This eBook was transcribed by Les Bowler.

WELSH FOLK-LORE
a collection by the Rev. Elias Owen, M.A., F.S.A.

CONTENTS

   TITLE PAGE                                               i
   PREFACE                                                  iii-vi
   INDEX                                                    vii-xii
   ESSAY                                                    1-352
   LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS                                      353-359

                             WELSH FOLK-LORE
                           A COLLECTION OF THE
                        FOLK-TALES AND LEGENDS OF
                               NORTH WALES
             BEING THE PRIZE ESSAY OF THE NATIONAL EISTEDDFOD
                               1887, BY THE
                       REV. ELIAS OWEN, M.A, F.S.A.

PREFACE

To this Essay on the "Folk-lore of North Wales," was awarded the first
prize at the Welsh National Eisteddfod, held in London, in 1887.  The
prize consisted of a silver medal, and 20 pounds.  The adjudicators were
Canon Silvan Evans, Professor Rhys, and Mr Egerton Phillimore, editor of
the _Cymmrodor_.

By an arrangement with the Eisteddfod Committee, the work became the
property of the publishers, Messrs. Woodall, Minshall, & Co., who, at the
request of the author, entrusted it to him for revision, and the present
Volume is the result of his labours.

Before undertaking the publishing of the work, it was necessary to obtain
a sufficient number of subscribers to secure the publishers from loss.
Upwards of two hundred ladies and gentlemen gave their names to the
author, and the work of publication was commenced.  The names of the
subscribers appear at the end of the book, and the writer thanks them one
and all for their kind support.  It is more than probable that the work
would never have been published had it not been for their kind
assistance.  Although the study of Folk-lore is of growing interest, and
its importance to the historian is being acknowledged; still, the
publishing of a work on the subject involved a considerable risk of loss
to the printers, which, however, has been removed in this case, at least
to a certain extent, by those who have subscribed for the work.

The sources of the information contained in this essay are various, but
the writer is indebted, chiefly, to the aged inhabitants of Wales, for
his information.  In the discharge of his official duties, as Diocesan
Inspector of Schools, he visited annually, for seventeen years, every
parish in the Diocese of St. Asaph, and he was thus brought into contact
with young and old.  He spent several years in Carnarvonshire, and he had
a brother, the Revd. Elijah Owen, M.A., a Vicar in Anglesey, from whom he
derived much information.  By his journeys he became acquainted with many
people in North Wales, and he hardly ever failed in obtaining from them
much singular and valuable information of bye-gone days, which there and
then he dotted down on scraps of paper, and afterwards transferred to
note books, which still are in his possession.

It was his custom, after the labour of school inspection was over, to ask
the clergy with whom he was staying to accompany him to the most aged
inhabitants of their parish.  This they willingly did, and often in the
dark winter evenings, lantern in hand, they sallied forth on their
journey, and in this way a rich deposit of traditions and superstitions
was struck and rescued from oblivion.  Not a few of the clergy were
themselves in full possession of all the quaint sayings and Folk-lore of
their parishes, and they were not loath to transfer them to the writer's
keeping.  In the course of this work, the writer gives the names of the
many aged friends who supplied him with information, and also the names
of the clergy who so willingly helped him in his investigations.  But so
interesting was the matter obtained from several of his clerical friends,
that he thinks he ought in justice to acknowledge their services in this
preface.  First and foremost comes up to his mind, the Rev. R. Jones,
formerly Rector of Llanycil, Bala, but now of Llysfaen, near Abergele.
This gentleman's memory is stored with reminiscences of former days, and
often and again his name occurs in these pages.  The Rev. Canon Owen
Jones, formerly Vicar of Pentrefoelas, but now of Bodelwyddan, near Rhyl,
also supplied much interesting information of the people's doings in
former days, and I may state that this gentleman is also acquainted with
Welsh literature to an extent seldom to be met with in the person of an
isolated Welsh parson far removed from books and libraries.  To him I am
indebted for the perusal of many MSS.  To the Rev. David James, formerly
Rector of Garthbeibio, now of Pennant, and to his predecessor the Rev. W.
E. Jones, Bylchau; the late Rev. Ellis Roberts (Elis Wyn o Wyrfai); the
Rev. M. Hughes, Derwen; the Rev. W. J. Williams, Llanfihangel-Glyn-Myfyr,
and in a great degree to his aged friend, the Rev. E. Evans,
Llanfihangel, near Llanfyllin, whose conversation in and love of Welsh
literature of all kinds, including old Welsh Almanacks, was almost
without limit, and whose knowledge and thorough sympathy with his
countrymen made his company most enjoyable.  To him and to all these
gentlemen above named, and to others, whose names appear in the body of
this work, the writer is greatly indebted, and he tenders his best thanks
to them all.

The many books from which quotations are made are all mentioned in
connection with the information extracted from their pages.

Welsh Folk-lore is almost inexhaustible, and in these pages the writer
treats of only one branch of popular superstitions.  Ancient customs are
herein only incidentally referred to, but they are very interesting, and
worthy of a full description.  Superstitions associated with particular
days and seasons are also omitted.  Weather signs are passed over, Holy
wells around which cluster superstitions of bye-gone days form no part of
this essay.  But on all these, and other branches of Folk-lore, the
author has collected much information from the aged Welsh peasant, and
possibly some day in the uncertain future he may publish a continuation
of the present volume.

He has already all but finished a volume on the Holy Wells of North
Wales, and this he hopes to publish at no very distance period.

The author has endeavoured in all instances to give the names of his
informants, but often and again, when pencil and paper were produced, he
was requested not to mention in print the name of the person who was
speaking to him.  This request was made, not because the information was
incorrect, but from false delicacy; still, in every instance, the writer
respected this request.  He, however, wishes to state emphatically that
he has authority for every single bit of Folk-lore recorded.  Very often
his work was merely that of a translator, for most of his information,
derived from the people, was spoken in Welsh, but he has given in every
instance a literal rendering of the narrative, just as he heard it,
without embellishments or additions of any kind whatsoever.

                                                                ELIAS OWEN

_Llanyblodwel Vicarage_,
   _St. Mark's Day_, _1896_.

INDEX

Aberhafesp, Spirit in Church of                             169
_Angelystor_, announcing deaths                             170
AEschylus' Cave-dwellers                                    113
_Annwn_, _Gwragedd_                                         3 134
Annwn, Plant                                                3
Antagonism between Pagan faiths                             160 161 181
_Animal Folk-Lore_                                          308-352
   Ass                                                      337
   Bee                                                      337-340
   Birds Singing                                            310
      Flocking                                              310
   Blind worm                                               352
   Cat                                                      321 323 340-342
   Cow                                                      129-137 342
   Crow                                                     304 314-315
   Crane                                                    321
   Crickets                                                 342-3
   Cuckoo                                                   317-321
   Cock                                                     310 321
   Duck                                                     321
   Eagle                                                    321
   Flying Serpent                                           349
   Frog                                                     281
   Fox                                                      193
   Goose                                                    304 305 312
   Goatsucker                                               322
   Haddock                                                  345
   Hare                                                     343-345
   Heron                                                    321 323
   Hen                                                      305 322
   Hedgehog                                                 345
   Horse                                                    346
   Jackdaw                                                  324
   Ladybird                                                 347
   Magpie                                                   324-327
   Mice                                                     348
   Mole                                                     348
   Owl                                                      304 327
   Peacock                                                  327
   Pigeon                                                   327
   Pigs                                                     348
   Raven                                                    304 328
   Rook, Crow                                               304 314 316 316
   Robin Redbreast                                          329 332
   Seagull                                                  329 330
   Sawyer, Tit                                              331
   Snakes                                                   348-350
   Slowworm                                                 352
   Sheep                                                    351
   Swallow                                                  330 331
   Swan                                                     331
   Swift                                                    331
   Spider                                                   351
   Squirrel                                                 351
   Tit-Major                                                331
   Woodpigeon                                               333-336
   Woodpecker                                               336
   Wren                                                     331-333
   Yellowhammer                                             337

All Hallow Eve, Nos Glan Gaua                               95
   Spirits abroad                                           138-9 168-70
   Divination on                                            280-1 286 288-9
Apparitions                                                 181-209 293-297
Applepip divination                                         290
Arawn                                                       128
_Avanc_                                                     133

"_Bardd Cwsg_, _Y_"                                         144 284 285
Baring-Gould--Spirit leaving body                           293
   Piper of Hamelin                                         307
Beaumaris spirit tale                                       293
Bell, Hand, used at funerals                                171-2
   Corpse                                                   172
   Passing                                                  171-2
   Veneration for                                           172
   Devil afraid of                                          171
   Ringing at storms                                        173
   Spirits flee before sound of                             173
Bella Fawr, a witch                                         223
Betty'r Bont, a witch                                       236 240
Belief in witchcraft                                        217
Bennion, Doctor                                             216
Bees, Buying a hive of                                      337
   Swarming                                                 338
   Strange swarm                                            339
   Deserting hive                                           339
   Hive in roof of house                                    339
   Informing bees of a death                                339
   Putting bees into mourning                               340
   Stolen                                                   340
_Bendith y Mamau_                                           2
Bible, a talisman                                           151 245 248
Bible and key divination                                    288
Bingley's North Wales--Knockers                             121
Birds singing in the night                                  305
      before February                                       310
   Flocking in early Autumn                                 310
   Feathers of                                              310
Blindworm                                                   352
Boy taken to Fairyland                                      48
_Brenhin Llwyd_                                             142
Bryn Eglwys Man and Fairies                                 36
"_British Goblins_," Fairy dances                           94 97
"_Brython_, _Y_," Fairies' revels                           95
Burne's, Miss, Legend of White Cow                          131-2
Burns, Old Nick in Kirk                                     168
   Nut divination                                           289

_Canwyll Corph_, see Corpse Candle,
Canoe in Llyn Llydaw                                        28
Card-playing                                                147-151
Cat, Fable of                                               323
   Black, unlucky, &c                                       321 341
   indicates weather                                        340
   Black, drives fevers away                                341
   May, brings snakes to house                              341
   Witches taking form of                                   224
Caesar's reference to Celtic Superstitions                  277 310 343
_Careg-yr-Yspryd_                                           212
_Careg Gwr Drwg_                                            190
Caellwyngrydd Spirit                                        214
Cave-dwellers                                               112-13
_Ceffyl y Dwfr_, the Water Horse                            138-141
_Cetyn y Tylwyth Teg_                                       109
Ceridwen                                                    234
Cerrig-y-drudion Spirit Tale                                294
Cerrig-y-drudion, Legend of Church                          132
_Ceubren yr Ellyll_, Legend of                              191
Changelings, Fairy                                          51-63
Churches built on Pagan sites                               160
   Mysterious removal of                                    174-181
Chaucer on Fairies                                          89
Charms                                                      238-9 258 262 276
Charm for Shingles                                          262-3
   Toothache                                                264-266
   Whooping Cough                                           266
   Fits                                                     266
   Fighting Cocks                                           267 312
   Asthma                                                   267
   Warts                                                    267-8
   Stye                                                     268
   Quinsy                                                   268
   Wild wart                                                268
   Rheumatism                                               269
   Ringworm                                                 269
   Cattle                                                   269-272
   Stopping bleeding                                        272
Charm with Snake's skin                                     273
   Rosemary                                                 273-4
Charm for making Servants reliable                          272
   Sweethearts                                              281
Charm of Conjurors                                          239-254
Charm for Clefyd y Galon, or Heart Disease                  274
   _Clefyd yr Ede Wlan_, or Yarn Sickness                   275
Christmas Eve, free from Spirits                            192
Churns witched                                              238
_Clefyd y Galon_                                            274
_Clefyd yr Ede Wlan_                                        275
Crickets in House lucky                                     342
   Deserting house unlucky                                  343
Crane, see Heron
_Coblynau_, Knockers                                        112-121
_Coel Ede Wlan_, or Yarn Test                               283
Corpse Candle                                               298-300
Cock, unlawful to eat                                       343
   Devil in form of                                         310
   Offering of                                              311
   Crowing of, at doors                                     311
   Crowing at night                                         298
   Crowing drives Spirits away                              311
   Charm for Fighting                                       312
   White, unlucky                                           321 341
Crow                                                        304 314 315
Conjurors                                                   251-262
   Charms of                                                239 254 258-260
   Tricks of                                                255 257 260-1
Cow, Dun                                                    129 131 137
   Legend of White                                          131
      Freckled                                              130-1
      Fairy Stray                                           134-137
   Witched                                                  243
_Cyhyraeth_, Death Sound                                    302
Cynon's Ghost                                               212
Cuckoo Superstitions                                        317-321
_Cwn Annwn_                                                 125-129

Dancing with Fairies                                        36-39
Davydd ab Gwilym and the Fairies                            3 24
Death Portents                                              297-307
_Deryn Corph_, Corpse Bird                                  297
Devil                                                       143-192
Devil's Tree                                                185
   Bridge                                                   190
   Kitchen                                                  190
   Cave                                                     191
   Door                                                     170
Destruction of Foxes                                        193
Dick Spot                                                   212 255 256
Dick the Fiddler                                            84
Divination                                                  279-290
   Candle and Pin                                           287
   _Coel Ede Wlan_, or Yarn Test                            283
   Frog stuck with Pins                                     281
   Grass                                                    288
   Hemp Seed                                                286
   Holly Tree                                               288
   Key and Bible                                            288
   Lovers'                                                  289-90
   Nut                                                      289
   Pullet's Egg                                             286
   Snail                                                    280
   St. John's Wort                                          280
   _Troi Crysau_, Clothes Drying                            285
   _Twca_, or Knife                                         284
   Washing at Brook                                         285
   Water in Basin                                           287
Dogs, Hell                                                  125 127
   Sky                                                      125 127
   Fairy                                                    49 81 83 125
Dwarfs of Cae Caled                                         97
   Droich                                                   113-121
_Dyn Hysbys_                                                209 259
_Drychiolaeth_, Spectre                                     301 302

Eagle, Superstitions about                                  263-4 321
_Erdion Banawg_                                             131
_Ellyll_                                                    3 4 111 191
   _Dan_                                                    112
_Ellyllon_, _Menyg_                                         111
   _Bwyd_                                                   111
Elf Dancers of _Cae Caled_                                  98-100
   Stones                                                   110
   Shots                                                    110-11
Elidorus, the Fairies and                                   32-35
Epiphany                                                    285-6
Evil Eye                                                    219

Fable of Heron, Cat, and Bramble                            323
   Magpie and Woodpigeon                                    335
   Robin Redbreast                                          329
   Sea Gull                                                 329
Famous Witches--
   Betty'r Bont                                             236 240
   Bella Fawr                                               223
   Moll White                                               229 232
   Pedws Ffoulk                                             242
Fabulous Animals, see Mythic Beings
Fairies, Origin of                                          1 2 35 36
   Chaucer's reference to                                   89
   Shakespeare's reference to                               72 96 97
   Milton's reference to                                    86
Fairies inveigling Men                                      36-44
   Working for Men                                          85-87
   Carrying Men in the air                                  100-102
   in Markets and Fairs                                     108
   Binding Men                                              112
   Children offered to Satan by                             63
   Love of Truth                                            35
   Grateful                                                 72
Fairy Animals                                               81-3 124-5 129-132
   Dances                                                   87-97
   Tricks                                                   100-103
   Knockers                                                 112-124
   Ladies marrying Men                                      5-24
   Changelings                                              51-63
   Implements                                               109-112
   Men captured                                             104-107
   Mothers and Human Midwives                               63-67
   Money                                                    82-84
   Riches and Gifts                                         72-81
   Visits to human abodes                                   68-71
   Families descended from                                  6 28
Fetch                                                       294
Fire God                                                    152
Fish, Satan in                                              153
Flying Serpent                                              349
Foxglove                                                    111
Frog Divination                                             281
_Fuwch Frech_                                               129-132
   _Gyfeiliorn_                                             129 134-137
_Ffynnon y Fuwch Frech_                                     130
   _Elian_                                                  216
   _Oer_                                                    223

Gay, Nut divination                                         289
Giraldus Cambrensis                                         27 32 182
   reference to Witches                                     233-236
Ghost, see Spirit
Ghost in Cerrigydrudion Church                              132
      Aberhafesp Church                                     169
      Powis Castle                                          204
   revealing Treasures                                      202
   at Gloddaeth                                             193-4
      Nannau Park                                           191
      Tymawr                                                195
      Frith Farm                                            196
      Pontyglyn                                             197
      Ystrad Fawr                                           197-8
      Ty Felin                                              198
      Llandegla                                             199
      Llanidloes                                            199-200
      Llawryglyn                                            348
      Clwchdyrnog                                           202
      Llanwddyn                                             212
   David Salisbury's                                        201
   Cynon's                                                  212
   Squire Griffiths'                                        200
   Sir John Wynne's                                         211
   Raising                                                  215
   Visiting the Earth                                       192
Glain Nadroedd                                              350
Goat-sucker                                                 322
Goblins, different kinds of                                 5 97
Golden Chair                                                77
Goose flying over House                                     304
   laying small egg                                         305
   egg laying                                               312
Gossamer                                                    112
_Gwiber_, Flying Serpent                                    349
_Gwion Bach_                                                234
_Gwragedd Annwn_                                            3
_Gwrach y Rhibyn_                                           142
_Gwr Cyfarwydd_                                             38 55 257 259
_Gwyddelod_                                                 80
_Gwyll_                                                     4
_Gwylliaid Cochion_                                         4 5 6 25 26

Haddock, why so marked                                      345
Hag, Mist                                                   142
Hare                                                        227-230 236 343-345
   crossing the road                                        230
   Caesar's reference to                                    343
   Giraldus Cambrensis on hags changing themselves to       233
hares
   Man changed to a                                         236
   Witch hunted in form of                                  230-233
   Witch shot in the form of                                228
   S. Monacella, the patroness of hares                     345
Harper and Fairies                                          91
Hedgehog sucking Cows                                       345
   fee for destroying the                                   346
Hen Chrwchwd, a humpbacked fiend                            142
Hen laying two eggs                                         305
   March Chickens                                           322
   Sitting                                                  322
Hindu Fairy Tale                                            6-8
Heron, sign of weather changing                             321 323
   Fable of                                                 323-4
Horse, Water, a mythic animal                               138
   White, lucky                                             346
   Headless                                                 155
   Shoe Charm                                               246
Huw Llwyd, Cynfael, and Witches                             224-227
Huw Llwyd and Magical Books                                 252
Hu Gadarn and the Avanc                                     133

Ignis Fatuus                                                112

Jackdaw considered sacred                                   324
_Jack Ffynnon Elian_                                        216

Knockers, or Coblynau                                       4 97
   in Mines                                                 112-121

Ladybird, Weather Sign                                      347
Lady Jeffrey's Spirit                                       199
Lake Dwellers                                               27 28
Llanbrynmair Conjuror                                       258-9
Llangerniew Spirit                                          170
Llandegla Spirit                                            199
Llanddona Witches                                           222-3
Laying Spirits                                              209-215
Laws against Witches                                        218
_Llyn y Ddau Ychain Banawg_                                 132
Legends--
   _Careg Gwr Drwg_                                         190
   _Ceubren yr Ellyll_                                      191
   Fairy Changelings                                        51-63
   _Dafydd Hiraddug_                                        158-160
   Devil's Bridge                                           190
   Freckled Cow, or _Y Fuwch Frech_                         130
   Fairy Marriages                                          5-24
   Fairies inveigling Mortals                               32-50
   Fairies and Midwives                                     63-67
   Flying Snake                                             349
   Removal of Churches                                      174-181
   Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr                                  10
   Ghosts, see Ghost
      Spirits, see Spirit
      Satan or Devil, see Satan
_Lledrith_, or Spectre                                      303
_Llysiau Ifan_, St. John's Wort                             280
_Llyn y Geulan Goch_ Spirit                                 162-166
_Llyn Llion_                                                133

Magpie teaching Wood Pigeon to make Nest                    335
   Superstitions                                            324-327
Magician's Glass                                            255
Marriages, Fairy                                            44-48
Man dancing with Fairies                                    90 91
   witnessing a Fairy dance                                 90 93
   taken away by Fairies                                    32 36 37 101-102
   turned into a Hare                                       236
   turned into a Horse                                      236
May-day Revels                                              95
   Evil Spirits abroad                                      168
Mermaids                                                    142
Monacella, S.                                               345
Moles, Weather Sign                                         318
Moll White, a Witch                                         229 232
_Meddygon Myddvai_, Physicians                              6 23 24
Mythic Beings--
   _Avanc_                                                  133
   _Ceffyl y Dwfr_, Water Horse                             138
   _Cwn Annwn_, Dogs of the Abyss                           125
   _Cwn Bendith y Mamau_, Fairy Dogs                        125
   _Cwn Wybir_, Sky Dogs                                    125 127
   Dragon, or Flying Serpent                                349-50
   Fairies, see Fairy
   _Fuwch Frech_, Fairy Cow                                 129-134
   _Fuwch Gyfeiliorn_                                       134-137
   _Gwrach y Rhibyn_, Mist Hag                              142
   Knockers, see above
   Mermaids and Mermen                                      142
   Torrent Spectre                                          141
   _Ychain Banawg_                                          130-133
   _Y Brenhin Llwyd_, the Grey King                         142
Mysterious removal of Churches--
   Llanllechid                                              174
   Corwen                                                   174
   Capel Garmon                                             175
   Llanfair D. C.                                           175
   Llanfihangel Geneu'r Glyn                                176
   Wrexham                                                  177
   Llangar                                                  179
   Denbigh                                                  180

Names given to the Devil                                    191-2
Nightmare                                                   237
North door of Churches opened at Baptisms                   171
North door of Churches opened for Satan to go out           170
North side of Churchyard unoccupied                         171
_Nos Glan Gaua_                                             95 138-9 168-170 280 281 286 288-89

_Ogof Cythreuliaid_ Devils' Cave                            191
Ogwen Lake, Tale of Wraith                                  292
Old Humpbacked, Mythic Being                                142
Omen, see Divination                                        279-290
Owl                                                         304 327

Pan, prototype of Celtic Satan                              146
Passing Bell                                                171-2
Peacock, Weather Sign                                       327
Pedwe Ffoulk, a Witch                                       242
Pellings, Fairy Origin                                      6 13
Pentrevoelas Legend                                         8
Physicians of Myddfai                                       6 23 24
Pig Superstitions                                           154 348
Pigeon Superstitions                                        327
Pins stuck in "Witch's Butter"                              249
Places associated with Satan                                190-1
_Plant Annwn_                                               3 4
Poocah, Pwka, Pwca                                          121-124 138-40

Raven                                                       304 328
Rhamanta, see Divination,                                   279-290
   on Hallow Eve                                            281
_Rhaffau'r Tylwyth Teg_, Gossamer                           112
_Rhys Gryg_                                                 24
Robin Redbreast                                             329 332-3
Rook, see Crow
Rooks deserting Rookery                                     316
   building new Rookery                                     316

Sabbath-breaking punished                                   152-157
Satan, see Apparitions and Devil
   afraid of Bell-sounds                                    171
   appearing to Man carrying Bibles                         183
   appearing to a Minister                                  184
   appearing to a Man                                       185
   appearing to a Sunday-breaker                            152-3
   appearing to a Sunday traveller                          153
   appearing as a lovely Maid                               186
   appearing to a young Man                                 188
   appearing to a Collier                                   189
   appearing to a Tippler                                   156-7
   carrying a Man away                                      187
   in form of a Pig                                         166
   in form of a Fish                                        153
   disappearing as a ball or wheel of fire                  148 150
   and Churches                                             160-170
   outwitted                                                157-160
   playing Cards                                            147 148 149
   snatching a Man up into the air                          150
Sawyer Bird, Tit-Major                                      331
Seagull, a Weather Sign                                     329-30
Seventh Daughter                                            250
   Son                                                      266
Shakespeare's Witches                                       219 220 221
Sheep, Black                                                351
   Satan cannot enter                                       351
Sir John Wynne                                              211
Slowworm                                                    352
Snakes                                                      348
     Flying                                                 349
Snake Rings                                                 350
Spells, how to break                                        244-251
Spectral Funeral                                            301-2
Spirit, see Ghost
Spirit laying                                               209-211
Spirits laid for a time                                     164 199 200 210 212
   allowed to visit the earth                               168
   sent to the Red Sea                                      193 209 210 214
   sent to Egypt                                            211
   riding Horses                                            202
Spirit ejected from Cerrig-y-drudion Church                 132
   Llanfor Church                                           152-166
   Llandysilio Church                                       166-7
Spirit in Llangerniew Church                                170
   Aberhafesp Church                                        169
   Llandegla                                                199
   Lady Jeffrey's                                           199-200
   calling Doctor                                           294
St. John's Eve                                              52 95 168 280
St. David                                                   299 307
Spiritualism                                                290-297
Spirit leaving body                                         291-293
Spider                                                      351
Squirrel hunting                                            351-2
Swallow forsaking its nest                                  330
   Breaking nest of                                         331
Swan, hatching eggs of                                      381
Swift, flying, Weather Sign                                 331
_Swyno'r 'Ryri_                                             254 262 263-4

Taboo Stories                                               6 8-24
Tegid                                                       306
Tit-Major, Weather Sign                                     331
_Tolaeth_                                                   303
Tobit, Spirit tale                                          182 210
Torrent Spectre                                             141
Transformation                                              227 234-237
Transmigration                                              276-279
_Tylwyth Teg_, see Fairies

Van Lake Fairy tale                                         16-24
Voice calling a Doctor                                      294

Water Horse                                                 138-141
Water Worship                                               161
Welsh Airs                                                  84 88
   _Aden Ddu'r Fran_                                        84
   _Toriad y Dydd_                                          88
Williams, Dr. Edward, and Fairies                           97
Witches                                                     216-251
   Llanddona                                                222-3
   transforming themselves into cats                        224-226
   transforming themselves into hares                       227-235
   hunted in form of hare                                   230-233
   killed in form of hare                                   228
   in churn in form of hare                                 229
   cursing Horse                                            242
   cursing Milk                                             238-9
   cursing Pig                                              238
   how tested                                               250-1
   Spells, how broken                                       244-250
   Punishment of                                            243
   Laws against                                             218
Wife snatching                                              29
Woodpecker, Weather Sign                                    336
Woodpigeon                                                  333-336
Wraith                                                      292 294 308
Wren, unlucky to harm                                       331-2
   Hunting the                                              332
   Curse on breaker of nest                                 333
_Wyn Melangell_                                             345

_Ystrad Legend_                                             12
Yarn Sickness                                               275-6
   Test                                                     283-4
_Yspryd Cynon_                                              212
   _Ystrad Fawr_                                            197-8

THE FAIRIES.

ORIGIN OF THE FAIRIES.  (Y TYLWYTH TEG.)

The Fairy tales that abound in the Principality have much in common with
like legends in other countries.  This points to a common origin of all
such tales.  There is a real and unreal, a mythical and a material aspect
to Fairy Folk-Lore.  The prevalence, the obscurity, and the different
versions of the same Fairy tale show that their origin dates from remote
antiquity.  The supernatural and the natural are strangely blended
together in these legends, and this also points to their great age, and
intimates that these wild and imaginative Fairy narratives had some
historical foundation.  If carefully sifted, these legends will yield a
fruitful harvest of ancient thoughts and facts connected with the history
of a people, which, as a race, is, perhaps, now extinct, but which has,
to a certain extent, been merged into a stronger and more robust race, by
whom they were conquered, and dispossessed of much of their land.  The
conquerors of the Fair Tribe have transmitted to us tales of their timid,
unwarlike, but truthful predecessors of the soil, and these tales shew
that for a time both races were co-inhabitants of the land, and to a
certain extent, by stealth, intermarried.

Fairy tales, much alike in character, are to be heard in many countries,
peopled by branches of the Aryan race, and consequently these stories in
outline, were most probably in existence before the separation of the
families belonging to that race.  It is not improbable that the emigrants
would carry with them, into all countries whithersoever they went, their
ancestral legends, and they would find no difficulty in supplying these
interesting stories with a home in their new country.  If this
supposition be correct, we must look for the origin of Fairy Mythology in
the cradle of the Aryan people, and not in any part of the world
inhabited by descendants of that great race.

But it is not improbable that incidents in the process of colonization
would repeat themselves, or under special circumstances vary, and thus we
should have similar and different versions of the same historical event
in all countries once inhabited by a diminutive race, which was overcome
by a more powerful people.

In Wales Fairy legends have such peculiarities that they seem to be
historical fragments of by-gone days.  And apparently they refer to a
race which immediately preceded the Celt in the occupation of the
country, and with which the Celt to a limited degree amalgamated.

NAMES GIVEN TO THE FAIRIES.

The Fairies have, in Wales, at least three common and distinctive names,
as well as others that are not nowadays used.

The first and most general name given to the Fairies is "_Y Tylwyth
Teg_," or, the Fair Tribe, an expressive and descriptive term.  They are
spoken of as a people, and not as myths or goblins, and they are said to
be a fair or handsome race.

Another common name for the Fairies, is, "_Bendith y Mamau_," or, "The
Mothers' Blessing."  In Doctor Owen Pughe's Dictionary they are called
"Bendith _eu_ Mamau," or, "_Their_ Mothers' Blessing."  The first is the
most common expression, at least in North Wales.  It is a singularly
strange expression, and difficult to explain.  Perhaps it hints at a
Fairy origin on the mother's side of certain fortunate people.

The third name given to Fairies is "_Ellyll_," an elf, a demon, a goblin.
This name conveys these beings to the land of spirits, and makes them
resemble the oriental Genii, and Shakespeare's sportive elves.  It
agrees, likewise, with the modern popular creed respecting goblins and
their doings.

Davydd ab Gwilym, in a description of a mountain mist in which he was
once enveloped, says:--

    Yr ydoedd ym mhob gobant
    _Ellyllon_ mingeimion gant.

    There were in every hollow
    A hundred wrymouthed elves.

    _The Cambro-Briton_, v. I., p. 348.

In Pembrokeshire the Fairies are called _Dynon Buch Teg_, or the _Fair
Small People_.

Another name applied to the Fairies is _Plant Annwfn_, or _Plant Annwn_.
This, however, is not an appellation in common use.  The term is applied
to the Fairies in the third paragraph of a Welsh prose poem called _Bardd
Cwsg_, thus:--

    Y bwriodd y _Tylwyth Teg_ fi . . . oni bai fy nyfod i mewn
    pryd i'th achub o gigweiniau _Plant Annwfn_.

    Where the _Tylwyth Teg_ threw me . . . if I had not come
    in time to rescue thee from the clutches of _Plant Annwfn_.

_Annwn_, or _Annwfn_ is defined in Canon Silvan Evans's Dictionary as an
abyss, Hades, etc.  _Plant Annwn_, therefore, means children of the lower
regions.  It is a name derived from the supposed place of abode--the
bowels of the earth--of the Fairies.  _Gwragedd Annwn_, dames of Elfin
land, is a term applied to Fairy ladies.

Ellis Wynne, the author of _Bardd Cwsg_, was born in 1671, and the
probability is that the words _Plant Annwfn_ formed in his days part of
the vocabulary of the people.  He was born in Merionethshire.

_Gwyll_, according to Richards, and Dr. Owen Pughe, is a Fairy, a goblin,
etc.  The plural of _Gwyll_ would be _Gwylliaid_, or _Gwyllion_, but this
latter word Dr. Pughe defines as ghosts, hobgoblins, etc.  Formerly,
there was in Merionethshire a red haired family of robbers called _Y
Gwylliaid Cochion_, or Red Fairies, of whom I shall speak hereafter.

_Coblynau_, or Knockers, have been described as a species of Fairies,
whose abode was within the rocks, and whose province it was to indicate
to the miners by the process of knocking, etc., the presence of rich
lodes of lead or other metals in this or that direction of the mine.

That the words _Tylwyth Teg_ and _Ellyll_ are convertible terms appears
from the following stanza, which is taken from the _Cambrian Magazine_,
vol. ii, p. 58.

    Pan dramwych ffridd yr Ywen,
    Lle mae _Tylwyth Teg_ yn rhodien,
    Dos ymlaen, a phaid a sefyll,
    Gwilia'th droed--rhag dawnsva'r _Ellyll_.

    When the forest of the Yew,
    Where _Fairies_ haunt, thou passest through,
    Tarry not, thy footsteps guard
    From the _Goblins'_ dancing sward.

Although the poet mentions the _Tylwyth Teg_ and _Ellyll_ as identical,
he might have done so for rhythmical reasons.  Undoubtedly, in the first
instance a distinction would be drawn between these two words, which
originally were intended perhaps to describe two different kinds of
beings, but in the course of time the words became interchangeable, and
thus their distinctive character was lost.  In English the words Fairies
and elves are used without any distinction.  It would appear from Brand's
_Popular Antiquities_, vol. II., p. 478., that, according to Gervase of
Tilbury, there were two kinds of Goblins in England, called _Portuni_ and
_Grant_.  This division suggests a difference between the _Tylwyth Teg_
and the _Ellyll_.  The _Portuni_, we are told, were very small of stature
and old in appearance, "_statura pusilli_, _dimidium pollicis non
habentes_," but then they were "_senili vultu_, _facie corrugata_."  The
wrinkled face and aged countenance of the _Portuni_ remind us of nursery
Fairy tales in which the wee ancient female Fairy figures.  The pranks of
the _Portuni_ were similar to those of Shakespeare's Puck.  The species
_Grant_ is not described, and consequently it cannot be ascertained how
far they resembled any of the many kinds of Welsh Fairies.  Gervase,
speaking of one of these species, says:--"If anything should be to be
carried on in the house, or any kind of laborious work to be done, they
join themselves to the work, and expedite it with more than human
facility."

In Scotland there were at least two species of elves, the _Brownies_ and
the _Fairies_.  The Brownies were so called from their tawny colour, and
the Fairies from their fairness.  The _Portuni_ of Gervase appear to have
corresponded in character to the Brownies, who were said to have employed
themselves in the night in the discharge of laborious undertakings
acceptable to the family to whose service they had devoted themselves.
The Fairies proper of Scotland strongly resembled the Fairies of Wales.

The term _Brownie_, or swarthy elve, suggests a connection between them
and the _Gwylliaid Cochion_, or Red Fairies of Wales.

FAIRY LADIES MARRYING MORTALS.

In the mythology of the Greeks, and other nations, gods and goddesses are
spoken of as falling in love with human beings, and many an ancient
genealogy began with a celestial ancestor.  Much the same thing is said
of the Fairies.  Tradition speaks of them as being enamoured of the
inhabitants of this earth, and content, for awhile, to be wedded to
mortals.  And there are families in Wales who are said to have Fairy
blood coursing through their veins, but they are, or were, not so highly
esteemed as were the offspring of the gods among the Greeks.  The famous
physicians of Myddfai, who owed their talent and supposed supernatural
knowledge to their Fairy origin, are, however, an exception; for their
renown, notwithstanding their parentage, was always great, and increased
in greatness, as the rolling years removed them from their traditionary
parent, the Fairy lady of the Van Pool.

The _Pellings_ are said to have sprung from a Fairy Mother, and the
author of _Observations on the Snowdon Mountains_ states that the best
blood in his veins is fairy blood.  There are in some parts of Wales
reputed descendants on the female side of the _Gwylliaid Cochion_ race;
and there are other families among us whom the aged of fifty years ago,
with an ominous shake of the head, would say were of Fairy extraction.
We are not, therefore, in Wales void of families of doubtful parentage or
origin.

All the current tales of men marrying Fairy ladies belong to a class of
stories called, technically, Taboo stories.  In these tales the lady
marries her lover conditionally, and when this condition is broken she
deserts husband and children, and hies back to Fairy land.

This kind of tale is current among many people.  Max Muller in _Chips
from a German Workshop_, vol. ii, pp. 104-6, records one of these ancient
stories, which is found in the Brahma_n_a of the Ya_g_ur-veda.  Omitting
a few particulars, the story is as follows:--

"Urvasi, a kind of Fairy, fell in love with Pururavas, the son of Ida,
and when she met him she said, 'Embrace me three times a day, but never
against my will, and let me never see you without your royal garments,
for this is the manner of women.'  In this manner she lived with him a
long time, and she was with child.  Then her former friends, the
Gandharvas, said: 'This Urvasi has now dwelt a long time among mortals;
let us see that she come back.'  Now, there was a ewe, with two lambs,
tied to the couch of Urvasi and Pururavas, and the Gandharvas stole one
of them.  Urvasi said: 'They take away my darling, as if I had lived in a
land where there is no hero and no man.'  They stole the second, and she
upbraided her husband again.  Then Pururavas looked and said: 'How can
that be a land without heroes and men where I am?'  And naked, he sprang
up; he thought it too long to put on his dress.  Then the Gandharvas sent
a flash of lightning, and Urvasi saw her husband naked as by daylight.
Then she vanished; 'I come back,' she said, and went.

Pururavas bewailed his love in bitter grief.  But whilst walking along
the border of a lake full of lotus flowers the Fairies were playing there
in the water, in the shape of birds, and Urvasi discovered him and
said:--

'That is the man with whom I dwelt so long.'  Then her friends said: 'Let
us appear to him.'  She agreed, and they appeared before him.  Then the
king recognised her, and said:--

'Lo! my wife, stay, thou cruel in mind!  Let us now exchange some words!
Our secrets, if they are not told now, will not bring us back on any
later day.'

She replied: 'What shall I do with thy speech?  I am gone like the first
of the dawns.  Pururavas, go home again, I am hard to be caught, like the
wind.'"

The Fairy wife by and by relents, and her mortal lover became, by a
certain sacrifice, one of the Gandharvas.

This ancient Hindu Fairy tale resembles in many particulars similar tales
found in Celtic Folk-Lore, and possibly, the original story, in its main
features, existed before the Aryan family had separated.  The very words,
"I am hard to be caught," appear in one of the Welsh legends, which shall
be hereafter given:--

    Nid hawdd fy nala,
    I am hard to be caught.

And the scene is similar; in both cases the Fairy ladies are discovered
in a lake.  The immortal weds the mortal, conditionally, and for awhile
the union seems to be a happy one.  But, unwittingly, when engaged in an
undertaking suggested by, or in agreement with the wife's wishes, the
prohibited thing is done, and the lady vanishes away.

Such are the chief features of these mythical marriages.  I will now
record like tales that have found a home in several parts of Wales.

WELSH LEGENDS OF FAIRY LADIES MARRYING MEN.

1.  _The Pentrevoelas Legend_.

I am indebted to the Rev. Owen Jones, Vicar of Pentrevoelas, a mountain
parish in West Denbighshire, for the following tale, which was written in
Welsh by a native of those parts, and appeared in competition for a prize
on the Folk-Lore of that parish.

The son of Hafodgarreg was shepherding his father's flock on the hills,
and whilst thus engaged, he, one misty morning, came suddenly upon a
lovely girl, seated on the sheltered side of a peat-stack.  The maiden
appeared to be in great distress, and she was crying bitterly.  The young
man went up to her, and spoke kindly to her, and his attention and
sympathy were not without effect on the comely stranger.  So beautiful
was the young woman, that from expressions of sympathy the smitten youth
proceeded to words of love, and his advances were not repelled.  But
whilst the lovers were holding sweet conversation, there appeared on the
scene a venerable and aged man, who, addressing the female as her father,
bade her follow him.  She immediately obeyed, and both departed leaving
the young man alone.  He lingered about the place until the evening,
wishing and hoping that she might return, but she came not.  Early the
next day, he was at the spot where he first felt what love was.  All day
long he loitered about the place, vainly hoping that the beautiful girl
would pay another visit to the mountain, but he was doomed to
disappointment, and night again drove him homewards.  Thus daily went he
to the place where he had met his beloved, but she was not there, and,
love-sick and lonely, he returned to Hafodgarreg.  Such devotion deserved
its reward.  It would seem that the young lady loved the young man quite
as much as he loved her.  And in the land of allurement and illusion (yn
nhir hud a lledrith) she planned a visit to the earth, and met her lover,
but she was soon missed by her father, and he, suspecting her love for
this young man, again came upon them, and found them conversing lovingly
together.  Much talk took place between the sire and his daughter, and
the shepherd, waxing bold, begged and begged her father to give him his
daughter in marriage.  The sire, perceiving that the man was in earnest,
turned to his daughter, and asked her whether it were her wish to marry a
man of the earth?  She said it was.  Then the father told the shepherd he
should have his daughter to wife, and that she should stay with him,
until he should strike her with _iron_, and that, as a marriage portion,
he would give her a bag filled with bright money.  The young couple were
duly married, and the promised dowry was received.  For many years they
lived lovingly and happily together, and children were born to them.  One
day this man and his wife went together to the hill to catch a couple of
ponies, to carry them to the Festival of the Saint of Capel Garmon.  The
ponies were very wild, and could not be caught.  The man, irritated,
pursued the nimble creatures.  His wife was by his side, and now he
thought he had them in his power, but just at the moment he was about to
grasp their manes, off they wildly galloped, and the man, in anger,
finding that they had again eluded him, threw the bridle after them, and,
sad to say, the bit struck the wife, and as this was of _iron_ they both
knew that their marriage contract was broken.  Hardly had they had time
to realise the dire accident, ere the aged father of the bride appeared,
accompanied by a host of Fairies, and there and then departed with his
daughter to the land whence she came, and that, too, without even
allowing her to bid farewell to her children.  The money, though, and the
children were left behind, and these were the only memorials of the
lovely wife and the kindest of mothers, that remained to remind the
shepherd of the treasure he had lost in the person of his Fairy spouse.

Such is the Pentrevoelas Legend.  The writer had evidently not seen the
version of this story in the _Cambro-Briton_, nor had he read Williams's
tale of a like occurrence, recorded in _Observations on the Snowdon
Mountains_.  The account, therefore, is all the more valuable, as being
an independent production.

A fragmentary variant of the preceding legend was given me by Mr. Lloyd,
late schoolmaster of Llanfihangel-Glyn-Myfyr, a native of South Wales,
who heard the tale in the parish of Llanfihangel.  Although but a
fragment, it may not be altogether useless, and I will give it as I
received it:--

Shon Rolant, Hafod y Dre, Pentrevoelas, when going home from Llanrwst
market, fortunately caught a Fairy-maid, whom he took home with him.  She
was a most handsome woman, but rather short and slight in person.  She
was admired by everybody on account of her great beauty.  Shon Rolant
fell desperately in love with her, and would have married her, but this
she would not allow.  He, however, continued pressing her to become his
wife, and, by and by, she consented to do so, provided he could find out
her name.  As Shon was again going home from the market about a month
later, he heard some one saying, near the place where he had seized the
Fairy-maid, "Where is little Penloi gone?  Where is little Penloi gone?"
Shon at once thought that some one was searching for the Fairy he had
captured, and when he reached home, he addressed the Fairy by the name he
had heard, and Penloi consented to become his wife.  She, however,
expressed displeasure at marrying a dead man, as the Fairies call us.
She informed her lover that she was not to be touched with _iron_, or she
would disappear at once.  Shon took great care not to touch her with
_iron_.  However, one day, when he was on horseback talking to his
beloved Penloi, who stood at the horse's head, the horse suddenly threw
up its head, and the curb, which was of _iron_, came in contact with
Penloi, who immediately vanished out of sight.

The next legend is taken from Williams's _Observations on the Snowdon
Mountains_.  His work was published in 1802.  He, himself, was born in
Anglesey, in 1738, and migrated to Carnarvonshire about the year 1760.
It was in this latter county that he became a learned antiquary, and a
careful recorder of events that came under his notice.  His
"Observations" throw considerable light upon the life, the customs, and
the traditions of the inhabitants of the hill parts and secluded glens of
Carnarvonshire.  I have thought fit to make these few remarks about the
author I quote from, so as to enable the reader to give to him that
credence which he is entitled to.  Williams entitles the following story,
"A Fairy Tale," but I will for the sake of reference call it "The Ystrad
Legend."

2.  _The Ystrad Legend_.

"In a meadow belonging to Ystrad, bounded by the river which falls from
Cwellyn Lake, they say the Fairies used to assemble, and dance on fair
moon-light-nights.  One evening a young man, who was the heir and
occupier of this farm, hid himself in a thicket close to the spot where
they used to gambol; presently they appeared, and when in their merry
mood, out he bounced from his covert and seized one of their females; the
rest of the company dispersed themselves, and disappeared in an instant.
Disregarding her struggles and screams, he hauled her to his home, where
he treated her so very kindly that she became content to live with him as
his maid servant; but he could not prevail upon her to tell him her name.
Some time after, happening again to see the Fairies upon the same spot,
he heard one of them saying, 'The last time we met here, our sister
_Penelope_ was snatched away from us by one of the mortals!'  Rejoiced at
knowing the name of his _Incognita_, he returned home; and as she was
very beautiful, and extremely active, he proposed to marry her, which she
would not for a long time consent to; at last, however, she complied, but
on this condition, 'That if ever he should strike her with iron, she
would leave him, and never return to him again.'  They lived happily for
many years together, and he had by her a son, and a daughter; and by her
industry and prudent management as a house-wife he became one of the
richest men in the country.  He farmed, besides his own freehold, all the
lands on the north side of Nant-y-Bettws to the top of Snowdon, and all
Cwmbrwynog in Llanberis; an extent of about five thousand acres or
upwards.

Unfortunately, one day Penelope followed her husband into the field to
catch a horse; and he, being in a rage at the animal as he ran away from
him, threw at him the bridle that was in his hand, which unluckily fell
on poor Penelope.  She disappeared in an instant, and he never saw her
afterwards, but heard her voice in the window of his room one night
after, requesting him to take care of the children, in these words:--

    Rhag bod anwyd ar fy mab,
    Yn rhodd rhowch arno gob ei dad,
    Rhag bod anwyd ar liw'r cann,
    Rhoddwch arni bais ei mam.

That is--

    Oh! lest my son should suffer cold,
    Him in his father's coat infold,
    Lest cold should seize my darling fair,
    For her, her mother's robe prepare.

These children and their descendants, they say, were called _Pellings_; a
word corrupted from their mother's name, Penelope."

Williams proceeds thus with reference to the descendants of this union:--

"The late Thomas Rowlands, Esq., of Caerau, in Anglesey, the father of
the late Lady Bulkeley, was a descendant of this lady, if it be true that
the name _Pellings_ came from her; and there are still living several
opulent and respectable people who are known to have sprung from the
_Pellings_.  The best blood in my own veins is this Fairy's."

This tale was chronicled in the last century, but it is not known whether
every particular incident connected therewith was recorded by Williams.
_Glasynys_, the Rev. Owen Wynne Jones, a clergyman, relates a tale in the
_Brython_, which he regards as the same tale as that given by Williams,
and he says that he heard it scores of times when he was a lad.
_Glasynys_ was born in the parish of Rhostryfan, Carnarvonshire, in 1827,
and as his birth place is not far distant from the scene of this legend,
he might have heard a different version of Williams's tale, and that too
of equal value with Williams's.  Possibly, there were not more than from
forty to fifty years between the time when the older writer heard the
tale and the time when it was heard by the younger man.  An octogenarian,
or even a younger person, could have conversed with both Williams and
_Glasynys_.  _Glasynys's_ tale appears in Professor Rhys's _Welsh Fairy
Tales_, _Cymmrodor_, vol. iv., p. 188.  It originally appeared in the
_Brython_ for 1863, p. 193.  It is as follows:--

"One fine sunny morning, as the young heir of Ystrad was busied with his
sheep on the side of Moel Eilio, he met a very pretty girl, and when he
got home he told the folks there of it.  A few days afterwards he met her
again, and this happened several times, when he mentioned it to his
father, who advised him to seize her when he next met her.  The next time
he met her he proceeded to do so, but before he could take her away, a
little fat old man came to them and begged him to give her back to him,
to which the youth would not listen.  The little man uttered terrible
threats, but he would not yield, so an agreement was made between them
that he was to have her to wife until he touched her skin with iron, and
great was the joy both of the son and his parents in consequence.  They
lived together for many years, but once on a time, on the evening of
Bettws Fair, the wife's horse got restive, and somehow, as the husband
was attending to the horse, the stirrups touched the skin of her bare
leg, and that very night she was taken away from him.  She had three or
four children, and more than one of their descendants, as _Glasynys_
maintains, were known to him at the time he wrote in 1863."

3.  _The Llanfrothen Legend_.

I am indebted to the Rev. R. Jones, Rector of Llanycil, Bala, for the
following legend.  I may state that Mr. Jones is a native of Llanfrothen,
Merionethshire, a parish in close proximity to the scene of the story.
Mr. Jones's informant was his mother, a lady whose mind was well stored
with tales of by-gone times, and my friend and informant inherits his
mother's retentive memory, as well as her love of ancient lore.

A certain man fell in love with a beautiful Fairy lady, and he wished to
marry her.  She consented to do so, but warned him that if he ever
touched her with iron she would leave him immediately.  This stipulation
weighed but lightly on the lover.  They were married, and for many years
they lived most happily together, and several children were born to them.
A sad mishap, however, one day overtook them.  They were together,
crossing Traethmawr, Penrhyndeudraeth, on horseback, when the man's horse
became restive, and jerked his head towards the woman, and the bit of the
bridle touched the left arm of the Fairy wife.  She at once told her
husband that they must part for ever.  He was greatly distressed, and
implored her not to leave him.  She said she could not stay.  Then the
man, appealing to a mother's love for her children, begged that she would
for the sake of their offspring continue to dwell with him and them, and,
said he, what will become of our children without their mother?  Her
answer was:--

    Gadewch iddynt fod yn bennau cochion a thrwynau hirion.

    Let them be redheaded and longnosed.

Having uttered these words, she disappeared and was never seen
afterwards.

No Welsh Taboo story can be complete without the pretty tale of the Van
Lake Legend, or, as it is called, "The Myddfai Legend."  Because of its
intrinsic beauty and worth, and for the sake of comparison with the
preceding stories, I will relate this legend.  There are several versions
extant.  Mr. Wirt Sikes, in his _British Goblins_, has one, the
_Cambro-Briton_ has one, but the best is that recorded by Professor Rhys,
in the _Cymmrodor_, vol. iv., p. 163, in his _Welsh Fairy Tales_.  There
are other readings of the legend to be met with.  I will first of all
give an epitome of the Professor's version.

4.  _The Myddvai Legend_.

A widow, who had an only son, was obliged, in consequence of the large
flocks she possessed, to send, under the care of her son, a portion of
her cattle to graze on the Black Mountain near a small lake called
Llyn-y-Van-Bach.

One day the son perceived, to his great astonishment, a most beautiful
creature with flowing hair sitting on the unruffled surface of the lake
combing her tresses, the water serving as a mirror.  Suddenly she beheld
the young man standing on the brink of the lake with his eyes rivetted on
her, and unconsciously offering to herself the provision of barley bread
and cheese with which he had been provided when he left his home.

Bewildered by a feeling of love and admiration for the object before him,
he continued to hold out his hand towards the lady, who imperceptibly
glided near to him, but gently refused the offer of his provisions.  He
attempted to touch her, but she eluded his grasp, saying

    Cras dy fara;
    Nid hawdd fy nala.

    Hard baked is thy bread;
    It is not easy to catch me.

She immediately dived under the water and disappeared, leaving the
love-stricken youth to return home a prey to disappointment and regret
that he had been unable to make further acquaintance with the lovely
maiden with whom he had desperately fallen in love.

On his return home he communicated to his mother the extraordinary
vision.  She advised him to take some unbaked dough the next time in his
pocket, as there must have been some spell connected with the hard baked
bread, or "Bara Cras," which prevented his catching the lady.

Next morning, before the sun was up, the young man was at the lake, not
for the purpose of looking after the cattle, but that he might again
witness the enchanting vision of the previous day.  In vain did he glance
over the surface of the lake; nothing met his view, save the ripples
occasioned by a stiff breeze, and a dark cloud hung heavily on the summit
of the Van.

Hours passed on, the wind was hushed, the overhanging clouds had
vanished, when the youth was startled by seeing some of his mother's
cattle on the precipitous side of the acclivity, nearly on the opposite
side of the lake.  As he was hastening away to rescue them from their
perilous position, the object of his search again appeared to him, and
seemed much more beautiful than when he first beheld her.  His hand was
again held out to her, full of unbaked bread, which he offered to her
with an urgent proffer of his heart also, and vows of eternal attachment,
all of which were refused by her, saying

    Llaith dy fara!
    Ti ni fynna.

    Unbaked is thy bread!
    I will not have thee.

But the smiles that played upon her features as the lady vanished beneath
the waters forbade him to despair, and cheered him on his way home.  His
aged parent was acquainted with his ill success, and she suggested that
his bread should the next time be but slightly baked, as most likely to
please the mysterious being.

Impelled by love, the youth left his mother's home early next morning.
He was soon near the margin of the lake impatiently awaiting the
reappearance of the lady.  The sheep and goats browsed on the precipitous
sides of the Van, the cattle strayed amongst the rocks, rain and sunshine
came and passed away, unheeded by the youth who was wrapped up in looking
for the appearance of her who had stolen his heart.  The sun was verging
towards the west, and the young man casting a sad look over the waters
ere departing homewards was astonished to see several cows walking along
its surface, and, what was more pleasing to his sight, the maiden
reappeared, even lovelier than ever.  She approached the land and he
rushed to meet her in the water.  A smile encouraged him to seize her
hand, and she accepted the moderately baked bread he offered her, and
after some persuasion she consented to become his wife, on condition that
they should live together until she received from him three blows without
a cause,

    Tri ergyd diachos,

    Three causeless blows,

when, should he ever happen to strike her three such blows, she would
leave him for ever.  These conditions were readily and joyfully accepted.

Thus the Lady of the Lake became engaged to the young man, and having
loosed her hand for a moment she darted away and dived into the lake.
The grief of the lover at this disappearance of his affianced was such
that he determined to cast himself headlong into its unfathomed depths,
and thus end his life.  As he was on the point of committing this rash
act, there emerged out of the lake two most beautiful ladies, accompanied
by a hoary-headed man of noble mien and extraordinary stature, but having
otherwise all the force and strength of youth.  This man addressed the
youth, saying that, as he proposed to marry one of his daughters, he
consented to the union, provided the young man could distinguish which of
the two ladies before him was the object of his affections.  This was no
easy task, as the maidens were perfect counterparts of each other.

Whilst the young man narrowly scanned the two ladies and failed to
perceive the least difference betwixt the two, one of them thrust her
foot a slight degree forward.  The motion, simple as it was, did not
escape the observation of the youth, and he discovered a trifling
variation in the mode in which their sandals were tied.  This at once put
an end to the dilemma, for he had on previous occasions noticed the
peculiarity of her shoe-tie, and he boldly took hold of her hand.

"Thou hast chosen rightly," said the Father, "be to her a kind and
faithful husband, and I will give her, as a dowry, as many sheep, cattle,
goats, and horses, as she can count of each without heaving or drawing in
her breath.  But remember, that if you prove unkind to her at any time
and strike her three times without a cause, she shall return to me, and
shall bring all her stock with her."

Such was the marriage settlement, to which the young man gladly assented,
and the bride was desired to count the number of sheep she was to have.
She immediately adopted the mode of counting by fives, thus:--One, two,
three, four, five,--one, two, three, four, five; as many times as
possible in rapid succession, till her breath was exhausted.  The same
process of reckoning had to determine the number of goats, cattle, and
horses, respectively; and in an instant the full number of each came out
of the lake, when called upon by the Father.

The young couple were then married, and went to reside at a farm called
Esgair Llaethdy, near Myddvai, where they lived in prosperity and
happiness for several years, and became the parents of three beautiful
sons.

Once upon a time there was a christening in the neighbourhood to which
the parents were invited.  When the day arrived the wife appeared
reluctant to attend the christening, alleging that the distance was too
great for her to walk.  Her husband told her to fetch one of the horses
from the field.  "I will," said she, "if you will bring me my gloves
which I left in our house."  He went for the gloves, and finding she had
not gone for the horse, he playfully slapped her shoulder with one of
them, saying "_dos_, _dos_, go, go," when she reminded him of the terms
on which she consented to marry him, and warned him to be more cautious
in the future, as he had now given her one causeless blow.

On another occasion when they were together at a wedding and the
assembled guests were greatly enjoying themselves the wife burst into
tears and sobbed most piteously.  Her husband touched her on the shoulder
and inquired the cause of her weeping; she said, "Now people are entering
into trouble, and your troubles are likely to commence, as you have the
_second_ time stricken me without a cause."

Years passed on, and their children had grown up, and were particularly
clever young men.  Amidst so many worldly blessings the husband almost
forgot that only _one_ causeless blow would destroy his prosperity.
Still he was watchful lest any trivial occurrence should take place which
his wife must regard as a breach of their marriage contract.  She told
him that her affection for him was unabated, and warned him to be careful
lest through inadvertence he might give the last and only blow which, by
an unalterable destiny, over which she had no control, would separate
them for ever.

One day it happened that they went to a funeral together, where, in the
midst of mourning and grief at the house of the deceased, she appeared in
the gayest of spirits, and indulged in inconsiderate fits of laughter,
which so shocked her husband that he touched her, saying--"Hush! hush!
don't laugh."  She said that she laughed because people when they die go
out of trouble, and rising up, she went out of the house, saying, "The
last blow has been struck, our marriage contract is broken, and at an
end.  Farewell!"  Then she started off towards Esgair Llaethdy, where she
called her cattle and other stock together, each by name, not forgetting,
the "little black calf" which had been slaughtered and was suspended on
the hook, and away went the calf and all the stock, with the Lady across
Myddvai Mountain, and disappeared beneath the waters of the lake whence
the Lady had come.  The four oxen that were ploughing departed, drawing
after them the plough, which made a furrow in the ground, and which
remains as a testimony of the truth of this story.

She is said to have appeared to her sons, and accosting Rhiwallon, her
firstborn, to have informed him that he was to be a benefactor to
mankind, through healing all manner of their diseases, and she furnished
him with prescriptions and instructions for the preservation of health.
Then, promising to meet him when her counsel was most needed, she
vanished.  On several other occasions she met her sons, and pointed out
to them plants and herbs, and revealed to them their medicinal qualities
or virtues.

So ends the Myddvai Legend.

A variant of this tale appears in the form of a letter in the
_Cambro-Briton_, vol. ii, pp. 313-315.  The editor prefaces the legend
with the remark that the tale "acquires an additional interest from its
resemblance in one particular to a similar tradition current in Scotland,
wherein certain beasts, brought from a lake, as in this tale, play much
the same part as is here described."  The volume of the _Cambro-Briton_
now referred to was published in 1821 and apparently the writer, who
calls himself _Siencyn ab Tydvil_, communicates an unwritten tradition
afloat in Carmarthenshire, for he does not tell us whence he obtained the
story.  As the tale differs in some particulars from that already given,
I will transcribe it.

5.  _The Cambro-Briton version of the Myddvai Legend_.

"A man, who lived in the farm-house called Esgair-llaethdy, in the parish
of Myddvai, in Carmarthenshire, having bought some lambs in a
neighbouring fair, led them to graze near _Llyn y Van Vach_, on the Black
Mountains.  Whenever he visited the lambs, three most beautiful female
figures presented themselves to him from the lake, and often made
excursions on the boundaries of it.  For some time he pursued and
endeavoured to catch them, but always failed; for the enchanting nymphs
ran before him, and, when they had reached the lake, they tauntingly
exclaimed,

    Cras dy fara,
    Anhawdd ein dala,

which, with a little circumlocution, means, 'For thee, who eatest baked
bread, it is difficult to catch us.'

One day some moist bread from the lake came to shore.  The farmer
devoured it with great avidity, and on the following day he was
successful in his pursuit and caught the fair damsels.  After a little
conversation with them, he commanded courage sufficient to make proposals
of marriage to one of them.  She consented to accept them on the
condition that he would distinguish her from her two sisters on the
following day.  This was a new, and a very great difficulty to the young
farmer, for the fair nymphs were so similar in form and features, that he
could scarcely perceive any difference between them.  He observed,
however, a trifling singularity in the strapping of her sandal, by which
he recognized her the following day.  Some, indeed, who relate this
legend, say that this Lady of the Lake hinted in a private conversation
with her swain that upon the day of trial she would place herself between
her two sisters, and that she would turn her right foot a little to the
right, and that by this means he distinguished her from her sisters.
Whatever were the means, the end was secured; he selected her, and she
immediately left the lake and accompanied him to his farm.  Before she
quitted, she summoned to attend her from the lake seven cows, two oxen,
and one bull.

This lady engaged to live with him until such time as he would strike her
three times without cause.  For some years they lived together in
comfort, and she bore him three sons, who were the celebrated Meddygon
Myddvai.

One day, when preparing for a fair in the neighbourhood, he desired her
to go to the field for his horse.  She said she would; but being rather
dilatory, he said to her humorously, '_dos_, _dos_, _dos_,' i.e., 'go,
go, go,' and he slightly touched her arm _three times_ with his glove.

As she now deemed the terms of her marriage broken, she immediately
departed, and summoned with her her seven cows, her two oxen, and the
bull.  The oxen were at that very time ploughing in the field, but they
immediately obeyed her call, and took the plough with them.  The furrow
from the field in which they were ploughing, to the margin of the lake,
is to be seen in several parts of that country to the present day.

After her departure, she once met her two sons in a Cwm, now called _Cwm
Meddygon_ (Physicians' Combe), and delivered to each of them a bag
containing some articles which are unknown, but which are supposed to
have been some discoveries in medicine.

The Meddygon Myddvai were Rhiwallon and his sons, Cadwgan, Gruffydd, and
Einion.  They were the chief physicians of their age, and they wrote
about A.D. 1230.  A copy of their works is in the Welsh School Library,
in Gray's Inn Lane."

Such are the Welsh Taboo tales.  I will now make a few remarks upon them.

The _age_ of these legends is worthy of consideration.  The legend of
_Meddygon Myddvai_ dates from about the thirteenth century.  Rhiwallon
and his sons, we are told by the writer in the _Cambro-Briton_, wrote
about 1230 A.D., but the editor of that publication speaks of a
manuscript written by these physicians about the year 1300.  Modern
experts think that their treatise on medicine in the _Red Book of
Hergest_ belongs to the end of the fourteenth century, about 1380 to
1400.

_Dafydd ab Gwilym_, who is said to have flourished in the fourteenth
century, says, in one of his poems, as given in the _Cambro-Briton_, vol.
ii., p. 313, alluding to these physicians:--

    "Meddyg, nis gwnai modd y gwnaeth
    Myddfai, o chai ddyn meddfaeth."

    "A Physician he would not make
    As Myddvai made, if he had a mead fostered man."

It would appear, therefore, that these celebrated physicians lived
somewhere about the thirteenth century.  They are described as Physicians
of Rhys Gryg, a prince of South Wales, who lived in the early part of the
thirteenth century.  Their supposed supernatural origin dates therefore
from the thirteenth, or at the latest, the fourteenth century.

I have mentioned _Y Gwylliaid Cochion_, or, as they are generally styled,
_Gwylliaid Cochion Mawddwy_, the Red Fairies of Mawddwy, as being of
Fairy origin.  The Llanfrothen Legend seems to account for a race of men
in Wales differing from their neighbours in certain features.  The
offspring of the Fairy union were, according to the Fairy mother's
prediction in that legend, to have red hair and prominent noses.  That a
race of men having these characteristics did exist in Wales is undoubted.
They were a strong tribe, the men were tall and athletic, and lived by
plunder.  They had their head quarters at Dinas Mawddwy, Merionethshire,
and taxed their neighbours in open day, driving away sheep and cattle to
their dens.  So unbearable did their depredations become that John Wynn
ap Meredydd of Gwydir and Lewis Owen, or as he is called Baron Owen,
raised a body of stout men to overcome them, and on Christmas Eve, 1554,
succeeded in capturing a large number of the offenders, and, there and
then, some hundred or so of the robbers were hung.  Tradition says that a
mother begged hard for the life of a young son, who was to be destroyed,
but Baron Owen would not relent.  On perceiving that her request was
unheeded, baring her breast she said:--

    Y bronau melynion hyn a fagasant y rhai a ddialant waed fy mab, ac a
    olchant eu dwylaw yn ngwaed calon llofrudd eu brawd.

    These yellow breasts have nursed those who will revenge my son's
    blood, and will wash their hands in the heart's blood of the murderer
    of their brother.

According to _Pennant_ this threat was carried out by the murder of Baron
Owen in 1555, when he was passing through the thick woods of Mawddwy on
his way to Montgomeryshire Assizes, at a place called to this day
_Llidiart y Barwn_, the Baron's Gate, from the deed.  Tradition further
tells us that the murderers had gone a distance off before they
remembered their mother's threat, and returning thrust their swords into
the Baron's breast, and washed their hands in his heart's blood.  This
act was followed by vigorous action, and the banditti were extirpated,
the females only remaining, and the descendants of these women are
occasionally still to be met with in Montgomeryshire and Merionethshire.

For the preceding information the writer is indebted to _Yr Hynafion
Cymreig_, pp. 91-94, _Archaeologia Cambrensis_, for 1854, pp. 119-20,
_Pennant_, vol. ii, pp. 225-27, ed. Carnarvon, and the tradition was told
him by the Revd. D. James, Vicar of Garthbeibio, who likewise pointed out
to him the very spot where the Baron was murdered.

But now, who were these _Gwylliaid_?  According to the hint conveyed by
their name they were of Fairy parentage, an idea which a writer in the
_Archaeologia Cambrensis_, vol. v., 1854, p. 119, intended, perhaps, to
throw out.  But according to _Brut y Tywysogion_, _Myf. Arch_., p. 706,
A.D. 1114, Denbigh edition, the _Gwylliaid Cochion Mawddwy_ began in the
time of Cadwgan ab Bleddyn ab Cynvyn.

From Williams's _Eminent Welshmen_, we gather that Prince Cadwgan died in
1110, A.D., and, according to the above-mentioned _Brut_, it was in his
days that the Gwylliaid commenced their career, if not their existence.

Unfortunately for this beginning of the red-headed banditti of Mawddwy,
Tacitus states in his Life of Agricola, ch. xi., that there were in
Britain men with red hair who he surmises were of German extraction.  We
must, therefore, look for the commencement of a people of this
description long before the twelfth century, and the Llanfrothen legend
either dates from remote antiquity, or it was a tale that found in its
wanderings a resting place in that locality in ages long past.

From a legend recorded by _Giraldus Cambrensis_, which shall by and by be
given, it would seem that a priest named Elidorus lived among the Fairies
in their home in the bowels of the earth, and this would be in the early
part of the twelfth century.  The question arises, is the priest's tale
credible, or did he merely relate a story of himself which had been
ascribed to some one else in the traditions of the people?  If his tale
is true, then, there lived even in that late period a remnant of the
aborigines of the country, who had their homes in caves.  The Myddvai
Legend in part corroborates this supposition, for that story apparently
belongs to the thirteenth century.

It is difficult to fix the date of the other legends here given, for they
are dressed in modern garbs, with, however, trappings of remote times.
Probably all these tales have reached, through oral tradition, historic
times, but in reality they belong to that far-off distant period, when
the prehistoric inhabitants of this island dwelt in Lake-habitations, or
in caves.  And the marriage of Fairy ladies, with men of a different
race, intimates that the more ancient people were not extirpated, but
were amalgamated with their conquerors.

Many Fairy tales in Wales are associated with lakes.  Fairy ladies emerge
from lakes and disappear into lakes.  In the oriental legend Pururavas
came upon his absconding wife in a lake.  In many Fairy stories lakes
seem to be the entrance to the abodes of the Fairies.  Evidently,
therefore, those people were lake-dwellers.  In the lakes of Switzerland
and other countries have been discovered vestiges of Lake-villages
belonging to the Stone Age, and even to the Bronze Age.  Perhaps those
that belong to the Stone Age are the most ancient kind of human abodes
still traceable in the world.  In Ireland and Scotland these kinds of
dwellings have been found.  I am not in a position to say that they have
been discovered in Wales; but some thirty years ago Mr. Colliver, a
Cornish gentleman, told the writer that whilst engaged in mining
operations near Llyn Llydaw he had occasion to lower the water level of
that lake, when he discovered embedded in the mud a canoe formed out of
the trunk of a single tree.  He saw another in the lake, but this he did
not disturb, and there it is at the present day.  The late Professor
Peter of Bala believed that he found traces of Lake-dwellings in Bala
Lake, and the people in those parts have a tradition that a town lies
buried beneath its waters--a tradition, indeed, common to many lakes.  It
is not therefore unlikely that if the lakes of Wales are explored they
will yield evidences of lake-dwellers, and, however unromantic it may
appear, the Lady of the Van Lake was only possibly a maiden snatched from
her watery home by a member of a stronger race.

In these legends the lady does not seem to evince much love for her
husband after she has left him.  Possibly he did not deserve much, but
towards her children she shows deep affection.  After the husband is
deserted, the children are objects of her solicitation, and they are
visited.  The Lady of the Van Lake promised to meet her son whenever her
counsel or aid was required.  A like trait belongs to the Homeric
goddesses.  Thetis heard from her father's court far away beneath the
ocean the terrible sounds of grief that burst from her son Achilles on
hearing of the death of his dear friend Patroclus, and quickly ascended
to earth all weeping to learn what ailed her son.  These Fairy ladies
also show a mother's love, immortal though they be.

The children of these marriages depart not with their mother, they remain
with the father, but she takes with her her dowry.  Thus there are many
descendants of the Lady of the Van Lake still living in South Wales, and
as Professor Rhys remarks--"This brings the legend of the Lady of the Van
Lake into connection with a widely spread family;" and, it may be added,
shows that the Celts on their advent to Wales found it inhabited by a
race with whom they contracted marriages.

The manner in which the lady is seized when dancing in the Ystrad Legend
calls to mind the strategy of the tribe of Benjamin to secure wives for
themselves of the daughters of Shiloh according to the advice of the
elders who commanded them,--"Go and lie in wait in the vineyards; and
see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances,
then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you everyone his wife of the
daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin," Judges, ch. xxi.
The rape of the Sabine women, who were seized by the followers of Romulus
on a day appointed for sacrifice and public games, also serves as a
precedent for the action of those young Welshmen who captured Fairy wives
whilst enjoying themselves in the dance.

It is a curious fact, that a singular testimony to wife snatching in
ancient times is indicated by a custom once general, and still not
obsolete in South Wales, of a feigned attempt on the part of the friends
of the young woman about to get married to hinder her from carrying out
her object.  The Rev. Griffith Jones, Vicar of Mostyn, informed the
writer that he had witnessed such a struggle.  The wedding, he stated,
took place at Tregaron, Cardiganshire.  The friends of both the young
people were on horseback, and according to custom they presented
themselves at the house of the young woman, the one to escort her to the
church, and the other to hinder her from going there.  The friends of the
young man were called "_Gwyr shegouts_."  When the young lady was
mounted, she was surrounded by the _gwyr shegouts_, and the cavalcade
started.  All went on peaceably until a lane was reached, down which the
lady bolted, and here the struggle commenced, for her friends dashed
between her and her husband's friends and endeavoured to force them back,
and thus assist her to escape.  The parties, Mr. Jones said, rode
furiously and madly, and the struggle presented a cavalry charge, and it
was not without much apparent danger that the opposition was overcome,
and the lady ultimately forced to proceed to the church, where her future
husband was anxiously awaiting her arrival.  This strange custom of
ancient times and obscure origin is suggestive of the way in which the
stronger party procured wives in days of old.

Before the marriage of the Fairy lady to the mortal takes place, the
father of the lady appears on the scene, sometimes as a supplicant, and
at others as a consenting party to the inevitable marriage, but never is
he depicted as resorting to force to rescue his daughter.  This
pusillanimity can only be reasonably accounted for by supposing that the
"little man" was physically incapable of encountering and overcoming by
brute force the aspirant to the hand of his daughter.  From this conduct
we must, I think, infer that the Fairy race were a weak people bodily,
unaccustomed and disinclined to war.  Their safety and existence
consisted in living in the inaccessible parts of the mountains, or in
lake dwellings far removed from the habitations of the stronger and
better equipped race that had invaded their country.  In this way they
could, and very likely did, occupy parts of Wales contemporaneously with
their conquerors, who, through marriage, became connected with the mild
race, whom they found in possession of the land.

In the Welsh legends the maid consents to wed her capturer, and remain
with him until he strikes her with _iron_.  In every instance where this
stipulation is made, it is ultimately broken, and the wife departs never
to return.  It has been thought that this implies that the people who
immediately succeeded the Fair race belonged to the Iron Age, whilst the
fair aborigines belonged to the Stone or Bronze age, and that they were
overcome by the superior arms of their opponents, quite as much as by
their greater bodily strength.  Had the tabooed article been in every
instance _iron_, the preceding supposition would have carried with it
considerable weight, but as this is not the case, all that can be said
positively is, that the conquerors of the Fair race were certainly
acquainted with iron, and the blow with iron that brought about the
catastrophe was undoubtedly inflicted by the mortal who had married the
Fairy lady.  Why iron should have been tabooed by the Fairy and her
father, must remain an open question.  But if we could, with reason,
suppose, that that metal had brought about their subjugation, then in an
age of primitive and imperfect knowledge, and consequent deep
superstition, we might not be wrong in supposing that the subjugated race
would look upon iron with superstitious dread, and ascribe to it
supernatural power inimical to them as a race.  They would under such
feelings have nothing whatever to do with iron, just as the benighted
African, witnessing for the first time the effects of a gun shot, would,
with dread, avoid a gun.  By this process of reasoning we arrive at the
conclusion that the Fairy race belonged to a period anterior to the Iron
Age.

With one remark, I will bring my reflections on the preceding legends to
an end.  Polygamy apparently was unknown in the distant times we are
considering.  But the marriage bond was not indissoluble, and the
initiative in the separation was taken by the woman.

MEN CAPTURED BY FAIRIES.

In the preceding legends, we have accounts of men capturing female
Fairies, and marrying them.  It would be strange if the kidnapping were
confined to one of the two races, but Folk-Lore tells us that the Fair
Family were not innocent of actions similar to those of mortals, for many
a man was snatched away by them, and carried off to their subterranean
abodes, who, in course of time, married the fair daughters of the
_Tylwyth Teg_.  Men captured Fairy ladies, but the Fairies captured
handsome men.

The oldest written legend of this class is to be found in the pages of
_Giraldus Cambrensis_, pp. 390-92, Bohn's edition.  The Archdeacon made
the tour of Wales in 1188; the legend therefore which he records can
boast of a good old age, but the tale itself is older than _The Itinerary
through Wales_, for the writer informs us that the priest Elidorus, who
affirmed that he had been in the country of the Fairies, talked in his
old age to David II., bishop of St. David, of the event.  Now David II.
was promoted to the see of St. David in 1147, or, according to others, in
1149, and died A.D. 1176; therefore the legend had its origin before the
last-mentioned date, and, if the priest were a very old man when he died,
his tale would belong to the eleventh century.

With these prefatory remarks, I will give the legend as recorded by
Giraldus.

1.  _Elidorus and the Fairies_.

"A short time before our days, a circumstance worthy of note occurred in
these parts, which Elidorus, a priest, most strenuously affirmed had
befallen to himself.

When a youth of twelve years, and learning his letters, since, as Solomon
says, 'The root of learning is bitter, although the fruit is sweet,' in
order to avoid the discipline and frequent stripes inflicted on him by
his preceptor, he ran away and concealed himself under the hollow bank of
the river.  After fasting in that situation for two days, two little men
of pigmy stature appeared to him, saying, 'If you will come with us, we
will lead you into a country full of delights and sports.'  Assenting and
rising up, he followed his guides through a path, at first subterraneous
and dark, into a most beautiful country, adorned with rivers and meadows,
woods and plains, but obscure, and not illuminated with the full light of
the sun.  All the days were cloudy, and the nights extremely dark, on
account of the absence of the moon and stars.  The boy was brought before
the King, and introduced to him in the presence of the court; who, having
examined him for a long time, delivered him to his son, who was then a
boy.  These men were of the smallest stature, but very well proportioned
in their make; they were all of a fair complexion, with luxuriant hair
falling over their shoulders like that of women.  They had horses and
greyhounds adapted to their size.  They neither ate flesh nor fish, but
lived on milk diet, made up into messes with saffron.  They never took an
oath, for they detested nothing so much as lies.  As often as they
returned from our upper hemisphere, they reprobated our ambition,
infidelities, and inconstancies; they had no form of public worship,
being strict lovers and reverers, as it seemed, of truth.

The boy frequently returned to our hemisphere, sometimes by the way he
had first gone, sometimes by another; at first in company with other
persons, and afterwards alone, and made himself known only to his mother,
declaring to her the manners, nature, and state of that people.  Being
desired by her to bring a present of gold, with which that region
abounded, he stole, while at play with the king's son, the golden ball
with which he used to divert himself, and brought it to his mother in
great haste; and when he reached the door of his father's house, but not
unpursued, and was entering it in a great hurry, his foot stumbled on the
threshold, and falling down into the room where his mother was sitting,
the two pigmies seized the ball which had dropped from his hand and
departed, showing the boy every mark of contempt and derision.  On
recovering from his fall, confounded with shame, and execrating the evil
counsel of his mother, he returned by the usual track to the
subterraneous road, but found no appearance of any passage, though he
searched for it on the banks of the river for nearly the space of a year.
But since those calamities are often alleviated by time, which reason
cannot mitigate, and length of time alone blunts the edge of our
afflictions and puts an end to many evils, the youth, having been brought
back by his friends and mother, and restored to his right way of
thinking, and to his learning, in process of time attained the rank of
priesthood.

Whenever David II., Bishop of St. David's, talked to him in his advanced
state of life concerning this event, he could never relate the
particulars without shedding tears.  He had made himself acquainted with
the language of that nation, the words of which, in his younger days, he
used to recite, which, as the bishop often had informed me, were very
conformable to the Greek idiom.  When they asked for water, they said
'Ydor ydorum,' which meant 'Bring water,' for Ydor in their language, as
well as in the Greek, signifies water, whence vessels for water are
called Adriai; and Dwr, also in the British language signifies water.
When they wanted salt they said 'Halgein ydorum,' 'Bring salt.'  Salt is
called al in Greek, and Halen in British, for that language, from the
length of time which the Britons (then called Trojans and afterwards
Britons, from Brito, their leader) remained in Greece after the
destruction of Troy, became, in many instances, similar to the Greek."

This legend agrees in a remarkable degree with the popular opinion
respecting Fairies.  It would almost appear to be the foundation of many
subsequent tales that are current in Wales.

The priest's testimony to Fairy temperance and love of truth, and their
reprobation of ambition, infidelities, and inconstancies, notwithstanding
that they had no form of public worship, and their abhorrence of theft
intimate that they possessed virtues worthy of all praise.

Their abode is altogether mysterious, but this ancient description of
Fairyland bears out the remarks--perhaps suggested the remarks, of the
Rev. Peter Roberts in his book called _The Cambrian Popular Antiquities_.
In this work, the author promulgates the theory that the Fairies were a
people existing distinct from the known inhabitants of the country and
confederated together, and met mysteriously to avoid coming in contact
with the stronger race that had taken possession of their land, and he
supposes that in these traditionary tales of the Fairies we recognize
something of the real history of an ancient people whose customs were
those of a regular and consistent policy.  Roberts supposes that the
smaller race for the purpose of replenishing their ranks stole the
children of their conquerors, or slyly exchanged their weak children for
their enemies' strong children.

It will be observed that the people among whom Elidorus sojourned had a
language cognate with the Irish, Welsh, Greek, and other tongues; in
fact, it was similar to that language which at one time extended, with
dialectical differences, from Ireland to India; and the _Tylwyth Teg_, in
our legends, are described as speaking a language understood by those
with whom they conversed.  This language they either acquired from their
conquerors, or both races must have had a common origin; the latter,
probably, being the more reasonable supposition, and by inference,
therefore, the Fairies and other nations by whom they were subdued were
descended from a common stock, and ages afterwards, by marriage, the
Fairies again commingled with other branches of the family from which
they had originally sprung.

Omitting many embellishments which the imagination has no difficulty in
bestowing, tradition has transmitted one fact, that the _Tylwyth Teg_
succeeded in inducing men through the allurements of music and the
attractions of their fair daughters to join their ranks.  I will now give
instances of this belief.

The following tale I received from the mouth of Mr. Richard Jones,
Ty'n-y-wern, Bryneglwys, near Corwen.  Mr. Jones has stored up in his
memory many tales of olden times, and he even thinks that he has himself
seen a Fairy.  Standing by his farm, he pointed out to me on the opposite
side of the valley a Fairy ring still green, where once, he said, the
Fairies held their nightly revels.  The scene of the tale which Mr. Jones
related is wild, and a few years ago it was much more so than at present.
At the time that the event is said to have taken place the mountain was
unenclosed, and there was not much travelling in those days, and
consequently the Fairies could, undisturbed, enjoy their dances.  But to
proceed with the tale.

2.  _A Bryneglwys Man inveigled by the Fairies_.

Two waggoners were sent from Bryneglwys for coals to the works over the
hill beyond Minera.  On their way they came upon a company of Fairies
dancing with all their might.  The men stopped to witness their
movements, and the Fairies invited them to join in the dance.  One of the
men stoutly refused to do so, but the other was induced to dance awhile
with them.  His companion looked on for a short time at the antics of his
friend, and then shouted out that he would wait no longer, and desired
the man to give up and come away.  He, however, turned a deaf ear to the
request, and no words could induce him to forego his dance.  At last his
companion said that he was going, and requested his friend to follow him.
Taking the two waggons under his care he proceeded towards the coal pits,
expecting every moment to be overtaken by his friend; but he was
disappointed, for he never appeared.  The waggons and their loads were
taken to Bryneglwys, and the man thought that perhaps his companion,
having stopped too long in the dance, had turned homewards instead of
following him to the coal pit.  But on enquiry no one had heard or seen
the missing waggoner.  One day his companion met a Fairy on the mountain
and inquired after his missing friend.  The Fairy told him to go to a
certain place, which he named, at a certain time, and that he should
there see his friend.  The man went, and there saw his companion just as
he had left him, and the first words that he uttered were "Have the
waggons gone far."  The poor man never dreamt that months and months had
passed away since they had started together for coal.

A variant of the preceding story appears in the _Cambrian Magazine_, vol.
ii., pp. 58-59, where it is styled the Year's Sleep, or "The Forest of
the Yewtree," but for the sake of association with like tales I will call
it by the following title:--

3.  _Story of a man who spent twelve months in Fairyland_.

"In Mathavarn, in the parish of Llanwrin, and the Cantrev of Cyveilioc,
there is a wood which is called _Ffridd yr Ywen_ (the Forest of the Yew);
it is supposed to be so called because there is a yew tree growing in the
very middle of it.  In many parts of the wood are to be seen green
circles, which are called 'the dancing places of the goblins,' about
which, a considerable time ago, the following tale was very common in the
neighbourhood:--

Two servants of John Pugh, Esq., went out one day to work in the 'Forest
of the Yew.'  Pretty early in the afternoon the whole country was so
covered with dark vapour, that the youths thought night was coming on;
but when they came to the middle of the 'Forest' it brightened up around
them and the darkness seemed all left behind; so, thinking it too early
to return home for the night, they lay down and slept.  One of them, on
waking, was much surprised to find no one there but himself; he wondered
a good deal at the behaviour of his companion, but made up his mind at
last that he had gone on some business of his own, as he had been talking
of it some time before; so the sleeper went home, and when they inquired
after his companion, he told them he was gone to the cobbler's shop.  The
next day they inquired of him again about his fellow-servant, but he
could not give them any account of him; but at last confessed how and
where they had both gone to sleep.  Alter searching and searching many
days, he went to a '_gwr cyvarwydd_' (a conjuror), which was a very
common trade in those days, according to the legend; and the conjuror
said to him, 'Go to the same place where you and the lad slept; go there
exactly a year after the boy was lost; let it be on the same day of the
year, and at the same time of the day, but take care that you do not step
inside the Fairy ring, stand on the border of the green circles you saw
there, and the boy will come out with many of the goblins to dance, and
when you see him so near to you that you may take hold of him, snatch him
out of the ring as quickly as you can.'  He did according to this advice,
and plucked the boy out, and then asked him, 'if he did not feel hungry,'
to which he answered 'No,' for he had still the remains of his dinner
that he had left in his wallet before going to sleep, and he asked 'if it
was not nearly night, and time to go home,' not knowing that a year had
passed by.  His look was like a skeleton, and as soon as he had tasted
food he was a dead man."

A story in its main features similar to that recorded in the _Cambrian
Magazine_ was related to me by my friend, the Rev. R. Jones, Rector of
Llanycil.  I do not think Mr. Jones gave me the locality where the
occurrence is said to have taken place; at least, if he did so, I took no
note of it.  The story is as follows:--

4.  _A man who spent twelve months and a day with the Fairies_.

A young man, a farm labourer, and his sweetheart were sauntering along
one evening in an unfrequented part of the mountain, when there appeared
suddenly before them two Fairies, who proceeded to make a circle.  This
being done, a large company of Fairies accompanied by musicians appeared,
and commenced dancing over the ring; their motions and music were
entrancing, and the man, an expert dancer, by some irresistible power was
obliged to throw himself into the midst of the dancers and join them in
their gambols.  The woman looked on enjoying the sight for several hours,
expecting every minute that her lover would give up the dance and join
her, but no, on and on went the dance, round and round went her lover,
until at last daylight appeared, and then suddenly the music ceased and
the Fairy band vanished; and with them her lover.  In great dismay, the
young woman shouted the name of her sweetheart, but all in vain, he came
not to her.  The sun had now risen, and, almost broken-hearted, she
returned home and related the events of the previous night.  She was
advised to consult a man who was an adept in the black art.  She did so,
and the conjuror told her to go to the same place at the same time of the
night one year and one day from the time that her lover had disappeared
and that she should then and there see him.  She was farther instructed
how to act.  The conjuror warned her from going into the ring, but told
her to seize her lover by the arm as he danced round, and to jerk him out
of the enchanted circle.  Twelve months and a day passed away, and the
faithful girl was on the spot where she lost her lover.  At the very
moment that they had in the first instance appeared the Fairies again
came to view, and everything that she had witnessed previously was
repeated.  With the Fairy band was her lover dancing merrily in their
midst.  The young woman ran round and round the circle close to the young
man, carefully avoiding the circle, and at last she succeeded in taking
hold of him and desired him to come away with her.  "Oh," said he, "do
let me alone a little longer, and then I will come with you."  "You have
already been long enough," said she.  His answer was, "It is so
delightful, let me dance on only a few minutes longer."  She saw that he
was under a spell, and grasping the young man's arm with all her might
she followed him round and round the circle, and an opportunity offering
she jerked him out of the circle.  He was greatly annoyed at her conduct,
and when told that he had been with the Fairies a year and a day he would
not believe her, and affirmed that he had been dancing only a few
minutes; however, he went away with the faithful girl, and when he had
reached the farm, his friends had the greatest difficulty in persuading
him that he had been so long from home.

The next Fairy tale that I shall give akin to the preceding stories is to
be found in _Y Brython_, vol. iii., pp. 459-60.  The writer of the tale
was the Rev. Benjamin Williams, whose bardic name was Gwynionydd.  I do
not know the source whence Mr. Williams derived the story, but most
likely he obtained it from some aged person who firmly believed that the
tale was a true record of what actually occurred.  In the _Brython_ the
tale is called: "Y Tylwyth Teg a Mab Llech y Derwydd," and this title I
will retain, merely translating it.  The introduction, however, I will
not give, as it does not directly bear on the subject now under
consideration.

5.  _The Son of Llech y Derwydd and the Fairies_.

The son of Llech y Derwydd was the only son of his parents and heir to
the farm.  He was very dear to his father and mother, yea, he was as the
very light of their eyes.  The son and the head servant man were bosom
friends, they were like two brothers, or rather twins.  As they were such
close friends the farmer's wife was in the habit of clothing them exactly
alike.  The two friends fell in love with two young handsome women who
were highly respected in the neighbourhood.  This event gave the old
people great satisfaction, and ere long the two couples were joined in
holy wedlock, and great was the merry-making on the occasion.  The
servant man obtained a convenient place to live in on the grounds of
Llech y Derwydd.  About six months after the marriage of the son, he and
the servant man went out to hunt.  The servant penetrated to a ravine
filled with brushwood to look for game, and presently returned to his
friend, but by the time he came back the son was nowhere to be seen.  He
continued awhile looking about for his absent friend, shouting and
whistling to attract his attention, but there was no answer to his calls.
By and by he went home to Llech y Derwydd, expecting to find him there,
but no one knew anything about him.  Great was the grief of the family
throughout the night, but it was even greater the next day.  They went to
inspect the place where the son had last been seen.  His mother and his
wife wept bitterly, but the father had greater control over himself,
still he appeared as half mad.  They inspected the place where the
servant man had last seen his friend, and, to their great surprise and
sorrow, observed a Fairy ring close by the spot, and the servant
recollected that he had heard seductive music somewhere about the time
that he parted with his friend.  They came to the conclusion at once that
the man had been so unfortunate as to enter the Fairy ring, and they
conjectured that he had been transported no one knew where.  Weary weeks
and months passed away, and a son was born to the absent man.  The little
one grew up the very image of his father, and very precious was he to his
grandfather and grandmother.  In fact, he was everything to them.  He
grew up to man's estate and married a pretty girl in the neighbourhood,
but her people had not the reputation of being kind-hearted.  The old
folks died, and also their daughter-in-law.

One windy afternoon in the month of October, the family of Llech y
Derwydd saw a tall thin old man with beard and hair as white as snow, who
they thought was a Jew, approaching slowly, very slowly, towards the
house.  The servant girls stared mockingly through the window at him, and
their mistress laughed unfeelingly at the "old Jew," and lifted the
children up, one after the other, to get a sight of him as he neared the
house.  He came to the door, and entered the house boldly enough, and
inquired after his parents.  The mistress answered him in a surly and
unusually contemptuous manner, and wished to know "What the drunken old
Jew wanted there," for they thought he must have been drinking or he
would never have spoken in the way he did.  The old man looked at
everything in the house with surprise and bewilderment, but the little
children about the floor took his attention more than anything else.  His
looks betrayed sorrow and deep disappointment.  He related his whole
history, that, yesterday he had gone out to hunt, and that he had now
returned.  The mistress told him that she had heard a story about her
husband's father, which occurred before she was born, that he had been
lost whilst hunting, but that her father had told her that the story was
not true, but that he had been killed.  The woman became uneasy and angry
that the old "Jew" did not depart.  The old man was roused and said that
the house was his, and that he would have his rights.  He went to inspect
his possessions, and shortly afterwards directed his steps to the
servant's house.  To his surprise he saw that things there were greatly
changed.  After conversing awhile with an aged man who sat by the fire,
they carefully looked each other in the face, and the old man by the fire
related the sad history of his lost friend, the son of Llech y Derwydd.
They conversed together deliberately on the events of their youth, but
all seemed like a dream.  However, the old man in the corner came to the
conclusion that his visitor was his dear friend, the son of Llech y
Derwydd, returned from the land of the Fairies after having spent there
half a hundred years.  The old man with the white beard believed the
story related by his friend, and long was the talk and many were the
questions which the one gave to the other.  The visitor was informed that
the master of Llech y Derwydd was from home that day, and he was
persuaded to eat some food; but, to the horror of all, when he had done
so, he instantly fell down dead.

Such is the story.  The writer adds that the tale relates that the cause
of this man's sudden death was that he ate food after having been so long
in the land of the Fairies, and he further states that the faithful old
servant insisted on his dead friend's being buried with his ancestors,
and the rudeness of the mistress of Llech y Derwydd to her father-in-law
brought a curse upon the place and family, and her offence was not
expiated until the farm had been sold nine times.

The next tale that I shall relate is recorded by _Glasynys_ in _Cymru
Fu_, pp. 177-179.  Professor Rhys in his _Welsh Fairy Tales_, _Y
Cymmrodor_, vol. v., pp. 81-84, gives a translation of this story.  The
Professor prefaces the tale with a caution that _Glasynys_ had elaborated
the story, and that the proper names were undoubtedly his own.  The
reverend author informs his readers that he heard his mother relate the
tale many times, but it certainly appears that he has ornamented the
simple narrative after his own fashion, for he was professedly a believer
in words; however, in its general outline, it bears the impress of
antiquity, and strongly resembles other Welsh Fairy tales.  It belongs to
that species of Fairy stories which compose this chapter, and therefore
it is here given as translated by Professor Rhys.  I will for the sake of
reference give the tale a name, and describe it under the following
heading.

6.  _A young man marries a Fairy Lady in Fairy Land, and brings her to
live with him among his own people_.

"Once on a time a shepherd boy had gone up the mountain.  That day, like
many a day before and after, was exceedingly misty.  Now, though he was
well acquainted with the place, he lost his way, and walked backwards and
forwards for many a long hour.  At last he got into a low rushy spot,
where he saw before him many circular rings.  He at once recalled the
place, and began to fear the worst.  He had heard, many hundreds of
times, of the bitter experiences in those rings of many a shepherd who
had happened to chance on the dancing-place or the circles of the Fair
Family.  He hastened away as fast as ever he could, lest he should be
ruined like the rest; but though he exerted himself to the point of
perspiring, and losing his breath, there he was, and there he continued
to be, a long time.  At last he was met by a little fat old man with
merry blue eyes, who asked him what he was doing.  He answered that he
was trying to find his way homeward.  'Oh,' said he, 'come after me, and
do not utter a word until I bid thee.'  This he did, following him on and
on until they came to an oval stone, and the little old fat man lifted
it, after tapping the middle of it three times with his walking stick.
There was there a narrow path with stairs to be seen here and there, and
a sort of whitish light, inclining to grey and blue, was to be seen
radiating from the stones.  'Follow me fearlessly,' said the fat man, 'no
harm will be done thee.'  So on the poor youth went, as reluctantly as a
dog to be hanged; but presently a fine-wooded, fertile country spread
itself out before them, with well arranged mansions dotting it over,
while every kind of apparent magnificence met the eye, and seemed to
smile in its landscape; the bright waters of its rivers meandered in
twisted streams, and its hills were covered with the luxuriant verdure of
their grassy growth, and the mountains with a glossy fleece of smooth
pasture.  By the time they had reached the stout gentleman's mansion, the
young man's senses had been bewildered by the sweet cadence of the music
which the birds poured forth from the groves, then there was gold there
to dazzle his eyes and silver flashing on his sight.  He saw there all
kinds of musical instruments and all sorts of things for playing, but he
could discern no inhabitant in the whole place; and when he sat down to
eat, the dishes on the table came to their places of themselves and
disappeared when one had done with them.  This puzzled him beyond
measure; moreover, he heard people talking together around him, but for
the life of him he could see no one but his old friend.  At length the
fat man said to him, 'Thou canst now talk as much as it may please thee;'
but when he attempted to move his tongue it would no more stir than if it
had been a lump of ice, which greatly frightened him.  At this point, a
fine old lady, with health and benevolence beaming in her face, came to
them and slightly smiled at the shepherd.  The mother was followed by her
three daughters, who were remarkably beautiful.  They gazed with somewhat
playful looks at him, and at length began to talk to him, but his tongue
would not wag.  Then one of the girls came to him, and, playing with his
yellow and curly locks, gave him a smart kiss on his ruddy lips.  This
loosened the string that bound his tongue, and he began to talk freely
and eloquently.  There he was, under the charm of that kiss, in the bliss
of happiness, and there he remained a year and a day without knowing that
he had passed more than a day among them, for he had got into a country
where there was no reckoning of time.  But by and by he began to feel
somewhat of a longing to visit his old home, and asked the stout man if
he might go.  'Stay a little yet,' said he, 'and thou shalt go for a
while.'  That passed, he stayed on; but Olwen, for that was the name of
the damsel that had kissed him, was very unwilling that he should depart.
She looked sad every time he talked of going away, nor was he himself
without feeling a sort of a cold thrill passing through him at the
thought of leaving her.  On condition, however, of returning, he obtained
leave to go, provided with plenty of gold and silver, of trinkets and
gems.  When he reached home, nobody knew who he was; it had been the
belief that he had been killed by another shepherd, who found it
necessary to betake himself hastily far away to America, lest he should
be hanged without delay.  But here is Einion Las at home, and everybody
wonders especially to see that the shepherd had got to look like a
wealthy man; his manners, his dress, his language, and the treasure he
had with him, all conspired to give him the air of a gentleman.  He went
back one Thursday night, the first of the moon that month, as suddenly as
he had left the first time, and nobody knew whither.  There was great joy
in the country below when Einion returned thither, and nobody was more
rejoiced at it than Olwen, his beloved.  The two were right impatient to
get married, but it was necessary to do that quietly, for the family
below hated nothing more than fuss and noise; so, in a sort of a
half-secret fashion, they were wedded.  Einion was very desirous to go
once more among his own people, accompanied, to be sure, by his wife.
After he had been long entreating the old man for leave, they set out on