m^^'i "K,.'f;t-i>* /5^%;^i^., '^ ¥■ ,". -*:-^- ^T«^ J',-> '-^ ^ T..^ v^ ^*^l* f fisLtip Charlotte (Bum atiD «4ri J5p ^.i.a<, jf.s.B., Scot Carmartben: m* SpurreU an& Son ',1111111 ' 1 ' 1 1 1 111 ■ LADY CHARLOTTE GUEST AND THE MABINOGION. • • • « • • • • c /••;;^;>n.:ii..iA..; LADY CHARLOTTE GUEST AND The Mabinogion Some Notes on the Work and its Translator, with Extracts from her Journals. By D. RHYS PHILLIPS F.L.A., F.S.A., Scot. cK: 1921. CARMARTHEN : PRINTED BY W. SPURRELL & SON. 2 '^'^~' PREFACE. The Swansea Mabinogion Society has, since its founda- tion as a Reading Circle in 1912, met fortnightly in winter to study the W^elsh Classics ; in summer it has devoted many happy Thursday afternoons to antiquarian rambles in the surrounding districts of Glamorgan. An account of these activities appeared in a volume of Transactions, published in 1916. In the following year the Society commemorated the Anniversary of The Welsh at Ypres (Oct. 31, 1914), with a lecture delivered by one of its members, Mr. J. D. Williams, editor of the Cambrian Daily Leader. This was printed in 1918. The first work studied was the Welsh Mabinogion, and to that circumstance the Society owes its name. It was not unfitting therefore that, when Mr. D. Rhys Phillips's articles revealing the facts of Lady Charlotte Guest's Translation appeared recently in the Western Mail, the Society should have sought the permission of the author and the editor to reprint the material in permanent form for the use of its members. Mr. PhiUips's timely contribu- tions elicited the approval of leading Welsh scholars at the time they appeared. He has now enlarged his notes in a manner which places Lady Charlotte Guest's life and labours clearly before the public for the first time. On behalf of the Society, D. ]\IoRLAis S.\MUEL, Chairman. (Rev.) R. S. Rogers. B.A., ) [ Vice-Chairmen William Lewis, J. P., ) J. Owen Jones, Treasurer. Talnant, Secretary. B !/t''7-'' "^ / J;tiU'^ The Eno^lish Version of the Mabinogion. There is a story current at Oxford of three scholars who had set out to produce a perfect book, the three under- taking to correct separate proofs ; when the work was finally issued from the press H was discovered that even the first page was not free from errors. The literary antiquary finds pleasure in trying to solve the problems, or to correct the mistakes, of those who have gone before him, and in turn he himself provides a fair field for the eagle eyes of his successors. There are thousands of books in circulation which bear no author's name, and there are others erroneously credited to men who never put pen to paper. Imprints there are which perpetuate the names of houses that never possessed a press or a single line of type, while others credit, say, Aberavan with what was actually printed at Neath. As in the fields of printing and authorship, so also in the arena of translation : things are not always what they seem, and, conversely, facts do not always escape being mistaken for fiction. In the Western Mail of April 21, 192 1, there appeared a very interesting contribution by Mr. John Ballinger, C.B.E., M.A., Chief Librarian of the National Library of Wales, on the Centenary of Thomas Stephens, author of The Literature of the Kymry. A few days later a corres- pondent signing himself 'Ap Dowlais' inquired as to the truth of 'the assertion often made, particularly in the Merthyr and Dowlais districts, that Stephens was the actual author of the Translations from the Mabinogion, which are up to the present officially credited with being from the pen of Lady Charlotte Guest.' 8 In llie varied but interesting correspondence which followed, Mr. E. J. Williams of Pontypridd, Mr. R. E. Williams of Llanllawddog, Mr. E. Pryce Roberts of Sully, Mr. Ifano Jones of the Cardiff Public Library, and Mr. Ballinger took part, the latter closing his letter with the words : 'There is no evidence, so far, that she did not herself plan and carry out the scheme for presenting the Mahin- ogion to English readers : until such evidence is forth- coming the reasonable course is to give Lady Guest the full credit.' All this reminded us of inquiries we had pursued in igi6. In 191 1 two beautifully illustrated volumes had appeared, entitled, Lady Charlotte Schreiber's Journals : Confidences of a Collector of Ceramics and Antiques .... from 1869 to 1885. These were edited with an excellent introduction by her third son, Mr. Montague Guest (who died suddenly when on a visit to the late King Edward VII. at Sandringham before the work was finished). We asked the late Countess of Bessborough if her mother's earlier Journals contained any detailed references to the Translation of the Mahinogion : a work handsomely printed by W'. Rees of Llandover3^ in seven numbers, during 1838 — 1846, and afterwards bound in three sump- tuous volumes. Though at that time busily engaged as Hon. Secretary of Princess Victoria's Auxiliary Commiittee for the in- spection of the Y.M.C.A. Recreation Huts for Soldiers at the Base Camps in France (which work she did not long survive, for she died in 1919), the Countess kindly replied on September 26, and in the course of her letter said : 'I delayed answering your letter till I was able to look out extracts from my mother, Lady Charlotte Guest's Journal. I now enclose you samples of the kind of details I could send you. I have typed copies of her unpubUshed Journals from 1822 to 1852, and 1 find that I have noted in the margin where she alludes to working at her translation of the Mahinogion ; so that I could very easily find you a great choice of ex- tracts for publication.' By Oct. 17, 1916, the Countess had sent us all the details she could find, covering the period 1837-45. The war being then at its height, publication was postponed and the material lay aside in the Countess's own brown en- velope till this year of grace, when the Western Mail correspondence, refreshing an erring memory, caused it to be taken out of its resting-place and made known. Sir William Davies, the Editor of the Western Mail, ever keenly interested in the elucidation of Welsh literary problems, suggested that the Extracts should be printed forthwith in the columns of that journal. There were good reasons for giving the facts to the public through the medium wherein the question of authorship had been recently raised, and therefore the Extracts appeared, with an introductory note, in the issues for May 18-20, 1921. So far as we are aware, no scholar of note (except, per- haps, the Comte Hersart de la Villemarque, who is exposed in these extracts, under May, 1842, in a manner which somewhat conforms with the view of his coimtrj-men) has ever doubted Lady Charlotte's office as editing trans- lator of the various texts and compiler of the learned and voluminous notes appended thereto. Those who are familiar with the three volumes need not be told that Lady Charlotte's position is therein openly and frequently declared. But unlettered gossips and certain village writers have always found it difficult to believe that an English lady could effectually surmount the difficulty of rendering into English a series of texts written in early Mediaeval Welsh, which none but a capable Welsh scholar could at that time read with intelligence, and which but few then living had ever actually seen. In his letter to the Western Mail Mr. Ballinger showed that dates alone put Thomas Stephens's name out of court ; indeed, he was little known till he won the litera- 10 ture prize at Abergavenny in 1848.* He is not mentioned in Lady Charlotte's Journals for 1838-45. As to the point raised in Mr. R. E. Williams's letter, had he looked at Vol. Ill, page 72, he would have found that Lady Char- lotte acknowledged in her Notes to the Pwyll story that * Nearly the whole of the Mabinogi of Pwyll Pendevig Dyved has already been printed with a translation in the Cambrian Register, and the story has also appeared in Jones's Welsh Bards.' The Register had ceased publication in 1818, before the serial issue of Pwyll came to its end. With this version at her side, it is reasonable to conclude that Lady Char- lotte's task was lightened considerably ; but, as Mr. Ifano Jones has pointed out, the renderings are by no means identical. Lady Charlotte is by far the better stylist. Now the translation of Pwyll, which appeared in the Cambrian Register, was the work of Dr. Owen Pughe. His translation of Math ab Mathonwy was printed in the first volume of the Cambrian Quarterly, and the fifth volume of the same magazine (1833) contains his English version of Hanes Taliesin, which Lady Charlotte Guest shows was less comptete than her own. At Pughe's re- quest, the London Cymmrodorion had, in 1831, resolved to print the Mabinogion in Denbigh 'under his superin- tendence' {C.Q. iii. 253), but this would seem to involve only the W'elsh text. The resolution was never carried out. How far Dr. Pughe proceeded with his translations beyond the three stories already mentioned we cannot discover, and his biographers do not help us. He died in * Stephens, who was but a chemist's apprentice, aged i6, when Lady Charlotte began translating the Mabinogion in 1837, appraises her work .is follows in The Literatttre of the Kymry (for printing which in 1849 he was indebted to the generosity of Sir John and Lady Charlotte Guest) : " Her version correctly mirrors forth the spirit of these antique stories, and is as much distinguished for elegance as fideUty." II June, 1835, and two years later Lady Charlotte Guest entered upon her task. In compiling her notes she made considerable use, with full acknowledgment, of Dr. Pughe's printed books. As to his translations of the texts, she seems to be aware only of the three printed versions we have mentioned. We may safely conclude, therefore, that she possessed none of his MSS. It will be noticed that a translation of Kilhivch and Olic'cn, by Justice Bosanquet, is mentioned in the Journal for Dec. 4, 1837 ; but there is no further reference to it. In Les Mabinogion, a scholarly French edition published in 1 913 and dedicated to the memory of Gaston Paris, Professor Loth examines Lady Charlotte Guest's version at length. He points out passages that have been sup- pressed and, Uke Sir Owen Edwards, who edited the Fisher Unwin reissue in 1902, instances an occasional departure from a literal translation. He is on correct ground w^hen he states (pp. 8-9) that Lady Charlotte's Welsh text was a copy made by Tegid from the Red Book of Hergest : 'Le texte gallois du Livre Rouge communique a lady Charlotte Guest est une copie faite par un litterateur gallois John Jones, plus connu sous le nom de Tegid.' But when (p. 6) he declares that Lady C. had at hand a literal translation made by a Welsh scholar, he is ap- parentl}' less well-informed. There is clear au- thority only for Dr. Pughe's three renderings, whereas Lady Charlotte translated and published twelve of the romances. These are Dr. Loth's words : 'Lady Charlotte Guest ne savait guere le gallois ; elle a travaille sur une version litterale d'un savant gallois et, a force de penetration, de conscience et de talent, reussi a en faire une traduction d'un grand charme et qui ne denature pas I'original dans I'ensemble.' In his second work on the History of Merthyr (p. 223) Charles Wilkins states that Lady Charlotte was 'aided by Tegid, by Taliesin Williams, and by Thos. Jenkins' ; but 12 probably the latter rendered assistance only at an earlier stage, when she was picking up the strands of the ancient language. As to the others, the Journals are quite clear. They show that at the outset the Rev. John Jones (Tegid) and the Rev. Thomas Price (Carnhuanawc) had promised Lady Charlotte their assistance. In the printed notes to the Dream of Rhonahiijy there is an acknowledgment of valuable information she had received from another Welsh scholar, the Rev. Walter Da\nes (Gwallter Mechain). In October, 1841, Taliesin \A'illiams, then head of a cele- brated school at Merthyr, brought her a version of Taliesin. The numerous footnote references to books quoted or consulted indicate that she had at her elbow a host of printed authorities, quite encyclopaedic in their extension. But Lady Charlotte's chief helper and trusted friend was the great Carnhuanawc — an older man and a more fervid Welsh scholar than the coldly critical but brilliant Thomas Stephens (to us a familiar name from childhood, for his father, Evan, was the shoemaker to our grand- father's establishment at Beili Glas, Rhigos), who defeated Thomas Price in more than one important eisteddfod competition. Still, Price remained a dominating person- ality in Welsh literary assemblies till the end of his career. The entry dated December 8, 1837, shows that Lady C. had purposed from the first to translate the stories herself. Under January 6, 1838, she confesses that the work was difficult for her, 'being so little conversant with the Welsh' ; but in the following July she found herself able to 'understand the old Welsh words' even without a dictionary. The Journals indicate that Carnhuanawc was usually a guest at Dowlais House for one or more days preceding the dispatch to press of each number of the Mabinogion. He read the Notes aloud, adding his criticisms, and to- gether he and Lady Charlotte 'polished off' the trans- lations (see entry for Feb. 5, 1838). That he enriched the product and did it con amore, there is little room for doubt. 13 With a dominant will and exemplary fidelity Lady C. pursued her self-imposed task for a period of eight years — working at it while touring the Continent in 1838 ; amid the distractions of her work as one of the heads of the Dowlais Works ; even during periods of child-bed in 1838 and 1839. Is there anything like it on record ? Translation apart, the voluminous notes appended to each story bespeak a range of knowledge and a breadth of scholarship — English, Welsh, and Continental — -which mark her out as one of the most remarkable women of that Victorian age. The publication of her work inaugurated a nev^^ era of Romance study in Britain, on the Continent, and in the United States of America (now a most productive field). A bibliography, though we have no space for it, would be worth undertaking. Suffice it to say that redactions of her tales are still being issued in v-arious forms, here and elsewhere. What was Lady Charlotte's incentive to the study of Welsh ? The seat of the Lindsey family was near Lincoln ; therefore it may be assumed that, except through the possible inspiration of a Welsh or Gaelic-speaking nurse, she had no predilection for that language. Her son, Mr. Montague Guest, explains in his Intro- duction to the printed Journals of 1869-85 that as a child she was thrown very much on her own resources, her mother being kind but easy going, and 'her father' (more correctly her step-father, the Rev. Peter Pegus ; for her own father, General Albemarle Bertie, 9th Earl of Lindsey, was 68 years old when she was born, and he died six years later) by no means indulgent or sjnnpathetic. ' The first thing she did was to set to work to educate herself. She was a voracious reader ; she learnt, and was proficient in French, German, and Italian, and, with the aid of her brother's tutor, she studied Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Persian, for all things Oriental appealed strongly to her. She learnt to etch on the c 14 copper plate, and her productions were far above those of the ordinary amateur. She loved her Chaucer, and to the day of her death she could repeat from memory whole pages of her favourite author. 'In 1833, when she was 21 years of age, she married my father, Sir John Guest. He was then 49, and a widower, and was the owner of one of the largest iron- works in the kingdom, at Dowlais, near Merthyr Tydfil, in S. Wales. 'She had not long been married before she attacked, and proceeded to make herself proficient in the Welsh language. The result of her studies was the translation and publication of the celebrated Mahinogion, or Tales of King Arthur's Round Table, upon which was founded The Idylls of the King, by Lord Tennyson. Some years after, Lord Tennyson told one of my sisters that it was the first book he read after his marriage, and that he was so struck with it that it inspired him to write his poem. He was anxious to make my mother's acquaint- ance, which at a later time he accomplished. He asked her, amongst other things, what was the proper pro- nunciation of the vowel E in Enid. Should it be short or long ? In one of the passages of his book he had written " Geraint wedded Enid," which would be all right with the long E, but was impossible, he said, with the short one. When he was told that it should be short, he at once altered the word to " Geraint married Enid." It is the custom for ladies, in the present day, who have christened their daughters Enid, to pronounce it as with the long E, but in this they are undoubtedly wrong. 'She took, as was natural with her, the keenest in- terest in her husband's large ironworks, and under his guidance she soon mastered all the details of them. She plunged into " double entry " and kept the most accurate accounts of the works, which she balanced at the end of the year.' 15 Lady Charlotte began to keep a journal in 1822, at ten years of age. Her son makes various quotations from these records to illustrate his mother's varied pursuits, the catholicity of her mind, and the strength of her as- pirations — though the Mabinogion portions of the diaries, from which we quote at length further on, were left un- touched by him. One extract depicts her discussing a contract for rails for the Midland Counties Railway ; another refers to the firm's new offices in the City. Hereon she makes a statement which marks her dominant person- ality and genius : 'They have paid me the compliment of fitting up a room for me there, and I think it is a retreat that I shall often be tempted to resort to from the gaieties and interniptions of Grosvenor Square. I have so schooled myself into habits of business that it is more congenial to me to calculate the advantage of half per cent, com- mission on a cargo of iron than to go to the finest ball in the world. But whatever I undertake I must reach an eminence in. I cannot endure anything in a second grade. I am happy to see we are at the head of the iron trade. Otherwise I could not take pride in my house in the City, and my works at Dowlais, and glory (play- fully) in being (in some sort) a tradeswoman ' If I occupy myself in writing, my book must be splendidly got up and must be as far, at least, as decora- tion and typography are concerned, at the head of literature, and I delight in the contrast of the musty antiquarian researches and the brilHant fetes and plodding counting house, from all of which I seem to derive almost equal amusement. And then I can sit and laugh at the gravest of them all as vanities, and moralise upon the thought of how soon the most im- portant of them will cease to be of any avail or interest to me. Yet while they last and while there is youth and health to enjoy them, surely it cannot be wrong to take pleasure in the various blessings of this life. I trust to i6 God that I may not be puffed up with them. For in- deed to me He has been abundantl}^ merciful, and I fully feel my entire dependence upon His mercy, and how one breath would send the whole fabric of my pleasures and my happiness to the earth, and leave worse than a blank behind' (pp. xxiii., xxiv.). From the same source we gather that when at Canford Manor, after her marriage to Mr. Charles Schreiber, M.P., and before the marriage of her eldest son Ivor, ' She was generally to be seen busily employed setting type, or reading over and correcting proofs at my brother's private Printing Press.' Sir Ivor Guest (Lord Wim.borne) printed at this Canford Press, and bound in one volume, his mother's prose version of Enid and the poem by Tennyson. Lad\- Charlotte was well over fifty years of age when she began her famous Collection of China, subsequently pre- sented to the nation and now housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington. Her son tells us that ' She threw herself into her pursuit with her character- istic energ3^ and it from henceforth became the passion of her life. She hunted high and low, through England and abroad : France, Holland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Turkey, all were ransacked ; she left no stone unturned, no difficulty, discomfort, fatigue, or hardship of travel daunted her or turned her from her purpose.' Later she devoted herself successively to the garnering of Fans and Playing Cards, donating both collections to the British Museum. There are not many references to Wales in the printed Journals of 1869-85. When on a visit to Turkey in July, 1878, this entry was mtade : 'Enid took us out for a drive in her new landau up to the Reservoir in the forest of Belgrade ; most charming scenery, something like that of the Vale of Neath.' Lady Charlotte and Mr. Chas. Schreiber visited Margam in December, 1880 : 'They all 17 shot the coverts on Tuesday and Wednesday, and C. S. nearly suffered seriously in consequence. Mr. Talbot sent part of a charge into him instead of into a woodcock. The great mercy was that it did not hit his eye.' Under March 15 of the same year she refers to the political complexions of the Guests : two of them were contesting elections as Liberals and two as Conservatives : ' The political moves in my family are becoming most perplexing For myself I am different from them all. I hold on to my old Whig principles in domes- tic policy, but I go with the Conservatives in their Eastern and other foreign policy, and I utterly abhor Gladstone and all his works, politically speaking.' During the last five years of her life Lady Charlotte, though practically bereft of sight, was never idle, but occupied her time with knitting comforters for the London cabmen. Her son 'Monty' writes of her: 'She was a woman wdth a deep sense of moral duty, very self-pos- sessed and calm, with an extraordinary control over her feelings.' She died on the ninth of January, 1895. Of her father's lineage Burke says {Peerage, 1875, P- 725) : 'This noble family, which eventually obtained the highest degree of rank in the British peerage, springs maternally from the Willoughbys, original Barons de Eresby, and paternally from the Berties of Bersted in Kent.' In the succession are Peregrine Bertie, 1580, nth Baron Willoughby de Eresby ; Robert, 12th Baron, who in 1626 was created Earl of Lindsey ; Robert, 4th Earl, who in 1706 was advanced to the Marquisate of Lindsey and in 1715 created Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven (his first wife being Mary, daughter of Sir Richard Wynne, Bart., of Gwydir) ; Brownlow, 5th Duke, dying without issue male, the higher honours ceased except the Earldom of Lindsey, which passed to a kinsman. General Albemarle Bertie (a i8 descendant from the 2nd Earl, died in 1666), who became 9th Earl. By his first marriage he had no issue. His second wife was Charlotte S. Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. C. P. Layard, D.D., Dean of Bristol, by whom he had— (i) George A. F. A. Bertie, loth Earl ; (2) Montagu P. ; (3) Charlotte Elizabeth, married first, 29 July, 1833, to Sir Josiah John Guest, Bart., M.P., of Dowlais, who died in 1852 ; and secondly, 10 April, 1855, to Mr. Charles Schreiber, a Fellow of Trinity College, Cam- bridge, and son of Col. J. A. Schreiber of Melton, Suffolk (who had served under the Duke of Wellington). Lady Charlotte's father, the 9th Earl of Lindsey, having died in 1818, her mother married secondly on 14 April, 182 1, her first cousin. Rev. Peter W. (Burke insufftciently. names him 'William') Pegus, by whom she had issue one daughter, Maria Antoinetta — the 'Mary' of the 1837-45 Extracts — who later became Marchioness of Huntly. The details reproduced from her Journals in the follow- ing pages give an absolutely trustworthy account of Lady Charlotte's labours in translating the Mabinogion into an epoch-making English edition. They serve the useful purpose of finally laying the ghost of an oft-re- curring misconception, and are, moreover, valuable as literary memoranda. The human interest which sur- rounds Lady Charlotte's appraisements of certain notable contemporaries adds piquancy to the narrative. Certain explanations have been added in square brackets. The references to services rendered by the well-known Glamorgan antiquary, Mr. G. T. Clark, and to various personal and family matters, incidents, and interests should be pleasant reading to many besides those who dwell among the hills of Glamorgan. EXTRACTS From the Journals of Lady Charlotte Guest, 1837—1845. [First mention of her intention to translate into English the Welsh Mabinogion.] 1837. Nov. 30. — Mr Justice Bosanquet has, through Tegid, kindly lent me his copy of the Llyfr Cock yr Hergest — the Mabinogion, which I hope to publish with an English translation, notes, and pictorial illustrations. Price, of Crickhowel, and Tegid have promised their assistance, and by God's blessing I hope I may accomphsh the under- taking. Dec. 4. — I returned at dusk and read part of the Tale of Kilhwch and Olwen translated by Justice Bosanquet from the Mabinogion. It pleases me much. There is a great field for Annotation. Dec. 8.— The [Welsh] MSS. Society want to take the Mabinogion into their own hands, beheving that I have given it up. We have to arrange to prevent this, and also to go into some plan for translating Justice Bosanquet's copy, as I do not feel incUned to give up m\' scheme of publishing it myself. Mr Jones [Tegid] came shortly after this. He has taken Justice Bosanquet's MS., and is to copy from it one story at a time in a fit manner to go to the press (viz., in modern orthography which will be more generally useful) and send them to me to translate. 1838. Jan. 6. — I worked busily at my translation, which is rather difficult for me, being so little conversant with the Welsh, and the Mabinogion being in such a cramped and ancient stvle. 20 Jan. 9. — A good deal of translation before luncheon, after which, in spite of intense cold, I went out. Jan. 12. — I was very busy all day with the [a name in the Mabinogion] and in searching for rnaterial for notes. Feb. 5. — To-day and Tuesday I was very busy finishing my translation of the Mabinogi of — - — • (which I have worked very hard at ever since the fifth day from my confinement), preparatory to Mr. Price's coming to talk over with me the method of printing, publishing, etc. To-day (Wednesday) he arrived by the mail, and just before he came I went downstairs for the first time. We had a great deal of conversation, and after dinner we polished off my translation slightly for the Press. But being willing to keep very rigidly to the original, very little alteration could be made in my version, which will, I fear, appear rather clumsy English. Feb. 26. — Up early. Wrote to Tegid, who frightens me by talking of giving someone else a Mabinogi to translate. March 3. — Tegid dined with us. July 21. — Before I had reached Newbridge I finished reading the story of Geraint ah Erbin, which had amused me aU the way down. It is the Mabinogi I have fixed upon to translate next, and it is a very interesting one. I had forgotten my Dictionary, and was quite surprised to find that I could understand the old Welsh words without one. July 30. — I saw Longman, who is publishing my Mabin- ogion. Aug. I. — In the present case I was more particularly hurried, ha\ang to settle against many things about my book, which will be published during my absence. Aug. 16. — Zurich : A fine view of the lake. Here I spent the morning in writing letters and copying some Welsh. Aug. 22. — Lausanne : I had employed myself in the morning in copying out the translation which I made in 21 pencil in the carriage. The story I have chosen for the next number of the Mahinogion is Gcraint ah Erhin. Aug. 31. — ^Milan : It was a busy but not very amusing scene. After tea I wrote Geraint. Sept. 15. — Como : Again it was a regular wet day. I employed it in writing Welsh. Sept. 30. — Florence : Feeling still much tired. We read together, and I wrote some Welsh. Oct. I. — I wrote a good deal of Welsh this evening. Oct. 6. — Florence : During all this week, when not sitting or dri\-ing out, I have worked very hard at my Welsh. I have been very much annoyed at still hearing nothing of the first number of my book. It ought to be out by the 9th, which is the Cymreigyddion [day at Aber- gavenny], but I have not yet seen it even advertised. I read over it, and fancy that I left several inaccuracies uncorrected (which I trust, however, is not the case), and sometimes I am very anxious for the result. Nov. 2. — Lyons : It was near nine when we got to Lyons. I read the beautiful Mahinogi of Breuddwyd Ronabwy to-day. Yesterday I read Ludd Llevelys. Nov. 8. — Paris : I went to some of the booksellers to try and see my book, but I could not even make out that it is published. It is not in any of the advertising Hsts. Singular it is that I have never once heard it mentioned, or received the slightest intelligence respecting it, since I left England more than three months ago. Nov. II. — Paris : I v/as awake very early and got up fatigued. I wrote a little Welsh. Nov. 17.— I went, however, to Longman's, and got a copy of my book, which is certainly got up most beautifully. Dec. 6. — Tegid came to see me before I proceeded on my journey to-day. Mr. Clark (his friend) also called and brought with him the Llyfr Cock for me to look at. Dec. 10. — Mr. Price came to-day to pay us a visit, and in the evening we glanced over the list of notes to Geraint. Dec. II. — Mr. Price drove to Crickhowel to fetch my a » igBy.ff''ir'ii fjgai 22 translation, which I had sent him from abroad, and which he had imraediately left there. Dec. 12. — This translation we began reading over quietly and correcting together. Dec. 13. — Mrs. Crawshay called. Worked hard at the translation both to-day and Friday. Dec. 15. — To-day Mr. Price went home. The time during his visit has been much broken in upon, and con- sequently we had only time to read over and correct the translation of Geraint. Dec. 17. — -Mr. Price and Mons. de la Villemarque came to-day. The latter is a Breton, and came over to attend the Abergavenny Cymreigyddion. He has also a com- mission from the French Ecole des Chartres to investigate Welsh literature and write a report upon it. He is a cele- brated and agreeable young man. He it is who made me the translation of the Chevalier an Lion, which I have printed at the end of the first number of the Mahinogion. He is well versed in these matters. Dec. 22. — -Mr. Price, after talking over my notes with me, went away this morning. 1839. Jan. 20. — I finished the abstract of the French Geraint ah Erbin, Erec and Enidc. Jan. 23. — -I wrote part of a note on Brecehande in the morning, but was far from well. Jan. 27. — My Book is now quite at a stand. I have but little time and no energy to pursue it. The woodcuts are still uncommenced. But that is no fault of mine. Jan. 31. — Much the same sort of day as the two preced- ing, with the addition of a bad face ache ; still I have struggled hard against suffering, and done more to my book this week than for an age before. Note on Breceliande. Villemarque is becoming wild in his notions and presumes on my good nature, because he corrected the press of the last part of the Chevalier an Lion (which it was necessary 23 he should, as no one could correctly read his transcript, so vilely was it written) : he writes to insist on Rees signing his name to the printed copy and saying it is published by him. Poor Rees is annoyed. Of course, I can consent to nothing of the sort. Feb. I. — Wrote much to-day. Feb. 5. — I set to work in earnest about writing my notes for Geraint, but did not do much. The same occupa- tion entirely filled the two succeeding days likewise. . . . I scribbled a great deal about Enid, and gave my fancy play. I do not know yet whether I shall be able to make a pretty note on the subject of her very interesting character. Feb. 8. — I had written hard all day. Feb. 17. — Almost every day I have been busy writing notes for the 2nd No. of my Mahinogion for several hours. Feb. 22. — I went to the British Museum to make some references which I required. . . . Though tired I set to work hard on my notes. 'Merthyr ' [Sir John Guest] went to Brooke's in the ev^ening, so I applied myself in right earnest, and by midnight had finished all that it was in my power to do to them at the present stage. They have taken me altogether about a fortnight. One week before I left home, and about the same time since I have been here. But while engaged upon them I have had many other things to do, so that they have not occupied my time exclusively. Mar. 2. — A very busy day .... I went on, however, with my notice of the German version of the Chevalier au Lion, by Hartmann von der Aue, for my second number. On comparison I find it coincides almost entirely with Chrestien's Romance. Mar. 6. — Sent off a packet to Rees of notes to the Chevalier an Lion. Mar. 8. — ^I tried to begin translating a new story for my third number, the Dream of Ronabuy. It is very tiresome and difficult Welsh, and I did not get on much with it. Mar. 10. — Fearing to put anything off, I have been writing my notice of the Icelandic Sir Ga-d'aine, and now. 24 except corrections and revisions, I consider my part of Ihe second number quite off my hands. Mar. 13. — • .... Worked very hard during the day. Villemarque has got Tegid to copy for him one of the Mabinogion {Perediir), and he is going to publish it im- mediately in France. This, I consider, will be forestalling me, and it annoys me a good deal. Tegid sends me, however, the transcript as it proceeds that I may make a copy of it for my own use, and I shall bring it out next after Geraint, who is going rapidly through the press. Villemarque will, I fear, get the start of me, as I must wait for some information I expect from Stockholm respecting Geraint before I close that subject altogether by beginning to print Peredur, or any other story. It is very singular that Peredur (as well as the two tales already done) exists in several other modern languages, Icelandic, English, French, etc. The tale is the same as that well known under the title of Per civ al de Galles. I work very hard. Mar. 27. — ^I to-day finished my transcript of Peredur. ... in the morning arranged the subject of the two first woodcuts, which will be required for it. Mar. 28. — To-day I worked hard at the translation of Peredur. I had the pleasure of giving birth to my fifth child and third boy to-day. Mar. 30. — I was well enough in the afternoon to correct with 'Merthyr's ' assistance one of the proof sheets of my book sent up by Rees. Mar. 31. — On the sofa, wrote several letters there. Several of which were on my business, and in furtherance of my design of printing Peredur as soon as possible My dear husband has been extremely kind about all this. April I. — I had to finish correcting my proofs. April 9. — ^Nethercliff came here and made me a facsimile from Sir John Bosanquet's MS. of Peredur, which is an ancient and curious one, and which he has been kind enough to lend me. I was employed also about other 25 woodcuts for the work. W. Landcll sent me a beautiful sketch for one. I am having another copy made from my transcript of Peredur, that I may hav^e it to translate from, while Rees prints from mine. Researches are being made for me at the British Museum as to Percival de Galles and the Sangrael, so that I have much going on towards my book in different directions. Although I have twice written to beg Tegid to get me a facsimile from the Llyfr Coch, he has given me no answer. I returned his Peredur to him the ist of the month. He has promised to copy for me all the Mabinogion in the Llyfr Coch which are not in the collection I printed from. It would be a great advantage if he would correct the press of Peredur. I hesitate asking him. I am not sure that he may be safely trusted with the secret of my proceedings. [She was bent on forestalling Villemarque.] April 12. — ^I wrote my book on retiring to my own room. May 4. — All this time my book occupied me much, but made little progress. May 6. — I spent this day again in the City, taking my proof sheets there to correct. May 10. — Peredur had for a long time languished, but I occupied myself much with him to-day. Writing much of the translation with a pencil as I went along. May II. — Much of the time in the Cabin. I had a long sleep, and also wTote a good deal of my translation. May 14. — Mr. Price, of Crickhowel, came to-day, and we looked over part of my translation in the evening. May 15. — Peredur is, I may now say, quite ready for the press. Only a few pages of translation remain un- completed. I do think it has been got up and brought through the press with great speed, considering that seven weeks ago I never dreamt of printing an}i:hing but Geraint. Since that tim.e I have transcribed it, translated it, written the notes, provided the decorations, and brought it almost out of the printer's hands. ^MMMMMk. 26 June 15. — After ' Merthyr ' [Sir John Guest] went I wrote for my book till late. July 17. — I had a visit from Tegid. July 30. — I believe it was yesterday that Col. Vaughan called on me (who lent me his fragment MS. of Geraint ah Evhin to get a facsimile from it), and it was yesterday that I received the first copies of my second number of the Mabinogion, which contains Peredur ah Evrawc. July 31. — Lord Mostyn kindly promised to lend me, at some time, his copies of the Mabinogion. Aug. 5. — This was a very busy day with me, yet I found time to go to the British Museum. Aug. 29. — -In the evening I wrote some Welsh. I am now preparing Kilhwch and Olwen for m^^ fourth number, the third is in the press, and will contain Geraint. Nov. 20. — I wrote a little Welsh to-day. Dec. 12. — -I worked, and did a good deal towards revising Geraint notes, both this day and Friday. Dec. 18. — During Mr. Layard's absence I read over some of my notes with Mr. Price. Dec. 19. — Gave som,e time to reading over the remainder of my notes with Mr. Price. 1840. Jan. 31. — Then I took ' Merthyr ' [Sir John Guest] down to the House of Commons, and I spent the rest of the the evening in writing my poor neglected Mabinogion. Feb. 27. — -Mr. Briddle and 'Merthyr ' were out much to- day. ]\Ir. Price and I read over my printed Peredur, comparing it with that in the Cymmrodorion MS., from which it differs but slightly. Feb. 29. — Mr. Price went away early. March 22. — Saw Dr. Locock, for I am very unwell indeed, and have quite lost all energy, so much so that I have left off printing No. Ill till after Easter. I am now quite unfit for any exertion. Martin [late tutor to her brother, the Earl of Lindsey] has sent me some notes on origin 27 of Romantic Fiction, but they will be of no use for my book. April 20. — On this and the three following days I was engaged in translating Kilhwch, and did a great deal although extremely ill, quite unable to enjoy the beautiful warm weather which we now have. April 25. — I did but little comparatively to my Welsh to-day, for the weather was delicious, and ' Merthyr ' took me out in his gig. May 2. — I was very ill and languid, and lay most of the day on the sofa writing but little of Kilhicch .... June 27. — A very busy morning correcting proof sheets, etc. . . . Jul}' 22.— This and the three following days were spent much alike by me. I finished Ronabivy on Thursday. On Friday I had a great deal to do with accounts, and on Saturday copied a great deal for the press, a considerable portion of my translation of Kilhivch. July 29. — Mr. Price finished reading my Percival to me, and in the afternoon we looked over some other matters connected with the MS. and M. and L. No. of my book. July 31. — Prepared notices of foreign compositions to follow Peredur. Aug I. — I was fully employed, till midnight indeed, in making a kind of abstract of the EngHsh Metl. Percival, for the notes on Peredur. The MS. in parts is rather difficult to copy from. I have some thoughts oi transcrib- ing it entirely. Aug. 2. — I have been very busy during the week, for not having any other occupation that presses more par- ticularly, I betook myself to transcribing the MS. of the English Percival, and truly with such weather and with all attendant circumstances, it has been the very luxury of copying. The poem consists of 2288 lines. 1 began on Monday morning and on Saturday strove to finish it, as no other version exists of the romance in English (indeed the very copy I have been transcribing from is unique). -'-OTHnMqi*«Wl'i-"i "■' WH'i 28 I am greatly disposed to print it in notes to Peredur, which commences the 3rd No. of the Mahinogion, now so long in the press. There is much unity of design in this Percival and naivete, though it can boast but little poetical excellence. Aug. 10. — -To-day I pursued my transcript of the Kil- hwch for the press. Aug. 17. — -To-day I recommenced work by beginning to translate the Amlyn and Amyc as I lay in bed. Aug. 18. — Translation in the morning, which in the evening Miss Rudecour began to put on paper for me. Aug. 20. — I am now set on studying the costume of the Mahinogion, with the view to determining more precisely the date in the present form. Aug. 31. — I have been employed to-day altering copy for the notes to Peredur. Sept. II. — I always rally when I have plenty of work to do. To-day I had cheques to draw for the works and other things appertaining to business to attend to, besides correcting a proof sheet for the Mahinogion. Sept. 19. — -I sat alone in the library doing the Geraint notes. Sept. 24. — Spent a pleasant day at home, colouring some facsimiles for the Mahinogion in the morning. Oct. 6 (at the opening of the Taff Vale Railway). — My third No. of the Mahinogion, which I had been taking great pains to bring out of the press in time, was produced during Mr. Price's speech, and elicited some very flattering expressions on my behalf. Those from the Bishop of St. David's [Dr. Thirlwail] were most gratifying to me as coming from one whose praise is, indeed, valuable. Nov. II. — Mrs. Waddington [mother of Lady Llano ver] brought me the essays written for the prize given at Aber- gavenny 'on the influence of the Welsh Traditions on the Literature of Europe.' The prize was given to Schulz. Villemarque also wrote for it, [and so did the Rev. Thomas Price]. His essay was really very amusing to me. He 29 [Villcmarque] made great use of my Mahinogion, and scarcely made any acknowledgment. On the contrary, he delicately insinuated that I did not write the book niyself . (A degree of moral turpitude which he dare not openly accuse me of). The secret of all this is his anger at being unable to forestall me in the publication of Perediir, March, 1839- Nov. 16. — We were quite alone to-day, and I worked away transcribing for No. 4. Nov. 20; — Breakfast over, we went into the library. I set to work copying out my EngHsh translation of Kilhwch. Nov. 21. — Again to-day I wrote Kilhwch, and finished my transcript late in the evening. Nov. 24. — I wrote some Welsh, but felt idle and dispirited. Nov. 28.— I wrote a little of Amlyn and Amyc. 1841. Jan. 4. — Mr. Clark and I had a tete-a-tete dinner, and in the evening he made some criticisms on my MS. transla- tion of Kilhiich. Jan. 16.— Meantime I have been very busy translating Welsh. The story 1 am now engaged in is Amlyn and Amyc. It is not a very interesting one. Jan. 18. — Wrote some Welsh very industriously. Jan. 28.^ — I seldom read, and, when I do so, it is for most part to cram for notes for my book. No. 4 goes on very slowly. Feb. 12. — I sat writing Welsh till near midnight. First part of the evening was taken up by business in the school- room, and then I wrote Welsh. Feb. 24. — Finished Amlyn and Amyc, about which I have been so long occupied. Feb. 26. — Studied for notes to Kilhivch, and commenced translating Puyll Pendevig Dyved. March 23. — Went on with translation of Branwen. March 26. — Very poorly all day ; I wrote Braniven. mm 30 Aug. 3. — I was quietly at home, scarcely stirring out of the house, and worked hard at my Kilhwch. Aug. 7. — The same routine of assiduous note writing on my part continued uninterruptedly. Aug. 14. — I worked very hard. . . I sat up late this evening, and had the pleasure of entirely finishing my Kilhwch notes before going to bed. I need not say how glad I was to have completed this lengthy task, yet, per- haps, hardly any portion of my life has passed more agree- ably than the days which I have spent working hard with them. Sept. 27. — I wrote some Welsh after the children had gone to bed, and felt desolate beyond expression. Sept. 30. — ^ Welsh in the evening. Oct I. — Wrote some Welsh this evening. Oct. 4. — Finished my translation of Branwen this even- ing. Oct. 5. — Late in the evening Mr. Price arrived ; we read over some of my Kilhwch notes after the late dinner. Oct. 6. — Mr. Price read aloud more of my notes, criticis- ing them as he went on. Oct. 8. — Read over notes until evening ; the only interruption was a visit from Mr. Buckland, and after dinner I went to w^ork again, and 'Merthyr ' assisted me by copying, etc. Oct. 18. — I have been well but sometimes rather tired, yet I have not given way and have even continued finishing up my KiUmch notes in the evening, when the children have gone to bed. Oct. 26. — -The first event was a visit from Taliesin Wil- liams. He came to see me on the subject of the Mabinogion of Taliesin, which is imperfectly printed from his father's MS. of it in the Cambrian Quarterly. He gives me a correct translation script to appear in my series. Oct. 27. — -Translated some of the Mabinogion of Man- aivyddan Mab Llyr, which I have just commenced working upon. 31 Nov. 5. — Finished translating the Mabinogi of Man- awyddan Mah Llyr this evening. Nov. 6. — To-day I made a translation of the Dammeg yr hanner Dyn for the Kilhivch notes. I felt on going to bed to-night that I had at length got comfortably through all that had to be done for my present number. Nov. 19. — Translation, and took up Math ah Mathonwy as my next story. Nov. 21. — I got to my dressing-room about twelve or one o'clock, and wrote a certain amount of Welsh. Dec. 2. — I was much engaged with my books. Dec. 3. — Mr. Sheridan called before going to Cardiff. After his visit I wrote until dinner, and had just finished my translation of the Mabinogi of Math ab Mathonwy when, to my surprise, dear ' Merthyr ' returned. Dec. 28. — I sat up upstairs correcting proofs, etc. I felt weak and poorly. Dec. 30. — Very busy correcting proof sheets in the morning. Dec. 31. — I spent the morning in my own room and corrected proof sheets. 1842. Jan. 18. — ' Merth3r,' who seems to have plenty to do everywhere, had to be in the town for the rest of the day. I spent it alone at the inn, and took the opportunity of reading over the Welsh Mabinogi (or, rather, romance) of Boun — the Sir Bevis of English celebrity. It is nearly as dull an affair as Amlyn and Amic, and certainly is not improved in its Welsh dress. Jan. 19. — This morning we again embarked to go back to Wales, but we went upon the Newport Packet, Newport being more convenient to us than Cardiff for going on to Llansaintffread, where we were engaged to visit the Hutch- inses that day. It was one of the most beautiful mornings I ever saw. The sky so clear, yet the air so mild for the season. We had a most agreeable passage, and were met 32 at Newport by the carriage to take us on. It was about half-past two, I think, when we proceeded. As we had to pass through Caerlleon I could not resist the temptation of going to see the site of the old Roman Amphitheatre there, which goes by the name of Arthur's Round Table. It is in a field near the river, and is of considerable extent. There are no inequalities in the ground to mark where the seats have been, but the form of the theatre in general is very clearly defined. It would require a great stretch of imagina- tion to suppose that the hero of the Mahinogion had really anything to do with this interesting spot. However, the name of King Arthur is so associated with that of Caerlleon upon Usk, that I did not wish to be too critical, but tried to fancy the British monarch's court held among the moun- tains here. The town itself is not good, but its position is very beautiful, and the situation of the castle, which I had not time to explore, very imposing. I doubt not but the place and the scenery look much more to advantage in summer — ^the snow which was over part of the country was a great drawback to-day. Before leaving Caerlleon we called at the house of Mr. Jenkins, a tradesman in the town, who was said to possess some curious coins that had been found here. I was disappointed, however, in what he showed us. From, Caeilleon we had a delightful drive to Llansaintft'read, passing through Usk, of which the castle is apparently a beautiful ruin. Feb. 22. — No. 4 of my Mabinogion is published. A copy of it came to me in town. A very great relief to me to have it out of my hands, for correcting the notes was very tedious, and required a great deal of care and precision. March ii. — -Went to Williams about the woodcuts for No. 5, which is to contain Breuddivyd Rhonahwy, and is already in the press. March 17. — -I tried, though not very successfully, to do something towards the notes of Rhonahwy. March 24. — It was fine, and ' Merthyr ' went out, but I was anxious to get on with my Rhonahwy notes, and sat 33 writing alone. I did most completely enjoy this day. It was all so calm, and my work prospered nicely. I\Iay 20. — At hmch-time George Clark came. I showed him a book I have received from Villemarque called Contcs Bretons, which contains a translation into French of the first three parts of the Mabinogion, and in which he tries to make it appear that he has translated straight from the Welsh without any obligation to mv version. He has followed me servilely throughout, and taken my notes, without any acknowledgment except in one un- important instance. Altogether it is a most shabby pro- ceeding, but the man is too contemptible to be noticed. During the morning ' Merthyr ' sent me most kind notes from, the House of Commons, doing all he could to soothe my ruffled feelings, but though he might calm me about what had passed in the morning before he went out, he could not prevent my feeling ver\- ill. At night I was hardly fit to move, but I took Mary [Lady Charlotte's half-sister, Miss Pegus, afterwards Marchioness of Huntly] to Lady Powis's, and stayed there with her at a ball till daylight. June 8. — Rio called yesterday morning. I showed him Villemarque's book, and he expressed himself very dis- gusted. 'He may now,' he said, 'be called L'homme Marque more aptly than La Villemarque.' June 28. — I had a visit to-day from Mr. Lockhart. I showed him Villemarque's book, and asked if he thought anything could be done about it ; he said it was difficult, but if a good review were sent to him, of my book and exposing Villemarque's dishonesty, he would put it in the Quarterly. George Clark has undertaken to do it. I am all an.xiety to see how he will manage it. The subject is a large and interesting one. It requires to be lightly and skilfully handled. July 22. — Lepsius to-day brought me a copy of Schulz's translation of the Mabinogion into German, given in a very different spirit from that of Villemarque's. Schulz 34 is scrupulous in all his acknowledgments. In the midst of all my private anxieties, I have forgotten all note of public sorrow. The premature death of the Duke of Orleans throws a gloom even in England ; how much more deeply it must be felt in France. July 28. — George Clark here. Some discussion about the best course to adopt, the AthencBum having reviewed Villemarque's book with great praise, and treated it as an original. We concocted a letter to Rees, my publisher [of Llandovery], to send to the Editor explaining the facts. Aug. I. — I worked hard at the notes of Rhonabwy until very late. Aug. 2. — I was very busy all day with notes, but did not accomplish much. Aug. 3. — 'Notes again .... At eight I left town with Katherine by the railway, reading for my notes all the way. Aug. 5. — -I wrote notes busily all day, and did not go out. Aug. II. — ^It was a lovely day. 'Merthyr' went into Cardiff, and I sat writing notes all the morning. Aug. 19. — -I had the pleasure of finishing all my Rhona- bwy notes to-day. They niay require to be copied again, and perhaps slightly altered ; but, at all events, it is a great relief to have the groundwork done. [Here there is an interval, during which Lady Charlotte was touring in Germany.] Nov. 14. — -Notes for the Mahinogion occupied most of my time. Nov. 15 and 16. — I may give a similar account. Nov. 21. — 'Merthyr' went early to Sully. It was such a lovely day I felt tempted to go with him, but gave it up and turned as cheerfully as I could to my dull Mahinogion notes. Nov. 23. — -To-day I wrote notes till the last moment. Nov. 28. — -I did not go out, but I worked hard and sent off a vast number of notes. 35 Dec. 24. — At night we had a disagreeable game of whist, after which I sat up writing Mabinogion notes till very late. Dec. 29. — Mary [Miss Pegus] and I amused ourselves colouring one of the Percival tracings to Mah. No. 3. 1843. Feb. 6. — All this week I remained at home (except to- day I took some of the children to see the soldiers manoeuvr- ing), and never ceased working at the Mabinogion notes for the future numbers. I believe I have finished all now except the topographical notes, which will not take very long. Feb. 18. — I have been reading the first number of my Mabinogion, ' larlles y . . . ' [sic] to Ivor and Maria [Lady Charlotte's two eldest children], and I never saw anything equal to their dehght. It was so great that it would alone have been sufficient to repay me for all time and trouble I have bestowed upon the book. It is astonish- ing the ideas they have of middle-age manners and society, without which these tales would be quite unintelligible. March 3. — I wrote hard and finished my translation of Maxen Wledig, enjojdng the fine weather by means of an open window. March 6. — My day was a very busy one, yet I found time for some Welsh. March 7. — Again very bus}' ; a little Welsh, but not much, in the evening. March 8. — I have to-day finished all that is in my power to do towards the Mabinogion. It is a vast weight off my mind. The only stories I have to print, viz., Branwen, Manauyddan, Math ab Mathonwy, Hanes Taliesin, and Brciiddxvyd Maxen Wledig, are now in MS. translation, and so are their notes, all except the topographical ones, which I am forced to leave until I get materials for them from those who know the localities, but which take only 36 a very short time for me afterwards to throw together. I may have to make transcripts of some of these again for the press, but that is mere mechanical work. The Gral is the only other story I contemplate giving, but of that I have as yet no Welsh copy. I have written to Col. Vaughan to beg the loan of his, but though it is two months since I have received no answer. The tales of Anilyn and Amic, Seith Doethion, Bown o Hampton, which have generally been considered to be Mabinogion, I find to be mere vapid translation from some Norman original, and shall, there- fore, exclude them from my series, or if I give them at all I shall do so in an appendix, printing the Welsh only un- translated and in smaller type. Perhaps the Historia Charlamaen and the Historia Charlys ought to stop ? Rhonahivy and Puyll are now nearly through the press. The only thing that now presses upon me is the introduc- tion and a preface, which I am more or less appalled at. And now that my seven babies are growing up and require so much attention, it is quite right that I should have done with authorship. I am quite content with what will have been done when the present work is concluded, and I am sure if a woman is to do her duty as a wife and mother, the less she meddles with pen and ink the better. I shall feel very glad when the last number is out of the press; as it is, the respite is a great rehef. With much to do on my hands it was near midnight before I got to bed, and soon after six I was called to prepare for the journey. March 24. — I had letters to write this morning, and also proofs to correct. June I. — Maria's lessons occupied this and the next two days almost incessantly, but I have begun a transcript for the press of Math ah Mathonuy, for which I have managed to find some spare moments. June 6.— I transcribed Math ah Mathonuy most as- siduously. June 17.— I took advantage of Maria's afternoon walk to finish entirely the notes to Math ah Mathonuy, a task 37 which has been long on my mind, and which I felt the greatest satisfaction in having got through. June 21. — These two days I have been busy translating the story of Lltidd and Llevelys, which I finished this afternoon. June 28. — In every interval during the day I employed myself upon my Welsh, and transcribed the Dream of Maxen Wledig for the press before night. I had begun it yesterday, but wrote then only about half a page. June 29. — I have begun copjdng Sir Degrenance from Thornton MS., but do not get on very quickly with it. July 22. — To-day our youngest bab}^ [Enid, christened 'Mary Enid Evelyn,' who aftersvards became wife of Sir Henry Layard, G.C.B., the discoverer of Nineveh] was four weeks old, and we took her to be christened. . . . The baby's names are given, the first after my sister, Enid after the heroine of the Mahinogion (see No. 3), and the last because it was a fancy of Mary's. Enid is such a favourite character with the elder children (as well as with myself) that they begged hard that she might be called so. Besides, as being born in Wales, it is fitting she should have a Welsh name to mark her origin. All our Welsh-born children have except Augustus, whom, however, I always call Geraint, though he has no baptismal right to the appellation. 1844. Feb. 3. — The carriage went in early to-day to meet the packet in case 'Merthyr' should return by it. I was consequently in a considerable state of excitement. I took care to keep m\-self incessantly employed, and before four o'clock I had finished transcribing Lludd and Llevelys for the press. . . .1 have finished the story of Pwyll to the children this evening after tea. They delight in these Mahinogion readings. Feb. 8. — I wrote letters and copied from the Thornton MS. Sir Degrenance, and spent a very busy happy day. 38 Feb. g. — I did not go out, but occupied myself almost incessantly with my transcript of Sir Degrenance. Feb. i6. — As soon as dinner was over 'Merthyr' went to the House. I made an effort, and sat up and finished copying Sir Degrenance, so that the Thornton MS. might be returned to Mr. Pretyman on the morrow. 1845. Oct. 21. — After this I confined myself steadily in correct- ing the proof sheets of the Welsh Taliesin — ^the Mabinogi I have now in press, and about which I have been very idle for some time. I finished my task before the time of starting, having spent three very quiet hours. ^XFXKe) V5 *^o be obtained from the Hon. Secretary, 25 Waterloo Street, Swansea. * Transactions of the Swansea Mabinogion Society/ 1912-16. Post 3/- Free. *The Welsh at Ypres/ By J. D. Williams. Post 1/3 Free. *Lady Charlotte Guest and the Mabinogion' By D. Rhys Phillips Post 2/6 Free. "XEy(K5r^ Carmarthen : Printed by W. Spurrell and Son. 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