Transcribed from the 1800 J. Easton edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org

THE
CAMBRIAN DIRECTORY,

OR,
CURSORY SKETCHES
OF THE
WELSH TERRITORIES.

WITH A CHART,

Comprehending at one View,

The advisable Route—Best Inns—Distances—and Objects most
worthy of Attention.

Authors, you know, of greatest fame,
Thro’ modesty suppress their name;
And, wou’d you with me to reveal
What these superior Wits conceal?
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
All my ambition is, I own,
To profit, and to please, unknown.

Visions in Verse.

Salisbury:
Printed and sold by J. Easton, High-street: Sold also by T. Hurst,
Pater-Noster-Row, London; L. Bull, and J. Barratt, Bath;
J. Norton, and W. Brown, Bristol; and O. Tudor, Monmouth.

1800.

TO THE
FRIENDLY AND TRULY HOSPITABLE
INHABITANTS
OF THE
PRINCIPALITY OF WALES,
THESE
Cursory Sketches,
ARE RESPECTFULLY
AND GRATEFULLY DEDICATED, BY

TO THE
INHABITANTS
OF THE
PRINCIPALITY OF WALES.

As Dedications and Prefaces are considered proper avant couriers to a Work, the omission of either might be deemed an essential breach of literary decorum:—I profess myself an Old Bachelor, and am consequently anxious every minutiæ should be properly attended to.

It is generally customary in Dedications, to solicit the patronage of an individual; but, as these Cursory Sketches will fully prove, I by no means always pursue the common beaten track, trust it will not be thought too presumptuous, addressing myself to Pluralities, and humbly requesting permission, that the Cambrian Directory may be looked upon as a Ward of the Welsh in general: for I can with safety affirm, in no country will the Tourist experience more true hospitality and friendly attention, than in the Principality of Wales: I therefore with true respect and gratitude, beg leave to subscribe myself,

Gentlemen,

Your much obliged

And most obedient

Humble servant,

The Author.

PREFACE.

Faults, in the following Work, I readily allow, there are many, many; but, flatter myself, those who are best able to discover, will be most ready to pardon them. Tours or Journals, are now hackneyed subjects; and though this may be considered as a trite apology, and (if I may so express myself) an Author’s loop-hole, yet I can most truly assert, the present Observations were by no means at first, ever intended to be scanned by the public eye; but merely for my own private amusement, as a memento, to have access to, when I wished to breathe delight from Recollection’s power; my Remarks, therefore, were only such as any Traveller, an admirer of Nature, would with a pencil briefly put down; and I must beg leave again to repeat, I had not then the most distant thought of appearing at the bar of the Public: on my return, I naturally placed my Observations in a more connected form; and some time afterwards, accidentally conversing with my Bookseller, on the romantic beauties of Wales, and shewing him a few of my Notes, was persuaded to prepare them for the press; in consequence of which, I am now embarking on the literary ocean; and, as a candid behaviour ought to be preferred to all other considerations, before I sail on my cruize, beg leave to declare, that it is not the intention of the following sheets, either to rival the lively and impressive descriptions of a Wyndham or a Warner,—to contend with the literary and historical anecdotes of a Pennant,—or to equal the mineralogical studies of an Aikin: and here I candidly acknowledge, when attempting a description of Monmouthshire, I found myself not a little intimidated, by the intended, and anxiously expected publication of that county, by a Gentleman, [x] highly classed in the literary world, for many celebrated productions; conscious of my own inability to do ample justice to that picturesque county, and particularly the rich scenery of the Wye, when it is already in such able hands: I beg from true respect and esteem, to apply to him the following passage:

Oh, while along the stream of time, thy name
Expanded flies, and gathers all its fame.
Say, shall my little bark attendant sail,
Pursue the triumph, and partake the gale?

Pope.

The Cambrian Directory, is therefore given to the Public, as a common Itinerary; nor does it presume to have discovered any thing unknown to the sage Antiquarian,—the deep Mineralogist,—and the bustling Traveller: still, however, the Author flatters himself, it may be so far useful to the Public, that the Traveller will find it a convenient Pocket Companion; it will tell him the best Inns, and lay before him in one view, the distances; the Mineralogist may occasionally learn, what Rocks will most deserve his attention; and it will point out to the Antiquarian, every venerable Ruin, that seems to tell the religious or military history of the country. Such is the “plain unvarnish’d tale:” in addition to which, I solicit permission to address my Readers with a line from a favourite Author:

“Laugh where you Must, be candid where you Can.”