of the poetical creation, just as the advance of a July sun dispels the
mist and cloud which hung over the earlier hours of day and veiled the
mountains and valleys from the eye of man. Poetry becomes now shorn of
its greatest extravangancies and wildest flights, instead of soaring with
the eagle to the extremities of space, it flies like the falcon within
human sight. In lieu of a Homer, a Shakespeare and a Milton, we have a
Pope, a Thomson and a Campbell.

The poetry of Wales may be classified into six parts, viz.: the sublime,
the beautiful, the patriotic, the humourous, the sentimental and
religious. Much of the poetry of the Principality consists of the first
class, and is specially dedicated to description and praise of the
Supreme Being, the universe and man. As the great objects of creation,
like the sun and moon, the planetary world and stars first attract the
attention of man and always enlist his deepest feelings, so they furnish
the great themes for the poetry of all nations, more especially in its
ruder stages. The Welsh poet is no exception to the rule. On the
contrary, he indulges in the highest flights of imagination, and borrows
the grandest imagery and choicest description to set forth the Most High
and his wonderful works. No translation can convey to the English reader
the interest and effect which this class of poetry has and produces upon
the Welsh mind, simply because their trains of thought are so entirely
different. The power and expressiveness of the Welsh language, which
cannot be transferred into any English words, also add materially to the
effect of this class of poetry upon the native mind. The Cymric is
unquestionably an original language, and possesses a force and expression
entirely unknown to any of the derivative tongues. The finer parts of
scripture, as the Book of Job and the Psalms, are immeasurably more
impressive in the Welsh than English language. The native of the
Principality, who from a long residence in the metropolis or other parts