A letter written by Daniel Owen to the late Mr Hy. Roberts, then of Bryn Awel, has been shown to our Mold representative. It is dated April 18th 1895. It appears to have been written when the recipient was recovering from an illness. The letter is dated from the familiar ” New Street, Mold ” and reads :
‘Dear Mr. Roberts,
Without a bit of “rhagrith” I cannot tell you how glad I was to see you this afternoon so much like yourself. Now that the crisis is over I must tell you that I was very much alarmed when I saw you at your house. But now that you are very nearly yourself again, I have some advice to give you But considering you are a wiser and older man than myself, I find it hard to pluck up the courage to give it to you. But I feel so certain of the wisdom of it, that I beg you to ask your medical adviser concerning its soundness. It is this: Dispense with your horse and trap. I don’t want you to make me a present of them, although 1 would not refuse them if you were so disposed ! But you see my point – Walk, walk, walk! And I am sure if you do that, the people of Mold will have you amongst them for another twenty years. Mark my words that will make a new man of you. Walk three or four miles a day.
Of course you cannot do that now, but you can by-and-by. Dear Mr. Roberts we want you with us for a very long time, and I feel very confident that i f you take my simple advice it will work wonders for you. If I did not flatter myself that you know I am perfectly sincere in this matter and that I am honestly anxious for you to live a great many years after I am dead and forgotten, I would not take this “hyfdra” with you. You have a grand constitution, and I feel certain that i f you will make a point of walking, and not being carried from one place to another in your trap, you will live to be a very old man. However, this is my idea. Ask your best medical adviser his opinion on the point.
O Frenin Bydd fyw byth.
With best wishes, (Singed : DANIEL OWEN )
Daniel Owen died 22 October 1895. His statue was unveiled at the Hall Fields on 30 October 1901.
rhagrith ‘ hypocrisy’ hyfitra ‘ audacity ‘
Newspaper-cutting from the Chester Chronicle (undated). [ contributed by Rhiannon Griffiths]

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