whose lofty brow
Frowns o'er old Conway's foaming flood,
Robed in a sable garb of woe.
With haggard eyes the poet stood."

This ode has so impressed the Conway folk that they have been at great
pains to discover the exact spot where the despairing bard plunged into
the river, and several enthusiastic persons have discovered the actual
site. The castle stands upon a high rock, and its builder soon after its
completion was besieged there by the Welsh, but before being starved
into submission was relieved by the timely arrival of a fleet with
provisions. It was in the hall of Conway Castle that Richard II. signed
his abdication. The castle was stormed and taken by Cromwell's troops in
the Civil Wars, and we are told that all the Irish found in the garrison
were tied in couples, back to back, and thrown into the river. The
castle was not dismantled, but the townsfolk in their industrious
quarrying of slates have undermined one of the towers, which, though
kept up by the solidity of the surrounding masonry, is known as the
"Broken Tower." There was none of the "bonus building" of modern times
attempted in these ponderous Welsh castles of the great King Edward. The
ruins are an oblong square, standing on the edge of a steep rock washed
on two sides by the river; the embattled walls, partly covered by ivy,
are twelve to fifteen feet thick, and are flanked by eight huge circular
towers, each forty feet in diameter; the interior is in partial ruin,
but shows traces of its former magnificence; the stately hall is one
hundred and thirty feet long. The same architect designed both
Caernarvon and Conway. A fine suspension-bridge now crosses the river
opposite the castle, its towers being built in harmony with the
architecture of the place, so that the structure looks much like a
drawbridge for the fortress. Although the Conway River was anciently a
celebrated pearl-fishery, slate-making, as at Caernarvon, is now the
chief industry of the town.

[Illustration: FALLS OF THE CONWAY.]

[Illustration: THE SWALLOW FALLS.]

There are many other historic places in Caernarvonshire, and also
splendid bits of rural and coast scenery, while the attractions for the
angler as well as the artist are almost limitless. One of the prettiest
places for sketching, as well as a spot where the fisherman's skill is
often rewarded, is Bettws-y-Coed. This pretty village, which derives its
name from a religious establishment--"Bede-house in th