The Circumstances Which
Occur At Every Anniversary Appear To Me Remarkable.
You may see men
or girls, now in the church, now in the churchyard, now in the
dance, which
Is led round the churchyard with a song, on a sudden
falling on the ground as in a trance, then jumping up as in a
frenzy, and representing with their hands and feet, before the
people, whatever work they have unlawfully done on feast days; you
may see one man put his hand to the plough, and another, as it were,
goad on the oxen, mitigating their sense of labour, by the usual
rude song: {50} one man imitating the profession of a shoemaker;
another, that of a tanner. Now you may see a girl with a distaff,
drawing out the thread, and winding it again on the spindle; another
walking, and arranging the threads for the web; another, as it were,
throwing the shuttle, and seeming to weave. On being brought into
the church, and led up to the altar with their oblations, you will
be astonished to see them suddenly awakened, and coming to
themselves. Thus, by the divine mercy, which rejoices in the
conversion, not in the death, of sinners, many persons from the
conviction of their senses, are on these feast days corrected and
mended.
This country sufficiently abounds with grain, and if there is any
deficiency, it is amply supplied from the neighbouring parts of
England; it is well stored with pastures, woods, and wild and
domestic animals. River-fish are plentiful, supplied by the Usk on
one side, and by the Wye on the other; each of them produces salmon
and trout; but the Wye abounds most with the former, the Usk with
the latter. The salmon of the Wye are in season during the winter,
those of the Usk in summer; but the Wye alone produces the fish
called umber, {51} the praise of which is celebrated in the works of
Ambrosius, as being found in great numbers in the rivers near Milan;
"What," says he, "is more beautiful to behold, more agreeable to
smell, or more pleasant to taste?" The famous lake of Brecheinoc
supplies the country with pike, perch, excellent trout, tench, and
eels. A circumstance concerning this lake, which happened a short
time before our days, must not be passed over in silence. "In the
reign of king Henry I., Gruffydd, {52} son of Rhys ap Tewdwr, held
under the king one comot, namely, the fourth part of the cantred of
Caoc, {53} in the cantref Mawr, which, in title and dignity, was
esteemed by the Welsh equal to the southern part of Wales, called
Deheubarth, that is, the right-hand side of Wales. When Gruffydd,
on his return from the king's court, passed near this lake, which at
that cold season of the year was covered with water-fowl of various
sorts, being accompanied by Milo, earl of Hereford, and lord of
Brecheinoc, and Payn Fitz-John, lord of Ewyas, who were at that time
secretaries and privy counsellors to the king; earl Milo, wishing to
draw forth from Gruffydd some discourse concerning his innate
nobility, rather jocularly than seriously thus addressed him: "It
is an ancient saying in Wales, that if the natural prince of the
country, coming to this lake, shall order the birds to sing, they
will immediately obey him." To which Gruffydd, richer in mind than
in gold, (for though his inheritance was diminished, his ambition
and dignity still remained), answered, "Do you therefore, who now
hold the dominion of this land, first give the command;" but he and
Payn having in vain commanded, and Gruffydd, perceiving that it was
necessary for him to do so in his turn, dismounted from his horse,
and falling on his knees towards the east, as if he had been about
to engage in battle, prostrate on the ground, with his eyes and
hands uplifted to heaven, poured forth devout prayers to the Lord:
at length, rising up, and signing his face and forehead with the
figure of the cross, he thus openly spake: "Almighty God, and Lord
Jesus Christ, who knowest all things, declare here this day thy
power. If thou hast caused me to descend lineally from the natural
princes of Wales, I command these birds in thy name to declare it;"
and immediately the birds, beating the water with their wings, began
to cry aloud, and proclaim him. The spectators were astonished and
confounded; and earl Milo hastily returning with Payn Fitz-John to
court, related this singular occurrence to the king, who is said to
have replied, "By the death of Christ (an oath he was accustomed to
use), it is not a matter of so much wonder; for although by our
great authority we commit acts of violence and wrong against these
people, yet they are known to be the rightful inheritors of this
land."
The lake also {54} (according to the testimony of the inhabitants)
is celebrated for its miracles; for, as we have before observed, it
sometimes assumed a greenish hue, so in our days it has appeared to
be tinged with red, not universally, but as if blood flowed
partially through certain veins and small channels. Moreover it is
sometimes seen by the inhabitants covered and adorned with
buildings, pastures, gardens, and orchards. In the winter, when it
is frozen over, and the surface of the water is converted into a
shell of ice, it emits a horrible sound resembling the moans of many
animals collected together; but this, perhaps, may be occasioned by
the sudden bursting of the shell, and the gradual ebullition of the
air through imperceptible channels. This country is well sheltered
on every side (except the northern) by high mountains; on the
western by those of cantref Bychan; {55} on the southern, by that
range, of which the principal is Cadair Arthur, {56} or the chair of
Arthur, so called from two peaks rising up in the form of a chair,
and which, from its lofty situation, is vulgarly ascribed to Arthur,
the most distinguished king of the Britons.
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