Читать книгу Excursions in North Wales - John Hicklin - Страница 8

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Caernarvon	36
Nevyn	16
Pwllheli	16

This is a miserably poor village, at the very extremity of Caernarvonshire, seated in a bay, beneath some high and sandy cliffs. On the summit of a promontory are the ruins of a small church, called Capel Vair, or Chapel of our Lady. The chapel was placed here to give the seamen an opportunity of invoking the tutelar saint for protection through the dangerous sound. Not far distant, are also the ruins of another chapel, called Anhaelog. At this spot, pilgrims in days of yore embarked on their weary journey to pay their vows at the graves of the saints of Bardsey.

The original church was a very old structure, in the style of ancient English architecture, dedicated to St. Hyrwyn, a saint of the island of Bardsey, and was formerly collegiate and had the privilege of sanctuary; it contained a nave, south aisle, and chancel, and was an elegant and highly finished building. A new church has been recently built, on the site of the old one, at the expense of the landed proprietors, aided by the church building societies.

The mouth of the bay is guarded by two little islands, called Ynys Gwylan, a security to the small craft of the inhabitants, who are chiefly fishermen. It takes its name from the rivulet Daron, which empties itself here.

This primitive village is noted as the birth place of Richard Robert Jones, alias Dick Aberdaron, the celebrated Welsh linguist. He was born in 1778, and died in deep distress at St. Asaph in 1843. Jones was the son of a carpenter, and always evinced a want of capacity, except in the acquiring of languages by self culture. He began with the Latin tongue when fifteen years of age. At nineteen he commenced with Greek, and proceeded with Hebrew, Persiac, Arabic, French, Italian, and other modern languages; and was ultimately conversant with thirteen. Notwithstanding that he read all the best authors, particularly in the Greek, he seemed to acquire no other knowledge than as to the form and construction of language. He was always in great indigence, and used to parade the streets of Liverpool extremely dirty and ragged, with some mutilated stores of literature under his arm, and wearing his beard several inches long. He was at one time much noticed by the late Mr. Roscoe, who secured him a weekly stipend, which however was not maintained after the death of that distinguished scholar.