ceedingly fierce, because the silence had been broken, and because
God's name had been used, and in his anger he snatched up both the man
and the mare, and threw them right over the Church to the other side, and
there is a mark to this day on a grave stone of the horse's hoof on the
spot where she lit. But the Spirit's anger was all in vain, for he was
carried by the mare to the river, and laid in _Llyn-y-Geulan-Goch_, but
so much did the poor animal perspire whilst carrying him, that, although
the distance was only a quarter of a mile, she lost all her hair.

Tales very much like the preceding are related of many churches in Wales.
The details differ, but in general outlines they are alike. I will give
one other story of this kind.

_An Evil Spirit in Llandysilio Church, Montgomeryshire_.

The history of this Spirit's proceedings is given in _Bye-Gones_, Vol.
ii, p. 179, and the writer's fictitious name is _Gypt_.

"This church," says _Gypt_, "was terribly troubled by a Spirit in times
gone by, so I was informed by a person who took me over the church, and,
being curious to hear the story, my guide related the following:--

"To such extremes had things come that it was resolved to send for a well
known and expert person to lay the Spirit. But the Spirit nearly
overcame the expert, and the fight continued hard and fast for a long
time. The ghost layer came out often for fresh air and beer, and then
was plainly seen, from his bared arms and the perspiration running down
his face, that there was a terrible conflict going on within the church.
At last success crowned the effort, and the Spirit, not unlike a large
fly, was put into a bottle and thrown into a deep pool in the River
Verniew, where it remains to this day, and the church was troubled no
more."

_Gypt_ adds:--"As a proof of the truth of the story, my informant showed
me the beams which were cracked at the time the Spirit troubled the
church."

In these tales we have a few facts common to them all. An Evil Spirit
troubles the people, and makes his home nightly in the church, which he
illuminates. His presence there becomes obnoxious, and ultimately,
either by force or trickery, he is ejected, and loses his life, or at
least he is deposited by his captors in a lake, or pool of water, and
then peace and quietness ensue.

There is a good deal that is human about these stories when stripped of
the marvellous, which surrounds them, and it is not unre