Welsh Folk Lore

E >> Elias Owen >> Welsh Folk Lore

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_Luck comes with a Strange Swarm_.

It is considered very lucky indeed to find that a strange swarm of bees
has arrived in the garden, or tree, belonging to a cottager. The advent
of the bees is joyfully welcomed, and the conversation of the neighbours
on such an occasion intimates that they think that good fortune has come
with them to the person whom they have condescended to honour with their
presence.

Occasionally, if bees settle down on property of doubtful ownership, a
good deal of wrangling and bad feeling arises between the rival claimants
for their possession.

_It is considered unlucky for Bees to fly away from their owner_.

As the coming of a strange swarm of bees is indicative of good luck to
the person to whom they come, so the decamping of a swarm shows that
misfortune is about to visit the person whom they leave.

_Bees in a Roof_.

It was thought lucky when bees made their home in the roof, or indeed in
any part of a house, and this they could easily do when houses were
thatched with straw. Many a swarm of bees found shelter in the roofs of
ancient churches, but in our days bees are seldom found in either houses
or churches.

_Informing Bees of a Death in a Family_.

Formerly it was the custom to tell the bees of a death in the family.
The head of the house whispered the news to the bees in the hive. If
this were neglected, it was thought that another death would soon follow
the previous one. Instead of speaking to the bees, it was the custom, in
some parts of Wales, to turn the bee-hive round before starting the
funeral. This was always done by the representative of the family, and
it also was thought to be a protection against death.

Mrs. Jones, Rhydycroesau Rectory, informed me that an old man, David
Roberts of Llanyblodwel, once came to her in deep grief, after the
funeral of his grandchild, because he had forgotten to turn the bee-hive
before the funeral started for the church. He said that he was in such
distress at the loss of the child, that he had neglected to tell the bees
of the death, and, said he, some other member of the family is now sure
to go. He informed Mrs. Jones that he had turned the hive at the death
of his old woman, and that consequently no death had followed hers in his
family.

_Putting Bees in Mourning_.

This is done after a death in a family, and the bees are put into
mourning by tying a piece of black ribbon on a bit of wood, and inserting
it into the hole at the top of the hive.

_Stolen Bees_.

It was believed that stolen bees would not make honey, and that the hive
which had been stolen would die.

_A Swarm entering a House_.

Should a swarm enter a house, it was considered unlucky, and usually it
was a sign of death to someone living in that house.

The culture of bees was once more common than it is, and therefore they
were much observed, and consequently they figure in the folk-lore of most
nations.

_Cat_.

The cat was thought to be a capital weather glass. If she stood or lay
with her face towards the fire, it was a sign of frost or snow; if she
became frisky, bad weather was near. If the cat washed her face,
strangers might be expected; and if she washed her face and ears, then
rain was sure to come. A _black_ cat was supposed to bring luck to a
house, thus:--

Cath ddu, mi glywais dd'wedyd,
A fedr swyno hefyd,
A chadw'r teulu lle mae'n hyw
O afael pob rhyw glefyd.

A black cat, I've heard it said,
Can charm all ill away,
And keep the house wherein she dwells
From fever's deadly sway.

Cats born in May, or May cats, were no favourites. They were supposed to
bring snakes or adders into the house. This supposition has found
utterance:--

Cathod mis Mai
Ddaw a nadrodd i'r tai.

Cats born in May
Bring snakes to the house.

In some parts the black cat was otherwise thought of than is stated
above, for this injunction is heard:--

Na chadw byth yn nghylch dy dy
Na cheiliog gwyn na chath ddu.

Never keep about thy house
A white cock or _black_ puss.

Cats are so tenacious of life that they are said to have nine lives. We
have already spoken of witches transforming themselves into cats.

A singular superstition connected with cats is the supposition that they
indicate the place to which the dead have gone by ascending or descending
trees immediately after the death of a person.

The Rev. P. W. Sparling, Rector of Erbistock, informed me that one day a
parishioner met him, and told him that his brother, who had lately died,
was in hell, and that he wished the Rector to get him out. Mr. Sparling
asked him how he knew where his brother was, and in answer the man said
that he knew, because he had seen his brother in the form of a white cat
descend a tree immediately after his death. On further inquiry, the man
stated that since the cat came _down the tree_, it was a sign that his
brother had gone down to hell; but had the cat _gone up the tree_, it
would have shown that he had gone up to heaven.

I have heard it stated, but by whom I have forgotten, that if a _black_
cat leaves a house where a person dies, immediately after that person's
death, it shows he has gone to the bad place; but if a white cat, that he
has gone to heaven.

_Cows._

_Cows Kneeling on Christmas Morn._

In the upland parishes of Wales, particularly those in Montgomeryshire,
it was said, and that not so long ago, that cows knelt at midnight on
Christmas eve, to adore the infant Saviour. This has been affirmed by
those who have witnessed the strange occurrence.

Cows bringing forth two calves are believed to bring luck to a farmer;
but in some parts of Wales a contrary view is taken of this matter.

If the new born calf is seen by the mistress of the house with its head
towards her, as she enters the cowhouse to view her new charge and
property, it is a lucky omen, but should any other part of the calf
present itself to the mistress's view, it is a sign of bad luck.

Witches were thought to have great power over cows, and it was not
unusual for farmers to think that their cows, if they did not thrive, had
been bewitched.

_Crickets_.

It is lucky to have crickets in a house, and to kill one is sure to bring
bad luck after it. If they are very numerous in a house, it is a sign
that peace and plenty reign there. The bakehouse in which their merry
chirp is heard is the place to bake your bread, for it is a certain sign
that the bread baked there will turn out well.

An aged female Welsh friend in Porthywaen told me that it is a sign of
death for crickets to leave a house, and she proved her case by an apt
illustration. She named all the parties concerned in the following
tale:--"There were hundreds of crickets in . . . house; they were
'sniving,' swarming, all about the house, and were often to be seen
outside the house, or at least heard, and some of them perched on the
wicket to the garden; but all at once they left the place, and very soon
afterwards the son died. The crickets, she said, knew that a death was
about to take place, and they all left that house, going no one knew
where."

It was not thought right to look at the cricket, much less to hurt it.
The warm fireplace, with its misplaced or displaced stones, was not to be
repaired, lest the crickets should be disturbed, and forsake the place,
and take with them good luck. They had, therefore, many snug, warm holes
in and about the chimneys. Crickets are not so plentiful in Wales as
they once were.

_Hare_.

_Caesar_, bk. v., ch. xii., states that the Celts "do not regard it
lawful to eat the _hare_, the cock, and the goose; they, however, breed
them for amusement and pleasure." This gives a respectable age to the
superstitions respecting these animals.

Mention has already been made of witches turning themselves into hares.
This superstition was common in all parts of North Wales. The Rev. Lewis
Williams, rector of Prion, near Denbigh, told me the following tales of
this belief:--A witch that troubled a farmer in the shape of a hare, was
shot by him. She then transformed herself into her natural form, but
ever afterwards retained the marks of the shot in her nose.

Another tale which the same gentleman told me was the following:--A
farmer was troubled by a hare that greatly annoyed him, and seemed to
make sport of him. He suspected it was no hare, but a witch, so he
determined to rid himself of her repeated visits. One day, spying his
opportunity, he fired at her. She made a terrible noise, and jumped
about in a frightful manner, and then lay as if dead. The man went up to
her, but instead of a dead hare, he saw something on the ground as big as
a donkey. He dug a hole, and buried the thing, and was never afterwards
troubled by hare or witch.

In Llanerfyl parish there is a story of a cottager who had only one cow,
but she took to Llanfair market more butter than the biggest farmer in
the parish. She was suspected of being a witch, and was watched. At
last the watcher saw a hare with a tin-milk-can hanging from its neck,
and it was moving among the cows, milking them into her tin-can. The man
shot it, and it made for the abode of the suspected witch. When he
entered, he found her on the bed bleeding.

It was supposed that there was something uncanny about hares. Rowland
Williams, Parish Clerk, Efenechtyd, an aged man, related to me the
following tale, and he gave the name of the party concerned, but I took
no note of the name, and I have forgotten it:--A man on his way one
Sunday to Efenechtyd Church saw a hare on its form. He turned back for
his gun, and fired at the hare. The following Sunday he saw again a hare
on the very same spot, and it lifted its head and actually stared at him.
The man was frightened and went to church; the third Sunday he again saw
a hare on the very same form, and this hare also boldly looked at him.
This third appearance thoroughly convinced the man that there was
something wrong somewhere, and he afterwards avoided that particular
place.

The pretty legend of Melangell, called Monacella, the patroness of hares,
is well known. One day the Prince of Powis chased a hare, which took
refuge under the robe of the virgin Melangell, who was engaged in deep
devotion. The hare boldly faced the hounds, and the dogs retired to a
distance howling, and they could not be induced to seize their prey. The
Prince gave to God and Melangell a piece of land to be henceforth a
sanctuary. The legend of the hare and the saint is represented in carved
wood on the gallery in the church of Pennant. Formerly it belonged to
the screen. Hares were once called in the parish of Pennant Melangell
_Wyn Melangell_, or St. Monacella's lambs. Until the last century no one
in the parish would kill a hare, and it was believed that if anyone cried
out when a hare was being pursued, "God and St. Monacella be with thee,"
it would escape.

_Haddock_.

The haddock has a dark spot on each side its gills, and superstition
ascribes these marks to the impression of S. Peter's thumb and finger,
when he took the tribute money out of the mouth of a fish of the same
species in the sea of Galilee.

_Hedgehog_.

It was believed that hedgehogs sucked cows, and so firmly were the people
convinced of this fact, that this useful little animal was doomed to
death, and I have seen in many Churchwardens' accounts entries to the
effect that they had paid sums of money for its destruction. The amount
given in most parishes was two pence. I will give a few entries, from
many that I have by me, to show that parishes paid this sum for dead
hedgehogs.

In Cilcen Churchwardens' Accounts for the year 1710 I find the following
entry:--

To Edward Lloyd for killing a hedgehog 00. 00. 02.

One hundred years afterwards I find in Llanasa Churchwardens' Accounts
for 1810-1811 this entry:--

9 hedgogs ... ... ... 1. 6.

It was thought, should the cow's teats be swollen of a morning, that she
had been sucked the previous night by a hedgehog.

Formerly dead hedgehogs could be seen in company with foxes, polecats,
and other vermin suspended from the boughs of the churchyard yew trees,
to prove that the Churchwardens paid for work actually done.

_Horse_.

A white horse figures in the superstition of school children. When the
writer was a lad in school at Llanidloes, it was believed that if a white
horse were met in the morning it was considered lucky, and should the boy
who first saw the horse spit on the ground, and stealthily make the sign
of a cross with his toe across the spittle, he was certain to find a coin
on the road, or have a piece of money given to him before the day was
over; but he was not to divulge to anyone what he had done, and for the
working of the charm it was required that he should make sure that the
horse was perfectly white, without any black hairs in any part of the
body.

In Welshpool a like superstition prevails. Mr. Copnall, the master of
the Boys' National School in that town, has kindly supplied me with the
following account of this matter:--"It is lucky to meet a white horse on
the road, if, when you meet it, you spit three times over your little
finger; if you neglect this charm you will be unlucky. I asked the
children if it signified whether it was the little finger on the right or
left hand; some boys said the left, but the majority said it made no
difference which hand."

It was said that horses could see spirits, and that they could never be
induced to proceed as long as the spirit stood before them. They
perspired and trembled whilst the spirit blocked the way, but when it had
disappeared, then the horses would go on.

_Lady-bird_.

This pretty spotted little beetle was used formerly in the neighbourhood
of Llanidloes as a prognosticator of the weather. First of all the
lady-bird was placed in the palm of the left hand, or right; I do not
think it made any difference which hand was used, and the person who held
it addressed it as follows:--

Iar fach goch, gwtta,
Pa un ai gwlaw, neu hindda?

and then having said these words, the insect was thrown skywards, the
person repeating the while--

Os mai gwlaw, cwympa lawr,
Os mai teg, hedfana;

which in English would be--

Lady-bird, lady-bird, tell to me
What the weather is going to be;
If fair, then fly in the air,
If foul, then fall to the ground.

The first two lines were said with the beetle in the hand, and the last
two whilst it was thrown upwards; if it came to the ground without
attempting to fly, it indicated rain; if, however, when thrown into the
air it flew away, then fair weather was to be expected. The writer has
often resorted to this test, but whether he found it true or false he
cannot now say.

_Mice_.

A mouse nibbling clothes was a sign of disaster, if not death, to the
owner. It was thought that the evil one occasionally took the form of a
mouse. Years ago, when Craig Wen Farm, Llawr-y-glyn, near Llanidloes,
Montgomeryshire was haunted--the rumour of which event I well
remember--the servant girl told her mistress, the tenant of the farm,
that one day she was going through the corn field, and that a mouse ran
before her, and she ran after it to catch it, but that when she was
opposite the barn, _the mouse stopped and laughed at her_, and ran into a
hole. The mouse, therefore, was the evil spirit, and the cause of all
the mischief that followed.

_Moles_.

Moles are said to have no eyes. If mole hills move there will be a thaw.
By the moving of mole hills is meant bits of earth tumbling off the
mound. A labourer in Llanmerewig parish, Montgomeryshire, called my
attention to this fact. It was a frosty day, and apparently no change
was near, but it will thaw, said he, and certain I am, that by the next
morning a thaw had set in.

_Pigs_.

Pigs used to be credited with the power of seeing the wind. Devils were
fond of assuming the form of, or entering into, pigs. Pigs littered in
February could not be reared. This I was told by a native of
Llansantffraid, Montgomeryshire.

_The Snake_, _Serpent_.

The snake was supposed to be able to understand what men said. A tale
was told me by an aged man at Penrhos, Montgomeryshire, of an event which
took place in the last century. His father, he said, saw a number of
snakes, or _nethers_, as he called them, basking in the sun, and he said
when passing them, "I will make you jump to-morrow." The next day he,
provided with a rod, passed the spot, but no adder could be seen. The
next day he passed again the same spot without his rod, and the man was
now obliged to run for his life, so furiously did the snakes attack him.

Traditions of Flying Snakes were once common in all parts of Wales.

_Flying Serpents_.

The traditional origin of these imaginary creatures was that they were
snakes, which by having drunk the milk of a woman, and by having eaten of
bread consecrated for the Holy Communion, became transformed into winged
serpents or dragons.

These dangerous creatures had their lurking places in many districts, and
they attacked everyone that crossed their paths. There was said to have
been one such den on Moel Bentyrch. Old Mrs. Davies, Plas, Dolanog, who
died 1890, aged 92, told the Rev. D. R. Evans, B.A., son of the Vicar of
Dolanog, that once, when she was a young woman, she went to Llanfair
market, and on the way she sat on a stile, and she saw smoke and fire
issuing from a hole on Moel Bentyrch, where the _Gwiber_, or Flying
Serpent, had its abode. She ran, and never stopped until she had placed
a good distance between her and the hill. She believed that both the
smoke and fire were caused by the serpent. There is also a tradition
still current in Dolanog that this flying serpent was destroyed by
wrapping some red material round a post into which sharp nails were
driven. The serpent, attacking this post with furious onslaughts, was
lacerated by the sharp spikes, and died. A like tradition is current in
Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant in connection with the _Post Coch_, or
_Post-y-Wiber_, or Maen Hir y Maes-Mochnant.

Mr. Hancock in his "History of Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant," writes as
follows:--

"The legend connected with this stone pillar is, that it was raised
in order to prevent the devastation which a winged serpent or dragon
(a _Wiber_) was committing in the surrounding country. The stone was
draped with scarlet cloth, to allure and excite the creature to a
furor, scarlet being a colour most intolerably hateful and provoking
to it. It was studded with iron spikes, that the reptile might wound
or kill itself by beating itself against it. Its destruction, it is
alleged, was effected by this artifice. It is said to have had two
lurking places in the neighbourhood, which are still called
_Nant-y-Wiber_, one at Penygarnedd, the other near Bwlch Sychtyn, in
the parish of Llansilin, and this post was in the direct line of its
flight. Similar legends referring to winged serpents exist in
various parts of Wales. In the adjoining parish of
Llanarmon-Dyffryn-Ceiriog there is a place called _Sarffle_ (the
serpent's hole)."--_Montgomeryshire Collections_, vol. ix., 237.

_Snake Rings_, _or Glain Nadroedd_.

Mention is made in _Camden_ of snake rings. Omitting certain remarks not
connected with the matter directly, he writes:--"In some parts of Wales
we find it a common opinion of the vulgar that about Midsummer Eve
(though in the time they do not all agree) 'tis usual for snakes to meet
in companies, and that by joyning heads together and hissing, a kind of
Bubble is form'd like a ring about the head of one of them, which the
rest by continual hissing, blow on till it comes off at the tail, and
then it immediately hardens, and resembles a glass ring; which whoever
finds (as some old women and children are persuaded) shall prosper in all
his undertakings." The above quotation is in Gibson's additions to
Camden, and it correctly states the popular opinion. Many of these rings
formerly existed, and they seemed to be simply glass rings. They were
thought to possess many healing virtues, as, for instance, it could cure
wens and whooping cough, and I believe I have heard it said that it could
cure the bite of a mad dog.

_Sheep_.

It was thought that the devil could assume any animal's form excepting
that of the sheep. This saying, however, is somewhat different from what
a farmer friend told me of _black sheep_. He said his father, and other
farmers as well, were in the habit of killing all their black lambs,
because they were of the same colour as the devil, and the owners were
afraid that Satan had entered, or would enter into them, and that
therefore these sheep were destroyed. He stated that his father went on
his knees on the ground and prayed, either before or after he had killed
the black lambs. It is a common saying that the black sheep is the
ringleader of all mischief in a flock of sheep. The expression, "He is a
black sheep," as applied to a person, conveys the idea that he is a
worthless being, inclined to everything that is bad.

It is even now in country places thought to be a lucky omen if anyone
sees the head of the first spring lamb towards him. This foretells a
lucky and prosperous year to the person whose eyes are thus greeted.

_Spider_.

The long-legged spider, or, as it is generally called in Wales, the
Tailor, is an object of cruel sport to children. They catch it, and then
handle it roughly, saying the while:--

Old Harry long-leg
Cannot say his prayers,
Catch him by the right leg,
Catch him by the left leg.
And throw him down stairs;

and then one leg after the other is plucked off, and the poor creature is
left to die miserably. This was done in Llanidloes.

_The Squirrel_.

Hunting this sprightly little animal became at Christmas the sport of our
rustic population. A number of lads gathered together, and proceeded to
the woods to hunt the squirrel. They followed it with stones and sticks
from tree to tree, shouting and screaming, to frighten it on and on,
until it was quite unable to make further progress, and then they caught
it. The writer, when a lad, has often joined in this cruel hunt, but
whether the squirrel was killed when caught he is unable to recall to
mind. Generally it escaped.

_The Blind Worm_, _or Slow Worm_.

This reptile is a snake, varying from twelve to eighteen inches long.
Its head is small, and its movements very rapid. At the slightest noise,
it darts away in a moment, and hides among rocks, stones, or rank grass.
It is said to have no eyes, but this is a popular mistake--hence,
however, its name, _Blind Worm_. This beautiful timid creature is often
wantonly cut into pieces by its cruel and mistaken captors, for they
credit it with the possession of evil propensities. It is said that,
could it see, it would be a formidable enemy to man and beast. This
supposition has found strength and sanction in doggerel verse. The Blind
Worm is said to address the adder as follows:--

If I could see,
As well as thee,
Man nor beast
Should ne'er pass me.

Another version of these lines, heard in Shropshire, on the borders of
Wales, is:--

If I had one eye,
As thou hast two,
No man should live,
Nor beast should loo (low).

These doggerel lines indicate clearly the dread in which this innocent
snake is held.

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

A

Acton, T. A., Regent Street, Wrexham

Adcane, Miss, Plas Llanfawr, Holyhead

Andrews, Mr Wm., _The Hull Press_, 1, Dock Street, Hull

Arnold, Prof. E. P., M.A., 10, Bryn Teg, Bangor

B

Ballinger, John, Mr., Cardiff Free Library, Cardiff

Barnes, J. R., Esq., The Quinta, Chirk

Bennett, Edgar, Esq., 2, Court Ash, Yeovil

Bennett, N., Esq., Glanyrafon, Llanidloes

Bangor, The Lord Bishop of, The Palace, Bangor, N.W.

Bowen, Alfred E., Esq., Town Hall, Pontypool

Bryan, B., Esq., Pen-lan, Ruthin

Bryan, R. F., Esq.,

Bury, Mrs., Ellesmere, Shropshire

C

Chapman, Henry, Mr., Dolfor School, Near Newtown

Cunliffe, R., Esq., Llanrhaiadr Hall, Denbigh

D

Daniels, Rev. J., Curate, Carmarthen

Davies-Cooke, Philip B., Esq., Gwysanny, Mold

Davies, Rev. L. W., Manafon Rectory, Welshpool

Davies, Rev. D. W., M.A., The Vicarage, St. Asaph

Davies, Rev. Joseph, B.A., Curate, Holywell

Davies, Rev. C. H., M.A., Tregarth, Bangor

Davies, Rev. E. T., B.A., The Vicarage, Pwllheli

Davies, Rev. J., B.A., Bryneglwys Vicarage, Corwen

Davies, Rev. J. J., Machynlleth

Davies, W. Cadwaladr, Esq., Penybryn, Bangor, N. Wales

Davies, Rev. T. R., Curate, The Hut, Farnham Royal, Windsor

Davies, Thos. Mr., Draper, 121, High Holborn, London

Davies, Rev. T. A., B.A.,

D'Erisleigh, R. S., Esq., Salisbury College, Stoneycroft, Liverpool

Drinkwater, Rev. C. H., St. George's Vicarage, Shrewsbury

Duckworth, Thos., Esq., Librarian, Worcester Public Library, Worcester

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