Amaritimecounty of North Wales, extending thirty-five miles in length by thirty-four in breadth, and spreading over an area of four hundred and thirty thousand acres. This was the Roman Mervinia, and derives its name from Merion, a British prince and distinguished general, who expelled the Irish from this district, some time in the fifth century. A Roman occupancy of Merioneth, and one of some duration, is abundantly evident from the encampmentsand roads still remaining, as well as from the coins and medals frequently dug up here. The surface of the country is a continuation of the mountain chain which rises on the coast of Caernarvonshire, and traversing the principality dips into the Bristol Channel. The loftiest of the Merioneth hills “Cader Idris,” or the Chair of Idris, is elevated two thousand nine hundred and fourteen feet above the sea, a height inferior to that of Snowdon; but its position as a natural observatory, a purpose to which tradition states it was applied by Idris the astronomer, is infinitely superior to that of the monarch of the Caernarvon hills. The beauty of the scenery of mountain, valley, lake, and river, is not exceeded by those of similar and rival character in the adjoining counties, and its seclusion and primitiveness are less interrupted and more complete. In cataracts and delicious passages of river scenery it is superior to any other shire in Wales. To the want of roads may be traced the retirement in which the inhabitants live, to many possibly this may be a subject of envy rather than regret. The population are engaged chiefly in agriculture, that is in the rearing of sheep, black cattle, and the care of wool; the slate quarries also contributing a large revenue towards their more easy and comfortable subsistence. Bark and oak timber, next to the trade in slates, constitute their most important articles of commerce.
Thispicturesque village is situated upon the great road from Shrewsbury to Holyhead, and about a quarter of a mile from the banks of the river Dee, in the county of Merioneth. It is seated art the base of a bold rock, a projection of the Berwyn mountains, against which the white tower of its church is well relieved, and forms an imposing feature in the beautiful landscape which the valley of the Dee presents at this place. It is an inland town, possessing the advantages of a market and good inn, but without any trade or manufacture; it has grown up into its present neat and cheerful aspect since the construction of the noble road which passes through it, and the traveller has here the gratification of observing, that whatever portion of his viaticum is expended at Corwen, is carefully husbanded and judiciously employed by its inhabitants. The church, a conspicuous feature in the distant view, is on a large scale in proportion to the extent of the town. In the cemetery surrounding it is the shaft of an ancient cross of excellent workmanship; and at the farther side stands a range of buildings two stories in height, called the College of Corwen. The following inscription, graven on a tablet placed over the entrance, explains its benevolent object:
“Corwen College for Six Widows of Clergymen of the Church of England, who died possessed of cure of souls, in the county of Merioneth, A.D. M.D.CCL. By the legacy of William Eyton, Esq. of Plas Warren.”
“Corwen College for Six Widows of Clergymen of the Church of England, who died possessed of cure of souls, in the county of Merioneth, A.D. M.D.CCL. By the legacy of William Eyton, Esq. of Plas Warren.”
Corwen is the country of Owen Glandwr. The head inn is adorned by his gigantic portrait: in the church wall is shown the private doorway, through which he entered his pew whenever he attended worship, and in the rock impending over the church yard is a recess, called “his chair.” From this rude seat Glandwr is said to have thrown a dagger with such strength that it left an impression of its form in a hard stone below, full half an inch in depth, which stone now forms the lintel of the doorway leading to his pew within the church.
On the sloping brow of a lofty hill, having a western aspect, is a circular enclosure, formed by loose stones but arranged in a systematic way, and measuring rather more than half a mile in circumference. Some scattered heaps within it are supposed to have been habitations, but nothing now appears to justify the notion. This curious circus is called Caer Drewyn, and Owen Gwynedd is said to have been encamped within it while the army of Henry the Second lay on the opposite side of the vale. A situation so commanding could not have escaped the notice of the prudent Glandwr, who frequently took shelter within this rude fortress, from which he had a free and uninterrupted view of his native vale of Glan-Dwrdwy. About one mile from Corwen is Rûg, the beautiful seat of Colonel Vaughan.
Aseaporttown in the county of Merioneth, is situated at the embouchure of the river Maw or Mawddach, which is obstructed at its entrance by a bar, and hence the origin of the Welsh name Abermaw, and the English Barmouth. The old town almost hangs over the sands, being built in parallel rows along the front of a steep rock, and upon so inconvenient a plan that the windows of all the houses, except those in the lowest street, are annoyed by the smoke ascending from the chimneys of those below. This formal arrangement has occasioned its comparison by tourists to the rock of Gibraltar, and seen from the sea it certainly does present a warlike front. The new town stands upon the sands at the base of the rock, and though free from the smoky imputation which blackens the character of its elder brother, is scarcely safe from the attacks of Neptune, who is only kept at a respectful distance by the intervention of a few mounts of sand shifting with every storm. The beach is level, hard, and smooth; a great convenience to those whose health requires the stimulus of cold immersion, and an agreeable ride for the fashionable visiters who come hither in the summer season for sociability and recreation. The panorama around the estuary is inconceivably grand; the river, expanding into a bay, is embraced by mountains assuming all formsas they aspire above each other, shooting into denuded cliffs that hang over the water, or clothed with forests retiring into deep glens, whither fancy alone can pursue them.
Barmouth has become now a very popular place, arising from various causes, its established character for courtesy and hospitality to strangers, the beauty of the surrounding scenery, and the excellence of the avenues communicating with the most fascinating landscapes in the principality. All the various modes of amusement and recreation provided at fashionable watering places are supplied here. The morning may be passed in riding over the sands, or exploring the wonders of the mountains and the beauty of the vales. Dancing, cards, billiards, and social meetings, occupy the evenings, at which the lyre of old Cambria is often heard pouring forth its plaintive melody. There are no public buildings of any architectural claims here. Baths, lodging-houses, spacious inns, and assembly rooms, are well adapted to their various ends, but present nothing interesting in the exterior. The new church, erected close to the water’s edge, is a very agreeable object, happily designed and creditably executed.
The Friar’s Island stands precisely in the mouth of the river, and ferries are established at the channels on each side; these once passed, a ride of one mile over the firm sands reaches the road to Towyn, which is carried along the front of a bold headland hanging over the sea, less beautiful, butequally bold as the old road round the brow of Penmaen Mawr.
Tre Madoc; Harlech Castle; Castel Goch or Welch Pool. London. Published by T. T. & J. Tegg, Cheapside, Oct. 1st 1832
There was a military station on the summit of Dinas Gortin, and close to the town stood a tower, in which the Earl of Richmond used to conceal himself, upon his visits to his confederates in this part of Wales. Its strength is celebrated in a poem, written at that period, in which it is also compared with Reinault’s tower near Mold.
Avillageon the western side of the estuary called the Traeth Mawr, in the promontory of Llyn and county of Caernarvon. It stands on a surface three feet lower than the level of the sea, from the invasion of which it is protected by a substantial embankment. A handsome church ornamented with a tower and spire, and approached through an arched way of exquisite workmanship; a spacious market-house, with assembly rooms in the upper story; a large inn and several good houses, all placed in well chosen and regular positions, indicate the taste of the founder, and excite a feeling of regret that his well directed exertions in excluding the sea were not ultimately better rewarded. The place derives its name from the late W. A. Madocks, Esq., a man of the most courtly, popular manners, and possessed of a penetrating and clear discernment. Hisfirst design of enclosing the ground on which the town is built proving successful, led him on to the greater but less happy attempt, that of embanking some thousand acres of the Traeth Mawr, by a sea wall from Caernarvon to Merionethshire. To secure, and place the validity of his title beyond future question, he obtained a grant from the crown in 1807 of all the sands from Pont Aberglaslyn to the point of Gêst. Across the sea-end of this space, and where the breadth was about one mile, he carried an embankment, in deep water, having a breadth of one hundred feet at the base and of thirty at the top. The material of which it is formed is rubble stone, formerly imbedded in loose earth, which was readily detached by the water and entirely carried away, leaving innumerable apertures for the ebb and flow of the tide. This unfortunate error might have been corrected by puddling or some other means; but the breadth of the embankment is still too trifling for the depth and force of the sea. The tide pours in rapidly through every part of this expensive work, presenting a calamitous picture of the projector’s losses, while the dam that secures the town will probably see generations rise and fall on one side, like the fluctuation of the waters from which it protects them on the other.
The idea of rescuing the Traeth Mawr from the sea is as old as the days of Sir John Wynne, of Gwydyr, A.D. 1625. This busy, pompous, but clever man, perceived the practicability of reclaiming both traeths, and solicited the assistance of his ingeniouscountryman, Sir Hugh Myddleton, but this eminent person declined the invitation, being then engaged in the vast scheme of leading the New River to London. What events are concealed in the arcana of fate! Sir Hugh died nearly broken-hearted, at the apparent failure of a scheme which subsequently proved eminently successful. Mr. Madocks’ life was embittered by the termination of a speculation which was at first apparently successful, then suddenly fell to hopelessness.
Harlech, now a poor village, deriving its only tenure in the memory of travellers from a noble castle, was formerly the capital of the county, and erected into a free borough by King Edward the First. But the great sessions have been removed to Dolgelly and Bala, and the privilege of sending a burgess to parliament was forfeited by neglect. The corporation consisted of a mayor, recorder, bailiffs, and burgesses, and their register is now in possession of a blacksmith in the village. The charter was stolen by the captain of a merchant vessel, who desired to see the authority upon which he was required to pay toll at Gêst Point; when the ancient deed was put into his hand, he dishonestly and villanously refused to return it, and put out to sea. Ormsby Gore, of Porkington, Esq. the representative of the house of Cleneny, has restored the littlecounty hall, in which the member for Merionethshire continues to be elected, and at other times it is appropriated to the charitable purpose of a poor school. A few years back even tourists were content with the history of Harlech, particularly if it happened to be accompanied by an illustration of the fine castle. The singular ruggedness of the way, and the wretchedness of the lodgings, threw a damp on the ardour of even the most inquisitive. These objections are happily no longer applicable, a new road is formed between Maes y Neuadd and Glyn, and Sir Robert Vaughan has erected a spacious and handsome inn at Harlech, where admirable accommodations are afforded upon singularly moderate terms.
The great attraction of Harlech is the magnificent castle,—formerly remarkable for its strength, now only celebrated for its beauty,—once the terror, but now the pride of the scene. It stands on the summit of a bold perpendicular rock, projecting from a range of hills which stretches along the coast, and frowning over an extensive marsh, which is scarcely higher than the level of the sea that skirts it. On the side next the sea it must originally have been utterly inaccessible, the castle walls being scarce distinguishable from the rock on which they rest, but rather resembling a continued surface of dark gray masonry. The other sides were protected by a fosse of great breadth and depth, cut in the solid rock. The only entrance was beneath a barbacan, within which a drawbridge fell across the fosse, and opened within a ballium which enveloped the citadel.The plan resembles a square, each angle of which is strengthened by a large circular tower, the entrance being also protected by two noble flankers. On the entrance side of the inner court are the chief apartments; and a beautiful elevation, of three stories in height, with cut stone architraves to each window, the whole terminated by graceful circular pavilions, rising far above the ballium, and commanding one of the grandest imaginable prospects, is still entire. It resembles in style and position the council hall in the castle of Beaumaris. The banqueting hall is on the opposite side, and its windows look, from a dizzy height, down upon the green waters of the sea. On the right of the court may be traced the ruins of a small chapel, the pointed window of which is still entire.
No more the banners o’er the ramparts wave,Or lead their chieftains onward to the fight,Where die the vanquish’d, or exult the brave,For victory, basking in its worship’d light.The Cambrian chiefs of Rheinog FawrAre mingled in the dust with common clay.
No more the banners o’er the ramparts wave,Or lead their chieftains onward to the fight,Where die the vanquish’d, or exult the brave,For victory, basking in its worship’d light.The Cambrian chiefs of Rheinog FawrAre mingled in the dust with common clay.
No view, in the northern shires, is superior in grandeur to the prospect from the light turrets of Harlech Castle. The Marsh and Traeth are seen spread out at a frightful depth, and from the margin of their wide level stupendous rocks and cliffs suddenly start up, tufted and embossed with wood. A great mass of air seems to float in the void behind this scene, separating a world of mountains, the grandeur of whose features the pencil only can express.A stupendous vista of broken bills forms a noble perspective, crossed by ranges that open to farther glimpses—summit succeeds to summit in endless train, leading the fancy into regions of solitary obscurity.
Bronwen, the fair necked, sister to Bren ap Lyr, Duke of Cornwall, and afterwards King of England, had a castle on this rock called “Twr y Bronwen.” She flourished in the third century, and was married to Matholwch, an Irish chieftain. The highest turret of the present fortress is still called, by the Welsh, after the name of the fair-bosomed princess, who once kept her court at Harlech. Colwyn ap Tango, Lord of Effionydd and Ardudwy, repaired and fortified the castle of Bronwen, and changed its name to Caer Collwyn. Upon the ruins of the British castle King Edward the First raised the beautiful and impregnable fortress of Harlech (the fair rock), and the union of the old and new masonry is still distinguishable in the walls. Owen Glandwr seized this fortress in the year 1404, but resigned it shortly after upon the approach of Henry’s army. Here the wretched Margaret of Anjou took refuge after the defeat of her friends at Northampton, but being pursued and discovered, she fled from Harlech also, leaving her jewels and baggage behind, which were afterwards seized by the Lord Stanley. Dafydd ap Ivan ap Einion, an adherent of the house of Lancaster held out, in Harlech Castle, for nine years after the accession of Edward the Fourth to the throne of England. His determined obstinacy, aquality for which his countrymen have always been remarkable in war, compelled the king to send a powerful army to dislodge him, under the leadership of William, Earl of Pembroke. After a march, both tedious and difficult, across an Alpine country, Pembroke sat down before the castle walls, and summoned the brave Welshman to surrender, but only received from him this singular answer: “Some years ago I held a castle in France against its besiegers so long, that all the old women in Wales talked of me; tell your commander that I intend to defend this Welsh castle now, until all the old women in France shall hear of it.” Sir Richard Herbert, who had the immediate conduct of the siege, finding the impregnable nature of the castle, and stubborn quality of its governor, accepted the surrender upon conditions honourable to Dafydd, guaranteeing to him and to his followers, fifty in number, their lives and estates. Being all persons of consideration, they were at first committed to the Tower, the king designing to put them all to death, notwithstanding the conditions of the surrender. Against Edward’s cruel and dishonourable conduct Sir Richard remonstrated, urging, that the Welsh hero might have held the castle longer for any thing the king’s army could have done to expel him; but the king still continuing in his base resolve, “then, sire,” said Sir Richard, “you may take my life, if you please, instead of that of the Welsh captain; for, if you do not, I shall most assuredly replace him in his castle, and your highness may send whomyou please to take him out.” The king was too sensible of Sir Richard’s utility to persevere in his iniquitous determination, so yielded to expediency, and pardoned the captives; but he never became sensible of the value of honour, and dismissed his own brave general without farther reward.
In the civil wars of Charles the First’s time this was the last fortress in Wales held for the king. William Owen, the governor, with about twenty followers, surrendered to General Mytton on the 9th of March, 1647.
Thisis an extensive, fertile, and manufacturing county. It partakes both of Welsh and English in its soil and inhabitants; presenting the most sublime and sequestered scenes, as well as the most primitive and distinct race of people, in the recesses of the mountains; while rich pastoral landscapes, adorned with waving woods, shelter the assembled dwellings of a manufacturing population that occupy the campaign country. The great Plinlimmon, fruitful in springs, the parent of the Severn, the Wye, and the Rheidol, hangs over the southern boundary, and aspires to the height of two thousand four hundred and sixty-three feet. The Berwyn hills rise between this county and Merioneth, and the central district is varied and adorned with the pleasing forms of the Breddyn hills. Montgomeryshire extends aboutthirty miles in length, by the same in breadth, and occupies a surface of four hundred and ninety-one thousand acres. The counties of Denbigh and Merioneth form a northern boundary; Shropshire joins it on the east; Radnor and Cardiganshires bound it on the south; and it touches both Cardigan and Merionethshires on the west. In this county the manufacture of Welsh flannel is established on a permanent basis and extensive scale. Valuable minerals abound in the interior regions; and traffic in these, as well as in agricultural produce, is greatly promoted by a line of inland navigation, which carried through the country.
Montgomery, the capital and assizes town, is by no means the largest or most prosperous. It is a place of no trade, possess no advantages from position, and is totally eclipsed by Newtown, the Leeds of Wales, and by Welsh Pool, a large, flourishing, and handsome town.
Thetown of Welsh Pool, the ancient Trellwng, is situated in a rich, open country, near to a small black pool, from whence it is supposed to derive its name. This “Llyn-dû” is included within the spacious demesne of Lord Powys, and is of such a contemptible area, that it seems a dissatisfactory origin of the name of the adjacent town. There is an old prophecy that it will at some period overflowand inundate the settlement; but for this no reason is assigned, and its distance, as well as the great elevation of some of the streets above its surface, render the prediction stupid and uninteresting. The town consists of a spacious avenue, commencing at the bridge which spans the canal, and ascending to the crown of a gentle eminence nearly one mile removed. The county court, market house, and flannel hall stand in the main street, and the church, a handsome gothic structure, is in one of the bystreets, at the foot of a steep bank, which nearly obscures the light on that side, and forms a most inconvenient place of burial. There is a chalice of pure gold, preserved in the plate chest of this parish, capable of holding one quart, and valued at one hundred and seventy pounds. It was presented to the church by Thomas Davies, governor of our African colonies, in grateful thankfulness to the Almighty for his safe return from that early grave of Europeans. The inscription sets forth the name and object of the donor, adding, that the gold was brought from Guinea. The houses are mostly built of brick, and the streets present a neat and respectable appearance. The long established trade in flannels has given this place the means of making an opulent display, which does not frequently fall to the lot of the inland towns of Wales. This was an ancient borough, contributory with Montgomery in choosing a representative, but was deprived of its franchise in the year 1728. The government is committed to two bailiffs, a recorder, and townclerk. The first are magistrates, whose jurisdiction extends over parts of several adjacent parishes.
Powys Castle, or the Castle of Powisland, was first chosen as a military position, and an appropriate site for the palace of a chieftain, by Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, a prince of British extraction, who signalised himself in the reign of Henry the First. He commenced his castle here about the year 1110, but being assassinated by his own kinsman, left his design unfinished. It is rather probable that the assassin took possession of the place, and completed the building of the castle; for in the year 1191, various depredations being committed in the marshes, Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the absence of Richard the First, who was engaged in the Crusades, marched into Wales at the head of a powerful force, and laid siege to the castle, which was then in a state of defence and occupied by the Welsh. It was now fortified anew, and a garrison placed in it, which was very soon after dispossessed by Gwenwynwyn, whose name the fortress then bore. Llewellyn ap Jorwerth next reduced this apparently untenable position, in the year 1223, when it received the newer title of Castell Gôch, or Red Castle, from the colour of the stone in the outer walls. The grandson of Gwenwynwyn continued in possession, and left it to his only daughter, Hawys Gadarn, or Hawys the Hardy. Her uncles being disposed to question the legality of her father’s will, she wisely attached herself to Edward the Second, who bestowed her in marriage on John de Charlton, ofWellington, in Shropshire, in 1268. By the marriage of Sir John Grey, of Northumberland, with Jane, eldest daughter of Lord Powys, the barony and castle passed into that family, and continued with the Greys until the reign of Henry the Eighth, when the title became extinct. Sir William Herbert, second son of the Earl of Pembroke, appears the next occupant, his title being derived by a purchase, effected some time in the reign of Queen Elisabeth. This person was ancestor to the Marquises of Powys. In the year 1644 the castle was taken by Sir Thomas Myddleton, who suffered it to be plundered, and compelled Lord Powys to compound with parliament for his estates. The title became extinct, by failure of issue, in the year 1800, and was revived in the person of Edward, Lord Clive, now Earl of Powys, brother-in-law to the last earl of the former line.
The approach to the castle is through a barbacan, advanced some distance from the citadel, but connected with it by long curtain walls. There is less of the castle than the palace in the character of the defensive works. On the left of the great court is a detached building, of later date than the castle, containing a picture gallery one hundred and seventeen feet in length, hung with choice paintings by the ancient masters, a painting in fresco, found in the ruins of Pompeii, and a portrait of Lord Clive, Governor General of India, executed by Dance. In an adjoining apartment there is a model of an elephant, wearing a coat of mail, and supporting two Indianson its back. This curious piece of workmanship was brought from the East Indies by Lord Clive. The principal apartments are entered by a doorway, communicating with an inner court. The grand staircase is adorned with allegorical paintings, complimentary to Queen Anne, by Lanscroon. The rooms in general possess an air of gloom and heaviness, which is increased by the great thickness of the masonry, by the painted railings; and the tapestried walls. A gallery of statuary and antiques runs through the second story, and is furnished also with some family portraits. The state bedroom is only remarkable for the royal fashion here illustrated of enclosing the bedstead by a railing, which could be opened at pleasure, and admit the courtiers to a conversation. It was considered a mark of great respect paid by Louis the Fourteenth to the Earl of Portland, our ambassador, that he was admitted to an audience not only in the king’s chamber, but within the railing.
Amongst the portraits of remarkable persons suspended here, is one of Roger Palmer, Earl of Castlemain, who obtained his peerage in Charles the Second’s reign, through the influence of his wife, the notorious Duchess of Cleveland. This extraordinary person was sent to Rome, by King James the Second, to procure a pardon for heresy, and a reconciliation between the dissevered churches. But his holiness, knowing the futility of such an attempt, whenever the ambassador approached was always seized with a violent fit of coughing. Palmer atlength grew weary of delay, and threatening to take his departure, his holiness observed, “that, since he had come to the resolution of travelling, he would recommend him to set out early in the morning, lest, by over fatigue and the effects of heat, he might endanger his health.” In an allegorical painting on one of the ceilings the daughters of William, second Marquis of Powys, are represented, one as Truth, a second as Virtue, and the third as Wisdom. This picture would not be worth selection from amongst so many works of conspicuous merit, if it were not for the portrait of Lady Mary, who appears as Minerva, or the Goddess of Wisdom. Few females have acted more singular parts on the great arena of life, for some centuries, than this noble lady. At first she engaged deeply in the Mississippi speculation: a marriage with the Pretender was next the object of her ambition: and lastly, she passed into Asturias in search of gold, accompanied by another nobly born adventurer.
The gardens consist of parallel terraces, ranged one below the other for a considerable depth, connected by broad flights of steps, and protected by balustrades decorated with vases and statues. The water-works and some other antiquated embellishments, copied from St. Germain en Large, have been totally obliterated. The library and the terraces of the hanging gardens command an extensive and delightful prospect,—the valley of Pool, a rich country watered by the Severn, is spread out in front, stretching away to the beautiful chain of the Breiddyn hills, where thelast remnant of British liberty was rent asunder by the surrender of the brave Caractacus.
The summit of the same hill is now adorned by an obelisk, commemorative of the glorious victory of Admiral Rodney over the French fleet in the West Indies, on the 12th day of April, 1782.
Since the visit of Mr. Pennant to the demesne of Welsh Pool, the castle has not only been put into a habitable condition, but even revived with all that reverence for antiquity which the amiable nationality of that elegant scholar and antiquary could desire. The park, now furnished with many and full grown forest trees, sweeps down the verdant brow of the fine hill below the castle, to the very suburbs of the town; and from the highest apex of the hill, at a spot marked out by an index, that is screened by embowering woods in the approach, a scene commensurate to the greatness of the whole is unfolded to the eye, comprehending distant views of Snowdon, Cader-Idris, and the huge Plinlimmon.
Ancientmanners are less obliterated by time and the varying modes of life in North Wales, than in most of the other provinces of Britain. In this age of communication and intelligence, few will be credulously eager to imagine that the inhabitants of any one part of our island are materially distinguished in their characters from those of another: yet none can immerge themselves in this romantic country, without being struck by the superior modesty and simplicity of its inhabitants. Removed from active scenes of commercial life, and from corrupting examples of selfish splendour, their minds seem sufficiently occupied in the limited transactions of their own little world, without experiencing interruption from any envious feeling at the triumphs of the greater or more wealthy. It is from the peasantry, the national character of an agricultural district is naturally to be deduced; and those of Cambria undoubtedly present an illustration of the happiest description. The poverty of the soil, scantiness of population, and great distance from populous towns, render Wales a residence unsuited to the agricultural capitalist. The land is subdivided into small portions, and amongst a considerable number of yeomen. Hence it arises, that the children of poverty are not frowned on by contempt, and the humbler classes do not acquire those envious and disreputable habits, by which, in other countries, they are too often tempted to resist the ostentations of the rich. Their manners are obliging without servility, and plain without rusticity; their familiarity springs from kindness, not from disrespect; and they exhibit an independence the more to be admired in proportion to its obviously natural growth.
Our earliest annals inform us that the Cambrians“were a people light and active, and more fierce than strong:” all classes, from the prince to the peasant, were devoted to arms, and prepared to give a ready service at the first summons of the trumpet. Their military spirit was unconfined, and love of their country boundless. The profession of arms was held in so much estimation, that to die in one’s bed was deemed disgraceful, and the field of battle held to be the only honourable grave.
“Without a sign, his sword the brave man draws,And asks no omen but his country’s cause.”Iliadxii.
“Without a sign, his sword the brave man draws,And asks no omen but his country’s cause.”
Iliadxii.
Their armour consisted of a short coat of mail, a light shield, and iron greaves: sometimes only of those desiring to be free from all unnecessary incumbrances in accomplishing forced marches through trackless deserts. Their only defensive weapons were the sword, the spear, and the arrow. Their bows were sometimes formed of interwoven twigs, and though of slight materials, and rude workmanship, when bent by a sinewy arm dealt a deadly wound. The men of North Wales were more dexterous in the management of the spear, with which they pierced the closest iron mail: their brethren of South Wales more conspicuous for their great skill in archery.
The dress in time of peace was simple and uncostly. The men wore a woollen garment orcotaaround the body, kept their hair cut short over the ears and eyes, and rounded every where so as not to obstruct their agile movements in the woods and thickets. It is not improbable that they retained a thick covering of hair on the top of the head, like the glibe of the ancient Irish, as a protection against weather. The beard was shaven off, a mustachio on the upper lip only being preserved. The women wore a turban folded round the head, and rising in a coronul or tuft. Both sexes paid little respect to the protection of the feet, being seldom supplied with slippers or buskins, the men only in the field of battle. The shoes, worn on these occasions were made of the dried skins of animals of the chase, withthe hair turned inward, and subsequently of half-tanned leather, attached to the foot by a thong or latchet of the same material, after the manner of a sandal. Both sexes are represented as paying a singular regard to the beauty and whiteness of their teeth, which they cleaned by the application of the leaves and bark of the hazel, and afterwards rubbed with a woollen cloth.
Many of these customs belong to the military character of the ancient inhabitants, and disappeared with the extinction of the feudal system; white others may still be distinctly traced in the existing state of society. The flannel cota (crys gwlanen) is worn by miners during working hours, and by the peasantry of the high districts in the rainy seasons. The females retain the ancient cap, which they now surmount with a hat, in a manner both pleasing and peculiar. Their principal garment consists of a short bed-gown, fastened round the waist with a girdle, in a smart and rather graceful style; and their stockings are after the olden fashion, that is, without feet, and held down by a loop that passes round one of the toes; these however are only worn on working days; entire hose of excellent manufacture succeed them upon holidays and occasions of dress. Thetout ensembleof a Welsh peasant girl, while it conveys an idea of primitiveness, and appears wisely calculated to resist a cold and fickle climate, is neat, pleasing, and picturesque, resembling much the costume of the female peasants of the Tyrol.
Hospitality has always been classed amongst the characteristics of an ancient Briton, and its genius is acknowledged to hold uninterrupted possession to the present day. Here young Fleance found a secure asylum from the murderous designs of the usurper Macbeth, and here his son, born of a Cambrian princess, dwelt, until a desire to visit the land of his fathers led him to the Scottish court, where he attained the highest tank, and became the ancestor of the royal line of Stuart.
The Earl of Richmond (afterwards Henry the Seventh) found a chair at every festive board, and a couch in every hall in Wales, while he was a wanderer, and a fugitive; nor did these kindnesses originate in any inordinate prospect of honour or of gain, most of thegentlemen from Wales, who subsequently fought under his banner, having declined the grateful monarch’s offers of reward. This domestic virtue is still fondly cherished here, and practised with all its pristine beauty. There is less peculiarity in the mode of living than in other circumstances connected with the national character. The peasant seldom partakes of animal food, cattle being reared for the landlord’s benefit exclusively. Oaten bread, milk, cheese, cords, and butter constitute the principal diet of the working classes.
The ancient Welsh castles have been spoken of elsewhere, and a few mansions of the days gone by described; it remains still to say something of the cottages of the humble. Less architectural externally than those in England, but superior to the hut of the Irish labourer, the cottages of the poor are inferior to none in internal neatness and comfort. They are supplied with a variety of furniture, amongst which a clock, oak dresser, andsettle(settee), or pannelled sofa, are always to be found. The spinning wheel has disappeared since the introduction of machinery into the little woollen factories erected on the rills amidst the mountains; and the brass pan for brewing “cwrw ddâ,” presents its broad bright disk beneath the dresser of every respectable farm-house.
The Welsh are remarkable for an extreme sagacity, shrewdness, and cunning in their little commercial transactions. They actually estimate genius by the number of successful efforts to overreach, and esteem the individual who exhibits the greatest dexterity in this way, to be what the world usually term “a man of ability.” This property does not extend to the middle or higher classes, who are no longer distinguished from the inhabitants of the adjacent counties by any peculiarity, but is a quality usually belonging to the peasantry of all remote and separated societies. In the early ages of Welsh history many singular instances occurred of the quick and acute repartee of chieftains, and distinguished men, both in the camp and at the court.
At the battle of Agincourt Dafydd Gam, the brother-in-law of Owen Glandwr, was despatched by King Henry to reconnoitre and ascertain the probable numberof the enemy previous to the action. Upon his return, the king inquired whether these were not so many? “Sire,” replied Gam, “there are enough to kill, enough to be taken prisoners, and enough to run away.” The graceful rejection of a peerage (an honour recently conferred upon his descendants), by the loyal ancestor of the house of Mostyn, the reader will find introduced in the description of the venerable hall of that ancient family. There is yet another brave Cambrian, whose humour and intrepidity in the eleventh hour, saved his life. Sir John Owen, of Cleneny, together with the Lords Goring, Loughborough, Capel, and Holland, being condemned to exile by the parliament, were shut up at first in Windsor Castle; but, after the execution of their royal master, sanguinary measures were resolved upon. Holland, Capel, Goring, and Sir John being again put upon their trial, the brave loyalist evinced a courage worthy of his country. He told his judges “that he was a plain gentleman of Wales, who had been always taught to obey the king; that he had served him honestly during the war, and finding many honest men endeavour to raise forces, whereby they might get him out of prison, he did the like;” and concluded by signifying “that he did not care much what they resolved concerning him.” Ultimately he was condemned to lose his head: for which, with much humour and singular boldness, he made the court a low reverence, and gave it his humble thanks. Being asked the meaning of such acknowledgement, he replied, in a loud voice, “that he considered it a great honour to a poor gentleman in Wales toloss his headin company with such noble lords; for,” said he, with an oath, “I was afraid they would havehangedme.” This extraordinary and dauntless reply procured for the brave loyalist the continuance of his head in its original position, until it reclined on its last pillow in an honourable old age; for, Ireton forthwith became his advocate with the parliament, saying, “that there was one person for whom no one spoke a word; and therefore requested that he might be saved by the sole motive and goodness of the house.” Mercy was, in consequence, extended to him, and after a fewmonths imprisonment, he was restored to that liberty of which he had proved himself so deserving.
Cambrensis represents his countrymen as persons of acute and subtle genius. In every species of litigation they exerted all their powers of rhetoric, and in these their talents for invention were conspicuously displayed. This spirit is still too widely diffused through the principality, it unhappily calls the worst feelings into operation, and opens a door to vice, at which some are found unblushingly to enter. But the Roman character is not to be impeached because the nation produced a Catiline, his fellows are to be found in every clime. The same historian, who regrets the consequences of a litigious disposition, adds, that “as there were not any baser than the worst of his countrymen, so neither were there any better than the best.”
The genius of the Welsh was at an early period directed into a rational channel. The most eminent for natural ability were induced to adopt the profession of bard or poetic historian, and this order of men exercised an influence over the destinies of the nation for many ages. Their talents were employed in preserving the genealogies of illustrious families, celebrating the praises of heroes, and recording remarkable and glorious events.
The institution of bardism is coeval with the origin of poetry. The Greek, Roman, and Celtic nations had their poets and troubadours, and the Scandinavians imported into Europe a species of bard called Scalds, or polishers of language. These were held in the highest estimation in all countries: they received liberal rewards for their poetic compositions, attended the festivals of heroic chieftains, accompanied them to the field of battle, and sang their victorious praises, or mourned over their untimely fall. The British bards were originally a constitutional appendage of the Druidical hierarchy, and upon the extinction of that detestable worship, were preserved, in a new and civil form, from the love of poetry and music then prevailing; predilections increased, probably, by an intercourse with the Scandinavian scalds.
Welsh poetry abounds in alliteration, which is also a characteristic of Icelandic song, and obviously insinuates a northern origin. The person of a bard was held sacred,and the laws of Howel Dda enacted, “that whoever even slightly injured a bard was to pay an eric or fine of six cows, and one hundred and twenty pence. The murderer of a bard was to pay one hundred and twenty-six cows.” These bardic laws resembled those relating to a similar class of persons in Ireland, where it was deemed an act of sacrilege to seize on the estate of a bard, even for the public service, and in times of national distress. The officers of the royal household, both in Wales and Ireland, at this period, consisted of abard, musician, smith, physician, and huntsman. To an intercourse with the Irish nation is traceable the introduction of the harp into Cambria. The Welsh, so late as in the eleventh century, were accustomed to pass over into that kingdom, and there receive instruction in the bardic profession. Gryffydd ap Cynan, king of Wales, in 1078, “brought over from Ireland divers cunning musicians into Wales, from whom is derived in a manner all the instrumental music that is now there used; as appeareth as well by the bookes written of the same, as also by the names of the tunes and measures used among them to this daie.”
An election of bards took place annually, at an assembly of the princes and chieftains of the nation. Precedence, emolument, and honours, suitable to their respective merits were then assigned to each. The most meritorious was solemnly crowned on the Bardic throne, and presented, as a token of his preeminent genius, with a silver chair. This congress was usually held at one of the three royal residences of the princes of Wales, the sovereign himself presiding on the occasion.
Upon the introduction of the harp, Gryffydd determined to restrain the inordinate vanity of the bards, and to remodel the order. He enacted laws for their future government, the severity of which is a sufficient indication of the necessity of their institution. Amongst the penalties was one of much apparent hardship,—“If a minstrel offended in any of the recited instances, ‘every man’ was appointed an officer of justice, in such case, with liberty to arrest and inflict discretional punishment, and authority to seize upon whatever property the offender had about his person.” Under these regulations,and the auspices of an enlightened prince, respect for the order was reestablished, and eminent minstrels again flourished both in North and South Wales.
In the year 1176 the merits and genius of the bards of North and South Wales were displayed in the Hall of Rhys ap Gryffydd, a prince of South Wales, at the castle of Aberteivi. This hospitable lord held a Christmas revel here in this year, to which he invited some hundred persons, including the Norman and Saxon nobility. These he entertained with much honour and courtesy, and amused by feats of arms, field sports, and other diversions suited to the magnificence of the occasion. To these was added a contest between the bards from all parts of ancient Britain. The guests being assembled in the great Hall, and the bards being introduced, the prince directed them to give proof of their skill by answering each other in extemporaneous rhythmic effusions, proposing rich rewards to such as should be adjudged deserving of them by the noble assemblage of judges. In this contest the bards of North Wales obtained the victory, with the applause of all: and amongst the harpers or musicians, between whom a similar contention took place, the prince’s own retainers were acknowledged the most skilful.
The fascinating occupations of bard and minstrel continued in the highest admiration with their countrymen, soothing their wild spirit in days of peace, and awaking their ardour in moments of danger. One of the wisest of the ancient Greeks thought that poetry effeminated the state, and advised the expulsion of its votaries; King Edward on the other hand believed that it aroused and inspired a love of liberty, and adopted, in consequence, the cruel policy of cutting off its professors. The tradition current in Wales is that he ordered every bard who fell into his power to be immediately assassinated, an event, whether true or false, now immortalized in the exquisite ode by Gray commencing with these bold Pindaric lines:
“Ruin seize thee, ruthless king,Confusion on thy banners wait.”
“Ruin seize thee, ruthless king,Confusion on thy banners wait.”
Whether the bards were actually assassinated in thiscold blooded manner, or only suppressed with circumstances of aggravated cruelty, the order appears to have been totally dissolved, and the muse of Cambria to have taken shelter in the mountain caves for ages subsequent. During the successful insurrection of Glandwr poetry once more descended from the hills and basked in the few sunny rays that for a short while beamed upon freedom. Amongst the minstrels who sang in the halls of Glandurdwy was Iolo Gôch, who celebrated in lofty strains the prudence and patriotism of his master. The storm that excited a martial spirit in the followers of the houses of York and Lancaster, laid the genius of Cambrian poetry. If at any time its voice was heard, it was either in sorrow at the miseries of the present, or in obscure prophecy of what was yet to come.
The reign of Henry the Seventh, as might naturally have been expected, was one of brighter hopes and more unrestricted freedom, than any Wales had witnessed since the extinction of her native princes. A new description of bard now arose, less venerated, less connected with that mysterious origin to which their predecessors were referred, and undistinguished, except by their effusions, from other classes of society. Of this new class of minstrels, the days of chivalry over, the chief duties were to celebrate the hospitality and private virtues of their patrons, in whose halls they were maintained, and upon whose decease it became their melancholy task to compose a funeral song, to be recited in the presence of the surviving relatives by aDatceiniad.
Regular bardic assemblies, convened by royal authority, were discontinued after the reign of Elizabeth. This illustrious queen issued a precept for holding a royal Eisteddfod on the 26th May, 1568. The document is still preserved in the family of Mostyn, whose ancestors are named therein, with other gentlemen of rank and property in the principality. The objects of such meetings, as well as the distinctive character attached to the bardic order, may be easily collected from the following passage extracted from the royal commission.
“Whereas it is come to the knowledge of the Lordepresident and other our counsell in the Marches of Wales, that vagrant and idle persons naming themselves minstrels, rithmirs, and barthes, are lately grown to such an intolerable multitude within the Principality of North Wales, that not only gentlemen and others, by their shameless disorders, are oftentimes disquieted in their habitations, but also the expert minstrels and musicians in town and country thereby much discouraged to travail in the exercise and practise of their knowledge; and also not a little hindered in their living and preferments,” &c. At the assemblage called by direction of this precept seventeen poetical bards were present and thirty-eight of their musical brethren; William Llyn was admitted to the degree of Pencerdd or doctor, and three others to the rank of masters of the art of poetry. The prize was awarded to Sion ap William ap Sion. Caerwys, in Flintshire, was the place chosen for the celebration of Eisteddfodau in later years, having once been the royal residence of Llewellyn, but the more ancient bardic assemblies were convened at Aberffraw, in the palace of the princes of Gwynedd; Dinefawr, the noble castle of the lords of South Wales; and Mathrafel, the royal palace of the chiefs of Powisland.
There is reason to believe, that an Eisteddfod was also held between the years 1569 and 1580, but the place of assemblage and other circumstances respecting it are unknown. In South Wales, however, meetings of this description continued to be called under the auspices of the Earl of Pembroke and Sir Richard Neville, to which must be added the most memorable of all at Bewpyr Castle, A.D. 1681, under the patronage of Sir Richard Bassett.
From these last mentioned dates poetry, music, and every species of Cambrian literature hastened rapidly to decay, nor were any efforts made to arrest their decline, and re-string the lyre, until the year 1771. At this period societies were formed in London for the restoration of the Welsh language to its former purity, and the encouragement of Welsh literature generally. The Gwyneddigion society extend their patronage tothe inhabitants of North Wales. The Cymrodorion to Powys, and those of Dyffed and Gwent to South Wales. Under this national patronage Eisteddfodau were again restored on the 18th of July, 1819, at Caermarthen, when the Bishop of St. David’s presided. In the following year a meeting was held at Wrexham under the presidency of Sir W. W. Wynne, and bardic festivals and literary contests were held at the respective places of assemblage of the other societies. These meetings, however, are inferior in splendour of attractions and public interest to the triennial assemblies now permanently established in the principality. The first of these was held at Brecon in 1826, Lord Rodney president; the second at Denbigh in the year 1828, where Sir B. Mostyn, Bart. presided, and the third at Beaumaris in 1832, under the auspices of Sir R. B. W. Bulkley, Bart.
The religion of North Wales is that of the established church, but the inhabitants manifest a remarkable independence in this respect as well as in many other, and pursue those views of religious subjects which each one’s conscience dictates. The parish church is not deserted, but a chapel, built by contributors of the humblest class, is found in every hamlet, and the quick succession of itinerant preachers appears to attract a more lively attention to the solemn warnings of the pulpit, than the instruction of any one pastor urged with ever so much ability and zeal. The dissenters are divided into many classes, Methodists and Calvinists are the most numerous; amongst the others the sect called “Jumpers,” whose peculiar tenets had once too strong a hold on the feelings of the people, have decreased in numbers, and abandoned those wild speculations which the rational portion of society are still incredulous as to their ever having practised. Laying aside the consideration of sects, all classes of the Welsh are deeply imbued with a religious feeling. Churches and meeting-houses are well attended; every adult can read his bible in the native tongue, and when a public place of worship is either wholly wanting, or too remote, prayer meetings are held with regularity in each other’s cottages, where, after the solemn reading of the liturgy, the little congregation conclude their act of adorationwith a sacred hymn to God, in which all present, both old and young, unite their voices.
It is a matter of some surprise that a people of so much sincerity in religion should still be slaves to superstition. But probably the solitude and silence of the glens they dwell in contribute to increase a feeling which is uniformly found diffused through all remote and mountainous countries. Amongst the most interesting of these relics of ancient times, connected with religion is the remarkable care and attention paid to the grave-stones and funeral honours of their deceased connexions. The cemetery is the public walk of every hamlet, and the affection borne to a brother when living seems to render even a bright verdure on his grave a grateful prospect. In the custom of strewing the graves of departed friends with flowers and evergreens these is something which touches the feeling heart. It is a tribute of affection, a posthumous recollection of a most impressive character. To live in the remembrance of those we loved “when we go hence, and are no more seen,” is a natural wish; a wish implanted in our souls by that Being, who willed that we should be social creatures, and gave us all the kind affections of our nature. This custom boasts a high antiquity, it is found among the superstitions of pagan Rome, where, during the month of February; theferaliaor honours paid to the manes of departed souls were performed. Scattering of flowers and odoriferous plants constituted a chief part of the ceremony. The custom is now confined to a few parts of Europe, Ireland, Wales, and the Catholic cantons of Switzerland. In the last of these an iron cross is placed upright, from which a bowl, containing holy water, is suspended, with which the passers-by sprinkle the graves of the deceased on their way to church.
A belief in the existence and mischievous propensities of the fairy tribe was formerly amongst the chief superstitions. These troublesome elves were supposed to milk the cows at night, to check them from yielding milk at morn, and prevent the butter from forming in the churn. They changed the infant left in the cradle, during the sleep or absence of its nurse, and performedmany other acts peevish, envious, and wicked. But the exploits of this pigmy race are not peculiar to Wales, nor was their existence as confidently believed here at any period as it still is in other countries. One species peculiarly Welsh, are calledknockers, from their continued knocking or hammering under ground. This noise is often heard by miners, and is invariably said to discover to the miner a richloadof ore. There is also a deep roaring of the sea, which is believed to be a forewarning of some dire calamity. The inhabitants of Llandudno heard this strange noise immediately previous to the melancholy wreck of the Hornby Castle, and many other instances of remoter dates could be adduced in support of this superstitious notion. Sometimes also awarninglight is seen to shine out before a traveller, and conduct him in the precise direction of his journey, distinguished from jack-o’-the-lanthorn in this respect, that the latter cruelly “lures us to our doom.”
However vain and obsolete most of these phantoms may now be considered, some curious fancies are still entertained by the simpler part of the population. A story is often propagated through the parish of a funeral procession having passed along in a particular direction, without the aid of horses or bearers. Carriages, without horses, are said to have been seen and heard rolling along the road or round the village cross, the coachman, passengers, and all other circumstances being disposed as usual; and, many similar tales, obtain a ready credence amongst the peasantry in several parts of North Wales even at the present period.
In the festivities of the wedding-day much gaiety and mirth prevail. The bridegroom having the bridesmaid on his arm, and the bride leaning upon the bridesman, followed by a number of bidden guests, present themselves at the church door, where the order of the procession is reversed before proceeding to the altar. After the ceremony the whole party, in rank and file, and headed by the happy pair,walk, as it is called, in procession through the village, until the hour of dinner. This entertainment is usually provided at the home of the bride’s family, and if the parties be sufficientlywealthy, is supplied at their expense, but, if otherwise, each guest contributes a subscription proportionate to his means. A fortnight afterwards an evening party assembles at the house of some friend of the husband; amongst the poorer peasantry, it is usual for every neighbour to attend, and upon entering lay down his contribution on the tea-table. The night is then prolonged in mirth and good humour, the merry dance being generally kept up till daylight to the soft and gentle measures of the national lyre.
Fairs, which are very numerous, are attended by both sexes. Cattle are bought and sold in the early part of the day, pedlery, hardware, &c. continue to be exhibited during the remainder, and in the afternoon every cottage for miles around sends forth some happy, well dressed votary of mirth to participate in the festivities of the evening. The partiality for attending fairs is very remarkable, even the necessitous postpone the reception of little sums, to which by labour they have become entitled, to the succeeding fair-day, contemplating the pleasure of meeting their friends, from whom they were separated by occupation or inconvenience of distance. The frequency of these fairs, so many scenes of cheerful association—the number of annual, quarterly, and even weekly meetings amongst the religious of different sects—the amusements enjoyed at allotted festivals common to other countries—afford such frequent opportunities of an intercourse tending to alleviate anxiety and care, as, coupled with the agricultural distribution already adverted to, will sustain the justice of the conclusion, that the Welsh peasantry may be esteemed the most comfortable, happy, and independent in the British islands.