“The procession of boats was as follows:—In the first and second boats, the Committee; in the third, the band of the Shropshire Volunteers, in full uniform; the fourth was occupied by the engineers, the occupiers of mines and founderies, &c. with their families. I was invited to take my passage with them, having been engaged when the Committee set out, and could from this boat, as a centre, better judge of the whole. The fifth and sixth boats closed the procession, gaily ornamented with flags, and loaded with the first commercial product of coal that had ever passed over the valley on this noble bridge of union. The carriages, which conveyed the rest of the company, formed a curved and continued line over the bridge of the Dee (Pontcysyllte) and on both its banks. “The evening was calm, and the favourite tunes of ‘_God save the King_’ and ‘_Rule Britannia_’ floated in the air, amongst the echoes of the vale. Many (probably more than eight thousand) people were stationed all around us, from the tops of the mountains to the banks of the Dee, and were cheering and exulting, with intervals of silent astonishment. All within sight or hearing were expressing their sense of the general happiness. The whole valley of Llangollen might be said to laugh and sing.” The following inscription is on the Aqueduct upon the side of the pier next to the south side of the river:— The Nobility and Gentry of The adjacent Counties, Having united their Efforts with The great commercial Interests of this Country, In creating an intercourse and union between ENGLAND AND NORTH WALES, By a navigable communication of the three Rivers, Severn, Dee, and Mersey, For the mutual benefit of Agriculture and Trade, Caused the first Stone of this Aqueduct of PONTCYSYLLTE To be laid on the 25th day of July, 1795, When Richard Myddelton, of Chirk, Esq. M.P. One of the original patrons of the ELLESMERE CANAL, Was Lord of this Manor, And in the reign of our Sovereign GEORGE THE THIRD; When the Equity of the Laws and The security of Property Promoted the general Welfare of the Nation; While the Arts and Sciences flourished By his Patronage, and The Conduct of civil Life was improved By his Example. Returning from this stupendous work of human ingenuity and exertion, towards the Castell Dinas Bran, Trevor Hall,