îktONTGOMEETSHIEE. 



65 



of the Dovey, has a small harbour, from which slate is shipped. Higher up on 

 the same river, in the midst of the mountains, stands Dinus Mawddivy, a poor 

 village, surrounded by exquisite scenery. 



Montgomeryshire (Maldwyn) is for the greater part drained by the Severn 

 and its tributaries, only a small portion of it lying within the basin of the 

 Dovey, towards the west. Barren mountains occupy nearly the whole of its 

 area, but the valleys open out towards the English border, and afford space for 

 the pursuit of agriculture. The manufacture of jElannel is carried on extensively, 

 and there are lead mines and quarries. 



Montgomeryshire is one of those counties in which Welsh is visibly losing 

 ground. In the valley of the Severn, up to within a mile or two of Newtown, 



Fig. 33. — On the Dee, near Bala. 



^^ 



"Welsh is heard only in the mouths of immigrants and of a few very old people. At 

 Montgomery and Welshpool Welsh has been extinct among the natives for at least 

 fifty years. It is only on the Upper Severn, beyond Llanidloes, on the Upper 

 Yyrnwy, and in the western part of the countj^, that Welsh remains the language 

 of the majority.* 



Montyomenj, the county town, is a quiet place, with the scanty ruins of a 

 castle, but prettily situated. Wekhjwol, at the head of the navigation of the 

 Severn, is a busy market town. Its chief attraction is the magnificent park 

 surrounding Powis Castle, the ancestral seat of the noble family of Hei'bert. 



* About 44 per cent, of the population speak Welsh, but hardly 10 per cent, are unable to converse? 

 in English. 



