of the law.

The above-mentioned tradition of the coming of these witches to Anglesey
is still current in the parish of Llanddona, which is situated on the
north coast of Anglesey.

It was thought that the witching power belonged to families, and
descended from mothers to daughters. This was supposed to be the case
with the witches of Llanddona. This family obtained a bad report
throughout the island. The women, with dishevelled hair and bared
breasts, visited farm houses and requested charity, more as a right than
a favour, and no one dared refuse them. _Llanddona Witches_ is a name
that is not likely soon to die. Taking advantage of the credulity of the
people, they cursed those whom they disliked, and many were the
endeavours to counteract their maledictions. The following is one of
their curses, uttered at _Y Ffynon Ocr_, a well in the parish of
Llanddona, upon a man who had offended one of these witches:--

Crwydro y byddo am oesoedd lawer;
Ac yn mhob cam, camfa;
Yn mhob camfa, codwm;
Yn mhob codwm, tori asgwrn;
Nid yr asgwrn mwyaf na'r lleiaf,
Ond asgwrn chwil corn ei wddw bob tro.

The English is as follows, but the alliteration and rhythm of the Welsh
do not appear in the translation:--

May he wander for ages many;
And at every step, a stile;
At every stile, a fall;
At every fall, a broken bone;
Not the largest, nor the least bone,
But the chief neck bone, every time.

This curse seemed to be a common imprecation, possibly belonging to that
family. Such was the terror of the _Llanddona Witches_ that if any of
them made a bid for a pig or anything else, in fair or market, no one
else dared bid against them, for it was believed they would witch the
animal thus bought. There were also celebrated witches at Denbigh.
_Bella Fawr_ (Big Bella) was one of the last and most famous of her tribe
in that town, and many other places were credited with possessing persons
endowed with witching powers, as well as those who could break spells.

The following tales of the doings of witches will throw light upon the
matter under consideration.

_Witches transforming themselves into Cats_.

One of the forms that witches were supposed to change themselves into was
that of a cat. In this metamorphosed state they were the more able to
accomplish their designs. The following tale, illustrative of this
belief, was told me by the Rev. R. Jones, Rector of Lla