LITTLE ENGLAND BEYOND WALES--MILFORD-HAVEN--WELCH BEAUTIES--HAVERFORDWEST
FAIR--THE TOWN, CASTLE, AND PRIORY--PICTON CASTLE--HUBBERSTON--MILFORD.
In the reign of Henry the First, a colony of Flemings, driven from their
country by an inundation, were permitted to settle in the western
neighbourhood of Milford-haven. These were often attacked by the Welch,
but unsuccessfully: they soon extended their territory over a great part
of the county, and, in conjunction with the Normans, carried their arms
as far as Llanstephan. Camden calls this district, "LITTLE ENGLAND
beyond Wales;" and the difference of appearance, customs, and language,
between the inhabitants of southern Pembrokeshire and their neighbours,
is strikingly obvious at the present day. The tourist in
Caermarthenshire will scarcely meet a peasant who speaks a word of
English; but in an hour's ride, towards Pembroke, he will find it
universally spoken. I remarked this to mine host at Carew; who
exultingly assured me, that Pembrokeshire was out of Wales; that he (a
native of the place) was an Englishman; and that for his part he did not
understand any thing of the Welch gibberish.
The men, tall and well made, evidently incline more to the English
character than the Welch; yet they possess some personal traits distinct
from either: I imagined, indeed, in many of the peasantry a resemblance
to the present inhabitants of Flanders. Although this corner of the
principality is the most remote from England, it is the most civilized.
This may be accounted for, from the commercial habits brought over by the
Flemings (which still continue) introducing the manners of other nations;
an advantage denied to the generality of the Welch, whose ancient
(perhaps wholesome) prejudices disinclined them to extensive commerce.
We took our final departure from Pembroke, on the road to Haverfordwest,
not without often looking back on the princely relics of its castle,
towering above the river: but, crossing a ridgy eminence, our attention
was diverted by the appearance of MILFORD-HAVEN.
This noble harbour, immortalized by the strains of our great dramatic
poet, is of an oblong figure; about ten miles in length, and from one to
two in width. It is justly considered as the best and safest in Great
Britain, and inferior to none in Europe; abounding with the best
anchorage, and having five bays, ten creeks, and thirteen roads. Two
forts that were erected in the time of Elizabeth on the opposite points
of the entrance, called Nangle and Dale blockhouses, are now neglected.
As a picturesque object, Milford-haven is chiefly interesting for its
noble sheet of water: its peaceable shores, rising in gentle hills, may
please from their flowing outline; but, uncloathed with wood, and
unbroken into crags or precipices, their sameness fails to interest an
eye habituated to bolder scenery. The mouth of the haven, turning
suddenly southward, gives it from most points of view the appearance of a
lake. It very strongly reminded me of several of the lakes in
Cumberland; but, although its surface is greater; the lakes far transcend
it in the accompanyments of rock and wood, and a sedgy margin that mixes
its verdure with the water: whereas the haven is surrounded by a broad
stripe of mud, except at high tide: this defect, however, is constituent
to all estuaries and tide rivers. More richly decorative in their
scenery are the three branches of Milford-haven, which diverge at the
extremity of the great bason, and distribute fertility and beauty over
the principal part of Pembrokeshire. {71} It was our intention to have
crossed these branches at Lawrenny and Landshipping, and to have taken
Picton castle and Slebatch in our way to Haverfordwest; but, not having a
whole day before us, considering the time due to the several objects, and
learning that the ferries were uncertain, we recollected our sufferings
at Carew, and by taking the direct road to Haverford avoided the risk of
being again benighted. {72}
We were detained at the ferry near an hour; for the embarkation and
passage of three carriages and their horses from the opposite side
occupied all the boats during that time. But, although restless enough
ourselves, we were not the most anxious part of a company that was
waiting for a passage: several young men and near twenty young women, all
dressed in their holiday-clothes, were panting for the amusements of
Haverfordwest fair: perhaps a description of these lasses may convey some
idea of Pembrokean beauty.
Health, contentment, and cheerfulness, combined, formed their predominant
expression: yet it might be truly said, in the words of Gray,
"O'er their warm cheeks and rising bosoms move,
The bloom of young Desire, and purple light of Love,"
A roundish oval circumscribed their faces; their eyes, not over large, of
a dark blue, unstrained by the wakeful vigils of fashionable revelry,
displayed all the native brilliancy of those interesting organs; their
noses, though of the snub kind, were well formed; and pretty pouting lips
were ever ready to distend into a smile, on which occasion rows of ivory
appeared, such as could hardly be matched out of Pembrokeshire. {73} The
tendency to _embonpoint_, so characteristic of the Welch woman, was by no
means displeasing in these young and elastic subjects; whatever was lost
in elegance, was compensated in another point of view; their necks, of
the most luxuriant prominence,
"With youth wild throbbing"--
were modestly handkerchiefed to their throats; yet did the thin gauze
covering, closely embracing the proud distensions of nature, only the
more bewitchingly manifest the beauties which it was appointed to
conceal. Their other proportions were in unison, and, as a jockey, who
was also going to the fair, coarsely, but clearly, observed, "full of
hard meat." In truth, among them, it were no difficult matter to find
what Homer would, call--[Greek text]. The dress of the Welch women,
however, is not calculated to set off their persons: a close mob cap has
little grace, especially when surmounted with a round felt hat; and their
very long waists, and brown or plaid cloth jackets and petticoats, but
render the rotundity of their foundations more unpicturesque. It cannot
at present be said, that:
--"their tender limbs
Float in the loose simplicity of dress."
yet, as the smart girls begin to imitate our English modes, in the course
of a few years every contour of nature may be as free public inspection
in Wales, as it is at present in the polite circles of the metropolis.
Crossing the ferry, we left this interesting group; and, in proceeding up
a high bank of the haven, enjoyed a fine view of its expansive surface,
and grand undulating shores. About half-way to Haverfordwest a new scene
burst upon us, consisting of a wide luxuriant valley, watered by a large
arm of Milford-haven. We were denied a distinct view of this scene by a
hazy atmosphere; but are informed that it is uncommonly rich and
extensive in clear weather. On approaching the town of Haverfordwest up
a laborious ascent, we passed through the fair, which is held just
without the town. Black cattle and horses were the chief objects of the
meeting, which had scarcely any diversions; no shews: nor any jugglers,
except a recruiting party, and two or three cattle jobbers, or middle
men, who agreed upon the price of the market, while the actual buyers and
sellers stood gaping at each other, in amazement how such prices could be
obtained! Perhaps they had to learn, that for an _indispensable
commodity_, exclusively held by a set of men whose interests are common,
_any_ price may be obtained! But we had some rural sports: a party of
rustics were dancing on the green, to the notes of a miserable scraper;
yet of him it could not be said,
"Old Orpheus play'd so well he mov'd old Nick;
But thou mov'st nothing but thy fiddle-stick,"
for the reeking brows of his company very plainly evinced the laborious
agitation that he had excited. Close by, a game at see-saw seemed to
create much diversion among the bye-standers. We joined in the throng,
and were entertained with a good-natured dispute between a comely lad and
as blythe a lass as any the fair could boast: they were in the midst of
their acquaintance; and we learned from one of them, that on the
following Sunday they were to be married: he wished her to ride with him
at see-saw, and she persisted in refusing; he hauled her to no purpose,
until a sharp-looking little girl said, that if she were in his place she
would put off the wedding for a fortnight, to be revenged; a loud laugh
succeeded this, at the expence of the bride-elect; but the allusion to
matrimony forced no downcast confusion on the lass; perhaps her rosy
dimples were painted with a deeper hue; yet the suffusion arose rather
from a glowing idea, than a sensation of unnecessary shame: wherefore
should she be ashamed of the approaching fulfilment of her long-cherished
wishes?--I do not know whether she feared that her lover might adopt the
advice of her mischievous friend, or whether it was the natural
compliance of the sex disqualifying them for stout denial, that acted
upon her; but she at length yielded. Alas, poor damsel! she was not yet
an adept at see-saw; and a verification of Buxoma's mischance was
witnessed by the whole Company:
"_Cuddy_.--Across the fallen oak the plant I laid,
And myself pois'd against the tott'ring maid.
High leap'd the plank, adown Buxoma fell:
I spy'd--but faithful sweethearts never tell."
The town of HAVERFORDWEST irregularly built on the steep bank of the
river HIA, may now be considered as the capital of Pembrokeshire; as well
on account of its superior extent and opulence, as from its having lately
become the place of the grand session. But the streets are narrow and
dirty, and so steep as to be seriously dangerous. A few good houses,
among which is a residence of the dowager lady Kensington, start up here
and there; but in such situations, as to convey no look of importance to
the place. However commerce may have diffused wealth through this town,
and proclaimed it the successful rival of Pembroke; yet, compared with
the clean, placid, and respectable mien of the latter, it ensures no
pre-eminence of esteem from the tourist: it may, indeed, present to him
the idea of a purse-proud shop-keeper, strutting before a decayed
gentleman.
The castle, seated on a cliff adjoining the town, is said to have been
built by Gilbert Earl of Clare, in the reign of King Stephen, and was
occupied by the Flemings. Though still possessing considerable portions
of its former importance, yet, engrafted with modern additions to fit it
for the county jail, it has little picturesque attraction. A wall
connected with the castle, which once surrounded the town, is still in
part standing: a good quay, a custom house, a free school, a charity
school, and an alms house, are among the public concerns of this town.
Of three churches that it boasts, that of St. Mary is a neat building;
and its spire, covered with shingles and warped from the perpendicular,
has a curious effect. A short distance southward of the town, near the
river, are some remains of a priory of Black cantons, founded by John de
Haverford.
An excursion of three or four miles led us to PICTON CASTLE, the noble
seat of lord Milford, whose extensive domains cover a great part of the
surrounding country. This may be considered as one of the most antique
residences in the kingdom, having been built by William de Picton, a
Norman knight, in the reign of William Rufus. Upon his line's becoming
extinct, it descended to the Wogans, then to the Dones, and afterwards to
the Philipses of Kylsant; and during the Civil Wars, Sir Richard Philips
made a long and vigorous defence in it for King Charles. It is one of
the very few castles that escaped the dilapidations of Cromwell, and is
also remarkable for having been always inhabited; yet the alterations and
additions of successive occupiers have not deprived it of its embattled
figure. The extensive and delightful plantations of this seat unite with
those of Slebatch, a handsome house built by the late Mr. Barlow, and now
in the possession of Mr. Philips.
In another excursion from Haverfordwest, passing Johnston, an old seat of
Lord Kensington's, to the obliging communications of which nobleman I
feel myself greatly indebted, we reached HUBBERSTON HAIKIN, a fishing
town in Milford-haven, whence the Waterford packets depart from Britain.
This is a poor place, and ill-supplied with accommodation for travellers;
but at the still smaller town of MILFORD, on the opposite side of the
river, we were informed, a good inn is established. Near Hubberston are
the small remains of a priory, consisting chiefly of the gate-house; but
of what foundation or order no legend informs us.