Welsh Journals

Feb., 1875. BYE-GONES. 179 Mac Hugh. For Mac comes out in Welsh, by labialising tendency, as ilfap, a Son, which, when aspirated becomes vap or vab, and this vap or vab evanesces into ap or ab (of the Welsh name Apthomas), and then finally subsides into P of Prichard, and such words as we have named." Mr E. B. Cowell writes to the Athenceum to advocate a Celtic society, whese operations shall be extended over the whole field of Celtic literature. He says—" If more facil¬ ities were given to students to read the old Celtic books, I am sure that many more would study them. Several of my German friends, at the late Oriental Congress, com¬ plained of the almost insurmountable difficulties which they found in learning Welsh from the want of annotated editions of the old authors, similar to those described in Mr Jeremiah's letter in the Athenceum of the 16th inst. The texts also of many of the old Welsh books already printed would seem to be in an unsatisfactory condition, if I may judge by the two editions of an author in whom I am more especially interested, Ab Gwilym. In his case, as well as in that of several others, a collation of the ex¬ isting MSS. and a critical selection of various readings would at once clear up many difficulties ; and a few good notes would explain the rest. The chief work of the Society would, no doubt, be to print old MSS. not hitherto pub¬ lished ; but, if some of its attention could be given in the above-mentioned direction, it would be of great use in furthering one of the society's main objects—the promoting a more general interest in Celtic literature." A Sketch of the Pabish of Clbobury Mortimer, Shropshire, by Frances C. Childe : Shrewsbury, Adnitt and Naunton. When we see such an admirable little book as this we the'more regret that Shropshire does not possess a society to encourage and foster literature of the kind. Mrs Childe has, with pen and pencil, done all that could be done to make her adopted parish interesting, and we trust her little book will have a large sale, if only for the object the authoress seeks to benefit by the profit, viz., the filling in of glass to the east window of the church, in memory of 4 Piers Plowman.' Langland was born, as we suppose, at Cleobury, and—notwithstanding the sneer of the Athenceum (see Bye-gones, Feb. 18, 1874)—we hope the Hector will be successful in raising the necessary funds for a complete restoration of the church, including the window to the author of The Visions- February 3, 1875. Pake's Life Ptlls (July 29, 1874).—T. J. R. has sent us a news¬ paper cutting from a " history " of the pills which appeared in the Hull Criterion, to the effect that in early life the late Mr Ingram was a commercial traveller, and that being taken ill at Louth he consulted.a local doctor whose phytic cured him. Being again taken ill at Birmingham he sent for the prescription, and he was again cured. This prescription was the one from which Parr's Life Pills were afterwards pre¬ pared, Teigo (July l, 1874).—Lex says the origin of the name may be looked for in Cornwall— " By tre, and pol, and pen, You may know the Cornish men." Another correspondent says he has met with the surname in South Wales. Bowtee, Aberystwith.—Glan Clejddt asks who J. Bowyer was whose name is impressed in the plaster of one of the walls of Aberystwith Castle. There is the date 1437 attached to the name) The Late Abohdeaoon o* Cardigan (Dec. 16, 1874).—Mrs Cunliffe (of 80, Inverness Terrace, Hyde Park, London), the daughter of the late Archdeacon Williams mentioned by Llallawg, has written to the Welshman newspaper (where the query was quoted) to say that her late father's papers were delivered over to his eldest daughter, Mrs Colquhoun Grant, now of Kidderpore House, Calcutta, immediately after his death in 1858. NOTES. • GHOSTS IN CHURCHES.—Llandisilio, Mont— "This church was terribly troubled by a Spirit in times gone by." Se I was once 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 in 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." 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." Gtpt. A SALOPIAN CHALLENGE.—On Nov. 25, 1799, Mr Hare of Shrewsbury was brought up, in the Court of King's Bench, to receive sentence for having sent a chal¬ lenge to Mr Kenrick. Mr Hare produced an affidavit which stated "that he was left in charge of an estate be¬ longing to Lord Beauclerk in the neighbourhood of Shrewsbury; that he was commissioned to take care of the game as well as of other parts of the property; that Mr Kenrick came to that neighbourhood to reside for some time; that he frequently went out a hunting; that twice complaints had been lodged with the defendant, Mr Hare, against Mr Kenrick, by the farmers on Lord Beauclerk's estate, for having rode through their fields, destroyed their fences, &c, that he, Mr Hare, went and called on Mr Ken* rick, to remonstrate with him on his conduct; that in the coarse of conversation Mr Kenrick said, that if Lord Beauclerk wished to preserve his game from injury he might live on the estate himself; that the defendant answered, that Lord Beauclerk had a right to live where he chose, and that he being appointed and entrusted with the care of the estate, was determined as far as was in his power to preserve any part of it from injury; that Mr Kenrick still asserted that he would hunt on the estate, and that if the farmers, or he, Mr Hare, suffered, they might take their revenge; that the defendant then said that if Mr Kenrick again hunted on the estate, he would shoot his dogs; that Mr Kenrick replied, that he would horse¬ whip him; that they then separated, and that soon after Mr Kenrick appeared with some men, seemingly intoxi. cated, along with him on horseback,and with dogs,inthe lawn before the defendant's house, and did everything that they could to insult him; that in consequence of this usage, he, the defendant, sent a challenge to Mr Kenrick, but con¬ cluded it with a desire to make up the business which he offered to do, if Mr Kenrick would only make an apology for the threats that he would horse-whip him; that no answer was returned ; that the defendant was treated with every indignity, and that Mr Kenrick had concluded by instituting this suit against him in the King's Bench." The Court, in referring to their notes, found the circumstances so much in favour of Mr Hare, that they said had the affi-