122 LAKES OF BRECKNOCK. 



The surrounding scenery is pleasingly varied; and 

 from the higher grounds are some fine prospects 

 over the distant country, comprehending, on the 

 east, the Black Mountains of Talgarth. Con- 

 cerning the original formation of Llangorse Pool, 

 a strange anecdote is preserved among the Har- 

 leian MSS. No. 6831. A young man of small 

 property pays his addresses to the Lady of Llan- 

 safeddon, by whom he is rejected on account of his 

 inferiority of fortune ; upon which he robs and mur- 

 ders a carrier. After displaying his ill-gotten wealth, 

 he again offers himself, and being interrogated how 

 he acquired it, he confesses his crime to her under 

 an injunction of secrecy ; still she refuses him, until 

 he repairs to the grave of the deceased and ap- 

 peases his ghost. This he readily undertakes. 

 Upon approaching the spot, a hollow voice is heard 

 to exclaim, " Is there no vengeance for innocent 

 blood ? " another answers, " Not until the ninth 

 generation." Satisfied to find the evil day so far 

 protracted, the lady marries him, and their issue 

 multiplies so fast, that the parents survive until that 

 period. Still the judgment does not immediately 

 follow : whereupon, in derision of the prophecy, 

 they prepare a great feast ; but in the midst of 

 their jollity and triumph, a mighty earthquake 

 swallows up the whole family, and their houses 

 and lands are covered by the lake. It is an un- 

 doubted fact, that the peasantry on its banks 

 firmly believe in the truth of this tradition ; and 

 they still point out to the stranger, when the water 



