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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Welsh Folk-Lore, by Elias Owen
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Welsh Folk-Lore
+ a Collection of the Folk-Tales and Legends of North Wales
+
+
+Author: Elias Owen
+
+
+
+Release Date: December 12, 2006 [eBook #20096]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WELSH FOLK-LORE***
+
+
+This eBook was transcribed by Les Bowler.
+
+
+
+
+
+WELSH FOLK-LORE
+a collection by the Rev. Elias Owen, M.A., F.S.A.
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+ TITLE PAGE i
+ PREFACE iii-vi
+ INDEX vii-xii
+ ESSAY 1-352
+ LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS 353-359
+
+ WELSH FOLK-LORE
+ A COLLECTION OF THE
+ FOLK-TALES AND LEGENDS OF
+ NORTH WALES
+ BEING THE PRIZE ESSAY OF THE NATIONAL EISTEDDFOD
+ 1887, BY THE
+ REV. ELIAS OWEN, M.A, F.S.A.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+To this Essay on the "Folk-lore of North Wales," was awarded the first
+prize at the Welsh National Eisteddfod, held in London, in 1887. The
+prize consisted of a silver medal, and 20 pounds. The adjudicators were
+Canon Silvan Evans, Professor Rhys, and Mr Egerton Phillimore, editor of
+the _Cymmrodor_.
+
+By an arrangement with the Eisteddfod Committee, the work became the
+property of the publishers, Messrs. Woodall, Minshall, & Co., who, at the
+request of the author, entrusted it to him for revision, and the present
+Volume is the result of his labours.
+
+Before undertaking the publishing of the work, it was necessary to obtain
+a sufficient number of subscribers to secure the publishers from loss.
+Upwards of two hundred ladies and gentlemen gave their names to the
+author, and the work of publication was commenced. The names of the
+subscribers appear at the end of the book, and the writer thanks them one
+and all for their kind support. It is more than probable that the work
+would never have been published had it not been for their kind
+assistance. Although the study of Folk-lore is of growing interest, and
+its importance to the historian is being acknowledged; still, the
+publishing of a work on the subject involved a considerable risk of loss
+to the printers, which, however, has been removed in this case, at least
+to a certain extent, by those who have subscribed for the work.
+
+The sources of the information contained in this essay are various, but
+the writer is indebted, chiefly, to the aged inhabitants of Wales, for
+his information. In the discharge of his official duties, as Diocesan
+Inspector of Schools, he visited annually, for seventeen years, every
+parish in the Diocese of St. Asaph, and he was thus brought into contact
+with young and old. He spent several years in Carnarvonshire, and he had
+a brother, the Revd. Elijah Owen, M.A., a Vicar in Anglesey, from whom he
+derived much information. By his journeys he became acquainted with many
+people in North Wales, and he hardly ever failed in obtaining from them
+much singular and valuable information of bye-gone days, which there and
+then he dotted down on scraps of paper, and afterwards transferred to
+note books, which still are in his possession.
+
+It was his custom, after the labour of school inspection was over, to ask
+the clergy with whom he was staying to accompany him to the most aged
+inhabitants of their parish. This they willingly did, and often in the
+dark winter evenings, lantern in hand, they sallied forth on their
+journey, and in this way a rich deposit of traditions and superstitions
+was struck and rescued from oblivion. Not a few of the clergy were
+themselves in full possession of all the quaint sayings and Folk-lore of
+their parishes, and they were not loath to transfer them to the writer's
+keeping. In the course of this work, the writer gives the names of the
+many aged friends who supplied him with information, and also the names
+of the clergy who so willingly helped him in his investigations. But so
+interesting was the matter obtained from several of his clerical friends,
+that he thinks he ought in justice to acknowledge their services in this
+preface. First and foremost comes up to his mind, the Rev. R. Jones,
+formerly Rector of Llanycil, Bala, but now of Llysfaen, near Abergele.
+This gentleman's memory is stored with reminiscences of former days, and
+often and again his name occurs in these pages. The Rev. Canon Owen
+Jones, formerly Vicar of Pentrefoelas, but now of Bodelwyddan, near Rhyl,
+also supplied much interesting information of the people's doings in
+former days, and I may state that this gentleman is also acquainted with
+Welsh literature to an extent seldom to be met with in the person of an
+isolated Welsh parson far removed from books and libraries. To him I am
+indebted for the perusal of many MSS. To the Rev. David James, formerly
+Rector of Garthbeibio, now of Pennant, and to his predecessor the Rev. W.
+E. Jones, Bylchau; the late Rev. Ellis Roberts (Elis Wyn o Wyrfai); the
+Rev. M. Hughes, Derwen; the Rev. W. J. Williams, Llanfihangel-Glyn-Myfyr,
+and in a great degree to his aged friend, the Rev. E. Evans,
+Llanfihangel, near Llanfyllin, whose conversation in and love of Welsh
+literature of all kinds, including old Welsh Almanacks, was almost
+without limit, and whose knowledge and thorough sympathy with his
+countrymen made his company most enjoyable. To him and to all these
+gentlemen above named, and to others, whose names appear in the body of
+this work, the writer is greatly indebted, and he tenders his best thanks
+to them all.
+
+The many books from which quotations are made are all mentioned in
+connection with the information extracted from their pages.
+
+Welsh Folk-lore is almost inexhaustible, and in these pages the writer
+treats of only one branch of popular superstitions. Ancient customs are
+herein only incidentally referred to, but they are very interesting, and
+worthy of a full description. Superstitions associated with particular
+days and seasons are also omitted. Weather signs are passed over, Holy
+wells around which cluster superstitions of bye-gone days form no part of
+this essay. But on all these, and other branches of Folk-lore, the
+author has collected much information from the aged Welsh peasant, and
+possibly some day in the uncertain future he may publish a continuation
+of the present volume.
+
+He has already all but finished a volume on the Holy Wells of North
+Wales, and this he hopes to publish at no very distance period.
+
+The author has endeavoured in all instances to give the names of his
+informants, but often and again, when pencil and paper were produced, he
+was requested not to mention in print the name of the person who was
+speaking to him. This request was made, not because the information was
+incorrect, but from false delicacy; still, in every instance, the writer
+respected this request. He, however, wishes to state emphatically that
+he has authority for every single bit of Folk-lore recorded. Very often
+his work was merely that of a translator, for most of his information,
+derived from the people, was spoken in Welsh, but he has given in every
+instance a literal rendering of the narrative, just as he heard it,
+without embellishments or additions of any kind whatsoever.
+
+ ELIAS OWEN
+
+_Llanyblodwel Vicarage_,
+ _St. Mark's Day_, _1896_.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+Aberhafesp, Spirit in Church of 169
+_Angelystor_, announcing deaths 170
+AEschylus' Cave-dwellers 113
+_Annwn_, _Gwragedd_ 3 134
+Annwn, Plant 3
+Antagonism between Pagan faiths 160 161 181
+_Animal Folk-Lore_ 308-352
+ Ass 337
+ Bee 337-340
+ Birds Singing 310
+ Flocking 310
+ Blind worm 352
+ Cat 321 323 340-342
+ Cow 129-137 342
+ Crow 304 314-315
+ Crane 321
+ Crickets 342-3
+ Cuckoo 317-321
+ Cock 310 321
+ Duck 321
+ Eagle 321
+ Flying Serpent 349
+ Frog 281
+ Fox 193
+ Goose 304 305 312
+ Goatsucker 322
+ Haddock 345
+ Hare 343-345
+ Heron 321 323
+ Hen 305 322
+ Hedgehog 345
+ Horse 346
+ Jackdaw 324
+ Ladybird 347
+ Magpie 324-327
+ Mice 348
+ Mole 348
+ Owl 304 327
+ Peacock 327
+ Pigeon 327
+ Pigs 348
+ Raven 304 328
+ Rook, Crow 304 314 316 316
+ Robin Redbreast 329 332
+ Seagull 329 330
+ Sawyer, Tit 331
+ Snakes 348-350
+ Slowworm 352
+ Sheep 351
+ Swallow 330 331
+ Swan 331
+ Swift 331
+ Spider 351
+ Squirrel 351
+ Tit-Major 331
+ Woodpigeon 333-336
+ Woodpecker 336
+ Wren 331-333
+ Yellowhammer 337
+
+All Hallow Eve, Nos Glan Gaua 95
+ Spirits abroad 138-9 168-70
+ Divination on 280-1 286 288-9
+Apparitions 181-209 293-297
+Applepip divination 290
+Arawn 128
+_Avanc_ 133
+
+"_Bardd Cwsg_, _Y_" 144 284 285
+Baring-Gould--Spirit leaving body 293
+ Piper of Hamelin 307
+Beaumaris spirit tale 293
+Bell, Hand, used at funerals 171-2
+ Corpse 172
+ Passing 171-2
+ Veneration for 172
+ Devil afraid of 171
+ Ringing at storms 173
+ Spirits flee before sound of 173
+Bella Fawr, a witch 223
+Betty'r Bont, a witch 236 240
+Belief in witchcraft 217
+Bennion, Doctor 216
+Bees, Buying a hive of 337
+ Swarming 338
+ Strange swarm 339
+ Deserting hive 339
+ Hive in roof of house 339
+ Informing bees of a death 339
+ Putting bees into mourning 340
+ Stolen 340
+_Bendith y Mamau_ 2
+Bible, a talisman 151 245 248
+Bible and key divination 288
+Bingley's North Wales--Knockers 121
+Birds singing in the night 305
+ before February 310
+ Flocking in early Autumn 310
+ Feathers of 310
+Blindworm 352
+Boy taken to Fairyland 48
+_Brenhin Llwyd_ 142
+Bryn Eglwys Man and Fairies 36
+"_British Goblins_," Fairy dances 94 97
+"_Brython_, _Y_," Fairies' revels 95
+Burne's, Miss, Legend of White Cow 131-2
+Burns, Old Nick in Kirk 168
+ Nut divination 289
+
+_Canwyll Corph_, see Corpse Candle,
+Canoe in Llyn Llydaw 28
+Card-playing 147-151
+Cat, Fable of 323
+ Black, unlucky, &c 321 341
+ indicates weather 340
+ Black, drives fevers away 341
+ May, brings snakes to house 341
+ Witches taking form of 224
+Caesar's reference to Celtic Superstitions 277 310 343
+_Careg-yr-Yspryd_ 212
+_Careg Gwr Drwg_ 190
+Caellwyngrydd Spirit 214
+Cave-dwellers 112-13
+_Ceffyl y Dwfr_, the Water Horse 138-141
+_Cetyn y Tylwyth Teg_ 109
+Ceridwen 234
+Cerrig-y-drudion Spirit Tale 294
+Cerrig-y-drudion, Legend of Church 132
+_Ceubren yr Ellyll_, Legend of 191
+Changelings, Fairy 51-63
+Churches built on Pagan sites 160
+ Mysterious removal of 174-181
+Chaucer on Fairies 89
+Charms 238-9 258 262 276
+Charm for Shingles 262-3
+ Toothache 264-266
+ Whooping Cough 266
+ Fits 266
+ Fighting Cocks 267 312
+ Asthma 267
+ Warts 267-8
+ Stye 268
+ Quinsy 268
+ Wild wart 268
+ Rheumatism 269
+ Ringworm 269
+ Cattle 269-272
+ Stopping bleeding 272
+Charm with Snake's skin 273
+ Rosemary 273-4
+Charm for making Servants reliable 272
+ Sweethearts 281
+Charm of Conjurors 239-254
+Charm for Clefyd y Galon, or Heart Disease 274
+ _Clefyd yr Ede Wlan_, or Yarn Sickness 275
+Christmas Eve, free from Spirits 192
+Churns witched 238
+_Clefyd y Galon_ 274
+_Clefyd yr Ede Wlan_ 275
+Crickets in House lucky 342
+ Deserting house unlucky 343
+Crane, see Heron
+_Coblynau_, Knockers 112-121
+_Coel Ede Wlan_, or Yarn Test 283
+Corpse Candle 298-300
+Cock, unlawful to eat 343
+ Devil in form of 310
+ Offering of 311
+ Crowing of, at doors 311
+ Crowing at night 298
+ Crowing drives Spirits away 311
+ Charm for Fighting 312
+ White, unlucky 321 341
+Crow 304 314 315
+Conjurors 251-262
+ Charms of 239 254 258-260
+ Tricks of 255 257 260-1
+Cow, Dun 129 131 137
+ Legend of White 131
+ Freckled 130-1
+ Fairy Stray 134-137
+ Witched 243
+_Cyhyraeth_, Death Sound 302
+Cynon's Ghost 212
+Cuckoo Superstitions 317-321
+_Cwn Annwn_ 125-129
+
+Dancing with Fairies 36-39
+Davydd ab Gwilym and the Fairies 3 24
+Death Portents 297-307
+_Deryn Corph_, Corpse Bird 297
+Devil 143-192
+Devil's Tree 185
+ Bridge 190
+ Kitchen 190
+ Cave 191
+ Door 170
+Destruction of Foxes 193
+Dick Spot 212 255 256
+Dick the Fiddler 84
+Divination 279-290
+ Candle and Pin 287
+ _Coel Ede Wlan_, or Yarn Test 283
+ Frog stuck with Pins 281
+ Grass 288
+ Hemp Seed 286
+ Holly Tree 288
+ Key and Bible 288
+ Lovers' 289-90
+ Nut 289
+ Pullet's Egg 286
+ Snail 280
+ St. John's Wort 280
+ _Troi Crysau_, Clothes Drying 285
+ _Twca_, or Knife 284
+ Washing at Brook 285
+ Water in Basin 287
+Dogs, Hell 125 127
+ Sky 125 127
+ Fairy 49 81 83 125
+Dwarfs of Cae Caled 97
+ Droich 113-121
+_Dyn Hysbys_ 209 259
+_Drychiolaeth_, Spectre 301 302
+
+Eagle, Superstitions about 263-4 321
+_Erdion Banawg_ 131
+_Ellyll_ 3 4 111 191
+ _Dan_ 112
+_Ellyllon_, _Menyg_ 111
+ _Bwyd_ 111
+Elf Dancers of _Cae Caled_ 98-100
+ Stones 110
+ Shots 110-11
+Elidorus, the Fairies and 32-35
+Epiphany 285-6
+Evil Eye 219
+
+Fable of Heron, Cat, and Bramble 323
+ Magpie and Woodpigeon 335
+ Robin Redbreast 329
+ Sea Gull 329
+Famous Witches--
+ Betty'r Bont 236 240
+ Bella Fawr 223
+ Moll White 229 232
+ Pedws Ffoulk 242
+Fabulous Animals, see Mythic Beings
+Fairies, Origin of 1 2 35 36
+ Chaucer's reference to 89
+ Shakespeare's reference to 72 96 97
+ Milton's reference to 86
+Fairies inveigling Men 36-44
+ Working for Men 85-87
+ Carrying Men in the air 100-102
+ in Markets and Fairs 108
+ Binding Men 112
+ Children offered to Satan by 63
+ Love of Truth 35
+ Grateful 72
+Fairy Animals 81-3 124-5 129-132
+ Dances 87-97
+ Tricks 100-103
+ Knockers 112-124
+ Ladies marrying Men 5-24
+ Changelings 51-63
+ Implements 109-112
+ Men captured 104-107
+ Mothers and Human Midwives 63-67
+ Money 82-84
+ Riches and Gifts 72-81
+ Visits to human abodes 68-71
+ Families descended from 6 28
+Fetch 294
+Fire God 152
+Fish, Satan in 153
+Flying Serpent 349
+Foxglove 111
+Frog Divination 281
+_Fuwch Frech_ 129-132
+ _Gyfeiliorn_ 129 134-137
+_Ffynnon y Fuwch Frech_ 130
+ _Elian_ 216
+ _Oer_ 223
+
+Gay, Nut divination 289
+Giraldus Cambrensis 27 32 182
+ reference to Witches 233-236
+Ghost, see Spirit
+Ghost in Cerrigydrudion Church 132
+ Aberhafesp Church 169
+ Powis Castle 204
+ revealing Treasures 202
+ at Gloddaeth 193-4
+ Nannau Park 191
+ Tymawr 195
+ Frith Farm 196
+ Pontyglyn 197
+ Ystrad Fawr 197-8
+ Ty Felin 198
+ Llandegla 199
+ Llanidloes 199-200
+ Llawryglyn 348
+ Clwchdyrnog 202
+ Llanwddyn 212
+ David Salisbury's 201
+ Cynon's 212
+ Squire Griffiths' 200
+ Sir John Wynne's 211
+ Raising 215
+ Visiting the Earth 192
+Glain Nadroedd 350
+Goat-sucker 322
+Goblins, different kinds of 5 97
+Golden Chair 77
+Goose flying over House 304
+ laying small egg 305
+ egg laying 312
+Gossamer 112
+_Gwiber_, Flying Serpent 349
+_Gwion Bach_ 234
+_Gwragedd Annwn_ 3
+_Gwrach y Rhibyn_ 142
+_Gwr Cyfarwydd_ 38 55 257 259
+_Gwyddelod_ 80
+_Gwyll_ 4
+_Gwylliaid Cochion_ 4 5 6 25 26
+
+Haddock, why so marked 345
+Hag, Mist 142
+Hare 227-230 236 343-345
+ crossing the road 230
+ Caesar's reference to 343
+ Giraldus Cambrensis on hags changing themselves to 233
+hares
+ Man changed to a 236
+ Witch hunted in form of 230-233
+ Witch shot in the form of 228
+ S. Monacella, the patroness of hares 345
+Harper and Fairies 91
+Hedgehog sucking Cows 345
+ fee for destroying the 346
+Hen Chrwchwd, a humpbacked fiend 142
+Hen laying two eggs 305
+ March Chickens 322
+ Sitting 322
+Hindu Fairy Tale 6-8
+Heron, sign of weather changing 321 323
+ Fable of 323-4
+Horse, Water, a mythic animal 138
+ White, lucky 346
+ Headless 155
+ Shoe Charm 246
+Huw Llwyd, Cynfael, and Witches 224-227
+Huw Llwyd and Magical Books 252
+Hu Gadarn and the Avanc 133
+
+Ignis Fatuus 112
+
+Jackdaw considered sacred 324
+_Jack Ffynnon Elian_ 216
+
+Knockers, or Coblynau 4 97
+ in Mines 112-121
+
+Ladybird, Weather Sign 347
+Lady Jeffrey's Spirit 199
+Lake Dwellers 27 28
+Llanbrynmair Conjuror 258-9
+Llangerniew Spirit 170
+Llandegla Spirit 199
+Llanddona Witches 222-3
+Laying Spirits 209-215
+Laws against Witches 218
+_Llyn y Ddau Ychain Banawg_ 132
+Legends--
+ _Careg Gwr Drwg_ 190
+ _Ceubren yr Ellyll_ 191
+ Fairy Changelings 51-63
+ _Dafydd Hiraddug_ 158-160
+ Devil's Bridge 190
+ Freckled Cow, or _Y Fuwch Frech_ 130
+ Fairy Marriages 5-24
+ Fairies inveigling Mortals 32-50
+ Fairies and Midwives 63-67
+ Flying Snake 349
+ Removal of Churches 174-181
+ Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr 10
+ Ghosts, see Ghost
+ Spirits, see Spirit
+ Satan or Devil, see Satan
+_Lledrith_, or Spectre 303
+_Llysiau Ifan_, St. John's Wort 280
+_Llyn y Geulan Goch_ Spirit 162-166
+_Llyn Llion_ 133
+
+Magpie teaching Wood Pigeon to make Nest 335
+ Superstitions 324-327
+Magician's Glass 255
+Marriages, Fairy 44-48
+Man dancing with Fairies 90 91
+ witnessing a Fairy dance 90 93
+ taken away by Fairies 32 36 37 101-102
+ turned into a Hare 236
+ turned into a Horse 236
+May-day Revels 95
+ Evil Spirits abroad 168
+Mermaids 142
+Monacella, S. 345
+Moles, Weather Sign 318
+Moll White, a Witch 229 232
+_Meddygon Myddvai_, Physicians 6 23 24
+Mythic Beings--
+ _Avanc_ 133
+ _Ceffyl y Dwfr_, Water Horse 138
+ _Cwn Annwn_, Dogs of the Abyss 125
+ _Cwn Bendith y Mamau_, Fairy Dogs 125
+ _Cwn Wybir_, Sky Dogs 125 127
+ Dragon, or Flying Serpent 349-50
+ Fairies, see Fairy
+ _Fuwch Frech_, Fairy Cow 129-134
+ _Fuwch Gyfeiliorn_ 134-137
+ _Gwrach y Rhibyn_, Mist Hag 142
+ Knockers, see above
+ Mermaids and Mermen 142
+ Torrent Spectre 141
+ _Ychain Banawg_ 130-133
+ _Y Brenhin Llwyd_, the Grey King 142
+Mysterious removal of Churches--
+ Llanllechid 174
+ Corwen 174
+ Capel Garmon 175
+ Llanfair D. C. 175
+ Llanfihangel Geneu'r Glyn 176
+ Wrexham 177
+ Llangar 179
+ Denbigh 180
+
+Names given to the Devil 191-2
+Nightmare 237
+North door of Churches opened at Baptisms 171
+North door of Churches opened for Satan to go out 170
+North side of Churchyard unoccupied 171
+_Nos Glan Gaua_ 95 138-9 168-170 280 281 286 288-89
+
+_Ogof Cythreuliaid_ Devils' Cave 191
+Ogwen Lake, Tale of Wraith 292
+Old Humpbacked, Mythic Being 142
+Omen, see Divination 279-290
+Owl 304 327
+
+Pan, prototype of Celtic Satan 146
+Passing Bell 171-2
+Peacock, Weather Sign 327
+Pedwe Ffoulk, a Witch 242
+Pellings, Fairy Origin 6 13
+Pentrevoelas Legend 8
+Physicians of Myddfai 6 23 24
+Pig Superstitions 154 348
+Pigeon Superstitions 327
+Pins stuck in "Witch's Butter" 249
+Places associated with Satan 190-1
+_Plant Annwn_ 3 4
+Poocah, Pwka, Pwca 121-124 138-40
+
+Raven 304 328
+Rhamanta, see Divination, 279-290
+ on Hallow Eve 281
+_Rhaffau'r Tylwyth Teg_, Gossamer 112
+_Rhys Gryg_ 24
+Robin Redbreast 329 332-3
+Rook, see Crow
+Rooks deserting Rookery 316
+ building new Rookery 316
+
+Sabbath-breaking punished 152-157
+Satan, see Apparitions and Devil
+ afraid of Bell-sounds 171
+ appearing to Man carrying Bibles 183
+ appearing to a Minister 184
+ appearing to a Man 185
+ appearing to a Sunday-breaker 152-3
+ appearing to a Sunday traveller 153
+ appearing as a lovely Maid 186
+ appearing to a young Man 188
+ appearing to a Collier 189
+ appearing to a Tippler 156-7
+ carrying a Man away 187
+ in form of a Pig 166
+ in form of a Fish 153
+ disappearing as a ball or wheel of fire 148 150
+ and Churches 160-170
+ outwitted 157-160
+ playing Cards 147 148 149
+ snatching a Man up into the air 150
+Sawyer Bird, Tit-Major 331
+Seagull, a Weather Sign 329-30
+Seventh Daughter 250
+ Son 266
+Shakespeare's Witches 219 220 221
+Sheep, Black 351
+ Satan cannot enter 351
+Sir John Wynne 211
+Slowworm 352
+Snakes 348
+ Flying 349
+Snake Rings 350
+Spells, how to break 244-251
+Spectral Funeral 301-2
+Spirit, see Ghost
+Spirit laying 209-211
+Spirits laid for a time 164 199 200 210 212
+ allowed to visit the earth 168
+ sent to the Red Sea 193 209 210 214
+ sent to Egypt 211
+ riding Horses 202
+Spirit ejected from Cerrig-y-drudion Church 132
+ Llanfor Church 152-166
+ Llandysilio Church 166-7
+Spirit in Llangerniew Church 170
+ Aberhafesp Church 169
+ Llandegla 199
+ Lady Jeffrey's 199-200
+ calling Doctor 294
+St. John's Eve 52 95 168 280
+St. David 299 307
+Spiritualism 290-297
+Spirit leaving body 291-293
+Spider 351
+Squirrel hunting 351-2
+Swallow forsaking its nest 330
+ Breaking nest of 331
+Swan, hatching eggs of 381
+Swift, flying, Weather Sign 331
+_Swyno'r 'Ryri_ 254 262 263-4
+
+Taboo Stories 6 8-24
+Tegid 306
+Tit-Major, Weather Sign 331
+_Tolaeth_ 303
+Tobit, Spirit tale 182 210
+Torrent Spectre 141
+Transformation 227 234-237
+Transmigration 276-279
+_Tylwyth Teg_, see Fairies
+
+Van Lake Fairy tale 16-24
+Voice calling a Doctor 294
+
+Water Horse 138-141
+Water Worship 161
+Welsh Airs 84 88
+ _Aden Ddu'r Fran_ 84
+ _Toriad y Dydd_ 88
+Williams, Dr. Edward, and Fairies 97
+Witches 216-251
+ Llanddona 222-3
+ transforming themselves into cats 224-226
+ transforming themselves into hares 227-235
+ hunted in form of hare 230-233
+ killed in form of hare 228
+ in churn in form of hare 229
+ cursing Horse 242
+ cursing Milk 238-9
+ cursing Pig 238
+ how tested 250-1
+ Spells, how broken 244-250
+ Punishment of 243
+ Laws against 218
+Wife snatching 29
+Woodpecker, Weather Sign 336
+Woodpigeon 333-336
+Wraith 292 294 308
+Wren, unlucky to harm 331-2
+ Hunting the 332
+ Curse on breaker of nest 333
+_Wyn Melangell_ 345
+
+_Ystrad Legend_ 12
+Yarn Sickness 275-6
+ Test 283-4
+_Yspryd Cynon_ 212
+ _Ystrad Fawr_ 197-8
+
+
+
+
+
+THE FAIRIES.
+
+
+ORIGIN OF THE FAIRIES. (Y TYLWYTH TEG.)
+
+
+The Fairy tales that abound in the Principality have much in common with
+like legends in other countries. This points to a common origin of all
+such tales. There is a real and unreal, a mythical and a material aspect
+to Fairy Folk-Lore. The prevalence, the obscurity, and the different
+versions of the same Fairy tale show that their origin dates from remote
+antiquity. The supernatural and the natural are strangely blended
+together in these legends, and this also points to their great age, and
+intimates that these wild and imaginative Fairy narratives had some
+historical foundation. If carefully sifted, these legends will yield a
+fruitful harvest of ancient thoughts and facts connected with the history
+of a people, which, as a race, is, perhaps, now extinct, but which has,
+to a certain extent, been merged into a stronger and more robust race, by
+whom they were conquered, and dispossessed of much of their land. The
+conquerors of the Fair Tribe have transmitted to us tales of their timid,
+unwarlike, but truthful predecessors of the soil, and these tales shew
+that for a time both races were co-inhabitants of the land, and to a
+certain extent, by stealth, intermarried.
+
+Fairy tales, much alike in character, are to be heard in many countries,
+peopled by branches of the Aryan race, and consequently these stories in
+outline, were most probably in existence before the separation of the
+families belonging to that race. It is not improbable that the emigrants
+would carry with them, into all countries whithersoever they went, their
+ancestral legends, and they would find no difficulty in supplying these
+interesting stories with a home in their new country. If this
+supposition be correct, we must look for the origin of Fairy Mythology in
+the cradle of the Aryan people, and not in any part of the world
+inhabited by descendants of that great race.
+
+But it is not improbable that incidents in the process of colonization
+would repeat themselves, or under special circumstances vary, and thus we
+should have similar and different versions of the same historical event
+in all countries once inhabited by a diminutive race, which was overcome
+by a more powerful people.
+
+In Wales Fairy legends have such peculiarities that they seem to be
+historical fragments of by-gone days. And apparently they refer to a
+race which immediately preceded the Celt in the occupation of the
+country, and with which the Celt to a limited degree amalgamated.
+
+
+
+NAMES GIVEN TO THE FAIRIES.
+
+
+The Fairies have, in Wales, at least three common and distinctive names,
+as well as others that are not nowadays used.
+
+The first and most general name given to the Fairies is "_Y Tylwyth
+Teg_," or, the Fair Tribe, an expressive and descriptive term. They are
+spoken of as a people, and not as myths or goblins, and they are said to
+be a fair or handsome race.
+
+Another common name for the Fairies, is, "_Bendith y Mamau_," or, "The
+Mothers' Blessing." In Doctor Owen Pughe's Dictionary they are called
+"Bendith _eu_ Mamau," or, "_Their_ Mothers' Blessing." The first is the
+most common expression, at least in North Wales. It is a singularly
+strange expression, and difficult to explain. Perhaps it hints at a
+Fairy origin on the mother's side of certain fortunate people.
+
+The third name given to Fairies is "_Ellyll_," an elf, a demon, a goblin.
+This name conveys these beings to the land of spirits, and makes them
+resemble the oriental Genii, and Shakespeare's sportive elves. It
+agrees, likewise, with the modern popular creed respecting goblins and
+their doings.
+
+Davydd ab Gwilym, in a description of a mountain mist in which he was
+once enveloped, says:--
+
+ Yr ydoedd ym mhob gobant
+ _Ellyllon_ mingeimion gant.
+
+ There were in every hollow
+ A hundred wrymouthed elves.
+
+ _The Cambro-Briton_, v. I., p. 348.
+
+In Pembrokeshire the Fairies are called _Dynon Buch Teg_, or the _Fair
+Small People_.
+
+Another name applied to the Fairies is _Plant Annwfn_, or _Plant Annwn_.
+This, however, is not an appellation in common use. The term is applied
+to the Fairies in the third paragraph of a Welsh prose poem called _Bardd
+Cwsg_, thus:--
+
+ Y bwriodd y _Tylwyth Teg_ fi . . . oni bai fy nyfod i mewn
+ pryd i'th achub o gigweiniau _Plant Annwfn_.
+
+ Where the _Tylwyth Teg_ threw me . . . if I had not come
+ in time to rescue thee from the clutches of _Plant Annwfn_.
+
+_Annwn_, or _Annwfn_ is defined in Canon Silvan Evans's Dictionary as an
+abyss, Hades, etc. _Plant Annwn_, therefore, means children of the lower
+regions. It is a name derived from the supposed place of abode--the
+bowels of the earth--of the Fairies. _Gwragedd Annwn_, dames of Elfin
+land, is a term applied to Fairy ladies.
+
+Ellis Wynne, the author of _Bardd Cwsg_, was born in 1671, and the
+probability is that the words _Plant Annwfn_ formed in his days part of
+the vocabulary of the people. He was born in Merionethshire.
+
+_Gwyll_, according to Richards, and Dr. Owen Pughe, is a Fairy, a goblin,
+etc. The plural of _Gwyll_ would be _Gwylliaid_, or _Gwyllion_, but this
+latter word Dr. Pughe defines as ghosts, hobgoblins, etc. Formerly,
+there was in Merionethshire a red haired family of robbers called _Y
+Gwylliaid Cochion_, or Red Fairies, of whom I shall speak hereafter.
+
+_Coblynau_, or Knockers, have been described as a species of Fairies,
+whose abode was within the rocks, and whose province it was to indicate
+to the miners by the process of knocking, etc., the presence of rich
+lodes of lead or other metals in this or that direction of the mine.
+
+That the words _Tylwyth Teg_ and _Ellyll_ are convertible terms appears
+from the following stanza, which is taken from the _Cambrian Magazine_,
+vol. ii, p. 58.
+
+ Pan dramwych ffridd yr Ywen,
+ Lle mae _Tylwyth Teg_ yn rhodien,
+ Dos ymlaen, a phaid a sefyll,
+ Gwilia'th droed--rhag dawnsva'r _Ellyll_.
+
+ When the forest of the Yew,
+ Where _Fairies_ haunt, thou passest through,
+ Tarry not, thy footsteps guard
+ From the _Goblins'_ dancing sward.
+
+Although the poet mentions the _Tylwyth Teg_ and _Ellyll_ as identical,
+he might have done so for rhythmical reasons. Undoubtedly, in the first
+instance a distinction would be drawn between these two words, which
+originally were intended perhaps to describe two different kinds of
+beings, but in the course of time the words became interchangeable, and
+thus their distinctive character was lost. In English the words Fairies
+and elves are used without any distinction. It would appear from Brand's
+_Popular Antiquities_, vol. II., p. 478., that, according to Gervase of
+Tilbury, there were two kinds of Goblins in England, called _Portuni_ and
+_Grant_. This division suggests a difference between the _Tylwyth Teg_
+and the _Ellyll_. The _Portuni_, we are told, were very small of stature
+and old in appearance, "_statura pusilli_, _dimidium pollicis non
+habentes_," but then they were "_senili vultu_, _facie corrugata_." The
+wrinkled face and aged countenance of the _Portuni_ remind us of nursery
+Fairy tales in which the wee ancient female Fairy figures. The pranks of
+the _Portuni_ were similar to those of Shakespeare's Puck. The species
+_Grant_ is not described, and consequently it cannot be ascertained how
+far they resembled any of the many kinds of Welsh Fairies. Gervase,
+speaking of one of these species, says:--"If anything should be to be
+carried on in the house, or any kind of laborious work to be done, they
+join themselves to the work, and expedite it with more than human
+facility."
+
+In Scotland there were at least two species of elves, the _Brownies_ and
+the _Fairies_. The Brownies were so called from their tawny colour, and
+the Fairies from their fairness. The _Portuni_ of Gervase appear to have
+corresponded in character to the Brownies, who were said to have employed
+themselves in the night in the discharge of laborious undertakings
+acceptable to the family to whose service they had devoted themselves.
+The Fairies proper of Scotland strongly resembled the Fairies of Wales.
+
+The term _Brownie_, or swarthy elve, suggests a connection between them
+and the _Gwylliaid Cochion_, or Red Fairies of Wales.
+
+
+
+FAIRY LADIES MARRYING MORTALS.
+
+
+In the mythology of the Greeks, and other nations, gods and goddesses are
+spoken of as falling in love with human beings, and many an ancient
+genealogy began with a celestial ancestor. Much the same thing is said
+of the Fairies. Tradition speaks of them as being enamoured of the
+inhabitants of this earth, and content, for awhile, to be wedded to
+mortals. And there are families in Wales who are said to have Fairy
+blood coursing through their veins, but they are, or were, not so highly
+esteemed as were the offspring of the gods among the Greeks. The famous
+physicians of Myddfai, who owed their talent and supposed supernatural
+knowledge to their Fairy origin, are, however, an exception; for their
+renown, notwithstanding their parentage, was always great, and increased
+in greatness, as the rolling years removed them from their traditionary
+parent, the Fairy lady of the Van Pool.
+
+The _Pellings_ are said to have sprung from a Fairy Mother, and the
+author of _Observations on the Snowdon Mountains_ states that the best
+blood in his veins is fairy blood. There are in some parts of Wales
+reputed descendants on the female side of the _Gwylliaid Cochion_ race;
+and there are other families among us whom the aged of fifty years ago,
+with an ominous shake of the head, would say were of Fairy extraction.
+We are not, therefore, in Wales void of families of doubtful parentage or
+origin.
+
+All the current tales of men marrying Fairy ladies belong to a class of
+stories called, technically, Taboo stories. In these tales the lady
+marries her lover conditionally, and when this condition is broken she
+deserts husband and children, and hies back to Fairy land.
+
+This kind of tale is current among many people. Max Muller in _Chips
+from a German Workshop_, vol. ii, pp. 104-6, records one of these ancient
+stories, which is found in the Brahma_n_a of the Ya_g_ur-veda. Omitting
+a few particulars, the story is as follows:--
+
+"Urvasi, a kind of Fairy, fell in love with Pururavas, the son of Ida,
+and when she met him she said, 'Embrace me three times a day, but never
+against my will, and let me never see you without your royal garments,
+for this is the manner of women.' In this manner she lived with him a
+long time, and she was with child. Then her former friends, the
+Gandharvas, said: 'This Urvasi has now dwelt a long time among mortals;
+let us see that she come back.' Now, there was a ewe, with two lambs,
+tied to the couch of Urvasi and Pururavas, and the Gandharvas stole one
+of them. Urvasi said: 'They take away my darling, as if I had lived in a
+land where there is no hero and no man.' They stole the second, and she
+upbraided her husband again. Then Pururavas looked and said: 'How can
+that be a land without heroes and men where I am?' And naked, he sprang
+up; he thought it too long to put on his dress. Then the Gandharvas sent
+a flash of lightning, and Urvasi saw her husband naked as by daylight.
+Then she vanished; 'I come back,' she said, and went.
+
+Pururavas bewailed his love in bitter grief. But whilst walking along
+the border of a lake full of lotus flowers the Fairies were playing there
+in the water, in the shape of birds, and Urvasi discovered him and
+said:--
+
+'That is the man with whom I dwelt so long.' Then her friends said: 'Let
+us appear to him.' She agreed, and they appeared before him. Then the
+king recognised her, and said:--
+
+'Lo! my wife, stay, thou cruel in mind! Let us now exchange some words!
+Our secrets, if they are not told now, will not bring us back on any
+later day.'
+
+She replied: 'What shall I do with thy speech? I am gone like the first
+of the dawns. Pururavas, go home again, I am hard to be caught, like the
+wind.'"
+
+The Fairy wife by and by relents, and her mortal lover became, by a
+certain sacrifice, one of the Gandharvas.
+
+This ancient Hindu Fairy tale resembles in many particulars similar tales
+found in Celtic Folk-Lore, and possibly, the original story, in its main
+features, existed before the Aryan family had separated. The very words,
+"I am hard to be caught," appear in one of the Welsh legends, which shall
+be hereafter given:--
+
+ Nid hawdd fy nala,
+ I am hard to be caught.
+
+And the scene is similar; in both cases the Fairy ladies are discovered
+in a lake. The immortal weds the mortal, conditionally, and for awhile
+the union seems to be a happy one. But, unwittingly, when engaged in an
+undertaking suggested by, or in agreement with the wife's wishes, the
+prohibited thing is done, and the lady vanishes away.
+
+Such are the chief features of these mythical marriages. I will now
+record like tales that have found a home in several parts of Wales.
+
+
+
+WELSH LEGENDS OF FAIRY LADIES MARRYING MEN.
+
+
+1. _The Pentrevoelas Legend_.
+
+
+I am indebted to the Rev. Owen Jones, Vicar of Pentrevoelas, a mountain
+parish in West Denbighshire, for the following tale, which was written in
+Welsh by a native of those parts, and appeared in competition for a prize
+on the Folk-Lore of that parish.
+
+The son of Hafodgarreg was shepherding his father's flock on the hills,
+and whilst thus engaged, he, one misty morning, came suddenly upon a
+lovely girl, seated on the sheltered side of a peat-stack. The maiden
+appeared to be in great distress, and she was crying bitterly. The young
+man went up to her, and spoke kindly to her, and his attention and
+sympathy were not without effect on the comely stranger. So beautiful
+was the young woman, that from expressions of sympathy the smitten youth
+proceeded to words of love, and his advances were not repelled. But
+whilst the lovers were holding sweet conversation, there appeared on the
+scene a venerable and aged man, who, addressing the female as her father,
+bade her follow him. She immediately obeyed, and both departed leaving
+the young man alone. He lingered about the place until the evening,
+wishing and hoping that she might return, but she came not. Early the
+next day, he was at the spot where he first felt what love was. All day
+long he loitered about the place, vainly hoping that the beautiful girl
+would pay another visit to the mountain, but he was doomed to
+disappointment, and night again drove him homewards. Thus daily went he
+to the place where he had met his beloved, but she was not there, and,
+love-sick and lonely, he returned to Hafodgarreg. Such devotion deserved
+its reward. It would seem that the young lady loved the young man quite
+as much as he loved her. And in the land of allurement and illusion (yn
+nhir hud a lledrith) she planned a visit to the earth, and met her lover,
+but she was soon missed by her father, and he, suspecting her love for
+this young man, again came upon them, and found them conversing lovingly
+together. Much talk took place between the sire and his daughter, and
+the shepherd, waxing bold, begged and begged her father to give him his
+daughter in marriage. The sire, perceiving that the man was in earnest,
+turned to his daughter, and asked her whether it were her wish to marry a
+man of the earth? She said it was. Then the father told the shepherd he
+should have his daughter to wife, and that she should stay with him,
+until he should strike her with _iron_, and that, as a marriage portion,
+he would give her a bag filled with bright money. The young couple were
+duly married, and the promised dowry was received. For many years they
+lived lovingly and happily together, and children were born to them. One
+day this man and his wife went together to the hill to catch a couple of
+ponies, to carry them to the Festival of the Saint of Capel Garmon. The
+ponies were very wild, and could not be caught. The man, irritated,
+pursued the nimble creatures. His wife was by his side, and now he
+thought he had them in his power, but just at the moment he was about to
+grasp their manes, off they wildly galloped, and the man, in anger,
+finding that they had again eluded him, threw the bridle after them, and,
+sad to say, the bit struck the wife, and as this was of _iron_ they both
+knew that their marriage contract was broken. Hardly had they had time
+to realise the dire accident, ere the aged father of the bride appeared,
+accompanied by a host of Fairies, and there and then departed with his
+daughter to the land whence she came, and that, too, without even
+allowing her to bid farewell to her children. The money, though, and the
+children were left behind, and these were the only memorials of the
+lovely wife and the kindest of mothers, that remained to remind the
+shepherd of the treasure he had lost in the person of his Fairy spouse.
+
+Such is the Pentrevoelas Legend. The writer had evidently not seen the
+version of this story in the _Cambro-Briton_, nor had he read Williams's
+tale of a like occurrence, recorded in _Observations on the Snowdon
+Mountains_. The account, therefore, is all the more valuable, as being
+an independent production.
+
+A fragmentary variant of the preceding legend was given me by Mr. Lloyd,
+late schoolmaster of Llanfihangel-Glyn-Myfyr, a native of South Wales,
+who heard the tale in the parish of Llanfihangel. Although but a
+fragment, it may not be altogether useless, and I will give it as I
+received it:--
+
+Shon Rolant, Hafod y Dre, Pentrevoelas, when going home from Llanrwst
+market, fortunately caught a Fairy-maid, whom he took home with him. She
+was a most handsome woman, but rather short and slight in person. She
+was admired by everybody on account of her great beauty. Shon Rolant
+fell desperately in love with her, and would have married her, but this
+she would not allow. He, however, continued pressing her to become his
+wife, and, by and by, she consented to do so, provided he could find out
+her name. As Shon was again going home from the market about a month
+later, he heard some one saying, near the place where he had seized the
+Fairy-maid, "Where is little Penloi gone? Where is little Penloi gone?"
+Shon at once thought that some one was searching for the Fairy he had
+captured, and when he reached home, he addressed the Fairy by the name he
+had heard, and Penloi consented to become his wife. She, however,
+expressed displeasure at marrying a dead man, as the Fairies call us.
+She informed her lover that she was not to be touched with _iron_, or she
+would disappear at once. Shon took great care not to touch her with
+_iron_. However, one day, when he was on horseback talking to his
+beloved Penloi, who stood at the horse's head, the horse suddenly threw
+up its head, and the curb, which was of _iron_, came in contact with
+Penloi, who immediately vanished out of sight.
+
+The next legend is taken from Williams's _Observations on the Snowdon
+Mountains_. His work was published in 1802. He, himself, was born in
+Anglesey, in 1738, and migrated to Carnarvonshire about the year 1760.
+It was in this latter county that he became a learned antiquary, and a
+careful recorder of events that came under his notice. His
+"Observations" throw considerable light upon the life, the customs, and
+the traditions of the inhabitants of the hill parts and secluded glens of
+Carnarvonshire. I have thought fit to make these few remarks about the
+author I quote from, so as to enable the reader to give to him that
+credence which he is entitled to. Williams entitles the following story,
+"A Fairy Tale," but I will for the sake of reference call it "The Ystrad
+Legend."
+
+
+2. _The Ystrad Legend_.
+
+
+"In a meadow belonging to Ystrad, bounded by the river which falls from
+Cwellyn Lake, they say the Fairies used to assemble, and dance on fair
+moon-light-nights. One evening a young man, who was the heir and
+occupier of this farm, hid himself in a thicket close to the spot where
+they used to gambol; presently they appeared, and when in their merry
+mood, out he bounced from his covert and seized one of their females; the
+rest of the company dispersed themselves, and disappeared in an instant.
+Disregarding her struggles and screams, he hauled her to his home, where
+he treated her so very kindly that she became content to live with him as
+his maid servant; but he could not prevail upon her to tell him her name.
+Some time after, happening again to see the Fairies upon the same spot,
+he heard one of them saying, 'The last time we met here, our sister
+_Penelope_ was snatched away from us by one of the mortals!' Rejoiced at
+knowing the name of his _Incognita_, he returned home; and as she was
+very beautiful, and extremely active, he proposed to marry her, which she
+would not for a long time consent to; at last, however, she complied, but
+on this condition, 'That if ever he should strike her with iron, she
+would leave him, and never return to him again.' They lived happily for
+many years together, and he had by her a son, and a daughter; and by her
+industry and prudent management as a house-wife he became one of the
+richest men in the country. He farmed, besides his own freehold, all the
+lands on the north side of Nant-y-Bettws to the top of Snowdon, and all
+Cwmbrwynog in Llanberis; an extent of about five thousand acres or
+upwards.
+
+Unfortunately, one day Penelope followed her husband into the field to
+catch a horse; and he, being in a rage at the animal as he ran away from
+him, threw at him the bridle that was in his hand, which unluckily fell
+on poor Penelope. She disappeared in an instant, and he never saw her
+afterwards, but heard her voice in the window of his room one night
+after, requesting him to take care of the children, in these words:--
+
+ Rhag bod anwyd ar fy mab,
+ Yn rhodd rhowch arno gob ei dad,
+ Rhag bod anwyd ar liw'r cann,
+ Rhoddwch arni bais ei mam.
+
+That is--
+
+ Oh! lest my son should suffer cold,
+ Him in his father's coat infold,
+ Lest cold should seize my darling fair,
+ For her, her mother's robe prepare.
+
+These children and their descendants, they say, were called _Pellings_; a
+word corrupted from their mother's name, Penelope."
+
+Williams proceeds thus with reference to the descendants of this union:--
+
+"The late Thomas Rowlands, Esq., of Caerau, in Anglesey, the father of
+the late Lady Bulkeley, was a descendant of this lady, if it be true that
+the name _Pellings_ came from her; and there are still living several
+opulent and respectable people who are known to have sprung from the
+_Pellings_. The best blood in my own veins is this Fairy's."
+
+This tale was chronicled in the last century, but it is not known whether
+every particular incident connected therewith was recorded by Williams.
+_Glasynys_, the Rev. Owen Wynne Jones, a clergyman, relates a tale in the
+_Brython_, which he regards as the same tale as that given by Williams,
+and he says that he heard it scores of times when he was a lad.
+_Glasynys_ was born in the parish of Rhostryfan, Carnarvonshire, in 1827,
+and as his birth place is not far distant from the scene of this legend,
+he might have heard a different version of Williams's tale, and that too
+of equal value with Williams's. Possibly, there were not more than from
+forty to fifty years between the time when the older writer heard the
+tale and the time when it was heard by the younger man. An octogenarian,
+or even a younger person, could have conversed with both Williams and
+_Glasynys_. _Glasynys's_ tale appears in Professor Rhys's _Welsh Fairy
+Tales_, _Cymmrodor_, vol. iv., p. 188. It originally appeared in the
+_Brython_ for 1863, p. 193. It is as follows:--
+
+"One fine sunny morning, as the young heir of Ystrad was busied with his
+sheep on the side of Moel Eilio, he met a very pretty girl, and when he
+got home he told the folks there of it. A few days afterwards he met her
+again, and this happened several times, when he mentioned it to his
+father, who advised him to seize her when he next met her. The next time
+he met her he proceeded to do so, but before he could take her away, a
+little fat old man came to them and begged him to give her back to him,
+to which the youth would not listen. The little man uttered terrible
+threats, but he would not yield, so an agreement was made between them
+that he was to have her to wife until he touched her skin with iron, and
+great was the joy both of the son and his parents in consequence. They
+lived together for many years, but once on a time, on the evening of
+Bettws Fair, the wife's horse got restive, and somehow, as the husband
+was attending to the horse, the stirrups touched the skin of her bare
+leg, and that very night she was taken away from him. She had three or
+four children, and more than one of their descendants, as _Glasynys_
+maintains, were known to him at the time he wrote in 1863."
+
+
+3. _The Llanfrothen Legend_.
+
+
+I am indebted to the Rev. R. Jones, Rector of Llanycil, Bala, for the
+following legend. I may state that Mr. Jones is a native of Llanfrothen,
+Merionethshire, a parish in close proximity to the scene of the story.
+Mr. Jones's informant was his mother, a lady whose mind was well stored
+with tales of by-gone times, and my friend and informant inherits his
+mother's retentive memory, as well as her love of ancient lore.
+
+A certain man fell in love with a beautiful Fairy lady, and he wished to
+marry her. She consented to do so, but warned him that if he ever
+touched her with iron she would leave him immediately. This stipulation
+weighed but lightly on the lover. They were married, and for many years
+they lived most happily together, and several children were born to them.
+A sad mishap, however, one day overtook them. They were together,
+crossing Traethmawr, Penrhyndeudraeth, on horseback, when the man's horse
+became restive, and jerked his head towards the woman, and the bit of the
+bridle touched the left arm of the Fairy wife. She at once told her
+husband that they must part for ever. He was greatly distressed, and
+implored her not to leave him. She said she could not stay. Then the
+man, appealing to a mother's love for her children, begged that she would
+for the sake of their offspring continue to dwell with him and them, and,
+said he, what will become of our children without their mother? Her
+answer was:--
+
+ Gadewch iddynt fod yn bennau cochion a thrwynau hirion.
+
+ Let them be redheaded and longnosed.
+
+Having uttered these words, she disappeared and was never seen
+afterwards.
+
+No Welsh Taboo story can be complete without the pretty tale of the Van
+Lake Legend, or, as it is called, "The Myddfai Legend." Because of its
+intrinsic beauty and worth, and for the sake of comparison with the
+preceding stories, I will relate this legend. There are several versions
+extant. Mr. Wirt Sikes, in his _British Goblins_, has one, the
+_Cambro-Briton_ has one, but the best is that recorded by Professor Rhys,
+in the _Cymmrodor_, vol. iv., p. 163, in his _Welsh Fairy Tales_. There
+are other readings of the legend to be met with. I will first of all
+give an epitome of the Professor's version.
+
+
+4. _The Myddvai Legend_.
+
+
+A widow, who had an only son, was obliged, in consequence of the large
+flocks she possessed, to send, under the care of her son, a portion of
+her cattle to graze on the Black Mountain near a small lake called
+Llyn-y-Van-Bach.
+
+One day the son perceived, to his great astonishment, a most beautiful
+creature with flowing hair sitting on the unruffled surface of the lake
+combing her tresses, the water serving as a mirror. Suddenly she beheld
+the young man standing on the brink of the lake with his eyes rivetted on
+her, and unconsciously offering to herself the provision of barley bread
+and cheese with which he had been provided when he left his home.
+
+Bewildered by a feeling of love and admiration for the object before him,
+he continued to hold out his hand towards the lady, who imperceptibly
+glided near to him, but gently refused the offer of his provisions. He
+attempted to touch her, but she eluded his grasp, saying
+
+ Cras dy fara;
+ Nid hawdd fy nala.
+
+ Hard baked is thy bread;
+ It is not easy to catch me.
+
+She immediately dived under the water and disappeared, leaving the
+love-stricken youth to return home a prey to disappointment and regret
+that he had been unable to make further acquaintance with the lovely
+maiden with whom he had desperately fallen in love.
+
+On his return home he communicated to his mother the extraordinary
+vision. She advised him to take some unbaked dough the next time in his
+pocket, as there must have been some spell connected with the hard baked
+bread, or "Bara Cras," which prevented his catching the lady.
+
+Next morning, before the sun was up, the young man was at the lake, not
+for the purpose of looking after the cattle, but that he might again
+witness the enchanting vision of the previous day. In vain did he glance
+over the surface of the lake; nothing met his view, save the ripples
+occasioned by a stiff breeze, and a dark cloud hung heavily on the summit
+of the Van.
+
+Hours passed on, the wind was hushed, the overhanging clouds had
+vanished, when the youth was startled by seeing some of his mother's
+cattle on the precipitous side of the acclivity, nearly on the opposite
+side of the lake. As he was hastening away to rescue them from their
+perilous position, the object of his search again appeared to him, and
+seemed much more beautiful than when he first beheld her. His hand was
+again held out to her, full of unbaked bread, which he offered to her
+with an urgent proffer of his heart also, and vows of eternal attachment,
+all of which were refused by her, saying
+
+ Llaith dy fara!
+ Ti ni fynna.
+
+ Unbaked is thy bread!
+ I will not have thee.
+
+But the smiles that played upon her features as the lady vanished beneath
+the waters forbade him to despair, and cheered him on his way home. His
+aged parent was acquainted with his ill success, and she suggested that
+his bread should the next time be but slightly baked, as most likely to
+please the mysterious being.
+
+Impelled by love, the youth left his mother's home early next morning.
+He was soon near the margin of the lake impatiently awaiting the
+reappearance of the lady. The sheep and goats browsed on the precipitous
+sides of the Van, the cattle strayed amongst the rocks, rain and sunshine
+came and passed away, unheeded by the youth who was wrapped up in looking
+for the appearance of her who had stolen his heart. The sun was verging
+towards the west, and the young man casting a sad look over the waters
+ere departing homewards was astonished to see several cows walking along
+its surface, and, what was more pleasing to his sight, the maiden
+reappeared, even lovelier than ever. She approached the land and he
+rushed to meet her in the water. A smile encouraged him to seize her
+hand, and she accepted the moderately baked bread he offered her, and
+after some persuasion she consented to become his wife, on condition that
+they should live together until she received from him three blows without
+a cause,
+
+ Tri ergyd diachos,
+
+ Three causeless blows,
+
+when, should he ever happen to strike her three such blows, she would
+leave him for ever. These conditions were readily and joyfully accepted.
+
+Thus the Lady of the Lake became engaged to the young man, and having
+loosed her hand for a moment she darted away and dived into the lake.
+The grief of the lover at this disappearance of his affianced was such
+that he determined to cast himself headlong into its unfathomed depths,
+and thus end his life. As he was on the point of committing this rash
+act, there emerged out of the lake two most beautiful ladies, accompanied
+by a hoary-headed man of noble mien and extraordinary stature, but having
+otherwise all the force and strength of youth. This man addressed the
+youth, saying that, as he proposed to marry one of his daughters, he
+consented to the union, provided the young man could distinguish which of
+the two ladies before him was the object of his affections. This was no
+easy task, as the maidens were perfect counterparts of each other.
+
+Whilst the young man narrowly scanned the two ladies and failed to
+perceive the least difference betwixt the two, one of them thrust her
+foot a slight degree forward. The motion, simple as it was, did not
+escape the observation of the youth, and he discovered a trifling
+variation in the mode in which their sandals were tied. This at once put
+an end to the dilemma, for he had on previous occasions noticed the
+peculiarity of her shoe-tie, and he boldly took hold of her hand.
+
+"Thou hast chosen rightly," said the Father, "be to her a kind and
+faithful husband, and I will give her, as a dowry, as many sheep, cattle,
+goats, and horses, as she can count of each without heaving or drawing in
+her breath. But remember, that if you prove unkind to her at any time
+and strike her three times without a cause, she shall return to me, and
+shall bring all her stock with her."
+
+Such was the marriage settlement, to which the young man gladly assented,
+and the bride was desired to count the number of sheep she was to have.
+She immediately adopted the mode of counting by fives, thus:--One, two,
+three, four, five,--one, two, three, four, five; as many times as
+possible in rapid succession, till her breath was exhausted. The same
+process of reckoning had to determine the number of goats, cattle, and
+horses, respectively; and in an instant the full number of each came out
+of the lake, when called upon by the Father.
+
+The young couple were then married, and went to reside at a farm called
+Esgair Llaethdy, near Myddvai, where they lived in prosperity and
+happiness for several years, and became the parents of three beautiful
+sons.
+
+Once upon a time there was a christening in the neighbourhood to which
+the parents were invited. When the day arrived the wife appeared
+reluctant to attend the christening, alleging that the distance was too
+great for her to walk. Her husband told her to fetch one of the horses
+from the field. "I will," said she, "if you will bring me my gloves
+which I left in our house." He went for the gloves, and finding she had
+not gone for the horse, he playfully slapped her shoulder with one of
+them, saying "_dos_, _dos_, go, go," when she reminded him of the terms
+on which she consented to marry him, and warned him to be more cautious
+in the future, as he had now given her one causeless blow.
+
+On another occasion when they were together at a wedding and the
+assembled guests were greatly enjoying themselves the wife burst into
+tears and sobbed most piteously. Her husband touched her on the shoulder
+and inquired the cause of her weeping; she said, "Now people are entering
+into trouble, and your troubles are likely to commence, as you have the
+_second_ time stricken me without a cause."
+
+Years passed on, and their children had grown up, and were particularly
+clever young men. Amidst so many worldly blessings the husband almost
+forgot that only _one_ causeless blow would destroy his prosperity.
+Still he was watchful lest any trivial occurrence should take place which
+his wife must regard as a breach of their marriage contract. She told
+him that her affection for him was unabated, and warned him to be careful
+lest through inadvertence he might give the last and only blow which, by
+an unalterable destiny, over which she had no control, would separate
+them for ever.
+
+One day it happened that they went to a funeral together, where, in the
+midst of mourning and grief at the house of the deceased, she appeared in
+the gayest of spirits, and indulged in inconsiderate fits of laughter,
+which so shocked her husband that he touched her, saying--"Hush! hush!
+don't laugh." She said that she laughed because people when they die go
+out of trouble, and rising up, she went out of the house, saying, "The
+last blow has been struck, our marriage contract is broken, and at an
+end. Farewell!" Then she started off towards Esgair Llaethdy, where she
+called her cattle and other stock together, each by name, not forgetting,
+the "little black calf" which had been slaughtered and was suspended on
+the hook, and away went the calf and all the stock, with the Lady across
+Myddvai Mountain, and disappeared beneath the waters of the lake whence
+the Lady had come. The four oxen that were ploughing departed, drawing
+after them the plough, which made a furrow in the ground, and which
+remains as a testimony of the truth of this story.
+
+She is said to have appeared to her sons, and accosting Rhiwallon, her
+firstborn, to have informed him that he was to be a benefactor to
+mankind, through healing all manner of their diseases, and she furnished
+him with prescriptions and instructions for the preservation of health.
+Then, promising to meet him when her counsel was most needed, she
+vanished. On several other occasions she met her sons, and pointed out
+to them plants and herbs, and revealed to them their medicinal qualities
+or virtues.
+
+So ends the Myddvai Legend.
+
+A variant of this tale appears in the form of a letter in the
+_Cambro-Briton_, vol. ii, pp. 313-315. The editor prefaces the legend
+with the remark that the tale "acquires an additional interest from its
+resemblance in one particular to a similar tradition current in Scotland,
+wherein certain beasts, brought from a lake, as in this tale, play much
+the same part as is here described." The volume of the _Cambro-Briton_
+now referred to was published in 1821 and apparently the writer, who
+calls himself _Siencyn ab Tydvil_, communicates an unwritten tradition
+afloat in Carmarthenshire, for he does not tell us whence he obtained the
+story. As the tale differs in some particulars from that already given,
+I will transcribe it.
+
+
+5. _The Cambro-Briton version of the Myddvai Legend_.
+
+
+"A man, who lived in the farm-house called Esgair-llaethdy, in the parish
+of Myddvai, in Carmarthenshire, having bought some lambs in a
+neighbouring fair, led them to graze near _Llyn y Van Vach_, on the Black
+Mountains. Whenever he visited the lambs, three most beautiful female
+figures presented themselves to him from the lake, and often made
+excursions on the boundaries of it. For some time he pursued and
+endeavoured to catch them, but always failed; for the enchanting nymphs
+ran before him, and, when they had reached the lake, they tauntingly
+exclaimed,
+
+ Cras dy fara,
+ Anhawdd ein dala,
+
+which, with a little circumlocution, means, 'For thee, who eatest baked
+bread, it is difficult to catch us.'
+
+One day some moist bread from the lake came to shore. The farmer
+devoured it with great avidity, and on the following day he was
+successful in his pursuit and caught the fair damsels. After a little
+conversation with them, he commanded courage sufficient to make proposals
+of marriage to one of them. She consented to accept them on the
+condition that he would distinguish her from her two sisters on the
+following day. This was a new, and a very great difficulty to the young
+farmer, for the fair nymphs were so similar in form and features, that he
+could scarcely perceive any difference between them. He observed,
+however, a trifling singularity in the strapping of her sandal, by which
+he recognized her the following day. Some, indeed, who relate this
+legend, say that this Lady of the Lake hinted in a private conversation
+with her swain that upon the day of trial she would place herself between
+her two sisters, and that she would turn her right foot a little to the
+right, and that by this means he distinguished her from her sisters.
+Whatever were the means, the end was secured; he selected her, and she
+immediately left the lake and accompanied him to his farm. Before she
+quitted, she summoned to attend her from the lake seven cows, two oxen,
+and one bull.
+
+This lady engaged to live with him until such time as he would strike her
+three times without cause. For some years they lived together in
+comfort, and she bore him three sons, who were the celebrated Meddygon
+Myddvai.
+
+One day, when preparing for a fair in the neighbourhood, he desired her
+to go to the field for his horse. She said she would; but being rather
+dilatory, he said to her humorously, '_dos_, _dos_, _dos_,' i.e., 'go,
+go, go,' and he slightly touched her arm _three times_ with his glove.
+
+As she now deemed the terms of her marriage broken, she immediately
+departed, and summoned with her her seven cows, her two oxen, and the
+bull. The oxen were at that very time ploughing in the field, but they
+immediately obeyed her call, and took the plough with them. The furrow
+from the field in which they were ploughing, to the margin of the lake,
+is to be seen in several parts of that country to the present day.
+
+After her departure, she once met her two sons in a Cwm, now called _Cwm
+Meddygon_ (Physicians' Combe), and delivered to each of them a bag
+containing some articles which are unknown, but which are supposed to
+have been some discoveries in medicine.
+
+The Meddygon Myddvai were Rhiwallon and his sons, Cadwgan, Gruffydd, and
+Einion. They were the chief physicians of their age, and they wrote
+about A.D. 1230. A copy of their works is in the Welsh School Library,
+in Gray's Inn Lane."
+
+Such are the Welsh Taboo tales. I will now make a few remarks upon them.
+
+The _age_ of these legends is worthy of consideration. The legend of
+_Meddygon Myddvai_ dates from about the thirteenth century. Rhiwallon
+and his sons, we are told by the writer in the _Cambro-Briton_, wrote
+about 1230 A.D., but the editor of that publication speaks of a
+manuscript written by these physicians about the year 1300. Modern
+experts think that their treatise on medicine in the _Red Book of
+Hergest_ belongs to the end of the fourteenth century, about 1380 to
+1400.
+
+_Dafydd ab Gwilym_, who is said to have flourished in the fourteenth
+century, says, in one of his poems, as given in the _Cambro-Briton_, vol.
+ii., p. 313, alluding to these physicians:--
+
+ "Meddyg, nis gwnai modd y gwnaeth
+ Myddfai, o chai ddyn meddfaeth."
+
+ "A Physician he would not make
+ As Myddvai made, if he had a mead fostered man."
+
+It would appear, therefore, that these celebrated physicians lived
+somewhere about the thirteenth century. They are described as Physicians
+of Rhys Gryg, a prince of South Wales, who lived in the early part of the
+thirteenth century. Their supposed supernatural origin dates therefore
+from the thirteenth, or at the latest, the fourteenth century.
+
+I have mentioned _Y Gwylliaid Cochion_, or, as they are generally styled,
+_Gwylliaid Cochion Mawddwy_, the Red Fairies of Mawddwy, as being of
+Fairy origin. The Llanfrothen Legend seems to account for a race of men
+in Wales differing from their neighbours in certain features. The
+offspring of the Fairy union were, according to the Fairy mother's
+prediction in that legend, to have red hair and prominent noses. That a
+race of men having these characteristics did exist in Wales is undoubted.
+They were a strong tribe, the men were tall and athletic, and lived by
+plunder. They had their head quarters at Dinas Mawddwy, Merionethshire,
+and taxed their neighbours in open day, driving away sheep and cattle to
+their dens. So unbearable did their depredations become that John Wynn
+ap Meredydd of Gwydir and Lewis Owen, or as he is called Baron Owen,
+raised a body of stout men to overcome them, and on Christmas Eve, 1554,
+succeeded in capturing a large number of the offenders, and, there and
+then, some hundred or so of the robbers were hung. Tradition says that a
+mother begged hard for the life of a young son, who was to be destroyed,
+but Baron Owen would not relent. On perceiving that her request was
+unheeded, baring her breast she said:--
+
+ Y bronau melynion hyn a fagasant y rhai a ddialant waed fy mab, ac a
+ olchant eu dwylaw yn ngwaed calon llofrudd eu brawd.
+
+ These yellow breasts have nursed those who will revenge my son's
+ blood, and will wash their hands in the heart's blood of the murderer
+ of their brother.
+
+According to _Pennant_ this threat was carried out by the murder of Baron
+Owen in 1555, when he was passing through the thick woods of Mawddwy on
+his way to Montgomeryshire Assizes, at a place called to this day
+_Llidiart y Barwn_, the Baron's Gate, from the deed. Tradition further
+tells us that the murderers had gone a distance off before they
+remembered their mother's threat, and returning thrust their swords into
+the Baron's breast, and washed their hands in his heart's blood. This
+act was followed by vigorous action, and the banditti were extirpated,
+the females only remaining, and the descendants of these women are
+occasionally still to be met with in Montgomeryshire and Merionethshire.
+
+For the preceding information the writer is indebted to _Yr Hynafion
+Cymreig_, pp. 91-94, _Archaeologia Cambrensis_, for 1854, pp. 119-20,
+_Pennant_, vol. ii, pp. 225-27, ed. Carnarvon, and the tradition was told
+him by the Revd. D. James, Vicar of Garthbeibio, who likewise pointed out
+to him the very spot where the Baron was murdered.
+
+But now, who were these _Gwylliaid_? According to the hint conveyed by
+their name they were of Fairy parentage, an idea which a writer in the
+_Archaeologia Cambrensis_, vol. v., 1854, p. 119, intended, perhaps, to
+throw out. But according to _Brut y Tywysogion_, _Myf. Arch_., p. 706,
+A.D. 1114, Denbigh edition, the _Gwylliaid Cochion Mawddwy_ began in the
+time of Cadwgan ab Bleddyn ab Cynvyn.
+
+From Williams's _Eminent Welshmen_, we gather that Prince Cadwgan died in
+1110, A.D., and, according to the above-mentioned _Brut_, it was in his
+days that the Gwylliaid commenced their career, if not their existence.
+
+Unfortunately for this beginning of the red-headed banditti of Mawddwy,
+Tacitus states in his Life of Agricola, ch. xi., that there were in
+Britain men with red hair who he surmises were of German extraction. We
+must, therefore, look for the commencement of a people of this
+description long before the twelfth century, and the Llanfrothen legend
+either dates from remote antiquity, or it was a tale that found in its
+wanderings a resting place in that locality in ages long past.
+
+From a legend recorded by _Giraldus Cambrensis_, which shall by and by be
+given, it would seem that a priest named Elidorus lived among the Fairies
+in their home in the bowels of the earth, and this would be in the early
+part of the twelfth century. The question arises, is the priest's tale
+credible, or did he merely relate a story of himself which had been
+ascribed to some one else in the traditions of the people? If his tale
+is true, then, there lived even in that late period a remnant of the
+aborigines of the country, who had their homes in caves. The Myddvai
+Legend in part corroborates this supposition, for that story apparently
+belongs to the thirteenth century.
+
+It is difficult to fix the date of the other legends here given, for they
+are dressed in modern garbs, with, however, trappings of remote times.
+Probably all these tales have reached, through oral tradition, historic
+times, but in reality they belong to that far-off distant period, when
+the prehistoric inhabitants of this island dwelt in Lake-habitations, or
+in caves. And the marriage of Fairy ladies, with men of a different
+race, intimates that the more ancient people were not extirpated, but
+were amalgamated with their conquerors.
+
+Many Fairy tales in Wales are associated with lakes. Fairy ladies emerge
+from lakes and disappear into lakes. In the oriental legend Pururavas
+came upon his absconding wife in a lake. In many Fairy stories lakes
+seem to be the entrance to the abodes of the Fairies. Evidently,
+therefore, those people were lake-dwellers. In the lakes of Switzerland
+and other countries have been discovered vestiges of Lake-villages
+belonging to the Stone Age, and even to the Bronze Age. Perhaps those
+that belong to the Stone Age are the most ancient kind of human abodes
+still traceable in the world. In Ireland and Scotland these kinds of
+dwellings have been found. I am not in a position to say that they have
+been discovered in Wales; but some thirty years ago Mr. Colliver, a
+Cornish gentleman, told the writer that whilst engaged in mining
+operations near Llyn Llydaw he had occasion to lower the water level of
+that lake, when he discovered embedded in the mud a canoe formed out of
+the trunk of a single tree. He saw another in the lake, but this he did
+not disturb, and there it is at the present day. The late Professor
+Peter of Bala believed that he found traces of Lake-dwellings in Bala
+Lake, and the people in those parts have a tradition that a town lies
+buried beneath its waters--a tradition, indeed, common to many lakes. It
+is not therefore unlikely that if the lakes of Wales are explored they
+will yield evidences of lake-dwellers, and, however unromantic it may
+appear, the Lady of the Van Lake was only possibly a maiden snatched from
+her watery home by a member of a stronger race.
+
+In these legends the lady does not seem to evince much love for her
+husband after she has left him. Possibly he did not deserve much, but
+towards her children she shows deep affection. After the husband is
+deserted, the children are objects of her solicitation, and they are
+visited. The Lady of the Van Lake promised to meet her son whenever her
+counsel or aid was required. A like trait belongs to the Homeric
+goddesses. Thetis heard from her father's court far away beneath the
+ocean the terrible sounds of grief that burst from her son Achilles on
+hearing of the death of his dear friend Patroclus, and quickly ascended
+to earth all weeping to learn what ailed her son. These Fairy ladies
+also show a mother's love, immortal though they be.
+
+The children of these marriages depart not with their mother, they remain
+with the father, but she takes with her her dowry. Thus there are many
+descendants of the Lady of the Van Lake still living in South Wales, and
+as Professor Rhys remarks--"This brings the legend of the Lady of the Van
+Lake into connection with a widely spread family;" and, it may be added,
+shows that the Celts on their advent to Wales found it inhabited by a
+race with whom they contracted marriages.
+
+The manner in which the lady is seized when dancing in the Ystrad Legend
+calls to mind the strategy of the tribe of Benjamin to secure wives for
+themselves of the daughters of Shiloh according to the advice of the
+elders who commanded them,--"Go and lie in wait in the vineyards; and
+see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances,
+then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you everyone his wife of the
+daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin," Judges, ch. xxi.
+The rape of the Sabine women, who were seized by the followers of Romulus
+on a day appointed for sacrifice and public games, also serves as a
+precedent for the action of those young Welshmen who captured Fairy wives
+whilst enjoying themselves in the dance.
+
+It is a curious fact, that a singular testimony to wife snatching in
+ancient times is indicated by a custom once general, and still not
+obsolete in South Wales, of a feigned attempt on the part of the friends
+of the young woman about to get married to hinder her from carrying out
+her object. The Rev. Griffith Jones, Vicar of Mostyn, informed the
+writer that he had witnessed such a struggle. The wedding, he stated,
+took place at Tregaron, Cardiganshire. The friends of both the young
+people were on horseback, and according to custom they presented
+themselves at the house of the young woman, the one to escort her to the
+church, and the other to hinder her from going there. The friends of the
+young man were called "_Gwyr shegouts_." When the young lady was
+mounted, she was surrounded by the _gwyr shegouts_, and the cavalcade
+started. All went on peaceably until a lane was reached, down which the
+lady bolted, and here the struggle commenced, for her friends dashed
+between her and her husband's friends and endeavoured to force them back,
+and thus assist her to escape. The parties, Mr. Jones said, rode
+furiously and madly, and the struggle presented a cavalry charge, and it
+was not without much apparent danger that the opposition was overcome,
+and the lady ultimately forced to proceed to the church, where her future
+husband was anxiously awaiting her arrival. This strange custom of
+ancient times and obscure origin is suggestive of the way in which the
+stronger party procured wives in days of old.
+
+Before the marriage of the Fairy lady to the mortal takes place, the
+father of the lady appears on the scene, sometimes as a supplicant, and
+at others as a consenting party to the inevitable marriage, but never is
+he depicted as resorting to force to rescue his daughter. This
+pusillanimity can only be reasonably accounted for by supposing that the
+"little man" was physically incapable of encountering and overcoming by
+brute force the aspirant to the hand of his daughter. From this conduct
+we must, I think, infer that the Fairy race were a weak people bodily,
+unaccustomed and disinclined to war. Their safety and existence
+consisted in living in the inaccessible parts of the mountains, or in
+lake dwellings far removed from the habitations of the stronger and
+better equipped race that had invaded their country. In this way they
+could, and very likely did, occupy parts of Wales contemporaneously with
+their conquerors, who, through marriage, became connected with the mild
+race, whom they found in possession of the land.
+
+In the Welsh legends the maid consents to wed her capturer, and remain
+with him until he strikes her with _iron_. In every instance where this
+stipulation is made, it is ultimately broken, and the wife departs never
+to return. It has been thought that this implies that the people who
+immediately succeeded the Fair race belonged to the Iron Age, whilst the
+fair aborigines belonged to the Stone or Bronze age, and that they were
+overcome by the superior arms of their opponents, quite as much as by
+their greater bodily strength. Had the tabooed article been in every
+instance _iron_, the preceding supposition would have carried with it
+considerable weight, but as this is not the case, all that can be said
+positively is, that the conquerors of the Fair race were certainly
+acquainted with iron, and the blow with iron that brought about the
+catastrophe was undoubtedly inflicted by the mortal who had married the
+Fairy lady. Why iron should have been tabooed by the Fairy and her
+father, must remain an open question. But if we could, with reason,
+suppose, that that metal had brought about their subjugation, then in an
+age of primitive and imperfect knowledge, and consequent deep
+superstition, we might not be wrong in supposing that the subjugated race
+would look upon iron with superstitious dread, and ascribe to it
+supernatural power inimical to them as a race. They would under such
+feelings have nothing whatever to do with iron, just as the benighted
+African, witnessing for the first time the effects of a gun shot, would,
+with dread, avoid a gun. By this process of reasoning we arrive at the
+conclusion that the Fairy race belonged to a period anterior to the Iron
+Age.
+
+With one remark, I will bring my reflections on the preceding legends to
+an end. Polygamy apparently was unknown in the distant times we are
+considering. But the marriage bond was not indissoluble, and the
+initiative in the separation was taken by the woman.
+
+
+
+MEN CAPTURED BY FAIRIES.
+
+
+In the preceding legends, we have accounts of men capturing female
+Fairies, and marrying them. It would be strange if the kidnapping were
+confined to one of the two races, but Folk-Lore tells us that the Fair
+Family were not innocent of actions similar to those of mortals, for many
+a man was snatched away by them, and carried off to their subterranean
+abodes, who, in course of time, married the fair daughters of the
+_Tylwyth Teg_. Men captured Fairy ladies, but the Fairies captured
+handsome men.
+
+The oldest written legend of this class is to be found in the pages of
+_Giraldus Cambrensis_, pp. 390-92, Bohn's edition. The Archdeacon made
+the tour of Wales in 1188; the legend therefore which he records can
+boast of a good old age, but the tale itself is older than _The Itinerary
+through Wales_, for the writer informs us that the priest Elidorus, who
+affirmed that he had been in the country of the Fairies, talked in his
+old age to David II., bishop of St. David, of the event. Now David II.
+was promoted to the see of St. David in 1147, or, according to others, in
+1149, and died A.D. 1176; therefore the legend had its origin before the
+last-mentioned date, and, if the priest were a very old man when he died,
+his tale would belong to the eleventh century.
+
+With these prefatory remarks, I will give the legend as recorded by
+Giraldus.
+
+
+1. _Elidorus and the Fairies_.
+
+
+"A short time before our days, a circumstance worthy of note occurred in
+these parts, which Elidorus, a priest, most strenuously affirmed had
+befallen to himself.
+
+When a youth of twelve years, and learning his letters, since, as Solomon
+says, 'The root of learning is bitter, although the fruit is sweet,' in
+order to avoid the discipline and frequent stripes inflicted on him by
+his preceptor, he ran away and concealed himself under the hollow bank of
+the river. After fasting in that situation for two days, two little men
+of pigmy stature appeared to him, saying, 'If you will come with us, we
+will lead you into a country full of delights and sports.' Assenting and
+rising up, he followed his guides through a path, at first subterraneous
+and dark, into a most beautiful country, adorned with rivers and meadows,
+woods and plains, but obscure, and not illuminated with the full light of
+the sun. All the days were cloudy, and the nights extremely dark, on
+account of the absence of the moon and stars. The boy was brought before
+the King, and introduced to him in the presence of the court; who, having
+examined him for a long time, delivered him to his son, who was then a
+boy. These men were of the smallest stature, but very well proportioned
+in their make; they were all of a fair complexion, with luxuriant hair
+falling over their shoulders like that of women. They had horses and
+greyhounds adapted to their size. They neither ate flesh nor fish, but
+lived on milk diet, made up into messes with saffron. They never took an
+oath, for they detested nothing so much as lies. As often as they
+returned from our upper hemisphere, they reprobated our ambition,
+infidelities, and inconstancies; they had no form of public worship,
+being strict lovers and reverers, as it seemed, of truth.
+
+The boy frequently returned to our hemisphere, sometimes by the way he
+had first gone, sometimes by another; at first in company with other
+persons, and afterwards alone, and made himself known only to his mother,
+declaring to her the manners, nature, and state of that people. Being
+desired by her to bring a present of gold, with which that region
+abounded, he stole, while at play with the king's son, the golden ball
+with which he used to divert himself, and brought it to his mother in
+great haste; and when he reached the door of his father's house, but not
+unpursued, and was entering it in a great hurry, his foot stumbled on the
+threshold, and falling down into the room where his mother was sitting,
+the two pigmies seized the ball which had dropped from his hand and
+departed, showing the boy every mark of contempt and derision. On
+recovering from his fall, confounded with shame, and execrating the evil
+counsel of his mother, he returned by the usual track to the
+subterraneous road, but found no appearance of any passage, though he
+searched for it on the banks of the river for nearly the space of a year.
+But since those calamities are often alleviated by time, which reason
+cannot mitigate, and length of time alone blunts the edge of our
+afflictions and puts an end to many evils, the youth, having been brought
+back by his friends and mother, and restored to his right way of
+thinking, and to his learning, in process of time attained the rank of
+priesthood.
+
+Whenever David II., Bishop of St. David's, talked to him in his advanced
+state of life concerning this event, he could never relate the
+particulars without shedding tears. He had made himself acquainted with
+the language of that nation, the words of which, in his younger days, he
+used to recite, which, as the bishop often had informed me, were very
+conformable to the Greek idiom. When they asked for water, they said
+'Ydor ydorum,' which meant 'Bring water,' for Ydor in their language, as
+well as in the Greek, signifies water, whence vessels for water are
+called Adriai; and Dwr, also in the British language signifies water.
+When they wanted salt they said 'Halgein ydorum,' 'Bring salt.' Salt is
+called al in Greek, and Halen in British, for that language, from the
+length of time which the Britons (then called Trojans and afterwards
+Britons, from Brito, their leader) remained in Greece after the
+destruction of Troy, became, in many instances, similar to the Greek."
+
+This legend agrees in a remarkable degree with the popular opinion
+respecting Fairies. It would almost appear to be the foundation of many
+subsequent tales that are current in Wales.
+
+The priest's testimony to Fairy temperance and love of truth, and their
+reprobation of ambition, infidelities, and inconstancies, notwithstanding
+that they had no form of public worship, and their abhorrence of theft
+intimate that they possessed virtues worthy of all praise.
+
+Their abode is altogether mysterious, but this ancient description of
+Fairyland bears out the remarks--perhaps suggested the remarks, of the
+Rev. Peter Roberts in his book called _The Cambrian Popular Antiquities_.
+In this work, the author promulgates the theory that the Fairies were a
+people existing distinct from the known inhabitants of the country and
+confederated together, and met mysteriously to avoid coming in contact
+with the stronger race that had taken possession of their land, and he
+supposes that in these traditionary tales of the Fairies we recognize
+something of the real history of an ancient people whose customs were
+those of a regular and consistent policy. Roberts supposes that the
+smaller race for the purpose of replenishing their ranks stole the
+children of their conquerors, or slyly exchanged their weak children for
+their enemies' strong children.
+
+It will be observed that the people among whom Elidorus sojourned had a
+language cognate with the Irish, Welsh, Greek, and other tongues; in
+fact, it was similar to that language which at one time extended, with
+dialectical differences, from Ireland to India; and the _Tylwyth Teg_, in
+our legends, are described as speaking a language understood by those
+with whom they conversed. This language they either acquired from their
+conquerors, or both races must have had a common origin; the latter,
+probably, being the more reasonable supposition, and by inference,
+therefore, the Fairies and other nations by whom they were subdued were
+descended from a common stock, and ages afterwards, by marriage, the
+Fairies again commingled with other branches of the family from which
+they had originally sprung.
+
+Omitting many embellishments which the imagination has no difficulty in
+bestowing, tradition has transmitted one fact, that the _Tylwyth Teg_
+succeeded in inducing men through the allurements of music and the
+attractions of their fair daughters to join their ranks. I will now give
+instances of this belief.
+
+The following tale I received from the mouth of Mr. Richard Jones,
+Ty'n-y-wern, Bryneglwys, near Corwen. Mr. Jones has stored up in his
+memory many tales of olden times, and he even thinks that he has himself
+seen a Fairy. Standing by his farm, he pointed out to me on the opposite
+side of the valley a Fairy ring still green, where once, he said, the
+Fairies held their nightly revels. The scene of the tale which Mr. Jones
+related is wild, and a few years ago it was much more so than at present.
+At the time that the event is said to have taken place the mountain was
+unenclosed, and there was not much travelling in those days, and
+consequently the Fairies could, undisturbed, enjoy their dances. But to
+proceed with the tale.
+
+
+2. _A Bryneglwys Man inveigled by the Fairies_.
+
+
+Two waggoners were sent from Bryneglwys for coals to the works over the
+hill beyond Minera. On their way they came upon a company of Fairies
+dancing with all their might. The men stopped to witness their
+movements, and the Fairies invited them to join in the dance. One of the
+men stoutly refused to do so, but the other was induced to dance awhile
+with them. His companion looked on for a short time at the antics of his
+friend, and then shouted out that he would wait no longer, and desired
+the man to give up and come away. He, however, turned a deaf ear to the
+request, and no words could induce him to forego his dance. At last his
+companion said that he was going, and requested his friend to follow him.
+Taking the two waggons under his care he proceeded towards the coal pits,
+expecting every moment to be overtaken by his friend; but he was
+disappointed, for he never appeared. The waggons and their loads were
+taken to Bryneglwys, and the man thought that perhaps his companion,
+having stopped too long in the dance, had turned homewards instead of
+following him to the coal pit. But on enquiry no one had heard or seen
+the missing waggoner. One day his companion met a Fairy on the mountain
+and inquired after his missing friend. The Fairy told him to go to a
+certain place, which he named, at a certain time, and that he should
+there see his friend. The man went, and there saw his companion just as
+he had left him, and the first words that he uttered were "Have the
+waggons gone far." The poor man never dreamt that months and months had
+passed away since they had started together for coal.
+
+A variant of the preceding story appears in the _Cambrian Magazine_, vol.
+ii., pp. 58-59, where it is styled the Year's Sleep, or "The Forest of
+the Yewtree," but for the sake of association with like tales I will call
+it by the following title:--
+
+
+3. _Story of a man who spent twelve months in Fairyland_.
+
+
+"In Mathavarn, in the parish of Llanwrin, and the Cantrev of Cyveilioc,
+there is a wood which is called _Ffridd yr Ywen_ (the Forest of the Yew);
+it is supposed to be so called because there is a yew tree growing in the
+very middle of it. In many parts of the wood are to be seen green
+circles, which are called 'the dancing places of the goblins,' about
+which, a considerable time ago, the following tale was very common in the
+neighbourhood:--
+
+Two servants of John Pugh, Esq., went out one day to work in the 'Forest
+of the Yew.' Pretty early in the afternoon the whole country was so
+covered with dark vapour, that the youths thought night was coming on;
+but when they came to the middle of the 'Forest' it brightened up around
+them and the darkness seemed all left behind; so, thinking it too early
+to return home for the night, they lay down and slept. One of them, on
+waking, was much surprised to find no one there but himself; he wondered
+a good deal at the behaviour of his companion, but made up his mind at
+last that he had gone on some business of his own, as he had been talking
+of it some time before; so the sleeper went home, and when they inquired
+after his companion, he told them he was gone to the cobbler's shop. The
+next day they inquired of him again about his fellow-servant, but he
+could not give them any account of him; but at last confessed how and
+where they had both gone to sleep. Alter searching and searching many
+days, he went to a '_gwr cyvarwydd_' (a conjuror), which was a very
+common trade in those days, according to the legend; and the conjuror
+said to him, 'Go to the same place where you and the lad slept; go there
+exactly a year after the boy was lost; let it be on the same day of the
+year, and at the same time of the day, but take care that you do not step
+inside the Fairy ring, stand on the border of the green circles you saw
+there, and the boy will come out with many of the goblins to dance, and
+when you see him so near to you that you may take hold of him, snatch him
+out of the ring as quickly as you can.' He did according to this advice,
+and plucked the boy out, and then asked him, 'if he did not feel hungry,'
+to which he answered 'No,' for he had still the remains of his dinner
+that he had left in his wallet before going to sleep, and he asked 'if it
+was not nearly night, and time to go home,' not knowing that a year had
+passed by. His look was like a skeleton, and as soon as he had tasted
+food he was a dead man."
+
+A story in its main features similar to that recorded in the _Cambrian
+Magazine_ was related to me by my friend, the Rev. R. Jones, Rector of
+Llanycil. I do not think Mr. Jones gave me the locality where the
+occurrence is said to have taken place; at least, if he did so, I took no
+note of it. The story is as follows:--
+
+
+4. _A man who spent twelve months and a day with the Fairies_.
+
+
+A young man, a farm labourer, and his sweetheart were sauntering along
+one evening in an unfrequented part of the mountain, when there appeared
+suddenly before them two Fairies, who proceeded to make a circle. This
+being done, a large company of Fairies accompanied by musicians appeared,
+and commenced dancing over the ring; their motions and music were
+entrancing, and the man, an expert dancer, by some irresistible power was
+obliged to throw himself into the midst of the dancers and join them in
+their gambols. The woman looked on enjoying the sight for several hours,
+expecting every minute that her lover would give up the dance and join
+her, but no, on and on went the dance, round and round went her lover,
+until at last daylight appeared, and then suddenly the music ceased and
+the Fairy band vanished; and with them her lover. In great dismay, the
+young woman shouted the name of her sweetheart, but all in vain, he came
+not to her. The sun had now risen, and, almost broken-hearted, she
+returned home and related the events of the previous night. She was
+advised to consult a man who was an adept in the black art. She did so,
+and the conjuror told her to go to the same place at the same time of the
+night one year and one day from the time that her lover had disappeared
+and that she should then and there see him. She was farther instructed
+how to act. The conjuror warned her from going into the ring, but told
+her to seize her lover by the arm as he danced round, and to jerk him out
+of the enchanted circle. Twelve months and a day passed away, and the
+faithful girl was on the spot where she lost her lover. At the very
+moment that they had in the first instance appeared the Fairies again
+came to view, and everything that she had witnessed previously was
+repeated. With the Fairy band was her lover dancing merrily in their
+midst. The young woman ran round and round the circle close to the young
+man, carefully avoiding the circle, and at last she succeeded in taking
+hold of him and desired him to come away with her. "Oh," said he, "do
+let me alone a little longer, and then I will come with you." "You have
+already been long enough," said she. His answer was, "It is so
+delightful, let me dance on only a few minutes longer." She saw that he
+was under a spell, and grasping the young man's arm with all her might
+she followed him round and round the circle, and an opportunity offering
+she jerked him out of the circle. He was greatly annoyed at her conduct,
+and when told that he had been with the Fairies a year and a day he would
+not believe her, and affirmed that he had been dancing only a few
+minutes; however, he went away with the faithful girl, and when he had
+reached the farm, his friends had the greatest difficulty in persuading
+him that he had been so long from home.
+
+The next Fairy tale that I shall give akin to the preceding stories is to
+be found in _Y Brython_, vol. iii., pp. 459-60. The writer of the tale
+was the Rev. Benjamin Williams, whose bardic name was Gwynionydd. I do
+not know the source whence Mr. Williams derived the story, but most
+likely he obtained it from some aged person who firmly believed that the
+tale was a true record of what actually occurred. In the _Brython_ the
+tale is called: "Y Tylwyth Teg a Mab Llech y Derwydd," and this title I
+will retain, merely translating it. The introduction, however, I will
+not give, as it does not directly bear on the subject now under
+consideration.
+
+
+5. _The Son of Llech y Derwydd and the Fairies_.
+
+
+The son of Llech y Derwydd was the only son of his parents and heir to
+the farm. He was very dear to his father and mother, yea, he was as the
+very light of their eyes. The son and the head servant man were bosom
+friends, they were like two brothers, or rather twins. As they were such
+close friends the farmer's wife was in the habit of clothing them exactly
+alike. The two friends fell in love with two young handsome women who
+were highly respected in the neighbourhood. This event gave the old
+people great satisfaction, and ere long the two couples were joined in
+holy wedlock, and great was the merry-making on the occasion. The
+servant man obtained a convenient place to live in on the grounds of
+Llech y Derwydd. About six months after the marriage of the son, he and
+the servant man went out to hunt. The servant penetrated to a ravine
+filled with brushwood to look for game, and presently returned to his
+friend, but by the time he came back the son was nowhere to be seen. He
+continued awhile looking about for his absent friend, shouting and
+whistling to attract his attention, but there was no answer to his calls.
+By and by he went home to Llech y Derwydd, expecting to find him there,
+but no one knew anything about him. Great was the grief of the family
+throughout the night, but it was even greater the next day. They went to
+inspect the place where the son had last been seen. His mother and his
+wife wept bitterly, but the father had greater control over himself,
+still he appeared as half mad. They inspected the place where the
+servant man had last seen his friend, and, to their great surprise and
+sorrow, observed a Fairy ring close by the spot, and the servant
+recollected that he had heard seductive music somewhere about the time
+that he parted with his friend. They came to the conclusion at once that
+the man had been so unfortunate as to enter the Fairy ring, and they
+conjectured that he had been transported no one knew where. Weary weeks
+and months passed away, and a son was born to the absent man. The little
+one grew up the very image of his father, and very precious was he to his
+grandfather and grandmother. In fact, he was everything to them. He
+grew up to man's estate and married a pretty girl in the neighbourhood,
+but her people had not the reputation of being kind-hearted. The old
+folks died, and also their daughter-in-law.
+
+One windy afternoon in the month of October, the family of Llech y
+Derwydd saw a tall thin old man with beard and hair as white as snow, who
+they thought was a Jew, approaching slowly, very slowly, towards the
+house. The servant girls stared mockingly through the window at him, and
+their mistress laughed unfeelingly at the "old Jew," and lifted the
+children up, one after the other, to get a sight of him as he neared the
+house. He came to the door, and entered the house boldly enough, and
+inquired after his parents. The mistress answered him in a surly and
+unusually contemptuous manner, and wished to know "What the drunken old
+Jew wanted there," for they thought he must have been drinking or he
+would never have spoken in the way he did. The old man looked at
+everything in the house with surprise and bewilderment, but the little
+children about the floor took his attention more than anything else. His
+looks betrayed sorrow and deep disappointment. He related his whole
+history, that, yesterday he had gone out to hunt, and that he had now
+returned. The mistress told him that she had heard a story about her
+husband's father, which occurred before she was born, that he had been
+lost whilst hunting, but that her father had told her that the story was
+not true, but that he had been killed. The woman became uneasy and angry
+that the old "Jew" did not depart. The old man was roused and said that
+the house was his, and that he would have his rights. He went to inspect
+his possessions, and shortly afterwards directed his steps to the
+servant's house. To his surprise he saw that things there were greatly
+changed. After conversing awhile with an aged man who sat by the fire,
+they carefully looked each other in the face, and the old man by the fire
+related the sad history of his lost friend, the son of Llech y Derwydd.
+They conversed together deliberately on the events of their youth, but
+all seemed like a dream. However, the old man in the corner came to the
+conclusion that his visitor was his dear friend, the son of Llech y
+Derwydd, returned from the land of the Fairies after having spent there
+half a hundred years. The old man with the white beard believed the
+story related by his friend, and long was the talk and many were the
+questions which the one gave to the other. The visitor was informed that
+the master of Llech y Derwydd was from home that day, and he was
+persuaded to eat some food; but, to the horror of all, when he had done
+so, he instantly fell down dead.
+
+Such is the story. The writer adds that the tale relates that the cause
+of this man's sudden death was that he ate food after having been so long
+in the land of the Fairies, and he further states that the faithful old
+servant insisted on his dead friend's being buried with his ancestors,
+and the rudeness of the mistress of Llech y Derwydd to her father-in-law
+brought a curse upon the place and family, and her offence was not
+expiated until the farm had been sold nine times.
+
+The next tale that I shall relate is recorded by _Glasynys_ in _Cymru
+Fu_, pp. 177-179. Professor Rhys in his _Welsh Fairy Tales_, _Y
+Cymmrodor_, vol. v., pp. 81-84, gives a translation of this story. The
+Professor prefaces the tale with a caution that _Glasynys_ had elaborated
+the story, and that the proper names were undoubtedly his own. The
+reverend author informs his readers that he heard his mother relate the
+tale many times, but it certainly appears that he has ornamented the
+simple narrative after his own fashion, for he was professedly a believer
+in words; however, in its general outline, it bears the impress of
+antiquity, and strongly resembles other Welsh Fairy tales. It belongs to
+that species of Fairy stories which compose this chapter, and therefore
+it is here given as translated by Professor Rhys. I will for the sake of
+reference give the tale a name, and describe it under the following
+heading.
+
+
+6. _A young man marries a Fairy Lady in Fairy Land, and brings her to
+live with him among his own people_.
+
+
+"Once on a time a shepherd boy had gone up the mountain. That day, like
+many a day before and after, was exceedingly misty. Now, though he was
+well acquainted with the place, he lost his way, and walked backwards and
+forwards for many a long hour. At last he got into a low rushy spot,
+where he saw before him many circular rings. He at once recalled the
+place, and began to fear the worst. He had heard, many hundreds of
+times, of the bitter experiences in those rings of many a shepherd who
+had happened to chance on the dancing-place or the circles of the Fair
+Family. He hastened away as fast as ever he could, lest he should be
+ruined like the rest; but though he exerted himself to the point of
+perspiring, and losing his breath, there he was, and there he continued
+to be, a long time. At last he was met by a little fat old man with
+merry blue eyes, who asked him what he was doing. He answered that he
+was trying to find his way homeward. 'Oh,' said he, 'come after me, and
+do not utter a word until I bid thee.' This he did, following him on and
+on until they came to an oval stone, and the little old fat man lifted
+it, after tapping the middle of it three times with his walking stick.
+There was there a narrow path with stairs to be seen here and there, and
+a sort of whitish light, inclining to grey and blue, was to be seen
+radiating from the stones. 'Follow me fearlessly,' said the fat man, 'no
+harm will be done thee.' So on the poor youth went, as reluctantly as a
+dog to be hanged; but presently a fine-wooded, fertile country spread
+itself out before them, with well arranged mansions dotting it over,
+while every kind of apparent magnificence met the eye, and seemed to
+smile in its landscape; the bright waters of its rivers meandered in
+twisted streams, and its hills were covered with the luxuriant verdure of
+their grassy growth, and the mountains with a glossy fleece of smooth
+pasture. By the time they had reached the stout gentleman's mansion, the
+young man's senses had been bewildered by the sweet cadence of the music
+which the birds poured forth from the groves, then there was gold there
+to dazzle his eyes and silver flashing on his sight. He saw there all
+kinds of musical instruments and all sorts of things for playing, but he
+could discern no inhabitant in the whole place; and when he sat down to
+eat, the dishes on the table came to their places of themselves and
+disappeared when one had done with them. This puzzled him beyond
+measure; moreover, he heard people talking together around him, but for
+the life of him he could see no one but his old friend. At length the
+fat man said to him, 'Thou canst now talk as much as it may please thee;'
+but when he attempted to move his tongue it would no more stir than if it
+had been a lump of ice, which greatly frightened him. At this point, a
+fine old lady, with health and benevolence beaming in her face, came to
+them and slightly smiled at the shepherd. The mother was followed by her
+three daughters, who were remarkably beautiful. They gazed with somewhat
+playful looks at him, and at length began to talk to him, but his tongue
+would not wag. Then one of the girls came to him, and, playing with his
+yellow and curly locks, gave him a smart kiss on his ruddy lips. This
+loosened the string that bound his tongue, and he began to talk freely
+and eloquently. There he was, under the charm of that kiss, in the bliss
+of happiness, and there he remained a year and a day without knowing that
+he had passed more than a day among them, for he had got into a country
+where there was no reckoning of time. But by and by he began to feel
+somewhat of a longing to visit his old home, and asked the stout man if
+he might go. 'Stay a little yet,' said he, 'and thou shalt go for a
+while.' That passed, he stayed on; but Olwen, for that was the name of
+the damsel that had kissed him, was very unwilling that he should depart.
+She looked sad every time he talked of going away, nor was he himself
+without feeling a sort of a cold thrill passing through him at the
+thought of leaving her. On condition, however, of returning, he obtained
+leave to go, provided with plenty of gold and silver, of trinkets and
+gems. When he reached home, nobody knew who he was; it had been the
+belief that he had been killed by another shepherd, who found it
+necessary to betake himself hastily far away to America, lest he should
+be hanged without delay. But here is Einion Las at home, and everybody
+wonders especially to see that the shepherd had got to look like a
+wealthy man; his manners, his dress, his language, and the treasure he
+had with him, all conspired to give him the air of a gentleman. He went
+back one Thursday night, the first of the moon that month, as suddenly as
+he had left the first time, and nobody knew whither. There was great joy
+in the country below when Einion returned thither, and nobody was more
+rejoiced at it than Olwen, his beloved. The two were right impatient to
+get married, but it was necessary to do that quietly, for the family
+below hated nothing more than fuss and noise; so, in a sort of a
+half-secret fashion, they were wedded. Einion was very desirous to go
+once more among his own people, accompanied, to be sure, by his wife.
+After he had been long entreating the old man for leave, they set out on
+two white ponies, that were, in fact, more like snow than anything else
+in point of colour; so he arrived with his consort in his old home, and
+it was the opinion of all that Einion's wife was the handsomest person
+they had anywhere seen. Whilst at home, a son was born to them, to whom
+they gave the name of Taliesin. Einion was now in the enjoyment of high
+repute, and his wife received proper respect. Their wealth was immense,
+and soon they acquired a large estate; but it was not long till people
+began to inquire after the pedigree of Einion's wife--the country was of
+opinion that it was not the right thing to be without a pedigree. Einion
+was questioned about it, without his giving any satisfactory answer, and
+one came to the conclusion that she was one of the Fair Family (_Tylwyth
+Teg_). 'Certainly,' replied Einion, 'there can be no doubt that she
+comes from a very fair family, for she has two sisters who are as fair as
+she, and if you saw them together, you would admit that name to be a
+capital one.' This, then, is the reason why the remarkable family in the
+land of charm and phantasy (_Hud a Lledrith_) are called the Fair
+Family."
+
+
+7. _A Boy taken to Fairy Land_.
+
+
+Mrs. Morris, of Cwm Vicarage, near Rhyl, told the writer the following
+story. She stated that she had heard it related in her family that one
+of their people had in childhood been induced by the Fairies to follow
+them to their country. This boy had been sent to discharge some domestic
+errand, but he did not return. He was sought for in all directions but
+could not be found. His parents came to the conclusion that he had
+either been murdered or kidnapped, and in time he was forgotten by most
+people, but one day he returned with what he had been sent for in his
+hand. But so many years had elapsed since he first left home, that he
+was now an old grey-headed man, though he knew it not; he had, he said,
+followed, for a short time, delightful music and people; but when
+convinced, by the changes around, that years had slipped by since he
+first left his home, he was so distressed at the changes he saw that he
+said he would return to the Fairies. But alas! he sought in vain for the
+place where he had met them, and therefore he was obliged to remain with
+his blood relations.
+
+The next tale differs from the preceding, insomuch that the seductive
+advances of the Fairies failed in their object. I am not quite positive
+whence I obtained the story, but this much I know, that it belongs to
+Pentrevoelas, and that a respectable old man was in the habit of
+repeating it, as an event in his own life.
+
+
+_A Man Refusing the Solicitations of the Fairies_.
+
+
+A Pentrevoelas man was coming home one lovely summer's night, and when
+within a stone's throw of his house, he heard in the far distance singing
+of the most enchanting kind. He stopped to listen to the sweet sounds
+which filled him with a sensation of deep pleasure. He had not listened
+long ere he perceived that the singers were approaching. By and by they
+came to the spot where he was, and he saw that they were marching in
+single file and consisted of a number of small people, robed in
+close-fitting grey clothes, and they were accompanied by speckled dogs
+that marched along two deep like soldiers. When the procession came
+quite opposite the enraptured listener, it stopped, and the small people
+spoke to him and earnestly begged him to accompany them, but he would
+not. They tried many ways, and for a long time, to persuade him to join
+them, but when they saw they could not induce him to do so they departed,
+dividing themselves into two companies and marching away, the dogs
+marching two abreast in front of each company. They sang as they went
+away the most entrancing music that was ever heard. The man,
+spell-bound, stood where he was, listening to the ravishing music of the
+Fairies, and he did not enter his house until the last sound had died
+away in the far-off distance.
+
+Professor Rhys records a tale much like the preceding. (See his _Welsh
+Fairy Tales_, pp. 34, 35.) It is as follows:--"One bright moonlight
+night, as one of the sons of the farmer who lived at Llwyn On in Nant y
+Bettws was going to pay his addresses to a girl at Clogwyn y Gwin, he
+beheld the Tylwyth enjoying themselves in full swing on a meadow close to
+Cwellyn Lake. He approached them and little by little he was led on by
+the enchanting sweetness of their music and the liveliness of their
+playing until he got within their circle. Soon some kind of spell passed
+over him, so that he lost his knowledge of every place, and found himself
+in a country the most beautiful he had ever seen, where everybody spent
+his time in mirth and rejoicing. He had been there seven years, and yet
+it seemed to him but a night's dream; but a faint recollection came to
+his mind of the business on which he had left home, and he felt a longing
+to see his beloved one: so he went and asked permission to return home,
+which was granted him, together with a host of attendants to lead him to
+his country; and, suddenly, he found himself, as waking from a dream, on
+the bank where he had seen the Fairy Family amusing themselves. He
+turned towards home, but there he found everything changed: his parents
+were dead, his brothers could not recognize him, and his sweetheart was
+married to another man. In consequence of such changes, he broke his
+heart, and died in less than a week after coming back."
+
+Many variants of the legends already related are still extant in Wales.
+This much can be said of these tales, that it was formerly believed that
+marriages took place between men and Fairies, and from the tales
+themselves we can infer that the men fared better in Fairy land than the
+Fairy ladies did in the country of their earthly husbands. This,
+perhaps, is what might be expected, if, as we may suppose, the Fair Tribe
+were supplanted, and overcome, by a stronger, and bolder people, with
+whom, to a certain extent, the weaker and conquered or subdued race
+commingled by marriage. Certain striking characteristics of both races
+are strongly marked in these legends. The one is a smaller and more
+timid people than the other, and far more beautiful in mind and person
+than their conquerors. The ravishing beauty of the Fairy lady forms a
+prominent feature in all these legends. The Fairies, too, are spoken of
+as being without religion. This, perhaps, means nothing more than that
+they differed from their conquerors in forms, or objects of worship.
+However this might be, it would appear that their conquerors knew but
+little of that perfect moral teaching which made the Fairies, according
+to the testimony of Giraldus, truthful, void of ambition, and honest.
+
+It must, however, be confessed, that there is much that is mythical in
+these legends, and every part cannot well be made to correspond with
+ordinary human transactions.
+
+It is somewhat amusing to note how modern ideas, and customs, are mixed
+up with these ancient stories. They undoubtedly received a gloss from
+the ages which transmitted the tales.
+
+In the next chapter I shall treat of another phase of Fairy Folk-lore,
+which will still further connect the Fair Race with their conquerors.
+
+
+
+FAIRY CHANGELINGS.
+
+
+It was firmly believed, at one time, in Wales, that the Fairies exchanged
+their own weakly or deformed offspring for the strong children of
+mortals. The child supposed to have been left by the Fairies in the
+cradle, or elsewhere, was commonly called a changeling. This faith was
+not confined to Wales; it was as common in Ireland, Scotland, and
+England, as it was in Wales. Thus, in Spenser's _Faery Queen_, reference
+is made in the following words to this popular error:--
+
+ And her base Elfin brood there for thee left;
+ Such, men do chaungelings call, so chaung'd by Faeries theft.
+
+ _Faery Queen_, Bk. I, c. 10.
+
+The same superstition is thus alluded to by Shakespeare:--
+
+ A lovely boy, stol'n from an Indian king,
+ She never had so sweet a changeling.
+
+ _A Midsummer Night's Dream_, Act II., Sc. 1.
+
+And again, in another of his plays, the Fairy practice of exchanging
+children is mentioned:--
+
+ O, that it could be prov'd,
+ That some night-tripping Fairy had exchanged
+ In cradle-clothes our children, where they lay,
+ And call'd mine, Percy, his Plantagenet:
+ Then would I have his Harry, and he mine.
+
+ _Henry IV_., Pt. 1., Act I, Sc. 1.
+
+In Scotland and other countries the Fairies were credited with stealing
+unbaptized infants, and leaving in their stead poor, sickly, noisy, thin,
+babies. But to return to Wales, a poet in _Y Brython_, vol. iii, p. 103,
+thus sings:--
+
+ Llawer plentyn teg aeth ganddynt,
+ Pan y cym'rynt helynt hir;
+ Oddi ar anwyl dda rieni,
+ I drigfanau difri dir.
+
+ Many a lovely child they've taken,
+ When long and bitter was the pain;
+ From their parents, loving, dear,
+ To the Fairies' dread domain.
+
+John Williams, an old man, who lived in the Penrhyn quarry district,
+informed the writer that he could reveal strange doings of the Fairies in
+his neighbourhood, for often had they changed children with even
+well-to-do families, he said, but more he would not say, lest he should
+injure those prosperous families.
+
+It was believed that the Fairies were particularly busy in exchanging
+children on _Nos Wyl Ifan_, or St. John's Eve.
+
+There were, however, effectual means for protecting children from their
+machinations. The mother's presence, the tongs placed cross-ways on the
+cradle, the early baptism of the child, were all preventives. In the
+Western Isles of Scotland fire carried round a woman before she was
+churched, and round the child until he was christened, daily, night and
+morning, preserved both from the evil designs of the Fairies. (Brand,
+vol. ii, p. 486.) And it will be shortly shewn that even after an
+exchange had been accomplished there were means of forcing the Fairies to
+restore the stolen child.
+
+It can well be believed that mothers who had sickly or idiotic babies
+would, in uncivilized places, gladly embrace the idea that the child she
+nursed was a changeling, and then, naturally enough, she would endeavour
+to recover her own again. The plan adopted for this purpose was
+extremely dangerous. I will in the following tales show what steps were
+taken to reclaim the lost child.
+
+Pennant records how a woman who had a peevish child acted to regain from
+the Fairies her own offspring. His words are:--"Above this is a
+spreading oak of great antiquity, size, and extent of branches; it has
+got the name of _Fairy Oak_. In this very century (the eighteenth) a
+poor cottager, who lived near the spot, had a child who grew uncommonly
+peevish; the parents attributed this to the _Fairies_, and imagined that
+it was a changeling. They took the child, put it into a cradle, and left
+it all night beneath the tree, in hopes that the _Tylwyth Teg_, or _Fairy
+Family_, or the Fairy folk, would restore their own before the morning.
+When morning came, they found the child perfectly quiet, so went away
+with it, quite confirmed in their belief."--_History of Whiteford_, pp.
+5, 6.
+
+These people by exposing their infant for a night to the elements ran a
+risk of losing it altogether; but they acted in agreement with the
+popular opinion, which was that the Fairies had such affection for their
+own children that they would not allow them to be in any danger of losing
+their life, and that if the elfin child were thus exposed the Fairies
+would rescue it, and restore the exchanged child to its parents. The
+following tale exhibits another phase of this belief.
+
+The story is to be found in the _Cambrian Magazine_, vol. ii., pp. 86,
+87.
+
+
+1. "_The Egg Shell Pottage_."
+
+
+"In the parish of Treveglwys, near Llanidloes, in the county of
+Montgomery, there is a little shepherd's cot, that is commonly called Twt
+y Cwmrws (the place of strife) on account of the extraordinary strife
+that has been there. The inhabitants of the cottage were a man and his
+wife, and they had born to them twins, whom the woman nursed with great
+care and tenderness. Some months afterwards indispensable business
+called the wife to the house of one of her nearest neighbours; yet,
+notwithstanding she had not far to go, she did not like to leave her
+children by themselves in their cradle, even for a minute, as her house
+was solitary, and there were many tales of goblins or the '_Tylwyth Teg_'
+(the Fair Family or the Fairies) haunting the neighbourhood. However,
+she went, and returned as soon as she could; but on coming back she felt
+herself not a little terrified on seeing, though it was mid-day, some of
+'the old elves of the blue petticoat,' as they are usually called;
+however, when she got back to her house she was rejoiced to find
+everything in the state she had left it.
+
+But after some time had passed by, the good people began to wonder that
+the twins did not grow at all, but still continued little dwarfs. The
+man would have it that they were not his children; the woman said that
+they must be their children, and about this arose the great strife
+between them that gave name to the place. One evening when the woman was
+very heavy of heart she determined to go and consult a _Gwr Cyfarwydd_
+(i.e., a wise man, or a conjuror), feeling assured that everything was
+known to him, and he gave her his counsel. Now there was to be a harvest
+soon of the rye and oats; so the wise man said to her:--'When you are
+preparing dinner for the reapers empty the shell of a hen's egg, and boil
+the shell full of pottage and take it out through the door as if you
+meant it for a dinner to the reapers, and then listen what the twins will
+say; if you hear the children speaking things above the understanding of
+children, return into the house, take them, and throw them into the waves
+of Llyn Ebyr, which is very near to you; but if you don't hear anything
+remarkable, do them no injury.' And when the day of the reaping came,
+the woman did as her adviser had recommended to her; and as she went
+outside the door to listen, she heard one of the children say to the
+other:--
+
+ Gwelais vesen cyn gweled derwen,
+ Gwelais wy cyn gweled iar,
+ Erioed ni welais verwi bwyd i vedel
+ Mewn plisgyn wy iar!
+
+ Acorns before oak I knew,
+ An egg before a hen,
+ Never one hen's egg-shell stew
+ Enough for harvest men!
+
+On this the mother returned to her house and took the two children, and
+threw them into the Llyn, and suddenly the goblins in their trousers came
+to save their dwarfs, and the woman had her own children back again, and
+thus the strife between her and her husband ended."
+
+The writer of the preceding story says that it was translated almost
+literally from Welsh, as told by the peasantry, and he remarks that the
+legend bears a striking resemblance to one of the Irish tales published
+by Mr. Croker.
+
+Many variants of the legend are still extant in many parts of Wales.
+There is one of these recorded in Professor Rhys's _Welsh Fairy Tales_,
+_Y Cymmrodor_, vol. iv., pp. 208-209. It is much like that given in the
+_Cambrian Magazine_.
+
+
+2. _Corwrion Changeling Legend_.
+
+
+Once on a time, in the fourteenth century, the wife of a man at Corwrion
+had twins, and she complained one day to the witch who lived close by, at
+Tyddyn y Barcut, that the children were not getting on, but that they
+were always crying, day and night. 'Are you sure that they are your
+children?' asked the witch, adding that it did not seem to her that they
+were like hers. 'I have my doubts also,' said the mother. 'I wonder if
+somebody has changed children with you,' said the witch. 'I do not
+know,' said the mother. 'But why do you not seek to know?' asked the
+other. 'But how am I to go about it?' said the mother. The witch
+replied, 'Go and do something rather strange before their eyes and watch
+what they will say to one another.' 'Well I do not know what I should
+do,' said the mother. 'Oh,' said the other, 'take an egg-shell, and
+proceed to brew beer in it in a chamber aside, and come here to tell me
+what the children will say about it.' She went home and did as the witch
+had directed her, when the two children lifted their heads out of the
+cradle to see what she was doing, to watch, and to listen. Then one
+observed to the other:--'I remember seeing an oak having an acorn,' to
+which the other replied, 'And I remember seeing a hen having an egg,' and
+one of the two added, 'But I do not remember before seeing anybody brew
+beer in the shell of a hen's egg.'
+
+The mother then went to the witch and told her what the twins had said
+one to the other, and she directed her to go to a small wooden bridge not
+far off, with one of the strange children under each arm, and there to
+drop them from the bridge into the river beneath. The mother went back
+home again and did as she had been directed. When she reached home this
+time, to her astonishment, she found that her own children had been
+brought back."
+
+There is one important difference between these two tales. In the
+latter, the mother drops the children over the bridge into the waters
+beneath, and then goes home, without noticing whether the poor children
+had been rescued by the goblins or not, but on reaching her home she
+found in the cradle her own two children, presumably conveyed there by
+the Fairies. In the first tale, we are informed that she saw the goblins
+save their offspring from a watery grave. Subjecting peevish children to
+such a terrible ordeal as this must have ended often with a tragedy, but
+even in such cases superstitious mothers could easily persuade themselves
+that the destroyed infants were undoubtedly the offspring of elfins, and
+therefore unworthy of their fostering care. The only safeguard to
+wholesale infanticide was the test applied as to the super-human
+precociousness, or ordinary intelligence, of the children.
+
+Another version of this tale was related to me by my young friend, the
+Rev. D. H. Griffiths, of Clocaenog Rectory, near Ruthin. The tale was
+told him by Evan Roberts, Ffriddagored, Llanfwrog. Mr. Roberts is an
+aged farmer.
+
+
+3. _Llanfwrog Changeling Legend_.
+
+
+A mother took her child to the gleaning field, and left it sleeping under
+the sheaves of wheat whilst she was busily engaged gleaning. The Fairies
+came to the field and carried off her pretty baby, leaving in its place
+one of their own infants. At the time, the mother did not notice any
+difference between her own child and the one that took its place, but
+after awhile she observed with grief that the baby she was nursing did
+not thrive, nor did it grow, nor would it try to walk. She mentioned
+these facts to her neighbours, and she was told to do something strange
+and then listen to its conversation. She took an egg-shell and pretended
+to brew beer in it, and she was then surprised to hear the child, who had
+observed her actions intently, say:--
+
+ Mi welais fesen gan dderwen,
+ Mi welais wy gan iar,
+ Ond ni welais i erioed ddarllaw
+ Mewn cibyn wy iar.
+
+ I have seen an oak having an acorn,
+ I have seen a hen having an egg,
+ But I never saw before brewing
+ In the shell of a hen's egg.
+
+This conversation proved the origin of the precocious child who lay in
+the cradle. The stanza was taken down from Roberts's lips. But he could
+not say what was done to the fairy changeling.
+
+In Ireland a plan for reclaiming the child carried away by the Fairies
+was to take the Fairy's changeling and place it on the top of a dunghill,
+and then to chant certain invocatory lines beseeching the Fairies to
+restore the stolen child.
+
+There was, it would seem, in Wales, a certain form of incantation
+resorted to to reclaim children from the Fairies, which was as
+follows:--The mother who had lost her child was to carry the changeling
+to a river, but she was to be accompanied by a conjuror, who was to take
+a prominent part in the ceremony. When at the river's brink the conjuror
+was to cry out:--
+
+ Crap ar y wrach--
+
+ A grip on the hag;
+
+and the mother was to respond--
+
+ Rhy hwyr gyfraglach--
+
+ Too late decrepit one;
+
+and having uttered these words, she was to throw the child into the
+stream, and to depart, and it was believed that on reaching her home she
+would there find her own child safe and sound.
+
+I have already alluded to the horrible nature of such a proceeding. I
+will now relate a tale somewhat resembling those already given, but in
+this latter case, the supposed changeling became the mainstay of his
+family. I am indebted for the _Gors Goch_ legend to an essay, written by
+Mr. D. Williams, Llanfachreth, Merionethshire, which took the prize at
+the Liverpool Eisteddfod, 1870, and which appears in a publication called
+_Y Gordofigion_, pp. 96, 97, published by Mr. I. Foulkes, Liverpool.
+
+
+4. _The Gore Goch Changeling Legend_.
+
+
+The tale rendered into English is as follows:--"There was once a happy
+family living in a place called Gors Goch. One night, as usual, they
+went to bed, but they could not sleep a single wink, because of the noise
+outside the house. At last the master of the house got up, and
+trembling, enquired 'What was there, and what was wanted.' A clear sweet
+voice answered him thus, 'We want a warm place where we can tidy the
+children.' The door was opened when there entered half full the house of
+the _Tylwyth Teg_, and they began forthwith washing their children. And
+when they had finished, they commenced singing, and the singing was
+entrancing. The dancing and the singing were both excellent. On going
+away they left behind them money not a little for the use of the house.
+And afterwards they came pretty often to the house, and received a hearty
+welcome in consequence of the large presents which they left behind them
+on the hob. But at last a sad affair took place which was no less than
+an exchange of children. The Gors Goch baby was a dumpy child, a sweet,
+pretty, affectionate little dear, but the child which was left in its
+stead was a sickly, thin, shapeless, ugly being, which did nothing but
+cry and eat, and although it ate ravenously like a mastiff, it did not
+grow. At last the wife of Gors Goch died of a broken heart, and so also
+did all her children, but the father lived a long life and became a rich
+man, because his new heir's family brought him abundance of gold and
+silver."
+
+As I have already given more than one variant of the same legend, I will
+supply another version of the Gors Goch legend which appears in _Cymru
+Fu_, pp. 177-8, from the pen of the Revd. Owen Wyn Jones, _Glasynys_, and
+which in consequence of the additional facts contained in it may be of
+some value. I will make use of Professor Rhys's translation. (See _Y
+Cymmrodor_, vol. v., pp. 79-80.)
+
+
+5. _Another Version of the Gors Goch Legend_.
+
+
+"When the people of the Gors Goch one evening had gone to bed, lo! they
+heard a great row and disturbance around the house. One could not at all
+comprehend what it might be that made a noise that time of night. Both
+the husband and the wife had waked up, quite unable to make out what
+there might be there. The children also woke but no one could utter a
+word; their tongues had all stuck to the roofs of their mouths. The
+husband, however, at last managed to move, and to ask, 'Who is there?
+What do you want?' Then he was answered from without by a small silvery
+voice, 'It is room we want to dress our children.' The door was opened,
+and a dozen small beings came in, and began to search for an earthen
+pitcher with water; there they remained for some hours, washing and
+titivating themselves. As the day was breaking they went away, leaving
+behind them a fine present for the kindness they had received. Often
+afterwards did the Gors Goch folks have the company of this family. But
+once there happened to be a fine roll of a pretty baby in his cradle.
+The Fair Family came, and, as the baby had not been baptized, they took
+the liberty of changing him for one of their own. They left behind in
+his stead an abominable creature that would do nothing but cry and scream
+every day of the week. The mother was nearly breaking her heart, on
+account of the misfortune, and greatly afraid of telling anybody about
+it. But everybody got to see that there was something wrong at Gors
+Goch, which was proved before long by the mother dying of longing for her
+child. The other children died broken-hearted after their mother, and
+the husband was left alone with the little elf without anyone to comfort
+them. But shortly after, the Fairies began to resort again to the hearth
+of the Gors Goch to dress children, and the gift which had formerly been
+silver money became henceforth pure gold. In the course of a few years
+the elf became the heir of a large farm in North Wales, and that is why
+the old people used to say, 'Shoe the elf with gold and he will grow.'"
+(_Fe ddaw gwiddon yn fawr ond ei bedoli ag aur_.)
+
+It will be observed that this latter version differs in one remarkable
+incident from the preceding tale. In the former there is no allusion to
+the fact that the changed child had not been baptized; in the latter,
+this omission is specially mentioned as giving power to the Fairies to
+exchange their own child for the human baby. This preventive carries
+these tales into Christian days. Another tale, which I will now relate,
+also proves that faith in the Fairies and in the efficacy of the Cross
+existed at one and the same time. The tale is taken from _Y
+Gordofigion_, p. 96. I will first give it as it originally appeared, and
+then I will translate the story.
+
+
+6. _Garth Uchaf, Llanuwchllyn_, _Changeling Legend_.
+
+
+"Yr oedd gwraig Garth Uchaf, yn Llanuwchllyn, un tro wedi myned allan i
+gweirio gwair, a gadael ei baban yn y cryd; ond fel bu'r anffawd, ni
+roddodd yr efail yn groes ar wyneb y cryd, ac o ganlyniad, ffeiriwyd ei
+baban gan y Tylwyth Teg, ac erbyn iddi ddyfod i'r ty, nid oedd yn y cryd
+ond rhyw hen gyfraglach o blentyn fel pe buasai wedi ei haner lewygu o
+eisiau ymborth, ond magwyd ef er hyny."
+
+The wife of Garth Uchaf, Llanuwchllyn, went out one day to make hay, and
+left her baby in the cradle. _Unfortunately_, _she did not place the
+tongs crossways on the cradle_, and consequently the Fairies changed her
+baby, and by the time she came home there was nothing in the cradle but
+some old decrepit changeling, which looked is if it were half famished,
+but nevertheless, it was nursed.
+
+The reason why the Fairies exchanged babies with human beings, judging
+from the stories already given, was their desire to obtain healthy
+well-formed children in the place of their own puny ill-shaped offspring,
+but this is hardly a satisfactory explanation of such conduct. A
+mother's love is ever depicted as being so intense that deformity on the
+part of her child rather increases than diminishes her affection for her
+unfortunate babe. In Scotland the difficulty is solved in a different
+way. There it was once thought that the Fairies were obliged every
+seventh year to pay to the great enemy of mankind an offering of one of
+their own children, or a human child instead, and as a mother is ever a
+mother, be she elves flesh or Eve's flesh, she always endeavoured to
+substitute some one else's child for her own, and hence the reason for
+exchanging children.
+
+In Allan Cunningham's _Traditional Tales_, Morley's edition, p. 188,
+mention is made of this belief. He writes:--
+
+"'I have heard it said by douce Folk,' 'and sponsible,' interrupted
+another, 'that every seven years the elves and Fairies pay kane, or make
+an offering of one of their children, to the grand enemy of salvation,
+and that they are permitted to purloin one of the children of men to
+present to the fiend,' 'a more acceptable offering, I'll warrant, than
+one of their own infernal blood that are Satan's sib allies, and drink a
+drop of the deil's blood every May morning.'"
+
+The Rev. Peter Roberts's theory was that the smaller race kidnapped the
+children of the stronger race, who occupied the country concurrently with
+themselves, for the purpose of adding to their own strength as a people.
+
+Gay, in lines quoted in Brand's _Popular Antiquities_, vol. ii., p. 485,
+laughs at the idea of changelings. A Fairy's tongue ridicules the
+superstition:--
+
+ Whence sprung the vain conceited lye,
+ That we the world with fools supply?
+ What! Give our sprightly race away
+ For the dull helpless sons of clay!
+ Besides, by partial fondness shown,
+ Like you, we dote upon our own.
+ Where ever yet was found a mother
+ Who'd give her booby for another?
+ And should we change with human breed,
+ Well might we pass for fools, indeed.
+
+With the above fine satire I bring my remarks on Fairy Changelings to a
+close.
+
+
+
+FAIRY MOTHERS AND HUMAN MIDWIVES.
+
+
+Fairies are represented in Wales as possessing all the passions,
+appetites, and wants of human beings. There are many tales current of
+their soliciting help and favours in their need from men and women. Just
+as uncivilized nations acknowledge the superiority of Europeans in
+medicine, so did the Fairies resort in perplexing cases to man for aid.
+There is a class of tales which has reached our days in which the Fairy
+lady, who is about to become a mother, obtains from amongst men a
+midwife, whom she rewards with rich presents for her services. Variants
+of this story are found in many parts of Wales, and in many continental
+countries. I will relate a few of these legends.
+
+
+1. _Denbighshire Version of a Fairy Mother and Human Midwife_.
+
+
+The following story I received from the lips of David Roberts, whom I
+have previously mentioned, a native of Denbighshire, and he related the
+tale as one commonly known. As might be expected, he locates the event
+in Denbighshire, but I have no recollection that he gave names. His
+narrative was as follows:--
+
+A well-known midwife, whose services were much sought after in
+consequence of her great skill, had one night retired to rest, when she
+was disturbed by a loud knocking at her door. She immediately got up and
+went to the door, and there saw a beautiful carriage, which she was
+urgently requested to enter at once to be conveyed to a house where her
+help was required. She did so, and after a long drive the carriage drew
+up before the entrance to a large mansion, which she had never seen
+before. She successfully performed her work, and stayed on in the place
+until her services were no longer required. Then she was conveyed home
+in the same manner as she had come, but with her went many valuable
+presents in grateful recognition of the services she had rendered.
+
+The midwife somehow or other found out that she had been attending a
+Fairy mother. Some time after her return from Fairy land she went to a
+fair, and there she saw the lady whom she had put to bed nimbly going
+from stall to stall, and making many purchases. For awhile she watched
+the movements of the lady, and then presuming on her limited
+acquaintance, addressed her, and asked how she was. The lady seemed
+surprised and annoyed at the woman's speech, and instead of answering
+her, said, "And do you see me?" "Yes, I do," said the midwife. "With
+which eye?" enquired the Fairy. "With this," said the woman, placing her
+hand on the eye. No sooner had she spoken than the Fairy lady touched
+that eye, and the midwife could no longer see the Fairy.
+
+Mrs. Lowri Wynn, Clocaenog, near Ruthin, who has reached her eightieth
+year, and is herself a midwife, gave me a version of the preceding which
+differed therefrom in one or two particulars. The Fairy gentleman who
+had driven the woman to and from the Hall was the one that was seen in
+the fair, said Mrs. Wynn, and he it was that put out the eye or blinded
+it, she was not sure which, of the inquisitive midwife, and Lowri thought
+it was the left eye.
+
+
+2. _Merionethshire Version of the Fairy Mother and Human Midwife_.
+
+
+A more complete version of this legend is given in the _Gordofigion_, pp.
+97, 98. The writer says:--
+
+"Yr oedd bydwraig yn Llanuwchllyn wedi cael ei galw i Goed y Garth, sef
+Siambra Duon--cartref y Tylwyth Teg--at un o honynt ar enedigaeth baban.
+Dywedasant wrthi am gymeryd gofal rhag, cyffwrdd y dwfr oedd ganddi yn
+trin y babi yn agos i'w llygaid; ond cyffyrddodd y wraig a'r llygad aswy
+yn ddigon difeddwl. Yn y Bala, ymhen ychydig, gwelai y fydwraig y gwr,
+sef tad y baban, a dechreuodd ei holi pa sut yr oeddynt yn Siambra Duon?
+pa fodd yr oedd y wraig? a sut 'roedd y teulu bach i gyd? Edrychai yntau
+arni yn graff, a gofynodd, 'A pha lygad yr ydych yn fy ngweled i?' 'A
+hwn,' ebe hithau, gan gyfeirio at ei llygad aswy. Tynodd yntau y llygad
+hwnw o'i phen, ac yna nis gallai'r wraig ei ganfod."
+
+This in English is:--
+
+There was a midwife who lived at Llanuwchllyn, who was called to Coed y
+Garth, that is, to Siambra Duon, the home of the Tylwyth Teg, to attend
+to one of them in child birth. They told her to be careful not to touch
+her eyes with the water used in washing the baby, but quite
+unintentionally the woman touched her left eye. Shortly afterwards the
+midwife saw the Fairy's husband at Bala, and she began enquiring how they
+all were at Siambra Duon, how the wife was, and how the little family
+was? He looked at her intently, and then asked, "With which eye do you
+see me?" "With this," she said, pointing to her left eye. He plucked
+that eye out of her head, and so the woman could not see him.
+
+With regard to this tale, the woman's eye is said to have been plucked
+out; in the first tale she was only deprived of her supernatural power of
+sight; in other versions the woman becomes blind with one eye.
+
+Professor Rhys in _Y Cymmrodor_, vol. iv., pp. 209, 210, gives a variant
+of the midwife story which differs in some particulars from that already
+related. I will call this the Corwrion version.
+
+
+3. _The Corwrion Version_.
+
+
+One of the Fairies came to a midwife who lived at Corwrion and asked her
+to come with him and attend on his wife. Off she went with him, and she
+was astonished to be taken into a splendid palace. There she continued
+to go night and morning to dress the baby for some time, until one day
+the husband asked her to rub her eyes with a certain ointment he offered
+her. She did so and found herself sitting on a tuft of rushes, and not
+in a palace. There was no baby, and all had disappeared. Some time
+afterwards she happened to go to the town, and whom should she see busily
+buying various wares but the Fairy on whose wife she had been attending.
+She addressed him with the question, "How are you, to-day?" Instead of
+answering her he asked, "How do you see me?" "With my eyes," was the
+prompt reply. "Which eye?" he asked. "This one," said she, pointing to
+it; and instantly he disappeared, never more to be seen by her.
+
+There is yet one other variant of this story which I will give, and for
+the sake of reference I will call it the Nanhwynan version. It appears
+in the _Brython_, vol. ix., p. 251, and Professor Rhys has rendered it
+into English in _Y Cymmrodor_, vol. ix., p. 70. I will give the tale as
+related by the Professor.
+
+
+4. _The Nanhwynan Version_.
+
+
+"Once on a time, when a midwife from Nanhwynan had newly got to the
+Hafodydd Brithion to pursue her calling, a gentleman came to the door on
+a fine grey steed and bade her come with him at once. Such was the
+authority with which he spoke, that the poor midwife durst not refuse to
+go, however much it was her duty to stay where she was. So she mounted
+behind him, and off they went like the flight of a swallow, through
+Cwmllan, over the Bwlch, down Nant yr Aran, and over the Gadair to Cwm
+Hafod Ruffydd, before the poor woman had time to say 'Oh.' When they had
+got there she saw before her a magnificent mansion, splendidly lit up
+with such lamps as she had never before seen. They entered the court,
+and a crowd of servants in expensive liveries came to meet them, and she
+was at once led through the great hall into a bed-chamber, the like of
+which she had never seen. There the mistress of the house, to whom she
+had been fetched, was awaiting her. She got through her duties
+successfully, and stayed there until the lady had completely recovered;
+nor had she spent any part of her life so merrily. There was there
+nought but festivity day and night: dancing, singing, and endless
+rejoicing reigned there. But merry as it was, she found she must go, and
+the nobleman gave her a large purse, with the order not to open it until
+she had got into her own house; then he bade one of his servants escort
+her the same way she had come. When she reached home she opened the
+purse, and, to her great joy, it was full of money, and she lived happily
+on those earnings to the end of her life."
+
+Such are these tales. Perhaps they are one and all fragments of the same
+story. Each contains a few shreds that are wanting in the others. All,
+however, agree in one leading idea, that Fairy mothers have, ere now,
+obtained the aid of human midwives, and this one fact is a connecting
+link between the people called Fairies and our own remote forefathers.
+
+
+
+FAIRY VISITS TO HUMAN ABODES.
+
+
+Old people often told their children and servant girls, that one
+condition of the Fairy visits to their houses was cleanliness. They were
+always instructed to keep the fire place tidy and the floor well swept,
+the pails filled with water, and to make everything bright and nice
+before going to bed, and that then, perhaps, the Fairies would come into
+the house to dance and sing until the morning, and leave on the hearth
+stone a piece of money as a reward behind them. But should the house be
+dirty, never would the Fairies enter it to hold their nightly revels,
+unless, forsooth, they came to punish the slatternly servant. Such was
+the popular opinion, and it must have acted as an incentive to order and
+cleanliness. These ideas have found expression in song.
+
+A writer in _Yr Hynafion Cymreig_, p. 153, sings thus of the place loved
+by the Fairies:--
+
+ Ysgafn ddrws pren, llawr glan dan nen,
+ A'r aelwyd wen yn wir,
+ Tan golau draw, y dwr gerllaw,
+ Yn siriaw'r cylchgrwn clir.
+
+ A light door, and clean white floor,
+ And hearth-stone bright indeed,
+ A burning fire, and water near,
+ Supplies our every need.
+
+In a ballad, entitled "The Fairy Queen," in Percy's _Reliques of Ancient
+English Poetry_, Nichols's edition, vol. iii., p. 172, are stanzas
+similar to the Welsh verse given above, which also partially embody the
+Welsh opinions of Fairy visits to their houses. Thus chants the "Fairy
+Queen":--
+
+ When mortals are at rest,
+ And snoring in their nest,
+ Unheard, and un-espy'd,
+ Through key-holes we do glide;
+ Over tables, stools, and shelves,
+ We trip it with our Fairy elves.
+ And, if the house be foul
+ With platter, dish, or bowl,
+ Upstairs we nimbly creep,
+ And find the sluts asleep:
+ There we pinch their arms and thighs;
+ None escapes, nor none espies.
+ But if the house be swept
+ And from uncleanness kept,
+ We praise the household maid,
+ And duely she is paid:
+ For we use before we goe
+ To drop a tester in her shoe.
+
+It was not for the sake of mirth only that the Fairies entered human
+abodes, but for the performance of more mundane duties, such as making
+oatmeal cakes. The Rev. R. Jones, Rector of Llanycil, told me a story,
+current in his native parish, Llanfrothen, Merionethshire, to the effect
+that a Fairy woman who had spent the night in baking cakes in a farm
+house forgot on leaving to take with her the wooden utensil used in
+turning the cakes on the bake stone; so she returned, and failing to
+discover the lost article bewailed her loss in these words, "Mi gollais
+fy mhig," "I have lost my shovel." The people got up and searched for
+the lost implement, and found it, and gave it to the Fairy, who departed
+with it in her possession.
+
+Another reason why the Fairies frequented human abodes was to wash and
+tidy their children. In the Gors Goch legend, already given, is recorded
+this cause of their visits. Many like stories are extant. It is said
+that the nightly visitors expected water to be provided for them, and if
+this were not the case they resented the slight thus shown them and
+punished those who neglected paying attention to their wants. But
+tradition says the house-wives were ever careful of the Fairy wants; and,
+as it was believed that Fairy mothers preferred using the same water in
+which human children had been washed, the human mother left this water in
+the bowl for their special use.
+
+In Scotland, also, Fairies were propitiated by attention being paid to
+their wants. Thus in Allan Cunningham's _Traditional Tales_, p. 11, it
+is said of Ezra Peden:--"He rebuked a venerable dame, during three
+successive Sundays for placing a cream bowl and new-baked cake in the
+paths of the nocturnal elves, who, she imagined, had plotted to steal her
+grandson from the mother's bosom."
+
+But in the traditions of the Isle of Man we obtain the exact counterpart
+of Welsh legends respecting the Fairies visiting houses to wash
+themselves. I will give the following quotation from _Brand_, vol. ii.,
+p. 494, on this point:--
+
+"The Manks confidently assert that the first inhabitants of their island
+were Fairies, and that these little people have still their residence
+among them. They call them _the good people_, and say they live in wilds
+and forests, and on mountains, and shun great cities because of the
+wickedness acted therein. All the houses are blessed where they visit
+for they fly vice. A person would be thought impudently profane who
+should suffer his family to go to bed without having first set a tub, or
+pail full of clean water for the guests to bathe themselves in, which the
+natives aver they constantly do, as soon as the eyes of the family are
+closed, wherever they vouchsafe to come."
+
+Several instances have already been given of the intercourse of Fairies
+with mortals. In some parts of Wales it is or was thought that they were
+even so familiar as to borrow from men. I will give one such tale, taken
+from the _North Wales Chronicle_ of March 19th, 1887.
+
+
+_A Fairy Borrowing a Gridiron_.
+
+
+"The following Fairy legend was told to Mr. W. W. Cobb, of Hilton House,
+Atherstone, by Mrs. Williams, wife of Thomas Williams, pilot, in whose
+house he lodged when staying in Anglesey:--Mary Roberts, of Newborough,
+used to receive visits once a week from a little woman who used to bring
+her a loaf of bread in return for the loan of her gridiron (gradell) for
+baking bread. The Fairy always told her not to look after her when she
+left the house, but one day she transgressed, and took a peep as the
+Fairy went away. The latter went straight to the lake--Lake
+Rhosddu--near the house at Newborough, and plunged into its waters, and
+disappeared. This took place about a century ago. The house where Mary
+Roberts lived is still standing about 100 yards north of the lake."
+
+Compare the preceding with the following lines:--
+
+ If ye will with Mab finde grace,
+ Set each platter in its place;
+ Rake the fire up and set
+ Water in ere sun be set,
+ Wash your pales and cleanse your dairies,
+ Sluts are loathsome to the Fairies;
+ Sweep your house; who doth not so,
+ Mab will pinch her by the toe.
+
+ _Herrick's Hesperides_, 1648. (See _Brand_, vol. ii., p. 484.)
+
+
+
+_Fairy Riches and Gifts_.
+
+
+The riches of the Fairies are often mentioned by the old people, and the
+source of their wealth is variously given. An old man, who has already
+been mentioned, John Williams, born about 1770, was of opinion that the
+Fairies stole the money from bad rich people to give it to good poor
+folk. This they were enabled to do, he stated, as they could make
+themselves invisible. In a conversation which we once had on this
+subject, my old friend posed me with this question, "Who do you think
+robbed . . . of his money without his knowledge?" "Who do you think took
+. . . money only twenty years ago?" "Why, the Fairies," added he, "for
+no one ever found out the thief."
+
+Shakespeare, in _Midsummer Night's Dream_, A. iii., S. 1, gives a very
+different source to the Fairy riches:--
+
+ I will give thee Fairies to attend on thee,
+ And they _shall fetch thee jewels from the deep_.
+
+Without inquiring too curiously into the source of these riches, it shall
+now be shown how, and for what services, they were bestowed on mortals.
+Gratitude is a noble trait in the Fairy character, and favours received
+they ever repaid. But the following stories illustrate alike their
+commiseration, their caprice, and their grateful bounty.
+
+
+_The Fairies Placing Money on the Ground for a Poor Man_.
+
+
+The following tale was told me by Thomas Jones, a small mountain farmer,
+who occupies land near Pont Petrual, a place between Ruthin and
+Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr. Jones informed me that he was acquainted with
+all the parties mentioned in the tale. His story was as follows:--
+
+A shoemaker, whose health would not permit him to pursue his own trade,
+obtained work in a tanyard at Penybont, near Corwen. The shoemaker lived
+in a house called Ty'n-y-graig, belonging to Clegir isa farm. He walked
+daily to his employment, a distance of several miles, because he could
+not afford to pay for lodgings. One day, he noticed a round bit of green
+ground, close to one of the gates on Tan-y-Coed farm, and going up to it
+discovered a piece of silver lying on the sward. Day after day, from the
+same spot, he picked up a silver coin. By this means, as well as by the
+wage he received, he became a well-to-do man. His wife noticed the many
+new coins he brought home, and questioned him about them, but he kept the
+secret of their origin to himself. At last, however, in consequence of
+repeated inquiries, he told her all about the silver pieces, which daily
+he had picked up from the green plot. The next day he passed the place,
+but there was no silver, as in days gone by, and he never discovered
+another shilling, although he looked for it every day. The poor man did
+not live long after he had informed his wife whence he had obtained the
+bright silver coins.
+
+
+_The Fairies and their Chest of Gold_.
+
+
+The following tale I obtained from the Rev. Owen Jones, Vicar of
+Pentrevoelas. The scene lies amongst the wildest mountains of
+Merionethshire.
+
+David, the weaver, lived in a house called Llurig, near Cerniogau Mawr,
+between Pentrevoelas and Cerrig-y-Drudion. One day David was going over
+the hill to Bala. On the top of the Garn two Fairies met him, and
+desired him to follow them, promising, if he would do so, that they would
+show him a chest filled with gold, and furthermore, they told him that
+the gold should be his. David was in want of money, and he was therefore
+quite willing to follow these good natured Fairies. He walked many miles
+with them across the bleak, bare mountain, and at last, descending from
+the summit, they reached a deep secluded glen, lying at the foot of the
+mountain, and there the Fairies exposed to his view a chest, which had
+never before been seen by mortal eye, and they informed him that it was
+his. David was delighted when he heard the good news, and mentally bade
+farewell to weaving. He knew, though, from tradition, that he must in
+some way or other, there and then, take possession of his treasure, or it
+would disappear. He could not carry the chest away, as it was too heavy,
+but to show his ownership thereto he thrust his walking stick into the
+middle of the gold, and there it stood erect. Then he started homewards,
+and often and again, as he left the glen, he turned round to see whether
+the Fairies had taken his stick away, and with it the chest; but no,
+there it remained. At last the ridge hid all from view, and, instead of
+going on to Bala, he hastened home to tell his good wife of his riches.
+Quickly did he travel to his cottage, and when there it was not long
+before his wife knew all about the chest of gold, and where it was, and
+how that David had taken possession of his riches by thrusting his
+walking stick into the middle of the gold. It was too late for them to
+set out to carry the chest home, but they arranged to start before the
+sun was up the next day. David, well acquainted with Fairy doings,
+cautioned his wife not to tell anyone of their good fortune, "For, if you
+do," said he, "we shall vex the Fairies, and the chest, after all, will
+not be ours." She promised to obey, but alas, what woman possesses a
+silent tongue! No sooner had the husband revealed the secret to his wife
+than she was impatient to step to her next door neighbour's house, just
+to let them know what a great woman she had all at once become. Now,
+this neighbour was a shrewd miller, called Samuel. David went out, to
+attend to some little business, leaving his wife alone, and she, spying
+her opportunity, rushed to the miller's house, and told him and his wife
+every whit, and how that she and David had arranged to go for the chest
+next morning before the sun was up. Then she hurried home, but never
+told David where she had been, nor what she had done. The good couple
+sat up late that night, talking over their good fortune and planning
+their future. It was consequently far after sunrise when they got up
+next day, and when they reached the secluded valley, where the chest had
+been, it had disappeared, and with it David's stick. They returned home
+sad and weary, but this time there was no visit made to the miller's
+house. Ere long it was quite clearly seen that Samuel the miller had
+come into a fortune, and David's wife knew that she had done all the
+mischief by foolishly boasting of the Fairy gift, designed for her
+husband, to her early rising and crafty neighbour, who had forestalled
+David and his wife, and had himself taken possession of the precious
+chest.
+
+
+_The Fairy Shilling_.
+
+
+The Rev. Owen Jones, Pentrevoelas, whom I have already mentioned as
+having supplied me with the Folk-lore of his parish, kindly gave me the
+following tale:--
+
+There was a clean, tidy, hardworking woman, who was most particular about
+keeping her house in order. She had a place for everything, and kept
+everything in its place.
+
+Every night, before retiring to rest, she was in the habit of brushing up
+the ashes around the fire place, and putting a few fresh peat on the fire
+to keep it in all night, and she was careful to sweep the floor before
+going to bed. It was a sight worth seeing to see her clean cottage. One
+night the Fairies, in their rambles, came that way and entered her house.
+It was just such a place as they liked. They were delighted with the
+warm fire, the clean floor and hearth, and they stayed there all night
+and enjoyed themselves greatly. In the morning, on leaving, they left a
+bright new shilling on the hearthstone for the woman. Night after night,
+they spent in this woman's cottage, and every morning she picked up a new
+shilling. This went on for so long a time that the woman's worldly
+condition was much improved. This her neighbours with envy and surprise
+perceived, and great was their talk about her. At last it was noticed
+that she always paid for the things she bought with new shilling pieces,
+and the neighbours could not make out where she got all these bright
+shillings from. They were determined, if possible, to ascertain, and one
+of their number was deputed to take upon her the work of obtaining from
+the woman the history of these new shillings. She found no difficulty
+whatever in doing so, for the woman, in her simplicity, informed her
+gossip that every morning the coin was found on the hearthstone. Next
+morning the woman, as usual, expected to find a shilling, but never
+afterwards did she discover one, and the Fairies came no more to her
+house, for they were offended with her for divulging the secret.
+
+This tale is exactly like many others that may be heard related by old
+people, in many a secluded abode, to their grandchildren.
+
+A lesson constantly inculcated by Fairy tales is this--Embrace
+opportunities as they occur, or they will be lost for ever. The
+following stories have reference to this belief.
+
+
+_The Hidden Golden Chair_.
+
+
+It is a good many years since Mrs. Mary Jones, Corlanau, Llandinorwig,
+Carnarvonshire, told me the following tale. The scene of the story is
+the unenclosed mountain between Corlanau, a small farm, and the hamlet,
+Rhiwlas. There is still current in those parts a tale of a hidden golden
+chair, and Mrs. Jones said that it had once been seen by a young girl,
+who might have taken possession of it, but unfortunately she did not do
+so, and from that day to this it has not been discovered. The tale is
+this:--
+
+There was once a beautiful girl, the daughter of poor hardworking
+parents, who held a farm on the side of the hill, and their handsome
+industrious daughter took care of the sheep. At certain times of the
+year she visited the sheep-walk daily, but she never went to the mountain
+without her knitting needles, and when looking after the sheep she was
+always knitting stockings, and she was so clever with her needles that
+she could knit as she walked along. The Fairies who lived in those
+mountains noticed this young woman's good qualities. One day, when she
+was far from home, watching her father's sheep, she saw before her a most
+beautiful golden chair. She went up to it and found that it was so
+massive that she could not move it. She knew the Fairy-lore of her
+neighbourhood, and she understood that the Fairies had, by revealing the
+chair, intended it for her, but there she was on the wild mountain, far
+away from home, without anyone near to assist her in carrying it away.
+And often had she heard that such treasures were to be taken possession
+of at once, or they would disappear for ever. She did not know what to
+do, but all at once she thought, if she could by attaching the yarn in
+her hand to the chair connect it thus with her home, the chair would be
+hers for ever. Acting upon this suggestion she forthwith tied the yarn
+to the foot of the chair, and commenced unrolling the ball, walking the
+while homewards. But long before she could reach her home the yarn in
+the ball was exhausted; she, however, tied it to the yarn in the stocking
+which she had been knitting, and again started towards her home, hoping
+to reach it before the yarn in the stocking would be finished, but she
+was doomed to disappointment, for that gave out before she could arrive
+at her father's house. She had nothing else with her to attach to the
+yarn. She, however, could now see her home, and she began to shout,
+hoping to gain the ear of her parents, but no one appeared. In her
+distress she fastened the end of the yarn to a large stone, and ran home
+as fast as she could. She told her parents what she had done, and all
+three proceeded immediately towards the stone to which the yarn had been
+tied, but they failed to discover it. The yarn, too, had disappeared.
+They continued a futile search for the golden chair until driven away by
+the approaching night. The next day they renewed their search, but all
+in vain, for the girl was unable to find the spot where she had first
+seen the golden chair. It was believed by everybody that the Fairies had
+not only removed the golden chair, but also the yarn and stone to which
+the yarn had been attached, but people thought that if the yarn had been
+long enough to reach from the chair to the girl's home then the golden
+chair would have been hers for ever.
+
+Such is the tale. People believe the golden chair is still hidden away
+in the mountain, and that some day or other it will be given to those for
+whom it is intended. But it is, they say, no use anyone looking for it,
+as it is not to be got by searching, but it will be revealed, as if by
+accident, to those fated to possess it.
+
+
+_Fairy treasures seen by a Man near Ogwen Lake_.
+
+
+Another tale, similar to the preceding one, is told by my friend, Mr.
+Hugh Derfel Hughes, in his Hynafiaethau Llandegai a Llanllechid, pp. 35,
+36. The following is a translation of Mr. Hughes's story:--
+
+It is said that a servant man penetrated into the recesses of the
+mountains in the neighbourhood of Ogwen Lake, and that he there
+discovered a cave within which there was a large quantity of brazen
+vessels of every shape and description. In the joy of his heart at his
+good fortune, he seized one of the vessels, with the intention of
+carrying it away with him, as an earnest that the rest likewise were his.
+But, alas, it was too heavy for any man to move. Therefore, with the
+intention of returning the following morning to the cave with a friend to
+assist him in carrying the vessels away, he closed its month with stones,
+and thus he securely hid from view the entrance to the cave. When he had
+done this it flashed upon his mind that he had heard of people who had
+accidentally come across caves, just as he had, but that they, poor
+things, had afterwards lost all traces of them. And lest a similar
+misfortune should befall him, he determined to place a mark on the mouth
+of the cave, which would enable him to come upon it again, and also he
+bethought himself that it would be necessary, for further security, to
+indicate by some marks the way from his house to the cave. He had
+however nothing at hand to enable him to carry out this latter design,
+but his walking stick. This he began to chip with his knife, and he
+placed the chips at certain distances all along the way homewards. In
+this way he cut up his staff, and he was satisfied with what he had done,
+for he hoped to find the cave by means of the chips. Early the next
+morning he and a friend started for the mountain in the fond hope of
+securing the treasures, but when they arrived at the spot where the
+chip-marked pathway ought to begin, they failed to discover a single
+chip, because, as it was reported--"They had been gathered up by the
+Fairies." And thus this vision was in vain.
+
+The author adds to the tale these words:--"But, reader, things are not
+always to be so. There is a tradition in the Nant, that a Gwyddel is to
+have these treasures and this is how it will come to pass. A Gwyddel
+Shepherd will come to live in the neighbourhood, and on one of his
+journeys to the mountain to shepherd his sheep, when fate shall see fit
+to bring it about, there will run before him into the cave a black sheep
+with a speckled head, and the Gwyddel shepherd will follow it into the
+cave to catch it, and on entering, to his great astonishment, he will
+discover the treasures and take possession of them. And in this way it
+will come to pass, in some future age, that the property of the Gwyddelod
+will return to them."
+
+
+_The Fairies giving Money to a Man for joining them in their Dance_.
+
+
+The following story came to me through the Rev. Owen Jones, Vicar of
+Pentrevoelas. The occurrence is said to have taken place near
+Pentrevoelas. The following are the particulars:--
+
+Tomas Moris, Ty'n-y-Pant, returning home one delightful summer night from
+Llanrwst fair, came suddenly upon a company of Fairies dancing in a ring.
+In the centre of the circle were a number of speckled dogs, small in
+size, and they too were dancing with all their might. After the dance
+came to an end, the Fairies persuaded Tomas to accompany them to Hafod
+Bryn Mullt, and there the dance was resumed, and did not terminate until
+the break of day. Ere the Fairies departed they requested their visitor
+to join them the following night at the same place, and they promised, if
+he would do so, to enrich him with gifts of money, but they made him
+promise that he would not reveal to any one the place where they held
+their revels. This Tomas did, and night after night was spent pleasantly
+by him in the company of his merry newly-made friends. True to their
+word, he nightly parted company with them, laden with money, and thus he
+had no need to spend his days as heretofore, in manual labour. This went
+on as long as Tomas Moris kept his word, but alas, one day, he divulged
+to a neighbour the secret of his riches. That night, as usual, he went
+to Hafod Bryn Mullt, but his generous friends were not there, and he
+noticed that in the place where they were wont to dance there was nothing
+but cockle shells.
+
+In certain parts of Wales it was believed that Fairy money, on close
+inspection, would be found to be cockle shells. Mrs. Hugh Jones,
+Corlanau, who has already been mentioned, told the writer that a man
+found a crock filled, as he thought when he first saw it, with gold, but
+on taking it home he discovered that he had carried home from the
+mountain nothing but cockle shells. This Mrs. Jones told me was Fairy
+money.
+
+
+_The Fairies rewarding a Woman for taking care of their Dog_.
+
+
+Mention has already been made of Fairy Dogs. It would appear that now
+and again these dogs, just like any other dogs, strayed from home; but
+the Fairies were fond of their pets, and when lost, sought for them, and
+rewarded those mortals who had shown kindness to the animals. For the
+following tale I am indebted to the Rev. Owen Jones.
+
+One day when going home from Pentrevoelas Church, the wife of Hafod y
+Gareg found on the ground in an exhausted state a Fairy dog. She took it
+up tenderly, and carried it home in her apron. She showed this kindness
+to the poor little thing from fear, for she remembered what had happened
+to the wife of Bryn Heilyn, who had found one of the Fairy dogs, but had
+behaved cruelly towards it, and consequently had fallen down dead. The
+wife of Hafod y Gareg therefore made a nice soft bed for the Fairy dog in
+the pantry, and placed over it a brass pot. In the night succeeding the
+day that she had found the dog, a company of Fairies came to Hafod y
+Gareg to make inquiries after it. The woman told them that it was safe
+and sound, and that they were welcome to take it away with them. She
+willingly gave it up to its masters. Her conduct pleased the Fairies
+greatly, and so, before departing with the dog, they asked her which she
+would prefer, a clean or a dirty cow? Her answer was, "A dirty one."
+And so it came to pass that from that time forward to the end of her
+life, her cows gave more milk than the very best cows in the very best
+farms in her neighbourhood. In this way was she rewarded for her
+kindness to the dog, by the Fairies.
+
+
+
+FAIRY MONEY TURNED TO DROSS.
+
+
+Fairies' treasure was of uncertain value, and depended for its very
+existence on Fairy intentions. Often and again, when they had lavishly
+bestowed money on this or that person, it was discovered to be only
+leaves or some equally worthless substance; but people said that the
+recipients of the money richly deserved the deception that had been
+played upon them by the Fairies.
+
+In this chapter a few tales shall be given of this trait of Fairy
+mythology.
+
+
+1. _A Cruel Man and a Fairy Dog_.
+
+
+The person from whom the following tale was derived was David Roberts,
+Tycerrig, Clocaenog, near Ruthin.
+
+A Fairy dog lost its master and wandered about here and there seeking
+him. A farmer saw the dog, and took it home with him, but he behaved
+very unkindly towards the wee thing, and gave it little to eat, and
+shouted at it, and altogether he showed a hard heart. One evening a
+little old man called at this farmer's house, and inquired if any stray
+dog was there. He gave a few particulars respecting the dog, and
+mentioned the day that it had been lost. The farmer answered in the
+affirmative, and the stranger said that the dog was his, and asked the
+farmer to give it up to him. This the farmer willingly did, for he
+placed no value on the dog. The little man was very glad to get
+possession of his lost dog, and on departing he placed a well filled
+purse in the farmer's hand. Some time afterwards the farmer looked into
+the purse, intending to take a coin out of it, when to his surprise and
+annoyance he found therein nothing but leaves.
+
+Roberts told the writer that the farmer got what he deserved, for he had
+been very cruel to the wee dog.
+
+Another tale much like the preceding one, I have heard, but I have
+forgotten the source of the information. A person discovered a lost
+Fairy dog wandering about, and took it home, but he did not nurse the
+half-starved animal, nor did he nourish it. After a while some of the
+Fairy folk called on this person to inquire after their lost dog, and he
+gave it to them. They rewarded this man for his kindness with a pot
+filled with money and then departed. On further inspection, the money
+was found to be cockle shells.
+
+Such lessons as these taught by the Fairies were not without their effect
+on people who lived in days gone by.
+
+
+2. _Dick the Fiddler and the Fairy Crown-Piece_.
+
+
+For the following story I am indebted to my friend, Mr Hamer, who records
+it in his "Parochial account of Llanidloes," published in the
+_Montgomeryshire Collections_, vol. x., pp. 252-3-4. Mr Hamer states
+that the tale was related to him by Mr. Nicholas Bennett, Glanrafon,
+Trefeglwys.
+
+"Dick the Fiddler was in the habit of going about the country to play at
+merry-makings, fairs, etc. This worthy, after a week's _fuddle_ at
+Darowen, wending his way homeward, had to walk down 'Fairy Green Lane,'
+just above the farmstead of Cefn Cloddiau, and to banish fear, which he
+felt was gradually obtaining the mastery over him, instead of whistling,
+drew out from the skirt pocket of his long-tailed great coat his
+favourite instrument. After tuning it, be commenced elbowing his way
+through his favourite air, _Aden Ddu'r Fran_ (the Crow's Black Wing).
+When he passed over the green sward where the _Tylwyth Teg_, or Fairies,
+held their merry meetings, he heard something rattle in his fiddle, and
+this something continued rattling and tinkling until he reached Llwybr
+Scriw Riw, his home, almost out of his senses at the fright caused by
+that everlasting 'tink, rink, jink,' which was ever sounding in his ears.
+Having entered the cottage he soon heard music of a different kind, in
+the harsh angry voice of his better half, who justly incensed at his
+absence, began lecturing him in a style, which, unfortunately, Dick, from
+habit, could not wholly appreciate. He was called a worthless fool, a
+regular drunkard and idler. 'How is it possible for me to beg enough for
+myself and half a house-full of children nearly naked, while you go about
+the country and bring me nothing home.' 'Hush, hush, my good woman,'
+said Dick, 'see what's in the blessed old fiddle.' She obeyed, shook it,
+and out tumbled, to their great surprise, a five-shilling piece. The
+wife looked up into the husband's face, saw that it was 'as pale as a
+sheet' with fright: and also noting that he had such an unusually large
+sum in his possession, she came to the conclusion that he could not live
+long, and accordingly changed her style saying, 'Good man go to
+Llanidloes to-morrow, it is market-day and buy some shirting for
+yourself, for it may never be your good fortune to have such a sum of
+money again.' The following day, according to his wife's wishes, Dick
+wended his way to Llanidloes, musing, as he went along, upon his
+extraordinary luck, and unable to account for it. Arrived in the town,
+he entered Richard Evans's shop, and called for shirting linen to the
+value of five shillings, for which he gave the shopkeeper the crown piece
+taken out of the fiddle. Mr. Evans placed it in the till, and our worthy
+Dick betook himself to Betty Brunt's public-house (now known as the
+Unicorn) in high glee with the capital piece of linen in the skirt pocket
+of his long-tailed top coat. He had not, however, been long seated
+before Mr. Evans came in, and made sharp enquiries as to how and where he
+obtained possession of the crown piece with which he had paid for the
+linen. Dick assumed a solemn look, and then briefly related where and
+how he had received the coin. 'Say you so,' said Evans, 'I thought as
+much, for when I looked into the till, shortly after you left the shop,
+to my great surprise it was changed into a heap of musty horse dung.'"
+
+
+
+FAIRIES WORKING FOR MEN.
+
+
+It was once thought that kind Fairies took compassion on good folk, who
+were unable to accomplish in due time their undertakings, and finished in
+the night these works for them; and it was always observed that the Fairy
+workman excelled as a tradesman the mortal whom he assisted. Many an
+industrious shoemaker, it is said, has ere this found in the morning that
+the Fairies had finished in the night the pair of shoes which he had only
+commenced the evening before. Farmers too, who had in part ploughed a
+field, have in the morning been surprised to find it finished. These
+kind offices, it was firmly believed, were accomplished by Fairy friends.
+
+Milton in _L'Allegro_ alludes to this belief in the following lines:--
+
+ Tells how the drudging Goblin swet,
+ To earn his cream-bowl duly set,
+ When in one night, ere glimpse of morn,
+ His shadowy flail hath thresh'd the corn,
+ That ten day-labourers could not end.
+
+ MILTON, _L'Allegro_, lines 105-9.
+
+In Scotland the sprite, or Fairy, called Browny, haunted family abodes,
+and did all manner of work in the night for those who treated him kindly.
+In England, Robin Goodfellow was supposed to perform like functions.
+Thus sings Robin:--
+
+ Yet now and then, the maids to please,
+ At midnight I card up their wooll;
+ And while they sleepe, and take their ease,
+ With wheel to threads their flax I pull.
+ I grind at mill
+ Their malt up still;
+ I dress their hemp, I spin their tow.
+ If any 'wake.
+ And would me take,
+ I wend me, laughing, ho, ho, ho!
+
+ _Percy's Reliques_, vol. iii., p. 169.
+
+Welsh Fairies are not described as ordinarily inclined to lessen men's
+labours by themselves undertaking them; but there are a few tales current
+of their having assisted worthy persons in their manual works. Professor
+Rhys records one of these stories in _Y Cymmrodor_, vol. iv. 210. He
+writes thus:--
+
+"One day Guto, the Farmer of Corwrion, complained to his wife that he was
+in need of men to mow his hay, and she answered, 'Why fret about it? look
+yonder! there you have a field full of them at it, and stripped to their
+shirt sleeves.' When he went to the spot the sham workmen of the Fairy
+family had disappeared. This same Guto, or somebody else, happened
+another time to be ploughing, when he heard some person he could not see
+calling out to him, 'I have got the _bins_ (that is the _vice_) of my
+plough broken.' 'Bring it to me,' said the driver of Guto's team, 'that
+I may mend it.' When they brought the furrow to an end, there they found
+the broken vice, and a barrel of beer placed near it. One of the men sat
+down and mended it. Then they made another furrow, and when they
+returned to the spot they found there a two-eared dish, filled to the
+brim with _bara a chwrw_, or bread and beer."
+
+
+
+FAIRY DANCES.
+
+
+The one occupation of the Fairy folk celebrated in song and prose was
+dancing. Their green rings, circular or ovoidal in form, abounded in all
+parts of the country, and it was in these circles they were said to dance
+through the livelong night. In "_Can y Tylwyth Teg_," or the Fairies'
+Song, thus they chant:--
+
+ O'r glaswellt glen a'r rhedyn man,
+ Gyfeillion dyddan, dewch,
+ E ddarfu'r nawn--mae'r lloer yu llawn,
+ Y nos yn gyflawn gewch;
+ O'r chwarau sydd ar dwyn y dydd,
+ I'r Dolydd awn ar daith.
+ Nyni sydd lon, ni chaiff gerbron,
+ Farwolion ran o'n gwaith.
+
+ _Yr Hynafion Cymraeg_, p. 153.
+
+ From grasses bright, and bracken light,
+ Come, sweet companions, come,
+ The full moon shines, the sun declines,
+ We'll spend the night in fun;
+ With playful mirth, we'll trip the earth,
+ To meadows green let's go,
+ We're full of joy, without alloy,
+ Which mortals may not know.
+
+The spots where the Fairies held their nightly revels were preserved from
+intrusion by traditional superstitions. The farmer dared not plough the
+land where Fairy circles were, lest misfortune should overtake him. Thus
+were these mythical beings left in undisturbed possession of many fertile
+plots of ground, and here they were believed to dance merrily through
+many a summer night.
+
+ Canu, canu, drwy y nos,
+ Dawnsio, dawnsio, ar waen y rhos,
+ Yn ngoleuni'r lleuad dlos;
+ Hapus ydym ni!
+
+ Pawb o honom sydd yn llon,
+ Heb un gofid dan ei fron:
+ Canu, dawnsio, ar y ton--
+ Dedwydd ydym ni!
+
+ Singing, singing, through the night,
+ Dancing, dancing, with our might,
+ Where the moon the moor doth light:
+ Happy ever we!
+
+ One and all of merry mien,
+ Without sorrow are we seen,
+ Singing, dancing on the green:
+ Gladsome ever we!
+
+ _Professor Rhys's Fairy Tales_.
+
+These words correctly describe the popular opinion of Fairy dance and
+song, an opinion which reached the early part of the present century.
+
+Since so much has reached our days of Fairy song and dance, it is not
+surprising that we are told that the beautiful Welsh melody, _Toriad y
+Dydd_, or the Dawn of Day, is the work of a Fairy minstrel, and that this
+song was chanted by the Fairy company just as the pale light in the east
+announced the approach of returning day.
+
+Chaucer (1340 c. to 1400 c.), alluding to the Fairies and their dances,
+in his 'Wife of Bath's Tale,' writes:--
+
+ In olde dayes of King Artour,
+ Of which the Bretons speken gret honour,
+ All was this lond ful-filled of Faerie;
+ The elf-quene with hire joly compagnie
+ Danced ful oft in many a grene mede.
+ This was the old opinion as I rede;
+ I speke of many hundred yeres ago;
+ But now can no man see non elves mo.
+
+ Tyrwhitt's Chaucer i., p. 256.
+
+In the days of the Father of English poets, the elves had disappeared,
+and he speaks of "many hundred yeres ago," when he says that the Fairy
+Queen and her jolly company danced full often in many a green meadow.
+
+Number 419 of the Spectator, published July 1st, 1712, states that
+formerly "every large common had a circle of Fairies belonging to it."
+Here again the past is spoken of, but in Wales it would seem that up to
+quite modern days some one, or other, was said to have seen the Fairies
+at their dance, or had heard of some one who had witnessed their gambols.
+Robert Roberts, Tycerrig, Clocaenog, enumerated several places, such as
+Nantddu, Clocaenog, Craig-fron-Bannog, on Mynydd Hiraethog, and
+Fron-y-Go, Llanfwrog, where the Fairies used to hold their revels, and
+other places, such as Moel Fammau, have been mentioned as being Fairy
+dancing ground. Many an aged person in Wales will give the name of spots
+dedicated to Fairy sports. Information of this kind is interesting, for
+it shows how long lived traditions are, and in a manner, places
+associated with the Fair Tribe bring these mysterious beings right to our
+doors.
+
+I will now relate a few tales of mortals witnessing or joining in Fairy
+dances.
+
+The first was related to me by David Roberts. The scene of the dance was
+the hill side by Pont Petrual between Ruthin and Cerrig-y-Drudion.
+
+
+1. _A Man who found himself on a Heap of Ferns after joining in a Fairy
+Dance_.
+
+
+A man who went to witness a Fairy dance was invited to join them. He did
+so, and all night long he greatly enjoyed himself. At the break of day
+the company broke up, and the Fairies took their companion with them.
+The man found himself in a beautiful hall with everything he could desire
+at his command, and here he pleasantly passed the time ere he retired to
+rest. In the morning when he awoke, instead of finding himself on a
+couch in Fairy Hall, be found himself lying on a heap of fern on the wild
+mountain side.
+
+Although somewhat unfortunate, this man fared better than most men who
+joined the Fairy dances.
+
+
+2. _The Fairies threw dust into a Man's Eyes who Saw them Dance_.
+
+
+This tale is taken from _Cymru Fu_, p. 176, and is from the pen of
+_Glasynys_. I give it in English.
+
+William Ellis, of Cilwern, was once fishing in Llyn Cwm Silin on a dark
+cloudy day, when he observed close by, in the rushes, a great number of
+men, or beings in the form of men, about a foot high, jumping and
+singing.
+
+He watched them for hours, and he never heard in all his life such
+singing. But William went too near them, and they threw some kind of
+dust into his eyes, and whilst he was rubbing his eyes, the little family
+disappeared and fled somewhere out of sight and never afterwards was
+Ellis able to get a sight of them.
+
+The next tale _Glasynys_ shall relate in his own words. It appears in
+_Cymru Fu_ immediately after the one just related.
+
+
+3. _A Man Dancing with the Fairies for Three Days_.
+
+
+"Y mae chwedl go debyg am le o'r enw Llyn-y-Ffynonau. Yr oedd yno rasio
+a dawnsio, a thelynio a ffidlo enbydus, a gwas o Gelli Ffrydau a'i ddau
+gi yn eu canol yn neidio ac yn prancio mor sionc a neb. Buont wrthi hi
+felly am dridiau a theirnos, yn ddi-dor-derfyn; ac oni bai bod ryw wr
+cyfarwydd yn byw heb fod yn neppell, ac i hwnw gael gwybod pa sut yr oedd
+pethau yn myned yn mlaen, y mae'n ddiddadl y buasai i'r creadur gwirion
+ddawnsio 'i hun i farwolaeth. Ond gwaredwyd of y tro hwn." This in
+English is as follows:--
+
+"There is a tale somewhat like the preceding one told in connection with
+a place called Llyn-y-Ffynonau. There was there racing and dancing, and
+harping and furious fiddling, and the servant man of Gelli Ffrydau with
+his two dogs in their midst jumping and dancing like mad. There they
+were for three days and three nights without a break dancing as if for
+very life, and were it not that there lived near by a conjuror, who knew
+how things were going on, without a doubt the poor creature would have
+danced himself to death. But he was spared this time."
+
+The next tale I received from Mr. David Lloyd, schoolmaster,
+Llanfihangel-Glyn-Myfyr, and he heard it in that parish.
+
+
+4. _A Harper and the Fairies_.
+
+
+There once lived in a remote part of Denbighshire, called Hafod Elwy, an
+old harper, named Shon Robert, who used to be invited to parties to play
+for the dancers, or to accompany the singers. One evening he went to
+Llechwedd Llyfn, in the neighbourhood of Cefn Brith, to hold a merry
+meeting, and it was late before the lads and lasses separated. At last
+the harper wended his way homeward. His path was over the bare mountain.
+As he came near a lake called Llyndau-ychain, he saw on its verge a grand
+palace, vividly illuminated. He was greatly surprised at the sight, for
+he had never seen such a building there before. He, however, proceeded
+on his way, and when he came in front of this beautiful palace he was
+hailed by a footman, and invited to enter. He accepted the invitation,
+and was ushered into a magnificent room, where a grand ball was being
+held. The guests surrounded the harper and became very friendly, and, to
+his wonder, addressed him by name. This hall was magnificently
+furnished. The furniture was of the most costly materials, many things
+were made of solid gold. A waiter handed him a golden cup filled with
+sparkling wine, which the harper gladly quaffed. He was then asked to
+play for the company, and this he did to the manifest satisfaction of the
+guests. By and by one of the company took Shon Robert's hat round and
+collected money for the harper's benefit, and brought it back to him
+filled with silver and gold. The feast was carried on with great pomp
+and merriment until near the dawn of day, when, one by one, the guests
+disappeared, and at last Shon was left alone. Perceiving a magnificent
+couch near, he laid himself thereon, and was soon fast asleep. He did
+not awake until mid-day, and then, to his surprise, he found himself
+lying on a heap of heather, the grand palace had vanished away, and the
+gold and silver, which he had transferred from his hat the night before
+into his bag, was changed to withered leaves.
+
+The following tale told me by the Rev. R. Jones shows that those who
+witness a Fairy dance know not how time passes.
+
+
+5. _A Three Hours Fairy Dance seeming as a Few Minutes_.
+
+
+The Rev. R. Jones's mother, when a young unmarried woman, started one
+evening from a house called Tyddyn Heilyn, Penrhyndeudraeth, to her home,
+Penrhyn isaf, accompanied by their servant man, David Williams, called on
+account of his great strength and stature, Dafydd Fawr, Big David. David
+was carrying home on his back a flitch of bacon. The night was dark, but
+calm. Williams walked somewhat in the rear of his young mistress, and
+she, thinking he was following, went straight home. But three hours
+passed before David appeared with the pork on his back.
+
+He was interrogated as to the cause of his delay, and in answer said he
+had only been about three minutes after his young mistress. He was told
+that she had arrived three hours before him, but this David would not
+believe. At length, however, he was convinced that he was wrong in his
+time, and then he proceeded to account for his lagging behind as
+follows:--
+
+He observed, he said, a brilliant meteor passing through the air, which
+was followed by a ring or hoop of fire, and within this hoop stood a man
+and woman of small size, handsomely dressed. With one arm they embraced
+each other, and with the other they took hold of the hoop, and their feet
+rested on the concave surface of the ring. When the hoop reached the
+earth these two beings jumped out of it, and immediately proceeded to
+make a circle on the ground. As soon as this was done, a large number of
+men and women instantly appeared, and to the sweetest music that ear ever
+heard commenced dancing round and round the circle. The sight was so
+entrancing that the man stayed, as he thought, a few minutes to witness
+the scene. The ground all around was lit up by a kind of subdued light,
+and he observed every movement of these beings. By and by the meteor
+which had at first attracted his attention appeared again, and then the
+fiery hoop came to view, and when it reached the spot where the dancing
+was, the lady and gentleman who had arrived in it jumped into the hoop,
+and disappeared in the same manner in which they had reached the place.
+Immediately after their departure the Fairies vanished from sight, and
+the man found himself alone and in darkness, and then he proceeded
+homewards. In this way he accounted for his delay on the way.
+
+In Mr. Sikes's _British Goblins_, pp. 79-81, is a graphic account of a
+mad dance which Tudur ap Einion Gloff had with the Fairies, or Goblins,
+at a place called Nant-yr-Ellyllon, a hollow half way up the hill to
+Castell Dinas Bran, in the neighbourhood of Llangollen. All night, and
+into the next day, Tudur danced frantically in the Nant, but he was
+rescued by his master, who understood how to break the spell, and release
+his servant from the hold the Goblins had over him! This he did by
+pronouncing certain pious words, and Tudur returned home with his master.
+
+Mr. Evan Davies, carpenter, Brynllan, Efenechtyd, who is between seventy
+and eighty years old, informed the writer that his friend John Morris
+told him that he had seen a company of Fairies dancing, and that they
+were the handsomest men and women that he had ever seen. It was night
+and dark, but the place on which the dance took place was strangely
+illuminated, so that every movement of the singular beings could be
+observed, but when the Fairies disappeared it became suddenly quite dark.
+
+Although from the tales already given it would appear that the Fairies
+held revelry irrespective of set times of meeting, still it was thought
+that they had special days for their great banquets, and the eve of the
+first of May, old style, was one of these days, and another was _Nos Wyl
+Ifan_, St. John's Eve, or the evening of June 23rd.
+
+Thus sings _Glasynys_, in _Y Brython_, vol. iii. p. 270:--
+
+ _Nos Wyl Ifan_.
+
+ _Tylwyth Teg_ yn lluoedd llawen,
+ O dan nodded tawel Dwynwen,
+ Welir yn y cel encilion,
+ Yn perori mwyn alawon,
+ Ac yn taenu hyd y twyni,
+ Ac ar leiniau'r deiliog lwyni,
+ _Hud a Lledrith_ ar y glesni,
+ Ac yn sibrwd dwyfol desni!
+
+I am indebted to my friend Mr Richard Williams, F.R.H.S., Newtown,
+Montgomeryshire, for the following translation of the preceding Welsh
+lines:--
+
+ The Fairy Tribe in merry crowds,
+ Under Dwynwen's calm protection,
+ Are seen in shady retreats
+ Chanting sweet melodies,
+ And spreading over the bushes
+ And the leafy groves
+ Illusion and phantasy on all that is green,
+ And whispering their mystic lore.
+
+May-day dances and revelling have reached our days, and probably they
+have, like the Midsummer Eve's festivities, their origin in the far off
+times when the Fairy Tribe inhabited Britain and other countries, and to
+us have they bequeathed these Festivals, as well as that which ushers in
+winter, and is called in Wales, _Nos glan gaua_, or All Hallow Eve. If
+so, they have left us a legacy for which we thank them, and they have
+also given us a proof of their intelligence and love of nature.
+
+But I will now briefly refer to Fairy doings on _Nos Wyl Ifan_ as
+recorded by England's greatest poet, and, further on, I shall have more
+to say of this night.
+
+Shakespeare introduces into his _Midsummer Night's Dream_ the prevailing
+opinions respecting Fairies in England, but they are almost identical
+with those entertained by the people of Wales; so much so are they
+British in character, that it is no great stretch of the imagination to
+suppose that he must have derived much of his information from an
+inhabitant of Wales. However, in one particular, the poet's description
+of the Fairies differs from the more early opinion of them in Wales.
+Shakespeare's Fairies are, to a degree, diminutive; they are not so small
+in Wales. But as to their habits in both countries they had much in
+common. I will briefly allude to similarities between English and Welsh
+Fairies, confining my remarks to Fairy music and dancing.
+
+To begin, both danced in rings. A Fairy says to Puck:--
+
+ And I serve the Fairy Queen
+ To dew her orbs upon the green.
+
+ _Midsummer Night's Dream_, Act II., S I.
+
+And allusion is made in the same play to these circles in these words:--
+
+ If you will patiently dance in our round
+ And see our moonlight revels, go with us.
+
+ Act II., S. I.
+
+Then again Welsh and English Fairies frequented like spots to hold their
+revels on. I quote from the same play:--
+
+ And now they never meet in grove or green,
+ By fountain clear, or spangled starlight sheen.
+
+ Act II., S. I.
+
+And again:--
+
+ And never since the middle summer's spring
+ Met we on hill, in dale, forest, or mead
+ By paved fountain or by rushy brook
+ Or by the beached margent of the sea,
+ To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind.
+
+ Act II., S. I
+
+And further the Fairies in both countries meet at night, and hold their
+Balls throughout the hours of darkness, and separate in early morn. Thus
+Puck addressing Oberon:--
+
+ Fairy King, attend and hark;
+ I do hear the morning lark.
+
+ Act IV., S. I.
+
+ Now until the break of day
+ Through this house each Fairy stray
+ . . . . . .
+ . . . . . .
+ Trip away, make no stay,
+ Meet we all at break of day.
+
+ Act V., S. I.
+
+In the Welsh tales given of Fairy dances the music is always spoken of as
+most entrancing, and Shakespeare in felicitous terms gives utterance to
+the same thought--
+
+ Music, lo! music, such as charmeth sleep.
+
+I am indebted to the courtesy of the Rev. R. O. Williams, M.A., Vicar of
+Holywell, for the following singular testimony to Fairy dancing. The
+writer was the Rev. Dr. Edward Williams, at one time of Oswestry, and
+afterwards Principal of the Independent Academy at Rotherham in
+Yorkshire, who was born at Glan Clwyd, Bodfari, Nov. 14th, 1750, and died
+March 9, 1813. The extract is to be seen in the autobiography of Dr.
+Williams, which has been published, but the quotation now given is copied
+from the doctor's own handwriting, which now lies before me.
+
+It may be stated that Mr. Wirt Sikes, in his _British Goblins_, refers to
+the Dwarfs of Cae Caled, Bodfari, as Knockers, but he was not justified,
+as will be seen from the extract, in thus describing them. For the sake
+of reference the incident shall be called--The Elf Dancers of Cae Caled.
+
+
+_The Elf Dancers of Cae Caled_.
+
+
+Dr. Edward Williams, under the year 1757, writes as follows:--
+
+"I am now going to relate a circumstance in this young period of my life
+which probably will excite an alternate smile and thoughtful reflection,
+as it has often done in myself, however singular the fact and strong the
+evidence of its authenticity, and, though I have often in mature age
+called to my mind the principles of religion and philosophy to account
+for it, I am forced to class it among my _unknowables_. And yet I may
+say that not only the fact itself, but also the consideration of its
+being to my own mind inexplicable, has afforded some useful reflections,
+with which this relation need not be accompanied.
+
+"On a fine summer day (about midsummer) between the hours of 12 at noon
+and one, my eldest sister and myself, our next neighbour's children
+Barbara and Ann Evans, both older than myself, were in a field called Cae
+Caled near their house, all innocently engaged at play by a hedge under a
+tree, and not far from the stile next to that house, when one of us
+observed on the middle of the field a company of--what shall I call
+them?--_Beings_, neither men, women, nor children, dancing with great
+briskness. They were full in view less than a hundred yards from us,
+consisting of about seven or eight couples: we could not well reckon
+them, owing to the briskness of their motions and the consternation with
+which we were struck at a sight so unusual. They were all clothed in
+red, a dress not unlike a military uniform, without hats, but their heads
+tied with handkerchiefs of a reddish colour, sprigged or spotted with
+yellow, all uniform in this as in habit, all tied behind with the corners
+hanging down their backs, and white handkerchiefs in their hands held
+loose by the corners. They appeared of a size somewhat less than our
+own, but more like dwarfs than children. On the first discovery we
+began, with no small dread, to question one another as to what they could
+be, as there were no soldiers in the country, nor was it the time for May
+dancers, and as they differed much from all the human beings we had ever
+seen. Thus alarmed we dropped our play, left our station, and made for
+the stile. Still keeping our eyes upon them we observed one of their
+company starting from the rest and making towards us with a running pace.
+I being the youngest was the last at the stile, and, though struck with
+an inexpressible panic, saw the _grim elf_ just at my heels, having a
+full and clear, though terrific view of him, with his ancient, swarthy,
+and grim complexion. I screamed out exceedingly; my sister also and our
+companions set up a roar, and the former dragged me with violence over
+the stile on which, at the instant I was disengaged from it, this warlike
+Lilliputian leaned and stretched himself after me, but came not over.
+With palpitating hearts and loud cries we ran towards the house, alarmed
+the family, and told them our trouble. The men instantly left their
+dinner, with whom still trembling we went to the place, and made the most
+solicitous and diligent enquiry in all the neighbourhood, both at that
+time and after, but never found the least vestige of any circumstance
+that could contribute to a solution of this remarkable phenomenon. Were
+any disposed to question the sufficiency of this quadruple evidence, the
+fact having been uniformly and often attested by each of the parties and
+various and separate examinations, and call it a childish deception, it
+would do them no harm to admit that, comparing themselves with the scale
+of universal existence, beings with which they certainly and others with
+whom it is possible they may be surrounded every moment, they are but
+children of a larger size. I know but few less credulous than the
+relator, but he is no Sadducee. 'He who hath delivered will yet
+deliver.'"
+
+My friend, Mr. R. Prys Jones, B.A., kindly informs me that he has several
+intelligent boys in his school, the Boys' Board School, Denbigh, from
+Bodfari, and to them he read the preceding story, but not one of them had
+ever heard of it. It is singular that the story should have died so soon
+in the neighbourhood that gave it birth.
+
+
+
+FAIRY TRICKS WITH MORTALS.
+
+
+It was formerly believed in Wales that the Fairies, for a little fun,
+sportively carried men in mid air from place to place, and, having
+conveyed them to a strange neighbourhood, left them to return to their
+homes as best they could. Benighted travellers were ever fearful of
+encountering a throng of Fairies lest they should by them be seized, and
+carried to a strange part of the country.
+
+Allusion is made to this freak of the Fairies in the _Cambro-Briton_,
+vol. i., p. 348:--
+
+"And it seems that there was some reason to be apprehensive of
+encountering these 'Fair people' in a mist; for, although allowed not to
+be maliciously disposed, they had a very inconvenient practice of seizing
+an unwary pilgrim, and hurrying him through the air, first giving him the
+choice, however, of travelling above wind, mid-wind, or below wind. If
+he chose the former, he was borne to an altitude somewhat equal to that
+of a balloon; if the latter, he had the full benefit of all the brakes
+and briars in his way, his contact with which seldom failed to terminate
+in his discomfiture. Experienced travellers, therefore, always kept in
+mind the advice of Apollo to Phaeton (In medio tutissimus ibis) and
+selected the middle course, which ensured them a pleasant voyage at a
+moderate elevation, equally removed from the branches and the clouds."
+
+This description of an aerial voyage of a hapless traveller through Fairy
+agency corresponds with the popular faith in every particular, and it
+would not have been difficult some sixty, or so, years back, to have
+collected many tales in various parts of Wales of persons who had been
+subjected to this kind of conveyance.
+
+The first mention that I have been able to find of this Fairy prank is in
+a small book of prose poetry called _Gweledigaeth Cwrs y Byd_, or _Y
+Bardd Cwsg_, which was written by the Revd. Ellis Wynne (born 1670-1,
+died 1734), rector of Llanfair, near Harlech. The "Visions of the
+Sleeping Bard" were published in 1703, and in the work appear many
+superstitions of the people, some of which shall by and by be mentioned.
+
+In the very commencement of this work, the poet gives a description of a
+journey which he had made through the air with the Fairies. Addressing
+these beings, he says:--"Atolwg, lan gynnulleidfa, yr wyf yn deall mai
+rhai o bell ydych, a gymmerwch chwi Fardd i'ch plith sy'n chwennych
+trafaelio?" which in English is--"May it please you, comely assembly, as
+I understand that you come from afar, to take into your company a Bard
+who wishes to travel?"
+
+The poet's request is granted, and then he describes his aerial passage
+in these words:--
+
+"Codasant fi ar eu hysgwyddau, fel codi Marchog Sir; ac yna ymaith a ni
+fel y gwynt, tros dai a thiroedd, dinasoedd a theyrnasoedd, a moroedd a
+mynyddoedd, heb allu dal sylw ar ddim, gan gyflymed yr oeddynt yn hedeg."
+This translated is:--
+
+"They raised me on their shoulders, as they do a Knight of the Shire, and
+away we went like the wind, over houses and fields, over cities and
+kingdoms, over seas and mountains, but I was unable to notice
+particularly anything, because of the rapidity with which they flew."
+
+What the poet writes of his own flight with the Fairies depicts the then
+prevailing notions respecting aerial journeys by Fairy agencies, and they
+bear a striking resemblance to like stories in oriental fiction. That
+the belief in this form of transit survived the days of _Bardd Cwsg_ will
+be seen from the following tale related by my friend Mr. E. Hamer in his
+Parochial Account of Llanidloes:--
+
+
+_A Man Carried Through the Air by the Fairies_.
+
+
+"One Edward Jones, or 'Ned the Jockey,' as he was familiarly called,
+resided, within the memory of the writer, in one of the roadside cottages
+a short distance from Llanidloes, on the Newtown road. While returning
+home late one evening, it was his fate to fall in with a troop of
+Fairies, who were not pleased to have their gambols disturbed by a
+mortal. Requesting him to depart, they politely offered him the choice
+of three means of locomotion, viz., being carried off by a 'high wind,
+middle wind, or low wind.' The jockey soon made up his mind, and elected
+to make his trip through the air by the assistance of a high wind. No
+sooner had he given his decision, than he found himself whisked high up
+into the air and his senses completely bewildered by the rapidity of his
+flight; he did not recover himself till he came in contact with the
+earth, being suddenly dropped in the middle of a garden near Ty Gough, on
+the Bryndu road, many miles distant from the spot whence he started on
+his aerial journey. Ned, when relating this story, would vouch for its
+genuineness in the most solemn manner, and the person who narrated it to
+the writer brought forward as a proof of its truth, 'that there was not
+the slightest trace of any person going into the garden while Ned was
+found in the middle of it.'"
+
+ Montgomeryshire Collections, vol. x., p. 247.
+
+Mr. Hamer records another tale much like the foregoing, but the one I
+have given is a type of all such stories.
+
+Fairy illusion and phantasy were formerly firmly believed in by the
+inhabitants of Wales. Fairies were credited with being able to deceive
+the eyesight, if not also the other senses of man. One illustrative tale
+of this kind I will now record. Like stories are heard in many parts.
+The following story is taken from _Y Gordofigion_, p. 99, a book which
+has more than once been laid under contribution.
+
+
+
+FAIRY ILLUSIONS.
+
+
+"Ryw dro yr oedd brodor o Nefyn yn dyfod adref o ffair Pwllheli, ac wrth
+yr Efail Newydd gwelai _Inn_ fawreddog, a chan ei fod yn gwybod nad oedd
+yr un gwesty i fod yno, gofynodd i un o'r gweision os oedd ganddynt
+ystabl iddo roddi ei farch. Atebwyd yn gadarnhaol. Rhoddwyd y march yn
+yr ystabl, ac aeth yntau i mewn i'r ty, gofynodd am _beint_ o gwrw, ac ni
+chafodd erioed well cwrw na'r cwrw hwnw. Yn mhen ychydig, gofynodd am
+fyned i orphwys, a chafodd hyny hefyd. Aeth i'w orweddle, yr hwn ydoedd
+o ran gwychder yn deilwng i'r brenhin; ond wchw fawr! erbyn iddo ddeffro,
+cafodd ei hun yn gorwedd ar ei hyd mewn tomen ludw, a'r ceffyl wedi ei
+rwymo wrth bolyn clawdd gwrysg."
+
+This in English is as follows:--"Once upon a time a native of Nefyn was
+returning from Pwllheli fair, and when near Efail Newydd he saw a
+magnificent Inn, and, as he knew that no such public-house was really
+there, he went up to it and asked one of the servants whether they had a
+stable where he could put up his horse. He was answered in the
+affirmative. The horse was placed in the stable, and the man entered the
+house and asked for a pint of beer, which he thought was the best he had
+ever drunk. After awhile he inquired whether he could go to rest. This
+also was granted him, and he retired to his room, which in splendour was
+worthy of the king. But alas! when he awoke he found himself sleeping on
+his back on a heap of ashes, and the horse tied to a pole in the hedge."
+
+
+
+FAIRY MEN CAPTURED.
+
+
+There are many tales current of wee Fairy men having been captured.
+These tales are, however, evidently variants of the same story. The
+dwarfs are generally spoken of as having been caught by a trapper in his
+net, or bag, and the hunter, quite unconscious of the fact that a Fairy
+is in his bag, proceeds homewards, supposing that he has captured a
+badger, or some other kind of vermin, but, all at once, he hears the
+being in the bag speak, and throwing the bag down he runs away in a
+terrible fright. Such in short is the tale. I will proceed to give
+several versions of this story.
+
+
+1. _Gwyddelwern Version_.
+
+
+The following tale was told by Mr. Evan Roberts, Ffridd Agored, a farmer
+in the parish of Llanfwrog. Roberts heard the story when he was a youth
+in the parish of Gwyddelwern. It is as follows:--
+
+A man went from his house for peat to the stack on the hill. As he
+intended to carry away only a small quantity for immediate use, he took
+with him a bag to carry it home. When he got to the hill he saw
+something running before him, and he gave chase and caught it and bundled
+it into the bag. He had not proceeded far on his way before he heard a
+small voice shout somewhere near him, "Neddy, Neddy." And then he heard
+another small voice in the bag saying, "There is daddy calling me." No
+sooner did the man hear these words than in a terrible fright he threw
+the bag down, and ran home as fast as he could.
+
+
+2. _The Llandrillo Version_.
+
+
+I am indebted for the following tale to Mr. E. S. Roberts, schoolmaster,
+Llantysilio, near Llangollen:--
+
+Two men whilst otter-hunting in Gwyn Pennant, Llandrillo, saw something
+reddish scampering away across the ground just before them. They thought
+it was an otter, and watching it saw that it entered a hole by the side
+of the river. When they reached the place they found, underneath the
+roots of a tree, two burrows. They immediately set to work to catch
+their prey. Whilst one of the men pushed a long pole into one of the
+burrows, the other held the mouth of a sack to the other, and very
+shortly into the sack rushed their prey and it was secured. The men now
+went homewards, but they had not gone far, ere they heard a voice in the
+bag say, "My mother is calling me." The frightened men instantly threw
+the sack to the ground, and they saw a small man, clothed in red, emerge
+therefrom, and the wee creature ran away with all his might to the
+brushwood that grew along the banks of the river.
+
+
+3. _The Snowdon Version_.
+
+
+The following tale is taken from _Y Gordofigion_, p. 98:--
+
+"Aeth trigolion ardaloedd cylchynol y Wyddfa un tro i hela pryf llwyd.
+Methasant a chael golwg ar yr un y diwrnod cyntaf; ond cynllwynasant am
+un erbyn trannoeth, trwy osod sach a'i cheg yn agored ar dwll yr arferai
+y pryf fyned iddo, ond ni byddai byth yn dyfod allan drwyddo am ei fod yn
+rhy serth a llithrig. A'r modd a gosodasant y sach oedd rhoddi cortyn
+trwy dyllau yn ei cheg, yn y fath fodd ag y crychai, ac y ceuai ei cheg
+pan elai rhywbeth iddi. Felly fu; aeth pawb i'w fan, ac i'w wely y noson
+hono. Gyda'r wawr bore dranoeth, awd i edrych y sach, ac erbyn dyfod ati
+yr oedd ei cheg wedi crychu, yn arwydd fod rhywbeth oddifewn. Codwyd hi,
+a thaflodd un hi ar ei ysgwydd i'w dwyn adref. Ond pan yn agos i Bryn y
+Fedw wele dorpyn o ddynan bychan yn sefyll ar delpyn o graig gerllaw ac
+yn gwaeddi, 'Meirig, wyt ti yna, dwad?' 'Ydwyf,' attebai llais dieithr
+(ond dychrynedig) o'r sach. Ar hyn, wele'r helwyr yn dechreu rhedeg
+ymaith, a da oedd ganddynt wneyd hyny, er gadael y sach i'r pryf, gan
+dybied eu bod wedi dal yn y sach un o ysbrydion y pwll diwaelod, ond
+deallasant ar ol hyny mai un o'r Tylwyth Teg oedd yn y sach."
+
+The tale in English reads thus:--"Once the people who lived in the
+neighbourhood of Snowdon went badger-hunting. They failed the first day
+to get sight of one. But they laid a trap for one by the next day. This
+they did by placing a sack's open mouth with a noose through it at the
+entrance to the badger's den. The vermin was in the habit of entering
+his abode by one passage and leaving it by another. The one by which he
+entered was too precipitous and slippery to be used as an exit, and the
+trappers placed the sack in this hole, well knowing that the running
+noose in the mouth of the sack would close if anything entered. The next
+morning the hunters returned to the snare, and at once observed that the
+mouth of the sack was tightly drawn up, a sign that there was something
+in it. The bag was taken up and thrown on the shoulders of one of the
+men to be carried home. But when they were near Bryn y Fedw they saw a
+lump of a little fellow, standing on the top of a rock close by and
+shouting, 'Meirig, are you there, say?' 'I am,' was the answer in a
+strange but nervous voice. Upon this, the hunters, throwing down the
+bag, began to run away, and they were glad to do so, although they had to
+leave their sack behind them, believing, as they did, that they had
+captured one of the spirits of the bottomless pit. But afterwards they
+understood that it was one of the Fairy Tribe that was in the sack."
+
+There was at one time a tale much like this current in the parish of
+Gyffylliog, near Ruthin, but in this latter case the voice in the bag
+said, "My father is calling me," though no one was heard to do so. The
+bag, however, was cast away, and the trapper reported that he had
+captured a Fairy!
+
+
+4. _The Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd Version_.
+
+
+Mr. Evan Davies, carpenter, Bryn Llan, Efenechtyd, told the writer that
+Robert Jones, innkeeper, in the same parish, told him the following tale,
+mentioning at the same time the man who figures in the narrative, whose
+name, however, I have forgotten. The story runs thus:--
+
+A man, wishing to catch a fox, laid a bag with its mouth open, but well
+secured, at the entrance to a fox's den in Coed Cochion, Llanfair Dyffryn
+Clwyd parish, and hid himself to await the result. He had seen the fox
+enter its lair, and he calculated that it would ere long emerge
+therefrom. By and by, he observed that something had entered the bag,
+and going up to it, he immediately secured its mouth, and, throwing the
+bag over his shoulder, proceeded homewards, but he had not gone far on
+his way before he heard someone say, "Where is my son John?" The man,
+however, though it was dark, was not frightened, for he thought that
+possibly some one was in search of a lad who had wandered from home. He
+was rather troubled to find that the question was repeated time after
+time by some one who apparently was following him. But what was his
+terror when, ere long, he heard a small voice issue from the bag he was
+carrying, saying "There is dear father calling me." The man in a
+terrible fright threw the bag down, and ran away as fast as his feet
+could carry him, and never stopped until he reached his home, and when he
+came to himself he related the story of his adventure in the wood to his
+wife.
+
+
+
+FAIRIES IN MARKETS AND FAIRS.
+
+
+It was once firmly believed by the Welsh that the Fairy Tribe visited
+markets and fairs, and that their presence made business brisk. If there
+was a buzz in the market place, it was thought that the sound was made by
+the Fairies, and on such occasions the farmers' wives disposed quickly of
+their commodities; if, however, on the other hand, there was no buzz, the
+Fairies were absent, and there was then no business transacted.
+
+Mr. Richard Jones, Ty'n-y-Wern, Bryneglwys, who, when a youth, lived in
+Llanbedr parish, near Ruthin, informed the writer that his mother, after
+attending a market at Ruthin, would return home occasionally with the sad
+news that "They were not there," meaning that the Fairies were not
+present in the market, and this implied a bad market and no sweets for
+Richard. On the other hand, should the market have been a good one, she
+would tell them that "They filled the whole place," and the children
+always had the benefit of their presence.
+
+This belief that the Fairies sharpened the market was, I think, general.
+I find in _Y Gordofigion_, p. 97, the following words:--
+
+"Byddai y Tylwyth Teg yn arfer myned i farchnadoedd y Bala, ac yn gwneud
+twrw mawr heb i neb eu gweled, ac yr oedd hyny yn arwydd fod y farchnad
+ar godi," which is:--
+
+The Fairies were in the habit of frequenting Bala markets, and they made
+a great noise, without any one seeing them, and this was a sign that the
+market was sharpening.
+
+
+
+NAMES OF THINGS ATTRIBUTED TO THE FAIRIES.
+
+
+Many small stone utensils found in the ground, the use, or the origin, of
+which was unknown to the finders, were formerly attributed to the
+Fairies. Thus, flint arrow-heads were called elf shots, from the belief
+that they once belonged to Elves or Fairies. And celts, and other stone
+implements, were, by the peasants of Wales and other places, ascribed to
+the same small folk. Very small clay pipes were also attributed to the
+same people. All this is curious evidence of a pre-existing race, which
+the Celts supplanted, and from whom, in many respects, they differed.
+Although we cannot derive much positive knowledge from an enumeration of
+the articles popularly associated with the Fairies, still, such a list,
+though an imperfect one, will not be void of interest. I will,
+therefore, describe certain pre-historic remains, which have been
+attributed to the aboriginal people of Britain.
+
+
+_Fairy Pipes_.
+
+
+_Cetyn y Tylwyth Teg_, or Fairy Pipes, are small clay pipes, with bowls
+that will barely admit the tip of the little finger. They are found in
+many places, generally with the stem broken off, though usually the bowl
+is perfect.
+
+A short time ago I stayed awhile to talk with some workmen who were
+engaged in carting away the remains of a small farm house, once called _Y
+Bwlch_, in the parish of Efenechtyd, Denbighshire, and they told me that
+they had just found a Fairy Pipe, or, as they called it, _Cetyn y Tylwyth
+Teg_, which they gave me. A similar pipe was also picked up by Lewis
+Jones, Brynffynon, on Coed Marchan, in the same parish, when he was
+enclosing a part of the mountain allotted to his farm. In March, 1887,
+the workmen employed in taking down what were at one time buildings
+belonging to a bettermost kind of residence, opposite Llanfwrog Church,
+near Ruthin, also discovered one of these wee pipes. Pipes, identical in
+shape and size, have been found in all parts of Wales, and they are
+always known by the name of _Cetyn y Tylwyth Teg_, or Fairy Pipes.
+
+In Shropshire they have also been discovered in the Fens, and the late
+Rev. Canon Lee, Hanmer, had one in his possession, which had been found
+in those parts, and, it was called a Fairy Pipe.
+
+
+_Fairy Whetstone_.
+
+
+The small spindle whorls which belong to the stone age, and which have
+been discovered in the circular huts, called _Cyttiau'r Gwyddelod_, which
+are the earliest remains of human abodes in Wales, are by the people
+called Fairy Whetstones, but, undoubtedly, this name was given them from
+their resemblance to the large circular whetstone at present in common
+use, the finders being ignorant of the original use of these whorls.
+
+
+_Fairy Hammer and Fairy or Elf Stones_.
+
+
+Stone hammers of small size have been ascribed to the Fairies, and an
+intelligent Welsh miner once told the writer that he had himself seen, in
+a very ancient diminutive mine level, stone hammers which, he said, had
+once belonged to the Fairies.
+
+Other pre-historic implements, as celts, have been denominated Fairy
+remains. Under this head will come flint, or stone arrow-heads. These
+in Scotland are known by the name Elf Shots or Fairy Stones.
+
+Pennant's _Tour in Scotland_, 1769, p. 115, has the following reference
+to these arrow-heads:--
+
+"_Elf Shots_, i.e., the stone arrow-heads of the old inhabitants of this
+island, are supposed to be weapons shot by Fairies at cattle, to which
+are attributed any disorders they have."
+
+Jamieson states in his Dictionary, under the heading Elf Shot:--"The _Elf
+Shot_ or _Elfin Arrow_ is still used in the Highlands as an amulet."
+
+Tradition, in thus connecting stone implements with the Fairies, throws a
+dim light on the elfin community. But evidence is not wanting that the
+Celts themselves used stone utensils.
+
+The things which shall now be mentioned, as being connected with the
+Fairies, owe their names to no foundation in fact, but are the offspring
+of a fanciful imagination, and are attributed to the Fairies in agreement
+with the more modern and grotesque notions concerning those beings and
+their doings. This will be seen when it is stated that the Fox Glove
+becomes a Fairy Glove, and the Mushroom, Fairy Food.
+
+
+_Ymenyn y Tylwyth Teg, or Fairy Butter_.
+
+
+I cannot do better than quote Pennant on this matter. His words are:--
+
+ "Petroleum, rock oil, or what the Welsh call it, _Ymenin tylwyth
+ teg_, or Fairies' butter, has been found in the lime stone strata in
+ our mineral country. It is a greasy substance, of an agreeable
+ smell, and, I suppose, ascribed to the benign part of those imaginary
+ beings. It is esteemed serviceable in rheumatic cases, rubbed on the
+ parts affected. It retains a place in our dispensary."
+
+ Pennant's _Whiteford_, p. 131.
+
+
+
+_Bwyd Ellyllon_, _or Goblins' Food_.
+
+
+This was a kind of fungus or mushroom. The word is given in Dr. Owen
+Pughe's dictionary under the head _Ellyll_.
+
+
+_Menyg y Tylwyth Teg_, _Or Fairy Gloves_.
+
+
+The Fox Glove is so called, but in Dr. Owen Pughe's dictionary, under the
+head _Ellyll_, the Fox Glove is called _Menyg Ellyllon_.
+
+
+_Yr Ellyll Dan_, _or Goblin Fire_.
+
+
+The Rev. T. H. Evans, in his _History of the Parish of Llanwddyn_, states
+that in that parish "Will of the Wisp" is called "_Yr Ellyll Dan_." This
+is indeed the common name for the _Ignis fatuus_ in most, if not in all
+parts of Wales, but in some places where English is spoken it is better
+known by the English term, "Jack o' Lantern," or "Jack y Lantern."
+
+
+_Rhaffau'r Tylwyth Teg_, _or the Ropes of the Fairies_.
+
+
+Professor Rhys, in his Welsh Fairy Tales--_Y Cymmrodor_ vol. v., p.
+75--says, that gossamer, which is generally called in North Wales
+_edafedd gwawn_, or _gwawn_ yarn, used to be called, according to an
+informant, _Rhaffau'r Tylwyth Teg_, that is to say, the Ropes of the Fair
+Family, thus associating the Fairies with marshy, or rushy, places, or
+with ferns and heather as their dwelling places. It was supposed that if
+a man lay down to sleep in such places the Fairies would come and bind
+him with their ropes, and cover him with a gossamer sheet, which would
+make him invisible, and incapable of moving.
+
+
+
+FAIRY KNOCKERS, OR COBLYNAU.
+
+
+The _Coblynau_ or _Knockers_ were supposed to be a species of Fairies who
+had their abode in the rocks, and whose province it was to indicate by
+knocks, and other sounds, the presence of ore in mines.
+
+It would seem that many people had dim traditions of a small race who had
+their dwellings in the rocks. This wide-spread belief in the existence
+of cave men has, in our days, been shown to have had a foundation in
+fact, and many vestiges of this people have been revealed by intelligent
+cave hunters. But the age in which the cave men lived cannot even
+approximately be ascertained. In various parts of Wales, in the lime
+rock, their abodes have been brought to light. It is not improbable that
+the people who occupied the caves of ancient days were, in reality, the
+original Fairy Knockers. These people were invested, in after ages, by
+the wonder-loving mind of man, with supernatural powers.
+
+AEschylus, the Greek tragic poet, who died in the 69th year of his age,
+B.C. 456, in _Prometheus Vinctus_, refers to cave dwellers in a way that
+indicates that even then they belonged to a dateless antiquity.
+
+In Prometheus's speech to the chorus--[Greek]--lines 458-461, is a
+reference to this ancient tradition. His words, put into English, are
+these:--"And neither knew the warm brick-built houses exposed to the sun,
+nor working in wood, _but they dwelt underground_, like as little ants,
+_in the sunless recesses of caves_."
+
+The above quotation proves that the Greeks had a tradition that men in a
+low, or the lowest state of civilization, had their abodes in caves, and
+possibly the reference to ants would convey the idea that the cave
+dwellers were small people. Be this as it may, it is very remarkable
+that the word applied to a _dwarf_ in the dialects of the northern
+countries of Europe signifies also a _Fairy_, and the dwarfs, or Fairies,
+are there said to inhabit the rocks. The following quotation from
+Jamieson's _Scottish Dictionary_ under the word _Droich_, a dwarf, a
+pigmy, shows this to have been the case:--
+
+"In the northern dialects, _dwerg_ does not merely signify a dwarf, but
+also a _Fairy_! The ancient Northern nations, it is said, prostrated
+themselves before rocks, believing that they were inhabited by these
+pigmies, and that they thence gave forth oracles. Hence they called the
+echo _dwergamal_, as believing it to be their voice or speech. . . They
+were accounted excellent artificers, especially as smiths, from which
+circumstance some suppose that they have received their name . . . Other
+Isl. writers assert that their ancestors did not worship the pigmies as
+they did the _genii_ or spirits, also supposed to reside in the rocks."
+
+Bishop Percy, in a letter to the Rev. Evan Evans (_Ieuan Prydydd Hir_),
+writes:--
+
+ "Nay, I make no doubt but Fairies are derived from the _Duergar_, or
+ Dwarfs, whose existence was so generally believed among all the
+ northern nations."
+
+ _The Cambro-Briton_, vol. i., p. 331.
+
+And again in Percy's _Reliques of Ancient Poetry_, vol. iii., p. 171, are
+these remarks:--
+
+"It is well known that our Saxon ancestors, long before they left their
+German forests, believed in the existence of a kind of diminutive demons,
+or middle species between men and spirits, whom they called _Duergar_, or
+Dwarfs, and to whom they attributed wonderful performances, far exceeding
+human art."
+
+Pennant, in his _Tour in Scotland_, 1772, pp. 55-56, when describing the
+collieries of Newcastle, describes the Knockers thus:--
+
+"The immense caverns that lay between the pillars exhibited a most gloomy
+appearance. I could not help enquiring here after the imaginary
+inhabitant, the creation of the labourer's fancy,
+
+ The swart Fairy of the mine;
+
+and was seriously answered by a black fellow at my elbow that he really
+had never met with any, but that his grandfather had found the little
+implements and tools belonging to this diminutive race of subterraneous
+spirits. The Germans believed in two species; one fierce and malevolent,
+the other a gentle race, appearing like little old men, dressed like the
+miners, and not much above two feet high; these wander about the drifts
+and chambers of the works, seem perpetually employed, yet do nothing.
+Some seem to cut the ore, or fling what is cut into vessels, or turn the
+windlass, but never do any harm to the miners, except provoked; as the
+sensible Agricola, in this point credulous, relates in his book, _de
+Animantibus Subterraneis_."
+
+Jamieson, under the word _Farefolkis_, writes:--"Besides the Fairies,
+which are more commonly the subject of popular tradition, it appears that
+our forefathers believed in the existence of a class of spirits under
+this name that wrought in the mines;" and again, quoting from a work
+dated 1658, the author of which says:--
+
+"In northerne kingdomes there are great armies of devils that have their
+services which they perform with the inhabitants of these countries, but
+they are most frequent in rocks and _mines_, where they break, cleave,
+and make them hollow; which also thrust in pitchers and buckets, and
+carefully fit wheels and screws, whereby they are drawn upwards; and they
+show themselves to the labourers, when they list, like phantoms and
+ghosts."
+
+The preceding quotations from Pennant and Jamieson correspond with the
+Welsh miners' ideas of the _Coblynau_, or Knockers. There is a
+difficulty in tracing to their origin these opinions, but, on the whole,
+I am strongly inclined to say that they have come down to modern times
+from that remote period when cave-men existed as a distinct people.
+
+But now let us hear what our Welsh miners have to say about the
+_Coblynau_. I have spoken to several miners on this subject, and,
+although they confessed that they had not themselves heard these good
+little people at work, still they believed in their existence, and could
+name mines in which they had been heard. I was told that they are
+generally heard at work in new mines, and that they lead the men to the
+ore by knocking in its direction, and when the lode is reached the
+knocking ceases.
+
+But the following extracts from two letters written by Lewis Morris, a
+well-known and learned Welshman, fully express the current opinion of
+miners in Wales respecting Knockers. The first letter was written Oct.
+14, 1754, and the latter is dated Dec. 4, 1754. They appear in Bingley's
+_North Wales_, vol. ii., pp. 269-272. Lewis Morris writes:--
+
+"People who know very little of arts or sciences, or the powers of nature
+(which, in other words, are the powers of the author of nature), will
+laugh at us Cardiganshire miners, who maintain the existence of
+_Knockers_ in mines, a kind of good natured impalpable people not to be
+seen, but heard, and who seem to us to work in the mines; that is to say,
+they are the types or forerunners of working in mines, as dreams are of
+some accidents, which happen to us. The barometer falls before rain, or
+storms. If we do not know the construction of it, we should call it a
+kind of dream that foretells rain; but we know it is natural, and
+produced by natural means, comprehended by us. Now, how are we sure, or
+anybody sure, but that our dreams are produced by the same natural means?
+There is some faint resemblance of this in the sense of hearing; the bird
+is killed before we hear the report of the gun. However this is, I must
+speak well of the _Knockers_, for they have actually stood my good
+friends, whether they are aerial beings called spirits, or whether they
+are a people made of matter, not to be felt by our gross bodies, as air
+and fire and the like.
+
+"Before the discovery of the _Esgair y Mwyn_ mine, these little people,
+as we call them here, worked hard there day and night; and there are
+abundance of honest, sober people, who have heard them, and some persons
+who have no notion of them or of mines either; but after the discovery of
+the great ore they were heard no more.
+
+"When I began to work at Llwyn Llwyd, they worked so fresh there for a
+considerable time that they frightened some young workmen out of the
+work. This was when we were driving levels, and before we had got any
+ore; but when we came to the ore, they then gave over, and I heard no
+more talk of them.
+
+"Our old miners are no more concerned at hearing them _blasting_, boring
+holes, landing _deads_, etc., than if they were some of their own people;
+and a single miner will stay in the work, in the dead of the night,
+without any man near him, and never think of any fear or of any harm they
+will do him. The miners have a notion that the _Knockers_ are of their
+own tribe and profession, and are a harmless people who mean well. Three
+or four miners together shall hear them sometimes, but if the miners stop
+to take notice of them, the _Knockers_ will also stop; but, let the
+miners go on at their work, suppose it is _boring_, the _Knockers_ will
+at the same time go on as brisk as can be in landing, _blasting_, or
+beating down the _loose_, and they are always heard a little distance
+from them before they come to the ore.
+
+"These are odd assertions, but they are certainly facts, though we
+cannot, and do not pretend to account for them. We have now very good
+ore at _Llwyn Llwyd_, where the _Knockers_ were heard to work, but have
+now yielded up the place, and are no more heard. Let who will laugh, we
+have the greatest reason to rejoice, and thank the _Knockers_, or rather
+God, who sends us these notices."
+
+The second letter is as follows:--
+
+"I have no time to answer your objection against _Knockers_; I have a
+large treatise collected on that head, and what Mr. Derham says is
+nothing to the purpose. If sounds of voices, whispers, blasts, working,
+or pumping, can be carried on a mile underground, they should always be
+heard in the same place, and under the same advantages, and not once in a
+month, a year, or two years. Just before the discovery of ore last week,
+three men together in our work at _Llwyn Llwyd_ were ear-witnesses of
+_Knockers_ pumping, driving a wheelbarrow, etc.; but there is no pump in
+the work, nor any mine within less than a mile of it, in which there are
+pumps constantly going. If they were these pumps that they had heard,
+why were they never heard but that once in the space of a year? And why
+are they not now heard? But the pumps make so little noise that they
+cannot be heard in the other end of _Esgair y Mwyn_ mine when they are at
+work.
+
+"We have a dumb and deaf tailor in this neighbourhood who has a
+particular language of his own by signs, and by practice I can understand
+him, and make him understand me pretty well, and I am sure I could make
+him learn to write, and be understood by letters very soon, for he can
+distinguish men already by the letters of their names. Now letters are
+marks to convey ideas, just after the same manner as the motion of
+fingers, hands, eyes, etc. If this man had really seen ore in the bottom
+of a sink of water in a mine, and wanted to tell me how to come at it, he
+would take two sticks like a pump, and would make the motions of a pumper
+at the very sink where he knew the ore was, and would make the motions of
+driving a wheelbarrow. And what I should infer from thence would be that
+I ought to take out the water and sink or drive in the place, and wheel
+the stuff out. By parity of reasoning, the language of _Knockers_, by
+imitating the sound of pumping, wheeling, etc., signifies that we should
+take out the water and drive there. This is the opinion of all old
+miners, who pretend to understand the language of the _Knockers_. Our
+agent and manager, upon the strength of this notice, goes on and expects
+great things. You, and everybody that is not convinced of the being of
+_Knockers_, will laugh at these things, for they sound like dreams; so
+does every dark science. Can you make any illiterate man believe that it
+is possible to know the distance of two places by looking at them? Human
+knowledge is but of small extent, its bounds are within our view, we see
+nothing beyond these; the great universal creation contains powers, etc.,
+that we cannot so much as guess at. May there not exist beings, and vast
+powers infinitely smaller than the particles of air, to whom air is as
+hard a body as the diamond is to us? Why not? There is neither great
+nor small, but by comparison. Our _Knockers_ are some of these powers,
+the guardians of mines.
+
+"You remember the story in Selden's Table-Talk of Sir Robert Cotton and
+others disputing about Moses's shoe. Lady Cotton came in and asked,
+'Gentlemen, are you sure it _is_ a shoe?' So the first thing is to
+convince mankind that there is a set of creatures, a degree or so finer
+than we are, to whom we have given the name of _Knockers_ from the sounds
+we hear in our mines. This is to be done by a collection of their
+actions well attested, and that is what I have begun to do, and then let
+everyone judge for himself."
+
+The preceding remarks, made by an intelligent and reliable person,
+conversant with mines, and apparently uninfluenced by superstition, are
+at least worthy of consideration. The writer of these interesting
+letters states positively that sounds were heard; whether his attempt to
+solve the cause of these noises is satisfactory, and conclusive, is open
+to doubt. We must believe the facts asserted, although disagreeing with
+the solution of the difficulty connected with the sounds. Miners in all
+parts of England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, and other parts, believe in
+the existence of _Knockers_, whatever these may be, and here, as far as I
+am concerned, I leave the subject, with one remark only, which is, that I
+have never heard it said that anyone in Wales ever _saw_ one of these
+_Knockers_. In this they differ from Fairies, who, according to popular
+notions, have, time and again, been seen by mortal eyes; but this must
+have been when time was young.
+
+The writer is aware that Mr. Sikes, in his _British Goblins_, p. 28,
+gives an account of _Coblynau_ or _Knockers_ which he affirms had been
+seen by some children who were playing in a field in the parish of
+Bodfari, near Denbigh, and that they were dancing like mad, and terribly
+frightened the children. But in the autobiography of Dr. Edward
+Williams, already referred to, p. 98, whence Mr. Sikes derived his
+information of the Dwarfs of Cae Caled, they are called "_Beings_," and
+not _Coblynau_.
+
+Before concluding my remarks on Fairy Knockers I will give one more
+quotation from Bingley, who sums up the matter in the following words:--
+
+ "I am acquainted with the subject only from report, but I can assure
+ my readers that I found few people in Wales that did not give full
+ credence to it. The elucidation of these extraordinary facts must be
+ left to those persons who have better opportunities of inquiring into
+ them than I have. I may be permitted to express a hope that the
+ subject will not be neglected, and that those who reside in any
+ neighbourhood where the noises are heard will carefully investigate
+ their cause, and, if possible, give to the world a more accurate
+ account of them than the present. In the year 1799 they were heard
+ in some mines in the parish of Llanvihangel Ysgeiviog, in Anglesea,
+ where they continued, at intervals, for some weeks."
+
+ Bingley's _North Wales_, vol. ii., p. 275.
+
+In conclusion, I may remark that in living miners' days, as already
+stated, Knockers have not been heard. Possibly Davy's Safety Lamp and
+good ventilation have been their destruction. Their existence was
+believed in when mining operations, such as now prevail, were unknown,
+and their origin is to be sought for among the dim traditions that many
+countries have of the existence of small cave men.
+
+
+_The Pwka_, _or Pwca_.
+
+
+Another imaginary being, closely allied to the Fairy family, was the
+_Pwka_. He seems to have possessed many of the mischievous qualities of
+Shakespeare's Puck, whom, also, he resembled in name, and it is said that
+the _Pwka_, in common with the _Brownie_, was a willing worker.
+
+The Rev. Edmund Jones in his _Book of Apparitions_ gives an account of
+one of these goblins, which visited the house of Job John Harry, who
+lived at a place called the Trwyn, and hence the visitor is called Pwka'r
+Trwyn, and many strange tales are related of this spirit. The writer of
+the _Apparitions_ states that the spirit stayed in Job's house from some
+time before Christmas until Easter Wednesday. He writes:--"At first it
+came knocking at the door, chiefly by night, which it continued to do for
+a length of time, by which they were often deceived, by opening it. At
+last it spoke to one who opened the door, upon which they were much
+terrified, which being known, brought many of the neighbours to watch
+with the family. T. E. foolishly brought a gun with him to shoot the
+spirit, as he said, and sat in the corner. As Job was coming home that
+night the spirit met him, and told him that there was a man come to the
+house to shoot him, 'but,' said he, 'thou shalt see how I will beat him.'
+As soon as Job was come to the house stones were thrown at the man that
+brought the gun, from which he received severe blows. The company tried
+to defend him from the blows of the stones, which did strike him and no
+other person; but it was in vain, so that he was obliged to go home that
+night, though it was very late; he had a great way to go. When the
+spirit spoke, which was not very often, it was mostly out of the oven by
+the hearth's side. He would sometimes in the night make music with Harry
+Job's fiddle. One time he struck the cupboard with stones, the marks of
+which were to be seen, if they are not there still. Another time he gave
+Job a gentle stroke upon his toe, when he was going to bed, upon which
+Job said, 'Thou art curious in smiting,' to which the spirit answered, 'I
+can smite thee where I please.' They were at length grown fearless and
+bold to speak to it, and its speeches and actions were a recreation to
+them, seeing it was a familiar kind of spirit which did not hurt them,
+and informed them of some things which they did not know. One old man,
+more bold than wise, on hearing the spirit just by him, threatened to
+stick him with his knife, to which he answered, 'Thou fool, how can thou
+stick what thou cannot see with thine eyes.' The spirit told them that
+he came from Pwll-y-Gaseg, _i.e_., Mare's Pit, a place so called in the
+adjacent mountain, and that he knew them all before he came there. . . .
+On Easter Wednesday he left the house and took his farewell in these
+words:--'Dos yn iack, Job,' _i.e_., 'Farewell, Job,' to which Job said,
+'Where goest thou?' He was answered, 'Where God pleases.'"
+
+The Pwka was credited with maliciously leading benighted men astray. He
+would appear with a lantern or candle in hand, some little distance in
+front of the traveller, and without any exertion keep ahead of him, and
+leading him through rocky and dangerous places, would suddenly, with an
+ironical laugh blow out the candle, and disappear, and leave the man to
+his fate.
+
+The following tale, taken from Croker's _Fairy Legends of Ireland_, vol.
+ii., pp. 231-3, well illustrates this mischievous trait in the character
+of the Pwka. The writer has seen the tale elsewhere, but as it differs
+only slightly from that recorded by Croker, he gives it in the words of
+this author. His words are as follows:--
+
+"Cwm Pwcca, or the Pwcca's Valley, forms part of the deep and romantic
+glen of the Clydach, which, before the establishment of the iron works of
+Messrs. Frere and Powell, was one of the most secluded spots in Wales,
+and therefore well calculated for the haunt of goblins and fairies; but
+the bustle of a manufactory has now in a great measure scared these
+beings away, and of late it is very rarely that any of its former
+inhabitants, the Pwccas, are seen. Such, however, is their attachment to
+their ancient haunt, that they have not entirely deserted it, as there
+was lately living near this valley a man who used to assert that he had
+seen one, and had a narrow escape of losing his life, through the
+maliciousness of the goblin. As he was one night returning home over the
+mountain from his work, he perceived at some distance before him a light,
+which seemed to proceed from a candle in a lantern, and upon looking more
+attentively, he saw what he took to be a human figure carrying it, which
+he concluded to be one of his neighbours likewise returning from his
+work. As he perceived that the figure was going the same way with
+himself, he quickened his pace in order that he might overtake him, and
+have the benefit of his light to descend the steep and rocky path which
+led into the valley; but he rather wondered that such a short person as
+appeared to carry the lantern should be able to walk so fast. However,
+he re-doubled his exertions, determined to come up with him, and although
+he had some misgivings that he was not going along the usual track, yet
+he thought that the man with the lantern must know better than himself,
+and he followed the direction taken by him without further hesitation.
+Having, by dint of hard walking, overtaken him, he suddenly found himself
+on the brink of one of the tremendous precipices of Cwm Pwcca, down which
+another step would have carried him headlong into the roaring torrent
+beneath. And, to complete his consternation, at the very instant he
+stopped, the little fellow with the lantern made a spring right across
+the glen to the opposite side, and there, holding up the light above his
+head, turned round and uttered with all his might a loud and most
+malicious laugh, upon which he blew out his candle, and disappeared up
+the opposite hill."
+
+This spirit is also said to have assisted men in their labours, and
+servant girls and servant men often had their arduous burdens lightened
+by his willing hands. But he punished those who offended him in a
+vindictive manner. The Pwka could hide himself in a jug of barm or in a
+ball of yarn, and when he left a place, it was for ever.
+
+In the next chapter I will treat of another phase of legendary lore,
+which, although highly imaginative, seems to intimate that the people who
+transmitted these tales had some knowledge, though an exaggerated one, of
+a people and system which they supplanted.
+
+
+
+FAIRY, OR MYTHIC ANIMALS.
+
+
+From the Myddvai Legend it would appear that the Fairies possessed sheep,
+cattle, goats, and horses, and from other tales we see that they had
+dogs, etc. Their stock, therefore, was much like that of ordinary
+farmers in our days. But Fairy animals, like their owners, have, in the
+course of ages, been endowed with supernatural powers. In this chapter
+shall be given a short history of these mythical animals.
+
+
+_Cwn Annwn_, _or Dogs of the Abyss_.
+
+
+The words _Cwn Annwn_ are variously translated as Dogs of Hell, Dogs of
+Elfinland. In some parts of Wales they are called _Cwn Wybir_, Dogs of
+the Sky, and in other places _Cwn Bendith Y Mamau_. We have seen that
+"_Bendith y Mamau_" is a name given to the Fairies, and in this way these
+dogs become Fairy Dogs.
+
+A description of these Fairy dogs is given in _Y Brython_, vol. iii p.
+22. Briefly stated it is as follows:--_Cwn Bendith y Mamau_ were a pack
+of small hounds, headed by a large dog. Their howl was something
+terrible to listen to, and it foretold death. At their approach all
+other dogs ceased barking, and fled before them in terror, taking refuge
+in their kennels. The birds of the air stopped singing in the groves
+when they heard their cry, and even the owl was silent when they were
+near. The laugh of the young, and the talk at the fireside were hushed
+when the dreadful howl of these Hell hounds was heard, and pale and
+trembling with fear the inmates crowded together for mutual protection.
+And what was worse than all, these dogs often foretold a death in some
+particular family in the neighbourhood where they appeared, and should a
+member of this family be in a public-house, or other place of amusement,
+his fright would be so great that he could not move, believing that
+already had death seized upon some one in his house.
+
+The Fairy dogs howled more at Cross-roads, and such like public places,
+than elsewhere. And woe betide any one who stood in their way, for they
+bit them, and were likely even to drag a man away with them, and their
+bite was often fatal. They collected together in huge numbers in the
+churchyard where the person whose death they announced was to be buried,
+and, howling around the place that was to be his grave, disappeared on
+that very spot, sinking there into the earth, and afterwards they were
+not to be seen.
+
+A somewhat different description of _Cwn Annwn_ is given in the
+_Cambro-Briton_, vol. i., p. 350. Here we are told that "these terrific
+animals are supposed to be devils under the semblance of hunting dogs . .
+. and they are usually accompanied by fire in some form or other. Their
+appearance is supposed to indicate the death of some friend or relative
+of the person to whom they shew themselves. They have never been known
+to commit any mischief on the persons of either man or woman, goat,
+sheep, or cow, etc."
+
+In Motley's _Tales of the Cymry_, p. 58, that author says:--"I have met
+with but a few old people who still cherished a belief in these infernal
+hounds which were supposed after death to hunt the souls of the wretched
+to their allotted place of torment."
+
+It was, however, once firmly and generally believed, that these awful
+creatures could be heard of a wild stormy night in full cry pursuing the
+souls of the unbaptized and unshriven. Mr. Chapman, Dolfor, near
+Newtown, Montgomeryshire, writes to me thus:--"These mysterious animals
+are never seen, only heard. A whole pack were recently heard on the
+borders of Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire. They went from the Kerry
+hills towards the Llanbadarn road, and a funeral quickly followed the
+same route. The sound was similar to that made by a pack of hounds in
+full cry, but softer in tone."
+
+The Rev. Edmund Jones, in his work entitled "An Account of Apparitions of
+Spirits in the county of Monmouth," says that, "The nearer these dogs are
+to a man, the less their voice is, and the farther the louder, and
+sometimes, like the voice of a great hound, or like that of a blood
+hound, a deep hollow voice." It is needless to say that this gentleman
+believed implicitly in the existence of _Cwn Annwn_, and adduces
+instances of their appearance.
+
+The following is one of his tales:--
+
+ "As Thomas Andrews was coming towards home one night with some
+ persons with him, he heard, as he thought, the sound of hunting. He
+ was afraid it was some person hunting the sheep, so he hastened on to
+ meet, and hinder them; he heard them coming towards him, though he
+ saw them not. When they came near him, their voices were but small,
+ but increasing as they went from him; they went down the steep
+ towards the river _Ebwy_, dividing between this parish and
+ _Mynyddislwyn_, whereby he knew they were what are called _Cwn wybir_
+ (Sky dogs), but in the inward part of Wales _Cwn Annwn_ (Dogs of
+ Hell). I have heard say that these spiritual hunting-dogs have been
+ heard to pass by the eaves of several houses before the death of
+ someone in the family. Thomas Andrews was an honest, religious man,
+ and would not have told an untruth either for fear or for favour."
+
+The colour of these dogs is variously given, as white, with red ears, and
+an old man informed Mr. Motley that their colour was blood-red, and that
+they always were dripping with gore, and that their eyes and teeth were
+of fire. This person confessed that he had never seen these dogs, but
+that he described them from what he had heard.--_Tales of the Cymry_, p.
+60. There is in _The Cambro-Briton_, vol. ii., p. 271, another and more
+natural description of _Cwn Annwn_. It is there stated that Pwyll,
+prince of Dyved, went out to hunt, and:--
+
+ "He sounded his horn and began to enter upon the chase, following his
+ dogs and separating from his companions. And, as he was listening to
+ the cry of his pack, he could distinctly hear the cry of another
+ pack, different from that of his own, and which was coming in an
+ opposite direction. He could also discern an opening in the wood
+ towards a level plain; and as his pack was entering the skirt of the
+ opening, he perceived a stag before the other pack, and about the
+ middle of the glade the pack in the rear coming up and throwing the
+ stag on the ground; upon this be fixed his attention on the colour of
+ the pack without recollecting to look at the stag; and, of all the
+ hounds in the world he had ever seen, he never saw any like them in
+ colour. Their colour was a shining clear white, with red ears; and
+ the whiteness of the dogs, and the redness of their ears, were
+ equally conspicuous."
+
+We are informed that these dogs belonged to Arawn, or the silver-tongued
+King of Annwn, of the lower or southern regions. In this way these dogs
+are identified with the creatures treated of in this chapter. But their
+work was less weird than soul-hunting.
+
+A superstition akin to that attached to _Cwn Annwn_ prevails in many
+countries, as in Normandy and Bretagne. In Devonshire, the Wish, or
+Wisked Hounds, were once believed in, and certain places on Dartmoor were
+thought to be their peculiar resort, and it was supposed that they hunted
+on certain nights, one of which was always St. John's Eve. These
+terrible creations of a cruel mind indicate a phase of faith antagonistic
+to, and therefore more ancient than, Christianity.
+
+With another quotation from _Tales of the Cymry_ (p. 61-62), I will
+conclude my remarks:--
+
+ "In the north of Devon the spectral pack are called Yesh hounds and
+ Yell hounds. There is another legend, evidently of Christian origin,
+ which represents them in incessant pursuit of a lost spirit. In the
+ northern quarter of the moor the Wish hounds, in pursuit of the
+ spirit of a man who had been well known in the country, entered a
+ cottage, the door of which had been incautiously left open, and ran
+ round the kitchen, but quietly, without their usual cry. The Sunday
+ after the same man appeared in church, and the person whose house the
+ dogs had entered, made bold by the consecrated place in which they
+ were, ventured to ask why he had been with the Wish hounds. 'Why
+ should not my spirit wander,' he replied, 'as well as another man's?'
+ Another version represents the hounds as following the spirit of a
+ beautiful woman, changed into the form of a hare; and the reader will
+ find a similar legend, with some remarkable additions, in the
+ Disquisitiones Magicae of the Jesuit Delrio, lib. vi., c.2."
+
+The preceding paragraph is from the pen of "R.J.K.," and appears in the
+_Athenaeum_, March 27, 1847, Art. Folk-lore.
+
+
+_The Fairy Cow_.
+
+
+There are many traditions afloat about a wonderful cow, that supplied
+whole neighbourhoods with milk, which ceased when wantonly wasted. In
+some parts of England this is called the Dun Cow; in Shropshire she
+becomes also the _White Cow_; in Wales she is, _Y Fuwch Frech_, or _Y
+Fuwch Gyfeiliorn_. This mystic cow has found a home in many places. One
+of these is the wild mountain land between Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr and a
+hamlet called Clawdd Newydd about four miles from Ruthin. About midway
+between these two places is a bridge called Pontpetrual, and about half a
+mile from the bridge to the north is a small mountain farm called _Cefn
+Bannog_, and near this farm, but on the unenclosed mountain, are traces
+of primitive abodes, and it was here that, tradition says, the _Fuwch
+Frech_ had her home. But I will now give the history of this strange cow
+as I heard it from the mouth of Thomas Jones, Cefn Bannog.
+
+
+_Y Fuwch Frech_. _The Freckled Cow_.
+
+
+In ages long gone by, my informant knew not how long ago, a wonderful cow
+had her pasture land on the hill close to the farm, called Cefn Bannog,
+after the mountain ridge so named. It would seem that the cow was
+carefully looked after, as indicated by the names of places bearing her
+name. The site of the cow house is still pointed out, and retains its
+name, _Preseb y Fuwch Frech_--the Crib of the Freckled Cow. Close to
+this place are traces of a small enclosure called _Gwal Erw y Fuwch
+Frech_, or the Freckled Cow's Meadow. There is what was once a track way
+leading from the ruins of the cow house to a spring called _Ffynon y
+Fuwch Frech_, or the Freckled Cow's Well, and it was, tradition says, at
+this well that the cow quenched her thirst. The well is about 150 yards
+from the cow house. Then there is the feeding ground of the cow called,
+_Waen Banawg_, which is about half a mile from the cow house. There are
+traces of walls several feet thick in these places. The spot is a lonely
+one, but ferns and heather flourish luxuriantly all about this ancient
+homestead. It is also said that this cow was the mother of the _Ychain
+Banawg_, or large-horned oxen. But now to proceed to the tradition that
+makes the memory of this cow dear to the inhabitants of the Denbighshire
+moorland.
+
+Old people have transmitted from generation to generation the following
+strange tale of the Freckled Cow. Whenever any one was in want of milk
+they went to this cow, taking with them a vessel into which they milked
+the cow, and, however big this vessel was, they always departed with the
+pail filled with rich milk, and it made no difference, however often she
+was milked, she could never be milked dry. This continued for a long
+time, and glad indeed the people were to avail themselves of the
+inexhaustible supply of new milk, freely given to them all. At last a
+wicked hag, filled with envy at the people's prosperity, determined to
+milk the cow dry, and for this purpose she took a riddle with her, and
+milked and milked the cow, until at last she could get no more milk from
+her. But, sad to say, the cow immediately, upon this treatment, left the
+country, and was never more seen. Such is the local history of the
+Freckled Cow.
+
+Tradition further states that she went straight to a lake four miles off,
+bellowing as she went, and that she was followed by her two children the
+_Dau Eidion Banawg_, the two long-horned oxen, to _Llyn dau ychain_, the
+Lake of the Two Oxen, in the parish of Cerrig-y-drudion, and that she
+entered the lake and the two long-horned oxen, bellowing horribly, went,
+one on either side the lake, and with their mother disappeared within its
+waters, and none were ever afterwards seen.
+
+Notwithstanding that tradition buries these celebrated cattle in this
+lake, I find in a book published by Dr. John Williams, the father of the
+Rev. John Williams, M.A., Vicar of Llanwddyn, in the year 1830, on the
+"Natural History of Llanrwst," the following statement. The author in
+page 17, when speaking of _Gwydir_, says:--
+
+"In the middle court (which was once surrounded by the house), there is a
+large bone, which appears to be the rib of some species of whale, but
+according to the vulgar opinion, it is the rib of the Dun Cow (_y Fuwch
+Frech_), killed by the Earl of Warwick."
+
+It may be stated that Llanrwst is not many miles distant from
+Cerrig-y-drudion and yet we have in these places conflicting traditions,
+which I will not endeavour to reconcile.
+
+The Shropshire tale of the Fairy Cow is much the same as the preceding.
+There she is known as _The White Cow of __Mitchell's Fold_. This place
+is situated on the Corndon Hill, a bare moorland in the extreme west of
+Shropshire. To this day there is to be seen there a stone circle known
+as Mitchell's Fold.
+
+The story of the Shropshire Cow is this. There was a dire famine in
+those parts, and the people depended for support on a beautiful white
+cow, a Fairy cow, that gave milk to everybody, and it mattered not how
+many came, there was always enough for all, and it was to be so, so long
+as every one who came only took one pailful. The cow came night and
+morning to be milked, and it made no difference what size the vessel was
+that was brought by each person, for she always gave enough milk to fill
+it, and all the other pails. At last, there came an old witch to
+Mitchell's Fold, and in spite and malice she brought a riddle and milked
+the cow into it; she milked and milked, and at last she milked her dry,
+and after that the cow was never seen. Folk say she was turned into a
+stone.
+
+I am indebted to Miss Burne's _Shropshire Folk-Lore_ for the particulars
+above given.
+
+A like tale is to be heard in Warwickshire, and also in Lancashire, near
+Preston, where the Dun cow gave freely her milk to all in time of
+drought, and disappeared on being subjected to the treatment of the Welsh
+and Shropshire cow.
+
+Mr. Lloyd, Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr, gave me a different tale of the _Dau
+ychain Banawg_ to that already related. His story is as follows:--
+
+
+_The Legend of Llyn y ddau ychain_.
+
+
+The speckled cow had two calves, which, when they grew up, became strong
+oxen. In those days there was a wicked spirit that troubled
+Cerrig-y-drudion Church, and the people greatly feared this spirit, and
+everybody was afraid, even in the day-time, to pass the church, for
+there, day after day, they saw the evil one looking out of the church
+windows and grinning at them. They did not know what to do to get rid of
+this spirit, but at last they consulted a famous conjuror, who told them
+that no one could dislodge their enemy but the _Dau ychain Banawg_. They
+knew of the two long-horned cattle which fed on Waen Banawg. There,
+therefore, they went, and brought the powerful yoke to the church. After
+considerable difficulty they succeeded in dislodging the spirit, and in
+securing it to a sledge to which these oxen were yoked, and now
+struggling to get free, he was dragged along by the powerful oxen towards
+a lake on Hiraethog Mountain, but so ponderous was their load and so
+fearful was the spirit's contentions that the sledge ploughed the land
+between the church and the lake as they went along, leaving in the course
+that they took deep furrows, and when they came to the hill so terrible
+were the struggles of the oxen to get along that the marks of their hoofs
+were left in the rocks where they may still be seen. When at last they
+reached the lake the spirit would not yield, and therefore oxen, sledge,
+and spirit were driven into the lake, and thus was the country rid of the
+evil one, and hence the name of the lake--the Lake of the Two Oxen--for
+the oxen likewise perished in the lake.
+
+The foregoing legend is evidently founded on the older and more obscure
+story of Hu Gardarn, or Hu the Mighty, who with his _Dau ychain Banawg_
+drew to land the _avanc_ out of _Llyn Llion_, so that the lake burst out
+no more to deluge the earth. For, be it known, it was this _avanc_ that
+had occasioned the flood. However, there is a rival claimant for the
+honour of having destroyed the _avanc_, whatever that might have been,
+for, in Hindu Mythology, Vishnu is credited with having slain the monster
+that had occasioned the Deluge.
+
+This last bit of Folk-lore about Hu Gadarn, which is found in the
+_Triads_, shows how widespread, and how very ancient, Welsh tales are.
+Hu Gadarn is by some writers identified with Noah. He was endowed, it
+would seem, with all the qualities of the gods of the Greeks, Egyptians,
+and Orientals, and his name is applied by the Welsh poets of the middle
+ages to the Supreme Being.
+
+
+_Y Fuwch Gyfeiliorn_. _The Stray Cow_.
+
+
+The history of the Fairy Stray Cow appears in _Y Brython_, vol. iii., pp.
+183-4. The writer of the story states that he obtained his materials
+from a Paper by the late Dr. Pugh, Penhelyg, Aberdovey. The article
+alluded to by Gwilym Droed-ddu, the writer of the account in the
+_Brython_, appeared in the _Archaeologia Cambrensis_ for 1853, pp. 201-5.
+The tale, as given by Dr. Pugh, is reproduced by Professor Rhys in his
+Welsh Fairy Tales, and it is much less embellished in English than in
+Welsh. I will quote as much of the Doctor's account as refers to the
+Stray Cow.
+
+"A shrewd old hill farmer (Thomas Abergroes by name), well skilled in the
+folk-lore of the district, informed me that, in years gone by, though
+when, exactly, he was too young to remember, those dames (_Gwragedd
+Annwn_) were wont to make their appearance, arrayed in green, in the
+neighbourhood of Llyn Barfog, chiefly at eventide, accompanied by their
+kine and hounds, and that, on quiet summer nights in particular, these
+ban-hounds were often to be heard in full cry, pursuing their prey--the
+souls of doomed men dying without baptism and penance--along the upland
+township of Cefnrhosucha. Many a farmer had a sight of their comely,
+milk-white kine; many a swain had his soul turned to romance and poesy by
+a sudden vision of themselves in the guise of damsels arrayed in green,
+and radiant in beauty and grace; and many a sportsman had his path
+crossed by their white hounds of supernatural fleetness and comeliness,
+the _Cwn Annwn_; but never had any one been favoured with more than a
+passing view of either, till an old farmer residing at Dyssyrnant, in the
+adjoining valley of Dyffryn Gwyn, became at last the lucky captor of one
+of their milk-white kine. The acquaintance which the _Gwartheg y Llyn_,
+the kine of the lake, had formed with the farmer's cattle, like the loves
+of the angels for the daughters of men, became the means of capture; and
+the farmer was thereby enabled to add the mystic cow to his own herd, an
+event in all cases believed to be most conducive to the worldly
+prosperity of him who should make so fortunate an acquisition. Never was
+there such a cow, never were there such calves, never such milk and
+butter, or cheese; and the fame of the _Fuwch Gyfeiliorn_, the stray cow,
+was soon spread abroad through that central part of Wales known as the
+district of Rhwng y ddwy Afon, from the banks of the Mawddach to those of
+the Dofwy (Dovey)--from Aberdiswnwy to Abercorris. The farmer, from a
+small beginning, rapidly became, like Job, a man of substance, possessed
+of thriving herds of cattle--a very patriarch among the mountains. But,
+alas! wanting Job's restraining grace, his wealth made him proud, his
+pride made him forget his obligation to the elfin cow, and fearing she
+might soon become too old to be profitable, he fattened her for the
+butcher, and then even she did not fail to distinguish herself, for a
+more monstrously fat beast was never seen. At last the day of slaughter
+came--an eventful day in the annals of a mountain farm--the killing of a
+fat cow, and such a monster of obesity. No wonder all the neighbours
+were gathered together to see the sight. The old farmer looked upon the
+preparations in self-pleased importance; the butcher felt he was about no
+common feat of his craft, and, baring his arm, he struck the blow--not
+now fatal, for before even a hair had been injured, his arm was
+paralysed, the knife dropped from his hand, and the whole company was
+electrified by a piercing cry that awakened an echo in a dozen hills, and
+made the welkin ring again; and lo and behold! the whole assemblage saw a
+female figure, clad in green, with uplifted arms, standing on one of the
+rocks overhanging Llyn Barfog, and heard her calling with a voice loud as
+thunder:--
+
+ 'Dere di velen Einion,
+ Cyrn cyveiliorn--braith y Llyn,
+ A'r voel Dodin,
+ Codwch, dewch adre.'
+
+ 'Come thou Einion's yellow one,
+ Stray horns--speckled one of the Lake,
+ And the hornless Dodin,
+ Arise, come home.'
+
+And no sooner were these words of power uttered, than the original lake
+cow, and all her progeny to the third and fourth generations, were in
+full flight towards the heights of Llyn Barfog, as if pursued by the evil
+one. Self-interest quickly roused the farmer, who followed in pursuit,
+till, breathless and panting, he gained an eminence overlooking the lake,
+but with no better success than to behold the green-attired dame
+leisurely descending mid-lake, accompanied by the fugitive cows, and her
+calves formed in a circle around her; they tossed their tails, she waved
+her hands in scorn, as much as to say, 'You may catch us, my friend, if
+you can,' as they disappeared beneath the dark waters of the lake,
+leaving only the yellow water-lily to mark the spot where they vanished,
+and to perpetuate the memory of this strange event. Meanwhile, the
+farmer looked with rueful countenance upon the spot where the elfin herd
+disappeared, and had ample leisure to deplore the effects of his
+greediness, as with them also departed the prosperity which had hitherto
+attended him, and he became impoverished to a degree below his original
+circumstances, and in his altered circumstances few felt pity for one
+who, in the noontide flow of prosperity, had shown himself so far
+forgetful of favours received, as to purpose slaying his benefactor."
+Thus ends Dr. Pugh's account of the Stray Cow.
+
+A tale very much like the preceding is recorded of a Scotch farmer. It
+is to be found in vol. ii., pp. 45-6, of Croker's _Fairy Legends of
+Ireland_, and is as follows:--
+
+"A farmer who lived near a river had a cow which regularly every year, on
+a certain day in May, left the meadow and went slowly along the banks of
+the river till she came opposite to a small island overgrown with bushes;
+she went into the water and waded or swam towards the island, where she
+passed some time, and then returned to her pasture. This continued for
+several years; and every year, at the usual season, she produced a calf
+which perfectly resembled the elf bull. One afternoon, about Martinmas,
+the farmer, when all the corn was got in and measured, was sitting at his
+fireside, and the subject of the conversation was, which of the cattle
+should be killed for Christmas. He said: 'We'll have the cow; she is
+well fed, and has rendered good services in ploughing, and filled the
+stalls with fine oxen, now we will pick her old bones.' Scarcely had he
+uttered these words when the cow with her young ones rushed through the
+walls as if they had been made of paper, went round the dunghill,
+bellowed at each of her calves, and then drove them all before her,
+according to their age, towards the river, where they got into the water,
+reached the island, and vanished among the bushes. They were never more
+heard of."
+
+
+_Ceffyl y Dwfr_. _The Water Horse_.
+
+
+The superstition respecting the water-horse, in one form or other, is
+common to the Celtic race. He was supposed to intimate by preternatural
+lights and noises the death of those about to perish by water, and it was
+vulgarly believed that he even assisted in drowning his victims. The
+water-horse was thought to be an evil spirit, who, assuming the shape of
+a horse, tried to allure the unwary to mount him, and then soaring into
+the clouds, or rushing over mountain, and water, would suddenly vanish
+into air or mist, and precipitate his rider to destruction.
+
+The Welsh water-horse resembles the Kelpie of the Scotch. Jamieson,
+under the word _Kelpie_, in his _Scottish Dictionary_, quoting from
+various authors, as is his custom, says:--
+
+"This is described as an aquatic demon, who drowns not only men but
+ships. The ancient Northern nations believed that he had the form of a
+horse; and the same opinion is still held by the vulgar in Iceland.
+
+"Loccenius informs us that in Sweden the vulgar are still afraid of his
+power, and that swimmers are on their guard against his attacks; being
+persuaded that he suffocates and carries off those whom he catches under
+water." "Therefore," adds this writer, "it would seem that ferry-men
+warn those who are crossing dangerous places in some rivers not so much
+as to mention his name; lest, as they say, they should meet with a storm
+and be in danger of losing their lives. Hence, doubtless, has this
+superstition originated; that, in these places formerly, during the time
+of paganism, those who worshipped their sea-deity _Nekr_, did so, as it
+were with a sacred silence, for the reason already given."
+
+The Scotch Kelpie closely resembled the Irish Phoocah, or Poocah, a
+mischievous being, who was particularly dreaded on the night of All
+Hallow E'en, when it was thought he had especial power; he delighted to
+assume the form of a black horse, and should any luckless wight bestride
+the fiendish steed, he was carried through brake and mire, over water and
+land at a bewildering pace. Woe-betide the timid rider, for the Poocah
+made short work of such an one, and soon made him kiss the ground. But
+to the bold fearless rider the Poocah submitted willingly, and became his
+obedient beast of burden.
+
+The following quotation from the _Tales of the Cymry_, p. 151, which is
+itself an extract from Mrs. S. C. Hall's _Ireland_, graphically describes
+the Irish water fiend:--
+
+ "The great object of the Poocah seems to be to obtain a rider, and
+ then he is in all his most malignant glory. Headlong he dashes
+ through briar and brake, through flood and fall, over mountain,
+ valley, moor, and river indiscriminately; up and down precipice is
+ alike to him, provided he gratifies the malevolence that seems to
+ inspire him. He bounds and flies over and beyond them, gratified by
+ the distress, and utterly reckless and ruthless of the cries, and
+ danger, and suffering of the luckless wight who bestrides him."
+
+Sometimes the Poocah assumed the form of a goat, an eagle, or of some
+other animal, and leaped upon the shoulders of the unwary traveller, and
+clung to him, however frantic were the exertions to get rid of the
+monster.
+
+Allied to the water-horse were the horses upon which magicians in various
+lands were supposed to perform their aerial journeys.
+
+It was believed in Wales that the clergy could, without danger, ride the
+water-horse, and the writer has heard a tale of a clergyman, who, when
+bestride one of these horses, had compassion on his parish clerk, who was
+trudging by his side, and permitted him to mount behind him, on condition
+that he should keep silence when upon the horse's back. For awhile the
+loquacious parish clerk said no word, but ere long the wondrous pace of
+the horse caused him to utter a pious ejaculation, and no sooner were the
+words uttered than he was thrown to the ground; his master kept his seat,
+and, on parting with the fallen parish official, shouted out, "Serve you
+right, why did you not keep your noisy tongue quiet?"
+
+The weird legends and gloomy creations of the Celt assume a mild and
+frolicsome feature when interpreted by the Saxon mind. The malevolent
+Poocah becomes in England the fun-loving Puck, who delights in playing
+his pranks on village maidens, and who says:--
+
+ I am that merry wanderer of the night;
+ Jest to Oberon, and make him smile,
+ When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,
+ Neighing in likeness of a filly foal;
+ And sometimes lurk I in a gossip's bowl,
+ In very likeness of a roasted crab;
+ And when she drinks against her lips I bob,
+ And on her withered dew-lap pour the ale.
+
+ _Midsummer Night's Dream_, Act I, Sc. I.
+
+The _Ceffyl-y-Dwfr_ was very different to Chaucer's wonderful brass
+horse, which could be ridden, without harm, by a sleeping rider:--
+
+ This steed of brasse, and easilie and well
+ Can in the space of a day naturel,
+ This is to say, in foure and twenty houres,
+ Where so ye lists, in drought or elles showers,
+ Baren yours bodie into everie place,
+ In which your hearte willeth for to pace,
+ Withouten wemme of you through foul or fair,
+ Or if you liste to flee as high in th' aire
+ As doth an eagle when him liste to soare,
+ This same steed shall bear you evermore,
+ Withouten harm, till ye be there you leste,
+ Though that ye sleepen on his back or reste;
+ And turn againe with writhing of a pinne,
+ He that it wroughte he coulde many a gin,
+ He waited many a constellation,
+ Ere he had done this operation.
+
+ _Chaucer's Squire's Tale_, 137-152.
+
+The rider of the magic horse was made acquainted with the charm that
+secured its obedience, for otherwise he took an aerial ride at his peril.
+This kind of invention is oriental, but it is sufficiently like the
+Celtic in outline to indicate that all figments of the kind had
+undoubtedly a common origin.
+
+I have seen it somewhere stated, but where I cannot recall to mind, that,
+the Water Horses did, in olden times, sport, on the Welsh mountains, with
+the puny native ponies, before they became a mixed breed.
+
+It was believed that the initiated could conjure up the River Horse by
+shaking a magic bridle over the pool wherein it dwelt.
+
+There is much curious information respecting this mythic animal in the
+_Tales of the Cymry_ and from this work I have culled many thoughts.
+
+
+_The Torrent Spectre_.
+
+
+This spectre was supposed to be an old man, or malignant spirit, who
+directed, and ruled over, the mountain torrents. He delighted in
+devastating the lands. His appearance was horrible to behold, and it was
+believed that in the midst of the rushing stream his terrible form could
+be discerned apparently moving with the torrent, but in reality remaining
+stationary. Now he would raise himself half out of the water, and ascend
+like a mist half as high as the near mountain, and then he would dwindle
+down to the size of a man. His laugh accorded with his savage visage,
+and his long hair stood on end, and a mist always surrounded him.
+
+Davies, in his _Mythology of the Druids_, says that believers in this
+strange superstition are yet to be met with in Glamorganshire. Davies
+was born in the parish of Llanvareth, Radnorshire, in 1756, and died
+January 1st, 1831.
+
+
+_Gwrach y Rhibyn_, _or Hag of the Mist_.
+
+
+Another supernatural being associated with water was the _Gwrach y
+Rhibyn_. She was supposed to reside in the dripping fog, but was seldom,
+if ever seen. It was believed that her shriek foretold misfortune, if
+not death, to the hearer, and some even thought that, in a shrill tenor,
+and lengthened voice, she called the person shortly to die by name.
+
+_Yr Hen Chrwchwd_, or The Old Humpbacked, a fiend in the shape of an old
+woman, is thought to be identical with this _Gwrach y Rhibyn_.
+
+In Carmarthenshire the spirit of the mist is represented, not as a
+shrivelled up old woman, but as a hoary headed old man, who seats himself
+on the hill sides, just where the clouds appear to touch them, and he is
+called _Y Brenhin Llwyd_, or The Grey King. I know not what functions
+this venerable personage, or king of the mist, performed, unless it were,
+that he directed the mist's journey through the air.
+
+
+_Mermaids and Mermen_.
+
+
+It is said that these fabulous beings frequented the sea-coasts of Wales
+to the great danger of the inhabitants. The description of the Welsh
+mermaid was just as it is all over the world; she is depicted as being
+above the waist a most lovely young woman, whilst below she is like a
+fish with fins and spreading tail. Both mermen and mermaids were fond,
+it is said, of combing their long hair, and the siren-like song of the
+latter was thought to be so seductive as to entice men to destruction.
+It was believed that beautiful mermaids fell in love with comely young
+men and even induced them to enter their abodes in the depth of the sea.
+
+I heard the following tale, I believe in Carnarvonshire, but I have no
+notes of it, and write from memory.
+
+A man captured a mermaid, and took her home to his house, but she did
+nothing but beg and beg to be allowed to return to the sea, but
+notwithstanding her entreaties her captor kept her safe enough in a room,
+and fastened the door so that she could not escape. She lingered several
+days, pitifully beseeching the man to release her, and then she died.
+But ever after that event a curse seemed to rest upon the man, for he
+went from bad to worse, and died miserably poor.
+
+It was always considered most unlucky to do anything unkind to these
+beings. Fear acted as a powerful incentive, in days of old, to generous
+conduct. For it was formerly believed that vengeance ever overtook the
+cruel.
+
+An Isle of Man legend, related by Waldron, in his account of the Isle of
+Man, and reproduced by Croker, vol. i., p. 56, states, that some persons
+captured a mermaid, and carried her to a house and treated her tenderly,
+but she refused meat and drink, neither would she speak, when addressed,
+though they knew these creatures could speak. Seeing that she began to
+look ill, and fearing some great calamity would befall the island if she
+died, they opened the door, after three days, and she glided swiftly to
+the sea side. Her keeper followed at a distance and saw her plunge into
+the sea, where she was met by a great number of her own species, one of
+whom asked her what she had seen among those on land, to which she
+answered, "Nothing, but that they are so ignorant as to throw away the
+very water they boil their eggs in."
+
+
+
+
+STORIES OF SATAN, GHOSTS, ETC.
+
+
+Although Max Muller, in _Chips from a German Workshop_, vol. ii., p. 238,
+states that "The Aryan nations had no Devil," this certainly cannot at
+present be affirmed of that branch of the Celtic race which inhabits
+Wales. In the Principality the Devil occupies a prominent position in
+the foreground of Welsh Folk-Lore. He is, however, generally depicted as
+inferior in cunning and intellect to a bright-witted Welshman, and when
+worsted in a contest he acknowledges his inferiority by disappearing in a
+ball or wheel of fire. Men, it was supposed, could sell themselves to
+the Evil One for a term of years, but they easily managed to elude the
+fulfilment of the contract, for there was usually a loop-hole by which
+they escaped from the clutches of the stupid Devil. For instance, a man
+disposes of his soul for riches, pleasures, and supernatural knowledge
+and power, which he is to enjoy for a long number of years, and in the
+contract it is stipulated that the agreement holds good if the man is
+buried either _in_ or _outside_ the church. To all appearance the victim
+is irretrievably lost, but no, after enjoying all the fruits of his
+contract, he cheats the Devil of his due, by being buried _in_ or _under_
+the church walls.
+
+In many tales Satan is made to act a part detrimental to his own
+interests; thus Sabbath breakers, card players, and those who practised
+divination, have been frightened almost to death by the appearance of the
+Devil, and there and then, being terrified by the horrible aspect of the
+enemy, they commenced a new life. This thought comes out strongly in _Y
+Bardd Cwsg_. The poet introduces one of the fallen angels as appearing
+to act the part given to the Devil, in the play of Faust, when it was
+being performed at Shrewsbury, and this appearance drove the frequenters
+of the theatre from their pleasures to their prayers. His words are:--
+
+"Dyma walch, ail i hwnw yn y Mwythig, y dydd arall, ar ganol interlud
+Doctor Ffaustus; a rhai . . . pan oeddynt brysuraf, ymddangosodd y diawl
+ei hun i chwareu ei bart ac wrth hynny gyrodd bawb o'i bleser i'w
+weddiau."
+
+In English this is:--"Here's a fine fellow, second to that at Shrewsbury,
+who the other day, when the interlude of Doctor Faustus was being acted,
+in the middle of the play, all being busily engaged, the devil himself
+appeared to take his own part, and by so doing, drove everyone from
+pleasure to prayer."
+
+The absurd conduct of the Evil Spirit on this occasion is held up to
+ridicule by the poet, but the idea, which is an old one, that demons
+were, by a superior power, obliged to frustrate their own designs, does
+not seem to have been taken into consideration by him. He depicts the
+Devil as a strange mixture of stupidity and remorseless animosity. But
+this, undoubtedly, was the then general opinion. The bard revels in
+harrowing descriptions of the tortures of the damned in Gehenna--the
+abode of the Arch-fiend and his angels. This portion of his work was in
+part the offspring of his own fervid imagination; but in part it might
+have been suggested to him by what had been written already on the
+subject; and from the people amongst whom he lived he could have, and did
+derive, materials for these descriptions. In any case he did not
+outrage, by any of his horrible depictions of Pandemonium, the sentiments
+of his fellow countrymen, and his delineation of Satan was in full accord
+with the popular opinion of his days. The bard did not create but gave
+utterance to the fleeting thoughts which then prevailed respecting the
+Devil. Indeed there does not seem to be in Wales any distinct attributes
+ascribed to Satan, which are not also believed to be his specialities in
+other countries. His personal appearance is the same in most places. He
+is described as being black, with horns, and hoofs and tail, he breathes
+fire and brimstone, and he is accompanied with the clank of chains. Such
+was the uncouth form which Satan was supposed to assume, and such was the
+picture drawn of him formerly in Wales.
+
+There is a strong family likeness in this description between Satan and
+_Pan_, who belongs to Greek and Egyptian mythology. Pan had two small
+horns on his head, his nose was flat, and his legs, thighs, tail, and
+feet were those of a goat. His face is described as ruddy, and he is
+said to have possessed many qualities which are also ascribed to Satan.
+His votaries were not encumbered with an exalted code of morality.
+
+The _Fauni_, certain deities of Italy, are also represented as having the
+legs, feet, and ears of goats, and the rest of the body human, and the
+_Satyri_ of the Greeks are also described as having the feet and legs of
+goats, with short horns on the head, and the whole body covered with
+thick hair. These demigods revelled in riot and lasciviousness. The
+satyrs attended upon Bacchus, and made themselves conspicuous in his
+orgies. The Romans called their satyrs Fauni, Panes, and Sylvani.
+
+It is difficult to ascertain whether the Celt of Britain obtained through
+the Romans their gross notions of the material body of Satan, or whether
+it was in later times that they became possessed of this idea. It may
+well have been that the Fauni, and other disreputable deities of the
+conquerors of the world, on the introduction of Christianity were looked
+upon as demons, and their forms consequently became fit representations
+of the Spirit of Evil, from whom they differed little, if any, in general
+attributes. In this way god after god would be removed from their
+pedestals in the world's pantheon, and would be relegated to the regions
+occupied by the great enemy of all that is pure, noble, and good in
+mankind. Thus the god of one age would become the devil of the
+succeeding age, retaining, nevertheless, by a cruel irony, the same form
+and qualities in his changed position that he had in his exalted state.
+
+It is by some such reasoning as the preceding that we can account for the
+striking personal resemblance between the Satan of mediaeval and later
+times and the mythical deities already mentioned.
+
+Reference has been made to the rustic belief that from his mouth Satan
+emits fire and brimstone, and here again we observe traces of classic
+lore. The fabulous monsters, Typhaeus, or Typhon, and Chimaera, are
+probably in this matter his prototypes. It is said that real flames of
+devouring fire darted from the mouth and eyes of Typhon, and that he
+uttered horrible yells, like the shrieks of different animals, and
+Chimaera is described as continually vomiting flames.
+
+Just as the gods of old could assume different shapes, so could Satan.
+The tales which follow show that he could change himself at will into the
+form of a lovely woman, a mouse, a pig, a black dog, a cock, a fish, a
+headless horse, and into other animals or monstrous beings. But the form
+which, it is said, he usually assumed to enable him to escape when
+discovered in his intrigues was a ball or hoop of fire.
+
+The first series of tales which I shall relate depict Satan as taking a
+part in the pastimes of the people.
+
+
+
+_Satan Playing Cards_.
+
+
+A good many years ago I travelled from Pentrevoelas to Yspytty in company
+with Mr. Lloyd, the then vicar of the latter parish, who, when crossing
+over a bridge that spanned a foaming mountain torrent, called my
+attention to the spot, and related to me the following tale connected
+with the place:--
+
+A man was returning home late one night from a friend's house, where he
+had spent the evening in card playing, and as he was walking along he was
+joined by a gentleman, whose conversation was very interesting. At last
+they commenced talking about card playing, and the stranger invited the
+countryman to try his skill with him, but as it was late, and the man
+wanted to go home, he declined, but when they were on the bridge his
+companion again pressed him to have a game on the parapet, and proceeded
+to take out of his pocket a pack of cards, and at once commenced dealing
+them out; consequently, the man could not now refuse to comply with the
+request. With varying success game after game was played, but ultimately
+the stranger proved himself the more skilful player. Just at this
+juncture a card fell into the water; and in their excitement both players
+looked over the bridge after it, and the countryman saw to his horror
+that his opponent's head, reflected in the water, had on it _two horns_.
+He immediately turned round to have a careful look at his companion; he,
+however, did not see him, but in his place was a _ball of fire_, which
+flashed away from his sight.
+
+I must say that when I looked over the bridge I came to the conclusion
+that nothing could have been reflected in the water, for it was a rushing
+foaming torrent, with no single placid spot upon its surface.
+
+Another version of the preceding tale I obtained from the Rev. Owen
+Jones. In this instance the _cloven foot_ and not the _horned head_ was
+detected. The scene of this tale is laid in the parish of Rhuddlan near
+Rhyl.
+
+
+
+_Satan Playing Cards at a Merry Meeting_.
+
+
+It was formerly a general custom in Wales for young lads and lasses to
+meet and spend a pleasant evening together in various farmhouses. Many
+kinds of amusements, such as dancing, singing, and card playing, were
+resorted to, to while away the time. The Rev. Owen Jones informed me
+that once upon a time a merry party met at Henafon near Rhuddlan, and
+when the fun was at its height a gentleman came to the farm, and joined
+heartily in all the merriment. By and by, card playing was introduced,
+and the stranger played better than any present. At last a card fell to
+the ground, and the party who picked it up discovered that the clever
+player had a cloven foot. In his fright the man screamed out, and
+immediately the Evil One--for he it was that had joined the
+party--transformed himself into a wheel of fire, and disappeared up the
+chimney.
+
+For the next tale I am also indebted to my friend the Rev. Owen Jones.
+The story appears in a Welsh MS. in his possession, which he kindly lent
+me. I will, first of all, give the tale in the vernacular, and then I
+will, for the benefit of my English readers, supply an English
+translation.
+
+
+
+_Satan Playing Cards on Rhyd-y-Cae Bridge_, _Pentrevoelas_.
+
+
+"Gwas yn y Gilar a phen campwr ei oes am chwareu cardiau oedd Robert
+Llwyd Hari. Ond wrth fyn'd adre' o Rhydlydan, wedi bod yn chwareu yn nhy
+Modryb Ann y Green, ar ben y lou groes, daeth boneddwr i'w gyfarfod, ag
+aeth yn ymgom rhyngddynt. Gofynodd y boneddwr iddo chware' _match_ o
+gardiau gydag e. 'Nid oes genyf gardian,' meddai Bob. 'Oes, y mae genyt
+ddau ddec yn dy bocet,' meddai'r boneddwr. Ag fe gytunwyd i chware'
+_match_ ar Bont Rhyd-y-Cae, gan ei bod yn oleu lleuad braf. Bu y
+boneddwr yn daer iawn arno dd'od i Blas Iolyn, y caent ddigon o oleu yno,
+er nad oedd neb yn byw yno ar y pryd. Ond nacaodd yn lan. Aed ati o
+ddifrif ar y bont, R. Ll. yn curo bob tro. Ond syrthiodd cardyn dros y
+bont, ac fe edrychodd yntau i lawr. Beth welai and carnau ceffyl gan y
+boneddwr. Tyngodd ar y Mawredd na chwareuai ddim chwaneg; ar hyn fe aeth
+ei bartner yn olwyn o dan rhyngddo a Phlas Iolyn, ac aeth yntau adre' i'r
+Gilar." The English of the tale is as follows:--
+
+Robert Llwyd Hari was a servant in Gilar farm, and the champion card
+player of his day. When going home from Rhydlydan, after a game of cards
+in Aunty Ann's house, called the Green, he was met at the end of the
+cross-lane by a gentleman, who entered into conversation with him. The
+gentleman asked him to have a game of cards. "I have no cards," answered
+Bob. "Yes you have, you have two packs in your pocket," answered the
+gentleman. They settled to play a game on the bridge of Rhyd-y-Cae, as
+it was a beautiful moonlight night. The gentleman was very pressing that
+they should go to Plas Iolyn, because they would find there, he said,
+plenty of light, although no one was then living at the place. But Bob
+positively refused to go there. They commenced the game in downright
+good earnest on the bridge, R. Ll. winning every game. But a card fell
+over the bridge into the water, and Bob looked over, and saw that the
+gentleman had hoofs like a horse. He swore by the Great Being that he
+would not play any longer, and on this his partner turned himself into a
+_wheel of fire_, and departed bowling towards Plas Iolyn, and Bob went
+home to Gilar.
+
+
+
+_Satan Snatching a Man up into the Air_.
+
+
+It would appear that poor Bob was doomed to a sad end. His last exploit
+is thus given:--
+
+"Wrth fyned adre o chware cardia, ar Bont Maesgwyn gwelai Robert Llwyd
+Hari gylch crwn o dan; bu agos iddo droi yn ol, cymerodd galon eilwaith
+gan gofio fod ganddo Feibl yn ei boced, ac i ffordd ag e rhyngddo a'r
+tan, a phan oedd yn passio fe'i cipiwyd i fyny i'r awyr gan y Gwr Drwg,
+ond gallodd ddyweyd rhiw air wrth y D---, gollyngodd ef i lawr nes ydoedd
+yn disgyn yn farw mewn llyn a elwir Llyn Hari."
+
+Which in English is as follows:--
+
+When going home from playing cards, on Maesgwyn Bridge Robert Llwyd Hari
+saw a hoop of fire; he was half inclined to turn back, but took heart,
+remembering that he had a Bible in his pocket. So on he went, and when
+passing the fire he was snatched up into the air by the Bad Man, but he
+was able to utter a certain word to the D---, he was dropped down, and
+fell dead into a lake called Harry's Lake.
+
+Many tales, varying slightly from the preceding three stories, are still
+extant in Wales, but these given are so typical of all the rest that it
+is unnecessary to record more.
+
+It may be remarked that card playing was looked upon in the last
+century--and the feeling has not by any means disappeared in our days--as
+a deadly sin, and consequently a work pleasing to the Evil One, but it
+appears singular that the aid of Satan himself should have been invoked
+to put down a practice calculated to further his own interests. The
+incongruity of such a proceeding did not apparently enter into the minds
+of those who gave currency to these unequal contests. But in the tales
+we detect the existence of a tradition that Satan formerly joined in the
+pastimes of the people, and, if for card playing some other game were
+substituted, such as dancing, we should have a reproduction of those
+fabulous times, when satyrs and demigods and other prototypes of Satan
+are said to have been upon familiar terms with mortals, and joined in
+their sports.
+
+The reader will have noticed that the poor man who lost his life in the
+Lake thought himself safe because he had a Bible in his pocket. This
+shows that the Bible was looked upon as a talisman. But in this instance
+its efficacy was only partial. I shall have more to say on this subject
+in another part of this work.
+
+Satan in the preceding tales, and others, which shall by and by be
+related, is represented as transforming himself into a ball, or wheel of
+fire--into fire, the emblem of an old religion, a religion which has its
+votaries in certain parts of the world even in this century, and which,
+at one period in the history of the human race, was widespread. It is
+very suggestive that Satan should be spoken of as assuming the form of
+the Fire God, when his personality is detected, and the hint, conveyed by
+this transformation, would imply that he was himself the Fire God.
+
+Having made these few comments on the preceding tales, I will now record
+a few stories in which Satan is made to take a role similar to that
+ascribed to him in the card-playing stories.
+
+In the following tales Satan's aid is invoked to bring about a
+reformation in the observance of the Sabbath day.
+
+
+
+_Satan frightening a Man for gathering Nuts on Sunday_.
+
+
+The following tale was related to me by the Rev. W. E. Jones, rector of
+Bylchau, near Denbigh:--
+
+Richard Roberts, Coederaill, Bylchau, when a young man, worked in
+Flintshire, and instead of going to a place of worship on Sunday he got
+into the habit of wandering about the fields on that day. One fine
+autumn Sunday he determined to go a-nutting. He came to a wood where
+nuts were plentiful, and in a short time he filled his pockets with nuts,
+but perceiving a bush loaded with nuts, he put out his hand to draw the
+branch to him, when he observed a hairy hand stretching towards the same
+branch. As soon as he saw this hand he was terribly frightened, and
+without turning round to see anything further of it, he took to his
+heels, and never afterwards did he venture to go a-nutting on Sunday.
+
+Richard Roberts told the tale to Mr. Jones, his Rector, who tried to
+convince Roberts that a monkey was in the bush, but he affirmed that
+Satan had come to him.
+
+
+
+_Satan taking possession of a man who fished on Sunday_.
+
+
+The following tale is in its main features still current in Cynwyd, a
+village about two miles from Corwen. The first reference to the story
+that I am acquainted with appeared in an essay sent in to a local
+Eisteddfod in 1863. The story is thus related in this essay:--
+
+"About half a mile from Cynwyd is the 'Mill Waterfall,' beneath which
+there is a deep linn or whirlpool, where a man, who was fishing there on
+Sunday, once found an enormous fish. 'I will catch him, though the D---l
+take me,' said the presumptuous man. The fish went under the fall, the
+man followed him, and was never afterwards seen." Such is the tale, but
+it is, or was believed, that Satan had changed himself into a fish, and
+by allurement got the man into his power and carried him bodily to the
+nethermost regions.
+
+
+
+_Satan appearing in many forms to a Man who Travelled on Sunday_.
+
+
+I received the following tale from my deceased friend, the Rev. J. L.
+Davies, late Rector of Llangynog, near Llanfyllin, Montgomeryshire, and
+he obtained it from William Davies, the man who figures in the story.
+
+As a preface to the tale, it should be stated that it was usual, some
+years ago, for Welsh labourers to proceed to the harvest in England,
+which was earlier there than in Wales, and after that was finished, they
+hastened homewards to be in time for their own harvest. These migratory
+Welsh harvestmen are not altogether extinct in our days, but about forty
+years ago they were much more common than they are at present. Then
+respectable farmers' sons with sickles on their backs, and well filled
+wallets over their shoulders, went in companies to the early English
+Lowlands to hire themselves as harvest labourers. My tale now
+commences:--
+
+William Davies, Penrhiw, near Aberystwyth, went to England for the
+harvest, and after having worked there about three weeks, he returned
+home alone, with all possible haste, as he knew that his father-in-law's
+fields were by this time ripe for the sickle. He, however, failed to
+accomplish the journey before Sunday; but he determined to travel on
+Sunday, and thus reach home on Sunday night to be ready to commence
+reaping on Monday morning. His conscience, though, would not allow him
+to be at rest, but he endeavoured to silence its twittings by saying to
+himself that he had with him no clothes to go to a place of worship. He
+stealthily, therefore, walked on, feeling very guilty every step he took,
+and dreading to meet anyone going to chapel or church. By Sunday evening
+he had reached the hill overlooking Llanfihangel Creuddyn, where he was
+known, so he determined not to enter the village until after the people
+had gone to their respective places of worship; he therefore sat down on
+the hill side and contemplated the scene below. He saw the people leave
+their houses for the house of God, he heard their songs of praise, and
+now he thinks he could venture to descend and pass through the village
+unobserved. Luckily no one saw him going through the village, and now he
+has entered a barley field, and although still uneasy in mind, he feels
+somewhat reassured, and steps on quickly. He had not proceeded far in
+the barley field before he found himself surrounded by a large number of
+small pigs. He was not much struck by this, though he thought it strange
+that so many pigs should be allowed to wander about on the Sabbath day.
+The pigs, however, came up to him, stared at him, grunted, and scampered
+away. Before he had traversed the barley field he saw approaching him an
+innumerable number of mice, and these, too, surrounded him, only,
+however, to stare at him, and then to disappear. By this Davies began to
+be frightened, and he was almost sorry that he had broken the Sabbath day
+by travelling with his pack on his back instead of keeping the day holy.
+He was not now very far from home, and this thought gave him courage and
+on he went. He had not proceeded any great distance from the spot where
+the mice had appeared when he saw a large greyhound walking before him on
+the pathway. He anxiously watched the dog, but suddenly it vanished out
+of his sight. By this the poor man was thoroughly frightened, and many
+and truly sincere were his regrets that he had broken the Sabbath; but on
+he went. He passed through the village of Llanilar without any further
+fright. He had now gone about three miles from Llanfihangel along the
+road that goes to Aberystwyth, and he had begun to dispel the fear that
+had seized him, but to his horror he saw something approach him that made
+his hair stand on end. He could not at first make it out, but he soon
+clearly saw that it was a horse that was madly dashing towards him. He
+had only just time to step on to the ditch, when, horrible to relate, a
+headless white horse rushed past him. His limbs shook and the
+perspiration stood out like beads on his forehead. This terrible spectre
+he saw when close to Tan'rallt, but he dared not turn into the house, as
+he was travelling on Sunday, so on he went again, and heartily did he
+wish himself at home. In fear and dread he proceeded on his journey
+towards Penrhiw. The most direct way from Tan'rallt to Penrhiw was a
+pathway through the fields, and Davies took this pathway, and now he was
+in sight of his home, and he hastened towards the boundary fence between
+Tan'rallt and Penrhiw. He knew that there was a gap in the hedge that he
+could get through, and for this gap he aimed; he reached it, but further
+progress was impossible, for in the gap was a lady lying at full length,
+and immovable, and stopping up the gap entirely. Poor Davies was now
+more thoroughly terrified than ever. He sprang aside, he screamed, and
+then he fainted right away. As soon as he recovered consciousness, he,
+on his knees, and in a loud supplicating voice, prayed for pardon. His
+mother and father-in-law heard him, and the mother knew the voice and
+said, "It is my Will; some mishap has overtaken him." They went to him
+and found he was so weak that he could not move, and they were obliged to
+carry him home, where he recounted to them his marvellous experience.
+
+My clerical friend, who was intimately acquainted with William Davies,
+had many conversations with him about his Sunday journey, and he argued
+the matter with him, and tried to persuade him that he had seen nothing,
+but that it was his imagination working on a nervous temperament that had
+created all his fantasies. He however failed to convince him, for Davies
+affirmed that it was no hallucination, but that what he had seen that
+Sunday was a punishment for his having broken the Fourth Commandment. It
+need hardly be added that Davies ever afterwards was a strict observer of
+the Day of Rest.
+
+The following tale, taken from _A Relation of Apparitions_, etc., by the
+Rev. Edmund Jones, inculcates the same lesson as that taught by the
+previous tales. I will give the tale a title.
+
+
+
+_The Evil Spirit appearing to a Man who frequented Alehouses on Sunday_.
+
+
+Jones writes as follows:--"W. J. was once a Sabbath-breaker at _Risca_
+village, where he frequently used to play and visit the alehouses on the
+Sabbath day, and there stay till late at night. On returning homeward he
+heard something walking behind him, and turning to see what it was he
+could see the likeness of a man walking by his side; he could not see his
+face, and was afraid to look much at it, fearing it was an evil spirit,
+as it really was, therefore he did not wish it good night. This dreadful
+dangerous apparition generally walked by the left side of him. It
+afterwards appeared like a great mastiff dog, which terrified him so much
+that he knew not where he was. After it had gone about half a mile, it
+transformed itself into a great fire, as large as a small field, and
+resembled the noise which a fire makes in burning gorse."
+
+This vision seems to have had the desired effect on W. J. for we are told
+that he _was once_ a Sabbath breaker, the inference being, that he was
+not one when the Rev. Edmund Jones wrote the above narrative.
+
+Tales of this kind could be multiplied to almost any extent, but more
+need not be given. The one idea that runs through them all is that Satan
+has appeared, and may appear again, to Sabbath breakers, and therefore
+those who wish to avoid coming in contact with him should keep the
+Sabbath day holy.
+
+
+
+_Satan Outwitted_.
+
+
+In the preceding tales the Evil One is depicted as an agent in the
+destruction of his own kingdom. He thus shows his obtuseness, or his
+subordination to a higher power. In the story that follows, he is
+outwitted by a Welshman. Many variants of this tale are found in many
+countries. It is evident from this and like stories, that it was
+believed the Spirit of Evil could easily be circumvented by an
+intelligent human being.
+
+The tale is taken from _Y Brython_, vol. v., p. 192. I when a lad often
+heard the story related, and the scene is laid in Trefeglwys,
+Montgomeryshire, a parish only a few miles distant from the place where I
+spent my childhood. The writer in _Y Brython_, speaking of _Ffinant_,
+says that this farm is about a mile from Trefeglwys, on the north side of
+the road leading to Newtown. He then proceeds as follows:--
+
+"Mae hen draddodiad tra anhygoel yn perthyn i'r lie hwn. Dywedir fod hen
+ysgubor yn sefyll yn yr ochr ddeheuol i'r brif-ffordd. Un boreu Sul, pan
+ydoedd y meistr yn cychwyn i'r Eglwys, dywedodd wrth un o'i weision am
+gadw y brain oddi ar y maes lle yr oedd gwenith wedi ei hau, yn yr hwn y
+safai yr hen ysgubor. Y gwas, trwy ryw foddion, a gasglodd y brain oll
+iddi, a chauodd arnynt; yna dilynodd ei feistr i'r Eglwys; yntau, wrth ei
+weled yno, a ddechreuodd ei geryddu yn llym. Y meistr, wedi clywed y
+fath newydd, a hwyliodd ei gamrau tua'i gartref; ac efe a'u cafodd, er ei
+syndod, fel y crybwyllwyd; ac fe ddywedir fod yr ysgubor yn orlawn o
+honynt. Gelwir y maes hwn yn _Crow-barn_, neu Ysgubor y brain, hyd
+heddyw. Dywedir mai enw y gwas oedd Dafydd Hiraddug, ac iddo werthu ei
+hun i'r diafol, ac oherwydd hyny, ei fod yn alluog i gyflawni
+gweithredoedd anhygoel yn yr oes hon. Pa fodd bynag, dywedir i Dafydd
+fod yn gyfrwysach na'r hen sarff y tro hwn, yn ol y cytundeb fu
+rhyngddynt. Yr ammod oedd, fod i'r diafol gael meddiant hollol o
+Ddafydd, os dygid ei gorff dros erchwyn gwely, neu trwy ddrws, neu os
+cleddid ef mewn mynwent, neu mewn Eglwys. Yr oedd Dafydd wedi gorchymyn,
+pan y byddai farw, am gymmeryd yr afu a'r ysgyfaint o'i gorff, a'i taflu
+i ben tomen, a dal sylw pa un ai cigfran ai colomen fyddai yn ennill
+buddugoliaeth am danynt; os cigfran, am gymmeryd ei gorff allan trwy
+waelod ac nid dros erchwyn y gwely; a thrwy bared ac nid trwy ddrws, a'i
+gladdu, nid mewn mynwent na llan, ond o dan fur yr Eglwys; ac i'r diafol
+pan ddeallodd hyn lefaru, gan ddywedyd:--
+
+ Dafydd Hiraddug ei ryw,
+ _Ffals_ yn farw, _ffals_ yn fyw."
+
+The tale in English is as follows:--
+
+There is an incredible tradition connected with this place Ffinant,
+Trefeglwys. It is said that an old barn stands on the right hand side of
+the highway. One Sunday morning, as the master was starting to church,
+he told one of the servants to keep the crows from a field that had been
+sown with wheat, in which field the old barn stood. The servant, through
+some means, collected all the crows into the barn, and shut the door on
+them. He then followed his master to the Church, who, when he saw the
+servant there, began to reprove him sharply. But the master, when he
+heard the strange news, turned his steps homewards, and found to his
+amazement that the tale was true, and it is said that the barn was filled
+with crows. This barn, ever afterwards was called _Crow-barn_, a name it
+still retains.
+
+It is said that the servant's name was Dafydd Hiraddug, and that he had
+sold himself to the devil, and that consequently, he was able to perform
+feats, which in this age are considered incredible. However, it is said
+that Dafydd was on this occasion more subtle than the old serpent, even
+according to the agreement which was between them. The contract was,
+that the devil was to have complete possession of Dafydd if his corpse
+were taken over the side of the bed, or through a door, or if buried in a
+churchyard, or inside a church. Dafydd had commanded, that on his death,
+the liver and lights were to be taken out of his body and thrown on the
+dunghill, and notice was to be taken whether a raven or a dove got
+possession of them; if a raven, then his body was to be taken away by the
+foot, and not by the side of the bed, and through the wall, and not
+through the door, and he was to be buried, not in the churchyard nor in
+the Church, but under the Church walls. And the devil, when he saw that
+by these arrangements he had been duped cried, saying:--
+
+ Dafydd Hiraddug, badly bred,
+
+ False when living, and false when dead.
+
+Such is the tale. I now come to another series of Folk-Lore stories,
+which seem to imply that in ancient days rival religions savagely
+contended for the supremacy, and in these tales also Satan occupies a
+prominent position.
+
+
+
+_Satan and Churches_.
+
+
+The traditional stories that are still extant respecting the determined
+opposition to the erection of certain churches in particular spots, and
+the removal of the materials during the night to some other site, where
+ultimately the new edifice was obliged to be erected, and the many
+stories of haunted churches, where evil spirits had made a lodgment, and
+could not for ages be ousted, are evidences of the antagonism of rival
+forms of paganism, or of the opposition of an ancient religion to the new
+and intruding Christian Faith.
+
+Brash in his _Ogam Inscribed Stones_, p. 109, speaking of Irish Churches,
+says:--
+
+"It is well known that many of our early churches were erected on sites
+professedly pagan."
+
+The most ancient churches in Wales have circular or ovoidal
+churchyards--a form essentially Celtic--and it may well be that these
+sacred spots were dedicated to religious purposes in pagan times, and
+were appropriated by the early Christians,--not, perhaps, without
+opposition on the part of the adherents of the old faith--and consecrated
+to the use of the Christian religion. In these churchyards were often to
+be found holy, or sacred wells, and many of them still exist, and modes
+of divination were practised at these wells, which have come down to our
+days, and which must have originated in pre-Christian or pagan times.
+
+It is highly probable that the older faith would for a while exist
+concurrently with the new, and mutual contempt and annoyance on the part
+of the supporters of the respective beliefs would as naturally follow in
+those times as in any succeeding age, but this fact should be
+emphasised--that the modes of warfare would correspond with the civilized
+or uncivilized state of the opponents. This remark is general in its
+application, and applies to races conquered by the Celts in Britain,
+quite as much as to races who conquered the Celt, and there are not
+wanting certain indications that the tales associated with Satan belong
+to a period long anterior to the introduction of Christianity. Certain
+classes of these tales undoubtedly refer to the antagonism of beliefs
+more ancient than the Christian faith, and they indicate the measures
+taken by one party to suppress the other. Thus we see it related that
+the Evil Spirit is forcibly ejected from churches, and dragged to the
+river, and there a tragedy occurs. In other words a horrible murder is
+committed on the representative of the defeated religion. The very fact
+that he loses his life in a river--in water--in an object of wide spread
+worship--is not without its significance.
+
+We have seen in the legend of the Evil Spirit in Cerrig-y-drudion Church,
+p. 133,--that it was ejected, after a severe struggle, from the sacred
+building--that it was dragged to the lake, where it lost its life, by two
+_Ychain Banawg_--that they, and it, perished together in the lake:--Now
+these _Ychain Banawg_ or long-horned oxen, huge in size and strong of
+limb, are traditional, if not fabulous animals, and this one incident in
+the legend is enough to prove its great antiquity. Undoubtedly it dates
+from remote pre-Christian times, and yet the tale is associated with
+modern ideas, and modes of expression. It has come down to us along the
+tide of time, and has received its colouring from the ages it has passed
+through. Yet on the very surface of this ancient legend we perceive it
+written that in days of old there was severe antagonism between rival
+forms of pagan faith, and the manner in which the weaker--and perhaps the
+more ancient--is overcome, is made clear. The instrument used is brute
+force, and the vanquished party is _drowned_ or, in the euphonious
+language of the tales, _is laid_.
+
+There are many stories of spirits that have been cast out of churches,
+still extant in Wales, and one of the most famous of these is that of
+Llanfor Church, near Bala. It resembles that of Cerrig-y-drudion. I
+have succeeded in obtaining several versions of this legend. I am
+indebted for the first to Mr. R. Roberts, Clocaenog, a native of Bala.
+
+
+_The Ejectment of the Evil Spirit from Llanfor Church_.
+
+
+Mr. Roberts states that his grandmother, born in 1744, had only
+traditions of this spirit. He was said to have worn a three-cocked hat,
+and appeared as a gentleman, and whilst divine service was performed he
+stood up in the church. But at night the church was lit up by his
+presence, and the staves between the railings of the gallery were set in
+motion, by him, like so many spindles, although they were fast in their
+sockets. He is not reported to have harmed any one, neither did he
+commit any damage in the church. It is said, he had been seen taking a
+walk to the top of _Moel-y-llan_, and although harmless he was a great
+terror to the neighbourhood, and but few would venture to enter the
+church alone. Mr. Roberts was told that on a certain occasion a vestry
+was held in a public house, that stood on the north side of the church,
+not a vestige of which now remains, but no one would go to the church for
+the parish books. The landlady had the courage to go but no sooner had
+she crossed the threshold than the Evil Spirit blew the light out; she
+got a light again, but this also was blown out. Instead of returning for
+another light, she went straight to the coffer in the dark, and brought
+the books to the house, and that without any molestation.
+
+Mr. Roberts states that as the Spirit of darkness became more and more
+troublesome, it was determined to have him removed, and two gentlemen
+skilled in divination were called _to offer him to Llyn-y-Geulan-Goch_.
+These men were procured and they entered the church in the afternoon and
+held a conversation with the Spirit, and in the end told him that they
+would call at such an hour of the night to remove him to his rest. But
+they were not punctual and when they entered they found him intractable,
+however, he was compelled to submit, and was driven out of the church in
+the form of a cock, and carried behind his vanquisher on horseback, and
+thrown into _Llyn-y-Geulan-Goch_.
+
+According to tradition the horse made the journey from the church to the
+pool by two leaps. The distance was two fields' breadth.
+
+On their arrival at the river side, a terrible struggle ensued, the Fiend
+would not submit to be imprisoned, and he made a most determined attempt
+to drag his captors into the water. He, however, by and by, agreed to
+enter his prison on the condition that they would lie on their faces
+towards the ground when he entered the river, this they did, and the
+Spirit with a splash jumped into the water.
+
+Mr. Roberts further states, that there was a tradition in those parts,
+that the horse which carried the Devil to the river left the impression
+of his hoof in a stone by the river side, but Mr. Roberts assures me that
+he could never discover this stone, nor did he know of any one who had
+seen it.
+
+The case of the imprisoned Spirit was not hopeless--tradition says he was
+to remain in the pool only until he counted all the sand in it. It would
+almost appear that he had accomplished his task, for Mr. Roberts says
+that he had heard that his father's eldest brother whilst driving his
+team in the dead of night through Llanfor village saw two pigs walking
+behind the waggon. He thought nothing of this, and began to apply his
+whip to them, but to no purpose, for they followed him to
+_Llyn-y-Geulan-Goch_, and then disappeared.
+
+There was in these latter times some dispute as to the Spirit being still
+in the pool. This, however, has been settled in the affirmative. A wise
+man, in company with others, proceeded to the river, and threw a stone
+with writing on it into the pool, but nothing came of it, and he then
+affirmed there was no spirit there. This the people would not believe,
+so he threw another stone into the water, and now the river boiled up and
+foamed. "Yes," said the sceptic, "he is there, and there he will remain
+for a long time."
+
+Such is Mr. Roberts's account.
+
+_Llyn-y-Geulan-Goch_ is a pool in the river Dee, about a quarter of a
+mile from Llanfor village.
+
+For the purpose of shewing how variously tales are narrated, I will give
+another version of this haunted church, which was taken down by me from
+the mouth of an aged woman, a native of the village, whose life had been
+spent among her own people, and who at present lives in a little cottage
+on the road side between Llanfor Rectory and Bala. Her name is Ann
+Hughes, she firmly believes the story, but she could not tell how long
+ago the spirit was driven out of the church, though she thought it was in
+her grandfather's days. Her tale was as follows:--
+
+The Evil Spirit was heard but not seen by the people, and he was in the
+habit of coming down the pathway leading from Rhiwlas to the church,
+making a great noise, as if dragging after him chains, or wheeling a
+wheelbarrow, and he went straight into the church, and there he stayed
+all night lighting up the church and making a great noise, as though
+engaged in manual labour. There was then a pathway leading to a row of
+houses situated in the church yard on the north side, and the people who
+occupied those cottages dared not leave them the live-long night, in fact
+the whole village avoided that, and every other path in the neighbourhood
+of the church, whilst the Spirit was in the church, and every one could
+see when he was there. At last the disturbance was so great that the
+parson and another man determined to lay the Spirit, and therefore one
+night they walked three times round the church, and then went into it,
+and by and by three men were seen emerging from the church and they
+walked into the public house through the door that opened into the church
+yard and they went together into the little parlour. The parson had
+already given instructions that no one was to come to them on any
+account, nor even to try to get a glimpse of them; but there was a man in
+the house who went to the keyhole of the parlour and, looking into the
+room, saw distinctly three men sitting round the table. No sooner,
+however, had he done so than the parson came out and said if anyone
+looked through the keyhole again their plans would be frustrated. This
+put a stop to all further inquisitiveness, and their deliberations were
+not again interrupted.
+
+Ann Hughes could not tell me what plan was adopted to get rid of the Evil
+Spirit, but she knew this much, that he was laid in _Llyn-y-Geulan-Goch_,
+and that he was to remain there until a lighted candle, which was hidden
+somewhere in the church, when the Spirit was overcome, should go out.
+Often and again had she searched for this taper, but failed to discover
+it, but she supposes it is still burning somewhere, for the Evil One has
+not yet escaped from the pool.
+
+There is a version of the ejectment of Llanfor Spirit given in _Y
+Gordofigion_, p. 106, which is somewhat as follows:--
+
+Llanfor Spirit troubled the neighbourhood of Bala, but he was
+particularly objectionable and annoying to the inhabitants of Llanfor,
+for he had taken possession of their Church. At last, the people were
+determined to get rid of him altogether, but they must procure a mare for
+this purpose, which they did. A man riding on the mare entered the
+Church with a friend, to exorcise the Spirit. Ere long this man emerged
+from the Church with the Devil seated behind him on the pillion. An old
+woman who saw them cried out, "Duw anwyl! Mochyn yn yr Eglwys"--"Good
+God! A pig in the Church." On hearing these words the pig became
+exceedingly fierce, because the silence had been broken, and because
+God's name had been used, and in his anger he snatched up both the man
+and the mare, and threw them right over the Church to the other side, and
+there is a mark to this day on a grave stone of the horse's hoof on the
+spot where she lit. But the Spirit's anger was all in vain, for he was
+carried by the mare to the river, and laid in _Llyn-y-Geulan-Goch_, but
+so much did the poor animal perspire whilst carrying him, that, although
+the distance was only a quarter of a mile, she lost all her hair.
+
+Tales very much like the preceding are related of many churches in Wales.
+The details differ, but in general outlines they are alike. I will give
+one other story of this kind.
+
+
+_An Evil Spirit in Llandysilio Church, Montgomeryshire_.
+
+
+The history of this Spirit's proceedings is given in _Bye-Gones_, Vol.
+ii, p. 179, and the writer's fictitious name is _Gypt_.
+
+"This church," says _Gypt_, "was terribly troubled by a Spirit in times
+gone by, so I was informed by a person who took me over the church, and,
+being curious to hear the story, my guide related the following:--
+
+"To such extremes had things come that it was resolved to send for a well
+known and expert person to lay the Spirit. But the Spirit nearly
+overcame the expert, and the fight continued hard and fast for a long
+time. The ghost layer came out often for fresh air and beer, and then
+was plainly seen, from his bared arms and the perspiration running down
+his face, that there was a terrible conflict going on within the church.
+At last success crowned the effort, and the Spirit, not unlike a large
+fly, was put into a bottle and thrown into a deep pool in the River
+Verniew, where it remains to this day, and the church was troubled no
+more."
+
+_Gypt_ adds:--"As a proof of the truth of the story, my informant showed
+me the beams which were cracked at the time the Spirit troubled the
+church."
+
+In these tales we have a few facts common to them all. An Evil Spirit
+troubles the people, and makes his home nightly in the church, which he
+illuminates. His presence there becomes obnoxious, and ultimately,
+either by force or trickery, he is ejected, and loses his life, or at
+least he is deposited by his captors in a lake, or pool of water, and
+then peace and quietness ensue.
+
+There is a good deal that is human about these stories when stripped of
+the marvellous, which surrounds them, and it is not unreasonable to ask
+whether they had, or had not, a foundation in fact, or whether they were
+solely the creations of an imaginative people. It is not, at least,
+improbable that these ghostly stories had, in long distant pre-historic
+times, their origin in fact, and that they have reached our days with
+glosses received from the intervening ages.
+
+They seem to imply that, in ancient times, there was deadly antagonism
+between one form of Pagan worship and another, and, although it is but
+dimly hinted, it would appear that fire was the emblem or the god of one
+party, and water the god of the other; and that the water worshippers
+prevailed and destroyed the image, or _laid_ the priest, of the
+vanquished deity in a pool, and took possession of his sacred enclosures.
+
+It was commonly believed, within the last hundred years or so, that Evil
+Spirits at certain times of the year, such as St. John's Eve, and May Day
+Eve, and All Hallows' Eve, were let loose, and that on these nights they
+held high revelry in churches. This is but another and more modern phase
+of the preceding stories. This superstitious belief was common to
+Scotland, and everyone who has read Burns has heard of Alloway Kirk, and
+of the "unco sight" which met _Tam o' Shanter's_ eye there, who, looking
+into the haunted kirk, saw witches, Evil Spirits, and Old Nick himself.
+Thus sings the poet:--
+
+ There sat auld Nick, in shape o' beast;
+ A towzie tyke, black, grim, and large,
+ To gi'e them music was his charge.
+
+But in Wales it was believed that a Spirit--an evil one--certainly not an
+Angel of Light, revealed, to the inquisitive, coming events, provided
+they went to the church porch on _Nos G'lan Geua_', or All-Hallows' Eve,
+and waited there until midnight, when they would hear the Spirit announce
+the death roll for the coming year. Should, however, no voice be heard,
+it was a sign that no death would occur within the twelve succeeding
+months. A couple of tales shall suffice as illustrative of this
+superstition.
+
+
+_A Spirit in Aberhafesp Church announcing the death of a person on Nos
+G'lan Geua'_.
+
+
+Mr. Breeze, late governor of the Union House at Caersws, told me that he
+had heard of a person going to Aberhafesp Church porch, on All-Hallows'
+Eve, to ascertain whether there would be a death in that parish in the
+coming year.
+
+A couple of men, one of whom, I believe, Mr. Breeze said was his
+relative, went to the church porch before twelve o'clock at night, and
+sat there a length of time without hearing any sound in the church; but
+about the midnight hour, one of the men distinctly heard the name of his
+companion uttered by a voice within the church. He was greatly
+terrified, and, addressing his friend, he found that he had fallen
+asleep, and that, therefore, fortunately he had not heard the ominous
+voice. Awaking his companion, he said--"Let's go away, it's no use
+waiting here any longer."
+
+In the course of a few weeks, there was a funeral from the opposite
+parish of Penstrowed, and the departed was to be buried in Aberhafesp
+Church yard. The River Severn runs between these two parishes, and there
+is no bridge nearer than that which spans the river at Caersws, and to
+take the funeral that way would mean a journey of more than five miles.
+It was determined, therefore, to ford the river opposite Aberhafesp
+Church. The person who had fallen asleep in the porch volunteered to
+carry the coffin over the river, and it was placed on the saddle in front
+of this person, who, to save it from falling, was obliged to grasp it
+with both arms; and, as the deceased had died of an infectious fever, the
+coffin bearer was stricken, and within a week he too was a dead man, and
+he was the first parishioner, as foretold by the Spirit, who died in the
+parish of Aberhafesp that year.
+
+According to Croker, in _Fairy Legends of Ireland_, vol. II., p. 288, the
+Irish at Easter, Whitsuntide, and Christmas, after decorating the graves
+of their ancestors:--"Also listen at the church door in the dark, when
+they sometimes fancy they hear the names called over in church of those
+who are destined shortly to join their lost relatives in the tomb."
+
+It is not difficult to multiply instances of Spirits speaking in
+churches, for legendary stories of this kind were attached to, or were
+related of, many churches in Wales. One further tale therefore, shall
+suffice.
+
+
+_A Spirit in Llangerniew Church_, _Denbighshire_.
+
+
+There was a tradition in this parish that on All-Hallows' Eve a Spirit
+announced from the altar the names of those who were doomed to die in the
+coming year. The Spirit was locally called _Angelystor_. Those who were
+anxious to know whether they or their neighbours had a longer time to
+live stood underneath the east window on that eve, and anxiously listened
+for the dreaded revelation. It is related of a tailor, who was reckoned
+a wit, and affected disbelief in the Spirit story, that he announced his
+intention to prove the thing a myth, and so, one _Nos G'lan Geua'_, Shon
+Robert, as he was called, proceeded to the church just before midnight,
+and, to his horror, he heard his own name--"Shon ap Robert," uttered by
+the Spirit. "Hold, hold!" said the tailor, "I am not quite ready!" But,
+ready or not ready, it made no difference to the messenger of death, for
+that year the tailor died.
+
+According to rustic opinion, demons were, from sinister motives, much
+given to frequenting churches; still it was thought that as the Priest
+entered the sacred building by the south door these Spirits were obliged
+to make their exit through the north door, which was called in
+consequence the Devil's Door; and this door was opened, and left open
+awhile, to enable these Evil Spirits to escape from the church, before
+divine service commenced. In agreement with this notion, the north side
+of church yards was designated the Domain of Demons, and, by association
+of ideas, no one formerly was buried in this side, but in our days the
+north part of the church yard--where the space in the other parts has
+already been occupied--is used for interments, and the north doors in
+most old churches have been built up.
+
+Formerly, at baptisms, the north church door was, in Wales, left open,
+and that too for the same reason that it was opened before the hours of
+prayer. But these superstitions have departed, as intimated by the
+blocking up of north church doors.
+
+
+_Satan and Bell Ringing_.
+
+
+Durand, according to Bourne, in his _Antiquities of the Common People_,
+ed. 1725, p. 17, was of opinion that Devils were much afraid of bells,
+and fled away at the sound of them. Formerly, in all parts of Wales, the
+passing bell was tolled for the dying. This is a very ancient custom
+being alluded to by the Venerable Bede--
+
+ When the bell begins to toll,
+ Lord, have mercy on the soul.
+
+A small hand bell was also rung by the parish clerk as he preceded the
+funeral procession, and the church bell was tolled before, at, and after
+the burial. I do not know whether this was done because the people,
+entertaining Durand's opinion, wished to save the souls and bodies of
+their departed friends from Satan. Reference is often made to small
+handbells in parish terriers, and they are enumerated in those documents
+with other church property. Thus, in Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd terrier,
+1729, among the articles mentioned as belonging to the church is a small
+bell:--
+
+ "A little bell to be rung before the corps."
+
+In Rhuddlan terrier, 1791, we find:--
+
+ "One small bell, and another small corps bell."
+
+I may say that there is hardly a terrier belonging to a Church in North
+Wales which does not mention this portable handbell. Although the modern
+reason given for their use at funerals was, that all impediments might be
+removed from the roads before the funeral procession arrived, still it is
+probable that the custom at one time meant something more than this. The
+custom does not at present exist.
+
+_Giraldus Cambrensis_ thus alludes to these handbells:--
+
+ "I must not omit that the portable bells . . . were held in great
+ reverence by the people and clergy both in Ireland, Scotland, and
+ Wales; insomuch that they had greater regard for oaths sworn on these
+ than on the gospels."--Bohn's Edition, p. 146.
+
+As it was thought that the Passing Bell was originally intended to drive
+away the Evil Spirit hovering about in readiness to seize the soul of the
+deceased, so it might have been thought that the tolling of these
+handbells at funerals kept the Great Enemy away from the body about to be
+consigned to consecrated ground. But from a couple of lines quoted by
+Bourne, p. 14, from Spelman, in which all the ancient offices of bells
+seem to be included, it does not appear that this opinion was then
+current. The lines are:--
+
+ Laudo Deum verum, Plebem voco, congrego Clerum,
+ Defunctos ploro, pestem fugo, Festa decoro.
+
+ I praise the true God, call the people, convene the Clergy,
+ Lament the dead, dispel pestilence, grace Festivals.
+
+There is nothing in these lines corroborative of Durand's opinion, but as
+I do not know the age of the lines I cannot controvert his opinion, but
+if it was believed that the tolling of a bell could drive away
+pestilence, well can it be understood that its sound could be credited
+with being inimical to Evil Spirits, and that it sent them away to other
+places to seek for rest.
+
+It certainly was an opinion, according to Croker, entertained in Ireland
+and elsewhere, that the dwarfs or fairies, were driven away from places
+by the ringing of the bells of churches, and Croker in his _Fairy Legends
+of Ireland_, vol. ii., p. 106, states that Thiele collected traditions
+according to which the Troldes leave the country on the ringing of bells,
+and remain away. Thus these mythic beings are confounded with Satan;
+indeed Croker remarks (vol. i., p. 46) "The notion of fairies, dwarfs,
+brownies, etc., being excluded from salvation, and of their having formed
+part of the crew that fell with Satan, seems to be pretty general all
+over Europe." He instances Ireland, Denmark, and Spain.
+
+Bells certainly were objects of great superstition. In Dyer's _English
+Folk-Lore_, p. 264, it is stated that--Wynkin de Worde tells us that
+bells are rung during thunder storms, to the end that fiends and wicked
+Spirits should be abashed and flee and cease the moving of the tempest.
+
+Croker also remarks in vol. ii., p. 140, of the above-named work:--"The
+belief in fairies and Spirits prevailed over all Europe long before the
+introduction of Christianity. The teachers of the new faith endeavoured
+to abolish the deeply-rooted heathenish ideas and customs of the people,
+by representing them as sinful and connected with the Devil." In this
+way the Devil inherited many attributes that once belonged to the
+Fairies, and these beings were spoken of as Evil Spirits, Fiends, or
+Devils.
+
+I now come to another kind of Welsh Folk-Lore associated with fairies,
+Evil Spirits, or some mysterious power, that is the removal of churches
+from one site to another. The agency employed varies, but the work of
+the day disappeared in the night, and the materials were found, it is
+said, the next morning, on the spot where the church was to be erected.
+
+
+
+_Mysterious Removal of Churches_.
+
+
+I. LLANLLECHID CHURCH.
+
+
+There was a tradition extant in the parish of Llanllechid, near Bangor,
+Carnarvonshire, that it was intended to build a church in a field called
+Cae'r Capel, not far from Plasuchaf Farm, but it was found the next
+morning that the labours of the previous day had been destroyed, and that
+the materials had been transported in the night to the site of the
+present church. The workmen, however, carried them all back again, and
+resumed their labours at Cae'r Capel, but in vain, for the next day they
+found their work undone, and the wood, stones, etc., in the place where
+they had found them when their work was first tampered with. Seeing that
+it was useless fighting against a superior power, they desisted, and
+erected the building on the spot indicated by the destroyers of their
+labours.
+
+I asked the aged, what or who it was that had carried away the materials:
+some said it was done by Spirits, others by Fairies, but I could obtain
+no definite information on the point. However, they all agreed that the
+present site was more convenient for the parishioners than the old one.
+
+Many legends of this kind are current in Wales. They are all much alike
+in general outline. A few only therefore shall be mentioned.
+
+
+II. CORWEN CHURCH.
+
+
+In Thomas's _History of the Diocese of St. Asaph_, p. 687, the legend
+connected with the erection of the present church is given as
+follows:--"The legend of its (Corwen Church) original foundation states
+that all attempts to build the church in any other spot than where stood
+the 'Carreg y Big yn y fach rewlyd,' i.e., 'The pointed stone in the icy
+nook,' were frustrated by the influence of certain adverse powers."
+
+No agency is mentioned in this narrative. When questioned on such a
+matter, the aged, of forty years ago, would shake their heads in an
+ominous kind of manner, and remain silent, as if it were wrong on their
+part to allude to the affair. Others, more bold, would surmise that it
+was the work of a Spirit, or of the Fairies. By and by I shall give Mr.
+A. N. Palmer's solution of the mystery.
+
+
+III. CAPEL GARMON CHURCH.
+
+
+A legend much like the preceding is current respecting Capel Garmon
+Church. I will give the story in the words of my friend, the Rev. Owen
+Jones, Pentrevoelas, who writes to me thus:--
+
+"The tradition is that Capel Garmon Church was to have been built on the
+side of the mountain just above the present village, near the Well now
+called Ffynnon Armon, but the materials carried there in the daytime were
+in a mysterious manner conveyed by night to the present site of the
+church."
+
+
+IV. LLANFAIR DYFFRYN CLWYD.
+
+
+For the following legend, I am indebted to Mr. R. Prys Jones, who resided
+for several years in the parish of Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd. In answer to
+a letter from me respecting mysterious removal of churches, Mr. Jones
+writes as follows:--
+
+"We have the same tradition in connection with a place not very far from
+Llanfair village. It was first intended to erect Llanfair Church on the
+spot where Jesus Chapel now stands, or very near to it. Tradition
+ascribes the failure of erecting the structure to a phantom in the shape
+of _a sow's head_, destroying in the night what had been built during the
+day. The farm house erected on the land is still called
+_Llanbenwch_"--Llan-pen-hwch, i.e., the _Llan_, _or church_, _of the
+Sow's Head_.
+
+In this tale the agent is a sow, and Mr. Gomme in the _Antiquary_, vol.
+iii. p. 9, records a like story of Winwick Parish Church, Lancashire. He
+states that the founder had destined a different site for this church,
+"but after progress had been made at the original foundation, at night
+time, 'a pig' was seen running hastily to the site of the new church,
+crying or screaming aloud We-ee-wick, we-ee-wick, we-ee-wick.' Then
+taking up a stone in his mouth he carried it to the spot sanctified by
+the death of St. Oswald, and thus succeeded in removing all the stones
+which had been laid by the builders."
+
+
+V. LLANFIHANGEL GENEU'R GLYN.
+
+
+The traveller who has gone to Aberystwyth by the Cambrian Line has, most
+probably, noticed on the left hand side, shortly after he has left Borth,
+a small church, with a churchyard that enters a wood to the west of the
+church, the grave stones being seen among the trees. There is in
+connection with this church a legend much like those already given. I am
+indebted to the Rev. J. Felix, vicar of Cilcen, near Mold, for the
+following account of the transaction.
+
+"It was intended to build Llanfihangel Church at a place called
+Glanfread, or Glanfread-fawr, which at present is a respectable farm
+house, and the work was actually commenced on that spot, but the portion
+built during the day was pulled down each night, till at last a Spirit
+spoke in these words:--
+
+ Llanfihangel Geneu'r Glyn,
+ Glanfread-fawr gaiff fod fan hyn.
+ Llanfihangel Geneu'r Glyn,
+ Glanfread-fawr shall stand herein,"
+
+intimating that the church was to be built at Geneu'r Glyn, and that
+Glanfreadfawr farm house was to occupy the place where they were then
+endeavouring to build the church. The prophecy, or warning, was attended
+to, and the church erection abandoned, but the work was carried out at
+Geneu'r Glyn, in accordance with the Spirit's direction, and the church
+was built in its present position.
+
+
+VI. WREXHAM CHURCH.
+
+
+The following extract is from Mr. A. Neobard Palmer's excellent _History
+of the Parish Church of Wrexham_, p. 6:--"There is a curious local
+tradition, which, _as I understand it_, points distinctly to a
+re-erection of one of the earlier churches on a site different from that
+on which the church preceding it had stood."
+
+"According to the tradition just mentioned, which was collected and first
+published by the late Mr. Hugh Davies, the attempt to build the church on
+another spot (at Bryn-y-ffynnon as 't is said), was constantly
+frustrated, that which was set up during the day being plucked down in
+the night. At last, one night when the work wrought on the day before
+was being watched, the wardens saw it thrown suddenly down, and heard a
+voice proceeding from a Spirit hovering above them which cried ever
+'Bryn-y-grog!' 'Bryn-y-grog!' Now the site of the present church was at
+that time called 'Bryn-y-grog' (Hill of the Cross), and it was at once
+concluded that this was the spot on which the church should be built.
+The occupier of this spot, however, was exceedingly unwilling to part
+with the inheritance of his forefathers, and could only be induced to do
+so when the story which has just been related was told to him, and other
+land given him instead. The church was then founded at 'Bryn-y-grog,'
+where the progress of the work suffered no interruption, and where the
+Church of Wrexham still stands."
+
+Mr. Palmer, having remarked that there is a striking resemblance between
+all the traditions of churches removed mysteriously, proceeds to solve
+the difficulty, in these words:--
+
+"The conclusions which occurred to me were, that these stories contain a
+record, imaginative and exaggerated, of real incidents connected with the
+history of the churches to which each of them belongs, and that they are
+_in most cases_ reminiscences _of an older church which once actually
+stood on another site_. The destroying powers of which they all speak
+were probably human agents, working in the interest of those who were
+concerned in the transference of the site of the church about to be
+re-built; while the stories, as a whole, were apparently concocted and
+circulated with the intention of overbearing the opposition which the
+proposed transference raised--an opposition due to the inconvenience of
+the site proposed, to sacred associations connected with the older site,
+or to the unwillingness of the occupier to surrender the spot selected."
+
+This is, as everything Mr. Palmer writes, pertinent, and it is a
+reasonable solution, but whether it can be made to apply to all cases is
+somewhat doubtful. Perhaps we have not sufficient data to arrive at a
+correct explanation of this kind of myth. The objection was to the
+_place_ selected and not to the _building_ about to be erected on that
+spot; and the _agents_ engaged in the destruction of the proposed edifice
+differ in different places; and in many instances, where these traditions
+exist, the land around, as regards agricultural uses, was equally useful,
+or equally useless, and often the distance between the two sites is not
+great, and the land in our days, at least, and presumably in former,
+belonged to the same proprietor--if indeed it had a proprietor at all.
+We must, therefore, I think, look outside the occupier of the land for
+objections to the surrender of the spot first selected as the site of the
+new church.
+
+Mr. Gomme, in an able article in the _Antiquary_, vol. iii., p. 8-13, on
+"Some traditions and superstitions connected with buildings," gives many
+typical examples of buildings removed by unseen agencies, and, from the
+fact that these stories are found in England, Scotland, and other parts,
+he rightly infers that they had a common origin, and that they take us
+back to primitive times of British history. The cause of the removal of
+the stones in those early times, or first stage of their history, is
+simply described as _invisible agency_, _witches_, _fairies_; in the
+second stage of these myths, the supernatural agency becomes more clearly
+defined, thus:--_doves_, _a pig_, _a cat_, _a fish_, _a bull_, do the
+work of demolishing the buildings, and Mr. Gomme remarks with reference
+to these animals:--"Now here we have some glimmer of light thrown upon
+the subject--the introduction of animal life leads to the subject of
+animal sacrifice." I will not follow Mr. Gomme in this part of his
+dissertation, but I will remark that the agencies he mentions as
+belonging to the first stage are identical in Wales, England, and
+Scotland, and we have an example of the second stage in Wales, in the
+traditions of Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, and of Llangar Church, near Corwen.
+
+
+VII. LLANGAR CHURCH.
+
+
+"The tradition is that Llangar Church was to have been built near the
+spot where the Cynwyd Bridge crosses the Dee. Indeed, we are told that
+the masons set to work, but all the stones they laid in the day were gone
+during the night none knew whither. The builders were warned,
+supernaturally, that they must seek a spot where on hunting a 'Carw Gwyn'
+(white stag) would be started. They did so, and Llangar Church is the
+result. From this circumstance the church was called Llan-garw-gwyn, and
+from this name the transition to Llangar is easy."--_Gossiping Guide to
+Wales_, p. 128.
+
+I find in a document written by the Rural Dean for the guidance of the
+Bishop of St. Asaph, in 1729, that the stag was started in a thicket
+where the Church of Llangar now stands. "And (as the tradition is) the
+boundaries of the parish on all sides were settled for 'em by this poor
+deer, where he was forc'd to run for his life, there lye their bounds.
+He at last fell, and the place where he was killed is to this day called
+_Moel y Lladdfa_, or the _Hill of Slaughter_."
+
+
+VIII. ST. DAVID'S CHURCH, DENBIGH.
+
+
+There is a tradition connected with Old St. David's Church, Denbigh,
+recorded in Gee's _Guide to Denbigh_, that the building could not be
+completed, because whatever portion was finished in the day time was
+pulled down and carried to another place at night by some invisible hand,
+or supernatural power.
+
+The party who malignantly frustrates the builders' designs is in several
+instances said to have been the Devil. "We find," says Mr. William
+Crossing, in the _Antiquary_, vol. iv., p. 34, "that the Church of
+Plymton St. Mary, has connected with it the legend so frequently attached
+to ecclesiastical buildings, of the removal by the _Enemy of Mankind_ of
+the building materials by night, from the spot chosen for its erection to
+another at some distance."
+
+And again, Mr A. N. Palmer, quoting in the _Antiquary_, vol. iv., p. 34,
+what was said at the meeting of the British Association, in 1878, by Mr.
+Peckover, respecting the detached Tower of the Church of West Walton,
+near Wisbech, Norfolk, writes:--"During the early days of that Church the
+Fenmen were very wicked, and the _Evil Spirit_ hired a number of people
+to carry the tower away."
+
+Mr. W. S. Lach-Szyrma, in the _Antiquary_, vol. iii., p. 188,
+writes:--"Legends of _the Enemy of Mankind_ and some old buildings are
+numerous enough--e.g., it is said that as the masons built up the towers
+of Towednack Church, near St. Ives, the _Devil_ knocked the stones down;
+hence its dwarfed dimensions."
+
+The preceding stories justify me in relegating this kind of myth to the
+same class as those in which spirits are driven from churches and _laid_
+in a neighbouring pool; and perhaps in these latter, as in the former, is
+dimly seen traces of the antagonism, in remote times, between peoples
+holding different religious beliefs, and the steps taken by one party to
+seize and appropriate the sacred spots of the other.
+
+
+
+_Apparitions of the Devil_.
+
+
+To accomplish his nefarious designs the Evil Spirit assumed forms
+calculated to attain his object. The following lines from Allan
+Cunningham's _Traditional Tales_, p. 9, aptly describe his
+transformations:--
+
+ Soon he shed
+ His hellish slough, and many a subtle wile
+ Was his to seem a heavenly spirit to man,
+ First, he a hermit, sore subdued in flesh,
+ O'er a cold cruse of water and a crust,
+ Poured out meet prayers abundant. Then he changed
+ Into a maid when she first dreams of man,
+ And from beneath two silken eyelids sent,
+ The sidelong light of two such wondrous eyes,
+ That all the saints grew sinners . . .
+ Then a professor of God's word he seemed,
+ And o'er a multitude of upturned eyes
+ Showered blessed dews, and made the pitchy path,
+ Down which howl damned Spirits, seem the bright
+ Thrice hallowed way to Heaven; yet grimly through
+ The glorious veil of those seducing shapes,
+ Frowned out the fearful Spirit.
+
+S. Anthony, in the wilderness, as related in his life by S. Athanasius,
+had many conflicts in the night with the powers of darkness, Satan
+appearing personally to him, to batter him from the strongholds of his
+faith. S. Dunstan, in his cell, was tempted by the Devil in the form of
+a lovely woman, but a grip of his nose with a heated tongs made him
+bellow out, and cease his nightly visits to that holy man. Ezra Peden,
+as related by Allan Cunningham, was also tempted by one who "was indeed
+passing fair," and the longer he looked on her she became the
+lovelier--"_owre lovely for mere flesh and blood_," and poor Peden
+succumbed to her wiles.
+
+From the book of Tobit it would appear that an Evil Spirit slew the first
+seven husbands of Sara from jealousy and lust, in the vain hope of
+securing her for himself. In Giraldus Cambrensis's _Itinerary through
+Wales_, Bohn's ed., p. 411 demons are shown to possess those qualities
+which are ascribed to them in the Apocryphal book of Tobit.
+
+There is nothing new, as far as I am aware, respecting the doings of the
+Great Enemy of mankind in Welsh Folk-Lore. His tactics in the
+Principality evince no originality. They are the usual weapons used by
+him everywhere, and these he found to be sufficient for his purposes even
+in Wales.
+
+Gladly would I here put down my pen and leave the uncongenial task of
+treating further about the spirits of darkness to others, but were I to
+do so, I should be guilty of a grave omission, for, as I have already
+said, ghosts, goblins, spirits, and other beings allied to Satan, occupy
+a prominent place in Welsh Folk-Lore.
+
+Of a winter's evening, by the faint light of a peat fire and rush
+candles, our forefathers recounted the weird stories of olden times, of
+devils, fairies, ghosts, witches, apparitions, giants, hidden treasures,
+and other cognate subjects, and they delighted in implanting terrors in
+the minds of the listeners that no philosophy, nor religion of after
+years, could entirely eradicate. These tales made a strong impression
+upon the imagination, and possibly upon the conduct of the people, and
+hence the necessity laid upon me to make a further selection of the many
+tales that I have collected on this subject.
+
+I will begin with a couple of stories extracted from the work of the Rev.
+Edmund Jones, by a writer in the _Cambro-Briton_, vol. ii., p. 276.
+
+
+
+_Satan appearing to a Man who was fetching a Load of Bibles_, _etc._
+
+
+"A Mr. Henry Llewelyn, having been sent to Samuel Davies, of Ystrad
+Defodoc Parish, in Glamorganshire, to fetch a load of books, viz.,
+Bibles, Testaments, Watts's Psalms, Hymns, and Songs for Children,
+said--Coming home by night towards Mynyddustwyn, having just passed by
+Clwyd yr Helygen ale-house, and being in a dry part of the lane--the
+mare, which he rode, stood still, and, like the ass of the ungodly
+Balaam, would go no farther, but kept drawing back. Presently he could
+see a living thing, round like a bowl, rolling from the right hand to the
+left, and crossing the lane, moving sometimes slow and sometimes very
+swift--yea, swifter than a bird could fly, though it had neither wings
+nor feet,--altering also its size. It appeared three times, less one
+time than another, seemed least when near him, and appeared to roll
+towards the mare's belly. The mare would then want to go forward, but he
+stopped her, to see more carefully what manner of thing it was. He
+staid, as he thought, about three minutes, to look at it; but, fearing to
+see a worse sight, he thought it high time to speak to it, and
+said--'What seekest thou, thou foul thing? In the name of the Lord
+Jesus, go away!' And by speaking this it vanished, and sank into the
+ground near the mare's feet. It appeared to be of a _reddish oak
+colour_."
+
+In a footnote to this tale we are told that formerly near Clwyd yr
+Helygen, the Lord's Day was greatly profaned, and "it may be that the
+Adversary was wroth at the good books and the bringer of them; for he
+well knew what burden the mare carried."
+
+The editor of the _Cambro-Briton_ remarks that the superstitions
+recorded, if authentic, "are not very creditable to the intelligence of
+our lower classes in Wales; but it is some satisfaction to think that
+none of them are of recent date." The latter remark was, I am sorry to
+say, rather premature.
+
+One other quotation from the same book I will here make.
+
+
+
+_The Devil appearing to a Dissenting Minister at Denbigh_.
+
+
+"The Rev. Mr. Thomas Baddy, who lived in Denbigh Town, and was a
+Dissenting Minister in that place, went into his study one night, and
+while he was reading or writing, he heard some one behind him laughing
+and grinning at him, which made him stop a little--as well indeed it
+might. It came again, and then he wrote on a piece of paper, that
+devil-wounding scripture, 1st John, 3rd,--'For this was the Son of God
+manifested, that he might destroy the works of the Devil,'--and held it
+backwards from him, when the laughing ceased for ever; for it was a
+melancholy word to a scoffing Devil, and enough to damp him. It would
+have damped him yet more, if he had shewn him James, ii. 19--'The devils
+believe and tremble.' But he had enough for one time."
+
+The following objectless tale, still extant, I believe, in the
+mountainous parts of Denbighshire, is another instance of the credulity
+in former days of the people.
+
+
+
+_Satan seen Lying right across a Road_.
+
+
+The story related to me was as follows:--Near Pentrevoelas lived a man
+called John Ty'nllidiart, who was in the habit of taking, yearly, cattle
+from the uplands in his neighbourhood, to be wintered in the Vale of
+Clwyd. Once, whilst thus engaged, he saw lying across the road right in
+front of him and the cattle, and completely blocking up the way, Satan
+with his head on one wall and his tail on the other, moaning horribly.
+John, as might be expected, hurried homewards, leaving his charge to take
+their chance with the Evil One, but long before he came to his house, the
+odour of brimstone had preceded him, and his wife was only too glad to
+find that it was her husband that came through the door, for she thought
+that it was someone else that was approaching.
+
+
+
+_The Devil's Tree by Eglwys Rhos_, _near Llandudno_.
+
+
+At the corner of the first turning after passing the village of Llanrhos,
+on the left hand side, is a withered oak tree, called by the natives of
+those parts the Devil's Tree, and it was thought to be haunted, and
+therefore the young and timid were afraid to pass it of a dark night.
+
+The Rev. W. Arthur Jones, late Curate of the parish, told me that his
+horse was in the habit of shying whenever it came opposite this blighted
+tree, and his servant accounted for this by saying that the horse saw
+something there which was invisible to the sight of man. Be this as it
+may, the tree has an uncanny appearance and a bad reputation, which some
+years ago was greatly increased by an occurrence that happened there to
+Cadwaladr Williams, a shoemaker, who lived at Llansantffraid Glan Conway.
+
+Cadwaladr was in the habit of carrying his work home to Llandudno to his
+customers every Saturday night in a wallet, and with the money which they
+paid him he bought eatables for the coming week, and carried shoes to be
+patched in one end of the wallet, and groceries, etc., in the other end,
+and, by adjusting the wallet he balanced it, and carried it, over his
+shoulders, home again.
+
+This shoemaker sometimes refreshed himself too freely before starting
+homewards from Llandudno, and he was in the habit of turning into the
+public house at Llanrhos to gain courage to pass the Devil's Tree.
+
+One Saturday night, instead of quietly passing this tree on the other
+side, he walked fearlessly up to it, and defied the Evil One to appear if
+he were there. No sooner had he uttered the defiant words than something
+fell from the tree, and lit upon his shoulders, and grasped poor
+Cadwaladr's neck with a grip of iron. He fought with the incubus
+savagely to get rid of it, but all his exertions were in vain, and so he
+was obliged to proceed on his journey with this fearful thing clinging to
+him, which became heavier and heavier every step he took. At last,
+thoroughly exhausted, he came to Towyn, and, more dead than alive, he
+reached a friend's door and knocked, and oh, what pleasure, before the
+door was opened the weight on his back had gone, but his friend knew who
+it was that Cadwaladr had carried from the Devil's Tree.
+
+
+
+_Satan appearing as a Lovely Maiden_.
+
+
+The following story I received from the Rev. Owen Jones, Pentrevoelas.
+As regards details it is a fragment.
+
+A young man who was walking from Dyserth to Rhyl was overtaken by a
+lovely young lady dressed in white. She invited conversation, and they
+walked together awhile talking kindly, but, when they came opposite a
+pool on the road side she disappeared, in the form of a ball of fire,
+into the water.
+
+All that has reached our days, in corroboration of this tale, is the
+small pool.
+
+The next tale was told me by the Rev. R. Jones, Rector of Llanycil. Mr.
+Jones gave names and localities, which I have indicated by initials.
+
+
+
+_A Man carried away by the Evil One_.
+
+
+W. E., of Ll--- M---, was a very bad man; he was a brawler, a fighter, a
+drunkard. He is said to have spat in the parson's face, and to have
+struck him, and beaten the parish clerk who interfered. It was believed
+that he had sold himself to work evil, and many foul deeds he committed,
+and, what was worse, he gloried in them.
+
+People thought that his end would be a shocking one, and they were not
+disappointed. One night this reprobate and stubborn character did not
+return home. The next day search was made for him, and his dead body was
+found on the brink of the river. Upon inspecting the ground, it became
+evident that the deceased had had a desperate struggle with an unknown
+antagonist, and the battle commenced some distance above the _ceunant_,
+or _dingle_, where the body was discovered. It was there seen that the
+man had planted his heels deep into the ground, as if to resist a
+superior force, intent upon dragging him down to the river. There were
+indications that he had lost his footing; but a few yards lower down it
+was observed that his feet had ploughed the ground, and every step taken
+from this spot was traceable all down the declivity to the bottom of the
+ravine, and every yard gave proof that a desperate and prolonged struggle
+had taken place along the whole course. In one place an oak tree
+intercepted the way, and it was seen that a bough had its bark peeled
+off, and evidently the wretched man had taken hold of this bough and did
+not let go until the bark came off in his hands, for in death he still
+clutched the bark. The last and most severe struggle took place close to
+the river, and here the body was dragged underneath the roots of a tree,
+through a hole not big enough for a child to creep through, and this
+ended the fight.
+
+Mr. Jones stated that what was most remarkable and ominous in connection
+with this foul work was the fact that, although footprints were seen in
+the ground, they were all those of the miserable man, for there were no
+other marks visible. From this fact and the previous evil life of this
+wretched creature, the people in those parts believed that the fearful
+struggle had taken place between W. E. and the Evil One, and that he had
+not been murdered by any man, but that he was taken away by Satan.
+
+The next tale is a type of many once common in Wales, and as in one
+respect it connects these tales, or at least this particular one, with
+Fairy stories, I will relate it.
+
+
+
+_Satan appearing to a Young Man_.
+
+
+A young man, who had left Pentrevoelas to live in a farm house called
+Hafod Elwy, had to go over the hills to Denbigh on business. He started
+very early, before the cock crew, and as it was winter, his journey over
+the bleak moorlands was dismal and dreary. When he had proceeded several
+miles on his journey an unaccountable dread crept over him. He tried to
+dispel his fear by whistling and by knocking the ground with his walking
+stick, but all in vain. He stopped, and thought of returning home, but
+this he could not do, for he was more afraid of the ridicule of his
+friends than of his own fear, and therefore he proceeded on his journey
+and reached Pont Brenig, where he stopped awhile, and listened, thinking
+he might see or hear someone approaching. To his horror, he observed,
+through the glimmering light of the coming day, a tall gentleman
+approaching, and by a great exertion he mastered his feelings so far as
+to enable him to walk towards the stranger, but when within a few yards
+of him he stood still, for from fright he could not move. He noticed
+that the gentleman wore grey clothes, and breeches fastened with yellow
+buckles, on his coat were two rows of buttons like gold, his shoes were
+low, with bright clasps to them. Strange to say, this gentleman did not
+pass the terrified man, but stepped into the bog and disappeared from
+view.
+
+Ever afterwards, when this man passed the spot where he had met the Evil
+One, he found there money or other valuables. This latter incident
+connects this tale with Fairy Folk-Lore, as the Fair People were credited
+with bestowing gifts on mortals.
+
+
+
+_Satan appearing to a Collier_.
+
+
+John Roberts of Colliers' Row, Cyfartha, Merthyr, was once going to
+Aberdare over the mountain. On the top of the hill he was met by a
+handsome gentleman, who wore a three-cocked hat, a red waistcoat, and a
+blue coat. The appearance of this well dressed man took John Roberts's
+fancy; but he could not understand why he should be alone on Aberdare
+mountain, and, furthermore, why he did not know the way to Aberdare, for
+he had asked Roberts to direct him to the town. John stared at the
+gentleman, and saw clearly a cloven foot and a long tail protruding
+underneath the blue coat, and there and then the gentleman changed
+himself into a _pig_, which stood before John, gave a big grunt, and then
+ran away.
+
+I received the story from a lady to whom Roberts related it.
+
+All these tales belong to modern times, and some of them appear to be
+objectless as well as ridiculous.
+
+There are a few places in Wales which take their names from Satan. The
+_Devil's Bridge_ is so called from the tradition that it was erected by
+him upon the condition that the first thing that passed over it should be
+his. In his design he was balked, for his intended victim, who was
+accompanied by his faithful dog, threw a piece of bread across the bridge
+after which the dog ran, and thus became the Devil's property, but this
+victim Satan would not take.
+
+_The Devil's Kitchen_ is a chasm in the rock on the west side of Llyn
+Idwal, Carnarvonshire. The view through this opening, looking downwards
+towards Ogwen Lake, is sublime, and, notwithstanding its uncanny name,
+the Kitchen is well worthy of a visit from lovers of nature.
+
+From the following quotation, taken from _Y Gordofigion_, p. 110, it
+would appear that there is a rock on the side of Cader Idris called after
+the Evil One. The words are:--
+
+"Mae ar dir Rhiwogo, ar ochr Cader Idris, graig a elwir.
+'_Careg-gwr-drwg_,' byth ar ol y Sabboth hwnw pan ddaeth yno at drigolion
+plwyfydd Llanfihangel Pennant ac Ystradgwyn, pan oeddynt wedi ymgasglu i
+chwareu cardiau, a dawnsio; ac y rhoddodd dro o amgylch y graig gan
+ddawnsio, ac y mae ol ei draed ar y graig eto."
+
+This in English is as follows:--There is on the land belonging to
+Rhiwogo, on the side of Cader Idris, a rock called _The Rock of the Evil
+One_, so named ever after that Sabbath, when he came there to join the
+parishioners of Llanfihangel Pennant and Ystradgwyn, who had gathered
+together to play cards and dance, and there he danced around the rock,
+and to this day the marks of his feet are to be seen in the rock.
+
+There were, perhaps are, in Pembrokeshire, two stones, called the Devil's
+Nags, which were haunted by Evil Spirits, who troubled the people that
+passed that way.
+
+_Ceubren yr Ellyll_, the Hobgoblin's Hollow Tree, a noble oak, once
+ornamented Nannau Park, Merionethshire. Tradition says that it was
+within the trunk of this tree that Glyndwr buried his cousin, Howel Sele,
+who fell a victim to the superior strength and skill of his relative.
+Ever after that sad occurrence the place was troubled, sounds proceeded
+out of the tree, and fire hovered over it, and, according to a writer in
+_The Cambro-Briton_, vol. i., p. 226:--
+
+ E'en to this day, the peasant still
+ With cautious fear treads o'er the ground;
+ In each wild bush a spectre sees,
+ And trembles at each rising sound.
+
+One of the caves in Little Orme's Head, Llandudno, is known as _Ogof
+Cythreuliaid_, the Cave of Devils.
+
+From the preceding names of places, which do not by any means exhaust the
+list, it will be seen that many romantic spots in Wales are associated
+with Demons.
+
+There are also sayings in Welsh connected with the Evil One. Thus, in
+our days may be heard, when it rains and the sun shines at the same time,
+the expression, "_Mae'r Gwr Drwg yn waldio'i wraig_"--the Devil is
+beating his wife.
+
+Besides the Biblical names, by which Satan is known, in Wales, there are
+several others in use, not to be found in the Bible, but it would seem
+that these names are borrowed being either importations or translations;
+in fact, it is doubtful, whether we possess any exclusively Welsh terms
+applied solely to the Devil. _Andras_ or _Andros_ is common in North
+Wales for the Evil One. Canon Silvan Evans in his Welsh Dictionary
+derives this word from _an_, without, and _gras_, grace; thus, the word
+becomes synonymous with gracelessness, and he remarks that, although the
+term is generally rendered devil, it is much softer than that term, or
+its Welsh equivalent _diawl_.
+
+_Y Fall_ is another term applied to Satan in Wales. Dr. Owen Pugh
+defines the word as what is squabby, bulky. The most common expressions
+for the devil, however, are _Cythraul_, and _diawl_, or _diafol_, but
+these two last named words are merely forms of Diabolos. Other
+expressions, such as Old Nick, Old Harry, have found a home in Wales. _Y
+gwr drwg_, the bad man, _Gwas drwg_, the wicked servant, _Yr yspryd
+drwg_, the wicked spirit, _Yr hen fachgen_, the old boy, and such like
+expressions, are also common. Silly women frighten small children by
+telling them that the _Bo_, the _bogey_, the _bogey bo_, or _bolol_,
+etc., will take them away if they are not quiet.
+
+
+
+_Ghosts_, _or Spirits_.
+
+
+Ghosts, or Spirits, were supposed to be the shades of departed human
+beings who, for certain reasons, were permitted to visit either nightly,
+or periodically, this upper world.
+
+The hour that Spirits came to the earth was mid-night, and they remained
+until cock-crowing, when they were obliged to depart. So strongly did
+the people believe in the hours of these visits, that formerly no one
+would stay from home later than twelve o'clock at night, nor would any
+one proceed on a journey, until chanticleer had announced that the way
+was clear. Christmas Eve, however, was an exception, for during that
+night, no evil Spirit could appear.
+
+It was thought that if two persons were together, one only could see the
+Spirit, to the other he was invisible, and to one person only would the
+Spirit speak, and this he would do when addressed; otherwise, he remained
+silent.
+
+Ghosts re-visited the world to reveal hidden treasures, and the murdered
+haunted the place where their unburied bodies lay, or until vengeance
+overtook the murderer, and the wicked were doomed to walk the earth until
+they were laid in lake, or river, or in the Red Sea.
+
+The presence of Spirits was announced by a clanking of chains, by
+shrieks, or other horrible noises, and dogs, and horses, were credited
+with the power of seeing Spirits. Horses trembled and perspired at their
+presence, and dogs whined and crouched at their approach.
+
+The tales which I shall now relate throw a glimmering light on the
+subject now under consideration.
+
+
+
+_The Gloddaeth Ghost_.
+
+
+The following tale was told the Rev. Owen Jones, Pentrevoelas, by Thomas
+Davies, Tycoch, Rhyl, the hero in the story.
+
+I may say that Gloddaeth Wood is a remnant of the primaeval forest that
+is mentioned by Sir John Wynn, in his _History of the Gwydir Family_, as
+extending over a large tract of the country. This wood, being
+undisturbed and in its original wild condition, was the home of foxes and
+other vermin, for whose destruction the surrounding parishes willingly
+paid half-a-crown per head. This reward was an inducement to men who had
+leisure, to trap and hunt these obnoxious animals. Thomas Davies was
+engaged in this work, and, taking a walk through the wood one day for the
+purpose of discovering traces of foxes, he came upon a fox's den, and
+from the marks about the burrow he ascertained that there were young
+foxes in the hole. This was to him a grand discovery, for, in
+anticipation, cubs and vixen were already his. Looking about him, he
+noticed that there was opposite the fox's den a large oak tree with
+forked branches, and this sight settled his plan of operation. He saw
+that he could place himself in this tree in such a position that he could
+see the vixen leave, and return to her den, and, from his knowledge of
+the habits of the animal, he knew she would commence foraging when
+darkness and stillness prevailed. He therefore determined to commence
+the campaign forthwith, and so he went home to make his preparations.
+
+I should say that the sea was close to the wood, and that small craft
+often came to grief on the coast. I will now proceed with the story.
+
+Davies had taken his seat on a bough opposite the fox's den, when he
+heard a horrible scream in the direction of the sea, which apparently was
+that of a man in distress, and the sound uttered was "Oh, Oh." Thus
+Davies's attention was divided between the dismal, "Oh," and his fox.
+But, as the sound was a far way off, he felt disinclined to heed it, for
+he did not think it incumbent on him to ascertain the cause of that
+distressing utterance, nor did he think it his duty to go to the relief
+of a suffering fellow creature. He therefore did not leave his seat on
+the tree. But the cry of anguish, every now and again, reached his ears,
+and evidently, it was approaching the tree on which Davies sat. He now
+listened the more to the awful sounds, which at intervals reverberated
+through the wood, and he could no longer be mistaken--they were coming in
+his direction. Nearer and nearer came the dismal "Oh! Oh!" and with its
+approach, the night became pitch dark, and now the "Oh! Oh! Oh!" was
+only a few yards off, but nothing could be seen in consequence of the
+deep darkness. The sounds however ceased, but a horrible sight was
+presented to the frightened man's view. There, he saw before him, a nude
+being with eyes burning like fire, and these glittering balls were
+directed towards him. The awful being was only a dozen yards or so off.
+And now it crouched, and now it stood erect, but it never for a single
+instant withdrew its terrible eyes from the miserable man in the tree,
+who would have fallen to the ground were it not for the protecting
+boughs. Many times Davies thought that his last moment had come, for it
+seemed that the owner of those fiery eyes was about to spring upon him.
+As he did not do so, Davies somewhat regained his self possession, and
+thought of firing at the horrible being; but his courage failed, and
+there he sat motionless, not knowing what the end might be. He closed
+his eyes to avoid that gaze, which seemed to burn into him, but this was
+a short relief, for he felt constrained to look into those burning orbs,
+still it was a relief even to close his eyes: and so again and again he
+closed them, only, however, to open them on those balls of fire. About 4
+o'clock in the morning, he heard a cock crow at Penbryn farm, and at the
+moment his eyes were closed, but at the welcome sound he opened them, and
+looked for those balls of fire, but, oh! what pleasure, they were no
+longer before him, for, at the crowing of the cock, they, and the being
+to whom they belonged, had disappeared.
+
+
+
+_Tymawr Ghost_, _Bryneglwys_.
+
+
+This Ghost plagued the servants, pinched and tormented them, and they
+could not get rest day nor night; such was the character of this Ghost as
+told me by Mr. Richard Jones, Ty'n-y-wern. But, said I, what was the
+cause of his acts, was it the Ghost of anyone who had been murdered? To
+this question, Jones gave the following account of the Ghost's arrival at
+Tymawr. A man called at this farm, and begged for something to eat, and
+as he was shabbily dressed, the girls laughed at him, and would not give
+him anything, and when going away, he said, speaking over his shoulder,
+"You will repent your conduct to me." In a few nights afterwards the
+house was plagued, and the servants were pinched all night. This went on
+days and days, until the people were tired of their lives. They,
+however, went to Griffiths, Llanarmon, a minister, who was celebrated as
+a Layer of Ghosts, and he came, and succeeded in capturing the Ghost in
+the form of a spider, and shut him up in his tobacco box and carried him
+away, and the servants were never afterwards plagued.
+
+
+
+_Ffrith Farm Ghost_.
+
+
+I am indebted to Mr. Williams, schoolmaster, Bryneglwys, for the history
+of this Ghost.
+
+It was not known why Ffrith farm was troubled by a Ghost; but when the
+servants were busily engaged in cheese making the Spirit would suddenly
+throw mortar, or filthy matter, into the milk, and thus spoil the curds.
+The dairy was visited by the Ghost, and there he played havoc with the
+milk and dishes. He sent the pans, one after the other, around the room,
+and dashed them to pieces. The terrible doings of the Ghost was a topic
+of general conversation in those parts. The farmer offered a reward of
+five pounds to anyone who would lay the Spirit. One Sunday afternoon,
+about 2 o'clock, an aged priest visited the farm yard, and in the
+presence of a crowd of spectators exorcised the Ghost, but without
+effect. In fact, the Ghost waved a woman's bonnet right in the face of
+the priest. The farmer then sent for Griffiths, an Independent minister
+at Llanarmon, who enticed the Ghost to the barn. Here the Ghost appeared
+in the form of a lion, but he could not touch Griffiths, because he stood
+in the centre of a circle, which the lion could not pass over. Griffiths
+persuaded the Ghost to appear in a less formidable shape, or otherwise he
+would have nothing to do with him. The Ghost next came in the form of a
+mastiff, but Griffiths objected even to this appearance; at last, the
+Ghost appeared as a fly, which was captured by Griffiths and secured in
+his tobacco box, and carried away. Griffiths acknowledged that this
+Ghost was the most formidable one that he had ever conquered.
+
+From this tale it would appear that some ghosts were more easily overcome
+than others.
+
+
+
+_Pont-y-Glyn Ghost_.
+
+
+There is a picturesque glen between Corwen and Cerrig-y-Drudion, down
+which rushes a mountain stream, and over this stream is a bridge, called
+Pont-y-Glyn. On the left hand side, a few yards from the bridge, on the
+Corwen side, is a yawning chasm, through which the river bounds. Here
+people who have travelled by night affirm that they have seen ghosts--the
+ghosts of those who have been murdered in this secluded glen.
+
+A man who is now a bailiff near Ruthin, but at the time of the appearance
+of the Ghost to him at Pont-y-Glyn was a servant at Garth Meilio--states
+that one night, when he was returning home late from Corwen, he saw
+before him, seated on a heap of stones, a female dressed in Welsh
+costume. He wished her good night, but she returned him no answer. She,
+however, got up and proceeded down the road, which she filled, so great
+were her increased dimensions.
+
+Other Spirits are said to have made their homes in the hills not far from
+Pont-y-Glyn. There was the Spirit of Ystrad Fawr, a strange Ghost that
+transformed himself into many things. I will give the description of
+this Ghost in the words of the author of _Y Gordofigion_.
+
+
+
+_Ysbryd Ystrad Fawr_.
+
+
+"Yr oedd Ysbryd yn Ystrad Fawr, ger Llangwm, yn arfer ymddangos ar
+brydiau ar lun twrci, a'i gynffon o'i amgylch fel olwyn troell. Bryd
+arall, byddai yn y coed, nes y byddai y rhai hyny yn ymddangos fel pe
+buasent oll ar dan; bryd arall, byddai fel ci du mawr yn cnoi
+asgwrn."--_Y Gordofigion_, p. 106.
+
+_Ystrad Fawr Ghost_ in English is as follows:--
+
+There was a Ghost at Ystrad Fawr, near Llangwm, that was in the habit of
+appearing like a turkey with his tail spread out like a spinning wheel.
+At other times he appeared in the wood, when the trees would seem as if
+they were on fire, again he would assume the shape of a large black dog
+gnawing a bone.
+
+
+
+_Ty Felin Ghost_, _Llanynys_.
+
+
+An exciseman, overtaken by night, went to a house called Ty Felin, in the
+parish of Llanynys, and asked for lodgings. Unfortunately the house was
+a very small one, containing only two bedrooms, and one of these was
+haunted, consequently no one dared sleep in it. After awhile, however,
+the stranger induced the master to allow him to sleep in this haunted
+room; he had not been there long before a Ghost entered the room in the
+shape of a travelling Jew, and the Spirit walked around the room. The
+exciseman tried to catch him, and gave chase, but he lost sight of the
+Jew in the yard. He had scarcely entered the room, a second time, when
+he again saw the Ghost. He again chased him, and lost sight of him in
+the same place. The third time he followed the Ghost, he made a mark on
+the yard, where the Ghost vanished and went to rest, and was not again
+troubled. He got up early and went his way, but, before long, he
+returned to Ty Felin accompanied by a policeman, whom he requested to dig
+in the place where his mark was. This was done, and, underneath a
+superficial covering, a deep well was discovered, and in it a corpse. On
+examining the tenant of the house, he confessed that a travelling Jew,
+selling jewelry, etc., once lodged with him, and that he had murdered
+him, and cast his body in the well.
+
+
+
+_Llandegla Spirit_.
+
+
+The tale of this Spirit was given me by Mr. Roberts, late Schoolmaster of
+Llandegla. A small river runs close to the secluded village of
+Llandegla, and in this mountain stream under a huge stone lies a wicked
+Ghost. The tale is as follows:--
+
+The old Rectory at Llandegla was haunted; the Spirit was very
+troublesome; no peace was to be got because of it; every night it was at
+its work. A person of the name of Griffiths, who lived at Graianrhyd,
+was sent for to lay the Ghost. He came to the Rectory, but the Spirit
+could not be overcome. It is true Griffiths saw it, but in such a form
+that he could not approach it; night after night, the Spirit appeared in
+various forms, but still the conjurer was unable to master it. At last
+it came to the wise man in the form of a fly, which Griffiths immediately
+captured, and placed in a small box. This box he buried under a large
+stone in the river, just below the bridge, near the Llandegla Mills, and
+there the Spirit is to remain until a certain tree, which grows by the
+bridge, reaches the height of the parapet, and then, when this takes
+place, the Spirit shall have power to regain his liberty. To prevent
+this tree from growing, the school children, even to this day, nip the
+upper branches, and thus retard its upward growth. Mr. Roberts received
+the story I have given, from the old Parish Clerk, John Jones the weaver,
+who died a few years ago.
+
+
+
+_Lady Jeffrey's Spirit_.
+
+
+This lady could not rest in her grave because of her misdeeds, and she
+troubled people dreadfully; at last she was persuaded or enticed to
+contract her dimensions, and enter into a bottle. She did so, after
+appearing in a good many hideous forms; but when she got into the bottle,
+it was corked down securely, and the bottle was cast into the pool
+underneath the Short bridge, Llanidloes, and there the lady was to remain
+until the ivy that grew up the buttresses should overgrow the sides of
+the bridge, and reach the parapet. The ivy was dangerously near the top
+of the bridge when the writer was a schoolboy, and often did he and his
+companions crop off its tendrils as they neared the prescribed limits for
+we were all terribly afraid to release the dreaded lady out of the
+bottle. In the year 1848, the old bridge was blown up, and a new one
+built instead of it. A schoolfellow, whom we called Ben, was playing by
+the aforesaid pool when the bridge was undergoing reconstruction, and he
+found by the river's side a small bottle, and in the bottle was a little
+black thing, that was never quiet, but it kept bobbing up and down
+continually, just as if it wanted to get out. Ben kept the bottle safely
+for a while, but ere long he was obliged to throw it into the river, for
+his relations and neighbours came to the conclusion that that was the
+very bottle that contained Lady Jeffrey's Spirit, and they also surmised
+that the little black restless thing was nothing less than the lady
+herself. Ben consequently resigned the bottle and its contents to the
+pool again, there to undergo a prolonged, but unjust, term of
+imprisonment.
+
+
+
+_Pentrevoelas_.--_Squire Griffith's Ghost_.
+
+
+A couple of workmen engaged at Foelas, the seat of the late Squire
+Griffiths, thought they would steal a few apples from the orchard for
+their children, and for this purpose one evening, just before leaving off
+work, they climbed up a tree, but happening to look down, whom should
+they see but the Squire, wearing his three-cornered hat, and dressed in
+the clothes he used to wear when alive, and he was leaning against the
+trunk of the tree on which they were perched. In great fright they
+dropped to the ground and took to their heels. They ran without stopping
+to Bryn Coch, but there, to their horror, stood the Squire in the middle
+of the road quietly leaning on his staff. They again avoided him and ran
+home every step, without looking behind them. The orchard robbers never
+again saw their late master, nor did they ever again attempt to rob the
+orchard.
+
+
+
+_David Salisbury's Ghost_.
+
+
+I will quote from _Bye-Gones_, vol. iii., p. 211, an account of this
+Spirit.
+
+ "There was an old Welsh tradition in vogue some fifty years ago, that
+ one David Salisbury, son of _Harri Goch_ of Llanrhaiadr, near
+ Denbigh, and grandson to Thomas Salisbury hen of Lleweni, had given
+ considerable trouble to the living, long after his remains had been
+ laid in the grave. A good old soul, Mr. Griffiths of Llandegla,
+ averred that he had seen his ghost, mounted upon a white horse,
+ galloping over hedges and ditches in the dead of night, and had heard
+ his 'terrible groans,' which, he concluded, proceeded from the weight
+ of sin troubling the unhappy soul, which had to undergo these
+ untimely and unpleasant antics. An old Welsh ballad entitled 'Ysbryd
+ Dafydd Salbri,' professed to give the true account of the individual
+ in question, but the careful search of many years has failed me in
+ securing a copy of that horrible song.
+
+ GORONWY IFAN."
+
+This Spirit fared better than most of his compeers, for they, poor
+things, were, according to the popular voice, often doomed to ride
+headless horses, which madly galloped, the livelong night, hither and
+thither, where they would, to the great terror of the midnight traveller
+who might meet this mad unmanageable creature, and also, as it would
+seem, to the additional discomfort of the unfortunate rider.
+
+It is, or was believed in Gyffylliog parish, which is in the recesses of
+the Denbighshire mountains, four or five miles to the west of Ruthin,
+that the horses ridden by Spirits and goblins were real horses, and it
+was there said when horses were found in their stables at dawn in a state
+of perspiration that they had been taken out in the night and ridden by
+Spirits about the country, and hence their jaded condition in the
+morning.
+
+It was also thought that the horses found in the morning in their pasture
+ground with tangled manes and tails, and bodies covered with mud, had
+been during the night used by Spirits, who rushed them through mire and
+brier, and that consequently they presented the appearance of animals who
+had followed the hounds in a long chase through a stiff country.
+
+There is a strong family likeness between all Ghost stories, and a lack
+of originality in their construction, but this suggests a common source
+from which the majority of these fictions are derived.
+
+I now come to another phase of Spirit Folk-Lore, which has already been
+alluded to, viz., the visits of Ghosts for the purpose of revealing
+hidden treasures. The following tale, which I took down from the mouth
+of John Rowland, at one time the tenant of Plas-yn-llan, Efenechtyd, is
+an instance of this kind of story.
+
+
+
+_A Ghost Appearing to point out Hidden Treasures_.
+
+
+There is a farm house called Clwchdyrnog in the parish of Llanddeusant,
+Anglesey, which was said to have been haunted by a Spirit. It seems that
+no one would summon courage to speak to the Ghost, though it was seen by
+several parties; but one night, John Hughes, Bodedern, a widower, who
+visited the house for the purpose of obtaining a second Mrs. Hughes from
+among the servant girls there, spoke to the Ghost. The presence of the
+Spirit was indicated by a great noise in the room where Hughes and the
+girl were. In great fright Hughes invoked the Spirit, and asked why he
+troubled the house. "Have I done any wrong to you," said he, addressing
+the Spirit. "No," was the answer. Then he asked if the girl to whom he
+was paying his attentions was the cause of the Spirit's visit, and again
+he received the answer, "No." Then Hughes named individually all the
+inmates of the house in succession, and inquired if they were the cause
+of the Spirit's visits, and again he was answered in the negative. Then
+he asked why, since no one in the house had disturbed the Spirit, he came
+there to disturb the inmates. To this pertinent question the Spirit
+answered as follows:--"There are treasures hidden on the south side of
+Ffynnon Wen, which belong to, and are to be given to, the nine months old
+child in this house: when this is done, I will never disturb this house
+any more."
+
+The spot occupied by the treasure was minutely described by the Spirit,
+and Hughes promised to go to the place indicated. The next day, he went
+to the spot, and digging into the ground, he came upon an iron chest
+filled with gold, silver, and other valuables, and all these things he
+faithfully delivered up to the parents of the child to be kept by them
+for him until he should come of age to take possession of them himself.
+This they faithfully did, and the Spirit never again came to the house.
+
+John Rowland, my informant, was a native of Anglesey, and he stated that
+all the people of Llanddeusant knew of the story which he related to me.
+He was eighty-three years old at the time he told me the tale, and that
+was in October, 1882.
+
+But one of the most singular tales of the appearance of a Ghost is
+recorded in the autobiography of the grandfather of the late Mr. Thomas
+Wright, the well-known Shropshire antiquary. Mr. Wright's grandfather
+was a Methodist, and in the early days of that body the belief in
+apparitions was not uncommon amongst them. The story was told Mr.
+Wright, sen., in 1780, at the house, in Yorkshire, of Miss Bosanquet
+(afterwards the wife of Fletcher of Madeley), by Mr. John Hampson, sen.,
+a well-known preacher among the Methodists, who had just arrived from
+Wales.
+
+As the scene of the tale is laid in Powis Castle, I will call this
+visitation
+
+
+
+_The Powis Castle Ghost revealing a Hidden Box to a Woman_.
+
+
+The following is the narrative:--It had been for some time reported in
+the neighbourhood that a poor unmarried woman, who was a member of the
+Methodist Society, and had become serious under their ministry, had seen
+and conversed with the apparition of a gentleman, who had made a strange
+discovery to her. Mr. Hampson, being desirous to ascertain if there was
+any truth in the story, sent for the woman, and desired her to give him
+an exact relation of the whole affair from her own mouth, and as near the
+truth as she possibly could. She said she was a poor woman, who got her
+living by spinning hemp and line; that it was customary for the farmers
+and gentlemen of that neighbourhood to grow a little hemp or line in a
+corner of their fields for their own home consumption, and as she was a
+good hand at spinning the materials, she used to go from house to house
+to inquire for work; that her method was, where they employed her, during
+her stay to have meat, and drink, and lodging (if she had occasion to
+sleep with them), for her work, and what they pleased to give her
+besides. That, among other places, she happened to call one day at the
+Welsh Earl of Powis's country seat, called Redcastle, to inquire for
+work, as she usually had done before. The quality were at this time in
+London, and had left the steward and his wife, with other servants, as
+usual, to take care of their country residence in their absence. The
+steward's wife set her to work, and in the evening told her that she must
+stay all night with them, as they had more work for her to do next day.
+When bedtime arrived, two or three of the servants in company, with each
+a lighted candle in her hand, conducted her to her lodging. They led her
+to a ground room, with a boarded floor, and two sash windows. The room
+was grandly furnished, and had a genteel bed in one corner of it. They
+had made her a good fire, and had placed her a chair and a table before
+it, and a large lighted candle upon the table. They told her that was
+her bedroom, and she might go to sleep when she pleased. They then
+wished her a good night and withdrew altogether, pulling the door quickly
+after them, so as to hasp the spring-sneck in the brass lock that was
+upon it. When they were gone, she gazed awhile at the fine furniture,
+under no small astonishment that they should put such a poor person as
+her in so grand a room and bed, with all the apparatus of fire, chair,
+table, and candle. She was also surprised at the circumstance of the
+servants coming so many together, with each of them a candle. However,
+after gazing about her some little time, she sat down and took a small
+Welsh Bible out of her pocket, which she always carried about with her,
+and in which she usually read a chapter--chiefly in the New
+Testament--before she said her prayers and went to bed. While she was
+reading she heard the room door open, and turning her head, saw a
+gentleman enter in a gold-laced hat and waistcoat, and the rest of his
+dress corresponding therewith. (I think she was very particular in
+describing the rest of his dress to Mr. Hampson, and he to me at the
+time, but I have now forgot the other particulars).
+
+He walked down by the sash-window to the corner of the room and then
+returned. When he came to the first window in his return (the bottom of
+which was nearly breast-high), he rested his elbow on the bottom of the
+window, and the side of his face upon the palm of his hand, and stood in
+that leaning posture for some time, with his side partly towards her.
+She looked at him earnestly to see if she knew him, but, though from her
+frequent intercourse with them, she had a personal knowledge of all the
+present family, he appeared a stranger to her. She supposed afterwards
+that he stood in this manner to encourage her to speak; but as she did
+not, after some little time he walked off, pulling the door after him as
+the servants had done before.
+
+She began now to be much alarmed, concluding it to be an apparition, and
+that they had put her there on purpose. This was really the case. The
+room, it seems, had been disturbed for a long time, so that nobody could
+sleep peaceably in it, and as she passed for a very serious woman, the
+servants took it into their heads to put the Methodist and Spirit
+together, to see what they would make of it.
+
+Startled at this thought, she rose from her chair, and kneeled down by
+the bedside to say her prayers. While she was praying he came in again,
+walked round the room, and came close behind her. She had it on her mind
+to speak, but when she attempted it she was so very much agitated that
+she could not utter a word. He walked out of the room again, pulling the
+door after him as before.
+
+She begged that God would strengthen her and not suffer her to be tried
+beyond what she was able to bear. She recovered her spirits, and thought
+she felt more confidence and resolution, and determined if he came in
+again she would speak to him, if possible.
+
+He presently came in again, walked round, and came behind her as before;
+she turned her head and said, "Pray, sir, who are you, and what do you
+want?" He put up his finger, and said, "Take up the candle and follow
+me, and I will tell you." She got up, took up the candle, and followed
+him out of the room. He led her through a long boarded passage till they
+came to the door of another room, which he opened and went in. It was a
+small room, or what might be called a large closet. "As the room was
+small, and I believed him to be a Spirit," she said, "I stopped at the
+door; he turned and said, 'Walk in, I will not hurt you.' So I walked
+in. He said, 'Observe what I do.' I said, 'I will.' He stooped, and
+tore up one of the boards of the floor, and there appeared under it a box
+with an iron handle in the lid. He said, 'Do you see that box?' I said,
+'Yes, I do.' He then stepped to one side of the room, and showed me a
+crevice in the wall, where, he said, a key was hid that would open it.
+He said, 'This box and key must be taken out, and sent to the Earl in
+London' (naming the Earl, and his place of residence in the city). He
+said, 'Will you see it done?' I said, 'I will do my best to get it
+done.' He said, 'Do, and I will trouble the house no more.' He then
+walked out of the room and left me." (He seems to have been a very civil
+Spirit, and to have been very careful to affright her as little as
+possible). "I stepped to the room door and set up a shout. The steward
+and his wife, and the other servants came to me immediately, all clung
+together, with a number of lights in their hands. It seems they had all
+been waiting to see the issue of the interview betwixt me and the
+apparition. They asked me what was the matter? I told them the
+foregoing circumstances, and showed them the box. The steward durst not
+meddle with it, but his wife had more courage, and, with the help of the
+other servants, lugged it out, and found the key." She said by their
+lifting it appeared to be pretty heavy, but that she did not see it
+opened, and therefore did not know what it contained; perhaps money, or
+writings of consequence to the family, or both.
+
+They took it away with them, and she then went to bed and slept peaceably
+till the morning.
+
+It appeared afterwards that they sent the box to the Earl in London, with
+an account of the manner of its discovery and by whom; and the Earl sent
+down orders immediately to his steward to inform the poor woman who had
+been the occasion of this discovery, that if she would come and reside in
+his family, she should be comfortably provided for for the remainder of
+her days; or, if she did not choose to reside constantly with them, if
+she would let them know when she wanted assistance, she should be
+liberally supplied at his Lordship's expense as long as she lived. And
+Mr. Hampson said it was a known fact in the neighbourhood that she had
+been so supplied from his Lordship's family from the time the affair was
+said to have happened, and continued to be so at the time she gave Mr.
+Hampson this account.
+
+Such is the tale. I will make no comments on it. Many similar stories
+are extant. After one more tale, I will leave these Spirit stories, and
+I will then relate how troublesome Ghosts were laid.
+
+The Spirits of the preceding tales were sent from the unseen world to do
+good, but the Spirit of the maiden who gives a name to a Welsh lake,
+cried out for vengeance; but history does not inform us that she obtained
+satisfaction. There is a lake in Carnarvonshire called
+_Llyn-Nad-y-Forwyn_, or the Lake of the Maiden's Cry, to which is
+attached the following tale. I will call the tale
+
+
+
+_The Spirit of Llyn-Nad-y-Forwyn_.
+
+
+It is said that a young man was about to marry a young girl, and on the
+evening before the wedding they were rambling along the water's side
+together, but the man was false, and loved another better than the woman
+whom he was about to wed. They were alone in an unfrequented country,
+and the deceiver pushed the girl into the lake to get rid of her to marry
+his sweetheart. She lost her life. But ever afterwards her Spirit
+troubled the neighbourhood, but chiefly the scene of her murder.
+Sometimes she appeared as a ball of fire, rolling along the river Colwyn,
+at other times she appeared as a lady dressed in silk, taking a solitary
+walk along the banks of the river. At other times, groans and shrieks
+were heard coming out of the river--just such screams as would be uttered
+by a person who was being murdered. Sometimes a young maiden was seen
+emerging out of the waters, half naked, with dishevelled hair, that
+covered her shoulders, and the country resounded with her heart-rending
+crying as she appeared in the lake. The frequent crying of the Spirit
+gave to the lake its name, Llyn-Nad-y-Forwyn.
+
+
+
+_Spirit Laying_.
+
+
+It must have been a consolation to those who believed in the power of
+wicked Spirits to trouble people, that it was possible to lay these evil
+visitors in a pool of water, or to drive them away to the Red Sea, or to
+some other distant part of the world. It was generally thought that
+Spirits could be laid by a priest; and there were particular forms of
+exorcising these troublesome beings. A conjuror, or _Dyn Hysbys_, was
+also credited with this power, and it was thought that the prayer of a
+righteous man could overcome these emissaries of evil.
+
+But there was a place for hope in the case of these transported or laid
+Spirits. It was granted to some to return from the Red Sea to the place
+whence they departed by the length of a grain of wheat or barley corn
+yearly. The untold ages that it would take to accomplish a journey of
+four thousand miles thus slowly was but a very secondary consideration to
+the annihilation of hope. Many were the conditions imposed upon the
+vanquished Spirits by their conquerors before they could be permitted to
+return to their old haunts, and well might it be said that the conditions
+could not possibly be carried out; but still there was a place for hope
+in the breast of the doomed by the imposition of any terminable
+punishment.
+
+The most ancient instance of driving out a Spirit that I am acquainted
+with is to be found in the Book of Tobit. It seems to be the prototype
+of many like tales. The angel Raphael and Tobias were by the river
+Tigris, when a fish jumped out of the river, which by the direction of
+the angel was seized by the young man, and its heart, and liver, and gall
+extracted, and, at the angel's command carefully preserved by Tobias.
+When asked what their use might be, the angel informed him that the smoke
+of the heart and liver would drive away a devil or Evil Spirit that
+troubled anyone. In the 14th verse of the sixth chapter of Tobit we are
+told that a devil loved Sara, but that he did no harm to anyone,
+excepting to those who came near her. Knowing this, the young man was
+afraid to marry the woman; but remembering the words of Raphael, he went
+in unto his wife, and took the ashes of the perfumes as ordered, and put
+the heart and liver of the fish thereupon, and made a smoke therewith,
+the which smell, when the Evil Spirit had smelled, he fled into the
+utmost parts of Egypt, and the angel bound him. Such is the story, many
+variants of which are found in many countries.
+
+I am grieved to find that Sir John Wynne, who wrote the interesting and
+valuable _History of the Gwydir Family_, which ought to have secured for
+him kindly recognition from his countrymen, was by them deposited after
+death, for troubling good people, in Rhaiadr y Wenol. The superstition
+has found a place in Yorke's _Royal Tribes of Wales_.
+
+The following quotation is from the _History of the Gwydir Family_,
+Oswestry Edition, p. 7:--
+
+"Being shrewd and successful in his dealings, people were led to believe
+he oppressed them," and says Yorke in his _Royal Tribes of Wales_, "It is
+the superstition of Llanrwst to this day that the Spirit of the old
+gentleman lies under the great waterfall, Rhaiadr y Wennol, there to be
+punished, purged, spouted upon and purified from the foul deeds done in
+his days of nature."
+
+This gentleman, though, is not alone in occupying, until his misdeeds are
+expiated, a watery grave. There is hardly a pool in a river, or lake in
+which Spirits have not, according to popular opinion, been laid. In our
+days though, it is only the aged that speak of such matters.
+
+A Spirit could in part be laid. It is said that Abel Owen's Spirit, of
+Henblas, was laid by Gruffydd Jones, Cilhaul, in a bottle, and buried in
+a _gors_ near Llanrwst.
+
+This Gruffydd Jones had great trouble at Hafod Ucha between Llanrwst and
+Conway, to lay a Spirit. He began in the afternoon, and worked hard the
+whole night and the next day to lay the Spirit, but he succeeded in
+overcoming a part only of the Spirit. He was nearly dead from exhaustion
+and want of food before he could even master a portion of the Spirit.
+
+The preceding is a singular tale, for it teaches that Spirits are
+divisible. A portion of this Spirit, repute says, is still at large,
+whilst a part is undergoing purification.
+
+The following tale was told me by my friend, the Rev. T. H. Evans, Vicar
+of Llanwddyn.
+
+
+
+_Cynon's Ghost_.
+
+
+One of the wicked Spirits which plagued the secluded Valley of Llanwddyn
+long before it was converted into a vast reservoir to supply Liverpool
+with water was that of _Cynon_. Of this Spirit Mr. Evans writes
+thus:--"_Yspryd Cynon_ was a mischievous goblin, which was put down by
+_Dic Spot_ and put in a quill, and placed under a large stone in the
+river below Cynon Isaf. The stone is called '_Careg yr Yspryd_,' the
+Ghost Stone. This one received the following instructions, that he was
+to remain under the stone until the water should work its way between the
+stone and the dry land."
+
+The poor Spirit, to all appearance, was doomed to a very long
+imprisonment, but _Dic Spot_ did not foresee the wants and enterprise of
+the people of Liverpool, who would one day convert the Llanwddyn Valley
+into a lake fifteen miles in circumference, and release the Spirit from
+prison by the process of making their Waterworks.
+
+I might here say that there is another version current in the parish
+besides that given me by Mr. Evans, which is that the Spirit was to
+remain under the stone until the river was dried up. Perhaps both
+conditions were, to make things safe, imposed upon the Spirit.
+
+_Careg yr Yspryd_ and Cynon Isaf were at the entrance to the Valley of
+Llanwddyn, and down this opening, or mouth of the valley, rushed the
+river--the river that was to be dammed up for the use of Liverpool. The
+inhabitants of the valley knew the tradition respecting the Spirit, and
+they much feared its being disturbed. The stone was a large boulder,
+from fifteen to twenty tons in weight, and it was evident that it was
+doomed to destruction, for it stood in the river Vyrnwy just where
+operations were to commence. There was no small stir among the Welsh
+inhabitants when preparations were made to blast the huge Spirit-stone.
+English and Irish workmen could not enter into the feeling of the Welsh
+towards this stone, but they had heard what was said about it. They,
+however, had no dread of the imprisoned Spirit. In course of time the
+stone was bored and a load of dynamite inserted, but it was not shattered
+at the first blast. About four feet square remained intact, and
+underneath this the Spirit was, if it was anywhere. The men were soon
+set to work to demolish the stone. The Welshmen expected some
+catastrophe to follow its destruction, and they were even prepared to see
+the Spirit bodily emerge from its prison, for, said they, the conditions
+of its release have been fulfilled--the river had been diverted from its
+old bed into an artificial channel, to facilitate the removal of this and
+other stones--and there was no doubt that both conditions had been
+literally carried out, and consequently the Spirit, if justice ruled,
+could claim its release. The stone was blasted, and strange to relate,
+when the smoke had cleared away, the water in a cavity where the stone
+had been was seen to move; there was no apparent reason why the water
+should thus be disturbed, unless, indeed, the Spirit was about to appear.
+The Welsh workmen became alarmed, and moved away from the place, keeping,
+however, their eyes fixed on the pool. The mystery was soon solved, for
+a large frog made its appearance, and, sedately sitting on a fragment of
+the shattered stone, rubbed its eyes with its feet, as if awaking from a
+long sleep. The question was discussed, "Is it a frog, or the Spirit in
+the form of a frog; if it is a frog, why was it not killed when the stone
+was blasted?" And again, "Who ever saw a frog sit up in that fashion and
+rub the dust out of its eyes? It must be the Spirit." There the workmen
+stood, at a respectful distance from the frog, who, heedless of the
+marked attention paid to it, continued sitting up and rubbing its eyes.
+They would not approach it, for it must be the Spirit, and no one knew
+what its next movement or form might be. At last, however, the frog was
+driven away, and the men re-commenced their labours. But for nights
+afterwards people passing the spot heard a noise as of heavy chains being
+dragged along the ground where the stone once stood.
+
+
+
+_Caellwyngrydd Spirit_.
+
+
+This was a dangerous Spirit. People passing along the road were stoned
+by it; its work was always mischievous and hurtful. At last it was
+exorcised and sent far away to the Red Sea, but it was permitted to
+return the length of a barley corn every year towards its lost home.
+
+From the tales already given, it is seen that the people believed in the
+possibility of getting rid of troublesome Spirits, and the person whose
+aid was sought on these occasions was often a minister of religion. We
+have seen how Griffiths of Llanarmon had reached notoriety in this
+direction, and he lived in quite modern times. The clergy were often
+consulted in matters of this kind, and they were commonly believed to
+have power over Spirits. The Rev. Walter Davies had great credit as a
+Spirit layer, and he lived far into the present century. Going further
+back, I find that Archdeacon Edmund Prys, and his contemporary and
+friend, Huw Llwyd, were famous opponents of Evil Spirits, and their
+services are said to have been highly appreciated, because always
+successful. The manner of laying Spirits differed. In this century,
+prayer and Bible reading were usually resorted to, but in other days,
+incantation was employed. We have seen how Griffiths surrounded himself
+with an enchanted circle, which the Spirit could not break through. This
+ring was thought to be impervious to the Ghost tribe, and therefore it
+was the protection of the person whom it surrounded. The Spirit was
+invoked and commanded to depart by the person within the magic ring and
+it obeyed the mandate. Sometimes it was found necessary to conduct a
+service in Church, in Latin by night, the Church being lit up with
+consecrated candles, ere the Ghost could be overcome.
+
+When Spirits were being laid, we are told that they presented themselves
+in various forms to the person engaged in laying them, and that
+ultimately they foolishly came transformed into some innocuous insect or
+animal, which he was able to overcome. The simplicity of the Ghosts is
+ridiculous, and can only be understood by supposing that the various
+steps in the contest for the mastery are not forthcoming, that they have
+been lost.
+
+These various metamorphoses would imply that transmigration was believed
+in by our forefathers.
+
+
+
+_Ghost Raising_.
+
+
+If the possibility of Ghost Laying was believed in, so also was the
+possibility of raising Evil Spirits. This faith dates from olden times.
+Shakespeare, to this, as to most other popular notions, has given a place
+in his immortal plays. Speaking rightly in the name of "Glendower," a
+Welshman, conversant with Ghosts and Goblins, the poet makes him say:--
+
+ "I can call Spirits from the vasty deep."
+
+ _Henry the Fourth_, Act III., S. 1.
+
+And again in the same person's mouth are placed these words:--
+
+ "Why, I can teach you, cousin, _to command the devil_."
+
+The witches in Macbeth have this power ascribed to them:
+
+ I'll catch it ere it come to ground:
+ And that, distilled by magic sleights,
+ _Shall raise such artificial Sprites_,
+ _As by the strength of their illusion_
+ Shall draw him on to his confusion.
+
+ _Macbeth_, Act III., S. 5.
+
+This idea has continued right to our own days, and adepts in the black
+art have affirmed that they possess this power.
+
+Doctor Bennion, a gentleman well known in his lifetime in and about
+Oswestry, was thought to be able to raise Devils. I find in the history
+of _Ffynnon Elian_, p. 12, that the doctor visited John Evans, the last
+custodian of the well, and taught him how to accomplish this feat. For
+the benefit of those anxious to obtain this power, I will give the
+doctor's recipe:--"Publish it abroad that you can raise the Devil, and
+the country will believe you, and will credit you with many miracles.
+All that you have to do afterwards is to be silent, and you will then be
+as good a raiser of Devils as I am, and I as good as you."
+
+Evans confesses that he acted according to the astute doctor's advice,
+and he adds--"The people in a very short time spoke much about me, and
+they soon came to intrust everything to me, their conduct frightened me,
+for they looked upon me as if I were a god." This man died August 14th,
+1858.
+
+
+
+_Witches and Conjurors_.
+
+
+From and before the days of King Saul, to the present moment, witches
+have held dreaded sway over the affairs of man. Cruel laws have been
+promulgated against them, they have been murdered by credulous and
+infuriated mobs, they have lost their lives after legal trial, but still,
+witches have lived on through the dark days of ignorance, and even in
+these days of light and learning they have their votaries. There must be
+something in the human constitution peculiarly adapted to the exercise of
+witchcraft, or it could not have lived so long, nor could it have been so
+universal, as it undoubtedly is, unless men lent themselves willingly to
+its impositions.
+
+It is curious to notice how good and enlightened men have clung to a
+belief in witchcraft. It is, consequently, not to be wondered at that
+the common people placed faith in witches and conjurors when their
+superiors in learning professed a like faith.
+
+I have often spoken to intelligent men, who did not scruple to confess
+that they believed in witches and conjurors, and they adduced instances
+to prove that their faith had a foundation in fact.
+
+Almost up to our days, the farmer who lost anything valuable consulted a
+conjuror, and vowed vengeance on the culprit if it were not restored by
+such and such a time, and invariably the stolen property was returned to
+its owner before the specified period had expired. As detectives, the
+conjurors, therefore, occupied a well-defined and useful place in rural
+morality, and witches, too, were indirectly teachers of charity, for no
+farm wife would refuse refreshments to the destitute lest vengeance
+should overtake her. In this way the deserving beggar obtained needed
+assistance from motives of self-preservation from benefactors whose fears
+made them charitable.
+
+But, if these benefits were derived from a false faith, the evils
+attending that faith were nevertheless most disastrous to the community
+at large, and many inhuman Acts were passed in various reigns to
+eradicate witchcraft. From the wording of these Acts it will be seen
+what witches were credited with doing.
+
+An Act passed 33 Henry VIII. adjudged all witchcraft and sorcery to be
+felony. A like Act was passed 1 James, c.12, and also in the reign of
+Philip and Mary. The following is an extract:--
+
+"All persons who shall practise invocation, or conjuration, of wicked
+spirits, any witchcraft, enchantment, charm, or sorcery, whereby any
+person shall happen to be killed, or destroyed, shall, with their aiders,
+and abettors, be accounted felons, without benefit of clergy; and all
+persons practising any witchcraft, etc., whereby any person shall happen
+to be wasted, consumed, or lamed in his or her body, or members, or
+whereby any goods, or chattels, shall be destroyed, wasted, or impaired,
+shall, with their counsellors, and aiders, suffer for the first offence
+one year's imprisonment and the pillory, and for the second the
+punishment of felony without the clergy." . . . "If any person shall
+consult, covenant with, entertain, employ, feed, or reward any evil or
+wicked spirit, or _take up any dead man_, _woman_, _or child out of his_,
+_her_, _or their grave_; or, the skin, bone, or any other part of any
+dead person to be employed in any manner of witchcraft, sorcery, charm,
+or enchantment, etc., _he shall suffer death as a felon_, without benefit
+of clergy."
+
+The law of James I. was repealed in George II.'s. reign, but even then
+persons pretending to use witchcraft, tell fortunes, or discover stolen
+goods, by skill in the occult sciences, were to be punished by a year's
+imprisonment; and by an Act, 5 George IV., c.83, any person or persons
+using any subtle art, means, or device, by palmistry, or otherwise, to
+deceive his Majesty's subjects, were to be deemed rogues and vagabonds,
+and to be punished with imprisonment and hard labour.
+
+Acts of Parliament did not succeed in eradicating witchcraft. Its power
+has waned, but it still exercises an influence, shadowy though it be, on
+certain minds, though in its grosser forms it has disappeared.
+
+Formerly, ailments of all kinds, and misfortunes of every description,
+were ascribed to the malignant influence of some old decrepit female, and
+it was believed that nature's laws could be changed by these witches,
+that they could at will produce tempests to destroy the produce of the
+earth, and strike with sickness those who had incurred their displeasure.
+Thus Lady Macbeth, speaking of these hags, says:--
+
+ "I have learned by the perfectest report, they have more in them than
+ mortal knowledge. When I burned in desire to question them further
+ they made themselves air, into which they vanished."
+
+ _Macbeth_, Act. i, S. 5.
+
+The uncanny knowledge possessed by witches was used, it was thought, to
+injure people, and their malice towards good, hard-working, honest folk
+was unmistakable. They afflicted children from sheer love of cruelty,
+and bewitched animals gratuitously, or for slights which they supposed
+their owners had shown towards them; consequently their knowledge was
+considered to be greatly inimical to others, and particularly baneful to
+the industrious, whom witches hated.
+
+There was hardly a district that had not its witches. Children ran away
+when they saw approaching them an aged woman, with a red shawl on, for
+they believed she was a witch, who could, with her evil eye, injure them.
+It was, however, believed that the machinations of witches could be
+counteracted in various ways, and by and by some of these charms shall be
+given. Life would have been intolerable but for these antidotes to
+witchcraft.
+
+Shakespeare's knowledge of Welsh Folk-lore was extensive and peculiarly
+faithful, and what he says of witches in general agrees with the popular
+opinion respecting them in Wales. I cannot do better than quote from
+this great Folk-lorist a few things that he tells us about witches.
+
+Mention has been made of witches taking dead bodies out of their graves
+to make use of them in their enchantments, and Shakespeare, in his
+description of the witches' cauldron, shows that they threw into the
+seething pot many portions of human beings. The first witch in _Macbeth_
+says:--
+
+ Round about the cauldron go,
+ In the poisoned _entrails_ throw.
+
+The third witch mentions other things that are thrown into the pot, as:--
+
+ Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
+ Witches' mummy, maw and gulf
+ Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark,
+ Root of hemlock digged i' the dark,
+ _Liver of blaspheming Jew_,
+ Gall of goat, and slips of yew
+ Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse,
+ _Nose of Turk_, _and Tartar's lips_,
+ Finger of birth-strangled babe
+ Ditch-delivered by a drab.
+
+ _Macbeth_, A. IV., S. 1.
+
+It was thought that witches could change themselves, and other people,
+into the form of animals. In Wales, the cat and the hare were the
+favourite animals into which witches transformed themselves, but they did
+not necessarily confine themselves to these animals. They were able to
+travel in the air on a broom-stick; make children ill; give maids the
+nightmare; curse with madness, animals; bring misfortune on families;
+hinder the dairy maid from making butter; and many more imaginary things
+were placed to their credit.
+
+The personal appearance of witches, as given by Shakespeare, corresponds
+exactly with the Welsh idea of these hags. On this subject the poet
+writes:--
+
+ What are these
+ _So wither'd and so wild in their attire_
+ That look not like the inhabitants o' the earth,
+ And yet are on't?--Live you? Or are you aught
+ That man may question? You seem to understand me,
+ By each at once her chappy fingers laying
+ Upon her skinny lips:--you should be women,
+ And yet your beards forbid me to interpret
+ That you are so.
+
+ _Macbeth_, Act I., S. 3.
+
+A striking and pathetic portrait of a witch, taken from _Otway's Orphan_,
+Act. II., is given in No. 117 of the _Spectator_. It is so true to life
+and apposite to our subject that I will quote it:--
+
+ In a close lane, as I pursu'd my journey,
+ I spy'd a wrinkled hag, with age grown double,
+ Picking dry sticks, and mumbling to herself.
+ Her eyes with scalding-rheum were gall'd, and red,
+ Cold palsy shook her head, her hands seemed wither'd,
+ And on her crooked shoulders had she wrapt
+ The tatter'd remnant of an old striped hanging,
+ Which served to keep her carcass from the cold;
+ So there was nothing of a piece about her.
+ Her lower weeds were all o'er coarsely patched,
+ With different colour'd rags, black, red, white, yellow.
+ And seem'd to speak variety of wretchedness.
+
+A picture such as this is enough to create sympathy and charity in a
+selfish heart, but in those dark days, when faith in witchcraft
+prevailed, such a poor old decrepit woman inspired awe, and was shunned
+as a malicious evil-doer by all her neighbours.
+
+
+
+_Llanddona Witches_.
+
+
+There is a tradition in the parish of Llanddona, Anglesey, that these
+witches, with their husbands, had been expelled from their native
+country, wherever that was, for practising witchcraft. They were sent
+adrift, it is said, in a boat, without rudder or oars, and left in this
+state to the mercy of the wind and the wave. When they were first
+discovered approaching the Anglesey shore, the Welsh tried to drive them
+back into the sea, and even after they had landed they were confined to
+the beach. The strangers, dead almost from thirst and hunger, commanded
+a spring of pure water to burst forth on the sands. This well remains to
+our days. This miracle decided their fate. The strangers were allowed,
+consequently, to land, but as they still practised their evil arts the
+parish became associated with their name, and hence the _Witches of
+Llanddona_ was a term generally applied to the female portion of that
+parish, though in reality it belonged to one family only within its
+boundaries.
+
+The men lived by smuggling and the women by begging and cursing. It was
+impossible to overcome these daring smugglers, for in their neckerchief
+was a fly, which, the moment the knot of their cravats was undone, flew
+right at the eye of their opponents and blinded them, but before this
+last remedy was resorted to the men fought like lions, and only when
+their strength failed them did they release their familiar spirit, the
+fly, to strike with blindness the defenders of the law.
+
+The above-mentioned tradition of the coming of these witches to Anglesey
+is still current in the parish of Llanddona, which is situated on the
+north coast of Anglesey.
+
+It was thought that the witching power belonged to families, and
+descended from mothers to daughters. This was supposed to be the case
+with the witches of Llanddona. This family obtained a bad report
+throughout the island. The women, with dishevelled hair and bared
+breasts, visited farm houses and requested charity, more as a right than
+a favour, and no one dared refuse them. _Llanddona Witches_ is a name
+that is not likely soon to die. Taking advantage of the credulity of the
+people, they cursed those whom they disliked, and many were the
+endeavours to counteract their maledictions. The following is one of
+their curses, uttered at _Y Ffynon Ocr_, a well in the parish of
+Llanddona, upon a man who had offended one of these witches:--
+
+ Crwydro y byddo am oesoedd lawer;
+ Ac yn mhob cam, camfa;
+ Yn mhob camfa, codwm;
+ Yn mhob codwm, tori asgwrn;
+ Nid yr asgwrn mwyaf na'r lleiaf,
+ Ond asgwrn chwil corn ei wddw bob tro.
+
+The English is as follows, but the alliteration and rhythm of the Welsh
+do not appear in the translation:--
+
+ May he wander for ages many;
+ And at every step, a stile;
+ At every stile, a fall;
+ At every fall, a broken bone;
+ Not the largest, nor the least bone,
+ But the chief neck bone, every time.
+
+This curse seemed to be a common imprecation, possibly belonging to that
+family. Such was the terror of the _Llanddona Witches_ that if any of
+them made a bid for a pig or anything else, in fair or market, no one
+else dared bid against them, for it was believed they would witch the
+animal thus bought. There were also celebrated witches at Denbigh.
+_Bella Fawr_ (Big Bella) was one of the last and most famous of her tribe
+in that town, and many other places were credited with possessing persons
+endowed with witching powers, as well as those who could break spells.
+
+The following tales of the doings of witches will throw light upon the
+matter under consideration.
+
+
+
+_Witches transforming themselves into Cats_.
+
+
+One of the forms that witches were supposed to change themselves into was
+that of a cat. In this metamorphosed state they were the more able to
+accomplish their designs. The following tale, illustrative of this
+belief, was told me by the Rev. R. Jones, Rector of Llanycil, Bala.
+
+On the side of the old road, between Cerrig-y-drudion and
+Bettws-y-Coed--long before this latter place had become the resort of
+artists--stood an inn, which was much resorted to, as it was a convenient
+lodging house for travellers on their way to Ireland. This inn stood
+near the present village of Bettws-y-Coed. Many robberies occurred here.
+Travellers who put up there for the night were continually deprived of
+their money, and no one could tell how this occurred, for the lodgers
+were certain that no one had entered their rooms, as they were found
+locked in the morning just as they were the night before. The mystery
+was, therefore, great. By and by, one of those who had lost his money
+consulted _Huw Llwyd_, who lived at Cynvael, in the parish of Festiniog,
+and he promised to unravel the mystery. Now, Huw Llwyd had been an
+officer in the army, and, equipped in his regimentals, with sword
+dangling by his side, he presented himself one evening at the suspected
+inn, and asked whether he could obtain a room and bed for the night; he
+represented himself as on his way to Ireland, and he found no difficulty
+in obtaining a night's lodging. The inn was kept by two sisters of
+prepossessing appearance, and the traveller made himself most agreeable
+to these ladies, and entertained them with tales of his travels in
+foreign parts. On retiring for the night he stated that it was a habit
+with him to burn lights in his room all night, and he was supplied with a
+sufficient quantity of candles to last through the night. The request,
+as Hugh Llwyd was a military man, did not arouse suspicion. Huw retired,
+and made his arrangements for a night of watching. He placed his clothes
+on the floor within easy reach of his bed, and his sword unsheathed lay
+on the bed close to his right hand. He had secured the door, and now as
+the night drew on he was all attention; ere long two cats stealthily came
+down the partition between his room and the next to it. Huw feigned
+sleep, the cats frisked here and there in the room, but the sleeper awoke
+not; they chased each other about the room, and played and romped, and at
+last they approached Huw's clothes and played with them, and here they
+seemed to get the greatest amusement; they turned the clothes about and
+over, placing their paws now on that string, and now on that button, and
+ere long their paws were inserted into the pockets of his clothes, and,
+just as one of the cats had her paw in the pocket that contained Huw
+Llwyd's purse, he like lightning struck the cat's paw with his sword.
+With terrible screams they both disappeared, and nothing further was seen
+of them during the night.
+
+Next morning, only one of the sisters appeared at the breakfast table.
+To the traveller's enquiry after the absent lady of the house, her sister
+said that she was slightly indisposed, and could not appear.
+
+Huw Llwyd expressed regret at this, but, said he--"I must say good-bye to
+her, for I greatly enjoyed her company last night." He would not be
+refused, so ultimately he was admitted to her presence. After expressing
+his sympathy and regret at her illness, the soldier held out his hand to
+bid good-bye to the lady. She put out her left hand; this Huw refused to
+take, averring that he had never taken a left hand in his life, and that
+he would not do so now. Very reluctantly, and with evident pain, she put
+out her right hand, which was bandaged, and this fact cleared up the
+mystery connected with the robberies. These two ladies were two witches,
+who in the form of cats had robbed travellers who lodged under their
+roof. Huw, when he made this discovery said--"I am Huw Llwyd of Cynvael,
+and I warn you of the risk you have incurred by your thefts, and I
+promise you I will not let you off so easily the next time I have need to
+visit you."
+
+The preceding tale is circumstantial, but unfortunately similar tales are
+current in other places, as shown by the following quotation:--
+
+ "The last instance of national credulity on this head was the story
+ of the witches of Thurso, who, tormenting for a long time an honest
+ fellow under the usual form of a cat, at last provoked him so that
+ one night he put them to flight with his broad sword and _cut off the
+ leg_ of one less nimble than the rest. On his taking it up, to his
+ amazement _he found it belonged to a female of his own species_, and
+ next morning discovered the owner, an old hag, with only the
+ companion leg to this."
+
+ _Brand's Popular Antiquities_, pp. 318-319.
+
+
+
+_The Witches' Revenge on Huw Llwyd_.
+
+
+Several months after the occurrence recorded above of Huw Llwyd, when he
+had just started from his home one Sunday morning to go to his Church to
+officiate there, for he was the parson of Llan Festiniog, he observed
+that the Bettws-y-Coed ladies were approaching his house, and he
+perceived that their object was to witch him. He knew full well that as
+long as his back was turned towards them he was in their power, but that
+when he faced them they could do him no harm; so; to avoid their evil
+influence, and to frustrate their designs, he faced them, and walked
+backwards every step from Cynvael to the Llan, and in this way he escaped
+being injured by his female enemies. But this was not all. Huw Llwyd
+knew that when he reached the Church porch he was beyond witchcraft's
+reach. Having arrived there he shouted out--"I defy you now, and before
+I leave the Church I will make you that you can never again witch
+anyone." He was as good as his word, for by his skill in the black art,
+he deprived those two ladies, ere he left the Church, of their power to
+witch people, and during the rest of their lives they were like other
+women.
+
+Huw Llwyd, who was born 1533, and died 1620, was a clergyman, and it was
+generally believed that priests could counteract the evils of the enemy
+of mankind.
+
+The wide-spread belief of witches being able to transform themselves into
+animals is shown in the legends of many countries, and, as in the case of
+fairy stories, the same tale, slightly changed, may be heard in various
+places. The possibility of injuring or _marking_ the witch in her
+assumed form so deeply that the bruise remained a mark on her in her
+natural form was a common belief. A tale in certain points like the one
+recorded of Huw Llwyd and the witches who turned themselves into cats is
+to be heard in many parts of Wales. It is as follows. I quote the main
+facts from my friend Mr. Hamer's account of Llanidloes, published in the
+_Montgomeryshire Collections_, vol. x., p. 243:--
+
+
+
+_A Witch transformed into a Hare injured by one whom she tormented_.
+
+
+"An old woman, thought to be a witch, was said by a neighbour to be in
+the habit of visiting her nightly in the shape of a hare, and that in
+consequence she was deprived of her rest. The witch came to her bed, as
+a hare, and crossed it, and the tormented one was determined to put an
+end to this persecution. For this purpose she procured a hammer, which
+she placed under her pillow when she retired to rest. That night the old
+witch, unaware of the reception awaiting her, paid her usual visit to her
+victim. But the instant she jumped on the bed she received a stunning
+blow on the head, and, it need not be added, disappeared. Next morning,
+a friend of the persecuted woman, who was in the secret of the whole
+case, on some pretext paid the old woman, the supposed witch, a visit,
+and she was greatly astonished to find her laid up, suffering from a
+frightful black eye, which her visitor believed to be the result of the
+blow dealt her with the hammer on the previous night."
+
+
+
+_A Witch shot when in the form of a Hare_.
+
+
+The following tale was told me by the Rev. R. Jones, Rector of
+Llanycil:--
+
+An old woman was evicted from a small farm, which she and her family had
+held for many years. She was naturally greatly annoyed at such conduct
+on the part of the landlord, and of the person who supplanted her.
+However, she procured a small cottage close by her late home, and there
+she lived. But the interloper did not get on, for she was troubled by a
+hare that came nightly to her house. A labouring man, when going to his
+work early in the morning, time after time saw a hare going from the farm
+towards the cottage occupied by this old woman, and he determined to
+shoot this hare. He procured an old gun, and loaded it with pebbles
+instead of shot, and awaited the approach of the hare. It came as usual,
+the man fired, and the hare rolled over and over, screaming and making a
+terrible noise. He, however, did not heed this much, for hares, when
+shot, do scream, and so he went to secure the hare, but when he attempted
+to seize it, it changed into all shapes, and made horrible sounds, and
+the man was so terrified that he ran away, and he was very glad to get
+away from the scene of this shocking occurrence. In a few days
+afterwards the old woman who occupied the cottage was found dead, and it
+was noticed by the woman who laid her out that her arm and shoulder were
+riddled with pebbles. It was thought that she was a witch, and that she
+had troubled the people who had deprived her of her farm, and that she
+did so in the shape of a hare, and no one doubted that the injury
+inflicted on the old woman was anything more than the shot of the man,
+who supposed that he had killed a hare, when in reality he shot and
+killed the old woman. The farmer was never troubled after the death of
+the woman whom he had supplanted.
+
+Many variants of this tale are still extant. The parish clerk of
+Llangadfan, a mountainous parish in Montgomeryshire, gave me one, which
+he located in Nant-yr-eira, but as it is in its main points much like the
+preceding, I will not relate it.
+
+
+
+_A Witch in the form of a Hare in a Churn_.
+
+
+In the _Spectator_, No. 117, are these words:--
+
+ "If the dairy-maid does not make her butter come so soon as she would
+ have it, _Moll White_ (a supposed witch) is at the bottom of the
+ churn."
+
+Until very lately I had thought that the milk only was considered
+bewitched if it could not be churned, and not that the witch herself was
+at the bottom of the churn. But I have been disabused of this false
+notion, for the Rector of Llanycil told me the following story, which was
+told him by his servant girl, who figures in the tale. When this girl
+was servant at Drws-y-nant, near Dolgelley, one day, the milk would not
+churn. They worked a long time at it to no purpose. The girl thought
+that she heard something knocking up and down in the churn, and splashing
+about. She told her master there was something in the churn, but he
+would not believe her; however, they removed the lid, and out jumped a
+large hare, and ran away through the open door, and this explained all
+difficulties, and proved that the milk was bewitched, and that the witch
+herself was in the churn in the shape of a hare.
+
+This girl affirmed that she had seen the hare with her own eyes.
+
+As the hare was thought to be a form assumed by witches it was impossible
+for ordinary beings to know whether they saw a hare, or a witch in the
+form of a hare, when the latter animal appeared and ran before them along
+the road, consequently the hare, as well as the witch, augured evil. An
+instance of this confusion of ideas was related to the writer lately by
+Mr. Richard Jones, Tyn-y-wern, Bryneglwys.
+
+
+
+_A Hare crossing the Road_.
+
+
+Mr. Jones said that when he was a lad, he and his mother went to Caerwys
+fair from the Vale of Clwyd, intending to sell a cow at the fair. They
+had not gone far on their way before a large hare crossed the road,
+hopping and halting and looking around. His mother was vexed at the
+sight, and she said--"We may as well go home, Dick, for no good will come
+of our journey since that old witch crosses our path." They went on,
+though, and reached Caerwys in safety, but they got no bid for the cow,
+although they stayed there all day long.
+
+
+
+_A Witch in the form of a Hare hunted by a Black Greyhound_.
+
+
+The writer has heard variants of the following tale in several parts of
+Wales:--
+
+An old woman, credited to be a witch, lived on the confines of the hills
+in a small hut in south Carnarvonshire. Her grandson, a sharp
+intelligent lad, lived with her. Many gentlemen came to that part with
+greyhounds for the purpose of coursing, and the lad's services were
+always in requisition, for he never failed in starting a hare, and
+whenever he did so he was rewarded with a shilling. But it was noticed
+that the greyhounds never caught the hare which the lad started. The
+sport was always good, the race long and exciting, but the hare never
+failed to elude her pursuers. Scores of times this occurred, until at
+last the sportsmen consulted a wise man, who gave it as his opinion that
+this was no ordinary hare, but a witch, and, said he--"She can never be
+caught but by a black greyhound." A dog of this colour was sought for
+far and near, and at last found and bought. Away to the hills the
+coursers went, believing that now the hare was theirs. They called at
+the cottage for the lad to accompany them and start the prey. He was as
+ready as ever to lead them to their sport. The hare was soon started,
+and off the dog was slipped and started after it, and the hare bounded
+away as usual, but it is now seen that her pursuer is a match for her in
+swiftness, and, notwithstanding the twistings and windings, the dog was
+soon close behind the distressed hare.
+
+The race became more and more exciting, for hound and hare exerted
+themselves to their very utmost, and the chase became hot, and still
+hotter. The spectators shout in their excitement--"_Hei! ci du_," ("_Hi!
+black dog_,") for it was seen that he was gaining on his victim. "_Hei!
+Mam_, _gu_," ("_Hei! grandmother_, _dear_,") shouted the lad, forgetting
+in his trouble that his grandmother was in the form of a hare. His was
+the only encouraging voice uttered on behalf of the poor hunted hare.
+His single voice was hardly heard amidst the shouts of the many. The
+pursuit was long and hard, dog and hare gave signs of distress, but
+shouts of encouragement buoyed up the strength of the dog. The chase was
+evidently coming to a close, and the hare was approaching the spot whence
+it started. One single heart was filled with dread and dismay at the
+failing strength of the hare, and from that heart came the words--"_Hei!
+Mam gu_" ("_Hi! grandmother_, _dear_.") All followed the chase, which
+was now nearing the old woman's cottage, the window of which was open.
+With a bound the hare jumped through the small casement into the cottage,
+but the black dog was close behind her, and just as she was disappearing
+through the window, he bit the hare and retained a piece of her skin in
+his mouth, but he could not follow the hare into the cottage, as the
+aperture was too small. The sportsmen lost no time in getting into the
+cottage, but, after much searching, they failed to discover puss. They,
+however, saw the old woman seated by the fire spinning. They also
+noticed that there was blood trickling from underneath her seat, and this
+they considered sufficient proof that it was the witch in the form of a
+hare that had been coursed and had been bitten by the dog just as she
+bounded into the cottage.
+
+It was believed in England, as well as in Wales, that witches were often
+hunted in the shape of hares. Thus in the _Spectator_, No. 117, these
+words occur:--
+
+"If a hare makes an unexpected escape from the hounds the huntsman curses
+_Moll White_ (the witch)!" "Nay," (says Sir Roger,) "I have known the
+master of the pack, upon such an occasion, send one of his servants to
+see if _Moll White_ had been out that morning."
+
+In _Yorkshire Legends and Traditions_, p. 160, is a tale very much like
+the one which is given above. It is as follows:--
+
+"There was a hare which baffled all the greyhounds that were slipped at
+her. They seemed to have no more chance with her than if they coursed
+the wind. There was, at the time, a noted witch residing near, and her
+advice was asked about this wonderful hare. She seemed to have little to
+say about it, however, only she thought they had better let it be, but,
+above all, they must take care how they slipped a _black_ dog at it.
+Nevertheless, either from recklessness or from defiance, the party did go
+out coursing, soon after, with a black dog. The dog was slipped, and
+they perceived at once that puss was at a disadvantage. She made as soon
+as possible for a stone wall, and endeavoured to escape through a
+sheep-hole at the bottom. Just as she reached this hole the dog threw
+himself upon her and caught her in the haunch, but was unable to hold
+her. She got through and was seen no more. The sportsmen, either in
+bravado or from terror of the consequences, went straight to the house of
+the witch to inform her of what had happened. They found her in bed,
+hurt, she said, by a fall; but the wound looked very much as if it had
+been produced by the teeth of a dog, and it was on a part of the woman
+corresponding to that by which the hare had been seized by the black
+hound before their eyes."
+
+
+
+_Early reference to Witches turning themselves into Hares_.
+
+
+The prevalence of the belief that witches could transform themselves into
+hares is seen from a remark made by _Giraldus Cambrensis_ in his
+topography of Ireland. He writes:--
+
+ "It has also been a frequent complaint, from old times, as well as in
+ the present, _that certain hags in Wales_, as well as in Ireland and
+ Scotland, _changed themselves into the shape of hares_, that, sucking
+ teats under this counterfeit, they might stealthily rob other
+ people's milk."
+
+ _Giraldus Cambrensis_, Bohn's Edition, p. 83.
+
+This remark of the Archdeacon's gives a respectable antiquity to the
+metamorphosis of witches, for it was in 1185 that he visited Ireland, and
+he tells us that what he records had descended from "old times."
+
+The transformation fables that have descended to us would seem to be
+fossils of a pagan faith once common to the Celtic and other cognate
+races. It was not thought that certain harmless animals only could
+become the temporary abode of human beings. Even a wolf could be human
+under an animal form. Thus _Giraldus Cambrensis_ records that a priest
+was addressed in Ireland by a wolf, and induced to administer the
+consolations of his priestly office to his wife, who, also, under the
+shape of a she-wolf was apparently at the point of death, and to convince
+the priest that she was really a human being the he-wolf, her husband,
+tore off the skin of the she-wolf from the head down to the navel,
+folding it back, and she immediately presented the form of an old woman
+to the astonished priest. These people were changed into wolves through
+the curse of one Natalis, Saint and Abbot, who compelled them every seven
+years to put off the human form and depart from the dwellings of men as a
+punishment for their sins. (See _Giraldus Cambrensis_, Bohn's Edition,
+pp. 79-81.)
+
+
+
+_Ceridwen and Gwion_ (_Gwiawn_) _Bach's Transformation_.
+
+
+But a striking instance of rapid transition from one form to another is
+given in the _Mabinogion_. The fable of Ceridwen's cauldron is as
+follows:--
+
+ "Ceridwen was the wife of Tegid Voel. They had a son named Morvran,
+ and a daughter named Creirwy, and she was the most beautiful girl in
+ the world, and they had another son named Avagddu, the ugliest man in
+ the world. Ceridwen, seeing that he should not be received amongst
+ gentlemen because of his ugliness, unless he should be possessed of
+ some excellent knowledge or strength . . . . ordered a cauldron to
+ be boiled of knowledge and inspiration for her son. The cauldron was
+ to be boiled unceasingly for one year and a day until there should be
+ in it three blessed drops of the spirit's grace.
+
+ "These three drops fell on the finger of Gwion Bach of Llanfair
+ Caereinion in Powis, whom she ordered to attend to the cauldron. The
+ drops were so hot that Gwion Bach put his finger to his mouth; no
+ sooner done, than he came to know all things. Now he _transformed
+ himself into a hare_, and ran away from the wrath of Ceridwen. She
+ also _transformed herself into a greyhound_, and went after him to
+ the side of a river. Gwion on this jumped into the river and
+ transformed himself into a fish. She also transformed herself into
+ an otter-bitch, and chased him under the water until he was fain to
+ turn himself into a bird of the air; she, as a hawk, followed him,
+ and gave him no rest in the sky. And just as she was about to swoop
+ upon him, and he was in fear of death, he espied a heap of winnowed
+ wheat on the floor of a barn, and he dropped among the wheat and
+ buried himself into one of the grains. Then she transformed herself
+ into a high-crested black hen, and went to the wheat and scratched it
+ with her feet, and found him and swallowed him."
+
+The tale of Ceridwen, whose fame was such that she can without
+exaggeration be styled the goddess of witches, resembles in part the
+chase of the witch-hare by the black dog, and probably her story gave
+rise to many tales of transformations.
+
+I now come to another kind of transformation. It was believed by the
+aged in Wales that witches could not only turn themselves into hares, but
+that by incantation they could change other people into animals. My
+friend, the Rev. T. Lloyd Williams, Wrexham, lodged whilst he was at
+Ystrad Meurig School with a Mrs. Jones, Dolfawr, who was a firm believer
+in "Rhibo" or Rheibo, or witching, and this lady told my friend the
+following tales of _Betty'r Bont_, a celebrated witch in those parts.
+
+
+
+_A Man turned into a Hare_.
+
+
+One of the servant men at Dolfawr, some years before Mr. Williams lodged
+there, laughed at Betty'r Bont's supposed power. However, he lived to
+repent his folly. One night after he had gone to bed he found that he
+had been changed into a hare, and to his dismay and horror he saw a
+couple of greyhounds slipped upon him. He ran for bare life, and managed
+to elude his pursuers, and in a terrible plight and fright he ran to
+Dolfawr, and to his bed. This kind of transformation he ever afterwards
+was subjected to, until by spells he was released from the witch's power
+over him.
+
+
+
+_A Man changed into a Horse_.
+
+
+Mr. Williams writes of the same servant man who figures in the preceding
+tale:--"However, after that, she (Betty'r Bont) turned him into a grey
+mare, saddled him, and actually rode him herself; and when he woke in the
+morning, he was in a bath of perspiration, and positively declared that
+he had been galloping all night."
+
+Singularly enough _Giraldus Cambrensis_ mentions the same kind of
+transformation. His words are:--
+
+ "I myself, at the time I was in Italy, heard it said of some
+ districts in those parts, that there the stable-women, who had learnt
+ magical arts, were wont to give something to travellers in their
+ cheese, which transformed them into beasts of burden, so that they
+ carried all sorts of burdens, and after they had performed their
+ tasks, resumed their own forms."--Bohn's Edition, p. 83.
+
+From Brand's _Popular Antiquities_, p. 225, I find that a common name for
+_nightmare_ was _witch-riding_, and the night-mare, he tells us, was "a
+spectre of the night, which seized men in their sleep and suddenly
+deprived them of speech and motion," and he quotes from Ray's Collection
+of Proverbs:--
+
+ "Go in God's name, so _ride_ no witches."
+
+I will now leave this subject with the remark that people separated by
+distance are often brought together by their superstitions, and probably,
+these beliefs imply a common origin of the people amongst whom these
+myths prevail.
+
+The following tales show how baneful the belief in witchcraft was; but,
+nevertheless, there was some good even in such superstitions, for people
+were induced, through fear of being witched, to be charitable.
+
+
+
+_A Witch who turned a Blue Dye into a Red Dye_.
+
+
+An old hag went to a small farmhouse in Clocaenog parish, and found the
+farmer's wife occupied in dyeing wool blue. She begged for a little wool
+and blue dye. She was informed by Mrs. --- that she was really very
+sorry that she could not part with either, as she had only just barely
+enough for her own use. The hag departed, and the woman went on with her
+dyeing, but to her surprise, the wool came out of the pot dyed red
+instead of blue. She thought that possibly it was the dye that was to
+blame, and so she gave up for the night her employment, and the next day
+she went to Ruthin for a fresh supply of blue to finish her work, but
+again she failed to dye the wool blue, for red, and not blue, was the
+result of her dyeing. She, in surprise, told a neighbour of her
+unaccountable failure to dye her wool blue. This neighbour asked her if
+she had been visited by anyone, and she in answer told her that old so
+and so had been at her house begging. "Ah," was the response, "I see how
+it is you can never dye that wool blue, you have been witched, send the
+red wool and the part that you have not touched here to me, and I will
+finish the work for you." This was done, and the same colour was used by
+both women, but now it became blue, whilst with the other, it was red.
+
+This tale was told me by a gentleman who does not wish his name to appear
+in print, as it would lead to the identification of the parties
+mentioned, and the descendants of the supposed witch, being respectable
+farmers, would rather that the tale of their canny grandmother were
+forgotten, but my informant vouches for the truth of the tale.
+
+
+
+_A Pig Witched_.
+
+
+A woman sold a pig at Beaumaris to a man called Dick y Green; she could
+not that day sell any more, but the following market day she went again
+to Beaumaris. Dick was there waiting her appearance, and he told her
+that the pig he bought was bewitched and she must come with him to undo
+the curse. Away the woman went with Dick, and when they came to the pig
+she said, "What am I to do now, Dick?" "Draw thy hand seven times down
+his back," said Dick, "and say every time, '_Rhad Duw arnat ti_,'" i.e.,
+"The blessing of God be on thee." The woman did so, and then Dick went
+for physic for the pig, which recovered.
+
+
+
+_Milk that would not churn_, _and the steps taken to counteract the
+malice of the Witch that had cursed the churn and its contents_.
+
+
+Before beginning this tale, it should be said that some witches were able
+to make void the curses of other witches. Bella of Denbigh, who lived in
+the early part of the present century, was one of these, and her renown
+extended over many counties.
+
+I may further add that my informant is the Rev. R. Jones, whom I have
+often mentioned, who is a native of Llanfrothen, the scene of the
+occurrences I am about to relate, and that he was at one time curate of
+Denbigh, so that he would be conversant with the story by hearsay, both
+as to its evil effects and its remedy.
+
+About the year 1815 an old woman, supposed to be a witch, lived at Ffridd
+Ucha, Llanfrothen, and she got her living by begging. One day she called
+at Ty mawr, in the same parish, requesting a charity of milk; but she was
+refused. The next time they churned, the milk would not turn to butter,
+they continued their labours for many hours, but at last they were
+compelled to desist in consequence of the unpleasant odour which
+proceeded from the churn. The milk was thrown away, and the farmer, John
+Griffiths, divining that the milk had been witched by the woman who had
+been begging at their house, went to consult a conjuror, who lived near
+Pwllheli. This man told him that he was to put a red hot crowbar into
+the milk the next time they churned. This was done, and the milk was
+successfully churned. For several weeks the crowbar served as an
+antidote, but at last it failed, and again the milk could not be churned,
+and the unpleasant smell made it again impossible for anyone to stand
+near the churn. Griffiths, as before, consulted the Pwllheli conjuror,
+who gave him a charm to place underneath the churn, stating, when he did
+so, that if it failed, he could render no further assistance. The charm
+did not act, and a gentleman whom he next consulted advised him to go to
+Bell, or Bella, the Denbigh witch. Griffiths did so, and to his great
+surprise he found that Bell could describe the position of his house, and
+she knew the names of his fields. Her instructions were--Gather all the
+cattle to Gors Goch field, a meadow in front of the house, and then she
+said that the farmer and a friend were to go to a certain holly tree, and
+stand out of sight underneath this tree, which to this day stands in the
+hedge that surrounds the meadow mentioned by Bell. This was to be done
+by night, and the farmer was told that he should then see the person who
+had injured him. The instructions were literally carried out. When the
+cows came to the field they herded together in a frightened manner, and
+commenced bellowing fearfully. In a very short time, who should enter
+the field but the suspected woman in evident bodily pain, and Griffiths
+and his friend heard her uttering some words unintelligible to them, and
+having done so, she disappeared, and the cattle became quiet, and ever
+after they had no difficulty in churning the milk of those cows.
+
+The two following tales were told the writer by the Rev. T. Lloyd
+Williams, Wrexham. The scene of the stories was Cardiganshire, and
+Betty'r Bont was the witch.
+
+
+
+_A Witch who was refused a Goose_, _and her revenge_.
+
+
+A witch called at a farm when they were feathering geese for sale, and
+she begged much for one. She was refused, but it would have been better,
+according to the tale, had her request been granted, for they could not
+afterwards rear geese on that farm.
+
+Another version of the preceding tale is, that the same witch called at a
+farm when the family was seated at dinner partaking of a goose; she
+requested a taste, but was refused, when leaving the house door she was
+heard to mutter, "Let there be no more geese at . . ." and her curse
+became a fact.
+
+
+
+_A Witch refused Butter_, _and the consequence_.
+
+
+An old hag called at a farm and begged the wife to sell her a pound of
+butter. This was refused, as they wanted to pot the butter. The witch
+went away, therefore, empty handed. The next day when the maid went to
+the fields for the cows she found them sitting like cats before a fire,
+with their hind legs beneath them. I am indebted to my friend Mr. Lloyd
+Williams for this tale. A friend told me the following tale.
+
+
+
+_A Witch's Revenge_, _and her Discomfiture_.
+
+
+An old beggar woman was refused her requests by a farmer's wife, and it
+was noticed that she uttered words that might have been a threat, when
+going away from the door, and it was also observed that she picked up a
+few straws from the yard and carried them away with her. In the course
+of a few days, a healthy calf died, and the death of several calves
+followed in rapid succession. These misfortunes caused the wife to
+remember the old woman whom she had sent away from her door, and the
+farmer came to the conclusion that his cattle had been witched by this
+old woman, so he went to a conjuror, who told him to cut out the heart of
+the next calf that should die, and roast it before the fire, and then,
+after it had been properly roasted, he was to prick it all over with a
+fork, and if anyone should appear as a beggar, they were to give her what
+she asked. The instructions were carried out literally, and just as the
+heart was being pricked, the old woman whom the wife had driven away came
+up to the house in a dreadful state, and rushing into the house,
+said--"In the name of God, what are you doing here?" She was told that
+they were doing nothing particular, and while the conversation was being
+carried on, the pricking operation was discontinued and the old hag
+became less excited, and then she asked the farmer kindly to give her a
+few potatoes, which he gladly did, and the old woman departed; and no
+more calves died after that.
+
+Tales of the kind related above are extremely common, and might be
+multiplied to almost any extent. It would seem that the evil influence
+of witches was exerted not only at times when they were refused favours,
+but that, at will, they could accomplish mischief. Thus I have heard it
+said of an old woman, locally supposed to be a witch, that her very
+presence was ominous of evil, and disaster followed wherever she went; if
+she were inclined to work evil she was supposed to be able to do so, and
+that without any provocation.
+
+I will give one tale which I heard in Garthbeibio of this old hag's
+doings.
+
+
+
+_A Horse Witched_.
+
+
+Pedws Ffoulk, a supposed witch, was going through a field where people
+were employed at work, and just as she came opposite the horse it fell
+down, as if it were dead. The workmen ran to the horse to ascertain what
+was the matter with it, but Pedws went along, not heeding what had
+occurred. This unfeeling conduct on her part roused the suspicion of the
+men, and they came to the conclusion that the old woman had witched the
+horse, and that she was the cause of its illness. They, therefore,
+determined to run after the woman and bring her back to undo her own evil
+work. Off they rushed after her, and forced her back to the field, where
+the horse was still lying on the ground. They there compelled the old
+creature to say, standing over the horse, these words--"_Duw arno fo_"
+(God be with him). This she did, and then she was allowed to go on her
+way. By and by the horse revived, and got upon his feet, and looked as
+well as ever, but this, it was thought, would not have been the case had
+not the witch undone her own curse.
+
+In Anglesey, as I was informed by my brother, the late Rev. Elijah Owen,
+Vicar of Llangoed, it was believed that witches made void their own
+curses of animals by saying over them "_Rhad Duw ar y da_" (The Blessing
+of God be on the cattle).
+
+
+
+_Cows and Horses Witched_.
+
+
+The writer was told the name of the farm where the following events were
+said to have taken place, but he is not quite sure that his memory has
+not deceived him, so he will only relate the facts without giving them a
+locality.
+
+A farmer had a good mare that went mad, she foamed at the mouth, rushed
+about the stall, and died in great agony. But this was not all, his cows
+kept back their milk, and what they could extract from them stank, nor
+could they churn the milk, for it turned into froth.
+
+A conjuror was consulted, and the farmer was told that all this evil had
+been brought about by a witch who had been refused milk at his door, and
+her mischief was counteracted by the conjuror thus consulted.
+
+Occasionally we hear of injured persons retaliating upon the witches who
+had brought about their losses. This, however, was not often attempted,
+for people feared the consequences of a failure, but it was,
+nevertheless, supposed to be attainable.
+
+I will relate a few instances of this punishment of witches for their
+evil doings.
+
+
+
+_Witches Punished_.
+
+
+A neighbour, who does not wish to have his name recorded, states that he
+can vouch for the incidents in the following tale. A farmer who lost
+much stock by death, and suspected it was the work of an old hag who
+lived in his neighbourhood, consulted a conjuror about the matter, and he
+was told that his suspicions were correct, that his losses were brought
+about by this old woman, and, added the conjuror, if you wish it, I can
+wreak vengeance on the wretch for what she has done to your cattle. The
+injured farmer was not averse to punishing the woman, but he did not wish
+her punishment to be over severe, and this he told the conjuror, but said
+he, "I should like her to be deprived of the power to injure anyone in
+future." This was accomplished, my informant told me, for the
+witch-woman took to her bed, and became unable to move about from that
+very day to the end of her life. My informant stated that he had himself
+visited this old woman on her sick bed, and that she did not look ill,
+but was disinclined to get up, and the cause of it all was a matter of
+general gossip in the neighbourhood, that she had been cursed for her
+evil doings.
+
+Another tale I have heard is that a conjuror obliged a witch to jump from
+a certain rock into the river that ran at its foot, and thus put an end
+to her life.
+
+Rough punishment was often inflicted upon these simple old women by silly
+people.
+
+The tales already given are sufficiently typical of the faith of the
+credulous regarding witches, and their ability to work out their evil
+desires on their victims. I will now proceed briefly to relate other
+matters connected with witchcraft as believed in, in all parts of Wales.
+
+
+
+_How to break_, _or protect people from_, _a Witch's Spell_.
+
+
+There were various ways of counteracting the evils brought upon people by
+witches.
+
+1. The intervention of a priest or minister of religion made curses of
+none effect.
+
+The following tale was told me by my friend the Rector of Rhydycroesau.
+When Mr. Jones was curate of Llanyblodwel a parishioner sent to ask the
+"parson" to come to see her. He went, but he could not make out what he
+had been sent for, as the woman was, to all appearance, in her usual
+health. Perceiving a strong-looking woman before him he said, "I presume
+I have missed the house, a sick person wished to see me." The answer
+was, "You are quite right, Sir, I sent for you, I am not well; I am
+troubled." In the course of conversation Mr. Jones ascertained that the
+woman had sent for him to counteract the evil machinations of her enemy.
+"I am witched," she said, "and a parson can break the spell." The
+clergyman argued with her, but all to no purpose. She affirmed that she
+was witched, and that a clergyman could withdraw the curse. Finding that
+the woman was obdurate he read a chapter and offered up a prayer, and
+wishing the woman good day with a hearty "God bless you," he departed.
+Upon a subsequent visit he found the woman quite well, and he was
+informed by her, to his astonishment, that he had broken the spell.
+
+2. Forcing the supposed witch to say over the cursed animals, "_Rhad Duw
+ar y da_" ("God's blessing be on the cattle"), or some such expressions,
+freed them from spells.
+
+An instance of this kind is related on page 242, under the heading, "A
+Horse Witched."
+
+3. Reading the Bible over, or to, the bewitched freed them from evil.
+
+This was an antidote that could be exercised by anyone who could procure
+a Bible. In an essay written in Welsh, relating to the parishes of
+Garthbeibio, Llangadfan, and Llanerfyl, in 1863, I find the following:--
+
+"Gwr arall, ffarmwr mawr, a chanddo fuwch yn sal ar y Sabbath, ar ol
+rhoddi _physic_ iddi, tybiwyd ei bod yn marw, rhedodd yntau i'r ty i nol
+y Bibl, _a darllenodd bennod iddi_;" which rendered into English, is:--
+
+Another man, a large farmer, having a cow sick on the Sabbath day, after
+giving her physic, supposing she was dying, ran into the house to fetch
+the Bible, and _read a chapter to her_.
+
+4. A Bible kept in a house was a protection from all evil.
+
+This was a talisman, formerly only within the reach of the opulent.
+Quoting again from the essay above referred to, I find these words:--
+
+"Byddai ambell Bibl mewn _ty mawr_ yn cael ei gadw mewn cist neu goffr a
+chlo arno, tuag at gadw y ty rhag niwaid." That is:--
+
+A Bible was occasionally kept in the bettermost farms in a chest which
+was locked, to protect the house from harm.
+
+5. A ring made of the mountain ash acted as a talisman.
+
+Rings made of this wood were generally placed under the doorposts to
+frustrate the evil designs of witches, and the inmates dwelt securely
+when thus protected. This tree was supposed to be a famous charm against
+witchcraft.
+
+Mrs. Susan Williams, Garth, a farm on the confines of Efenechtyd parish,
+Denbighshire, told the writer that E. Edwards, Llwynybrain, Gwyddelwern,
+was famous for breaking spells, and consequently his aid was often
+required. Susan stated that they could not churn at Foel Fawn, Derwen.
+They sent for Edwards, who came, and offered up a kind of prayer, and
+then placed a ring made of the bark or of the wood of the mountain ash
+(she could not recollect which) underneath the churn, or the lid of the
+churn, and thus the spell was broken.
+
+6. A horse-shoe found on a road or field, and nailed either on or above
+the door of a house or stable, was considered a protection from spells.
+
+I have seen horse-shoes hanging by a string above a door, and likewise
+nailed with the open part upwards, on the door lintel, but quite as often
+I have observed that the open part is downwards; but however hung, on
+enquiry, the object is the same, viz., to secure luck and prevent evil.
+
+7. Drawing blood from a witch or conjuror by anyone incapacitated these
+evil doers from working out their designs upon the person who spilt their
+blood.
+
+I was told of a tailor's apprentice, who on the termination of his time,
+having heard, and believing, that his master was a conjuror, when saying
+good-bye doubled up his fingers and struck the old man on the nose,
+making his blood spurt in all directions. "There, master," said he,
+"there is no ill will between us, but you can now do me no harm, for I
+have drawn your blood, and you cannot witch me."
+
+8. Drawing blood from a bewitched animal breaks the spell.
+
+In the days of my youth, at Llanidloes, a couple of valuable horses were
+said to be bewitched, and they were bled to break the spell. If blood
+could not be got from horses and cattle, it was considered to be a
+positive proof that they were bewitched, and unless the spell could be
+broken, nothing, it was said, could save them from death.
+
+9. It was generally thought that if a witch said the word "God" to a
+child or person, whom she had bewitched, it would "undo her work."
+
+My friend Mr. Edward Hamer, in his "Parochial Account of Llanidloes,"
+published in _The Montgomeryshire Collections_, vol. x., p. 242, records
+an instance of this belief. His words are:--
+
+ "About fifty years ago the narrator was walking up Long Bridge
+ Street, when he saw a large crowd in one of the yards leading from
+ the street to a factory. Upon making his way to the centre of this
+ crowd, he saw an old woman in a 'fit,' real or feigned, he could not
+ say, but he believed the latter, and over her stood an angry,
+ middle-aged man, gesticulating violently, and threatening the old
+ dame, that he would hang her from an adjacent beam if she would not
+ pronounce the word 'God' to a child which was held in its mother's
+ arms before her. It was in vain that the old woman protested her
+ innocence; in vain that she said that by complying with his request
+ she would stand before them a confessed witch; in vain that she fell
+ into one fit after another, and prayed to be allowed to depart; not a
+ sympathising face could she for some time see in the crowd, until the
+ wife of a manufacturer, who lived close by, appeared on the scene,
+ who also pleaded in vain on her behalf. Terrified beyond all
+ measure, and scarcely knowing what she did, the old woman mumbled
+ something to the child. It smiled. The angry parents were satisfied
+ the spell was broken, the crowd dispersed, and the old woman was
+ allowed to depart quietly."
+
+10. The earth from a churchyard sprinkled over any place preserved it
+from spells.
+
+Mr. Roberts, Plas Einion, Llanfair D. Clwyd, a very aged farmer, told me
+that when a certain main or cock fighting had been arranged, his father's
+servant man, suspecting unfair play, and believing that his master's
+birds had been bewitched, went to the churchyard and carried therefrom a
+quantity of consecrated earth, with which he slyly sprinkled the cock
+pit, and thus he averted the evil, and broke the spell, and all the birds
+fought, and won, according to their deserts.
+
+11. Anything taken into a church belonging to a farm supposed to be
+cursed broke the spell or curse laid upon the place from which that thing
+was taken.
+
+About twenty years ago, when the writer was curate of Llanwnog,
+Montgomeryshire, a Mrs. Hughes, a farmer's wife, who was a firm believer
+in omens, charms, and spells, told me that she knew nothing would come of
+the spell against so and so, and when asked to explain the matter, she
+said that she had seen straw taken from that farm to kindle the fire in
+the church, and thus, she said, the spell was broken.
+
+12. A pin thrust into "Witch's Butter" would cause the witch to undo her
+work.
+
+"Witch's Butter" is the name given to a kind of fungus that grows on
+decayed wood. The fungus resembles little lumps of butter, and hence its
+name. Should anyone think himself witched, all that he has got to do is
+to procure "witch's butter," and then thrust a pin into it. It was
+thought that this pin penetrated the wicked witch, and every pin thrust
+into the fungus went into her body, and thus she was forced to appear,
+and undo her mischief, and be herself relieved from bodily pain by
+relieving others.
+
+13. A conjuror's charm could master a witch's spell.
+
+It was thought that when a person was under a witch's spell he could get
+relief and punish the witch by procuring a charm from a conjuror. This
+charm was a bit of paper, often covered with illegible writing, but
+whatever was on it made no great difference, for the persons who procured
+the charms were usually illiterate. The process was as follows:--The
+party cursed took the charm, and thrust a pin through it, and having
+waited awhile to see whether the witch would appear or not, proceeded to
+thrust another pin through the paper, and if the witch were tardy in
+appearing, pin after pin was thrust into the paper, and every pin, it was
+thought, went into the body of the spiteful hag, and brought her
+ultimately to the house where her curse was being broken, in shocking
+pain, and when there it was believed she would say--
+
+ "Duw gatto bobpeth ag a feddwch chwi."
+
+ God preserve everything which you possess.
+
+14. Certain plants were supposed to possess the power of destroying
+charms.
+
+The Rev. D. James, Rector of Garthbeibio, was asked by Evan Williams, the
+Voel, a parishioner, whether he feared witches, and when answered in the
+negative, his interrogator appeared surprised; however, awhile
+afterwards, Williams went to the Rectory, and told the rector that he
+knew why he did not fear witches, and proceeded to tell him that he had
+seen a plant in the front of the rectory that protected the house from
+charms. This was what he called, _Meipen Fair_. In some parts of
+England the snapdragon is supposed to possess a like virtue, and also the
+elder tree.
+
+Mr. Davies, schoolmaster, Llangedwyn, informed the writer that at one
+time hyssop was hung on the inside of the house door to protect the
+inmates from charms.
+
+15. The seventh daughter could destroy charms. The seventh son was
+thought to possess supernatural power, and so also was the seventh
+daughter, but her influence seems to have been exerted against
+witchcraft.
+
+16. The sign of the cross on the door made the inmates invulnerable, and
+when made with the finger on the breast it was a protection from evil.
+
+The sign of the cross made on the person was once common in Wales, and
+the advice given by the aged when a person was in any difficulty was
+"_ymgroesa_," cross yourself. The custom of crossing the door on leaving
+the house lingered long in many places, and, I think, it is not
+altogether given up in our days.
+
+17. Invoking the aid of the Holy Trinity. This was resorted to, as seen
+in the charm given on page 270, when animals were witched.
+
+
+
+_The way to find out whether a Hag is a Witch or not_.
+
+
+It was generally supposed that a witch could not pray, and one way of
+testing her guilty connection with the evil one was to ascertain whether
+she could repeat the Lord's Prayer correctly. If she failed to do so,
+she was pronounced to be a witch. This test, as everyone knows, must
+have been a fallacious one, for there are good living illiterate people
+who are incapable of saying their _Pader_; but such was the test, and
+failure meant death.
+
+Some fifty years ago, when the writer was a lad in school, he noticed a
+crowd in Short Bridge Street, Llanidloes, around an aged decrepit woman,
+apparently a stranger from the hill country, and on inquiring what was
+going on, he was told that the woman was a suspected witch, and that they
+were putting her to the test. I believe she was forced to go on her
+knees, and use the name of God, and say the Lord's Prayer. However, the
+poor frightened thing got successfully through the ordeal, and I saw her
+walk away from her judges.
+
+Another manner for discovering a witch was to weigh her against the
+Church Bible; if the Bible went up, she was set at liberty, if, on the
+other hand, she were lighter than the Bible, she was a witch, and
+forfeited her life.
+
+Swimming a witch was another method, and this was the one generally
+resorted to. The suspected person was taken to a river or pool of water,
+her feet and hands were tied, and she was thrown in; if she sank she was
+innocent, if she floated she was a witch, and never reached the bank
+alive.
+
+Such as the preceding were some of the ridiculous trials to which poor,
+badly clad, aged, toothless, and wrinkled women were put by their
+superstitious neighbours to ascertain whether these miserable women were
+in league with the devil.
+
+
+
+
+CONJURORS.
+
+
+1. It was formerly believed that men could sell themselves to the devil,
+and thus become the possessors of supernatural power. These men were
+looked upon as malicious conjurors.
+
+2. Another species of conjurors practised magical arts, having obtained
+their knowledge from the study of books. These were accounted able to
+thwart the designs of evil workers of every description.
+
+3. There was another class of men supposed to have obtained strange
+power from their ancestors. They were looked upon as charmers and
+conjurors by descent.
+
+1. Those who belonged to the first-mentioned class were not in communion
+with the Church, and the first step taken by them to obtain their object
+was to unbaptize themselves. The process was as follows:--The person who
+wished to sell himself to the devil went to a Holy Well, took water
+therefrom three times into his mouth, and spurted it out in a derisive
+manner, and thus having relieved himself, as it was thought, of his
+baptismal vow, he was ready and fit to make a contract with the evil one.
+
+2. The second kind of conjurors obtained their knowledge of the occult
+science from the study of books. Generally learned men were by the
+ignorant supposed to possess uncanny power. When the writer lived in
+Carnarvonshire he was informed that Owen Williams, Waenfawr, had magical
+books kept in a box under lock and key, and that he never permitted
+anyone to see them. Poor Owen Williams, I wonder whether he knew of the
+popular rumour!
+
+The following tale of Huw Llwyd's books I obtained from the Rev. R.
+Jones, rector of Llanycil.
+
+
+
+_Huw Llwyd and his Magical Books_.
+
+
+The story, as it has reached our days, is as follows:--It is said that
+Huw Llwyd had two daughters; one of an inquisitive turn of mind, like
+himself, while the other resembled her mother, and cared not for books.
+On his death bed he called his learned daughter to his side, and directed
+her to take his books on the dark science, and throw them into a pool,
+which he named, from the bridge that spanned the river. The girl went to
+Llyn Pont Rhyd-ddu with the books, and stood on the bridge, watching the
+whirlpool beneath, but she could not persuade herself to throw them over,
+and thus destroy her father's precious treasures. So she determined to
+tell him a falsehood, and say that she had cast them into the river. On
+her return home her father asked her whether she had thrown the books
+into the pool, and on receiving an answer in the affirmative, he,
+inquiring whether she had seen anything strange when the books reached
+the river, was informed that she had seen nothing. "Then," said he, "you
+have not complied with my request. I cannot die until the books are
+thrown into the pool." She took the books a second time to the river,
+and now, very reluctantly, she hurled them into the pool, and watched
+their descent. They had not reached the water before two hands appeared,
+stretched upward, out of the pool, and these hands caught the books
+before they touched the water and, clutching them carefully, both the
+books and the hands disappeared beneath the waters. She went home
+immediately, and again appeared before her father, and in answer to his
+question, she related what had occurred. "Now," said he, "I know you
+have thrown them in, and I can now die in peace," which he forthwith did.
+
+3. Hereditary conjurors, or charmers, were thought to be beneficial to
+society. They were charmers rather than conjurors. In this category is
+to be reckoned:--
+
+(a) The seventh son of a family of sons, born the one after the other.
+
+(b) The seventh daughter in a family of daughters, born in succession,
+without a brother between. This person could undo spells and curses, but
+she could not herself curse others.
+
+(c) The descendants of a person, who had eaten eagles' flesh could, for
+nine generations, charm for the shingles, or, as it is called in Welsh,
+_Swyno'r 'Ryri_.
+
+Conjurors were formerly quite common in Wales; when I say common, I mean
+that there was no difficulty in obtaining their aid when required, and
+they were within easy reach of those who wished to consult them. Some
+became more celebrated than others, and consequently their services were
+in greater requisition; but it may be said, that each district had its
+wise man.
+
+The office of the conjuror was to counteract the machinations of witches,
+and to deliver people from their spells. They were looked upon as the
+natural enemies of witches. Instances have already been given of this
+antagonism.
+
+But conjurors could act on their own account, and if they did not show
+the same spiteful nature as witches, they, nevertheless, were credited
+with possessing great and dangerous power. They dealt freely in charms
+and spells, and obtained large sums of money for their talismanic papers.
+They could, it was believed, by their incantations reveal the future, and
+oblige light-fingered people to restore the things they had stolen.
+
+Even a fishing rod made by a conjuror was sure to bring luck to the
+fisherman. Lovers and haters alike resorted to the wise man to attain
+through his aid their object.
+
+There were but few, if any, matters beyond their comprehension, and hence
+the almost unbounded confidence placed in these impostors by the
+superstitious and credulous.
+
+Strange as it may seem, even in this century there are many who still
+consult these deceivers, but more of this by and by.
+
+I will now relate a few tales of the doings of these conjurors, and from
+them the reader can infer how baneful their influence was upon the rustic
+population of Wales.
+
+
+
+_The Magician's Glass_.
+
+
+This glass, into which a person looked when he wished to solve the
+future, or to ascertain whom he or she was to marry, was used by Welsh,
+as well as other magicians. The glass gave back the features of the
+person sought after, and reflected the future career of the seeker after
+the hidden future. It was required that the spectator should concentrate
+all his attention on the glass, and, on the principle that they who gazed
+long should not gaze in vain, he obtained the desired glimpse. _Cwrt
+Cadno_, already referred to, professed to have such a glass.
+
+But, the magician's glass is an instrument so often mentioned in
+connection with necromancy in all parts of the world, that more need not
+be said of it.
+
+I will now give a few stories illustrative of the conjuror's power.
+
+
+
+_A Conjuror's Punishment of an Innkeeper for his exorbitant charges_.
+
+
+A famous conjuror, Dick Spot, was on his way to Llanrwst, and he turned
+into a public house at Henllan for refreshments. He called for a glass
+of beer and bread and cheese, and was charged tenpence for the same,
+fourpence for the beer, and sixpence for the bread and cheese. This
+charge he considered outrageous, but he paid the demand, and before
+departing he took a scrap of paper and wrote on it a spell, and hid it
+under the table, and then went on his way. That evening, soon after the
+landlord and landlady had retired for the night, leaving the servant girl
+to clear up, they were surprised to hear in the kitchen an unaccountable
+noise; shouting and jumping was the order of the day, or rather night, in
+that room. The good people heard the girl shout at the top of her
+voice--
+
+ "Six and four are ten,
+ Count it o'er again,"
+
+and then she danced like mad round and round the kitchen. They sternly
+requested the girl to cease yelling, and to come to bed, but the only
+answer they received was--
+
+ "Six and four are ten,
+ Count it o'er again,"
+
+and with accelerated speed she danced round and round the kitchen.
+
+The thought now struck the landlord that the girl had gone out of her
+mind, and so he got up, and went to see what was the matter with her,
+with the intention of trying to get her away from the kitchen. But the
+moment he placed his foot in the kitchen, he gave a jump, and joined the
+girl in her mad dance, and with her he shrieked out--
+
+ "Six and four are ten,
+ Count it o'er again."
+
+So now the noise was doubled, and the good wife, finding that her husband
+did not return to her, became very angry, if not jealous. She shouted to
+them to cease their row, but all to no purpose, for the dancing and the
+shouting continued. Then she left her bed and went to the kitchen door,
+and greatly disgusted she was to see her husband and maid dancing
+together in that shameless manner. She stood at the door a moment or two
+observing their frantic behaviour, and then she determined forcibly to
+put a stop to the proceedings, so into the room she bounded, but with a
+hop and a jump she joined in the dance, and sang out in chorus with the
+other two--
+
+ "Six and four are ten,
+ Count it o'er again."
+
+The uproar now was great indeed, and roused the neighbours from their
+sleep. They from outside heard the mad dance and the words, and guessed
+that Dick Spot had been the cause of all this. One of those present
+hurried after the conjuror, who, fortunately, was close at hand, and
+desired him to return to the inn to release the people from his spell.
+"Oh," said Dick, "take the piece of paper that is under the table and
+burn it, and they will then stop their row." The man returned to the
+inn, pushed open the door, rushed to the table, and cast the paper into
+the fire, and then the trio became quiet. But they had nearly exhausted
+themselves by their severe exertions ere they were released from the
+power of the spell.
+
+
+
+_A Conjuror and Robbers_.
+
+
+A conjuror, or _Gwr Cyfarwydd_, was travelling over the Denbighshire
+hills to Carnarvonshire; being weary, he entered a house that he saw on
+his way, and he requested refreshments, which were given him by a young
+woman. "But," said she, "you must make haste and depart, for my brothers
+will soon be here, and they are desperate men, and they will kill you."
+But no, the stranger was in no hurry to move on, and though repeatedly
+besought to depart, he would not do so. To the great dread and fear of
+the young woman, her brothers came in, and, in anger at finding a
+stranger there, bade him prepare for death. He requested a few minutes'
+respite, and took out a book and commenced reading it. When he was thus
+engaged a horn began growing in the centre of the table, and on this the
+robbers were obliged to gaze, and they were unable even to move. The
+stranger went to bed, and found the robbers in the morning still gazing
+at the horn, as he knew they would be, and he departed leaving them thus
+engaged, and the tale goes, that they were arrested in that position,
+being unable to offer any resistance to their captors.
+
+There are several versions of the Horn Tale afloat; instead of being made
+to grow out of a table, it was made to grow out of a person's head or
+forehead. There is a tradition that Huw Llwyd was able to do this
+wonderful thing, and that he actually did it.
+
+
+
+_The Conjuror and the Cattle_.
+
+
+R. H., a farmer in Llansilin parish, who lost several head of cattle,
+sent or went to Shon Gyfarwydd, who lived in Llanbrynmair, a well-known
+conjuror, for information concerning their death, and for a charm against
+further loss. Both were obtained, and the charm worked so well that the
+grateful farmer sent a letter to Shon acknowledging the benefit he had
+derived from him.
+
+This Shon was a great terror to thieves, for he was able to spot them and
+mark them in such a way that they were known to be culprits. I am
+indebted to Mr. Jones, Rector of Bylchau, near Denbigh, for the three
+following stories, in which the very dread of being marked by Shon was
+sufficient to make the thieves restore the stolen property.
+
+
+
+_Stolen property discovered through fear of applying to the Llanbrynmair
+Conjuror_.
+
+
+Richard Thomas, Post Office, Llangadfan, lost a coat and waistcoat, and
+he suspected a certain man of having stolen them. One day this man came
+to the shop, and Thomas saw him there, and, speaking to his wife from the
+kitchen in a loud voice, so as to be heard by his customer in the shop,
+he said that he wanted the loan of a horse to go to Llanbrynmair.
+Llanbrynmair was, as we know, the conjuror's place of abode. Thomas,
+however, did not leave his house, nor did he intend doing so, but that
+very night the stolen property was returned, and it was found the next
+morning on the door sill.
+
+
+
+_Reclaiming stolen property through fear of the Conjuror_.
+
+
+A mason engaged in the restoration of Garthbeibio Church placed a trowel
+for safety underneath a stone, but by morning it was gone. Casually in
+the evening he informed his fellow workmen that he had lost his trowel,
+and that someone must have stolen it, but that he was determined to find
+out the thief by taking a journey to Llanbrynmair. He never went, but
+the ruse was successful, for the next morning he found, as he suspected
+would be the case, the trowel underneath the very stone where he had
+himself placed it.
+
+
+
+_Another similar Tale_.
+
+
+Thirty pounds were stolen from Glan-yr-afon, Garthbeibio. The owner made
+known to his household that he intended going to Shon the conjuror, to
+ascertain who had taken his money, but the next day the money was
+discovered, being restored, as was believed, by the thief the night
+before.
+
+These stories show that the ignorant and superstitious were influenced
+through fear, to restore what they had wrongfully appropriated, and their
+faith in the conjuror's power thus resulted, in some degree, in good to
+the community. The _Dyn Hyspys_ was feared where no one else was feared,
+and in this way the supposed conjuror was not altogether an unimportant
+nor unnecessary member of society. At a time, particularly when people
+are in a low state of civilization, or when they still cling to the pagan
+faith of their forefathers, transmitted to them from remote ages, then
+something can be procured for the good of a benighted people even through
+the medium of the _Gwr Cyfarwydd_.
+
+Events occurred occasionally by a strange coincidence through which the
+fame of the _Dyn Hyspys_ became greatly increased. An event of this kind
+is related by Mr. Edward Hamer. He states that:--
+
+ "Two respectable farmers, living in the upper Vale of the Severn (Cwm
+ Glyn Hafren), and standing in relationship to each other of uncle and
+ nephew, a few years ago purchased each a pig of the same litter, from
+ another farmer. When bought, both animals were, to all appearance,
+ in excellent health and condition, and for a short time after their
+ removal to their new homes both continued to improve daily. It was
+ not long, however, before both were taken ill very suddenly. As
+ there appeared something very strange in the behaviour of his animal,
+ the nephew firmly believed that he was 'witched,' and acting upon
+ this belief, set out for the neighbouring conjuror. Having received
+ certain injunctions from the 'wise man,' he returned home, carried
+ them out, and had the satisfaction of witnessing the gradual recovery
+ of his pig. The uncle paid no attention to the persuasions and even
+ entreaties of his nephew; he would not believe that his pig was
+ 'witched,' and refused to consult the conjuror. The pig died after
+ an illness of three weeks; _and many thought the owner deserved
+ little sympathy for manifesting so much obstinacy and scepticism_.
+ These events occurred in the spring of the year 1870, and were much
+ talked of at the time."--_Montgomeryshire Collections_, vol. x., p.
+ 240.
+
+Conjurors retained their repute by much knavery and collusion with
+others.
+
+Tales are not wanted that expose their impostures. The Rev. Meredith
+Hamer, late of Berse, told me of the following exposure of a conjuror. I
+know not where the event occurred, but it is a typical case.
+
+
+
+_A Conjuror's Collusion exposed_.
+
+
+This man's house consisted of but few rooms. Between the kitchen and his
+study, or consulting room, was a slight partition. He had a servant
+girl, whom he admitted as a partner in his trade. This girl, when she
+saw a patient approach the house, which she was able to do, because there
+was only one approach to it, and only one entrance, informed her master
+of the fact that someone was coming, and he immediately disappeared, and
+he placed himself in a position to hear the conversation of the girl with
+the person who had come to consult him. The servant by questioning the
+party adroitly obtained that information respecting the case which her
+master required, and when she had obtained the necessary information, he
+would appear, and forthwith tell the stranger that he knew hours before,
+or days ago, that he was to have the visit now paid him, and then he
+would relate all the particulars which he had himself heard through the
+partition, to the amazement of the stranger, who was ignorant of this
+means of communication.
+
+At other times, if a person who wished to consult him came to the house
+when the conjuror was in the kitchen, he would disappear as before,
+stating that he was going to consult his books, and then his faithful
+helper would proceed to extort the necessary information from the
+visitor. On this, he would re-appear and exhibit his wonderful knowledge
+to the amazed dupe.
+
+On one occasion, though, a knowing one came to the conjuror with his arm
+in a sling, and forthwith the wise man disappeared, leaving the maid to
+conduct the necessary preliminary examination, and her visitor minutely
+described how the accident had occurred, and how he had broken his arm in
+two places, etc.
+
+All this the conjuror heard, and he came into the room and rehearsed all
+that he had heard; but the biter was bitten, for the stranger, taking his
+broken arm out of the sling, in no very polite language accused the
+conjuror of being an impostor, and pointed out the way in which the
+collusion had been carried out between him and his maid.
+
+This was an exposure the conjuror had not foreseen!
+
+
+
+_The Conjuror's Dress_.
+
+
+Conjurors, when engaged in their uncanny work, usually wore a grotesque
+dress and stood within a circle of protection. I find so graphic a
+description of a doctor who dealt in divination in Mr. Hancock's "History
+of Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant" that I will transcribe it:--"He" (the raiser
+of the devils) "was much resorted to by the friends of parties mentally
+deranged, many of whom he cured. Whenever he assumed to practise the
+'black art,' he put on a most grotesque dress, a cap of sheepskin with a
+high crown, bearing a plume of pigeons' feathers, and a coat of unusual
+pattern, with broad hems, and covered with talismanic characters. In his
+hand he had a whip, the thong of which was made of the skin of an eel,
+and the handle of bone. With this he drew a circle around him, outside
+of which, at a proper distance, he kept those persons who came to him,
+whilst he went through his mystic sentences and
+performances."--_Montgomeryshire Collections_, vol. vi, pp. 329-30.
+
+
+
+
+CHARMS.
+
+
+The cure of diseases by charms is generally supposed to be a kind of
+superstition antagonistic to common sense, and yet there are undoubted
+cases of complete cures through the instrumentality of charms. Warts
+are, undoubtedly, removed by the faith of those persons who suffer from
+them in the power of the charmer and his charms. The writer has had
+innumerable instances of the efficacy of wart charms, but it is not his
+intention to endeavour to trace the effect of charms on highly sensitive
+people, but only to record those charms that he has seen or heard of as
+having been used.
+
+
+
+_Swyno'r 'Ryri_ (_Charming the Shingles_).
+
+
+The shingles is a skin disease, which encircles the body like a girdle,
+and the belief was that if it did so the patient died. However, there
+was a charm for procuring its removal, which was generally resorted to
+with success; but the last person who could charm this disease in
+Montgomeryshire lies buried on the west side of the church at
+Penybontfawr, and consequently there is no one now in those parts able to
+charm the shingles. The inscription on his tombstone informs us that
+Robert Davies, Glanhafon Fawr, died March 13th, 1864, aged 29, so that
+faith in this charm has reached our days.
+
+It was believed that the descendants of a person who had eaten eagle's
+flesh _to the ninth generation_ could charm for shingles.
+
+The manner of proceeding can be seen from the following quotation taken
+from "The History of Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant," by Mr. T. W. Hancock,
+which appears in vol. vi., pp. 327-8 of the _Montgomeryshire
+Collections_.
+
+
+
+_A Charm for the Shingles_.
+
+
+"This custom (charming for the shingles) was more prevalent in this
+parish than in any other in Montgomeryshire. A certain amount of penance
+was to be done by the sufferer, who was to go to the charmer in the
+morning fasting, and he was also to be fasting. The mode of cure was
+simple--the charmer breathed gently on the inflamed part, and then
+followed a series of little spittings upon and around it. A few visits
+to the charmer, or sometimes a single one, was sufficient to effect a
+cure.
+
+"The power of charming for the ''Ryri' is now lost, or in any event has
+not been practised in this parish, for several years past. The
+possession of this remarkable healing power by the charmer was said to
+have been derived from the circumstance _of either the charmer himself_,
+_or one of his ancestors within the ninth degree_, _having eaten of the
+flesh of the eagle_, the virtue being, it was alleged, transmitted from
+the person who had so partaken to his descendants for nine generations.
+The tradition is that the disorder was introduced into the country by a
+malevolent eagle.
+
+"Some charmers before the operation of spitting, muttered to themselves
+the following incantation:--
+
+ Yr Eryr Eryres
+ Mi a'th ddanfonais
+ Dros naw mor a thros naw mynydd,
+ A thros naw erw o dir anghelfydd;
+ Lle na chyfartho ci, ac na frefo fuwch,
+ Ac na ddelo yr eryr byth yn uwch."
+
+ Male eagle, female eagle,
+ I send you (by the operation of blowing, we presume)
+ Over nine seas, and over nine mountains,
+ And over nine acres of unprofitable land,
+ Where no dog shall bark, and no cow shall low,
+ And where no eagle shall higher rise."
+
+The charmer spat first on the rash and rubbed it with his finger over the
+affected parts, and then breathed nine times on it.
+
+Jane Davies, an aged woman, a native of Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant, with
+whom I had many long conversations on several occasions, told the
+narrator that she had cut a cat's ear to get blood, wherewith to rub the
+patient's breast who was suffering from the shingles, to stop its
+progress, until the sufferer could be visited by the charmer, and she
+said that the cat's blood always stopped it spreading.
+
+There were several charms for many of the ailments to which man is
+subject, which were thought to possess equal curative virtues.
+
+
+
+_Toothache charms_.
+
+
+By repeating the following doggerel lines the worst case of toothache
+could be cured--
+
+ Peter sat on a marble stone,
+ Jesus came to him all alone.
+ What's up, Peter? The toothache, my lord;
+ Rise up Peter, and be cured of this pain,
+ And all those _who carry these few lines_ for my sake.
+
+This charm appeared in the _Wrexham Advertiser_ as one that was used in
+_Coedpoeth_ and _Bwlch Gwyn_. But the words appear in "_Y Gwyliedydd_"
+for May, 1826, page 151. The Welsh heading to the charm informs us that
+it was obtained from an Irish priest in County Cork, Ireland. The words
+are:--
+
+ Fel yr oedd Pedr yn eistedd ar faen Mynor,
+ Crist a ddaeth atto, ac efe yn unig.
+ Pedr, beth a ddarfu i ti? Y Ddanodd, fy Arglwydd Dduw.
+ Cyfod, Pedr, a rhydd fyddi;
+ A bydd pob dyn a dynes iach oddiwrth y ddanodd
+ Y rhai a gredant i'r geiriau hyn,
+ Yr wyf fi yn gwneuthur yn enw Duw.
+
+The first two lines of the English and Welsh are the same but the third
+and succeeding lines in Welsh are as follows:--
+
+ Peter, what is the matter?
+ The toothache, my Lord God.
+ Rise Peter, and thou shalt be cured;
+ And every man and woman who believes these words
+ Shall be cured of the toothache,
+ Which I perform in the name of God.
+
+Another version of this charm was given me by Mrs. Reynolds, Pembroke
+House, Oswestry--
+
+ As Jesus walked through the gates of Jerusalem,
+ He saw Peter weeping. Jesus said unto him, why weepest thou?
+ I have got the toothache. Jesus touched his tooth,
+ And Jesus said, have faith and believe,
+ Thy tooth shall ache no more.
+ I return you humble and hearty thanks
+ For the blessing which you have bestowed on me.
+
+A young man told me that his brother once suffered greatly from
+toothache, and a woman gave him a charm like the above, written on paper.
+He rubbed the charm along the tooth, and he kept it in his pocket until
+it crumbled away, and as long as he preserved it he never was troubled
+with the toothache.
+
+
+
+_Rosemary Charm for Toothache_.
+
+
+"Llosg ei bren (Rhosmari) hyd oni bo yn lo du, ac yna dyro ef mewn cadach
+lliain cry, ac ira dy ddanedd ag ef; ac fo ladd y pryfed, ac a'u ceidw
+rhag pob clefyd."--_Y Brython_, p. 339.
+
+"Burn a Rosemary bough until it becomes black, and then place it in a
+strong linen cloth, and anoint thy teeth with it, and it will kill the
+worm, and preserve thee from every kind of fever."
+
+It was thought at one time that toothache was caused by a worm in the
+tooth, as intimated above.
+
+
+
+_Whooping Cough Charm_.
+
+
+Children suffering from whooping cough were taken to a seventh son, or
+lacking a seventh son of sons only, to a fifth son of sons only, who made
+a cake, and gave it to the sufferers to be eaten by them, and they would
+recover. The visit was to be thrice repeated. Bread and butter were
+sometimes substituted for the cake.
+
+The writer has been told of instances of the success of this charm.
+
+Another charm was--buy a penny roll, wrap it in calico, bury it in the
+garden, take it up next day. The sufferer from whooping-cough is then to
+eat the roll until it is consumed.
+
+
+
+_Charm for Fits_.
+
+
+A ring made out of the offertory money was a cure for fits. About the
+year 1882 the wife of a respectable farmer in the parish of Efenechtyd
+called at the rectory and asked the rector's wife if she would procure a
+shilling for her from the offering made at Holy Communion, out of which
+she was going to have a ring made to cure her fits. This coin was to be
+given unsolicited and received without thanks.
+
+The Rev. J. D. Edwards, late vicar of Rhosymedre, informed the writer
+that his parishioners often obtained silver coins from the offertory for
+the purpose now named. So as to comply with the conditions, the
+sufferers went to Mrs. Edwards some time during the week before
+"Sacrament Sunday," and asked her to request Mr. Edwards to give him or
+her a shilling out of the offertory, and on the following Monday the
+afflicted person would be at the Vicarage, and the Vicar, having already
+been instructed by Mrs. Edwards, gave the shilling without uttering a
+word, and it was received in the same manner.
+
+Another charm for fits was to procure a human being's skull, grind it
+into powder, and take it as medicine.
+
+
+
+_Charm for Cocks about to fight_.
+
+
+The charm consisted of a verse taken from the Bible, written on a slip of
+paper, wrapped round the bird's leg, as the steel spurs were being placed
+on him. The verse so employed was, Eph. vi., 16:--"Taking the shield of
+faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the
+wicked."
+
+William Jones, Pentre Llyffrith, Llanfyllin, was a celebrated cock
+charmer. There was also a well-known charmer who lived at Llandegla,
+Denbighshire, who refused a charm to a certain man. When asked why he
+had not complied with his request, he said--"He will not need charms for
+his birds, for he will be a dead man before the main comes off." This
+became true, for the man died, as foretold.
+
+
+
+_Charm for Asthma_.
+
+
+Place the Bible for three successive nights under the bolster of the
+sufferer, and it will cure him.
+
+
+
+_Charms for Warts_.
+
+
+1. Drop a pin into a holy well and your warts will disappear, but should
+anyone take the pin out of the well, the warts you have lost will grow on
+his fingers.
+
+2. Rub the warts with the inside of a bean pod, and then throw the pod
+away.
+
+3. Take wheat on the stalk, rub the warts with the wheat's beard or
+bristles at the end of the ear, take these to four crosses or roads that
+cross each other, bury the straw, and the warts will decay with the decay
+of the straw.
+
+4. Rub the warts with elderberry leaves plucked by night, and then burn
+them, and the warts will disappear.
+
+5. Rub the warts with a bit of flesh meat, wrap the flesh up in paper,
+throw it behind your back, and do not look behind you to see what becomes
+of it, and whoever picks it up gets your warts.
+
+6. Take a snail and pierce it through with a thorn, and leave it to die
+on the bush; as it disappears so will your warts.
+
+
+
+_Charm for removing a Stye from the eye_.
+
+
+Take an ordinary knitting needle, and pass it back and fore over the
+stye, but without touching it, and at the same time counting its age,
+thus--One stye, two styes, three styes, up to nine, and then reversing
+the order, as nine styes, eight styes, down to one stye, and _no_ stye.
+This counting was to be done in one breath. If the charmer drew his
+breath the charm was broken, but three attempts were allowed. The stye,
+it was alleged, would die from that hour, and disappear in twenty-four
+hours.
+
+
+
+_Charms for Quinsy_.
+
+
+Apply to the throat hair cut at midnight from the black shoulder stripe
+of the colt of an ass.
+
+
+
+_Charming the Wild Wart_.
+
+
+Take a branch of elder tree, strip off the bark, split off a piece, hold
+this skewer near the wart, and rub the wart three or nine times with the
+skewer, muttering the while an incantation of your own composing, then
+pierce the wart with a thorn. Bury the skewer transfixed with the thorn
+in a dunghill. The wart will rot away just as the buried things decay.
+
+
+
+_Charm for Rheumatism_.
+
+
+Carry a potato in your pocket, and when one is finished, supply its place
+with another.
+
+
+
+_Charm for removing the Ringworm_.
+
+
+1. Spit on the ground the first thing in the morning, mix the spittle
+with the mould, and then anoint the ringworm with this mixture.
+
+2. Hold an axe over the fire until it perspires, and then anoint the
+ringworm with the sweat.
+
+
+
+_Cattle Charms_.
+
+
+Mr. Hamer in his "Parochial Account of Llanidloes" published in _The
+Montgomeryshire Collections_, vol x., p. 249, states that he has in his
+possession two charms that were actually used for the protection of live
+stock of two small farms. One of them opens thus:--
+
+ "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
+ Amen . . . and in the name of Lord Jesus Christ my redeemer, that I
+ will give relief to --- creatures his cows, and his calves, and his
+ horses, and his sheep, and his pigs, and all creatures that alive be
+ in his possession, from all witchcraft and from all other assaults of
+ Satan. Amen."
+
+Mr. Hamer further states that:--
+
+ "At the bottom of the sheet, on the left, is the magical word,
+ _Abracadabra_, written in the usual triangular form; in the centre, a
+ number of planetary symbols, and on the right, a circular figure
+ filled in with lines and symbols, and beneath them the words, 'By
+ Jah, Joh, Jab.' It was the custom to rub these charms over the
+ cattle, etc. a number of times, while some incantation was being
+ mumbled. The paper was then carefully folded up, and put in some
+ safe place where the animals were housed, as a guard against future
+ visitations."
+
+In other cases the charm was worn by the cattle, as is shown by the
+following tale:--
+
+
+
+_Charm against Foot and Mouth Disease_.
+
+
+The cattle on a certain farm in Llansilin parish suffered from the above
+complaint, and old Mr. H--- consulted a conjuror, who gave him a written
+charm which he was directed to place on the horns of the cattle, and he
+was told this would act both as a preventive and a cure. This farmer's
+cattle might be seen with the bit of paper, thus procured, tied to their
+horns. My informant does not wish to be named, nor does she desire the
+farmer's name to be given, but she vouches for the accuracy of her
+information, and for my own use, she gave me all particulars respecting
+the above. This took place only a few years ago, when the Foot and Mouth
+Disease first visited Wales.
+
+I obtained, through the kindness of the Rev. John Davies, vicar of
+Bryneglwys, the following charm procured from Mr. R. Jones, Tynywern,
+Bryneglwys, Denbighshire, who had it from his uncle, by whom it was used
+at one time.
+
+ _Yn enw y Tad_, _a'r Mab_, _a'r Ysbryd_.
+
+ Bod I grist Iesu y gysegredig a oddefe ar y groes,
+ Pan godaist Sant Lasarys o'i fedd wedi farw,
+ Pan faddeuaist Bechodau I fair fagdalen, a thrygra
+ wrthyf fel bo gadwedig bob peth a henwyf fi ag a
+ croeswyf fi ++++ trwy nerth a rhinwedd dy eiriau
+ Bendigedig di fy Arglwydd Iesu Crist. Amen.
+ Iesu Crist ain harglwydd ni gwared ni rhag pop
+ rhiwogaeth o Brofedigaeth ar yabrydol o uwch deiar
+ nag o Is deiar, rhag y gythraelig o ddun nei ddynes
+ a chalon ddrwg a reibia dda ei berchenog ei
+ ddrwg rhinwedd ei ddrwg galon ysgymynedig
+ a wahanwyd or ffydd gatholig ++++ trwy nerth a
+ rhinwedd dy eiriau Bendigedig di fy Arglwydd Iesu Crist. Amen.
+ Iesu Crist ain harglwydd ni Gwared ni rhag y glwy
+ ar bar, ar Llid, ar genfigain ar adwyth . . .
+ ar Pleined Wibrenon ar gwenwyn
+ deiarol, trwy nerth a rhinwedd dy eiriau
+ Bedigedig di Fy Arglwydd Iesu Crist. Amen.
+
+It was somewhat difficult to decipher the charms and four words towards
+the end are quite illegible, and consequently they are omitted. The
+following translation will show the nature of the charm:--
+
+ _In the Name of the Father_, _the Son_, _and the Spirit_.
+
+ May Christ Jesus the sanctified one, who suffered death on the cross,
+ When thou didst raise Lazarus from his tomb after his death,
+ When Thou forgavest sins to Mary Magdalen, have
+ mercy on me, so that everything named by me and
+ crossed by me ++++ may be saved by the power and
+ virtue of thy blessed words my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
+ Jesus Christ our Lord save us from every kind of
+ temptation whether spiritual above the earth or
+ under the earth, from the devilish man or woman
+ with evil heart who bewitcheth the goods of their
+ owner; his evil virtue, his evil excommunicated heart
+ cut off from the Catholic Faith ++++ by the power
+ and virtue of thy blessed words my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
+ Jesus Christ our Lord save us from the disease and the
+ affliction, and the wrath, and the envy, and the
+ mischief, and the . . . and the planet of the sky
+ and the earthly poison, by the power and virtue
+ of Thy blessed words, my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
+
+The mark ++++ indicates that crosses were here made by the person who
+used the charm, and probably the words of the charm were audibly uttered.
+
+
+
+_Another Cattle Charm Spell_.
+
+
+Mr. Hughes, Plasnewydd, Llansilin, lost several head of cattle. He was
+told to bleed one of the herd, boil the blood, and take it to the
+cowhouse at midnight. He did so, and lost no more after applying this
+charm.
+
+
+
+_A Charm for Calves_.
+
+
+If calves were scoured over much, and in danger of dying, a hazel twig
+the length of the calf was twisted round the neck like a collar, and it
+was supposed to cure them.
+
+
+
+_A Charm for Stopping Bleeding_.
+
+
+Mrs. Reynolds, whom I have already mentioned in connection with a charm
+for toothache, gave me the following charm. It bears date April 5,
+1842:--
+
+ Our Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ was born at Bethlehem,
+ By the Virgin Mary,
+ Baptized in the River Jordan,
+ By St. John the Baptist.
+ He commanded the water to stop, and it obeyed Him.
+ And I desire in the name of Jesus Christ,
+ That the blood of this vein (or veins) might stop,
+ As the water did when Jesus Christ was baptized.
+
+ Amen.
+
+
+
+_Charm to make a Servant reliable_.
+
+
+"Y neb a fyno gael ei weinidog yn gywir, doded beth o'r lludw hwn yn
+nillad ei weinidog ac efe a fydd cywir tra parhao'r lludw."--_Y Brython_,
+vol. iii., p. 137.
+
+Which is:--Whosoever wishes to make his servant faithful let him place
+the ashes (of a snake) in the clothes of his servant, and as long as they
+remain there he will be faithful.
+
+There are many other wonderful things to be accomplished with the skin of
+an adder, or snake, besides the preceding. The following are recorded in
+_Y Brython_, vol. iii., p. 137.
+
+
+
+_Charms performed with Snake's Skin_.
+
+
+1. Burn the skin and preserve the ashes. A little salve made out of the
+ashes will heal a wound.
+
+2. A little of the ashes placed between the shoulders will make a man
+invulnerable.
+
+3. Whoso places a little of the ashes in the water with which he washes
+himself, should his enemies meet him, they will flee because of the
+beauty of his face.
+
+4. Cast a little of the ashes into thy neighbour's house, and he will
+leave it.
+
+5. Place the ashes under the sole of thy foot, and everybody will agree
+with thee.
+
+6. Should a man wrestle, let him place some of the ashes under his
+tongue, and no one can conquer him.
+
+7. Should a man wish to know what is about to occur to him, let him
+place a pinch of the ashes on his head, and then go to sleep, and his
+dreams will reveal the future.
+
+8. Should a person wish to ascertain the mind of another, let him throw
+a little of the ashes on that person's clothes, and then let him ask what
+he likes, the answer will be true.
+
+9. Has already been given above. (See page 272).
+
+10. If a person is afraid of being poisoned in his food, let him place
+the ashes on the table with his food, and poison cannot stay there with
+the ashes.
+
+11. If a person wishes to succeed in love, let him wash his hands and
+keep some of the ashes in them, and then everybody will love him.
+
+12. The skin of the adder is a remedy against fevers.
+
+
+
+_The Charms performed with Rosemary_.
+
+
+Rosemary dried in the sun and made into powder, tied in a cloth around
+the right arm, will make the sick well.
+
+The smoke of rosemary bark, sniffed, will, even if you are in gaol,
+release you.
+
+The leaves made into salve, placed on a wound, where the flesh is dead,
+will cure the wound.
+
+A spoon made out of its wood will make whatever you eat therewith
+nutritious.
+
+Place it under the door post, and no snake nor adder can ever enter thy
+house.
+
+The leaves placed in beer or wine will keep these liquids from becoming
+sour, and give them such a flavour that you will dispose of them quickly.
+
+Place a branch of rosemary on the barrel, and it will keep thee from
+fever, even though thou drink of it for a whole day.
+
+Such were some of the wonderful virtues of this plant, as given in the
+_Brython_, vol. iii., p. 339.
+
+
+
+_Charm for Clefyd y Galon_, _or Heart Disease_.
+
+
+The Rev. J. Felix, vicar of Cilcen, near Mold, when a young man lodged in
+Eglwysfach, near Glandovey. His landlady, noticing that he looked pale
+and thin, suggested that he was suffering from Clefyd y galon, which may
+be translated as above, or love sickness, a complaint common enough among
+young people, and she suggested that he should call in David Jenkins, a
+respectable farmer and a local preacher with the Wesleyans, to cure him.
+Jenkins came, and asked the supposed sufferer whether he believed in
+charms, and was answered in the negative. However, he proceeded with his
+patient as if he had answered in the affirmative. Mr Felix was told to
+take his coat off, he did so, and then he was bidden to tuck up his shirt
+above his elbow. Mr. Jenkins then took a yarn thread and placing one
+end on the elbow measured to the tip of Felix's middle finger, then he
+told his patient to take hold of the yarn at one end, the other end
+resting the while on the elbow, and he was to take fast hold of it, and
+stretch it. This he did, and the yarn lengthened, and this was a sign
+that he was actually sick of heart disease. Then the charmer tied this
+yarn around the patient's left arm above the elbow, and there it was
+left, and on the next visit measured again, and he was pronounced cured.
+
+The above information I received from Mr. Felix, who is still alive and
+well.
+
+There were various ways of proceeding in this charm. Yarn was always
+used and the measurement as above made, and sometimes the person was
+named and his age, and the Trinity was invoked, then the thread was put
+around the neck of the sick person, and left there for three nights, and
+afterwards buried in the name of the Trinity under ashes. If the thread
+shortened above the second joint of the middle finger there was little
+hope of recovery; should it lengthen that was a sign of recovery.
+
+
+
+_Clefyd yr Ede Wlan or Yarn Sickness_.
+
+
+About twenty years ago, when the writer was curate of Llanwnog,
+Montgomeryshire, a young Welsh married woman came to reside in the parish
+suffering from what appeared to be that fell disease, consumption. He
+visited her in her illness, and one day she appeared much elated as she
+had been told that she was improving in health. She told the narrator
+that she was suffering from _Clwyf yr ede wlan_ or the woollen thread
+sickness, and she said that the yarn had _lengthened_, which was a sign
+that she was recovering. The charm was the same as that mentioned above,
+supplemented with a drink made of a quart of old beer, into which a piece
+of heated steel had been dipped, with an ounce of meadow saffron tied up
+in muslin soaked in it, taken in doses daily of a certain prescribed
+quantity, and the thread was measured daily, thrice I believe, to see if
+she was being cured or the reverse. Should the yarn shorten it was a
+sign of death, if it lengthened it indicated a recovery. However,
+although the yarn in this case lengthened, the young woman died. The
+charm failed.
+
+Sufficient has been said about charms to show how prevalent faith in
+their efficiency was. Ailments of all descriptions had their
+accompanying antidotes; but it is singularly strange that people
+professing the Christian religion should cling so tenaciously to paganism
+and its forms, so that even in our own days, such absurdities as charms
+find a resting-place in the minds of our rustic population, and often,
+even the better-educated classes resort to charms for obtaining cures for
+themselves and their animals.
+
+But from ancient times, omens, charms, and auguries have held
+considerable sway over the destinies of men. That charming book,
+_Plutarch's Lives_, abounds with instances of this kind. Indeed, an
+excellent collection of ancient Folk-lore could easily be compiled from
+extant classical authors. Most things die hard, and ideas that have once
+made a lodgment in the mind of man, particularly when they are connected
+in any way with his faith, die the very hardest of all. Thus it is that
+such beliefs as are treated of in this chapter still exist, and they have
+reached our days from distant periods, filtered somewhat in their
+transit, but still retaining their primitive qualities.
+
+We have not as yet gathered together the fragments of the ancient
+religion of the Celts, and formed of them a consistent whole, but
+evidently we are to look for them in the sayings and doings of the people
+quite as much as in the writings of the ancients. If we could only
+ascertain what views were held respecting any particular matter in
+ancient times, we might undoubtedly find traces of them even in modern
+days. Let us take for instance only one subject, and see whether traces
+of it still exist. Caesar in his _Commentaries_ states of the Druids
+that, "One of their principal maxims is that the soul never dies, but
+that after death it passes into the body of another being. This maxim
+they consider to be of the greatest utility to encourage virtue and to
+make them regardless of life."
+
+Now, is there anything that can be associated with such teaching still to
+be found? The various tales previously given of hags turning themselves
+and others into various kinds of animals prove that people believed that
+such transitions were in life possible, and they had only to go a step
+further and apply the same faith to the soul, and we arrive at the
+transmigration of souls.
+
+It is not my intention to make too much of the following tale, for it may
+be only a shred, but still as such it is worthy of record. A few years
+ago I was staying at the Rectory, Erbistock, near Ruabon, and the rector,
+the Rev. P. W. Sparling, in course of conversation, said that a
+parishioner, one Betsy Roberts, told him that she knew before anyone told
+her, that a certain person died at such and such a time. The rector
+asked her how she came to know of the death if no one had informed her,
+and if she had not been to the house to ascertain the fact. Her answer
+was, "I knew because I saw a hare come from towards his house and cross
+over the road before me." This was about all that the rector could
+elicit, but evidently the woman connected the appearance of the hare with
+the death of the man. The association of the live hare with the dead man
+was here a fact, and possibly in the birthplace of that woman such a
+connection of ideas was common. Furthermore, it has often been told me
+by people who have professed to have heard what they related, that being
+present in the death chamber of a friend they have heard a bird singing
+beautifully outside in the darkness, and that it stopped immediately on
+the death of their friend. Here again we have a strange connection
+between two forms of life, and can this be a lingering Druidic or other
+ancient faith?
+
+In the _Dictionary of the Welsh Language_ by the Rev. Canon Silvan Evans,
+part i., p. 8, under the word _Abred_, we have an exhaustive statement on
+the subject of transmigration, which I will take the liberty to
+transcribe, for it certainly throws light on the matter now treated of.
+
+"_Abred_ . . . 1. The state or condition through which, by a regular
+upward gradation, all animated beings pass from the lowest point of
+existence in which they originate, towards humanity and the highest state
+of happiness and perfection. All the states of animation below that of
+humanity are necessarily evil; in the state of humanity, good and evil
+are equally balanced; and in all the states above humanity, good
+preponderates and evil becomes impossible. If man, as a free agent,
+attaches himself to evil, he falls in death into such an animal state of
+existence as corresponds with the turpitude of his soul, which may be so
+great as to cast him down into the lowest point of existence, from which
+he shall again return through such a succession of animal existences as
+is most proper to divest him of his evil propensities. After traversing
+such a course, he will again rise to the probationary state of humanity,
+where according to contingencies he may rise or fall; yet, should he
+fall, he shall rise again, and should this happen for millions of ages,
+the path of happiness is still open to him, and will so remain to all
+eternity, for sooner or later he will infallibly arrive at his destined
+station or happiness, from which he can never fall. This doctrine of
+metamorphosis or evolution, attributed to the Druids and the Welsh bards,
+is succinctly but fully stated by its hierophant, Iolo Morganwg, in his
+'Poems' (1794), ii., 195-256, and elucidated by documents which had not
+previously been made public, but of which none are of an early date."
+
+Thus writes the Welsh lexicographer on this matter. The word _abred_ is
+archaic, as is the idea for which it stands; but as already said, very
+little has been lost of ideas which were once the property of kindred
+races; so here we have no exception to the general rule, though the word
+_abred_ and the theory it represented come down to modern times
+strengthless, resembling the lifeless mummy of an Egyptian king that once
+represented a living people and principle. Still, the word and the idea
+it stands for have descended, in form, to our days, and tell us something
+about the faith of our forefathers regarding the immortality of the soul.
+
+
+
+
+RHAMANTA, OR OMEN SEEKING.
+
+
+_Rhamanta_ was a kind of divination that could be resorted to without the
+intervention of any outside party, by anyone wishful to ascertain the
+future with reference to herself or himself. It differed, therefore,
+from the preceding tales of conjurors or witches, insomuch that the
+services of neither of these parties were required by the anxious seekers
+of coming events. They could themselves uplift the veil, using, however,
+for this purpose certain means, which were credited with possessing the
+power of opening to their view events which were about to happen.
+
+As there was something uncanny in this seeking for hidden information,
+young women generally in companies of three sought for the information
+their inquisitiveness required. This was usually done in the dead of
+night, and twelve o'clock was the hour when they resorted to their
+incantations. Some of the expedients adopted were harmless, though
+silly; others were cruel. To the effective carrying out of the matter it
+was generally necessary that at least one of the party should have slept
+within the year on an oat-straw bed, or a bed made of the leaves of
+mountain ash, mixed with the seeds of a spring fern, and a pillow of
+Maiden Hair.
+
+The nights generally resorted to for the purpose mentioned above were All
+Hallow Eve, S. John's Eve, and Mayday Eve, but there were other times
+also when the lovesick could get a glimpse of their life partners.
+
+I have said that some of the means employed were innocent and others
+cruel. Before proceeding I will record instances of both kinds. It was
+thought that if a young woman placed a snail under a basin on _Nos Wyl
+Ifan_, S. John's Eve, it would by its movements trace the name of her
+coming husband underneath, or at least his initials. One can very well
+imagine a young woman not over particular as to form, being able to
+decipher the snail's wanderings, and making them represent her lover's
+name. Should the snail have remained immovable during the night, this
+indicated her own or her lover's death; or at the least, no offer of
+marriage in the coming year.
+
+It was usual for young women to hunt for _Llysiau Ifan_ (S. John's Wort)
+on _Nos Wyl Ifan_, at midnight, and it was thought that the silvery light
+of a glow-worm would assist them in discovering the plant. The first
+thing, therefore, was to search for their living lanthorn. This found,
+they carried the glow-worm in the palm of the hand, and proceeding in
+their search they sought underneath or among the fern for St. John's
+Wort. When found, a bunch was carried away, and hung in the young
+woman's bedroom. If in the morning the leaves appeared fresh, it was a
+sign that she should be married within the year; if, however, the leaves
+were found hanging down or dead, this indicated her death, or that she
+was not to get a husband within that year. We can well understand that a
+sharp young person would resort to means to keep the plant alive, and
+thus avert what she most feared.
+
+The following instance of _Rhamanta_ I received from a young woman who
+witnessed the work done. She gave me the name of the party, but for
+special reasons I do not supply names.
+
+A young woman was madly in love with a young man, and she gave the
+servant man a jug of beer for procuring a frog for her. This he did; and
+she took the poor creature to the garden, and thrust several pins into
+its back. The tortured creature writhed under the pain, but the cruel
+girl did not cease until the required number had been inserted. Then she
+placed the frog under a vessel to prevent its escape, and turning to my
+informant, she said, "There, he will now come to our house this evening."
+The man certainly came, and when he entered she smiled at my informant,
+and then both went together to the lacerated frog, and the pins were
+extracted one by one from its back, and the wounded animal was set at
+liberty. My informant said that the hard-hearted girl mumbled something
+both when inserting and extracting the pins.
+
+It was believed that the spirit of a person could be invoked and that it
+would appear, after the performance of certain ceremonies, to the person
+who was engaged in the weird undertaking. Thus a young woman who had
+gone round the church seven times on All Hallow Eve came home to her
+mistress, who was in the secret that she was going to _rhamanta_, and
+said, "Why did you send master to frighten me?" But the master had not
+left the house. His wife perceived that it was the spirit of her husband
+that had appeared to the girl, and she requested the girl to be kind to
+her children, "for," said she, "you will soon be mistress here." In a
+short time afterwards the wife died, and the girl became her successor.
+
+I obtained the preceding tale from the Rev. P. Edwards, son of the Rector
+of Llanwyddelan, Montgomeryshire, and the lady who related the tale of
+herself to Mr. Edwards said the occurrence took place when she was
+servant girl.
+
+There are several versions of the above tale to be met with in many
+places in Wales.
+
+I will give one, omitting names, from my work on "_Old Stone Crosses_,"
+p. 203:--"An aged woman in Gyffylliog parish, who is still alive (1886),
+saw her husband by _rhamanta_; and so did her fellow-servant. I am
+indebted to Mr. Jones, Woodland Farm, to whom the woman related it, for
+the story I am about to give. When young women, she and her
+fellow-servant, in accordance with the practice of the country,
+determined to obtain a sight of the men whom they were to marry. The
+mistress was let into the secret that that night one of the two was going
+to raise the veil of the future, and the other the following night. As
+the clock began striking twelve the fellow-servant began striking the
+floor with a strap, repeating the doggerel lines
+
+ "Am gyd-fydio i gyd-ffatio,"
+
+and almost immediately she saw her master come down stairs. The girl
+innocently the next day asked her mistress why she had sent her master
+down stairs to frighten her. The answer of her mistress was, 'Take care
+of my children.' This girl ultimately married her master. The next
+night it was the other girl's turn, and she saw a dark man, whom she had
+never seen before; but in the course of a week or so, a stranger came
+into the farmyard, and she at once perceived that it was the person whom
+she had seen when divining. Upon inquiry, she ascertained that he was a
+married man, but in time his wife died, and the girl became his wife."
+
+There were several ways of proceeding by young girls who were anxious to
+ascertain whom they were to marry. One of these was by means of yarn.
+This divination was usually performed by two young girls after the family
+had retired for the night. It has been called _Coel ede wlan_, or the
+yarn test, and under this name I will describe the process.
+
+
+
+_Coel Ede Wlan_, _or the Yarn Test_.
+
+
+Two young women took a ball of yarn and doubled the threads, and then
+tied tiny pieces of wood along these threads so as to form a miniature
+ladder. Then they went upstairs together, and opening the window threw
+this artificial ladder to the ground, and then the one who was performing
+the incantation commenced winding the yarn back, saying the while:--
+
+ "Y fi sy'n dirwyn
+ Pwy sy'n dal?"
+
+ I am winding,
+ Who is holding?
+
+This was done three times, and if no lover made his appearance, then for
+that year her chances of marriage were gone. The next evening the other
+girl in the same manner tried her fortune, and possibly better luck would
+attend her trial. It was believed that the spirit of the coming husband
+would mount this ladder and present himself to his future wife.
+
+The Rev. R. Jones, rector of Llanycil, told me the following tale. Two
+young men from Festiniog went to court two young girls in the parish of
+Maentwrog, servants at a farm called Gellidywyll. As they were going
+towards the farm one of them said, "Let me rest awhile." He at once
+seated himself on the ground, and apparently he fell asleep immediately.
+This surprised his friend, but he was thoroughly frightened when he saw
+_a blue light emanate_ from his mouth, and he attempted to awaken the
+man, but he failed to arouse him, he seemed as if dead. However, after
+awhile, the blue light was seen returning, and it entered the mouth of
+the sleeper, and he instantly awoke, and they proceeded together towards
+Gellidywyll. At the very time that the man felt an irresistible
+inclination to sleep, his love had used the yarn incantation, and the
+unconscious man during his short sleep dreamt that he had seen his
+sweetheart in the window, and the girl said that he had appeared to her
+at the window. In a few months after this proof of true love they were
+married.
+
+Another form of incantation was to walk around the church seven or nine
+times on certain nights. This I will call the _Twca Test_ or _Knife
+Test_. This was a very common form of incantation.
+
+
+
+_Divination with the Twca or Knife_.
+
+
+The proceeding was as follows:--The party who wished to know whom he, or
+she, was to marry, went to the church secretly and walked around it seven
+times, repeating the while these words:--
+
+ "Dyma'r Twca,
+ Lle mae'r wain?"
+
+ Here's the knife,
+ Where's the sheath?
+
+And it was thought that the spirit of his or her life partner would
+appear to the person who held the knife, with the sheath in his or her
+hand, and that it would be found that the one fitted the other exactly.
+I have been told by a person who resorted to this test that if the person
+was to become a wife, her lover would certainly appear to her; if she was
+to die an old maid then a coffin would meet her. The superstition is
+mentioned in _Bardd Cwsg_--
+
+"Fe glywai rai yn son am fyned i droi o gwmpas yr Eglwys i weled eu
+cariadau, a pheth a wnaeth y catffwl ond ymddangos i'r ynfydion yn ei lun
+ei hun." That is in English:--
+
+"He heard some persons talking of going round the church to see their
+sweethearts, but what did the stupid one (the devil) do, but appear to
+the foolish things in his own person."
+
+
+
+_The Washing Test_.
+
+
+Another well-known and often practised form of divination was for a young
+woman to take an article to wash, such as a stocking, to the water-spout
+or _pistyll_, and with her she carried two pieces of wood wherewith to
+strike the article which was being washed. She went on her knees and
+commenced striking the stocking, saying the while:--
+
+ "Am gyd-fydio i gyd-ffatio."
+
+ We'll live together to strike together.
+
+It was thought that her future husband would then appear, take hold of
+the other piece of wood, and join her in her work; should the wraith
+appear, a marriage within six months followed.
+
+
+
+_Troi Crysau or Clothes Drying Test_.
+
+
+Young maidens washed linen after the household had retired, and placed
+the articles by the fire to dry, and then watched to see who should come
+at midnight to turn the clothes. In this case, again, the evil one is
+said to have entered the kitchen to perform this work for the young
+woman, and also it is affirmed that a coffin has, ere this, moved along
+through the room, a sure prognostication that she was doomed to die
+single. _Bardd Cwsg_ mentions this practice.
+
+He writes in the third part of his book, where a devil is accused in the
+Parliament of Hell, thus:--"Aeth nos _Ystwyll_ ddiweddaf i ymweled a dwy
+ferch ieuanc yng Nghymru _oedd yn troi crysau_, ac yn lle denu'r genethod
+i faswedd, yn rhith llanc glandeg, myned ag elor i sobreiddio un; a myned
+a thrwst rhyfel at y llall mewn corwynt uffernol."
+
+"He went on the night of _Epiphany_ to visit two young girls in Wales,
+who were turning shirts, and, instead of enticing them to folly, in the
+form of a handsome young man, he took to the one a coffin to sober her,
+and to the other he appeared in a hellish whirlwind, with a horrible
+noise."
+
+Happy, however, is the young woman should the man she loves appear, for
+he is to be her husband.
+
+
+
+_Hemp Seed Sowing_.
+
+
+A young married woman, a native of Denbighshire, told me that if a young
+woman sowed hemp seed, the figure of her lover would appear and follow
+her. This was to be done by night on Hallow Eve. I find from _English
+Folk-Lore_, p. 15, that this divination is practised in Devonshire on St.
+Valentine's Eve, and that the young woman runs round the church
+repeating, without stopping, the following lines:--
+
+ "I sow hempseed, hempseed I sow,
+ He that loves me best
+ Come, and after me now."
+
+ _Sage Gathering_.
+
+A young person who went of a night to the garden, and stripped the leaves
+of the sage tree, would, as the clock struck twelve, be joined by her
+lover. This was to be done on All Hallow Eve.
+
+
+
+_Pullet's Egg Divination_.
+
+
+Mr. J. Roberts, Plas Einion, Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, told me the
+following:--When he was a young man, he, his sister, and the servant man,
+formed a company to find out by divination their future life partners.
+They procured a pullet's egg, it was emptied into a cup, to this was
+added flour and salt, in equal proportions, these ingredients were mixed
+together, made into three small cakes, and baked. They all ate one half
+of their cake, and the other half was placed in their respective
+stockings, to be placed under their bolsters. They went upstairs
+backward, and thus to bed, preserving the while, absolute silence. It
+was believed, he said, that they should that night, in their dreams, if
+everything were carried out properly, see their partners, who would come
+to their bedsides to offer them a drink of water.
+
+
+
+_The Candle and Pin Divination_.
+
+
+The process is as follows:--A couple of young women meet, and stick pins
+in a candle, and if the divination acts properly the last pin drops out
+of the candle at 12 o'clock at night, and then the future husband of the
+girl to whom that pin belongs appears.
+
+I must not name the lady whom I am indebted to for the following
+information, but she told me that when she was a young woman, she, and
+her friend, took part in this prying into the future, and exactly at 12
+o'clock her companion's pin fell out of the candle, and at that very
+instant there was a knocking at the door, and in great fright both ran
+upstairs, but the knocking continued, and her friend put her head out of
+the window to enquire who was there, and my informant told me that the
+man at the door became her friend's husband, though at the time they were
+consulting the future she was desperately in love with another man.
+
+There were other ways in which people could _Rhamant_. Enough has been
+said on this subject, but there are other practices resorted to, having
+much the same object in view, which I will now relate.
+
+
+
+_To ascertain the condition of the Person whom you are to Marry_.
+
+
+_Water in Basin Divination_.
+
+
+Should young persons wish to know whether their husbands were to be
+bachelors, or their wives spinsters, the following test was to be
+resorted to:--
+
+Three persons were necessary to carry out the test. These three young
+ladies were to join in the undertaking and they were to proceed as
+follows:--On _Nos Calan Gauaf_, All Hallow Eve, at night, three basins
+were to be placed on a table, _one filled with clear spring water_, _one
+with muddy water_, _and the other empty_. The young ladies in turn were
+led blindfolded into the room, and to the table, and they were told to
+place their hands on the basins. She who placed her hand on the clear
+spring water was to marry a bachelor, whilst the one who touched the
+basin with muddy water was to wed a widower, and should the empty basin
+be touched it foretold that for that person a life of single blessedness
+was in store.
+
+
+_Hairs of a Lover found under a Holly Tree_.
+
+
+This test is to be carried out on All Hallow Eve. The young person walks
+backwards to a holly tree, takes a handful of grass from underneath it,
+and then carries the leaves to the light, and she then sees among the
+grass several hairs of her true lover.
+
+
+_The Bible and Key Divination_.
+
+
+A key is taken, and placed on the 16th verse of the 1st chapter of
+Ruth:--"And Ruth said, intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from
+following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou
+lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."
+
+The Bible is then closed with that part of the key that enters the lock
+on this verse. The person who wishes to look into the future takes the
+garter off his left leg, and then ties the Bible round with his garter,
+which also passes through the loop of the key. He has with him a friend
+who joins in carrying out the test. Both men place one of their big or
+central fingers on the key underneath the loop, and press the key, so as
+to keep the Bible steady and the key from falling. Then the man, who
+does not consult the future, reads the verse above written, and should
+the Bible turn towards the other man, it is an affirmative answer that
+the young lady he loves will accept him.
+
+The writer received this account from a man who had himself consulted the
+future by the Bible and Key.
+
+
+_Testing a Lover's Love by Cracking of Nuts_.
+
+
+This divination is common to many countries, but the writer knows that it
+is resorted to on _All Hallows Eve_ in Denbighshire by young ladies,
+partly, it may be in fun, and partly in earnest. The plan of proceeding
+is as follows:--Nuts are placed on the bars of the fire grate, equal in
+number to the young lady's lovers, and the nut that cracks first, and
+jumps off the bar, represents her true love. She has, of course fixed in
+her mind the lover each nut stands for. So common is this test that in
+the North of England _All Hallows Eve_ is called "_Nutcrack night_."
+
+_Gay_ describes the ceremony:--
+
+ Two hazel nuts I throw into the flame
+ And to each nut I give a sweetheart's name;
+ This with the loudest bounce me sore amazed,
+ That in a flame of brightest-colour blazed;
+ As blazed the nut, so may thy passions grow,
+ For 'twas thy nut that did so brightly glow.
+
+_Burns_, in his poem of _Hallowe'en_ also mentions the nut divination.
+
+ The auld guidwife's weel-hoordet nits
+ Are round an' round divided,
+ An' monie lads' and lasses' fates
+ Are there that night decided;
+ Some kindle, couthie, side by side,
+ An' burn thegither trimly;
+ Some start awa' wi' saucy pride,
+ And jump out-owre the chimlie
+ Fu' high that night.
+ Jean slips in twa' wi' tentie e'e;
+ Wha 'twas, she wadna tell;
+ But this is Jock, an' this is me,
+ She says in to hersel':
+ He bleez'd owre her, and she owre him,
+ As they wad never mair part;
+ 'Till, fuff! he started up the lum,
+ An' Jean had e'en a sair heart
+ To see't that night.
+
+
+
+_The Apple Pip Trial of Lovers_.
+
+
+The fair lady takes as many pips as she has lovers, and these she places
+on the point of a knife, which she inserts between the bars of the fire
+grate. Each pip represents a lover, and the pip that swells out and
+jumps into the fire indicates that he is the best lover for whom the pip
+stands.
+
+
+
+
+SPIRITUALISM.
+
+
+The next subject I shall treat of is curious, and partakes of the nature
+of spiritualism. I hardly know by what other word to describe it,
+therefore I will give particulars, so as to make the matter intelligible
+to the reader, and call it "Spiritualism."
+
+It was believed that it was possible for the spirit to leave the body,
+and then, after an absence of some time, to return again and re-enter it.
+The form the spirit assumed when it quitted the body was a bluish light
+like that of a candle, but somewhat longer. This light left the body
+through the mouth, and re-entered the same way.
+
+The writer was informed by a certain female friend at Llandegla that she
+had seen a bluish light leave the mouth of a person who was sick, light
+which she thought was the life, or spirit of that person, but the person
+did not immediately die.
+
+For another tale of this kind I am indebted to Mr. R. Roberts, who lives
+in the village of Clocaenog, near Ruthin. He was not himself a witness
+of the occurrence, but vouches for the accuracy of the report. It is as
+follows:--
+
+
+
+_A Spirit leaving and re-entering the body_.
+
+
+A man was in love with two young girls, and they were both in love with
+him, and they knew that he flirted with them both. It is but natural to
+suppose that these young ladies did not, being rivals, love each other.
+It can well be believed that they heartily disliked each other. One
+evening, according to custom, this young man spent the night with one of
+his sweethearts, and to all appearance she fell asleep, or was in a
+trance, for she looked very pale. He noticed her face, and was
+frightened by its death-like pallor, but he was greatly surprised to see
+_a bluish flame proceed out of her mouth_, and go towards the door. He
+followed this light, and saw it take the direction of the house in which
+his other love lived, and he observed that from that house, too, a like
+light was travelling, as if to meet the light that he was following. Ere
+long these lights met each other, and they apparently fought, for they
+dashed into each other, and flitted up and down, as if engaged in mortal
+combat. The strife continued for some time, and then the lights
+separated and departed in the direction of the respective houses where
+the two young women lived. The man returned to the house of the young
+woman with whom he was spending the night, following close on the light,
+which he saw going before him, and which re-entered her body through her
+mouth; and then she immediately awoke.
+
+Here, presumedly, these two troubled young ladies met in a disembodied
+form to contend for the possession of this young man.
+
+A tale much like the preceding occurs on page 283.
+
+There is something akin to this spectral appearance believed in in
+Scotland, where the apparition is called _Wraith_, which word is defined
+in _Jameson's Etymological Dictionary_, published by Gardner, 1882,
+thus:--
+
+"_Wraith_, _etc_.: Properly an apparition in the exact likeness of a
+person, supposed by the vulgar to be seen before, or soon after, death."
+
+This definition does not correspond exactly to what has been said of the
+Welsh spirit appearance, but it teaches the possibility, or shows the
+people's faith in the possibility, of the soul's existence apart from the
+body. It would seem that in Scotland this spectre is seen before, or
+after, death; but the writer has read of a case in which the _wraith_ of
+a person appeared to himself and was the means of saving his life, and
+that he long survived after his other self had rescued him from extreme
+danger.
+
+Lately a legend of Lake Ogwen went the round of the papers, but the
+writer, who lived many years in the neighbourhood of that lake, never
+heard of it until he saw it in the papers in 1887. As it bears on the
+subject under consideration, I will in part transcribe the story:--
+
+"On one of these occasions a friend who had known something of the Welsh
+gipsies repeated to Rossetti an anecdote which had been told him as a
+'quite true fack' by a Romani girl--an anecdote touching another Romani
+girl _whose wraith had been spirited away in the night from the_
+'_camping place_' by the incantations of a wicked lover, had been seen
+rushing towards Ogwen Lake in the moonlight, 'While all the while that
+'ere same chavi wur asleep an' a-sobbin' in her daddy's livin'
+waggin.'"--_Bye-Gones_, Ap. 13, 1887.
+
+This tale resembles in many respects the one given on page 291, for there
+is in both a lover and a sleeping girl, and the girl does not die, but
+there are minor differences in the tales, as might be expected.
+
+In Germany like tales are current. Baring-Gould, in his _Myths of the
+Middle Ages_, pp. 423-4, says:--
+
+ "The soul in German mythology is supposed to bear some analogy to a
+ mouse. In Thuringia, at Saalfeld, a servant girl fell asleep whilst
+ her companions were shelling nuts. They observed _a little red mouse
+ creep out of her mouth_ and run out of the window. One of the
+ fellows present shook the sleeper but could not wake her, so he moved
+ her to another place. Presently the mouse ran back to the former
+ place and dashed about seeking the girl; not finding her, it
+ vanished; at the same moment the girl died."
+
+One other tale on this subject I will give, which appeared in the _North
+Wales Chronicle_ for April 22, 1883, where it is headed--
+
+
+
+_A Spiritualistic Story from Wales_.
+
+
+"In an article relating to spiritualism in the February number of the
+_Fortnightly Review_, a story was told which is here shortened. The
+anecdote is given on the authority of a Welsh gentleman named Roberts,
+who resided at Cheetham, near Manchester, and the scene of the adventure
+is Beaumaris, the date 184--. The narrator was then an apprentice in a
+draper's shop. His master was strict, and allowed his apprentice but
+half an hour for dinner, which he had to take at his lodgings, some
+distance away from the shop. At whatever time he left the shop he had to
+be back there punctually at half past twelve. One day he was late, and
+while hastily swallowing his meat, his aunt being at the table, he looked
+up and saw that the clock pointed to _half past_ twelve! He was
+thunderstruck, and, with the fear of his master before him, all but lost
+consciousness, and was indeed in a dazed state for a few minutes, as was
+noticed by those at the table. Shaking this off by an effort, he again
+looked at the clock, and, to his relief and astonishment, saw that the
+hands only pointed to a _quarter past_ twelve. Then he quickly finished
+his dinner and returned to the shop at the appointed time. There he was
+told that at a _quarter past_ twelve he had returned to the shop, put up
+his hat, moved about in an absent manner, had been scolded, and had
+thereupon put on his hat again and walked out. Several persons on the
+one hand corroborated this story, whilst on the other his aunt was
+positive that, although at that moment he had fallen into a strange fit
+of abstraction, he had never left the table. This is the narrative,
+attested by a gentleman now living. The year 184-- is not so far back;
+perhaps there are still those residing on the upper side of the turf at
+Beaumaris who remember the circumstance."
+
+This tale in its nature is not unlike the others herein given. It
+belongs to the supernatural side of life.
+
+However improbable these stories may appear, they point to the notion
+that spirits can exist independently of the body. The Irish _fetch_, the
+Scotch _wraith_, and the Welsh _Canwyll Corph_, are alike in their
+teaching, but of this latter I shall speak more particularly when
+treating of death portents.
+
+
+
+_A Doctor called from his bed by a Voice_.
+
+
+Mr. Hugh Lloyd, Llanfihangel-Glyn-Myfyr, who received the story from Dr.
+Davies, the gentleman who figures in the tale, informed me of the
+following curious incidents:--
+
+Doctor Davies, of Cerrig-y-drudion, had gone to bed and slept, but in the
+night he heard someone under his bedroom window shout that he was wanted
+in a farmhouse called Craigeirchan, which was three miles from the
+doctor's abode, and the way thereto was at all times beset with
+difficulties, such as opening and shutting the many gates; but of a night
+the journey to this mountain farm was one that few would think of taking,
+unless called to do so by urgent business. The doctor did not pay much
+attention to the first request, but he lay quietly on the bed listening,
+and almost immediately he heard the same voice requesting him to go at
+once to Craigeirchan, as he was wanted there. He now got up to the
+window, but could not see anyone; he therefore re-entered his bed, but
+for the third time he heard the voice telling him to go to the farm
+named, and now he opened the window and said that he would follow the
+messenger forthwith. The doctor got up, went to the stable, saddled the
+horse, and off he started for a long dismal ride over a wild tract of
+mountain country; such a journey he had often taken. He was not
+surprised that he could not see, nor hear, anyone in advance, for he knew
+that Welsh lads are nimble of foot, and could, by cutting across fields,
+etc., outstrip a rider. At last he neared the house where he was wanted,
+and in the distance he saw a light, and by this sign he was convinced
+that there was sickness in the house. He drove up to the door and
+entered the abode, to the surprise but great joy of the inmates. To his
+inquiry after the person who had been sent for him, he was told that no
+one had left the house, nor had anyone been requested by the family to go
+to the doctor. But he was told his services were greatly wanted, for the
+wife was about to become a mother, and the doctor was instrumental in
+saving both the life of the child and mother.
+
+What makes this tale all the more curious is the fact, that the doctor
+was an unbeliever in such things as ghosts, etc., and he had often
+enjoyed a quiet laugh over the tales he heard of a supernatural kind.
+Mr. Lloyd asked the doctor whether he had heard of the woman's condition,
+but he affirmed he was ignorant of everything connected with the place
+and family.
+
+
+
+_Another Tale of a Doctor_.
+
+
+I received the following tale from the Rev. Philip Edwards, formerly
+curate at Selattyn, near Oswestry:--
+
+There was, or perhaps is--for my informant says he believes the lady is
+still alive--in a place called Swyddffynnon, Cardiganshire, a Mrs. Evans,
+who had a strange vision. Mr. Edwards's father called one evening upon
+Mrs. Evans, and found her sitting by the fire in company with a few
+female friends, greatly depressed. On enquiring as to the cause of her
+distress, she stated that she had had a strange sight that very evening.
+She saw, she said, in the unoccupied chamber at the further end of the
+house, a light, and, whilst she was wondering what light it was, she
+observed a tall, dark, stranger gentleman, who had a long, full beard,
+enter the house and go straight to the room where the light was, but
+before going in he took off his hat and placed it on the table; then he
+took off his gloves and threw them into the hat, and then he placed his
+riding whip across the hat, and without uttering a single word he entered
+the lit-up room. Shortly afterwards she saw the stranger emerge from the
+room and leave the house, and on looking again towards the room she saw
+that the light had disappeared. It was, she said, this apparition that
+had disconcerted her. Some time after this vision Mrs. Evans was in a
+critical state, and as she lived far away from a doctor my informant's
+father was requested to ride to Aberystwyth for one. He found, however,
+that the two doctors who then resided in that town were from home. But
+he was informed at the inn that there was a London doctor staying at
+Hafod. He determined, whether he could or could not, induce this
+gentleman to accompany him to Swyddffynnon, to go there. The gentleman,
+on hearing the urgency of the case, consented to visit the sick woman.
+Mr. Edwards and the doctor rode rapidly to their destination, and Mr.
+Edwards was surprised to find that the doctor did everything exactly as
+had been stated by Mrs. Evans. There was also a light in the chamber,
+for there the neighbours had placed the still-born child, and it was the
+providential help of the London doctor that saved Mrs. Evans's life. I
+may add that the personal appearance of this gentleman corresponded with
+the description given of him by Mrs. Evans.
+
+
+
+
+DEATH PORTENTS.
+
+
+These are common, in one form or other, to all nations. I will give a
+list of those which were formerly in high repute in Wales.
+
+
+
+_The Corpse Bird_, _or Deryn Corph_.
+
+
+This was a bird that came flapping its wings against the window of the
+room in which lay a sick person, and this visit was considered a certain
+omen of that person's death. The bird not only fluttered about the
+lighted window, but also made a screeching noise whilst there, and also
+as it flew away. The bird, singled out for the dismal honour of being a
+death prognosticator, was the tawny, or screech owl. Many are the
+instances, which have been told me by persons who heard the bird's noise,
+of its having been the precursor of death. This superstition is common
+to all parts of Wales.
+
+
+
+_A Crowing Hen_.
+
+
+This bird, too, is supposed to indicate the death of an inmate of the
+house which is its home; or, if not the death, some sore disaster to one
+or other of the members of that family. The poor hen, though, as soon as
+it is heard crowing, certainly foretells its own death, for no one will
+keep such an uncanny bird on the premises, and consequently the crowing
+hen loses its life.
+
+It is a common saying that--
+
+ A whistling woman, and a _crowing hen_,
+ Are neither good for God nor men.
+
+Should a hen lay a small egg it was to be thrown over the head, and over
+the roof of the house, or a death would follow.
+
+
+
+_A Cock Crowing in the Night_.
+
+
+This, too, was thought to foretell a death, but whose death, depended on
+the direction of the bird's head whilst crowing. As soon as the crowing
+was heard someone went to ascertain the position of the cock's head, and
+when it was seen that his head was turned from their own house towards
+someone else's abode, the dwellers in that house slept in peace,
+believing that a neighbour, and not one of themselves, was about to die.
+It was supposed, that to make the prognostication sure, the cock would
+have to crow three times in succession before or about midnight, and in
+the same direction.
+
+
+
+_The Corpse Candle--Canwyll Corph_.
+
+
+The corpse candle, or _canwyll corph_, was a light like that of a candle,
+which was said to issue from the house where a death was about to occur,
+and take the course of the funeral procession to the burial place. This
+was the usual way of proceeding, but this mysterious light was also
+thought to wend its way to the abode of a person about to die. Instances
+could be given of both kinds of appearances.
+
+I have met with persons in various parts of Wales who told me that they
+had seen a corpse candle. They described it as a pale bluish light
+moving slowly along a short distance above the ground. Strange tales are
+told of the course the light has taken. Once it was seen to go over
+hedges and to make straight for the churchyard wall. This was not then
+understood, but when the funeral actually took place the ground was
+covered with snow, and the drift caused the procession to proceed along
+the fields and over the hedges and churchyard wall, as indicated by the
+corpse candle.
+
+It was ill jesting with the corpse candle. The Rev. J. Jenkins, Vicar of
+Hirnant, told me that a drunken sailor at Borth said he went up to a
+corpse candle and attempted to light his pipe at it, but he was whisked
+away, and when he came to himself he discovered that he was far off the
+road in the bog.
+
+The Rev. Edmund Jones, in his book entitled _A Relation of Ghosts and
+Apparitions_, _etc_., states:--
+
+ "Some have seen the resemblance of a skull carrying the candle;
+ others the shape of the person that is to die carrying the candle
+ between his fore-fingers, holding the light before his face. Some
+ have said that they saw the shape of those who were to be at the
+ burying."
+
+Those who have followed the light state that it proceeded to the church,
+lit up the building, emerged therefrom, and then hovered awhile over a
+certain spot in the churchyard, and then sank into the earth at the place
+where the deceased was to be buried.
+
+There is a tradition that St. David, by prayer, obtained the corpse
+candle as a sign to the living of the reality of another world, and that
+originally it was confined to his diocese. This tradition finds no place
+in the Life of the Saint, as given in the _Cambro-British Saints_, and
+there are there many wonderful things recorded of that saint.
+
+It was thought possible for a man to meet his own Candle. There is a
+tale of a person who met a Candle and struck it with his walking-stick,
+when it became sparks, which, however, re-united. The man was greatly
+frightened, became sick, and died. At the spot where he had struck the
+candle the bier broke and the coffin fell to the ground, thus
+corroborating the man's tale.
+
+I will now record one tale not of the usual kind, which was told me by a
+person who is alive.
+
+
+
+_Tale of a Corpse Candle_.
+
+
+My informant told me that one John Roberts, Felin-y-Wig, was in the habit
+of sitting up a short time after his family had retired to rest to smoke
+a quiet pipe, and the last thing he usually did before retiring for the
+night was to take a peep into the night. One evening, whilst peering
+around, he saw in the distance a light, where he knew there was no house,
+and on further notice he observed that it was slowly going along the road
+from Bettws-Gwerfil-Goch towards Felin-y-Wig. Where the road dipped the
+light disappeared, only, however, to appear again in such parts of the
+road as were visible from John Roberts's house. At first Roberts thought
+that the light proceeded from a lantern, but this was so unusual an
+occurrence in those parts that he gave up this idea, and intently
+followed the motions of the light. It approached Roberts's house, and
+evidently this was its destination. He endeavoured to ascertain whether
+the light was carried by a man or woman, but he could see nothing save
+the light. When, therefore, it turned into the lane approaching
+Roberts's house, in considerable fear he entered the house and closed the
+door, awaiting, with fear, the approach of the light. To his horror, he
+perceived the light passing through the shut door, and it played in a
+quivering way underneath the roof, and then vanished. That very night
+the servant man died, and his bed was right above the spot where the
+light had disappeared.
+
+
+
+_Spectral Funerals_, _or Drychiolaeth_.
+
+
+This was a kind of shadowy funeral which foretold the real one. In South
+Wales it goes by the name _toilu_, _toili_, or _y teulu_ (the family)
+_anghladd_, unburied; in Montgomeryshire it is called _Drychiolaeth_,
+spectre.
+
+I cannot do better than quote from Mr. Hamer's _Parochial Account of
+Llanidloes (Montgomeryshire Collections_, vol. x., p. 256), a description
+of one of these phantom funerals. All were much alike. He writes:--
+
+ "It is only a few years ago that some excitement was caused amongst
+ the superstitious portion of the inhabitants by the statement of a
+ certain miner, who at the time was working at the Brynpostig mine.
+ On his way to the mine one dark night, he said that he was thoroughly
+ frightened in China Street on seeing a spectral funeral leaving the
+ house of one Hoskiss, who was then very ill in bed. In his fright
+ the miner turned his back on the house, with the intention of going
+ home, but almost fainting he could scarcely move out of the way of
+ the advancing procession, which gradually approached, at last
+ surrounded him, and then passed on down Longbridge Street, in the
+ direction of the church. The frightened man managed with difficulty
+ to drag himself home, but he was so ill that he was unable to go to
+ work for several days."
+
+The following weird tale I received from the Rev. Philip Edwards, whom I
+have already mentioned (p. 282). I may state that I have heard variants
+of the story from other sources.
+
+While the Manchester and Milford Railway was in course of construction
+there was a large influx of navvies into Wales, and many a frugal farmer
+added to his incomings by lodging and boarding workmen engaged on the
+line. Several of these men were lodged at a farm called Penderlwyngoch,
+occupied by a man named Hughes.
+
+One evening when the men were seated round the fire, which burned
+brightly, they heard the farm dogs bark, as they always did at the
+approach of strangers. This aroused the attention of the men, and they
+perceived from the furious barking of the dogs that someone was coming
+towards the house. By-and-by they heard the tramp of feet, mingled with
+the howling of the frightened dogs, and then the dogs ceased barking,
+just as if they had slunk away in terror. Before many minutes had
+elapsed the inmates heard the back door opened, and a number of people
+entered the house, carrying a heavy load resembling a dead man, which
+they deposited in the parlour, and all at once the noise ceased. The men
+in great dread struck a light, and proceeded to the parlour to ascertain
+what had taken place. But they could discover nothing there, neither
+were there any marks of feet in the room, nor could they find any
+footprints outside the house, but they saw the cowering dogs in the yard
+looking the picture of fright. After this fruitless investigation of the
+cause of this dread sound, the Welsh people present only too well knew
+the cause of this visit. On the very next day one of the men who sat by
+the fire was killed, and his body was carried by his fellow-workmen to
+the farm house, in fact everything occurred as rehearsed the previous
+night. Most of the people who witnessed the vision are, my informant
+says, still alive.
+
+
+
+_Cyhyraeth--Death Sound_.
+
+
+This was thought to be a sound made by a crying spirit. It was
+plaintive, yet loud and terrible. It made the hair stand on end and the
+blood become cold; and a whole neighbourhood became depressed whenever
+the awful sound was heard. It was unlike all other voices, and it could
+not be mistaken. It took in its course the way the funeral procession
+was to go, starting from the house of the dead, and ending in the
+churchyard where the deceased was to be buried. It was supposed to
+announce a death the morning before it occurred, or, at most, a few days
+before. It was at one time thought to belong to persons born in the
+Diocese of Llandaff, but it must have travelled further north, for it is
+said to have been heard on the Kerry Hills in Montgomeryshire. The
+function of the _Cyhyraeth_ was much the same as that of the Corpse
+Candle, but it appealed to the sense of sound instead of to the sense of
+sight. Dogs, when they heard the distressing sound of the _Cyhyraeth_,
+showed signs of fear and ran away to hide.
+
+
+
+_Lledrith--Spectre of a Person_.
+
+
+This apparition of a friend has in the Scotch wraith, or Irish fetch its
+counterpart. It has been said that people have seen friends walking to
+meet them, and that, when about to shake hands with the approaching
+person, it has vanished into air. This optical illusion was considered
+to be a sign of the death of the person thus seen.
+
+
+
+_Tolaeth--Death Rapping or Knocking_.
+
+
+The death rappings are said to be heard in carpenters' workshops, and
+that they resembled the noise made by a carpenter when engaged in
+coffin-making. A respectable miner's wife told me that a female friend
+told her, she had often heard this noise in a carpenter's shop close by
+her abode, and that one Sunday evening this friend came and told her that
+the _Tolaeth_ was at work then, and if she would come with her she should
+hear it. She complied, and there she heard this peculiar sound, and was
+thoroughly frightened. There was no one in the shop at the time, the
+carpenter and his wife being in chapel. Sometimes this noise was heard
+by the person who was to die, but generally by his neighbours. The
+sounds were heard in houses even, and when this was the case the noise
+resembled the noise made as the shroud is being nailed to the coffin.
+
+
+
+_A Raven's Croaking_.
+
+
+A raven croaking hoarsely as it flew through the air became the angel of
+death to some person over whose house it flew. It was a bird of ill
+omen.
+
+
+
+_The Owl_.
+
+
+This bird's dismal and persistent screeching near an abode also foretold
+the death of an inmate of that house.
+
+
+
+_A Solitary Crow_.
+
+
+The cawing of a solitary crow on a tree near a house indicates a death in
+that house.
+
+
+
+_The Dog's Howl_.
+
+
+A dog howling on the doorsteps or at the entrance of a house also
+foretold death. The noise was that peculiar howling noise which dogs
+sometimes make. It was in Welsh called _yn udo_, or crying.
+
+
+
+_Missing a Butt_.
+
+
+Should a farmer in sowing wheat, or other kind of corn, or potatoes, or
+turnips, miss a row or butt, it was a token of death.
+
+
+
+_Stopping of a Clock_.
+
+
+The unaccountable stopping of the kitchen clock generally created a
+consternation in a family, for it was supposed to foretell the death of
+one of the family.
+
+
+
+_A Goose Flying over a House_.
+
+
+This unusual occurrence prognosticated a death in that house.
+
+
+
+_Goose or Hen Laying a Small Egg_.
+
+
+This event also was thought to be a very bad omen, if not a sign of
+death.
+
+
+
+_Hen laying Two Eggs in the same day_.
+
+
+Should a hen lay two eggs in the same day, it was considered a sign of
+death. I have been told that a hen belonging to a person who lived in
+Henllan, near Denbigh, laid an egg early in the morning, and another
+about seven o'clock p.m. in the same day, and the master died.
+
+
+
+_Thirteen at a Table_.
+
+
+Should thirteen sit at a table it was believed that the first to leave
+would be buried within the year.
+
+
+
+_Heather_.
+
+
+Should any person bring heather into a house, he brought death to one or
+other of the family by so doing.
+
+
+
+_Death Watch_.
+
+
+This is a sound, like the ticking of a watch, made by a small insect. It
+is considered a sign of death, and hence its name, _Death Watch_.
+
+A working man's wife, whose uncle was ill in bed, told the writer, that
+she had no hopes of his recovery, because death ticks were heard night
+and day in his room. The man, who was upwards of eighty years old, died.
+
+
+
+_Music and Bird Singing heard before Death_.
+
+
+The writer, both in Denbighshire and Carnarvonshire, was told that the
+dying have stated that they heard sweet voices singing in the air, and
+they called the attention of the watchers to the angelic sounds, and
+requested perfect stillness, so as not to lose a single note of the
+heavenly music.
+
+A young lad, whom the writer knew--an intelligent and promising
+boy--whilst lying on his death-bed, told his mother that he heard a bird
+warbling beautifully outside the house, and in rapture he listened to the
+bird's notes.
+
+His mother told me of this, and she stated further, that she had herself
+on three different occasions previously to her eldest daughter's death,
+in the middle of the night, distinctly heard singing of the most lovely
+kind, coming, as she thought, from the other side of the river. She went
+to the window and opened it, but the singing immediately ceased, and she
+failed to see anyone on the spot where she had imagined the singing came
+from. My informant also told me that she was not the only person who
+heard lovely singing before the death of a friend. She gave me the name
+of a nurse, who before the death of a person, whose name was also given
+me, heard three times the most beautiful singing just outside the sick
+house. She looked out into the night, but failed to see anyone. Singing
+of this kind is expected before the death of every good person, and it is
+a happy omen that the dying is going to heaven.
+
+In the _Life of Tegid_, which is given in his _Gwaith Barddonawl_, p. 20,
+it is stated:--
+
+"Yn ei absenoldeb o'r Eglwys, pan ar wely angeu, ar fore dydd yr
+Arglwydd, tra yr oedd offeiriad cymmydogaethol yn darllen yn ei le yn
+Llan Nanhyfer, boddwyd llais y darllenydd gan fwyalchen a darawai drwy yr
+Eglwys accen uchel a pherseiniol yn ddisymwth iawn. . . . Ar ol dyfod
+o'r Eglwys cafwyd allan mai ar yr amser hwnw yn gywir yr ehedodd enaid
+mawr Tegid o'i gorph i fyd yr ysprydoedd."
+
+Which translated is as follows:--
+
+In his absence from Church, when lying on his deathbed, in the morning of
+the Lord's Day, whilst a neighbouring clergyman was taking the service
+for him in Nanhyfer Church, the voice of the reader was suddenly drowned
+by the beautiful song of a thrush, that filled the whole Church. . . .
+It was ascertained on leaving the church that at that very moment the
+soul of Tegid left his body for the world of spirits.
+
+In the _Myths of the Middle Ages_, p. 426, an account is given of "The
+Piper of Hamelin," and there we have a description of this spirit song:--
+
+ Sweet angels are calling to me from yon shore,
+ Come over, come over, and wander no more.
+
+Miners believe that some of their friends have the gift of seeing fatal
+accidents before they occur. A miner in the East of Denbighshire told me
+of instances of this belief and he gave circumstantial proof of the truth
+of his assertion. Akin to this faith is the belief that people have seen
+coffins or spectral beings enter houses, both of which augur a coming
+death.
+
+In _The Lives of the Cambro-British Saints_, p. 444, it is stated that
+previously to the death of St. David "the whole city was filled with the
+music of angels."
+
+The preceding death omens do not, perhaps, exhaust the number, but they
+are quite enough to show how prevalent they were, and how prone the
+people were to believe in such portents. Some of them can be accounted
+for on natural grounds, but the majority are the creation of the
+imagination, strengthened possibly in certain instances by remarkable
+coincidences which were remembered, whilst if no death occurred after any
+of the omens, the failure was forgotten.
+
+
+
+
+BIRDS AND BEASTS.
+
+
+Folk-lore respecting animals is common in Wales. It has been supposed
+that mountainous countries are the cradles of superstitions. But this
+is, at least, open to a doubt; for most places perpetuate these strange
+fancies, and many of them have reached our days from times of old, and
+the exact country whence they came is uncertain. Still, it cannot be
+denied that rugged, rocky, sparsely inhabited uplands, moorlands, and
+fens, are congenial abodes for wild fancies, that have their foundation
+in ignorance, and are perpetuated by the credulity of an imaginative
+people that lead isolated and solitary lives.
+
+The bleating of the sheep, as they wander over a large expanse of barren
+mountain land, is dismal indeed, and well might become ominous of storms
+and disasters. The big fat sheep, which are penned in the lowlands of
+England, with a tinkling bell strapped to the neck of the king of the
+flock, convey a notion of peace and plenty to the mind of the spectator,
+that the shy active mountain sheep, with their angry grunt and stamping
+of their feet never convey. Still, these latter are endowed with an
+instinct which the English mutton-producer does not exercise. Welsh
+sheep become infallible prognosticators of a change of weather; for, by a
+never failing instinct, they leave the high and bare mountain ridges for
+sheltered nooks, and crowd together when they detect the approach of a
+storm. Man does not observe atmospheric changes as quickly as sheep do,
+and as sheep evidently possess one instinct which is strongly developed
+and exercised, it is not unreasonable to suppose that man in a low state
+of civilisation might credit animals with possessing powers which, if
+observed, indicate or foretell other events beside storms.
+
+Thus the lowly piping of the solitary curlew, the saucy burr of the
+grouse, the screech of the owl, the croaking of the raven, the flight of
+the magpie, the slowly flying heron, the noisy cock, the hungry seagull,
+the shrill note of the woodpecker, the sportive duck, all become omens.
+
+Bird omens have descended to us from remote antiquity. Rome is credited
+with having received its pseudo-science of omens from Etruria, but whence
+came it there? This semi-religious faith, like a river that has its
+source in a far distant, unexplored mountain region, and meanders through
+many countries, and does not exclusively belong to any one of the lands
+through which it wanders; so neither does it seem that these credulities
+belong to any one people or age; and it is difficult, if not impossible,
+to trace to their origin, omens, divination, magic, witchcraft, and other
+such cognate matters, which seem to belong to man's nature.
+
+Readers of Livy remember how Romulus and Remus had recourse to bird omens
+to determine which of the brothers should build Rome. Remus saw six
+vultures, and Romulus twelve; therefore, as his number was the greater,
+to him fell the honour of building the famous city.
+
+But this was not the only bird test known to the Romans. Before a battle
+those people consulted their game fowl to ascertain whether or not
+victory was about to attend their arms. If the birds picked up briskly
+the food thrown to them victory was theirs, if they did so sluggishly the
+omen was unpropitious, and consequently the battle was delayed.
+
+Plutarch, in his "Life of Alexander," gives us many proofs of that great
+general's credulity. The historian says:--"Upon his (Alexander's)
+approach to the walls (of Babylon) he saw a great number of crows
+fighting, some of which fell down dead at his feet." This was a bad
+sign. But I will not pursue the subject. Enough has been said to prove
+how common omens were. I will now confine my remarks to Wales.
+
+
+
+_Birds singing before February_.
+
+
+Should the feathered songsters sing before February it is a sign of hard,
+ungenial weather. This applies particularly to the blackbird and
+throstle. The following lines embody this faith:--
+
+ Os can yr adar cyn Chwefror, hwy griant cyn Mai.
+
+ If birds sing before February, they will cry before May.
+
+Thus their early singing prognosticates a prolonged winter.--_Bye-Gones_,
+vol. i., p. 88.
+
+
+
+_Birds flocking in early Autumn_.
+
+
+When birds gather themselves together and form flocks in the early days
+of autumn, it is thought to foretell an early and severe winter.
+
+On the other hand, should they separate in early spring, and again
+congregate in flocks, this shews that hard weather is to be expected, and
+that winter will rest on the lap of May.
+
+
+
+_Birds' Feathers_.
+
+
+Feather beds should be made of domestic birds' feathers, such as geese,
+ducks, and fowls. Wild fowl feathers should not be mixed with these
+feathers; for, otherwise, the sick will die hard, and thus the agony of
+their last moments will be prolonged.
+
+
+
+_The Cock_.
+
+
+Caesar, Bk. v., c.12, tells us that the Celtic nation did not regard it
+lawful to eat the cock.
+
+It was thought that the devil assumed occasionally the form of a cock.
+It is said that at Llanfor, near Bala, the evil spirit was driven out of
+the church in the form of a cock, and laid in the river Dee.
+
+Formerly the cock was offered to the water god. And at certain Holy
+Wells in Wales, such as that in the parish of Llandegla, it was customary
+to offer to St. Tecla a cock for a male patient, and a hen for a female.
+A like custom prevailed at St. Deifer's Well, Bodfari. Classical readers
+may remember that Socrates, before his death, desired his friend Crito to
+offer a cock to AEsculapius. "Crito," said he, and these were his last
+words, "we owe a cock to AEsculapius, discharge that debt for me, and
+pray do not forget it;" soon after which he breathed his last.
+
+In our days, the above-mentioned superstitions do not prevail, but the
+cock has not been resigned entirely to the cook. By some means or other,
+it still retains the power of announcing the visit of a friend; at least,
+so says the mountain farmer's wife.
+
+The good-wife in North Wales, when the cock comes to the door-sill and
+there crows many times in succession, tells her children that "Some one
+is coming to visit us, I wonder who it is." Before nightfall a friend
+drops in, and he is informed that he was expected, that the cock had
+crowed time after time by the door, and that it was no good sending him
+away, for he would come back and crow and crow, "and now," adds she, "you
+have come." "Is it not strange," says the good woman, "that he never
+makes a mistake," and then follows a word of praise for chanticleer,
+which the stranger endorses.
+
+However much the hospitable liked to hear their cock crow in the day
+time, he was not to crow at night. But it was formerly believed that at
+the crowing of the cock, fairies, spirits, ghosts, and goblins rushed to
+their dread abodes. Puck was to meet the Fairy King, "ere the first cock
+crow."
+
+
+
+_Cock-fighting_.
+
+
+Cock-fighting was once common in Wales, and it was said that the most
+successful cock-fighters fought the bird that resembled the colour of the
+day when the conflict took place; thus, the blue game-cock was brought
+out on cloudy days, black when the atmosphere was inky in colour,
+black-red on sunny days, and so on.
+
+Charms for cocks have already been mentioned (p. 267). These differed in
+different places. In Llansantffraid, Montgomeryshire, a crumb from the
+communion table, taken therefrom at midnight following the administration
+of the Holy Communion, was an infallible charm. This was placed in the
+socket of the steel spur, which was then adjusted to the natural
+spur.--_Bye-Gones_, vol. i., p. 88.
+
+
+
+_The Goose_.
+
+
+Should a goose lay a soft egg, a small egg, or two eggs in a day, it is a
+sign of misfortune to the owner of that goose.
+
+An old woman in Llandrinio parish, Montgomeryshire, who lived in a
+cottage by the side of the Severn, and who possessed a breed of geese
+that laid eggs and hatched twice a year, when I asked her the time that
+geese should begin to lay, said:--
+
+ Before St. Valentine's Day
+ Every good goose will lay.
+
+and she added:--
+
+ By St. Chad,
+ Every good goose, and bad.
+
+St. Chad's Day is March the 2nd.
+
+Mr. Samuel Williams, Fron, Selattyn, gave me the following version of the
+above ditty:--
+
+ On Candlemas Day,
+ Every good goose begins to lay.
+
+Another rendering is:--
+
+ Every good goose ought to lay
+ On Candlemas Day.
+
+Candlemas Day is February 2nd.
+
+Geese should sit so as to hatch their young when the moon waxes and not
+when it wanes, for, otherwise, the goslings would not thrive. The lucky
+one in the family should place the eggs for hatching under the goose or
+hen.
+
+For the following paragraph I am indebted to "Ffraid," a writer in
+_Bye-Gones_, vol. i., p. 88:--
+
+"The goose is thought to be a silly bird, and hence the expression, 'You
+silly goose,' or 'You stupid goose,' as applied to a person. The falling
+snow is believed to be the effect of celestial goose-feathering, and the
+patron of geese--St. Michael--is supposed to be then feathering his
+proteges. The first goose brought to table is called a Michaelmas goose;
+a large annual fair at Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant is called 'Ffair y cwarter
+Gwydd,' the quarter goose fair. Seven geese on grass land are supposed
+to eat as much grass as will keep a cow. Permanent grass land is called
+'Tir Gwydd,' goose land. A bed of goose feathers is required to complete
+a well-furnished house. The fat of geese, called 'goose-oil,' is a
+recipe for many ailments. A small bone in the head of a goose, called
+the 'goose's tooth,' is carried in the pocket for luck, and is a sure
+preventative against toothache."
+
+Much of the above paragraph is common to most parts of Wales, but the
+writer used to be told, when he was a lad, that the snow was caused by
+"the old woman feathering her geese," and a Michaelmas goose was called a
+green goose, as well as a "Michaelmas goose."
+
+
+
+_The Crow_.
+
+
+The crow figures much in Welsh folk-lore. In many ways he is made to
+resemble the magpie; thus, when one crow or one magpie was seen, it was
+thought to foretell misfortune, as implied by the saying:--
+
+ Un fran ddu,
+ Lwc ddrwg i mi.
+
+But should the spectator shout out in a defiant way:--
+
+ Hen fran ddu,
+ Gras Duw i mi,
+
+no harm would follow. The former lines in English would be:--
+
+ One crow I see,
+ Bad luck to me.
+
+But this foretold evil, brought about by the old black crow, could be
+counteracted by repeating the following words, (a translation of the
+second couplet), with a pause between each line, and thus the last line
+would assume the form of a prayer:--
+
+ Old Black Crow!
+ God, grace bestow;
+
+or the evil could be hurled back upon the Old Black Crow by the
+repetition of these words:--
+
+ Hen fran ddu,
+ Gras Duw i mi,
+ Lwc ddrwg i ti.
+
+Freely translated, these lines would be:--
+
+ Old Black Crow!
+ God's grace to me,
+ Bad luck to thee.
+
+In the English-speaking parts of Wales, such as along the borders of
+Montgomeryshire, adjoining Shropshire, I have heard the following
+doggerel lines substituted for the Welsh:--
+
+ Crow, crow, get out of my sight,
+ Before I kill thee to-morrow night.
+
+The bad luck implied by the appearance of one crow could also be
+overcome, as in the case of the magpie, by making a cross on the ground,
+with finger or stick.
+
+Although one crow implied bad luck, two crows meant good luck; thus we
+have these lines:--
+
+ Dwy fran ddu,
+ Lwc dda i mi.
+
+ Two black crows,
+ Good luck to me.
+
+Many prognostications were drawn from the appearance of crows. A crow
+seen on the highest branch of a tree implied that the person seeing it
+should shortly see his or her sweetheart. The manner in which they flew
+foretold a wedding or a burying. When they fly in a long line there is
+to be a wedding, if crowded together a funeral.
+
+There is a common expression in Montgomeryshire--"Dwy fran dyddyn"--"The
+two crows of the farm"--just as if each farm had its two crows, either as
+guardians of the farm--for two crows implied good luck--or as if they
+were located by couples in various places, which places became their
+feeding ground and homes. This, however, is not true of rooks, which
+feed in flocks and roost in flocks.
+
+
+
+_Crows' Feathers_.
+
+
+In Montgomeryshire it was, at one time, supposed that if a person picked
+up a crow's feather he was sure to meet a mad dog before the day was
+over.
+
+But in other parts it was considered lucky to find a crow's feather, if,
+when found, it were stuck on end into the ground. This superstition
+lingered long in Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr, a remote, hilly parish in
+Denbighshire.
+
+Some years ago, crows' wing or tail feathers could be seen stuck upright
+in the ground in many parts of Wales, but at present such a thing cannot
+be seen. The practice and the superstition have come to an end.
+
+
+
+_A Rookery deserted was a sign of bad luck_, _but when they nested near a
+house it was a sign of good luck_.
+
+
+The writer visited, in the year 1887, a gentleman's park, where for
+generations the rooks had made a lodgment, and by several persons his
+attention was called to the ominous fact that the rooks had left the
+ancestral trees which ornamented the spacious and well-wooded park, and
+had even carried their nests away with them. He was informed that the
+desertion boded no good to the highly respected family that occupied that
+ancient seat.
+
+The writer also visited a friend, who lives in an ancient abode, a mile
+or two from the rook-rejected park, and, with a smile, he was informed by
+the lady of the house that a colony of rooks had taken possession of the
+trees that surrounded her house. He gladly wished her luck, to which she
+responded--"It has been a long time coming."
+
+Both these places are in East Denbighshire.
+
+The writer remembers a case in which a rookery was deserted just before
+misfortune fell upon the gentleman who occupied the house around which
+grew the trees occupied by the rooks. This gentleman one morning noticed
+the rooks carrying away their nests to a new home. Se called his servant
+man to him, and desired him to go after the rooks and destroy their nests
+in their new abode, in the fond hope that they would thus be induced to
+return to their old home. This was done more than once, but the rooks
+would not take the hint; they persisted in gathering up the scattered
+sticks that strewed the ground, but these they replaced in the trees
+above, which now had become their new home. When it was found that they
+would not return, the man desisted, and his master, as he had feared, met
+with dire misfortune shortly afterwards (see p. 304).
+
+
+
+_The Cuckoo_. _Y Gog_.
+
+
+The cuckoo is a sacred bird. It is safe from the gamekeeper's gun. Its
+advent is welcomed with pleasure. "Have you heard the cuckoo?" is a
+question put by the fortunate person who first hears its notes to every
+person he meets. When it is ascertained that the cuckoo has arrived,
+parents give their children pence for luck, and they themselves take care
+not to leave their houses with empty pockets, for should they do so,
+those pockets, if the cuckoo is heard, will be empty all the year. Those
+who hear the cuckoo for the first time thrust immediately their hand in
+their pockets, and turn their money, or toss a piece into the air, and
+all this is for luck for the coming year ushered in by the cheering sound
+of the cuckoo's notes.
+
+It is believed that the cuckoo is in our country for several days before
+its welcome two notes are heard, and that the cause of its huskiness is,
+that it is tired, and has not cleared its voice by sucking birds' eggs.
+
+Generally the cuckoo is heard for the first time yearly about the same
+place, and the hill tops not far from the abodes of man are its favourite
+resort. Thus we have the ditty:--
+
+ Cynta' lle y can y cogydd,
+ Yw y fawnog ar y mynydd.
+
+ The place where first the cuckoo sings,
+ Is by the peat pits on the hills.
+
+The cuckoo is supposed to be accompanied by the wry-neck, hence its name,
+"Gwas-y-gog," the cuckoo's servant. The wryneck was thought to build the
+nest, and hatch and feed the young of the cuckoo.
+
+Many superstitions cluster round the cuckoo; thus, should a person be in
+doubt as to the way to take, when going from home, to secure success in
+life, he, or she, waits for the cuckoo's return, and then should the bird
+be heard for the first time, singing towards the east, as it flies, that
+is the direction to take, or any other direction as the case may be; and
+it is, or was, even thought that the flight of the cuckoo, singing as it
+flies before a person, for the first time in the year, indicated a change
+of abode for that person, and the new home lay in the direction in which
+the cuckoo flew.
+
+Should the cuckoo make its appearance before the leaves appear on the
+hawthorn bush, it is a sign of a dry, barren year.
+
+ Os can y gog ar ddrain-llwyn llwm,
+ Gwerth dy geffyl a phryn dy bwn.
+
+ If the cuckoo sings on a hawthorn bare,
+ Sell thy horse, and thy pack prepare.
+
+The Welsh words I heard at Llanuwchllyn, a good many years ago, just as
+the cuckoo's voice was heard for the first time in those parts, and there
+were then no leaves out on the hedgerows. I do not recollect whether the
+prophecy became true, but it was an aged Welshman that made use of the
+words. Another version of the same is heard in Llanwddyn parish:--
+
+ Os can y gog ar bincyn llwm,
+ Gwerth dy geffyl a phryn dy bwn.
+
+ If the cuckoo sings on a sprig that's bare,
+ Sell thy horse, and thy pack prepare.
+
+The latter ditty suits a hilly country, and the former applies to the low
+lands where there are hedgerows.
+
+The early singing of the cuckoo implies a plentiful crop of hay, and this
+belief is embodied in the following ditty:--
+
+ Mis cyn Clamme can y coge,
+ Mis cyn Awst y cana' inne.
+
+That is:--
+
+ If the cuckoo sings a month before May-day,
+ I will sing a month before August.
+
+_Calan Mai_, May-day, abbreviated to _Clamme_, according to the Old
+Style, corresponds with our 12th of May, and the above saying means, that
+there would be such an abundant hay harvest if the cuckoo sang a month
+before May-day, that the farmer would himself sing for joy on the 12th of
+July. It was the custom in the uplands of Wales to begin the hay harvest
+on the 1st of July.
+
+The above I heard in Montgomeryshire, and also the following:--
+
+ Mis cyn Clamme can y coge,
+ Mis cyn hynny tyf mriallu.
+
+That is:--
+
+ If the cuckoo sings a month before May-day,
+
+Primroses will grow a month before that time.
+
+I do not know what this means, unless it implies that early primroses
+foretell an early summer.
+
+But, speaking of the song of the cuckoo, we have the following lines:--
+
+ Amser i ganu ydi Ebrill a Mai,
+ A hanner Mehefin, chwi wyddoch bob rhai.
+
+This corresponds somewhat with the English:--
+
+ The cuckoo sings in April,
+ The cuckoo sings in May,
+ The cuckoo sings to the middle of June,
+ And then she flies away.
+
+In Mochdre parish, Montgomeryshire, I was told the following:--
+
+ In May she sings all day,
+ In June she's out of tune.
+
+The following Welsh lines show that the cuckoo will not sing when the hay
+harvest begins:--
+
+ Pan welith hi gocyn,
+ Ni chanith hi gwcw.
+
+ When she sees a heap,
+ Silence she will keep.
+
+In certain parts of Wales, such as Montgomeryshire, bordering on
+Shropshire, it is thought that the cuckoo never sings after
+Midsummer-day. This faith finds corroborative support in the following
+lines:--
+
+ The cuckoo sings in April,
+ The cuckoo sings in May,
+ The cuckoo sings in Midsummer,
+ But never on that day.
+
+In Flintshire, in Hawarden parish, it is believed that she mates in June,
+as shown by these words:--
+
+ The cuckoo comes in April,
+ The cuckoo sings in May,
+ The cuckoo mates in June,
+ And in July she flies away.
+
+In Montgomeryshire I have often heard these lines:--
+
+ The cuckoo is a fine bird,
+ She sings as she flies,
+ She brings us good tidings,
+ And never tells us lies;
+ She sucks young birds' eggs,
+ To make her voice clear,
+ And the more she sings "Cuckoo,"
+ The summer is quite near.
+
+The last two lines are varied thus:--
+
+ And then she sings, "Cuckoo"
+ Three months in every year.
+
+Or:--
+
+ And when she sings "Cuckoo"
+ The summer is near.
+
+The cuckoo was credited with sucking birds' eggs, to make room for her
+own, as well as to acquire a clear voice. Perhaps the rustic belief is
+at fault here. The writer has seen a cuckoo rise from the ground with an
+egg in her mouth, but he has seen it stated that the cuckoo always lays
+her eggs on the ground, and carries them in her mouth until she discovers
+a nest wherein to deposit them, and when she has done this her mother's
+care is over.
+
+
+
+_A White Cock_.
+
+
+A white cock was looked upon as an unlucky bird, thus:--
+
+ Na chadw byth yn nghylch dy dy,
+ Na cheiliog gwyn, na chath ddu.
+
+ Never keep about thy house,
+ A white cock, nor black cat.
+
+
+
+_Crane_.
+
+
+The crane is often mistaken for the heron. When the crane flies against
+the stream, she asks for rain, when with the stream she asks for fair
+weather.
+
+This bird is said to be thin when the moon wanes, and fat at the waxing
+of the moon.
+
+
+
+_Ducks_.
+
+
+When ducks sportively chase each other through the water, and flap their
+wings and dive about, in evident enjoyment of their pastime, it is a sign
+that rain is not far off.
+
+
+
+_Eagle_.
+
+
+Persons who had eaten eagle's flesh had power to cure erysipelas, and
+this virtue was said by some to be transmitted to their descendants for
+ever, whilst others affirmed it only lasted for nine generations. See
+page 263, where this subject is fully treated.
+
+
+
+_The Goat Sucker_.
+
+
+A curious notion prevailed respecting this bird, arrived at, presumably,
+in consequence of its peculiar name--the _goat sucker_--viz., that it
+lives on the milk of the goat, which it obtains by sucking the teats of
+that animal.
+
+
+
+_Putting Hens to Sit_.
+
+
+Placing the eggs in the nest for hens, geese, and ducks to sit on was
+considered an important undertaking. This was always done by the lucky
+member of the family. It was usual to put fowl to sit so as to get the
+chick out of the egg at the waxing, and not at the waning, of the moon.
+It was thought that the young birds were strong or weak according to the
+age of the moon when they were hatched.
+
+March chickens were always considered the best. A game bird hatched in
+March was thought to be stronger and more plucky than those that broke
+their shells in any other month, and, further, to obtain all extraneous
+advantages, that bird which was hatched at full moon began life with very
+good prospects.
+
+A singular custom prevailed at Llansantffraid, Montgomeryshire, when
+putting hens, and other fowl, to sit. I obtained the information from
+the late Vicar, the Rev. R. H. M. Hughes, M.A., an observant gentleman,
+who took a lively interest in all matters connected with his parish. I
+was staying with him, and he made the remark that in his parish it was
+considered lucky to place the hen, when she first began to sit, with her
+head towards the church. This the cottagers in the village could easily
+do, for the parish church was in their midst. I do not know whether this
+kind of proceeding prevailed in other places.
+
+The number of eggs placed under a hen varied with her size, but one
+general rule was followed, viz., an odd number of eggs was always placed
+under her; eleven or thirteen was the usual number, but never ten or
+twelve.
+
+
+
+_The Heron_.
+
+
+The heron as it flies slowly towards the source of a river is said to be
+going up the river to bring the water down, in other words, this flight
+is a sign of coming rain. The same thing is said of the crane.
+
+
+
+_Fable of why the Heron frequents the banks of rivers and lakes_.
+
+
+It is from thirty to forty years ago that I heard the fable I am about to
+relate, and the circumstances under which I heard it are briefly as
+follows. I was walking towards Bangor from Llanllechid, when I saw a
+farmer at work hedging. I stopped to chat with him, and a bramble which
+had fastened itself on his trousers gave him a little trouble to get it
+away, and the man in a pet said, "Have I not paid thee thy tithe?" "Why
+do you say those words, Enoch?" said I, and he said, "Have you not heard
+the story?" I confessed my ignorance, and after many preliminary
+remarks, the farmer related the following fable:--
+
+The heron, the cat, and the bramble bought the tithe of a certain parish.
+The heron bought the hay, mowed it, harvested it, and cocked it, and
+intended carrying it the following day, but in the night a storm came on,
+and carried the hay away, and ever since then the heron frequents the
+banks of the rivers and lakes, looking for her hay that was carried away,
+and saying "Pay me my tithe."
+
+The cat bought the oats, cut them, and even threshed them, and left them
+in the barn, intending the following day to take them to the market for
+sale. But when she went into the barn, early the next morning, she found
+the floor covered with rats and mice, which had devoured the oats, and
+the cat flew at them and fought with them, and drove them from the barn,
+and this is why she is at enmity with rats and mice even to our day.
+
+The bramble bought the wheat, and was more fortunate than the heron and
+cat, for the wheat was bagged, and taken to the market and sold, but sold
+on trust, and the bramble never got the money, and this is why it takes
+hold of everyone and says "Pay me my tithe," for it forgot to whom the
+wheat had been sold.
+
+
+
+_The Jackdaw_.
+
+
+This bird is considered sacred, because it frequents church steeples and
+builds its nest there, and it is said to be an innocent bird, though
+given to carrying off things and hiding them in out-of-the-way places.
+When ignorance of a fault is pleaded, it is a common saying--"I have no
+more knowledge of the fact than the Devil has of the jackdaw" (see
+_Bye-Gones_, Vol. I., 86). The Devil evidently will have nothing to do
+with this bird, because it makes its home in the church steeple, and he
+hates the church and everything belonging to it.
+
+
+
+_The Magpie_.
+
+
+The magpie was considered a bird of ill-omen. No one liked to see a
+magpie when starting on a journey, but in certain parts of
+Montgomeryshire, such as the parish of Llanwnog, _if the magpie flew from
+left to right it foretold good luck_; in other parts, such as
+Llansantffraid, if seen at all, it was considered a sign of bad luck.
+
+However, fortunately, a person could make void this bad luck, for he had
+only to spit on the ground, and make a cross with his finger, or stick,
+through the spittle, and boldly say--
+
+ "Satan, I defy thee,"
+
+and the curse, or bad luck, indicated by the appearance of the magpie,
+could not then come.
+
+The number of magpies seen implied different events. It was a common
+saying:--
+
+ One's grief, two's mirth,
+ Three's a marriage, four's a birth;
+
+and another rendering of the above heard in Montgomeryshire was:--
+
+ One for bad luck,
+ Two for good luck,
+ Three for a wedding,
+ Four for a burying.
+
+Another ditty is as follows:--
+
+ One's joy, two's greet (crying),
+ Three's a wedding, four's a sheet (death).
+
+As stated above, one is grief, or bad luck, if it flies from right to
+left, but if from left to right it implied success or joy. So these
+various readings can only be reconciled by a little verbal explanation,
+but "four's a birth" cannot be made to be an equivalent to "four's a
+sheet," a winding sheet, or a burying, by any amount of ingenuity.
+
+Should a magpie be seen stationary on a tree, it was believed that the
+direction in which it took its flight foretold either success or disaster
+to the person who observed it. If it flew to the left, bad luck was to
+follow; if to the right, good luck; if straight, the journey could be
+undertaken, provided the bird did not turn to the left whilst in sight,
+but disappeared in that direction.
+
+I heard the following tale in Denbighshire:--In days of old, a company of
+men were stealthily making their way across the country to come upon the
+enemy unawares. All at once they espied a magpie on a tree, and by
+common consent they halted to see which way it would take its flight, and
+thus foretell the fortune which would attend their journey. One of the
+party, evidently an unbeliever in his comrades' superstition, noiselessly
+approached the bird, and shot it dead, to the great horror of his
+companions. The leader of the party, in great anger, addressed the
+luckless archer--"You have shot the bird of fate, and you shall be shot."
+The dauntless man said, "I shot the magpie, it is true, but if it could
+foretell our fate, why could it not foresee its own?" The archer's
+reasoning was good, but I do not know whether people were convinced by
+logic in those distant times, any more than they are in ours.
+
+I will relate one other tale of the magpie, which I heard upwards of
+twenty years ago in the parish of Llanwnog, Montgomeryshire.
+
+I was speaking to a farmer's wife--whose name it is not necessary to
+give, as it has nothing to do with the tale--when a magpie flew across
+our view. "Ah!" she ejaculated, "you naughty old thing, what do you want
+here?" "I see," said I, "you think she brings bad luck with her." "Oh,
+yes," was the response, "I know she does." "What makes you so positive,"
+said I, "that she brings bad luck with her?" My question elicited the
+following story. My friend commenced:--"You know the brook at the bottom
+of the hill. Well, my mother met with very bad luck there, a good many
+years ago, and it was in this way--she was going to Newtown fair, on our
+old horse, and she had a basket of eggs with her. But, just as she was
+going to leave the 'fould,' a magpie flew before her. We begged of her
+not to go that day--that bad luck would attend her. She would not listen
+to us, but started off. However, she never got further than the brook,
+at the bottom of the hill, for, when she got there, the old mare made
+straight for the brook, and jerked the bridle out of mother's hand, and
+down went the mare's head to drink, and off went the basket, and poor
+mother too. All the eggs were broken, but I'm glad to say mother was not
+much the worse for her fall. But ever since then I know it is unlucky to
+see a magpie. But sir," she added, "there is no bad luck for us to-day,
+for _the magpie flew from left to right_."
+
+The magpie was thought to be a great thief, and it was popularly supposed
+that if its tongue were split into two with silver it could talk like a
+man.
+
+The cry of the magpie is a sign of rain. To man its dreaded notes
+indicated disaster, thus:--
+
+ Clyw grechwen nerth pen, iaith pi--yn addaw
+ Newyddion drwg i mi.
+
+ List! the magpie's hoarse and bitter cry
+ Shows that misfortune's sigh is nigh.
+
+If this bird builds her nest at the top of a tree the summer will be dry;
+if on the lower branches, the summer will be wet.
+
+
+
+_The Owl_.
+
+
+The hooting of an owl about a house was considered a sign of ill luck, if
+not of death. This superstition has found a place in rhyme, thus:--
+
+ Os y ddylluan ddaw i'r fro,
+ Lle byddo rhywun afiach
+ Dod yno i ddweyd y mae'n ddinad,
+ Na chaiff adferiad mwyach.
+ If an owl comes to those parts,
+ Where some one sick is lying,
+ She comes to say without a doubt,
+ That that sick one is dying.
+
+
+
+_Peacock_.
+
+
+The peacock's shrill note is a sign of rain. Its call is supposed to
+resemble the word _gwlaw_, the Welsh for rain.
+
+
+
+_Pigeon_.
+
+
+If the sick asks for a pigeon pie, or the flesh of a pigeon, it is a sign
+that his death is near.
+
+If the feathers of a pigeon be in a bed, the sick cannot die on it.
+
+
+
+_The Raven_.
+
+
+The raven has ever enjoyed a notoriously bad name as a bird of ill-omen.
+
+He was one of those birds which the Jews were to have in abomination
+(Lev., xi., 5-13).
+
+But other nations besides the Jews dreaded the raven.
+
+ The raven himself is hoarse
+ That croaks the fatal entrance of
+ Duncan under thy battlements.
+
+ _Macbeth_, Act i., s. 5.
+
+Thus wrote Shakespeare, giving utterance to a superstition then common.
+From these words it would seem that the raven was considered a sign of
+evil augury to a person whose house was about to be entered by a visitor,
+for his croaking forebode treachery. But the raven's croaking was
+thought to foretell misfortune to a person about to enter another's
+house. If he heard the croaking he had better turn back, for an evil
+fate awaited him.
+
+In Denmark the appearance of a raven in a village is considered an
+indication that the parish priest is to die, or that the church is to be
+burnt down that year. (_Notes and Queries_, vol. ii., second series, p.
+325.) The Danes of old prognosticated from the appearance of the raven
+on their banners the result of a battle. If the banner flapped, and
+exhibited the raven as alive, it augured success; if, however, it moved
+not, defeat awaited them.
+
+In Welsh there is a pretty saying:--
+
+ Duw a ddarpar i'r fran.
+
+ God provides for the raven.
+
+But this, after all, is only another rendering of the lovely words:--
+
+ Your heavenly Father feedeth them.
+
+Such words imply that the raven is a favoured bird. (See p. 304).
+
+
+
+_Robin Redbreast_.
+
+
+Ill luck is thought to follow the killer of dear Robin Redbreast, the
+children's winter friend. No one ever shoots Robin, nor do children rob
+its nest, nor throw stones at it. Bad luck to anyone who does so. The
+little bird with its wee body endeavoured to staunch the blood flowing
+from the Saviour's side, and it has ever since retained on its breast the
+stain of His sacred blood, and it consequently enjoys a sacred life. It
+is safe from harm wherever English is spoken.
+
+There is another legend, which is said to be extant in Carmarthenshire,
+accounting for the Robin's _red breast_. It is given in _Bye-Gones_,
+vol. i., p. 173, from Mr. Hardwick's _Traditions_, _Superstitions_,
+_Folk-lore_, _etc_.:--"Far, far away, is a land of woe, darkness, spirits
+of evil, and fire. Day by day does the little bird bear in its bill a
+drop of water to quench the flame. So near to the burning stream does he
+fly that his dear little feathers are scorched; and hence is he named
+Bronchuddyn (qu. Bronrhuddyn), i.e., breast-burned, or breast-scorched.
+To serve little children, the robin dares approach the infernal pit. No
+good child will hurt the devoted benefactor of man. The robin returns
+from the land of fire, and therefore he feels the cold of winter far more
+than the other birds. He shivers in brumal blasts, and hungry he chirps
+before your door. Oh, my child, then, in pity throw a few crumbs to poor
+red-breast."
+
+
+
+_The Sea Gull_.
+
+
+It is believed that when sea gulls leave the sea for the mountains it is
+a sign of stormy weather.
+
+A few years ago I was walking from Corwen to Gwyddelwern, and I overtook
+an aged man, and we entered into conversation. Noticing the sea gulls
+hovering about, I said, there is going to be a storm. The answer of my
+old companion was, yes, for the sea gull says before starting from the
+sea shore:--
+
+ Drychin, drychin,
+ Awn i'r eithin;
+
+and then when the storm is over, they say one to the other, before they
+take their flight back again to the sea:--
+
+ Hindda, hindda,
+ Awn i'r morfa.
+
+which first couplet may be translated:--
+
+ Foul weather, foul weather,
+ Let's go to the heather;
+
+and then the two last lines may be rendered:--
+
+ The storm is no more,
+ Let's go to the shore.
+
+This was the only occasion when I heard the above stanza, and I have
+spoken to many aged Welshmen, and they had not heard the words, but every
+one to whom I spoke believed that the sea gulls seen at a distance from
+the sea was a sign of foul weather.
+
+
+
+_The Swallow_.
+
+
+The joy with which the first swallow is welcomed is almost if not quite
+equal to the welcome given to the cuckoo. "One swallow does not make a
+summer" is an old saw.
+
+There is a superstition connected with the swallow that is common in
+Wales, which is, that if it forsakes its old nest on a house, it is a
+sign of ill luck to that house. But swallows rarely forsake their old
+nests, and shortly after their arrival they are busily engaged in
+repairing the breaches, which the storms of winter or mischievous
+children have made in their abodes; and their pleasant twitterings are a
+pleasure to the occupants of the house along which they build their
+nests, for the visit is a sign of luck.
+
+The flight of the swallow is a good weather sign. When the swallow flies
+high in the air, it is a sign of fair weather; when, on the other hand,
+it skims the earth, it is a sign of rain.
+
+It was a great misfortune to break a swallow's nest, for--
+
+ Y neb a doro nyth y wenol,
+ Ni wel fwyniant yn dragwyddol.
+
+ Whoever breaks a swallow's nest,
+ Shall forfeit everlasting rest.
+
+
+
+_The Swan_.
+
+
+The eggs of the swan are hatched by thunder and lightning. This bird
+sings its own death song.
+
+
+
+_The Swift_.
+
+
+This bird's motions are looked upon as weather signs. Its feeding
+regions are high up in the air when the weather is settled for fair, and
+low down when rain is approaching.
+
+Its screaming is supposed to indicate a change of weather from fair to
+rain.
+
+
+
+_Tit Major_, _or Sawyer_.
+
+
+The Rev. E. V. Owen, Vicar of Llwydiarth, Montgomeryshire, told me that
+the Tit's notes are a sign of rain, at least, that it is so considered in
+his parish. The people call the bird "Sawyer," and they say its notes
+resemble in sound the filing of a saw. A man once said to my friend:--"I
+dunna like to hear that old sawyer whetting his saw." "Why not," said
+Mr. Owen. "'Cause it'll rain afore morning," was the answer. This bird,
+if heard in February, when the snow or frost is on the ground, indicates
+a breaking up of the weather. Its sharp notes rapidly repeated several
+times in succession are welcome sounds in hard weather, for they show
+that spring is coming.
+
+
+
+_The Wren_.
+
+
+The Wren's life is sacred, excepting at one time of the year, for should
+anyone take this wee birdie's life away, upon him some mishap will fall.
+The wren is classed with the Robin:--
+
+ The robin and the wren
+ Are God's cock and hen.
+
+The cruel sport of hunting the wren on St. Stephen's Day, which the
+writer has a dim recollection of having in his boyhood joined in, was the
+one time in the year when the wren's life was in jeopardy.
+
+The Rev. Silvan Evans, in a letter to the _Academy_, which has been
+reproduced in _Bye-Gones_, vol. vii., p. 206, alludes to this sport in
+these words:--
+
+"Something similar to the 'hunting of the wren' was not unknown to the
+Principality as late as about a century ago, or later. In the Christmas
+holidays it was the custom of a certain number of young men, not
+necessarily boys, to visit the abodes of such couples as had been married
+within the year. The order of the night--for it was strictly a nightly
+performance--was to this effect. Having caught a wren, they placed it on
+a miniature bier made for the occasion, and carried it in procession
+towards the house which they intended to visit. Having arrived they
+serenaded the master and mistress of the house under their bedroom window
+with the following doggerel:--
+
+ Dyma'r dryw,
+ Os yw e'n fyw,
+ Neu dderyn to
+ I gael ei rostio.
+
+That is:--
+
+ Here is the wren,
+ If he is alive,
+ Or a sparrow
+ To be roasted.
+
+If they could not catch a wren for the occasion, it was lawful to
+substitute a sparrow (ad eryn to). The husband, if agreeable, would then
+open the door, admit the party, and regale them with plenty of Christmas
+ale, the obtaining of which being the principal object of the whole
+performance."
+
+The second line in the verse, "_Os yw e'n fyw_," intimates that possibly
+the wren is dead--"If he is alive." This would generally be the case, as
+it was next to impossible to secure the little thing until it had been
+thoroughly exhausted, and then the act of pouncing upon it would itself
+put an end to its existence.
+
+Perhaps the English doggerel was intended to put an end to this cruel
+sport, by intimating that the wee bird belonged to God, was one of His
+creatures, and that therefore it should not be abused.
+
+There is a Welsh couplet still in use:--
+
+ Pwy bynnag doro nyth y dryw,
+ Ni chaiff ef weled wyneb Duw.
+
+ Whoever breaks a wren's nest,
+ Shall never see God's face.
+
+This saying protects the snug little home of the wren. Much the same
+thing is said of the Robin's nest, but I think this was put, "Whoever
+robs a robin's nest shall go to hell."
+
+Another Welsh couplet was:--
+
+ Y neb a doro nyth y dryw,
+ Ni chaiff iechyd yn ei fyw.
+
+ Whoever breaks the wren's nest,
+ Shall never enjoy good health.
+
+Although the robin and the wren were favourites of heaven, still it was
+supposed that they were under some kind of curse, for it was believed
+that the robin could not fly through a hedge, it must always fly over,
+whilst on the other hand, the wren could not fly over a hedge, but it was
+obliged to make its way through it. (See Robin, p. 329).
+
+
+
+_The Wood Pigeon_.
+
+
+The thrice repeated notes of five sounds, with an abrupt note at the end,
+of which the cooing of the wood pigeon consists, have been construed into
+words, and these words differ in different places, according to the state
+of the country, and the prevailing sentiments of the people. Of course,
+the language of the wood pigeon is always the language of the people
+amongst whom he lives. He always speaks Welsh in Wales, and English in
+England, but in these days this bird is so far Anglicised that it blurts
+out English all along the borders of Wales.
+
+In the cold spring days, when food is scarce and the wood pigeon cold, it
+forms good resolutions, and says:--
+
+ Yn yr haf
+ Ty a wnaf;
+ Gwnaf.
+
+ In the summer
+ I'll make a house;
+ I will.
+
+However, when the summer has come with flower, and warmth, the wood
+pigeon ridicules its former resolution and changes its song, for in June
+it forgets January, and now it asks:--
+
+ Yn yr ha'
+ Ty pwy wna'?
+ Pwy?
+
+ In the summer
+ Who'll make a house?
+ Who?
+
+For then a house is quite unnecessary, and the trouble to erect one
+great. The above ditty was told me by the Rev. John Williams, Rector of
+Newtown, a native of Flintshire.
+
+In the English counties bordering upon Wales, such as Herefordshire, the
+wood pigeon encouraged Welshmen to drive off Englishmen's cattle to their
+homes, by saying:--
+
+ Take two cows, Taffy,
+ Take two cows, Taffy,
+ Take two.
+
+and ever since those days the same song is used; but another version
+is:--
+
+ Take two cows Davy,
+ Take two cows Davy,
+ Two.
+
+The late Rev. R. Williams, Rector of Llanfyllin, supplied me with the
+above, and he stated that he obtained it from Herefordshire.
+
+In the uplands of Denbighshire the poor wood pigeon has a hard time of it
+in the winter, and, to make provision for the cold winter days, he, when
+he sees the farmer sowing spring seeds, says:--
+
+ Dyn du, dyn da,
+ Hau pys, hau ffa,
+ Hau ffacbys i ni
+ Fwyta.
+
+which rendered into English is:--
+
+ Black man, good man,
+ Sow peas, sow beans,
+ Sow vetches for us
+ To eat.
+
+Mr. Hugh Jones, Pentre Llyn Cymmer, a farmer in Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr,
+a descendant of the bard Robert Davies, Nantglyn, supplied me with the
+preceding ditty.
+
+
+
+_The Magpie teaching a Wood Pigeon how to make a nest_.
+
+
+The wood pigeon makes an untidy nest, consisting of a few bits of twigs
+placed one on the other without much care. There is a fable in the Iolo
+MSS., p. 159, in Welsh, and the translation appears on page 567 in
+English, as follows:--
+
+ The magpie, observing the slight knowledge of nest building possessed by
+the wood pigeon, kindly undertook the work of giving his friend a lesson
+in the art, and as the lesson proceeded, the wood pigeon, bowing, cooed
+out:--
+
+ _Mi wn_! _Mi wn_! _Mi wn_!
+
+ I know! I know! I know!
+
+The instructor was at first pleased with his apt pupil, and proceeded
+with his lesson, but before another word could be uttered, the bird
+swelling with pride at its own importance and knowledge, said again:--
+
+ I know! I know! I know!
+
+The magpie was annoyed at this ignorant assurance, and with bitter
+sarcasm said: "Since you know, do it then," and this is why the wood
+pigeon's nest is so untidy in our days. In its own mind it knew all
+about nest building, and was above receiving instruction, and hence its
+present clumsy way of building its nest. This fable gave rise to a
+proverb, "As the wood pigeon said to the magpie: 'I know.'"
+
+It is believed that when wood pigeons are seen in large flocks it is a
+sign of foul weather.
+
+
+
+_Woodpecker_.
+
+
+The woodpecker's screech was a sign of rain. This bird is called by two
+names in Welsh which imply that it foretold storms; as, _Ysgrech y coed_,
+the wood screech, and _Caseg y drycin_, the storm mare.
+
+These names have found a place in Welsh couplets:--
+
+ "Ysgrech y coed!
+ Mae'r gwlaw yn dod."
+
+ The Woodpecker's cry!
+ The rain is nigh.
+
+_Bardd Nantglyn_, Robert Davies, Nantglyn, has an englyn to the
+woodpecker:--
+
+ "I Gaseg y Drycin."
+
+ "Och! rhag Caseg, greg rwygiant,--y drycin,
+ Draw accw yn y ceunant,
+ Ar fol pren, uwch pen pant,
+ Cyn 'storm yn canu 'sturmant."
+
+ Barddoniaeth R. Davies, p. 61.
+
+My friend Mr. Richard Williams, Celynog, Newtown, translates this stanza
+as follows:--
+
+ Ah! 'tis the hoarse note of the Woodpecker,
+ In yonder ravine,
+ On the round trunk of a tree, above the hollow,
+ Sounding his horn before the coming storm.
+
+ _Yellow Hammer_. (_Penmelyn yr Eithin_).
+
+There is a strange belief in Wales that this bird sacrifices her young to
+feed snakes.
+
+
+
+_Ass_.
+
+
+The stripe over the shoulders of the ass is said to have been made by our
+Lord when He rode into Jerusalem on an ass, and ever since the mark
+remains.
+
+It was thought that the milk of an ass could cure the "decay," or
+consumption. This faith was common fifty years ago in Llanidloes,
+Montgomeryshire. I do not know whether it is so now. People then
+believed that ass's milk was more nutritious than other kind of food for
+persons whose constitutions were weak.
+
+
+
+_The Bee_.
+
+
+The little busy bee has been from times of old an object of admiration
+and superstition. It is thought that they are sufficiently sensitive to
+feel a slight, and sufficiently vindictive to resent one, and as they are
+too valuable to be carelessly provoked to anger, they are variously
+propitiated by the cottager when their wrath is supposed to have been
+roused. It is even thought that they take an interest in human affairs;
+and it is, therefore, considered expedient to give them formal notice of
+certain occurrences.
+
+
+
+_Buying a Hive of Bees_.
+
+
+In the central parts of Denbighshire people suppose that a hive of bees,
+if bought, will not thrive, but that a present of a hive leads to its
+well-doing.
+
+A cottager in Efenechtyd informed the writer that a friend gave her the
+hive she had, and that consequently she had had luck with it; but, she
+added, "had I bought it, I could not have expected anything from it, for
+bought hives do badly." This was in the centre of Denbighshire.
+
+
+
+_Time of Bee Swarming_.
+
+
+The month in which bees swarm is considered of the greatest importance,
+and undoubtedly it is so, for the sooner they swarm, the longer their
+summer, and therefore the greater the quantity of honey which they will
+accumulate. A late swarm cannot gather honey from every opening flower,
+because the flower season will have partly passed away before they leave
+their old home.
+
+This faith has found expression in the following lines:--
+
+ A swarm of bees in May
+ Is worth a load of hay;
+ A swarm of bees in June
+ Is worth a silver spoon;
+ A swarm of bees in July
+ Is not worth a fly.
+
+These words are often uttered by cottagers when a swarm takes place in
+the respective months named in the lines. It is really very seldom that
+a swarm takes place in our days in May, and many a swarm takes place in
+July which is of more value than a fly, But however, be this as it may,
+the rhyme expresses the belief of many people.
+
+
+
+_The Day of Swarming_.
+
+
+Sunday is the favourite day for bee swarming. Country people say, when
+looking at their bees clustering outside the hive, and dangling like a
+rope from it, "Oh, they won't swarm until next Sunday," and it is true
+that they are often right in their calculations, for bees seem to prefer
+the peaceful Day of Rest to all other days for their flight. The kettle
+and pan beating are often heard of a Sunday in those parts of the country
+where bees are reared. It is possible that the quietness of the day, and
+the cessation of every-day noise, is appreciated by the little creatures,
+and that this prevailing stillness entices them to take then their flight
+from their old home to seek a new one.
+
+
+
+_Luck comes with a Strange Swarm_.
+
+
+It is considered very lucky indeed to find that a strange swarm of bees
+has arrived in the garden, or tree, belonging to a cottager. The advent
+of the bees is joyfully welcomed, and the conversation of the neighbours
+on such an occasion intimates that they think that good fortune has come
+with them to the person whom they have condescended to honour with their
+presence.
+
+Occasionally, if bees settle down on property of doubtful ownership, a
+good deal of wrangling and bad feeling arises between the rival claimants
+for their possession.
+
+
+
+_It is considered unlucky for Bees to fly away from their owner_.
+
+
+As the coming of a strange swarm of bees is indicative of good luck to
+the person to whom they come, so the decamping of a swarm shows that
+misfortune is about to visit the person whom they leave.
+
+
+
+_Bees in a Roof_.
+
+
+It was thought lucky when bees made their home in the roof, or indeed in
+any part of a house, and this they could easily do when houses were
+thatched with straw. Many a swarm of bees found shelter in the roofs of
+ancient churches, but in our days bees are seldom found in either houses
+or churches.
+
+
+
+_Informing Bees of a Death in a Family_.
+
+
+Formerly it was the custom to tell the bees of a death in the family.
+The head of the house whispered the news to the bees in the hive. If
+this were neglected, it was thought that another death would soon follow
+the previous one. Instead of speaking to the bees, it was the custom, in
+some parts of Wales, to turn the bee-hive round before starting the
+funeral. This was always done by the representative of the family, and
+it also was thought to be a protection against death.
+
+Mrs. Jones, Rhydycroesau Rectory, informed me that an old man, David
+Roberts of Llanyblodwel, once came to her in deep grief, after the
+funeral of his grandchild, because he had forgotten to turn the bee-hive
+before the funeral started for the church. He said that he was in such
+distress at the loss of the child, that he had neglected to tell the bees
+of the death, and, said he, some other member of the family is now sure
+to go. He informed Mrs. Jones that he had turned the hive at the death
+of his old woman, and that consequently no death had followed hers in his
+family.
+
+
+
+_Putting Bees in Mourning_.
+
+
+This is done after a death in a family, and the bees are put into
+mourning by tying a piece of black ribbon on a bit of wood, and inserting
+it into the hole at the top of the hive.
+
+
+
+_Stolen Bees_.
+
+
+It was believed that stolen bees would not make honey, and that the hive
+which had been stolen would die.
+
+
+
+_A Swarm entering a House_.
+
+
+Should a swarm enter a house, it was considered unlucky, and usually it
+was a sign of death to someone living in that house.
+
+The culture of bees was once more common than it is, and therefore they
+were much observed, and consequently they figure in the folk-lore of most
+nations.
+
+
+
+_Cat_.
+
+
+The cat was thought to be a capital weather glass. If she stood or lay
+with her face towards the fire, it was a sign of frost or snow; if she
+became frisky, bad weather was near. If the cat washed her face,
+strangers might be expected; and if she washed her face and ears, then
+rain was sure to come. A _black_ cat was supposed to bring luck to a
+house, thus:--
+
+ Cath ddu, mi glywais dd'wedyd,
+ A fedr swyno hefyd,
+ A chadw'r teulu lle mae'n hyw
+ O afael pob rhyw glefyd.
+
+ A black cat, I've heard it said,
+ Can charm all ill away,
+ And keep the house wherein she dwells
+ From fever's deadly sway.
+
+Cats born in May, or May cats, were no favourites. They were supposed to
+bring snakes or adders into the house. This supposition has found
+utterance:--
+
+ Cathod mis Mai
+ Ddaw a nadrodd i'r tai.
+
+ Cats born in May
+ Bring snakes to the house.
+
+In some parts the black cat was otherwise thought of than is stated
+above, for this injunction is heard:--
+
+ Na chadw byth yn nghylch dy dy
+ Na cheiliog gwyn na chath ddu.
+
+ Never keep about thy house
+ A white cock or _black_ puss.
+
+Cats are so tenacious of life that they are said to have nine lives. We
+have already spoken of witches transforming themselves into cats.
+
+A singular superstition connected with cats is the supposition that they
+indicate the place to which the dead have gone by ascending or descending
+trees immediately after the death of a person.
+
+The Rev. P. W. Sparling, Rector of Erbistock, informed me that one day a
+parishioner met him, and told him that his brother, who had lately died,
+was in hell, and that he wished the Rector to get him out. Mr. Sparling
+asked him how he knew where his brother was, and in answer the man said
+that he knew, because he had seen his brother in the form of a white cat
+descend a tree immediately after his death. On further inquiry, the man
+stated that since the cat came _down the tree_, it was a sign that his
+brother had gone down to hell; but had the cat _gone up the tree_, it
+would have shown that he had gone up to heaven.
+
+I have heard it stated, but by whom I have forgotten, that if a _black_
+cat leaves a house where a person dies, immediately after that person's
+death, it shows he has gone to the bad place; but if a white cat, that he
+has gone to heaven.
+
+
+
+_Cows._
+
+
+_Cows Kneeling on Christmas Morn._
+
+
+In the upland parishes of Wales, particularly those in Montgomeryshire,
+it was said, and that not so long ago, that cows knelt at midnight on
+Christmas eve, to adore the infant Saviour. This has been affirmed by
+those who have witnessed the strange occurrence.
+
+Cows bringing forth two calves are believed to bring luck to a farmer;
+but in some parts of Wales a contrary view is taken of this matter.
+
+If the new born calf is seen by the mistress of the house with its head
+towards her, as she enters the cowhouse to view her new charge and
+property, it is a lucky omen, but should any other part of the calf
+present itself to the mistress's view, it is a sign of bad luck.
+
+Witches were thought to have great power over cows, and it was not
+unusual for farmers to think that their cows, if they did not thrive, had
+been bewitched.
+
+
+
+_Crickets_.
+
+
+It is lucky to have crickets in a house, and to kill one is sure to bring
+bad luck after it. If they are very numerous in a house, it is a sign
+that peace and plenty reign there. The bakehouse in which their merry
+chirp is heard is the place to bake your bread, for it is a certain sign
+that the bread baked there will turn out well.
+
+An aged female Welsh friend in Porthywaen told me that it is a sign of
+death for crickets to leave a house, and she proved her case by an apt
+illustration. She named all the parties concerned in the following
+tale:--"There were hundreds of crickets in . . . house; they were
+'sniving,' swarming, all about the house, and were often to be seen
+outside the house, or at least heard, and some of them perched on the
+wicket to the garden; but all at once they left the place, and very soon
+afterwards the son died. The crickets, she said, knew that a death was
+about to take place, and they all left that house, going no one knew
+where."
+
+It was not thought right to look at the cricket, much less to hurt it.
+The warm fireplace, with its misplaced or displaced stones, was not to be
+repaired, lest the crickets should be disturbed, and forsake the place,
+and take with them good luck. They had, therefore, many snug, warm holes
+in and about the chimneys. Crickets are not so plentiful in Wales as
+they once were.
+
+
+
+_Hare_.
+
+
+_Caesar_, bk. v., ch. xii., states that the Celts "do not regard it
+lawful to eat the _hare_, the cock, and the goose; they, however, breed
+them for amusement and pleasure." This gives a respectable age to the
+superstitions respecting these animals.
+
+Mention has already been made of witches turning themselves into hares.
+This superstition was common in all parts of North Wales. The Rev. Lewis
+Williams, rector of Prion, near Denbigh, told me the following tales of
+this belief:--A witch that troubled a farmer in the shape of a hare, was
+shot by him. She then transformed herself into her natural form, but
+ever afterwards retained the marks of the shot in her nose.
+
+Another tale which the same gentleman told me was the following:--A
+farmer was troubled by a hare that greatly annoyed him, and seemed to
+make sport of him. He suspected it was no hare, but a witch, so he
+determined to rid himself of her repeated visits. One day, spying his
+opportunity, he fired at her. She made a terrible noise, and jumped
+about in a frightful manner, and then lay as if dead. The man went up to
+her, but instead of a dead hare, he saw something on the ground as big as
+a donkey. He dug a hole, and buried the thing, and was never afterwards
+troubled by hare or witch.
+
+In Llanerfyl parish there is a story of a cottager who had only one cow,
+but she took to Llanfair market more butter than the biggest farmer in
+the parish. She was suspected of being a witch, and was watched. At
+last the watcher saw a hare with a tin-milk-can hanging from its neck,
+and it was moving among the cows, milking them into her tin-can. The man
+shot it, and it made for the abode of the suspected witch. When he
+entered, he found her on the bed bleeding.
+
+It was supposed that there was something uncanny about hares. Rowland
+Williams, Parish Clerk, Efenechtyd, an aged man, related to me the
+following tale, and he gave the name of the party concerned, but I took
+no note of the name, and I have forgotten it:--A man on his way one
+Sunday to Efenechtyd Church saw a hare on its form. He turned back for
+his gun, and fired at the hare. The following Sunday he saw again a hare
+on the very same spot, and it lifted its head and actually stared at him.
+The man was frightened and went to church; the third Sunday he again saw
+a hare on the very same form, and this hare also boldly looked at him.
+This third appearance thoroughly convinced the man that there was
+something wrong somewhere, and he afterwards avoided that particular
+place.
+
+The pretty legend of Melangell, called Monacella, the patroness of hares,
+is well known. One day the Prince of Powis chased a hare, which took
+refuge under the robe of the virgin Melangell, who was engaged in deep
+devotion. The hare boldly faced the hounds, and the dogs retired to a
+distance howling, and they could not be induced to seize their prey. The
+Prince gave to God and Melangell a piece of land to be henceforth a
+sanctuary. The legend of the hare and the saint is represented in carved
+wood on the gallery in the church of Pennant. Formerly it belonged to
+the screen. Hares were once called in the parish of Pennant Melangell
+_Wyn Melangell_, or St. Monacella's lambs. Until the last century no one
+in the parish would kill a hare, and it was believed that if anyone cried
+out when a hare was being pursued, "God and St. Monacella be with thee,"
+it would escape.
+
+
+
+_Haddock_.
+
+
+The haddock has a dark spot on each side its gills, and superstition
+ascribes these marks to the impression of S. Peter's thumb and finger,
+when he took the tribute money out of the mouth of a fish of the same
+species in the sea of Galilee.
+
+
+
+_Hedgehog_.
+
+
+It was believed that hedgehogs sucked cows, and so firmly were the people
+convinced of this fact, that this useful little animal was doomed to
+death, and I have seen in many Churchwardens' accounts entries to the
+effect that they had paid sums of money for its destruction. The amount
+given in most parishes was two pence. I will give a few entries, from
+many that I have by me, to show that parishes paid this sum for dead
+hedgehogs.
+
+In Cilcen Churchwardens' Accounts for the year 1710 I find the following
+entry:--
+
+ To Edward Lloyd for killing a hedgehog 00. 00. 02.
+
+One hundred years afterwards I find in Llanasa Churchwardens' Accounts
+for 1810-1811 this entry:--
+
+ 9 hedgogs ... ... ... 1. 6.
+
+It was thought, should the cow's teats be swollen of a morning, that she
+had been sucked the previous night by a hedgehog.
+
+Formerly dead hedgehogs could be seen in company with foxes, polecats,
+and other vermin suspended from the boughs of the churchyard yew trees,
+to prove that the Churchwardens paid for work actually done.
+
+
+
+_Horse_.
+
+
+A white horse figures in the superstition of school children. When the
+writer was a lad in school at Llanidloes, it was believed that if a white
+horse were met in the morning it was considered lucky, and should the boy
+who first saw the horse spit on the ground, and stealthily make the sign
+of a cross with his toe across the spittle, he was certain to find a coin
+on the road, or have a piece of money given to him before the day was
+over; but he was not to divulge to anyone what he had done, and for the
+working of the charm it was required that he should make sure that the
+horse was perfectly white, without any black hairs in any part of the
+body.
+
+In Welshpool a like superstition prevails. Mr. Copnall, the master of
+the Boys' National School in that town, has kindly supplied me with the
+following account of this matter:--"It is lucky to meet a white horse on
+the road, if, when you meet it, you spit three times over your little
+finger; if you neglect this charm you will be unlucky. I asked the
+children if it signified whether it was the little finger on the right or
+left hand; some boys said the left, but the majority said it made no
+difference which hand."
+
+It was said that horses could see spirits, and that they could never be
+induced to proceed as long as the spirit stood before them. They
+perspired and trembled whilst the spirit blocked the way, but when it had
+disappeared, then the horses would go on.
+
+
+
+_Lady-bird_.
+
+
+This pretty spotted little beetle was used formerly in the neighbourhood
+of Llanidloes as a prognosticator of the weather. First of all the
+lady-bird was placed in the palm of the left hand, or right; I do not
+think it made any difference which hand was used, and the person who held
+it addressed it as follows:--
+
+ Iar fach goch, gwtta,
+ Pa un ai gwlaw, neu hindda?
+
+and then having said these words, the insect was thrown skywards, the
+person repeating the while--
+
+ Os mai gwlaw, cwympa lawr,
+ Os mai teg, hedfana;
+
+which in English would be--
+
+ Lady-bird, lady-bird, tell to me
+ What the weather is going to be;
+ If fair, then fly in the air,
+ If foul, then fall to the ground.
+
+The first two lines were said with the beetle in the hand, and the last
+two whilst it was thrown upwards; if it came to the ground without
+attempting to fly, it indicated rain; if, however, when thrown into the
+air it flew away, then fair weather was to be expected. The writer has
+often resorted to this test, but whether he found it true or false he
+cannot now say.
+
+
+
+_Mice_.
+
+
+A mouse nibbling clothes was a sign of disaster, if not death, to the
+owner. It was thought that the evil one occasionally took the form of a
+mouse. Years ago, when Craig Wen Farm, Llawr-y-glyn, near Llanidloes,
+Montgomeryshire was haunted--the rumour of which event I well
+remember--the servant girl told her mistress, the tenant of the farm,
+that one day she was going through the corn field, and that a mouse ran
+before her, and she ran after it to catch it, but that when she was
+opposite the barn, _the mouse stopped and laughed at her_, and ran into a
+hole. The mouse, therefore, was the evil spirit, and the cause of all
+the mischief that followed.
+
+
+
+_Moles_.
+
+
+Moles are said to have no eyes. If mole hills move there will be a thaw.
+By the moving of mole hills is meant bits of earth tumbling off the
+mound. A labourer in Llanmerewig parish, Montgomeryshire, called my
+attention to this fact. It was a frosty day, and apparently no change
+was near, but it will thaw, said he, and certain I am, that by the next
+morning a thaw had set in.
+
+
+
+_Pigs_.
+
+
+Pigs used to be credited with the power of seeing the wind. Devils were
+fond of assuming the form of, or entering into, pigs. Pigs littered in
+February could not be reared. This I was told by a native of
+Llansantffraid, Montgomeryshire.
+
+
+
+_The Snake_, _Serpent_.
+
+
+The snake was supposed to be able to understand what men said. A tale
+was told me by an aged man at Penrhos, Montgomeryshire, of an event which
+took place in the last century. His father, he said, saw a number of
+snakes, or _nethers_, as he called them, basking in the sun, and he said
+when passing them, "I will make you jump to-morrow." The next day he,
+provided with a rod, passed the spot, but no adder could be seen. The
+next day he passed again the same spot without his rod, and the man was
+now obliged to run for his life, so furiously did the snakes attack him.
+
+Traditions of Flying Snakes were once common in all parts of Wales.
+
+
+
+_Flying Serpents_.
+
+
+The traditional origin of these imaginary creatures was that they were
+snakes, which by having drunk the milk of a woman, and by having eaten of
+bread consecrated for the Holy Communion, became transformed into winged
+serpents or dragons.
+
+These dangerous creatures had their lurking places in many districts, and
+they attacked everyone that crossed their paths. There was said to have
+been one such den on Moel Bentyrch. Old Mrs. Davies, Plas, Dolanog, who
+died 1890, aged 92, told the Rev. D. R. Evans, B.A., son of the Vicar of
+Dolanog, that once, when she was a young woman, she went to Llanfair
+market, and on the way she sat on a stile, and she saw smoke and fire
+issuing from a hole on Moel Bentyrch, where the _Gwiber_, or Flying
+Serpent, had its abode. She ran, and never stopped until she had placed
+a good distance between her and the hill. She believed that both the
+smoke and fire were caused by the serpent. There is also a tradition
+still current in Dolanog that this flying serpent was destroyed by
+wrapping some red material round a post into which sharp nails were
+driven. The serpent, attacking this post with furious onslaughts, was
+lacerated by the sharp spikes, and died. A like tradition is current in
+Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant in connection with the _Post Coch_, or
+_Post-y-Wiber_, or Maen Hir y Maes-Mochnant.
+
+Mr. Hancock in his "History of Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant," writes as
+follows:--
+
+ "The legend connected with this stone pillar is, that it was raised
+ in order to prevent the devastation which a winged serpent or dragon
+ (a _Wiber_) was committing in the surrounding country. The stone was
+ draped with scarlet cloth, to allure and excite the creature to a
+ furor, scarlet being a colour most intolerably hateful and provoking
+ to it. It was studded with iron spikes, that the reptile might wound
+ or kill itself by beating itself against it. Its destruction, it is
+ alleged, was effected by this artifice. It is said to have had two
+ lurking places in the neighbourhood, which are still called
+ _Nant-y-Wiber_, one at Penygarnedd, the other near Bwlch Sychtyn, in
+ the parish of Llansilin, and this post was in the direct line of its
+ flight. Similar legends referring to winged serpents exist in
+ various parts of Wales. In the adjoining parish of
+ Llanarmon-Dyffryn-Ceiriog there is a place called _Sarffle_ (the
+ serpent's hole)."--_Montgomeryshire Collections_, vol. ix., 237.
+
+
+
+_Snake Rings_, _or Glain Nadroedd_.
+
+
+Mention is made in _Camden_ of snake rings. Omitting certain remarks not
+connected with the matter directly, he writes:--"In some parts of Wales
+we find it a common opinion of the vulgar that about Midsummer Eve
+(though in the time they do not all agree) 'tis usual for snakes to meet
+in companies, and that by joyning heads together and hissing, a kind of
+Bubble is form'd like a ring about the head of one of them, which the
+rest by continual hissing, blow on till it comes off at the tail, and
+then it immediately hardens, and resembles a glass ring; which whoever
+finds (as some old women and children are persuaded) shall prosper in all
+his undertakings." The above quotation is in Gibson's additions to
+Camden, and it correctly states the popular opinion. Many of these rings
+formerly existed, and they seemed to be simply glass rings. They were
+thought to possess many healing virtues, as, for instance, it could cure
+wens and whooping cough, and I believe I have heard it said that it could
+cure the bite of a mad dog.
+
+
+
+_Sheep_.
+
+
+It was thought that the devil could assume any animal's form excepting
+that of the sheep. This saying, however, is somewhat different from what
+a farmer friend told me of _black sheep_. He said his father, and other
+farmers as well, were in the habit of killing all their black lambs,
+because they were of the same colour as the devil, and the owners were
+afraid that Satan had entered, or would enter into them, and that
+therefore these sheep were destroyed. He stated that his father went on
+his knees on the ground and prayed, either before or after he had killed
+the black lambs. It is a common saying that the black sheep is the
+ringleader of all mischief in a flock of sheep. The expression, "He is a
+black sheep," as applied to a person, conveys the idea that he is a
+worthless being, inclined to everything that is bad.
+
+It is even now in country places thought to be a lucky omen if anyone
+sees the head of the first spring lamb towards him. This foretells a
+lucky and prosperous year to the person whose eyes are thus greeted.
+
+
+
+_Spider_.
+
+
+The long-legged spider, or, as it is generally called in Wales, the
+Tailor, is an object of cruel sport to children. They catch it, and then
+handle it roughly, saying the while:--
+
+ Old Harry long-leg
+ Cannot say his prayers,
+ Catch him by the right leg,
+ Catch him by the left leg.
+ And throw him down stairs;
+
+and then one leg after the other is plucked off, and the poor creature is
+left to die miserably. This was done in Llanidloes.
+
+
+
+_The Squirrel_.
+
+
+Hunting this sprightly little animal became at Christmas the sport of our
+rustic population. A number of lads gathered together, and proceeded to
+the woods to hunt the squirrel. They followed it with stones and sticks
+from tree to tree, shouting and screaming, to frighten it on and on,
+until it was quite unable to make further progress, and then they caught
+it. The writer, when a lad, has often joined in this cruel hunt, but
+whether the squirrel was killed when caught he is unable to recall to
+mind. Generally it escaped.
+
+
+
+_The Blind Worm_, _or Slow Worm_.
+
+
+This reptile is a snake, varying from twelve to eighteen inches long.
+Its head is small, and its movements very rapid. At the slightest noise,
+it darts away in a moment, and hides among rocks, stones, or rank grass.
+It is said to have no eyes, but this is a popular mistake--hence,
+however, its name, _Blind Worm_. This beautiful timid creature is often
+wantonly cut into pieces by its cruel and mistaken captors, for they
+credit it with the possession of evil propensities. It is said that,
+could it see, it would be a formidable enemy to man and beast. This
+supposition has found strength and sanction in doggerel verse. The Blind
+Worm is said to address the adder as follows:--
+
+ If I could see,
+ As well as thee,
+ Man nor beast
+ Should ne'er pass me.
+
+Another version of these lines, heard in Shropshire, on the borders of
+Wales, is:--
+
+ If I had one eye,
+ As thou hast two,
+ No man should live,
+ Nor beast should loo (low).
+
+These doggerel lines indicate clearly the dread in which this innocent
+snake is held.
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
+
+
+A
+
+Acton, T. A., Regent Street, Wrexham
+
+Adcane, Miss, Plas Llanfawr, Holyhead
+
+Andrews, Mr Wm., _The Hull Press_, 1, Dock Street, Hull
+
+Arnold, Prof. E. P., M.A., 10, Bryn Teg, Bangor
+
+B
+
+Ballinger, John, Mr., Cardiff Free Library, Cardiff
+
+Barnes, J. R., Esq., The Quinta, Chirk
+
+Bennett, Edgar, Esq., 2, Court Ash, Yeovil
+
+Bennett, N., Esq., Glanyrafon, Llanidloes
+
+Bangor, The Lord Bishop of, The Palace, Bangor, N.W.
+
+Bowen, Alfred E., Esq., Town Hall, Pontypool
+
+Bryan, B., Esq., Pen-lan, Ruthin
+
+Bryan, R. F., Esq.,
+
+Bury, Mrs., Ellesmere, Shropshire
+
+C
+
+Chapman, Henry, Mr., Dolfor School, Near Newtown
+
+Cunliffe, R., Esq., Llanrhaiadr Hall, Denbigh
+
+D
+
+Daniels, Rev. J., Curate, Carmarthen
+
+Davies-Cooke, Philip B., Esq., Gwysanny, Mold
+
+Davies, Rev. L. W., Manafon Rectory, Welshpool
+
+Davies, Rev. D. W., M.A., The Vicarage, St. Asaph
+
+Davies, Rev. Joseph, B.A., Curate, Holywell
+
+Davies, Rev. C. H., M.A., Tregarth, Bangor
+
+Davies, Rev. E. T., B.A., The Vicarage, Pwllheli
+
+Davies, Rev. J., B.A., Bryneglwys Vicarage, Corwen
+
+Davies, Rev. J. J., Machynlleth
+
+Davies, W. Cadwaladr, Esq., Penybryn, Bangor, N. Wales
+
+Davies, Rev. T. R., Curate, The Hut, Farnham Royal, Windsor
+
+Davies, Thos. Mr., Draper, 121, High Holborn, London
+
+Davies, Rev. T. A., B.A.,
+
+D'Erisleigh, R. S., Esq., Salisbury College, Stoneycroft, Liverpool
+
+Drinkwater, Rev. C. H., St. George's Vicarage, Shrewsbury
+
+Duckworth, Thos., Esq., Librarian, Worcester Public Library, Worcester
+
+E
+
+Edwards, Rev. D., M.A., Vicarage, Rhyl
+
+Edwards, Mr. R., Litherland, Near Liverpool
+
+Edwards, T. C., D.D., Principal, College, Bala
+
+Edwards, Rev R, Rectory, Bettws, Gwerfil Goch, Near Corwen
+
+Edwards, Rev. E. J., B.A., Vicar, Tremeirchion, St. Asaph
+
+Elias, Miss Elizabeth, 2, Chapel Street, Conway
+
+Ellis, Rev. Robert, The Rectory, Llansannan, Abergele
+
+Evans, Mr. E., School House, Gwernaffield, Mold
+
+Evans, Rev. E., The Vicarage, Llanarmon, Mold
+
+Evans, Rev. J. T., Bettws Vicarage, Abergele
+
+Evans, Rev. J., B.A., Tallarn Green, Malpas
+
+Evans, Rev. D. W., M.A., St. George's Vicarage, Abergele
+
+Evans, Rev. T. H., Minera Vicarage, Wrexham
+
+Evans, Rev. W., B.A., 5, King Street, Aberystwyth
+
+Evans, Rev. J. O., M.A., Peterston Rectory, Cardiff
+
+Evans, Rev. J. Silas, B.A., Vicarage, St. Asaph
+
+Evans, J. G. Esq., 7, Clarendon Villa, Oxford
+
+Evans, J. E., Esq., 12, Albion Road, South Hampstead, London, N.W.
+
+Evans, Mr. Arthur,
+
+F
+
+Felix, Rev. John, Cilcen Vicarage, Mold
+
+Fisher, Rev. J., B. A., Ruthin
+
+Fletcher, Miss Fanny Lloyd, Nerquis Hall, Mold
+
+Fletcher, Rev. W. H., M.A., The Vicarage, Wrexham
+
+G
+
+Gardner, H., Esq., C. 18, Exchange, Liverpool
+
+George, Rev. T., B.A., Nerquis Vicarage, Mold
+
+Gilbert, T. H., Esq., 129, Cheapside, London, E.C.
+
+Green, Rev. G. K. M., Exhall Rectory, Alcester, Redditch
+
+Griffith, Rev. D., B.A., Clocaenog Rectory, Ruthin
+
+Griffith, H. J. Lloyd, M.A, Frondeg, Holyhead
+
+H
+
+Haines, W., Esq., Y Bryn, Near Abergavenny
+
+Harland, E. Sydney, Esq., Barnwood Court, Gloucester
+
+Harper, W. J., Mr., Wern Shop, Rhosesmor, Holywell
+
+Hope, John H., Mr., National School, Holywell
+
+Hughes, Rev. H. T., M.A., Bistre Vicarage, Chester
+
+Hughes, Rev. T., M.A., Buttington Vicarage, Near Welshpool
+
+Hughes, H., Mr., Glyn National School, Llangollen
+
+Hughes, T. G., Esq., 47, Everton Road, Liverpool
+
+Hughes, Rev. Jonathan,
+
+Hughes, Rev. Morgan, Derwen Rectory, Corwen
+
+Humphreys, Mr. W. R, School House, Penycae, Ruabon
+
+J
+
+James, Rev. E. R, R.D., The Rectory, Marchwiel, Wrexham
+
+James, Rev. D. Pennant, Rectory, Oswestry
+
+Jenkins, Rev. W., Chaplain of H.M. Prison, Ruthin
+
+Jenkins, Rev. J., B.A., Bodawen, Penmaenmawr
+
+Jenkins, Rev. L. D., B.A., Penycae Vicarage, Ruabon
+
+Johnson, Mr. R., National Provincial Bank, Mold
+
+Jones, Rev. D., Llanberis Rectory, Carnarvon
+
+Jones, Rev. D., Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant Vicarage, Oswestry
+
+Jones, Sir Pryce Pryce, Dolerw, Newtown
+
+Jones, Pryce Edward, Esq., M.P., Newtown Hall, Newtown
+
+Jones, Rev. J. Thompson, B.A., Towyn Vicarage, Abergele
+
+Jones, Rev. W., M.A., Trofarth Vicarage, Abergele
+
+Jones, Prof. J. Morris, M.A., University College, Bangor
+
+Jones, Rev. Rees, Carrog Rectory, Corwen
+
+Jones, Rev. Hy., M.A., Llanychan Rectory, Ruthin
+
+Jones, Dr. A. Emrys, 10, Saint John Street, Manchester
+
+Jones, Miss M., Bryn Siriol, Mold
+
+Jones, Rev. Evan
+
+Jones, Rev. Jno., Curate, Llanbedr, Ruthin
+
+Jones, Rev. G. J., Curate of Ysceifiog, Holywell
+
+Jones, Mr. H. W., Tanyberllan, Penmaenmawr
+
+Jones, Rev. Stephen, Curate, Mold
+
+Jones, Rev. W., Curate of Northop, Flintshire
+
+Jones, Mr. Powell, School House, Llanelidan, Ruthin
+
+Jones, Rev. Pierce, Aber Rectory, Bangor
+
+Jones, Rev. Griffith Arthur, M.A., St. Mary's, Cardiff
+
+Jones, Rev. Griffith, The Vicarage, Mostyn, Holywell
+
+Jones, Lewis, Esq., _Journal_ Office, Rhyl
+
+Jones, J. R, Delbury School, Craven Arms, Salop
+
+Jones, Mr. T., The Schools, Ffynnongroyw, Holywell, N.W.
+
+Jones, Mr. J. E., National School, Llawr y Bettws, Corwen
+
+Jones, Mr. L. P., National Schools, Rhosesmor, Holywell
+
+Jones, Rev. Enoch, M.A.
+
+Jones, Rev. W., Llanasa Vicarage, Holywell
+
+Jones, F., Esq., Pyrocanth House, Ruthin
+
+Jones, R. Prys, Esq., B.A., Board School, Denbigh
+
+Jones, Rev. Wynne, M.A., Rhosddu, Wrexham
+
+K
+
+Kenrick, Mr. Robert, 24, Marine Terrace, Aberystwyth
+
+L
+
+Lewis, Rev. D., Rectory, Merthyr Tydfil
+
+Lewis, Rev. H. Elvet, Llanelly, Carmarthenshire
+
+Lewis, Dr., Llansantffraid, Oswestry
+
+Lewis, Rev. J. P., The Vicarage, Conway
+
+Lindsay, W. M., Esq., Librarian, Jesus College, Oxford
+
+Lloyd, Rev. T. H., M.A., Vicarage, Llansantffraid-yn-Mechain, Oswestry
+
+Lloyd, Rev. John, The Rectory, Dolgelley
+
+Lloyd, E. O. V., Esq., M.A., Rhaggatt, Corwen
+
+Lloyd, Rev. L. D., B.A., Curate, Rhosddu, Wrexham
+
+Lloyd, Rev. T., B.A., The Rectory, Bala
+
+Lloyd, John Edward, Professor, M.A., University College, Bangor
+
+Luxmore, E. B., Esq., Bryn Asaph, St. Asaph
+
+M
+
+Mainwaring, Col., Galltfaenan, Trefnant, R.S.O., N. Wales
+
+Marsh, Miss Ellen, late of Tybrith, Carno, Mont.
+
+M'Gonigle, Rev. T. G., Weston, Shrewsbury
+
+M'Gormick, Rev. T. H. J., Holy Trinity, Ilkestone, Derbyshire
+
+Minshall, P. H., Esq., Solicitor, Oswestry
+
+Morgan, Rev. John, M.A., Rectory, Llandudno
+
+Morris, Edward, Esq., M.A., Copthorne House, Ruthin Road, Wrexham
+
+Morris, Rev. John., M.A., The Rectory, Llanelidan, Ruthin
+
+Muspratt, Miss, Trelawney, Flint
+
+N
+
+Nayler-Leyland, Mrs., Nantclwyd Hall, Ruthin
+
+Nicholas, Rev. W. Ll., M.A., Flint Rectory, Flint
+
+Nixon and Jarvis, Bank Place, Bangor
+
+Nutt, David, 270, Strand, London, W.C.
+
+O
+
+Oldfield, J. E., Esq., B.A., Fferm, Bettws, Abergele
+
+Owen, Rev. R. M., M.A., The Vicarage, Bagillt
+
+Owen, Mr, School House, Burton, Gresford
+
+Owen, E. H., Esq., F.S.A., Ty Coch, Nr. Carnarvon
+
+Owen, Rev. E. J., Penmaen Villa, Llanfairfechan, Carnarvonshire
+
+Owen, Rev, T., B.A., Curate, Rhosllanerchrugog, Ruabon
+
+Owen, Hon. Mrs. Bulkeley, Tedsmore
+
+Owen, Isambard, M.D., 5, Hertford Street, Mayfair, London, W.
+
+Owen, Rev. W. P., B.A., Curate, Holy Trinity, Oswestry
+
+Owen, T. Morgan, Esq., H.M.I. of Schools, Bronwylfa, Rhyl, 4 copies
+
+Owen, Rev. T. W., M.A., Empingham Rectory, Rutlandshire
+
+Owen, A. C. Humphreys, Esq., Glansevern, Garthmyl, Mont.
+
+Owen, Morris, Esq., Market Street, Carnarvon
+
+Owen, Rev. J., Dyserth Vicarage, Rhyl
+
+Owen, Rev. W. D., B.A., Gwernaffield Vicarage, Mold.
+
+P
+
+Palmer, Alfred Neobard, 19, King Street, Wrexham
+
+Parkins, Trevor, Esq, M.A., Gresford
+
+Parkins, W. T., Esq., M.A., Glasfryn, Gresford, Wrexham
+
+Parry, H., Glyn Mare, Conway
+
+Pennant, Hon. Gertrude Douglas, Hans Place, London, S.W.
+
+Pennant, P. P., Esq., Nantlys, St. Asaph
+
+Phillips, Rev. John
+
+Pierce, W., Board School, Holywell
+
+Pierce, Mr Ellis, Bookseller, Dolyddelen
+
+Pierce, W. M., National School, Denbigh
+
+Price, Mr., School House, Bryneglwys, Corwen
+
+Prichard, Thos., Esq., Llwydiarth Esgob, Llanerchymedd, R.S.O., Anglesey
+
+Probert, Mr John, Castle Estate Office, Ruthin
+
+Pryce, The Ven. Archdeacon, Trefdraeth Rectory, Anglesey
+
+R
+
+Rees, Miss M., Clifton House, Denbigh
+
+Rees, Mr., School House, Nerquis, Mold
+
+Reece, Rev. T. F., B.A., Llanfwrog Rectory, Ruthin
+
+Reichel, H. R., Esq., Pen'rallt, Bangor
+
+Reynolds, Llywarch, Old Church Place, Merthyr Tydfil
+
+Richardson, The Rev. Chancellor William, M.A., The Rectory, Corwen
+
+Roberts, Rev. J., Fron, Garthmyl, Mont.
+
+Roberts, Mr W. S., School House, Cwmddu, Crickhowel, S. Wales
+
+Roberts, Rev. E. S., B.A., Curate of Penarth, Cardiff
+
+Roberts, G. W., Esq., M.D., Denbigh
+
+Roberts, Rev. J. R., B.A., Curate of St. James's, Bangor
+
+Roberts, Rev. R., Curate, Blaenau Festiniog
+
+Roberts, Mr. W. Ll., Penyceunant, Penybont Fawr, Llanrhaiadr, Oswestry
+
+Roderick, Rev. E. M., M.A., The Vicarage, Mold
+
+Rowden, Mr B., Rose Cottage, Maesydre, Mold
+
+Rowlands, Rev. D., M.A., Normal College, Bangor
+
+S
+
+Selby, Mr. Jas. P., School House, Trevor, Ruabon
+
+Shelby, Mr. T. F., 11, Cross Street, Rhosddu, Wrexham
+
+St. Davids, The Lord Bishop, Abergwili Palace, Carmarthen
+
+St. Asaph, Right Rev. Lord Bishop of, The Palace, St. Asaph
+
+Swansea, The Rt. Rev. the Lord Bishop, The Vicarage, Carmarthen
+
+T
+
+Taylor, Henry, Esq., F.S.A., Angar Park, Chester
+
+Thomas, Rev. D. J., M.A., Vice Principal, The College, Winchester
+
+Thomas, D. Lleufer, Esq., Cefn Hendre, Llandilo
+
+Thomas, Ven. Archdeacon, Meifod Vicarage, Welshpool
+
+Thomas, Rev. J. W., M.A., Rhosymedre Vicarage, Ruabon
+
+Thomas, Rev. J. W., M.A., Bwlchycibau, Oswestry
+
+Thomas, Miss, Park Mostyn, Denbigh
+
+Thomas, Rev. H. E., Assistant Curate, Llangollen
+
+Thomas, Rev. J. Howell, B.A., Curate of Brymbo, Wrexham
+
+Turnour, Dr. A. E., Denbigh
+
+V
+
+Vaughan, Rev. T. H., B.A., Curate, Rhyl
+
+Venables, R. G., Esq., Ludlow
+
+W
+
+Walmsley, James, Esq., Plas-y-nant, Ruthin
+
+West, Neville, Esq., Glanyrafon, Llanyblodwel, Oswestry
+
+West, W. Cornwallis, M.P., Ruthin Castle, Ruthin
+
+Whittington, Rev. W. P., The Grammar School, Ruthin
+
+Williams, Rev. R. A., Waenfawr Vicarage, near Carnarvon
+
+Williams, Rev. Lewis, Vicar of Prion, Denbigh
+
+Williams, Rev. R. O., M.A., The Vicarage, Holywell
+
+Williams, Rev. David, Llandyrnog Rectory, Denbigh
+
+Williams, Rev. E. O., Melidan Vicarage, Rhyl
+
+Williams, Rev. T. T., B.A., Penloin, Llanrwst
+
+Williams, Mr. T., Islawrdref Board School, Near Dolgelley
+
+Williams, W. Llewellyn, Esq., Brown Hill, Llangadock, S. Wales
+
+Williams, Rev. Lloyd, B.A., Organizing Sec., S.P.C.K., Wrexham
+
+Williams, Rev. T. Ll., M.A., The Vicarage, St. Asaph
+
+Williams, Rev. G., M.A., Trefonen
+
+Williams, W. P., Esq., Caer Onen, Bangor
+
+Williams, Mr. T. Ll., 64, Love Lane, Denbigh
+
+Williams, Mr. R., 106, Clarence Street, Lower Broughton, Manchester
+
+Wilson, Capt. Hy., Hope, Mold
+
+Wilson, Alfred, Bookseller, 18, Gracechurch Street, London, E.C.
+
+Wood, R. H., Esq. F.S.A., Pantglas, Trawsfynydd
+
+Wykes, Mr C. H., Board School, Rhosddu, Wrexham
+
+Wynne, Miss F. E., 62, Park Street, Grosvenor Square, London
+
+
+
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