Note 104 — TO THE READER. (continued 2)

Walking round the church.—Referring to a superstitious custom in vogue in some parts of Wales as late as the beginning of the present century. On All Souls’ Night the women-folk gathered together at the parish church, each with a candle in her hand; the sexton then came round and lit the candies, and as these burnt brightly or fitfully, so would the coming year prove prosperous or adverse. When the last candle died out, they solemnly march round the church twice or thrice, then home in silence, and in their dreams that night, their fated husbands would appear to them.