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Herbs -- Therapeutic use -- Early works to 1800
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Accounts, poetry, etc.

A volume (212 pp., several of which are blank) originally intended for use as a ledger, written in several hands and containing accounts, 1766-8 (webs, rye, butter, barley, etc. [?Dolgellau district, with references to Penllyn and Trawsfynydd]); a few medical recipes; stanzas of verse beginning 'Gwrando' nghariad ar fy nghwynion ...' (incomplete); the first twelve stanzas of a poem written by John Williams, St Athan, after the expulsion of Peter Williams, 1791 (cf. the printed version, 1793, of 'Can diddarfod'); a weaver's patterns; a copy of part of a herbal, Aneth - Pren Bocs (cf. Llysieulyfr Meddyginiaethol a briodolir i William Salesbury, ed. E. Stanton Roberts (Liverpool: Hugh Evans & Sons. 1916), p. 249; accounts, 1829-30, headed 'Account of the Factory's work from the 12 of Novr. 1829'; part of a treatise in Welsh on physiognomy (?possibly a translation as it contains quotations in English verse); and verses by Cadwalader Thomas and 'englynion' by Evan Elis 'I Factory Cefnddwysarn a adeiladwyd yn un cyntaf yn mhenllyn'. At the reverse end are notes in Welsh on the theory of music and a draft (in pencil) of the will of John Cadwalader of Tyllwyd in the parish of Llan D...., Merioneth, 1823, etc. Among loose papers are two bills (one mutilated), 1830, to Ebenezer Williams, Cefnddwysarn for spinning, etc.

Commonplace book,

A common-place book begun 27 June 1767. The volume has the number 121 written on the spine and is a companion volume to Cardiff MS 2. 169. The contents of the present common-place book include 'Gwaith Meddygon Myddfai. Transcribed at Green-meadow December 5th &c. 1768' (pp. 49-102); Salm 148 o gynghaneddiad y parchedig Mr. Ellis Wynne' (pp. 103-4); 'A Table shewing the Pay of a Sea Chaplain ...' (p. 105); a note giving the date of birth of Thomas Beynon, 1745, William Beynon, 1750, and Jane Beynon, 1758 (p. 119); and a continuation, 1767-1803, of the reading list published by Professor Thomas (pp. 169-176, 151-168, and 143-8, in that order), followed by an index to the volume. Several leaves have been excised at the beginning, viz. pp. 3-4, 19-24, and 37-48.

Letters and papers of 'Dic Aberdaron',

A volume containing holograph manuscripts and letters of Richard Robert Jones ('Dic Aberdaron', 1780-1843) comprising portions of an autobiography and notes and letters containing much autobiographical material. Most of the letters, 1837-43, are written from poor lodging houses in Liverpool (many addresses, such as Chisenhale Street, located mainly in the Vauxhall Road area). They describe his misfortunes and deplorable living conditions and also his dreams. There are several references to his Welsh, Greek and Hebrew dictionary and attempts to get it published. A few of the letters, 1840 and 1841, are written from Caernarvon (to Mr Evan Griffith, a sailor, Waterloo Street). There is one letter, 1841, containing drawings and abuse addressed to Richard Robert Jones, Rose Court, No. 1 Chisenall [sic] Street, Liverpool. The other manuscripts include a short work entitled 'The ancient order of harps described according to Greek rules taken from Claudius Ptolemaius ... compared with the old harps of Great Britain by Richard Robert Jones ... of Aberdaron ... 1820', containing a drawing of a harp with descriptive notes in Greek, the text which describes the arrangement of various harps is also in Greek. The manuscript bears a note in pencil 'Presented to me by the writer R. J. at Llwynybrain 1827 St Geo A[rmstrong] W[illiams]'. There is another copy of the text and a similar description of the harp in note form, also in Greek, and a single sheet with a similar drawing of the harp and parallel texts in Latin and Greek of Luke X, 5-11, and an extract from Rabbinic teaching in English and Hebrew. The single sheet bears the note 'Richard Jones (Dic Aberdaron) 1820 - Given to me by Dic himself in the year 1827 St Geo A[rmstrong] Wms'. The other manuscripts consist of short notes, transcripts and translations, mainly in Latin, Greek, English and Hebrew, relating to the Greek and French calendar, 'Zoroastres the Prince of the Magi', the herb Hyoscyamus and its medical attributes, partly extracted from the works of Galen and Pliny, and an extract from [ ] Guerre de l'Amerique, Livre 3, pp. 27-8, relating to the Tories (Loyalists) (French, with an English translation), etc. There is a list, which includes most of the manuscripts, compiled by J. Glyn Davies, 19 November 1892, on which is written the following note by J. H. Davies: 'This list was drawn up by J. Glyn Davies when the MSS belonged to Mr. T. G. Williams I bought them from Mr. Williams & have added a few myself'. There are also letters (3) from Professor T. Witton Davies, 1915, to J. H. Davies, which refer to the manuscripts of 'Dic Aberdaron' and to a volume (Cwrtmawr 50(ii)) of press-cuttings relating to him which had been lent to the writer by J. H. Davies.

Richards family transcripts,

A composite volume comprising three exercise books, with numerous items inset and mounted therein, largely in the hands of Thomas Richards, Mary Richards and Lewis Richards, Darowen. The contents include extracts from Sir John Hill: The Family Herbal (Bungay, 1812) and household and medical recipes; poetry in strict and free metres by [John Jones] ('Myllin'), Evan Jones (Darowen), Evan Thomas (Llansilin), Robert Davies, Nantglyn, W[alter] D[avies, 'Gwallter Mechain'], Lewis Jones (Nant hir), Robert Owen (Denbigh), [John Jones] ('Tegid'), Mrs [Elizabeth] Cribber [Crebar] (daughter of Lewis Morris, 'Llywelyn Ddu o Fôn'), [David Richards] ('Dewi Silin'), ?[David Richards] ('Dafydd Ionawr'), ?Dafydd Elis (Mowddwy), Harry Parry, Arthur Jones, John Parry, Peter Jones, John Rogers, ?Evan Evans (['Ieuan] Glangeirionydd'), [William Williams] 'G[wilym] ab Iorwerth', Mary Watcin (Moelcerni, near Aberystwyth), Mrs E. Jones ('Crefyddwraig', Mowddwy), [Morris Jones] ('M[eurig] Idris') (partly holograph), William Winne (vicar of Llanbrynmair), Rus Cain, Ev. Evans ['Ieuan Brydydd Hir'], Richard Philip, Cadwaladr David, Ann Humphrey, John Jones ('Sir Garnarvon'), Dafydd Jones ('neu'r Tailiwr hir') and Sion Parry ('tatganwr ... o Fallwyd'), and anonymous poems; letters from Robert Davies, Nantglyn to T[homas] Richards, Darowen, undated (the writer's visit to Carmarthen and his stay at Nannau), and D[avid] Richards ['Dewi Silin'], 1825 and undated (mutual visits, a prospectus of ? Diliau Barddas by the writer), William Jones, Llan y Mowddwy, to D[avid] Richards Llansilin, 1822 (a strange incident at Mallwyd), Aneurin [Owen] from Tyn y Celyn [Nantglyn] to D[avid] Richards, Llansilin, 1835 (recte 1825) (an invitation to Tan y Gyrt), [ ] to T[homas] Richards, Llan y Mowddwy, undated (medicine for John Edward), [?L. Jones] 'Llewelin ab Ioan', Bwlch y maen to Thomas Richards, Llan y Mowddwi, 1787-8 (the writer's religious experiences, a translation by the Reverend Thomas Jones [Creaton]) (original letters in Cwrtmawr MSS 872 and 1043), Reginald Heber, Hodnet (in the third person) to Richard Richard[s], Caerwys, 1822 (a donation towards the education of Evan Evans ['Ieuan Glan Geirionydd']),'Harri Ddu o Gaer Derwyddon, swydd Ddinbech' to Richard Richards, Caerwys, 1845 (enclosing poetry, the writer's penury), [John Jones] 'Tegid', Christ Church, Oxford to [? John Jenkins 'Ifor Ceri'], 1828 (Kerry eisteddfod, enclosing poetry, personal), John Williams, Castell, Darowen to [Mary] Richards, 1834 (the excommunication of John Davies from the Society ('Seiat')), William Owen (in the third person) to T[homas] Richards, undated (a request for the loan of ploughs), [Mary Richards] to her nephew, Cornelius Griffydd [London], 1819 (an account of the writer's return from London to Darowen); an account of disbursements at the Ship Inn, Dolgelleu, 5 August 1819 (p. 87); pasted on the inside of the upper cover is a prospectus of R. Williams, Runcorn: Ysgrifenydd Buan; neu Gyfundraith Newydd o Law Fer, (A New System of Short Hand); etc. The transcripts of Lewis Richards, which form the greater part of the third notebook, were compiled during the period 1811-18 and some of the transcripts by Mary Richards are dated 1861-6. Some of the items have been transcribed from the manuscript(s) of 'Cadwaladr Robert o Lan y Mowddwy' and 'John Cadwalader' (p. 87) and 'Cadwaladr Davidd lan y Mowddwy' (p. 132).