42 THE GLORY OF THE GARDEN 



him, and so he went to the Bishop and asked him 

 for more land. The Bishop, it must be remem- 

 bered, was himself a saint, and he granted Fiacre's 

 request in a curious way. He gave to him as 

 much land as he could enclose with his spade in 

 one day. 



So our holy gardener hurried back to the forest, 

 and marked out a space larger than any dozen men 

 could clear in one day, and then, after going to his 

 oratory to pray for help, he set to work. 



Well, there were people watching him from 

 various parts, and before very long a deputation 

 went off in hot haste to fetch the Bishop: a miracle 

 was happening, for far and wide, wherever the eye 

 could reach, there were angels at work felling the 

 trees, clearing the ground, and others again were 

 busy with spades digging. By sunset the space was 

 all cleared. 



And so, by this miracle of enlarging the space of 

 his garden, this saint has rightly become the patron 

 saint of gardeners. He died about the year 670, 

 and his feast is observed on August 30. 



There seems no authentic reason for St. Fiacre 

 also being known as the patron saint of cab-drivers. 

 It arose through one man, who let out carriages for 

 hire, placing a statue of St. Fiacre over his doorway, 

 and all the coaches starting from this point began 

 to be called " fiacres," and the drivers placed 

 images of him on their carriages and hailed him 

 as their patron. 



On the site of St. Fiacre's cell a large Benedictine 

 Priory was built, and here his relics were kept and 

 did many wonders of healing. 



