CHAPTER XXXVII.
Of the Holy Mochna.
And there was a youth of virtuous disposition named Mochna, and he was a swine-herd whom Saint Patrick had met near the town of Ereattan while he was preaching in those parts, and to him, the Spirit having revealed that he was destined to be a vessel of election, did the saint preach the way of salvation. And the youth, even at his first preaching, believed; and Patrick, when he had baptized him, taught unto him the alphabet, and, having blessed him, sent him to be instructed in learning, and went his way. But the youth, through the divine grace, learned in one month the whole Psaltery, and, before the year had ended, arrived he at the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. And after some time Patrick returned to the aforementioned village, and Mochna met him there. And while sitting together, they conversed on holy things; behold, a staff sent from heaven fell between them, and the head thereof rested on the bosom of Patrick, and the point thereof on the bosom of Mochna. And the saint, gratulating the youth on the gift thus miraculously bestowed, said unto him: "Now, my best-beloved son, shalt thou know by this pastoral staff that the guardianship of souls will be committed unto thee." But he refusing and alleging his ignorance and the imperfection of his youth, the saint is reported thus to have said: "Seek not thou to excuse thyself for that thou art a boy, since unto all those parts whither the Lord sendeth thee shalt thou go; and what he commandeth unto thee, that shalt thou speak." Therefore through the several degrees did Patrick at length consecrate him a bishop, and placed him over the church of Edrum. And he profited much the church of God by his conversation and by his example, and, being renowned in virtues and in miracles, was called to heaven. And he was buried in that church wherein he had worthily served the Lord, and wherein, adorned with manifold miracles, he had accustomed himself to live in Christ. And the staff is in that church still preserved, and is called by the Irish "the flying staff." And as Saint Patrick had advanced this man from the care of swine unto the episcopate, a swine is yearly taken from that territory, and paid unto the 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.