The Holt County sentinel. (Oregon, Mo.) 1883-1980, 1912-03-22
St. Patrick and the Irish.

e'aTN till> FfiIiN afternoon, Nafch -:
Jus, now the newspapers are fun of
England's proposed lomc.rulc plan
for Ireland, which provides for par.
l.amcn, at Dublin with two cham.
bers. The Irish parliamcu, viii I've
cmpoNcd To deal only with certain 10.
cal affairs. II will have n,thing to
do with the army, navy. tariil. coin
age. lighthouses. or other Imperial
matters. and 1t will be forbidden to
legiNlatc on religious subjects. The
constabuiary will he left under the
control of the London authorities for
a period. For fifteen years the I'm.
pcria government will give Ireland
ten millions of dollars year TO
help her along. and after that
Ireland will haze Ia contribute To the
London excleuucr.
Nov that old Ireland Is In the
lincliglt, II might be well 10 dclve
into her early history and lind 10y
what means she was redeemed from a
condition OF barharism and heather.
dom.
Although Ireland Is mentioned un.
der the name oi lSrnc In q Greek
poem live centuries before Christ, and
by he names Of llibcrnia and Juver-
ma In various Roman writer's. little IL
known IT her inhabi,antstillt the time
of SOrgairr MarNrill. IN whose reign
81. Patrick attempted the conversion
Of the natives.
ST Patrick was To the Irish wha,
81. Augustine was t~ the English,
only more ~. He not only converted
thrm to- Christianity. hut 10y his
bra,rry. goodness and Kindness Won
thr loy, and devotion IT the rude bar.
bdriauS 10y whom the island was ~
thd' time I"uplcd. Every year las
added 10 the halo surrounding his
personality, until al present hc has
li> p,ar" among ihr saints and lis
day j. found uprn the calendar, the
I'm at March,
| lie was hpru IN Srutlanda few miles
Northwest at glasgow. lie vas not
always known H. fitrirk; A. boy III,
va called Sw'ai. queer nam" tor a
hIN NaSu't ~ and lived Win his
| father, vino WaS a man oi means and
standing IN he community. A. we'll
H. deacon Ia lh" church. When he
vas IL years old, lac Vas captured 10y
pirates and iakru To ireland, where
he Wa sold iu y rhirftain Of the
mort hrrn part Of the island. Here
the poor lad lived ~ slave for siN
years. His employment was tina, Of
hrrding cattle. lie was alone much
of the time. and ike Joan Of Are. he
gan to hear heavenly voices. The de.
sire came Ia him To preach tie gospel
10 these heather Irish. but IN his po.
sition A. slave lac felt his utter inaDil.
ity 10 do anything Of the kind. In
obedience To the voices, lie ran away
from his master and journeyed south
aoO miles, lie found a ship about to
sail for France, and persuaded the
captain To take him on board as a serv-
ant.
Arriving In France. he landed Al
the mouth oi the Loire River, and for
- days travelled on foo, across a Wild
country until hr came 10 Tours, the
home Of his uncle. the famous Bishop
Martin. lie lived withhiS uncle four
wears and a, the end Of that time r..
turned To his home In Scot
Meantime his desire to devote him.
self To the preaching of the gospel Ia
the Irish became 50 great, strength.
ened AS II was 10y visions and heaven.
~ voices, that he went back 10
France To be consecrated for this pur.
pose 10y Bishop Ainator. IL Was At
this conservation service that the
name of Patrick " Is given to him, 10y
which he has been exclusively known
ever since.
| lie hgan his missionary work IN
Ireland IN the year +nj, and the rest
Of his long life VAS spent In unccas'
lUk ItubIS, NIlNll "'It 'IoN'H'u ~ "
wonderful success.
During his six years oi life in Ire.
land rs a slave, he had acquired Il
thorough know ledge Of the language,
and this stood him in good stead " hen
he came back 10 ihc island as teacher
and rcformcr,
lie was Kind and sympa, hc,ic, hut
fearless withal, and seemed 10 know
by intuition huH 10 deal with these
rude and simple people. Upon his
coming 10 the island he found no
Christians and At his death he left no
heathens.
Many legends have gathered about
him which have enhanced his reprta.
tion, and doubtless some OF
them have some foundation IN
fact. The legend with which