Welsh Journals

176 BYE-GONES. Sept. 25, 1895. I owe my cousin Thos. Cooper, of Porkington, co. Salop, gent., £44, whereof he is to receive £22 of John Upton, of Lenton, husbandman, on May 12 next; to my dau. Ellinor South worth. £44 ; to Mris. Bowne. of Nottingham, £8; to Humfrey Simons, of Nottm., mercer, £3 8s.; to Jame^ Seeles, of Nottm., draper. 83. 5d.; to Steven Hill, of Nottm., apofhecarie,48s. lid. Servant Margery Whitworth, a black cow, &c. ; dau. Anne Southworth. an ewe and lamb ; daurs. Ellinor Southworth, Cicily Hanmer, Wenefride, Grace, and Mary Hanmer, various linen, &c.; son Thomas Hanmer, 4 ewe lambs, of those which my Lady Willoughby gave me. Res. to son Phillip Hanmer, and he to be good to his sisters, and to pay to Winefrede, Cicilv. Mary, and Grace, £40 each, and to help to bind his brother Thos Hanmer apprentice to some good trade. Friends John Wood, of Lenton, clerk, Thos. Cooper, and my son Phillip Hanmer. exors. Supervisors, Sir Percivall Willoughbie, knt., and Sir Wm. Hanmer, of the Fennes, co. Flint, knt. Witness, John Wood, clerk. Proved at York, 17 Jan., 1695, [xxix., 754] by exors. W.O. CHESHIRE CUSTOMS AND SUPERSTI¬ TIONS.—Mrs Gaskelt, in a letter (dated 1838) published in "Good Words" for September, says :— The next dav of note is the first of May. I never heard of its being kept as it is bv the com¬ mon people^ in Lancashire and Cheshire. Early in the morning, at day-break, some one hangs up a bush or a branch of a tree at everyone's door; and that is a kind of Langue des Arbres, for these branches bear reference to the character of the principal female of the house. A branch of birch signifies a pretty girl, an alder (or owler they call it) a scold, an oak a good woman, a broom a good housewife. But I am sorry to say there are many symbols hung up in spite, which have any thingbut a good meaning. If gorse, nettles, sycamore or saw¬ dust are placed at the door, they cast the worst imputation on a woman's character, and vary according as she be girl, wife, or widow. One of my servants, of whom I have just been making inquiries, says many a poor girl has had her char¬ acter blasted by one of these bushes being hung up by some one who owed her a grudge. The early passers-by saw it, and the report was buzzed about, withont the accusation being tangible enough for ber to refute it. Another of our customs now rather passing away is Marling. When marl was used for manure there were marl pits up and down Cheshire, and if anyone chanced upon the men while at work, they were expected to make them a present. In an evening they formed themselves into a ring in the market-place, and called out "Ovez, oyez, oyez, Mr So-and-so has given us the 2,000th part (if it was a shilling) of a hundred pounds, a hundred pounds, largo, largo, largo." Of course, the part varied according to the amount of the donation. There are many superstitions kept up about Cheshire and Lancashire. The servant-maids wear a bag containing a druggist's powder called Dragon's Blood upon their heart, which will make them beloved by the person they love. A prettv servant once told me, " It always had the desired effect with her." They make a curtsey to the new moon when first they see it, and turn the money in their pockets, which ought to be doubled before the moon is out. Many poetical beliefs are vanishing with the passing generation. A shooting star is unlucky to see. I have so far a belief in this that I always have a chill in mv heart when I see one, for I have often noticed them when watching over a sick-bed, and very, very anxious. The dog-rose, that pretty libertine of the hedges with the floating spravs wooing thejsummer air, its delicate hue, and its faint perfume, is unlucky. Never form any plan while sitting near one, for it will never answer. I was once saying to an old, blind country-woman how much I admired the foxglove. She looked mysteriously solemn as she told me thev were not like other flowers; they had "knowledge" in them! Of course, I inquired more particularly, and then she told me that the foxglove knows when a spirit passes by and always bows the head. Is not this poetical! and of the regal foxglove with its tapering crimson bells. I have respected the flower ever since. Ed. QUERIES. THE ROARING BULL OF BAGBURY.—I have heard aome vague versions of the tale of " The Roaring Bull of Bagbury, " a troublesome ghost at Hyssington that was " laid" by the renowned Gwallter Mechain ; but nob before he had extinguished all the candles bub one, and cracked the wall of the church throughout! Can some local corresoondenb give a correct version of the tale? Bagbury, I am told, is a farmhouse in the neighbourhood. T.H.J. SMOKING IN CHURCH.—The following ap¬ pears in the Times of Friday last: Mr Ede's reference to the sin-eater will be explained by a letter which we publish in another column :— Mr Elton B. Ede writes from Edenhurst, Heene, Worthing:—Though the sin-eater in Wales may not have existed, the mention of him recalls an old practice—namely, smoking in church—which I remember my mother telling me she saw in Wales about 1850. The communion table stood in the aisle, and the farmers were in the habit of putting their hats upon it, and when the sermon began they lit their pipes and smoked, but without any idea of irreverence. I have not seen this practice mentioned in anv book, and though it is not desir¬ able that it should be revived, it seems a pity that it should be forgotten. Some of the readers of Bye-Gones can carry their memories back to 1850. Can they confirm this ? W.O. REPLIES. BEAGLES AT LLYNCLYS (Sep. 11,1895).- Beagles, or trimmers, are large corks with lines