chymist; whereby he was able to perform wonders in the eyes of the vulgar, and to give a probable prognostication of future events. Hence he was supposed, like Bacon, to have had an illicit connection with the spiritual world; and all he did was attributed to magic. Numbers of prophecies were attributed to him, the divulging or explaining of which was prohibited by the council of Trent. I have now been traversing one of the most wonderful parts, and worthy of observation, in the three kingdoms; which, in point of romantic scenery and variety of productions, is not perhaps to be equalled by the boasted wonders of the Rhetian alps. The views are grand, picturesque, and pleasing: they exhibit a rich variety both of the sublime and beautiful. Here is nothing of art, so diminutive in the scale; but pure simple nature, wildly and capriciously sporting, in the formation of her gigantic * Like the Tuscan sages, he was through life considered the son of a Genius; and like them was the author of prophetic visions, declarative of the prosperous or adverse events of his country. It was the policy of the British princes to command the bards to foretell, in poetic strains, their success in war, to incite their people to deeds of bravery; for which cause the vulgar supposed them real prophets. Hence their great veneration for the prophetic bards, Myrddin Emrys, Taliesin and Myrddin Wyllt, &c. There are many of these prophecies still extant; and the custom of prophecying did not cease till Henry VII's. time; the reason of which is sufficiently obvious. + Near the walls of a farm-house in this vale grows the Fuma RIA CLAVICULATA. productions, grotesque rocks, towering hills, and extensive lakes, agreeably interspersed and lying in their bosoms; whence the most limpid brooks and romantic streams the eyes ever beheld roll their: salubrious waters down the sides of the mountains, or meander in pleasing murmurs through the distant vales; and then fall in beautiful cascades over rocky wears; while the dense foliage of the overhanging wood just permits the observer to ken the whitened foam of these agitated waters. Again, meeting with farther obstruction, they obtain new strength by accumulation, and dash headlong down some dreadful precipice into gloomy excavations beneath; where, thundering and roaring, they contend amidst impending dissevered fragments of rock, which, by their impetuosity, they frequently dislodge, and hurl with resistless force and deafening. noise to the vale below. In this varied country the mountains seen far off put on a pleasing appearance; but, on a nearer view, they inspire terrific ideas. The species of grandeur, which accompanies the idea of immensity at a distance, charms the sight; the heart feels absorbed in delight, while the eye ranges over this extensive chain of enormous and adamantine masses, rising one above the other in lofty gradation. The suc cession of soft and lively shades, whose tints are tempered by passing clouds, affords pleasurable sen-* sations; and makes this native wall of rocks. para take of the beautiful rather than the sublime, But the mind of sensibility cannot take a nearer view of these same scenes without experiencing an involuntary terror. The almost-constant snows, steep and inaccessible ascents, gloomy caverns, resounding torrents, that precipitate themselves from the summits, the dark forests that here and there clothe their sides, and the enormous fragments detached by time from their foundations: all unite to impress the ideas of awe and apprehension. It is in scenes like these, far away from the fascinating allurements and dissipating examples of public life, that the mind becomes unshackled from the world; regains its native freedom of election; and, smiling at the insignificant objects which hitherto engrossed its affections, nobly wings its flight and gains the skies. Absent from the destructive snares of folly and dissipation, I feel my own littleness and importance the veiw of the one dethrones my pride; the view of the other ennobles and elevates my thoughts; the one disarms me of all self-consequence and self-exaltation: the other points to the Deity, and discovers my alliance with the Divine Nature, I feel gratitude arise towards the Supreme Being, for bestowing upon me an imagination which renders these scenes of grandeur and silence grateful to my heart. I see the hand of GoD in these stupendous objects. Alone, I feel his secret presence guide my steps; confess that he is about my paths and about my bed; and hope I shall learn to acknowledge him in all my ways, The manners of the inhabitants of this alpine tract partake of the nature of the country. They may be rude, but they are' generous: the severity of their sky renders them hardy; while the pastoral life mingles a degree of softness in their character. These alpine Britons, who have seen no better houses than their own self-built huts; no other country but their native rocks; and no other sky but their own atmosphere, darkened by clouds and deluged by storms; conceive the whole world to be in like manner formed of the same rough materials. The heavens do not, however, here always put on those unfriendly appearances. The tempest does not always rage, nor the forked lightnings strike the mountain's brow. The storms subside; the sky becomes serene; and the cheering sun again exhilarates the dreary scenes with his enlivening beams. Such are the Cambrian's head and Cambrian's heart: kindness succeeds to anger, and generosity to savage fury. From history and observation it is evident, that the inhabitants of this country are not of a degenerate cast; their sentiments are elevated, and their feelings warm. Boldness and intrepidity are, innate. A spirit of liberty still warms their bosoms; and they would trample tyrants and tyranny under their feet. An inviolable attachment prevails to their country they love their king, and they are grateful to Providence, who permits each individual to live |