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traffic above referred to, the work is badly needed, more especially in the pass where the road is dangerously narrow in parts. Then again the better the road, the greater the traffic and especially the tourist traffic, and we shall hear a great deal less about a C3 population. Government afforestation on a large scale is going on on the outer Snowdonian range all the way from Bettws y Coed through Capel Curig and the romantic pass of Nant Ffrangcon right down to Bangor. Thus a few years hence there will be a stretch of forest on each side of the road, and twentv miles long. Little imagin- ation is needed to visualise what that will be like. Wherefore, 0 ye bards and minstrels, perpend and be readv. for we shall expect great things from awen and telyn. An early morning start bv car was made for the railway station at Bettws v Coed next morn- ing, and Chester was reached shortly after one o'clock. This gave opportunity for a couple of hours in which to look around this dignified county town and city girdled about by the silver Dee. Chester is a delightful old place with city walls still intact and its quaint and unique "Rows," which Rows were built for security against the Welsh. On these first floor public ways are beautiful examples of "black-and- white" buildings of late Tudor and early Jacobean times, the "God's providence House" and "The Old Leche House," both in Watergate Street (by "The Cross") being particularly worth a special visit. Then the one-time abbey and present-day cathedral of S. Werburgh's of red sandstone; and the Roman remains which are everywhere. As with Shrewsbury and Hereford, and to a certain extent, Gloucester, the town, by a happy chance, has been spared the smoke and grime of nineteenth century Industrialism to tell us what our towns were like before steam and slums and the uglv had ripped, scarred, and defaced, and the beautiful, for all the mire and dirt, were in men's hearts and minds, and they builded and wrought accordingly. Cestrian speech is of the North Midland variety, and notwithstanding the city's close proximity to Wales (the Flintshire border being onlv a short three miles from the town centre) there is no trace at all of Welsh in its accent or idiom. In this curious fact Chester differs greatly from Shrewsbury and Hereford with their unmistakable Welsh lilt. It would seem that the city has always been an English strong- hold and that the Welsh were allowed only 10 See "Awdl Saeson Caer." by the fifteenth centurv bard. Lewys Glyn Cothi. Prof. W. J. Gruffydd considers this to be probably the most satirical song in the language. "Llenyddiaeth Cymru, 1450-1600." tud. 35. "Dywedix iddo briodi gwraig weddw o Saesnes yng Nghaerlleon wedi myned a'i boll eiddo sparingly to settle and trade there,10 so those fortunate few who were made free of its rights and privileges became absorbed into the English mass, and, whatever the racial results, lett no linguistic impress upon the common speech of the people. Then again, Flintshire was only recovered for Wales (in 1160) after four long centuries of English settlement, which fact is attested by such purely English place-names as Flint, Hawarden, Mold, Northop, Whitford, Holywell, Mostyn, Prestatyn (Preston) and many others. As we were walking along these time- honoured Rows that our forefathers had trod on pleasure and plenishing intent, and we our- selves had done many a time in our early man- hood, we came to the familiar shop of our good friends the well-known tailors of Eastgate, and our minds hied back to those days of youthful pride when fashion ruled our thoughts, and these our friends were kind enough to indulge our hobby, and we ran up bills that exceeded even the bounds of youthful imprudence and optimism. Almost were we tempted for old times good sake to step inside and have our measurements taken once again, but a timely vision of that clammy spectre the Income Tax sent a cold shiver down our spine, and we refrained. A few doors along then, as of yore, -to Bollands, instead, for a good lunch and a look around that second Buszard's and home of hon- est old English fare. From Bolland's we wended our way down to the Great Western railway station for "The South" once again and the useful and all- necessary old grindstone of the daily round. And so ended the holiday, but with thoughts for the sweet shire of Cardigan in 1928. It will gratify our fellow-admirers of Welsh black cattle to be told that the specimens com- peting at the recent Shropshire and West Mid- land Show at Shrewsbury (being the breed's first appearance in its own separate classification at this important gathering of pedigree stock) made a very encouraging impression and should lead to good business. We had the Information from a big breeder of Hereford cattle and Shrop- shire sheep who was our fellow-traveller from Shrewsbury to Hereford, and to whom, before he had disclosed his identity, we had been light- heartedlv confiding our views on the demerits of Shropshire sheep for the home trade and our reasons for the great advance in popular favour which the Kerrv Hills, the Clun Forests, and the Ryelands are making in the border counties and elsewhere. oddiarno am nad oedd hawl i Gvm.ro briodi Saesnes heb ganiatad, na dal meddiant mewn tref freiniol. Nid oes rhyw lawer o sylfaen i'r stori, ond yr oedd Lewys yn cashau'r Saeson y.n fwy na neb, ac vn eashau Saeson Caerlleon yn fwy na phob Sals axall." Ibid, tud. 31.