28 MARCH 1896, Page 24

The Welsh Church. By the Rev. C. J. NowelL (Elliot

Stock.) —Mr. Nowell carries his history down to the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The most interesting parts of his book are possibly those which concern Gildas and Giraldus Cambrensis. The Welsh Church was not a perfect institution. It had the faults of a somewhat isolated community in the midst of hostile tribes. But it is abundantly clear that it was distinctively national. To speak of it as an alien Church is preposterous. Its very peculiarities, as its obstinate adherence to the marriage of priests, shows that it kept in touch with the popular feeling. A church of foreigners would soon have been crushed by an alliance between the people and the Roman authority.