CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 243 



Nant-Phrancon, anno 1685, that part of a rock of one of 

 the impendent cliffs, called yr Hysvae, became so under- 

 mined (doubtless by the continual rains and subterraneous 

 veins of water occasioned by them) that, losing its hold, 

 it fell down in several pieces, and, in its passage down a 

 steep and craggy cliff, dislodged thousands of other 

 stones, whereof many were intercepted ere they came 

 down to the valley, but as much came down as ruined a 

 small piece of ground, and several stones were scattered 

 at least 200 yards asunder. In this accident, one great 

 stone, the biggest remaining piece of the broken rock, 

 made such a trench in its descent as the small mountain 

 rills comuaonly run in ; and when it came down to the 

 plain ground, it continued its passage through a small 

 meadow and a considerable brook, and lodged itself on 

 the other side it. From hence I gather, that all the 

 other vast stones that lie in our mountainous valleys, 

 have, by such accidents as this, fallen down ; unless 

 perhaps we may do better to refer the greatest part of 

 them to the universal deluge. For, considering there are 

 some thousands of them in these two valleys [of Lhan- 

 berys and Nant-Phrancon], whereof (for what I can learn) 

 there are but two or three that have fallen in the memory 

 of any man now living, in the ordinary course of nature 

 we shall be compelled to allow the rest many thousands 

 of years more than the age of the world. But [ have 

 been too tedious in things that are no information to 

 you, for which I must beg your pardon, though I cannot 

 forbear to add two other particulars which seemed very 

 singular. First, at the highest parts of the Glyder, 

 (a mountain about the height of Cader Idris), there are 

 prodigious heaps of stones, many of them of the largeness 

 of those of Stonehenge, but of all the irregular shapes 

 imaginable, and they all lie in as much confusion as the 

 ruins of a building can be supposed to do. Now I must 

 confess I cannot well imagine how this has happened ; 

 for that ever they should be indeed the ruins of some 

 edifice, I can by no means allow, in regard that most of 



