Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions

Serpent Faith. 187
indicated with two twisted snakes for appendages. The
Greek poet also describes the " divine stubborn-hearted
Echidna (mother of Cerberus) half nymph, with dark eyes
and fair cheeks, and half a serpent." The mother of an
ancient Scythian hero was a serpent maiden. A story
was told, in 1520, of a Swiss man being in an enchanted
cave, and meeting with a beautiful woman, whose lower
part was a serpent, and who tempted him to kiss her.
As recently reported from France, a lady has there a
familiar in the form of a serpent, able to answer her
questions, and cleverly writing down replies with the point
of its tail. There is no saying how this marvellous creature
may enter into future theological controversies.
A book published in the reign of Charles I. had this
story— " Ireland, since its first inhabitation, was pestered
with a triple plague, to wit, with great abundance of
venemous beastes, copious store of Diuells visiblely appearing,
and infinit multitudes of magitians."
The Saint's share in the trouble is thus described
" Patrick, taking the staffe or wand of Jesus with his sacred
hand, and eleuating it after a threatning manner, as also
by the favourable assistance of Angels, he gathered together
in one place all the venemous beastes that were
in Ireland, after he draue them up before him to a most
high mountaine hung ouer the sea, called then Cruachanailge,
and now Cruach Padraig, that is St. Patricks
mountaine, and from thence he cast them downe in that
steepe precipice to be swallowed up by the sea."
The Druids, or Tuaths, or other troublers, fared — nearly
'*
as badly as the snakes ;
as the author affirmed Of the
magitians, he conuerted and reclaimed very many, and
such as persisted incorrigible, he routed them out
face of the earth."
from the
P'^rom the Book of Leinster we gather the intelligence