"long flat stones," the mortuary memorials of those who have lived and died, and the extent of which is divided by what are termed the Battle Chapel,-the Chapel of the men of Battle, and the Capel Cochaiad, or Chapel of the red-haired men, as the Normans were called. St. John's, or the Priory Church, is built in the form of a cross, from the centre of which rises an embattled tower. The churchyard is an object of great interest. Instead of sweet-scented flowers, the green turf of the graves is adorned with sprigs of the laurel and box, which the hand of affection has placed there, according to the custom of this county.* Venerable yew trees, of prodigious growth and age, claim almost a coexistent antiquity with the consecrated building, with some splendid specimens of the sycamore, and throw an air of deep solemnity over the scene. "All that have died, the Earth's whole race repose Its actors, sufferers, schools, kings, armies-sleep." The tongue of land, near which the priory stands, has furnished to the inhabitants of Brecon one of the most beautiful public promenades in the empire. The walks are traced in undulating lines through the luxuriant groves that cover its surface, carrying their umbrageous shade down to the brink of the river, while the Honddu continues to sweep round this miniature headland, rolling its ceaseless stream as restless and turbulent as in ages that are gone for ever. There is also the church of Saint Mary, which stands in the centre of the town. It, however, contains but few monuments of interest, and is principally admired for its ancient steeple, and the eight musical bells it contains, cast by Mr. Rudhall of Gloucester. * The unfortunate Dr. Dodd, who was attached to this prebendary, has celebrated this interesting usage by a beautiful little poem. Besides the Benedictine Priory, there was another building of the same character, near the east end of the town, of the order of St. Dominic, which is said to have been erected by the same renowned Norman. This might have been the case but for one chronological fact, that the saint did not live till after the warrior was dead. This institution was transformed into a seat of learning by Henry the Eighth, at the general confiscation of religious houses, which took place in his reign, with the title of the "College of Christ Church, Brecknock,' and in the church anciently belonging to this monastery, dedicated to St. Nicholas, were buried the three bishops, Mainwaring, Lucy, and Bull. This relic is in a most dilapidated state, pervious to the rain, which at the time I visited it was dripping through the roof, and falling upon the black and mouldy floor in melancholy and measured iteration. The old sanctuary has, however, some monuments besides those of the good bishops, including two recumbent figures in alabaster, and a full-length statue of Colonel Walker, once the recorder of the town. Nothing could appear more painfully desolate than this deserted edifice, in which, the old clerk informed me, there had not been divine service performed for more than three years, except an annual charity sermon, to which appertained a bequest sufficient to pay the lecturer for his discourse, and a dole of bread for the poor. The empty stalls stand in a rank round the damp and dingy walls, marked with the names of the parishes which they represent, and the offices of dean, precentor, and treasurer. The aged official, at my elbow, said some very hard things about the appropriation of the funds of this establishment; but the most melancholy circumstance he had to tell, was that his own occupation was gone, and that the chapter was in debt to him thirty or forty pounds in the way of salary, which seemed to his foreboding mind to be in imminent jeopardy. The learned |