been caused
by the festivities of the fairies, and they were so deeply incensed at
having their party broken up by this violent intrusion of wine-maddened
men that they determined to be revenged.

That very night the whole family set out for Ireland, where they
descended upon a huge mountain of sand, and each one of the small
people, loading himself with as much sand as he could carry, returned
to Pennard and deposited it upon the village at the base of the castle,
intending to bury both village and castle in sand.

To and fro the fairies went, intent upon their task of vengeance, and,
when morning broke, those in the castle looked out to see what they
thought was a violent sand-storm raging. By mid-day the village below
the castle was overwhelmed, and those in the stronghold began to fear
that it too would be smothered. But fortunately for them the Irish
sand-mountain gave out, and the fairies' complete vengeance was
thwarted. Still, they had destroyed the rich and valuable lands that
belonged to the castle, and from that day its fortunes and those of its
lords began to decline.

In proof of this story the old Irish records maintain that an
extraordinary storm arose that night and blew away a whole
sand-mountain.

Few tourists ever explore the beauties of the little Gower Peninsula,
save holiday-makers from the neighbouring town of Swansea; yet it is
a country of amazing charm, with a glorious coast and high ridges of
heather and moorland. It is only about eighty square miles in extent,
but it has over fifty miles of coast.

Remote from the world, this country, with its churches, castles, and
many prehistoric remains, is an ideal holiday land.

[Illustration: _Pennard Castle_]

[Illustration]

THE OLD WOMAN WHO FOOLED THE DEVIL

One of the most beautiful spots in all Wales is the Devil's Bridge--an
easy excursion into the hills from Aberystwyth--which spans the gorge
through which the Mynach cataract descends in four boiling leaps a
distance of two hundred and ten feet. How this place received its name
is an old story, which goes back to the days before the monks of sweetly
named Strata Florida, who subsequently replaced the earlier bridge
across the gorge.

The beginning of the story is told in an old rhyme which runs:--

"_Old Megan Llandunach of Pont-y-Mynach_
_Had lost her only cow;_
_Across the ravine the cow was seen,_
_But to get it she could not tell how._"

Such was