Collectanea.
5'^
Custom when some aid women got behindhand with their rent. " An old widow, say Mary Jenkins, would come round we servants at the farm-houses, and ask we to come and have a cup of tea at one shilling apiece, servant-girls and servant-men, and bring the whistle-pipes, and dance after our tea. Then they'd count the money up, and see if enough to pay rent, and, if not enough, they would go round and say, — "Sixpence, please." And some would have shaking dice for a couple of fowls. They was jolly good servant-men in those days. Some married people would come too, to help the ole woman on, — Nancy Walker and old Betty Hemp, from Cilcovereth. At Llwynmaddy there would be a tea- party. There was a tea-party at Fforddlas at Jones' (Tregoyd bailie's) house, where Mrs. Bounds lived, and they did bring nine gallon of beer there. Betty Hemp had a bottle of gin, and they gave her a sixpence apiece for some ; her husband was always making hemp ; he was called Harry Hemp. A dozen places tea would be at. They would have a bit of plumcake hot out of oven, and bread and butter.
Fairies.
When Anne Thomas was a girl, the children and she were all warned never to go inside a fairy-ring. " When we was going to school, in the Celyn's meadow, there was fairy-rings, and grand- father did say we must mind and not put our foot inside the fairy-rings, else the fairies would have us. And we was afeard in our heart to put our foot inside, afeard the fairies would get hold of we. And they said there was music and dancing and fiddles at night. A man did come home from the Hay fair, drunk, and had cakes in his pocket; and, hearing the music, he stepped in the ring to them, and there he danced. And he would not tell how many years he had been inside there. And when he came out he came to where he thought his home was, and they was all gone, and there was no-one there."
Folk-Tales.
Story of old Tyucha. — Old Tyucha,^ as she was always called,
lived at Graswell. She used to go to the market at Hay, so had
^ Ty ucha (the upper house) was the place where the old lady lived, not her personal name. It is quite common in Wales to speak of a person by the name of his residence.
