Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-03-17
ST. PATRICk's DAY.
The Festival Of Ireland's Patron Saint.
A Grand Procession To-Day.
The "GaIIow Glasses" TO the From

Most High, and the solemn chants that re-
sound from as many choiTs are taken up by
millions of voices around the extended cir
conference, until the ehoruses of religious
music are blended with the melody of ma
tional song. To-day the sons of Erin meet
and rejoice in every land; to-day they hunt
the shamrock beneath the SHOWS of the
Arctic and under the sands of the equator;
to-day they fiaunt their immortal green,
which proudly waves in every land and
upon every sea, beside the colors of every
power.
"See, the banners are floating, and music is
And the harp on its green field shows bright in
the light,
Recalling past hours by the sea shore and deep
Ere cares cast their shadings, or partings their
blight;
But distance nor time can efface the affection,
Which loved Ireland claims from her wander
ers so gay,
And wide spreading waves tipped with foam
like the sun-cloud,
But unite souls in thought ON st. Patriek's
Day."
This day in fact, is commemorated and
reveIed by the Irish people all over the
habitable globe, wherever few of them
or their descendants are gathered together.
In the far off islands of Oceanica, in the
pampas of South America, on the slopes of
tine Pacific, on the plains of the West, in
the cities of the East and North, in the
Canadas, and in our own sunny land of the
South. From the rising of the sun to the
going down thereof, there are exiled hearts
to-day which feel, and lips which exclaim
with fervOr and devotion, God bless and
God save our Ireland.
"To his God and his country he nObly adheres,
Though he cOmbats in shackles, and worships in
tears,
And nations rely in the night of alarm,
On the Irishmans faith, and the Irishman's
arm.
Oppression in vain would his spirit subdue,
IT'S elastic as air and as piety true
From the tomb of her Emmett shall freedom as
cend,
And his dirge with the paan of victory blend.
On this day, too, memory carries back
the Irish heart to the old land-the
matched roof in the lane, the chapel on the
hill, the babbling brooks meandering to the
sea. the green, sweet scented meadows Of
long ago, where the lark carolled his matin
songs in the deep blue sky of Erin-the
ruins of abbeys, castles and round towers,
which tell the story of Ireland's faith,
Ireland's civilization and her prowess as
nation.
"We visit thy round towers and ruined old alb
Mementoes, though sad, of thy past glOry's
sheen,
Scoop the water from springs in the meadows
and listen
To the chant of the wild birds 'mOng ivy SO
green.
Yet while our thoughts bring to our eyes the
salt tear drops,
We willfuIly dash the intruders away,
And I'LL up the wine cup, and pledge with atfee-
Old ireland, Our Girls, and St. Patrick's
Day."
1t is much TO the credit of our fellow
countrymen of Irish birth or parentage
that their one holiday of all the year-the
one day on which they claim the passing
attention of the public-is religious festi-
val as well as a holiday. st. Patrick stands
high in the Roman calendar, and in the an
nails of Christianity, as being the apostle
that converted a whole nation. Other
apostles in other countries began the noble
work. but died without seeing its accom-
plishment. The labOrs of st. James in
England are merely traditional, almost
mythical. 1t seems as though the seeds Of
the Gospel did not take root. Afterwards
when the great Augustin resumed the work
with his forty monks, he had to begin at
the beginning, and died without witnessing
the fruition of his holy hopes. But Ireland
needed no second conversation. Once pos
sessed of the truth, she held fast to il.
Saint Patrick was born, according to most
authorities, near the site Of Fitzpatrick, at
the mouth of the Clyde, in Scotland in 372,
and died at Down, Ulster, probably 4G4.
At the age of 10 he was carried captive to
Ireland by 4 band of maraudeTs, but made
his escape after six months and reached
Scotland. Carried off a second time, and
again escaping. he resolved to become
missionary to the Irish, was ordained in
Scotland, and after a long preparation E.l..s
cOnsecrated Bishop. Having previously,
according TO some accounts, visited Gaul
and perhaps Italy, he paSSed over to his
chosen field OflabOr about 49,, and preached
the Gospel with such extraordinary effect
that although not absolutely the FIST to in
trOduce Christianity into that country, he
has always received the credit of its general
conversion. He baptized the Kings Of
Dublin and Munster, and the seven sons Of
the King of Connaught, with the greater
part of their subjects, and before his death
had converted almost the whole island to
the faith. St. Bernard testitieS that he
fixed his metropolitan see at Armagh, and 1t
appears that he appointed several other
Bishops, with whom he held councils to set
tie the discipline Of the church which he had
planted. In his old age he wrote his Soon
fession," the authenticity of which, how
ever, is doubted. a popular legend ascribes
to him the Punishment of all venOmOus
creatures from the island by means of his
crosier or staff, which Ralph Higden in his
"PolychrOnicon" mentions as being kept
with great veneration at Dublin in 1860.
Compared Eith the conversion of other
peoples to christianity, tbs case Of the con
quest of the faith in Ireland is certainly re-
markable. Their ancient priesthood, the
DruidS, though Jealous of the newcomer,
met him in the forum Of reason and argu-
ment. Instead of inflaming the prejudices
of the people and melting to arms, they
used argument to sustain their
power. This was as much a tribute
to the genius to the people as to their
own sense of justice. They knew nothing
but sound reasoning could influence the
convictions of the people. Their
principal stumbling block seems TO have
been Patrick'S enunciatiOn Of tile Trinity
of the GOdhead, and it is z stumbling
block with some Of our own generation.
Patrick, STOPPING TO conquer, plucked
from the ground q shamrock, a plant
somewhat similar TO our clover, having
three leaves on each sprig, alc issid It
aloft as illustrating the three persons IN
the Deity. The humble smile had its
effect. although not so apt as the scho-
lastic comparison of God the Father to
sprine. while the stream therefrom repre-
SCENTS the Son and 4 pool formed by the
stream represents the Holy Ghost pro-
ceeding from the Father and the SON
all three are distinct, and yet they are
one and the same water. These old Drlids
are not duly appreciated by modern myes-
tigators, and we sometimes think that
archaeology could develop more Of human
interest about our dead ancestors than ge-
olocy with its guesses about rocks and mas
todOns and extinct horses. The Druids
seemed to have taught good morals, and
their religions practices and Observances
were singularly free from the exceSS9S that
marked the religions Of other peoples who
are embalmed in their own classics IS civ
ilized. Books were few and costly in thai
day: the Druids cast all their traditions into
verse TO help tine memory, and transmitted
them by repeated recitatiOns. 1t is more
than likely that we are thus indebted to
them for the invention of rhyme, of which
the Greeks and Romans betray no knOwl-
edge. The fact is the Irish whom st. Pat
rick encountered were highly civilized, so
far as morals may be regarded as a critic
rion. Some religious antiguarianS have