successors extended themselves over the whole world; for, to whom else can be ascribed those stupendous structures, the ruins of which at the present day excite our admiration and wonder, and may be traced over Asia, Egypt, along the shores of the Mediterranean, in Britain and America.  That the ancients knew of America is not improbable, when we recollect the extent of the voyages of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, and what has been said of the great Island of Atlantis; it is not likely that Prince Madog would have sailed in search of a distant land if he had not heard something of its existence.  In the fifth century, a chieftain named Gafran ab Aeddan, went in search of some islands called Gwerddonau Lliou, (Green Isles of the Floods,) supposed to be the Canaries; but whether he succeeded in reaching them is not known, as he was never heard of after he left Britain.  This is a proof that the Welsh at least, had heard of distant lands in the Atlantic Ocean:  another curious fact is, that the worship of the sun was prevalent in all the countries in which those remains have been found.  In conclusion, I beg leave to say that the people could not be very barbarous, who were in the habit of hearing such precepts as “the three ultimate objects of bardism—­to reform manners and customs, to secure peace, and to extol every thing that is good.”

Llundain.

CYMMRO.

    [5] Vol. iv. p. 10 and 50.

    [6] Welsh name of Somersetshire.

* * * * *

BATHING—­ANCIENT AND MODERN BATHS.

Perhaps neither of the exercises that are indispensable to the health and comfort of man has so kept pace with his progressive improvement as bathing; and though of late years this effectual promoter of cleanliness has not in some parts of the world been sufficiently attended to, yet the custom is by no means on the decrease; nor can any fear be entertained, with propriety, that so excellent and so natural an expedient should ever be suffered to decline, from want of consideration of its benefits and advantages.  But it must be owned, that while bathing in many countries is resorted to as a matter-of-course affair among all classes, in England it is in a great measure disregarded by most of the middle classes, and almost entirely so by those in the lower station of life, who perhaps require this exercise more than their richer neighbours.

A medical writer of the present day observes, with some grounds for complaint, that while “in almost all countries, both in ancient and modern times, whether rude or civilized, bathing was a part of the necessary and everyday business of life, in this country alone, with all its refinements in the arts which contribute to the happiness or comfort of man, and with all its improvements in medical science and jurisprudence, this salutary and luxurious practice is almost entirely neglected."[7] But in many countries, particularly in the east, bathing is as much resorted to as ever; and its really powerful effects in invigorating the frame and promoting the porous secretions, (without which life itself cannot be long continued,) require only to be once known to be persevered in.