The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

60
THE BEIITSH ISLES.
Mercia, in 795, annihilated the Welsh, fighting under the leadership of Caradoc,
the lofty spires of the cathedral of Si. Asaph indicate our approach to the charming
Vale of Clwyd, the greater part of which lies in the neighbouring county of
Denbighshire.
A detached portion of Flintshire lies to the south-east, between the English
counties of Cheshire and Shropshire. This is known as the Maelor Saesneg, or
"Saxon Land," and Welsh has not been heard there since the da-ys of Henry VIII.
This small tract of country abounds in curious old Tillages, the most remarkable
avuongstthemhemg BcDigor Isi/coed ("Under the Wood"), ot Monachorum, famous
for its monastery, supposed to have been founded about the year 180 by the first
Christian King of Britain ; but of this not a vestige remains at the present day.
Fi:^. 30.— Kemain's op Valle Ceucis Abbey.
Denbighshire (Dinbych) is a somewhat straggling county, extending from
the broad Vale of the Dee to the Irish Sea, between the rivers Elwy and Conway.
The greater portion of its surface is hill}% and fit only for pasture, but it is inter-
sected by several fruitful valleys, the most extensive being that of the Clwyd.
Wrexham and Ruahon, the two most populous towns of the county, lie in the east,
close to Watt's Dyke, which separates the Vale of the Dee from the hillj' part of
the county, and which was thrown up by the Saxons as a defence against the Welsh.
Both these towns depend upon coal and iron for their livelihood, and the former
likewise produces some flannel. The dyke referred to, as well as that of Offa, to
the south of the Dee, approximately marks the linguistic boundary ; and whilst
Wrexham, to the east of it, is virtually an English town, Ruabon, on its farther
side, is almost wholly Welsh, and is becoming more so every day, owing to the