structions, and at an appointed time, when the square was crowded with Indians, to see the military spectacle, Ovando gave the fatal signal, a trumpet was immediately sounded, the caciques were all seized, and tied to posts in a house which was then set on fire, and they were all consumed in the flames. Anacoana was led forth a prisoner, and a horrible massacre took place amongst the populace; no mercy was shown to the unarmed Indians, or to age or Thus it appears that the atrocious massacre at the plebeian feast was not dictated by the peculiar barbarity of the Irish, but may with more justice be attributed to the natural cruelty and wickedness of mankind in those barbarous ages, when their passions were as yet unsubdued by the chastening influence of religion and education. The religion of the ancient Irish is scarcely worth our consideration. Until their conversion to Christianity they were neither better nor worse than their neighbours; and although some authors suggest that they had some notion of the true God, from an accidental intercourse * Irving's "Columbus." with Moses when located on the borders of the Red Sea, we must admit that there are too many traces of their idolatry in Ireland, to allow us to imagine that they turned any such notion to a good account. We shall, therefore, content ourselves with inquiring into the means by which they were converted to the Christian faith. In the early part of the fifth century both Palladius and St. Patrick preached the gospel in Ireland, and so little progress seems to have been made before the time of St. Patrick, we may, with perfect propriety, attribute the conversion of the Irish people to his holy mission and indefatigable zeal. It is no easy matter to ascertain either the precise time or place of St. Patrick's birth. Roderic O'Flaherty, in his letter animadverting upon Dr. Chamberlain's subjection of the Irish bishops to the see of Canterbury," states that we are indebted to Great Britain for the birth of St. Patrick. There are, however, very strong grounds for believing that he was a Frenchman, of Roman extraction, born in the neighbourhood of Boulogne; and Dr. * Hardiman's "West Connaught, 438." Lanigan seems to have established that he was born A.D. 387, and died A.D. 465, which is more credible than the supposition that he died in the year 493, at the advanced age of 120 years! though seemingly sustained by some respectable authorities. St. Patrick's first visit to Ireland was as a captive. He was brought into Ireland at the age of sixteen, and sold as a slave to an Irish prince, named Melcho, in the north of Ireland, in whose service he remained for seven years, when he escaped, and returned to his family in Gaul. There has been some doubt as to his consecration as a bishop. Dr. Lanigan admits that it cannot be ascertained with any degree of certainty, but Roderic O'Flaherty, in his already mentioned letter, states, that, "after having completed his work of the conversion of the kingdom, he founded the metropolitan see of Armagh, A.D. 458. Soon after, he took a journey to Rome, where, without peradventure, he obtained all the authority and privileges (if any before not granted) that were necessary for erecting the hierarchy of church government in the nation by him newly brought to the light of the Gospel." The original of this valuable document remains in the possession of Lord Antrim. St. Patrick arrived in Ireland, on his holy mission, A.D. 432, accompanied by pious and learned persons, zealously disposed to promote his success. He landed first at Wicklow, where he was not well received, and then proceeded by sea to Strangford, as Dr. Lanigan conceives. Dicha, prince of that district, was his first convert to the Christian faith. Here he built a church called "Sabbal Phadraic," from which the parish of Saul took its name. His old master, Melcho, resisted every effort made to convert him. He proceeded next to Drogheda, and Tarah, where he preached on Easter Monday, A.D. 433, before Laogaire, then supreme monarch of Ireland, and it is said made some converts, though strenuously opposed by the Druids. He afterwards preached at Tailton, and at Usneagh, a celebrated seat of Druidism in Westmeath. From thence he proceeded to Annaly, and Fenagh in Leitrim, where he destroyed the idol and great temple of the Druids, and built a church on its ruins. From thence he proceeded to Connaught, where he was most enthusiastically received, and where thousands of Pagans embraced the Christian faith. In Tyrawley he converted Enda Crom, king of that territory, with his seven sons, and baptised 1200 persons in the water of a well, known by the name of Mallagh Farry, near Killala. Croagh Patrick was also celebrated for his performances, and is still a favourite place of pilgrimage, much frequented by the peasantry of the county of Mayo. O'Flaherty mentions that six sons of Bryan, king of Connaught, were converted and baptised, with multitudes of the people, on the plains of Moyseola, in the county of Roscommon. St. Patrick also founded the episcopal see of Elphin (Oilfinn), which took its name from a well sunk there, on the brink of which there was a large stone; Oilfinn being derived from oil, a stone, and finn clear, meaning the rock of the limpid water. From Connaught, St. Patrick proceeded through Ulster and Leinster, preaching the Gospel, baptising converts, building churches, and consecrating holy persons to propagate the Christian creed. He visited Munster, and at Cashel converted Ængus, prince of that district, and obtained his zealous co-operation. From Munster he returned to Ulster, where he founded the see of Armagh, which became the seat of the primacy of Ireland, having during the mission converted nearly C |