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toitaa.

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toitaa. THE CAMBRIAN VISITOR. A Monthly Miscellany for the Principality of Wales and the adjoining counties. 1813. Swansea: David Jenkin. THE publication of this miscellany was a well meant attempt, thirty-three years ago, to serve the cause of Wales and its literature. Mr. David Jenkin, its publisher and editor, lived for many years in Swansea, as a bookseller and scrivener. He was a good Welsh and English scholar, and collected a large and valuable library. With the history of books and of authors, and especially of British authors, he was inti- mately acquainted. We believe his business habits were careless, and of himself, we are sorry to say, he was unmind- ful at the same time he was most scrupulously careful of the education of his children, and paid the most reverent respect to the com fort of his wife, who was a truly religious woman. We rather think Mrs. Jenkin still lives, and at Liverpool; at all events she is, we feel assured, safe, whe- ther here or in the world to come. We are equally gra- tified in being able to say that his sons are useful and respectable members of society. His eldest son, David Jenkin, we think, lives at Liverpool: the second is Albert Jenkin, Esq., barrister-at-law; the third, Mr. John Tre- velyan Jenkin, is a solicitor at Swansea; the fourth, the Rev. George Jenkin, is curate of Motham, in Lancashire. Mr. David Jenkin had a good degree of quiet, unpretend- ing wit. The following appears in his Notice to Correspon- dents, for the month of April, 1813:— The humble petition of David Jenkin, printer, bookseller, sta- tioner in general. Shoiveth,-That whereas certain correspondents with the Cam- brian Visitor have been pleased, in the superscription of their letters, to dub him, the aforesaid David Jenkin, an Esquire; he the aforesaid, now your petititioner, hath found that the dignity of his esquireship is manifestly demeaned by many of his usual qualifi- cations, such as serving up parcels, serving quires of paper, &c.; and your petitioner further showeth, that if he should persist in keeping up his aforesaid title ty neglecting his aforesaid occupa- tions, he humbly presumes to think that he shall degrade his dig- nity as an honest man and a provider for his family. Your peti- tioner doth therefore humbly pray that he may not be considered an ESQUI[IK in any part of his Majesty's realms, after this present first of April. And your petitioner, as in duty bound, shall ever pray, &c." The principal contributor to this work, as we opine, was ELIJAH WAKING, Esq., who then lived at Swansea, who afterwards married Miss Price, of Neath Abbey, and lived for many years at Bank-y-felin, near the bridge, at Neath, but now in Bristol. Mr. Waring is a native of Hampshire, and descends from the de Warren, whose name appears amongst the knights who exacted Magna Charta from the tyrannical Saxon monarch at Runnymede. He is one of the most intelligent and liberal minded gentlemen that one can meet with in the course of a life. Wherever he goes and stays for a length of time, lie is quite sure, by-some almost instinc- y,s tive, or intuitive rather, quality of mind, to attract to himself the acquaintance of whatever is lettered round about him. While in Glamorganshire, he became acquainted with all the literati of the county. lolo Morganwg was very fond of him, and he (almost) idolized (mab ei jitiz) the sturdy old bard. Many a night did lolo sleep in the arm chair at Mr. Waring's, after unyielding arguments on this point and that, against allgainsayers, whatever the subject might be. Mr. Waring has now, or had, a peithynen, con- structed by the good old lolo, and presented to him as a mark of respect and gratitude. On Iolo's death, Mr. Waring wrote a series of letters on his history and character to The Cam- brian," and we wish much that the excellent writer would publish them in a separate form. We believe he has now a good deal of leisure, and we earnestly request him to take this subject into his serious consideration. It would much serve the Welsh nation, which, Saxon or Norman though he be, lie much loves, and has reasons far his love; and, let the Reviewer add, that every Welshman who knows him, holds him in high esteem, and that for very substantial reasons. Tire Cambrian Miscellauy was conducted under the guid- ance of a right and true notion and purpose. It was specially designed to create among the English in Wales, and in the minds of Welsh-Englishmen, an interest in the history of the country and "it most zealously advocated the distribu- tion of the Bible among the people in their own tongue. We are sure we shall father gratify than trouble our readers with the following article, which we quote in extenso. It has a double interest, as indicating the kindly feelings of the conductors of the periodical, and as including the opinion of Dr. Johnson on a subject which so many persons take for granted is quite settled in the other direction:— "The readers of the Cambrian Visitor, as friends of the British aid Foreign Bible Society, will be likely to value the following letter from the eminent Dr. SAMUFL JOHNSON, which, with the introductory remarks, was published last year in the York Chro- nicle. Whilst the translation of the Christian Scriptures into all lan- guages, and their diffusion in all quarters of the g!obe (is pro- moted) by means of the Bible Society, it will be gratifying to many Ofour readers to see a copy of the following letter, on the translation of the Scriptures into Erse, &c. "I To Alr. William Drui-nmond. Sir,—I did not expect to hear that it could be, in an assem- bly convened for the propagation of Christian knowledge, a question whether any nation uninstructed in religion should receive instruc- tion or whether that instruction should be imparted anto them by a translation of the Holy Books into their own language. If obedience to the will of God be necessary to happiness, and know- ledge of his will be necessary to obedience, I know not how he. that withholds this knowledge, or delays it, can be said to love his neighbour as him ;elf. He that voluntarily continues in ignorance is guilty of all the crimes that ignorance produces as to him that i-honld extinguish the taper of a lighthouse mjghtjustly be imputed the calamities of shipwrecks. Christianity is the highest perfection of humanity but as no man is good but as he wishes the good of others, no man can be good in the highest degree who wishes not to others the largest measure of the greatest good. To omit for a yea:' or for a day the most efficacious method of advancing Christianity, in compliance with any purposes, that terminate on this side of the grave, is a crime of which I know- not that the world has yet had an example, except in the practice of the planters of America, a race of mortals who I suppose no other man wishes to resemble. The Papists have indeed denied to the I ut y the use of the Bible; but this prohibition, in few places now very rigourously enforced, is defended by arguments which have for their founda- tion the core of souls. To observe, upon motives merely political, the light of revelation, is a practice reserved f6r the reformed and surely the reluctant midnight of Popery is meridan sunshine to su?h a reformation. I am not w llitig that any langu ge should be titalhj extinguished. The similtude and derivation of languages a Turd the most indubitable proof of the traduction of nations, and, ths genealogy of mankind. They add often physical certainty to historical evidence, and often supply the only evidence of ancient migration, and of the revolution of ages, which left no written mo- nument behind them. Every man's opinions, at least his desire, are a little influ- enced by his favourite studies. My zeal for languages may seem perhaps rather overheated, even by those by whom I desire to be well esteemed. To those who have nothing in their thoughts but trade or policy, present power or present money, I should not think it necessary to defend my opinions but with mere men of letters I would not willingly compound, by wishing the continu- ance of every language, however narrow in its extent or however incommodious for common purposes, tilt it is re posited in some version of a known book that it may be alwavs hereafter examined and compared with other languages, and then permit its disuse. For this purpose the translation of the Bible is most, to be desired. It is not certain that the same method.wi!i not preserve the Highland language for the purposes of learning, and abolish it from daily use. When the Highlanders read the they will naturally wish to have its obscurities cleared, and to know the history, collateral and appendant. Knowledge always desires in- crease it is like rire, whieh must be first kindled by some e.vter- like n-ti azent, but which afterwards propagates itself. When they oace desire to learn, they will naturally have recourse to the nearest language by which that desire can be gratified and one would teil another that if he would attain knowledge he must learn English, This speculation may perhaps be thought more subtile than the g''o'sn'. ss f eallife will permit. Let it, however, be remem- bered that the efficacy of ignorance has been long tried, and has not produced the consequence expected. Let knowledge therefore take its turn, and let the patrons of privation s<tncl awhiLe a.icie. and admit she operations of positive principles. You will be pleased, sir, to assure the man who is employ e 1 in the translation, that he has my wishes for his success arid if here or at Oxford I can be of any use, that I shall think it more than honour to promote his undertaking. I am sorry that I delayed so long to write. I am sir, &c., Johnson's Court, Fieet-street, SANT. JOHNSON. Aug. 13, 1766.' {To be continued.)

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