< << < < << < < • < & < « « < <> < « <1 c < < < - c c C Z2)A 13 & J! UNITED STATES OF AMEBIC, ex c < said he, " fy hyfryd waith oedd nesau at orseddfainge y Gras."* " Yesterday, when my mother brought him some flum- mery and wine, he, though tottering with weakness, and not very intelligible before, stood up to ask a blessing, and uttered the following words as distinctly as ever I heard him in my life : " Anwyl Arglwydd ! a gaf fi'r fraint un- * As long as it was in my power it was my delightful employment to approach the throne of grace* APPENDIX. clxXXV waith yn ychvvaneg O nesau O dy fiaen, a Nefaru vvrthyt a deisyf dy fendith. Beth a ddywedaf ? Rhyfedd wyt ti y'mhob peth ty yma I golledigaeth ag uffern. Dysg i mi i ymostwng i dy ewyllys, a dywedyd gyda'r hen Eli, yr Arglvvydd yw efe, gwnaed fel mae da yn ei olwg "* " My poor mother is in great grief, and far from well. I fear she will not long survive him.f " I have proposed selling the Chapel in Water Street, in order to pay his debts. J Have you any objection ? The Methodists have offered £250 for it. The profits of the large Bibles will pay the debt contracted by the small, and £200 more will, perhaps, clear the whole. He has made his will in favour of my mother, of course, and has left all to her for her life, and the remainder at her death to go to David Humphreys § and his children. " I have watched my father night and day ever since I came home, and a more heavenly state of mind I never wit- nessed. It is indeed a privilege to be here. May I profit by it. "'I went on my knees to pray to my dear Redeemer, before my departure,' said my poor father one day, ' but I was so weak that I could scarcely get up.' " A neighbouring clergyman paid him a visit a day or two ago, and the only part of his conversation that savoured of seriousness was advice to my father not to be dejected, or, as he inelegantly expressed himself, ' not to let his heart go down.' * It can't go far, Sir, for there is a Rock wider it,' was my father's comprehensive and emphatic reply. * Beloved Lord ! Should I have the privilege of once more coming before thee, to address thee and to implore thy blessing, what shall I say ? wor- shipful thou art in every thing on this side of perdition and hell. Teach me to bow to thy will, and to say with Eli of old, " It is the Lord, let him do with me what seemeth good in his sight." f She survived him, however, twenty-six years. X He would not have been in debt but for the unfeeling conduct of the Calvinistic Methodists. ^ His son in law. clxXXVi APPENDIX. " The limits of my paper confine me. My next letter, I fear, will bring you bad news. I am yours affectionately, Peter Williams. " " The Rev. Mr. Williams, 213 Oxford Street, London.'' Three days after this letter was written, my grandfather breathed his last. The following is a literal translation of the inscription on his tombstone, in the churchyard of Llandeveilog, Carmarthenshire : " Beneath, lie the remains of the Rev. Peter Williams, late of Gelli Lednais, in this parish. His whole life was devoted to the temporal and spiritual good of his countrymen. He published, for their benefit, three editions of the Welsh Quarto Bible, with Annotations on every chapter. " He also published an edition of an octavo Bible, and a Welsh Concordance ; as well as a number of small tracts ; most of these were in Welsh, for which it may truly be said, he received in return only ingratitude and persecution. " He continued for 53 years a faithful and zealous minister of the Gospel, and died rejoicing in God, his Saviour, Au- gust 8th, 1796, in the 77th year of his age. " For it was not an enemy that reproached me ; then I could have borne it ; neither was it he that hated me, that magnified himself against me ; but they were mine acquaint- ance, with whom I took sweet counsel, and walked unto the house of God in company." Page iv. line 14. " The only daughter of Mr. Morgan Morgans." Of the early history of this estimable woman little is now known. The name of her father, who lived at Gorse, in the parish of Llanarthney, was Morgan Jejikins, and not Mor- gan Morgans as is stated in the Memoir. Her mother was the daughter of a beneficed clergyman, and for those days, was highly educated. She was so well acquainted with APPENDIX. clxXXvii Latin as to be able to examine my father in that language when he visited her in the holidays. She was moreover distinguished for her good sense and piety. My grand- mother also received, what was then considered to be a liberal education ; she inherited the good qualities of her mother, and was eminent in those meek, unostentatious virtues which adorn the Christian character. In short, as a mother, a wife, and a friend, she could not be surpassed. In several very trying circumstances she gave indisputable evidence that she was no unworthy helpmate to her pious and revered husband. Two of her grandsons resided with her at Gelly for some months after their father's death, in the years 1820, and 1821, and they uniformly received from her the attention and kindness of an indulgent mother. As her eyes had latterly become dim, she was fond of having a chapter in the Bible from her husband's edition read out to her, a task which generally fell to the lot of one or other of her grandsons. She seemed to bear constantly in mind the apostolic precept, " Follow peace with all men." She would sometimes express her surprise that at her advanced age she should be spared while others, in her estimation far more useful, had been taken away. " Although I know it is wrong," she would say, " to look behind the veil, yet I cannot help thinking, that I have been left in order to be- friend poor Eliezer's sons." This seemed to be the case; for she provided them with a home, when they had no other asylum ; as soon as they were old enough to go out into the world, she obtained her release. Her death was thus recorded in one of the publications of the day : "March 8th, 1822, departed this life, at Gelly, near Carmarthen, aged 97, Mary, relict of the Rev. Peter Williams, author of the first Welsh Annotations on the Bible. She was a person of an amiable and benevolent disposition, strict integrity, and unaffected piety. Her acts of charity and kindness were numerous, but at the same time unosten- clxxxviii APPENDIX. tatious. In short, she was a Christian in deed as well as in profession. Having had the inestimable privilege of being brought up under the care and superintendence of pious parents, and afterwards of being united to a man of distin- guished talents and eminent piety, her growth in grace and her improvement in every Christian virtue, knowlege, and experience, were known and appreciated by all who had the pleasure of her acquaintance. But what added still greater value to all her Christian graces was this, that her humility, self-denial, and self-abasement were remarkable; and she "counted all things but loss, that she might win Christ," and frequently declared, that, she considered her- self as "less than the least" of all the disciples and fol- lowers of Jesus Christ. She retained all her faculties to the last, and was perfectly resigned to the Divine Will. She was buried in the same grave with her esteemed hus- band, in the churchyard of Llandeveilog near Carmarthen." Page v. line 18. " More than ordinary degree of bodily vigour." A gentleman named Wilson and my father were walking- home, in Essex, one night, when they were suddenly ar- rested in their progress by two powerful men, who de- manded their money and their lives. While the taller and stronger of the two footpads was preparing to use his blud- geon, my father prostrated him with a blow of his fist, which, as was afterwards said, " an ox could scarcely have received without the same humiliation ;" he then closed with his ruffian assailant, who, after a severe struggle of some seconds, was completely subdued. Mr. Wilson was not so fortunate, being considerably inferior in weight and strength ; for he had been overpowered by his antagonist at an early period of the affray, and was now shouting lustily for assistance. My father instantly responded to the call, dragging his prisoner along by the throat. As soon how- APPENDrx. clxxxix ever as he applied himself to the second aggressor, the first made one more desperate effort and got off, leaving his neck- cloth and the flap of his jacket in my father's hands. Page vii. line 11. "To abandon altogether the sports of the field." Another cause, perhaps, that induced him to discontinue field sports was this. He had one day just returned from shooting, and unguardedly brought his loaded gun into the house, and deposited it in an unsafe place, when one of his younger brothers took it up and presented it at his sister, as she was sitting at her work. She providentially stooped down at the instant, and the charge passed over her head and lodged in the chimney piece. The occurrence was attended with nothing more than momentary alarm, but it was never forgotten. Page vii. line 23. " Rev. E. Evans, an eminent Welsh scholar," &c. Mr. Evans was born at Cynhawdref, Cardiganshire, about the year 1730, and was entered member of Jesus College, Oxford, towards the beginning of 1751. After leaving College he officiated as curate in several places, more particularly at Llanfair Talhaiarn, in Denbighshire, Towyn, in Merionethshire ; and Newick, in Kent. He was eminent as an antiquary, a poet, and a divine. He had always applied himself unremittingly to the culti- vation of Welsh literature, and employed much of his leisure in transcribing ancient manuscripts, of which he left behind him about a hundred volumes of various sizes. In the year 1764 he published a quarto volume, which is still in high repute, entitled " Dissertatio de Bardis, " containing specimens of Welsh poetry with translations. His other publications were an English poem called the "Loveofour Country;" several Welsh compositions, which CXC APPENDIX. appeared in " Diddanweh Teuluaidd, " and two volumes of sermons from Tillotson and others, translated by him into Welsh. Having spent the most valuable part of his life in cle- rical and literary pursuits, without being able to procure the smallest promotion in the church, he lost his fortitude, and, melancholy to relate, fell into a habit of drinking, which at times produced symptoms of derangement. This precluded him from every chance of gaining new friends to replace those who ought to have rewarded his merit. He inherited a small freehold in Cardiganshire, which, in order to raise money upon it to support himself at the university, he conveyed over to a younger brother. He died in 1790, # in the 58th year of his age. All the manuscripts and books possessed by Mr. Evans at his death became the property of Paul Paton, Esq. of Plasgwyn, Anglesey, in consideration of an annuity of twenty pounds, which that gentleman had some years before settled upon him. The following anecdote of Mr. Evans has been related to me by a kind and intelligent friend, f who heard it from my father, when he was visiting North Wales in 1814. "While my father was in his study, at Mongewell, one Saturday evening, he observed a tall uncouth figure, with a bag on his back, pass the window. From a peculiar stoop in his shoulders, and the awkwardness of his gait,he thought he somewhat resembled his old friend ' Jeuan Brydydd Hir. " In a minute a knock was heard at the door, and an enquiry made for Mr. Williams ; my father went to the door, the servant considered the stranger too shabbily dressed to be shown into the parlour. It was indeed no other than the great antiquary himself, who was travelling,he said, in search of a curacy. My father was happy to see him, and gave *The Rev. P. B. Williams in his "Tourist's Guide," dates Mr. Evans's death in 1789. t The Rev. Morris Hughes, P. C. of St. Anne's. APPENDIX. CXC1 him that welcome which is so characteristic of ancient Britons when they meet in a foreign land. The next morning Mr. Evans offered his assistance at church, and took part of the duty. After service, my father and his friend were invited by Dr. Barrington to dinner ; and so pleased was the bishop with Mr. Evans's society, that he asked him to dine with him on the following day also. Judge Bar- rington and (I believe) Admiral Barrington, and a large landed proprietor in the neighbourhood, were of the party. The conversation turned upon antiquities and ancient lite- rature. Mr. Evans, after a few glasses of wine, became very talkative and agreeable, and he was listened to with much delight. My father, who well knew his friend's unfortunate propensity, moved off, and the Judge followed, requesting my father to wait a little, as they were all en- chanted with Mr. Evans's conversation; inquiring, at the same time, what could be such a man's history, and that they must have more of his company. The squire's carriage was already at the door to take some of the party away, and they separated. They met, however, once or twice more, and Mr. Evans became more and more the favourite of his new friends. In fact, there were few topics with which he was unacquainted, and with which the power of his great mind could not readily and successfully grapple. " The morning came when Mr. Evans was to take his departure. He looked low and pensive ; and after break- fast asked permission to ' return thanks,' which he did in a most impressive manner. Then, addressing my father, with his hands firmly clasped and his eyes filled with tears, ' I assure you, sir/ said he, ' I know not when, where, or how to get another meal.' He hastily left the house, on his way to London, in search of a curacy ; and my father never saw him afterwards." OXCU APPENDIX. Pa^e xvii. line 19. "Galloway House, June 22, 1785." For the following letters, which, as they chiefly relate to this period of my father's life, seem to find here their ap- propriate place, I am indebted to the kindness of my uncle, who gave them to me a short time before his death : they are illustrative of the interest which my father took in the improvement and the happiness of a brother, to whom, through life, he was most warmly and tenderly attached. "MY DEAR BROTHER, Galloway House, April 27th, 1786. " I am happy to hear you are well, and happier still that you are industrious. Mr, Hughes* gives me room to hope that you are not at College to no purpose. Continue to merit his esteem. He has been led to suppose, from the direction of my letters, which pass through the hands of Lord Gallo- way, who is at present attending his parliamentary duties, that I am in town ; when you have an opportunity, I will thank you to undeceive him. Had I been in London, you, of course, would have been furnished with unquestionable evidence of the fact, as no impediments, excepting such incidents as ' flesh is heir to/ should have prevented me from renewing my acquaintance with the i glistering spires' of our Alma Mater, or have deprived me of the pleasure of your society. " Did you receive my two last letters, one under cover of Lord Galloway, and the other in the ordinary course? I addressed you as ' Commensarius,' by way of distinction ; for, not being very well acquainted with the domestics of the establishment, I was apprehensive, if I had written Batteler, of its being mistaken for Butler. I well remember the rooms in No 3 ; but, pray, do yours face Exeter College, or Jes. Coll. Lane ? I resided myself some time in those opposite the latter. The fewer acquaintances you have the * Afterwards Dr. Hughes, Principal of Jesus College, Oxford. — Editor. APPENDIX. CXC111 better, if you can preserve a cheerful mind. Your reliance on the providence of God will enable you to do this, while the enjoyment of your studies, and your walks amidst the beauties of nature, will supply you with ample food for contemplation and entertainment. Few things require more necessary caution and discernment, or betray more the character of the man, than the selection of what in secular language are called friends. As in the world, so at college, there exist more fools than wise men ; the former are best known by their gay attire, and their unmeaning and affected air in the day time, and by the loudness of their voices, and the extravagance and frequency of their revels at night. Avoid such companions as you would a contagion, and select those who, by their diligence in study, and the integrity of their lives, will minister to your im- provement. I recommend to your frequent perusal the 1 Proverbs of Solomon' and i Ecclesiastes,' which are rich stores of wisdom, and which may be of infinite use to both your temporal and your eternal interest. "Consider that we are placed here by an all wise God, that it is impious and cowardly to desert our station, or murmur at His providence, (remember the waters of Meri- bah !) that it is our duty, whoever falls, to strain every nerve for the protection of ourselves as well as others at the post assigned us. Knowledge and learning, combined with religion, are the best means of being useful in the world ; and, when exercised with a humble and prayerful mind, may be expected to be watered with the heavenly dew of God's blessing. Some great and good man has re- marked that ' study without prayer is atheism/ and that ' prayer without study is presumption.' Make a proper use of the precious time allotted you, and offer daily ad- dresses to the God of all wisdom for the success of your ex- ertions. ' Paul planted and Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.' Complain not of the world, which was a paradise until man polluted it ; but grieve for its inhabi- o CXCIV APPENDIX. tants, and be thankful it is not past redemption. Is it not bought with a Saviour's blood ? and made the road to hap- pier mansions? Is it not the laboratory, if I may so call it, in which we are prepared for better things ? That you and I may be of the blessed number is the fervent prayer of, My dear Peter, your very affectionate brother, "E. Williams." " MY DEAR BROTHER, Galloway House, March 28, 178G. " Your letters of late bear evident marks of rapid improve- ment. Your language is more correct, and your writing considerably neater than it used to be. It is not beneath a man of sense to pay a little attention to these things, indeed it indicates idleness or indifference to neglect them ; the one detrimental to the individual himself, the other slighting to his friends. The external appearance of our letters, as well as our persons, may, without censure surely, be attended to ; the fault is, when, through our solicitude about them, we neglect more important things ; when, to write a fair hand, we are inattentive to what distinguishes us from the illite- rate, the elegance of our diction ; and, when to adorn our bodies, we forget the cultivation of our minds. In your present situation you can hardly bestow too much atten- tion on either of these, provided that attention be in pro- portion to their importance. The improvement of your mind, I feel convinced, you will not neglect ; to facilitate this you will listen with unremitting care to the instructions of your tutors. When unavoidably hindered, you should endea- vour to retrieve the loss by double diligence in your own apartments. Never go to lecture without first studying it over carefully — for the subject is generally known, in order to make yourself master of it ; and while you endeavour to clothe your ideas in the best language, be sure that you ex- press them in a plain perspicuous manner, which, by habit, will soon become natural to you. But do not satisfy your- self with mere attendance on lectures, unless you thoroughly APPENDIX. CXCV comprehend the sense and meaning. Review the instruc- tions in your own mind, peruse some authors on the same subject, and note down the distinctions and omissions, if any, or whatever you may consider as most particularly worthy of recollection, as well as the result of your own reasonings, which, at a future period, you may apply to some use, and improve to further advantage. " The public lectures in hall, in the morning, should like- wise be attended ; and, as you will there be in the presence of many close observers, and, perhaps, of some few juvenile critics, you should be well prepared in case you should be 'put on.' Always provide yourself with the necessary books ; and let no opportunity of improving yourself escape you'. "Be very attentive to quantity, if you would avoid ridicule; use a Gradus at first, and mark the words where you cannot trust to your memory. The better and more scholar-like method will be to practise versification, which, besides making you acquainted with quantity, will give you a taste for composition. You will require a few lines weekly at the end of your theme ; these should be well done, and should bear an epigrammatic turn ; such a book as ' Owen's Epigrams' may be of some use on such occasions, not for the purpose of plagiarism, but for imitation. l Martial,' I suppose, you are master of. Let all your exercises bear marks of industry. If lectured in logic, you should read ' Watts' on that science very attentively ; if in ethics, ' Hutchinson's Moral Philosophy,' and ' Xenophon's Me- morabilia.' You will oblige me much by giving me a specimen of your abilities in Latin composition. Suppose you render Pope's ' Dying Christian' into elegiac verse, and send it to me as soon as you are able. " I am happy to find you in so good a disposition ; your filial affection does you credit. But I hope my poor mother is now resigned, and no longer repines at the dispensations of Providence. John at least, in the absence of ourselves and our good father, is a sympathizing and affectionate CXCV1 APPENDIX. companion. My wishes are often similar to your own in this respect; I eagerly anticipate the period when I may administer to her comfort ; but we must wait the Almighty's own time. The more diligent you are, and the more re- conciled to a college life, and to your loss, the more capable you will be of alleviating the sorrows of your mother, and of adding to the gratification of your friends. We know not how long we may live, and it would be in vain for us to inquire, were it desirable ; it will be enough for us to con- sider the shortness and uncertainty of life, and to bear fruit in proportion to the advantages we have received; not to bury our talents in the earth, not to encumber the ground like barren fig trees, but to bring forth the good fruit of substantial holiness, that we may in due time be gathered as God's wheat into his garner. It is the language of despondency to say, that after all our exertions to attain learning we are not the happier, and we may die disappointed of our hopes. Learning, when exempt from vain conceit, and when founded on Christian humility — otherwise it frequently proves but a curse to the possessor — is one of the means which our Heavenly Father blesses for the benefit of man- kind ; it is the harvest which, well managed, furnishes the most valuable part of man with a plenteousness that may become eminently useful. The husbandman may sometimes find his hopes frustrated ; but must he neglect to commit the grain to the ground because he fears an unfruitful season, or because an unseasonable storm may desolate his fields ? No. He performs his duty of sowing the seed, and leaves the result to a wisdom infinitely higher than his own. Do you therefore, in faith, exercise your talents, of whatever degree they may be, for God knows how to apply them, and 'in due time you will reap if you faint not.' It is our busi- ness to live so as to be useful to others, ' non nobis nati sumus,' and be assured no life is pleasing to the Author of our being but such as is beneficial to man ; it is, above all, our duty, while we are not indifferent to the necessary affairs of life, to be prepared for death as if it were already in view; APPENDIX. CXCVll that is to say, to be always on our watch, like the wakeful sentinel. The 38th No. of the 'Adventurer' is well worth your reading. " Your sense of religious duty will, I trust, impress these things on your mind ; and you will find, that the improve- ment of our hearts is as much more momentous than the cultivation of our minds, as the improvement of the mind is than the decoration of the person ; but I have said the less of this, because you seem to be sensible of what I would wish to say. " Give me a proof of your religious disposition, by bearing with resignation so great a loss as that of an invaluable sister, and by submitting with becoming humility to the dispensations of Providence. No person has had a greater loss in her death than myself, and no one more deeply feels the pangs of separation. The smitten heart will bleed ; the workings of nature will have vent; but I am persuaded that it is incumbent on me to cultivate the disposition of a follower of Christ, and to yield up with gratitude what has been given in love. "I hope that the new objects you daily see will attract your attention, and that the useful and sacred subjects you are studying will heal your mind. If you want money, write to my father, who has some of mine in his hands, and he will send you what you require. I have that opinion of you, that you will not ask for more than is absolutely necessary. Do not be dejected ; assume the man, and act the part of a rational Christian. Let me soon know how you spend your time, and who your companions are : and be ever convinced of the sincerity of, my dear Peter, your very affectionate brother, E. Williams." "P. S. Although I have written more at large than I at first intended, excuse the haste and carelessness with which it has been done." CM'VUI A1M»1.M)1\ "MY DEAR BROTHER, Galloway House, October, 1780. " Your studies, I have no doubt, are prosecuted with your usual diligence and perseverance. The vacation is a favour- able season for cultivating the acquaintance of the muses, and the Bodleian # is not a bad levee room in which to get introduced to them. Your principal object, though, should be to make yourself thorough master of the classics, ex- cellent editions of which you will find in the library. All those of them with which you are not acquainted, should be now perused with attention and with critical nicety. Ancient and Modern History may keep pace with your clas- sical studies, and will form a good hand-maid to wait on the Latin or Grecian muse. ' Rollings Ancient History' (though I have often perused it before) I am now reading, with great pleasure, with my young pupils. In the library you will find among the modern historians, Robertson and Gibbon, both of whom are worthy of your attention. The ' Decline of the Roman Empire' will lead you to the dark ages, and ' Charles V.' will guide you out of them. There is a 'History of Europe in a series of Letters/ which will serve, in some measure, to fill up the chasm between the two. The histories of America and Scotland, by the same author, will afford you much entertainment. I say nothing of the History of England, by Hume and Smollett, taking it for granted that you are now sufficiently acquainted with its interesting contents. Whatever branch of literature you engage in, forget not to study it critically, by availing your- self of every geographical and biographical assistance that may render you familiar with the localities and the indivi- duals to whom reference is occasionally made. To peruse history without good maps is like reading Euclid without referring to the 'pictures/ as a fellow once called geometrical figures. But I have no doubt that you read judiciously, that you conduct your studies in a systematical manner, *Ilis brother was sub-librarian of the Bodleian at this period. APPENDIX. CXCLX and that you do not travel through authors without remem- bering the cui bono — without always having an object in view, therefore what I have been scribbling, in so magiste- rial and pedantic a strain must be to you unnecessary, and must appear little better than the officious interference of paternal regard. " Let me hear from you frequently ; tell me particularly how you proceed sub umbra academi. Your proposal of writing once for my twice is certainly very good, for one letter of yours is confessedly worth two of mine. But you should have heard from me sooner had I not been from home. Two of my pupils and I have been on a tour through the country, and on a voyage round the greater part of the Scottish coast. Among other places we visited the Isle of Man. I would have sent you my journal if I had thought it worth your perusal. "My mind is at present engaged on a subject in which your exertions may be of service to me. I want you to make a search amongst the MSS. in the Bodleian library, as there probably may be some which can elucidate the pedigree of the Stewart family. Lord Galloway has some idea of claiming the title of Duke of Lennox. He is inquiring into the history of his ancestors, as if he had such an object in view. The Duke of Richmond has the title at present • he derives it from a natural son of Charles II. on whom that monarch conferred it. The hereditary right is vested in the remains of the Pretender's family, now at Rome, and after their demise (a period perhaps not very distant), it will revert, as is generally supposed, to the Galloway family. The origin of the family, to give you an idea of what I wish you to inquire into, is, in some measure, Welsh. Fleance, the son of Bancho, fled into Wales, from the tyranny of Shakespeare's Macbeth, and married Nesta the daughter of Griffith ap Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales. The issue of this marriage was Walter, surnamed the Steward, who coming to Scotland and quelling a rebellion in the Isles, with great address, was so well recommended to the CC APPEXDIX. reigning monarch, that he was created steward of that part of the country, and in process of time his descendants were created higli stewards of Scotland; from which official appellation it is conjectured that the present family name is derived. At least many authors suppose so, and Camden among others. Sir John Stewart of Bronkill, a descendant of Walter Steward, had several sons. The second son was ancestor of the Darnley branch of the Stewart family, and of the Earls and Dukes of Lennox, whose male line is now nearly extinct. The third son was ancestor of the Galloway family, to whom the title of Duke of Lennox will revert in case of failure of male issue in the Darnley branch. But one of the descendants # of this son (a son or grandson of his, I believe) left no issue male ; buthis daughter, Marion Stewart, inherited his estate, and married her cousin, John Stewart of Jedburgh, from which marriage, in a direct line, is descended the present Earl of Galloway. The fourth son of Sir John Stewart of Bronkyll, above mentioned, was William Stewart of Jedworth, the father of Sir William Stewart, the father of John Stewart, who married the above Marion, as has been already remarked; I write from memory, and therefore am not certain of Christian names. Now, the question is, whether this last named John Stewart was the eldest son of Sir William Stewart of Jedworth; if he was, the two branches of Galloway and Jedworth are united, and the claim of the Galloway family to the title of Duke of Lennox is incontrovertible. " I have, at my Lord Galloway's request, drawn up an account of the family from the books in this library. The authors I consulted were ' Douglas's Peerage of Scotland/ the 'Rudiments of Honour,' ' Nisbet's Heraldry,' and 'Anderson's Genealogical Tables.' His Lordship seemed pleased with my manuscript, as far as it goes; but it is merely a sketch. If you can find any manuscript among * Sir Walter Stewart of Dalswinton, son of Sir John Stewart. Debrett's Peerage. APPENDIX. CC1 Dudley's collections, Rawlinson's, or any other in the Bod- leian, or Jesus College library, upon the subject, you will oblige me much by transmitting me a short extract. Some old deeds of gift to religious houses, by the introduction of an individual's name and lineage, may assist you a little, if such can be found. But perhaps you will exclaim with Sidney, I am no herald to inquire of men's pedigrees, it sufficeth me to know of their virtues. However, write soon, and herald or no herald, I remain your ever affectionate brother, "E. Williams." " Mr. Peter Williams, Jesus Coll. Oxon. " MY DEAR BROTHER, Galloway House, Jan. 22, 1787. " You are now, I suppose, as deeply engaged as ever, as I find your term has commenced. I cannot, therefore, hope to hear much at length from you. However, if you can steal just ten minutes from your more profitable engagements, — and mark, this will be no crime, for ' procrastination' only l is the thief of time' — even a few lines will be acceptable, merely to inform me that you are well, and that you have not for- gotten me. I am gratified to learn that you have made some progress in the mathematics, as you will not find it so advantageous to attend lectures on natural philosophy until you are a tolerable proficient in them. The solution of many problems in physics requires a competent knowledge of Geometry and Algebra; a portion of what you hear will be lost upon you unless you are acquainted, in some degree, with those sciences. Should you attend Hornsby on astro- nomy, a decent knowledge of trigonometry will be requisite; my opinion is, therefore, that you had better defer becoming one of his pupils, until you. are possessed of those prelimi- nary branches of learning which may enable you to leave him with advantage. I know not whether Williamson delivers lectures at present on Euclid, trigonometry, &c. In my time he was attended in a room under the museum CCU APPENDIX. by a very considerable number of pupils, and he varied his subjects every term. If he do not, perhaps somebody else may still read public lectures upon those and similar sub- jects. You had better inquire: and if you find them at present in any repute, two or three preparatory courses may be useful before you attend at the observatory. " With regard to the accommodation of your time to these courses, you might make such amicable arrangements with your fellow-librarian as may be suitable to each of you, whenever the hours of lecture may clash with those of your other occupation. But I enter on these subjects merely be- cause you seem to have an inclination that way ; for my own part, I would rather that your time and attention were de- voted to the classics the first years, for if a thorough know- ledge of the Greek and Roman authors be not gained while you are young, it will never be acquired. With regard to the sciences, men have been known to make a considerable progress in them at a more advanced age. Lay a solid foundation of classical literature, and you will find no diffi- culty in constructing an edifice excelling in usefulness and beauty. The formation of a style, the habit of composing and the knack of versifying ought not to be out of your mind at present; you are of an age to attend to them now with advantage ; but if you neglect them, it will soon be too late in life to think of them with any hope of success. You cannot, therefore, be too attentive to the subjects generally recommended to young men by the custom of the university during the first years of their residence. Your Ciceronian composition gratified me much, as it was an essay in the very course I would humbly chalk out for you. I wish now to have a sample of what you can do in the poetical way ; you have long promised me a translation from Pope — when am I to expect it? But I would not break in upon your time. I know how attentive you are to your tutor, and I commend you for it. Do not miss any of his lectures upon any consideration. However, when you have a spare half hour, let me hear from you. Can you APPENDIX. CC1U find anything on the subject mentioned in my last ? Adieu. « — Write soon to your affectionate brother, «. E. Williams." " MY DEAR BROTHER, Galloway House, Feb. 19, 1787. " As you have not favoured me with a letter for some time, you will allow it is natural that I should be anxious to hear from you. My friends at home are equally remiss, no account having reached me from them since November last ; this circumstance adds to my anxiety. If you are in the blessed enjoyment of health and happiness, I shall have no just cause to repine. But some intelligence, however brief, of yourself, John, and my dear parents, will be the means of relieving my mind of a load of uneasiness. ". Have you been able to hit upon anything relative to the Stewarts yet ? In the l Notitia Monastica/ a book pub- lished by Tanner, you will find old charters of lands, &c. given to monasteries and religious houses in ancient times. There were several in the southern part of Scotland, such as Melross, Dryburgh, Jedworth, &c. As witnesses to those deeds, and sometimes as donors, the name of the persons I am inquiring after occasionally occur. The period about which I am most at loss for information is from the year 1340 to the year 1400 ; and the individuals I am most desirous of being acquainted with are Sir Wil- liam Steward, or William Seneschallus, of Jedburgh, sheriff of Teviot-Dale about the year 1390, and his son Sir John Stewart or Steward, who married Dame Marion Stewart, of Dalswinton and Garlies, A. D. 1392. What I want to prove is, that Sir William Steward was son of Sir John Steward of Dreghorn and Crookstone, son of Sir Alexander Stewart of Darnley, ancestor of the Earls and Dukes of Lennox : and Sir John Stewart of Jedburgh, who married Dame Marion, daughter and heiress of Sir Walter Stewart, of Dalswinton, was his eldest son. Could this be effected, I should be able to make out what I want. Pardon me for thus troubling you with so many uninteresting particulars ; CCIV APPENDIX. but I imagined that, by entering into some of the minutiae, you would be better able to furnish me with the information required. Inclosed are a few proofs that I have procured of the existence of the above named individuals from Rymer's Fcedera, which you have in the library, and which I regard as unquestionable authority. If you can add to it any corroborating particulars from ' Tanner's Notitia,' 'Dugdale's Baronage/ Tanner's MSS. in the Picture Gallery, or Dug- dale's, &c. MSS. in the Gallery Tur. Bib. Bod. you will be rendering me essential service. You may confine your in- quiry to half a century, from A.D. 1350 to 1400. I should think you might find something, while you are already in the library, without much trouble, especially as you are thus told nearly the date of the papers you are to examine. Particularize the document in which you happen to meet with such names, and give me a short extract from it, together with the No. of the vol. and page, if the book be in print, or the No. and title of the MS. if unpublished. Yours most affectionately, "E. Williams." Galloway House, " MY DEAREST BROTHER, March 26, 1787. " Your letter, like most things connected with you, afforded me much pleasure. After so long an epistolary interval, I was doubly happy to find that you were well, and doing well. I have lately received a communication from home too, and my father has been so good as to favour me with two or three lines, although only in form of a postscript to John's letter; but they conveyed the agreeable intelli- gence of the welfare of all friends, and I am satisfied. " With regard to visiting Wales next summer, it is as yet a matter of considerable uncertainty. It has been talked of, but not fully resolved on. For my own part, I think it may as well be deferred till you come to relieve me, for I am still of opinion that your best plan will be to succeed me here as soon as your college education is completed. Moreover, it may be of no disservice to you, whatever line APPENDIX. • CCV of life you may choose to pursue. And here allow me to repeat that, with regard to your future prospects, I leave the subject entirely to your own judgment and inclination, as you ought to be best acquainted with the bent of your own mind. I will not oppose your entering the church, if you prefer it ; but this requires serious deliberation, deep study, and much prayer : for it is an office of the greatest responsibility and importance — a function which, I fear, too many in the present day most odiously embrace from mercenary motives, forgetting the great ends of the pro- fession, and the solemn account which they must give of their charge to the Chief Shepherd of souls. My opinion is, therefore, that you had better defer it for some time ; it will divert your attention from your present pursuits, dis- arrange the whole order of you studies, and, in some mea- sure, retard your progress in life. As a student, the classics and the elegance of composition, in prose and verse, should be, next to your Christian duties, the main objects of your industry. Afterwards the sciences, such of them as are likely to be of seryice to you on your admission into the senior class, and on your application for your degree, such as logic, rhetoric, and ethics. The acquisition of these is not difficult, nor devoid of interest; neither will they prove useless when you enter upon the world. Were you to think at present of the clerical profession, all these must vanish, ' like the baseless fabric of a vision/ to make way for the more solid and sacred structure of theology. " I thank you for the little specimen you sent me of your poetical abilities. If the lines be not correct, they evince that you are not very far from arriving at the formation of a verse. Complain not of the muses. If you can address them with resolution and perseverance, they will be pro- pitious enough to you to aid you, so far as you require, in your academical exercises. They are always favourable to the bold, though they may sometimes reasonably look shy on the irresolute and timid. And if they are not, you must make them so. CCV1 ' APPENDIX. " I hope you are happy where you are, and have every thing you want ; if not, let me know, and every effort in ray power shall be made to assist you. Write soon. May every blessing attend you both here and hereafter. With this prayer I subscribe myself, my dearest brother, yours most affectionately, " E. Williams." " Mt DEAR BROTHER, Galloway House, Nov. 3, 1787. "The good report of your health, and the manner of your employment gratified me much. If your time is profitably engaged, I have no doubt it is spent agreeably. I am sin- cerely concerned at the account of my poor mother's indis- position ; my desire of being able personally to comfort her is at present of no avail : but I trust she is now re-estab- lished in her health : while we all are consulting our respec- tive interests, I much fear she has by far the most trouble- some and the most anxious lot. My father says nothing of his intended publication ; I trust it is in a state of for- wardness, and that he will soon get rid of the laborious engagement. " In addition to what I have already written respecting your studies, I would wish you to subscribe to some circu- lating library, ' Wood's ' in High Street, for instance, where you may find some instructive and entertaining works ; for whilst you are labouring to enrich your mind with the golden stores of ancient learning, you should not neglect the perusal of the writings of a more modern date, which will not only entertain but open and dilate your understanding, as well as supply it with a valuable fund of proper images and expressions : but beware that you distinguish between such works as serve only for amusement, and those which are conducive to solid and permanent improvement. " It was only with a view to your own ease and indul- gence that I presumed upon the possibility of your missing the present Michaelmas term, supposing you would not require it, as you had already kept two ; however, as you APPENDIX. CCV11 are arrived at college, it may be for the best. I wish you much success at your expected examination : but perhaps you would have shone to greater advantage if you had de- ferred it till you had made a greater progress in your studies. I long much to see you, and have some hopes that we may contrive to meet next summer. Possibly I may come into the country ; should this be impracticable, I have some prospect of your being able to visit Scotland, if agreeable to you. Believe me, nothing would afford me greater enjoy- ment than the society and conversation of my dear brother : there are a thousand little things I would wish to ask, and a thousand things I would wish to say, which cannot so well be committed to writing ; and last, though not least, I anticipate much pleasure from finding you in every way improved. " I have troubled you with the outlines of my short tour in Ireland this summer : I sent it to the country, imagining you were there. Should it reach its intended destination, I hope you will pardon the hurry in which it was scribbled. Possibly some of our letters may miscarry; but fortunately for those written on my part there will be no great loss, they are written in such a manner and in so short a time, that if they are not lost, I must request you will commit them to the flames as soon as read. Indeed, I should be happy to hear from you oftener ; and if you knew how much engaged I am, you would not stand so much on punctilios, but would write whenever you had time, and that without the least reserve, if you loved me. What would you think of spending the winter at college ? The reason why I ask the question is this — the family here have some intention of pro- curing a person to assist me, as they say I have too much to do. It is only on condition that I approve of it : should the proposal be made, would you like me to mention your name ? In my opinion, it would be no bad move; for besides the valuable advantages that would accrue to you in a variety of ways, it would be a favourable opportunity of our meeting, and spending a few months very happily CCVlll APPENDIX. together. Should you approve of the proposal, let me hear from you soon. All I think most necessary on your part would be writing and drawing. My predecessor boasted of these qualifications, and I am deficient in them. As I am not inferior to him, that I know of, in other particulars, this has not been hinted at as a deficiency; but I feel it would add to our weight if you could pick up these accom- plishments. As to the former, you may go to W — as a school-boy once more ; and I will write to Mr. Burgess to give you copies in private, whenever it should be agreeable to yourself, and convenient to him. In six weeks during the Christmas vacation, you might do much. As to the latter, you might get a master at Oxford during the spring without interfering much with your other lectures. Besides the present benefit of which the acquisition of this accom- plishment may be to you, it will improve your taste for the picturesque objects of nature, as well as heighten your relish for fine paintings, half of the beauties of which are often lost to us, owing to our utter ignorance of the common rules of drawing. I calculate the expense at seven guineas ; a guinea on entrance, and one every twelve lectures ; in three months you would make considerable progress. My father would not object to it, surely, on my writing to him and explaining matters: even if he should, depend upon my assistance. But acquaint me with your sentiments in the meanwhile. It is said of Zeuxis and Parhasius, two cele- brated painters of antiquity, that, in a contention for the palm of priority, when they had produced their respective subjects, the birds came to pick the grapes which the former had painted ; and that on the latter exhibiting his piece, Zeuxis desired the curtain should be raised that he might see the painting! The curtain happening to be the painting, Zeuxis' acknowledged himself conquered. Al- though I shall not expect you to rival these masters of the art, you may, probably, attain sufficient for your purpose. Write soon, and believe me ever your affectionate brother, " E. Williams." APPENDIX. CCIX "MY DEAR BROTHER, Galloway House, Nov. 7th, 1787. ** Your interest is ever near my heart, and did I know what course would be the most agreeable and advantageous to you, I would not hesitate to seize the opportunity of ex- erting myself in your behalf. Every man has a bias towards some line of life or other, and he will best succeed in that line to which his inclination leads him, of what that may be he is himself the best judge. " The suggestions I dropped to you formerly on a similar subject, were occasioned by some hints thrown out by my father. It was natural for me to wish to promote your hap- piness, and to do so in the way he thought most eligible. I acknowledge that it has its difficulties, that it requires much time to mature our plan, and that after all it may not suc- ceed. The expense will be certain, and the returns at any rate very precarious. Your age would add to the inconve- nience of waiting ten years, and labouring twenty, in a profession in which you would have so many able compe- titors, and by which you might at last perhaps find it diffi- cult to earn a tolerable subsistence. Had you a certain independence, in case of disappointment, it would lessen the difficulty ; as it is, I can only say that you may call all I have yours as long as I live; and if you would prefer run- ning so great a risk of labour and time to a less harassing and more certain pursuit you will find in me every wished for assistance. But as at your time of life you would naturally wish to settle and be of some consolation to your parents sooner than you possibly could by following so laborious and uncertain a profession, I beg leave once more to submit it to your own choice ; either way you may de- pend on every aid both monitory and pecuniary within the range of my means. However, you will do well seriously and solemnly to weigh the matter in your mind ; foralthough, as I have always said you might take sanctuary in the church when every other prospect failed, I do not mean to P CCX APPENDIX. exclude from your view the vast importance and responsi- bility of the ministerial functions, or that your judgment should be at all swayed by any other motives than such as the standard of truth demands. Those who flee to the altar, as an asylum from poverty and labour, must, in their deplorable ignorance of the duties of a Christian minister, possess a strangely inadequate and erroneous idea of the sanctity and importance of the employment. " I approve of the course you are about to adopt, because I perceive from your letters a correct notion of the subject, and something like an inclination to come to some settled mode of life. You are very good to leave it to my choice ; it would be abusing so much goodness to put the slightest degree of force on your inclination. I did not apprehend that an irresolution in your choice of a profession would retard your progress in your studies; your academical travels might advance you equally towards both, and when you had reached the goal, determine finally on your future pursuits. 1 Hie locus est, ubi se via findit in arabas/ However, as it is, it would be safest and most judicious to accept Mr. Hughes's kind offer, and then you will have nothing to look to but one uniform line of study. In case you close with this, you may disregard the hint suggested to you in my last, as your time will be otherwise and better occupied now. " I am, my dear brother, yours most affectionately, "E. Williams." " MY DEAR BROTHER, "Galloway House, June 2nd, 1788. " I lately received from home a double letter, in which my father and John joined to give me no unfavourable account of the state of things in Water Street. From some hints they throw out, I conjecture I am indebted to you for the plea- sure of hearing from them : accept my thanks, then, for the greatest satisfaction I have received for some time, APPENDIX. CCX1 as it is three or four months since a letter from that part of the country reached me. I much fear my dear mother has been sorely afflicted, however, it is consoling to think she is so much better. John seems mightily pleased with his prospects, and, like Alnascher of old, is already dis- posing of his fund of riches ; but I trust he will not re- semble his prototype throughout, and kick up the basket which is the foundation of his anticipated grandeur ; that he is reconciled to his situation and in the enjoyment of much happiness is a source of gratification to me, as few things would please me more than his prosperity : but I should have thought him more likely to succeed in a more elevated station ; however, it is preferable that he should follow his own inclination, and if he be satisfied with his choice, I am sure I am. " When you next write to Pritchard, please to present my compliments to him, and inform him that a line from his pen will be most acceptable when he has nothing better to do. You are right to keep up your correspondence with him ; it will afford you much entertainment, and he is a very worthy fellow. " With regard to your request in favour of your friend, I must at once come to an issue, and give you a refusal. I trust you are persuaded that nothing would afford me more real pleasure than an opportunity of obliging you, but in this case I am exceedingly sorry it is quite out of my power. I have not yet been introduced to the Bishop of St. David's, and before I am known, were I in his diocese to grant a title which would eventually prove a fraudulent one, it might very justly prejudice him against me. Besides, to give a false title, and solemnly to assert it as a fair one, is an execrable crime, and not j ustifiable by any palliation that can be offered. It is owing to this sinistrous practice that so many vagrant clergy, especially from our own country, flock to England in search of employment, to the disgrace of the profession ; indeed it has become so notorious, that nothing short of episcopal interference can remedy the evil. CCX11 APPENDIX. As early as the fifth century this corruption had crept into the church, and in the council of Chalcedon, it was so in- dignantly and justly condemned, that the orders of all thus fraudulently ordained were declared null and void ; and themselves, to the reproach of those who so ordained them, were declared incapable of performing any clerical duties. The giver of the title commits a fraud, with the aggravation of setting a bad example ; and the receiver enters on his ministry with a lie in his mouth, exhibiting at once his un- fitness for the office, as well as the little reason he has to hope for God's protection and blessing in the pursuit of his labours. In short, it is a perfect prostitution of holy things. You not only know my sentiments on this subject, but, I trust, see it in the same light, and I cannot persuade myself but that your kindness of disposition got the better of your judgment. F — made me a similar request last year, and I entreated him not to tempt me again to such dereliction of duty, and I hope you will grant me the same indul- gence. " I trust your study of men and books, as well as every attention to personal and mental improvement, are advancing rapidly, especially such studies as are subservient to the great ends of the ministry : cultivate an acquaintance with all the pious and useful clergy. Let me know what society you enjoy, and what authors you read, and write as soon as you can to, my dear brother, yours most affectionately, "E. Williams." " DEAR BROTHER, Galloway House, Sept. 3rd, 1789. " Immediately on the receipt of your letter I wrote to my father and requested him to send you what you say you have received. It was not in my power to assist you this time ; that circumstance, together with the number of my engage- ments, prevented my communicating with you sooner. Par- don me if I may appear to have been negligent, so far was it from this, that you have hardly been out of my thoughts. APPENDIX. CCXIU I was much mortified at my inability to serve you, but as I find you have had the required assistance, I can \yrite to you with greater satisfaction. " Let me hear oftener from you, my dear brother, and credit me when I tell you that every letter which brings me favourable intelligence of you, brings me real pleasure. I leave this place very early to-morrow for Netherby, the seat of Sir James Graham, son-in-law to the Earl of Gallo- way ; two of my pupils accompany me on a visit to their sister. The place is near Longtown, within ten miles of Carlisle, and almost a hundred from Galloway House. So, until you hear to the contrary, enclose your letters, as usual, to the Earl of Galloway. " I am persuaded you are not idle, for you must be con- vinced that nothing can be more contemptible than an idle clergyman. The wretched expedient, to which ignorance so often drives laymen, of introducing dogs and horses, and other frivolous subjects, and sometimes such as are less harmless and gentlemanly, to keep up what is called the spirit of conversation, should be of itself a most powerful reason to all for cultivating the mind : but a clergyman should always stand on higher ground, and should qualify himself as a fit companion for persons of sense and know- ledge, and as a pattern of learning, morality, and usefulness. The man who ought to know most ought certainly to be the most diligent ; and he who assumes the task of teaching others ought of course to know most himself. History, sacred and profane, next to divinity, claims the first place. With the study of the Scriptures comes in the study of the fathers, especially those of the three first centuries. Having made yourself acquainted with the knowledge of primitive antiquity, apply yourself to the writers on more modern history, such as Rollin, Gibbon, Robertson, &c, who, in connexion with some of the best theological writers, such as Pearson, Stillingfleet, Barrow, &c. w 7 ill furnish you with a rich variety of learning and reasoning, and will add con- siderably to your usefulness in your public functions. CCXIV APPENDIX. " Most books of consequence perhaps you may borrow from any of the country gentlemen in your neighbourhood, who sometimes consider it a compliment paid them to con- sult their library, but smaller and less costly works, those for constant use, you may purchase. " When studying history you should have a set of correct maps and good chronological tables before you ; for what signifies a confused heap of facts if you are ignorant when and where they happened. It is like the author who writes of the King of Bohemia's walking out one day by the sea side, when unfortunately it turns out there is no sea within some scores of miles of Bohemia. " With regard to your mathematical studies, you had better get Bonnycastle's Treatises on Arithmetic and Algebra; they may be procured for three shillings each ; or Vyse will do for the latter, as there is a key ; and you will find it less puzzling at first to have the sums ready worked to your hand. Although this is a noble science, and admirably adapted for fixing the attention of the student, besides supplying him with various rules relating to the arts of life, I would not recommend your applying yourself to it now unless you are considerably advanced in that branch of it which pertains to quantity, for it will interfere too much with more important things. But of the portion of it, technically called mechanics, hydrostatics, pneumatics, &c, which elucidate the nature and laws of motion, the power of fluids, the properties of earth and air, &c. no edu- cated man should be ignorant; while it enlarges the mind, it tends to excite our adoring gratitude to the great and beneficent Being, who is the author of those stupendous works of heaven and earth. " Be always intent on intellectual improvement. Let the first six hours of the day be sacred to study, then, by way of recreation, call on your parishioners, and visit the sick : and some part of the evening you may perhaps devote to good company, when you can find it, and improve it to some useful purposes. But a clergyman should never go to APPENDIX. CCXV a public inn, even for the society of an archbishop, unless on a journey, or unless some urgent occasion demands; and then he should remain no longer than that occasion requires. " I may possibly get away to see my friends next winter or spring, but I do not think it right to leave the family unless you were to succeed me ; of this you know your own inclination best : and from a letter written to you some time ago, you may form a guess what qualifications are necessary: it would afford me great happiness to oblige you, but I am anxious not to press you either way against your own bent. To-morrow will be my first journey this year. It is very late, and I must be up early. Adieu, dear brother, believe me ever yours, " E. Williams." " MY DEAR BROTHER, Galloway House, June 19th, "Though the dissolution of parliament has put an end, for the present, to the privilege of sending letters under cover, I entreat it may not prevent your writing, as I shall be impatient to hear from you. Excuse my troubling you after having so lately despatched a long epistle, but I feared that the intermission of franking might deprive me of the pleasure of your correspondence. " I trust you pass your time usefully and agreeably, un- mindful neither of your studies nor of your health. I cannot help thinking that a more methodical and extensive plan of reading and composing might be found profitable as well as entertaining. Suppose, for instance, you peruse Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History with attention, and Jor- tin's Remarks on the Study of the Fathers, &c, making your own observations on such passages as strike you most. What would you think of exercising your pen by condensing and modernizing Burnet's Exposition on the Thirty-nine Articles, or Archbishop Usher's Body of Divi- nity ? might they not be brought, at your leisure, to such a degree of perfection as, in process of time, to admit of CCXV1 APPENDIX. being published with credit and advantage to yourself, as well as benefit to the lovers of religion and learning? or perhaps it would be a more useful and less tedious exercise to write short annotations on various portions of the Scrip- tures, after the manner of Poole, but with the accuracy and elegance of Blair, if you could by dint of application make yourself master of his style. " Let me know the object of your present pursuit, and the usual direction of your studies. The classics, remember, should not merely be read through, but be weighed with great care until you have made yourself master of the senti- ments they contain, especially Cicero's Philosophical Dis- courses, Persius's Second Satire, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, 'cum multis aliis quse nunc perscribere longum est.' These are amongst the best of heathen writers, and contain many valuable instructions that should not be passed over too lightly. " I hope you are by this time tolerably well acquainted with the lower branches of mathematics. If you can come to take my situation for a season you will find here a good collection of philosophical instruments, a good pair of globes, and an extensive library. As to divinity, I forget whether I recommended to your perusal Dr. Hammond's Practical Catechism, Dr. Prideaux's Connection of the Old and New Testament, and Dr. Newton on the Prophecies. These will certainly assist you much, and will put you into a fresh track of thinking ; but pay the most attention to the word of God itself, without note or comment, let that be your Polar star, remembering, that, ' Dulciiis ex ipso fonte bibuntur aquse.' Should I die before you, you will find a few sermons amongst my papers, which I will thank you to see corrected and polished, and (should you think proper) published by some respectable London bookseller. Should the Almighty spare my life, I may enlarge and revise them myself. But you need not take any notice of this now. Write soon. Any particularly literary intelligence from Oxford will be acceptable. What new publications API>EXDIX. ccxvn are talked of most ? What is the general opinion at present of White and his coadjutors V Yours affectionately, "E. Williams." " MY DEAR BROTHER, Galloway House, Oct. — , 1790. " Your letter would have been acknowledged sooner, but for my absence. I have been for some weeks sojourning in Edinburgh, ransacking old books, papers, and parch- ments, and am only just returned. I was present during the election of the Scotch peers, and had a good oppor- tunity of observing the whole ceremony. I regret to say Lord Galloway was not successful ; however, he is pretty certain of his seat, and should he ever fail in obtaining it, which is not expected, it will not matter much, as he will soon be made an English peer. " My thanks are due to you for your literary information. As I regularly see the monthly publications, I had read an account of the particulars you mention respecting Oxford. Mr. Croft is the person engaged in compiling an English dictionary. Afx,aiou$ is tne word in Joseph us which Mr. Huntery affirms to be applicable only to such foundations as were decayed and worn out through the injuries of time; while Mr. Burgess asserts that the foundations are called Afx°"oug in consequence of their removal, and in opposition to the Er£foi, or new ones. ' Who shall decide when doctors disagree?' It was reported that Dr. Owen had some in- tentions of publishing the Septuagint with various readings. In my opinion he would have executed it better than Monkhouse ; and I rather wished it for the honour of our college. " I shall always feel obliged for any literary news from the university or elsewhere, that you may pick up. I see something of the kind, it is true, in the periodical publica- tions, but you may hear many an anecdote that may not reach the public eye. Although my time is too much oc- cupied to join in the chase, (to use a sporting metaphor) I love to hear of the diversion, and the adventures of the CCXV111 APPENDIX. game may amuse, while an intention of engaging in the pursuit may not exist. " With regard to the £400. appropriated to your living, you cannot do better than lay it out in the purchase of land on good security, if any such should offer in your immediate neighbourhood. It is your duty, as a faithful steward to your successor, to exert yourself while in pos- session of the incumbency, to improve the value of it; and the trustees of Queen Anne's Bounty will be much better pleased, and will be more likely to think of Swinburn again, when they hear that the last donation has been so well ap- plied. In fact, an investment of money in the funds is not agreeable to their wishes ; for they are of opinion, and very justly so too, that a good and eligible purchase in land may benefit posterity, while the grant lying out at interest benefits only the existing proprietor. You had better send, as soon as convenient, an account well attested of your living, its duties, its annual value, &c, and your applica- tion will be punctually attended to in some shape or another. I need not tell you, that if any gentleman will give a sum towards the augmentation, the trustees will double that sum. My interfering would be of no avail, because they will as readily attend to your representations, and you may depend upon being aided in your turn, that is to say, whenever it falls to your lot. I am certain, as I told you before, of every assistance that can be given, but as that is no more than what you can procure, why should I put myself under an obligation ? My doing anything respecting Price will not at present be feasible, but you shall hear from me on the subject another time; in the meanwhile rest assured that your interest is not overlooked. " The eldest of my pupils* has left me for Berlin, ac- companied by the messenger from the British court; so that I was spared so long a journey at this season of the year, though I dare say I should have enjoyed myself * The Hon. William Stewart. APPENDIX. CCX1X much. He, poor fellow, seemed a good deal disappointed. I regret his departure, as he was of an age and disposition that enabled and prompted him to render study and appli- cation both entertaining and instructive. He had com- menced reading the higher classics with facility, and to converse on literary subjects with considerable propriety. He has written me a letter from Vienna, in which letter he expresses himself with a degree of gratitude and a warmth of friendship that has quite charmed me; and, as if the bare acknowledgment did not suffice, he must give me an additional proof of his sincerity by presenting me with ' Bruce's Travels to Abyssinia.' He is intended for the diplomatic and the military profession, which accounts for his being sent at present to Germany. " Much credit is due to the Bishop of St. David's,* for his very salutary regulations respecting candidates for orders. Too much caution cannot be used, and too much en- couragement cannot be given to men of real piety and learn- ing, especially in these times when the enemies we have to contend with are so numerous, vigilant, and able. I have a high opinion of him as a man, and as a scholar, as a divine, and as a controversialist, of which he has exhibited fresh proofs by his very able replies to Dr. Priestley. I have recently been reading his tracts, in answer to some restless innovator who would have the beautiful service of our church altered. He is suspected of having written the ' Apology for the Liturgy/ " The author, whoever he may be, defends our establish- ment cleverly, and vindicates our present translation of the Bible. He seems to agree with you in his opinion of Ken- nicott's performance. ' I would not be wanting/ says he, * in respect for his veracity and diligence ; but let me have leave to say, it has not been seen that religion or learning has been much the gainer by his collations/ Adieu. Write soon, and let me know what there is new, especially in your * Dr. Horseley. CCXX APPENDIX. religious and literary atmosphere. My duty, love, and compliments where due. Yours affectionately, " E. Williams." " P. S. A letter from my father has this instant been de- livered to me. He and all the family are well. He has just completed his edition of the Bible,* and seems in good spirits on the occasion. I mention this circumstance as I am persuaded it will afford you as much pleasure as it docs me." Page xxvii. line 27. " We will deserve it." " It is not in mortals to command success, But we'll do more, Sempronius, we'll deserve it." Addison's Cato. Page xlix. line 24. " Hints to Females in High Life." What grateful pleasure to revolve the page Which pictures woman's charms in every age, Tells us of all that Greece or Rome adored, Of the famed consort of Palmyra's lord, Of Arria's spirit, Agrippina's birth, Calpurnia's virtue, and Sextilia's worth, The realms Valvaria lost, or Fausta won, Or sad Octavia's sorrow for her son ; Admits us candidly, in each, to view The proper weight of praise or censure due ; What Prudence ever cautiously employ'd, Or here would imitate, or there avoid ; For faithful history, the fair one's friend (Pleasure the means, utility the end) Selects from each example what diverts, And Virtue's empire o'er the heart asserts. * The Welsh Edition of Canne's Bible with marginal notes. APPENDIX. CCXX1 But thus, while history the fair would guide, Two beauteous sisters sparkle at her side ; Who each relation with precision grace, While one the period marks, and one the place ; This boasts the memory, to note the time When brave Masistas perish'd in his prime, While his wife's virtue sanctified his crime ; When chaste Panthea's purity was tried, When Sappho wrote, or Mariamne died ; When fair Roxana the arms of Beauty hurl'd, And vanquish 'd him who vanquish'd all the world ; That knows to trace, with accurate design, Each spot where laurels female brows entwine ; Where the stern mother bade her son return His buckler safe, or on a buckler borne ; Where Telesilla every danger braved, Her sex ennobled, and her country saved; Where Clelia shew'd, while struggling with the stream, Freedom and Virtue then were but the same ; Where Agarista rear'd the well taught boy, The muse's nursling, and the artist's joy ; Where Artemisia's wondrous tombs afford A proof, a widow once bewail'd her lord. 9F *?P *?F 9F tP Yet Gallia boasts, among a world of weeds, Some plants, whose virtue for protection pleads ; The flowers, the toils of Fenelon produce, Not more design'd for pleasure than for use ; Crevier's forced fruits, and Dacier's foreign plants, And Boileau's posies from the Satyr's haunts; The bowers that shadow Sillery's retreats, And Rollin's parterre of historic sweets. These and a thousand other beauteous flowers Perfume the memory of the Gallic powers, And bear their fame on odoriferous wing W^here'er the Graces move, or Muses sing. * # # # # CCXX11 APPENDIX. Nor is the tongue immortal Tasso used, Which taste refined and elegance diffused, Unmeet, with pleasing harmony to bear The fair's soft sorrows to the tuneful ear : Who is not charm'd to see the enchanted maid Attend Arminta to the sylvan shade ; To hear melodious Metastasio tell How Io wander'd, or how Dido fell ; To view the strifes of Guienardine's age, Or Laura's beauty, or Orlando's rage ? Thence some new beauties still the language grace, The mind embellish, and improve the face ; While the taste, true and exquisitely nice, Knows to distinguish between wit and vice. V tP *a* n^ *fP Now turn the tuneful, now the historic page, The well piled riches of the Scottish sage, Where, in due order, all the treasure's stored Which Spain could spoil, or either India hoard ; Goldsmith's rich metal fashionably fine, And modest Leland's Macedonian mine. These guide the electric matter which supplies The dear dread lightning of destructive eyes: The bard who sung the empyrean seats, The groves of Eden, and her green retreats : The lively painter of the rolling year, Where every season's prodigies appear ; Young's moral muse, Eliza's luscious lines, Pope's syren song, and Parnel's just designs ; The mild instructive innocence of Gay, The walks of Shenstone, and the flights of Gray ; And courtly Addison, the Muse's care, And Steele, the guardian of the British fair ; And manly Johnson, virtuously severe, Whose satire never drew a guiltless tear, Whose polish 'd periods, like the shafts of Love, Please whom they wound, and whom they please improve. APPENDIX. CCXXlll Hence sparks of wit, as pleasing truths inspire, Fill the fair student's lovely eyes with fire ; These yield the enlivening spirit which imparts Immortal energy to mortal hearts. Jjp sjp ^fr SgE gp They best succeed their faces' faults to mend, Who to the root of every fault descend ; As those to boast the richest fruit are found, Who prune the trees and cultivate the ground. # # # * # Strive first to learn the honourable art To raise from earth to heavenly scenes the heart, For often dignity of thought we find Stamps on the face the grandeur of the mind ; Make, then, the joys of piety your care, Who think like angels, prove like angels fair. Page 1, line 13. " Two or three specimens of the text, and of the notes may gratify the reader." When James with bigotry and pride At will would guide the helm, Britain's best pilots stemm'd the tide, And saved the sinking realm. But faction clamorously wrong Essay'd to thwart their views, And taught the unreflecting throng Their guardians to abuse. Long they spun out the boastful tale, Their merits to enhance, Till time removed the flimsy veil, And show'd them bribed by France.* * Every real patriot must read with regret the names of Hambden and Sydney in the list of French pensioners bribed to favour the views of France, under the mask of opposition to the ambition of the minister and the CCXX1V APPENDIX. Believe not every well told tale, Trust not to outward show, The fairest flowers a snake conceal, A cliff the smoothest snow. Fair promises of firm support, A fallen cause to raise, Are easy steps to rise at court, Or baits to catch a place. The modes at public wrongs to rail, Or honour'd names to curse, Are juggles to escape a jail, Or fill an empty purse.f Despair not, though a foreign host The country's margin tread, But bravely fortify the coast With bulwarks of the dead. measures of the court ; and must wish either that Somerville's defence of the patriots of the day had been more successful, or that Barillon, the French Ambassador's account of his pensioners less accurate and less decisive. The events related by Barillon occurred, it is true, in the reign of Charles II., but events of a similar nature happened in the reign of his successor ; and some of the principal characters who appeared on the stage in the course of the revolution, are accused of private transactions behind the scenes, consistent neither with the parts which they acted, nor the engagements into which they had entered. f It may possibly be imagined that some of these ideas are too ludicrous to have been entertained with propriety by a person in the unfortunate situation to which the writer was reduced, at the period when these lines were written. But whatever inconsistency there may be in indulging in mirth, when suffering under the lash of adversity, it may be observed of some very eminent characters, that they were not deserted by their cheerfulness and wit, though forsaken by their good fortune and their friends. Sir Thomas More, when laying his head on the block, said to the executioner, with a significant smile, " First permit me, friend, to put my beard aside, for that at least has done no harm." And one of the alleged conspirators sacrificed to the ambition of the French convention, when kneeling to undergo the fatal operation, exclaimed with great indifference, " Chacun a son tour." APPENDIX. CCXXV How did our ancestors dispose Of the hostile fleets of Spain ? Their valour like a whirlwind rose, And whelm'd them in the main. Where now are Gaul's invading powers* Once raised at James's call ? The waves that wash'd their native shores Blush'd at their fameless fall. Page lxxiv. line 2. " Admirable effects in Scot- land." Unhappily a new system of education has since been adopted, and the consequences are, infidelity, immorality, and turbulence on the part of the people — a result which proves that such a system is not only defective as regards preparation for eternity, but immediately injurious to the interests of society. " It is known, but not perhaps so widely as it ought to be, that Scotland, which was long celebrated even to a proverb, for the morality of its popu- lation, has, of late years, exhibited a totally altered aspect. ' It is a melancholy fact that the progress of crime has been more rapid in that part of the British dominions, * The Jacobites of the last century were at least as much the subject of conversation, and represented as formidable for their numbers and as dan- gerous for their principles as the jacobins of the present. The rumour of an invasion was as prevalent at that period as it has been in our days, but it ended in the total defeat of the French fleet by the allied squadron at La Hogue, and in the complete establishment of real liberty in England. How the present tumults may terminate it is not easy to foretell, but it is sincerely to be hoped that the generation of Englishmen who now inhabit the land of uncontaminated freedom have not degenerated from the valour and virtues of their ancestors, and that they are not to be deluded by the emissaries of disorder to barter away their possessions for empty promises, and their felicity for palpable insanity. Wat appears to have read Somer- ville's Transactions with some attention, and such are the reflections that appear to have occurred to him. q CCXXVI APPENDIX. during the last thirty years, than in any other state of Europe/ And, compared with this, it is a remarkable fact, that in Scotland, within the same period, there has been a more decided change from a religious to a secular education, than in any state in Europe. The education formerly given to the people of Scotland was part and parcel of their national church. The Bible and the As- sembly's Catechism were school books, and so intellectual cultivation and Christian training advanced in parallel lines. The result was a happy combination of religious intelligence, moral virtues, and provident habits. But since that system gave way before the rapidly increasing population of her great manufacturing towns, since pre- paration for success in the business of this life has become the main object, and the Bible has been, if not systema- tically withdrawn, yet practically neglected, the conse- quences have been just such as a scriptural view of human nature would have led us to anticipate." — Speech on the National Education, by the Rev. Hugh M'Neil. — Ed. The following letters may not improperly be introduced here: TO VISCOUNT GARLIES. " MY DEAR LORD, Galloway House, June 2, 1788. " While the beauties of the Mediterranean and the wonders of the East engaged your attention, I could not flatter my- self that anything from me could have been acceptable, and I forbore troubling you, while I was sensible you were so much better employed. One of the last things your lord- ship did in England, however, was to accept of a letter from me; and had I been furnished with the smallest portion of prescience, I should have contrived that the first thing done on your arrival should have been some- thing of the same nature, and I am not without hopes that APPENDIX. CCXXV11 it would have been favourably received, as I am persuaded that your lordship's share of good nature did not suffer by the voyage. Caelum, non animum mutant, qui trans mare currunt has been often applied to those who brought home the same disposition with which they sailed ; and I believe it to be not inapplicable on the present occasion, as I know your lordship's goodness of heart to be proof against every climate. Be not mistaken, my lord, I did not intend a compliment. I sat down with an intention of giving vent to the effusions of my heart, and I have been betrayed into a truth, which, to anybody who is unacquainted with your lordship, might look like adulation. " When I took up my pen it was with the intention of saying, in a few words, what I could not conceal — that I was happy to hear of your safe arrival, and that I should be still happier to hear from you : as for the pleasure of taking you by the hand, whatever may be my hope, I cannot say I have faith enough to believe that it is what I shall soon enjoy. I rejoice, however, in the disappoint- ment, as it is occasioned by your lordship's promotion, and only wish that instead of one step, you could take two. I really think that he, who, after an absence of three years, gets sight of old England, and can immediately quit its shores to revisit the rocks of Gibraltar for the sake of a lieutenancy, deserves to return a captain. I am indebted to my Lord Galloway for the pleasing prospect he has opened to me of your lordship's further advancement in due time. I am now fully justified in my hopes of having the happiness to live to see you an admiral, but those hopes are not founded in any expectation I can have of enjoying a long life. " During the whole of your voyage your lordship sailed not unattended. While you were traversing the iEgean,, we were pursuing your track in the maps of Cellarius ; whjle you visited the coast of Asia Minor, we were going CCXXV111 APPENDIX. over nearly the same ground in the journals of Homer; and when you returned to the gentler regions of Italy, we were following the descriptions of the Mantuan bard, atque Italis longe disjungimur oris; and your lordship will allow that this may be, on some occasions, the least troublesome mode of attendance. This kind of travel, however, having had an amazing effect on William,* who was my principal companion during the voyage, for you will find him almost twice as tall as you left him. In fact, they have all grown so much that I question whether you will now be able to distinguish them without the expedient, which I remember you once pro- posed, of having a label affixed to each to prevent mis- takes. " They are all happy to hear of your safe arrival, and impatient of the pleasure of seeing you, but none more so than, my dear lord, your lordship's devoted friend and servant, " E. Williams." FROM THE EARL OE GALLOWAY. " MY DEAR FRIEND, London, June 8, 1790. " What with the war, the promotion of my sons, elections, the dissolution of parliament, which is to take place on the 11th or 12th instant, my impatience for Garlies's return, together with many other occurrences not mentionable in letters, every thing here has been, and is still in the greatest hurry and confusion, and with none more so than myself. u By the accounts received this day, I am led to hope that (God willing) we shall soon see Garlies,+ which is of consequence. I have given in the names of two small * The Hoe. William Stewart. f His lordship's eldest son George Stewart, Viscount Garlies. APPENDIX. CGXX1X livings for your brother in Wales, on which the chancellor has promised to bestow attention, the first half hour of leisure that he has, but I fear it will be otherwise for some time^ " What you write to me r relative to my Stewart claim, has raised my hopes greatly on that score. I will endeavour to arrange with Mr. Andrew Stuart, f upon the subject of his giving us the meeting at Edinburgh. " He has called since I wrote the above, and is most anxious we should all meet there at the time specified. He leaves town for Weymouth to-morrow for his election, having been brought in there, on the most honourable footing, through the interest of his friend Mr. Pulteney.J I have perused, but not so carefully as I could wish, that part of Mr. Andrew Stuart's account of the Stewart family, which he brought me. He says that Sir Allan Stewart, who was killed in the year 1333, at the battle of Halidon, was succeeded by John Stewart his son, who fell at the battle of Durham in 1346, and that he was succeeded by his son John Stewart, of Darnely, who is referred to in the original documents, as ' Johan fils et heir seigneur John Stewart de Dernely.' He had a son named Robert, who died without heirs, and was succeeded first by Walter, and then by Alexander, who had heirs. This he proves by charters. But I have not proceeded further^ when I do, I will write to inform you what occurs to me as to the agreement or disagreement of your respective genealogies. He is of opinion that you leave out one generation, that of John, the son of Allan. " The king knows of our expectation in regard to Garlies Town Harbour, and speaks with pleasure of it. His ma- jesty has even seen the report, &c. which you have drawn up, and made many enquiries abou 1the author. \ Earl Galloway's opponent for the British Peerage, and author of " The Genealogy of the Stewarts." X Afterwards Sir James Piilteney, M. P, CCXXX APPENDIX. " Remember me affectionately to my dear family, and tell Georgiana, in particular, that on my return I shall hope to find her hold herself as upright as her sister Catherine. 11 I am, my dear sir, in great haste, most sincerely yours, " Galloway. " " To the Rev. E. Williams, Galloway House." FROM THE SAME. " MY DEAR SIR, " Possibly, you may not choose to print off your pamphlet, though completed, until you come to London. In short, if it would not occupy too much of your valuable time at present, I should take it very kind, my good friend, if you would write your ideas and views on the subject above alluded to. For my own part, if I thought there was no risk of any new peers being made previously to the publi- cation of your work, I should be in no hurry ; but should parliament be dissolved as soon as some imagine, and there is every probability that it will, sooner than we expect, before your publication is known, the advantage hoped from it would in a great measure be lost. " All this family desire to join with me in kind regards, and I am, and ever will be, my dear sir, your faithful friend, &c. Galloway." " The Rev. E. Williams, 4, James Street, St. James's Square, Edinburgh." FROM THE SAME. "MY DEAR SIR, Charles Street, 30th January, 1794. "Since the receipt of your very polite letter, the enclosed has been sent me by Mr. Young. I must own its contents surprised me much, as I am convinced from your general accuracy that the calculation you drew up in favour of Messrs. Robertson, &c. was a more equitable one ; and from the circumstance of Mr. Young's mentioning my having shewn his letter to you, I am persuaded he thinks so too- APPENDIX. CCXXX1 I really am of opinion, that when public records, &c. are kept at the public expense, and large salaries are given to gen* tlemen for the purpose of facilitating the researches of the public, restriction should be laid on those who have the care of such offices, and their charges limited. When an illiterate person, or one who is unable to make the necessary research himself, saddles the entire of the labour upon the clerks, it would be but natural that a proportionable remuneration should be claimed : but when a person of erudition enters into the investigation himself, and gives no other trouble than obtaining access to such records, the case is widely different ; and to charge every document separately, as you will observe in the enclosed, and that too when j/ow alone have had the entire toil, a toil by the way for which I can never sufficiently remunerate you, appears to me out of all reason, and savours strongly of imposition. However have the kindness to decide whether they are entitled to their account or not, and favour me with such an answer as I can forward to Mr. Young, and I will instantly settle it. " I feel greatly obliged to you for the very accurate arrangement in which you left my papers, 8cc. with Mr. Young; should there be any other documents of conse- quence in your present possession, I will thank you to have them prepared, at your convenience, together with a note to Nish, if you have any hint you would desire to give with regard to the order of placing them, and I will direct them to be forwarded to Galloway. " Have you seen anything of Mr. Andrew Stuart lately ? Is he proceeding with his ' History of the Stewarts/ as he calls it ? and pray, does the death of my old acquaintance, Sir John Stewart, of Castlemilk, change his title, or is the title extinct ? I am, my dear sir, your faithful friend, and very obliged servant, "Galloway." CCXXXU APPENDIX. FROM THE SAME. " MY DEAR SIR, Trentham Aug. 2, 1798. " I trouble you with this note for the purpose of trans- mitting to you the letter which I had mentioned as having received from Mr. Bushby. Should you wish to write to him on the subject, you had better enclose it to me. We propose meeting on the 1 1th instant at Netherby, where it will find both of us. " I hope Lady Galloway has, before this time, procured from Mr. W. Spencer, 34, Curson Street, May Fair, my copy of Andrew Stuart's History of the Stewarts, and also the copy I lent him of your account of my family, both of which, I hope she has already sent to you. If not, I am sure she will, as I reminded her of it in my last letter. " I am, my dear sir, your faithful friend, &c. " Galloway." " To the Rev. E. Williams, 42, Rathbone Place, London." FROM THE HONOURABLE CHARLES STEWART, (AFTERWARDS BISHOP OF QUEBEC.) "MY DEAR SIR, Culham Court, Aug. 12th, 1794. " As you have always shewn and expressed yourself desi- rous to oblige me or any of my connexions, whenever in your power, I have taken the liberty of informing you that Lord Blandford and I shall consider ourselves indebted to you, if you will use your vote and interest in supporting the election of the Duke of Beaufort for the vacant chan- cellorship of Oxford. Lord Blandford interests himself much in his grace's election, and we trust we shall not be disappointed of having your voice and influence in our favour. Among the many and great kindnesses which I have received from you, your support on the present occasion will be considered among the greatest by, my dear sir, your very much obliged and faithful "Chakles Stewart." APPENDIX. CCXXXlll " P. S. I hope ycm will pardon the brevity of this, and let me entreat that you will not pay me back in my own coin, although it would be no more than justice ; with your accustomed generosity, write me one of your long agreeable letters. All desire their kind regards. When shall we have the pleasure of your society here? C. S." FROM THE SAME. "MY DEAR SIR, Oxford, Dec. 11th, 1794. " Pray accept of my warmest thanks for your very kind letter, and for the good news and excellent admonitions which it contains. " I shall be at liberty after Thursday or Friday next, and I expect to be in London soon after, when I promise myself the pleasure of more of your company than I had last vacation. Believe me, my dear sir, it will afford me much happiness to do anything in my power to oblige you or the little stranger, who I hope is well. Be so good as to convey my kind regards to Mrs. Williams, and say I trust she will be sufficiently recovered to receive me on my arrival. u When I last wrote to town I requested that my bro- ther* would consult your and his own convenience relative to the christening of the little boy, and let me know the result of that consultation, as I should be entirely at your disposal; for you are aware that leaving Oxford a day or two earlier or later can make very little difference to me. " I attended Dr. Randolph'sf Divinity Lectures this term, and find them both useful and entertaining. I have got through, at my leisure hours, as you advised me, another book of Euclid ; and I am at present reading Cicero's Orations. These and other matters I hope to talk over with * The Right Honourable George, Lord Viscount Garlies, succeeded to his father's title and estates in 1806. f Consecrated Bishop of Oxford in 1799. CCXXX1V APPENDIX. you when we meet. In the mean time, believe me to be, my dear sir, with every feeling of respect and friendship, very gratefully and sincerely yours, " Charles Stewart." FROM THE SAME. " St. Armand, Lower Canada, "MY DEAR SIR, March 10th, 1813. "Some time in the year 1810 I was favoured with a letter from you, informing me of your promotion to the vicarage of Lampeter, by the Bishop of St. David's, as also expressing a wish that I would vote for Lord Eldon in the election for the chancellor of the University. I respect the bishop very highly, and wish much to be acquainted with him. As to the latter I cannot but regret that I was so circum- stanced as to be unable to comply with your wishes. My inability to answer your kind communication arose from the same cause, and I trust you will pardon my apparent remissness. " I beg leave also to acknowledge the receipt of a letter from you, dated July 30, 1812. I have to express my sincerest condolence with you on the loss of your wife, and at the same time my best thanks are due to you for your kind condolence with me on the death of my sister Sophia. " From your last letter I conclude you are still ignorant of my residence in this country. In the year 1806, I de- termined on prosecuting missionary pursuits. My diocesan, the Bishop of Lincoln recommended me to the Bishop of Quebec, who was then in England, and he pointed out the tract of country and the congregation destined for my cure. I sailed from Plymouth for Quebec, August 7th, 1807 ; landed at Quebec, Sept. 27th. Arrived at Montreal, 180 miles from Quebec, Oct. 10th, and at Missiskoni Bay, St. Armand, Oct. 21st of the same year. There I have been ever since, without interruption, except going to Quebec once, to Cornwall in Upper Canada (80 miles from Montreal) once, and to Montreal, which is nearly 70 miles from my APPENDIX. CCXXXV house, once or twice a year. St. Armand is on the province line 45° and bounded on the west by Lake Champlain. I have been also 65 miles east in the new township, and once above 80 miles to the south, to Middleburg in Vermont State. "I have been blessed with remarkably good health, as well as many other dispensations of God's Providence and grace, for which I can never be sufficiently thankful, so that the promise in Luke xviii. 29, 30, has been confirmed to me as far as possible. The church is encreased as much as I could expect under my moderate abilities, and the many difficulties incident to a new country thinly and poorly peopled. The character of this new part of the world is very imperfectly understood by those who have not resided in it. The present war is a grievous calamity, but I imagine the enemy will not be able to conquer any part of the two provinces this year. " When I left home I had not an idea of remaining here so long without visiting England. I patiently wait the dispensations of Providence enabling me to return with propriety : but I hope to be in England before next winter, that is to say, if I can meet with a curate, which is my only great difficulty, and my present desideratum. When- ever I do return, be assured, my dear sir, I shall be most happy to see you. I flatter myself I can be more useful as a minister of the Gospel, in this part of the world than in any other. But I trust I am ready to go to any spot, and to do anything for the sake of Christ. May I express a hope that you preach and cultivate his free grace, and conse- quently that you grow in it, and increase it to yourself and many others; and especially to your own family. Wishing you this heartily, I remain, my dear sir, very sincerely yours, "Charles Stewart." "P. S. Two churches have been built at St. Armand through my instrumentality." CCXXXV1 APPENDIX. FROM THE HONOURABLE WILLIAM STEWART, (AFTERWARDS GENERAL STEWART.) " MY DEAR SIR, Netherby, July 29, 1790. " We arrived here last night by nine o'clock, and I have now taken up my pen in Sir James's* library, before any body is up, to write a few lines to you. Poor Susan enjoyed but little of her drive, as she was indisposed all day. I have not yet inquired how she is this morning. Neither was Harriet very well, as she was suffering from a severe cold. Within a mile of Longtown the fore spring of the carriage broke, we, however, contrived to reach that place without any further accident, here we got it fastened with ropes, which enabled us to get to the end of our journey in safety. Sir James has this moment made his entre, so I fear I must be more brief than I at first intended. May I take the liberty of requesting that you will send Daniel to Robinson's, in Prince's Street, for my regimental jacket, &c, and if not too troublesome, will you have the kindness to put them up in your box when you come. It is my inten- tion to keep good hours here, and to follow your good advice of walking out before breakfast every morning, now that I have left Edinburgh. I walked out four miles yesterday morning before breakfast to see Lord Napier's at Hardwick, it is a beautiful place certainly, but lies in a hollow. They are calling me to breakfast, so I must con- clude, with begging you will believe me to be, my dear sir, ever, yours very affectionately, "William Stewart." " P. S. I hope to write you a further account, if possible, of our journey, &c. to-morrow." * Sir James Graham, bart., who had married the honourable William Stewart's eldest sister. APPENDIX. CCXXXV11 FROM THE SAME. Netherby, Aug. 2, 1790. "My last letter to you was written in such a hurry, owing to the succession of summonses from the major domo and others, for me to attend the breakfast table, that I fear it was scarcely either legible or intelligible, but your goodness, will, I am sure, overlook my numerous imperfections, as you have ever done on many occasions ; but whatever my imperfections may be, I hope sincerely, my dear sir, that want of affection, gratitude, and respect towards you at all times and in all places, will never be amongst the number. I promised to give you a further account of my journey hither, but on consideration I have little more of conse- quence to say upon the subject, especially little that is sufficient to repay you for the trouble of reading. Besides, I have since thought of that distinguished Roman general, of whom I used to read to you so much, if he could content himself and his friends with a ' veni, vidi, vici,' after all his noble exploits which are now to be reviewed in history, surely I should, and I suppose that breaking the spring of his carriage, w r as not one of his greatest adventures. " Since our arrival here nothing very material has taken place, unless we account as a remarkable occurrence, the bustle Sir James has been in for the last three or four days ; one of his tenants having been taken up for arson. It is in reality a long story and hardly worth repeating. How- ever, as it is the only news, I will briefly relate it to you. This tenant, it seems, took great offence, and indeed enter- tained a hatred to Sir James, because of a notice received to quit his farm. About a month ago the fellow took every thing of his own out of the barn and set the building on fire ; well, last Wednesday he carried his furniture out of his dwelling-house and set that on fire. Upon hearing of which, and the strong suspicions attached to the farmer and a woman, they were both taken up and brought to Ne- therby. We had justice here 'with his fair round CCXXXV111 APPENDIX. belly,' and lawyer < with spectacles on nose, and pouch at side/ looking wondrous wise, laying down the law ; we had also several witnesses for two days. At length, after much wrangling, prevarication,and perjury, the woman confessed that the farmer had employed her to do the deed, and that the fire was conveyed by a rush dipped in grease. In short both culprits are committed to Carlisle gaol to take their trial at the assizes next week. It is expected they will both be hanged. Do you think so, sir? I attended the last day of their examination. We leave the place to-morrow morning, and go direct to St. Mary's Isle, to see Lord Selkirk, where we are to stay till Saturday morning ; we shall return home that night. I shall be very sorry to leave Netherby. I walk out every morning before breakfast when it does not rain. Yesterday morning I walked about five miles before breakfast, along the winding banks of the Esk. I could not help drawing out of my pocket my friend Pope, and referring to several passages where he speaks of meandering streams and hang- ing woods. I enjoy myself exceedingly in this place, because I can take such delightful picturesque walks in the neigh- bourhood. The day before yesterday I walked about four miles down the banks of the stream, yesterday I walked up ; the views were charming. Last Friday I rode with Mr. Fergus, to a place called Penton, about five miles from Netherby, on the banks of the river Liddell, or rather Liddle, to see one of the most magnificent views of cascades,, hanging woods, and purling streams you can imagine, al- though the prospect is rather on a small scale, but much in the style of Corby, which you and I went to see about two years ago. We all visited it again on Saturday last, and my mother and sisters admired its beauties exceedingly, we made a complete day of it, for we left this place at 10 a. m. saw all the cotton manufactories at Carlisle, dined there, and then went to Corby, and returned by ten p. m. " I have taken constant exercise since I have been here, but I longed very much for you, which greatly damped my APPENDIX. CCXXX1X pleasure. It rained this morning, so I had not my usual promenade; but then I have an adequate pleasure in writing to my dear friend and tutor, who, I hope, finds Edinburgh more prolific, in agreeable society, than he expected. My mother received a letter from my father yesterday, wherein he mentions nothing very material. The former, with her kind regards, will be obliged to you to procure a correct account of the proceedings on the 24th, and send it to the latter : she says she will not scruple giving the clerk a guinea. Susan, also, with her kind remembrance, will thank you to desire Daniel to order Grant, the bow and arrow maker, to send the arrows, enclosed in a tin quiver, to Galloway House ; and, if not too much, I will also trouble you to remind the waiter at Dumbrick's hotel, to send my sword and arrows. When one is well and agreeably em- ployed, time advances ' cito pede/ — I recollect you giving me a theme to write on this subject — this is the case at present, for I forgot that the postman was waiting, so I have only time to add, that I am, and ever shall be, my dear sir, yours very sincerely, William Stewart." " P. S. Garlies joined Lord Howe the day before my father arrived." FROM THE HON. AND REV. GEORGE RUSHOUT, (son of lord northwick.) "REV. SIR, Northwick Park, Oct. 7, 1818. "Your very kind and consoling letter merited a much earlier acknowledgment; and, looking at the date, I am almost ashamed now to address you, or call to your re- membrance the scenes that are past, which time may, in some degree, have reconciled to you, and mitigated the first and most severe impressions. But when it pleased God to deprive me of my ever beloved Caroline, I was obliged, for many reasons, to relinquish a home once so dear to me, and take my little children to scenes where their minds might be a little diverted from the irreparable CCxl APPENDIX. loss they had sustained. My servants omitted to forward your letter, and it fell into my hands only a week ago, on my return home. And here I must be allowed to express my sense of the most invaluable instructions you imparted to the tender mind of my Caroline, in her earliest days of infancy. She always spoke of you with the highest gra- titude and regard, and attributed the great happiness she enjoyed in this life to the religious education she received under your care; and most gratifying indeed, my dear sir, would it have been to me, ever to have been allowed the opportunity of expressing the same to you in person. I have heard of you from various quarters, and should have been most happy to have been introduced to you. " I have enclosed a slight sketch of the character of my beloved wife, of which I was induced to print a few copies at the particular request of my friends and neighbours. It is mostly taken from the sermon that was preached by Mr. Watts the Sunday after the funeral : he knew her well, and was acquainted with all her worth — a life so spotless has met with its just reward. " I most sincerely condole with you in your domestic loss, and doubt not but such kindred spirits have, ere now, met, and exchanged the cares and anxieties of this life for all the joys of heaven. The goodness, the excellence of the departed spirits can form the only consolation to those that are left. I know I feel it to be a very hard task to reconcile oneself to the loss of what has constituted our chief happiness, but our duty urges us to do so, for the sake of those who are left behind; and I hope you will continue to derive support from those principles which you so early instilled into the mind of my Caroline, which made her life so contented and happy, and her death so calm and serene. That you may long enjoy all the conso- lations arising from this reflection, is the sincere prayer of, reverend and dear sir, your very obedient and obliged, " George Rushout." " To the Rev. Eliezer Williams, Vicar of Lampeter." APPENDIX. CCxll Page xcvii. line 24. " It was this spirit of in- novation that my father so powerfully combated." lt DEAR BROTHER, Lampeter, June 17, 1814. ### a j nave b een involved in the present controversy, from indignation at seeing the Bible, particularly my father's edition, so disfigured and adulterated by false orthography and unwarrantable alterations. I would have attacked in the notes the alterations which I thought unjustifiable, but I foresaw that it w®uld involve me in religious dis- putes, if disputes can be religious. I therefore confined myself to the modern adulteration of the Welsh language, of late introduced, under the false pretence of reforming the language. It is indeed a reformation of it in one sense, a re-forming, or entirely changing the form of it ; but in my opinion, it is far from being a reformation, in the sense of an amelioration or amendment. The editor of the paper, under the signature of Llewelyn/ I am told, is one of my opponents, who, you know, is a Baptist preacher. ' J. J. of Bala/ is another, who is a young bard, and assumes the name of loan Tegid. He is a scholar of Price's, by whom, it is said, he is assisted. ' Hierael Haiarn Hir/ is some- body from your part of the country. There are several besides ; but I am told, that they are, pugilistically speak- ing, nearly giving in. J. I. has been on a recruiting march, soliciting assistance, but has met with very little success. Some informed him that they could not conscientiously afford him any aid, as they were of my opinion. I wrote the ode in praise of ' Seren Gorner' too hastily, without a grammar or an example before me, from an idea that it would give me weight with the editors of the paper, and that it would induce them to find a place for my compo- sitions. It may have had that effect in some measure, as my productions are always admitted. But some few errors in the Mesurau Caethion have unfortunately given Tegid and some of the minor bards a little temporary advan- r CCxlii APPENDIX. tage over me. I am willing now, however, to recover that ground if possible, and to flog them in verse as well as in prose. " Our little town will be in a blaze to-night. The Car- diganshire militia are returned home, and we are going to illuminate for the late news of our successes abroad. But I cannot say I am proud of the peace : we have given all to France, Russia, and Prussia, and have reserved to our- selves nothing but the honour of the thing. " Mr. Johnes, of Hafod, will frank this ; he is now in the room, and very goodnaturedly is waiting for me to finish my letter. "All the children unite in love and duty to you and their aunt, and in love to their cousin Harry. Your affectionate brother, * E. Williams. " P. S. Present my compliments to Mr. Garnons and to the Vicar of Caernarvon, when you see them, and to all friends around Snow don." The following letter to my father, from a well known Welsh scholar, relates to the same subject: " REV. SIR, Tremeirchion, near St. Asaph, Aug. 2, 1814. " As I have had it long in contemplation to trouble you with a letter, I have to lament that you should almost pass my door without letting me know it ; when you next visit this part of the vale of Clwyd, I trust it will suit you to take a view of its scenery from my cottage, and accept the best accommodations it affords during your stay here. As an apology for troubling you on this occasion, I have to observe, that the interest of our Established Church calls for the aid of your talents, in support of the Welsh Magazine. It is a work, which Mr. Evans, Llanbadarn- fawr, has repeatedly informed me the Bishop of St. David's is anxious to promote. Mr. Evans and myself agreed in APPENDIX. CCXllH opinion, that every precaution should be taken to secure its management in evangelical hands, i. e. such as could afford some security, in their own principles, of its real utility as a vehicle of sound instruction. It is a matter of considerable importance, in ray view, that we have some security in the character and judgment of its conductors, from the obtrusion of the new-fangled orthography of our intemperate theorists. Only Mr. Evans and myself have embarked in this concern as proprieters. I proposed to him, at the time we were arranging the plan of the work, that five clergymen of congenial views and sentiments engage in it as joint proprietors. He mentioned your name as an ally, whom he thought he should be able to engage ; and accordingly I would humbly beg to submit this pro- posal to your consideration, and earnestly solicit your compliance. The first number will be attended with some pecuniary sacrifice, but the subsequent numbers will not fail to indemnify all expenses, if proper means are used to force them into circulation. The editors have in some degree committed the clergy of the church of England, in an- nouncing it as a work conducted by them ; but I fear its pretensions to public countenance will not be duly sup- ported without a stronger firm. We are at a great loss for correspondents from South Wales. I had to undergo last winter inconceivable labour, in pro- curing a statement of the ecclesiastical occurrences of the diocese of St. David's, and after all failed of success, though I applied for them to all my friends in Cardiganshire and official characters in Carmarthen. I cannot but flatter myself that I shall be favoured with attention from you, that will more than counterbalance my former discourage- ments and disappointments from South Wales. Every consideration of regard for the credit and character of the clergy, as the effective ministers of religion, imperiously call for the services of their pens. The public in Wales have to acknowledge all their obligations for means of instruction, through the medium of the press, to our dissenting brethren. CCxliv A PP F.N IH X. The Calvinists support their magazine, Drysorfa, by the purchase of 2000 copies periodically. The Wesleyans print monthly 1000 copies of their Eurgrawn, and the Dissenters print 2000 of their Seren Gomer weekly. Unless the clergy be prohibited the use of the press by a parliamentary enactment, it is to be hoped they will not be wanting in zeal to cooperate in plans to make an in- creased use of it, and supply the members of their own communion with useful publications or means of instruction. The second number of Cylchgrawn Cymru I expect has been printed by this time at Dolgelley. I fear not quite free from errors. The third number ought to be put to press im- mediately, in order to effect the publication of four numbers before the close of the year. It has been judged advisable not to admit into the first numbers any article containing any personal reflections. A statement of all the proceedings of the Society for Christian Knowledge in South Wales would be an eligible article for the next number. It is also desirable that the superintendents of Mrs. Bevan's school should make use of it to report their proceedings. You may know of some Welsh literati whom you could influ- ence to become contributers to Cylchgrawn Cymru. Mr. Evans always informed me that your Bishop intended to support it with his literary contributions. We wished and hoped that in its spirit and execution it would follow the Christian Observer for its model. The new orthography that Seren Gomer obtrudes upon the public is to me a serious grievance. I fear the editors of that paper are so perverse that no argument can have any effect upon them, and therefore I wish that another paper could be established in support of the orthodox orthography. I have been thinking of proposing to the proprietor of our North Wales Gazette to enlarge his paper, and appropriate a page to Welsh : the Carmarthen Journal or some other paper may be capable of such an altera- tion in its plan. I wish you would take this hint into consideration. If you are the writer under the signature APPENDIX. CCxlv of Myrddin, in defence of our national orthography, I trust all the true friends of the church will ever unite with me in acknowledging the obligations we owe you. I had occasion to state in print my objections to William Owen's orthography. I left a copy of my pamphlet with Mr. Evans, Aberystwyth. I should be glad if you would give it a perusal. The ground of my charge against the new orthography as an evil, is the discordancy it pro- duces in the acceptation of words that occur in the church service. When the idea of negation is confined to the particle di, the words compounded with it in a positive sense will undergo a radical mutation in their acceptation. Our theorists are adopting a system of inconsistency. Every letter that was not originally Welsh they banish, and yet the y, which was originally only a Norman letter, they cannot sufficiently dote upon. It is common sense, and not any reference to antiquated or novel opinions or practices, that condemns mostly their theory. The use of accents was the practice of the dark age, and was exploded in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. I have now made some progress in the execution of my edition of the Welsh homilies : about sixty pages have been printed, and I intermit the further prosecution of the work until I have had an opportunity of ascertaining the opinions of the Welsh critics respecting it. The trans- lation of the Welsh homilies, I consider, as distinguished for the best specimen of Welsh. I want, however, to have your opinion on some points. I fear, I must have the first part reprinted ; I am anxious to learn whether you could do me the favour of procuring any subscribers for the work. I have the pleasure to remain, dear Sir, yours truly, " J. Roberts. " P. S. You will oblige me by favouring me with your pleasure, at an early opportunity, respecting the magazine." CCxlvi APPENDIX. Page cv. line 22. " It was customary for the senior pupils," &c. He also encouraged his senior pupils in the establishment of a weekly meeting, for the purpose of discussing various moral, historical, and scientific questions. It was called the " Pythagorean society," and was held in the school-room. It is to this juvenile meeting, perhaps, although it had been established only two or three years before my father's death, that some of those who subsequently distinguished themselves as public speakers, must in some measure attribute their skill in closeness of reasoning and fluency of speech. Page cix. line 11. " And followed them up with the Comedies of Terence." The exhibitions of 1815, 1816, and 1818, were thus noticed in the Carmarthen Journal :* " On Wednesday, the school at Lampeter broke up, when an exhibition of dramatic effort and classical acquire- ment a second time afforded entertainment to a numerous and highly respectable assemblage. Among them were observed several scholars of first-rate classical attain- ments, who united in expressing the most lively pleasure and surprise, at the performance of Terence's justly admired ' Phormio.' The principal characters, Phormio, Geta, and Demipho, were well sustained by Messrs. Thomas, Jenkins, and Jones ; indeed, the pronunciation and force of expression were well preserved throughout by the several actors. The afterpiece, ' Raising the Wind/ contributed to the amusement of the evening, in which the Jeremy Diddler of Mr. Watkin W. Thomas called forth loud and reiterated applause. It was understood that a * The Prologues and Epilogues, written by my father, will be found at the end of this -volume. APPENDIX. CCxlvii large party attended from Ystradmeiric School, evincing the proper respect and attention felt and paid on the oc- casion by the Rev. David Williams, although unable him- self to attend from indisposition. We cannot but feel peculiar pleasure, when we contemplate the effects which must accrue to this district from the facilities afforded to classical education by two such establishments, as it may be considered an undeniable aphorism, practically proved elsewhere, particularly in Scotland, that in proportion as the facilities and encouragements to liberal education in a country increase, in almost the same proportion will its prosperity be seen to follow as a necessary consequence." " Lampeter- School. — The representation of Terence's Comedy of Phormio, in the Town Hall at Lampeter, on the 20th instant, proved very attractive ; and the heavy rain that fell on that day seemed to have no other effect than to cause an overflowing house. From the success of the young gentlemen of Lampeter School, on former occasions, great expectations of progressive improvement were excited, which they apparently completely answered, for all the audience, which was very numerous, appeared highly gra- tified and pleased beyond their hopes. Many good judges, who attended with the classical work in their hands, were surprised to find the young actors so perfect in their parts, so correct in their pronunciation, and so happy in the con- ception of their respective characters. The dramatis per- sons were — Phormio, Mr. W. W. Thomas. Dorio, Mr. Walters. Demipho, Mr. David Jones, sen. Cratinus, Mr. Jos. Davies. Chremes, Mr. Eliazar Evans. Hegio, Mr. John Jenkins, jun. Geta, Mr. John Jenkins, sen. Crito, Mr. James Griffiths. Davus, Mr. T. Jones. Sophrona, Mr. David Joel Jenkins. Antipho, Mr. W. Williams. Nausistrata, Mr. L. LI. Thomas. Phaedria, Mr. John Jones. " The grave humour and versatility of talents discovered by Mr. Thomas, in Phormio, proved him admirably adapted for so difficult a part ; and he was ably supported by his ccxlviii APPENDIX. facetious friend, Mr. Jenkins, in the witty and bustling character of Geta ; of each of them might it be said what the latter says of the former, ' Ego hominem callidiorem vidi neminem.' The strong traits in the characters of the old interested brothers, Demipho and Chremes, were happily delineated by the exertions of Messrs. Jones and Evans. Messrs. John Jones and Williams did ample justice to the characters of Antipho and Phsedria; Messrs. D. J. Jenkins, and L. LI. Thomas, in Sophrona and Nau- sistrata, by their acting, as well as by their antique and appropriate dresses, excited much risibility, and gained great applause. The representatives of the three counsellors, who assumed on this occasion enormous wigs and long robes, by their solemn looks and ambiguous answers, gave a laughable exhibition of the pomp, solemnity, and glorious uncertainty of the law. Mr. T. Jones, in Davus, and Mr. Walters, in Dorio, gained as much applause as those short characters would admit of. Upon the whole, the audieuce seemed to be exquisitely delighted ; and gentlemen of great respectability and judgment who were present, and had seen the piece acted under more favourable circumstances, declared they never saw it more correctly or more happily represented, and expressed highly their approbation of the conduct and talents of the young gentlemen of Lampeter School." — Carmarthen Journal, December 29, 1815. " The Town Hall of Lampeter was never more crowded than on the 19th instant, when curiosity attracted a pro- digious number of the inhabitants of the neighbouring districts, to witness the trial of several young gentlemen of the grammar school at that place. They were put on their trial on a suspicion of murder, and pleaded not guilty. The tide of popular prejudice, at first, ran very strong against them. Can any good come out of Cambria ? was the prevalent cry. Many witnesses were brought forward, of most of whom it was observed, that they made their ap- pearance without a subpoena. The principal charge against the young men was, that in some of their juvenile frolics APPENDIX. CCXlix they had wantonly maltreated and murdered severalof the offspring of one Terence, particularly on a late occasion, a favourite child of his, called The Adelphi. The accused employed no counsel, but left their actions to plead for them. Mr. John Hughes, an inexperienced young man, was strongly suspected of maltreating a singular old character, called Mitio, but it appeared in the course of the trial, that he had conceived a very correct idea of the old gentleman, and conducted himself, with respect to him, with great justice and propriety. Mr. Herbert Williams and Mr. Mathias were likewise accused of behaving very singularly with regard to two old gentlemen, called Demea and Hegio ; but no proofs could be adduced that there was anything improper in their language or deportment on the occasion, and it appeared that those old characters had been often more roughly handled. Of Mr. John Jenkins, sen. who had been found disguised, and who had assumed the name of Syrus, though he tottered a little upon one occasion, it was admitted that upon the whole he contrived to support his character in such a manner as to give general satisfaction ; and that if even his enemies were tu take as much pains as he did to pull down the wall, they would not be able to pull down his reputation. The conduct and deportment of Mr. William Williams and Mr. John Jones, with respect to iEschinus and Ctesipho; and of Mr. Watkin Herbert, with regard to Geta, in spite of every attempt to prove the contrary, was allowed to be such as was highly deserving of general approbation. With respect to Mr. Walters' treatment of Sannio, though it appeared that some blows had passed, nothing derogatory to his character could be adduced in evidence against him. It was alleged, that Mr. L. LI. Thomas and Mr. Henry Jenkins had taken great liberties with two old ladies, named Sostrata and Canthara ; but nothing could be proved against them, ex- cepting a little innocent juvenile gallantry, which, on due inquiry, seemed to redound much to their credit. Mr. J. Davis was accused of maltreating Dromo, but was acquitted CCI AI'PKNDIX. with honour. Master Davis was shrewdly suspected of having maltreated a Miss Pampella, as the young lady had been heard to cry out violently ; but her cries were proved to have been owing to a very natural cause, and it appeared, upon the whole, that the young gentleman had been guilty of nothing but what merited applause. In short, after a patient hearing of four or five hours, and a very impartial summing up of the evidence by the judges, the young gentlemen were all honorably acquitted, to the great satis- faction of a very crowded court. To conclude, it was proved, on a complete investigation of the business, that the young men, so far from murdering Terence or any of his offspring, had paid him every possible attention, had done him great j ustice, conducted themselves, with respect to him, with infinite propriety ; and that had all Romans been treated in this country with equal attention, our ancestors would never have been denominated inhospitales Brittani. If Horace thought it an honourable circumstance, as one of the judges observed, to be able to say of him- self, me peritus, Discet Iber, Rhodanique potor, why should it not be deemed equally honourable to Terence to have it in his power to say, me peritus Discet Iber, Tiviique potor ! When the trial was over, and the young gentlemen's characters completely established and declared unimpeach- able, Messrs. Hughes, Lloyd, Evans, Treharn, and several of their schoolfellows, who had distinguished themselves by their talents for music, performed * God save the king* and several popular airs with great correctness; and the taste and elegance with which they played the violin, the German flute, and clarionet, surprised and highly pleased most of the audience. The hall was decorated and adorned with sceneries and appropriate paintings, admirably well executed by Mr. Miller, Mr. John Evans, and such of APPENDIX. CCH the Lampeter boys as excelled in painting and drawing : a fancy view of a street in Rome, and a distant prospect of the Temple of Diana, attracted much attention. In the course of the evening the afterpiece of the " Lying Valet" was performed : whether this was satrically designed as a hint at the falsehood of the charges brought against them by their principal accuser, is not known ; but it was face- tiously observed, of Mr. J. Jenkins's acting in the character of Sharp, and in allusion to the suspicion of murder, &c, " There will be no murder if Sharp's concerned." The dramatis person ae were — Gayless, Mr. William Williams. Melissa, Mr. Henry Jenkins. Sharp, Mr. John Jenkins. Mrs. Gadabout, Mr. John Davies. Justice Gattle, Mr. William Walters. Mrs. Trippet, Mr. Alban T. Davies. Beau Trippet, Mr. Thomas Jones. Kitty Pry, Mr. Llewelin LI. Thomas. Drunken Cook, Mr. John Jones. " Some of the young men displayed uncommon talents ; and of their performance in general it may be fairly said, that if their acting did not rise to the highest pitch of per- fection, it was upon the whole considerably above medi- ocrity." — Carmarthen Journal, Dec. 27, 1816. " At the recent annual examination of the pupils at Lampeter School, the premium generally allotted to the best classical scholar was adjudged to Mr. John Jones, the son of Hugh Jones, esq. The prize for the best copy of Latin verses, on the beauties of the Spring, was won by Mr. Rice Rees, nephew of the Rev. W. J. Rees, Rural Dean of Melenith, Radnorshire, the subject taken from Virgil : Et nunc omnis aeger, nunc omnis parturit arbos : Nunc frondent sylvae, nunc formosissimus annus. " The premium for the most elegant specimen of Hebrew caligraphy was adjudged to Mr. David Lewis, and that usually given for the best abridgment of a sermon was assigned to Mr. Thomas Hassall, son of the Rev. Mr. Hassall, Paramatta, New South Wales. Mr. W. H. Miller, the son of Capt. Miller, of Llandovery, passed the cc lii Appendix, best examination in French and mathematics. Mr. Thomas had a premium for his great proficiency in psalmody ; and Mr. David E. Morgan, for his extraordinary skill in music, as well as for his assiduity and attention in attempt- ing to improve his schoolfellows in that pleasing science. After the examination, the recitations began before a select and discerning audience, consisting chiefly cf the friends and relatives of the young gentlemen of the school. Mr. John Lloyd fluently recited the 20th chapter of Exodus, and some of the Psalms, in Hebrew, with great correctness and Rabbinical precision. Mr. George A. Harris recited Miltiades' celebrated Address to Callimachus before the Battle of Marathon, from the Greek of Herodotus. Master Peter Bailey Williams recited four Odes from the Greek of Anacreon. Messrs. W. Rowlands, D. Morgan, and D. Griffith, jun. recited each three or four chapters from the Greek Testament. Messrs. William and David Davies recited the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, in Latin, from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Mr. W. H. Miller, the description of the Massacre of the Protestants on St. Bartholomew's day, in French, from Voltaire's Henriade. Messrs. Maurice, Atterbury, Evans, and Henry Jenkins, the scene between Juba and Syphax, in English, from Addison's Cato. Messrs. David E. Morgan, and Daniel Evans, Brutus and Cassius's Quarrel and Reconciliation, from Shakespeare. Mr. John Jenkins, Walpole's speech on Triennial Parlia- ments ; and Mr. John Hughes, Mr. Pitt's reply, from the Parliamentary Debates. Messrs. Henry Lloyd Harris, and Edward T. Prichard, the mode of Examining a Witness, from the Encyclopaedia of Wit. Mr. Thomas Jones, sen. 250 lines from Dr. Young's Night Thoughts. Mr. Thomas Thomas, jun. Pope's sacred Eclogue of the Messiah. Mr. Rice Rees, Gray's Elegy. St. George A. Williams, the parting of Hector and Andromache, from Pope's translation of the Iliad of Homer. Mr. D. Thomas, sen. Address to the Deity. Mr. D. Thomas, jun. Antony's Oration over Caesar's body, from Shakespeare. Mr. Daniel Griffith, appendix. ccliii the story of Sir Balaam, from Pope's Poems. Mr. William Evans, the Duke of Gloucester's Speech to the Nobles, from Shakespeare. Master A. T. J. Gwynne, son of Major Gwynne, of Monachty, aged eight years, recited, with much elocution and correctness, about 200 lines from Addison's Poetical Works. Mr. Thomas Jones, jun. son of Hugh Jones, esq. Lampeter, repeated Gilpin's Equestrian Expedition, from Cowper's Poems, with great humour and drollery. Mr. Thomas Evans, a scene at the Payment of Tithes, from Cowper's Poems. Messrs. John Davies and David Jones, Hannibal's Address to his Soldiers. Mr. David Griffiths, Galgacus's animated Speech to the Britons prior to the Battle of the Grampian Hills, from Tacitus. Messrs. Hassall and David Jones, the dialogue between Owen Glendwr and Henry Hotspur, from Shakspeare. Mr. Evan Evans, one of Miss Bowdler's Sermons. Mr. Daniel Evans obtained a premium, and acquired great applause by the very animated and superior manner in which he recited one of Dr. Blair's Sermons. Mr. John Bowen, recited a Welsh Sermon, with great correctness and ani- mation, from the admired works of the late celebrated Evan Evans, surnamed Longobardus, or Vrydydd Mr. There were several other respectable recitations, as well in English as in the learned languages, which it would be tedious to enumerate; most of which were delivered with great propriety and correctness, and received with general applause. "After the recitations, Terence's favourite comedy of the Eunuchus was performed, by the senior gentleman of the seminary, in the Town Hall, before a very crowded and well informed audience, with admirable effect. Mr. John Jenkins, from his herculean stature, stentorian voice, and military air, appeared to be naturally calculated for the blustering character of the boasting Thraso, and went through the part with uncommon spirit, animation, and appropriate humour; Mr. John Lloyd was equally happy in his representation of the parasite Gnatho, and contrived Ccliv APPENDIX. to concentrate so much fun and comic oddity in the whole of his dress and address, that the house was in a roar of laughter whenever he appeared on the stage. Mr. George A. Harries was extremely lively, correct, and characteristic, in his representation of the pseudo-Eunuch ; and the whole of his performance went off with unbounded applause. His friend and schoolfellow, Mr. Hassall, having sailed some time since near the Malacca Isles, was able to dress him in the costume of a Malay chief, with an oriental turban or large bonnet, and a loose vesture, with a sash and dagger, which had an imposing appearance, and seemed well calculated to complete his disguise, and insure the success of the intended intrigue. Mr. John Hughes was very able in his delineation of the character of Parmeno, as was Mr. Henry Jenkins, in his manner of exhibiting the feelings of the youthful, but well educated Phaedria. Mr. Daniel Evans, as Antipho, was admirable in the scene between him and Chaerea, where the latter surprises with a ludicrous account of the happy success of his enterprise ; and Mr. Benjamin Evans, in the character of Chremes, especially in the drunken scene, and in his dialogue with Pythias, excited much risibility. But the best acting of the evening was thought to be that of Mr. W. H. Miller, in the character of Thais : he was extremely perfect in his part, and seemed to have formed a just conception of the character he had to represent ; and his dress, adorned with a profusion of artificial diamonds, and his elegant and in- sinuating manner, gave a striking picture of an artful courtezan of the superior order. Where all, however, went through their respective parts with so much excellence, it would be invidious to attempt to attract the rays of admi- ration to the brilliant merit of one. Mr. John Bowen, as Sanga, went through his part with great humour, and gave with spirit the comic sentence of ' where the spirit of the general was so daring, and the courage of the troops so great, I thought the affair (the siege of the house of Thais) would not terminate without bloodshed ; and therefore, I APPENDIX. Cclv concluded this (a napkin, his. only weapon in battle) might be useful, to wipe off the blood/ Suffice it to say, that the whole exceeded expectation; and that the other dramatis personam, Mr. Thomas Jones, as Dorus : Mr. John Davies, as Laches, an old man, the father of Phaedria ; Mr. Henry Lloyd Harries, as Dorias; and Mr. William Evans, as Sophron, an antiquated nurse, exerted themselves with great spirit, taste, and judgment, and succeeded in giving a happy representation of the characters allotted them. The young men are generally their own musicians, as well as their own scene-painters ; but upon this occasion, their best musical performers having parts to perform in another department, they were obliged to unite their resources in engaging an experienced band for the entertainment of the company. The scenes, however, were of their own paint- ing; and the view of Athens, with a distant prospect of the temple of Minerva, from an ancient tableau, by Mr. Miller, was viewed with general admiration. Having been prevented, in consequence of some lamented events, from acting this their favourite comedy sooner, they were thought, from delay, to have become more than usually perfect and mellow in their parts ; and several learned gentlemen from Oxford and Cambridge, who were present, highly complimented them on the correctness of their accent, the propriety of their pronunciation, and their general improvement, since they last had witnessed their performances. After the play, for the benefit of that part of the audience which was not conversant with the Latin language, the moral and popular afterpiece of " High Life below Stairs," was given in great style. The dramatis personae were — Freeman, Mr. Benjamin Evans. Lady Charlotte, Mr. D. Evans, Lovel, Mr. John Hughes. Thomas, (a servant) Mr. J. Lloyd. Robert, (a servant) Mr. T. Jones. A lame Fiddler, Mr. J. Lloyd. My Lord Duke, Mr. H. Jenkins. Philip, (a servant) Mr. J. Jenkins. Sir Harry, Mr. George A. Harries. Knighton, (a black girl) Mr. E. T. Lady Bab, Mr. St. George A. Wil- Pritchard. liams. Mrs. Kitty, Mr. John Davis, jun. Cclvi APPENDIX. " Mr. H. Jenkins and Mr. G. Harries moved through their parts with much mock elegance and laughable affectation of fashion. Mr. J. Hughes gave his part so high a colouring, and succeeded so well, that in the country boy, he was hardly recognized as the same person who had distinguished himself in Lovel. Mr. J. Lloyd's versatility of talent excited surprise." — Carmarthen Journal. Dec. 16th, 1818. Page ex. line 2. " An object almost of adoration." The arm-chair in which he usually sat when in school was purchased, after his death, by one of his pupils, who kept the precious relic in his study among the most valued of his treasures. On a particular occasion one of his master's sons attempted to occupy that chair ; the purchaser seized him by the collar and dragged him away, saying, " No, sir, nobody shall sit in that chair until he is worthy of your father.'' Page cxi. line 30. " Examination every year for the Easter prizes, 1 ' &c. These examinations were held on the Monday in Easter week, after divine service in the morning ; and a premium of twenty shillings worth of books was given to any one, under nineteen years of age, who should pass the best exa- mination in the Greek Testament, Epictetus, and Cicero's Offices. Premiums were likewise given for the best abridg- ment of a sermon, for Hebrew caligraphy, and psalmody. These classical trials of skill were wound up by a series of sermons, dialogues, and speeches, which generally attracted much company, and seldom failed to gratify the auditors. There were also exhibitions often pounds a year for the maintenance of the scholars, educated in any of the licensed grammar schools, for four years after the age of nineteen ; but no pupil was admissible as a candidate who had not obtained a premium at the Easter examination. APPENDIX. Cclvil The qualification was the best examination in the Greek Testament, Homer's Iliad, Epictetus, Cicero's Offices, Caesar's Commentaries, and any other classical author fixed upon by the electors. Grotius de Veritate Religionis Christians, Dr. Porteus's Summary of Evidences, and Burkhardt's System of Divinity were also used on the occasion. Four or five of the Lampeter scholars were generally successful competitors for these exhibitions. Similar examinations in the grammar schools in North Wales might be attended with incalculable benefit. Page cxii. line 13. " I have seven pupils apply- ing for orders this week," &c. The following was the course of the examination : Tuesday. Candidates with English titles examined in English reading and composition. Candidates with Welsh titles examined in Welsh reading and composition. Wednesday. To give written answers in English to written queries. Thursday. Latin exercises, and examination in the Hebrew Bible and Greek Testament. Friday. Examination in " Grotius de Ver. Rel. Chris.," " Burnet de Fide et Officiis Christianorum," " Clericus de Elegenda Sentential " Jewell's Apology," Nicholl's De- fensio Ecclesise Angl.," and the Articles of the Church of England. Saturday. To sign the Articles, &c. and to attend the Charge. Sunday. Ordination. Page cxiv. line 14. " The duties of a Christian soldier." " He that is great in arms is greater still If he be famed for just and holy courses/' Shakespeare. cclviii APPENDIX, Page cxxvi. line 28. " In Latin Sapphics." AD CELEBREM DOCTUMQUE CAUSIDICUM DOMINUM WARUM CARMEN SALUTANDI MUNUS FERENS. O ! potens verbis, studiisque legum, Quem sua cura coluere musee : Te colo votis, meri toque dono Lsetus honore. Fata te vultu videant benigno, Sit placens uxor, sobolesque pollens, Sint tibi culti, pia corda nati, Auspice ccelo. Mox tua fama resonet senatus Et tibi vatum bene cedat omne, Juris interpres patriae forique Seu decus audis. Seu sedes inter lepidos sodales Arbiter vini placid us cibique, Dum jocos spargit tua vox placentes More face to. Quin tibi musse placuit canorae Ardor, et cordi studiosa cura Nunc adest — cultus manet artiumque Fausta lubido. Inter insanas dubiasque lites, Inter serumnas variasque legis, Inter incensos populos, forique Jurgia diri. Inter abruptas ita rivus errat Cambrise rupes, amat ire et inter Saxa, per fractos tumidosque colles, Montis iniqui. APPENDIX. Cclix Crescit et turget, nova prata quserens* Jam per augustas ruit ille rimas, Jam jacit spumas, agit et superbe Flumen ad altum. Dura caprse balant, sonat atque voce Grex tenella errans ovium, pec usque Mugit arbusta inter opaca lsetum, Gramina carpens. Duui cadit torrens scopulos per altos, Implet et sylvas querulo sonore Cuncta gens ingens volucrum, palumbes Murmura fundunt. Pastor aut tentat modulari avena Carmen, aut nympham celebret venustam Valle jucunda, resonat canore Cimbrica chorda. Urbis excelsa3 # strepitum relinque : Non magis fumi placeant popinae, Wee foro lites populi calentis, Igne furenti.f Rus petas florens, humilesque sedes, Britonum campos et amasna tecta, Tivii ripas, fluvii sonari, Arvaque nostra. Vere dum vocalis adest hirundo, Adveni nostras, bonus hospes, oras, Fac tuo cunctos hilares lepore, Non sine risu. Te vocant una veteres sodales, Te vocant omnes citharis puellse, Te manet simplex epulumque vini, et Pocula laeta. * London. f An allusion to the " ignis civilis," or the disturbances that then reigned in the metropolis, — perhaps the Cato Street conspiracy. Cclx APPENDIX. Cambrise ruris genialis arva, Te vocant omnes precibus cohortes Quse colunt agros; tibi ubique pandent Hospita tecta. Page cxxxii. line 9. " On his return homewards." He thus sketches a part of his journey : " MY DEAR BROTHER, Lampeter, March 6, 1819. " The scene would have appeared to advantage, as we approached Llandegai, # if we had not parted from you, which threw a gloom over it. There was an appearance of industry, wealth, and elegance, that we had not witnessed in that part of the country. The hardy natives seemed remarkably active in their respective avocations ; some in driving their waggons along the railway, others in repairing their fences and cultivating their farms. The houses and fields in the environs, displayed every evidence of opulence and fertility, and Penrhyn Castle and the neighbouring seats exhibited a considerable degree of mag- nificence and neatness. A bird's-eye view of Beaumaris, glittering in the sun, reminded me of Naples, and with its thriving plantations and verdant lawns in the back ground, contrasted with the sombre aspect of the castellated ruins and projecting beach in the foreground, together with the shipping in the road, contributed not a little to heighten the richness of the landscape. It was very fine when we arrived at Aber, the sun shone, and the buildings round the place reminded me of an inn on the English road ; and I suppose Boniface had not neglected to profit by his travels, for no English innkeeper could have charged better. * Mr. W. and one of his sons, who was his companion, travelled across the country from Llanrug ; so that the beautiful view alluded to suddenly opened upon them, as they entered the post road, near the Llandigai turn- pike. Mr. W.'s brother escorted them as far as Pentir, and there parted from them. — Editor, APPENDIX. Cclxi The country in the vicinity of Aber formed a very striking contrast with the abrupt and wild scenery near Penmaen- mawr. The sky lowered, and ' like a dark ceiling stood/ and the rain began to descend in torrents, everything seemed to conspire to add to the terrific majesty of the aspiring moun- tain. As we ascended, it blew almost a hurricane, the sea birds could neither float upon the gale, nor trust themselves to the swelling surge, but were obliged to shelter themselves in the clefts of the adjoining rocks. We had revelled in the morning sunshine of the loveliest of God's works, and now, amidst the terrors of a mountain storm, which added to the effect, we were witnessing the grandest emblems of His power and wisdom. Those men, indeed, are not to be envied, whose bosoms, in the midst of such magnificent scenes, are not filled with the adoring admiration of the Creator's incomprehensible majesty. I could not help re- flecting how awful this mountainous pass must have ap- peared, when there was no wall between the road and the precipice hanging over the sea, when the path was narrow, and when the trembling traveller, according to my father's description, was under the necessity of leading his horse over rugged and slippery steps cut in the rock : the road, however, at present appears free from danger; it is only the beetling crags above, overhanging the passing traveller, and the foaming waves below, lashing the gigantic moun- tain's side, that render the scene tremendous. " As we descended into the next deep valley we were con- siderably sheltered from the storm, and as we trotted along, a small building on the road side threw open its doors, and a tumultuous crowd of school-boys burst forth in all the rude hilarity of rustic mirth : to them the storm seemed fun, and the shower a frolic ; and some of them, to show their agility, kept pace with the horses nearly a mile. The next hill appeared, if possible, more terrific than Penmaen- mawr, the rocks seemed steeper, and the ravines more deep, and though the distance intercepted us from the stun- ning noise of the boiling ocean, the roughness, the barren- Cclxii APPENDIX. ncss, and the magnificence of the perspective, seemed such as might have exercised to some purpose the pencil of Salvator Rosa. From the present direction of our route, we were considerably more exposed to the pelting storm and the driving rain than on the summit of Penmaenmawr. We were cold, and completely drenched. This, you will say, was enough to cool the ardour of a person going on an en- terprise of knight-errantry. {i A distant view of Conway administered at length some degree of consolation to us. I had fixed upon this place as my head quarters for the night, being in no degree dubious of finding here all appliances and means for welcome and refreshment. On our arrival we were directed to the best inn. The appearance of the harp suspended over the door seemed to promise us harmony, if not hospita- lity. After some vociferation, the ostler made his official bow, and our horses got under cover, and we were shown into a spacious room without a fire ! Chilled and wet as I was, this gave me some degree of warmth. I called with some impatience for the landlord : an odd figure presently made its appearance, and having learned the nature of my complaint, it informed me with great sang froid that they had no coals, and that there were none at Conway ; how- ever, he assured me they expected a vessel the following day, and, should it arrive, he gave me his word that he would use every exertion to procure fuel, and to make us a good fire ! This was but poor comfort to travellers dripping with the wet, and shivering with cold. I could not hear the story with the patience it was delivered, I must own ; and insisted upon it, that if there were a scarcity of coals, there could be no scarcity of blocks at Conway, and that I was resolved, conte qui coute, to have them instantly pro- duced, and a roaring fire made. Whether his nerves were shocked at the manner in which this demand was made, or whether he thought his own block in danger, he disappeared in an instant, and we saw no more of him ; but excellent materials of the kind required were soon collected, and a appendix. cclxiii capital fire " blazed upon the hearth." Having changed our dripping habiliments, and got them dried for the next day, we procured some odd volumes on miscellaneous subjects, and passed the remainder of the evening very comfortably. Our friends of the hostelry proved on the whole very civil, and by a few presents to the children, and douceurs to the retainers, we succeeded in effacing in some measure whatever unfavourable impression our first rough collision might have made. The smirking female waiter seemed diverted at the scene she had witnessed, and expressed her exultation at the lesson her employers had received for their improvidence. " The following morning opened upon us with one of her best spring smiles, and seemed to promise us a more flatter- ing reception than we experienced the antecedent evening. We made our exit at an early hour at one of the sally- ports, and regretted much we had not time to examine more minutely the venerable antiquities and architectural beauties of the place. We got on board the ferry boat # without difficulty. It was almost a dead calm ; the water scene was beautiful, Conway with its ivied towers appearing to the greatest advantage from the river. I forgot to state, that, by an odd accident, we met at Aber with a gentlemanf who had shown us very great attention while we were in Dublin, by the way, that very intelligent and well informed man to whom, I told you, we were introduced by our mutual friend, Mrs. M — G , and who escorted us to Trinity College, the Bank, and other public buildings. He was travelling by the mail, and was on his way to Liverpool. As the weather was very boisterous the preceding evening, and as I felt particularly anxious for the safety of my friend, I inquired of the boatman how the passengers got over the ferry. His answer implied, (for he spoke in Welsh) that * This was before the Suspension bridge was constructed, f J. Purser, esq. Rathmines Castle, Dublin. CclxiV APPENDIX. they had copious aspersions, but that there had been no immersion. This gave rise to several questions relative to the general safety of the passage, and the loss of the mail coach passengers some years since, when he informed me that there were only two saved, out of fourteen : on my asking him what had become of those two, he replied, ' One of them, Sir, is since gone to his rest/ (i'w orphwysfa, as he prettily expressed it) ' and there is the other,* pointing to a little, spare, weather-beaten man, tugging with heart and main at one of the oars. We were soon landed, and it was not long ere we reached LI , where I did all I could to deliver your letter, but I could not meet with the lady ; I found the nest, but the bird had flown. Her residence is a neat box, in very good order. A decent servant having opened the door, I requested permission to leave my name, and was ushered into an elegant parlour, where, pen and paper being given me, I wrote a few lines, and took my leave. By a singular adventure, on my return to the inn, I came in contact with the sprightly lady whose agility you once so much admired. She does not seem to be as active in her motions as she once was, though her tongue appeared to have lost none of its wonted elasticity. She gave me a satisfactory account of the direction in which the bird had taken flight, and I determined to pursue. On my arrival at 1 found my friend A was not at home. How- ever, I endeavoured to avail myself of my having been a little before in the environs of the Liffey, if not the Shan- non, assumed a bold face, and introduced myself in the Hibernian style to Mrs. A . I was very hospitably re- ceived, and asked to stop to dinner, which of course I had not modesty enough to refuse. While dinner was getting ready I affected business and the necessity of delivering a letter on an important subject at R ; on my arrival there I met Captain on the lawn, in company with young A , to whom I was introduced. The Captain was remarkably friendly, and soon afforded me an opportu- nity of presenting your letter in person to the lady to whom APPENDIX. CClxV it was addressed, and while she is perusing it, I beg leave to pause." Page cxxxii. line 19. " Straitened circumstances." It is but justice to my father's memory to remark, that his pecuniary embarrassments were not owing to any ex- travagance on his part, for no man had fewer artificial wants, or lived less to himself. In his eleemosynary dis- tributions he exercised great liberality — that liberality which shows itself in the quiet acts of silent charity, allowing no interested considerations to stop his hand or stint his benevolence. He was, in short, generous to a degree of weakness, and many a poor wretch would have perished, but for his heart directing a hand " Open as day to melting charity J 1 He was returning home one evening from a parochial visit, in an early part of his life, when he was accosted by a beggar, who made the usual representations of distress and hunger : my father, disbelieving his tale, and sup- posing him to be an impostor, did not relieve him. On the following morning, my father, hearing that the body of a stranger had been found in a neighbouring pond, went to see it, and discovered it to be the remains of the identical man who had applied to him for alms on the previous evening. This incident so affected his feelings, that appeals to him were never afterwards made in vain. But, alas ! in his eagerness to administer to the distresses of others, he often overlooked his own necessities, and distributed what perhaps, in the opinion of many, ought to have been reserved for his own family. Yet it was not in objects of this kind that his liberality was so apparent, to the detri- ment of his own temporal interests. His kindness of heart led him into greater imprudence. He would sometimes tender his bail in order to relieve his neighbour in distress; Cclxvi AIM* KXDIX. and this more than once proved the cause of much sub- sequent anxiety. In illustration of this, one instance out of many may be mentioned. A respectable and honest tradesman was arrested for debt, and the bailiffs were in the act of dragging him to prison : having tried all means to satisfy these officers of the law in vain, he had recourse, at last, to the " poor man's friend." My father happening just at that time to have by him a sum of money, intended for other purposes, handed it over to the poor man, and thus saved him from gaol, and perhaps from eventual ruin. Page cxliii. line 2. " Failed not to give them his counsel." Though there are no dates to the following letters, they seem to find here their appropriate place : MY DEAR " Now that you are removed from my immediate observa- tion, I can only follow you with my prayers and advice, and my earnest hope is, my dear boy, that they may be accom- panied by the Divine blessing. I do not like that you should be troublesome to anybody, but I should prefer your being, at V , to your being at W , and your keeping company with M. to your associating with W. E., as much good may be learned from the former, and nothing but mischief, I fear, acquired by passing your time with the latter. I wish particularly to impress this on your mind, not because the one is of higher family than the other, as you may perceive from what I have already said ; for aristocracy of birth is of small consideration, unless accompanied by that uprightness of mind and purity of conduct which would secure a boy against temptation, and prevent his doing a mean and unworthy action; but because habits of vice arid idleness, especially at your ductile age, are more readily formed than those of virtue and diligence, and because your future happiness will be affected in pro- portion as these qualities of the heart and mind predo- APPENDIX. CCI XV11 minate. Knowing, therefore, that nothing can compensate for the contagion of bad example, I feel doubly anxious to direct you in the choice of your associates. Choose none, then, but such as fear God, remembering that ' he that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed/ " In the morning, and at every hour when you are not engaged in good society or in useful enterprises, you should peruse some good book, or pursue some profitable study. Our time here is so short, that we should always improve it to the best advantage ; for your youthful years, you will find, will pass away to your regret, before you acquire knowledge enough to enable you to appear with credit as a man. ' Perdidi diem/ was the exclamation of a Roman emperor, when he recollected he had spent a day without doing some good. And Seneca says, that ' time is the only thing of which it is a virtue to be covetous.' If such were the sentiments of Pagans, what ought to be yours, who are recommended by higher authority, to ' re- deem the time, because the days are evil/ Be diligent, therefore, and be virtuous. Rise early, and read daily some portion of the Bible, or of the Greek Testament. Above all, be attentive to your devotions, morning and evening, for without this you can expect no blessing upon any of your employments. Some of the best kings and most illustrious heroes we have had have exemplified this truth in their lives, and it is to this that we must attribute the glory which our nation has attained above all other countries on the face of the earth. It is recorded of George II. that during the wars of that period, he would be in his closet between five and six o'clock in the morning, winter and summer, praying for the success of his fleet and armies ; and it is said that our present excellent king is a man of prayer, and devotes much of his time to religious exercises. History relates of Admirals Duncan and Harlborough, that they seldom entered an engagement without first invoking the aid and protection of the Almighty. In fact, numerous cclxviii APPENDIX. are the instances that I could mention of others, if time permitted, and of many distinguished literary men and preachers of the gospel who have prospered in their studies in proportion to their faithfulness in this duty; and if it were more attended to, perhaps there would be more peace and tranquillity in our country, and fewer errors of judgment in the writings of our authors. "But my paper warns me to leave off; indeed, I have written more than I intended, as I am at present much occupied ; but if you profit by what I have said, I shall consider myself amply repaid. Let secret prayer be con- stantly performed before you engage in the duties of the day, and let that prayer be always offered up in the name of your Redeemer, who is the only mediator between God and man. Endeavour to make Him your friend and pro- tector, and you will not be forgetful of your duty, to, my dear , your affectionate father, " E. Williams.'* MY DEAR " I hoped in consequence of what I said in my last, that I should have had the pleasure of seeing you at home to- day ; but I am disappointed, and I fear you tire out your hospitable friends by remaining so long at their house. On a visit, you should always contrive to regulate your conduct and your stay in such a manner, that people may wish for more of your company rather than wish you to depart sooner than you desire. I believe Mr. and Mrs. Harries are very good and kind to you, but you should not abuse their good nature. I shall expect to hear a favourable account of you when I see them ; be assured I shall have a full account of your conduct from some person or other, and therefore I hope that you will take care that that account may be to your credit. " I expect you will dedicate some part of every day to your studies, that you may not forget everything you have learnt. It is said of Alfred, king of England, that notwithstanding APPENDIX. Cclxix his many avocations as a monarch, he dedicated eight hours every day to his studies ; you have not quite so many things to occupy your attention as king Alfred had, and therefore there can be no hardship in your giving up a few hours daily, from your amusements, to the more useful employment of prosecuting your studies, and improving your mind. "Another attention you should not fail of paying yourself, (what I ought to have named first) while you study to im- prove your mind, is to study to improve your heart, by being duly attentive to your Bible and to your devotions. This, properly speaking, you cannot do of your ownself: it is a change of heart you want, and what you ought often to pray for, like the Psalmist of old, ' Give me a clean heart O Lord ! and renew a right spirit within me.' Your best protector is the Almighty, and you should not, at the least, forget to begin and terminate every day by thanking Him for his care, requesting him to preserve you from danger, and begging his divine influence to enable you to conduct yourself in such a manner as may secure your present comfort and future happiness. While you are thus careful in what may regard yourself, you should not forget what may regard others, by studying to behave yourself with politeness, civility, and attention to everybody : no person will ever love you or respect you if you behave yourself with rudeness and incivility towards those you converse with. Your conduct should always be tinctured with civility to the meanest individual, and with respect and great politeness towards those who are your superiors. You should not be inattentive to these things. You can behave yourself with considerable propriety when you choose it, and therefore you should endeavour to win the affection and gain the friendship and good opinion of every person with whom you associate. I should rather hear you were the best behaved boy, or the best scholar, in company, than hear that you are the best sportsman ; and should prefer hearing that you hold your knife and fork well at table, and behave yourself clxx APPENDIX. with elegance at dinner or at the tea-table, to being informed that you can carry a double-barrelled gun, or that you have shot an owl flying or a partridge on the wing. Where is the use of learning to charge an empty gun, if you know not how to charge or improve your mind ? or of carrying a full charged fowlingpiece, while you bear an empty head on your shoulders ? " I have lately heard from Sir George Staunton, a relation of your lamented mamma : when he was twelve years old he could write Latin, and even speak it, with considerable correctness ; at the age of thirteen he accompanied his father to China, and learnt the language of that country so well that the emperor noticed him, and was so pleased with him that he presented him with an elegant silken purse, which there is considered as a mark of great distinction. He was some years afterwards established as a supercargo at Canton, and had a salary of three thousand pounds a year. He staid there some years, and having made a considerable addition to his fortune, he returned home to inherit his father's title and estates, and is now as rich and as well informed a man as any in England. You see what may be done by diligence and good conduct. He was also a very affectionate boy, and there are many very pleasing anecdotes told of him. It is said that while on board the Ambassador's ship, Sir George Leonard Staunton, imagining that a French man of war was about to engage them, ordered his son, in Latin, to go down below deck ; the other hesitated for a moment, as if contending between duty and affection, and then firmly replied, * Mi pater, nunquam te desiram.' I should be proud to own such a son as this : I therefore hold him up to you as an example of diligence and of filial affection. If you love me you would do all in your power to become a good scholar as well as a good man, and be a credit to yourself and a comfort to, my dear , your affectionate father, " E. Williams. APPENDIX. Cclxxi "P. S. Present my remembrances to Mr. and Mrs. Harries, and Captain Miller, &c. I feel obliged to them for their kindness to you. I will send for you on Monday. All here unite in love. Caroline is better. I write in haste." Page cxlviii, line 13. " Some of his friends and pupils called." The following extracts from a letter, written a few months ago, are too deeply interesting to be withhold en from the reader : " As the Christmas vacation of 1819 approached, the subject of the memoir was visibly declining in health, and was occasionally absent from his post eight or nine days previous to the period fixed for separation. One morning when all had been assembled for an hour, waiting his arrival, a message was received from him, expressing his regret at being unable to attend, begging, at the same time, that the recess should commence on that day, and also expressing a hope of the pleasure of meeting again about the latter end of January. At this announcement there was a deep and impressive silence ; and in going out, each one observed to his fellow, ' We shall never see him here again !' Such a gloomy foreboding was verified by the event. a My season of relaxation was passed at Llanelly. I returned to my lodgings in the town of Lampeter, on the 20th of January, 1820. On my arrival at the door, I was greeted with the intelligence, that the Rev. Mr. Williams was on the eve of his departure, that he had sent four times to inquire whether I had arrived, and that he wished much to see me. Of course a very short time sufficed to place me by his side ; he was sitting in an easy chair, alongside of a high writing desk, with his hand supporting his face, and was speaking earnestly to dumb listeners on the subject of the Psalmist's expression, ' the snares of death Cclxxii APPENDIX. have compassed me round about.' He then observed that I was in the room, and affectionately welcomed me, saying, ' David Jones/ (the name by which he always familiarly addressed me) ' I am very glad to see you ; I have but a few minutes to live, and I am anxious for your welfare. I think you are destined to be useful in the church, and I am anxious to get you ordained sooner than the prescribed rules of this diocese allow. I wish you to go to Dr. Williams, of Cowbridge, in my name. I meant to write to him on the subject, but it is now too late. Tell him that I recommend you to him with my dying breath.' I begged of him to dismiss all thoughts of me, and apply himself to other and weightier matters: his reply was, ' I must think of my dear Saviour's work ; I can trust him ; I am dying, but I am not afraid.' Hearing the sobs of those around him, he said, ' My dear children, it was crying I heard you first, it is crying I hear you last ; you will go crying through the world, but I hope you will afterwards for ever rejoice.' u His auditory consisted of a worthy and still respected lady from the town, her youngest son, two or three ordained pupils, a young gentleman from London, and myself. Of course his children were there also. Late in the evening, (I forget the hour), after his speech had become a little impaired, and he continued conversing most interestingly, until he was much exhausted : I ventured to approach him and said, ' Dear Sir, take some rest and refresh yourself, and then you can speak to us again by and by ;' he replied, at the same time adjusting the pillow under his elbow, 1 No, I shall not speak again. I will now lay my head on this pillow, and forget all worldly cares and anxieties, and commit my soul to the hands of my Saviour.' He then calmly reclined his head, and seemed to slumber with the ease of an infant in its cradle, I know not how long, when Mrs. Jenkins, the friend above alluded to, went up to him, and took hold of his hand, dropped it, and whispered, 'He is gone ! * " It has been my lot to witness the end of many, at home appendix. cclxxiii and abroad, by sea and by land, but never such a gentle breaking of the '■ silver cord ' as this ; never such a noise- less destruction of the ' golden bowl/ or the l pitcher at the fountain !' " Notwithstanding his imperfections, I believe that he lived the life of the righteous, and died the death of the righteous, and as such may my end be like his. Very truly yours, " David T. Jones."* Page civ. line 24. " More deeply lamented." The following tribute was paid to his memory, by one of his pupils, the Rev. John Jones, curate of Denbigh, then a youth : IN OBITUM ERUDITISSIMI ET VENERANDI VIRI ELIEZER WILLIAMS, A. M. LAMPETRIENSIS SCHOLJE PIUESIDIS CON DITO RISQUE. Quid fles ! alma parens ! Cambria nobilis Planctus mitte tuos ; plus nimio doles ! Non reddi lacrymis, non precibus potest Defunctus ; tumulo conditus invido. Multa laude recens heu bonus occidit ! 5 Tu mecum potius carminibus piis Vatis concelebres egregium dec us. Te quocunque voces, Phcebe pater, sequar ! Nunc, O Musa potens ! flebilibus precor Aptetur, numeris nomen amabile. 10 Fac ne longa dies et revolubiles Anni haec invidia munera diruant. Annates utinam tempus ad ultimum Virtutem memorent ; nam pietas jubet Inscriptum titulis corpus humo tegi ; 15 * Professor of Welsh at St. David's College, Lampeter, and late chaplain to the Hon. Hudson's Bay Company. cclxxiv APPENDIX. Donee longa dies imminuit notas. Quid flemus? Periit nee tumido mari, Nee fatis dubiis occubuit miser : Ilium sed rapuit dira necessitas ; 20 Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit, Nulli flebilior, quam tibi Cambria. O ! plorate bonis tu satis omnibus ! Te desiderio Wallia nobilis Multo prosequitur ; sed pietas nova Te lethi e tenebris evehit ad Deum : 25 In ccelis merito muneribus suis, Te virtus onerat ; cum, mea Pieri, Spes nostras referas mentibus anxiis, Ccelestes iniit nullus adhuc domos, Sanctorum socius, dignior incola : 30 Tali orbata tamen Cambria filio, Luges heu ! nimium victa, doloribus : Crines dilaniat Lampeter # hispidos, Tristi sistit aquas flumine Teucrobis,f Nam vatem audierat carmina dicere : 35 Auctor Phoebe, precor, da mihi spiritum ; Indictum ore meo, num. patiar mori ? Grates tu meritis accipe debitas ; Factas, non statuas, artificis manu, Ponemus, memores non tabulas tibi : 40 Munus carmen erit ; sit super additum Hoc carmen, titulo cum memorabili, — " En docti tumulus ! Vir pius hie jacet ! Rex vatum sapiens, J Pieri dum comes, Qui cunctis colitur, ipse Dei colens." 45 " J." " Hyde Abbey School, Winchester, 1822." * Virgin-like. f Tivius. X In allusion to my father's appointment, as one of the judges at the Eisteddfod held at Carmarthen, in 1819. CORRIGENDA. Page iv, 1. 9, for " Llandiveilog," read " Pibor, near Carmarthen." 14, for " Morgan Morgans," read " Morgan Jenkins." lviii, 30, for " Rhegett," read " Byged." cxix, 7, for " Mr. " read " .*' cxxvi, 11, for " Warren," read " Ware." ' Pwysan," read " Pwysau." Sedjam" read " Sed me jam." gorau 'd," read " goreu o." Ddigwyddoda," read " Ddigwyddodd." iu," read " cei." Balan," read " Balant." Balac," read " Bale." Ysgythau," read " Ysgythan." Ysgythau," read " Ysgythan." hadanedd," read " hadenydd." Gortheryn," read " Gwrtheyrn." ; Dwrodigwys," read " Dwrodrigwys." Cernywir," read " CernyTvyr." Brigantwison," read " Brigantweision." Can tine," read " Cantire." Coelbien," read " Coelbren." dicisive," read " decisive." 119, 11, for 126, 2, for ' 144, 8, for ' 163, 7, for ' 9, for ■ 191, 22, for « 192, 3, for ' 199, 28, for « 29, for « for' 226, 30, for ' 227, 22, for ' 229, 21, for < 240, 27, for ' 249, 32, for ■ 268, 22, for « 26, for ' THE ENGLISH WORKS OF ELIEZER WILLIAMS, M. A, AN HISTORICAL ESSAY ON THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES, PARTICULARLY THEIR MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 'T^HE ancient Druids, whose opinions are so little known, and whose ceremonies and religious rites are at present so imperfectly understood, never dis- played their attention to the exigencies of society and to the conveniences of private life, in a more lau- dable manner, than in the institutions which they introduced respecting the matrimonial union of the sexes. For, though we have not a correct account of the whole of their doctrines and established ceremo- nies, partial tradition and local customs have pre- served a sufficient specimen of them to enable an attentive observer to form a general idea of their ultimate intentions. The customs still prevalent at the celebration of marriage, and the more ancient B MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF observances recorded in old manuscripts, or handed down by tradition, give a favourable view of the policy and address of the original legislators of the Celtic tribes, and afford very flattering proofs of their wisdom, and their knowledge of human nature. In order to render a state powerful, the increase of population is the favourite object of every prudent government. And to encourage wed- lock appears to be one of the most feasible me- thods of increasing the popular stores of a state, and of repairing the losses occasioned by epidemical diseases and by the depredations of war. Accor- dingly among the Celtic tribes, nothing more was required in the candidates for matrimonial happiness, than such a conduct and such a deportment in their respective stations, as should render them worthy of the patronage and protection of the community to which they belonged. Industrious habits, a sober disposition, and an amiable temper, rendered wealth and domestic felicity attainable by the meanest indi- vidual. For no sooner had a youth of good character secured the affections of a female of his own rank and of fair reputation, and no sooner had he expressed a wish to be matrimonially united to her, than some respectable personages, and not unfrequently the principal chieftains in the tribe to which he apper- tained, espoused his cause, exerted their influence, and had recourse to the most effectual methods of securing a general attendance of their retainers at the celebration of the marriage, and of raising by means of easy contributions such a sum as might prove suf- ficient to establish the young couple in a situation THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 3 likely to render their future life comfortable and above the reach of indigence. To ensure a numerous attendance of the neighbouring tribes, games and athletic sports were instituted, and prizes of consi- derable value were promised to victors; and to ren- der the contributions made on these occasions as li- beral as possible, it was obligatory on the youthful couple or their patrons, to make an adequate return, whenever, on similar occasions, such return should be required. In consequence of these beneficial in- stitutions, the youths of the country were induced frequently to appear in mixed assemblies, and to engage in manly exercises, which softened their man- ners, and gradually prepared them for the fatigues and hardships of war; while, by these popular cus-? toms, they were led easily and imperceptibly to confer on their neighbours and fellow-countrymen such be- nefits and friendly favours as might, when repaid on similar occasions, contribute to their own comfort. When the nuptial day was fixed, the first care was to commission an eloquent messenger to visit the neighbouring castles, and invite the resident warriors and their attendants to the wedding. And in more peaceful days, the rural villages were traversed, and a general invitation was given to the ruddy and cheerful inhabitants to form a part of the company on the festive occasion. The Bidder,* in former times, was a person of a respectable and popular character, possessed of much eloquence, considerable talents, and an inexhaustible fund of mirth and rus- * See Cambrian Popular Antiquities, 8vo. p. 159. 4 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF tic humour. Herodrach, or the art of conducting an embassy, and carrying on important negotiations with propriety, was, among the Gauls, considered as one of the four-and-twenty games, which every young man who aspired to be regarded as an accomplished individual, was obliged to study, and of which it was incumbent on him to render himself complete master. In order to habituate themselves to a lively address, and a copia verborum, or a ready flow of easy lan- guage, the sons of the chieftains not unfrequently disguised themselves in the habit of the Bidder, and exerted their talents in haranguing the populace, and causing a numerous attendance at their retainer's wedding. And when the young lord succeeded to the estate of his ancestors, the villagers would often dwell with pleasure on the address which he had discovered, and the mirthful eloquence which he had displayed, in the character of matrimonial herald, at the time that he solicited their company at the nup- tials of one of his humble dependents. The herald, on these occasions, wore, as ensigns of office, his hat or bonnet ornamented with wedding garlands, and his staff decorated with ribands; and thus distin- guished, he might proceed unmolested through hostile tribes, and the camps of contending armies. " Suppliant the venerable herald stands, While Hymen's awful ensigns grace his hands; By these he begs, and, lowly bending down, He sues to all," &c. pope's homer. At the castles of the principal chieftains his con- stant ambition was to arrive just at dinner time, when the lord and his retainers were found assembled THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. O in the great hall, in cheerful humour and in high spirits; when rattling his Baton* against the floor to procure attention, and dropping a graceful bow, he began his harangue, " Cennad gwahoddwr, a gwa- hoddwr he/yd, at wr y Ty, a gwraig y Ty, a phawb or Tylwyth" &c. There was generally a prescribed form adapted to these purposes, but the orator in- dulged in occasional deviations from the beaten track, displaying his talents in mirthful sallies, and humo- rous parodies on celebrated passages from favourite authors. If the parties were of the lower order in society, he gave their pedigree with affected gravity, drew up a mock history of their exploits, and of their brave and generous actions ; expatiated on their per- sonal excellencies, and on the good qualities of their ancestors, descanted on the joys of matrimony, and the miseries of celibacy; and when he imagined he had succeeded in putting his audience into good hu- mour, he returned with great address to his subject, applied himself successively to the principal persons present, and endeavoured to extract a promise from them, which, when obtained, was regularly entered in his tablets. His reputation as an orator, and his reward as a Bidder, depended on the success of his eloquence, and on the number of promises which he obtained. When his oration was closed, the Hirlas, or silver-tipped Horn, was put into his hands foaming * Ei Bastwn, his Baton. The French and the Cambrians, in this and many other expressions, use exactly the same words. All the old words, or the Gaulois, the language of the old Gauls retained in the French, are the same with the Welsh. b MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF with ale, or sparkling with mead. He thanked his audience for their friendly attention, drank their healths, and, with a bow, modestly retired. On the morning of the nuptial day the bride and bridegroom, privately attended by their particular friends, repaired to church at an early hour, when the ceremony was performed, and their title to the enjoyment of domes- tic happiness inserted in the usual records. On their return, the bride and bridegroom separated, and re- paired to the mansions of their respective friends. In the great hall they made their appearance, to receive the congratulations of their visitors. Considerable address was requisite, in order to recollect the names, and make proper inquiries after the families of each particular visitor; and when the youth or the inex- perience of the bride and bridegroom rendered them unequal to the task, they were assisted by friends of maturer years, who refreshed their memories, and guided their erring judgments. The names of the visitors were entered by a proper person in a book provided for the occasion, that, under similar circum- stances, the visit might be returned, and the amount of whatever compliment they left, might be faith- fully restored whenever it should appear to be re- quired. The tokens of friendship, or of neighbourly benevolence, which they determined to bestow, were deposited in a large silver dish provided for that purpose. It appears that among the Gaulic and Celtic tribes, previously to the invention of money, and its application to commercial purposes, things were presented in a kind of written promise, which it was deemed in the highest degree dishonourable THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 7 not to fulfill. Something not dissimilar to this is mentioned by Tacitus, in his account of the manners and customs of the Germans. Describing the mar- riages of those people, he observes, " Inter 'sunt pro- pinqui, ac manera probant, munera non ad delicias muliebres qucesita, nee quibus nova nupta comatur, sed boves, et frenatum equum, et scutum cum framed gladioque" &c. The parents and relations of the newly-married couple attended to testify their ap- probation of the gifts that were presented ; gifts con- sisting not of luxurious delicacies, or bridal orna- ments, but of oxen, horses trained to war, shields, swords, and ashen spears pointed with polished iron, &c. Their congratulations on the happy marriage being made, and their offerings at the shrine of Hymen being presented, the company successively retired to an adjoining apartment, where, when the par- ties were opulent, seasonable refreshments were provi- ded, and where the fascinating powers of music were essayed. The harp and the viol have always been deemed favourite instruments in the hands of the Welsh ; its melodious sounds, its energetic expression, and its aptitude for accompaniments, rendered the for- mer peculiarly acceptable on these festive occasions. Accompanying the harp or viol with the voice in the choice compositions of the bards — singing pieces of music in four parts, and in full harmony — formed, from the earliest periods, the principal occupation of those, who, from years or feeble habits of body, were incapable of displaying their strength or their agility in manlier exercises. " Canu can pedwar accennu" or to sing pieces of music of four parts with a pro- 8 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF per air and accent, was reckoned among the four-and- twenty games, in which every well educated Gaul was expected to excel. Accompaniments in music were familiar to the ancient inhabitants of these islands, before they were known to the rest of Europe. A manuscript * of Welsh music still extant, and des- scribed by Jones, in his "Relics of the Welsh Bards," seems to place this subject in a luminous point of view. But until the gamut then in use can be de- ciphered, the merit of the music cannot be so well ascertained. To repeat the composition of the bards with accurate emphasis and proper gesticulation, called " datganiad pen pastiau" was likewise es- teemed a branch of bard ism, and one of the four-and- twenty games. The performer bore in his hand a cane or baton, with which he improved his action during the repetition. Sometimes he rattled it in cadence on the floor, to mark the time and add to the effect of his spirited delivery. By the energy of his manner, he frequently worked himself up into a paroxysm of enthusiastic phrensy, and sometimes succeeded in affecting his audience with similar rapture. These bardic declaimers resembled much, if we may judge from historic description, the rhapsodoi so much in vogue among the Greeks : and it was possibly as much by the art of the declaimer, as by the poetic force and fire of the composition, that the extraor- * The Cambrian youths went generally to the Italian Univer- sities for their education. It is probable that some of them carried copies of this work with them, and that Guido took the hint from it in the composition of his work on Counterpoint, &c. See Jones's Relicsof the Welsh Bards, 1st Edition, No. 18. THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. V dinary effects often mentioned were produced ; such as *Rhys Meigen's falling down dead on hearing a philosophic ode repeated which had been written against him by the celebrated Dafydd ab Gwilym. The games were divided into such as tended to the improvement of the mind, and such as were calculated to add to the strength and vigour of the body. Those persons whose naturally feeble constitutions, or whose age prevented them from entering the lists among the more athletic competitors for fame, contented themselves with exerting their talents to obtain ap- plause, and procure favour in assemblies of a less martial disposition. The domestic and literary games, or those generally in request in mixed assemblies^ were, 1. Barddo?iiaeth, or bardism ; 2. Canu Telyn, or playing the harp ; 3. Darllain Cy?nraeg, or reading Welsh ; 4. Canu cyivydd gandant, or singing a poem with the harp, or viol ; 5. Canu cywydd pedicar ai accennu, or singing an ode of four parts, and accenting it with proper expression ; 6. Tynnu arfau, or heraldry ; 7. Herodraeth, or embassy; To which may be added the four inferior games : 8. Chwarau gwydd bwyll, or playing chess ; 9. Chwarau tawlbwrdd, or playing backgammon, or some such game ; 10. Chwarau ffristial, or playing dice, or cards ; * See the Cambrian Biography, p, 306. 10 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF 1 1 . Cyweirio telyn, or tuning the harp. Such were the games that were most in esteem in private assemblies and places of social intercourse. They are undoubtedly of great antiquity ; the nature of some of them is at present but very imperfectly understood, others are still preserved, and still prac- tised ; and it is the general belief of those who are most conversant with the subject, that an attentive perusal of such fragments as are still extant, of an- cient British history, and an examination of such passages in the works of the bards as casually men- tion them, would tend to remove many of the diffi- culties, and clear up much of the obscurity in which their history is at present unfortunately involved. The domestic games were in great repute, and to be ignorant of them was esteemed dishonourable ; but in active youth, when health, a favourable season, and a convenient opportunity, invited to manlier exer- cises, to consume time in such as are adapted to the capacity of those of a more debilitated age, was to be lost in sloth, and to renounce all claims to the cha- racter of a warrior. And when such athletic sports were pursued, to be absent from the spot, where com- petitors for gymnastic fame displayed their skill, was considered to be as reproachful in men, as being present on such occasions was discreditable in women. For the accommodation of the candidates, a field adjacent to the house where the friends of the bridegroom were assembled, was converted into a species of Campus Martius, where those who ex- celled in manly sports entered the lists, and those who were considered only as amateurs, were con- THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 11 tented with attending as spectators. The games most esteemed at these matrimonial assemblages were such as tended to improve and display swiftness of foot, dexterity of hand, and vigour and activity of body : those regarded as the most reputable were : — EXERCISES OF ACTIVITY. 12. Cryfder dan bwysau, or the display of strength in hurling a stone, or throwing a bar; 13. Rhedeg, or running ; 14. Neidio, or leaping ; 15. Nqfto, or swimming ; 16. Ymafael, or wrestling; 17. Marchogaetli, or riding, which extended like- wise to feats in chariots of war, as described by Caesar. EXERCISES OF WEAPONS. 18. Saethu, or archery, shooting, and throwing the javelin ; 19. Chwarau cleddyf a tharian, or fencing with a sword and buckler ; 20. Chwarau cleddyf deuddwrn, or fencing with the two handed sword ; 21*. Chwarau ff on ddwybig, or playing with the quarter staff; 22. Hela a milgi, or hunting, or more properly perhaps coursing ; 23. Hela pysg, or fishing ; * There were other games ranked among the rural sports, which could not be well celebrated at matrimonial meetings. 12 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF 24. Hela aderyn, or falconry. An account of these celebrated games may be found in several manuscripts of considerable antiquity ; and Dr. Davies has given a list of them in his Folio Welsh and Latin Dictionary, printed in London in the year 1632. The surprising similarity subsisting between many of them, and those anciently in estima- tion among the Greeks, will establish the fact so clearly as not to admit of a doubt, that they were originally borrowed the one from the other, or that they were at some remote period derived from one common source. It is well known that certain tribes of the Gauls in a very remote age settled in Galatia, and gave their name to the province which they selected for their habitation. The Greeks derived their games and several of their ancient customs from the Ionians, and those inhabiting different districts of Asia Minor. It is not improbable, therefore, that they were derived from the Gauls, settled in Galatia, who, by their valour and the success of their arms im- pressed the neighbouring nations with a high idea of their manners, customs, and institutions. The Ro- mans borrowed their games and gymnastic exercises evidently from the Greeks ; and it is remarkable that almost all their games, in which, according to some of our classical authors, the Roman youths delighted to exercise themselves, are the very sports which to this day constitute the principal diversion of the Cambrian champions. " Luctari, joculari, currere equitare, salire ad quce exercebat se Romana juventus in Campo Martio" are the words of a commentator upon our old friend Horace, in his notes on a passage THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 13 descriptive of the Roman contests. The customs still observed in Wales would be a still better commentary upon such passages. The discharge from a mus- cular arm of the ponderous bar, resembles the hurling of the weightier spear ; and the display of corporeal strength, in raising and throwing to a considerable distance, stones of an enormous magnitude, is not unlike the feats which, in ancient days, when the fate of battles was decided by single combat, the greatest heroes were known to excel in, and were occasionally proud to practise, " Nee plura effatus, saxum circumspicit ingens : Saxum antiquum, ingens, campo quod forte jacebat, Limes agro positus, litem ut discerneret arvis. Vix Mud lecti bis sex cervice subirent, Qualia nunc hominum producit corpora tellus. Ille rnanu raptum trepidd torquebat in hostem Altior insurgenSy et cursu concitus heros." "Then, as he roll'd his troubled eyes around, An antique stone he saw, the common bound Of neighbouring- fields ; and barrier of the ground, So vast, that twelve strong men of modern days The enormous weight from earth could hardly raise, He heaved it at a lift : and, poised on high," &c. Running was likewise a favourite exercise among the Britons. It was patronized by the chieftains, from an idea that it qualified their people for war, as in consequence of their speed, the infantry could mix with the cavalry, and accompany them on forced marches, for several successive days; a species of warfare admirably calculated for light incursions on the territories of the enemy. Caesar describes certain tribes of the Germanic Gauls, who appointed a foot 14 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF soldier to each trooper, and became extremely formi- dable to their enemies by this extraordinarydiscipline; as the foot soldiers, by constant exercise, could swim the broadest rivers, keep pace in the longest marches, and stand the shock of the severest charge at the side of the cavalry, with whom they were intermixed, and to whom they were attached. The foot race is still in estimation, and many are so famed for pedestrian expeditions, that in a journey of three hundred miles, they have surpassed in speed the swiftest horses. Leaping has always been a diversion to which the Cambrian youths were much addicted, and by constant exercise so eminently ex- celled in, that in agility no nation could surpass them. " Neidio dwyjid a heol" to bound from field to field, over a road and two fences, is mentioned as a feat frequently performed. In these contests the com- petitors invoked the names of their favourite fair ones, and regarded themselves as equal, for their sakes, to the most difficult enterprizes. Einion having invoked the beautiful Angharad, sprang, in- spired by the thoughts of her, over the Aberno- dwydd,* a narrow dingle in North Wales. Neidiais a gyrrais heb un gorwedd, danaf, Wei dyna feistrolrwydd N aid favor , lliw gwawr, yn ei gwydd, Ar naid dros Abernodwydd. * This dingle is in width about fifty feet, and is situated a little below Plas Gwyn in Anglesey, the seat of the late Paul Panton, Esq. well known as the Maecenas of Welsh literature, and of the present Jones Panton, Esq. where to this day three stones, called u Naid Abernodwydd," may be observed, fixed on end to mark the distance, and probably the nature of the leap, a hop, step, and THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 15 Fairest Angharad, for thy sake What feats could not I undertake ? To thee what could my course delay, What rivers could obstruct my way ? Inspired by thee, I fancy still, The broadest stream the narrowest rill ; And, like a hart, from ground to ground, Cross Abernodwydd at a bound. anon. Wrestling is still practised, and is in high estima- tion. The usual mode of displaying their strength or agility adopted by the combatants is that species of luctation which is so prevalent in Cornwall, as well as Wales ; and is generally known in England by the name of the " Cornish hugg," and among the Britons was anciently denominated " cwdwm cefn" The antagonist passed his right arm under his adver- sary's left, grasped him round the waist, fixed the knuckles of his fingers against his opponent's chine, and giving a sudden wrench to the right, and at the same instant dexterously striking him under the left ham, with the right knee, seldom failed to bring him to the ground. By art and experience a person of inferior size frequently succeeded against a gigantic adversary, a Ulysses against an Ajax. The other species of wrestling, which was less frequently prac- tised, was called " cwdwm braich" in which the jump. Einion, who performed this feat, was of the Treveilir family in the same county, and he has recorded the exploit in a short poem, in which he acknowledges having received the lady as the prize of his agility. His father and grandfather, Gwalch- mai and Meilir, were also of that family, and were celebrated bards, several of their compositions are still extant. See Cambr. Reg. I. Vol. p. 442.— Editor. 16 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS Ol wrestlers seized each other by the arms, and when, in the course of the struggle, an adversary raised one of his feet, a timely and dexterous application of the right foot to the other generally succeeded in sup- planting and subverting him. To prevent brutal strength from wearing out less athletic ingenuity, the contest was confined to three struggles ; and to give two falls was to secure the victory. Shooting com- prized the art of aiming at a mark or target with a bow and arrow, as well as that of emulously con- tending for the honour of throwing to the greater distance a javelin or pointed dart. It was customary in former ages to propose valuable prizes for the encouragement of those who should prove expert in archery ; and at the present period, when the use of the musket has been substituted for that of the bow, a sheep, a flitch of bacon, or some prize of a similar nature, is often proffered as the reward of the best marksman ; the value of which, when not obtained from the liberality of the bridegroom, or the gene- rosity of his friends, is raised by the competitors or the spectators by a subscription among themselves. Throwing or darting the javelin was a favourite ancient exercise, considered as a useful preparatory discipline for those who would aspire to military renown, as well as a necessary accomplishment for those whose delight was the chase or the sports of the field. The spectators present at this exercise regularly ranged themselves in two rows ; the com- petitors stood at one extremity of these rows, and the object aimed at, or the mark to distinguish the place where the javelin fell, was fixed at the other, so THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 17 that the lines were marked out for the champions, within which their darts were to be directed, as well as the object beyond which it was not expected they should be thrown ; circumstances that may serve as comments upon the practice of the Greeks, so puz- zling to many writers on Grecian antiquities. For whichever nation be deemed the most ancient, the similarity of the prizes, and the identity of the games cannot be controverted. The British chieftain, no less than the Grecian, instituted sports and proposed rewards to the victor ; " For these he bids the heroes prove their art, Whose dext'rous skill directs their flying dart." In modern days, the javelin, which is no longer in use, has been succeeded by the oaken staff. It is furnished with a club in the form of a cone, the base forming one extremity of the staff. When properly poised, and dexterously hurled, this ponderous club keeps it steady in its course, and gives it the appear- ance, as it flies, of a broad headed arrow. Some muscular young men from habit have been known to hurl it to an incredible distance, and to hit an object with great precision, at the extremity of a line of sixty or seventy yards in extent. Those who excel in this exercise have often distinguished themselves in the management of the three-pronged spear, and have pierced a salmon at a vast distance in the Tave,* or an otter swimming in the Teifi,* when likely to ef- * Rivers in Carmarthenshire and in Cardiganshire. The otter being an amphibious animal, ** Hela Dwrgi" or hunting the C 18 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OK feet his escape from the dogs. Fencing was always considered to be an accomplishment indispensably necessary in a warlike nation. The use of the small sword was studied, and regarded as an object no less deserving of attention than that of the broad sword. But no weapons were in greater request among the Celtic tribes, than the sword and buckler, as they loved to wage no distant war, but to close and con- tend hand to hand with their enemies. Prior to the operation of the statute for disarming the inhabitants of the Principality of Wales, a Cambro-Briton seldom left his habitation without his sword and buckler, and a martial disposition, together with frequent ren- counters, rendered him ever ready and expert in the use of them. The Claymore of the highlands was no other than the Clecld mawr or Cltmawr of the Welsh, the Erse,* or Gaelic, being only a corrupt pronunciation of the language of the Principality of Wales. For the Highlanders having no books, or manuscripts, their dialect on the Celtic floated long on the varying surges of colloquial barbarism, with- out the compass of grammar or the helm of ortho- otter, was ranked under fishing, and considered as one of the four-and-twenty games, as was hunting the beaver, or " Helar Afangc" an animal formerly found in the lakes at the source of the Teifi, and said to be very numerous in Giraldus's time, about the year 1188. * Giraldus Cambrensis, and other authors, represent the dress of the Welsh as much resembling that of the Highlanders in the middle ages. They wore long trowsers, as in the Eastern Highlands, a short jacket, and a mantle similar to the Scots plaid. A kind of striped half-cloth, which resembles the plaid, is still used in Glamorganshire, and many parts of Wales. THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 19 graphy to direct it, which became of course less certain in its tendency than those dialects that were always conducted by regular written rules. Since the Welsh have been prevented from carrying the sword and the buckler, the quiver and the bow, the oaken cudgel has appeared as the unhappy, because not the less destructive, substitute for the broad sword, and the youths of the lower ranks of life are, even in these days of civilization and Christian light, when occasion requires, as liberal in its use, as they are dexterous in its management. They defend themselves with great address, receive every blow on their weapon or on their left arm, and return the blow before their adversary can recover himself and be upon his guard.* The two-handed sword is at pre- sent scarcely known, but it was a favourite warlike weapon in the middle centuries. In the expedition of Lewis IX. to Egypt, during the crusades, A.D. * The generality of the lower ranks, even in these days, con- sider oaken cudgels as essential companions, and seldom repair to any places of amusement, such as fairs and weddings, &c. without them. Parishes would sometimes meet to try their strength, and where a private quarrel existed between two individuals of diffe- rent districts, it would be sometimes adjusted by a general combat. Some of our readers may perhaps recollect dreadful scenes of this kind occurring at the fairs of Tregaron and Lam- peter, where they might have observed some of the combatants conveyed to the surgeries in a condition truly horrid. They may also bring to their recollection that celebrated warrior yclept " Jacky'r Post," one of a family noted for this species of warfare, who, being an object of hatred to his enemies, and a marked man, seldom ventured abroad without his " Ffon Dderwen," which, like himself, was rather below the common size, al- though formed of amazing tough materials, he kept deposited 20 MAN NEKS AND CUSTOMS 01 1249, John de Vassey, a French priest, armed with a scymetar of this kind, attacked a redoubt manned by eight Turks : " when near enough, he ran upon them, and with his two handed strokes put all the eight to flight, which valorous action rendered him famous throughout the army."* As much strength was requisite in the management of it, the ancient Britons prided themselves not a little in the exercise of it, and it was often seen in their ranks. It did not admit of the defensive aid of the buckler, consequently a considerable share of dexterity was required to parry the adversary's blows. The battle-axe, how- ever, appears to have been a more favourite instru- ment. Hywel y Fwyall,f or Howell with the battle- axe is described by the Welsh bards, as having com- manded a body of his countrymen as a corps de reserve, at the battle of Cressy, and by his seasonable advance, and thundering incursion on the French lines, to have materially contributed to the accele- in a left side pocket preparatory to any sudden assault. We have been eye-witnesses, in our schoolboy days, of an attack made upon him in a fray by three or four stout fellows, who seemed determined to improve their advantage of numbers by the violence and agility with which they assailed the helpless and unhappy wight, but, like a prudent warrior, he reserved his strength, par- rying their blows as well as he was able, until he gained what he called his vantage ground, when, making good his retreat to a neighbouring wall, he, like our old friend " Dandie Dinmont," applied his strokes so thick and with such deadly precision, as to display their huge uncouth carcases writhing on the ground together, the bleeding trophies of his superior prowess. Editor. * M. Savary's Letters on Egypt, vol. i. p. 360. t A piece of music called " Gwigill y Fwyall" is still played on the harp in South Wales. THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 21 ration of the victory. The use of the "ffon ddmybig^ is not perfectly ascertained ; it has been translated a quarter-staff ] the management of which is too well known to need description. The justice of this translation may, however, be doubted, and, from the import of the original word, it might be questioned, whether it was not a short pike in ancient use, armed with a sharp blade at each extremity. The " ten gampwyr" or old champions, generally acted as umpires at these games, preserved order, prevented disputes, and acted as the 'Ayuvapyai or 'Paj3Sovo^uot of the Greeks. They seldom, when their fame was once established, entered the lists again, as they had little to gain, but might eventually lose every thing, by trusting their reputation unnecessarily to the cast of the die of Fortune. When to direct others it be- came necessary to handle their arms, they did it with very considerable dexterity, but without much ap- parent exertion, that they might seem not to put out half their strength, and have credit for a greater share of ability had they chosen to exert themselves. A twofold advantage was sometimes reaped by thus concealing the real extent of their natural prowess, and shading the lustre of their hard-earned fame. It is related, that a young gentleman of considerable property, who had betrayed great partiality for these games, had been so flattered for the proficiency he had made, that he imagined himself invincible, and conceived it impossible that any blow should be aimed at him with success. To establish his repu- tation on a still firmer basis, he challenged one of these veterans to contend with him in the manage- 22 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF ment of the quarter-staff, and offered him a lease of one of his farms then vacant, if he could aim a blow at him which he could not parry. The wary old champion for some time declined the contest, alleging it to be an impossibility to attack so expert a gladiator. But being importunately pressed, he, with some appa- rent reluctance, at length accepted the challenge, and soon obliged his youthful opponent to acknowledge him victor. " A gafjir lie, Meistr?" " And shall I have the farm, sir V ? said the veteran, " Cei, cei, dal dy law'r diawl ; di geir tyddyn" " Yes, yes, hold thy hand, devil," said the other, " thou shalt have it in perpetuity." To constitute a complete champion, it was necessary to obtain the prize, at each of the four-and-twenty games ; but to have contended suc- cessfully at some of them against men of acknow- ledged talent, was sufficient to acquire a name, and establish some degree of reputation. By constant habit and frequent observation, experienced cham- pions were able to give hints that would often con- duce to the victory of either combatant; and the party they seemed to support, if not ultimately suc- cessful, obtained the good opinion, and became, for some time at least, the favourites of the spectators. To obtain the regard and patronage of men of so much influence, was therefore an object of no ordi- nary consideration, with every candidate for fame at these exercises. A reproof from an old champion had an instantaneous effect, and a cry from him of Moesau, Moesau (les Mceurs, les Mceurs), calmed every rising tumult, and extinguished every nascent spark of animosity. Or, if any dispute could not be THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 23 immediately adjusted, every appearance of anger was for the present suspended, and the decision of the subsisting difference deferred till the meeting of the parties at some more convenient place. Hence wedding feasts, which, from the nature of the games celebrated at them, might have been expected to resemble the nuptials of the Lapithae, were conducted with every appearance of regularity and propriety ; and if in modern times some corruptions have insinu- ated themselves, and some irregularities have pre- vailed, it is that the old champions have become less numerous or less popular, have lost their authority or neglected to exert it. It would be difficult per- haps at present to decide whether anciently among the Celtic tribes, there were any stated periods at which these games were celebrated, like the Olympic and Numean. But when reciprocal entertainments were established among the Welsh princes, these sports were always proposed for the amusement of the guests. In the year 1113, GrufTydd ab Rhys, a Prince of South Wales, and ancestor of the present Lord Dinefawr, gave at his seat near Llandilo, a public feast which continued for forty days, where all manly games were encouraged, and honourable gifts bestowed on all who were found deserving.* At every numerous concourse of people, the lively and active part of the community generally amused themselves in these exercises. At marriages parti- cularly, a spirited but amicable contest at the most * Cambrian Biography, p. 149. 24 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF popular games seldom failed to engage the attention of the young and enterprizing, the athletic and the brave ; the fields adjoining the house also where a wedding was celebrated, were covered with crowds of combatants and spectators, umpires and compe- titors ; and resounded with the vociferations of ani- mation, the shouts of approbation, and the thunder of applause. When the contributions were completed, the usual ceremonies observed, and the company ready to attend the bridegroom on his expedition to meet the bride, the signal to mount their steeds and to prepare for their departure, was given by the piper, who played on the occasion an appropriate and characteristic air on his pipes. In ancient days the piper was a man of genius, and a person of some consideration in his way. Colleges were established for the instruction of the youths who preferred this profession, frequent competitions encouraged, rewards bestowed, and degrees conferred, on the most de- serving; and no man was permitted to perform in public, who had not been regularly educated, and duly examined. Every chieftain had his family piper, and considerable emulation subsisted between the rival musicians of neighbouring lords. Several beautiful pieces of music were composed on this instrument by the professors of ancient days. The soft air called # " Erddigan y Pibydd Cock," or the Red Piper's song, and some others are still extant and are deservedly admired. In the hands of skilful Jones's Relics of the Bards, p. 61. THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 25 artists the instrument* seems to have attained to a pitch of excellence that would now be hardly cre- dited ; a pastoral writer, describing the effects of this rural music in his time, thus addresses a piper : Os chwiban dy bib-goed, felus-geodd dan las-goed, O'r coed nifyn dwy-droed fyrid adre . Richards' Welsh Pastorals. When at a distance in the shade Some soft air on thy pipe is play'd, Charm'd at the fascinating sound, My feet seem rooted to the ground ; No more I think of home, but still Linger to catch some warbling rill. The piper's horse is generally as regularly trained to the business as his rider ; for, no sooner is he mounted, than he sets off on full career for the place of rendezvous appointed by the bride and bridegroom ; and as if privy to the arrangement, and determined to be true to the appointment, he never flags in his pace, and seldom deviates from the proper track. As for his master, his whole attention is directed to the management of his musical machine ; he there- fore rides in the Numidian style, " laxis habenis^ with loose reins, or rather without any reins at all, trusting more to the sagacity of his horse than to his own horsemanship. The animal, as if complete master of his business, and proud of his harmonious burden, flounders away with great spirit, " through * The bagpipes used in Wales, in general, are the large High- land bagpipes, but in Pembrokeshire and some of the adjoining: counties, the Irish pipes are in most repute, as they are in other places, for a private room, or for a dance. 26 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF dense and rare,' 1 and all the miry vicissitudes of the road. The melody of the pipes seems to have on the company, in some measure, the same effect that the verberations of the pan have in summer on the bees ; for they swarm round the musician, and wing their way with him with astonishing alacrity ; while he, as if delighted with the attention paid him, sits in great state, and beats time with his ponderous heels against the flanks of his horse. Either from the singularity of his appearance, or from the charms of his music, he seldom fails, in a short period, to be- come the centre of attraction, and the whole company soon seem to conglomerate around him with increas- ing adhesive force, till, at last, the whole moving body appears like a huge nucleus, of which the piper is the centre, and continues rolling along with prodigious velocity over hills and dales, without any regard to the nature of the ground, or the state of the road. The piper forms the centre of the system, while the other bodies, as if attracted and exhilarated by him, move round him, and attend him in his course. Some, like comets, fly off a considerable dis- tance in another direction, when the ground affords them room to expatiate, either singly to draw atten- tion, or in small parties to contend in swiftness, and shew the speed of their horses ; but all soon return, and discover that they form a part of the same system, and revolve round the same centre. The distance is often not less than ten or twelve miles, to the place appointed to meet the bride and her party, and as the horses are, with a few exceptions, of the pony-race, and the roads, in no very favourable state, it is a THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 27 matter of astonishment that they should be able to move with so much persevering celerity, and reach the place of their destination within so short a period, as they are frequently known to do. It is natural to conclude, that in former days, from the nature of the institution, and the attention paid to equestrian exer- cises, as a necessary qualification for field-sports and warlike expeditions, their breed* of horses was of a superior quality, and that these matrimonial ex- cursions were more regularly conducted ; but at pre- sent, they are productive of more entertainment than utility, and attended with more danger than honour. But the riders discover great boldness, if not much skill, and the horses more strength and perseverance than many of a larger size, and greater beauty, as they frequently carry two persons, and move with surprising velocity, and considerable safety, over rough declivities, where more shewy ' studs would stumble at every step. At the first appearance of preparations to take horse, and hastening to form a junction with the party of the bride, the young men of an enterprising spirit, and of an active disposition, mounted their lively steeds, and proceeded with the greatest alacrity, on an expedition attended with as many difficulties, and frequently as many perils, as the Colchian expedition and the Rape of the Golden Fleece. Their object was to surprise the bridal at- tendants, bear away the bride in triumph from her protectors, and conduct her in safety to the bride- * See an account of Sir Rhys ap Thomas's fine chargers in the 1st vol. of the Cambrian Register, p. 122, &c. 28 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF groom. The spirited cohort engaged in this enter- prise were distinguished by the appellation of "gwyr o wisgi ocd"* or the men of the age of vivacity, and certainly few expeditions required more vivacity, or more boldness and agility. The attendants of the bride were in constant expectation of their approach, and the most active of them made every preparation to frustrate their designs, and disappoint their hopes. Every difficulty was early opposed to them, and every method not deemed dishonourable taken to obstruct them in their rout and impede them in their career. Straw ropes were fastened across the road, five-barred gates placed at intervals in the way, and where a passage was practicable through a river, the road was completely blocked up, that the youthful adventurers might at once discover their dexterity and excellence in horsemanship and swimming, the two most enter- prising of the four-and-twenty games. The most for- midable of the difficulties, however, invented to im- * They have of late years been erroneously called " gwyr y seek out" as if it were probable, that one half of their appellation should be in one language, and the other in another. They had no occa- sion to seek out the bride, they knew perfectly where she resided, and to seek out any thing else would hardly merit the bridegroom's thanks. The term seek out is but a modern appellation, and may be easily accounted for. It was the custom for the friends and retainers of the bride to conceal her in some unknown place so as to puzzle the bridegroom's adherents when they approached to search for her, but in consequence of a tragical event which once on a time followed this practice, it has of late years been abolished. The story runs that, from a wish to afford the parties more than usual merriment by increasing the difficulty of the search, it was agreed to conceal the bride in an oak chest that stood in the room. So successful was the joke that the privacy of the lurking- THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 29 pede the progress of the adventurers in their rout was the " Gwyntyn"* which anciently consisted of an upright post, on the top of which a cross bar turned on a pivot; at one end of the cross bar hung a heavy sand bag, and at the other was placed a broad plank ; the accomplished cavalier in his passage couched his lance, and with the point made a thrust at the broad plank, and continued his rout with his usual rapidity, and only felt the gwy?ity?i, or the air of the sand bag, fanning his hair as he passed. Hence this dangerous machine was denominated the ■" gwyntyn" and in process of time corrupted into the vulgar and well known expression of u qumtin" The awkward horseman in attempting to pass this terrific barrier, was either unhorsed by the weight of the sand-bag, or by the impulse of the animal against the bar found his steed sprawling under him on the ground. At no great distance from every obstacle designedly thrown in the way, a party was stationed to wait the expected events, and deride the fallen place baffled all the ingenuity of the bridegroom's friends. The search was abandoned, and they were preparing for their de- parture, when the young bride's friends having repaired to the place of concealment, melancholy to relate, they discovered the unhappy victim of their incautious frolic lifeless ! It was sup- posed that the chest in the hurry of the moment had been unin- tentionally fastened, and that from the tumult which prevailed her appeals for assistance had been unheard. This tale in its leading features is somewhat similar to an Italian story related in that beautiful poem " Italy " by Rogers, but whether or not founded on the same tradition I leave it to others better versed in Cambrian lore to decide. She scouts is another etymon given. Editor. * See Cambrian Popular Antiquities, p. 163. 30 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF riders, as well as those who unnecessarily attempted feats that required more consummate skill, and a greater share of agility than they could justly boast of. All who proved unsuccessful were considered as fair objects of ridicule, because no person was com- pelled to engage in these arduous enterprises, and no motive but unjustifiable vanity could induce men who knew themselves to be unequal to the task, to place themselves on the list of accomplished cham- pions, who had valour to undertake and abilities to execute the most arduous difficulties and the most hazardous enterprizes. " Ludere qui nescit campestribus abstinet armis y Indoctus pilce, discive, trochive quiescit, Ne spisscB risum tollunt impune coronce." " One that cannot dance, or fence, or run, Despairing of success, forbears to try." Those who thus insulted fallen and unsuccessful adventurers, were expected, if called upon, to per- form themselves the feats which they derided others for attempting in vain ; and it was reckoned base and dishonourable to oppose to others difficulties which they could not themselves surmount . The ' ' gwyntyn " was guarded by the most accomplished champions of the party, for they were obliged, if called upon, to pass it themselves at full career, and if challenged by one of the adventurers, they were required to contend with them at one of the four-and-twenty games, and if vanquished became themselves the objects of rail- lery and popular invective. Hence " cadiv gwyntyn" or to guard a quintin, was esteemed a most formid- able enterprise. It sometimes happened that the THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 31 youthful adventurers overcame all these obstacles, or made their appearance before they were interposed in their way, when having arrived near the habitation of the bride, they galloped impetuously to the door, dismounted and endeavoured to bear off the bride, ere their opponents could be aware of their arrival, or pre- pared to resist them. But, if not surprised by their sudden irruption, the attendants of the bride shut the door against them. They could then entertain no hopes of admission but by the efforts of an extem- porary song, which was instantly retorted by their opponents from within. To play a prelude on the harp and compose readily a poetical impromptu was considered by every champion in those chivalrous times as a necessary qualification. They were there- fore particularly expert at these rythmical encounters, which were likely to continue for some time, if a lucky epigrammatic turn, or some sarcastic stanza did not happen to surprise and disconcert their oppo- nents, thereby rendering them incapable of returning an immediate answer, when by the laws of the game the doors were to be thrown open and the victorious assailants instantly admitted. To effect this, much raillery and much personal invective were often used ; which compliments were not less liberally returned by the adverse party ; and when the voice of any of those within was recognised, he was instantly ac- costed with some humourous satire, which might tend to raise a laugh and put a stop to the poetical effusions of his party. It is related that on one of these occasions the voice of a person shrewdly sus- pected of sheep-stealing was recognised among the 32 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS ()l bridal attendants, when one of the assailants recited or sung the following epigram : Gwrando lleidr hoyw'r ddafad, Ai ti sydd yma heddyw'li geidwad? Ai dynar rheswm am gaur drysau, Rhag dwyn y wreigen liw dydd goleu. Purloiner of our fleecy care, Art thou the guardian of the fair? Hence doors are closed in open day, Or thou'dst purloin the bride away. The Fescennine liberty the Roman populace availed themselves of, to rally each other in alternate verses, was never carried to a higher pitch of mirthful seve- rity, than these extemporaneous lampoons among the Cambro-Britons : " Fescennina per hunc invecta licentia morem, Versibus alternis opprobria rusiica fudit" Thus rose the Fescennine licentious sport, Where rustic bards their rustic muses court; Where untaught swains retort on untaught swains, Alternate satire in alternate strains. However, as no individual was named, no offence could be given, and every sarcasm was considered as the ebullition of wit, rather than as the scintilla- tion of incipient ire. On the entrance of the suc- cessful competitors, they endeavoured to engage the attention of the company by friendly inquiries after their health, remarks on the adventures of the day, or attempts at the introduction of a more interesting subject of conversation; while a few of the most eloquent and insinuating of the party addressed themselves to the bride, and made every essay to THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 33 prevail upon her to accompany them, alleging the impatience of the bridegroom, complaining of the cruelty of keeping him in suspense, and of the inca- pacity of her own attendants to do her the honours , which so much worth deserved, and declaring their resolution to suffer every thing for her sake, as well as for her protection ! During the delivery of their message, in this or similar language, some of the party, representing themselves as the faithful and confidential servants of the bridegroom, gently led the bride and her bride-maid to the door, "With sweet, reluctant, amorous delay/' where some of their friends having provided a car- riage or white palfreys ready caparisoned, they were mounted and hurried out of sight with all imaginable expedition, lest the bridal party should recover from their surprise, attempt to pursue them, and parti- cipate in the honour of introducing their fair charge to the anxious bridegroom. The remainder of the juvenile adventurers having their steeds ready, and in custody of their friends, instantly vaulted into their saddles, and were in full career to follow their leaders. The fleetest attended the bride, while the most powerful, and the most expert in martial ex- ercises brought up the rear. No moment was lost in unnecessary delay, and no precaution neglected that could be thought likely to ensure their safety, and contribute to their success; for as soon as the bride's adherents could collect their friends, and put themselves in array, they seldom failed to pursue in full force, and attempt to recover their lost honour, D 34 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF by rescuing their queen from the hands of her new protectors. Every stratagem was therefore essayed to impede their progress, and every justifiable me- thod adopted to disconcert their plans, and frustrate their designs. It sometimes happened that by su- perior knowledge of the country, and by pursuing a different route, they were able to seize an important pass and block up the way; or when confident in their dexterity, and superiority in point of numbers, they frequently ventured on fair ground to dispute, with the juvenile cavalcade, the honour of the day, and to compel them, after the most valorous achieve- ments, to relinquish their hopes, and resign their charge. In the days of chivalry when the comba- tants were clad in armour, many a spear was broken, and many a gallant feat performed, as at a regular tournament. Their principal attention however was generally directed to attempts at unhorsing their adversaries, or disarming them, and rendering them incapable of resistance. Good horsemanship, and a considerable share of strength, sometimes enabled them, while riding at full speed to throw their right arm round the waist of an opponent, bear him off his steed, and let him down gently without injury or accident. For no violence was allowable: and to prevent any mischief from the natural ardour and impetuosity of youth, a select number of venerable old champions took care to be of the party to pre- serve order, and guard against unpleasant accidents. But in spite of every precaution, it unavoidably happened that a few strokes with the cudgel some- times passed, or that between disarmed champions, THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 35 a few blows with the fist* were interchanged, and on some occasions cool proposals to " newid ergydj or exchange a blow, were made and accepted ; and in such cases, while every thing was fairly conducted, no offence was given, and no malice re- tained, as it was considered as an emulous display of dexterity rather than as the inflammatory effects of resentment. The design on one side was by mock rencounters and counterfeit engagements, to gain time till the bride should be carried in safety to the place of her destination : and on the other, to rescue her at all hazards, and to wipe off the imaginary stain, which, through their remissness, had been thrown upon their honour, and sullied their fame as nuptial body-guards. As it was a species of martial sport in which both parties had voluntarily engaged, to lose their temper, and take offence at any occur- rence, which it was natural to expect, was deemed a mark of an illiberal and unmanly disposition. When necessary, however, the old experienced champions interfered, and endeavoured by good humoured raillery to convert every rising dispute into a jest, or when necessary, to interpose their authority, and try their predominating influence to restore peace and tranquillity. From the habits of the parties, and the precautions taken by the most experienced, serious quarrels seldom occurred, and dangerous accidents * Paffio, or boxing, as a branch of ymafael, or wrestling-, was not unknown among the games of the ancient Britons, but all disputes were formerly settled with the sword, and in modern times by its representative the cudgel. 36 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF rarely happened. When the adventurous cohort arrived at the place appointed by the bridegroom for their rendezvous, they were welcomed by their friends with joyful acclamations, their valour eulo- gized, and their achievements celebrated in songs and encomiastic poems. If the bride appeared under their protection their triumph was complete, and the successes of the day considered equal to the most sanguine expectations. The meeting of the happy pair was attended with more than usual exultation, and no ordinary degree of mirth and jovial festivity. When the baffled party of the bride at length arrived, they were received with every mark of friendship, but not without some jocular observations on their vigi- lance, their fidelity, and their attention to the fair sex, and their skill and address in protecting them ; while they in reply acknowledged they had for once suffered themselves to be surprised, but promised, on the next occasion that should present itself, to de- monstrate that the success of the day was more at- tributable to good fortune than to good generalship. Both parties now united, and the active youths on both sides, by severe contests at athletic exercises, exerted themselves to discover how far the preceding events could be considered as proofs of the justice of fortune's decrees, and how far the vanquished in ex- cellence at gymnastic sports were inferior to the victors. When these important points were settled, and when the approach of evening invited the martial youths to fairer society, and forbad the continuance of rougher pastimes, those who did not immediately return to their respective homes, joined the female THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 37 part of the matrimonial assembly, who often proved, by their partiality to the young gallants who had excelled in the field, that they were not insensible to chivalrous merit. The remainder of the evening was dedicated to social amusements, or the pleasures of the sprightly dance. The Gauls, the Cimbri, the ancient Britons, and the other Celtic tribes, were not, like the Germans, addicted to gluttony and inebriety ; their love of poetry and music, and their susceptibility of the finer passions, rendered their assemblies gay, cheerful, and harmonious. They are described as sitting at table in a chequered form, the sexes being placed alternately.* The harp was frequently introduced ; on which every well-educated young man would playf a 'prelude. It was likewise customary to compose apennill or extemporary stanza, on any subject, when it could be thought likely to contribute to the amusement of the company. When the harp was handed round, every man played an air in his turn, and accompanied it with a.pennill, in which he was joined by the female that sat next to him. * This custom will remind our classical readers of the Persian fashion, which induced Darius's Ambassadors, once on a time, to request the Macedonian king's permission to have the privilege of the society of his ladies. " When we make a great feast in Persia," says one of them, " our manner is to bring in our concu- bines and young women to sit beside us." Herod, lib. v. c. 18. In these enlightened days even, slaves as we are to fashion and artificial manners, we may often observe the reverse of this inte- resting sociality, but whether it proceeds from an awkward shy- ness in the lovelier sex, or from a want of gallantry in the men, or both, it is not my province to determine. Editor. t See Giraldus Cambrensis and Jones's Relics of the Bards. 38 M a X N E US AND CU STOM 8 F The air and the appropriate stanza were frequently the ebullitions of the moment. To reject the instru- ment when thus circulated, and to declare they never had been instructed to perform on it, was considered extremely disgraceful. Some of the veteran cham- pions possessed an inexhaustible fund of anecdotes, composed in very humorous language, by a peculiar knack in the repetition of which they could keep the table in a roar for a whole evening. The " dat- geinwyr" or the repeaters of the poems of the bards, by a judicious selection of the works of favourite authors, and a happy mode of delivering them, fre- quently succeeded in impressing on their audience any sentimental affection they pleased. When wea- ried of their own musical efforts, the professed harper and the scientific singer would attend, to gratify the correcter taste of the company, with musical deli- cacies of a more exquisite nature. Their dances, being those of war and peace, were characteristic and lively, and were subdivided into those which re- presented all the incidents of war, as well as all the usual employments of peace. " Helar ysgyfarnogf* or hunting the hare, is still preserved ; the music may be seen in Jones's Relics of the Bards. An agricultural dance called y Feeillionen, or the Trefoil, is still known. In all the operations of the field, the Britons, to induce them to labour, were fascinated with the charms of music. Every reaper had his * " Helar ysgyfarnog, or hunting the hare, is preserved in Jones's Relics of the Bards, p. 69 : and the dance is still known in some parts of Wales, as are several of the other ancient dances. THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 39 female partner as in a dance, and they were called to the field by the shrill notes of the " Corn Buclin," or the Bugle Horn ; while at work, they were cheered by songs, by the mellow sound of the pipes, or by the martial roll of the tabwrdd, or drum, and when their labour was completed, they returned home dancing and singing, preceded by the viol* and the harp. At the conclusion of their day's toil, and pre- viously to their departure homewards, they would amuse themselves with searching* among the trefoil for a stalk bearing four leaves, the discovery being attended with an acclamation of joy, as it was humo- rously considered as a certain indication, that the fortunate person who found it would speedily be married. All this is represented in the dance, called "y Feeittionen" or the Trefoil, and is still preserved, in some measure, in the reel among the Highlanders : and characterized by the Shamrock^ among the Irish. The dance opens with the " Hay, hau" or sowing, where each person moves singly, throwing his arms as he moves, in imitation of the sower while in the act of committing the corn to the ground ; then a male and female set to each other, emblematical of the pleasing sight of wheat harvest, when every * The ancient crwth, was perhaps the violin cT amour, and not the modern violin. f The Shamrock of the Irish is evidently the Meillionen of the Welsh, the same plant is known by different names in several parts of England ; it is probable, however, that it may have other names of stronger resemblance. The genuine plant is known by different names in Ireland, as well as in Wales and Scotland. 40 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF reaper finds the difficulties of labour mollified by the exhilarating society of his female partner ; the turning and setting to different persons in the dance are re- presentations of the harvest play of searching for the lucky trefoil ; the figure the two males and females form at the close of the dance, represents the fortunate qua trefoil ; and the shout the highlanders generally give at this part of it, is descriptive of the acclama- tion of joy at the fortunate discovery, while industri- ously engaged in the field, of the symbols of matri- monial happiness. The dances of ancient days, like other old institutions, were more calculated to mix utility with diversion, by teaching the populace to amuse themselves innocently, to lead them to benefit themselves essentially ; by their amusements in peace to qualify them for war, and by their recrea- tions when at leisure, to reconcile them to the thoughts of labour. All that remains of the old ceremonies, the old customs, the old institutions at marriages, and the ancient figures in their dances, seems evidently, as far as may be collected from what is transmitted to us, to have had originally that tendency. It is singular that any well informed traveller should be so blind or ignorant, as to over- look the beneficial intention of the little still left of their ancient customs in the modern Welsh wed- dings. A sober and religious disposition in some districts, and an inclination to copy every thing English in others, have tended, in a great measure, to obliterate many of the ancient traits of British or Druidical social institutions ; but in some parts of Wales, almost the whole of the ceremonies enume- THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 41 rated above are still observed ; in others, they are so often the subject of conversation, or so often par- tially imitated, that no traveller conversant with the language can be unacquainted with them. It is, therefore, difficult to account for the disgusting pic- ture a late journalist has drawn of the matrimonial feasts of the Cambro-Britons, without supposing that he had never seen the original, or that he copied it from the miserable daubings of some unskilful or malicious Grub-street artist, better acquainted with the licentious scenes in the streets of London, than with the remains of the moral and benevolent insti- tutions still observable in the Principality of Wales. At many of these weddings, the collection made for the bridegroom has amounted to a hundred pounds sterling, and that made for the bride to nearly as much. In former times the contributions were more liberal, and their value, from the scarcity of money at that period, more considerable. If at present these institutions prove less beneficial, it is because they are not countenanced by the great, nor their useful tendency sufficiently understood by the people them- selves. These nuptial presents could not injure the donor, because they were subsequently returned to him ; they were no dishonour to the acceptors, be- cause they were considered as matrimonial compli- ments which were to be returned, when acceptable to others and convenient to themselves. They en- couraged a spirit of philanthropy among the people, by accustoming them to benefit each other by actions of kindness and humanity ; while they proved incen- tives to a virtuous deportment, by stimulating the 42 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF youths of both sexes, to such a conduct as might en- title them to the patronage and protection of their opulent friends, and wealthy neighbours. These donations enabled them also to furnish their house and stock their farm, at a period when one agricul- tural Leviathan did not monopolize and devour the profits of all the farms in the parish, and frighten the remainder of the starving inhabitants into the work- house ; but when landlords had the good sense and humanity to divide their estate into farms of a mode- rate extent, and reasonable rent, every youthful couple could find a habitation, and every habitation its necessary proportion of land. The festivity of a day, therefore, contributed to the happiness of a whole life ; while an industrious peasant and a modest economical maiden were, by the trifles which their neighbours deposited, perhaps with no other intention than with a view to their own amusement, placed in possession of a competency, and beyond the reach of want for the remainder of their lives. At an early hour the young couple retired, attended by a few select friends, to the place of their intended habitation, where they were left with the usual com- pliments and the customary mirthful ceremonies. The company continued frequently to a late hour at the place appointed for the meeting of the parties, where the song and the dance and the general festivities of the evening contributed, on some occasions, to the formation of lasting connexions, which ended in other weddings, and provided for the joyous entertain- ments of other evenings. THE ANCIENT CELTIC TRIBES. 43 AN HISTORICAL ESSAY ON THE TASTE, TALENTS, AND LITERARY ACQUISITIONS OF THE DRUIDS, AND THE ANCIENT CELTIC BARDS. 'T^HE literary acquisitions of the Druids, the Bards, A and others professedly devoted to the muses among the Cimbri, the Gauls, and the other Celtic tribes, were more considerable than the narrow-minded jealousy of some modern authors seems willing to admit. The account given of their achievements, and of the eminence at which they arrived in their pro- fession, the vestiges discovered in history of the extraordinary effects of their art, and the fragments that remain of their compositions, may be regarded as evident proofs that they had made no contemptible progress in the cultivation of literature, and that we have only a few mutilated limbs of the colossal literary statue of the earlier ages. An idea may be formed of the gigantic magnitude of the original figure from the grandeur and beauty of the parts that have been for- tunately preserved. If the ancient anecdotes of bard- ism be regarded as fables, they are fables not entirely destitute of foundation, nor totally devoid of con- nexion with the known history of the cultivators of poetry, among the Cimbric and Celtic tribes. Many of the most celebrated characters recorded by the Greeks and Egyptians, as inventors of some of the liberal arts, and authors of useful institutions, are claimed bv the Gauls and ancient Britons, as the 44 LITERARY ACQUISITIONS OF benefactors of their race, as well as the founders of some of their popular tribes. Olen is represented by Pausanias as one of the first prophets of Delphi ; and by one of the Delphic priestesses he is portrayed as the inventor of verse. In the primitive ages, the prophetic and poetic characters were not unfre- quently sustained by the same individual. Olen, Olenus, Ailinus, and Linus, are considered but as different appellations of the same person, and in those remote times, the inhabitants of Egypt and Greece attributed to him the same talents, and the same inventions. In the ancient British Triads,* Alon is described as one of the three who first com- bined into a system the institutes and privileges of the bards, consistently with the account given by Homer of the public honours paid in ancient times to Linus, as represented in the celebrated poetic de- scription of the shield of Achilles : " To this a pathway gently winding leads, Where march a train with baskets on their heads ; Fair maids and blooming youths that smiling bear The purple product of th' autumnal year ; To these a youth awakes the warbling strings, Whose tender lay the fate of Linus sings, The measur'd dance behind him move the train, Tune soft the voice, and answer to the strain." The Celtic bards were esteemed unrivalled in their poetical compositions, as well as in the art of ex- citing or allaying the passions. The time they al- lotted to the study of the human heart, and the address they discovered in raising or calming its * Cambrian Biography, p. 5, &c. THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BARDS. 45 passions, rendered them expert in the arts of guid- ing the multitude, and awakening in their breasts what emotions they pleased. It is from his pro- ficiency in these arts that Amphion, who was but a superior kind of bard, was fabled by the Greeks to have excited the trees to follow him, and tie stones to obey his voice, and spontaneously to throw them- selves into such regular order, as to have served for walls and bulwarks to the city of Thebes. In this fable is represented the address of the bards, and their skill in softening the manners, and influencing, by their music, the hearts of those who were natu- rally rough and obdurate as rocks, and stubborn and inflexible as oaks, guiding them as they pleased, and impelling them to the institution of society, and the cultivation of useful arts. One of the greatest ob- stacles to the establishment of social tranquillity is the jarring interest of individuals respecting private property, and the name of Amphion in the Celtic has been derived from a source which implies the com- poser of differences with respect to private pos- sessions ;* as if the charms of his music, and the * Amphion has been derived from am, about, andpmw(in con- struction phiau), to possess ; and Orpheus from Gorphwys, (in construction orphwys, i orphwys), to rest, to sooth, or charm to rest. Etymologies are extremely uncertain ; but these deriva- tions wear as much the appearance of probability and consistency, as any attempt that has been made to trace them to a Grecian source. Orpheus is also said to be by some a pure Celtic com- pound — Or-Fis, music — knowledge, deviating, by the slightest breath, from the original. Some derive Apollo from the Welsh Ap Haul, the son of the sun ! Others, from the Greek Atto tf\iu>, from the sun. Editor. 46 LITER ART ACQUISITIONS OF magic of his verse, had the effect of calming conten- tions, and allaying animosities. It has often been asserted, that Thrace, the residence of Orpheus, was anciently inhabited by a Gallic colony, and that Rhesus, a Thracian prince mentioned by Homer, was of Gallic origin. It is certain that the hymns, now extant, and the other compositions ascribed to Or- pheus, cannot, from the language, be of so remote an antiquity. They may, however, be more modern translations from ancient Gallic, or Celtic originals. The character given of him, and the qualities as- signed him, appear more congenial to the talents and dispositions of a Celtic bard, than of a Grecian poet ; while his sylvan retreat on the banks of the Thracian river Hebrus savours not a little of the manners and propensities of a Druid. The earlier part of the Celtic history abounds with fabulous characters, re- presented as meriting the highest honours for their mental acquisitions, and their useful scientific dis- coveries ; and it does not appear improbable, that the extraordinary achievements assigned in subse- quent ages by the Greeks, to their fabulous heroes and demigods, were copied from the fabulous com- positions of a more ancient people, who brought with them from the eastward the warmth of an oriental imagination, and the energy of an expressive, and highly figurative language. In some fragments of the writings of the Celts, not only is the proficiency made in the earlier ages, in each particular science, specified, but the persons most celebrated for their profession of them, as well as the most remarkable for their skill, are recorded with apparent correct- THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BARDS. . 47 ness and precision ; and, on many occasions, the periods in which they lived, and the stock whence they derived their origin, are particularly stated with every semblance of historical accuracy. Idris Gawr, or Idris the Giant, is named as one of the eminent astronomers of Britain. The exact period in which he flourished cannot now be ascertained, but it is represented as having been considerably prior to the era of history. In their progress from the East, the highest hills appear to have been generally selected by the Celts, as the most eligible spots assigned him for his residence since their arrival in Wales. Cadair Idris, or the seat of Idris, a lofty mountain in Merio- nethshire, is the fabulous scene of many a romantic tale, of the exploits of the father of astronomical science ; as it is of the professional contests of the bards, who seem for many generations to have con- sidered it as their Parnassus. In the story of Idris it is impossible not to discover the counterpart of the Grecian fable of the gigantic Atlas, stationed on the summit of the most elevated mountain, and bending- beneath the weight of the incumbent heavens.* Gwdion, the son of Don, a mythological personage, is likewise celebrated for his knowledge of astronomy, and is described as one of the three sublime astrono- mers of Britain. The name given him in the British Triads, of the son of Don, or the son of the wave, seems to imply, that he converted his scientific at- tainments to the useful purposes of navigation. From * See Cambrian Biography, p. 1 94. 48 . LITERARY ACQUISITION'S OF the earliest periods, Caer Gwdion, or the illuminated city of Gwdion, has been a favourite epithet among the bards, for the galaxy, or milky way. The other personage who distinguished himself by his superior acquirements in astronomical learning, was Gwyn, the son of Nudd. For the Triads, ever observant of the number three, as inviolably sacred, never increase or diminish the number of individuals represented as having acquired celebrity by mental superiority, or personal qualifications. That the application of as- tronomical acquisitions to the purposes of navigation was not unknown to the Celts, seems corroborated by several extraordinary traditions. Madog, the son of a prince of North Wales, is mentioned as having sailed to the westward at a very early period, with ten ships, and a numerous body of men, and is said to have been the first European discoverer of the American continent. At a still earlier period, Gavran, a British chieftain, sailed at the head of his faithful tribe, to discover the celebrated islands, dis- tinguished by the appellation of the Green Islands of the ocean, probably the Fortunate Islands of the ancients. The Triads mention other expeditions, and describe the naval force of Britain, at a remote age, as formidable and numerous. " Hu Gadarn" or Hu the Mighty, is represented as having brought the Cimbri to Britain, and to Armorica, in Gaul, over the " hazy sea," or the German ocean. He is celebrated by the bards, as being the first who taught the art of agriculture, and as having, after his arrival in France, contributed to the civilization of the inhabitants, and THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BARDS. 49 the cultivation of the soil.* Still prior to the age in which Hu the mighty flourished, Nevydd Nav Neivion is said to have constructed a ship of such extraordinary dimensions, that when the eruption of the lake of floods deluged the world, he was enabled to carry in it the male and female of every living creature. The construction of this celebrated vessel is ranked among the three memorable achievements of the Cimbri. The story of Nevydd bears a strong resemblance to the Grecian fable of Deucalion ; and perhaps both may be traditionary relations of Noahs Deluge. Nevydd may be only a corruption of the word Noah, in order to render it capable of Cimbric etymology. Nav Neivion means the chieftain of chieftains, a patriarch, the head of many others, the source whence Gomer, the grandson of Noah and the ancestor of the Gomeri or Cimbri, derived his origin. A coin has been preserved, said to have been disco- vered at Magnesia, on which a floating chest is re- presented containing a male and female. It appears from the inscription \ to have been intended to com- * A curious bas-relief has been discovered iu France, repre- senting this hero in the act of cutting down a tree ; as a memorial of his having cleared the ground for the purposes of agriculture. A print of this valuable piece of antiquity is exhibited in the memoirs of the French Academy, vol. ii. p. 370. T See a further account of this very curious coin in Falco- nerii Inscriptiones Athleticce, printed at Rome. A. D. 1688. The name of the neighbouring city of Apamea appears upon the coin. Both cities were remarkable for the observance of the same ceremonies, and the celebration of the same games, and the latter was situated near that part of Asia, whence some anti- quaries contend, that the Cimbri, or Cimri derive their origin See Dr. Delavy's Dissertations, vol. i. p. 231. E 50 LITERARY ACQUISITIONS OF memorate an event not dissimilar to that celebrated in the story of Nevydd Nav Neivion ; and it is im- plied that in that neighbourhood public games had been instituted, and continued at stated periods, for many generations, as memorials of so extraordinary an occurrence. The other remarkable achieve- ments classed in the Triads with the construction of Nevydd's spacious vessel, are Gwyddon's Scientific Inscriptions. He is celebrated for his eminence in various branches of literature, is described as the earliest composer of vocal song, and represented as having made such wonderful proficiency in the sciences, that he left, for the benefit of posterity, his scientific discoveries engraved on marble, or inscribed on stones of wonderful magnitude. Whether this alludes to hieroglyphical inscriptions, or to the Runic characters, generally found on rocks and large stones, in many places in the northern parts of Europe, is uncertain. But it unquestionably exhibits a curious trait in antiquity, and whether fabulous, or supported by historical evidence, may be deemed well deserving the investigation of the historian and the antiquary. " And these stones had written on them," say the Triads, " every art and science in the world." " So much is true," says Sir William Temple in his Essays, " that the Runic pieces were for long pe- riods of time in use, upon materials more lasting than others employed to that purpose ; for, instead of leaves or barks, or parchments, these were engraven upon stone, or planks of oaks, upon artificial obelisks or pillars, and even upon natural rocks, in great THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BARDS. 51 numbers and extent of lines. M * Llechau, the son of Arthur, is celebrated in the Triads, as one of the three philosophers of Britain, who were masters of all sciences. Rhiwallon, Wallt Banadlen, or with the brown coloured hair, is distinguished as one of three personages most eminent for their knowledge of natural history. Others are, in a similar manner, honourably mentioned as the most celebrated for their proficiency in eloquence, poetry, and history. Some are handed down to posterity, as the most dis- tinguished for their skill in agriculture, and others for their superiority in the practice of physic. Some for their eminence in mechanical knowledge, f and others for the celebrity acquired in mathematical learning. In the Triads, an interesting account is given of the literature of those earlier ages, and if the scientific acquisitions of our ancestors, at that period, be not admitted to have equalled the superior attain- ments of their descendants in a more enlightened age, it must be acknowledged to be no small honour, to have made some proficiency in the liberal arts at a time when the rest of Europe was sunk in ignorance, or lost in barbarism and ferocity. The most extraor- * Sir William Temple's Miscellanies, part 2nd, p. 91. f Merddin, or Merlin, the Bard Ambrosius, is represented as having been eminently versed in mathematical knowledge, and renowned for mechanical inventions; and is said to have con- structed for his patron, that stupendous monument of Druidical ingenuity, called by the ancient British writers, the work of Ambrosius, and by the moderns^ Stonehenge. Cambrian Bio- graphy, p. 249. 52 LITERARY ACQUISITIONS OF dinary compositions of what may be called the fabu- lous period of the Celtic history, are the " Englynion Milwr" or the Warrior's songs. They are stanzas undoubtedly written during the influence of the Druidical Order, and contain many of their maxims, and throw some light on the obscure part of their his- tory. They consist invariably of three lines, and con- clude with a proverbial sentence, a military aphorism, or a moral apophthegm. No doubt is entertained of the antiquity of these stanzas, but various opinions have prevailed respecting their import and original design. Some antiquaries have contended, that the former lines in each of these Druidical triplets have no precise meaning, but are only intended to intro- duce the latter, which always contain some valuable proverbial truth, or philosophical observation. These authors, no doubt, imagine they act liberally towards their ancestors, in allowing only two thirds of their compositions to have been devoid of sense, while it too often unfortunately happens, that all that some of their descendants have written, may be said to be in that predicament. On maturer investigation, how- ever, it will be found that these stanzas are not only in every line fraught with good sense, but tend, when assisted by the light borrowed from the writings of the Greek and Roman luminaries, to develope much of the manners of the age, and of the mode of educa- tion anciently prevalent among the Celts. These metrical productions being generally committed to memory, and seldom preserved in manuscripts, have been rendered obscure, by the accidental transpo- sition of the lines of one stanza into another of a THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BAUDS. 53 similar termination, and the studied difficulty of the original composition has been increased by the im- perfect manner in which it has been transmitted to the present age. Several of them have been pub- lished in Dr. Rhys's folio Latin and Welsh Grammar, in Jones's Relics of the Welsh Bards, and in other works on Celtic and British Antiquity. The follow- ing may serve as a specimen of this curious fragment of Druidical literature, Eiry mynydd, gwympod ty, Qynnefin Bran a chanu, Ni ddaw da o dra chysgu* Winter snows enshroud the plain, Crows ever prove a croaking train, The fruit of indolence is pain. It maybe here observed, that the first line f of the warrior's song, generally contains a hint of the time and place of the action recorded; the second conveys an idea of the dramatis personae, or the principal cha- racters that are mentioned ; and the concluding line exhibits the substance of the historic, or fabulous tale, and the moral to be deduced from it. The subject is usually taken from rural life, such as naturally presented itself to the imagination of the original instructors of the Celts, among their groves and forests. The triplet that has been given as an example, may be illustrated by the well known Celtic fable of the Crow and the Squirrel. — " One severe winter morning, when the hills were covered with * Jones's Relics of the Welsh Bards. t This order of the lines was sometimes inverted. 54 LITERARY ACQUISITIONS OF snow, and even the birds of the air found it difficult to endure the intenseness of the cold, or find any thing to serve them for sustenance, a Crow, who sat croaking on a tree, complaining of his hard fate, and of the inclemency of the season, observed a Squirrel, who had prudently collected a considerable store of provisions for the season, enjoying himself, and cracking his nuts and his jokes, on a hollow oak, which served him for a comfortable abode, and re- quested him to favour him with a few kernels, for that he was almost perishing with cold and hunger." " How did you employ yourself during the Summer," said the Squirrel, " that you are forced to act the part of a beggar in the Winter ?" " I amused myself in cultivating the beauties of song, foreboding evils to come, and entertaining you and others," said the Crow, " with the manly melody of my voice." " I confess," said the other, " I often heard your hoarse note, but as for its melody, notwithstanding the great practice you have had, I would not give you a nut- shell for the best song you can sing, either in Summer or in Winter. One of the principal requisites in music is to keep time, in which he is miserably deficient who wastes his precious hours in attempting a rude song, before he has stored his nest with the neces- sary articles of life." The feathered pretender to music, finding that nothing could be obtained from the generosity of his neighbour, was willing to hope that something might be made of his inexperience and imbecility. He resolved to try what could be done by stratagem, and expressed his astonishment, that one, whose store-houses were so well furnished, THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BAUDS, 55 should fatigue himself, and risk his neck, by skip- ping from tree to tree in the cold, and not rather lie down at his ease like a gentleman, and take a refresh- ing nap. " Vaulting from tree to tree proves bene- ficial to me, not only as exercise," replied the other, " but as the means of decoying the common plun- derers of the forest from my habitation ; and as for my insomnolency, as I have been active in summer to collect my provisions, I am determined that you shall always find me on the alert in winter, to preserve them ; for if I should be caught napping, I should soon find some artful neighbour or other, ingenious enough to discover and exhaust my stores ; and were I to perish through indigence, perhaps you, notwith- standing your fair professions, would prove cannibal enough to feed upon my carcass." The moral is Meliora vigilantia somno ;* vigilance and industry are ever productive of security and plenty ; but sloth and negligence tend to want and misery. The ancients delivered their precepts about man- ners, or about government, either by comparisons, full and at length, which were called parables ; or by short comprehensive sentences, denominated proverbs ; of which the Druidical stanzas were regarded as a valuable collection. Parables were taken from the most common objects of nature, or from irrational * See Jones's Relics of the Welsh Bards. A fable not unlike this may be found in verse, in Owen's edition of Gwylym, the Welsh Bard's works. The Damhegion Cymraeg, or Welsh Apo- logues, contain several fables, corresponding with the warrior's songs. There is a translation of them in MS., by the author of the Dissertatio de Bardis. 50 LITERARY ACQUISITIONS OF animals ; as the parable of the Fruit Trees and the Bramble, in the Book of Judges ; of the Thistle and Cedar, in the Book of Chronicles; of the Hawk and Nightingale, in Hesiod ; of the Wolves, Dogs, and Sheep, in Demosthenes ; or from the members of the Human Body, as that of Menenius, in Livy. Or they sometimes proved less improbable relations of more natural and ordinary incidents, as the parable of Nathan to David ; and most of those in the New Testament. The Welsh, or Celtic apologues that have been preserved, are generally of the former de- scription, and form complete elucidations of some of the Druidical stanzas. In conformity with the cus- toms of the ancients, especially of the Eastern nations, the Druids instructed those committed to their care by short sententious aphorisms, which were occasion- ally elucidated, as the capacity of their pupils devel- oped itself. Their disciples were divided into three classes — children, youths, and men. The former were placed under the tuition of the lower order of the Bards, whose business it was, while they im- proved their morals, and cultivated their understand- ings, to enrich their memories with a copious store of the poetical and philosophical maxims of the Druids, which contained, in a concealed form, the first prin- ciples of all knowledge — the seeds of all sciences. " To the Druids," says Caesar, " belongs the care of divine things ; great numbers of youth come to be instructed by them ; their first lesson is to learn a considerable number of verses by rote, about which some have spent twenty years, for they never commit them to writing; not that they are ignorant of let- THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BAUDS. 57 ters, for on all other occasions they make use of Greek characters ; but I suppose they observe this custom, to lock up their learning from the vulgar, and exercise the memory of their scholars, &c." # The purport of what they thus committed to memory was, in the first instance, unknown to the pupils, and perhaps, from the studied obscurity of the style, it was hardly intelligible to the master himself. But when the youthful mind unfolded itself, and disco- vered sufficient capacity to qualify it for admission into a superior class, among the Druid ical students, the stanzas they had been so many years learning memoriter were now carefully explained to them, their obscurity illustrated, and their meaning enforced, by mythological tales, and fabulous narrations, which, if the inexperienced youths could not comprehend them, never failed to make an impression, that gave the precepts inculcated a more favourable effect, when the matured understanding permitted them to germi- nate and grow, and fructify in the mind. The fabu- lous tales known by the name of Damhegion, or para- bles, were, in all probability, some of the fables used on these occasions to illustrate the Druidical rythms, and enforce their doctrine. They have been considered, by those conversant in Celtic literature, as the real origin of the romances so prevalent at one period in Europe, and so powerful in their effect on the style and manners of the age. In the infancy of history, when few examples could be drawn from real life to * Csesar's Commentaries, lib. vi. cap. viii. See Jones's Re- lics of the Bards, p. 2, &c. 58 LITERARY ACQUISITIONS OF illustrate the precepts of morality, or the maxims of the art of war, the public instructors among the Celts invented parables, and composed fables to illustrate the apophthegms, and exemplify the dictates of phi- losophy that had been treasured up in the arsenal of the mind at an earlier period. The arms which had formerly attracted their attention by their brightness and their splendour, the martial students were now taught to handle and to use. The skeletons of Dru- idical science, which had been the playthings of more infantine years, were now supplied with tendons, strengthened with sinews, and furnished with fibres. The Damhegion, or Celtic fables, are examples of the first elucidations, used to illustrate the funda- mental maxims, or elementary principles of Druidical learning. The Mabinogion, or juvenile amusements, are examples of the species of instruction, calculated to improve the mind of the Druidical pupil, at a raa- turer period. Of the Da?nhegion, an example has been already produced : many of them have been preserved in ancient manuscripts, and the late Rev. Evan Evans, author of the Dissertatio de Bardis, had prepared a copy of them for the press, translated into English, and illustrated with notes. They are remarkable for the comprehensive brevity and energy of their style, and are not unfrequently pointed with the severest satire. In one of them, for instance, two descendants of the little heroes, celebrated in Homer's " Batrachomuomachia," are represented as having formed for their mutual conveniency a league of al- liance. In order to pass a dangerous torrent, one of them, from his habits of life, is under the necessity of THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BARDS. 59 trusting himself on the shoulders of his ally, when a formidable water serpent suddenly makes its appear- ance, and greedily devours them both. This was pro- bably composed to enforce the truth of the Druidical maxim, " that an alliance with the brave and power- ful is advantageous, but with the weak fallacious," and was applied to the expediency of seeking for more powerful allies, against the invading hosts of the bar- barous Saxons, than the feeble and degenerated Armo- ricans. But in the dispute* between the established Christian clergy of Wales, Scotland, &c, and the emissaries of corrupted Rome, under the auspices of the Saxon monarchs, the priest, infallibly promising spiritual safety to his convert, was compared to the frog in the fable, engaging to ensure the mouse against all accidents while traversing a dangerous river, and the water-serpent was supposed to represent the evil spirit, devouring both the monastical director, and his too credulous disciple. As the Damhegion were illustrations of the Druidi- cal stanzas, adapted to the capacities of the youngest * It is remarked by Clarke, in his Letters on Spain, that the Spanish Christians had preserved themselves pure from popish in- novations till the seventh or eight century, and were in doctrine and discipline, nearly what the church of England is at present. Letters on the Spanish Nation, p. 10, 11, &c. The same may be said of the churches of Great Britain and Ireland, prior to the Saxon invasion, and the arrival of Austin, or Augustine. The suf- ferings of the Cambrian clergy on that occasion are well known. The Scots clergy preserved their religion pure from popish corrup- tion much longer, they retired to the hills, and were known by the names of Culdies, from cut, thin, and du, black, from their abste- mious lives, and grave habits, Gwr-cvtl-du. 60 LITERARY ACQUISITION'S OK students, the Mabinogion, or juvenile amusements, were the elucidations of the same subject, chosen to attract the attention of those of maturer understand- ing. A specimen of this species of composition is given in the second 1 * volume of the Cambrian Regis- ter. A Cornish tale of a similar nature is inserted in Lloyd's Archseologia Britannica. That they were originally favourite vehicles of instruction in the Dru- idical colleges, and were used as illustrations of their philosophical maxims, is the only rational account that can be given of the prodigious number of these romantic tales still preserved among all the Celtic tribes ; and the exact conformity observed between them and the stanzas which they were intended to elucidate, is discernible by the most superficial ob- server. They seldom admit of more than two or three principal characters, and seem designed to enforce some moral precept, or virtuous sentiment. In the hands of the ingenious and learned author, who has lately undertaken to examine them, it will most likely be demonstrated, that they are what he has conjec- tured them to be, the copious source of the fictitious tales and romances of the middle ages.| The next class of Druidical students were those who were considered as young" men, and who had * See Vol. ii. p. 322, and vol. i. p. 117. Several of these tales are in the Red Book of Hergest, a MS. in Jesus' College Library, Oxford. f The dramatic entertainments, formerly so prevalent among the Celtic tribes, and still in vogue in some parts of Wales, from the paucity of their characters, and the moral tendency of their sub- ject, may probably be traced to the same source. They are gene- THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BARDS. 61 studied with applause for seven years in each of the former classes ; they were now admitted under the care of the highest order of the Bards, and, in some instances, the Druids themselves condescended to be- come their instructors. The stanzas which they had learned in their infancy, and which had been partially elucidated by fabulous narrations, were now exem- plified by passages taken from real life, or from au- thentic history ; of which ancient mode of instruction the British Triads may be regarded as venerable mo- numents. Many passages in them evidently corres- ponded with the fragments of the Druidical verses still extant, and were probably used as illustrations of them in the Celtic schools.* Caesar's account of the Celtic system of education is, that the youths were sent by their parents to the college of the Druids, where they consumed twenty years in committing to memory many thousand verses : which corroborates, in a great measure, the narration already supplied, and renders it probable, (as mentioned by other authors), that they remained in a state of literary pupillage till their one-and-twentieth year; and were nearly seven years under the care of each of. the three dif- ferent orders of the Bardic literati ; during which period they were instructed by competent masters, rally acted in the open air, on temporary stages erected in woods or forests, and are denominated chwareur Hendre Iwyd, dra- matic sports of the Old Town. They are asserted by some anti- quaries, to be of Trojan origin. Many of the inferior Welsh Bards delight in this species of scenic composition, which they corruptly call interlude. * Csesar de Bello Gallico, lib. vi. c. 8. G2 LITERARY ACQUISITIONS OF under the inspection of their superiors, and in the course of occasional relaxations from severer pursuits in the usual accomplishments, playing on the harp, the four-and-twenty manly games, martial exercises, and every thing necessary to complete the Celtic chieftain, and the well disciplined soldier. The an- cient Gauls, and the other Celtic tribes, regarded their sons as unfit for society, and seldom* admitted them to their presence, till they had completed their edu- cation, were fit to bear arms, had acquired a compe- tent knowledge of the four-and-twenty games, and were calculated to make a respectable appearance at their Cyfedclachs, or convivial meetings. Every sci- ence appears to have been taught by the Druids, in a similar manner ; the elementary parts being deli- vered in brief, but comprehensive stanzas, which were committed to memory. These fundamental princi- ples were subsequently dilated and illustrated by abler, and more scientific masters, till the radical maxims first introduced into the mind, sprung up into luxuriant plants, and in process of time enlarged their growth, and spread their branches, till, like Merlin's orchard, they sheltered their country with their shade, and enriched it with their fruit. In a warlike nation, and in a tumultuous age, the most gratifying- study among the sons of martial chieftains, was the art of war, j" the tactics being taught by the venerable * Caesar de Bello Gallico, lib. vi. c. 9. f Dunod Fawr, or Dunod the Great, the son of Pabo, is cele- brated in the Triads, as the chieftain that excelled all others in tactical knowledge, and skill in the art of war. The other two remarkable for their extraordinary talents in military science, THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BARDS. 63 literati of the Britons, on the same principles as the other arts already described. It happened that, on the subject of their favourite studies, more verses were retained by the Celtic youths, than on that of any other science : hence the Druidical stanzas, some of which being on warlike subjects, and handed down to subsequent ages, were generally denominated, Englyn Milwr, or the Warrior's Song. Some of the original elementary verses on the subject, with their correspondent illustrations in the parables and fabu- lous compositions, and their historical exemplifications in the Triads, are still extant : and where any ob- scurity is observed in them, it probably arises from the loss of the correspondent fables, or historical passages that tended to illustrate them. A British warrior, doubtless, in those times, could sing the war song to his harp, and in poetic strains divulge all the secrets, and all the scientific maxims of the military art. Ex- pressed in brief, energetic, but abstruse lines, they were completely understood by none but proficients ; planted, as they were, in the earliest infancy of the chieftain's mind, they suggested to his thoughts, in every difficulty, apposite examples from history, which served to furnish him with expedients, and tended, in every emergency, to supply him with masterly stra- tagems, skilful devices, and inexhaustible resources. Schools were erected,* and colleges were founded, were Cynfelin, or Cunobelinus, and Gwallog, the son of Llenog. These three martial chieftains were celebrated as the three pil- lars of battle of Great Britain. Cambrian Biography , p. 91 ► * Csesar de Bello Gallico, lib. vi. c. 8. 04 LITERARY ACQUISITION'S OF among the Celts, even in the most turbulent times : and when the lovers of harmony and of science could find no safer habitation, they retired to the recesses of distant groves and forests, where, secure from the tempests of war, their ingenious and industrious youths cultivated, in peace and tranquillity, the tender plants of learning, and reared the flowers of useful and ornamental arts.* Bangor Iscoed,| in Flintshire, was famed, during many years, for the learned characters it produced, and the crowds of students that flocked to it from all parts of^the Gallic and Celtic territories. This college was founded at an early period, and acquired considerable celebrity. Ynyr, a Silurian prince, distinguished Caer Went, on the confines of Monmouthshire, by a similar endowment. Dunod, Cynwyl, and Illtycl, called by the Latins, Iltudus, were eulogized by the Bards as liberal patrons of similar institutions ; the counties of Glamorgan, Pembroke, and Carmarthen boasted, at one period, their rival seats of the Cambrian Muses ; and Anglesey, in a still earlier age, was considered as the source of literature, and the favourite haunt of the Bards. Those who wished to render themselves per- fect masters of Druidical learning, repaired, accord- ing to Csesar's account,^ to Great Britain to acquire it. Their opinions concerning the omnipotence of the Deity, the immortality of the soul, and their di- ligence in instructing the youth committed to their * Lewis's History of Great Britain, b. v. chap. 1. f Cambrian Biography, pp. 92, 205, 344, &c. | Ceesar de Bello Gallico, lib. vi. cap. 8, &c. THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BARDS. 65 care, in their philosophical system of the nature of things, the extent of the world, and the magnitude and motion of the stars, have been acknowledged and recorded with admiration by contemporary Roman authors.* These testimonies may serve to prove the philosophical acquisitions of the Druidical order, and the celebrity of Britain as the seat of the Muses, as well as the fruitful source of the arts and sciences, in ages long prior to the Christian era. The storms of war and the ravages of time have destroyed most of the fruits of Druidical labour ; but from the flavour of the little that remains, a conjecture may be formed of the peculiar excellency of taste for which the rest were celebrated. The skill of language may render it inaccessible to the indolent or the uninformed ; but to those whose talents, or whose persevering in- dustry have taught them to surmount that difficulty, the specimen of the fruit of ancient Celtic literature, preserved by the curious, has ever afforded a most grateful relish, and a most exquisite mental gratifica- tion. These works abound in strains of the purest morality, and occasionally rise to the sublimest thoughts on the power and benevolence of the Deity, the immortality of the soul, the future punishment of the vicious, and the ineffable felicity reserved for the cultivators of piety and virtue. Although in some of them passages occur, so enveloped in fable, and so in- volved in mythological obscurity, as almost totally to conceal the designs of the author; yet, in some of * Csesar de Bello Gallico, ubi supra, Lucan. Pharsal. lib. i, Sueton. Vit. Cses. &c. 66 LITERARY ACQUISITIONS OF these Celtic fables, able antiquaries have discovered the prototypes of much of the Grecian mythology ; as in the story of the Celtic hero, whose athletic make was such, that he could carry to the summit of a hill a stone that several oxen afforded not strength suf- ficient to remove — the origin of the story of Sisiphus, in Cyridwen, the fable of Venus — and what is related of *" Pair Cyridwen," or the Cauldron of Renovation, the source of the Greek fable of Medea. Allusions are made in the works of the bards to the different arts and sciences, as to subjects generally studied and familiarly known, while the fragments on astronomy, natural history, logic, and cosmography, preserved in the British Museum, and referred to by Edward Llwyd and others, in their catalogues of Welsh ma- nuscripts, are decided proofs that literature had made no inconsiderable progress among the Celts. In the treatise on Natural Philosophy, published by Lewis, the editor of the " Flores Poetarum Britannicorum," the scientific terms are of Celtic derivation, and the subject is handled in a masterly manner, as in a learned language duly cultivated to adorn philosophi- cal disquisitions. In the Treatise on Rhetoric, in the Welsh language, published by Perri, it is remarkable, that the examples adduced, to illustrate the rules, are all selected from the works of the ancient British Bards, and that the technical terms, as well as the * Cambrian Biography, p. 73, &c. By others, Gweno is sup- posed to be Venus; Tydain, Taaut, or Hermes; and Gwgon, celebrated for rolling an immense stone, Sisiphus. Cambrian Biography, p. 161. THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BARDS. 67 names of the figures, are also of Celtic origin : which may be regarded as demonstrable evidences, that the art of rhetoric had been some time cultivated among the ancient inhabitants of this island, and that they did not borrow it from the Greeks ; otherwise it would have appeared in a Grecian garb, and would have betrayed, by its language, the source of its nativity. Of the style and manner of the Celtic Bards at a very early period, a curious instance is given by Posidonius in a fragment preserved in Athenaeus. It is related that Luernius, who courted popularity by his largesses, had already bestowed profusions of costly liquors and choice viands on the myriads of Celts that followed him, when a bard who had arrived too late to share in his bounty, joined his retinue, singing to the harp stanzas in praise of his generosity, and being observed, had a bag of gold flung to him from the carriage : when, in grateful strains, he instantly exclaimed, AlOTl TCL L\Vri TT]Q yYjQ (i(j) TjQ apfJ.CtTr)\aTEl) Xpvaov /cat evepyeffiag avQptoiroic, (f)epei.* Where'er thy chariot wheels are found To furrow with their track the ground, A copious harvest springs to bless The world with wealth and happiness. This may convey an idea of the style of writing prevalent among the bards of that age, as well as of the promptitude and fecundity of their talents, though this could not be a bard of the higher order ; for, by the bardical institutes, they were forbidden to * Rev. E. Evan's Dissertatio de Bardis, &c. 68 LITERARY ACQUISITIONS OF prostitute their attainments in panegyrizing any but the Omnipotent Author of Nature, and their native chieftains, when remarkable for glorious and heroical actions. The Romans, during their long residence in the British Isles, enervated the manners and en- feebled the force of the Britons, as well as decoyed the boldest and most athletic of their youths to strengthen and enlarge their legions. Whatever the country gained in learning and civilization by its in- tercourse with the Romans, it lost by the diminution of its wealth, and the enervation of its martial power. The passion for literature, so prevalent at all periods among the Celts, existed prior to the Roman inva- sion ; but the taste of their most eminent writers, if not corrected, suffered a considerable revolution by their long acquaintance with the classic models of Greece and Rome. It is remarked by some* late authors, that the descendants of the Celts could never coincide in opinion with the Greeks and Romans on the subject of heroic poetry, which was held in such reverence by that primitive nation and its posterity, that fable and invention (the essence of the classical epopee) were never suffered to make a part of it. This may be correctly stated with regard to their strict adherence to truth, and their contempt of fiction, as only worthy of the lower order of bards, to embellish feeble and ill-executed compositions ; but they so far concurred with those renowned people, as evidently to study their works, though they seldom imitated them, and composed epic poems, without * Jones's Account of the Welsh Bards, p. 19. THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BARDS. 69 having recourse to imaginary gods and fictitious ac- counts of battles. Llywarch Hen, indeed, who was a warlike prince, and, though initiated into the rites, could not be considered as a regular bard, seems to have known little of classical authors, and to have been a stranger to all inspiration but what he de- rived from his afflictions and from nature. Aneurin, the celebrated author of the Gododin, appears to have been a finished and accomplished scholar, as well as an eminent poet. It is observed by the late Mr. Lewis Morris, that what we have of that incom- parable poem, is in detached parts, scattered through a number of different manuscripts of different periods, but that to form an accurate idea of it, the whole should be collected, and carefully collated. The late Rev. Evan Evans, who transcribed several parts of it, from different manuscripts for Mr. Morris, was of opinion that, if the whole were collected and duly arranged, it would form a complete epic poem of singular beauty and unparalleled energy. The machinery is more simple and natural than that of the Iliad. The author discovers, however, on many occasions that he has studied the works of Homer, though he has not servilely imitated them. In the following passage translated by Mr. Gray, the writer evidently indicates his having drank of the Homeric fount, and that he was not insensible of the excel- lency of its taste : Pan gryssiei Garadawg i gdd, Mab baedd coed, trychwn, trychiad % Tarw byddin yn nhrin gommyniad l Ef lithiai wyddgwn oi angad. Aneurin's Gododin. 70 LITERARY ACQUISITIONS OF Have ye seen the tusky boar, Or the bull with sullen roar, On surrounding foe advance, So Caradoc bore his lance. Gray's Poems. The stanza used in the original poem, is what has since been chosen by Tasso in his Gierusalemme Li- berata. Why Gray should have been tempted to reduce the heroic lines of Aneurin into what has been called yiamby pamby verses, seems inexpli- cable ; but still through the mist of this unequal translation, the fire flashing from the following lines of Homer may be distinctly perceived : £lg ore rig avg apEcriv a'A/a, 7re7roi0ibg. Iliad, xiii. 471. As the fell boar on some rough mountain's head Arm'd with wild terrors, and to slaughter bred. Pope. "Ht/re fiovg dyi\y(pi fiiy 'Qoyog Eiiktro wavrwy Tavpog. Iliad, ii. 480. Like some proud bull that round the pasture leads. Pope. In the works of Aneurin's contemporary bards, Taliesin and Merlin, the learned reader will discover many evident vestiges of a classical education. The former frequently mentions the Trojan war; and in his enumeration of the transmigrations of his soul, in conformity with the doctrine of the Druids, he describes his spirit as having once animated one of the heroes who distinguished themselves at the siege of Troy. His poems abound with Latin phrases, allusions to lines in Homer, and to the Odes of Pindar, and the following passage is evidently in imitation of Virgil : THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BARDS. 71 Y borau ddyw sadwrn cddfawr afu, O'r pan ddwyre haul hyd pan gynnu. Taliesin. Morning rose, the issuing sun Saw the dreadful fight begun ; And that sun's descending ray Clos'd the battle, clos'd the day. Whitehead's Translation of Taliesin s Ode, Te veniente die, te decedente canebat. Virgil's Georgics. His stream of heartfelt praise (with thee begun) Flow'd from the rising to the setting sun. The animated speech of Urien to his troops in the same ode, has indubitably many passages strongly resembling the celebrated address of iEneas to the Trojans in the eleventh book of the iEneid. Dyrchafwn eiddoed odduch mynydd Ac ymbortkion wyneb odduch emyl A dyrchafwn beleidr odduch ben gwyr, &c. Taliesin. Rise, ye sons of Cambria, rise, Spread your banners to the foe ; Spread them on the mountain's brow, Lift your lances high in air, Friends and brothers of the war, &c. Whitehead. Arma parate, animis, et spe prcesumite bellum ; Ne qua mora ignaros (ubi prim ilm vellera signa Annuerint Superi, pubemque educere castris) Sfc. ;£neid, xi. 18. Prepared in arms, pursue your happy chance, That none unwarn'd may plead his ignorance, And I at heaven's appointed hour may find Your warlike ensigns waving in the wind, &c. The whole ode may be truly said to contain many of the peculiar beauties of Virgil, and all Taliesin's 72 LITERARY ACQUISITIONS OF works are perfectly classical : his imitations of the ancients are the imitations of a master ; rather happy allusions adapted to the taste and situation of the country, than stiff and servile copies. Merlin s Orchard has many passages borrowed from the Man- tuan bard's account of the Corycian Peasant; and from Homer's description of the Garden of Alcinous, the fair Gloywadd of the British bard, is the Nau- sicaa of the Odyssey. In a wide space, and to the sun exposed, Another fence, another vineyard closed. Anon. Merlin has Af alien beraidd a saith ugaint Yn gyfoed gyfuwch gyhyd gymmaint, &c. Apple-trees branching high and wide, crowned with lovely foliage, &c. And Homer, Ev0a h divdpea Odyssey, vii. 1 15. And there tall trees their verdant foliage spread. Anon. The British bard : Af alien her en bren ! y syddfad Nid bychan dy Iwyth sydd ffrwyth arnad, &c. ^Excellent apple-tree ! thy branches are loaded with delicious fruit. The Grecian poet : And apple-trees with loads of luscious fruit. In Merlin we read, Af alien beren bren, addfeinus Gwasgadfod glodfawr, &c. Sweet apple-tree, of tall and stately growth, how admired thy shade and shelter : often will mighty lords and princes form a thousand pretences for frequenting thy recess. THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BARDS. 73 And Virgil has his, Jamque ministrantem platanum potantibus umbras. The tree whose hospitable boughs A friendly shade on friendly souls bestows. Anon. The " Orchard," from the author's distracted state of mind, savours as much of genius as of madness ; but his madness is the madness of a poet, and his poetry the poetry of a scholar. The occasional exquisitely plaintive lines so often introduced on the death of his nephew, whom he had accidentally slain, (a circumstance which deranged the intellects of the bard, and gave him the appellation of" Merlin the Wild"), are most affectingly interesting ; and it is impossible to peruse them without compassionating the melancholy state of the writer's disordered mind, as well as admiring the beauties of his style and the elegance of his taste. No person ever yet felt himself equal to the task of attempting it in English verse. It is a most beautiful and, at the same time, a most difficult subject for a spirited ode, and worthy of the pen of a Dryden or a Gray ; but perhaps Nathaniel Lee, had he essayed it, would have succeeded better than either. During the prosperous days of the Celtic muse, the principal bards appear to have been intimately acquainted with the most distinguished authors of Greece and Rome, and, from long acquaintance with them, to have contracted something of their style and manner. But possessing a rich mine of literary stores themselves, and ever cherishing an honourable abhorrence of plagiarism, they seldom condescended to borrow from them. The following 74 LITERARY ACQUISITIONS OF passage from the works of a late celebrated critic will demonstrate that it is no novel opinion which is here avowed of the extensive literature, fertile genius, and independent spirit of the British bards. " Is it not odd that you will find no mention made of Venus and Cupid amongst our Britains, though they were very well acquainted with the Roman and Greek writers :? That god and his mother are implements which modern poets can hardly write a love-poem without: but the Britains scorned such poor ma- chines. They have their Essyllt, Nyf, Enid, Bron- wen, and Dwynwen of their own nation, which excelled all the Roman and Greek goddesses," &c* The political troubles that harassed the Principality during the middle ages, gave the Cambrian muse a very plaintive air ; and as storms of adversity naturally impel the human mind to the calm and tranquil anchorage of solemn and religious reflec- tions, the poems of that period display a more inti- mate acquaintance with the Breviary than with the Grecian bard ; with the Roman saints than with the heathen deities ; as might be instanced in the works of Tudur Aled, and others. Meilyr, a celebrated bard of the twelfth century, begins one of his poems with the words Rex Regum, &c. ; a sentence bor- rowed from the public prayers of the time. Soon after the revival of learning in Europe, and about the fourteenth century, when the affairs of the * Lewis Morris's letter, Cambrian Register for 1795, p. 332. Venus and Cupid are often celebrated by the inferior British bards, the former under the name of " Gweno," and the latter under that of " Sereh," or " Cariad." THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BARDS. 75 Principality wore a favourable aspect, the Cambrian bards assumed a bolder strain. One of the most eminent bards that distinguished this period, was Dafydd ap Gwilym, whose works were lately published in London by the ingenious Mr. Owen, afterwards Dr. Owen Pughe, author of the Welsh Dictionary. In a licentious age, and on poetical subjects, those passages afford the keenest gratification that transgress the limits of morality, and expatiate on the indulgence of the passions and the objects of inordinate desire. Gwilym's poems on. divine subjects were hardly known, but those on love and gallantry were repeated by every peasant in the country. In process of time, when his private his- tory was forgotten, popular error represented him as dissolute in his conduct, and as immoral in some of his poetical productions. Hence the indecent and ex- travagant anecdotes that have crept into the history of his life. But it is now proved from the respectable testimony of authors, who derived an account of him from his contemporaries, and from tradition* pre- * See p. 73. A tradition relative to him in the Cambrian Register, Vol. I. p. 415. He was brought up under the care of Vaughan of Cringar, ancestor of Lord Carbery, and spent much of his time at the court of Ivor Hael, or Ivor the Generous, now represented by the Morgans of Tredegaer. It appears, from his poems, that he had a couple of horses, was attended by a servant, and was a welcome guest in all the first families in Wales and on the Borders. The intercourse with Rome rendered the pro- gress in literature, made in one part of Europe, then known in the other; and it is evident from his works, that he availed him- self of every opportunity to improve his mind, and that he was acquainted with all the literature of the times. 7G LITERARY ACQUISITIONS OF served in the families he visited, that he was a man of irreproachable character, of modest manners, and of a studious turn of mind. His looser poems were sacrifices offered on the altar of the deified taste of the times, in order to soothe the prejudices and gain the applause of the vulgar. They were delineations of passions which he never felt, and of beautiful dulcinias whom he never beheld. His poetical rival, Gryffydd Gryg, humorously intimates that, if his friend David's heart had been really pierced by the darts of love as often as his amorous poems imply, it must have resembled a sieve. As he naturally expected, however, he acquired more popularity by these looser effusions, than by his most correct and most elaborate productions on sublimer subjects. He appears to have been well versed in the Italian language, and to have read Petrarch with peculiar attention. Some of his " cywyddau" in praise of Morfydd, if not translations, are happy imitations of some of that renowned writer's sonnets to Laura. Boccace seems to have been one of his favourite authors, several of whose tales he has clothed in Celtic verse. He was likewise well acquainted with Homer. Many passages in his works are embel- lished with happy allusions to different remarkable incidents in the Iliad. He frequently celebrates Virgil under the name of Fferyllt, and Ovid under that of Ofydd, the appellations by which they were known to the Celtic bards. His humorous descrip- tion of love under the imaginary figure of a wayward child, which a beautiful nymph left under his care, and obliged him to nurse, till the little urchin, by THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BARDS. 77 his constant attention, grew to an enormous size, and almost pressed him to the earth by the continually increasing weight of its cumbrous bulk, is taken from one of the latter's smaller poems, entitled " In Amorem." His cywydd, called y " Drych/' or the Mirror, is an elegant paraphrase on the tenth ode of the fourth book of Horace : — Nunc et qui color, est punicece fiore prior rosa, Mutatus, Ligurine, in faciem verterit hispidam ; *Ni thybias is ddewrdrais ddirdra Na bai dig f'wyneb a da Oni ynnillais yn amlwg Y drych a llyna un drwg Dywed im or diwedd Y drych nad wyf wych o wedd. Trust not to beauty or to youth ; The mirror, fam'd for honest truth, When thoughtlessly I hoped I bore Th' engaging form I bore before, Told me the rose of youth was gone, And all my boasted colour flown. And while its language raised my rage, Shew'd me the haggard traits of age. Anonymous. But there is one circumstance for which it would be extremely difficult to account. His fable of " the Ant and the Grasshopper" appears to be nearly word for word, the same with La Fontaine's fable on the same subject. Some of the lines in one of these fables seem to be exact translations of the corres- ponding lines in the other. The description of the * See Owen's Dafydd ap Gwilym, p. 446, 8vo. London, 1789. Printed for E. Williams, 11, Strand. 78 LITERARY ACQUISITIONS 0¥ ant's comfortable winter abode, in consequence of her industry during the summer months ; the misery of the grasshopper, shivering with cold, and obliged to have recourse to the provident insect's charity ; his answer to the latter's question of " how he had spent the summer?" that he had " consumed it in singing and amusing himself," and the prudent and sagacious insect's reply, that " now, then, he might go and dance," correspond exactly with the French. He Men ! dansez maintenant , &c. La Fontaine. Llamma weithian, llammau dda, &c. Dafycld ap Gwilym. In singing, ha ! my friend, how gay ! The pastimes of thy summer's day ! Then leave my door, and skip along, Dancing to thy sweet summer's song. Anonymous. It is not possible, that the Welsh bard should have perused the fables of La Fontaine, who existed two centuries after him, and it is not very probable, that the French fabulist should have borrowed any- thing from the works of Dafydd ab Gwilym. The only probable solution of this difficulty is, as both authors were evidently attached to the writings of Boccace, that both of them derived the fable from the same Italian source : and as congenial souls will sometimes be betrayed into a coincidence of taste, that they both happened, in drawing the same por- traits, to choose the same drapery. From the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries to the present period, the allusions to classical authors observed in the works of the Welsh bards, are very THE DRUIDS AND CELTIC BARDS. 79 frequent. Rys Prichard,* in his book called " Llyfr Ficar," has the following lines : Dechreu ddysgu trech yn blentyn, 'Nabod Duw 'ath Brynwr purwyn, Tempra 'th lestr tra for newdd AW gwin gwynn o dduwiol gufydd. Rys Prichard. which are an exact translation of a passage in Horace : Nunc adbibe puro Pectore verba, puer : nunc te melioribus offer. Quo semel est imbuta recens, servabit odorem Testa diu. Let thy pure mind imbibe in youth The wine of uncorrupted truth, And thy untainted cask will taste Of this first seas'ning to the last. Anonymous, from R. Prichard' s Poems. Fel y dam-sang meirch rhyfelwyr Tan eu traed bob math o filwyr Felly damsang angan diriaid, Y brenhinwedd,fel begeriaid. Rys Prichard. As steeds in battle rudely rush, And troops of all descriptions crush Death treads on subjects as on kings, And cots and courts to ruin brings. Anonymous. Pallida mors cequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas Regumque turres. Horace. * He is mentioned in Wood's Athenae Oxonienses, as a man of great abilities ; he adapted his language to the capacity of the vulgar, and did much good by the purity of his doctrine and the excellency of his moral sentiments, and was capable of writing with great elegance. 80 LITEUARY ACQUISITIONS, ETC. These lines were written by Rys Prichard about the reign of Queen Elizabeth, or King James I. From that period the Welsh bards appear to have kept up a very close correspondence with the poets of Greece and Rome, and to have enriched their works with excellent translations from the Greek and Roman originals. Translations of several of the Odes of Horace and Anacreon have been pub- lished in the " Diddanwch Teuluaidd," while ver- sions in the ancient British language may be found, in manuscript, of every author of eminence, whether ancient or modern ; and to use the words of a popular writer, " the Welsh make at least as good a figure in literature as any of their neighbours." 81 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES RELATIVE TO THE ENERGY, BEAUTY, AND MELODY, OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE, AND ITS AFFINITY TO THE ORIENTAL LANGUAGES, AND THOSE OF THE SOUTH OF EUROPE. It is an extraordinary circumstance, studied as the ancient British language has been for centuries, admired by those who understand it, and despised and vilified only by those who are ignorant of it, that its beauties have not been asserted, nor its force and energy fairly appreciated. The attacks so violently made upon it, and the censures with which it has been as ignominiously as unjustly branded, have led its friends occasionally to undertake its defence ; but they have vindicated it so injudiciously, and opposed its traducers so feebly, that they have injured rather than supported the cause which they have espoused ; and, by the awkward position which they have taken, have trampled on the prostrate body of the language of their country, while they affected to hold up the shield of literature in its defence. Ignorance has affirmed — for what will not ignorance maintain? — that it is a language abounding in consonants, and that it is rough and harsh. To these assertions, at first blindly advanced, and afterwards maliciously sup- 82 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES ported, it has been injudiciously said, that its allite- rations and other peculiarities compensate for the number of its consonants, and its strength of expres- sion for its harshness. But whatever its pleasing peculiarities or its energy may be, there is no neces- sity for admitting that they can be considered only as bare compensations for faults, of which it cannot be justly accused. Where, for instance, are the proofs that it abounds with consonants? If compositions can be specified, not only in which there appear a less number of consonants than in productions of the same number of lines in any other language, but in which there are no consonants at all, the charge will prove evidently to be as unjustly made by its enemies, as it is indiscreetly admitted by its friends. In most of the modern Welsh grammars, stanzas of four or five lines, as exemplifications of the rules of prosody, are inserted, which contain no consonants at all. Of this nature is the following epigram on a spider, inserted in "Jones's Relics of the Bards," O'i wiw wy i weu e d, ai weuau O'i wyau e weua, E weua ei we aia, AH weuau yw ieuau ia. From his own eggs the busy worm Attempts his hasty webs to form, Like rings in ice, they seem to view, Beauteous like those and brittle too. From these examples, which every person, not totally ignorant of the ancient British language, knows might be multiplied without end, it will appear evident, that to reproach the Welsh with the number of their consonants, is as absurd as it is OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 83 unjust. For what can be more ridiculous, than to find authors ignorant of the language preferring the charge of multiplicity of consonants against com- positions, which upon examination prove to be totally devoid of them ? In what other tongue, can stanzas of thirty or forty syllables be written in an easy ele- gant style, consisting entirely of vowels and of a few occasional diphthongs? But if it be thought too arduous a task to produce, in any other language, so many complete stanzas, entirely destitute of con- sonants, let any advocate of a favourite modern tongue exhibit if possible any number of lines, in any other language, comparable with an equal num- ber of Welsh lines, with regard to the paucity of the consonants, that occur in the following example ; and many instances of a similiar nature might be adduced, where only two consonants appear. Un wen Helen anwyla* A wna aua i ni'n ha." A'n hoyw ha oni weni A d yn aua i ni, Un ael inni lawena Ni wen haulwen ein ha\ Helen, one gracious smile will bring In winter all the charms of spring ; And, when thou smil'st not, spring appears In the dark garb that winter wears; And sorrow ev'ry visage shrouds, And summer's suns are lost in clouds. * Y and w are considered as vowels, and sounded as such in the above examples, w is pronounced like the ou in French, in the word out, yes. i 84 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES In the following example only four consonants occur, and those four are what are generally deemed liquids. Meinwen ry eriau mwyna AW whi o liw haulwen ha AW idl wen, ar ael winau, A unir nien yr hen iau ? A lenwir i ni leni, Ran lawen meinwen a mi ? Maen horiau ynran hwyro, Rhyw wiw air ar ryw awr rho. Fair maid, whose gentle accents please, Whose smiles the storms of wrath appease, With fairest hair, and nut-brown brow, Shall we the vow of lovers vow ? Shall this year's circling seasons prove, The wish'd completion of our love? Our fleeting hours pass fast away Shall we, my fair one, still delay ? In the works of the different grammarians, who have attempted at various periods to elucidate the language, many instances occur of whole stanzas composed in the most difficult measures known to the bards, in which no consonant occurred except the letter r, but as that letter is thought by many to have a jarring sound, those stanzas are not here inserted. It is justly considered by Addison as a mark of false wit, to waste time in compositions which can admit of only certain select letters, and which care- fully reject all others ; the instances produced, how- ever, were intended not as proofs of wit, but as apt examples selected from poems written in a very dif- ficult measure, to demonstrate the paucity of the consonants generally used in the Welsh language, especially in works on tender and amorous subjects. OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE, 85 These instances might have been easily multiplied, and if examples had been added, where the remaining liquids or semi-vowels, and a few of the softer conso- nants occur, the proofs would have been so numerous as to obscure rather than illustrate the subject ; these proofs however are not necessary. The alphabet itself demonstrates that the charge of a multiplicity of con- sonants is fallacious. There are, strictly speaking, only twenty-two* letters in the language, seven of which are vowels ; there can remain therefore but fifteen consonants, which is a more inconsiderable number than most of the European languages are obliged to admit. It is true that some of these con- sonants must, according to this arrangement, repre- sent two different sounds, but that is no more than is usually the case in most languages. In the Hebrew, for instance, which the ancient British language greatly resembles, a point or daggesh inserted in a letter, or placed over it, is considered as an indication that such letter bears a sound very different from its usual pronunciation. And in French, a cedilla placed under the letter ^ indicates that it is to be sounded like an s, though its general pronunciation is like a k. In like manner in the Cambro-British language, a small point over the letter d when to be sounded in the same manner as the softened th, over the letter 1 when aspirated, or over c when to be sounded like a guttural, would answer every pur- * Twenty-four however is a favourite number with the Welsh, as may be seen in their games, their music, and their poetic measures; and they generally reckon twenty-four letters in the alphabet. 86 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES pose of various pronunciation, and render the absurd practice of doubling the letters superfluous and un- necessary. For, to persons ignorant of the language, what can have a stranger appearance, or give a more erroneous idea of the sound intended to be conveyed, than our dd, 11, ch, &c. That we have, in fact, but few consonants is demonstrable, but the absurd mode of doubling the characters leads to a misconception relative to the ancient British character. In the infancy of printing, no types* were cast for the lan- guage of the principality of Wales. Welsh books were printed therefore with English types ; and the casual variation in the sounds of the consonants, was distinguished by the reduplication of the letter. The first bold critic who deigned to examine this spelling, having assumed his spectacles and narrowly viewed the newly printed page, hazarded an opinion, though he was totally ignorant of the language, that it had a great number of consonants, because, from the unnecessary redoubling of the characters, the consonants naturally appeared to him to be twice as numerous as they really were ; an opinion which has ever since been bandied about from critic to * Csesar observes, that the Britons or Gauls used the Greek characters ; they were probably Celtic, and only resembled the Greek. When the Romans prevailed in Britain, the Roman character was adopted, and only a few of the old characters re- tained to express sounds peculiar to the Welsh. This was the character in use at the Saxon invasion, which the Saxons, who were illiterate, borrowed ; thence this mixed Roman and British alphabet has been called the Saxon alphabet, though it is used in Irish and Welsh manuscripts written before the arrival of the Saxons in this country. OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 87 critic, and traveller to traveller, till at length, with out examination or inquiry, it has become fashion- able to assert, that the Welsh abounds in consonants. The thoughtless flock of authors on philological sub- jects have blindly copied their precursors. The first that rushes into error, immediately attracts the atten- tion of the whole race, and, let the path into which he has strayed, be ever so devious or ever so dan- gerous, is instantly followed by all who have an opportunity of treading in the same steps or of pur- suing the same track. Nothing could be more fo- reign to the truth, than the remarks echoed from author to author on the number of the Welsh conso- nants, excepting the observations made on the roughness of the language by those who are unac- quainted with it. The censure had been passed, and it was implicitly credited, and studiously propagated, without any inquiry into its justness, or any doubt of its consistency. But it has happened that the same writers who have condemned the language for its harshness, have likewise noticed the sweetness of its melody, the variety of its harmony, and the genero- sity of the passions, which it never failed to inspire among the people. Effects which every historian ac- knowledges, when he relates that at one period, from a jealously of the Welsh spirit, bardism had been inter- dicted, and the bards prevented from exercising their art. If its effects were so great when combined with the powers of music, it will not appear probable that it should be remarkable for its harshness. No obser- vation could be more unfortunate, or more inconsistent with truth. The authors who first hazarded these 88 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES opinions, and those who blindly adopted them, could not have been more erroneous in their judgment. The language is remarkable for its variety of powers, and is not to be surpassed in softness; it is not ex- ceeded by the Italian in the tenderness of its expres- sions and the sweetness of its sounds, and if any appearance of harshness should occur in its pages, it must be attributed to the amazing extent of the lan- guage, which contains in it sounds and expressions of every kind. It at least equals the language of Italy in the softness of its sound, is often taken for it by those who are but imperfectly acquainted with both, and frequently exceeds it in the beauty of its phrases and the peculiar felicity of its sentences. That this assertion is not without foundation, will appear evident to every one who will examine the poetry of both countries. The following stanzas are selected not for the beauty of their poetry, or for the mellifluence of their sound, but because, plain and inelegant as their language might appear, they hap- pen to abound, in common with a thousand others that could be cited, in words bearing a strong resem- blance to the Italian, and the whole, collectively considered, will hardly be adjudged inferior to it in mellifluence of sound or softness of expression. Cava, Carar, lodes lana, Carar tecca, carar salwa, Bustl blin, a dil mil arno A gar y galon Ion a garo. Let love but once possess thy breast, Thy heart can never be at rest ; Whether the brown nymph or the fair, Or the plain maiden prove thy care, OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 89 Love will present thee oft with gall, But his own sweets correct it all. The following extract from an artless pastoral boasts an excellence of composition, and bears no appearance of studied attempts at softness of sound, yet it would be difficult perhaps to find, even in Italian writers, so many lines devoid of inharmonious expressions. Deren nes fy lodes Idn, Gywirliw, gdd dy gorlan, Mae o lystau melusa y Naml o'd'ol, yn yml y da, A rhes o fiodan rhosau, A hynnyn dew, % nin dau JEwn law law, cymmrwn lili, A'u blodaun rhannau i ni A bysedd rhwymwn bosi, Ffel at hyn, nid ffol wyt ti, Rhoed yn gibs, fel ar rosyn, Gwlwm da ar galon dyn, fyc. Come, gentle Shepherdess, divinely fair, In these rich meads forsake thy fleecy care ; Here are sweet plants, and ev'ry herb they love, Here let them brouse while we at pleasure rove, And cull the lily and the blushing rose, And the pale pink, and ev'ry flow'r that blows : O'er ev'ry field in quest of flow'rs I'll haste, While thou shalt bind them with thy wonted taste, For these seem, Shepherdess, thy fav'rite arts, To bind up boquets, and imprison hearts. Should the instances that have been given be con- sidered as composed in some measure on amorous subjects, and should they for that reason be looked upon as intended to convey sounds possessed of greater softness than the works of the bards in gene- ral may be able to boast, the following stanzas, ex- 90 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES tracted from a poem addressed to Parry, the late celebrated harper, a little before his death, if not very musical, will be sufficient at least to shew that soft sounds in this beautiful language are not confined to subjects connected with the tender passion. Wis tecca para Parri, i hwylio, Ar wyliau'r cwmpeini Mai eos y melusi, Swn tannau ein telynnau ni Mae dy delynwen leni, ifoli, Ar fil yn rhagori Wei etto, mae hwyl i ti A dawn net in denu ni Y bys fel yn cwrlo, dwylo Ar y delyn yn dawnsio Dwrn weile, ai fawd arno, A'i lais draw, melus ei dro, Sfc. Leave us not, Parry ; for thy skill Improves our tuneful efforts still, As the sweet nightingale improves The native music of our groves. Thy lyre o'er ev'ry lyre prevails, Thy praise resounds thro' all our vales, Thy talents fascinate the throng — All are enchanted with thy song ; Thy fingers struggle with the strings, Till thy tried hand indignant rings Such magic peals, that ev'ry ear Wonders, and listens still to hear, &c. But composed on a subject bearing some alliance to music, these stanzas may still perhaps be consi- dered as more harmonious, and abounding in softer sounds, than is customary in compositions on less tuneful subjects; the following therefore is adduced as an unobjectionable example, as it is part of a poem on the gout, a subject it will readily be ac- OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 91 knowledged, neither gentle in its manner, nor posses- sing any thing attractive or harmonious in its nature. Poen* inia blin yn blino, poena I tecca in teccio, Poen drud lun, i Pen, i droed lanno, Poen ir aelodau pan hir ledo, Poen in dala pen a dwylo, Poen in hel i pen a cuilo Pui her i gesti gostio, guesta, Pan ranna poen arno, SfC. The heaviest pain that haunts us here, Is a pain the fair may bear, A pain the rich may often know When Fortune's fav'ring breezes blow ; Too well they feel, that human bliss Is dearly bought, who suffer this ; From head to foot it swiftly flies, And every joint and member tries ; Then on the foot or on the hand Unsparingly it takes its stand, Severely on its victim bears, And melts the stoutest heart to tears. If this pain be the glutton's guest, Who would not fly the splendid feast ? If such the portion pleasures give, Who would in vicious pleasures live ? In this passage, though from the nature of the subject much softness of sound could not have been expetced, yet many of the words are Italian, several others bear a strong resemblance to those of that language, and the stanza in its structure, number of lines, and identity of rhyme, appears extremely * In this example as y, and w are not letters often used in Ita- lian, i is placed for y, and u for w, for the difference of pronun- ciation is hardly perceptible. 92 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES similar to the Italian poetry at present in frequent use. It is one of the four-and-twenty measures, an- ciently in fashion among the earlier inhabitants of the British Isles — but rendered considerably more difficult, by the stricter rules needlessly adopted in subsequent ages — and is similar to that used by Tasso in his " Gierusalemme Liberata." The metre in which the " Gododin," a British epic poem of the sixth century, is written, bears a still stronger resem- blance to the measure selected by Tasso. Very little doubt can be entertained that the metre which dis- tinguishes the " Gierusalemme Liberata " is of Celtic origin, and that its parent is what is still so much admired by the lovers of the muses among the Cam- bro-Britons. Not that the Italians derived it imme- diately from the bards of the principality of Wales, but that they inherited it from the Longobardi, a Celtic tribe, that during the decline of the Roman empire issued from the German forests, depopulated a considerable portion of Italy, and gave its name to Lombardy, that part of the country which borders on the river Po. This tribe was esteemed very power- ful, and occupied a part of Germany in the time of Tacitus. That eminent historian describes it as an inconsiderable tribe as to population, and as owing its weight in the Germanic scale to its bold and enter- prising spirit, rather than to the number of its forces or the extent of its territories. When possessed of the fertile regions washed by the Po, they still per- sisted in their ancient customs, and preserved their original habits, their love of poetry, and their enthu- siastic ardour for music, and in a short period the OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 93 soft infection of their manners spread itself over the neighbouring country. The introduction of the harp on all festive occasions, the universal partiality for it, which was observable soon after that period, and the prevalence of the custom of accompanying it with the voice, are strong marks of a Celtic origin. The impromptu poetical effusions, and their musical ac- companiments, prevalent in Italy in the middle ages, have their source, no doubt, in the Pierian spring which the Longobardi, or tall bards, so liberally quaffed. Lord Lyttelton* remarks, that when he first passed some of the Welsh hills, and heard the harp, and the beautiful female peasants accompany- ing it with their melodious voices, he could not help indulging in the idea that he had descended the Alps, and was enjoying the harmonious pleasures of the Italian paradise. Howel, the author of the Dic- tionary of the principal languages of Europe, ob- serves that he was forcibly struck with the similarity of features, which he at least imagined the peasants, in some districts in Italy, bore to the inhabitants of some parts in the principality of Wales. An obser- vation in which he is supported by the subsequent remarks of Mrs. Piozzi on what she saw in the course of her travels through Italy. The little intercourse they have had with foreign nations, and their ori- ginal descent from the same Celtic source, are the principal reasons assigned for this visionary simili- tude. The identity of their origin is imagined to be in a great measure demonstrated by the similarity See Lord LytteltorTs Letters from Wales, &c. 94 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES of their customs, their love of music,* their attach- ment to the muses, the sprightliness of their disposi- tion, and the simplicity of their manners. The analogy which the favourite metres of the ancient British bards bore to the Italian has been noticed by several critics, particularly by Dr. John David Rhys, in his elaborate Latin treatise on the grammar of the Welsh language. He analyzed several of the corresponding stanzas of both nations, descanted on the analogical properties of each, and assigned reasons for the occasional difference observable be- tween them. Few men ever possessed greater cri- tical acumen, or could be better qualified than he was, by his great proficiency in both languages, to state their comparative merits. He was educated at the University of Sienna, where he resided many years, and he was so well versed in Italian literature, that he was chosen Professor of the language. He adduces several instances, particularly in the earlier and middle centuries, in which a distinct analogy is perceptible in the prosody and the poetical taste of the two nations. In the most common colloquial phrases in the modern Welsh, an evident simi- larity to the Italian language is obvious to every discerning ear ; nothing is more usual than to hear * Jack Owen having gone to London to see an opera, while a student of Oxford, was so agitated at the performance, (which he always was at fine music,) that he drew the attention of an Italian gentleman in the pit, who addressed him first in his own lan- guage, then in broken English, " Signeur, Sir, Sir, be you von Italiano ? " " No," said Jack, not liking to lose a note of the music, "don't tease me, I am a Welshiano" OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 95 the peasants accosting each other in some such ex- pressions, " Suf rwyt ti, DeioV " Ble mae GuttoV " Sut mae Nell "n tyccio ? " # &c. Strangers to both languages are apt not unfrequently to mistake the Welsh for the Italian. Three templars, natives of the Principality, once on a time, returning from Vauxhall, exhilarated by the juice of the grape, had a dispute with an equal number of citizens in a similar situation, and it was decided on the spot by an appeal to their respective pugilistic powers. Two of the Cambro-Britons proved victorious, but the third appeared to have met with a doughtier antago- nist ; his companions considering it ungenerous and dishonourable to afford him manual assistance, gave him a little friendly advice, exclaming, " Dal atto, dal atto, at i vol o ! " " Adhere to him, adhere to him, aim your blows at his chest." He took the hint, changed his mode of attack, and brought his oppo- nent to the ground, who, seated in the dust like Dr. Slop in the mire, scratched his head, vociferating, " Hang that Italian, and his outlandish lingo: why did he interfere ? if he had been silent, I think I should have mastered my man." The Welsh in common conversation often use Italian words. Two young men at Oxford were amusing themselves at * " How dost thou, David?" Where is Griffith ?" " How does Helen get on ?" Let this be translated into any other European language, and the superior softness will be admitted. The fami- liar appellation of every name in Welsh terminates in a vowel, which is the case likewise with the plural of most nouns, and the first person of the present tense, and the imperative of most verbs. 9G HISTORICAL ANECDOTES the old school-play of capping Latin verses, where one cites a line beginning with the same letter which terminated that of his opponent. A third per- son accidentally coming into the room, asked if they did not consider it a degradation in collegians to waste their hours in an amusement calculated only for the third or fourth form of a school. " Oh !* da capo,''' replied one of the poetical combatants, and continued the contest. The following specimen of words used in both languages will demonstrate how near they approach each other. ITALIAN. WELSH. Capella, a chapel, Capela, chapels. Cantara, to sing, Cantwr, a singer. Campione, a champion, Campio, to act the champion. Dio, God, Duw, God. Ecclesia, a church, Eglwysi, churches. Finestra, a window, Ffenestri, windows. Fossa, a ditch, Ffosdu, ditches. [honey Mele, honey, Mel, honey, mela, to gather Mare, the sea, Mor, the sea. Penna, the top, Pennau, heads. [mountains. Penna de Monta, Pennau Mynyddau, tops of Ponta, a bridge, Pontau, bridges. Picca, a sharp beak, Picca, sharp beaked. Pescata, fishing, Pysgotta, fishing. Pasqua, Easter, Pasq, pasga, to observe Easter. Rhosa, a rose, Rhosau, roses. Spiritolo, spiritual, Ysbrydoli, to spiritualize. These few words may serve to demonstrate the resemblance which the modern Italian bears to the * They were natives of the principality of Wales ; "'da capo'* in the Cambro-British language implies, " it is good to cap verses." OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 97 ancient British. To collect every corresponding word would be to form a Lexicon rather than to write an essay. In the arrangement of words in composition, the construction of phrases, and the formation of sen- tences,* the similarity is very obvious ; but the Ita- lian having arrayed itself after the fashion of the modern languages, much of the elegant simplicity of the eastern style is lost, and though the materials of which the habiliment is manufactured is a counter- part of the Welsh, the fantastical manner in which it has been fashioned, and the superfluity of unneces- sary ornaments with which, in conformity to modern customs, it has been encumbered, render the alliance between the two languages less suspected, and their mutual similitude less striking. The ancient British will not however suffer from comparison, when exa- mined together with this or any other modern lan- guage. It is capable of every ornament of which the others can boast, and when the subject suits, it possesses, from the eastern construction still belong- ing to it, a softness of expression and a tenderness of diction, that modern tongues fruitlessly attempt to imitate. Very little doubt can remain that the mo- dern Italian owes its mellifluence of sound to the manners and the language of the Celtic tribe of the Longobardi, who, being all enthusiastically attached to the musical and poetical pursuits of bardism, adapted their language to the rules of poetry, and to the melody of the harp, and rejected most words that * Whole Italian sentences are sometimes met with that are perfect British, as " Asene di Balaam," Balaam's Ass. H 98 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES did not either terminate in a vowel, or admit of an harmonious cadence. They lost however in process of time much of their own language, and adopted many terms from the Latin, and not a few from the language of the barbarous nations that at different periods over-ran and depopulated Italy. Hence it is that in poetical compositions, where sweetness of sound is an object of attention, the Welsh in mas- terly hands is capable of a greater degree of softness and tender felicity of expression, than the Italian. It is a circumstance well known to those who are ac- quainted with the inexhaustible resources of the an- cient British language, that entire poems, or treatises of considerable length, may be composed in it, with- out admitting any but the softer consonants, or adopting any word that does not possess a mellow and harmonious sound. Moreover, its native peculiar powers are so remarkable, that a proficient in the language, who has a talent for composition, may pro- duce a tract in it, in either prose or verse, of no in- considerable magnitude, where no words shall appear but such as are of acknowledged Italian extraction. The powers of the ancient British in fact have never been fairly tried : a few fugitive pieces have been circulated in verse, where an attempt appears to have been made at elegance of style, and softness of ex- pression, as in Richards' Pastorals, and some others, which display no ordinary merit ; but very few of late years in prose, deserving of particular attention, as elegant classical compositions, unless we except " Bardd Cwsg,' 1 or " the Visions of the Bard," and one or two more. Justice to the abundant resources OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 99 of the language, however, renders it necessary to observe that more may be effected than has ever yet been attempted. But we have had no munificent patrons, no De Medicis, no Leo the Tenth, to foster our youthful poets, or shelter and cherish the rising genius of Welsh literature. All that has been effected, has been undertaken to gratify the taste of a few patriotic individuals, or to indulge a spirit of emula- tion raised between rival provinces, by no very im- portant attempts to recover some pieces of antiquity, and point out a few beauties in a language of remote origin and singular construction, and to demonstrate the unnatural prejudices of those, who can discover innumerable beauties in foreign tongues, while they are strangers to the elegance, and unacquainted with the persuasive softness of their own. During the reign of some of the most liberal of the Welsh princes, various instances occurred, of men who raised themselves to eminence by the beauties of their compositions, and who placed in a most con- spicuous point of view, the superior charms and ex- pressive tenderness that mark their language. Lite- rature was then, in some measure, encouraged and genius protected, but the taste of that period was so defective or so vitiated, the progress made in the sciences was so inconsiderable, or so obstructed by the tumults and dissensions of the times, that the most distinguished of those ages, though confessedly characterized by many beauties, are such as cannot be expected to be the haunts of the Graces, that smile on the chaste and classical labours of the pre- sent day. In simplicity, in bold and sublime con- 100 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES ceptions, in an animated and expressive diction, they are justly and deservedly admired. But in correct- ness of style, in smoothness and elegance of language, they differ materially from the classical compositions of a more modern period. Even then, however, from the peculiar beauties of the language, in defiance of the homely garb in which she was clad, innumerable pleasing traits were discernible, and notwithstanding the many cacophonies in which that age delighted, many melodious passages occur in the productions of the best authors, some as soft and mellifluous as any of the most admired pieces of which Italy can boast. Petrarch did not celebrate the beauties of his Laura, in more numerous or more admired composi- tions, than the British bard has offered as a tribute to the charms of his lovely Morfudd ; and Petrarch can hardly be said to have surpassed him in harmony of periods or mellifluence of verse. On one occasion Gwilym describes his happiness in being permitted to converse with his beautiful mistress, and compares the pleasing softness of her language to a vernal shower of honey-dew, falling among the leaves of the forest. A dil mel ar y dail man. Her gentle accents as she spoke Seem'd dew-drops on the vernal oak. On another occasion he describes her head-dress and the beautiful colour of her hair, and inquires with his usual naivete if it were fabricated of ripe hazel- nuts, or of thread composed of the finest ductile gold. A'i plisg y gneuen wisgi ? A'i dellt aur yiu dy wallt di ? OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 101 Did the ripe hazel lately shed Its envied honours on thy head ? Or did kind nature's hand enfold, Thy hair in slend'rest threads of gold ? Juvenile indiscretion having involved the bard in inextricable difficulties, a legal process having en- cumbered him with debt, and an enormous fine, which he was condemned to liquidate, having com- pleted his apparent ruin, the men of Glamorgan generously united to relieve him from his embarrass- ments, and restore him to happiness and the unmo- lested enjoyment of his muse. The first effect of his gratitude was a poetical address to the sun, pray- ing it might for ever shed its choicest lustre, and its most benignant influence on the men of Glamorgan, and that a pernicious blight, or an unfavourable sea- son might nev,er be experienced in that paradise. The entire poem is admirable, and may be considered as decidedly one of the finest compositions in the Welsh, or perhaps in any language. It is not so much a studied piece of poetry, as a rapturous burst of gratitude from the heart. In allusion to the fair cause of his difficulties, he addresses the fountain of light as a female, and among many other beautiful expressions he has Em loywaf ami oleuni, Ymmerodres tes wyt ti, fyc. Fair Empress ! whose resplendent sway Rules the bright confines of the day, To the rich gems that deck thy brow, Summer's celestial light we owe, &c. Gwyddno, a celebrated chieftain of Ceredigion, having lost the whole of his extensive territories by 102 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES an unexpected inundation of the sea, his son Elphin, from the highest expectations, was reduced to the necessity of maintaining himself and family by the produce of a weir, formed on a part of his father's ruined estate. Having on a particular occasion a considerable sum of money to pay, he sent his men to the weir with the eager desire of converting the contents of their net into something more sub- stantial and profitable. They exerted themselves during the greatest part of the night, and towards morning, instead of a valuable draught of fish, they returned with a leathern coracle that had been turned adrift, and with a little boy whom they had found in it, and who afterwards proved to be the renowned and unrivalled Taliesin. While Elphin lamented his disappointment, the almost infant bard exclaimed. Elphin dcg taw ath ivylo, Ni welwyd yngored Wyddno, Erioed cystal a heno, &c. Grieve not, Elphin, grieve no more, Heaven shall bless thy little store, And what this night's fortune found, Shall with choicest gifts be crown 'd, &c. The Welsh critics are profuse in their praise of this first effort of Taliesin's muse ; and historians add, that Elphin's protection of the poetical orphan terminated in the renovation of his fortune, and the revival of the former splendour of his family. It is evident that whatever beauty # this and most of the * The reader is referred to the 1st vol. of the Cambrian Re- gister, and to Walter's Dissertation on the Welsh language, for observations on other beautiful lines, and on the celebrated musical couplet, — OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 103 preceding extracts can claim, they were not the result of literary toil, nor were they the offspring of extraordinary poetical judgment. They were the effusions of nature, and art hardly afforded any aid in adding ornaments to their native dress. What- ever ease or elegance of diction they possess, must therefore be attributed to the sweet softness and har- mony of the Celtic tongue, the musical tendency of which is such, that the poet must be peculiarly un- fortunate, who does not enliven his toil with some tuneful lines, let his ear be ever so inharmonious, or his mind ever so uninfluenced by the charms of poe- tical numbers. In prose the same felicity of expres- sion frequently occurs, though few instances can be given of a laboured attempt at elegance or softness of language. Roberts, a member of the university of Sienna, in his admirable Welsh grammar, published in the fifteenth century, has produced a successful transla- tion of Cicero's Dialogue de Senectute, &c. In this translation are some beautiful passages, though he seems to attend more to the sense of his author, than to the harmony of his periods. Perry, in his Treatise on Rhetoric, in the Welsh language, printed about the conclusion of the seventeenth century, has occa- sionally some very musical periods. Lewis of Caio, father of the late vicar of that parish, and editor of a collection of Welsh poems, called " Flores Poetarum Britannicorum," presented to the public, in the lan- Mel o leisiau me I u son, Mil o hyd symmola hon,&c. 104 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES guage of the Principality, an excellent Treatise on Natural Philosophy, which he modestly denominated " Briwsion odd la r fwrdd y dysgedigion" or Frag- ments from the Table of the Literati. It is an admi- rable epitome of every thing that is valuable in the philosophical discoveries of the last century and the preceding, and is as much admired for the beauty of its language, as for the compendious fecundity of its pages, while its style seems as artless as its contents are useful. Theophilus Evans, in his historical trea- tise entitled " Drych yprif oesoedd" or a View of the Earlier Ages, displays great brilliancy of composition, though, from the general negligence of his manner, it seems to be the offspring of chance, rather than the effect of any regular design. In the multifarious theological, scientific, and miscellaneous works, re- cently published, many passages occur, which al- though not composed, perhaps^ with much atten- tion to elegance of diction or mellifluence of sound, yet appear hardly inferior in smoothness of language and harmony of periods, to any production of the most celebrated Italian authors. The third Vision of Bardd Cwsg, or the Visions of the Bard, opens with a beautiful period, which has been deservedly admired and frequently imi- tated. But this was evidently the effect of labour and of a correct and cultivated taste. It is a description of Spring. The scene is placed on the banks of the Severn ; and the author seems to have put forth all the powers of his pen to describe the brilliancy of the prospect, the verdure of the meads, the music of the proves, and the genial OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 105 warmth of the season. But to display the native beauties of the ancient British language, a less laboured period will afford a more just though a simpler representation of the softness it possesses, as well as of the uncultivated charms with which it is endowed. Near the commencement of the first Vision, the author describes himself as having been surprised by the resistless influence of the soporific powers, and humourously adds, " ac ynghysgod blinder daeth fy Meistr Cwsg yn lledradaidd, im rhwymo, ac ai agoriadau plwm fe gloes ffenestri fy Hygaid, cCm holl synwyrau eraill yn dynn ddiogel. Etto gwaith ofer oedd iddo geisio clo'ir Enaid, a fedrfyw a thrafaelio heb y corph" " Under covert of fatigue, Morpheus clandestinely approached, and bound me with his usual expedition ; and with the leaden power of his keys, he closed the windows of my visual chambers, and effectually locked up all my faculties. But he found it a vain attempt to endeavour to confine the soul, which, without the assistance of the body, knows well how to enjoy itself, to change its situation, and expatiate at plea- sure." In this sentence, which certainly was written without any attention to harmony of words, the expressions " agoriadau" "synwyrau" " rhwymo" " travadio" &c, are as musical as any of which the Italian can boast ; while, had the intention been to avoid every harsh word, " llygaid" might have been changed for " golygon" and " daeth fy Meistr Cwsg yn lledradaidd" for u yna deuar Duwiaur Cwsg yn, dan ddistawir cwbl on deutu" So copious is the language, that for every object, several diffe- JOG .ISTOIilCAL ANECDOTES rent expressions present themselves ; and a writer, who is attentive to the strength or beauty of his style, may at pleasure render his sentences expres- sive as the Greek, rough as the German, lively as the French, or soft and harmonious as the Italian. But here it may be naturally enquired, if the Cambro-British language be so remarkable for the smoothness and modulation of its periods, by what unfortunate concurrence of circumstances has it hap- pened that most of the critics who have had occasion to advert to it, have conspired to represent it as a rough and inelegant language? To this it may be answered, that too many persevere in maintaining the opinions of their predecessors, without examina- tion and without reflection, while others presume to judge of a language, without acquiring any know- ledge of it ; and because, to adapt the sound to the English characters, several letters may occasionally be used to express a single syllable, they hastily conclude that the ancient British must be rough and inharmonious. But the fact, on the contrary, is, that no language can naturally be softer or more musical ; and that it has cost the exertion of the first-rate talents for many centuries, to give it the asperity which it now apparently wears in some modern compositions. From the number of words terminating in vowels, the formation of the plural by the addition of another syllable with a vocalic termination, and the graceful fall of the accent in most words on the penultima, the natural tendency of the language seemed to be to tenderness and to harmonious cadences. The bards of a martial OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 107 people, therefore, in order that effeminate sounds might not weaken the warlike energy of their youth, laboured to give their compositions all the vigour and masculine expression in their power ; and for many centuries, to produce a soft and tender period among some of the Celtic tribes, would have been as disgraceful, as it would have been among some ancient states to add another string to the lyre. Tacitus describes the whole military line, while rushing forward to action, as repeating in concert some martial composition of their divinely-inspired bards, and as forming their opinions of the success of the battle from the thunder of its sound, and the rapturous lightning it shot through their bo- soms : — " Ituri in prcelium canunt. Su?it illis hcec quoque carmina, quorum relatu quern Barditum vo- cant, accendunt aminos, futurceque pugnce fortunam ipso cant u augur antur terrent enim, trepidantve, prout sonuit acies. JS T ec tarn voces illce, quam vir- tutes concentus videntur, affectatur prcecipue aspe- ritas soni, et fr actum murmur, object is ad os scut is, quo plenior et gravior vox repercussu intumescat." " When they march to battle, they rouse their souls to valour, by singing, as in general concert, some verses composed by those whom they call bards ; and they conjecture the success of the day, from the force and energy of their warlike song. And they strike terror, or are seized with trepidation, as the musical thunder of the line sounds feebly, or echoes tremendously : nor does that concert seem so much an exertion of their voices, as an essay of their valour, and a prelude to the battle. They 108 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES particularly affect asperity and roughness of sound, a broken and frequently interrupted murmur, and they apply their shields to their mouths that the reverberation of their rough notes may cause the natural force of their voices to seem louder and more terrible." The same extraordinary partiality for asperity of language has continued from that age to the present ; and in a tongue remarkable for har- mony of periods and modulation of numbers, to pro- duce compositions distinguished for their energy, their terrific cadences, and for heroic and enthusi- astic spirit, was considered as a proof of genius, and as an indication of a correct taste. Gwilym's cele- brated ode, at the repetition of which by a dat- geiniwr, or rhapsodist, his poetical rival, Rhys Meigen, fell down and instantly expired, is as re- markable for .the roughness of its verse, as it is for the extravagant sublimity of its fancy. It has gene- rally been known by the name of the " Test of Sobriety," because it was deemed impossible that any person, unless perfectly sober, and capable of correctly exerting all the organs of speech, could ever accurately rehearse it. The late Rees Jones, Esq., of Blaenau, who was much admired for his bardic compositions, and who, a few years since, paid the debt of nature at a very advanced age, in the mountainous parts of Merio- nethshire, published a quarto volume, of what he entitled " The Achievements of the Bards," in which are some poetical pieces of great antiquity, remark- able for the asperity and for the studied difficulty of their numbers. Rhynnu, in the Celtic language, OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE 109 meant to grow stiff, as from the effect of cold or dreadful horror ; and the Runic or Rynnic verses, of which so much has been said, were some of these diffi- cult poetical compositions, deemed impossible to have been achieved by human art, and therefore attri- buted to the powers of magic. The rapid repetition of them was considered as an incantation, and was supposed to strike those against whom they were directed with stupefaction, or to petrify them with horror. But these extraordinary efforts of the bards, a race of men that dedicated their whole lives to the art of composition, cannot surely be regarded as proofs of the native roughness of the language. It is an evidence of its versatility, and not of its as- perity and natural harshness. Though, from its copiousness, it is capable of contending in roughness with the less polished of the Northern tongues, it is calculated also to vie with the Italian, or with any of the most admired Southern languages, in smoothness of sentences and melody of sound ; circumstances which forcibly speak in favour of its musical resources, and its aptitude for poetical com- positions. To be able to sink with ease into the lowest and deepest notes, and to rise when neces- sary to the highest and the most pleasing, is a stronger proof of a musical capacity, than to possess merely skill enough to excel in a treble part. The wonderful extent of the Celtic tongue, and the agreeable variety which it justly boasts, can be known only to those who are well acquainted with it, and who are conversant with the best authors, whose productions have for so many centuries con- 1 10 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES tributed to its melioration and to its renown. The copiousness of the fountain may be known, in some measure, by the number and the profundity of the streams that owe to it their origin. The Southern tongues are no less derived from the Celtic than the Northern ; though the latter, having flowed to a remoter distance from the source, have been more affected by external circumstances, by change of climate, and by the influx of streams from other fountains. That most of the languages of the North were of Celtic origin, and, at no very remote period, were intelligible to the inhabitants of the principality of Wales, is evident from a pro- clamation of one of the Welsh Princes, who ap- pointed a public session of the Bards, to regulate the laws of poetry and music. To this harmonic convention, or Musical Festival, the Bards of the Isle of Man, of Ireland, of Scotland, and of Scan- dinavia, were respectively invited. Soon after that period, the Welsh language became fixed. This is manifest from the number of Lexicons and Gram- mars constantly published in the language by the most learned men of their time, and from the Sacred Scriptures having been translated into Welsh, and from Divine service having been regularly performed in Welsh in the Churches of the Principality, for more than two centuries and a half ; and these con- curring circumstances have greatly contributed to the stability and the general diffusion of the language. From the earliest dawn of literature, and the inven- tion of printing, Welsh students in the universities of Italy, and in various seminaries of learning on the OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. Ill Continent, had several works of utility and eminence published in their native tongue, which prevented its fluctuation, and so firmly established it, that no very material alteration has been observed in it for the last four centuries. Some of the other Northern languages have hardly been committed to writing at all, and only an inconsiderable number of books has been printed in any of them till within these two last centuries. Still the identity of the language is dis- cernible to every scholar. Various words in the languages still spoken in Sweden and Norway, cor- respond with the British. In the Erse and the Irish, the pronunciation is a little different, as the English is among the peasantry in some of the counties of England : in other respects, the language is radically the same, and the inhabitants of the mountains of Wales and Scotland, after the inter- course of a few months, are mutually intelligible. Soldiers of Highland regiments- that have settled in the Principality, have been known to acquire the language so completely, that they could not be dis- tinguished from the natives ; and some Irish gentle- men have observed that their Welsh servants, when resident in a remote part of Ireland, have attained the knowledge of the Irish tongue in a very short period. The difference, in fact, is very immaterial between the two dialects of the Celtic tongue, and is rather occasioned by the various pronunciations of certain words, the want of frequent commu- nication, the fluctuation of the Irish language, the decay of literature, and the sterility of popular publications, than by any essential discrepancy. 112 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES The words, Ysgybor, a barn ; Tarw, a bull ; Ysga- da?i, herrings ; for example, are the same in both languages : but the Irish place the accent on the last syllable, and the Welsh on the penultima. The celebrated antiquary, Edward Llwyd,* in his " Archai- ologia Britannica," has, from a visionary design to form a system of his own, endeavoured to point out a distinction between the two languages : but it is a distinction without a difference ; for the words which he mentions as preserved only in the Irish, are Celtic words still understood in Wales, and not a few of them are used in common conversation in some parts of the country. The Erse, the common language of the Highlands of Scotland, appears to be less corrupted, and to bear more affinity to the W elsh than the common Irish ; as Craig, a rock ; Mor, for Mawr, great ; Llong, a vessel ; Ystraeth, a plain or vale near the sea. The principal difference is in the mode adopted in the Highlands, of converting the Celtic P into H, as Hib, for Pib, a pipe ; or more generally into a C, * See " Vindication of the Celts," 8vo. 1803, published for E. Williams, Strand, p. 144. In a conversation on the subject with a well-informed Irish gentleman, the words in both languages were allowed to be the same ; for instance, he called a cock, ceiliawg, and a turkey-cock, ceiliog-twrci and ceiliawg -ffrengig ; both which are used in Welsh : for in that language Ffrengig is used for any thing large, as cnau, nuts, cnau ffrengig, French nuts, or walnuts. More words have been lost in Ireland than in Wales from their want of books. Clock, a bell, is hardly known there at present ; but it formerly meant clock. Cloch Badrig, Patrick's Bell, is a hill of conical form in the county of Connaught. OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 113 as Cen mawr, the name of one of the kings of Scot- land, for Pen mawr, great head ; Centire or Centeri, for Pentir, Land's End ; Mac for Mab, a son ; Clan, an abbreviation of plant, children ; as Clan Mac Leod, Plant Mab Llwyd, &c. At the revival of Highland literature, had the translators of the New- Testament, and other authors who have published books in that language, been versed in the Cambro- British, and had they consulted the Welsh Diction- aries, their works would have been better understood. They would also have exhibited fewer instances of variation from works on the same subjects, which have appeared in the principality of Wales. For want of attention to this circumstance, the Erse trans- lations of the Sacred Scriptures, though well under- stood in some districts of the Highlands, is almost unintelligible in others. An enlightened and devout clergyman in one of the Western Isles used to de- clare, that he found that the reading of the Erse Testament to his congregation, was of little service to them, and that, by taking the Greek Testament in his hand, he could deliver an extemporary translation that was better comprehended, and that had a much better effect on them. Of what service to the other portions of England would be a translation of the Old and New Testament, were it to make its appearance in the vernacular dialect of Westmore- land ? As there were neither books nor manuscripts in the Erse till of late years, the first authors in that language put dow r n the words by rote from the pronunciation of those with whom they conversed. 114 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES Let the experiment be tried from the colloquy of an illiterate peasant, in any living language, and it will appear a different dialect, calculated to baffle etymo- logical inquiry, and bid defiance to all criticism. A piece of music taken down from the mouth of a country singer, by an old adept in the science, will assume a very different appearance, and produce a very different effect from the same air in a correct scientific copy. The Erse still boasts of several pieces of composition that are very deservedly ad- mired. The language is extremely beautiful, and it is difficult to write what has been well composed in it, in such a manner that it shall not retain some of its original charms. Every thing in it would be more generally admired, and the language would be less censured by strangers, were compositions of this nature presented to the public eye with less attention to particular dialects, and with more liberal views of contributing to the improvement of the Celtic tongue in general, of removing its corruptions, and of clearing up its obscurities. The ruin of the Gallic tribes was their division among themselves ; and the same error and a similar fatality seem to attend the patrons of their respective dialects. Less narrow-minded jea- lousy, and more generous efforts towards general knowledge, might render the language a more fa- vourite object of inquiry. They might also mate- rially contribute to develope the antiquities, to eluci- date the languages, and to explain the history of Europe. The language of the Isle of Man does not differ very materially from the Welsh. The Norwegians, OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. ] jftj during their residence in the island, left some vestiges of their dialect; in other respects the Manks greatly resembles the Erse. In the course of a late tour through that territory, the names of places were dis- covered to be similar to those in Wales, as the town of Fyle corresponding with Pyle in Glamorganshire,* lw , , common na mes of most things appeared to be Welsh, with a very trifling variation. A shep- herd employed in raising a turf-fence was asked what be called the spade which he held in his hand ■ he answered pheil, pdl being the Welsh word, which by mutation becomes pMl, as ei phdl, her spade. A literary gentleman in the island, engaged in com- posing a dictionary of the language, was at a loss to discover the etymology of Cencote, their term for Whitsunday, and of Wilie Nolig, their phrase for Christmas: he had written to Smith, of Campbell lown, the translator of several pieces from the Erse and to various other critics in that language, and had obtained no satisfactory answer. It was suggested to h.m that Cencote might be only a corruption of Pencote the P being changed into C, as is often the case with many of the Celtic words : and Pencote, by syncope and the effect of a rapid and careless pronunciation, for Pentecost, the proper name for that festival ; and that Wilie Nolig might be a cor- ruption of Wiliau, or Gwiliau y Nadoligj the Welsh * Douglas Town is from Don or M, black, and GUs dark bltVcomT ?Ve V° the D ° UglaS fami '^ fr ° m *eir dak td black complexion, from whom the town had its name. t Nadohg , s derived from the word geni, to be born • from wh,ch 9 ene di9 ol, abont to be born, «J ge^igolig, belong 1 16 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES name for the Christmas Holidays : in the Welsh language Gwiliau, by mutation Wiliau, implies vigils or holydays ; and Nadolig, relating to the Nativity, which by syncope might be easily abbreviated into Nolig, the term used in the vernacular language of the Isle of Man. He was struck with the force of these observations, acknowledged his sense of their propriety and pertinence, lamented his ignorance of the language of the Principality, and expressed a wish to be furnished with a dictionary and grammar of that copious dialect of the Celtic. He was per- suaded that these appendages would materially con- tribute to the illustration of the language of his na- tive island. At the conclusion of " Martin's Voyage into the Western Isles," a list is given of Erse words corresponding with the Welsh, and an explanation of the mutation of consonants generally adopted in the northern dialects of the Celtic, which has occasioned the languages of different districts to appear remoter from each other than they really are. The Cornish dialect is at present nearly extinct. Two manuscripts in this language are still preserved in the Bodleian library at Oxford, and Llwyd in his " Archaiologia" has given a Cornish dictionary. He has likewise inserted in the same work a moderately t0 what may be about to be born, are formed: Genedigolig is by syncope, converted euphonice gratid, into Gennadolig, and genadolig, by aphseresis into nadolig. These mutations are men- tioned, because, if properly attended to, they will prove a clue that will, through the labyrinth of modern etymology, lead to the derivation of many northern words that, through ignorance of the Celtic, are often falsely interpreted and erroneously written. OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 117 copious dictionary of the Armoric dialect, or the lan- guage of Bretagne in France, which, if we except the obtrusion of the letter z in lieu of dd, and some other trifling variations, can hardly be said to dif- fer from the dialect of the Celtic prevalent in the principality of Wales. The inhabitants of this part of France frequently trade to South Wales for coal, &c, and are able without much difficulty to converse with the natives. They often humorously claim kindred with them, and consider them as the same people with themselves. In the course of the expe- dition to Belleisle in the year 1759, the Welsh soldiers in the English army were understood by the natives of Britany, and of the neighbouring islets, and on this account experienced several instances of friendship and hospitality. Gascoigne is denominated Gwds- gwynn by Welsh writers, which suggests a very plausible etymology ; and ancient British historians assert, that most of the army that attended Cassi- velaunus to France, consisting of sixty thousand men, settled in Gwdsgwynn. The characteristic dialect of the province has now, in a great measure, vanished ; or at least it has dwindled into a patois of vulgar French, but sufficient vestiges of it remain to prove that it was anciently of Celtic origin. Languedoc is a Welsh name, as are many names of families and places in that part of the country. The Cevennes mountains in that province evidently derive their ap- pellation from the Celtic word Cevn, a back or ridge of hills. Provence retained, till of late years, much of the Welsh or Gallic language, and many of the Celtic customs. The Troubadours or Provencal and 118 HI STO R I C A L A N EC DOTES Spanish bards, like them, courted the sister arts of music and poetry. Among the hills which separate France from Spain, are several remains of Celtic tumuli, and Druidical altars, and in the dialect of the inhabitants may be discovered evident traces of the Celtic language. But before we pass the Pyrenees,* we may take a short view of France, and offer a few cursory remarks on the vestiges of a Gallic origin, which still dis- tinguish that nation. Many of the words used at present in France, were introduced into that country by the Franks. Many also were left there by the Romans, who resided during a long period in the Gallic provinces ; but upwards of one-third, perhaps one-half of the language was bequeathed to them by their ancestors the Gauls. The near affinity it bears to that of the principality of Wales, may be disco- vered in the following brief specimen of the dialect of both countries : FRENCH. WELSH. Argent, silver, Avian. Bast on, now Baton, a staff, Pastwn, ei Bastwn, his staff. Cheval, a horse, Ceffyl, ei Cheffyl, her horse. Chevre, a goat, Gafyr, or Gavr. Come, a horn, Corn. Corps, a body, Corph. Couronne, a crown, Cor on. * The Pyrenees derive their name from the Celtic words, pur, clear, and ne, sky or air. Dionysius the geographer describes the Celts as dwelling on the Pyrenees, near the source of the river Po, as he expresses it : ToTc h' zttl Uvp prjvaiov opog k ^wfiara KeXtwv, Ay\6hi Jlriyaojv xaWippou Hpiavolo, &C. V. 288, &C OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 119 FRENCH. Courir, to run, to wander, Ecrivain, a writer, Glaive, a knife or sword, Lait, milk, Livre, a book, Mois, a month, Moulin, a mill, Muet, dumb, Pay en, a heathen, Pelerin, a pilgrim, Pesee, weighed, Putain, a courtezan, Taureau, a bull, WELSH. Crwydro. Ysgriven, a writing. Glaiv. Llaeth, by mutation, Laeth. Llyvr, ei Lyfr, his book. Mis. Melin. Mud. Pagan. Pererin. Pwysan, weights. Put tain. Tarw. An additional number of words might have been selected, which appear to be nearly the same in both languages, but the advantage in point of harmony and mellowness of sound is universally admitted, by those who are esteemed good judges of the subject, to be decidedly in favour of the Welsh. This may be ob- served on comparing terms of a similar import, such as FRENCH. Merchander, to merchandize, Faire voile, to sail, Veiller, to watch, Benir, to bless, Un boucle d 'argent, a silver buckle, Allez ckercher Guillaume pour veiller cette nuit, send for William to watch this night. WELSH. Marsianda. Hwylio. Gwylio. Bendittio, Bendithio. Bud arian. Halan 61 Wili wylioheno. In the following example from the divine poems of the celebrated Vicar of Llandovery, written about the year 1600, almost every word is French. 120 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES Sonied marsiand am varsianda, Sonied morwr am yr India, A sonied cybydd am ei gist, Ond sonied Cristion byth an Grist." Of their rich merchandize let merchants boast, Let sailors boast of either India's coast, Let misers boast the countless sums they hoard, Yet let not Christians boast, but of their Lord. It is impossible in any language to give the force and beauty of the original within the compass of four lines. The French however will admit of almost a literal translation, as, " Les soins cTun marchand sent de marchander" &c, but in point of softness and mellifluence of sound, it will not allow of a compa- rison with the Cambro-British. The French affect to despise every antiquated expression, and to con- demn it as Gaulois, or Gallic. It appears, however, that the best and most harmonious part of the lan- guage is Gallic, and that it has not improved much by the verbal importation from the Franks, nor by the abbreviation of words borrowed from the Latin ; * This example is selected because the late Rev. E. Evans, author of " Dissertatio de Bardis," " Specimen of Welsh Poetry," &c, who certainly must be allowed to have been a good judge of poetic compositions, used to repeat these lines with rap- ture, and then clench his fist, after his manner, and exclaim, " There is poetry, sir ; you will not show me four such artless and yet poetic lines together, in all Pindar, nor indeed in any of your bards, nor in any of your boasted Grecian authors." It is extra- ordinary that the Vicar of Llandovery, the Rev. Rees Prichard, M.A., should not be mentioned in the Cambrian Biography. No book has ever been so popular as the Vicar's poems : every pea- sant in Wales has them by heart. They were translated into En- glish about the year 1776, but the adoption of the quaint title prefixed to them in Oliver Cromwell's time spoiled the sale. OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 121 and in fact that the stock of words left them for their portion by their Celtic ancestors, forms the most valuable part of their philological stores. Voltaire did as much injury to the language as to the morals of the country ; though who denies that he was a man of genius ? The absurd practice of writing every word as it is pronounced has obscured the etymology, and barbarized the sound of half the language. It has given the words borrowed from the Latin and other numerous languages a minced curtailed form, resem- bling the broken imperfect speech of French children in the last age. It is difficult for this reason to trace at present the derivation of many words — mouton, for instance, was anciently written moulton, a sheep, which is evidently a diminutive from the Celtic term moult, or mollt, a sheep or weather. Gwilym in one of his poems has " groen mollt i grino mys." Nor shame my fingers with a sheep-skin glove. Notwithstanding, however, these modern revolu- tions in orthography, manifest marks of the effects of a Celtic descent may still be observed in the patois of every province, especially towards the Pyrenees and the Cevennes Mountains. Many of these provinces retain the Gallic language, particularly on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees where the Celtiberians once resided. The common tongue of Gallicia and of Biscay is, in a great measure, Celtic ; and whatever difference of dialect may seemingly prevail in those districts is more occasioned by ignorance, and by a corrupt vicious pronunciation, than by the admixture of any foreign dialect. The Spanish language itself 122 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES is, to a considerable extent, Celtic ; a few words in it are derived from the Arabic, a great number from the Latin, and nearly all the remainder from the Celtic. The same may be observed of the Portuguese, except that there is less admixture of Moorish and Arabic words in the language of Portugal. The following short specimen may serve to demonstrate the simi- larity which the modern Spanish bears to the an- cient Celtic, and the manifest superiority of the latter, in point of melody of sound : SPANISH. Acea, hither, Cavallo, a horse, Escala, a ladder, Estrada, a street, Estudar, to study, Espiga, an ear of corn, Guaye, woe, Ladron, a thief, Llena, filling 1 , Llamar, to call aloud, Luvia, rain, 1 Lluvio, to rain, ) Nocke, night, Pala, a spade, Pared, a wall, Peccador, a sinner, Pella, a ball, Pescador, a fisherman, Quescar, to make cheese, Rueda, a wheel, Trehan, a buffoon, Estender cas velas, to spread sails, Pella a la pared, the ball to the wall, La noche es cupa de peccadores, the night is the cloak of sinners, WELSH. Accw. Ceffylau, horses. Ysgol. Ystradau. A studio. Ysbigau, sheaves. Gwae. Ladron, thieves. Llanw, to fill. Llavaru, to speak aloud. Glawio, to rain. Nos. Palau, spades. Pared. Pechadur. Pelau, balls. Pysgodwyr, fishermen. Cawsu, to turn to cheese. Rhodau, wheels. Truan, a poor fellow. Ystynu'r hwyliau. Pelau at y pared. Y nos wisg gopa pechadu- riaid. OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 123 From these examples it is evident that the Spanish bears a close resemblance to the ancient Celtic, and that it still retains the Celtic sound of the LI, which is not now preserved in any other European language, except in the Welsh and the Italian. * The simi- larity is very striking in several other respects be- tween the Spanish and the Welsh ; and no culti- vated modern tongue retains so many Celtic terms, or so much of the Celtic style and manner, if we ex- cept perhaps the Italian. There exists a closer affi- nity between the metrical compositions of Spain and of ancient Britain, than between those of the princi- pality and those of any other nation, we must except the productions of the Italian muse. The species of poetry called romance among the Spaniards is not dissimilar to the style adopted in the Pennillion and the most popular metres current among the inhabi- tants of Wales. Some of the Vicar of Llandovery's poems, though on sacred subjects, are precisely in the Spanish style, as the celebrated song on the nativity — Awn i Veth'lem, bawb dan gdnu, Neidio, dawnsio, a divyrru, fyc. Awn bob Cristion i gyflwyno, Aci roddl golwg arno, fyc. To Bethlem's precincts let us throng With sacred joy, and dance, and song, To see the Saviour of the earth, To whom this happy morn gave birth. Thither their hearts, let Christians bring, As offerings to their Heavenly King, &c. In traversing the coast from the Spanish territo- ries towards the confines of Italy, many places and * In the Welsh LI: in the Italian Gl. 124 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES many objects present themselves, which recall to the mind exploits of former ages. They exhibit vestiges of the residence of the Celts, or the Celtiberi, in Spain, and in the south of France, and of their power, and their customs and language. The etymology of several places in these provinces has long puzzled geographers. The name of the people called Arveri has not been satisfactorily accounted for, but the Celtic offers a ready explication in Ar werni, the tribes inhabiting the swamps or marshy grounds. The appellation of the River Rhone has been supposed to be derived from a Greek word im- plying agitation. A Greek colony it is true once settled at Marseilles, but is it probable that they should give name to a river, the source of which was at so great a distance from them, " which pursued the tenor of its way" through so many nations, and which most probably had received its denomination long before it reached their vicinity ? And does not the derivation itself, of Rhone from poSaila), appear forced and unnatural ? Does it not seem more pro- bable from its rapidity in some places, and its mean- dering course and circling eddies in others, that it was denominated Rhoden or Rhodanus — the circling river, especially when it is recollected that a town called Rhodau, or the meanders, in Latin Rhoda, is mentioned by Pliny, * as having been built on its banks ? Very lofty mountains as those of Scotland, were called Alban by the Celts, from ban, a hill, and al, very high, or elevated. The Alps (from Al- ban or Alt pen) probably derive their name from this * See Pliny's Natural History, Book iii. chap. 4. OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 125 source, as the Appenine* hills may from the Gallic word pen, a head, or the summit of a mountain. But with respect to the names of places in this part of Europe, derived from the Celtic, Pezron is very plausibly ingenious, and what may have escaped his laborious investigations may be discovered among the fruits of our own countryman Baxter's researches. Many of their derivations, however, may be only the productions of a warm imagination ; for what so uncertain as etymological conjectures ? The extent of the Celtic possessions in these districts, and the long residence of the Celts in them, give to these radical explanations more consistency and verisimili- tude. The descent of much of the language of these parts from the Celtic, though like the Rhone it may have been enriched by other streams in its course, appears to be a very probable and rational conjecture. That the observation has not often been made is, because the ancient British is not so much studied, or so well understood, as from its copiousness and its beauties it appears amply to deserve. A con- siderable portion of the languages of the southern parts of Europe, may be more immediately derived from the Latin, which, whether descended from the Celtic or not, is a matter of dispute. We have the testimony of the best Latin authors themselves, that a considerable share of their vocabulary is of Celtic or Gallic origin. Bardus is mentioned by Lucan as taken from the barddor bard of the Celts ; basgauda, a basket, is acknowledged by Martial to be borrowed from the British. * Y Penwyn, or white bead, or top. 120 HISTORICAL ANECDOTKS " Barbara de pictis veni bascauda Britannis Sedjam mavult dicere Roma suam." Baskets were first in happier Britain found, But vain Rome claims what naked Britons own'd. Essedum, a chaise, from eisedd, now pronounced eistedd, to sit, is considered both by Caesar and Virgil as a Gallic or Belgic term : " Belgica feret esseda collo." And bear the Belgic chariot on his neck. Caballus, from cejfyl, a horse — carrus, from the Welsh carr, a car — covinus, a waggon, from cowain, to carry as in a waggon — cerevisia, from cwrw, ale — Druides, from Derwyddes, Druids, (mentioned by Caesar and Pliny, and several others) and rheda, a swift travelling chariot, from rhed or rhedeg, to run, are words universally acknowledged to be of Celtic origin. It is a circumstance well known to those who are in the least acquainted with the Latin classics, that the catalogue of Latin words derived from the Celtic might be considerably augmented. These words, and many more occasionally introduced by Roman authors, are still used in the language of the principality of Wales, precisely in the sense in which they were applied in the days of Julius Caesar, a proof that the language has continued at least eighteen centuries without any visible alteration ; and as there are no records of profane history that go back above eight or nine hundred years further, and as nothing occurs in them that tends to con- trovert the account which the Celts generally gave of their origin, it may be fairly presumed that their history is founded on truth, and that their language is at least of as great antiquity as any European OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 127 language. Certainly that can be considered as no other than a copious source which could enrich the Latin language, and give birth to almost all the languages of Europe. The Cimbri # at an early pe- riod were a very powerful Celtic tribe, and in the time of Metullus and Marius they overran nearly all Italy. In a still remoter age the Gauls endangered Rome. At that period one of their principal leaders was Bran, or Brennus, a name still not uncommon in the principality of Wales, as Glan Bran, &c. It is frequently mentioned in the historical collections of the country. In the time of Tacitus, the Cimbri, the Longo- bardi, the Bori, the Borcini, &c. and the other Celtic and Gallic tribes occupied a considerable part of Germany. It is not improbable, therefore, that most of the languages of the north were derived from the same source, and had flowed for a long period in the same channel, till by diverging to the regions of the north, and traversing a different climate, at a remote distance from its rise, the tongue in process of time was vitiated, and the manners of the people who spoke it became varied and estranged. Bronkornius was so fully convinced that many words in the Dutch language were derived from a Celtic source, that he some years since published in Holland a quarto edi- tion of Dr. Davies's Welsh and Latin Dictionary, in- tending, had he lived, to in vestigate Gallic antiquities, and hoping to create a taste for Druidical researches. Dr. Johnson was so fully persuaded that a consider- * Eundem Germanise situm proximi Oceano Cimbri tenent, parva nunc civitas, sed gloria ingens, veterisque famse late ves- tigia manent, &c. Tacitus De Moribus Germanorum. 128 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES able portion of the English language is derived from the Celtic, that prior to that great literary enterprize, the compilation of his English Dictionary, he re- solved to acquire a competent knowledge of the Welsh language. He was so far master of it, that during his tour through North Wales, when a person hesi- tated and blundered in attempting to translate a Welsh epitaph to him, the Doctor, observing his con- fusion, said in a tone of unwonted mildness — " Yes, sir, I perceive clearly what you would say," and himself gave a correct and elegant version of it. What has been affirmed of the English and the Dutch is applicable to the Saxon and the German ; much of their vocabulary is of Gallic origin, and many of their customs betray a Celtic connection. The Teutonic dialects may be remoter than most of the southern languages from the common Celtic source, while so long exposed to the cold regions of the north. They may have received some external impressions, which have given them a different ap- pearance, but the nature of the stream is the same, and its qualities are not dissimilar. Whoever, that is at all conversant with the ancient British language, carefully examines the Gothic Gospel, or any book written in the languages derived from the Gothic, will be surprised at the number of Celtic words that perpetually occur, * and will be convinced of the truth * As a proof that many words in the Gothic Gospel are of Celtic origin, let any person, conversant with both languages, consult Junius's Glossary at the end of the Gothic Gospels, and he will be convinced of the truth of this observation. The Russian language has several Celtic words; and many names of men and places bear a striking resemblance to the Welsh. OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 129 of Tacitus's assertion, whatever some modern system- mongers may have dreamed to the contrary, that the Goths were of Gallic origin ; " Gothnios Gallic a lingua coarguit non esse Germanos." But the lively Gallic stream seems frozen in its course ; the words no longer terminate in vowels ; no vocalic terminations distinguish either the plural number of nouns, or the infinitive mood of verbs. Every word is abbreviated and divested of all ornament, and neither in their in- flections, nor in their usual grammatical variations, do they admit of any harmonious modulation. Nothing but what bare necessity requires is attended to. It is no more the language of men basking in the sun- shine of plenty, indulging in luxury, and amusing themselves with the harmony of numbers and the melody of sweet sounds. It is the dialect of men im- pelled by their enemies to wander over the dreary forests of the north, where, fatigued with the labours of the chase, and harassed by the vicissitudes of war, they find it difficult to provide themselves with the sim- plest articles of subsistence ; and where, being con- stantly occupied, they seldom speak, except as imperi- ous necessity demands, and then concisely, and in the roughest and most uncultivated manner. The body of the language in point of substance is still the same. Its rougher dress, and its total neglect of all ornament, certainly render its appearance different; still its pro- minent features betoken its Celtic origin, and its alli- ance to that which is found in request among the dif- A Russian prince, nearly related to the Emperor, was called Ivan ; and one of the admirals in favour with the Empress Ca* therine II. wasTaliezin, K 130 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES ferent Gallic tribes. It was late before the Gothic, the Teutonic, and all the languages derived from them, were committed to writing. Had they been system- atically studied and correctly written at an earlier period, the dissimilarity between them and the Celtic would have been less perceptible, and the difficulties attending the investigation of their origin would have been less considerable. The Saxons, on their arrival in Britain in the sixth century, were totally ignorant of letters. They ac- quired in process of time much of the learning, as well as most of the possessions, of the Britons ; and the alphabet which they adopted was that anciently in use among the Welsh, and still preserved among the Irish ; most manuscripts of the Welsh, till the inven- tion of printing, being written in what has been very erroneously called the Saxon character. * In descending from the forests of the north towards the mountains of Thrace and Thessaly, many vestiges of the Celtic language are discernible, as the bas- tarnce, from bddsarnau ; oescus, from wysg, water; toui, from tovi or towl, the name of a Celtic or British river. Pella, a town on the extreme point of Mace- donia on the bay of Thessalonica, from pella, furthest. Rhsesus, mentioned by Homer as a Thracian prince who had marched to the aid of the Trojans, seems to have been a prince of the Celtic name of Rhys; * See Ed. Llwyd's Archaiologia Britannica on this subject. An ancient copy of Ovid's works in Latin, in the Bodleian Li- brary at Oxford, has an explanation of the difficult words in Welsh written in this character. An old Welsh manuscript, called the Red Book of Hergest, is also partly written in this character. OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 131 Troy itself is derived from troi, to turn, or from tro, a turn. It is worthy of remark that the shepherds on the mountains of Wales still form, with their knives on the turf, a representation of the streets of Troy, full of windings and various turns. * The names of many places in Thessaly and Greece are of Celtic or Gallic origin. Some Grecian tribes were anciently called Gallo-Grceci. The Greek language seems either to be a derivative from the Celtic, or to have sprung originally from the same stock. A list of Greek words, bearing a near affinity to the Welsh, may be seen at the end of the " Vindication of the Celts ;" the list, however, might have been considera- bly enlarged. There is an extraordinary circumstance relative to the derivation of several Greek words, for which, if the language be not a dialect of the Celtic, it will be difficult to account. Most of the Greek primitives correspond with words of a similar sound, and of the same import in the Celtic language. The Greek language admits of no further derivation, while the radix may always be found in the Celtic ; for instance, v8o>p, water; Celtic, y dw?% the water. In the Celtic it is derived from dwfyr, by syncope dwr ; in Owen's Dictionary, f dwfr is said to be derived from dwf, to glide ; whence is formed dwfyr, the glider, or the gliding element : but in Greek, vSwp has no cer- tain radix. BpayjiaQ, an arm, seems to be derived from the Celtic, braich, an arm, which Mr. Owen derives from ba?% a branch ; baruwch, a high branch ; plur. * See Cambrian Popular Antiquities, 8vo. p. 212. t The valuable Dictionary of the late accomplished and much respected Dr. W. O. Pugh. — Editor. 132 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES breichiau, branches, or arms; yapyaXl^u), to tickle, cor- rupted from the Celtic, igogleisio, to tickle, which is derived from the root, dais, a bruise; cleislo, to handle roughly, to bruise, to leave a mark ; ogleisio, in con- struction gogleisio, to handle gently, to tickle. EyOtQ, heri, yesterday, the day before yesterday, the time, from the Celtic, echdoe, the day before yesterday, which is derived from ech or uwch, prior to, and doe, yesterday ; and doe is formed from do, it is past, it is done. Uvp, fire, from the Celtic, pur, an epithet of fire ; as, pur dan, or tan pur, an intense fire, from puro, to purify. It would be too tedious to enumerate all the Greek words that appear to correspond in their import, as well as in their sound, with those in the Celtic language. The Gallic student, in perusing the Greek primitives, finds his memory assisted by recol- lecting the meaning of words that bear the greatest resemblance to them in his own language, and is surprised to discover that they can be traced no fur- ther in the Greek, and that the root is almost always to be found in the Celtic. Etymologies may sometimes be uncertain, and may at other times be pursued beyond the verge of proba- bility ; but the analogy between the Greek primitives, and their radices in the Celtic, appears so natural, and is so well connected, that it recalls to mind the remarks of ancient historians relative to the Gallo-Grceci in Europe, and the Gallati in Asia Minor. Nor are the remarks new that have been made in the preceding pages relative to the beauties of the Welsh language ; its softness having been demonstrated to be not inferior to that of the Italian, and its comprehensive energy to be no less vigorous than that of the Greek. The au- OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 133 thor of the " Letters from Snowdon" observes of the ancient British language, that " notwithstanding the multiplicity of gutturals and consonants with which it abounds, it has the softness and harmony of the Italian, with the majesty and expression of the Greek." The prejudice that has unaccountably prevailed, relative to the number of gutturals and the multiplicity of consonants, it is presumed, has been removed by the observations in the foregoing pages. The justness of the other remarks of the author of the " Letters," with regard to the energy and harmony of the lan- guage, is evident from the concurrent testimony of all scholars conversant with other languages, and not ignorant of that of the principality of Wales. From this cursory view of the history, the topo- graphy, and the various dialects of Europe, it would appear probable that the Celts, the Gauls, the Longo- bardi, the Cimbri, and the other Celtic tribes, under different denominations, at some remote period over- ran almost all Europe. The Greeks call the Cimbri, Ki/m/Litpioi, and the Welsh still distinguish themselves by the name of Cymry. In construction the initials of words are known to be mutable, as, i Gymry, a word which Pezron and some other etymologists derive from Gomer the son of Japhet. They contend that he was the father of Holl Gymry, or all the Cimbri ; and that the Cimbri were divided, in process of time, into different sects and tribes, using the same language, but, for want of intercourse, vary ing consi- derably in its dialects. Whatever truth there may be in this hypothesis, it is remarkable that the radix of most words in every f34 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES European language may be found in the Welsh ; while, though a considerable similarity subsists be- tween it and the Hebrew, the roots of no Hebraic words are to be found in it ; but the roots of most of the ancient British, or real Welsh words, may be re- gularly traced in the Hebrew. This may be instanced in the few following examples : WELSH. HEBREW. Ysu, to burn, } Tdn ysol, consuming fire, i mi *' re * Mam, a mother, on, a mother. Pori, i bori, to graze, nyn, to graze. Iwbwb, a cry of distress, m*, to cry aloud. Bara, bread, rnn, pure wheat. Dodi, to place, to thrust, it, to thrust forward. Chwalu, to pierce after, to bruise, *?n, to pierce. Cesail, the armpit, boz, the flank. Neges, a business, a task, wjj, a task-master. Sidan, silk, no, loose dresses. Obru, below, up, beyond. Palu, to separate the earth, to dig, ) n^D, to separate. Pared, a partition, j tid, to divide. YspiOj to overlook a prospect, nsv, to overlook, to view. Saer, a carpenter, ny», to form, to fashion. To augment this catalogue would be an easy task. Scarcely a Hebrew root can be discovered that has not its corresponding derivative in the ancient British language. A list of these words would be too uninteresting ; many of them may be found in Row- lands'^ " Mona Antiqua," in Dr. Davies's " Welsh and Latin Dictionary," in Richard's " Welsh and English Dictionary," published at Bristol about the year 1 750, and in several other philological works ; in which OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 135 the affinity the Welsh bears to the Hebrew lan- guage is strenuously maintained ; but not only do the words themselves indicate that similarity between the two ; their variations and inflections afford a much stronger proof of affinity. In the Celtic, as well as in the Hebrew, the cases and gender of nouns are distinguished by affixes and prefixes, as 33, a head; od, my head; Celtic, pen, a head ; pen i, or mhen i, my head ; pta, a sack ; *p», my sack ; rp^, his sack ; Celtic, sack, a sack ; sachi, or vy sack i, my sack ; ei sack o, his sack, &c. The Welsh, like the Hebrew, often distinguishes the genders by a change of the prefixes, as Hebrew, tan, a portion, Welsh, toccyn ; ei thoccyn, her proportion ; ei doccyn, his proportion, &c. The plural number of nouns likewise is often formed in a similar manner in the Celtic, by adding in (a contraction of at) to the sin- gular, as, deri, oaks ; cewri, giants, &c. In the for- mation of the different tenses and conjugations of verbs, the same similarity is still observable. The Welsh, in conformity with its prototype, the Hebrew, has no present tense. So rapid is the progress of time, that the moment which was represented as future, may often be regarded as past, while we are yet speaking of it. It is remarkable that at the commencement of the Apostles' Creed, in the Celtic or Welsh language, the future tense is used instead of the present, " Credaf yn Nuw, Dad, fyc." I will believe in God the Father. When absolute neces- sity requires that the present tense should be used, it is not unusual to have recourse to a circumlocution, and to introduce the auxiliary verb, yr wyf, I am ; yr 136 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES wyfjiyn credit, yr wyt ti yn credit, I am in believing-, thou art in believing, or in the act of believing. The paragogic syllable wn, as in Hebrew and the oriental languages, is frequently added to words in Welsh, to convey an idea of intenseness or energy, as caru, to love; carwn, I would love ardently. To form passive verbs the letter n is likewise prefixed to the active, as euro, to beat ; fenghurwyd, I was beaten. The conjugation hithpahel or etpol, as it is de- nominated by some grammarians, though represented by many critics as peculiar to the Hebrew, is like- wise used in the ancient British, and is formed in a similar manner by prefixing a syllable to the theme of the verb, as, golchi, to wash ; ymolchi, to wash one's self, to bathe ; blino, to vex ; ymflino, to vex one's self; the prefixed syllable communicating to the verb a reflective force, not dissimilar to the middle voice of the Greeks. In the formation of sentences, and in the government of words, in the agreement of the adjective with the substantive, in the precedence of the latter, in the usual excep- tions to this rule, and in verbs plural being governed by nominatives singular, the Welsh so exactly cor- responds with the Hebrew, that the same syntax might serve for both. From these circumstances, and from the general affinity observed to subsist between the two languages, the sacred Scriptures appear with greater felicity and with more unaffected beauty in the Welsh than in any modern translation. The similarity to the original is so remarkable, that the Hebrew idioms are without violence retained in the ancient British version. In the passage in Gen. ii.17, rendered in English "thou shalt surely die," OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 137 the Welsh preserves the oriental idiom, " dying, thou shaltdie." In all other iustances, the eastern phrase- ology appears with all its native ease and elegance in the Celtic dress, as in Gen. vii. 13. The Hebrew phrase, " within the body of that day," is in Welsh literally rendered, " o fewn corph y dydd hwnw ;" the English idiom not admitting of this beauty, the words have been translated, " in the self same day." In 1 Kings xiv. 5. where the wife of King Jero- boam is represented as disguising herself, the Welsh having recourse, like the Hebrew, to a reciprocal or reflective verb, not dissimilar in sound to the original uses only one word, " hiaymddieithra ;" to express this, the English version is under the necessity of expending seven or eight words, " and she shall feign herself to be another woman." To enumerate all the beauties of the ancient British version, would be an almost impracticable task, and the appearance of " Walter's Essay on the Welsh language," in which many of them are very happily displayed, has rendered it in a great measure unnecessary. From the affinity of the languages, the closeness of the translation, and the number of manuscript copies consulted in the course of the work, the ancient British or Welsh version may well be esteemed by far the most valuable that has appeared in any European language. It might be advantageously consulted by the biblical critic, even when access may be had to the Arabic, to the Syriac, and to the other oriental versions. As the idioms of the original are all preserved, the translation, though literal, appears easy and unconstrained. It often displays great felicity, and exhibits many apparent 138 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES vestiges, many marks of considerable labour and intense application. It seems faithful and even ele- gant, but differs not unfrequently, on less moment- ous occasions, from most modern versions. It throws a light on many obscure passages, which the faint lustre of other translations has left as abstruse as ever. It is a western luminary — a splendid evening star, which, though late in its appearance, illumines the hemisphere that has been deserted by more glaring lights — it still shines with radiance, and may be approached without danger, while its friendly aid might be employed without the apprehension of its leading the enquirer after truth astray. It derives its splendour from the original, and reflects back that splendour with peculiar grace. It must consequently be a better medium through which to view obscure passages, than dead languages now rarely spoken, and but imperfectly understood. In " Ames' History of Printing," owing to igno- rance of the language, a remark is injudiciously made, which, if true, might tend much to the dis- credit of the Welsh translation of the sacred Scrip- tures. In the first folio edition of the Welsh Bible, published in Queen Elizabeth's reign, 1588, the expression, Rev. v. 8, " having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odours," is rendered " a chan bob un o honynt yr oedd telynau a chrythau aur, yn llawn o arogl darth ;" as " crwth" in the plural "crythau" often in Welsh implies a crowd or ancient violin. It is satirically insinuated by Ames, in a note, that the translators of the Welsh Bible were incapable of rendering it immediately from the origi- nal, but that the translation was effected through OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 139 the medium of the English version, and that the word " vial" being mistaken for " viols," the Cambro British critics rendered it at once " cry than" or violins. Dr. Llewelyn, in his elaborate " Essay on the different Editions of the Welsh Bible," very feebly endeavours to repel the force of this sally, by repre- senting " crythau" as a typographical error, and discovers much skill in attempting to show how naturally the compositor might have been led into such a mistake. Had Llewelyn been a profounder critic in his own language, he might with less ingenuity have discovered a more satisfactory apo- logy for the translators of the Welsh Bible. In the first volume of " Warton's History of English Poetry," the note inserted in " Ames' History of Printing" is copied verbatim. It appeared too curious an anecdote to be omitted by the facetious laureate, but, willing to represent himself as a man of extensive erudition, he wished to have the credit of being deeply versed in the Celtic language ; and, therefore he took care not to mention the source from which he drew his observation, but passed the in- formation on his readers as his own. His ignorance of the language however marred the whole plot. For Ames, in his note, having erroneously written the word " crythan" instead of " crythau," Tom Warton, though he did not quote his author, in copying the note, copied likewise the literal error. The laugh he has attempted to excite will, therefore, be found to be raised only against himself. Had the witty attempt proved ever so successful, its effects could not long have prevailed ; for when the laugh had subsided, and the voice of truth was permitted to be 140 HISTORICAL ANECDOTES heard, no vestige, either of inaccuracy or of ignorance of the original, could be justly imputed to the trans- lators. It is not unknown to any Welsh scholar, that " crwth" in its primary acceptation, implies any thing concave on one side and convex on the other ; and as it is not decided what were the precise forms of the "vials," which St. John describes, " crythau" was considered as the most unexceptionable translation, because it implied any vessels of a concave form. The feminine of " crwth" is used in various accepta- tions, as " croth y goes" the calf of the leg, from its concavity ; " croth" the womb, &c. ; " crwth" the masculine derivative, is still more extensively con- strued, as " crwth" a musical instrument ; " cefn crwth" a ridge of hills ; " crwth pysgotta, a small fishing vessel. In " Henry Salisbury's Welsh and English Dictionary," edited in Henry 8th's time, a saltbox is rendered, " crwth halen ;" the translators of the Welsh Bible most probably consulted Salis- bury's Dictionary, and "crythau" appeared to them the most correct version which they could give of the original. To those who are profoundly skilled in the Celtic language, the translation will not appear incorrect ; for the radical word, " crwth " will undoubtedly convey the idea intended in the original expres- sion, (piaXai. One of the translators of the Welsh Bible was the celebrated Dr. Richard Davies, Bishop of St. David's, who was so eminently versed in the ancient British language, that in his youth he contended for the poetical prize with the Welsh bards ; and some stanzas on the prize subject, " The Nightingale," produced by him at an Eisteddfod or OF THE WELSH LANGUAGE. 141 Bardic Synod, were thought to equal any of the compositions of the most esteemed writers. He was so conversant with Greek, and so much distinguished by his knowledge of the oriental languages, that Queen Elizabeth engaged him to assist in the English version of the Bible. Another of the authors of the Welsh version was Dr. William Morgan, bishop successively of LlandafT and of St. Asaph, a man, for his extensive erudition and critical skill in the oriental languages, caressed by all the literati of the time. When vicar of Llanrhaidyr Mochnant, his talents attracted the attention of Dr. Goodman, then prebendary of Westminster, who invited him to pass a few months with him at his house in London. During his visit Dr. Morgan took an opportunity of shewing his friend and patron a translation of the Pen- tateuch, which he had attempted in the country. It was critically examined by competent judges, and, when satisfied of its merits, Dr. Goodman had it presented by some of his literary friends to the Bishop of London. The circumstance was at length mentioned to Queen Elizabeth, who rewarded his merit — for in those days the meritorious were seldom overlooked — with a bishopric. The patronage of the Queen, Dr. Morgan's labours, and the assistance of his learned friends, effected in process of time that wonder of Celtic literature, the elegant Welsh version of the sacred Scriptures. Against men so highly distinguished in the ranks of literature, the shafts of ridicule are aimed in vain ; they will only fall on the heads of the rash assailants. Dr. John Davies, the author of the Welsh and Latin 142 historical anecdotes, etc Dictionary, is said to have assisted in the correction of this edition of the Welsh Bible. The word " crythau" could not therefore have crept through error into the translation, but must have been se- lected as the most correct representation of the ori- ginal, which is evident from the circumstance of its having been rendered " phialau" in the first transla- tion of the New Testament, by the learned and pa- triotic brothers, William and Henry Salisbury. But Dr. Morgan and his coadjutors apparently thought this rather an adoption of the original term than a translation.* Bishop Parry, considering the word " crythau" to be as liable to misconstruction, and as not familiarly known to the vulgar in its primary signification, how well soever the literati, and the readers of the works of the bards, might be ac- quainted with its radical import, determined to alter the translation in the edition of the Welsh Bible published in the reign of King James L, and accord- ingly he restored the word "phialau," as more nearly allied to the Greek ia\ai, and more generally un- derstood by the inhabitants of the principality. The error, therefore, was not in the translators of the Welsh Bible, but in the misconception of some absurd critic, who communicated the observation to Ames, to be inserted in his " History of Printing." From that work it was copied without inquiry, and thus it was very undeservedly honoured with a place in the first volume of " Warton's History of English Poetry." * See Dr. Llewelyn's Dissertation and Tracts, &c. 143 AN INQUIRY INTO THE SITUATION OF THE GOLD MINES OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. Frequent mention is made in the works of the most ancient and most celebrated of the British bards, of the torques, or golden wreath, worn in the day of battle round the neck of their chieftains, as an ensign of authority, a badge of honour, and a mark of noble descent. Aneurin, in his epic poem, written in the sixth century of the Christian era, on the unfortunate battle of Cattraeth, describes the march of three hundred and sixty-three British leaders to the field, all ornamented with the golden torques : Gwyr aeth Gattraeth buant crevawd, Gwin a meddaur fu eu gwirawd, Blwyddyn yn erbyn wrdyn ddynwd Try wyr a thriugait a thrichant eurdorchawd. Gododin. Which has been thus translated by Mr. Gray : — To Cattraeth's vale, in glitt ring row, Twice two hundred warriors go ; Ev 'ry warrior's manly neck Chains of regal honours deck, Wreath 'd in many a golden link, From the golden cup they drink, &c. Gray's Poems 144 THE GOLD MINES OF Lomarchus Senex, or Llywarch Hen, prince of the Cambrian Britons, in his elegies, written about the year 560, on the loss of his sons, and of his regal dignity, asserts, that he had four-and-twenty sons, ornamented with the golden chain. Pedwar mab arugaint cim bu, Eurdorchawg tywysawg Liu,, Oedd Gwen goraud naddu. Four-and-twenty sons I have had Wearing the golden chain, leaders of armies; Gwen was the best of them. Llywarch Hens Elegies, p. 134. Golden cups, and horns tipped with gold, were often used at the warriors' feasts, to circulate the juice of the grape, and the cheerful mead. Gwin o rudd-aur fu eu gwirawd, &c. &c. From the golden cup they drink Nectar that the bees produce, And the grape's ecstatic juice. Gray's Poems. Y corn ath roddes di Urien, A'r arwest aur am ei en, Chwyth ynddo os daw angen. The horn given to thee by Urien, With the wreath of gold round its rim, Blow in it, if thou art in danger. Llywarch Hen's Elegies, p. 128. Dywallaw di'r corn argynfelyn. Pour out the horn with the glittering yellow top. Owen Cyfeiliog, Prince of Powys. The warriors' garments were frequently trimmed with gold. THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 145 Gosgordd fynyddawg eurawg ynrhaid. Gododin. The men of Mynyddawg, whose garments in the conflict all glittered with gold. Hybarch yw mdb y marchog, Yn aur yn arian golerog. Torchog. The knight's brave offspring gold and silver deck, The golden torques ornaments his neck ; Honour and Fame attend on all his days ; On all his words, on all his actions, praise. Golden spurs were very usually worn by the an- cient British commanders. Tra vum i yn oed y gwds draw A wisg o aur ei ottoyw. Ryddai re y rhuthrwn y wayw. Whilst I was at the age of yonder youth, That wears the golden spurs, It was with velocity I pushed the spear. Owens Llywarch H^n, p. 130. Shields and armour ornamented with gold, are frequently mentioned by the British bards : Llewychedig aur ar fy nghylchwys. Gwalchmai. Bright glitters the gold on my round shield. Even shields fabricated of solid gold were not uncommon : Eilwaith gwelais gwedy gweithien, Aur ysgwyd ar ysgwydd Urien, Bu ail yno Elgno hen. A second time I saw, after that conflict, A golden shield on the shoulder of Urien, There again befel the fate of old Elgno. Owens Llywarch Hen, p. 36. 146 THE GOLD MINES OF It was a rule invariably observed, by the superior orders of the British bards, never to admit any thing but truth into their compositions, and to leave fiction to embellish the feeble productions of the minor poets. The testimony, therefore, of these celebrated authors might be considered as sufficient to prove the opulence of the ancient Britons, if the possession of the precious metals may be considered as consti- tuting wealth ; and their testimony is corroborated by the suffrages of the British historians, and by the evidence of the most distinguished Roman writers. The Roman generals imposed an oppressive annual tribute on the Britons, which was for some time re- gularly paid by King Cynobelinus and his successors, in gold coin of no inconsiderable value. Prefixed to Bishop Gibson's edition of Cambden's Britannia is a table of ancient coins, found at various periods in different parts of the island. Among others, a specimen is given of Cynobelinus' pieces of gold, with his head in bass-relief on one side, and the in- scription Cynbelyn, or Cynobelinus, in very legible characters ; and on the reverse, the word Tascio, or taxing, in allusion to the occasion on which the coin had been struck. Caesar, indeed, from uncertain authority, states that the inhabitants of the British isles made use only of brass money, and iron rings ; but it may be conjectured how imperfect the information was which he received respecting the island, when he was in- duced to believe that the maritime counties produced only iron, while some of the inland provinces afforded tin. " Fert Britannia aurum, et argentum, et alia THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 147 metatta"* Britain produces gold, silver, and other metals, are the words of Tacitus, in whose days the country was better known, and the customs and manners of the inhabitants were more perfectly un- derstood. The Roman historian is countenanced in his observation, as well by the most distinguished literary characters of his own nation, as b)^ the most celebrated British illustrators of the history and anti- quities of their country. The light derived from these constellations of British and Roman literature may serve to display the splendour of the dress, and the glitter of the golden ornaments, worn by the original inhabitants of the island ; but whether it may prove sufficient to lead to the discovery of the sources from which their riches were obtained, is a point that requires closer inquiry and profounder in- vestigation. In proportion as the object of inquiry is valuable, will the investigation be deemed interesting, and the information that has been collected useful and important. From the authorities already cited, it seems to be a fact incontrovertibly established, how- ever extraordinary and improbable it may appear to some persons, that gold was found in great profusion among the ancient inhabitants of Britain ; and had we not the testimony of Tacitus and others to prove that the country could at that period boast of its gold and silver mines, the appearance of those metals, in no unfrequent use among the inhabitants, would of itself amount to a presumptive proof, that they were derived from internal sources. For it is not * Life of Agricola, chap. 12. 148 THE GOLD MINES OF probable, from the state of society in that age, that commerce had made any considerable progress among them, or that they had any valuable commodities to give in exchange for the precious metals, or any regular method of obtaining them from foreign countries. It naturally becomes, therefore, an interesting ques- tion, in what part of the island the mines of the ancient Britons were situated ? or where lay the sources from which they derived their golden stores ? Cattraeth, the ensanguined ground memorable for the obstinate conflict in which the Britons were en- gaged with the invading hosts of the Saxons, is celebrated in the Gododin, an epic poem in the British language, supposed to have been written about the sixth century. The scene of these tragical events is thought to have been a part of Scotland, at no remote distance from the English borders. From this circumstance, and the appearance of nearly " twice two hundred warriors" in that battle orna- mented with the golden wreath, it has been consi- dered as no unjustifiable conclusion, that their gold mines must have been situated in some of the pro- vinces to the northward of the Tweed ; and Crawford- moor has been regarded by many as the opulent spot which supplied their golden treasures, and added to the splendour of the Britons. It is a fact universally acknowledged, that gold, in no inconsiderable quan- tities, has been discovered there at different periods since the accession of the Stewart line to the throne of Scotland. It appears from the records of that kingdom, that the beautiful gold coins struck by THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 149 King James V., and distinguished by the name of Bonnet Pieces, were fabricated of materials found in the mines of the country ; and James IV. and his son formed a contract with a company of Germans for working the gold mines of Crawford-moor. Cor- nelius, the principal miner, is celebrated as a man of eminent abilities and superior attainments. They proceeded for some time with considerable success ; but these industrious foreigners were expelled from the country, by the civil commotions and political tempests that desolated the kingdom during the reign of Queen Mary and the minority of King James. They, however, while permitted to proceed unmo- lested, collected grains of native gold in such pro- fusion, that at the marriage of King James V. with the daughter of the King of France, by way of des- sert a number of covered dishes were placed before the guests, filled with gold coins, formed of metal extracted from the mines of Scotland.* Small pieces of the metal, washed down by the floods, are fre- quently found at present in the rivulets that intersect the moor. The late Lady Selkirk (L817) used to wear, as an appendage to her watch-chain, a piece of na- tive gold of considerable magnitude, found by a shepherd in the fosses of Crawford-moor. But these sources have been regarded as too modern a discovery, and as too unproductive in their nature, to furnish the ancient Britons with the trea- sures which they are asserted to have possessed. * History of Scotland, Guthrie's Geographical Grammar, p. 132. 150 THE HOLD .MINKS OF The views of the inquirers after the gold mines of the original inhabitants of the island have therefore been directed towards Warlock Head, a place within two miles of Lead Hills, on the estate of the Duke of Queensbury. Medals formed of the gold discovered in these mines, were struck at Edinburgh at the co- ronation of Charles I. They are at present (1817) worked by a company of Germans, but with what success cannot be exactly ascertained. Mawe, the author of the " Mineralogy," visited Warlock Head a few years since. He found only one man at work, who was engaged in washing in a neighbouring rivulet quantities of reddish earthy matter, of thirty or forty pounds weight, dug from the mine. After several rinsings, a few grains of gold were observed to precipitate themselves to the bottom.* Pieces of virgin gold, exceeding an ounce weight, have been occasionally discovered there by this process. But the success is regarded as too inconsiderable, and too precarious to encourage the company to employ more than one person at a time, in these operations. f * Mawe's Mineralogy, p. 13 8. t It is worthy of remark, that the names of most places in this neighbourhood are purely British, notwithstanding the revo- lution of so many centuries, as Pen pont, Bridge End ; Eccles fechan, Eglwysfechan, Little Church. Cilscadan Penderi ; Nith, Aarver, resembling in name Neath or Nedd, in Glamorganshire, Drumlanrug, the seat of the Duke of Queensbury. &c. Many persons now living remember the old pure British language spoken in the hills of Galloway, in the earliest part of the last century. Could they adopt a uniform pronunciation, and similar rules of orthography, the Irish, the Erse, and the Welsh, would be mutually intelligible to the inhabitants of Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 151 It is therefore questioned whether a sufficient supply of gold could ever have been derived from these mines, supposing them to have been discovered at so early a period, to answer the purposes to which it appears, on the most unquestionable authority, that the richer metals were so commonly and so profusely applied by the ancient Britons. The inquiries of those who have investigated the subject have recently been directed to a more southern spot. Several places in Carmarthenshire, and its vicinity, appear from their names to have been anciently productive of gold ; such as y gelli aur, or the golden grove ; melin yr aur, or the golden mill ; Troed yr aur, or the foot of the gold hills; and seve- ral others. Cynwyl Gaio in that county is repre- sented as having been a Roman station for many years ; and the Roman troops, while posted there, were employed, it has been imagined, in extracting gold from the mines discovered in the adjacent hills. The name * implies that it was the post occupied by the advanced guard of Caius ; and it is probable that the advanced guard of the Britons was stationed at Cynwyl Elfed, the advanced post of Elfed, a place situated a few miles to the southward of Caio. The Gauls, the Helvetians, and the Britons, were origi- nally the same people. The identity of names being generally considered as a strong indication of simi- larity of language, little doubt can be entertained that Elfed and Helvetia are words that derive their origin from the same language and the same radix. * From cyn, first, and gwyl, givylis, to watch, or be vigilant. 152 THE GOLD MINES OK That Cynwyl and Elfed was considered by the Britons as an important station, may be demonstrated from the fragments still extant of the works of Llywarch Hen. Gwisgwys coed cain dudded hav, Dybrysid gwyth wrth dynged, Cyvarwyddom ni cam Elfed. The trees have put on the gay covering of summer, Let the wrath of slaughter hasten quickly, led by Fate, Let us be guided onward to the plains of Elfed. From the importance of the British military station, some conjecture may be formed of the attention with which the Romans regarded their rival warlike post opposed to it ; of the care with which they provided for its defence, and contributed to its support ; and of the solicitude with which they endeavoured to main- tain the honour of the garrison intended to restrain the incursions of a brave and enterprising enemy. Seve- ral bricks have been dug up in the vicinity of Caio with the initials of Roman names inscribed on them. And tradition asserts that the number of Roman brick edifices in the neighbourhood were formerly so consi- derable, as to bear the denomination of " Y Drif Goch yn Neheubarth" or the Red Town in South Wales. At Maes Llanwrthwl in this parish, the seat of John Bowen, Esq. about two miles from the village of Caio, a stone has been discovered with a Roman inscription, implying that a Roman general fell there in an engagement with the Britons. The inscription was copied by Mr. Saunders, of Jesus' College Oxford, and communicated to Bishop Gib- THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 153 son, who inserted it in his edition of Cambden's Britannia. Roman tumuli have been observed in the environs, exceeding in number those that have been discovered in any other part of the kingdom. " Cryg bar," or the barrow of anger and resentment, is supposed to be the place where the Romans interred some of their garrison, slain during the insurrection of the Britons under Boadicea. It is related by Tacitus, that when Ostorius commanded in Britain, he advanced within no inconsiderable distance of the channel that sepa- rates Great Britain from Ireland,* and that he was for some time stationed among the Silures, or in- habitants of South Wales. These circumstances evi- dently prove that the scene of action, for some years, during the contest between the Romans and the an- cient Britons, was not many miles distant from the spot before mentioned. For when Paullinus Suetonius ar- rived in Britain, a dangerous insurrection among the Silures had hardly been suppressed, it is probable therefore that, to restore tranquillity, he must have been for some time stationed in the neighbourhood. It is recorded by the same author, that, during the absence of the Roman Army on the expedition to Anglesey, the indignant Britons put several Roman garrisons to the sword, and Paullinus on his return gained a complete victory over them. I Paenius Posthumus, who had disgraced himself by his irre- solution and misconduct, was so mortified by his suc- * Annals of Tacitus, book 12, chap. 31,32, &c. t Annals of Tacitus, book 14, chap. 37. 154 THE GOLD MINES OF cess, and so chagrined at the contempt in which he was held by the legion, whose military lustre he had sullied, that he added to his other imprudent deeds, the most unjustifiable of all actions, that of laying violent hands on himself. A stone with the inscrip- tion " Paenius Posthumus, &c."* was found a few years since by the workmen employed in the forma- tion of a road over the mountain from Llandovery to Trecastle. This has been considered as a proof that many of the transactions recorded by Tacitus, on the occasion above related, occurred at no remote distance from the military station at Caio. Many of the in- habitants of the parish regard themselves as the descendants of a Roman colony ; many of them are proud of that descent, and amongst them Roman names are extremely prevalent. There is an individual now living, who bears the name of Paullinus, but the modern Paullinus, instead of commanding armies, and invading kingdoms — such are the vicissitudes connected with humanity — works as a day-labourer, and lives contentedly in a cottage. Many further proofs might be adduced to corroborate the truth of the facts that have been stated, and to demonstrate that the Roman forces were, for many years, sta- tioned in this neighbourhood ; and no motive can be thought so likely to have operated on their avidity, and to have induced them to determine on so pro- * The inscription was copied by several gentlemen in the neighbourhood, and the stone was left by the workmen at the Black Cock public-house on Trecastle mountain, where it lay not many years since. THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 155 tracted a residence upon such a spot, as the hopes from the discovery of a mine, of accumulating wealth and adding to their treasures. That the Roman soldiery, while on this station, were engaged in an attempt to extract gold from the mines discovered in the adjacent hills, is thought to be sufficiently proved by the vestiges of Roman art and military industry observable in the Ogofau, or caves of Caio. They are subterraneous passages, ramifying in various directions, and horizontally car- ried to a considerable distance, under a hill of no common altitude. They are manifestly the effects of human labour ; and from every evidence that can now be collected, they appear to have been conti- nued, if not originally commenced, by the enter- prising spirit of the Roman legions. A very different account of them, however, is given in the fabulous legends of the middle centuries. At the entrance of the caves lies a stone of uncommon magnitude, the surface of which appears excavated in five different places at regular distances. The cavities are of no great depth, and are nearly of a circular form, which seems to have been the origin of a fable. Five juvenile saints, we are informed, on their pilgrimage to the celebrated shrine of St. David, emaciated with hunger and exhausted with fatigue, here reclined themselves to rest, and reposed their weary heads on this ponderous pillow. Their eyes were soon closed by the powerful hand of sleep, and they were no longer able to resist, by the force of prayer, the arti- fices of their foes. The skies were suddenly obscured with clouds; every object disappeared, as if concealed 156 THE GOLD MINES OF in the shades of the darkest night. The thunder rolled, the lightning flashed, and the rain fell in overwhelming torrents. The storm increased in ve- hemence, all nature became chilled with cold, and even piety and charity felt its effects. The drops of rain were soon congealed into enormous hailstones, which, by the force of the wind, were driven with so much violence on the heads of the weary pilgrims as to affix them to their pillow, and the vestiges they left are still discernible. Being borne away in triumph by the malignant sorcerer, who inhabits the hollows of these hills, they were concealed in the innermost recesses of his cavern, where they are destined to remain asleep, bound in the irrefragable chains of enchantment, until that happy period shall arrive y when the diocese shall be blessed with a pious bishop. For when that happens, no doubt Merlin himself, the enemy of malignant sorcerers, will be disenchanted, and he will rouse and restore to liberty the dormant saints, when they will immediately en- gage in the patriotic work of reforming the Welsh, who much require it. Owen Lawgoch, or Owen with the red hand, and his troops — the favourite heroes of the Welsh romancers — who are represented as now lying enchained by the hand of sorcery in the cave of Merlin, will, it is equally credited, at the same happy period be restored to their pristine vigour and activity : when they will recover the lost empire of the Britons, and gain them a complete triumph over every nation, less ignorant, less inactive, and less immoral than themselves. In an enchanting spot, embosomed in a romantic vale, on the opposite banks THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 157 of the river Cothi, a church was erected to the me- mory of the sleeping pilgrims, called Llan pum Saint, or the church of the Jive saints, where, for many an obscure age, drowsy congregations nodded over their prayers, and slept under the soporiferous effects of dull and vapid discourses. They at length slept so profoundly, that they suffered their sacred building to fall in ruins : scarcely a vestige of it now remains. These narcotic affections, it is thought, in process of time became epidemical, and infected not a few of the adjacent parishes. Such are the fabulous legends that are related with great gravity by the guides, who generally conduct strangers through these sub- terraneous regions. The caverns are frequently vi- sited in the summer season by parties from the inn, in the neighbouring village of Llan pum Saint, on •the road leading from Llandovery to Lampeter ; and all who have attentively examined them, speak with rapture of the novelty and beauty of the scene. A design seems to have been formed, at some remote period, of excavating the whole mountain, and to a considerable extent the project appears to have been carried into execution. Long passages have been dug, huge pillars framed, and spacious chambers scooped in the rock, the lofty roofs of which, covered with spar and pyrites of various colours, reflect the light carried by the guides, with so much brilliancy, as at once to surprise and dazzle the beholders. A subterraneous stream ripples through these deserted mines, and the adjacent caverns echo to its murmurs. The variegated colours of the spar, the sudden ap- pearance of the water, the reverberations of the 158 THE GOLD MINES OF sound from rock to rock, give an indescribable gran- deur and solemnity to every object, and make the place wear more the appearance of enchantment than of the works of art. The effect of music in this rock-formed theatre is described as at once pleasingly captivating and awfully sublime. The village of Llan pum Saint at present forms a part of the parish of Caio. The church or chapel, of which it anciently boasted, was dedicated, it is re- lated by antiquaries, not to the jive sleeping saints, but, like many others in different parts of Wales, to the five principal tutelar saints, natives of the Prin- cipality ; the most remarkable actions of whose lives are recorded in an old manuscript, called " Achau'r Saint/' or the Lives and T>escent of the Saints. The stone at the entrance of the caves was used, it is said, by the miners, not for a pillow, but for the purpose of clearing the secrementitious earth from the ore, and the cavities in it were formed by the re- peated stamping of the drossy substances to obtain more valuable matter. The rivulet that now mur- murs through the mines is supposed to have been formerly diverted into it by the miners, when they discovered the reddish earth, where the most valuable stratum commences, in order, as is customary in such operations, to disunite every particle of heterogeneous matter, and to lay the ore bare. Many of the curious, and some who are well skilled in the knowledge of minerals, have traversed these caverns to the dis- tance of nearly half a mile, but none now living have ever explored the furthest extremity of the excava- tions ; what appearances of a mine may be dis- THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 159 eernible in all parts of the works cannot, therefore, be justly determined. Sir Joseph Banks, and several other persons of superior intelligence, critically ex- amined it, and were of opinion, that it must have been a gold mine in days of yore. That the Romans were long employed here in their researches after the richer metals, is fairly de- ducible from divers circumstances. The marks of their tools have been observed in various places on the rocks, and Roman characters have been disco- vered, which are supposed to have been intended for the initials of the names of that renowned people. A few years since considerable quantities of pyrites or marcasites of gold were met with near the surface of the ground, on the summit of the hill above the works, on the estate of John Johnes, Esq., but when assayed, they were found to contain nothing but sul- phur and salts. This discovery, however, was con- sidered as affording evident indications of the proxi- mity of a mine. The appearance of the valley, at the entrance of the Ogofau, is extremely singular, and seems greatly to favour the hypothesis, that these hills did contain a gold mine, and that the Romans were employed in pursuing it. It is a deep ravine of an irregular form and of unequal breadth, with the fragments of a huge rock standing nearly in the centre, resembling the ruins of a battered tower. The whole dingle bears indubitable traces of some convulsive violence, and appears as if a part of the rock originally stood in it, and as if a portion of the superincumbent hill had been rent from its base by an earthquake, or by the force of some unusual com- 160 THE GOLD MINKS OF motion of the elements. It is asserted by Pliny, in his Natural History, that it was a common practice with the Roman soldiers, when stationed in the Spanish provinces, to excavate and undermine whole mountains suspected to contain the precious metals, and then to divert the course of rivers, and affuse them from an eminence on the works, when the im- petuous torrent irresistibly carried every thing before it, subverted the loftiest hills from their foundation, and precipitated the entire mass of which they were composed to an amazing distance. That, at conve- nient places, where the abated force of the current, and the nature of the ground appeared favourable to the purpose, weirs were formed, which afforded an uninterrupted passage to the water, but arrested the earth, sand, and gravel, in their course; that these were afterwards carefully sifted, and skilfully washed. If any grains of gold happened to be commixed with them, these grains were easily discovered, and readily separated from more drossy and less valuable ma- terials. A similar account of the process usually had recourse to by the Romans, when stationed near mountains supposed to abound with gold, is given by Rollin in his Ancient History. That operations of this nature were formerly attempted at these mines is evident from the vestiges of stupendous works still visible after the lapse of so many centuries, and the shocks of so many revolutions of nature. Several miles above the mines, nearer the source of the river Cothi, are at this time seen the remains of a mole constructed to confine the stream and to divert THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 161 its course. The number and inequality of the ad- jacent hills, the cataracts rushing from them during the frequent and violent showers, which are common to this part of the country, must often have been the means of proving the strength of the dyke. Some marks of it however still appear, and serve to give some idea of the violence with which the current, thus opposed in its course, and swollen with floods, rushed over its banks, and tore up the bed of the river to an incredible depth. The pool formed by the waterfall, and immediately below the dam, is, from the profundity of the water, and the dusky appearance of the stream, denominated by the pea- sants, " Bwll Uffem" or the Pit of Hell. A cele- brated antiquary and naturalist, who lately visited this country to investigate these remains of Roman industry, attempted to cross the stream a little above the mole, and, having no other expedient, mounted on the back of one of his guides. The poor fellow, after tottering a few steps under his load, fell with him in the middle of the river. They were both saved by another peasant, who accompanied them, and were conveyed to the opposite bank without any further accident. The country people, with their usual vivacity, and love of the ridiculous, diverted them- selves with this incident, and represented it as a concerted plan between the guide and his companion, that the learned traveller should be thrown into the stream by one of them, and rescued from danger by the other, concluding, no doubt, that they would be able to obtain from his fears the reward which they could not expect from his liberality ; or recover M 102 THE GOLD MINES OF salvage, as they expressed it, and divide the spoil. As some of them are so far favoured with the gifts of poetry as to be able, on an emergency, to produce an impromptu, several pennillion and englynion, or Welsh epigrams, were composed on the occasion. In some of them the ingenious antiquary was com- pared to a milch-cow withholding her milk, in order to obtain which, it becomes necessary to moisten the udder. One of these effusions, as it may serve to show the humour of some of our countrymen, shall be here inserted : Wyr ! dyma frodyr hyfrydiou, ywalchod Yn gwlychu marchogion ! Rhoi gwr main o Lundain Ion, O rhyfedd ! yn yr afon ! Godrwyr yw y gwyr heb gil, os pwyllo Ojs pallu wnar armel* Givlych y deth, y gwalch uchel. A llaith ddwrn, ar llaeth a ddel. Which has been thus translated : What blundering guides, how ill they tread ! To roll in mud so clear a head ! To plunge, — who starts not at the sight ! — In streams like these, so great a knight ! Strange guides, for verse as strange a theme, To guide a stranger to a stream, Thus on their backs a man to bear Into the flood, then drop him there ! Who dropp'd him had their views no doubt, As well as those who help'd him out; Dry-shod he hardly pays the swain, But dipp'd he pays as well again. The second milking is so called in some parts of Wales. THE ANCIENT BiilTONS. 1(33 Thus by sly milk-maids we are told, That dry teats oft the milk withhold ; But if you wet them, well you know, The silver streams profusely flow. Tin arall. Gwr am chwech trwy a/on fechan, ddug ddyn, Ddigwyddoda* yn drwstan, " 'N y rhyd, ebef, dynaran, " Rho swllt, ui frysio allan." An other. A great man once, agreed his guide, Across a rapid stream to ride ; But as the fee he paid was small, Amidst the flood he let him fall; " You got in cheaply," quoth the lout, " What will you give to get you out? " From the mole or dam the water was gradually conducted to the summit of the highest hills, and conveyed by a capacious aqueduct, the vestiges of which may still be distinctly traced, along a ridge of mountains, to a distance of nearly ten miles. Whe- ther the magnitude and rapidity of the river, or the height and inequality of the ground, be considered, the conception of the design must be admitted to have been as admirable as the execution of it was astonishing. It was not till of late years, when the curiosities of nature and of art, discovered in various corners of the principality, began to excite the atten- tion which they merit, that these monuments of Roman industry and ingenuity were deemed worthy of notice. They are now justly considered as the most extraordinary works of the kind in Great Bri- * Fell, digwyddo, to fall. 10-4 THE GOLD MINES OF tain, perhaps in Europe. The water in the canal on the summit of the hill opposite to Brunant, the seat of the Rev. Mr. Lloyd, must have been nearly a mile above the bed of the river from which it was raised. From that eminence this immense body of water was conveyed by a broad dyke, the vestiges of which are still discernible, to the highest part of the precipice immediately above the Ogofau, the mineral excava- tions. Here it was arrested in its course, and per- mitted, by means of a large reservoir, to collect its force before it poured itself, with its accustomed impetuosity, on the excavated hills below it. When its aid was not required to facilitate the labours of the miners, it was discharged through a sluice on the opposite side of the reservoir, and led by a wind- ing channel, the banks of which may now be seen towards the village of Caio, where it disembogued itself into a brook, that falls at a considerable dis- tance into the usual course of the Cothi. That so much toil and labour might not be unattended with some beneficial effects, the river thus raised from its bed was not permitted, even when not needed in the mines, to return to it until it had assisted in some work of industry likely to minister to the subsistence, or to the comforts, of man. On the banks of the new-formed canal, mills and other useful engines were erected, which were kept in motion by the agency of the water originally drawn from the river. The remains of one of them, called Melin Milwyr* * Milwyr means a thousand men, from mil, a thousand, and givyr, men, as they were regimented or formed into legions by thousands. Milwyr likewise implies soldiers. THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 165 or the Soldier's Mill, is still shewn by the peasants in that neighbourhood. From the supposed etymo- logy of the name, they contend that a thousand men were in those times engaged to assist at the mill, and contribute to the mechanical part of the opera- tion — a construction, which, though not justified by the real import of the word, manifests their vast idea of the ancient magnificence of the works, and of the extensive scale on which they were conducted. Near the valuable mines of South America, en- gines or stamping-mills are put in requisition to crush the ore, or separate the dross from the metal ; but what were the particular uses to which that erected by the Roman military was applied, cannot now perhaps with certainty be determined. It seems, however, to be pretty generally admitted, by those who have attentively examined the works, that the Romans were stationed here, and that the soldiery, according to the usual severity of their discipline, must have been employed in improving the military roads, in forming canals, and in working the mines. But whether these were lead mines, or copper mines, as individuals variously contend, or whether they were gold mines, as most persons who have recently examined them are of opinion, must be submitted to the decision of scientific inquirers. Such alone are competent judges of the subject. That Roman industry and perseverance extracted gold from them may be admissible ; but whether they acquired it in such portions as would satisfy the avidity of modern speculators is a problem that cannot be so promptly solved. I W) III E COLD MINES OF But though it should be admitted that this cele- brated nation, by their prodigious efforts, obtained the precious metals in certain proportions from these excavated hills, it does not necessarily follow that the mines had been originally discovered, or previ- ously worked, by the ancient Britons ; and that the invading armies only completed what the inhabitants of the country had begun. There are no British records of credit extant that can be expected to throw light on the obscure transactions of so remote a period. It appears, however, from some fragments of the works of the British bards, that Caio was a place of considerable importance as early as the sixth cen- tury. It is described as a city in the elegies of Lly warch Hen, already so frequently cited : Lluest Cadwallawn tra chaer Caew, byddin a chynnwrf taer, Can cad, a thorri can caer. The army of Cadwallon encamped near the city Of Caew, a host that was stubborn in the tumult Of a hundred battles, and the falling of a hundred castles. Owen's Llywarch Hen, p. 113. Mr. Owen,* in a note on this passage, observes that " there is a place called Caeo, in Caermarthen- shire.*' It is necessary, however, to state that Caer is sometimes translated a fortress as well as a city; and that the lines alluded to may imply no more than that it was at that period a strong military The late lamented Dr. W. O. Pughe. THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 167 post. But in either case it will amount to a proof, that it was then regarded as an important station. The vicinity of the mines may have been the princi- pal inducement for giving the preference, as a mili- tary residence, to a spot so destitute of other attrac- tions, and situated so remotely from the centre of the kingdom. The monuments of antiquity constantly discovered in the neighbourhood have been thought rather to favour the opinion, that the Britons were equally successful in these or some other mines in the en- virons. The most remarkable is a golden chain lately found in a field near the ancient family seat of John Johnes, esq. of Dolau Cothi, in this parish. It is supposed to have been a " torques," or mili- tary wreath of honour, worn by an ancient British chieftain of distinction. To the extremity of it was attached the figure of a serpent, fabricated of gold, of an elegant form, and beautiful workmanship, which has been conjectured to have been intended as an emblematical representation of the warrior's martial qualifications, implying the crafty general, and the formidable foe. Perhaps the " torquati," or the warriors ornamented with golden wreaths, generally wore, suspended from those chains, a particular figure, as an indication of their talents, or a memorial of their exploits ; and this may serve to elucidate the appellations of " lion," " eagle," " wolf," or " falcon," applied by the bards in their poems to different generals, and to illustrious British heroes : — 108 THE GOLD MINIS <)!• Eryr Pengwern,pell gelwid he no, Ar waed gwyr gwelid. The eagle of Pengwern calls far about this night; On the blood of men he is seen. Owens Llywarck Hen, p. 82. Tarw trin, rhyvel adwn. The bull of tumult, guider of the war, &c. Ibid. p. 142. This proof of ancient British military splendour, discovered near the mines of Caio, was a few years since shewn to a celebrated antiquary and natural philosopher, at the hospitable mansion of Dolau Cothi, and the figure of the dragon or serpent was presented to him, to be deposited in the archives of the Antiquarian Society. The chain is still in the possession of Mr. Johnes ; it is of considerable length, and must have been of sufficient extent seve- ral times to encircle the warrior's neck. It is desti- tute of any ornamental work, but is neat and elegant; each link being about an inch in length, and the whole being of very simple construction. The gold is much purer than any at present in common use, and the prodigious quantity of that valuable metal expended on a badge of honour, so frequently worn, has been considered a cogent argument in favour of those who contend that there were gold mines in this neighbourhood in former days, and who are of opinion that they were not unknown to the Britons.* * Most indubitable proofs have lately been discovered to establish the fact beyond the possibility of a doubt; that the THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 169 But as the people of these districts were late in their submission to the Romans, and opposed them not unsuccessfully in arms, at the period when other parts of the island were reduced to a tributary state; it has been thought that the gold mines of Cunobe- linus must necessarily be sought for in some corner of the country more accessible to the Roman forces, and inhabited by tribes more tractable in their dispo- sition, and less determined in their resistance to invading enemies. The Trinobantes, or the Trano- vantiaid, influenced by their king Mandubratius, are described by Caesar as the first people among the Britons that subjected themselves to a foreign yoke, and that suffered the conquerors to lay their country under a contribution. Several authors of considerable credit, therefore, have been of opinion, that the mines of Cunobelinus must have been situated somewhere within the counties of Essex or Middlesex, the provinces originally inhabited by the Trinobantes. Dr. Plot, in his Natural History of Oxfordshire, and Morant, in his History of Essex, are the most eminent writers who have adopted that opinion. The former contends that mines are fre- mines in Wales, particularly the coal mines, were worked by the Britons as well as by the Romans. A flint hatchet was found stuck in a coal vein, in a mine in North Wales; and in another pit in the same country were found the bones of an elephant. Flint tools were used by the Britons, before the application of iron to common purposes, and elephants were introduced to this island by the Romans, and used to work the machinery at the mines, &c. See Pennant's Tour through North Wales, and Goldsmith's Animated Nature. 170 THE GOLD MINES OF quently lost through the supineness of an ignorant age, or the storms of domestic trouble. In support of his hypothesis, he instances those of Hungary, which were long lost, and in process of time were again partially discovered; and* " the gold mines of Cunobelinus, in Essex," lost many centuries since, and not yet effectually regained. The res- pected author f of the natural history of the latter county states it as an opinion possessing many advo- cates, that the excavations now denominated the " Dane Holes," were originally entrances into these golden regions. This question, however, having at different periods excited the curiosity of the public, the most unobjectionable method will be to attempt a summary account of every notion entertained on the subject, and to submit the whole to the candid decision of the reader. The " Dane Holes," doubtless very extraordinary and almost inexplicable excavations that have long puzzled investigators of the natural history of that county, are narrow pits or shafts sunk in the earth, in a direction perpendicular to the horizon, to the depth of sixty, seventy, or ninety feet, or more, in sundry places in Orsett, West Thurrock, and the neighbouring parishes. Some think that they were originally designed for chalk pits ; and, as this fossil is often used in husbandry as a substitute for lime, they contend that the shafts, so commonly observed * See Dr. Plot's History of Oxfordshire. t Morant's History of Essex, in his account of the parishes of Orsett, West Thurrock, &e. T H E A N C I K N T J5R ITON S . 171 in this county, were at various periods sunk by the different proprietors of the adjacent estates, in order to obtain manure for improving and fertilizing their land. The opponents of this hypothesis, on the contrary, represent it as a ridiculous conceit, to suppose their provident ancestors to have been so preposterously extravagant as to incur the unneces- sary expense of sinking shafts to such a depth to obtain, for the mere amelioration of the soil, that manure which could be abundantly procured in all parts of the neighbourhood, within a yard or two of the surface of the earth. Chalk, they add, is a substance found in most of the counties of England, without the expense and labour of these extraordi- nary excavations, while the " Dane Holes" are not only peculiar to this county, but are confined within no extensive portion of it. Others, in order to avoid the absurdities attending the chalk system, maintain, from the fancied etymology of the name, that they were subterraneous places of refuge, in which the Danes attempted to conceal themselves, at the memorable period of the massacre of those invaders by the exasperated Saxons. But this, it is answered, is endeavouring to avoid one absurdity, and falling into a greater. For these narrow pits could afford but an indifferent asylum, where the miserable fugi- tives might secure themselves, nor did they admit of any egress or any means of eluding the fury of their enraged enemies. And it is observed, if ever the Danes did descend, on such an occasion, into these tremendous gulfs, they must have descended into open sepulchres, where the feeblest foe might crush 172 mil: gold mines of them, and where the artful could readily have in terred them alive. As it is not probable, it is fur- ther argued, that the English would have given their foes long previous notice of the intended massacre, it seems rather an extraordinary circumstance, that they should have found time and resolution for so laborious an operation ; and if ever they engaged in such an enterprize, it excites astonishment to reflect that they should not attempt to form the place of their intended retreat on a safer plan, or on a more extensive scale. If they were known before this period, the Danes in the hour of distress, might have fled for refuge to an asylum originally opened for another purpose. But, this is no argument against the truth of the golden hypothesis ; for the retreat of the Danes into them — supposing that fact sufficiently au- thenticated — is no evidence that the shafts were not originally sunk to approach a mine, and neither of the systems above mentioned can be considered as any reasonable presumption against the truth of the fact, of their being in the first instance designed as vestibules of mines.* The subsequent discovery * In further corroboration of the truth of this opinion, it is added, that the names of places, in which the Dane Holes are principally found, are favourable to the notion, that Thurrock is derived from the British words Tir-Eurych, Goldsmith's-land ; and Orsett from Aursedd, Golden-seat, or Golden-habitation : sedd bearing in ancient British the import of the word seat in English, as may be observed in the compound word Gorsedd, a throne, &c. That the original inhabitants left, in the names of many places in Essex, evident vestiges of their language, as in THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 173 of various fossils in them might serve to prove, that those who possessed not skill to penetrate into more valuable strata might yet have the ingenuity to possess themselves of the humbler mineral of chalk. And the retreat of the Danes into them might be no more an evidence of their being designed as an asy- lum, than the escape of an offender to the mines of Cornwall would be a proof, that those excavations were intended as a receptacle for felons. The ap- pellation of " Dane Holes," by which these mines are now known, might have arisen, it is argued, from the circumstance of a few Danes having taken re- fuge there on the occasion before mentioned; or it might have originated in the fact of the citizens of London having had recourse to these gold mines to discharge the Dane-guelt, the tax anciently im- posed on the city by the Danes. It is observed by Morant, in his History of that county, that it is diffi- cult to imagine on any other ground, how the citi- zens should be able, in that age, to collect the enormous contribution which the rapacious Danes had imposed on them. Those who have adopted this side of the question further contend for the Ongar, Ash-town, from onn, an ash, and caer, a fortress, a place remarkable for a large conical tumulus, most probably raised by the Britons. Billericay, Pillarfield, from Piler, a pillar, and cae, a field, i Bilery cae, to Billericay. A large stone set up as a pillar, in a neighbouring field, might have been the origin of the name. Avon, the name of several rivers in England, seems to have arisen from the Saxons mistaking the common name Avon, a river, used, by the British, for a proper name of a particular stream. 1 7 4 TI I E G O LD MI \ IS O F probability of their having had recourse, on such an occasion, to the mines in the royalty of Essex. Though the mines were not productive enough to encourage mercenary adventurers, sufficient metal, on such an emergency, might have been extracted from them, by united efforts and persevering indus- try, to appease, for a season, the harshness and the intemperate avidity of these merciless invaders. It is further added, that, about the fourteenth century, these gold mines were actually worked with some degree of success; for a royal favourite having ob- tained a grant of them, which is still on record, a company of German miners were engaged, and cer- tain quantities of the metal being extracted, the prospects for a season appeared extremely favour- able. That their mineral efforts did not prove finally successful is attributed to the cupidity and treachery of the Germans, and to the domestic troubles of the times, as well as to the subsequent shocks of civil commotions, which retarded their operations, and at length forced them from the country. It is added, that, in Cambden's time, many vestiges of these mines remained, which are now obliterated. There were then in existence some apertures of great depth in the ground below Tilbury, ingeniously walled round from the base to the top, in the form of a cone or glass-house, to pre- vent the falling in of the surrounding lands, and there was also an entrance into a spacious horizontal excavation in a field in the parish of East Tilbury, called " Cave Field," &c. It is likewise observed, that about the commencement of the last century, THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 175 another attempt was made to recover these golden treasures. A royal grant for that purpose was ob- tained, and measures, that it was hoped would suc- ceed, were taken, to derive from it every desirable effect; but the immediate operations not answering, and the South Sea Bubble bursting about the same time, the enterprize became unpopular, and the adventurers were discouraged. The unfavourable issue of this attempt, it is alleged, is not so much a proof of the non-existence of the mine, as it is an evidence of the incapacity of the conductors. If the ore was obtained here in the fourteenth, it is scarcely credible, after so long a respite, that it should be found exhausted in the eighteenth cen- tury. It is not to be believed that time would have destroyed here what in other places it mellows and improves. Consequently, the mineral productions which our ancestors enjoyed might still be acquired, were their descendants possessed of equal industry and equal ingenuity. It is further remarked, that the proximity of a mine is frequently presumed from the unheal thiness of the atmosphere, which particularly distinguishes this part of Essex — from the natural sterility of the soil, as is observable in the heaths, and in all the uncultivated land around — and from mineral springs, which are found at Tilbury, and other places at no remote distance. Lastly, if the veracity of the story of the rich treasures of Cunobelinus be admitted, this county seems to have the fairest claim to the honour of containing them, from its proximity to the scene of action, distinguished by Caesar's earliest I 7G THE GOLD MINKS OF contests witli the Britons, his victory over Cassivel- launus, his passage over the Thames, and his final arrangement with the inhabitants to accept from them of an annual tribute, and to leave them unmo- lested. Such are the different opinions that have been entertained of these extraordinary excavations, and such is the substance of the arguments on which these various opinions have been founded. To de- cide these controversies relative to the mineralogy of the county, a gentleman of the cathedral of Can- terbury, distinguished for his love of natural history, and his knowledge of the antiquities of his country, formed the extraordinary resolution of descending into one of these caverns. He took with him an eminent surgeon, with the intention, doubtless, in case of accidents, of profiting by his advice and assistance. A rope was procured, and thrown over a pulley, attached to a neighbouring tree. To the lower extremity of the rope a strong piece of wood was horizontally fastened. Seated on this, and bearing a light, an intrepid peasant first descended. He had scarcely reached the bottom, when by some mischance the light was extinguished. His boasted intrepidity forsook him, and he became petrified with horror, at the apprehension of evils with which he was unacquainted, and against which he was unpre- pared. He imagined he saw another pit, still more profound and more tremendous, yawning to receive him. A light having been procured from a neigh- bouring farm-house, the other adventurers unter- rified at the peasant's fear-born exclamations, sue- THE AXCIENT BRITON'S. 177 cessively descended. The depth was about seventy feet. The different strata were accurately examined as the adventurers passed. They were found to consist chiefly of earth, gravel, and sand ; and at the bottom appeared a bed of chalk. At the lower extremity of the shaft, four excavations were hori- zontally made in four different directions — they were continued but a few yards, and were of no con- siderable depth. The fears of the peasant, excited as they had been in obscurity, were not calmed on the appearance of the light, when he discovered himself standing on a human skeleton of gigantic size, most of the bones of which, in his agitation, he had trampled to pieces ! At some distance, lay on the ground the skeletons of several badgers, rabbits, and hares, which were supposed to have fallen accident- ally into this hideous gulf, as they were gamboling through the woods, or roving in quest of food. The human skeleton, it was conjectured, had remained there many years, for on its being rudely touched, it crumbled to dust. No marks were discovered that could lead to a decision whether it was the skeleton of a person who had been murdered and thrown in, or of one who, at some remote period,, had fallen into the terrific abyss. The mouth of the excavation is obscured by the shade of a tree, and the sides are concealed by weeds and low brush- wood. An unfrequented path leads to a field from the road, within a yard of the aperture, which is not covered, and the ground sinuous and uneven, broken as it is into knolls and sandpits, slopes N 178 THE GOLD MINES OF towards the mine. To scarcely any spot can the poet's expression, " Facilis est descensus Averni," be more applicable. That such an accident should take place is not so much the object of astonish- ment, as that similar misfortunes are not frequent. As the head of the human skeleton appeared to be considerably above the common size, the Esculapian enterpriser enveloped it in his handkerchief; but, in his ascent, lie was more careful to prevent his own pericranium from coming- in contact with the sides of the shaft than to guard his treasure, and on after- wards examining the object of curiosity, which he had intended for his museum, he found that it was battered to pieces. This expedition into these subterraneous regions totally failed of deciding the controversy relative to the original design of the " Dane holes." The sup- porters of the " chalk system" contended that the appearance of a bed of that fossil at the bottom, was a clear proof of the intention of sinking the shaft: — the advocates of the hypothesis, that it was an asylum for the Danes, laboured to prove, that the excavations in the chalk, at the lower extremity of the pit, were intended as places of refuge for the fugitives, when threatened with immediate extermi- nation. The patrons of the gold mines, on the con- trary, while they laugh as well at the thought of a shaft sunk to such a depth, and at such an expence, merely to obtain two or three waggon loads of chalk, THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 179 which might have been found on the surface of the earth — as at the notion of a subterraneous asylum, prepared with such prodigious labour, that would not contain forty fugitives ; they boast of their own hypothesis, as the most consistent and the most probable. They maintain that gold mines generally run to the depth of a hundred and fifty or sixty fathoms, but that these shafts, at present, are seldom a third of that depth, because the Britons had closed these mines in order to conceal them from the Romans, that they might not excite their avidity, and tempt them to continue their unwelcome visits to the island. This part of the country, they say, was anciently excavated in various places, but the apertures were, at a subsequent period, carefully con- cealed ; as might be instanced in the ground where Stafford fair was formerly kept, which gave way some years since, to the no small terror and conster- nation of the populace, and sunk in some places to a considerable depth. The strongest proofs can be adduced to demonstrate, that the ancient Britons possessed the precious metals in profusion, that they applied them to ornamental purposes, and that they had made greater proficiency in the arts, and had attained to a greater degree of civilization than Roman authors seem in general willing to admit. It is hardly credible that those who possessed war chariots of such admirable construction, and could guide them with so much dexterity and address; could stop them on a descent, and turn them at pleasure when in full career ; could spring on the ground, and continue the combat, when this could 180 THE GOLD MINES OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. be done more advantageously on foot, that they could then vault to their seats, and drive through the disordered ranks of their enemies, so that Caesar confessed his best troops were not able to face them, and had not a more honourable way of succeeding against them than by fomenting their intestine divi- soins, and taking advantage of their want of union among themselves. It is not probable, so it is con- tended, that those, whom their very enemies admit to have been so well provided with warlike instru- ments, and to have been so dexterous in the use of them, so well furnished with cavalry, and so rich in well-formed chariots of war, should be so uncivilized as Caesar, in other parts of his Commentaries, seems to insinuate, or that they were otherwise barbarians, than as Greek and Roman writers honour all nations, except their own, with that appellation. Such are the systems that have been formed on this interesting subject, and such are the different opinions that have been entertained with respect to them — opinions which, though it may not be neces- sary to adopt them, it may be useful to know. Some of the most plausible may excite further en- quiries.; a more minute search, rationally conducted, should it fall short of a more profitable, or a more satisfactory, termination, may tend to throw no small portion of light on the manners and customs of our ancestors, as well as materially to illustrate the his tory and topography of the country. A SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF THE BRITONS UNDER FIVE EPOCHS. EPOCH I. ORIGIN OF THE BRITONS — THEIR HISTORY UNTIL THE INVASION OF BRITAIN BY THE ROMANS. Chapter I. Preliminary Observations. — Ancient Documents, often imper- fect unless assisted by facts. — The nature of those facts. It is proposed in the following treatise to throw some new light upon the history of a nation, whose origin, in common with the generality of others, is involved in much obscurity and fable. By taking up the subject with the first ingress of mankind into Europe, we enter into a gloomy wil- derness, in which the most enterprizing and skilful, who have gone before, have been bewildered, owing to the uncertain tendency of the tracks hitherto dis- covered. Had we begun with the remarkable epoch. 182 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. of the invasion of Britain by the Romans, the path would have been tolerably unobstrueted ; but, urged by a little emulation, a passion prevalent in the human breast, we have been tempted boldly to encounter those dangers that have proved so fatal to others ; con- scious, at the same time, of possessing some advan- tages which our precursors had not ; though compa- ratively speaking, they may be few and humble, yet they are very much to the purpose of the undertak- ing. The notices given in sacred history, and what is to be found in the writings of Greece and Rome, are all the aids which can be had towards discri- minating between the different people, who, in the early periods, burst the western bounds of Asia ; except what additional light may be diffused from an accurate examination of their respective languages, personal characteristics, and habits of life. What ancient authors have touched upon, relative to this epoch, is often very general and vague ; so that most late writers have been misled, and in some in- stances have contributed to accumulate inconsisten- cies and embarrassments — mostly, perhaps, from an attachment to some ingenious hypothesis, or from their not being thoroughly acquainted with corrobo- rative facts. Having thus hinted at the insufficiency of historical memorials towards ascertaining certain points, without some coincident and accessory evi- dences, it ought to be considered what the leading features of those proofs are which lead to the clearest demonstration. Identity of languages is the least fallible of any, though some of the principal dis- HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 183 tinctions observed in the external appearance of the human frame may admit of considerable certainty ; but comparisons drawn from religion, polity, and manners, are very little to be relied upon. It is only from an intimate knowledge of any of these, that a sober deduction can be expected ; without that, the mind ranges into extravagant fantasies; hence we meet with so many illusory and far-fetched analogies, which have brought investigations of this nature into considerable discredit with the sensible part of man- kind, whose attention may be casually attracted to the subject. The first especially, from the vague and superficial manner in which it has been pur- sued, is seemingly under a greater degree of con- tempt than any investigation constructed upon either of the other two. Yet these are the only guides now remaining, by which we can ascertain the origin of certain ancient nations, who have been confounded together by early writers, for want of more accurate information. The whole of Europe is inhabited by two generic races of men, with the exception of a portion of no considerable extent in the North East, the abode of the primitive Tartars. That being the case, every distinction observed be- tween one nation and another, as to the external appearance of the human frame, can only be of a trifling and an inconsiderable nature, which may, probably with reason, be attributed to the effect of climate and mode of life. Consequently, any opi- nion formed upon such distinctions is little to be attended to ; especially when we reflect upon the 184 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. frequent commixtures which have necessarily oc- curred, from the condition in which, by the aid of history and experience, we see the state of this quarter of the world. The least dependence of all should be placed upon arguments drawn from a comparison of the religion, laws, and customs of different nations. The picture of one will as well suit another in the most distant clime, in the same state of progression towards civilized society. More- over, we are extremely liable to be deceived for want of information in the delineator ; as they are matters requiring the nicest discernment of the sub- ject, and accuracy of judgment to form the result of what is seen, so as to draw the leading traits of the character with a just and discriminating hand.* It is, nevertheless, by such tests, and chiefly by the former, that we are to endeavour to judge more precisely to what nations respectively belong the appellations of Cimbri, Celts, Gauls, Scythians, * What cause of regret have we for want of this discrimina- tion in the early history of this island ; what numberless absur- dities and contradictions do we find in the works of modern his- torians, but with one distinguished exception. It needs hardly to be mentioned, that the writings of the Rev. Mr. Whitaker are meant here, as they may be said to form a new epoch in British history. We are sorry to lessen his fame even in the least im- portant points, but the truth of history urges us to wish that he had possessed a greater knowledge of the language of the an- cient Britons , so that his etymologies might have equalled every thing else advanced by him, as mistakes of that kind are more detrimental in his works than in those of a less distinguished writer. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 185 Sarmatians, and Goths, and the many variations of them, by tracing out their descendants, as they are now to be recognized in the different parts of the European countries. Chapter II. The nature of the primitive Language of Europe, and Language in general. In the endeavours made to determine dubious points respecting the origin of nations, signal advantage might be derived from recurring to the aids which the identity of language is capable of affording, if received with due discretion. As it is intended par- ticularly to recur to those aids in this work, it may not be amiss to enter into a cursory investigation of some unnoticed principles of this wonderful medium for the display of the human mind.* We are inclined to support the opinion of those who contend that speech is coeval with the first of men. There are some who are ever ready to treat such a simple suggestion with great ridicule, who would wish to persuade us that man was for ages mute, * If the reader wishes to see a general investigation of language and writing, he will meet with abundant satisfaction in perusing that stupendous monument of human research, C. Gibelin du Monde Primitif. There he will discover that this learned man has retrieved the lost credit of etymological researches in his display of the original language in Europe. 186 HISTORY OF THE BIUTOXS. and had a long tail, like many other of his brother animals; but having a superior instinct for imita- tion, he copied from all the creation around him, as chance directed. Had the abettors of the latter hypothesis given us the analysis of language as it really is, and not as they, without a thorough ex- amination, have supposed it to be, they would in that case have proved, that there is some apparent foundation for a fact as strange as it is unac- countable. However, the supporting of one opinion or the other has little connexion with the present enquiry ; let us therefore proceed, and endeavour to arrive at some knowledge of the nature of that tongue which primarily and universally prevailed over Europe, so as to sketch out the elementary structure of it, with the aid that can be obtained by consulting some of its principal component parts. The human voice is capable of uttering nearly three hundred simple sounds ; that is, such as are perfectly vocal, or such as are articulate, consisting of a vowel and a conso- nant. All other sounds are only derivatives, or com- binations of these. It would be a natural and an important discovery, could the fact be established, that every one of those primary sounds should have an appropriate simple idea annexed to it, and that the sounds and ideas should mutually enter into every combination which might take place, in form- ing longer words. But there are individuals, of the way of thinking before hinted at, who suppose that language was acquired progressively, and conse- quently that every sound had a certain import af- HISTORY OF THE BRITOXS. 187 fixed by chance. Notwithstanding what may be so suggested, it will not be difficult to demonstrate the first formation of speech to have been strictly so, that all the sounds were classed according to the different sorts of ideas with which the mind would be necessarily impressed. Some may urge that such a regularity of construction could not have taken place : unless men were acquainted with each other's ideas, which could not have been before the medium for that end was formed. Surprizing and unaccount- able as the fact may be deemed, we find not only that the structure is thus far perfect, but that it is so in a much greater degree ; for as the primary or simple ideas of the mind would properly divide themselves into a variety of classes, according to their analogy, so it is observable that all the simple sounds are appropriated to those ideas, methodically preserving the like analogy in sound, as the others preserve it in sense. Shall we suppose that pri- marily speech consisted merely of simple sounds, or that the combination of those sounds was coeval with it ? The former seemingly was the fact, as some languages tend to prove.* However from the ne- cessary connexion between some sounds and their relative ideas, man was not long before he com- pounded them. The first effects of composition were words of two sounds, such as man, bar, anu, canu, and the like. All words of three letters with * The Welsh in particular ; and indeed, from what little we know of it, the Chinese seems partly of that form to this day. 188 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. a vowel in the middle have invariably suffered an elision of another preceding it, the one that remains being that part of the sound upon which the prin- cipal idea depends. Every particle of the original language must have been pregnant with thought, for not a sound could be uttered but it had some mean- ing, whether alone or compounded with others, as may be easily proved, for in the Welsh this is so far observable, that these primary elements have been preserved, with the exception, probably, of three or four score. Those affixes which form the inflexions of verbs are real words, significant in themselves of the time or action which they are intended to imply, and they were so used separately or otherwise, and are so still in the last mentioned language.* If the appropriate ideas could be restored to the few ele- mentary sounds which are now no longer retained in that tongue, it is presumed that the positions here laid down would be established, and the original language not only of Europe, but of the world in all probability be completely restored. All the languages of Europe evidently discover one common origin, they are therefore formed upon those simple sounds with their connected abstract ideas. What consti- tutes that diversity which we find, is the appro- * All those inflexions which denote action or motion are de- rived from Au, to move, to go ; and infinitively, that is going, causing to move. The Rev. Dr. Vincent, by dint of acuteness of judgment and learning, has discovered that it is nearly so in Greek verbs, and makes gw the root. A knowledge of the Welsh would have shewn him a more regular deduction, and enabled him to bring his system to greater perfection. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS, 189 priation of them to a variety of objects, to either of which the general idea would equally apply. Thus, such a word as Ffordd might imply a road in one dialect, and a ford, passage, or course in another ; or Rhyd, a ford, should again mean a road, as the fact actually is. However contrary to this, in a vast number, the same appropriation runs through languages in general.* Possibly the confusion of languages, amongst those concerned in the tumul- tuary insurrection of Babel, was the effect of merely altering the appropriation to particulars which still belonged to the same general idea, for the conse- quence of it seems more evident in that respect pro- bably than in any thing else that can be suggested. And this would be fully adequate to the design, and at the same time without any real change taking- place in the abstract signification of a single word. That there is an instability in languages is a re- mark very commonly met with, but it is far from being just, as will be evinced in the course of the following chapters, from very striking examples. Perhaps the language which the Saxons brought over to Britain has been oftener exposed than any to the greatest hazard of a total change, and it may have undergone a change more complete than any other language ; yet after all it has preserved its original Teutonic stamina. * The Welsh word for heaven is found in no fewer than thirty different dialects, as may be seen by consulting Chamberlayn's Collection of the Lord's Prayer. We might also select fifty principal words in the Welsh which run through about as many languages. 190 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. The most general cause of the variety of dialects then is that change of the appropriation ; however, there is another more early in its origin than that, which is the diversity in the combination of primi- tive sounds, or the compounding of words, by people detached from one another. But all had the same stock of primary words, joined to the same abstract ideas. The foregoing positions cannot be seen in their full force, unless they are elucidated by a complete system of examples, which cannot be with propriety intro- duced here.* At the same time it may not be foreign to the subject to introduce a few instances, lest the preceding observations should be considered as merely loose assertions without proof. All the words of the primitive tongue, in their first state of combi- nation, were resolvable into classes, where each word in every particular class preserved the analogy or general idea of the whole. The nature of that ana- logy may be seen by examining this class, taken from the Welsh ; all the words of which are reducible into classes in the same manner.^ Rhen, Supreme Being. * This illustration cannot be carried on to great extent, or in a manner to be relied upon, but by the knowledge of the Welsh language, taking advantage, however, of its sister dialects. A work of this kind was published some years ago, by Dr. Owen Pughe, of which a Dictionary, containing upwards of a hundred thousand regularly formed words, constitutes an important part. t There seems a little of that analogy in some English words, as sight, light, bright; but it does not go through the whole class. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 191 Pen, head; chief, principal. Lien, veil, or what is over. Nen, vault, or canopy ; sky. Cen, what is foremost. Hen, that is advanced ; elder, old. Sen, what makes conspicuous, a stigma, a name. Gen, intellect, or soul ; the organ of utterance, or mouth. Fen, a flowing principle ; air. The same word used in different languages pre- serves the general idea, differently appropriated ; and by this is discovered also, if the abstract meaning be correctly known, the reason of the various appropria- tions of such word ; of which the following may serve for illustration : * Bdl, s. m. (by-al) general import — what runs out, or jets, from any centre ; what projects; what is driven out, extended, ad- vanced, raised or erected ; — a projection, a forcing out, or impelling ; a prominence. Appropriated im- ports — a heap, a pile, a mound, a cone, a peak, a hill ; a bud ; a boll. Derivatives — Bala, a shooting out or discharging ; an eruption ; a budding ; an outlet ; an efflux ; Balan, a springing out, a shoot- ing, a budding, or sprouting ; Balannawl, springing, shooting forth ; Balannu, to spring, or shoot forth, to bud; Balan, to spring, or shoot out, to project, or drive out; Balaw, efflux of water; Balawg, spring- ing out, jetting ; having an outlet ; Balu, to jet, shoot or project, &c. * A long list of particular words might be made out, exhibit- ing a more striking affinity; but this specimen is intended to shew what may be done, by going regularly through different languages 192 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. Derivative appropriation in different languages. WELSH. Balac, what stands up ; a balk, a ridge of land unploughed ; an irregularity in a furrow. With its derivatives. Batch, a towering or proud one; a. prominent, towering, proud. With its derivatives. Baldardd, a budding, or break- ing out of buds. With its derivatives. Baldog, a fat punchy person. Baldordd, a babbling or prat- tling. With its derivatives. Balgur, a breaking forth, a springing out. Balwg, the tufts or seed of flax. Balalwy, a palm tree. Ball, a protuberance ; an erup- tion ; the plague. Ballasg, the husky coat of some fruits ; as nuts, &c. Ballaw, to shout, to bellow, to scream. Ballawg, a hedge-hog. Balleg, a wheel, or bow net. IRISH. Bal, a place, a spot ; a rock ; a village. Balach, a giant. Baladh, effluvia, scent, or smell. Balaighe, profit, advantage. Balbh, a stammerer. Bale, great, mighty, strong. Bale, a crustiness, or hardness of the surface of the earth. Ball, a limb, or member; a way. Balg, an open or great gap. Balla, a wall ; a bulwark. Ballach, a way, a road. Ballach, speckled, or spotted. Ballan, a teat, a dug ; a shell, a snail shell. Ballardhaim, to divulge, or report. Ballasdadh, a publishing, or setting forth. Balchrith, trembling. Ballghalar, a plague. Ballnasg, the limbs, or joints. Ballog, the skull ; a blot or spot. Ballsg, a freckle, spot or blot. Baltadh, a border, or welt. Baltin, health, safety. ARMORIC. Bal, a berry. Balaen, broom ; a besom. Balan, broom. Balaven, a butterfly. Bale, to walk. Balec, a priest. Bali, a high grown wood. Balin, a coverlet. HEBREW. Bal, to throw together, to mix, to confound. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 193 Bala, to waste, to decay; to destroy ; this word and its derivatives seem to have had their meaning in the He- brew, from the dispersion at Babel. Baloth, balim, dsemons ; the three sons of Noah. Jebeleth, a wen ; having a wen. Bui, a stump of a tree ; Octo- ber, the fall of the leaf. Mebul, a deluge or flood, an overwhelming. Tebel, the canopy of the sky, the atmosphere, the air. Baleg, to encourage, to strengthen. Baal, to be supreme or master; to have dominion ; to use. Baal, the object of worship amongst the Babylonians, and the neighbouring na- tions, which was the sun or fire, under many symbols. GREEK. Balagra, a key, a lock or bolt. Balanos, mast ; acorn. Balantion, a pouch, purse, or bag. Balenatos, kingly, royal. Balbis, a bar or rail. Balios, various ; speckled ; rapid. Ballo, to throw, to fling; to shoot, to dart. Balloth, offensive horehound. Balsamon, the tree or juice of balm. SAXO-GOTHIC. Bale, a balk or line of un- ploughed land. Balcettan,X.obt\c\\,\.o eructate. Bald, bold, audacious, forward. Baldsam, balsam, balm. Balew, balewa, depraved, wicked. Balgs, the uterus, the womb. Balo, wicked, evil. Balsagga, the neck. Balsan, balsam or balm. Balsminte, the watercress. Balweins, a rack ; a hurling engine. Balwjan, to turn about, to hurl ; to rack. Balwith, bending ; turned, twisted. LATIN. Balcena, a vast sea-fish, a kind of whale. Balanites, a kind of round chesnuts. Balanus, mast, acorn ; a kind of shellfish. Balatro, a pitiful fellow, a shabby rascal. Balatus, a bleating of sheep. Balbus, stammering, stuttering. Balbutio, to stammer, to stutter. Balliolus, a negro, a moor. Ballista, an engine to throw missiles, a brake or sling. Ballote, stinking horehound. Balo, to bleat as sheep. Balteus, a girdle, a sword-belt. 194 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. GERMAN. Bal, a bad action, a wicked deed ; misery, grief. Balbier, a barber or shaver. Bald, bold, audacious ; confi- dent, strong ; abrupt, short. Baldgreik, groundsel, ground swell. Balei, jurisdiction, bailiwick. Balg, a coat or skin, felt; a husk, a capsula ; the uterus, the young of any animal ; a budget ; a strumpet. Balgen, to divest of husks, to shell, to 'peel ; to brawl, to scold, to be angry. Balger, a duellist or fighter. Balke, a balk or beam. Ball, a dance, a frisk or skip. Balle, a bale, a bundle. Balz, lusus venereus. SWEDISH. Balja, a large vessel, a vat, a pail. Balk, a balk or beam. Balk, a balk in a ploughed field. ITALIAN. Balbettare, to stammer. Baldacchino, a canopy. Baldanza, boldness, courage. Baldo, bald or bare. Baldoria, bonfire, wildfire. Balena, a whale. Baleno, lightning. Balenare, to lighten. Balestro, a cross-bow. Balia, power, authority; a tutor. Balioso, powerful, stout. Balire, to govern, to nurse. Balla, a bale or pack. Ballare, to dance. Ballatojo, a gallery. Ballo, a ball or dance. Balocco, a simpleton, a booby. Balleo, a belt or girdle. Baluaro, a bulwark. Balza, a rock, a precipice. Balzana, balza, a flounce or furbelow. Balzano, white- spotted or speckled. Balzare, to bounce, to leap. ENGLISH. Balance, a poise, overplus of weight. Balani, shellfish adhering to others of a larger sort. Balcony, a projecting gallery in front of a house. Bald, bare-headed, stripped, exposed. Baldrick, a girdle ; the zodiac. Bale, a bundle or pack. Bale, calamity ; destruction. Bale, to throw water out. Balk, a large beam. Balk, a ridge of unploughed land ; a mere. Balk, to refuse ; to disappoint. Balkstaff, or Balstaff, a quar- ter-staff. Ball, a dancing or dance. Ballast, stuff to balance ships. Balliage, exportation duty paid by aliens. Balotade, a leap or bound. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 195 Baluster, a small column. Balm, the juice and tree so called. SPANISH. Bala, 2l bullet or ball. Baladro, a bellowing. Baladron, a boisterous fellow, a bully. Baladronear, to act boister- ously, to brag. Balagar, a hayrick . Balago, a whole reed of corn, also a sheaf. Balaguero, a heap of straw. Balance, a balance; also danger. Balancia, a water-melon. Balandra, a bilander. Balandran, a cassock. Balar, to bleat like sheep. Balazo, a bullet or shot. Balcon, a balcony. Balda, a thing of no value ; idleness. Baldado, a withered limb. Baldar, to maim, to deprive of a limb. Balde, a bucket. Baldeo, a sword, in cant lan- guage. Baldio, waste ; void ; idle ; a common. Baldon, abusive language ; re- proach. Baldonada, a courtezan. Baldonar, to scold ; to abuse ; to reproach. Baldres, dressed thin leather or skin. Balerina, valerian. Balhurria, the mob. Balica, a sort of boat. Balido, a bleating of sheep. Balija, a leathern bag, a port- manteau. Balisa, a beacon ; a landmark. Ballestas, a wallet. Ballico, darnel, tares. Balnadu, a gate. Balon, a great pack of goods. Balona, a band. Balones, a pair of breeches. Balsa, a pool or puddle. Balsar, to fill with water, to make a puddle. Balsopeto, a kind of large purse. Baltrueto, a rambling fellow, a vagabond. Baluarte, a bulwark. Balvasores, the ruling men in a nation. Balumba, a great heap of things. Balza, a kind of banner. FRENCH. Bal, a ball or dance. Balade, a ballad. Baladin, a dancer at shows, a buffoon. Balafre, a gash or slash. Balafrer, to gash, to slash. Balandran, a large coarse cloak. Balay, a broom ; a besom. Balayer, to sweep. Bale, a bullet, a ball ; chaff. Balire, buoy or mast. 196 HISTORY OF TIIF, BRITONS. Baliveau, a pollard, a stander. Balagourka, a female buffoon Baliverner, to trifle. or jester. Ballon, a foot ball. Balakaew, to babble, to prattle. Balot, a bale or packet. Baldlayka, a kind of lute with Balote, a voting ball. two strings. Baloter, to toss ; to ballot ; to Balast, ballast. discuss. Balachon, a signal. Balourd, a loggerhead. Baldachin, a baldachin, a kind of canopy. RUSSIAN. Balsam, balsam. Balabcin, a lanner falcon, a Balouew, to waste, to spoil. kind of hawk. Baliassi, a prattling, a prating. For the sake of brevity, several words are omitted, which are borrowed into the modern languages in common from the Greek and the Latin. The fore- going specimen will suffice to show, that much re- mains to be done towards the successful investiga- tion of speech, and that important information may be obtained from the completion of the plan, of which this is a faint sketch. But some may urge, that the idea of what is here traced out would prove too much, that all languages are but one, and yet so different, as not to be understood in common. In answer to such objection, it may be inferred from the premises that have been laid down, that the primary characteristic of the identity of languages consists in having the same combination of radical words, and the same appropriation of their relative ideas, as an uniformity of construction depends mostly upon those two principles. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 197 Chapter III. Progress of the Colonization of Europe, from the time of the dispersion at Babel to the commencement of History. For the period of nearly four hundred years subse- quent to the deluge, mankind increased and lived together, under the government and parental instruc- tion of the patriarch Noah, the preacher of righteous- ness, and his immediate descendants. The elevated and central country of Armenia, with some of the neighbouring regions, was ample enough to be so long the nursery of the world ; but at length it be- came necessary to devise regulations for separating, and to branch out into different nations. Accord- ingly in the days of Peleg, the earth was divided, when each family had its appropriate allotment. The department of the sons of Japhet, agreeably to the divine decree, lay westward ; and taking their course that way they thus progressively expanded, so as to embrace the shore of the Euxine ; thus some on the right hand entered Europe by the Palus Mseotis ; whilst others colonized Asia Minor, and afterwards crossed the Propontis on the left. They had made no considerable progress in those di- rections, before they were followed by wandering colonies of a people descended from a family whose conduct had been less regular. These weTe the sons 198 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. of Chus, who, in contempt of the sacred compact, had ejected Ashur out of his territory ; had departed from the primitive religion, and for their combina- tion to establish themselves therein by the building of Babel, who had been scattered over the face of the earth, by the confusion of their language. By that signal dispersion, they were under the necessity of wandering about in search of settlements ; and, as it appears that they had made greater progress in sciences than probably any other people, they were consequently possessed of advantages which ren- dered them more powerful. The result of this was, an encroachment upon the territories of the original inhabitants, wherever they came in their way. These therefore were the first who brought war and dis- union, with their attendant evils, amongst the sons of men. For the space of about a thousand years more, which brings us down to the time of Solomon, and the commencement of the Grecian Annals, those two original nations ramified into different tribes, an- noyed one another, intermixed in some instances, subdued or were subdued, multiplied, and eventually, towards the close of that period, colonized the most western extremities of Europe. Such were the events, as facts and experience seem to indicate, that must have occurred in that period of obscurity, under the accumulated clouds of the mystic ages. All is dark like Erebus within, and the lightnings, occasionally playing on their outskirts, prove but intermittent flashes, throwing a momentary gleam on the monu- ments of history. The outline of the general effect. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 199 arising from the events above hinted at, seems to be this. The Cymbrians,* first people, or the descen- dants of Japhet, had, towards the end of the period now under consideration, become widely diffused in small communities, over the most accessible parts of Europe. The later colonies, who, for the sake of discrimination, shall be called Scythians,t for some ages hereafter, spread in different tribes, from the western shores of the Euxine, down into Greece, and the contiguous islands, where they are mostly dis- tinguished under the appellation of Ionians,J who, in process of time, became blended with the original people. The northern communities of these people * This appellation is to be found progressively through Europe to Britain, and is used to this day by the Welsh ; it being the generic name by which they call themselves, and it literally im- plies thejirst race or the original people. + Cythu, the root of which is Cwth, is, to eject, force out, expel, or disperse; and hence the appellations, Cythau, Cythi, Cythiaid, Cythion, Cythwys ; and with Ys prefixed, Ysgythau, Ysgythi, Ysgythiaid, Ysgythion, and Ysgythwys, all implying the expelled, or dispersed ones ; which, with the elision of the Y, would be written Scythi or Sgythi. X Those people who were so dispersed from Babel were, amongst other names, generally denominated, Cythites and Ionians ; the latter, because of their worshipping the dove, being one of the chief arkite emblems. It is remarkable, that the word pigeon is called Ysgythau in Welsh, the characteristic of which is deli- neated in the adage — " Nerlh Ysgythau yn ei hadanedd," the strength of the wood pigeon in her wings. It is possible, that those idolatrous people used the epithet Ion, primarily for the Deity, and transferred it to the dove, on its becoming an object of worship ; for the very same word Ion is to this day an epithet for God in the Welsh tongue ; though mostly used in poetry, and particularly in the metrical psalms. 200 HISTORY OV THE BRITONS. found it expedient and political to become more united : They accordingly formed themselves into a massy column, and tracing the course of the river Danube, they penetrated the interior of the conti- nent, and eventually left their rear to be closed up by the original natives. It is to the arrival of the Scythians, or the dispersed ones, amongst the ori- ginal inhabitants that we are to attribute, in a great measure, if not altogether, that vast confusion which took place in the history of the ancient nations of Europe. At the same time it may be observed, that the principles which created the leading distinctions between those two classes of mankind were language and religion. The one preserved the original tongue, and with it, in a considerable degree, the pure re- ligion inculcated by Noah ; the other, on account of the innovations first introduced at Babel, with the change of religion lost, the established appropriation of speech. As the darkness that obscured the pre- ceding period was dissipated by the dawn of the historic times, we find the Cymbrians, and the Scy- thians, coming to view in different parts of Europe, and under a variety of appellations. The former, most generally, were called Cimmerians, Cimbrians, Gomerians, Galls, Galatians, Gauls, and Celts ; the others were the Getians, Goths, and several names less known ; of these the Helladians and lonians were branches. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 201 Chapter IV. The identity of the Cymbrians, and other specified nations. The point now under consideration abounds with many difficulties, which cannot be thoroughly solved by relying upon what ancient authors have trans- mitted down relative to the subject ; for in several instances, from the scantiness of their information, they may have denominated one nation by the ap- propriate appellation of another ; or may have con- founded those together w T ho were peculiarly different in every respect. These errors they have actually committed, and very frequently too ; for the Cym- brians and Scythians are generally found blended together ; and not only they, but all the inhabitants of the northern regions, which included the vast country of the Sarmatians, were called Scythians.* In fact, the term Scythian was used in so vague a manner, that we may almost deem it to have the same indefinite meaning as barbarian, in many in- stances. In its strict sense it certainly should be appropriated to the various colonies of the Cuthites, Meropians, or Amonians, who were dispersed over all parts of the world. Thus we find a country called * Stmbo's Geoarr. Bouk ii. 202 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. Scythia in Egypt ; another in Syria ; another in the northern parts of Asia Minor ; and a widely extended region of the same name, lying upon the ocean of India;* but in speaking of the Scythians of the North, we are to understand those who extended in that direction from the shores of the Euxine,f being a combination of a vast number of tribes of one com- mon origin, from whom were derived the different nations, who in after ages composed the mighty em- pire of the Goths. In consequence of this improper use of the appel- lation, many great events are recorded as forming a part of the history of the Scythians, which were in reality achieved partly by the people properly so called, partly by the Cymbrians, and the Sarmatians. And it is remarkable, that this obscurity began to be dispelled only so late as the time of Pliny ; for he notices, that the name of Scythian was every where changing to that of Sarmatians and Germans. J The fact is, that as the name was found to be used so indiscriminately, it was disused, as the different people to whom it had been applied became more known ; but hardly anything was known of the Sar- matians, besides the name, even to the end of the second century of our era. The identity of the proper Scythians and the Getes or Goths is a fact so satisfactorily established, that we shall suppose any discussion upon that head su- perfluous. It would therefore be foreign to the * Bryant's Mythology, vol. iii. p. 143. f Strabo's Geogr. book ii. 744. + Pliny, book iv. chap. 12. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 203 intention of the present treatise to enter into the de- tail of Gothic history, otherwise than to discriminate between the various branches of that people, and those of the Cymbric race. To accomplish that, however, it will be of use to keep in view the follow- ing outline of the first progress of the Goths through Germany, until they reached the north-west shores of the Continent. It has been already observed, that the first influx into Europe, was that of the Cymbrians, under what- ever local appellations they might have been distin- guished; and that the proper Scythians followed, and made the countries round the northern shores of the Euxine their parental settlement for some ages. From this hive proceeded immense swarms in various direc- tions ; but the most formidable was that which began to move westward, under the name of Getes, the main body of which penetrated the heart of the country, between the Danube and the Borysthenes, and in its progress formed the great nation of the Basternians. This people, about a century before the Christian era, extended from south to north, over a country five hundred miles in length, from the Danube and the mountains of Carpathia to the Bal- tic ; and upwards of a hundred and fifty in breadth, from the river Vistula on the west to the Chronus and Borysthenes eastward,* and it may be in a man- ner considered as the nucleus, from which the diffe- rent German nations gradually expanded themselves, till in process of time they covered the west of Europe. * Strabo, book vii. p. 305. 204 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. It is observable, that the Getes or Goths, by thus pressing westward in such a vast body, left so lew, if any, of their race in the primary seat of their em- pire, that the country was thereupon overflowed by the pressure of surrounding tribes, the Sarmatic and other nations. Of all the advances made by the original Scythians, into this part of the world, that was by far the most important. It was the only movement of sufficient extent to preserve their language predominant over that of the first inhabitants. The scattered colonies, who settled in Greece, Italy, and other countries lying upon the Mediterranean sea, were not of suffi- cient magnitude individually to produce the same effect, for they became mixed with the natives, by which means theirs formed the component parts of the languages of those countries only in an inferior degree. The characteristic features of it still re- mained Cymbric, as may be indubitably proved, by making a comparison of the various dialects. Let us now recur to the Cymbrians, of whose progression over Europe, nothing can be advanced to particularize the various events which must have occurred, so as to mark the periods of their different migrations ; for the whole was accomplished a con- siderable time previous to the commencement of credible history. All that remains to be done, there- fore, is, in the first place, to exhibit from the store of ancient authorities, the localities where their name was preserved ; and in the next we shall be able to adduce some conclusive proofs to discriminate them, by examining the languages of their posterity. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 205 The first scene of Cymbric story presents the rear of the late colonies, who moved into Europe, sta- tioned upon the confines of Asia. They give it their name; it is called the Cimmerian Bosphorus, on which stood Cimmerium, their chief city. They were losing- ground here, owing to the pressure of the Scythians; but those who had advanced into the Tauric Chersonese, were able, from the security of their situation, to maintain it some time longer. However, about six hundred and forty years before Christ, they were no longer in a condition to with- stand the torrent. Being ejected thence they were dispersed, and one body of them made its way over the mountains of Caucasus, back into Asia, where they committed dreadful ravages.* Owing to the want of documents, we are not able to find another locality to which the Cymbrians gave their name, until we traverse the Continent to the western shores, where we find the Cimbric Cherso- nese, the Si-Cambri upon the Rhine, and the Cymry in Britain ; but from the notices we have of the people appearing under this name, there can be little doubt of their country's being named after them, throughout their progress, wherever situated. It was the general and common denomination of the whole collective body, in all times and places, being * Herodotus, book i. & \v, Diodor. Siculus, book ii. Ptolemy places the Chamarians and Comarians as two distinct nations, though originally the same, the one in Bactria along the south banks of the Oxus, and the latter a little further north in the province of Sogdiana. Book vi. c. 11 and 13. From the simi- larity of the names, we may suppose they were Cymbrians. 206 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. the primeval name which carried the note of their descent from the origin of their line. They pos- sessed many other names descriptive of their locality and mode of living; but the most general of these were the epithets of Galli and Celtae, and when they overran Greece and Asia, they appear to have been equally denominated Galli, Celtae, Cimmerii or Cim- bri ;* they must have therefore carried these names into all the countries that they conquered. No satisfactory explanation has hitherto been given of the appellation of Cymbrian ; at least none to which we can by any means accede. Writers of weight and respectability, have generally agreed in deriving it from Gomer, the son of Japhet. In so doing, they have appealed to the Welsh, who call themselves Cymry, thereby allowing that they and the Cymbrians mentioned in history are one people. This proves that these writers considered the word as of the Welsh language, consequently the struc- ture of it should be agreeable to the genius of that tongue, which they have asserted to be the fact from its known principle of literal mutations. It is true that the people alluded to call themselves Cymry ; it is also true, there is such a system of mutation ; * The Celtae, who are called Cimbri, says Appian, encamped against Delphi, P. 1196. Amstel. — Speaking of the Teutones and Cimbri, Plutarch says, that the Cimmerii were first known to the Greeks in former ages. Vol. ii. p. 495. Bryan. — The Gauls, says Diodorus, who in ancient times overran all Asia, were denominated Cimmerii. P. 3.55. — The Galatse of the Greeks, says Josephus, were formerly called Gomarians. Antiq. Lib. i. c. 7. Whitaker's Genuine Historv of the Britons, p. 52. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 207 but it is true too, that all the changes which occur, are governed by perfectly regular principles upon which the construction of the language depends, and that any change like that of Gymry into Cymru, is directly contrary to those principles, and there is not a single anomaly to be produced to sanction that in the present instance. But Cymry would regularly change into Gymry, and so do all words of the same initial change according as they are governed in construction ; and this probably may be the reason why Josephus has Gomarians instead of Comarians, as the name might have reached him under a pecu- liar mode of expression ; and he is the only author, we believe, who has it in this form.* In looking for a word in a language, it would be natural to enquire for the general acceptation of it, independently of its being used in an appropriated sense as the name of a people ; for all words in an original tongue have such general import. f The word Cymry will admit of a rational etymology, in the language of the people who call themselves so ; consequently, that is of sufficient weight to identify it as pertaining to that tongue, and therefore as being formed upon its prin- * Thus Cymry in the absolute is Cymbrians ; o Gymry, of Cymbrians; a Chymry, and Cymbrians. f In languages which, like the English, have largely borrowed from others, many names can have no signification, except being a mere absolute and appropriated term, such as are Britain, and Cymbria, in the same tongue ; but in that from which they are derived, they have general acceptations besides. So would an Englishman say, if a foreigner asked for the meaning of High- landers or Lowlanders ; because those appellations are formed from simple words in his own language. 208 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. ciples. That signification then is literally those of the first race, and more indefinitely the first people. We will not pretend to assert, that this appella- tion was adopted by the Cymbrians, as considering themselves descended from the elder branch of the first family after the flood, or that it was assumed in consequence of their being the first colonies in Europe, it will readily admit of either interpre- tation. These premises duly considered, evince that it is quite a wrong supposition, that the Cym- brians should have been so called from Gomer; indeed it is questionable, whether any nation upon earth has adopted a patronymic name, which can be proved to be derived from its first individual founder. In addition to the general or patronymic name, as has been already observed, the different tribes or colonies had other appellations, descriptive of either their situation or their manner of life. These secon- dary names might, among some tribes, become so universal, that the other in process of time might appear obsolete. This seems to have been the case in Gaul properly so called ; where the two appella- tions of Gal and Celt prevailed ; both descriptive of the different habits of life prevalent amongst that people. The nation appears to have been divided into two classes ; the Galli being those who lived in the open plains and pursued agriculture ; and the Celts, those who dwelt in the coverts or woods and lived chiefly by hunting. The former class would possess more physical power than the other ; it would gain the ascendancy, and be of the most consequence HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 209 in the eyes of other nations. Hence, the name of Gaul rose superior to that of Celt, and the latter gradually died away, and became an adjective indi- cating that part of Gaul in which the habits peculiar to it prevailed the most. Thus, the proper Gauls having so disused the patronymic appellative, it may be naturally concluded, that whatever irruption they might make into other countries, it was generally no- ticed by the historian under their popular name of Gaul, and never simply under the general and indi- genous appellation of Cymbrians. The irruptions made by the Cymbrians, mentioned by Roman writers, were from the north. This will lead us to enquire for the country able to pour out such vast bodies of men to harass the Romans and other nations. Surely nobody will say they issued from that insignificant spot alone called the Cimbric Chersonese ; even if it were an emigration of the whole people, which possibly, however, might have been the case, when that great movement took place, a little better than a century before Christ, owing to the pressure of the Gothic nations. For, in the time of Tacitus, their remains were reduced to a small tribe in the south-west corner of the country, near the mouth of the Elbe. It is to be observed, that prior to that period, the country of the northern Cym- brians had been disconnected by the progress of the Basternians towards the Baltic, and over into Scan- dinavia, so that the Cimbric Chersonese, and the coast down to the Elbe, being their western extre- mity, was become in a manner insulated from the main body of the nation which extended to the p 210 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. Euxine eastward. About the same period, most probably, the confederacy of the Saxons, who were another ramification of the Basternians, or under whatever name the Goths might appear most formi- dable in their first progress, had also gained an as- cendancy in their neighbourhood on the south, and possessed the sea coast from the mouth of the same river to the borders of Belgia, But it is a curious circumstance, that the remains of the Cymbrians are to be found at the end of the eighteenth century in the island of Britain, and in Wenden, on the eastern side of the separation so made by the Gothic people in their progress into Scandinavia. This nation of the Wendi is now si- tuated in Upper Lusatia, extending to the north and east of Dresden. They are still a perfectly distinct people, but they diminish gradually in extent ; for they reached up to the shores of the Baltic about 200 years ago ; and they are doubtless a remnant of the ancient tribes of iEstii, Gothini, and Venedi. They are detached from the main body of their ori- ginal race, the Poles, by a considerable extent of country ; therefore it is very remarkable that they should have so long preserved their Sclavonic dialect, insulated as they are in the midst of the Germans. These separated nations are as it were the detached links of that vast chain of Cymbrians who originally covered Europe ; broken, it is true, on the south side in very early times, but to the northward we find them more entire. What an immense scene is opened here to the observing- mind! It shows the Sarmatians and the HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 21 1 Cymbrians to be one people. And it is a very ex- traordinary instance of the slow progress of this kind of investigation, that it commenced centuries ago, and yet a point of such importance has been left after all to be announced through a medium so obscure as that which now presents itself to the reader. This discovery will bring to our view the great portion of Europe still inhabited by the Cymbrians, under whatever particular appellation any people de- scended from that race may be now called : whether those who speak the Sclavonic, the Irish, or the Welsh dialect. It may serve as a ciue also to the historian, and lead him through many intricacies and difficulties in which he would otherwise be lost ; and such a fact will be with the philosopher the strongest evidence to induce him to withstand the current notion of the instability of speech. For no stronger elucidation can be brought, with respect to either of these points, than that nations, separated for the greater moiety of the age of the world, should respectively preserve the same language through all the vicissitudes of time. In order to attain a more correct idea of the origin of the different people inhabiting Europe, it will be of use to consider the following classification of the various dialects under their respective parental tongues, according to the identity of their grammar, structure, and nomenclature. — I. The Cymbrian". 1. Sclavonic. 2. Polish. 3. Moscovite. 4. Nova- Zemblian. 5. Bohemian. 6. Dalmatian. 7. Croatic. 8. Bulgarian. 9. Servian. 10. Carniolan. 11. Van- dalic. 12. Wendish. 13. Waldensic. H.Irish. 15. 212 1IISTOKV Ob THE BRITONS. Mankish. 16. Cornish. 17. Armoric or Breton. 18. Welsh. — II. The Gothic. 1. Runic. 2. Teutonic. 3. German. 4. Dutch. 5. Swedish. 6. Danish. 7. Norwegian. 8. Icelandic. 9. Anglo-Saxon. 10. Or- cadian. 11. English. — III. The Finnic. 1. Lappo- nic. 2. Livonian. 3. Courlandic. 4. Esthonian. 5. Lithuanian. 6. Pomeranian. 7. Werulian. 8. Prus- sian. 9. Hungarian. — IV. The Mixed. 1. Greek. 2. Modern Greek. 3. Latin. 4. Italian. 5. Spanish 6. French. 7. Portuguese. 8. Walachian. 9. Wal- loon. — V. Iberian. Cantabric. By a close exa- mination of the different dialects of the Cymbric tongue, we discover some circumstances deserving of particular attention, as they may lead to very im- portant conclusions. 1. Between some of the dialects, there exists a certain characteristic analogy, creating an uniform difference from some others. 2. The Welsh, Cor- nish and Breton, have an uniform agreement with one another, in grammar, structure, and nomencla- ture. 3. The various dialects of the Sclavonic have the same agreement with each other. 4. The Wal- densic, Irish, Erse and Mankish, have also their peculiar uniformity of character. 5. The Welsh and Sclavonic have more of a common characteristic semblance with each other than with the Irish, and those classed with it. 6. Of the Welsh, Cornish and Breton, the two latter are most alike. 7. Of all the dialectical differences of the Welsh, those that occur in the southern parts of Wales agree most with the Cornish. 8. The Cornish approaches nearer than either of those classed with it to the Irish. 9. The Irish has the greatest affinity of structure to the Latin HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 213 of any. 10. The Breton has more words than the Welsh in common with the Saxon. 11. The lan- guage of the ancient Belgae of Gaul and of Britain, had more than the Welsh of the Irish structure. From the preceding analysis of the Cymbric tongue, a general deduction may be made to the following effect : — That the Sclavonic dialects were spoken by the descendants of the first colonists, who migrated northward from Armenia, and were known under the name of Sarmatians. The proper Cymbric belonged to those who moved in a westerly direction over Europe, of which the Welsh, Cornish and Breton, are the most immediate remains ; and the Irish, with its branches, belonged to a people who continued for a greater length of time on the Continent in the neighbourhood of that second influx of men from the Scythic dispersion ; and the Irish are more imme- diately a part of the same nation, which went under the name of Ligurians, in Cisalpine Gaul, proper Belgians, and the Belgians, or Loegrians of Britain. Chapter V. The first settlement of Britain, and by what race of men. In the preceding chapter we have sketched out the general progress of the primary colonies of men over Europe ; and the relative situations of the diffe- rent parent nations, as they appeared when history was introduced among them. Let us now direct our views to that particular epoch, when the fair and towering aspect of Britain welcomed its first visitors. 214 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS, There are many reasons to induce us to support the position, that the west of Europe was, in some de- gree, inhabited by adventurous tribes of men, a few ages, or about two hundred years, subsequent to their general dispersion from the region in which they had been collectively recruited after the deluge. The settlement of different countries did not take place, as some have illustrated it, upon the uniform principle of the circular expansion of the wave ; on the contrary, all that can be gathered of the nature of the migrations of mankind shews, that it depended immediately upon the circumstances arising from the nature of the situation, and the facility of travel- ling; thus, the course of a great river claimed the highest consideration in every point of view.* Judg- ing generally from the foregoing premises, may we conclude, that the shores of the continent, opposite to Britain, were some of the first regions westward that were explored by the active spirit of man, and consequently the island itself, very soon after, must have excited his curiosity. It has been already explained, that the Cymbrians * For the elucidation of this matter, we have only to turn our view to America. There we find, that notwithstanding the pau- city of inhabitants in the United States, new settlements are made, detached by immense wilds, and this too at the risk of being molested by other people, the original natives of the coun- try, jealous of every encroachment upon their territory. This may be still more remarkably illustrated by the roving disposition of the back-settlers ; amongst whom it is well known, that fre- quently a single family, with its live and dead stock, will quit the old habitation ; having the accommodation of a covered wag- gon, and thus traverse some hundreds of miles, in search of a more inviting abode. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 215 were the people who primarily spread over Europe, under every diversity of appellation they might have adopted ; whether Gauls, Celts, Belgians.* Picts, Gwyddels, Scots, Loegrians, or Gwentians.f After the first influx of the Cymbrians into Britain, others successively followed to participate in its bounty. Seven of these migrations are recorded to have taken place during that period over which time has thrown a veil. For the memorial of them, we are indebted to the fidelity of the system of the bardic tradition, but as these colonies are ambiguously de- nominated by figurative appellations, nothing further can be made out than simply, that so many events did occur. Chapter VI. Of the names of Britain, and of its divisions. The Historical Triads attribute to Prydain, the son of Aedd Mawr, the honour of being the leader of one of those subsequent colonies who arrived in Bri- tain, and of giving it his own name, instead of that of Honey Island, which it bore till then, from the time of its first settlement ; % for the Cymbrians gave * The Cymbrians of the north, or the Sarmatians, were also called Belgians or Belcce, as Mela writes the name. t Variously written, Veneti, Venedi, Wendi, Ventians, X There is a Triad recording the three most ancient names of Britain ; and as it is a curious fragment of history, it is given here at length: — Tri henw yr Ynys Hon; y cyntav, cyn eichy- fanneddu y gelwid hi Clds Merddin (Meitin) ; wedi ei chyvan- 216 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. to their new country several names characteristic of some qualities which appeared beautiful, or pleasing to the mind ; but some of them, perhaps, ought to be considered more as poetical epithets, than as fixed appellations. Such, we may conclude, were Ynys y cedeirn, or the island of the mighty ones ; and Yr Ynys Wen, or Y Wen Ynys, the White Island, other- wise the fair Island, according to the derivative im- port of the word. However, the name which has had pre-eminence amongst the natives, as well as among foreign nations in all ages, is Ynys Prydain, or the Beautiful Island. There is nothing in this appellation that favours the probability or improbability of its being so called by the person before mentioned ; for the epithet, Prydain, may be applied to a man, as well as to a place. If it were bestowed by him, it lessened, in some degree, the vanity of possessing so flattering a title himself. There have been many extraordi- nary guesses as to the etymology of Britain. But it is a very singular occurrence, that not one has laid aside this humour for guessing, and taken the trouble of enquiring whether the name were used in the language of the original natives ; and it is fully as unaccountable, that not a single individual amongst the Welsh themselves, till very lately, has neddu y gelwid hi y Fel Ynys ; a gwedi ei goresgyn o Brydain mab Aedd Mawr ydodes ami Ynys Prydain. The three names of this island : the first before it was inhabited, it was called the water-guarded green spot ; after it was inhabited, it was called the Honey Island ; and after its subjection to Prydain the son of Aedd Mawr, he gave it the name of the Isle of Prydain. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 217 thought of making it known to the world, though it is one of their most common words as to both com- position and import.* The Welsh, then, having such a word derived from a simple root very familiar, other nations can only have it as an absolute name, which they have borrowed, and which to them is destitute of all signification. We must therefore recur to that language in which it originates, in order to be informed of its meaning. Prydain is an epithet, the same as Prydus, denoting a plenitude of sightliness, presence or beauty. It is derived from Pryd, the presence, aspect or sight, which is also applied to time, as the present : and the adjec- tive termination, Ain, implies teeming with, being most generally used in the names of places. In order to illustrate this subject still more, it is proper to remark, that agreeably to a regular system of literal mutation peculiar to the Welsh language, the initial of Prydain has three different inflections, as may be thus exemplified : Brenin Prydain, the king of Britain ; eis o Prydain, I went from Bri- tain ; ym Mhrydain, in Britain ; Ywerddon a Phry- dain, Ireland and Britain. To those who are unac- quainted with the principles of this mutation of letters, it would be augmenting the difficulties, perhaps, to enter into anything short of a complete explanation of it ; but as that would be foreign * The true meaning of Britain is given in vol. ii. p. 42, of Poems Lyric and Pastoral, by Edward Williams, London, 1794, and in page 21 of the Introduction to the Heroic Elegies of Llywarch Hen, by William Owen, (Dr. Owen Pughe,) London, 1794. 218 HISTORY OF THE BRITOXS. to the intention of the plan sketched out, we must proceed, observing therefore, that what is here touched upon will serve as an intimation of the dif- ferent appearances of the same word, and of those different appearances not occurring without cause. We will next proceed to elucidate the names of the three grand divisions, into which the island was politically and naturally divided. These are Lloegyr, Alban, and Cymru, or England, Scotland, and Wales. The first was denominated Lloegyr, on account of its being the seat of the Lloegrwys, or Loegrians, which can be no other than the Belgae, a colony that came over long after the original settlement of the island ; that is, about three hundred years before our era. As this appellation belonged ex- clusively to them, it must have been extended gradually, as the events of conquest took place on the bordering tribes. But it was owing to much later contingencies, that it was applied in the latitude in which it is now taken. In consequence of the great change which occurred from the sway of the Romans, but not before the close of that period, the name included all the country to the Humber north- ward, and to the Severn on the west ; and it was not applied as England is under its present acceptation, until the Saxons were concentrated under one mo- narchy. Though the name is used for the country subject to that dominion, yet it is never applied to the Saxons themselves, or to any people save the Belgae ; for the different nations which came to the island afterwards, beginning with the Romans, and so onward, were denominated by their proper appel- HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 219 lations of Rhomani, or Rhuveiniaid, Eingyl, Saeson Llychlynigion, and Nortmyn. In giving the defini- tion of this name, there may be a doubt whether we should not consider it primarily as the family title of the people, and not applicable to the country, except in its derived sense : for it may be taken in either way. Be it so or otherwise, the general meaning is, — that aboundeth with light or fairness of aspect. The northern part of the island was generally called Alban, but very frequently it was also denomi- nated Prydyn ; and sometimes the appellation of a particular nation was applied to the whole. The former name implies literally the high region ; or it may be rendered the upper region. There may be a doubt whether, agreeably to the first idea, it was so called from its high mountains, or whether the epi- thet might have been bestowed figuratively, in al- lusion to its upper or northern position. Various places are found to have possessed the same deno- mination, and to have answered to it in description. The whole of Britain had it in the earlier periods of its discovery, from the conspicuous appearances of the towering cliffs on the coast nearest to the continent ; and it was converted into Albion by the Greek wri- ters. The other name of Prydyn, having a mascu- line form, is of the same meaning as Prydain, which is feminine ; there being no difference but in the gen- der, which is discriminated by the terminations. We have already explained Cymru, and shewn it to have been the general or patronymic name of the whole race, consequently it could not have been confined to the present Wales, until the different 220 HISTORY OF THE BRITOiYS. branches of the same people ceased to be recognized elsewhere. The universality of the appellation, accounts for its not coming under the observation of the Romans, as given to that particular country. Their enquiry would lead to a discovery of the names of the particular tribes, amongst whom the country was divided ; and the result of a similar research at the present day would be to find the same appellation still exactly preserved. The names of the subdivisions, or the different petty states, into which the island was parcelled out come next under our notice. These are very nume- rous, and it may be remarked, that they are generally of greater antiquity than those of the first class are with respect to locality. This part of our discussion is attended witli considerable difficulties, as the names are not preserved in the tongue which imposed them, and are therefore to be found only in the writings of foreign authors, necessarily disguised and accom- modated to the peculiar characters of the languages used by them. For their being handed down to us, we are chiefly indebted to the Romans ; and it is but justice to remark, that they excelled all other people in the world, ancient and modern, in correctly ascer- taining the sound of strange words. Whatever aber- rations they made in them were agreeable to a regu- lar system. In this they have not been imitated by other nations, certainly not by the English ; for the names on the best English maps of Wales are, in numerous instances, much more disfigured, than in such as have been handed down to us from those more ancient times. HISTORY OF THE BRITON'S. 22 Chapter VII. Of the ancient divisions of Britain, and the names of the various tribes, by which it was inhabited. The three grand divisions of Lloegyr, Cymru, and Alban, or England, Wales, and Scotland, properly so called, did not exist before the Roman conquest, for to that event their origin must be attributed, though it was not fully developed before the Saxon period. Originally each division was contented to have the natural barriers of the country, the courses of rivers, mountains, and forests for the limits of its territory ; and perhaps in no instance did several of the British tribes unite under one government for any considerable length of time, or bear a common name. To each district its inhabitants gave some appellation that was characteristic of its appearance ; however, influenced by the prevailing partiality to a native spot, it generally conveyed an idea of what was fair, pleasant, or beautiful. The whole number of tribes, or of independent states was about forty-five, at the coming of the Romans into the island. Their names, a little dis- guised by a foreign orthography, were the follow- ing : — Cantii, Regni, Bibroces , Attrebates, Segontiaci, Belgae, Durotriges, Haedui, Carnabii, Damnonii, Silures, Ordovices, Dimetae, Trinobantes, Iceni, Coritani, Cassii, Dobuni, Huiccii, Ancalites, Car- nabii, Sistuntii, Volantii, Brigantes, Ottadini, Ga- deni, Selgovae, Novantes, Damnii, Horrestii, Vectu- 222 HISTORY OF the britoxs. rones, Taixali,Vacomagi, Albani, Attacotti, Caledoni, Cantae, Logi, Camabii, Catini, Mertae, Carnonacae, Cerones, Creones, Epidii. The situation of the different tribes* and the meaning of their names, I. The CANTri inhabited the present county of Kent, being bounded by the Thames on the north, and the Lemanus or Rother on the west; and their capital town was Durovernum, Cantiopolis or Can- terbury. They called their country Caint, an aggregate noun from Cain, fair, open, being descriptive of its general appearance consisting of fair or open valleys and slopes, and the appellation is common in Wales for regions that are like it ; and this derivation is corroborated by the Welsh calling Canterbury the city of Caint. They might have called themselves Ceinti, Ceintiaid, Ceintion, Cein- twyr, Ceintwys, Ceintwyson, and Gwyr Caint ; or they could change Caint into Ceintwg, and Ceintog, and name themselves Ceintygi, Ceintygiaid, Ceinty- gion, Ceintygwyr, Ceintygwys, Gwyr Ceintwg, or Ceintogi, Ceintogiaid, Ceintogion, and Ceintogwys ; So flexible is the British language in its nature, and at the same time so regular in its modifications. II. The Regni resided in Surry and Sussex ; and Regnum, Regentium, or Chichester appears from its name to have been their metropolis. This people inhabited a region very similar in appearance to * This rests mostly upon the accuracy of Mr. Whitaker. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 223 Kent, and the name was the same with the discrimi- native prefix Rhy, implying the foremost or further Cantii ; for thus would the name be formed, Rhy- geinni, Rhygeinniaid, Rhygeinnion, Rhygeinnwys, and Gwyr Rhygaint ; or without the mutation of the last letter, Rhygainti, Rhygeintiaid, Rhygeintion, Rhygeintwys, and Gwyr Rhygaint; also thus from Rhygeinnwg, Rhygeinnog, Rhygeintwg, and Rhy- geintog, Rhygeinnygi, Rhygeinnygiaid, Rhygeinny- gion, Rhygeinnygwys, Gwyr Rhygeinnwg, Rhygein- tygi, Rhygeintygiaid, Rhygeintygion, Rhygeinty- gwys, Gwyr Rhygeintwg, or Rhygeintogi, Rhygeinto- giaid, Rhygeintogion, Rhygeintogwys, and Gwyr Rhygeintog. III. The Bjbroces, or Rhemi, occupied the south- eastern parts of Berkshire, from the Lodden on the west, to the Thames on the east, and had Bibroicum, Bibracte or Bray, for their capital. This people inhabited a district covered with tufts of wood, brakes or thickets, as the name would imply, if derived from Pau a region, or country, and Brog a brake or thicket, that is, Pau Brog, thicket country ; or compounded — Peuvrog, braky region ; YBeuvrog, the braky region ; thence the inhabitants would be denominated Y BEUVROGWYs,Peuvrogi, Peuvrogiaid, Peuvrogwyr, and Gwyr Pau Brog. I am the more inclined to suppose that the above derivation is right, as the other name of Rhemi implies nearly the same thing. IV. The Attrebates occupied nearly all the western parts of Berkshire, were bounded by the Lodden on the south-east, the curving bank of the 224 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. Thames on the north-west and west, and the hills of East-Ilsley, Lambourne, and Ashbury, on the south ; and had Calliva or Wallingford for their chief city. — Their name is thus to be accounted for : Attrev and Attrevad describe a habitation bordering upon any range of hills, woods, or a river, which was the case with respect to this people. Their country being so denominated, they would call themselves, At- TREVATr, Attreviaid, Attrevigion, Attrevwys, Attreva- tiaid, Attrevatwys, Attreviadon, and Gwyr Attrev. V. The Segontiaci inhabited a little of the south of Berkshire, west of the Lodden, about the banks of the Kennet, and the adjoining north of Hampshire ; and their principal town was Vindomis, Vindonum, or Silchester. It seems that their country was called Isgwent, Isgwentwg, or Isgwentog, that is the lower Venta, the G being not mutable in this form of construction, therefore the Romans preserved it in this name ; for had the ts [lower] been not prefixed, but separately pronounced, Is wentogi, then we should have had the name written Seventiaci. The people called themselves Isgwenti, Isgwentiaid, Isgwention, Isgwent wyr, Isgwentwys, Gwyr Isgwent, Gwyr Gwent isav, or Gwyr y went isav, and Isgwentygi, Isgwentygiaid, Isgwentygion, Isgwentygwys, Isg- wentwyson, Isgwennwyson, Gwyr Isgwentwg, and also Isgwentogi, Isgwentogiaid, Isgwentogion, Isg- wentogwys,Isgwennwys, Isgwennwyson, Isgwennwy- siad, and Isgwentiogt, all implying the Lower Gwentians distinguished from the proper country of Gwent, which was occupied by the Belgae. VI. The BelgjE had all Hampshire, except the HISTORY QF THE BRITONS, 225 northern part, occupied by the Segontiaci, and all Wiltshire, save a small district on the north-west ; and had Venta Belgarum, Caer Went, or Winchester for their capital ; and their country was the proper Gwent, or Y Went, a name descriptive of the open downs with which it abounded. This people having recently come over to Britain, and differing considerably in their manners and language from the other tribes, the Romans dis- tinguished all the inhabitants of the Island under the two divisions of Aborigines and Belgse. The former had migrated from the continent at various times in the first ages of the population of Europe, and were the unmixed Cymbrians. The Belgse began to come over nearly three centuries before Caesar's invasion, and were likewise of Cymbric origin, but had necessarily been neighbours for a long time to the Teutonic nations ; and must have consequently undergone a considerable degree of intermixture ; as was the case in similar instances with the continen- tal Cymbrians in general, and the effect is singularly evident amongst the Celtic people of Greece and Italy in particular. The Belgae were driven over into Britain, probably by the pressure of the German tribes on their borders. Their progress in the island may be plainly marked out along its southern coast to Devonshire, and thence onward over into Ireland. That island was then but thinly peopled, and its few inhabitants must have come from different points of the opposite coast of Britain, in consequence of Q 226 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. too great a population ; and this fact is exactly corroborated by historical documents, as well as by many ancient traditions in Wales. The Belgae had not long been settled in Ireland before they became the most powerful people there, from the greater union and energy of their political economy ; and the original tribes, who lived in the woods by hunting, and by tending their flocks, and who were generally called Gwddyl, Ysgoti, Ysgo- tiaid, and Ysgodogion, or woodlanders, became in a great measure absorbed in the mass of new comers. The original characteristic of the dialect, till then purely Celtic, gave way to that of the Belgic ; and under this form the colonies who came over to Scotland planted it there, where it still remains, whilst the original language of that country has been gradually lost, partly in the Irish-Belgic, but more extensively in the Saxon dialect. A regular investigation and comparison of different languages strongly confirm what is above adduced ; and it is very observable that all the names of men and places among the Belgic Britons, which are preserved, are according to the Irish idiom and principles of orthography, and not according to those of the Welsh. For example, in some manu- scripts the Isle of Sheppey is called Ennis Vliocht, or the Isle of Milk, which in Welsh would be written Ynys Vlith ; Vortigern would be so written in Irish, or with letters which would give the same sound, but the name in Welsh is Gortheryn, and all the old manuscripts have it so ; Vortimer is also written HISTORY OF THE BRITOXS. 227 Gorthevyr in the Welsh ; and other instances might be produced in support of this point. Further, the Irish discovers a nearer affinity than the Welsh to the Latin, although the Romans were settled in Britain for so long a period. The Latin and Irish have also several letters in common, which I deem of Teutonic origin, differing from the corresponding sounds in the Welsh : the chief of which are s, v, and ct in the former languages, for h, g, and th in the latter, as might be proved by many hundred words. The meaning of the word Belgse seems to be preserved in the Welsh : Belg implies that which breaks out, makes irruption, or ravages ; so BeJgau, Belgiaid, Belgwyr, Belgwys, and Gwyr Belg, might be rendered irruptors, depredators, ravagers, or warriors. VII. The Durotriges, or Morini, lived in Dor- setshire, and had Durinum, Durnovaria,or Dorchester for their capital. Both these names are purely Welsh, and nearly of the same meaning, as the former implies dwellers on the water, that is, Dwrodigwys, from dwr, water, and trigo, to abide or dwell ; and the other, Morini, the maritime people ; from Aforin, maritime, and the common plural termination for people ; or the name might be also formed Moriniaid, Morinion, Morinwyr, Morinwys, Merini, Meriniaid, Merinion, Merinwys. They might be likewise called Dwrini, Dwriniaid, Dwrinion, Dwrinwys ; and their capital might be named Caer Dwrin, Din Dwrin, and Dwrin-evwr, which would account for the two appel- lations of Durinum and Durnovaria. 228 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. The Morini are mentioned in a poem by Taliesin, called his Primary Gratulation, in these words: Dytoent guarthvor Guytveirch dyarvor Einyyl yn cynghor : Guelator amy Hon Guyniaeth ar Saeson O ruyvanusion Bytaudpen Seiron, Rhag Fichti leuon, Morini Brython. " Upon the sea there would be coming the wooden wafters full of the tumult of the Angles in counsel: signs are seen, boding the rage of the Saxons. Of those that are wont to lead, let Seiron be the head, against the Lion Picts, of the Morini Britons." VIII. The Hjedui had all Somersetshire to the estuary Uxella, Bridgevvater Bay, or the river Ivel on the south ; the south-west of Gloucestershire, to the hills of Wotton-under-Edge ; and the north- west of Wiltshire to the Avon and Creeklade. The Welsh call the country of this people now Gwlad yr Hav, or the country of Summer ; and Havwys, Heiviaid, Heivion, and Gwyr Gwlad yr Haf, would be the name of the people, which is pro- bably the original of Haedui ; unless their country was noted for its honey and mead, for then the people might be named Heidwys, Heidiaid, Heid- wyon, and Heidionwys, from Haid, a swarm, and generally appropriated to a swarm of bees. IX. The Damnonii had the small portion of So- mersetshire, which is east of the Thone, and the parts lying south and west of the Ivel and Bridgewater Bay, HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 229 all Devonshire, and the north part of Cornwall to the Tamar river.* The original name of Devonshire is Dyvnaint, and is very frequently mentioned in the old writings of Wales ; it implies the deeps or hollows, which is very descriptive of the country. The people would then be called Dyvneinni, Dyvneinniaid, Dyvnein- nion, Dyvneinnwyr, Dyvneinnwys, or Dyvneinti, Dyvneintiaid, Dyfneintion, Dyfneintwys, and Gwyr Dyvnaint; or they might be called Dyfni, Dyvniaid, Dyvnoni, Dyfnonwyr, Dy vnonwys, and Dyvnwys, all implying the inhabitants of the glens, or deep valleys, which last class of words is the origin of the appel- lation of Damnii, synonymous with Damnonii. X. The Carnabii possessed all Cornwall, except a small part to the north of the Tamar. The name for Cornwall is Cernyw, and it implies a projecting ridge or slope, and also a promontory, and in the last sense it became the name of this country. The inhabitants were called Cernywi, Cernywiaid, Cernywion, Cernywir, Cernywwys, * Mr. Whitaker attempts to trace out the situation of a people called the Cimbri, in that part of Somersetshire lying south of the Ivel and Bridgewater Bay, and along the north of Cornwall (omitting, perhaps from oversight, the intermediate north coast of Devonshire) as far as the river Cambala, Camel, or Padstow Harbour. From the fact that the name given to this tribe is the patronymic common to all the Britons, and from the confusion respecting this district in the old geographers, I am induced to consider that there were no people here who went peculiarly under the appellation of Cimbri, but that the Damnonii and Carnabii bordered upon each other about the place traced out above. 230 HISTORY or THE BRITONS, Cerny wwyson, and Gwyr Cerny w, or the men of the promontory. The above ten nations inhabited the Britannia Prima of the Romans, being that part of the island lying south of the Thames and the Severn, and a line drawn from Creeklade on the former to Berkeley on the latter. I. The Siluues inhabited the counties of Hereford, Radnor, Monmouth, and Glamorgan,* to the river Neath on the west, and the small portion of Glou- cestershire, which is to the west of the Severn, having Venta Silurum, or Caer Went, in Monmouth- shire, for their metropolis. The Britons called the country of this people by two names, which are as nearly as can be synonymous, Esyllwg and Gwent. For Esyllwg, Esyllyr, Bro Esyllt, Gwlad Esyllt, Syllwg, and Syllyr, were indis- criminately used, all implying an open country of downs, abounding with prospects. But the appella- tions of Gwent, Gwent wg, Bro Went, and Gwlad Went, were the most generally used, or at least have been so lately. The names of the people were Gwyr Esyllwg, Gwyr Esyllyr, Gwyr Bro Esyllt, Gwyr Gwlad Esyllt, Gwyr Syllwg, Gwyr Syllyr, Esyllygi, Esyllygiaid, Esyllygion, Esyllygwyr, Esyllygwys, Esyllygwyson, Esyllyri, Esyllyriaid, Esyllyrion, Esyl- lyrwyr, Esyllyrwys, Esyllyrwyson, Syllygi, Sylly- giaid,Syllygion,Syllygwyr, Syllygwys, Syllygwyson, Syllyri, Syllyriaid, Syllyrion, Syllyrwyr, Syllyrwys, and Syllyrwyson ; or Gwenti Gwentiaid, Gwention, * Omitted by Mr. Whitaker. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 231 Gwentwyr, Gwentwys, Gwentwyson, Gwyr Bro Went, Gwyr Gwlad Went, Gwenhi, Gwenhiaid, Gwenhion, Gwenhwyr, Gwenhwys, and Gwenhwy- son. Their language, or the Gwenhwyseg, was one of the three principal dialects of Wales. In it are written many of our old books, some of which are very valuable. II. The Dimet^: inhabited Pembrokeshire, Penvro Dyfed, or the proper Dimetia; Gower, now a part of Glamorganshire ; and the whole of the counties of Caermarthen, Brecon, and Cardigan; and Mari- dunum, Caervyrddin, or Caermarthen, was their capital. The Welsh name for the country comprehended in the above mentioned limits is Deheubarth, or Southernland ; and Dyfed or Dimetia is used in a more contracted sense, being generally applied to Pembrokeshire alone. The language of this district, or the Deheubartheg, is one of the three chief dialects of the Welsh. The name of Dyved, implies a region abounding with waters or streams ; and it is very applicable, as the country extends into the seas, and Milford Haven likewise divides it nearly through the middle. The people may be called Dyvedi, Dyvediaid, Dyvedion, Dyved wyr, Dyvedwys, Dyved wyson, and Gwyr, Dyved ; or, by inflection, Dyveidi, Dyveidiaid, Dy vei- dion, Dyveidwyr, Dyveidwys, and Dyveid wyson. III. The Ordovices was the name by which the in- habitants of all the present North Wales was known to the Romans ; and also as much of Shropshire as lay on that side of the Severn : and as a part of Cheshire 232 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. is said to have once belonged to them, it is probable that the Dee was their original boundary on that side. I apprehend that the Ordovices were so denomi- nated in allusion to their mountainous situation ; as from their primitive words, Or and Ar, are formed Gor, Gorth, Gwar Gwarth, Gortho, Gwarthav, Gor- thav, Gorthevig, Gorthevin, Gwarthevig, and Gwar- thevin ; and from Gor and Tav, are derived Gordevig and Gordevin ; and from Ar and Tav come Ardevig, Ardevog, and Ardevin ; and all these words are descriptive of a high or upper region. Out of these I select Gordevig as most analogous to Ordovic, for its initial is dropped under several forms of construc- tion ; as, Bro Ordevig, a high extending country ; and thence the people would be called Gordevigi, Gorde- vigiaid, Gordevigion, Gordevigwyr, Gordevigwys, Gordevigwyson, and Gwyr Bro Ordevig, the men of the higher country, or Highlanders. The following phrase will shew the name without the initial : Dyma Ordevigwys. Here are Ordovices. The Ordovices was a term for the mountaineers of North Wales in general, and not for any particular tribe ; most certainly the inhabitants were, at least, as much divided into small communities at the time when the Romans came amongst them, as they were in succeeding periods, when the names of several tribes appear in history. The two most comprehen- sive divisions of this country were Gwynedd and Powys, and each of these was parcelled out into HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 233 several petty states, acknowledging in latter ages, however, the princes of Gwynedd and Powys as their respective lords paramount. The people of Gwyneda were called Gwyndyd, Gwyndodwyr, Gwyndodwys, Gwyneddiaid, Gwyned- dion, Gwynedd wyr, Gwynedd wys, Gwyneddigiaid, Gwyneddigion, and Gwyr Gwynedd : those of Powys were denominated, Powysi, Powysiaid, Powyson, Powysion Powyswyr, and Gwyr Powys. The Gwyndodeg, the language of the Venedoci, or the men of Gwynedd, was the third prevailing dialect amongst the Welsh. The three nations above specified were comprised in the Britannia Secunda of the Romans. I. The Trinovantes resided in the counties of Middlesex and Essex ; and Londinium, Tre Lundain, Caer Lundain, Lundain, Caer Ludd, or London, was their chief town. They were so denominated from their situation on the great expanse of water, or lake, formed by the Thames, as were the Novantes in Scotland, from their dwelling in the peninsula and headland of Gal- loway. With respect to the etymology of the word, I am doubtful whether the prefix should be Tre, a town, or Tra, ultra or beyond ; the latter, perhaps, is preferable ; that is, the inhabitants of the region beyond the water ; as they must have had a deno- mination before the period when their town became of note; and if that difficulty were surmounted, an- other would arise, for that town had a name, and that name was Tre Lundain, or Caer Lundain. The Britons would have called the country beyond the 234 HISTORY OF THE biutoxs. stream, Tranovant, and the inhabitants would have the names of Tranovanti, Tranovantiaid, Tranovan- tion, Tranovantwyr, Tranovantwys, Tranovantwyson, and Gwyr Tranovant : or else, by the inflection of the word, Tranovanhi, Tranovanhiaid, Tranovanhon, Tranovanhwyr,Tranovanhwys, and Tranovanhwyson. II. The Icent, Cenimagni, Cenomes, Cenomanni, or Cenimanni, inhabited the counties of Cambridge, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Huntingdon, perhaps the north of Bedfordshire to the Ouse, and the south of Nor- thamptonshire to the Nen ; and Venta Cenoman- norum, Venta Icenorum, or Caster near Norwich, was their chief town. The first name Iceni is derived from Cyn, first, a- head, forward, before, or foremost, having y or the ar- ticle the prefixed ; thence the people would be called Cyni, Cyniad, Cynion, Cynwyr, Cynwys, and Cyn- wyson, or with the article, Y Cyni, &c. that is, the first or forward men, or men who are placed furthest, or at the extremity. The other name of Cenimagni, or, more properly, Cenimanni, and Cenomanni, is compounded of the Cyn above explained, and man, a place, spot, or region ; and with such addition the names, in British, would be Cyn-y-mani, Cyn-y-ma- niaid, and Cyn-y-manwys, but more correctly com- pounded, as, Cynvani, Cynvaniaid, Cynvanion, Cyn- vanwyr, Cynvanwys, Cynvanwyson, and Gwyr y Cynvanau ; and Cenomes implies the same, being derived from Cyn, and Ma, another word for a place or spot ; that is Cyn-y-mawys, Cynmawys, or Cyn- vawys, and Gwyr Cyn Ma, the people of the head- most or forward regions. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 235 III. The Coritani, Coitani, and Corii, should more properly have been called Corani, as we find a city belonging to them called Ratis-Corion, which sup- ports the probability of their being the same with the people called Coraniaid, in the Historical Triads. The curious record, in which they are mentioned, is as follows : " Tair Gormet a daeth ir Ynys hon, ac nid aeth yr un drachevyn : cindaud y Coraniaid, a daeth ant yma yn oes Lut mab Beli, ac nid aeth yr un onatynt drachevyn ; ail, gormes y Gwytyl Fichti, ac nid aeth yr un drachevyn ; trydet, gores y Saeson, ac nid aethant drachevyn." " Three molestations came into this island, and not one of them went away again : the nation of the Coranians, who came hither in the time of Luth, son of Beli, of whom none went away again ; secondly, the invasion of the Gwydhelian Picts, of whom none went away; thirdly, the invasion of the Saxons, and they did not go away again." Another ancient memorial mentions the Coranians amongst seven invaders of Britain, these were Draig Prydain, y Draig Estraun, y Gwyr Ledrithiaug, y Coraniaid, y Cesariaid, y Gwydyl Fichti, a'r Saeson ; or, the Procreant of Britain, the foreign Procreant,* the Half appearing Men,! the Coranians, the Cesa- rians, the Gwydhelian Picts, and the Saxons. Out of several words in the British tongue similar * The word Draig, in the original, is here rendered according to its abstract or primary import. See the word in O. Pughe's Dictionary. t The word Ledrithiawg is literally rendered above ; its general meaning is, abounding with illusion, illusive, deceiving, or ma- gical. 236 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. in sound to the names of the above-mentioned tribe, I am rather at a loss which to select as the most applicable : the name of Cawri means mighty men, worthies, princes, giants : hence Corydon, Corydiaid, Corydwyr, Corydwys ; Corodon, Corodiaid, Coro- dwyr, Corodwys ; or Corani, Coraniaid, Coranion, Coranwyr, Coranwys : and Coreini, Coreiniaid, Cor- einion, Coreinwyr, and Coreinwys, appellations de- noting men that are liberal, generous, or lavish. IV. The Cassii possessed all Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire up to the Nen on the north, and the adjoining parts of Buckinghamshire. We find the Cassii likewise called Cattieuchlani ; both the appellations are nearly of the same import, except that the latter has an addition, denoting their residence in coverts or woods. The former would be written in the British language Casi, Casiaid, Ca- sion, Caswyr; or Caseiaid, Caseion, and Caseiwys, that is, men in hostility, or men addicted to hostility ; the other would be Cati-y-Gwyllon, Catau-y-Gwyl- lon, Catwylloni, Cadwylloniaid, Cadwyllonwys, Cat- wylloni, Catwylloniaid, and Catwyllonwys, the bat- tlers or warriors of the coverts ; and omitting the word Gwyll, a covert, they would be called Cati, Catiaid, Catwyr, Catwys, Catwyson ; or Cateiaid, Gate ion, Cateiwys, and Cedwyr ; which last word is used for men of battle or warriors, in a general ac- ceptation. Gwyllon is frequently used for satyrs, spirits of the woods, or spirits of the gloom and some of the old poets have the fine epithet Cadwyl- lon, or gloomy powers of battle. V, The Dob uni had that part of Gloucestershire HISTORY OF THE. BRITONS. 237 which lies north of the hill of Wotton-under-Edge,and east of the hills which bound the eastern side of the vale of the Severn, and the low valleys of Oxfordshire on the north side of the Thames, down to the con- fluence of the Tame, and the country about the Tame up to its sources in Buckinghamshire ; their north- western and northern boundaries being the summit of the chain of hills on those sides of the two last mentioned counties ; and their eastern limit the hills which extend at some distance along the same side of the Tame through its whole course. The same word is the origin of the names of this people, and of the rivers Thames and Tame : that word is Tdv, or the spreading out, and it is the ap- pellation of many rivers, which, like these two, run along level valleys, and the waters of which spread out much. The people inhabiting such low regions might be indifferently called, Taveini, Taveiniaid, Taveinion, Taveinwyr, Tavern wys, Taveinwyson, and Gwyr y Tavain ; or, Teiveini, Teiviniaid, Teivinion, Teivinwyr, Teivinwys, Teivinwyson, and Gwyr Teivi, or the men of the spreads or dales. Particular forms of construction would change the initials, and then the names would be more like Dobuni ; as, Dyma Daveini, here are Dobuni. VI. The Huiccii, or Jugantes, had Gloucestershire from the borders of the Dobuni northwards, and the whole of the county of Warwick, and nearly the whole of Worcester. These names are only different forms of the same word, and mean men of gallantry, or brave men ; and they would be correctly written thus, Gwychi, Gwychiaid, Gwychion, Gwychwyr, 238 HISTORY OF THE BRITON'S. Gvvychweis, Gwychweision, Gwyr Gwychion, and Gweis Gwychion; or thus, Gwychini, Gwycheiniaid, Gwycheinion, Gwycheinwyr, Gwycheinwys, and Gwyr Gwychain ; and also Gwycheinti, Gwycheinti- aid, Gwycheintion, Gwycheintwyr, Gwycheintwys, and Gwyr Gwychaint. From the same word are also formed Gwychyriaid, Gwychyron, Gwychyrwys, Gwychyriaint, Gwychyrogion, Gwychyrolion, and Gwyr Gwychyr. In certain forms of construction, the initials of all these words are dropped, which shows the affinity to be closer; as, Dyna Wyciii. There are Huiccii. Dyma Wycheintwys Here are Jugantes. VII. The Ancalites had the eastern parts of the counties of Oxford and Buckingham, and bordered upon the Huiccii to the west. The origin of this name very probably is Uch- elitwys, or the inhabitants of the high grounds, for that was their situation, and they were so dis- tinguished from their neighbours, the Taveini, or the people of the dales. They might be also called Ucheliaid, Uchelwyr, Uchelwys, and Gwyr yr Uchelion. VIII. The Cornavii, Carnabii, or Corinavii, in- habited all Cheshire ; and all Shropshire on the north and east of the Severn ; and all Staffordshire, with some of the adjacent borders of Warwickshire and Leicestershire ; and Uriconium or Wroxeter was their chief city. The small headland between the rivers Dee and HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 239 Mersey is too inconsiderable, I think, to have given a name to this extensive nation, as Mr. Whitaker would have it. Not wishing to take the liberty of altering the word, I am somewhat doubtful from what origin to trace it ; except it may be from Corain, circling or winding, and aiv, streams ; if so, the people would be called Coreineivi, Coreineiviaid, Corei- neivion, Coreineivwyr, and Coreineivwys, or the in- habitants of the banks of winding rivers, names rendered very applicable by the two great rivers, the Severn and the Dee, on which their country chiefly lay. The eight nations above specified inhabited the Roman division of the island called Flavia Csesari- ensis, and Flavia Csesariensis having the Thames and the hills of Wotton-under-Edge for its southern limit, the Severn on the west, and the Mersey, Don, and Humber on the north. I. The Setantii, Sistuntii, or Sistantii, inhabited Lancashire, and the southern parts of Westmoreland, having Rhigodunum, Coccium, or Blackrode for their chief town. The name of this tribe, and that of the Voluntii, probably have reference to each other ; for it would seem that one occupied a fruitful soil, and chiefly followed agriculture, whilst the other tended their flocks in the more hilly country. Agreeably to such a supposition, I make Syddynt an agricultural farm or tenement, to be the original of the appellation of the Setantii ; from which word the people would be called Syddynti, Syddyntiaid, Syddyntion, Syddynt- wyr, Syddyntwys; or, Syddyni, Syddyniaid, Syddyn- 240 HISTORY 01- THE BRITONS wyr, and Syddynwys, from Syddyn, the primary form of the word ; the import of which is, the dwellers in farms, or those who cultivate the land. II. The Volantii, or Voluntii, possessed the north- ern parts of Westmoreland and all Cumberland to the wall of Hadrian on the north ; having Volanty, or Ellenborough, in the latter county, for their capital. In contradistinction to the Setantii, the Volantii were the people of the forests ; deriving their name from Gwyllaint, a region abounding with coverts or wilds ; and hence they would have the appellations of Gwylleinti, Gwylleintiaid, Gwylleintion, Gwyllein- twyr, Gwylleintwys, and Gwyr y Gwyllaint, or the woodlanders. As the name has a mutable initial, it approaches nearer to Volantii under some forms of construction ; as, Gweli Wylleinti yno. Thou wilt see Volantii there. III. The Bregantes possessed Yorkshire to the Don and Humber on the south, all Durham and a little of Northumberland lying south of the wall of Hadrian. Brigant,* from Brig, implies in the British a summit, or upper situation; from which may be formed, Briganti, Brigantiaid, Brigantion, Brigant- wyr, Brigantwys, Brigantwyson, Brigantweis, Bri- gantweison, Gwyr y Brigant ; and also Brigeinti, * By altering the word to Brygant, the name would be syno- nymous with the definition given of the Bibroces, that is, the people of the brakes and thickets. HISTORY OK THE BRITONS. 24 J Brigeintiaid, Brigeintion, Brigeintwyr, Brigeintwys, and Brigeintwyson, the people of the summits, or of the upper regions. There is a very curious war dance still preserved in Wales, called Gware Brigant, the play of the Bri- gant, or Brigantian exercise. The three foregoing nations were comprised in the Roman province of Maxima, or Maxima Csesariensis. I. The Ottadini possessed all Northumberland, except a small part to the south of the wall of Hadrian, all Lothian and Mers, and the half of Tweedale. One of the most celebrated bards of the sixth cen- tury was Aneurin, a chieftain of the Otodini. He wrote an elegy on a signal defeat sustained by his countrymen, in the battle of Cattraeth, in which he himself bore a conspicuous part. This piece, which is still extant, bears the title of Gododin, and con- sists of three hundred and sixty-three stanzas, being the number of the Otodinian chiefs in that battle ; of whom, says he, " there escaped but three by feat of arms ; two dogs of war from Aeron, Cynon fierce, and I my hallowed muse did save from spilling of my blood." Subsequently to this event, the Saxon power pre- vailed in Otodinia, and Aneurin retired to the monastery of St. Iltutus in South Wales, where he passed the remainder of his days. From Gododin, and Manau Gododin, the names of the country, which imply regions bordering on the coverts, the people were called Gododini, Godo- diniaid, Gododinion, Gododin wyr, and Gododin wys. From the initial being mutable it may be proper to R 242 HISTORY OF THE BRITON'S. shew the appellation under a form affected by it, as, " Gwyr a aeth Ododin, chwerthin wanar." w Heroes traversed Otodinia, a joyous course." — Aneurin. II. The Gadeni had the small part of Cumberland which lies north of the wall of Hadrian, Tiviotdale, Tweedale up to the Tweed, and Clydesdale to La- nark on the north-west. Very probably this nation inhabited a country which is called Goddau, or the groves, in our old manuscripts ; for, by a different termination, the name will sound like Gadeni, as Goddain, abounding with groves, and hence the people would have the appellations of Goddeini, Goddeiniaid, Goddeinion, Goddeinwyr, Goddeinwys, Goddeinwyson, Goddein- weis, Goddeinweision, Goddeinogi, Goddeinogiaid, Godcleinogion, Goddeinigion, and Gwyr Goddau. III. The Selgov^e inhabited Anandale, Nithisdale and Galloway to the Dee ; and perhaps the south- east of Kyle, and the south-west of Clydesdale. The name of this people is descriptive of their position in a country upon the dividing water ; and it is the original from which Sol way is to be traced. It is a compound from Sail, that branches out, se- parates or divides, and Gwy, a stream. These two radical words uncompounded would preserve the mutable initial of the latter, thus Sail Gwy : but otherwise it would be written Sallwy ; the first form accounts forthegin Selgovae, and the other shows why it is omitted in Solway. There is another radical word, which is ma, a place, very frequently affixed to others in forming names, and then it changes into HISTORY OF THE BRTTOXS. 243 va. With this addition Sail Gwy would then be Sail Gwyva, or Sallwyva, the region upon the divid- ing stream, which approaches still nearer to Selgov. Hence the people would be named Sall-Gwyvai, Sail- wyvaaid, Sallwyv'aon, Sallwyvawyr, Sallwyvawys, Gwyr Sallwyva, Gwyr ar Sallwy, and Gwyr ar Sall- Gwy. IV. The Novantes possessed the whole of Gallo- way lying west of the Dee. The appellation of No- vant signifies a situation abounding with streams, or in the water, and is descriptive of the country of this people. They themselves were called Novanti, No- vantiaid, Novantion,Novantwyr, Novantwys,Novant- wyson, Novantweis, Novantweision, Novantigion, and Gwyr Novant, or the men of the region border- ing upon the water. The country of the Novantes is mentioned by Aneurin, when he enumerates the forces in Cattraeth in these words : " Tri 1 1 wry Novant ; Pymmwnt, a phumcant Tri chwn a thrichant ; Tri chwe chad varchawg Eidyn euruchawg ; Tri llu llurygaivg ; Tri eur-deyrn torchawg ; Tri marchawg dywal, Tri chant gyhaval ; Tri chyvnaid cysnar Chwervysgynt esgar : — Tri theyrn Maori A dyvu o Vrython." " Three from Novant ; five myriad and five hundred ; three chiefs and three hundred ; three times six troops of horsemen of 244 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. Eidyn arrayed in gold ; three loricated hosts ; three princes wear- ing golden torques ; three furious knights, equalled by three hun- dred more ; three heroes leaping onward together, who bitterly mixed with the foes : three sovereign kings there came of Britons." V. The Damnii bordered on the north of the No- vantes, Selgovae, and Gadeni, being separated from them by a range of mountains. They inhabited all Carrick, Cunningham, and Renfrew, and probably the northern and western parts of Kyle, and the north-eastern of Clydesdale ; the wall of Antoninus was their northern barrier. The name of this people implies that they inha- bited the deep vales or glens between mountains : for I imagine that it is to be identified in the British words Dyfni, Dyvniaid, Dyvnwyr, Dyvnwys, Dyv- nwyson, and Gwyr y Dyvnau, or the men of the deeps. The root of these names is Dy vyn, from which in an- other form, is also derived the appellation of the Damnonii, or the men of Devonshire. The five nations above mentioned were included in the Roman Province of Valentia. I. The Horestii inhabited Strathern and the re- cesses of the neighbouring mountains of Perth, lying south of the Tay. This people probably received their name from the strong position of their country, it being the most inaccessible part of the Grampian mountains ; for the word Hyrwyst from which it seems to be derived signifies, that easily or aptly hinders, that is easily defended, or an impregnable barrier ; whence the name of the inhabitants, Hyrwysti, and Hyrwystiaid. II. The Vecturones possessed all Perth, with the HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 245 exception of the small portion lying south of the Tay, the whole of Gawry, Angus, and Merns ; and the nar- row region of Mar, south of the Dee. There are several words in the British language which bear affinity to this name ; as, Gwychyron,* brave ones ; Gwythyron, men of wrath ; Peithyron,f men of the open, or out country ; and Uchderon, the inhabitants of the heights. I am induced to reject these appellations, in favour of a country so often mentioned by Aneurin, in the Gododin ; and es- pecially so, as that name may be identified in the river Erne and Strathern. The one referred to is Aeron, the original name of the river Erne, and of several other rapid foaming streams. The original situation of the Vecturones was above, beyond, or north of that river ; whence, accordingly, they would be called Uchaeronwys, Uchaeroni, Uchaeroniaid, Uchaeronwyr, and Gwyr-Uchaeron, or the men of the region above Aeron. III. The Taixali inhabited all of Mar, on the north of the Dee, and Buchan. This nation had their appellation, probably, from Tachial, the terminating fair, or open, country ; a name nearly equivalent to the fair headland ; whence * This is the root from which Mr. Whitaker derives the name. f Peithyron, having a mutable initial, approaches more nearly to Vecturones under some forms of construction ; as, Dyma Beithyron,here are Vecturones. The root of this word is Paith, what is clear, open or out; and hence the name Picti, or Peithi, the men of the open, or out country ; so, perhaps, with respect to the bounds of the Roman Empire, 246 HISTORY OK THE BUTTONS. the inhabitants would be called Tachiali, Tachialiaid, Tachialon, Tachialwyr, and Tachialwys. IV. The Vacomagi had all Bamff, Murray, and Inverness to the town of that name ; nearly all Bade- noch and Argyle ; and the small part of Braidalban lying north of the Tay. By referring to a map of Scotland, it would appear that these people inhabited a chain of deep glens, ex- tending across the island. Such being their situation, it would be appropriate enough to call them Paucy- mogi, Paucymogiaid, Paucymogion, Paucymogwyr, Paucymogwys, and Gwyr y Bau Gymog, or the men of the country abounding with glens. V. The Albani, or Damnii Albani, were situated south of the Vacomagi in the parts of Athol and Braidalban lying south of the Tay, the north of Strathern and of Manteith. The word Alban means the greatest, utmost, or superior height ; hence Albani, Albaniaid, Albanion, Alban wyr, Alban wys, Alban wyson, Albanweis, Alban- weision, Albanigiaid, Albanigion, Albanogi, Albano- giaid, Albanogion, Gwyr Alban, and Gwyr Albanau, the men of the upper mountains. By the name Alban the Welsh now mean Scotland in general. VI. The Attacotti inhabited nearly the extent of the present district of Lenox. This nation probably dwelt on one of the extremi- ties of Coed Celyddon, or the Caledonian forest ; at least the name seems to countenance such a suppo- sition ; for Eitha-coeti, Eithocoetiaid, and Eithocoet-: wys, imply the men of the extremity of the wood. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 247 The six nations above specified were comprehended in the Roman Province of Vespasiana. I. The Caledoni inhabited the interior parts of Inverness, the western of Badenoch and of Braidal- ban, the eastern of Lochaber, and the north-east of Lorn. These people were so called on account of their dwelling in the coverts of the forest. The Welsh name for that kind of region is Celyddon, which means literally seclusions, or coverts. The appella- tion occurs very often in old manuscripts, and some- times with the addition to it of Coed, wood. The people are generally called Gwyr Celyddon, the men of the coverts, or woodmen ; they might be also named Celyddoni, Celyddoniaid, and Celyddonwys, or Caledonians. " Avallen beren berav ei haeron A dyv yn argel yn argoel Celyddon." " Sweet apple tree, whose fruit is most delicious, grows in a shelter in the skirt of the wood of Celyddon." Merddin. II. The CantjE inhabited the eastern parts of Ross. The names of this people, and of the Cantii of Kent, are of the same origin, which is Caint, a word descriptive of their respective countries. That part of the county of Ross, in which the Cantae resided, compared with the surrounding regions, is tolerably open, and free from high mountains and rocks. The name of the inhabitants would be in the British tongue Ceinti, or otherwise, Ceintiaid, Cein- tion, and so forth, as under the name of Cantii, 248 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. III. The Log i extended along the seacoast of Sutherland, to the Ale or Ila in Caithness. The appellation, in the British, nearest in sound to the name of this tribe, is Lygi, the inhabitants of the fenny district, or morass. IV. The Carnabii inhabited all Caithness north of the Ale. These people were called Cerny wi like the inhab- itants of Cornwall, and for the same reason ; which was, that they were both seated on promontories. See a further illustration in the account of the Carnabii of Cornwall. V. The Catini were situated along the seashore of Strathnavern. Some of the Britons were armed with a simple weapon, though formidable in the manner in which it was used. It was a club of about a yard long, with a heavy end worked into four sharp points ; to the thin end, or handle, a cord was fixed, which enabled a person well trained, to throw it with great force and exactness, and then by a jerk to bring it back to his hand, either in order to renew his throw, or to keep it in his hand for close action. This weapon was called Cat, and Catai ; the adjective of this word would be Catin ; and the men who used it were called Catini, Catiniaid, Catinion, Catinwyr, and Catinwys, but more generally Cateion. Probably the people now spoken of were club-men remarkable for being armed in the manner above described. VI. The Mert^: inhabited the interior parts of Strathnavern and Sutherland. If the principal occupation of these people was HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 249 tending their cattle, which from their situation was very probably the case, they might have been appro- priately called Meirydi, Meiri, Meiriaid, Meirioni, Meirioniaid, Meirionwyr, Meirionwys, Meirwyr, and Meirwys, or the dairymen. VII. The Carnonace inhabited the shore of Ross from Loch Assynt to Loch Breyn. If the country assigned to these people abounds with heaps of loose stones, or earns, Carneinwg, and Carneinog, would be proper epithets for it ; whence the inhabitants would be called Carneinogi, Carnein- ogiaid, Carneinogion, Carneinogwyr, Carneinog wys, and Gwyr Carneinog, or the men of the stony region. But on consulting the general form of the country, I am led to believe that it was called Cerneinog, or the region abounding with points or juttings : for the whole coast shoots out in points into the sea. From a country bearing such a name, the inhabitants would be called Cerneinogi, and Cerneinogiaid. VIII. The Cerones extended from Loch Assynt, to the river Itys, or Sheyl, in the county of Inverness. The original appellation of this tribe might have been Cawron, or Cawronwys, the mighty ones. IX. The Creones had the river Itys or Sheyl for their northern boundary, and extended to the Longus or Loch Long on the south. Perhaps these people were called Creon, and Cre- onwys, or the shouters, from their being more re- markable than others for shouting in battle ; or, on account of their fierceness, their name might have been Crenon, or Crenonwys, the men of blood. X. The Epjdii inhabited Cantine and Knapdale. 250 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. These people were so called, from a word which probably was the name of their country, descriptive of its singular projection into the sea. The word which I allude to is Ebyd, implying, abstractedly, a going from, a passing off; and used as the name of a country, it would imply a place running out, or darting from ; and according to the idioms of some of the British dialects, Ebyd would be changed to Epyd ; especially so, with the accession of another syllable. Thence the inhabitants of the Ebyd, or peninsula, would be called Ebydi, Ebydiaid, Eby- dion, Ebydwyr, Ebydwys ; or, Epydi, Epydiaid, Epy- dion, Epydwyr, and Epydwys. This completes the catalogue of the several prin- cipal tribes, who originally inhabited Britain, accor- ding to the best information, which the Romans were able to procure. It was by colonies, from some of these nations, that Ireland became progressively peopled ; and chiefly from such as occupied the western shores; who, in general, preserved their original appellations, or assumed other names of the same import. It is worth observing, that in Ireland the Belgse, who arrived there in subsequent periods, formed a body of people distinct from the first colonies, until they subdued them ; and then these two leading distinc- tions gradually ceased to exist, and the peculiarities, which formed the Belgic dialect of the Cimbric language, became prevalent amongst all the inha- bitants of the island.* * We have documents, in British history, sufficient to shew what were the leading differences between the Belgic, and the HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 251 Those writers who treat of the period in British history, which I am now discussing, generally run into two extremes, equally injurious to the subject. One party depends too implicitly upon the fidelity of ancient chronicles and traditions, the other rejects everything as a silly fable, but what is transmitted from the classic pen of a Grecian or a Roman author. Guided by a spirit of discrimination, much inter- esting history might be produced, by investigating all the old chronicles and traditionary memorials; and by comparing them with the laws and customs of the ancient Britons. Thus it might be made to appear, that the Cym- brians, or less properly, the Celts, agreeably to the tenets of the Bardic religion, adhered most strictly to the principles of the liberty of individuals, even to the prejudice of general security ; and that they were so jealous of this maxim, as never to delegate great power to a supreme chief, but in times of imminent danger, such as an invasion by a foreign enemy, and the like ; and that they must consequently have been always divided into small states ; and therefore, ac- cording to their constitution, never could have uni- ted in an extensive and efficient empire. By pursuing the inquiry, in the way above men- tioned, the disputed point, whether writing was known dialects of the original Britons ; and those documents prove the identity of the Belgic and the present Irish language. The following instance will serve to illustrate the point : the name of Vortigern would be written Feartigearn by the Irish; but he is always called Gortheyrn, or Gwrtheyrn, by the Welsh. 252 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. to the Britons, before the arrival of the Romans in the island, may be fully established in the affir- mative.* It must consequently follow that they applied this art to some uses ; but, before those are particularized, it may be proper to remark, that it was not applied to preserve any of the bardic in- stitutes, either political or religious, on account of the strict regulation, requiring every member of the order to be able to recite the whole from memory ; which was done with all possible publicity at the stated meetings. This regular system of oral tra- dition was so strictly followed, that it was considered as a more certain means of guarding against lapses and innovations than even could be established from the use of letters, according to the then confined state of written composition. The principal use therefore, which would be made of writing, would be, to note remarkable events, next to the recording of some particular proofs, enjoined by the laws, some of which it may be proper here to mention. The law of Gavelkind, or equal distribution of property amongst co-relatives, had a universal operation ; and many usages were founded upon this law, which required a direct proof of kindred pedigree for several gene- rations ; and to attain this with facility, resort would be had to writing. For instance, it was incumbent on a man to produce a clear record of his pedigree for nine generations, to entitle him to the rank of a freeman ; and consequently to his allotment of pro- * See the matter discussed, in treating of the Roman period, being the next epoch of this sketch. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 253 perty in his community. His pedigree was then in fact his title deed to whatever was possessed by him ; therefore those records were not the vague list of names, which writers, unacquainted with the laws of the Britons, have generally considered them to be. Another instance of law usage, requiring a clear proof, was that system of fine and compensation for crimes, by which the family of a guilty individual was affected to the ninth degree of consanguinity, with respect to the contribution to be levied ; as also was the family of the person suffering the injury, in partaking of each his respective share of the compen- sation made by the other party ; which was done on both sides in ratios, according to the degree of rela- tionship. Such precautions being required, as are above mentioned, in preserving proofs of kindred amongst private persons, it must necessarily follow, that British chieftains were not less jealous of having a clear title to the supremacy exercised over their re- spective tribes ; for it was only by being regularly the heads of the most ancient families that they could aspire to their situations. Some of those pedigrees having escaped the ra- vages of time, and being preserved under the before mentioned necessity of being correct, we cannot do less than consider them as curious and valuable. EPOCH II. FROM CiESAR S FIRST INVASION OF BRITAIN TO THE FINAL EVACU- ATION OF IT BY THE ROMANS, COMPRISING A PERIOD OF ABOUT FIVE HUNDRED YEARS. Chapter I. A transient view of the state of this Island, as to religion, mo- rals, and general knowledge, when the Romans first projected its subjugation ; occasionally interspersed with retrospective observations. Having already given a sketch of the history of the Britons prior to the Roman invasion, I shall now attempt to carry the narrative forward, and proceed still further with the history of the same people until the time when the Roman legions were totally with- drawn, and Britain ceased to be any longer a part of the Roman Empire. It is a very interesting period of the British history ; and it will be my endeavour to exhibit some of its most prominent features, and to record some of its most important occurrences. The state of knowledge and civilization among our ancestors, when Caesar first formed the design of sub- duing them, is a point on which antiquaries and his- torians have entertained very different opinions. While some have considered them as a nation of barbarians and savages, scarcely superior to the Esquimaux, the HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 255 Caffres, or the New Hollanders, others have main- tained that they were really an enlightened people, who had arrived at an advanced state of intellectual improvement, and of social and political maturity, under the direction of a numerous and respectable order of instructors, whose precepts and maxims indicated an eminent degree of mental culture, and would have suffered no degradation by a fair compa- rison with those of the most renowned of the Grecian or Roman sages. And this latter opinion seems far from being so ill-founded or untenable as some are apt to suppose. The instructors here alluded to were the Druids, among the ancient Gauls and Britons a most dignified and distinguished order of men, to whom the province of public instruction chiefly appertained. Of these renowned preceptive functionaries, many celebrated writers among the ancients have undertaken to give a particular account, as may be seen by consulting our national historians, or the Encyclopaedia Britan- nica, and the Cyclopaedia of Chambers and Rees, under the words Bards and Druids. Among those ancient writers were Caesar, Cicero, Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, Pomponius Mela, Suetonius, Tacitus, Pliny, Plutarch, Diogenes Laertius, and Ammianus Mar- cellinus. Strabo distinguished the ancient British and Gallic philosophers into three classes, bards, vates, (or ovates), and Druids ; which is correct, and shews that he had taken good care to obtain authentic information. He also says, that their interest with the people was so great, that they could stop armies on the very point 250 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. of engaging, and so accommodate their differences as to effect a hearty reconciliation. Diodorus Siculus expresses himself to the same purpose, and says, that the people paid a great regard to their exhortations, not only in the affairs of peace, but even in those of war ; and that they were respected both by friends and foes, and would sometimes step in between two hostile armies, while standing with swords drawn and spears extended, ready to engage ; and by their eloquence, as by an irresistible enchant- ment, would prevent the effusion of blood, and pre- vail upon them to sheath their swords and be recon- ciled. How happy would it be for the world at large if the same pacific disposition and benevolent spirit which led them so to act were sometimes conspicuous features in the character, and in the daily conduct, of our modern Christian priests and philosophers ! To a sincere Christian it must be a most humiliating and lamentable consideration, that heathen priests (bloody Druids, as they have been called) should appear more pacific and humane, more inimical to war and bloodshed, than men who profess themselves to be the disciples, and even the priests and ministers of Him who is justly denominated the Prince of Peace, and who came into the world not to destroy men's lives, but to save them. Suetonius, in his Life of Claudius, charges the Druids with offering human sacrifices, as Caesar also does in his Commentaries ; but Diodorus Siculus af- firms, that it was but rarely, or only on extraordinary occasions, that they made such offerings. Whatever was the fact it seems certain that, even in this trait HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 257 of character, they fell vastly short of most of our modern Christian nations, who sometimes sacrifice myriads of human victims in a day, without the least pity, shame, or sorrow. Augustus and Tiberius, it seems, abolished the said Druidical practice in Gaul, and Claudius in Britain; shocked, as we may presume, at the very idea of it, as connected with Druidism, but unable, or unwilling, to apply the case to them- selves, who were at the same time in the habit of sa- crificing human victims in immense numbers. Thus it often happens, that men will indignantly condemn in the conduct of others, what they constantly allow in their own without the least scruple, alarm, or dis- quietude. The Druids, according to Ammianus Marcellinus, resembled the Pythagoreans ; and several authors have asserted, that Pythagoras himself had been among the Gallic Druids, and was initiated in their philosophy. In which case it may be concluded that he had derived a great portion of his know- ledge and wisdom from them. According to Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, Mela, and others, the Druids used to enter into many disquisi- tions and disputations in their schools, concerning the form and magnitude of the universe in general, and of the earth in particular • and even concerning the most sublime and secret mysteries of nature. They were also said to be versed in astronomy, astrology, arith- metic, geometry, and geography, as well as mechanics. Of their extraordinary proficiency in the last men- tioned, we have very convincing proofs in the stupen- dous remains of Stonehenge, and others of their works, s 258 HISTORY Ol- THE BRITOXS. some single stones in which, are said to be above forty tons weight. Botany, medicine, and natural philoso- phy, are likewise said to have been objects of their diligent and successful study. Both Cicero and Caesar seem to give them credit for deep, extensive, and valuable knowledge. The former says he was personally acquainted with one of the Gallic Druids, Divitiacus the iEduan, a man of quality in his country, who professed to have a thorough knowledge of the laws of nature, or that science which the Greeks call Physics, or Physio- logy.* Strabo has preserved one of their physiolo- gical tenets concerning the universe, viz. That it was never to be destroyed, but was to undergo a suc- cession of great changes and revolutions, which were to be produced sometimes by the agency or predo- minance of water, and sometimes by that oijire. Some have thought so highly of their astronomical proficiency, as to conclude that they really had in- vented instruments which answered the same purpose with our telescopes, from its being said by Diodorus Siculus, that in the Hyperborean Island (supposed to be Britain) the moon was seen as if she were at but a small distance from the earth, and having hills and mountains, like ours, on its surface. Some also have been of opinion that they were acquainted with the cycle of nineteen years, called the cycle of the moon, from its being observed by the same writer, that the * He is also repeatedly and respectfully mentioned by Caesar, who probably derived from him all, or most of his knowledge concerning Druidism. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 259 Hyperboreans supposed that Apollo descended into their island at the end of every nineteen years, when the sun and moon, having performed their respec- tive revolutions, return to the same point, and again begin theircourse. Pliny has asserted, that the Druids had also a cycle or period of thirty years, which they called an age ; and which probably was the same with the great year of the Pythagoreans, or revolution of Saturn. But these things are not quite free from uncertainty. Of all the ancient writers, it is Caesar perhaps that gives the most particular account of the Druids ; for which reason and because he may be supposed to have had better opportunities of know- ing them than most of the rest, a summary of what he has said may be here given. The reader, who wishes to know more of what the others have related, is re- ferred to their respective works, or to the extracts which appear to be very fairly and judiciously se- lected in the two celebrated publications above men- tioned. The Gauls were understood to have received Druidism from the Britons. Their Druids, as well as those of Britain, possessed vast influence and power among the people. To them, as Caesar asserts, be- longed the care of divine things, of public and private sacrifices, with the interpretation of religion. The in- struction of youth was also their province ; and in such high veneration were they held that their country- men readily submitted all their differences to their arbitration. They were, it seems, the judges in all cases, and from their decisions there lay no appeal. Those who refused to abide by their verdict, were 260 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. liable to excommunication and outlawry, which re- duced them to a dreadful dilemma ; for all such per- sons were reckoned among the wicked, and shunned by the whole community, who avoided their com- pany as contagious. Neither could such bring an action, or commence a suit in any case, or discharge any office in the commonwealth. The Gallic Druids, as Caesar relates, held a grand session or convention, once a year, at a consecrated place near the centre of the country, where vast num- bers of cases and controversies were decided. He also gives it as the prevailing opinion, or current tra- dition, that Druidism originated, or w r as first insti- tuted in Britain, whence it was introduced into Gaul ; and he says, that even in his time, those of the latter, who wished to become perfect in Druidical knowledge, used to visit the former for that purpose ; such per- fection being deemed attainable only in the British schools."* He further informs us that the Gallic * Of the existence of such a tradition in Caesar's time, there can be no reasonable doubt ; and that it was well founded seems very probable ; whence it may pretty fairly be inferred, that Bri- tain at some remote period, and for no short season, enjoyed a degree of light and knowledge beyond what its neighbours could boast of. This also appears to be not a little corroborated by certain Sanscrit MSS. (discovered by Major Wilford, and pub- blished in a late volume of the Asiatic Researches) which de- scribes the British Isles, at periods of very remote antiquity, un- der the names of the White Islands, Isles of the Mighty, and Sacred Isles of the West, &c. where the gods had their abode, and where, of course, knowledge and wisdom abounded more than any where else in the world, and whence even Brahminical institutions derived their origin. —See Asiatic Researches, Vol. xi. ; also Monthly Magazine for Feb. 1813. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 261 Druids seldom attended the army, being exempted from that duty, as well as from the payment of taxes, besides enjoying many important immunities. Such, he says, were their reputation and renown, and such the deference paid to them by the public, that many chose to be of their order, while others were sent to their college or seminary by their parents or relations. And at the seminary, their first lesson or task was to learn a certain number of verses by heart, which some would be twenty years in acquiring ; for they never, says he, commit them to writing : not that they are ignorant of letters, for they make use of Greek cha- racters on all other occasions. But I suppose, he adds, they observe this custom to lock up their learning from the vulgar, and exercise the memory of their pupils. Their chief tenet, he further observes, is, that the soul never dies, but transmigrates after the decease of one body into another, which doctrine has a ten- dency to inspire them with courage, and a contempt of death. He says, they had many other traditions, which they taught their disciples, concerning the stars and their motions, the extent of the world, the nature of things, and the power of the immortal gods. A little further on, still speaking of the Gauls, he describes the whole nation as much given to super- stition : as if the same had not been equally the case with his own dear countrymen the Romans. But we do not mean to deny what he here lays to the charge of the Gauls. They were so very superstitious, he says, that those who were dangerously ill, or daily exposed to perils and death, either offered human 262 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. sacrifices, or devoted themselves to the altar. He further informs us, that these sacrifices were com- mitted to the care of the Druids, who placed the victims in a sort of hollow frame or wicker case, where, after it had been set on fire, they were soon suffocated or burnt to death. They believed, he says, that thieves, highwaymen, and such like offenders, were the most acceptable offerings to the Deity ; but in case these happened to become scarce, the innocent were forced to supply their places.* Such is the substance of Caesar's account of the Druids : they held the immortality of the soul and its transmigration, they also held the necessity of human expiatory sacrifices, which appear to have generally consisted of malefactors, who were deemed to have forfeited their lives by the atrocious- ness of their crimes. Should the reader be shocked at the idea of these ancient British and Gallic human sacrifices, let him remember, that even modern Gaul and modern Bri- tain have also had, and still have, their human vic- tims ; the number of which, or the circumstances attending their immolation, do not appear at all to fall short of what occurred among their pagan and Druidical ancestors. Nay, some of these modern sacrifices are more shocking than those of the ancients, as the conductors of them pretend to act in the name of God, by the authority of Christ, and under the direction of the Gospel ! Myriads upon myriads of * See Caesar's Commentaries of his Wars in Gaul, Book vi. Chap. viii. ix. x. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 263 human beings have been thus immolated in the reli- gious wars and persecutions of modern Christendom : not to mention our frequent executions of malefactors, which perhaps more exactly correspond with the Druidical human sacrifices, and, like them, always assume a sort of religious form or cast. As to the metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls, the Druids were not singular in their belief of that tenet. It was maintained by many ancient philosophers of distant nations, and by Origen, and other writers and fathers among the early Christians. Nor has it in modern times, and in our own country, been without its advocates. Of late years a very elegant writer, philosopher, and Christian apologist, avowed his belief, and published a very ingenious defence of it, which excited very general admiration.* But however objectionable this tenet may appear in the eyes of most people, it does not seem chargeable with a licentious or immoral tendency ; as its advo- cates always connected holiness with happiness and glory ; and wickedness, on the other hand, with misery and degradation. From the preceding observations, some idea may be formed of the state of religion, morals, and general knowledge, among our ancestors, when the Romans first came among them. However rude they might be deemed by Caesar and his countrymen, who con- sidered all other nations as barbarians, yet in point * Vid. Disquisitions on several subjects; No. 3. London, 1782 ; ascribed to the late Soame Jenyns, Esq. author of the View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion. 2G4 HISTORY QF THE BRITONS. of knowledge, we presume, they were superior to most, and perhaps to all of the neighbouring nations. And it seems pretty clear that whatsoever advantage they derived from the Romans, during a long connexion, they made a much more respectable appearance at the time of the arrival of these invaders, than they did afterwards at the time of their final departure. So that it may be justly said, that the Romans left Britain in a much less happy and respectable state than that in which they found it. Chapter II. Observations on certain Discrepances of opinion among some of our modern Archaiologists, upon the character of Druidism and the tenets of the Druids, and upon the question, whether writing was known to the Britons previously to the arrival of the Romans- Of all our modern writers on the subject of Druidism, none have distinguished themselves so much as Mr. Edward Williams, Mr. William Owen,* and Mr. Edward Davies. They are all very intimately and extensively acquainted with British antiquities and bardic lore, and have thrown considerable light on many of the subjects which they have investigated ; but there are some important points on which the last mentioned differs widely in opinion from the others. It may not be very difficult to account for * The late Dr. William Owen Pughe. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 265 this. Mr. Williams and Mr. Owen, being of the bardic order, would naturally think favourably of Druidism ; Mr. Davies, on the other hand, beings himself of a different order, would view Druidism in a different light, and discover defects in it which the others had overlooked, while he himself perhaps would fail to observe defects equally glaring connected with his own order. Had the minds of these able writers been suffi- ciently unbiassed or divested of prejudice, their dis- quisitions would have proved more uniform, harmo- nious and decisive. But as they were hampered by strong and opposite prepossessions, it is no great wonder that their portraitures of Druidism should appear so very dissimilar. One party had seemingly a pretty strong predilection for Druidism, and the other an equally strong aversion from it. The first of these writers placed too much reliance on the in- stitutes of the chair of Glamorgan, whose legitimacy is doubted, while the last was perhaps equally in- fluenced and misled by the Bryantian system of mythology, which, like many other systems, has evidently its weak parts, and may, in this investiga- tion, have often been inapplicable. The one may also be said to have been carried too far by a strong attachment to liberty and the rights of man, and the other by a dread of innovation, and a wish to perpe- tuate the present established order of things. Under such circumstances, their accounts or disquisitions would necessarily prove defective, and, like too many historical productions, afford the authors but a slen- der claim to the merit or praise of impartiality. 260 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. When we consider how different were the habits, situations, and connexions of the two bards from those of the rector, the difference in their views and their delineations can excite no wonder. We feel much more surprized at some other circumstances in their writings. Such for instance, as fancying that Qua- kerism has emanated from Druidism, and that the Quakers in Wales are accustomed to assemble in the open air, within an enclosure, called mynwent ; and that George Fox, in arranging his system, availed himself of the experience and labours of William Er- bury and Walter Cradock : all which seem no better than idle conceits.* The same may be said of the good rector s making the vale of cuch, under the new name of the vale of Cwch, to allude to the ark ; and making Emlyn to mean a clear lake, an emblem of the flood, though there is nothing like a lake in the whole district or near it ; also his making Nevern to signify a pledge of heaven, whereas Nevern is only a modern, or the English name of the parish ; the Welsh name being Nhyfer, a contraction seemingly of Nanhyfer. To which may be added, his making Dinbych (or Tenby) the sacred isle, which is no isle, nor any thing like it. That sacred isle, in all pro- bability, was Caldy, which is within a short distance of Tenby, and the Ynys Pyr of the ancients, a name sufficiently mythological, while the place seems in all respects well adapted to Druidical purposes, as Bard- sey, which he allows to have been so appropriated. Finally, his representing the white trefoil as a sacred * Preface to Llywarch Hen, p, 54. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 267 emblem of the mysterious Three in One, as if the Druids had been all sound orthodox Trinitarians, which seems rather unlikely.* Most of these inaccuracies, and others that might be added, may be imputed probably to the mis- leadings of favourite systems, which the ingenious authors would do well to review and revise. After all, their labours in general are certainly very valu- able, and have greatly contributed to the stores of British antiquities. Another point upon which our antiquaries disagree is, whether writing was known to our ancestors before the arrival of the Romans. Carte and Whitaker take the negative side of the question ; while Owen and Davies are no less strenuous on the affirmative side of it. The two former lay no small stress on our earliest inscriptions upon stones, as well as upon our most ancient coins, being all in Roman charac- ters; which yet may admit of some doubt, at least as to those on the grave of Cadvan.f Mr. Owen, on the other side, argues, partly from the ancient law of Gavelkind, or equal distribution of property among co-relatives, which had a universal operation, as he seems to suppose, among the ancient Britons, and upon which many usages were founded requiring a direct proof of kindred pedigree for several generations, to attain which, recourse must be had to writing. Another instance of law usage, he says, * Mythology of the Druids, 395, 408. t Celtic Researches, 275. 268 HISTORY OF THH BRITON'S. demanding- proof no less clear, and being equally indi- cative of the existence of written records, was that ancient system of fine and compensation for crimes, by which the family of a guilty individual was af- fected to the ninth degree of consanguinity, with re- spect to the contribution to be levied ; as also was the family of the person suffering the injury, in par- taking each respectively of the compensation made by the other party ; which was done on both sides in ratios, according to the degree of relationship.* All this would seem to be impracticable without the aid of written documents. Mr. Davies, on the same side, takes a very wide range. What he urges, though in general very in- genious, extends over too wide a field to admit of my attempting here any thing like a summary of it. His note on Taliesin's " Ysgrifen Brydain," in the poem called " Mic Dinbych," seems very plausible, if not conclusive. But a much more forcible argument on this side of the question has been furnished by those ancient characters, still in existence, which are called " Coelbien y Beirdd," and which appear to be no other than the identical ancient British or Druidical alphabet. It may be seen at the beginning of Owen's Grammar, and also in the Celtic Researches. t After all, there cannot be found a more dicisive proof, that writing was really known among our an- cestors before Caesar's time, than what has been supplied by Caesar himself, in a passage which has * Cambrian Register, Vol. ii. p. 23. t See page 272. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 269 been already noticed, and of which Mr. Davies has given the following translation : " Nor do they deem it lawful to commit those things (which pertain to their discipline) to writing : though generally in other cases, and in their public and private accounts, they use Greek letters. They appear to me to have es- tablished this custom, for two reasons ; because they would not have their secrets divulged, and because they would not have their disciples depend on written documents, and neglect the exercise of memory."* This passage, undoubtedly, is as applicable to British as to the Gallic Druids; and therefore, notwith- standing Carte's glosses, it must completely decide the question. Chapter III. State of Britain as to its connexion or intercourse with other nations, before as well as after the commencement of this Epoch. It seems to have been generally supposed that the Britons had no kind of intercourse with other nations, and that even they were scarcely known to any of them ; till they were discovered, invaded, and sub- dued, by the Romans. But this must be a very er- roneous idea. They were certainly very well known * De Bello Gallico, Lib. vi. cap. 13. 270 HISTORY OFTHK BRITONS. to the Belgic and Gallic nations, whose youth were frequently sent hither to complete their education, from a prevailing opinion, that the schools of this country afforded greatly superior advantages. That very opinion implies that those continental nations were well acquainted with the state and circumstances of this country, and that the intercourse between them and our ancestors must have been pretty general and extensive. Accordingly we read of a certain king of Soissons, before Caesar's time, who had much communication with this country, and held here some territorial possessions.* Our ancestors also assisted the Gallic nations in their wars with the Romans, which is the reason given by Caesar for undertaking the invasion and subjugation of their country. This fact is corroborated by the British Triads. Our ancestors, too, were known, not only to those neighbouring nations, but even to some that lay at no small distance, and that long before Caesar and his legions began to disturb the world. Carte, but more especially Whitaker, has made it appear from good authority, that those great com- mercial nations of antiquity, the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, traded to this island for many ages ere the Romans made their appearance in these western parts of Europe. " The first commerce of the Britons," says Whitaker, " was occasioned by the resort of the Phoenicians to their coasts. Those bold adventurers in navigation and traffic having planted colonies at Carthage and Cadiz, and ranging along * Csesar de Bello Gallico, Lib. ii. c. 2. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 271 the borders of the great untraversed ocean of the west, reached the south-western promontories of Bri- tain, and entered into a trading correspondence with the inhabitants. The real singularity and commercial consequence of the voyage gave great reputation to the officer that conducted it, and have occasioned the name of Midacritus to be transmitted with honor to posterity. Midacritus brought the first vessel of the Phoenicians to our coasts ; and it was he who opened the first commerce of the Phoenicians with our fathers. He found the country to abound particularly with tin, which was equally useful and rare. He traf- ficked with the Britons for it ; and returned home with a valuable cargo of that metal.* Such was the first effort of the commercial genius of Britain, which was afterwards to conduct the vessels of the island to the shores of Carthage and Tyre, and even to raise the Britons superior in boldness and skill to the Phoenicians ! This was before the time of Herodotus, and about H\e hundred years before the Christian era. The trade was opened with the natives of the Cassi- terides, or Scilly Islands, one of which was greatly superior in size to the rest, and denominated Cassi- teris Insula, or the Tin-Island. The cargo which Midacritus brought from this island, and the account which he gave of it, occasioned a regular resort of the Phoenicians to the coast of Scilly. The trade was very advantageous to the state, and the track was solicitously concealed by the public. Thus continued the traffic of Britain for nearly * Plin. Lib. vii. c. 56. 272 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. three hundred years, it being esteemed the most beneficial in Europe, and carefully sought after by all the commercial powers in the Mediterranean. The Greeks of Marseilles first followed the course of the Phoenician voyagers ; and some time prior to the period of Polybius, and about two hundred years before the Christian era, began to share with them in the trade of tin.* The Carthaginian commerce de- clined : the Massylian increased ; and in the reign of Augustus, the whole current of the British traffic had been gradually diverted into this channel. At that period, which was antecedent to the establishment of the Roman power here, the trade of the island is said to have been very considerable. * The following passage from Carte is too remarkable to be here left unnoticed— "The Massylians tempted by the like hopes of gain, and in order to share with the Phoenicians in the advantages of a commerce with these parts of the world, sent, about two hun- dred and fifty years before Christ, Pytheas, one of their citizens, to make a discovery of all the coasts of the ocean towards the north, beyond the streights of Gibraltar. This ancient geographer having coasted along Spain, Gaul, and Britain, examining the situation and condition of the ports in his way, proceeded at last as far north as Iceland ; and on his return, published a history of this last island, under the name of Thule ; with an account of the countries he had visited, and the observations he had made in his voyage. This work is now unhappily lost, except a few passages of it, quoted by Polybius and others, which only serve to raise our curiosity for the rest, and to heighten our regret for having undergone a fate common to it with the writings of other Greeks, who seem to have known more of these islands in and before the age of this Pytheas, than either they or the Romans did afterwards upon the discontinuance of the Phoenician trade, till the time of Caesar's expedition. " — Carte's Gen. Hist, of Engl. Vol. i. p. 38. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 273 " Two roads were laid across it, and reached from Sandwich to Caernarvon on one side, and from Dorsetshire to Suffolk on the other ; and the com- merce of the shores was carried along them into the interior parts of the country. The great staple of the tin was no longer settled in a distant part of the island, It was removed from Scilly and settled in the isle of Wight, a central part of the coast, lying equally betwixt the two roads, and better adapted to the new arrangements of the trade, thither the tin was brought by the Belgse, and thither the foreign merchants resorted with their wares ; and the trade was no longer carried on by vessels that coasted tediously along the shores of Spain and Gaul. The tin was now transported over the neighbouring channel, unshipped on the oppo- site coast, and sent upon horses across the land, or by boats along the rivers to Marseilles and Nar- bonne. In this state of the British commerce, the commodities imported into the island were earthen- ware, salt, and brass, both wrought and in bullion : and the tin was not, as it had been originally, the only export of the island. It still remained the prin- cipal article of our foreign trade. But with it were exported gold, -silver, iron, and lead ; hides, cattle, corn, and slaves ;* dogs, gems, and muscle-pearls ; * Slaves continued to be one of the articles of British export, not only while paganism predominated, but even for a great many ages after the nation thought proper to make a profession of Christianity. 274 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. polished horse-bits of bone, horse-collars, amber toys, and glass vessels."* Such, our historian continues, was the nature of our foreign traffic, when the Romans settled among us : and it instantly received a considerable im- provement from them. This appears from that very remarkable circumstance in the interior history of the island, the sudden rise and commercial importance of London, within a few years after their settlement in the country. The trade was no longer carried on by the two great roads on the southern shore, or the staple continued in the Isle of Wight. The principal commerce still appears to have been confined to the south, and to the counties of Middlesex, Kent, South- ampton and Sussex. But it was also diffused over the whole extent of the Roman conquests, and carried on directly from the western or the eastern shores, as well as the southern. New ports were opened on every side of the island, most of them in- deed about the southern angle of it, but some along the eastern and the western coasts. Thus Middlesex had the port of London ; Kent, the ports of Rhutupae. Dubris, and Lemanis ; Sussex, those of Adurnum, Andereda, and Novus ; and Hampshire that of Mag- nus. Yorkshire also on one side had its port, Felix, and Lancashire on the other, its port, Sistuntian. These were evidently the commercial harbours of the Roman Britons. The articles introduced into the island at Sheen, in addition to those previously * Whitaker's Manchester, Book l.Chap. xi. 8vo. edit. vol. ii. p. 168—173. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 275 mentioned, are said by our sagacious author to comprehend sugar, pepper, ginger, writing-paper, and perhaps some other similar commodities. The Sacharum, or sugar of the Romans, he observes, like our own, was the extracted honey of a cane, brought from Arabia or India, and used only for medical purposes. The articles sent out of the island, he adds, must have been partly the same as before, with the addition of gagates or jet, the British being the best and most abundant in Europe, and of the silvery marl of Kent and Essex, which was shipped off for the marshy countries on the Rhine; bears for the foreign amphitheatres, baskets, salt, corn and oysters. Lead, cattle, and hides are also mentioned. British dogs too are said to have been a very gainful traffic to the Romans. And as the interior parts of Britain, then beginning to be turned up by the plough, would produce at first the most luxuriant harvests, so the whole island freighted no fewer than eight hundred vessels with corn every year for the continent.* These, Mr. Whitaker observes, were the multiplied advantages which our British ancestors received from the settlement of the Romans among them. The * The authorities adduced in support of the facts specified in the above long paragraph, are those of Tacit. Ann. Lib. xiv. c. 33; Antonin. Iter. 3 and 4; Ricard. Iter. 15; Notitia, Ptolem. Richard, p. 27 ; Antonin. and Ricard. ibid; Ricard. p. 27. and 18. and Iter. \5 ; Plin. Lib. xii. c. 8 ; Solinus, c. 22 ; Martial, Lib. Spect. Ep. 7. and Lib. xiv. E. 9. 99; Camden, p. 194; Ju- venal, Sat. 4. and Camden, p. 2 ; Reinesius, p. 190, and Gale's Antoninus, p. 43 ; Gratius, p. 26 ; Camden, p. 2 ; &c. The facts in the preceding paragraphs rest on similar authorities. 27G HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. mechanical arts, that had been previously pursued in the country, were considerably improved ; and arts before unknown were brought into it. The varied treasures of our soil were now first discovered, or better collected. Our societies were combined into cities, our manners refined into politeness, and our minds enlightened with learning ; agriculture, manu- factures and commerce, were established among us. These were considerable advantages, but they were attended by another, greatly superior to them all. This was that momentous event, the introduction of Christianity,* of which some account will be given in another chapter. Chapter IV. On the ancient invasions of this country ; especially those con- ducted by the Romans : causes and effects of the latter. It is generally thought that Julius Caesar and the Romans were not the first invaders of this island. Carte will have it that Divitiacus, a king of Soissons, invaded and subdued some part of it, twenty or thirty years anterior to Caesar's memorable expe- ditions.^ The settlement of the Belgae in this country, at a still earlier period, is also thought to * See Whitaker, as before, 75—79. + Gen. Hist, of Engl. Vol. 1 . p. 26. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 277 have been in consequence of an invasion. The same would seem to have been the case with yet more early settlers, such as the Coraniaid, y Ddraig Estren, and others. But of these ancient invasions, very little can be said with any certainty. The Roman invasion, on the contrary, is an event of great notoriety, of which a very particular account has been transmitted to us from that extraordinary and celebrated individual, who was himself the very pro- jector and conductor of it. The reason which Caesar gives for undertaking the invasion of the country is, the assistance the Britons had afforded to their Gallic neighbours in their wars with the Romans.* It probably might appear to him a sufficient reason ; but in the eyes of strict justice it can have but very little weight. It is, however, much like the reasons that are generally advanced by heroes and conquerors in justification of their violent and destructive proceedings. Our triads seem to give some degree of countenance to the fact, that the Gauls had received assistance from this country. They even assert that Cassi- velaunus, or Caswallon, went over himself to Gaul, and appeared there at the head of sixty thousand men ; and moreover, that he fought against a body of Caesar's allies, and killed six thousand of them. But with this the triads connect a very odd story, making it the chief object of Cassivelaunus's ex- pedition, to recover his mistress, Flur, whom Mar- chan, a Gallic prince of Gascony, had surreptitiously * De Bell. Gall. lib. iv. c. 8. 278 HISTORY OP THE BRITONS. seized, with a view of presenting her to Caesar. In consequence of his victory, the story says, he re- covered his mistress. This is so romantic a tale that one hardly knows what to make of it. The ingenious author of the " Mythology and Rites of the British Druids" does not hesitate to allegorize, or rather mythologize it. " The character of Flur," says he, " imports that token or pledge of union, amongst the professors of Druidism, which induced the Britons to assist their brethren of Gaul, as related by Caesar, and thus furnished that great commander with a pre- text for the invasion of this island."* This was Caesar's ostensible reason for invading this country. But he had doubtless other reasons and other motives, which weighed no less if they did not preponderate. No Roman general had ever before thought of conquering or invading Britain. That country was looked upon as belonging in a manner to another world ; and could Caesar but sub- due it and add it to the Roman empire, it needed no great sagacity to discover that it would highly gratify his ambition, and add considerably to his fame in the opinion of the Roman people. These were momentous matters in the eyes of such a man as Caesar, and they sufficiently account for his pro- cedures against this country, which he repeatedly attempted to reduce under the power and annex to the empire of the Romans. Caesar's first attempt was unsuccessful ; nor does it appear that the second * Page 447,448, HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 279 afforded him much reason for boasting. Even some of his own countrymen thought he had quite enough of it ; and many have been of opinion that he never was more roughly handled than on British ground. It does seem however that he did gain a few ad- vantages the second time, and that our ancestors, for the sake of getting rid of him, made some humiliating or conciliatory professions, and perhaps promised the payment of something in the shape of tribute. But we have seen no clear evidence of its having been regularly paid for any length of time. Nor do we find that the Romans had any intercourse with Britain, except in a commercial way, from Caesar's last departure, which was nearly sixty years before the birth of Christ, till the reign of Claudius, an interval of about a hundred years. In Claudius's reign, Britain experienced another Roman invasion, which proved more successful than the former ; and a great part of the island, after long and severe struggles, was reduced to the state of a Roman province. The country was soon held by the conquerors in high estimation, and regarded as one of their most valuable acquisitions. Several of the emperors honoured it with their presence, and their armies here were commanded by some of their most able and renowned generals. The face of the country in the meantime assumed a different appearance, and the progress of improve- ment soon became rapid and extensive. Large tracts, formerly covered with thickets and forests, were now cleared and converted into cultivated fields, producing abundant crops of the finest corn, which besides 280 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. supplying the wants of the inhabitants, afforded a large surplus for foreign markets. Marshes also were drained, and the low lands near the sea, usually overflowed by the salt water, were secured by strong embankments, and effectually converted into good pasturage and arable lands. The whole country was likewise intersected with excellent roads, which were formed with immense skill and labour, made with the best and most durable materials, and often carried through extensive and almost impassable mo- rasses. Instead of the rude towns of former times, con- sisting of mere huts and hovels, numerous cities now sprung up, adorned with baths, amphitheatres, and all the insignia of Italian luxury and refinement. Ample means were also furnished for the cultivation of Roman literature, of which the higher ranks appear to have very generally availed themselves. All classes soon assumed the manners of their con- querors, and became as much Romanized as any one of the nations they had previously subdued. To crown the whole, Christianity appears to have been introduced among our ancestors, at an early period of their connexion with the Romans, under the auspices of Bran ap Llyr and his family, who had embraced that religion during their long residence at Rome. But what sort of Christianity it was that they did then profess and introduce among their countrymen, may admit of some question ; for there were certainly two kinds of Christianity from the very first, as dissimilar to each other as light and darkness. This, however, is a point that has been HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 281 but little attended to ; nor is this a proper place in which to enter upon the discussion of it. But of whatever sort that Christianity was which Bran and his family introduced among our ancestors, there is no reason to suppose that it met with general acceptance, or that the whole nation was converted to the belief and profession of it. It will not be very easy to prove that Christianity in any form was here a national and established religion before the days of Constantine ; if indeed before those of the memor- able monk, Austin. Many absurd assertions have often been made, and readily credited by multitudes ; about the state of Christianity among the ancient Britons, at the same time they have not had the least foundation in truth, but have merited all possible contempt. This subject however must not here be enlarged upon. The preceding hints exhibit some of the effects which the Roman conquest produced in this island, and may help us to judge whether that memorable revolution increased or diminished the former sum of national happiness and respectability. It will be necessary, ere we attempt to form an estimate, to add a few circumstances to those which have been already stated. We notice chiefly instances of national ad- vantage and improvement, which were the result of that great change. But it also produced effects of a very different and opposite description; the national character was degraded, the liberty and independence of the country were completely anni- hilated, the nation was drained of the choicest of its youth, who were forced into militarv service, and 282 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. employed in foreign wars, while multitudes of the common people were constrained to labour like slaves in the most servile occupations, belonging to public works carried on in different parts of the country ; Of this they would sometimes most grievously com- plain. In short, all public spirit, and all generous and dignified feeling were utterly destroyed. Upon the whole, therefore, after a careful exam- ination of both sides of the question, it seems pretty clear that the Britons lost more than they gained, by their connexion with the Romans; and that the latter left this island, as was hinted before, in a much less happy and much less exalted condition than that in which they found it. Chapter V. Of the geography of Roman Britain, or the principal divisions of the country during the government of the Romans : — with some additional observations. An account has already been given of the ancient divisions of Britain, as they existed previously to the arrival of the Romans. Before we conclude the pre- sent sketch, it may not be improper briefly to notice those new divisions which took place under the di- rection of that celebrated people. No one perhaps understood this subject better than Whitaker ; we cannot therefore do amiss in placing HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 283 ourselves here chiefly under his guidance. — " The Roman conquests among us were divided," says he, " in general into higher or Western, and lower or Eastern Britain, the one being separated from the other by a line that was carried through the length of the island. They were also divided in particular into six provinces, and distinguished by the six denomi- nations of Britannia Prima, Britannia Secunda, Flavia, Maxima, Valentia, and Vespasiana. And a regular itinerary, the first perhaps of Britain, appears to have been drawn up by Lollius for the whole."* I. Britannia Prima comprehended all the country that lies to the south of the Thames and of the Severn, and of a line drawn from Cricklade or its vicinity upon the one, to Berkeley or its neighbourhood on the other. It included eleven nations of the Britons, and contained about thirty-six stations, subject to Ritupse or Richborough, the provincial capital. II. Britannia Secunda comprized all the country that lies between the Severn and the Dee, contained three tribes of the Britons, and reckoned about twenty stations under Isca, or Caerleon, its capital. The three tribes it comprehended were, 1. The Silures, who originally inhabited the counties of Hereford, Radnor and Monmouth, and the eastern part of Gla- morganshire, with the portions of the counties of Glou- cester and Worcester lying on the west of the Severn. Caerwent was their metropolis. — 2. The Ordovices, who inhabited the counties of Montgomery, Merio- Hist. Manchester, 1, 92, 8vo. ed. 284 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. neth, Carnarvon, Denbigh, and Flint, and those parts of Shropshire which are to the south and west of the Severn, to which may be added Mona, or the Isle of Anglesey. — 3. The Dimetae inhabited the counties of Pembroke, Cardigan, Caermarth en, and Brecknock, with the western part of Glamorganshire. Maridu- num or Caermarthen was their metropolis. III. Flavia, or Flavia Caesariensis, took in all the central regions of the island, was limited by the two other provinces on the south and west, and by the Humber, the Don, and the Mersey, on the north, and had about eight tribes and fifty stations within it. Cirencester, Leicester, Lincoln, Caster, by Norwich ; Colchester, Verulam, and London, were among the principal towns of this province. IV. Maxima, or Maxima Caesariensis, compre- hended all the region which was bounded by the two seas, the wall of Hadrian on the north, and the Mersey, the Don, and the Humber, on the south ; being the present counties of Durham and Westmore- land together with Yorkshire and Cumberland, except two small parts of each. Of this province York was the metropolis, if it were not also that of all the Roman possessions in Britain. The 5th and 6th divisions, or provinces, i. e. Valentia and Vespasiana, were situated in the nor- thern parts of Britain, about and beyond the great walls ; and they were always held by the Romans on a very precarious tenure, as the hardy northern tribes were often apt to dispute their right to them : and on the decline of the Roman power, and for some time before the final departure of that people, they HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 285 appear to have been rapidly losing ground in those northern parts. They had been at vast pains in erecting mighty walls and fortifications across the country, in different quarters of those northern pro- vinces, as a protection from the cruel depredations of the hostile Caledonians. They often proved however but a feeble and insecure defence ; and when the legions were withdrawn they were never afterwards of any real benefit. With the extinction of the Roman power in Britain the above geographical or provincial divisions of the island also ceased for ever; and they were subse- quently to be traced only in the Iters, or Itineraries of Ptolemy, Antonine, and other ancient geographers. The face of the country in succeeding times assumed other forms, and exhibited very different lines of de- marcation. Under the Saxons, England was at first divided into seven kingdoms, which were subsequently reduced to one. Alfred after that divided the kingdom into counties, which division is still continued ; though the disproportion or inequality of size which some of them exhibit, makes what may be called a prepos- terous and whimsical appearance ; the counties of Huntingdon and Rutland, for instance, compared with those of York and Lincoln. The pope also and his agents, divided the country into two ecclesiastical provinces, twenty-six dioceses, and about ten thousand parishes. But these divisions are foreign to our pre- sent design, and are here noticed only incidentally. Towards the latter part, and in the decline of the power and sovereignty of the Romans in this island, their military force became greatly reduced, owing 28G HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. to the increasing dangers that threatened them nearer home, and even in Italy itself; which made it neces- sary to recall all the troops that could be spared from the distant provinces. The slender force that remained in this island was then chiefly stationed on the northern or Caledonian frontier, being the quarter from which most danger was apprehended. This left most of the other coasts in a defenceless state ; which being known to the Irish they very soon took advantage of it. " Apprized," says Whitaker, " of the new military arrangements, and stimulated with the inviting prospect of conquest, they resolved upon an expedition against the whole western coast of England." This event took place, as the same writer informs us, in the year 395, during the minority of Honorius, and the regency of Stilicho, and under the conduct of Neil Na Gaillac, monarch of the Irish, who raised on that occasion the whole united power of his king- dom. This formidable assemblage or armament of Irish marauders, after having quitted their own ports, " ranged with their numerous navy along the coast of Lancashire, landed in the Isle of Man, and reduced it. They then made a descent upon North Wales, and subdued a considerable portion of the country. They disembarked a body of their troops in the do- minions of the Dimetse, and conquered the greatest part of them : and they afterwards extended their arms to the southern channel. This unexpected inva- sion, however, was soon afterwards repelled by forces sent over by Stilicho, and joined by a large body of the provincials, legionary citizens, and original Britons, HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 287 under the command of Canedag (Canedda) monarch of the Ottadini." Our historian further informs us, that the invaders were attacked, defeated, and driven to their ships, with so great a carnage that they never afterwards attempted any descents of conquest upon our western coasts.* But the period had now * Such is the substance of Whitaker's account of that memorable event; and it seems to be in the main, and as far as it goes, tole- rably correct. It is here introduced on account of the enormous evils which this conquest brought upon the Welsh people, and which must have far exceeded all other calamities that had be- fallen them, during the whole period of their connexion with the Romans. Where the above battle was fought does not appear. It probably took place in some part of the west of England, to which those marauders had extended their depredations ; in this case it might terminate, as above described, in their total over- throw and complete expulsion from the country, so as to disable them from ever making a similar attempt upon that coast. But it does not appear that they were so soon driven out of Wales. On the contrary, it seems that they maintained their ground there for nearly fifty years longer, when they were entirely expelled by the natives, aided by Urien Rheged and the sons of Canedda, who afterwards took up their residence in that country, and be- came the ancestors of some of its present most distinguished fa- milies. — Here it may be just hinted, that there now exist in Wales some plain and strong indications of an Irish predominance, of some continuance, over that country, at some former period, for which there appears no way of accounting satisfactorily, but by advert- ing to this portion of British history. It may be also further noticed that the people of Wales were now treated with such brutal in- dignity by their Irish masters, that some of them were actually carried into captivity. One of the number was Padrig the son of Mawon, alias Padrig Maenwyn of Gowerland, commonly called Saint Patrick, who is said to have been then carried captive into Ireland, where he afterwards became the celebrated apostle and illuminator of that country. See Cambr. Biogr. art. Padrig. 288 HISTOKY OF THE BUTTONS. arrived (adds our historian) that the Roman empire, having- done the great work for which it was erected by Providence, was to be demolished for ever. God summoned the savage nations of the north to come and erase the mighty structure of their empire, and avenge the injuries of the nations around them. The Roman legionaries, once the invincible of the earth, now retired on every side towards the heart of the empire : and Rome, once the tyrant of the world, daily shrunk into herself; contracting the dimensions of her territories, and losing the formidableness of her name. In this awful crisis the Roman soldiers finally deserted the island of Britain, in the year of the Christian era 446 ; five hundred and one years after their first descent upon the island, and four hun- dred and three after their settlement in the country."* Chapter VI. Conclusion. — Sketch of the state and government of the Bri- tish provinces and towns under the Romans; also of the le- gionaries and colonists. Effects of the Roman conquest and government on the state of the country, and on the national character. The Roman empire was generally divided into pro- vinces, each of which was governed by its own Prae- tor and Quasstor ; the former was charged with the * Whitaker, 6. 1, ch. 12, oct. ed. 265—269, also Carte 1. 169. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 289 whole administration of the government, and the latter deputed to manage the finances under him. This was the case in this island. The conquered regions of Britain, as we have seen, were divided into six provinces ; and those provinces were governed by six praetors and the same number of quaestors. Each province formed a distinct government. They all acknowledged one head within the island, and were all subject to the authority of the proconsul, legate, or vicar of Britain. The praetor always resided in the chief town of the province. There was his mansion-house denominated Palatium, or Domus Palatina, by the Romans. In this was assembled the principal court of justice ; judicial determinations were made by the praetor, and imperial decrees and praetorial edicts promulged by his ministers. Other courts were opened under his commission in the other towns of the province, in which his deputies presided, inferior causes were determined, and the decrees and edicts equally pro- mulgated. Each praetor had many of these deputies under him, as each province had many of these towns. Britannia Prima comprised about forty, Britannia Secunda fifteen, Flavia fifty, Valentia ten, and Maxi- ma twenty-five. Britain, from the southern sea to the Friths of Forth and Clwyd, at the close of the first century, had about a hundred and forty towns in all. These towns were of various degrees. They differed greatly from each other, not merely in the rank of their civil estimation, but even in the nature of their constitutions. They were particularly dis- u 290 HISTORY Of THE BRITONS. tinguished into the four orders of towns, municipal, stipendiary, colonies, and cities, invested with the Latin privileges. Most of them were probably stipendiary, i.e. tributary, or tribute-paying; and as such were subject to all the provincial regimen. Each was governed by a particular commandant, the deputy of the praetor, a merely annual officer. This praefect acted as an aedile, and therefore had the whole praetorial authority over the town and its vicinity, or dependences, delegated to him. But the garrison in the station must have been independent of him, and subject immediately to the praetorial authority. Like the praetor, he had his quaestor with him, appointed, no doubt, by the provincial quaestor, and authorised to receive the taxes of the town. These officers, in the Roman government, made a very conspicuous appearance. By the former was all the discipline of the civil polity regulated, while all the taxation economy was adjusted by the latter. The payments assessed on the provincial Britons consisted of four or five different articles : one was an impost upon burials, which is particularly urged as a grievance by the spirited Boadicea. Another was a capitation tax, which is likewise insisted upon by that British heroine. A third was a cess upon lands, which amounted to two shillings in the pound, or a tenth of the annual produce in every thing that was raised from seed, and four shillings, or a fifth, on all that was raised from plants. A fourth was an im- post on cattle. All the commercial imports and exports were subject to particular charges. Such in HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 291 general were the taxes of our British ancestors under the government of the Romans ; and as they were the badges of the Roman dominion, they were natu- rally disliked by a recently conquered people ; and embittered as these demands must have been to their minds, by the natural haughtiness and insolence of a victorious soldiery, they were necessarily hated by a brave and high-spirited nation. But they were not oppressive in themselves ; perhaps they were no more than an equivalent for the burdens that had formerly been laid upon the Britons by their own governments. The amount of them probably was scarcely sufficient to answer the expenses of the civil and military establishments in the island. The burden was evidently inconsiderable, and the small - ness of the collections at last stimulated the policy of avarice to abolish all the provincial taxes, and sub- stitute even the Roman in their stead. In this general condition of our towns, some were raised above the common rank by the communication of the Jus Latii, or the Latin privilege. This was an exemption from the ordinary jurisdiction of the praetor ; and the inhabitants of a Latin town were no longer governed by a foreign praefect and a foreign quaestor, but by a praefect and a quaestor elected among themselves. A Briton was their praefect, a Briton was their justiciary, and a Briton was their tax-gatherer. Every inhabitant of such a town that had borne the office of praetor or quaestor, was imme- diately entitled to the privilege of a Roman citizen. These rights the Romans first communicated to the conquered Latins, and afterwards extended to all the 292 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. Italians. Caesar seems to have been the first that carried them beyond the bounds of Italy, and con- ferred them upon a provincial town. Novum Comum, certainly, and probably Nemansis, in Gaul, received this distinction from him, and were, perhaps, the first provincial towns that received it. It was subse- quently bestowed upon several of our cities in Britain ; such as Durnomagus or Caster, near Peterborough, Ptoroton or Inverness, Victoria or Perth, Theodosia or Dunbarton, Lugubalia or Carlisle, and Sorbiodu- num or Salisbury, Corinium or Cirencester, Catarac- ton or Caterick in Yorkshire, Cambodunum or Slack in Longwood, and Coccium or Blackrode in Lancashire. These were the names and these the constitutions of the towns which were inhabited principally by the Britons. But there were others which were chiefly possessed by the Romans, and had therefore a very different polity. These were colonies and municipies. The commencement of the Roman colonies was nearly coeval with that of the Roman conquests. But the first that was planted in any of the pro- vinces was projected by the genius of Caius Gracchus, and settled upon the site of the memorable Carthage. Others were established on the same principle in Britain; Claudius, settling a strong body of legionary veterans at Camulodunum or Colchester, the first of all the Roman colonies in Britain, founded also, together with the succeeding legates, no fewer than eight others in different quarters of the island, at Richborough, London, Gloucester, Bath, Caerleon on Usk, Chesterford near Cambridge, Lincoln, and Chester. HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 293 That colony was esteemed the head-quarters of the legion, where some of the principal cohorts were lodged, the eagle was reposited, and the commander was resident. Such was Deva, for the twentieth Valerian Victorious ; Eboracum, for the sixth Victori- ous ; Caerleon, the second Augustan ; and Glevum, for the seventh Twin Claudian. The rest were peo- pled by the other cohorts of those legions : so Caer- leon, London, and Richborough, were all peopled by those of the second Augustan ; and the tenth Antonian was lodged in the common stations, as the tenth legion had three, the twelfth five, and the twenty- second six, in Germany and Gaul. Thus were large bodies of the soldiery kept together by the Romans, at Richborough, London, Colchester, Chesterford, Lincoln, and York, along the eastern side of the island ; and at Bath, Gloucester, Caerleon, and Chester, upon the western ; ready at once to sup- press any insurrection at home, and repel any invasion from abroad. The Roman legionaries lived together without any great intermixture of the natives ; allow- ing few probably to reside with them, excepting the useful traders and necessary servants. As their government was partly civil, the legionary colonists were subject to the Roman laws, were ruled by their own senators or decuriones, and enjoyed all the privileges of Roman citizens. As it was equally military, they strengthened their towns with regular fortifications, and guarded them with regular watches, had their names retained on the quarter-master's roll, and were obliged to march at the general's command. But as in a series of years, the males in 294 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. the colonies would necessarily increase, and as they were all of them legionaries by birth, upon any military exigence a draught would be made out of the colonists, and such a number levied as was requisite for the occasion. And these towns naturally assumed the names of the legions to which the colonists belonged, frequently accompanying, and sometimes superseding their British appellations. The Roman yoke appears not to have been borne very patiently at first by our ancestors. But at a subsequent period they became better reconciled to it, and a good understanding took place between them and their masters. Whitaker observes, that the privilege of Roman citizenship was frequently com- municated to individuals among the Britons, and at last bestowed upon all of them. In the towns dis- tinguished by the Latin liberties, as before observed, it became the common right of all that had borne the offices of sedile or quaestor in them. But when Antoninus Pius was invested with the imperial authority, these narrow restraints were taken away, and the Roman citizenship was extended to every Briton of property and worth, — it ought to have been extended to all, and the cunning avarice of Caracalla communicated what the virtuous wisdom of Pius should have bestowed. By this act the lower orders of Britons were released from a disgraceful punishment, and no longer liable to be scourged with rods. The higher were rescued from a disgraceful exclusion, and admitted to a participation of marriages and a com- munion of honours with the Romans. All the inhabi- tants being now created citizens of Rome, were placed HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. 295 on a footing of equality with their Roman masters, empowered to elect their own officers, and left at liberty to be governed by their own townsmen.* From this it may be justly inferred that the Romans granted only what they were afraid or were unable to withhold. Notwithstanding we have shewn, in the former part of this sketch, that the Britons, when Caesar visited them, were not in that rude and barbarous state which many have supposed, yet it must be confessed that the country received many important improvements in consequence of its becoming a part of the Roman empire. The arts of civil and social life, with all the learning and knowledge which dis- tinguish the Roman people, were soon introduced among our ancestors, and had a wonderful effect on the state of the country and the character of the nation. New towns were built, many in number, and on an improved plan; and new roads were formed to facilitate the mutual intercourse of those towns, as well as that of the different parts of the country. Woods and forests were cleared, fens and morasses drained, and salt or sea marshes embanked, agriculture, trade, and commerce universally encou- raged, and surprisingly advanced. Such super- abundance of corn was produced that nearly a thou- * For a fuller display of the statements given in this chapter, and the authorities by which they are supported and substan- tiated, the reader is referred to Whitaker's Manchester, book i. chap. viii. from which they have been here extracted and occa- sionally abridged, owing to the writer's opinion of their general authenticity and correctness. 296 HISTORY OF THE BRITONS. sand sail of ships are said to have been employed in exporting it to foreign countries. In short, this island appears to have been, while connected with the Romans, justly considered as a very important part of their empire ; and whatever obligations our ancestors were laid under to their Roman masters, for promoting the improvement of the country, or on any other account, it is pretty certain that they were all amply repaid by the numerous and valuable benefits which the imperial government derived from the country. At the same time it is impossible to look without concern and shame upon the frivolity and dissipation which the Romans were but too diligent and too successful in introducing among our ancestors. The effect on the national character seems to have been most unhappy. It may account for the degenerate appearance which the Britons exhibited on the de- parture of the Roman legions, so very different from that which they manifested when the Romans first assailed their country, and when the invaders were so gallantly resisted under the magnanimous conduct of Caractacus. In fine, it is sufficiently evident that when the Romans withdrew themselves from this island, they left it in a considerably worse condition than that in which they found it. 297 A SHORT ACCOUNT OF A VISIT TO THE NORTH OF IRELAND IN THE YEAR 1787. Monday, July 15tb, 1787. Left Isle of Whithorn at four p. m.; travelled through byways to the beach near Phisgall ; found the lanes not the pleasantest in the world, especially near the shore, where the steepness of the precipices and the ruggedness of the roads might have occasioned a stumble that possibly would have been our last. Launched the small boat a prodigious distance over a very stony strand, got it at last afloat, and found ourselves on board about seven o'clock. The wind tolerably fair, and the water smooth. Sailed all night round the Mull of Galloway, Port Patrick, and Kirkholm ; made Loch Ryan before break of day. The little town of Stranraer at the bottom of the bay, the hills to the east and west, studded with ele- gant mansions, amidst hanging woods and cultivated glens, formed a scene truly beautiful. Tuesday, 16th. — Had, in passing, a fine view of the seat of the late Countess Dowager of Galloway. The situation not unpleasant, and the fields around manifesting the hand of cultivation, and bearing every promise of future improvement. Steered out of the Loch by eleven. Saw the rock of Ailsa at a distance : it appeared like a large sugar loaf, inha- bited solely by solan geese and other species of 298 VISIT TO IRELAND. waterfowl, which, in all probability, will not be dis- turbed in the possession of it. Encountered a very rough sea, and such weather as is not usual at this season of the year. Touched Sanda Isle, and the Mull of Cantire, and came to anchor in Church Bay, in the island of Rathlin. The chalky cliffs of this island, with their venerable covering of brown rock, form a very picturesque object from the sea. Went ashore; found a church without a roof, a gentleman (Mr. Gage, the sole proprietor of the island) without a house, and a number of sick without a physician. Here is a clergyman of the Church of England, who lives in a decent parsonage house, and is on good terms with his flock, besides a Roman Catholic priest. Plantations extensive in some parts ; some good sheep walks ; a few scattered fields of corn, hemp, and flax. No native quadrupeds, excepting rats and mice ; foxes, hares, and rabbits unknown here ; horses and sheep extremely small : the former very serviceable and surefooted, the latter delicious mutton. The inhabitants a simple, industrious and honest race, consequently unacquainted with the tedious and impoverishing processes of civil law. " O fortunatos nimium sua si bona norint!" Virg. Georg. ii. 458. The language mostly spoken, Irish; the huts most wretched, consisting of a few loose stones ce- mented with earth, and the miserable looking roofs covered with turf. The island* contains a hundred * " The island of Rathlin is five miles in length, and one in breadth : it contains about two thousand plantation acres ; there VISIT TO IRELAND. 299 and forty families, and about twelve hundred souls ; is about five miles in length, and one mile in breadth.f Some of the islanders subsist principally by fishing ; a few of these came on board as soon as we appeared in the bay, to barter dried fish and half starved fowls for bread and clothing, but seemed to have very little idea of money. Some maintain themselves and are in it one hundred and thirty families, and eleven hundred inhabitants." — Journals of the Irish House of Commons, 1758. [Ed.] f " In conversation, they always talk of Ireland as a foreign kingdom, and really have scarcely any intercourse with it, except in the way of their little trade. Small as the spot is, one can nevertheless trace two different characters among its inhabitants. The Kenram or western end, is craggy and mountainous ; the land in the valleys is rich and well cultivated, but the coast des- titute of harbours. A single native is here known to fix his rope to a stake driven into the summit of a precipice, and from thence, alone and unassisted, to swing down the face of a rock in quest of the nests of sea-fowl. From hence, activity, bodily strength, and self-dependence are eminent among the Kenramer men. Want of intercourse with strangers has preserved many pecu- liarities, and their native Irish still continues to be the universal language. The Ushet end, on the contrary, is barren in its soil, but more open and well supplied with little harbours : hence its inhabitants are become fishermen, and are accustomed to make short voyages, and to barter. Intercourse with strangers has rubbed off many of their peculiarities, and the English language is well understood, and generally spoken by them. Near Ushet is a lake of fresh water, upwards of a mile in circumference, one hundred and forty-four feet above the level of the sea. There is also another lake in the opposite end of the island, called Cligan, two hundred and thirty-eight feet above the level of the sea. The highest hill is called Ken Truan : it is four hundred and forty-four feet high. Near Ushet is Doon Point, remarkable for its resem- blance to the Causeway ; its pillars have commonly five, six, or seven sides." — Dublin Penny Journal for 1833, p. 24. [Ed.] 300 VISIT TO IRELAND. their families by collecting a species of sea weed, which, when dried, is manufactured into kelp by a process of calcination, and disposed of to linen bleachers. There exists sufficient evidence that this island was inhabited, and in a state of civilization, as early as the commencement of the sixth century. Columbus, the celebrated missionary of the north, founded a religious establishment here ; and it was in the midst of this peaceful calm, while basking in the sunshine of pious and domestic retirement, that the unoffending inhabitants were invaded and mas- sacred # by a cruel horde of northern savages that overwhelmed the island. A number of small tumuli were, a few years ago, excavated here : within were discovered heaps of human bones, a stone coffin, brazen swords, spear heads and other curiosities, too truly indicating the nature of the scenes that had passed on this holy spot. The fortress in which Bruce took refuge, when driven out of Scotland at a subsequent period, is still visible, and is called after his name ' Bruce's Castle/ The fossils found here are basalt and limestone. Wednesday, 17th. — Weighed anchor and stood for Londonderry ; but not seeing any thing of the cutter which we wished to accompany thither, and the wind dying away, we bore down to the southward, and steered into Ballicastle Bay. Ballicastle is a * " In the year 795, the northern nations first invaded, and desolated the Irish coast, particularly the island of Reeran (Rog- hery or Rathlin) which they destroyed with fire and sword, treat- ing the professors of Christianity with the utmost cruelty."— Ha- milton's Antrim. [Ed.] VISIT TO IRELAND. 301 pretty considerable town, almost entirely the creation of one man, a Mr. Boyd, who erected a church and a harbour, opened public roads, established manu- factories of glass, and collieries — in short, brought the town and country to a wonderful state of civili- zation and prosperity. He died a few years ago, and, what is worse for the inhabitants, public spirit died with him ; for its trade and commerce seem no longer to flourish. The eastern side of this town terminates in the bold promontory of Fairhead, or Benmore {Pen mawr*) from its size : between which and the town lie the collieries called Tor-head or Morlais, in an abrupt bank overhanging the sea; but the situation is so open, and the anchorage is so precarious, that it is not very convenient for embark- ation. The fossils peculiar to the soil are basalt, yellow, gray, and white freestone, limestone, a black shivery slate. Sailed along shore ; the afternoon remarkably fine ; the sky without a cloud, and the sea without a ripple ; every object distinctly visible for many miles. Came to anchor in Red Bay ; went ashore ; the vale fertile and populous, bearing evident marks of the hand of man. A prodigious number of men employed on the public roads. Few things contribute more to the improvement of a country than good roads, producing advantage to the hus- bandman, and affording encouragement to the tra- veller. Cushendall, a small neat village, situated in a low valley, encompassed by lofty hills. On the west, in a prominent and advantageous situation, * Pen-mawr, the Great Head. 302 VISIT TO IRELAND. and on a hill overlooking the village are the remains of a very extensive fortification.* The surrounding country capable of better cultivation ; but the rod of oppression has the effect of checking the progress of improvement. Near the shore are many remark- able caverns, said to have been formerly the retreats of smugglers and pirates. Remained here until it was too dark to distinguish objects, so got on board again, and sailed for Glenarm Bay, where we found the long-expected cutter riding. The wind was high during the night. Thursday, 18th. — Particularly struck with the ex- treme richness and grandeur of the scenery on shore. In front the beautiful little village of Glenarm, situ- ated in a retired nook, bounded on either side by lofty hills, and washed by the sparkling waters of a mountain stream. On a commanding bank hard by stands a prominent and noble pile of building, bear- ing the appearance of a baronial castle j" of the fif- teenth century, still inhabited by the Antrim family, * This is probably Surg Eden. " Its summit is a flat plain, perfectly green, where formerly the great Fin M'Comhall and Ossian were lodged within a fortress. There is a mound on the summit not unlike a rath called Dun Clanamourne ; or it may be Count M'Martin, where there is now a school house." — Guide to the Giant's Causeway , p. 63. [Ed.] f The approach to it (Glenarm Castle) is by a lofty barbican, standing on the northern extremity of the bridge. Passing through this, a long terrace, overhanging the river, and confined on the opposite side by a lofty, embattled curtain wall, leads through an avenue of ancient lime trees to the principal front of the building; the appearance of which, from this approach, is very impressive. Lofty towers, terminated with cupolas and vanes, VISIT TO IRELAND. 303 whose property it is ; the present earl spends three or four months annually here. The entrance is through a lofty barbican, and a fine avenue of an- cient lime trees : on another side is a romantic glen, bounded on the right and on the left by irregular walls of basaltic columns rising upwards of two hun- dred feet high. In the cemetery adjoining the church are the battered remains of an old monastery of Franciscan friars. Leaving this spot with regret, we sailed back along the same track, and put into Cushindun Bay. Landed, walked into the country along a pleasant bottom. Met with much civility from a Mr. M'Neil, an officer of the customs. Very interesting and romantic scenery : the beautiful hill of Lurgeidan with its basaltic base and flat summit, eleven hundred or twelve hundred feet high, clothed with the finest verdure ; the lofty and rugged Tieu- buelli rising thirteen hundred or fourteen hundred feet. A small mound, near the shore, shewn by the natives as the grave of Ossian. A little to the N. W. are the remains of a fortification * bearing occupy the angles of the building ; the parapets are crowned with gables, decorated with carved pinnacles, and exhibiting various heraldic ornaments The demesne is well wooded, and rather extensive. — Dublin Penny Journal, 1833-4. [Ed.] * This perhaps may be Dunmaul Castle. " In the immediate vicinity of Garron Point, on an acute prominent headland, ele- vated nearly 300 feet above the sea shore, on which it stands, is the rock of Dunmaul, on the summit of which are the remains of an ancient fort, having various entrenchments . Oral history states that in olden time all the rents of Ireland were paid at this place, and that the last Danish invaders embarked from hence." — Dublin Penny Journal. [Ed.] 304 VISIT TO IRELAND. distinctly the marks of antiquity ; could not learn its name. Blowing; hard off shore — the little vessel riding in great safety. Friday, 19th. — Pursued our course this morning in company with the cutter, the ' Royal George ;' the wind favourable, but the weather threatening ; a competition in sailing between the two cutters amused us much ; the encouragement of such matches might be productive of considerable public utility. Our competitor got much ahead of us by noon. The weather moderated. Spoke ' The John of Liverpool,' homeward bound from Greenland, with six fish on board. A splendid view of the shore and coast, jutting headlands of storied columns, sloping pro- montories, and quiet harbours, barren hills and wooded glens ; in fact, nothing can exceed the ro- mantic beauty and chequered variety of the scenery before us. The most magnificent and extraordinary objects that strike the eye are Benmore, alias Ben- ma wr, Carrie a Rede, (Cerrig y Rhyd,) Bengore, Bengawr, (Bengafr,^ ) Cape Pleaskin, Dunluce Cas- tle, and the Giant's Causeway. Carrie a Rede is an insulated rock, eighty feet above the level of the sea, and has, no doubt, been separated from the adjacent land by some extraordinary operation of nature, and is inaccessible on every side but one, where, under the shelter of an impending cliff, a luxuriant herbage flourishes, and a fisherman's cot is built. To connect the fisherman's romantic habitation with the main- t Otherwise called the " Goat's PEomontory." Pengafr is therefore a very probable etymology. — Ed. VISIT TO IRELAND. 305 land, without encountering at all times the turbu- lence of the tide, a bridge is constructed of cables, which are fastened into iron rings mortised into the rock on either side. Between these cables is laid a number of small planks about a foot wide : these form the pathway, while a single hand-rope serves for a battlement. The undulations and the frightful height of this rude construction do not suggest very com- fortable ideas to a tourist who is not reckless of life. The gulf to cross is upwards of 60 feet in width, and 80 in depth. Bengore, alias Bengafr, or Ben- gawr, is a beautiful promontory, not so high as Ben- mawr, but is composed of the same materials, as in- deed is the whole of the coast for fifty or sixty miles. In this promontory is a bay called Port na Spania, so named from one of the Spanish Armada having been wrecked here. Cape Pleaskin, a beautiful object, with its stupendous pillars of variegated basalt, a perfect picture ; and the ' Giant's Causeway' with its gigantic range of storied pillars, tier above tier, such a scene cannot well be imagined by the most enthu- siastic mind, and is deserving of the minutest atten- tion. Agreed to explore it on a future day. En- nistrahul Island on the larboard bow. About 10 p. m. tacked, and stood for Loch Foyle ; but not know- ing the channel, thought it more prudent to lie to all night. Saturday, 20th. — This morning about 3 o'clock a.m. descried a sail, and gave chase, supposing she was a smuggler ; discovered her to be a revenue cut- ter in chase of us ! Stood for Londonderry. Sailed close along shore, and had a good view of this part x 300 VISIT TO IRELAND. of the northern coast, Malin Head, Cam, Culdaff, and Culdaff House. The wind more favourable andmore of it. Several fishing-boats out. These boats are of a peculiar form, and are termed Norway skiffs ; they bear a rough sea tolerably well, but are top-heavy, consequently are often capsized. Heard that two of them were a few weeks ago upset in a gale of wind, and all hands on board, ten in number, perished. One of the boats came alongside of us : we engaged one of the fishermen as pilot for half-a-guinea. Ap- proached the Tuns, shallow sands at the mouth of the Loch, about 9 o'clock. Came to anchor and disem- barked. Found the people very rude and inhospit- able ; could scarcely procure a draught of milk; could not help contrasting this conduct with that of their Celtic brethren in Wales. Weighed anchor about 11 a.m. The wind s.s.w. By working to .wind- ward, entered the narrow mouth of the Loch, which is about eighteen miles long, and nine broad in the widest part. Several handsome residences on either side, with not unpleasant prospects. Passed Green Castle, and an old ruined fort ; the latter intended, no doubt, to guard the harbour. Anchored opposite Red Castle, a genteel house, the property of a Mr. Carey, about half-way up the Loch. Something like a Danish camp on a hill to the eastward ; could not ascertain its name. Got into the boat, and made for Londonderry. A rowing match between the crews of the two cutters entertained us much ; never witnessed a match so well contested, even on the Thames. They rowed about fourteen miles within two hours. Passed Culmore Fort, where, and on the VTSIT TO IRFXAND. 307 opposite side, batteries were planted by the rebel armies to intercept any relief designed for the starving garrison at Londonderry in 1688.* A little higher is * Mr. M'Gregor, in his 'True Stories from the History of Ireland,' thus writes of the siege of Derry : " About the middle of July, the usual means of subsistence had become so completely exhausted, that the flesh of horses, dogs, and vermin, hides, tallow, and other nauseous substances, were purchased at extravagant prices, and eagerly devoured. At this period, according to Walker's Diary, a pound of horse-flesh cost Is. Sd. ; a quarter of a dog, 5s. 6d. ; a dog's head, 2s. 6d. ; a cat, 4s. 6d. ; a rat, Is. ; a mouse, 6d. ; a pound of greaves, Is.; a pound of tallow, 4s.; a pound of salted hides, lOd. ; a quart of horse-blood, Is. ; a quart of meal Is. ; a handful of sea- wreck, 2s. Water, which was their only drink, was extremely dear, and could not be procured but with great danger. But towards the close of the month of July, even these miserable resources were nearly exhausted ; and on the 28th no means of subsistence could be found for more than two days. Still Walker, their clerical governor, assured his famishing and ghastly audience from the pulpit, that the Almighty would speedily grant them deliverance ; and while his congregation were returning from divine service, on the 30th of July, with their minds yet warm from a sermon delivered with all the earnestness of a man inspired, they discovered three ships in the Lake mak- ing way to the town. Kirke, after abandoning them for six weeks, having now thought fit, in the extremity of their distress, to make a hazardous attempt for their relief. These vessels consisted of the Phoenix, Captain Douglas, laden with several hundred bolls of meal, and the Mountjoy, Captain Browning, with 135 tons of beef, peas, flour and biscuit, under the escort of the Dartmouth frigate, commanded by Captain Leake. All eyes were now fixed on these interesting objects ; while several cannons were dis- charged, and a crimsom flag slowly waved from the steeple of the cathedral, to signify the extremity of their distress. Now or never! was the simultaneous cry of the emaciated multitude on the walls, as the ships approached under an incessant fire from the enemy's batteries on both sides of the river. They passed the fort of Cul- more without sustaining any material injury ; and the besieged 308 VISIT TO IRELAND. Boom Hall ; opposite, on a narrow part of the river, is the memorable spot on which, during the siege, the boom was laid across. The boom consisted of strong pieces of timber united by iron chains, and strength- ened by cables. Arrived at Londonderry.* An ex- tensive harbour, with a number of shipping. It is rather remarkable that vessels of such size should be able to sail up, while the navigation is apparently so were filled with transports ofjoy, which were almost instantane- ously succeeded by despair, when the Mountjoy, after breaking the boom, rebounded with violence, and ran aground, while the enemy, rushing in crowds to the water-side, launched their boats to board her ; but the Mountjoy, firing a broadside at the enemy, rebounded from the shore, and floated again in deep water. Cap- tain Douglas, of the Phoenix, was at this time warmly engaged as he passed up, on the breaking of the boom by the gallant Brown- ing, who, while his ship lay aground, was killed by a musket ball, with four of his men. King William settled a pension on his widow for her life, and with his own hands placed a chain of gold about her neck in presence of the court. The victuallers now continued their progress without further molestation up the river ; and, at ten o'clock at night, cast anchor at the ship-quay gate, amidst the acclamations of the famished garrison and inhabitants, and the ringing of bells, intermingled, no doubt, with many a pious ejaculation for this providential deliverance. ' For at this time,' says Walker, ' we had only nine horses left, and one pint of meal to each man. Hunger and fatigue of war had so pre- vailed among us, that of 7500 men regimented at the com- mencement of the siege, we had now alive but about 4300, of whom at least one-fourth part were rendered unserviceable.' The besieging army kept up a heavy fire during a great part of the night, but at day-break they abandoned the position which, for 105 days, they had occupied before Londonderry, having lost eight or nine thousand men in their unsuccessful attempts to re- duce that city." — [Ed.] * " Londonderrv is distant 115 miles from the Castle of Dublin : VISIT TO IRELAND. 309 difficult and insecure, our boats grounded repeatedly. The town is pleasantly situated on the river Foyle ; has four main streets, and several smaller ; is sur- rounded by embattled walls in good repair, about a mile long, and eight feet broad, on which grows a herb resembling ivy, said to be good for swellings ; it is called by the inhabitants pellitory. A pleasant walk on the parapets. The 61st regiment of foot it consists of four main streets issuing from the exchange, and terminating at a gate denominated from the street ; the smaller streets and lanes observe a similar arrangement. The streets are well paved and lighted. The cathedral is a Gothic building erected in the year 1633 : the original tower was lately orna- mented with a beautiful spire. The town-hall and market-house were erected in the year 1692, over which are the courts of justice, occasionally used as a ball-room. The new gaol, the episcopal palace, and the linen hall are spacious, and well adapted for their respective destinations. The walls, though built in 1614, are in very fine repair, and flanked with bastions. The platform on the top of the rampart is spacious and covered with a parapet ; the quay, and a great portion of the city, are situated outside the walls. The harbour is deep, wide, and tolerably secure, as the sand banks at the mouth of Loch Foyle do not obstruct the na- vigation, there being at all times of the tide fourteen fathoms of water in the channel. A very extensive commercial intercourse exists between this town, the West Indies, and America. This city and its liberties constitute a distinct county, enjoying all the privileges attached to such a distinction. Its civil government is vested in a mayor, aldermen, recorder, and sheriffs. On the at- tainder of O'Neale, the county of Derry was granted by James I. to the citizens of London, on stipulation of colonizing the district with English settlers, by whom the town was new modelled and fortified. It was constituted an episcopal see in the year 1158. There were some monastic institutions founded here at a very early period. In the year 1790, a very fine wooden bridge was erected over the river Foyle, by Mr. Cox, an American. " — The Traveller s New Guide through Ireland, 1815. £Ed.] 310 VISIT TO IRELAND. stationed here. The cathedral, which is built in the Gothic style, has an ancient appearance, but was erected as late as the year 1633. The tower is cracked in consequence of two guns having been placed on the roof during the siege. Sunday, 21st. — This day shamefully and awfully profaned. Could not help observing the indecency and impiety of publicly offering articles for sale in the streets. On inquiry found that the sabbath- breakers were mostly Roman Catholics : another proof amongst a hundred of the bad effects of inter- dicting the Scriptures, of keeping the unhappy people in darkness and ignorance ! " Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy." " That the soul be without knowledge it is not good." Much pleased with the service at the cathedral ; excellent music and sing- ing, and a crowded congregation. The clergyman took his text from Psalm cxlv. 17: "The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works." The preacher observed that mankind might be sen- sible of the moral obligations of justice, but that they did not always perceive the reasons on which they hinged ; or, perceiving them, were unwilling to be determined by them: that human justice is liable to much obstruction for want of proper evidence, and from the obscurity of facts ; and where its evi- dence is complete, the intricacy of a case, and the specious appearance of probability on either side, may render its merits imperceptible ; that even where matters are clearest, worldly considerations too often pervert the judgment ; prejudices of hatred or favour, the solicitations of superiors, or the fasci- VISIT TO IRELAND. 311 nations of bribery may blind the eyes of men of un- derstanding, and make them " acceptors of persons" in their judicial administrations ; but that the allwise and omniscient God must be inaccessible to such sinister and grovelling influences ; that being per- fectly acquainted with the rules of equity, and neces- sarily judging of things as they really exist ; and being able to execute what is right and fit according to that knowledge, without any possible temptation to deviate from it, he is incapable of being moved or misled by any bias, or awed by any power : that such a Being must evidently always act without par- tiality, prejudice, or respect of persons, and therefore must be "righteous in all his ways." In order to prove that the Lord is holy in all his works, Mr. remarked that he who has will united to reason must be a moral agent : that he who has reason in the highest and most perfect degree, must be in the highest and most perfect degree a moral agent : that he who is above every temptation to be bad, must be uniformly good : or, in other words, that he who has an infinite understanding, as well as an unbiassed will, must always perceive the best motives, and act in conformity with them, con- sequently must be " holy in all his works." The arguments were clearly laid down, and the discourse generally written in a nervous and forcible style ; but on the whole it tended more, I thought, to display the oratorical powers of the preacher, than to edify or improve the hearer. Monday, 22nd. — Visited the fustian and cotton manufactory, and other public buildings in the town ; 312 VJSIT TO I ICELAND. also a roomy old house called the bishop's palace. It contained a tolerable good collection of paintings, &c; a delicious picture by West — subject, the death of General Wolfe. Another, by the same, the re- surrection of our Saviour : Moses sweetening the waters of Meribah, by Nicolo Poussin, &c. ; mo- dels of the Pantheon and the triumphal arches at Rome ; antique statues, vases, and bas-reliefs, by Paoli, Panini, &c. In the garden are a spacious hothouse and green house, containing a good collec- tion of rare and foreign plants ; the grounds mostly in great disorder and much neglected. The pleasure- house is painted in a very tasteful manner, being an imitation of basaltic pillars, and an excellent represen- tation of the Giant's Causeway. One of the party thought the basaltic columns were real ; much amused at the deception. Crossed the ferry, and took a post-chaise at the waterside for Coleraine. Had an unfavourable afternoon, much rain, attended with thunder and lightning. Passed Daisy Hill, a remarkably pretty seat belonging to Mr. M'Caus- tand. Reached Newton Limevaddy by 4 o'clock ; a neat little town, pleasantly situated on the river Roe ; here are a church and a market-house, nothing else very remarkable. It being a market day, had a good opportunity of observing the manners and dresses of the natives, and the produce of the neigh- bourhood. Arrived at Coleraine,* a very consi- * The city of Coleraine, or Bannina, as it was anciently styled, lies about two miles and a half from that curious basaltic struc- ture, Craig-a-huller; the road, passing the seat of M'Naghten, Esq. is rather an agreeable ride. The county of the city of Cole- VISIT TO IRELAND. 313 derable town four miles from the sea. The river Barm runs through it. It was a place of some con- sequence in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, during the adminstration of the lord deputy, Sir John Perrot, and was a see, St. Carbreus, who flourished about the year 540, being the first bishop. The church is a handsome building, and very old, the date of it not raine, otherwise called O'Cahan's country, is of ancient appoint- ment; it was divided, as we learn from the Hibernica of Harris, into ballyboes, as Tyrone, and contained 547 of these measures, or 34,187 acres. The town appears to have been originally laid out by Sir John Perrot. It was planted with English colonists, and the very houses are said to have been framed in London, and sent over here to be erected. Until very lately some of the black oak frames, filled with plastered wicker, were to be seen on one side of the Diamond. After the retirement of Sir John, Cole- raine fell greatly to decay ; in 1618, the walls and ramparts were built of sods ; there was no provision for the mounting of a single piece of artillery, and the number of inhabitants scarcely sufficient to man one-sixth part of the walls ; but the introduction of a manufacture, and enjoyment of a free trade, united with the industry and good conduct of its inhabitants, have rendered Cole- raine not only the second town in the county, but a nourishing, beautiful, and happy settlement. Coleraine is, at present, about three quarters of a mile in length, and is intersected by several cross streets. The old town stood on the east side of the Bann ; but Captain-street, and the suburb of Killowen, are now included in the precincts of the city. There is an excellent linen trade carried on here ; and it is a market, post, and fair town. The family of Harger derive the title of Barons from this place. About the year 540, St. Carbreus, a disciple of St. Finian of Clonard, was made first bishop of Coleraine. To him succeeded St. Eonall, who was bishop in the time of St. Columb, the founder of the abbey of Derry. In 930, Ardmedius, abbot of Cole- raine, was cruelly murdered by the Danes ; and in 1171, Manus M'Dunlave plundered this church and several others. In 1213, Thomas M'Ucchtry and the Gauls of Ulster, erected a castle 314 VISIT TO IRELAND. precisely known; it is kept in good order. Much delighted with the beautiful seat of Mr. Jackson ; the summer-house ingeniously and elegantly thatched, the fences and gates of wickerwork, wattled in the neatest manner imaginable. Tuesday, 26th. — Left Coleraine this morning, and travelled leisurely towards the Causeway : within here, for which purpose they raised all the pavement, and de- stroyed every part of the abbey, the church only excepted. To the west of the town stood a monastery, called the Monastery of the Bann, founded in the fifth century, by the noble family of the O'Cahans, or by the M'Evelins. In 1244, it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary; and, in 1484, was reformed by the Dominican order. In 1560, Sir Robert Savage, Knt. of Ulster, an excel- lent soldier, was buried here. And in 1644, this monastery was erected into a university, by the general council of Rome. In the Hibernia Dominica many interesting particulars are recorded of this ancient establishment; amongst others, a remarkable triumph of the Virgin's image over the Scotch bishop, Brutus Babington, and his attendants, is detailed at full length. The landed pro- perty of the monastery of the Bann was resigned into the hands of commissioners employed by James the First, and by him granted to the London Society. The last prior was Shane O'Neill. The present church is parochial, and is a rectory in the diocese of Connor. The bridge over the river Bann is built of stone and wood ; the piers are stone, the flooring, span pieces, and ceiling of wood. Such bridges are very proper where there are both a rapid current and a great body of water. From the bridge, on the north side, is seen the pretty seat of — Jackson, Esq. ; and to the south, the river view is extremely rich and beautiful. The fishery of the Bann has long been celebrated for its productive- ness ; it was, at different periods, the property of different per- sons and bodies ; namely, the Protector Cromwell, the earls of Donegall, the London Society, &c. At present, one fishery belongs to the Society, the other to the Donegall family. The value of course varies with the prices of provisions ; the average rent of each is probably about one thousand pounds per annum, &c. — Guide to the Giant's Causevjay, 1834. [Ed.] VISIT TO IRELAND. 315 about four miles of this lies Dunluce Castle,* a very extensive but dilapidated edifice, situated on the margin of the sea, so that the walls and towers seem only a continuation of a perpendicular rock, which is several feet high, and is washed by the waves. The entire area of rock, which is detached from the land by a wide and deep chasm, is completely occu- * The walls of the building were never very lofty, but, from the great area which they inclose, contained a considerable number of apartments. One small vaulted room is said to be inhabited by a Banshee, whose chief occupation is sweeping the floor : this story originates in the positive fact that the floor is at all times as clean as if it had been just then swept ; but this difficulty can be explained, without the introduction of Maw Roi, the fairy, by the fact that the wind gains admittance through an aperture on a level with the floor, and thus preserves the appearance of cleanliness and freedom from dust just now described. In the north-eastern end is a small room actually projecting over the sea, the rocky base having fallen away ; and from the door of this apartment there is a very awful view of the green sea beneath. The rock on which the castle stands is not surrounded by water, but is united, at the bottom of the chasm, to the main land, by a ledge of rock, a little higher than the surface of the ocean. The castle was en- tered by a bridge, formed in the following manner : — two parallel walls, about eight feet asunder, thrown across the chasm, con- nected the rock with the main land : upon these, planks were laid cross-wise for the admission of visitors, and removed immediately after the passage was effected. At present, but one of the walls remains, about thirteen inches in thickness ; and the only path- way to the castle is along its summit, over the awful rocky chasm. On the main land, close to the castle, a second collection of simi- lar buildings are seen, erected at a later period, by one of the Antrim family, in consequence of a melancholy occurrence amongst the domestics in the castle. A small apartment on the verge of the rock gave way, and fell into the ocean, which so alarmed the female part of the family, that additional apartments were erected for their accomodation upon the main land. This is said to have happened during the occupancy of Catherine Man- 316 VISIT TO IRELAND. pied by the building. It was the ancient residence of the lords of Antrim, was entered by a drawbridge placed over the frightful chasm, and, before the in- vention of gunpowder, it must have been impreg- nable. Such fortifications as these are the produc- tions of mere necessity, as they are constructed only for security from rival chieftains or roving pirates, with little regard to convenience, and with consider- ably less to pleasure and elegance. Its exact date is not known. Arrived at Bushmills, a neat little village on the river Bush, at the mouth of Ballintra Bay. Two miles further, along a good road, for which the ners, widow of George Villiers, the great Duke of Buckingham, who married Randall, the first Marquis of Antrim. Though all accurate knowledge of the date of erection, and name of the founder of Dunluce Castle are completely lost, yet the history of its proprietors for the few last centuries is extremely interesting, and affords a very characteristic account of the state of society in the feudal periods of the 15th and 16th centuries. It has been conjectured that De Courcy, Earl of Ulster, originally founded this castle : but the architecture is not of so very ancient a date. In the 15th century it was held by the English ; at which period it appears to have fallen into the hands of a noble English family, called by Camden, M' Willies, from whose hands it passed into the possession of M'Donalds of the Isles ; and to their descen- dants it belongs at this day. The M'Willies, now generally called M'Quillans, were the descendants of the De Burgos, a noble English family, who were once lords of that part of the county of Antrim usually denominated the Rout. In Hamilton's Letters is a tolerably perfect account of the unfortunate family of the M'Quillans, from the first moment of their intercourse with the M'Donalds, in 1580, when Colonel M'Donald, brother to James, Lord of Cantyre, came into Ireland, with a band of men, to assist Tyrconnell against the great O'Neill, with whom he was then at war, or, according to the Antrim MS. to settle the dispute VISIT TO IRELAND. 317 public are indebted to the bishop of Derry, is, I sup- pose, the greatest phenomenon in the world, the 1 Giant's Causeway,' a range of basaltic cliffs, con- sisting of many thousand vertical rectangular pillars. They are of the colour and hardness of iron, and even resist the file; are composed of a number of joints nicely fitted, and so close to one another that a knife-blade can with difficulty be inserted through them. As to shape they are generally pentagonal, hexagonal, and septagonal : yet almost all are irre- gular, none of their sides being of equal breadth. Great have been the labours of learned and scientific men to ascertain the composition of this fossil, and between Irish Coll and M'Quillan. The history of Dunluce Castle, from the marriage of Col. M< Donald, is inseparable from that of the Antrim family, into whose possession it fell upon the death of the father in law of Coll. In 1585, Sorley Boy, i. e. Yellow Charles, lord of Dunluce Castle, still preserving a rebel- lious disposition, was besieged in his castle by Sir John Perrot, lord deputy of Ireland. The account of the siege is to be met with in Sir John's Life. In 1642 Dunluce Castle was the scene of another act of treachery of as black a character. In the month of April in that year, General Munroe made a visit to the Earl of Antrim, at this castle, and was received with many expressions of joy, and honoured with splendid entertainments ; and further, the earl offered him assistance of men and money, to reduce the country to tranquillity. But this Munroe, when these feats were over, seized on the earl's person, took possession of his castle, and put the other castles of his lordship into the hands of the Marquis of Argyle's men. He conveyed the earl to Carrickfergus, and im- prisoned him in the castle ; but from this he very soon effected his escape, and withdrew to England. Shortly after this period, Bally magarry became the favourite residence of the M' Donalds ; but this noble mansion was accidentally burned in 1750; from which time, to the present day, Glenarm Castle has been the family seat. — Guide to the Giant's Causeway, 1834. [Ed.] 318 VISIT TO IRELAND. their theories have been nearly as numerous as they have been diversified ; some considering it to be the entrochos lapis, the astroites or lapis stellosis, and to be of the same species as the lapis misneus of Stolpen in Saxony, of which a description is given by Agricola in his " History of Fossils." Others are of opinion that its chemical properties are different, and they trace its formation to the action of volcanic fire ; while a third maintain it to be a crystallization from water. The Causeway is plainly the work of nature, and runs through the whole of the northern coast, under the sea to Rath- lin Island, and even to Scotland.* Its length, at low water, is about 600 feet, if not more ; its breadth in the widest part 250 feet, and in the narrowest about 120 feet ; and its height about 36 feet or up- wards.f Pliny says, the largest block of basalt ever seen was placed by Vespasian in the temple of Peace ; and that the statue of Memnon, in the temple of Serapis, at Thebes, was constructed of this stone- We went to see a cave hard by, which, according to the simple natives, " the mighty big giant made for* his ow7i convanience" and in which this renowned hero of the place cooled his wine no doubt ! This cavern is of very considerable dimensions, in the bosom of the solid rock, and at a distance it bears the appearance of a Gothic archway. The roof is * Staffa, one of the Western Isles, is composed of this stone. -[Ed.] f The promontory of Benmore, or Fairhead, is 500 feet above the level of the sea, and some of the blocks exceed 200 feet in height. — Dublin Penny Journal. [Ed.] VISIT TO IRELAND. 319 beautifully formed of the same species of stone as the mole, of various shapes and sizes, as if executed with the utmost elegance of art, in some measure re- sembling an exquisitely worked cornice of a cathe- dral ceiling. This excavation is also remarkable for a very powerful reverberation of sounds ; though not quite so musical perhaps as that basaltic piece of workmanship which resounded at the rising of the sun, and to which Juvenal refers when he says, " Dimidio magicse resonant ubi Memnone chordse." We dined amidst this wild magnificence of nature, having very substantial materials for our table, chairs, and carpet, and a serene sky for our canopy ; thus we enjoyed a repast of rational luxury, and a flow of intellectual delight. We left this romantic scenery with regret, and encamped at Ballimony, a large but scattered village, near which is the elegant mansion of Mr. Leslie, called "Leslie Hill." Friday, 29th. — We came this morning to Ahoghill, a small village within eleven miles of Antrim. This we intended making our resting place ; but, owing to the vile humour of our landlady, we found it imprac- ticable, so we precipitated our departure, and, feeling happy at our escape, left the lioness to herself, concurring with the immortal bard, that " Anger is like A full hot horse, who being allowed his way Self-mettle tires him." Visited the Moravian settlement at Grace Hill, which is situated on a rising ground opposite Gilgorn Castle. The settlement was founded in 1746, and 320 VISIT TO IRELAND. contains about 300 inhabitants. Differing, as these people do, from us in the form only of ecclesiastical government, we cannot but regret their exclusion from the pale of our church, as there is no body of Christians who more closely resemble the primitive disciples either in the peaceableness of their dispo- sitions, or in the purity and usefulness of their lives. After a very uninteresting drive of seven miles, we reached Randalstown, a village agreeably situated on the river Main, and rendered picturesque by the neighbouring plantations and the richness of the grounds. There being nothing worthy of much notice here, we passed on and drove through the rich and beautifully wooded demesne of the Right Hon. Sir John O'Neil,* and stopped at Shane's Castle, t a splendid mansion belonging to that gentleman, and enchantingly situated on the banks of Lough Naigh.J * Afterwards Lord O' Neil. In the rebellion of 1798, afurious battle was fought at Antrim, in which the rebels were routed with prodigious slaughter ; but, sad to say, this amiable nobleman lost his life, when valiantly combating in the defence of his sovereign and our glorious constitution. — Traveller s Guide, 1815. [Ed.] f The magnificent mansion of Shane's Castle, anciently Eden- duff Carrick, was unhappily destroyed by fire in 1816; and we understand there is no immediate intention of restoring it. — Guide to the Causeway, 1834. [Ed.] % The healing property of this lake I conceive to be fabulous ; but as very grave and learned naturalists have not hesitated to mention it, I shall quote their words. " The healing property of Lough Neagh is supposed to be confined to that part of the lake called the Fishing Bay, which is bounded by the school lands of Dungarvon. The occasion of first taking notice of this bay for cure, is said to have been in the reign of Charles II. in the in- stance of the son of Mr. Cunningham, who had an evil to that de- VISIT TO IRELAND. 321 That noble expanse of water is twenty miles long", and fifteen broad, and about eighty miles in circum- ference : with the exception of lakes Ladoga and Geneva, it is the largest in Europe. It is said to pos- sess both healing and petrifying qualities ; but as we required not the one, and had no time for an experi- gree, that it run on him in eight or ten places. He was touched by the king (to whose royal touch a virtue was at that time ascribed of healing this distemper), and all imaginable means were unsuc- cessfully used for his recovery : his body was so wasted that he could not walk. At length he was bathed in this lake for eight days, when his sores were dried up, and he grew healthy, and married, had children, and lived many years." — Down Survey. The very name of Neagh, which is probably a corruption of Neasganulcer, seems to allude to an ancient belief in this healing property of the waters ; and also the more ancient name of Lion- nmhuine, that is, the Lake of the Sore, bears a similar reference. The fabulous writers of the early ages assert, that Lough Neagh first burst forth in the year 65 of the Christian era, when Lugaid Rhaibderg ascended the throne of Ireland, at which time there were but three lakes and ten rivers in the whole kingdom. The petrifying quality of the lake is attended with circumstances of a more interesting nature to the philosopher, and has continued to puzzle our most sagacious naturalists from the time of Nennius, who wrote of this fact in the ninth century, to the present day. Tradition states, that pieces of holly have been completely trans- muted into stone in the space of seven years, by the waters of the lake, while the experiments of the philosopher prove that a lapse of twenty years was insufficient to cause the slightest apparent tendency to petrifaction in pieces of the same timber, similarly disposed. One account asserts, that a holly stake has been driven into the sandy bottom of the lake, so that one portion was buried in the sand, another under water, and the remainder ex- posed to the atmosphere ; and the result was, that the lower part was converted into iron, the middle into stone, and the upper re- tained its ligneous nature ; but this harmless chimera is unworthy of belief. Such an experiment was tried for the purpose of ascer* Y 322 VISIT TO IRELAND. ment on the other, we felt perfectly satisfied with the report of its celebrity. We passed a ruinous seat of Earl Massareen, adjoining the grounds of Sir John O'Neil, and soon afterwards, a handsome but dilapidated bridge over the " Six-mile-water." An- trim is an extensive but ruinous town on the Six-mile river. It was at one period a place of some note ; taining to which of the three elements in question the petrifying quality was attributable, but probably neither the duration of the experimentalist's life, nor the impatience of discovery, permitted the result of a sufficient experiment to be fairly established ; and the state of the argument at this day is, that such a property or petrifying quality actually exists in the vicinity of Lough Neagh ; but where this virtue resides, whether in the soil, the water, or the exhalations which arise from the lake, is still a matter of contro- versy amongst the learned. The strand of the Lough abounds in very beautiful pebbles, much resembling the Scotch, and suscep- tible of a very high polish. Several beautiful specimens may be seen in the excellent mineralogical collection of the Royal Dublin Society. There are but two small islands in the Lough, Black- water Island, at the mouth of the river, from which it derives its appellation, and Ram Island, which is rendered remarkable by its lofty ancient round tower : this latter is about one mile and a half from the shore; and from the shallowness of the intervening channel, is supposed to have been a peninsula, when the tower was built. The height of the remaining part of the tower is about 40 feet, and is in good preservation. — Guide to the Giants' Causeway, 1834. A cottage which is extremely pretty, and furnished in the most tasteful manner, was some time since erected (on Ram's Island) by Earl O'Neil, to whom it belongs. The entire ground is laid out into walks, and covered with verdure. Several hundred rose trees, and those plants and flowers which constitute the pride of our gardens, all flourish luxuriantly. Even those sides of the island which are almost perpendicular, are adorned with all those creeping plants and hardy shrubs which are adapted to the situa- tion. — Dublin Penny Journal, 1833-4. Ed. VISIT TO IRELAND. 323 but during the rebellion, in the reign of Charles II., it was burnt down by that bigoted puritan, Robert Monro and his blinded followers, and it has not since been entirely restored. It was anciently a bishop- rick ; and, according to Camden, an abbey was founded here by Durtracta, a disciple of St. Patrick's. None of us, I believe, possessed such frigid philoso- phy as to traverse this and other spots in the land of Erin, without some strong emotions. On the north side of the town of Antrim is a very remarkable structure, called a " Round Tower," of which there are many in this country. It is about ninety feet high ; it consists of three stories with loop-holes in each, for the admission of light or air, and it tapers at the top in the form of a cone. We were not able to ascertain correctly either the date or the purpose of its erection, so unconnected is it with any other building. But from the appearance of a cross, rudely cut over the door, together with other indications, I should conceive it was appropriated to ecclesiastical purposes, and possibly might have been a part of St. Durtract's Abbey. ****** Cetera desunt. " MY DEAR PETER, Galloway House, Oct. 20, 1787. " You may possibly be a little entertained with a short narrative of our travels in Ireland ; at least as the account comes from me, you will perhaps have patience enough to read it, and goodness enough to overlook its imperfections. That it may not tire you, I will take care that it shall be of no immode- rate length. 324 VISIT TO IRELAND. " The two youngsters under my care, and a phy- sician of the name of Brown, formed the whole of our party. We embarked on a fine day in July last, and hovered off the coast of Scotland the whole night. There is nothing so beautiful in a Scotch shore but you can quit it without regret ; indeed we could not help wishing we could have parted with it sooner than we did, but the wind would not permit us. The next morning when we awoke we were surprised to find we were not near the Hiber- nian shore, but near Stranraer, a little town in Gal- loway ; the wind, which continued high and adverse during the greatest part of the morning, seemed de- termined to expose to our view a little more of the nudities of Scotland before we left it. About mid- day the wind became more favourable ; we cleared Loch Ryan, and sailed within view of the Isle of Aisle : standing for Londonderry. Aisle is a conical rock, about half channel over, and forms no bad object at sea, where so few interesting objects are to be discovered. The wind through the greatest part of the day blew fresh, and the sea was rather rough, especially to our young sailors. Our medical companion lectured very scientifically on the various methods of preventing and assuaging sea sickness ; but, lo ! in the midst of his learned disquisitions, he began to be most violently affected himself, to our no small amusement, and he stood in greater need of his theories than any of the party. In the after- noon we came to anchor in Church Bay, in Rachlin, a little island about a league and a half from the northern extremity of Ireland. We had no sooner VISIT TO IRELAND. 325 dropped our anchor, than several boats came off, with dried fish and poultry to barter. I thought we had struck upon some savage coast. No cannibals could have looked wilder, or have shewn less marks of civilization. They bargained with the crew for old jackets, waistcoats, and other articles of clothing, and paid with pieces of dried cod, which appeared to be their current coin; and, as they counted in pure Irish, it gave the scene the greater appearance of our being among uncultivated savages. One of these strange looking people had a hen on which he seemed to place no small value. He would exchange it for nothing but bread, and that of the best sort. On the captain's boy expostulating with him on the unreasonableness of his demand, he answered in broken English, and in the brogue of the country, " Mate for mate, man, God preserve us, Ho!" Struck with the oddity of the whole scene, I got into the small boat and landed on the island, and found it a most miserable spot, but well worth exploring. It con- tains about twelve hundred inhabitants, such as they are, — is about five miles long, and one mile broad. " The next day we committed ourselves again to the winds and waves, and, after sailing for a day or two along the coast as far as Glenarm, we entered Loch Foyle, a lake about eighteen miles long, where we came to anchor. We rowed to Londonderry, and saw the place where the boom was thrown across in the memorable siege of 1688, when Walker the pro- testant clergyman commanded, and bid defiance to the united power of the papists, and that of their cowardly king. We examined the city very parti- 326 VISIT TO IRELAND. cularly; and, be assured, not without some powerful emotions. We read on the spot the account of the rebellion, and the noble stand made by the brave garrison. My young friends were much entertained with an anecdote told us of a fat man, who, in the distress during their scarcity of provisions, concealed himself for three days, imagining they would cer- tainly select him, should they be reduced to the necessity of feeding on one another. " We went by land through Colerainc, to see the celebrated Giants' Causeway, a quarry of basalt. The appearance is a mass or masses of perpendicular pillars resembling a solid honeycomb, and is one of the greatest natural curiosities in the world. One of my young companions was highly diverted with the account our guides gave of it, and listened with much pretended conviction to his tale. My young friend seemed inclined, however, to impugn the veracity of the narrator, and confessed he could not well comprehend how pillars of from thirty to forty feet high, as some of them are, could be placed there by human hand, or even by that of a giant. The countryman assured him that the artificer was several miles tall. ' He wash a hundred years ould when he wash born,'' said he, ' and share ner a word of lie Tm telling ye, yer honor.' This threw the youngsters into roars of laughter, and seemed to afford them greater amusement than anything they had heard the whole journey. " We took a postchaise from this very interesting place, and directed our course to Belfast. At An- trim we had one of the most delightful evening walks VISIT TO IRELAND. 327 I ever remember. It would have had charms for a Thomson. The evening" was still, the moon was bright, and the path lay through old gardens and a grove of the finest and most aristocratic trees in the country. We were so pleased with our stroll, that it was late at night before we returned to our quar- ters : a few trout caught in Loch Neagh, and re- markable for their size, afforded us an excellent supper ; and we had an amusing conversation on the adventures of the day : while the philosophical ramble of the evening heightened the relish of the repast. Loch Neagh is well worth seeing of itself; it is eighty miles in circumference. Shane's Castle and the wood around form an elegant ornament to its bank, and add much to the richness of the scenery. Our little cutter met us at Belfast Harbour, where we embarked, after viewing the various objects of curiosity, and set sail for Scotland. Here I am now and here I write myself, my dear brother, yours affectionately, " Eliezer Williams. " To Mr. P. Williams, Jesus College, Oxford." PROLOGUES AND EPILOGUES. PROLOGUE, Spoken by Mr. Wat kin William Thomas, on the acting of Terence's Andria by the Boys of Lampeter School, at the Town Hall, Lampeter, 22nd Dec. 1814. There are who deem us evidently wrong T" attempt a drama in an unknown tongue ; But that sole circumstance may prove the cause Of sure success, and gain us your applause ; For things by language, or by dress, conceaFd, Are thought more beautiful than things reveal'd. In lovely billet-doux, how soft the line ! French words adorn — how charming, how divine ! And Latin has its charms — what nymph denied Her lover pardon, who peccavi cried ? In each profession, Latin is the spell, Latin's the charm to make a man excel ! How could grave justices enforce the law, How, without Latin, keep poor rogues in awe ? For thus they frighten the poor wretch before 'em ; Must this be sufFer'd ? we are of the quorum ! Make out his mittimus, for that his fate is ; We ne'er forgive the crime of " ccesce majestatis." From the low conjurors of cups and balls To the learn'd advocate in county halls, Whoever miss'd a trick, or lost a cause, Who knew by Latin phrase to win applause ? By hocus pocus, or by fieri facias The man of learning constantly the case has. What makes their bills and periwigs so large? What swells the lawyer's brief — the judge's charge — 330 PROLOGUE. What but their Latin and their learned cant O, Their Habeas Corpus, and their " quo warranto V This is the talisman, the charm, depend on't, To conjure cash from plaintiff and defendant. This! in this place* ! I own I feel an awe, Lest I should raise the spirit of the law ; I doubt I've gone too far ! I'm sadly frighted, Lest, the next sessions, I should be indicted. But to the doctors I'll direct my sight, Who knows but they may cure me of my fright? What can renown'd apothecaries, pray, Or skilful surgeons, without Latin, say ? But oft their learning and their labour's lost; They cannot half enough of Latin boast : Vain are their arts, pingandi and secandi ; What must be done, good christians ! must the man die ? No, call in one of a superior tribe, One by diploma boasting to prescribe ; He comes in Latin wonderfully skill'd, And the poor patient's cured at once — or kill'd ; For many a man, ere now, has found his fate in A learn'd prescription, neatly veiPd in Latin. There are who think their prayers won't be heard, Unless in Latin they should be preferr'd ; For what in this world is not understood, Is fit for heaven, they think, and must be good. The chosen pastor makes his pulpit shake, And tries all arts to keep his flock awake ; But spite of all his arts, and all decorum, They nod, they doze, they sleep, they snore before 'm : "What, sleep ! the drowsy rogues," he roars, " I'll rant 'em, He fell who slighted Paulum predicant em." The charm prevails at once, see how they strain To shake off Morpheus' captivating chain ; The Town Hall, Lampeter. PROLOGUE. 331 Turn up their sleepy eyes with vast discerning, And wonder at his piety and learning. Finding that Latin is so much in fashion, We thought the way to win your approbation Was to select a play (for boys love play), Where we spout Latin every word we say, And what by some is thought excessive good, Where we can talk, and not be understood ; Where we quote jests that will no blushes raise, And laugh at wit, laugh'd at in ancient days. Methinks I hear a female critic cry, "This Andria's character, dear ma'am, stands high, One nam'd Tear-haunches # first contrived the play, A Roman youth, a lad of parts they say ; The plot is excellent, the style divine ! Why, there is Latin, ma'am, 1 in every line; 'Tis of Athenian origin, and further, Tis a love story — not at all 'bout murther." So the fair dame — But 'twas a source of strife, To find a father choose his son a wife ; But the sly youth, subdued by matchless charms, Clasp'd a defenceless stranger in his arms : The father frown'd ; the lady chanced to find Her friends and fortune — and he changed his mind. " Why, as the lady has so full a purse," He cries, " the youngster might, perhaps, do worse." The young folk married — on my word, 'tis true, And all were pleased — and so, I hope, will you. I fear I've spoil'd the tale — but don't discard it, 'Twas a good story reckon'd, when I heard it; To mar a story thus is wrong, no doubt, I'll call my school-fellows to help me out; And though we cannot tell a story well, Your smiles, I'm confident, will make it tell. * Terentius. 332 PROLOGUE, Delivered by Mr. W. W. Thomas, on acting Terence's Comedy of Phormio, by the Boys of Lampeter, Cardiganshire, at the Town Hall, Lampeter, Dec. 20, 1815. Oft have I heard old orators declaim Of Grecian genius and of Roman fame. The moderns censure, and the ancients praise, And shake their heads at our degen'rate days ; But I, an orator of recent birth, Stand here, the advocate of modern worth, Resolved to vindicate the fire and spirit Of modern genius and of modern merit. The Gauls of old kept Caesar years at bay, The moderns closed their business in a day. Had old Rome triumph'd on the Belgic plains, She would have seized a province for her pains. But profiting by war we are above — To show the world we only fight for love. Your ancient hero, when not worth a groat, Would fret, grow sullen, mope — -and cut his throat ; But modern heroes bravely dare to spare it, And glut and feast it with beef-steaks and claret. What mortals e'er in classic authors read Of Roman bakers walking for their bread ? While crowds astonish'd throng to see the wonder, A peasant walking or a justice blunder ? Satiric Juvenal a tale would broach Of Roman statesmen, who could drive a coach ; But what is that to nobles in our land, Who, Jehu-like, can manage four in hand ? What were the lawyers, famed in ancient ages, To our learned justice-loving sages ? PROLOGUE. 333 Could they make laws, to save a sinking land, Which none, without their aid, could understand ? Could they spin out a suit — or make an end on't, Till time should make an end of plaintiff and defendant ? Could Roman doctors read a sick man's brains, And by its dictates cure the patient's pains ? Or with metallic tractors heal old sprains ? Could they with animal magnetism mad Cure monied dupes of ills they never had? Or from an aged prophetess — to please her — Cut out a fancied hip-begotten Caesar? No — these were feats unknown in ancient story, By fate reserved to heighten Britain's glory. What were the Salii or the priests of Rome To our own motley ministers at home ? Where each mechanic's learned in the art, To act the minister's or tradesman's part? Where the same hand is raised — divine, no doubt — Now with a hammer in't, and now without ? Or at his customer's, or heaven's control, To mend a slipper now — and now a soul ? Where rustic swains for teachers quit their trade, Resign the plough, and spurn the useless spade ! Homer and Maro, we are gravely told, Were look'd upon as prodigies of old ; But bards, like flowers, in modern days appear, And bud, and bloom, and wither in a year. To ancient actors 'twas a dreadful task, To seek the theatre without a mask ; But modern actors on the stage will rush, Without the slightest hazard of a blush. Your Roman wits conceived of old, 'tis true, And once an age brought forth a piece or two ; But the prolific writings of our age, Crowd, with their num'rous progeny, the stage; While sympathising critics, at the birth, Feel all the pangs of pity or of mirth. 334 PROLOGUE. Some roar the " Stagyrite" theatric laws, Some groan, some hiss, some thunder out applause. Amidst such tumults usher'd into light, The poor dear bantlings die — perhaps of fright. Judge from the specimen we give to-night, Whether these Romans knew the art to write. How singular the characters they drew, How little of the fashionable world they knew. An angry lady's pictured in our play, Storming to find her husband go astray ; But modern dames whene'er their husbands roam, Are kindly comforted by friends at home. Abound in love you've found our play, I'm certain, Although conceal'd, in part, behind the curtain. But if you ladies can't the whole discern, Why then, I think, our language you must learn ; You'll soon, I have no doubt, apt scholars prove How easy 'tis to say, A mo, I love. Will you apply ? — 'twill very much amuse you — Nay, do it now — the men will not excuse you. Did you but comprehend our lingo well, You'd see in what our Latin plays excel ; How they abound in lovers, and in wits, In lawyers also, processes and writs, Solicitors, who drive in gigs about, And build their splendid palaces, no doubt ; While every town presents a noble group, I see no reason why th' oppress'd should droop : You know the lawyers ne'er their clients dupe. Phormio you'd find the engine of our plot, Bold in intrigue, he never miss'd a shot : One, who alike to prove, has learnt the nack That black is white, or else that white is black. 335 PROLOGUE To Terence s Comedy of Adelphi, acted by the Boys of Lam- peter School, Dec. 19, 1816, and spoken by the head boy, Mr. John Jenkins, sen. The two Latin Prologues, by Messrs D. Griffith and Watkin Herbert. Since acting is the fashion of the day, Faith, I'll e'en try what I can do that way, Put on a mimic face, and tread the stage, Like other actors of this acting age. For rich and poor, I find, and high and low, And young and old — all, all are actors now. An able statesman, of majestic mien, Boldly stands forward on the public scene ; " To save his country in distress he'll try, Though in the glorious enterprise to die" — His country's interest he feels at heart, He's thought sincere, so well he plays his part; But get behind the scenes — you'll find it true — 'Tis his own interest he has most in view. A patriot next appears upon the stage, Who feels at court ungovernable rage, Rails at the minister, condemns the laws, Cajoles the populace, and gains applause ; But look beneath the mask, 'tis all grimace, The mimic patriot only wants a place — He toils to talk the premier's party down, Not for his country's, but his own renown. A rich contractor next, at placemen rails : " This peace has ruin'd us, our commerce fails, Trade is no more, and agriculture's gone, Our manufacturers are all undone, The country's lost, unless — we have a war ;" How well he acts — his parts are famed afar, 336 PROLOGUE. Till some suspect, resistless as he rants, That a good contract is the thing he wants. O'er the rich feast the citizen complains, " Our lab'ring poor are starving on our plains" — " Then eat less ven'son, let the poor have some ;" — — " My good friend, charity begins at home ;" > > > 3 ■ > > ^> > > > ^> > . > > > > > :> >• _^