he wanted, the apostle and his little band refused to
eat. The king was so alarmed lest they should be
starved to death, and it be imputed to him as due to
his niggardliness, that he gave way, and let Patrick
have what he desired.
But this system worked on the material interests of the chiefs. They argued in their calculating way, " Here are all these missionaries. We have been feeding them, giving them land and cattle; it is a drain on our resources. We must really get something out of them in return."
And so, out of that frugal mind which was not the exclusive prerogative of Mrs. Gilpin, they accepted the gospel—at least, the ministrations of the saints—as a return for what they had themselves granted them : acres and cows.
There is a story in the life of S. Bridget that illustrates this somewhat sordid view taken of their dealings with the saints.
Bridget's father had been lent a sword by King Illand, son of Dunlaing of Leinster. He asked his daughter to negotiate with the king that this sword should become his personal property. She agreed. At the same time one of Illand's men threw himself upon her, and begged her to put him into her tribe. So she asked the king for two things: the man and the sword.
"Humph!" said he. "What am I to have in return?"
" I will obtain for you eternal life, for one thing, and for the other the assurance that the crown shall remain to your sons."
