Welsh Journals

March, 1873. BYE-GONES. 143 Wales that there is one county in it (Merionethshire) that has no resident titled person of any Bort — duke, marquis, earl, baron, viscount, baronet, or knight.— Formerly there was a baronet in the county, but he died five or six years ago, and the title became extinct. There is no corporation, no mayor ; but there is one special advantage, that the county being partly in the diocese of Bangor and partly in the diocese of St. Asaph, it has two bishops to look after its spiritual interests. The county has one member to represent the whole of it, there being no borough in it which has the privilege of returning a repre¬ sentative to the House of Commons.' This singular exemption from titled personages still continues, Sir Edmund Buckley, who was created a baronet five or six years ago, being the solitary representative of dignatorial honours in Merionethshire, excepting, of course, the Hon. C. H. Wynn, who entered upon the possession of the Rhug estates, near Corwen, about four years ago." Our con¬ temporary omits to state that Bala has a Mayor, and the right of forming a corporation if it likes. A full account of this is given in the Gossiping Guide to Wales. Indeed a corporation was formed when the old charters were dis¬ covered, but after the election of the second Mayor (Mr Simon Jones) the more august body merged into a Local Board of Health, so the mayor remains a name only, until a successor is appointed, Aberystwyth is a celebrated watering place on the Welsh Coast, where many improvements have been introduced, but it seems that there is still some difficulty in getting from that place to Aberayron, which i3 in some respects the chief town of the county. There the county business is transacted, and the quarter sessions are held, but not¬ withstanding the progress of railways in the Principality the only conveyance between Aberystwyth and Aberayron is a two-horse waggonette. First, second, and third class fares are booked by this primitive conveyance, and the following curious distinction is made between the passen¬ gers : First-class passengers are allowed to retain their seats all through the journey; second-class have to get out and walk up the hills, which are both numerous and steep, after the fashion of Welsh hills ; third-class have not only to get out at the steep places, but have to assist In pushing the vehicle up them. This arrangement works very well, but the pace is not great, and when magistrates have business at Aberayron they are almost as uncertain when they will arrive at their destination as if there was a railway between the two towns 1 QUERIES. THE PAYNE FAMILY AND OSWESTRY TOKENS.—Are there any descendants now in the district, »f the family of Payne, once, doubtless, quite taking the lead amongst the tradesfolk of Oswestry ? When the old pews were cleared away in the parish church in December, three or four monumental inscriptions were revealed on flat stones lying on the floor ; one recording the death of Bichard Payne, an alderman of the borough, who was buried in July, 1747, aged 69 ; another marking the resting-place,of his daughter, Hannah Lewis, widow, who died in 1782 aged 71. There was another monument to the wife of the alderman, who died in 1750, aged 70, and one to Thomas Payne, son of the alderman, a glover, who died in 1747. I have seen an Oswestry Token, about the size of a sixpence, with a pestle and mortar stamped on one side, surrounded by the words, " Richard Payne 1667," and on the reverse, "Id." surrounded with r In Oswaldstry." Tradesmen's tokens were very common in those days : are any more known to have been used in Oswestry ? And, speaking of Tokens, can any one describe the old ' Flintshire Penny ' that was current in Oswestry five and thirty years ago ?—N.W.S. [We believe one of Payne's Tokens was found in the excavations at the Old Church the other day.—Ed. Bye-gones.] WHAT WAS IT ?—The following is a story of Llanfor, near Bala. A man returning from his work in the country, and going into his house about eleven o'clock at night, saw a light in the church ; and said to his wife, that the vestry was continuing very late; she said there was no vestry; he said there must be, for he recognized the voice of a farmer from Tre Bhiwaedog; and every night after that the fight was to be seen in the church, but nothing appeared except the light, but there was a noise as of turning the books, and knocking the pews, till everyone thought the whole would be destroyed, but by morning everything was found to be in its proper place ; but the same man that first saw the light saw a figure going from the public-house to the church, in a black gown, about one o'clock in the morning. Another time he saw it standing by a well, and it appeared to go down on its head into the well. Several learned persons sought to hold conversation with ' it,' but nobody could see anything bnt the light: so a gentleman got two men to come to Llanfor, and they were in the public-house the whole afternoon there with some books, and after dark they went to the church, taking a horse with them, and they put ' it' on the horse's back, and took 'it' to the river; but no one ever knew what passed between ' it' and the men, and the horse lost its hoofs and hair and died. * Such is the story. The pool in the Dee where ' it' was taken to is called Llyn geulan Goch, situate a little below the ford between Llanfawr and Berthlafawr. Perhaps ' it' was not properly ' laid,' for we are told fatal accidents have occurred at this place recently. What is the probable date of the story ?—R. REPLIES, ANCIENT BRITISH FENCIBLES. (Feb. 12,1873). There were several Welshmen amongst the officers. In a notice of ' Nimrod' prefixed to a recent reprint of the Life of Mytton, of Halston, the writer says, " On leaving Bugby, young Apperley received a commission in Sir Watkin's Fencible Cavalry Begiment, called the Ancient British Light Dragoons, but known in Ireland, where he joined, as 'TgB Bloody Bbitons' from the active part they took in crushing the Rebellion of 1798. ' The severity of the losses of the Ancient British may be judged of by the simple fact of my having been gazetted youngest cornet on the 1st of April, 1798, and becoming nearly senior lieutenant in little more than a year and a half,' and he was paymaster to the regiment at the time it was dis¬ banded." When war's alarms had ceased the Begiment took to sport¬ ing, and in January, 1800, it is recorded that" A match be- ' tween Lieut.-Col. Wardle's ch. m. andCapt. Apperley's br. h. was on Monday run over Chester course, four miles, 300 guineas, which, after some very smart running, was won by the former." Both the owners belonged to Sir Watkin Wynn's Fencible Cavalry Begiment, to which Wardlehad been just promoted to the post of Lieut.-Colonel (vice Puleston, resigned). But as they were raised to fight not to play, signs of disbandment soon appeared. Early in the year many of the troop horses belonging to this regi- "mentwere sold by auction "in the Square, before tft§