e church of Down.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

_Of the Hostages of Dichu which were Freed by an Angel._

Leogaire, a man of leonine fierceness, with a high and swelling heart,
rose above himself in the pride of his exploits, for that he seemed to
himself to hold the land by the strength of his arm and the firmness of
his valor. And he took hostages of all the provincial chiefs bordering
on his kingdom, and among others he held in his power the sons of
Dichu, lest any of them should raise the head to defend themselves, or
the heel to offend him. For he, being rooted in the errors of
idolatry, strenuously favored the magicians and the soothsayers; and
his neck was stiff and his head was stubborn against the true religion.
But when he understood that Dichu, with all his household and kindred
and people, had turned unto Christ, and renounced the gods of their
country, even the devils, his mind and his eye were inflamed with the
fury of his wrath. Therefore, being moved in his mind, he gave order
that the hostages of Dichu should be punished in a manner mainly
destructive; for he forbade drink to be given to them, to the end that
they might perish of thirst. And the Spirit revealed this unto the
saint, and he disclosed it unto Dichu, and advised him to seek from
Leogaire the respite of at least ten days until Patrick should appear
before him. Yet could he not, as directed by the man of God, obtain
the respite even of one day, but rather did his entreaties more
vehemently blow up the flame, and exasperate the heart of the king with
the fire of fiercer rage, which when the prelate heard he betook
himself to his accustomed arms of prayer; and behold, on the following
night an angel appeared and gave unto them to drink, and satisfied
their thirst. And from that hour not any suffering of thirst came on
them; and when a few days had passed, at the prayers of the saint, the
angel again appeared, and freed them from their prison-house and from
the power of their enemies. And from the place wherein they were
confined he bore them through the air, as was formerly the prophet; and
he left one of them in a place in Down, where is now erected the church
of Saint Patrick, and the other on a neighboring hill surrounded by a
marsh of the sea; and he broke asunder the chains wherewith they were
bound, and each place is even to this day, from the broken chains,
called Dun-daleathglas.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

_Of Saint Benignus, and of