Aylwin | Page 3

the first to share in the Renascence of Wonder, which was the
renascence of religion....Men saw once more the marvel of the universe
and the romance of man's destiny. They became aware of the spiritual
world, of the supernatural, of the lifelong struggle of the soul, of the
power of the unseen.
The words quoted by Dr. Nicoll might very appropriately be used as a
motto for Aylwin and also for its sequel _The Coming of Love: Rhona
Boswells Story_.

PREFACE TO THE TWENTY-SECOND EDITION OF 1904
Nothing in regard to Aylwin has given me so much pleasure as the way
in which it has been received both by my Welsh friends and my
Romany friends. I little thought, when I wrote it, that within three years
of its publication the gypsy pictures in it would be discoursed upon to
audiences of 4000 people by a man so well equipped to express an
opinion on such a subject as the eloquent and famous 'Gypsy Smith,'
and described by him as 'the most trustworthy picture of Romany life in
the English language, containing in Sinfi Lovell the truest
representative of the Gypsy girl.'
And as regards my Welsh readers, they have done me the honour of

suggesting that an illustrated edition of the work would be prized by all
lovers of 'Beautiful Wales.'
Although such an edition is, I am told, an expensive undertaking, my
friend and publisher, Mr. Blackett, sees his way, he tells me, to
bringing it out.
Since the first appearance of the book there have been many interesting
discussions by Welsh readers, in various periodicals, upon the path
taken by Sinfi Lovell and Aylwin in their ascent of Snowdon.
A very picturesque letter appeared in Notes and Queries on May 3rd,
1902, signed _C. C. B._ in answer to a query by E. W., which I will
give myself the pleasure of quoting because it describes the writer's
ascent of Snowdon (accompanied by a son of my old friend Harry
Owen, late of Pen-y-Gwryd) along a path which was almost the same
as that taken by Aylwin and Sinfi Lovell, when he saw the same
magnificent spectacle that was seen by them:--
The mist was then clearing (it was in July) and in a few moments was
entirely gone. So marvellous a transformation scene, and so immense a
prospect, I have never beheld since. For the first and only time in my
life I saw from one spot almost the whole of North and Mid-Wales, a
good part of Western England, and a glimpse of Scotland and Ireland.
The vision faded all too quickly, but it was worth walking thirty-three
or thirty-four miles, as I did that day, for even a briefer view than that.
Referring to Llyn Coblynau this interesting writer says--
Only from Glaslyn would the description in Aylwin of y Wyddfa
standing out against the sky 'as narrow and as steep as the sides of an
acorn' be correct, but from the north and north-west sides of Glaslyn
this answers with quite curious exactness to the appearance of the
mountain. We must suppose the action of the story to have taken place
before the revival of the copper-mining industry on Snowdon.
With regard, however, to the question here raised, I can save myself all
trouble by simply quoting the admirable remarks of Sion o Ddyli in the
same number of _Notes and Queries:_--
None of us are very likely to succeed in placing this llyn, because the
author of _Aylwin_, taking a privilege of romance often taken by Sir
Walter Scott before him, probably changed the landmarks in idealising
the scene and adapting it to his story. It may be, indeed, that the Welsh
name given to the llyn in the book is merely a rough translation of the

gipsies' name for it, the 'Knockers' being gnomes or goblins of the mine;
hence 'Coblynau' equals goblins. If so, the name itself can give us no
clue unless we are lucky enough to secure the last of the Welsh gipsies
for a guide. In any case, the only point from which to explore Snowdon
for the small llyn, or perhaps llyns (of which Llyn Coblynau is a kind
of composite ideal picture), is no doubt, as E. W. has suggested, Capel
Curig; and I imagine the actual scene lies about a mile south from
Glaslyn, while it owes something at least of its colouring in the book to
that strange lake. The 'Knockers,' it must be remembered, usually
depend upon the existence of a mine near by, with old partly fallen
mine-workings where the dropping of water or other subterranean
noises produce the curious phenomenon which is turned to such
imaginative account in the Snowdon chapters of Aylwin.
There is another question--a question of a very