Page:The most ancient lives of Saint Patrick - O'Leary.djvu/297

 unto the man a free view of the lake. But when Saint Patrick began to build the church, this man of hardened heart would not suffer it to be finished, for he feared where no fear was, and dreaded lest thereby he should be deprived of his inheritance. Then the saint prayed again unto the Lord, and the mountain was lifted up unto its former height. And he foretold that the wicked man should in a short space lose the possession of his land, and that no one of his race should ever be a prince or a bishop. And the prophecy of the saint was fulfilled, for as his eyes were prevented from the sight of the lake, so was his life closed by death.

A certain wicked tyrant, named Euchodius, reigned in Ulydia; and he commanded two holy virgins, for that they rejected wedlock, to be bound with chains and cast into the water; and he set at naught Saint Patrick interceding for them. Wherefore the saint punished him with the sentence of his malediction, and foretold that not one of his seed should reign after him, but that his kingdom should be transferred to Kerellus, his younger brother. And his wife, who was then in travail, earnestly besought the saint that he would bless her and the child which she carried in her womb. Then the saint blessed them both, and prophesied that she would bring forth a most holy son, whose death should be doubtful and unsearchable. And the woman brought forth a son, who was named Dovengardus; and he was renowned for his sanctity and his miracles, whereof