204 
# 
Excursion through North Wales, [Oct. 1, 
which disturbed the deep silence and 
solitude of the scene. Long ere we 
reached our destination the shadows of 
twilight had fallen upon the rocks and 
woods whick skirted the river; and it 
was in the highest degree pleasing to 
watch the gradual and scarcely percep¬ 
tible disappearance of the distant hills, 
as the deepening gloom rendered them 
more and more obscure. 
’Twas even-light! more beautiful the star 
Did ne’er o’erflow its urn with gentle 
ray, 
The western orb had now retired afar. 
And sunk beneath the blush of parting 
day. 
The zephyr hush’d—-the whispering leaves 
were still; 
In silent brake reclined the timid deer, 
Save when at intervals the distant rill, 
Or tinkling sheep-bell struck the listen¬ 
ing ear. 
The purple heath-broom hung its lovely 
head; 
The wild rose long had bid each flower 
good-night! 
And watchman glow-worm, creeping from 
his bed, 
Had lit his lamp—and now’twas even- 
light ! 
Description cannot adequately sug¬ 
gest the full magnificence and beauty 
of the scenery on the stones of the Mow- 
thach, or, as it is called by the natives, 
the Great River.* Bounded on each 
side by high and sloping hills, covered 
with wood from the water’s edge to 
their very summits, and decorated with 
many picturesque cottages, it presents 
a lively, grand, and diversified pros¬ 
pect, altogether indescribable by pen 
or pencil. And the person who visits 
his part of the kingdom, and does not 
avail himself of an opportunity of sail¬ 
ing down the Mowthach, will lose the 
enjoyment of one of the finest spectacles 
in North Wales. 
We arrived at Barmouth about nine 
o’clock, and immediately repaired to 
the Corsedegol Arms, the only inn in 
the town, where, having previously en¬ 
gaged apartments, we found ourselves 
in a very decent room, with a leg of 
mountain mutton, and a foaming tan¬ 
kard of Currw on a table before us. 
What a glorious beverage is Cambrian 
Currw-anglice, Welsh ale! There is 
such a nut-brown richness in its look 
* Avon vawr is the Welsh name. It is 
nearly two miles broad at its widest part, 
and navigable for vessels of tolerable bur¬ 
then from within two miles of Dolg’elley, 
—such a famous flavour in its taste— 
and such invigorating hilarity in its 
effect, that it is the best thing possible 
to solace one’s-self with after a long 
walk. It is infinitely preferable, we 
think, to all your wishy-washy wines, 
(good Burgundy always excepted), but 
e gustibus non disputandum; we will, 
therefore, go on with the excursion. 
On the evening of our arrival at Bar¬ 
mouth, it was too late to look about us 
that night, so we deferred our inspec¬ 
tion of the town till the next morning, 
when we strolled out after breakfast, 
first to the beach, which is tolerably 
good, and where we performed ablu¬ 
tion for the first time in our lives in 
Cardigan Bay,* and afterwards about 
the town for the purpose of reviewing 
its curiosities. Barmouth is the very 
•r 
Brighton of these part*, but no more 
resembling that gay place, than the mi¬ 
serable hamlets in the more remote 
parts of Ireland resemble the snug vil¬ 
lages in Kent or Surry. Indeed, to 
speak conscientiously, Barmouth pos¬ 
sesses but one attraction as a summer 
resort; and that is, the beauty of the 
surrounding scenery. There are so 
many delightful views about the town, 
that they more than compensate for 
the lack of comfortable accommoda¬ 
tions, the 44 negative catalogue” of 
which, as Dr. Johnson would have said, 
is 44 very copious.” As for the town 
itself, it has not one good street, very 
few good houses, and is most irregularly 
and curiously built., At the entrance, 
on the east or Dolgelley side, is a huge 
rock, on which are piled a number of 
houses, forming so many terraces, in 
rows one above another, to the very 
summit, somewhat similar to the build¬ 
ings at Gibraltar, (to which, by the 
way, Barmouth hears no inconsiderable 
resemblance from the sea,) and it is a 
task of no small difficulty to wind up 
among these 44 airy habitations,” from 
* Cardigan Bay was formerly a hundred, 
or cantrev , called Cantrev y Gwaelod, or 
the lowland canton. About the year 500, 
it was inundated by the sea. It contained 
sixteen principal towns, the inhabitants of 
which, who survived the inundation, fled 
into the mountainous parts of the counties 
of Merioneth and Caernarvon, which till 
then were nearly uncultivated. There 
were lately to be seen in tlie sands of the 
Bay, large stones with inscriptions on them 
in the Roman character, but the language 
was unknown. 
No (a to E. Williams's poems. 
one 
