be their sovereign
was one who was not only born in Wales, but could not speak a word of the
English language. The town Caernarvon, however, existed long before
Edward's time, and was probably originally a Roman station. According to
Welsh tradition it was built by Maxen Wledig or Maxentius, in honour of
his wife Ellen who was born in the neighbourhood. Maxentius, who was a
Briton by birth, and partly by origin contested unsuccessfully the purple
with Gratian and Valentinian, and to support his claim led over to the
Continent an immense army of Britons, who never returned, but on the fall
of their leader settled down in that part of Gaul generally termed
Armorica, which means a maritime region, but which the Welsh call Llydaw,
or Lithuania, which was the name, or something like the name, which the
region bore when Maxen's army took possession of it, owing, doubtless, to
its having been the quarters of a legion composed of barbarians from the
country of Leth or Lithuania.

After staying about an hour at Caernarvon we started for Llanberis, a few
miles to the east. Llanberis is a small village situated in a valley,
and takes its name from Peris, a British saint of the sixth century, son
of Helig ab Glanog. The valley extends from west to east, having the
great mountain of Snowdon on its south, and a range of immense hills on
its northern side. We entered this valley by a pass called Nant y Glo or
the ravine of the coal, and passing a lake on our left, on which I
observed a solitary corracle, with a fisherman in it, were presently at
the village. Here we got down at a small inn, and having engaged a young
lad to serve as guide, I set out with Henrietta to ascend the hill, my
wife remaining behind, not deeming herself sufficiently strong to
encounter the fatigue of the expedition.

Pointing with my finger to the head of Snowdon towering a long way from
us in the direction of the east, I said to Henrietta:--

"Dacw Eryri, yonder is Snowdon. Let us try to get to the top. The Welsh
have a proverb: 'It is easy to say yonder is Snowdon; but not so easy to
ascend it.' Therefore I would advise you to brace up your nerves and
sinews for the attempt."

We then commenced the ascent, arm-in-arm, followed by the lad, I singing
at the stretch of my voice a celebrated Welsh stanza, in which the
proverb about Snowdon is given, embellished with a fine moral, and which
may thus be rendered:--

"Easy to say, 'Behold Eryri