuifui form fanguishing under the mes
meric spell Of Druidical idolatry. but read :
to receive the plastic touch Of Divine in.
spira,ior!
Returning then TO his home, he imme.
dia'ely prepared himself to carry out the
great purpose of bis lie. After his conse.
Grafton at Rome he returned to the land
Of lis bondage. to the ancient Isle OF
Destiny" and in ;he laIgsage Of the clo-
qucnt Father Burke. 20. golden hour
amougs, the hours. when the sands Of the
Irish shore first embraced softly and low
incly the beautiful footprints of him who
preached peace and good things" When
lie landed he found no bartarous herd Of
half naked wretches. wallowing in the
slough and mire Of vice !; no unlettered
hea,hens wor.hipping beasts and reptiles
IS the Egyptians and other nneicn. nations
did before the influence of Christianity was
made known to them but peo, lc verscd
in government. ruled by kings, and re-
ligion wrapped in music looking heaven
ward for God from the Round Towers
and the hill of Tara! Hardly had he
landed before Ireland felt the influence of
his presence. The monarch Laogare was
in the habit of calling an assembly of the
princes. druids and pagan-pr,ests in the
halls Of Tara. st. Patrick found this ou.
and Immediately proceeded with his re-
tinuc Of assistance to tnis renowned as
s"mbly. 1t was \ custom among tae Me-
lesans that when this assembly met. to
erect large fire upon the hills OF Tara,
aud an edict of the druids proclaimed that
no other fire should be lighted within the
territory of Brcah Ignorant of this
surcrstlrious practice. or unmindfnl Of it,
the grca, apostle pitched his tent within
full view OF Tara, and the blazing fagnts
shot their rays through the darkness of
wards preached dispellcd the shadows Of
idolatry. and shed ray of glory around
that island. which hangs to-day as bea-
con that guides Ler cxilcd sens on their
rugged paths Of duty!
He came, he saw. he conquered; bu,
the victories Of this Christian Caesar were
achieved withou; one drop of hlooJ-a
C. inquest withou. parallel in the history
% this world. How was i, accomplished I?
With the divine sword of Truth he struck,
in the halls of Tara. the foremost man of
Ireland: the Druids hung their heads in
admiration. swept aside their flowing
boards and raised their voices. as they
were wont to do under their gnarled oaks.
and proclaimed to the awc-strack assem-
bly, the God Of the Christians The bards
tuned their harps in praise Of higher
king. and the voices OF her maidcns swe led
in grateful notes the triumph of redcmp-
tion.
When ST. Patrick and his bishops took
their seats in Tara. what then was done ?
The Register of Tara was expunged by
three kings, three bishops and three an-
tiquarics. The laws were renodelled, and
perfect harmony rcigned throughout the
land. Ireland became the cranary of lit
era,ure, art and science. Religion -four
i>hed as it never has done since in any
IL
and groaned with the weight of harvcs,s ::
in fact. the age of ST Patrick, and that
Immediately succeeding. unit. the long
aud bloody incursions of the Danes. is al
most beyond conception, says the able his
torian MacGeoghc gan. so distinguished
had i, become both in religion and knowl-
edge of the sciences.
During all this period of Irelani's glo-
ry. Rome was falling to pieces like an i'll
constructed, disproportioned edifce, from
its own weight. During this period, from
1873. A. H., to the beginning of the ninth
century. Scythia was pouring forth her
bands. or hordes Of mounted maraudcrs,
from the barren. bleak and inhospi,able
Sicppes Of Asia, and the snowcir;ed slope:
of the Ural Mountains And the pine.
Of Scandinavia and the North. lashci BY
the Arctic winds. marshalled the hosts O
Alaric and Attila. and moaned the dirg,
Of the Mistress of the World All tha
polished lore from the Grecian and Roman
civilization was entombed in the mountair
caves. those vaults Of nature, to escap,
destruction. Religion. wrapped in cloal
of sadness, hid its face and wept again i,
silence. The storm subsiied. A, one,
poured forth the sagcs and scholars of Ire
land to reclaim the lost spiri, Of sssn. from
the southern shores of Italy to the rock
bound coasts Of Br,tainy.
! Amids, the ruins Of continental civilixa
tion there arose grea, aud wise king
who caugh, Religion in one hand an,
Learning in the other. ard led them u
the rugged path. to place them upon ,ha
emiueuce from which the wrath Of ,h
Rarbarisn had hurled them, and in thei
place had seated murky Ignorance. vii,
her hsndmaid. Vice. But did he achiev
! this alCne!-unaided cxcep, by The rescar
ees of bis srsa, empire! Where were th
seats Of learning from which all his na
,icn draek the refreshing draughss Of vi:
domI Were they no, Paris aud Ticinun
, How came these great Universities es,at
lishsd, aud who founded them Ther
landed on the shores cf France swo men
{ two irishmen-namcd Claude Clement an
$ Aleinus. having accompanied there som
5 merchants. who were ,raficing their war,
{ and merchandise. These ,xo men ha,
> Ing ex;lcd themselves for the human rac'