Welsh Journals

July 5, 1905. BYE-GONES. 85 very neat manner. This makes the nest look as if it had a lining of cotton wool. The bird adds two or three feathers sometimes,.. On June 9 I found the nest of a Spotted Fly¬ catcher ; it was in a hole of a wall in which a Grey Wagta'l nested last year. I find that suit¬ able holes are seldom without tenants. This Fly¬ catcher nests in various sorts of places, such as in creepers on buildings or in wall fruit-trees, and I once saw one inside the nest of a Song Thrush on a spruce tree i'n .-& plantation. There was a nest resting on an ivy stump against a wall here, which had only a half circle of a nest, the bare wall making up the other half. This was economising materials and time. On June 13 I was pleased to find the nest of the Lesser Butcher Bird, for I have not seen one for severail years. The nest had but one egg m it. This bird is usually late in arriving here as a summer migrant. In "Bye-Gones" for 1895, page 148, I described the peculiar habits this bird has of storing food in larders. It hangs small birds, mice, bees, grasshoppers, etc., on thorns until required for use. Although the bird is only about the size of a sparrow, it willl capture small birds, and three days previously to find;ng its ixsb 1 saw it try (to catch a Whitethiroat on the w;ng. I went this evening to see the nest of the Butcher Bird; much to my surprise I found it empty. I fear the rats found it, for it was away from human traffic, and there were no signs of any feetmairks in liihe hay by it. I was much dis¬ appointed, but I soon found another nest with the bird sitting on four eggs. I have only seen one pair about there, so I think both nests belong to the same birds Thos. Ruddy. The Gardens, Pale, Corwen. June 21, 1905. JULY 5, 1905. NOTES. ADVERTISING OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.—The following, which I recently came across, printed octavo size, in an orna¬ mental border, seems quaint enough for a place in Bye-Gones :— Shrewsbury, February 2, 1775. WILLIAM DALLAWAY, At the Corner of Dog Lane, Opposite Clarimond Hill, Takes this method of informing his Friends and the Public in general that he has now to Hire a new Chaise with Able Horses. Likewise good Stable Horses on the shortest Notice. Those Ladies and Gentlemen who please to patronise This Undertaking their Needs shall be Punctually observed and their Favours gratefully Acknowledged By their Obedient servant, Thomas Dallaway. Shrewsbury : Printed by T. Wood on Pride Hill. W.M. Vol. IA. New Series. [Vol. 18th from thebeginning. THE SIN EATER.—The question of the al¬ leged Sin Eater in Wales has often been men¬ tioned, and discussed, in Bye-Gones. It may be interesting to give the following, from a paper in Folk-Lore (vol. 15, iv.), " Notes from Armenia." The writer, Mr Rendel Harris, visited Archag, an Armenian village, where he attended service: — At the evening service, to my great surprise, I found that when the congregation dispersed, a corpse laid out for burial was lying in the midst of the building. It had, in fact, been brought in before we came, and was to lie in the church in preparation for burial next day. I noticed that two large flat loaves of bread had been placed upon the body. Inquiry as to the meaning of this elicited no other explanation than that the bread was for the church mice and to keep them from eating the corpse. I did not feel satisfied with the explanation. Some months later, on men¬ tioning the incident to some intelligent Ar¬ menians in Constantinople, they frankly admitted that in former days the custom was to eat the bread, dividing it up amongst the friends of the deceased. Whether this is a case of sin-eating I leave Mr. Frazer and Mr. Hartland to decide. W.O. A BRAVE SALOPIAN—I find the follow¬ ing in the Obituary of a magazine of 1807: — At his house in Belmont, Shrewsbury, aged 61, Henry Be van, esq., formerly a Major in the East Indian Service. At the battle of Buxar he first distinguished himself; being then a young Lieu¬ tenant, and second in command of a battalion of Native Troops stationed on the right of the Line, perceiving that his Senior Officer hesitated to at¬ tack a battery placed on an eminence on the Enemy's left, which severely galled our Army, he spiritedly called upon him to do his duty, or give place to those that would. The Officer retired into the rear, and Lieut. Bevan stormed the bat¬ tery with much bravery, and drove the Enemy through a village in the rear of it. His Sepoys dispersing in search of plunder, and the confusion being observed by the Commanding Officer of the Enemy's left, he directed a body of cavalry to fall on our troops, who succeeded in re-taking the battery. Lieut. B. rallied his stragglers, and led them again to attack the battery, which he re- fained, and turned the guns of it upon the inemy. This had no inconsiderable effect in de¬ ciding the fate of the day; and his conduct met the applause it merited, in the orders which the late Sir Hector Munro, who commanded our Army, issued on the field of battle. He was soon after rewarded by the Government with the ap¬ pointment of Major of Brigade. _ During 14 sub¬ sequent years that he continued in India, he was actively employed, and discharged all his duties so as to merit the confidence and approbation of Government and his superior Officers; and quitted the service esteemed by all who knew him. Mr B. was an intelligent, well-informed man; he served the office of High Sheriff for the county of Salop in 1795; and the next year was appointed Chief Magistrate of Shrewsbury. BOKDBRER. 12