English, which was a foreign language to me, led me to learn
other languages. I took pleasure in finding out the roots or

radixes of words, and from time to time I added foreign
dictionaries to my little library. But I took most pleasure in

astronomy.
"The perusal of Sir John Herschel's 'Outlines of Astronomy,' and

of his 'Treatise on the Telescope,' set my mind on fire. I
conceived the idea of making a telescope of my own, for I could

not buy one. While reading the Mechanics' Magazine I observed
the accounts of men who made telescopes. Why should not I do the

same? Of course it was a matter of great difficulty to one who
knew comparatively little of the use of tools. But I had a

willing mind and willing hands. So I set to work. I think I
made my first telescope about twenty years ago. It was

thirty-six inches long, and the tube was made of pasteboard. I
got the glasses from Liverpool for 4s. 6d. Captain Owens, of the

ship Talacra, bought them. He also bought for me, at a
bookstall, the Greek Lexicon and the Greek New Testament, for

which he paid 7s. 6d. With my new telescope I could see
Jupiter's four satellites, the craters on the moon, and some of

the double stars. It was a wonderful pleasure to me.
"But I was not satisfied with the instrument. I wanted a bigger

and a more perfect one. I sold it and got new glasses from
Solomon of London, who was always ready to trust me. I think it

was about the year 1868 that I began to make a reflecting
telescope. I got a rough disc of glass, from St. Helens, of ten

inches diameter. It took me from nine to ten days to grind and
polish it ready for parabolising and silvering. I did this by

hand labour with the aid of emery, but without a lathe. I
finally used rouge instead of emery in grinding down the glass,

until I could see my face in the mirror quite plain. I then sent
the 8 3/16 inch disc to Mr. George Calver, of Chelmsford, to turn

my spherical curve to a parabolic curve, and to silver the
mirror, for which I paid him 5L. I mounted this in my timber

tube; the focus was ten feet. When everything was complete I
tried my instrument on the sky, and found it to have good

defining power. The diameter of the other glass I have made is a
little under six inches.

"You ask me if their performance satisfies me? Well; I have
compared my six-inch reflector with a 4 1/4 inch refractor,

through my window, with a power of 100 and 140. I can't say
which was the best. But if out on a clear night I think my

reflector would take more power than the refractor. However that
may be, I saw the snowcap on the planet Mars quite plain; and it

is satisfactory to me so far. With respect to the 8 3/16 inch
glass, I am not quite satisfied with it yet; but I am making

improvements, and I believe it will reward my labour in the end."
Besides these instruments John Jones has an equatorial which is

mounted on a tripod stand, made by himself. It contains the
right ascension, declination, and azimuth index, all neatly

carved upon slate. In his spectroscope he makes his prisms out
of the skylights used in vessels. These he grinds down to suit

his purpose. I have not been able to go into the complete detail
of the manner in which he effects the grinding of his glasses.

It is perhaps too technical to be illustrated in words, which are
full of focuses, parabolas, and convexities. But enough may be

gathered from the above account to give an idea of the wonderful
tenacity of this aged student, who counts his slates into the

ships by day, and devotes his evenings to the perfecting of his
astronomical instruments. But not only is he an astronomer and a

philologist; he is also a bard, and his poetry is much admired in
the district. He writes in Welsh, not in English, and signs

himself "Ioan, of Bryngwyn Bach," the place where he was born.
Indeed, he is still at a loss for words when he speaks in

English. He usually interlards his conversation with passages in
Welsh, which is his mother-tongue. A friend has, however, done

me the favour to translate two of John Jones's poems into
English. The first is 'The Telescope':--

"To Heaven it points, where rules the Sun
In golden gall'ries bright;

And the pale Moon in silver rays
Makes dalliance in the night.

"It sweeps with eagle glances
The sky, its myriadthrong,

That myriadthrong to marshal
And bring to us their song.

"Orb upon orb it follows
As oft they intertwine,

And worlds in vast processions
As if in battle line.

"It loves all things created,
To follow and to trace;

And never fears to penetrate
The dark abyss of space."

The next is to 'The Comet':-
"A maiden fair, with light of stars bedecked,

Starts out of space at Jove's command;
With visage wild, and long dishevelled hair,

Speeds she along her starry course;
The hosts of heaven regards she not,--

Fain would she scorn them all except her father Sol,
Whose mighty influence her headlong course doth all control."

The following translation may also be given: it shows that the
bard is not without a spice of wit. A fellow-workman teased him

to write some lines; when John Jones, in a seemingly innocent
manner, put some questions, and ascertained that he had once been

a tailor. Accordingly this epigram was written, and appeared in
the local paper the week after: "To a quondam Tailor, now a

Slate-teller":--
"To thread and needle now good-bye,

With slates I aim at riches;
The scissors will I ne'er more ply,

Nor make, but order, breeches."[12]
The bi-lingual speech is the great educational difficulty of

Wales. To get an entrance into literature and science requires a
knowledge of English; or, if not of English, then of French or

German. But the Welsh language stands in the way. Few literary
or scientific works are translated into Welsh. Hence the great

educational difficulty continues, and is maintained from year to
year by patriotism and Eisteddfods.

Possibly the difficulties to be encountered may occasionally
evoke unusual powers of study; but this can only occur in

exceptional cases. While at Bangor Mr. Cadwalladr Davies read to
me the letter of a student and professor, whose passion for

knowledge is of an extraordinarycharacter. While examined
before the Parliamentary Committee appointed to inquire into the

condition of intermediate and higher education in Wales and
Monmouthshire, Mr. Davies gave evidence relating to this and

other remarkable cases, of which the following is an abstract,
condensed by himself:--

"The night schools in the quarry districts have been doing a very
great work; and, if the Committee will allow me, I will read an

extract from a letter which I received from Mr. Bradley Jones,
master of the Board Schools at Llanarmon, near Mold, Flintshire,

who some years ago kept a very flourishing night school in the