Page:Speeches and addresses by the late Thomas E Ellis M P.pdf/53

 Take some of the features of any old Welsh house. Instead of the miserable cupboard where the hinges very quickly come loose, and where very often the wood has been so badly seasoned that you will see cracks in various parts of even a very presuming piece of furniture, what is the main feature of the furniture in an old Welsh house? A real substantial oaken cupboard that is a joy to look upon, you will very often see upon it perhaps two or three lines and a date, sometimes in the 17th, sometimes in the 18th century. It is well proportioned, it is shapely, perhaps there is a dainty bit of carving on it. At any rate, it is serviceable, it has served not one generation, but 8, 10, 12, 15 and 20 generations in that hearth and home, and are you surprised that there should be in Wales that strong affection and attachment to hearth and home which puzzle very much the modem man, but which, I think, are a glory and a strength to the Welsh character and to the Welsh nation. I need not mention other parts of the furniture and economy of a Welsh house,—the dresser, the settle, and