PB 2207 W67e Williams Essays in Welsh Literature THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES ESSAYS IN WELSH LITERATURE BY j. DIGAIN WILLIAMS, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. THIRD THOUSAND. I'HKSS OK POWELL AND COMPANY, (.AMHKIIXiK, MASS. ESSAYS IN WELSH LITERATURE BY ]. digain ; williams, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. THIRD THOUSAND. I'RHSS OF POWELL AND COMPANY, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. * t ■ '■•;:• : • ■ « c I CD CO CD M in LlJ .-' c. 6 PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. The substance of these pages was delivered at the First Baptist Church, of Edwardsdale, and we feel that no apology is needed for publishing the same, though it is pre- sented in a very imperfect form. To have the history of fe the Bible amongst the most constant Bible reading people in the world must be an interesting matter to all. The his- tory of the Welsh magazines is a part of the history of religion in Wales, and is important apart from its literary value. How the Welsh Bible and magazines were left out of such a work as the "Encyclopedia Britannica" we are at a loss to understand. We hope, however, that the next _ edition of that excellent work will include articles on these subjects. Until something better will appear, these two essays, we hope, will be of help to those who desire to know more than they do in this respect. Shall we also hope that they may create that desire in others who have it not? The article on the First Welsh Biblical Dictionary is given partly in order to do justice to the author of that book. £ J. D. W. Edwardsdale, March 28, 1895. THE WELSH BIBLE. The Scriptures, or at least parts of them, were known to the inhabitants of Wales at an early date, although the oldest work known was written as late as the middle of the 14th century. This is not, however, a translation from the MSS. It is a metrical rendering of the work known as " Officium Beatae Marae," Avhich contains portions of the Word of God. The author of this poetical translation was Dafydd ah Roderic ah Madog. He was a native of Flint- shire, North Wales, a dignitary of St. Asaph, and vicar of Dymeirchion, where his monument is to be seen even to this day. His poetical name was "Dafydd Ddu o Hiraddug." He was believed to be a prophet, and was learned. He flourished about 1349, the year in which Richard Rolle, the hermit of Hampole, died. Dafydd ab Gwilym, one of the best poets of Wales, was born about this time. We are informed on good authority that a translation of the four gospels was in the library of the Cathedral at St. Asaph in the year 1282, and that it was considered old at that time. The Archbishop of Canterbury wrote to the priests of St. Asaph authorizing them to cany the MS. with them from house to house, and to read the same for the benefit of the people. What became of this copy is not known. Some think that Bishop Goldwell, who was at St. Asaph about L558, but who was forced to give up his position when Elizabeth became Queen of England, took the valuable volume with him to Rome. This is very probable, and the precious relic may yet come to light. — 6 — Dr. Richard Davies, who was consecrated Bishop of St. Asaph in 1559 or 15G0, tells us that he saw a copy the five books of Moses, when he was a boy, in the house of an edu- cated uncle of his. " No one," he says, " seemed to value the book," a fact which does not reflect great credit on the education of his uncle. Dr. Davies argues that a knowledge of the Scriptures existed in Wales in early times, and in support of his opinion refers to the character of the people, their names, and their proverbs. Historians are of opinion that a man named Thomas Llewellyn, a native of Glamorganshire, translated the Bible into Welsh about the year 1540. This translation was made, we are told, from the English version of Tyndale. About the time Tyndale was forming his intentions of translating the Bible into English, there was born in the North of Wales, about eighty miles away from Little Sodbury, a boy who was also called William, who was destined to perform for the Welsh people a work similar to that accomplished by Tyndale for the English world. We cannot be certain about the year in which William Salesbury was born, and each of two villages in Denbighshire claims to be his birth- place. Tradition goes in favor of Llanrwst ; but a reference in a certain MS. recently found, if we may rely on the words of the copist, who says that it is the work of William Sales- bury, goes in favor of Llansannan. The distance, however, between Llanrwst and Llansannan is only about ten miles, and since some of his celebrated ancestors lived not far from both places, each of them may rightly claim a share in the production of William Salesbury. Llanrwst is at present a town of about eight or nine thou- sand inhabitants, and is situated on the river Conway, which parts Denbigh from Carnarvon. Llansannan is a small vil- — 7 — lage in the heart of Denbighshire. I may say, in the heart of Denbighshire in more than one respect ; and should the future decide for Llanrwst as the place in which the great man was born, Llansannan is inseparably connected with him, for, without a doubt, he accomplished most, if not all, of the work by which he is best known in that parish. Yes, it was there, in a small room made in the chimney, safe from the violent storms of persecution ; in the quietness of the country, and that too, in this case, converted into solitude by means of the slumbering appearance of Hiraethog mountain and the murmur of the river Aled, that William Salesbury translated for his countrymen the New Testament into their own beautiful and dear language. Salesbury was a descendant of Adam de Salbre, the son of the Duke of Bavaria, who had settled in Wales centuries before. His father's name was Ffoulk Salesbury, and his grandfather was Thomas Salesbury, who married Gwenhyfar, the only daughter of Rhys ap Einion Fyohan.* He re- ceived the rudiments of learning in his native country, and afterwards entered the University of Oxford, where other members of the same noted family had done well before. He entered either St. Alban's or Broadgates Hall.| He was removed from Oxford to an Inn of Chancery in London, from whence he proceeded, in all probability, to Lincoln's Inn. He was well up in a dozen but one lan- guages. Fortunately he did not spend his life in the law. His piety, learning and zeal secured for him the respect of the best and ablest men of the principality. An act of Parliament passed in the year 1563 ordered that the Old and New Testaments, together with the Book ♦Welsh Bibliography by Kowland & Evans, page 17. r Williams' Eminent Welshmen. — 8 — of Common Prayer, were to be translated into "Welsh ; the work to be edited by the Bishops of St. Asaph, Bangor, St. David's, Llandaff and Hereford. The translations were to be ready in 1566, and each Bishop, in case of neglect, was to pay a fine of forty pounds. The work, however, was not accomplished. The law did not state who was to take care of the work, and who was to bear the expenses. The Bishops, in the meantime, prevailed on Salesbury to undertake the task, and the whole of the New Testament was printed in 1567, — the year in which Rugby School was founded, and forty-two years after the appearance of the English New Testament of William Tyndale. On the back of the title page we find these words: "Imprinted at London, by Henry Denham, at the costes and charges of Humfrey Toy, dwelling in Paules Churchyarde, at the sign of Helmet, Gum privilegio at, imprimendum volum, Anno 1567, Octob 7." The mother of Humfrey Toy was a Welsh lady, and it was through her, mainly, that the son undertook to print the work "at his own costes and charges." The volume contains 800 pages, in black letter. Should the reader be informed elsewhere that the number of pages is 399, he may get over the difficulty by remem- bering that some give the number of pages, and the others the number of leaves in the book. What help Salesbury received from the Bishops we cannot tell ; we know that only one of them helped with the translating. Dr. Davies of St. David's translated the First Epistle to Timothy, the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistle of James, and the two Epistles of Peter. The Book of Revelation was translated by T. Huet,* Precentor of St. David's. * Huet was from South Wales. — 9 — Salesbury and Davies began together a translation of the Old Testament, but they disagreed as to the meaning of one word, and the work was not proceeded with. Be- sides being the first to translate the New Testament into Welsh, Salesbury has the honor of being the author of the first book ever printed in the language, as well as the author of the first Welsh Dictionary. Although the trans- lation has been greatly improved by Morgan and Parry, we must look upon Salesbury's as the foundation of the one in use at the present time. A second edition of the work appeared in 1849. Five years after the publication of Coverdale's Bible, there was born in the parish of Penmachno in Carnar- vonshire, about four or five miles from Llanrwst, another boy who was called William, who was to perform a greater, though not nobler work, than William Salesbury. William Morgan was born at a place called Gwibernant, which is on the borders of the parishes of Dolyddelen and Pen- machno. He was educated at St. John's College, Cam- bridge. He took his M.A. in 1571 ; B.D. in 1578, and D.D. in 1583. He accepted the vicarage of Welshpool, where he remained for three years, whence he removed to Llan- rhaiadr, a village situated on the borders of Denbighshire and Montgomeryshire. It was here that he accomplished the work which has made his name so dear to his country- men, and has won for him the respect of other nations. Morgan seems to have undertaken the work of translating the Bible into Welsh of his own free will. He was not influenced by the Queen, and as far as we can gather, the Bishops knew nothing of what he was doing for some time after he had commenced the work. lie was called -10- to his task by the " Spirit of truth." He remained at Llanrhaiadr for ten years, but before the appearance of his translation he resigned his position in favor of his son, Evan Morgan, who held the vicarage until 1612. In 1595 Morgan was made Bishop of Llandaff by the " express command of the Queen." lie was removed to St. Asaph in 1601, and he died there on the fourth of September, 1604, two hundred years before "The British and Foreign Society " was founded ! It is said that Morgan had some difficulty, even with his own parishioners, when engaged in his work of translat- ing. It was said that he was not fit for the task ; stories were invented and circulated concerning him, until at last he had to appear before the Archbishop of Canterbury. Dr. Whitgift at once perceived his ability and advised him to go on with the work. It is said that the Arch- bishop asked him if he knew Welsh as well as he knew Hebrew! We are expressly told by Morgan that, were it not for Dr. Whitgift, the work would not have been proceeded with " owing to the difficulty of the task, and the greatness of the expense." We are struck by the fact that all the men who are emi- nent on account of service rendered in giving their country- men the Bible in their own language, were, with one or two exceptions, natives of three or four countries in North Wales. Four of them were from Denbighshire, and two of the four were born in the same town ; four more were from Carnarvonshire, and two of these again were from the same spot. Their names even strike us; the first name of each of three of them was William and three more had each the name of Richard. Six of them were trained at Cambridge, four at least at Oxford, and one of them studied at both — 11 — Universities ; four of them again were Bishops of St. Asaph. However, if the people of South Wales are almost deprived of any share in the work of translating the Bible, great praise is due to them for their efforts to spread the truth far and wide, as we shall see further on. It was through the instru- mentality of preachers from the South, such as Vavasor Powell and Hywel Harries, that the North of Wales was brought to " a knowledge of the truth." Six of the men above referred to are mentioned by Morgan as being his helpers. Everyone who had anything to do with such a work as this ousrht to have full credit for the share he did. We cannot, however, do justice to them, even if we were qualified for the task, owing to the absence of knowledge of the special part each one of them had in the enterprise. We shall, therefore, give the leading facts of their lives. Dr. Hugh Bellot was the second son of Thomas Bellot, Esq., of Great Moreton, Cheshire. He was educated at Cambridge. He took his B.A. degree in 15G3, and that of M.A. in 15G7, and was created D.D. in 1579. In 1570 he was one of the proctors of the University. In 1584 he obtained the rectory of Caerwys, Flintshire, and the vicar- age of Gresford, Denbighshire. He was made Bishop of Iiangor in 1585 and ten years later Mas removed to the Bishopric of Chester. He is mentioned as a great persecutor of the Catholics. Bellot was very intimate with Dr. Gabriel Goodman, who was horn at Ruthin, Denbighshire, in the year 1528. Goodman was the son of Edward Goodman, who was a merchant, and who seems to have been the first of the family to take the name Goodman. It appears, indeed, thai — 12 — Edward had the name given to him by his associates on account of his excellent character. The name did not suffer any because of the son, for he was indeed an exceptionally good man ; had he been named when names were keys to characters, who knows but that he would have been called Gabriel Goodman, for he was certainly an angel of a man. Gabriel was sent to Cambridge when about fourteen years of age, and took his M.A. degree when he was about twenty- one, and was a fellow of Jesus College. In 1561 Goodman was made Dean of Westminster, which position he held for about forty years. Pie was a sound scholar and translated the First Epistle to the Corinthians in the Bishop's Bible. He founded a Grammar School, and other charitable insti- tutions at Ruthin. lie died on the 17th of June, 1601, in his seventy-third year. When in London, superintending the printing of the Bible, Dr. Morgan was the guest of Dean Goodman, and we may naturally suppose that he gave him pecuniary and literary aid. Dr. David Powell, who was "a learned divine and emi- nent antiquary," was born in Denbighshire about 1552. He was sent to Oxford when he was sixteen and took his M.A. there in 1576. He was made vicar of Ruabon, Denbighshire, in 1570, and he died there in 1598. His son Samuel, who was one of twelve children, six of them being daughters, followed his father at Ruabon. Ruabon is not far from Llanrhaiadr, and Morgan, in all probability received sub- stantial aid from Powell. Dr. William Hughes, Bishop of St. Asaph, " gave as- sistance by the loan of books and examination of the work." * Dr. Hughes was the son of Hugh ap Cynric, who was a * Dictionary of National Biography. — 13 — descendant of one of the fifteen tribes of Gwynedd. His mother's name was Gwenllian. He was horn in Carnarvon- shire, and was trained at Oxford and Cambridge. He was made vicar of Llysfaen in his native county, and in 1573 he was made Bishop of St. Asaph. The accounts we get of him show him to be a selfish man to say the least. We must not forsret, nevertheless, the siood he did. Another helper was Dr. Richard Vaughan, who was from the same part of Carnarvonshire as Dr. Hughes- Vaughan received his training at St. John's College, Cam- bridge, of which he was a fellow. He was Prebendary of Holborn, and Archdeacon of Middlesex, and was consecrated Bishop of Bangor in 1595 ; he was removed to Chester in 1597, and to London in 1604. According to some Dr. John Davies, of Mallwyd, Merionethshire, also gave assistance. Dr. John Davis was first educated by Morgan. Some sur- mise that Dr. Parry gave some assistance, although he was only twenty-eight years of age at the time the translation was issued. The last of this noble band of men who shall come under consideration was Archdeacon Prys of Merionethshire. He was born in that county at a farm house called Gerddi Bluog about the year 1541. When the writer visited the place he was shown an old eight- day clock which was the property of Edmund Prys at one time, but which is now as silent as the tongue of the sweet singer of Psalms. Prys was the son of a cousin of Morgan and was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge. He was made Archdeacon of Merioneth in 1576, and Canon of St. Asaph in 100'J. He composed a beautiful metrical version of the Psalms. It is said that his practice was to prepare for each Sunday a Psalm which was sung in church. It is natural to suppose — 14 — that he gave considerable help in translating the Psalms. The sweetness and melody of the Welsh Psalms are per- haps the fruits of his genius, just as the sweetness of the English Bible is due in large part to Coverdale. Prys died, according to some, in the year 1621, but others say it was 1623 or 1624. lie was buried at Maentwrog, but, like the resting place of many a great man, the spot where he lies is not known. Morgan's Bible was printed in London by Christopher and Barker, Paternoster Row, in 1588, the year in which the Spanish Armada was defeated. It is a large volume in black letter containing the Apocryphal books as well as the Old and New Testaments. The contents of every chapter is given and the whole is divided into verses, with some mar- ginal notes. It contains over one thousand pages but only the leaves are numbered. At the beginning of the volume there is a Latin letter addressed to the Queen. Morgan, it seems, revised the New Testament afterwards, and had it ready for publication when he died, in 1604. As far as we have been able to see no use was made of this. In 1620 another edition of the whole Bible was printed in London by " Norton and Bill, printers to his Majesty." This is called " Dr. Parry's Bible," as he corrected some of the mistakes in that of Morgan, although a few changes for the worse were made. This is a large volume, similar in arrangement to the edition of 1588. Dr. John Davies, already referred to, assisted Parry in this work. Since hardly suf- ficient copies were printed in 1588, so that each parish in the principality could obtain one, Bibles must have been very scarce in thirty-two years after, especially when we remem- ber that many of them were kept in damp churches from one end of the year to the other. It seems that Parry, like —15 — Morgan, undertook the work of his own free will without the support of the King and Parliament. Dr. Parry's Bible is the one in use at the present time, and upon the whole it is an excellent translation. The trans- lation, no doubt, is sometimes wrong and doubtful. There are several passages in the Revised English Testament which more correctly represent the original than the Welsh ren- derings of the same, but we must not forget that at least one-third of the new renderings in the English Testament were in the Welsh one from the time of Dr. Parry. Simi- larity between the verbs is, perhaps, one of the greatest defects of the Welsh translation of the New Testament. The difference between the perfect and imperfect tenses, for instance, is not, according to the opinions of the best scholars, satisfactorily worked out. We Welsh people pro- fess to be patriotic and religious, and we are so, no doubt, especially in sentiment ; but if our patriotism and religion are to be measured by our practical admiration of our heroes, which is bv no means a low standard, we have no reason to boast. And if we are too poor to erect statues in honor of them, and if our poets and historians will not take the trouble necessary to immortalize them, let us strive to understand and live the truths at which they worked so hard so that we might have light. These great men, — great in religion, learning and courage, have placed us under lasting obli- gations to them. In the year 1630 the whole Bible was printed for the third time. This, however, was an edition for the people. The former Bibles were " princes among books," even if we take nothing but their sizes into account. This made them inconvenient for common use. Hut what was still worse was the fact that they were so dear. It was simply a matter of — 16 — impossibility for the people at large to possess a eopy, even if sufficient copies had been printed. A poor man could hardly procure a copy with the earnings of a month. The edition of 1630 was meant for the poor people. This, like the former editions, was printed in London. It was issued from the press of " Robert Barker, Printer to his Majesty the King," and the " assigns of John Bill Anno Dom. 1630." The honor of giving the Bible to the poor people of Wales belongs to two gentlemen who were alder- men in the City of London. They were Mr. Rowland Heylyn and Sir Thomas Middleton. These men were both of noted families. Sir Thomas Middleton was the son of Richard Middleton, of Waenynog, Denbighshire. There have been four of the family of the same name, viz. : Sir Thomas Middleton. The first two were knights and the other two were baronets. The Sir Thomas under con- sideration was the first of that name and the founder of the Middletons of Chirk Castle, Denbighshire. He had three brothers, Richard, Simon, and William. William was an excellent poet and was known as Gwilym Canoldref. Canoldref is the Welsh for Middleton, that is, Middletown. Sir Thomas was a merchant in London and was Lord Mayor of the City. Heylyn was a native of Salop. There is a small place in that county known as Pentref Heylyn. Dr. Richard Heylyn, who was sometime canon of Christ Church, Oxford, was of the same family. Some seem to think that Heylyn had more than anybody else to do with the bringing out of this edition, while others speak of Middleton as though he were the sole instrument in bringing " the gospel to the poor " at this time. But the probability is that both had a share in this noble work. And it is far better for us to make the unusual mistake of being too lavish with our — 17 — praise than to be too sparing with it. What we must mind is not to give it to the wrong man when we have the means of knowing better. In the year 1647 the New Testament was issued alone, a second edition following in a very short time after the appearance of the first. It had also been issued in 1641 and 1642. It is thought that Mr. Walter Caradoc had more to do with these editions than anybody else. Caradoc was in London at this time. He was a native of Monmouthshire. It is thought that he was trained at Oxford, and that he left before he proceeded to his degree. Wood does not mention his name. He was for sometime curate at Cardiff, South Wales, and he held a similar position at Wrexham in the North. He was more than once prevented to preach as he was not willing to conform with certain vicious rules and practices. He is called a " dissenter by compulsion." He travelled and preached much, and died a minister of the Established Church. By this time a change for the better had come over the principality. " An act for the better propogation of the gospel in Wales" had been passed, and a number of earnest men took advantage of it and did their utmost to spread the knowledge of God's Word; yet the people were ex- tremely superstitious and ignorant ; morality was low, and only one here and there could read his Bible. The power of the church at large, I mean power for good, was simply nil. In the year 1654 the whole Bible was printed for the fourth time. The printer was James Flesher, who was con- demned with Thomas Brewster, bookseller ; Nathan Brooks, bookbinder, and S. Dover, printer, for printing licentious books. This edition is called Cromwell's Bible, as it appeared — 18 — in his time. It was brought out through the instrumentality of Vavasor Powell and Walter Caradoc. Vavasor Powell was the son of Richard Powell, a tavern keeper in Radnor- shire. He was, however, a descendant of a noble family, and was trained at Oxford. It is said that he was never ordained in the Established Church, but that he secured the position of a curate through some old letters, belonging, once, to an uncle of his. For this he was excommunicated. He then joined the Puritans, was persecuted and fled to England ; but we find him back in Wales in a few years after. He held some important offices in the church, and after leaving it; he became a Baptist in the year 165G. He attacked Cromwell and was put in prison. He died in Fleet Street Prison, London, and was buried in Bunhill Fields. In the year 1671, the year in which " Milton's Paradise Regained" was issued, another edition of the whole Bible was printed, and six or seven thousand copies were dis- tributed. The names of two men, one a Welshman and the other an Englishman, are connected with this edition. Mr. Thomas Gouge was the son of Rev. Dr. William Gouge, of Blackfriars, London, He was born in 1605, and was trained at Eaton and Cambridge. When leaving the Uni- versity he settled \ in Surrey and afterwards removed to London. He seems to have given up preaching for a time, since he could not accept some doctrines which were bind- ing; when better satisfied he had a license to preach in Wales. He travelled much throughout the country and established between three and four hundred schools in different towns. He paid for the education of several poor children himself. In the year 1674 Gouge and Tillotson and others formed a society for the spead of knowledge in — 19 — Wales. They bought some thousands of Welsh hooks, which were mostly translations from the English, and dis- tributed them amongst the people. It is said that Gouge only had about §800 a year and that he gave two-thirds of it away. He died in 1681 in his 77th year. Stephen Hughes was born in the town of Carmarthen, South Wales, and in all probability received his training in his native town. He received the living of Meidrym, but left the church, or had to leave it. He labored much in the counties of Glamorgan and Carmarthen. The editions of the Bible which were printed under his supervision are considered amongst the best. »^ In six years after this edition was issed Gouge and Hughes failed to get more than twenty Bibles on sale throughout the kingdom. Supported by Tillotson, they brought out another edition of eight thousand copies; a thousand of these were at once distributed to the poor, the others were sold for something like one dollar each. The book contained the Book of Common Prayer, the Apochry- phal Books, as well as the metrical version of the Psalms, besides the Old and New Testaments. It was printed in London by " John Bill, Christopher Barker, Henry Newcomb, and Henry Hills, printers to His Majesty, the King, 1677." Mr. Stephen Hughes lived to make preparations for another edition, but he was called to his reward before the work was completed. .Mr. David Jones, of Llandyssilio took the work in hand and it is said that ten thousand copies were Thomas Charles, B.A., of Bala (b 1775) and Dr. W. O. Pughe (b 1759) who was a D.C.L. of Oxford. David Thomas (Dafydd Ddu Eryri) the father of a generation of poets, was ten years of age at this time, having been born near Carnarvon in the year 1760, and his friend, David Richards (Dafydd Ionawr), who was also his superior in some respects, was at this time in his eighteenth year. Christmas Evans, the greatest preacher of Wales, was a child four years old. Lewis Morris, of Anglesea, and Griffith Jones, the founder of Welsh schools, were dead. Hywel Harries was within three years of finishing " his course," and in the same vear in which he died was born the Rev. Joseph Harries, the editor of the first Welsh news- paper. Daniel Rowlands, the reformer, had twenty years more to live, and Williams of Pant-y-Celyn, the author of two-thirds of the hymns sung in Wales, some of them being among the best, had twenty-one years before he would reach his majority in that world where all are kept young forever. We must not, however, be misled by such facts as these. The spread of knowledge was not general, morality was low, games were popular on the Sabbath day; the masses were ignorant, and consequently superstitious; but the battle of religious liberty had been won, and the country was able to produce men who were the means of giving it intellectual and moral liberty. — 25 — The first number of the " Eurgrawn " was issued March 3rd, 1770, and the last number, which was the fifteenth, came out September 15th in the same year. The publishers complain, in the last number, about the indifference of the people and state that they had lost five hundred dollars in the enterprise, which meant on the average, a loss of over thirty-three dollars a month. "This work," they say, "was intended to amuse as well as to instruct the Welsh people ; at the same time we wished to revive the old glorious language (in which we as well as our grandfathers received so many blessings). And we hoped that all the descendants of the ancient Britons, loving their country, would help us. But Ave have learnt our mistake by experience, for some refuse hospitality to the books which kindly knock at their doors." It was a bi-weekly magazine, each number con- taining thirty-two pages, and were sold for three pence each. The chief editor was the Rev. Peter Williams, the author of the notes on the Bible ; he was assisted by three or four others, one of them being his own son. Some object to the fact that Eliezer Williams, for that was the son's name, had anything to do with the Magazine, as he was only sixteen years of age when it was published. But we must remember that Eliezer Williams was an exception of a lad, and that he was sent, when very young, to the grammar school at Carmarthen. Tie afterwards studied at Oxford. It is said that he was a great help to his father when the latter was preparing his notes on the Bible, and his concordance, the first of which, as we have seen, ap- peared in the same year as the " Eurgrawn " the concordance appearing three years after. The first Welsh concordance — 26 — to the Bible was printed at Philadelphia, in this country, and the Rev. Peter Williams acknowledges that he made use of the work when preparing his own. Mr. Evan Thomas, a poet who was also a printer, had a share of the editorial work. Evan Thomas was a native of Montgomeryshire. The Rev. Josiah Rees (see bottom of title page) had some- thing to do with the editing, and it seems that he was responsible for the expense of publishing. The printing was done by T. Ross, Carmarthen, who was a Scotchman by birth ; he knew Welsh fairly well, and published a great many Welsh books in the latter half of the eighteenth century. Carmarthen is by no means a large town, but in ancient times it was "a place of great strength." Sir Richard Steele is said to have written his " Conscious Lovers " at an Inn in this place. That this Magazine is amusing and instructive is true, but the instruction lacks some points of importance. It is very little church history we get in it, for instance, and this makes it less valuable for the historian than some magazines published thirty or forty years after. Neither does it aim at anything in particular, but we must not criticise on this point, as it could not do this and live, unless that particular subject would be amusement, and that, too, of a low order. But, if we must, in the face of the fact that the literary quality of the " Eurgrawn " is not high, as well as in the face of the fact that only fifteen numbers were published, come to the conclusion that this was only a dream, we must acknowledge that there is a great amount of consciousness in the dream. If Wales was only dreaming it was dreaming that it was dreaming, and, consequently, was on the point of waking. In February, 1793, appeared the first number of the second Welsh magazine. The editor was Morgan Welsh Magazine or Treasury of Knowledge. PAKT FIRST. PRICK SIXPENCE. For February, 1793. Containing the following . How to learn to read . 2 A letter by Owain of Meirion 3 Theology 5 The Scriptures the only rule of faith 6 I AM THAT I AM ... 7 History of the progress of religion 8 The value of religion at death 15 History of the degener- ation of religion ... 16 A meditation on a rivu- let ib Search after truth ... 21 Anecdotes brd Prophesia Sancti Thos. Martyris 22 Howard's Biography . . 23 Howard's Eulogy ... 23 Dudith's letter to Beza . 26 Dudith's Biography . 29 31 Calculations by E. W. History of persecution First Epistle of Phila- . delphus 37 Hints for preserving health 39 How to cure fever ... 41 Cuts, colic ib How to grow potatoes for seed ib Concerning government 42 Concerning Semiramis . 45 How cock fighting be- gan ib Questions 46 Review of Welsh books ib TriAderyn* 47 Poems on subjects given by the Gwyneddigion On the life of man . . 51 On liberty 52 On truth 54 The signs of the times . 53 Y gwir yn erbyn y byd. Nac ynddiried ith fyw, ond i Dduw a'i ddisgyblion. — Taliesyn. TREFECCA '. Printed in the year 1793. 27 *Name of a Book. — 28 — John Rhys, a native of Glamorganshire, South Wales. In the " History of the Baptists," by Dr. Armitage, we find the following concerning him : Morgan John Rhees was the Welsh Baptist hero of religious liberty. Born at Graddfa, 1760: after his baptism at Hengoed he went to the Bristol Academy, and entered the ministry in 1787. Before going to Bristol he established night schools and Sunday schools, far and near, teaching the pupils himself gratis, in chapels, barns and other places, and supplying them with books. When he became a pastor he aroused the denomination to the need of Sunday schools, before any other denomination had taken them up in Wales. Aided by others he founded a society in 1792 for the circulation of the Bible in France, believing that the revolution had prepared that people for the gospel. But this work was arrested by the war of 1793. This is the first attempt known to form a Bible society for purely missionary purposes, as he connected with it a mis- sion to Bologne. This failing, he left France, and threw himself into the effort to maintain the doctrine of political liberty and religious equality in Wales." His "Cylch grawn " was a splendid effort in favor of liberty. It praises the American Constitution, and holds it up as a pattern for the people of Wales. Only five numbers were issued, and shortly after the fifth appeared Rhys had to leave his native country. "Spies were put upon his track and an officer from London appeared at Carmarthen for his arrest ; " but he escaped and came to Philadelphia where he was warmly received. He organized a church at Beula, Cambria county and died at Somerset in December, 1804. His monument is to be seen in the cemetery of the First Baptist Church, Philadelphia. The following is a copy of what it says con- cerning him : — 29 — A Tribute of Affection in memory of The Rev. Morgan John Rhees, a native of Glamorganshire, South Wales, Born December 8th, 1760, who died At Somerset, Pennsylvania, December 7th, 1804. The patriot desisted from the service of his adopted country, The Christian ceas'd in this tabernacle to groan, The Preacher of Jesus finished his testimony ; In 1806 his remains were removed to this family vault. From whence The Gospel of Jesus Insures A Ressurrection. " Come waft on high ! " The heavenly envoys cry, We wait to bear thy spirit to the sky." We heard with transport, bade the world adieu — On their bright pinions up to heaven he flew. Now in the bosom of his Savior God He finds a calm, a joyful, safe abode — His precious dust, here mingling with the ground Rest hopeful till the Archangel's trumpet sound ; Then fashion'd like its Lord the soul shall see The Mortal put on Immortality. Adieu lov'd friend — soon shall our spirits meet, And cast their radiant crown at Jesus' feet. A complete copy of this magazine is in the possession of the writer, and a glance at the title pages enables us to see that these five numbers were printed at least at three different towns, viz.: Trefecca, Carmarthen and Machynlleth. — 30 — The first two numbers were printed at Trefecca, which is an important place in the history of Welsh Nonconformity ; the Welsh Presbyterians have a college here for the training of ministers which has produced some fine scholars and preachers. Some of the ablest men have taught here. The present president, Prof. Prys, is one of the ablest men, and his predecessor, Rev. D. Charles Davies, M.A., who was bracketed with Todhunter the mathematician, had perhaps the most analytic mind of any man in Wales. The third number of our magazine was printed at Machynlleth, which is situated near the mouth of the Dyfi, on the borders of Montgomeryshire and Merioneth. Indeed we find that this number was printed at two places. The name Machynlleth is on the title page on the back of which is printed these words : " We are sorry to have to complain that this num- ber, taking the work into consideration, is not all as well as we would wish ; the reason is this : it was printed at two different places." Whether it was printed at Machynlleth and Trefecca or at Machynlleth and Carmarthen, where the last two numbers were printed, we cannot tell. Is it possi- ble that it was printed at Machynlleth and some fourth place ? If so, and it is quite possible,',we have five numbers printed ;at four different places. This gives us an insight into the difficulty of bringing out an excellent periodical one hundred years ago in Wales. What would Mr. O. M. Edwards, M.A., who by the way, "gives us excellent liter- ature in his magazines, and who seems to be determined of doing justice to the liberators of \ Wales, what would he think of changing his printer every month ? Morgan John Rhys had to do this. May his name 'be ever dear to his countrymen, and may his courage be theirs. Who was the printer at Trefecca who 'had the honor of working on the — 81- " Cylchgrawn " we do not know ; the Carmarthen printers were Ross and Daniel. The one who printed at Machyn- lleth was called Titus Evans, and he was a native of South Wales. Some time after Evans and his children came to America. Welsh periodical literature, as we have seen, sprang from the South of Wales, but the North has done more towards perfecting it. The chief denominational magazines, with a few exceptions, are printed in the North, and perhaps there are more printed at Carnarvon than all the other places put together, especially this is true if we take the national publications as well under consideration. Some of the best editors of the day are, however, from South Wales. God deals with districts the same as he deals with men. One district or country is used as a means to accomplish one thing while another district is equally hon- ored in the accomplishment of some other work. The North of Wales produced an excellent translation of the Bible, but it was the eloquence of the South that sent the truth throughout the country. The South led the way in periodical literature, but the North has done more towards keeping it alive and strengthening it. The South also led the way with the newspaper, but it was men from the North like the Rev. William Rees (Hiraethog), who was from the same place as William Salesbury, and Rev. Roger Kdwards, of Mold, the father of Prof. Ellis Edwards, M.A., Bala, who made that literature a power in the principality. These two men did more than any other two towards bring- ing Wales to what it is in a political sense. The subjects treated of in the "Cylchgrawn" vary from an essay on "nothing," by David Thomas, already referred to, to one on the omni-presence of God. Such subjects as these are treated: History of Tithes, History of Religion in North — 32 — America, The Duty of Keeping the Sabbath Day, The Testimony of Josephus Concerning Christ, The Value of Liberty, Notes on the American Indians by Dr. Franklin, and The Execution of the Queen of France. We get some of the poems and letters of " Goronwy Owain," who died in America ; Dafydd Ddu is represented by some excellent poems. We find also "A poem of Gratulation on the marriage of King George the Third," written by a Welsh- man of the name of Edward Edwards, of All Souls College. The one object of the " Cylchgrawn " was liberty. It aimed at severing the connection between " church and state." In this respect its aim was higher than that of the Welsh Reformers. What was paramount with them was the reformation of the State Church, and some of them remained in it until they were liberated by death. The fact that they created a denomination without aiming at that is a proof of their ability and courage. This state of things was a source of trouble for Morgan John Rhys. He could not tolerate a state church, but some influential men amongst those who had left it could do so ; what they could not do was to tolerate an inactive and immoral church. In proof of this we may state that the Welsh Presbyterians as late as 1834 passed a resolution condemning the efforts of those who were aiming at disestablishment. The resolution was proposed at Bala and that by the Rev. John Elias. It is only fair, however, to state that this denomination has done its share for disestablishment after this. Taking this fact into consideration, as well as the fact that printing was so so expensive, and that it was so difficult to distribute a magazine throughout the principality, we do not wonder that only live numbers came out. But the work was not in — 33 — vain. It may be rather difficult to point out details to prove this, but to rise such a clear strong voice as this in those superstitious and cowardly times was in itself a triumph. True words live longer than kind words very often. No, John Rhys was not a failure no more than John the Baptist. He had a mission, he delivered it; he escaped prison and may be execution ; and died in a free country. His example stimulates young Wales at the present time. What ho fought for is close at hand, and he will come more popular than he has been. The " Cylchgrawn " was issued every three months for the first year, but on the cover of the fourth number the publisher stated that it would be brought out every two months during 1794. He says "that a great many of his countrymen were anxious to see it published monthly," others wanted to keep it as it was, a quarterly periodical. He strove to meet both parties by making it a bi-monthly, but only one number was issued owing to want of support. Some people are far more anxious of making known their views concerning how something should be done than of doing what they can to further what is being done ; and the majority of those who clamor for a change before a fair trial has been made, are the people who really ;iy 7 1 1 — 42 — Six magazines have been under our notice without mention- ing those published between 1809 and 1822, and we find that only fifty numbers were issued between them all. These were printed at seven different places by nine, if not ten, printers. Three others appeared between 1800 and 1809, and between the three only fifteen numbers were published. The first of these (1805) was printed at Lon- don; the second (1806) at Carmarthen, and the third (1807) at Carnarvon. " The Treasury " was sold for six pence a number and the publishers intended it to be a quarterly periodical, but on an average the numbers only appeared every nine months. As we have already said, these volumes are very valuable to the Welsh historian. In them we get articles on such men as Walter Caradoc, Griffith Jones, Hywel Harris, George Whitfield, Williams Pantycelyn and Peter Williams ; the minutes of different Associations held between 1790 and 1813 are given, and the second volume contains much valu- able information concerning the development of Sunday schools. A few critical articles have been supplied, together with a considerable number of theological articles and ser- mons; at the end of each number we find a few hymns. The chief aim of "The Treasury" was the advancement of knowledge and morals. In one respect it answers to its title. It is " spiritual " as far as the matter is concerned, and shall I also say, as far as the language is concerned, for it is very pure, but we do not get in these volumes the life suggested in the word spiritual. To be candid, they are heavy and monotonous reading; we would almost pro- nounce their literature narrow ; religious liberty is hardly mentioned. As we have already stated the battle of religious liberty had been won, virtually, but all barriers had not been — 43 — broken, and the fighting is still going on. " The Treasury " does not recognize the fighters only in the way of reminding all to be ready for death. At the same time it did a great amount of good, and if it is not very bright and pointed, it is serious, and the book, like the man that is not sometimes serious, is hardly worth reading. These magazines of the eighteenth century were with one exception edited by preachers ; some of the printers even were preachers. Whether the pulpit or the press ha> the greatest influence in the principality is a question much debated in AVales on platforms as well as through the press itself. We believe it is difficult, in the case of Wales, to separate one from the other. To separate them in one respect is easy enough, and perhaps easier in the case of Wales, than in that of most countries. Matters which are much debated at the present time on platforms, as well as through the press, get very little attention in the pulpit in Wales. They do not get enough perhaps. The only social question which has been thrashed out in the pulpit in Wales is drunkenness. The Welsh pulpit and press are in tins respect separate. Taking this into consideration it is difficult to say which has the most influence, because they do not, in the main, compete ; it only remains to be proved which does its own particular work best. The question at issue is con- sequently removed from these agencies, and the nature of the work done by each must be taken into consideration, and since the nature of the work must be considered, therefore we must also consider the nature and strength of the obstacles in the way of accomplishing each work. When we begin to analyze in this way we find that we arc lace to face w i : 1 1 a greater problem than what we thought. At the same lime we musl remember thai the verj same spirits — 44 — move the press and the pulpit in Wales ; at least this has been the case in the past. It will not be so in the future. The preachers of Wales have been, and are yet, to a great extent the editors also. The editor's voice is that of the preacher weakened in the effort to utter truths which he thinks ought not to have his attention in the pulpit ; as well, perhaps, as in the effort to make a more pleasing sound. After what has been said it is hardly necessary to say that the periodicals under notice are orthodox with one exception. As we have already noticed two numbers of an Unitarian magazine were issued at Aberdare in 1795. The fact that only two numbers were published speaks something, and Welsh Unitarians were far more numerous then than what they are now. Welsh periodical literature during this century has made substantial progress. It is very often said that the old maga- zines were far superior to those published at the present day. This, perhaps, is said by men who have not read the old and who cannot read, or will not read the latest. We can well understand how a periodical or book that helped one many years ago makes him blind to the virtures of the one which accomplishes a greater work for his son. The latest, how- ever, do not make us all blind to the qualities of those which enlightened our fathers and grandfathers. We love their very names without mentioning the names of those who sacrificed position and comfort for the sake of the nation which, partly because of what they did, is beginning to make its power felt in the world of literature, as it has done in the religious world. THE FIRST WELSH BIBLICAL DICTIONARY The first Welsh Bible was printed in London, the first Welsh magazine was printed at Carmarthen, South Wales, the first Welsh biblical concordance was printed at Phila- delphia, this eouutry, and the first Welsh biblical dictionary was printed at Dublin, Ireland, in 1778. The author of this book was John Roberts, better known as Sion Rhobert Lewys. His father's name was Rhobert Lewys. John Roberts was born in 1731 and was from the same part of Carnarvonshire as Dr. William Hughes and Dr. Richard Vaughan. The greater part of his life, however, was spent at Holyhead, Anglesea, where a grandson of his lives at present. Roberts showed a strong desire for knowledge when very young, and considering the circumstances that desire accomplished much. He was not an able man ; and was not enough of a specialist to make a mark in literature. He was a poet, and, though his poems are lacking in imagination, they are marked by good common sense. He published an Almanac every year for forty- four years, and we are told that from fifteen to twenty thousand copies were sold yearly* Robert, his son, was also a writer of Alma- nacs, and the grandson, already referred to, publishes one every year. He is the parish clerk of Holjdiead, and is about eighty years of age and was never married. When we visited him he made us a present of half a dozen Almanacs ! and showed us a bust of his father, who was an able man ; he talked freely about the subject of this article, but we could not get anything of importance <>ut of him. His • Welsh Bibliography, page 461. — 46 — memory failed him. His mental powers seem to be of a simple order, and his great age has made him doubly simple. Sion Rhobert Lewys died on the nineteenth of September, 1806, in his seventy-fifth year. This dictionary contains 282 pages, and the writer, on the title page, states that he had made much use of the work of the Rev. Mr. Wilson. There is a metrical introduction to the volume containing thirty-two stanzas. There were two reasons, perhaps, why the author had his books printed at Dublin. Pie lived at Holyhead, and there was a heavy tax on Almanacs published in Wales, but that law had nothing to do with Ireland. We are not certain how many copies this first edition included. That the Rev. Thomas Charles, B.A., of Bala, made use of the work of Roberts, when preparing his Dictionary, seems to us an established fact. The work of Charles appeared between the years 1805 and 1811, and he states in his introduction to the volume that the Welsh people until that time had been without a Biblical Dictionary, and yet the work of Roberts was published when Charles was only eighteen years of age. In the year 1788, fifteen years after the appearance of the first edition, the author published his intention of bringing out a second edition. In that advertisement he states that the copy would be revised by " impartial men " before it would go to the press. We are also informed that the volume would include " 300 leaves," or 600 pages, therefore it was to be much larger than the first. He intended publishing a specimen of the work if there would be a call for a thous- and copies. We have seen nothing of such a specimen and the probability is that the author did not receive encourage- ment enough to publish it at that time. — 47 — On the inside of the cover of the August number of the Welsh magazine of 1793 we find these words concerning our book: " We also think that the Biblical Dictionary by Mr. John Roberts, of Holyhead, will be published in parts at sixpence each, the work to contain about eight parts. Whosoever desires to help with this work, let him receive names in his own neighbourhood and send the names to the superinten- dents of the magazine." This appeared twenty years after the appearance of the first edition. In a few months after this was printed the magazine was given up, and as far as we know nothing more was printed concerning the Diction- ary until 1799, or 1800. This is the first time that the name of Charles of Bala was mentioned in connection with the work. We shall translate this advertisement in full, as it partly explains how the work became known as his : " Let it be known to the public that the Biblical Dictionary Is ready for the press, consequently we desire those who would like to see the work going on, to send their names as soon as they can so that we may know what number to print ; for we do not intend printing only a very few copies above the number of names we shall receive. This book is likely to be of excellent service, especially to those who only know Welsh ; those who are not able to read the Bible in the original languages in which it was written, as well as in its difierent translations. It contains the meaning of words not translated, to be found in the Holy Scriptures, together with many thoughts, reasonings, words and phrases translated; collected mainly from the Dictionaries of Mr. Wilson, Mr. Bagwel, Mr. Simson, Mr. Bernard, Mr. Brown, Mr. Cruden, etc., etc., also from the / — 48 — Hebrew and English Lexicons of Mr. Parklmrst, Mr. Bates, etc., and from the Greek and English Lexicon of Mr. Park- hurst. It may may be of service as a concordance and interpreter. It shows the position of mountains, cities and their environments; species of animals, trees and rocks. The orbits of the heavenly bodies and their sizes. Sacrifices, feasts and Jewish ceremonies. conditions : I. The work will be printed in the same letter as the Spiritual Treasury, also the same paper, and the page will be of the same size. II. Every number will contain six sheets which will make ninety-six pages ; price one shilling. III. The work, we think, will be completed in six or seven numbers. IV. Shopkeepers, schoolmasters or any of the public who desire to help in the work by receiving names will be rewarded ; for every twelve they will receive two for their work, that is fourteen in the dozen. The first part will be put in the press soon. We intend for the whole copy to be edited by the Rev. Mr. Charles and Mr. T. Jones before it will be put in the press ; or at least one of them, if it will not be convenient for both to look over it. For the sake of those who are not acquainted with such a work, we have printed a specimen of it on the other side of the page, so that such may be able to form some idea of the work. W. C. Jones, printer, at the top of Bridge street, Chester. We give the specimen referred to above, by comparing it with what is given in the latest editions of Charles' Dictionary, under the same words it will be seen that, with a very few alterations, both are identical. RHAG-BRAUF. ADORAIM, [nerth y mor~\ dinas yn Juda. 2 Cron. 11,9. AMANA, [gwirionedd, dianwadcdwcK] mynydd, yn oi barn rhai sydd yn terfynu rhwng Silisia a Syria, owl yn ol eraill, yr hyn sydd debyccach, mynydd in draw i'r Iorddonen, yn rhandir hanner llwyth Manasse. Can. 4, 8. Edr. LIBANUS. AREDIG, (1.) Llafnrio 'r ddaear, cwyso 'r ddaear i'r dyben iddi ddwyn ffrwyth. 1 Bren. 19, 19. (2.) Bod yn ddiwyd mewn galwedigaeth. Diar. 20, 4, 1 Cor. 9, 10. (3.) Ymarfer a thwyll nes cael cospedigaeth am dano. Job 4, 8. Hos. 10, 13. Y Philistiaid yn aredig ay anner Samson, wrth ddeilio 'n dwyllodrus a'i wraig ef, i gael gwybod ei ddychymmyg. Barn. 14, is. Flangellau ereulon, ac erlidiau cas a thwyllodrus. Sal. 129, 3. Sion a erddir fel maes, sef dinyftrio 'r deml ardderchog yn Jerufalem ; yr hyn a ddywedir ei gyrlawni gan Turanus Rufus, sef cael o sylfaeni 'r deml dynnn aradr drwyddynt. Jer. 20, 18. Mic. 3, 12. BARN, (1.) Dedfryd barnwr, bradwriaeth, ynadiaeth, 1 Bren. 3, 28. 2. Doethineb, pwyll, a synwyr, yn galluogi dyn i ddofparthu rhwng iawnder a chamwedd, Sal. 72, 1. (3.) Y cospedigaethan, y rhai y mae Duw yn eu rhoi ar ddynion am eu pechodau, a'u hanwireddau. Diar. 19, - J>. Ezec. 13, 14. (4.) Llywodraeth yfprydol y byd, }'r hyn :i roddwyd gan Dduw 'r Tad, i Grist y cyfryngwr, yr hwn y mae efe yn ei reoli mewn perffaith iawnder. loan . r >, 22. a'r 9,39. (5.) Ceryddon a thrallod, y rhai y mae Duw yn ddwyn ar ei bobl er eu proli a'u haddyfgu. I Pedr 1, 17. (6.) Cymmedroldeb Duwyncer y ddu ei blant. Jer. 10,24. Gwaith y dydd olaf, yn yr hwn y gwir brofir pob gweithred. — 50- Preg. 12, 14. Judas 6. (7.) Deddfau a gorchymmynion cyfiawn Duw. Sal. 119, 7, 20. (8.) Y gospedigaeth a roddwyd ar Grist am ein pechodau ni. Efay 53, 8. Act. 8, 23. (9.) Athrawiaeth yr efengyl, neu air Duw, Mat. 12, 18. Sal. 119, 7, 20. (10.) Cyfiawnder ac uniondeb, Efay 1, 17. Luc. 11, 42: (11.) Gwaredigaeth dynion oddi wrth lywodraeth ormesol y diafol. loan 12, 31. (12.) Arfaeth a chyngor Duw a'i drefn, raewn perthynas i genhedlaethau o ddynion, neu bersonau neillduol. Rhuf. 11, 33. (13.) Llysoedd barn. Mat. 5, 21. (14.) Egwyddorion sefydliad raeddwl. 1 Cor. 1, 16. (15.) Cyngor, hyfforddiad, addyfg, Cor. 7, 25. BERI, \_fy mab] mab Zopha, o lwyth Aser. 1 Cron. 7, 36. BETH-DAGON, [ty V yd] (1.) Dinas yn llwyth Aser. Jof. 19, 27. (2.) Un arall yn Juda. Jos. 15, 41. (3.) Teml Dagon yn Gaza. Barn. 16. (4.) Teml arall yn Asdod. Sam. 5. There is another specimen of the work in the Traeth- odydd [Essayist] for 1856. It will be seen that there is a statement in the advertisement of 1799 or 1800 to the effect that Mr. Charles or Mr. Thomas Jones [of Denbigh], if not both of them, would look over the copy before it would be put in the press. It is also important to remember that the first number of the dictionary came out without the name of Charles. It contains 88 pages, and was sold for one shilling. The substance of the advertisement already referred to is printed on the cover of the first number. The number, it is true, was issued without the name of Roberts, but there is a note on the cover which explains this omission. The note reads as follows: "The title page, together with the — 51 — introduction, will be given with the last number of the book." It is evident, from these facts, that the book was in press before Mr. Charles had anything to do with it. There is a tradition that John Roberts sold his MSS. to Charles for a very small sum. If he did it, it is hardly credible that he also sold every claim to it. That he could not do, for the second edition, without mentioning the first, had been adver- tised for over twenty years. And if we ought to attach any importance to the tradition we must remember that there is another tradition handed down by the family of Roberts, and that, too from his time, to the effect that Charles wronged him, especially when he stated that the Welsh people had been without a work of the kind until that time. I low Mr. Charles could make such a statement as this as late as 1805, when the first edition of Roberts' work had been out since 1773, we cannot understand. How Mr. Charles could make the statement when Roberts was still alive is a great mystery. John Roberts was alive until the latter part of 1806. Is it possible that Mr. Charles printed the statement after his death with a wrong date attached to it ? We will not go as far as to say that he did ; but the man who could mislead the public in the one case could do so in the other also. There is no question about the ability of Charles, lie was a fine scholar. The work under consideration would not have accomplished what it has done were it not for hi in ; but it is a thousand pities that he did not mention the work of Roberts. He has been careful to point out that the Rev. Peter Williams made use of the Welsh concordance printed at Philadelphia, when preparing his work, which appeared three years before the dictionary of John Roberts. Others — 52 — will be careful to point out that Charles made use of that dictionary. "There is a power in the universe . making for righteousness." It is to be regretted that Mr. Charles did not clear up this matter : and we must ask those who may read this essay not to pronounce a judgment on the man and his work until they know far more about him than what is revealed in this place. Though we believe it would be a very easy matter to prove that he gets too much credit in one or two more fields, he was one of the greatest, if not the very greatest, Welsh- man of his time. He was a native of Carmarthenshire and was born in 1755. When about twenty years of age he went to Oxford where he took the degree of B.A. He was ordained a Deacon in the Established Church. In 1785 he left the Church and joined the Presbyterians. He is closely connected with the establishment of Sunday schools in Wales, and he was one of the founders of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Most of his work was accomplished between 1800 and 1814, the year in which he died. He was seriously ill for some time about the beginning of the year 1800, and it was thought that he could not recover. At a prayer meeting held when he was in a very low state, one old deacon in a peculiar, striking and prophetic manner earnestly beseeched the Almighty to grant fifteen years more to his servant. Why he prayed for fifteen years we cannot tell. Perhaps he thought that Charles could not accomplish much after reaching his sixtieth year. It may be that he was divinely inspired to ask for fifteen more, because the Lord was going to grant it. When Charles heard about it he felt better ; in a short time he was well, and when the fifteen years were up he died. A FEW BEAUTIFrL HYMNS. Translations of a few Welsh hymns have found their way into the hymn books of the English speaking people, and translations of some of the best English hymns are to be found in Welsh hymn books. Such hymns as "Rock of ages cleft for me," "Lead kindly light," and "Come, thou fount of every blessing," have been finely rendered into Welsh. Every one who knows anything about Welsh life and especially Welsh religious life, knows what an essential part of that life the singing of hymns is. Hymns are sung at their social gatherings, in their political meetings even, and the working men at the dinner hour and after supper forget their hardships in joining together to sing one of their popular and divine "emynau" as no other working men can do. If the conductor or chairman of a meeting in Wales happens to be a singer he is almost certain of success. In the National Eisteddfod at Aberdare, South Wales, in 1SS5, there was a great disorder in one of the meetings. There were about 15,000 present. Some minor items were to be gone through before the choirs should come on the stage, but the crowd was impatient. Some of the leading men tried different means to secure order, but to no effect. .Mr. Matthew Arnold was asked to speak, but to the great disappointment of some of us he left the platform disgusted with the " Philistines" after uttering but a few words. At last some one began to sing an old hymn and the thousands joined him and peace and order were restored. — 54 — The originals of the few hymns given here are amongst the best in the language, and as far as we know translations of the first three are not to be found in any English hymn book. The author of the first we give was one of the greatest poets of Wales. He died about the middle of this century. He was a clergyman of the Established Church. His native place was- Trefriw, a small town on the banks of the river Conway about ten miles from the town of that name. In almost every hymn he wrote there is a reference to the "river of death." The Conway, no doubt, was to him an emblem of the river over which he desired " to fly to Canaan's side." He is known in Welsh literature by the name Ienan Glan Geirionydd. On Jordan's banks I stand So feebly treading, I'd cross to yonder land, But fears are spreading; Could I escape its wide, Its roaring, swelling tide, And fly to Canaan's side, Beyond all dreading. Reminded of its might, Most awful torrent Of strong ones in the night, Sunk in the current, My soul is sure no more, Of land where storms are o'er, Tbat peaceful, happy shore, The heavenly orient. But when I see above, In life forever Old comrades saved by love That faileth never, Why should I take alarm ? My God's almighty arm Will keep me from all harm, Whilst in the river. — 55 — Mr. Ebenezer Thomas, of Clynnog, in Carnarvonshire, is by some considered the greatest Welsh poet of the century. He composed the hymn, of which the following is a translation, on his death-bed : my Jesus, ever blessed, Thou art always with my soul, In all griefs and tribulations Keep me high above them all. While I'm tossed about so helpless On this ever-changing sea, Strength, O give to keep me clinging Through all changes fast to thee. On whatever earthly object Do I rest myself each day, Under me the land is trembling, Portions always giving way. If my foot be firmly planted, When the storm of death shall wake On that mighty rock of ages, There's a spot that cannot shake. In the morn I trust to kindred, They are gone before the moon ; 1 rely on friends so loving, But all vanish, O, how soon ! Then I give myself to fortune, In a day her smiles are o'er; Rest I then myself on Jesus To uphold me evermore. One of the most popular Welsh hymns was composed by Rev. D. Charles, of Carmarthen, a man who has not been rightly estimated but by a few of his countrymen. It is almost a pity to attempt to translate this hymn ; our love for it will to some extent compensate for the lack of spirit, which everyone who knows the original must feel in our rendering. — 56 — From Salem's hills yonder in glory Our wilderness joruney we'll view, Each turning with sweet recollection Will then come before us anew ; We shall gaze upon storms and great fears The horrors of death and the grave, But we shall be free from their power So happy on love's peaceful wave. Taking everything into consideration, we think the greatest of the Welsh hymn writers was Ann Griffiths. She was the daughter of a farmer in Montgomeryshire. She died in 1805 before she was twenty-seven years old. In her youth she was thoughtless concerning religion "and was fond of a dance and a song." But she was converted. Her hymns indicate genuine piety and there is in them a depth of emotion not to be found in Welsh hymns generally. Indeed, she did not write her hymns. She sang them into being while doing her housework, and the memory of a servant girl preserved them for us. We cannot attempt to translate her best. Make me, O God, like to a planted tree, So verdant by the waters flowing free, Its roots wide spread without a withered leaf All fruitful 'neath the showers of His grief. Then shall I bave eternal summer day, The crown and palm which Christ shall give away To all his saints, in glorious realms above, Divinest favor, brought by greatest love. UNIVERSE <™ ^ r "° T,H LOS 'ELES LILRAKY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. Form L9— Series 444 UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA AT /■\n a vr/~ii7