The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-03-02 00:00:00

An interesting illustration of this disposition is given in
King Henry V. " The ancient Pistol" came to Fluellyn
on St. David's day, with bread and salt, that he might
eat his leek ; and the latter could not at the moment
resent the insult. He wore the leek in his cap, however,
till they met again, when the tables were turned ; and
Pistol, after being taunted, beaten, and threatened, was
obliged to swallow his curses and wrath, and eat the leek.
There are some people so meddling, however, that they
would destroy even this interesting little bit of romance.
It seems that the ancient British deity Baal, or Belinus, is
identical with Baal-Peor,that is, Pi• orus; whence Porrhus,
a leek, according to some etymologists. Leeks and onions
were known to the embalmers and painters in ancient
Egypt; the former is placed on the head of one of their
deities, and both are found occasionally in the hands of
mummies. Hence it is supposed that the Druids culti-
vated leeks, in honour of Ceudven or Ceres. Certain it
is, that among other fraternities of oak-worshippers, leeks
were objects of veneration ; and they were regarded as
sacred plants at Ascalon, the place from which scallion
derives both its origin and its name. It is not improbable
that this is the true account; for the victory of Cadwala-
dyr is said to have taken place in 640 ; that is, 96 years
after the death of St. David, according to one account,
and 39 according to another. The only version which
would bring this date within his lifetime, supposes the
vigorous old gentleman to be going to the wars, so far
from home, when only 182 years of age!
There was an insolent custom in England, which pre-
vailed till very lately. It was a relic of the barbarous
strifes of the Borders, in which the Saxons made an effigy
of a Welshman, dressed up like a wooden Guy Fawkes,
and sticking a leek in his hat, hung him in the public
streets. An old poem has the following passage :

" But it would make a stranger laugh,
To see the English hang poor 7'aff';
All stuffed with hay to represent
The Cambrian hero thereby meant."

Mr. Pepys, in his diary, mentions having seen one of
these mock executions in Mark-lane, on St. David's Day ;
" which is one of the oddest sights I have seen a good
while."

The modern custom is a more excellent one. Natives
of the Principality walk in procession ; they support their
public charities ; they dine together in cordiality ; and
they speak of the antiquity of their race and language, in
terms of pardonable pride. Sermons are also preached
in the churches and chapels; and though there are few
people among whom religious prejudices run so high, these
are all hushed for the time, and the question of nationality
takes precedence. Such are the interesting scenes re-
corded this day in another column ; where men who ex-
hibit a generous cosmopolitan spirit for 364 days of every
year, remember " the rock from which they were hewn"
on the remainine one.

In 1732 Sir Watkin Williams Wynne prevented an im-
mense bowl to Jesus College, Oxford, the college which to
this hour is more celebrated than any other for the educa-
tion of Welshmen. It is of silver gilt, contains ten gal-
lons, and the ladle for it somewhat more than half a pint
The liquor which is usually drunk from it is denominated
" swig," and is composed of sherry and warm beer, in the
proportion of nearly a glass of the former to a pint of the
latter. To this is added sugar, lemon peel, thin slices of
toast, nutmeg, and various other good things. Though
we are not advocates for the mixing of liquors, we should
have no objection to drink " peace to the ashes" of Sir
Watkin in the contents of his own bright bowl ; nor
would we refuse to partake of a Welsh rabbit at the
same time.