The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-18

honor Of the saints birth. There is no
St Patrick drove the ophildia from the
shores Of Erin. II is stated quite reliably
that he died March II, 1873
BY way Of depression it might be stated
that the old English calendars celebrated
on March l. quite as remarkable an occur
renee. The day was supposed to mark the
entrance of Noah into the ark. Opposite
the date was always placed the words
'Jntroitus Noae in aream."
But 10 return to St. Patrick. With the
| coming Of the day when the shamrock is
Haunted in the buttonholes Of loyal Hiber
| mans the legends of the saint are re
| vived. All of them are more or less in
| terestins, and many of them are unfa-
miliar to the general public, It is safe 10
say that the life of no one of the early
! fathers Of the Church formed a more
| fruitful field for anecdote. In numerous
, ancient volumes his name is coupled with
! biographies, sketches, and reports of mi
| racles the chronicler OF those wonders
| usually concluding with the observation,
| Thus was God glorifed and in him Pat
| rick" But in this mass Of semi myth
ology there is good deal of truth.
Views of Various Writers.
| The various writer's discuss the ques-
tion Of the saints merits in a very serious
| way. One goes into the subject at length,
| and seeks TO prove that St Patrick was
| a Scotchman. Another asserts in the most
| dictatorial manner that the holy man was
| Frenchman. still another sort OF
| seventeenth century exponent Of higher
| criticism" offers what he calls evidence
1 TO show that the worker Of miracles was
| an entirely mythical parsonage, whom the
| Church canonized in order to manufacture
| patron saint with the reputation Of a
wonder worker.
All the old legends and traditions are
delightfully."- homely. Notwithstanding the
| transcendent gifts ascribed their hero is
| always essentially human. In one a count,
| perhaps the most authentic, since portions
| Of il appear in every biography il is re-
] lated that when but sixteen years old the
! future saint was captured by pirates and
| sold into slavery in Ireland for seven years.
| He was then employed as a keeper Of
/ swine on the top Of a very high mountain.
While idly watching his drove he medi-
! tated deeply on the condition Of the people
| and the necessity OF doing little miss on
AIRY work among them.
| 1t was on this mountain. according TO oae
| Of his biographers. that young Patrick first
| came into contact with the devil, and the
| convinced him that he was some cay to he
he champion Of the people against all evil.
| One night while sleeping near his drove
| the devil came rolling down the mountain
| in the guise OF a great stone. and at
tempted TO crush the lad. Springing to one
| side, the future saint cried at the top of
his voice, Helias, Helias," At the same
moment, although not due for many hours.
| the sun rose and shed its rays over the
tn iuh ha a,-F1 n1n
| soon as the devil disappeared the sun
faded away, and night came on again.
Making Fire Out Of snow.
! The miracles ascribed to St Patrick ara
| related with variations by the different
writers. All agree that this and that
miracle was performed, but the time. pace,
and other details are altered. One Of the
most remarkable OF these wonders oc-
! CURED on cold morning when, with his
| little band Of converts, ST. Patrick stood
on a bleak mountain with no means at
| hand to make a fire. Snow was falling.
I and chilling. bowling wind swept across
/ the hills. st. Patrick ordered snow heapad
! into a pile, and when a sufficient quantity
was collected be breathed upon the frozen
mass. In an instant a blaze spTang up. and
| the snow continued to burn as long as the
| party remained in the vicinity.
The following allusion is made to this
miracle in a poem written by some wag in
| the early part Of the present century.
Il. Patrick as in legends told
The morning being very cold.
In order 20 dssIage the weather.
Collected bits Of ice together:
Then gently hrtathed upon the pyro
When every fragment hlszed on fir,
All i ihc saint had been so kind
A. 70 have le'; The gift behind
I" such q lov'-lorn wretch rs me
Who daily struggles 10 be Tree
I'D he roHttnt-coutent with part,
I'd only ask 10 tasw The heart
The frozen heart Of Polly Roe.
Patrick left Ireland when young man
and went 10 Rome. He studied a good deal
in different parts Of Europe When he
had become famous for his piety Pope
Celestine ordained him 10 be missionary to |
ireland, and he returned to the island He
was lily received al first and he had some
difficulty in ef1eeiiug q landing as the |
people along the shore took him and his |
comrades 20 be pirates The saint con-
WINGED the natives Of his pacific inten iona
and he was allowed to come ashore where |
he rewarded their confidence by saving
their souls. His worst enemies he found to
be the Druids. who had established their |
gloomy worship over a large part Of the |
island. They backed up their priest craft |
with mummery and magic. and Patrick's |
struggle with them frequently develOped |
marvellous things. At last the sect found |
that the saint was too much for them. and !
they had 20 abandon their tenets in despair |
E1peIIing the Reptiles
Colgan, the antiquarian. gives an inter |
esting story Of the most famous miracle. |
that OF Kidding ireland OF snakes Ac- |
cording to Cogan, the saint procured an |
immense drum and walked about the coun- |
try beating a thunderous tattoo Snakes /
OF all sorts, charmed by the rude music |
fell in behind the drummer by the thou |
sands and ten Of thousands and squirmed |
along In his wake. st. Patrick was well |
on his Tay 10 the sea when an unusually |
energetic blow knocked hole in the head |
OF the drum. The snakes then stopped fol- |
lowing Patrick and started TO return 10
their former haunts, when an angel on |
portunely appeared and mended the drum
instantly. The saint then resumed his
pounding and again the snakes followed |
quietly in his rear.
The reptiles were all led into the sea and
drowned. Only one escaped and he was
chosen for special punishment. St Patrick |
took him and confined him in the gloomy
DEPTHS Of Lake Dilveen, IN the Galtea
Mountains Of TippeTary. The saint agreed
TO determine the fate OF the snake on Mon
day but for some reason forgot to return
to the lake again. They say in Tipperary
even to this day that every Monday the
snake comes TO the surface OF the lake and
walls out in the richest old Irish, IT'S a
long, long Monday, Patrick
In 1881 Mr. James Cleland. a landed Irish |
gentleman, with an inquisitiye turn of
mind. thought he would find out whether
or not snakes would flourish on the island. |
Accordfug he Unmarried six srOod healthy