Note 57 — March 17.
Reading edition
An instance of the rodomontade of some of the later lives may be quoted here. They say that to escape S. Patrick's persuasive eloquence only one way lay open to him, to set fire to his house and furniture and property, and precipitate himself into the flames. As a specimen of the absurdity of some of the legends, the following will suffice. A robber stole one of S. Patrick's goats and ate it. S. Patrick called his goat, and it bleated to him out of the man's belly.