Welsh Journals

130 THE CAMBRIAN REMEMBRANCER. NOVEMBER, 1879.1 M»ltt<$i\rt :ia. Atf nIMMORTAL WORK! JH-------- « Sinee man cannot-more nearly •Imitate the;Deity . ttii a&H * ; > t _„^> Than.in, bestowing healtfcJ <*. * osoaiif c y-The inscription on the, north i.s a Latin versioarrof '"this aBove*; ithation the iwest describe* theidistance «\'ft<Kd Chadweil, the other sourcs..-of- the riverj. &<;;, 'the east recotfhVfts dedication as • ,,.-. ^ ttk*te. rata < -'> '" ft " A HumblelTribute tofthe .ic ; t-i jt ;; -"••• ,l Genius,'Taibnt'srand-elewation>ofMind^:..'ii - j;?^/... «-? which conceisredand.executed'j o «>r '-' -'"." This important,Aqueduetrn J ! ~a'*?f " '"•'" By Robebt-Mylnp, Architect, •; ''•"■■:■ -i -■ ;,-- Intheyear 1800,'.'-. -!,• t.-.-.,. i •*■- - -• .— •" . ..." ,......., « ...-. W. PfM. *-'"-V •'--'" •"-■•-•• -'..... >■■« maJti :a 1 NOVEMBER ,fstf 18J& OAJCBMIN EEMEMBfeANCES, ,— W© ■; JW^t/ i^Ot think unkindly of", our, ancientprogenitors, .even though1 they were oyer much; giyen ljo super^titjioQ., The Druids dealt largely in. the marvellous * and whenvthey had been superseded by tbe'monl$e,,,they< again kept" up the superstitioua part of, the/* business from no'very bad motives;, but."chiefly as a pardonable WWenWinifrede had died, and her bones had been reverently conveyed to Shrewsbury, we then become •acquainted with the traditional information that Caradoc's wicked spirit walked to and fro in the dead of night between Winif rede's Well and Basing- werk Abbey, Greenfield ; and in my boyish day§it I have often-heard the tale related of— ;\i Bwgan-Cabadoc, who troubled the good people of Holywell not a little. No one could tell how.it fonmd its way from Pen-y-bwl (or, as some called jt, Penyball) to the churchyard; but once there, it made its presence felt by deep groanings, proceeding ff0.m citbelneighbourhood of the well, and causing the hair of ttaanya Christian man and woman to stand on iend. It" m?ght have been supposed that the godly iprieste who ministered at the altar there would have adopted-some effectual means to give this troubled »pirit'0eefr,| but they never did so, and the Reformers, when i'they came into power, somewhat unkindly ■ insinuated ■ thaf the priests had turned Caradoc's .■ghost''into profitable account, by selling, to the faithful, dispensations, in virtue of which, they were to.be>preserved from all that fear, or annoyance, that fell to the lot of the careless herd, who pretended not to believe in the supernatural. Your readers jviilfBo 'doubt, know that a walking bellman was 'employed by the vicar and churchwardens of Holy¬ well to^perftmbulate the streets of the town to give •the inhabitants due notice of public service, and I meand to a great spiritual end, Grant)theni to .hajvejbflen tout blind leaders>of the.bliud, «t}il they were leaders-LBaa just-remember being told that this was done . and'many of them were deyout and holy .men^who studied how to make themse^yesAppro.ve.d) of God,, and serviceable to theirfeUowmen...^ <HoAyV<4h vas. - a great .centre for .all ,suclv.;the name, and ^me ot i St. Winifred had'jgone forth to the uttermost parts of: i - theJ then world,' and, pioua pilgrims, nocked to $ho ': sacred well to offer, up their .prayers tp the mother of •-God, and to; seek .through, .-her aid health of, body and peace-of mind'at the sainted Winifred's shrine. Let'Us'toot be so uncharitable as to think that all this was due to superstition only, for even in these 1 "talighteeed;days, and among the" rsligidus who are members of tne Romish Churchy there''are 'many ,devout,people who believe in things which they dop't understand,, and. who very reverently: abase themselves Before a God of whose attributes they; , fcnQW. butthttle^,,, Did the (wicked Caradoc m very^ ., deed.slay,the beautify and,innocent Winifred? > Is it true that her head rolled down from-Penybwl to the-Spot whereupon stands,the.present well? \ Did • she miraculously recover_her.life agaiut die a natural' •death, and work many piracies shortly afterwards1?' Was her body inteip'ed at Jjlanufydd, and her bone's - subsequently .carried away, by old, Robert Pennant to ' Shrewsbury to be, there enshrined ? -These and many similar questions (have i occupied<i tlie r thoughts and pens of numerous good and learned men, and al¬ though the evidence" upon the' affirmative side is often very questionable,, yet. the • story of St." Winif rede, with all its surrounding incidents, is believed to this day; and in probf thereof there will presently be a great^ilgiiimage of the devout to her well, and then to her shrine, headed, no doubt, by some of the most'learned and acute men-of this age. ;" because^- the parishioners could not hear the bell fining in the steeple of the church." That was not the reason for the adoption ot the " walking :belhnah-"|"«cheme originally, but it was hit ■pon •beeattse Caradoc's ghost had got into the bad 'way of tolling the steeple bell at untimely hours, and thus enticing the unwary to hurry down to'the'church, only to find how they had been be- foiled by his princely ghostship. At stated times in each lunar month the Bn-gan made its way through the wooded heights on the right of Holywell stream, down to Basingwerk Abbey. I never heard of any bne"who had met it "face to face;" but I have spoken }o many old people, who declared they had seen its'light—like a flame—flitting between the 'trees^ and rushing along " fel mellten, welwch chi," on its way to the Abbey. An old fellow who was fond 'Of 'begging tobacco, and who spent most of his even¬ ings sitting'upon the broken walls of Basingwerk, would swear, "fel rwfn fyw mi a> gwelais ef yaw iv'hith yh'setyll yn y fan acw—(pointing to Where an altar once stood)—fel Mam dan, ac i.n ft'chonfe?pe ' Masai ar dori ei galon ;" but the old rascal would refuse point blank to tell anything about the ghost, "until-he'had/received his usual share of tobacco. I 'never" believed a word he told me, and yet I dreaded having to pass the Abbey on my way to " Simon the Tanner's" house, hard by, and can well remember hbw* that ; kmd good friend would accompany me oh hay way back, and assure me over and over again that "Caradoc's story was all moon-shine." Old Squire Richardson lived at Greenfield Hall then, and &' servant used-to wheel him about in a Bath-chair owing tb his age and decrepitude, but the old smoker