Welsh Journals

312 BYE-GONES. Apr. 4, 1894. the highest value as the earliest known present¬ ment of the Arthurian hero-legend, and of the legends which clustered round the luckless Vortigern. How far it is based upon written documents,how far derived from oral tradition,it is probably impossible to say. In any case the fame of Arthur as a national hero of the Southern Cymry is testified to for a much earlier period than that of Nennius himself, as is evident from the fact that the place and personal names e.g., Dubglas, Urbjen, are as archaic in form as those used by the North British writer of 629. The historic Arthur finds a firm defender in Professor Zimmer, here as elsewhere a staunch euhemerist and oppon¬ ent of mythological interpretation. Referring to other points of interest Mr Nutt observed that one broad result that perhaps more than any other strikes the attentive reader of Professor Zimmer's researches, is the long intimate connection between the Celts of Britain and those of Ireland. Another matter of interest touched upon was the question whether the traditions and writings, which underlie Nennius'account of theinvasion and of the Arthurian Wars,are those which we know from Welsh Medieval MSS., and which, by attribution to singers of the Bixth century rather than by positive statement of origin, profess to go back to that period. On these and other similar points, Mr Nutt has many instruc¬ tive suggestions to make, and it is gratifying to know that his paper, together probably with a careful transcript of the Harleian Nennius, will be published before very long in the transactions of the CymmrodDrion Society.^ That there is much need of enlightenment on this great historical ques¬ tion was conceded by Mr Joseph Jacobs, Mr Ernest Rhys, Mr Marchant Williams, the Rev Robert Gwynne, Mr Henry Owen, F.S.A., and others, who spoke on some of the points raised in Mr Nutt's valu¬ able paper. APRIL 4, 1894. NOTES. MORETON OR MORTON.—The recent ap¬ pointment of a new incumbent to Morton has raised again the question of the spelling, which was changed from Morton to Moreton by the late Rev. C. Kenyon, when he held the living. The Ven. Archdeacon Thomas says :— In my history I have adopted the spelling "Morton" used in the Official Gazette, constituting the Ecclesiastical District; but 1 have since then found the licence of probably the earliest Curate, where it is spelt " Moreton." " 1685. Stephanus Davies Clericus ad inservicudum Curse Animarum in Capella de Moreton licentiatus fuit." I take " Moreton "to be the phonetic, but "Morton" to be the etymological form : the syllable "Mor" being equivalent to "Moor "or "Marsh"—both of which occur in the adjoining " Morda"andMaesbury Marsh. Ed. ONE OF NAPOLEON'S BEDS IN SHROP¬ SHIRE. — W© translate the following from V Intermediary (the French " Notes and Quer¬ ies") for January 30, 1894), to which it was contri¬ buted by Mr Hubert Smith:—" There was recently at Brockley Hall, near Barnstaple, a bed which belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte, brought from Malmaison. In 1819, after the death of the proprietor, Mr J. H. Smyth Pigott, it was sold, with other historical curiosities. The bed was described in the Illustrated London News for October 27, 1849. After the sale the bed was for a long time the property of Mr Symonds of Barnstaple, and it was bought recently by Messrs Perry and Phillips of Bridgnorth, where it is now on sale. It is of wood, ornamented with sculp¬ tured figures in relief, and decorated in gilt bronze, in the style of the first empire." Ed. SMOCK FROCKS.—A discussion was carried on in the newspapers recently as to the origin of the smock frock of the agricultural labourer. I take the following from one of the papers :—There can be little doubt, says one writer, that it comes from the Arab. The serape worn in Mexico and the poncho of the South American are similar, and they were exported from Spain, which in turn derived them from the Moors. Mr Bentall, who deplores the disappearance of the smock from Essex, is struck with the resemblance of it to the " tunicles" worn by deacons in our churches prior to the Reformation. His theory is that the economical ecclesiastics sold their cast-off robes, and that the peasantry bought and copied the elaborate needlework about the yoke ! The smock exists in all countries among the peasantry. It is merely an evolution of what would be close to the primeval attire. A sack, with a hole for the head and two for the arms, would be among the earliest devices for a wardrobe. W.O. QUERIES. SHOM POL.—This is a word frequently used in the lower part of Cardiganshire and West Car¬ marthenshire, in the sense of " shocking." Can any of your readers " delve it to the root " for me ? Meirion. VALLE CRUC1S ABBEY.—I have an en¬ graving, " The West View of Valle Crucis Abbey in the County of Denbigh," by Saml. and Nathl. Brick, dated 1742. It represents the Abbey as it now stands, since the dormitory has been restored to its original condition. At what time were the dormitories, &c, converted into stabling, and the communication with the Abbey blocked up ? Is the view trustworthy as a correct representation of the Abbey as it existed 150 years ago ? Collex. REPLIES. NAPOLEON, LIFE AND CAMPAIGNS OF. (March 28,1894).—On December2,andfourfollowing days, 1889, there was disposed of by auction in the sale rooms of Messrs Sotheby, Wilkinson, and Hodge, London, the library of the late John Leigh,