Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ST. BRIGID, ABBESS OF KILDARE Ireland's patron saints are three—the wonder-working triad, Patrick, Brigid, and Columba. Wherever an offshoot of the Gaelic stock takes root—in torrid clime or snow-swept regions, under the shadow of the silent palm or in the shelter of the rustling pine—the Irishman plants the standard of the tutelary three, whose story is in his memory, and whose sanctuary is in his heart. For a thousand years and more these names rang like a clarion blast in the ear of generations called out to answer for the faith within them. For a thousand years and more these names trilled like harp-strings through every dream of liberty and joy. According to the order in which they are named, these saintly personages lived, loved, and laboured. When Patrick was called to his reward, Brigid had entered on her career; and when the Abbess of Kildare fulfilled her course, Columba was a stripling of fair promise. Within the period covered by the first apostle's preaching and the Abbot of lona's evangelistic labours, Ireland had not only become Christian herself, but had sent forth her sons, a host of missioners, to lead other nations into the fold. Columba's career exhibits the striking inauguration of Ireland's mission to foreign races ; while the narrative of Patrick and Brigid's achievements embodies the main incidents in the marvellous, yet indisputable, history of the diffusion, under auspices so happy and uncommon, of the gospel light throughout the length and breadth of the island which had been, up to the date of the preaching of St. Patrick, the " Insula Sacra " of Druidic worship. ' The fame of the pre-eminent triad is traceable to no afterthought of gratitude and pride. It was widespread and assured while these illustrious personages still trod the earth and br... --This text refers to the Paperback edition.