Welsh Journals

124 BYE-GONES. July 3, 1895. The Rev William Astbury Meakin, curate of Stone, has been presented by the Rector of Upton Magna to the perpetual curacy of Withington, Shrewsbury.—June 12. The Rev R. S. Edwards of All Saints', Shrews¬ bury, has been appointed inin Dr canon of Bangor Cathedral. The Bishop of Bangor has appointed the Rev. Canon Silvan Evans, B.D., rector of Llanwrin, Chancellor of Bangor Cathedral, in succession to the late Rev. Thomas Briscoe, D.D., vicar of Holy¬ head.— June 19. The Rev R. W. F. Davies, senior curate of St Mary's, Tenby, has been presented to the rectory of Llandrindod Wells. The vacant living of Llangollen has been offered by the Bishop of the diocese to the Rev Henry Jones, B.A., vicar choral of St. Asaph Cathedral, and has been accepted by Mr Jones. The Rev Enoch J. Evans, M.A., vicar of Chirk, has been appointed rural dean of the Deanerv of Llangollen, vacant by the appointment of the Rev E. R. James to the rectory of Marchwiel. The vicar-choralship of St. Asaph, vacant by the presentation of the Rev H. Jones, B.A., to the living of Llangollen, has been accepted by the Rev C. F. Roberts, M.A., curate of Newtown. The living of Garthbeibio, vacant by the promo¬ tion of the Rev David Davies to Llangwm, has been offered to the Rev J. R. Roberts, curate of Llan¬ gwm, and accepted by him. Mr Roberts is the youngest son of the late Canon Ellis Roberts, rector of Llangwm, and was formerly Powis Exhibitioner and Post Master of Merton College, Oxford, where he graduated in classical honours. He was ordained in 1888, and has served the curacies of Llanfair- fechao, Bangor, and Llangwm, and is the joint editor of Hymnau yr Eglwys. The Bishop of St. Asaph has appointed to the canonry vacant by the death of Canon Morton the Rev Richard Trevor Owen, M.A., vicar of Llan- gedwyn. Mr Owen was a scholar of Jesus College, Oxford, and was ordained in 1860 to the curacy of Llangollen, where the Rev W. Edwards was then vicar. Mr Owen was appointed vicar of Llanged- wyn in 1869, and is well known as the accomplished editor of the Archceologia Cambrensin. In 1892 Mr Owen was elected by the clergy of the diocese their Proctor in Convocation.—June 26. JCJLY 3, 1895. NOTES. OSWESTRY CHURCH IN THE CIVIL WARS AND THE PROTECTORATE.-The following is from " Notes on the Church, Castle, and Parish of Shrawardine," in Shrop¬ shire ArchcBoloffkal Collections (2nd series, vol. vii, part 2, page 170.) July 16, (1659.)—There was collected in this parish, July 16, 1659, the sum of 24s 4d towards the rebuilding of the Church of Oswestrie, wh : in the late warrs was demolisht & layd even with the ground. To this the following note is appended :— "Memorandum, that there was collected in Mapledurham, in the County of Oxon, the sum of Twelve Shillings of Lawful Money of England, to¬ wards the building of the Church of Oswestree in the County of Salop, by virtue of Oliver Lord Protector his letters patent for that purpose, 25 March, 1659."—Extract from the Register of St. Margaret's Church, Mapledurham, Reading. When Oswestry Castle was garrisoned for the King the Steeple of Oswestry Church was taken down to prevent its being used as a point from which to molest the Castle, in the event of the town falling into the hands of the Parliamentarians. On June 22nd, 1644, Oswestry surrendered to General Mytton. W.O. WITCHCRAFT ON THE WELSH BOR¬ DER.—A Pall Mall Gazette correspondent writes:—In the Western Counties of England the belief in witchcraft is still very common. Some two years ago I was fishing on the border of Wale3, and got as a companion and guide an old man who had formerly been a painter and glazier, but had now given up work. For the first few days we had fair sport, and then, as often happens, the fish would not rise to any fly whatever we put on, probably owing to there being no hatch-out of the natural insects. I said to the old man : "I shall chuck it for a day or two ; there may be thunder in the air." To which he replied, gravely: "No, sir, it is not that: I broke the top of my rod this morning, which I have not done for years, and I got a beautiful lot of worms which they won't look at ; but I think I know the party as has overlooked me; she's a palsied one and all of a tremble." When I ventured to doubt the old lady's power, he said it was all mentioned in the Bible, there¬ fore there could be no doubt on the subject. I questioned the landlord of the inn afterwards. He told me it was the general belief, that only a fortnight before a farmer in the neighbourhood, whose pig had died and butter would not come, had gone ten miles to pay and consult a con¬ jurer. " What did he tell you ?" asked the land¬ lord. "He said I must tell my wife to put a red- hot poker in the churn, and the person who had bewitched me was not the party I thought, but a sandy-haired one who lived a mile from my house." " And did the butter come then ?" asked the landlord. " It did," said the man, " in twenty minutes; but however could the conjurer have told it was that sandy-haired party as done me all the mischief ?" Ed. CAROL SINGING.-This is penned in June. The day is hot, and we are, in time, far removed from the season of the year when people formerly enlivened the monotony of country life by sing¬ ing carols from place to place, or in Church,