ghtered all except Blaithmaic.
They offered him life and liberty if he would show them the shrine
of St. Columba with its treasure of gold and gems. But the intrepid
martyr refused to betray his trust and was hewn down at the altar.
He was buried at Iona on the return of the monks from their place
of safety. There is some doubt about the date of his death, some
writers place it as late as A.D. 828.

20--St. Vigean or Fechin, Hermit, A.D. 664.

The parish of St. Vigean's, Forfarshire, derives its name from this
saint, who though called Vigean in Scotland, is no other than the
Irish abbot Fechin. He ruled three hundred monks at Fore, in
Westmeath. It is not easy to determine his precise connection with
Scotland, though from the remains which bear his name it would
appear that he spent some time in the country. A hermitage at
Conan, near Arbroath, {9} is pointed out as his residence, and the
foundations of a small chapel may still be traced. Near them is a
spring known as St. Vigean's Well. A fair called by his name was
held at Arbroath on this day up to the eighteenth century.

Ecclefechan known in Middle Age charters as _Ecclesia Sancti
Fechani_ (Church of St. Fechan) takes its name from the same saint.
It has acquired celebrity in later times as the birthplace of Thomas
Carlyle. St. Fechin was buried in the Monastery of Fore.

25--St. Euchadius, Monk, A.D. 597.

This saint was one of the twelve disciples who accompanied St.
Columba from Ireland and settled with him upon the island of Iona.
He was one of the saint's helpers in the conversion of the Northern
Picts. He is said to have written the Acts of St. Columba. It seems
probable that St. Euchadius laboured at one time in Galloway, as he
received special veneration in that district. This may have been
due, however, to relics of the saint preserved there in Catholic
ages. {10}

26--St. Conan, Bishop, A.D. 648.

He was born in Ireland, and is said to have passed over to Iona to
join the community there, in which his virtues and talents placed
him high in the estimation of the monks. He was characterised by a
special devotion to the Mother of God, which won for him a singular
purity of soul. He was made tutor to the three sons of Eugenius IV,
King of Scotland, and brought them up carefully and wisely. Later
on he became a Bishop. St. Conan was greatly honoured in Scotland.
His name survives at Kilconan, in Fortingal, Perthshire, and at St.
Conan's Well, near Da