AND THEIR INHABITANTS. 1 71 



" Dee, which Britons long ygone 

 Did call divine, that doth by Chester tend." 



And Drayton says : 



* ' And lastly, Holy Dee, whose prayers were highly prized 

 As one in heavenly things devoutly exercised, 

 Who changing of his foods by divination had 

 Foretold the neighbouring folks of good or bad ; 

 In their intended course sith needs they will proceed, 

 His benediction sends in way of happy speed." 



Milton, alluding to the supposed supernatural 

 powers of the Dee, says : 



" Where Deva spreads her wizard stream." 



The Dee, which runs through the largest lake in 

 Wales, Llyn Tegid, or Bala, is 137 feet above the level 

 of the sea. The lake in some parts is 138 feet deep, 

 of clear water, besides a bed of mud. The fish called 

 the Gwyniad frequents the deep parts of the lake. 

 This fish somewhat resembles the whiting, and is 

 much prized for its delicate flavour. The salmon and 

 trout prefer running water, and if they enter lakes 

 through the . streams in which they swim, they gene- 

 rally prefer to pass on. The gwyniad is a lake fish, 

 feeding chiefly on shell-fish and water-plants. The 

 Lobelia Dortmanna, growing in the shallows, is a 

 favourite food, and is said to give a peculiarly agree- 

 able flavour to the fish. The pike is also abundant 

 in this lake, as are the tench, roach, perch, and eels. 

 The pike, says Tennant, has been caught here twenty- 

 five pounds in weight, trout twenty-two pounds, perch 

 ten pounds, and gwyniad five pounds. But fish of 



