athrofa hono yn cael llawer o glod na gogoniant ar ddwylaw plant cyfoethogion y deyrnas. Ei hoff waith gan hyny ydyw cynorthwyo bechgyn tlodion i gyrhaedd enwogrwydd. A chofiwch nad oes gan neb yno hawl erbyn hyn i ofyn gair iddynt yn nghylch eu golygiadau crefyddol.

Ond pe dygwyddai i ambell un o honynt ddewis yn y diwedd fyned yn offeiriad, peidied neb a ffromi yn aruthr: y mae yn ddiddadl fod yn well i'r genedl gael offeiriaid dysgedig na rhai anwybodus o wehilion y bobl yn coledd a meithrin arferion isel a drwg anwydau gwehilion y bobl; a chofiwch o ba le y daeth Charles y Bala a chanwyllau eraill y Cymry. Gwnewch, ynteu, bob aberth i roddi i'ch plant yr addysg goreu a mwyaf trwyadl sydd i'w gael yn y deyrnas, gan adael iddynt yn y diwedd farnu drostynt eu hunain ar bynciau crefyddol. Nid oes genyf i un hawl i'ch anerch mewn capel nac eglwys, ond teimlaf fy mod yma yn sefyll ar dir canolog uwchlaw holl fariaeth yr ymraniadau crefyddol sydd yn ein plith, a chymeraf yr hyfdra o alw eich sylw at yr hyn a ddysgir gan Darwin ac ereill sydd wedi ymgydnabyddu yn fanwl â deddfau natur yn y byd anianyddol, sef mai ei harwyddair mawr a gwastadol ydyw 'The survival of the fittest', neu Oruchafiaeth i'r Cymhwysaf. Felly hefyd y mae, yn ol fy marn i, yn y byd moesol a chrefyddol; ac nis gall neb sydd yn credu yn Rhagluniaeth lai na chydsynio â mi yn ddifloesgni, y bydd yn y diwedd i'r ffurf hono o'r grefydd Gristionogol a brofo ei hun y fwyaf effeithiol i wneuthur lles i ddynolryw gael yr oruchafiaeth ar bob ffurf arall yn Nghymru a phob man arall o'r byd. Byddwch gan hyny yn esmwyth ar y pen hwnw, meddyliwch fwy am lwyddiant a dedwyddwch y genedl fel cyfangorph nag am fri a gogoniant unrhyw ran neu enwad neillduol o honi, ac ymwrolwch heb betrusder yn y byd i osod eich plant ar y ffordd i enwogrwydd ; ond i chwi wneyd hyny ni bydd arnaf ofn na bydd i gynifer o honynt ei gyrhaedd fel na byddo angen byth mwy i neb sydd yn teimlo eiddigedd

dros ei genedl ymwregysu, dan amgylchiadau lled anffafriol, i wrthbrofi haeriadau anghariadus rhai o'r newyddiaduron Seisnig am ein distadledd, gan y byddai y Cymry yn fuan yn debyg o dori eu nod a'u hargraph yn ddwfn ar lenyddiaeth y byd, ac yn abl i herio gwaethaf tonau amser i ddileu oddiar dywod hanesyddiaeth ein hen arwyddair a dyhewyd ein henaid"Tra mor tra Brython!"

We regret, we repeat, our inability to give a full account of the many excellent speeches delivered at this Eisteddfod. On the last day Mr. Samuel Morley and Mr. Henry Richard acquitted themselves admirably and to the great satisfaction of the audience.

We must not, however, close without presenting to our readers the following graceful tribute to the Eisteddfod by Mr. Lewis Morris :

PRESIDENT'S CHAIR, MENAI BRIDGE,
AUGUST 8TH, 1878.

The close-ranked faces rise

With their watching eager eyes,

And the banners and the mottoes flare above;

And without, on either hand,

The eternal mountains stand;

And the salt sea-river ebbs and flows again,

And thro' the thin-drawn bridge the wandering winds complain.

Here is the congress met,

The bardic senate set,

And young hearts flutter at the voice of fate;

All the fair August day

Song echoes, harpers play;

And on the accustomed ear the strange

Pennillion rise and fall through change and counterchange.

Oh, Mona, land of song!

Oh, mother of Wales! how long

From thy dear shores an exile have I been!

Still from thy lonely plains,

Ascend the old sweet strains,

And by the mine, or plough, or humble home,
The dreaming peasant hears diviner music come.

This innocent, peaceful strife,

This struggle to fuller life,

Is still the one delight of Cymric souls.
Swell blended rhythms still

The gay pavilions fill!

Soar, oh, young voices, resonant and fair!

Still let the sheathed sword gleam o'er the bardic chair!

The Menai ebbs and flows;

And the song-tide wanes and goes,

And the singers and the harp-players are dumb:
The eternal mountains rise

Like a cloud upon the skies,

And my heart is full of joy for the songs that are still :

The deep sea, and the soaring hills, and the steadfast Omnipotent will.

EPIGRAMS FROM THE OLD POETS.

No. 3.

CRAFFDER.

A wna angall o ddengair,
Llunier i gall haner gair.

ADDRESS OF LORD ABERDARE AT THE BIRKENHEAD EISTEDDFOD, 1878.1

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,-I beg to thank the committee very heartily for the kind, the only too kind and flattering language that they have addressed towards me. When I look at this vast building and see the audience, many of whom are so far removed from me, I cannot but wish that, like the hero in one of Dryden's poems, I had a voice like a silver trumpet. Unfortunately the change of weather we have had has visited me, and affected even those small natural powers of voice which I possess. I must ask, therefore, the consideration of those who have got one of the most difficult tasks I know of, and that is to listen patiently to a public speaker without being able to hear one word he says.

I am happy to have heard from all quarters how entirely successful the visit of this great Welsh institution to your English neighbours has been. The Welsh have descended, as they used to do a hundred years ago, from their mountains, and carried off the Saxon spoil in large quantities. On this occasion, I am happy to think that

1 Several motives have urged us to give an enduring place to this speech in Y Cymmrodor; not the least of which has been the practical good sense it brings to bear on the Eisteddfod. Lord Aberdare speaks from a standpoint whence English prejudice and Welsh laudations are equally excluded. He holds and adjusts the scale with impartiality. It is well, occasionally, to have our weaknesses laid bare; and we, of all people, may well say with Burns :—

"O, wad some power the giftie gie us,

To see oursels as others see us!"

the spoil has been willingly surrendered-(laughter)—and that it will be a satisfaction to the Saxon if they hear that it has been ample and in all respects remunerative. (Applause.) Ladies and gentlemen, I feel that in the language addressed to me just now there was, amongst other qualities, a great deal of Christian charity, because it is well known that some twenty years ago I took upon myself to utter rash and, perhaps, presumptuous words of advice to the conductors of Eisteddfodau-words that have not been, on the whole I think, very accurately represented, but which I spoke at that time with the most sincere desire that these Eisteddfodau might be, even more than in the past, a means of educating and elevating the people of Wales. (Applause.) At that time a great controversy was waging in the press, and whilst some persons fastened entirely upon the merits of the institution, others, with even less of justice, fastened entirely on its defects. I could not but admit that there were defects in Eisteddfodau. There are still, probably

the most judicious supporters of this institution will admit, defects in the institution, but it is an institution full of life and growth; and being full of life and growth, it needs constant attention, in order to develop its full usefulness. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I think it may be said of all the amusements of our people that they are, I am sorry to say, brutal, or innocent, or instructive, or even elevating. The brutal amusements, I am happy to think, are becoming less and less in their number. Bull-baiting and bear-baiting are things of the past, and if cock-fighting is practised as I am afraid it is, not far from Birkenhead occasionally—it is done surreptitiously. I speak at any rate from official knowledge, which came to me as to practices in the county of Chester some years ago, when, I think, they were patronised not only by the common people, but even by a magistrate or two-(laughter)-who had given into the irre