Welsh Journals

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Oct., 1880. BYE-GONES. 121 betwixt those two mountains." The man, being a native of Dolgelley, was in great distress, because he thought that the ancient town would then be submerged and lost in the ocean if the water would ever be as high as the Garnedd- wen. Because Robin had foretold, so the event must come to pass, and from hence derived the following lines:— Dolgelleu Dol a gollir, Daear a'i llwnc a dwfr yn ei He. The old saying was verified. Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart., bought a small vessel at Barmouth for his use on Bala lake, and as they were bringing it up Rhydymain, the horses could not draw the waggon and its contents. The wind happened to blow behind them, the sails were soon hoisted, and they went up the hill afterwards without the least difficulty. Many years ago there resided at Hafotty yn Nhwrch a notorious thief named Shon Bennion, who was living by plundering his neighbours. One night in the beginning of winter he went over Bwlchygroes to Llanuwchlyn, and stole a fat goose from one Thomas Lewis, Coedladur. Lewis in an instant suspected where the goose had gone, and followed the heels of Bennion to the Hafotty, where a fierce struggle took place. Bennion tried to kill his antagonist with a thick bludgeon. However, Shon was overpowered, and was put in prison. During the follow¬ ing Christmas Bennion's wife took a fat goose to her hus¬ band to the county gaol, and instead of the usual stuffing, she managed to put a hammer and a small wedge inside the bird. Bennion soon made use of these tools by wrench¬ ing the iron bars of the prison, and in a short time gained his liberty. He was recaptured, and when before the Magistrates was asked how he escaped from the gaol. He answered indifferently amidst much laughter before a crowded Court that he made his escape with the remains of the goose—"the bones you know"—he uttered very coldly. Alwen lake is situated on the Hiraethog mountain in Denbighshire. There was a man and wife living at Tan- yllyn, near the place, possessed of an only daughter, who was considered very handsome and virtuous, and her name was Alwen. One day during the summer months one of the ancient Princes of Wales came by the lake, accompanied by his son and heir. Before they left the spot the young man was deep in love with Alwen. Both vowed to get married ; but before they could accomplish their object the young man was called to join the army in fighting against the English. Before parting they went according to their usual custom in a boat for pleasure on the lake. In the middle of the lake they vowed again to be faithful to each other until death. The young Prince went away, and was unfortunately taken prisoner during the war by the Con¬ stable of Chester; but, being a Prince, he was soon re¬ leased, on the condition that he would marry the Con¬ stable's daughter, and so he did. When Alwen heard the sad news she went to the boat, and rowed to the very spot where the young Prince and herself had made a solemn oath to each other, and threw herself into the lake. Prom that event the lake has been called ever since " Llyn Alwen." Llywarch Hen. OCTOBER 6, 1880. NOTES. MONTGOMERY BOROUGH ELECTION, 1802. At the general election of July, 1802, Lieut.-Col. Cockburne, son-in-law of Lord Hereford, opposed the sitting member, Whitshed Keene, Esq., who had repre¬ sented the Borough for 28 years. The contest, such as it was, came off on the 6th of July, with the following result:—Keene 62, Cockburne, 21; majority for Keene 41. Blackpool. LLANYBLODWELL.—In the Escheat Roll 5G, H. 3, the place now called Blodwell is written Bodowan- han. Wennen (i.e. Gwen) was one of the sons of Meiric de Powys, a descendant of Tudor Trevor. This Gwen with his brother Greno, written in the grant— Wrenoe (Greno) and Wennen (Gwen), had a grant from King John in 2 year of his reign, of the Lordship of Whittington, of which Fulk Fitzwarine had been temporarily deprived. Whether by Bod-o-wanhan was meant B6d-o-Wennen (i.e., the Residence of Wennen) I do not know, but the etymology of BlodvxU has hitherto puzzled all our antiquaries (Joseph Morris's MSS.) W.A.L. (In Shreds and Patches.) EDWARD JONES, BABDD Y BRENIN.—l have some of his writings in my possession, and out of one of his books, called " Piser Byr Edward Jones "I copy the following :— "Hum Machno, or Hugh Owen of Penmachno in Car¬ narvonshire, flourished about 1600, and lieth buried in the Churchyard of the said place, as appears by his tomb on which the following inscription is still legible, 'H.O.obiit 1600.' Edmund Prys (the celebrated Archdeacon) sent him the following— Rhyfeddod bennod drwy bant—a brynniau Heb ronyn lliveiriant; Ddyfod afon (eigion nant) Machno i Raiadr Mochnant." "As to Edmund Prys's "—(he says)—" uncouthness of his version of the Psalms into Welsh metres, it must be attributed to the novelty of that kind of verse in our language, he being the first as far as I can find that intro¬ duced it; for which he gave his reasons in a shcrt preface to it." I am very strongly of opinion myself, that Edmund Prys had latterly got into a more smooth and harmonious method of constructing his wondrous verses, and upon an old scrap dated 1654 I find John Salsbri of Llanrwst expressing a like opinion, adding '' Yr oedd fy nghar Ffoulk Prys, mab Edmund, in fwy hyddysg nai Dad yn hyn," which means I suppose, the son had improved upon the father in smoothness and harmony, as indeed is the case generally; for Mr. Jones remarks with some truth " the same is still more observable in the English metre of those times, when compared with the present." Edmund Prys died in 1624 according to Mr. Williams, and when we compare the Welsh poetry of that period, with the productions of the Bards of our own day we at once see how greatly the latter excel the former in smooth¬ ness and harmony. Alluding to Tudur Penllyn, Mr. Jones says " he was a gentleman of fortune who lived at Glanllyn, near Bala, and was a great sheep farmer," and he seems to arrive at the latter conclusion from the lust loords in the following couplet, which begins— Beth sy' ar ben Tudur Penllyn, Ai Salad ai Bisicclyn ? And then follows the well known couplet, Beth sy' ar ben Tudur Aled, Ai Biswelynai Salad? I have seen it stated that Ieuan ap Tudur Penllyn, who flourished about 148Q, was a far better poet than his father; but Edward Jones does not seem to think so, and we must admit, he was no mean judge of poetical merit. Goronwy Ddu. OSWESTRY OBSTRUCTIVES.—On Oswestry fair day, June 21,1820, Margaret Owen, widow, put up a stall or table, near the Cross, opposite the premises of Mr. Lewis Gwynne. The stall was not on the footpath, but between the gutter and the middle of the street. Mr.