Welsh Journals

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July 4, 1906. BYE-GONES 263 growing in Wales, wag much admired. Rod- gersia podophylla, which is difficult to estab¬ lish, was well grown and flowering freely, but the great glory of all seemed to be a large shrub of the Ceanothus azurea, which was covered with a profusion of small light blue flowers. This was greatly and deservedly ad¬ mired. But the Colonel had not shown us all his beauties, for he next produced a magnificent plant of species of Mullein (Verbascum olympi- cum), a pyramidal plant of rare exeelience, six to seven feet in height, and covered with large yellow flowers from top to bottom. In the hothouses were pretty tea-roses, the large Californian bush poppy (Romneya coulteri), the scarce groundsel (Senecio tanganatica), in- earvillea, etc. After such a treat of beauty, the members were refreshed with a substantial meat tea, and, by the way they plied their knives and forks and rattled their cups, it was evident they were enjoy¬ ing themselves. The Colonel, though past his three score and ten, is still hale, hearty, and upright, and walks with an elastic step of which many would be proud. Long may he live to entertain his friends at his charming country home, where he dispenses, with the aid of his good-natured niece, a bountiful Welsh hospitality. After tea, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded the Colonel and his niece for their great kindness. The usual thanks were also tendered the guides for their ser¬ vices, which really consisted of doing nothing but enjoying themselves. As the grass was too wet to carry out the rest of the programme, the members sought in various ways to pass away the time; many of them had a" game at rounders, into which old and young entered heartily, which re¬ minded one of Milton's lines— "And young and old come ia'Ai to play On a sunshine holiday." Others never seemed to tire of ihe gardens, for there was so much to admire, the rock¬ eries claiming much attention, with their pretty and interesting plants of arenaria, au brietia, campanula, erinius, alyssum, dwarf phlox, saxifrage, sedum, etc. The botanists did not think it wise to ramble through wet grass, and the geologists were of the same mind, though they longed to get to a quarry on the estate, where rarities are found, such as starfish, serpulites, polyzoa of sorts, mus¬ sels, etc., all rare, and common bivalves and univalves. The scenery was greatly admired when the clouds rolled by; there was a beautiful fore¬ ground of rhododendrons, azaleas, and of ever¬ green and other trees, with Bala Lake down in the hollow, surrounded by wooded hills and mountain streams, with the Arans beyond. Colonel Evans-Lloyd and his niece were gracious enough to escort the party to the rail¬ way station in the evening ; they also met them on arrival at the station, and, in fact, were guides, philosophers, and friends to the party during most of the day, so that when the train was leaving the station hearty cheers were given for them as they stood on the plat¬ form. The scenery all the way along the valley of the Dee was much admired, and all were delighted with the excursion. JULY 4, 1906. NOTES. FATAL DUEL IN WALES IN 1799.—On Saturday, the 21st ult. (says a newspaper of Oct. 2, 1799), about four o'clock in the afternoon, a duel was fought in afield adjoining Haverford¬ west, between two youths under 20 years of age, the one an articled clerk to an attorney, and the other a tanner's son of that place. Unfortunately the latter was mortally wounded, and expired the next morning, leaving his disconsolate family in a situation bordering on madness. The seconds and surviving party have fled, and have not since been heard of,—We hear the coroner's jury have returned a verdict of wilful murder against the absconding party. E.W. WELSH CUTENESS.—From The Cambrian, March 7, 1806 :—In the course of last week a curious hoax was practised by a simple native of Wales on some of the deep ones in Hereford. It appears that the Welshman had started from his home with eight casks of smuggled brandy, but disposing of his liquor before he reached that city, and still desirous of making some¬ thing of the casks, he procured a small tin flask to be made to fit a stave in the head of each cask, and filled it with brandy ; the rest was supplied by water. When arrived there he quickly met with customers; the mysteries of tapping and tasting were gone through (the Welshman taking care to apply his gimblet to the stave with the flask attached to it), and the purchase completed ; in this manner the child of simplicity pocketed forty guineas for his casks of water, and got clear off before his sapient customers discovered the trick he had played them. To complete the vexation, of course they were obliged to keep silence to escape the Argus eyes of theExcise. Cardiff. Arthur Mee. ATTEMPTING TO PLUNDER A WRECK AT CRICCIETH.—The people of Criccieth, in old days, I believe, had a bad reputation as "wreckers." I find the following in a news¬ paper of Dec. 4, 1799 :— On the 12th instant was wrecked between Pwllheli and Crickeith, in Carnarvonshire, the.