New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-02-13
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
, s,rprpsTITIoNs OF WALES.

STy;;ai states Consul for Wales. pp 4lo' boS'on
James r. osgood 40
Mr. Skies has made good use OIL the oppoi'",
mites afforded by his residence at Cardih as oio"
states Consul to write valuable and enter,aihins
- on the popular superstitions OF Wales. III
.unn,ements very acceptably the many kindred
works on the myths and superstitions OF England
Scotland and Ireland. and fills an evident vacancy
An n field of literary work which seems TO grow
moro i'm citing as the progress Of education makes ~
more remote and more difficult of approach. III Is
not surprising to learn from Mr. SlSess oooA 'i"'
the legends and myths of past centuries S'ii haN0
a strong hold upon the Welsh. All mountain peopio
.re inclined to superstition, and all races when
have nrcss1yed their blood from admixtuIe DY
conquest or immigration hold tenaclousiy 10 inc
beliefs Of primitive times The lrlsh' thc h'sh
land Scotch. the Scandinavians and the people OF
the Basque provinces of Spain illustrate tins 1act
Living in a rugged and picturesque country, ana
holding fast to primitive language in spite Oh .no
great pressure of all the influences OF Engnsh iie
Crature and English civilization the welsh hatur-
auv r,tain their early fOndness for folklore anu
their early tendency to find supernatural omes' por
ents and appartions all along the pathway Oh
hav life This tendency is no doubt lncreaSedoS then
fondness for poetry and song. Their language
readily lends itself to poetica forms, and the Cam
brian bards of old have their lineal descendants
in the tuneful singers and harpists who appear at
the peculiar literary, musical and social assemDages
called Esteddevods Even the old belief IN FAIRIES
a. not vet extinct in Wales Mr. Skies says. Ihe
fairies. called Y Tylwyth Teg, or the fair folk,
NAV he divided into five classes-the Ellyllon, OF
eIves . the GOLDMAN, or mine fairies; the Bwachod,
or household fairies; the Gwragedd Annwn, or
fairies of the lakes and streams and the Gwylllon.
or mountain fairies. Many curious legends are
piyen of the pranks of each of these different sort
of mythical creatures. Here is ore showing the
origin of the peculiar black cattle of Wales:
In times of old there was band of elin
ladies who used to haunt the neigh6orhood
of Llyn BaIfog. lake among the mis- Just
back of Aberdovey. 1t was Their ha0lt TO
make their appearance at DUSK c,aa an III gl?gn
their Hounds the green ladies of Llyn Barlog were
peculiar in the possession OF droves OF beautiful
milk-whte kline, called Gwartheg Y Llyn or kline
OF the lake. One aay an old farmer who lived near
Dyssyrnant had the good luck TO catch one OF
these mystic cows which mad fallen IN rove wlrn
the cattle of his herd. From that day the farmers
fortune was made Such calves, such milk, slch
butter and cheese. as came from the mllk-wblte
COW % Re had S 9Sa seen The fame Of the
GyfeiliOrn (which was what they called the cow
spread through the country round. The farmer,
who had been poor, became rich the owner OF vast
herds like the patriarchs of old. But one day he
took it into his silly noodle that the elm cow was
getting old, and that he had better tatten her
Tor the market. His nefarious, purpose thrived
amazingly. Never since beef steaks were invented,
was seen such a fat COW as this COW grew to be-
Killing day came. and the neighbors arrived from
ali about to witness the takng-Ott OF this mon
strousy fat boast. The farmer had already counted
up the gains from the sale OF her, ana the butcher
had barred his red right arm. The cow was
tethered, regardless of her mOurnfu lowing and
her pleading eyes; the butcher raised his budgeon
and struck fair and hard between the cyes-wlcn
10! a Shrek resoundcd through the air, awakening
the echoes of the hills, as the butchers DludgeOn
went through the goblin head OF the elm COW, ana
knocked over nine adjoining men, while the butcher
himself went franticaly whirling around trying
to catch hold of something permanent. Then the
astonished assemblage Deneld green n,,s iaGy
standing on crag hlgh UP over Vne lahe anu
crying with a loud voice;
Dcre di felen EinioD,
Gym Cyleliorn-braith Llyn,
AR foel Dodin,
Codwch, dewch adre ..,ssf
Come yellow Anvil stray horns,
Speckied one OF the lake.
And Of the hornless DOdin,
Arise. come home.
Whereupon not only did the elfn COW arise and go
home but all her progeny to the third and fourth
generations went home with her, disappearing In
the arr over che hill tops and returning neyernore
and she had .!turned from milky white to raven
black. WhereupOn the farmer, In despair, |
drowned himself in the lake OF the green dfdes
existing race Of Welsh black cattle.
Dancing and music usually play an important
mart in the performances of the Welsh fairies. |
They caper around in magic circles upon the
mountains into which they seek to draw mortals.
who if they yield to the enticement are forced
to whirl about tor months or years. When re-
leased they think they have been dancing only
few minutes Their death is pretty sure to follow
speedily if they do not crumbe to pieces as soon as
Touched by human hands.
Two farm servants named Rhys and Llewellyn
were one evening ut twilight returning home IRON
their work. when Rhys cried out that he heard the
fairy music. Llewellyn could hear nothing, but
Rhys said 1t was tune to which he had danced "a
hundred times, and would again. and at once.
AGO on" says he, and I'll soon catch you up
AGAIN" LlewelIyn objected, but Rhys stopped to
hear no more: ne bounded away and LETT Llewellyn
to go home alone: which he did, believing Rhys
had erely gone off Oh a spree, and would come
home drunk before morning. But the morning
came and no Rhys. In vain search was made,
still no Rhys; Time passed on; Gays grew mo
that he had murdered Rhys. He was put i'll
prison. farmer learned IN fairyIlore suspecting
neighbOrs should go with poor Lleweilyn to the
spot where he had last seen Rhys Agreed
Arrived at the spot Hush cried heWeiy dr u
They all listened but could hear nothing. Put
your foot on NINE David" says Llewellyn to ono
of the company his own foot was on the outward
edge of a fairy ring as he spoke. David put his
loot on Llewellyns and 80 did they all. one after
another; and then they heard the sound OF many
harps and saw within circle about twenty feet
across great numbers OF little people dancing round
and round. And there was Rhys, dancing away like
sanrht him by bis smock trock and pulled him out
of the circle. "Where are the hOrsesY where arc
the horses" cried Rhys in an excited manner
gust: Swfft go horne. HOrses~ But Rhys for
dancing longer, declaring he had , not been
there i've minutes. You've been there says
sanged, anyhow" They got him home finally,
but ne vas never the same man again, and soon
tter he died.
In the great majority OF these stores the hero dies
Immediately after his release from the thraldom of
the fairies-in some cases with a suddenness and
completeness of obliteration as appalling as
sramatic The following story, well known IN
caermarthenshire, presents this detail with much
Orce:
rpharo WAC certain farmer who, while