M O 



665 



M O N 



Uonu'tu- Ttilliathectmtm, it was marked by no incident worth 

 recording ; and two years after that event, he died 

 suddenly at Germain-des-Pres, on the 21st of Decem- 



1741. 



Montfaucon was celebrated for the mildness and be- 

 nignity of his character. Neither the favours which 

 he had received from an emperor, nor the honours with 

 which he was decorated by two successive popes, could 

 at all abate his humility ; and strangers who conversed 

 with him, returned not more surprised at the amazing 

 extent of his information, than at the unpretending 

 simplicity of his manners. Of an author who has left 

 44 vols. folio, it may be expected that elegance will 

 not be a characteristic ; and, accordingly, Montfau- 

 con 's writings are blamed for their cumbrous style and 

 defective arrangement ; but his erudition, a quality 

 more befitting such pursuits, has never been called in 

 question ; and his works are still looked up to as guides 

 through that obscure and intricate department of know- 

 ledge which he devoted his life to study. (T. c.) 



tounHtrin MONTGOMERYSHIRE, an inland county in North 



ind extent. Wales, on the north touches on Denbigh and Merion- 

 ethshire* ; from the former, it is in part divided by the 

 river Tannatt ; on the south, it is bounded by Radnor- 

 shire ; on the west, by Merionethshire and Cardigan- 

 shire ; and on the east, by Shropshire. It measures in 

 length from north to south about 35 miles, and in 

 breadth, from east to west, SO miles. It is the largest 

 county in Wales, measuring, according to Templeman, 

 444,800 acres; and, according to Evans, 491,000 acres. 

 Of these, only 60,000 are arable, 180,000 are under 

 pasture, and the rest are in a great measure waste and 

 uncultivated. It is divided into nine hundreds, and 

 contains 47 parishes, and seven market towns, viz. 

 Montgomery, a borough, and the county town ; Wcls- 

 pool, Llanfyllin, Llanfair, Machynleth, Newtoun, and 

 Llanydloes. It returns two members to Parliament, 

 one for the shire, and one for Montgomery ; is in the 

 province of Canterbury, and dioceses of St. Asaph, 

 Bangor, and Hereford. 



lurfK*. This county possesses a larger proportion of fertile 



vales and plains than most of the Welsh counties. The 

 vale through which the Severn flows, is by far the 

 most considerable, and in general the most fertile; 

 there are likewise smaller, though equally fertile vales, 

 through which several of the tributary streams of the 

 Severn flow. The greater part of the county, how- 



fountain*. ever, is mountainous, and the mountains are in gene- 

 ral very bleak in their appearance, as well as sterile. A 

 chain commencing at I'lintimroon, in the south-west, and 

 running north-went with some deviations, till it termi- 

 nates in the vale of Festiniog, may be called the back- 

 bone of this county and Merioneth. Nearly 50 miles 

 at this chain might be traversed without crossing a 

 single stream ; and a farm-house on it is so situated, 

 that the rain which falls in the west side of the roof, 

 flows into Cardigan bay, while that which falls on 

 the east side, flows into the sea near Chester. The 

 main streams on the west side of this chain, are the 

 Dovey, the Maw, and the rivulet that flows through 

 the valley of Festiniog ; on the east side, are the sources 

 of the Wye, Severn, Dee, Ac. The Wye rises on the 

 south side of Plinlimmon, and taking an east, and af- 

 terwards a south-east course, leaves the county. The 

 Severn soon loses its character of a mountainous stream, 

 forming large valleys, and generally flowing between 

 deep banks. At Llanydloes, it ceases to be a torrent, 

 and thence forms a delightful valley ; as it inclines near 

 Montgomery to the north, the valley expands, and it 

 MM afterward* enters Shropshire, near the Brythen 



VOL. XIV. PART II. 





hills. Of the streams which join the Severn in this Montgo- 

 county, the largest are the Fyrnwy and Tannatt. The f e ryh'"?- 

 former is composed of two uniting branches of the same "~" t ~ 1 "' 

 name, which cross the county from the west, and join 

 the Severn near Llandrinio. The Tannatt meets it be- 

 fore its junction with the Severn. This latter is of the 

 greatest importance as a navigable river, as it has a 

 conveyance from Montgomeryshire into South Wales, 

 through Shropshire, Worcester, and Gloucester, to Bris- 

 tol. Plinlimmon has been incidentally mentioned : it 

 lies partly in this county, and partly in Cardiganshire, 

 belonging, however, more properly to the latter. Its 

 perpendicular height is far inferior to that of Snowden 

 and Cader Idris, and it is indeed a very dreary spot. 

 The view from its summit, however, is very extensive, 

 and in some points very grand. There is one canal in Canal 

 Montgomeryshire, which begins at Portymain lime- 

 works, in Shropshire, where it unites with the lilies- 

 mere canal. It afterwards crosses the Fyrnwy, and 

 joins another part of the Ellesmere canal. There is a 

 cut to Welspopl, and from thence it goes parallel to 

 the Severn, till it joins it at Newton. It is 27 miles 

 long, besides the cuts, and the lockage is 225 feet. 

 The soil of the va\)eys is principally a strong loam; that Soil and 

 of the mountains a thin and cold clay. Limestone is climatt. 

 only found at the termination of a ridge which runs 

 from th* north-west of Anglesey through Caernarvon- 

 shire and Denbighshire, and near the confluence of the 

 Severn and Fyrnwy : on a limestone rock here, im- 

 mense quantities of lime are burnt. The climate of 

 this county varies considerably. The midland, west, 

 and south-west parts, are very cold and ungenial, in 

 consequence of their elevation ; the climate of the val- 

 leys, and of the fine arable land that lies on the east 

 side of the county, is mild. The strongest winds blow 

 from the south-west and north-west. The west wind 

 blows nine months in the year. 



Montgomeryshire is rich in mineral treasures ; the Minerals. 

 most import-nit and abundant of which is lead. A 

 considerable mine of this metal has been found at Dy- 

 lipan, and another on the borders of Cardiganshire, near 

 a copper mine, the ore of which contains mnch silver. 

 An uncommonly rich lead mine was wrought many 

 years with very great profit at Llanpynnog, but it is 

 now overpowered with water at the depth of 100 yards ; 

 it was discovered in 1692, and contained a solid rib 

 34 yards thick of pure ore, affording for forty years, a 

 clear annual revenue of L.2000 ; yielding about 4000 

 tons annually. There are still, however, obtained in 

 this neighbourhood considerable quantities of lead and 

 colamine, which are sent in their raw state to the foun- 

 dries near Ruabon in Denbighshire. From the lofty 

 rocks of Llangynnog a considerable quantity of coarse 

 slates is obtained. It is remarked that the strata of 

 these and other quarries which lie on the north side of 

 the mountains incline to the east, while in those to the 

 south, the ore is reversed. Slate is also procured near 

 the junction of the Fyrnwy and Severn, and sent down 

 to Bristol. Coal is found" only nt Coadwaes on the 

 borders of Shropshire : it burns rapidly. The Severn Pish, 

 and its tributary streams are celebrated for the great 

 varieties of fish which they contain ; it is said that the 

 salmon penetrates up the Severn almost as far .is Plin- 

 limmon. This county was once well covered with Wood, 

 trees, and is still well wooded ; its oak has been pre- 

 ferred to all others for the use of the dock-yards ; in 

 the year 1796, three oaks were cut down, which mea- 

 sured respectively 525, 450, and 687 cubic feet. 



The agriculture of this county presents little that is Agricul- 

 interesting ; in some of the vales a good system of rt. 



4 p 



