rd of this saint's residence in Scotland, but his
_cultus_ flourished there, possibly on account of his connection
with St. Brendan (see May 16). Lesmahago, the site of a Benedictine
monastery, takes its name from him, the title being a corrupt form of
_Ecclesia Sti. Machuti_ (Church of St. Machutus). Wigtown church,
also, was dedicated to this saint.

16--St. Margaret, Queen, A.D. 1093.

It is impossible here to say much in detail of {166} the life of the
saintly queen who is regarded as one of the heavenly patrons of the
Kingdom of Scotland; but to omit all notice of her would make our
calendar incomplete. It will be sufficient to note briefly the chief
events of her life. St. Margaret was granddaughter to Edmund
Ironside. Her father, Edward, having to fly for his life to Hungary,
married Agatha, the sister-in-law of the king. Three children were
born to them. When Edward the Confessor ascended the English throne,
Prince Edward returned with his family to his native land, but died a
few years after. When William the Conqueror obtained the crown,
Edgar, the son of Edward, thought it more prudent to retire from
England, and took refuge with his mother and sisters at the court of
Malcolm III. of Scotland, having been driven on the Scottish coast by
a tempest. Malcolm, attracted by the virtue and beauty of Margaret,
made her his bride, and for the thirty years she reigned in Scotland
she was a model queen. The historian Dr. Skene says of her: "There is
perhaps no more beautiful character recorded in history than that of
{167} Margaret. For purity of motives, for an earnest desire to
benefit the people among whom her lot was cast, for a deep sense of
religion and great personal piety, for the unselfish performance of
whatever duty lay before her, and for entire self-abnegation she is
unsurpassed, and the chroniclers of the time all bear witness to her
exalted character." Her solicitude for the nation was truly maternal.
She set herself to combat, with zeal and energy, the abuses which had
crept into the practice of religion, taking a prominent part--with
her royal husband as the interpreter of her southern speech--in many
councils summoned at her instigation. She loved and befriended clergy
and monks, and was lavish in her charity to the poor. Her own
children, through her training and example, were one and all
distinguished for piety and virtue. Her three sons, Edgar, Alexander
and David, were remarkable for their unpa