THE MADINOGION—EARLY WELSH LEGENDS.

ACCORDING to tlir. prospectus ef the Soeiety for the publication of Ancient Welsh Manuseriots, " many Barak! and Historical Re- nmins," throwing much lig bt itp it t t he manners and history of Wales and England, and of Itii.th literary Value as containing the germs of modern romance. have perished from time andac- cident ; a destruction which seems in' IIIg.,ing on, for " within a short space of titne, whole collections have been destroy«1 by lire, and of those copies distrihuled thronglvitit the country, numbers huh existed a few years tut) a to it u hoe to be (Mind." To rosette these Remains from tm1jli miii, a nil give to the world whatever value they possessed, was the ohject of this Society ; in- stituted yearly twelve ■ ears ago, and graced with a long his of royal, noble, and aristocratic touneQ, as Patrons, Committee-men, and Corresponding Members, strengthened with no fewer than seven "editors and collators of man useri its :" hut not one earthly thing seem they to have done in all tl',11 .ime, save meet and make speeches. The Society, if it had giit i.uld of any manuscripts, had neither money nor Welsh; and we ea, her from a speech of one of the "editors and collators" at the last anniversary meeting, that the idea of publication was about to be abandoned, when applica- tion was made to Lady CHARLOTTE GUEST of Dowlais ; who at once offered to take the pecuniary risk. Upon this, what is softly called " new obstacles "—meaning ignorance—arose. Lady CHAR- LOTTE then undertook to translate the work as well as to pay fur it. But now, if we have read their annals true, it came out, that they hail nothing to publish I At all events, the fair translator had to procure a transcript of the " Mabinogion " preserved in the Library of Jesus College, Cambridge. She next searched the MSS. in the British Museum for illustrative matter : hearing that there was a counterpart of one of the Mabinogion (most probably a translation) in the King's Library at Paris, she made interest for a copy of it to enrich her edition : she is stated to be in treaty for a copy (from the Royal Library of Copenhagen) of a Saga, which bears some resemblance to one of the old Welsh stories : and although fewer months have elapsed since the undertaking was begun by Lady CHARLOTTE, than years had passed since the "Society for the Publication of Ancient Welsh Manuscripts" was founded, the First Part of her labours is already out.

The " Mabinogion," which it is intended to publish with a translation and illustrative matter, is a collection of Welsh legendary tales, preserved amongst other national relics in the "Lly fr Coch o Hergest," or " Red Bo -k of Hergest," at Cam- bridge. According to Lady CHARLOTTE, these Mabinogion are of two kinds, one " having the character of chivalric romances, the other bearing the impress of far higher antiquity, both as regards the manners they depict and the style of language in which they are composed. So greatly do these Mabinogion differ in character, that they may be considered as forrniug two distinct classes; one of which generally celebrates heroes of the Arthurian Cyelus, while the other refers to personages and events of an earlier peri: d." The First Part (an that is yet published) contains an Arthurian tale, called The Lady (f the Fountaire ; which, besides the

changeful interest of wild events, that attracted SPENsER, MIL- TON, GRAY, and COLLINS, and the popular mind of till ages, is valuable as illustrating tin; manners of the time (when- ever it was written); as well as the literature and knowledge of the people, and incidentally their feelings. In the opening of the story, for instance, we see in tlte domestic economy of Arthur and his apology for slumber, the patriarchal simplicity of the period ; in the seat of rushes covered with satin, a mixture of rudeness and riches, still met with amongst the less settled nations of Asia ; and in the suggestive permission to obtain "a flagon of mead and some meat," we are reminded of Scandinavian hospi- tality, or of that of the heroic age of Greece.

King Arthur was at Caerlleon upon Usk; and one day he sat in his chamber, and with him were Otvain the son of Urien, and Ktmoli the eon of Clydno, and Kai the non of Kyner, and Gwenloryvar and her bludinaidens at needlewoik by the window. And if it should be said that there was a porter at Arthua'e palace, there was none. Glewlwyd Gavaelvewr Was there, uctiug as porter, to welcome guests anti strangers, and to receive them with honour, and to inform them of the manners and customs of the court, and to direct those wlao came to the Hall or to the Presence Chamber, and those who came to take up their lodging. In the centre of the chamber, King Arthur sat upon a neat of green rushes, over which WAS spread a covering of flame-coloured suite and a cushion of red *satin was under his elbow.

Then Arthar spoke: " If I thought you would not disparage me," said be, "I would sleep while I wait for my reliant; and yon can entertain one another with relating tales, and can obtain a flagon of mead and sonic meat from Kai."

The suggestion of the King to "relate tales," gives rise to the

whole story ; one of the party telling his adventures during his journey towards a magic Fountain, by the husband of whose lady he was defeated, and lost his horse. This leads another of Arthur's Knights to undertake the adventure ; with no better success. Then Owain, the most renowned knight of the court, sets out ; and, after resting like the others in the extraordinary castle, meeting the Black Giant, and experienciug the marvels of the Fountain, he encounters the Black Knight.

Having broken both their lances, they drew their sword. and fought blade to blade. Then Owain struck the Knight a blotv through his le Imet, head- 'gem, and visor, and through the skin, aud the ileeh, and the bite, until it wounded the vely brain. Then the Black Knight felt that he ler I received a mortal wetted, upon which he turned his horse's head, and del .ead ()wain pursued kiln, anti followed close mein him. although he wat not oe ir enough to strike him with his sword. Thereupon (wain descried a vise and rcsplendent castle. And they cattle Cu) the castle gate And the Black Knight acts allowed to enter, and the portcullis was let fall upon Owain ; and it -it tiek his horse behind the saddle, and cut him in two, and carried away the 'meets of the spurs that were upon Owtin's beck. .And the portcullis descended to the floor. And the rowels of the spurs and part of the horse were witaeet, ale! ()wain, with the other pert of the hot Se remained between the two gm-, aim the inner gate was elosed, so that ()wain could not go thence; and °wain was in a per- plexing se..tiation. Anil while he was in this state, he could -co through an apertute in the gate a street tieing him, with a row of houses on each side. And he Leheld a maiden with yellow curling hair, and a frontlet of gold upon her heail ; and she was clad in a di es s of yellow satin, and on her feet were shoes of variegated leather. And she approached the gate, awl desired that it should be opened. " Heaven knows lady," said °Wain, " it t, tim mute pos- sible for ine to open to thee fr,en lance. than it is for thee to Me free." Ttuly," sM1 the ilmnsel, " it is voi y ead that thou eatist not he relea-ed ; and every wonlan tou2itt to ,tiecolir thee, for I never Sate Ono mole I dthful in the service of than then. As a friend thou art the most eif were, and as a lover the most devoted. Therefore," ‘plot It she, " whatever is in iny power to do fur thy release I will do it. Take this ring and put it on the tinger, with the stone ins thy ii iimt, unl close thy hand upon the stone. And as long as thou ,i,ntre:ilest it it will conceal thee. When they have censuned together, they will coon, f■irtli to remit thee, in ooler to put thee to death ; and they will be much grieved that they cannot find thee. Aud I will await thee ins horse- back yonder ; and thou wilt be able to see ine, though I cannot see thee; there- fore coon. and place thy hand upon my shoulder, that I in sy know that thou at t neat me. Anil by the way that I go hence, tin thou accompany Inc." Then she went away front ()wain. and he did all that the mahi en lied told him. And the pea* of the castle eame to seek I I wain, to put lino to death ; and when they found nothing, hut the half of his horse, they were airily grieved. And Owain vanished tr.en among them, mill went to the maideli. and p!aced his hand upon her shoulder, whereupon she set off, and ()wain followed her, until they cline to the deur of a large and beautiful chamber, and the maiden opened it, .ind they trent in aryl closed the door. And Owain looked around tho chamber, and behold there wat not even a single nail in it that was not psiinted with gorgeous colours; and there was not a single panuel that had not sundry images in gold portrayed upon it. The maiden kindled a fire, aud took water in a silver bowl, and put a towel of white linen on her shoulder, and gave °wain water to wash. Then she placed hefore him a silver table, inlaid with gold; upon which was a cloth of yellow linen; and she brought him food. And of a truth, Owain never saw any kind of meat that was not there in abundance, but it was better cooked there than he ever found it in any other place. Nor did he ever see se excellent a display of meat and drink as there. Anil there was not one vessel from which he was served that was not of gold or of silver. And Owain ate and drank until late in the afternoon, when hi, they heard a mighty clamour in the castle; and 0 wain asked the Maiden what that outcry was. " They are administering extteme unction," said she, " to the nobleman who owns the castle." And °wain went to sleep. The couch which the maiden hail prepared for him was meet for Arthur himself; it was of seat let, and fur, and satin, and sendall, and fine linen. In the middle rd the night they heard a wuful outcry ; " what outcry again is this?" said ()train. t• 'flue nobleman who owned tile castle is now dead," said the maiden. And a little after daybreak they heard an exceeding loud clamour and wailing. Anil ()wain aslcol the maiden what was the Cause of it. " They are beariug to the church the burly of the nobleman who owned the castle."

And owain rose up, and clothed himself, and opened a witclow of the chamber, and looked towards the castle; and he could see neither the bounds nor the extent of the hosts that tilled the street:. Aral they were fully armed; and a vast mambo- of women were with them, both on horseback and on feat, and all the ecelesiesties in the city, singing. And it seemed to °wain that time ell resounded with the vehemence of their cries and with the mdsc of the trumpets and with the singing of the ecclesiastics. In the midst of the throng he ha-he-hi the bier, over which teas a veil of white linen ; and wax tapers were burning beside and around it, and none that supported the bier was lower in rank than a 'towel ful bet on. Never did Owaill see an assemblage no gorgeous with satin and silk and sendall. And following the train, be beheld a lady with yellow hair falling over her shoulders, and stained with blood ; and about her a dress of yellow satin, which was torn. Urn her feet were shoes of variegated Lather. And it was a marvel th it the ends of her fmAers were not bruised from the violence with which she smote her hands toget her. Ttuly she would have been the fairest lad) °wain ever saw, Led slits 6-en in her usual guise. Aud her cry was louder than the shout of the men or the clamour of the trumrets. No snmer had he licheld the lady than lie became itillauted with her love, so that it took entire possession of him. Then lie inquired of the maiden who the lady was. " heaven knows," re-

Vied the maiden, " she tnay be said to be the filrest and the most ch Mc and Cie most liberal and the wisest and the mest noble of women. And she Is my mistieis; and she is called the Countess of the Founteirs, the wile of him whom thou didst slay vesto day." " Vet ily," said (twain, "she is the woman that love hest." " i'erilv,""saill the maiden, " she shall also love thee not a little."

And with that the maid arose, aud kindled a fire, and filled a pot with water, and placed it to earth; and she brought a towel of white linen, and placed it around Owain's neck ; and she took a goblet of ivory

filled them with warm water, wherewith she washed ()wain's head. Then she and a shiver basin, and

opened a wooden casket, mid drew forth a razor, whose haft was of Ivory, a.udt upon which were two rivets of gold. And she shaved his beard, and she dried los head and his throat with the towel. Then she rose up from before Owens, and brought him to eat. And truly Otvain bed never so good a mead, nor was he ever so well served.

When be bad finished his repast, the maiden arranged his couch. ".Cm. e here," said she, " and sleep ; and I will go and woo for thee." And Omuta went to sleep, and the maiden shut the door of the chamber after her, and went towards the castle. When she come there, she found nothing but mourning and soirow ; and the Countess in her chamber could not bear the sight of any one through grief. Luned came and saluted her, buttheC ,, ounteNsI sh answered alltuswcered

her not. And the maiden bent duwn tuwards her, and

thee, that thou anity rest no one tmday ?" " Luned," said the Countess, " what change heth befallen thee, that thou bast not come to visit me in toy grief ? It was wrong in thee. and I haying made thee rich, it was wrong, in thee that thou did-t not come to see me in my distress. That was wrong in thee." " Truly," said Limed, " I thought thy good sense was greater than I nd it to he. Is it well thr tine to mourn after that good man, or for any thing else that thou cant not have ?" " I Iceate to heaven," said the Counte.e. " that in the whole world there is not a man equal to him." " Not so," said Lunel, " for an ugly man would heirs goad as or better than be." "I declare to heaven," said the Countess, " that were it not repugnant to me to cause to be put to death one whom I have hroneht up, I would have thee executed for making such a comparison to me. As it is, I will banish thee." " I am glad," said bawd, " that thou bast no other cause to do so than that I would have been of service to thee when thou didet not know what was to thine advantage. And henceforth, evil betide sa lib:lower of us shall make the first advauce towards re- ceneiliation to the ether ; whether I should beek an invitation from thee, or thou of thine own Record ehouldet sod to invite toe."

With that Lunt.' St ent fottli ; and the Countess arose and followed her to the door of the elem.!), r, and began coughing loudly. And when Luned looked back, the Countess heekomai to lair ; and she returned to the Countess.

In truth," said the Cmintess, " etil is thy disposition ; but if thou knowest mint is to my advantage, declare it to me." " I will do so." quoth she. " Thou knowest that except by warfare and arms it is impossible Mr time to preserve thy poesessions ; delay not, therefore. to seek same one who can defend them." " And how can I do that ? " said the Cuuntess. '1 will tell thee," eaid Luned, " unless thou mist defend the fountain, thou crust not maintain thy dominions; and no one can defend the fountain unless it be a knight of Arthur's household ; and I will go to Arthur's court, and ill betide me if I return thence without a warrior who can guard the fountain as well as, or even better, than he who defended it formerly." " That will be hard to perthrm," said the Countess. " Go, however, and make proof of that which thou hest prosnieed." Luned set out, under the pretence of going to Arthur's court ; but she went back to the chamber whete she leal left Owain ; and she tarried there with Isim as long as it might have taken her to have travelled to the Court of King Arthur. And at the end of that time, she apparelled herself, and went to visit the Countess. And the Countess was much rejoiced when she saw her, and

inquired what news she brought from the Court. " I bring thee, the best of tams," saint Lutied, " for I have compassed the object of tny mission. When wilt thou that I should present to thee the chieftain who has come with me hither ?" " Briog him here to visit me to-morrow at mithday," said the Countess, "and I will cause the town to be assembled by that time.'

And Limed returned home. And the next day, at noun, Owain arrayed Eitoself in a coat and a surcout and a mantle of yellow satin, upon which was a broad band of gold lace; and on his beet were high shoe of variegated leather, which were fastened by golden clasps, in the form of lions. And they pro- ceeded to the chamber of the Countess, lt:glst glad was the Countess of their coming. And she gazed steadfastly upon Owain, and said, "Lined, thin knight has not the look of a traveller." " What harm is there in that laity?" said Luned. " I am certain," said the Countess, "that no other man than this, chesed the soul from tile body of my lord." " So much the better for thee, lady," bald Lama, " for had he not been stronger than thy lord, he could not have deprived him of hie life. There it no remedy for that which is past, be it as it may." " Go back to time abode," said the Countess, •, and I will take counsel." The next day, the Countess caused all her subjects to assemble, and showed them that her earldom was left defenceless, and that it could not be protected but with horse and arms, and military skill. " Therefore," said she, " this is

what I offer for your choice; either let one of you take me, or give our consent for me to take a husband from elsewhere, to defend my dominions.'

Su they came to the determination that it was better that she should have permission to marry sonic one from eleewhere; and thereupon she sent for the the bishops and arclibiehops, to celebrate her nuptials with Owen. Aud the men of the earldom did Owain homage.

The story does not end here : we break off in the middle, merely pointing attention to the strong resemblance between the old Welsh ideas and some of those in the tales of the Arabian Nights; to the universality of the invisible ring in story-tell- ing, which Lady CHARLOTTE GUEST assumes to have descended from Gyges, but which is natural to the human mind in its youth ; and to the exquisite character running throughout the de- sc.aption of the second marriage of the Countess, indicating at once the absence of sentiment in those early times, and pointing the moral of female fickleness, or of the state necessity that compels potentates to sacrifice their inclinations to the public in- terest, or in other words to their own.

Le Chevalier an Lion, the romance procured by Lady CHAR- LOTTE GUEST from Paris, is a poem in old French, of upwards of 2000 lines, and enriches the appendix. The illustrative notes are numerous; and, if sometimes dry and scarcely needed, are always curious. The getting-up of the work is magnificent ; and in its typography, its vellum-like paper, and the different fac- similes of manuscripts, as well as the wood-cut vignettes, reflects the highest credit upon its provincial publisher, and is indeed one of the most splendid productions that ever emanated from the country press. Taking it altogether, the publication is an ex- ample of private munificence rare in these times, and of know- ledge, taste, and energetic industry, not often equalled in any.