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r-BAILORS AND LAND SHARKS.

-. CURIOUS MONEY LENDING CASE.

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DOWN TRAINS. Sund

WHERE SHALL WE DINE IN LONDON?…

DEIFICATION. ...

- THE "SIN-EATEIi" IN WALES.

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THE "SIN-EATEIi" IN WALES. The Rev. Professor Silvan Evaus,'I3.D., of Llany- mawddwy. has contributed another letter to tin Academy in disproof of the absurd statements which have been forthcoming respecting the alle-eo functions of the imaginary cSin-Eater b THE "SIN-EATER." Llanymawddwy, Fob. 12, 1876. The question between the writer in Blackwood a.nd myself is a simple one, and I regret to find that in his letter in the Academy of to-day he mixes up with it a good deal of irrelevant matter, leaving the point at issue just where it was. He stated in his article that the custom of the sin-eater prevails in north and south Wales at the present day when I challenged that statement aud asked for proof, we were told that by the present day he means some thirty years a.e'o and when pressed for the locality he goes under the aegis of Mr. Moggridge to Llandebie "in the hill country of Carmarthenshire." When persons appeal to certain tribunals, they should not complain if thev are sent to appear before the tribunals of their choice Llandebie was named, and Llandebie was accepted • enquiries were made on the spot by competent per- sons and those who will take the trouble to road my last letter will see with what success. The Sin-Eater is as little known there as probably he is in Nova zembla Now the writer shifts his ground and moves under the enhghteiimg guidance ot Murray's Hond'- bookjor 1'ravetters in South Wales, to Cwm Amman, about seven miles from Llandebie. The compiler of that volume whether ever connected with Mon- mouthshire Iron Works" or not, states nothino- about the Sin-Eater from personal knowledge of anv Mant!'i ?)0tT, almoSt tho identical words of T VU v-- Wlth a sll"ht variation as to the locality. Lady Veruey, m the February number of the Contemporary Review, simply relates the same stoiy °^°r again, without any corroboration of her own. A false story does not become truth by repeti- tion, and these repetitions add nothing to our know- ledge, and therefore it is simply waste of space to retail them. TIM) writer complains that I did not turn over a certain leaf in Archaeologia Cambreasis, where he in timates that Mr. Moggridge told the archaeologists at Ludlow that the practice of sin-eating was carried on at Llandebie until f ee yectl's of thuJ time (1852) The leaf had been turned over and read before I wrote my last letter I turn it over again, and on it road the last utterances of Mr. Moggridge as follows .— Mr. Moggridge said-Far bo it from him to desire that anything he should advance should not be com- bated, for all he wished to get at was truth He thought that the gist of what fell from Mr. Allen was that there was no immediate connexion between the custom of Sin-Eater and the plate and the salt Starting from the Carmarthenshire valley he found the most horrible portion of the custom dropped and the rest still retained; and as he advanced'still further he found that less remained. Mr. Aubrey from whom he quoted, and who was a man of hi-fi character, said that the custom had existed both in Herefordshire and Shropshire. Mr. Aubrey told them he went to a cottage in Herefordshire, where he saw a man whom he described as the Sin-Eater j and he (Mr. Moggridge) found, in the very district where Mr. Aubrey had seen it in its most horrid perfection that the more odious part of the custom had been removed, butportions thereof still remained. He thought that the plate and salt were of eastern origin. There was only one thing more that he need trouble them with, and that was whether the custom was extinct. He believed that people were thoroughly ashamed of the practice one case, ho was informed occurred four or five years ago, but he believed it was extinct now." These are Mr. Moggridge's last words at Ludlow, and I fail to find a syllable in them referring to Llan- debto and if ho rotors to any place, it must be, as I ixndcisuand him, to some part of Herefordshire, with which the writer appears to me more acquainted than I can pretend to be, and to which, as I have already distinctly stated, my remarks do not np dy. Mr Moggridge, and apparently the writer of thearticle] assume all along that the plate and salt are necessarily remnants of the alleged sin-eating practice and finding these articles employed in certain ea SPS, they take it tor granted that the more odious part of the custom has been removed," which amounts to bcgg-ing the whoie question. Mr. Moggndge candidly admits that he never witnessed tho "horrid cllstom" at fjlandeoio or elsewhere, but informs us that it "was said to have prevailed he does not mention his authorities, nor does he so much as hint what mentis Ins informants had of knowing the truth or untruth of the story. lean assure Mr. Moggridge that I vicar d,«re«Pe<st ,to when I SIly°tl,at both the ] 'l1.1 tlle schoolmaster have enjoyed more rrr!Ik' 0.Pl>ortulllties than he is likely to have had of ascertaining the tacts of the case, on account of the. 1 connexion with the locality and th-ir knowledge of their vernacular. I value Mr. Moggridge's opinions as opinions but we are now in quest of facts and opinions, from whatever source they may emanate, must not be mistaken for them. The ques- tion at issue lies within the domain of fact, and, therefore, capable of proof if tho charge has any foundation on a more solid substance than imagina- tion an compact." Itis very kind, but slightly superfluous, on the part of the writer to "refresh" my memory respecting the various sin-bearing of the Levitioal scapegoat." It is useless to argue about what may, could, or should have occurred, when we are concerned only with wha.t has actually taken place. It is needless to expatiate on the possibility of a custom, when its existence is denied. The writer might have spared his sneering remark about tho treason of calling Welshmen ignorant and "superstitions." Tho qualities denoted by these elegant stoek-cpithets,unfortunately, are not confined to the Principality of Wales; and one at least of these benighted barbarians holds that it is treason against truth to make charges that cannot be substantiated against any nation, however ignoraut or superstitious tliat nation may be. The writer seems to assume that it is a point of national honour," rather than any higher mobivo, that induces Welshmen to repudiate groundless imputations. When -u.ition.d honour and truth go together, national honour" is not to be contcmucd. The writer appears to feel rather uneasy on account ot his incognito. He need not. It is perfectly im- matciiai whether he retains it or doffs it bui, it shall not shield him from the consequences oi making statements ot questionable authenticity. He VOUdl- Bates to inform us that he is,"oy parentage, ancestry, property, and interests, connected with two counties ot toouth Wales but he does not tell us that his an- cestors ever furnished him with any information con- cerning the Sin-Eater, or that in his frequent visits to 0ur benighted country he ever encountered that dread functionary. Sucn being the case, I confess to being a little hazy as to the relevance ot long pedi- grees and broad acres in two or more counties, fine tilings as they are, to the subject we are now discuss- ini;. More to the point is the admission that, not- withstanding his frequen travels over most of the Principality, he has "failed to acquire its language," that language being the very key to its customs, legends, and folk-loro. His travels, therefore, ma c resemble those of a blind man in quest of tIll; beautiful. If the writer proves, as he states in Blackieood, th" t the superstition of the Sin-Eater is" still sur. viving in North and South Wales," I shall at oncc eOlHesS my error, and the "national honour" shall take its cfiance but if he fails to do this, he ought, ill justice to the country of his ancestry," to retract the groundless charge. He it. is that has brought the accusation against it, and on him lies the burden of proof. D. SILVAN EVANS.

LOCAL MINING INTELLIGENCE.

THE LENNIE MUTINY. 4.

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