The Cardiff Times

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SKETCHES OF WALES 1 I AND WELSHMEN. I By J. Kilsby Jones. The Neglect by the Church. the Reformation, which in many essen- If the Reformation, which in many essen- 1 I blaI points was no reformation, had eetl the product of national, conscientious ^°^victiona, and not the base child of a baser I ,a^er steeped in coarsest animalism com- lned with grovelling greed of filthy lucre, tld I:> I:> the haughtiness begotten of the mis- ell supposition that he was in possession the divine rights of kings, immediate would have been made to enlighten the kingdom of which Wales, owing to the a language not understood except by f JS °wn inhabitants, required exceptional accent. This misnomered change called e Reformation was thirty years old when enry Was born and at that time there was Published in Welsh a single verse out of lie Bible. He was eight years old when the e", Testament was translated into Welsh, ttyeiUy_seven before the Old Testament rJ^e&red in the mother tongue of the people. ere vras a wide field on which had grown decked for centuries all kinds of ^ee<is calling loudly for uprooting, as a Oratory measure for bringing it into a ^Mttion capable of producing the fruits of j 'ghtened Christianity. For the moral ndition of the Welsh people, when Henry le Eighth substituted himself for the Pope, e so-called Protestant reformers, as fitted in a previous sketch, were not, as Matter of fairness, to be held responsible, Ut the moment they assumed the new name they were bound to set about mending the lnorals of the country. It is worthy of remark that the majority of the reforms effected in the world of 'tl°rals have been brought about, not by the it!§al]y appointed, duly recognised, and state-paid teachers or religion, but by a class people contemptuously styled un- ^f^orised, sell-appointed expositors of ari^tian truth. A High Church parson, of even the smallest curate, a Tom Thumb pa clerical biped, if in sole charge of a I {j £ > speaks of it as his parish, and h aU the inhabitants within its c Varies us his parishioners, and j^ting his spiritual charge, and eye of the law of the land, which tit8] esta^lshed his church, he is perfectly §ht, f0r accor(jing to the theory and con- stItll ::> 1 ution of a church established by law, a r-^c°nf°rrmst minister has no legal ;» to teach religious truth, lior 18 ] ltI he responsible officially for the rals of any or the smallest arjalet in it. The State-appointed parson is ^sponsible for the morals of all his ^rishioners, whether Churchmen or ^enters, even if some of the atter should, at the request of the ^eople, presuinptnonsly assume the office of spintual advisers. In the eye of ecclesias- tical law Dissenters and their religious teachers are free from all professional respon- sibility for others. They are not the paid ritual police of the country, though they ltIay in case of a social riot be sworn in as special constables for the protection of the hUtch loaves and fishes. It sible Is the Church parsons who are respon- e for tbe genesis of Dissent which they div fruitful source of so many and to pre3' e<^ev^8- They have allowed, or failed De •> 1 Secession from the communion of and e lessed with culture, light, leading, to -,SWee*'riess> and it is no wonder that, left s own resources, it should speedily be ewed as coarse and vulgar, utterly unfit Ch manQerly people. Why do not the ureh parsons uproot it from the land, and ant that same laud, cleared of this Worst r ot weeds, with church-praising, W'eet-snielling flower-plants ? Let them ways bear in mind, on Sundays and idays, that the charges which they against Dissenters, and especially lr Unauthorised teachers, are only so 11>:1ny sentences of condemnation against thenlsehTes for creating any occasion for them to poach on their ecclesiastical pre- Sefves. Let them, as University men, as p'iristian gentlemen and scholars, as the fiends the people, and their eloquent teachers, make so full a proof of their uuiiistry as to empty these wretched Conventicles of the poor mis- guidd innocents who frequent them, so that- unauthorised would-be teachers should not have any room to teacli customs which it is not lawful for respectable Uiurehmen to observe, and to afflict with luugh-rattle ears whose drums were to be touched with a lighter instrument. Funds are obtained from people at a ,\(1Je distance towards the building of new churches, or the restoration of dilapidated ones, on the plea that Dissent is rampant 111 the district. Why did the parsons allow 't to become rampant ? If its existence and levwling intluence hinder or neutralise the ministrations of the Church, producing a great deal of immorality, especially by means of night meetings, pray who is to be blamed for the moral condition of Wales as de- scribed by Penry, himself a Churchmen, when there was no Dissent, and when the .Established Church had the whole country to itself, to do with it as it listed, and had given it the sole, exclusive charge of men's souls 2 Is the picture drawn by Penry, II who confesses that it admitted of .being drawn in much darker colours, any evidence of the superiority of a State Church over a voluntarily supported one ? 0 sensible man expects that the dises- tablishmentanddisendowment of the Church established by Jaw would, either in England or Wales, brings on the millennium, but it would save Christianity, pre-eminently the religion of love, from the monstrous anomaly of employing the force of human law for its support. Can a waggon load of Parlia- mentary laws compel a man to love what he hates, or to hate what he loves Nonconformity, properly defined, is one of the most reasonable, and harmless things in the world, and all that its most zealous ad- herents mean by it is contained in the follow- hig phort sentence:—"Whoso wants a religion let him support it, and whoso does not want it, let him not be compelled to sup- j port it." This is a rock from which not the most rabid opponent of Christianity can drive its friends. There are defects attached to Dissent, but not as such they belong to the men called Dissenters, and a State Established Church is more to be biamed than its clergy who, many of them, are far better than their system, just as the advocates of the voluntary system are not, alas, multitudes of them, what it requires for its successful working—Christian gentlemen in the persons of preachers and people. It was in tears, and with a trembling hand that Pov.vy disclosed the scars of .spiritual misery" hy which the fair form of his native was so sadly disfigured as shewn 'i2 the last sketch. This mournful condition f the people the evangelical patriot traces mainly to non-residence and unpreaching ministers—ignorant of the native language, and altogether uuacquainted with the truths of the Gospel. And yet it is very curious to find that when it is sought to depreciate Nonconformist minis- ters, they are styled dissenting preachers, as if it were to their reproach and discredit to be followers of the founder of Christianity, who was himself the ^irstand bestoi preachers,and as it Paul, whose writings the clergy read in the appointed lessons, had not said that it was by what opponents had represented as the foolishness of preachingby unlaw- fully yoking the first and second word, and thereby damaging the last, that the world was to be saved; and as if the dissenting preachers had not, because they could preach, emptied their churches, condemning them to talk to unoccupied seats and echoing walls. None of the clergy knew better than the late Dean of Bangor and the Rector of Merthyr how much the inability of their reverend brethren to preach had cost the English Church in Wales, reducing it to a condition justifying the cry growing louder day by day for its disendowment as an institution not any longer required in the principality as an instrument necessary for the salvation of the people from ignorance and immorality. Penry expresses his strong conviction that for the complicated and deeply-rooted evils with which his country was afflicted no remedy could be found in any political expedient. "A conscience," he says, '1 must be wrought in the peoplewithout this their social regeneration was an impos- sibility. The Gospel alone, he contended, could meet the exigency — the Gospel preached in the mother tongue, and by men who had felt its power. A petition, embodying the substance of the printed address whose title appeared in the last sketch, was presented to Parlia- ment by one of Penry's countrymen, who, in a speech in the House, affirmed the truth of its statements. No objection was raised on the part of the members—perhaps from the desire to evade the question, encum- bered with difficulties, and one which was likely to offend the court. What about the heavenly one ? It is more forgiving. The treatise contains many practical sug- gestions. Penry recommends, in the first instance, that on the coast and in the border towns, where English is spoken, preachers should be sent from the universities. Three hundred may be there for the wurk-" able men every way, with a little practice," yet, he adds, the curse of Gerizim should not rest on districts where nothing but W dsh is spoken. "It will be hard," he continues, "if a dozen of the University preachers were not of our people." For these he proposes a kind of spiritual con- scription. "Our brethren who are of our ministry in England should be sent home. Their iiocks might be otherwise provided for, and they depart, with consent, because the necessities of the church require it." With respect to another class of agents he is more peremptory :—" A number of the idle drones, now in our ministry, would become fit for that work in one year, if preaching were but here and there scattered among us, and they be driven weekly to exercise, where it may be seen that their undoing is not intended, but their goud." Appealing to persons whose hearts God might incline to the service, he says, *'There be many worthy men in the Churcii of Eng- land that need exercise not their public ministry—these would be provided for among us. I hope they will not be un- willing to come and gain souls unto Jesus Christ. Private men that never were of university, have well profited in divinity. As for their maintenance, they whose hearts the Lord hath touched, would thresh to get their living ra.ther than the people should want pieaching. Oar gentlemen and people, if they knew the good that ensueth, would be soon brought to contribute. They should be constrained thereunto. Salvation were not bought too dear with the very flesh of our arms." What was the result of the proposed plan ? The reader shall know next week.

WORKMEN'S TOPICS. BY W. Abraham, M.P., Mabon. TECHNICAL EDUCATION. It appears to me, from the present state and conditions of the majority of the scbool founda- tionf, that the most oovious direction in which the children of the poor, as well as the community at large, can be directly benefited is by using some of the funds at coinmaud to further and promote technical education. Technical education, I thiok, includes two things—the education that TIts a boy to use his baud and eye, and the educa- tion which gives him some knowledge of a handicraft. I would suggest that this kind of training should be introduced into the curriculum ot the schools just when the scholars have got the rudiments of a general education well implanted into them. Here, theu, I believe the training of tbe hand, the eye, and the mind should be made a matter of primary importance, for this really will be the real training of the man for his real work of life. Educational authorities tell us that the period of school-life consists of five stages, represented by the infant school and the elementary school, both of which may be said to be common to the educa- tior: of ail children and then, on the other side, by the intermediate technical school, the techni- cal college or professionalschool, and the technical university. The rapid growth of our manufacturing and engineering trades, which have opened up so many occupations and careers that did not exist a. century ago, necessitates the addition of this technical side of our educational system. It is now found that the old grammar school education is no longer the best training for persons who are to be engaged in different occupations. It becomes more generally recognised evetfy day that educa- tion should and must have a direct reference to the career or future work of the persons educated, and that the schools which are most needed are those which shall give instruction bear- on the specific wants of the class of pupils receiving it or, in other words, giving that education which Mn be as well adapted to the present requirements of productive industry as were the grammar schools of old to the several kinds of professional life in which educated persons alone were then engaged. In former times those who were employed in any kind of skilled labour learned their trades from the masters to whom they were apprenticed. Of late years the division of labour has made a long apprenticeship less necessary, and in consequence the person less dependent upon any given trade, but with a correspondingly less independence from not being a complete master of a trade. The wisdom or folly of this state of things we will not stop to discuss. Granting that all education should have for its object the preparation of a man for the real work of life, we have now to consider, the kind of education which will best fit the children of the labouring and lower middle classes of the popula- tion for the several occupations iu which they will be engaged, and which shall, at the same time, :.ffnrd facilities for the selectiou of thE brightest and most capable among them for higher training. The problem of primary education is somewhat simoHf-ied in t"i country, inasmuch as the public elementary ( schools are almost exclusively attended by the children of persons who cannot afford to pay the full cost of their tuition. These schools are there- fore essentially the schools of our working classes —the schools in which labourers, artisans, and persons occupying humble positions in commerce and trade receive their first, and in most cases their only, training, The social distinctions which in other countries do not prevent the children of all classes receiving instruction side by side will in ail probability, for a time at least, continue to induce well-to-do parents in this country to attach importance to providing sepa- rate elementary instruction to their children. It is the opinion of many educational authori- ties that, having regard to the future occupations of the pupils, drawing and instruction in the use of the more ordinary tools found in every work- shop should be made obligatory subjects in our public elementary schools. They affirm that the majority of the children trained in these schools are destined to commence life m occupations in which the ability to draw is quite as useful as the ability to spell. The majority of the advocates of these proposals, I find, do not desire that lessons in handicraft work should occupy any part of the time that is now devoted to other subjects of instruction, neither do they suggest that such teaching should take the place of an apprenticeship to a trade. Nor do they expect that it would even greatly diminish the period of such apprenticeship. They look to the disciplinary rather than to the direct usefulness of such teaching; and they recognise in it many distinct advantages. But there are other-, and, if I am paruoued for saying so, my- self among them, who would go a little further, and would have such teaching introduced fur the sake of its directly useful influence in finding out for what trade a boy i. best suited, and in pre- paring him for that trade. I would also suggest that primary instruction should include mauual work and the use of the tools of particular trades. In our manufacturing towns and centres of commerce a very large percentage, if not the majority, of the pupils from the elementary schools will be engaged in handicraft work during the greater part, if not the whole, of their lives. Therefore, it would be well if seme portion of each day should be given to education m purely intellectual pursuits. Thare are, I believe, certain compensatory ad- vantages in training a child's hand and eye at an early age which should not be lost sight oi, for, apart from the social considerations I have referred to, the nimbleness of fingers that would be thus acquired would be likely to save a boy, on entering the engineering shop; the factory, or mill, from much of the weariness and drudgery of the first few months of bis apprenticeship, and to make him a better workman for his lifetime. Morally, it would teach children at an early age that there is nothing derogatory in handiwork. By makmg workshop teaching a part of the school instruction the pupil would be trained to recognise the dignity of labour, and would come to understand that it is as honourable for a man to earn bis living by the use of the chisel, file, or pick as it is by the use of the pen. It is reported that M. Jules Ferry used to say that" Caste ideas would vanish when tuols were found in schools alongside of map and book; the nobleness of mauual labour would be perceived, and concord would be spread." Cun. fucius also said :—" There being education, there will be no distinction of classes." Whether the introduction of workshops into schools would be so effective as to "root out anarchist fashions," as M. Ferry is further reported to have said, I cannot say, but certainly it could not fail to have a strong tendency in that direction, also to encourage young men who could not find employ- ment at book-keeping to try their hands at book- making. Another important matter with respect to the introduction of workshop instruction into our public elementary schools is the time at which it would be desirable that such instruction should be introduced. Upon this puint educationists seem to differ but very little. It is generalIy admitted that it is not desirable that the instruction should commence at too early an age, but that it is very important the main object of such instruction shouid be kept in view, viz., the discipline and exercise of the hand and eye, and it is calculated that a boy would gaiu enough skill in handicraft dur- ing the last two years of his elementary schooling to be of use to him in any and every occupation in which he might be afterwards engaged. In considering the question of the introduction of handicraft work into our public elementary schools, we have the example of the French schools. It appears that experience has been tried for some"years in one of the commercial schools of Paris. When this school was first established the boys commenced handicraft work at the age of ten, but since 1881 it appears that children of six years of age have received instruction during three hours a week in the shops attached to the school. In accordance with the laws of December, 1830, and of July, 1881, handicraft work has been introduced in all the commercial schools of Paris. Both Chambers of the French Par- liament agreed that primary education sholud include manual work, the using of tools, &c. Since 1881 in Paris alone 41 schools have been fitted with workshops, and it is the intention of the authorities to attach them to all the commercial schools of that great city. The mauual instruction in these schools begins jnly at the age of ten years. Also I am proud to see that technical schools have already been established in some of our large manufacturing towns. At Bristol there is a trade school doing veiy goou work. This school formerly was without any endowment except a building. When the .Endowed Schools Com- mission visited the city they formed a scheme wheieby the school was attached to the Colston Trust, and required that it should be put on a new footing-put into a propar building, well equipped with icientific apparatus, and that it should receive permanently out of the general trust an endowment of £ 400 a year. In the recent report of the Technical Commissioners on the state of scienuflc education throughout the country, special mention is made of the Bristol Trade School as doing very good work in pre- paring artizans to require a scientific knowledge of the principles which underlie the various skilled trades. A very successful school of this kind is also situated in the central part of Sheffield. Children are admitted to the school at about 12 years of age, by competitive examination, from a few private schools, and from the fifth staudard of the public elementary schools. The curriculm of technical instruction comprises free-hand, model, geometrical, and machine drawing handicraft work, consisting of exercises in the production of simple, but perfect, geometrical forms iu iron and wood aud the construction of models, and of simple physical apparatus of use in the school itself. Concerning this school the chairman of the Sheffield School Board, in his report, says: "In this higher department oar general aim is not to lift out: young people out of their own sphere, but to lay that foundation for the intelligent future pursuits of technical know- ledge and skill which will enable them to deal with the difficulties of their trade, that they may compete successfully with every similar class of workmen in auy part of the world."

A READY REASON. Grieved Clara "You pretend to love me, and yet you will not take me out sleigh-riding, as Chiirlie Smith did Lucy Hooper last night. Hard-up George (not to he crushed) Well, you know, be borrowed the money of me. That's •hp -n T (\lJld not ask yn fco-niefht."

[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY THE AUTHOR.] WELSH NATIONAL STORY. Llewelyn; Or, The Last of the Welsh Princes. An Historical Romance. BY BERiAH GWYNfE EVANS, Author of" Bronwen," "Roundhead and Cavalier," Owen Hughes" The Heir of Glynafoii," d-c. CHAPTER XXVI. — AN UNEXPECTED KKVELATION. Uncertainty! Fell demon of our fears I The human soul That can support despair, supports not thee." MALLET. Mereaydd ap Ednyfed re-commenced his voyage with a heavy heart. What he bad already learnt did not tend to reassure him respecting that which was yet hidden from him in the future. It is true that the discovery that Hywel had met with his death in some sore conflict went to prove that the chences were in favour of Gweu and her mistress being yet alive. Still that such a fate haa overtaken him proved that some mis- chance must have happened to the ship in which the ladies were to sail. A calm had succeeded the storm of the previous night, and the sails flapped idly against the mast, as though mocking nis impatience to proceed. The crew, too, wearied with their exertions during the storm and the laoour oi refitting, were neither in the humour nor condition to toil at the oar. After iymg for some hours thus idly on the waves, which yet heaved as mementoes of the storm which had passed away, it was with unbounded satisfaction that ilereuydd at length saw signs indicating that the aead calm was about to end. By the t.me the wind bad reached the snip, and the sails were be- ginning to till out, tue crew, refreshed by a long sleep, were rea.dy to make everyeffurt to avail themselves of tile wind which had thus at last favoured them. Like a thing of life the little vessel bounded forward, as though as eager as the sailors or their commander to nuke up lor the time already lost. It seemed, however, as though the fates must have formed a conspiracy against Mereuydd on this voyage, for while the ship was joyously proceeding at such speed as promised, if maintained, to Oring the voyage to an early conclusion, Aleiedydd was approacned by the sailing master. h We are gooa way," said Mereuydd, glancing over the snip's >;ide at the water, over, rather than through, which thu ship appeared to ne rushing. If we call keep up tnis vate we shall yet reach France in fair tune." 41 Yes," replied the sailer, but I fear me we shall have to stop, and e'n to beat back for a waile." What meanest thou, fellow 2 The wind see-meth fair enough." I Yes, so it dotn." Then have we sprung another leak?" The saints oe praised, we are as water- tight as when we tirst started.■' Well, way, then, in cue devil's name dost thou speak of stopping aud beating back ?" An' you had better let me go on with my story in my own way I should have finished it ere now. But you are aye hotneaded." "'1 will make thee sure headed an'thou dost not at once explain tbysc:lt," cried Aleredyda irritably. Come, speak out." Tuat I gladly do did you grant me the opportunity," said the sailor with the same lmpurturuaole ueliberateness as at first. idereayud bit his tongue to keep it silent, knowing by previous experience ttiat the only way to get the sailor so iiiiisn his tale was to let him say ijn h.s own way, and at his own time. ló Tin man at the look-out saith he hath seen signs «f a foundered vessel away yonder, and he tbinksMhafc what appears to be a body is to be seen on a piece of tHe wreck." And what dost though propose doing 2" asked Mereuydd. "As a sailor w he am myself,subject at any time to shipwreck, and who may at any time be beholden to the kindness of others for assistance, in sore need, I tcver pass by such signs as these without seeing if, by any cnance, some uufortu- nate bemg may not be m need of such help as one saiior can and should rentier to another." What, then, must be done As to what must be done, it is for you to decide, not me. Tne ship is under your command. But as to what ouyht to be done, tilat I can readily answer. We siiouid beat back to the neighbour- hood of the place where this wreck seemeth to have occurred, and there let down our boat to see if hapiy some poor survivor may not yet bs saved." Meredydd paused and considered for a momeut. Then, looking up, he said with decision :— 1 had sworn to strain every nerve to reach the end of my journey as soon as wind and weather would permit me, aud now the wind is in cur favour, aud to beat back to where thou sayest will mean the loss of some valuable hours. Yet, though I would give all I have to hasten forward, God lorbid 1 should pursue my own selfish course < if there may be any hapless fellow creature need- ing my help by the way. Therefore have the ship put about at once, and pray God I may not bo a loser in my own quest by this," and poor Meredydd, as though unable to bear the sight of the ship's head being turned away from the place which he was straining every nerve to reach, left the deck for the only little cabin the vessel could boast of. Thuugh he hud been brave enough to subordi- aate his own wishes to his ideas of duty, and permitted the departure from their course on their errand of mercy, he was too heart-sick to take any active part himself in the search now being made by the crew. The wind was so much against them that it took some considerable time to enable them to reach the wreckage which the at the look-out had discovered. Meredydd. in his cabin, was able to distinguish by the sounds what was being done. He could hear the orders given as to the trimming of the sails when tacking, then the preparations for lieaving to, and iinally heard tne boat being lowered, evidently either to make a thorough search, or else because some unfortunate one had been discovered. Even this, however could not arouse him from the strange and unexplainable lethargy which had overcome him. There he sat, listless and solitary, almost heedless of all that was going on. He heard the boat return, and could understand that some one was being lifted on board. Then, in a short time, the door of the cabin was opened, and the sailing master appeared. u> We have found one poor lad," he said, but I am afraid it is all over, and that we came, after all, too late. Will you come up and see him 1" Meredydd leaped to his feet. Now then," said he, "We can proceed. Let all sail be made to continue our journey." The sailor scratched his head. Well cried Meredydd impatiently. Weii," replied the other, the wind hath turned since we hove to, and is now as favourable to returning to Wales as it was two hours siuce to take us to France Meredydd rushed on deck. It was indeed even so. By one of those sudden changes the wind had veered completely round, and was now, as the sailor had said, a fair wind for Wales, but one it would be almost hopeless to beat against for France. His heart was filled with bitterness as he turned to re-enter the eabin. The sailor, however, touched his arm. "Take a look at him," he said, "poor boy! Someone will mourn for him." Meredydd approached where lay the still body of a lad evidently fifteen or sixteen years of age, whose gay page's clothes were for ever spoiled by the salt water. The sailors had found him fastened to a piece of wreck, and had cut him loose and brought him to the ship hoping some signs of life might be found still remaining. Meredydd gazed upon the lad's corpse-like countenance, beautiful even in death. Something in the lad's appearance made him bend down with more eagerness than he had yet displayed. My God he cried. How like Had poor Gwen a brother, I could have sworn it was he. Is the poor lad dead 2" and he the vest to place his hand n1;l"n the b<>.?v'vll As he turned back the flap of the vest to do so, be saw the full, rounded breast of a woman Then the truth flashed upon him. "My God! It is Gwen!" he cried, and passisnate clasped the inanimate body in his arms. CHAPTER XXVII.—ANOTHER. The devil can cite Scripture for his purposes- 0, what a go dly outside falsellood hath." —SHAKESPEARE (Merchant of Venice). When GruHydd ap Gwenwynwyn finally made up his mind to betray to Llewelyn such par- ticulars of the conspiracy as seemed to him most meet, he did not lose more time than was abso- lutely necessary in doing so. He understood that the giving the information at as early a moment as possible would necessarily add to its value in the eyes of Llewelyn, and that every moment ho delayed only increased his own danger by making it possible for others to forestall him. Hastening therefore to the Prince's presence, he begged the favour of a private interview, a request which Llewelyn, with some surprise, granted. Gruffydd was cautious enough, as well as wise enough, to gloss over his own share in the con- spiracy and to state his story in such a way as to leave Llewelyn finally in doubt whether Ap Gwenynwyn had been made a tooi of by Prince David, or had consented to pretend to co-operate with the conspirators with the sole object of be- coming more fully informed of their intention, that he might the better place his Prince upon his guard. It would be difficult to say whether it was grief, surprise, or indignation which pre- dominated in Llewelyn's breast when this asuouishing revelation was made to him of a conspiracy the existence of which he had not even suspected. That David, his brother, who had been already more than once pardoned, and that against the advice of these very chiefs whom Gwenwynwyn's report now showed to be disaffected, should have forgotten again, not only the relationship of blood, but the more tender one of friendship and deep personal obligations, was indeed a bitter thought, which for the moment seemed to uu- nerve Llewelyn. Oh, Ap Gwenwynwyn he said. tell me it is.tiol true Tell me that thou hast thyself made up this story in order to frighten me, and I will forgive thee freely and readily-nay, I will reward thee, too. I cannot bear the thought that Dafydd, whom I have so trusted, for whom I had done so much and contemplated doing more, that he should attempt my life Thou hast surely dreamt this, Ap Gwenwynwyn 2" My lord," replied the traitor with pretended ieeliug, "would that I could indeed say 'Yes, it is a dream But, hard though the duty is. I feel it is my duty. And though nought could pleasure me more than to pleasure thee, still, I remember that my first duty is to protect my prince-my second to please him. All that I have told thee is, alas, only too true "Then may God forgive them that first moved in this matter, aud led my brother ..ud the other chiefs once more astray, to forget their duty to Walas and to me I Suy may God forgive them, tor I feel I cannot. Methinks I have been too lenient in the past. My kindness hath been mis- placed, my clemency abused. Had I but meted out to Daiydd and to other traitors the justice they deserved for former treasons, this -ould not now have happened. My pardon hath ever begot treason." "Oh, my lord, say notlso," cried Gruffydd, throwing himself at Llewelyn's feet. Say not so. It hath not ever begot treason. In one case, at least, it hath the rather begot such fidelity, such affection, as I believe no man ever before felt I" and with weil-asaumed emotion he covered his face with his hands. Llewelyn was deeply moved. Rise, Ap Gwenwynwyn," said he kindly. "Rise I would not do thee wrong. Nobly hast thou redeemed thy past errors. The service thou hast now done me only justifies the confidence the Lady Eleanor bade me bestow in thee. Deep as will be my vengeance on those who have hatched this treason, higher in comparison, far higher, will be the honour I will place upon thee. W des shall see that Llewelyn kuows how to punish his enemies and how to reward his friend. Now go. I would be alone." With a heart full of joy and elation Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn left the presence of the Prince, well satisfied with the results of his double treachery, and congratulating himself on the wisdom of the course he had pursued. (To be continued.) -4>.

THE HAPPY-ANIMAL PAINTER, lama happy artist, and my name is Aogelo, I paint the wooden animals for Spi.gelbach & 00 I paint the:r eyes, their hair, their tails, then- noses, and their feet, Until th« connoisseur proclaims their beauty quite complete. And Sp.egelbach regards me as the foremost of his joys, Who thus can paint the animals he sells for X-mas toys. But prithee let me tell you, for it is a lovely joke, About the free-and-easyness that marks my master-stroke I daub the camel here and there, I daub the lion, too, I paint the hedgehog bottle-green, the g-yascutus blue I paint upon the polar bear a pensive purple smile, And on the coach dog Yellow spots I prodigally pile.. In fact, I use the kind of paint that happens at my hand, And naturalists smile at what they cannot under- stand But for these scientific men I care not overmuch. Or what they say about my work, it's all the same in Dutch. One day a country visitor made some unkind re- marks When I was painting feathers Krèennpon some meadow larks. I told him that to ouit myself I painted spot or stripe, And that he'd please would pack that down and smoke it in his pipe. I claim that wooden animals that go about on wheels, And cannot howl or eat or drink, or e'en kick up their heels, Are not a bit more natural than are the lively tones I paint upon the wooden skins that cover up no bones. What if I put magenta stars upon the lily lynx ? What if I clothe the tier and rhinoceros in pinks? To p:eaqe the little boys and girls my art I e'er employ, I paint the ornithorhyncus green to fill their souls with joy, And though with yellow, red, or blue the army mule I touch, It's all the same to me, because its all the same in Dutch. Come Isaac, fetch the ostriches, the horses, and the kids, And pile them up before me here in little pyra- mids, And then fetch out the Noah's arks and set them in a row, I've got to paint by five o'clock to-n;ght a gross er so And then fetch in a pot of paint, the first that comes to hand, And I will make these animals tuit any distant land, And while I paint I'll dance a jig. because my joy is such That I can suck my thumbs and say, it's all the same in Dutch.

First small boy: So you went fishing last Sunday, did you ?" Second small boy Yaas. "Ketch anything?"' "Not till I got home and met dad." We know of a beautiful girl who would prove a capital speculation for a fortune-hunter of the right sort. Her voice is of silver, herhair of gold, her teeth of pearl, her cheeks of rubies, and her eyes of diamonds. Professor Young, of Princeton College, says:— Take a railroad from the earth to the sun, with a train running 40 miles an hour, without stops, and it would take about 265 years to make the journey." He estimates the fare, at a penny a mile, to be 2372,000. The figures kill the project

WELSH GLEANINGS. I BY LLOFFWR, I have very little sympathy with those who are ever fawning for royal patronage for Welsh insti. tutions. If the Prince of Wales cannot forego the pleasure of attending the Derby Race, while be deems it to be his duty to decline attending or even patronizing the National Eisteddfod of the Principality which Rives him his highest title, I feel that Welshmen show as great a want of self- respect in continually inviting him as the Prince shows of want of sense in continually declining. It would be interesting to know how many royal visits have been paid by the Queen, or any of her children, to this, the most loyal portion of her dominions. 4- I have quite as little sympathy, too, for those not over-wise persons who are constantly claiming every great man to be a Welshman. As though we had no eminent men who are proud of their connection with "pjor little Wales There is Mr H. M. Stanley, for instance. I suppose there can be no doubt but that he is a Welshman. Still,if he does not wish to acknowledge his native country,I don't see why his uative country snould care to claim him. An English contemporary gives an explanation "f Mr Stanley's evident disinclination to visit Wales—an explanation which is doubtless more attributable to a lively imagination than to fact, and yet which appears almost good enough to be true. It is said that whenever he visits Wales, he is waited upon by a number of old women who claim him as a son, grandson, nephew, or one of the nine atkuov iedged degrees of Weish ieiatiolishil, and tha; however pleasant it may be for a man to be able to claim and enjoy the affectionate regard of a mother, still to have some twenty or thirty women from all parts of the country simultane- ously oileriiiz this maternal care, is too muca of a good tiling, :itili so rather than risk suon an ex- perience Mr Stanley keeps aivay from his native country and uiaiutains a discreet silence as to his nationality! In my gleanings last week I gave the views ci Conservatives and of Liberals on the question of the coming Weish nationality. Those of Welsh Nationalists are stiil more pronounced. At a iiiteling of the Welsh National party in Liverpool recently held in the City Reform O-ub, tile cuuir- uian, Air Hugh Euwards, said:—"Tne Princi- pality and its representatives in Parliament were iguored by the liberals no less than by the Tory party, and the sooner the present memoers formed tiiein;ie, %,es into a united party the better. The Welsh people should not allow a single election to pass without an endeavour to retain the caudidate who was the best exponent of Welsh national aspirations. That would be a platform which would secure to Wales political rights and justice quicker than that winch made Welsh interests subservient to the interests oi the Liberal party. There should be no difficulty in forming a Welsh parliamentary party, acting indepen- dently in Parliament, and until that were done they cuuid accomplish very iittie. Wales had a programme of grievances ripe for legislation, and the time had arrived for the establishment oi a Welsh party to cany them out." ♦ That these views, noivxver startling they may appear at first sigiit to be, are Oeing widely accepted by n eishnieu must oe evident to those who have anytn.ng to do with the inner life of the people as apart Horn party politics. At a meeting of the Camuro-Briton Society held in London last week, the president Dr. Morgan Davies, said that "Politics as at present loresnadovied by the leaders of the Welsli movement portended nothing more or less for the Principality ttian the making of a little England which would practi- cally make an end of the Weish nation and its special characteristics." The great majority of tiie speakers appear to have been of opinion that tne only nope or Waxes in the future lay in a strong measure ui sek-goverun.eut and entire freedom from Saxon nomination, espec.uiiy in matters of religion, education, aud laws concern- ilig laul. The action of the ieauers of the temperance movement in Wales may not be at all times the wisest possible. Still that their agitation has proved beneficial wiil hardly be denied. My attention has oeen called to the fact that Waits contrasts favourably with England in the number of convictions for drunkenness. It appears that the total numuer of persons un W nuIU were imposed for urunkenness during the year leoo in the Principality was 513, or one in every 4,34-6 or the population. Excluding Glatuoigaushirc, there were only 53 convictions in the whole of the re- maining counties of Wales I Glamorganshire alone had 260, and though this is heavy as com- pared with tne rest of the Principality, it still compares favourably with England. In Cardiff we had one conviction for every 1,074, in Swausea one for every 1,822,but in Liverpool there was one for every 406 of tne population. One WeUh county aud two Welsh boroughs have a clean sheet two counties aud two boroughs only one case each; two couuties with two convictions each, one with three, and one with lour. Of sucii a record as this Welsh iemperan;e men may weii oe proud, In addition to the instances noted last week, other tokens are not wanting of the rapid spread of Welsh feeling just now. We have already Welbh societies not only throughout W aies, and such old established ones as those of the Cymtnro- ciorion, and ABLie-ut Biitons in London, out a.l the large English towns which contain any con- siderable Weish element, are vying witn each other to show their national tendencies. Liver- pool, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle-upon- Tyue have tueir established Welsh societies, and I find that the Putter.es are determined not ,u be behindhand. The alsall Cambrian Society has just been formed with the avowed object of drawing the Welshmen of that district iuto closer coaimuu,cation with each other on the broad iille of their common nationality. I am infoimed too that Newport W- eish wen aspire to possessing a National Welsh Society there. It is not alone in the bury centres of manufac- turing and commercial lifo that this tendency is being evidenced. The great seats of learning seem to affurd a congenial soil to the plaut of Welsh national aspirations. There is, I believe, a Weish society at Cambridge, while the work al- ready done by the Bangcriaid, and by the Daiydd ap Gwilym Society at Oxford, and the Welsh Student's Society at Edinburgh proves beyond a doubt that in the educated Young Wales of the future the aspirations of the ignored Old Wales of the present may receive material assistance. Neither are there wanting signs to prove that the rising wave touches and affects places more remote from the busy centres of this prac ical age. There is possibly no county in Wales, Radnorshire perhaps excepted, which has beeu more subjected to English influences than Brecon- shire. What Welsh nationalists for instance, would expect any enthusiasm on behalf of the Welsh language to be shown in Builth or in Brecon? Can there any good thing come out of N.-izareth?" would be the question asked. And yet we tind that at a recent debate held in the town of Brecon, a resolution in favour of the utilization of the Welsh language was carried by a strong majority, while the pastor of an Englisti Nonconformist church at Builth has formed a class tor the study of Welsh grammar Why will ye not believe that the new Welsh revival is going to be something substantial and practical, 0 ye of little faith I Before, however, this revival can hope to do what it should do, some means must be found for uniting and consolidating these various streams of national feeling. Is there any possibility cf having one great central body to wnich these different societies might be a filiate! ?

TALK OF THE TOWN. WHJC GOES FIRST ?—REV H. WARD BEECHKR—MR A. BALFOUR—A RISKY POSITIO-N-THE DRAWIXG- ROOM—A LL-GLOKIOU S WITHOUT AN" UNINTEN- TIONAL OBKISANCK—HOYAL ECONOMIES—PURPLE AND FIKE LINEN—LITTLE BO PKKJP—FIDDLE-DE- DEE—AUTHOR AND P UBLISkiER -TRUTH WILL OUT—OPERA—LOWERING THE STALLS-THE NEW PRIMA DONNA'S COSTUMES—A NAUGHTY PRINCE —EARTHQUAKES. Everyone kno\\s, or ought to know, that in social precedence the Church, as represented by the Archbishop of Canterbury, takes rank over our premier duke, and immediately after blood royal. But o great many people fancy that all licensed officers of The establishment have exceptional place, and that their wives ought to waik before those of members of all other professions. This is not so but clergymen, barristers-at-law, and officers in the Army and Navy, take precedence over esquires. Curate, and clergymen without livings, do not count in the social scale; and even with these qualifications, unless they are dignitaries, small or great, they are not placed. It may not be known, too, that the wives of M.P.'s take no rank from their husbands' senatorial poMtioi;, neither have the wives of county magnates pre- cedence on account of their spoused J.P.-ship or Sheriffdom, or the like. This class of persons, if not well burn, or entitled to place by circum- stances, other than their husbands' public posi- tion, are apt to assert themselves obstrusivelv, and obtain what they have no tight to obtain, owing to the ignorance of others. The scale of pre- cedence is very clearly laid down, but very seldom followed. So, to-day, I g!vt the late REV. HENRY WARD BKECHER the place of honour in my letter, not because of right, but because he was a shiumg light—iu America, and oiie ought to be civil to strangers. The papers, one and all, big aud little, are ni;,k copy out of the late reverend gentleman, who, to use the phraseology of some of his countrymen, iias '-glven in his ticket." Mr Beecher was a man of genius, and one renuers much to genius, I He had thousands of admirers both in America and England. He lay in state in his church, and his face, graceful and lifelike, was gazed at, through a glass facing m the coffin, by tens of thousands. He was a brother of the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin," and the work that little book did, and the book itseif, will be remembered vitally, long After the Yt-ry name of the reverend gentleman has sunk into oblivion. MK At;T!;UL LAI.FOUR, as successor to S;r Micaael Hicks-Beach in the Iiis.i Secivta;y>h;p, t,lk,, on his Scotch shoulders a perilous task—perilous to life from the outward chances of the troublous country, and fquoliy perilous to health from the amount of brain and mind work the post involves. Mr Balfour is a great favourite in the House, he is a scholarly writer of some ability, and one of :h" six members of the present Government, who John Moil y said, ii "g"it, if the need arose, earn their liveli- hood by their journalistic pen. His character is sans reprocht. Since 1380 Ireland has had eight Cnief Secretaries—i e., Mr W. E. Forster (who narrowly esc:<p^d assassination), Sir George Treveiyan, Mr Camnbeli-Bannerrnan, Sir W. Hart-Dyke, Mr John Morley, Mr W. H. Smith Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, aud now Mr A. Balfour, whom some Irish papers speak of as the "illst Irish Secretary who will be appointed by the English Government. I stood in the crowd at midday, watching the carnages puss into Buckingham Palace with their gorgeous freights of rich attire and gems. It being the first drawing-room of the Queen's Jubiiee, the attendance was very large, and I tliink the dresses, too, had an accession of gran- deur. Modistes say they never before were ginn such latitude in lavishncss of cost. The linings of many of the trains were fully as costiy as the trains themselves, many of them being velvets 0; the most expensive kind. A lady present told In" tiiat afterward, reading a detailed description of the costumes worn by the royal party, she felt as if she had taken nothing in at the time but colour and jewels. The Princess of Wales was a binze of jewels. S e iiid a red order across her breast, and all over the front of the shimmering grey s-dk ey s showers of silver drops. The Queen, for the first time since her widowhood, appeared without cere- w: ments of woe. She had on a velvet train with fur. Pne little St. Albans uucoess also appeared without weeds, though still in mourning. As always, the young princesses were the simplest of the simpie, aud here I may remark that economy in dress is strictly enforced in the Marlborough royal household. A certain dressmaker states that the Piincess oiten supplies her own material, sometimes the soft wooliens of the Welsh manufacturer at seveupence a yard. TLiii does no "py" the royal employes exactly, but they make capital out of the patronage Once a certain dressmaker had to attend Marlborough House to take instructions in makiug up some costumes for the yont: g princesses of stuff tuat had cost considerably uader a shilling a yard. This person was in an ante-room, and overheard a lively discussion going on between the Prince and Princess as to wnether the skirts were to be plain or trimmed. The Prince went in ior trimming and carr.ed the day. At a lady's costumier of note, the young VIctoria, of Teck, tiie beauty of the Royal Family, is a great favourite. She ordered a t-erge walk i ii g- dress lately, with six vests of different colour "and then," she said, laugiiing," the public will describe s.x separate dresses." A fashion-writer in a lady's paper told me that she had described a certain dress of tiie Princess of Wales quite half a dozen times each time it had been varied by accompaniments, but, to begin with, the material had cost under a shilling. She added, But the Princess looks grand in any- thiug she has tiie art of wearing caltCj to make it look like cloth of gold"—siightlyhypeibolic.but with a great amount of truth. There are, however, certain things on which royalty has to spend royally—not, though, always out of the privy purse. A linen-dealer in London has the royal order every year for ten new pairs ot sheets. This year's order has just been supplied, and I am indebted to one who saw it for the description. The linen was of the most exquisitely fine fabric iu the centre was the royal coat of arms most beautifully em J'(>;r1,3rJ. iri tb-, fer— ]iw done in the four corners. These sheets are for the State rooms, and are all manufactured near Belfast. Every day the Queen's bed is freshly i-vanished with lineu, and j six housemaids perform the task. There are j twelve pillows, on which the linen cases are sewn, not buttoned or tied, and these also are changed every day. To return for a moment to the drawing-room. My informing friend told me that she saw a lady, while passing the preseuce, tumble right down, her bouquet—a round, con- ventional one, with paper cup, not the elegant posy kind—spinning, like a teetotum on end, to the feet of the Prince of IVales, and her fan in a contrary direction, Tiie Queen, she said, was greatly annoyed at the awkwardness which caused the incident. In the picture gallery, a young American lady amused the august assem- blage with the originality of her remarks and her accent. How many Llanks Lord Salisbury's Cabinet has had to fill up since its first formation The situation pointed my artist's pencil, fired my muse the result I give Little R).l'<,<p '1- I'.s: his sheep lie ditin't know how t ■ bind tbeni So tiiev somehow got addled, and all skedaddled. Cocking their tails behind Ü¡"lll. Whenever the legitimate sources of the daily papers show signs of exhaustion, someone is retained" to ply them with "extra" matter. T,)o day the publisher and author are hard at it, and so far the author has the best of it. With regard to the system of secret book keeping, I fancy there is a good case there. A very worthy pub- lasuer told me that once—it is safer to be vague- he had to overhaul the accounts of a brother chip, whose character was of the "white rose" sort, and he found a small book, which the latter bad omitted to destroy or hide, in which secret moneys were entered. On comparing the book with certain accounts of the proceeds of certain books, he found the authors credited with sum;, which were minus exactly the amounts entered in the "secret service book. Another bit of extra for the papers has been the Cremona controversy. I have beeu wondering tthat THE IJiiiOKTAL PAG AN IN 1 would have to say could he take down his fiddle and li s bow-o-o rr.ee more—Fiddl^-de-lee, I daresay. Whenever a mysteiy exists there will be iinravel it. It wouid seem, rboug-h, there is some truth in the varish theory, and that we snaii ocai more about it soou, as Mr John Lrmsimvad is tae custodian of the in- forming liS., .-aid to i-e left by Antoni* Bavanuutiiu", given the Cremona of ulden days, shaii we b\<,r have another Paganini ? Ladies now wieid the bow with rare skill and grace. The violin and the banjo divide the aff ctions of young misses. At almost every "at home" a jar.i scrapes," or "twangs,"as the irreverent st-x style the sex's performances on the hitherto male monopolies. Wed, both are a relief from the eternal pianoforte. Apropos of music, Cos. Mapiesun a last has found occasion to givp. Italian opera. As ha has reduced stalls from 25s to 10s 61 tnere will be fewer bianks under the footlights than in last opera season. The Nordica whl be a great draw. Site is herself a ciiatming woman, as well as anisic. Cari Rosa will be in Manchester directly. There he pro- duces "Miguou," 111 which the prima dOloua. Mdlle. Marie Decca.will make ner debut asFi/liua. I have seen this fair youug American's toilettes for the rote; the) are designed by herself, aud are beautiful. It is understood tiiat a good many of the Queer stories in Truth are founded oil fact. I have traced many of them to their source. In a late number the incideut which make.s the story had a ring of trutii to my inner intelligence. A certain foreign diplomat, suspecting Iiis wife, watched her, and caught her with her lover, a royal prince, .n a imuting box. Toat assignation was spohei.. The indignant husoaud soundly thrashed the prince, and then carried of fhis frail wife, and left the court for ever. Reading Mrs Papen- diek's diary, I came oil the original of this story. The lady was a baroness, a handsome womau. Tiie prince saw and fancied her. One day the baron found the prince in his house with madam, and, before nignt, lie left England with the baroness, leaving the prince to tell h:s tlle. He went into retirement, and never again mixed with a Court. The prince did not snow himself for sf.me time he had had a thrashing. England has had three experiences of earth- quakes in her tilue-oue in 1530, which toiled tne great clock bell at Westminster; one in loS2, which did nothing but terrify tiie good islanders, and one in 1750. Tins last cutike was the worst. The first shock occurred 011 Feb. 8th, and exactly a month later another came when the bells of church clocks struck the cniuiing hammers, dogs howled, and tish leaped high out of water I remember experiencing oue in Ire- land many years ago. All the liousenoid were awok' aud an rushed out into Lhe open air. Tiie uigiit was heavy and sultry, though it was past summertide. TI.e oirds roo.-ting m the trees fluttered uelplessiy about, two loxes scudded across the lau n, aud some cranes suddenly dashed over a river. Cocks crew, and in the distance we heard the norses stamping in tiie stables, and the cattle lowing. There was only one shock. The sensiiiiou one as of a great horror. In the morning it as louud tiiat a large sewer bad burst, and done considerable damage. It will surpr.se a good inally to hear that Christopher Coiuuibus aid not discover America. Miss Marie A. Brown, of America, is seeking to establish tiie fact that a K orseuun had that honour, long previous to tiie ad vent of C',Iriswi-iiet. The lady's lectures On Viking (Xruuud" a.re very popular, and her endeavours to establish her theory have received the support of wanyof the chief learned societies, both here and abroad. About twenty years ago another American ladv wrote a book to prove that Shukespeare did not write "Shakespeare." The production of the work cost the good worthy ieinale fifteen years' labour. I think I heard she died out of her mind. She had not far to go. ZINCO.

I What renders the vanity of other.: insupportable is^that it wounds our own. When an idler enters the sanctum of a busy editor, and the editor says. "Glad to see you're back, what does he mean 1

Musical and Eisteddfod. Notes. By Maelgwyn. Musicians particularly singers—throughout tht County will rejoice that at length a stop is about to be put to the system which is known as performing copyright. To those of your readers who do nut fully understand the miscOievou* nature of this system I may be permitted to puiut out that in certain cases when a song has beeu published, a. man may go to the author or publisher and buy the performing right, thus preventing everybody from singing the song unless his permission has beeu obtained by the aid of two guineas. None of these songs, so far as I know, contaiu a notice on the title-page to the effect that the performing copyright is withheld, and thus it frequently happens that the unsuspecting singer warbles one of them, perhaps at a charitable concert. In the course of a day or two the siuger receives a lawyer's letter intimating that "as the performing copyright of the song iu question is held by our cheut," the otfeuder must send on two guineas per return of post, otherwise legal jJIo- ceedings will be commenced." In his or uer dismay the singer, as a rule, sends on the two guineas, but others, with commendable pluck, brave the matter out. A short time ago a y /ung lady in the North of England was summoned ior refusing to pay two guineas for having sung "She Wore a Wreathof Roses" atacharityconcert. The case was heard in London, and the judge at once saw that the copyright-holder was earning a good living by dropping upon unsuspecting singers for the customary £22s. He fined the young lady Is, and ordered the plaintiff to pay ail the costs and the defendant's travelling expenses. With a view of repealing or amending the lav, Mr A. Blame is about to introduce a Bill iuto the House of Commons. The measure will certainly be carried, the opinion both in and out of tae House being practically unanimous on the point. The man who holds the performing copy- right of" Sbe Wore a Wreath of Roses" and a host of other songs is a certain Harry Wall. U u- fortunateJy I cannot at the moment lay my band upon the list of songs of which Wail bolds the copyright. Of course a great deal of mischief may be done before the new law is passed. Meanwhile iet no reader of the Houtii Wales Weekly News sing in public any song that does not specify on the title page, Tnis song may be sungm public WiLH- out permission or payment of any fee." During the latter months of his long and busy jife the late Mr Frederick Pitman (brother to the inventor of phonography) secured the copyrignt of the finest waltzes that have been issuea for many years. The parcel which the firm sends me includes two of these compositions, v iz., Aimes, by Francoise Moorat, aud "Stelia Mia," by "Aigrette." "Aimet." is a gem, the sweet and graceful melody of which will make it a favourite everywhere. "Stella Mia' is also a charming waltz, and is easier to play than the Aime- 'Victorias Jubilee March" is a rattling marcn oy A. J. Perman. I snould not be surprised it tnis were to become the jubilee march. The songs published by this firm have never become so popular as have their instrumental pieces but Dorothy" and "uite oy Accident" (botu by Vincent Barwell aud C. H. R. JVIarnott) an pretty, tuneful songs. The latter would suit a popular entertainment, where its pleasing stvie would be sure to "draw." "Our Queen,t,v Hubi Newcombe. is a bold, patriotic song with a graceful melody, and very easy to sing. The siow movement (3rd verse) is very effective. Messrs W. Marshall and Co., 70, Berners-streei, W., are again to the fore witn a number of new I songs. A Love and a Life," by William M. Hutchison, is a grand song, somewhat similar in nature to the same composer's "Ebren on tt:e Rhine." The present song i¡, however, superior to Ehren ou the Rhine in the boldness of its tone and sweetness of its melody. The refrain, in twelve eight time, is delightfully pretty. It is published in keys to suit ali voices. I When Shadows Fall," by Edward St. Qu-ntiu. is a beautiful semi-religious song, the exquisite words of which are by Samuel Cowan, M.A. It will doubtless find its way into thousanus of homes. Of a very different kind is "Jack' by the same composer. This is a dashing sailor's song, with plenty of melody and plemy of "go" in it. "Not let," by Henry Pontet, is a refreshingly original song, quite out of the ordinary groove. Unlike most of Mr Pontet's compositions, this is not a semi-humorous but is sentimental in the strict sense of the wore. One resuit of the lamentable dissolution of the famous Penrhyn Quarries Choral Union wiil oe to render North Wales without a good representa- tive at the London Eisteddfod. There is a rumour that a Denbighshire choir will take part in the great contest in tne metropolis, but nothing definite has yet been settled. Should the endeavour to re-estabhsa the Penrbyn Choir prove unsuccessful, Wales will have to rely upon two choirs only to uphold her honour, viz., the Swausea Choral Union aud the Llanelly LTnited Choir. Beth these choirs are determined to take part in the competition, aud they have already obtained abundant support from the public. Even South Wales deeply regret tne dissolution of the Pern- yn Choir. We would have gone to London wirL tar more confidence than now. But South Wales can yet be victoiious if only we make the necessary effort.

REMINISCENCES OF THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. The city of New York was held, from the very first to the latest weeks of the war, by garrisons of one party or the ofiher. Abandoned by G ueral W ashington after the retreat frum Long f-land, it became from that date the permaueut uea i- quarters of the British commander-in-chief while American troops, now standing aloof m conscious weakness of numbers, now advancing nearer w. tu returning strength of reinforcements, kept con- staut watch, their eyes fixed on that important point. Small bodies of both parties were in un- ceasing movement over the aojacent country, foraging, reconnoitring, skirmishing, as the occasion required. Scarce a narrow LUII: of the many winding roads of the country, fenced with rude stone wads, hedged with brier and vine, shaded with cedai, tuhp tree, and locust, aiong which the trim British troops and ragged Amencan soldiers had not marched and counter-inarched by the light of sun or star. Scarce a farm-house door which had not been darkened by cow-boy, HessiaD, or skinner errand of pillage or Violence. Here and there stiil darker work bad been done homes had been destroyed by fire good yeoman blood bad beeu shed husoaud, father, or son had fallen in some unrecorded skirmish, the hero of a rustic neighbourhood. The entire country between the American outposts on the skirts of the Highlands and the British works on the Islaud of Manhattan — the Neutral Ground, as it was called oy both parties—probably suffered more in this wsy than the same of country in any part oi the Union. Searsdale and' Mamaroneck lay within this belt. The battietield of White Plains was close at hand Dobbs5 Ferry, so long a point of interest for the American threes, lay oniy a few miles beyond. On the daily drive from Angevme to the nearest post office at Mamaroneck, a spot was passed connected with one of the many local traditions of the neignoour- hood: in a pretty thick-t, covering a piece of swampy laud, a cave shown m which one of the partisans of the day had lain concealed tor some time, fed secretiv by iriendjy hands with food brought steaitooy at night until escape was effected. And again, on the way to the little Huguenot church at New Rocheiie, the road wouud at the foot of » hill, shaded by a pretty grove, which, in spite of its quiet, smiling aspect at the present hour enjoyed the gioomy honours of a hauntsd wood! A sharp skirmish had taken place there in the years of the Revolution, aud ever and anou, at solemn midnight hours, ghosts were dimly seeu S gliding to and fro; aye, it was even wh.spered that the clashing of swords had been faintly heard more than once on some stormy night. In vaia might proud incredulity shake its head; the iu- mates of certain old gray cottages, with nioss- grown shingied walls aud projecting ovens, knew better: they believed the assertion firmly.'—• Atlantic Monthly.

DEAD SHOT.—Amateur Sportsman: What aid L uring down? keeper; Yer own dog sir • ois bead all off. A.S. Wnare's the Picking at the dog sir.