9S6 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1804. 



kindle great fires near their houses, 

 which they call coelcerl/i, or bon- 

 fires. This custom has been sup- 

 posed, though probably without 

 any foundation, to liavc originated 

 ^ith the Druids, and to have been 

 intended by them as an oftcring of 

 thanksgiving for the fruits of the 

 harre.t. Sometimes fifty or a him- 

 dred of these fires may be seen at 

 once, and round each the people 

 dance, hand in hand, at the same 

 time singing and shouting in the 

 most riotous and frantic manner 

 imaginable. In many places a cus- 

 tom is retained of each penoii 

 throwing a few nuts into the flame, 

 hy which they pretend to foretell 

 the good or ill fortune that will at- 

 tend them the ensuing year. If, by 

 the expansion of air within them, 

 the nuts burst, they immediately 

 conclude that they are doomed to 

 die within twelve months. On the 

 day after All Saints, the poor chil- 

 dren go about the towns and vil- 

 lages to beg bread and cheese. 



" On the eve of St. Jolin the Bap- 

 tist, they place little bundles of the 

 plant called St. John's wort, over 

 their doors, or windows. These 

 they believe will purify their houses, 

 and drive away all fiends and evil 

 spirits. The Druids had a custom 

 similar to this, in which they used 

 sprigs of vervain. 



" The young people have many 

 pretended modes of declaring their 

 future lovers. Most of these are, 

 hov.cver, common to the peasantry 

 of our own country which renders 

 it needlegs to repeat them here. 



" I have been informed that a 

 disorder, somewhat resembling St. 

 Anthony's fire, which the Welsh 

 people call Yr Eryr, the eagle, is 

 supposed to be at any time cured by 

 the following kind of charm. A 



person, whose grandfather, or great 

 grandfather, has eaten the flesh of 

 an eagle, is to spit on the part af- 

 fected, and rub it for a little while 

 with his fingers,^ Ihis is esteemed 

 an infallible-remedy. A muid-serv- 

 ant of a gentleman of my acquaint- 

 ance, who resid^^'S in Caernarvon- 

 shire, declared, in my hearing, that 

 she had been cured of this com- 

 plaint by ah old man, whose grand- 

 father had eaten of an eagle. She 

 said that he at the same time used 

 some words, to aid the charm, 

 which she could not comprehend. 



'^ It is aa opinion very prevaleat 

 within the diocese of St. David's, in 

 Pembrokeshire, that a short time 

 previous to the death of a jterson, a 

 light is sometimes seen to proceed 

 from the house, and even from the 

 bed, and to pursue its way to the 

 church where the body is to be in- 

 terred, precisely in the same track 

 that the funeral will afterwards fol- 

 low. This light is called caiiKijll 

 corph, or " the corpse candle." 



" A strange custom prevails in 

 some obscure parts of North Walss, 

 which, however, the clergy have 

 now almost abolished. This is term- 

 ed the " oflfering of an enemy." 

 AVhen a person supposes himself- 

 highly injured by any one, he re- 

 pairs to some church dedicated to a 

 celebrated saint, or one who is be- 

 lieved to have great power over the 

 aftairs of men ; here, kneeling on 

 his bare knees before the altar, and 

 offering a piece of money to the 

 saint, he utters the most virulent and 

 dreadful imprecations, calling down 

 curses and misfortunes on the of- 

 fender and his family, even for ge- 

 nerations to come. Sometimes the 

 offended persons repair for the same 

 purpose to some sacred well, dedi- 

 cated to a saint. Mr, Pennant was 



threatened 



