The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-04-28
A story of a Nation.

The book bearing the title Wales" is
one of the Putnam series of THE Stories of
the Nations and is sent forth as "a con-
tinuous popular history Of Wales" 1t is
very interesting on account Of it's clear and
definite outlines and the beautiful, poetic
prose in which the story of the Welsh ma
ton is told. The author is owen NJ Ed
wards. fellow of Lincoln College Oxford,
evidently of Welsh descent and thoroughly
imbued with the spirit of independence and
progression characteristic of the Welsh
people. Brief quotations from the first
chapter will give an idea of the picturesque
country, so little known to the average
reader or traveller. wales is land of
mountains. Its mountains explain its iso-
lation and its love Of independence; they
explain it's internal divisions; they have
determined. throughout it's history. what
the direction and method of its progress
were to be. The mountains of Wales rise
between the sea and the comparatively fiat
lands of the south of Britain, curved line
of SUBMITS. some $50 miles long. running
from north to south. Two rivers skirt their
bases on the land side, the Dee flowing
nOrthwards and the Severn sOuthWards
both flowing to the western sea. The valley
of the Severn separates the Welsh hills
from those of Devon and Cornwall; the
valley of the Dee separates them from
those of the north of England. To the
southwest line of serrated hills, running
far into the sea, forms the prOmOntOTy Of
Evion and Lleyn, the land of gigantic
fortresses and weird. lonely peaks. East
ward. beyond the valley of the Conway
lie the green limestone hills of Denhigh
and beyond them lie the iron and lead hills
of Flint. Southwark "A mountainous ridge
runs, displaying precipitous, rocky slopes
toward the west and the sea and undulating
into high mOOTlandS the east. South Of
this group the Berwyn ranges run from
northeast 10 southwest. To the west and
north are the mountains of Gwynedd. with
SnOwdOn among them, glorious multitude
To the east the hills of Powys, equally nu-
merOus but with softer contour, fade away
To the dim. distant lOWlands of England
Beyond the valley of the DOVey, 10 the
south, rises the desolate height OF Plinlim-
mon. From il a long line of lower noun
tains curve TO the southwest, breaking up
within sight of the sea, into lire of low
isolated peaks West of this half-circle "A
number of rivers run a short course TO the
sea. From she eastern and southern slopes
the most important rivers of Wales-the
Severn, the Wye and the Jsk. fall down
into romantic glens as they descend TO the
plains lying a the feet of the mountains.
A glance al the map of Wales shows
that IL Is difficult TO conquer. Around its
mountains fringes OF lowlands lie, not ex-
ceeding $50 feet In altitude. Within this
narrow fringe Of fertile land rise uplands
10 the height of between 900 and 500 feet
Among these rise Businesses to the height
OF between POO and 800 feet. The whole
country is naturally place OF refuge The
home OF independence. Wales forms
part of the broken chain OF mountains
which rises in solitary majesty from an ex-
panse Of sea and plain stretching from the
UraI mountains 20 the Alleghenies. land
OF mountains which forms the character