The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-07-29


taelSalem sicr e soiliau,
one of the adjudicators remarking that
his powers of description were mos,
admirable, ana that Hiram hmseli
could scarcely have described the orn--
mental architecture of the Temple with
greater precision.
'Hcrdd golcfnau, e!liadau goudog
Canpwyth cyWrelniawl, cnapwaith coro-
nog," etc.
Having followed his subject until he
found 1.-THE city of the great King" re-
duced to a heap of rubbish without a
living inhabtant, he concludes his ode
as abruptly as he begins, which abrupt
ness is not considered a defect, but
rather an excellence, for was the sub
ject not the Destruction of Jerusalem,
and nothing more?
Ar lie CLAN, wedi'r holl glod,
Llenwir q ddylluanod;
Pob bwystfil yma gilia.
Iiofli yn hon eli ffau VIVA;
Diau ;,f linau or fan
Mae'n well ninan allan;
\ gado'r fan rwygedig,
Ddi-drefn rr sawl yaddi Orig.
In the days in which the old Gwyn-
eddigion society was leading Welsh
thought, candidates for prizes given by
this good and patriotic society conf
posed in the twenty-four metres, termed
of Carmarthen, the metres framed by
Dafydd alb Edmund, a gentleman of
property from North Wales. and one
of the chief bards of his age, who hav-
ing attended the Cannarthen eisteddfod
in 1A51. gained the silver chair, and
was subsequently called the silver-ton-
gued bard. In the "Greal." in 1905,
Nos. /. ., 3, is published an account of
this notable eisteddfod. and it Is re-
corded in his new system several new
metres of his own invention, and
though he was not opposed at the said
eisteddfod the bards of Gwent and
Morgangw objected soon after to the
substitution of his new inventions in
lieu of some very ancient metres which
he had omitted and convened another
eisteddfod within their own district,
giving the customary notice of a year
and day, for the purpose of protest
ing against the new system, asserting
that they had a code of "a metres which
The protest does not seem to have any
effect outside their own province, and
the bards of North Wales have adj
hered most rigidly to the Caermarthcn
metres from that day till very lately
so late indeed as the POntypridd els
teddfod held in 1893. when one Of the
adjudicators, n North Walian, insisted
in giving the prize to the only bard
who had composed on the "A metres,
but the other adiudicators Were against
him, since they considered another
poem which had been sent in to the
competition of a higher merit There
fore, of later years the best compost
ton of candidates for the chair prize
are generally upon a few selected mo-
ters, and this is quite in order since
the Caermarthen cisteddfOd of 1879,
whore at Gorsedd meeting at this
eisteddfod. which is called GOrsedd
Dyfed. among other things it was unan-
imously agreed that from that time
henceforth the bards of the Isle of Brit
ain We're at liberty to choose the metres
considered most suitable by them for
their subjects. The resolution is as i.o-
lows: BOD q hyn allan ryddid i feirdd
Ynys Prydain gyfarsoddi eu canadian
ar mesurau mwyaf teilwng a chyf-
addas idd Ell testynau: ac ma byddo
rhaEllaw wahaniaeth o barth teilynG-
david ei rodd i fesurau VI un dosarth.
mar hen mar ncwydd. ragor. neu uwch
eu gilydd ond bod urddiant cerdd ncu
awdl gael ci farnu with gymmhwyll-
adau synwyr phwyll. q chynghancdd,
rywiawg a diledryw yn hytrach nae
with amrywiaeth mesurau.'
The chief bards present at the Cor
sedd meeting when the above resolu-
ton was passed We're Ioln MOrganNS,
Daniel Ddu, Devil Silin, Cavalier Mecu-
ain. Robert Nantglyn, Hywel Glandwr.
Gwilym Morganwg.
It was common saying among the
bards that Die Sion Dafydd was taken
very i'll at this eisteddfod and after
pining for four years, died at an cis-
teddfor held in the same town in 1925.
At the Powys eisteddfod in the year
1924. a nri2e was offered for the best
epitaph to put on his grave. and about
fifty were sent in specimen of which
are the following:
Rhof | Waia oTfoledd-Dic Sion sails,
\ gafas I geufedd
Duocr-iIa! ha! or diwcil,
Dyma ii ar dom ii fedI.
Dygodd darfolcdigacth,-y Caegyn,
Cegoa farwolacth:
Trwy ing ci uych. trergu wnaesh,
Am regu Gymreigiae.h.
During the last few years the ma
tional eisteddfod Of Wales is coming
more in favor with our cousins across
the border. They seem to enjoy our
singing. and there seems a desire to un-
derstand what the Welsh "Awen" has
to say. There has been some COM
plants made lately that the works of
our best poets have not been translat-
ed for the benefit of our English read
ers. To make up for this deficiency the
column Of "Welsh Tid-Bits" may be
of some service. and we propose to give
now and again specimens of Welsh
poetry in English dress. We commence
with the eminent Clan Geironydd's
the following is only liberal transla-
ton of the englynion, which gained a
prize at the Powys eisteddfod. 1924:
TO THE RIVER SEVERN.
Onward pellucid stream, through towns
and fertile plains thou fowest, thou
dearest riches to our country.
smooth-g gliding in meandering course.
To her. renowned In rank, Sabrina fair,
thou ow'st thy name .. how with