第15章 BOOK I(6)

at length,rising up,and signing his face and forehead with the figure of the cross,he thus openly spake:"Almighty God,and Lord Jesus Christ,who knowest all things,declare here this day thy power.If thou hast caused me to descend lineally from the natural princes of Wales,I command these birds in thy name to declare it;"and immediately the birds,beating the water with their wings,began to cry aloud,and proclaim him.The spectators were astonished and confounded;and earl Milo hastily returning with Payn Fitz-John to court,related this singular occurrence to the king,who is said to have replied,"By the death of Christ (an oath he was accustomed to use),it is not a matter of so much wonder;for although by our great authority we commit acts of violence and wrong against these people,yet they are known to be the rightful inheritors of this land."The lake also {54}(according to the testimony of the inhabitants)is celebrated for its miracles;for,as we have before observed,it sometimes assumed a greenish hue,so in our days it has appeared to be tinged with red,not universally,but as if blood flowed partially through certain veins and small channels.Moreover it is sometimes seen by the inhabitants covered and adorned with buildings,pastures,gardens,and orchards.In the winter,when it is frozen over,and the surface of the water is converted into a shell of ice,it emits a horrible sound resembling the moans of many animals collected together;but this,perhaps,may be occasioned by the sudden bursting of the shell,and the gradual ebullition of the air through imperceptible channels.This country is well sheltered on every side (except the northern)by high mountains;on the western by those of cantref Bychan;{55}on the southern,by that range,of which the principal is Cadair Arthur,{56}or the chair of Arthur,so called from two peaks rising up in the form of a chair,and which,from its lofty situation,is vulgarly ascribed to Arthur,the most distinguished king of the Britons.A spring of water rises on the summit of this mountain,deep,but of a square shape,like a well,and although no stream runs from it,trout are said to be sometimes found in it.

Being thus sheltered on the south by high mountains,the cooler breezes protect this district from the heat of the sun,and,by their natural salubrity,render the climate most temperate.Towards the east are the mountains of Talgarth and Ewyas.{57}The natives of these parts,actuated by continual enmities and implacable hatred,are perpetually engaged in bloody contests.But we leave to others to describe the great and enormous excesses,which in our time have been here committed,with regard to marriages,divorces,and many other circumstances of cruelty and oppression.

CHAPTER III

Ewyas and Llanthoni In the deep vale of Ewyas,{58}which is about an arrow-shot broad,encircled on all sides by lofty mountains,stands the church of Saint John the Baptist,covered with lead,and built of wrought stone;and,considering the nature of the place,not unhandsomely constructed,on the very spot where the humble chapel of David,the archbishop,had formerly stood decorated only with moss and ivy.Asituation truly calculated for religion,and more adapted to canonical discipline,than all the monasteries of the British isle.

It was founded by two hermits,in honour of the retired life,far removed from the bustle of mankind,in a solitary vale watered by the river Hodeni.From Hodeni it was called Lanhodeni,for Lan signifies an ecclesiastical place.This derivation may appear far-fetched,for the name of the place,in Welsh,is Nanthodeni.Nant signifies a running stream,from whence this place is still called by the inhabitants Landewi Nanthodeni,{59}or the church of Saint David upon the river Hodeni.The English therefore corruptly call it Lanthoni,whereas it should either be called Nanthodeni,that is,the brook of the Hodeni,or Lanhodeni,the church upon the Hodeni.

Owing to its mountainous situation,the rains are frequent,the winds boisterous,and the clouds in winter almost continual.The air,though heavy,is healthy;and diseases are so rare,that the brotherhood,when worn out by long toil and affliction during their residence with the daughter,retiring to this asylum,and to their mother's {60}lap,soon regain their long-wished-for health.For as my Topographical History of Ireland testifies,in proportion as we proceed to the eastward,the face of the sky is more pure and subtile,and the air more piercing and inclement;but as we draw nearer to the westward,the air becomes more cloudy,but at the same time is more temperate and healthy.Here the monks,sitting in their cloisters,enjoying the fresh air,when they happen to look up towards the horizon,behold the tops of the mountains,as it were,touching the heavens,and herds of wild deer feeding on their summits:the body of the sun does not become visible above the heights of the mountains,even in a clear atmosphere,till about the hour of prime,or a little before.A place truly fitted for contemplation,a happy and delightful spot,fully competent,from its first establishment,to supply all its own wants,had not the extravagance of English luxury,the pride of a sumptuous table,the increasing growth of intemperance and ingratitude,added to the negligence of its patrons and prelates,reduced it from freedom to servility;and if the step-daughter,no less enviously than odiously,had not supplanted her mother.