62 THE BRITISH ISLES. 



tlic beautiful valley of Nant Francoii, and passing- tlirougli Befhesda, a town of 

 quarry men, wo reach the Penrhyn quarries after a five-mile walk. They form 

 one of the busiest hives of human industry. Tier rises above tier around a huge 

 amphitheatre ; locomotives, dragging long trains of trucks laden with slate, pass 

 incessantly ; and at short intervals flashes of light and puffs of smoke, followed by 

 loud reports, announce the firing of bUisting charges. About 3,000 workmen 

 are permanently employed in these quarries, and if we would obtain an idea of 

 the quantity of slate already removed, we need merely glance at the rugged 

 pyramids which rise like towers in the centre of the amphitheatre. The slate from 

 these quarries finds its way to all parts of the world. Several towns in Norway 

 have their houses covered with it,* and it is also exported to America. The annual 

 produce of the quarries is estimated at 70,000 tons, worth £100,000. 



Carnnrvon (Caer-yn-ar-fon), capital of the county, and formerly of the whole of 

 North Wales, retains the lofty walls of its feudal castle, and near it may be seen 

 the ruins of the Roman station of Seguntium. Like Bangor, it depends upon fishing, 

 quarrying, and its coasting trade for its prosperity, and is also a great favourite 

 with tourists, who crowed its streets and environs during the summer. Near it are 

 the slate quarries of Dinofwic, and others on the slopes of the Pass of Llanberis, to 

 the north of Snowdon. These quarries are hardly inferior to those of Penrhyn. 

 Their débris is unfortunately gradually filling up Llyn Peris, and disfiguring one of 

 the most charming prospects in the country. Other quarries lie in the south, near 

 Xantle. 



Nevin, TiclUieU, and Criccieth are old towns with small ports in the south- 

 western part of the county, but they are exceeded in importance by Tvcmadoc and 

 Portinadoc, both founded in the beginning of the centur}^, partly upon soil won 

 from the estuary of G his Llyn. Portmadoc is the shipping port of Ffestiniog, in 

 Merionethshire, with which a miniature railway connects it. 



Anglesey (Mona), owing to its position in advance of the mainland and 

 opposite to the Bay of Dublin, has at all times been a place of traffic, contrasting 

 in this respect with the mountainous parts of Wales, whose inhabitants lived in 

 seclusion, and came but little into contact with strangers. Gently undulating, 

 fertile throughout, and possessed of productive veins of copper, Anglesey held out 

 inducements to colonists. The Druids, whom Tiberius caused to be expelled from 

 Gaul, sought a refuge here. The old bards speak of Anglesey as the "shady 

 island ; " but the forests which justified this epithet have long disappeared, and the 

 surface of the country is now almost treeless. The gardens of Anglesey are noted 

 on account of the variety of their produce. The climate is mild and equable, and even 

 bamboos grow in the open air. Anglesey, owing to its great fertility, was known 

 in former times as " Mona, mam Cymri ; " that is, " The Mother of Cambria." 



Beaumaris, the capital, at the northern entrance of the Menai Strait, boasts of 

 an old castle, is a favourite seaside resort, and carries on a considerable trade with 

 England, several thousand coasting vessels annually frequenting its port. Amlivch, 

 on the north coast, derives its importance from the copper mines in Parys 



* Carl Vo2:t, " Xordfahrt." 



