nies. It
happened to be Holy Saturday, and on that day the Christians used to
light a beacon. St. Patrick lit his holy fire, as usual. The King saw it
blazing on a hill-top, and was very angry. One of his priests (or
Druids, as they were called) said: "If that fire is not put out before
morning, it never will be put out," and he meant the Christian Faith. So
the King sent for St. Patrick.

Surrounded by his Druids and bards, and all the Irish princes, the King
sat, fierce and proud, and awaited the strangers. It was Easter morning,
so, as St. Patrick and his little band advanced, they chanted the Easter
litanies. So noble and holy did St. Patrick look that one of the bards
rose as he drew near. This little act of politeness on the part of the
bard brought him special grace from heaven, and he accepted the
Christian Faith.

Standing quietly in the midst of the circle of priests and princes, St.
Patrick looked around him. He met countless pairs of fierce eyes fixed
upon him, as the princes sat in silence, "with the rims of their shields
against their chins"; and as he looked at them he longed to win them all
for God, and he prayed for grace and power to do what was needed. Then
he told them why he had come to Ireland.

The King left his Druids to reply. They did so by doing all sorts of
horrible magic. And certainly they made things happen, much as people
called "spiritists" do nowadays; but it was not by God's power, so it
must have been the Devil who helped them. Whatever the Druids did, St.
Patrick undid, and then did something more wonderful. The Druids were
furious, and no one knows what might have happened had not St. Patrick
caused an earthquake to happen, by God's power. So terrified were the
Irish that they went half mad and began killing each other, and St.
Patrick and his men escaped.

But the next day St. Patrick boldly came back, though he knew the King
meant to kill him. He was given a cup of poisoned wine to drink. Well,
what of that? Did not Our Lord say to His disciples, when He sent them
out to convert the world, "If you drink any deadly thing it shall not
hurt you"? St. Patrick made the sign of the cross over the cup and
drank it, and nothing happened.

Then the Druids arranged a horrible test. They laid two great fires, one
of dry faggots and the other of wet, green wood. On the dry wood they
laid the boy Benignus, dressed in a Druid's white robe. On the green
they put a Druid, clad in St. Patric