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WALES 427 pie of the rural districts adhere to the Welsh. (See CELTS, LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE OF THE, vol. iv., p. 178.) There is a small colony of Flemings in the district of Gower in the S. W. part of Glamorganshire, who settled there in the time of Henry I., and who still maintain their isolated condition, speaking the Flemish language, and rarely intermarrying with the Welsh. The Welsh are brave and generous, but irascible and impulsive, super- stitious, and somewhat fanatical. They ad- here with great tenacity to their national cus- toms and traditions, and take much pride in their antiquity. A large part of the popula- tion are engaged in pastoral or agricultural pursuits, and the production of butter, cheese, wool, mutton, and grain is very large. The most important manufactures are those of iron in Glamorganshire, and those of flannel throughout the principality. The direct for- eign commerce is not large, as its productions mainly pass through English ports. Cardiff, Swansea, Carmarthen, Pembroke, Milford, Car- digan, Holyhead, Beaumaris, Carnarvon, and Flint are ports of considerable importance. Most of the principal towns are connected by railway. Two of the chief lines are the Glou- cester and Haverford West, passing through the southern tier of counties, and the Chester and Holyhead, following the northern shore from Chester, crossing the Menai strait by the Britannia tubular bridge, and terminating at the port of Holyhead on Holyhead island, the extreme N. W. point of Wales. Both lines have branches and connect by other railways with London. There are several canals in Wales: the Montgomery canal, 24 m. long, ex- tending from Newton in Montgomeryshire to its junction with the Ellesmere canal in Shrop- shire ; the Ellesmere and Chester canal, com- mencing in Denbighshire, and passing through Flintshire, Shropshire, and Cheshire to join the Mersey; and the Brecknock and Aberga- venny canal, 35 m. long, which joins the Mon- mouth canal and connects through it with the Usk. The two former connect the Severn and the Mersey. The coach roads or turnpikes, especially the great highway from Shrewsbury to Holyhead, are excellent, but the roads gen- erally are inferior to those in England. Edu- cation is still far below the standard of Eng- land or Scotland. There are nine collegiate institutions: University college, Aberystwith, with ten instructors ; St. David's college, Lam- peter, with six instructors ; the Presbyterian college at Carmarthen ; Independent colleges at Bala and Brecon; the Baptist college at Llangollen ; St. Beuno's Eoman Catholic col- lege at St. Asaph ; and the Calvinistic Metho- dist colleges of Bala and Trevecca. The peo- ple are almost entirely Protestants, and a majority of them dissenters. There are four episcopal sees in the principality, St. David's, Bangor, Llandaff, and St. Asaph's. Among the dissenting denominations, the Calvinistic Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians are most numerous. The Mormons have made a large number of converts in Wales. When the Eomans invaded Britain in A. D. 43 Wales was inhabited by a people of Celtic origin divided into three tribes. The Ordovices occupied the northern part and the island of Mona (Man), the Demetse the western part, and the Silures the central and southern parts. The Silures were the most numerous and powerful. The country was repeatedly invaded by the Ro- mans, and Caractacus, king of the Silures, was captured and carried to Rome. Though many times overrun, Wales was not subdued, and remained a place of refuge for those Britons who fled from the Roman rule. Many more fled thither from the invading Saxons, and, becoming incorporated with the original in- habitants, formed a people who have in many places preserved their language and customs to the present day. The origin of their name Kymry has been long discussed, but no gen- erally admitted result has been attained. Af- ter the Romans abandoned Britain in the early part of the 5th century the Welsh were en- gaged with varying fortune in continued con- tests with the Saxons. In the latter part of the 8th century Offa, king of Mercia, construct- ed a dike, traces of which remain, from the mouth of the Dee to the Wye, as a defence against the Welsh. Wales was divided into a_ number of petty kingdoms, and was repeated-' ly ravaged by the Danes. During the 9th cen- tury it was nearly all brought under the do- minion of Roderick the Great, who divided it into three principalities, Gwynedh (North Wales), Dyved (South Wales), and Powys, which on his death (about 875) he left to his three sons. About 930 Athelstan, king of England, reduced the country so far as to com- pel it to pay an annual tribute. About 940 it was again united under one king, Howel Dda ("the Good"), who reformed and digested its laws. On his death it was again divided, and from this time the- Welsh people were contin- ually engaged in war with the Danes and the English, or in civil strifes. Just previous to the Norman conquest they were compelled to pay tribute to King Harold. They refused the tribute to William the Conqueror, and he in- vaded the country and reduced them to sub- mission. From this time the English kings claimed Wales as part of their dominions, but the claim was constantly resisted, and the country was also distracted by intestine war- fare. In 1267 Llewellyn ap Gryffyth, having obtained the sovereignty of the greater part of Wales, and having defeated the English in battle and inflicted great damage on their ter- ritory, was acknowledged as prince of Wales by Henry III., and a treaty was concluded. In 1275 Edward I. summoned Llewellyn to a parliament at Westminster. Soon afterward Eleanor de Montfort, daughter of the earl of Leicester and betrothed to Llewellyn, wns made prisoner by Edward when on her way to Wales. Llewellyn refused to comply with the summons