of the two works, as given by Rowlands, as to leave but little difficulty in arriving at the conclusion that they were really one and the same. On the title-page is a monogram, consisting of the Crucifix drawn within a circle, and below it the Three Nails, encircled by the Crown of Thorns and a circle surrounded by a Glory within a shaded circle. On one side of this is the name of the printer, "Joanis Laquehay", and on the other the words "Ex Officinâ Tupographicâ", followed by an epigram in verse on the use of the crucifix. Yr Anuiol Phol a Phy (ie., ffy) Poen alaeth Pen welo Jessy Linied os gueloed hyny Lun diaul ymhol le yn i dŷ. which may be thus paraphrased The godless fool feels it no loss, To fly from Christ's pains on the Cross: His house with foul forms of the devil. The title-page is slightly cut off at the foot by the binder. The work consists of 585 pages, and is prefaced by an elegant Latin letter addressed "Illustrissimo et Reverendissimo Domino Jacobo David, S.R.E. Cardinali Perronio, Archipræsuli Senonensi, Galliarum et Germaniæ Primati, necnon Christianissimi Regis Eleemosynario, Mæcenati suo munificentissimo", and ending "D. V. Illustrissimæ et Reverendissimæ observantissimus, Rogerus Smithæus, Cambro-Britannus". This letter, which occupies nearly six pages, solves the question which naturally presents itself— why Dr. Smith should have transferred the scene of his labours in printing books for the use of his suffering fellowcountrymen from Rouen to Paris. He intimates in his preface that the work was brought out at the expense of Cardinal Perron, whom, as we have seen, he calls his "Mæcenas", and we may well believe that he would enjoy facilities for its execution under the eye of his patron, who probably resided there, which would have been wanting at Rouen. Then follows a Welsh Address to the Reader: "Anherchion at y Darleur haudgar dedfawl", beginning "Gwedi mi ystyrio cyflur ag ystad egluys duu y dyd hediu, a gueled yr aneirif o sectau heretigaid a gau athrauyaeth a oyscarod ag a danod y gelyn", etc., which ends on page 6, with "O Dinas Paris y dyd cyntaf o fis Maurth. Sef yn dyd guyl Deui Sant, 1611. Dy gyduladur a 'th gar, Rosier Smyth. Heb duu heb dim". In his annotation on Rowlands' notice of this book in the Cambrian Bibliography, Mr. Silvan Evans remarks on the fact that it is printed in the same character as Dr. Gr. Roberts' Grammar; and he is puzzled to know whether the latter may not also have been printed at Paris rather than at Milan. His difficulty was undoubtedly caused by the incompleteness of an extract sent him by the late Rev. John Jones, Precentor of Christchurch (better known in the Principality by his Bardic appellation of "Tegid"), from a "Caution to the Reader" (rybid i'r darleur), which, by an afterthought, as it would seem, appears at the end of the book, instead of its more appropriate place at the commencement. It begins, "Na ryfeda dim (darleur haudgar) diaingc lauer o faiau urth brintio y lyfryma". As it is too long for quotation in the original as well as in English, yet remarkable for the curious and valuable information it supplies, as to the reasons for the adoption of the singular orthography and punctuation of the several works, I may, perhaps, be pardoned if I venture to offer a translation of it. 'Wonder not (charitable reader) that many errors have escaped in the printing of this book, for the printer understood neither the language nor the letters, nor the characters. He was also so stubborn and obstinate, nay, so pig-headed (benchuiban), after the nature of his country, that he would endure neither rebuke nor correction of his faults. Moreover, considering that there are several modes of orthography customary among us, especially as to doubling the consonants, some using dd, ll, some too often avoiding their use, joining h to each one of these, instead of doubling them and because, to my thinking, the above custom is ugly and unseemly, I have seen good to follow the very Reverend and eminent Master, Gryffyth Robert, Canon Theologian of the mother-church of the city of Milan ("Canon theologaid o fam-Eglwys Dinas Mylen”), á man who deserves eternal praise and fame, not only because of his many virtues, but also for his learning and knowledge, and particularly (yn bendifadeu) in the Welsh language. He, in his book on correct writing (yn ei lyfr o iawn ysgrifenydiaeth) teaches, instead of doubling the letters, to put a prick, or tittle, under each, in this manner, d dd, 1 ll, u uu ph instead of ff, by following the Hebrews, who use the same prick, instead of doubling the letters, which they call dages. And wonder not, besides, that I do not double then, as in these words, tyn, hyn, guyn, and the like, for it seemed better (to my judgment) to put an accent (acen) over it, when it might be necessary to lengthen, or double it. Lastly, wonder not that I sometimes borrow words (when they are wanted) from the Latin, for the old Welsh were wont to do the same thing, as it may be easily seen that the greater part of our language has been derived from the Latin (tynu'r rhan o'n iaith ni alan o'r ladin) which the above master shows in his book of Etymology (cyfiachyddiaeth).” As this last reference is to the second Part of Dr. Gryffyth Roberts' Grammar, of which Rowlands speaks as consisting of 112 pages, it follows that the "Llyfr o iawn ysgrifenyddiaeth", above referred to, is the First Part, with the title abbreviated. A second edition of this work was supposed to have been printed in 1657, under the title of Y Disgybl ar Athraw o newydd. Of this I have a copy, printed with other works by Morgan Llwyd o Wynedd in 1765, in a note to Rowlands' Notice of which it is stated, however, that he, and not Roger Smith, was the author. And a third, in 1683, under that of Dosparth Catholic ar holl bynciau'r ffydd, megis dialogaeth rhwng y Discebel a'i Athraw. If this be so, and the title be printed correctly, the orthography and punctuation of the original must have been abandoned, and with it the system of Welsh writing, adopted by Dr. Gr. Roberts and his pupil, departed for ever! The labours of Dr. Roger Smith did not end here, for it appears from the Cambrian Bibliography, that he printed at Paris, in 1615, another book, in 24mo, containing about 300 pages, as conjectured by Rowlands, who had in his hands a copy reaching only to p. 276. The title is "Theater du Mond sef iw Gorsedd y Byd, lle i gellir gweled trueni a Llaseni Dyn o ran y Corph ai Odidawgrwydd o ran yr Enaid; a Scrifenwyd gynt yn y Frangaeg, ag a gyfieithwyd ir Gymraeg drwy lafyr Rosier Smyth o Dref Lan Elwy Athraw o Theologyddiaeth. Psal. 48. Homo cum in honore esset, non intellexit, Comparatus est iumentis insipientibus & similis factus est iis. Dyn pan oedd mewn anrhydedd heb ddeall a gyfflybwyd ir anifeiliaid di wybodus, ag ai gwnaeth i hun yn debyg iddynt hwy". Then follows a monogram, in a sort of stanza of four lines, arranged in a square :— Dymchwel yma, Mae yma Ddelw Darluniad Rowlands tells us that the work is divided into three books, and that the book was translated into English twentyeight years after its publication in Welsh, but with a dif ferent title-page. It professed to be "translated out of French into Spanish by ye Master Baltazar Peres del Castello, & lastly translated out of Castilian into English by Francis Favrer, Merchant. London, 1663." My search in the British Museum has failed to discover either of these translations, but I came upon one by John Alday, printed in 1574 and 1582, in octavo. The title-page has on it: "Theatrum Mundi, the theatre or rule of the world, wherein may be sene the running race and course of every man's life as touching miserie and felicitie, wherin be contained wonderfull examples and learned devises to the overthrow of vice, and exalting of virtue. Whereunto is added a learned and pithie work of the excellence of mankynd. Written in the French and Latin tongues by Peter Boaystuan, Englished by John Alday. Imprinted at London by Henry Bynneman, for Thomas Hacket: and are to be solde at his shop at the Royal Exchange, at the signe of the Greene Dragon. Anno 1574 (16mo, 287 pp.), in black letter. The "Table" is in Roman characters. I also found the French work, entitled "Le Théatre du Monde, où il est faict un ample discours des misères humaines co[m]posé en Latin par P. (Pierre) Boaystuan surnommé Launay, natif de Bretagne, par luy-mesme, puis traduict en Français." The book, it must be confessed, would seem scarcely worthy, in the present day at least, of the reputation it must have attained, or of the pains taken in turning it into so many languages. The author, a good and religious man, was greatly addicted to the collection of marvellous stories, as appears from the titles of several other works of his, which he delighted to interweave with "wise saws and modern instances". The book, however, is a great curiosity in its way. The remarkable point, as to the Welsh translation, is that, if Rowlands has correctly printed the long extract he has given from the Welsh translation, it will follow that |