DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61904#0133
CONWAY AND ITS CASTLE.
121
woman, his mother as we fuppofed, was with him ; but this, as
we learned afterwards, was not the cafe ; neverthelefs, fhe was
his friend, and helped him when the rain began, to cover his harp,
as the other harpers had done theirs, that the firings might be
kept dry. But now that the harp conteft is expected to take
place, every harper is bufy with his inftrument, and you hear a
tuning of firings in preparation. Behind the boy is a fomewhat
grand, peafant-like man, whofe breaft is covered with medals,
and he too is almofl blind. He is a celebrated harper from
South Wales, the fuccefsful candidate in many former contefts,
and now, he or the boy, our friend tells us, will in all probability
carry away the increafed prize. The woman lifts the covering
from the boy’s harp, whilft his thin, fmall, nervous fingers try the
firings, firft one and then another. Very jealoufly the woman
lifts it, juft far enough to admit the little hand and no farther.
But the rain forbade this moil interefting conteft, which
indeed only took place on the laid day, when, as our friend
had predicted, the many-medalled harper and the boy were
the vidlors. They, however, in the firfl place, contefted fo
equally, that a fecond trial was called for, when the boy carried
off the firft, and the man the fecond prize.
One feature of thefe national gatherings fhould not be over-
looked, namely, the enlarged knowledge of the language to
which they lead. Half a century ago, when the Welfh tongue
was fpoken even more univerfally than now, it was difregarded
by the higher and educated claffes, and there was fcarcely a
fingle Welfh clergyman of the Church of England in a Welfh
pulpit—hence one caufe of the immenfe growth of diffent in
Wales, and of the number of little chapels which you find
everywhere. Now however, on the contrary, when the Englifh
mingle more than ever with the Welfh, and the Englifh lan-
guage is taught in their eftablifhed village fchools, every church,
R
121
woman, his mother as we fuppofed, was with him ; but this, as
we learned afterwards, was not the cafe ; neverthelefs, fhe was
his friend, and helped him when the rain began, to cover his harp,
as the other harpers had done theirs, that the firings might be
kept dry. But now that the harp conteft is expected to take
place, every harper is bufy with his inftrument, and you hear a
tuning of firings in preparation. Behind the boy is a fomewhat
grand, peafant-like man, whofe breaft is covered with medals,
and he too is almofl blind. He is a celebrated harper from
South Wales, the fuccefsful candidate in many former contefts,
and now, he or the boy, our friend tells us, will in all probability
carry away the increafed prize. The woman lifts the covering
from the boy’s harp, whilft his thin, fmall, nervous fingers try the
firings, firft one and then another. Very jealoufly the woman
lifts it, juft far enough to admit the little hand and no farther.
But the rain forbade this moil interefting conteft, which
indeed only took place on the laid day, when, as our friend
had predicted, the many-medalled harper and the boy were
the vidlors. They, however, in the firfl place, contefted fo
equally, that a fecond trial was called for, when the boy carried
off the firft, and the man the fecond prize.
One feature of thefe national gatherings fhould not be over-
looked, namely, the enlarged knowledge of the language to
which they lead. Half a century ago, when the Welfh tongue
was fpoken even more univerfally than now, it was difregarded
by the higher and educated claffes, and there was fcarcely a
fingle Welfh clergyman of the Church of England in a Welfh
pulpit—hence one caufe of the immenfe growth of diffent in
Wales, and of the number of little chapels which you find
everywhere. Now however, on the contrary, when the Englifh
mingle more than ever with the Welfh, and the Englifh lan-
guage is taught in their eftablifhed village fchools, every church,
R