, is Oldcastle,
whose ruins recall its owner, Sir John "of that ilk," the martyr who was
sentenced in 1417 to be taken from the Tower of London to St. Giles'
gallows, there to be hanged, and burned while hanging, as "a most
pernicious, detestable heretic." At Longtown, the residence of the
Lacies, there are remains of the walls and circular keep of their strong
Border fortress. Kentchurch, on the slope of Garway Hill, is a seat of
the Earl of Scudamore, where anciently lived John of Kent, a poet and
mathematician, of whom Symonds tells us in his _Records of the Rocks_
that "he sold his soul to the devil, and constructed the bridge over the
Monnow in a single night." The ruined castle of Grosmont is about a mile
distant: it was often besieged by the Welsh, and we are told that on one
occasion "the king came with a great army to raise the siege, whereof,
as soon as the Welshmen had understanding, they saved their lives by
their legges." It was here that Henry of Monmouth defeated the Welsh,
capturing Glendower's son Griffith.

ABERGAVENNY AND LLANTHONY.

[Illustration: LLANTHONY PRIORY, LOOKING DOWN THE NAVE.]

Rounding the southern extremity of the Black Mountains, and proceeding
farther westward, we enter another beautiful region, the Vale of Usk, a
stream that flows southward into the estuary of the Severn. Here is
Abergavenny, with its ancient castle guarding the entrance to the upper
valley, and with mountains on every side. Here rises, just north of the
town, the Sugar Loaf, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two feet
high, and on the left hand the mass of old red sandstone known as the
Blorenge, one thousand seven hundred and twenty feet high. A few miles
up the tributary vale of Ewias, which discloses glorious scenery, are
the ruins of Llanthony Priory. The valley is a deep winding glen cut out
by the Hodeni between the great cliffs of the Black Mountains on the one
side and the ranges around the Sugar Loaf on the other. In places the
cliffs are precipitous, but, generally, the lower slopes furnish
pasture-land and occasional woods, while the upper parts are covered
with bracken fern, with a few trees and copses. The priory stands on a
gentle slope at the base of the Black Mountains, elevated a short
distance above the stream. Its original name was Llanhodeni, or "the
Place by the Hodeni." It was founded by two hermits in the beginning of
the twelfth century--William de Lacy, a Norman knight, and Ernisius,