CHAPTER CLXIV.
The Saint beholdeth a Vision of Angels, and cureth Sixteen Lepers.
When the lamp of the daily light was extinguished in the shades of nocturnal darkness, the man of God beheld in a vision of the night angels measuring the form and the extent of the city which was to be builded in that high place, and one of the angels enjoined him, that on the morrow he should go unto the fountain near Ardmachia, which is now called Tobar Patraic, that is, the Fountain of Patrick; and there he should heal in the name of the Lord sixteen lepers, who were come thither from many places to experience the mercy of the Lord, and to receive his faith. And Patrick obeyed the voice of the angel; and early in the morning he found those men, and by his preaching he converted them unto the faith, and being converted, he baptized them in that fountain, and when baptized, he purified them from the leprous taint of either man. And this miracle when published abroad, was accounted a fair presage and a present sanction of the future city. And the angel, at the prayers of Patrick, removed far from thence an exceeding huge stone which lay in the wayside, and which could not be raised by the labor or the ingenuity of man; lest it should be an hindrance to passengers approaching the city.
CHAPTER CLXV.
Of the City of Ardmachia, and Twelve of its Citizens.
Then Patrick founded, according to the direction of the angels, a city, fair in its site, its form, and its ambit, and when by the divine assistance it was completed, he brought to dwell therein twelve citizens, whom he had from all parts diligently and discreetly chosen: and these he instructed in the Catholic doctrines of the Christian faith. And he beautified the city with churches builded after a becoming and spiritual fashion; and for the observance of divine worship, for the government of souls, and for the instruction of the Catholic flock, he appointed therein clerical persons; and he instituted certain monasteries filled with monks, and others filled with nuns, and placed them under the regulations of all possible perfection. And in one of these monasteries was a certain brother, who would not take either food or drink before the hour appointed by the saint; and he perished of thirst; and Patrick beheld his soul ascending into heaven, and placed among the martyrs. And in the convent of the handmaidens of God, was a certain virgin, the daughter of a British king, with nine other holy damsels, who had come with her unto Saint Patrick, and of these, three in his presence went unto heaven. And in this city placed he an archiepiscopal cathedral; and determined in his mind that it should be the chief metropolis, and the mistress of all Hibernia; and that this his purpose might remain fixed and by posterity unaltered, he resolved to journey unto the apostolic seat, and confirm it with authentic privileges.