cters and
scenes in the three parts, into which the work of Elis Wyn is divided,
are taken either from the Visit of the Gayeties, the Intermeddler, or
others of Quevedo's Visions; for example Rhywun, or Somebody, who in the
Vision of Death makes the humorous complaint, that so much of the
villainy and scandal of the world is attributed to him, is neither more
nor less than Quevedo's Juan de la Encina, or Jack o' the Oak, who in the
Visit of the Gayeties, is made to speak somewhat after the following
fashion:--

"O ye living people, spawn of Satan that ye are! what is the reason
that ye cannot let me be at rest now that I am dead, and all is over
with me? What have I done to you? What have I done to cause you to
defame me in every thing, who have a hand in nothing, and to blame me
for that of which I am entirely ignorant?" "Who are you?" said I with
a timorous bow, "for I really do not understand you." "I am," said
he, "the unfortunate Juan de la Encina, whom, notwithstanding I have
been here many years, ye mix up with all the follies which ye do and
say during your lives; for all your lives long, whenever you hear of
an absurdity, or commit one, you are in the habit of saying, 'Juan de
la Encina could not have acted more like a fool;' or, 'that is one of
the follies of Juan de la Encina.' I would have you know that all you
men, when you say or do foolish things, are Juan de la Encina; for
this appellation of Encina, seems wide enough to cover all the
absurdities of the world."

Nevertheless, though there is a considerable amount of what is Quevedo's
in the Visions of Elis Wyn, there is a vast deal in them which strictly
belongs to the Welshman. Upon the whole, the Cambrian work is superior
to the Spanish. There is more unity of purpose in it, and it is far less
encumbered with useless matter. In reading Quevedo's Visions, it is
frequently difficult to guess what the writer is aiming at; not so whilst
perusing those of Elis Wyn. It is always clear enough, that the Welshman
is either lashing the follies or vices of the world, showing the
certainty of death, or endeavouring to keep people from Hell, by
conveying to them an idea of the torments to which the guilty are
subjected in a future state.

Whether Elis Wyn had ever read the Visions of Quevedo in their original
language, it is impossible to say; the probability however is, that he
was acquainted with them throu