Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-09-07


months actual imprisonment meant that
the convict should be Imprisoned SIX months.
That Is the question the court Is now
prayed to decide.
LAND OF THE wELsHMEN.
Some Curious Customs That Are SIN
Observed.
Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
DINAs POwIS. Wales. August %, 1924.
This quaint little village is quite out of
the beaten track Of tourists. 1t has no car
or railroad communities ton, though within
eight miles Of one Of the large commercial
eenters Of South Wales. The people are in
teresting and have some peculiar customs
OF very ancient origin, but they are strange
~ ignorant Of the great world whose heart
throbs are sounding almost In their ears
Desiring tc mail q letter to South Africa,
wendell my way to the post office. which is
kept by the village tailor. John Thomas
and are quite old friends, SO. after a little
chat, / asked for a stamp for Cape Colony.
The good man lool ed at me in amaxement.
Where did you say. sir?''
Cape Colony, South Africa"
Il never heard of that place before. for
sure"
well, never mind, John; let me have a
six-penny stamp" said. highly amused.
What for will you be wanting to pay so
much for a stamp
Then bright idea struck him, and. smil-
ing bro adly, he informed me:
1T costs two-pence half-penny to send q
letter to America, and when II gets there.
maybe they can send 1t to that other
place"
II believe they could" said. but want
II to go direct. I will take six penny
ones. that will do as WELL
When / got the six stamps across my let
ter honest John did not seem quite salts
1T would be safer, sir to send II to
America: they're uncommon smart folk over
there Mistress Harry's son is In America.
and ne would see II went all right"
Poor old John! Foreign postage was not
much In demand in Dfnas Fowls. and he felt
the responsibility OF his position quite over
towering. while his conception OF America
was of the vaguest description Thanking
him for his suggestion. I assured him that
the letter would be all right
POliteness Of the People.
stroling along met little maiden. who
dropped me a curtsey as she wishsb me a
pleasant Good evening. SIR
Good evening. How are you. my little
maid?'
Famous, SIR" with q smile that showed
her dimples. Old and young greet strangers
In q pleasant. homeiy manner. while the
children curtsey to their elders Ia q quantity
pretty fashion. The language Ii not %
difficult as II appears, with so many double
consonants. The double ''l'' is not Q guttu-
raj. but a pretty liquid sound resembling
the Spanish llano. IN being the nearest
English equivalent. Double IA has the
sound of "th," for instance; any great
trouble or distress Is compared to
THE sigh of Gwyddno Garanhir.
When Ger his land rushed waves severe"
Gwyddno Garanhir is pronounced as IL
Re xhv, No. o,,
painted yellow. and. with the red-tiled
roofs make a very effective bit of color in
the landscape. Inside they are dirty and
untidy. 1t Is a marvel how such scrupu-
these dirty houses. The garden gate is a
curiosity. Two pillars Of stone about four
feet HIGH with grooves In them. are set
upon each side Of the path: then a slab Of
into the grooves. effectually closing the gate
way. OF course. this stone cannot be re-
moved each time entrance or exit to or
from the dwelling Is required. so the In
habitants solve the dificulty by climbing
over.
Ladies visiting the cottages find this
rather a troublesome performance. I saw
the young Lady Bountiful OF the village
stranded on top Of one of these inhospitable
gates with a basket Of good things for
some sick one within till the housewife
came to her assistance. with merry laugh
ter on both sides at the young lady's d.
lemma.
A Wedding Custom.
We wonder at the description Of odd GUS
toms and curious ceremonies In far-off
lands, overlooking those still prevailing
among people speaking our language. and
closely akin to ourselves Especially among
the Welsh are to be found practices whose
origin can be traced to the highest an
tiquity. Among others rapidly disappear
ing 10 the bride chase On the wedding
day from ten to twenty OF his best mount
ed friends accompany the bridegroom to
her friends. The lady and her relatives
pretend to be very unwilling to comply win
the request. and great deal of Tr,elsh
poetry is employed by way Of argument,
the party within the house an. those with
out abusing each other heartily I'm Ian.
guage more forcible Fan polite. Orations
are delivered anS replied to by persons
ton.
At length the brides father appears and
p"Ites the brfdegrooms party into the
house. They alight and partake of some
refreshment then all proceed to the church.
The bride Is mounted behind her father.
on the swiftest horse that can be got and
gallops of, bridegroom and guests riding
after them in full chase. Over the hills
and far away they go. till the girl or her
self to be captured and led quietly to
church. This strange remnant of ancient
days is still in vogue in some districts
Realise ON the Presents.
The sale of the wedding presents, con-
sisting chiefly Of butter, cheese and crock
cry ware 0he latter is not Sold, often brings
from 500 to $780, and is a considerable help
to a young couple not overburdcned with
this worlds goods. Crockery is very dear
to the heart of the Welsh woman; on her
shelves you will fnd rows Of bright-colored
pitchers, bowls, teapots, etc. These articles
are handed down from mother to daughter
and are as highly priced as antique silver
Is in America.
Old superstitions are dying out. and are
being succeeded by severe religious notions,
almost amounting to fanaticism. The
Welsh scenery, especially the mountains,
Is so grand no pen can do 1t Justice. Mrs.
Hemans beautifully describes the noun
tains In their morning glory:
II looked on the mountains. O vapor lay.
Folding their height in its dark array;
Thou breakfast forth-and the mist became
A and Of Nx-ipO 0orn