“The water is under the tutelage of the Saint (S. Tecla); and to this day is held to be extremely beneficial in the _clwyf Tegla_, S. Tecla’s disease, or the falling sickness. The patient washes his limbs in the well, makes an offering into it of fourpence, walks round it three times, and thrice repeats the Lord’s Prayer. These ceremonies are never begun till after sunset. If the afflicted be of the male sex, he makes an offering of a cock; if of the fair sex, of a hen. The fowl is carried in a basket, first round the well, after that into the churchyard, when the same orisons, and the same circumambulations are performed round the church. The votary then enters the church, gets under the Communion Table, lies down with the Bible under his or her head, is covered with the carpet or cloth, and rests there till break of day; departing after offering sixpence, and leaving the fowl in the church. If the bird dies, the cure is supposed to have been effected, and the disease transferred to the devoted victim.” This is now a thing of the past. But the oblation of cocks and hens still goes on in Brittany. At Carnoet, near Carhaix, is a chapel of S. Gildas. At his _pardon_ in January the peasants bring fowls, and in the chapel are three ranges of hutches, in which they are placed, and where they remain clucking and crowing during Mass, so that often the voice of the celebrant is drowned. After service the fowls are sold by auction, and the money obtained goes for the maintenance of the chapel. On the floor of the chapel is a stone sarcophagus, in which sick people were wont to lie in the hopes of thereby recovering. It was, one would suppose, kill or cure. They also offered a cock or hen, but this has gone out of use in Brittany as in Wales. No one now sleeps under the altar at Llandegla, or in the stone coffin at Carnoet. [Illustration: LLANGOLLEN] CHAPTER XI LLANGOLLEN The Vale of Llangollen--S. Collen--A Breton Llangollen--Dinas Bran--Maelor--The old maids--The church--Vale Crucis--The pillar of Eliseg--Plas Eliseg--Owen ab Cadwgan and Nest--End of Owen--Corwen--Church rebuilt--English and French capitals to pillars--Inscribed stones--Cup-markings--Caer Drewyn--Owen Gwynedd and Henry II.--Rûg--Gruffydd ab Cynan--Image of Derfel Gadarn--Burning of Friar Forest--Pennant Melangell--Patroness of hares--The Welsh harper--Different kinds of harps--Satire on harpers. THE Vale of Llangollen is proverbial for its beauty, and possibly because it has been so spoken, written, and sung about, it disappoints at first sight, but it is only at first sight that it does disappoint. Its beauties grow on one. The really finest portion is at Berwyn, which is the next station on the line to Bala, and not at the town that gives its name to the vale.