reinspired by a ray of wisdom from above, and which is meant to commer.orate the exertions of the metropolitan and provincial associations for preserving the ancient lore of the Cymry. The motto, underneath the figure, is "Cared Doeth yr Encilion," i, e. Let the wise cherish things passing into oblivion. The space of the exergue is left for the names of those individuals, to whom medals shall, from time to time, be awarded. The inscriptions are to be in the old Bardic characters, as harmonizing more happily with the figures than those of the Roman alphabet.

CAMBRIAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY.-On the 21st of December a meeting of Baptist Ministers, and others of the same religious persuasion, took place at Newport, in the county of Monmouth, to consider the propriety of forming a Missionary Institution for the purpose of propagating the Gospel amongst the descendants of the Welsh settled in Brittany. And at another meeting, held by adjournment at the same place on the 18th of January last, at which J. Jenkins, Esq., of CaerJeon, presided, several Resolutions, tending to the attainment of this desirable object, were adopted, and of which the following will sufficiently explain the motives and aim of the Society.

1. That it appears eligible to this meeting, that an effort be made to introduce the Gospel into Brittany, in France, where the inhabitants are enveloped in gross darkness.-Brittany is computed at about 150 miles in length and about 112 in breadth; and the number of inhabitants, who are the descendants of the Ancient Britons or Welsh, is calculated at least to be about five hundred thousand.

2. That a Society be now formed for this purpose, and desig

nated the CAMBRIAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

3. That the Baptist Churches in Wales be respectfully apprised of the formation and design of the Society, and that their co-operation be requested to further its intentions.

To this it may be added, that a subscription of half a guinea or. more constitutes a member of the Society, and one of five guineas or more a member for life. A Committee, consisting of about fifty members, is appointed to conduct the business of the Society, and there is every reason to anticipate, that this laudable and Christian enterprise will be attended with the desired success.

BARDIC CONGRESS AT KERRY.-An occasion occurred in the last Number for taking an incidental notice of this meeting,

which took place on the 8th of January, and continued until the 12th inclusive. It was, as before stated, at the hospitable abode of Mr. Jenkins, Rector of Kerry, that the social Congress was held; and the object of the liberal host, in convening his bardic friends on this occasion, seems to have been both to encourage the inspirations of the awen, and to promote the publication of a few useful works connected with our national literature. One of them is the Celtic Remains, already noticed in the CAMBRO-BRITON*, and brief notices of two others will be found in a subsequent page : in the mean time it may be interesting to the Welsh reader to dwell, for a moment, on this patriotic revival of the arferion yr hen oesoedd.

The party, which met at Kerry on this occasion, comprised, besides the worthy host, the Rev. Walter Davies, Rev. W. J. Rees, Rev. D. Richards, Rev. T. Richards, Mr. Robert Davies, (Robert Nantglyn,) Mr. John Howells, (Ioan ab Hywel,) Mr. Aneurin Owen, and Mr. Taliesin Williams, the two latter being the sons of those distinguished veterans in the ranks of Welsh literati, Mr. Owen Pughe, and Mr. Edward Williams, the Bard of Glamorgan. Some of the individuals, here named, are well known as successful votaries of the Welsh muse; and all are more or less connected with the cause of our national lore. Their present assemblage, therefore, must naturally have been characterized by that congenial" flow of soul," which, in former times, was wont to distinguish the more numerous, but not more zealous, Congresses of Rhaglan, of Bewpyr, and of Maesaleg, while it afforded a proof, that, in Wales at least, neither changes of times nor of customs prevent those, who are

"Smit with the sacred love of song,"

from uniting in that brotherly league, which, in promoting the amicable contests of the Muse, gives to genius at once its most powerful impulse and its happiest zest.

The effusions of the awen at this meeting redound, in no small degree, to the credit of their respective authors; but, as they are merely of a local or personal character, they do not appear to be precisely calculated for publication. And, indeed, if any wish on this subject had been indulged, its gratification would have been restrained out of respect to the delicate reluctance, felt by Mr. Jenkins, to obtrude on the public those testimonies to his patriotic worth, which, however well earned, had their birth in the un

* See No. 16. p. 191, and No. 17. p. 239.

reserved hours of social intercourse. The general notice, here taken of the Congress at Kerry, appeared to be due to the interesting occasion; to have proceeded into the details might have been displeasing to the feelings of a gentleman, of whom it may truly be said, with reference to his exertions for the benefit of his native country, that he is one of those, who

"Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame."

NEW SHERIFFS.-The following is the list for the thirteen Welsh counties for the present year.

Anglesey J. Webster, Esq. Deri.

....

Brecon .. E. Jones, Esq. Battle-End.
Cardigan.... J. V. Lloyd, Esq. Briring.
Carmarthen.. W. R. H. Powell, Esq. Maesgwyn.
Carnarvon .. J. Huddart, Esq. Brynker.

Glamorgan

W. Forman, Esq. Penydaran.
Merioneth.... J. Mytton, Esq. Plas-y-ddinas,

Monmouth C. Morgan, Esq. Tredegar.

Montgomery.. V. Vickers, Esq. Criggion.
Pembroke.... J. Harris, Esq. Llanunwn.
R. Peel, Esq. Cwmelan.

Radnor

......

LITERATURE.

CYFRINACH Y BEIRDD.-The project of publishing the MS. under this title, which was noticed in the last Number, originated, as there mentioned, at the Bardic Meeting at Kerry: and the Editor has since been favoured with a more particular account of the MS. in question, of which the following is a literal transcript.

"Cyfrinach y Beirdd,' which it is proposed to publish, is a Welsh treatise found in MS. by Mr. Edward Williams of Flimston, Glamorganshire, (Iolo Morganwg), and supposed to be, at the time, the only one of the kind existing*. It contains the canons of Welsh poetry and criticism, according to the Institutes of the Chair of Glamorgan, collected by Llewelyn Sion, of Llangewydd, in the year 1560, from the works of Meurig Davydd,

* If this supposition had reference only to the Bardic Institutes of Glamorgan, it may have been correct; but a MS. under the same title, as stated in the last Number, exists in the Hengwrt library, which, however, may relate more immediately to the canons of poetry observed in North Wales.-ED.

Lewis Morganwg, and other more ancient writers. The same treatise was afterwards enlarged by Edward Davydd, of Margam, and confirmed at a Gorsedd, held at Bewpyr, under the patronage of Sir Richard Bassett, in the year 1681. The style and language of Cyfrinach y Beirdd' are lucid and elegant; and it displays a critical acumen highly creditable to the bards."

·

Should this publication take place, it is also in contemplation, as the admirers of Welsh poetry will rejoice to hear, that it shall be accompanied by the Rev. Walter Davies's English "Essay on the distinct characters and comparative advantages of the Bardic Institutions of Carmarthen and Glamorgan," which gained one of the prizes at the Carmarthen Eisteddfod the year before last, and which, by illustrating the subject of the MS., will necessarily add considerably to its value.

REMAINS OF THE BARDS OF DYVED.-Another of the literary fruits of the Congress at Kerry is a proposal, by Mr. John Howells, to publish the Remains of the Bards of Dyved, including the Welsh productions of the Rev. Evan Evans, known to the readers of Welsh poetry by the name of Prydydd Hir. The work will be published by subscription, ar! Mr. Howells intends to have it ready by the next Eisteddfod at Carmarthen, though it is to be hoped, that, with prompt and adequate encouragement, it might be brought forth much earlier. For, provided there is to be an Eisteddfod in Gwent, more than two years would elapse before another takes place at Carmarthen.

EINIOES DYN.-The Welsh version of the "Economy of Human Life,' of which the project was noticed in No. 17 of the CAMBRO-BRITON, has just appeared under the preceding title; and it, in every way, justifies the commendatory terms, in which it was anticipated on the occasion alluded to. The following extract contains the translation of the first two chapters.

YSTYRIAETH.

Myvyria ynnot dy hun, O ddyn! ac ystyria pa y dyben y gwnelwyd dydi.

Synia dy alluoedd, dy anghenion, a dy berthynasau; yna y dirnadi ddyledswyddau buchedd, ac hyforddir di yn dy holl helyntiau. Na ddôs i lavaru neu i wneuthur cyn y pwysych dy eiriau, ac yr holych dueddiad bob cam à gymmerych di; yna y cilia gwarth oddiwrthyt, a bydd cywilydd yn ddyeithrad yn dy annedd: nis govwya ediveirwch di, nac ar dy rudd yr arosa cystudd.

Dyn anystyriawl ni frwyna ei davawd; eve á lavara yn anturiawl, ac yn folineb ei eiriau ei hun dyrysedig yw.

Mal yr hwn à rêd ar vrys, ac à neidia tros gae á gwympo i bwll ar y tu arall, nad yw yn ei weled; velly yw y dyn à ymvwrio yn ddisymmwth i weithred bynag, cyn y synio eve ei chanlyniadau.

Am hyny gwrandawa ar lais ystyriaeth; ei geiriau sydd eiriau doethineb, ac arweiniant ei llwybrau dydi i wirionedd a diogelwch.

GWYLDER.

Pwy wyt ti, O ddyn yr hwn à hyderi ar dy ddoethineb dy hun? Neu, paham yr ymfrosti yn dy haeddiannau dy hun? Y cam cyntav tua bod yn ddoeth yw gwybod mai anwybodus ydwyt; ac, os na vyni dy gyvriv yn ddissynwyr yn nhyb ereill, llysa yr ynvydrwydd o vod doeth yn dy olwg dy hun.

Mal yr hardda gwisg ddiaddurn wraig brydverth yn oreu, velly ymddygiad gweddus yw pènav tegwch doethineb.

Ymadrawdd dyn gwyl á rodda oleuder i wirionedd, a gwarineb ei eiriau à wareda ei gyveiliorn.

Ni hydera eve ar ei ddoethineb ei hun; eve á bwysa gynghorion câr, a derbynia y lles oddiwrthynt.

Eve á dröa ei glust oddiwrth ei vawl ei hun, ac nis coelia; eve yw olay yn gweled ei gywirdeb ei hun.

Etto, mal llengel chwanegiad yw i degwch, velly ei rinweddau ynt addurnedig trwy y cysgawd à vwria ei wylder arnynt.

Ond, gwela y dyn frostiawl, a sylla y dyn rhyvygus; eve á ymwisga mewn dillad gwychion, eve á rodia yn yr heolydd, eve á amdremia a cheisia sylw.

Eve á ardderchava ei ben a dirmyga y tlodion: ymddyga eve yn drawsvalch tuagat ei isaviaid, ac ei oreuon yn dal iddo á edrychant gan watwar ar ei valchder a folineb.

Tremyga eve varn ereill, hydera eve ar ei ddeall ei hun, ac yw dyrysedig.

Eve á ymchwydda gan wagedd ei dyb ei hun; ymhyvryda eve o glywed ac o siared amdano ei hun ar hyd y dydd.

Gwancia eve ei vawl ei hun, ac yn daliad y gwenieithwr sydd yn ei lwyr ddiva.

HISTORY OF NORTH WALES, by W. CATHRALL.-Part IV of this work, embellished with a well executed engraving of Pont Cyssylltau, has just been published, and embraces, like those that have preceded it, a judicious and interesting compilation of the historical events of Wales. The "Review of the History of Wales," Mr. Cathrall anticipates, will be concluded in the two succeeding Parts; and the remainder of the work will be occupied with a variety of notices respecting the antiquities, manners, customs, literature, natural history, agriculture, and other features of North Wales, arranged according to the respective counties, with notes historical and explanatory.