Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-03-17

ly kind than any that had existed there
prior to his arrival, for tradition assigns
to him the credit (7) Of having instructed
the Irish In the art OF distilling whiskey,
from which alleged fact it is said to have
been called poteen 10 his honor. But
Father Mathew,and other Irish advocates
of temperance, have claimed St. Patrick
| as strict prohibitionist, and tell how, in
d. D. AS. he one day commanded his
disciples 10 aostaln from drink until the
bell should ring for yespers in the even
ing. One CoImsn, though busily en-
gagged in the severe lsbors Of the harvest
| field, obeyed this Injunction SO literally
that he did not even taste water through
out the long, sultry day, and when at
length the vesper bell sounded, he fell
dead-a martyr TO thirst.
Another Of ST. Pstrick's most famous
miracles is thus commemorated in the
old Irish ballad of "Polly R)e":
''St. Patrick, as in legends told,
The morning being very cold,
In order to aseuage the weather,
Collected bits OF ice together;
Then gently breathed upon the pyre,
When every fragment blased on fire
Oh! If the Saint had been 30 sind,
AS to have left the gift behind
10 sucn love lorn wretch as me,
Who daily struggles to be free;
10 pc content, ontent with part;
I'd only ask to thaw the heart
The frozen heart Of Polly Roe"
The peasantry Of the Gal:ee or Gaultie
mountains, situated between the counties
OF Cork and Tiperrsry, have legend that
| when st. Patrick banished the snakes and
| toads from Ireland he chained q monster
serpent In one of their lakes known az
L0ugh Dllveen, telling him he would not
be liberated till the following Monday.
The serpent has continued chained there
| ever since, and every Monday morning
cries out in Irish, "It's long Monday,
Patrick"
In the possession Of family residing
near Belfast there is 8 silver shrine con-
tanning q jawbone which is said to have
been 81. Patrick's. Great miraculous
powers are attributed to this relic. 1t is
believed to cure epileptic fits, to counter
act the diabolical Vaccinations of witches
and fairies and to avert the baleful in
fiuence of the evil eye. 1t is also used as
an extra judicial test of the guilt or in
| rocence OF suspected persons, who are
required to place their right hand upon 1t
and declare their innocence. It is be-
lieVed that they will be instantsneously
visited by supernatural and awful punish
ment If they then speak falsely or even
suppress any portion Of the truth.
A quaint old book of folk lore pub
lished st Dublin in 100, says that if the
wind blew hard upon st. Patrick's Eve
sit betokens death among them that are
learned, and much fish shall die in the
following summer" point that the
United States Fish Commissioners would
do well to "make note on"
The same venerable authority states
that il an egg laid on St. Patrick's dsy be
hung to the roof of house it will pre-
serve it and the inmates from all harm
during the ensuing year and advises
maidens to pray, "cross legged" to St.
Patrick on the morning OF his birthday
that he will grant them his aid in secur-
ing good husband.
In some Of the country districts of Ire
land it is customary for the young girls
between fourteen and eighteen years of
age to engage in 8 "smock race" on St.
P4trick's Day-that is, 8 foot race in
which the prize is 8 smock or chinese of
the finest Irish linen, ornamented with
ribbons. Among portion ofsthe peas
antry when St. Patrick's Dsy falls on she
Sabbath 1t is cslled "Mothering Sunday"
because 1t is customary for al young
people employed away from home to visit
their parents on that day and make them
a present of money, trinket or come
dainty edible.
One strong reason for the esteem and
veneretion in which the shamrock is held
by the Irish people Is that when preach
ing the doctrine of Trinity to the pagan
IIisb, st. Patrick used this plant, bearing
three leaves upon one stem, as 5 symbol
Or illustration of the great mystery. In
view of the good saints association with
the shamrock and with snakes, it is
worthy Of note that the Lstin writer
Pliny, in his "Nstural History" says that
serpents are never seen upon the three
leaved plant and thst it is an antidote to
the stings of snakes and scorpions.
GEoFFREY WILLIsToN CHRISTINE.