[1] THe king being minded and determined to returne into England, set his realme of Ireland in good order, and left Hugh de Lacie (vnto whom he had giuen in f [...]e the countrie of Meth) with twentie gentlemen, & Fitz stephans & Maurice Fitzgerald with twentie other gentlemen, to be wardens and conestables of Dub|lin. Likewise he left Humfreie de Bohune, Robert Fitzbarnard, and Hugh de Gundeu [...]le, with twen|tie gentlemen, to kéepe and gouerne Waterford. Al|so he left William Fitzaldelme, Philip of Hastings, and Philip de Bruse, to be gouernors and rulers of Wexford: they hauing also twentie gentlemen of seruice appointed vnto them. And on the mondaie in the Easter wéeke, earlie in the morning at the sunne rising, he tooke shipping without the barre of Wex|ford; and the wind being westerlie and blowing a good gale, he had a verie good passage, and arriued a|bout the noonetide of the same daie vnto the ba [...]e of saint Dauids: where he being set on land, he went on foot with a staffe in his hand in pilgrimage, and in great deuotion vnto the church of saint Dauids; whom the cleargie in procession met at the gate cal|led the white gate, and with great honour receiued him. And as they were going verie orderlie and so|lemnlie in procession, there came vnto him a Welsh or a Camber woman; and falling downe at his feet, she made a great complaint against the bishop of that place: which being by an interpretor declared vnto the king, albeit he vnderstood it well, yet he gaue hir no answer.
She thinking that hir sute was not regarded, did wring hir fists, and cried out with a lowd voice; Re|uenge vs this day O Lechlanar, Reuenge vs I say, our kindred, and our nation, from this man. And be|ing willed by the people of that countrie, who vnder|stood hir speach, to hold hir peace, as also did thrust hir out of the companie; she cried the more, trusting and alluding to a certeine blind prophesie of Merlin, which was; that The king of England the conqueror A prophesie of Merlin. of Ireland, should be wounded in Ireland by a man with a red hand, and in his returning homewards through Southwales should die vpon Lechlanar. This (1) Lechlanar was the name of a certeine great stone which laie ouer a brooke, which fléeteth or run|neth on the north side of the churchyard, and was a bridge ouer the same: and by reason of the often and continuall going of the people ouer it, it was verie smooth and slipperie. In length it was of ten foot, in breadth six foot, and in thicknesse one foot. And this word Lechlanar, in the Camber or Welsh [...]oong, is to saie, The speaking stone. For it was an old blind A speaking stone. saieng among the people in that countrie, that on a time there was a dead corps caried ouer that stone to be buried, and the said stone spake, and foorthwith brake and claue asunder in the middle, and which cli [...] so remaineth vnto this daie. And there vpon the peo|ple of that countrie, of a verie vaine and barbarous superstition, haue not since, nor yet will carie anie more dead bodies ouer the same.
The king being come to this stone, and hearing of this prophesie, paused and staied a little while; and then vpon a sudden, verie [...] he went ouer it: which doone, he looked backe vpon the stone, and spake somewhat sharpelie, saieng: Who is he that will be|leeue that lieng Merlin anie more? A man of that place standing thereby, and séeing what had happe|ned, he to excuse Merlin, said with a lowd voice; Thou [page 25] art not he that shall conquer Ireland, neither dooth Merlin meane it of thée. The king then went into the cathedrall church which was dedicated to saint An|drew and to saint Dauid: and hauing made his prai|ers, and heard diuine seruice, he went to supper, and rode after to Hauerford west to bed, which is about twelue miles from thense.
(1) The writer hereof (of verie purpose) in the yeare 1575, went to the foresaid place to sée the said stone, but there was no such to be found; and the place where the said stone was said to lie, is now an ar|ched bridge, vnder which fléeteth the brooke aforesaid, which brooke dooth not diuide the churchyard from the church, but the churchyard [...] church from the bishops and prebèndaries houses, which houses in times past were verie faire and good hospitalitie kept therein. But as the most part of honses are fallen down and altogither ruinons, so the hospitalitie is also there|with decaied. And for the veritie of the foresaid stone, there is no certeintie affirmed, but a report is remaining amongst the common people of such a stone to haue béene there in times past.