of his dominions by Penda, the pagan king of Mercia. His
dying words were a prayer for the souls of all who had fallen in the
battle. Many miracles were wrought by his intercession and by the use
of particles of the cross he had erected. His right hand and arm, in
accordance with St. Aidan's prophecy, remained in corrupt till the
time of the Venerable Bede, who tells us that they were honoured in
the Church of St. Peter at Bamborough. His head was taken to the
monastery of Lindisfarne; it was eventually deposited in St.
Cuthbert's shrine and was carried with the remains of that saint to
Durham Minster.

Many monasteries and churches both in England and Scotland bore the
name of St. Oswald. Those in Northumbria and Cumbria can scarcely be
termed Scottish in these days, but Kirkoswald near Maybole and
Carluke in Lanarkshire possessed respectively a church and chapel
dedicated to the holy King. His death occurred on August 5th, but his
feast has been transferred to this day. Devotion to St. {117} Oswald
flourished greatly in Ireland as well as in Scotland and England, and
extended to the Continent.

St. Angus.

At Balquhidder, in Perthshire, there is a local tradition regarding a
saint of this name. He is said to have been a disciple of St.
Columba, and to have preached the Faith in that neighbourhood. His
name is preserved in the _Clach Aenais_ (Stone of Angus), a slab
bearing a representation of a priest holding a chalice. This stone
formerly stood within the old church at Balquhidder, and it was the
custom to stand or kneel upon it during the solemnization of a
baptism or marriage. As this rite seemed to Presbyterian authorities
to savour of superstition, the stone was removed to the churchyard
about a century ago. Near the church are the foundations of the
"Chapel of Angus." A hillock hard by is pointed out as the spot where
the saint preached, and it still bears his name.

"Angus Fair" was formerly held at King's House, in the parish of
Balquhidder, on the Wednesday after the second Tuesday in August.
{118}

This locates the saint's feast-day (which the fair doubtless
commemorated) in the early part of August, although the exact date is
uncertain.

11--St. Blaan, Bishop, A.D. 590.

He was born in Ireland of a noble family, and after spending seven
years under the direction of St. Comgall and St. Kenneth, passed over
to Bute, to St. Cathan, his mother's brother. He is said to have made
later a pilgrimage to