402 Excursion through 
Delightful fragrance o'er the daisied 
ground, 
While the gay lark, high mounting, hail’d 
‘ the day, 
And caroll’d in mid-air his matin lav. 
«/ 
It was consequently foreign to our na¬ 
ture to be in a sullen humour on so 
lovely and so bright a morning, and it 
was fortunate for us that we had some¬ 
thing to admire and revel in—as the 
confounded jolting of our ponies must 
otherwise have engrossed the whole of 
our attention. 
We arrived at Harlech about twelve 
o’clock, and of all the miserable ham¬ 
lets we ever saw, this can compete with 
any in point of wretchedness. As for 
tarrying here any length of time, it was 
wholly out of the question ; we deter¬ 
mined, therefore, after we had seen the 
castle, to proceed onwards towards the 
inn of Tan-y-bwlch, where, we were 
informed, we might procure comfort¬ 
able accommodations. Putting up our 
horses at the little village pot-house, 
we bent our steps towards Harlech 
Castle, the ruins of which are still in 
tolerable preservation. This fortress 
was anciently denominated Twr-y- 
Bronwen, or Bronwen’s Tower, from 
a princess named Bronwen, or the 
White-necked. She was a lady of some 
consequence in her day, and was sister 
of Bran ap Llyr, Duke of Cornwall, 
and subsequently king of Britain. She 
flourished in the third century, and 
somewhat unfortunately allied herself in 
marriage to a choleric Irishman, named 
Matholwch. This said Mat hoi well 
44 one day” unluckily and heedlessly 
struck her a violent blow in the face. 
What provocation he could have pos* 
sibly received for an act so derogatory 
to the general character of his country¬ 
men, is now lost in oblivion, but the 
consequences of his rashness have been 
handed down in the unsullied pages of 
history, and we learn that Bronwen re¬ 
sented the outrage by inciting an insur¬ 
rection amongst the people. This blow 
is recorded in the ancient Triads as 
44 one of the three evil blows of Bri¬ 
tain two others of a nature nearly 
similar being there said to have pro¬ 
duced the same commotions. How 
cautious princes should be in their be¬ 
haviour towards their better halves ! 
let them take warning from the fate 
of the headstrong Matholwch. In the 
eleventh century Harlech Castle was 
called Caer y Callwyn, or the Fort of 
Callwyn, from a chieftain of that name, 
who was Lord of Evioneth and Ardud- 
North Wales , [Dec. 
wy, and one of the Fifteen Tribes of 
North Wales ;* he repaired the ancient 
fortress, and resided in it for some time. 
Its present name of Harlech is supposed 
to be derived from the words Har , or 
properly Ar lech , 44 upon the cliff,” in 
allusion to its situation, which is upon 
a high, and rather steep rock. The 
original founder is unknown; but the 
erection of the present building is attri¬ 
buted to Edward the First, who is said 
to have built it on the site of the old 
structure. It is well known that Ed¬ 
ward, when he conquered Wales, re¬ 
paired and fortified many strong holds in 
thefcountry for the purpose of awing the' 
Welsh, and restraining their impetuous 
and still unbroken spirit. It appears- 
to have been a fortress of considerable 
strength and magnitude, and its strength 
must have been greatly augmented by 
its situation, for tire rock on which it is 
erected is surrounded on all sides, ex¬ 
cept on one, by water. It is a square 
building, defended at each corner by a 
round tower, surmounted by an ele¬ 
gant circular one, now almost entirely 
decayed. The entrance is between what 
artists denominate rounders , each sup¬ 
porting a round tower, similar to those 
on the castle, and the architecture is 
gothic, of powerful solidity, and great 
strength. It has witnessed many mas¬ 
ters, and more vicissitudes. In the 
wars of 44 the last of Cambria’s Patriots, 
wild Glendower,” it was taken by that 
brave and ambitious chieftain, and re¬ 
taken four years afterwards by an army 
which Henry the Fourth despatched 
into the Principality against the rebels, 
and it continued in the possession of the 
English crown for some years after¬ 
wards. Margaret of Anjou, the un¬ 
daunted consort of the Sixth Henry, 
found within its massy walls a safe re¬ 
treat from the persecutions of her ene¬ 
mies, after the unfortunate battle of 
Northampton, in the wars between the 
rival houses of York and Lancaster, 
when 
-Here a snow-white rose, 
And there a red, with fatal blossoming, 
And deadly fragrance maddened all the 
land. 
It was defended on the part of the latter 
* The Fifteen Tribes, or Peers of North 
Wales were certain noble chieftains who 
held their lands by baron-service; being 
bound to particular ministerial attendances 
upon their princes, in addition to those 
common to them, as subjects by homage 
and fealty- 
