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FEW years ago was to be seen on the road-side near Nannau, in Merionethshire, the seat of Sir R. W. Vaughan, Bart. M. P. a large hollow oak, known by the name of the “Spirit's blasted Tree” (Ccubren yr Ellyll). The event which gave rise to so ghostly an appellation, is preserved by tradition among the mountain peasants in this part of MerioBethshire, and founded on a deadly feud that subsisted between the celebrated" wild, irregular Glyndwr *," and bis kinsman Howel Sele, then resident at Nannau. When Owen took up arms against the English, his cousia Howel, who possessed great influence in the country where he lived, declined to embrace a cause which, though perhaps laudable, and somewhat conformable to the rude spirit of the times, he foresaw would be unsuccessful, and bring down upon his country, increased rigour and oppression. His refusal provoked the choleric Chieftain, and laid the foundation of an enmity which, though not immediately conspicuous, was not the less inveterate. I transcribe from Pennant the result of their quarrel:

"Owen and this Chieftain had been long at variance. I have been informed that the Abbot of Cymmer Abbey, near Dolgellen, in hopes of reconciling them, brought them together, and to all appearance effected his charitable design. While they were walking out, Owen observed a doe feeding, and told Howel, who was reckoned the best archer of his day, that there was a fine mark for him. Howel

The present very respectable proprietor of Nannau is a descendant of Owen's, whose family name was Vychan, now modernized and softened into Vaughan, and not Glyndwr. He was so called from his patrimony of Glyndwrdwy, near Corwes, in Merionethshire,

bent his bow, and pretending to aim at the doe, suddenly turned and discharged the arrow full at the breast of Glyndwr, who fortunately had armour beneath his clothes, so received no hurt. Enraged at this treachery, he seized on Sele, burnt his house, and hurried him away from the place; nor could any one ever learn how he was disposed of, till forty years after, when the skeleton of a large man, such as Howel, was discovered in the hollow of a great oak, in which Owen was supposed to have immured him in reward of his perfidy."

This oak, the terror of every peasant for miles round *, remained in its place till within these few years, when one morning, after a very violent storm, it was discovered, to the great regret of its worthy proprietor, blown to the ground, and its superannuated vitality destroyed for ever. All that could be done with it was done. Sir Robert had it manufactured into work-tables, cabinets, drinking-vessels, and, to extend its circulation still further, into snuffboxes; these are distributed among the Baronet's friends, and highly are they valued by their fortunate possessors, not only as the gifts of a gen tleman almost idolized in Merionethshire, but as the relicks of so venerable and remarkable a parent.

Margaret uch Evan.

If female worth deserves to be recorded, surely the accomplishments of Margaret uch Evan should not be passed over unnoticed. Few ladies in North Wales have attained so much renown as Margaret of Penllyn, whose abilities were by no means circumscribed by etiquette, or confined within the sphere of the general occupa tions of a woman. Passionately addicted to the joys of the chace, in her kennel were always to be found some of the choicest dogs in the country; and that she might not experience the torments of that fashionable monster, Ennui, she would, to use a vulgar phrase, "turn her hand to any thing." She was a boat-builder, shoemaker, joiner, and blacksmith, by

"Aud to this day the peasant still With cautious fear avoids the ground; In each wild branch a spectre sees, And trembles at each rising sound." Cenbren yr Ellyll, or The Spirit's blasted Tree, a Legendary Tale, by the Rev. G. Warrington, inserted in the Notes to Scott's" Marmion."

turas;

turns; could manage a horse or a boat with admirable dexterity, and at sixty years of age, was the best wrestler in Caernarvonshire. Among her milder and more feminine accomplish ments were those of musick and witchcraft; the former was limited to a performance on her national instrument the harp, and the violin; and we cannot be surprized that she was accounted skilful in the latter, when we consider the simple beings among whom she dwelt, and her various occupations. The late Mr. Hutton, who visited North Wales, thus describes Margaret and the simple manners of the natives of this retired spot of the principality :

"Mong the rocks of Llanberis, where foot comes not nigh, [eye, No eye sees their summit except a bird's Nor aught in the prospect appears to the sight, [delight;

But water and mountain, yet they give Quite silent for miles thro' these regions [blow. Except when the surly wind chooses to "But few are their neighbours, and

you go,

fewer their quarrels, [barrels ; And fewest of all are good liquors and In stockings and shoes are no mighty sums spent,

In building, or gaming, or eating, or rent;
Instead of regaling in luxury there,
We see life sustain'd with the most simple
fare;

Their health and their harmony are not
disjointed,
[appointed.
For, as they expect not, they're not dis-
Robust are the females, hard labour

Pride of Ancestry.

Giraldus Cambrensis, in his "Cambriæ Descriptio," observes, that the Welsh possessed in an eminent degree an unbounded pride of pedigree; his words are:- Genealogiam quoque generis sui etiam de populo quilibet observat, et non solum avos, atavos, sed usque ad sextam vel septi mam, et ultro procul generationem memoriter et promptè genus enarrat in hunc modum: Resus filius Gruffini, filii Resi, filii Theodori, filii Eneæ, filii Oeni, filii Hoeli, filii Cadelli, filii Roderici Magni, et sic deinceps."-This feeling, always laudable when confined within reasonable bounds, is, in some degree, perceptible among the modern inhabitants of Cambria; but to such an excess has it been carried since Giraldus visited our country, that it has become a matter of derision to our more enlightened neighbours, the English.

A few years ago there lived at Dolgelley in Merionethshire, an individual who, although moving in a low sphere of life, was extremely tenacious of the celebrity of his illustrious progenitors. This was Robin Edwards, "Guide General to Cader Idris and the Waterfalls," whose character will be better exemplified by the following copy of a paper, delivered by him to such strangers as visited his neighbourhood for the purpose of viewing its numerous beauties:

"Robert Edwards,

second son of the celebrated Tanner, William Edwards, ap Griffith, ap Morgan, waladr, great-great-great grandson of an ap David, ap Owen, ap Llewelyn, ap Cadillegitimate daughter of that illustrious hero, no less famed for his irresistible prowess when mildly approaching under the velvet standards of the lovely Venus, than when he sternly advanced with the terrific banner of the bloody Mars,-and Sir Rice ap Thomas, who was the son of Anne, alias Catharine, daughter of Howel ap Jenkin of Ynys-y-maengwyn, thirteenth in descent from Cadwgan, a lineal descendant of Bleddyn ap Cynfin, Prince of Powis. Since his nativity, full four and eighty times bath the Sun rolled to his

"Rice ap Griffith, ap Rice, ap Tudor, ap Einion, ap Owen, ap Howel, ap Cadell, ap Roderic the Great, and so on." This is part of the pedigree of the Royal House of South Wales.

summer

proceed in getting up the gravel, it seems probable that many more may be hereafter discovered. The bones are for the most part those of adult subjects; and from the appearance of the teeth, with few exceptions, scarcely past the middle age. Some locks of hair were observable still hanging to one or two of the skulls; and at least in one of them the brain had not wholly lost its figure or consistency. These latter were imbedded in the dark-coloured stiff clay, which obtains very generally in and about the vale of Aylesbury, and is known by geologists under the appellation of oak-tree clay. Where the bones had lain in the beds of gravel, they generally appeared drier and more decayed. Some few of the bones evidently belonged to tall men, but afforded nothing very particular with reference to their stature. The meadow in which these relicks have been found, abounds with green patches, irregularly distributed about its surface; and there are evidently enough to be traced, several holes or pits which have not yet been examined. With the exception of a small buckle found lying upon the neck of one of the skeletons, and a piece or two of au horse-shoe, I could not ascertain that any thing whatsoever, which might have been supposed to be buried at the same time with the bodies, was discovered.

Very various conjectures were made by the visitors who, attracted by curiosity from time to time, inspected the progress of the discovery. Some were at first inclined to suppose that there had formerly been a place of execution near the spot: but that idea was, I believe, soon abandoned, in consequence of the number as well as the appearance of the bones. The most probable account is,—that these were the bodies of soldiers slain during the civil wars of Cromwell. History, it is true, has not preserved many particulars of the contests to which, at that eventful period, we may venture to refer the loss of so many lives; but it is quite too much to suppose that these bones have lain here ever since the Saxon times, a period of more than twelve hundred years having intervened since the reduction of the town of Aylesbury by that people, under Cuthwolf. The spot in which they have been found is about a mile

Northward of the parish church; the ground immediately contiguous has been of late years considerably raised, in order to form and improve the line of turnpike-road which formerly was in wet seasons frequently overflowed by the neighbouring brook. Over that brook (which by the bye is the original, though here inconsiderable, stream, that, after a course of a few miles, is dignified by the title of "the river Thame") is a small bridge of two arches, forming one of the principal approaches to Aylesbury; and, very probably, a spot where it may have been thought proper to station an advanced guard for the protection of the Southern bank; and to interrupt an enemy in advancing towards the town.

According to Lord Clarendon's account, Aylesbury was garrisoned for the Parliament during 1644 and the succeeding year; and although, as Mr. Lysons truly observes, “it does not appear to have sustained any siege from the Royal army," it was deemed of great importance, and in all probability must have been exposed to the occasional loss of many of the troops stationed there, as well as very likely to have been the means of destroying numbers of assailants in those predatory excursions which there is good authority for believing to have been at the time very common in this neighbourhood, although not particularized by the historians of that period. Boarstall or Borstal House (situated upon an antient domain, now belonging to the family of Aubrey), then one of King Charles's garrisons, was a perpetual anuoyance to the Parliamentary forces at Aylesbury. In the spring of the year 1644 Boarstall was one of the smaller garrisons which it was thought adviseable to abandon. It was accordingly evacuated by the King's forces, and the fortifications destroyed. Immediately the Parliamentarians, who "had experienced much inconvenience from the excursions of their neighbours," took possession of it, and greatly annoyed the Royal garrison at Oxford, by intercepting provisions, &c. whereupon Colonel Gage undertook to reduce it, which he is related to have effected with great gallantry. Lady Denham, the then proprietor of the mansion, having fled away in disguise; and the gar