in 1646, to the Generals Mytton and Langhorne; and these two ferocious republicans were nearly taken prisoners, two years afterwards, by Sir John Owen, a gallant Welshman, and one of the most faithful and effective of the poor king's servants. He boldly besieged the Castle with only two hundred and seventy men, and was so resolute in his determination of gaining possession of the fortress, that he would most probably have succeeded in starving out the garrison, had not intelligence reached him, that a large detachment from the enemy's -main army was hastening with all speed and diligence to the relief of Mytton and his colleague. He immediately raised the siege, and marched to meet the enemy. The contending parties met on the sands between Bangor and Conwy, and, after a furious encounter, Sir John was defeated, thirty of his men killed, and himself and an hundred others taken prisoners. After this engagement the whole of North Wales became subject to the Parliament. Caernarvon Castle is now, I believe, the property of the English crown: it was formerly held by the Wynns of Glynllivon and Gwydir, the Bulkeleys of Baron Hill, and the Mostyns of Mostyn and Gloddaeth. The entrance into this fine old fortress," this stupendous monument of ancient grandeur,"—is through a lofty portal*, over which is yet to be discerned something like an effigy of the royal founder. The interior of the building is falling fast under the influence of the elements; in some parts, however, the walls are yet entire, and either covered with ivy, or rearing their gloomy masonry undecayed by time, and still strong and massive in their old age.

I was highly gratified with our visit to Caernarvon Castle, for, having previously obtained a tolerable outline of its history, I viewed it, not as a curious specimen of a particular style of architecture, but as having been the scene of some of the most important events which relate to the annals of Wales. My imagination was busily occupied. I fancied, that I saw the very apartments where the Conqueror held his court-surrounded by his tried and valiant men-at-arms, with their glittering armour, and nodding plumes, and giving audience to his

* Under this portal are the grooves of no less than four portcullises,-a barrier sufficiently impenetrable, one would think, to resist the effort of any earthly force.

new subjects, redressing their grievances, and sedulously courting their allegiance and affection. I pictured to myself the noble and commanding countenance of the English Justinian, and the rough soldier-like, yet courteous, manner, in which he bent his ear to the complaints and petitions of the Welshmen. Among the gay throng of courtiers round the throne are a few of the most eminent of the Welsh nobility, conspicuous by the rude simplicity of their attire, and by their bold, unbending, air. They listen attentively to all that is going forward; and, if, perchance, the King should not vouchsafe a gracious answer to the poor suppliant before him, their swarthy brows become more contracted and gloomy, and plainly bespeak their disapprobation of the decree. Nor must the fair and affectionate Eleanor be forgotten. She sits on the monarch's right-hand, smiling sweetly on the rude warrior-forms, and encouraging, by her amenity, the approach of those, who seek redress from the sovereign. Knights, esquires, and guards, with an indistinguishable throng of attendants and spectators, complete a scene, which may once have existed, even as I have thus fancifully pourtrayed it. Long did we linger amidst the ruins of this princely fortress, and we did not summon resolution to depart, till the frowning battlements above us were becoming more and more obscure in the deepening gloom of twilight, so that it was nine o'clock by the time we reached the residence of our friendly cicerone. After a most pleasant evening, we returned to the hotel, having prevailed upon our friend, in the mean time, to breakfast with us the following morning, when we intended to have arranged respecting our future progress through the country.

But fate had ordained that we should be disappointed in this matter; for early on the ensuing morning I received a summons to return to London as soon as I could, as my presence could not be conveniently dispensed with. This summons I, of course, obeyed, but not without resolving to embrace an early opportunity of exploring the hills and vallies of Caernarvonshire *.

Ꮻ .

* We cannot bid a reluctant farewell to our friendly Excursionist, without expressing our thanks for the entertainment he has afforded us; and we feel satisfied, that we may do this on the part of our readers as well as upon our own. We will hope, however, to meet again.—ED.

VOL. III.

ETYMOLOGY,

THE NAME "CYMRY."

As we have not been favoured with any answer to the letter of LEOMINSTRENSIS, in our last Number*, on the etymology of the word CYMRY †, we feel ourselves in some respect bound to take up the question, and, more particularly, as the writer has addressed his objections, in a main degree, to the observations, that have appeared on the subject in these pages +. Our reply to these objections shall be as concise as the nature of the investigation may allow; but we foresee, that, with all our caution in this respect, we shall be under the necessity of trespassing, at some length, on the reader's patience. However, as the inquiry, although professedly philological, has, in fact, an intimate connection with the early history of this island, we offer no apology for the space it may occupy. As a question of etymology, indeed, we know of none, in which the Welsh reader can be more interested.

In the following answer we shall first notice, in a particular manner, the "questions and doubts" of our correspondent in the order, in which they occur, and shall subjoin to the whole such remarks, as may be suggested by a general view of the subject.

1, 2, 3. The import of these three questions, however they may differ in their phraseology, is obviously the same, and amounts only to this-whether there exists, amongst any other people, a precedent for this etymology? Now, in the first place, we do not think, that the discussion of this inquiry should depend at all upon precedent, provided a clear and rational explanation can be given of the etymology in dispute, supported by historical evidence. Precedent, in a case of this

* Page 205.

† It appears advisable to repeat, in this place, the etymology in dispute, which is CYN, first or primitive, and BRO, a poople, "adopted either," to use the words of the CAMBRO-BRITON on a former occasion, on account of a priority of descent from the Noachida, or of the CYMRY being the first race, that colonized Europe.” We take this opportunity of mentioning, that the reference to the CAMBRO-BRITON in the last Number, p. 206, ought to have been vol. i. not vol. ii., as there misprinted.

nature, must be extremely difficult of attainment, and especially with reference to "the earliest inhabitants of the earth." The extinction of most of the primitive languages of mankind, and the overthrow or dispersion of those nations, by whom the globe was first colonized, throw a veil over the origin of most ancient names, which is not now to be penetrated. The CYMRY, in this respect, appear to form a singular exception; the very language as well as the people having existed, from remote antiquity, even to this day: a phenomenon, which, if fortified by the testimonies of history, ought to exempt their case, if it were necessary, from any dependence on precedent. And we cannot help here observing, that, when our correspondent asks, whether a custom ever "prevailed amongst the earliest inhabitants of the earth to distinguish each other as the first or last comers into a country," he is guilty of a little Hibernianism. For, surely, it would require some agcs, at least, to ascertain, (if, indeed, the point could ever be said to be determined,) who the "last comers" were in any particular country. It is not likely, therefore, that such a designation should ever have been adopted; but it is extremely probable, that a wandering tribe, as yet without a name, should distinguish themselves, or be distinguished by others, as first settlers. And this must, moreover, have operated as a sort of permanent evidence of that prior claim to the country, they occupied, which they would naturally be desirous of establishing. Accordingly we find, that one of the most ancient people, recorded in Pagan story, the Titans, actually derived their appellation from such a circumstance, and were called by the Greek and Roman writers TyεVEIS and Terrigenæ*, names of

* The primitive or aboriginal character, ascribed to the Titans, by ancient writers, is so well known that it is almost superfluous to dwell on the point; but we cannot resist the temptation of quoting one or two instances. Thus, in the Orphic Hymns, we have the following lines:—

Τίληνες, γαίης τε και ουρανώ αγλαα τεκνα,

Ημέτερων πρόγονοι πατέρων. Η. 36. 1.

Titans, illustrious sons of earth and heaven,

Our sires' progenitors.

And again, in the same ancient fragments, the poet, addressing the Titans, says,

Εξ ύμεων γαρ πασα πελει γενεα καλα κοσμον

From you are descended all the tribes throughout the world.

similar import with the original word, according to its Hebrew etymology, and in which sense it is taken by Milton, when he says

"Titanian or Earth-born, that warr'd with Jove." The name, therefore, like CYMRY, implies aboriginal, or indigenous, a character, which Cæsar is known to ascribe to the early inhabitants of this island. Thus, if precedent were at all necessary, it may be said to exist in the name we have just noticed; but we consider it, as we have already said, by no means indispensable to the question. The etymology of CYMRY may securely be left to rest on its own merits, provided it have, moreover, what we think it possesses, the sanction of history in its favour.

4, 5. These two questions, although varying in expression, have also, like the three preceding, substantially but one object, and that is—the signification of the primitive term CYN, and its effect in the composition of words. And here again we do not conceive, that we are driven to the alternative, suggested by our correspondent's question, of proving that CYN does "invariably imply first or primitive in point of time:" it is quite sufficient, that this is its primary sense, the other of chief or principal being obviously secondary, or what may be called figurative, inasmuch as the idea of preeminence has its origin in that of priority. And is not this the case also with the corresponding terms in all other languages? The objection, therefore, as to the abstract signification of the prefix CYN, must be admitted to be without any real weight: it only remains, then, to examine its force when employed in the for

To the same effect also is the following observation of an ancient scholiastΟι δε προτεραν γενεαν τας Τίλανας φασι.-Some describe the Titans as the first race.-Hesiod in his Theogony has likewise some lines to the same purpose, which the classical reader will be at no loss to recollect; but it may be remarked, that Hesiod has, in some respects, confounded the history of this people by supposing the Giants and Titans to have been a different race. However, his descriptions, in the Battle of the Gods, are often of historical value, and have obvious allusions to the first Dispersion. The Titans are supposed by most writers to have been the descendants of Ham and Chus. Sanconiathon describes them as exiles and wanderers; and Mr. Davies, in his Celtic Researches, p. 84, is of opinion that the same people are alluded to in the 30th chapter of Job, v. 1. to 9. to which we refer the reader.

* Bell. Gall. 1. v. c. 12.