第31章 BOOK I(22)

In the province of Penbroch,another instance occurred,about the same time,of a spirit's appearing in the house of Elidore de Stakepole,{116}not only sensibly,but visibly,under the form of a red-haired young man,who called himself Simon.First seizing the keys from the person to whom they were entrusted,he impudently assumed the steward's office,which he managed so prudently and providently,that all things seemed to abound under his care,and there was no deficiency in the house.Whatever the master or mistress secretly thought of having for their daily use or provision,he procured with wonderful agility,and without any previous directions,saying,"You wished that to be done,and it shall be done for you."He was also well acquainted with their treasures and secret hoards,and sometimes upbraided them on that account;for as often as they seemed to act sparingly and avariciously,he used to say,"Why are you afraid to spend that heap of gold or silver,since your lives are of so short duration,and the money you so cautiously hoard up will never do you any service?"He gave the choicest meat and drink to the rustics and hired servants,saying that "Those persons should be abundantly supplied,by whose labours they were acquired."Whatever he determined should be done,whether pleasing or displeasing to his master or mistress (for,as we have said before,he knew all their secrets),he completed in his usual expeditious manner,without their consent.

He never went to church,or uttered one Catholic word.He did not sleep in the house,but was ready at his office in the morning.

He was at length observed by some of the family to hold his nightly converse near a mill and a pool of water;upon which discovery he was summoned the next morning before the master of the house and his lady,and,receiving his discharge,delivered up the keys,which he had held for upwards of forty days.Being earnestly interrogated,at his departure,who he was?he answered,"That he was begotten upon the wife of a rustic in that parish,by a demon,in the shape of her husband,"naming the man,and his father-in-law,then dead,and his mother,still alive;the truth of which the woman,upon examination,openly avowed.A similar circumstance happened in our time in Denmark.A certain unknown priest paid court to the archbishop,and,from his obsequious behaviour and discreet conduct,his general knowledge of letters and quick memory,soon contracted a great familiarity with him.Conversing one day with the archbishop about ancient histories and unknown events,on which topic he most frequently heard him with pleasure,it happened that when the subject of their discourse was the incarnation of our Lord,he said,amongst other things,"Before Christ assumed human nature,the demons had great power over mankind,which,at his coming,was much diminished;insomuch that they were dispersed on every side,and fled from his presence.Some precipitated themselves into the sea,others into the hollow parts of trees,or the clefts of rocks;and Imyself leaped into a well;"on which he blushed for shame,and took his departure.The archbishop,and those who were with him,being greatly astonished at that speech,began to ask questions by turns,and form conjectures;and having waited some time (for he was expected to return soon),the archbishop ordered some of his attendants to call him,but he was sought for in vain,and never re-appeared.Soon afterwards,two priests,whom the archbishop had sent to Rome,returned;and when this event was related to them,they began to inquire the day and hour on which the circumstance had happened?On being told it,they declared that on the very same day and hour he had met them on the Alps,saying,that he had been sent to the court of Rome,on account of some business of his master's (meaning the archbishop),which had lately occurred.And thus it was proved,that a demon had deluded them under a human form.

I ought not to omit mentioning the falcons of these parts,which are large,and of a generous kind,and exercise a most severe tyranny over the river and land birds.King Henry II.remained here some time,making preparations for his voyage to Ireland;and being desirous of taking the diversion of hawking,he accidentally saw a noble falcon perched upon a rock.Going sideways round him,he let loose a fine Norway hawk,which he carried on his left hand.The falcon,though at first slower in its flight,soaring up to a great height,burning with resentment,and in his turn becoming the aggressor,rushed down upon his adversary with the greatest impetuosity,and by a violent blow struck the hawk dead at the feet of the king.From that time the king sent every year,about the breeding season,for the falcons {117}of this country,which are produced on the sea cliffs;nor can better be found in any part of his dominions.But let us now return to our Itinerary.

CHAPTER XIII

Of the progress by Camros and Niwegal From Haverford we proceeded on our journey to Menevia,distant from thence about twelve miles,and passed through Camros,{118}where,in the reign of king Stephen,the relations and friends of a distinguished young man,Giraldus,son of William,revenged his death by a too severe retaliation on the men of Ros.We then passed over Niwegal sands,at which place (during the winter that king Henry II.spent in Ireland),as well as in almost all the other western ports,a very remarkable circumstance occurred.The sandy shores of South Wales,being laid bare by the extraordinary violence of a storm,the surface of the earth,which had been covered for many ages,re-appeared,and discovered the trunks of trees cut off,standing in the very sea itself,the strokes of the hatchet appearing as if made only yesterday.{119}The soil was very black,and the wood like ebony.By a wonderful revolution,the road for ships became impassable,and looked,not like a shore,but like a grove cut down,perhaps,at the time of the deluge,or not long after,but certainly in very remote ages,being by degrees consumed and swallowed up by the violence and encroachments of the sea.

During the same tempest many sea fish were driven,by the violence of the wind and waves,upon dry land.We were well lodged at St.

David's by Peter,bishop of the see,a liberal man,who had hitherto accompanied us during the whole of our journey.