CAMBRIAN ANTIQUITIES. No. II. (Continued from p. 13.)

IN

All Saints' Eve.

Wales, All Saints' Eve is ushered in with demonstrations of great joy and festivity; bonfires (round which the peasants dance, hand in hand,) are kindled as soon as it becomes dark, and may be seen blazing in every direction. The evening is concluded in a manner similar to Christmas, with a variety of rustic games, abundance of Cwrrw, and other cheer. The origin of this somewhat singular custom is not rightly known; at least, I have not yet succeeded in ascertaining it. Bingley, the only modern Tourist who has paid any minute attention to the manners of the Welsh, supposes that it may have originated with the Druids, and was instituted by them as an offering of thanksgiving for the fruits of the harvest. I should think myself, that either this is the case, or that the Welsh horrowed it from the Greeks or Romans, in the same manner that they did the funereal ceremonies antiently practised by them. It is rather surprising that I can obtain no satisfactory information on the subject from any of the inhabitants of the Principality, some of whom are well versed in its history and antiquities. Perhaps some of your intelligent Cambrian Correspondents can oblige me in this repect.

The Banditti of Mowddwy. Your Correspondent Cambro-Britannicus, in a former number, request ing you to "stir up" another Jedidiah Cleishbotham for the manufacturing of Welsh Tales upon the same plan as the Scottish Tales of my Landlord," observes, that we abound in border tradition, and could accommodate the said Jedidiah with a variety of martial incident. In a subsequent number I pointed out a subject which I thought might afford sufficient matter for one tale of this sort; and, perhaps, the following might serve, in skilful hands, as the ground-work of another. The neighbourhood of Dinas Mowddwy, in Merionethshire, about the middle of the sixteenth century, was infested with a band of outlaws, who subsisted entirely by plunder and rapine. The gang was chiefly com

posed of desperadoes who had been engaged in the wars of York and Lancaster, and, being banished their own country, settled in this place, to the no small peril and annoyance of all travellers. The spot they selected for the scene of their depredations is one of peculiar wildness and beauty; rocks, woods, and mountains, intersected by the river Dovey, constitute the scenery in this part of Merionethshire ; a situation well calculated to afford protection and concealment to

numerous and powerful band. Their operations were by no means confined to the robbery of the passing traveller; like the clan of the formidable Fergus Vich Jan Vohr, whole herds of cattle became the objects of their plunder; and so conscious were they of their own strength, that they would drive their prey to the woods at noon-day. So much were they dreaded, that the neighbouring inhabitants fixed scythes (some of which may be seen at this day) in their chimnies to prevent their descent; and the usual road to Shrewsbury was totally deserted. Their villanies at length grew to such a pitch that a commission was granted to Lewis Owen and John Wynne, Esqrs. (the former a Baron of the Exchequer and ViceChamberlain of North Wales, the latter a gentleman of great property in Caernarvonshire,) to extirpate the banditti ; they therefore raised a body of men, and, on a Christmas eve, succeeded in taking about eighty of the outlaws, most of whom were hanged on the spot. Among the prisoners were two brothers, who were about to be executed, when their mother stepped forward, and very earnestly implored the Baron to spare her children: he refused; when the old woing him stedfastly in the face, said to man, uncovering her neck, and lookhim, "These breasts have given suck to those who shall yet wash their time afterwards, as he was proceeding hands in your blood!" And a short on his circuit into Montgomeryshire, surviving ruffians, on the very spot,* Baron Owen was murdered by the according to tradition, where their comrades suffered the punishment due

*This part of the wood is now called Llidiart y Barwn (the Baron's Gate), from a number of trees being placed on the road to impede the Baron's progress.

to

that matter this year, we require you to proceed for the provision of the Justices of assize in like manner as before, and we shall not forget your good service herein, as soon as we may conveniently cause some good order to be taken, & for the exoneration of your great charge."

(From a Copy.)

"21 Feb. 1573.

"After or hartie comendacions, Wher of longe tyme many ge'tlemen, some eligible to be Sheriffes, some yt have been in office in ye moste P'te of the Counties of this Realme, hane both in Pliament & other plac complayned of y• gret burthen and charge susteyned in ye said office of Sheriffwick by reason as they have alledged of ye large dietts & other charges of the Justic of assize and gaole deliv'y yerely encresing in such sorte as many gentlme' very meete for yt office in respect of theire wisdom & dexterity to execute y⚫ same, thoughe not so meete for welth to beare the charge of the expenc have of late yeres made most earnest sute to be forborne onely for want of welth to bere ye burden. The Queenes Matie callinge this cause now of late unto her remembraunce hath thought yt very necessarye to cause y' same to be considered by her councell & remedye to be P'vided therefore as the cause maye bee yt in the considerac❜on hereof yt ys by her Matie & us of her councell well P'ceived yt by the petition of

div the Shereffes in sondrie Counties apperinge by y exchequer for allowance for the dietts & other charges of the said Justie the same are yerely growen more & more in charges to the said Shereffes, and consequently her Matie thereby more charged then by reason ought to be allowed. And therefore to remedye this matt yt ys determyned by her Matie wh th' advice of us of her prvye councell, yt the Sheriffes shall not after this Lent assizes have the charge of the Justics of the assizes dietts but that the said Justics shall have of her Matie out of her cofers sev'all somes of money for the daielye dyetts duringe the tyme that heretofore the Sheriffes have byn chargeablye wtall wthin theire Counties with wch determinacion the more p'te of the said Justic⚫ have byn by div of her Mats councell made acquainted. And herof we have thought it convenient to give your knowledge as we do the like to other Sheriffes in the Realme to th'intent yt yt maie af this Lent assizes forbeare to enter into suche farther chargs and yt yt is ment yt ye shall against the Sommer assizes by ye authority of yor office aide and assist the seruants of the

said Justices yt shall require yor advice for helpe to make P'vision for yor maisters dietts and for lodginge and horse corne at as reasonable charges as maye and ought

to be for her Maties s'vice and as reason requireth that the said Justic in respect of theire paynefull and carefull service for administrac'on of Justice should be both honorably and favorably used in all things requisit for theire owne P'sons and trayne whereof we trust both you as Sheriffs now beinge and all other succeedynge you will have care and due regard. Fynally we also warne yow yt now when yow shalbe unburthened thereof as of a matts of longe tyme complayned yew do not for yr p'vat respect ent into anie such, unnecessary charge as hath not in former tymes of the kyng her Mates father and other her P'genitors byn used nor allowed, for it is not ment to geve yow allowancs hereaft of anie thinge upon yor accoumpt that shall not be well warranted to be allowed unto yow. We also have given knowledge to the Justic yt yt shalbe very convenient yt at theire first comynge to the places appoynted for the Sessions they do begyne to here and determyn ye causes of the p'soners in yor charge so far forth as yt delivery of the gaole before they Pcede maie be conveniently done to P'cede to

to the assizes whereby that attendance of the multy tude of the Justic' of peace shall not nede to be so longe as yf the Gaole deliv'y should be last. And therefore we will yt yew do so make redye yor gaole and prisoners that the Justic maie fyrst fyneshe that service being the principall cause of the Sessions. And so bide yew right hartely fair well.

"From Hampton Courte the xxith of February 1573 "Yor lovinge frendes

"P'script

"For the next assizes yt shall suffise yt yow make P'vision of two messes well furnished & yf ovr and besides this yow shall demande any further allowance for ye Justices dietts yt ys not ment yt yew shall have anie allowance for the same afterwards yew see what order yt hath pleased her Matie to take therein.'

"N. Bacon C. S. W. Burghley. E. Lincoln. P. Sussex. A. Warwick. Bedford. R. Leycester. N. Knolles. T. Smyth. F. Wallsingh'm. R. Sandler. W. Mildmay."

and "abstruse" point, therefore, started by Z. A. (p. 508), does not seem to be one which could be expected to be noticed in a Letter of the above description; nor indeed has it, in my opinion, any connexion with the subject-matter of such Letter, as it certainly could not, by any possibility, fall within the province of a Surrogate to inquire whether certain marriages solemnized long since, and legalized (or intended so to be) by certain Acts of Parliament passed for the purpose, could, under the construction of such Acts, be deemed legal or not. The caution given a Surrogate in the Letter, as to making inquiries relative to the competency of a Church, or Chapel, where a marriage is wished to be had, to have such a ceremony solemnized therein, is most assuredly highly necessary and proper; and to this single point, I conceive, Mr. Hardy's remarks extend. As the point of law alluded to by your correspondent Z. A. is evi ́dently stated incidentally, it forms no part of the general subject of the Letter. But as to the point itself, as far as my humble opinion goes, 1 should conceive the marriages solem nized under the circumstances stated by your correspondent, to be legal. Of this opinion Professor Christian is, evidently; as, ou referring to his Notes to Blackstone, vol. ii. p. 439,* he expressly asserts their legality, but joins with every sensible man in lamenting the limited effects of the Acts passed on the subject. So Mr. Fraser, in his new Edition of Burn's Ecclesiastical Law, vol. ii. p. 478, clearly views the matter in the same light, as he raises no question as to the validity of the marriages which had been solemnized before 1st August, 1781, in Churches or Chapels erected since 26 G.II.; but the very important, and, in my opinion, only question, which can be raised on the point, how far the word "usually," as expressed in the Act of the 26 G. II. shall be construed as extending? Mr. Frazer's Note is this:

or Public Chapels erected since the Marriage Act of the 26 G. II. Such as bad been erected a longer or shorter time before, are not provided for by this remedial law. As to these, the matter is still left open, which includes in it this important question, How far the word " usually” (as used in the 26 G. II.) shall be understood to extend ?"

From this it is clear, the learned Commentator had no doubt as to the within the purview of the Act of the legality of the Marriages coming 21 G. III. Indeed, I cannot suppose, that the Courts would annul a Mar

“This Act (viz. 21 G. III. c. 53) relates only to Marriages solemnized in Churches

Upon comparison, I perceive, that Mr. Hardy has adopted, with little or no variation, Judge Christian's note, in the extract given by you in p. 236, and observed upon by Z. A.

riage for want of a proper transmis sion of its Register, agreeably to a concluding clause of an Act, which does not expressly make the non-transMarriage. The parties, whose duty mission fatal to the validity of the it was to transmit the Registers, might, perhaps, have been punished (vide Burn's Eccl. Law, p. 464, tit. Marriage) for a non-compliance with the clause, but I should apprehend the validity of the Marriage would not be affected. Besides, the law, I apprehend, always concludes that the requisites of an Act are complied with, therefore, in alluding to the Maruntil the contrary is proved; and riages in question, I think professional gentlemen are quite justified in stating that such Marriages were legalized by the Act in question, since they have requisite was complied with. no business to presume but that every

ported the case of the King v. InhaMr. Sylvester Douglas, (who rebitants of Northfield, which gave rise that famous case, evidently coincided to the stat. 21 G. III.) in his Notes to celebrated Civilian, now no more, and in the opinions here quoted, as did a

once the bosom friend of

SENEX CLERICUS ANGLICANUS, and formerly a Surrogate.

Jan. 17.

Mr. URBAN, None of your late Magazines, the title of Doctor is erroneously bestowed on Mr. Thomas Warton.

Dr. Joseph Warton (a critic and a Winchester School. His brother, Mr. poet) was sometime since Master of Thomas Warton, (a critic, likewise, and a poet) was a Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford, but had not taken his Doctor's degree. Yours, &c.

J. F.

Mr.