Welsh Journals

Search over 450 titles and 1.2 million pages

Let no one misunderstand this paragraph. It must not be taken as in any way substantiating the abuse thrown at the London Welsh by Lewis Morris, some of whose lapses were set out in the first paper of this series. This Pretty piece of social law-making should be read in conjunction with a section of the Introduction," where the Cymmrodorion state the following resolves :— With regard to ourselves, as Members of this society, it will be our constant care strictly to observe a just Order and Decorum at our several Meetings; to conduct ourselves unblameably and inoffensively, to discourage all Vice and Im- morality, to promote every private and public Virtue, to testify our firm Attachment to His Majesty, King George, and his mild and auspi- cious Government, to cultivate a good Under- standing amongst ourselves, and to extend our Charity and Benevolence towards all Mankind. Did men ever gather together with loftier intentions ? Was the circle of moral ambition ever flung with a wider circumference ? This is the very quintessence of good conduct. It may have been that they could not always maintain this standard in every particular; but Browning has put their case in the words-" What I aspired to be and was not comforts me." This was the code of the London Welshmen of whom Lewis Morris said that there was not one of them but had been with the Llywydd— borrowing money Would that the pseudocritics were able to extend to the London Welsh that Charity and Benevolence which the London Welsh desire to extend ta all Mankind It is to be expected that so worthy a body of men would see to it that St. David's Day was given its just significance in the social life of their kinsmen in the city. In Rule xx., they handle the matter in a seemly spirit, determining to make Rules and Orders for the better regulating and conducting the Annual Feast of the Antient Britons on St. David's Day in order to retrieve the Credit and Dignity of that honour- able and charitable Institution. With all its zeal for letters, and with all its concern for its own rites and ceremonies, the Society was eager to deal generously with those in distress amongst the London Welsh. From its Poor Box it disbursed sums in aid of the needy, and it held in special regard the welfare of the Welsh Charity School on Clerkenwell Green. Moreover, upon the death of any one of the Brethren, it still displayed that sense of comradeship which had bound the members to him in his living day. By the twenty-third Rule of the "Constitutions," it was ordained that the Cymmrodorion should attend the funeral of every deceased brother, in formal procession, the officers going before them with their wands, and the British Charity Boys singing Psalms." With the Constitutions is preserved also the song of the Cymmrodorion, Caniad y Cymmrodorion, for the uplifting of voices after elections to the Society. The lines that introduce this paper are taken from the song. Here, too, we see the same spirit of formal order and the same casting of a careful eye on all occasions. The fourth stanza is judiciously printed. It gives alternatives to cover either the admission of a single candidate or of a number. DoWch yfwch, Gymmrodorion, At Iechyd (ein brawd) rhadlon {brodyr ) A ddaeth i'n mysg mewn dysg a dawn, Yn llawen iawn (ei galon. (eu colon. » This thoughtful provision for the future is also shewn regarding later stanzas which resound against France and Spain. The War of Austrian Succession had united those two countries against Britain and her friends. The Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748 was but a breathing space. The Caniad is shaped for peace or war, and a footnote explains that the bellicose stanzas are to be reserved for the times that suit them. (Nodwch Ni chenir y 6, 7 a'r 8 bennill, ond pan hddom mewn rhyfel ar FJrancod a'r Yspaeniaid). The decades of this first Cymmrodorion Society were aflame with the passion for societies that had began to blaze in the hearts of the London Welsh. Names on the roll of one organisation recur in the rolls of other societies. Certain people appear to have had their preferences amongst the number open to their choice. There are no signs of friction or ill-will. The evidence is rather of friendliness and of co-operation. Many of those whom Richard Morris gathered around him for his venture we shall meet later in the Gwynedd- igion; but there are two or three names that call for treatment here. The Chief President of this first body of Cymmro- dorion was William Vaughan of Cors y Gedol and Nannau in Merionethshire, Esq. Custos Rotulorum of the County, and Member of the Honourable House of Commons." How well it all rolls on the tongue! How rich in the atmosphere of that age of gestures William Vaughan, Esq., was no mean personage; but it may fairly be said that London Welsh phraseology could live up to him. With his many duties, Vaughan could not be much more than a figure-head. But he lent the Cymmro- dorion the glory of his Custos Rotulorum," and that was no small service. The man who counted in authority was the President-Richard Morris of the Navy Office, Richard the Misrepresented as we may christen him, after the libels of brother Lewis. Morris was obviously an outstanding figure in London Welsh circles, one of those friendly souls who may be relied on for the gift of advice or the loan of money. His letters indicate a genuine interest in literature and a considerable range of knowledge. To his credit stands also the publishing of a Welsh Bible for the use of his countrymen. Mr. Daniel Venables was the Secretary ap- pointed in 1751. What kind of man he was we do not know, nor whence he came, nor how he earned his daily bread. The waters of oblivion have gone over him. But he read the minutes of the last meeting to the Cymmrodorion in those rosy years of dawn, while Pennant's British Zoology was but a dim, industrious purpose. Let us, therefore, pausing for a moment, salute the secretarial memory of Mr. Daniel Venables