Welsh Journals

22 BYE-GONE S. Jan., 1872. §P-$<WC0. NOTES, QUERIES, and REPLIES, on subjects interesting to Wales and the Borders, must be addressed to ' Byegones,' Caxton Works, Oswestry. Real names and addresses must be sent, in confidence, and the writing must be legible. Old newspapers, books, and M.S.S. carefully used and promptly returned. Oswestry Advertizer, Jan. 3, 1872. NOTES. MONTGOMERYSHIRE FOLK-LORE.—Alleged Remedy for Small-pox.—In the summer of 1871, in a farm house, in a Welsh parish not ten miles from Oswes¬ try, a young ft.rm labourer was attacked with small-pox. He seemed to his mistress to have got over the worst, when the parish doctor took charge of the case, which was one of the first in the parish. The doctor poured some liquid out of a bottle into a basin of water, and washed the patient with the mixture. Shortly afterwards, the patient took a turn for the worse and died in a few days. His mistress attributed the fatal result to the treatment, but it is more probably accounted for by the fact that the lad had never been vaccina' ed. In the course of a week or two the mistress, her two daughters, and several male and female servants successively took the dread disease. They all feared having medical advice. Fortunately they all recovered, and they attribute their recovery to the use of an old wife's remedy, viz., an infusion or tea (as they called it) made with sheep's-dung, flavoured with nutmeg or some spice to make it " palatable " (?) The patients during the height of the disease, drank it with great eager¬ ness ; often asking for it. It is also said to be good for measles.—C.L.P. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF RICHARD DAYIES, THE WELSHPOOL QUAKER. (O.A. Dec. 27,1871.) In the year 1794 was published the fifth edition of a work _ entit ed "An Account of the Convincement, ixercises, Services, and Travels, of that Ancient Servant of the Lord, Richai;d Davies, with some relation of ancient Friends, and of the spreading of Truth in North Wales." (London : printed by James Phillips, George Yard, Lombard-stret.-t). The b ok opens with the ' Testi¬ mony and Account' of George Whitehead, ' concerning Richard Davies and his ministry ;' this is dated, after the manner of Friends, " London, the 10th of the 12th month, 1709 ;" and is followed by " A Short Testimony concerning my dear and loving father. Richard Davies, whom God in his mercy took to himself, the 22nd of the First month, 1707-8. He being about seventy-two years and eleven months old." The daughter (Tace Endon) dates from Cloddiecochion, whe> e her father died. In her/ Testimony' she speaks of her father as having been very sick and weak about the ten'h month, 1G88. "so that most that saw him thought he would not recover ; but the Lord, in his tender mercv so ordered that our dear friends Robert Barrow, and Robert Hay dock, came into these parts to visit Friends ; and they came to our house at Welch-Pool, a d had a meeting there ; and as they were parting with my father, they had it in their hearts to pray, and they earnestly intercede! with the Lord, that it might stand good with his will to spare him again unto us, for we were then a sorrowful family. Afterwards, I remember very well, Robert Barrow spoke, and said to my father, Dear Richard, thou art a very weak man in the sight of those that see thee, and not likely to live many hours, as to the natural man's thinking ; but the Lord has given it to me at this time to believe, I shall see thee at our next yearly meeting at London." He did recover, and the fririids met at the appointed time in London. After the daughter's Testimony comes that of ! Friends and Brethren of the Quarterly-Meeting from Montgomeryshire, Shrop¬ shire, and Merionethshire,' held at ' Dolobran, in Mont¬ gomeryshire, the 25th of the Eleventh month, 1708.' The signatures of the Friends attached to this are Charles Lloyd, Owen Roberts, Rowland Owen, William Reynolds, Robert Vaughan, Humphrey Owen, Robert Griffithes, Jacob Endon (son-in-law of deceased), John Simpson, Owen Lewis, Thos. Cadwalader, Richard Lewis, John Richards, Ellis Lewis, William Osborn, Thomas Oliver, Joseph Davies, Richard Evans, Edward Ellis, William Soley, Richard Bembow, Griffith Owen, Richard Ruff, Johu Roberts, Julius Palmer, John Kelsall, Amos Davies. The foregoing signed on the behalf of the meeting, and we give their names that those curious on the subject (see O.A. Oct. 11, 1871) may have matter for speculation, and that descendants of the Friends may be inteiested in tracing their pedigrees. There is yet another ' Testimony' in the book, and it is that of Rowland Owen, representing Merionethshire. (To be continued.) QUERIES. CHURCH BELLS.—The inscriptions on the bells of the Oswestry Old Church (St, Mary's) are as follows: — 1st—John Rudhall, Gloucester, Feet., 1809. 2nd—A. R., 1717. 3rd—A. R., 1717. 4th—Pro-perity to all our benefactors. A. R, 1717. 5th—C. and G. Mears, Founders, London, 1816. 6th—Abra. Rudhall, of Gloucester, Bell-founder, 1717. 7tli—Jno. Dawson, Richd. Trow, Jno. Rogers, Ch. Wardens. A. R., 1717. 8th—God save the Church. Edwd. Parry, vicar; Richd. Lloyd, Esq., Richard Owen, Gil'., Humphrey Kinnaston, Gut., Nathaniel Price, Gut., Church Wardens. Anno Dam. 1717. From this I infer that probably a complete peal was sup¬ plied in 1717, by Abraham Rudhall, and that the same maker supplied a new 7th in 1747. Another Rudhall was employed for a new 1st in 1809 ; and in our own day, through the exertions of the late Mr Charles Sabine, I be¬ lieve, iViears's hung a new 5th (in 1S4G), to supply the place of one that was crocked. Can anybody say what were the inscriptions on the original 1st, 5th, and 7th be Is ? The makers and the wardens had exercised their rights as Englishmen on those that remain; probably there was something else on those which gave way for new ones. There are no directions to ringers in the ' Rope Room,'—in prose or verse—telling them how they must behave, as there are in tiie fc ell-ringing rooms of more comfortably ' adorned' towers. There are two old boards on the walls : on the smaller of which is written as follows :—" March, 1785: Holt's peal of Grand- sire Tripples, containing 5040 changes, was rung by the Anacreontic Society in 3 hours 15 minutes ;—Owen Owen 1st treble, Wm. Evans 2nd, J. Williams 3rd, J. Price 4th, Robert Salter 5th, (B caller), Thos. Price 6th, B. Lloyd 7th, J. Howell, 8th,tenor." What was the Anaci-eontic .Society ? Has it left any records of its proceedings ? On the larger board is painted ; " Memorandum. The whole peal of tripples being 5040 changes was rung by ye inhabitants of ye town io 3 hrs. 36 min. on ye 3rd day of May 1731 : viz :—Thomas Edwards 1st, Richard Kitchiner 2nd, John Lloyd 3rd, Charles Jones 4th, Nathn. Burton 5th (Bob caller), John Evance 6th, John Price 7th, Richard Tomley 8th." What has become of the descendants of Kitchiner, Burton, and Evance ? The names are blotted