Excvraioii through North IJ'ales. 



30 



simplicity of his habits in private life 

 retaining in the midst of court favour, 

 a moderation in his wishes truly becom- 

 ing a philosopher ; nor did he ever 

 make use of the confidence with wliich 

 he was houaurcd by the Empress Queen 

 Maria Theresa and hei- sons, the two 

 succeeding Emperors of Germany, 

 Joseph and Leopold, for any purposes 

 of personal aggrandisement or ambi- 

 tion. Having been entrusted by the 

 Empress with the inoculation of the 

 imperial family, titles and emoluments 

 might have been his reward, but he 

 thought fit to decline the former, and 

 to accept only a very moderate portion 

 of the latter. Veritas. 



Jan. 12, 182 1. 



For the Monthly Magazine. 



EXCURSION through NORTH WALES 



in 1819. 

 " His path is mid the Cambrian mountains 



wild ; 

 The many fountains that, well-wandering 



down 

 Pliulimmon's huge rou|s;h side, their murmurs 



snjooth 

 Float rovmd him: Idris, that like a wariior 



old, 

 His battered and fantastic helmet rears. 

 Scattering the elements' wrath, frowns o'er 



his way, 

 Abroad irregularduskiness. Aloof 

 Snowdon, the triplc-hcnded p;iant, soars. 

 Clouds rolling half-way down his nigged 



sides." Millman's Samor. 



IN the month of Jnljr, 1819, when 

 all, who could by any means con- 

 trive to escape fiom the murky atmo- 

 sphere of the Great City, weic scat- 

 tered abroad throughout the country or 

 the continent — we, (that is, ourselves 

 and a friend.) determined to accom- 

 plish a design which we had for a long 

 time in contemplation; and without 

 disclosing our project to any one person 

 whatsoever, set off early on the morn- 

 ing of the 1.5th inst. in a post ehaiseon 

 our way to the little capital of the wild 

 coimty of Merioneth in North Wales. 

 We had more than one reason for tlms 

 dashing at once into the very centre of 

 the principality. In the first place we 

 could not afford to speiid more than 

 two months from our professional du- 

 ties. In (he second, we had heard a 

 great deal in favour of the beauty of 

 the scenery of that part of Wales. In 

 the third, we wished to witness the 

 manners of our western neighbours in 

 a state as unsophisticated as possible ; 

 and it was intimated to us that our 

 wishes in this respect might be grati- 

 fied by an excursion through the ro- 



[Feb. r, 



mantic county aforesaid. And lastly, 

 we are acquainted with a very M'orthy, 

 hospitable, good sort of fellow at Dol- 

 gelley. In consideration, therefore, of 

 these cogent reasons, our determination 

 is " notliiiig wonderful."' 



It is well known to our readers that 

 Dr .Johnson imagined that life had few 

 things I)etter tliau tlie excitation pro- 

 duced by being whirled rapidlj' along 

 in a post-c!i;iise ; and the readers of 

 Wavcrley will pro!)ably remruibor the 

 remark which the auflior of that work 

 made on tlie learned moralist's opinion: 

 " He who has in his youth," says the 

 aecomplislied novelist, " experienced 

 the coutidenf and indepehdant feelings 

 of a stout pedestrian in an interesting 

 countiy, will hold the taste of the 

 great moralist eheap in comparison.'* 

 And it is even so. But youth is not 

 always necessary to the enjoyment of a 

 pedestrian excursion. The man of feel- 

 ing will always experience a delight in 

 gazing on I)eautiful scnery ; always, 

 at least, while health and activity are 

 enjoyed by him, and he need not be 

 young to feel a gratification in viewing 

 the magnificent wonders of nature. 

 And when a person is thus happily dis- 

 posed, how intense and lively is his 

 pleasure ! " We drink in joy too deep 

 for expression," says an elegant peri- 

 odical writer, " when we penetrate the 

 vast solitudes of natur", and gaze on 

 her rockjr fortresses, her eternal hills, 

 her regions consecrate to eldest lime."* 

 This is the language of heaven-born 

 poetry. Hut we are wandt-ring from 

 (he beaten track of otir excursion — we 

 must eommeuce our narrative. 



We arrived at Shrewsbury, so cele- 

 brated for the pride of its people, and 

 the deliciousness of its cakes, on 

 the evening of the 17th ; and after a 

 very good dinner at the Britannia,! 



• Retrospective Review, No. 2, p. 3 IS, 

 Sucii of our readers as have not seen (his 

 clever and entertaining publication, would do 

 well to peep at it without further delay. It 

 is a new and an original work, devoted, as 

 its name intimates, to the reviews of old 

 writers, and the two numbers already pub- 

 lished, contain some exquisitely amusing 

 articles. If the succeeding numbers do not 

 " fall oiT" from their elder brethren, the 

 reading public will have reason to rejoice 

 at the establishment of the " Retrospective 

 Review." 



f We strongly recommend all who intend 

 to visit Shrewsbury to put up by all means 

 at the Britannia. It is not, certainly, so 

 large or so ambitious an idu as either the 



Talbot 



