hand, and the Danes on the other; and how things went from bad to worse till the Nadir was reached about the year 1000. At the beginning of the eleventh century, however, a brighter dawn seemed to break upon the nation. A new period of activity and energy was inaugurated by Gruffydd ap Llewelyn. Gruffydd was not an ideal or perfect character; he was not exempt in any measure from the weaknesses and prejudices of his age; but he was the Welshman who most clearly comprehended the needs of his country in that age, and who made the most resolute and successful efforts to satisfy them. His original patrimony was the Kingdom of Gwynedd, including the modern counties of Anglesey, Carnarvon, and Merioneth. He was not a member of the ancient royal family of Gwynedd. His father, Llewelyn ap Sitsyllt, succeeded in making himself king in the early part of the eleventh century, and was succeded by Iago ap Idwal, belonging to the ancient House of Gwynedd. In 1030 this prince was slain by his own men, and Gruffydd ap Llewelyn succeeded in establishing himself in place of his father. He mainly occupied himself during the early part of his reign in an effort to consolidate Wales into one united and centralized state. His method was the extinction of other principalities, and the making himself over lord or supreme ruler in Wales. Had he succeeded in permanently effecting that union, Wales would have been a more peaceful and a more prosperous country. He was lord of half Wales to begin with; not only of GwyneddNorthwest Wales-but also of Powysland-Northeast Wales-the present counties of Montgomery, Denbigh, and Flint. During the first year of his reign he secured himself from all interference on the part of the English by a raid into the heart of Mercia,

in which he inflicted a humiliating defeat on the Earl of Mercia at Crossford on the Severn. In the same year he led his army into Dyfed, which included the whole of South Wales, except the counties of Glamorgan and Monmouth. The county of Cardigan was then probably added to his territories. In 1041 Prince Howel ap Edwin encountered him in the battle of Pencader, the result being that the southern king was deprived by Gruffydd of his kingdom, and also, to his shame be it spoken, of his wife. Howel attempted to win back his kingdom and his wife; the Danes took Gruffydd prisoner, but he managed to escape, and in 1044 he and Howel ap Edwin met each other for the last time at the mouth of the river Towy. Howel ap Edwin was assisted by the Danes, whose ships were always at the disposal of any fugitive Welsh Prince, anxious to reinstate himself with foreign help, but he was defeated. Gruffydd was now lord of Gwynedd, Powys, and Dyfed, or all Wales except the small district of Glamorgan.

In 1045 a great strife arose between Gruffydd ap Llewelyn and another Gruffydd, who had been displaced from the throne of South Wales by Howel ap Edwin. On the death of Howel this prince conspired to recover his kingdom. A sudden and treacherous onslaught was made on the retinue of the northern King; 140 of his men were slain, and he himself was forced to retreat. The first attempt to establish a consolidated Welsh State proved a failure. In 1055 the two Gruffydds met in battle, the South Welsh King was slain; Gruffydd again got possession of the kingdom of Dyfed, and again united under his sway the whole of Wales except Glamorgan.

The lecturer next described the attack by Gruffydd, in the same year, on the Norman settlement at Here

ford, in conjunction with the outlawed son of the Earl of Mercia, and leading forth a motely host of Welshmen, Danes, and English, when the Welsh King and his allies won an easy victory. Gruffydd, says the Saxon Chronicle, burnt and destroyed the Castle and also the town, and returned with very great booty and spoil to his own country. In 1056 we found him combining with the Danes to devastate the English border. In the same year, mainly through the instrumentality of the Bishop of Worcester, peace was secured between Edward the Confessor and his restless neighbor. It did not, however, last long. In 1063 a vigorous and united effort was made to crush him. Harold hastened to Rhuddlan, but finding that Gruffydd had escaped, he returned to Bristol, there gathered a mighty fleet, and gave his brother Tostig charge of the foot soldiers specially armed for mountain warfare. They went round the Welsh coast, the Welsh panic stricken fled to the mountains. The Welsh were soon reduced to considerable extremities, and in a frenzy of wrath they slew their leader and sent his head as a peace offering to the King of England. Thus fell a man, who, however great his faults, Welshmen must venerate for the energy he displayed in the cause of Welsh independence and unity. He died three years before the Norman conquest. Although, therefore, contact with the Normans had a very important effect on the national life of the Welsh people, the spirit of patriotism was awake before William the Conqueror landed on the English shores. With the death of Gruffydd, the edifice of national unity he labored so strenuously to build fell to pieces. Gwynedd and Powys fell into the hands of brothers of his, while South Wales went back to its former allegiance. After the Norman

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invasion we found the Welsh forces co-operating with Mercian Englishmen against the Norman conquerors, but the resistance was fragmentary and futile, and about the year 1071, the conquest of England by the Normans was practically complete. The Norman conquerors came right up to Offa's Dyke. They did not, however, attempt to drive out the ancient inhabitants. All they wanted was wealth, power, and supremacy. 1071 there was a battle between Meredyth ap Owain and Caradoc ap Gruffydd, who brought in the Normans to aid them. Meredyth was slain, and the Norman settlement in Wales dated from this period. It was through Glamorganshire, which was isolated from the rest of the country, that the Normans made their way into Wales. Glamorgan soon became a thoroughly Normanized country, and it bore to this day traces of Norman influences, in the crumbling ruins of the castles which crown nearly every hill, and in its massive church towers. The lords of Glamorgan were granted privileges of a very special kind; as also were the Lord Marchers, the Earls of Chester and Shrewsbury, in order that they might wage war against the Welsh. Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Arundel and Shrewsbury, built a castle at Trefaldwyn, and named it Montgomery, after the name of his ancestral castle in France. About the year 1075 the Normans had closed in upon Wales, with their strong castles of Rhuddlan, Montgomery, Raglan, and Cardiff, and there seems to have been a lull from that year until the accession of William Rufus. While the external conquest was going on the internal condition was one of civil strife. Of Bleddyn, who died in 1075, the chronicler said that he did no one an injury unless an insult was thrown upon him, and even then avenged it

unwillingly. Bleddyn, following the footsteps of Howel Dda (the good), introduced amendments into the laws of his people. He fell through the treachery of the Prince of South Wales. Gruffyth ap Cynan, who represented the ancient line, had some difficulty in establishing his claims to the kingdom of Gwynedd. Having been in exile in Ireland, he received an Irish education, he brought over a great number of Irish followers, and gave them places in his kingdom of Gwynedd. This provoked the utmost dissatisfaction among the nobles of Gwynedd, who had helped him to his crown. They resolved that a king who was half an Irishman would not do for them at all. One of his gravest offences was the want of respect he showed towards the ancient Welsh national instrument, the harp, and his unaccountable fondness for the bagpipe. If that was his choice he perhaps really deserved to lose his kingdom. He was obliged to take refuge in Ireland, but returned with his forces, and re-established himself on the throne of Gwynedd. This time he had learnt his lesson too well. He showed so marked a partiality for the nobles of Gwynedd that his Irish followers resented it, devastated Anglesey, and returned to Ireland, taking Gruffydd ap Cynan with them against his will. All this happened between 1075 and 1081. It was in 1081 that an important battle of Mynydd Carn was fought by Gruffydd ap Cynan, in which three usurpers were slain, and he came into possession of the whole of Gwynedd. It had been supposed that this battle was fought at Carno in Montgomeryshire, but it is more probable that it was fought in Pembrokeshire. It was remarkable as having inspired the first piece of Welsh poetry after the long silence of the dark ages. was a prophecy written after the event,

It

as many prophecies had been. For a few years after this battle the Welsh enjoyed comparative peace and quiet, but upon the accession of William Rufus in 1087, the Welsh were attacked by the Normans, who succeeded, after severe struggles, in occupying a large part of the country. In 1094 there was every indication that the Norman conquest of Wales would be as thorough and as effectual as the Norman conquest of England; but a very few years were sufficient to show that this was not to be the case. The tide which swept powerfully over the face of the country for a time, seemed to obliterate every trace of old institutions; but like many other floods it retired and left behind it the surface of the country much as it was before, only perhaps with this difference, that there had been spread over the surface of the land a fertilising deposit, the promise of the harvest of a glorious future for the Welsh people.

For the Cambrian. HYMN TRANSLATIONS. “Nis gall angylion nef y nef," &c. 'Tis far beyond the angel throng To tell of Jesus' love; how strong;

They stand bewildered, and adore When sinners saved sing Calvary's praise, The songs to higher notes will raise Than angels ever heard before.

"Ni chollwyd gwaed y groes,” &c. 'Twas not for nought the Lamb To Calvary was led;

"Twas not for nought the blood

Upon the cross was shed
To open a way for you and me
From sin; He died upon the tree.

"Mae angylion nef yn chwareu," &c. Around the throne with harps of gold God's angels sound His praises, But to the lowest notes of saints Their singing ne'er approaches. Sin never their garments bespoiled, They ne'er knew sorrow nor pain, The ransomed's song of salvation Will e'er be the sweetest strain. Philadelphia. D. E. DAVIES.

CWYN PERERIN OEDRANUS.

GAN DR. ROBERTS, GWRECSAM.
'Rwy'n fynych fel pererin blin,
Yn teithio wrtho'i hun;
Nid oes o'm hen gyfeillion gynt
Yn aros braidd yr un.
Moragos y'ch, nid oes ond cam
Oddi yma atoch chwi;
Ond er mor agos, mae'n rhy bell
I'ch gwel'd, y dysglaer lu

Mor agos, nid oes rhyngom drwch
Asgell gwybedyn bach;
Mor bell, nis gallaf glywed gair
Ddywedwch gwmni iach.

Mor agos, fel mewn eiliad braidd
Esgynwn atoch chwi;
Mor bell, anfesuradwy'r daith
I chwi ddod ataf fi!

Ac er nad oes dramwyfa'n bod
Oddi yna atom ni;
Drwy ras, y mae tramwyfa rad
Oddi yma atoch chwi.

Yn nghwmni'r Hwn nad oes dim pell
Nac agos iddo Ef;

'Rwy'n dysgwyl cael, hen gwmni hoff, Ail gwrdd a chwi'n y Nef!

TO "ANNIE," IN HEAVEN. Canst thou behold, my Annie dear, With ear immortal, dost thou hear, Aught of this vale of tears? With spirit wisdom, note, or know, The changeful scenes of time below, And vision earth that nears. Ah, dear one, if thy spirit eye, May so with piercing sight descry, Say, darling, nears our footsteps nigh To heaven with speeding years?

Doth it thy heavenly joy enhance,
To note each laboring step advance?
Though faltering oft it be,
As up the weary path we climb,
With faith supreme and aim sublime,
Yet nearer heaven and thee.
Feign would I deem thy loving hand,
Still comforting, would aid, command,
Thy cheery voice a help to stand,

Thy spirit guiding me.

Dear one, not dead, but gone before,
Thy faith would bid my soul to soar,
From earthly shades to flee,
And upward wing, till like a dove,
It views in peace its home above,

[TRANSLATION.]

AN AGED PILGRIM'S WAIL. I'm oft-time like a pilgrim faint, That travels all alone;

Of all my friends of yore, there's now Remaining scarcely one!

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So nigh are ye, my friends, one step
Would bring me on to you;
But, though so nigh, your radiant forms
Are far beyond my view.

So nigh, the thin dividing vail
Not e'en as insect's wing;
So far, blest band, I cannot hear
The loudest note you sing!

So nigh, that I might come to you
At once by death set free;
So far, and measureless the road
For you to come to me!

And though there is no path whereby
Ye might to me descend;
Through grace, there is a way by which
I may to you ascend!

Led on by Him, to whom there's not
That's either "far" or "nigh;"

I hope to join you, ransomed friends,
Some day in Heaven on high !
N. Y. City.
AP DANIEL.

Let it be heard, in excuse for our straying,

Never again!

Ours is a hope that is higher and clearer, Ours is a purpose far brighter and dearer, Ours is an aim that should silence the jeerer: We will be men!

"Boys will be boys," is an unworthy slander; Boys will be men!

The spirit of Philip in young Alexander
Kindles again;

As the years of our youth fly swiftly away,
As brightens about us the light of life's day,
As the glory of manhood dawns on us, we

say

We will be men!

with a wink,

Answer us, man!

MORALITY AND RELIGION. BY REV. T. C. EDWARDS (CYNONFARDD), KINGSTON, PA.

(Is a high standard of morals obtainable without religion?)

Longfellow said, "Morality without religion is only a kind of dead reck oning--an endeavor to find our place on a cloudy sea without measuring the distance we have run, but without any observation of the heavenly bodies."

One of the most perfect examples on record of a strenuous effort to attain a high standard of morals without religion is the case of the young lawyer who came to Jesus inquiring what must he do to inherit life everlasting. The only weak part of his case is the absence of evidence in his support. He stands alone in his self-justification. Hear his summing up of his own case: "All these have I kept from my youth." Yet when the great Teacher turned upon his life the bright rays of divine interpretation, he perceived that all his "keeping" lacked the one great element of virtue, which would have added the

record of morality. And when he turned away sorrowful he unconsciously revealed the impossibility of attaining a high standard of morality without religion. He who endeavors to build up a life of good morals without religion is like an astronomer who would undertake to light the world with moons and constellations without the sun. Morality is only a reflection. The great luminary is religion. The entire code of morals without religion is artificial, and like all the artificial lights of this enlightened age, with all their ingenious contrivances, is liable to give out any mo ment. Even when they have the dash and brilliancy of the electric flash, we often find that when most needed they utterly fail. It must be distinctly understood that the religion which is essential to this highest standard of morals is not an outward, formal profession of church membership, but rather, the vital union of the sincere believer with God through Jesus Christ-the union which brings with it the "consciousness of faith, of sins forgiven, of wrath appeased, of heavy guilt thrown off, of shining light along the path that duty marks.”

Burke, in his "Reflections on the Revolution in France," declares that the "body of all true religion consists in obedience to the will of the Sovereign of the world, in a confidence in His declarations, and in imitation of His perfections." We know, and what is better, we feel inwardly that relig ion is the basis of civil society, and the source of all good and of all comfort.

I believe with Josiah Quincy, that human happiness has no perfect security but freedom; freedom none but virtue; virtue none but knowledge; and neither freedom nor virtue nor knowledge has any vigor or immortal hope, except in the principles of Chris