Jasper County Democrat, Volume 7, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 February 1905 — FAMOUS ENGLISH WELLS. [ARTICLE]

FAMOUS ENGLISH WELLS.

tome Whose Waters Are Charged With Magic or Miraculous Power. Though there are hundreds of wells supposed to possess magical power scattered all over England, the general public is Ignorant of their locality or the romantic stories connected with each one. There may be a possible exception in the well of St Keyne, in Cornwall, for Southey has made it famous In a witty little poem. The magic of its waters is such that the husband or wife who drinks first from it after leaving the altar will have the upper hand? over the mate for their Joint lives. The bride of whom Southey tells us did not wait till after the marriage ceremony to pay a visit to the well, but took the precaution of taking a bottle with her to the church. Another well, in Monmouthshire, which has a peculiar fascination for the unmarried maidens is known Is the “virtuous well.” For generations the maidens of that locality have accredited it with marvelous powers In forecasting their futures. They haveonly to drop a pebble into its water and count the resultant bubbles, for each bubble represents a month of waiting for the day which will make them brides. In order to propitiate the genius which presides over the well It is necessary to decorate the brambles which shade it with bits of white cloth.

Then there are the so called holy wells which have many medicinal virtues. Such a one is St. Winifred's, at Holywell, which is accredited with cures that are almost miraculous. The legend of its origin Is a very pretty one. It is said that twelve centuries ago St. Winifred, the winsome daughter of a Welsh chief, was wooed by Prince Caradoc, a prince of ill repute. She declined his persistent advances, and at last he killed her in a fit of rage. From the spot on which St. Winifred’s lifeblood fell there gushed forth a stream of crystal water which has worked miracles in her name for so many centuries. Practically all the ills to which the flesh is heir can be cured by one or another of these wells. St. Ninan’s, in Cornwall, Is said to restore lunatics to sanity, but the patient must be immersed in the water aud held there until the breath has nearly left his body. This seems a heroic measure. But even this is not so severe as the treatment which must be endured if a madman is to be cured at Llandegla well, in Wales, for after the victim Is nearly drowned he is trussed like a fowl and laid under the communion table of the neighboring church for the night.