of the place is the woollen manufacture, of which it is the centre in this part of the country. There is a church dedicated to St. Peter, and several dissenting chapels, well attended. The town-hall is a plain substantial building, erected in 1784, in which the lord of the manor holds a court-leet twice a year. There are an endowed free school and several other institutions, such as a news room and book society. Inns.-The Eagle, the Herbert Arms, and the Unicorn. Machynlleth is a place of some historical interest, having at one time had a high military reputation. It was the Maglona of the Romans, who stationed a lieutenant here to keep the Britons in awe. Many Roman coins have been found at Pennal, in the neighbourhood, and the remains of an old circular fortification may still be traced. In the senate-house, now converted into cottages, Owen Glyndwr held his Parliament, and exercised his first act of sovereignty in 1402, having summoned the nobles and gentry of Wales, and advanced his title to the Principality. Amongst the number came Sir Davydd Gam, a chieftain of Brecknock, with the intention of murdering Owen Glyndwr. His design was discovered, and but for the intercession of powerful friends, he would have been put to death on the spot. He was however pardoned, on condition that he would ally himself with the Welsh cause; but turning a second time against the magnanimous Glyndwr, that prince kept him in close confinement in Machynlleth, and burned his house to the ground. Gam afterwards succeeded in escaping, and took refuge in the court of Henry V., whom he attended in his wars. He was killed at the Battle of Agincourt, and knighted on the field before he expired. It was at this Parliament held in Machynlleth, that Owen Glyndwr was first acknowledged and crowned as Prince of Wales. Dôl Guog, not far from the town, was the scene of the retirement of Llywarch Hên, an ancient prince and bard, and contemporary of Prince Arthur, after he had lost his "four and twenty brave sons, wearing the golden chain, the high-prized badge of honour of a British warrior," and his own feudal demesne. Deprived of property, power, and kindred by the cruel wars of the times, he took up his abode in a little hut amid the picturesque scenery of Dol Giog. He died there, aged 150 years, and was buried at Llanvor, near Bala. The name of Pabell Llywarch Hên, or the Cot of Old Llywarch, seems to confirm the tradition. The following plaintive elegy describes his fallen fortunes : "No more the mansion of delight, Its hospitable fires are dead; No longer ranged on either hand, Its dormitory couches stand; But all above, around, below, Dread sights, dire sounds, and shrieks of woe. Awhile I'll weep Cynddylan slain, And from the weak desponding strain, Then in eternal silence rest." This pleasant and fashionable watering-place, though in the county of Cardigan, is usually included in the route of the North Wales tourist. It is situated on the conflux of the rivers Ystwith and Rheidiol, and has greatly improved within the last few years, judicious efforts having been made to turn its many natural advantages to the best account. It possesses a noble bay, a gently-sloping beach, water of crystal clearness, and a most salubrious air. In addition to these there are in the immediate neighbourhood numerous springs, possessed of various medicinal qualities. It is becoming increasingly a place of resort to invalids, and others desirous of enjoying sea bathing in perfection. The town itself is well built, the houses being in many cases large and handsome, and the streets wide and regular. It is supplied with water from the river Rheidiol. Aberystwith is a seaport, a borough, and a market town. There are a church, dedicated to St. Michael, and chapels belonging to the Baptists, Independents, Wesleyans, and Calvinistic Methodists. Amongst the other public buildings are a town-hall, a theatre, and spacious Assembly Rooms, used for balls, promenades, concerts, &c. The influx of visitors commences as early as April; but what is considered the season lasts only from the beginning of July to the end of October. For their accommodation bathing-machines stud the beach, and are called into very constant requisition, the more so that the bather is comparatively independent of tides; the sloping declivity of the beach rendering the water easily accessible, within a short distance of the shore, almost at all hours of the day. Hot, and private sea baths, are provided for the use of such as may need them. Races are held annually in August, in a field near Gogerddan, about three miles from the town. Archery and cricket clubs are also established. Aberystwith was formerly a place of considerable renown, as is evidenced by many curious relics of antiquity which may yet be found in it and its immediate neighbourhood. Amongst these is a large entrenchment, in a good state of preservation, on Pen-y-Ddinas, a high hill near the bridge over the Rheidiol. Here, it is said, Rhys ab Grufydd, in 1113, encamped his forces, which were enticed to besiege the castle, when they were surrounded and cut off. Caradoc is the authority for this statement; but according to local traditions, the spot was occupied by the soldiers of Cromwell when besieging the castle in the civil wars. In Elizabeth's reign some silver mines were worked by a German company in the vicinity of the town, and, it is recorded, with no small success and profit. They were succeeded in the enterprize by Sir Hugh Myddleton, who accumulated £2000 a month out of one silver mine at Bwlch y Estier. This was the money with which Sir Hugh brought the New River to London. After him the mines continued to be worked, and to yield immense sums. Sir Francis Bacon, during the time he held them, was rich enough to clothe the entire army of Charles I., and to make that monarch a present of a regiment of horse, and a gift of £40,000. The castle, which is seated on a rocky eminence projecting into the sea, was built, according to Powell, in 1277, to replace one founded by Gilbert de Strongbow in the reign of Henry I., which, soon after its erection, fell into the hands of the Welsh princes, and was destroyed by them in some of their intestine quarrels. The present structure was originally a place of great strength, and is remarkable for having been held by a garrison of Charles I. for some time after the death of that king. The remains are now inconsiderable. They consist of part of a tower, about forty feet high in the northwest, and an arched doorway, a round tower, and a third tower, repaired and converted into a conservatory or prospect house. The view from here is very fine, commanding the whole of the line of Welsh coast included in Cardigan Bay. There is no situation south of Caernarvonshire from which the Welsh Alps may be seen to so great advantage. Above the Cardigan rocks rise in succession the lofty hills which confine the estuary of the Dovey-the towering Cader Idris and its subject cliffs, the great mountains of Caernarvonshire, and, in clear weather, even the sharp peak of Snowdon itself. To the south lies a wide expanse of water, studded with innumerable sails. The vicinity of Aberystwith abounds in fields for the excursionist, being renowned in every direction for its romantic scenery. There are several British fortifications which may be visited by those who take pleasure in the relics of the past. The most remarkable of these is Pen-y-Ddinas. The suffragan Bishop of Llanbadarn Vawr, a parish about a mile from the town, was one of the seven who had conference with Augustine the Monk, when he wished to establish his supremacy over the British Church. Inns. The principal ones are the Gogerddan Arms and the Belle Vue Hotel, Returning from Aberystwith to North Wales, through a country for the most part barren, and presenting nothing to the eye but a succession of dreary hills, unenlivened by vegetation or the traces of human dwelling, we reach at last a mountain famous on more than one account, and which bears the name of PUMLUMON (OR PLINLIMMON). Distant from Machynlleth 66 Llanidloes 8 miles. 11 66 The pros Pumlumon stands in the midst of a mineral region, containing numerous subterranean passages. The summit of this mountain (2463 feet) is in Cardiganshire, but the largest portion of it is in Montgomeryshire. Its ascent is considered more dangerous than that of any other mountain of Wales, on account of frequent marshes concealed under a smooth and apparently firm turf. pect, seen from the summit, is of vast extent; but the difficulties and perils of climbing it are encountered by comparatively few tour. ists. It is a prolific parent of rivers; the Severn, the Wye, the Rheidiol, and the Llyvnant rising within it-the Severn on the southern side, in a strong chalybeate spring; the Wye in two powerful springs on the south-eastern side; the Rheidiol in a pool called Llyn Llygad Rheidiol; and the Llyvnant from a pool called Glas Llyn. A singular circumstance may be mentioned connected with Llyn Llygad. About twenty years back it was entirely destitute of fish, and swarmed with horse-leeches. Two gentlemen determined upon trying the experiment of stocking it from a neighbouring lake, caught some dozens of small trout, and put them in. A fierce conflict was waged between the old occupants and the intruders. Some of the fish, being feeble and exhausted, were attacked by the leeches, who actually devoured them; but others in stronger condition, and of greater courage, defended themselves with spirit, and secured the victory over their foes; and the result has been, that whilst the finny tribes have rapidly and largely increased, the leeches have been altogether exterminated. At Melin Velindre, on the route to Pumlumon, is a romantic cataract; and close by a sheep farm, called Blaen Havren, the Severn rolls over a lofty ledge of rocks, presenting a very picturesque scene. A small lake called Llyn Ebyr, extending over a surface of about a hundred acres, and abounding both with fish and wild fowl, lies at |