838

W A I,

W A L

ami comprehended all tlie country beyond the Severn , that is, be-sides the 12 counties included in it at present, thoseof Herefordshire ami Monmouthshire , which now are reckoned a part of England,were then inhabited by three different tribes of the Britons, viz-the Silures, the Dimeiat, and the Ordovices. The Romans werenever able to subdue them till the reign of Vespasian , when they•were reduced by Julius Erontinus, who placed garrisons in theircountry to keep them in awe. Though the Saxons made them-selves masters of England, they never got possession of Wales , ex-cept the comities of Monmouthshire and Herefordshiie, formerlya part of Wales. About 870, Boderic king of Wales divided itamong his three sons ; and the names of these divisions were,Dcmetia, or South Wales ; Povesia, or I’owis-Land ; anti Vene-dotia, or North Wales. The country derived the name of Wales ,am) the inhabitants that of Welsh, from the Saxons , who hy thoseterms denote a country and people to which they are strangers;for the Welc.h, in their own language, call their country Cyvtry,and their language Cymracg. They continued under their ownprinces and laws from the above-mentioned period, and were neverentirely subjected to the crown of England till the reign of Ed-ward 1. when Lleweliin ap Gri ffith, prince of Wales , lost both hislife and dominions. Edward , the better to secure his conquest,and to reconcile the Welsh to a foreign yoke, sent his queen to liein at Caernarvon, w here she was delivered of a prince ; to whomthe Welsh , on that account, the more readily submitted. On (hisocca-ion, Edward used a very pardonable piece of policy. Calling together the Welsh nobles, he took their oath, that diey wouldchoose a prince of their own blood-royal, whom he would recom-mend, and a native, w ho could not" speak a word of English .Ever since that time, the eldest sons of the kings of England havecommonly been created Princes of Wales, and as such enjoy cer-tain revenues from that country. As to the character of the Welsh ,they are a brave hospitable people ; and though very jealous ofaffronts, passionate, and hasty, yet are easily reconciled. Thecommon people look with a suspicious eye on strangers, and beat-all hereditary grudge to the English nation, by whom their ances-tors were expelled from the finest parts ot the island. The com-mon people, in general, only speak their own language, which isthe ancient British ; and not only differs entirely from the English ,but has very little affinity with any of the western tongues, exceptthe Gaelic, Erse, or Irish . It K said to be a dialect ol the ancientCeltic, and in many respects to resemble the Hebrew . ’I becountry, though mountainous, especially in North Wales , is tarfrom being barren. The hills, besides the metals and mineralsthey contain, feed vast herds of small black cattle, deer, sheep,and goats, and their valleys abound in corn, as their seas andrivers do in fish. Here are also wood, coal, and turf for fuel, inabundance.

Wales, New North, a country of North America, in NewBritain , lying W. of Hudson’s bay, and belonging to GreatBritain.

Wales, New South, a country of North^America , called alsoNew Britain , lying S. W. of Hudson’s Bay, and belonging toGreat Britain.

Wales , New South, a name given to the E. coast of NewHolland. It was first explored by Captain Cook , in 1770; and adesign was formed, in consequence of bis recommendation, to set-tle a colony of convicts at Botany Bay . Captain Philip being ap-pointed governor of the intended settlement, sailed from Ports-mouth, in May 1787, with a detachment of marines, and 778 con-victs, of which 220 were women. He arrived at Botany Bay inJanuary 1788 ; but finding this bay very ineligible for a colony,he fixed upon Port Jackson , about thirteen miles further to thenorth, and there a settlement was begun, to which he gave thename of Sydney Cove. With respect to the country, a vast chainof lofty mountains, about sixty miles inland, runs nearly in anorth and south direction, further than the eye can reach. Thegeneral face of it is diversified with gentle risings, and small wind-ing valleys, covered for the most part with large spreading trees,which afford a succession of leaves in all seasons; and a variety offlowering shmbs, almost all new to an European , but of little ft agrance, abound in those places which are tree from trees. Theclimate appears not to be disagreeable; the heat is never excessivein summer, imr (he cold intolerable in winter: storms of thunderand lightning are frequent. The quadrupeds are principally of

the opossum kind, of which the most remarkable is the kan-garoo.

WALE, or WALES , in a ship, those outermost timbers in aship’s side, on which the sailors set their feet in climbing up.They are reckoned from the water, and are called her first, second,and third, walet or bend. See Shir.

Wale-knot, a round knot or knob made with three strands ofa rope, so that it cannot slip, by which the tacks, top sail-sheets,and stoppers, arc made fast, as also some oilier ropes.

Wale rearf.d, on board a ship, a name the seamen give (o aship, which, after she comes to her bearing, is built straight up,this way of building, though it does not look well ; nor is, as theseamen term it, ship shaven ; yet it has this advantage, that a shipis thereby more roomy within hoard, and becomes thereby awholesome ship at sea, especially if her bearing be well laid out.

WALKING, is one of (lie most salutary kinds of exercise.For this purpose, dry, riry, and elevated, situations are preferableto sudi as are low and moist; (bough, during the summer, a walkin a meadow or forest, is equally agreeable and conducive tohealth. No woods, marshy or damp meadows, however, shouldbe selected, particularly in autumn, when the leaves decay on theground. In taking this exercise, it will farther be advisable to-walk with a moderate pace, especially against the wind ; but thepractice of reading, on such occasions, is equally absurd and detri-mental to the eyes ; independently of the accidents that may' ariseIrom (ailing. Walking is of eminent service to persons employedin sedentary occupations, and particularly to those who are con-fined in cities: it promotes the circulation of the blood ; preservesthe body in a proper temperature; facilitates the motion of thelungs; and relieves the contraction of the legs, which is occasion-ed by long-continued silting. Indeed, its beneficial consequencesare so obvious, that hypochondriacal and hysterical affectionsliaye oltcii been effectually removed, by duly persevering in thiswholesome exercise. In teaching children to walk, they should,on no account, be placed ton early on their feet, or upheld byleading-strings, as, by such practice, their weak legs frequently-become bandy : uol less improper and pernicious are tiie circulargo carts employed for this purpose by injudicious parents, whoare anxious to see their in hints walk, before they have acquiredsufficient strength to stand. Hence it will be more prudent toplace them on a soft carpel; or, (if the weather be serene, and theground perfect ly dry,) on a lawn or grass-plat. In such situations,surrounded with play-tilings, they may creep in every direction,su-pport themselves either by chairs or trees; and, though occa-sionally falling, they will speedily learn to be more cautious. Itwould be superfluous to enlarge on this subject, which now beginsto lie better understood ; and if the simple rules, on which itspractice depends, were more generally followed, there would beless occasion to deplore the fate of deformed or crippled children.

WALL , in architecture, the principal part of a building, asserving both to inc'ose it, and to support the roof, floors, &c.Walls are distinguished into various kinds, from the matter whereofthey consist; as plastered or mud-walls, brick-walls, stone-walls,flint or boulder-walls, and boarded-tvalls. See Architec-ture.

WALLENIA, in botany, a genus of the tetrandria monogyniaclass and order. Calyx four-cleft, inferior; corolla tubular, four-cleft ; berry one-seeded. There is but one species, viz. W. lau*rifolia, a tall tree growing naturally in Jamaica and Hispaniola .

WALLENSTADT, a town of Switzerland , seated at the Eastend of a lake of the same name, 8 miles W. of Sargans , and 35S. E. of Zurich . Lon. 9. 1,4. E. Lat. 47. 1. N.

WALLER, Edmund, a celebrated English poet, the son ofRobert Waller, Esq. of Agmondesham in Buckinghamshire , byAnne the sister of the great Hampden. He was born in 1605 ; andsent first to Eton, afterwards to King’s college, Cambridge , where,.it 17 years of age, fie was chosen into the. last parliament of JamesI. as burgess for Agmondesham. lie began to exercise his poeti-cal talents so early as 1623 ; as appears from his verses “ upon thedanger his majesty (then prince) escaped in the road of St. An*dero ;” where, returning from Spain , he was nearly castaway*He married the daughter anil heiress of a rich citizen, against arival whose interest was espoused hy the court. But he becamea widower before he was 25, when he began to have a passion f° rSacharissa, a fictitious name be gave the lady Dorothy Sidney,

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