Welsh Journals

July, 1877. BYE-GONES. 237 JULY 4, 1877. HILLS OF CARNAU, &C—Will " .T.G." who lias sent us a reply on this subject kindly send his address to "Byegones, Croeswylan, Oswestry," so that we may send him a proof of his contribution before it appears in print. MONTGOMERY BOROUGHS ELECTIONS.—There is an error of date in the record of Montgomery Borough Elections given on pp. 220-1 (May 16). We stated that in 1832, on a scrutiny, Mr. Pugh was unseated, whereupon Col. Edwards was opposed in 1833 by Mr. Panton Corbett. The numbers of voters on this occasion we were not able to give, but by our report it would appear that Col. Edwards polled 472, and Mr. Corbett 443. This is the error we refer to. The figures (which read as if polled in 1833) really refer to 1837, the general election on the accession of Queen Victoria, on which occasion Mr. Corbett for the second time opposed Col. Edwards. In 1835 Col. Edwards was returned unopposed. NOTES. SHROPSHIRE SPORTSMEN.—A circumstance occurred a few days since near Shrewsbury which, even in a nation of heroes, must be deemed as novel as it was interesting. Sir John Hill was seen partaking of that noble sport fox-hunting, with six of his sons, four of whom, besides the distinguished chief who recently added dignity to the Peerage, have received titles for gallant achievements in the service of their country.— Sporting Magazine, Nov. 1814. Tally-Ho. THE BIRTHPLACE OF OWAIN MYFYR.— Owen Jones, more commonly known by the name of Owain Myfyr, to whose munificence we are indebted for the Myvyrian Archccology, was born in 1741 in a small mountain farm called Tyddyn Tudur, in the parish of Llanfihangel-Glyn-Myfyr, in Denbighshire. The parish is altogether hilly, and it lies on the highest part of the Denbighshire hills, and with difficulty it is reached from all points. It is about 12 miles to the west of Ruthin, the nearest town thereto, but the Clwydian hills in that direction will have to be traversed before Llanfihangel is reached, and a portion of the road is so precipitous that the satisfaction felt when the top is reached is more than an equivalent for the dread with which the ascent is com¬ menced. When once on the top the view is so extensive and so different to that presented to those who live in low countries that the contrast heightens the pleasure de¬ rived from the novelty of the scenery. But independently <">f the novelty there is in an elevated country from which a large prospect is obtained, a beauty peculiar to itself. The range is so unconfined, the aerial changes so many and the stillness so great, that the sight complacently revels m the ever changing scene. Froin the hill top which intervenes between Ruthin and Llanfihangel a very extensive view is obtained, and that, too, in all directions, lo the north the hazy atmosphere of the sea is seen. To the east rise hills upon hills, each darkening the other with its shadow. The sun's rays pour themselves through every mountain opening and reveal now a distant glen and bring it close to the spectator, and now a cottage and the aelds about, and, it may be, the cow grazing quietly, are lit up by the merry sunbeams shining thereon, and now they are all hidden from the sight by a passing cloud. The curtain has fallen over that spot, but the panorama moves on from east to south, and is con¬ stantly presenting ever changing and ever pleasing bits of V?61^' n From -the hiU a^ady mentioned a sight of the v ale of Clwyd diversified by cultivation is obtained, with v oel Farnmau on a conspicuous part of the Clwydian range xxx in the back ground. Towards the west the country is bleak, and the hills have a yellowish tinge caused by the scanty herbage which is nipped down summer and winter alike by the small sheep that never leave their walks. There are, however, patches of gorsehere and there on the otherwise bare hill sides, and these give a dark colour to the ground. The road to Llanfihangel passes for a long way over the wild desolate mountain without a cottage by its side. When travelling along in the far dis¬ tance we see the hills above the Conway river, and still further the Carnarvonshire range. These stand out darkly and boldly to the sky. There is a bluish haze wrapped around these distant hills. To the south are observed ranges of mountains with lights and shades play¬ ing along them and beyond these are mountain tops which present a dark blue appearance. At last the little vale of G-lyn Myfyr is reached. We descend the mountain side and come rather suddenly upon the small, very small vil¬ lage of Llanfihangel embedded in the mountains. The village consists of a public house by the bridge end, a few houses on the slopes of the hill, a neat school, and an old church. Difficult of access, as it is at all times, it was greatly more so 140 years ago. The inhabitants then were shut up in their mountain re¬ cess, but some of them managed to emerge therefrom, and to get themselves a name, beyond the borders of Wales. Among these were Owen Jones and his relative, the antiquary Hugh Maurice, and Dr. Peter Maurice, of New College, Oxford, was another. Owain Myfyr's son, Owen Jones, the celebrated decorator of the Crystal Palace was not born in Llanfihangel. And to the talented family now named may be mentioned the comical character Dick Shon Dafydd who found his way out of the Glen to London as a drover and there he is said to have forgotten his mother's tongue in a few months, and when he came home his poor old mother was obliged to speak to Dick through an intepreter. The ruins of Dick's house are still to be seen on the hill side at the upper end of the Glyn. The gable end with its small aperture for a window and the low side walls are still erect, and the small plot of ground which was the garden are all to be seen, and they tell us what the small holder's house was when Owain Myfyr was born at Llanfihangel. Very simple primitive abodes were these mountain farms, with the large kitchen open to the roof in the one end, and in the other a part apportioned off for sleeping rooms, and these were usually only two, the chamber on the ground floor, and the loft above. The loft was reached by a movable ladder. Dried mutton and bacon were suspended from the beam which stretched across the kitchen. The windows were small and were usually on the same side as the door, the dresser, clock, and oaken cupboard occupied the other side, the fire was on the hearth stone and consisted of wood and peat. The people's food was simple. The in¬ habitants were strong and healthy and spending much of their time alone were contemplative. Iago. (To be continued.) QUERIES. ST. STEPHEN'S DAY IN WALES.— Southey, on page 365 of the 4th series of his Common Place Book. says:—"On St. Stephen's day in Wales everybody is privileged to whip another person's legs with holly, and this is of ten reciprocally done till the blood streams down." Can anyone give particulars of this, or any place where it is, or has been, so reciprocally indulged in? Aberystwyth. Eliola. 60