48
AN GAOḊAL
figure on Broadway.
Mr. Jones was born in Wales in 1807. He came
to this country when 25 years old, after ten years
of energetic work he purchased the McKibben St.
mansion. He has always attended strictly to bu¬
siness, and that is, perhaps, the chief reason why
he is so comfortably well off to-day.
Mr. Jones is one of the organizers of the Saint
David Society of the State of New York, and ser¬
ved as president of the Welsh association in 1863.
Mr. Jones takes an active interest still in the aff¬
airs of the society, and is now chairman of the
committee on literature, with which Ellis H. Rob¬
erts and Henry Parry are also associated.
Mr. Jones has made frequent trips abroad and
there are few parts of the old world that he has
not explored. He has been for years gathering
rare and curious historical and archeological re¬
lics, and the McKibben street mansion is filled
with an interesting collection. Among other
things, Mr. Jones believes that he has one of the
first watches ever manufactured. It bears the
mark of Hommet Paris, and he is of the opinion
that the timepiece is, at least, three hundred
years old. Connoisseurs, to whom he has exhi¬
bited the watch, have told him that it was proba¬
bly made in the year 1514. The watch when com¬
pared with a modern timepiece is a crude affair.
It is of rude execution and instead of a spring a
flexible cord is used. The watch has only the
hour hand and it is necessary to wind the time¬
piece twice every day. The dial is of brass and
there are heavy thick crystals on the back and
front. The watch does not keep exceptionally
good time but runs remarkably well considering
its age.
Another watch in Mr. Jones' possession is one
which Oliver Cromwell carried in the seventeenth
century. This watch, though an old timer in e¬
very sense of the word, is of modern when com¬
pared with that which Mr. Jones says was manu¬
factured in 1514 It has a light silver case, which
is embellished with a pretty embossed pattern.
Mr. Jones secured the watch while traveling in
England several years ago. It was owned by re¬
latives of Cromwell and they were persuaded to
part with the timepiece for a snug sum.
Hanging in one of the spacious apartments
in Mr. Jones' mansion is the word which was
carried by Francis Lewis, one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence. The word was gi¬
gen by Francis Lewis to his son, General Morgan
Lewis, who was at one time governor of New
York. General Morgan Lewis was also the first
president of the St. David Society. He and Mr.
Jones were close friends and the word was pres¬
ented to the latter a few years before the general's
death. Mr Jones also has an oil painting of Gen¬
eral Lewis, which was made from life. He consi¬
ders the picture one of the most valuable in Ame¬
rica.
It is not congenial to our tempe¬
rament to be continually dunning
Irishmen to circulate THE GAEL,
but had the proper Irish spirit
been abroad not only would the
Gael be in the hands of every Irish
man but Irishmen properly equip¬
ped would be at the head of the
Afridis to-day, for Asia is the bul¬
wark of England's domination.
If any of our readers has the
old Munster version of Fáinne Geal
an Lae we hope he will send it to
us.
Another song we would like to
have, it commence. —
'Ṡéarluis Óig na seol 'sna mbrataća,
A ṁic go Riġ Séamus ba ċóir a ḃeiṫ
Sasanaiġ,
D'ḟág tú do ṫír fann, leaṫ-tromaċ,
'S ṫug túg do ċoróin go Ṡeorsa gan
thanca
(The refrain goes. —
A ṫráill ó 'sé mo leun tú,
A ṫráill ó 'sé mo leun tú,
A ṫráill ó 'sé mo leun tú,
'Sé mo leun tú, a Ṡéarluisín Ború.
This is evidently a jacobine song
and must be composed in the time
of Prince Charles Stuart.
It is said that Seth Low's can¬
vass for the nomination for the
mayoralty of Greater New York
has cost over $60,000.00 up to date
Then, it is money and not man¬
hood that would rule us!
There are thousands of honora-
ble citizens in Greater New York
who would reflect honor on our city
one of whom we mentioned in last
issue — ex-Mayor Schreoder, with¬
out putting ourselves into the grip
of a self-constituted ruling oligar¬
chy Woe be the day that money
and not manhood should rule the
free citizens of America.
