The Hour Is Come but the Man Is Not (from pitt.edu/~dash/type4050.html#rhys) Wales I was moreover much interested to discover at Llanegryn a scrap of kelpie story, which runs as follows, concerning Llyn Gwernen, situated close to the old road between Dolgelley and Llanegryn: As a man from the village of Llanegryn was returning in the dusk of the evening across the mountain from Dolgettey, he heard, when hard by Llyn Gwernen, a voice crying out from the water: Daeth yr awr ond ni ðaelh y dyn! The hour is come but the man is not! As the villager went on his way a little distance, what should meet him but a man of insane appearance, and with nothing on but his shirt. As he saw the man making full pelt for the waters of the lake, he rushed at him to prevent him from proceeding any further. But as to the sequel there is some doubt: one version makes the villager conduct the man back about a mile from the lake to a farm house called Dyffrydan, which was on the formers way home. Others seem to think that the man in his shirt rushed irresistibly into the lake, and this I have no doubt comes nearer the end of the story in its original form. Lately I have heard a part of a similar story about Llyn Cynnwch, which has already been mentioned, p. 135, above. My informant is Miss Lucy Griffith, of Glynmalden, near Dolgettey, a lady deeply interested in Welsh folklore and Welsh antiquities generally. She obtained her information from a Dolgettey ostler, formerly engaged at the Ship Hotel, to the effect that on Gwyl Galan, the eve of New Years Day, a person is seen walking backwards and forwards on the strand of Cynnwch Lake, crying out: Maer awr wedi dyfod ar ifyn heb ðyfod! The hour is come while the man is not! The ostler stated also that lights are to be seen on Cader Idris on the eve of New Years Day, whatever that statement may mean. The two lake stories seem to suggest that the Lake Spirit was entitled to a victim once a year, whether the sacrifice was regarded as the result of accident or design. By way of comparison, one may mention the notion, not yet extinct, that certain rivers in various parts of the kingdom regularly claim so many victims. For some instances at random see an article by Mr. J. M. Mackinlay, on Traces of River Worship in Scottish Folklore, a paper published in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1895-96, pp. 69-76. Take for example the following rhyme: Blood-thirsty Dee Each year needs three; But bonny Don She needs none. Or this: Tweed said to Till, What gars ye rin sae still? Till said to Tweed, Though ye rin wi speed An I rin slaw, Yet whar ye droon ae man I droon twa.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 18:35:32 +0000
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