The rivers of Great Britain, descriptive, historical, pictorical; rivers of the south and west coasts . about by mountains, but the mountains are not now things of Yard, Aberdare Junction, and Ponty-pridd are names of industrial value. At eachof these places, coal railways from lateralvalleys join the Taff Vale line. With thesetributaiy railways descend tributaries for theTaff itself, the river Rhondda (which itselfbifurcates higher up into the Rhondda Fawrand Fechan) being the most noteworthy for thevolume of its water. The scenery of theseaffluents is, like that of the Taff it
The rivers of Great Britain, descriptive, historical, pictorical; rivers of the south and west coasts . about by mountains, but the mountains are not now things of Yard, Aberdare Junction, and Ponty-pridd are names of industrial value. At eachof these places, coal railways from lateralvalleys join the Taff Vale line. With thesetributaiy railways descend tributaries for theTaff itself, the river Rhondda (which itselfbifurcates higher up into the Rhondda Fawrand Fechan) being the most noteworthy for thevolume of its water. The scenery of theseaffluents is, like that of the Taff itself, im-posing, with deep glens and wooded dingles,but mercilessly cut about by caj^italists. Pontypridd deserves particular mention forthe famous bridge which gives it its name. Inthe words of a specialist, this bridge is aperfect segment of a circle, and stretches itsmagnificent chord of l-iO feet across the bedof the Taff, rising like a rainbow from the steepbank on the eastern side of the river, andgracefully resting on the western—-the beau idealof architectural elegance. It is the supreme. 164 FIVERS OF GHEAT BTUTATX. [The Tafp. achievement of a local stonemason named Kdwanls, wlio, a liundred and fifty yearsago, devoted himself to the construction of hridoes much as a mediaval artistdevoted himself to the ^Madonnas of his canvases or to liis crucifixes. .South Walesowes much to Edwards the bridge-builder: we shall meet with his work on theTowy and the Teifi as well as here. In ITo.) this beau ideal of architecturalelegance showed to better advantage than now. when it is surrounded by thecommon buildings of a mining town; but it was never more ust^ful tli;ui at present. Hence, now wide in ashallow bed, and now nar-row and rushing deeplyl)etweeu higli banks, gailywooded in places and mererefuse-heaps in others, TaSspeeds towards or four miles ere itcomes to this tranquil spot,a striking crag is seen onits left bank, witli gloriousbeech Avoods clothing the
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookidriversofgreatbr00lond
