Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-09-18
CONTROL OF HUSBANDS.
Magic Wells of England Whose Waters
Are Sought by Wives.

are sought ny WIVES.
From Tit Bits.
. For the enterprising tourist with an eye
to out-of-the- way romance there are hum
dreds of ma ical wells scattered all over
England. each possessing a picturesque
story of its own and it's miraculous powers,
which range from curing insanity to telling
the curious maiden how long she will have
to wait for a husband
There are at least a hundred of these
wonderful wells in Cornwall alone. many
of them hidden away where even the most
observant tourist may pass them by with
out any suspicion of their presence. One
of them, however, Southey has made IA
nous the world over, and this Is the Well
of st. Keyne, which stands by the side OF
pretty country road about an hours walk
from Looe, in Cornwall. Such Is the magic
of its waters that the husband or wife who
ls the first to drink them after leaving the
altar is assured the upper hand for the rest
Of their joint lives. The bride of whom
Southey tells us. 1t will be remembered, did
not wait until after the marriage ceremony
to pay a visit to the well, but took the pre-
caution of taking bottle Of the water
with her to church. and thus forestalled
her less provident husband.
But + faith she had been far wiser than l.
For she took bottle to church"
A we'll of peculiar fascination for unap-
propriated maidens is to be found at Trel-
leck, in Monmouthshire 1t is known as the
''virtuous WELL" and for generations the
local maids have credited it with marvellous
powers in forecasting their matrimonial fu-
ture All they have to do is to drop a peb-
BILE into Its water and count the resultant
bubbles, for each bubble represents q month
of waiting for the day that is to make
them brides. In order to propitiate the
genius of the well it is necessary to drape
the brambles which shade 1t with pieces of
white CLOTH
But all Welsh wells are not quite so
beneficent as this of Trelleck, for at Llanel-
ian, In Denbighshire, you will find one pre-
sided over, according to local superstition,
by very evil-minded genius. If you have
any very special enemy whom you want to
consign to an unhappy fate all you have to
do is to go to st. Elian's Well, scratch
your enemy's initials on smooth stone
and throw the stone. together with q crook
ed pin, into the water, and, SO they say,
your worst wishes for his future will be
more than realized.
Many of these so-called holy wells have
wonderful medicinal virtues-indeed, some
of them are said by doctors to be far su-
perlor to the waters Of Homburg, Nauheim
or Wiidbad. One of them, ST. Winifreds,
at Holywell in Flintshire, is credited with
cures that SAVIOR of the mira culous, and it
is the physical Mecca of hundreds of de-
vout Catholics every year
very romantic story is told Of the origin
VI tiHS WE'LL ot. W1nlIreQ, the W1nSOme
daughter of a Welsh chief, was wooed
twelve long centuries ago by a young
prince, Caradoc, of evil repute, who, when
she persistently declined his advances.
Killed her in a fit of ungovernable passion
From the spot on which the stream of 81
Winifred's life blood welled out there
sprang another stream of crystal water.
winch was for so many centuries to work
miracles in her name
The wells at Tissington furnish a very
pretty spectacle on Ascension day every
year On this anniversary five pictures
are made-one for each of the five wells
out OF flowers and leaves and after q beau
tlful and appropriate service in the church
a procession is formed and these pictures
are taken to dress the wells the remainder
OF the DAY being given up to junketing and
mild revelrS
There is practically no Ill that flesh is
heir to for which one or other of these
weiis does not supply a cure, according
70 those who believe in them. st. Ninian's
Well. in Cornwall, is said to have restored
many lunat1cs to sanity. The process, how
ever cannot be commended on the ground
OF senteness, for the unhappy patient was
thrown bodily into the we'll and soused
until he had scarcely any breath left in his
body ~ ~
But the poor mailman who was taken for
cure to the Llandegla Well, in Wales
was even more to be pitied for, after he
mao oeen nearly drowned. he was trussed
communion table in the church in company
with cock or hen. with the object OF driv-
Ing the evil spirit finally out Of him.
Al Walsingham may still be seen a we'll
whose waters are credited with magical
powers In curing ailments Of the stomach
ana head and in past centuries thousands
are reported to have found health there
when all the resources Of tho medical
science of the time had failed
But one of the most curious Of all these
wells Is that of Tubber Guam, in ireland.
Whlcn Is OF such an obliging disposition
that 1t VIII cure you of wide range of ALL
ments, II only you will observe tho Gus
tomary rites. These consist in performing
penance OF various kinds, such as creenins
round ne1ghboring tree on bare knees
suspending lock Of your hair from one nj
us branches, and SO on. II, after satisfy
ing all the conditions OF the patron saints
may leave the well assured that yonr oil
ments Will quickly take wings and leave
you; but II you can see no track of fish in
the water then your journey has been in
vain. ~