C Y M R A E G

NLW 13118B, pp. 105-6:


714

Lewis Morris. Sarcasm on Cardigan


There is the greatest injustice in this sarcasm, it has been a long-established opinion that there is more literature amongst the inhabitants of this County in general than in any other County in Wales, clear and strong understandings are proverbially common here, but Lewis Morris had a quarrel with the County, none would trust their money in his hands or their mines to his management. his character when it becomes sufficiently known will appear to be despicable in a very high degree, an infidel, a Debauchee, and a most abominable lyar and impostor. almost every thing that is bad, and avaricious in the extreme. Such numerous anecdotes of him might be collected as would warrant such harsh epithets as cannot be furnished by the English or perhaps any other language. The Llannerch Copy of the Trojan fable, is after all but an abridgement of Geoffrey by Guttyn Owen about 1490. he endeavoured to make the public believe that it had been written by Tyssilio, but nothing like the shadow of an evidence appears for this assertion, but much and of an invincible nature to the Contrary. He that discovers Truth finds not a gold mine of this world. It can never be credibly known what I have lost by the detection of this imposture. The Welsh Literati of London his disciples, have done all in their power to blazon his fame, and to injure me for having detected his impostures and falsehoods.

Poor Gronwy trusted to him for some assist[a]nc[e]. Black Lewis (as he justly called himself) pretended he had with Gentlemen who had it in their power to patronize our unfortunate Bard, but Lewis Morris with his fair promises, studiously disappointed him for h[?]shed (106) to keep him and the late equally unfortunate scholar the Revd Evans Evans whom I well knew. Black Lewis had formed a plan of Publishing a pretty Large work as his own and in his own name, for his own profit and fame, and wished to retain Gronwy Owen, and Evan Evans as his d[?]es to prepare his intended publication, and failing in this, he industriously sought every opportunity of frustrating every attempt of poor scholars to procure even Curacy in in 1763, Mr Evans Published his Specimens of ancient Welsh Poetry with English Translations, His Disseratio de Bardis &c for which Lewis Morris became his most inveterate Enemy. It is from Mr Evans' own mouth I had this account of Black and all black Lewis Morris. Mr Evans resided for about 2 years in Glamorgan and Monmouthshire and during that time (1781, 1782 &c) he several times 3 or 4 at least, favoured with a visit of several days. Lewis was severely satirized by Gronwy Owain in a most ingenious apoetical Welsh Ode (notwithstanding its severity) entitle[d] and ode or an address to the Devil, which has been published in 3 editions of his Poetical Works.
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