THE ANGLER'S SOUVENIR. 



181 



the lake, yet never are any salmon found in the 

 lake out of the centre current, and never are the 

 gwyniad found in the current of the river. From 

 the mountain-guarded lake the "Deva, wizard- 

 haunted stream," hurries along, past Druid's stone 

 and ancient abbey, towering hills and level meads, 

 through the happy valley of which we shall speak 

 hereafter ; and here it is under the wooded cliffs of 

 Coedyrallt, whence it slips away with broadening 

 current under the flying arches of the Pontycysyllte 

 Aqueduct, past the old city of Chester, to the sea. 



A vertical sun poured down a flood of light that 

 streamed downwards below us over the warm, grey 

 rooks, dashing from leaf to leaf of the glossy ivy, so 

 that the face of the cliff shone as if it were covered 

 with the silvery spray of a waterfall, and falling 

 upon the tree-tops that in rounded masses stood 

 out from mysterious depths of shade, cool and 

 green, on the slope to the river. On the other 

 side of the stream, open meadows rose gradually to 

 the base of other hills ; down the river valley to 

 the left, beyond the woods of Wynnstay, were the 

 inner Welsh hills, rising one beyond another with 

 faint blue outlines, while in the foreground tho 

 steep conical hill of Dinas Bran rose ruin-crowned 

 and boldly. 



The sun was hot, and a south-west breeze scarcely 

 cooled the air ; the faint scent of the larches rose 

 up to us from the steaming wood ; the river 

 murmured with a sleepy murmur ; no white cloud 



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