WALES AND THE ISLANDS. 277 



distinguished herself by exploits similar to those of her 

 more notorious mother. England at first was amused by 

 these half-frightful, half-ridiculous scenes, not unlike the 

 insurrection of the Demoiselles in our Pyrenees some 

 twenty years ago. However, the terror among those who 

 had anything to lose became so great and so general that 

 it was found necessary to send in troops, and appoint a 

 commission of inquiry. By degrees order was restored, 

 partly by voluntary submission, and partly by force. 

 But the inquiry revealed distressing facts, which showed 

 real suffering among the agricultural population. 



"Do you wish to know who Rebecca is?" the Welsh 

 peasants would reply, when interrogated respecting their 

 chief, " Rebecca is misery." And in fact Rebecca with 

 them was only the symbolic expression of their grievances 

 under English rule. Invariably their answers exhibited 

 a vague expression of oppressed nationality. Sometimes 

 it was the Anglican Church, whose tithes crushed them ; 

 sometimes their oppressor was the English proprietor, or 

 the English steward, whom they looked upon as strangers 

 living at their expense. We recognise in these complaints 

 the feeble echo of those vented more loudly by their Irish 

 brethren. It had been better had their national customs 

 been respected, leaving them in possession of their small 

 properties, as has been done elsewhere, and to have re- 

 nounced the idea of introducing among them the English 

 system. 



Fortunately, increased activity at the mines and quar- 

 ries at last mitigated these sufferings, by affording occu- 

 pation for the superabundant supply of hands. Wales 

 alone now supplies about one-third of all the iron pro- 

 duced in Great Britain, and iron is but a part of its im- 

 mense mineral production. Improved means of commu- 



