guidance of Patrick the Church and School of Armagh. His voice was sweet and pleasing, and his knowledge of the chants of the church was very considerable, acquired doubtless from Patrick himself, who had been trained in Gaul and Britain. Hence he was "psalmist" to Patrick, he led the choir of priests and monks at all the solemn ceremonies, and he trained the "wild eyed" Celtic youth to sing the praises of God like another Orpheus, softening them into Christian meekness by the charms of sweet melody--the melody of his voice and the still sweeter melody of his gentle heart. Yet though a child of grace he had need of caution. His own sweet winning ways,[122] the music of his voice, his face so modest and so fair, deeply, though to himself unconsciously, won the affections of Ercnat, the beautiful and yet unbaptized daughter of King Daire. Most of all she was smitten by his sweet voice in the choir of the church. But she told no one; only going home she pined away in silence, and "through grief of love the maiden lay as dead." Then at length Benignus hearing the cause, went and told his father Patrick, and Patrick gave him holy water, and bade him go and sprinkle it over the dying maiden. At once she awoke to a new life, with her heart emancipated from every trace of earthly love. "Thenceforth she loved the spouse of souls. It was as though some child that dreaming wept, Its childish playthings lost, by bells awaked-- Bride-bells, had found herself a Queen new wed Unto her Country's Lord." --_Aubrey de Vere._ St. Benignus died, it is generally stated, on the 9th of November, A.D. 468. A short time before his death he is said to have resigned his primatial coadjutorship, for St. Patrick was still alive, at least according to the much more general and more probable opinion, which places his death in A.D. 493, at the great age of 120 years. The death of Benignus is thus noticed in the _Martyrology of Donegal_: "November 8th, Benignus, _i.e._ Benen, son of Sescnen, disciple of St. Patrick, and his successor, that is Primate of Ard-Macha.... The holy Benen was benign, was devout; he was a virgin without ever defiling his virginity, for when he was psalm-singer at Ard-Macha along with his master, St. Patrick, Ercnat, daughter of Daire, loved him and she was seized with a disease so that she died (appeared to die) suddenly; and Benen brought holy water to her from St. Patrick, and he shook it upon her, and she arose alive and well; and she loved him spiritually afterwards, and she subsequently went to Patrick and confessed all her sins to him, and offered her virginity to God, so that she went to heaven; and the name of God, of Patrick, and of Benen was magnified through it."