Welsh Journals

curb your metaphysicalness. Curb it, that is to say, till you have got an absolutely firm hold, to be felt in your writing, of concrete reality. Allow pleasure as much place as you can. The sensuous joy one does feel in things and moments the pleasure in the thing-for-its-own-sake. I don't think the Welsh and Irish feel this kind of -pleasure as naturally, as constitutionally, as do the French and English. I suppose that comes from what's inevitably referred to as the "dark" streak in Celts. The Russians, such as Turgenev and Tolstoi seem to me the ideal writers in a particular and important sense they feel and give pure sensuous pleasure, and at the same time the soul is never absent-they never for a moment try to deny the darkness. I have a great feeling for and belief in your writing. I think that with every year you are going to realise your powers, and order them, and balance them against each other. ENID Whxiams ELIZABETH BOWEN. Ben Knowledge By GEORGE EWART EVANS SOME people were coming over from England the other day and they were stopping in Llwyncelyn with the Parry's down in Victoria Row and after they'd got to know a few of the folk down there they were asking with a bit of surprise how it was that Ben Knowledge's boy should have such a lovely name as Cadwaladr Berkeley Jones. Now down in Victoria Row it's the same as in the rest of Llwyncelyn when a baby is born the whole street are godfathers and it's few people who don't know which rich uncle a boy is named after. But when the visitors asked about Ben Knowledge's Cad. everybody was doubtful. They could all say Cadwaladr now, he was a big man in the Wars, wasn't he ? And there's Ben's uncle down in Swansea of the same name. They say he's got a bit of money but he's hale and hearty and good for a long mile yet. But Berkeley, now you're asking me. Who was this here Berkeley, Annie Bevan ? I'm really afraid I can't tell you myself." And when they asked Mrs. Jones Knowledge, she would only answer vaguely, Oh, Berkeley is someone our Ben has met;" and that's how it stood. But there were two or three who knew where the name came from and Jim Adams was one of them and if Jim would tell the whole story it would go something like this