THE KING'S MIRROR 115 



nor has any king ventured to set up his throne there; 

 and yet, it is the loveliest place known in all that coun- 

 try. It is also thought that if men should attempt to re- 

 build the town, not a single day would pass without the 

 appearance of some new marvel. 



There is still another wonder in that country which 

 must seem quite incredible; nevertheless, those who 

 dwell in the land affirm the truth of it and ascribe it to 

 the anger of a holy man. It is told that when the holy 

 Patricius * preached Christianity in that country, there 

 was one clan which opposed him more stubbornly than 

 any other people in the land; and these people strove to 

 do insult in many ways both to God and to the holy 

 man. And when he was preaching the faith to them as 

 to others and came to confer with them where they held 

 their assemblies, they adopted the plan of howling at 

 him like wolves. When he saw that he could do very 

 little to promote his mission among these people, he 

 grew very wroth and prayed God to send some form of 

 affliction upon them to be shared by their posterity as 

 a constant reminder of their disobedience. Later these 

 clansmen did suffer a fitting and severe though very 

 marvelous punishment, for it is told that all the mem- 

 bers of that clan are changed into wolves for a period 

 and roam through the woods feeding upon the same food 

 as wolves; but they are worse than wolves, for in all 

 their wiles they have the wit of men, though they are 

 as eager to devour men as to destroy other creatures. 

 It is reported that to some this affliction comes every 

 seventh winter, while in the intervening years they are 



* Saint Patrick. 



