Welsh Journals

204 BYE-GONES. Sep., 1873. J ones was killed in the south of Ireland on the occasion of some 'rising' of the Irish people many years after the event of his disappearing from Merionethshire." Another correspondent assumes that the Tombstone in Merionethshire was put up not for the purpose of fraud, but as a labour of love, and, he says, " I address the en¬ closed sheet to you to ask you to interest yourself in the way of preventing the desecration of Col. J ones' Tomb. I believe there are none of his descendants in the locality. For more than two hundred years the tomb was in good condition : but of late the church-yard has been left open, and a thoroughfare made through it." Touching the same subject Tradition also states that Col. Jones found a peaceful asylum at Kilhendre, Salop, after the death of Cromwell (see Bye-gones Nov. 6,1872). It would be interesting to know what foundation there was for these traditions, and we should be glad to give space to any of our friends who may choose to communicate on the subject. The last 'Note' about the Merionethshire Colonel to hand is the fol owing :— " This Col. Jones puts us in mind of a document we saw, on parchm- nt, in London, many years ago, said to be the Death Warrant of Charles I., and we well remember seeing the name of John Jones written thereon, with traces of spilled ink, from which, probably. Oliver daubed the face of Col. Jones, on the occasion of signing the docu¬ ment, a fact which some wiiters of English history ad vert to." What historian relates this incident? REPLIES. DEATH OF KING OSWALD. (Aug. 6, 1873.) The following further contribution on this subject ap¬ peared in Notes and Queries, Aug. 9,1873 :— On Bede's notice of the death of Oswald (Hist. Eccles., lib. iii., c. ix.), Professor Hussey has the following note, in which he apparentlv inclines to Oswestre in Shropshire :— " Ihio comitatus htmc locum ibi clamant. Lancastria juxta Winwicam nomen loci Maserfelth exhibuit, et inscriptionem in ecclesia Winwici ab antiquo conservatam, non omisso argu- mento quod in Nordamcymbrorum regno situm habeat, nbi Penda Osualdum aggressus est. Salopia vero suam etiam habet Maserteldmn hodie Oswestre sive Oswaldstre quod Britannice Crux OsuaJdi dicitur, atque in eo comitatu pugnatum quia nempe Osualdus earn a Penda nuper devicto ceperat. Ab hac sententia stat auctor Vita? S. Osualdi apud Capgravium auc- ioritatem ejus conflrmante Camdeno. Est am em Oswertre ab urbe Salopise septem fere miliaribus ver~us Waliiam, a fossar. Offse miliario non plane dimidio. In quo quidem campo ecclesia Suae Candida Ecclesia dicitur in 8. Oswaldi honore fundatur. [on. Aug. i., p. 38, S." Sharon Turner (History of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. i., p. 367,12mo, 1836) speaks quite positively to the fact of Oswestre in Shropshire being the place :— "His (Penda) invasion of Northumbria was fatal to the less warlike Oswald, who fell at Oswestry in Shropshire, in the thirty-eighth year of his age, and the ninth of his reign." Jeremy Collier and Fuller concur in this opinion, as also Rapin. Lingard says in a note:— "By most supposed to be Oswestrie in Shropshire; by some Winwick in Lancashire." Bowen (Geography, vol. i., fol. 1747) says :— " It was first called Maserfleld, but took its present name from Oswald, king of the Northumbrians, who was here slain in battle with Penda, the pagan king of the Mercians. The Church of St. Ob aid was called Blancminster, and was once a monas¬ tery, but is now parochial." He places it m Shropshire. __ Edmuhd Tew, M.A. THE HILL FAMILY (Apr. 9. 1873).—The Great Hill.—The Hon. and Rev. Richard Hill, of Hawkstone, an eminent diplomatist, was born on 23rd March, 1654. He was called " The Great Hill," from the number of high families which he founded, including the noble houses of Bill of Hawkstone and Berwick of Attingham. He was educated at Shrewsbury School, and in 1675 went to St. John's College, Cambridge, of which he became a Fellow, and took Holy Orders. He was tutor to the son of the Earl of Rochester, but afterwards entered the civil service. He was deputy paymaster to the army sent into Flanders in 1691, and held the office with great judgment and ability during the whole war. He was also envoy from William the Third to the Elector of Bavaria, at Brussels. On his return home he was made a Lord of the Treasury, and under Queen Anne, became a Lord of the Admiralty. He was sent as Envoy Extraordinary to the Duke of Savoy and the Princes of Italy, and in October, 1703, by consummate skill, concluded a treaty of great importance. Ill health, however, brought his public «areer to a close. He amassed an immense fortune, but his integrity and honour were beyond all que tion. Although a Tory he was a zealous defender of the Hanoverian succession. He was beloved and respected by all parties, and was in great favour with the Royal Family. A bishopric was offered to him, whicn he refused to accept, but was elected Fellow of Eton. He died on 11th June, 1727, and was buried at Hodnet. R.E.D. September 3, 1873. NOTES. POWYS EISTEDDFOD, 1824. I have before me as I write a prograrrme of the Cambrian Grand Musical Festival and Eisteddfod, held at Welshpool on. the 7th, 8th, and 9th of Se^ember, 1824. The meeting was under the auspices of the Cynnnrodorion in Powys. The first day was devoted to the Eisteddfod proper, and on the second the programme says, "The Welsh Harpers will contest for, and the successful candidate be invested with, the Silver Harp: The Datgeiniaid will sing Pennilliou with the harp for a silver medal." Concerts on rather an extensive scale were given in the Town Hall on the second and third evenings, and on the morning of the third day there was a " Grand Selection of Sacred Music in St. Mary's Church " The principal vocal performers included Miss Stephens, Miss Carew, Master Smith, Master Parry, Mr Vaughan, Mr J. Smith, Mr Collyer, Mr Parry, and Mr Rolle. And the principal Instrumentalists were, Messrs Lindley, sen. and jun., vio- lincellos; Nicholson, flute; Harper, trumpet; Tomlins, violin; Oliver Davies, pedal harp; J. J. Jones, Mus Baa, Oxon., organ and pianoforte. The chorus, vocal and instrumental, comprised amateurs from Shrewsbury, and the Band of the Royal Horse Guards, Blue j making, with native talent, nearly a hundred performers. The musical arrangements were under the direction of Mr Parry, Editor of the Welsh Melodies. As may be supposed, an Eisteddfod on such a scale, half a century ago, when the means of locomotion were limited, would be an expensive affair, so I am not surprised to see that the tickets of admission to the whole of the perfor¬ mances amounted to 34s. In the programme a song called " Cambria's Holiday" is set down both for Master Smith and Master Parry. In Pritchard's Cambrian Wreath, published in Aberystwyth