Welsh Journals

May 19th, 1888. CYMRU Fü. 181 antienfc monosyllable mwn, and not unlikely the word numus, also by that kind of transposition of letters said to happen at the confusion of Babel, as thn British word k ashan or husan comes from the Hebrew word nashaìc, and herdded, to walk, from the Hebrew dharae, &c, because tlie eastern nations wrote from the riglit to the left, and we the contrary. (To be continued.) ABERYS TWITH IN 1820.—Perhnps tlie following account of Aberystwith, taken froin- the unpub- lished MS. diary of a gentleman who traveüed through Wales in his own carriage, accompanied by his wife, in 1820, may be interesting as a sup- plement to " Lleian's " account of " Travelling in Wales in 1873 " (April 28):— "Fridaj/, Sept. 27. 1820.—Aberystwith, a pretty town enough, and, I sliould think, a very nice sea bathing place. Plenty of macliines, and a tolerable beach— not sandy, yefc thepebbles are not so large as to be offensive to the feet, as at Sidmouth and Cowes, for instance. There are some good streets, and a range of vcry good-looking, clean, and airy lodging-houses, mostly tliree,and some four.storeys high, facing the sea. At ihe 'Talbot' ourselves,"a very good inn, if they give you, as they did us, rooms at the Castle House, on the shore ; if not, I should think the otliLT inn better, judging frorn outwaid appearance. Ascended the liill to the north of the town—very extensive sea viuw, reaching from the extreme point of land of Carnarvonshire on the right, to Fishguard or St. D.ivid's, in Cardi«aní-hire, on the left, forming a magnificent bay. Tlie tìne range of the lofty summits of the mountains of North Wales bounds the view behind us, and atnong them those of Snowdon and Cacjer Idris are conspicuous. Looking south, an irregular outline of hilly country is seen, but nothing that deserves the naine of mountain, till you reach some points that I suppose to be below Cardigan. Standing on the face of the hill we are now on, the bay, tlie town itself.and the oldcastle, situated on a projecting point of land beyond the town, present a very picturesque appearance. The town is small, of a triangular form, and stands upon a little bay close to tlie beach, with a ftne valley behind, through which the Rheiddol is seei> meandering for several miles. The Ystwith.from which the town takes its name, joins it on tlu other side of the castle, just befoie the unite.. streams fall into the sea. Only a few detachen fruüinentsof thecastleremain. Thereisagoodpublic walk laid out on tlie eminence on which it stands, and a very handsome small castellated house closi to it, erected by Mr. Uvedale Priee, in which wt are lodged. In fact, ultogether, Aberystwith nppears to me a very clean and comfortable ser. bathing place, far superior lo Barmouth, and must be a great convenience as an occasional resort to the inhabitantsof thispartof Wales." Tlie writer then goes on to describe several excursions made in the vicinity of Aberystwith, retnarking that when near the Hafod Arms and Devil's Bridge "they are only now tSept. 27) carry- ing corn here," showing how late the harvestmust have been. On the 28th, " After breakfast took a post-cliais« and went to see what is called the Purson's-bridge, a uarrow wooden bridye oí' a couple of planks thrown over a deep ravine from rock to rock, on the River Rhieddol—the most romantic thing possible." Frora there they '• got into their carriage at a quarter before twelve for Hafod, five miles, but making 22 altogether to Rhayader—four horses for fourteen miles very necessary." Mr. John's house at Hafod was visited and other points of interest. On Sept. 29, '' Excursion before breakfast in post-chaise to Cwm Elen, five miles, and the town of Rhayader," andon the 30tli they amved at Builth, but the full description of all these places would perhaps be too long for insertion here. I may, however, return to the subject which is ínteresting when one considers the clianges time and circumstances have brought about in the different localities named. Gwensnen Gwynedd. Wrexham. QUERIES. FOLK-KHYMES.—In one of his books Ceiriog quotes tliis folk-rliyme: Mae geny' ebol melyn Yn myn'd yn bedair oed, A phedair pedol arian O dan ea bedair troed. Iluweheardsomethingsimilaroften in Carmarthen- shire. But does anyone know of a variant, in which the shoes are two of silver and two of gold ? I have an impression of having heard such a rhyme. Elfed. Rull. REPLIES. STATURE OF THE ANCIENT WELSH(i\ov.5 1887).—I infer from Mr. R. Powell's inquiry as to the height of any of the Welsh Princes that he does not seek information as to the stature of the Welsh much earlier than the period of the Norman conquest,though there is more trustworthy informa- tion available regarding the stature of the inhabi- . tants of Britain unknown centuries before the in- vasion of Ciesar than at the period to which he appears to refer. I may remark in passing that in the disinterments from the " Long Barrows" and " Round Barrows," which have been so ably dealt with by the late Professor Rolleston ("Crania," in Scientijic Papers and Address, by Geo. Rolleston, 2 vols., Oxford, 1884J, he found the heightsof men to vary from 5ft. 6in. to 5ft. 9in., and womeo from 4ft. 8in. to 5ft. lin. This is a greater dispaiity in the comparative statures of the sexes than now exists. The Silures were described as a somewhat short race of people, and I believe Giraldus Cnm- btensis describes the Welsh of liis day as.light,