CAB 



dons promontory of 1' MI n Nfanr rises to the 



I p in .1 Icil^c of this 



roc k a ; :c road, defended by a stone 



wall about !i\ 'i, winds round the mou 



The great I;; ii r ao, li.uvcver, iv;w passes through 



top of Penmacn-Maur there 



fortification, which has been 



fully described by the Editor of Camden, and more 

 1 ly .by Mr Pennant. 



Jake called Llyn y Dywarchcn, or the Lake of 

 Sod, h is been celebrated, by Gyraldus for its 

 Booting island. This island is of an irregular form, 

 and about nine yards long. It is frequently moved 

 by the wind ; and when driven to the shore, cattle are 

 often surprised upon it, and carried into the lake. In 

 tii-- winter of 1071, a pestilential vapour, like a weak 

 blue flame, continued to rise, for a fortnight or three 

 weeks, out of a marshy sandy tract called Morfa By- 

 han, and crossed over a channel of eight miles to 

 Harleeh in Pembrokeshire. It set fire on that side 

 to 16 ricks of hay and two barns, and infected the 

 grass in such a manner, that numbers of cattle, 

 horses, sheep, and goats, died. J 



Considerable quantities of fish, but particularly 

 herrings, are caught on the shores of this county, 

 and lobsters and oysters are found in great abun- 

 dance. Large pearls are found in black muscles, 

 which are numerous in the river Conway. 



the coast of Caernarvon are two islands, called 

 StTudwal, which are inhabited only by sheep, rabbits, 

 and puffins. The island of Bardseye, which lies about 

 three leagues to the west of Aberdaron, is about two 

 miles in circumference, and was nce famous for its 

 convent, which ivas the resort of numerous monks. 



This county is about 45 miles long, 13 broad, and 

 150 in circuit. It contains about 310,000 acres, of 

 which KJO.OOO are in a state of cultivation, or pas- 

 turage, while 100,000 are unfit for culture. It con- 

 tains 8304 inhabited houses, and 41,521 inhabitants; 

 19,586 males, and 21,935 females, of whom 4234- 

 were returned as employed in trades, and 12,808 in 

 agriculture. It contains one city, viz. Bangor, the 

 county town Caernarvon, 10 hundreds, 5 market- 

 towns, and 71 parishes. The amount of the assess- 

 ments, under the property-tax for 1800, was 

 L. 131,800, a-id the money raised for the poor in 

 1 803, was L. 91S7. being at the rate of 4s. 0-J-d. in 

 th? pouud. See Description of England and Wales, 

 vol. i. p. 197: Pennant'" Tours, vol. ii. p. 299, &c.; 

 Kay's View of the Agriculture of. North Wales', 

 's '/' in ll:rouh No/th Wales ; A Sketch oj the 

 Ilixtur , of Caernarvonshire \ Aikin's Journal of a 

 'J'o'/r : /trough AW/// W.iles and A Tour in Wales, 

 Mud through m-rnl (f the Counties of England, &c. 

 in 1 805; m Phillip's Collection of Voyages, &c. vol. 

 iv. p. 119, &c. (*) 



CAER !', the Venta Silurian of the Ro- 



man-. Tin- :nr -nt fortress, for which alone it is 

 t' . i . is of an oblong form, rounded 



at the angles and is 505 yards long by 390. Each 

 corner com-sponds with the cardinal points ; and 



CAS 



at the south west side tin-re are three pentagonal bas- 

 ., wiiu-li is nearly a mile in circuit, 

 may t:!i be u.iccd, and it is surrounded in most pla- 

 ces by a deep fosse. About 50 years ago, a curious tes- 

 sehtcd pavement was discovered. It i* 21 feet long, 

 and IK broad, and has a border of variegated 

 Columns and coins arc frequently found, when the 

 ground is turned up by the plough. Num' 

 nouses, 55. Population, .'; Evan's 



through South Wales; Barl through South 



Wales; and Coxe's Tour in Monmouthshre.- 



00 



CAERWYS, the name of a small town of Flint- 

 shire, which is mouldering away with age. It stands 

 on a rising ground, and counts of four spacious 

 streets, crossing each other at right angles, and cor- 

 responding to the points of the compass. Several 

 Roman copper coins have been found here ; and a 

 stone, four feet six inches high, and three inches 

 broad, was discovered in an upright position, with the 



inscription Hie jacit mulierbo obiit. This 



curious relic, which was used as a gate-post, has 

 been lately removed to the garden at Downing. 

 Multitudes of tumuli are scattered over the neigh- 

 bourhovd ; and Pennant seems to think that the pre- 

 ceding inscription refers to a heroine, who fell in the 

 field' of battle. The derivation of Cacnvys, from 

 Cacr, a city, and Cms, a summons, shews that it was 

 once a seat of judicature for this part of Wales. It 

 had its town-hall and its jail, and continued to be the 

 place of judicature till the middle of the 17th centu- 

 ry, when the courts were removed to Flint. Caer- 

 wys is famous for its eisteddfod, or session of bards 

 and minstrels, which was held here for many centu- 

 ries. A silver harp was annually given to the best 

 bard or musician, but this custom was discontinued 

 after the eisteddfod of 1568, held by a commission 

 from Queen Elizabeth. In 1798, this custom was 

 resumed, but we do not know if it has been conti- 

 nued. Caerwys had formerly the most considerable 

 fairs in the county for cattle, bhcep, and horses ; but 

 these have almost entirely failed, since the increase of 

 Holywell. Number of houses, 138. Population, 

 773. See Aikin's Tour in Wal-s ; Even's Cam- 

 brian Itinerary; Pennant's Tours, vol. ii. p. 77 105, 

 where a complete account of the E'steddt'od will be 

 found ; and Powel's History of Wales. (T) 



C.3LSALPINIA, a genus of plants of the class 

 Decandria, and order Monogynia. S^-c BOTANY, p. 

 209. 



C/ESALPINUS. See History of ANATOMY, 

 vol. i. p. 738. 



CAESAR, CAIUS Juuus, the first Roman empe- 

 ror, is one of the most extraordinary characters that 

 have appeared in the history of the world. Cxsar 

 was born of an illustrious family, though his imme- 

 diate ancestors had b:cn but little distinguished. The 

 Julian family laid claim to high antiqirty ; and the 

 refined flatterers, who were patronized b\ the libera- 

 lity of Augustus, have consecrated these pn- tensions 

 by the elegant productions ot their genius, and taught 



* w Camden, vol. ii. p. 788 ; Phil, Trans. No. 808. p. 49, or Hutton'i Abridgment, vol. iii. p. 618; and Pennant** T*tn 



vol. ii. p. :J72 



VOL. V. PART I. 2 B 



