BARMOUTH. 
31 
Amongst the numerous mineral products extracted from the 
soil in various parts of the neighbourhood, the most con- 
spicuous are slate, copper, lead, and gold ; and, as reference 
has already been made to the last-named precious metal in a 
recent number of this periodical, we shall now add a few 
details on the subject, which may, perhaps, be interesting to 
our readers. 
In his paper on the Gold Mines of this district, our con- 
tributor more than once mentioned the name of Mr. Readwin, 
to whose enterprise and scientific knowledge this country is 
indebted for the new mine of wealth which is being laid open 
in these our home-diggings.* 
During our recent visit, we were so fortunate as to meet that 
gentleman, who is largely interested in several of the most 
important mines in the neighbourhood ; and one of these, the 
Garthgill mine, we were permitted, through his kindness, to 
inspect. 
Let us narrate the details of our visit. 
Having received a note from Mr. Readwin, stating that he 
would be at the Garthgill mine, which is situated about half- 
way between Barmouth and Dolgelly, not far from the coach- 
road, between one and two o’clock in the afternoon, we started 
from the former place on a magnificent July morning, at about 
half-past eleven ; and, after a smart five-mile walk, arrived at 
the “ Halfway House,” a little roadside inn, at a place called 
Pont Ddu, which is distant about one mile from the workings 
of the Garthgill mine. 
A word en passant concerning this same walk of five miles. 
The road runs along the northern bank of the river, or, more 
properly speaking, the estuary of the Mawddach, deviating 
slightly, here and there, from the upward course of the stream; 
and, although we have visited many a beautiful scene, in Britain 
as well as abroad, we must confess that we have never met 
with anything to surpass this one. We see it before us in 
imagination as we write. Facing us, through a break in the 
trees, are the towering heights of Cader, on the opposite side 
of the river. To the right we have the boundless expanse of 
ocean peering through the bold headlands at the mouth of the 
estuary. To the left, the Mawddach, vying in beauty with the 
choicest portions of the Rhine, and presenting the appearance 
of a series of beautiful lakes through the windings of the 
stream amongst the mountains ; whilst on all sides are ranges 
of hills, the slopes of some being fertile meadows, others bare, 
rugged, and precipitous, and others, again, concealed from the 
* “The English California,” by G-. P. Bevan. No. IV. Popular Science 
Review. 
