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ROSS, THE WYE, AND SYMOND'S YAT MEETING. 



Tuesday, June 21, 1870. 



"How oft 

 In darkness and amid the many shapes 

 Of joyless daylight ; when the fretful stir 

 Unprofitable, and the fever of the world 

 Have hung upon the bvatings of my heart — 

 How oft, in spirit, have I turned to thee, 

 < I q Ivan Wye ! Thou wanderer thro' the woods ! 

 How often has my spirit turned to thee ! " 



Wordsworth. 



The characteristic features of the "Wye scenery are familiar as household 

 words. The river "Wye has been described again and again from its rise on 

 bleak Plinlimmon to the junction of its pure waters with those of the muddy 

 Severn. Who does not know the wild desolation of its source — the beauty of the 

 rocky channel it has made for itself through the mountains of South Wales — 

 its rich passage through the well-wooded vales, the green pastures, and 

 the blooming orchards of Herefordshire— and the picturesque grandeur of 

 its Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire shores ? As the elements of physical 

 beauty increase with the progress of the river, so too do the objects on its banks 

 become increasingly rich in interest and in historical associations. The small 

 castles of Builth, of Hay, and of Clifford, prepare for those of Wilton, 

 of Goodrich, and of Chepstow ; and so too do the many village churches 

 and spires lead on to the Cathedral at Hereford, and the noble ruin of Tintern 

 Abbey. Throughout the course of the river the interest is ever varied and ever 

 on the increase, and it is this which makes its charm so perfect. Poetry in 

 description or poetry in art must ever fail to represent fully such lovely scenery. 



