Welsh Journals

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Sep., 1878. BYE-GONES. 89 excursion on Friday was made up of a snug and compact party. The direction taken was due east, through the pretty valleys of the Aeron and the Teivi. The first stop was made at Silian Church, a neat little structure, with its bell turret, restored in 1873. There are several old stones and monuments of interest to antiquarians. Colonel Lewes's seat at Llanllyr was reached in due course, and here Mrs. Lewes had thoughtfully prepared a bountiful luncheon; but, owing to their recent breakfast and the fact that Mr. J, E. Rogers, of Abermeurig, would have a repast waiting for them later in the day, the Archaeologists did not partake of the good things, and contented them¬ selves with an expression of gratitude to the family of Colonel Lewes. The residence of this gentleman is situ¬ ated in a neighbourhood which has been the scene of important events in past times. There is the site of a Nunnery, and near by leaden coffins and skeletons have been found, with silver coins current in the time of Edw. VI. A large stone discovered in the house of Col. Lewes is very profusely inscribed, and rubbings of it were taken by the Rev. D. R. Thomas. Trefilan Church was next visited. Trefilan is a double church, and from books which were shown by the Rev. J. Griffiths it was ascer¬ tained that at one time there was a library in connection with it. A run was then made to the residence of Mr. Rogers, where a sumptuous repast was done full justice to, and afterwards, on the proposal of Mr. Thomas, which was seconded by the Rev. D. H. Davies, of Cenarth Vicarage, Llandyssul, a unanimous vote of thanks was passed to Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. Man and horse having been refreshed, another start was made, and after a drive through a most interesting country, Bettws Lleici Church was passed and a stop made at Llangeitho, a village the former associations of which have an especial interest to Welsh people. It was here that the Rev. Daniel Rowlands, who is known as the Father of the great Welsh Revival, pursued his ministry. The Archaeologists went over the church and inspected the tombstone of the Rev. Daniel Rowlands, which is in¬ scribed as follows :—"Sacred to the memory of the Rev. Daniel Rowlands, who departed this life on the 16th day of October, 1790, in the 79th year of his age. The memory of the just is blessed." Underneath are the names of his wife, who died in her 79th year, and Jennet, aged 10, who died in 1784, the daughter of John Rowlands, then the rector of the parish. . The spot where the Rev. Daniel Rowlands preached to the people in the churchyard, and the chapel in which he preached after his inhibition by the bishop, were pointed out. It is stated that at one time he served as curate under his son. In the interior of the church is a stone bearing the names of members of the Rowland family, and dated 1680. On one of the tombstones, dated 1762, placed on the outer wall, are the following lines:— Remember Lord our mortal state; How frail our life, how short the date. Where is the man that draws his breath Safe from disease, secure from death ? The next place on the programme was Llanddewi, where the Archaeologists visited the Church, which was con¬ sidered the finest of the many visited during the week. It is of crucifix form, and with the high, broad, and com¬ manding Norman tower, is a most prominent edifice. The tower itself has the appearance of an imposing castle. In the time of Bishop Beck an ecclesiastical college existed at Llanddewi. Nothing now remains of it, but some time back, when a grave was being made, the digger came across a path which led from the college to the church. In the church there is a chalice bearing the date of 1574. There are several in the churches of the neighbourhood, xxxx. and all are dated the same year. There are some curious legends related of the Llanddewi Church. It is said that St. David was preaching to a congregation in the church¬ yard, and that the Saint, not being sufficiently high to view the whole of his listeners, the ground gradually rose to the required position, and that the spot where the Saint stood is now marked by a large inscribed stone placed on an elevated spot. Another story is that while St. David was preaching, a nightingale, perched on a tree, commen¬ ced to sing, and called away the attention of the congre¬ gation, whereupon St. David uttered a curse upon it, and that ever since a nightingale has never been seen in Wales. The tale goes that repeated attempts were made to build a church at Godrefarth, near by, but the walls fell down as quickly as they were built, and it was not till the present site was fixed upon that a church could be erected. There is a saying that in the building of the tower two oxen brought the stones from the Voelallt Rock. One of them died, and the other, lamenting his dead companion, lowed nine times, and the rock at once was shattered, and thereafter no difficulty was experienced in fetching the stones for the tower. Llanddewi Brefl Craith, Lie brevodd yr ych naw gwaith, Hyd nes holltodd Craig y Voelallt. There is a tradition that at an ecclesiastical synod held at Llanddewi Saint David was requested to appeal to the audience to oppose the Pelagian heresy. In the return journey a call was made at Leventium, a Roman encampment. As Professor Edmondes remarked, it would be rather surprising if the Archaeologists went through their explorations without being subjected to some hoax or other. As the party were driving through a parish not many miles from Lampeter, the Rector made an important statement that on the road was a valuable old stone, so precious, indeed, that the Bishop of St. David's had made a request that it should be forwarded to him. Of course, such a communication raised the curiosity of the Cambrians to a very high tension. An active search was instituted for the stone, which at last was found under a hedge. To the dismay of everybody, when the inscription upon it wasread by Professor Ed¬ mondes, it was ascertained that it was an ordinary mile¬ stone acquainting the weary traveller how many miles it was from that spot to Lampeter. Of course thisludicrous incident caused much merriment, and it was in a very happy frame of mind that the Archaeologists alighted from the carriages at the Black Lion Hotel, having brought to a fitting close the week's outing. A small contingent spent the day taking rubbings of stones in another neighbourhood. There was a temporary local museum of antiquities, objects of art, coins, manu¬ scripts, &c, held in the College Hall, during the week, the Rev. D. H. Davies, of Cenarth Vicarage, being the curator. STRAY NOTES. The Welch Embassador.—The cuckoo is called by this name in Middleton's "A Trick to Catch the Old One," Act 4, s. 5. Dampet says, "Why thou rogue of universality, do I not know thee ? Thy sound is like the cuckoo, the Welch Embassador." Katerfelto. — This notorious mountebank, who flourished (exceedingly) in the second half of the last cen¬ tury, and was considered worthy a couplet by Cowper in his Task, is said to have come to grief at Shrewsbury, towards the end of his career. Chambers's Book of Days (vol. 1, p. 510) has it that Katerfelto " was committed by the Mayor of Shrewsbury to the house of correction in that city (sic) as a vagrant and impostor." No date is given, nor has any account of the proceedings been preserved, 15