The "Ladies of Llangollen" Part 5

_Liverpool_. R. R.

The convivial disposition of the monks of the "olden time" has always been a favourite theme with our romance writers and "ballad-mongers;" but it would appear from a pa.s.sage which Mr. Roscoe quotes, that the cowled brethren of Valle Crucis Abbey did not content themselves in their hours of festivity with draughts of "Llangollen Ale." The wealth of the inst.i.tution, he infers, may be judged of by the magnificent hospitality of the monks, who are described by Owain as having the table usually covered with four courses of meat, served up in silver dishes, with sparkling claret for their general beverage.

"Many have told of the monks of old, What a saintly race they were; But 'tis most true, that a merrier crew Could scarce be found elsewhere; For they sung and laughed, And the rich wine quaffed, And lived on the daintiest cheer.

"And the Abbot meek, with his form so sleek, Was the heartiest of them all, And would take his place, with a smiling face, When the refection bell would call; And they sung and laughed, And the rich wine quaffed, Till they shook the olden hall."

FINIS.