The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1914-03-11
Stories Told
About Good
s.. Patrick


"a France and Wales ea II ays
- claim to having been the cuun-
try of st. Patrick BIZ tn. he
belongs to the Irish and no one else.
for all his good works We're accom-
plished among them. and all his tradi-
| lions are associated with them. He
| loved Ireland. and Ireland loved him
and still adores everything connected
with his name. He has done more for
the spiritual uplift Of the country than
any other one who has ministered spir-
itually to it, and, while there may be
many myths and legends associated
with him In which he had no part, yet
they go to add to the man and
beauty Of his character and charm and
generation to his name.
st. Patrick was born about the year
372. When he was sixteen years of
age he was stolen by pirates, who sold
him into slavery in Ireland, where his
master employed him as a swineherd
In the mountains of Celeamish. in the
county of Omstreth. Being warned in
a dream by God to run away. Patrick
set out for a town on the continent.
Advancement In the Church..
Having already passed seven years
in Ireland. where he had become per-
fectly familiar with its language. its
manners. habits and customs, he was.
Of course. we'll qualified to become a
sattart or theolOgian abroad. which he
did and was ordained deacon, priest
and bishop. and then once more. by the
authority OF the pope. he returned to
Ireland to preach the gospel to the
people he had come to love SO we'll.
A popular legend relates that the
saint and his followers found them
selves n cold morning on a mountain
without a fire to cook their breakfast
or warn their frozen limbs. On heed
ing their complaints Patrick desired
them to collect a pile OF ice and snow
balls, which having been done he
breathed upon 1t. and instantaneously
1t became a pleasant fire-a fire that
long after served to point a poets con-
ceit in these lines:
st. Patrick. as in legends told,
Thu morning being very cold.
IN order to assuage the weather,
Collected bits of ice together,
Then gently breathed upon the pyre,
When every fragment blazed on fire.
"Oh. II the saint had been so kind
AS to have left the gift behind
To such a lovelorn wretch as me,
Who daily struggles to be free.
Ia be c~ontent-content with part
I'd only ask to thaw the heart,
The frozen heart Of Polly Roe!"
The greatest Of St. Patrick miracles
was that of driving the venomous rep
tiles out of Ireland and rendering the
soil forever after so obnoxious to the
serpents that they lnstantaneously die
on touching 1t. Colgan seriously re.
lates that st, Patrick accomplished this
feat by beating a drum, which he
struck with such fervor that he knock.
ed a hole in it, thereby endangering the
success OF the miracle. But an angel
appeared. mended the drum, and the
patched instrument was long exhibited
as a holy relic.
Legend Of the Shamrock.
The shamrock, or small white clover,
is almost universally worn in the hat
over all Ireland on st. Patrick's day.
A"N toIuANi uOIAOA IS luul NuGu 81
Patrick was preaching the doctrine of
the trinity to the pagan Irish he used
this plant. bearing three leaves upon
n stem. as a symbol or illustration of
the great mystery. To suppose, as
some ahsurdly hold, that he used it as
an argument would be derogatory to
the saints high reputation for ortho-
| InvV n nd OnnI cAns0 p,,f ~ T., co,y%oi,,
ly a curious coincidence. If nothing
more. that the trefoil. in Arabic. is
called "shamrnth" and was held secret
In Iran as emblematic of the Persian
triads. Pliny. too. in his natural his.
tory says that serpents are never seen
upon trefoil. and it prevails against the
stinGs OF snakes and scorpions.
1t is said that in the Galtee or Gal.
tic mountains. situated between the
counties of Cork and Tipperary. there
are seven lakes. in one OF which, call.
ed Tough Dilveen. it is said St. Pat.
rick when baniShing the snakes and
toads from Ireland chained a monster
serpent. telling him to remain there
till Monday.
The serpent every Monday morning
calls out in Irish. ut is a long Mon.
day. Patrick"
That st. Patrick chained the serpent
In Tough Dilveen and that the ser
pent calls out to him every Monday
morning are firmly believed by the low.
er orders who live in the ne%ighborhood
Of the Tough.
st. Patrick is commonl! stated to
have died at Saul on the 18th OF
March. 493. in the one hundred and
twenty-frst year of his age.