One little defect in this otherwise so beautiful landscape is caused by
the ebb and flow. During a considerable part of the day a large portion
of the channel of the Menai (as this strait is called) is dry, and
exhibits only a tract of sand and mud. Probably the indescribably
persecuting swarms of flies which infest this place, pouring forth in
thousands in search of prey, attacking man and beast, and pursuing their
victims with relentless pertinacity, may be ascribed to the same cause.
In vain do you put your horse to his full speed: the swarm, congregated
into a ball like the Macedonian phalanx, accompany your flight, and
disperse themselves over their prey the moment you stop; nor will
anything but their complete destruction deliver you from them. Even a
house does not always afford secure refuge. I have found in some of my
expeditions that when once they have seized upon a victim, they will
wait patiently at the door till he comes out again. The only way is to
seek out some place through which a strong current of wind passes. This
they cannot resist. The cows which graze on the hilly shores are quite
aware of this fact, and are always to be seen standing perfectly still,
ruminating, in such spots. I watched one to-day for a long time, as she
stood on a solitary point of rock, her outline thrown out sharply on the
sky behind; motionless, but for the slight working of her jaw, or the
occassional sweep of her tail against her sides. How well, thought I,
might an ingenious mechanic frame a colossal image of this animal, and
provide it with the simple mechanical apparatus necessary to imitate
that slight motion,--and what an acquisition were this for a
German-English garden at home! for instance at Cassel, opposite to the
Hercules, or at Wörlitz, where she might be set to graze on the burning
mountain. This meritorious conception you must try to put in execution.
Do you remember Clementi Brentano? When the amiable and kind-hearted
grandson of Count L---- was showing him the view from his hunting-seat
over a flat but beautifully wooded country, the Count joined them, and
asked Brentano rather absurdly, "what great improvement he could
suggest?" Brentano fell into a profound meditation, and after some time
replied, looking earnestly at the attentive and expecting Count, "What
think you, Count, of making some hills of boards and painting them
blue?" Improvements in this taste, though perhaps not quite so absurd
and palpable, are still daily perpetrated in our beloved fatherland, in
spite even of the Berlin Horticultural Society.
Dearest Julia, will you drive with me to Plâs Newydd, Lord Anglesea's
park in Anglesea? The horses of fancy are soon harnessed.
We repass the giant bridge, follow the high-road to Ireland for a short
time, and soon see from afar the summit of the pillar which a grateful
country has raised to General Paget, then Lord Uxbridge, and now Marquis
of Anglesea, in memory of the leg which he left on the field of
Waterloo. About a mile and a half further on, we arrive at the gate of
Plâs Newydd. The most remarkable things here are the cromlechs, whose
precise destination is unknown; they are generally believed to be
druidical burial places. They are huge stones, commonly three or four in
number, forming a sort of rude gateway. Some are of such enormous size
that it is inexplicable how they could be brought to such elevated
situations without the most mechanical aid. It is, however, difficult to
say what is possible to human strength, excited by unfettered will or by
religious fanaticism. I remember reading that a captain of a ship
coasting along the shore of Japan, saw two junks of the largest size,
that is, nearly as big as frigates, carried by thousands of men across a
chain of hills.
The cromlechs of Anglesea, which are not of the largest class, have
probably suggested the thought of building a druidical cottage in an
appropriate spot, commanding a beautiful view of Snowdon. It is,
however, a strange heterogeneous chaos of ancient and modern things. In
the small dark rooms light is very prettily introduced, by means of
looking-glass doors, which answer the double purpose of reflecting the
most beautiful bits of the landscape like framed pictures. In the window
stood a large sort of show-box, a camera-obscura, and a kaleidescope of
a new kind--not filled like the old one, but exhibiting under countless
changes any object beheld through it. Flowers especially produce a most
extraordinary effect, by the constantly varying brilliancy of their
colours. If you wish for one I will send it you from London: it costs
eight guineas. The house and grounds contain nothing remarkable, and are
seldom inhabited by the proprietor, whose principal residence is in
England.
_July 23rd._