Welsh Journals

264 BYE-GONES. July, 1885. JULY 15, 1885. NOTES. CURIOUS TITLES OF ACTS OF PARLIA¬ MENT RELATING TO WALES.—The following titles of Acts of Parliament are suggestive of the way in which Welshmen were regarded by the English in the time of the Plantagenets:—" Against Welshmen taking women and maids out of England and other abuses"; "For the punishment of thefts and other disorders of Welshmen " ; "There shall be no wasters and vagabonds in Wales"; ' That Englishmen be not convict by Welshmen, nor marry with Welshwomen." Vbeax. Oswestry. SCHOOL RHYMES.—It would be interesting to make a collection of all the Rhymes familiar in Shropshire and on the Borders. I sand a contribution. Some of those which will be collected are doubless general; but others are probably local, and it would be well to distin¬ guish between the two classes : — Charlie, Charlie, chuck, chuck, chuck, Went to bed with three young ducks; One did die, and Charlie did cry, Charlie, Charlie, chuck, chuck, chuck. Die, Die, dumpling, boiled in a pot, Sugar him, and butter him, and eat him while he's hot. Georgie, porgi9, butter and pie, Kissed the girls and made them cry ; When the girls came out to play Georgie, porgie ran away. Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat, Please to put a penny in the old man's hat; If you haven't got a penny, a halfpenny will do, If you haven't got a halfpenny, God bless you ! Hot Cross buns, one a penny poker, two a penny tongs, Three a penny fire shovel, hot cross buns. W.O. QUERIES. PLAYING AT FIVES ON CHURCH WALLS.— The practice of playing ball on Sunday, mentioned by the Rev. Elias Owen in his Old Stone Crosses of the Va'e of Clwyd, now publishing, was common in the neighbourhood of Oswestry in the present century. An inhabitant of Llandysilio whom I knew used to tell how the after-part of Sunday was spent in this way. Church service was attended in the morning, after dinner a chapter out of the Bible was read, and then the young man, as he then was, repaired to the church to play ball with his companions against the gable end. At Whittington also, I under¬ stand, within the memory of persons not long deceased, the same practice was common on Sunday. Can any one give us any further information on the subject? Have any scorings, of which an illustration was recently given in the Advertizer, been found on any church in this neighbourhood ? Or any signs of the shutters which in some churches in Wales were put up to protect the win¬ dows while the game was played ? * E. REPLIES. MRS. SIDDONS A NATIVE OF BRECON (July 1, 1885).—" Vebax " need not entertain a shadow of a doubt regarding Brecon beiog the birthplace cf Mrs Siddons. But in this as in many other things Theo : Jones, the Historian of Brecknoskshire, is wrong in his dates. Mrs Siddons was not born on the " 14th^' July, 1755, but on the 5th July. I append the record (1) on her statue in West¬ minster Abbey, and also (2) the record on her tombstone in Paddington Churchyard. In Westminster Abbey: "Sarah Siddons born at Brecon July 5th, 1755; died in London, July 8th, 1831." In Paddington Churchyard: "Sarah Siddons, born at Brecon, .... [date de¬ faced] died 1831. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord?' Not only was Mrs Siddons born at Brecon, but her first appearance on the stage was at the Brecon Theatre. She must have been very younsr, as her childish appearance met with disfavour from the company. She was about to retire, when her mother, with characteristic decision, led her to the front of the stage, and got her to repeat the fable of the " Boys and the Frogs." This not only appeased the audience, but produced rapturous ap¬ plause frpm the warm-hearted Welshmen. At 13 she was the heroine in several operas, and sang tolerably well. Mr Siddons, her future husband, was at this time in her father's company of "Strolling players." He paid atten¬ tions to her which were well revived. He was an active, handsome young man, with great versatility of talent, ranging in his acting from Hamlet to a harlequin, for which he acquired provincial popularity. " The course of true love never did run smooth ;" and it was verified in the case of Mrs Siddons, for a country squire named Evans, of Pennant, near Brecon [Thomas Evans, high sheriff of theco. in 1773], hearing her sing "Sweet Robin," was so fascinated that he fell over head and ears in love with her. What chance had poor young Siddons against " three hundred a year " and perhaps more ? Mrs Kemble preferred the Welsh squire for her daughter, and found opportunities and excuses for quarrelling with poor Sid¬ dons, who was too impetuous in his demands on his fair one to elope with him. This led to his dismissal from the Brecon Company. However, he was allowed to have his benefit, and being popular in Brecon, the good folks gave him a bumping house. At the close of the play he sang a song of his own composition [which, if you think it will interest the readers of Bye-Gones, I will send] which re¬ ferred to the love affair and the Squire of Pennant; the effusion was heartily greeted by the audience, and it is said that whilst the applause was still resounding through the house, and poor "Colin" retiring to the " green room," he was met by the stately mother, who avenged the honour of the family, and crowned poor Siddons's benefit by boxing his ears most heartily ! However, he married Sarah Kemble at Trinity Church, Coventry, on the 26th November, 1773, in her eighteenth year. I may add that there is a marble slab let into the wall at the Siddons Arms, in High-street, Brecon (formerly "The Shoulder of Mutton"), with the inscription—" In this house Mrs Siddons was born, July 5th, 1755." I should also say that the unfortunate Welsh Squire died a bachelor. Mrs Siddons died at her house in Upper Baker-street (now N. W.), and there is a small tablet in front of the house still to be seen. The London Mansion, where she used to hold her receptions, can be seen from the street (it overlooks Regent's Park). She is buried in a very plain grave in Paddington churchyard, and the inscription was worded at her own request. There is also a wery plain mural tablet to her memory, with the same words, on the north side of the chancel in old Paddington church. Her son's tomb is next to hers, and Haydon is buried a little distance westwards. A bio¬ graphical sketch of Mrs Siddons will be included among the 200 "Eminent Breeonians" notes of whose lives I