CAMBRIAN NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17570, 22 June 1925, Page 4

CAMBRIAN NOTES.

WELSH SCENERY AND PLACE-NAMES. Air St Loe Stfaeliey, editor of the ■ Spectator. a great tqurist, has oomj>ared the Bay ,ot Eleusis with Trcmadoc in these words: “ I know and love, and could say without hesitation that I have seen Moclwyn and Coder Idris showing tints of deeper bluo than those on the Hellenic summits. I have seen many castles in France, in Italy, in Switzerland, in the Pyrcn-nc-es ami in Palestine, but I liavfc never beheld anything more impressive than tho two great strongholds of Carnarvon and Conway, and to these, I may add Harlech.” And yet artists and travellers leave Vales in search of ‘scenery, and. of course tourists from other parts of the world go to "Wales to h>ee its beauties, and just at present there are increased railway which, for a trifling sum, convey travellers from one end of Wales to the other, and out here, in New Zealand, those who remember and love their country, are glad that this is so, but wo resent the somewhat ruthless manner in which officialdom deals wit!* Welch place-names. Only the othei day at AYclslipool ail English lawyer spoke of that historic range of which the Breiddin forms part, as the Alid dlestOAvn Hills. The Breiddin with 1 Aloel v Gollfa and Cefn y Casoll arc i a great mass of ‘ rocky mountain.?, whose bases are prettily covered with woods, above which the mountains suddenly present a tremendous and precipitous front. Within sight of these mountains. Gwalchmni, the warrior-poet, after being under arms all night, charmed with tho approach of day, and the beauty of five scene, tho melody of birds and tho murmur of tlie sea. forgot all care, and. in spito of the danger of the advancing foe composed a poem Rise, orb of clav! The eastern gates unfold, And show thy crimson mantle fringed with gold, Contending birds sing sweet on ev'rj spray: The skies are bright- - arise thou orb 1 call; in song, in Avar renowned, Who lion-like, confusion spreads around, The liA-e-long-niglii, the hero and the hard,

Near Breiddin's rocks have kejffc a | constant guard : Where cool, transparent stream? in murmurs glide. Ami springing grass adorns the moun- j tain side: Where snow-white scamevs in the cur- [ rent play, And spread gay plumes and frolic j through the day. Such a slip-shod reference to our j beautiful mountains, so graphically de- ; scribed by Gwalchmai. and poetically ; termed by Mr Lloyd George “the Gate- j way of Wales” is unpardonable. The names have been changed to please the Shropshire immigrants who have come over the border, of recent 3-ears, and taken up their abode in these historic parts of Montgomeryshire. If the names are changed history will be forgotten, i The original and always picturesque j descriptive names should not be tarn- j pered with by railway companies, or j the organisers of English excursions, ; or, indeed, by anybody else. To please | these people, Friog has become Angli- ! cised and is now Fairbourne. The an- \ cient and historic Bangon > r s y Coed, j has been corrupted to the mongrel Bangon on Dee. It may be on the Dee, but its old associations with the woods will be lost, and its once great importance as the site of a famous monastery, and the part it played in the history of . the Church of Wales, forgotten. Towyn- 1 on-Sea, Dyffryn-on-Sea, Rhos-on-Sea are really too comical for words —and unspeakably vulgar. Llantysilio has become Four Crosses —which suggests, at best, a publichouse- and is very far removed from the original name. "Llan ’ in all cases meaning “holy.” This new name, especially shows a lamentable lack of imagin- ■ ation on the part of the English. The i Royal < '-ommission appointed to inquire 1 into the present condition of the Welsh j language should stop this wanton destruction of beautiful place names. SOCIAL. At the reception at the Women’s Club last Tuesday, given in honour of her Excellency the Lady Alice Fergussen, warden of the club, Madame Gower-Burns, sang "lie is good, He is ! kind,” from Herodias, and was after- : wards presented to her Excellency by ; the president, Mrs Henry Holland. In ! the cov.rse of conversation, Madame Gower-.l.3urns remarked how pleasantly history repeats itself. It did not seem so very long ago since she sang before Lady- Alice's father. Lord Glasgow, when he was Governor New Zealand. And now she was singing for his daughter. Not so very long ago. too, she had the honour of singing before the Duke and Duchess of York, the present • iving and < 1 latei she sang at the great reception to their j son, II R.H. tho Prince of Wajes. “You 1 know. I am Welsh.” said Madame i Gower-Burns, and this reminded Lady j Alice of an interesting little episode, which, she said, she could never forget. It happened during the war. One day, ' when she was awaiting Sir Charles For- 1 gnsson's arrival treni France at a London station it was cold and quit fer no lights were allowed because of the air raids, and everything scented dreary and the time dragged wearily: when, suddenly, women’s voices were heard, singing, and singing in parts, me or' the chi Welsh airs. waiting for wounded men expected I by the train: «•.- perhaps they were | the mothers, wives, sisters and sweet- { hearts of soldiers of some Welsh regi- I ment coining home on leave. Anyway, ! from the moment the little band of j Welsh women began to sing all was . changed—the tedious waiting, the ' dreary station, and we just listened to the beautiful singing- -a memory which left a deep impression. One heard, incidentally, during the evening from one of the few ladies who attended the dinner at W givei b] t he 1 haml er of Commerce and attended by 130 men, that the tables were decorated with violets in floating bowls and silver and crystal vases of the delicate mauve iris stylosa, from the garden of a Welsh lady in one of the suburbs, arranged with sprigs of fairv-like fontanaris and sprays of asparagus ferns. Madame Gower-Burns gave the i second of her series of operatic recitals | on Friday in the larg : : -. •: hall of Mr J G rg IIc!n ■ ' • in 1 r.daltoi |

1 n beautiful setting for a rare musical treat, with its massive staircase and gallery’, handsome old oak and mako- ! gany furniture, engravings, brasses and I blue china. She sang Santruzza’s song , from Mascagni’s “ Cavalleria RustiJ cana ” and a pretty little song. “ (iood- • morning,” by Greig, before the tragic ! opera “La Tosca,” by Puccini. A brief I sketch of his life was given. The story, , with many excerpts from the orcheytrai tion. played on the piano, the grand i opening chords, the stately Te Deum from the cathedral scene, and the | sprightly minuet. Madame sang the principal soprano soli, and also Mario < avaradossi’s great tenor solo, with infinite pathos and intense dramatic power. Next Saturday is the literary evening j in Room C, Y.M.C.A-. at 7.45 p.m. After the reading of the papers and supper, I there will be community singing of the i favourite old Welsh airs. AH interested i are welcome. j The choir meets at the Y.M.C.A. cn j July’ 1 at 8 p.m. to practice for the ! service at the East Belt Church on ! July 2G. All wishing to join are invited to communicate with the honorary-' secretary.