Bedd Gelert : its facts, fairies, & folk-lore

Front matter

CORNELL

UNIVERSITY

LIBRARY

Preface

This work is based upon the articles by Mr. William Jones {Bleddyn) in Y Brython, 1861, which, together with his essay on " The Folk-Lore of Carnarvonshire," the present writer has secured for the purpose of giving the English reader an idea of what the inhabitants of this district associate with their homes. Mr. Jones's essay on " The Antiquities and Folk-Lore of Bedd Gelert" shared the prize with that of the late Rev. Owen Wynne Jones {Glasynys) at the well-known Eisteddfod of Bedd Gelert in i860. The serial appearance of that essay brought Mr. Jones a reputation, which he has never lost, as one of the best of our antiquarians and folk-lorists. In 1861 he won the prize at the Conwy National Eisteddfod for an essay on "Conwy and its Neighbourhood" ; and in 1862 was adjudged equal with an English writer on " The Geology of Carnarvonshire," and the appearance of that essay in 1863 showed him to be a master of his subject. Though well known as a writer, he is but little known personally, and readers will be glad of the two portraits given of him in this volume. He was born at Bedd Gelert in 1829, and is the eldest son of John Jones, so much associated with Kingsley's visits. In 1 84 1 he was apprenticed to a draper at Carnarvon, from where he went to Llangollen. He was there married, and, not long afterwards, removed to Portmadoc. In the early part of 1862 he returned to Llangollen, where he now lives, a venerable old man of seventy years, suffering from an acute stroke of paralysis. He has spent his life behind a draper's counter, but has managed to the last to keep alive a viii BEDD GELERT

keen interest in all matters pertaining to antiquities and folk-lore. Here is a deserving case for a Government pension.

The present volume contains most of the material contained in Mr. Jones's articles, used up independently and re-arranged. But a great deal has been collected at first hand from the inhabitants, and much has been taken from books and periodicals written during late years. Care has been taken to give the source from which printed matter has been used. The text speaks in the first personal pronoun plural (i) in order to avoid the continual need of defining Mr. Jones's material and my own — a matter of little importance to the English reader, and easily settled by the Welsh reader by a reference to the Brython ; (2) to include Mr. John M^Kay, who has travelled every inch of the district with me, and who has sat many an hour listening to conversations in the vernacular with as much patience as if he understood every word. His intelligent interest in the collecting .of materials for this work has been of more value to me than I can easily estimate. Who can imagine the delight we have had among these glorious hills, the kindness we have received at the hands of the people, and the desire we have that others might experience the same. I have studiously avoided embellishing the anecdotes and folk-lore collected here, and may have erred in some places by giving too literal a rendering of the original matter. Nearly all the photos without the artist's name are by Mr. J. Aber Jones.

The following friends are thanked for their kindness in various ways : — Principal Roberts ; Professors Angus and Anwyl, and the Librarian, Aberystwyth College ; Professor Lloyd, Bangor ; the Rev. W. J. Dawson ; Messrs. O. M. Edwards, M.P. ; S. M. Jones, Carnarvon ; J. Aber Jones, and several photographers, and a number of friends who have so readily lent me books. I wish to make special mention of my obligations to the Rev. H. Elvet Lewis and Principal John Rhys. D. E. J.

PORTMADOC, 22nd June 1899.

Introduction

The author of this volume one day, some time ago, wrote to me that he was anxious to do something for Mr. William Jones, the antiquary of Bedd Gelert, and to do that something in a way that would help to give a permanent form to the information which Mr. Jones had collected in Welsh about his native parish. I am myself deeply indebted to Mr. Jones, as any one may find who will take the trouble to glance at my contribution of " Welsh Fairy Tales " to the fifth volume of the Cymmrodor, especially pp. 49-76. So when Mr. Jenkins wrote later that he was getting ready for publication a volume embracing Mr. Jones's materials, and asked me to help him by writing an Introduction, I had no hesitation in giving my consent. That is how I came to promise an Introduction to Mr. Jenkins's chapters. I may add that I have never had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of either Mr. Jenkins or Mr. Jones : my interest in the work is wholly of the antiquarian kind, and iny responsibihty is confined to the Introduction, and I feel it all the harder to make up my mind to what it should be devoted. Had it been a book of my own I should not have a moment's hesitation : it would have been devoted to nothing in particular, drawn out at such a length as would just satisfy the publisher.

In perusing the sheets I was convinced, among other things, that the student of folk-lore should sit down to the book and carefully note the items which it contains of interest to him, and that the archaeologist should do likewise. For the latter will find in it a good many references to sites which

X BEDD GELERT

call for digging and careful examination, sites which the casual visitor to Bedd Gelert is not likely to discover for himself, but which are here clearly indicated by information derived from men who know, so to say, every inch of the ground. Perhaps in no district in 'Wales and its marches has the Cambrian Archaeological Association done so little effective work. It has been my luck to join two expeditions of that body, setting out in different years, from Carnarvon, in the direction of Llanberis and the Pass, but neither of them succeeded in reaching Muriau'r Dref How much longer is that deserted centre of the ancient Goidel to remain unknown to archaeologists who profess to be tired of redescribing well-known churches !

After thus trying to draw the attention of the folk-lorist and the antiquarian to the work, I propose to devote the rest of the space at my disposal to some promiscuous notes on certain of the many interesting place-names which occur in the author's text. In a good many instances he has rightly had the popular etymologies recorded, for though such guesses have no scientific value, they have often become part and parcel of the folk-lore of their localities, and as such they claim some notice in a work like the present. It is a commonplace of philological science that the etymology of place - names belongs to the most difficult category of questions with which it has to deal ; nevertheless they are the victims on which the unskilled operator loves best to try his hand. The result would be of no great consequence had it not been for the fact that the local philologist undertakes, at any rate in Wales, to alter the names himself; and his wisdom, as it usually puts on a very grave face, is sure to be accepted by some or all of his neighbours. This is quite natural, as it usually gives expression to sentiments which they can understand and appreciate. We have a flagrant instance in the name of the valley which extends from Bedd Gelert in the direction of Pen y Gwryd. The correct pronunciation, according to the Gwyndodeg or Venedotian dialect, is Nanhwynan, but the spelling Nanhoeneni in an old charter cited at page 198 of this volume seems to point to an original Nanhoenein, and this seems borne out

INTRODUCTION in the same !.)>■ Brynoiciyiw/n and Heiidnjivxndn. So the personal name involved would now be G^vyiiain ; and Nanhwynain sometimes occurs in that form. Rut it is characteristic of the Gwyndodeg that it makes both ein and en in such positions into an : hence the correct Gwynedd pronunciation is Nanhwynan, Bryn Givynan, etc., while the spellings A'an/ncynen and Bryn Gwynen occupy a sort of intermediate position between the local pronunciation and

the book forms in ain. ■->.-

There are reasons to suppose that the Gwyndodic predilection for a broad a in the ending ot words is of no recent origin. In fact, we seem to have the name Givynein or Givynain as G'wvnhaii in the ancient story of Culh't'ch ac Olwen in the Red Book of Hergest : I refer to the designation therein of a certain TeitJii Hen mab Guynhan. As I have said, Nanhwynain and Bryn Gwynain have to be regarded as the book forms, and Nanhwynan and Bryn Gwynan as the local forms ; but Nant (iwynant and Bryn Gwynant are monstrosities of modern origin, partly due to the difference between Nanh-Wynan and Bryn Gwynan. The explanation, however, of that difference is a very simple matter of Welsh grammar : nant is feminine in the dialect, and so requires Gwynan to become Wynan; moreover, nt\% changed into nh, as va. fy nkad, " my father," for myn + tad. In modern \Velsh there is a tendency to efface the mutations and restore

Mr. J. Aber Jones.

xii BEDD GELERT

the radical consonants, whence Nanhwynan is made into Nant Gwynan. This, however, is a very different matter from making the personal name Gwynan into Gwyniant, as if it meant some sort of a nant, " brook or valley." I have been told that Gwynant only dates from the time when an English settler built the house of Plas Gwynant, and what happened, I fancy, was this : the new comer wanted a name for his house, and he was advised to consult the philological oracle of the neighbourhood, who without any hesitation gave sage reasons why Gwynan must be a corruption of Gwynant : hence Plas Gwynant, and from the Plas the heresy has proceeded to attack Nanhwynan, Bryn Gwynan, and all the others involving the name of Gwynan.

How far the spelling should represent the local pronunciation is a question on which opinions differ : thus most people prefer to write Bedd Gelert, though the natural pronunciation given the word in the district is Beth Gelert, as the soft dd is sharpened into t/i before the consonant following. It is perhaps just as well not to say too much about Bet/i Gelert, lest it should cause a new move among the crazy people who are in quest of the Lost Tribes of Israel. The case of Dolwyddelan is analogous in part to that of Bedd Gelert ; for the local pronunciation is liable to slur over the ?<:', so that some of the natives say Dolyddelan and write Dolyddele7i under the influence of the idea that the name consists of Dolydd Elen, " Helen's Dales." This fancy is upset, among other things, by the fact that the ancient manuscript of the Record of Carnarvon has the name written more than once Doloythelan, which undoubtedly meant Dol Wyddelan, " Gwyddelan's Dale." Whether that Gwyddelan may have been the same man as the saint after whom the Montgomeryshire Church of Llan Wyddelan was called I know not, or even whether he was a saint at all. At any rate there seems to be no reason whatsoever for invoking Elen Luyddog to explain the name ; but it is right to explain that certain portions of Carnarvonshire have been for some time suffering acutely from an access of a sort of Helen mania derived from the old romance known as Maxen's Dream. Among other place-

INTRODUCTION xiii

names attacked is one which, in the younger days of persons still living, used to be called Pen ffordd felen, " the Yellow Road's End." I understand that it is now Pen fordd Ek/i, " Helen's Road's End." With still greater violence Coed A/u/i, in the neighbourhood of Carnarvon, is sometimes transmogrified into Coed Helen, " Helen's Wood," though it was Coed Aliin in the ?^Iabinogion. Coed Alun is fortunately the name still in use among the common people ; but I can easily understand how the local philologist would object to it, as he would not find Alun easy to explain. The last thing he can tolerate is a place-name which he cannot understand : it is a reflection on his omniscience, so he instinctively proceeds to get rid of it by changing it into something which he understands and can invest with a yarn of his own. If he succeeds in persuading his neighbours, it becomes folk-lore, which the parish historian has to take into account.

That is perhaps greater consideration than should be accorded to the reckless mapsters let loose from time to time on an afflicted country. Take, for instance, him , , . , , , who mserts ni his map ot Lleyn a Fortli-

Dinlkyn instead of Forth Dinllaen, " the Port of Dinli.ien." Lleyn corresponds to the Irish Lagin, " the Men of Zc/«ster," whereas Dinllden suggests Dun Lagen, " the Men of Leinsttx's Fort,'' where Lagin and Lagen are nominative and genitive respectively. It is needless to say that he who tries to perpetuate Diulleyn not only offers unpardonable violence to the actual pronunciation oi Dinlla-en, but does his utmost to efface one of the few traces left us of the ancient landmarks of the Goidel in Gwynedd. Whether the Lagin who gave their name to Leinster and Lleyn set out from this country or from Ireland is a question of a different order, which cannot be discussed here ; but every educated man is interested in preventing the obscuring of the evidence in point, on whichever side the weight of it may fall.

The use of the definite article in ^Velsh place-names and xiv BEDD GELERT

the distinction of gender in them are points deserving of a note or two. The English word croft borrowed into Welsh appears in the Mabinogi of Manawyddan son of Llyr, as a feminine g?-oft, so with the article we have j' Rofft, "the Croft," liable to be written Yr Offt, whence Gardd Offt, " the Garden of the Croft," by dropping the yr (see pp. 227, 333). The word occurs in the same form in south Cardiganshire ; for instance, on the farm of Esgair Eithin, near Pembryn, there is a field called Rofft ox y Rofft, " the Croft." Another borrowed word deserving of notice here is the Latin portus, " a port or harbour," which in Welsh became /(^rM of the same meaning; but though the word was masculine in Latin, it was bound on account of its vowel o to become feminine in Welsh, whence Forth Wyddno, on the edge of Cors Fochno, near the river Dovey, is now known simply as j' Borth, "the Port," as is also sometimes Forth Euthwy, "the Village of Menai Bridge." But from Latin was also borrowed the feminine porta, " a gate or door," and this must for a double reason have originally been feminine in Welsh, but now as a synonym for drws, " a door," which is masculine, it has been forced to become itself masculine. The older gender of ^. Welsh noun is, however, not unfrequently retained in names of places, and we have an example of this in the present instance, namely in Hafod y Borth (pp. 223-225), " the Shieling of the Gate." The younger people are determined, I am told, to make it into Hafod y Forth, but I have the evidence of my wife that formerly she never heard it called anything but Hafod y Borth. The treatment of the word diiias, " a town or fort," is much the same ; this word has largely superseded the shorter din, as in Dinas Emrys for an older Din Emrys or Din Emreis (see p. 198), " Ambrosius's Fort." Both din ax\A dinas, from being neuter, first became masculine, but dinas, as a synonym of the feminine tref, has been ultimately attracted into the same gender, except in certain names of places, such as Llyn Dinas for Llyn y Dinas, " the Lake of the Fort " ; compare Pen y Dinas, the name of one of the hills overlooking Aberystwyth, and y Dinas, the name of a farmhouse in the upper valley of the Rheidol. But the local philologist is doing his level best

INTRODUCTION xv

to get rid of the inequality and to establish y Ddinas everywhere ; and when he has succeeded with that, he will doubtless attack y Braich Melyn and every other braich that still dares to be masculine in Gwynedd.

One of the most difficult things to ascertain in the case of certain place-names is their accentuation. Where we have real compounds there is seldom any difficulty, as the accent has been levelled, and one is usually safe in following the general rule of placing the stress on the penultimate ; but a great many Welsh place-names consist of words in syntactical contact ; and owing to our accepting the English official rule of treating Welsh names as gibberish and writing them accordingly as single words, however many they may consist of, the spelKng leaves one in doubt as to the accent under certain circumstances. Thus the compound Glasfryn, " Green-hill," is accented Glasfryn, but not so the syntactic combination Brynglas, " the Green Hill," which should be written Bryn Glas and have the principal accent placed on Glas. It does not matter much how one writes such names as Aberystwyth or Aber Ystwyth, since the accent is directed to the penultimate in either case ; but if you write Caerdydd, " Cardiff," you suggest the general rule ; but it does not apply, and the writing should be Caer Dydd, as the chief stress is on Dydd. It is all the more necessary to observe some such rule, as certain of these merely syntactic and non-compound names have nevertheless an accentuation which is not that of the single words of which they consist. Thus Cwmglas, " the Green Dingle," is not pronounced like cwm glas with the accent on glas, but very decidedly on cwm. More remarkable still is a name like Llanycil of a church near Bala, which, though it seems to analyse itself into Llan y Cil, " the Church of the Recess or Nook," has the accent very decidedly on the y ; and so with the name Fenybertk (or Feneberth), near Aberystwyth, which seems to mean Fen y Berth, " the Hill of the Bush." Moreover, the accentuation of such names differs in different localities : thus while Cardiff has in its neighbourhood a place called Penarth, which should be written Pen Arth, North Wales has more than one place of the name proxvi BEDD GELERT

nounced Pennarth. One of the most remarkable instances in point in this volume is StrallynJ^. 332), which in book Welsh would be in full Ystrad y Llyn, " the Lake's Shore or Strand," whence Cwm Slrallyn, " the Dingle taking its name from StraUyn," and the actual name of the lake in that dingle, namely Liyn Cwm StraUyn, which being interpreted means at length "the Lake of the Dingle of the Lake's Strand." It is hard to conceive a more ingenious way of forcing the lake's original name into oblivion : as a matter of fact I have never known any one who could tell it me.

If ever anything should be done for Welsh topography, it is clear that the question of the accentuation of our place-names should not be overlooked. Another thing which the perusal of the following chapters has deeply impressed on my mind is the shifting and ever-changing state of our place-names, and the desirability of their being systematically collected and accurately recorded before further ravages have been committed among them by the ever-growing influence of English. Mr. Jenkins has set an excellent example by dealing so thoroughly with the topography of the Parish of Bedd Gelert, and by recording all its more important and characteristic place-names.

JOHN RHYS.

Jesus College, Oxford, i$thjime 1899.

Chapter I

General : Position and boundaries of the parish — Varied surface of the parish — Products of the parish — Mining adventures and failm-es — Rateable value of the parish— Charities — Condition of the people . Pages i

CHAPTER n Antiquities: (i) Cairns, (2) mounds, (3) cromlechs, (4) stone circles-

FOLK-LORE ..... T

CHAPTER HI

The Village : Its position — Its name — Its name explained — Its streets and terraces — The bridges and rivers— Public buildings — Various rg

CHAPTER IV

The Village Hotels : The ale-house of Ty Isaf^The Saracen's Head— The Royal Goat Hotel — The Prince Llewelyn Hotel— The Colw\ 11 Temperance Hotel ...... 34

CHAPTER V

The Legend of Gelert : .Its popularity — The lolo .MSS. version — Glasynys's version — A Sanskrit parallel — Mr. Baring-Gould's criticism — Mr, Joseph Jacobs's criticism — Mr. Joseph Jacobs's discovery^ The discovery considered — Local faith in the legend — The legend in art 56

CHAPTER VI

Village Folk-Loke : Species of ghosts — Raising and laying ghosts — A perilous struggle — David Prichard's ghost — A shot hare — Gwrach y Rhibyn — The brown hobgoblin — The gray sprite — Lantern Jack — The water sprite — Sabbath fishing punished — The candle of the dead — The vision of farmer Cawellyn — Ghostly funerals — Hell hounds . Pages 74

CHAPTER VII

The Priory : When founded — Its mediaeval history — Its destruction — Letter and charter — Forced liberality^— Its later history — Its suppression — Its order and priors ...... 8y

CHAPTER VIII

The Church : The priory chapel — Before its first renovation — Before the second renovation — Before the third renovation — The present building ....... 106

CHAPTER IX

The Gravey.^kd ; Its enlargement — The second extension — Graves and Epitaphs] . . . . . . . 121

CHAPTER X

Xant (Jolwyn : Its general aspect — Bedd (jwian — C\\'m Cloch — Moel Hebog chimney — Owen Glyndwr's feat — Cwm Diffwys — Hafod Ernallt — Hafocl Ernallt and hidden money — A curious shield — Cwm ^ieillionen — Ogof Elen — INIeillionen and Ty'n v Coed — A Roman road — The legend of Elen Lueddog . . . . . . 127

CHAPTER XI

X.\XT CoL\VY.\ . .\ safe retreat — Llarii Trwsgwl contest — The tragedy and ghost of Llam Trwsgwl — Caer y Gors^Ceryg Collwyn or Pitt's Head — The land of the fairies — The midwife of Nant Gwynen — The ropes of the fairies — Ceryg Huon — The ]i\cly house of the Gadair — Cwm Marchnad and Y Garn — The beast with golden hair — Drws y Coed Uchaf — Marrying a fairy — Llyn y Dywarchen — Llwyn y Forwyn . 147

CHAPTER XII

Xant f;oLWYX ; Bwlch Culfin — The copper mine — Llyn Cawellyn— Castell Cidwm — A \isit to Fairyland — Glan yr .Afon Quarry — Clogwyn y Gwin — .\. love of recompense — The last killed at Waterloo— .Signs of Cremation — The village of Rhyd-ddu- Mur Murianau— Cwm Tre Weirydd i68

CONTENTS

CHAPTER XIII

The Snowdon Summit : Clawdd Coch— Summit Hotel— Views from Sirovvdon — A sunrise from Snowdon — Summit visitors — Snowdon in perspective — The shepherdess of Snowdon . . . Pages i8i

CHAPTER XIV

Nant Gwynen : Its general features — A princely gram— On the old mill bridge — Craflwyn . . . . 194

CHAPTER XV

Nant Gwynkn — Dinas Emrys : Its appearance and position — Its entrance and summit — Its name — The sow of Dallwaran Dallben — The sow and local place-names — Lludd and Llefelys — Irish chiefs at Dinas Emrys — Gwydion ab Don — Brynach Wyddel — Maxen Wledig — Owen Finddu — Owen and the giant — Vortigern — \^ortigern and Rhonwen — The treachery of the long knives — A mysterious prophet — Digging for the dragons — The death of the magicians — Myrddin's treasures — Searching for the treasures — Money jingling in the well — The heir jni/n/s the heart — Young hopeful and Dinas Bell ..... 204

CHAPTER XVI

Nant Gwynen — Middle Part : Hafod y Perth — Maes yr Efail — Pant yr Ychain — Beudy Bedd Owen — Llyn Dinas — Bryn Diweddu — The banks of Llyn Dinas — Plas Gwynant — Plas Gwynant ghost — J. .\. Froude at Plas Gwynant — F. W. Newman and the ghost — The fortunes of Hafodydd Brithion ...... 228

CHAPTER XVII

N.VNT Gwynen — Cwmllan ; Bethania — .Sir Edward Watkin's chalet — The late Mr. Gladstone's visit — A shepherd's fairy staff — Cwm Tregalan — The death of King Arthur — Hafod y Llan — The hairy man and his cave — .\ merry evening and a tragic night . . . 248

CHAPTER XVIII

Nant Gwynen — Akound Llyn Gwynen : Glanaber — Bryn Gwynant — Capel y Nant — How the big Bible was restored — Madoc, discoverer of America — The old Roman bridge and Wenallt . 263

CHAPTER XIX

Nant Gwynen — Upper Part : Hafod Lwyfog — The ghost of Hafod Lwyfog — Hafod y Rhisgl and Gwastad Annas — Gwastad Annas and the old city — Cwm Dyli — Cwm Dyli folk-lore — Llyn Llydaw — The cave of the youth of Eryri — Llyn Ffynon Las — The wonders of Llyn Ffynon Las — Gorphwysfa — Pen y Gwryd — Bwlch Goleugoed . Pages 281

CHAPTER XX

Aberglasi-yn — Bridge and Pass : From the village to the pass — The pass — The Chair of Rhys Goch — The mines — The white lady and other ghosts — .\ Roman embankment — The weirs — The bridge — Folk-lore and the bridge — Two traditions .... 310

CHAPTER XXI

Abergeaslyn and Oerddwr ; Llyn Glas and the tide — .Vberglaslyn village — Aberglaslyn hall and Dinas Ddu — Oerddwr . 326

CHAPTER XXII

Nanmor : Pen y Groes and the marshes — Hafod y Llyn — Hafod Garegog and Rhys Goch — Nanmor village — The Roman fort of Beudy Newydd — Ty Mawr and Capel Nanmor — Carneddi to Berthlwyd — .\ few neglected houses — Cae Ddafydd and Dafydd Nanmor — Bwlch Gwernog — The wonders of Arddu — Dolfriog .... 333

CHAPTER XXIII

Religious and F.ducational Awakenings: I. Religious — II. Educational ...... 359

CHAPTER I

GENERAL

Position and Boundaries of the Parish. — The interesting and well-known parish of Bedd Gelert lies about eight miles south-east of the town of Carnarvon. To the popular mind it has never been other than a parish of the county of Carnarvon, but until about four years ago a large portion lay within the county of Merioneth. The border line of the two counties was changed for administrative purposes. The old division placed it in the cantref (or hundred) of Dunodig and Arvon. Nanmor, on the south-eastern side of Gwynen, is in the cwmwd of Ardudwy Uwch Artro, Merioneth ; the portion west of the river Colwyn is in Eifionydd, the northern portion in Uwch Gwyrfai, and the rest in Arllechwedd. It was thus once situated in two counties and four deaneries — Ardudwy, Eifionydd, Arvon, and Arllechwedd. It is bounded on the north and north-east by the parishes of Bettws Garmon and Llanberis ; on the east by Llandegai, Llanrhychwyn, and Dolwyddelen ; on the south by Festiniog and Llanfrothen ; and on the west by Penmorfa, Llanfihangel y Pennant, Llanllyfni, Llandwrog, and Llanwnda. Its greatest length from east to west — from Bwlch y Rhediad to Drws y Coed — is eight and a half miles, and its greatest breadth from south to north — from Ceryg y Rhwydwr to Clogwyn Coch "on Snowdon — is about eight miles.

Varied Surface of the Parish. — In a Welsh parish of such

B an extent the surface cannot be other than varied, but no adequate conception of the diversity of its features can possibly be had without personal observation, and, to some extent, exploration. Our highest mountain- lies within its borders, and the rolling tide, not so long ago, all but washed its feet. The late P. B. Williams, the reverend author of Tourists' Guide to Carnarvonshire, fell a victim to an old fancy, that may not yet be exploded in many minds, that Snowdon summit is in the parish of Llanberis ; but the boundary line between this parish and the next one runs straight from Llyn Glas, in Cwm Tre Weirydd, to the top of Crib y Distyll, so that the peak lies well within Bedd Gelert parish. Indeed, there is a strip of the parish of Bettws Garmon separating Bedd Gelert and Llanberis parishes just here. The height of Snowdon is given as 357 I, 'Crib y Distyll as 3550, Carnedd Iggin 3500, Llechog 3000, Crib Goch and Lliwedd 2900, Moel Hebog 2578, Aran 2470, and Y Garn 2361 feet. The other familiar hills, which form a distinct part of the magnificent scenery of Snowdonia, are not associated so much with measures as with figures ; of these we may mention Cnicht {alias Sugar Loaf), Moel y Meirch, Moel Lefn, Y Graig Ddu, and Y Wenallt.

Nestling between these hills and mountains we have a large number of cymoedd, or mountain valleys and glens, some of which are so isolated as seldom to be disturbed by the foot of any human being except that of a shepherd or an enthusiastic explorer. The lisps of silvery rills and the bleatings of a lonely sheep only make us all the more conscious of the extent of their isolation. Others, again, are wild, and even weird, hemmed in on both sides by dusky rocks which storms have whipped bare. Leaping through these wild cymoedd are ceaseless streams, which hurl their waters over crags and rush down to larger streams as if for the first.