Letters written during a tour through North Wales ... Third edition

Front matter

LETTERS WRITTEN DURING A TOUR THROUGH NORTH WALES, IN THE YEAR 1798, AND AT OTHER TIMES ; CONTAINING VIEWS OF THE HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES, AND CUSTOMS OF THAT PART OF THE PRINCIPALITY ; AND INTERSPERSED WITH OBSERVATIONS ON ITS SCENERY, AGRICULTURE, BOTANY, MINERALOGY, TRADE AND MANUFACTURES. BY THE REV. J. EVANS, B.A, LATE OF JESUS COLLEGE, OXON. THE THIRD EDITION. LONDON: PRINTED FOR C. AND R. BALDWIN, NEW BRIDGE-STREET. 1804. C-nnri R. Ealdwin, Prirt-ws, ?Jtw Bndgt street, Lcnat/i.*** " Tti nidum servas ; ego laudo ruris amœni Rivos c^ musco circumlita saxa nemusque. Quid quæris? vivo, & regno, simul ista reliqui Qacc vos ad cœlum effertis rumore secundo." Hor. Epist. x. Lib. i. i( -0 Nature, how, in every charm supreme, Thy votaries feast on raptures ever new ! Oh for the voice and fire of seraphim, To sing thy glories with devotion due !

Blest be the day I 'scap'd the wrangling crew From Pyrrho's maze and Epicurus' sty ; And held high converse with the god-like few, Who, to th' enraptur'd heart, and ear, and eye, Teach Beauty, Virtue, Truth, Love, and Melody." Bk.-TTIE.

Preface

. JL HE following observations, on the manners of a people and appearances of a country, nearly con nected with our own, were made at different Ames, but more particularly in the summer months of 1798. As several publications have, of late, appeared under the title of "A Tour in Wales," &c. the present may seem to have little claim to attention, arid an apology may be thought necessary, for' intruding upon the public any thing further respecting a sub ject, which will, by some perhaps, be considered as already exhausted. ' It may be observed, that the life of man is of short duration ; but a day, compared with the time ne cessary for thoroughly surveying the multiplicity of objects around him ; the brevity of life, therefore, stamps a value upon ideas otherwise unimportant, and raises into consequence descriptions that would otherwise be disregarded.

Every traveller sees, or fancies that he sees, some thing unobserved before, and that he is capable of communicating knowledge not obtained or imparted by others. Curiosity produces an accuracy and in-

PREFACE.

. VI dustry of research ; and the desire of relating what was pleasant to behold or difficult to obtain, induces him to conclude, that whatever was important to himself must be important to mankind. It wilt be admitted, that even in the same route different objects will strike different minds ; and that the same objects will not appear of equal importance in the eye of every observer. To examine the ele vations of Snowdon a Botanist' would esteem weeks well employed ; while, to the superficial traveller, who looks upon a country merely as a landscape, for the gratification of the eye of taste, the pursuit of Botany would be considered as the vagaries of enthusiasm. ; as the minute investigations of the An- * . i. . ° tiquarian are the subjects of ridicule to the fashionable Tourist, whose pursuits might, in their turn, be regarded by some as the mere energies of folly.

A country like North Wales, almost inaccessible in many of its parts to the traveller, and, till very lately, but-little frequented by the votaries of Sci ence, must yet remain, in a great measure, unex plored. It affords, therefore, to the lovers of Na tural History, ample room for speculation and re search ; an extensive field both above and beneath the surface offers itself to the eye of curiosity, and solicits the investigations of Science. A Journey, undertaken for Botanical purposes, and with a view of publishing, at some future period, a

PREFACE.

. VII Flora Cambrica, cannot be expected to abound with learned Remarks upon the remains of Arts and Insti tutions ; nor with those profound observations upon life and manners which would adorn the pages of the Moralist and Politician ; yet, it would be impossible for the man of feeling to pass through a country con sidered as part of his own, but to which the manners and customs of its inhabitants, form so great a con trast, without taking some notice of its peculiarities. If it should be objected as derogatory to the dignity of a writer, that, in the course of this little Work, too much attention has been paid to humble circumstances, to " The short and simple annals of the poor," I must apologize in the words of a celebrated Author : " Let it be remembered, that life consists, not of a variety of illustrious actions or elegant enjoy ments ; the greater part of our time passes in com pliance with necessities : in the performance of daily duties : in the removal of small inconveniences : in the procurement of petty pleasures : and we are well or ill at ease as the main stream of life glides on smoothly, or is ruffled by small obstructions and frequent interruptions.

The true state of every nation is the state of common life" These Letters, addressed to a friend, were not originally intended for publication ; they consisted merely of diarian memoranda on such objects as appeared singular or striking ; with cursory remarks on the inaccuracies and erroneous statements of former

PREFACE.

. travellers : interwoven with historic facts and allu sions to ancient usages, and the customs of other nations. They have been, in consequence of the so licitations of friends who had seen them, prepared for the press ; and the Author has thought proper to avail himself of a few observations of others, to correct or illustrate his own ; here he acknowledges himself obliged to the ingenious Aikin, and the laborious Pennant, whose volumes are as remarkable for accuracy of description, as for the nature of their contents. The Writer of these Letters entertains no high expectations : he forms no sanguine views. If from his pages the reader should derive any amusement, the Author will have the satisfaction to reflect that it has been afforded without recommending folly or administering to vice ; and if he has added another volume of what is called light reading, to the many already before the public, it is one at which Modesty will have no cause to blush, nor Morality to frown.

Such as it is, it is presented to the Public : the Author is answerable to the guardians of the public taste ; on its merits or demerits it is for them to decide ; and by their decision let it justly stand or fall. Si quid amicum erga bene feci aut consului fideliter ; Non videor meruisse laudem, culpa caruisse arbitror. Plant. Trinum. Seen. ur.t.

PREFACE.

TO THE SECOND EDITION, W HEN the little Work, now making its second appearance before; the Public, was first published, the Author had not the remotest idea of its present popularity. Engaged in a more important work, he considered this as a trifle, scarcely suffi cient to excite attention, far less to obtain ad miration or applause. But when he considers^ that the whole Edition was sold within the course of a twelvemonth, and that it has received the pointed commendation of those Censors of Literature, whose praise is fame, he cannot but feel a degree of gratitude, which calls upon him for further ex ertion. Strongly impressed with this idea, it was his in tention, to render the present Edition less unworthy such a patronage by a variety of corrections and ad ditions ; but such has been the urgency and demand for its republication, that no time was allowed for alteration ; save to rectify a few errors of the former press, and to insert a few corrections of a personal, or otherwise unimportant nature. Had more time been allowed, more of this kind would havebeen done; as far as consistent with the nature of the subject. b X

PREFACE.

TO THE SECOND EDITION. and the Author's veneration for the cause of truth. Upon this ground, therefore, he must beg indulgence for any thing that otherwise might appear pointed or unpolite: for while he would studiously avoid the most distant appearance of illiberality, he would as strenuously attend to the duty of information, and adhere to the truth of narration. From the nature of his tour, the Author was often reluctantly obliged to animadvert upon those who had fewer opportunities of observation; and from a determined resolution to stand forward in defence of Loyalty and Religion, then apparently in danger, he was bound to oppose all attacks upon either. The votaries of truth therefore will, if not publickly applaud, yet secretly admire, those who, while they do not neglect the external appear ance of things, more attentively investigate the reality of their nature.

If, however, he has named any Author with less respect, than he may have deserved; or introduced any person with less honour, than he might be entitled to expect; he begs permission not only to apologise, but to retract. As the advocate of truth, he has, without any sinister intention, used what he esteems a becoming freedom with writers whom he in general admires; and whose works would require greater judgment and talents than his justly to appreciate, or properly to commend, He has not obtruded his ideas upon the Public in the spirit of a dictator ; but in humility of inquiry, and with liberality of disquisition, proposing

PREFACE.

TO THE SECOND EDITION. XI them to the consideration of those disposed to en quire, or qualified to judge. So far from being riveted to his own opinions, he has frequently stated both sides of the question ; and has been ever tender of the reputation of those, who have inadvertently scattered the seeds of error. In order to explain he was determined to elucidate : and according to the laudable example of antiquity, to add his sober mite for the furtherance of science. Ready to sub mit to superior information, he still wishes to pay a due respect to his own. In furnishing a small quota to the stock of general knowledge or pleasure, he feels sufficiently gratified ; and, sensible that he has given a faithful detail of particulars relative to the country he has attempted to describe, and unconscious that he has in the least derogated from justice, or liberality, he again submits to the candour of the Public.

On this occasion it would be unnecessary to say more; and he trusts, that in the opinion of the judicious, Truth would not permit him to say less. May, 1802. CONTENTS.

Letter I

Arrival at Shrewsbury — Buttington ; battle fought here between the English and Danes, in which the latter were completely de. seated — Welsh Pool — Spirit of the inhabitants — Reflections on female education — Advantages and disadvantages of canals— Powis Castle ; its delightful terrace — Views — Llanfair— Virnwy, Amnis Piscosus — Mode of spearing fish — Pleasing custom of planting the graves of departed friends with flowers and evergreens, with reflections upon this posthumous attention. Page 1

Letter II

Effects of a summer morning on the mind — Ruins of Caereineon — Berhitv like Auburn in its prosperous state ; encomium on its late proprietor, Mr. Blaney — Montgomery ; observation on Mr. Pennant's confining the use of the gocking stool to this place; its castle and history — Newtown ; its flannel manufactory — Superiority of Welsh flannels to those of England — Caer S<ws, a Roman station — Beauties of the vale of Newtown — The beaver and roebuck once inhabitants of Britain — Gyraldus defended — Llanidlos ; its church and bridge — Glyn Awen — Biga Mountains follow the meanderings of the Severn to its source in Plynlimmon ; conjectures on the origin of its name — Sources of the rivers Wye and Rheidiol — Excellence of Evans's Map of North Wales — The Mountain, a station of Glyndwr — Its fame for a fine breed of horses; Merlins of the Moun. tains 22

Letter III

Ruins of Dolfer'wyn Castle ; a British edifice— Church of Bettivt •—Return to Llanfair over the mountains— Reflectioni on c CONTENTS. XIV parting with friends— Cann's or Canons's Office Inn miserable accommodations — Description of its guests — Bwlch of Edwyn — Accident of a travelling party — Dreariness of the country — Simplicity of its inhabitants— Mallivyd, recluse yet picturesque situation — Church strewed with rushes — Remarkable situation of the altar— Reflections on bigotry — Large yews in the church yard — Conjectures on the reason for their being planted in such places — River Dovey ; its bridge and waterfall — Pass over the Clivyedog — Excursion up the vale of Dovey — Black and red grouse — Mode of shooting them — Turbaries — Mode, of working them — Dangerous employment of carrying peat and turf, the ge neral fuel of the country ; its nature and difference; tracts sup posed injurious to vegetation in its vicinity — Mode of cultivation in this mountainous district — Arran Mowddwy — St* Tydechc— Bnvlchy Grcs. — Bala— Stocking manufactory — Tommeng y Bala ~Llyn Tegid, or the fine Pimble Meer, famous for a fish called giviniad — Dee, fabled to pass through it without intermingling its waters — Striking landscape on the margin of the lake — Conjectures on the name of Dee — Arran Fowddy — Fall of the Ccwarch— Dinas Mowddy — Barbarous custom of commuting the violation of chastity — Comparison with the present age. i6

Letter IV

Vale of the Kerris — Old lead mines — Dolgelleu — Odd circumstance at the Lion Inn — Remarkable enmity the Welsh bear to the Irish —Parliament assembled here by Owen Glyndwr — The Church paved with flags, rare for N. Wales — Trade in webs or coarse cloths — Mountain of Cader Idris — Llyny Gader — Curious structure and economy of aquatic plants — Erroneous idea respecting lava— Foxes and goats numerous — Immense view from the •umiak of the mountain — Insignificancy of Man in the scale of being — Property of some plants to propagate their species in a twofold manner — Picturesque beauty of the Vale of Talj Llyn — Otters abound in the vicinity — Description of, and their ingenious, but predatory, arts — Reflections on the very few animals yetdomesticated, or made subservient to the use of »n*B.. „ CONTENTS. XV

Letter V

Bridge over the Onion — Ruins of Cymmer Abbey — This confounded by some antiquarians with the Abbey of Civim-hiF in Radnorshire— Nanneau Park ; celebrated for the flavour of its deer-^Cataract of Rhaiadr ddu— Beautiful falls of the rivers Coyne and Maivddach — Fine road on the banks of the .estuary -—Sublime appearance of clouds breaking over the biforked top of Cader Idris — Barmouth — Description of this fashionable bathing place — Cheap accommodations — Tradition that Sarn Ilardrig was p^rt of the Low Land Hundred swallowed up by an innundation of the sea — Proofs that the sea has been making gfadu.*! advances on the western and south west coasts of this kingdom — Paralysing effects of war — Sympathising with the distressed not only right, but salutary. . , 102

Letter VI

Sublime view of Cardigan Bay — Corsy Gedol — Woods affected by the strong west winds put on the appearance of the celebrated wood of Margam — Numerous British antiquities in its vicinity — Castell dinas Cortin — Llyn Bodlyn famous for its char, and Llyn Irddim for an extraordinary kind of trout — Miserable towns of Hariech — Supposed a Roman station — Noble castle, not originally built by Edward the First ; the last in North Wales that held out for the unfortunate Charles — Cromlech of Caton Arthur — Extraordinary Phenomenon here lt)24 with its probable cause — Proceed over the mountains with a gpide ; his curious and impressing history — Antiquarians frequently the dupes ofenthusi asm — Beautiful fakes of Llyn Tegivyn isa and ucha — Effects of a moonlight night — Rhyd Velin — Tany Bivlch — Hanging woods, and elegant seat of Mr. Oakly — Regenerated meadows — Near approximation of the vegetable and animal kingdoms — Vale of IVfaentwrog justly styled the Tempe of Wales— Pulpit- Hugh Lldvyd — Hill of Micknant, and history of the men of Ardudwy, ■similar story to the rape of the Sabines 120 •2 CONTENTS.

Letter VII

Ascend the Bwlch — Fine view of the vale —Difficulty of the road, and dreary aspect of the country — The eye relieved by the varied prospect from Moel Wynyr Hydd — Description of an alpine storm —More frequent and heavy rains in mountainous countries than in champaign ones — Pont aber glas Llyn — Salmon Leap — Copper mine — Bedd Kelert ; origin of the name — Church, though small, said to be the highest in these parts; formerlya priory of Augustine Monks of the class called Gilbertines — Account of these double monasteries — Wandering Island — Gyraldus defended — Lake of Llyn Catuellyn noted for a fish called Torgoch, the guilt char— Miserable cottages ; with reflections on the wants of man- Cross the Rhythell — Caernarvon the Segontium of the Romans . description of— The town, harbour, and castle ; history of— Extraordinary mode in which the Welsh were duped out of the last shadow of their independence by the wary Edward — Reflections on the changes it has witnessed and the vanity of ambition 143

Letter VIII

Theease with which some travellers obtain theobjects of their pursuit more than others — Prevented visiting the summit of Snowdon— Smiudonia — Llyn padern — Ruins of DolbadernCastle — Llyn peris — Village of Llanberis — A Ffynnon <vair or holy well with two monocular fish — Men endued with remarkable strength— Anecdotes of Foulke Jones — Inhabitants of this district remarked for longevity — Llanberis copper mine — Height of Snowdon Mountains in its vicinity— Slate mines— Origin of the name Account that snow does not melt for years confuted Most eligible ascents— Plants peculiar to this place— Monocular fish Grotesque appearance of Glyder Vaivr— Refutation of the infidel idea that nature generates new species —Horrid fissure of Tivll du — Lichens ; dye prepared from them — Singular appearance of Trevaen- Rocking Stones on the top of the Glyder t>ach — Phenomenon called Doear Dorr — Untenable geology of CONTENTS.

Mr. Pennant — Reflections on the theories of Whiston, Buffon and Hutton — Want of wood — Folly of stripping a country of its principal ornaments — Sheep different from those of inclosed countries — Mode of life the farmers lead ; their havodtys and hendrefs — Ingenuity — Haymaking ; mode of preserving their hay* from the frequent tornadoes — Nant Hwynant — Dinas Emris— British Prophet Merlin — Reflections on this retired country and character of its inhabitants 177

Letter IX

Delightful ride from Caernarvon to Bangor — Beautiful appearance of the Menai — Bangor ; its description — Gross error of the Author of A Walk Through Wales in taking this for Bangor Iscoed in Flintshire — Massacre of the monks — The cathedral — Borth, a ferry into Anglesea — Lamentable affair between the Bishop and his Chancellor — Charming situation of Bangor — Author's wish —Salmon snare — Port Penhryn — Manufactory of cyphering slates — Slate trade— Penhryn Hall — Drinking horn — Ancient mode of drinking — Church of Llandegai — Monument of Arch bishop Williams — Reflections on his character. . . 217

Letter X

Rich views on the road to Aber — Waterfall — Once a palace of the North Wallian Princes here — Lavan sands— Celebrated pass of Penmaen maicr ; formerly much dreaded — A new road formed by voluntary subscription, not now perfectly safe — Height of the mountain— British post of Braich y ddinas, the strongest the Welsh had — Parish of Dwygyvylchi, a feast for antiquaries. — Conway — Pearls found near — The Conovium of Antoninus- Town with its noble castle built by Edward the First— Singular anecdote — Remarkable instance of human fecundity recorded in its church— Gathering fuci and making barilla — Peninsula of Gogarth abounds with a great variety of plants— Gloddaeth.— Superstition of Maelgtvyx—'Raini of Diganiuy castle — Puffins ; history of that curious bird— Fortifications of Dinas— Maen-Sigl, or the self-moving stone— St. Trillo's Chapel— Nature of tythe —Good to be derived from the meanest objects in creation. . CONTENTS.

Letter XI

; Luxuriant vale of the Conway— Picturesque scenery about Portk Lo.wyd— Anecdotes on the hard Taliesn— Z><*/W*u*— Coracles, the ntkili* navigia of Pliny— Llanrwst— Elegant bridge by Inigo Jones— Delicious views up and down the Conway — Monuments in the church worthy attention— Guedir— Time the use of glass became general — Chesnut a native of this island — Dreary morass relieved by the sight of Voelas— Column with ancient inscription .—Ispytty E-van— Curious mode of mowing — Cyrniogeu — Cer rig y Druidion -Kist vaen — Striking scenery of Pontyr Dyjpius-— Verdant vale of Edernion— Corwen — Female tonsor — Fabulous tradition respecting the Sword of Owen Glyndwr — College for clergymen's widows — Decent mode of conveying corps for inter ment — Defeat of Henry Second near this place — Brief history of _he celebrated Brhi.h chieftain Owen Glyndwr 275 • '

Letter XII

Llangollen Vale— River Dee— Mode of washing — Llangollen, its bridge one of the three elegant things in Wales — Neat cottage of Lady E. Butler and Miss Ponsonby— Ruins of Castell Dinas Bran; its history — Pillar of , Eliseg — Valle Crucis Abbey-p^- Besfnties of (his ruin — Time when Monasteries were introduced intoWales — Soliloquy — Sensations excited on a sight of religious ruins — Clawdd Offa, famous boundary between England, and Wales, confounded with one of more recent date called Wat's Vyie^— Chirk park and castle ; seventeen counties seen from an elevation near the mansion— brief history of the rise, duration and sell of Lord Marcher's— encomium on the Welsh .... 309

Letter XIII

Persons' of the Welsh described; dress, food, character — Pleasing anecdote of their brotherly kindness — Fondness of genealogies A pedigree given— Customs in courtship, marriage and at funerals —Difference between the clergy and churches of North and South Wales , > # 34g CONTENTS. XIX

Letter XIV

Modes of agriculture — Means of improving it — Low price of lands- Mines of slate, copper, lead and calamine — Mining an invariable obstacle to the cultivation of a country 367

Letter XV

Observations on the Welsh language, poetry, music, bards and minstrels — Congress termed Eisteddfod — One lately held at Caerivys — Superstitions — Divination — Witchcraft — Fairies— Ghosts — - Plygan, or cock-crowing — Horse's head — Divining rod — Consecrated water — Reflections on the origin and nature of superstition — Not so injurious toman as infidelity — Religious turn of the generality of the Welsh — Dissenters increase by the inattention of some of the clergy themselves — Refutation of the idle notion of Jumpers being a sect — Author's plea for a tolerant spirit towards personsdifferingfromus in religious points — That it is his opinion in the issue, by the protecting power of Him who bringeth good out of evil, that even divisions will appear useful, and that truth will eventually triumph over error — Compliment to the devout spirit and resignation of the Welsh. . , 38S

Letter I

Dear Sik, Llanvair. -LN O apology is necessary for addressing you upon a subject that mutually interested us both at an early period of our lives : the romantic scenery, rare productions, and peculiar manners of a country > which for ages was the asylum of Religion and Liberty, and for a series of years hurled defiance at the ambitious usurpation of the English Monarchy, and checked the tyrannical oppression of its votaries. The estimates, my Friend, of human existence, and human power, are generally made upon imaginary data. Few consider that thought is an energy of the mind, while action is only an effort of the body. The multiplicity of plans that are formed without being realized, convince us it is casier to project than to execute ; and while it demonstrates the very limited power of man, it furnishes an unanswerable argument for the Immortality of the Soul.

The scheme we had long in view of traversing these scenes together, from circumstances well known to yon, was frustrated ; and the alternative was left B to me to undertake the journey without the valuable company of so intelligent a Friend, or to give up those expectations which had been raised to a higher pitch by the recurrence of disappointment. In the Summer of 1798, accompanied by persons calculated to give assistance to inquiry, and stimulus to research, I entered on a journey that promised to open new sources of information and delight ; and it is with conscious pleasure I am able to say, that my most sanguine hopes were realized. I experienced pleasures, the recollection of which will tend to sweeten many an otherwise irksome hour, and made reflections on men and manners still more essentially useful in a moral and religious view.

Re flections which I hope will make me more humble in myself liberal towards others, and grateful to him who is the Author of every distinction, and every good in society. Early in the month of June we arrived at the ancient town of Shrewsbury, which is too well known for a description of it to be interesting. Leaving the Oswestry road on our right, we directed our course westward, and took the road for Poole. The first place that claimed our attention, was a small village near the Severn, named Buttington, over which is an old stone bridge, remarkable for having been the place where the English obtained a decisive victory over the Danes, under their leader Hesten, A. D. &Qd. After having over-run great part of England, they were surrounded here by the Generals of the brave Alfred, who so closely block- JJORTH WALES. 3 aded the Pagans, that they were obliged to feed upon their own horses.

At length reduced to despair by famine, attemping to cut their way through the Saxon Army, a terrible slaughter ensued, and scarcely sufficient were left alive to inform their countrymen of the disaster. By the road side grows in abundance, the Artemisia absinthium. It is used by the country people instead of hops, and has the peculiar property of destroying, acescency in beer, grown hard for want of them. A property mentioned by Dr. Stokes, renders this a valuable plant. The leaves steeped in boiling water, and repeatedly applied to a recent bruise, remove the pain, and prevent the swelling and discoloration of the part. We reached Poole about eight o'clock in the evening, and were pleased to find, though we had quitted England, we had not bade adieu to the comforts and civility for which its inns are famed.

At the Royal Oak the accommodations are good, and the charges moderate. We sat down to a pleasing repast, well served up, and for the first time met with a fish called a Salmon Mort,* somewhat like a Salmon Trout, good eating, and in great plenty through most parts of North Wales. When at an inn I generally bespeak civility from the attendants, by taking an early opportunity of paying them a compliment. The waiter could scarcely speak English. I observed that he was a * This is a young salmon in its 3d year of groivth ; the 1st year they are called smelts ; the 2d, sprods ; the 3d, morts ; the -1th, fork tails ; the oth, half fish; and the 6'tb, are dignified with the name of salmon. B good-natured fellow, and partook of the civility of his country. But I received a smart retort courteous, assuring me he was not a Welshman, which con vinced me I was not yet far enough West to lay hold of the partialities of the country.

On inquiry, I learnt that our waiter was born in Clun, a village, part in Shropshire and part in Radnorshire. Welsh Poole, as it is generally called, is a good town, a little West of the Severn, is the principal of five boroughs in Montgomeryshire, whose joint suffrage sends one Member to the British Senate. It is governed by a Mayor, Burgesses,* Common Council, Recorder, &c. But I was sorry to observe in this, as in most other places in the principality, order is preserved more by the influence of petty-fogging Attornies, than the veneration for Corporate Bodies ; and security is derived rather from the dread of Com mon Law, than the regulations of Municipal Legis lature. This place probably derived its present name from a deep pool now within the inclosure of Powis Park, denominated from the dark appearance of its water, Llundy Pool.

In ages of ignorance, it was considered unfathomable, or, as the people term it, without a bottom. Various attempts have been made to ascertain its depth, the result of which will allow it to be about 300 feet ; but from the great vari ation in the depth, it is not an improbable conjecture that there is an intercommunication between the waters of the Poole and those of the Severn ; yet notwithstanding the average depth has been ascer tained, so fond are mankind of the marvellous, that the line of actual admeasurement has not yet exploded the line of superstition. The town is decently built, the houses consisting chiefly of brick, form one long and handsome street, in the centre of which stands a new County Flail, erected by subscription, comprising apartments above for the purposes of justice and amusement ; and below for the accommodation of trade.

It has an elegant front, with colonnades, and pilasters of stone, and forms a public ornament to the town, giving a favourable idea of the spirit and liberality of the county. The principal manufacture carried on here, and at the adjacent villages, is flannel, and it is the mart for this article, and other coarse woollen goods, made by the little farmers in the hill country, which are bought up for ready money by the dealers of Liver pool and Shrewsbury. We were pleasingly struck with the life and spririt that pervades this little place on the occasion. The show of native and unvarnished beauty is very great ; for the business of buying and selling is chiefly con ducted by women here, and through all the markets of North Wales. A reflection naturally arose on the superiority which these females acquired, in the scale of utility and respect, over the English fair, by conducting an important part of the staple manufactures of their country.