CORPSE-CANDLES AND THE TOILI[10] (_continued_)
"O that's a meteor sent us, a message dumb, portentous,
An undeciphered solemn signal of help or hurt."
[Footnote 10: I am indebted to Mr. Owen M. Edwards, the Editor of
_Cymru_, for his kind permission to publish the translations included in
this and Chapter VII.]
The stories and experiences contained in this chapter consist of
material relating to the "Canwyll Corph," the "Toili," and other
beliefs, which were collected by the late Lledrod Davies, an inhabitant
of the village of Swyddffynon, near Ystrad Meurig, in Cardiganshire.
He was a young man of delicate constitution, but gifted with that
intelligence and zest for knowledge which distinguish so many of our
Welsh people, and which, when joined to ambition and steadiness of
character, are apt to carry them far in worldly progress. And this love
of knowledge, and a native shrewdness untrammelled by any smattering of
modern education, combined to form many a delightful character amongst
our old-fashioned peasants, a few of whom still survive, though the type
is fast dying out. If we may believe the descriptions in "Wild Wales,"
George Borrow met many such people in his travels through the
Principality, but that was nearly sixty years ago, before the flower of
our rural population had begun to migrate to "the Works"--as they call
the mines and iron foundries of Glamorganshire.
However, we are digressing from Lledrod Davies, who it seems had
intended to enter the Church, but died before he could be ordained.
Apparently he was always much interested in the legendary lore and
superstitions of his native county, and for a long time had made a point
of collecting all the curious tales and experiences he could glean on
these subjects; and as the district to which he belonged happens to be
remarkable for all kinds of uncanny occurrences in the way of
"corpse-candles," fairy legends and the like, he had no doubt a wide
field for research. His object in collecting all this information seems
to have been exactly the same as my own in a similar pursuit; namely,
that he thought it too quaint and interesting to be allowed to die with
the old generation, to whom a firm belief in these occult happenings was
a matter of course. Also, in the spirit of the true folklorist, he had
intended if he had lived to endeavour to trace a connection between
these old Welsh beliefs and the folk-legends of other countries. But he
died before he could accomplish this object, and after his death (which
took place in 1890, at the age of thirty-three) his MSS. relating to
these subjects were collected by friends, and published locally in a
little pamphlet entitled "Ystraeon y Gwyll"--in English, "Stories of the
Dark." This pamphlet, now out of print, was lent to me a short time ago,
and partly because its contents concerned my own county and several
districts that I know, it interested me so much that I asked and
obtained permission to translate and republish the tales contained
therein. As folk-lore these are really valuable, for they were noted
down exactly as Mr. Davies heard them from the lips of the country
people, free from all self-consciousness, and with no idea that they
were relating anything but what were fairly common experiences amongst
themselves and their friends.
In my translation I have occasionally made use of abbreviation, and I
have sometimes slightly paraphrased the original text, here and there
rather weighted by repetition, a trait which, however quaint and
characteristic in the vernacular, is apt to sound tedious in our more
precise and reserved English language. But with these small limitations,
I have kept as nearly as possible to Mr. Davies' narrative, which, he
tells us, he wrote down as well as he could in the words used by his
informants. I will pass over his general description of
"corpse-candles," because most of it would only be a recapitulation of
what I have already told in the last chapter. But he mentions an
interesting item connected with the superstition of which I had never
heard before; to the effect that people who saw the candles were able
to judge how soon the death which they prognosticated would occur. If
the light were seen in the evening, death would follow quickly; if in
the depths of night, the fatal event would be delayed a while. And it is
said that there was scarcely ever a mistake made in this calculation of
time.
* * * * *
I will now proceed in Mr. Davies' words, heading each incident with the
title given it in the collection, and the first is called
THE OLD WOMAN WHO SAW HER OWN CORPSE-LIGHT
In the quiet village of S---- there dwelt an old woman, poor, of
miserable appearance and very ragged in clothing.
The only light that entered her cottage came through the door; in a
word, the whole business of the house took place at the door. Even the
smoke generally escaped by it, although it is true there was a chimney.
In such a place had the old woman chosen to pass the rest of her life.
She spent many of the long summer days on her door-step, knitting in
hand, exchanging the gossip of the season with her friends; while in
winter she would be found sitting by the hearth, near a wretched heap of
ashes or a bit of turf fire.
One very cold winter evening, as she sat in her accustomed place,
knitting her stocking, and humming an old hymn-tune or ballad, she saw
something like a spark fall from her bosom into the ashes of the fire
before her, where it glittered very brightly. Thinking to find out what
the spark was, she seized the tongs, and searched about with them in the
ashes. She drew the tongs backwards and forwards through the ashes, and
while so doing, she perceived the spark jump up again from the hearth,
and go out through the door, and she herself got up and went to the door
to see what direction it took. She looked out, and there before her was
the little spark become a great light; so bright that it lit the whole
place. She took courage to look well at it, she said, in order to make
sure what it was. She saw it go out of the house rather slowly, onward
along the road towards the burial-ground, to which it was probable that
in the course of nature she would ere long be carried. Then, overcome by
fear, she went back into the house, and afterwards fell very ill,
because she felt quite sure that it was her own corpse-light she had
seen, and no other. She related what had happened to her friends, and in
truth it was not long before her body followed its light to the
burial-ground, there to be reunited. This old woman was noted for seeing
and hearing spirits, corpse-candles, and the Toili. Whenever she said to
her friends, "There will soon be a burial at such and such a house,"
they were quite certain the prediction would come to pass.
* * * * *
The next story tells of possible danger connected with seeing a
corpse-light.
THE OLD WOMAN WHO WAS BLINDED FOR A MONTH BY A CORPSE-LIGHT
This time it was one of the most wonderful things I have heard in
connection with a corpse-light. An old woman, considered one of the best
nurses in the country, was made blind by the light. She was always
remarkably fortunate in her cases, and chiefly for the reason that she
was a seventh daughter. Because it is considered very lucky to have as
your doctor or nurse a seventh son or daughter. So because she was
lucky, she was universally in request by all the good-wives far and
near.
On a certain night the farmer's wife at G---- was taken ill, and Elli
the nurse must be sent for, and they despatched the servant-man at once
to fetch her. She lived not far from G----, but the road was very rough.
The servant mounted a horse and away he rode with much diligence. And
very quickly he reached the nurse's dwelling. He told his errand, and it
was not long before both set out on the way back. It was a beautiful
starlight night, but there was no moon at that season. The old woman
went on horseback, and the servant behind her. They were going along as
fast as they could, when the woman asked the man, "Dost thou see a
light, Tom?"
"I don't see one; where do you see it?"
"I tell thee it is coming along the road, down from Bont Bren Garreg."
"Oh, I see it now," said Tom.
The old woman knew it at once for a corpse-light. They went on talking
about the light, and Tom said in his opinion it was perhaps the light
from that house or the other. Now there was a cross-road[11] on the road
along which the light was coming. On they went until they came to the
main road, in which place there was a turn, and as they approached the
turn, Tom the servant said, "Well, if there was no light before,
good-wife, here is one now." And there it was in their midst, on the
road and bushes, every corner of the compass was illuminated. They had
now stopped at the house. The old woman went in and fell fainting, and
when she came to herself, she was quite blind, and could see nothing.
They put her to bed and when the morrow brought daylight, she went home.
And a month passed before she saw again as usual. After the old nurse
went home the servant had to go out again to fetch the mistress's
mother. Now he was obliged to go along the road where the light had
been, and past the churchyard. Away he went and very quickly came in
sight of the burial-ground, where, to his fright and agitation, he saw
the light again! For as he came opposite the graveyard, he plainly saw
the light inside, and carefully noticed the exact spot at which it
lingered.
[Footnote 11: In Welsh folk-lore cross-roads always figure as likely
spots for uncanny happenings.]
The old woman declared that some one would most surely soon be brought
along that road to be buried, which came to pass very quickly after the
light's appearance, this showing that it was indeed a corpse-candle. She
also told Tom where the grave of this person would be in the churchyard,
which he remembered, and found to be at the exact spot she described.
Although this old woman in her day had seen scores of corpse-candles
after nightfall, yet this was the most wonderful she ever saw, because
of its direct connection with what followed. For its effect could be
seen, and Tom the servant, who was an eye-witness of it all, bore
testimony of the circumstances from the beginning to the end.
* * * * *
The two following incidents show how the identity of the doomed
individual was known.
HOW TO KNOW WHOSE LIGHT IT WAS
In old times I have heard numbers of elderly people assert that they
could tell one whose was the "light" passing by, and could relate how
this was possible; and with my own ears I have heard one man say how his
fear of the thing decreased as he came to know its mystery. One way was
to mind and be near running water, or any pond that happened to be
conveniently near the road along which the light was coming.
As soon as the light was to be seen approaching, one should stop near
the water or the running brook that the candle had to cross, and therein
would be seen a reflection of the person whose light it was. Apparently
the illumination of the light showed it in the water. There was always a
mysterious light on the breast of the doomed individual. One man told me
how he had seen the corpse-light after hearing a sound like a great
report, whereupon running to some water he found out the person who was
to be buried. Though he had seen other corpse-lights from time to time,
yet he had never happened to be near water until a certain night. He had
been very late, he said, at the smithy, having a ploughshare sharpened,
and had a middling long way to return home from the forge. As he was
going along the road, he saw a light in the far distance, coming towards
him. He did not suspect any harm at the moment, and hastened along,
keeping his eye on the light, until he got to the bottom of a slope, up
which he had to go. He had a big old cape over him, and for convenience,
he folded the skirts of it round his middle. As he straightened himself
after doing this, he perceived the light just at his side, and
realising that it was a corpse-candle, he determined to see whether the
saying was false or true that one could see whose light it was. Now
there happened to be a little brook crossing the road at that place. As
the light went by he looked carefully into the water, and saw therein a
woman he knew very well. He went home much frightened. A little time
after, that woman was stricken with illness, and when she subsequently
died it happened that her body was carried along that very road for
burial. Afterwards he saw a man's light, and that time again it was near
water. He resolved to try and know whose it was. He saw the light
reflected in the water, and knew the person at once as the gamekeeper in
that neighbourhood. Though the keeper was in good health at the time,
yet very soon afterwards he fell ill and died, and his funeral too
followed the course the "candle" had taken.
THE SMITH OF LLANFIHANGEL AND THE CORPSE-LIGHT
There was yet another way of knowing whose corpse-candle was seen. This
way of finding out required more nerve than the other, for the reason
that one must go to the churchyard, through the graves, and inside the
church door, and there wait until the corpse-candle came in. And there,
as if he were going in his body to church, would be seen the doomed
person. This required great determination and bravery as may easily be
seen, and for this reason there were but few found to do such a thing.
As a rule it was better for the children of men to have but a
half-knowledge about the corpse-candle than to dare this thing, as few
knew whether they could bear such a sight. But according to universal
rule, "Every country nourishes brave men," and so it was in quiet
Llanfihangel. A blacksmith of unusual stature and strength lived there,
and his bravery and prowess had become a proverb throughout the country,
and of his daring many things were spoken by the fireside. This smith
took it into his head to go to the church porch every time a
corpse-light was seen going towards the burial-ground. Through the
advantage given him by his daring and courage, he was thus able to say
beforehand who would be buried next, which appeared amazing to the
people, because he invariably foretold the truth. At last was discovered
what had been a mystery to the neighbours, and they knew that he was in
the habit of going to the porch every time the corpse-light was seen,
and that he there found out whose light it was.
On a certain night, as there were, according to custom, many men and
boys in the smithy, their conversation turned to corpse-candles, and
from talking to disputing hotly whether it was possible to know
beforehand whose light it was. At last they asked the smith for his
opinion on the point, asking him if it was true that he himself had
acquired the knowledge, to which he replied that it was perfectly true.
Just then a neighbour entered breathless and perspiring, having had a
great fright. When he recovered himself a little, he said he had seen a
corpse-candle making towards the churchyard, and if they went out they
could all see it. Out they all went, and there they saw the light
approaching in the direction of the burial-ground. "Now then," said they
to the smith, "go you to the porch this evening." He answered that he
was quite at leisure and ready to go, and proud to be of use. As the
blacksmith's house and shop were at the side of the churchyard, he had
but a few steps to take before finding himself amongst the quiet
inhabitants of the churchyard; so leaving his work as it was, away he
went without any hesitation to the church porch, so that he might be
there ready before the light came. He was seen to enter the church, and
very soon the corpse-candle was seen coming along the path, and then it,
too, went into the porch.
After a little while the smith returned, looking most unusually upset
and frightened. When he was more collected, he related to the gathering
what had happened. He said he had gone to the church porch, and after a
short wait, he saw the corpse-candle coming through the churchyard and
then to the church. There, standing as usual in the porch, was to be
seen the person who would be buried. As the light shone upon him, the
smith recognised him as the Nanteos keeper. But as the corpse passed him
by to enter the church, it turned towards him and exposed its grinning
teeth in the most horrible and ghastly manner. He felt so alarmed that
he was near to falling down dead, and indeed would so have fallen if he
had not been a giant for strength. He said it was the last time he
should go and see the corpse-light, to know who was going to die.
Some little time after this, the keeper was stricken by death in some
form or other, and his body was brought to Llanfihangel to be buried, as
the old smith had truly said. So the neighbours were assured that it was
possible to identify the person whose light was seen, but that it was a
great risk to life to seek to find out.
* * * * *
The next story gives a particularly unpleasant experience.
FOLLOWING HIS OWN CANDLE
It happened once that a young man of the neighbourhood of Ll----i went
to visit a friend of his in the neighbouring district. After passing an
amusing day, he had a mind to return, and of course his friend must go
with him, to "send" his crony home.[12] As they walked along talking of
each other's affairs, they saw far off in front of them, a light. And
one said to the other about it: "I tell you, that is a corpse-light,
let's follow it and see whose light it is. Because they say you can see
that, if you mind to get to the churchyard gate before the light goes
through."
[Footnote 12: To "send" any one means to go with him part of the way
back--a Welsh idiom.]
So away they went, and it was not long before they got to within
measurable distance of the light. But as they followed, a great fear
fell on the visitor, and he told his friend he could not go a step
farther in pursuit. The other laughed in his face; and so they
separated. The friend went home, and left the man he had been visiting
to follow the spirit of the light. He went on till he came to the
churchyard entrance. There he plainly saw whose light it was. He went
home dreadfully frightened, and took to his bed, from which he never
rose again. He confessed to his family that he had seen _his own light_
at the churchyard gate. But he never said a word as to its appearance,
though it was supposed that the Thing had given him a ghastly look and
nothing more. And very soon his funeral took place in the very
churchyard where he had seen the light.
* * * * *
Mr. Davies now goes on to relate some
STORIES OF THE TOILI
Before passing on to stories of the Toili, a word of explanation
regarding them may not be out of place, in case it happens that these
lines travel to a region where there is no Toili, or fall into the hands
of those not privileged to see it. The Toili was a spirit burial or
funeral. It was also an apparition or "double"; and very often in days
gone by one heard that So-and-so had seen his own apparition. In some
parts the Cyheuraeth[13] was seen. The people of Glamorganshire always
saw the Cyheuraeth; and the folks of Teify-side used to see, and still
do see, the Toili. All the movement and action of a real funeral were to
be perceived in the Toili. In this way the whole business of the real
funeral could be known beforehand by the person who happened to witness
the spectral one, and a few of his friends to whom he would speak about
it. There was the crowd collected round a certain house, then came the
corpse carried out to the bier or hearse, the reading, the prayers, the
singing, and if any particularly penetrating voice were heard at the
funeral in the crying of the deceased's relatives, that was sure to have
been noticed beforehand in the Toili. In this way it came to be known
very often which of a family was to go. In the movement of the
procession the sound of the coach-wheels was loudly heard. And on it
went, just like the real funeral, to the churchyard; there again it
could be observed where the real body should be buried. The voice of the
minister was clearly to be heard going through the burial service. As
was the Toili, so was the funeral. But we have never heard of the church
bell tolling for the Toili; that is the one difference between the
vision and the reality.
[Footnote 13: A horrible spectre, supposed to foretell death.]
They were able to predict the date of the burial from the time of night
when the Toili appeared. If it were seen at the beginning of the night,
the funeral would be soon; if very late at night, it would not happen
quickly. Every one had his Toili, but it could not always be seen, and
not by everybody. Those people born on Sunday could not see it, nor any
other kind of spirit either.
As a rule we readily observed that whenever the Toili was heard or seen,
a funeral did inevitably follow. And we only knew it fail once, thus
showing there is no rule without exception.
* * * * *
It is interesting to read of this exception to an ordinarily fatal rule
in the story called
THE TOILI WITHOUT A FUNERAL
Just as the Toili itself upsets the usual order of things, so we will
reverse the general rule of writers by relating, first, the story of the
Toili without a funeral. This case happened at a farm not very far from
Tregaron, inhabited by a quiet and respectable old couple. The
dwelling-house was very old, and like other old things had become very
fragile, but because the old man had been born and brought up in it, he
had determined to end his days there also, on the old hearth so dear to
him. But very suddenly he was taken ill with a high fever, which took
hold of his system so powerfully that his improvement became very
uncertain, and unless his constitution proved the stronger, there was
little hope that he could pull through. One night, when the fever was at
its highest point, those who watched him were alarmed by a sudden and
terrifying noise. They were two in number, sitting by the fireside; and
a little before midnight, after everybody else had gone to sleep, and
when even the sick man seemed to be slumbering quietly, they heard this
noise in the inner room where the patient was; something like a great
stove or furnace being raked out, they said.
At first they thought the invalid was awake, and had got out of bed in a
state of unconsciousness and was knocking things about; and they ran in,
but everything was as usual, not a sign of anything having taken place
there, so they came back. Whereupon they felt as if the door was open,
and a multitude of people pushing in, and before they had time to speak,
they found themselves in the midst of a crowd of men, without being able
to move a step. _Yet nothing was to be seen._ Neither said a word to
the other, perhaps overcome with fright, but both made the best of their
way to the hearth and there sat down as close in the corner as they
could. They could not hear a single word clearly, but only a sort of
whispering all through the place, and felt perfectly sure they heard
breathings. Presently it seemed that the place got clearer, and they
heard men going out through the door, which in reality was shut and
locked. At last they thought they heard a coffin closed in the next
room. Therefore they knew that it was the Toili; and presently the
coffin was taken up with great bustle and shaking--for the old man who
was ill was very heavy--and then it was carried from the inner room,
through the kitchen, knocking against the dresser as it went, for they
distinctly heard the sound. Then it was taken outside, and there again
they thought they heard the house door creak as the weight was forced
against it. Then the coffin was put on the bier, and they heard the feet
of those in the Toili moving away from the house.
Now there was no disputing that it really was the Toili, and so every
one supposed there was no hope of recovery for the old man. But the
wonderful thing is, that he got better! Then the point was, who was
going to die? Weeks went by without a sign that Death had singled out
any one of the family. Weeks ran into months, and years passed by
without a single funeral from the place. Here was a mystery; the Toili
followed by a burial was entirely natural, but a Toili without a
funeral!! The best guess failed to solve the problem. However, the old
house becoming at last in danger from the roof, it was necessary to
build a new one, and the other fell to ruin, so that no burial ever
could take place from there, and therefore quite naturally this unusual
case of the Toili was explained.
I confess the explanation is hard to follow. It seems to suggest that
apparently even destiny may be cheated on occasion, or perhaps the Toili
in this case was an auto-suggestion.
* * * * *
The three stories that follow are very typical instances of the strange
old belief.
THE UNBELIEVER AND THE TOILI
We were never very fond of that class of person who denies everything he
cannot see through himself, and thinks it is impossible for anything to
take place outside his own experience.... Such think themselves too wise
to put trust in those foolish stories relating to spirits,
corpse-candles, and such-like. They consider themselves too clever to
listen to those kind of tales; but some even of that class are
occasionally obliged to confess that there is a mystery about such
coincidences which is beyond their understanding to comprehend. Of this
class was the young man who heard this Toili. He had publicly denied
the authenticity of spirits, and when he heard any one relating a story
of having seen one, he would laugh in his face for superstition, and
contradict him in the most contemptuous manner. Whether it was conceit,
or whether he did really consider himself wiser than the common people,
we do not know. But one cold winter's night his head was brought low and
belief forced on him, in spite of his displeasure....
In that part of the country--Teify-side--they used to be very fond of
"courting" of an evening, and on "courting" nights the boys would gather
and go off together to the different houses where their friends amongst
the maidens lived. On such a journey was the young man when he heard the
Toili. He had a friend who was going to visit his sweetheart some little
way off, and our hero must needs go with him for company. It was a
frosty night, and a thin covering of snow had fallen. They had to cross
Gors Goch on their way, and as the bog was frozen, they got across with
comparative ease. When they reached the farm, the young man left his
friend to go in and visit his beloved, while he himself turned his steps
back across the Gors towards home. But on the way there lived another
friend, and to save the trouble of calling up his own family to let him
in, he determined to stay with this friend instead. Now this man lived
in a cottage, in a place where there were two or three other workmen's
houses. One of these was under the same roof as the friend's house, and
in order to call on him, our young man had to pass the door of the upper
house.... He hastened along as fast as his feet would carry him, for
night was now rather far advanced, and very soon he came to the
cottages. The next thing we know about him is, that he called up his
friend, who let him in, and made a splendid fire to warm him. Then we
find the friend observing that he trembled either from fear or cold, and
looked terrified, which caused the question: "What has come to thee! Art
thou frightened?"
At first he denied, and it was long before he let the cat out of the
bag. But at last, hard pressed, he confessed that he _had_ heard
something he could not explain. "What didst thou hear? Was it a spirit
or the Toili?" was immediately demanded. Now our friend did not know
what to do, because he had always publicly scoffed at all such things,
but here was his belief in himself collapsed without resistance. On the
other hand, to keep silence might cause pain and trouble to his friend's
family, who might fear he had heard something concerning them. At last
he made an unequivocal confession of all that he had heard.... He said
that all had gone well until he drew near the door of the cottage
adjoining his friend's, and when opposite that house he thought he heard
the sound of a man's voice speaking. Approaching nearer, he recognised
the voice at once as that of the minister, the Rev. T. R., of D----. He
heard him take a certain text--afterwards he remembered exactly what the
text was--and after the reading of the text, waited to hear the
beginning of the address. At first he thought he was strong enough to
stop and listen to the sermon, but fear suddenly overcame him, and he
left the door and took refuge in the next house with his friend.
Besides, he felt almost too weak to stand on his feet, or even shout to
his friend, so greatly had terror seized him. That was all he had heard,
but he had received proof enough of the possibility of seeing and
hearing the Toili, and would deny it no longer.
In the house we have mentioned there lived an old man and woman and
their daughter, all at that time in good health, considering the age of
the old people. But soon afterwards the wife was taken ill with
jaundice, and though every remedy was tried, she grew weaker, and at
last died of the complaint. The day of the funeral came, but no preacher
could be found to read and pray by the door when the corpse was carried
out. All the ministers in the neighbourhood had gone off to the end of
the county to attend some monthly meeting that was being held that week.
Our young man, his friend and family, waited with great interest to see
if the real funeral would take place like the Toili, though it is true
they were much puzzled as to how it could happen, seeing that Mr. T.
R., the minister, was at the meeting. But on the morning of the day, as
the young man was himself on the way to the funeral, he met the reverend
pastor returning from his journey, and although it took much persuasion,
he finally induced him to come to the funeral and do the service. After
reading, praying, and hymn-singing, the minister chose his text from the
very same chapter and verse as the young man had heard in the Toili, and
immediately began his address in the same words as the ghostly sermon,
well remembered by the terrified listener, and which now corroborated
his account!
We have no hesitation in setting down this old story as true, for we
have not the least doubt of the truthfulness of those who told it to
us--namely, the friend and family of the young man himself. We do not
know how it will appear to the wise and learned, but we do know that it
is not an easy task to gainsay the facts of the case.
THE TOILI AT LLANBADARN ODWYN CHURCHYARD
What we are about to chronicle happened some years ago, during the time
of September harvest, and there are a number of people living who were
eye-witnesses of the circumstance. Consequently it cannot have been
imagination, or anything of that kind, of which solitary individuals are
sometimes accused when they see these inexplicable visions. There could
have been no deception, as it happened in broad daylight, and on high
and open ground, the season, as we have already observed, being
harvest-time.
The cemetery and church of Llanbadarn Odwyn are situated on a high and
healthy hill overlooking the beautiful little Vale of Aeron. Over
against the church, on an equally salubrious spot, stands the farm
called Birch Hill, more to the south than the church, but in sight of,
and quite near it. One day in harvest there happened to be a strong
reaping party at Birch Hill, and they were reaping a field which
overlooked the churchyard. Just before noon, one of the men chanced to
look that way, and perceived a funeral procession. He remarked this to
his fellow-labourers, and looking in the direction of the church, they
one and all saw the funeral too. It appeared to be rather different to
the common run of burials, more "stylish," like that of a well-to-do
person. They particularly noticed a pall over the coffin, which was a
very unusual thing with them. The whole ceremony seemed to be taking
place in perfect order. Now the great question was, whose burial could
it be? They asked one another, but no one knew of any death within the
district. And at dinner-time they told the farmer's wife what they had
seen, asking her if she knew what funeral it could be. But neither
could she tell. However, those were not the sort of people to be
hindered from finding out exactly what they wanted to know. So they
decided that the head-servant should go to the sexton, and ask him whose
burial they had seen, and let them know on the morrow. And at the proper
time away went the servant to the grave-digger to get the information.
But when he got there and asked, not a sound or syllable of a funeral
could he hear of. The sexton was quite certain that nobody had been
buried that day, and said they must have seen something else than a
funeral. The servant could not believe the sexton, who, on the other
hand, disbelieved the servant when he asserted that he had seen a
funeral that day. And each one was so sure of his own facts as to leave
the matter a mystery impossible to explain. The servant went home, and
when he said there had been no burial that day at Llanbadarn it was
concluded that they must have seen the Toili, with which conclusion the
reapers also agreed on the morrow. Then came the excitement of watching
to see whose funeral would follow. Some days later, as the minister's
family was returning home from London for a stay in the country, it
happened that his wife was taken ill, and it was not long before her
soul left the body to join the world of spirits. The family burial-place
was at Llanbadarn Odwyn, and no time was lost in making arrangements for
burying her there. Every one was informed of the sad event, so that on
the day of the funeral quite a crowd of relations and family connections
were gathered together to go and meet the corpse. And towards the time
at which the Toili was seen, there was the real funeral in the cemetery,
exactly in the same way as the phantom one was seen. Everything was the
same, even to the white pall thrown over the coffin. So the reapers of
Birch Hill were quite satisfied that it was the Toili of this funeral
they saw, and no other. Here was an example of the Toili seen by a crowd
of people in the broad light of noonday, each individual seeing it
exactly in the same form in which the real funeral presently took place.
Their eyes did not deceive them, because so many eyes perceived the same
occurrence at the same moment, and moreover, the testimony of the sexton
was certain proof that there was no burial in the churchyard that day.
Let the wise explain that vision as they will.
THE TOILI OF RHOSMEHERIN
As already stated, night was the time when the Toili was commonly seen
and heard. It was then one might expect to meet it, and men and women
are to be found who have been carried along with it even to the
churchyard gate. But the vision has been seen at midday and at the hour
of dusk, and it was at this latter time that appeared the Toili of
Rhosmeherin.
On a beautiful spring evening it happened that a farmer, after a hard
day's work, lingered outside his house for a while, enjoying the soft
breeze that blew through wood and orchard, and listening to the anthem
of the winged choir. Presently he chanced to look in the direction of
Bryn Meherin, where lived Vicar Hughes, a well-known and industrious man
in his day; and the farmer was amazed to perceive every appearance of a
funeral there. He knew very well that it could not be a funeral either,
for nobody was dead, and besides the time of day was contrary to the
usual hour for burials, so he concluded that what he saw must be the
Toili. He called his family from the house to look lest he should be
mistaken. But there, seen by all of them, was a complete funeral, and
from its appointments a very respectable one. In front, preceding the
crowd, was a man on horseback; then, according to the custom of those
parts, there followed the men on foot, then the body. Over the coffin
was a black cloth. Then came the women on foot, and last of all the
coaches. As the procession moved slowly along a man on a white horse
from the crowd behind moved from his place right up to the man on
horseback at its head.
Not a doubt remained with the spectators that they had seen the Toili,
and it was not long before the vision was fulfilled. The clergyman died
soon afterwards, and on the day of the funeral the farmer and family
observed carefully to see if it resembled the Toili.
The clergyman had always been greatly respected; he was liked by all
ranks and classes, and beloved by the poor; so that at the funeral there
was a larger number of people than had ever been seen before. And there
in their midst was a man on a white horse, who turned out to be one of
the clergy, and who, anxious to be ready to take his part in the burial
service, was seen to push forward from the back of the procession and
move up to the front--exactly what had happened in the Toili.
We have heard that several other people also saw this Toili, and
observed that the incidents of the real funeral were similar to those of
the spectral one.
* * * * *
Really grisly was the belief in corpse-dogs, of which our author relates
the following stories:
CORPSE-DOGS
Our "wrestlings with the spirits" have led us from corpse-candles to the
Toili, and in natural order we now come to the subject of "corpse-dogs,"
not the least important of death omens. It is true that I have failed to
get the knowledge of their appearance that I wanted, and can therefore
not give a very good description of them. There are those I know that
have seen corpse-candles, a spirit, and the Toili. But of the many tales
concerning hell-hounds I have heard of but one person who actually saw
one, and his free description must therefore suffice us. "Hell-hounds"
is another name for these apparitions.
This particular corpse-dog was seen at a place called Llwyn Beudy Isaf
by a member of the family who happened to be living there then, and that
was about a hundred and fifty-two years ago. An inmate of the house was
taken very ill one day, and at night the farm dog began to howl in a
very unusual and disturbing manner. On the following night, as one of
the sons of the family went out to look after the animals before going
to bed, he heard a sound which he thought was made by a sheep or a pig
coming towards him, with a curious noise of chains; he could hear a
chain clanking quite plainly. As it came nearer him he saw the thing
clearly, namely, a little dog in appearance, of a sort of reddish grey
colour, dragging a chain. It ran past him with the speed of lightning,
and he saw no sign of it again. He supposed some one had been leading
it, but could see no one about. Directly afterwards their own dog began
to howl in the most dismal and extraordinary way, and when this sound
was heard all hope of recovery for the sick person was given up, and
indeed it was not long before he drew his last breath.
The tradition about corpse-dogs is, that they are sent from hell to the
country of the Earth to fetch corpses, and as a rule Death follows
wherever they appear. And when they approach a dwelling where Death is
coming they are seen by the dog of the house, and cause the animal such
terror that it foams at the mouth, and utters dismal howlings as long as
the hell-hounds continue near.
That is the reason why a dog howls before a death; when you hear that
mournful sound you may be quite sure that a corpse-dog is in the
neighbourhood, and if you observe which way the dog's head is turned, in
that same direction is the demon animal. Some dogs are daring enough to
go to the door of the sick person's house, where the corpse-dog
watches--yes, and howl beneath the window of the room where Death awaits
his prey. Although corpse-dogs are as a rule invisible, yet of their
existence nobody has a doubt. That one has been actually seen by an
individual is as good a proof as if a hundred or more had seen them.
Dogs are reliable witnesses of their presence in any place where they
come. They strike terror in any religious family, especially if any
member of it be ill, and no small anxiety is felt until the foul
creatures leave the neighbourhood, and the house-dogs cease to howl and
foam....
The hour of their visitation to a locality is generally towards the edge
of night, just before cock-crow. Usually at that hour the dogs will
begin howling in heart-rending fashion, as if pitying him who will soon
be seized by the teeth of the hounds of hell, and find themselves
gripped in the claws of the King of Terrors. As every reader must have
heard many a dog howl, it would be idle to describe the sound which has
often caused the remark, "We shall be sure to hear of a death very
soon," and it is but rarely that it happens otherwise.
It is well known that dogs and horses are creatures gifted with very
keen senses of scent and sight, especially after the shades of night
have fallen on the face of Nature, and particularly as regards sight or
smell of anything beyond the usual limits of this world, such as
spirits, corpse-candles, Toili, hell-hounds and the like. But there is a
great difference in the powers of individual dogs and horses in this
respect. It is just the same with mankind; some have been endued with
powers to behold the Unseen, while others again are found blind to every
vision of the kind. That is the reason why it is useless to heed every
dog that howls, but only certain ones in cases where it has been found
that a death always follows their howling.... Such a one was old "Brins"
of Tymawr, of respected memory. Shaggy and red-eyed, he was not a
particularly good sheep-dog, but he was very faithful to his owners and
full of doggish common sense. The voice of Brins always struck terror
into the community, for well was it known that some one was sure to die
if Brins opened his mouth to howl at night. People would go out and
look to see in what direction his head was pointed, so as to know
whereabouts the death would be.
There was an old butcher who had exceeded the allotted span of human
days by ten years. At last his time came; he was taken ill, and from the
hour when he began to keep to his bed, the old dog Brins began to howl.
As night after night went by, John Hughes growing weaker and weaker, so
did the dog continue his howlings. At first he gave tongue near his own
home, but as the old man's end drew near, Brins went over to his house,
the two places not being far apart. At last, such was his boldness that
he crept right under the window of the room where the dying man lay, and
howled steadily until the end came. After this his voice was not heard
again at night, until just before another death occurred.
It was indeed bold of the old dog to go and howl beneath the sick man's
window; because the wise who know say that as Death approaches, the
C[^w]n Ann[^w]n (hell-hounds) draw round the house, and on the last
night they enter the room and stay by the bedside, so as to be near when
the breath leaves the body.