[Illustration: PONT CYSYLLTAU.]

[Illustration: WREXHAM TOWER.]

Not far distant is Chirk Castle, now the home of Mr. R. Myddelton
Biddulph, a combination of a feudal fortress and a modern mansion. The
ancient portion, still preserved, was built by Roger Mortimer, to whom
Edward I. granted the lordship of Chirk. It was a bone of contention
during the Civil Wars, and when they were over, $150,000 were spent in
repairing the great quadrangular fortress. It stands in a noble
situation, and on a clear day portions of seventeen counties can be seen
from the summit. Still following down the picturesque river, we come to
Bangor-ys-Coed, or "Bangor-in-the-Wood," in Flintshire, once the seat of
a famous monastery that disappeared twelve hundred years ago. Here a
pretty bridge crosses the river, and a modern church is the most
prominent structure in the village. The old monastery is said to have
been the home of twenty-four hundred monks, one half of whom were slain
in a battle near Chester by the heathen king Ethelfrith, who afterwards
sacked the monastery, but the Welsh soon gathered their forces again and
took terrible vengeance. Many ancient coffins and Roman remains have
been found here. The Dee now runs with swift current past Overton to the
ancient town of Holt, whose charter is nearly five hundred years old,
but whose importance is now much less than of yore. Holt belongs to the
debatable Powisland, the strip of territory over which the English and
Welsh fought for centuries. Holt was formerly known as Lyons, and was a
Roman outpost of Chester. Edward I. granted it to Earl Warren, who
built Holt Castle, of which only a few quaint pictures now exist, though
it was a renowned stronghold in its day. It was a five-sided structure
with a tower on each corner, enclosing an ample courtyard. After
standing several sieges in the Civil Wars of Cromwell's time, the
battered castle was dismantled.

[Illustration: THE ROODEE, FROM THE RAILWAY-BRIDGE.]

The famous Wrexham Church, whose tower is regarded as one of the "seven
wonders of Wales," is three miles from Holt, and is four hundred years
old. Few churches built as early as the reign of Henry VIII. can compare
with this. It is dedicated to St. Giles, and statues of him and of
twenty-nine other saints embellish niches in the tower. Alongside of St.
Giles is the hind that nourished him in the desert. The bells of Wrexham
peal melodiously over the valley, and in the vicarage th