Welsh Journals

Aug. 1, 1894. BYE-GONES. 39? carreg-y-Fran, and the Deoius stone at Llanrug. Luncheon was served at Llanberis. In the evening a largely-attended and representa¬ tive meeting was held in the Guildhall, under the presidency of Archdeacon Thomas, who, in recount¬ ing the experiences of the week, congratulated the members upon the fact of 'the gathering being larger than it had ever been before They had been in the heart of the country of legend and myth, and at the close of the week he, in the name of the Cambrian Association, expressed their gratification -that the Irish Society had returned the visit which their Welsh friends paid to them three years ago. (Cheers.) He advised that every care should be taken of the national monuments which Carnarvonshire was so fortunate to possess, and mentioned particularly the curious and unusual fortification—Tre'r Ceiri at Llan- aelhaiarn.—Professor Rhys, in the course of an ex haustivo paper, treated of the Irish occupation of Wales, being a continuation of a paper he read at Killarney three years ago. He traced this occupa¬ tion, mainly by instancing proper names and names of places in the South Wales counties, and con¬ cluded that the Irish and Welsh languages must at one time somewhere have been spoken side by 6ide. As the result of the establishment of intermediate schools, he hoped that children would be taught that antiquities should be valued and preserved. (Cheers.)—Remarks on the paper were made by Mr Drew, president of the Irish Society, who observed that although the Irish and Welsh languages were really the same, the great stumbling block with re¬ gard to the latter was spelling and pronunciation.— Mr Robinson, provincial secretary for Leinster, read a paper on "An antiquarian photographic survey of Ireland," and Mr George Coffey a paper on "Pre¬ historic Monuments in Ireland," addresses being given by the Rev Dennis Murphy and others. Saturday was devoted first of all to an inspection of Carnarvon Castle, over whioh the party was con¬ ducted by Sir Llewelyn Turner, deputy-constable. The day's proceedings were somewhat hurried, as many of the visitors had to leave by the afternoon express. The remains of Segontium, the ancient Roman oity, were visited on Saturday, and explain¬ ed by the Rev J. Wynne Jones, M.A., vicar of Carnarvon, whose vicarage closely adjoins their situ¬ ation. Mr Harold Hughes, F.S.A., Bangor, re¬ capitulated the details of the paper ho has contri¬ buted to the recent issue of the Society's paper touch¬ ing the antiquity of the church. In the course of the recent restoration of the church the galleries were demolished, the plaster token from the ceilings, which then exposed the grand old oak roofs, sadly mutilated and hacked about. These have been re¬ stored to their pristine beauty, the chancel arch of lath and plaster was taken down, and the present one of out stone inserted. Traces were also found of an arch from transept to nave, and this has been put in. The grand transept is the result, which is most uncommon, and is believed to be the idea of the original constructors. In the south transept traces were found of a side altar. This has been re¬ placed, a new window has been put in the east end of the chancel, and also a new reredos. The roof, which was of plaster, has been restored in oak. A new stone pulpit has been erected in the wall, and amongst other work the old east window has been rebuilt into the north transept. Nothing has as yet been done to the Vaynol chapel and nave. These and the porch, however, will be carried out at once, in keeping with the old work, and it is intend¬ ed to have oak pews. It was intended that a grave underneath the window in the south transept—sup¬ posed to be the burial place of Constantius—should be opened in the presence of the antiquaries, but the project was abandoned at the instance of Archdeacon Thomas, who explained that such an operation did not come within the province of the Society. A move was next made to the Vicarage, and the gar¬ den Avail, which is of Roman origin, was examined. The vicarage garden formed the western extremity of the old town of Segontium. To the west there was a fortress protecting the old town seawards, and of this there are two walls still extant, one of them being six feet six inches thick. Circular holes, about two inches in diameter, piercing the wall right through, were carefully inspected, and eeveral theories were advanced as to their probable use. Re¬ turning to the town, the visitors, under the guidance of Sir Llewelyn Turner, inspected the town walls at various points, special attention being paid to St. Mary's Church, the old garrison chapel-of-ease, and the circuit of the town wall was followed until the company arrived at the Castle, over which they were conducted by Sir Llewelyn, who delivered a most interesting lecture, and dwelt especially upon the controversy as to the oastle being the birthplace of the first Prince of Wales.—In the afternoon the visitors took their departure from the town. AUGUST 1, 1894. NOTES. ST. OSWALD IN SWITZERLAND.—The Athenceum of July 21, 1894, says :—" We are glad to see that Prof. R. Rahn, of Zurich, has prevailed upon the municipal authorities in Zug to renounce their cruel scheme for the destruction of the lovely little church of St. Oswald, built in 1478. There was formerly, and perhaps still is, within this church a wooden statue of the king on horseback, with the arms of England, and the inscription, ' Sanctus Oswaldus, Rex Angliae, patronus hujus occlesise.' There is also a paintiBg of St. Oswald in prayer before the battle, which formerly stood above the high altar, and is attributed to Carlo Maratti. It is now in one of the aisles." Ed. DISRAELI STANDING ON HIS HEAD.— In a charming memoir of his mother, attached to a volume of her poems, recently published, Lord Dufferin says :— One of my earliest encounters with Mr Disraeli was in Brook-street, the afternoon of the day he had won his Buckinghamshire election. I stopped to congratulate him on his successful campaign, when he said to me, " Yes, I said rather a good thing on the hustings yesterday. There was a fellow in the crowd who kept calling me • a man of straw without any stake in the country,' and asking ' what I stood upon,' so I said,' Well, it is true I do not possess the broad acres of Lord So-and-So, or the vast