father-in-law, sided with Edward the First against his own native
sovereign. But though it could shield him from his foes, it could not
preserve him from remorse and the stings of conscience, of which he
speedily died.

At present the place consists only of a few ruined walls, and probably
consisted of little more two or three hundred years ago: Roger Cyffyn a
Welsh bard, who flourished at the beginning of the seventeenth century,
wrote an englyn upon it, of which the following is a translation:--

"Gone, gone are thy gates, Dinas Bran on the height!
Thy warders are blood-crows and ravens, I trow;
Now no one will wend from the field of the fight
To the fortress on high, save the raven and crow."

CHAPTER VII

Poor Black Cat--Dissenters--Persecution--What Impudence!

The house or cottage, for it was called a cottage though it consisted of
two stories, in which my wife had procured lodgings for us, was situated
in the Northern suburb. Its front was towards a large perllan or
orchard, which sloped down gently to the banks of the Dee; its back was
towards the road leading from Wrexham, behind which was a high bank, on
the top of which was a canal called in Welsh the Camlas, whose
commencement was up the valley about two miles west. A little way up the
road, towards Wrexham, was the vicarage and a little way down was a
flannel factory, beyond which was a small inn, with pleasure grounds,
kept by an individual who had once been a gentleman's servant. The
mistress of the house was a highly respectable widow, who, with a servant
maid was to wait upon us. It was as agreeable a place in all respects as
people like ourselves could desire.

As I and my family sat at tea in our parlour, an hour or two after we had
taken possession of our lodgings, the door of the room and that of the
entrance to the house being open, on account of the fineness of the
weather, a poor black cat entered hastily, sat down on the carpet by the
table, looked up towards us, and mewed piteously. I never had seen so
wretched a looking creature. It was dreadfully attenuated, being little
more than skin and bone, and was sorely afflicted with an eruptive
malady. And here I may as well relate the history of this cat previous
to our arrival which I subsequently learned by bits and snatches. It had
belonged to a previous vicar of Llangollen, and had been left behind at
his departure. His successor brought with him d