·

These, and other enormities, were found in the fubfequent reign ftill to be practifed, and an act of parliament was paffed ftill further to reftrain the Welsh in their outrages. This, however, seems to have had little effect, except for the moment, for they foon relapsed into their former habits.

Even in a statute of fo late a period as the year 1536, it is declared that "the people of Wales, and the marches of the fame, for long time past, have continued to commit divers thefts, murders, rebellions, burnings of houfes, and other heinous mifdemeanors, which feem deeply rooted in this people, as not likely to cease unless by severe correction and punishment." In confequence of the difficulty of putting an end to these outrages by lefs powerful means, an act was paffed in the following year, by which the principality of Wales was declared to be thenceforth" incorporated, united, and annexed to the realm of England:" that all the natives fhould enjoy the rights and privileges of Englishmen: and that the laws, ordinances, and ftatutes of England, and none other, fhould for ever afterwards be used as the laws, statutes, and ordinances of Wales.—By this act four new Welsh counties, and one new English county, were created, namely, Brecknockshire, Radnorfhire, Montgomeryshire, Denbighshire, and Monmouthshire.

THE

THE MANNERS OF THE MODERN WELSH.

From ancient I now defcend to modern times and from defcribing that hardy race of warlike cha racters which were with fo much difficulty fubdued by the English monarchs, I proceed to make fome remarks on their prefent ftate, in which this people enjoy a degree of happiness and tranquillity that in feudal times the country never experienced.

While quarrels rage did nourish ruineft wrack,
And Owen Glyndore fet bloodie broyles abroach;
Full many a towne was fpoyl'd and put to fack,
And cleane confum'd, to countries foule reproach.
Great caflles rais'd, fayre buildings burnt to duft,
Such revel reigned, that men did live by luft:-
But fince they came, and yielded unto lawe,
Moft meeke as lambe, within one yoke they drawe.

In those mountainous and fecluded parts of Wales, as fome of the interior of Caernarvonshire, Merionethshire, and Denbighshire, that are yet fcarcely known to the English tourist, the manners of the inhabitants differ very effentially from what will be obferved near any frequented road. The people feem there to have an innocence and fimplicity of character, unknown in the populous parts of our own country. Among thefe it is that we are to search for those original traits, and that native hof pitality, fo much the boaft of the Welsh writers, Wherever the English have had uninterrupted communication, the money of which they have been fo

lavifh

lavifh has afforded an irrefiftible temptation for the lower claffes of the inhabitants to practise impofitions: in such situations the people differ little from the like clafs amongst us. On all the great roads, they seem to pride themselves in being sufficiently expert to over-reach their Saxon neighbours in any of their little bargains. A Welfh gentleman of undoubted veracity informed me, (and in various inftances I have myfelf experienced its truth,) that it is a common practice amongst his countrymen, to afk for any article they have to offer for fale nearly double the fum they will take; those persons who are acquainted with these practices never give them the full price for what they purchase. I have good authority for afferting that at fome of the inferior inns, if an Englishman fits down at table with Welshmen, the charge for his eating will be at least one third more than that of each of the reft of the company. This is a provoking impofition.

A ruftic bafhfulness and referve feem to be general features in the character of the Welsh people, and ftrangers, unaccustomed to their manners, have often mistaken these for indications of fullennefs.It is ufual to fay of them that they are very irafcible. This may be the cafe, but from what I have myself feen, I am inclined to think, that the natural rapidity of their expreffion in a language not understood, has often been conftrued into paffion, without any other more certain grounds. Perfons who form their ideas from the opinions of others, without

being at the trouble of making obfervations for themselves, are often deceived and mifled. Such,

I am confident, has been the case a thousand times in the judgments formed on the present subject.

On

The loweft claffes bear indications of extreme poverty, yet they seem to enjoy good health. Their dwellings are cottages, or rather huts, built of stones, whofe interstices are clofed with peat or mud. a mere infpection, they would feem the habitations of wretchedness. They are in general fo dark, that, on first entering, the glare of light down the chimney alone takes the attention. The following is a good picture by Mr. Hutton of one of the better kind of cottages made uncommonly neat for the célebration of a wedding dinner;

Arriving, I crept through a hole in the door,

Some ftones were laid down, and some not, on the floor.
The whole was one dark room, with three windows so small,
That the light down the chimney quite outftript them all.
But this great relief came to foften their cares,

Neither fober nor drunk could they tumble down ftairs.
Two beds grac'd the manfion, which made it appear
That cleanlinefs, prudence, and order reigned there.
The tables and cupboards, which, opened to view,
Shew'd the hand of industry had polifhed their hue.
The shelves and their crockery, both china and delpḥ,
Were clean, and were orderly rang'd on the shelf.
Dad, mam, and nine children, which fortune bestow'd,
In harmony liv'd in this dark fome abode;

Nor can we consent to call those people poor,
Where prudence fteps in, and bars want from the door.

The

The ufual food of the labouring Welsh is bread, cheese, and milk; and fometimes what they call flummery, a compofition of oatmeal and milk. Animal food and ale are by no means among their ufual fare.

The women of the mountainous parts of the country are generally of a middle fize, though more frequently below that than above it. Their features are often very pretty, but in point of figure they are in general uninterefting; and their long, and thickly matted hair, crowned with hats fimilar to those worn by the men, affords the unpleasant idea of a due want of clinlinefs. They wear long blue cloaks that defcend almost to their feet. These they are feldom to be feen without, even in the hottest weather; owing to the frequency of fhowers in a country furrounded with mountains. On their legs they have blue ftockings without any feet to them: they keep them down by means of a loop fastened round one of the toes. In the more unfrequented parts the women feldom wear any fhoes, except on a Sunday, or the market-day, and even on those days they often carry them in their hands as they go along the roads. I have fometimes feen fix or eight of them, after their journies from the adjacent villages, feated on the bank of a rivulet, in the act of washing their feet previously to their entering the towns. During these journies they often employ their time in knitting, and a heavy shower of rain will not fometimes compel them to give up their

work.