comfort and edification, by the whole assembly. This cross, at the time in question, "was yet standing, with some words, or letters, which time and Welsh weather had so defaced that they were no longer intelligible to vulgar eyes.' In memory, or rather in proof, of the miracle, the guardian saint had caused a church to be erected on the spot, and many were the pilgrims, during the long lapse of centuries, who had resorted to the Cross, and borne testimony to the celestial influence which still hovered round the spot; and in those who were already gifted with that "faith which can remove mountains," produced the most wonderful changes. This relation, working upon the Marquess's mind, made him desirous to turn aside for a little, and inspect the hallowed ground in person. Having reached the churchyard, the cross was instantly visible; but in shape and ornament bearing all the marks of venerable antiquity. The inscription was almost obliterated; and among the gentlemen who attended the Marquess, it became an object of competition who should best decypher the original; though all that could be traced with any resemblance to an alphabet, were— Crx.. Xtí.. Bd, and part of an s. The enigma that had puzzled so many others, however, appeared to his lordship of very easy solution. "Why," said he to the gentlemen around him, "these letters are neither more nor less than fragments of three simple but sacred words; to wit—Crux Christí Davidis.” "Which we all wondered at," says the Chaplain," that no man could find out, though it afterwards appeared so plain. Look ye now,' said the Marquess; 'I, without my spectacles, and ill eyes, could read it sooner than all you that needed none, and had good eyes. And mark me,' he added, 'it is not a good eye but a good faith that attains to a knowledge of such things; whilst you pore so much upon the letters you lose the meaning. Now, I will tell you how I came to find it out: I considered what had been told me, with the help whereof I came to understand what the words might signify; so that in this, I am sure, tradition was a means to help me to the understanding of the scripture.' The quaint simplicity of the last sentence-so full of meaning-and the lesson it inculcates regarding the authority of Traditions, illustrate in a quiet way the Marquess's opinions as to those of the Church; and to antiquaries, the aid of tradition is thus very ingeniously recommended. Where authentic history falls short of the mark in researches, the traditions of a castle are entitled to consideration; and in the preceding account of Raglan, it has been our study to combine the two--though not in the sense recommended by the Marquess. Of Lord Herbert, the following anecdote is recorded:-Some time after he was created Earl of Glamorgan, he received the King's commission, as we CASTLE.] TRADITION OF LORD HERBERT-THE CROWN. 231 have seen, to proceed to Ireland, and there ascertain what could be done to strengthen the royal cause. Setting out on this expedition, and accompanied, as we are told, by a distinguished retinue of officers, knights, and gentlemen— "all of the red letter"--who had staked life and fortune on the enterprise, his lordship arrived at Caernarvon, where he was to embark for Ireland. Here they were detained a short time; and Glamorgan continuing to receive at his table the loyalist gentlemen of the place, the conversation turned upon some old prophecies, which it was thought were fast reaching their fulfilment. "And particularly one," said a gentleman of the company. "It is an old Welsh prediction, and says 'That in these latter times there should come to this very town a magpie, and build her nest in the royal crown; that next a jackdaw should arrive, and beat off the magpie; then a buzzard should appear on the same roost, and drive away the jackdaw; and then there should be seen no crown, but that of thorns, upon the King's head! Farther, that there should come a band of men from a far country, and take away the thorns, and then the crown should appear again." And thus far, as the townsmen averred, the prophecy had been accomplished; to wit-"Over the gate of Caernarvon Castle, there was a statue of King Edward the First, in full proportion, with a crown upon his head. Well, there did come a magpie, as every one could tell, which built her nest in the said crown; then came a jackdaw that beat away the magpie, as foretold; and, in like manner, came at last a buzzard, and drove away the jackdaw." "And all this," said the worthy townsmen, "we assure your honour to be as true as Holy Writ." Hereupon the Earl of Glamorgan, having listened with deep interest to the recital, replied with much animation-" And why may not we, my gallant friends and comrades-why may not we be that band of men from a far country, that shall take away these thorns from the King's head-first, in type, and then in substance ?" And thereupon all concluded themselves to be the men destined for that glorious service. They resolved that, on rising from table, they would satisfy their eyes with the sight, as their ears had already been with the relation, and lend willing and helping hands to disencumber the figure. Nothing else could be thought of; and dinner being ended, the Earl and his company sallied forth to the castle gate, resolved to signalize the day by an act of loyalty that would endear their names to posterity. Looking up, accordingly, with great eagerness to the royal badge, that seemed to implore their assistance, its appearance, sure enough, was in literal accordance with the disordered condition in which crowns are generally left by rival combatants. *Page 175 of this volume. It was, in fact, quite a heart-breaking sight to see the diadem of England so covered and entangled with thorns, as if artificially platted round the King's temples. "Verily," said one of the nobles present, never hath mine eye beheld a sadder spectacle!" "The Earl himself, almost frantic with grief and indignation, straightway commanded the nest to be torn down; which was done with every mark of ignominy; and then the company began to breathe again. The materials composing the nest being examined with severe scrutiny, were found to be of white-thorn-a substance whereof never was bird known before to build her nest!" A thing so unprecedented, both as regards the nest and the material* thereof, caused in the beholders a degree of amazement not to be expressed: in memorial whereof, every one present thrust a sprig of thorn in his hatband, and so wore it as a talisman. So far, "in type," the thorns were removed from the King's crown-but not "in substance." This adventure in Caernarvon being duly narrated to the Marquess at Raglan, he paused for a minute, and then inquired of those about him, “What was the nickname which the Roundheads were wont to give the Bishops?" But there were none about him who could even guess at his meaning; which he perceiving, said, "As I take it, they used to call the Bishops Magpies, whom they reproach for building their nests in the crown; then came the Presbyterian Jackdaws, and beat them out; and the next thing that you shall see will be the Independent Buzzard, which shall drive them away. And who shall come next, God only knows!" To this solution, one with a Roman nose made answer: "" I hope, my lord, that after these men have played their pranks sufficiently, no man hereafter will presume to build his nest in the crown; but I hope there will be a knot of good fellows that may ease the King's head from the pricking of those thorns, and clear the crown from those incumbrances." Whereupon the Marquess, replying, asked the party who related the story, "What manner of crown it was— of what form that was upon the King's head?" The gentleman replied, “ A royal crown." "Ay; but I mean," rejoined my lord, "was it an open or an imperial crown?" "An open one." Oh, then, that was the reason; the King's crown was too open: had it been close at top, with the Cross overhead [a sly word for the Roman Catholic faith], such unlucky birds could never * The contributor of this anecdote is not sufficiently acquainted with the habits of birds as to pronounce that no bird builds its nest of white-thorn; but if such be really the case, that circumstance might surely have led the cavaliers to suspect that the prophecy had received some aid in its fulfilment from the worthy townsmen of Caernarvon. But the explanation given by the Marquess is, as usual, felicitously characteristic, and veiled in a politico-religious guise. CASTLE.] OUTWORKS-STATE APARTMENTS. 233 have come there to have built their nests; but one thing there is," said he, in conclusion, "that I mislike in the story, namely, that after they had taken the thorns from the King's head, they should afterwards wear them in their own ha bands." This was what no one present could explain to the Marquess's satisfaction. And Lord Glamorgan's negotiations in Ireland proved a failure to remove any "thorns from the royal crown."-So much for a prophecy which shows the superstition and credulity of the times—a credulity which tainted even those who were charged with the highest offices of the state. Yet such "The superstitious, idle-headed eld In those days, no fortress surrendered, no castle fell, no band of heroes was discomfited, but in fulfilment of some irresistible "prophecy."-But here we must close the subject with a few words on the Outworks of Raglan.-On this head little remains to be added. The details, given in the first volume of this work, respecting castles of the middle ages, preclude the necessity of our doing more than simply referring the reader to those passages in the description of Rochester and Arundel, which equally apply to Raglan. With respect to the outworks of the latter, a very brief notice may here suffice. By a practical eye the line of fortification may still be traced; and what remains of the original defences thrown up during the siege, shows very clearly that the military engineers employed were men whose skill and science did credit to the age. The vestiges of this lamentable war are mostly observable on the west side of the castle, where a strong bastion, projecting from the exterior wall of the fortification, forms a striking feature of the outworks, and a no less striking contrast with the luxuriant vegetation which now crowns, and almost conceals, these monuments of a barbarous and unnatural war. The point to which we allude, is that represented in the engraving, and entitled the "Avenue," where the state apartments, unlatticed, roofless, and dilapidated, look down upon the green belt of trees and underwood that surround them with a melancholy aspect-but a melancholy that imparts feelings of thankfulness to the lovers of peace; for it tells very plainly that the devastating storm has long subsided, and that the sunshine of national prosperity and contentment has again visited the scene. The engines of war have disappeared; the ramparts, raised by men for the destruction of their fellowmen, are now razed to the ground. Nature-striving to throw her green mantle of oblivion over a scene from which she was so rudely banished by the violence of war-smiles at her own bloodless triumph, and peoples the over Bayly, Apophthegm xix. VOL. 11. arching groves with feathered tribes that sing no songs but those of peace and joy We now proceed to a brief notice of the environs: Raglan Church has little to interest the archæological inquirer beyond its antiquity-and its claim to this distinction is fully vindicated by its appearance. It consists of a nave, side aisles, a chancel, and a square embattled tower, which, with a few trees throwing their shadows over the burialground, forms a pleasing landmark in the distance. We had the pleasure of uniting in the Morning Service before leaving the village, and were much gratified by the religious demeanour which pervaded the congregation, and edified by the simple but impressive discourse with which the service was terminated. The woodcut represents the old baronial Kitchen with its appendages, as described page 154. |