Lord of Castell Hywel, Pantstreimon and Gilfachwen, in Cardiganshire. This Philip Mansel of Oxwich was a gallant and devoted adherent of the House of Lancaster, and thus became opposed to his father-in-law, Nicolas, who as devotedly supported the House of York. Both fought and sealed with their blood their constancy to the several factions they had so unflinchingly supported, both falling on the field of Mortimer's Cross, in Herefordshire, in 1461. Philip Mansel, through the successful issue of this engagement to the Yorkists, became attainted in blood as Philip Mauncell de Oxwich in the general act of fourth of Edward IV. But this attainder was afterwards reversed by the act of first Henry VII., A.D. 1485, in the persons of his only son, Jenkin Mansel, and his only daughter, Alice Mansel, who married in 1488 Sir Matthew Cradock, of Llandough Castle, Gower, Swansea and Cardiff, of the lineage of Einion ab Collwyn, and maternally derived from the Hortons of Swansea and Gower. Their only child and heiress, Margaret Cradock, widow of John Malefant, of St. George Castle, &c., Glamorgan, married, secondly, Sir Richard Herbert Ddu, of Eiwas, Co. Monmouth, and Grove Radnor, Herefordshire; by whom she had issue, (i.) Sir George Herbert, of Swansea and Cardiff, first High Sheriff for Glamorgan, temp. Henry VIII., 1541, as heir to his maternal grandfather, Sir Matthew Cradock. He married Elizabeth, daughter to Sir Thomas Berkeley, of Beverston Castle, Co. Gloucester, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Nevill, Baron Abergavenny, and by this lady, who was maternally descended from the noble houses of Beauchamp, Despencer, and DeClares, of Glamorgan, had issue Sir Matthew Herbert, father, by his wife, Mary Gamage, of Coity, of several children (1) Sir William, (2) Sir John Herbert, &c., and an elder daughter, Elizabeth Herbert, wife of Sir Henry Jones of Abermarlais and Emlyn Castle (see Red Dragon); and (3) Sir William Herbert, the second son, an eminent soldier and statesman of the reign of Edward VI. and Queen Elizabeth, created Earl of Pembroke in 1551, ancestor of the extant noble houses of Herbert, Earls of Pembroke and Carnarvon. This corrects the account of Herbert as given by Dr. Nicholas, who makes in error Sir George Herbert of Swansea the second son.

Carmarthen.

(Will be concluded next month.)

W.G.S.T.

ST. MELLON.-I was very much interested with the pleasing paper by the Rev. Father Cormack respecting St. Mellon, and hope the writer will pardon my sending you the following supplementary notice of the saint whom I have hitherto only known as the first Bishop of Rouen through the medium of The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, by Ordericus Vitalis, the historian-monk of the Abbey of St. Evroult. Ordericus himself was a native of the Welsh borders, being born at Shrewsbury, A.D. 1075; his father, Odelerius of Orleans, arriving at the Conquest in the train of Roger de Montgomery. On the arrival of the child (who was dedicated to the service of God by his pious father) at St. Evroult, the monks changed his name for that of Vitalis, Ordericus having a barbarous sound to the Norman Abbot Mainier. This voluminous writer, in a series of lives of the Archbishops of Rouen, gives the following account of Mellon :-"When the tenth persecution fatally harassed the Christians for ten years, and innumerable multitudes of martyrs were slain with every species of torture, ascending to heaven with the glorious ornament of their precious blood, Quentin and Lucian, Valerian, Rufinus, and Eugenius, Mellon and Avician, and many others of the clergy and nobility of Rome, went forth, and were scattered throughout Gaul faithfully preaching the word of God. Quentin (St. Quentin, martyr in the Vermandois, October 31st, 287) came to Amiens, and Lucian (St. Lucien, apostle to the Beauvais, martyred 15th September, 279) to Beauvais; Mellon with Avician and some other distinguished persons to Rouen. At the time that the venerable Mellon, with some other faithful men, settled at Rouen, where he was the first, who, by God's permission, sat in the episcopal chair; and from that time to the present day the metropolitan dignity has been vested there. St. Mellon was the first bishop who taught his doctrine to the people of Rouen. He flourished in the time of Popes Eusebius and Melchiades, and departing to the Lord on the eleventh of the calends of November (22nd October), was buried in the crypt of the Church of St. Gervase the Martyr, outside the city, where his

remains long reposed. His tomb, indeed, is preserved there to this time, but his body was removed for fear of the Danes, and translated to a castle in the Vexin called Pontoise. It is there preserved in a church dedicated to his name, to which is attached a celebrated convent of canons."

In a foot note to the text, Mr. Forrester, the translator of Ordericus' History gives some interesting information respecting St. Mellon, from which I glean the following particulars :-"The time at which St. Mellon began to preach at Rouen is not exactly known; but he was the first to introduce Christianity there, and must have died before 314, the date of the Council of Arles, at which his successor, Avician, was present, and the acts of which, his name being subscribed as Bishop of Rouen." The particulars given in the Red Dragon afford an explanation with which Mr. Forrester was perhaps not acquainted. Referring to the several martyrs whom Ordericus mentions in his text, his translator observes, "they all suffered before the tenth persecution, which was not regularly enforced until the year 303; it is, therefore, incorrect to say that these saints were led by it to leave Rome, and preach the Gospel in Gaul. It is probable that St. Mellon himself began his apostolical labours before the end of the third century." He also notes that "it is most probable that St. Mellon was rather contemporary with the predecessors of Popes Eusebius and Melchiades, as we have seen that his own successor, Avician, was at the Council of Arles in 314." According to Blair's chronology the bishops of Rome in St. Mellon's time would be :

"St. Mellon, as well as his successor, Avician, was in truth buried in a crypt still remaining under the Church of St. Gervase at Rouen; or to speak more correctly, in the public cemetery on the road to Lillebonne, where one of their successors (probably St. Victricius) built the existing crypt over their tomb, after Christianity became established. M. Le Prévost considers it as the most ancient monument to be found in Normandy. There are to be seen the two elliptic arches under which the remains of the two archbishops long_reposed. Those of St. Mellon, removed to Pontoise to escape the ravages of the Danes, gave rise to the foundation of an abbey which was afterwards converted into a collegiate church of canons."

Bristol.

HY. G. BUTTERWORTH.

P.S.-It may be interesting if we remember that William the Conqueror breathed out his troubled spirit in the priory attached to the Church of St. Gervase, on Tuesday, the fifth of the ides (the 9th) of September, 1087. Early on the morning of that day he awoke from a troubled sleep, and hearing the sound of the great bell of Rouen, he inquired what it meant. His attendants told him, "My Lord, the bell is tolling for primes in the Church of St. Mary." Then said the dying King, "I commend myself to Mary, the holy Mother of God, my heavenly mistress, that by her blessed intercession I may be reconciled to her well beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ."

WELSH NAMES OF STREAMS.-Probably no other people has given such full and varied names to their streams as Welshmen. It would be very interesting to get a complete list of them. There is hardly a brooklet in the Principality without its own pretty and significant name. Your numerous and widely scattered readers could easily supply you with a list of the names in their several neighbourhoods, stating to which larger river each is a tributary. Ach occurs frequently, and is a Celtic word for water. It is of the same root as Aqua, another form of which

is Ogwy, the stream that flows through Bridgend, called there Ogmore, i.e., Ogwy Mawr, Great Ogwy. There is also Ogwy Fach, Little Ogwy. Gwy is a part of this root, written also Dwy and Dee, whence Dyfr-Dwy, the water of the Dwy, whence probably Dwy-fach. Ach ends Clydach, Llechach, Llanamlach, Llanfyrnach, Sclydach. It helps to form Achddu, Talachddu, Pwllagddu, near Llandovery; and we have Cwmachau, near Brecon Honddu and Hondda are modern Welsh forms of Unda, otherwise written Hodni; Llanthony owes its ending to this. Rhondda, in Glamorgan, is Yr Hondda, The Hondda. Other forms of the old root are Nedd, Neath, Nith, Nethy, and probably by transposition Eden.

There is good kinship between Wasser, Water, Dover, Dwfr, Tiber, Douro, and ύδωρ. The genitive of this vda-Tos shows that the stem is vda-Dwy above, which brings us back to gwy, and aqua, and ach. This root Dwy, or Dwf-r, or Dwyf helps Teivi, Towy (Lat, Dubius) Taf, Taff, Thames (Tamesis). Dihonwy in Breconshire seems to be a compound of Unda and Gwy or Wy, as its waters are a compound of rain falling on different soils, the detrition of the red stone on its right, and the ordinary trap soil on its left. Amnia or avon contains another root-name for water. We find this in Aman, Menai, perhaps Mona, the land beyond the Menai, and the Isle of Man, the land in the water. Irfon, the classic rivulet of Llanwrtyd, is probably Yr Afon, the stream. Llancamarch owes its name to its position on the Camarch, which must be corrupted from Camach, Cam Ach, the crooked stream. You find the Camach very crooked just before it unites with the Irfon as if it were disgusted at losing its identity on being absorbed in its larger mountain born sister.

Brecon.

QUERIES.

J. BOWEN JONES.

ORIGIN OF SAYING WANTED.-What is the origin of the saying "Trêch gwlad nag Arglwydd,"-a country is more powerful than a lord. Brighton.

R.S.R.

CARTISMANDUA OR BOADICEA ?-In the twenty-second historical triad the betrayer of Caradog ab Bran is said to have been "Boadicea, daughter of Mandubratius, the son of Lludd." Is this a mistake for Cartismandua, or are we to infer that Caradog's betrayer was identical with the renowned Queen of the Trinobantes, who so nearly succeeded in throwing off the Roman yoke? Bristol.

T.

A WELSH (2) BUCCANIER.—“ Howel Davies," says Carlyle (Past and Present"Plugson of Undershot ") " dyes the West Indian seas with blood, piles his decks with plunder; approves himself the expertest Seaman, the daringest Seafighter,' &c. The name is surely that of a Welshman. Can any of your readers give me particulars of this bold buccanier ?

Whitehaven.

SIGFRED.

DAVY JONES'S LOCKER.-Why is the sea-bottom so called? Who was the original Davy Jones, and what gave rise to this saying? Whitehaven.

SIGFRED.

DR. PETTINGALL, RECTOR OF NEWPORT.-I should much like to be furnished with particulars of the life and labours of this old Monmouthshire worthy. Usk.

W.H.G.

PAROCHIAL HISTORY.-In the September number of the Red Dragon (“ Notes and Queries," under head "Flemish Settlers ") a history of West Gower is

mentioned. I should like to procure a list of books treating of local history (South Wales), with publishers' names and dates. I allude to such works as Miss Curtis' "Laugharne," Mr. Spurrell's "Carmarthen," the history of Gower referred to, &c. Can Beili Glas" oblige me in this matter?

Nova Scotia.

THISTLEBOON.

MARI LWYD.-Can anyone inform me of the origin of this curious custom? Wirt Sikes, in British Goblins, says that Mari Lwyd probably means "Blessed Mary," and inclines to the opinion that the custom is of "papal" origin. If so, what explanation is given of the carrying of a horse's head? Is not a pagan origin more probable?

Cardiff.

E. J. NEWELL.

MR. HENRY HALFORD VAUGHAN. -The imes of January 7th, in a review of a book entitled "New Readings and New Renderings of Shakspeare's Tragedies. By Henry Halford Vaughan, sometime Regius Professor of Modern History in the University of Oxford. Vol. iii. Kegan, Paul, and Co., 1886," speaks of the author as if he were still alive. Is not the author the gentleman who for many years acted as Clerk of Assize on the South Wales Circuit, and whose residence was Upton Castle, Pembroke ?

Carmarthen.

QUERIST.

A PUZZLE.-Over the table of Commandments in a church in Wales were painted the following letters:

P.R.S.V.R..P.R F.C.T.M.N.

V.R.K.P.T.H.S.P.R.C.P.T.S.T.N.

By adding one more they will make two lines in rhyme. Your readers will soon solve the puzzle, but my authority states that it remained half a century before it was discovered. The handwriting and the paper upon which it is written, now lying before me, appear to be quite a hundred years old. The name of the church is not given.

London.

EDWARD OWEN.

REPLIES.

THE BURIAL OF KING ARTHUR (viii.-408, 511).—I am glad to be able to tell your Abergavenny correspondent, Antiquarian," that by a sort of happy accident I lighted upon the very passage to which he says he has lost the reference. It occurs in the Annales de Margam (which go back to 1231) and runs

"Inventa sunt ossa famosissimi Arthuri quondam regis majoris Brittaniæ, in quodam vetustissimo sarcophago recondita, circa quod duæ pyramides stabant erectæ, in quibus literæ quædam exaratæ sunt, sed ob nimiam barbariem et deformitatem legi non poterant inventa sunt autem hac occasione, dum inter prædictas pyramides terram quidam effoderant, ut quendam monachum sepelirent, qui ut ibi sepeliretur a conventu pretio impetraverat; reperierunt quoddam sarcophagum, in quo quasi ossa muliebria cum capillitio adhuc incorrupto cernebantur; quo amoto reperierunt et aliud priori substratum, in quo ossa virilia continebantur, quod etiam amoventes invenerunt et tertium duobus primis subterpositum; cui crux plumbea superposita erat, in qua exaratum fuerat Hic jacet inclytus Rex Arthurus sepultus in insula Avellana.' Locus enim ille paludibus inclusus insula Avallonis vocatus est, i.e. insula pomorum, nam aval Britannice pomum dicitur. Deinde idem sarcophagum aperientes invenerunt prædicti principis ossa robusta nimis et longa, quod cum decente honore et magno apparatu in marmoreo mausoleo intra eccslesiam suam [Glaston] monachi collocaverunt. Primum tumulum dicunt fuisse Guenhavera Reginæ uxoris ejusdem Arthuri; secundum Modredi nepotis ejusdem: tertium prædicti principis.' Of this a translation would be :

"The bones of the renowned Arthur, formerly King of Britain, were discovered

in a very ancient sarcophagus; near which stood two pyramids, on which were inscribed some letters; but which, on account of their barbarous and uncouth form, could not be read. The occasion of their being found was this. While some persons were digging the earth between the aforesaid pyramids, in order to bury a certain monk, who had purchased permission to be buried there, they found a sarcophagus, in which they observed what appeared to be the bones of a woman, with the hair still undecayed; which being removed, they found another laid before the first, in which were the bones of a man; and having removed that also, they found a third below the other two, upon which was placed a leaden cross, on which was inscribed, 'Here lies buried the renowned King Arthur in the Island of Avellan.' For that place, being surrounded by marshes, is called The Island of Avallon, that is, the Island of Apples; because an apple is called in British aval. Then opening this sarcophagus, they found the bones of the aforesaid prince, very large and long, which the monks placed with due honours in a marble tomb within their church [of Glastonbury.] The first grave is said to have been that of Queen Gwenever, the wife of the said Arthur; the second that of Modred his nephew; and the third that of Arthur himself."

Cardiff.

BLACKLETTER FOLIO.

THE FOUNDER OF OWENS COLLEGE (x.-277, 377).—A book, entitled "The Owens College, its Foundation and growth, and its connection with the Victoria University," has just been published. It states that the college, which has now a record of six-and-thirty years, is called after its founder, John Owens, who died in 1846, leaving about one hundred thousand pounds for the pnrpose. Little is known of him. He was not a prominent citizen, and when the contents of his will were known only one person in Manchester was not taken by surprise. John Owens was born in Manchester in 1790. His father, Owen Owens, was a Welshman, who had settled there as a hat-lining manufacturer, had become a prosperous merchant, and died in 1844, leaving his son a fortune. John Owens went to a school on Ardwick Green kept by Dalton's friend John Huthersal; and, as Mr. Thompson, the author, says, this "Ardwick Green Academy was the alma mater of the Manchester College and University." One of his schoolfellows was George Faulkner, afterwards partner with John Owens, and his life-long friend. It was Owens's wish to make Faulkner his heir, and one day, not long before his death, Owens called on his friend and told him he had made his will and left him all he had. "Then thou

a

may make another," said Faulkner; "I won't have it. I have quite as much of my own as I can answer for, and won't have anybody else's on my account." Owens was offended, and the two friends did not meet for a week. Then Owens called again, and, finding Faulkner still obdurate, asked what he should do, as he had no near relative to receive his money. Faulkner urged him to found a college or an educational institute. Owens was a Dissenter and a Radical, and had often expressed to his friend, who was a Churchman and a Tory, great indignation at the tests imposed at the older Universities, and Faulkner suggested that he should found a College where the hindrances he resented should not exist. Owens went away and made a new will, leaving the bulk of his property for the purpose Faulkner had suggested. He made his friend one of the executors, with a legacy of a thousand pounds, but made it ten thousand pounds by a codicil. He survived his father only two years and a half, and died unmarried on the 29th of July, 1846. His property amounted to one hundred and sixty-eight thousand pounds. Of this sum fifty-two thousand pounds was left to relatives, friends, servants, and charities, and the rest to trustees to found a college. Legacy duty and a few charges reduced the actual amount received by the trustees to ninety-six thousand six hundred and fifty-four pounds.

Manchester.

AN ENGLISHMAN.

"LILLI-BURLERO" (xi.-87)." Cymro Tawel" will find a full account in Percy's Reliques of Ancient Poetry; Burnet's History of his own Times. See also Sterne's Tristram Shandy (eighty years after Lilli Burlero was written); Purcell's Antidote to Melancholy (1661). Chapell in his great work also refers to the JOHN CEIRIOG HUGHES.

song.

Caersws.