Welsh Journals

Dec, 1882. BYE-GONES. 153 into a separate constituency by the Reform Bill of 1832, bat this is not strictly correct. The election took place in the Dec. of 1832, when Col. Edwards, who was a Liberal, was opposed by Mr. David Pugh of Llanerchydol, and de¬ feated. A scrutiny was demanded, a fresh election was ordered in April, 1833, and Mr. Panton Corbett appeared in the Conservative interest, but was beaten by Colonel Edwards. In 1835, Colonel Edwards was returned unop¬ posed ; in 1837 he again defeated Mr. Corbett; and the year after Lord Melbourne offered him a baronetcy, which he accepted. In 1841 Sir John Edwards had to run the gauntlet of another contest, and this time he was defeated by the Hon. Hugh Cholmondeley, and he never again entered Parliament. The funeral of Lady Edwards took place at the Parish Church, Machynlleth, yesterday. The procession, num¬ bering upwards of 500 persons, was formed iu the following order :—The Rev. Canon Griffiths, the Rev. Messrs, Nash and Owen, Drs. Lloyd and Davies. Messrs. R. Gillart, D. Howell, and J. Evans, tenauts six abreast, then followed the coffin carried by tenants ; next came the Marquess of Londonderry and Lord Castlereagh, Lord Henry and Lord Herbert, and other relatives, all the male servants and the general public, and a very large number of school children. The Rev. Canon Griffiths read the service. Hymn 235 having been sung by the choir, the procession was re-formed, and Canon Griffiths read the remainder of the service at the grave. The organist, Mr. R. Davies, played the " Dead March in Saul" bath in entering and coining out of the church, A breakfast was provided for all the tenants at the Lion Hotel; they were also provided with hatbands and gloves. Business was entirely sus¬ pended in the town. CYMKU FU. There is a tradition about one of the Wynns of Gwydir that whilst travelling on the Continent he happened to hear as going through a field a rustic maiden siugiug sweetly the following .verse :— Mae llawer bryn a llawer pant, A Rawer nant annifyr; A llawer ffynon, a llawer ffnvd, Oddi yma i Hafod Gwydyr. He went to her, and discovered that she was a Welsh girl, and that her home was at Hafod by Llanrwst. She had gone from North Wales to the Continent to reside with a noted family. When the maiden returned to her native home the Hafod was given to her for three genera¬ tions. The place is situated on the Gwydir estate between Llaurwst and Trefriw, near the house where Ieuan Glan Geirionydd was born. About fifty years ago a large stone was removed by Myddfai, near Llandeilo, on the_ estate of Mr. Shalford of Cdgwyn, and under it was discovered another stone with the following inscription, viz., " Eleira ap Owain Goch, who was killed, and interred here, for preaching Christ; St. Paul also preached in this place." The occur¬ rence caused a controversy at the time amongst antiquar- riea regarding Eleim ; but as to St. Paul it was then thought that he must be Paul the aged, or Paulinus, who was one of the Saints belonging to the Choir of Illtyd the Great in Glan Morgan, who flourished in the fifth ceutury. Also there is a tradition that Paulinus delivered a funeral sermon for some Martyr near this place. Perhaps this tradition gave rise to another tradition, which was after¬ wards published by credulous modern historians, who be¬ lieved that the great Apostle of the Gentiles had been preaching in Glamorganshire. William ap Howel of Tregaian, in Anglesey, who flourished in 1580, had three wives. By the first he had twenty-two children; the second, ten; and the third, eleven. About three hundred people descended from this flourishing stock, eighty of which resided within this parish, when Mr. Pennant visited the place in 1713. When William Howel died his eldest son was eighty-four ; and his youngest child two years and six months. He spent his time fishing along the coasts, and died at the age of 105 years, possessing his faculties to the last. Mynydd Ysbedu is situated between Llaufair and New Mills. Tradition alludes to a hawker, a Scotchman, who was in the habit of travelling the country, hawking his goods, and receiving often a large amount of money for his ware. He used to stop when on his rounds in a farm house, or a road-side inn, and whilst quietly sleeping in one of these places one dark night, he was pounced upon, robbed of his goods and money, murdered, and aft-rwards buried in a garden or field close by. In course of time, suspicion fell on the proprietor, who was brought to jus¬ tice, convicted, and sentenced to be gibbeted near the place where the crime was committed, hence the name Ysbedu. The old people when passing from Llaufair to Newtown used to point out the very spot where the felon suffered. Glancynlleth was haunted many years ago by a ghost. The old people used to relate that it was the apparition of Edward Morris, the Montgomeryshire Magistrate, who used to prosecute the Quakers and Independents in the time of Richard Davies, Cloddiau Cochion, and Hugh 0 wen, Fconyeludwr. Morris committed suicide by drown¬ ing himself in the black pool close to the hall. Others say that the ghost troubled the house owing to some of the t-uants throwing valuable silver plate, which was never discovered, into the river Tauat, to avoid it being seized by the Sheriff under a distress warrant. Moreover, the ghost was different from other ghosts in general, as he was nit in the habit of haunting any place in the hall beside the cellar, which was arched in two places. One of the tenants, to get rid of the supposed ghost, erected a strong brick wall across the part so haunted, and the apparition was never seen near the place afterwards. It was the custom in Wales, amongst the fair sex many years ago, before Sunday schools were established in the Principality, to go into the garden at midnight to sow leek seed with two rakes. One was left on the ground, whilst the young maiden after sowing the seed commenced raking, with the expectation of seeing her future husband raking with the other. As the tale runs—whilst a young woman wa3 thus busily engaged, her master came to the spot, which made her run to the house to her mistress upbraiding her for sending her master to the garden to frighten her. The mistress sighed, and begged the servant to be good to her children, and died soon afterwards when the master i.i a very short time married the servant. Pantyp - din. Llywarch Hen. Turning an Englishman into a Welshman.— " December 18, 1S3(3. Amusing details from Cowley Powley of Southey's visit to Helstone. He was delighting them all rather with his wit than anything practical in his conversation. He is very tall, about sixty-five years old, and likes mealy potatoes. He gives the following recipes for turning an Englishman into a Welshman or an Irish¬ man :—For the former he must be born in snow and ice from their own mountains, baptised in water from their own rivers, and suakled by one of their own goats. For the Irishman—Born in a bog, baptised in whisky, and suckled by a bull! What a concatenation of absurdi¬ ties I"—Memoirs of Old Friends, by Caroline Fox. 20