27. ANGLESEY AND MENAI STRAIT.

1. Anglesey, an island off the north-west coast of Wales, in the Irish Sea, is a Welsh county, separated from the mainland by Menai Strait. It is twenty miles in length, and sixteen miles in breadth.

2. To the Romans, Anglesey was known as Mona. On the shores of Menai Strait, one of the fiercest struggles between the Romans and the Britons took place. Driven from other parts of the country, many of the Britons retreated to Anglesey.

3. The Roman governor felt that there would be no peace so long as the Britons and their priests, the Druids, could defy him in their island retreat. He therefore crossed the Strait, and made an attack on the Britons, who were led to battle by the Druids. The Roman soldiers swept all before them, cut down the sacred groves, and took possession of the island.

4. For centuries after the Romans left, Wales was an independent country, and Anglesey was regarded as the seat of government; which position it retained till Wales was conquered by Edward the First.

5. After the conquest of Wales, Edward the First and his queen were staying at Carnarvon Castle, on the shores of Menai Strait opposite to Anglesey. Here they received the homage of the Welsh chiefs.

6. Calling them together, the king, who knew they had no liking for a foreign prince, promised them a prince, born in Wales, who could not speak a word of English. The chiefs, taken by surprise, promised to be faithful to this prince. Upon which the king presented to them his baby boy, who had been born in the castle a few days before!

7. The Welsh chiefs took the king's joke in good part; and from that day Wales has been a part of England, and the eldest son of the English Sovereign has been called "Prince of Wales."

8. The coasts of both the island and the mainland are high and rugged. Two famous bridges cross the Strait. The one is the Menai Suspension Bridge, for road traffic and for passengers. other is the Britannia Tubular Bridge, an iron tunnel supported on pillars, for railway trains only.

The

9. These bridges are at such a height above the water that large ships may pass under them with

out lowering

their masts. To

understand their

enormous size,

and the great

MENAI SUSPENSION BRIDGE.

height at which they are placed, you must stand on one of them and look down on a large ship with all sails set passing beneath your feet.

10. Crossing Anglesey by the London and North-Western

Railway, we reach the small island of Holyhead, containing a town of the same name. Holyhead is the nearest English port to Dublin, seventy-six miles distant. Here passengers from various parts of England, who have crossed the Menai Strait, find steamers to carry them to Ireland.

11. There is a light-house on Holyhead, and another off the coast, on the South Stack Rock. In foggy weather, a bell is rung and a gun fired from time to time.

12. The Stack Rocks are whitened with seabirds, which are found on every ledge and cleft.

When the light-house was first built on the South Stack Rock, it could only be reached by means of a basket and a rope. Then a rope bridge was made; but that also being unsafe, the present chain suspension bridge was erected.

13. Speaking of this wild and lonely spot, a recent writer says: The wild winter waves dash themselves in foaming fury over the great high rock; and in those terrible nights of storm, the revolving white light must be of priceless value to the labouring ship and the anxious seamen."

SUMMARY.-Anglesey, an island off the north-west coast of Wales, in the Irish Sea, is a Welsh county, separated from the mainland by Menai Strait. The Menai Suspension Bridge and the Britannia Tubular Bridge cross the strait. Holyhead, a town on an island of the same name, is the nearest port to Dublin.

EXERCISE.-Draw as large a Map as you can of Anglesey and Menai Strait.

28. THE ISLE OF MAN.

1. Almost in the middle of the Irish Sea, and at nearly the same distance from England, Scotland, and Ireland, lies the Isle of Man. It is about thirty miles long and from six to twelve miles broad.

3. No law has force in the island till it has been proclaimed in the English and the Manx languages from the Hill of Tynwald, a circular mound near the middle of the island.

4. A chain of mountains crosses the island. The highest point, Snafell, is about two thousand feet high. From its summit there is a beautiful and extensive view, consisting of the whole island and the countries on the shores of the Irish Sea.

5. An islet at the south-west of the island is called the Calf of Man. It is separated from the larger island by a narrow passage of water.