Dolbadarn Castle consists at this day of a single round tower or keep; but traces of a greater occupation are sufficiently distinct around. Time has rolled its dark waves over the date of foundation and name of founder, and, one incident excepted, nothing but conjecture remains as to its history. Padarn Beisrydd, the son of Idwal, was the supposed builder of this fortress, the obvious utility of which was to guard the mountain pass behind it. The date of its erection, in that case, would be some time previous to the eleventh century; a conjecture supported by the style of architecture, which is clearly Welsh. Owen Goch was imprisoned here by his brother Llewellyn ap Gryffydd, last Prince of Wales, of the British line, for the term of twenty years, and his merits are celebrated in an ode composed by Howel-Voel, bewailing the captivity of the unhappy prince. The following translation of the opening stanzas embraces the meaning, but does not pretend to imitate the bold spirit of Howel’s lamentation. Ye powers, that rule both earth and sea, Release from dark captivity, Snatch from an inglorious grave The lion-hearted, mild yet brave, Owen,—a prince of matchless strength, Whose bright lance dripped, for all its length, With the best blood of the bravest men That dared to foray his mountain glen. ’Twas his to succour,—relieve distress, The proud to humble, the foe to oppress. His charity measureless, his bounty great, His gifts well suited such wide estate. But now these vales seem dark and dreary, No hall to shelter the weak, the weary, Since Owen has changed his lordly bower For the darksome dungeon of Padarn’s tower: Its dark gray walls their prince now sever From those who have lost their glory for ever. Their pride, their honour, their fame is fled, Their light is extinguished, their hopes are dead. Oh! Owen, dauntless, valiant and bright, Chieftain of Cambria,—warrior knight, &c. &c. The seclusion of Llanberis has been broken by the formation of a new line of road along Llyn Padarn to the town of Caernarvon, and the charms of its solitude dissipated by the erection of two spacious inns in the immediate vicinity of the ancient castle.