the print or track impressed by the course of a ship on the surface of the water. It is formed by the re-union of the body of water which was separated by the ship's bottom whilst moving through it; and may be seen to a considerable distance behind the stern, as smoother than the rest of the sea. Hence it is usually observed by the compass, to discover the angle of lee-way.

A ship is said to be in the wake of another when she follows her on the same track, or a line supposed to be formed on the continuation of her keel.

Two distant objects observed at sea are called in the wake of each other, when the view of the farther is intercepted by the nearest; so that the observer's eye and the two objects are all placed upon the same right line.

WAKE is the eve-feast of the dedication of churches, which is kept with feasting and rural diversions.

Mr Whitaker, in his History of Manchester, has given a particular account of the origin of wakes and fairs. He observes, that every church at its consecration received the name of some particular saint: this custom was practised among the Roman Britons, and continued among the Saxons; and in the council of Cealchylde, in 816, the name of the denominating saint was expressly required to be inscribed on the altars, and also on the walls of the church, or a tablet within it. The feast of this saint became of course the festival of the church. Thus Christian festivals were substituted in the room of the idolatrous anniversaries of heathenism: accordingly, at the first introduction of Christianity among the Jutes of Kent, Pope Gregory the Great advised, what had been previously done among the Britons, viz. Christian festivals to be instituted in the room of the idolatrous, and the suffering day of the martyr whose relics were reposited in the church, or the day on which the building was actually dedicated, to be the established feast of the parish. Both were appointed and observed; and they were clearly distinguished at first among the Saxons, as appears from the laws of the Confessor, where the dies dedicationis, or dedicatio, is repeatedly discriminated from the propria festivitas sancti, or celebratio sancti. They remained equally distinct to the Reformation; the dedication-day in 1536 being ordered for the future to be kept on the first Sunday in October, and the festival of the patron saint to be celebrated no longer. The latter was, by way of pre-eminence, denominated the church's holiday, or its peculiar festival; and while this remains in many parishes at present, the other is so utterly annihilated in all, that Bishop Kennet (says Mr Whitaker) knew nothing of its distinct existence, and has attributed to the day of dedication what is true only concerning the saint's day. Thus instituted at first, the day of the tutelar saint was observed, most probably by the Britons, and certainly by the Saxons, with great devotion. And the evening before every saint's day, in the Saxon Jewish method of reckoning the hours, being an actual hour of the day, and therefore like that appropriated to the duties of public religion, as they reckoned Sunday from the first to commence at the sunset of Saturday; the evening preceding the church's holyday would be observed with all the devotion of the festival. The people actually repaired to the church, and joined in the services of it; and they thus spent the evening of their greater festivities in the monasteries of the North, as early as the conclusion of the seventh century.

These services were naturally denominated from their late hours wecan or wakes, and vigils or eves. That of the anniversary at Rippon, as early as the commencement of the eighth century, is expressly denominated the vigil. But that of the church's holyday was named cyrie wecan, or church-wake, the church-vigil, or church eve. And it was this commencement of both with a wake, which has now caused the days to be generally preceded with vigils, and the church-holiday particularly to be denominated the church-wake. So religiously was the eve and festival of the patron saint observed for many ages by the Saxons, even as late as the reign of Edgar, the former being spent in the church, and employed in prayer. And the wakes, and all the other holidays in the year, were put upon the same footing with the Octaves of Christmas, Easter, and of Pentecost. When Gregory recommended the festival of the patron saint, he advised the people to erect booths of branches about the church on the day of the festival, and to fealt and be merry in them with innocence. Accordingly, in every parish, on the returning anniversary of the saint, little pavilions were constructed of boughs, and the people indulged in them to hospitality and mirth. The feasting of the saint's day, however, was soon abused; and even in the body of the church, when the people were assembled for devotion, they began to mind diversions, and to introduce drinking. The growing intemperance gradually stained the service of the vigil, till the festivity of it was converted, as it now is, into the rigour of a fast. At length they too justly scandalized the Puritans of the last century, and numbers of the wakes were disfused entirely, especially in the east and some western parts of England; but they are commonly observed in the north, and in the midland counties.

This custom of celebrity in the neighbourhood of the church, on the days of particular saints, was introduced into England from the continent, and must have been familiar equally to the Britons and Saxons; being observed among the churches of Asia in the fifth century, and by those of the west of Europe in the seventh. And equally in Asia and Europe, on the continent and in the islands, these celebrities were the causes of those commercial marts which we denominate fairs. The people resorted in crowds to the festival, and a considerable provision would be wanted for their entertainment. The prospect of interest invited the little traders of the country to come and offer their wares; and thus, among the many pavilions for hospitality in the neighbourhood of the church, various booths were erected for the sale of different commodities. In larger towns, surrounded with populous districts, the resort of the people to the wakes would be great, and the attendance of traders numerous; and this resort and attendance constitute a fair.—Baili expressly mentions the numerous appearance of traders at these festivals in Asia, and Gregory notes the same custom to be common in Europe. And as the festival was observed on a feria or holiday, it naturally assumed to itself, and as naturally communicated to the mart, the appellation of feria or fair. Indeed several of our most ancient fairs appear to have been usually held, and have been continued to our time, on the original church-holidays of the places; besides, it is observable, that fairs were generally kept in church-yards, and even in the churches, and also on Sundays, till the indelicacy and scandal were so great as to need reformation.

**Wake-Robin.** See ARUM, BOTANY Index.

**Walachia,** a province of Turkey in Europe, bounded on the north by Moldavia and Transylvania, on the east and south by the river Danube, and on the west by Transylvania. It is 225 miles in length, and 125 in breadth; and was ceded to the Turks by the treaty of Belgrade, in 1739. It abounds in good horses and cattle; and there are mines of several kinds. The soil is so fertile, that it is capable of producing anything; and there are good pastures, with wine, oil, and all manner of European fruits. The inhabitants are chiefly of the Greek church.

**Walcheren,** an island of the Low Countries, and one of the principal of those of Zealand; separated from Dutch Flanders by the mouth of the Scheldt. It is about nine miles in length, and eight in breadth; and though it lies low, has good arable and pasture land. The chief town of this island and the whole province is Middleburgh. But the principal sea port is Flushing, which is strongly fortified. Walcheren was taken by the British forces in August 1809; but it soon after was abandoned, the troops having suffered severely by sickness.

**Walden,** a town of Essex, commonly called Saffron Walden, with a market on Saturdays, and two fairs on Midlent Saturday for horses, and November 1st for cows. It is remarkable for the plenty of saffron that grows about it. This town was incorporated by Edward VI. and is governed by a mayor and 24 aldermen. It is 27 miles north-west-by-north of Chelmsford, and 43 north-east of London. E. Long. o. 20° N. Lat. 52° 4'.

**Waldenses.** See WALDO.

**Waldo,** a merchant of Lyons in the latter part of the 12th century, who applying himself to the study of the Scriptures, and finding no warrant there for several of the Romish doctrines, particularly that of transubstantiation, publicly opposed them. His followers, who from him were called Waldenses, being chased from Lyons, spread over Dauphiné and Provence; upon which Philip II. is said to have razed 300 gentlemen's seats, and destroyed several walled towns to stop their growth: but this, instead of suppressing, spread them over a great part of Europe. The articles of their faith, which they drew up and dedicated to the king of France, agreed in most points with those of the present Protestants. In the year 1200, those of them who dwelt in the province of Albigeois in Languedoc, from whence they were called Albigenesi, stood upon their defence; upon which Philip drove them into Bohemia, Savoy, and England. The crusade against them is said to have consisted of 500,000 men, who wore their crosses on their breasts, to distinguish themselves from those who went to the Holy Land, and wore them on their shoulders.

**Wales,** a country situated in the south-west part of of Britain, into which the ancient Britons retired from the persecution of the Saxons. Anciently it was of greater extent than it is at present, and comprehended all the country beyond the Severn, that is, besides the 12 counties included in it at present, those of Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, which now are reckoned a part of England, were then inhabited by three different tribes of the Britons, namely, the Silures, the Demetæ, and the Ordovices. The Romans were never able to subdue them, till the reign of Vespasian, when they were reduced by Julius Frontinus, who placed garrisons in their country to keep them in awe. Though the Saxons made themselves masters of all England, they never could get possession of Wales, except the counties of Monmouthshire and Herefordshire, formerly a part of Wales. About the year 870, Roderic king of Wales divided it among his three sons; and the names of these divisions were, Demetia, or South-Wales; Powefa, or Powys-Land; and Venedotia, or North Wales. Another division is mentioned afterwards in the records, viz. North Wales, South Wales, and West Wales; the last comprehending the counties of Monmouth and Hereford. The country derived the name of Wales, and the inhabitants that of Welsh, from the Saxons, who by those terms denote a country and people to which they are strangers; for the Welsh, in their own language, call their country Cymru, and their language Cymraeg. They continued under their own princes and laws from the above-mentioned period, and were never entirely subjected to the crown of England till the reign of Edward I., when Llewellyn ap Gryffith, prince of Wales, lost both his life and dominions. Edward, the better to secure his conquest, and to reconcile the Welsh to a foreign yoke, sent his queen to lie in at Caernarvon, where she was delivered of a prince; to whom the Welsh, on that account, the more readily submitted. Ever since that time, the eldest sons of the kings of England have commonly been created princes of Wales, and as such enjoy certain revenues from that country.

As to the character of the Welsh, they are said to be a brave, hospitable people; and though very jealous of affronts, paffionate, and hafty, yet are easily reconciled. The common people look with a suspicious eye on strangers, and bear a hereditary grudge to the English nation, by whom their ancestors were expelled from the finest parts of the island. The gentlemen are apt to value themselves upon the antiquity of their families; and with some reason, as they can generally trace them much higher than the inhabitants of most other countries.

All the better sort, both in town and country, can speak English, especially in the counties bordering upon England. The common people, in general, only speak their own language, which is the ancient British; and not only differs entirely from the English, but has very little affinity with any of the western tongues, unless we should except the Gaelic, Erse, or Irish. It is said to be a dialect of the ancient Celtic, and in many respects to resemble the Hebrew. Most of the clergy are natives of the country, and understand English so well, that they could exercise their functions in any part of Britain. The public worship, however, is as often performed in Welsh as in English, excepting in the towns, where the latter is the prevailing language. The inhabitants are computed at about 300,000.

The country, though mountainous, especially in North Wales, is far from being barren or unfruitful; the hills, besides the metals and minerals they contain, feeding vast herds of small black cattle, deer, sheep, and goats, and their valleys abounding in corn, as their seas and rivers do in fish. Here are also wood, coal, and turf for fuel, in abundance.