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nebulous mist was revealed to the observation. The Annual Register says: "The value of the instrument was not only seen in the enlarged power it gave to astronomers, but it opened the way to other instruments of equal power being constructed. . . The scientific fame of the late Earl of Rosse will rest rather upon the mechanical than upon the observational branch of astronomy. . . Considering the immense power of the great telescope, the results that have emanated from it, although startling in their nature, have been small in extent. Drawings of the most remarkable nebulæ, a few sketches of part of the lunar surface, and lastly, a large drawing of the nebula in Orion, are the chief fruits that are publicly known to have been gathered from it. . . The published writings of the late Earl comprise accurate descriptions of his telescopes and the modes by which they were constructed, together with such drawings and observations as were made with them." Lord Rosse was President of the Royal Society from 1849 to 1854, and served on several Royal Commissions relating to literature, education, and science. He was a member of several home and foreign scientific bodies. He was a genial companion and a liberal landlord. He died 31st October 1867, aged 67, and was interred in the church of St. Brandon, Parsonstown. 7 54
Patrick, Saint. [Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, and France have claimed the honour of giving birth to St. Patrick, and the date of his birth is variously set down in the years 250, 372, 373, and 387. Dr. Todd's Life of St. Patrick is here followed.] He was born at Dumbarton, on the Clyde, in 373, and was the son of Calpurnius, a deacon, and Conchessa his wife, daughter of Ochinus, a Frank. His original name was Succat. When about sixteen ho was carried captive into Ireland " with many thousands of men." There he was employed by his master, Milchu, to tend cattle on the mountain of Slieve Mis, in Antrim. In the quiet of the woods he states that he was every day in frequent prayer, and that the love and fear of God increased so much, and the spirit of prayer so grew upon him, that often in a single day he would say one hundred prayers, and in the night almost as many, so that he frequently arose to prayer in the woods and mountains before daylight, in snow, and frost, and rain ; and " I felt no evil, nor was there any laziness in me, because, as I now see, the spirit was burn- ing within me." One nigh«H|^^^ he had been six years in slavery, and iiiien he
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was twenty-two years of age, he heard a voice saying to him — "Thy fasting is well ; thou shalt soon return to thy country." Again he had a dream, in which the same voice told him that the ship was ready, but was distant 200 miles. He immediately fled from his master, went to the port indicated, and after some difficulty obtained a passage in a vessel. He was three days at sea, and afterwards a considerable time wandering in a desert before he reached human habitations. He was joyfully received by his relatives, who earnestly besought him not to expose himself to fresh dangers, but to remain with them for the rest of his life. Patrick, however, soon felt constrained to devote himself to the conversion of the Irish. He had another vision : " In the dead of night, I saw a man coming to me as if from Hiberio, whose name was Victorius, bearing innumerable epistles, and he gave me one of them, and I read the beginning of it, which contained the words, ' The voice of the Irish.' And whilst I was repeating the beginning of the epistle, T imagined that I heard in my mind the voice of those who were near the wood of Fochlut, which is near the Western Sea. And thus they cried — ' We pray thee, holy youth, to come, and henceforth walk amongst us.' And I was greatly pricked in heart, and could read no more ; and so I awoke. Thanks be to God, that after very many years the Lord granted unto them the blessing for which they cried." This and similiar visions impelled him to return at all hazards to Ireland, and endea- vour to convert his former associates to Christianity. The date of his second visit (whether specially commissioned from Rome or not) is generally put down at 432. He landed in the territory of Cuo- lenni, near where the town of Bray, in the County of Wicklow, is now situated ; but desiring to see his old master, Milchu, and ofi'er him eternal life in return for having left his service, he took shipping again and sailed north — visiting and giving his name (Inis Patrick) to one of the Skerries. He and his companions landed at the mouth of the river Slain in Strangford Lough. There they hid their boat and proceeded to explore the country. Their first conv ert was Dichu, a chieftain of high birth, who entertained them hospitably. Proceeding on his way he came in view of the habita- tation of his old master, only to see it in flames. The narrative tells how Milchu, instigated by the Devil, set fire to his house and all his substance, and threw himself into the flames, rather than sub- mit to the authority and jurisdiction of
430
