The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-02-27
DEATH OF THE
GREAT GWALCHMAI
The Eisteddiod is Deprived Of its Most
Historic Character.
ATTAINED THE AGE OF NINETY.FOUR
Madame Edith Wynne and Madame
Dolby in the Long, Long Ago--An
Eminent Young Welsh Composer
Dies at Swansea-Othcr Important
Notes.

The death Of the venerable bard,
preacher and writer, Gwalchmai, other
wise the Rev. Il. Parry, Of Llandudno,
deprives the eisteddfod of it's hoariest
and most historic figure, the Welsh
Congregational body of it's senior min
ister, and Wales of its oldest and most
reVered bard. Born SO far back as
1904, the old gentleman had attained
the patriarchal age of 9l-only six years
short of a century-and the news of
his deccase will be received with very
great regret by the many thousands of
his admirers spread throughout the
length and breadth of Wales. At the
National eisteddfodau GWalchmal was
for very many years a prominent and
active official, and at the Gorsedd-
where Clwydfardd (the late Archdruid).
iwfa Mon, and himself impersonated
the three primitive bards. Plenydd, AL
avn and GwrOn-hs appearance was
Invariably one of the sights OF the
ceremony, his breast being literally
covered with glittering silver medals,
many of them of enormous size, the
trophies of his eisteddlodic victories.
At the national festival at Llandudno,
in July last, Gwalchmai missed scarce
ly single meeting. With one hanH
leaning on a stout stick. and the other
linked in the arm of his daughter
whose death we recorded q few months
ago-the old man was one of the first
arrivals each morning at the eisteddfod
on that occasion, and his hale and
hearty appearance seemed then to JUS
tify the hope that he would outlive the
present century. Gwalchmai may be
regarded as the last of the Welsh
bards who flourshed in the sos and
40's and helped to restore the eisteddfod
to its pristine glory. He was likewise
the sole survivor of the bardic assem-
bly, which in 1889, at the Beaumaris
eisteddfod. in the presence of her Mai
esty the Queen (then Princess Vitto-
ria), took part in the ceremony of
"chairing" the successful bard, the late
"Caledfryn." A typical Welshman,
Gwalchmai traced his descent from
Gweirydd ap Rhys Goch. one of the
founders of Pymtheg Llwyth Gwynedd
-15 tribes of North Wales). In his youth
he received a superior education, and in
1922 was ordained the minister of the
Welsh Congregational churches at
Renryd and Conway In subsequent
years he ministered at Llandoverv and
'estiniog, but eventually returned to
Ilandudno, where the best part of
his life had been spent. He was
a prolific writer and for many years en-
riched the magazines of Wales with his
literary productions. Among his pub
lished works are History of Liam
dudno" Gn English), which is the source
whence all the writer's of the guides tC
that popular resort draw their inspira-
tion "Hanes yr Eisteddfod," "Johr
Elias" "Enwogion Mon" "Lleoedd {
Ddyddordeb Hanesydol yn Nghymru,'
"Ymneillduaeth yn Mon" and Bard
doniaeth." He contributed 995 articles
to OeWn Jones Cymru C'Wales'D com
| piled the best part of a Welsh diction-
ary wrote pamphlets on Education in
| Wales" described Welsh religion in a
| series of articles to the Evangelical