The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1900-03-24
St. Patrick's nay.

leu III tuib city lhSJ DhtutuhJ ".
the wearing of the green, and oil
lreland's little Shamrock. 1t wa
not only the defendants of tn
lgood old country who wore it, bu'
Jour city's patriotic American
Jews, Dutch, Itallons, negroes ant
Chinamen, honored lreland's grea
Patrons Saint by wearing thu
National color. History furnish
es us no more illustrous character,
whose history is shrouded in mys
terry than St. Patrick, 1t IS sale
his real name was Succath, Patrl
Gus being the Roman appealalior
by which he was known indicating
that he came of a patrican family.
Captured by pirates and taken to
Ireland in his sixteenth year, he
was sold to pretty chief, whom he
served as swineherder for six
years, during which time he claims
| to have been miraculously con-
verted while tending his flocks.
Effecting his escape, he went to
France, according to some of his
blographers, to England according
to others, and prepared himself
for the priesthood. Of the writ
ing OF St. Patrick but two Latin
manuscripts have been preserved,
his Confession" and a letter adj
dressed to Coroticus, a Welsh
chieftain, who had captured sew
eral of Patricks converts. IL his
confession he tells us that he WAS
miraculously called by God in a
dream to the sacred mission of
converting the Irish, mission In
which he was confirmed by Pope
Celestine.
Returning to Ireland, he devot-
ed his life to the evangelization
of her people, and is said to have
founded 1865 churches and to have
personally baptized $4,000 con-
verts. The date of his death is
assigned to various widely sunder-
ed years, some writers placing it
as early as 45S and others as late
as 1913.
The miracles, legends, tradi-
tons, superstitions and quaint
customs and observances assoclat-
ed with the name of st. Patrick
would fill many large volumes.
One of the best known of his al
eyed miracles to which it is only
necessary to allude. as it has been
made universally familiar through
he medium of picture, song and
story, is his expulsion of snakes
md all other reptiles from Ireland
which he is said to have accom-
olished by beating a drum and
irving them before him into the
ea. This strange procession had
lot gone far before st. Patrick
,eat his drum with SO much vigor
IS to break u hole in it. but an
nigel instantaneously appearing
nd miraculously mending it, the
march proceeded without further
Interruption.
st. Patrick may be said, however
o be the means of introducing
nto Ireland snakes of another and
nore deadly kind than any that
ad existed there prior to his ar
ival, for tradition assigns to him
be credit of having instructed the
IRISH in the art of distilling whisky
rom which alleged fact it is said
, have been called poteen in his
onor. But father Mathew and
Their Irish advocates of temper
nee have claimed st. Patrick as q
trict prohibitlonist, and tells how
/ A. D. 445 he one day command
d his disciples to abstain from
rink until the bell should ring
or vespers in the evening. One ;
oleman, though busily engaged
4 the severe labors of the har-
est field, obeyed this injunction
} literally that he did not even !;
lste water throughout the long :
lltry day, and at length when the Z
esper bell sounded he fell dead I
martyr to thirst. =
Another Irish legend is told by 5
le peasantry of Galtce that when :
!. Patrick banished the snakes +,
I'd toads from Ireland he chained
serpent in one of their !,
kes known as Tough Dllveen, q
ling him he would not be Iiber- :,
ell till the following Monday. !,
ut St. Patrick forgot it and on q a
cry Monday cries out in Irish: '
It's long Monday Patrick.
A quaint old book of folklore
lblished at Dublin IN 1900, says v
at if the wind blows hard upon %
=. Patrick's eve cit betokens G,
ath among them that are learn S
and much fish shall die in the
lowing summer" A point that
e United States fish commission
) would do we'll to ''make note o.
:" The same venerable author b
states that an egg laid on st.
tricks day will bring luck to :
possessor if kept.
A witty Irishman has written
this subject as follows:
n the 9Th day of March it was
some people say.