Folk-Lore of West and Mid-Wales

by Jonathan Ceredig Davies

DIVINATION BY CARDS.

Divination by cards is not so much known in Wales as in England, and this is more popular in towns than country places.

CHAPTER II.

WEDDING CUSTOMS.

In times past, Wales had peculiar and most interesting, if not excellent, Wedding Customs, and in no part of the country were these old quaint customs more popular, and survived to a more recent date than in Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire. Therefore this book would be incomplete without giving a full description of them.

When a young man and a young woman had agreed together to marry “for better for worse,” they were first of all to inform their parents of the important fact. Then in due time, the young man’s father, taking a friend with him, proceeded to interview the young woman’s father, so as to have a proper understanding on the subject and to arrange different matters, especially concerning dowry, etc. I am writing more especially of a rural wedding among the farmers.

The young woman’s father would agree to give with his daughter, as her portion, household goods of so much value, a certain sum of money, and so many cows, pigs, etc.; and the young man’s father, on his part, would agree to grant his son so much money, horses, sheep, hay, wheat and other things, so that the young couple might have a good start in the married life, “i ddechreu eu byd,”—to begin their world, as we say in Welsh. Sometimes the young man’s father on such occasions met with opposition on the part of the young woman’s father or mother or other relations, at least we read that it happened so in the case of the heir of Ffynonbedr, near Lampeter, long ago; for it seems that when he tried to secure the daughter of Dyffryn Llynod, in the parish of Llandyssul, as his bride, the reply was in Welsh rhyme as follow:—

“Deunaw gwr a deunaw cledde,

Deunaw gwas yn gwisgo lifre,

Deunaw march o liw’r scythanod,

Cyn codi’r ferch o Ddyffryn Llynod.”

Anglicised, this meant that she could not be secured without coming for her with eighteen gentlemen bearing eighteen swords; eighteen servants wearing livery; and eighteen horses of the colour of the woodpigeon.

But such opposition was not often to be met with.

After the parents had arranged these matters satisfactorily, the next preliminary and important step was to send forth a gwahoddwr, or Bidder, from house to house, to bid or invite the guests to the Bidding and the Wedding.

In connection with these old interesting customs, there were the Bidding or invitation to the wedding; the Bidder, whose duty it was formally to invite the guests; the Ystafell, or the bride’s goods and presents; the purse and girdle; the Pwython; and the Neithior.

The Bidding was a general invitation to all the friends of the bride and bridegroom-elect to meet them at the houses of their respective parents or any other house appointed for the occasion. All were welcomed to attend, even a stranger who should happen to be staying in the neighbourhood at the time, but it was an understood thing that every person who did attend, whether male or female, contributed something, however small, in order to make a purse for the young couple, who, on the other hand, naturally expected donations from those whose weddings they had attended themselves. So it was to the advantage of the bride and bridegroom-elect to make their wedding as public as possible, as the greater the number of guests, the greater the donation, so it was the custom to send the “Gwahoddwr,” or Bidder all round the surrounding districts to invite the neighbours and friends about three weeks, more or less, before the wedding took place. The banns were, of course, published as in England.

The Gwahoddwr or Bidder’s circuit was one of the most pleasant and merry features of the rural weddings in South Wales in times past, and he was greeted everywhere, especially when it happened that he was, as such often was the case, a merry wag with fluent speech and a poet; but it was necessary that he should be a real friend to the young couple on whose behalf he invited the guests. This important wedding official as he went from house to house, carried a staff of office in his hand, a long pole, or a white wand, as a rule a willow-wand, from which the bark had been peeled off. This white stick was decorated with coloured ribbons plying at the end of it; his hat also, and often his breast was gaily decorated in a similar manner.

The Gwahoddwr, thus attired, knocked at the door of each guest and entered the house amidst the smiles of the old people and the giggling of the young. Then he would take his stand in the centre of the house, and strike the floor with his staff to enforce silence, and announce the wedding, and the names of bride and bridegroom-elect, their place of abode, and enumerate the great preparations made to entertain the guests, etc. As a rule, the Gwahoddwr made this announcement in a set speech of prose, and often repeated a rhyme also on the occasion.

The following was the speech of a Gwahoddwr in Llanbadarn Fawr, Cardiganshire in 1762, quoted in Meyrick’s “History of Cardiganshire,” from the miscellaneous papers of Mr. Lewis Morris:—

“Speech of the Bidder in Llanbadarn Fawr, 1762.”

“The intention of the bidder is this; with kindness and amity, with decency and liberality for Einion Owain and Llio Ellis, he invites you to come with your good will on the plate; bring current money; a shilling, or two, or three, or four, or five; with cheese and butter. We invite the husband and wife, and children, and man-servants, and maid-servants, from the greatest to the least. Come there early, you shall have victuals freely, and drink cheap, stools to sit on, and fish if we can catch them; but if not, hold us excusable; and they will attend on you when you call upon them in return. They set out from such a place to such a place.”

The following which appeared in a Welsh Quarterly “Y Beirniad,” for July, 1878, gives a characteristic account of a typical Bidder of a much later date in Carmarthenshire:—

“Am Tomos fel gwahoddwr, yr wyf yn ei weled yn awr o flaen llygaid fy meddwl.

“Dyn byr, llydan, baglog, yn gwisgo coat o frethyn lliw yr awyr, breeches penglin corduog, gwasgod wlanen fraith, a rhuban glas yn hongian ar ei fynwes, yn dangos natur ei swydd a’i genadwri dros y wlad a dramwyid ganddo; hosanau gwlan du’r ddafad am ei goesau, a dwy esgid o ledr cryf am ei draed; het o frethyn garw am ei ben haner moel; dwy ffrwd felingoch o hylif y dybaco yn ymlithro dros ei en; pastwn cryf a garw yn ei ddeheulaw. Cerddai yn mlaen i’r ty lle y delai heb gyfarch neb, tarawai ei ffon deirgwaith yn erbyn y llawr, tynai ei het a gosodai hi dan y gesail chwith, sych besychai er clirio ei geg, a llefarai yn debyg i hyn:—‘At wr a gwraig y ty, y plant a’r gwasanaethyddion, a phawb o honoch sydd yma yn cysgu ac yn codi. ‘Rwy’n genad ac yn wahoddwr dros John Jones o’r Bryntirion, a Mary Davies o Bantyblodau; ‘rwy’n eich gwahodd yn hen ac yn ifanc i daith a phriodas y par ifanc yna a enwais, y rhai sydd yn priodi dydd Mercher, tair wythnos i’r nesaf, yn Eglwys Llansadwrn. Bydd y gwr ifanc a’i gwmp’ni yn codi ma’s y bore hwnw o dy ei dad a’i fam yn Bryntirion, plwyf Llansadwrn; a’r ferch ifanc yn codi ma’s y bore hwnw o dy ei thad a’i mam, sef Pantyblodau, yn mhlwyf Llanwrda. Bydd gwyr y “shigouts” yn myned y bore hwnw dros y mab ifanc i ‘mofyn y ferch ifanc; a bydd y mab ifanc a’i gwmp’ni yn cwrdd a’r ferch ifanc a’i chwmp-ni wrth ben Heolgelli, a byddant yno ar draed ac ar geffylau yn myned gyda’r par ifanc i gael eu priodi yn Eglwys Llansadwrn. Wedi hyny bydd y gwr a’r wraig ifanc, a chwmp’ni y bobol ifanc, yn myned gyda’u gilydd i dy y gwr a’r wraig ifanc, sef Llety’r Gofid, plwyf Talyllechau, lle y bydd y gwr ifanc, tad a mam y gwr ifanc, a Daniel Jones, brawd y gwr ifanc, a Jane Jones, chwaer y gwr ifanc, yn dymuno am i bob rhoddion a phwython dyledus iddynt hwy gael eu talu y prydnawn hwnw i law y gwr ifanc; a bydd y gwr ifanc a’i dad a’i fam, a’i frawd a’i chwaer, Dafydd Shon William Evan, ewyrth y gwr ifanc, yn ddiolchgar am bob rhoddion ychwanegol a welwch yn dda eu rhoddi yn ffafr y gwr ifanc ar y diwrnod hwnw.

“‘Hefyd, bydd y wraig ifanc, yn nghyd a’i thad a’i mam, Dafydd a Gwenllian Davies, yn nghyd a’i brodyr a’i chwiorydd, y wraig ifanc a Dafydd William Shinkin Dafydd o’r Cwm, tadcu y wraig ifanc, yn galw mewn bob rhoddion a phwython, dyledus iddynt hwy, i gael eu talu y prydnawn hwnw i law y gwr a’r wraig ifanc yn Llety’r Gofid. Y mae’r gwr a’r wraig ifanc a’r hwyaf fo byw, yn addo talu ’nol i chwithau bob rhoddion a weloch yn dda eu rhoddi i’r tylwyth ifanc, pryd bynag y bo galw, tae hyny bore dranoeth, neu ryw amser arall.’”

Rendered into English the above reads as follows:—

“I can see Thomas, in the capacity of a Gwahoddwr,—Bidder,—before me now in my mind’s eye. A short man, broad, clumsy, wearing a coat of sky-blue cloth, corduroy breeches to the knee, a motley woollen waistcoat, and a blue ribbon hanging on his breast, indicating the nature of his office and message through the country which he tramped; black-woollen stockings on his legs, and two strong leathern boots on his feet; a hat made of rough cloth on his half-bare head; two yellow-red streams of tobacco moisture running down his chin; a rough, strong staff in his right hand. He walked into the house he came to without saluting any one, and struck the floor three times with his staff, took off his hat, and put it under his left arm, and having coughed in order to clear his throat, he delivered himself somewhat as follows:—

“To the husband and wife of the house, the children and the servants, and all of you who are here sleeping and getting up. I am a messenger and a bidder for John Jones of Bryntirion and Mary Davies of Pantyblodau; I beg to invite you, both old and young, to the bidding and wedding of the young couple I have just mentioned, who intend to marry on Wednesday, three weeks to the next, at Llansadwrn Church. The young man and his company on that morning will be leaving his father and mother’s house at Bryntirion, in the parish of Llansadwrn; and the young woman will be leaving that same morning from the house of her father and mother, that is Pantyblodau, in the parish of Llanwrda. On that morning the shigouts (seekouts) men will go on behalf of the young man to seek for the young woman; and the young man and his company will meet the young woman and her company at the top of Heolgelli, and there they will be, on foot and on horses, going with the young couple who are to be married at Llansadwrn Church. After that, the young husband and wife, and the young people’s company, will be going together to the house of the young husband and wife, to wit, Llety’r Gofid, in the parish of Tally, where the young man, the young man’s father and mother, and Daniel Jones, brother of the young man, and Jane Jones, the young man’s sister, desire that all donations and pwython due to them be paid that afternoon to the hands of the young man; and the young man, his father and mother, his brother and sister, and Dafydd Shon William Evan, uncle of the young man, will be very thankful for every additional gifts you will be pleased to give in favour of the young man that day.

“Also, the young wife, together with her father and mother, Dafydd and Gwenllian Davies, together with her brothers and sisters, the young wife and Dafydd William Shinkin Dafydd of Cwm, the young wife’s grandfather, desire that all donations and pwython, due to them, be paid that afternoon to the hand of the young husband and wife at Llety’r Gofid.

“The young husband and wife and those who’ll live the longest, do promise to repay you every gift you will be pleased to give to the young couple, whenever called upon to do so, should that happen next morning or at any other time?”

The Bidder then repeated in Welsh a most comic and humorous song for the occasion.

Another well-known “Gwahoddwr,” or Bidder in Cardiganshire was an old man named Stephen, who flourished at the end of the eighteenth, and the beginning of the nineteenth century.

THE BIDDER, OR GWAHODDWR,

(Reproduced from an old picture in the “Hynafion Cymreig,” published in 1823).

He was commonly known as Stephen Wahoddwr, or Stephen the Bidder, and concerning whom the celebrated poet “Daniel Ddu o Geredigion,” wrote to the “Cambrian Briton,” in March, 1822, as follows:—

“There is an old man in this neighbourhood of the name of Stephen, employed in the vocation of ‘Gwahoddwr,’ who displayed, in my hearing, so much comic talent and humour in the recitation of his Bidding-song (which he complained, was, by repetition, become uninteresting to his auditors) as to induce me to furnish him with some kind of fresh matter. My humble composition, adapted, in language and conceptions, as far as I could make it, to common taste and capacities, this man now delivers in his rounds; and I send it you as a specimen of a Bidder’s Song, hoping that your readers will be in some measure amused by its perusal:—

“Dydd da i chwi, bobl, o’r hynaf i’r baban,

Mae Stephan Wahoddwr a chwi am ymddiddan,

Gyfeillion da mwynaidd, os felly’ch dymuniad,

Cewch genyf fy neges yn gynhes ar gariad.

Y mae rhyw greadur trwy’r byd yn grwydredig,

Nis gwn i yn hollol ai glanwedd ai hyllig,

Ag sydd i laweroedd yn gwneuthur doluriad,

Ar bawb yn goncwerwr, a’i enw yw Cariad.

Yr ifanc yn awchus wna daro fynycha’,

A’i saeth trwy ei asen mewn modd truenusa’;

Ond weithiau a’i fwa fe ddwg yn o fuan

O dan ei lywodraeth y rhai canol oedran.

Weithiau mae’n taro yn lled annaturiol,

Nes byddant yn babwyr yn wir yr hen bobl,

Mi glywais am rywun a gas yn aflawen

Y bendro’n ei wegil yn ol pedwar ugain.

A thyma’r creadur trwy’r byd wrth garwyro

A d’rawodd y ddeu-ddyn wyf trostynt yn teithio,

I hel eich cynorthwy a’ch nodded i’w nerthu,

Yn ol a gewch chwithau pan ddel hwn i’ch brathu.

Ymdrechwch i ddala i fyny yn ddilys,

Bawb oll yr hen gystwm, nid yw yn rhy gostus—

Sef rhoddi rhyw sylltach, rai ‘nol eu cysylltu,

Fe fydd y gwyr ifainc yn foddgar o’u meddu.

Can’ brynu rhyw bethau yn nghyd gan obeithio

Byw yn o dawel a’u plant yn blodeuo;

Dwyn bywyd mor ddewis wrth drin yr hen ddaear,

A Brenhin y Saeson, neu gynt yr hen Sesar.

Can’s nid wyf i’n meddwl mae golud a moddion

Sy’n gwneuthur dedwyddwch, dyweden hwy wedo’n;

Mae gofid i’r dynion, sy’n byw mewn sidanau,

Gwir mae’r byd hawsaf yw byw heb ddim eisiau.

‘Roedd Brenhin mawr Lloegr a’i wraig yn alluog,

A chig yn eu crochan, ond eto’n byw’n ‘ysgrechog;

Pe cawsai y dwliaid y gaib yn eu dwylo,

Yr wyf yn ystyried y buasai llai stwrio.

Cynal rhyw gweryl yr aent am y goron,

Ac ymladd a’u gilydd a hyny o’r galon;

‘Rwy’n barod i dyngu er cymaint eu hanghen

Nad o’ent hwy mor ddedwydd a Stephen a Madlen.

Yr wyf yn attolwg i bob un o’r teulu,

I gofio fy neges wyf wedi fynegu;

Rhag i’r gwr ifanc a’i wraig y pryd hyny,

Os na chan’ ddim digon ddweyd mai fi fu’n diogi.

Chwi gewch yno roeso, ‘rwy’n gwybod o’r hawsaf,

A bara chaws ddigon, onide mi a ddigiaf,

Caiff pawb eu hewyllys, dybacco, a phibelli,

A diod hoff ryfedd, ‘rwyf wedi ei phrofi.

Gwel’d digrif gwmpeini wy’n garu’n rhagorol,

Nid gwiw ini gofio bob amser ei gofol;

Mae amser i gwyno mae amser i ganu,

Gwir yw mae hen hanes a ddywed in’ hyny.

Cwpanau da fawrion a dynion difyrus,

I mi sy’n rhyw olwg o’r hen amser hwylus;

Ac nid wyf fi’n digio os gwaeddi wna rhywun,

Yn nghornel y ‘stafell, “A yfwch chwi, Styfyn?”

Dydd da i chwi weithian, mae’n rhaid i mi deithio

Dros fryniau, a broydd, a gwaunydd, dan gwyno;

Gan stormydd tra awchus, a chan y glaw uchel,

Caf lawer cernod, a chwithau’n y gornel.”

The above has been translated into English by one Mair Arfon as follows, and appeared in “Cymru Fu,” Cardiff, August 9th, 1888:—

“Here’s Stephen the Bidder! Good day to you all,

To baby and daddy, old, young, great and small;

Good friends if you like, in a warm poet’s lay

My message to you I’ll deliver to-day.

Some creature there is who roams the world through

Working mischief to many and joy to a few,

But conquering all, whether hell or above

Be his home, I am not certain; his name though is love.

The young he most frequently marks as his game,

Strikes them straight through the heart with an unerring aim;

Though the middle age, too, if he gets in his way,

With his bow he will cover and bend to his sway.

And sometimes the rogue with an aim somewhat absurd,

Makes fools of old people. Indeed, I have heard

Of one hapless wight, who, though over four score,

He hit in the head, making one victim more.

And this is the creature, who, when on his way

Through the world, struck the couple in whose cause to-day,

I ask for your help and your patronage, too;

And they’ll give you back when he comes to bite you.

And now let each one of us struggle to keep

The old custom up, so time-honoured and cheap;

Of jointly, or singly, some small trifle giving,

To start the young pair on their way to a living.

They’ll buy a few things, with a confidence clear,

Of living in peace as their children they rear;

Stealing and content, out of Mother Earth’s hand,

Blest as Cæsar of old, or the King of our land.

I do not consider that riches or gold

Ensure contentment; a wise man of old

Tells us men in soft raiment of grief have their share,

And a life without wants is the lightest to bear.

Once a great English King[1] and his talented wife,

Though they had meat in their pan, led a bickering life;

Were the dullards compelled to work, him and her,

With a hoe in their hands it would lessen their stir.

The quarrel arose from some fight for the Crown

And at it they went like some cats of renown;

And although we are poor, I am ready to swear

That Stephen and Madlen are freer from care.

Now let me impress on this whole family,

To think on the message delivered by me;

Lest the youth and his wife, through not getting enough,

Should say that my idleness caused lack of stuff.

A welcome you’ll get there I guarantee you,

With bread and cheese plenty, and prime beer, too;

I know, for I have tried it, and everybody there

Can have ‘bacco and pipes enough and to spare.

It delights me a jovial assembly to see,

For it is wiser sometimes to forget misery;

There are times for complaining and song, too we’re told,

In the proverb of old, which is true as it’s old.

A bumping big cup and a lot of bright men,

Bring before me the jolly old times o’er again,

And I wouldn’t be angry if some one now even

Would shout from some corner “Will you have a glass Stephen?”

Good day to you now, for away I must hie,

Over mountains and hillocks with often a sigh,

Exposed as I am to keen storms, rain, and sleet,

While you cosily sit in your warm corner seat.”

Another well-known Gwahoddwr about 50 years ago was Thomas Parry, who lived at the small village of Pontshan in the parish of Llandyssul. A short time ago, when I was staying in that neighbourhood in quest for materials for my present work, I came across a few old people who well-remembered him, especially Mr. Thomas Evans, Gwaralltyryn, and the Rev. T. Thomas, J.P., Greenpark, both of whom, as well as one or two others, told me a good deal about him.

Like a good many of the Gwahoddwyr or Bidders, he seemed to have been a most eccentric character, of a ready wit and full of humour, especially when more or less under the influence of a glass of ale. Mr. Rees Jones, Pwllffein, a poet of considerable repute in the Vale of Cletwr, composed for T. Parry, a “Can y Gwahoddwr,” or the Bidder’s Song, which song in a very short time, became most popular in that part of Cardiganshire, and the adjoining districts of Carmarthenshire. This Parry the Bidder, whenever he was sent by those intending to marry, went from house to house, through the surrounding districts, proclaiming the particulars, and inviting all to the Bidding and the Weddings, and he was greeted with smiles wherever he went, especially by the young men and young women, who always looked forward to a wedding with great delight, as it was an occasion for so much merriment and enjoyment, and where lovers and sweethearts met. Food was set before the Gwahoddwr almost in every house, bread and cheese and beer, so that it is not to be wondered at that he felt a bit merry before night. He tramped through his circuit through storms and rain, but like most Bidders, he was but poorly paid, so he was often engaged as a mole trapper as well.

On one occasion, he had set down a trap in a neighbouring field in the evening expecting to find a mole entrapped in it next morning. Next morning came, and off went the old man to see the trap, but when he arrived on the spot, to his great surprise, instead of a mole in the trap, there was a fish in it! The famous entrapper of moles could not imagine how a fish could get into a trap on dry land, but he found out afterwards that some mischievous boys had been there early in the morning before him, who, to have a bit of fun at the expense of the old man, had taken out the mole from the trap and put a fish in it instead.

Thus we see that the modern Gwahoddwr was generally a poor man; but in the old times, on the other hand, he was a person of importance, skilled in pedigrees and family traditions, and himself of good family; for, undoubtedly, these old wedding customs which have survived in some localities in Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire and other parts of Wales even down almost to the present time, are of a very ancient origin, coming down even from the time of the Druids, and this proves the wisdom and knowledge of the original legislators of the Celtic tribes; for they were instituted in order to encourage wedlock so as to increase the population of the country, and to repair the losses occasioned by plagues and wars. A chieftain would frequently assume the character of a Bidder on behalf of his vassal, and hostile clans respected his person as he went about from castle to castle, or from mansion to mansion.

Old people who well remember the time when the quaint old wedding customs were very general throughout West Wales, informed me that it was in some localities the custom sometimes to have two or more Gwahoddwyr to invite to the wedding; this was especially the case when the bride and bridegroom-elect did not reside in the same part of the country; for it happened sometimes that the young man engaged to be married lived in a certain part of Carmarthenshire, whilst his bride perhaps lived some way off in Cardiganshire or Pembrokeshire.

In such cases it was necessary to appoint two Bidders, one for the young man, and another for the young woman, to go round the respective districts in which each of them lived.

An old man in Carmarthenshire informed me that many years ago a friend of his, a farmer in the parish of Llanycrwys married a young lady from Pencarreg, two Bidders were sent forth to tramp the country; one going round the parish of Llanycrwys where the bridegroom lived, and the other’s circuit was the parish of Pencarreg, the native parish of the bride.

Another custom in some places, especially round Llandyssul and Llangeler, which took place before appointing the Gwahoddwr, was for the neighbours and friends to come together of an evening to the house of the bride or bridegroom’s parents, or any other place fixed upon for that purpose. On such occasion a good deal of drinking home-brewed beer was indulged in, “Er lles y par ifanc,” that is, for the benefit of the young couple. All the profit made out of this beer drinking at a private house went to the young man and the young woman as a help to begin their married life. At such a meeting also very often the day of the wedding was fixed, and the Bidder appointed, and should he happen to be an inexperienced one he was urged to repeat his Bidding speech before the company present, in order to test him whether he had enough wit and humour to perform his office satisfactorily in going round to invite to the wedding.

When the young people engaged to be married were sons and daughters of well-to-do farmers, it was the custom to send by this Bidder in his rounds, a circular letter, or a written note in English; and this note or circular in course of time became so fashionable that the occupation of a Bidder gradually fell to decay; that is, it became a custom to send a circular letter instead of a Bidder. The following Bidding Letter, which is not a fictitious one, but a real document, appeared in an interesting book, entitled “The Vale of Towy,” published in 1844:—

“Being betrothed to each other, we design to ratify the plighted vow by entering under the sanction of wedlock; and as a prevalent custom exists from time immemorial amongst “Plant y Cymry” of making a bidding on the occurrence of a hymeneal occasion, we have a tendency to the manner of the oulden tyme, and incited by friends as well as relations to do the same, avail ourselves of this suitableness of circumstances of humbly inviting your agreeable and pleasing presence on Thursday, the 29th day of December next, at Mr. Shenkin’s, in the parish of Llangathen, and whatever your propensities then feel to grant will meet with an acceptance of the most grateful with an acknowledgement of the most warmly, carefully registered, and retaliated with promptitude and alacrity, whenever an occurrence of a similar nature present itself, by

“Your most obedient servants,
William Howells,
Sarah Lewis.

“The young man, with his father and mother (David and Ann Howells), his brother (John Howells), and his cousin (Edward Howells), desire that all claims of the above nature due to them be returned to the young man on the above day, and will feel grateful for the bestowments of all kindness conferred upon him.

“The young woman, with her father and mother (Thomas and Letice Lewis), her sisters (Elizabeth and Margaret Lewis), and her cousins (William and Mary Morgan), desire that all claims of the above nature due to them be returned to the young woman on the above day, and will feel grateful for the bestowments of all kindness conferred upon her.”

The following Bidding Letter I copied from an old manuscript in possession of that eminent Antiquarian, the Rev. D. H. Davies, once Vicar of Cenarth, but who lives at present at Newcastle Emlyn:—

“To Mr. Griffith Jenkins.

“Sir,—As my daughter’s Bidding is fixed to be the Eighth day of February next, I humbly beg the favour of your good company according to custom, on the occasion, which shall be most gratefully acknowledged and retaliated by

“Yours most obedient and humble Servant,
Joshua Jones.

“Penrallt,
Jan. 23rd, 1770.”

The following also is another specimen of such circular, a copy of which came into my possession through the kindness of the esteemed lady, Mrs. Webley-Tyler, Glanhelig, near Cardigan:—

“February 1, 1841.

“As we intend to enter the Matrimonial State, on Thursday, the 11th day of February instant, we purpose to make a Bidding on the occasion, the same day, at the young woman’s Father and Mother’s House, called Llechryd Mill; When and where the favour of your good company is most humbly solicited, and whatever donation you will be pleased to confer on us that day, will be thankfully received and cheerfully repaid whenever called for on a similar occasion,

“By your obedient humble Servants,
John Stephens,
Ann Davies.

“The young man’s Father and Mother (John and Elizabeth Stephens, Pen’rallt-y-felin), together with his brother (David Stephens), desire that all gifts of the above nature due to them be returned to the Young Man, on the said day, and will be thankful for all favours granted.—Also the Young Woman’s Father and Mother (David and Hannah Davies, Llechryd Mill), desire that all gifts of the above nature due to them, be returned to the young woman on the said day, and will be thankful for all favours granted.”

The day before the Wedding was once allotted to bringing home the “Ystafell,” or household goods and furniture, of the young couple; but these customs varied considerably in different parts of the country. The furniture of the bride, as a rule, consisted of a feather bed and bed clothes, one or two large oaken chests to keep clothes in, and a few other things; and it was customary for the bridegroom to find or provide tables, chairs, bedstead, and a dresser. The dresser was perhaps the most interesting relic of family property, and is still to be seen in Welsh farm-houses, and is greatly valued as a thing which has been an heirloom in the family for generations. It consists of two or more stages, and the upper compartments, which are open, are always decked with specimens of useful and ornamental old Welsh ware, which are getting very rare now, and people offer a high price for them as curiosities.

It was also customary on the same day for the young man and the young woman to receive gifts of various kinds, such as money, flour, cheese, butter, bacon, hens, and sometimes even a cow or a pig, also a good many useful things for house-keeping. This was called “Pwrs a Gwregys”—a purse and a girdle. But these gifts were to be re-paid when demanded on similar occasions; and, upon a refusal, were even recoverable by law; and sometimes this was done.

About a hundred years ago, and previous to that date, the day before the wedding, as a rule, was allotted to the “Ystafell,” or bringing home of the furniture, etc.; but more recently it became the custom to appoint a day for that purpose at other times in some districts, that is, it took place whenever the young married couple went to live at a house of their own; this would be perhaps three or six months after the wedding. In Wales it is very common to see a young married couple among the farmers remaining with the parents of the young man, or with the young wife’s parents until it is a convenient time for them to take up a farm of their own.

I have already noticed that these customs varied in different parts of the country. In some districts, the day preceding the Wedding was a great time for feasting, whilst in other localities people came together to drink for the benefit of the young couple, and when cakes were prepared for the Neithior which was to follow the wedding on the next day.