Mr. Labouchere ought to be captured by the Gorsedd and maltreated into a bard. That it would be a great conversion is shown by the characteristic opinion Mr. Labouchere has just expressed about Stonehenge: -'Personally, I cannot see what tangible value the thing has. It is in no sense a 'national monument,' for the simple reason that the British nation, as we know it, did not come into existence for hundreds of years after the erection of the building of which this is the last vestige. Stonehenge is simply a prehistoric relic, which happens to stand on the soil of one of the islands which the composite British nation of to-day occupies. Such a relic is of as much value to the natives of any other country as to us. A Frenchman or a German would look upon it with just as much, or as little, interest as an Englishman. Why anybody should want to see it, or go a yard out of his way to look at it, I do not know."

district (West Wales); for example, in that northeastern corner of it which. fringes the North Wales coal field. But the population of the district as a whole is certainly diminishing; in fact, nobody knows, until the figures of the Registrar-General next time reach us, where the population goes up or down.” In his district (Llanelly) Mr. Jones, another of her Majesty's inspectors, states: "During the last two years. there has been no great increase of the population in the mining and manufacturing portions of the district, and in the rural portions the population is stationary, if not decreasing."

"Yes," said one of our local historians, "we in Wales have had the experiences of Glencoe and Ladysmith brought to our threshold. When the complete history of Glanmorgan is written, you will not only read the cir cumstantial account of St. Fagan's battle (Ely), when all the able-bodied men were killed and the next harvest was gathered by women and children, but of reconnoitering parties of Puritans who scoured the Glanmorgan and the Breconshire Valleys. It is handed down in the records and traditions of many an old house on the mountains. of seeking after Jacobites, of narrow escapes, of skirmishes. From Treharris and Llancaiach to Cefn Glas. Quaker's Yard, Jacobites marched. Up the valley to Merthyr the Puritans skirmished and looted, destroying a Jacobite ironworks at Pontygwaith, six miles from Merthyr. From the farm on the hill by Quaker's Yard was taken the boldest Jacobite of them all, David Morgan, by a Puritan troop."

D. Emlyn Evans writes to the "Cardiff Times":

The recent appearance of the Eryri Male Voice Choir at Windsor Castle, in obedience to the command of theQueen, emphasises the great interest

which her majesty has taken of late in Welsh music and Welsh singing. This interest apparently dates from the Queen's visit to Pale, Merionethshire, in 1889, when a choir selected from the adjacent village of Llandderfel and the neighborhood sang some Welsh music, notably a selection of Welsh airs specially arranged for the occasion, and which were published under the title of "Alawon Cymru" (Melodies of Wales) before the Royal party at the mansion. These were so much appreciated that the performance was repeated more than once, the conductor, Mr. W. T. Jones, being highly complimented by her Majesty personally, as well as by other members of the Royal Family present. Following upon this came the performances of the Welsh Ladies' Choir, conducted by Mrs. Novello Davies, and the two Male Voice Choirs from the Rhondda Valley, led respectively by Mr. William Thomas and Mr. Tom Stephens, before the Queen, the particulars concerning which and the success that attended them are probably within the reader's recollection.

As for the performance of the Eryri Choir, there are, from all one learns, nothing but congratulations due to vocalists and conductor for the manner in which they acquitted themselves, and sustained the reputation which Welsh singing had already gained in Royal circles through the efforts of the Choirs previously referred to. It also remains to compliment Mr. John Williams personally upon his having been the recipient of a baton, set with diamonds, from the Queen, as well as an ivory baton from the German Em

peror.

It is interesting to note that the Emperor of Germany, during an animated conversation with Mr. Williams,

and when he expressed himself highly

Although mountaineering in Wales must be regarded as a small thing by the veteran Alpine climber, there are many spots which cannot be scaled without difficulty and danger. One of these is Twll Du (Black Pit), or better known as the "Devil's Kitchen," an immense chasm in the line of cliff frowning on Lake Idwal, North Wales, which was ascended a short time ago for the second time. The first ascent was made in March, 1895, by Mr. J. M. A. Thompson, of Llandudno. The recent ascent was made by Mr. Edwin Ashford, of Rotherham, who was accompanied by three gentlemen from Birmingham. From the outset the ascent was difficult, but by the aid of a rope the obstacles were surmounted without much exertion until the great wall or buttress was reached. This tested the skill of the climbers to the utmost, but with great care and the aid of the rope, it was scaled. At length the cavern, which was dripping with water, was reached; then a huge slab, which had evidently fallen from the top of the cavern, was ascended. The giddy height of the top of the cliff was gained by the aid of ropes, 220 feet in length. With this help the climber reached, the summit of what is known as the Great Gable, and thus (says the "Leeds Mercury") completed the adventurous ascent.

Decidedly the homeliest man in Congress is Eddy, of Minnesota. He rather glories in the distinction of ugliness, especially as all his other characteristics are enviable.

During his last campaign the enemies of Mr. Eddy charged him with being double-faced. He met the charge in a manner that disarmed all criticism.

"Great heaven," said Mr. Eddy to his audience, "do you think that if I had two faces I would wear the one I am showing you now?"

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HIS SIGN DOWN.

The story is told of an intoxicated man coming out of a saloon in one of the city's suburbs and falling upon the sidewalk. He was unable to arise. A bright and sharp-eyed miss, perhaps a dozen years of age, was passing. A thought struck her, and, she opened the door of the saloon, and said: "Mister, your sign has fallen down!" The prɔprietor came to the door, and immediately recognized that a truthful point had been made at his expense, while at a safe distance stood the girl laughing at him.-Utica Observer.

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A NEW INDUSTRY.

Every industry is booming, even that of making conundrums. Here is the latest product: What character is there in the Bible who possesses no name, who suffered death in different

form from any inflicted before or since that time, a portion of whose shroud is in every household, and the cause of whose death has been made famous by a modern author? Answer: Lot's wife. She possesses no name; no one else met death through being turned into a pillar of salt; salt is in every household, and Edward Bellamy wrote "Looking Backward."

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STRANGE THINGS IN NOVA SCOTIA.

It was here I met a woman who had never seen a peach, a young lady who had, never owned a box of chocolates and, best of all, a andsome', intelligent young fellow, who had never seen a drunken man. It was here I attended a concert consisting of songs, recitations, organ solos and a duet, all furnished by one woman. The duet, she announced, was between herself and the organ, the organ taking the soprano and she the alto.-Bay of Fundy Letter in New York Post.

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PROFESSIONAL CURIOSITY.

From Collier's Weekly: "Yer honor," said the prisoner to the judge, I should like to have my case postponed. My lawyer is sick and can't come to court." The judge took two or three minutes to consider. "The case may be postponed," he said at last, "if you desire it. But I see here that you were taken in the act. What can your counsel have to say on your behalf?" "That's just what I want to know, yer honor," said the prisoner.

A BURGLARY STORY.

They were telling "burglary stories" on the veranda in front of the grocery store in a down cast town.

"The man's hand was thrust through the hole he had cut in the door," said the star talker, "when the woman seized the wrist and held on in spite of the struggles of the man outside. In the morning the burglar was found dead, having cut his own throat when he found escape impossible; but the brave woman had not known he was dead, and so had not released her grasp on his wrist all night long."

"Huh!" growled the skeptic in the corner. "Why didn't she feel of hig pulse "-Buffalo Commercial.

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EXTRAORDINARY MARRIAGE

VOWS.

An English rural clergyman says that in his parish it was quite the fashion for the man when giving the ring in the marriage ceremony to say to the woman, "With my body I thee wash up, and with all my hurdle goods I thee and thou." He said the women were better up in this part of the service than the men. One day, however, a bride startled him by promising in what she supposed to be the language of the prayer book, to take her husband "to 'ave and 'old from this day forni't for betterer horse, for richer power, in siggerness health, to love cherries and to bay." What meaning this extraordinary vow conveyed to the woman's own mind, the incumbent said, baffled him to conjecture. Short Stories' Magazine.

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KNEW A THING OR TWO.

A Lancashire lawyer tells this story concerning a client, something of a wag in his way, with whom he had long kept an account. When the latter was finally made up, the bill, mostly for trifling services, covered several pages

The story is told of a white minister who went to a colored church in Virginia to conduct services. He asked an old deacon to lead in prayer and this is the way he prayed that a shower of grace might descend on the white brother: "Oh, Lor', give him de eye of de eagle dat he may spy out our sins afar off! Weld his han's to de gospel plough; tie his tongue to de lines of truf an' nail his ear to de gospel pole! An', oh Lor', bow his head, way down-ah! behin' hisknees, and' his knees way down-ah! in some lonesome, dark an' narrow valley, oh Lor', whar much prayer is needed to be made ah! Den 'noint him ovah wid de blessed ile of de kerosene of salvation an' sot him on fiah wid de match of faith made perfec'-amen!"

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Some of the Welsh Reservists who have left for the Transvaal state that they intend to stay out there after the war, as there will be certain to be many places which people will be only too glad to get Reservists to fill. Sir Gordon Sprigg's nephew has stated that after the present trouble is over "there will be no better field anywhere in the world for young men than South Africa. Any young fellow, with health and common sense can get on there. Drink is. the chief pitfall."

Did such an Institution as the Brit

ish, or Welsh Church (Independent) exist? What Church did St. David belong to-the Church from Augustine to the Norman period, or the Post Reformation Church? Did he belong to the Latin Church under which Christianity triumphed?

"Every Celt of the United Kingdom is, so far as language is concerned, either a Goidel or a Brython. The Goidels were undoubtedly the first Celts to come to Britain, as their geographical position to the west and north of the others would indicate, as well as the fact that no trace of them has ever been identified on the continent. They had probably been in the island for centuries when the Brythons, or Gauls, and drove them westward. The ancestors of the people who speak Gaelic in Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Highlands of the north spoke a language which existed also in Wales and down in the

came

sixth century, and probably later." Rhys' Celtic Britain, pp. 3, 4.

Guided by the above quotation as being representative of the period under observation, we have ventured to call the embodiment of Christianity as then practiced in this island, as Celto-British Church. It is variously given as Celtic, Ancient British, Cambro-British, Welsh, &c., but

we believe that the above comes somewhat nearer the mark.

Introductory. That such an institution as a Celto-British Christian Church did exist in these islands is a fact. But that it has left us no historian of its own, is a fact also. Almost all we know about it has been handed down to us by foreigners, and much of what has been left savors That of Romish ideas. Christianity made great progress in Britain from A. D. 51 to A. D. 596 is evident from the united testimonies of Romanus (A. D. 96), an intimate companion of Paul; Irenaeus (A. D. 178), who was but one step