Welsh Journals

428 BYE-GONES. Sept. 2. 1896. Abbey, of which the wall and some pillars^ of the refectory are the chief remains. The Knights Templars had a chapel here, founded in 1131 by Randle, Earl of Chester. The party then^ fol¬ lowed an old tramway past the end of Watt's Dyke to Holywell. The legend of the well is as follows: In "the seventh century lived Winifred, the daughter of a wealthy noble. She was brought up under the care of her uncle, St Beuno. Cara- doc, prince of Wales,being struck with her beauty, and unable to obtain her hand in marriage, attempted to carry her off. She fled towards the church pursued by the- Prince, and on his over¬ taking her, in his rage, he drew out his sword and cut off her head. The head rolled clown the hill into the church to the foot of the altar. Where it rested the well burst forth. St. Beuno placed Winifred's head on her body, and at his prayer she was restored to life, and lived fifteen years afterwards. The spring head is a fine octagon basin, 29 feet in length by 27 in breadth. A highly ornamented dome, 18ft. high, covers the basin and supports a chapel, now used as a Sun¬ day School. The present fine Gothic building was erected by Henry "VTI. and his mother, the Countess of Richmond. Tho water, which is exquisitely clear, flows from the first basin into a second 42ft. long by 15ft. broad, which is used for bathing. James II. paid a visit to the well in 1686. Leaving the well, the party passed through the town of Holywell, and then by a pretty walk over the hill and through a wood back to the station. From the hill a fine view of the estuary of the Dee Avas obtained. It was very clear, and the Wirral peninsula, the Lancashire coast beyond, and the Blackpool Eiffel Tower were visible. The party returned from Queen's Ferry to Hawarden, had a walk in the park, tea at the hotel, and then returned home by train. There were present, Mrs Barnes, Mrs 11. Barnes, Miss Jtbb, Mr and Mrs Page, the Rev II. M. Clifford, R. B. Faulkner, H. Moody, C. F. Thornew:ll, H. J. Wilcox, and O. M. Feilden. Among the plants found we many mention, Aster Tripolium, Conium maeulatum, Solidago virgaurea, and Melilotus officinalis. THE NIGHT JAR. On Wednesday.August 12,when visiting Black Bank Plantation, Long Mountain,the Woodranger called my attention to a strange bird sitting on a nest on the bare ground. lb turned out to be the Night Jar, and there was one «gg in the nesb. This certainly must be a rare occurrence, as, during my residence in Wales, I have never heard the Night Jar, and I was much surprised to see it. Has its nesting in this locality been recorded before? The nest is being watched and notice will be taken if tho egg is hatched.— W. Riddell, Estate Timber Yard, Powis Castle, Welshpool. SEPTEMBER 2, 18S6. NOTES. WALES AND THE WELSH IN AN OLD TRACT.—Not so long ago I came across an old tract entitled The Chronicle of the Kings of Eng¬ land, written in the manner of the ancient Jewish Historians,by Nathan Ben Saddi, a priest of the Jews, MDGGXL. In it I found two curious references to Wales and the Welsh, which I transcribe for the benefit of readers of Bye- Gones. The first reference was to William Rufus, of whom it was said :— Nevertheless he was a valiant Prince, and he fought against the Welch, and discomfited them, and drove them into the Mountains and conquered the Southern Part of the Country. Whilst the second was to Edward I. ;— And the Lord pitched his Tabernacle in the Heart of King Edward, and he became a great Prince, and was called Longshanks. And he conquer'd the kingdom of Wales, and over threw LeweVen, the King, in Battle, and slew him and cut off his Head and crowned it with Ivy, and set it up on the top of the Tower of London as a Terror to Wales. And great fear came upon all Welchmen. and they submitted themselves unto Edward, and the two Nations became as one people unto this day. Busy B. «AS DRUNK AS DAVID'S SOW."—I copy the following from the British Apollo (1726):— " David Lloyd, a Welshman, kept an alehouse in the town of Hereford, and had a kind of monstrous sow, with six legs, which he shewed to customers as a valuable rarity. This David's wife would often use to make herself quite drunk, and then lie down to sleep an hour or two, that she might qualify herself for the performance of her business. But one day the house was full, and she could find no other place to sleep in but the hogsty where her husband kept the sow above nam'd on clean straw. So she very orderly went in and fell asleep by her harmonious companion. But the sow no sooner found the door upon the jar but out she slipt and rambled to a considerable dis¬ tance from the yard in joy for her deliverance. David had that day some relations come to see him who had been against his marrying ; and to give them an opinion of his prudent choice he took occasion to inform 'em he was sorry that his wife was then abroad, because he would have had 'em seen her. For (says David) surely never man was better match'd, or met with a more honest, sober wifethanlam blest in. They congratulated his good fortune, and were, after a short time, de¬ sired by David to go and see the greatest wonder of a sow that ever had been heard of in the world. He led them to the hogsty door, and, opening it to its full wideness, the first thing they saw was his good wife in such a posture and condition as, upon her starting up and calling David, husband, gave occasion for a hearty fit of laughter and the proverb mention'd." Penanink. THE CASTLE ISABEL OF SHRAWARDINE. The fact that there is at Shrawardine a forti¬ fied post of Saxon date in one of those numerous earthworks, which lie scattered so thickly along the Welsh border, goes far to prove the derivation