The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-11-14
BARDDONIAETH
YR EISTEDDFOD
A New Critic Scores Pedrog aad LEV
Llwyf0.

A New Critic scores Peof0g aod LEV
Llwyf0.
MISS GERTRUDE LEWlS'S SAD DEATH
The Prominent SOngstress Dies In
the PoOrhouse from the Effects Of
strong gStimuiants..The New Welsh
Church at London..The Working.
ton EisteddfOd.
In speaking OF the chair and crown
poetry Of the Llanelly eisteddfod Of
1895 one who signs himself "A New
Critic" speaks of the principal efforts
in rather q disparaging tone. The
chair was won, it will be remembered,
by PedrOg, nonconfOrmist minister
who was visiting this country at the
time. Twenty-siX bards tried for the
prize. The subject was Happiness.
and the adjudicators were Watcyn
Wyn, Ceulanydd. and Berw, who speak
in the highest terms of eulogy Of the
successful ode. Pedrog has been half
smothered with praise ever since. Let
us see what his poem Is like. As 1t Is
written in the allterative metres. a
literal translation is extremely diff
cult. ! will do the best l can.
The poem opens with these lines:
Happiness, l ask a proper passport
to its poetical Kingdom, Il proof-order
that the purest Muse bestows her smile
on her servant.
IAN exquisite subject, and the aim
of the world! Shall l sail its sweet
mysticism? The appropriate state Of
Happiness! A pure life. all song.
''Of all the expensive wealth We see,
1t does not matter what we POSSESS in
the world; If anyone's soul is without
this. there are the flames of hell"
l pass on to the opening lines of the
fourth section of the poem:
"Along the weird lands of his ancient
Garden was the ruler, with happy
countenance: but black Enemy. taken
at his word, stabbed treachery through
the blessed neighborhood; and Happi-
ness was then seen, with his Father
leaving man! Miserable. he wandered
about the guilty land of deterioration;
and lie bent in every place, in bleak
night, lower down; lie bent. foolish,
immortal being. to filthiest ina ses
inferior to his divine origin We're his
innumerable other gods; and the song
of souls happiness he finds not in the
thickness Of dust and mud, nor any
where. until he praises God, who brings
heaven back to him."
There are about six hundred lines of
this sort of stuff. l infiict no further
quotations on the reader. OF the plan
Of the poem it Is not easy to say any
thing. There isn't much of 1t, as far
as / can see. There is nothing coarse.
or stupid, or vulgar In the poem, and
very little poetry. This was the best
25 have been, wonder? But let that
pass. "Llew Llwyfo" was the winner
Of the crown. Under the adjudication
| of "Dyfed." "Cadfan." and Haven "
| he vanquished fourteen competitors.
His poem was declared to be the best
that has been crowned for many years.
| 1t was an ornament to the Eisteddfod,
and so forth. The subject was John,
| the Beloved Disciple" and the opening
| lines are as follows:
John! On naming him my imagina-
ton saw myriads of diverse scenes
crowding his ways. and still greater
diversity of the peculiar characteris-
| tics Of one who enjnJed the depth OF
the Son of Mans special affection.
| THE Beloved Disciple! I would he
were, If God wills 1t, the subject OF
| song. and It's aim to add a chord
though feeble and humble-that would
sound sweet In the great chorus Of the
| feast that still remaineth'-that faith
sees near blythe great feast Of end
| less creations restoration-and my
chord, In the universal hymn of praise
sweet through the whole harmony II
the choirs of heaven CD And I would
that my humble song conveyed some
lesson-some old, pure truth-.and call
ed to mind. again and yet again, the
special lesson. according to the divine
Order-the chief lesson of the mark OF
love placed on the most beloved disci-
pie that ever was-the lesson that was
and Will continue through the ages ever
to be-mystery of all mysteries: Love
Of God to Man"
The poet falls into a kind of day
dream, and mystic Guide appears
unto him. The Guide shows him q mum.
Der of scenes. A rather tiresome fel.
low. this Guide-"My Mystic Guide
as the bard calls him-always making
long Speeches The plan of the poem
may be gathered from the headings tC
the various sections:
Preliminary, The Fraternity of Beth.
saida. and the House Of Zezedee, From
the Baptism Of Christ to the Night Of
His Black Betrayal, The Passion. the
Garden, and the Mountain. The Doc.
| trine of Christ's Resurrection ant
Apostolic Labor, "A Period of Genera.
! ton: Persecution, Exile and its t'ru.ts :
The poem Is thus sort of metrica
sketch Of Scripture history. beginning
with John the Baptist and ending witt
the death of the Beloved Disciple The
glimpses we get of John himself arr
few. brief and nebulous. Out of abou
1000 lines only twenty are devoted tC
Johns exile in Patmos. What a gold
| en- opportunity the poet lost there! No
| word about the visions seen by Johr
as recorded in the Book of Revelation
There are several grotesque passage.
in the poem. and incidents which ar,
neither historical nor edifvicg Some O.
the conferences" SAVIOR of the pot.
house. Johns cruel rebuke to Mar,
Magdalene is certainly not in keeping
| with his amiable character, though
Mary's behaviour deserved castigation
| One other quotation taken at random
from the poem:
Yes. Johns voice has the same key
feature. tone, or characteristic, wher
| replying to some insult as when ex
planning something that gives pleasure
except when the lack of merit is sug
gested of the Gospel of Christ to brin,
happiness to the world. and that 1t doe.
not touch the aristocracy of man: ther
an inspired tone pierces through all h,
says. as now. when he answers an at
| tempt made by the Fmrcror to sneer =
| the 'lowly state of his Savior. ant
the 'unphilosophical simplicity Of IN,
| religion of Christ: this alone explain,
| his temper, and rouses him to reply
These are samples of the best poetr,
turned out by the National eisteddfo1
OF 1898. Is the game worth the candle