CHARACTERS. 



745 



ing with his father. Among many 

 others, he built in Cacrmarthcn- 

 shire, Landilo-bridge, of three very 

 light, elegant, and large arches, over 

 the river Towy, six miles above. the 

 town of Caermarthen ; Edwinsford- 

 bridge, over the river Cothy ; Pont- 

 loyring, over the river Ta^, that 

 divides the counties of Caermarthen 

 and Pembroke; Bcdwas-bridgc, 

 over the Remny; and last of all, 

 Newport- bridge, over the Usk, in 

 ^lonmouihshire: and this, if we 

 consider tlie impediments with which 

 he had to striig2;le here, must he al- 

 lowed to have been a very arduous 

 undertaking. The diflicuUy of 

 making good foundations, together 

 with the hazards attending W^clsh 

 mountain Hoods from the land, and 

 the furious Severn tides from the 

 Bristol Channel, might have deterred 

 a less enterprising artist: but he 

 surmounted every obstacle, and 

 completed it in 1801. It consists 

 of five arches, supported by high 

 piers. The central arch is seventy 

 feet in the span, and twenty-two 

 feet and a half high from the base or 

 chord of the arch. The other 

 arches arc each sixty-two feet in the 

 span, and twenty-two feet in alti- 

 tude. The piers are fourteen feet 

 wide at the springing of the arches. 

 The height, from low-watermark to 

 the top of the parapet, is fifty-seven 

 feet. It is a very ornamental, mag- 

 nificent, scientific, and conveniently 

 constructed bridge. 



Mr. David Edwards lives at pre- 

 sent in Glamorganshire, in a good 

 farm of about five hundred pounds 

 per anniuu. He is very much re- 

 spected in his neighbourhood ; sim- 

 ple in his manners, hospitable in his 

 house, and very intelligent in his 

 profession. His son William, brought 

 H^ to the same trade, is a very skil- 



ful mason, and particularly f.o in all 

 kinds of bridge and water-works. 

 He now superintends many of the 

 locks and bridges of the Kennet and 

 Avon navigation from Londan to 

 Bristol : but his father is not in- 

 formed whether I;e has yet entered 

 into a contract for the rebuilding of 

 Caerleon-bridgc, in Monmouth- 

 shire. The present is an uncommon 

 instance of the same taste and ta- 

 lents pervading a family for three 

 generations. Bridge-building and 

 farming seem destined to be their 

 hereditary employments. 



An Account cf Goromci/ Ozccn :from 

 Binglei/'s Excumiuns into North 

 JVales, 



Goronwy Owen, a man inferior 

 in talent and genius io none wiiich 

 Wales has produced, was born in 

 the yenr 172'2 : and his father hav- 

 ing only a small fariii to support bis 

 family upon, Goronwy's schooling 

 was accjaired in the neighbouring 

 village of Llanallgo. During his 

 early 3 cars, he exhibited sucii marks 

 of application and abilities, that at 

 the age of fifteen he was taken as 

 an assistant in the grammar-school 

 at Pwllheli. Here he found em- 

 ployment for sojne time. In 1741 

 he went to Oxford; but, from the 

 poverty of his parents, he was sup- 

 ported in that university by the mu- 

 nificence of Mr. Lewis Morris. 

 Four years afterwards he received 

 holy orders at Banuor, and became 

 curate to the bisliop, at Llanfair. 

 The bishop soon removing him, to 

 make way for one of his own friends, 

 he accepted the curacy of Oswestry, 

 and in the same year received priest's 

 orders at St. Asaph. In the year 

 following he married, and in 17-48 



he 



