Welsh Journals

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These wet black passes and foam-churning chasms- And God's free air, and hope of better things. Oldcastle wishes that he could speak the tongue of those among whom he now wanders in exile, not for the purpose of winning them to the true faith though he contemplates doing so at some future season, but to satisfy his gnawing hunger. As it is, no sooner is his English accent heard than memories of bloody feuds not yet appeased prompt a sullen refusal of his request for bread. I would I knew their speech; not now to glean, Not now-I hope to do it-some scatter'd ears, Some ears for Christ in this wild field of Wales- But, bread, merely for bread. This tongue that wagg'd They said with such heretical arrogance Against the proud Archbishop Arundel- So much God's cause was fluent in it-is here But as a Latin Bible to the crowd; "Bara!what use? The shepherd, when I speak, Vailing a sudden eyelid with his hard "Dim Saesneg" passes, wroth at things of old- No fault of mine. Had he God's word in Welsh He might be kindlier; happily come the day! As may be seen from this poem, Tennyson pos- sessed some knowledge of the Welsh tongue, and in "Geraint and Enid" his transformation of the brutal earl's name from its Welsh form to the English Doorm proves his familiarity with Welsh pronunciation. "The Marriage of Geraint" and "Geraint and Enid," originally published as one poem under the name of "Enid," were practically completed during Tennyson's tour of 1856. It is but natural therefore that these poems should be unusually rich in allusions to Welsh scenes. In "The Marriage of Geraint" the hero is so in- spired by his love for Enid, that when he chal- lenges the Knight of the Sparrow-Hawk he feels as if he could move Cader Idris. And when he has won Enid he brings her to Arthur's capital, where the Queen awaits them with impatience. MIS MAWRTH MIS MAWRTH-mawr ryfyg adar; Chwerw oerwynt ar dalar; Hwy fydd hinon na heiniar; Hwy pery Hid na galar; Pob rhyw arynnaig a ysgar; Pob edn a edwyn ei gymar; Pob peth a ddaw trwy'r ddaear Ond y marw mawr ei garchar. Now thrice that morning Guinevere had climb VI The giant tower, from whose high crest, they say, Men saw the goodly hills of Somerset, And white sails flying on the yellow sea; But not to goodly hill or yellow sea Look'd the fair Queen, but up the vale of Usk, By the flat meadow, till she saw them come. In "Geraint and Enid" the Usk is again men- tioned, on this occasion by way of a simile, when Enid warns Geraint of three villains lying in ambush. In scarce longer time Then at Caerleon the full-tided Usk, Before he turns to fall seaward again, Pauses, did Enid, keeping watch, behold Three other horsemen. Memories of North Wales also emerge in "Geraint and Enid." Once, as Tennyson stood near Festiniog listening to the brawling of a mountain-torrent, he heard the louder roar of a larger waterfall, and he uses this experience as a simile to convey the effect of Geraint's massive voice heard above the din of battle. As one, That listens near a torrent mountain-brook, All thro' the crash of the near cataract hears The drumming thunder of the huger fall At distance, were the soldiers wont to hear His voice in battle. At the close of the poem occurs yet another simile, which embodies a personal observation of Tennyson. Geraint, now reconciled to Enid, lies recovering of his grievous wound, and her gentle presence Fill'd all the genial courses of his blood With deeper and with ever deeper love, As the Southwest that blowing Bala lake Fills all the sacred Dee. "ENGLYNION Y MISOEDD" MARCH MARCH-great is the daring of birds; Bitter the cold blast on the headland; Fair weather outstays harvesting; Anger is more enduring than grief; All fear is a separator; Each bird knows its own mate; All things come through the ground Save the dead-strong his prison.