""Tis the old bird of mournful mood, "I waited in the frost; more wise, Some wrecked hope's utterance long ago; 'I marked a forest tree my own, There is a charming series of similar poems addressed to different animals whom he thus sends as his llattai to the poetical mistress who, in Provençal fashion, rules his song, if not his heart. Birds, beasts, fishes, all interest him; we have poems to the lark, the seagull, the salmon, the swallow, the eagle, the trout, the swan, and the wind; and every poem has its own peculiar touch. Thus, in that to the seagull we have a remarkable couplet, where he says:— "Lightly thou fliest over the wave of the deep, In that to the wind, we have the line, "The world's bold tyrant, without foot, without wing;” and again, in that to the swan, "A gallant work is thy horsemanship of the wave, To lie in wait for the fish from the deep, Is in sooth thine own long fair neck!" But the time warns me that I must draw these imperfect remarks to a close. It is impossible, in a single lecture, to do more than point out some of the more prominent characteristics of this remarkable author; and I have especially tried to look at him, not merely as a great Welsh poet, but as a member of the wider community of European poets, influenced, like his contemporaries, by the "great currents of thought and feeling which stirred his age. I cannot, however, close without one remark especially addressed to the scholars of Wales. It is surely incumbent on them to prepare a critical edition of Ab Gwilym's works. The two editions which we have, are not edited with any critical care; and a scholarly edition of the text, with the various readings of the oldest MSS., would be indeed prized by all who are interested in mediæval Welsh literature. Ab Gwilym abounds with hard passages and obscure allusions; but the best of all commentaries is a carefully edited text; for every student knows, to his cost, what it is to spend his strength uselessly in attempting to solve some enigma which at last turns out to be no dark saying of the poet, but some dull blunder of a scribe! ON SOME CUSTOMS STILL REMAINING IN WALES. BY THE REV. ELIAS OWEN, M.A., of Ruthin. CUSTOMS that date from Homeric days still remain in Wales. I well remember when my own dear mother was lying in her coffin, and I was gazing for the last time upon all that was mortal of her that was so dear to us all, that I was desired by one of the women bystanders to touch her forehead and to give her a last kiss, which I did. I was afterwards told by these women, that by so doing I should not be troubled by the spirit of her, whose spirit, I may say, was ever with her children when she was alive. I was not then aware that touching the forehead of the dead had its origin in ages long, long ago. It was some time afterwards that I found an allusion to a similar custom in the Iliad. Thus, in Book XXIV, line 712, Απτόμεναι κεφάλης of the departed was a custom even in those early times, and it remains in Wales to our days. Another custom that prevails in Montgomeryshire in reference to the dead and is observed there, but I have never heard of it in other parts of Wales, is the placing of salt on the body when it is in the coffin. I forget the meaning of this, or rather the reason for so doing. The night before a funeral, in most parts of Wales, a religious service is held in the house of the deceased, which at present is conducted as follows: a hymn is sung, a portion of scripture read, and then a prayer is offered up which is followed by a hymn, and alternate prayer and hymn follow for about an hour. This is how the wake, or wylnos, as the service is called, is conducted by the Nonconformists; but when the deceased belonged to the Church, and the service is conducted by the Vicar or other clergy of the parish, it is usual for the officiating clergyman to give out the hymns and expound a portion of scripture, as well as to offer up the prayers both while opening and at the end of the service. All the friends of the departed, and neighbours generally, attend this meeting, and the relations never fail being present on this solemn occasion. After the religious service is over, the parish clerk, should he happen to be present, or someone else, announces the hour of the departure of the funeral on the following day. I need hardly say that tears flow freely at this meeting upon every allusion, should any be made, to the deceased, or even the singing of the plaintive hymn is enough to open the flood-gates of pent-up sorrow. Before separating, the friends of the departed take a last look at the dead, and go quickly home. Thus is the wylnos now held. But it was differently conducted a hundred or a hundred and twenty years ago. An old friend of mine, John Evans, Llanrwst, as he was called, told me some fifteen or twenty years ago, that it was customary to invite some well-known singer to the wylnos, and it was expected that he would come prepared with an elegy, of his own composing, upon the deceased. This information, John Evans, who was about sixty years old when he told me of it, had had from an old man named Edward Prichard; and Edward Prichard told John Evans that he remembered an old man in Llandegai parish, who was in the habit of frequenting wylnosau, as a hired, or at least specially invited, singer; and he was expected by his song to comfort the relatives upon the sad occasion. The song usually described the departed's personal appearance and his many worthy qualities. It was, in fact, a lamentation over the dead-an elegy. This is also a very ancient custom. We find such a custom prevailed in the earliest times, and bards and poets have vied with each other in singing of the great departed. But in Wales, so late as the last century, everyone had some one to speak a kind word of him or her who was no more. The poetry possibly was not very striking, but, such as it was, it was often enshrined in the memory. John Evans, whom I have already mentioned, repeated a few lines to me which had been uttered by the hired singers. In these lines reference is made to "the curly hair, and the yellow, grizzled beard" of the dead. In later times, I have heard of some lines sung at a wylnos, which I give, as an example of these productions of local poets. I have been assured that the words were actually sung at a place in Anglesey, where mats were, if they are not now, made. The lines run thus: : “Baban bach sy' wedi marw, A'i dad ai fam yn crio 'n arw, Na bod yn N...... yn gwneud mattie." These lines express a hope that the baby, after whom the father and mother were crying, was better off where he was than being in N......ch making mats. There are various kinds of funeral offerings in Wales. I will mention some that have come under my own notice. There is, first of all, the offering made to the nearest relative of the departed. The neighbours, friends, and relations, send what is necessary for the meal which is given before the funeral procession starts. The presents are sent the day before the funeral. Then, on the day of the funeral, all those present place a coin on the coffin as it stands on the bier. This money goes to the widow. I have seen the offerings given to the relict as she sits by the fire-side, with her head covered with a shawl. This is done when offerings are not made over the dead. This way of showing respect for departed friends has its origin in ancient days. From Thucy |