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at Jesus long but that conscience will awake out of its deadly slumber. The perfectness of His character will make them ashamed of their vileness. Guilty shame in the presence of Jesus Christ will beget a profound yearning for pardon. Then comes the preach er's golden opportunity to proclaim the Infinite Atonement throug the infinite self-sacrifice of the God-Man. This, brethren, as far as I can judge is the state of things among my countrymen in the Principality. You will see that in this matter also our work in Wales is educational. Because we believe this we are bending all our energies to make our people students of the Bible itself, especially of the New Testament, and in the New Testament of the Gospels above and before all else. In a word, the main object at which we aim is to put every thoughtful religious man among us in secure possession of the true answer to the question, What was Jesus Christ? When this great end has been achieved we shall not be unprepared to face the enemy, any enemy of Christianity that may arise. We shall also be ready to receive the great theological thinker of the future when he comes. For we hope and pray that the Head of the Church may again vouchsafe to bestow upon us in His own good time that most rare and most precious of His gifts, a great theologian, who will (may I hazard the words?) draw from the fountain of truth in the Word of God a theology which shall be more divine than Arminianism, more human than Calvinism, and more Christian than either, because it combines both in the broader and deeper truth concerning the Person of Christ, which underlies both.

THE greatest friend to truth, is time; the greatest enemy, prejudice.

ROWLAND, LLANGEITHO.

BY REV. J. R. KILSBY JONES.

There came providentially to preach in the neighboring parish church of Llanddewibrefi the Rev. Griffith Jones, of Llandowror, in Carmarthenshire. He was a powerful evangelical preacher, and the first systematic teacher that Wales ever had. The village of Llanddewi-brefi is obscure enough at the present time, yet a synod once met there, at which St. David was present; and it was here-in this out of the way spot among the Cardiganshire hills-that a number of bishops of the old British Church met for the purpose of formally and authoritatively, in an ecclesiastical sense, condemning the Pelagian heresy. The Llandelerth Church is large, and at that time capable of holding three thousand people. In the days of early Nonconformity preaching was, comparatively speaking, a novelty, and the fame of the preacher brought together from all the surrounding slopes, glens, and uplands a congregation so large that there was scarcely standing room in the sacred edifice. All the roads, lanes, and paths leading to the village were thronged with horsemen and pedestrians, and the usually quiet, sleepy place looked more like a fair than anything else. Among the crowd who met to hear Mr. Jones was Daniel Rowland, who was probably induced to do so not from sympathy with the clergyman's evangelical views and earnest useful life, but partly out of curiosity and partly from a desire to discover, if possible, the secret of his popularity, so that he, possessing the same gift, might draw as many after him. So full was the church that Rowland had to stand during the whole of the service; and he had taken up his position exactly opposite the preacher

and very near the pulpit. It is not supposed that he was personally known to Mr. Jones, but the expression of his face and general bearing betrayed so much levity, haughtiness, and pride, that the good man was grieved in spirit, and he suddenly paused in the middle of his discourse, and closing his eyes, offered up a special prayer to God on behalf of the young man before him. And no sooner was it offered than it was answered, for at its close, the proud, self-sufficient spirit of Rowland was humbled to the very dust. This remarkable service was held in the month of April, 1737, and the preacher's text was "The man without the wedding garment."

Rowland left Llanddewi Church an altered man; the barbed arrow of conviction had reached his heart. On his way home his depression was such, in consequence of the impression produced by Mr. Jones' discourse, that he was ready to faint, vowing he would never attempt to preach again. The persons in whose company he returned expressed their most unqualified admiration of the service at church, and declaring that they had never before heard such a sermon in their life. Their words were nearly killing Rowland, but one man, who rode next to him, begged leave to differ from those who were loud in their praise of Mr. Jones, stating that he himself had received no benefit from the popular preacher. "Well, well, you may praise Mr. Jones as much as you please, but I have reason to thank God for the little parson of Llangeitho," tapping Rowland gently on the shoulder as he said so. These were words spoken in season, and they helped in a great measure to revive Rowland's fainting spirit, leaving him to say within himself, "Who knows but that the Lord may be

pleased to make use of a poor creature like ne?"

The change wrought in the young man was immediately followed by a corresponding change in his style of preaching and his mode of conducting public worship. His ministrations were pervaded by a tone of unusual earnestness and solemnity. Newly awakened out of deep sleep, and knowing that a majority of his congregation were in a torpor as unfeeling as that from which he himself had just been roused, it was quite natural, and, under the circumstances, equally proper, that "the terrors of the Lord" should at the time form the staple of his ministry. By temperament and conviction he was a Boanerges. Sabbath after Sabbath he continued to ring the alarum-bell of warning with so much violence that the whole neighborhood was wellnigh dead with fear and trembling. To compel the people to flee from Sodom over which the heavens were showering down fire and brimstone, and to wring out of them the cry, "Men and brethren, what must we do to be saved?" was the first grand point at which he strenuously aimed. According to the testimony of contemporaries, the Church on Sundays was no other than Sinai of old, and every service was an awful storm of thunder and lightning. As yet there was no mention of Zoar, and no finger pointed to Sion and the Cross. No one rejoiced more heartily in the changed life of Rowland, and his style of preaching, than his Nonconformist neighbor, the Rev. Philip Pugh. His was a soul above sectarianism, and he cared much more about the interests of Christianity than those of any particular party. He was the owner of a fine, catholic, hospitable heart, in which there was ample room for all who loved the common Lord and Master. He even

urged his own people to go and hear Rowland, and when some of them brought him the report that his views on certain points were crude, if not incorrect, his considerate, generous reply was, "Let him alone. He is but a child as yet; his heavenly Father will teach him better. He is an instrument which God has raised for special purposes, and I believe God endowed him in an eminent degree." These words were speedily verified. It is also said that this excellent man was the means of teaching Rowland "the way of God made perfectly." Learning that the thunders of his preaching had driver the people well nigh mad with terror, he is said to have besought him to preach the gospel to them. "You must," urged the old experienced pastor, "preach Christ and Him crucified to them, or else you will kill them." Rowland saw at once the necessity of doing this, and he immediately set about healing the wounded, calming the terrified, and comforting the sorrowful. The reader must have heard of Welsh revivals or reforms (diwygiadau), as they were called in Wales, and a much more significant word than its English nonequivalent. The first of these, of which we have any account, took place on an ever remembrancable Sunday morning in the Church at Llangeitho, while Rowland read in a tone of unusual and almost unearthly impressiveness those intercessory pleas-"By thine agony and bloody sweat; by thy cross and passion; by thy precious death and burial; by thy glorious resurrection and ascension; and by the coming of the Holy Ghost."

If ever a shower of divine influence has come down on men's minds since the days of Pentecost, this was one. There was no human excitement. It was not produced by the Demosthenic delivery of a sermon, but by the offering up of a prayer to God, that

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a whole congregation broke out into "strong cries and tears" at first, and then into loud thanksgiving and praise. The influence of this revival was of the most satisfactory kind throughout the whole parish, and it extended over the whole surrounding country.

The altered character of Rowland's preaching, and the gratifying reformation of life which it had been the means of producing, brought crowds to hear him from adjoining parishes, and as his fame extended, even from neighboring counties. For a considerable number of years he acted strictly on the parochial system, confining his labor to his own parishioners; but while he stuck to his own church, his congregation on Sundays consisted of hundreds who had left their own churches in order to hear him. The parochial system has its own advantages, for it is a practical recognition of the great law of the subdivision of labor, but in cases of neglect or inefficiency on the part of any parish priest, it is open to grave objections. The law of propriety is very good, but the law of Christian humanity is infinitely more helpful (when obeyed) to people who must not be left to perish simply because they happen to live on the other side of a straw fence called a parish boundary.

In our next sketch we shall state the circumstances which first led Rowland to extend his labors beyond his native parish and pastoral charge.

EMINENT WELSHMEN OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, (PAST AND PRESENT.)

BY MR. EDWIN POOLE, EDITOR OF OLD WELSH CHIPS.

Welshmen have no reason to complain that their influence, their distinguishing characteristics, and in

some instances their conspicuous ability, have not had due weight attached to them in the realm of British National Life, and we use the term National Life in its broadest signification-the life of Great Britain. During this century Wales has given to the nation statesmen and diplomatists not a few, and commercial and philanthropic minds many. In literature Wales has had many shining lights during the present century, and in this series of papers we propose giving "cameo clusters" of our best and most representative men. The sketches must necessarily be brief and imperfect, because if we unduly enlarge on the life of each, well, we should want a thick volume at our disposal to do justice to the theme. And in these sketches we are neither going to be bound by rule or order of procedure. Just as the names come up in the mind, we will jot down a few particulars of each life, and if our readers wish to follow up the theme, they will find ample information in special works. Neither shall we observe any alphabetical order. And the term "Welshmen" will comprehend the lives of men who have not only passed their manhood among the hills and valleys of Wales, but have otherwise identified themselves with the aspirations and life of the Principality.

Lord Justice JAMES was a most distinguished lawyer and judge. He was born at Merthyr Tydfil in 1807. He became Q. C., receiving the silk in 1853, and was one of the leaders of the Chancery Bar. In 1868 he was appointed Vice-Chancellor,and knighted by her Majesty. In 1870 he attained the high dignity of Lord Justice of Appeal, and was sworn in a member of the Privy Council. He was a Liberal in politics, but the great honors of his life were achieved as a judge. He died June 7th, 1881, aged

74. A man Wales has need to be proud of.

Lord LLANOVER (Sir Benjamin Hall) was a great advocate and supporter of the 1832 Reform Bill. For twentytwo years Mr. Hall represented Westminster, and he was created Sir Benjamin Hall in 1838. In 1854 he was selected for the presidency of the newly-organized General Board of Health (now the Local Government Board), and at the same time was sworn in a member of the Privy Council. In 1855 Lord Palmerston made Sir Benjamin First Commissioner of Works. A peerage was conferred on Sir Benjamin Hall in June, 1859. He died in London, April, 1867. His widow, Lady Llanover, a daughter and co-heiress of Benjamin Waddington, Esq., of Llanover, Monmouthshire, still survives, and is a munificent patron of all essentially Welsh manners and customs, and is a great admirer of the Welsh harp; her ladyship keeps a harper, and does all she possibly can to foster the old national instrument.

Sir HUGH OWEN rose himself by indomitable perseverance to one of the highest positions in the confidence of the Welsh nation. On whichever side of his character we look, we see him earnest, thoughtful, kindly, painstaking. Whether as a educationist, philanthropist, or Government official, the characteristics of the man shine forth. He never despised the day of small things and of little deeds, because he instinctively knew that the great things and greater deeds that were to follow depended upon faithful, earnest attention to trivial details. The late Sir Hugh Owen endeared himself to the heart of every Welshman; he devoted his life unsparingly to ameliorate the condition of the people of Wales. He was one of the earliest promoters of Aberystwith College, holding the office of Hon

Sec. from 1863 to 1878-a period of 15 years. Sir Hugh was also one of the founders of the Bangor Normal College for the Training of Teachers, and he was instrumental in establishing the Cambrian Association for the education of the Deaf and Dumb, and principally through his labors the Departmental Committee was appointed by Parliament in the year 1880 to take evidence on the educational condition of Wales. We all know the result: the establishment of the three national colleges on a sound national and financial basis. He was also one of the main instruments in introducing the British School System into Wales. Again, he took a leading part in the revival of the Honorable Cymmrodorian Society, the National Eisteddfod Association, and the Social Science Section of the National Eisteddfod. A knighthood was conferred on this esteemed Welsh scholar and patriot only a few months before he died, the sad event taking place on Nov. 20th, 1881, in his 78th year. His knighthood, at Mr. Gladstone's nomination, by Her Majesty the Queen, was one of the brightest and most popular acts that have been done by Victoria during her long reign, and was a compliment to the man and to the nation.

The Right Hon. CHARLES WATKIN WILLIAMS WYNN was the son of the fourth baronet, sat for the county of Montgomery for half a century, and in 1817 was a candidate for the Speakership of the House of Commons. In 1827 he became a member of the Privy Council and President of the Board of Control. He declined the Governor-Generalship of India; he became in 1831 Secretary for War in Earl Grey's administration. He filled many other high offices of State. He died in September, 1850.

Sir GEORGE CORNEWALL LEWIS was another Welsh Statesman who held

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office during the present century. He was, under succeeding Liberal Govments, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for the Home Department (1859), and he also became Secretary for War. He died at Harpton Court, Radnor, a county which he long represented, on the 13th April, 1863.

The late Sir WATKIN W. WYNN, of Wynnstay, who had represented Denbighshire for many years, and was called The Prince in Wales," owing to his vast possessions, died as lately as May 9th, 1885, amid the universal regret of all people. He was a very fair and generous landlord, was tolerant to the Nonconformists, and was a great supporter of all national move

ments.

TWO DISTINGUISHED WELSH BISHOPS.

On the 9th of August, 1840, there came into Wales a prelate of the Church of England whose scholarship has covered our little country with literary glory. When CONNOP THIRLWALL was appointed to the vacant See of St. David's our literature received something more than borrowed light. It is said that if Dr. Thirlwall had been made Archbishop of Canterbury, he would have done great honor to the exalted post, but acting upon the old pernicious system--"English Bishops for Welsh dioceses," this learned scholar was placed at a great disadvantage when he was made Bishop of St. David's. Still he did much to raise the status of the diocese, and, among other things, he set about learning the Welsh language, which he successfully accomplished, and he is said to have preached fairly well in Welsh-it was classical, if not native. At all events, Thirlwall could read and write Welsh with ease, and he has been known to preach Welsh sermons without the aid of "paper." The opinion of Prof. Rhys is, "that Bishop Thirlwall's Welsh is vigorous