surpassing loveliness, Caradoc, the son of king Alen, sought her hand; but Winefred had already devoted herself to a life of celibacy. Finding her unmoved by all his entreaties, Caradoc-as Welsh knights were in ancient times but too apt to do-determined on a rougher mode of courtship. The maiden, however, escaping from his hands, fled for refuge, as was natural, towards her uncle's cell. Caradoc maddened at the frustration of his purpose, drew his sword and pursued her; and having overtaken her as she was about to descend the hill, struck off her head at a blow. Her body fell where the blow was struck, but the head bounded forward till it reached the feet of the horrorstricken Bueno. In those times saints were not confounded at what would overwhelm common folk in our unbelieving days: Bueno, therefore, caught up the severed head, and hastening to the place where the body lay, he replaced it in its proper position. When a saint did such a thing, it may be supposed it was followed by the junction of the divided parts. Winefred, accordingly, to the great edification of the bystanders, arose, hale as ever, having apparently suffered no inconvenience from her decapitation ;-it is not said whether the narrow crimson circlet was visible, which was the insignia of those saintly ones who had undergone this species of martyrdom. Caradoc, it may be believed, after so manifest a miracle, did not care to renew his suit, or to repeat his violence; and Winefred lived henceforward for fifteen years, in the bloom of maiden purity, and died in the odour of sanctity.

But the violence of the wicked Caradoc was the occasion of lasting good. For from the spot where the head of the holy Winefred rested, there burst forth a spring of the purest water: and the valley, which hitherto had been arid and barren, was now irrigated and fertilized by a perennial and abundant stream. And as though to proclaim wherefore the waters thus flowed, the stones which formed the channel of the stream were spotted as with blood, though the water itself was clear as crystal; and the moss which covered the sides of the fountain exhaled a grateful odour. Nor did the miracle end here. It was speedily discovered that whoever bathed in that fountain soon lost all his ailments, and became every whit whole. Wherefore, in process of time, a shrine was erected over the hallowed spring, and dedicated to the now sainted maiden to whose intercession it owed its healing properties, and a priest was maintained out of the offerings of the pilgrims who resorted thither.

flows into a paved channel, wherein, as well as in the basin, the patients bathe. The water is perfectly pellucid, and flows in such abundance as to be capable of working a large mill immediately it leaves the enclosure; while during its short course of only a mile it turns several others. Pennant asserts, "that by two different trials made for his information, it was found that twenty-one tons of water rose from the spring in a minute." According to the same naturalist, the blood-spots on the stones are produced by the Byssus Jholitus, which produces the appearance of blood on the stones to which it adheres; while the odoriferous moss is the well-known Jungermannia Asplenoides.

Recently the shrine of St. Winefred has been restored, and the facilities for bathing are increased. A small well, which had long been filled up, has been re-opened: it rises near to the principal one, and is apparently connected with it. This is thought to be efficacious for ophthalmic diseases; the larger well is chiefly resorted to in cases of lameness, or rheumatism. For about a couple of hours in the morning and evening the outer doors are closed, "that strangers and visitors may bathe in private," the remainder of the day it is free to all comers.

Among those who have visited St. Winefred's Well, either out of devotion or curiosity, is included a long array of notable persons, ranging from William the Conqueror to the late Duchess of St. Albans. Towards the close of the last century the well appears to have attracted few pilgrims, for Warner, who visited it in 1798, says, "Much of its celebrity has long since vanished, and either from a decrease of faith in patients, or from the waters having lost their sanative powers, the saint is now sinking fast into oblivion, and her well into neglect." And again: "the resort of Roman Catholics to the well has ceased." But either the saint has recovered her fame, or the waters have regained their sanative powers, or the faith of patients has revived, or all these things have combined—but at any rate the well is not now neglected. We saw there this summer a goodly number of bathers-and in the roof a stock of crutches, amply sufficient to evidence that not a few were cured, or fancied they were. And certainly the resort of Roman Catholics has not yet ceased indeed the greater number who resort here we were assured are of that faith. Many of the patients are poor Irish, who have come over mainly to visit the shrine. We saw them of both sexes and all agessome come to bathe and some to beg. "And have you derived any benefit from the waters?" said we to a shrewd-looking 'boy' who had volunteered a long story of the mystery of the well. "Sure it's myself that have," said he, "a mighty dale-considering the time I've been here, which is only five days, more's the sorrow or else I'd be well entirely if I'd bin long enough. But it would have done yer honour good to have seen Fin Kahil, who went home again only last Saturday that ever was. When he first came to this, it was the world and all of throuble he had to drag himThe water rises in a basin six feet deep, whence it self to the holy wather be his crutches; but Fin had

So runs the legend; and doubtless it is as worthy of credence as such legends usually are. The building which now covers the well is said to have been erected by Margaret countess of Richmond, the mother of Henry VII.; it is light and elegant in design, and rich and tasteful in its ornamentation; altogether it is a very pleasing specimen of the early perpendicular style. (Cut, No. 4.) In the chapel over the well-room, divine service is once a week performed in the English language: it is also used as a school-room.

Clwyd our day's journey. We strike right up the hills, ascending higher and higher as we pass from one summit to another till we reach the top of Pen-y-bant (or some such name), where we gain a prospect that is perfectly refreshing after having been so long confined to a comparatively low strip of land. Far away the view extends over hill and valley till it is on the one hand bounded by a bold and varied mountain-range; on the other, reaches over river and strait to the opposite coast; and again, on turning northwards, to the ocean horizon. This, as far as we know, is the finest walk out of Holywell, and though there are many far finer in Wales, we should deem him a sorry companion who under a favourable sky could gaze upon this without delight.

bell every time his cushioned knee comes forward." | being the first town we are to halt at, and the Vale of The strange " accoutrement' of the man, and the gravity with which he goes through his duty is said, by those who have witnessed it, to be very comical. The town of Holywell, though it boasts itself "for population, wealth, commerce, and manufactures, . . at present the principal town in North Wales," must be content with brief notice here. It is a straggling sort of place, seated as was said, on the slope and the summit of a hill. In 1841 it contained nearly 11,000 inhabitants. The houses are substantial; there are excellent hotels, good shops, a couple of banking establishments; a second church of recent erection; a Roman Catholic chapel, and several meeting-houses belonging to the various sects of dissenters. Altogether the place wears a more business-like and flourishing appearance than any other town in this part of the principality. In the town and its immediate vicinity are numerous mines of lead and calamine, works of copper, brass, shot, paper, zinc, and lead; and yet it is stated that the town is greatly resorted to by invalids on account of the salubrity of the air.

THE VALE OF CLWYD.

We might, keeping to the line of railway, continue our journey as hitherto along the coast, by Air Point and Rhyl to Conway; and in our way visit Mostyn Hall and Downing, which lie only three or four miles from Holywell-the former a baronial hall partly of the Tudor period, the latter noted as having been the residence of the literary veteran Thomas Pennant. Mostyn Hall, the seat of the noble family of the same name, is interesting on account of the collection of British antiquities which it contains, as well as for its architectural character. It has, too, some historical associations. Downing was described by its owner as being "Cowley's wish realized, a small house and a large garden." It was indeed a choice retreat for the diligent naturalist and indefatigable student. Pennant was not a man of very powerful mind, but he was a careful observer, and not apt to write for the sake of effect. Johnson went little beyond the mark when he said, "The man's a Whig, sir, a sad dog, but he's the best traveller I ever read; he observes more things than any one else does." His description of his native country (Tour in Wales,' 1778) has served as a quarry for all his successors. Both Mostyn Hall and Downing stand in good situations. Mostyn is approached by a noble avenue of "old patrician trees," and the park affords some fine views of mingled sea and land; the grounds of Downing yield excellent prospects. They are worth visiting, therefore, by those who have leisure and feel interested in celebrated houses. It is time, however, that we turned our steps a little inland. There is a short detour which will carry us through a more beautiful country than any we have yet seen, and enable us also to visit some localities that must not be overlooked.

Caerwys is now but a poor place: once it was a town of importance. Happily it has yet a comfortable inn, where the rambler will be able to obtain a breakfast such as he will know how to appreciate after his walk over the hills from Holywell. While it is getting ready he may see all that is to be seen in the town -as it is called, but as he would style it, village. Caerwys is believed to have been a Roman station, and Roman coins are said to have been found there; and until a comparatively recent time it was a busy market and assize town. The market-place yet remains, and so too does the jail, but both are converted into dwelling-houses. Still though the market be lost and the assizes removed, Caerwys retains its fairs,-which are said to have the best display of cattle of any in the county of Flint. What most dignifies Caerwys, however, in the eyes of the natives, is that it was the theatre of the last of the royal Eisteddvodau-and that of the first of these revived national festivals. It was in the ninth year of the reign of Elizabeth that the last royal summons was issued for all those who intended to follow the profession of bard, to appear before the queen's commissioner to give proof of their skill. Fifty-five of the persons who obeyed the summons, it is said, gave satisfactory evidence of their ability, and received the official testimonial. Henceforward, if the harp was not silent, the minstrel was unhonoured. It was not till near the close of the last century that a society of Welsh gentlemen determined to endeavour to re-establish the ancient bardic meetings. They accordingly announced an Eisteddfod to be holden at Caerwys, in May, 1798, when prizes were adjudicated to the best poet, the best harper, and the best singer in the national tongue and music. Since then, these meetings have been held with tolerable regularity—but Welsh bards, like the English philosophers, are now ambulatory: the Eisteddvodau being held successively in the chief towns of ancient date. The great object now of these meetings appears to be to encourage the diligent study of the Welsh language,—and to keep alive a national Cambrian spirit.—We shall again come upon the trail of these wanderers, when we may perhaps find space for a word or two further on their

Our course for the present lies south-west, Caerwys doings.

a steep insulated hill, the summit of which is crowned by the vast ruins of the castle. In itself the town is almost naught—at least in the eyes of the tourist. The castle alone will engage his attention. It is related that the builder of the castle was Henry Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, to whom the lordship of Denbigh was granted by Edward I. He, however, left it unfinished. His son, it is said, fell into the castle well and was drowned; and the unhappy father could not afterwards endure the sight of the building which reminded him of his bereavement. Denbigh Castle has had some royal tenants in its time. Edward IV. was here besieged by the army of Henry VI. "Had he been taken there," says old Leland, rather quaintly, "debellatum fuisset:" fortunately, he managed to make his escape before the castle surrendered. Charles I. came here on his flight from Chester, after the battle of Rowton Heath. The governor, though a royalist, must have made, as the phrase is, a clean breast of it, if the tradition may be trusted that the unfortunate monarch exclaimed, at the close of their interview, "Never did king hear so much truth at once!" Fallen kings, of all kinds, do doubtless hear a quite surprising amount of this unpleasant sort of truth: the pity is, that these truth-speakers save their commodity for such seasons; to their own great discomfort, as it must be, (their consciences the while bending under such a burden,) and to no one's profit, even when they discharge themselves of it.

is a church, the erection of which was commenced by Elizabeth's Earl of Leicester, to whom the queen had made a grant of Denbigh. The earl dying before the church was completed, the townsmen, for whose use it was intended, raised a sum of money sufficient to carry on the work; but the Earl of Essex called at Denbigh on his way to Ireland, and 'borrowed' the moneyand the church was suffered to remain unfinished.

From the castle there is an admirable prospect of the Vale of Clwyd, and the mountain range of which Moel Famau is the chief. About twenty years ago the Eisteddfod was held in the extensive area of the castle; and the townsmen yet dwell with some pride on the memory of that day, when the whole beauty and dignity of the principality were assembled here on the summit of their own Caled-Vryn. The attraction was increased to an unusual degree by the presence of the Duke of Sussex and many other eminent persons; and we have heard the spectacle described as most brilliant.

The city of St. Asaph-less in size and population than many a village in England-consists of one street, and contains somewhat under 800 inhabitants. Especially to be admired, however, is the beauty of its situation. It stands near the lower end of the vale, on an eminence, the base of which is washed on the one side by the river Clwyd, and on the other by the Elwy. The houses are built for the most part on that side of the hill which inclines to the Elwy; abundant foliage waves at the base and on the slopes of the hill, the roofs of the houses rise picturesquely one above the other, while over all, on the brow of the hill, stands the cathedral.

The foundation of the see dates from a very early period. One of the most famous saints of the British Kalendar was St. Kentigern, the patron saint of Glasgow. Whoso lists to read the legend of his marvellous birth, and equally marvellous life and death, will find it told by Southey, in his own inimitable style, in the second

Denbigh Castle covers an area of great extent, and must in its perfect state have been a place of immense strength. It withstood the Parliamentarians for above two months, and then only surrendered by order of the king. For the demolition of this fortress Cromwell is not responsible. It was dismantled after the Restoration and this was pretty much the order of things in Wales. Cromwell dismantled most of the castles which fell into his hands, but spared and garrisoned a few of the strongest and those, when he ascended the throne, Charles II. destroyed. Owing to the excessive thick-volume of his 'Colloquies.' Here it must suffice to ness of the walls of Denbigh Castle, they were blasted by gunpowder, and hence the shattered fragmentary condition in which it now appears. From the grandeur of its appearance, as seen from the valley below, some disappointment is felt when, close at hand, it is found to be so utterly ruinous. Still it is a noble ruin, and perhaps none the less impressive for having been so mutilated. The grand gate-house, with its massive towers, and the statue of the founder over the gateway, is the most perfect part-and the most picturesque. From it a tolerable estimate may be formed of the original magnificence of the entire structure. The walls of the citadel encompassed the old town, but the modern street has extended beyond the pale. Within the walls is a curious old chapel, dedicated to St. Hilary, which, till within the last three or four years, served as the parish church: the proper parish church-now ruinousis at Whitchurch, a mile from the town. There will be noticed, close by the entrance to the castle, the shell of an ecclesiastical building of rather large size. It

say that Kentigern, who was bishop of Glasgow and all Cumberland, being driven from his see by a barbarous prince, sought shelter in Wales. At first he dwelt with the great saint of Wales, the renowned David; but King Cadwallon, moved by the advice of St. David, gave him a piece of ground at Elwy, that he might erect a monastery thereon, and establish an episcopal see. The reputation which the northern saint had already gained, soon attracted around him a community worthy of their chief. The establishment numbered nine-hundred and sixty-five brethren. "Three hundred of these were uneducated men, whose office it was to till the lands and tend the cattle belonging to the convent; three hundred more, of the same description, were employed within the building in preparing food and other domestic concerns; the remaining three hundred and sixty-five were literates, whose business it was to perform divine service. They were divided into companies or watches; when one set had finished their service, another was ready imme