870 



was but a trap to catch the unwary, and induce them to buy the bar- 

 ren sand of Llandudno, there to sink capital in the shape of bricks 

 and mortar, under the idea that "hundreds" of botanists and ornitho- 

 logists annually resorted to the rocks of the Orme's Head for the sake 

 of its rare plants, birds, &c. 1 was rather struck with botany being 

 brought forward in this utilitarian way as a bait to tempt speculators; 

 and not to bely the book, and being willing to run with the stream, 

 determined to form one of the army of Llandudno explorators who 

 were to recompence the speculators in sand ; so forthwith ordered a 

 car for the next morning to what Mr. Bennett as well as the "guide" 

 calls the " rapidly rising w r atering-place " of Llandudno. I would, 

 however, beg to express my hope that it may not rise any higher in 

 one sense, as it is very up-hill work at present there, and indeed the 

 new houses or crescent are proposed to be built, if ever, upon the 

 level, sandy beach. 



I need not narrate my adventures at Llandudno otherwise than as 

 respects botanical matters, but as a warning to the "hundreds of vi- 

 sitors" resorting here according to the " guide," I may mention that 

 having been induced to take lodgings, I found as much difficulty in 

 obtaining subsistence as in a beleagured town, and one day, after a 

 weary hunt through the place, had the utmost difficulty to obtain 

 even a rasher of bacon ! As for fish, they were only obtainable at 

 Conway, and it really seemed as if the natives lived on wormwood, 

 such quantities covered every waste spot to their very doors. Or it 

 might have been supposed, could an old Roman have looked in from 

 Caer Rhun, whose ruins are not very far distant, that a band of gla- 

 diators were in practice here, for such a rank growth of fennel {Foetii- 

 culum officinale) on the cliffs and acclivities about the village, and 

 on almost every spot about a disused mining- work just above the 

 beach, I never saw before. It might well bring the lines of the Ame- 

 rican poet Longfellow to mind — 



" Above the lowly plauts it towers, 

 The fennel, with its yellow flowers, 

 And in an earlier age than ours, 

 Was gifted with the wondrous powers 



Lost vision to restore. 

 It gave new strength and fearless mood, 

 And gladiators fierce and rude, 

 Mingled it in their daily food ; 

 And he who battled and subdued 

 The wreath of fennel wore.'' 



