filled with earth. On the north-east side, the highest part of the ground, the wall is about 2 ft. high and 9 ft. thick from the external facing to the small circular chambers. On the opposite side the wall is constructed on a rampart, sloping away from its base, and its height, exclusive of the rampart, is about 9 or 10 ft., the breadth 4 ft. The entrance faces a little east of south, and forms the approach to a passage somewhat more than 20 ft. in length, and contracted in width towards the interior of the dwelling. Passing through this we came into a large open area 32 ft. by 34, from which openings led into small chambers apparently constructed within the thickness of the wall on the east and north sides. Three of these chambers are from 15 to 12 ft. in diameter; the fourth, opposite the entrance, being of much greater dimensions. One half of the second cell on the right of the entrance is deeper than the other. All these chambers are regularly walled; in some instances the stones appear to have been slightly overstepped, and thus gradually approaching as they increased in height, and giving the structure somewhat of a beehive form. The stone-work, however, does not appear to have converged sufficiently to have formed a perfect dome, and the apex of the roof was probably constructed of furze and turf laid on branches of trees. The large open area could only have been roofed by the erection of a pole in the centre, with others converging to its summit from the surrounding walls. No traces, however, of such construction exist, neither does it seem probable that this space was ever covered in. The dimensions of this hut [the whole enclosure] are about 80 by 65 ft. Three or four yards north of this is another, somewhat less in size, on nearly the same plan: there are, however, but three cells, and the outer wall follows the shapes of these cells, not being carried around in a continuous curve as in that described above. This second hut has, within the large open area, two walled pits, each 6 by 3 ft., and similar in

character, though much less in size, to those in the camp on Worle Hill in Somerset, and to those found in some of the Cornish hill-castles" (pp. 134-5).

This description agrees in general with the ancient homesteads that are found in Wales, but Mr. Blight calls the whole structure a hut, which term might, with greater propriety, be applied to one of the four chambers built into the wall of the homestead. The small chambers may have been separately occupied by various members of the family, or by different families closely connected. Be this as it may, the striking similarity between the Welsh and Cornish vestiges of these most ancient abodes is remarkable, and but few would have the temerity to say that they all alike owe their origin to the Irish, as Camden supposed was the case with the circular huts in Anglesey. It may be said that like monuments and similar dwellings may have been erected by offshoots of the same race, but not necessarily by any particular branch of that race.

In my next paper I will describe other homesteads of the prehistoric inhabitants of Wales, similar in construction to those that are the subject of this paper, but varying therefrom in a few minor particulars. A few only of these dwellings have been explored and their contents made public. The Hon. William Owen Stanley made some valuable researches among the huts in Holyhead Island,1 and we are greatly indebted to him for the light which he was instrumental in throwing upon their ancient occupiers. The work, however, of careful investigation of these remains in various parts of Wales has not been systematically taken in hand by competent persons. A few earnest workers have done a little, but much remains to be done. The writer knows of a veritable town of circular huts that has never been described, and perhaps has not had many visitors.

1 Arch. Cambr. for 1868, 3rd Ser., vol. xiv, pp. 385 et seq.

348 ON THE CIRCULAR HUTS AND THEIR INHABITANTS.

Tumuli have been desecrated for the urns they contained. Cathedrals, churches, and castles are visited by numerous sight-seekers, and antiquaries wrangle over Roman roads whilst they have neglected the most interesting set of remains that have reached our days-the abodes of the people of prehistoric times. Personally, I am not sorry that they have been neglected, for when I see ancient stone implements in museums, and eagerly ask, or endeavour to ascertain, where they were found, I can obtain only meagre, if any, information about them. The real value of such remains is enhanced a hundredfold when it is known where they were discovered. Private owners of stone relics I meet with, time after time, who are unable to give the history of the treasures they possess. The intrinsic value of their treasures is lost when it is not known whence they came; but when the finds are associated with the place of discovery, real knowledge is increased. Querns I have seen in many places, and could not ascertain the exact circumstances connected with them. If, however, the possessor of any one of them could have said that it was found when a prehistoric detached circular abode was being cleared away, he would have supplied me with valuable information. I am, therefore, with these circumstances before my mind, not displeased that the ancient homes of the ancient people that have bequeathed their history to us in these truth-speaking relics have not been pillaged by mere collectors of curiosities.

349

THE POSSIBILITIES OF WELSH MUSIC.

BY JOSEPH BENNETT.1

THE title of my paper assumes that there is such a thing as Welsh music. I cannot find it in my heart to pass over, as quite unworthy of notice, our friends who are sceptical about its existence, and I am the less inclined to do so because I know them well. Indeed, I have the best reason in the world to know them: I was once a sceptic myself. These are days of frank confessions on literary and artistic matters, and if I make a clean breast I am well kept in countenance. Let me say, then, that there was a time, long past now, when I presumed to discuss publicly questions connected with Welsh art, and all the while had no practical knowledge of the subject. A certain bookish acquaintance was, no doubt, mine, but, looking at the entire subject from a distance, or nearer, by occasional attendance at an Eisteddfod, when I lost myself in wonder at observances that seemed to me grotesque, I saw only that which was superficial, and had no suspicion of what lay beneath. It strikes me very forcibly that those who look down upon Wales in regard to music do so because of equally imperfect light, and, it may be, a certain amount of prejudice. To be sure, their position is not altogether without seeming excuse. If challenged to sustain it, they would probably turn upon you and say: "Where is the great composer whom Wales has given to music? What illustrious executive artists has she produced?-artists, we mean, who are known universally? Where are the evi

1 An address delivered to the Society on April 25, 1888.

dences of high culture within the bounds of the Principality? Tell us where we can find the orchestras of Wales? Vocal she is, we grant; that and nothing more." In this manner our unbelieving friends would, no doubt, administer a series of knock-down blows to our faith, doing so with much appearance of contemptuous pity, because, as I should put it, a small and poor country, cut off by position from the great currents of European artistic life, and by language, to some extent, from many educational and stimulating influences, has not done that which populous and wealthy England, at whose feet the whole artistic world pours its treasures, can hardly be said to have accomplished.

I confess to you that when I look upon the state of music in Wales I am full of sympathy and admiration. The Alpine tourist sometimes experiences those feelings through the action of an analogous cause. As he wanders about the lower slopes of the great mountains he takes the flowers as a matter of course. They are fed by gentle rains and streams of living water, while a bright and genial sun shines upon them? How should they grow if not under such conditions? Thousands of feet higher, where the snow lies at midsummer and the icy breath of the glaciers is ever felt, a solitary plant lifts up a tiny bloom to the steely sky, the one outcome there of nature's gentler and more beautiful influences. The tourist thinks more of that brave and tender thing than of its countless fellows below. His heart is touched by it; and saying, as he passes on, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant," he receives a lesson which should never be forgotten. You will be at no loss to apply this illustration. Where should music flourish if not in rich and populous countries, able by their wealth to draw to themselves the talent of the world? Take England as an example. Considering the agencies which have been at work in this division of our common island ever since Handel arrived