The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-09-28

The well-known words Of Matthew Ar
mold respecting the eisteddfOd and its
of speech. He said: IAN eisteddfod IS,
no doubt, a kind of olympic meeting;
and that the common people OF wales
should care for such a thing shows some
thing Greek in them. something spiritual,
something humane; something-l am
afraid one must add-which in the com.
mon English people IS not to be found
Wales 3 frequeltly mode the butt of her
neighbors caust.c criticism 1or may
faults which she unfortunately possesses.
but in spite of many national deficiencies
and racial shortcomings. she can always
make the proud boast that in her re-
creations she is equal. II not superior, to
the most cultured nation on the race or
the earth. 1t 8 wonderful tribute to the
character of the national institution that
by its own inherent attract.veness It
should induce pilgrims to come from all
parts Of the globe to pay tribute, and any
one who visits the national institution
could not but regard as an inspiring spec
tacle. full of hope for the future, the s.ght
of SO many sons and daughters OF Wales
taking deep and intelligent interest IN
purely mental exercises. Such distin-
gu.shod Wis tors as Prince Henry Of Bat
tenburg VISITED the e.steddfod at Swan
sea. Madame Patti at Brecon, Mr.. Glad
stone at WreXham, the queen Of Rou-
mania DIETER known and better loved as
Carmen SYLVIA at Bangor the lord mayor
of London at Rhyl. and the Prince OF
Wales at Carnarvon.
The e!steddfod, even in Wales, Is
word very much misunderstood and
abused in these days. A musical festival
Is not an e.steddfod, neither = an els
teG3fod MUSICAL festival. yet m the
Welsh settlement OF the United States the
word e.stsidfod in connection with mus
cal competitions Is invariably abused. The
e.steddfod means a gathering or Welsh
bards, a congress of Eterateurs and min
strels. IT antedate's all inst tut,ons OF
"a rt, N ~ knoun IN the civilized world. and
It's meetings have been annual In Gwalia
from very early date. We have au-
thent.c records Of the proceedings Of its
annual gatherings for many centuries.
the national institution Of the children Of
Conner since the fifth century, II not
earlier. Its gatherings have always been
large and exceedingly enthusiastic, and
the attendance at the recent national els
teddfod was enormous. Just think of an
audience Of 10000 people singing one OF
the inspiring Welsh hymns! The effect
is thrilling. Such are.the audiences that
assemble at a Welsh national eisteddfod.
The titled nobility are its patrons. and
men who have reached the highest trend
In the ladder of fame participate in its
diverse exercises. Bishops and other
church dignitar.es contribute to its well
fare; judges and barr.sters, d.v!nes and
college bred men in every walk OF Efe,
ministers Of the many religious denomina-
tons. have been chron.cled in the records
literateur and linguist, the late Prince
LOUIS Luc.en Bonaparte. was among the
many renowned competitors at the Aber-
gavenny e.steddfOdau In the early fift.es.
He was one of the most scholarly men Of
THE age. and a profound thinker. Among
his competitors were men Of the highest
accomplishments in learning and litera-
ture They were Oxford and Cambridge
sity men, and a. few from the great uni
versit!es Of Germany. The adjud.cators,
upon all occasions, are men foremost in
learning and masters m the analytical art.
tween giant minds gave to Wales its
greatest antiquarian and historian. the
late Thomas stephens. of Merthyr. the
immortal author Of ''The Literature of
the Kymrie." the most valuable, work
found in the public and private libraries
of Wales. The great historian and an
t.quar,an was born of humble parents in
one of the most secluded hamlets of
BrecOnsh:re, South Wales. HIS early edu-
cational advantages were meagre. but his
innate love for knowledge and his stu
d.ous habits. his great natural abilities
and close Application to books, his unfag-
g.ng perseverance and strong Will power.
conquered all barriers. and early In lfe.
yea, long before he had reached the
spring OF manhood, we find him striding
gallantly along the charming avenues. Of
literature with young literary asp.rants
of far greater opportunities. Ere nc
had yet left behind him the spring days
of manhood we find him leading a process
sion Of the grandest array Of literary as
pirants that ever competed for literary
glory at any Institution Of learning. Like
the immortal Dickens. long before he had
reached the zenith OF his literary glory,
the foremost Welsh l!terateurs paid him
homage. and ere he was 30 years Of age
he was the lion of the national e,steddfoi
of Wales. He had already vanqu.shed
the foremost writer's OF his age IN literary
contests. and his Literature Of the
Kymrie" "a prize essay at Abergavenny
eisteddfoD IL an everlasting monument to
his genius and literary accomplishments.
We all know Tom Stephens. Of Merthyr.
HIS preparatory school was an illy-ven-
t.iated alcove behrd the prcscr p, On desk
of a country drug store, and his alma
mater, the e;steddfod, our national IN
st,tutiOn of learning.
The e,steddfod II rot saengerfcst,
but It encourages vocal.sts and musical
competitions.
The Welsh national e.stedjfoJ stands on
its merits as a cultured and highly in
struct.ve institution OF learning n Etera-
ture and poetry. first. and music after
ward. The dom 'nant feature OF the c.s-
teddfod must. forever. be literature and
the arts and so't,ces Hv1la Park = the
only place IN the United States that ever
held an eisteddfod. IN fact, on n large
scale. Utica holds an e'steddfod on n
smaller scale annually. and It's programme
is always a credit to the people Of Oneida
county. To ,caM LEGAL comDett tive meet
,ngs and MUSICAL festivals by such a
nj me is q scandal and gross libel on the
great name Of the e'steddfod, The e's-
teddfod IL not a speculative article. and 4
rs to be hoped thPt managers OF mua'cal
festivals and local competitive meetings
VIII hereafter call them by their proper
names.
The r7'mor Is incorrect that the bishops
Of st. Dav'ds and Llan1af Will resign
They arf, two Of the most eloquent d.
v'r,ss of the state church Of Great Brit
a'n. They are advanced theo.og.ans. rad
.cal IN some respec.s. and very pro-
nounccd IN their opinions.
Among the manuscripts OF Oxford un.-
vers.ty, Charles Aston, the great Welsh
essavst, discovered n copy OF a Greek dc
tionsry and q copy OF the New Testament
in Welsh, the work Of a learned Welsh
Clergyman in the fourteenth century. He
also discovered a Greek and Welsh die
t,onary by the same author. This ID the
only copy Of 0rech and Welsh dictionary
ever published. Mr.. Aston ID very happy
over his discovery