up Cwm Neath, following either the course of the river, or walking along the banks of the canal, which runs nearly parallel with it. The scenery of this valley is highly beautiful and picturesque on each side lie lofty banks irregular and abrupt, profusely mantled with trees, but allowing, through this mass of shade, the frequent appearance of the face of the rock. As its direction is for some miles almost rectilinear, the town of Neath, the manufactories, the shipping, and the sea, form cheerful features in the distant view; while the more immediate objects are, waving woods and rocky banks, tumbling water-falls, and rapid streams; varied occasionally by small inclosures and neat farm-houses. The little brooks which lend their tributary streams to swell the consequence of the river Neath, murmur down smaller vallies, at right angles with Cwm Neath, exhibiting the same striking scenery, though on a less scale.

Leaving Knoll* (the once celebrated, but now neglected seat of the late Sir Robert

* The name of this mansion implies its situation, which is elevated, and commands an extensive view. There are, however, objections to this situation; the town of Neath is too near to be a pleasing object; and the great manufactories standing at the

Mackworth) on our right, we pursued the canal, and at the distance of two miles from Neath reached Aberdillis forge, the property of John Miers, esq; where the crude or pigiron is formed into bars, and sent in that state to another forge belonging to the same gentle man, further up the valley, called Inysygerwn, to be manufactured into tin-plate. A scene of great beauty shortly after occurred the pleasing cascade at Aberdillis mill; the fall, indeed, is not so stupendous as some others in its neighbourhood, but certain little local circumstances render it very interesting. In order to survey the scene to advantage, it is necessary for the spectator to wade the river which flows from the fall, and to plant himself under the opposite bank, since a huge rock covers, as it were, the front of the cascade, and prevents a sight of it from the road. A roaring torrent, called the Dillis, flowing from the mountains, is now seen discharging itself through a rocky rent,

distance of not more than a mile and a half to the south-west of it, the general prevalence of that wind must wrap the house in highly disagreeable, and, perhaps, pernicious fumes, threefourths of the year. The house is now deserted, and falling to decay; and the artificial cascade, from the circumstance of its being in the neighbourhood of some stupendous natural waterfalls, is not worth the trouble of a visit.

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darkened by the thickest shade, down a perpendicular descent of forty feet. Near the point from whence it tumbles, a rugged misshapen mass of stone receives it, and, dividing its waters, throws them out of their natural direction, and creates two cataracts, which cross and intersect each other in a most whimsical manner. The scene above is equally extraordinary; the river overshadowed with trees has the appearance of issuing from an impenetrable wood, and rolls over a rocky, laminated bed, consisting of ledges not unlike a vast but irregular flight of steps.

A little further an artificial curiosity afforded us amusement-the tin-plate works at Inysygerwn. Here we contemplated, with astonishment, the operations of machines of which before we had no idea; rollers of such immense power as reduced bars of iron two inches deep to the thickness of a crown-piece, by passing them a certain number of times through their revolving cylinders; and scissars cutting plates and bars in sunder of half an inch thick, with the same ease that a fair sempstress would divide a wristband. When, by the repeated pressure of the rollers, the plate is reduced to a sufficient thinness to receive the coating of

tin, it is cut by the scissars into sheets of a proper size. These are scoured well with sand, and immersed in an acid liquor, where they are suffered to remain some time, and then quickly and perfectly dried; a process pursued in order to clear them entirely from every speck of rust, the smallest particle of which would prevent the tin from adhering to the iron, as no metal will combine itself with any earth, and rust is nothing more than the earth of iron. The plates, thus cleansed, are next plunged vertically into a pot containing melted tin, the surface of which is covered with pitch, suet, or some fatty substance, to prevent the calcination of the tin, and to make the surface of the iron more inclined to receive its coating. By this immersion, the tin immediately unites itself to the plates, and they are taken out completely tinned; being afterwards well rubbed with bran, in order to give them a more brilliant appearance, they are packed in chests, and sent to Neath to be shipped for the London, Liverpool, and Bristol markets.

Quitting Inysygerwn, we crossed the canal aqueduct, and soon found ourselves at Mellincourt, a romantic village five miles from Neath. Here is another large work of Mr.

Miers's, consisting of a blast furnace, a finery, and a foundery; the whole apparatus of which is upon an improved and stupendous plan. The great wheel exhibits a periphery of one hundred and twenty feet, and the bellows, of a new construction, may be considered as another wonder of modern mechanism, They are easily regulated, but still some care is necessary in the management of them, since their action may be increased to such a degree as to threaten the destruction of the whole building. An accident of this sort occurred a short time ago, when, by giving them too much power, an immense piece of timber, which had been bought in Shropshire, and cost Mr. Miers five hundred pounds, was snapped in sunder in a moment.

At a short distance from the works we found the celebrated cascade of Mellincourt, formed by the fall of the little river Cledaugh, from an height of eighty feet. The accompaniments are good-dark precipice and overhanging woods; but the cataract itself is trifling, the breadth of water being disproportionately inferior to its length. You must recollect, however, that we saw it to much disadvantage, the season having been for some time very dry,