OF AN INSECT-HUNTER. 91 



folly of any one who undertakes so useless and perilous an 

 adventure. By the by, it was once the custom among some 

 of the young men of Brecon to make parties to perform the 

 ascent of this mountain ; it was something to be able to boast 

 of the achievement; these were frequently attended with loss 

 of life, and in the summer of 1833, when, I believe, the last 

 adventure of the kind took place, two young men fell from the 

 highest point over the precipice, and were dashed to pieces ; 

 their bodies were with great difficulty found, and were in the 

 most horrible condition. I believe these youths had been 

 wrestling, as a feat to talk of, on the very summit, and 

 grappling each other too near the edge, one slipped, and both 

 were precipitated headlong down the abyss. 



The Insect-Hunter had so accurately noted the readiest 

 ascent of the mountain during the long approach on the 

 previous day, that it was made with the greatest facility, 

 although we were constantly enveloped in a cloud, and there- 

 fore could make no observation on points previously ob- 

 served. If you manage well, the last 200 yards is the only 

 very steep part, as there are stone quarries three-quarters of 

 the way up, the tracks to which afford the easiest ascent. 

 The mountain is almost entirely covered with carex and 

 coarse sour grasses, which afford a miserably scanty living 

 to the ragged sheep, scattered every where, even to the 

 summit, and the few still more ragged horses, which serve 

 the Welsh drovers as locomotives. There is occasionally to 

 be seen a scattering of the two usual species of vaccinium, 

 and sometimes, but in no abundance, one or two species of 

 heath. As we approached the summit, the clouds were evi- 

 dently much lighter, and the sky above us was beautifully blue, 

 the wind blowing pretty strongly from the north-west. The two 

 heads are of nearly equal height, and apparently 600 yards 

 asunder ; but, though we occasionally saw the head which we 

 did not ascend, there were always clouds driving in the gap 

 between, which prevented the possibility of judging the dis- 

 tance with any accuracy. The extreme top of each head is 

 perfectly flat, and about 100 yards across. The one we 

 climbed contained several small pools, with sandy bottoms ; 

 other such pools had dried with the excessive heat of the 

 weather, and their sandy beds were resorted to by the sheep, 

 one of which would occasionally start up, and dart off like a 



