| Show GALLANT LITTLE WALES london bews yews the nearest nearer neighbors of wales have sometimes done the country a great creat injustice welsh welch is IH only a very slight alight alteration in the familiar teutonic word fr fir strangers of all kind it makes no pretense to describe dee cribe any particular tribe race or it is like the greek phrase which classified all men not pure greeks as barbarians it is a little le les 8 offensive wan than the chinese of If f devils devila still the name has bas adhered aud and the blight slighter tor or insult of it has long been forgotten furg otien the fineu of walea know that aney tire kimry und and do not to being bein called welsh the men of wales have a picturesque cou coultry a brilliant and romantic ai story torY a thrilling national muaia bud aud all ail but ouch tot iut ng national literature of song ana epic bud and iv it wad tend anere are still some read ers to be found tor fur that will and wonderful book three parts part genius sane bane and sound and one part as lowell said of etgar poe sheer fudge george borrow is lavengco Lav engro those who know the book will remember how bow the hero tells us of the curule which came over him when he learned to read the welsh poets in their native the great classics of greece and rome even the yet more adored daute became of little account to him when once he had come under the spell of the poetry of perhaps IIA D 8 one reason wits wae that the world hud had so 80 long ignored the poetry of wales and so bo it lie existence xie tence aud and its vividness and its ite strength and its ito beauy suddenly flashed on george borrow like a revolution revelation everybody huu bad bidden him to admire homer and sophocles and dante and shake speare jy had bad told him ant ling about the poetry of wales wales la Is in appearance a softened Soot scotland bAnd a itma 1 88 ireland oconnell onnell described ireland in a phrase at once picturesque and accurate acou ou rate as ae the land of 0 the green valley and the rui puishing rubhin fc river 1 l wales too I 1 is a 1 und and of the green valley aul and au l the rushing river tie he who will the poet says bays goethe 11 go 90 about io in the poets laud he who would appreciate welsh poetry must go about in the welsh poet land janu A journey from rum euston to holyhead Holy head in the mail train even if accomplishes accomplished I 1 in the day time and in summer cummer will not n ot be quite enough fur for the purpose A holiday at some fashionable hotel the resort of strangers will not be 1 quite I bite enough for the purpose the music of wales has often been compared with the music 0 ireland and of scotland and yet the music of wales has a character entirely its own one reason given by those wao to kaw iw all about it is vie tie welsh music was composed V t the trilling liag but dell cati cat 3 accompaniment of the harp tue the welsh minstrels remained faithful to the harp in ireland nd in scotland the harp reigned of ourse course but did not reign alone it admitted a divide 1 sway with the pipe the bag piat which the welsh poets and must musi labs ians hold held somewhat i scorn the ballad music of and still more mar kably of Ireland has a way of trying the voice by sending rending it suddenly up great heights this it ban baa been contended by bj many authorities was a consequence of the necessity at some gome important moment or of the music to make the words ring out ab ve the bagpiper bagpipe ls laying aud and very belt seli asserting note at all events it iti ia certain that the welsh musin holds a place not iowa than that owned by the housle of 8 oriand and of ireland and has bae a tone bud aud a touch which are not borrowed from the not s of other song the welsh have made a stout fight for their nationality bud and they have keptot kept it alive toe batt battle leis is ail over now the distinct nationality ot of wales is acknowledged welsh was never inver in ver a dead language there was never auy any part of the brave dittli 3 country where the native tongue was not understood by the people gaelic it at one time abrana wholly in ia the highlands of or perhaps it ought to be m re properly described as having failed to conquer the lowlands the irish language q bite recently seemed to be aadi tadi fading ug out of the south bouth and midlands and ana all but certain regions f the west and what sir bir charles givan duffy call i the gary mountains of dark donegal but the welsh language lati guage can bout boast of what the greelis greeks can bout boast of their tongue it never was a dead language we are cordially glad to know that most earnest and ef il efforts are made in ireland irel an d to revive the study of the irish language and of irish literature |
