The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-03-17
ST.PATRICK'S DAY
Anniversary of the Birth of Ire
lands Patron Saint
IL Celebrated by 1rishmen
Wherever They May Be.
RORN 1900 YEARS AGO
History of His Work in Behalf
of Christianity.
The Shamrock and Its Relation
to the Occasion.

St. Patrick's Day, March II, is cele-
brated by Irishmen wherever they may
happen to be- There is no other great
saint in the Catholic Hagiology about
whom so much uncertainty exists 1t
In not even known whether March II
a. the date of his death or of mis- birth.
though it is sometimes said to be both
The year and the place of his nativity
are matters of dispute. Indeed. so many
conflicting legends have been woven
into his story that it is now generally
assumed that there were two or more
St. Patricks who have been rolled into
one Patricius, the Latin name. simply
means a patrician, and may have been
the sobriquet of any Christian apostle
of aristocratic lineage. Nevertheless
that there was some one commanding
personality towards whom all the myths
naturally gravitated is evident. rms
was probably the author of two Drlef
ffth-century tractates-one entitled his
"Cyonfession.' the other his Letters to
Coroticus." According to the best au-
thorities, this Patrick was born ABOUT
"A. D. 1856 in the village of Nemphthur
lust outside of Glastonbury, Eng. HIS
father was a decurion, or town council
Tor. The favorite legend, however,
makes him a native Of Tours, IN
France, and a nephew of ST Martin
From the Confession itself we learn
that in his 10th year he was carried
away by pirates and taken to the north
of ireland, where he was sold as
slave That he eventually became
noted Christian evangelist TO tne
heather in Ireland and rose to the rank
of bishop is certain, but that he is the
same person who helped to Christianize
the west of Scotland and the Isle OF
Man is improbable.
Opinions differ as to the exact time
when Bishop Patrick began his minis
trations in Ireland, but as to his I'M
mediate success there is abundant tes-
timony offered by the old legends and
more modern historians He was a
statesman as we'll as a priest, and adj
dressed himself first of all to the chiefs,
and through them reached the people
He understood as did most of the early
Christian missionaries, how to adapt
the superstitions and the pagan rites
which he found existing to the teach
ings of the church. and one of his first
doings was to light Paschal fire on
the Hill of Slane in opposition to
Druidica1 fire on the Hill of Tara, and
the light from Shane eclipsed the light
on Tara forever. His work in Ireland
may be summed up by saying that he
founded 365 churches and planted q
school by the side of each; that he has
organized at least one archiepiscopal
see, that of Armagh; consecrated two
colleges and civilized the people gem
orally. The most popular of the legends
regarding ST. Patrick is that which
gives him credit for driving all the
snakes and similar vermin out of Ire
land.
1t seems that st. Patrick, wherever
he went, was always preceded by a
drum, and the noise thus made at
tracted the people. In this the ex-
ample of the saint appears to have
have been initiated by the modern
Salvation Army. AS Patrick was ter
ribly in earnest, so was his drumme
If he had a drummer, for the
chronicles are rather vague as to this
point, and sometimes we might infer
that he whacked away at the instru-
ment himself At all events, just be-
fore going up to the hill to preach the
sermon that was to finish the snakes,
the drum was beaten so vigorously
that it burst. The theme and object
of the discourse had been announced