Then the apostle told them of his God,—­the Eternal, the Invisible,—­and how He had indeed dwelt on earth as man, but only to suffer and die for their salvation.  And as the maidens listened to his words, their hearts were kindled with heavenly love, and they inquired further what they could do to show their gratitude to this great King.  In that same hour they were baptized; and in a short time they consecrated themselves to Him, the story of whose surpassing charity had so moved their young hearts.

Their brother also obtained the grace of conversion; and an old Irish custom of killing a sheep on St. Michael’s Day, and distributing it amongst the poor, is said to date from a miracle performed by St. Patrick for this royal convert.

Nor is the story of Aengus, another royal convert, less interesting.  About the year 445, the saint, after passing through Ossory, and converting a great number of people, entered the kingdom of Munster.  His destination was Cashel, from whence King Aengus, the son of Natfraech, came forth to meet him with the utmost reverence.

This prince had already obtained some knowledge of Christianity, and demanded the grace of holy baptism.

The saint willingly complied with his request.  His courtiers assembled with royal state to assist at the ceremony.  St. Patrick carried in his hand, as usual, the Bachall Isu; at the end of this crozier there was a sharp iron spike, by which he could plant it firmly in the ground beside him while preaching, or exercising his episcopal functions.  On this occasion, however, he stuck it down into the king’s foot, and did not perceive his mistake until—­

    “The royal foot transfixed, the gushing blood
    Enrich’d the pavement with a noble flood.”

The ceremony had concluded, and the prince had neither moved nor complained of the severe suffering he had endured.  When the saint expressed his deep regret for such an occurrence, Aengus merely replied that he believed it to be a part of the ceremony, and did not appear to consider any suffering of consequence at such a moment.[127]

When such was the spirit of the old kings of Erinn who received the faith of Christ from Patrick, we can scarcely marvel that their descendants have adhered to it with such unexampled fidelity.

After the conversion of the princesses Ethnea and Fethlimia, the daughters of King Laeghaire, St. Patrick traversed almost every part of Connaught, and, as our divine Lord promised to those whom He commissioned to teach all nations, proved his mission by the exercise of miraculous powers.  Some of his early biographers have been charged with an excess of credulity on this point.  But were this the place or time for such a discussion, it might easily be shown that miracles were to be expected when a nation was first evangelized, and that their absence should be rather a matter of surprise than their frequency or marvellousness.