British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions — Book 4 Chapter 4

I.

Paleographic students are more or less familiar with about seventy early inscribed stones in Wales.

The value of these monuments, as corroborative evidence of historical facts, in connection with waning popular traditions, is well understood.

Superstitious prejudice is particularly active in connection with stones of this kind.

The peasantry view them askance, and will destroy them if not restrained, as they usually are, by fear of evil results to themselves.

Antiquaries have often reason to thank superstition for the existence in our day of these ancient monuments.

But there is a sort of progressive movement towards enlightenment which carries the Welsh farmer from the fearsome to the destructive stage, in this connection.

That dangerous thing, a little knowledge, sometimes leads its imbiber beyond the reach of all fear of the guardian fairy or demon of the stone, yet leaves him still so superstitious regarding it that he believes its influence to be baleful, and its destruction a sort of duty.

It was the common opinion of the peasantry of the parish in which it stood, that whoever happened to read the inscription on the Maen Llythyrog, an early inscribed stone on the top of a mountain near Margam Abbey, in Glamorganshire, would die soon after.

In many instances the stones are believed to be transformed human beings, doomed to this guise for some sin, usually an act of sacrilege.

Beliefs of this character would naturally be potent in influencing popular feeling against the stones.

But on the other hand, however desirable might be their extinction, there would be perils involved, which one would rather his neighbour than himself should encounter.

Various awful consequences, but especially the most terrific storms and disturbances of the earth, followed any meddling with them.

At Banwan Bryddin, a few miles from Neath, a stone pillar inscribed 'MARCI CARITINI FILII BERICII,' long stood on a tumulus which by the peasants was considered a fairy ring.

The late Lady Mackworth caused this stone to be removed to a grotto she was constructing on her grounds, and which she was ornamenting with all the curious stones she could collect.

An old man who was an under-gardener on her estate, and who abounded with tales of goblins, declaring he had often had intercourse with these strange people, told the Rev. Mr. Williams of Tir-y-Cwm, that he had always known this act of sacrilege would not go unpunished by the guardians of the stone.

He had more than once seen these sprites dancing of an evening in the rings of Banwan Bryddin, where the 'wonder stone' stood, but never since the day the stone was removed had any mortal seen them.

Upon the stone, he said, were written mysterious words in the fairy language, which no one had ever been able to comprehend, not even Lady Mackworth herself.

When her ladyship removed the stone to Gnoll Gardens the fairies were very much annoyed; and the grotto, which cost Lady Mackworth thousands of pounds to build, was no sooner finished than one night, Duw'n catwo ni!

there was such thunder and lightning as never was heard or seen in Glamorganshire before; and next morning the grotto was gone!

The hill had fallen over it and hidden it for ever.

'Iss indeed,' said the old man, 'and woe will fall on the Cymro or the Saeson that will dare to clear the earth away.

I myself, and others who was there, was hear the fairies laughing loud that night, after the storm has cleared away.'

II.

The Sagranus Stone at St. Dogmell's, Pembrokeshire, was formerly used as a bridge over a brook not far from where it at present stands--luckily with its inscribed face downwards, so that the sculpture remained unharmed while generations were tramping over it.

During its use as a bridge it bore the reputation of being haunted by a white lady, who was constantly seen gliding over it at the witching hour of midnight.

No man or woman could be induced to touch the strange stone after dark, and its supernatural reputation no doubt helped materially in its preservation unharmed till the present time.

It is considered on paleographic grounds to be of the fourth century.

In Pembrokeshire also are found the famous Dancing Stones of Stackpool.

These are three upright stones standing about a mile from each other, the first at Stackpool Warren, the second further to the west, on a stone tumulus in a field known as Horestone Park, and the third still further westward.

One of many traditions concerning them is to the effect that on a certain day they meet and come down to Sais's Ford to dance, and after their revel is over return home and resume their places.

III.

There is a curious legend regarding three stones which once stood on the top of Moelfre Hill, in Carnarvonshire, but which were long ago rolled to the bottom of the hill by 'some idle-headed youths' who dug them up.

They were each about four feet high, standing as the corners of a triangle; one was red as blood, another white, and the third a pale blue.

The tradition says that three women, about the time when Christianity first began to be known in Britain, went up Moelfre Hill on a Sabbath morning to winnow their corn.

They had spread their winnowing sheet upon the ground and begun their work, when some of their neighbours came to them and reprehended them for working on the Lord's day.

But the women, having a greater eye to their worldly profit than to the observance of the fourth commandment, made light of their neighbours' words, and went on working.

Thereupon they were instantly transformed into three pillars of stone, each stone of the same colour as the dress of the woman in whose place it stood, one red, one white, and the third bluish.

Legends of the turning to stone of human beings occur in connection with many of the meini hirion (long stones).

Near Llandyfrydog, Anglesea, there is a maenhir of peculiar shape.

From one point of view it looks not unlike the figure of a humpbacked man, and it is called 'Carreg y Lleidr,' or the Robber's Stone.

The tradition connected with it is that a man who had stolen the church Bible, and was carrying it away on his shoulder, was turned into this stone, and must stand here till the last trump sets him free.

At Rolldritch (Rhwyldrech?

) there is or was a circle of stones, concerning which tradition held that they were the human victims of a witch who, for some offence, transformed them to this shape.

In connection with this circle is preserved another form of superstitious belief very often encountered, namely, that the number of stones in the circle cannot be correctly counted by a mortal.

[178] It is noteworthy that the only creature which shares with man the grim fate of being turned to stone, in Welsh legends, is the serpent.

The monkish account of St. Ceyna, one of the daughters of Prince Brychan, of Breconshire, relates that having consecrated her virginity to the Lord by a perpetual vow, she resolved to seek some desert place where she could give herself wholly up to meditation.

So she journeyed beyond the river Severn, 'and there meeting a woody place, she made her request to the prince of that country that she might be permitted to serve God in that solitude.

His answer was that he was very willing to grant her request, but that the place did so swarm with serpents that neither man nor beast could inhabit it.

But she replied that her firm trust was in the name and assistance of Almighty God to drive all that poisonous brood out of that region.

Hereupon the place was granted to the holy virgin, who, prostrating herself before God, obtained of him to change the serpents and vipers into stones.

And to this day the stones in that region do resemble the windings of serpents, through all the fields and villages, as if they had been framed by the hand of the sculptor.'

The scene of this legend is mentioned by Camden as being at a place near Bristol, called Keynsham, 'where abundance of that fossil called by the naturalists Cornu Ammonis is dug up.'

FOOTNOTE:

[178] Roberts, 'Camb.

Pop.

Ant.

,' 220. IV.

Our old friend the devil is once more to the fore when we encounter the inscribed stone of the twelfth century, which stands in the churchyard of Llanarth, near Aberaeron, in Cardiganshire.

A cross covers this stone, with four circular holes at the junction of the arms.

The current tradition of the place regarding it is that one stormy night, there was such a tremendous noise heard in the belfry that the whole village was thrown into consternation.

It was finally concluded that nobody but the diawl could be the cause of this, and therefore the people fetched his reverence from the vicarage to go and request the intruder to depart.

The vicar went up into the belfry, with bell, book, and candle, along the narrow winding stone staircase, and, as was anticipated, there among the bells he saw the devil in person.

The good man began the usual 'Conjurate in nomine,' etc. , when the fiend sprang up and mounted upon the leads of the tower.

The vicar was not to be balked, however, and boldly followed up the remainder of the staircase and got also out upon the leads.

The devil finding himself hard pressed, had nothing for it but to jump over the battlements of the tower.

He came down plump among the gravestones below, and falling upon one, made with his hands and knees the four holes now visible on the stone in question, which among the country people still bears the name of the Devil's Stone.

V.

The logan stones in various parts of Wales, which vibrate mysteriously under the touch of a child's finger, and rock violently at a push from a man's stronger hand, are also considered by the superstitious a favourite resort of the fairies and the diawl.

The holy aerolite to which unnumbered multitudes bow down at Mecca is indeed no stranger thing than the rocking-stone on Pontypridd's sky-perched common.

Among the marvellous stones in Nennius is one concerning a certain altar in Loin-Garth, in Gower, 'suspended by the power of God,' which he says a legend tells us was brought thither in a ship along with the dead body of some holy man who desired to be buried near St. Illtyd's grave, and to remain unknown by name, lest he should become an object of too reverent regard; for Illtyd dwelt in a cave there, the mouth of which faced the sea in those days; and having received this charge, he buried the corpse, and built a church over it, enclosing the wonderful altar, which testified by more than one astounding miracle the Divine power which sustained it.

This is thought to be a myth relating to some Welsh rocking-stone no longer known.

The temptation to throw down stones of this character has often been too much for the destruction-loving vulgarian, both in Wales and in other parts of the British islands; but the offenders have seldom been the local peasantry, who believe that the guardians of the stone--the fairies or the diawl, as the case may be--will heavily avenge its overthrow on the overthrowers.

VI.

[Illustration: THE FAIRY FROLIC AT THE CROMLECH.

] Venerable in their hoary antiquity stand those monuments of a long-vanished humanity, the cromlechs which are so numerous in Wales, sharing with the logan and the inscribed stone the peasant's superstitious interest.

Even more than the others, these solemn rocks are surrounded with legends of enchantment.

They figure in many fairy-tales like that of the shepherd of Frennifawr, who stood watching their mad revelry about the old cromlech, where they were dancing, making music on the harp, and chasing their companions in hilarious sort.

That the fairies protect the cromlechs with special care, as they also do the logans and others, is a belief the Welsh peasant shares with the superstitious in many lands.

There is a remarkable cromlech near the hamlet of St. Nicholas, Glamorganshire, on the estate of the family whose house has the honour of being haunted by the ghost of an admiral.

This cromlech is called, by children in that neighbourhood, 'Castle Correg.'

A Cardiff gentleman who asked some children who were playing round the cromlech, what they termed it, was struck by the name, which recalled to him the Breton fairies thus designated.

[179] The korreds and korregs of Brittany closely resemble the Welsh fairies in numberless details.

The korreds are supposed to live in the cromlechs, of which they are believed to have been the builders.

They dance around them at night, and woe betide the unhappy peasant who joins them in their roundels.

[180] Like beliefs attach to cromlechs in the Haute Auvergne, and other parts of France.

A cromlech at Pirols, said to have been built by a fee, is composed of seven massive stones, the largest being twelve feet long by eight and a half feet wide.

The fee carried these stones hither from a great distance, and set them up; and the largest and heaviest one she carried on the top of her spindle, and so little was she incommoded by it that she continued to spin all the way.

[181] FOOTNOTES:

[179] Mr. J.

W.

Lukis, in an address before the Cardiff Nat.

Soc.

in July, 1874. [180] Keightley, 'Fairy Mythology,' 432. [181] Cambry, 'Monuments Celtiques,' 232. VII.

Among the Welsh peasantry the cromlechs are called by a variety of names, one interesting group giving in Cardiganshire 'the Stone of the Bitch,' in Glamorganshire 'the Stone of the Greyhound Bitch,' in Carmarthenshire and in Monmouthshire 'the Kennel of the Greyhound Bitch,' and in some other parts of Wales 'the Stone of the Wolf Bitch.'

These names refer to no fact of modern experience; they are legendary.

The Cambrian form of the story of Melusina is before us here, with differing details.

The wolf-bitch of the Welsh legend was a princess who for her sins was transformed to that shape, and thus long remained.

Her name was Gast Rhymhi, and she had two cubs while a wolf-bitch, with which she dwelt in a cave.

After long suffering in this wretched guise, she and her cubs were restored to their human form 'for Arthur,' who sought her out.

The unfortunate Melusina, it will be remembered, was never entirely robbed of her human form.

'Ange par la figure, et serpent par le reste,' she was condemned by the lovely fay Pressina to become a serpent from the waist downwards, on every Saturday, till she should meet a man who would marry her under certain specified conditions.

The monkish touch is on the Welsh legend, in the medieval form in which we have it in the Mabinogi of 'Kilhwch and Olwen.'

The princess is transformed into a wolf-bitch 'for her sins,' and when restored, although it is for Arthur, 'God did change' her to a woman again.

[182] FOOTNOTE:

[182] 'Mabinogion,' 259. VIII.

In a field called Parc-y-Bigwrn, near Llanboidy, Carmarthenshire, are the remains of a cromlech destroyed many years ago, concerning which an old man named John Jones related a superstitious tale.

It was to the effect that there were ten men engaged in the work of throwing it down, and that when they were touching the stone they became filled with awe; and moreover, as the stone was being drawn away by six horses the road was suddenly rent asunder in a supernatural manner.

This is a frequent phenomenon supposed by the Welsh peasantry to accompany the attempt to move a cromlech.

Another common catastrophe is the breaking down of the waggon--not from the weight of the stone, but through the displeasure of its goblin guardians.

Sometimes this awful labour is accompanied by fierce storms of hail and wind, or violent thunder and lightning; sometimes by mysterious noises, or swarms of bees which are supposed to be fairies in disguise.

IX.

A very great number of fanciful legends might be related in connection with stones of striking shape, or upon which there are peculiar marks and figures; but enough of this store of folk-lore has been given to serve present ends.

If more were detailed, there would in all cases be found a family resemblance to the legends which have been presented, and which lead us now into the enchanted country where Arthur reigns, now wandering among the monkish records of church and abbey, now to the company of the dwarfs and giants of fairyland.

That the British Druids regarded many of these stones with idolatrous reverence, is most probable.

Some of them, as the cromlechs and logans, they no doubt employed in their mystic rites, as being symbols of the dimly descried Power they worshipped.

Of their extreme antiquity there is no question.

The rocking-stones may be considered natural objects, though they were perhaps assisted to their remarkable poise by human hands.

The cromlechs were originally sepulchral chambers, unquestionably, but they are so old that neither history nor tradition gives any aid in assigning the date of their erection.

Opinions that they were once pulpits of sun-worship, or Druidic altars of sacrifice, are not unwarranted, perhaps, though necessarily conjectural.

The evidence that the inscribed stones are simply funeral monuments, is extensive and conclusive.

Originally erected in honour of some great chief or warrior, they were venerated by the people, and became shrines about which the latter gathered in a spirit of devotion.

With the lapse of ages, the warrior was forgotten; even the language in which he was commemorated decayed, and the marks on the stones became to the peasantry meaningless hieroglyphics, to which was given a mysterious and awful significance; and so for unnumbered centuries the tombstone remained an object of superstitious fear and veneration.

CHAPTER V.

Baleful Spirits of Storm--The Shower at the Magic Fountain--Obstacles in the way of Treasure-Seekers--The Red Lady of Paviland--The Fall of Coychurch Tower--Thunder and Lightning evoked by Digging--The Treasure-Chest under Moel Arthur in the Vale of Clwyd--Modern Credulity--The Cavern of the Ravens--The Eagle-guarded Coffer of Castell Coch--Sleeping Warriors as Treasure-Guarders--The Dragon which St. Samson drove out of Wales--Dragons in the Mabinogion--Whence came the Red Dragon of Wales?

--The Original Dragon of Mythology--Prototypes of the Welsh Caverns and Treasure-Hills--The Goblins of Electricity.

I.

In the prominent part played by storm--torrents of rain, blinding lightning, deafening thunder--in legends of disturbed cromlechs, and other awful stones, is involved the ancient belief that these elements were themselves baleful spirits, which could be evoked by certain acts.

They were in the service of fiends and fairies, and came at their bidding to avenge the intrusion of venturesome mortals, daring to meddle with sacred things.

This fascinating superstition is preserved in numberless Welsh legends relating to hidden treasures, buried under cromlechs or rocky mounds, or in caverns.

In the 'Mabinogion' it appears in the enchanted barrier to the Castle of the Lady of the Fountain.

Under a certain tall tree in the midst of a wide valley there was a fountain, 'and by the side of the fountain a marble slab, and on the marble slab a silver bowl, attached by a chain of silver, so that it may not be carried away.

Take the bowl and throw a bowlful of water on the slab,' says the black giant of the wood to Sir Kai, 'and thou wilt hear a mighty peal of thunder, so that thou wilt think that heaven and earth are trembling with its fury.

With the thunder there will come a shower so severe that it will be scarce possible for thee to endure it and live.

And the shower will be of hailstones; and after the shower the weather will become fair, but every leaf that was upon the tree will have been carried away by the shower.'

[183] Of course the knight dares this awful obstacle, throws the bowlful of water upon the slab, receives the terrible storm upon his shield, and fights the knight who owned the fountain, on his coming forth.

Sir Kai is worsted, and returns home to Arthur's court;

whereupon Sir Owain takes up the contest.

He sallies forth, evokes the storm, encounters the black knight, slays him, and becomes master of all that was his--his castle, his lands, his wife, and all his treasures.

The peasant of to-day who sets out in quest of hidden treasures evokes the avenging storm in like manner.

Sometimes the treasure is in the ground, under a cromlech or a carn; he digs, and the thunder shakes the air, the lightnings flash, torrents descend, and he is frustrated in his search.

Again, the treasure is in a cavern, guarded by a dragon, which belches forth fire upon him and scorches his eyeballs.

Welsh folk-lore is full of legends of this character; and the curious way in which science and religion sometimes get mixed up with these superstitions is most suggestive--as in the cases of the falling of Coychurch tower, and the Red Lady of Paviland.

The latter is the name given a skeleton found by Dr. Buckland in his exploration of the Paviland caves, the bones of which were stained by red oxide of iron.

The vulgar belief is that the Red Lady was entombed in the cave by a storm while seeking treasure there--a legend the truth of which no one can dispute with authority, since the bones are certainly of a period contemporary with the Roman rule in this island.

Coins of Constantine were found in the same earth, cemented with fragments of charcoal and bone ornaments.

In the case of Coychurch tower, it undoubtedly fell because it was undermined by a contractor who had the job of removing certain defunct forefathers from their graves near its base.

Some eighteen hundred skulls were taken from the ground and carted off to a hole on the east side of the church.

But the country folk pooh-pooh the idea that the tower fell for any reason other than sheer indignation and horror at the disturbance of this hallowed ground by utilitarian pickaxe and spade.

They call your attention to the fact that not only did the venerable tower come crashing down, after having stood for centuries erect, but that in falling it struck to the earth St. Crallo's cross--an upright stone in the churchyard as venerable as itself--breaking it all to pieces.

FOOTNOTE:

[183] 'Mabinogion,' 8. II.

A hollow in the road near Caerau, in Cardiganshire, 'rings when any wheeled vehicle goes over it.'

Early in this century, two men having been led to believe that there were treasures hidden there (for a fairy in the semblance of a gipsy had appeared and thrown out hints on the fascinating subject from time to time), made up their minds to dig for it.

They dug accordingly until they came, by their solemn statement, to the oaken frame of a subterranean doorway; and feeling sure now, that they had serious work before them, prepared for the same by going to dinner.

They had no sooner gone than a terrible storm arose; the rain fell in torrents, the thunder pealed and the lightning flashed.

When they went back to their work, the hole they had digged was closed up; and nothing would convince them that this was done by any other than a supernatural agency.

Moreover, but a little above the place where they were, there had been no rain at all.

[184] FOOTNOTE:

[184] 'Arch.

Camb.'

3rd Se.

, ix.

, 306. III.

There is a current belief among the peasants about Moel Arthur--a mountain overlooking the Vale of Clwyd--that treasure, concealed in an iron chest with a ring-handle to it, lies buried there.

The place of concealment is often illuminated at night by a supernatural light.

Several people thereabouts are known to have seen the light, and there are even men who will tell you that bold adventurers have so far succeeded as to grasp the handle of the iron chest, when an outburst of wild tempest wrested it from their hold and struck them senseless.

Local tradition points out the place as the residence of an ancient prince, and as a spot charmed against the spade of the antiquary.

'Whoever digs there,' said an old woman in Welsh to some men going home from their work on this spot, after a drenching wet day, 'is always driven away by thunder and lightning and storm; you have been served like everybody else who has made the attempt.'

IV.

So prevalent are superstitions of this class even in the present day that cases get into the newspapers now and then.

The 'Herald Cymraeg' of September 25, 1874, gave an account of some excavations made at Pant-y-Saer cromlech, Anglesea, by the instigation of John Jones of Llandudno, 'a brother of Isaac Jones, the present tenant of Pant-y-Saer,' at the time on a visit to the latter.

The immediately exciting cause of the digging was a dream in which the dreamer was told that there was a pot of treasure buried within the cromlech's precincts.

The result was the revelation of a large number of human bones, among them five lower jaws with the teeth sound; but no crochan aur (pitcher of gold) turned up, and the digging was abandoned in disgust.

Is it credible that between this account and the following yawns the gulf of seven hundred years?

Thus Giraldus: In the province of Kemeys, one of the seven cantrefs of Pembrokeshire, 'during the reign of King Henry I. , a rich man who had a residence on the northern side of the Preseleu mountains was warned for three successive nights by dreams that if he put his hand under a stone which hung over the spring of a neighbouring well called the Fountain of St. Bernacus, he should find there a golden chain; obeying the admonition, on the third day he received from a viper a deadly wound in his finger; but as it appears that many treasures have been discovered through dreams, it seems to me probable that some ought and some ought not to be believed.'

[185] FOOTNOTE:

[185] Sir R. C.

Hoare's Giraldus, 'Itin.

Camb.'

ii.

, 37. V.

In a certain cavern in Glamorganshire, called the Ogof Cigfrain, or Cavern of the Ravens, is said to be a chest of gold, watched over by two birds of gloomy plumage, in a darkness so profound that nothing can be seen but the fire of their sleepless eyes.

To go there with the purpose of disturbing them is to bring on a heaving and rolling of the ground, accompanied by thunder and lightning.

A swaggering drover from Brecknockshire, though warned by a 'dark woman' that he had better not try it, sneered that 'a couple of ravens were a fine matter to be afraid of indeed!'

and ventured into the cavern, with a long rope about his waist, and a lantern in his hand.

Some men who accompanied him (seeing that he was bent on this rash and dangerous emprise,) held the coil of rope, and paid it out as he went further and further in.

The result was prompt and simple: the sky cracked with loud bursts of thunder and flashes of lightning, and the drover roared with affright and rushed out of the dark cavern with his hair on end.

No coaxing ever prevailed on him to reveal the terrible sights he had seen; when questioned he would only repeat in Welsh the advice of 'Punch' to those about to marry, viz.

, 'Peidiwch!'

VI.

In the legend of Castell Coch, instead of a raven it is a pair of huge eagles which watch the treasure.

Castell Coch is an easy and pleasant two hours' walk from Cardiff Castle, with which it is vulgarly believed to be connected by a subterranean passage.

A short time ago--well, to be precise, a hundred years ago, but that is no time at all in the history of Castell Coch, which was a crumbling ruin then as it is now[186]--in or about the year 1780, a reduced lady was allowed to fit up three or four rooms in the ruin as a residence, and to live there with two old servants of her house.

One night this lady was awakened from her sleep to receive the visit of a venerable ghost in a full dress-suit of an earlier century, who distressed her by his troubled countenance and vexed her by his eccentric behaviour, for when she spoke to him from the depths of her nightcap he at once got through the wall.

He came on subsequent nights so often, and frightened the servants so much by the noise he made--in getting through the wall, of course--that the lady gave up her strange abode, and was glad to pay house rent ever after in other parts.

This old ghost was in the flesh proprietor of the castle, it appears, and during the civil wars buried an iron chest full of gold in the subterranean passage--which is still there, guarded by two large eagles.

A party of gentlemen who somewhere about 1800 attempted to explore the passage saw the eagles, and were attacked by the birds of freedom so fiercely that they retreated in disorder.

Subsequently they returned with pistols and shot the eagles, which resented this trifling impertinence by tearing the treasure-seekers in a shocking manner.

After having recovered from their wounds, the determined Welshmen renewed the attack--this time with silver bullets, which they had got blessed by a good-natured priest.

The bullets rattled harmlessly on the feathers of the terrible birds; the ground shook under foot; rain descended in torrents; with their great wings the eagles beat out the gold-hunters' torches, and they barely escaped with their lives.

FOOTNOTE:

[186] It is at present being entirely restored and made habitable by its owner, Lord Bute.

VII.

The shadowy Horror which keeps vigil over these hidden treasures is now a dragon, again a raven or an eagle, again a worm.

In the account of the treasure-seeker of Nantyglyn, it is a winged creature of unknown nature, a 'mysterious incubus,' which broods over the chest in the cave.

The terrible Crocodile of the Lake, which was drawn from its watery hiding-place by the Ychain Banog, or Prominent Oxen of Hu Gadarn, is also sometimes called a dragon (draig) in those local accounts which survive in the folk-lore of several different districts.

It infested the region round about the lake where it lay concealed, and the mighty oxen so strained themselves in the labour of drawing it forth that one of them died and the other rent the mountain in twain with his bellowing.

Various legends of Sleeping Warriors appear in Welsh folk-lore, in which the dragon is displaced by a shadowy army of slumbering heroes, lying about in a circle, with their swords and shields by their sides, guarding great heaps of gold and silver.

Now they are Owen Lawgoch and his men, who lie in their enchanted sleep in a cavern on the northern side of Mynydd Mawr, in Carmarthenshire; again they are Arthur and his warriors, asleep in a secret ogof under Craig-y-Ddinas, waiting for a day when the Briton and the Saxon shall go to war, when the noise of the struggle will awaken them, and they will reconquer the island, reduce London to dust, and re-establish their king at Caerleon, in Monmouthshire.

Dragon or demon, raven or serpent, eagle or sleeping warriors, the guardian of the underground vaults in Wales where treasures lie is a personification of the baleful influences which reside in caverns, graves, and subterraneous regions generally.

It is something more than this, when traced back to its source in the primeval mythology; the dragon which watched the golden apples of Hesperides, and the Payshtha-more, or great worm, which in Ireland guards the riches of O'Rourke, is the same malarious creature which St. Samson drove out of Wales.

According to the monkish legend, this pestiferous beast was of vast size, and by its deadly breath had destroyed two districts.

It lay hid in a cave, near the river.

Thither went St. Samson, accompanied only by a boy, and tied a linen girdle about the creature's neck, and drew it out and threw it headlong from a certain high eminence into the sea.

[187] This dreadful dragon became mild and gentle when addressed by the saint; did not lift up its terrible wings, nor gnash its teeth, nor put out its tongue to emit its fiery breath, but suffered itself to be led to the sea and hurled therein.

[188] In the 'Mabinogion,' the dragon which fights in Lludd's dominion is mentioned as a plague, whose shriek sounded on every May eve over every hearth in Britain; and it 'went through people's hearts, and so scared them, that the men lost their hue and their strength, and the women their children, and the young men and maidens lost their senses.'

[189] 'Whence came the _red_ dragon of Cadwaladr?'

asks the learned Thomas Stephens.

[190] 'Why was the Welsh dragon in the fables of Merddin, Nennius, and Geoffrey, described as _red_, while the Saxon dragon was _white_?'

The question may remain long unanswered, for the reason that there is no answer outside the domain of fancy, and therefore no reason which could in our day be accepted as reasonable.

[191] The Welsh word 'dragon' means equally a dragon and a leader in war.

Red was the most honourable colour of military garments among the British in Arthur's day; and Arthur wore a dragon on his helmet, according to tradition.

His haughty helmet, horrid all with gold, Both glorious brightness and great terror bred, For all the crest a dragon did enfold With greedy paws.

[192] But the original dragon was an embodiment of mythological ideas as old as mankind, and older than any written record.

The mysterious beast of the boy Taliesin's song, in the marvellous legend of Gwion Bach, is a dragon worthy to be classed with the gigantic conceptions of the primeval imagination, which sought by these prodigious figures to explain all the phenomena of nature.

'A noxious creature from the rampart of Satanas,' sings Taliesin; with jaws as wide as mountains;

in the hair of its two paws there is the load of nine hundred waggons, and in the nape of its neck three springs arise, through which sea-roughs swim.

[193] FOOTNOTES:

[187] 'Liber Landavensis,' 301. [188] Ibid.

, 347. [189] 'Mabinogion,' 461. [190] 'Literature of the Kymry,' 25. [191] Mr. Conway, in his erudite chapter on the Basilisk, appears to think that the red colour of the Welsh dragon, in the legend of Merlin and Vortigern, determines its moral character; that it illustrates the evil principle in the struggle between right and wrong, or light and darkness, as black does in the Persian legends of fighting serpents.

--'Demonology and Devil-Lore,' p. 369. (London, Chatto and Windus, 1879. ) [192] Spenser, 'Faerie Queene.'

[193] 'Mabinogion,' 484. VIII.

For the prototype of the dragon-haunted caves and treasure-hills of Wales, we must look to the lightning caverns of old Aryan fable, into which no man might gaze and live, and which were in fact the attempted explanation of thunderstorms, when the clouds appeared torn asunder by the lightning.

Scholars have noted the impressive fact that the ancient Aryan people had the same name for cloud and mountain; in the Old Norse, 'klakkr' means both cloud and rock, and indeed the English word cloud has been identified with the Anglo-Saxon 'clud,' rock.

[194] Equally significant here is the fact that in the Welsh language 'draig' means both lightning and dragon.

Primeval man, ignorant that the cloud was in any way different in structure from the solid mountains whose peaks it emulated in appearance, started back aghast and trembling when with crashing thunders the celestial rocks opened, displaying for an instant the glowing cavern whose splendour haunted his dreams.

From this phenomenon, whose goblins modern science has tamed and taught to run errands along a wire, came a host of glittering legends, the shining hammer of Thor, the lightning spear of Odin, the enchanted arrow of Prince Ahmed, and the forked trident of Poseidon, as well as the fire-darting dragons of our modern folk-lore.

[Illustration: {THISTLE DECORATION.

}] FOOTNOTE:

[194] Max Mueller, 'Rig-Veda,' i. 44. And see Mr. Baring-Gould's 'Curious Myths of the Middle Ages,' etc. INDEX

A.

Aberdovey, the Bells of, 339, 344 Aderyn y Corph, the, 212 All Fools' Day, 274 All Hallows, 280 Alluring Stone, the, 367 American Ghost Stories, 139, 185 Angels, Apparitions of, 208 Animals' Terrors at Goblins, 171 Annwn, the World of Shadows, 7, 34 Antic Spirits, 180 Aphrodite, the Welsh, 350 Apple Gift, the, 253 Arian y Rhaw, 333 Arthur, the Mythic and the Historic, vii.

Arthur's Dog, 363 " Pot, 369 " Quoits, 370 " Round Table, 369 " Seat, Bed, Castle, Stone, etc. , 369 Ascension Day, Curious Superstition concerning, 25 Aura, the Human, its Perception by Dogs, 172 Avagddu, 219 Avalon, 8 B.

Ball-playing in Churchyards, 272 Bangu, the, 340 Banshee, the, 212 " " in America, 247 Banwan Bryddin, the Stone of, 374 Barnwell, Rev. E.

L.

, cited, 324 Baron's Gate, Legend of the, 127 Barry Island, Mysterious Noises on, 353 Basilisks in Mines, 27 Beer-drinking at Funerals, 322 Bells, Superstitions concerning, 339 " of Aberdovey, 339, 344 " " St. Cadoc, 339 " " Rhayader, Legend of the, 341 " " St. Illtyd, 342 " " St. Oudoceus, 343 Beltane Fires, 278 Bendith y Mamau, 12 Betty Griffith and the Fairies, 115 Birds of Rhiannon, the, 91 Blabbing, Penalty of, 119 Black Book of Carmarthen, the, 350 " Maiden of Caerleon, the, 219 " Man of Ffynon yr Yspryd, 178 " Men in the Mabinogion, 178 Blue Petticoat, Old Elves of the, 132 Bogie, the, 32 Boxing-day, 295 Branwen, Daughter of Llyr, 91 Bread and Cheese in Fairy Mythology, 44 Brownie, the, 186 Bundling, or Courting Abed, 300 Buns, 267 Burial Customs, 321 Bush of Heaven, Legend of the, 73 Bute, the Marquis of, cited, 136 Bwbach, the, 30 " and the Preacher, the, 30 C.

Cadogan's Ghost, 149 Cadwaladr's Goat, the Legend of, 54 Cae Caled, the Dwarfs of, 28 Cae Mawr, the Mowing of, 61 Caerau, the Woman of, 239 Caerphilly, the Green Lady of, 132 Calan Ebrill, 274 Can y Tylwyth Teg, the, 99 Canna's Stone, 362 Canrig Bwt, the Legend of, 368 Canwyll Corph, the, 238 Caradoc the Bloody, 348 Caridwen's Caldron, 88 Carols, 288 Carrying the Kings, 276 " Cynog, 279 " Mortals through the Air, 157, 163 Castell Coch, the Eagles of, 390 " Correg, 380 Catrin Gwyn, the Legend of, 144 Catti Shon, the Witch of Pencader, 77 Cavern of Ravens, the, 389 Ceffyl Pren, the, 319 Chained Spirit, the, 168 Chaining at Weddings, 313 Changelings, 56 Cheese in Welsh Fairy Tales, 44 Christmas Observances, 286 Classification of Fairies, 11 " " Ghosts, 141 " " Customs, 252 Coblynau, 24 Cock-crow, Fairy Dislike of, 112 " a Death Omen when Untimely, 213 Colliers' Star, the, 294 Colour in Fairy Costume, 131 Compacts with the Diawl, 202 Conway, Mr. , cited, 393 Coolstrin, the, 317 Corpse, an Insulted, 146 " Bird, the, 212 " Candle, the, 238 Courting Abed, 300 Courtship and Marriage, 298 Craig y Ddinas, a Fairy Haunt, 6 Criminals' Graves, Superstitions concerning, 331 Crocodile of the Lake, the, 392 Cromlechs, Superstitions concerning, 379 " Legendary Names of, 381 Cross-roads, Stones at, 368 Crown of Porcelain, the, 269 Crumlyn Lake, Legend of, 35 Curiosity Tales, 86 Cursing Wells, 355 Customs, Superstitious and Traditional, 250 Cutty Wren, the, 257 Cwm Llan, the Shepherds of, 121 Cwm Pwca, Breconshire, 20 Cwn Annwn, 233 Cwn y Wybr, 233 Cyhyraeth, the, 219 " of St. Mellons, the, 221 " " the Sea-coast, the, 221 D.

Dancing Stones of Stackpool, the, 375 Dancing in Churchyards, 273 " with Fairies, 70 Death Portents, 212 Devil, when Invented, 210 " as a Familiar Spirit, 197 " exorcising the, 199 " in his Customary Form, 202 " measured for a Suit of Clothes, 202 " his Stupidity, 202 " as a Bridge-builder, 206 " at Tintern Abbey, 207 " and the Foul Pipe, a Legend, 204 Devil's Bridge, Legends of the, 205 " Nags, the, 170 " Pulpit, the, 207 " Stone at Llanarth, the, 378 Dewi Dal and the Fairies, 61 Didactic Purpose in Welsh Fairy Tales, 44 " " " Spirits, 145 Dissenters, Fairy Antipathy to, 6 Divination, 302 Dog of Darkness, the, 168 Dogs of the Fairies, 234 " " Hell, 233 " " the Sky, 233 " Fetichistic Notions of, 172 " Ghosts of, 167 Dracae, 47 Dragons, 391 Dreams of Flying, 164 Druidic Fires, 278 Druids, Fairies Hiding, 129 Duffryn House, the Ghost of, 143 Duty-compelled Ghosts, 146 Dwarfs, 27 Dwynwen, the Welsh Venus, 299, 350 Dyfed, the Ancient, 5 E.

Early Inscribed Stones, Superstitions concerning, 373 Easter Customs, 269 Egg-shell Pottage, Story of the, 60 Eisteddfodau, 293 Eithin Hedges, a Protection against Fairies, 115 Elf Queen, the, 14 Elfin Dames, 34 " Cow, the, 36 Elidurus, the Tale of, 65 Ellylldan, the, 18 Ellyllon, 12 Elves, 13 Enchanted Harp, the, 94 Epimenides, 89 Equestrian Fairies, 107 " Ghosts, 174 Eumenides, 12 Euphemisms, 12, 114, 209 Excalibur, 53 Exorcism of Changelings, 57 " " Devils, 199 " " Fairies, 112, 116 " " Ghosts, 165 " " Child-stealing Elves, 62 Expanding Stone, the, 365 F.

Fair Folk, 12 Fairies, existing belief in, 2 " King of the, 6 " Welsh names of, 12 " at Market, 9 " of the Mines, 24 " of the Lakes, 34 " of the Mountains, 49 " Dancing with, 70 " of Frennifawr, Legend of the, 82 " on Horseback, 107 " the Red, 127 " hiding Druids, 129 " why in Wales, 132 " their Origin, 127 " Bad Spirits, 134 " on familiar terms with Ghosts, 157 " of the Cromlechs, 380 Fairy Land, 5 " Queen, 14 " Islands, 8, 45 " Food, 13 " Gloves, 13 " Coal-mining, 27 " Father, the, 45 " a, captured by a Welshwoman, 78 " Song, 99 " Rings, 103 " Conversations, 106 " Battle, a, 107 " Animals, 108 " Sheepfold, the, 109 " Gifts, 119 " Tales, debris of Ancient Mythology, 135 Falling of Coychurch Tower, 386 Familiar Spirits, 187 " " in Female Form, 191 Family Ghosts, 142 Fatal Draught, the, 83 Fetches, 215 Fetichism, 338 Fetichistic Notions of Lower Animals, 171 Ffarwel Ned Pugh, 99 Ffynon yr Yspryd, 178 Ffynon Canna, 362 Fiend Master, Legend of the, 86 Fire-damp Goblins, 27 Fires, Mysterious, 213 First Foot on New Year's Day, 254 First Night of Winter, 280 Flowering Sunday, 266 Food at Funerals, 322 Forest of the Yew, Legend of the, 73 Foul Pipe, Story of the, 204 Fountain of Venus, the, 350 Fountains Flowing with Milk, 356 Fourth of July, 278 Frennifawr, the Fairies of, 82 Friday, its Bad Reputation, 268 Frugal Meal, Legend of the, 58 Funeral Customs, 321 " the Goblin, 231 Future Life, the Question of a, 247 Fuwch Gyfeiliorn, the, 36 G.

Gallery under the Sea, 10 Gast Rhymhi, the Legend of, 381 Ghosts, Existing Belief in, 137 " in America, 139 " Classification of, 141 " with a Duty to Perform, 146 " of Ebbw Vale, 142 " on Horseback, 154, 174 " Exorcising, 165 " of Animals, 167 " Grotesque, 174 " Gigantic, 176 " their Origin, 247 " of Bells, 339 " Stories of-- The Weaver's Ghost, 147 Cadogan's Ghost, 149 The Ghost of Ystradgynlais, 157 The Admiral's Ghost, 143 The Miser's Ghost, 152 The Ghost of St. Donat's, 143 The Pont Cwnca Bach Ghost, 144 The Ghost of Noe, 147 Anne Dewy's Ghost, 153 The Clifford Castle Ghost, 155 The Ghost of Ty'n-y-Twr, 155 The Ghost of the Silver Spurs, 156 The Tridoll Valley Sprite, 181 The Mynyddyslwyn Sprite, 187 Giants, 370 Giants' Dance, the, 371 Gigantic Ghosts, 176 Giraldus Cambrensis, 65 Gitto Bach, the Legend of, 119 Gnomes, 24 Goats, Strange Beliefs concerning, 53 Gobelin, the French, 32 Goblin Animals, 167 " Funerals, 231 God's Name as an Exorcism, 112 " " in the Bardic Traditions, 209 Good Friday Customs, 266 Good Old Times, the, 252 Grassless Grave, Legend of the, 331 Green Lady of Caerphilly, the, 132 " Meadows of the Sea, 8 Groaning Spirits, 222 Grotesque Ghosts, 174 Guest, Lady Charlotte, 5 Guy Fawkes Day Customs, 284 Gwahoddwr, the, 307 Gwenfrewi, Legend of, 347 Gwerddonau Llion, 8 Gwion Bach (Taliesin), 88, 394 Gwrach y Rhibyn, the, 216 Gwragedd Annwn, the, 34 Gwraig of the Golden Boat, the, 41 Gwydion, the Wizard Monarch, 5 Gwyllgi, the, 168 Gwyllion, 49 Gwyn ap Nudd, 6, 372 H.

Hafod Lwyddog, Legend of, 124 Hallow E'en Customs, 280 Hares, Mythological Details, 162 Harp Music among Welsh Fairies, 94 Haunted Bridge, the, 144 " Castles and Houses, 143 " Margaret, 165 Headless Horse, the, 216 Hecate, 49 Hermes, 236 Hidden Treasures and Perturbed Ghosts, 151 " " Dragon-Guarded, 386 Hobgoblin, 32 Holy Thursday, Superstition concerning, 25, 268 Horse-Weddings, 310 Hot-cross Buns, 267 Household Fairy, the, 31 Howell Dda, 298 I.

Iago ap Dewi's Seven Years' Absence, 88 Ianto Llewellyn and the Fairies, 123 Idris the Giant, 370 Incubus, 193 Inscribed Stones, Superstitious Dread of, 373 Iolo ap Hugh, the Legend of, 99 Islands, the Enchanted, 8 J.

Jack-muh-Lantern, 18 Jennet Francis and the Fairy Child-Stealers, 62 John the Red Nose, 258 Jones, the Prophet, 104 Juan White, the Spirit of, 50 K.

Knife, Exorcism by the, 52 Knockers in Mines, 24 Kobolds, 29 L.

Lady of the Fountain, 178, 385 " " Wood, Legend of the, 193 Lake Fairies, 34 Lang, A. , cited, 197 Language of the Fairies, 106 Lapse of Time under Enchantment, 89 Laws of the Welsh Spirit-World, 148 Leek, Wearing of the, 260 Lenten Customs, 266 Levitation of Mortals, 157, 163 Levy Dew, 255 Lies, the Tump of, 273 Lifting at Easter, 269 Lightning Caverns, 394 Linen, its Ancient Value, 133 Listening at the Church Door, 214 Lisworney-Crossways, the Legend of, 169 Living with Fairies, 65 Llandaff Gwrach y Rhibyn, the, 217 Llechlafar Stone, 364 Lledrith, the, 215 Llwyd the Magician, 159, 190 Llwyn y Nef, the Bush of Heaven, 72 Llyn Barfog, the Fairy Maiden of, 36 " y Dywarchen, the Lady of, 44 " y Fan Fach, the Sirens of, 38 " Glas, the Shepherd of, 124 " y Morwynion, the Maidens' Lake, 47 Logan Stones, Superstitions concerning, 378 Lord and Beggar, Legend of the, 230 Love Charms, 302 Lucky Days, 268 Lukis, J. W.

, cited, 3, 380 Luther and the Changeling, 57 M.

Mab, 14 Mabinogion, the, 5, 14, 91 Magic Carpet, 164 " Harp, 95 Maidens' Lake, the, 47 Maid's Trick, the, 302 Making Christ's Bed, 267 Mallt y Nos, the, 215 Marget yr Yspryd, 165 Mari Lwyd, the, 256 Marketing on Tombstones, 280 Marriage Customs, 306 May-day Customs, 274 Meddygon Myddfai, Legend of the, 38 Melerius, the Legend of, 192 Melusina, the Welsh, 381 Memorials of Arthur, 369 Men of Ardudwy, the Legend of the, 47 Merlin the Enchanter, as a Stone Remover, 371 " " " and the Red Dragon, 393 " an Early Myth, viii.

Mermaids, 35, 47 Merthyr, the Rector of, cited, 3 Methodists, Banishers of Fairies, 6 Mid-Lent Sunday, 266 Midsummer Eve, 277 Milford Haven, the Fairies at, 9 Milk from Fountains, 356 Milk-white Milch Cow, Legend of the, 37 Mine Goblins, 24 Miner's Wraith, the, 215 Mirage, 173 Moel Arthur, the Treasure-Chest of, 388 Moelfre Hill, the Women of, 376 Mol Walbec the Giantess, 370 Monacella's Lambs, 162 Money thrown in Wells, 354 Morgan, Born of the Sea, 47 Morgana, 7 Mothering Sunday, 266 Mountain Ash, the Three Rods of, 210 " the Old Woman of the, 49 Mourning in Lent, 266 Music in Welsh Fairy Tales, 91, 98 Myfyr Morganwg, 277 Mystic Wells, 345 N.

Nadolig, 286 Names of Welsh Fairies, 12 Nant yr Ellyllon, 79 Narberth in Mythic Story, 198, 234 New Year's Day Customs, 252 Night Fiend, the, 215 Nights for Spirits, the Three, 280 Nis, the, 186 Noises, Mysterious, on Barry Island, 353 North Wales, Fairyland in, 5 Nos Calan Gauaf, 280 O.

Oaks, Superstitions concerning, 105 Odin's Spear, 395 Offrwm, the, 332 Old Woman of the Mountain, 49 " " " Torrent, 216 Origins of Fairies, 127 " " the Devil, 210 " " Death Omens, 245 " " Customs, 251 " " Spirits, 247 " " Mystic Well Superstitions, 359 " " Superstitions regarding Stones, 383 " " Dragons, 395 Owen Lawgoch and his Enchanted Men, 392 Owl's Screech a Death Omen, 213 P.

Palm Sunday Customs, 266 Pant Shon Shenkin, the Legend of, 75 Pant-y-Madoc, the Gwyllgi of, 170 Pant-y-Saer, the Treasure-Hunter of, 389 Parc-y-Bigwrn, the Cromlech of, 382 Parson's Penny, 332 Pebble-Tossers, Gigantic, 370 Pembrokeshire a Land of Mystery, 10 Peredur, the Legend of, 202, 366 Phantom Horseman, the, 174 " Ships and Islands, 173 Pigmies, 24 Pins in Enchantment, 354 Place of Strife, the Legend of the, 59 Plant Annwn, 34 Planting Weeds on Graves, 298 " Flowers on Graves, 299, 336 Plentyn-newid, the, 56 Plygain, the, 294 Poetico-Religious Theory of Fairies' Origin, 134 Polly Williams and the Fairies, 81 Polyphemus, the Welsh, 179, 202 Pontypridd, Druidic Ceremonies at, 277 Preacher and Bwbach, the, 30 Prolific Woman, Legend of the, 133 Pronunciation of Welsh Words, Preface Propitiation of Goblins, 12, 114 Psyche, 86 Puck, the Welsh, 20 Puzzling Jug, the, 283 Pwca'r Trwyn, Account of, 187 " " chastises a Servant Girl, 22 " " travels in a Jug, 118 " " a Proscribed Noble, 128 " " was it a Fairy, 190 Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, 234 Q.

Quintain, the, 284, 313 Quoits, Arthur's, 370 R.

Ravens, Cave of the, 389 Realistic Theory of Fairies' Origin, 129 Red Book of Hergest (Llyfr Coch), 5 " Fairies, the, 127 " Lady of Paviland, the, 386 Rhamanta, 302 Rhitta Gawr, the Giant, 372 Rhys and Llewellyn, the Story of, 70 Rice at Weddings, 314 Richard the Tailor, 160 Rip Van Winkle, the Original of, 89 Robber's Stone, the, 376 Rocking Stone, Superstitions concerning, 378 Rowli Pugh and the Ellyll, 15 S.

Sabbath-breakers Turned to Stone, 376 Sacred Wells, 345 Sagranus Stone, the, 375 Sailors' Superstitions, 9 St. Barruc's Well, 352 St. Ceyna, the Legend of, 377 St. Clement's Day, 284 St. Collen, the Legend of, 7 St. Cynfran's Well, 351 St. Cynhafal's Well, 351 St. David the Introducer of Death Portents into Wales, 245 " his Day, 259 " his Legendary Character, 260 St. Dogmell's Parish, 69, 273 St. Dwynwen's Well, 350 St. Elian's Well, 355 St. George's Well, 351 St. Gwenfrewi, the Legend of, 347 St. Gwynwy's Well, 353 St. Illtyd's Well, 357 St. John's Eve, 277 St. Mary's Well, 346 St. Melangell's Lambs, 162 St. Patrick and the Elfin Dames, 35 " a Welshman, 264 " his Day, 264 St. Samson and the Dragon, 392 St. Tegla's Well, 329, 349 St. Tydecho's Blue Stone, 367 St. Ulric's Day, 279 St. Valentine's Day, 259 St. Winifred's Well, 346 Salt at Funerals, 328 Sanford's Well, 358 Scapegoat, the, 329 Science, the Marvels of, 248 Seeing the Sun Dance, 273 Serpents Turned to Stones, 377 Seven Whistlers, the, 213 Sgilti Yscawndroed, the Lightfooted, 164 Shakspeare, his use of Welsh Folk-Lore, 14, 44 " his Visit to Wales, 20 Shepherds of Cwm Llan, the Legends of the, 121 Shoe-throwing, 314 Shon ap Shenkin, the Story of, 92 Showmen's Superstitions, 255 Shrove Tuesday, 265 Shui Rees and the Fairies, 67 Sin-eater, the, 324 Sion Cent the Magician, 203 Skulls, 145 Sleeping Saints, the, 73 " Heroes, Legends of, 162, 392 Snake Stone, the, 278 Soul, its Future Destiny, 249 Souls of Dogs, 167 Sowling, 258 Spade Money, 333 Spectral Animals, 167 Spirit Fountain, the, 178 " Life, the Question of a, 249 " Nights, the Three, 280 " World, Laws Governing the Welsh, 148 Spirits' Antics, 180 Spiritual Hunting Dogs, 235 Spiritualism, 139 Spitting at the Name of the Devil, 209 Stanley, Hon. W.

O.

, cited, 19, 115 Stone-throwing Spirits, 180, 185 Stone-tossing Giants, 370 Stone-worship, 361 Stone of Invisibility, the, 365 " " Remembrance, the, 366 " " Golden Gifts, the, 366 Stones, Curious Superstitions concerning, 361 " at Cross-roads, 368 " of Healing, 367 Storms, Baleful Spirits of, 385 Stripping the Carpenter, 284 Suicides, Superstitions concerning, 146, 331 Sul Coffa, 335 Summoning Spirits, 199 Supernatural, What is the, 248 Superstition, its Degree of Prevalence, 138, 251 " in the United States, 139, 252 Sweethearts' Charms, 302 T.

Taff's Well, 358 Taffy ap Sion, the Shoemaker's Son, Legend of, 75 Tailor Magician of Glanbran, the, 200 Taliesin, the Tale of, 88 " his Dragon, 394 Talking Stone, the, 364 Tan-wedd, the, 213 Teetotallers, Fairy Antipathy to, 6 Teir-nos Ysprydnos, 280 Terrors of the Brute, Creation at Apparitions, 171 Teulu, the, 231 Thief-catching Stone, the, 366 Thigh Stone, the, 363 Thomas, Rev. Dr. , cited, 300 Thor's Hammer, 395 Three Blows, the Story of the, 40 " Losses by Disappearance, the, 9 " Nights for Spirits, the, 280 Throwing at Cocks, 265 Thunder and Lightning as a Death Omen, 213 Toads and Warts, 352 Tolaeth, the, 225 Tolling the Bell, 340 Tooling, 258 Toriad y Dydd, 125 Transformation of Human Beings to Animals, 167, 381 " " " Stone, 374, 376 Transportation through the Air, 157, 163 Trichrug, the Giant of, 371 Tricking the Diawl, 203 Tridoll Valley Ghost, the, 181 Tudur of Llangollen, the Story of, 79 Tump of Lies, the, 273 Twelfth Night Customs, 256 Tylwyth Teg, the, 12 U.

Unknowable, the, 138 Unlucky Days, 268 V.

Vale of Neath, the, its Goblin Fame, 6 Vavasor Powell and the Devil, 198 Veil, the Goblin, 232 Venus, the Welsh, 299 " " her Well, 350 Villemarque cited, 58 W.

Walking Barefoot to Church, 266 Walking-stones, 363 Warts, 351, 367 Water Maidens, 47 " Worship, 359 Wedding Customs, 306 Wells, Mystic, 345 Wesley's Belief in Apparitions, 141 Whistlers, the, 213 Whistling Goblin, the, 178 White as a Fairy Colour, 132 " Catti of the Grove Cave, 144 Whitening Doorsteps to Keep off the Devil, 207 Wife of Supernatural Race, 38 Wild Huntsman, 235 Will-o'-Wisp, 20 Witches Sleeping under Stones, 368 Wonder Stone of Banwan Bryddin, the, 374 Wraiths, 215 Y.

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