Welsh Journals

Feb., 1879. BYE-GONES. 167 REPLIES. SALESBURY'S WELSH TESTAMENT (Jan. 15,1879).—When I was spending a few days with the late Bev. John Jones (Tegid) at Nevern Vicarage, Pembroke¬ shire in 1843 or 1844, I remember having seen among his books a copy of Salesbury's Welsh Testament. What be¬ came of it after his death (in 1852) when his books were publicly sold, I have no means to know. Being then a stripling, and, as now, not much of a bibliographer, I did not take any note of the condition of the book ; and I am unable to state whether it was complete, or complete with the exception of the Table of Errata found only in Mr. Breese's copy, or not. It is possible it may be identical with one of the copies mentioned in that gentleman's valuable contribution on the subject (Nov. 27, 1878), or the one now in the possession of Mr. Salisbury (Dec. 18). Tegid's nephew, the present Vicar of Gwernaffield, near Mold, who edited his uncle's Poetical Works in 1859, may perhaps be able to assist us to trace the volume to its present owner. GWYDDAN. OSWESTRY CHARTERS (Jan. 8, 1879).—"W." will be glad to hear that not only is the charter of Richard carefully preserved by the Corporation, but that Mr. Stanley Leighton, M.P., purposes having the initial por¬ trait reproduced in autotype or other facsimile process, as an illustration to his paper on the Oswestry Charters, which is about to appear in the Transactions of the Shrop¬ shire Archaeological Society. Jarco. LLANFYLLIN MEETING (Jan. 22, 1879).—The meeting referred to was the races held on Cefn Bran on the 28th of June. This was a county meeting, and attended by the aristocracy and hundreds of spectators. Sir Watkin Williams Wynn presented annually a cup value fifty pounds. The races were transferred to Cyrn- y-Bwch about 1790. It is just possible that these races were instituted in honour of the visit of Charles I., whose soldiers encamped not far from the racecourse. From the wickedness that prevailed at those meetings, or possibly in allusion to the visit of King Charles, the following penill is often sung to the harp :— Mae lodes yn Llanfyllin Sydd yn ein bro er's tipyn ; 'Does fawr o s6n am Dduw'n y Maen Ar Gefn Bran y Brenhin. Ctffin. FEBRUARY 5, 1879. NOTES. AN OSWESTRY DESERTER.—A reward of Two Guineas, over and above "what is allowed by Act of Parliament," was offered in Sep., 1803, for the appre¬ hension of Charles Dyke (servant to Mr. Phipps, of Lower Cound, farmer and paper maker), who had been balloted to serve in the Shropshire Supplementary Militia, but had absconded. Dyke was thus described:—'' Supposed to be in the neighbourhood of Oswestry, where his friends reside ; is about 28 years of age, 5ft. 7in. high, dark com¬ plexion, and has a speck on one of his eyes. S.P. CARRIERS TO LONDON IN 1637.—Mr. Arbor has recently reprinted John Taylor's Carrier's Cosmo¬ graphy, published in 1637 ; a book giving a list of such towns having communication with London by means of carriers as he could obtain, and the names of the Inns, Ordinaries, and Hostleries where these carriers lodged. The author had some difficulty in obtaining his informa¬ tion, for, he says, " In some places I was suspected for a Projector, or one that had devised some trick to bring the Carriers under some new taxation, and sometimes I was held to have been a Man-taker, a Sergeant, or Bailiff, to arrest or attack men's goods or beasts. Indeed I was scarce taken for an honest man amongst the most of them." The following are all I can find in the lists that come within the district covered by Bye-gones:— The Carriers of Bridgnorth do lodge at the Maiden¬ head in Cateaton-street, near the Guildhall. The Carriers of Chester do lodge at the Castle in Wood- street. They are there to be had on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The Carriers of Chester do lodge at Blossom's or Bosom's Inn, in St. Laurence lane, near Cheapside ; every Thursday. The Carriers of Denbigh in Wales do lodge at Bosom's Inn every Thursday. Also other Carriers do come to the said Inn from other parts of that country. The Carriers of Monmouth in Wales, and some parts of Monmouthshire, do lodge at the [Saint] Paul's Head in Carter lane. They do come to London on Fridays. The Carriers of Shrewsbury do lodge at the Maiden¬ head in Cateaton-street, near Guildhall. They come on Thursdays. The Carriers of Shrewsbury do also lodge at Bosom's Inn. They do come on Thursdays. And there do lodge carriers that do travel divers parts of the county of Shropshire and places adjoining. M.H. THE VOLUNTEER REGIMENTS OF 1804. Through the courtesy of Mr. J. P. Earwaker, F.S.A.. we aie in possession of a list of the names of all the officers connected with the volunteer regiments of Shrop¬ shire and Wales early in this century. This list, which is dated 1 Oct. 1804, was issued by the War Office, and is now rarely to be met with. We intend from time to time to give extracts until the whole is completed. Errors will doubtless be found in the spelling of some of the names, and we should be thankful to any of our readers who will point these out. We begin with the Oswestry companies :— oswestry rangers, cavalry. Major Comm. Geo. Henry Warrington, 7 Jan. 1803. Captain, William Hamilton Martin, 24 Feb. 1804. Lieutenants, Lawton Parry, 7 Jan. 1803; Thomas Salter. 20 Oct. 1803. Cornets, Henry Bowman, Thomas Holwell, 20 Oct. 1803. Chaplain, Joseph Venables, 24 Nov. 1803. Adjutant, Arthur Davenport, 8 Nov. 1798. Surgeon, Robert Cartwright, 24 Nov. 1803. OSWESTRY ARTILLERY. Captain, John Bradbridge, 28 Apr. 1804. First Lieut., Edward Croxon, 22 Aug. 1803. Second do., Wm. Henry Newenham, 22 Aug. 1803. The Oswestry Rangers, as was stated in Bye-gones, Mar. 10, 1875, was a company raised in 1797, with Mr. Mytton of Halston (father to the celebrated Jack Mytton) as captain. Sixty persons enrolled their names, and a hundred pounds was raised to defray expenses. On Oct. 12 of the same year Mrs. Mytton presented colours to the corps on the Bailey Head, the consecration of the colours being performed by the chaplain, the Rev. Turner Edwards. At that period Mr. L. J. Venables was cornet. In Sep. 1798, Mr. Mytton died, and Mr. G. H. Warring¬ ton became captain, Mr. Venables, lieutenant, Mr. John Rogers, cornet, and Mr. A. N. Davenport, adjutant. In May, 1799, Mr. Owen Ormsby of Porkington, was ap¬ pointed " Major-Commandant; " which office he resigned in Nov., 1802. An address was presented to Mr. Ormsby on his resignation (see Bye-gones, July 10, 1878) signed by