ABBEY CLIFFORD CASTLE, ON THE WYE. CWMHIR-LLANDRINDOD WELLS-BUILTH -LLYN SAVATHAN-ABEREDWY-GLASBURY HAY-CLIFFORD CASTLE. THE few fragments of the once magnificent Abbey Cwmhir that have escaped the ruthless hand of time, may be traced in a pleasant valley about seven miles north-east of Rhayadyr, on a verdant bank of the Clewedog. The situation of this venerable fane amidst lofty and beautiful hills is well calculated to inspire devotion. According to Leland, it was founded in 1143, for sixty Cistercian monks, but was never finished. There are a few specimens, (if we believe tradition,) still in good preservation, in Llanidloes church, consisting of six arches surrounded with small columns, ending in capitals of palm-leaves, which, according to a date on the roof, were brought from the abbey in 1542, which date corresponds with the final dissolution of monasteries in this kingdom. Leland says that the abbey was destroyed by Owen Glendower in 1401. There are several barrows in this neighbourhood, and numerous carneddau, the most perfect of which is one on Camlow, near Abbey Cwmhir; and another on Gwastaden, a craggy wooded hill near Rhayadyr, is considered the largest in the county. Llandegle, a pretty little village, celebrated for its medicinal waters, lies on the road from Rhavadyr to VOL. XIII. New Radnor, at no great distance from the former. and is well worthy of a visit, if it were only for the sake of its very lovely scenery. Mr. Roscoe tells us, that " a very singular range of rocks, abounding in beautiful quartz crystals, nearly joins the churchyard, and is much visited both for the views it commands, and the glittering treasures which may be won from the clefts and sides of the rock." The Wye, after passing Rhayadyr, is considerably augmented by the waters of the Elian and Ithon; and Cwm Elian, the beauties of which have been celebrated by the Rev. W. Lisle Bowles, well merits the attention of the tourist. Mr. Roscoe calls this "the paradise of the district, created, like Hafod, out of bare and cultureless land." The name of Cwm Elian, is derived from the little torrent Elian, which runs through this singularly-romantic vale. Its waters join the Wye at Aber-dau-ddwr. The Ithon, scarcely inferior to our peerless heroine the Wye, in scenes of picturesque beauty, joins the latter four miles above Builth, the Bullæum Silurum of the Romans. The scenery about Pont ar Ithon has been pronounced to be scarcely exceeded by any on the Wye above Ross. Pursuing the course of the Ithon upwards, we come to Llandrindod Wells, which are situated near the banks of the river, about four miles to the south of Penybont. When these 388 waters were first used for their medicinal virtues is | uncertain, but it is generally believed that they were introduced to public notice towards the latter end of the seventeenth century. Since the year 1750, a great number of invalids have annually resorted here to partake of the waters, particularly within the last few years. Persons labouring under chronic diseases are said to receive considerable benefit from their use. In the neighbourhood are several Druidical and other remains worthy of inspection. large city having been swallowed up by an earthquake, the waters of the lake afterwards covering the site. This, however, is probably mere fable, as there is no historical notice of such an event. In following the course of the Wye from Builth to Hay, the valley becomes contracted by high mountains on either side, and the road runs along the edge of the river, affording occasionally some charming prospects. A fine reach brings to our view the beautifully-retired village of Aberedwy, with its primitive church, and time-worn ivy-clad castle, situated at the questionably one of the most enchanting spots in the Principality. The Edwy descends for a considerable distance through a deep valley; but, for about half a mile before it joins the Wye, its channel is confined on either side by a lofty wall of rock, consisting of horizontal blocks of compact slate or flag-stone, in some places broken into crags, which overhang the abyss, and threaten the intruder who ventures beneath to view the sublime prospect they offer to his contemplation. Nothing certainly can exceed in grandeur and picturesque effect the scenery in every direction. Gilpin remarks,— Returning from this digression, let us proceed onwards to Builth, distant from Rhayadyr about thir-junction of the Edwy with the Wye. This is unteen miles. The prevailing features of the scenery throughout this distance are extremely grand. The rocky channel of the river is confined by lofty banks till on its approach to Builth, when it expands into a bay with several naked rocks in its bed, and agreeable breaks. It is here joined by the waters of the river Yrfon, which fall into the Wye just above the town. This is a romantic stream, and in its vale is situated Llanwrytyd, where there is a medicinal well of much efficacy. At a bridge on the Yrfon, in the neighbourhood of Builth, Llewellyn ap Griffyth, the last of the reigning Welsh princes, was defeated by the English forces in 1282. Tradition informs us he was pursued and slain by his conquerors in a narrow dingle about three miles west of the town; the place, from this event was called Cwm Llewellyn. BUILTH*, situated on the north-west extremity of Breconshire, has long been extolled for the salubrity of its air, and the picturesque beauty of its position on the banks of the Wye, in a broad and pleasant plain, embosomed by woods and mountains. The town is singularly built, having two parallel streets, which form irregular terraces on the side of a deep declivity. The streets are narrow, and the houses generally mean and squalid. A handsome stone bridge, erected in 1770, leads into Radnorshire. The remains of the castle are situated at the east end of the town, and comprise only a small portion of the wall facing the north. The site of the keep is about forty or fifty yards in circumference, surrounded by a ditch, and defended on the north side by two trenches. History has transmitted to us neither the name of its founder nor the period of its erection. The castle, originally of British origin, was probably afterwards rebuilt by the Bruces or Mortimers. In 1209 it was repaired and fortified by Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester; shortly afterwards it fell into the possession of Giles de Bruce, Bishop of Hereford; and after the defeat of Llewellyn, in 1282, became an English fortress. It was accidentally destroyed by fire, together with the greater part of the town, in the year 1690. About a mile north-west from the town are some mineral springs, called Park Wells; there are three sorts of water, each strongly impregnated: viz., saline, sulphureous, and chalybeate. Pump-rooms and other accommodations are provided for visiters, who are often very numerous. From a hill above Builth a good view may be obtained of Llyn (lake) Savathan, or Brecon Meer, which lies about three miles to the south-west of Brecknock. It is called by Giraldus, Clamosum, from the "terrible thundering noise it makes upon the breaking up of the ice in Winter." This lake is two miles broad, and about the same in length. Its depth is in some parts thirteen fathoms, and it abounds with various kinds of fish. Marianus calls this place Bricenaic Meer, from a castle which was reduced by Edelfleda in 913; but whether he means this or Blaen Lleweny Castle is uncertain. The country people have a very singular tradition, of a Builth signifies according to H. Llwyd, Ox-cliff, or Oxen-holt. It is possible, I think, the Wye may in this place be more beautiful than in any other part of its course. Between Ross and Chepstow, the grandeur and beauty of its banks are its chief praise; the river itself has no other merit than that of a winding surface of smooth water. But here, added to the same decoration from its banks, the Wye itself assumes a more beautiful character, pouring over which a solemn parading stream through a flat channel shelving rocks, and forming itself into eddies and cascades, cannot exhibit. The Wye also, in this part of its course, still receives further beauty from the woods which adorn its banks, and which the navigation of the river in its lower reaches forbids. Here the whole is perfectly rural and unincumbered: even a boat, I believe, is never seen beyond the Hay. Aberedwy Castle is interesting to the antiquary, from having been the favourite residence, and latest retreat, of Llewellyn ap Griffyth, of whose fate we have previously spoken. On Garth Hill, an inconsiderable elevation on the north side of the Wye, the vestiges of an ancient British camp may be traced. Erwood, on the opposite bank of the river, presents nothing worthy of notice, save that the tourist, if he expects comfortable accommodation, must wend his way elsewhere. Three miles from Erwood, stands Llangoed Castle, pleasantly embowered in woods, through the breaks of which, glimpses of the river may be obtained as far as Swaine. Near Llangoed is a magnificent dingle far from any thoroughfare. The river near Boughwood Castle, makes the largest horse-shoe bend in its whole course. At Maeslough Castle, situate on an eminence above the village of Glasbury, an ancient seat of the Howarths, Gilpin speaks of the view as "wonderfully amusing." He says, the situation is, in its kind, perhaps, one of the finest in Wales. A lawn extends to the river, which encircles it with a curve, at the distance of half a mile. The banks are enriched with various objects, amongst which two bridges with winding roads, and the tower of Glasbury church surrounded by a wood, are conspicuous. A country equally enriched, stretches in the distance till the landscape is terminated by mountains. The bridge over the Wye at Glasbury, is remarkable, being constructed partly of wood, and partly of stone; it consists of several arches, and has a picturesque appearance. From hence to Hay, a distance of about four miles, the scenery loses much of that grand and romantic character, which we have previously endeavoured to describe, and becomes flat, and to a certain degree uninteresting; yet the Wye, when shorn of its bolder features, of its cataracts, rocks, and picturesque dingles, is ever lovely, and at almost every part of its course presents an inviting appearance. HAY, or Tregelli*, in the county of Brecon, is delightfully situate on the banks of the Wye, near its confluence with the Dulas, which separates Brecon from Herefordshire. It stands on the declivity of a hill, and consists of one main street divided into a fork near the middle. In 1794 Hay was deprived of Jane Clifford was her name, as books aver, Fair Rosamond was but her nom de guerre. SUMMER. THEY may boast of the spring-time when flowers are the And birds sing by thousands on every green tree; For the brightness of sunshine; the depth of the shadows; Oh, the joy of the green-wood! I love to be in it, And list to the hum of the never-still bees; And the water-rat plunging about in his mirth; And where are the flowers that in beauty are glowing But warm with the sunshine, and bright with the sheen Oh, the beautiful flowers, all colours combining, The larkspur, the pink, and the sweet mignonette, HE that will allow exquisite and endless happiness to be but the possible consequence of a good life here, and the contrary state the possible reward of a bad one, must own himself to judge very much amiss, if he does not conclude that a virtuous life, with the certain expectation of everlasting bliss which may come, is to be preferred to a vicious one, with the fear of that dreadful state of misery, which it is very possible may overtake the guilty, or at best the terrible uncertain hope of annihilation. This is evidently so, though the virtuous life here had nothing but pain, and the vicious, continual pleasure; which yet is for the most part quite otherwise, and wicked men have not much the odds to brag of, even in their present possession: nay, all things rightly considered, have, I think, the worse part here. But when infinite happiness is put in one scale, against infinite misery in the other, if the worst that comes to the pious man, if he mistakes, be the best that the wicked All writers concur in stating her to have been a girl of "peerlesse beautie," and of much sprightliness and wit. She died, it is supposed, at Woodstock, in 1177, and was buried in the Nunnery of Godstow. Some authors say that she was poisoned by Queen Eleanor in the Labyrinth at Woodstock, where she was confined by Henry; others, that she retired to Godstow, and there died. But the particulars of her melancholy history are involved in much obscurity.attain to, if he be in the right, who can without madness Camden says that the castle is recorded in Doomsday-book to have been originally built by Thomas Fitzosborne, Earl of Hereford. It afterwards came to Walter de Ponce, whose father Richard came over to England with William the Conqueror. Walter appears to have taken the name of Clifford, from this castle, and from him afterwards descended the Earls of Cumberland. The castle is seated on a commanding eminence, overlooking the Wye; and its ivymantled walls, surrounded by trees, form a highly picturesque object in a richly-wooded and wellcultivated country. At Rhydspence, about a mile below Clifford, the Wye leaves Cambria, and turning in an easterly direction, enters the fertile plains of "Merrie England." Here we must pause. Signifying in Welsh, "the town among hazels." run the venture? Who in his wits would choose to come within a possibility of infinite misery, which if he miss there is yet nothing to be got by that hazard? whereas, on the other side, the sober man ventures nothing against infinite happiness to be got, if his expectation comes to pass. If the good man be in the right, he is eternally happy; if he mistakes, he is not miserable, he feels nothing. On if he mistakes, he is infinitely miserable. Must it not be a the other side, if the wicked be in the right, he is not happy; most manifest wrong judgment that does not presently see to which side in this case the preference is to be given.LOCKE. No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting.-LADY M. W. MONTAGUE. WE are led to the belief of a future state, not only by the weaknesses, by the hopes and fears of human nature, but by the noblest and best principles which belong to it, by the love of virtue, and by the abhorrence of vice and injustice -ADAM SMITH. CHAPTERS ON CORONATIONS. No IV. CORONATION VESTMENTS. In this chapter we shall describe the garments of state with which the sovereigns of England are invested by the archbishop of Canterbury and his assistants during the ceremony of the coronation. The chief of these, the IMPERIAL PALL, called also the Dalmatica, Mantle, or Open Pall, was at one But it was also worn by bishops, as we learn from the acts of St. Cyprian, the celebrated martyr of the third century, who being about to suffer death, delivered his dalmatic to his deacon, leaving the rest of his dress to his executioners. At present the proper dalmatic forms part of the under-dress of Romish bishops, when they officiate pontifically, being made of thin light silk. But as the outer and distinctive vestment of their deacons, it is richly embroidered, and has a sort of large open wings attached to it, as substitutes for sleeves. THE IMPERIAL MANTLE, OR PALL OF STATE. period richly embroidered with golden eagles, but having been destroyed, with the rest of the Regalia, in the time of the Commonwealth, a very rich gold and purple brocaded tissue is used in its stead, encircled with gold and silver trails, and large flowers of gold frosted. All the ornaments are edged round with purple, or a deep mazarine blue. The pall was originally part of the imperial habit, being a rich robe of state, reaching quite to the ground. It is said that Constantine the Great granted the use of this vest to the bishops of Rome, and that the same honour was subsequently granted to other patriarchs by his successors. The pall at length became the badge of episcopal dignity, and hence, when prelates were deprived of their sees, or quitted them voluntarily, they resigned their palls to the emperors. When the popes first assumed the power of granting this honorary badge, which they did previous to the pontificate of Gregory the Great, A. D. 590, they did not presume to do so without the permission of the emperor; but in process of time they usurped the privilege of conferring it according to their pleasure, and raised exorbitant sums from all the prelates of Europe, whom they compelled to purchase this ensign of dignity. They also made a canon, enacting, that a metropolitan, until he have received the pall, cannot consecrate bishops or churches, or receive the archiepiscopal title; and they compelled archbishops to purchase a new pall on every translation. Tertullian informs us, that the pallium, or pall, was assumed as a dress by the Christians, to distinguish them from the heathens, who used the toga. The pall is used at the coronation of monarchs, because they are supposed by this ceremony to be invested with a sacred as well as a civil character. The name Dalmatica, is derived from an ancient clerical habit, so called because it was previously the ordinary dress of the people of Dalmatia. It covered the whole body, and had large loose sleeves; on which account it was thought to be convenient for the ministry of deacons. SUPER-TUNICA, OR SURCOAT. The SUPER-TUNICA, Surcoat, or Close Pall, which is worn under the imperial pall, is a straight coat with plain sleeves, of a thick and rich cloth of gold tissue, ornamented with gold flowers, brocaded and frosted, without either silk or velvet. The length behind is about four feet, and in front a yard and a quarter, having only one division, which forms it into two skirts, each skirt being a yard and a half, so that the whole width at the lower part is about three yards. To this belongs a belt, or girdle, made of the same cloth of tissue, lined with a white watered tabby, having a gold buckle and clasp, to which hangers are affixed for the sword with which the sovereign is girded. The ARMILLA, or Armil, should properly be called the Stole, and should always be connected with the Surcoat; but, by some strange and inveterate error in the ceremonial of English coronations, it has received the name properly belonging to the bracelets, and takes their place in the form of investiture. It is made of the same cloth of tissue as the SuperTunica, and is lined with common sarcenet. The length of it is about an ell, and the breadth three inches; it has two double ribands at each end, of crimson taffeta, viz., two at the corners of the end, to tie it below the THE ARMILLA. elbows, and two a little higher, for tying it above them. The Stole, as this garment should properly be called, is strictly an ecclesiastical garment, and must always be worn by the Romish priests when celebrating mass. In Flanders and Italy the priests also wear it when preaching. Hence Sir Walter Scott introduces Robert Bruce promising the Lord of Lorn, My first and dearest task achieved, The COLOBIUM SINDONIS, or Surplice, is the last garment put upon the sovereign after the anointing; it is made of very white cambric, and is rather longer than the Super-Tunica; it is laced about the neck, round the arm-holes, or openings of the shoulders, down the breast, up the slits of the sides, and round the lower edge, with the finest Flanders lace, ruffled on very full. Both its names signify short linen garments, and Sindonis is sometimes used to denote the shroud for wrapping the dead. THE COLOBIUM SINDONIS. The ornaments already mentioned are for the most part clerical, but there is a second surcoat purely secular. It is made of crimson satin, and is lined with sarcenet of the same colour. In form and dimensions it is nearly the same as the Super-Tunica. U BUSKINS. The Buskins are made of the same cloth of tissue as the Super-Tunica, and lined with crimson sarcenet; the height of them is eighteen inches, the compass at the top fifteen inches, and the length, from the heel to the toe, is eleven inches and a quarter. The Sandals are made with a dark-coloured leather sole, and a wooden heel covered with red leather. There are three bands, two of which go over the foot, and the third behind the heel; they are made of cloth of tissue, lined with crimson taffeta, as is likewise the lining of the sole. The length of the sandal is ten inches. These portions of the royal dress are derived from the Cothurni purpurei, or purple buskins, which were a distinguishing cognizance of the Byzantine emperors. 4 SANDALS. Surcoat of purple velvet, and a large mantle of the The sovereign's ROBES OF ESTATE consist of a same, furred with ermine, lined with sarcenet, and similar in form, but are made of crimson velvet. bordered with gold lace. The parliament robes are Peers of all ranks attend in their robes of estate, which are the same as their parliament robes, that is, crimson velvet mantles, furred with rows of ermine proportioned to their degree; a duke's has four rows, a marquis's three and a half, an earl's three, a viscount's two and a half, and a baron's two The distinctions of rank among the peeresses are marked by the length of their trains; a baroness may have a train of three feet on the ground, a viscountess a yard and a quarter, a countess a yard and a half, a marchioness a yard and three-quarters, and a duchess two yards. The following directions for the dresses of peeresses were issued by the Earl Marshal, by whose orders all robes are regulated, previous to the coronation of George the Second. The surcoats, or mantles, to be all of crimson velvet, close bodied, and clasped before, edged or bordered with minever pure, two inches broad, and scolloped down the sides from below the girdle, and sloped away into a train proportionable to the length of the robe or mantle for each degree; viz., about a third part thereof; the sleeves of the surcoats also to be of crimson velvet, about five inches deep, scolloped at the bottom, edged with minever pure, and fringed with gold or silver. The caps of their coronets to be all of crimson velvet, turned up with ermine, with a button and tassel of gold or silver on the top, suitable to the fringe of their sleeves. The petticoats to be of cloth of silver or any other white stuff, either laced or embroidered, according to each person's fancy. The mantles to hang back, being fastened on each shoulder with cordons of silver or gold, suitable to thei: fringe, with tassels of the same, hanging down on each side of the waist. The surcoats, or kirtles, to open before, that the petticoats may appear. Knights of the different British orders not being peers, usually wear the full-dress habits of their respective orders. Knights who are peers wear only the collar of their order over their velvet mantles. The dresses of the kings at arms, heralds, and pursuivants, add considerable splendour to the ceremonial of a coronation. The kings at arms wear tabards, or surcoats of velvet and cloth of gold, on which the royal insignia are emblazoned; these tabards resemble sleeveless gowns in form, but they are furnished with wings, which fold over the arms. They wear also collars of SS, that is, composed of links shaped like the letter S, made of silver gilt, with badges at the centre, containing the shamrock, rose, and thistle, enamelled in their proper colours. They are also entitled to wear coronets, or plain circles of gold, decorated with sixteen upright leaves, eight of which are long, and eight short. The words, "Miserere mei Deus," that is, "Have mercy upon me, O God," are enamelled round the circle. Within |