Llangollen Advertiser Denbighshire Merionethshire and North Wales Journal

The Llanrwst Urban Council, at tFieir meet". ing on Saturday, appointed Mr. Hugh Hughes, of Llanrwst, as a.rchitect for the new housing scheme. Penalties totalling £ 64 14s. were imposed at the Wrexhaini Police Court, on Monday, after hearing three charges against Messrs. B. Williamson and Co., Ltd., pork butchers, Town Hill, of selling home produced b&QOft gbove the maximum price. co:.

BY THE WAY.- On Shaking Hands. I saw in the. papers the other day that at one place he visited in Canada the Prince of Wales was obliged to use his left hand for hand-shaking as his right hand was too tired through similar previous employment." It is doubtful, as somebody has since remarked, whether his great grandmother would have approved so effusive a demonstration, and apparently the shade of Queen Victoria prc- testeth not alone. For last Saturday I re- ceived a letter from a correspondent who asks me to write an article on the "Folly of Hand- shaking;" now that our Prince of Wales is seffering from an overdose of it. It is a grand opportunity to drive the silliness of it home, for it is practised a great deal too much even in Muddletown on market days to the liking of many well brought up farmers. I have often heard it de- nounced. ) If I confine myself to a more non-commital form of title than that which my correspond- ent obliging provides for me, it is not because I question his authority as to the principles of deportment favoured by the well brought up farmers who attend Muddletown market, or deny that excessive handshaking may not often be a folly and a vanity and the occasion a vexation of spirit amongst its victims; but much depends on the spirit of the action, and so far as his Royal Highness's Canadian ex- perience furnishes food for reflection, I am bound to confess that it seems to me far less suggestive of any hypocracy or empty formalism than of the fact that these are democratic days in which, happily, Royalty are ready enough to conform and submit themselves to the hail fellow well met style of embrace wi,th which our loyal Colonists greet even the most illustrious of guests. "Say" called out a wounded Can- adian as his present Majesty passed through a field hospital in France during the war, Are you King George?" The Royal visitor smilingly nodded an affirmative. Good," said the young Colonist, stretching out his hand, then put it right there," and Sovereign and Soldier gripped hands. In Queen Victoria's time, of course, things were different, and even the morft cere- monious customs of paying homage, if car-j ried to excess, were tiring enough. Her late Majesty records, I believe, in her diary that, after her first levee, when some three thou- sand distinguished attendants "kissed hands," she was left feeling very limp," and the state of both the young Prince's hands and arms can better be imagined than described, after all the boisterous salutes to which he has genially submitted himself in the Domin- ion. Nevertheless, there is something so human and homely in that hearty hand-shak- ing that it more than ever makes him one of us." For, after all, the hand-shake is the symbol of comradeship and fraternity; though, of course, there are hand-shakes and hand-shakes, just as, no doubt, there is an infinite variety of ways of rubbing noses amongst those tribes where this is the national habit of salute. — How hand shaking came to be the accred- ited fashion of popular greeting I cannot for the moment remember, if I ever knew. Poss- ibly it springs from some instinctive action of mutual protection amongst our forebears, just as even down to the present age little boys feel safer when father holds their hand in the dark. And from that original motion we have devtl.oped the cult in endless shades of variation, so that one ca;n read a new acquaintance's character fom his handshaking as clearly as by his handwriting. We all know folk's who, like Mr. Pickwick, possess that paternal grasp of the hand which imme- diately makes us feel we can trust them with our confidences. There is the man who shakes our hand as if he mistook it for a pump handle, and he who will insist, after the natural clasp of the hand is over, in gripping our fingers and retaining them in an embarr- assing embrace, from which we furtively en- deavour to extricate ourselves, while he asks after every member of the family and whether we have been for our holiday and why not. On the other hand there is the cold and clammy shake, if shake it can be called, more suggestive than anything else of handling a limp rag, and the stiff but frigid shake of those who give one the impression of being on the defensive until they can make up their minds whether they ought to know us or not. There are even some people who give you a couple of fingers, as if to suggest that, being Properly particular about the friends they made," it was as far as they were prepared to go in taking you into their superior circle of ac- quaintanceship, though, for my part, I am so willing to remain outside that I never give them a second opportunity of thus intimating the gulf that flows between us. < For, of course, shaking hands, as my corres- pondent suggests, does not really commit you to anythillg. It is not liqe kissing, which has been known to lead to endless trouble and even damages in the police court. A cat may look at a king) and a duchess may shake hands with a dustman, especially at election time, and nothing come of it—not even a vote. Indeed, if the famous experience of Eatans. will is anything to go by, shaking hands with the adults is no less essential a condition of electoral success than kissing the babies. He has shaken hands with the men," cried the little agent, as the Honourable Samuel Slumkey appeared in the street, and the wmt inued at tottasa of w-zt coluaaa).

I NEWS OF THE WEEK. Wealdstone Council suggests that houses should be rationed-according to the number of the family. Mr. Balfour arrived in London on Thursday from Paris after a continuous sojourn of eight months in the French capital. After his forthcoming visit to America Jimmy Wilde, the famous boxer, intends to retire and live in a nice little house in Wales. The first part of the funeral service to Lord Beresford took place at St. Paul's Cathedral on Saturday, after which the interment was made at Putney Vale cemetery. Mr. Arthur Henderson has been returned for Widnes by a majority, of 987. It has al- ways previously been a strong Unionist con- stituency. The Minister of Health states that only iliose aldermen and councillors who would ordin- arily have gone out of office in 1915 or have been chosen to fill places of men who would have retired that year will retire next Novem- ber. At Dublin on Saturday two men were com- mitted for trial on charges of having stolen and received resp actively L2,000, worth of jewellery belonging to Mrs. Crawshay, of Wrexham. Mr. J. H. Edwards has just been appointed headmaster of Bwlchgwyn Council Cchool, near Wrexham. Mr. Edwards, who is a native of Rhosllanerchrugog, has previously been headmaster of Clocaenog Council School, Ruthin, a position he occupied, for ten years. An officer writing in the Kreuz Zeitung declares that it is a sacred duty to cherish love of the Hohenzollerns and that officers' clubs are being formed for promoting the Hohenzollern cause. School children at Stet- tin have threatened to strike if the portraits of the Hohenzollerns which have been re- moved are not restored. Penrhyndeudraeth District Council has re- fused as, offer to let the town hall as a cinema, although offered a handsome rent, which would mean a saving of a sevenptnny rate. The majority of the members were of opinion that the pictures shown at cinemas were a source of danger to the morals of the youths, and that morals were more important than a decreased rate. An effort to cut down the extortionate prices of vegetables, etc., was made at Llangollen on Saturday, when a stall was opened in the main street of the town in front of the Town Hall. The work was undertaken by the Llangollen Horticultural Sub-Committee. The prices were —Potatoes, 2d. per lb. carrots, 2d. lb. lettuce, Id. and lfd. each. cabbages, 2d. and 4d. each runner beans, 3d. lb. broad beans, 2d. lb. cauliflowers, 3d. and 4d. each; black- berries, 4d.-4id. lb. tomatoes, Is. 4d. lb. .bottle fruit, 2s. 3d. to 3s. 6d. jar; apples, 5d.- 7d. lb. and jam, lid. to Is. lid. per pot. Following up the recent proclamation of Sinn Fein and the enforcement of a section of I the Crimes Act in frve counties Of Ireland, the authorities on Friday made a series of raids throughout the country upon Sinn Fein or suspected quarters in search of arms and seditious literature. Chief of these was the raid made by a force of soldiers and police upon the headquarters of the Republican movement in DulJlin, where two. Sinn Fein members of Parliament were arrested and a considerable part of the organisation's publi- cations and correspondence was removed. A remarkable story of a nose being refitted by surgery is related from Windsor. A stable boy named William Robertson, aged 38" of the Broadway, Lambourn, Berks, was pre- paring a horse to run in a race when the sky- light fell and cut his nose clean off. He was taken to King Edward VII. Hospital without his nose. The arteries were tied, and the surgeon then asked for the nose. It was stated that it was left behind in the stable at the racecourse. A messenger was immediately dispatched to the stables, where the noss was found in the straw. It was taken to the hos- pital, where an operation was performed, and the nose was put on again. It had. then been Off about an hour. Mr. William C. Bullitt, the former expert of the American Peace Commission, stated be- fore the Senate, Foreign Relations Committee last week, that after Mr. Lloyd George had denied in the House of Commons that ap- proaches had been made by the Russian Soviet Government to the Allies his secretary, Mr. Philip Kerr, called on him (Mr. Bullitt) and "apologised for his chief's action." Mr. Kerr explained," said Mr. Bullitt to the Committee, that when Mr. Lloyd George got home intending to recommend favourable action on the Soviet proposal, he found that Lord Northcliffe and Mr. Winston Churchill had rigged up a Conservative majority which intended to slay him if he did so." In deal- ing with Mr. Lloyd George," said Mr. Bullitt to the Committee, commenting on the latter's statement to the House of Commons, vou must remember that you cannot take any of his public statements seriously." The Press Association has since been authorised to state that there is no foundation for these state- ments,

I FACTS AND FANCIES I I A Pleasant Position, Lord Fisher, who has been contributing a series of trenchard articles on Naval Construc- tion matters to the Times," says in one that there is great satisfaction in being in such a position of power that when you say to a man i: You be damned," he is damned! We know that sensation and it certainly has its pleasant elements ',1It „ The Army Way. In giving vent to his feelings on nis dis- charge, an old soldier wrote to his late -olonel: bir,-After what I have suffered, you can tell the Army to go to hell. In due course he received the following —" Sir,—Any bug- I gestions or inquiries as to movements of troops must be entered on Army Form 123 XYZ, a I copy of which I enclose." .> « I A Little Premature. I A man was summoned in a Welsh police court recently for not having his dog muzzled. The constable who had detected the offending canine entered the witness box and prepared to give evidence. Before he could do so, the defendant burst into a voluble explanation. "As for what he is saying now," he con- cluded, indicating the man in blue, "it is all lies." The Clerk pointed out to him that the constable had not as yet said anything, where- upon he collapsed. < I Knew his law. A man summoned at Harrow for causing a nuisance by keeping pigs was fined E10 and costs. Defendant: You can't do it." Chair- man: "Why not?" Defendant: "Because the maximum is ;25. And he was right. It reminds us* of an experience of our own not long ago when we heard a Lord Justice of Appeal corrected on a point of law relating to compensation for accidents at a meeting of a committee dealing with grants out of a national fund by a well-known Welsh Labour leader! tt I « A Question of Taste. I I was sitting at lunch in the restaurant car next to a young officer just demobilised from the Air Service (writes a correspondent), and alluding to a surgical pad he wore on the side of his head he told me that a shell splint- er had injured him in such a way that he was deprived of all sense of taste and smell. He took his disability with philosophic cheerful- ness, saying that now that whisky was such a price it was some satisfaction to be able to drink s6da-water and fancy it was the real thing. Curiously enough there was cne ex- ception to his tasteless condition. While all other things were alike to him, he could at once taste the difference between salmon and 'I cod! Can any of our surgical experts explain why this should be? Bows and Arrows. y II I I Although catapults came in with trencn fighting, archery, in which competitions are I being organised by the Royal Toxophilite Society for the first time since 1914, has leen abandoned in British warfare for nearly three hundred years. Lord Wolseley told Grant Duff that a regiment of archers raised by Charles 1. during the Civil War was the last of its kind seen in this country. Were there any archers on the other side?" he was asked. I think not," replied Wolseley. Crom- well was too sensible a fellow for that." Bows and arrows survived much longer in the Russian Army. There were a large number of archers among the Cossacks who fought at the battle of Leipzig in 1813. The Chinese ping-ting man, by the way, still carries a bow and arrow. They cost less than a rifle, and are lighter to carry. » An Ancient Heritage. The sale by the Earl of Powis of his Math- rafal estate to his farm tenants includes a spot rich in romantic and historical associa- tions. This is the site of the old Castle of Mathrafal now marked only by a tumulus, ramparts and other earth works covered --ith trees and shrubs, where formerly the Princes of the old kingdom of Powys held sway and bards and minstrels foregathered at eistedd- fodau at a period that has since been re- garded as a sort of Augustan in Welsh culture. This spot is probably one of the Earl of Powis' most ancient heritages. It is first mentioned as far back as 450, but may quite possibly have had a long history much earlier than that for the picturesque spot, lying on the banks of the Banwy, about two miles from Meifod, has been thought by many distin- quished archaeologists to be the site of the missing Roman city of Mediolanom, which was a fairly important station on the Roman roa.d that ran from Caersws to Chester. But to come to surer ground, Mathrafal in 765 was a summer residence of the Earl of Powis' ancestors, the Princes of Powys, who at that time governed Powys from their capital at Pengwern (Shrewsbury). Following the ag- gressions of Offa, king of Mercia, who took fair Salopia from the hands of the Celt, the princes of Powys made Mathrafal their cap- ital, and for about 400 years it was their seat I. of government. At this period Mathrafal is I said to have been a stately stronghold and Mervyn, of Rhodu Mawr, is described as wear- ing his own special crown and chain of twist- ed gold and armlr-ts and anklets. But his suc- cessor, Bleddyn ap Cynfya, was probably the most distinguished Prince who ruled at Mathrafal. Comparative peace—at any rate for those turbulent times—prevailed and Bleddyn revived and improved the code of laws instituted by Howel dda. Eisteddfodau flourished there and a record states that a law was passed forbidding all bards and min- strels to leave the castle during the eisteddfod without the permission of the Princes. Owen Cyfeiliog. ap Griffith, also reigned here as a Prince, poet and orator, and his life and times inspired one of Southey's poems in which he wrote Mathrafal's lord, the poet and the prince, Cyfeiliog stood before them in his pride, His hands were on the harp, his eyes were closed, His head, as if in reverence to receive the inspiration, bent, Anon he raised his glowing countenance and brighter eye, And swept with passionate hand the ringing harp. The glory of Mathrafal passed away with the building in the 12th century of Powis Castle, which became the seat of government, and Mathrafal gradually fell from its proud place and now nothing is left except the old earth- works, and the natural beauty of the situation.

I THE CHURCHES. I FAREWELL SERVICE AT ELLESMBRE. Farewell services were held on Sunday, Sept. 7, on the occasion of the removal of the Rev. Hugh Parry to Newport, Salop. Large congregations assembled morning and even- ing, and, at the later service, the church was filled to its utmost capacity. Rev. Hugh Parry leaves with the best wishes of all. At the Sunday School, Mr. Cooke, superintend- ent, voiced the regret of the teachers and scholars at the loss to the Sunday School, by the removal of Mrs. Parry, whose services have been invaluable. At the invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Cooke, members of church and congregation were present at a garden party on the lawn at Hawthorn House-and, during the evening, Rev. and Mrs. Hugh Parry were. presented by Mrs. Preston and Mrs. Hales with a substantial testimonial of Treasury notes as an expression of appreciation for their services during their eight years' resi < dence in the town. Mr. Cooke spoke in glow., ing terms of the services of Fr. Parry, both in connexion with the church and as a citizen of the town. Mr. Parry feelingly responded, thanking all for the assistance and kindneaq during his residence in the town. The Congregational Church at Ellesmertt has unanimously invited the Rev. Evan Jonea to the pastorate, rendered vacant by the re., moval of the Rev. Hugh Parry to Newport Combined with that of Ellesmere is the over- sight of the Congregational Church at Franks ton. Previous to his present charge Mr.. Jones was pastor of Mount Pleasant Church, Hirwain, South Wales. During the last eight years he has been secretary of the Montgomery. shire English Congregational Union. He was educated at Cardiff University and the Mom, orial College, Brecon. It has been decided to build a new churcli at Rhosnessney, near Wrexham, in connec- tion with the Forward Movement of the Welsh Primitive Metehodist Church. The Press Association understands that Dr. Gore, formerly Bishop of Oxford, intends to associate himself with the work of Liddon House and Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair. He will make Grosvenor Chapel his London pulpit, preaching there regularly once month, and on every Sunday morning throughout Lent and Advent. The new Bishop of Chester, Dr. H. L. Paget, announces that it is not his intention to oc- cupy the episcopal palace. Writing to the "Diocesan Gazette" he says: "I do not propose to live in the great house. As things now are it seems really inadvisable to do so. We shall probably, for a time at least, betake ourselves to the residence which the great kindness of the Dean and Chapter places temporarily at our disposal." At a meeting of the Coedpoeth Free Chafer Council last week a resoplution was passed viewing with regret the increase in drunken- ness and immorality in the district since the declaration of peace, followed by the conces- sions granted to the licensed trades. "As a result of this," added the resolution, our streets until the early hours of the morning at times are rowdy; and there is an increase in the gambling spirit. We appeal for better police supervision." Another resolution pro-' posed to the various Free Churches of the district the advisability of appointing no church officers or Sunday School teachers who were not total abstainers.

vehement cheers with which this an- nouncement was received was eloquent testi- mony to what was expected of a Parliamentary candidate, and no doubt still is. Sometimes, probably, such an obligation has its embarr- assments, only it never does to confess it. I remember, in the days of our party-warfare, just before the war, great capital was made by Liberal orators of a story which got abroad that a letter had been found written by a rather superior Primrose Dame, in which she described the fun of electioneering among the miners in an industrial constitu- ency, but alas! was rash enough to have add- ed—" only the worst of it is the wretched creatures will insist on shaking hands!" Let any of my readers who aspire to Parlia- mentary honours remember this: that no man can hope to gain distinction in politics unless he is a good hand-shaker. I know. a Welsh Member who once lost his seat because people said he shook hands like a cod-fish." The snan who cannot shake hands as if he reallv I meant it, had better seek his triumphs in a less exacting field. A PHILOSOPHER ON THE PROWL.