The London Kelt

Football. THE London Welsh Rugbyists had a very pleasant little outing- on Satur- day. Punctually at 2 oclock, Secre- tary Rumsey and his team of gallant men, accompanied by the KELT man, took their seats in the saloon reserved for their special accommodation by the Midland Rail- way Co. at St. Pancras, whence they were conveyed at express speed, without a single stoppage, to KLettering. Here the distinguished visitors were received by two resetted" officials and a spacious Charabanc in which they were personally conducted to the Ketter- ing Association football ground. The weather there was beautifully fine, so that the couple of miles drive was thoroughly enjoyed. The attendance was already large and constantly growing, and a capital brass bind stationed in the enclosure helped to while away the time until the wicked Taffies turned out. This was the return match with Northamp- ton St. James', who, on Nov. 2nd, visited Tufnell Park and inflicted the first defeat of the season upon the London Welsh by 8 points to 3. Until then the Welsh lines had not once been crossed, since then, however, their for- tunes have been more varied. The Saints, on the other hand, had managed to keep on their winning way fairly successfully, as the follow- ing record shows Played 27, won 21, lost 4, drawn 2, points for 380, against 62. Tnat is a record of which they may be justly proud and which could only have been gained at the expense of much perseverance and long practice together. Perhaps by the time the London Welsh, under the new management, have had as much experience, they may be able to show as good, if not a better record. The luck has been dead against them this season, however, both as regards players and performances. Before Saturday's match their record read :— Played 18, won 4, lost 7, drawn 7. Six of the drawn games were pointless. Considering that the same team has not turned out two successive Saturdays, the above figures are not, by any means, disheartening. Time was when Kettering boasted of as good a team of Ruggists as the Saints, but for the last seven yeais no Rugby match had been witnessed there before Saturday. Taking advantage of the absence of the local Sockers at Millwall, arrangements were made for embracing the opportunity of reviving the grand old game in the district. Thanks to extensive advertising and the fame of the rivals, the" gate was an extra large one and had only once been bettered this season, there being about 5,000 enthusiasts present, of whom nearly 2,000 had accompanied the Saints from Northampton. Seeing the Taffies turn out in their national red Jerseys, which happens to be similar to the hue of the Kettering colors, caused a section of the crowd to adopt the Welshmen as their own, but it was not until after the match that it dawned upon the players why they were being styled" Kets." Some thought it was" Kelts," while one or two suspected it was H Cads and would have liked to display their ability at the noble art of self-defence. Davies won the toss and elected to play with the slight gradient. The Saints went away with a rush for the Welsh goal and Lovesey's attempt to pick out of the scrum meeting the watchful eye of Mr. Moore, gave them a free" in front of the posts. Cave easily scored. Ten minutes afterwards T. J. Davies was seen careering merrily towards the other end and, after trickily evading all opposition, planting the ball just over the line near the corner. "Toomey" Griffiths was entrusted with the kick and a goal unexpectedly resulted. Hannen managed to score under the bar soon afterwards and Cave kicked the second goal for the Saints. Smith again got over but was whistled back; then Cave had another shot from a free but the attempt was charged down, while, before the interval, Smith again crossed the line, but only to be rolled over and robbed of the leather by Bannister. In the second half both Williams and Kings- ton all but beat the Welsh defence and a free again in a favorable position gave Cave another opportunity but, this time, he charitably contented himself with hitting the upnght only. The same player also distingu- ished himself in a race with Davies whom he managed to force into touch in the nick of time. Davies, however, had his revenge a few minutes before the close, upon Smith, whom he pushed into touch in goal. Thus an interesting game ended in a deserving win for the Saints by 2 goals (1 penalty) to 1 goal- 8 points to 5. In consequence of certain reports that had gained currency in London football circles, the Welsh took the field fully prepared to have a rough time of it with both opponents and spectators. In both respects the rumours proved misleading. The Referee tried to discharge his duties conscientiously and the conduct of the crowd was sportsmanlike. A capital game was witnessed and thoroughly enjoyed. It was most unfortunate that the Welsh could not command their full strength against such famous foemen, but they came out of it better than they expected. Had Bob Rowlands and Wat Hughes been in their places in the pack, and had Davies had speed- ier partners at three-quarter, the result might have been closer than it was, or even the other way about. Every man, however, did his level best and that they succeeded in preventing more than one try from being scored against them testifies to the quality of their defence. The Saints had an ideal quartette that could pass and run and field and kick. I have never seen the Londoners tackle better. The forwards were very well matched, The Northampton halves were very smart but the Welsh pair were the safer tacklers. Love- sey was again, as against Wickham Park, un- fortunate in being the cause of a penalty goal by which his side lost the match. He will pro- bably be more careful in future and if, also, he continues his efforts to improve his passing so as to attain the same standard of excellence as in tackling, the London Welsh will soon be possessed of as reliable a pair of halves as any club of their class in London. Skipper Gould is the title of a new song by "Paul Brenton." It has been composed in honor of the famous Rugby International. Having a simple, taking air, with a spirited swing, it is likely to become popular, not only at Smokers," but also with musical teams on tour. A good specimen of the sentiments ex- pressed is the following verse As long as Britain boasts her sons, So long shall sport survive; 7 As long as Britons love fair play, Let emulation strive <| We know the need of manly men Whose passions have been schooled And would our lads a model seek, They'll follow Arthur Gould. '• There are two Internationals down for decision today. The Welsh team made the journey to Dublin on Thursday so as to have time to get over the effects of the trip on sea. The Irish team has given unanimous satisfac- tion in Ireland but the Welsh are equally sanguine of succeeding yet in doing what England failed to do at Leeds. A strong representative team has been sent by England to Glasgow to try conclusions with bonnie Scotland. Tonight we shall know who the champions are. It is only Scotland that

will now be found to admit that the extinc- the Welsh language would be of immediate or lasting benefit to the Welsh people. If the stars in their courses are fighting against our ancient and honoured lan- guage, if the conditions of modern life are such as to impede its growth as a commercial and business organ, and if -as some say-its demise is only a matter of time, that does not exempt us from our responsibility. The greatest question which Cymru Sydd has to answer is, to what use should the Welsh language and Welsh liter- ature be put ? No one pretends that Dafydd ab Gwilym is as great a poet as Shakspaare, or that Goronwy can be classed with Milton, or Elis Wynne with Bunyan, or Ceiriog with Tennyson, or Islwyn with Wordsworth. Eng- lish literature in range, variety, and beauty is unequalled by any literature, ancient or modern the English language is the noblest and most flexible of all modern tongues it is the inheritor of all the ages, and seems destined to be the universal language of the future. But, unfortunately, the Anglicised Welshman—unless he be well educated- loses his grip of Welsh literature without learning how to appreciate the great works of English writers. When he forgets his Welsh he loses Ceiriog and Islwyn, but he does not gain in their stead Shakspeare and Wordsworth. The new language of an Ang- licised workman is not the language of Tennyson and Ruskin, but of the porthman pen ffair and the Somerset navvy. The new literature he gains consists not of the master- pieces of English prose and verse, but of low- toned newspapers and debasing "penny dreadfuls." The'plain duty of Welshmen, therefore, is to cling fast to the language, which is their differentia among the nations of the world, not for mere sentiment's sake, but because it remains and will remain the most humanising influence in the land. At the close of this century Welsh Nationalists may well take courage and face the future with an unblenched mien. They have still many ob- stacles to surmount and many dangers to meet; but the century closes with many splendid auguries for the future. The light of Welsh patriotism never burnt with a purer flame the prospects of the Welsh language, of the Eisteddfod, and of all that is most deserving in Welsh life never seemed brighter; the people themselves are taking a new view of their position in the world and are awakening to the many excellent qual- ities with which Providence has blessed them. We may, with truth, apply to the Wales of to-day the words which Mr. Lecky used in reference to the Ireland of Grattan's time. "After a long winter of oppression and misery, the sunlight of hope has at last dawned upon the country, and a spirit of self-respect has begun to animate its people."