The Mother
Received The Gift With Great Joy, And Falling Immediately On Her
Knees, Applied The Turf To Her Mouth And Eyes; And Thus, Through The
Merits Of The Holy Man, And Her Own Faith And Devotion, Recovered
The Blessing Of Sight, Which She Had Entirely Lost.
The inhabitants of this province derived their origin from Flanders,
and were sent by king Henry I. to inhabit
These districts; a people
brave and robust, ever most hostile to the Welsh; a people, I say,
well versed in commerce and woollen manufactories; a people anxious
to seek gain by sea or land, in defiance of fatigue and danger; a
hardy race, equally fitted for the plough or the sword; a people
brave and happy, if Wales (as it ought to have been) had been dear
to its sovereign, and had not so frequently experienced the
vindictive resentment and ill-treatment of its governors.
A circumstance happened in the castle of Haverford during our time,
which ought not to be omitted. A famous robber was fettered and
confined in one of its towers, and was often visited by three boys,
the son of the earl of Clare, and two others, one of whom was son of
the lord of the castle, and the other his grandson, sent thither for
their education, and who applied to him for arrows, with which he
used to supply them. One day, at the request of the children, the
robber, being brought from his dungeon, took advantage of the
absence of the gaoler, closed the door, and shut himself up with the
boys. A great clamour instantly arose, as well from the boys
within, as from the people without; nor did he cease, with an
uplifted axe, to threaten the lives of the children, until indemnity
and security were assured to him in the most ample manner. A
similar accident happened at Chateau-roux in France. The lord of
that place maintained in the castle a man whose eyes he had formerly
put out, but who, by long habit, recollected the ways of the castle,
and the steps leading to the towers. Seizing an opportunity of
revenge, and meditating the destruction of the youth, he fastened
the inward doors of the castle, and took the only son and heir of
the governor of the castle to the summit of a high tower, from
whence he was seen with the utmost concern by the people beneath.
The father of the boy hastened thither, and, struck with terror,
attempted by every possible means to procure the ransom of his son,
but received for answer, that this could not be effected, but by the
same mutilation of those lower parts, which he had likewise
inflicted on him. The father, having in vain entreated mercy, at
length assented, and caused a violent blow to be struck on his body;
and the people around him cried out lamentably, as if he had
suffered mutilation. The blind man asked him where he felt the
greatest pain? when he replied in his reins, he declared it was
false and prepared to precipitate the boy. A second blow was given,
and the lord of the castle asserting that the greatest pains were at
his heart, the blind man expressing his disbelief, again carried the
boy to the summit of the tower. The third time, however, the
father, to save his son, really mutilated himself; and when he
exclaimed that the greatest pain was in his teeth; "It is true,"
said he, "as a man who has had experience should be believed, and
thou hast in part revenged my injuries. I shall meet death with
more satisfaction, and thou shalt neither beget any other son, nor
receive comfort from this." Then, precipitating himself and the boy
from the summit of the tower, their limbs were broken, and both
instantly expired. The knight ordered a monastery to be built on
the spot for the soul of the boy, which is still extant, and called
De Doloribus.
It appears remarkable to me that the entire inheritance should
devolve on Richard, son of Tankard, governor of the aforesaid castle
of Haverford, being the youngest son, and having many brothers of
distinguished character who died before him. In like manner the
dominion of South Wales descended to Rhys son of Gruffyd, owing to
the death of several of his brothers. During the childhood of
Richard, a holy man, named Caradoc, led a pious and recluse life at
St. Ismael, in the province of Ros, {107} to whom the boy was often
sent by his parents with provisions, and he so ingratiated himself
in the eyes of the good man, that he very often promised him,
together with his blessing, the portion of all his brothers, and the
paternal inheritance. It happened that Richard, being overtaken by
a violent storm of rain, turned aside to the hermit's cell; and
being unable to get his hounds near him, either by calling, coaxing,
or by offering them food, the holy man smiled; and making a gentle
motion with his hand, brought them all to him immediately. In
process of time, when Caradoc {108} had happily completed the course
of his existence, Tankard, father of Richard, violently detained his
body, which by his last will he had bequeathed to the church of St.
David; but being suddenly seized with a severe illness, he revoked
his command. When this had happened to him a second and a third
time, and the corpse at last was suffered to be conveyed away, and
was proceeding over the sands of Niwegal towards St. David's, a
prodigious fall of rain inundated the whole country; but the
conductors of the sacred burthen, on coming forth from their
shelter, found the silken pall, with which the bier was covered, dry
and uninjured by the storm; and thus the miraculous body of Caradoc
was brought into the church of St. Andrew and St. David, and with
due solemnity deposited in the left aisle, near the altar of the
holy proto-martyr Stephen.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 24 of 53
Words from 23918 to 24926
of 54608
