The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-04-03 00:00:00

CORRESPONDENCE.

A MONUMENT TO THE MEMORY OF MR. LE
GONIDEE, THE TRANSLATOR OF THE BIBLE
INTO THE BRETON LANGUAGE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SIR, —A few weeks ago I saw in your paper a short
notico on the late Mr. Le Gonidee, with verses taken from
the New Testament, in Welsh and Breton, to shew the
similarity still existing between these two ancient lan-
guages. As you inserted that article, whose author I
have not the pleasure of knowing, I take the liberty of
asking a corner in your valuable paper for the following
lines, respecting a monument to the memory of this dis-
tinguished Breton, for which favour I shall feel much
obliged.

Mr. Le Gonidee waq horn at Conquet, near Brest, in
1775. He was brought up for the priesthood, and nar-
rowly escaped the awful fate of many of the Catholic
clergy in the old revolution. It appears he never entered
the priesthood, but obtained a situation under Govern-
ment. Though he had the duties of his office to attend
to, and though he spent great part of his life out of his
beloved Armorie, he devoted much time to the cultiva-
tion of his native language, and wrote and published an
excellent Breton Grammar, and a Breton and French
Dictionary, in which he introdw:ed a new system of
orthography, and made the praiseworthy attempt of
writing this language in its purity. This gained him pa-
triotic friends, and he took advantage of the opportunity
to form what may be called the modern Breton school, in
which Monsieur Le Comte de la Villemarque now appears
foremost, and it is but just to state that this gentleman,
and a few others, have laboured with zeal, and have
already done great things.

For many tears the attention of Wales had been at-
tracted to the state of Lower Brittany, and many felt a
strong desire to ameliorate the moral and religious con-
dition of its inhabitants, who, though a million in num-
ber, did not possess a translation of the Old, nor of the
New Testament in their language. Ministers and others
in the Principality laid their case before the British and
Foreign Bible Society, and obtained in their favour all
they could wish from that excellent institution. By
means of the praiseworthy efforts of the Rev. D. Jones,
Swansea, and the Rev. T. Price, Cwmdu, Mr. Le Gonidee
was found, and he undertook the translation of the New
Testament, and afterwards that of the Old Testament,
from the Vulgate into Breton, for the Bible Society.
This great work he accomplished with much credit to him-
self. The Breton New Testament was printed in 1827 at
Angoureme, where the translator was at the time. The
Old Testament has not yet appeared through the press.
Such are the principal literary labours of Le Gonidee.
Besides these, he translated into Breton Fleury's Histori-
cal Catechism, and the book called Imitation of Jesus
Christ.

It is an interesting fact, that the Antiquarian Society
of France made a present of Le Ganidee's Grammar and
Dictionary to the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia,
by ‘chich means Elihu Burritt became acquainted with
them, and thus acquired so much knowledge of Breton as
to enable him to write a letter in this language to the An-
tiquarian Society of France, which is kept in its archives,
with a French translation made by the present Bishop of
Qui m per.
Mr.'Le Gonidee died in Paris in 1838. His friends re-
solved to make a small monument to him. This monu-
ment was got up rather hastily. In October, 1845. the
body of Le Gonidee was brought from Paris, and interred
at L' lirist C

,emetery, anquet .ais native place, with
much ceremony and honour. On the occasion the com-
mittee invited Sir A. Perrier, the highly-esteemed British

a patriotic sr
inhabitants.

ech, which expressed well the feelings of its
But the monument was found to he incom-

Britons of Wales to contribute to make up what was defi-
cient, and to put a Wel,h inscription on the monument,
as a lasting testimony of their respect for Le Gonidee.

An appeal was accordingly made to the inhabitants of

recommended the appeal to his countrymen, and the
Abergavenny Cymreigysion Soceity, Lady flail, and T.
Wakeman, Esq., offered a prize of ten guineas for the
best Welsh stanza to be put on the monument. This
prize was awarded to the successful compositor at the
Abergavenny Eisteddfod in October last. lam happy to
state that the improved plan of the monument is now
ready, having received the approbation of the committee,
and nothing more is necessary but the sum required to
execute the work, which we trust will soon be brought
together by the liberality of those who value the talent
and great labours of Le Gonidee in favour of his country-
men.

Sir Anthony Perrier haQ kindly consented to be trea-
surer, to receive the subscriptions from Wales, and to see
to the proper application of the funds entrusted to his
care, an account of which will be published when the
whole shall be terminated.

I have just received letters relative to this business,
from Sir A. Perrier, and the President of the Monument
Committee, M. A. Bouet, with a plan of the monument.

Sir A. Perrier says in his letter

" I inclose Mons. Poelien's diagram of the monument. The
part in black ink is the monument now erected; the red-ink
tracing represents the projected pediment. The whole to be of
solid black granite (Kersanton). The inscription in Welsh
verse, selected in Wales, to be placed on the part resembling