The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1909-03-13
ST. PATRIcK'S DAY.

Era0QSOnS OF .Oulu ireland happen TO
be- 1t is always a cheerful day when
ever Paddy appears with his knot of
green ribbon and sprig of shamrock,
or near" shamrock, as the case may
be. The CHEEKY tone of the color is
always accompanied by an expansive
smile on the countenance of the wear
er, and that smile appears to be infec-
ttious. for everyone who comes into
contact with Pat seems to reflect the
smile and passes on still smiling. 1t
is always interesting to read about
good st. Patrick, who is responsible
for so much happiness throughout the
world on at least one day out of each
365. The story of how he did Ire
land such good turn by chasing all
of the snakes out of the Emerald Isle
which was somewhere about the year
AGA is one of those stories which
never grow old.
st. Patriek's birthplace is claimed
by England, Scotland, Wales and
France. He is said to have been of
patrician birth. but little has ever
been traced relative to mis- family.
According to tradition which has
been crystallized into narrative form
and dignified by a place in chambers,
Patrick was captured by pirates when
sixteen years old and sold into slavery
in Ireland Here he spent seven
years, becoming familiar with the
language and customs of the people,
He finally escaped into England,
where he was ordained successfully
deacon, priest, and bishop. and once
more returned to Ireland with the au-
thority of Pope Celestine 10 preach
the gospel of the then heather inhab-
itants. His greatest enemies were the
Druid priests, and he found it neces-
sary to curse their fields, so they be-
came boys, their streams, so they
would hold no fish, and their very
kettles. so they would not boil At
last he cursed the priests themselves
and they sank to the ground and were
never seen more.
The greatest of the saints miracles
was the Punishment of snakes and all
venomous reptiles from Ireland,
which he accomplished by beating a
| drum. SO violently it is affirmed that
he beat a hole in it, thus endangering
the success of the miracle; but an
angel appeared and mended the drum
and thus the snakes were successfully
! expelled.
A remarkable fact in connection
with geographical names is that the
wanderings of st. Patrick can be
traced from the places that bear the
name Patrick in some way, from his
birthplace, assuming it to have been
fitzpatrick in Dumbartonshire. Scot
land, to various spots in England,
Ireland and Wales. where he
preached and founded churches. to
his generally accepted burial place at
! Downpatrick, where st. Columb and
! St. Bridget are supposed to be laid
/ beside him.
] The shamrock or small white clover
is universal emblem on ST. Patrick s
| day. the accepted theory being that
the saint employed the trefoil as
symbol, in preaching the doctrine of
the Trinity to the pagan Irish. 1t is
fact in natural history that snakes
are never seen amid the trefoil, and
it seems the Irish had ascribed some
mystical qualities to the plant before
| St. Patrick's advent To every man
who halls from the British Isles, this
little verse will be pleasantly sugges-
tive.
/ The plant that blooms forever
With the rose combined.
| And the thistle twined,
Defy the strength of foes to sever
Firm be the triple league they form,
Despite all change of weather;
| In sunshine, darkness, calm, or storm
Still may they fondly grow to-
gether.
OF the many song writer's who have
immortalized ST. Patrick. one gives
the following remarkable account of
his family connections and achieve
ments:
St. Patrick was a gintleman he came
of dacint people,
He built church in Dublin town and
on 1t put steeple.
His father was Gallagher, his moth
er was Brady.
His aunt was an O'Shaughnessy and
his uncle was O'Grady.
There's not mile in Ireland's isle
where dirty vermint musthers.
But there he put his dear forefut and
murdered thin in clusthers;
The toads wint hop the frogs whit
pop shlap dash into the wather,
And the shnakes committed suicide to
save themselves from slaughter.
CHORUS.
Thin SUCCESS be to st. Patrick's fish,
for he's saint so oliver.
He gave the shnakes and toads 3
twisht that bothered them for
liver
While March 18th is celebrated
the world over by the rollicking LAD
from the Emerald Isle. it is not gen
orally known that this is also the an
niversary Of ST. Joseph of Arimathea
many martyrs of Alexandria, and
Sit. Gertrude Virgin. The old Eng
lish calendars also pretend thai
on March 18th Noah entered the ark
Nature never deserts tha wise anf