This level dell, set in the midst of mountains, which rise on all sides, clothed at their base with rich woods, and then towering upwards, bare and rugged against the sky, surpassed all our expectations by the magnificence of its environment. The faithful hound, so well known in the stories of many lands, has here a tomb, in the very midst of the valley, overhung by a group of willows. Perhaps the legend is but a myth; it exists, we are told, in Persian, and in the dialects of India. The story as it stands is not only affecting, but contains a noble lesson; and it was in no sceptical spirit that we read Southey's fine ballad over again, at the traditionary scene of the incident. We ended the day by a stroll up to Pont Aberglaslyn, that most romantic of defiles, the only defect of which is, that it is too short. The road leads on one side by the "blue torrent," which dashes through the pass with headlong, tremendous force; on the other by towering mountain sides, clothed with lichen and a scanty covering of mosses and shrubs. A marked feature in these rocks is the evident trace of glacier action, to which Dr. Buckland has called attention by a memorandum in his own handwriting, framed and glazed, in the hotel. The bridge at the extremity of the pass, carrying the old road to Tan-y-bwlch, has been thus described by Miss Costello: "There, forty feet above the river, hangs in air apparently, just touching the two mountains, a one-arched bridge, clothed with a robe of ivy, whose festoons wave to and fro, as if the action of her leap had disturbed the drapery of some nymph, whose form had hardened into stone as she performed the wondrous feat. Below, beyond, around, the waters rave and foam and rush, and here for the first time I recognised the beautiful colour, familiar to my eye in the Pyrenees, which has given the name of the 'Blue Pool' to this lovely spot." The scene was one in which to rest and muse after the exertions and excitements of the morning; the only disturbance of the quiet being the pertinacity of the little sellers of spar and rock fragments, or these failing, of woollen socks, with equal readiness to sing us a song, if no purchasers could be found for their other wares! It must in fairness be added that the song was "sweet and low," and harmonised well with the now gathering twilight, and the sound of rushing waters. [Illustration: 0211] The next day's expedition must be more briefly narrated. Somewhat tired by the mountain climbing, we were content with a quiet walk up Nant Gwynant, descending by the eastern half of the Pass of Llanberis to Cape! Curig, and thence, beside the river Lugwy, to Bettws-y-Coed. Two lakes, passed soon after leaving Beddgelert, are of the most exquisite beauty, and the views of Snowdon, opened up a little beyond them, are of splendour unsurpassed.