" Bala will go again" 19 



submerged shoals here and there is betrayed by little flocks 

 of diving birds always feeding over them. Bala ("The 

 Outlet") stands at the opposite end of the lake ; near the 

 junction of the Tryweryn with the Dee. Tradition affirms 

 that it is but the successor of a more ancient town which 

 now lies buried beneath the waters of the lake, and the 

 popular saying, still current in the neighbourhood, that 

 " Bala has gone and Bala will go again/' keeps alive the old 

 belief, and predicts a similar fate for the modern town. 

 The latter seemed not unlikely of fulfilment, when a few 

 years ago it was proposed to utilise the lake as a water- 

 supply for London, and when it was contemplated extending 

 its present area by the building of a dam across the Dee 

 some two miles lower down the valley, where the river has 

 cut a narrow passage for itself through the rock. 



The valley below Llandderfel (the church of Derfel, a 

 sixth-century saint) is called the Vale of Edeyrnion on the 

 Ordnance Map, but the tradition just referred to assigns 

 that name to the land now covered by the lake. Long ago, 

 so the tale runs, a mighty prince, Howel ap Einion, dwelt 

 there. He had built him a strong castle, and called it 

 Einion, after his own name ; but, though the victor in a 

 hundred fights, he oppressed the people and lived a life of 

 self-indulgence. Many visions of calamities to come had 

 disturbed the dreams of his ancient bard, and oft had the 

 prince been warned by a still small voice that whispered on 

 the wind, " Repentance will come at the second generation " ; 

 but still rioting and bloodshed continued unabated. At 

 length one day, during the progress of a great feast to 

 celebrate the birth of an heir, a small bird hovered near the 

 bard and beckoned him to follow, singing, " Repentance is at 

 hand ; come, come, come." The old man scaled the side of 

 the mountain in obedience to the entreaties of his little 

 messenger, till it suddenly flew into the air, crying 

 " Repentance has come," and disappeared. Hearing a rush 

 of waters behind him, and turning round, the bard was 

 dismayed to see the whole " Fair Vale of Edeirnion " 

 engulfed in a vast lake, on whose troubled bosom floated 

 his own harp, the only relic of town or castle, or their 



