THE THIRTEEN RARITIES OF ROYAL REGALIA, &c. io. Tawlbwrdd, (neu Gwyddbwyll,) Gwenddolau fab Ceidio: o gofodid y gwr arno, nhwy chwaraent eu gwaith eu hunain: y pwyntiau oedd aur, a'r gwyr oedd arian. II. Mantell Tegau Eurfron; ni allai neb wifgo moni a fyddai wedi torri priodas, na morwyn ifanc a ordderchafai: (ac bi a guddiai wraig ddiwair hyd at y llawr.) 12. Maen Modrwy Eluned; a dynnodd Owain ab Urien .... rhwng yr og a'r mûr: pwy bynnag a guddiai y maen, fe ai cuddiai y maen ynteu *. 13. Cyllell Llawfrodedd Farchog; yr hon a was anaethai ar bedwar gwr ar hugain, o'r llaw bwygil. ydd, erbyn y byddai raid wrthi. Ed. Llwyd a yferifenodd, o hen Femron Cymraeg. MS. *Mewn llyfr arall, y mae fel hyn; Cebyftr Cludno; y March a ddymunai ei fod ynddo, fe fyddai. to. The Chefsboard, (or Draughtboard) of Gwenddolau, the fon of Ceidio: if the men were placed upon it, they would play of themselves. The chequers were of gold, and the men were of filver '*. 11. The Mantle of Tegau Euroron: no one could put it on who had dishonoured marriage; nor a young damfel who had committed incontinence ; but it would cover a chafte woman from top to toe".—— 12. The Stone of the Ring of Eluned; which liberated Owen, the son of Urien, from between the portcullis and the wall. Whoever concealed that ftone, the ftone or bezil, would conceal him ".- 14 13. The Knife of Llawvrodedd, the Knight: which would ferve four-and-twenty perfons, from one hand to another, as the occafion might be ".-— The original Welsh account of the above Regalia was tranfcribed from a tranfcript of Mr. Edward Llwyd, the Antiquary; who informs us that he copied it from an old parchment manufcript and I have collated this with two other manufcripts. 12 Gwenddolau ab Ceidio was a northern chief. It is faid of his chefsboard, that when the men were arranged upon it, they would play of themselves; which feems to be a figurative allufion to the famous battle of Arderydd, fought about the year 577, by Aeddan the Treacherous and Gwenddolau, against Rhydderch Hael, where Gwenddolau was flain, notwithstanding which, his men continued fighting and fkirmishing for fix weeks afterwards: therefore, they are called in the Triads one of the three loyal armies of Britain. See that battle mentioned in Myrddin's poem of the Orchard, in page 24 of the first Volume of this work. 13 Tegau Eurvron, the wife of Caradog with the ftrong arm, who is celebrated by the Bards as a model of female virtue and chastity, as Penelope is defcribed by Homer: the is recorded in the British Triads as one of the three noble and excellent ladies of King Arthur's Court. She had three rarities, which befitted none but herself; and these were, her mantle, her golden goblet, and her knife; and in another Triad fhe is mentioned thus: There are three things, no one knows their colour: the feathers of the peacock's tail when expanded; the mantle of Tegau Eurvron; and the mifer's pence. Probably her mantle was a fhotted filk of various colours, and perhaps a novel thing at that time. Tegau Eurvron, was the daughter of Nudd, the Liberal hand, King of the North. The story of her Mantle is copied from the Welsh by the English Minstrels, in the old English Ballad of The Boy and the Mantle, as well as that of the Knife, and the Cup. Likewife, the Horn, occurs in the old French Romance of Morte Arthur, &c. See Dr. Percy's Reliques of ancient English Poetry. 14 Eluned was the daughter of Brychan, yngors-ebawl, or Crûg Gorfeddawl, and the lover of Owen ab Ürien: the Bezil of Eluned's ring had the virtues of Gyges's ring. When Owen, Prince of Reged, was confined in prison, Eluned gave him her ring, which rendered him invifible; (perhaps it might be given to the jailer, and by that means he escaped from prifon.) It is faid, in old times, when two perfons were married, the young couple ufed to prefent one another with a ring-key, as an emblem of fecrecy; whence fome derive the word wedlock. The wearing of rings appears to be of great antiquity; among the Hebrews, Gen. xxxviii. where Judah, Jacob's fon, gives Tamar his ring, or fignet, as a pledge of his promife: but rings leem to have been used at the fame time among the Egyptians, Genefis xli. where Pharoah put his ring on Jofeph's hand as a mark of the power he gave him. Of the Regalia of France, a coftly ring was prefented by a King of France to St. Thomas of Canterbury, and worn afterwards by King Henry the Eighth. The circumftance of Queen Elizabeth fending her ring to fave the Earl of Effex is too well known to need a repetition. 15 Llawvrodedd, the Red Knight, or Ruddy horfeman, who had a famous knife, which probably was his carving knife, that served all his company. The Bretons of France likewife, had formerly but one knife for each company, and that was chained to the table. The following addition to the previous note 4, in page 47:"Shall I fear, that have this trufty and invincible sword by my fide ?For, as King Arthur's word was called Caledvwlch; as Edward the Confeffor's Curtana; as Charlemagne's Joyeuse; Orlando's Durindana; Rinaldo's Faberta; and Rogero's Balijarda: so Piftol, in imitation of thefe heroes, calls his word Hiren. I have been told, Amadis de Gaul, had a fword of this name: Hirir, or Hirian, in the British, fignifies a long fwashing fword." M. Westmonafterienfis, page 98; and Stephens' Edition of Shakspeare's Henry the IVtb. Second Part, the Notes, to Act the Second. Farther addition to note 10, in page 48: The Cauldron of Dyrnog the Chief, was probably a fimilar kind of veffel to that of the Porridge Pot, of Guy, Earl of Warwick, which is an immenfe kettle, or cauldron, ftill preferved at Warwick Castle. An Account of The ABBEY of LLANTONY. I cannot refift the pleafure of giving here Giraldus Cambrenfis's happy defcription of the romantic fituation of the Abbey of Llantony, in Monmouthshire: In the deep vale of Ewyas, which is about a bow-fhot over, and enclosed on all fides with high mountains, ftands the Abbey Church of St. John, a ftructure covered with lead, and not unhandfomely built for fo lonefome a fituation: on the very spot where formerly flood a fmall chapel dedicated to St. David, which had no other ornaments than green mofs and ivy. It is a fituation fit for the exercife of religion; and a religious edifice was first founded in this fequeftered retreat, to the honour of a folitary life, by two hermits, remote from the noife of the world, upon the banks of the river Hondy, which winds through the midst of the valley. The rains which mountainous countries ufually produce are here very frequent, the winds exceedingly tempeftuous, and the winters almoft continually dark; yet the air of the valley is fo happily tempered as fcarcely to be the caufe of any diseases. The monks fitting in the cloisters of the abbey, when they chufe for a momentary refreshment to caft their eyes abroad, have, on every fide, a pleafing profpect of mountains afcending to an immenfe height, with numerous herds of deer feeding aloft on the highest extremity of this lofty horizon. The body of the fun is not visible above the hills till after the meridian hour, even when the air is molt clear. Giraldus's Itinerarium Cambria; (written about the year 1187, when he accompanied Baldwin, the Archbishop of Canterbury, into Wales, to preach the Crusade.) And Warton's Hiftory of English Poetry. SAITH RHYFEDDODAU GWYNEDD. The SEVEN WONDERS of NORTH WALES. The first four of these wonders may properly be called the natural beauties; and the three laft, the artificial beauties. They have never yet been regularly given to the world, although commonly enumerated by the natives; (if they had, the modern tourists would have retailed them without mercy, or acknowledgment, in their usual illiberal way :) therefore, I will endeavour to defcribe them, as they are worthy of being recorded. 1. Mynydd y Wyddfa. 2. Piftyll Rhaiadr. 3. Ffynnon Gwenfrewi. 4. Mynwent Owrtin. 5. Clochdy Gwrecfam. 6. Clochau Croes-ffordd. 7. Pont Llangollen. Snowdon mountain', in Caernarvonshire. The great water-fall, or cafcade of Llanrhaiadr, in Denbighshire. Saint Winifred's Well, or Holy-Well', in Flintshire. Overton Church-yard, in Flintshire. Wrexham Church, in Denbighshire. Gresford bells, in Denbighshire. Llangollen Bridge', in Denbighshire.. Snowdon was held in great veneration by the ancient Britons, as the mountain of Parnaffus was by the Greeks, and mount Ida by the Cretans. Snowdon commands a wonderful, extensive, and variegated profpect; from its fummit may be seen, in clear weather, a great part of Wales, Cheshire, Shropshire, Yorkshire, and part of the north of England, Scotland, Ireland, the Ifle of Man; and fear, and lakes. I doubt whether fo extenfive a circular prospect is to be seen in any part of the terraqueous globe. The height of Snowdon, according to the furvey of Colonel Roy, is 1192 yards above the level of the fea; and according to Mr. Flamstead's measurement, its perpendicular height is 1240 yards. All its range of mountains were formerly called the forest of Snowdon. This British Alps is famed for rare plants: and its lakes for Chare, and other fish. See Pennant's Journey to Snowdon, page 326. There is a view of Snowdon mountains by Mr. Wilson, the painter, (who was a native of Wales,) and engraved by Woollet; and another fine view by the fame Artift, of Cader Idris, and engraved by Rocker. See also, a diftant view of it in the frontispiece. 2 Pifyll Rhaiadr, or the Spout of Rhaiader, is the nobleft cataract in Wales: it defcends from the mountain of Berwyn, and divides the counties of Montgomery, and Denbigh; it is about three miles from the village of Llanrhaiadr in Mochnant, to which it gives its name, together with the rivulet, which runs from it. The water fall defcends a perpendicular height of 240 feet. There was a good print of it published fome years ago, and drawn by the late Mr. Evans, of Llwyn y Groes; who alfo has published an excellent Map of North Wales. ' St. Winefred's Well, or Holy Well, in Flintshire, is a fountain of great antiquity, and confecrated to the memory of St. Wini fred, a Chriftian Virgin, whose purity being dearer to her than life, fubmitted to be beheaded near that place, rather than yield to the luft of Caradoc, a Heathen prince, about the commencement of the feventh century. A neat gothic chapel is built over the head of the fpring, and the water gushes out of the rock in fuch a rapid stream, as to fupply feveral mills within a fhort distance. It is faid, that the fpring rifes about one hundred tons of water every minute. The water is extremely cold; the depth of the bafon is about five feet, and fo transparent, that a small piece of money, or a pin, may be feen at the bottom. The prefent edifice was erected in the time of King Henry the Seventh. In a window of the chancel hereof was formerly to be feen the portraiture of the faid Virgin, with the memorials of her life and death. All the miraculous powers of healing attributed to these waters are afcribed to their patronefs, St. Winifred; and fo great is the veneration in which he is held, by thofe of the Romish perfuafion, that they to this day perform pilgrimages to Holy-Well. Thofe that with a farther account of St. Winifred, I must beg to refer to her Legend, written by Robert, the Prior of Shrewsbury, afterwards Bishop of Bangor; and alfo, to her life and miracles which were published in 1713, o&tavo. 4 Overton Church-yard is famed for being furrounded with twenty-five yew-trees, that grow in an admirable manner and formerly, it is faid there was an yew-tree that grew on the church fteeple. The yew-tree being fo univerfally planted in churchyards was, doubtless, from its being thought a fymbol of immortality; the tree being fo lafting, and always green.--.In the days of Archery, fo great was the demand for the wood of the yew-tree, that the bowyers were obliged by ftatute, to import faves of it for making of bows. s Wrexham Church is the most magnificent building of the kind in Wales. Brown Willis, in his furvey of St. Asaph, page 73, fays, "that the ftately gothic tower of Wrexham Church, fo much admired for its elegant architecture, is exceeded by very few in England." It was begun to be rebuilt in A. D. 1501, and finished in 1507. The steeple is a fine tower, richly ornamented with lofty fpires of the gothic order, and its four fides adorned with three pilatters containing Saints placed in rich gothic niches one above another; among them is Saint Giles, the patron Saint of the Church, with the hind, which miraculously nourished him in the defart. An old Bard defcribes this beautiful church in the following elegant Englyn : Clockdy twt, Hoeldy taldeg, Corwyndy Cryn-dwr bir cywreindeg; There was a print of Wrexham Church published fome years ago, by Mr. Boydell. • Gresford Church is noted for the fweet melody and variety of its bells, as well as for its picturefque fituation, being feated on the brow of an eminence, over a beautiful little valley, whofe end opens into the vast expanfe of the Vale Royal of Chethire. The church is extremely handfome, but lefs ornamented than that of Wrexham, though built in the fame reign; the tower is adorned with images of the Apoftles; and on one fide, in a niche, is the figure of Henry the Seventh. 7 The bridge over the Dee, at Llangollen, is alfo numbered among the Tri Thlis Cymry, or one of the three beauties of Wales; but I think it more remarkable for its lovely fituation than ftructure: it confifts of five arches, the widest of which does not exceed 18 feet in diameter; but the view around is wonderfully picturefque, and exceeds most things of the kind. Some Welsh poet has defcribed the bridge in the following Englya: Pont hofog pen Tlyfau, pont union, Pont enwog, bentanau; Pont gaerog, pwyntiau gorau, Llangollen Bridge was built by John Trevaur, Bishop of St. Asaph, about A. D. 1350, according to Brown Willis's farvey of that See; page 52, and 285; and Pennant's Journey in Wales. The natives of Derbyshire, alfo, like Wales, have their Seven Wonders of the Peak; on which Colley Cibber wrote the following facetious couplet: "Seven famous daughters Derby's Peak can boast; "Six are grim jades-but Chatworth is a toast." Salibury Leland, calls that admirable workmanship, Henry the VIIth's Chapel, the wonder of the world: and Dr. Johnson fays, Cathedral, and its neighbour Stonehenge, are two eminent monuments of art and rudeness, and may fhew the first ellay, and the lait perfection, in architecture." The feat of the Duke of Devonshire. 3 The The ELEGY to LLEUCU LLWYD. This lady was reckoned a great beauty, and was a native of Penial, in the county of Meirionydd. She was greatly beloved by Llywelyn Goch, ab Meurig Hên, of Nannau; and died when he was gone on a journey to South Wales: upon his return he compofed this Elegy: "Nid oes yn Ngwynedd heddyw, "Na lloer, na llewych, na lliw, &c." How is Gwynedd bereft of its bright luminary! how its heaven is enveloped with darkness, ever since the full moon of beauty has been laid in the filent tomb! Mournful deed! O lovely fair in the oaken cheft, my speech can find no utterance since thou art gone. O thou of shape divine; lamp of Gwynedd, how long haft thou been confined in the gloomy grave? Arife, thou that art dearer to me than life; open the dismal door of thine earthly cell! Leave, O fair one! thy fandy bed; fhine upon the face of thy lover: here, by thy tomb, generous maid, of noble descent, stands one whose mirthful days are past, whose countenance is pale, with the lofs of thee; even Llywelyn Goch, the celebrater of thy praise, pining for the love of thee, helpless and forlorn, unequal to the task of song. I heard, O thou that art confined in the deep and dismal grave, nought out of thy lips but truth, my fpeechless fair! nought, O thou of stately growth, fairest of virgins fair! but that thou hadst promised, now unfeeling to the pangs of love, to stay till I came from South Wales, lovely filk-shrouded maid! The false deftinies fnatched thee out of my fight; it nought concerns me to be exposed to the stormy winds, Since the agreement between thee and penfive me is void! Thou, thou lovely maid, wert true; I was false, and now fruitlessly bemoan! From henceforth I will bid adieu to fair Gwynedd. It concerns not me whither I go, I must forego my native foil for a virtuous maid, whom it were my happiness to love, were she alive! O thou whose angelic face was become a proverb, thy beauty is laid low in the lonesome tomb! the whole world, without thee, is nothing; fuch anguish do I fuffer! I, thy penfive Bard, ramble in diftrefs, bewailing the lofs of thee, illuftrious maid! Where, O where, fhall I fee thee, thou of form divine, bright as the full moon! Is it on the mount of olives, lovelieft of women? Ovid's love was nothing in comparison to mine. Lovely Leucu thy form was worthy of heaven, and my voice hath failed in invoking thy name: alas! woe is me, fair maid of Pénial; it founded as a dream to me to hear that thy charms were laid in the duft, and thofe lips, which I oft have praised, excelled the utmost efforts of my mufe. O my foul, whiter than the foam of rapid streams, my love, I have now the heavy task of composing thy Elegy! Lovely Virgin, how are thy bright shining eyes closed in everlasting sleep, in the ftony tomb! Arife to thy penfive Bard, who can smile no more, were he poffeffed of a kingdom; arise in thy filken veft, lift up thy countenance from the dismal grave. I tell no untruth; my feet are benumbed by walking around thy dwelling place, O Lleucu Llwyd, where heretofore, bright lamp of Gwynedd, I was wont to celebrate thy beauty in fine flowing verfe, where I was wont to be merry in praising thy delicate hand, and tapering fingers, ornamented with rings of gold, lovely Lleucu, delicate, fweet-tempered Ileucu, thou wert far more precious than reliques to me The foul of the darling of Meirionydd is gone up to God, its original author; and her fair body is depofited in the fanctuary of holy ground, far, far from me, in the filent tomb! The treasure of the world is left in the custody of a haughty black man; longing and melancholy dirges are the portion of my lot. I lament, with faultering accents, over thee, lovely Lleucu, whiter than the fleaks of driven snow! Yesterday I poured down my cheeks showers of tears over thy tomb; the fountains of my head are dry; my eyes are ftrangers to fleep, fince thou art gone; thou, fair-formed speechless maid, haft not deigned to answer thy weeping Bard. How I lament, alas, that earth and ftones fhould cover thy lovely face; alas! that the tomb should be made so fast ;—that dust should ever cover the paragon of beauty;--that ftony walls and a coffin should separate thee and me ;-that the earth should lock thee fast in her bofom ;-that a shroud should enclose a beauty that rivalled the dawn of the morn ;-alas! that strong doors, bolts, and stately locks, fhould divide us for ever. • The above are a lift of the primitive rural arts, which apparently were the foundation of fciences. Agreeable to the old adage, "neceffity is the mother of invention;" and there can be no doubt but food, raiment and comfort, were the first confiderations of man: and according as the mechanic art gradually improved, when mankind became more enlightened, these branched again into seven others, which are the feven liberal arts; that is, grammar, logick, rhetorick, mufic, arithmetic, geometry, and aftronomy; and these again branched into various fubdivifions. See of Ancient British Porfy, in the previous page 8; of the Twenty-four Ancient British Games, in the firft Volume, page 36; and of Mufic, and Poetry, in pages 29 and 30 of the fame Volume. Y SAITH GEFNDERW SAINT. Dewi, a Chybi, achubant bôb dŷn beunydd, A dwyn Beuno yn warant: Cadfan, Cynfarch a barchant, Llyma'r Saith, eurfaith arfer, gan feudwy, Gwynfydic bob amser; A fyn y maen graen grynder, A'r Saith, a weles y Ser. THE SEVEN COUSIN SAINTS. These are the seven, a permanent golden rulė; A Hermit is at all times blefs'd, Who obtains the round grain'd stone3: And the Seven contemplated the Stars. St. David, the Archbishop, and Patron Saint of Wales, who founded the Cathedral Church of St. David, in Pembrokeshire, about A. D. 447. 2 St. Cybi, the founder of Caer-gybi, or Holyhead, in Anglesey. 3 St. Beuno, the Abbot, and founder of Clynnog Monaftery, &c. in Caernarvonshire, about A. D. 616. See page 10. St. Cadvan, an Abbot of the Monastery in Bardfey Island; and there was another, the founder of Towyn Church, in Merionethfhire, where his tomb ftill remains. 5 Cynvarch, the 27th King of Britain. St. Daniel was the first Bishop of Bangor in Caernarvonshire, and flourished about A. D. 516, and died in the Island of Bardley, in the year 544: There is a little ifland, on the coaft cf Anglefey, which lies about a mile and half from the priory, called Ynys Seiriol, or St. Seiriol's Iland, but is moft commonly named in English, the Prieftholm Island; which was an ancient fanctuary for Priests. It is alfo famous in fummer for a great number of birds, called Puffins, which emigrate at the beginning of winter. The above round ftone probably alludes to the Altar-Stone, or to those who were qualified to prefide, after taking Prieft's orders; or it may allude to the Druids, who used to have a Crystal-Gem, or a Magic-Gem, which was about the fize of a large watch; one of which I have got. (See Woodward on Fofils.) The Druids were alfo great aftronomers. See page 7. The British Saints were the founders of most of the British Churches and Monafteries, and were, as we may fay, the fucceffors of the Bardic- Druids, fo far, that they poffeffed, like the former, all the learning and philofophy of their time, as I have already mentioned in page 43, but with this difference, the Bards adhered minutely to truth, as their laws were very fevere in fine, and imprifonment, if they deviated from it. The Monks, I believe, were not constrained; they intermixed fuperftition and fable among their records, therefore, are not altogether to be depended upon, fo much as the former; however, we are indebted to them for what information they have left us. St Kentigern founded feveral Churches, and was esteemed a very learned divine. He wrote a Manual of his Minifteries; of the Death of St. David; of the Obedience of Man; an Epistle to King Rhydderch Hael; of Mutual Charity; of Peace; of Hospitality; of Reading; and of Praying not written, &c. Kentigern had a college of 365 fcholars, and was the firit Bishop of Llanelwy, in Denbighshire, about the year 540. He ftrictly obferved the form of the primitive church, and lived with great abftinency. Kentigern wore a robe made of goat fkins, and a long white garment with a ftraight hood. He lived to the remarkable age of 185 years, and was buried at St. Asaph's cathedral, and by whom he was fucceeded. Bonedd y Saint, and Achau'r Saint Ynys Prydain, or the Noble Defcent, and Genealogies of the British Saints of the Ifland of Britain, which would be a most valuable work if it were tranflated and published. I ought not to omit mentioning here one of our primitive British Caftles, which ftands upon a pleafant conick hill, in view of Langollen. Bridge before-mentioned, in page 50, called Caftell Dinas Brân, from Brân, latinized Brennus, the fecond fon of Dyfnwal Moelmud, the famous law-giver; and whofe mother's name was Cornwen, whence the town of Corwen derives its name. This Brân married a princefs of the Galli Senones; and by the help of his brother Beli, Belinus, (or Belgius,) King of Britain, he overran Italy, took the city of Rome, and kept poff ffion of it feven months, which was about 390 years before Chrift, and 364 years after the building of Rome. See Plutarch's Life of Camillus. Strabo calls him Brén; and Polibius 2. and Justin 25. c. 2. corroborate the British Hiftory of Tyfilio, in this point. Caftell Dinas Brán, or the Caftle of the City of Brân, near Llangollen, in Denbighshire, is faid to have been founded by the faid Brán, or Brennus; and there is also a Lordship adjoining thereto, called to this day Dinbren. Dinas Brán Caftle was in repair, and inhabited by Gruffydd ab Madog, who was Lord thereof in the time of Edward the First. Y SAITH Y SAITH CYSGADUR: or THE SEVEN SLEEPERS. After the number Three', the number Seven feems to have been held in the greatest veneration by the Ancient Britons, and is fometimes called the holy number, the prophetic number, or the myftical number. The greatest part of the ancient facrifices were by Sevens. "In the beginnings of your months ye fhall offer burnt offering unto the Lord; seven lambs of the first year without fpot." Numbers, chap. xxviii. v. ii. "Sev'n bullocks, yet unyok'd, for Phœbus chufe, Dryden. "The num The world confifteth of the harmony of the Seven unities, natural, conjugal, régular, perfonal, effential, ecclefiaftical, and political. The age of the world is ufually divided by fevens, as well as the feven ages of man; the feven days of the week; the feven wonders of the world. The fon of a feventh fon was esteemed a prophet. The animals which entered the Ark of Noah were by fevens. "Of every clean beaft thou shalt take to thee by sevens."" Of fowls alfo of the air by fevens."-Genefis, chap. vii. ber 7 has a wonderful property; a right-angled triangle is conftituted of the fides three, four, five; but three, and four contain the right angle, which is perfection itself, and therefore their fum feven, must as a number, be most perfect. Every active body has three dimenfions, length, breadth, and thickness, and thefe have four extremes, point, line, furface, and folid, and these together make up the number feven." The Lyre of Orpheus, and Amphion had only seven strings. The feven diatonic notes of mufic; the feven prifmatic colours, analogous to the feven notes in mufic; the feven trumpets; the feven planets; the feven itars: the feven inward parts of man; the feven exterior parts; the feven objects of fight; the feven wife men of Greece; the feven wife masters, and the feven wife miftreffes of Rome; the feven champions of Christendom, and the feven excellences of man. Our druidical ancestors appear to have been well acquainted with Natural Hiftory, as well as with Botany, and other fciences, (fee the first volume of this work, page 4, 8, and 84,) as may be seen from their minute obfervations of the progrefs of animals in the following traditional memorial, of the feven fleepers, which I have never seen mentioned in any Book, therefore I fhall briefly relate it. See the Triads, and the firft volume of this work. The Dormouse. The Urchin, or Hedge-hog. The Land Tortoise. The Snake. The Toad. The Bat. 2 The Bear, the Beaver, the Wolf, &c. were common in this ifland formerly. There is a place in Cardiganshire, and in Pembrokeshire, called Aber-Arth, or the Bear's Brook. Some reckon the Swallow one of the feven fleepers, but it is more probably one of the emigrating birds, or birds of paffage; fuch as the Woodcock, the Redwing, the Fieldfare, the Cuckoo, the Stork, the Crane, the Nightingale, the Quail, the Puffin, the Black-cap, the Wheat-ear, the Fly-catcher, the Martin, the Stone chat, the Whin-chat, the White-throat, the Butcher-bird, &c. Milton, in his Paradife Loft, has expreffed the migration of birds, in the following elegant manner : "Thus they, rang'd in figure, wedge their way, "Intelligent of feasons, and fet forth "Their airy caravan, high over feas ་ Flying, and over lands with mutual wing "Eafing their flight: fo fteers the prudent crane "Her annual voyage, borne on winds; the air "Floats as they pals, fann'd with unnumber'd plumes.". "Of every beaft, and bird, and infect fmall, "Came fevens, and pairs." "The Stork in the Heaven knoweth her appointed times, and the Turtle, and the Crane, and the Swallow, obferve the time of their coming." Jeremiah viii. v. 7. Researches into the fprings of natural bodies, and their motions, should awaken us to admire the wonderous wisdom of our Creator in all the works of nature. AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTS OF ANCIENT BRITISH HISTORY. The Poem from which this is tranflated is one of the most ancient of any that are preserved; and on that account is rather obfcure in many paffages; and it is felected from an idea that it will be more interefting than fome others of greater merit, because addressed to an illuftrious character, whose name is familiar to the enlightened hiftorian. It celebrates the battles of Galgacus, the chief of the Northern Britons, who fo eminently fignalized himself in oppofing the Roman legions, under Agricola, about A. D. 83. The Britifh Triads, and this poem are the only memorials, that I can find, of Galgacus, which are preferved amongst his countrymen: the former tells us, that Gwallawg ab Lleénog, Dunawd ab Pabo, and Cynfelyn Drwfgyl, were the three pillars of battle of the isle of Britain. CAN I WALLAWG AB LLEENAWG. A SONG TO GWALLOG, OR GALGACUS, THE SON OF LLEENOG⭑. In the name of the potent Ruler of Heaven, the fupporter of his friends fhall keep his dwellings in peaceful fecurity, with his glittering princely fpear. Warring chieftains, ruthless and fierce, are supported by the fair dale of Lleenog; they shiver ashen shafts reeking in its defence. Long will they remain conspicuous in Britain's fair memorials.-From the regions of Maw, and Eiddyn, they would not accept of an intercourse. • Lleenog is a name which the father of Galgacus most likely acquired for his learning; which the word implies. Friendly |