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fines of England, the stipend of labourers is higher, and the means of subsistence are a little dearer. The wages of those who follow trades, to which a certain term of apprenticeship is deemed necessary, are uniformly greater than the wages of mere labourers. These different classes of artisans obtain from two shillings to three and sixpence a day. The lowest rate of wages is given in the country, and the highest in towns. The mechanics of Wales, it must be confessed, are inferior to those of England. The workmanship bestowed on any piece of furniture, or on any article of dress, in England, is much more skilful and better executed than in Wales. the same time it is not to be inferred that the operatives of our native land perform their work in a rude and slovenly manner; on the contrary, many excellent specimens of workmanship may be seen, in every part of the country. Penrhyn Castle is a splendid monument of the skill and talent of native artists, and England can boast of but few buildings that equal, and scarcely any which surpass, that magnificent structure. The labouring classes of Wales are not to be considered as sunk in ignorance and barbarism. In scientific knowledge it is allowed they are lamentably deficient, but in religious information, and moral conduct, they equal, if they do not surpass, those of any other country in the world. The quarrymen of Carnarvonshire are a shrewd and intelligent race of men. They are generally fond of reading. Many of them have been, and are at present, good Welsh scholars, and some have distinguished themselves as poets, being able to compose in the most difficult metres used in the language. It has been noticed by many that shoe-makers are a class of artisans who are somewhat remarkable for their shrewdness, and many of them maintain a reputation, among their acquaintance, for talents and acquirements. Neither are those useful men who make our clothes, viewed in a despicable light in the principality, though but few of them are deemed sufficiently skilful to work for the wealthier classes. Weavers are a class of

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workmen that are on the decline, as many of the articles of dress, which they formerly used to weave, are purchased in shops at a much lower rate than they can be made at home. From these different sections of the population a great number of the ministers and preachers, belonging to Dissenting communities, have sprung. The loom and the board have sent forth some specimens of genius and talent, which have caused considerable excitement among the inhabitants of the 'land we live in.'

Wales has a large pauper population. These consist of decayed labourers, widows, orphans, and persons unable to work owing to bad health. The destitution of this part of the community is very great. Sufficient time has not yet elapsed to enable us to judge fairly of the tendency and effects of the new poor law. In Wales, only few workhouses have been erected, and these, it must be remembered, are a very essential part of the plan. I am inclined to consider most of the arrangements of the new system an improvement on the old, though I confess that, at present, nothing is to be heard but the loudest complaints against the law, both from those who pay taxes, and from those who receive parochial relief. The one party say that they never paid so much money, and the other complain that their case is much worse, under the present than under the former arrangement. It is stated that the salaries to officers, and other expenses before unknown, amount, in the small county of Anglesey, to several hundreds of pounds. In thinly populated districts, therefore, the new plan is felt to be a grievance, but where the population is large it is proved that the present law effects a great saving to the country.

Having occasion, frequently, to visit the cottages of the poor, I often hear and see things that give me sincere pain. The tale of woe, communicated by widows and others, who are dependent on parochial aid, is truly heart-rending! How a poor woman can subsist on one shilling, and a couple of old people on eighteen pence a week, is more than I am able to

comprehend. Frequently are such persons without any fire, in the depth of winter, and with but a very small portion of food. Under such circumstances these people have no resource but that of begging, and when they cannot take an excursion for that purpose, they are obliged to retire to their chaff or straw beds, miserably protected from cold, that the cravings of want may be diminished. These are facts and not visionary statements. The poor of Wales are not to be considered an abandoned race of people. Some of them undoubtedly are very immoral; but many may be found, who are quiet, resigned, and devoted to religion; and Christianity appears to be producing its benign and transforming influence on their minds. It must be confessed however that there are others who are sufferers on account of their extravagance and dissipated habits at a former period of their lives, and these may be generally known by their thankless and discontented behaviour.

THE INHABITANTS of North and South Wales differ, in some things, the one from the other. It may be the science which teaches that a sort of hereditary character belongs to nations, which is developed in the countenance and in the conformation of the cranium, and makes its appearance also in the actions of life, has its foundation in truth. This national character, however, is subject to modifications from various causes. In Blackwood's Magazine of Nov. 1829, the character of the English, the Scotch, and the Irish, is attempted to be drawn. Our own nation is only incidentally mentioned. "In the West," says the writer, "the Saxon-English are blended with the Welsh; but there is here no gain, because the Welsh cross can add passion chiefly, without higher reasoning powers. The Welsh, in fact, are already a compound of Celt, Saxon, &c., as both physiognomy and language prove; and in them the imagination or passion of the former, and the perseverance of the latter, combine to produce that dull mysticism, or that dark and smouldering anger, which

sometimes elicits such frightful consequences."

Then the writer goes on to state what kind of appearance the Welsh character makes when placed in juxtaposition with that of the English. "How mad the dull mysticism-how atrocious the gloomy passion-of Wales must seem amid the lucid common sense and unimpassioned judgment of England, may be easily conceived. How abased their possessors must feel when surrounded by a more numerous race, not more distinguished from them by plain sense, and candid impartiality, than by civilization and opulence, is equally obvious." If there be any truth in these statements the sooner the Welsh character be annihilated the better. It is high time that we disperse ourselves among the various tribes which form the English nation, that we may be altogether incorporated as one people, and that our dull mysticism,' and our gloomy passion,' may be entirely lost in the brightness of the 'lucid common sense and unimpassioned judgment of England.'

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The Northwalian of the present day exhibits a good deal of calmness, inclining more than should be to tameness. He is not averse to society, but rather delights in conversation. truth he is remarkably talkative. No wonder that he should be so little in love with reading and meditation. In regard to strangers he is, at first, rather shy, but at the same time duly respectful. The grand key to his good graces is cheerfulness, Religion has taught him his general faults and infirmities, but his pride will not allow him to let others make a laughing-stock of him, or be merry at his expence. The Denbighshire people appear more demure in their habits than the inhabitants of any other part of Wales. They have a good share of common sense, and though somewhat grave they are not without cheerfulness. In Merionethshire there is much innocence and simplicity; and the inhabitants stand pre-eminent among their countrymen for their chastity. It is in these two counties, and in the mountainous districts of Carnarvonshire, but especially in the parts of Merionethshire

around Bala, that the Welsh language is spoken in its greatest purity. I do not mean to assert that there is not much corruption in the common dialect, but on the whole, the admixture of English, and the corruption of Welsh words, are in a much less ratio than in any other place. In travelling some years ago, from Bala to Dolgelley, I was overtaken by a servant youth of about eighteen years of age, belonging to the neighbourhood of the latter place, with whom I entered into conversation, and was much struck with the clearness and correctness of his language. I asked him whether he had received any education? He replied that he had not beyond what the Sunday School had afforded. I then told him my reason for proposing such a question, that I was surprised at the excellence of his language. He observed "that their language in that part of the country, was the language of the Bible." A magistrate, residing in South Wales, informed me, when discussing this subject, that he, as well as some others who sat with him on the bench at Aberystwyth, was a good deal impressed with the clearness with which a man from the neighbourhood of Dolgelley spoke, when giving his evidence before them.

The language of the principality may be divided into three leading dialects. It is true that some difference exists in each county, but it is not so great as to require a separate classification. The language of Powys, with the exception of the parts of the counties of Radnor and Brecknock which it embraces, does not materially differ from that of Gwynedd, either in the use or the pronunciation of words. Ceredigion and Dimitia may be classed together. Siluria has a dialect which is very distinguishable from all the others. These dialects bear too remote an analogy to those of Greece to be compared together. If the latter were mere deviations from a common standard, and only spoken by the common people in different provinces, however learned it may be to talk of their beauties, judging from analogy, it appears that they were so esteemed