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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Comical Adventures of Twm Shon Catty, by
+T. J. Llewelyn Prichard
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: The Comical Adventures of Twm Shon Catty
+       Commonly known as the Welsh Robin Hood
+
+
+Author: T. J. Llewelyn Prichard
+
+
+
+Release Date: August 5, 2012  [eBook #40421]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COMICAL ADVENTURES OF TWM SHON
+CATTY***
+
+
+Transcribed from the 1900[?] W. Nicholson and Sons edition by David
+Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org
+
+
+
+
+
+                                   THE
+                            COMICAL ADVENTURES
+                                    OF
+                             TWM SHON CATTY,
+                           (THOMAS JONES, ESQ.)
+                          COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE
+                            WELSH ROBIN HOOD.
+
+
+    “In Ystrad Feen a mirthful sound
+    Pervades the hollow hills around;
+    The very stones with laughter bound,
+    At Twm Shon Catty’s jovial round.”
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+In presenting to the public the following Enlarged and Corrected Edition
+of “Twm Shon Catty,” the author cannot forget that on its first
+appearance in 1836, with “all its imperfections on its head,” it was
+received with a welcome quite unlooked for on the part of the writer, and
+he now presents this edition to the world, with several additions and
+alterations.
+
+On examining the cause of such unlooked-for approbation, he found it, not
+in any merit of his own, but in the nationality of his subject, and the
+humiliating suggestion that, slight as it was, it was the first attempted
+thing that could bear the title of a Welsh Novel.
+
+It is true others have made Wales the scene of action for the heroes of
+their Tales; but however talented such writers might be, to the
+Welshman’s feelings they lacked nationality, and betrayed the hand of the
+foreigner in the working of the web; its texture perchance, filled up
+with yams of finer fleeces, but strange and loveless to their
+unaccustomed eyes.
+
+Were a native of one of the South Sea Islands to publish the life and
+adventures of one of their legendary heroes, it is probable that such a
+production would excite more attention, as a true transcript of mind and
+manners of the people he essayed to describe, than the more polished
+pages of the courtly English and French novelist, who undertook to write
+on the same subject.  On the same principle, the author of this
+unpretending little provincial production accounts for the sunny gleams
+of favour that have flashed on the new tract which he has endeavoured to
+tread down, among briers and brambles of an unexplored way, while the
+smoother path of the practised traveller has been shrouded in gloom.
+
+The expression of the Author’s gratitude is here presented to the Rev. W.
+J. Rees, Rector of Cascob, for numerous favours; and especially for the
+historic and traditional matter that his researches furnished.  To the
+Critics of the Cambrian Quarterly for their favourable notice of the
+“Small Book,” a skeleton as it then was, compared to the present Edition,
+imperfect as it still remains.  And lastly to the revered memory of the
+late Archdeacon Benyon of Llandilo.  That lamented friend of Wales and
+Welshmen, (whose aims were ever directed to the enlargement of the narrow
+boundary within which prejudice and custom had encircled and enchained
+Welsh literature,) in the town-hall of Carmarthen, before his highly
+respectable Auditors, honoured this production with a favourable notice.
+He warmly eulogised the Author’s attempt at the production of the first
+Welsh Novel; and concluded by an offer of a pecuniary reward to the
+person who could give the best translation of it in the best Welsh
+language.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+THE name of Twm Shon Catty, popular throughout Wales.  “The Inn-Keeper’s
+Album,” and the drama founded thereon.  Twm Shon Catty apparently born in
+different towns.  A correct account of his birth and parentage.
+
+It is often the custom, however foolish it may be, to frighten the
+occupants of an English nursery into submission by saying, “The bogie is
+coming,” and though the exact form or attributes of the said “bogie” are
+by no means definitely known, the mere mention of the individual has
+sufficient power to make the juveniles cover their heads, and dive under
+the bed-clothes, with fear.  The preface to the once popular farce of
+“Killing no Murder” informs us, that many a fry of infant Methodists are
+terrified and frightened to bed by the cry of “the Bishop is
+coming!”—That the right reverend prelates of the realm should become
+bugbears and buggaboos to frighten the children of Dissenters, is curious
+enough, and evinces a considerable degree of ingenious malignity in
+bringing Episcopacy into contempt, if true.  Be that as it may in
+England, in Wales it is not so; for the demon of terror and monster of
+the nursery there, to check the shrill cry of infancy, and enforce silent
+obedience to the nurse or mother is Twm Shon Catty.
+
+But “babes and sucklings” are not the only ones on whom that name has
+continued to act as a spell; nor for fear and wonder its only attributes,
+for the knavish exploits and comic feats of Twm Shon Catty are, like
+those of Robin Hood in England, the themes of many a rural rhyme, and the
+subject of many a village tale; where, seated round the ample hearth of a
+farm house, or the more limited one of a lowly cottage, an attentive
+audience is ever found, where his mirth-exciting tricks are told and
+listened to with vast satisfaction, unsated by the frequency of
+repetition; for the “lowly train” are generally strangers to that
+fastidiousness which turns disgusted, from a twice-told tale.
+
+Although neither the legends, the poetry, nor the history of the
+principality, seem to interest, or accord with the taste of our English
+brethren, the name of Twm Shon Catty, curiously enough, not only made its
+way among them, but had the unexpected honour of being woven into a tale,
+and exhibited on the stage, as a Welsh national dramatic spectacle, under
+the title, and the imposing second title, of Twn _John_ Catty, or, the
+Welsh Rob Roy.  The nationality of the Welsh residents in London, who
+always bear their country along with them wherever they go, was
+immediately roused, notwithstanding the great offence of substituting
+“John” for “Shon,” which called at once on their curiosity and love of
+country to pursue the “Inkeeper’s Album,” in which this tale first
+appeared, and to visit the Cobourg Theatre, where overflowing houses
+nightly attended the representation of the “Welsh Rob Roy.”  Now this
+second title, which confounded the poor Cambrians, was a grand expedient
+of the Dramatist, to excite the attention of the Londoners, who naturally
+associated it with the hero of the celebrated Scotch novel.  The bait was
+immediately swallowed, and that tale, an awkward and most weak attempt to
+imitate the “Great Unknown,” and by far the worst article in a very
+clever book, actually sold the volume.
+
+As Twm Shon Catty was invariably known to every Crymrian as a great
+practical joker, they were of course proportionately surprised to find
+him manufactured into a stilted, injured, melo-dramatic chieftain, for
+the love of his _Ellen_, dying the death of a hero!
+
+“This may do for London, but in Wales, where ‘_Gwir yn erbyn y byd_’ {9a}
+is our motto, we know better!” muttered many a testy Cambrian, which he
+felt doubly indignant at the authors’ and actors’ errors in the
+mis-writing and the mis-pronouncing the well-known “sponsorial or
+baptismal appellation,” {9b} as Doctor Pangloss would say: and another
+source of umbrage to them was, that an English author’s sacrilegiously
+dignifying Twm with the qualities of a hero, conveying the villanous
+inference that Wales was barren of _real_ heroes—an insinuation that no
+Welshman could tamely endure to forgive.  In an instant recurred the
+honoured names of Rodri Mawr, Owen Gwyneth, Caswallon ab Beli, Own
+Glyndwr, Rhys ab Thomas, and a vast chain of Cambrian worthies, not
+forgetting the royal race of Tudor, that gave an Elizabeth to the English
+throne; on which the mimic scene before them, and the high vauntings of
+Huntley in the character of Twm Shon Catty, sunk into the insignificance
+of a punch and puppet show, in comparison with the mighty men who then
+passed before the mental eye.
+
+Sir John Wynn, of Gwydir, bart., was the father of our hero, who was a
+natural son by a woman called Catherine.  Little or nothing is known of
+her, but surnames not being generally adopted in Wales, her son, by
+Universal consent, was called “Twn Shon Catty,” which means literally,
+“Thoms John Catherine.”  One very astute English Commentator informs us
+that the name “Catty” originated in the fact that of his armorial
+bearings included a Cat’s Eye!!  This is simply nonsense, as every
+Welshman can testify.
+
+Like the immortal Homer, different towns have put forth their claims to
+the enviable distinction of having given our hero birth; among which
+Cardigan, Llandovery, and Carmarthen, are said to have displayed
+considerable warmth in asserting their respective pretentions.  A native
+of the latter far-famed borough town, whose carbuncled face and rubicund
+nose—indelible stamps of bacchanalian royalty—proclaimed him the
+undisputed prince of topers, roundly affirmed that no town but
+Carmarthen—ever famed for its stout ale, large dampers, {10} and
+blustering heroes of the pipe and pot—could possibly have produced such a
+jolly dog.  It is with regret that we perceive such potent authority
+opposed by the united opinions of our Cambrian bards and antiquaries, who
+place his birth in the year 1570, at Tregaron, that primitive, yet no
+longer obscure, Cardiganshire town, but long celebrated throughout the
+principality for its pony fair; and above all, as the established
+birthplace of Twm Shon Catty.
+
+He first saw the light, it seems, at a house of his mother’s, situate on
+a hill south-east of Tregaron, called Llidiard-y-Fynnon, (Fountain-Gate,)
+from its situation beside an excellent well, that previous to the
+discovery of other springs nearer to their habitations, supplied the good
+people of Tregaron with water.  That distinguished spot is now, however,
+more generally known by the more elevated name of Plâs Twm Shon Catty,
+(the mansion of Twm Shon Catty,) the ruins of which are now pointed out
+by the neighbouring people to any curious traveller who may wish to
+enrich the pages of his virgin tour by their important communications.
+
+And now, having given our hero’s birth and parentage with the fidelity of
+a true historian, who has a most virtuous scorn of the spurious
+embellishments of fiction, a more excursive pen shall flourish on our
+future chapters.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+THE grandfather of Twm Shon Catty.  Squire Graspacre on morality.  Sir
+Jno. Wynn, the practical exponent of it—and our hero the result thereof.
+
+Catty, the mother of Twm, lived in the most unsophisticated manner at
+Llidiard-y-Fynnon, with an ill-favoured, hump-backed sister, who was the
+general drudge and domestic manager.  Their mother had long been dead,
+and their father, the horned cattle, a small farm and all its
+appurtenances, had been lost to them about two years.  This little farm
+was their father’s property, but provokingly situated in the middle of
+the vast possessions of Squire Graspacre, an English gentleman-farmer,
+who condescendingly fixed himself in the principality with the laudable
+idea of civilizing the Welsh.
+
+The most feasible mode of accomplishing so grand an undertaking, that
+appeared to him, was, to dispossess them of their property, and to take
+as much as possible of their country into his own paternal care.  The
+rude Welsh, to be sure, he found so blind to their own interests as to
+prefer living on their farms to either selling or giving them away, to
+profit by his superior management.  His master-genius now became apparent
+to everybody; for after ruining the owners, and appropriating to himself
+half the neighbouring country, the other half became his own with ease,
+as the poor little freeholders found it better to accept a small sum for
+their property, than to have all wasted in litigation, and perhaps,
+ultimately, to end their days in prison.
+
+The maternal grandfather of Twm Shon Catty, was the last who held out
+against the tyranny of the squire.  He triumphantly won his cause; but
+because he could not pay the costs, he was imprisoned by his own
+solicitor, in the county gaol of Cardigan, where it is said he died of a
+broken heart.  The squire then gained his ends.  The farm-house
+(separated from the land, which was added to another farm) became the
+dwelling of the old farmer’s two daughters: not a gift, as they had to
+pay annually about twice as much rental as they ought to have paid.
+
+It was soon after this admirable settlement of his affairs, that the
+squire had a grand visitor to entertain at Graspacre Hall, who was no
+less a personage than Sir John Wynn, of Gwydir, in North Wales, whose
+sister our deep-scheming squire had just married, with the politic view
+of identifying himself with the Cambrian principality, and becoming one
+of the landed proprietors of the country.  One day, after a long ride
+with his noble guest, over his far-spreading hills and vales, it was poor
+Catty’s lot to be observed by these lordly sons of affluence.  She was
+spinning wool at the cottage door, a work which she seldom performed
+without the accompaniment of a song; and at that time she was giving
+utterance to a mournful ditty, as the recent death of her father had
+naturally attuned her mind to melancholy, and cast a cloud over her usual
+cheerfulness.
+
+The great men stopped their horses: “a fine girl, Sir John,” cried the
+squire.
+
+“You are right!” said the baronet: “I wonder if she would object to a few
+delicate attentions from a man of honour?”
+
+“Object! my dear sir, I am surprised that you should ask the question.
+The girl is poor and friendless, and has just buried her father.  My dear
+sir, it would be kind of you, if you were to call and offer her those
+‘delicate attentions’ of which you speak.”
+
+The amorous baronet was not slow to avail himself of this very amiable
+suggestion, delivered with a significant leer which could not be
+mistaken; he called for several successive evenings at Llidiard-y-Fynnon;
+but we may very reasonably question the _delicacy_ of the attentions he
+proffered to the fair Catty.  The sequel to the adventure soon became
+notorious, and the maiden Catty became the mother of our redoubted hero,
+thence, with an illusion to his father, called Twm Shon Catty.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+THE boy indicative of the man.  Antiquarian propensities show themselves.
+His mother rises in the world, and assumes the dignified office of
+village schoolmistress.  Her mode of tuition.  Twm a member of the
+“academy.”
+
+As the period of early infancy seldom contains incidents worthy the
+recording pen of history, we shall bring our hero at once at his fourth
+year.  The biographers of great men have generally evinced a predilection
+to present their readers with certain early indications of the peculiar
+genius that has distinguished their heroes in after life; and far from us
+be the presumption of deviating from such a popular and legitimate rule,
+by any radical attempt at innovation or improvement.
+
+Pope’s lispings in numbers, West’s quaker daublings in childhood, with
+many other instances, not forgetting Peter Pindar’s waggery on Sir Joseph
+Bank’s spreading spiders and butterflies on his bread and butter,
+(certain indication of the future Naturalist,) are cases in point, which
+are familiar to every reader; true or not, we have also heard the story
+of Sir Isaac Newton’s partiality for apples, in childhood; that
+Paganini’s first desire was for a sixpenny toy fiddle; that other great
+men in infancy exemplified the motto that “Coming events cast their
+shadows before them;” and it will not appear strange to those already
+acquainted with his fame, that we have to add to these eminent names that
+of our long neglected hero.
+
+It is true he became neither a poet, a painter, nor a natural historian,
+but, according to the unbiassed opinions of geniuses of the same caste
+with himself, who could not be suspected of either egotism or partiality,
+a superior character to either—an eminent antiquary—to which may be
+added, though perhaps it ought to take the lead—a no less eminent
+thief—if thief he can be called whose illicit doings were prompted by no
+motives of selfishness, but were ever the spontaneous offspring of whim
+and madcap daring.
+
+Twm’s mother affirms (and when a lady affirms anything the gentlemen feel
+bound to believe in, and swear by it,) that her son’s first predilection
+consisted of an intense affection for street rubbish.  The gutters and
+sweepings of Tregaron furnished him with materials for an antiquarian
+exhibition which he held in a stable manger.  The pottery of bygone days,
+somewhat the worse for wear and tear, but still exhibiting the taste and
+substantial ideas of the original manufactures—cutlery of Sheffield
+manufactures, discarded and useless, but not beneath the notice of our
+juvenile showman—twisted hemp and bits of figured rags and paper, relics
+of time past—all formed part and parcel of his “exhibition.”
+
+To be sure his occupation was not of the cleanest.  To secure these
+priceless relics, he coated hands, face, and clothes, with a thick crust
+of mud, and thus showed his origin, by the close affection he had for
+mother earth.  As in these little fancies he spent the greater part of
+his time, it became a wonder to his mother that he seldom ran home for
+food; but it was soon discovered that he had a mode peculiar to himself
+of raising contributions on the public of which he was a member, by
+forcing them to part with a portion of their bread and butter—a
+praiseworthy act, and trebly commendable, as in the first place it showed
+his filial piety, in saving his mother the expense of his victuals; in
+the next, it taught courtesy to the churlish, who in time anticipated his
+demand by voluntary offerings; and thirdly, it engendered the principle
+of honesty in their tender minds, by marking the propriety of paying for
+their curiosity in gaping over the produce of his labours.  This, it will
+also be observed, was another feature that announced his future
+character, which, it will be seen, “grew with his growth, and
+strengthened with his strength.”
+
+Sir Jno. Wynn was made acquainted with the result of those “delicate
+attentions,” to which we have before alluded, and as some sort of
+compensation, he bought the cottage of Squire Graspacre, and presented it
+to Catty, as the reward of her kind compliance with his “delicate”
+wishes.  The little property made her of great importance in the
+district.  As the house was large, and not overstocked with inhabitants,
+it occurred to the good people of Tregaron, that a day-school might be
+established within its walls; and having with their own consent found a
+school-room, by the same indisputable right they fixed on Catty for its
+mistress, and instituted her governess, to rule their tender progeny.
+
+Catty, with huge grin of approbation at her unexpected promotion,
+immediately ratified their election, and declared both her house and self
+ready for the reception of pupils at the moderate terms of a penny a
+week.  Her hump-backed sister was by no means pleased with this
+arrangement, and very testily asked, “Who was to clean up the house after
+the grubby fry?”  Catty made no reply, but in the pride of her heart
+hummed a gay song, scratched the mud off her boy’s clothes with an old
+birch broom, which being hardened by sweeping the house, answered the
+purpose better than a brush, and had some old coffers converted into
+benches for the service of her scholars.
+
+She then with singular alacrity, proceeded to cut from the hedge, with
+her own fair hand, one of the most engaging-looking birch rods, that ever
+was wielded by rural governess.  This premature display of the sceptre of
+severity was far from fortunate, and nearly ruined the undertaking at the
+outset.  The tender mothers of Tregaron were startled at so unexpected a
+proceeding, and practically declared they had rather their dear babes
+should be brought up like calves and pigs, in the most bestial ignorance,
+than have knowledge beaten into them at the nether end with a birch rod.
+
+Catty immediately quieted their fears, by protesting that she entertained
+the utmost abhorrence of the flagellation system, and that the bunch of
+birch was but bound together for a very different purpose, namely, to be
+suspended as a sign over her door.  As Catty was all compliance with
+their requisitions, every thing was set to rights; and without more ado
+children were sent from every house where the affluence of the inmates
+enabled them to give their offspring the first rudiments of education.
+The mother of Twm became the pink and paragon of schoolmistresses.  ’Tis
+true, the noise and uproar of her school was so great, that the pigs were
+frightened from their trough, and the curate’s wife, who rode an
+ill-tamed horse, was thrown headlong into the well, when passing the
+academy, from the animal taking fright; but that was no fault of Catty’s;
+people should break in their horses properly, and curates’ wives should
+learn to ride and keep their seats better.  Besides, the alleged uproar
+was the greatest evidence in her favour, as it proved the tenderness of
+her heart in not correcting her scholars—a quality more valued by their
+maternal parents than any other that could be substituted; and in their
+appreciation of this prime desideratum, they omitted to inquire minutely
+into her other qualifications for a governess.
+
+Unreasonable people might have asserted that she should at least have
+been able to read and write with ordinary ability.  But poor Catty was
+not troubled with either of these accomplishments, and believed with
+Dogberry, that “reading and writing came by nature,” and that “where
+ignorance is bliss, ’twere folly to be wise.”  She congratulated herself
+that none could say to her “Too much learning hath made thee mad;” and
+inwardly thanked heaven that her sanity would be unquestioned if such a
+test was applied to her.
+
+Many of Catty’s pupils had been taken by their wise and considerate
+mothers out of the curate’s school, fearful that his severity would break
+their hearts; and having there learnt their letters and a little
+spelling, they kept possession at least of what they had acquired, by
+teaching other children, which flattered their childish vanity, while it
+served their mistress, who, like a sage general that stands aloof from
+the broil of battle, takes to herself the credit of success, while the
+real operators are forgotten.  Thus in time, with the powerful support of
+the matrons of Tregaron, who took the lead of their spouses, and directed
+the taste and opinions of the clodhopping community, Catty’s school
+became an alarming rival to the curate’s.
+
+The mode of tuition adopted by Twm’s mother, was an entirely original
+one, as the reader will have surmised.  It cost very little trouble in
+acquiring, because its chief secret consisted in tutor and pupils doing
+just what they chose.  It may save a good deal of anxiety and trouble to
+those tutors who are too conscientious if we furnish them with a leaf
+from the book of this original preceptor.
+
+“Come here, little Guenny Cadwgan,” said Catty one day, “Come here, my
+little pretty buttercup, and say your lesson, if you can; but if you
+can’t, never mind, I won’t beat nor scold you.”  Guenny came forward
+bobbing a curtsey, and while his mistress broomed the mud from little
+Twm’s breeches, began her lesson.
+
+_Guenny_.—a, b, hab.
+
+_Catty_.—There’s a good maaid!
+
+_Guenny_.—e, b, heb.
+
+_Catty_.—There’s a good maaid!
+
+_Guenny_.—o, b, hob.
+
+_Catty_.—There’s a good maaid!
+
+_Guenny_.—i, b,—can’t tell.
+
+_Catty_.—Skipe it, child, skipe it—(meaning “skip it.”)
+
+_Guenny_.—u, b, cub.
+
+_Catty_.—There’s a good maaid!  Twm you little wicked dog, don’t kick the
+child.  Go on, Guenny vach.
+
+_Twm_.—(who had been struggling for some time to get from under his
+mother’s combs,) I want to go a fishing.
+
+_Catty_.—Lord love the darling child!  You’ll fall into the river and be
+drowned.
+
+_Twm_.—Oh! no, mother; I always fish in the gutters.
+
+_Dio Bengoch_.—I want to go home for some bread and butter.
+
+“And I! and I! and I!” squalls every urchin in the school; and out they
+would run in a drove, on perceiving the independent exit of master Twm,
+without waiting for the permission of his parent and governess.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+A LECTURE on learning.  Astuteness below stairs.  A gentleman’s opinion
+on servants.  A horse milliner.  Intimacy with Catty.  More suspicion of
+“delicate attentions,” which so far are not quite so criminal as the
+squire’s.
+
+Perhaps our modern governesses who possess the vain accomplishment of
+reading and writing, may feel disposed to undervalue the acquirements of
+our rural Welsh governess.  But let them not triumph; and be it
+recollected that tastes differ, and that many of our living patricians,
+as well as wealthy plebeians, who are considered the great, the mighty,
+and the respectable of the land, deprecate with becoming vehemence the
+prevailing mania for educating the poor.  We have heard ladies, and great
+ones too, attired in silks and velvets, pall and purple, and “faring
+sumptuously every day,” declare most positively that they never knew a
+servant good for anything that could read and write.
+
+No sooner were they capable of wielding a goose quill, than the impudent
+hussies presumed to have a will of their own, and their opinions mounted
+a step nearer to the attitude of their mistresses.  And on men, they
+said, education had a worse effect, as thereby they became the idle
+readers of books and newspapers, which made them saucy to their
+superiors, and sometimes the most villanous cut-throat radicals.  Now it
+will be readily admitted, we should think, that there was little danger
+of Catty’s scholars ever becoming such pernicious characters; and
+therefore, let not liberal envy withhold from her the well-merited meed
+of applause.  Alas for the good old times—we see no such
+school-mistresses now-a-days! those days of the golden age of simplicity
+are gone for ever.
+
+Perhaps we might wonder that the parents of the children, those who paid
+such a round sum every week for instruction administered to those “babes
+and sucklings,” did not grumble at the slow pace at which the process
+went on.  But to criticise a subject properly, we must be “well up” in
+it, and the villagers of Tregaron were not exactly calculated to measure
+the amount of “book larning” their babes did, or did not acquire.  They
+were satisfied if their children were “out of the way, the livelong day”
+and a penny per week was surely not so high a price to pay for that
+luxury.
+
+Although our hero’s mother could not be called a woman of letters, she
+certainly possessed qualities more original than generally fell to the
+lot of persons in her station.  At carding wool or spinning it, knitting
+stockings or mittens, the most envious admitted her superiority to every
+woman in Tregaron.
+
+She moreover had gained no small consideration in another character,
+which her jealous neighbours satirically denominated a hedge milliner,
+whose province it was to mend hedging gloves and coarse frocks for
+ploughmen, to darn or patch with leather the heels of their stout woollen
+stockings, and also to repair horse collars at half the price charged by
+old Daff the saddler; the latter part of her occupation, which required a
+delicate hand to cut the slender sewing thongs from the raw bull hides,
+caused her to be called a horse milliner, which, after all, was not much
+more applicable than if she had been called a bull tailor.  This
+malignant waggery, however, was unable to disturb the tranquil soul of
+Catty; she loved horses, and in her juvenile days had often whiled away
+her mornings and evenings in the rural pastime of driving them, both in
+plough and harrow, while carolling some rural ditty, till the rocks and
+mountains echoed with the cadence of her harmony.
+
+Catty, with such capabilities and accomplishments, was of course an
+object of wonder, awe, and admiration, to many of the swains of Tregaron,
+notwithstanding those “delicate attentions” bestowed upon her by Sir Jno.
+Wynn, bart., but the success of her original method of tuition made her
+quite independent of their protestations.  But, altering the sex in the
+quotation, we may say that, “There is a tide in the affairs of women;”
+and it proved to be so in Catty’s case.
+
+The right man came at last.  Like all her amiable sex, she professed the
+utmost abhorrence of mercenary motives in marriage, though many
+insinuated that she knew the value of property from having never
+possessed any worth mentioning.  It was observed that she treated with
+indifference, if not aversion, those unprofitable lovers who had nothing
+but their goodly persons to recommend them.
+
+Certain innuendoes were even thrown out respecting a suspicion of her
+coquettings with one of the most ugly, miserly, and repulsive of
+clowns;—one who was not only a clown, but a red-haired one;—not only
+knock-kneed, but squint-eyed;—not only squint-eyed, but a woman-hater;
+and worse than all, a foreigner!—being a native of a distant part of the
+adjoining county of Carmarthen, and known only by the nick-name of Jack
+of Sheer Gâr, or Carmarthenshire Jack.
+
+This person was repulsive in the extreme.  Clad in old, patched, dirty
+clothes, with such peculiar facial properties as we have before
+enumerated, he was apparently the last man upon whom one of the opposite
+sex would have cast her favouring eye.  He was at this time chief
+husbandman and bailiff to the squire, an office which, giving him power
+over other servants, we may be very sure did not increase his popularity.
+But few showed their distaste and aversion openly; it would have been a
+dangerous experiment with Jack of Sheer Gâr.
+
+The standing jest against him was, his qualifications as a trencherman,
+and his reputation as a “huge feeder” was certainly unrivalled.  As there
+was not a single pastime under the head of amusement, that the ingenuity
+of man has ever devised for the entertainment of his fellows, save
+eating, that possessed a charm for him, it might of course be expected
+that this solitary recreation would be indulged in the proportion that he
+excluded all others.  He not only performed all the functions of the
+gross glutton, but as the actors say, “looked the character,” to
+perfection.
+
+The reader, measuring him by other men, would make a very erroneous guess
+on the most prominent feature of his face, if he fixed on the nasal
+protuberance—no such thing—his nose was flat and small, but his large
+projecting upper teeth, like “rocks of pearl jutting over the sea,” were
+ever bared for action, white as those of his only companion, the mastiff,
+and nobly independent of a sheathing lip.
+
+    Others more comely features might wear
+    But Jack was famed for his white teeth bare.
+
+As the squire’s lady was not the most liberal in supplying the servants’
+table, those wags, male or female, who were in the habit of committing
+the silent mimicry against Jack, were soon taught a severe lesson at the
+expense of their bowels.  It was discovered that, whenever enraged at
+their treatment, instead of spending his breath in vain reproaches, or
+taking to the more violent proceeding of fisty-cuffs, Jack revenged
+himself by eating most outrageously, so that scoffers, deprived of their
+shares, often found their stomachs minus.  His power of mastication
+increased with his anger; and the flaming energy that was mentally
+inciting him to give an enemy a fierce facer, or a destructive
+cross-buttock, was diverted from his knuckles to his teeth; and in every
+quantum which he ground in his relentless mill, he felt the glowing
+satisfaction of having annihilated a foe.
+
+Woe to those who were his next neighbours at table, and sat so close to
+his elbows at those hours of excitement; fierce punches in the ribs, as
+if by accident, were among the slightest consequences; and those who were
+thus taught the manners to keep a respectable distance, declared that the
+fears they entertained was only of his knife.  But his bloodthirsty
+propensities were not so great as they were represented to be.  Jack
+believed in the “power of the eye,” and exemplified it, in his own case,
+by making that organ express what his head never meant to carry out.  The
+squire knew his value as a faithful servant, and turned a deaf ear to all
+the evil that was reported of him.
+
+Before fanaticism had cast its puritanic gloom over Wales, and identified
+itself almost with the Welsh in character, mirth and minstrelsy, dance
+and song, emulative games and rural pastimes were the order of the day;
+and, as the people worked hard all the week, it must be confessed that
+these sports often infringed upon the sanctity of the Sabbath.
+
+Sundays were often entirely spent in dancing, wrestling, and kicking the
+foot-ball.  The latter violent exercise, at this time prevalent in
+Cardiganshire, was performed in large parties of village against village,
+and parish against parish, when the country brought together its mass of
+population either to partake in the glories of the game or to enjoy the
+success of their friends, as spectators.  On these occasions Carmarthen
+Jack loved to be present, but only as a spectator, as he was never known
+to take a part in the game.
+
+Jack thought the exercise of play was waste of time and breath.  He told
+others that he “kept his breath to cool his flummery, and his strength to
+make money.”  Whilst the others were panting with efforts made in the
+game, Jack was quietly cutting and carving his wooden spoons, made out of
+the birch or alder which he stored all the week under his bed, for the
+purpose of drying it.
+
+At fairs also, Carmarthen Jack would be equally punctual, and after
+having done his master’s business of buying or selling a horse or so,
+would be seen with a load of merchandise of his own manufacture, wooden
+spoons, ladles, and clog soles, in abundance, which drew about him all
+the rural house-keepers far and near.  “No milliner could suit her
+customers with gloves” in greater variety than Jack with spoons to please
+his purchasers.  He had spoons for man, woman and child, fashioned for
+every sort of mouth, from the tiny infant’s to the shark-jaws of the
+hungry ploughman, which, like his own, was said to present a gap from ear
+to ear.  He had spoons for use, and spoons for ornament; the latter,
+meant to keep company with the showy polished pewter, were made of box or
+yew, highly polished and curiously carved with divers characters,
+supposed to be suns, moons, stars, hearts transfixed with the dart of
+cupid, and sometimes a hen and chickens; with hieroglyphics for fear of
+their being mistaken for a cat and mice, with other such
+misconstructions, Jack always explained at the time of bargaining,
+without any extra charge.
+
+Nothing could more emphatically prove the excellency of Jack’s wares,
+than the circumstance of his being personally unpopular among the women,
+and yet his wares in the highest esteem.  The frowns of the fair, which
+threw a gloom on the sunshine of his days, may be traced to a source not
+at all dishonourable to him.  The girls at the squire’s had played him so
+many tricks, that once in the height of aggravation, Jack waged war
+against the whole sex, devoting to the infernal gods every creature that
+wore a petticoat, and vowing, from that day forward, not one of the
+proscribed race should ever enter his room, which was romantically
+situated over the stable, its wickered lattice commanding a full view of
+both the pigsty and the dunghill.
+
+The consequence of this terrible row caused him, at first, some trouble,
+as, to keep it, he was obliged thenceforward to be his own chambermaid,
+laundress, and sempstress, offices that accorded ill with his previous
+habits.  The laudable firmness of his nature, however, soon overcame
+these petty difficulties; and so far was he from backsliding from his
+previous determination, that he vowed to throw through the window the
+first woman who entered his chamber, which the satirical hussies called
+his den—a threat which effectually secured him from further intrusion.
+
+Sometimes, indeed, while sitting at the door of the cow-house, or the
+stable, listening to the rural sounds of the cackling geese and grunting
+pigs, and darning his hose, or patching his leather breeches, or treading
+his shift in the brook by way of washing it, those eternal plagues of
+his, the girls, would be seen and heard behind the covert of a wall or
+hedge, smothering their tittering, which at last would burst out, in
+spite of suppression, into a loud horse-laugh, when, one and all, they
+would take to their heels, while Jack amused himself by pelting their
+rear, in their precipitate retreat, with clods of earth, small stones or
+anything that came in his way.
+
+“Circumstances alter cases.”  In time Jack gained the reputation of being
+rich.  He had made spoons to some purpose, and however the fair sex may
+cry up their disinterestedness, we are all aware that money materially
+alters the position of a man in their eyes.  One of the maids with this
+knowledge, became very suddenly enamoured of him, and tried to gain his
+good will.  But having one day ventured to Jack’s “sanctum,” the wench
+was pitched into the dunghill below, and as a consequence the “pangs of
+despised love” raged in her bosom.  The first act of her resentment was
+to spread about the insidious report that Jack Sheer was a woman-hater—an
+insinuation that rather preyed upon his mind, as he dreaded the effect
+such an unmerited stigma would have upon his private trade.  But
+innocence is ever predestined to an ultimate triumph; and an event soon
+happened that proved the falsehood of those prevalent tales to his
+discredit, and convinced his greatest foes that he possessed a heart, if
+not overflowing with human charity, at least penetrable to the
+blandishments of beauty, and quick with sensibility to female merit.
+
+On one auspicious market-day, Carmarthen Jack appeared in the streets of
+Tregaron where the market is held, loaded with his usual merchandise,
+which he spread on the ground, and sat beside them; but not meeting with
+a ready sale, and disdaining even momentary idleness, began with
+earnestness to cut and scoop away at a piece of alder, gradually forming
+it into a huge ladle, to correspond with the largest size three-legged
+iron pot.  On this eventful morning Catty had occasion to perambulate the
+fair, to purchase a new ladle, her cross-grained sister having broken the
+old one, by thumping with it on the back of an overgrown hog, whose
+foraging propensities had led him to investigate the recesses of the
+schoolroom.
+
+The notoriety occasioned by Jack’s peculiarities, and the fact of his
+having money, reached the ears of Catty, and our prudent tutor determined
+to make his acquaintance through the medium of the broken ladle.  Some
+people say that Catty broke the ladle herself, broke it with a design and
+that design was an excuse for visiting and conquering one who hated all
+her sex.  Be that as it may, she sought and found him in the fair, and
+fell in love with him and his ladle at the same instant.  After an effort
+to conquer her native bashfulness, and to look as lovely as possible, she
+accosted him with such uncommon civility as utterly astounded the poor
+clownish misanthropic bachelor.  She examined the ladle in his hand, and
+though not half finished, declared it to be the handsomest ever her eyes
+beheld, and paid for it without seeking the least abatement in the price.
+Jack gaped at her, with open mouth and staring eyes, and thought her a
+very interesting woman, though his first impression was, that she was
+mad, as he had asked double the selling price, on purpose to abate one
+half, according to the custom immemorial in Welsh dealings.
+
+She next purchased half a dozen common birch-wood spoons, and, as many
+ornamental ones made of box, to adorn her shelf, and, as before paid him
+his own price.  Jack thought her very lovely indeed: and when she made
+another purchase of a pair of clog soles, quite irresistible!—her ready
+money opened his heart as the best key in the world would have done a
+patent lock; and he was almost ready to offer them as a present, but for
+fear of wounding her delicacy.  As she found he had no further variety,
+she ordered half a dozen more common spoons, and Jack, with all the
+amiability that he could possibly throw into his hard features, presented
+her with one of his most finished articles in box.  She received it with
+that peculiar smile with which a lady accepts a welcome love-token, and
+replied in the softest tone imaginable, “Indeed I will keep it for your
+sake, John bach!”
+
+Jack had nothing to do but wonder—he never had been called John in his
+life before; at any other time he would have thought she mocked him—and
+the endearing term of “bach” too, was equally new to his ears, which
+seemed to grow longer as they tingled with the grateful sound.  This
+interesting scene was closed by Catty asking him to her house to partake
+of a dinner of flummery and milk, which he accepted with the best grace
+imaginable, and trudged off with his wares on his back and dangling from
+his arms and button-holes; and thus gallanting her in the most amatory
+style; he walked by her side to Llidiard-y-Fynon.
+
+Unaccustomed to kindness in either word or deed, poor Jack of Sheer Gâr,
+met her condescensions and advances with a sheepish sort of gratitude.  A
+cordial invitation on the part of Catty to repeat his visit as soon, and
+as often, as possible, affected him almost to tears; and as a proof of
+his unbounded confidence, he left in her care his whole stock of
+ready-made spoons and ladles, and almost blubbered when he shook her hand
+at parting.
+
+As a proof of the beneficial effect of kindness on a churlish nature, and
+the contrary, of ridicule and persecution, we need but contrast this
+rugged man’s previous character and conduct with what followed, after the
+tenderness of Catty had melted the frost of misanthropy which formed a
+crusty coat round his heart.  The adventure of the day produced a most
+extraordinary revolution in his habits.  None of the servants of the
+hall, male or female, could conceive what it portended, when Jack asked
+one of them, his fellow husbandman, to trim his hair; and while the
+fellow clipped his rough red locks with his sheep-shears, once
+mischievously pinching his ear with them till he roared, he was surprised
+at his questions about the price of a new pair of leather breeches, and a
+red neck-cloth.  Greater still was the astonishment of the whole house,
+when, in a few days after, he appeared changed into a complete rustic
+buck in those very articles of dress, and while he thought nobody saw
+him, endeavoured to cut a dancing caper on the green, which they mistook
+for a frisky bullock.  Changes like these are seldom without a reason,
+thought his fellow servants; and when they saw Jack’s elated steps lead
+him towards Catty’s house, they jeered, and laughed, and winked; and
+nothing knew of course, although their knowledge made him all the worse.
+Tregaron and its neighbourhood had now food for gossip, and gossip to
+some people is indeed the very acme of human felicity.
+
+Flummery and milk, named here as the food on which those lovers regaled,
+has been considered in Wales a very popular mess, common, but still a
+favourite among high and low, and might be seen on the board of the lord
+lieutenant of county, as well as on that of the humblest cottager.  The
+lofty of the land whose pampered stomachs have turned with loathing from
+more dainty dishes in sultry seasons, have welcomed the simplicity of
+milk and flummery, as the advocate of native charms would greet the
+smilings of a rustic beauty, while the meretricious fair of fashion would
+be passed by, neglected.
+
+The English reader will not be offended if I dilate a little praise of my
+favourite bowl or platter, (too much to call it a dish perhaps,) while I
+explain its nature; and if he be a bloated son of affluence, overflowing
+with bile and spleen, he will thank us, after adopting our recommendation
+of feeding on it often during his rustication among our mountains.  Our
+candid sages of the pill and potion, also recommend it as very effective
+in promoting an increase of good clear healthy blood.
+
+Flummery is made of the inner hulls of ground oats, when sifted from the
+meal, some of which still adheres to it, by soaking it in water till it
+acquires a slight taste of acidity, when it is strained through a hair
+sieve and boiled till it becomes a perfect jelly.  When poured from that
+prince of culinary vessels, the large three-legged iron pot, into a vast
+earthen dish, it presents a smooth smiling aspect of the most winning
+equanimity, till destroyed by the numerous invading spoons of the
+company, who plunge a portion of it, scalding hot, into their bowls of
+cool milk.  Thus much of the descriptive history is given, to illustrate
+the following ode to its immortal praise, with which we shall now close
+this long chapter.
+
+                              MILK AND FLUMMERY.
+
+    Let luxury’s imbecile train,
+       Of appetites fastidious,
+    Each sauced provocative obtain,
+       The draught or viand perfidious;
+    But oh! give me that simple food,
+       Lov’d by the sons of Cymru.
+    With health, with nourishment imbued,
+       The sweet cool milk and flummery.
+
+    Let pudding-headed English folk
+       With boast of roast-beef fag us;
+    Let Scottish Burns crack rural jokes,
+       And vaunt kail-brose and haggis;
+    But Cymrian sons, of mount and plain,
+       From Brecknock to Montgomery,
+    Let us the honest praise maintain,
+       Of sweet cold milk and flummery.
+
+    On sultry days when appetites
+       Wane dull, and low, and queasy,
+    When loathing stomachs nought delights,
+       To gulph our flummery’s easy.
+    Dear oaten jelly, pride of Wales!
+       Thou smooth-faced child of Cymry.
+    On the ruddy swain regales,
+       And blesses milk and flummery.
+
+    ’Tis sweet to stroll on Cambrian heights
+       O’er-looking vales and rivers.
+    Where thin and purest air invites,
+       The soul from spleen delivers;
+    That foe of bile the light repast
+       To bloated gout may come wry.
+    But Nature’s child, thy mid-day fast
+       Break thou with milk and flummery.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+ANOTHER lecture in Welsh.  “Courting in bed.”  Our hero’s education
+progresses.  The Curate’s school.
+
+Whilst our lovers were regaling themselves upon milk and flummery, Twm
+Shon Catty was concocting and putting into execution his first practical
+joke, for while they sat side by side at the goodly oak table, he
+fastened them together by the coat and gown with a peeled thorn spike,
+which before the introduction of pins, was used by the fair sex to unite
+about them their various articles of attire.
+
+This freak being performed, Twm stole off unperceived, and getting on the
+outside of the door, he was joined by Watt the mole catcher, and a party
+of children instructed for the purpose, in a loud and astounding cry of
+mad bull! a mad bull! at the same time forcing before them into the house
+a little trotting calf, whose buttocks were tortured by Twm’s ox-goad
+till he reared and capered up to the very table where the lover’s sat.
+Catty screamed, and both jumped up mutually terrified, as sudden fear had
+magnified the little animal to the proportions of an enormous brute of an
+enraged bull, whose uninvited visit and uncalled for appearance at their
+dinner table, portending nothing less than death.  When Twm and Watt’s
+laughter at length undeceived them, the spoon merchant, who had been so
+liberally assisted with spoon and meat, found to his dismay, that with
+his heart Catty had carried away the skirt of his coat, by the sudden
+jerk of rising from their seats; and had the gods made Jack poetical, he
+might have exclaimed with the renowned Mr. Tag,—{31}
+
+    The lovely maid on whom I dote
+    Hath made a spencer of my coat.
+
+The wicked urchin who caused this unsanctioned union continued with his
+mischievous party, their laughter long and loud, and Catty’s grumpy
+sister Juggy, for the first time in her life, astonished them with a grin
+on the occasion.  Twm received a severe rebuke from his parent, and poor
+hapless Jack, with the view of propitiating an evil spirit that might
+prove troublesome to him hereafter, made him a present of a new spoon,
+which, because it was merely a common one he ungratefully threw into the
+blazing turf fire, that on this festal occasion glowed on the hearth in a
+higher pile and wider dimensions than usual, and demanded one of his best
+box-wood ware.
+
+Jack would have given it to him immediately but for the intervention of
+his mother, who forbade the indulgence.  No sooner, however, was he gone
+than Twm watched his opportunity and purloined as many of the better sort
+as he could conveniently take away unperceived, and sold them at the
+cheap rate of stolen goods, to an old woman named, or rather nick-named,
+Rachel Ketch, from some supposed resemblance in her character to that
+finisher of the law, although some persons roundly asserted that she was
+in fact a relict of one John Ketch, Esquire, of Stretch-neck-Place,
+Session Court, Carmarthen.
+
+As no further consequence followed this act of unprovoked delinquency, it
+was scarcely worth mentioning, except that it stands as the first of the
+kind on record; and when discovered, Twm’s over affectionate parent did
+not punish him for it,—an omission that might have watered the root of a
+vast tree of after enormities, but the mirthful mind rarely produces such
+an upas monstrosity.
+
+We come now to the era of his history when our hero entered another scene
+of life, in that of a new school, which event was ushered in by an
+unlooked-for circumstance, that must be first narrated.
+
+To our English readers it may be a piece of information if we make known
+that in some parts of Wales, “Courting in bed” is very common.  It was
+so, at least when the first and second editions of this work were issued,
+but now is confined only to a few particular districts.  Some of our
+readers may be shocked; but when they are assured that the custom
+embraces nothing which is not consistent with the strictest honour, they
+will perhaps accord our ancient custom a little more charity.  This
+comfortable mode of forwarding a marriage connexion prevailed very
+generally at Tregaron, to the great scandal and virtuous indignation of
+the lady of Squire Graspacre.  It was amazing to witness with what energy
+this good gentlewoman set about reforming the people, by the forcible
+abolishment of what she pleased to call, this odious, dangerous,
+blasphemous, and ungodly custom.
+
+Her patronage was for ever lost to any man or woman, youth or maid, of
+the town or country, who was related to, or connected with any person who
+connived at bed courtship.  There was not a cottager who called at the
+great house for a pitcher of whey, skim milk, or buttermilk, as a return
+for labour in harvest time, but was closely examined on this head; and
+woe to those who had the temerity to assert that there was no harm in the
+custom; or that the wooers merely laid down in their clothes, and thus
+conversed at their ease on their future plans or prospects; or who denied
+that such a situation was more calculated for amorous caresses and
+endearments than sitting by a scanty fire in a chimney corner.
+
+Mrs. Graspacre was certainly a very virtuous—a very termagant of decorous
+propriety.  If any person dared, in her presence, to advocate this
+proscribed and utterly condemned mode, disdaining to argue the point, she
+would settle the matter in a summary manner, peculiarly her own, by
+protesting she would have a woman burnt alive who would submit to be
+courted in bed.
+
+In the course of two years there were no less than four young men, and
+twice as many damsels, turned away from her service for courting in the
+hay-loft; and on these occasions the poor girls never escaped personal
+violence from the indignant and persevering Mrs. Graspacre.  She also
+assured them in language undistinguished for choiceness or delicacy, that
+“they were not to try and hoodwink her by telling her it meant nothing.
+She knew better, she had not lived all these years to be lied to and
+cheated by a common w—e.”  In her flaming zeal for decorum, the tongs,
+the poker, the pitchfork, or the hay-rake, became an instrument of
+chastisement.  A double advantage was discovered in the terror thus
+created, the dignity of her sex being in the first place asserted and
+supported: in the next, the offenders preferred running away without
+payment of their wages, to standing the chance of having their heads or
+arms broken with a poker, or their bodies pierced by the terrible prongs
+of a pitchfork.
+
+All the lowly dependents of Mrs. Graspacre found it their interest to
+become her spies, who soon vied with each other in giving the earliest
+intimation of any amorous pair who committed this most diabolical
+offence; and those who were least forward in bringing intelligence on
+this score, immediately sunk in her esteem, and were mulct of their
+allowance of skim milk and blue whey.
+
+But in time the old hen-wives of the neighbourhood discovered the virtue
+of sycophancy and the efficacy of a little seasonable cant! and when they
+were not warranted by real occurrences, they contrived to conciliate
+their patroness by drawing upon their fertile imagination and inventions;
+at other times, their knowledge of Mrs. Graspacre’s failing served their
+own revenge.  Let anybody offend them, and they immediately went to the
+lady with a manufactured tale, doing more credit to the imagination than
+the heart.  Their enemy had been found courting in bed with Miss
+So-and-so, which was the signal for immediate condemnation without trial.
+
+Not satisfied with these auxiliaries in the cause of virtue, the zealous
+Mrs. Graspacre enlisted on her side a very powerful champion, in the
+person of the reverend Mr. Inco Evans, the curate of Tregaron.  Great was
+her mortification to find her attempts on the rector fail of success, as
+he declared it dangerous and ungenerous to interfere with the
+peculiarities and long-established customs of the people; especially as
+he conceived it was rarely that any bad consequences ensued from the mode
+in question; but when the evil really occurred, if the faithless swain
+delayed making due reparation, a gaol, exile from his native place, or a
+compelled marriage, was the consequence, a penalty incurred.  “Besides,”
+quoth the worthy rector, with a hearty laugh, “that was the very way in
+which I courted my own wife, and many persons who are no enemies of
+virtue, consider it the best mode in the world, and were I young again,
+ha, ha, ha! egad, I think I should pursue the same fashion.”
+
+“And I too!” cries Mr. Graspacre, “as I have no objection in the world to
+the custom.”  The reader’s experience of the squire will certainly give
+him credit for speaking truth in this instance.  The notions of morality
+would be highly forwarded by courting in bed.  But as for Mrs. Graspacre,
+had the faces of all the foul-fiends been united in one for the purpose
+of producing a _ne plus ultra_ of concentrated devilry, it would not have
+surpassed the amiable expression upon her face.  “You, Mr. Graspacre!
+_you_!  I’m astonished; but”—(with a severe glance at the rector) “when
+the shepherd goes astray, no wonder the silly sheep follow his example!”
+With that, she bounced out of the room, and slammed the door in a high
+fit of indignation, aggravated by the calm looks of the rector, and the
+provoking tittering of her liege lord.
+
+The rector’s honest dissent from her scheme of reformation, Mrs.
+Graspacre considered a direct declaration of hostilities, and therefore,
+by her peculiar creed of morality, she felt herself bound to vilify his
+name, and most piously longed for his death, that the cause of virtue
+might be supported by the talents of her favourite curate, who was now,
+she said, on a poor stipend which he increased by keeping a school in the
+church.
+
+The reverend Inco Evans, the curate, played his cards well; he was a
+hard-featured man, with lowering brows and a complete ploughman’s gate;
+insolent to his poor parishioners, and a very awkward cringer to the
+great.  But flattery, direct or covert, does much, and in time completely
+won him the favour of the great lady.  She encouraged his patience by
+assuring him that the vicar, in his declined state of health, could not
+possibly live long; and his death, happen when it might, must appear, to
+all unprejudiced christians, as a judgment, for advocating, or not
+prosecuting, that execrable custom courting in bed.
+
+As the living had long been promised to him, the hopes and expectations
+of Mr. Inco Evans were very sanguine.  Waiting for dead men’s shoes is
+rather a wearisome thing, especially if the object of your affectionate
+solicitude be apparently in the best of health; but the curate was
+hopeful, and patient; and as he was no less ambitious than sycophantic
+and impervious, he looked forward with confidence to the period when he
+should strut forth in a fire-shovel hat, as vicar of the parish, and a
+magistrate in the county.
+
+Notwithstanding that the living was promised him by the lady, he was
+aware that she was not always paramount, and therefore lost no
+opportunity of insinuating himself in the squire’s favour.  He would
+laugh loudly to the injury of his lungs, at the squire’s most vapid
+jokes; praise the beauty of his snub-nosed children, and call curs,
+pointers; tell him where the prettiest lasses in the parish were to be
+found; with many such _honourable_ civilities, that Squire Graspacre at
+length discovered him to be a very useful sort of person.
+
+When Sir John Wynn of Gwydir paid his before mentioned visit, his sister
+introduced and recommended our curate, as a right worthy divine who
+deserved preferment; and the baronet promised to remember her
+recommendation, if anything turned out, within his power, to benefit him.
+Much time had elapsed, and nothing followed this agreeable promise; but
+Inco Evans persevered in his sycophancy, and if the labour and dirty work
+be properly estimated, he certainly justified his claims to a good
+living—in his majesty’s plantations, beyond the seas; to which he ought
+to have been inducted at the expense of government, and, as the artful
+Dodger says, he should have
+
+    “Gone abroad for the good of his health,
+    But not at his own expense!”
+
+He soon saw the weak side of his lady patroness: and anxious to
+strengthen his influence by promoting her views, he gave great
+encouragement to those boys in his school who brought him the piquant
+tales of their grown up brothers and sisters.  Much scandal was afloat at
+this time respecting the loves of Carmarthen Jack and Catty of
+Llidiard-y-Fynnon; he would almost have given his right hand to know how
+it was carried on.  But Jack was wily; and though Catty possessed little
+book-learning, she had enough knowledge to outwit the curate.  These
+lovers only went out at night, and took care to choose a solitary place
+for their meetings, so that getting information was, in their case,
+difficult of attainment.  At length the cunning man thought he had hit
+upon a plan.
+
+Little Twm Shon Catty, being the natural child of Sir John Wynn, was of
+course the illegitimate nephew of the great lady; a relationship which
+she, however, disdained to acknowledge; but the cunning curate took the
+liberty of observing one day, it was a great pity that the slightest drop
+of the noble blood of the Wynns, however perverted and polluted, should
+be run to waste and be neglected.  Proceeding in this drift, he
+insinuated that if the boy Twm Shon Catty were removed to his school, he
+should not only be instructed and improved, but that he, the curate,
+might thereby learn from the youngster something of his mother’s
+proceedings; and especially, whether she entertained her lover in the
+legal or the proscribed manner.  This was striking on the very string
+that made music to her busy, meddling, troublesome soul;—she of course
+warmly approved of his idea, and put it into immediate execution.  Thus,
+the very next day, in her own and in her brother’s name, little Twm Shon
+Catty was ordered for the future to be sent to the curate’s school, which
+of course was complied with accordingly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+TWM progresses at the opposition school.  Flogging made easy.  Out of the
+frying-pan into the fire.  Sports at Whirligoogan.
+
+The great success of Catty’s school excited the ill-will of parson Inco;
+although he had far more scholars than he could possibly attend to.  His
+indignation at his wife’s fall from her horse into the well, while
+passing his humble rival’s seminary, together with the humiliating
+consideration that many of the most juvenile deserted his rule, to submit
+to hers, wounded this consequential personage to the quick.  Like the fox
+and the grapes, he sneered at that which was out of his reach, protested
+that the “room” of those scholars who had deserted him was much better
+than their company.
+
+This new arrangement respecting Twm, they thought could not but be
+vexatious to Catty, and therefore Mistress Evans felt herself avenged for
+the tittering that she heard in her school, on her fall into the well as
+before mentioned.  But far different was the case from what they
+anticipated, for Catty no sooner heard the order, than in the sincerity
+of her heart, she exclaimed, “Thank God! the boy will learn something
+from the parson, but I could teach him nothing.”
+
+Little Twm was now in his seventh year, and as refractory a pupil as ever
+was spoiled by a dawdling mother.  Kept aloof from his dear duck-ponds
+and puddles, and compelled to explore the mysteries of the horn-book,
+this first change in his life was acutely felt.  Self-willed and
+stubborn, he conceived the utmost abhorrence of horn-books, cross
+curates, and birch-rods; he wept and sulked, struck the boys who mocked
+him, stayed away from school, and was flogged so often, that at length he
+found it much easier to learn his book than endure the consequence of
+neglecting it.
+
+Once arrived at this happy mood, and being one day praised by his master,
+a new spirit possessed the boy; he resolved to revenge himself on those
+youths who formerly had made him their butt of ridicule, by getting the
+start of them in learning.  The horn-book was soon thrown by; the
+Reading-made-easy and Spelling-book shared a similar fate; and the pride
+of a young heart sparkled in his eyes when his great lady aunt, on
+hearing a good account of him from his master, presented him with a
+bible, on the inside of the cover of which was the following couplet:—
+
+    “Take this Holy Bible book,
+    God give thee grace therein to look.”
+
+A specimen of poetry which was considered by everybody to be the index to
+a master-mind.  Mount Parnassus was scaled, and that by an inhabitant of
+Tregaron!  Poor Catty proudly showed the book and the poetry to all her
+neighbours, who sagely declared Mrs. Graspacre’s bounty and poetry
+equally fine.
+
+Notwithstanding his rapid advancement in book learning, parson Evans was
+far from being satisfied with his pupil, nor was his main end answered in
+having brought him to his school.  Twm loved his mother, and felt no
+great affection for his master, nor gratitude for the floggings which had
+enforced so much learning into his head; and never could the generous boy
+be brought to tell any tales to her disadvantage.  The curate’s severity
+increased, and no longer praised or encouraged; Twm became not only
+indifferent to his tasks, but wanton and unjust severity had the effect
+of blunting his feelings; and making him stubborn and revengeful; until
+at length he arrived at such an extremity of youthful recklessness, as to
+study tricks for the annoyance of his master, and the scholars whom he
+found unfriendly.
+
+In the eleventh year of his age, some decisive shoots of character made
+their appearance; a taste for sharp sayings, a skilful trickery in
+outwitting his opponents, appear to be his striking peculiarities, as
+well as boldness and resolution on the play-ground, where none could
+surpass him in robust or violent exercises.  His faithful ally and
+constant instructor, Watt the mole catcher, taught him many useful and
+_striking_ lessons when the pedagogue had done with our hero for the day.
+Twm, under his tuition, soon became proficient in the use of cudgels and
+quarter-staff.
+
+More particular in the latter he excelled; and his superiority in this
+ancient and national exercise was exemplified by the loud cries and
+broken heads of his defeated schoolfellows.  A catastrophe of that kind
+one day, even in school-time, brought the enraged master out, who
+severely asked Twm what he meant by such conduct.  “Why, sir,” cried the
+little rogue, “You always say that you never can beat anything into the
+head of Peter Penddwl, so I tried what I could do with the cudgel, that’s
+all!”  For this he was booked for a future flogging.  A few days after,
+his master sent him from the school to his house, for a book which he
+wanted.
+
+Twm found the mistress and maid out, the first at the Hall, and the last
+had made a present of her little leisure to her sweetheart, Watt the
+mole-catcher.  On entering the parlour, he saw there a fine bunch of
+grapes, which his great lady aunt had sent his master.  As this was a
+fruit hitherto unknown to him, he deliberately tasted two or three to
+discover whether they were eatable.  Having gradually seen the bunch grow
+“beautifully less,” it seemed a pity to separate the lovely fruit, so Twm
+thought they should all go the same way.
+
+He therefore resolved to finish it, and lay the blame on the cat, if
+charged with the theft; as to dividing the spoil, and leaving a portion
+for the owner, the scheme was impracticable, he decided to abide by his
+master’s maxim, “that it was not decent for two to eat from the same
+dish.”  Lifting up the remains of the luscious bunch with affected
+ceremony, he exclaimed in a lofty tone, mimicking his master, “I publish
+the banns of marriage between my mouth and this bunch of grapes; if any
+one knows just cause or impediment why they should not be joined
+together, let him now declare it, or hereafter forever, hold his peace!”
+And as no dissentient voice intervened, he abruptly cried—“silence gives
+consent,” and hastily consummated the delicious union.
+
+No sooner had he gulped the grapes than his master made his appearance.
+Suspecting the cause of his delay, he had followed after, and witnessing
+the imposing ritual, he stood, rod in hand, surrounded by his scholars,
+whom he had called.  When all was in readiness, he exclaimed, “I publish
+the banns of marriage between my rod and your breech; if any one knows
+just cause or impediment why they may not be lawfully joined together in
+wedlock, let him now declare it.”
+
+“I forbid the banns!” roared Twm Shon Catty; “For what reason?” cried the
+awful pedant, flourishing his rod in eager preparation.
+
+“Because,” cried the waggish urchin, “the parties are not agreed.”  At
+this moment a servant from Graspacre Hall brought a message from the lady
+of that mansion, that she wished to see the Reverend Mr. Inco Evans
+immediately; on which Twm obtained a remission of his flogging.  History
+does not furnish us with satisfactory particulars as to whether Twm was
+liberated on account of his ready wit, or because necessity demanded it,
+the pedagogue being in a hurry.
+
+The boys were now thrilled to ecstasy with that magic word, a “holiday!”
+and away scampered each and all to their respective amusements.  Briefly,
+however, was their gust of enjoyment, for parson Inco’s voice was soon
+heard, vociferating his wrath in no gentle terms; and now he appeared in
+his shirt sleeves, his best Sunday sable coat in his hand, divested of
+every button.
+
+His face at no time prepossessing, was now terrible to look on, inflamed
+with anger, with a slight tint of blue-black over his native strong
+ground of turkey-red.  Great was the terror of the poor enslaved scholars
+as he howled out “What villain has cut off all the buttons from my coat?”
+A general whimper of, “it was not I, sir,” passed among the shivering
+train.  And upon Mr. Inco’s threat to flog them all round unless the
+culprit was instantly discovered, one blue-nosed wretch, upon whom Evans
+had seized to commence his vengeance, roared out that it was Twm Shon
+Catty.  “Where is the young catiff?” roared the Reverend Mr. Inco Evans.
+
+“Playing at whirligoogan on the horseblock.”
+
+“I’ll whirligoogan him with a vengeance,” roared the Tyro, at the same
+time snatching up his terrific bunch of birch which he had facetiously
+christened the tree of knowledge.  Either from having a foreboding of the
+cause of this bustle, or being timely warned of the approaching danger,
+Twm had now made good his retreat, wisely considering that “Discretion
+was the better part of valour,” and that “He who fights and runs away,
+may live to fight another day.”  So that at the precise moment when the
+curate thought Twm’s presence desirable, that happy individual, not the
+least afraid, was busy sketching a caricature of his master.
+
+The materials were blank wall, a piece of chalk, and an extensive
+imagination, whilst he took care to place this artistic production within
+the precincts of a small house never visited except when absolutely
+necessary, but where he knew the curate would be able to study the fine
+arts at his leisure, though possibly it might turn out to be the “pursuit
+of knowledge under difficulties.”  On the horse-block, however, was found
+his stock of whirligigs, which the Welsh boys called the whirligoogans.
+These were no other than the identical button moulds, which our hero had
+cut from the best gala-day coat of the Reverend Inco Evans, with pegs
+driven through each centre hole, so that when twirled between finger and
+thumb, on the surface of the horse-block, they became the puerile pastime
+of the younger scholars, who preferred “Whirligoogan” to the more robust
+exercise of the ball or bandy.
+
+Baffled in his present vengeance, parson Inco shuffled off towards the
+house, and covered his buttonless coat with his gown and cassock, vowing
+inwardly, as he adjusted his dress, future chastisement, in the
+superlative degree, against our hero.  Unfortunately at this luckless
+moment, a perverse hog that seemed to enter into the spirit of this
+disastrous hour, having risen from his bed of mud in the horse-pond,
+where he had dreamed and philosophised away the whole morning, was making
+his way towards the feeding trough, when a lean and sour household cur
+which appeared to envy him his swinish beauty, and easy-life rotoundity,
+maliciously bit him in the breech, and drove him snorting between the
+legs of the newly-dressed curate; so that the reverend gentleman was
+thrown headlong into the mass of muck, uniting the nature of matter and
+fluidity.
+
+“The son of Catty shall pay for all,” muttered the enraged Inco Evans, as
+the servant cleansed his soiled sables.  Thus when poor Twm was flogged
+next morning, with the leniency that the tired arm of the pedagogue alone
+afforded, he had to answer for the sins of the hog and the dog as well as
+his own—and all for playing whirligoogan with the parson’s buttons!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+MR. GRASPACRE upholds the national customs, and Welsh custom receives his
+support.  A “tiff” with Lady Graspacre.  The squire defends bed
+courtships.  Newcastle Emlyn Ale.  Thirsty rats.
+
+At this time a warm altercation one day took place between the squire and
+his lady, which terminated in consequences little expected by either.
+Notwithstanding the prejudice to which Squire Graspacre’s harsh conduct
+had given birth, on his first settlement in Cardiganshire, he had about
+him certain saving points, that not only reconciled them to his rule, but
+really gained their esteem.  He was a plain, bold, sensible man, and
+although entertaining a most exalted opinion of English superiority,
+generally, in particular instances he had the liberality to confess that
+he found things in this nation of mountaineers highly worthy of imitation
+among his more civilized brethren.
+
+There are many exceptions like the squire, but we are sorry to add that
+in Wales we have more illiberal Englishmen, who sneer at all Welsh
+customs, because they are Welsh, than people would dream of.  They forget
+that our usages are as dear to us, as theirs to them, and that however
+peculiar they may be in the eyes of an Englishman, the Welshman considers
+them a _sine qua non_ of his own nationality.  But these instances are
+fast dying out.  Railroads, free and continued intercourse, and a liberal
+spirit of toleration, enable the Englishman to see our custom and our
+usages in a different light.
+
+He had formerly expressed his disapprobation of a custom prevalent among
+Welsh farmers of leaving their corn a long time on the ground after being
+cut, instead of housing it as soon as possible; but experience taught him
+that they were right and himself in error; among the corn was a large
+quantity of weeds, which required to be dried, before it could with
+safety be brought to the barn or the rick, otherwise the grain was
+sweated, and literally poisoned with the rank juice.  He found the
+Cardiganshire mode of cropping the young mountain furze, and giving it as
+food for horses and cattle, worthy of his attention, and after various
+trials, decided on its efficacy so far as to adopt it for the future; and
+actually set Carmarthen Jack to gather the seed of that mountain plant,
+which he forwarded to England to be sown and reared on his Devonshire
+farms.
+
+The planting of flowers on the graves of deceased friends, he eulogized
+as a beautiful and endearing custom, forming an agreeable contrast to the
+clumsy English tombstones with barbarous lines, often setting truth,
+rhyme and reason at defiance.  The Welsh harp he declared the prince of
+all musical instruments, and Welsh weddings the best contrived, and
+conducted in the best manner in the world, and proved his sincerity by
+always giving something at the _Biddings_ of the peasantry, and
+patronizing all those who entered that happy state.  Above all things he
+admired the female costume in Wales, and protested with much truth, that
+the poor people in England were not half so well or so neatly clothed.
+
+His lofty lady, although a Welshwoman bred and born, entertained a very
+different set of ideas on these subjects.  Whenever her husband related
+the anecdote of Polydore Virgil’s ecstacy on his first landing in
+Britain, when he beheld the yellow-blossomed furze, which gave a golden
+glow to the swelling bosom of the hills—how he knelt on the ground beside
+a bush of it, fervently worshipping the God of Nature, that beautified
+the world with the production of such a plant; she would instantly reply,
+“The man was a fool! for _my part_ I see nothing in the nasty prickly
+thing to admire, but wish the fire would burn them all from one end of
+the mountains to the other.”
+
+“And yet, my dear,” he would answer, “Polydore Virgil was a native of no
+rude soil, but came from the land of the laurel, the cypress, and the
+vine, the orange, the lemon, and the citron, and many other splendid
+plants, the very names of which you perhaps never heard of; yet he had
+the liberality to admire what he justly deemed beautiful, even in a
+northern clime, and a comparatively harsh mountainous district.”
+
+As to the harp, whenever he praised its melody, she declared it odious
+and unbearable, and gave preference to the fiddle, the bagpipes, or even
+the hurdy-gurdy; and the Welsh female costume she protested still more
+loudly against, and asked him with a sneer if he did not conceive it
+capable of improvement.
+
+“Oh, certainly, my dear,” would he reply; “for instance, I would have the
+Glamorganshire girls wear shoes, and feet to their stockings, and convert
+their awkward wrappers into neat gowns; the Cardiganshire fair ones
+should doff their clogs, and wear leathern shoes; and the Breconshire
+lass, with all others who follow the abominable habit, should be hindered
+from wearing a handkerchief around the head; but I know of no improvement
+that can be suggested for the Pembrokeshire damsel, except _one_ which
+would be equally applicable to all Welsh girls,—namely, to throw off
+their flannel shifts and wear linen ones.”
+
+Now this good gentlewoman, whose leading weakness it was to suspect her
+husband’s fidelity when from home, kindled with rage at this remark.
+“Shifts, Mr. Graspacre,” exclaimed the angered lady, “what business have
+you to concern yourself about such matters?  You ought, at least, to know
+nothing about such matters, but I dare say you know too much.  There’s
+but one woman’s shifts in the world of which you ought to know anything,
+but no, you seem to know the cut of every girl’s shifts, and you couldn’t
+get that experience without other of a different kind.”
+
+Anxious as a seaman to turn his bark from the direction of a dangerous
+rock, he mildly replied, “Surely, my dear, I may exercise my eyes, when
+the washed clothes are bleaching on the hedge,” and then adding in the
+same breath, “indeed, if I were you, my dear, I would make some
+improvements, _such as your good taste will suggest_, among our own
+maids; taking care however, not to destroy the stamp of nationality on
+their garbs at any rate.”  This was a well-judged hit on his part, and
+had the effect of averting the impending storm.
+
+It should have been mentioned before, that the squire, soon after his
+marriage, had made a tour of South Wales, and, as his lady expressed it,
+taken a whim in his head of engaging a maid servant in every county
+through which he passed; so that in Graspacre Hall there were to be found
+maiden representatives in their native costumes, of all the different
+shires in South Wales, except Radnor, in which, the squire said, the
+barbarous jargon of Herefordshire, and the English cottons, had
+supplanted the native tongue and dress of Wales.  There might you see the
+neat maiden of Pembrokeshire in her dark cloth dress of one hue, either a
+dark brown approximating to black, or a claret colour, made by the skill
+of a tailor, and very closely resembling the ladies’ modern
+riding-habit,—a perfect picture of comfort and neatness, in alliance with
+good taste.
+
+There would you see the extreme contrast, the Glamorganshire lass in
+stockings cut off at the ankle, and without shoes; and, although a
+handsome brunette with fine black eyes, dressed in a slammatkin check
+wrapper of cotton and wool, utterly shapeless, and tied about the middle
+like a wheat-sheaf, or a faggot of wood; possessing, however, the
+peculiar convenience that it could be put on in an instant, without the
+loss of time in dressing tastefully, and that it would fit every body
+alike, as it is neither a gown nor a bedgown, but between both, and
+without a waist.
+
+There would you see the young woman of Breconshire, with her pretty
+blushing face, half hidden in a handkerchief which envelops her head that
+at first you would fancy the figure before you to be a grandmother at
+least.  Her long linsey gown is pinned up behind, each extreme corner
+being joined together in the centre, and confined a few inches below her
+waist; she has her wooden-soled shoes for every day, and leathern ones
+for Sunday, or for a dance, which, with her stockings, she very
+economically takes off should a shower of rain overtake her on a journey;
+and when it ceases, washes her feet in the first brook she meets, and
+puts them on again.  Some might term this a curious method of
+appreciating the protective excellence of the shoemaker’s art, but a
+Welsh girl, or rather, a Breconshire girl studies economy quite as much
+as comfort, and considers her shoes to be made as much for ornament as
+for use, and rather more.
+
+This fair one takes especial care that her drapery shall be short enough
+to discover her pretty ankle, and her apron sufficiently scanty to
+disclose her gay red petticoat with black or white stripes, beneath, and
+at the sides.  Then comes the stout Carmarthenshire lass, with her thick
+bedgown and petticoat of a flaring brick-dust red, knitting stockings as
+she walks, and singing a loud song as she cards or spins.
+
+Lastly, though not least in importance, behold the clogged and cloaked
+short-statured woman of Cardiganshire.  She scorns the sluttish garb and
+bare feet of the Glamorganshire maiden, and hates the abominable pride of
+the Pembrokeshire lass who is vain enough to wear leathern shoes instead
+of honest clogs; proving at the same time that her own vanity is of a
+more pardonable stamp.  “Thank God too, that she is not vain like the
+others are.  Yet in her thanks shows vanity,” while she boasts with
+truth, that her dress costs twice as much as either of the others.  The
+Cardiganshire woman’s dresses, in fact—generally blue, with red stripes
+and bound at the bottom with red or blue worsted caddis, are entirely of
+wool, solidly woven and heavy, consequently more expensive than those
+made of linsey or minco, or of the common intermixture of wool and
+cotton, and presenting an appearance of weighty warmth, equally
+independent of a comely cut and tasty neatness.
+
+It was one of the squire’s fancies never to call these girls by their
+proper names, but by that of their shires, as thus, “Come here little
+Pembroke, and buckle my shoe: and you Carmarthen, bring me a bason of
+broth; Cardigan, call Glamorgan and Brecon, and tell them they must drive
+a harrow a piece through the ploughed part of Rockfield.”
+
+On his return to dinner, a few days after the suggestion about the
+dresses of the maids, he was astonished to find that Mrs. Graspacre had
+used her privilege with a vengeance; having with decided bad taste, put
+them all, _at their own expense_, to be deducted from their wages, into
+glaring cotton prints.
+
+The girls were unhappy enough at this change, as well as at the expense
+thus incurred, and they could not enter the town without experiencing the
+ridicule of their friends and neighbours; the Cardiganshire maid, who
+considered such a change in the light of disowning her country, and like
+a renegade putting on the livery of the Saxon, in something of a
+termagant spirit, tendered her resignation to her master rather than
+comply with such an innovation.
+
+This ungenerous invasion of his harmless rules, roused his indignation;
+and after venting a few “damns,” _a la John Bull_, against draggle-tail
+cotton rags, without a word of expostulation with his rib, he desired the
+girls to bring all their trumpery to him, which they gladly did, and he
+made them instantly into a bonfire in the farm-yard.  Then in a firm
+undertone of subdued resentment, gave strict injunctions that no further
+liberties should be taken with their national costume; to which his lady
+made the polite and submissive reply, that the girls might all walk
+abroad without any dress at all if he chose, and go to the devil his own
+way.
+
+At this juncture little Pembroke came in with rosy smiles, and told her
+master that Carmarthen Jack wanted to speak to him very particularly, on
+which the squire laughed, and asked on what _important_ matter.  “Why,
+sir,” said the rustic beauty, while arch smiles and blushes contended in
+her sweet oval face, “Parson Inco has found out that he has been courting
+in bed, with Catty the schoolmistress, and he has run here before the
+parson to say it is all a falsehood.”
+
+“There’s an impious rascal for you!” cried the lady of the house, “to
+charge the clergyman with a falsehood; but I am sure ’tis true, for I
+long suspected it.”
+
+“Madam, your own dignity and delicacy ought to suggest to you that the
+less you interfere in these matters the more creditable it will be to
+your own common sense,” said the squire, in a tone which was
+unmistakable.  “I insist,” cried the imperious dame, “that he be put in
+the stocks, and be ducked in the river.”
+
+“Neither shall be done,” said he firmly, “and from henceforward no person
+shall be annoyed or persecuted on that score, but everyone shall court as
+he or she pleases.”  “What!” cried the indignant lady, “would you fill
+the country with bastards!”
+
+“No, madam,” was the reply, “but with as happy a set of people as
+possible.”
+
+Encouraged by the turn which affairs had taken, the Cardiganshire maid
+now asked her master for her discharge; as her mistress, she said, had
+thrown a slur on her brewing abilities, which had almost broken her
+heart; “for” said she, with a ludicrous whimper, “she says my brewing is
+unfit for the drinking of Christian people, and hardly worthy of the
+hogs!—but,” cried the sturdy little wench, raising her voice to an
+accusatory pitch, and at the same time a tone of triumph, “I came from
+Newcastle Emlyn, the country of good beer, the very home where the _Cwrw
+da_ of _Hen Gymru_ {50a} is bred and born, and I would rather die than be
+told that I can’t brew!”
+
+“Indeed, Cardy,” said the squire, with a smile, “though your mistress may
+have been too severe in her censure, I must say that your two last
+brewings were unequal to the first.”  “A good reason why, sir; who can
+brew without malt and hops? who can make bricks without straw?  I hear
+some of the great London brewers do without either malt or hops, but I
+wouldn’t drink their brewings, I know; their brewings won’t do for us at
+Newcastle Emlyn! and your wheat, {50b} sir, which has grown by being cut
+in the wet harvest, so as to be unfit for bread, is but a poor make-shift
+for malt—it may do for the wish-wash paltry brewers’ ale of Haverfordwest
+and Fishguard, or the Swansea folk, Merthyr blacks, and Cardiff boys, but
+our ploughboys would turn up their noses at such stuff at Newcastle
+Emlyn!
+
+“Damn Newcastle Emlyn!” cried the squire, provoked by her continual
+reference to her native place.  “Master! master!” cried the girl, as if
+rebuking him for the greatest impiety conceivable, “don’t damn Newcastle
+Emlyn; I had rather you should knock me down than damn Newcastle Emlyn!
+it is the country of decent people and good home-brewed ale,—the country
+where”—
+
+“You brewed good ale from the grown wheat the first time,” said the
+squire, not deeming it necessary to notice her observations.
+
+“Good! was it?” retorts the girl, struggling between respect for her
+master and contempt for his taste in the matter of malt drink; “good was
+it!  I tell you what, master, you are a good master, and I have nothing
+to say against mistress, for it would not be decent, but you never tasted
+beer like ours at Newcastle Emlyn! the real hearty _cwrw da_! which I
+could make you to-morrow, if you would give me good malt and hops, and
+let it stand long enough untapped.”
+
+“But Cardy, there must be a sound reason for your two last brewings being
+inferior to the first.  You could brew a well-flavoured, palatable beer,
+but you don’t now, although you have the same ingredients given you.”
+
+“The last was better, a good deal, than the other.  The first would have
+turned the devil’s stomach, had he known what was in it.”
+
+“Explain yourself,” said the squire, surprised.  “I will, sir, if I were
+to be hanged for it,” cried the girl in a tone of confidence; “it seems
+that rats love beer as well as any christian folks, and get drunk and die
+in drink, as a warning to all sober-minded rats; but that is neither here
+nor there, and I hate to tell a rigmarole story; the long and the short
+of it is, that when I came to wash out the barrels after the first
+brewing, I found three rats in one, and two in the other.”
+
+“You found what?” asked the squire and his lady at the same time.
+
+“I found three rats, sir, that had burst themselves with drinking beer,
+and afterwards fell in and were drowned—they were then putrid, and it was
+that, it seems, that made the ale so palatable; there were no dead
+animals in the last brewing, so that of course it wasn’t so ‘palatable’
+and well-flavoured as the other.  But had I known your mind I might have
+killed a couple of cats, or put you in a bushel of lively cockroaches.”
+
+This explanation excited a titter among the girls, and a loud laugh from
+the squire, while the lady evinced the shock which her delicacy had
+sustained, by making wry faces, and snuffing violently at her
+smelling-bottle to avoid fainting.
+
+The squire good-humouredly addressed the girl,—“now, Cardy, you are
+perfectly right in the praise you bestow on your own country ale, and I
+promise you shall have the best of malt and hops for your next attempt,
+when I expect it to be equal to the best _cwrw da_ of Newcastle
+Emlyn—and, do you hear? we shall dispense with either rats or cats in it
+for the future.”
+
+This amicable settlement of differences set every one in good humour,
+except the haughty mistress, who, embittered with her double defeat,
+retired in gloom, while her husband went to give audience to Jack of
+Sheer Gâr.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+
+“THE manners and customs” attendant on a Welsh Wedding.  The Bidding.
+The Gwahoddwr.  The Ystavell.  Pwrs a Gwregys.  Pwython.  In which our
+hero and his friend Watt play rather important parts.
+
+Carmarthen Jack had not been long waiting for his master, before little
+Pembroke full of glee, ran to inform him that the embargo had been taken
+for ever off bed courtship; and that he was now free whether guilty or
+not.  This happy news affected him so well that he met his master with
+comparative ease; and after some struggles with his native bashfulness,
+an important secret came out—that he was going to be married to Catty the
+schoolmistress; and wished to know whether he should be retained in the
+squire’s service after that event.
+
+Now this was a circumstance exactly to the squire’s taste; as a Welsh
+wedding portrayed many national features in the character of the
+peasantry, that pleased him; and, as he was generally a donor on these
+occasions, his vanity was flattered by being looked up to as their
+patron.  He of course acquiesced in his servant’s request, and after a
+little jocular and rough rallying, proposed that the _Bidding_ should be
+immediately commenced.
+
+A _Bidding_ was another of the excellent customs peculiar to the Welsh,
+but of late years confined exclusively to the lower classes, which the
+squire so much admired, and considered worthy of imitation, he said,
+throughout the world.  It signifies a general and particular invitation
+to all the friends of the bride and bridegroom elect, to meet them at the
+houses of their respective parents, or any other place appointed.  Any
+strangers who choose to attend are also made welcome.  It is an
+understood thing that every person who comes, contributes a small sum
+towards making a purse for the young pair to begin the world with.  They
+have a claim on those persons whose weddings they had themselves
+attended; and at these times their parents and friends also make their
+claims in their favour on all whom they may have at any time befriended
+in a similar manner.  These donations are always registered, and
+considered as debts, to be repaid, on the occurrence of weddings only;
+but there are many contributors, especially the masters and mistresses of
+the parties, that of course require no repayment.  These returns being
+made only by small instalments, and only at the weddings of their donors,
+are easily accomplished; and the benefit derived from this custom is
+great, where the parties are respected.
+
+A novel feature, to those who have been unaccustomed to the Welsh
+wedding, is the Gwahoddwr or Bidder, who goes from house to house, with
+his staff of office—a white wand embellished with ribbons.  His hat, and
+often the breast of his coat, is similarly decorated.  Thus attired, he
+enters each house with suitable “pride of place,” amidst the smiles of
+the old people, and giggling of the young ones; and taking his stand in
+the centre of the house, and striking his wand on the floor to enforce
+silence, announces the wedding which is to take place, sometimes in
+rhyme, but more frequently in a set speech of prose.
+
+The banns were immediately put in, and every preparation made for the
+wedding.  Watt the mole-catcher, as the greatest wag in the parish, was
+appointed by the squire to the enviable office of _Gwahoddwr_.  The
+following homely lines, from a correct and liberal translation of those
+written for the purpose of giving Watt’s oratory full scope on this
+occasion.  The Rev. John David Rhys, a young poetical clergyman, at this
+time a visitor with Squire Graspacre, was the author; and though they do
+not betoken the “unapproachable of Parnassus,” they yet suited the
+purpose for which they were penned.
+
+    List to the Bidder!—a health to all
+    Who dwell in this house, both great and small;
+    Prosperity’s comforts ever attend
+    The Bride and Bridegroom’s generous friend.
+
+    His door may it never need a latch;
+    His hearth a fire, his cottage a thatch;
+    His wife a card, or a spinning-wheel;
+    His floor a table, nor on it a meal!
+
+    On Saturday next a wedding you’ll see,
+    In fair Tregaron, as gay as can be,
+    Between John Rees, called Jack o Sheer Gâr,
+    And Catherine Jones, his chosen fair.
+
+    Haste to the wedding, its joy to share!
+    Mirth and good humour shall meet you there;
+    Come one, come all: there’s a welcome true
+    To master and mistress and servants too!
+
+    Stools you will find to sit upon,
+    And tables, and goodly food thereon,
+    Butter and cheese, and flesh and fish,
+    (If you can catch them!) all you wish.
+
+    There many a lad shall a sweetheart find,
+    And many a lass meet a youth to her mind,
+    While nut-brown ale, both good and strong,
+    Shall warm the heart for the dance and song.
+
+    Oft at the wedding are matches made,
+    When dress’d in their best come youth and maid,
+    And dance together, and whisper and kiss.—
+    Who knows what wedding may rise from this.
+
+    Whoever may come to the bidding note,—
+    There’s thanks to the friend who brings three groat;
+    And ne’er may they hobble upon a crutch
+    Whoe’er gives the lovers twice as much!
+
+    Whatever is given, so much they’ll restore—
+    One shilling or two, or three, or four,
+    Whenever in similar case ’tis claim’d,
+    Else were defaulters ever shamed. {55}
+
+    So haste to the wedding, both great small,
+    Master and mistress and servants all!
+    Catty at home, Jack’s at the sign of the Cat;
+    Now God save the king and the bidder Watt!
+
+During this hubbub and preparation, Twm Shon Catty was granted the
+glorious privilege of a week’s holiday, and his friend Watt took him
+along with him to every house where he had to act as bidder.  To see, was
+to learn with Twm, and to learn was to imitate.  The thought soon struck
+him that he might be a _Gwahoddwr_; so he at once cut a stout willow
+wand, peeled it, and tacked a bunch of carpenter’s shavings and rush
+flags to the top.  Forth he went, and standing in the midst of a group of
+admiring boys and girls, proceeded to imitate Watt in every motion.  On
+this occasion it is said he invoked the aid of the tuneful nine, and
+composed the following effusion, but we suspect that he was only the
+mouthpiece to the real poet.
+
+After Watt had finished, our hero struck _his_ emblem of office upon each
+floor, and repeated the following:—
+
+    Who’ll come to the wedding of Catty my mother?
+    Come mother, come daughter, son, father, brother,
+    And bring all your cousins, and uncles, and aunts,
+    To revel the feast at our jolly courants.
+    Haste, haste to the Bidding, ye stingy scrubs!
+    And out with your purses, and down with your dubs.
+
+    Come Gwenny and Griffith, and Roger and Sal;
+    Morgan, Meredith, and Peggy and Pal;
+    Come one, come all, with your best on back,
+    To see mother married to spoon-making Jack;
+    He’s a spoon for his pains, as ye all shall see soon,
+    But lucky at finding a bowl to his spoon.
+
+    Haste, haste to the Bidding! my friends, if you please,
+    For lack of white money bring good yellow cheese,
+    And butter, but not in your pockets alack,
+    Bring bacon or mutton well dried on the rack.
+    So endeth my story; come, haste we, friend Watty;
+    Now God save the King, and his friend Twm Shon Catty!
+
+Twm’s delivery of these lines excited much mirth and laughter, and, added
+to those of the real _Gwahoddwr_, drew more than ordinary attention to
+this Bidding.  Many of the children of the different houses had been
+Twm’s school-fellows, and the pupils of his mother, which had the effect
+of influencing them, and became a sort of tie, to claim their presence at
+her bidding.  As Jack’s friends were in Carmarthenshire, another
+_Gwahoddwr_ was appointed by his master to go with him to call on his at
+his own native place; and so liberal was the squire on this occasion,
+that he sent them both mounted on horses of their own.
+
+Jack and his Bidder had no great success, as his friends reproached him
+for his perverse intention of marrying a strange woman in a far land; and
+finding but little pleasure in the subject or manner of their lectures,
+he made a precipitate retreat.  Jack blushed for his countrymen, and he
+had sufficient native delicacy to see that their liberality would
+contrast disadvantageously with the warm generosity of Catty’s friends.
+He therefore bribed Ianto Gwyn, the harper, who had acted as his bidder,
+to silence; and brought with him to Tregaron, in a hired cart, the common
+contribution of a bridegroom,—namely, a bedstead, a table, a stool, and a
+dresser.  These, he feigned had been bought with his bidding-money,
+received at Carmarthen.  Friday is always allotted to bring home the
+_Yestavell_, or the woman’s furniture; consisting generally of an oaken
+coffer or chest; a feather-bed and blankets; all the crockery and pewter;
+wooden bowls, piggings, spoons, and trenchers, with the general furniture
+of the shelf; but as Catty was already provided with every thing of this
+kind, she had but little to add to her stock.
+
+The landlord of the public-house originally called “The Lion,” but with a
+sign resembling a more ignoble animal, causing it to be ultimately known
+by no other designation than that of “the cat,” offered Jack his parlour
+to receive his Cardiganshire friends in.  Accordingly, on the Friday
+before the wedding, he was busily employed in receiving money, cheese,
+and butter, from them, while Catty was similarly engaged at her
+residence, with _her_ partizans, which were not a few.  This custom in
+Welsh is called _Pwrs a Gwregys_, or purse and girdle; and is, doubtless,
+of very remote origin.
+
+At length the long-looked-for, the important Saturday arrived; a day
+generally fixed upon for the celebration of the hymeneal ordinances, in
+Wales, from the sage persuasion that it is a _lucky day_, as well as for
+the convenience of the Sabbath intervening between it and a working day—a
+glorious season of sunshine to the children of labour.
+
+Jack was agreeably disappointed to see a great many of his Carmarthen
+friends had repented of their unkind treatment of his bidder, and had now
+come to make amends.  They came mounted on their ponies, and honourably
+paid their _Pwython_; that is to say, returned the presents which he or
+his relatives or friends had made at different weddings.  Jack’s
+resentful and sudden disappearance, had a beneficial effect on the
+feelings of his friends and countrymen; and a jealousy of yielding the
+palm for liberality to a neighbouring country, stirred a spirit of
+emulous contention among them, which ended in a resolution that a party
+should attend the wedding, and bear with them the _Pwython_ of the
+others, who had an aversion to travel such a very distant journey, being
+nearly five and twenty miles, a distance in those days which was
+considered no joke, but which we now, in this age of steam and
+locomotion, bridge over in five and twenty minutes.
+
+After depositing their offerings, and partaking of a little refreshment,
+twelve of the bridegroom’s friends, headed by Ianto Gwyn the harper,
+mounted their ponies and called at Catty’s house, to demand the bride;
+and Watt the mole-catcher and _Gwahoddwr_, who added to these functions
+the father to Catty, expecting their arrival, at length heard without
+appearing, the following lines, delivered by the merry harper, from the
+back of his pony.
+
+    Open windows, open doors,
+    And with flowers strew the floors,
+    Heap the hearth with blazing wood,
+    Load the spit with festal food
+    The _crochen_ {58} on its hook be placed,
+    And tap a barrel of the best!
+    For this is Catty’s wedding day!
+    Now bring the fair one out, I pray.
+
+On which Watt, with the door still closed, made this reply without
+appearing.
+
+    Who are ye all! ye noisy train!
+    Be ye thieves, or honest men,
+    Tell us now what brings you here,
+    Or this intrusion costs you dear!
+
+Ianto Gwyn then rejoins,
+
+    Honest men are we, who seek
+    A dainty maid both fair and meek,
+    Very good and very pretty,
+    And known to all by name of Catty;
+    We come to claim her for a bride;
+    Come, father! let the pair be tied
+    To him who loves her ever well:—
+
+Watt still within, answers;
+
+    So ye say, but time will tell;
+    My daughter’s very well at home,
+    So ye may pack and homeward roam.
+
+Ianto Gwyn exclaims, in resolute tones,
+
+    Your home no more she’s doom’d to share,
+    Like every marriageable fair,
+    Her father’s roof she quits for one
+    Where she is mistress: woo’d and won,
+    It now remains to see her wedded,
+    And homeward brought and safely bedded;
+    Unless you give her up, we swear
+    The roof from off your house to tear,
+    Burst in the doors, and batter walls
+    To rescue her whom wedlock calls.
+
+Another of the bridegroom’s party then calls aloud, in a voice of
+authority,
+
+    Ho! peace in the king’s name, here peace!
+    Let vaunts and taunting language cease;
+    While we, the bridesmen, come to sue
+    The favour to all bridesmen due,
+    The daughter from the father’s hand,
+    And entertainment kindly bland.
+
+Now the great Watt, the famous entrapper of moles, with airs mighty and
+grand, well befitting the dignity of the occasion—and however absurd our
+English brethren may term the custom, it is considered of serious
+importance with us—throws open the door of Catty’s dwelling, sallies
+forth to give the querists a warm welcome, and as a preliminary helps
+them to dismount.  After taking a little more refreshment, consisting of
+newly-baked oaten cakes, with butter and cheese, washed down with copious
+draughts of ale, they all remounted, and were joined by those of the
+bridegroom’s party; the whole rustic cavalcade making their way towards
+the church.  A motley assemblage, in truth it was, but withal
+picturesque, and agreeable to contemplate, for every face was happy; save
+when now and then a cautious damsel, mounted behind her father or
+brother, would exhibit a touch of the dismals in the length of her
+features, on discovering that the _cwrw_ had any other effect but that of
+rendering her protector steady in his seat on the saddle.  Almost every
+sort of animal, large or small, lame or blind, good or bad, seemed to
+have been pressed into the service, and reduced to the levelling system,
+and without regard to either size or quality, doomed to carry double.
+
+And thus they went on at a walking pace, while the loud chat of many
+seemed drowned in the loud laughter and shouting of others, till now and
+then rebuked by some of the elders; who however, to little purpose,
+vociferated the words decency—propriety—sober purposes—&c. &c., the
+tendency of which seemed but little understood.  Jack, the happy
+bridegroom elect, bestrode a wretched apology for a horse, whose
+antiquated legs trembled like an aspen leaf; as for its bones, they were
+painfully apparent, and the very curs seemed, as they looked upon this
+time worn piece of cattle, to anticipate their feast.  Elevated behind
+her temporary father on a fleet horse of the squire’s, poor Catty was
+doomed to present purgatory to contrast her enjoyment of future
+happiness, for, unprovided with a pillion, she sat on the crupper,
+holding fast by Watt’s coat.  The quiet pace which commenced this little
+journey was soon changed into rough horsemanship, for the mad-cap
+mole-catcher turning his steed into the Cardigan road, gave him the spur,
+and commenced an outrageous gallop; the wedding party followed him with
+all the might of their little beasts, and like valiant villagers in chase
+of a highwayman, strove their utmost to rescue the bride.  Ianto Gwyn,
+the rural bard and harper, ever ready with an extempore, produced on this
+occasion:—
+
+    Oh yes! lost, strayed, or run away
+    This moment from the king’s highway,
+    A tall and sightly strapping woman,
+    A circumstance which is a rum ’un;
+    ’Tis said a murderer of vermin
+    On her abduction did determine;
+    Whoe’er will bear to gaol th’ offender,
+    The lost one to her owner render,
+    Shall be as handsomely rewarded,
+    As can be readily afforded.
+
+Having considerably distanced his pursuers, he stopped at length, at
+Catty’s request, who complained sadly of being sorely bumped upon the
+buckle of the crupper.  Dexterously turning to the bye-road toward the
+church, he was soon perceived and followed by the party, and altogether
+they soon arrived at their journey’s end, and alighting, they entered the
+sacred fane with due decorum.  Evans the curate, to enhance his own
+services and increase his importance, took care to damp their hilarity by
+keeping them waiting full three quarters of an hour, before he made his
+appearance; and when he came, his looks and demeanour partook more of the
+rigid priest of Saturn, than the heart-joining, bliss-dispensing Hymen.
+His cherished plans, which were to result in a discovery of dishonour to
+poor Catty, were terribly overthrown by this decent Welsh marriage, and
+the curate was in a corresponding temper.  His nature was not such as
+would rejoice at virtue triumphant, more especially as he had calculated
+upon vice occupying the same position.
+
+He very sternly rebuked their smiles and happy looks, and actually
+threatened not to perform the marriage ceremony, until, alarmed at the
+menace, they all became perfectly joyless, and most orthodoxically
+gloomy.  The indissoluble knot was soon tied; and no longer dependent on
+the good offices of the magisterial churchman, their spirit of joyousness
+burst forth; while in the churchyard the mellow harp of Ianto Gwyn was
+playing the sprightly air of _Morwynion Glan Meirionydd_, or the Fair
+Maids of Merionethshire; while many of the party joined in the words
+which belong to that beautiful and animating tune.  Suddenly changing the
+air, the eccentric harper struck up “Megan has lost her garter,” which
+was succeeded by “Mentra Gwen,” and a string of such national melodies,
+equally gay and appropriate.
+
+After the marriage ceremony, they returned in much the same order, or
+rather disorder; with the difference that the bride sat behind her
+husband, instead of her father; the harper playing the whole time, and
+many sweet voices joining in the words of the airs.
+
+Coming to Catty’s house, the company found that Juggy had been useful and
+hospitable.  There was a first-rate dinner provided, in ample
+proportions, of which all could and did partake freely; every one had to
+pay for his own ale, but the females, by courtesy, were “treated” at the
+expense of males.  In the course of the evening, jigs, reels, and country
+dances, were successfully gone through with much spirit.  Catty danced
+with much agility; Jack, pressed on all sides, and at length compelled to
+make one in a country dance, showed every indication of this being his
+virgin attempt at “the poetry of motion;” and alternately stumping and
+blowing, while copious streams ran down his rugged forehead, as they
+every instant corrected his erratic course, and literally pushed him down
+the dance, he vowed that this his first, should also be his last
+exhibition on the “light fantastic toe.”
+
+Young Twm, who had been playing at sweethearts, with little Gwenny
+Cadwgan on his knee, to the great mirth of his seniors, soon brought her
+out to try her foot at the dance with him.  The poor little wench blushed
+scarlet deep, made her first essay with one equally young and
+inexperienced with herself; and the juvenile pair were very
+good-naturedly instructed in the figure of the dance, and they
+contributed not a little to the general harmony.  Juggy, the sister of
+Catty, absolutely refused to sport her figure among the dancers, and
+treated Watt the mole-catcher with a hard favour in the face for
+attempting to drag her in perforce.  At length, fatigued with the
+dancing, and alarmed for the state of their inebriated friends and
+companions, many, especially the females, turned their serious thoughts
+towards home.
+
+It was now drawing towards the hour of retiring for the night, when the
+usual trick was played of concealing the bride from the bridegroom.  Poor
+Jack, whom nature had not favoured with a great share of facetiousness,
+and who never mixed with such a company before, began to be seriously
+alarmed.  Great was the mirth of the company, while, with a strange
+expression of countenance, he sought her up and down in every corner of
+the house.  At length he discovered a part of her red petticoat sticking
+out from under the bottom of the straw arm-chair, and soon drew her out
+from the place of concealment.
+
+The parting hour had now arrived; then came the general shaking of hands,
+and serious expressions of good wishes among the sober; while the tipsy
+folks vented their wit in jocular allusions to their conjugal felicity:
+some offering themselves for godfathers and godmothers to their future
+offspring, while others far gone in drink, laid bets on the probability
+that the first child would be either a boy or a girl.  At this time
+considerable surprise was excited by the conduct of an individual who had
+been remarkably unsocial the whole evening, no person having heard him
+speak a word; and when asked a question, or in answer to a health being
+drank, he merely nodded in a hurried manner, and immediately drew hard at
+his pipe, and puffed forth volumes of smoke, as if to envelop himself in
+a cloud of invisibility.
+
+The mysterious stranger had been evidently “taking stock” the whole of
+the evening, but whether pleased or displeased with the proceedings did
+not appear, as reticence seemed to be about the only accomplishment he
+possessed.  Every one was too much engaged with their own pleasure to
+give him much attention, and thus he remained till the moment of
+departure, when he was observed to stagger as he rose from his seat.
+Somebody then observed, that it must have been with smoke and not the
+beer that affected his brains, as he drank but little; a remark that
+imputed niggardly and curmudgeon propensities to him.  Determined to give
+him something of a roast, a young farmer asked him, with a defying air,
+whether he had paid his _Pwython_.
+
+“No!” roared the hitherto silent man, “but here it is—take it ‘Catty’ my
+girl, and much good may it do thee!”  On which he put five golden angels
+into her hand.  With emotions of wonder and gratitude, while catching an
+eager glance at his face, Catty involuntarily exclaimed—“the squire!”
+when he darted out, mounted his horse, as did the rest of the party, rode
+off, and disappeared.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+
+TWM SHON CATTY improves under a more able tuition.  Watt’s vagaries, and
+the troubles and trials of a poor pedlar.  Twm begins his apprenticeship
+to a Cardiganshire farmer.
+
+Determined to witness the humble festivities of the “lowly train,” Squire
+Graspacre had been among them the whole evening, disguised like a rough
+mountaineer husbandman, and was heartily gratified, although his apparent
+incivility of conduct had nearly subjected him to harsh treatment from
+the jovial ale-fraught rustics, who, of course, but little relished his
+strange behaviour.  His deficiency in the Welsh language had been
+concealed by alternately feigning deafness and drunkenness, which, with
+the aid of the pipe left him free from suspicion.  The morning of Sunday
+after the wedding, which is called _Neithior_, being come, the happy pair
+stayed at home, receiving their friends who called with their good-will,
+which they manifested by the payment of _Pwython_.  The day was drank
+out, but not as in every other respect, save the diminishing of ale, each
+seemed to recollect it was the Sabbath, and tossed off their cups in
+quietness.
+
+On Monday morning the supply of ale was exhausted, tottering legs waggled
+homeward, and all was again quiet.  Like prudent accountants, Jack and
+Catty reckoned up the amount of their wedding gifts, and found the amount
+to be twenty-seven pounds eight shillings and sixpence, besides fourteen
+whole, and twenty-two half cheeses, the greater part of which they soon
+turned into cash.
+
+In these days, when the value of money has been so much decreased, the
+amount of the _Pwython_, and presents at a Welsh wedding, have been known
+to reach more than treble the sum here stated; especially when the
+friends of the party have been numerous, and headed by the patronage of a
+wealthy and liberal master and mistress, who generally enlist their
+friends and visitors under the hymeneal banners of a faithful servant,
+the architects of whose humble fortunes they become, by laying themselves
+the foundation stone.
+
+As, from this part of our history, the hero will rise in importance,
+those who have hitherto stood forward, must proportionably draw back, to
+give him due place; especially Jack and Catty; the grand drama of whose
+lives has been closed by a matrimonial union; whence, henceforth, they
+must sink into inconsiderable personages.
+
+In consequence of the squire’s liberality on the celebration of Catty’s
+wedding, and a general report prevailing that he was inclined towards the
+Welsh, a protector of their customs, a general good-will towards him was
+manifested by the country people.  But his popularity reached its
+culminating point when he gave forth the opinion that the Welsh female
+costume was a useful, elegant, and picturesque one, and for once, a scion
+of John Bull became popular with us.
+
+When he eulogized the Welsh harp, and gave, in addition to various pieces
+of silver at different times, a golden angel to Ianto Gwyn for his
+performances at Jack and Catty’s wedding, he gained a few steps more into
+their good opinion.  But when he declared that bed courtship should not
+be abolished, there was a burst of enthusiasm in his favour in every
+breast, especially among the females.  During this new impulse given to
+the reign of happiness, the great lady at the hall and her favourite
+curate hid their diminished heads; the former declaring that it was
+utterly impossible that the world could last many months longer, while
+such immorality and ungodliness was practiced under the auspices of a
+declared patron.
+
+Whether it was the influence of this alarm, or the bitterness of baffled
+malignity, that preyed on her mind, certain it is, she was soon thrown on
+a sick bed, and considered seriously indisposed.  The squire, to his
+honour be it said, although unfortunately married to a very disagreeable
+woman, allowed a sense of duty to supply the place of affection, when his
+attentions were so indispensably needed.  During her illness, the worthy
+old rector, who had been ill but a single week, died; and Squire
+Graspacre, against his own judgment and feelings, well knowing that such
+an arrangement would be agreeable to his wife, inducted the curate,
+Evans, into the vacant living.  In a fortnight after, however, she died
+herself; a circumstance, perhaps, that gave no real sorrow to any
+creature breathing.
+
+The general report of a liberal English squire in Cardiganshire, who
+patronized and upheld the customs of the Welsh, penetrated to the
+extremities of the neighbouring counties, and became at last so strangely
+exaggerated, that he was represented as the patron of the learned;
+consequently many of the humbler sons of the church took long journeys to
+be undeceived.  Of the many who called upon him with a view of seeking
+his patronage of their literary undertakings, one especially took his
+fancy; a young clergyman named John David Rhys, before named as the
+author of the Bidder’s song.
+
+But poetry was not his forte; his energy and perseverance in the
+favourite study of Welshmen, British antiquities, and systemizing his
+native language, deserved encouragement and applause.  He had been
+composing a Welsh grammar, and had actually commenced a dictionary.  As
+he spoke English very well, the squire soon understood the merit of his
+undertakings, and promised his patronage and good offices; in the mean
+time requesting him to remain on the footing of a friend beneath his
+roof, till something could be done for him.  This excellent person he now
+fixed upon to succeed Evans in the school and curacy; stipulating, that
+for his fulfilment of the latter, he was to have thirty pounds, and for
+the former ten pounds a-year.
+
+Fortunate for Rhys would it have been had the old rector outlived the
+squire’s lady, in which case it is more than probable he would have
+filled the living instead of Evans, whom the squire never liked.  The
+change was a fortunate one for Twm Shon Catty, who, as we have before
+seen, had already a name for composing doggerel, and had even tried his
+muse in the orthodox four-and-twenty Welsh measures.  When he found his
+new master a kind young man, an historian, antiquarian, and something of
+a poet, the homage of the heart was immediately paid him.  Twm thought he
+was the wisest man in the world, when he heard him speak of the battles
+fought by the Britons in ancient times, against the Romans, Danes, and
+Saxons.  This was to him a knowledge the most estimable, and he longed to
+be enabled also to talk about battles and to write patriotic songs.
+Having now his information from a better source, he soon learnt to
+despise the jargon and misstatements of Ianto Gwyn, with whom he argued
+boldly, and proved to him that Geoffry of Monmouth was a fabulist, and no
+historian; that it was not Joseph of Arimathea who christianized Britain,
+but Brân ab Llyr, the father of renowned Caractacus, with various other
+such knotty points.
+
+The great deference which he paid his master, his attention to every word
+which fell from his lips, with his close and successful application to
+his lessons, gained him the esteem and admiration of Rhys, with whom he
+became a great favourite.  The amiable young clergyman found much
+satisfaction on discovering a youngster with taste, sufficient to
+appreciate his favourite pursuits, and took pleasure in explaining to him
+every subject of his enquiries.  A thirst for information possessed the
+boy; and he rummaged the most dry and tedious works connected with Welsh
+antiquities, with an avidity that was astonishing even to his master.
+
+It would perhaps have been fortunate for Twm had this thirst for study
+remained unchecked by any less noble desire.  But joking and learning,
+“larks” and Latin, practical jests and Welsh history, are scarcely likely
+to agree well.  Watt the mole-catcher occupied his attention, and, in the
+end, his acquaintance with that personage was an ill wind which blew
+nobody good.
+
+About eighteen months after Rhys’s appointment to the school, one evening
+in the Christmas holidays, Watt asked him if he would take a share in a
+freak that would keep him up the greater part of the night.  Twm
+immediately assented, without enquiring its nature; enough for him it was
+that it was a scheme of merry mischief, in the prospect of which his
+heart ever bounded.
+
+This idle whim of Watt’s was nothing more than to pull down the signs of
+all the public-houses and shops; which being few, was easily done, but
+the greater difficulty was to suspend them from, or attach them to, the
+tenements of others, in which they however succeeded.  This trick
+elicited some humour; and a satirical application was discernible in the
+new disposal of the boards.  When the light of day discovered their
+handy-work, great was the astonishment of the ale-house-keepers and
+others, to find their signs vanished, and gracing the fronts of their
+neighbours’ private houses; and the anger of the reverend Inco Evans was
+boundless, on perceiving the “Fox and Goose” over the rectory house door,
+with the words proceeding from the mouth of reynard, “I have thee now;”
+and under the pictorial figures “Good entertainment for man or horse.”
+
+A crowd was in consequence collected about his door, and the provoking
+laughter of the people stung him to the bitterest degree of resentment.
+A most unlucky old carl of a Scotch pedlar at this moment very innocently
+entered the house, taking it, as the sign imported, for a tavern, and
+unstrapping his huge pack, laid it on the clerical magistrate’s table,
+calling about, “hollow! Fox and Goose;” on which the reverend host and
+his spouse appeared, she laughing at the jest, and he frowning with the
+aspect of a demon.
+
+“Ah ye ’re come,” said the facetious Scot, “by my saul aw never kenn’d
+twa that looked the characters sa weal afore—a merry guse an a sour fox!
+come gi us a pot of your best half and half.”  The lady ran out laughing,
+but Inco sourly answered, “O yes! friend, thou shalt have half and half
+to thy heart’s content;” and turning his back, shut and locked the door,
+leaving the poor pedlar in gaping wonderment.
+
+“They’re an aufu’ time coming!  I’se warrant they’re brewing the beer.
+Hech, sirs, this is a strange place o’ ca’, and they wouldna’ find sic a
+vile ’yun, frae John o’Groat’s to John o’ Aberdeen’s!”  But his
+rumination on the subject was cut short by the return of Inco, who
+unlocking the door, was followed in by two serving damsels, each bearing
+a pewter vase containing something less fragrant than the sweets of
+Araby, which they duly discharged in the face of the unconscious pedlar,
+accompanied with Inco’s exclamation “there’s half and half for you!” and
+the girls retreated in roars of laughter, while their poor victim cursed
+them for vile nanny goats of the mountains.
+
+At this moment young Twm, humanely feeling for the stranger’s ill
+treatment, informed him of his error in mistaking that house, the
+residence of the clergyman and magistrate of the town, for a tavern.
+Adding that be feared the constables were sent for, to put him in the
+stocks.  It need scarcely be added, that Sawney was soon many miles away
+from Tregaron.  Hop-o-my-Thumb never used his legs and his seven-leagued
+boots to such express purpose as did Sawney, for he pushed on as though
+he knew terrors were behind, and the safety of the body depended upon the
+speed of his legs.  Squire Graspacre from indolence or dislike to all
+business except farming, declined being in the commission of the peace
+himself, and put the parson in his stead.  Having now attained the summit
+of his ambition, as rector and justice of the peace, his overweening
+presumption and conceit became daily more conspicuous; and therefore this
+slur upon his consequence was intolerable.  The actor in this simple
+freak became at length known in consequence of the secret being
+intrusted, a very common case, to a _confidential friend_.
+
+Although the twenty shillings reward which the parson offered could not
+induce the poorest to be base enough to become an informer, yet an idle
+spirit of tattling among the women brought it at length to the ears of
+Mistress Evans, and her husband soon became possessed of the whole
+particulars.  He instantly made his complaint to the squire against both
+Twm and Watt, who were merely reprimanded, cautioned for the future, and
+dismissed.
+
+The circumstances under which Twm Shon Catty was educated, now suddenly
+occurred to him.  “What the goodness is to become of that young imp of
+mischief?” said he, one day, to Rhys the curate, whom he had informed of
+the particulars of the birth, and his deceased wife’s whim of having him
+well educated, in consequence of him being a slip of Sir John Wynn’s.
+That connection being entirely closed by the death of his wife, he no
+longer felt himself bound or inclined to notice him.  When Rhys gave so
+good an account of his proficiency, he was surprised to hear the squire
+exclaim—“I am sorry for it, for he has no prospect in the world but
+labour and beggary.  As he had already had too good an education for his
+circumstances, he must be instantly dismissed from the school.  Since Sir
+John does not think proper to protect his son, I don’t see why I should.
+As the poet very properly says:—
+
+    “Too much learning makes a man a fool;
+    I’d have no lad attend too long at school:
+    Give him a taste, then turn him out adrift;
+    In knowledge, at the least, he’s had a lift.”
+
+Twm and his master parted with mutual regret, for latterly they were more
+like companions than master and scholar; and the generous Rhys could not
+restrain a tear on beholding a youth of so much promise destined to the
+uncertain wilderness of a hard and cold world, especially after having
+evinced a superiority of taste and intellect, that under favourable
+auspices would have entitled him to shine and flourish in his day.  Twm
+remained awhile at his mother’s, a big boy of fifteen, idling away his
+days without any view to the future.  Greatly concerned on his account
+and her own inability to support him, Catty went one day to the squire,
+and implored him to do something for her son; and he at last _generously_
+decided to send him as a parish apprentice to a farmer, whose grounds
+were situate in the neighbouring mountains.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+
+THE family of the Welsh farmer.  Not a bright look-out for our hero.
+
+Morris Greeg, the farmer to whom the parish had consigned our hero, as an
+apprentice, possessed a small freehold farm, fourteen miles up the
+mountain; and thither, in the company or custody of Watt the
+mole-catcher, Twm was now marched.  Dull and joyless was their journey,
+unenlivened either by incident or the charms of scenery.  On their
+arrival at the destined spot, Twm could scarcely forbear shuddering at
+the prospect before him.  The farm-house was a low long building, under
+the same roof as the cow-house and stable, and as the whole was covered
+with a black mass of rotten thatch, composed of varied patches of
+half-perished straw and fern, the only signs of its being inhabited by
+humanity were a chimney, with two or three farm implements lying at the
+hovel door.
+
+The farm, called Cwm y Gwarm Ddu, (Black marsh dingle,) was abbreviated
+usually to Gwern Ddu; the latter word, be it known to our English
+readers, is pronounced _Thee_.  The land of which it was composed, had
+been anciently cribbed from the mountain, according to the Havod un-nôs
+{72} system.  Being too remote from any other settlements to be noticed
+by any of the parishioners but the shepherds, who were bribed to silence
+by occasional refreshment as they passed that way, the appropriation
+remained long unquestioned.  And when of later years some of the nearest
+farmers became troublesome busy-bodies on the occasion, a few days’
+labour given gratis in harvest time by Morris Greeg’s grandfather and
+father, made all quiet again, till latterly, the farm of Gwern Ddu became
+incontestably a freehold property.
+
+Twm felt no great wonder that its existence, as narrated by Watt,
+remained so long unknown, and wished an earthquake had been so good as to
+swallow it before he had been destined to enter its precincts.
+
+    “It was in sooth a landscape harsh.
+    On one side rock, and three sides marsh:
+    With naught to please the restless eye,
+    A scene to cause a weary sigh.”
+
+The farm occupied one side of a dreary dingle, being one field’s breadth
+only from the rocky mountain above, and divided from a swampy turbary
+marsh by a roaring torrent-like brook.  The house and the farm
+appertainments, with a view to shelter at the expense of a healthier
+foundation, were situated on the marsh-side of the brook, the waters of
+which were crossed by a rustic bridge formed of a fallen tree, that led
+towards the fields, and by a short lane and a path through the wood, to
+the mountain above them.  Instead of the hawthorn, willow, birch, and the
+nut-bearing pleasant hazel, that usually form the hedges in more favoured
+lands, these poor little fields had their boundary ditches surmounted by
+that rude bantling of barrenness, the prickly gorse, more poetically
+called the yellow-blossomed furze; intermingled here and there, as in the
+adjoining mountain, with its brunette sister, the purple-flowering heath,
+immortalized in Scottish literature as the mountain heather.
+
+Above the rustic bridge, the bright pure water, yet unpolluted by the
+touch of man, rolled in a small cascade over the smooth black rock,
+contrasting by its foaming whiteness, with the sable bed from which it
+sprung.  This little water-fall was called—Y Pistyll, or the spout; from
+which was obtained the water destined for household uses.  From its side
+the farm lasses scooped the gravel wherewith they scoured their
+milk-pails, hoops and staves, rivalling by their whiteness, the
+nectarious stream within.  Below the bridge, the brook had been widened
+by human art, so as to form a considerable pool, wherein the aquatic
+members of the farm-yard, the stately silent geese and the noisy ducks,
+at times floated gravely, with their young yellow brood, at others,
+ploughing and gambolling merrily and undisturbed; save when the horses,
+cows, or oxen were driven across; for the upper part of the pool formed
+part of the regular road.
+
+Through this wood, ran an oblique path, that after turning the corner of
+an angular rising whose upper end was bounded by a terrific precipice of
+no less than ninety feet perpendicular height, and known by the name of
+Allt y Craig Llwyd, or Acclivious Forest of the Grey Rock, which
+indicated that trees at some period clothed the scene now defaced by
+hideous nakedness.  On winding round and gaining the summit of the peak
+above this quarry, an extensive tract of level mountain appeared in one
+direction; in another, the dreary monotony was broken by the appearance
+of petty lakes or mountain pools, on which floated at times certain
+families of migratory aquatic birds, that here made their temporary
+resting place, in their hasty journeys to more favoured regions.
+Ravines, and caves, the reputed bed-chambers of evil spirits, long-maned
+unbroken horses, and numerous flocks of wild-looking small sheep, were
+the other objects that diversified the scene; and the horizon was closed
+by the distant mountain peaks, one above another, wildly strange, but
+most grandly clustered.
+
+On Watt’s presenting Twm to a tall, gaunt, swarthy-faced man, who proved
+to be Morris Greeg himself, as the apprentice which the parish had sent
+him, his brows contracted, and his sunken eyes threw out their fires in a
+flash of indignation.
+
+“Ha!” cried the old man, after eyeing our hero with the contempt which a
+sordid clown might evince towards a puny insect, as he wondered, in the
+dulness of his conception, why heaven should trouble itself in creating a
+thing incapable of hewing wood or carrying burdens—“a pretty help they
+have sent me truly!  Of what service will a weak creature like this be to
+me?”
+
+“None!” screamed a thin hag of a yellow-faced woman, “but to eat up all
+the victuals; I warrant, by his thin carcass and long crane neck, that he
+has the stomach of a hound.  This neck looks as if it had been stretched
+already.  But if it hasn’t, it soon will be by the looks of him.”
+
+Four damsels, the daughters of the house, now made their appearance, and
+scrutinized our hero over each other’s shoulder, as if he had been a
+reptile of some unquestionable species, whom it was not safe to approach
+too near.  A sturdy ploughman in a white frock sat at the table,
+silently, but sullenly, descanting on the merits of the food before him,
+by alternately sneering and masticating what appeared to be more
+necessary to his stomach than agreeable to his palate.  On the left of
+the ploughman sat a singular-looking thin parrot-nosed boy, the only one
+that appeared to greet him with a look of welcome; his small black eyes
+actually laughed with satisfaction.
+
+“Well, Moses, thou hast now a companion to help thee to devour food, and
+do nothing,” said farmer Greeg, as he motioned to Watt and Twm to sit and
+eat.
+
+“Yes, thee hast now a companion to help thee to eat and do nothing,”
+repeated the farmer’s eldest daughter Shaan, whose habit it was to echo
+all the sayings of her father and mother, so as to publish herself as one
+of the authorities of the house.  Moses said nothing audibly, but a
+rueful expression of countenance gave it the lie to the insinuation most
+pointedly, and Twm fancied that he brushed away a tear with his sleeve,
+as he rose hastily and walked out of the house.
+
+Watt had been busy “taking stock” of the ploughman’s countenance; a
+compliment apparently by no means appreciated by the object of his
+regard.  The ploughman hastily finished his dinner, and was about to beat
+a retreat, when Watt enquired, “Is’nt thy name Abel Prosser?”
+
+“No!” cried the man.
+
+“Yes,” cried Shaan, “what does thou deny thy name for?”
+
+“Then, I have a warrant against thee, as the runaway father of Palley
+Bais Wen’s bantling,” cried Watt; “help to secure him in the king’s
+name!”
+
+The man made a dart from the house, and Watt after him.  The event of the
+chase remained long unknown as neither were seen again by the present
+party for many a month.
+
+“The devil take that Watt Gwathotwr!” screamed Sheeny Greeg the farmer’s
+wife, “for he brings us nothing but trouble.  Two years ago he brought us
+this Moses, the deserted bantling of a rascally Jew, who deceived the
+silly wench of a hedge-ale-house maid, where he lodged; and now he has
+brought another of no more strength than a grey-hound puppy; and worse
+than all, he has scared away Abel Prosser.  What are we to do now?”
+
+“Do!” cried Shaan scornfully, “we shall do very well; make these two
+fellows do Abel’s work, and their own.”  With this very comfortable
+prospect before him, Twm went to rest with the Jew boy in the hay-loft,
+this first night after his arrival in the alpine region of Cwmny Gwern
+Ddu.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+
+MOSES has many youthful yearnings.  The exploits of the lads in fasting
+and feasting.
+
+Some say it is a comfort to have a brother in affliction, visited by
+similar trials, and persecuted rigour.  Now Moses and Twm could be
+sympathetic enough, for they had to endure labour enough and too much,
+but quite the opposite quantity of eatables; they, therefore, in their
+misery, became firm and attached companions.  Twm at first found much to
+disgust him with his fellow sufferer, as he seemed disposed to talk of
+nothing but culinary matters; the roast and boiled, the stewed, the
+fried, were his darling topics.  When Twm dilated on some of the festal
+doings at Graspacre-hall, the prematurely sunken eyes of this wretched
+starveling would glisten with a lambent flame that threatened the
+immediate extinction of his senses, he exclaimed, “O Lord, how I should
+like to make one of them!—I heard a strange man once talk of an ox being
+roasted whole—can such a thing be? what a—what a sight!  O Lord, how I
+should like to tear two, three, four, hot ribs out of a roasting ox—I
+would get into the carcass, and roast with it, so that I might tug, tear,
+and eat my fill first.  If I knew my way to any great town from this
+awful place, I’ll tell thee Twm, how I should like to get my living—I
+would eat for wagers—I have heard of such doings, and I know I could die
+contented, if I had once my stomach full of flesh—ha! ha! ha!  I would
+tear it, and ha! ha! ha!  Oh! how I would tear and swallow it!”
+
+Twm felt horror-struck to hear these frantic ravings of this poor
+famished being, his eyes starting from their sockets, and his thin
+talon-like hands clutching vacantly at imaginary food.  He strove to
+comfort him with future hopes, but the wretch had now sunk into a fit of
+weeping despondency, and as the tears ran down his young emaciated face,
+he exclaimed, in a tone of utter hopelessness, “no, no, I shall sleep on
+these mountains, and never have my fill of any thing but work and sorrow,
+work and sorrow till I die!”  Suddenly starting from his reclining
+posture to his feet, and as suddenly changing his querulous tones to
+those of maniac rapture that was alarming from the startling
+transition—“Canst thee eat raw eggs, Twm?  I have a store of them hid
+away in the barn—we’ll have a feast of them to-night, boy!”
+
+Previous to this scene, they had been thrashing together till over
+fatigued they sat themselves down on the straw.  The silence of their
+flails informed the quick ears of old Sheeny of this pause in their
+labour.  Hastening with stealthy steps towards the barn, she unluckily
+arrived the moment when Moses vaunted of the intended feast of eggs.
+With the soundless steps and savage purpose of the taloned cat, that
+marks the moment to dart upon the heedless bird, she reached over the
+latch; unlatching it, she burst into the middle of the barn, and seizing
+the first flail in her way, she vowed with a tremendous oath to break
+every bone in his body with it unless the eggs were immediately produced.
+As she had once broke his leg, which Evans the blacksmith had imperfectly
+set for him, poor Moses made a virtue of necessity, and at once took her
+to his little hoard.  Poor lad; it was like drawing his blood, to take
+away this prospect of a feed, and his eyes filled with tears as Sheeny
+gathered them all in her apron and marched off triumphantly.  The loss of
+the eggs, valuable as they were in their hungry circumstances, was
+trivial to the daily annoyances of the female tongues that trimmed and
+stung them both within and without doors for many a day after, on this
+subject.
+
+Old Sheeny was certainly a notable manager, an economist to the back
+bone.  Abstemious moralists, those excellent friends of the human race,
+have declared, that the new-fangled improvements in modern cookery have
+inclined mankind to devour twice the quantity of food requisite or
+beneficial for the health and happiness of our species.  Sheeny Greeg,
+the careful mistress of this mountain mansion, had no idea of inflicting
+such an evil on those favoured beings confided to her protection.
+Therefore, in a pure philosophic spirit, as an antidote to gluttony and
+intemperance, she took care, like an ancient Spartan dame, that the food
+and drink of her providing should be neither too rich nor too savory.
+Consequently gout and plethora were never found among the maladies of her
+inmates.  She had an admirable contrivance that did honour to her
+inventive powers, of substituting durability for the dangerous quality of
+palatableness, in the food she administered.
+
+For instance, in the article of bread, her custom was to bake an enormous
+batch at once; so that it soon got hard, musty and mouldy, it must be
+admitted that the temptation to gluttonize on it and its accompaniments,
+was diminished.  In preparing that standing dish of the Welsh farm, the
+flummery, she would steep for a considerable time, a large portion of the
+oaten commodity for that purpose, till thoroughly soured to the acidity
+of crab-juice.  The skim milk, in which this mess was soused, she
+considered as too gross for their unsophisticated stomachs, till diluted
+with the pure element from the brook.
+
+The whey and butter-milk underwent the same process; and the cheese kept
+for home consumption was manufactured of that fang-defying, heart of oak,
+sort of toughness, which answers the patriotic purpose of cannon-balls,
+to repel invaders, should their cupidity ever be inflamed by the reported
+felicities of Cwmny Gwern Ddu: in which alarming supposition it is some
+satisfaction to reflect, as a point to our moral, that the crime would
+carry the punishment along with it.  Whenever those rare and almost
+denounced strangers to the table, the beef or bacon made their
+appearance, the greedy fangs that seized them would suddenly relax their
+tenacious grip, like the blind dog that mistook a red-hot poker for a
+bone, in evident alarm, lest a portion of Lot’s wife had accidentally
+fallen in their way; a cannibal impression that seemed to haunt them long
+after, till washed away by many a copious draught of the fluid that cost
+nothing.  Morris Greeg himself was a fine example to his household, as a
+scorner of unnecessary dainties.  Doubtless it was very edifying to Twm
+and Moses, to hear him descant on the enormities of gross feeding,
+enlivened by anecdotes of people who had eaten themselves to death.
+
+He would tell tales about the dreadful troubles brought upon a man by
+being over fat—obesity was, to hear him, a state of existence only
+equalled in horror by the pains and penalties of the lower regions.  He
+narrated a veritable instance of a Daniel Lambert, who got so fat, and so
+immovable, that he rolled himself into a large trough of water, and
+voluntarily died the death of a suicide.  Moses, the young infidel, would
+gape incredulously at such an intimation, and evidently doubted the
+probability of such a death; and if it were possible, impious cormorant
+as he was, he would have no objection to martyrdom on such a score.
+
+“Plain food, and as little of it as possible,” quoth Morris, “is a fine
+thing,” grinding as he spoke a mass of black-eyed winter-dried beans with
+rusty bacon.  “And leaven,” cried the sage of the mountains, “is far
+better in the bread than barn; it warms the stomach with its generous
+acid, and makes me content with little.”
+
+Our hero, however, had a bold heart; and if a little better fed, would
+have endured all with that indifference and vein of whim which were
+natural to him.  As it was, with the wild companionship of Moses, he
+turned misery herself into a scarecrow of mirth rather than of terror.
+Together those mischievously merry boys dispatched their breakfasts of
+highly watered milk and porridge, thickened with mouldy bread, with
+hungry yet loathing stomachs, and indulged in under currents of laughter,
+as either of them aped some peculiarity of gait or visage in their
+amiable hostess.
+
+And when the rusty bacon liquor was enlarged for repeated messes of
+broth, their wry faces gave indications of their inmost feelings, whilst
+the latter manifested themselves by a waterspout movement generally
+supposed to indicate disquietude of the stomach.  Their patience was
+severely tried; often when they felt a conviction that this species of
+drenching was over, they had the unexpected mortification to find a
+quantity of water added, to spin it out for another meal.  This was truly
+a sad change to Twm, compelled as he was daily to embrace his
+antipathies, and disconnect himself from all that he had learned to love.
+He loved ballad lore, rural festivities, rambling, and all those light
+modes of passing his time that were most allied to idleness.
+
+But in this dreary house, not a book was to be seen nor the sound of
+mirth, harp, or song, ever heard; still Twm did not despond; his good
+humour had the effect of brightening, by many a shade, the desponding
+apprehensions of Moses; and more than once he actually won a smile from
+one or two of the younger daughters of the house, who, however, soon
+rebuked themselves for descending to be pleased with anything that a
+parish apprentice boy could advance.
+
+In the long winter evenings, when no one could possibly invent a task or
+job for them, Twm and Moses would be allowed to sit a little by the turf
+fire; when the latter would venture to narrate some hungry tale of
+gastronomic heroism, in which his fancy revelled, Twm would recite ghost
+stories that terrified the damsels; and war tales of olden times that he
+had heard from Ianto Gwyn, or his master, Rhys, that astonished and
+amused his auditors, at least part of them, for Sheeny Greeg and her echo
+Shaan disdained to be among the number, but cried shame on him for
+repeating such audacious lies.
+
+Miserly people often overshoot their mark, and it was so in this
+farm-house.  Old Elwes would have called Morris Greeg a worthy disciple,
+whilst other misers of even greater note would have looked upon the
+farm-house and its ways as the very acme of human felicity.  But “greed”
+begets greater evils; and when Morris was by chance called away, the
+girls indulged themselves in the best way they could find.  Theft was
+largely patronized, and as we should charitably think not without very
+reasonable excuse.  One fair, day when Morris and Sheeny had betaken
+themselves to a distant corn and cattle mart, the girls, as usual,
+commenced their preparation for a regular junketing.  Twm and Moses, whom
+they kept at the humble distance of lowly menials, were out together,
+mending some gaps in the hedges, when Moses sniffing the wind that blew
+from the direction of the house, with the gifted nose of a dog of the
+chase, called out with ecstacy, “Twm, I smell pan-cake!”
+
+“So do I, Moses,” returned our little hero, expanding his nostrils with
+jocular comicality, “Ha!” cried Moses, with an envious snarl, “The
+selfish wenches of the house are treating their dainty chops with
+something nice.”
+
+“Aye!” retorted Twm, quoting from some learned Theban, “when the cat’s
+away the mice will play.  But stop thee here, Moses, and see if I don’t
+bring thee a share of what is going, in five minutes.”  Moses grinned and
+licked his lips in eager anticipation as Twm hurried off.  He entered the
+house with a sudden startling step, and a bundle of firewood under his
+arm as an excuse for the intrusion.  All was panic within an instant.
+Two of the girls dashed their jug of sweetened small beer into the pail
+of hog’s wash, as they heard the first rattle of the wooden latch on
+Twm’s entrance; Shaan turned pale as the unfried pancake before her, so
+great was their fear that their parents had returned in the midst of
+their underhand clandestine doings.  “It is only that devil Twm Shon
+Catty,” cried Shaan, who was the first to recover from the general
+terror; “Never mind, girls, go and sweeten more beer, for father and
+mother can’t be home before night.”
+
+“Aye, go and sweeten more beer, and let poor Moses and I have a share of
+your beer and pancakes,” cried Twm, pointedly eyeing a raised heap of
+them in a wooden platter before the fire;—“let _us_ have a part, and we
+won’t tell.”
+
+“Get along to thy work, thou saucy cur!” cried Shaan, striking him with
+all her strength with the hot frying-pan.  “Not till I have our share to
+take with me,” cried our hero, making a grasping snatch at the heaped
+pancakes, which he bore off in spite of the united efforts of the lasses
+to re-capture them.  His manner of bestowing them was more commendable on
+the score of security than of delicacy, as the greater portion was thrust
+into his shirt-breast and breeches pockets; off he ran over the wooden
+bridge and along the path through the wood.
+
+In this chase the great heat against his breast gave him considerable
+pain, and almost arrested his steps, half persuaded to throw away the
+larded delicacy; St. Vitus never danced faster nor more spasmodically
+under his pains, than did our hero under the effects of his hot pancakes.
+They gave him shocks equal in intensity to those from the voltaic pile;
+in fact he may be said to have been a Salamander enduring the scorchings
+of heat, but with this difference.—Twm Shon Catty could not well bear
+them, whereas the Salamander was represented as rather enjoying them than
+otherwise.
+
+But, like the Spartan boy, Twm heroically determined to bear the
+self-inflicted torture, and endure to the last.  However, it must be
+confessed, to the minoration of his fame, that not having been favoured
+with so stoical an education as the aforesaid Lacedemonian, he yielded to
+nature, and ran and roared, and roared and ran, till he outran his
+pursuers, who returned breathless home, and he as breathless joined young
+Moses, where, in their secret haunt, they enjoyed the fruit of his
+dexterity.
+
+The spot they occupied was one of the discoveries of Moses, before Twm’s
+arrival, the craggy recesses of which became the depositaries of his
+filching achievements, and which recurring to in after years, he called
+his larder.  It was situated above the torrent, beside the mountain, at
+the extreme end of the farm—just where the wilderness had refused to
+yield another patch to add to former accumulation.  But these
+gormandizing youths were at present too busily engaged to remark on
+either the beauties or the horrors of the scene.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+
+STUDIES piscatorial and fleshy, and certain tricks connected therewith.
+Pork capers—a new dish.
+
+Emboldened by the impunity with which they had foraged for themselves
+during the last three months that had followed the doings in our last
+chapter, both Twm and Moses grew somewhat daring in their gastronomical
+speculations.  Moses, among his restless peerings for something to
+gratify appetite, had peeped into one of the mountain pools, and joyfully
+detected the existence of a certain sizeable fish there.  This was a
+discovery which made the young Jew’s mouth water, and his eyes distend
+with visions of future work for the jaws!  Here was an El Dorado of good
+food, and Moses went into proportionate rapture at the prospect.  Twm
+annoyed him not a little, by laughing at his futile attempts to spear a
+pike with the dull and clumsy prongs of a dungfork.
+
+Our hero was more successful in his warfare on the trout and eels that
+abounded in a brook which ran through one of the tarns.  Without any
+contrivance that resembled fishing-tackle in the most remote degree, he
+remarked a sweeping curve, of a horse-shoe shape, in one part of the
+brook, and determined, with the assistance of Moses, on sporting his
+engineering skill, in cutting a new channel for the water, so that it
+might for the future, run a straight course, and leave the horseshoe
+portion of it dry.  This at different intervals, with no small labour,
+they at last effected; and when the flood ran along the new channel, its
+deserted curve became a mess of slimy mud.  Into this, with naked feet,
+they soon waded, and groping cautiously about, succeeded in gathering an
+abundant harvest of trout and eels.  Moses was noisy in his raptures at
+the result, and so anxious to have them immediately cooked, that he could
+scarcely wait for that tedious progress.
+
+However, they soon kindled a fire by rubbing together some rotten wood,
+and with the aid of some dry turf, the quarry under the precipice of Allt
+y Craig became a temporary heath of blazing beauty.  Utterly void of any
+culinary utensils, they resolved on the primitive mode of broiling their
+fish on hot stones, and Moses, all alacrity, proceeded on the task of
+preparing them.
+
+But, alas, for the sequel of their adventure!  Before they could realize
+their project, the dark countenance of Morris Greeg paralyzed their
+efforts, as the serpent’s gaze is said to fascinate its victim.  The
+angry farmer gruffly demanded where they had been, how they had dared to
+idle away their time, and what was the meaning of that wasteful fire
+against the rock.  The ready lie, or presence of mind as it is favourably
+called, of Twm and Moses soon supplied answers, such as they were.  Twm
+said, that hearing the good woman of the house complain of a visit from
+the old enemy the cholic, he determined to catch a dish of fish for her,
+to drive it away, pointing triumphantly to his piscatory store; thus
+beating a retreat with all the diplomacy and tact of a good general, who
+when he finds he cannot obtain a victory, at any rate manages to gain
+credit for a wise ‘retrograde.’
+
+Moses followed up Twm’s assertion by declaring that the fire was to
+frighten away the crows and the kites that might take fancy to the young
+lambs, or the wheat in the neighbouring field; a manifestation of care
+over his master’s property, which had, at any rate, the claim of
+originality to back it.  Morris was as great an economist of his words as
+in matters of worldly goods, and therefore, whatever he thought, he did
+not waste breath with reply; but suddenly ordered Moses to carry the fish
+into the house, and Twm to give some hay to the cows.  “And be sure,”
+quoth the careful farmer, “that you give most hay to the cow that gives
+most milk.”
+
+“I will be sure of it!” replied Twm pointedly, and with sulky asperity.
+The next moment, to the great astonishment, and greater anger of Morris
+Greeg, he threw as much hay as his two arms could embrace, under the
+water-spout.  “There,” cried the redoubted son of Catty, “that is the cow
+which gives me most milk, for that cursed broth and porridge is almost
+wholly made from this never-failing animal.”
+
+A precipitous retreat of course, followed this explanation, and Morris
+Greeg was left alone to chew the cud of his resentment.  At dinner the
+next day, the wrath of Morris having evaporated, all grew smooth again.
+While Twm and Moses bolted their insipid mess of dovery, otherwise called
+burgoo, the gratification was rather questionable in having as their
+share merely the smell of the fried fish, on which Sheeny and Shaan with
+the younger daughters were regaling, and praising the flavour at every
+mouthful they swallowed.  Moses ground his teeth, and would have impaled
+them in the excess of his rage, for the loss of his expected feast.  Twm
+said nothing, but inwardly resolved on faring better, and that very
+speedily.  Shaan grinned like a hyena as she treated her dainty gums with
+fish after fish, and spitefully enjoyed their mortification, as she
+whispered to Twm, “now we are even for the pancakes.”
+
+Just at the finishing of this mid-day meal, the barking of a strange dog
+drew Twm and Moses out to the yard.  There they saw a half-starved cur,
+belonging to a cottager who was cutting turf in the adjoining turbary.
+This wretched animal, evidently a cut-throat leveller in principle, was
+disputing with one of the pigs his right to engross the whole trough to
+himself, which the bristly conservative at length resented by snapping in
+two one of the hind legs of his canine enemy.
+
+The dog set up a dismal howl as a requiem for the loss of the fourth part
+of his understanding, which was soon silenced by Moses striking him on
+the head with a large stone, which killed him on the spot.  The cottager
+hurried home, frightened by Twm, who told him would be sued for the
+damages done by his dog.  Our hero, with the assistance of Moses, to whom
+he imparted the scheme he had now in hand, immediately bathed the
+buttocks of the pig with the dog’s blood; and then pouring some dry sand
+in his ear, drove him howling down the yard.  Annoyed with the freedom
+thus taken with his auricular organ, the offended gentleman of the sty
+rushed to and fro, at a rate as violent as some of his celebrated
+ancestors, when they sought to drown both themselves and the devils
+within them in the sea.  Morris lifted his hands amidst the assembled
+household, and ruefully exclaimed, “the devil is in the pig!”  His
+gambols were certainly most extraordinary, and far surpassed the
+evolutions’ of the bull’s frisky wife, commonly called the cow’s
+courante.  He sometimes aimed to stand on his hind legs, to emulate the
+figure, intimating in pantomime, “I am as good a man as the best of you!”
+
+While in this position, he would toss his head as loftily as an envious
+beauty that heard her rival praised; and then, as if to evince his
+unrivalled versatility, he aimed to reverse his position, and stand on
+his head.
+
+Thus did he enliven the farm-yard, and cut sundry unusual capers, not at
+all in keeping with the hitherto grave tenor of all his modest life; at
+which Morris was scandalized, the women astonished, and the two
+mischievous imps that caused this torture, amused as if a party of
+mountebanks had exhibited before them.  “Such things have been in the
+days of old,” cried Morris, with a pious whine, “the pig is possessed of
+a devil.”
+
+“Of a legion of devils!” screamed Sheeny and Shaan, in the utmost alarm;
+“the pig is mad!” cried Moses; “the dog was mad that bit the pig!” cried
+Twm.  This remark, which assigned a natural cause for the frisky gambols
+of the tortured grunter, had the effect of sobering every one from their
+wild supernatural speculations, to the no less alarming fact that poor
+porker was the victim of hydrophobia.  Morris all at once turned pious,
+and remarked that “this might be one of the signs which were to precede
+the end of the world.”
+
+“Ah!” whispered Twm to Moses, “it is a sign which certainly precedes the
+end of the pig.”
+
+Convinced by the reiteration of Twm and Moses, that the pig was really
+stark staring maliciously and mischievously mad, Morris seemed more
+grieved at his prospect of worldly loss in so much hog’s flesh, than as
+if his first suggestion had been verified about the dissolution of the
+world.  He pathetically lamented the loss it would be, to kill him before
+he was duly fattened.  “He must be killed and eaten fresh,” whined
+Morris, “as he is too lean to be salted and baconed.”
+
+“He shall be killed and buried like a dog!” cried Sheeny, “or we shall
+all be maddened and biting one another, if we swallow a bit of him, fat
+or lean—Oh! the pity to lose this precious griskin!”  “I won’t eat mad
+pork!” cried Shaan; “nor I,”—“nor I!” cried the younger lasses, deeply
+horrified at the idea of being smothered between two feather-beds, which
+Twm assured them, with a very grave and serious face, was an easy and
+comfortable death, and such as was always allotted by law to those who
+got mad by the bite of a mad dog, or by eating what was venomed by his
+bite.  “I will never touch a bit of him,” cried all the girls at once;
+“but I will!” muttered both Twm and Moses, to themselves, glowing with
+the thought of future feasting.
+
+Morris in the deepest tribulation pondered on the perversity of his
+household, and at last decided on waiting till next morning before he
+would give his ultimatum as to how the pig was to be disposed of, in the
+meantime locking him up in a stable.  It was a night of trial for Morris.
+To lose an entire porker at one fell swoop, and the household to be so
+very unaccommodating as not to eat him, was a really serious thing.  He
+mentally prayed for the renewed health on the part of the pig, or else
+that some kind pig-drover would fall from the clouds and be the saving
+angel of him.  The said Morris Greeg’s conscience did not see further
+than his own acts.  If the imaginary drover bought the pig, and others
+were made mad, why it was none of Morris’s concern.  So much for his
+refined morality.  Thus he comforted himself by reflecting, that whoever
+got mad with eating him, that was _their_ concern, not _his_; as it would
+be unbecoming in him to dictate to others what they were to buy or to
+eat.  And as to mentioning his faults, as some unreasonable readers
+require, he defied any one to prove _that_ to be a fault, which was
+evidently his misfortune.
+
+Boundless was the mirth of Twm and Moses, as in their season of rest they
+agitated the question as to what report they were to make in the morning.
+“Suppose,” said the waggish Jew-boy “that we let the pig out, and say
+that he escaped into the yard, and bit a goose, (which we can kill and
+eat;) that the goose got mad and bit the wheel-barrow; that the
+wheel-barrow dashed itself frantically against the dung-cart; and that
+both together they rolled and rattled all night about the yard, like the
+capering of ten thousand devils.”  Twm over-ruled this wild suggestion,
+and gave a report more consonant with probabilities that the animal was
+more mad than ever, and that he feared his malady would infect the
+stable, so as to make it unsafe to put the horses there again till the
+walls were white-washed and every part of it purified.
+
+This was a grave and plausible position in which to place the affair, and
+quite fell in with Morris’s own way of thinking; and at last he
+determined on having the maddened monster, as he called him, killed and
+buried.  This was at last carried into effect by our young worthies, with
+the assistance of Mike the mat-man, who inhabited a wretched hovel in the
+neighbourhood, and maintained himself, a wife, and one child, by making
+rush mats, and coarse willow baskets, which he hawked over the country.
+Mike, of course, was let into the secret, and in the night the worthy
+trio commenced their avocations of body-snatchers.  The much injured
+porker was disinterred, and more honours were paid him after death, than
+had ever been conferred upon him in life.  But this is the way with human
+beings, sometimes, as well as with the denizens of the sty; and if we
+choose to moralize, we have an excellent opportunity given us—but we
+forbear.
+
+Many and merry were the evenings spent over the remains of the pork, by
+Twm and Moses, under the humble roof of Mike the mat-man and his wife,
+who were equal partakers of the feast.  These promising youths, on
+pretending to retire to their nightly rest, made a point of hastening to
+the place of goodly food and pleasant smells, where they spent the
+greater part of the night, and thus acquired their earliest taste for
+dissipation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+
+MOSES displays his inventive power in catching mutton.  The storm bursts,
+and the tricks of Twm and Moses are discovered.  Hukin Heer informs, and
+receives his reward.  The house is in an uproar.
+
+As the material of their feasting was waning, like a pleasant moon that
+declines towards the latter quarter, Moses grew more and more uneasy, as
+foul food or starvation was staring him in the face, night and day.  As
+he utterly failed to sleep, he employed the silent hours of midnight to
+hatch a scheme for the procurement of future provender.  “Twm,” quoth the
+young schemer one morning, “you love mutton, and so do I; and as you
+provided the pancakes and the pigs, as well as the fish, (a quinsey fill
+the throats that swallowed them!) it is now my turn to be founder of the
+feast.  I will not only find the feast, but I will manage matters so
+well, that Sheeny Greeg herself shall cook it for us.”
+
+Then he related, as Morris had informed him, how in former years the
+sheep had repeatedly fallen headlong from the height of Allty Craig, and
+been killed, and how since those times he had made a thick hedge to keep
+them from the edge of the precipice.  “But we won’t be so particular
+now,” said Moses, “for I mean to get up an accident for one of the sheep.
+Then we may eat and be happy again; we’ll have a change this time.  It
+was pork before, and now we’ll have mutton.”
+
+“With all my heart,” said Twm, “only do it all yourself, then we shall
+see what you can do without my assistance.”  Thus challenged, Moses felt
+it as a point of humour to proceed in the affair alone.
+
+Explanatory of what follows, it is here necessary to quote the
+observation of one of our best South Wales tourists, on the subject of
+the Welsh hilly sheep.  “I was much struck,” says Malkin, “with the
+difference between the hilly sheep and those of the vale; the former are
+not only smaller, but infinitely more elegant and picturesque in figure.
+They seemed to have all their wits about them, so that one would think
+the race had acquired its proverbial character for silliness by feeding
+on rich and artificial pastures, without having inherited it originally
+in the state of nature.  When we got into the lane, we met with a flock
+of several hundred, which live among the rocks all the year round, only
+coming down in shearing time.  They had us in front, and their shepherd
+and his dog in the rear.  _The bounds many of them made in avoiding us_,
+_were equally powerful and lofty with those of wild goats_.”
+
+Even such was the woolly tribe, from which the insatiate Jew was now
+preparing to select a victim.  Ambitious of the sole credit of the
+enterprise, he desired Twm to stay below and leave him to follow his own
+plan.  Scarcely thinking of the matter in hand, Twm took his seat on a
+gate, opposite to the lofty cliff of Allty Craig Llwyd, pondering in his
+mind about his distant home, the loved scenes which he had left for
+these, and above all, his mother, from whom he had been so long
+separated.  Moses wound up the hill, and attained the top at the back of
+the cliff.
+
+With the assistance of the farm-dog he soon drove one of the finest of
+the wethers into the angular nook formed by the hedge of the adjoining
+wood, and that which screened from the edge of the terrific cliff.  The
+dog, being set on, barked and bit incessantly, while Moses shouted and
+bellowed with waving arms, till, worried by stupidity at last, the sheep
+bounded up, and sprang far over the hedge, and downward in the yielding
+air—ignorant of the yawning gulf behind the hedge, and the snare laid for
+his life!  Moses set up a triumphant yell like that of a wild Indian, as
+he peered over the precipice and saw the downward movements of the poor
+sheep.  Startled with the shout of Moses, at this moment Twm looked up,
+and saw the animal describing a rainbow sweep, and turning over and over
+in its descent through the air, and its ultimate fall into the quarry
+beneath, where it dropped lifeless.
+
+So little did our hero relish this cruel affair that he would scarcely
+speak to Moses, when the latter expected high applause for his handywork.
+But the Jew-boy, nothing daunted, ran to the farmer, whom he found
+cobbling up an old plough in the yard, to save expense of paying a
+wheelwright.
+
+“Oh dear!  Oh dear!” whined Moses, with the greatest appearance of
+heart-touched concern, “a terrible accident has happened—one of the
+sheep—the fattest and finest of the whole flock—has just sprung over the
+hedge above Allty Craig, and broke its beautiful neck.”  Morris threw
+down the axe he was using, and looked nearly as sorry, angry, and
+despondent as he felt.  “Nothing but misfortunes!” cried he at last,
+“nothing but misfortunes for me, wretched man that I am!” his thoughts
+dwelling at that moment on the fine pig that he lately lost.  “First a
+fine pig, and now my finest sheep.  Verily, this must be the end of the
+world, such judgments could not come without reason!”
+
+“Hadn’t we better cut his throat to save his life,” inquired Moses in the
+most compassionate and tender tone that he could assume, forgetting the
+slight anomaly which his suggestion presented; “and then, sir, hadn’t we
+better skin him too?” continued the young slip of Judaism.  “If he isn’t
+bled directly, and nothing said about the accident, the women will vote
+him to be buried in the same grave with the hog, considering his
+beautiful mutton as no better than so much carrion.  You know the women
+are so shamefully dainty in such matters.”
+
+This wily speech won the entire approbation of Morris Greeg, and patting
+Moses’s shoulder, he thanked Providence that he had so faithful a
+servant; adding in the same breath, “be sure you don’t cut the skin.”
+
+This gave Twm and Moses full employment for the rest of the evening,
+while Morris entered the house, and delivered the startling intelligence
+to his household that he had determined to give them all a treat, and
+that for this purpose he had ordered one of the finest sheep to be
+slaughtered, that they might have fresh mutton.
+
+It was just as the first dinner from this promised feast was finished, on
+the day following, that Hukin Heer, that tall lanky cottager, whose dog
+had been killed by Moses, under the imputation of madness, called on
+Morris and Sheeny; and in a self-sufficient mysterious manner, informed
+them that he had a long story to tell them.  As he cast a furious look at
+Moses, that worthy felt an inward conviction that his long story boded
+him no good; so taking up his hat in a hurried manner, he prepared to
+depart.  Hukin Heer, however, told Morris, that as his tidings concerned
+the whole household, and that he was a man who scorned to criminate any
+one behind his back, he particularly wished that Moses and Twm should be
+present, to hear all that he had to urge against them.  Moses treated his
+insinuations with a bold look of defiance as his insignificant features
+could possibly assume, yet trembling with dread that some important
+discoveries to his disadvantage were to be made.
+
+Twm’s only amusement at that moment consisted in watching the terrified
+expression upon the countenance of the young Israelite, and in mentally
+commenting upon the probable consequences of Heer’s information.  Now all
+the family were seated round; Hukin occupying a chair that commanded the
+passage, in case the culprits aimed to escape, and Sheeny with her female
+brood, bursting with curiosity to hear what diableries Hukin had to
+unfold.
+
+It turned out that this unlucky cottager, on the destruction of whose
+cur, by the relentless hand of Moses, fled in the utmost alarm at the
+supposed damages done by him, according to the insinuations of Twm, under
+the influence of canine madness.  This, Hukin knew to be a fabrication,
+and suspecting the rest to be so, indulged in bitter feelings of
+resentment against the insignificant Jew whelp, as he called him, who on
+false pretences had destroyed his poor dog.  Brooding over his wrongs, he
+at times revenged himself, in the early dark winter evenings, by tearing
+the hedges of Morris Greeg, by which amiable pastime he repaired the
+deficiency of his own fuel, and gave endless labour to those parish
+apprentices to repair them.
+
+One eventful evening he caught up the clue which furnished him with the
+means of revenge.  He was returning home, after despoiling the hedges,
+when he heard the sound of footsteps; at once he concealed himself and
+his load of faggots, and like a stealthy spy, awaited the results.  While
+in this position, by the imperfect light of a dull moon, he caught a full
+view of Twm and Moses.  Abandoning his load of wood, he dogged their
+steps till they were housed in the hovel of Mike the mat-man.  He then
+saw the inmates enjoying the lingering remains of the pig, gloating over
+it, and making sundry comments which might, to say the least, be
+considered suspicious.  For several nights Heer followed them, and saw
+the same scene enacted; he had at last gathered a full and connected
+narrative of the whole affair, and it was an intense satisfaction to have
+these sweet means of revenge in his possession.
+
+On the day previous to the present, in the full glow of triumphant
+malice, he called on Mike, and informed him that his midnight feastings
+were discovered.  Poor Mike trembled with apprehension of the evil
+consequences that might accrue to him; and in the hope of propitiating
+the angry spirit of his revengeful neighbour, confessed all he knew,
+which was everything, about the matter.  It seemed as if the spirit of
+vengeance had yielded a favourable ear to Hukin’s desires; for on this
+same evening, as he lurked in the wood adjoining Allty Craig, and only
+separated from it by the hedge, it was his lot to witness the last
+enormity of Moses, in driving the sheep, on which they had been feeding,
+over the dreadful precipice.
+
+All these particulars, with the exception of his own part in despoiling
+the hedges, he narrated before the present assembled party, with the most
+enlarged minuteness, while the different members of the family were
+agitated with various feelings as they listened to his exaggerated
+account of the affair.
+
+Vain would be the attempt to seek words that could do adequate justice in
+describing the effects of this discovery on the countenance of the
+economic Morris, and that amiable provider of short commons, his wife.
+If one groaned forth her unutterable grief, the other ground his teeth;
+and in the vehemence of his wrath could not help thinking that the penal
+statutes required amendment—that it was an infamous interference on the
+part of the law to call the sacrifice of a parish apprentice or two, in
+the way of just resentment, by the hideous name of murder; while to his
+thinking, it was much less criminal than clandestinely killing a pig or a
+sheep, that would fetch so much more money.  Almost delirious with his
+troubles, he paced the house to and fro, at the frantic rate of five
+miles to the hour, muttering to himself a complete summary of the evils
+that had befallen him.
+
+“Pig not mad—tickled by the sand in his ear—all eaten by the boys and the
+mat-man—curse their stomachs!—sheep driven over the precipice—worth ten
+shillings—Oh!—villainy unheard of—the world was innocent till now—all
+former villainy child’s play to this—the latter day is coming fast—signs
+like these are not given for nothing!  The prophets have said”—
+
+“What’s become of all the fine lard, you cut-throat villains?” whined
+Sheeny, in the most touching accents, thinking of the _tesian vroy_, or
+short cake, that was lost to her forever; while the younger lasses looked
+bewildered at the prophetic passage alluded, and wondering where it was
+to be found.  As nobody answered her interesting inquiry, Sheeny
+continued to bite her nails and drum the devil’s tattoo with the heel of
+the wooden shoe; while Hukin Heer grinned like a demon at the mischief
+which he had made.
+
+Both Morris and Sheeny were at length roused from their stupor by the
+inquiry of Hukin,—“Well, what be you going to do with them?  I have a
+couple of hairy halters in my pockets here, that I brought for the
+purpose; we had better tie their hands behind them, and send them at once
+in a cart to jail, where they will be hanged, drawn, and quarted, as a
+warning to all rogues who take away the lives of innocent dogs,”—“and
+pigs!” roared Griffith; “and sheep!” shrieked Sheeny, as a climax to the
+whole.
+
+Twm and Moses were on the alert, and in less time than it takes us to
+narrate the fact, Moses threw a three-legged stool at the informer, and
+that with such force that it fractured the elbow-bone of his right arm.
+In an instant Hukin recovered himself, and was about to rush on the young
+Jew.  But Twm Shon Catty was ready, his “soul was in arms and eager for
+the fray.”  As Hukin advanced, Twm launched a heavy oaken stool at his
+head, which laid his lank carcass on the floor, bathed in blood.  The
+scene was almost taking a tragic turn when Sheeny changed its spirit by
+attacking Moses with a birch broom, while one of the younger was pricking
+him in the breech with a toasting-fork, till he blared like a beaten
+calf.  In the confusion of the fray, Shaan attacked her father with a
+dirty flummery ladle, that whitened and disfigured his black beard and
+whiskers, as if a barber had commenced his operations, while the good man
+stood open-mouthed marvelling whether these were not additional signs of
+approaching doom.
+
+Aware that these ladle-bastings were intended for himself, Twm caught
+Shaan behind, and holding her elbows fast to her sides, gave her a twist
+round, and inflicting a tremendous kiss on her fat blubbery lips; then
+pouting with passion, he loosened his hold, and springing over the
+prostrate carcass of Hukin Heer, retreated through the doorway in good
+order.  Moses followed, but with considerable confusion; dodging his
+head, and rubbing his seat of honour in his retreat, as the visions of
+birch-brooms and toasting-forks haunted him long after he was far beyond
+their reach, whilst seating himself was made a painful operation, and he
+mentally thought he had undergone the same punishment as he had seen
+somewhere in an old print, where his satanic majesty was impaling an old
+witch in that portion of her body, _for the convenience of which_,
+_chairs were originally invented_.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+
+THE flight of the Israelite and Mike.  Mirth changed to grief.  Killing
+by kindness, and saving by neglect.  A bright vision, and a supernatural
+seánce.  The end of the miserly household.
+
+On Twm’s rushing out of the house, he sought his bed in the hay-loft, and
+laying himself down, laughed incessantly, at the thought of the scene
+just passed; at the same time wondering what had become of his luckless
+fellow in mischief, whom he momentarily expected to follow him.  Moses,
+however, was so confused by his head-drubbings from the broom of Sheeny,
+and tail-piercing from the fork of little Gwenny, that failing to see Twm
+in his retreat, he ran straight forward, without knowing whither.  But
+the very legs of Moses without the guidance of his head, seemed to have a
+predilection for the favourite road which led to the house of feasting;
+as in this instance they bore him without pause, till housed in the hovel
+of Mike, the mat-man.
+
+Poor Mike, he found busied in packing up, and loading his pony with a
+cargo of mats, and preparing for immediate departure, fearing that
+day-light would send somebody to take cognizance of the share which he
+had taken in devouring Morris Greeg’s swine-flesh.  Moses related all
+that had passed, and entreated that he might become his companion in his
+present excursion; assuring him that he had as sweet a voice for crying
+mats as he could meet with in a month’s march.
+
+Mike assented, and told him to fortify his stomach with what his hut
+afforded, against the dangers of the midnight air, a hint which was
+seldom thrown away upon him.  The good-natured wife of the mat-man
+earnestly requested her husband to divide the head of the pig (the only
+part left!) between himself and Moses.  That youth seconded the motion;
+observing it was dangerous to leave any portion of it behind, as, though
+dead, it might tell tales, and be claimed by some of the Greeg family;
+feelingly remarking, “if you have any more pork, rather than you should
+get into a scrape, I’ll risk it, and take it all myself.—I am not so
+selfish as to begrudge to carry it.”
+
+Mike winked at his wife, intimating that he _knew_ his customer.  Next
+morning our hero called at the mat-man’s house, with the laudable desire
+of putting him on his guard, intending to communicate the adventures and
+disclosures of the preceding day.  But he was doomed to disappointment.
+Mike had “cleared out” three hours before, escorted by the Israelite,
+whilst the wife had been left behind to “take care of the things,” and to
+be the link that should join them to more auspicious times.  This breach
+of good-fellowship on the part of Moses, in leaving him so abruptly,
+piqued and fretted him not a little.  With a commendable spirit that
+disdained to act the paltry part of a run-away, he entered the house of
+Morris Greeg at the usual breakfast hour, and took his meal in silence.
+Sheeny kept her bed this morning, overcome by the tumults of the
+preceding evening, and Shaan officiated in her place.
+
+The absence of Moses was very slightly commented upon, both father and
+daughter declaring it would have been well for them if he had taken
+himself off much sooner; yet, under all this feigned indifference, it was
+very perceivable to Twm that his loss was much felt by them.  Under a
+couple of old sacks on the settle by the fire lay the damaged body of
+Hukin Heer, where he had been groaning all night.  Without the slightest
+reference to the past, Twm was told that his first job that morning would
+be to take Hukin home in a dung-cart, charging him to put plenty of clean
+straw under him, so that he might ride in style and comfort.
+
+Thus Twm had to perform an office for an enemy, who the day before
+volunteered to do the same for him,—under different circumstances, that
+he was to be pinioned like a felon, bound hand and foot, and escorted to
+the county jail, a reversion of the scene which Twm liked rather than
+otherwise.  It reminded him of the gallows which the scriptural Jew had
+made for some one else, but eventually took his position there himself.
+
+On Twm’s return, after depositing Hukin with his wife, whose inquiries he
+cut short, by urging his haste, he was surprised to find that although it
+was the dinner hour, no food was prepared, nor was any one member of the
+family to be seen or heard.  This unusual stillness he considered as
+strangely contrasting with the bustle and agitation of the previous day,
+nor could he in any way account for it.  At length the deep silence was
+feebly broken by some voices upstairs, in the softened tones of pitying
+condolement, succeeded by the heavy sobbing of a female, amidst the
+earnest and agonized prayer of a gruff broken voice, which he at once
+knew to be that of Morris.
+
+At length he recognized the well-known voice of Sheeny, amidst the loud
+wailing of her daughters, passionately exclaiming, “It is—O God, it
+is—that murderous disorder, the white-plague pest!”  Such was the
+expressive name by which that awful visitor since known by the name of
+small-pox, was announced to be in the house.  An indescribable vague
+feeling of terror thrilled through his whole frame, as the dreadful fact
+became known to him.  As in those days scarcely any one knew how to treat
+this remorseless enemy of the race of man, its very existence in the
+neighbourhood was deemed a certain messenger of doom, and even in those
+rare cases where the life of the infected was spared, the envious demon
+stamped fearful foulness on the face of beauty, and hideously scarified
+the smoothest cheek, so that the parent knew not the features of his
+child.
+
+The first hasty thought that crossed our hero’s mind, was to fly, and
+escape while yet clear of the contagion; but in an instant his nobler
+though mistaken feelings abjured the thought, bad as they had been to
+him, of deserting this afflicted family in the dark day of their heavy
+visitation.  However, his presence was no more noticed than his absence
+would have been.  Day after day, things remained in a similar state; at
+length the lower part of the house was absolutely deserted, or inhabited
+by him alone.  Even the fire was extinguished, and the house might have
+been uninhabited for anything to be seen to the contrary.  There were no
+sounds, except the occasional groans of Morris, and the cries of the
+frightened females.  The family assembled together upstairs, almost
+courting infection by their presence, and Twm was therefore left to
+provide for his own wants.
+
+Rarely could he meet with any one to enquire, as his feelings prompted,
+who were the sufferers, and how they fared.  The third day since the
+commencement of the sickness, as he sat lonely and languidly, from the
+disordered state of his stomach, unable to partake of the dry food before
+him, a shriek of women announced some fatality to have taken place.
+Morris came down, with streaming eyes and agitated face, and for the
+first time in his life grasping his hand in friendly wise, emphatically
+proved how suffering had subdued his selfishness, and humanized his hard
+heart.  At length, with broken voice, he said, “She is gone—my youngest
+girl is gone,—and I fear my little Gwen will follow soon.”
+
+Even while commiserating with Morris, Twm complained of a head-ache, and
+a loathing sickness, with a feverish burning of the whole frame, that was
+overwhelming him.  Morris immediately saw that he was infected, and told
+him to go and lie down; informing his family of the feeling evinced by
+him for their suffering, and that he was decidedly in the disorder.  Then
+taking his staff he hurried to the different cottages that were thinly
+scattered among the lonely mountain cwms or dingles, with the hope that
+either kindness or considerations of interest would induce an elderly
+female or two to engage with him as nurses, to watch and attend the sick.
+
+Accordingly, two that had gone through the ordeal of the _frech wen_, or
+the white pest, as the small-pox was called, accompanied him home.  They
+commenced their office by making a regular, roasting fire, and feasting
+themselves in the best manner the house afforded, attending to number one
+first, as it behoved all nurses to do, their patients for the time being
+of course quite a secondary consideration.  Feasting to inaugurate their
+arrival, they averred was an ancient custom, and must be adhered to.  He
+knew not whether it was an ancient one; but that it is a _convenient_
+one, none could deny.  Twm soon found himself at the height of the
+malady.  Well for him was it, that the fever and other accompaniments of
+this fearful disorder removed from him all desire for food—for none was
+brought to him; none called to offer their kindly offices, nor to inquire
+how he fared; and he had to feel in the acutest degree the abandoned lot
+of that “no man’s child,” the sick and suffering parish apprentice.  His
+bed in the hay-loft was an old hop-sack, half filled with the chaff of
+oats; and his covering an old tattered blanket, and a musty rug that had
+served several offices for horses.
+
+Thus, with the whistling of the wind through the numerous crevices of the
+crazy walls, and the rain dripping on him at times, through the imperfect
+rotten thatch, he remained hours, days, and dreary nights, groaning away
+his time, impatiently longing for death, or speedy recovery.  When
+daylight dawned, his mind wearied by aches and pains of the body, and by
+a complete absence of the power of thought, would seek some occupation
+and amusement in speculation on the formation of the dark heavy folds of
+the numerous cob-webs that waved to and fro over his head, from the
+mouldy beams and rafters, like the triumphant flags of squalid penury;
+while the squeaking of mice, that ran in troops about him, became the
+miserable music that served to vary the monotony of his heavy hours.
+
+One night, while doubly darkened, both by the deep shades of midnight,
+and his eyes scaled by the glutinous adhesion of the putrid “pest,”
+lonely and uncared for, he was cheered and comforted in a manner as
+mysterious as it was delightful.  In after years, when referring to the
+circumstances about to be detailed, marvellous and incredible as it may
+appear, he always protested with a solemnity that he deemed the subject
+called for, that he was neither absorbed in slumber at its occurrence,
+nor under the influence of the slightest delirium, but wakeful and
+sensible as ever he was during his healthful mid-day avocations.
+
+Turning upon his humble bed, wearied by the long and continued gloom,
+weakened by continual aches and pains, a chorus of sweet voices broke
+upon his ear, ravishing from the beauty of its strains.  In an instant
+afterwards, the wretched gloom was dispersed by a brilliant light which
+burst into the loft, and made all the old familiar objects radiant with a
+most unearthly brilliance.  Simultaneously with the sight and sound,
+pleasant sensations sprang within his breast, and every pain had
+vanished.  While striving with the efforts of reason to account for what
+he had felt and mentally beheld, to his unutterable wonder, a tall female
+form appeared beside his lowly bed, in full glow of youth and beauty,
+arrayed in costly attire.
+
+She had nothing about her allied to what he called the supernatural—all
+seemed perfect reality—and although exceedingly lovely, and benevolent in
+aspect, she was nothing more nor less than a living “lady of the land,”
+in widow’s weeds of the costly habiliments of the present time.  As he
+sank abashed from her fixed and smiling gaze, she extended one of the
+finest hands he had ever beheld, and pointed to two marriage rings, one
+above the other, on the third finger of the left hand.  He gazed
+steadfastly on the rings, and, as he thought, he saw a third one above
+the others, of a much paler hue; but on viewing it closer, it appeared
+simply a white narrow silken ribbon, tied in that peculiar fashion,
+called a true-lover’s knot.  Twice he looked from the finger to the face,
+struggling to give utterance to the question that was trembling on his
+lips, as to the meaning indicated, when a shriek from the house thrilled
+through his heart; the glorious vision with the heavenly accompaniments
+of light and music, were in an instant gone.
+
+The lovely picture vanished, leaving poor Twm more chagrined than ever
+was Tantalus.  Like the mirage, it vanished and faded away, leaving the
+weary gazer disappointed and dispirited.  But still the heart of Twm was
+comforted with high, though baseless hopes, that fortune had some
+precious gift in store for him, which time would yet bring forth.
+
+The pleasurable sensations excited in the breast of our worthy, by what
+he ever after called his “glorious vision,” in healing the mind, had the
+auspicious effect in cicatrizing his body.  But as he recovered his
+sight, and found the fever abandoning him, his appetite increased, and he
+became at length tremendously hungry, with apparently nothing within his
+reach to appease his inward cravings; and he was yet too weak to quit his
+loft in search of any food.
+
+At times, indeed, somewhat nerved, or rather maddened by his rage for
+food, his weak hands would rustle in the pea-straw that was heaped
+between his bed and the wall; and occasionally, after a long search, to
+his great joy, he would discover an unbroken pea-shell that had escaped
+the searching of the flail, while in the act of thrashing in the barn.
+He had heard tales of shipwreck and disaster, when lots had been cast
+between the mariners as to which should be killed to furnish food for the
+rest.  He could believe them all now, whatever doubt he might have had
+before.  If he could now discover a neglected pea-shell, in spite of the
+soreness of his hands and mouth, he would open it and devour it with the
+utmost avidity.  Just as this wretched resource was failing him, one day,
+after a vain and heart-aching search for another pea-pod, a sudden rustle
+in the straw startled him, and in great alarm he drew back his hand, in
+the dread of coming in contact with a rat.
+
+From this feeling he was agreeably relieved by the clucking of a hen,
+that in the same moment descended through a hole in the floor of the loft
+into the stable below.  This homely “household fowl” now became his “bird
+of good omen,” which in after years he adopted as his crest; for after a
+short search he discovered no less than three of her eggs.  This was
+indeed “manna in the wilderness” to his declining hopes.  A spring in the
+desert to the parched pilgrim; a port and safety to the shipwrecked
+mariner; wealth unexpected to the victim of poverty.  Not one of those
+electrifying “God-sends” was ever welcome with greater heartfelt
+thankfulness, than the humble prize presented to our hero.  But this
+assistance, however welcome at the time,—and wildly welcome it most truly
+was,—proved after all but temporary.
+
+Thus, although recovering fast from the horrors of the small-pox, he was
+in the perilous jeopardy of becoming a victim to starvation.  Yet hope
+was strong within him, and wild, young, and thoughtless as he was, he was
+no stranger to the comfort to be derived from a dependence on Providence.
+
+While the cravings of hunger assailed the poor parish apprentice with
+unrelenting wolfishness, very different was the treatment of the
+suffering children of the house.  The neglect visited upon the poor
+parish apprentice, was avenged by the attention paid to the children of
+Morris.  Twm’s neglect proved his salvation, while the unremitting
+kindness (mistaken though it was), shown to the farmer’s offspring,
+proved their destruction, for Morris literally _killed them with
+kindness_.  Without judgment, or advice, except from those
+self-interested conceited nurses, who were more ignorant than herself;
+Sheeny Greeg sought every delicacy to coax the waned and pampered
+appetites of her afflicted ones.
+
+Every breath of pure air studiously excluded from their room, they were
+almost suffocated by the quantity of clothes in which they were wrapped.
+She gave them the most delicate cakes that the homely hands of her
+assistants could contrive, with spiced and sugared ale, and even wine; so
+thoroughly was the accumulating spirit of avarice swallowed up by the
+nobler and more powerful passion of affection for their perishing young
+ones; a feeling after all, more eulogized than it really merits, as it is
+but another mortification of human selfishness.
+
+Three victims had already succumbed to the ravages of the disease, and
+their fourth child now lay at the door of death.  Lamentations and groans
+were continual, but no proper means for the recovery of the patients were
+adopted.  A poor hedge carpenter came from the distant village of Mawn
+Dee, and brought with him the last covering of the victims of disease,
+placing them, with assistance, in the slight alder coffins; the parents
+took their heart-rent final look, and sank insensible with excessive
+grief;—and yet the nurses feasted.  They continued to roast and boil,
+piously hoping their valuable services would be long wanted; and although
+none of the family could partake of their cookery, yet, the nurses
+feasted!  These good ladies, however, were rather disturbed at this time
+in their comfortable doings, as some of the Mawn Dee women, like the
+vulture which smells the warfield and the human gore afar off, followed
+in the wake of the carpenter, hoping by a little canting condolement with
+the family, to be engaged; but finding the field occupied, they were
+guilty, as their opponents said, of the heinous offence of offering their
+services gratis, to sit up in their turn and watch the sick.
+
+This, it must be said, was ever a welcome office to persons of this
+description, especially at a substantial house; as on such occasions as
+watching the sick, and laying out the dead, feasting is as prevalent as
+at weddings.  As the paid nurses who assumed the consequence of regulars,
+failed to eject the volunteers, who were more numerous, they revenged
+themselves by giving them all the work to do except what appertained to
+swilling and mastication; their own veteran talents bearing the full
+brunt of that important piece of service, which was not to be trusted to
+mere mercenary recruits.
+
+Superstition was rampant amongst these old hen-wives.  All sorts of
+intimations concerning future events were made out of very simple
+occurrences.  No one must go under a ladder, if they would enter the
+matrimonial noose.  Salt was a very unfortunate article of diet, whilst
+candlewicks were made a medium for the discovery of a coming death.  Some
+of these old grannies dilated upon corpse candles seen by them previous
+to the deaths of the young women of the house; others dilated on the
+awfulness of a spectral burial, where shadows of the living supported the
+bier of the departed towards the church-yard.
+
+One night, between twelve and one, while the three coffins and their
+contents presented a woeful sight, lying side by side on the oak table,
+Morris, afflicted as he was, assisted his wife in supporting by the
+fireside his fourth daughter, whose death they also deeply dreaded, as an
+old cottage woman, while she basted a loin of mutton roasting before the
+fire, dwelt much on the certainty of supernatural appearances,
+illustrating her convictions by instances of her own experience.  All at
+once, the current of her discourse was arrested by a shudder that
+overcame and struck her dumb, on hearing a rumbling and irregular noise,
+as of falling furniture, which also terrified the group about the fire.
+The noise increased, and at last seemed as if somebody was stumbling in
+his way in the dark.
+
+Some shrieked, some rose and ran to remote corners, covering their head
+with their aprons, while others sat breathless, as if nailed to the
+bench, and dissolved in streams of perspiration, their eyes starting from
+their sockets—when a figure with the air and rush of a maniac darted in,
+tore the roasting meat from the string, and disappeared with it, uttering
+in a dismal hollow tone,
+
+“O God, I am famished by these wretches!”  The consciences of the farmer
+and his wife were dreadfully wrung, as they recollected the poor
+apprentice Twm, whom they had left in the depth of the malady which had
+deprived them of three of their children, to live or to die, as he might;
+nor would Morris allow anybody to rescue the meat, but snatching a loaf
+from the shelf, he entreated Twm to come in and eat his fill at the fire.
+But the youngster having secured the bread, re-entered his hay-loft, and
+with the ravenousness of a starved hound devoured his precious prey in
+darkness.  That was the sweetest meal ever eaten by our hero.
+
+In narrating this event in after life, he used to say that the theft of
+this joint saved his life.  He was then as ravenous as a wolf, and was
+only endowed with supernatural strength for the moment, to effect his
+purpose.  While yet the farmer, with tears of real penitence, was calling
+out to him, a loud scream from his wife convinced him that his fourth
+child was also dead.
+
+With wild and insupportable agony, Morris fell upon his knees, and with
+interrupting sobs exclaimed, “I see the hand of Heaven in this, and a
+heavy judgment has befallen us for our cruelty to the poor boy; but he
+will live! he! the lad whom we treated fouler than the beast! he will
+outlive this pest, while I and mine perish.”
+
+The suffering of the unhappy man was pitiable and heart-rending to
+witness; and on the very day of his children’s burial, with loud cries of
+remorse and sorrow, he expired.
+
+Twm recovered, according to the farmer’s prediction, which was further
+verified, inasmuch as the remainder of his children did not live to see
+the end of the year; and his wife, losing her senses, was ever after a
+wretched moping idiot.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+
+THE return of our hero to Tregaron.  His welcome from old friends,
+cronies, and acquaintances.  Is engaged by Squire Graspacre, and is
+elevated socially and physically.
+
+After setting out early in the morning, and walking all day over the
+rugged mountain road, the heart of Twm Short Catty thrilled with delight,
+and the tears filled in his eyes, when, late in the evening, his own
+native place, the humble town of Tregaron appeared before him.  Each
+object that met his eager gaze was familiar; not a shrub but Twm knew it,
+not a spot but was remembered in Twm’s mind by some vagary or other
+practised either by himself or the renowned Watt; and although his feet
+were so blistered that he could scarcely move, he attempted to make his
+limbs partake of the new vigour which sprung up in his heart, and essayed
+to run, but failing in his aim, fell down completely mastered by
+exhaustion and fatigue.  Whether, like Brutus, he was re-nerved by
+breathing awhile on the bosom of his mother earth, or that the thoughts
+within, of home and its association, gave him strength, he rose much
+refreshed, but with considerable pain continued the short untraced
+portion of his journey.
+
+Entering the town, at length, just as the darkness began to veil every
+object, he came to his mother’s door, which was open, and cast an
+inquiring look before he entered.  Catty had long dismissed her scholars,
+and sat in the chimney corner with her back towards the door; whilst
+Carmarthen Jack was busily engaged upon an artistic combination upon the
+handle of a ladle.  He was a thoroughly business man, as far as spoons
+and ladles were concerned, and on this occasion he sat sullenly busy in
+scooping out the bowl of a new ladle.
+
+Twm’s merry trick-loving soul is not to be subdued by his troubles;
+having drawn his flat-rimmed old hat over his eyes, he leaned over his
+mother’s hatch, and in a feigned voice, begged for a piece of bread and
+cheese, saying that he was a poor boy, very hungry and tired, who was
+making his way home to Lampeter.  “We are poor folk ourselves, and have
+nothing to give,” said Carmarthen jack, rather gruffly.  “Stop!” cried
+Catty, “he’s a poor child, Jack, a bit of bread and cheese is not much,
+and somebody might take pity on my poor Twm, and give him as much, if he
+should need it.”
+
+The affectionate heart of Twm could no longer contain itself, but opening
+the latch, he burst forward, dashing his hat on the ground, and falling
+on her neck, giving the most ardent utterance to the word “mother,” and
+after the tender pause of nature’s own embrace, he cried with streaming
+eyes, “My good, kind, charitable mother! you shall never want bread and
+cheese while your poor Twm has health and strength to earn it.”  Warmly
+returning his embrace and kisses, Catty long clasped her boy, and was
+quite terrified to see his pale lean cheek, and altered looks.  Ashamed
+of the exposure of his pitiless nature, Jack now came up, shook hands and
+condoled with him, but Twm _had seen the man_, _and loved him not_.
+
+Twm was an excellent judge of human nature, and he knew well the
+duplicity and cunning of his father-in-law, and shunned him accordingly.
+Twm would never fraternize harmoniously with those he did not like.  In
+this, he was invariably honest.
+
+After being refreshed, Catty eagerly enquired of all that had happened to
+him since he left home, and wept much as he detailed his narrow escape
+from starvation and the small-pox.  By twelve o’clock next day, his tale
+was known to everybody at Tregaron.
+
+The catastrophe at Morris Greeg’s, of course, was considered a judgment
+from heaven for his miserly propensities; and Ianto Gwyn again set his
+poetical muse at work, and after a slight effort wrote a pathetic ballad,
+to the great edification of old women and tender-hearted damsels, giving
+a _true and particular_ account of the whole affair; to which was
+attached a moral on the cruelty of mal-treating parish apprentices, and
+stuffing them with mouldy bread and sour flummery.  This interesting
+ballad was daily sung by Watt, the mole-catcher, to the English tune of
+Chevy Chase, which gained the good-will of all those old cronies who had
+taken deep offence at his numerous tricks.
+
+Carmarthen Jack, although so careful of his bread and cheese, was
+determined not to be outdone on this occasion, but brought the graphic
+art to perpetuate his stepson’s tale; that is to say, he carved on a
+wooden bowl the figures of four beings, well-attended, in bed, with the
+scythe of death across their throats, while in the distance a meagre boy
+was snatching a joint of meat from the fire.  The effort, artistically
+regarded, was not calculated to carry away the Royal Academy’s prize; the
+idea perhaps was better than the execution; but altogether it gained Jack
+very great applause.
+
+Right glad were all Twm’s cronies to see him again at Tregaron; but
+dearer than all to him was the welcome of the curate Rhys, with whose
+books he was again permitted to make free, while he profited by his
+instructions and conversation.  He had now been at home about three
+months, and recovered his health, strength and spirits to perfection;
+when his mother fancied he had become an eye-sore to her husband, who she
+thought looked at him with the scowling brow of a step-father, which
+Twm’s conduct, she might imagine, justified, as his behaviour towards
+Jack had been very unconciliating, ever since the bread and cheese
+adventure.
+
+With this impression, Catty once more waited on Squire Graspacre, to
+solicit that some employment should be found for her boy, as she could
+not afford to keep him in idleness.  The tale of his sufferings at _Gwern
+Ddu_, interested the squire in his favour; and he felt some reluctance to
+send him again as a parish apprentice.  The worthy curate, Rhys, had also
+spoken a kind word in his late pupil’s favour; and Carmarthen Jack,
+gaping, hat in hand, looked as if he would say much to get rid of his
+step-son, could he hit on words to his purpose.  Amused by his simplicity
+and awkward gestures the squire asked him,
+
+“Well, Jack, what would you advise me to do with Catty’s boy?”  This
+plain question met with as blunt an answer, “Make him your servant boy,
+sir, if you please.”  “And so I will, old hedgehog!” cried the squire,
+slapping him on the shoulder, “Your oratory has settled the matter.”
+
+Accordingly, our hero next appears as the squire’s man at Graspacre-Hall.
+This was an agreeable change in life to him, where he lived, as they say
+in clover; and by his good temper and turn for mirth, gained the
+good-will and admiration of his fellow-servants, particularly the girls,
+with whom he became an especial favourite.  Behold him now in the
+seventeenth year of his age, with his looks and habits of twenty, gay,
+happy, and as mischievous as an ape; kissing and romping with the girls,
+caring for none of them, but showing attentions to all, while he jeered
+and mocked the cross-grained and disagreeable, and whenever he could,
+raised a laugh at their peculiarities.  His employments at the squire’s
+were various, among which, waiting at table every day, neatly dressed,
+and carrying his master’s gun, and attending him during his shooting
+excursions, formed the principal.
+
+To these, Squire Graspacre, who since the death of his wife was ever
+wench-hunting, aimed to add the noble office of pimp, which Anglicized,
+means, the honourable office of wench-procurer, to satisfy the lustful
+appetite of the squire.  Twm, however, had been swayed too long by the
+counsels of Rhys the curate, to lend himself to any such service; and
+having by his conversations with him, and by the tenor of his readings,
+imbibed a taste for romantic honour, he was not without a secret hope
+that his great father might some day own him, and destine him to a very
+different sphere in life.  With the growth of these notions, rose in his
+mind a distaste for servitude, and an ardent longing to shine in a sphere
+allied to literature and respectability.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+
+TWM goes the way of all flesh, and “falls in love.”  So does the Squire,
+with Twm’s maiden.  Twm defeats his master’s scheme.  The adventures of
+farmer Cadwgan’s ass.  Twm makes his exit from Squire Graspacre’s “local
+habitation.”
+
+The squire and his man Twm returning one evening from grousing on the
+hills, in their descent towards the valleys had to pass by a small
+farm-house, inhabited by a tenant of the squire’s, who whispered Twm,
+“This is the keep, the close, that contains better game, and can afford
+livelier sport than any I have had to-day.”  Twm by his silence testified
+his ignorance of his drift; but he resumed, “What! you don’t understand
+me? haven’t you seen this farmer’s plump partridge of a daughter, the
+pretty Gwenny Cadwgan, you young dog!  I am determined to have that bird
+down, some way or other, and you must help me.  She is fine game, and
+well worth bringing down.  She will take time, I know, but if she should
+be shy why then
+
+    “I’ll weedle, coax, and try my arts,
+    For I can play a thousand parts;
+    When she shall weep, I’ll laugh and sing:
+    The devil to my aid I’ll bring.
+    She’ll ne’er resist me long, I ween,
+    For many a victory I have seen;
+    The wench will kick, but what of that?
+    I’ll bear the brunt: she’s plump and fat.”
+
+Before Twm could reply, the squire alighted and entered the cottage, at
+the door of which the farmer and Gwenny Cadwgan, now grown a fine and
+blooming young woman, met and welcomed their landlord.  Some oaten bread,
+butter, and cheese, and a cup of homely-brewed ale were put before him;
+and while he ate, the pretty Gwenny carried a portion to Twm, as he held
+the horses in the yard.  While he received the welcome food from the hand
+of the happy smiling girl, he perceived the blush with which she gave it,
+and felt in his breast certain sensations no less new than agreeable.
+
+Thus, while each other made brief allusions to their days of childhood, a
+tear started in the eyes of Twm, on seeing which the bright eyes of
+Gwenny were also suffused, till the pearly drops over-ran her fresh ruddy
+cheeks.  Her father then calling her in, she suddenly shook hands with,
+and left our hero, who in that hour became a captive to her charms, while
+the innocent girl herself then felt the first shooting of a passion that
+daily grew, in sympathy with his own.
+
+The squire having finished his hasty lunch, he remarked to his tenant
+Cadwgan in a hurried manner, that he should have company the next day to
+entertain at his house, and would thank him to let his lass come to the
+hall to assist in attending on them.  The farmer of course, assented in
+words, for what small farmer would dare to deny his landlord such a
+favour, though his heart might tremble with apprehensions?
+
+After the squire’s departure, Cadwgan became deeply distressed at the
+predicament in which he found himself; to deny his landlord, was probably
+to lose his farm; and to assent to his specious proposal, was to
+endanger, if not utterly ruin the innocence of his darling daughter; as
+since the death of Mistress Graspacre, more than one of the neighbouring
+damsels had to rue their intimacy with the squire, who inveighled them to
+the hall with all sorts of arts, pretences, and excuses, and then
+contriving that he should be alone with the object of his lust, had paid
+them a little of that “delicate attention” which he had previously
+recommended to the father of Twm.  The poor farmer passed a restless
+night of bitter reflection, and saw daylight with an agonized spirit; but
+the active mind imbued with honourable ideas, never fails in due season
+to work its own relief.
+
+When Twm appeared next morning on horse-back before his door, with a
+pillion behind, Cadwgan’s terrors had vanished, his indignation at the
+premeditated injuries intended him, was roused, and with braced nerves,
+and a firm heart, he determined to deny the squire, and abide the
+consequences, be what they might.  But honest nature was elsewhere at
+work in Cadwgan’s favour, and unknown to him, had raised a friend to save
+him from the impending perils, to the preservation of both his farm and
+his more precious daughter, in the person of young Twm Shon Catty.
+
+On his journey home the last evening, while listening to his master’s
+commands, and hearing his plan to inveigle the innocent Gwenny, Twm was
+mentally engaged in studying some mode to preserve her from his clutches;
+and at length heroically determined to save the object of his admiration,
+even at the risk of losing his place, and being cast again on the wide
+world.  He fed his fancy all night in dwelling on her beauty, and the
+merit of preserving her, while he ardently enjoyed in anticipation the
+sacrifice he was about to make for her sake.
+
+The morning came, and the squire gave the dreaded order, “Take the horse
+Dragon, put a saddle and pillion on him, and bring the farmer’s lass
+behind you here; tell Cadwgan not to expect her back to-night, but she
+shall be brought to-morrow, and by that time, Twm, we shall have shot the
+plump partridge, and found her good game, I doubt not.”  Although Twm had
+been preparing himself to give a doughty reply, and so commence the
+heroic character he had modelled, yet when the moment came, his
+resolution failed him, and the high-sounding words were not forthcoming;
+although the determination to disobey remained as strong as ever.  He
+rode off, through Tregaron, and up the hills, in a melancholy mood,
+without any settled purpose, except that of straightforward resistance to
+the orders he had received.  As he jogged on listlessly, he was suddenly
+roused from his reverie by the braying of Cadwgan’s ass, that was grazing
+in a green lane, which he was about to enter.  Such an animal being a
+rarity in the country, Twm, with surprise, audibly muttered, “What the
+devil is that!”
+
+An old woman at that moment opening the gate, which she civilly held for
+our hero to pass into the lane which she was leaving, hearing his words,
+replied, “It is only Cadwgan’s _ass_.”  Twm, whose thoughts ran entirely
+on the farmer’s fair daughter, mistaking what she said, rejoined,
+“Cadwgan’s _lass_, did you say?”  “You are very ready with your mocks and
+pranks, Master Twm,” cried the old woman, slamming the gate against the
+buttocks of the horse, “but you know very well that I said Cadwgan’s
+_ass_, and not _lass_! for I should be very sorry to compare the good and
+pretty Gwenny Cadwgan to such an ugly ill-voiced animal.”  Twm was amused
+at the error he had made, made the good dame the _amende honourable_,
+bade her good day, and rode forward with new spirits, for this little
+adventure had furnished him with the means of deliverance for little
+Gwenny, and a defeat to his master’s unlawful desires.
+
+The farmer’s mind being made up, as before observed, to refuse the
+attendance of his daughter at his landlord’s, he was astonished to hear
+Twm say, “Master Cadwgan, it was Squire Graspacre’s order to me, that I
+should saddle this horse, come to your house, and, with your consent,
+bring your _ass_ to him, on the pillion behind me.”  Cadwgan stared
+doubtfully, and Twm resumed, “I hope you are too sensible to question or
+look into the reasonableness of his whims, and will be so good as to
+catch the strange animal, which I passed on the road, that we may tie him
+across the pillion.”
+
+Cadwgan immediately concluded this to be a providential mistake of the
+young man’s, that might have the most desirable effect of relieving him
+from his apprehended trouble, and with a ready presence of mind said,
+laughing, “To be sure it is no business of mine to look into the oddness
+of his fancies, and he shall have my ass by all means.”
+
+“Put an L to ass, and ’twill be _lass_,” said Twm seriously, and with
+emphasis, “and such is the squire’s demand; but,” said the youth with,
+rising enthusiasm, “I will risk my life to save your daughter from his
+snares, and will feign that I thought he said _ass_ instead of _lass_, to
+be brought on the pillion.”  Affected by this instance of generosity, the
+farmer, as well as his lovely daughter, burst into tears, thanking and
+blessing him; whilst the former told him that if he lost his place
+through the adventure, his home was always open to him.  Twm was not slow
+in thanking them for their kindness, but a smile from Gwenny rewarded him
+more than anything said, or anything promised could do.
+
+While Cadwgan went out to catch the long-eared victim, Twm spent a
+delicious half-hour in the company of fair Gwenny; and took that
+opportunity to protest the ardour of his affection for her, and vowed
+that whatever fortune favoured him with the means of getting a livelihood
+independent of servitude, it would be the glory of his life to come and
+ask her to be his own.  The maiden heard him with streaming eyes and
+heaving breast, nor withdrew her cheek when her lover imprinted on it
+affection’s first kiss; she considered it as a sacred compact, the seal
+of a true lover’s faithful covenant; one never to be broken by the
+intrusion of another.
+
+Cadwgan at length returned, with his charge in a halter, grumbling and
+abusing the beast at every step, in consequence of having led a pretty
+dance in chase of her.  With the assistance of Twm and a neighbouring
+cottager, he now tied the animal’s legs and lifted her into the seat of
+the pillion, a situation that her struggling and resistance indicated to
+be more elevated than comfortable.  Twm, however, rode on slowly with his
+grotesque companion, without the occurrence of an accident, till they
+arrived at Tregaron; when the whole town, men, women, and children, came
+to enjoy the strange sight, amidst roars and shouts of laughter.  The ass
+either was not comfortable, or she felt her asinine dignity assailed, and
+therefore “he haw’d” her disapproval of the proceedings.  She further
+manifested her displeasure by making a strong attempt to reach terra
+firma, eventually thinking it unjust to make her ride when she was
+perfectly able and willing to walk.
+
+Straining every nerve to liberate her captive limbs, she at length
+succeeded in breaking the cord by which she was fastened to the pillion,
+and tumbled in a heap to the ground, where she struggled hard, and soon
+shook off every remnant of her hempen gyves; and in all the pride of high
+achievement and newly acquired freedom, ran with all her might through
+the town, brandishing her heels to right and left whenever any person
+approached to impede her career, till through a long narrow lane she
+reached the mountains.  Here she seemed to defy her numerous pursuers;
+but after a long chase, which lasted till dusk, she was surrounded,
+secured, and placed in her former situation behind our hero on the
+pillion.
+
+At length he reached Graspacre Hall, and made his approach at the back of
+the house.  His step-father assisted him and his companion to alight,
+leading the latter to the stable, while Twm went to inform his master of
+his arrival, and the cause of his long delay.  A tremor suddenly seemed
+to paralyze poor Twm, well knowing the wrath his disappointed master
+would shower down upon his devoted head.  He mentally thought he should
+be thankful to anybody who could liberate him out of this dilemma; but
+after his fit of apprehension had lasted a few minutes, he plucked up his
+courage and his breeches at the same time, exclaiming, “Well! he can’t
+kill me for it:” and thus self-comforted he entered the house.
+
+The squire at this time was seated at the head of the table, pushing down
+the bottle among his friends, principally consisting of the neighbouring
+gentry.
+
+In the course of the day he had sent several times to know whether Twm
+had arrived.  When little Pembroke at length went in to announce his
+return, he desired he should be immediately sent in, and Twm approached
+him with a burning cheek and an agitated heart.  He questioned him in an
+undertone, asking _if he had brought her_, and where he had been so long;
+to which Twm replied, “Yes, sir, I have brought her, and much trouble I
+had with her, for she didn’t like to come, thinking perhaps you meant her
+foul play; and once she escaped off the pillion into the mountain.”
+
+“The devil she did!” cried the squire; “but you caught her again?”
+
+“Oh yes, sir, after losing much time, I have brought her at last, and she
+is now much tamer than at first; and you can do what you like with her.”
+
+“That’s very well,” said the squire; “I like the notion that she is very
+tractable.”
+
+“Oh! you’ll find she’ll do anything now, though I had to make her know
+her right position.  She rolled off the pillion in Tregaron, and showed
+her legs most dreadfully.”
+
+“Fie! fie!” said the squire, “I hope you did not look at them?”
+
+“Faith, but I did then, and very pretty they looked.  But you’ll be able
+to give your own opinion, sir, by and bye.”
+
+“A good lad, Twm, a good lad, remind me to give you a golden angel for
+this day’s work; but what have you done with her? where is she?”
+
+“Why, sir,” cried Twm.  “I tied her up to the manger and locked the door,
+to prevent her escape.”
+
+“Shame, Twm, shame! you ought not to have done that, for she will think
+it was by my orders, and hate me perhaps for my supposed cruelty,” quoth
+the squire, thinking all the time that Cadwgan’s _lass_, and not his ass
+was the subject of discussion.
+
+“No, sir,” replied Twm, “but it is likely though, that she will have an
+ill-will towards me, as long as she lives, for it.”
+
+“Well, well,” said his master hastily, “take her from the stable into the
+housekeeper’s room, and tell Margery to comfort her and give her a glass
+of wine.”
+
+This was too much for Twm, and the smothered laugh burst out in spite of
+his efforts; on which, his master with a severe brow, asked how he dared
+to laugh in his presence.  “Indeed I could not help it,” cried Twm, “but
+I don’t think she ever drank a glass of wine in her life, and perhaps
+might not like it.”
+
+“Why, that’s true; then tell the butler to give out a bottle of the sweet
+home-made wine for her—let it be a bottle of the cowslip wine, and say
+that I am very sorry for the trouble and vexation she has had.”
+
+“Yes, sir,” cried Twm, who made his bow and retired to the servants’
+hall, where he made them acquainted with the squire’s freak of having
+farmer Cadwgan’s ass brought there on a pillion behind him; and that it
+was his master’s orders that she was to be brought into the
+house-keeper’s room, and a glass of wine given to her, and that Margery
+was to make her comfortable.
+
+They were all aware of their master’s occasional eccentricities, and that
+he was as absolute in demanding obedience to his wildest whims, as to the
+most important matter in the world.  With one accord they therefore
+brought the ass, not without great trouble and opposition on the part of
+the poor animal, into the housekeeper’s room, where Glamorgan Margery
+spread a small carpet for her to lie on, and amidst the side-aching
+laughter of the servants, offered a glass of wine, which no persuasion
+could induce her to accept.
+
+The squire had given orders that no person was to answer the bell the
+rest of the evening but Twm.  It was now rung, and in went our hero, when
+he was asked, “How is she now?”  “Rather fatigued sir; she doesn’t like
+wine, nor would she touch a drop of it.”  “Well, well,” said the squire,
+“if she likes ale better let her have some, with a cold fowl and
+something of the nicest in the house, though perhaps she would prefer a
+cup of tea to anything.  After she has taken the refreshment she chooses,
+tell Margery to put her to bed, in the green chamber, then lock the door
+and bring me the key.  I can then visit her when I am ready, you know
+Twm, and depend upon it I will reward you in the morning.”  Here Twm’s
+risible faculties were again oppressed to bursting, but a look from his
+master checked him, though he bit his lip till the blood started in the
+aid to check his laughter.
+
+Squire Graspacre now secretly anticipated the completion of his scheme,
+anxiously waiting for the departure of his guests, who by their noisy
+hilarity had long given notice that a little more devotion to the bottle
+would lay them under the table.  The wily squire however desisted, before
+he had passed the boundary of what topers call _half and half_,
+considering in the mean time, that his plan would best succeed by not
+appearing before Gwenny Cadwgan till midnight, when all his household
+would be asleep, and himself supposed to have retired to his room.
+
+After some trouble, which was heightened by their forced suppression of
+laughter, that however, broke out in spite of them, the servants got the
+donkey up stairs, having previously fed her with bread, oaten cakes, and
+oats, on her rejection of ale, wine, fowl, and tea, which to their great
+amusement they had successively offered her in vain.  Having brought the
+poor animal into the green room, the best chamber in the house, and kept
+only for particular guests, they placed her on the fine handsome bed; the
+legs being already tied, they fastened them also to the bed-posts.  Twm
+heightened the drollery of the scene by cutting two holes in a night-cap,
+drawing through the donkey’s ears, and slitting it at the edge, he drew
+the cap down carefully towards the eyes.  The bed-clothes were then
+carefully drawn up to the ass’s neck, the curtains half drawn, and the
+first ass that ever slept in a feather bed was then left to enjoy its
+slumbers as best it could.  They bade her good night, locked the door,
+and gave the key to their master.
+
+The guests at length dispersing, they all rode off as well as their
+muddled heads would let them, to their respective homes; the squire, as
+was his custom, locked the door himself, and saw every light in the house
+out before he retired.  At length he gained his chamber, and all was
+still in Graspacre-Hall.  The amorous squire, chuckling at his luck as he
+thought of the fair lass in the green-room, grew too impatient to wait
+till the proposed hour of midnight, and leaving his candle on his own
+table, took off his shoes, and softly approached the casket that he
+deemed contained his precious jewel.
+
+Applying the key, he opened the door very gently, and cautiously
+approaching the side of the bed, said in a whisper towards the pillow,
+“Don’t be alarmed, Gwenny, my dear, ’tis I, the squire; fear nothing, my
+girl, this will be the making of your fortune, my dear; and if you are as
+kind and loving as I could wish you to be, you may soon become the second
+Mrs. Graspacre.”
+
+Hearing no reply, he considered that according to the old usage, _silence
+gives consent_, and proceeded to bend his face down to kiss the fair one,
+when a severe bounce inflicted by his _incognita’s_ snout, knocked him
+backwards off the bed to the floor, and set his nose a-bleeding.
+
+After recovering himself a little, though labouring under the delusion
+that the blow had been struck by the hand of the fair maiden, he
+exclaimed in an under-tone, “You little wixen! how dare you treat me in
+this manner?”  The answer received was a loud and repeated “he-haw,” with
+the clattering of hoofs against the bedposts.  Now hoofs are suggestive,
+and the squire rather believed in the supernatural.  He again proceeded
+towards the bed, but was completely horror-struck at the loud bray which
+the terrified ass sent forth; while the poor terrified animal, after a
+hard struggle, liberating her limbs, struck him a severe blow on the
+forehead with her hoof, and getting off the bed, made a terrible clatter
+with her shod feet over the boards of the room.  The unfortunate squire,
+although hitherto a loud decrier of superstition, now felt a thrill of
+the utmost horror pervade him, while he decreed himself ensnared by the
+enemy of man, as the punishment of his guilty intentions; and after a
+clamorous outcry fell senseless on the floor.
+
+The servants having but concealed the light, expecting some _denouement_
+of this sort, now rushed in, and saw their fallen master ghastly pale,
+with streams of perspiration running over his forehead, while his
+wildly-staring eyes alternately looked at, and turned from, the monster
+of alarm.  When he had sufficiently recovered to learn the real state of
+affairs, from little Pembroke, who had been made Twm’s confidante in this
+matter—how that wight had brought the farmer’s ass according to his
+orders behind him on the pillion, although he had been in some doubt
+whether he had said Cadwgan’s _ass_ or Cadwgan’s _lass_, the squire’s
+rage was boundless.
+
+Squire Graspacre’s rage can be better imagined than described, and all
+the dormant fiends of evil were at once awakened in his bosom, and the
+feeling which first actuated him was that of revenge upon Twm, and
+secondly shame at having been duped, and that with the knowledge of all
+his household.  Exasperated at the trick put upon him by a mere
+youngster, and a menial, and scarcely less provoked at the exposure he
+had made of himself before his servants, down he rushed into the hall,
+and snatched a heavy horsewhip, unlocked the door, and made his way
+towards our hero’s chamber over the laundry; but when he reached the
+bedside, prepared to inflict the severest punishment that the thong of a
+whip was capable of, how great was his mortification to find the bird had
+flown!  His chagrin and resentment were anything but lessened, when he
+took a piece of paper off the bed, on which, in a large hand, were
+written these pretty lines:—
+
+    If from lass you take the letter L.
+    Then lass is ass if I have learnt to spell;
+    Yes ass and lass methinks are coupled ill.
+    Though human asses follow lasses still!
+    An ass were I too—could I so arrange ill,
+    If now I stay’d to claim my promised angel.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+
+TWM finds that his father-in-law is as churlish as ever, but Carmarthen
+Jack comes to grief in consequence.  The Squire turns reformer.  His
+children arrive at the hall.  A tender Devonian.  Twm satirizes the cook.
+Thrashes the young squire, and then “disappears.”  Calls upon Cadwgan and
+Rhys.  An adventure on the hills.
+
+Twm reached his mother’s at Tregaron about one o’clock in the morning,
+and alarmed her greatly by the account he gave of his flight from the
+squire’s, and the cause which led to it.  Jack consoled poor Catty by
+assuring her that her son would go to the devil, and that ruin would come
+upon them through his tricks, to a certainty.  Number one again, as the
+reader will see, with very little affection for his wife’s offspring.  It
+is a selfish world, and Jack did as Rome did, none the less eagerly
+because it always suited his own convenience.  He concluded by saying
+that they ought to turn poor Twm adrift, and leave him to himself in
+order to conciliate the squire.  While Jack beneath the bed-clothes, was
+grunting these suggestions of worldly wisdom, Catty half-dressed, was
+sitting dejectedly in the chimney corner.
+
+Having caught the drift of his father-in-law’s mutterings, he rose
+abruptly, snatched up his hat, and while striding to the door, cried,
+“Good night, mother.”  Alarmed at his precipitate movement, and the tone
+in which he spoke,—“Where are you going, Twm?” said Catty.  Turning
+around, while he held the door in his left hand, he replied, “Anywhere
+mother—the world is wide—and I’ll go headlong to the devil, rather than
+stay here, where I am not welcome.”  With that he closed the door, and
+was in a moment out of sight, notwithstanding the cries and entreaties of
+his mother, who ran after, and earnestly sought to bring him back.
+
+Catty, with a bitter conscience, now found that her son had a
+step-father, and she a husband, who was a rude and churlish tyrant.  To
+give him his due, Jack was far from being regardless of her sorrow, but
+showed the tenderness of a husband in comforting her, in a manner most
+natural to himself.  “What signifies crying for such an imp of a devil as
+that?” said this kind step-father: “if he starves in the field by being
+out to-night, it will save him from dying at the gallows, where he would
+be sure to come some day or other.”
+
+This tender-hearted speech had the unexpected effect of immediately
+curing Catty’s grief, which turned to a desperate fit of rage, and
+without a word to signify the transition wrought by his oratory, she
+snatched up a stout broom-stick from the floor, and be-laboured him with
+all her strength, as he lay beneath the bed-clothes, till he roared like
+a baited bull.  When the strength of her arm failed, the energy of her
+tongue commenced; and after rating him soundly, she concluded her
+harangue with eloquent pithiness, hoping that she had left him a shirtful
+of bones; and expressing a devout hope that he would eventually arrive at
+that elevated position in society which he had described as the probable
+fate of her darling son.  After which exertion and speechifying, she
+thought proper to disappear.
+
+Jack, although he received some hard blows, by dodging under the
+bed-clothes, escaped better than his help-mate intended he should; he
+soon rose, dressed himself and went to his master’s sauntering sullenly
+about the outhouses till daylight, when a servant informed him, after
+narrating Twm’s trick on his master, that he was to take Cadwgan’s ass
+home.
+
+Squire Graspacre, since the death of his wife, gave such free range to
+his licentious pleasures, as placed him, especially at his years, in a
+most unseemly light.  His only son had been two years at Oxford,
+returning only occasionally during the vacations; while his two daughters
+on the death of their mother, were sent to a boarding-school at Exeter.
+Thus in his own family he had no witnesses of his vices and follies.  He
+soon found, however, that in Wales, his offences against religion and
+morality were not to be committed with impunity.  The respect in which he
+was formerly held by the country people gradually declined, while those
+who had daughters became extremely shy, and sent their female inmates out
+of the way whenever he approached.
+
+The squire was not slow to discover these changes, and all the pride of
+his nature, that pride which loved ambition and power, which demanded
+implicit obedience, and loved to sway the sceptre of power, had aroused
+him within; determined to subdue the glaring insolence, as he deemed it,
+of his neighbours.  Never deficient in penetration, he was not long in
+discovering this change in the bearings of his tenants and neighbours,
+which to a mind like his, proud, fond of domineering, and being looked up
+to as the superior—the grand central luminary of his sphere, round which
+all others moved as silent and respectful satellites—was a very hell.
+
+The minds of men, however, are not to be overruled, and with a wisdom
+rare as effective, he immediately resolved, as the only mode of
+re-establishing his credit and happiness, to retrace his steps—to which
+end he sent for his daughters home, at a time when his son was about to
+return from Oxford—and thus, by the presence of his children, place a
+restrictive guard upon his future conduct.  With this change in his
+ideas, it will be no wonder that Twm Shon Catty was again taken into
+favour, and replaced in his former situation.
+
+At length the merry bells of Tregaron announced the arrival of the heir,
+and the young ladies of Graspacre Hall, which mansion soon became a scene
+of festivity.  The meeting of the squire with his daughters was ardently
+affectionate; but his son Marmaduke had nothing of cordiality in his
+nature.  His figure was tall and thin, with loose joints and ill-knit
+bones, while his countenance indicated both phlegm, and a fidgetty,
+nervous peevishness.  He bore the marks of late and dissipated hours upon
+his countenance.  His face was sallow, and his eyes sunken; he had the
+unmistakable air and _tout ensemble_ of a rouè and a libertine.
+
+He was by no means prepossessing, whilst his pride and self-sufficiency
+made him an object of dislike to all who approached him.  He scrupled not
+to say openly that he hated Wales and Welshmen.  He condescended,
+however, to say, that until he could get a clever English servant, in the
+place of the last, who ran away from him, he must put up with one of the
+Welsh savages.  Accordingly, our hero was appointed to be his temporary
+valet, and ordered to attend exclusively on the young squire.
+
+With the ladies came their aunt, the squire’s younger sister, a very
+affected fantastical spinster from Exeter; who gave every fashion its
+Devonshire latitude in her conformation to it, carrying the mode to an
+extreme that left London absurdity far in the back-ground.  The Misses
+Graspacre were neither imitators nor very ardent admirers of their aunt,
+whose silly affectation of excessive delicacy became their standing-point
+of ridicule, which they put in practice on the evening of their arrival.
+
+The hearty girls wanted something substantial for their supper, after
+travelling their long journey; but their aunt intimated her desire to
+have something that would be light upon the stomach.  The poet expresses
+the old lady’s opinion when he wrote in homely phrases:—
+
+    Sup on dainty calf-foot jelly,
+    Never sleep with well-filled belly;
+    Sup upon the lightest food,
+    Rice; or anything that’s good.
+    Mind you never eat cold meat!
+    If you’d sleep, that is no treat!
+    The nightmare black you’ll have, be sure!
+    But suppers light are just the cure.
+
+But great was the aunt’s dismay on finding a duck and green peas brought
+to the table.  She resolved, however, even on this fare, to show her
+superior Devonshire breeding; and while the young ladies lifted their
+peas from their plates to their mouths in half-dozens or more at a time,
+she, delicate soul, cut every pea in four, and swallowed a quarter at a
+time!
+
+Another circumstance of note happened at this supper, which, as it
+relates to our hero, must be told.  It seems that during Twm’s disgrace,
+and consequent absence from the hall, the servants there indulged
+themselves in making remarks on his conduct, and its probable
+consequence.  This discussion displayed their various dispositions.  Some
+spoke of him with charity, and dwelt upon his rare qualities of good
+nature and cheerfulness; while others took a malignant pleasure in
+speaking of his satirical and mischievous propensities.  Among the latter
+was the cook.  Twm, on his return, heard of her _kindness_, and
+determined to take the first opportunity of showing his sense of the
+obligations she had laid him under.  On the removal of the remains of the
+duck and its accompaniments, the company having just been helped round
+with tart or pie, their attention was suddenly arrested by the voice of
+Twm in the passage, who loudly sung the following distich:—
+
+    “Apple pie is very rich,
+       And so is venison pasty;
+    But then our cook has got the itch,
+       And that is very nasty.”
+
+Ye gods! what sounds for ears polite!  The young ladies laughed
+immoderately on perceiving the distress of their aunt, who showed a
+wry-faced consciousness of having partaken food prepared by unclean
+hands; her countenance underwent various contortions, and she mentally
+thought of the old proverb about the obligatory rule set down upon each
+member of humanity, that we must all eat a peck of dirt in our lifetime,
+but she devoutly hoped that all her share was not to be eaten at one
+meal.  Those awful thoughts had a tragic ending, for they terminated in
+the grand climax of a shriek and a fit.  The squire’s anger was instantly
+kindled against Twm, probably from an unquenched spark of his former
+resentment, which he evinced by telling his son to “give that rascal a
+good thrashing.”
+
+Proud of his commission, out ran Marmaduke; and finding Twm in the hall,
+ran up and struck him a blow in the face; but great was the amazement of
+the servants to see the young man turn upon him like a lion, and with the
+most dexterous management of his fists overpowering their young master in
+an instant, whom he left groaning with pain, and covered with bruises,
+and then made a precipitate retreat.
+
+While walking to Tregaron, it occurred to Twm, that for that night at
+least, he should be favoured with a lodging by his constant friend, Rhys,
+the curate.  Thither he went, and found the worthy man by the parlour
+fire, with a book in his hand, and papers before him, busily employed in
+preparing for the press a new edition of his Welsh Grammar.  He was
+received by him with his usual kindness; and when Twm told him his tale,
+with the important addition that he must leave his native place for ever,
+and that immediately, he showed the goodness of his heart by assuring him
+of a retreat for the present, and a little pecuniary aid on his
+departure.  He however gave him a friendly lecture on the impropriety of
+his conduct; observing that if he must be satirical, he ought to choose
+the subject for his lash from the famous among the great and wealthy, and
+not the puny and defenceless, to attack whom, he said, evinced a paltry
+and most dastardly spirit; concluding with the pithy injunction, “while
+you live, whatever your state while on earth, act the generous and manly
+part; and never, never, either manually, or with the lash of satire, war
+with the weak.”
+
+These words formed in a great measure the leading rule in Twm’s after
+life.  He never forgot them, and all the more because they came from the
+lips of one whom he revered and loved; and however reprehensible the
+after vagaries of Twm’s life may have been, their harsher features were
+considerably modified by the remembrance of the words, “War not against
+the weak!”  Our hero was heartily pleased with his preceptor, inasmuch,
+that amidst all his observations and lectures he imputed to him but
+slight blame for his retaliation on young Graspacre; but when he vowed
+further vengeance, should he ever meet him alone in the mountains
+remonstrated with him on the risk he ran, urged the necessity of
+self-preservation, and advised him not to endanger himself needlessly.
+
+The next morning Rhys assured Twm that he had reflected on the
+peculiarity of his case, and found it by no means so bad as he had
+imagined.  “As to leaving this place,” said he, “I see no necessity;
+merely keep out of the way awhile, and in due time make your submissions
+to the squire; as he is by no means a hard man, I have no doubt but all
+will speedily be well again.”  Twm adopted this idea, though he
+ill-stomached the thought of submission, or of asking pardon for an act
+of manliness which he would on a similar case of aggravation repeat.
+
+Thus matters rested for the present; and in the dusk of the evening he
+crossed the hills towards Cadwgan’s, and soon had the grateful
+satisfaction of seeing once more his beauteous mistress, sitting by her
+father before a cheerful fire.  Her mild kind face was unusually pale,
+but brightened on his approach; and when he related his new mishap, and
+that he thought of immediately quitting the country in consequence, her
+cheek assumed an ashy paleness, and she nearly fainted in her father’s
+arms.  Cadwgan dissuaded him from the thought of quitting his native
+place for such a trifle, and advised him by all means to follow up the
+worthy curate’s suggestion; and when the fair Gwenny repeated her
+father’s wishes as her own, Twm at once acquiesced, and resolved not to
+quit.
+
+Thus time passed on pleasantly, for some days, when our hero said he
+longed exceedingly for a day’s coursing on the neighbouring mountains.
+Cadwgan remarked that the squire had shown no desire to pursue him, as he
+had heard at Tregaron and he conceived there would be no danger; and so
+in accordance with his opinion, he lent him his dog and gun, both great
+favourites, and never before entrusted to any one breathing.  He advised
+him to confine his excursion to a certain remote hill called Twyn Du
+(_Black Hill_) which being rugged of ascent and marshy, seldom invited
+the steps of the sons of pleasure in the character of sportsmen.
+
+Thus with dog and gun, and accoutred with a shot-belt, our hero felt
+himself another and superior being to what he had ever been before,
+especially as Gwenny assured him that the sportsman’s paraphernalia
+became him exceedingly.  He shook Cadwgan’s hand, kissed the lips of his
+fair mistress, and gallantly sallied forth.  Having gone a few yards, he
+turned his face back to assure them, that he should return and well
+loaded with game.
+
+Twm enjoyed himself thoroughly.  There was a complete sense of freedom
+and independence in his sport which more than pleased him; with light
+heart, cool head, and steady aim, he brought down bird after bird,
+filling his bag, and carolling old Welsh airs the while.  He had been on
+Twyn Du about an hour and a half, and in that time had killed several
+birds, when the report of his gun attracted others to the spot.  He could
+hear several persons on the hill contiguous, and saw one well mounted,
+descending into the deep dingle that, like a gulf, yawned between the two
+hills, and making his way up the steep side of Twyn Du.
+
+He now felt a presentiment that this visit portended him no good; but
+scorning an ignominious flight, he carelessly paced the brow of the hill
+till the sportsman approached, when, to his great amazement, who should
+present himself before him but his inveterate foe, Marmaduke Graspacre.
+He approached Twm with the fury of a demoniac, asking how he dared fire a
+gun on those grounds, and after a few harsh words of abuse, which our
+hero returned with interest, he took an aim at Cadwgan’s pointer, and
+instantly shot him on the spot.
+
+This butcherly, cowardly act, aroused the indignation of our hero.  He
+felt his Welsh blood course madly through his veins.  The thought too,
+that this was Cadwgan’s dog, his favourite pointer, the animal petted and
+nursed by his own sweet Gwenny, drove Twm furious, and he was further
+aggravated by the young squire demanding his gun, and laughing the while
+at his distress and rage.  The youth was not formed of stuff so tame as
+to endure his insolent triumph.  Snatching up his loaded gun with
+desperate rapidity, he in a moment lodged the contents in the head of the
+squire’s fine hunter, on which his enemy sat taunting him.  No sooner had
+Marmaduke reached the ground, disengaged himself from his fallen horse,
+and stood up, than Twm flew at him, and disregarding his threats, with
+his dexterous fists inflicted the most perfect chastisement; leaving him
+in a far worse predicament than after their first encounter.
+
+By this time the men who attended the young squire, hearing the report of
+the guns, and fearing that their young master had fallen in with
+poachers, made best of their way down across the dingle, and up the sides
+of Twyn Du.
+
+Roused by their shouts, Twm left his vanquished foe groaning on the
+ground by the side of the dead hunter, and darting down the opposite side
+he made a safe retreat.  This was an adventure which constituted the
+turning point of our hero’s life.  The magnitude of the consequences it
+involved, he scarcely dreamt of at that moment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+
+TWM is “wanted.”  Hides himself in a wood.  Love takes him to Cadwgan’s
+house, where he is welcomed.  Parson Evans acting as “detector.”  Twm
+escapes in the disguise of a female.  Affectionate parting with the
+farmer and Gwenny.
+
+No sooner was Marmaduke Graspacre taken home, and the affair made known
+by him to his father, with some little exaggeration against the
+assailant, such as the trifling mis-statement that the blows inflicted on
+him were by the butt-end of the fowling-piece, instead of the fist, than
+the squire’s indignation was roused.
+
+“As this is not the first offence, and my forbearance has encouraged his
+atrocious conduct, I am now determined to make an example of him,” said
+he, and immediately sent a servant for Parson Evans, who, in the capacity
+of magistrate, was ordered to take cognizance of the affair, and send
+constables in all directions to arrest the culprit.  This was an office
+that well accorded with this malignant man; he had not the generosity
+enough to forget and forgive the follies of youth; and had a bloodhound
+been set upon Twm’s track, he would not have scented him out with more
+pleasure than Parson Evans.
+
+The hue and cry instantly was raised and spread abroad, and excited as
+great a commotion throughout the country as if a convicted murderer were
+chased through the land.  All Twm’s haunts were searched, especially his
+mother’s and farmer Cadwgan’s; in each of which places there was
+heaviness and wailing for his misfortunes; and Parson Evans, who went
+there in person, took care to assure them, that when caught, all the
+world could not save him from the gallows, as he had attempted to murder
+the young squire of Graspacre-Hall.
+
+But with all the vigilance of his enemies, Twm’s retreat remained
+undiscovered and those who were friendly disposed towards him began to
+wonder among themselves what had become of him.  Some thought that, in a
+fit of despondency, he had drowned himself; and others, that he had
+escaped into the neighbouring counties of Pembroke, Carmarthen, or
+Brecon; or that he had shipped himself in some vessel at Aberayon, or
+Aberystwyth, and got off in safety.  The constables, however, had visited
+each of these places, and at length returned without any further
+intelligence than that their journey had been in vain.
+
+While the search was most hot, our hero concealed himself in a small
+patch of marshy underwood, a spot on which the keen eye of suspicion
+never glanced, his pursuers having passed the edge of it many times
+without a thought occurring of seeking him there.  In this retreat he fed
+himself on nuts and blackberries, and in the night roved about for
+recreation, but returned to his green-wood shelter before day-light.
+Even here, Twm’s love of mischief was as prominent as ever.
+
+One night, while the moon gave a good light, he found a large deep hole,
+close by his retreat.  Knowing that his pursuers would very probably pass
+that way shortly, he covered over the opening with sticks and a thin
+layer of earth and leaves.  Presently came Parson Evans, who had
+separated himself from the rest of the searchers, and coming to the trap,
+immediately sunk over-head, to the depth of twelve feet, giving a wild
+and very unparsonic yell as he descended.  He bawled loudly for help, but
+Twm bounded from his retreat, and shouting down the hole, “Ha! ha!  Evans
+the fox is trapped at last,” made best of his way to another part of the
+forest.
+
+His concealment and life in the woods continued four days, when,
+exceedingly tired of his solitude, he one midnight ventured to Cadwgan’s
+door, and both surprised and gratified the farmer and his kinder
+daughter, when they heard the lost one’s voice once more.  They rose and
+let him in immediately, made a fire, gave every necessary refreshment,
+and then persuaded him to go to bed.
+
+Twm remained hidden here a week, when suspicion fixed upon Cadwgan’s
+house, although searched before, as the probable place of concealment.
+One day, Gwenny ran in a fright to tell her father to conceal Twm
+immediately, as the constables, headed by Parson Evans, were coming.  Twm
+started up and said, “Bolt the door for ten minutes, and I shall be
+safe.”  Gwenny replied that they could not be there in that time, as they
+were then descending the opposite side of the Cwm, which was three long
+fields off, and that they approached slowly, with fox-like cunning, so as
+to excite no suspicion of their purpose.
+
+With that, at Twm’s request, they both went up stairs with him, for a
+purpose which he said he was there to explain to them, as neither of them
+could conceive in what manner he was going to preserve himself.  They all
+remained above ’till the loud summons of authority, in the raven voice of
+old Evans, brought Cadwgan down, when the cleric magistrate told him, in
+no gentle terms, that there was a suspicion attached to his house, as the
+place where the young villain, Twm Shon Catty, was concealed.
+
+The farmer replied, “I must say this is very hard usage, as I have no one
+with me but my daughter and my eldest sister, who has come on a few
+weeks’ visit; but, as you are come, you may search in welcome.”  After a
+brief scrutiny below, they all went up stairs, where sat, busily employed
+at their needles, the fair Gwenny Cadwgan and the ingenious Twm Shon
+Catty, excellently disguised in the dress of Cadwgan’s late wife; which
+having been the property of a tall women fitted him very well.  His face
+was slightly coloured with the juice of blackberries; beneath his chin
+was pinned a dowdyish cap, which in the scant light of a small window, by
+the aid of a pair of spectacles he appeared a complete old granny.
+
+On the entrance of these amiable visitors, he turned his full spectacled
+face on Parson Evans, muttering, in the tone of an old woman, which he
+mimicked well, “lack a day! lack a day! this is sad usage;” then
+whispered Gwenny, who took the hint, and, while they were searching, laid
+some hog’s lard on different parts of the stairs, so that, on their
+descent, the precious party, with their rascally leader, slipped and fell
+headlong down from top to bottom, to the great amusement of those above.
+On being charged with this contrivance, each denied all knowledge of, and
+the quick witted Gwenny accounted for the cause of their accident by
+saying that they had been carrying butter and lard to the store, up
+stairs, the whole morning.
+
+In addition to this, Twm emptied the contents of a certain piece of
+crockery upon the devoted heads of the searchers, just as they emerged
+from the doorway, and when he discovered the splutterings and surprise
+manifested by the parson, shouted down from the upper window, “Dear!
+dear!  I thought you lazy folk would be half a mile from the house before
+now.  Well well! ye’ll get a washing for nothing.”  The parson muttered
+something very like a curse, while the constables “d—d” the old woman
+unceremoniously.
+
+They were no sooner gone than Twm assured Cadwgan that he saw there was
+no safety for him except in flight, which must take place that very
+night.  His plan, he said, was matured, that he had no fear but he should
+do well, and that his only regret was in parting with them.  He purposed,
+he said, to make his way towards Carmarthenshire, or perhaps farther and
+seek employment among the farmers; or, what was more agreeable to him, he
+might, perhaps, get to some village where he could set up a school; so
+that after saving a sum of money to begin life with, he should return and
+make Gwenny his wife.  With tearful eyes Cadwgan expressed his admiration
+of his plan, while poor Gwenny wept herself almost into fits, at the
+thought of his perils, and sudden departure.
+
+“At any rate, my boy, thou shalt not go penniless to wander the wide
+world,” said Cadwgan, and put an old pocket-book, containing several
+angels, and near twenty shillings in silver, which Twm reluctantly took,
+promising its return doubly when fortune favoured him.  “I have two
+favours more to ask,” said he; “the first is, that you will make the best
+of my affair when you tell my poor mother and the worthy Mr. Rhys of my
+flight, and my future plans in life; and my next request is, that you
+will give me this old woman’s dress, with the red cloak belonging to it,
+as it will answer for a disguise should I be troubled before I get far
+enough off.”  Cadwgan kindly acquiesced, though he smiled at the latter
+whimsical fancy.  At length, thus attired to avoid observation, with his
+own clothes in a bundle, he took an affecting leave of them, and made a
+hasty departure from their friendly door.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+
+TWM risks another visit to Tregaron.  Alarms his friend Watt.  Danger of
+betrayal by him.  His cunning is more than a match for Watt, Parson
+Evans, and his wife.  Escapes, and with a good booty.  Disappearance of
+the Parson’s horse, great coat, and cash.
+
+It was a dull heavy night, in which fog and darkness contended for
+precedence, and the moon gleamed as if about to retire altogether, when
+Twm Shon Catty shaped his course over the mountain, in the direction
+which led to Lampeter; he looked instinctively towards his dear native
+town, which a fashionable tourist would perhaps have called the most
+wretched village in the universe; but, to him, it was full of sweet
+associations, and recollections the most agreeable; the scene of his
+childhood, the home of his mother:
+
+    Dear to all their natal spot,
+    Although ’twere Nature’s foulest blot;
+    For, wherever we may roam,
+    There’s ne’er a place like Home, sweet Home.
+
+He stopped, and looked wistfully towards Tregaron; the lights were
+glistening in their various humble casements, and he fancied that among
+them all he could distinguish his mother’s—his kind fond mother’s—whom,
+perhaps, he was never to see again,—and now he recollected many instances
+of her tenderness, which had long slumbered in his recollection.  His
+eyes filled with tears, and the softness of his heart was put at once
+into mournful harmony.
+
+A sudden thought, no less eccentric than daring, now took him, that thus
+disguised, he might safely pass through Tregaron, and perhaps see his
+mother before his departure.  This idea was no sooner started than acted
+upon; and, before an hour had expired, he found himself once more in the
+long and almost only street in Tregaron.  He met two or three old women
+whom he knew well, but there was no recognition on their part, only a
+long, vacant stare of astonishment, no doubt wondering who the stranger
+could be, venturing into Tregaron at that late hour.  His mother’s door
+was closed for the night, and he durst not call to her, as Jack was not
+to be trusted.  He moved on, looking earnestly to every door.  The whole
+street seemed still as death, except that various snores, here and there,
+reminded Twm of the sweet sleep enjoyed by others though denied to him;
+while the stray villagers whom he had met were busy locking their doors,
+or barring them with the wooden sash.
+
+He sauntered slowly along, meditating on the circumstance that made him
+afraid to face those who knew him, till opposite to the cottage of his
+old companion and elder brother in mischief, Watt the mole-catcher.  Watt
+had long lived with a widowed mother, who had recently died, and now
+sojourned alone in her solitary hut; it was even reported that he had
+forsaken all his wicked ways, grown serious, and was consequently likely
+to do well.  It occurred to Twm that he had often heard Watt deny the
+existence of ghosts and hobgoblins, and vaunt that nothing of that
+description could in the least frighten him; and now, thought Twm, I’ll
+put his courage to the trial.
+
+Peeping through the casement, he saw Watt in bed, at the farther end of
+the cottage, and the fire burning through the peat heaped up to preserve
+it for the night, so that the white walls within were brightened by the
+gleams cast on them from the hearth.  Softly lifting the latch, he opened
+the door, entered, and, walking quietly towards the hearth, sat on the
+three-legged stool, took up the old snoutless bellows, and began blowing
+the fire with all his might.  Watt awoke in extreme terror, and seeing
+the figure of a tall woman in the chimney corner, deeming it no other
+than his mother’s spirit, his fright increased.
+
+Trembling and almost dissolved in perspiration, he at last burst out into
+a roar of “Lord have mercy on me! oh, mother’s dear spirit, pity me!”
+Twm laughed out, and ran to his bed-side to stop his roaring cries,
+exclaiming, “Silence, man, ’tis I, Twm, your old friend, Twm Shon Catty.”
+Watt slowly awoke to the consciousness that his theory did not stand the
+test of practice, and that this had been proven by one who had often
+heard him vaunting as to his fearlessness of the supernatural.
+
+Convinced of his identity, and having heard our hero’s story, he said,
+“’Twere better you were at the bottom of a river, Twm, than here, for I
+have been compelled, by Parson Evans, to make an oath that if you came
+here, I would immediately either send or run myself to inform him of your
+arrival; and I can’t break, an oath, Twm, for anybody.”
+
+“I did not think,” said our hero coolly, “that you, who have broken so
+many laws, would scruple much about breaking a forced oath; but old
+companionship pleads weakly, opposed to the reward that will be given for
+my apprehension; I thought, though the whole town were to turn against me
+that you, Watt would have been my friend, for you have led me into many
+troubles, and I never laid a jot of blame to your charge, but took all to
+myself, and have often suffered on your account.”
+
+Watt, who by this time had nearly dressed himself, was much affected by
+this appeal, and said, “No, Twm, I will never betray you, but, if I were
+known in the least to favour you it would ruin all my hopes of success in
+life.  I am, next week, to be married to Betsy Gwevelheer, {140} Parson
+Evan’s maid that I have courted these ten years; and the parson has
+promised to do great things at the bidding: and more than that, I am to
+be the parish clerk and grave-digger when old Morgan Meredith dies, and
+he can’t live long, as I have made him a present of a good church-yard
+cough, by breaking a hole in the thatch over his bed, by which he has
+gained a great hoarseness, and nearly lost his voice; so that I expect to
+be called in to officiate for him next Sunday.”
+
+“I see you are still my friend,” said Twm, who had been lost in a reverie
+during part of Watt’s remarks, “and I give you joy of your fair
+prospects, which I would not destroy on any account; you shall serve me,
+and, at the same time keep your oath.  You know my talent at mimicry, and
+see how well this dress becomes me; aye, I become the dress equally as
+you shall see.  Had I not already disclosed myself, I could have
+discoursed to you a whole hour at mid-day, fearless of a discovery; but
+let us see how this cloak becomes you, Watt.”  With that he took off the
+cloak and put it on Watt, and, after a little jesting on the subject, Twm
+suddenly exclaimed, “Only sit down here with the cloak on your shoulders
+for ten minutes, while I step out, and, with the assistance of my bundle,
+I will astonish you with my transformation.”
+
+All this was uttered with the gay rapidity of an anticipated freak, and
+Watt taken by surprise, immediately acquiesced, without knowing what he
+was about.  Twm ran immediately to the Rectory House, and making a great
+clatter, roused Parson Evans, who opened the window and asked what was
+the matter; when, assuming Watt’s voice, he said hastily, “Mister Evans!
+Mister Evans!  Twm Shon Catty is now in my cottage, dressed in a cloak,
+and sitting at the fire.  You had best be quick and secure him.  He
+wanted me not to betray him, but I could not break my oath, you know; so
+pray you, Parson, make haste if you would have your desire.”
+
+Delighted with this intelligence, Evans awakened the whole house,
+especially two strapping fellows, whom he called his bull-dogs, sometimes
+employing them as husbandry servants, at others, on account of their
+large size, and muscular power, as constables.  Both these fellows were
+first sent to saddle his horse, in case he should have to take Twm to
+Cardigan gaol,—and then to attend him to Watt’s cottage, where the trio
+soon went.
+
+Peeping through the casement, Evans discovered a tall figure wrapped in a
+cloak, as described.  “There he is sure enough,” quoth he in a whisper;
+“now get your cords ready for binding his hands, and stay here till I
+call you in; be sure that you watch the door well.”  With that he lifted
+the latch and went in.  Watt, who, in the interim of our hero’s absence,
+had made up a good fire, now stood up, and, as he saw the clerical
+magistrate before him, exclaimed, “Well done, Twm, my boy!  I now give
+you credit; well, well, well, this is indeed strange; a wonderful
+disguise; you look the old rascal to the life; if you had not told me
+before-hand of your intended transformation, I could have sworn you were
+old Evans himself; you look now just as he did when he promised to make
+me parish clerk.”
+
+Evans remained petrified with astonishment till the last words were
+uttered, when he replied, “Parish devil! you infernal scoundrel, have you
+roused me out of my bed at midnight to hoax and insult me in this manner?
+but you shall dearly repent your insolence.”
+
+Watt stared with wonder, and replied, “Well, well, well!  I never did
+hear such a thing in my life; you have just the old villain’s voice and
+swaggering way; I wish I may die if you don’t so frighten me; and I could
+almost swear the spiteful old Evans himself stood before me; hang him, I
+hate his very looks, and I am only holding a candle to the devil, in
+hopes of the parish clerkship, by seeming so civil to him.”  Evans
+thought him certainly either mad or drunk; and without any further
+explanation, he called the two men in, and ordered them to secure him.
+The light at length broke in on Watt’s mind; Twm’s trick on him, and the
+real state of the case appeared; and he struggled hard before the fellows
+could secure him.
+
+At length he cleared up his confused and chagrined countenance, and said,
+in an undaunted tone, “Well, well, well, I see the worst; farewell to
+mole-catching; farewell to parish-clerkship, and Bessy Gwevelheer; and
+you, you evil-minded old scourge, may bid farewell to all hopes of having
+me to father your brat, of which your maid Bessy is big.  I will make the
+country ring with the stories of your rascalities if you dare to send me
+to the round house; but if you liberate me at once, I shall leave
+Tregaron for ever, in the course of a few days, and go abroad, to see the
+world and seek my fortune.”
+
+To the great surprise of the men, and, perhaps, of Watt himself, Evans
+seemed cowed by his threats, and, after a little show of parleying, gave
+him that freedom of which he had no right to deprive him.  Leaving him
+alone in his cottage, he shuffled home, accompanied by his worthless
+followers.
+
+While Watt’s cottage became the theatre of the above-described scene, Twm
+Shon Catty had a performance of his own elsewhere—a dance if you will—to
+which the same reverend gentleman was doomed to pay the piper.  Having
+watched the party to Watt’s door, Twm hastened to the parson’s, calling
+loudly in the assumed voice of one of the fellows who accompanied,
+“Mistress Evans!  Mistress Evans! make haste and send master his
+pocket-book with his money, immediately; Twm Shon Catty is taken, and we
+are going off with him to Cardigan gaol.”
+
+Mrs. Evans sleeping in a front room, heard him instantly, and with
+unusual alacrity jumped off bed; she soon threw down the pocket-book,
+which was caught by Twm, and asked him, “Doesn’t he want his
+weather-proof great coat also?”  Our hero replied, “Yes, but, dear me, I
+did forget that,” and immediately received the great coat likewise.  Mrs.
+Evans wishing them safe home from Cardigan, shut the window.  The saddled
+horse was already at the gate, and Twm, well coated and cashed, instantly
+mounted and rode off, glorying in his triumph over his old rancorous
+enemy.  “Here,” thought Twm, “is tangible revenge for all the trouble and
+persecution this reverend gentleman has brought upon me.”  A full
+pocket-book, a good horse, and a warm great coat, after all, were not bad
+equivalents for Twm’s injuries.  Some philosophers might consider that
+outraged feelings could not be solaced in this way.  But in Twm’s case,
+at any rate, they were mistaken.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+
+TWM is robbed by a highwayman.  His meditations.  Again is despoiled by a
+gipsy and a ballad-singer at Aberayon.  He adopts the musical profession
+at Cardigan Fair.
+
+Twm took a circuitous route over the mountains towards Lampeter, and,
+when he felt himself secure from pursuit, his first thought was to change
+his feminine attire for his own, as more convenient for riding, which was
+soon accomplished, and the suits changed places in the bundle.  In his
+ignorance of the world, he scarce knew whither to direct his course after
+reaching Lampeter, where he arrived between one and two o’clock in the
+morning.  He recollected that this was a central place, from which
+different roads led to Aberystwith, Llandovery, Carmarthen, Aberayon, and
+Cardigan; but found a difficulty in deciding which way to take.
+
+It suddenly occurred to him that there was a fair at Cardigan the next
+day, and he determined to go there and sell the parson’s horse.  The
+whole town being wrapped in slumbers, he was now at a stand, not knowing
+the road which led through Aberayon to Cardigan; but, rousing a cottager,
+he soon gained the necessary information, and proceeded on.
+
+As he approached Aberayon, for the first time in his life, the distant
+roaring of the sea struck upon his ear, still increasing as he neared the
+ocean side.  Wonder, awe, and even terror, were the successive sensations
+that agitated our hero.  The saddening sobs of the mighty waters as they
+retreated from the shore, and the fearful fury of their rallying and
+re-assaulting the repulsing beach, with their successive wailing
+retreats, to gather the powers of the advancing tide, came on his soul
+like an accusing spirit that seemed to reproach him for his late
+misdeeds.
+
+Severe self-accusing reflection on the atrocity of his last act,
+succeeded the triumphs of enmity that had first given a gust to its
+perpetration.  Consciousness of guilt and terror of punishment at once
+assailed him, for he was yet young in crime.  On the impulse of the
+moment, he determined to leave the parson’s nag behind him, and then
+return his cash and coat as early as possible.
+
+While these bitter agitations were racking his breast, the clatter of a
+galloping horse increased his terrors, and he discerned both horse and
+rider making briskly towards him.  Strange as it may appear,
+notwithstanding the opposite quarter from where the danger proceeded, in
+the wildness of his apprehensions he conceived it could be no other than
+Squire Graspacre, Parson Evans, and their party.  He was actually glad
+when made to understand that the horseman was a highwayman.  His
+unwelcome assailant quickly approached him and presenting his pistol,
+with a loud oath, to oblige “Dio the Devil” with all his cash and
+valuables, or prepare for immediate death.
+
+The name of this terrific freebooter, who had, among many other
+descriptions of persons, robbed half the farmers in the country, and was
+supposed to have committed more than one murder, had its full effect upon
+Twm.  He instantly resigned the parson’s purse, assuring him it was all
+he possessed and begged that he would allow him to retain a single angel;
+these terms, the robber, in a manner, acceded to, doubling his quest by
+giving two; but in return insisted on having his horse and great coat,
+which Twm gave up.  Dio (whose name, by the way, is a familiar diminutive
+of David,) then with sarcastic politeness wished him good morning, and a
+pleasant journey! and galloped off in the direction of Lampeter, having
+the rein of the parson’s horse over his left arm.
+
+No sooner had the highwaymen disappeared, than Twm was struck with a full
+conviction of the folly of the fears he had entertained, which by
+depressing his mind, he thought, led to confusedly yielding his property
+too easily: vowing to himself, after some reflection, that if possessed
+of a pair of pistols, no highwayman in the world should make him stand.
+His thoughts taking their course through this channel, wandered and
+diverged, till his mind rested on new, but perilous prospects.
+
+“What a life,” thought he, “this Dio the Devil leads—a gentleman of the
+road—the terror of wealthy scoundrels, who are themselves the scourge of
+the hapless poor, that are starved into crime—famed, feared, and mained
+at the general cost, while many an honest fool toils like the gulled
+drudge-horse, crawls through the world half-starved, and is despised for
+meanness!”  The weight and magnitude of his reflections were such as for
+a few moments to reduce him to absolute silence, when recovering himself,
+he continued, “What does it matter to me what others do?  I shall please
+myself, and I don’t like hard work, nor do I care for coarse fare, and
+still less for great folk’s abuse and buffets; and if I had a pistol,
+why, I shouldn’t mind if—”
+
+At this moment a countryman was about to pass him on the road, in whose
+hand he recognized his bundle, containing his feminine attire, which in
+his terror he had dropped, and it rolled from the side of the road, it
+seems, into the ditch, previous to the halt of the highwayman.  Twm
+immediately claimed his property, but the fellow seemed disinclined to
+attend to him, until vehemently insisting on his right, he evinced an
+inclination to battle with him; when satisfied with this very convincing
+sort of logic, the clown made restitution.
+
+His little affray with the would-be-dishonest countryman, had not
+obliterated the thought of our hero with respect to highwaymen, and their
+independent style of existence, and with his mind still occupied, with
+the gentlemen of the road, he came to a small public-house near Aberayon,
+but which was so inconveniently crowded that he could scarce find a seat.
+
+With the exception of two or three fishermen and other seafarers, these
+were people who made a temporary halt on their way to Cardigan fair; low
+booth-keepers, fruit and gingerbread sellers, and suchlike.  Twm called
+for beer and refreshment, and while eating, observed the habits of these
+strange people with much curiosity.  He had contrived to squeeze himself
+into a window-seat between two females who sat apart and civilly made
+room for him, and pressed his acceptance of the place.
+
+Twm was delighted with his new position, and he was not a little
+surprised with the contrast which the kindness and affability of his fair
+companions offered to the rude gestures and uncouth speech of the
+remainder of the party.  He did not think worse of them when he
+discovered that one was a gipsy fortune-teller, and the other a
+ballad-singer.  He could not do less, he thought, than ask them to
+partake of his cup, and they found themselves bound in honour, in their
+great devotion to his health, to return it empty each time he handed it
+to them full.
+
+Such gallantry on the one hand, and confidence and affability on the
+other, begot a sudden friendship between them; the gipsy insisting upon
+telling his fortune gratis, and the ballad-singer on the acceptance of
+two or three favourite songs; while Twm reciprocating in the warmest
+style, their affectionate attentions, ordered indefinite supplies of
+“nut-brown,” on which he and his fair ones regaled to their hearts’
+content.
+
+While Twm was busily employed in looking over the bundle of ballads,
+among which he met many old friends, which he had frequently sung, one of
+the friendly nymphs was beckoned to, by a man at the opposite end of the
+kitchen, with whom they went out, and the gipsy soon followed them.
+
+Our hero having selected the songs that pleased him, waited impatiently
+the return of the damsels.  No sign of their re-appearance being visible,
+and all the fair people having left one by one, until Twm found himself
+quite alone, he inquired of the landlord if he knew where the young women
+had gone to.  He said he did not, but that the whole party having paid
+him were gone off, and he had no further business with them.
+
+Twm thought the ballad-singer a singular good-natured young woman, as she
+had left her bundles of melody with him, doubtless as a present, and
+merely taken herself away thus modestly, instead of ostentatiously
+proclaiming her gift, and receiving his thanks.  His opinion was slightly
+changed, when wishful to pay the landlord, he found he had not a
+halfpenny in his pocket.  His vexation and confusion were evident to mine
+host, who declared that his face was turned as white as the wall.  Having
+searched every pocket over and over, at length the doleful tale came out
+that he had lost his money, and could not tell how.
+
+“Why, as to that,” said the landlord, with bitter coolness, “if it is any
+satisfaction to know _how_ you lost your money, I can tell you; it was by
+sitting between two thieves—a gipsy and a ballad-singer and what could
+you expect else from mixing with such cattle?”  Poor Twm remained silent,
+in a miserable mood, with his elbows resting on the table, and with his
+temples in the palms of his hands, for a full half hour; when the
+landlord disturbed his meditations by asking payment for his fare;
+good-naturedly adding, “If you have no money, I don’t wish to be hard
+with you, you can merely leave your jacket with me instead.”  “My
+jacket!” quoth he indignantly; “why that is ten times the value of what I
+owe you.”  “That’s just as people think; but those are my terms, and you
+should be glad that I’ll take it in place of good hard cash,” was the
+reply of the uncompromising old fellow.  The fishermen in the mean time
+passed on him their rough and scurvy jokes, one observing, “You can sing
+ballads without a jacket, so I advise you to go to the fair at Cardigan,
+where you may perhaps meet your old friends.”
+
+Twm was too despondent to be much effected by these feeble attempts at
+wit, but he determined to accept the suggestion of the last speaker, and
+make his first appearance as a public vocalist in Cardigan, so without
+more ado he took off his jacket and gave it to the host, muttering a
+curse on his cruelty, and commenced his journey.  The dress of Cadwgan’s
+wife was again put on, not only as a fit disguise for his minstrel
+vocation, but a more perfect guard against the weather than his own,
+since deprived of his upper-garment; and thus equipped he once more took
+to the road, his late experience having completely sobered him, and left
+him depressed in spirits, as he glanced at the scene in which he had been
+thoroughly victimized.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+
+TWM’S appearance as a “fair” ballad singer at Cardigan.  A sudden alarm.
+Poor Parson Inco.  Twm’s hasty flight.
+
+“The longest lane has a turning,” and the weariest journey has an end,
+and at length Twm found himself in Cardigan, and prepared himself at once
+to commence his whimsical vocation.  Although naturally bold, and more
+full of confidence than beseemed the modesty of youth, it was not without
+considerable efforts in struggling with some remains of diffidence that
+he at length ventured to sing in the public street; but he had fortified
+himself with a draught of strong beer, and his voice, in his own opinion,
+being almost unequalled in the country, he thought it foolish to
+hesitate.  He fixed himself in rather an obscure part of the fair; but
+his musical voice and humorous execution of a comic song soon drew a
+crowd about him, and put his ballads in speedy request.
+
+Adapting the usual gait and manner of street-vocalists, holding his hand
+to his mouth to secure increased power, he introduced each song with a
+whimsical description of its matter, in a strain of drollery that set the
+grinning rustics in high glee; “Here, my merry men and maidens,” quoth
+he, “is a pretty song about a young damsel, who was taken in by a false
+lover, that courted her for what he could get, and having wheedled her
+out of her heart and money, ran away and left her to wear the willow.”
+
+                      THE SLIGHTED MAID’S LAMENT. {149}
+
+    In comfort and in credit,
+       By the side of Pen-y-vole
+    I lived:—all knew and said it,
+       None could my will control;
+    Until a worthless lover
+       Did try my heart to move:
+    Ah, soon my joys were over!
+       I listened to his love.
+
+    From far he travelled to me,
+       Full many and many a night,
+    I thought he came to woo me—
+       My heart was all delight:
+    My cash he thought of gaining,
+       It was not me he sought,
+    E’er mourning and complaining
+       For clothes—and clothes I bought.
+
+    A pair of shoes I placed him
+       Between his soles and ground,
+    With stockings then I graced him,
+       With hat his head I crown’d;
+    Red garters then I bought him,
+       At fair the best I saw,
+    To bind his hose, od rod him!
+       Instead of bands of straw.
+
+    I bought him leather breeches
+       Strong as a barley sack,
+    And laid out half my riches
+       To clothe the beggar’s back;
+    I gave him money willing,
+       (Vexation now upbraids!)
+    With which the thankless villain
+       Soon treated other maids.
+
+    When thus he had bereft me
+       Of cash, and ah, my heart!
+    The cruel rover left me,
+       It grieved me then to part;
+    Those clothes will rend in tatters,
+       They cannot last him long:
+    A curse attends such matters,
+       False lovers curse is strong!
+
+    His coat will rend in creases,
+       His stockings break in holes,
+    His breeches go to pieces,
+       His shoes part from their soles;
+    His hair, like garden carrot,
+       Full soon will want a hat;
+    How soon, indeed I care not,—
+       The devil care for that!
+
+His listeners appreciated his first song so much that all his copies were
+soon disposed of; so he selected another, before singing which he said:
+“Now this, my friends, is about a Welsh boy, who was so foolish as to
+leave old Cymry and go to London, from which place, I warrant you, he
+would have been glad enough to return, as they have neither leeks,
+cheese, nor flummery, nor anything else there fit for a Christian
+people.”
+
+    WHEN a wild rural Welsh boy I ran o’er the hills,
+    And sprang o’er the hedges, the gates, brooks, and rills,
+    The high oak I climb’d for the nest of the kite,
+    And plung’d in the river with ardent delight!
+    Ah, who then so cheerful, so happy as me,
+    As I skipp’d through the woodlands and meads of Brandee?
+
+    How oft have I wander’d through swamp, hedge, or brake,
+    While fearful of nought but the never-seen snake,
+    And gather’d brown nuts from the copses around,
+    While ev’ry bush echoed with harmony’s sound!
+    Oh, gladness then thrill’d me!  I bounded as free
+    As a hart o’er the lawn through the meads of Brandee.
+
+    Whenever I wander’d to some neighb’ring farm,
+    How kindly was tendered the new milk so warm,
+    O’er her best loaf as butter-or-honey she’d spread,
+    The farm wife so friendly would stroke my white head,
+    And sure that she shortly again would see me
+    Whenever my rambles led forth from Brandee.
+
+    How oft have I run with my strawberry wreath
+    To rosy young Gwenny of fair Llwyn-y-neath,
+    And help’d her to drive the white sheep to the pen!
+    Oh! still I think how joyously sung little Gwen!
+    The old folks, oft chuckling, vow’d sweet-hearts were we,
+    Then Llwyn-y-neath maiden and boy of Brandee.
+
+    At the fair of Devynnock, o’ertaken by night,
+    Returning, I’ve dreaded the corpse-candle light,
+    The wandering spirit, the hobgoblin fell,
+    Of which cottage hen-wives so fearfully tell:
+    I’ve ran, with my eyes shut, ghosts dreading to see,
+    Prayed, whistled, or sang as I flew to Brandee.
+
+    Pleasure and innocence hand in hand went,
+    My deeds ever blameless, my heart e’er content,
+    Unknown to ambition, and free from all care,
+    A stranger to sorrow, remorse, or despair;
+    Oh bless’d were those days! long departed from me,
+    Far, far’s my loved Cambria! far, far is Brandee!
+
+This did not take so well as the first, but Twm, now thoroughly
+interested in his new vocation, commenced a fresh ditty, which he
+announced as a sequel to the last.
+
+                                  ROSY GWEN.
+
+    Rosy Gwen, Rosy Gwen,
+    Beloved of maids, beloved of men:
+    Aye, dearly loved of grave and gay,
+    In youth’s early day—ah, what cheer’d me then?
+          ’Twas her voice so sweet,
+          Her person neat,
+          Her form so sleek,
+          Her spirit meek,
+    And the cherry-merry cheek of Rosy Gwen.
+
+    Gentle girl, gentle girl,
+    Coral lipp’d, with teeth of pearl,
+    On either cheek a vivid rose,
+    And raven tresses graced thy brows!
+    Ah, thou wert my love and playmate then!
+          Happy lass of smiles,
+          Unvers’d in wiles,
+          Of guileless breast—
+          Of minds the best.
+    Oh my merry-cheek’d young Rosy Gwen!
+
+    Years have flown, years have flown,
+    And Gwenny thour’t a woman grown,
+    While Time, that bears for most a sting,
+    Has fann’d thy beauties with his wing;
+    Yet brighter thou canst not be than when
+          O’er the mountain steep
+          Thou drov’st thy sheep,
+          And sang in glee
+          A child with me,
+    Oh my cheery-merry-cheek’d young Rosy Gwen.
+
+As the last was but tolerated, the singer soon found that a merry strain
+was most congenial to their fancies.  He therefore gave them the old and
+popular duet of “Hob y deri dando,” rendered more comical by his singing
+alternately shrill and gruff, for male and female’s parts.
+
+                           HOB Y DERI DANDO. {153}
+
+    _Ivor_.  The summer storm is on the mountain,
+    Hob y deri dando, my sweet maid!
+
+    _Gweno_.  And foul the stream, though bright the fountain,
+    Hob y deri dando for the shade.
+
+    _Ivor_.  Let my mantle love protect thee,
+    Gentle Gweno dear;
+
+    _Gweno_.  Ivor kind will ne’er neglect me
+    Faithful far and near;
+
+    _Both_.  Through life the hue of first love true,
+    Will never never fade.
+
+                                  * * * * *
+
+    _Ivor_.  Thus may the frowns of life pass over,
+    Happy then our lot,
+
+    _Gweno_.  And the smile of peace be bright as ever
+    In our humble cot!
+
+    _Both_.  Through life the hue of first love true
+    Will never never fade!
+
+    _Ivor_.  The rain is past, the clouds are gone too,
+    Hob y deri dando, far they spread;
+
+    _Gweno_.  The lark is up, and bright the sun too,
+    Hob y deri dando, on the mead!
+
+He sang the last three tunes, and sold a dozen copies; but just as he was
+going to favour his audience with _Nos Galan_, the malignant face of
+Parson Evans presented itself before him.
+
+As our hero wore petticoats, many gallant swains offered their treats of
+cake and ale, some of which was accepted; and presuming on that
+circumstance, they amusingly put in their claims to further notice, and
+seemed inclined to quarrel, as for a sweetheart.
+
+With this phalanx of protectors, beaus, and chaperons, Twm resolved to
+employ them in a new scheme of vengeance on the unpopular parson.  “You
+see that old fellow in black,” said he, directing their attention to him
+as he passed, “he is a bumbailiff, and the greatest villain in all the
+country I come from; and at this very moment, I’ll be bound for it, he is
+hunting out some poor fellow to put him in prison.  He wanted to be a
+lover of mine, but only intended to ruinate me; but if he had loved me
+ever so much I would not have had him, if his old yellow skin was stuffed
+with diamonds.  The villainous old catchpole! it was owing to refusing
+him for a sweetheart, that he grew as spiteful as a snake, and by telling
+a parcel of falsehoods he got me turned out of my place without a
+character, so that I am now brought to this—to sing ballads in the
+streets.”
+
+Here, assuming a whimpering tone, Twm was compelled to smother a fit of
+laughter, which emotion was taken for sobbing, and consequently drew much
+on the sympathy of those now addressed! but suddenly withdrawing the
+apron that veiled the features, he exclaimed, with the vehemence of a
+young termagant, “I’d give the world to see that old fellow tossed in a
+blanket!”  Mark Antony’s effort of eloquence to rouse the Roman citizens
+to avenge the death of Cæsar, was not more effective than our hero’s
+appeal.
+
+Every one of those swains manifested the usual predilection for the
+smiles of a handsome young woman; being “full of distempering draughts”
+and ripe for a freak, their zeal became inflamed to a ferment; each felt
+himself the leading hero to avenge the wrongs of the fair ballad singer,
+in the manner suggested by himself.
+
+One of the young men, a native of the town, and son to the innkeeper,
+immediately procured a blanket, when, watching their opportunity as the
+supposed bailiff passed along, one tripped up his heels, while the rest
+received him in the extended blanket, and proceeded to the work-like play
+of giving the Black Kite an airing; or as Ready Rosser, a cunning clod of
+the party, expressed it, playing the wind-instrument to the tune of the
+Bumbailiff’s courante.  The athletic employments of grasping the
+plough-handles, as they guided it through a stubborn soil, and the no
+less powerful exertions of wielding the axe, or hedge-bill, had their due
+effect in nerving the brawny arms of those youths of the farm and
+woodlands for this rough exercise.
+
+Drawing the extended blanket as tight as a drumhead, with their united
+efforts, up they tossed, re-tossed, and received into what threatened to
+be his winding-sheet, the quivering and terribly-frightened body of the
+Rev. and very worshipful Inco Evans.  Whatever it might be to the parson,
+(and we do not venture to assert that it was agreeable to him,) the
+spectator of this singular and unexpected entertainment could not but
+enjoy it for the comical revolutions of the right rev. gentleman were, to
+say the least of them, very mirth-inspiring.  As he flew upward, all legs
+and wings, and descended in the same sprawling style, one compared him to
+a cat shot from a cannon; another to a staked toad tossed in the air;
+while the hapless victim of their frolic foamed at the mouth with rage,
+and uncouthly floundered in his attempt to grasp the blanket in his fall.
+If for a moment he seized its edge, and shouted his threats of vengeance,
+a terrific bump against the stony street loosened his hold, and up he
+bounced, again like the rebounding ball, struck on the flag-stone by the
+eager hand of a merry schoolboy.
+
+Wearied by their arduous labours, and tempted by the shining handful of
+silver which the woe-begone parson eagerly offered as a conciliatory
+bribe, they at length desisted, each venting his jest on the crest-fallen
+Evans, “hoping it would be a warning not to prosecute again a poor
+friendless girl.”  Inco answered not; but finding himself unable to walk,
+he was carried to the Inn, where he remained some days before he was able
+to remount his horse.
+
+The knot of swains now separated, and ran in different directions to
+avoid being recognized as the perpetrators of the “freak;” but soon met
+again at an appointed place, where they had left our hero, between the
+empty carts of the ware vendors.
+
+On their arrival at the place, they searched in vain for their
+enchantress, in whose service they had wrought so gallantly, but no
+traces of the fair one could they find.  There was a general smelling of
+a trick put upon them, and consequent “curses on all jilting jades, and
+biting ballad-singers,” uttered by the unlucky clods.
+
+A brilliant idea suddenly struck Ready Rosser.  He had taken off his coat
+and left it in the careful custody of the injured damsel.  Where was she?
+Could she have disappeared?  All doubts were soon removed, for on
+ascertaining the precise spot where he had left her, he found her
+complete feminine attire, made into a bundle and fastened to a cart with
+a band of straw, left as a love-gift for him, while she kept his as a
+similar token of affection; having inscribed with chalk on the side of
+the cart.—“An exchange is no robbery;” a motto in which our rustic could
+not see, in its present application, any principles of justice whatever.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+
+ESCAPE of Twm from Cardigan.  Meets an old friend.  The heiress of
+Maes-y-velin, a most tragical legendary ballad.
+
+The addition to his wardrobe pleased Twm exactly, and he had no qualms of
+conscience to prevent him from using it, for he remembered how easily he
+had been despoiled of his own.  Not being fastidious about a
+dressing-room, Twm retired to a stable, and soon came out fully clad in
+his male attire; of which a coat only was before wanting.
+
+Bent on a precipitate retreat, as the urgency of his case demanded, he
+bolted down St. Mary’s Street, and soon found himself on the turnpike
+road, with the good town of Cardigan some miles behind him.  In little
+more than two hours he reached the small town of Dinas Emlyn, now called
+New-castle-in-Emlyn, on a romantic part of the Teivy, dividing the
+counties of Cardigan and Carmarthen, and occupying its banks on each
+side.  Entering a small public-house, he regaled himself on the fine
+potent ale for which that place has been so long famous.
+
+After addressing himself steadily for a good half hour to the pleasures
+of the table, he commenced a little private conversation with himself
+regarding his present and future prospects, and came to the conclusion
+that, on the whole, they were not worth much.  Although the most serious
+cogitations on the subject might have availed little or nothing, chance
+very unexpectedly decided him, and relieved his apprehensions for the
+present.
+
+He could hear, in the adjoining room, a pig-drover, whose potations had
+not only loosened his tongue, but invested it with unusual power,
+boasting of his roaring trade at Cardigan fair, and he determined to take
+the same route, wherever it might lead, and on inquiry, found he was
+going to Llandovery.
+
+The inebriated dealer in cattle, glad of company, stretched out his hand
+at once and welcomed him as a fellow traveller.  About ten o’clock that
+night they arrived together at Lampeter, which Twm now visited for the
+second time.  The geography of the country being but little known to him,
+he felt some alarm on finding himself so contiguous to his own native
+place.
+
+Twm and the pig-drover were getting thoroughly jolly and comfortable over
+a pot of foaming ale, when Twm caught sight of an old friend.  It was
+worthy Rhys the curate, who had spied him from the little parlour where
+he had been sitting before his arrival, and now cordially welcomed him to
+partake of his supper, which was then preparing.
+
+Shaking hands with the elated pig-jobber, from whom he had heard all the
+mysteries of his calling, and bidding him good night and wishing him
+success in his future dealings, Twm joyously accepted the curate’s
+invitation to partake of his evening repast.  Supper dispatched, Mr. Rhys
+informed him that he had left Tregaron for ever, disgusted with the
+treatment he had met with from old Evans, and was on his way to
+Llandovery to take possession of the curacy of Llandingad, to which he
+had been just appointed by the vicar, the reverend Rhys Prichard.
+
+In return, Twm recited his late adventures, colouring them in such a
+manner as to create a favourable impression on the curate, who laughed
+heartily at many points of his story, and finished by saying that he had
+also determined to visit Llandovery in quest of his fortune, which,
+somehow or another, he thought he should find there.
+
+“Well,” said he, “your fortunes are altogether romantic, and fortitude
+such as yours is a virtue that becomes us all.  Whatever I can do to get
+you into employment, when you are there, rest assured shall not be
+wanting.”  With this understanding Twm’s hopes were buoyed up to the
+highest pitch, and to his sanguine mind, became already certainties,
+which presented themselves in dreams of various felicitous shapes.
+
+They were both early astir the following morning, and were soon on the
+road, the curate leading his horse by the bridle, that (generous and
+considerate soul) he might be on a level with Twm.  They had nearly
+reached the top of Pen-y-garreg hill, over which the road leads from
+Lampeter to Llandovery, while a bright prospect of the newly-risen sun
+attracted their mutual attention, when the clergyman thus addressed his
+companion:
+
+“We are now on the spot to be yet immortalized, perhaps, by the legendary
+muse, for a deed of blood perpetrated here in our own times; when the
+banks of the impetuous Teivy, now before us, became the scene of a
+lamentable tragedy.  The towers in the distance, are all that now remain
+of the family mansion of MAES-Y-VELIN, the fair seat of the ancient
+family of the Vaughans, once of considerable note in this part of the
+principality.  Ten years ago, a young lady and her three brothers, the
+last of that race, were its possessors.  The lady named Ellen, was
+exceedingly beautiful, and beloved by the son of the venerable Rhys
+Prichard, the present vicar of Llandovery, whose curate I am now become.
+
+“On the very place where we now stand, the young man tied his
+handkerchief to the end of a rod, that he held as a flag-staff, which was
+immediately seen by the heiress of Maes-y-velin; and when she could
+succeed in getting her brothers out of the way, the signal of love was
+answered by hoisting her own handkerchief to a branch of a tree above the
+house, on which, both ran down from their respective hills, till they
+stood face to face on either side of the Teivy, when the fond lover,
+whenever the stream was unfordable, dashed into the river, crossed over,
+and caught the fair one in his arms.  Perhaps you would like to hear the
+tragical story at further length; if so, I have employed my leisure time
+lately in versifying it, and will now read it to you.”
+
+Twm signifying his willing assent, they took their seats on the side of
+the hill, when Rhys drew a manuscript from his pocket and read to his
+attentive auditor
+
+                         THE HEIRESS OF MAES-Y-VELIN
+                                     AND
+                          THE FLOWER OF LLANDOVERY.
+
+    WHAT is amiss with the maiden fair,
+       What is the sweet one ailing?—
+    Why pale her cheek, and her spirits low
+    And why up the hill doth she daily go,
+       The heiress of Maes-y-velin?
+
+    Why are the brows of her brothers dark?
+       Nor mother nor sire hath Ellen;—
+    Her brothers whisper—her steps they watch—
+    The heart of her mystery eager to catch,
+       The maiden of Maes-y-velin.
+
+    The parents of Ellen her merits knew,
+       And frown’d on her brothers’ vices:
+    Her brothers are disinherited,
+    And Ellen is heiress in either’s stead;
+       Thereat all the land rejoices.
+
+    Her brothers one day went out to hunt,
+       And alone at home left Ellen;
+    She watch’d them away, then flew to her bower,
+    And cried “Oh now for Llandovery’s Flower!
+       Right welcome to Maes-y-velin.”
+
+    She hoisted her silken kerchief red,
+       To the highest branch of her bower,
+    To Pen-garreg hill then strained her eyes,
+    And the flag of her hope was seen to rise,
+       ’Twas thine, oh Llandovery’s Flower!
+
+    Long had he watch’d—the faithful youth!
+       His wish each day unavailing.
+    At length he sees with wild delight,
+    His true love’s signal, the lady bright,
+       The heiress of Maes-y-velin.
+
+    The signal that was chosen between the twain,
+       When absent her stern proud kindred;
+    And then would they rush from either hill,
+    The lovers true, with a right good-will,
+       Till the waters of Teivy sunder’d.
+
+    Now as ers’t they rush’d, and as ers’t they paused,
+       When arrived on the banks of Teivy,
+    They gazed at each other across the stream,
+    And gestured affection’s high glow supreme,
+       Till the two hearts grew less heavy.
+
+    In plung’d the youth with most anxious speed,
+       The flower of fair Llandovery,
+    The maiden trembling with wild alarms—
+    She brightens—she sinks in her true lover’s arms,
+       Deem’d lost her past recovery.
+
+    Oh nature hath many warm generous glows—
+       But they say love’s joys are fleeting;
+    Most dear to her mother her new-born son,
+    And sweet is the fame that’s fairly won,
+    To the blind restor’d, oh the summer’s sun
+       Less sweet than the lovers meeting!
+
+    Sweet to the donor the generous deed,
+       That serves merit’s child, unweeting;
+    Healing is sweet when gashed by the sword;
+    To the wounded heart, the benevolent word:
+    Oh sweet is the breeze to the sick restored;
+       But sweeter true lover’s greeting.
+
+    Each flower that flaunts in vanity’s cap,
+       And sets youthful hearts a gadding,
+    Has its charms, its zest,—but the whole above,
+    Is the magical thrill of sweet woman’s love,
+       That drives heart and brain a madding.
+
+    And fondly loved this youthful pair,
+       The heiress of Maes-y-velin,
+    And he to whom they called Llandovery’s Flower;
+    Oh frequent their meeting and parting hour,
+       Their moments of joy and wailing.
+
+    Once when they met on Teivy’s banks,
+       Canopied o’er by the wild wood,
+    Mid fragrance of flowers that graced the shade,
+    The youth sung his song, of true lovers betrayed,
+    An ominous song—that drew tears from the maid,
+       For her heart was as simple as childhood.
+
+    “‘Oh come to the banks of the Teivy with me,
+    To the deep woodland glade, ’neath the shady green tree,
+    Fearless of foemen, of guile, or of might,
+    In the face of the day and the bright eye of light,
+    That God and his angels may witness our troth,
+    That God and his angels may favour us both.
+
+    “‘I’ll go the green-wood,’ the lady replied,
+    ‘Fore God and his angels be fairly affied,
+    Fearless of foemen, of guile, or of might,
+    In the face of the day and the bright eye of light;
+    That God and his angels may witness our troth,
+    That God and his angels may favour us both.
+
+    “So sung a young chief to his lady love,
+    At the base of her tower—she answered above—
+    Vile vassals espied them, and flew to their lord,
+    The lady’s true lover soon fell ’neath his sword;
+    She hurled herself headlong, fulfilling her troth,
+    And Death was the priest that united them both.”
+
+                                   PART II.
+
+    OVER the hill of Pen-garreg road
+       Is seen that leads from Llandovery,
+    Maes-y-velin’s green hill is opposite,
+    The mansion below—oft on either height,
+       The lovers are making discovery.—
+
+    But envious eyes were on the watch,
+       And the genius of evil hover’d;
+    The brothers who wish’d their sister unmatch’d,
+    For any approach of a lover watch’d,
+       At length their flags discover’d.
+
+    They hatch’d a scheme to enmesh the youth,
+       And see him at length on the mountain;
+    His flag they answer—he runs down the hill—
+    Now forth rush the wretches resolved to kill,
+       And waste his youth heart’s warm fountain.
+
+    Like prey-beasts they hide on the Teivy’s banks,
+       In the covert of thick-leaved bushes;
+    The youth he dashes across the river,
+    And ardent to seek his fond receiver,
+       He seeks her form in the rushes—
+
+    He deems she plays him at hide and seek,
+       Her heart he knew was gayful—
+    “Oh come from thy covert, my Ellen dear?
+    Oh come forth and meet thy lover here!”
+       He cries in soft accents playful.
+
+    No Ellen appears—rustling steps he hears—
+       Perhaps some perfidious stranger;—
+    He quits the rushes, and steals to a copse,
+    But there not an instant for breathing stops,
+    Peril’s presentiment suddenly drops,
+       And he flies for his life from danger.
+
+    He knew not his foes, up the hill he goes,
+       With the speed of the hart that’s hunted:
+    The brothers pursue, till fatigued they grew
+    To Maes-y-velin his course they knew,
+       And eager revenge is blunted—
+
+    They saw him enter—“the foe is snared!”
+       Exclaimed the elder brother;
+    “To kill him surely be firmly prepared,
+    Accursed be the arm by which he is spared!
+       Let’s stab him, or drown, or smother.”
+
+    “Let’s do him dead, and no matter how,
+       And our sister’s fortune is ours;
+    No brats of her’s shall supplant our hope:
+    Prepare we a dagger, a sack, and rope,
+       For brief are the stripling’s hours.”
+
+    Now rush’d the youth through the mansion door,
+       And fell at the feet of Ellen;
+    Ere he could speak the brothers appear,
+    The maiden shrieks with terrific fear,
+       The heiress of Maes-y-velin.
+
+    She fell in a swoon, the brothers soon
+       Gag and proceed to bind him,
+    His hands they fasten’d behind his back,
+    And over his head they drew a sack,
+    They jump on his body—his rib bones crack,
+       Till a corpse on the ground they find him.
+
+    Oh God! ’twas a barbarous, bloody deed;
+       ’Twas piteous to hear him groaning;
+    A demon’s heart might relent to hear
+    The sobs of death, and convulsions drear—
+    Oh Christ! is no merciful angel near,
+       Call’d down by this woeful moaning!—
+
+    Oh murderous fiends! the eye of God
+       Hath flamed on this tearless murder!
+    They grasp at his throat to check his breath—
+    With knees on his breast—oh merciful death!
+       Thou sav’st him from anguish further.
+
+    And dead in the sack his body they bore,
+       And sunk in a pool of the Teivy;
+    After many days when the corpse was found,
+    No tongue could tell whether smother’d or drown’d,
+       Or crush’d by men’s buffets heavy.
+
+    Thus fell in its bloom the blameless youth;
+       Insanity seized on Ellen,
+    The lovely maniac! with bosom bare,
+    And eyes of wildness, and streaming hair,
+       Roved frantic o’er Maes-y-velin.
+
+    She said he was thrown in the Teivy’s stream,
+       The flower of fair Llandovery;
+    She cross’d o’er the hills to his father’s town,
+    And he bless’d the maid like a child of his own;
+       But Ellen was past recovery.
+
+    Rhys Prichard wept long o’er his murder’d son
+       And buried the hapless Ellen;
+    He curs’d her brothers—the land of their birth—
+    He curs’d their mansion, its hall and hearth,
+       And the curse is on Maes-y-velin.
+
+    Strong was the curse on the savage race,
+       The murderers and their kindred;
+    Their bosoms possess’d by the furies of hell,
+    Oft vented the scream, the curse, and the yell;
+       All men stood aloof and wonder’d.
+
+    They quarrell’d and stood forth in mortal strife,
+       Each one oppos’d to the other:
+    They never, oh never! are doom’d to agree,
+    While sharing poor Ellen’s property,
+       To murder their elder brother.
+
+    And yet the murderers still are foes,
+       Furious and unrelenting;
+    Each coveting all his sister’s share;
+    At length one falls in the other’s snare,
+       Ere yet of his crimes repenting.
+
+    Now lived the survivor, a man forbid,
+       For murder his brow had branded—
+    Shunn’d by all men, none bade him God speed,
+    But solitude work’d wild remorse for his deed,
+    In madness he seiz’d on a poisonous weed,
+       And in a suicide’s grave he landed.
+
+    Maes-y-velin became a deserted spot,
+       The roof of the mansion tumbled;
+    The lawns and the gardens o’er-ran with weeds,
+    And reptiles, vile emblems of hellish deeds,
+       Bred there, and the strong walls crumbled.—
+
+    They crumbled to dust, and fell to the earth,
+       And strangers bought Maes-y-velin;
+    Vain, it is said, their attempts to rebuild,
+    Vain was their labour in garden or field.
+    Snakes, toads, baneful weeds alone they yield.
+       Not a stone to another adhering.
+
+    The possessors fled, and oft others came,
+       But all their aims unavailing;
+    The peasants protest that at midnight hour,
+    The spirit of Ellen is seen in her bower.
+    While on Pen-gorreg stands Llandovery’s Flower,
+       And shrieks burst from Maes-y-velin.
+
+Twm had listened with the most earnest attention to the terrible account,
+and rivetted his eyes on Maes-y-velin, the two hills, the banks of the
+Teivy, and scenes now subordinate to the modern grandeur of the new
+college of Lampeter; and still remaining silent, seemed, by the force of
+his imagination, to bring before his eyes the whole action of this
+domestic tragedy.  Rhys assured him that all the particulars of the
+murder, as narrated in the ballad, were well authenticated, both by the
+evidence of the unhappy young lady herself, and that of a countryman who
+beheld the murderers bearing the body by night, and who distinctly saw,
+as the moon shone upon them while in the act of casting their burden into
+the river, the shining spurs of the murdered youth, projecting from the
+end of the sack which contained his body.  But in so disorderly a state
+was the country at the time, from the civil wars between the king and the
+parliament, that no cognizance was taken of the atrocious circumstance.
+{165}  After these remarks, they got up from their grassy resting-place,
+and re-commenced their walk to Llandovery.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+
+A SERMON on mountains and country labourers.  Twm retaliates upon Dio the
+devil, with whom he returns in triumph to Llandovery.  The lady of Ystrad
+Feen, and Twm’s gallant service in her behalf.
+
+As they advanced on their journey, which was amongst a most mountainous
+country, Twm expressed his wonder at seeing the turf-cutters and
+haymakers following their avocations almost side by side in this wild
+district.  “Well,” cried he, “I know that much has been said, sung and
+written, in praise of mountain scenery; and where ’tis truly romantic as
+well as wild, I am a great lover of it myself; but this is not to my
+liking—it is too dead in its deserted appearance for me.  Here no sound
+salutes the ear but the lonely cry of a few melancholy kites, hungry
+enough to prey upon one another; and no object strikes the eye but the
+flat, tame desert, and a few wretched cottages thinly scattered over this
+desolate region, whose inhabitants are miserably employed in scooping
+peat from the marsh for their fires, or cutting their bald thin crop of
+hay from the unenclosed mountain—_the gwair rhos cwtta_, or moor hay,
+which dispensing with the incumbrance of a cart or sledge, the women
+carry home in their aprons, as the winter maintenance of a half-starved
+cow.  To me, there is nothing that associates more with squalid poverty
+than turf fires: the crackling faggot and the Christmas log, have their
+rustic characteristics; coal has its proud and solid warmth; the
+clay-and-culm fires of Cardigan and Pembrokeshire, formed of balls, and
+fantastically arranged by the industrious hands of fair maidens, are
+bright and durable, revealing the gay faces of the cheerful semi-circular
+group—and above all, the smokeless cleanly stone coal; but turf, smoky,
+ill-savoured, ash-creating, dusty turf—recalls the marsh and moor,
+rain-loaded skies, and fern-thatched cottages, whose battered roofs swept
+by the blast, discover the rotten rafters grinning like the bare ribs of
+poverty; worse than all, the joyless faces of the toil-bowed children of
+the desert.  The old stanza is quite to my mind when it says—
+
+    “How gay seems the valley with rich waving wheat,
+    Fair hands and fair houses, with shelters so neat;
+    While the whole feather’d choir to delight us conspires,
+    There’s nought on the mountain but turf and turf fires.”
+
+“And besides that,” added Twm, “I can give you a few rhyming lines of my
+own, bearing in the same direction.  Here they are,
+
+    Three things—to my mind each with loveliness teems;
+    A vale between mountains that’s threaded by streams;
+    A neat white-wall’d cottage, ’mid gardens and trees;
+    And a young married pair that appreciate these.”
+
+“Well,” replied Rhys, “do not let us find too much fault with these
+scenes, for the recollection of what our mountain land has been, would
+induce me to kiss the sod of its dullest region, when I remember how it
+became the refuge of our war-worsted fore-fathers in the days of old, as
+the star of liberty seemed to vanish for ever from our sphere.”  The
+curate grew warm with his subject, and his eyes kindled with enthusiasm
+as he proceeded.  “I could as soon twit my beloved mother with the
+furrows which Time has ploughed on her honoured brows, as censure the
+homeliest part of our dear mountains, hallowed of old by the tread of
+freemen, when the despot foreigner usurped the valleys.
+
+       “Freedom, amid a cloudy clime,
+       Erects her mountain throne sublime,
+       While natives of the vales and plains
+       Are gall’d with yokes and slavish chains—
+       Then shrink we ne’er, unnerved as bann’d
+    In the cloudy clime of the Mountain Land.
+
+       Turban’d in her folds of mist
+       Our Mountain Land the sky has kiss’d,
+       While on her brow the native wreath
+       Of yellow furze and purple heath
+       The rural reign her vales command,
+    And the freeman’s sword of the Mountain Land.”
+
+Twm accepted the remarks of Rhys as rebukes, for his own depreciatory
+observations on his native country, and was about to clear himself from
+all suspicion of lack of nationality; when the latter, looking up at the
+sun, declared the day so far advanced that he must instantly mount his
+horse and ride with speed, so as to meet the vicar of Llandovery at the
+place appointed; on which, directing Twm on the route he was to take, he
+rode off and left him to pursue his way at leisure.
+
+Thus left alone, Twm prepared for a lengthened walk, and pursued his way
+in thoughtful silence for many miles, but was at length brought to a
+stand by the discovery that the way he trod had ceased to be either a
+road or beaten path; and that he was actually pacing the trackless
+mountain, with the disagreeable conviction that he had gone wrong,
+without a clue to recover the right way.
+
+Taking a careful and critical view of the surrounding country, he came to
+the conclusion that there must be a road through _bwlch_, or gap, which
+he perceived dividing the mountains at some distance.  He entered it, and
+hastened on with the utmost alacrity, till he came to a cottage on the
+road side, opposite to which was an immense rick of turf, that at a
+distance looked like a long black barn.  He called at the cottage, and
+asked if he was right in his route to Llandovery, “Right!” squeaked a
+thin old man who met him at the door, “God bless you young man, you could
+not be more wrong, as your back is to Llandovery, and you are making
+straight for Trecastle.”
+
+Twm’s face indicated his deep chagrin, as he listened to the response,
+and the old man seeing him vexed, asked him to walk in and rest himself,
+an invitation that he gladly accepted.  “What, I suppose you thought to
+be at Llandovery to hear the great preaching there to-day?” said the
+man’s wife, a little fat woman who was carding wool by the fire.  “No,”
+replied Twm, “I never heard of any preaching that is to be there.”
+“That’s very odd,” rejoined the old man, “as the whole country has been
+crowding there to hear the good Rhys Prichard, the great vicar of
+Llandovery.”  “I have heard he is very popular,” said Twm.
+
+“Popular!” screamed the weazon-faced old man, as if indignant at the
+coldness of our hero’s eulogy, “he is the shining light of our times, and
+hardly less than a prophet; wisely has he called his divine book the
+_Welshman’s Candle_, for it blazes with exceeding brightness, and men
+find their way by it from the darkness of perdition.  When it is known
+that his health permits him to preach, the country hereabouts is up in
+swarms, to the distance of two score miles and more.  Then, the farmer
+forsakes his cornfield, the chapman his shop, and every tradesman and
+artizan quits his calling, to listen to the music of his discourse.
+Infirmity alone has kept me from going to hear him to-day; but my wife is
+no better than an infidel, and would rather listen to a profane fiddler,
+or a vagrant harper, than the finest preacher that ever breathed out a
+pious discourse.”
+
+This was too much for any woman to listen quietly to, without saying a
+word or two in reply, and his spouse assured Twm that he was a miserable
+dreamer, whose brains had been turned by the ravings of fanatical
+preachers; that some months ago he ran three miles, howling, thinking he
+was pursued by the foul fiend, when it turned out to be only his own
+shadow; and that when a patch of the mountain furze was set on a blaze to
+fertilize the land, nothing could convince him that the world was not on
+fire, and the day of judgment come, till he caught an ague by hiding
+himself up to the chin in the river for twelve hours.
+
+“Facts are stubborn things,” and as these were most unpleasant ones to be
+served up at his cost, for the entertainment of a stranger, the old man’s
+reply was angry and indignant, and the war of words seemed likely to
+degenerate into one of actual blows, when the violent galloping of a
+horse drew their attention, and in an instant a steed and rider passed
+the door; but suddenly checking his speed he returned, and calling at the
+cottage door, asking in a tone of authority if a lady had passed that way
+towards Llandovery within the last half hour.
+
+The old man, trembling as he spoke, protested that no lady had passed for
+many hours; on which the bluff horseman told him as he valued his life,
+that neither he nor his wife should appear on the outside of the cottage
+door till he gave them leave.  The old man assured him of his entire
+obedience, when the fellow quietly crossed the road, and effectually
+concealed himself and horse behind the opposite turf-stack.
+
+This scene had received all attention from Twm, who had recognized in the
+despotic horseman, his late dearly-remembered friend, Dio the devil.  He
+suspected Dio’s intentions and prepared forthwith to take part in some
+approaching business in which his presence had not been reckoned upon.
+He asked the timorous old cottager if he possessed such a thing as a
+long-handled hedge bill-hook, to which the poor dotard, his teeth
+chattering the while, replied in the negative.  On searching the cottage,
+with the assistance of his mistress, to his great vexation he could find
+no weapon, but a blunt old hatchet, and a rusty reaping hook.
+
+While they were yet seeking, Twm’s ear, sharpened to the utmost by the
+excitement and impending danger, heard another horse approaching, his
+heart caught fire at the sound, and with almost fierce vehemence he
+called to the people of the cottage, “Give me some weapon in the name of
+God! to defend you and myself from having our throats cut;” but it only
+increased their terror and confusion.
+
+As he still spoke, there stopped opposite the cottage, a lady on a
+beautiful white horse, and the horseman darted forward from behind the
+turf-rick, and producing pistols demanded her money.  The lady protested,
+in the most piteous and earnest tone, that she had accidentally left her
+purse behind and must be indebted to a friend at Llandovery, should she
+fail to meet her husband there, for some small change.
+
+A momentary thrill, mysteriously strange and unaccountable, overcame our
+hero, as he caught a view of the lady’s face, and recognized one that he
+felt certain he had seen before; and when, or where, he could not
+recollect; and the enquiring thought was checked in its birth by the
+consideration of her present danger.  “I’ll not be disappointed for
+nothing,” cried the ruffian, “Dio the devil is not to be fooled, and my
+pretty lady of Ystrad Feen, I have depended on a good booty from you
+to-day, so that unless in two minutes you strip, and give me every
+article in which you are clothed, a pistol bullet shall pass through your
+fair and delicate body.”
+
+The fair horseman begged for consideration, and promised a liberal reward
+for any mercy shown to her.  But the scoundrel laughed scornfully in her
+face, and cocked his pistol, on which she uttered a loud scream and
+fainted, when he immediately approached to dismount, strip, and rifle
+her.
+
+Our hero whose blood was boiling with honest indignation, now started up
+from behind the lady’s horse, and struck the highwayman an astounding
+blow on the temples, with a stout hedge-stake grasped with both hands,
+and repeated that delicate treatment till it brought the desperado
+senseless to the ground.  After the first terrible blow, confused as he
+was, he instinctively presented his pistol at random, but Twm struck him
+heavily on the extended arm, which caused it to fall like a withered oak
+branch smote by the thunderbolt.
+
+In a few minutes the lady began to recover under the kind and attentive
+treatment of the old woman, who bathed her face with water.  How Twm was
+rewarded by the deeply grateful expression on her countenance!  Truly he
+had delivered her from peril, but into what a difficulty had he brought
+himself!  He was in love; over head and ears.  The fair one appeared to
+be still in dread of other dangers, but Twm, in the gentlest manner,
+assured her of her entire safety, and that he would have the happiness of
+conducting and protecting her to Llandovery, where he intended to bring
+the highwayman dead or alive, and deliver him, with an account of the
+whole affair, to the magistrate.
+
+Poor Twm!  The lady praising his courage, informed him that she was the
+wife of Sir George Devereaux, and that her husband would not allow his
+services to pass without pecuniary reward.  Poor Twm! in love with
+another man’s wife, and that man with an aristocratic handle to his name.
+“For my own part,” continued she, “as I assured the merciless highwayman,
+I am at present without my purse, having left it accidentally at the
+house of a poor sick person, whom I relieved, and stayed with many hours
+this morning, by which delay I have missed hearing the sermon preached
+to-day by the Rev. Rhys Prichard.”
+
+Twm declared he did not in the least feel himself entitled to any reward;
+sufficient for him was the approval of so beautiful and amiable a lady;
+but that he had another gratification in the action he had performed, as
+it was his fortune to have punished the man who had once stopped him on
+the highway and robbed him of his little all.  Our hero felt quite sure
+he had seen the lady before, and in endeavouring to remember where, he
+fell into a silent reverie; from which, however, he was suddenly roused
+by the loud groaning of his wounded captive.
+
+The fears of the old man had driven him beneath the rickety old bedstead,
+and no threat nor offer of reward could induce him to leave his retreat,
+where he lay exclaiming, “Oh Lord! oh dear!  I shall surely have my
+throat cut.”  The lady of Ystrad Feen, however, alighted and lent an
+active hand in binding the thief, still insensible, with old halters
+contributed by the fat woman of the cottage, who also gave all possible
+assistance; so that with their united aid Twm soon got him across his own
+horse, like a sack of barley, and secured him by tying him neck and heels
+under the horse’s belly.  Our elated hero leaped into the saddle, and
+rode side by side with the lady of Ystrad Feen, and conversing freely
+with her, no longer embarrassed with his former bashfulness, till they
+reached Llandovery.
+
+The good people of the town were just leaving Llandingad church, and were
+considerably astonished with what they saw, and Twm and his fair
+companion were soon surrounded by a large and curious crowd.  Sir George
+Devereaux, a ruddy and hearty fox-hunting Baronet, came up and assisted
+his lady to alight, Mr. Rhys the curate approached Twm, and each in a few
+minutes was in possession of the whole story.  The baronet eagerly
+grasped our hero by the hand, and assured him of his protection and
+favour to the utmost of his power; declaring at the same time that no
+possible reward could equal his deserts or repay his services.
+
+All were delighted to hear of the defeat and capture of Dio the Devil,
+as, with very few exceptions, the farmers of that district had suffered
+from the highwayman’s depredations, and a subscription was immediately
+raised, to reward the captor; so that our hero was soon in possession of
+a sum of no less than ten pounds, in addition to five more that the
+county awarded.
+
+Twm and Mr. Rhys received an invitation to dinner for the following day,
+at Ystrad Feen, where Sir George promised them good entertainment, and
+added that they would decide in what manner our hero’s gallant service
+could be best repaid.  As for Dio the Devil, when the constables advanced
+to unloose him, it was discovered that he was dead.  “Dead as a fox
+within the jaws of Juno!” exclaimed Sir George, as the lifeless robber
+fell heavily on the ground, amid the crowd of spectators.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+
+TWM remains at Ystrad Feen.  The vicar of Llandovery.  A famous run with
+the hounds.  An enthusiastic hunter’s leap.
+
+Twm took up his abode, for the time, at a tavern recommended by Mr. Rhys,
+where, being decidedly the hero of the day, he was surrounded by a large
+company, all anxious to minister to the bodily wants of so brave a
+fellow, and wishful to hear the details of his desperate encounter with
+the famous robber, from the lips of Twm himself.  Cautioned by the worthy
+curate, however, his potations were rather limited; and urging his
+fatigue as an excuse for retiring, he soon left his admirers, and slept
+on a bed of roses.
+
+At an early hour Mr. Rhys awoke Twm, and told him that they were invited
+to breakfast with the Rev. Rhys Prichard, who had expressed a desire to
+see the brave young man that had captured the highway robber.  This
+invitation was the more acceptable to Twm, as he was exceedingly anxious
+to see so celebrated a character as the vicar of Llandovery; though no
+less for his pious than his poetical celebrity, and more especially the
+association of his name with his own family calamity, in the death of his
+son Samuel, poetically called the “Flower of Llandovery,” at the
+murderous hands of the young men of Maes-y-velin, as before related.
+
+Twm was desirous to change his country suit for something better, and
+commenced negotiations with Mr. Rhys, for the purchase of one of the
+latest clerical cut from him.  The worthy curate, however, cut him short,
+and generously presented him with one a little the worse for wear, that
+as the mass of mankind were apt to judge by external appearances, an
+appropriate garb would aid even a man of merit in making a favourable
+impression.
+
+The house of the vicar of Llandovery was among the best in the town; a
+well built strong mansion, distinguished from all others by a neat small
+cupola on the top, for a bell, to call the boys to school.  Twm and Rhys
+waited in the breakfast parlour about half an hour, filling up the time
+by noticing and remarking on the well-waxed oaken floor and furniture,
+that, with the prints of some of the English martyrs, with which the room
+was hung, gave it something of a gloomy appearance; and in skimming over
+some dusty old volumes of divinity, till the clock struck six.
+
+The worthy vicar received his visitors with a few brief but courteous
+sentences, in which he quietly yet earnestly expressed his gratification
+at their presence.  Breakfast was preceded by prayers; after which came
+in bowls of milk and hot cakes, with cold meat, butter and cheese, and
+ale.  Twm looked at his venerable host with awed reverence.  This eminent
+character was of a tall, stately figure; his hair white as wool, his face
+pale, and rather long, with a countenance beaming with sedate benignity.
+He regarded Twm for some time with silent attention, and afterwards made
+a few enquiries respecting his recent feat, which when answered, he
+indulged in some pious ejaculations on the fortunate event.
+
+Their host compared the physical capacity and appearance of Twm to the
+well developed and robust figure of Dio the Devil, and referred to the
+scriptural records of the combat between David and Goliah; strictly
+charging the fortunate youth to take no credit to himself for the
+achievement, as he was but an humble instrument in a mighty hand, and for
+a special purpose unknown to the actors of the scenes themselves.
+
+All justice having been done to the good things before them, grace was
+said, and Twm received some excellent advice from the celebrated divine,
+who placed twenty shillings and a copy of his “Welshman’s Candle” in the
+hand of Twm; and after shaking him warmly by the hand, he saw the pair to
+the door and bade them farewell.
+
+In an hour or so afterwards, Rhys and Twm prepared for departure to
+Ystrad Feen, the latter mounting the noble hunter which Dio the Devil had
+so lately bestrode in all his arrogant pride.  The road was entirely over
+the mountains, through diversified scenery of much interest.  At times it
+ran above the edge of a deep ravine; at others, hills overtopped them, in
+peaks of various, fantastic forms; till a length succeeded the tame and
+flat moorland, abounding with wild ducks and various aquatic and mountain
+fowl.  These scenes were soon left behind, and others of a different
+character succeeded, tamed to softer beauty by the indefatigable hand of
+industrious man.
+
+Passing through a small ravine at the base of a well-wooded hill, they
+emerged suddenly upon a view which embraces the rural chapel of Boiley,
+the ornamented estate of Ystrad Feen, the hill of Dinas, and a glimpse of
+the river Towey.  The ancient mansion of Ystrad Feen they found most
+romantically situated, terminating a sloping descent from the mountain,
+with a roaring alpine brook falling headlong through its rocky bed, at
+the back; while the high conical hill of Dinas stood, an object of
+singular beauty, in front; and the background was occupied by an almost
+endless perspective of forest, vale and mountain.
+
+They entered the farm-yard, which occupied one side of the house, in
+which stood several large elms and oaks, and, here and there, a huge
+hollow yew, that associated well with the antique appearance of the
+house.
+
+They were expected, for the baronet and his lady were awaiting their
+arrival, and hastened, as they appeared, to give them hearty welcome.  It
+wanted about a couple of hours to dinner time, which interim Sir George
+wished to fill up by introducing them to his fox-hounds and pigs, while
+his lady urged the superior attractions of the lawn and flower-garden, to
+the terror of the sporting baronet, who seemed to consider her taste not
+only questionable, but absolutely depraved.  Sir George shook his comical
+head in a comical manner, inferring a protest against their choice, when
+the young men decided on seeing the garden first, and the kennel and
+pig-stye after; a preference that seemed to involve an absolute inversion
+of the order of things, apparently, to his thinking.
+
+What a contrast there was between the lady of Ystrad Feen and her lord
+and master!  Twm’s attention was almost entirely taken up with the sweet
+and unaffected grace of the lady; but we must be impartial and take some
+notice of her husband.  Sir George was a spare and somewhat tall figure,
+the erectness of which was frequently disturbed by what at first appeared
+some constitutional fidgetiness—a habit of perpetually drawing up, and
+letting down, his right shoulder; while he conversed in jerking short
+sentences, never standing still an instant when speaking.  These
+peculiarities, at first sight, gave him the appearance of a man afflicted
+with St. Vitus’s dance; and affected the observer with the repulsive
+sensations endured by those who, from delicacy towards the afflicted, aim
+to conceal their notice of a personal blemish or deformity.
+
+But this strange habit had its source in a fox-hunting accident that
+occurred in a chase wherein Sir George, in the heat and ardour of the
+pursuit, leapt down a terrific precipice in which the fox had sought
+cover.  His noble hunter, named Dare-devil, was killed by the achievement
+of this feat, his own neck nearly broken, and his shoulder so dislocated
+and otherwise injured, that no surgical skill could cure him of the
+nervous affection which caused the continual restlessness alluded to.
+
+Sir George, however, gloried in his dearly-bought triumph, and boasted
+like a veteran detailing the particulars of a famous battle in which he
+had figured; winding up his narrative with—“glorious and remarkable
+hunt—the world never saw the like—and I was solus in at the death—in a
+hell-hole that none but myself dared approach.”
+
+His face was no less curious than his figure.  He was rather small
+featured, with very light blue eyes; indeed so exceedingly light that
+they were often described as literally white; and when he gazed, with the
+wildness of imperfect consciousness, caused by indulgence in the potent
+cup, might give no inapt idea of Pygmalion’s marble statue, on its first
+wild stare when imbued with inward light and life; although his merry
+neighbour, Squire Prothero, summed their description up, less
+classically, as the nearest approach to a boiled salmon’s eyes, or the
+lack-lustre dullness of a couple of baked gooseberries.  His face was
+fair, and much freckled in the upper part; while a shock head of
+closely-curling red hair, and white, or rather sandy eyebrows, concludes
+the description of this strange piece of eccentric manhood.
+
+The walk through the garden was by no means to his taste.  He did not
+understand flowers, and could not restrain his expression of impatience,
+protesting that there was nothing worth seeing there.  “Besides,” added
+he, with the gravity of a philosopher who aimed to eradicate a vulgar
+error, and instil a superior principle, “flowers are bad—a great
+evil—showy nuisance—bank of violets often a snare to the hounds—like
+beauty to the boy, to lure him from the paths of duty;—but come and see
+my kennel—finest dogs in the world—no false charms there—they say truth’s
+hid in a well—all a mistake—she’s hid in the snouts of my
+fox-hounds;—strong as bulls, and swift as hell—a cannon ball’s a fool to
+them—deadly as the doctor wherever they rush—but what’s your name, my
+young Cæsar of the Welsh mountains, hey?”
+
+Twm was too busy with the lady of Ystrad Feen to listen to the rattling
+tongue of Sir George, and Mr. Rhys hastened to give the story of Twm’s
+parentage, dwelling with much emphasis on the cruel neglect of his
+father, Sir John Wynn of Gwydir; and, in conclusion, he said his friend’s
+name, derived from his humble mother as well as from his stately father,
+was Thomas ap John a Catty, familiarized into Twm Shon Catty; but that
+which he intended to adopt, and desired to be known by, was Thomas Jones.
+
+The promenade had, in the fox-hunter’s opinion, been unreasonably
+prolonged, and he hailed with delight their approach to his sanctum
+sanctorum, the dog-kennel, where he anticipated the delight of his
+visitors, when—how shall we express the intensity of his
+disappointment!—a voice struck on his ear, like the croak of the bird of
+ill-omen with the intelligence of “dinner waits!”
+
+Fain would he have horse-whipped the intruding messenger, and expatiated
+with his friends on the absurdity of eating dinners, when the sublimer
+pastime of entering a kennel of fox-hounds was offered to them.  But
+before he found words to his purpose he had the mortification to see his
+auditors accompany his lady wife into the house, where, musing on their
+questionable taste, he followed them.
+
+We need not dwell on the delicacy of the viands, the rarity of the wines,
+the jocularity of Squire Prothero, the laughing magistrate, who dropped
+in and joined them after dinner; the beauty and fascination of Miss
+Meredith, the lady’s companion, who almost made a conquest of the heart
+of poor Rhys—and, above all, the captivating sweetness of our heroine,
+the young hostess! and other interesting details.  But we must find space
+to say that a short hunt was got up, contrary to usual custom, in the
+evening, to save the baronet from dying of chagrin for his failure of
+exhibiting his animal treasures to his guests before dinner.
+
+A young fox being started, our hero acquitted himself so amazingly to the
+satisfaction of his host by the most daring feats of leaping and yelling
+out, in the fox-hunter’s strain, “yoy, yoy, hark forward, wind him Juno!”
+and many other such expressions, that Sir George in the ecstacy of his
+feelings almost wept in the contemplation of such a promising genius,
+vowing that a year’s tuition under his first whipper-in would make him a
+truly great man, and a fit companion of princes.  Grasping his hand with
+the tenacity of a blacksmith’s vice, he vowed that from that moment he
+had engrossed his name upon his heart, high on the list of his most
+choice friends.
+
+Sir George was not one who limited his friendship to profession only;
+and, having learned from Twm his position in life, he became desirous to
+aid him permanently, and put him on the road to fortune, knowing right
+well that if he had only a glimpse of it, that he was wide awake enough
+never again to lose sight of it.  He lost many nights’ rest in striving
+to settle this knotty point, and at last determined that he should live
+with him on the footing of a friend; indeed so necessary had he become to
+him in his hunts, that he at length declared it was impossible to part
+with him.
+
+Thus, as an inmate of Ystrad Feen, Twm spent some of the happiest days of
+his life, for the best part of this, and the following year.  Alternately
+hunting with the baronet and reading with his lady, who called him her
+hero, and made him an absolute show lion among her friends, Twm could not
+but feel this, as a remarkable contrast to the wretched life passed at
+the house of Morris Greeg.
+
+Twm also enjoyed many happy hours with his staunch friend Rhys, at the
+houses of the surrounding rural potentates, where, on account of his
+brave reputation, and for his ready wit, so unsparingly lavished by him
+wherever he went, he speedily became a favourite.  We shall close this
+somewhat long chapter with the relation of one of these adventures which
+gave universal satisfaction to his friends, and became the subject of
+remark and wonderment for many a year.
+
+Llandovery was just at this time honoured by a visit from a London buck,
+who, thoroughly convinced of the utter darkness and benighted state of
+that retired district, had charitably come to reside amongst the
+miserable inhabitants thereof, that they might know and understand what
+civilization meant, as evinced in his own proper and illustrious person.
+He took a very ungracious way of teaching the important fact, for he did
+nothing but boast of the immense superiority of everything appertaining
+to his glorious self, and depreciate that which belonged to others.
+
+Mr. Tomkins (that was his euphonious title) insisted that his gun, his
+fishing tackle, his boots, the cut of his coat, and everything that was
+his, was better than those belonging to any body else.  But if there was
+one object above all others that engrossed his volubility, it was the
+praise of his horse; daily did he ring the changes on his wonderful
+animal, his feats, his beauty, blood, and pedigree, at every house where
+he visited.
+
+One day after dinner at Ystrad Feen, in company with the baronet, Squire
+Prothero, our hero, and the ladies, he rudely asserted the superiority of
+his own horse to any in that country, when both our baronet and the
+squire seemed nettled at his disparaging remarks, which, had he not been
+his guest, it is probable Sir George would have resented.
+
+He offered to wager fifty pounds that his horse should surpass the best
+of theirs in running or leaping, be the given feat what it might.  Great
+and gratifying was their surprise when our hero, with much emphasis cried
+“done!”  Adding, “I have a mare of no very splendid exterior that shall
+perform a feat, with myself on her back, that you and your boasted hunter
+dare not follow for your lives.”
+
+“Done! for fifty pounds,” cried the London buck; “I’ll back him for a
+hundred, without knowing what he is at,” exclaimed the baronet; “And so
+will I,” roared and laughed the excited Squire Prothero.  With unusual
+alacrity up rose all four, bent on having the bet lost or won instanter.
+“Now hasten all together up the hill towards Craig Ddu, and I will be
+with you in the cracking of a whip,” said Twm, as he hurried off in
+another direction.  The two neighbours looked at each other, and wondered
+what would be the upshot of this adventure; but, having all faith in Twm,
+they attended the boastful Londoner to the place appointed.
+
+The summit of Craig Ddu (the Black Rock) was soon reached, where they
+waited Twm’s arrival.  The town-bred buck expressed impatience at the
+delay; adding with great complacency, “I intend, gentlemen, to teach this
+youngster a lesson that he will not forget as long as he lives.”  “Ho,
+ho, ho!” laughed the portly Squire Prothero, “take care that he does not
+teach you one!”  Scarcely were these words uttered when our hero appeared
+among them; but what was their dismay, and the sneers of his antagonist,
+when they beheld him mounted on a sorry old blind mare, scarcely worth a
+dozen shillings!
+
+“You’ll do as I do?” asked our hero, addressing the Londoner, “or forfeit
+fifty pounds?”  “That I will, and something more too!” cried the buck,
+vauntingly, “in which case the forfeit of that sum will be yours.”
+
+“Agreed!” replied Twm; and gradually facing his animal towards a rising
+sward or ditch, that had been raised to prevent the cattle from falling
+over the almost perpendicular side of a deep ravine; “Now for it then,”
+cried he, imitating the sound of a trumpet, and spurring his sorry jade,
+“neck or nothing for the fifty pounds!” and at the word the blind mare
+reached the ditch, and obedient to the spur and rein, sprung over, and
+was out of sight in an instant.
+
+“Good God, he has gone to a sure death!” cried Prothero; the stout heart
+of the baronet (accustomed as he was to such mad freaks,) seemed to have
+leapt to his throat and choked his utterance, as he expanded his singular
+white eyes in a chalky stare towards the spot of his disappearance.  The
+party rode forward, and, with the most thrilling anxiety looked down the
+precipice.
+
+Down at the bottom of the ravine, lay the poor old mare, evidently having
+concluded a hard life by an equally hard death.  But they had no time for
+sympathy with the unfortunate beast; they were too anxious about its
+daring rider to waste much consideration on it.  Their phrenzied eyes at
+length rested on the object of their search; scarcely six feet beneath
+their standing place lay the redoubted son of Catty, sound in wind and
+limb!
+
+The baronet yelled a terrific _view halloo_ that made the old rocks echo
+with his dissonance, and the kind-hearted old Prothero was so over-joyed
+at his safety that he actually failed to laugh.  Our hero, who had
+dexterously thrown himself off at the critical instant that the mare
+sprung over, and fell, as he had calculated, on a projecting ledge, which
+was thickly covered with a mass of heath and long grass; so that,
+although rather stunned, he was but little hurt.  An instant’s delay in
+throwing himself off would have precipitated him to the bottom, and the
+fate of the poor mare would have been his own.
+
+Great was the delight of his friends to see him rise, and wave a
+handkerchief in token of his safety, and in a few minutes he stood before
+his disconcerted antagonist, who had calculated, from the appearance of
+the ground, that a race was the thing in contemplation; but when the feat
+here narrated took place, the pallid hue of his countenance evinced his
+inward feelings.  “Now, sir, it is your turn,” cried our hero, bowing
+courteously to Mr. Tomkins, who looked paler and paler as he peered down
+the declivity; and as his eye for a moment rested on the dead mare in the
+bottom, his teeth chattered, and he turned away shuddering.
+
+“I have no notion of such mad doings,” muttered the crest-fallen Mr.
+Tomkins.  “Then you lose the bet,” cried Prothero; “which I can afford to
+pay, as well as any one here,” replied the Londoner, in a tone of haughty
+sulkiness, as he witnessed the applause bestowed on our hero by the
+admiring baronet and his friend the squire.
+
+Mr. Tomkins rightly arguing that he had lost caste by this little
+transaction, had sense enough to leave the district and take his
+departure for town, dispensing with the ceremony of bidding farewell to
+any of those country friends, of whose hospitality he had so often
+partaken.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+
+THE Land of Dreams.  Twm’s journey to London.  A bet upon a bull.  Ready
+Rosser outwitted, and Squire Prothero’s fright.
+
+When Twm had any leisure or reflection, his mind was occupied with but
+one subject, so that at this period of his life he could hardly be said
+to be a man of many ideas.  This remark applies only to the time when he
+indulged in retired country rambles, or when he was in the solitude of
+his own apartment.  Confront him with any specimen of male humanity
+extant, and his faculties returned in all their natural vigour, and
+success generally attended his enterprises.
+
+As before related, the moment he first set his eyes on the remarkable and
+pleasing countenance of the lady of Ystrad Feen, he felt a conviction
+that it was not the first time that he experienced the pleasurable
+sensation that then pervaded his whole soul.  His continued intercourse
+with her during his prolonged stay stubbornly maintained his first
+conviction that they had met before; but when, where, and under what
+circumstances, he could not discover.  At length, when the mind had been
+repeatedly fatigued with these vain tuggings at the nerve of memory,
+although compelled by exhaustion to give up the point, it was only for a
+season, to be resumed on the first opportunity for putting his powers of
+recollection again into practice.
+
+After analyzing these mental enquiries with the closest precision, he
+came to the successive negative conclusions, that he could not possibly
+have seen her either at Graspacre Hall, at Inco Evan’s, nor, most
+assuredly, at the cottage of his mother.  “Then, where on earth else?”
+muttered he, wiping his moist brow, which was a little fevered by the
+intensity of his labours in this mental research.  Determined, for his
+future ease, to dismiss the thought altogether, he answered himself
+peevishly, “nowhere, surely, but in the land of _dreams_.”
+
+Yes, indeed, this chance thought provided him with the key so long
+sought, to his remembrance of the face and form of his charming hostess,
+for scarcely had he uttered those talismanic words than they acted on his
+memory like Ithuriel’s spear;—the sentence fell like a flash of fire on
+the touch-spring of the whole mystery, and flashed in full effulgence,
+illuminating fully his long-darkened powers of recollection!
+
+Little had he thought of putting to himself what appeared so vain a
+query, whether it was at Morris Greeg’s home of misery that he had beheld
+the never-to-be-forgotten face of beauty and intellect—but at length he
+traced it!  And, of all places in the world, the most unfitting to be
+associated with it—the murky hay-loft of Cwm y Wern Ddu: in short
+mysterious still as the inference gave out, Lady Devereaux, in every
+glance, feature, and movement, was indeed the spirit of his glorious
+vision—the lady of his dream!
+
+Thoroughly absorbed by this unexpected and most interesting discovery, he
+forgot altogether the lapse of time, and was startled by the sudden
+appearance of Sir George by his bed side.  The friendly baronet inquired
+with much concern, if he was unwell, as they had been waiting breakfast
+for him full half an hour.  On being assured of the contrary, and that he
+had only overslept himself, Sir George hastened down with the glad
+tidings, as the whole family feared the consequence of his temerity on
+the day before.
+
+Our hero was soon among them, tendering his apologies, and parrying the
+graceful banterings and rallyings of the ladies, who rated him playfully
+for a sluggard and a lie-abed.  The baronet soon recurred to the
+punishment inflicted by our hero on the intolerable vanity and
+presumption of the London buck.  A knock at the parlour door checked the
+current of his discourse, and, on permission being given, in walked that
+little comical undersized fellow, familiarly called Tommy Thomas, the
+second whipper-in, with a face of ruefully long dimensions.
+
+After a very worshipful bow, accompanied with many a bodily turn and
+twist, while his fingers wandered among the regions of his head and his
+whiskers, it turned out that honest Tom Thomas came to report a
+calamitous visitation that had befallen this very respectable house.
+During this worthy functionary’s absence at Llandovery, yesterday, (of
+course his stay was not prolonged by his curiosity to examine the quality
+of the different taps there!) he said that some audacious villain had
+been to the stable, and stolen all the food which he had purchased for
+the hounds.
+
+“What food—what food?” inquired the baronet; for everything was important
+to him that was in any way connected with his darling hounds.  “Why look
+you now, I wass py an oil plind mare for ten shillings and two quarts of
+beer from a travelling packman that wass sold off his goots, and not want
+her agen; so I did pargen for hur, see you now, and wass paay for hur,
+and dit put hur in te stapples, for foots for te hounce; and look you
+now, some loucey peggar wass steal hur.”
+
+All the party except the baronet laughed heartily at this intimation; but
+our hero soon relieved both Sir George and honest Tommy Thomas, by
+informing the latter that his bargain was to be found at the bottom of
+the Craig Ddu ravine; on which the poor fellow joyfully withdrew.  Twm
+immediately called him back, and astonished him with the present of a
+broad piece, in company with divers smaller silver coins, in
+acknowledgment that his precious bargain had enabled him to win his bet
+from the Londoner.
+
+This was another piece of information for the baronet and his friends,
+and the cause of another explosion of triumphant laughter, at the expense
+of their late nuisance, the bragging Mr. Tomkins,—Sir George declaring
+that he had repeatedly thought of asking the question as to how he had
+possessed himself of the wretched animal; and now the mystery was
+amusingly explained.
+
+One long winter’s morning, when the weather was so stormy as to forbid
+all hope of being able to stir out for the day, the baronet broke an
+unusually protracted silence by saying, “Mr. Jones, I have a favour to
+ask you.”
+
+“Glad in my heart,” replied Twm, “for some change to make any return for
+the favours I have received.”
+
+“Fiddle-de-dee with your favours! you talk like a mountainer, lad,” cried
+Sir George; “balance against us—owe thee much—Joan’s life—thy merry
+company; but how the devil to part with thee!—joy to thee, this
+London—death to me—no fox-hunting, all smoke and devilment!”
+
+Lady Devereaux came out and explained that Sir George had a pressing
+necessity which he had long put off, of sending to London a considerable
+sum, due to a certain Mr. Martyn, being the last instalment of the
+purchase-money for some land bought of him by our baronet.
+
+Having just received an application for the cash, Sir George was startled
+to find how much time had elapsed in the delay caused by his aversion to
+going personally to London; for nothing less would do in those days,
+except by a trusty messenger.  “Thou’rt a lad of mettle, Twm, head as
+well as heart,” resumed Sir George—“arms to fight, and legs to run—roads
+full of thieves—can’t fight them all—out-wit them!”
+
+Twm was at no loss to discover that the baronet was loth to leave his
+family residence, his fox-hunting, and his neighbours’ society, to
+encounter the perils and discomforts of a journey to the metropolis, and
+that he was wishful that Twm should go there as his representative, and
+accordingly he declared himself ready to commence his journey whenever
+Sir George might please.
+
+“Let us have a little fine weather first,” replied his engaging hostess,
+“and in the meantime we will make the necessary preparations for your
+departure.”
+
+Our hero gazed on her animated friendly face, with an admixture of the
+romantic gallantry of the knights of old, and the religious veneration of
+a devotee towards his patron saint; for he felt that his fate was somehow
+mysteriously connected with her influence, and never forgot that she was
+the spirit of his glorious vision, the lady of his dream.
+
+Squire Prothero’s hearty laugh disturbed somewhat these gentle
+reflections.  He had just bought a bull and hired a servant, and was in
+high glee at what he considered the accomplishment of a favourable
+bargain.  The bull, he said, was a large and glorious white creature of
+the Herefordshire breed, and the man a small black one, of the true
+Cardiganshire runt description; but cunning as a fox, and keen as a kite.
+A fellow, the worthy squire said, who was proverbially known in the
+neighbourhood of Aberteivy for his exceeding shrewdness, by no other
+cognomen than Ready Rosser.
+
+Twm chuckled inwardly at his recollection of the swain whom he had
+outwitted at Cardigan; and, in the hair-brain spirit that often possessed
+him, longed to break a lance with this worthy once more.  As robbing the
+fields and hills was the prevalent villainy of the period, and as
+Prothero, as well as some of his neighbours, had been a considerable
+loser in numerous instances, he was the more elated with his present
+acquisition.  “I have now,” quoth he, with the usual accompaniment of a
+hearty laugh, “a guardian for my ox and my ass, my bull, and my bulwarks,
+and I defy the most cunning thief in the country to ferret away my live
+things from the custody of Ready Rosser of Aberteivy.”
+
+“Well, I’ll undertake to walk off with your bull, in spite of Ready
+Rosser, if you’ll leave it out three nights, let him do what he pleases,”
+said Twm, with a confident air.
+
+“Done!” roared the merry Prothero, with a loud ho, ho! that shook the
+room; but recollecting himself, he added—“but hark ye, my buck of bucks;
+my bull shall not be left out to starve of these cold winter nights; he
+shall be secured within the shelter of the cow-house, and if thou canst
+abduct him from thence, within the three days and nights, welcome shalt
+thou be to his carcase, and twenty pounds to reward thy cleverness.”
+
+“Done!” cried the baronet, “and I’ll pay forty pounds for him if he
+fails.”
+
+“Remember, three days and three nights is the time given,” cried Twm, “as
+it will take two to get all in train.”
+
+The squire lost no time in communicating his wager to the members of his
+household, and putting them on their guard.  “Now mind,” he exclaimed,
+“our friendly antagonist is a sharp fellow, and you must sleep with your
+eyes open during the next three days.  Look out, Ready Rosser.”
+
+The worthy thus addressed merely laughed at the impudence of any one that
+could venture on such a bet.  The emphasis which Twm laid upon the period
+of three days was merely a _ruse de guerre_ of his, to throw his
+opponents off their guard, as he fully intended commencing operations
+soon as darkness came on.
+
+The snow was thick on the ground; therefore, as the nearest approach to
+invisibility, our hero arrayed himself in a white frock and a cloth cap
+of the same colour, and sallied forth at eight o’clock in the evening, on
+a march of observation.  Having arrived at Llwyn-mawr, the residence of
+Prothero, crossing the garden hedge, he coolly leaned over the gate, and
+listening to the squire and his party in the adjoining farm yard heard
+the whole plan of defence, as laid down by that skilful Cardiganshire
+engineer, Ready Rosser.  The white bull the hero of the present wager,
+had been placed in his stall for the night, the door of the cow-house
+duly locked; and now the whole party of farm servants, under the command
+of Rosser, were busily employed by lantern light in forming the outward
+fortification.
+
+In the first place, four harrows were laid one upon the other, across the
+entrance to the cow-house; on the upper harrow was placed a heavy roller,
+then a new implement in Welsh farming, and beside it two ploughs; the
+whole being surmounted by a sledge, used in those days for a harvest
+cart.  To make this sledge, which was placed across the ploughs and
+roller, still more unmovable, Rosser had it heaped with hay, duly trodden
+down, carefully, as if intended for the foundation of a rick.  His last
+stroke of masterly management was to suspend to one of the shafts of the
+sledge a large bell, which the squire, at the request of vicar Prichard,
+had procured from Bristol, to ornament the dome of his school, and to
+call the boys to their meals and studies.  Rosser shrewdly remarked that
+any movement of these barricades, would be announced by its peal in the
+night.
+
+By nine o’clock the whole party, including, the squire, were wrapt in
+sound slumber, and the field was open to the operations of our hero, who,
+in the meantime had returned to Ystrad Feen, and brought back from thence
+the tools that he required for the purpose.  These consisted of an iron
+crow-bar and a saw, a bag containing something, and little Tommy Thomas
+for his _avante courier_, or look out, in case of surprisal.  Twm had
+observed that the cow-house was formed of two pine-ends, substantially
+built of stone, while the back and front, were on planks, nailed across
+horizontally.  The cunning Rosser had effectually fortified the front,
+where there was a door, but entirely neglected the back, where there was
+none; considering perhaps that the duck-pool or horse-pond, which ran
+parallel the length of the lowly edifice, would prove a sufficient
+rear-guard.  But greatly did that scheming wight err in his estimation of
+the ingenious daring of his adversary; for although three feet deep,
+black, and full of frogs and their spawn, it was through the middle of
+this domestic lake, our Twm, shouldering his crow-bar, made his way to
+commence the attack, while Tommy Thomas occupied his post of observation
+on the top of an old blighted oak stump.
+
+To the great satisfaction of our hero, his onset was auspicious; he
+succeeded without noise in wrenching off numerous planks, and in a short
+time entered the building.  He made up at once to the grand object of his
+enterprise, and approached the mighty brute with deference; then patting
+him kindly with a patronizing air, he called familiarly by his name,
+which he had learnt was Bishop, from the fair resemblance perhaps, of his
+outward bull to the outward man of the lord of the lawn sleeves; or, in
+his dignified rotundity, to some specimens of that princely priest of our
+favoured land.  Bishop having sniffed and snorted a little, wondering at
+the temerity of the two-legged animal that so daringly sought his
+acquaintance treated his advances as due homage, and resumed his easy
+contemplative posture, like a politic Autocrat that condescendingly gives
+audience to a loyal peasant.  Guessing the yearning of his mighty mind,
+and no less mighty carcase, our hero presented him with a small bag of
+oats, to conciliate his good-will, which being graciously received, gave
+goodly omen of the magnanimity of his disposition.
+
+Twm now proceeded to his task of enlarging the opening for his egress.
+After having heaved up, with his crowbar, two of the uprights which
+formed the ribs of the old cow-house, from which he had removed its
+sinews the planks, just as he was enjoying his conquest over his worst
+obstructions, he found to his dismay, that he had reckoned without his
+hostess, as Lady Fortune claimed more from his exertions than he thought
+due.  A strong square heart-of-oak piece of timber ran along,
+horizontally, the whole length of the building, which nothing but a saw
+could remove.  As the bull, Bishop, was too lordly and unaccustomed to
+diminish his lofty altitude by dropping on his knees, like the meek
+docile camel, and too stiff and heavy to spring like the active dog,
+nothing remained but to remove in some way, the stout wood that formed a
+bar across his furious-looking forehead.
+
+As he considered the noise of sawing would rouse the Philistines of
+Llwynmawr, for an instant Twm’s inventive powers were at a stand; but
+they soon rallied, and he how had to strike a bold stroke, that promised
+anything but success, while certain failure would otherwise be his lot.
+From the bag he took two pairs of top-boots which he had provided, and
+drew them, one at a time, with the toes pointing backward, on the feet of
+the bull, Bishop, who seemed at first modestly to decline such an unusual
+honour.  But as Twm was very pressing, he meekly submitted, like a
+bashful maid to don her wedding robes, or like King Richard, to have
+fortune buckled on his back; for he in fact endured to have his boots
+corded above his knees.
+
+Twm now took the crow-bar to the front of the house, and fixed it firmly
+through an old-fashioned iron ring in the farm-house door, so as utterly
+to prevent the opening of it from the inside.  Fastening next a halter to
+the bell attached to the sledge-shaft, he instructed Tommy Thomas to ring
+and roar “fire” with all the strength of his arms and might of his lungs;
+applying as he spoke, a candle to the hay on the sledge, while he
+retreated to saw, amid this din, the stubborn wood that barred alike the
+bull’s departure and the progress of the enterprise.
+
+Whiz, crick, crack went the blaze! ding, dong! went the clapper of the
+bell! fire, fire! roared the scare-crow voice of little Tommy Thomas;
+Twm’s saw being unheard through the prevalence of these mightier sounds.
+The squire was the first awakened by the unusual noise, and terrible was
+the fat man’s fright on seeing the blazing pyramid that illumined the
+whole house inwardly, and all over the yard, while he beheld some little
+devil ringing the bell and roaring “fire!” like a sergeant major while
+drilling a battalion.
+
+The activity of a fat man in a fright is truly ludicrous.  The nimbleness
+of the thinnest frightened tailor that ever hid himself behind a
+fishing-rod, was mere sluggishness compared to the flea-hopping trips of
+Squire Prothero, although almost too large to conceal himself behind a
+church, in some mountain parishes of Wales.  Down stairs he rolled, ten
+steps at a time, and tried in vain to open the outward door.  Up he
+rushed again, as if his unbreeched hams and shirted shoulders had wings
+appended to them, to assist his upward flight, bellowing “fire! fire!”
+till hoarseness silenced him.
+
+Just as he lost his voice, he found a deputy for it in a broomstick, with
+which he ran into the men’s room, cudgelling Ready Rosser and the rest
+through the bed-clothes, till they roared a dissonant chorus to the
+hoarse bass of “fire, fire!” “get up and be d—ned to you, or be fried in
+your own tallow!”
+
+Still the bell rung, and still Tommy Thomas lustily roared “fire!”  Ready
+Rosser, overwhelmed with fear and stupidity, proved his name to be
+henceforth a misnomer, having, with the rest of the clowns, utterly
+failed to open the door.  Running up stairs again, they met the squire at
+the top, flourishing his cudgel like a flail about their heads.  In his
+extremity, to give poor Rosser his due, he tried the notable plan of
+rising above his troubles by climbing up the chimney; but when he had
+nearly attained the top, like many other ambitious aspirants, he lost his
+footing, and tumbled down to the bottom, blackened with soot, and
+smarting with his bruises.  At length this scene of confusion received a
+turn by the adventurous daring of Gaby Snipe, a parish apprentice boy,
+who, squeezing himself through a narrow casement, dropped to the ground,
+and ultimately succeeded in removing the crow-bar and opening the door.
+
+During this scene of dire confusion, Twm’s enterprise had progressed
+swimmingly, and he had his worship the bull out of the cow-house, through
+the horse-pond, over the snow-clad field, and into a lane that led to the
+parish road, which brought them to a sheep-cot on the high mountain top,
+that almost overhung the mansion Ystrad Feen.  Just as he had bestowed
+his precious charge within the aforesaid shelter, he was joined by little
+Tommy Thomas, terribly out of breath with running and laughing.  Our hero
+had also his full share of laughter, daylight having now pretty well
+advanced, in noting the paces of the mighty brute as he stamped it along
+in his top-boots, with, the toes reversed, being the first of the family,
+as he deemed, that ever was honoured with such a dashing leg and heel
+trimmings.
+
+Tommy Thomas related that on the descent of Gaby Snipe, he quitted his
+bell-rope and hid himself awhile to witness the result of the outpouring
+from the house.  The rush was whimsical to witness, for fear, as usual,
+had exaggerated the danger, and when in the yard they ran to and fro like
+scared rabbits, not knowing what to do, nor what was required of them.
+The hay being all consumed, and the fire self-extinguished, Ready Rosser
+called out, “water, water!” which, in their confusion and imperfect state
+of wakefulness, they dashed, by pailsful, at one another, till at length
+a general fight commenced in the farm-yard; and when the squire came and
+parted them, not one could tell how the fray began, any more than they
+could account for the stirring incidents that had frightened them all out
+of their senses.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+
+PHILOSOPHY of smiles.  Twm sets out for modern Babylon.  New use of a
+pack-saddle.  A gentleman of the road, and how Twm borrowed his horse.
+
+Laughter was the order of the morning at Ystrad Feen.  Grief causes the
+loss of the appetite, but mirth produced the same effect in a different
+way on this particular occasion, as no one seemed to have strength nor
+leisure to attack the tempting delicacies spread before them in such
+profusion.  Laughter, loud, strong, boisterous, hearty ringing laughter,
+burst forth again and again as Twm, in the drollest manner, excited their
+risibility by a relation of what had passed the preceding evening.
+
+“A bull in boots!” chuckled the Baronet, laughing till the tears ran down
+his florid countenance.  “A bull in boots!” cried the lady of Ystrad
+Feen, till a sweet glow diffused itself over her whole countenance,
+developing, by the effort a pair of the finest dimples that ever lent
+their attraction to a female face.  “A bull in boots!” cried the Reverend
+John David Rhys, whose excited countenance bore animated contrast to the
+“pale cast of thought” that usually distinguished him, and with whom
+laughter was not habitual.
+
+“A bull in boots!” tittered Miss Meredith, with something more than a
+simper, or small grin, used to exhibit a fine set of teeth (which Parson
+Rhys thought peerless;) for honest, hearty, spleen-dispersing laughter,
+was not voted to be vulgar in those days; nor gentility and insipidity
+considered as synonymous terms.
+
+“A bull in boots!” muttered a tall elderly gentleman with a long
+saturnine nose, that seemed to curl away, half disdainfully, from the
+mouth beneath it, which laughed, however, in spite of the nose, inclining
+to extend itself from ear to ear, in revenge for never having so indulged
+itself before.  “A bull in boots!” repeated he sneeringly; “how
+ridiculous!  I should have as soon thought to see a pig in pattens.”
+
+In the midst of this merriment, Tommy Thomas made his appearance, to
+announce something; but catching the exclamation of “a bull in boots,”
+and “a pig in pattens,” was immediately infected with the general
+contagion, and laughed and snorted like a pig in a hay-field, when a
+cunning cur has suddenly seized him by the buttocks.  The new arrival
+promised additional fun, and all were prepared to enjoy it.  At length he
+explained himself in a brief sentence, “Mr. Prothero is coming!”
+
+Twm now made a hasty retreat for some unexplained purpose; and in a few
+minutes the portly figure of Squire Prothero was seen in the yard,
+sitting on his horse, and laughing till too convulsed to alight.  The
+company ran out and greeted him, while the good-natured squire co-mingled
+with their mirthful peals as hearty a “ho, ho, ho!” as ever shook his
+jolly fat sides.
+
+“Laugh away, ho, ho, ho! laugh away,” cried he, “I know I look an ass,
+after bragging up such a nincompoop as my fellow against this young wag
+of yours.  But where is he? where is the young dog?  I suppose my noble
+bull is slaughtered by this time.”
+
+“Tough steaks he gave us for breakfast,” cried the baronet, “tough as an
+alligator with his scales on.”
+
+“Fine fun if he had choked you all! but never mind!” returned the squire,
+“a joke is a joke, and a bet is a bet; and I have come to pay mine.”
+
+Scarcely had he uttered these magnanimous sentiments, that proved him
+worthy of the Grand Master’s chair in a society of laughing philosophers,
+than the booted bull, Bishop, gravely approached, with our hero on his
+back.  A fresh explosion now burst from the party, to note the stately
+and apparently conceited paces of the buskind king of the kine, who now
+wore his boots with toes foremost, like any other gentleman; but none
+laughed so heartily as Prothero himself, who seemed in raptures to find
+his bull unbutchered.
+
+“This fellow would tame a fiery dragon,” quoth he, “aye, and ride him
+through the air, too, without fear, or he could never have coaxed Bishop
+into such a good humour as to become a steed for him.”
+
+The whole party now entered the house, and Prothero narrated, to their
+boundless amusement, their ultimate discovery of the bull’s abduction.
+Rosser and his fellows had been sent in a body to trace the foot-prints
+of the bull in the snow, and recapture him if possible; but as such signs
+were utterly invisible, Rosser returned in the utmost dismay, with a face
+half a yard long, from the effect, he said, of a new light that had just
+broken in upon him.  With great solemnity, he declared his conviction
+that the supposed bull was no beast at all, but the devil in disguise, as
+not a print of his hoof was to be found anywhere, although four set of
+human feet were traceable, backwards and forwards.
+
+“That was no bull,” said the wise Rosser; “it was a devil which, after
+kicking down the cow-house, and firing the hay with his brimstone breath,
+flew away in a clap of thunder, which indeed I heard myself, as plainly
+as I hear my own voice at this moment.”
+
+“For all these abominable bounces,” quoth the squire, “I called him a
+liar and a fool, when the fellow turned upon me with ‘the devil take the
+bull! you didn’t think I could keep him in my pocket!’  Now the
+whimsicality of the idea of a fellow’s pocketing a bull, tickled me so
+much that I forgave him everything!”  Another chorus of the trebles and
+bass aforesaid burst out again, and, at the conclusion, the ladies
+declared they had almost laughed themselves into illness.
+
+“Never mind, fair ones, let the stay-laces crack—cut them asunder, and
+give the lungs and laughter fair play!” cried the squire; closing his
+period with as hearty a “ho, ho, ho!” as usually formed the climax of his
+sayings and doings.  In the present instance the elderly gentleman chimed
+in with him, and exclaiming, “droll as ever, Prothero, but now outwitted
+by a mere boy.”
+
+“True, Sir John, (your pardon for the omission of my respects thus
+long),” cried the squire, as he cordially shook his hand, “but such a boy
+as our combined manhood here never met with before.”
+
+The worthy here referred to, and before noticed as the gentleman with the
+saturnine nose, was no less a personage than Sir John Price, Baronet, of
+Priory House, Brecon, the highly respected father of Lady Devereaux.  He
+had arrived the preceding evening, about the time that Twm commenced his
+attack upon the bull.
+
+Lady Devereaux explained to her father the great and gallant services
+which she had received at Twm’s hands, and her statement was made in the
+most earnest and impassioned manner, as if her gratitude was as great as
+on the day she was attacked by Dio the Devil, and rescued by our hero.
+Sir John Price at once rose from his chair, in a way that strongly
+contrasted with his usual cold and ceremonious habit, and extending his
+white, diamond-ringed, aristocratic hand to Twm, assured him of his
+friendship and protection in all things wherein he could serve him.
+
+Twm would not accept the money which Prothero tendered in liquidation of
+his bet.  “No,” said the successful champion, “it was all for fun and
+amusement, and you will allow that we have had some enjoyment out of it,
+and all I ask is that, when I am far away, and you are brought face to
+face with your well-prized bull, Bishop, you will think of me.”
+
+The generosity of his sentiments met with the encomiums of all present;
+and the worthy squire reluctantly consenting to receive back his bull
+without fee or fine, absolutely insisted on leaving the forfeited twenty
+pounds in the hands of Lady Devereaux, who received it accordingly.
+Recollecting the manner in which he had been hunted from Tregaron, it was
+truly gratifying to his feelings, and flattering to his pride, to hear
+persons of the rank of the present company express their regret that he
+was to leave them the next morning.
+
+The following day was the one appointed for Twm’s departure to London,
+and he arose with a sorrowful heart, (for he was thinking of the lady of
+his dream,) to make a preparation for his departure.  The baronet having
+presented him with a sum of money for his expenses, insisted on his
+leaving behind him, with Lady Devereaux, whatever cash he possessed, till
+his return; while the lady herself, playfully promising to be a faithful
+banker, threw on his neck a heavy golden chain, as her present.  Twm had
+often seen her wear it; and fervently kissing the splendid article,
+returned it to her keeping till his return.
+
+If anything could add to his satisfaction, it was to experience the
+attention of his two fast friends, Rhys and the Squire, who even at this
+early hour had hastened to bid him farewell.  Right glad was he of the
+opportunity of sending some cash to his mother, and to remit what he had
+borrowed from his friend, Cadwgan.  In the yard, he had to receive the
+good wishes and parting civilities of every man and maidservant in the
+establishment, particularly of the huntsman and the whippers-in, with
+whom he had become an amazing favourite.
+
+It had been concerted that his best mode of travelling _incog._ would be
+on a mean horse, with a pack-saddle, and disguised as a lowly country
+lad.  Thus mounted and accoutred, behold him at length disappearing
+through the yard-gate of Ystrad Feen; the cash and papers entrusted to
+his care having been studiously concealed about his person.  Although but
+ill-contented with his homely harness, he found his mountain pony, like
+his race in general, far better than his looks promised; so that he rode
+on with a heart full of glee, proud of the honours which he had gained,
+and glowing with bright anticipations of the future.
+
+Through his native principality, his journey was interesting enough, so
+we need not note the scenes, which, however charming in their rural
+beauty and romantic wildness to Twm, would lose most of their attraction
+in mere description.  He jogged on steadily and perseveringly till he had
+left Bristol behind, and he had even passed through Bath and Chippenham
+before a single adventure occurred worthy of record.
+
+Riding late one evening, between the last-named town and Marlborough, he
+found it necessary to put up at a small public-house on the road-side,
+distinguished by the sign of the “Hop-pole,” the obscurity of which he
+considered favourable to his safety.
+
+Having fed his beast and eaten his supper, he went immediately to bed;
+and, with a view of preserving his treasure in the best manner, slept
+without divesting himself of his clothes.  He had slept some hours, and
+day was just breaking, when he was aroused by the trampling of a horse,
+and the gruff voice of a traveller whom he heard alight and enter the
+house.
+
+A strong impulse of curiosity determined him to rise from his bed; and,
+as the large treble-bedded room which he occupied was over the parlour,
+to which the guest was introduced, he listened, to learn whether anything
+portended danger to himself.  He found, to his surprise and dismay, that
+he was the subject of conversation between the landlady and her guest,
+whom he discovered to be no other than the very character of which he
+stood most particularly in peril—a highwayman.
+
+He had heard himself described to him by the landlady, as an uncouth
+booby of a countryman from the Welsh mountains, miserably mounted on a
+piece of animated carrion, for which the crows cawed as it limped along;
+and what booty was to be expected from such a beggar inquired she?
+
+“You are wrong, mistress, you are quite wrong,” cried the stranger; “from
+your account I expect much from him.  I have robbed more than one such,
+dressed like a scarecrow, while making for London, and bearing with him
+the twelvemonth’s rent of half-a-dozen of his neighbours to pay the
+landlord in town.  I shall be at this fellow as soon as he quits your
+roof; I have no doubt but what he is a prize, and if he is, you of course
+come in for shares.”
+
+Having learnt thus much, Twm, in some trepidation, retired to his bed,
+and began to consider how he should contrive, in order to preserve the
+property in his possession.  He rose again, thinking to escape through
+the window, but found it too small to admit his egress, and therefore
+gave up the idea.
+
+As he looked out through the miserable casement, busily plotting to hatch
+a scheme of deliverance, he could perceive no favourable object to aid
+his purpose except a large pool on the road-side, in which he thought of
+dropping his cash if he could reach it, and do the act unobserved, so
+that he might recover it at his leisure.
+
+As nothing better offered, he determined to adopt his plan immediately;
+and therefore, after making a studied clattering in putting on his shoes,
+he went down stairs, and called for a jug of beer and toast for his
+breakfast.  The freebooter did not show himself, but the landlady and her
+daughter, who seemed to be in the habit of sitting up all night to
+receive and entertain such guests, scrutinized our hero very closely.
+
+The worthy hostess asked him some apparently careless questions
+respecting his business in travelling the country, to which he replied he
+was trying to overtake a brother pigman, who was driving their joint
+charge to London.
+
+While at breakfast, Twm’s brain showed him another project for securing
+his valuables, which he considered an improvement upon the pond scheme.
+To give a more clownish character to his manners, the night before, he
+had carried the old pack-saddle up stairs, brought it down in the
+morning, and while at breakfast sat on it before the fire, instead of a
+stool.
+
+It occurred to him that this peculiarity of his would have been
+attributed to other motives, and that, no doubt, the honest inmates of
+the place thought that he would not have exhibited such care for his
+pack-saddle if it were not worth more than it looked.  He was ultimately
+convinced that they had decided that all his treasure was contained
+therein.
+
+Indeed, it was not a bad idea, for he could then sit on it all day and
+make a pillow of it by night.  He determined to encourage their
+suspicions; accordingly, bursting a hole in the fore end of it, he called
+the landlady to receive her reckoning, and in her presence, pushing his
+fist into the straw cushion of the pack-saddle, he drew out several
+pieces of gold, and asked her if she could give him change; but she
+answered in the negative, on which he again thrust his hand into the
+pack-saddle, and brought out more gold and silver intermixed; and with
+the latter settled his bill, and went to the stable for his horse.
+
+Securing all his money about his person, he mounted his Rosinante.
+Having cut away the girths from the pack-saddle, he bade the landlady
+farewell, and rode with all his might towards the pool, which was about a
+quarter of a mile forward on the road.  He soon heard the highwayman
+brushing forward in his rear, with many oaths calling on him to stop, a
+summons that increased our hero’s speed, till, being opposite the pond,
+his pursuer overtook him.
+
+Twm rode to the edge of the water, and threw the pack-saddle, with all
+his strength, towards the centre of the pool; but in bustling to regain a
+steady seat as he made towards the road, he fell headlong from his horse.
+The free-booter cursed him for a Welsh fool, and with a thundering voice
+ordered him to hold his horse, or he would blow his brains out,
+(brandishing his pistol all the while,) that he might go into the water
+to recover the booty.
+
+Twm appeared to be frightened out of his senses, and trembled with very
+visible terror as he approached to do the robber’s bidding; but no sooner
+had the highwayman reached the centre of the pool, and began groping
+about for the object of his search, than Twm, with one spring, mounted
+his fine tall horse, and rode away with all his might.
+
+So far all went well; but, to Twm’s unspeakable horror, the knight of the
+road, finding himself thus tricked, placed his fingers in his mouth and
+gave a loud whistle, on which his horse immediately stopped quite still.
+
+Twm, in real terror, as he was within pistol-shot, roared “murder!” with
+all his might; when the horse, to his great amazement, took his
+exclamation of terror for a counter order, and again started into a
+gallop.  The freebooter repeated his whistle, and again the horse stood
+still as a mile-stone: Twm reiterated “murder!” with all the power of his
+lungs; and the well-taught horse instantly resumed his gallop.
+
+Thus the highwayman’s whistle and Twm’s roaring of “murder!” had an
+alternate effect on the noble animal, till at length, our hero got
+completely out of hearing of the baffled robber.  As he rode on
+triumphantly, he sang the old Welsh pennill or stanza—{203}
+
+    “No cheat is it to cheat the cheater
+    No treason to betray the traitor:
+    Nor is it theft, but just deceiving,
+    To thieve from him who lives by thieving.”
+
+As he rode into Marlborough, in the highest spirit, one of the church
+chimes was playing “See the conquering hero comes!” which appeared to him
+to be a singularly appropriate greeting, and which he accepted as a
+personal tribute to his ingenious trickery upon the highwayman, whom, Twm
+secretly hoped, had not yet got out the old pack-saddle from the pool.
+
+How Twm laughed when he pictured to himself the rage and dismay of the
+villain when he discovered its contents!  That was a thought to chuckle
+over and enjoy.  It would extort many a boisterous “ho, ho, ho!” from old
+Squire Prothero, when he should have the pleasure of giving him the
+story.
+
+He received great commendation at the inn where he stayed for the night,
+when he related his adventure; and many of the inhabitants were loud in
+their congratulations to the young Welshman, who had so cleverly
+outwitted the English highwayman.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+
+WATT, the mole-catcher, in a pleasant mood.  Twm hears of his old love,
+Gwenny Cadwgan.  Tom Dorbell, and his feats.  Another adventure with a
+knight of the road.
+
+Twm had reason to be satisfied with his progress on his road to London,
+for he had met danger, and his wit and ingenuity had proved equal to any
+emergency.  But success did not make him over-confident, and consequently
+careless; but, on finding himself yet seventy-four miles from his
+journey’s end, he prepared for more trials of his skill and courage.  He
+was sent for next morning by the mayor of Marlborough, who had heard of
+his adventure, and required to bring the horse with him, which he had so
+adroitly won.
+
+Many gentlemen having assembled at the entrance to the town-hall, our
+hero appeared in all the pride of a conqueror, mounted on his goodly
+steed; although so humbly clad, their hats were doffed, and loud shouts
+of applause were immediately given.  It was soon ascertained by the mayor
+and the gentlemen present, that the horse was regularly bred to the road,
+and instructed by a highwayman, therefore, not, as at first conjectured,
+the property of any person deprived of it by one of these free-faring
+gentry; consequently, his worship, with many comments on his cleverness
+and courage told our hero that the horse was his own by right of
+conquest; but that if he were inclined to part with it, he would give
+forty pounds for it Twm directly assented; and the money was paid to him
+the same morning.
+
+Being now in want of an animal on which to continue his travel, Twm
+determined to walk on to Hungerford, and purchase one nearly like the one
+he had set out upon at the commencement of his journey, as he was still
+of the same opinion, that the less temptation in his outward appearance
+to the gentlemen of the road, the less likely were they to interfere with
+him.
+
+About three miles out of Hungerford, he saw before him a pig-drover, with
+a large herd of porkers, that he alternately cursed in his ancient
+British tongue, and cut up with a whip; while at intervals between these
+amusing recreations he loudly sang, or roared, certain scraps of Welsh
+songs.  Twm’s ear was quick in recognizing the well-known voice, and he
+soon stood side by side with his old friend Watt the mole-catcher.  After
+mutual expressions of wonder and congratulation, Twm immediately asked
+him how his mother was, as well as farmer Cadwgan and his daughter
+Gwenny.
+
+Watt replied that his mother and her husband were well; but instead of
+answering the latter question, enquired his adventures since he left
+Tregaron.  Twm, with animated vanity, ran over that bright portion of his
+history, occasionally heightening the colour of events, according to the
+general practice of story-tellers, from time immemorial; dwelling
+particularly on his fortunate preservation of the lady of Ystrad Feen,
+and the benefits which accrued to him in consequence, from the liberality
+of Sir George Devereaux, whose confidential agent he then was, on
+business of the utmost importance, to London.
+
+These extraordinary events were intended by Twm to astonish the
+sulky-looking mole-catcher, Watt, who was not in an impressionable mood;
+but Twm, nothing daunted, still ran on, saying, in allusion to his
+“friend” Sir George,—“Well, Watt, were he ten times as rich and happy as
+he is, I should never envy him any thing he possessed, but one lovely
+piece of property.”  “And what might that be?” asked Watt.  “Why,”
+replied the other, “could I once forget poor Gwenny Cadwgan, which I
+never can, I should envy him the possession of his charming young wife,
+the beautiful lady of Ystrad Feen—the finest, the handsomest, and
+cleverest woman I ever saw! and although now married to a second husband,
+she is little more than one-and-twenty years of age.  But I was asking of
+my old sweet-heart Gwenny, poor Gwenny Cadwgan.”
+
+“Poor Gwenny Cadwgan indeed!” echoed Watt.
+
+The sneering manner in which the mole-catcher spoke this, alarmed our
+hero; “What of her, Watt?” cried he eagerly; “is anything the matter?
+tell me quickly, for Heaven’s sake!”  Watt replied evasively, that great
+trouble had come to both her and her father, in consequence of their
+having harboured him when the hue and cry was up.  That fact, he said,
+was discovered a few days after his disappearance, by old Rachel Ketch,
+who sold the secret to the Squire for the highest price she could get;
+and would have sold her own soul on similar terms to the Devil himself.
+
+Twm observed Watt writhing as he spoke, and struggling inwardly, with
+some terrible feeling, that for awhile deprived him of utterance.  He
+noticed with regret the deep furrows of worldly care on his cheek, so
+lately ruddy and mirthful; and thought he observed a sinister expression
+in his sunken eye and trembling lips, that now were paler than his sallow
+face.  Fiercely resenting the closeness of our hero’s scrutiny by an
+assumption of rude abruptness, he said “but why do I waste time in
+talking here, when—but I must be off—good-bye!”
+
+“But you have not told me of Gwenny and her father,” quote Twm, in
+amazement at his demeanour.
+
+“That is soon told,” replied Watt, pettishly; “the squire turned him out
+of his farm, and made so many claims one sort or other, that Cadwgan was
+beggared, and left him so poor that he could scarcely take a cottage for
+himself and daughter.  If I hadn’t let him mine, he would have had none.”
+“Good heavens!” exclaimed Twm, “thy hovel for farmer Cadwgan and the
+gentle Gwenny!”
+
+“Why not?” replied Watt, with a lowering brow; “is he not a day labourer?
+it served me _when I was one_, for many a bitter day.  His daughter too,
+the dainty Gwenny, she was too good for me—turned with scorn from poor
+Watt the mole-catcher—but never mind! she was a bit of a sweet-heart of
+thine too, Twm, I remember; but set thy heart at rest, lad, if she won’t
+be mine, she will never be thine, at any rate.”
+
+All this was uttered in a tone of bitter sarcasm, that both surprised and
+enraged our hero; especially when he thus learned from his own mouth that
+Watt had sought to win the affections of the fair and generous Gwenny
+Cadwgan.  He replied—“Well, the devil take thee when he will, for he must
+have marked thee for his own, long since, or thou wouldst never have had
+the impudence to court Gwenny Cadwgan!”
+
+“Ha! ha!” laughed Watt, with a bitter snarl; “she will never be thine nor
+mine! so don’t burden thy memory with one who has already forgotten thee.
+Farewell! and better luck with thy next sweet-heart!”  With that he
+cracked his whip and drove on his herd of swine, with an air of excited
+fierceness that was actually fearful to witness.
+
+So much hurt was Twm at the bearing and conduct of Watt that he allowed
+him to go without asking more questions.  His sorrow to hear of the
+change in the fortunes of Cadwgan and his lovely daughter, threw a heavy
+cloud over his mind; and he regretted that his remittance to him, by the
+hand of his friend, was so small.  He felt rather relieved by the
+reflection that however small the sum was, it would be deemed a
+“God-send” to them under present circumstances; and at the same time
+prove to friends that he was not unmindful of them, nor ungrateful for
+their boundless kindness in his dark days of peril.  However, he felt
+somewhat embittered by the insinuations of Watt, that the fair Gwenny’s
+regard for him was on the wane, if not altogether given to another; and
+right glad would he have been to learn the exact bearing of the whole
+affair, at which the mole-catcher’s hints but darkly hinted.
+
+Twm was detained at Hungerford for some days, by starving weather; and
+while looking about for another animal, was taken by an old pedlar, down
+a green lane, to a creature of his, left there to graze.  He was not a
+little surprised to find it to be his own pony, left in exchange with the
+highwayman, having on his back the identical pack-saddle in which he had
+formerly concealed his money.  Twm made a purchase of both, and the next
+morning took his departure from Hungerford.
+
+His enforced leisure at Hungerford had not been unprofitably spent, for
+he had listened attentively to the conversation of the different drinking
+parties at the tavern where he stayed; and found the dangers of the road
+to be the general theme.  The great hero of the turnpikes at this time,
+was a certain knight of the road called the Gallant Glover, alias Tom
+Dorbell, originally a leather-breeches maker and glover.  It appeared
+that he was a man who, by his shrewdness in general, as well as
+particular instances of cunning, combined with his dauntless daring, had
+become so much an object of admiration to those who had nothing to lose,
+as of terror to the men of money, who had become the victims of his
+audacity.
+
+The following anecdote of him, told by one of these tavern worthies,
+interested our worthy much, and had the effect of putting him on his
+mettle, in case of an accidental meeting with him during his journey.
+
+It seems, a gentleman’s son was taken for robbing on the highway; and as
+he had been formerly pardoned, he despaired of mercy a second time.  Upon
+this, Tom Dorbell opened a treaty with his wealthy relatives, and
+undertook, for five hundred pounds, to bring him off.  It was stipulated
+and agreed to, that one half of that sum be paid in hand, and the other
+half when the deliverance was effected.  On the trial of the young
+gentleman, he was found guilty; but just as the judge was about to pass
+sentence, Tom Dorbell cried out “Oh! what a sad thing it is to shed
+innocent blood!” and continuing to reiterate the expression, he was
+apprehended, and the judge asked him what he meant by such exclamations,
+he answered,—“May it please your Lordship, it is a dreadful thing for a
+man to die wrongfully; but one may see how hard-mouthed some people are,
+by the witnesses swearing that this gentleman now at the bar robbed them
+on the highway, at the time stated in the indictment, when, indeed, my
+Lord, I was the person who committed that robbery.”
+
+Accordingly the “Gallant Glover” was taken into custody, and the young
+gentleman liberated.  Being brought to trial the following assizes, to
+the astonishment of the court, he pleaded not guilty.  “Not guilty!”
+exclaimed the judge in a voice of thunder, “did you not at the last
+assizes own yourself guilty of the robbery in question?”
+
+“I don’t know,” replied Tom Dorbell, as meek as a mouse, “how far I was
+guilty then, but, upon my word, I am not guilty now; therefore, if any
+person can accuse me of committing such a robbery, I desire them to prove
+the same.”  No witnesses appearing, the Gallant Glover was of course
+acquitted.
+
+What Twm had heard about the Gallant Glover and his achievements, warned
+him that fresh trials on the road awaited him; but he was no “Bob Acre,”
+and, “screwing his courage to the sticking-point,” he manfully resumed
+his journey.
+
+He had got within ten miles of Reading, in Berkshire, anxiously hoping to
+reach it without disaster, when the sudden discharge of a pistol, close
+to his ear, convinced him that he was in the centre of danger.  Instantly
+a horseman, well mounted, rode fiercely down a lane that entered the
+road, and ordered him to stop and deliver in a minute, or have his brains
+scattered on the hedge beside him.
+
+“Catch a weasel asleep!”  You might do that, but to surprise Twm Shon
+Catty when he had reason to be on the alert, was almost impossible.
+Assuming an air of clownish simplicity, he replied, “Lord bless ye
+master, I ha gotten nothing to deliver but an old testament, a crooked
+sixpence, and a broken fish-hook, and—and—”  “And what, you prevaricating
+young scoundrel!” roared the highwayman.  “Why, this purse,” continued
+Twm, “which uncle Timothy gave I to market for him, and pay his bills at
+Reading to-morrow;” producing at the same time an old stocking, which he
+had stuffed with old nails and cockle shells, in order to make a jingle.
+{210}  The robber made a grasp at the supposed well-stocked purse, which
+Twm dexterously evaded, and flung it over the hedge into the adjoining
+field, riding on; while the former instantly alighted, blustering out a
+string of oaths and threats as he made his way to the field to search for
+the coveted treasure.
+
+Twm was, of course aware that as soon as the robber had discovered how he
+had been tricked, that he would doubtless ride after him, and in his
+rage, shoot him on the spot.  As Twm’s poor pony would have no chance in
+a race with the highwayman’s high-spirited charger, he determined that a
+daring act, if carried out successfully, would both ensure his safety and
+prove profitable to him likewise.  The knight of the road, when he
+alighted, had thrown his bridle over a hedge-stake; so Twm, abandoning
+his pony for the second time, watched the robber into the field, crawled
+along the ditch till he reached his horse, which he instantly seized by
+the bridle, mounted and rode off in a hot gallop, till he got safe into
+the ancient town of Reading, as the clear-toned bells of St. Lawrence
+were chiming their last evening peal.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+
+A GRACIOUS Lawyer.  Twm determines to “pedestrianize” a bit.  Watt’s
+horrible tale.  A fair bevy of lasses from Cardigan.  Guilt and the
+punishment.
+
+Next morning, Twm had the horse which he had taken from the robber, cried
+through the town of Reading, in the honest hope that he should find the
+rightful owner.  He was right in his conjecture that it would prove to be
+the property of some one in that town, for a wealthy attorney claimed it,
+with a considerable degree of hauteur and insolence.  So far was this
+limb of the law from either allowing our hero anything for the loss of
+his own humble beast, or even thanking him for his instrumentality in
+recovering a valuable horse, that he told him he might think himself very
+lucky he was not prosecuted for its being found in his possession.  Our
+worthy did think himself so, and took a precipitate departure
+accordingly.
+
+Being now within eight-and-thirty miles of London, he resolved to throw
+off his disguise, and walk the rest of the journey.  Accordingly, he
+bought a suit of clothes at Reading, in which he concealed his money and
+valuables, with a pair of pocket pistols; and thus provided he resumed
+his journey to the metropolis.  Having walked twelve miles, he attained
+the town of Maidenhead.
+
+On a seat outside the Bear Inn, he beheld a jovial company of topers, and
+in the midst of them, Watt the mole-catcher.  It turned out that he had
+sold his pigs without going to London, and was now sauntering from tavern
+to tavern, squandering the money that was not his own.  The moment he
+recognized our hero, he started on his legs, and offered him his hand.
+
+“Twm, I take shame to myself for the manner in which we met and parted
+last, but I was sober then! and in my grave and sober moods all the evil
+and bitterness of my heart come out; now I am rather mellow, there’s
+nothing but good in me.”  On being asked when he intended to return to
+Tregaron, Watt ground his teeth and exclaimed—“never!” adding, “it is not
+from fear of old Inco Evans, for I stayed there as long as I pleased, in
+spite of him, notwithstanding my promise to the contrary.  But for other
+reasons Tregaron has been made too hot for me.”
+
+The whole of the drinking party having gradually dropped off, Watt and
+our hero were left alone, when the latter with much feeling asked his old
+companion what was the meaning of the extraordinary change of manner, and
+of character, which he perceived in him.
+
+“I’ll tell thee, lad, what’s the meaning—it means that instead of the
+frank merry fellow I was in the dear gone days, I now am—call it what you
+like, but,”—cried Watt, laughing with wet eyes, “some of my dear friends
+who scorn flattery, would say a d—ed rascal, and I quite agree with them.
+But never mind—I belong to the strongest party after all.”
+
+Our hero here pressed him for something of a connected account of his
+adventures since he left Tregaron; on which Watt immediately assented,
+and ran them over in the following off-hand strain.
+
+“You remember, I dare say, Twm, that when you were only a child, that I
+was famed throughout the village as a wit and joker; in short, that I was
+the funny fellow of Tregaron, and my ambition was to retain this title.
+The comical tricks and humorous saying of Watt the mole-catcher, made
+mirth at every farmer’s heath, and their tables were spread with food for
+me whenever I called.  As I grew older, my pleasures and antipathies
+acquired a stronger cast; and there were but few in our adjoining
+parishes who were subject either to execration or ridicule, and dreaded
+my satire and exposure.
+
+“I formed attachments more than once among the daughters of the farmers,
+whom I had frequently entertained at the social evening hearth; but
+although my jests were relished, my overtures were rejected.  In short, I
+found that while mirth, innocence and harmless wit were my companions,
+parents generally disposed of their daughters to young men of characters
+directly opposite to mine—the stupidly grave, and thrifty, no matter how
+knavish.  My eyes were at length opened; and I found that the funny man,
+however amusing as an acquaintance, was coveted by none as a relative,
+but considered as a mere diverging vagabond at best.  Well, thought I,
+this will never do; but since gravity is the order of the day, I will be
+as grave and roguish as the most successful of my fellow-men.  Having
+come to this conclusion, I studied knavery, that is to say, thrifty
+rascality like a science.
+
+“As the first step I went immediately to my grandmother, who had often
+exhorted me to quit my sinful mirth and become serious, when I assured
+her of my conversion, in token of which I threw myself on my knees, and
+entreated her blessing.  She afterwards took me to a puritanic chapel,
+and in that assembly, where I had often pinned the skirts and gown-tails
+of the elect together, the poor old doting soul in the pride of her heart
+exhibited her convert to the gaze of the saints; but neglected to inform
+them that I had robbed her that same evening of half the contents of her
+pocket, as she lay asleep.  I was not long in discovering that a sedate
+aspect was a goodly mask for the most profitable villainy, and therefore
+determined to wear it for life.  Laughter, jest, and mirthful humour, and
+all those thriftless indications of the light and harmless heart, I
+abjured for ever.
+
+“I now gave a respite to the rats and moles, and set up as a butcher at
+Tregaron; and for one sheep that I bought of the farmers, I stole three,
+and slaughtered them either by moonlight on the hills, or by candle-light
+in my own cottage.  Although I daily bettered my condition, I considered
+this but a slow and creeping course of thrift; and therefore, as
+conscience no longer stood in my way, I meditated some bolder way of
+leaping into property at once.
+
+“You know that wrinkled old she-usurer of Tregaron, Rachel Ketch, who
+made money, Heaven knows how, and increased it by lending out to country
+people, at a higher rate than city usurers dared to ask.  In the
+bitterness of my heart, after losing all hope of a girl, whom I had long
+doated on, I went to the old Jezabel and sought her hand in marriage;
+aye, and would have taken her were she ten times as loathsome, in the
+anxious hope of her speedy death, and of succeeding to her golden hoards.
+I strove to recommend myself by assuring her I was the most finished
+scoundrel in existence; and that when gain was my object, theft, perjury,
+and even murder, however hideous to silly innocents, had no power to
+scare me from my pursuit.  This avowal of my noble qualifications I
+thought would have won her heart forever, but I was mistaken.  The
+keen-eyed hag, who was never seen to smile before, laughed outright at my
+proposal.
+
+“‘What! you want the old woman’s gold, master cut-throat of the muttons,
+do you? to slit her weasand also, and make away with her a month after
+marriage, like a troublesome old ewe;’ screamed she, as her spiteful
+black and broken snags grinned defiance, and her shrill tones broke out
+in laughs of mockery.  I never saw mirth so damnable before!  I felt
+myself the butt of her ridicule, humbled and degraded; and as my anger
+rose against the beldame, I resolved that since I could not wed her, to
+rob her would answer my purpose full as well.  Accident supplied an
+opportunity; the little boys who had formerly been my favourites, and who
+in their innocence failed to recognize my change of character, I found it
+difficult to drive from me.
+
+“A neighbour’s child one day asked me to lift him up to Rachel Ketch’s
+thatch, to take from it a wren’s nest, which he had long watched, and
+said he was sure that the young ones were on the eve of flying.  It was a
+winning little urchin that made the request, and I could not refuse him.
+The moment that I raised him to a standing position on my shoulders, he
+eagerly thrust his little hand into the thatch, and cried, ‘Dear, dear,
+how cold!’ when a snake which he had felt, that had destroyed the young
+birds, coiled itself round in the nest, darted out into his face, and the
+youngster shrieked and fainted in my arms.  I carried him home, where he
+soon died of the fright, for it appeared he was not stung.
+
+“Supposing there was a nest of these reptiles in the old rotten straw
+thatch, I poked it in all directions with a long hooked stick, and at
+last felt something attached to it.  As I drew it forward and examined
+it, to my great astonishment, I found it to be an old woollen stocking,
+closely stuffed with various golden coins.  Here was a discovery!  I felt
+myself a man for ever!  The old woman was at this time in
+Carmarthenshire, where she had gone to enforce her claims to certain
+debts among her former neighbours; and therefore, having no fear of
+detection, I pushed back the golden prize and went away, intending to
+return for it at night.  As I anxiously watched the hours and minutes
+pass away, reflecting on my newly-acquired wealth, a raging savage spirit
+of avarice so possessed me, that I determined to plunder old Rachel’s
+cottage of all the money I could find.
+
+“Night came, and with breathless haste I made an entrance through the
+thatch, on the side furthest from the street, and at midnight went away
+with a heavy booty, the greater part of which I buried beneath the floor
+of my own cottage, determined to seek an opportunity of quitting Tregaron
+for ever.  Fortune seemed to favour me beyond my hopes; Squire Graspacre
+having a numerous herd of fine pigs, engaged me to drive them to England,
+and sell them at a good price; I have done so, and pocketed the cash, not
+one farthing of which will the squire ever handle.  To relate all my
+rogueries since I became a grave man, would take too much of your time;
+so here ends my story.”
+
+Twm had heard Watt’s tale with sorrow and regret, and his spirits were
+fast sinking below zero, when a party of Cardiganshire lasses, who were
+making their annual journey to weed the gardens in the neighbourhood of
+London, passed opposite the tavern door where our worthies were sitting.
+With heart-touched delight, our hero recognized the comfortable and not
+unpicturesque costume of his native country; and his satisfaction was
+still increased when he found among the rural damsels, two Tregaron
+girls; one of whom, named Martha Gwyn, was a fast friend of Gwenny
+Cadwgan’s.  These poor girls expressed their gladness to see their
+long-lost “neighbour’s child,” as their homely but touching phrase went;
+but their recognition of Watt amounted to such terror and abhorrence that
+the rose of health and innocence faded on their cheeks, while their
+expanded eyes were fearfully fixed on his countenance, as if something
+unearthly met their stony stare.
+
+At length they found words to say that he was charged, not only with the
+robbery of Rachael Ketch’s cottage, but with murder; that the constables
+were out to search for him in all quarters, and that Squire Graspacre had
+sent out a man to supersede Watt in the care of his pigs.
+
+This unexpected news, and the evident horror evinced by the fair maidens
+for him, quite overcame Watt, and he showed unmistakable signs of the
+fear which had taken possession of him.  From Martha Gwyn, Twm learned
+that poor Gwenny’s affection for him was unchanged, but it was thought,
+for all that, said the candid girl, that she will be married to a
+Breconshire farmer’s son, who met her in Herefordshire, when she went a
+hop-picking there.
+
+“But if Gwenny has him,” said Martha, “it will be for the sake of making
+a home for her poor father.”
+
+Twm’s generous heart prompted him to give each maiden a piece of silver;
+and, having made them eat heartily of a good homely, substantial meal of
+cheese and bread and ale, he dismissed them on their journey.  Watt, in
+great agony of mind, exclaimed—
+
+“Oh God, where shall I fly! all my supposed security I find but a dream,
+and misery alone awaits me!  When I told you the tale of my enormities, I
+kept back the relation of one crime—a dreadful one—which, lost as I am, I
+felt averse to acknowledge, and too heart-smote with the consciousness of
+its atrocity, to turn to it my most secret thought—’twas a deed of blood,
+the crime of murder!
+
+“You remember a tall, thin, skeleton-like man, generally dressed in a
+suit of grey, who lived in a cottage on the mountain, in the
+neighbourhood of Tregaron, known by the nickname of Stalking Simon the
+Mooncalf, from his wandering by moon-light over the hills.  This man was
+known to be a spy, employed and paid by all the neighbouring farmers.
+His habits were, to sleep all day and to spend the night on the hill,
+watching to identify the hedge-pluckers and sheep-stealers.  Many poor
+persons who depended on their nightly excursions for fuel, while they
+deemed themselves unobserved of any human being, cutting down a tree, or
+drawing dry wood from an old hedge, would suddenly find themselves in the
+presence of Stalking Simon.  So instantaneous was his appearance, as to
+startle his victims with the idea of an apparition suddenly sprung up
+through the ground, as his approach was never seen till close upon them.
+
+“‘’Tis only me, neighbour,’ would be the hypocrite’s reply, ‘searching
+for my stray pony:’ but when two persons had been executed and three
+transported, on his evidence, the nature of his employment became known,
+and he was execrated by the whole country.
+
+“One moon-light night, as I was skinning a fine weather, which I had
+suspended and spread out on an old storm-beaten thorn, in a field
+adjoining the mountain, easy in mind, and so fearless of danger, that I
+whistled in a half hushed manner, as I followed my illicit occupation, a
+circumstance took place that wrought a violent change in the tone of my
+mind.  My thoughts ran on the whimsicality of the idea of selling this
+very mutton to the rightful owner, on the morrow, which was market-day,
+and laughing inwardly at the thought: all at once, Stalking Simon, with a
+single stride, moved from behind a mossy dwarf thorn, gray as his own
+suit, and stood before me.  My blood curdled with terror; but when the
+old stone-hearted wretch made the old Judas-like reply—
+
+“‘It is only me, searching for my pony,’ I knew my danger, and my terror
+changed to savage ferocity against the vile informer, who had ruined so
+many of my friends and neighbours.  I darted on him, grasped his collar
+with one hand, and with the other stabbed him to the heart.”
+
+Watt’s tale was now ended, and he seemed to be terribly agitated at the
+recollection of old Simon’s murder, and of the dreadful position into
+which his crime had brought him.
+
+“O God! what shall I do; where shall I fly?” he exclaimed, “I cannot
+return, for that road leads straight to the gallows, and in London I
+should be in hourly danger of being seen by somebody from the country.
+Since the perpetration of this deed of blood, I have not known an hour’s
+peace.  Heaven is my witness, I could be content with slavery, and smile
+beneath the man-driver’s whip—could strip myself and wander the world in
+nakedness, or herd with beasts, to regain my former peace and innocence!
+Oh, I could labour till my bones ached, and my exhausted body dropped to
+the earth with fatigue, to be once more free from the keen stings of a
+guilty conscience!”
+
+Twm was but a poor comforter; for his strict ideas of justice and
+retribution made him look upon Watt’s terrible agony as part of the
+punishment which he was called upon to pay for the awful crime of murder.
+
+After all, Watt’s distress was due quite as much to the fear of the
+gallows, which he now saw to be in close proximity to him, as to regret
+and repentance for his unwarrantable deed.
+
+Twm hardly recognized Watt as he sat there, his face blanched with fear,
+large drops of sweat rolling down his pale checks, with quivering lips
+and staring eyes, all showing the effect which his knowledge of the
+dreadful penalty which, from every prospect, speedily awaited him.
+
+A grey-coated man now approaching the tavern, brought dreadful
+associations to Watt’s terrified conscience, and, in the utmost
+trepidation, he darted out at the back door of the inn, and ran across
+the fields with the speed of a pursued murderer.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+
+TWM encounters Tom Dorbell.  The quick encounter of their wits, in which
+our hero has the advantage.  Twm rescues a high dignitary of the church.
+Twm’s triumphal entry into London in a bishop’s carriage.
+
+It was yet only four o’clock the following morning, when our hero was
+once more upon the road.  The stars were bright as at midnight, and the
+fine bracing frost, the glory of our northern clime, seemed to have
+purified his blood, and at the same time excited his fancy, so that both
+mind and body were sweetly attuned, and in the full glow of enjoyment.
+It might be thought the knowledge he had gained of Gwenny’s coquettings
+would have disheartened him; but his residence at Ystrad Feen, with his
+communion with the “lady of his vision,” had a little tinged his mind
+with something of romantic forebodings, that overshone the rusticity of
+earlier impressions.
+
+Elastic and lusty were his healthy limbs, as they bounded to the music of
+his heart, while he strode forward on the highway, exulting in the
+thought that the day had at length arrived on which his eyes were to be
+regaled with a sight of the far-famed city of London.
+
+In this happy spirit, he successively passed through Langley Broom and
+Colnbrook, anxiously hoping to reach Hounslow by mid-day.  Thus, light of
+heart, and full of brilliant anticipations, he continued to bound along
+the road.
+
+In this overweening fit of enthusiasm, he considered danger of every sort
+entirely out of the question; and this, too, if he knew the truth, while
+he wandered over the very hot-bed of robbers, both foot-pads and
+equestrians!  Deluded by such a course of cogitation, he began to jeer
+himself on his simplicity in keeping his pistols loaded, and considered
+whether he had best fire them off for amusement or not.
+
+Before he had formed his resolution, he was startled to hear a rude and
+heavy tread close at his heels.  Sudden as the thought, he turned round,
+and reeled some steps backward at the sight that presented itself!  In
+the advanced light of the morning, he beheld a villainous-looking
+powerful man, with a long black-beard, who might have passed for the
+high-priest of a Jewish synagogue.  He grasped a pistol that was levelled
+at his head, while his forefinger seemed actually pressing on the
+trigger.  By his ominous silence, and the fierce glare of his eye, Twm
+conceived that murder and not robbery was his object, till the ruffian
+roared, “Garnish or die!”
+
+“Wha—what is garnish?” stuttered Twm.
+
+“Money, and be d—d to you, or here goes!” replied the bearded man,
+without the slightest touch of the dialect of the people whose
+chin-trimmings he had assumed.  Our hero saw at once that this prepared
+ruffian was not to be trifled with, and that an instant’s delay might
+cost him his existence; therefore, he immediately produced from his bosom
+the packet entrusted to him by Sir George Devereaux.
+
+As the robber reached to snatch it, Twm’s wits were at work; assuming the
+dialect and foolery which he knew passed among the English for Welsh,
+“Here wass the money, look you now, but God tam! it wass not mine, but
+you shall haf it in the tifel’s name, only let master see I wass praave,
+and show fight for it, look you, and not gif it up like a craaven.”  With
+that he gave it into the fellow’s hand, saying, “Now, her begs, and
+solicits, and entreats you to be so kind ass to shoot some holes in hur
+cott lappets, just a pounce or two, look you, to prove hur hard fight and
+praavery.”
+
+“Aye, with the greatest pleasure in life!” cried the ruffian, laughing.
+Here Twm put off his coat in an instant, and threw it over a bush on the
+roadside.  When the robber fired at it, Twm leapt up, laughing with
+idiotic glee, crying, “Got pless hur for a praave marksman! that was a
+noble pounce, look you!  But now another pounce for tother lappet, and I
+wass have great praise for praavery!”
+
+So the foot-pad, apparently amused, fired again, and Twm leapt and
+laughed as before, exclaiming, “That was another nople pounce, look!”  He
+now ran to the bush, and snatching up his coat, put it on, seemingly as
+delighted with its perforations as a warrior of his vaunted scars.  “Now,
+one pounce more through my hat, look you, and all will be right!” added
+he, appealingly.
+
+“Why, as to that!” replied the robber, commencing to break open the
+parcel with great eagerness, “I have no more pounces, as you call them,
+to give you.”
+
+“But I have!” thundered our hero, holding a pistol in each hand to the
+robber’s breast, “return the packet and garnish!” continued he, “or I
+will pounce your rascal prains apout the road, look you—and that wass not
+goot for your health, look you, this fine morning.”
+
+The robber was no bad judge of circumstances, so immediately returned the
+packet.  “Garnish!” roared Twm, laughing, and holding the pistols nearer
+to his head; “I must have a new suit for the one you pounced for me, look
+you now!”  The robber handed him a heavy purse, with a couple of splendid
+watches, exclaiming “the devil’s luck to you with them!” on which Twm
+snatched off his false beard, as he laughingly said, “So much for a
+shallow knave whose length of beard is greater than his brains!”  No
+sooner was the beard removed, than Twm saw a deep scar on his left jaw,
+which cleared all doubt as to the identity of his antagonist.
+
+“Never was Tom Dorbell so humbugged before!” cried the baffled ruffian,
+as he tore his hair up by the roots in resentment against Fortune, that
+allowed such an inauspicious day to dawn on him.
+
+“What!  Tom Dorbell, the Gallant Glover?” queried Twm, with amazement.
+“The same,” growled the knight of the road, “till my luck turned; but now
+I am nobody.”
+
+“By that blushing witness on your jaw-bone, I perceive we once met
+before,” quoth Twm, jeeringly; “I think, on the other side of Reading.  I
+think, too, that, in token of friendship, we exchanged horses on that
+occasion, a Welsh pony for a gallant grey; and, I think, also, but
+perhaps I am mistaken, that I threw thee a long purse full of something
+_that uncle Timothy gave I to market for him at Reading_.”
+
+By the well mimicked simplicity of the latter words, the freebooter knew
+him at once, and laughing in his turn, vowing that he was now satisfied
+that he was outdone by no common ’un, “but a d—ned clever fellow, whoever
+thee bee’st”  Quick as the fox who hears the hounds and hunters long
+before the sound can reach indifferent ears, Tom Dorbell started—gave a
+hasty farewell, dashed through the hedge, over a field, and was soon out
+of sight.
+
+The Gallant Glover’s well-trained ears had heard the sound of horses’
+feet, and, taking all things into consideration, he had thought it best
+to decline any fresh interview with travelling humanity until he had
+recovered his serenity of mind, and was in a position to enforce any
+demands it might please him to make.
+
+As the approaching horse and rider neared him, Twm perceived the latter
+to be a wounded man, evidently so much disabled as to be scarcely capable
+of sitting on his horse.  With courteous but hurried accents, the
+stranger addressed our hero, lifting his hat as he spoke.
+
+“Your pardon, sir; if you are armed and inclined to act a brave and
+generous part, you have now an opportunity of doing so.”  Twm declared
+his readiness.  The stranger dismounted, with pain; “Take this horse,”
+cried he, “ride forward as fast as you can, and a quarter of a mile on
+you will find a couple of robbers rifling a coach.  Other assistance may
+arrive—on! on, sir! in heaven’s name! the party assaulted are of no
+common rank or estimation—profit and reputation will attend their
+liberator, and”—Twm was out of hearing before he could finish his
+sentence.
+
+Never did a young medical practitioner, called on an emergency to the
+bedside of a wealthy patient, whom he never thought to have the honour to
+approach, ride forth with a more excited imagination.  Fire flashed from
+the stones, ground to powder by his horse’s hoofs, and brief was the
+gallop that brought him in sight of the scene of villainy.
+
+The first object that struck his view were three or four horses, with
+their harness cut, one dead, and the others struggling on the road-side,
+while the centre was occupied by an un-horsed coach.  As he came nearer,
+he distinctly made out a man at each door of the vehicle, their feet
+resting on the steps, while their heads, and the greater portion of their
+bodies, were invisible, implying their activity in the work of
+depredation.  So intently devoted were they to this grand undertaking,
+that Twm’s approach seemed either unnoticed or mistaken, perhaps, for the
+wounded and unharmed gentleman’s, who had apprised him of this nefarious
+business.  With that happy forethought given by indulgent Providence to
+the self-dependent, and which forms one of the grand ingredients in the
+chalice of success, our hero turned his horse from the thundering road to
+the soundless green beside it, and silently gained upon his object.
+
+He arrived within twenty paces of the coach, when the green altogether
+ceased.  Dismounting with the alacrity of the occasion, silent as the
+mole, and swift as the greyhound, he made a rush forward, and, contrary
+to his expectation, he found himself, unchallenged or unnoticed, close to
+the coach.  He heard one of the amiable threatening instant death to his
+“Lordship’s reverence” unless his watch accompanied his purse into the
+hands of his “solicitors.”
+
+The opposite worthy was equally polite to a lady, after his own fashion,
+declaring that he had shot one of her sex lately for less provocation
+than she had shown, in withholding his fair demands, which was merely all
+her cash and jewels.
+
+Twm’s instantaneous action was to catch the nearest gentleman by the
+ankles.  With a powerful drag backwards, his feet were jerked off the
+coach-steps, and his full face literally _scraped_ an ungentle
+acquaintance with their iron edges, in its rapid descent to the frosty
+road, which was flooded with his blood.
+
+“Hollo! where are you, Bill?” enquired his active partner, thinking that
+he had merely lost his footing and falling accidentally.
+
+“Here!” cried Twm, firing at the word, when the robber fell backward from
+his perch, a lifeless corpse.  Before he could recover himself, our hero
+was grappled at the throat by the powerful hands of the first robber.  In
+the struggle, Twm managed to strike him twice with his discharged pistol
+on his blood-covered face; but the strong ruffian’s tenacious grip
+tightened notwithstanding; and our tale must have terminated here, with
+the death of its hero, but for an unexpected relief.
+
+The venerable and aged gentleman in the coach with his daughter, looking
+out on this deadly struggle with intense anxiety, snatched up a pistol
+which had been dropped in the carriage, seized a critical moment, and
+discharged it at the ear of the freebooter, whose head was perforated by
+the bullet, so that his grasp relaxed, and he fell backward, with his
+eyes glaring on his intended victim, and, with a ferocious oath in his
+mouth, he expired.
+
+The aged gentleman now called to the lady, who sprang from the coach,
+declaring he feared that the villain had succeeded in destroying their
+deliverer.  Well, indeed, might he have thought so, as Twm had sunk
+senseless on the road, the stagnant blood blackening in his face, and his
+eyes projecting from their sockets.
+
+On recovering a little, he found a young lady bathing his temples, and
+applying her scent-bottle, while the venerable old gentleman was busied
+in rubbing his neck to restore the circulation of the blood, which now
+happily took place.
+
+On his recovery, our hero learnt that the party whom he had succoured
+were the venerable Doctor Morgan, Bishop of St. Asaph, translator of the
+Scriptures into Welsh, and his only daughter; and that the wounded
+gentleman who sent Twm to their rescue, and who had now rejoined the
+party, was his lordship’s chaplain.
+
+This spirited clergyman had manfully opposed the depredators, when they
+first attacked the coach, but was sadly wounded by a bullet in the right
+arm.  In the midst of the congratulations, compliments, and explanations
+that followed, the spirit of the scene became suddenly changed to one
+that is patronized by the comic muse.
+
+Alarmed by the report of the bishop’s servants, who liberated themselves,
+having been tied to a tree by the thieves, the town of Hounslow evinced
+its heroism by sending forth its constabulary force, with the principal
+inn-keeper, who was also a farmer, and his farm-servants.
+
+A motley assemblage, in truth, it proved!  Some were on foot, and some on
+horse or ass-back, and one fellow was seen bestriding a large horned ox,
+that reluctantly yielded the speed required of him; while each and all
+were as whimsically armed as mounted.  The valiant joskin on the ox,
+flourished a flail, threatening annihilation to the rogues of the road,
+but lucklessly struck his own sconce by exercising the weapon.  The
+ostler and waiter, who was also the plough-boy, was mounted on a
+superannuated blind mare, and grasped a dung-fork with the consequence of
+a Neptune’s trident.  Among the others were seen bill-hooks, a scythe,
+three spades, an awfully long spit, and a ponderous wooden beetle.
+
+But the most amusing figure in the group was the old landlady and
+farm-wife, who had hastily mounted a donkey, and was riding it in a more
+masculine style than is usual to the fair sex, and thumping the restive
+brute with a vast wooden ladle, with which, for she led the van, she was
+prepared to battle with the highwaymen.  Finding them already conquered,
+her heroic spirit vented itself in discontent, that she had had no hand
+in the great event.
+
+“Dang un!” quoth the doughty dame, “I would ha baisted the chops o’un
+noicely!”
+
+“Shame on thee, dame! cover thy garters—whoy dusten roide like a christen
+woman,” cried her lord and master, who rode a high horse, and bore a huge
+cavalry sword.
+
+At this rebuke, the bishop’s daughter, his lordship, and the chaplain,
+laughed most heartily; while our hero, now pretty well recovered, joined
+in their glee.
+
+The fallen being consigned to the care of the landlord, and the coach
+somewhat righted, our hero was seated by the chaplain, and facing his
+lordship, who, with his amiable daughter, cordially acknowledged his
+services; which the worthy prelate declared were not to be requited with
+mere words.
+
+Twm, with truth, averred he was indebted for his life to the promptitude
+with which his lordship brought the ruffian down; and therefore the
+services he received, he said, far over-balanced any that he had
+rendered.  The modest position in which he had thus placed himself,
+worked well in his favour, and was fully estimated.  After having
+refreshed at Hounslow, and the chaplain’s arm dressed, depositions having
+been made, before the judicial authorities, of the attack and rescue, the
+party filled his lordship’s carnage again, and all were driven off
+towards London, well guarded by a rustic patrol sent from Hounslow.
+
+On the way, Twm explained that he was an agent of Sir George Devereaux’s
+to a Mr. Martyn’s in Holborn, and the bearer of a sum of money to him.
+The bishop seemed surprised, and declared that Mr. Martyn was his very
+good friend, and chosen by him to be an umpire on the following day, in a
+matter of great importance.
+
+“To-morrow, then,” added the bishop, “I shall see you at my friend’s
+house, and learn from you in what manner I can serve your interests.”
+
+Our hero bowed.
+
+“Your lordship will have your long deferred explanation with the fiery
+old baronet, Sir John Wynn, then, to-morrow?” asked the chaplain.
+
+“Yes,” replied the old bishop, “and heaven send me scatheless from a
+contest with that self-willed man!  In our interview I can only repeat
+what I have objected in my letters; and right well I know, he can only
+reiterate his former ill-grounded assertions.”
+
+Our hero was thunderstruck with these observations and became silent and
+thoughtful.
+
+Many were the villages and suburbs through which they passed, before the
+lady, breaking a silence which had endured some time, exclaimed, “The
+stones of London, at last, my Lord.”
+
+The worthy prelate directed his coachman to drive to Mr. Martyn’s; and,
+in a brief space, the carriage stopped at a large, lofty, and many gabled
+house, opposite to St. Andrew’s Church, in Holborn, where Twm was put
+down, and kindly received by Mr. Martyn, who helped him from the bishop’s
+coach.  His lordship observed that he was waited for by his brother, the
+Bishop of London, at Lambeth Palace; briefly referred to the business of
+the morrow, kindly shook hands with our hero, as did the young lady and
+the chaplain, each repeating their acknowledgments, and when the carriage
+drove off, Twm Shon Catty was ceremoniously ushered into the fine
+town-house of Mr. Martyn.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+
+TWM, at last, face to face with his paternal parent.  A little scene
+between a Baronet and a Bishop.  Twm’s particular star brightens.
+
+When it became known that Twm was the bearer of money from the baronet to
+Mr. Martyn, that he had rescued the bishop of St. Asaph and party, and
+that he was the hero of many other encounters with daring highwaymen, he
+became quite a lion in the house, was regarded as a fine specimen of a
+Welshman, and, in homely language, was “made much of.”
+
+Previous to the sound slumber that soon overcame his softly-pillow’d
+head, he pondered much on what he had heard of his reputed father, and
+felt his mind strongly impressed with the idea that the coming morrow
+teemed with events that would cast their shade or sunshine on his future
+days.
+
+In a dream that followed, he found himself in the presence of a
+passionate little gentleman who threatened him with terrible vengeance,
+unless he returned to the house of Morris Greeg, and gave his hand in
+marriage to the amiable daughter Shaan; and he thought he discovered in a
+murky recess, a parrot-nosed sprite, resembling Moses, who was grinning
+at his dilemma; when the lady of his former dream appeared suddenly, and
+smiled like an angel on the churlish old man, who forthwith smiled again,
+when Ianto Gwyn stood forth with his harp; on which he joined her in a
+Welsh jig.  Then came a long and dreamless sleep, which at length was
+broken by the numerous clocks of London, clamorously informing its
+citizens of the seventh hour of a new day.
+
+The letters borne by our hero to Mr. Martyn from Sir George Devereaux
+spoke most highly of his abilities and good qualities; and the trust
+reposed in him by the baronet was fully evinced by his being trusted with
+such an important pecuniary mission as that which had brought him to
+London.
+
+In addition, his introduction by the Bishop of St. Asaph, with the
+details of his acknowledged services to that venerable prelate, insured
+our hero the most marked consideration among his present friends, who
+vied with each other in their attentions to him.  The whole family
+expressed their hope that his stay would be long in town; and Mrs. Martyn
+insisted that he would make their house his home the while.
+
+After breakfast, Twm requested a private conversation with his host; when
+he explained, with straightforward candour, that, although unlooked-for
+circumstances had placed him in his present favourable position, he was,
+in reality, the most friendless of human beings; inasmuch that he was a
+natural son, unacknowledged by his father.
+
+Mr. Martyn kindly commiserated him; and our hero continued,—“I learnt
+yesterday evening that the Bishop of St. Asaph is to-day engaged to meet
+the man, who, of all others, I wish, yet dread to see—my father, Sir John
+Wynn of Gwydir.”
+
+“Sir John Wynn, your father!” exclaimed Mr. Martyn, in great
+astonishment.  “The same,” replied Twm, “yet he knows me not, nor have I
+a single document or a witness to prove it.  Yet did I hope, ardently
+hope, that some chance would turn up in my favour, to avail myself of the
+meeting of this day, between Sir John and the good bishop.”  Mr. Martyn
+said, with much concern, that, although their mutual friend, he saw great
+difficulties to oppose the introduction of such a matter.
+
+“This conference,” continued he, “cannot end amicably; one party is bent
+on urging a claim, while the other is resolved to reject it, and they
+will part bad friends at last; while I, their umpire, cannot prevent it.
+Sir John, ruffled by disappointment, will be in no cue to listen to any
+claims on his kindness, especially one of a nature so serious, more
+especially as the very existence of such a complaint, criminates his past
+conduct.”
+
+It struck our hero, that it would be well to make the benevolent bishop
+acquainted with his tale, and take his advice; with which suggestion, Mr.
+Martyn entirely agreed.
+
+“The Bishop,” observed the latter, “is an early man, generally, and will,
+no doubt, be the first to call this morning.”  While they were yet
+speaking, a servant announced Sir John Wynn’s carriage; and before Mr.
+Martyn could reply, or rise from his chair, Sir John Wynn entered.
+Martyn, rising with a bland countenance, met the Baronet’s advances with
+courtesy, if not cordiality.  Our hero having retired to the window, was
+unseen by Sir John, although Twm seized the opportunity of exercising all
+his powers of observation.
+
+“Well, I am the first in the field, I see,” observed the Baronet; “and
+now, my dear Mr. Martyn, let me again impress you with the sense of the
+wrongs I endured from this ungrateful Priest, this Bishop of my own
+making.”  “My dear Sir John,” replied Martyn, “he may arrive this
+instant, and then see how unseemly it will be to find you touching on the
+case before his arrival, and me your unbiassed umpire.”
+
+“Oh, Martyn, Martyn!” replied the Baronet, disregarding the delicacy of
+the appeal, “there is no grief like the grief of unkindness; he rewarded
+me with evil for good, to the great discomfort of my soul.  I may well
+say so, and justly complain to you of my Lord of St. Asaph, who, besides
+what his ancestors received of mine, is in many matters beholden to me.
+My mind is eased by opening to you his hard dealings with me, and my
+benefits towards him;—but who is that?”
+
+Our hero, feeling the awkwardness of his situation, had coughed gently,
+to inform the gentleman of his presence, and while making towards the
+door, was not ungracefully apologizing for his presence.  He stopped as
+Mr. Martyn took his hand, and replied, “A young countryman of yours, Sir
+John; or, I should say, a South Walian, whom I beg leave to introduce to
+you as my friend.”
+
+“Ha, ha!” cried Sir John, with his constitutional heartiness, “a young
+Welshman, a countryman of my own; your hand, Sir!” and the old gentleman
+shook it with a friendly feeling towards his country, if not the
+individual.  “I could have sworn,” continued Sir John, “he was a native
+of our glorious mountain land, by his frank open countenance, and healthy
+look, unlike your suet-pudding-faced cockneys here.”
+
+A servant answering the bell, Mr. Martyn desired that his son should show
+his guest to the picture gallery, on which our hero withdrew, with a tear
+in his eye which he found it impossible to suppress, when he felt the
+pressure of his father’s hand.
+
+The parlour door being closed, Martyn recounted briefly our hero’s
+adventures, in bringing him a considerable sum of money, from
+Carmarthenshire.  Sir John gave one of his most loud and hearty laughs,
+when he heard how he outwitted the notorious Tom Dorbell.  But when he
+related his part in the rescue of the Bishop, at the imminent peril of
+his life, the Baronet grew serious; but giving way to his spleen against
+the prelate, he replied, “I wish he had saved some one more worthy of his
+bravery!—but, Martyn, I must be better acquainted with this gallant.  A
+brave young Welshman like this, should be known, noted, and patronized!
+but perhaps he has abundance of friends without my thought of him.”
+
+“Not so, Sir John, he is a stranger in London, and almost friendless
+anywhere,—he is a natural son; but you may hear his history hereafter,”
+replied Mr. Martyn, almost pointedly, as he fixed his eyes on the
+Baronet.
+
+This was not unobserved by him, as he smiled, and said, “You mean
+something, Martyn; but let it pass for the present; so let us proceed
+with this matter of mine.”
+
+“In honour and truth, I can hear no more till his lordship arrives,” was
+the reply.
+
+“Well, why doesn’t he come, then,” said Sir John, with the unamiable
+frown that at times distinguished him; adding, rather superciliously, “is
+it fitting Mr. Martyn, that the head of the house of Gwydir should be
+waiting the leisure of this parson lord,—I shall drive out a little, and
+let him wait for me in his turn.”
+
+Sir John took a quick turn towards the door, but, stopping suddenly, said
+he would join the young men in the picture gallery, where, accompanied by
+Mr. Martyn, he went.  With the younger Martyn, the Baronet was well
+enough acquainted; and now his aim was to chat with our hero.
+
+Twm became a little agitated as he found himself in close contact with
+his father, and a something like an equality in society, since they were
+both friends in the same family.  True, this was really owing to the
+accident of circumstances, but Twm was there fairly upon his own merits,
+and not by imposition.  Sir John asked him particulars concerning his
+adventures on the highway, and Twm, throwing all his natural wit into the
+account, made a favourable impression on his father.
+
+The Martyns, father and son, being summoned down stairs, the stately
+baronet was left alone with his humble and unknown son.  Twm looked
+towards the walls, with some feelings of awkwardness.  The old-fashioned
+gallery was hung with numerous paintings: portraits by Holbein and
+Vandyke, with interesting and humorous pieces by foreign masters.  Sir
+John pointed out and warmly expatiated on the merits and peculiarities of
+the various schools, fixing his eyes more on our hero’s face than on the
+paintings, to measure the extent of his taste and intellect by the effect
+they might produce on him; for the Baronet was quite an enthusiast in the
+fine arts, and would be quick in discovering whether or not he was
+throwing away his observations on a blockhead.  He was not slow in
+observing the evidence of mind in his auditor, from the deep interest
+which he took in his details; but he especially remarked that his fancy
+was principally taken by the drolleries and homeliness of the Dutch and
+Flemish pictures, in one of which Twm fancied he saw a resemblance to
+Carmarthen Jack, his aunt Juggy, of hump-backed peculiarity, and even a
+counterpart to the starveling Moses.  Apologizing for the rusticity of
+his taste, he owned his admiration of the boors and the lowly damsels, as
+they reminded him of some such, the familiars of his childhood in Wales.
+
+“And where might that be passed?” enquired the Baronet, smilingly.
+
+“In the humble town of Tregaron, in Cardiganshire,” replied Twm.
+
+“Who are the principal gentry in that neighbourhood?” enquired the
+Baronet.  When Twm mentioned Squire Graspacre and his late lady, Sir John
+looked him hard in the face; then, silently fixing his eyes on the floor,
+he recollected a certain passage in his life, that prevented him visiting
+Graspacre-Hall, from the dread he entertained of the censures and
+lectures of his decorous and straight-laced sister, Mrs. Graspacre.
+
+“Did you know the lady you mentioned, Mrs. Graspacre?” enquired the
+baronet.  “Very well, Sir John,” was Twm’s reply, “I have great reason,
+for, to that lady’s benevolence I am indebted for the little education I
+have received.”
+
+Now, Sir John knew very well that his sister was anything but benevolent,
+so that by this assertion our hero lost a little in his opinion, and he
+suspected him of a little cant.
+
+“If she sent you to school, she had some motive; what was it?”  “I am a
+natural son, Sir John, which, perhaps Mr. Martyn informed you of: the
+lady sent me to school, because one of her great relations was said to be
+my father,” replied Twm, fixing his eyes on the baronet’s face, which he
+had the satisfaction of seeing quail beneath his riveting gaze.
+
+Recovering himself, however, he cast a severe look on our hero, and, in a
+harsh tone and manner, said, “Now must I doubt all your assertions, as
+one falsehood is apparent to me.  The lady you named was my sister, and
+certain it is that no relation of hers could be your father.”
+
+Here the lion in our hero’s heart was roused, and he indignantly repelled
+the charge of falsehood, saying that he expected neither truth nor honour
+from his father, since he was known to him.
+
+“And what may be your father’s name then?” asked the Baronet, biting his
+lip, to prevent the laughter that seemed ready to burst out.  “Sir John
+Wynn of Gwydir!” exclaimed Twm in a dare-devil strain, that made the
+Baronet start at his vehemence.  Admiring the fire that flashed in his
+eyes, his honest, fearless, and energetic behaviour, Sir John opened his
+arms, and received him in his embrace!
+
+When Mr. Martyn came to announce the arrival of the bishop, he found our
+hero sobbing on his father’s neck, who soothed him by promises, that the
+neglect of years should now be remedied, and that he was glad and proud
+of the original, which he found in Mr. Martyn’s picture gallery.
+
+The interview had ended very differently to what Twm and Mr. Martyn had
+expected, and our hero felt grateful to a protecting Providence which had
+so ordered events.
+
+Sir John and Mr. Martyn descended, and our hero was left alone in the
+picture gallery.  They joined the worthy Bishop at the table in the
+old-fashioned saloon, which, being overlooked from the rails of the
+gallery, Twm saw and heard all that passed, by the particular invitation
+of his worthy host.
+
+The Bishop commenced addressing Mr. Martyn:—
+
+“We are here met to-day, Mr. Martyn,” said he, “to submit to your
+arbitration, a matter in dispute between Sir John and myself.  Sir John
+has expressed himself to you with reference to me, in an unfriendly
+manner, yet I have every confidence in your impartial judgment.”  Here
+Mr. Martyn bowed, and Sir John, coughing to keep down his choler, of
+which he had as good a share as ever fell to the lot of a Cambro Briton,
+flourished his laced cambric handkerchief about his face, as he added,
+“His lordship cannot be more glad of an unbiassed umpire than I am
+myself, Mr. Martyn.”
+
+The Bishop continued:—“Sir John’s request to me, was, that I would
+confirm a lease for three lives, upon the rectory of Llanrwst, at the
+yearly rent of fifty pounds; the same being worth one hundred and forty
+pounds, and is of my patronage.  This request much perplexed my mind, for
+it grieved me to deny Sir John anything, yet my conscience cried aloud
+against such a grant, so prejudicial to the church itself, and especially
+to the next incumbent, whom I should have grievously wronged by beggaring
+the See, and injuring the living for future Clergymen.”
+
+Here the Bishop resumed his seat, and the Baronet with great assumption
+of stateliness, rose and spoke in a slow and acrimonious strain.
+
+“The sower went out to sow; and some of his seed fell in stony ground,
+where it withered, because it took not root; the seed was good, but the
+land nought.  I may justly say so by you, my lord.  I have in all things
+showed myself a friend, my lord; inasmuch that if I had not pointed the
+way with my finger, whereof I have yet good testimony, your lordship
+would have been still humble vicar of Llaurhaiader.”
+
+The Bishop, without rising, mildly replied, “You have done me much
+kindness, Sir John, but no dishonest kindness; nor do I mean to deny you
+any of your fair requests.”
+
+“I am really much obliged to your lordship, for your present good
+opinion,” replied the Baronet, with sneering courtesy, “more particularly
+that you express your opinion before Mr. Martyn.  But the words you have
+just uttered agree only indifferently with others you have at various
+times used in reference to me.”
+
+“Good Sir John,” replied the Bishop, “you do wrong me very much to say
+so.”
+
+Sir John replied with much warmth, “I have good proof, my lord, that you
+protested to your late servant, Thomas Vaughan, that all the good I ever
+did you, when vicar of Llaurhaiader, was to go to Llandda Church, and
+with my family add so much to your scanty congregation there; and,
+forsooth! that I had once on a time sent you a fat ox, on your
+installation in the See of Asaph; truly, my lord, this is to strain at a
+gnat, and swallow a camel.”
+
+The good Bishop’s reply was mild and conciliating.  “Good Sir John, you
+wrong yourself as much as me, to believe such idle sayings.  If this were
+not a case of conscience, you should not need to ask me twice;
+remembering ancient kindness, your request is of great force to me.”
+
+“You plead conscience when you should give, and make no pains to receive
+courtesy of your friends,” replied Sir John.  Then, changing from the
+sarcastic tone in which this was uttered to one of vehemence, he
+proceeded.  “But I appeal to Him who searches the consciences of all men,
+whether you have used me well; and whether conscience, which you have
+ever in your mouth, be the sole hindrance of my request.  I will avow and
+justify it before the greatest divines in England, that has always been
+the usage, now is, and ever will be, that a man may with a safe
+conscience be a farmer of a living, paying in effect for the same as much
+as it is worth.  I stand on your word, my lord of St. Asaph, your sacred
+word of promise, the confirmation of my lease and the advowson.”
+
+Temperate and patient still was the Prelate’s reply.  “I made no such
+promise; my words were ‘that I would be very loath to confirm any lease
+upon any presentative benefice; that I would do as much, and more for
+you, than for any other; that if I would confirm any lease, yours would
+be the first.’  In conclusion, I never did confirm any, nor do I mean so
+to do; therefore is such conditional promise void, and my honour and word
+sufficiently vindicated.”
+
+The Baronet tenaciously urged,—“It is well known that your Lordship has
+favoured others in such a matter.”
+
+“Not so,” replied the Bishop, rather more impatiently; “you well know
+there is a difference between granting a lease of our own, and confirming
+the lease of another; between a presentative benefice and an
+impropriation; between a public usage and a private one: still you refuse
+to note these distinctions, and exclaim that I have confirmed the lease,
+and will not, according to my promise, confirm yours.”
+
+The last remark of the Bishop’s appeared to be unanswerable, and Sir John
+seemed to think so too, as, instead of replying to the argument directly,
+he began to beg the question, and give way to the overbearing petulance
+of a spoiled child of fortune.
+
+“It is not,” replied he, “the loss of the thing that I regard a dobkin,
+but your unkind dealing; it shall lessen me hereafter to expect no sweet
+fruit from so sour a stock.  But my lord of St. Asaph, you know my stand
+in the world.  I never have been a man to make requests and be denied;
+therefore having never failed before in my requests, my grief is the
+greater.”
+
+“Pray Heaven, Sir John, that your grief of missing be not like Ahab’s
+grief for Naboth’s vineyard,” was the Bishop’s pithy and characteristic
+reply.
+
+Here Sir John sprang to his feet, exclaiming almost fiercely, “My lord,
+my lord, I am not of a nature to put up with wrongs; for as I have
+studied for your good, and wrought the same, so be assured of me as
+bitter an enemy as ever I was a steadfast friend!”
+
+“A fiery little father have I found to-day,” thought Twm, as he noticed
+the vehemence of the baronet.
+
+“I am ashamed of you,” continued he, “almost forgetting the courtesy of a
+gentleman, and the firm, but mild and patriachal character of the Bishop.
+I am ashamed for you, that you have hereby given cause to your enemies
+and mine to descant on the ingrate disposition.  You have made use of
+gentlemen when they serve you, and afterwards discard them, on the
+pretence of conscience, forsooth!  I laboured in your cause, my lord, as
+if it had been to save the life of one of my children.”
+
+These hard uncompromising words did not exasperate the venerable prelate,
+whose command of temper under trying circumstances, and unjust
+aspersions, was worthy of his reputation.  He rose with dignified
+demeanour, and said, “Amongst other kindnesses, Sir John you gave good
+testimony of me; I pray you let me continue worthy of it; so many chips
+have been already hewed from the church, that it is ready to fall; you
+ought rather to help than to despoil it.  Thus it stands with us, Sir
+John, which I pray you Mr. Martyn note.  You ask of me certain leases—you
+ask me to injure my successor in my diocese, to benefit you! you urge the
+favours I have received at your hands, and claim from me rewards that are
+not mine to give.  Were I to grant your desires I should prove myself a
+dishonest, unconscionable, irreligious man, a sacrilegious robber of the
+church, a perfidious spoiler of my diocese, and an unnatural foe to
+preachers and scholars.  I do verily think it were better to rob on the
+highway than to do the thing you request.  However hard you may take my
+denial, be it known to you, if the father and mother whom I loved and
+honoured were alive and made such requests, I should have the grace to
+say nay.”
+
+The Bishop took his seat, and began to repeat his regrets, when the
+Baronet started from the table, and in a furious mood began to pace the
+saloon to and fro; but stopping suddenly he exclaimed, “Your verbal love
+I esteem as nothing!  I have ten sons—(eleven interrupted the Bishop,
+with quite jocoseness;) I say I have ten sons,” repeated the Baronet; and
+“if ever they forget this,”—“Eleven sons and the last as good as the
+best;” interrupted the Bishop again.  “But where is this gallant
+deliverer?”
+
+Mr. Martyn beckoned our hero down, while Sir John suddenly resumed his
+seat at the table.  On the good Prelate’s pressing Twm to name in what
+manner he could reward his services, he at last replied, “By yielding to
+Sir John’s request as far as your Lordship sees right.”
+
+The whole party stared with amazement at the unexpected reply.  The
+Baronet was softened to tears, and but for compromising his dignity,
+would have embraced him before them all.  The Bishop smiled, and shaking
+his hand very cordially replied, “The request is as graceful in you to
+make as in me, to deny; that question is disposed of.  In a few days I
+will call again, when you may decide in what I can be of service to you.”
+
+He then took a courteous leave of Mr. Martyn and of our hero, with a
+ceremonious bow to Sir John, and departed.  Right glad was Martyn to be
+relieved, by the temper of the Baronet, from the unpleasant office of an
+arbitrator of their differences.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+
+TWM meets one of his best friends from Wales.  Death of Sir George
+Devereaux.  Hopes and fears.  Interruption of happy hours.  Lady
+Devereaux’s forced return to Wales.  Twm follows her.
+
+Our hero was now living amongst the _elite_ of the metropolis, and his
+daily communion with men of taste, feeling, and education, produced a
+quick and remarkable change for the better in his manners and personal
+appearance.  His new-found father assisted him largely in his finances,
+and a handsome pecuniary present from the worthy bishop, accompanied with
+a complimentary letter, which was doubly gratifying to him, as emanating
+from so respectable a source.
+
+When he had been eight months in London, he was sitting alone one morning
+in Mr. Martyn’s picture gallery, intently pondering on his future plans
+of life, considering whether to return to his friends at Ystrad Feen, or
+seek employment in town.  His reverie was disturbed by a servant’s
+informing him that a gentleman was waiting to see him.
+
+On his descent to the parlour, great and gratifying was his surprise to
+meet there his old friend Rhys.  The cordiality of their mutual greetings
+but faintly echoed the ardour of their feelings.  News from the country
+was our hero’s first inquiry, and Rhys assured him he had an abundance to
+relate.  Gwenny Cadwgan is married, and living with her husband and
+father on a fine farm at Kevencoer-Cummer, near Merthyr.  Walt the
+mole-catcher is transported, having narrowly escaped the gallows.  Your
+mother and step-father are well.  “So much for Tregaron news,” said Rhys;
+“and now for Ystrad Feen and Llandovery.  A singular coincidence,—in the
+same week we lost the venerable Vicar Prichard, and your friend Sir
+George Devereaux.”
+
+“The last is a climax indeed to your budget; but is it really a fact that
+Sir George is no more?” enquired Twm, looking hard in his friend’s face.
+
+“Fact as deeth! as the Scotchman says,” replied Rhys; “He threw his life
+away in one of his foolish fox-hunting leaps.”
+
+“Well, well!  I am truly sorry,” exclaimed Twm, “for he was a kind
+being.”  “He was so; but tell me truly,” said Rhys, looking archly in his
+friend’s eyes, “is it for death, or his lady’s being left so young a
+widow, that your sorrow is most intense?”  Twm looked grave, but finally
+smiled, as Rhys, with great archness, added, “It somewhat strikes me that
+this is a sorrow which you will soon get over; and, if I mistake not, so
+will the widow too.”
+
+Here Twm took his hand, and said, “You look deeper into the hearts of men
+than I thought; but listen to a mystery and expound the dream that has so
+long haunted me.”
+
+Here he related the particulars of the “glorious vision” in the hay-loft
+of Morris Greeg, and of its repetition since he came to London; “and
+strange to say,” added he, “it was in widow’s weeds the fair spirit each
+time appeared.  What can be the meaning or end of such dreams?”  “I’ll
+tell thee,” answered Rhys, leaning on his shoulder and looking in his
+face; “Dreams long nursed, especially waking dreams, in time become
+realities—so will yours; you will marry this young widow, Twm!”
+
+“Me! impossible!” cried Twm, blushing from the chin to the forehead.
+“Oh, very well, I’ll court her myself, then!” cried Rhys; on which they
+both burst into a most hearty laugh.
+
+Our hero was growing silent and meditative, when Rhys, striking him a
+hearty smack on the shoulder, asked, “What would you say now, if the fair
+widow was herself in town at this moment?”
+
+“What!” cried Twm, starting up, with an expression of interest that
+nothing could repress.  Rhys in a most serious strain, assured him that
+her father, being chosen a knight of the shire for the ancient county of
+Brecon, was now in town with his widowed daughter.  That he had ridden to
+town in their company, by which he had availed himself of a safe escort
+from the dangers of the road.  Rhys added, that he had frequently
+conversed with the Lady Devereaux, both at home and on the journey, and
+that he, Master Thomas Jones, had always been the subject of her
+conversation and eulogy.
+
+Very shortly after this conversation, in fact as shortly after as
+sufficed to take Twm and his friend Rhys to the town-house of Sir John
+Price, which was situated in Derby-street, Westminster, our hero was
+shaking hands and exchanging hearty good-wishes and congratulations with
+the “lady of his dream.”  His recollection of his dearly-cherished vision
+was now stronger than ever, in consequence of the widows’ cap which she
+had lately assumed.
+
+On the part of Sir John, our hero’s reception was more ceremonious than
+friendly, but the feeling evinced in his daughter’s eyes, and the
+speaking pressure of her hand, made ample amends for the baronet’s
+stately coldness.
+
+Having dined together, Sir John retired early on a more ceremonial visit,
+and the three friends were left together; for Lady Devereaux held Rhys in
+great esteem for his high professional character, and unassuming manners;
+and, in truth, we must add, more than all, for the friendship evinced by
+him for our hero, and the friendly way in which he spoke of him in his
+absence.  It was with surprise and regret they heard the announcement of
+Rhys’ intention (being now superceded in his curacy by the new
+incumbent,) of quitting his country and entering a foreign university, to
+seek in a far land that consideration and advancement not attainable in
+his own.
+
+Lady Devereaux being only in the fifth month of her widowhood, the
+conversation, although kindly in the extreme, was of a melancholy cast.
+Rhys having to embark in the morning, urged the necessity of retiring
+early, and took his final leave of the fair widow, who expressed the
+kindest wishes for his prosperity and success in all undertakings.
+
+Accompanying his friend, Twm bade her adieu for the evening, and gained
+her leave to repeat his visit on the morrow.  The permission to repeat
+his visits was eagerly seized by Twm, and not once a day only, but many
+times did he trouble Sir John’s stately domestic to open the door to him.
+That he was welcome by the fair enchantress, he could not doubt, and
+pleasant were the mid-day walks in the Park or Mall, their indoor
+conferences, and the evening parties at which they shone as twin-stars;
+but trebly pleasant to our hero was the hour in which he ventured to
+break to her his tender feelings and his darling hopes.
+
+With the utmost candour, and without the least reservation, he told the
+humbleness of his origin, the blemish in his birth, his wretched
+bringing-up, and withal, the mysterious matter of his glorious vision.
+The assertion that the moment he beheld her, on rescuing her from the
+robber, he identified her face and figure with the lady of his dream,
+called forth her deepest blushes, and she audibly whispered “Incredible!”
+His repeated assertions, passionately urged, of the truth of his
+assertion, silenced and perhaps convinced her.
+
+Certain it is that, like the gentle Desdemona, “She gave him for his
+pains a world of sighs;” and time evinced to him that the lady had a tale
+to tell also, which proved that although highly born, and affluent as she
+was, her lot had not been entire sunshine.
+
+“I am yet hardly twenty-one,” replied she, “although I have been twice
+married.  To neither of these husbands have I been able to give my entire
+heart.  My first union was at my father’s _command_, when solicitations
+proved useless, to his contemporary and old schoolfellow, who was
+old-fashioned enough to restore the long-exploded _abs_ in his name,
+vaunting himself as Thomas ab Rhys ab Thomas Gock, of Ystrad Feen; who
+could carry on the antique and rusty chain of _abs_, without a broken
+link, through several centuries up to the patriarch of his tribe, Elystan
+Glodrydd.
+
+“Poor old gentleman!  I fed him with a pap-spoon, in his large gothic
+arm-chair, when a stroke of paralysis had withered his right hand; but in
+six months after our marriage (marriage!) he fell a victim to his ruling
+passion, which I will not name to his disparagement, and died of
+apoplexy.  My year’s mourning for him had barely expired, when my mother
+claimed her right of choosing my next husband; and, in the course of
+time, poor Sir George (peace to the memory of a harmless man!) became my
+second husband.  Had I lived to these days unwedded,” said she, with a
+look and tone of resolute firmness, almost foreign to her usual
+gentleness, “it is more than probable that I should not have become the
+victim of either of my parents’ whims.”
+
+“My poor mother has been long deceased; but well I know my father’s
+future aim respecting me—to have me united to some other choice of his
+own; but no! the sapling may bend to the storm, but, springing up again,
+who shall re-bend the youthful oak that time matures?  If my good father
+inclines to play the tyrant with me, he will find some difference between
+the woman and the child.”  Applauding her resolution, Twm, kissed her
+hand with rapture; and, she added in a tone of gaiety, “if ever I change
+my state, I shall become the votary of a different shrine to any that I
+have yet bowed to;”
+
+    “The little god shall shoot the porch,
+    Ere faithful Hymen waves his torch.”
+
+With that expressive couplet, she rose, and our hero, with enlarged
+hopes, took a tender, but restrained and respectful leave of her.
+
+If Twm was heartily welcomed by Lady Devereaux, he was no less heartily
+disliked by her father.  Sir John had learnt that he was a natural son of
+Sir John Wynn of Gwydir’s, and no earthly merit could compensate, in his
+estimation, the bar of bastardy in his escutcheon.  He sternly desired
+his daughter to break off all intercourse with our hero, as he had
+discovered, he said, the baseness of his origin.  Although Twm appeared
+no more in his house, he had the mortification to learn that at the play,
+the ball, and in the Park and Mall, their meetings had been frequent.  In
+a bitter spirit of resentment against his daughter, without the least
+previous warning, he one morning compelled her roughly to enter a coach
+at the door, which soon drove off, taking her she knew not whither.
+
+Our hero’s surmises became numerous and agonizing, when for three long
+weeks he had neither seen nor heard from his charmer, although he had not
+missed one opportunity of encountering her at any of their accustomed
+places of meeting, and his days became burdensome, and his nights
+sleepless.  Just as he was sinking into a state of despondency, he one
+evening received a note in the hand of Lady Devereaux, informing him of
+her forcible conveyance to, and safe arrival at Ystrad Feen.  His father
+having long since returned to North Wales, he took an affectionate but
+hasty leave of the hospitable family of the Martyns, and commenced his
+journey to his native principality.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+
+TWM in Wales again.  His meeting with the “lady of his dream.”  “The
+course of true love never did run smooth,” which Twm ruefully
+acknowledges.
+
+The dangers of the road had been somewhat reduced by the vigorous
+prosecution of highwaymen and robbers, many of whom had been lately
+convicted and executed.  Travellers could pursue their way in comparative
+security, so Twm encountered no “hair-breadth escapes by flood or field”
+and his journey home, consequently added no exciting incident to swell
+his gallant reputation.  At Reading, he heard of the late execution there
+of his former antagonist Tom Dorbell.
+
+Our hero’s impatience towards the close of his journey was so great that
+he rode all night, that he might reach Ystrad Feen a day earlier.  How
+would the “lady of his dream” receive him?  With what delight would he
+not gaze upon her dear face again!  When Twm, mounted on a goodly steed,
+dashed into the court-yard, Lady Devereaux, who witnessed his arrival
+sprang from her seat and hurried to meet him as he reached the entrance
+hall.  We fear, for the honour of prudery, that her resistance was not
+very great.
+
+When our gallant hero caught her in his arms, and impressed a certain
+number of kisses somewhere about the region of the cheeks and lips, both
+of which looked many degrees redder than when, a few minutes before, she
+complained to Miss Meredith of his strange delay in town.
+
+“Kiss her also, so that she can’t tell tales of me!” said the gay young
+widow; so Twm, somewhat less ardently, kissed Miss Meredith, and seemed
+to look about to see if there were any more business of that kind on
+hand.
+
+“My dear Mr. Jones, you are welcome, most welcome, back to Wales, and
+trebly welcome to me, and the lonely walls of Ystrad Feen,” were the kind
+Lady Joan’s first words.  Neither of the ladies was slow in discovering
+the change for the better which had taken place in his address, his
+former diffidence and indecision of manner being supplanted by easy
+confidence, and high animal spirits.
+
+Twm was now, indeed, happy with the “lady of his dream;” for he was on
+much more intimate terms with her than he had, at one time, ever hoped to
+be.  She told him that when her father so suddenly forced her into the
+coach, to be hurried towards the country, she was joined by two lofty
+ladies, his maiden sisters, who literally became her jailors in the
+travelling vehicle.  Our hero remembered them well, from seeing them at
+cards one evening at their brother’s; and he did not fail to describe
+them to young Martyn, as ugly as heartless pride, ill-temper, long
+saturnine noses, yellow ribbons and slippers, could make them.
+
+The ancient gentlewomen had chosen the state of ceaseless virginity, they
+said, to keep up the dignity of the family, which, in their persons, they
+proudly added, should never be lowered by an unworthy alliance.  During
+their homeward journey, they entertained their victim with ingenious
+reproaches and disparaging observations respecting “the strange young man
+who had obtruded himself into their brother’s house—the unknown Mr.
+Jones.”
+
+“Why, the creature has no family,” observed the long-waisted Miss Felina
+Tomtabby Price.  “Then,” replied our heroine, “he is never likely to be
+pestered with the claims of poor relations, nor the persecution of rich
+ones.”  “No, he is of no stock,” said Miss Euphemia Polparrot Price,
+following up her sister’s remark; “the creature was only born yesterday.”
+“Then he is singularly young and harmless,” answered the lady of Ystrad
+Feen.  “And, above all blemishes, he is base-born,” added Miss Felina
+Tomtabby Price.  “That is less his fault than his misfortune, as the
+Irishman said who warranted his blind mare free from faults,” answered
+their merry niece.
+
+The young lady was evidently more than a match for the two elder ones,
+and so these ancient gentlewomen kept a dignified silence, or spoke only
+to each other, during the rest of the journey; which terminated at length
+by their seeing her to Ystrad Feen, and betaking themselves to the Priory
+House at Brecon.
+
+In the course of many private conversations between Miss Meredith and the
+young widow, the subject of which discourses, strange to say, being
+invariably Twm himself; she declared herself delighted with him, and Twm,
+it was easy to see, returned the compliment with interest.  At her
+invitation, he became an inmate of the house, until, as she said, he
+could put himself to rights.  The golden chain and sum of money left to
+her care, were delivered up to him with considerable additions, in return
+for his services by a journey to London and from her own private bounty.
+
+With the evident encouragement vouchsafed to him by the lady of Ystrad
+Feen, Twm was soon madly and irrecoverably lost in his warm affection for
+her, and there is nothing to surprise any reasonable being when he is
+told that Twm, with energetic enthusiasm, protested that he admired—nay,
+loved her!  If the lady chided him, it was with such winning gentleness
+that it seemed to say, “Pray, do so again.”  If she turned aside her head
+to conceal her blushes, smiles ever accompanied them, in coming and
+retreating; or if she frowned, it was so equivocally, that, for the life
+of him, our hero could not help considering each transient bend of the
+brow as so many invitations to kiss them away, which the gallant Twm
+never failed to accept and obey.
+
+These golden days were too rich in delight to last long.  As the
+_good-natured and most virtuous world_ discovered that they were very
+happy, and pleased with each other, it breathed forth its malignant
+spirit, and doubted whether they had a legitimate right to be so; of
+course, deciding negatively, and consequently awarding to the lovers the
+pains and penalties of persecution and mutual banishment.
+
+When they had become for some time, undivided companions, and walked,
+rode, danced at Brecon balls, and resided under the same roof together,
+although under the strict guidance of moral propriety, as daily witnessed
+by the lady’s female friend; it will be no wonder that scandal at last
+became busy with the lady’s fame.  An additional incentive for raising
+these evil reports was that she had rejected the attentions of several of
+the rural noblesse, who had endeavoured to recommend themselves to her
+good graces.
+
+All at once like the inmates of a hornet’s nest, the various members of
+her family, the proud Prices of Brecon, buzzed about her ears and stung
+her with their reproaches.  She bore all with determined patience, until
+assured that her fame had been vilified, and that she had been described
+as living a life of profligacy and dishonour.  Conscious of rectitude,
+however indiscreet she might have been, the haughtiness of her spirit now
+rose, as she indignantly repelled the infamous charges; in the end,
+requested her _dear friends and relations_ to dismiss their tender fears
+for her reputation, and keep to their own homes for the future, or at
+least not to trouble hers.
+
+Although she had treated her officious friends with the contumely they
+deserved, she could not afford to set at nought, altogether, the opinions
+of the little world in which she lived; and, tired, irritated, and vexed,
+by hearing the same tale from day to day, she at last consented to send
+away her deliverer and friend, as she called him, from the protection of
+her roof.  Our hero, however, could never be brought to distinguish
+between her real kind feelings towards him, and the constrained
+appearance which her altered conduct made in his sight.
+
+Free as the air, as he felt himself, he could not understand why a great
+and wealthy lady was not equally unshackled and independent.
+Explanations and excuses were entirely thrown away upon him, as he could
+not, or would not, understand aught so opposed to his happiness and
+pre-conceived notions.
+
+When, at length, it was made known to him that the separation was
+inevitable, and the season of it arrived, he received the astounding
+intelligence like a severe blow of fortune, that struck him at once both
+sorrowful and meditative.  Pride and resentment, from a supposed sense of
+injury at last supplanted every other feeling; and, starting up with a
+frenzied effort, he ordered his horse to be got ready, and gave
+directions for his things to be forwarded to Llandovery; after which, he
+wrote a note, and sent it to the lady’s room requesting a momentary
+interview with her alone, before he took his departure.
+
+She came down with a slow, languid step, and met him in the parlour.  Her
+eyes were red with weeping; and, before she uttered a syllable, our
+hero’s much-altered looks affected her so much, that she burst out into a
+heavy fit of sobbing.  “Do not think hardly—do not feel unkindly towards
+me, Jones,” were her first words!  “I entreat you to give me the credit
+due to my sincerity, when I assure you that the sacrifice I made on
+consenting to part with you, was—yes! although I have buried two husbands
+who loved me tenderly, it was the heaviest of my life.”
+
+Twm replied in a tone and manner that evinced both his pride and his
+suffering; “I have but few words, madame, and they shall not long intrude
+upon your leisure.  I came here a stranger, and had some trifling claims,
+perhaps, on your attention.  Those claims have been more than
+satisfied—noble has been your remuneration of my humble services, your
+beneficence generous and princely.
+
+“A change took place in your destiny; you honoured me beyond my merits,
+and bade me stand to the world in a new character.  You called me friend,
+your sole friend, in a faithless world; nay, lady, your lover; I loved,
+and love you with a pure but unconquerable flame!  Blame me not if I am
+presumptuous;—it was your own condescension, your own encouragement, that
+made me so, and elevated me to an equality with yourself.  You gave me
+hopes to be the future, the only husband of your choice.  You stretched
+forth your hand to aid my efforts, as I eagerly climbed towards the
+darling object of my aim; but before I attained the summit, you, madame,
+in the spirit of caprice or treachery, dashed me headlong downwards, to
+perish in despair.
+
+“Your great and wealthy friends will praise you for this, while the
+mincing madames and the insipid misses of Brecon shall learn a noble
+lesson by your conduct, and emulating you, become in their day as arrant
+coquettes and tramplers on manly hearts, as their limited powers and
+vanity will permit.  But enough! you shall have your generous
+triumph,—and from this hour I tread the world without an aim, a wanderer
+in the wilderness, reckless of everything.  Advancement, estimation, I
+here abjure; nor, from this hour, would I raise my hand to save from
+annihilation the being I am—for life is henceforth hateful to me.
+
+“Lady, farewell!—never more will I cross your path; but you may hear of
+my wayward steps,—and if in me you are told of a wretched idiot, a being
+whose mind had perished while his frame was strong, remember that it was
+yourself who wrought that mental desolation.  Or, if they name me as a
+lawless being, plunged head-long into deeds of guilt, remember it is you,
+you, madame, who are the authoress of my crimes and sorrows, and, may be,
+of an ignominious death.  And now, madame, farewell!”  On which he darted
+out, mounted his horse, and rode off; while the unhappy lady of Ystrad
+Feen, whose agitation choked her utterance, caught a last glimpse of him,
+and fell on the parlour floor in a swoon.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+
+FINE Arts at a discount.  Hungry Moses, whose appetite was his ruin.  New
+tricks and jokes on Ready Rosser.  Parson Inco once more.
+
+Twm left Ystrad Feen in no enviable state of mind.  He was in a similar
+temper to that of a child when deprived of a favourite toy, and as he
+urged his horse with speed in the direction of Llandovery, he determined
+never to place faith in woman again,—a resolution which underwent some
+slight modification before he reached the “Cat and Fiddle,” a
+diminutive-looking ale-house, where for the present he decided to take up
+his quarters.
+
+Notwithstanding his chagrin, he could not help smiling at this whimsical
+sign, then newly painted,—a droll-faced creature of the feline race,
+drawn, as an enthusiast in melody, erect on her hind feet, her eyes
+turned up in ecstacy, while her open mouth seemed to be mewing music, or
+tow-rowing harmony at a fine rate, in concord with the fiddle that she
+handled with the most artist-like taste, and professional gravity.  If
+the sign was to his taste, a sort of homely snuggery in the form of a
+small parlour, and a good-humoured-looking fat landlady, were no less so.
+
+Dinah Dew, the widowed mistress of the Cat and Fiddle informed him that
+she owed her sign to the skill of a poor tramping painter, who had run
+into her debt, to the enormous amount of five shillings and sevenpence
+half-penny, for board, washing, lodging, and drinking: and the poor
+fellow being penniless and without work, “I let him free,” said she, “for
+the sign, and gave him a shilling and a brown loaf over.”
+
+This liberal patronage of the fine arts, (for the sign included music,
+poetry, and painting,) gave Twm a favourable opinion of his hostess.  She
+apologized to him for the absence of her hostler, and said he was a poor
+ragged fellow with a pregnant wife, and two children; by trade a mat and
+basket maker; also a waiter at two other taverns; and an occasional
+husbandry servant with several farmers, who employed him in their busy
+times.  “The fellow is well enough,” said the little round woman, “but
+for his cormorant appetite; and eat what he may, he never looks better
+for it.  Indeed your horse would scarcely be safe with him, but that this
+is not the most hungry time of year.”
+
+“I knew such another once,” thought Twm, his mind reverting to the hungry
+house of Morris Greeg; as he went forward on his walk over the fields.
+The said “hostler” soon overtook him, to ask his commands about his
+horse.  Twm looked with compassion on the ragged Guy Fawkes figure before
+him, and conceived that he might earn a fair livelihood by merely walking
+over the farmer’s grounds, as all the kites and crows must inevitably
+flap their departing wings at his approach.  Twm looked into a keen pair
+of ferret eyes, that glistened above a high-bridged parrot nose, and
+found no difficulty in identifying the miserable Moses of past days.
+
+Twm’s spirit of joking was rampant within him, notwithstanding the
+morning’s vexations, and he determined upon having a little fun, in
+refreshing Moses’s memory regarding a few incidents which were best
+forgotten.  Assuming an attitude of tremendous importance, and
+overwhelming authority, he commenced:
+
+“You are the very fellow I have been long seeking.  You ran away from the
+comfortable and very plentiful house of Morris Greeg, in Cardiganshire;
+after having in concert with a young scamp, named Twm Shon Catty, eaten
+all his pork and mutton.”  Moses started and looked blue as indigo.
+“I’ll have thee put in stocks, and taken back to the house of that
+generous and most injured man,” cried Twm, in the tone of a
+jack-in-office.
+
+Compassionating the perplexity of the poor devil, he caught his hand and
+cried, “Don’t you know me?—Twm, your former fellow-starveling.”  “Well,
+well! who could have thought it!” cried the astonished Moses; “dear,
+dear, what a many good dinners you must have had to make you look so
+well.”
+
+Twm assured him, he should have dinners too, if he behaved himself, but
+charged him to be silent as to their former acquaintance.  Moses so
+bounced and bounded up, in token of his rapture, that Twm feared the wind
+would bear away the poor creature like a paper kite from him.
+
+Poor fellow! anticipating warmth and comfort from such a proceeding, he
+married a very fat widow of a butcher, who was accomplished in her
+husband’s calling.  Moses had often sought the pleasant shelter of her
+slaughter-house, and amusingly admired the dexterous and delicate manner
+in which she cut the throats, and flayed the hides off the subjects that
+she operated on; inasmuch that he conceived the creatures themselves
+ought to be delighted at being so skilfully finished.  After he had wooed
+and won the widow, oftentimes, when she was almost broken-hearted at her
+failing to sell certain joints towards the close of the market-day, Moses
+would be in raptures, as he feelingly observed, they would eat the unsold
+portion themselves.  Somehow their trade gradually declined, till
+latterly it ceased altogether, and the widow was no longer a butcher,
+owing, as she protested, to her husband’s being a “huge feeder,” and the
+mysterious disappearance of various joints that she suspected him of
+devouring in secret.
+
+Where were now the lover’s despair and tears, his dedication to a life of
+solitude, nay, his refusal even of life?  True, for some days, Twm
+stalked about in the neighbourhood of the “Cat and Fiddle” as if his
+earthly mission had been brought to a sudden termination; as if, like
+Othello, his occupation was gone, and there was no likelihood of any
+other suitable employment turning up.  Alas for the consistency of the
+lover!—days we repeat, and not weeks nor months, much less years, of
+seclusion of this kind.  He soon illustrated the Shaksperian adage, “Men
+have died, and worms have eaten them, but not for love.”  But by him
+everything was to be done by strokes of impulse.  To banish his cares, he
+plunged at once into intemperance; and from merely tolerating a little
+cheerful company, he entered the society of the greatest topers and
+madcaps to be found, till he emulated and outdid the highest, and became
+the very prince of wags and practical jokers.
+
+He was of course recognized as the conqueror of the tremendous Dio the
+Devil, and the acknowledged preserver of the lady of Ystrad Feen, which,
+with his relation of many freaks and vagaries in England, together with
+the assured fact that he had been once to London, and spent a year there,
+gained him no inconsiderable share of celebrity.
+
+The good-humoured Justice Prothero, he found as merry, and as much a
+friend as ever.  “Fear not for the fair widow, boy!” would he exclaim,
+slapping him heartily on the back; “she’ll have thee yet, in spite of the
+long-nosed Prices and their pedigrees.”
+
+To divert him from his frequent fits of melancholy, and dangerous freaks
+of folly among his newly-made companions at Llandovery, Prothero would
+keep him a week at a time under his friendly roof, and make trifling
+bets, to amuse him, by which freaks he secured some enjoyment for himself
+also.
+
+Ready Rosser again became his antagonist in these rustic feats and
+stratagems.  The first wager that Prothero laid, was of twenty shillings,
+that Twm would not by his cunning decoy a sheep out of the safe keeping
+of this worthy, as he was to fetch one home for butchering on the morrow;
+but if he succeeded, the mutton and the money would both become his own;
+otherwise he would forfeit that sum and resign the woolly victim to its
+owner.  To all this our hero agreed, and prepared accordingly.
+
+Ready Rosser was as loud in bidding defiance to our hero, now as he had
+been on a former occasion, where the result had scarcely justified his
+extravagant bragging.  He shouldered his sheep, vowing before his
+grinning fellow-servants, who grouped round to crack their jests on him,
+that the devil himself should not deprive him of his burden.  As he
+proceeded along a part of the high road, up a slight ascent, he
+discovered with surprise, a good leathern shoe lying in the mud.  A shoe
+of leather, be it known, in a country where wooden clogs are generally
+worn, is no despicable prize.  Rosser looked at the object before him
+with a longing eye; but reflecting that one shoe, however good, was
+useless unmatched with a fellow, spared himself the trouble of stooping,
+for troublesome it would have been with such a weight on his shoulders,
+and passed on without lifting it.  On walking a little farther, and going
+round a bend in the road, great was his surprise on finding another shoe,
+a fellow to the former, lying in the sledge mark, which like the rut of a
+wheel, indented the mud with hollow stripes.  In the height of his joy he
+laid down the sheep, with its legs tied, beside the shoe, and ran back
+for the other; when Twm Shon Catty, watching his opportunity, sprang over
+the hedge, and seized his prize, which he bore off securely; won his bet,
+and ate his mutton undisturbed.
+
+The termination of this sheep wager did not add to Ready Rosser’s
+reputation, and that worthy was nearly beside himself with rage, on
+finding himself again beaten.  His master, Squire Prothero, although the
+most good-humoured of country gentlemen, was rather angry with Rosser,
+whose shrewdness always became questionable when opposed to Twm’s.  It
+was admitted, in excuse, that the most cunning at times may be
+accidentally over-reached by his inferior in wit.  On this plea the merry
+magistrate was conciliated, and induced into another wager, precisely
+like the former, when a similar sum, against our hero, and in favour of
+his servant, was laid and accepted.  The man of shrewdness, as before,
+determined to use the utmost vigilance and caution to preserve his charge
+and redeem his reputation.  He grasped his load, which was a fine fat
+ewe, most manfully, and swore violent oaths in answer to his master’s
+exhortation to chariness, that human ingenuity should never trick him
+again; but
+
+    “Great protestations do make that doubted,
+    Which we would else right willingly believe.”
+
+In his way to Llangattock, he had to pass through a wood, which he had
+scarcely entered, when the bleating of a sheep attracted his attention,
+and he came to a dead stand, as he intently listened to what he conceived
+a well-known voice.  “Baa—baa!” again saluted his ear.  A sudden
+conviction rushed across his mind, that this was the very sheep he had
+before lost, which he imagined might have been concealed by Twm in the
+recess of the woody dingle.
+
+What a glorious chance, thought he, of recovering his lost credit with
+his master, and depriving his antagonist of his laurels!  He instantly
+deposited his burden beneath a tree; and eagerly forcing his way through
+the copse and bushes, he followed the bleating a considerable way down
+the wood, when to his great dismay it ceased altogether.  A thought now
+struck him, though rather too late, that the bleating proceeded from no
+sheep, but a more subtle ram, in the presence of Twm Shon Catty; he
+hurried back in a grievous fright, and found his surmises but too
+true—the second sheep, and his high reputation for shrewdness, had both
+taken flight together.
+
+Moses’s face and figure began to improve, for he received the greater
+proportion of the winnings both of money and mutton, and he secretly
+thanked the good fortune which had brought him into Twm’s service.
+
+Squire Prothero, not yet being tired of our hero’s witty genius and
+cunning cleverness, offered to oppose to his cunning, the collective
+vigilance of his husbandmen and maidens; laying a bet with him that he
+should not steal a white ox, with which a black one was to be yoked to
+the plough.  The plough to be held by Rosser and driven by another
+servant; while two girls, driving each a harrow, should also be on their
+guard, to prevent his aim if possible.
+
+There could be no doubt that Twm would accept this wager as he had done
+the others, and accordingly he very obligingly undertook to convey away
+the white ox, as he had formerly done the bull Bishop; and to eat the
+gentleman’s beef, provided it turned out sufficiently tender; protesting
+with a half yawn, and the perfect ease of a modern Corinthian, that he
+was absolutely tired of mutton, which he had too long persisted in
+eating, against the judgment and advice of his physician.
+
+The morning at length dawned, when the test of Twm’s sagacity, the most
+severe to which it had yet been exposed, was to be applied.  The plough
+was guided and the cattle driven, while two bare-footed maidens giggled
+and laughed till the rocks echoed, as they whipped the horses and ran by
+their sides, till the harrows bounced against the stones, and sometimes
+turned over; their mirth was excited by the idea of Twm’s folly in
+accepting such a bet, and thinking to steal the white ox from under their
+noses, the impossibility of which was so evident.
+
+The two servants at the plough also cracked and enjoyed their clumsy
+jokes at the thought of our hero’s temerity, at the same time keeping a
+wary eye in every direction, armed against surprisals, and exulting in
+the thought that for once, at least, the dexterous Twm would be baffled
+in his aim.  Time went on; the day waned away towards the evening, and as
+their fatigue increased, their vigilance gradually lessened.
+
+Such was the state of matters when Moses, who seemed to be loitering
+about without any particular purpose in view, encountered them, and,
+laughing loudly at the cautious and careful way in which they continued
+to guard their prize, assured them that Twm had given up the idea of
+outwitting such a wary and clever party, and was at that moment drinking
+his wine with their master, whom he allowed to win the wager.
+
+“Allowing, indeed!” quoth a sharp-tongued lass, as she stopped her harrow
+to listen, “pretty allowing, when he could not help himself!”  “Aye,”
+cried the other girl, “so the fox allowed the goose to escape, when she
+took to flight and escaped his clutches!”
+
+Rosser and the plough-boy exulted in their anticipated reward of a
+skin-full of strong beer.  Thus the whole party was excited to a high
+pitch of triumphant mirth.  Moses was, of course, a decoy, and his report
+had really the effect of throwing them off their guard, which another
+circumstance contributed to aid.  The rural party had rested, sitting on
+their ploughs and harrows, at one end of the field, while they listened
+to their informant; and now were about to resume their labours, when a
+hare started from the adjoining thicket, crossing the ground towards the
+opposite hedge.
+
+Suddenly the halloo arose; away ran the ploughman and girls, over hedges
+and ditches, and away ran the yelping sheep-dog, amid the clamour of
+shouting and barking; but the wondering oxen stood still, and their grave
+looks of astonishment gradually changed to a more animated expression of
+alarm on the arrival of Twm Shon Catty.
+
+Having loosed his captive hare to decoy the clowns, he availed himself of
+their absence to dress the black ox in a white morning gown,—that is to
+say, a sheet, which became him much, and contrasted with his complexion
+amazingly; and the white ox he attired in a suit of mourning, formed of
+the burial pall which he had borrowed from the clerk of Llandingad church
+for that express purpose; and, having unloosened his fair friend from the
+yoke, they suddenly disappeared through a gap in the hedge.
+
+Although busily engaged in the gentlemanly pastime of the chase, the
+husbandry worthies now and then glanced towards the plough, but seeing,
+as they thought, the white ox safe, returned to it at a leisurely pace,
+till quickened, as they neared it, by the singular sight before them; and
+their petty vexation at losing the hare was now swallowed up by the
+terrible circumstance of their loss of their especial charge.  A suitable
+lamentation followed, of course, which was succeeded by fear and
+trembling, from a conviction that Twm Shon Catty dealt with the devil;
+and that the hare which they had chased was no other than the foe of man
+in disguise.  This reasonable and self-evident assumption quite satisfied
+their merry master, who deemed himself quite compensated for his loss by
+the hearty laugh he enjoyed.
+
+Twm and his singular charge entered Llandovery in triumph, the white ox
+being gaily decorated with ribbons, and the half-starved, but
+trustworthy, Moses seated on its back.  Loud were the huzzas and laughter
+by which he was received by the juvenile part of the population of
+Llandovery; not one of whom enjoyed the sight more than the good-humoured
+Prothero, who cheerfully paid the bet, and from a tavern window had full
+view of the scene, which he declared excited his laughter till his heart
+and sides ached with the agreeable convulsion.
+
+Twm did not confine himself to love of beef and mutton.  He had higher
+aspirations which evinced a very ardent passion for horse-flesh; and
+pursued it with all the fiery zest of a first-love, when impeded by
+difficulties the most insurmountable.
+
+The lady of Ystrad Feen, still sitting on his heart like a night-mare,
+and pinching it with pain rendered him, however amusing to others,
+miserable enough within himself.  Lassitude, chagrin, and bitterness,
+often betrayed themselves in his countenance and manners, and were only
+transiently removed by the hilarity of the company with which he mixed,
+or the freaks which he played, in his ill-combined humours of mirth and
+sorrow.  Reckless of consequences, he now entered into the follies less
+innocent than hitherto detailed; led to them, however, more by a spirit
+of youthful wildness than by any really criminal intention.
+
+In one of his many walks he found himself one day at Machynlleth, in
+Montgomeryshire, and who should he see but his old enemy Inco Evans of
+Tregaron, riding into the town on a fine grey horse?  “Ho, ho!” quoth he,
+“my dear friend still alive!  Now is that horse to be mine or his?” said
+he to himself, as he produced a copper coin; “now heads for Inco, and
+tails for Twm,” added he, as he tossed the penny high up in the air.  On
+its fall to the ground he found that fortune had declared against the
+parson.
+
+With the utmost coolness he made himself known to the amiable Inco, whose
+features underwent various contortions at the recognition; nor did they
+settle to serenity when Twm with provoking laughter told him that he must
+journey homeward on foot, as it was a settled thing fixed by fate, that
+he was to have the gallant grey himself.  Inco started and stared; but,
+without answering a word, he hurried to the innkeeper and the hostler,
+charging them to lock the stable, and assist him to secure a daring
+delinquent whom he had discovered in the street.  On reaching the stable,
+the grey, like the grey mist of morning, had dissolved from view, and our
+hero was equally invisible in the ancient town of Machynlleth.
+
+This last transaction sat uneasily on Twm’s conscience.  He thought that
+it hardly came within the legitimate bounds of a joke, although the free
+and unlicensed spirit of the times permitted a long tether in this
+respect; he therefore promised himself some mirth in returning the grey
+horse to Inco, if he could be found in a Welshpool fair, which was
+probable, as the accumulating clerical magistrate was a great trafficker
+in farm stock of all kinds.  Thither proceeded the gallant Twm, on a fine
+Monday morning, in the following week; but the purpose of his better
+thoughts was unluckily thwarted.
+
+On entering this little wool-combing town, a certain countenance burst
+upon his recollection; the owner of the face made known to him as a
+stranger, and made overtures for the purchase of the steed.  It struck
+our hero that there would be some fun in selling it to this personage—no
+other than young Marmaduke Graspacre—as it could not but cause a
+whimsical altercation with Inco Evans.  Accordingly a bargain was struck,
+and Twm received the amount in hard cash.
+
+Both parties were highly pleased with their transaction, and Twm praised
+the grey steed still more warmly now that he had pocketed the money.  He
+spoke quite enthusiastically of the animal’s points, remarking that its
+merits were far away in excess of what he had represented them to be.  “I
+protest to you in honesty and truth,” he exclaimed with much earnestness,
+“you have a greater bargain than you imagine.  As I was not anxious to
+sell him, I have omitted to inform you of half his good qualities; he is
+capable of performing such wonderful feats as you never heard of.”
+
+“You don’t say so!” exclaimed the elated Marmaduke, staring alternately
+at his horse and at our hero.  “In fact, I assure you,” cries Twm, with
+the most sober face imaginable; “and if you don’t believe me, I’ll
+convince you in a moment, if you will allow me to mount him.”  “Oh,
+certainly, with many thanks,” quoth the delighted heir of Graspacre Hall.
+Twm very leisurely mounted, and after a variety of postures and
+curvetings, gradually got out of the fair into the high-road; suddenly
+giving spur and rein to the “gallant steed,” he astonished Marmaduke by
+his disappearance.
+
+The “green” one had to confess with bitterness of heart, that the jockey
+had certainly kept his word, as he showed him such a trick as he never
+before saw, or heard of.  But when he received a note informing him that
+the horse-dealer was his old “friend” Twm, his wrath was boundless.
+
+The fame of Twm’s cunning and adroitness spread through the whole country
+round, and his wide-spread reputation brought him many country people to
+consult him respecting their difficulties.
+
+One morning, while sitting in his favourite corner at the Cat and Fiddle,
+a person called, who described himself as a small farmer in the
+neighbourhood, his name Morgan Thomas; and having heard so much of his
+cleverness, he came to ask his advice on an affair of great weight.  He
+had been annoyed, he said, by the continual trespassing of a certain
+squire’s pigeons on his ground, which had made such a havoc amid his
+wheat yearly, that the loss was grievous to him; he had computed his
+damages, and applied for the amount, for the last four years; reckoning
+that the forty pigeons would devour at least a bushel of wheat each
+annually.  The squire only laughed at his claims and complaints, telling
+him he might pound them and be d—d, if he liked when he would pay the
+alleged damages and not till then.
+
+“Now, to pound them, I should like vastly,” quoth Morgan Thomas, “but
+without the squire’s polite invitation to be d—ned, at the same time.
+But,” added the poor farmer, “pounding pigeons, I look upon as
+impossible; yet as you have done feats no less wonderful, if you will
+pound those mischievous pigeons for me, I will engage to give you half
+the amount of my claims.”  “Agreed?” cried Twm, and grasped his hand, in
+token that he undertook the task.
+
+He sent a quantity of hot grains from the brewing, to the farmer, next
+morning, which he afterwards scattered about the farm-yard.  The pigeons
+came, as usual; and eagerly devouring the grain, each and all soon
+appeared as top-heavy as the veriest tress-pot in Carmarthenshire; and,
+like the said fraternity incapable of returning home, they fell in stupor
+on the ground.  Our hero, assisted by the farmer, picked them up, tied
+their legs, and put the whole party in the pound.  The squire, who was no
+other than Prothero, the laughing magistrate, ever pleased with a jest,
+especially when cracked by our hero, immediately paid the farmer’s
+demand; and Twm generously refused the proffered remuneration for his
+very effective assistance.
+
+Our hero never used the money acquired by his art for his own
+requirements, and we must not forget to say here that the cash our hero
+received for the parson’s horse, was cast into the parish poor-box.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+
+TWM’S poetical address to his “lady love.”  “A gipsy’s life is a joyous
+life.”  Dinas and a singular natural cave.  Faithless woman.
+
+Twm’s thoughts were not often forgetful of Ystrad Feen, and its
+inhabitants: the lady “of the ilk” seldom indulged in silent reverie,
+without making the absent Twm the principal figure in her day-dream.  She
+had not known a day’s peace since his absence, and was daily waving
+between a resolution to send for him back, to bestow on him her hand, and
+a deference for her father and proud relatives, who insisted that if she
+ever married again, it should only be to a title and fortune; by which
+they themselves might share in the honour.
+
+Information was brought to her of his wild excesses, which gave her the
+greatest concern, as she conceived herself in part the authoress of his
+misfortunes.  Twm, at the same time, felt that his tedious absence from
+the fair widow was no longer to be endured; and as he knew her to be
+watched by her father’s spies, he determined on paying her a visit in
+disguise.  Previous to putting his design into execution, he composed and
+sent her the following poem, in which he dwells on, and exaggerates, his
+own misfortunes, in a strain calculated to move her tenderness in his
+favour.
+
+                            CYWYDD Y GOVID. {264}
+
+    THE outcast’s forced ally is mine
+       And Govid is his name;
+    It is a ruthless savage mate,
+    And like a foe that’s pale with hate,
+       To crush me is his aim:
+    His cruel shafts are fiercely hurl’d,
+    He forced me friendless on the world.
+
+    If forward, seeking good I wend,
+    My eager steps outstrip the fiend;
+    If backward I retreat from ill,
+    My cruel foe arrests me still:
+
+    I seek the flood to end despair,
+    Relentless Govid meets me there,
+    And tells of endless pangs of pride,
+    The wages of the suicide.
+
+    Fell Govid’s mighty in the land,
+    His children are a horrid band,
+    Who joy in hapless man’s distress,
+    Lo, one in debt—one nakedness:—
+    And need against me doth combine;
+    (Fierce Govid’s loveless concubine;)
+    And care, that knows not how to yearn,
+    Is Govid’s consort, keen and stern:
+    And thus this family of ill,
+    E’er bruise my heart and curb my will.
+
+    Though lost to me the tranquil day,
+    My vanquisher I hope to slay;
+    The fierce enormous giant fiend
+    No more the heart of Twm shall rend,
+    If thou, my lady-love! but smile,
+    Thou gentle fair, devoid of guile—
+    Thou darling object of my choice,
+    Oh bless me with assentive voice,
+    And soon shall Govid lay his length,
+    A curse! struck down by Rapture’s strength.
+
+The Lady of Ystrad Feen did not read the pathetic poem without being
+deeply affected, and tears ran down her fair cheeks as she sobbingly
+perused it for the fourth time.  She still bowed her head in grief, when
+her maid entered her chamber, and in a tone of complaint informed her
+mistress that there was a very important and troublesome gipsy in the
+kitchen, who, after having told the fortunes of all the servants in the
+house, insisted on seeing her also.
+
+“I am not in a mood to relish such foolery now, so send her about her
+business,” answered the lady, in a tone more sorrowful than angry.  “It
+is quite useless,” replied the girl, “to attempt to send her away; big
+Evan the gardener tried to take her by the shoulders, and turn her out by
+force, but she whirled round, grasped him by his arms, tripped up his
+heels, and laid him in a moment on the floor.  There she sits in the
+kitchen, and vows she will not budge from thence for either man or woman,
+till she sees the Lady of Ystrad Feen, whom she loves, she says, dearer
+than her life, and would not for millions harm a hair of her head.”
+
+Although too deeply absorbed in sorrow to have curiosity much excited,
+she went down stairs, and approached the sybil, who had now taken her
+station in the hall, asking her, “What do you want, my good woman?”—“To
+tell you,” answered she, “not your fortune, but what may be your fortune
+if you choose.”  “Let me hear then,” said the Lady Joan, with a faint
+incredulous smile, walking before her, at the same time, into a little
+back parlour.  Before she could seat herself, the apparent gipsy caught
+her right hand wrist, and looking round, whispered in her ear,—
+
+    “To heal your torn bosom, and ease every smart,
+    Oh take—he’s before you—the youth of thy heart.”
+
+The colour fled from the fair widow’s cheeks, and in a moment she sank
+into a swoon in her lover’s arms.  Soon recovering, she desired her maid
+to deny her to every body that called, “as,” added she, with a smile, “I
+have particular business with the gipsy.”
+
+A scene of tears and tenderness ensued; when Twm, with the utmost
+fervour, urged his suit.  She replied that her father had insisted on,
+and received her promise that she should wed no being but who either bore
+a title or stood within a prospect of one.
+
+“You did well,” replied our hero, with the most easy confidence, “and
+your promise, so far from militating against me, would really be in my
+favour, for am I not the son of a baronet? his nature child, ’tis true,
+but still his son; and you would break no promise to your father in
+marrying me; but if you did, so much the better broke than kept.  I have
+friends at this moment who are doing their utmost to move my father, Sir
+John Wynn, of Gwydir, to own me publicly, for his right worthy son; and
+if he does not, the loss is his, not mine, for I shall certainly disown
+him else for a father, and claim parentage of some greater man.”
+
+In this interview, Twm pleaded his affection with such persuasive vigour
+and tender persistence, that the old “lady of his dream” resisted the
+promptings of her own heart no longer, and promised to be his in spite of
+every obstacle.  The joy of our hero knew no bounds, nor did the lady
+very strenuously resist his rapturous embraces; but seemed to find her
+heart relieved by the resolution she had come to, that now for ever put
+an end to the conflicting doubts as to her future course, which had so
+long torn her heart, and banished her peace.
+
+It was now time for the pretended gipsy to depart, as the sun was
+descending rapidly, and Twm was chary of the fair widow’s reputation.  He
+would not have the faintest breath of slander associated with her name
+and so he unwillingly left.  She directed him to wait for her, and her
+confidential friend Miss Meredith, at the entrance to the ancient cave on
+the top of Dinas, which was the name of the conical hill exactly fronting
+the mansion of Ystrad Feen.  He accordingly took his departure; and
+winding round the base of Dinas, he crossed the river Towey, which, being
+then in summer, was there little more than a brook.
+
+After walking over a couple of fields, and a piece of rough common, he
+had to cross the Towey once more, when he commenced his ascent at the
+only part of this very steep hill where it was possible to climb.
+
+During his former stay at Ystrad Feen, this wildly-romantic height had
+been his favourite haunt, as the cave in its side was the greatest
+wonder.  It was in fact a mighty mound, that bore all the appearance of
+having been, at the period of its formation, convulsed by an earthquake,
+and in the height of nature’s tremendous heavings, suddenly arrested and
+becalmed, even while the huge crags were in the act of tumbling down its
+steep sides.
+
+A narrow valley encircled its base, and the mountains around of equal
+height with itself, separated only by this deep and scanty dell, seemed
+as if rent from it, during the convulsions of the earth, and Dinas left
+alone, an interesting monument of the memorable event.  The surface of
+the acclivity was so speckled with huge loose stones, that it was
+dangerous to hold by them in ascending, as the slightest impetus would
+roll them downward.
+
+Once in poetical mood, when accompanied by his mistress, while tenderly
+and lovingly protecting her during their ascent at this very spot, he had
+said, that no doubt an earthquake had turned the bosom of the hill inside
+out, so that no secret could be therein concealed: archly insinuating
+that he trusted the time would soon come, when, without so violent a
+process, her own fair bosom would be equally open to him, while it
+rejected the stony barriers that then stood between him and her heart.
+
+But let us proceed with our description, while Twm awaits the arrival,
+according to promise, of the Lady of Ystrad Feen.
+
+The approach to this curious place was as romantic as the cave itself.
+It was through a narrow aperture, formed of two immense slate rocks that
+face each other, with the space between them narrower at the bottom than
+the top, so that the passage could be entered only side-ways, with the
+figure inclined forward, according to the slant of the rocks, a thin
+person being barely able to make his way in, while a man of some
+rotundity might also succeed, rising on his toes, forcing himself
+upwards.  Between these rocks of entrance a massive stone block was
+wedged at the top, so that it formed a rude resemblance to an arch.
+
+After _sideling_ so far through a comparatively long passage, it was a
+great surprise that it led to so small a cave; for it was scarcely large
+enough to shelter three persons huddled close together.  What it wanted
+in breadth, it possessed in height, as it ran up like a chimney, to the
+attitude of forty-five feet, and was opened at the top to the very summit
+of the mount, forming a skylight to the _room_ below.  Although the
+little cave was void of a solid roof, a very rural one was formed by the
+large tufts of heather and fern, which sprung through the crevices of the
+rocks; the whole being surmounted by the pendant branch of a dwarf oak,
+that with many other trees stood like a crown on the elevated head of
+Dinas.
+
+However singular the interior of this cave might appear to our hero, he
+had great pleasure in examining the grand combination that graced its
+exterior.  There he saw, with never-satisfied delight and wonder, objects
+of the most romantic character, curiously united, near the junction of
+the three counties.  The rocky Dinas, with its many inaccessible sides,
+besides the loose crags before mentioned, was partially covered with aged
+dwarfish trees, all bending in the same direction; many with their heads
+broken by tempests, but still throwing out branches, while others, stark,
+sere, and shrouded in green moss, were things to which seasons brought no
+change.
+
+From the mouth of the cave a beautiful view was obtained of the
+well-wooded mountain of Maesmaddegan, while the junction of the rivers
+Towey and Dorthea {269} enlivened the gloom caused by the deep gulf which
+separated Dinas.
+
+Twm was, however, careless for this once of the extremely attractive
+character of the scenery around him.  One of the most interesting pages
+in the Book of Nature lay open before him, but it remained unperused,
+unnoticed at his feet.  His eager eye was fixed steadily on the spot
+where it would catch the earliest glimpse of his approaching mistress.
+Out of all patience at her long delay, he now began to wonder at the
+cause of it; when at length, to his great dismay, he saw _one_ female
+hurrying on, and her not the one, although the faithful Miss Meredith.
+
+Having reached the side of the river, which separated her from the base
+of Dinas, and finding that he was watching her, she placed a paper on the
+rock, and a stone upon it, then kissing her hand sportively, turned about
+and hastened homeward with the utmost precipitation.  In his eagerness to
+overtake her, Twm attempted to run down the declivity, but soon lost his
+footing, sliding and rolling down several yards, by which he was for a
+few moments rather stunned.  Losing all hope of overtaking his mistress’s
+confidante, he applied to the paper on the rock, which he found to be a
+note hastily scrawled with a pencil, containing merely these words:—
+
+“My father has unexpectedly arrived, with several of his friends—can’t
+see you at Llandovery on the Fair day.  Yours ever.”  “By the Dood!”
+muttered Twm to himself, “if this is a coquette’s trick which she put on
+me, it shall avail her nothing;—mine she is, by promise, and mine she
+shall be, in spite of the devil, and all her Brecknockshire friends to
+boot!”  Determined to bring his affairs to a speedy crisis, he changed
+his clothes, and soon made his way to Llandovery.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV.
+
+
+TWM assumes various disguises, and accomplishes many clever things at
+Llandovery fair.  A strange scene in a court of justice.  Twm flies and
+is pursued.
+
+Twm set off to Llandovery fair with a fluttering heart and hopeful
+anticipations of seeing his mistress, and planned another little drama,
+in which he intended the grey horse should have an important part.
+
+Much to their credit, the neighbouring gentry had recently opened a
+subscription for rebuilding between thirty and forty poor people’s
+houses, which had unfortunately been burnt down; and our hero resolved
+that every farthing henceforward gained by the grey horse, or otherwise,
+clandestinely, should be appropriated to this laudable purpose.  It was
+no small satisfaction to him to find that, while it mortified the
+purse-proud vanity of the haughty squires to see so large a sum attached
+to his name, it had the good effect of increasing their contributions,
+resolved not to be outdone, in money matters at least, by so obscure a
+personage as Twm.
+
+It was necessary for him to disguise himself thoroughly, for he intended,
+in the first place, to offer the horse for sale.  He decided to dress as
+a country booby; and after he had finished, his most intimate friend
+would have been puzzled to recognize him.  Twm Shon Catty, (we beg his
+pardon,) Mr. Thomas Jones was effectually concealed in the rough garb of
+a Welsh country ploughman.  His feet got thrust into a very heavy pair of
+clogs, or wooden-soled shoes, which being stiff and large, maintained
+such a haughty independence of the inmates, as to need being tied on by a
+hay-band.  His legs were enveloped in a pair of wheat-stalk leggings, or
+bands of twisted straw, winding round and round, and covering them from
+the knee to the ankle.
+
+A raw hairy cow-hide formed the material of his _inexpressibles_, which
+were loose, like trowsers cut at the knee; and his jerkin was of a
+brick-dust red, with black stripes, like the faded garb of the
+Carmarthenshire women.  A load of red locks, straight as a bunch of
+carrots, hung dangling behind, but in front rather matted and entangled,
+quite innocent of the slightest acquaintance with that useful article, a
+comb; the whole surmounted with a soldier’s cast-off Monmouth cap, so
+highly varnished with grease, as to appear waterproof.
+
+Without any apology for a waistcoat, he wore a blue flannel shirt,
+striped with white, opened from the chin to the waistband, to contain his
+enormous cargo of bread and cheese and leeks, which, as he was
+continually drawing upon his store, stood a chance of all becoming wholly
+inside passengers.  Added to this, his booby gait and stupid vacant stare
+was such that he might have passed muster anywhere for what he pretended
+to be.
+
+He took up his post on the outskirts of the town, preferring that
+position to elbowing his way through the busy crowd in the middle of the
+fair.  He did not appear anxious for a customer, and munched his bread
+and cheese and onions with quiet perseverance.  Many persons, in passing
+by, gazed with wonder at this piece of cloddish rusticity, and asked if
+the horse was for sale; but receiving such drivelling and dolt-like
+answers, that it became a matter of wonder who could have trusted their
+property to such an oaf.
+
+When Twm had stood some time, patiently bearing the ridicule of many
+bystanders, who cracked jokes at his expense, a gentlemen, well-mounted
+on a chestnut-coloured hunter, entered the town, and cast an eager eye at
+the grey horse.  Twm recognized him at a glance as a Breconshire
+magistrate, named Powell, one of the many rejected admirers of the lady
+of Ystrad Feen.  Riding up to our hero, he asked if the horse was for
+sale.  Twm answered in broken English, imitating the dialect of the lower
+class, “I don’t no but it iss, if I cann get somebody that is not wice,
+look you, somebody that was fools to buy him.”
+
+“But why,” asked the gentleman, “don’t you take him into the horse-fair?”
+
+“Why inteed to goodness,” answered Twm, “I was shame to take him there;
+for look you, he has a fault on him, and I do not find in my heart and my
+conscience to take honest people in with a horse that has a fault on him,
+for all master did send me here to sell him.”
+
+“Well, and what is this mighty fault?” asked the stranger, smiling.
+
+“Why inteed to goodness and mercy,” replied Twm, “it was a fault that do
+spoil him—it was a fault that—”
+
+“But what is the fault?” asked the Breconshire magistrate impatiently:
+“give it a name, man.”
+
+“Why inteed to goodness,” replied the scrupulous horse-dealer, “I will
+tell you like an honest christian man, without more worts about it; I
+will make my sacrament and bible oaths”—“I don’t ask your oath,” cried
+Powell, almost out of humour, “merely tell me in word, what ails the
+horse?”
+
+“Inteed and upon my soul and conscience to boot, I can’t say what do ail
+him.”  “You can’t?” cried Powell in an angry tone, and looking as
+surprised and wrath as might be expected from a proud Breconian;
+“Confound me if I do,” replied Twm, “but I will tell you why he was no
+good to master; it wass thiss—Master iss a parson, a gentleman parson,
+not a poor curate, one mister Inco Evans, rector of Tregaron, and the
+white hairs do come off the grey horse here, and stick upon his best
+black coat and preeches; and that was his fault.”
+
+This was a curious reason for disposing of so good-a-looking animal as
+that Twm held by the bridle, and one that did not deter Powell from
+buying him without further parley, and paying for him there and then.  He
+disappeared with his prize, wondering at the stupid dolt from whom his
+purchase had been made.
+
+Twm retired now to a small public-house, where having asked for a
+bed-room, he contrived, after making a total change in his garb, to slip
+out again unperceived, not wishing, for various reasons, to appear before
+his mistress _in propria personæ_.  He now wore a grey sober suit,
+shining black buckles, stockings of the wool of a black sheep, and a
+knitted Welsh wig, of the same, that fitted him like a skullcap, and
+concealed every lock of his hair.  Thus arrayed, he presented the
+appearance of a grave puritanical farmer, from the remote district of
+Cardiganshire.
+
+After gazing awhile at the motley crowd that constitutes a fair, in a
+Welsh country town, he noticed a well-known crone, who had the reputation
+of being exceedingly covetous.  Lean, yellow, and decrepid, her
+ferret-eyes glanced eagerly about for a customer, as she held beneath her
+arm a large roil of stout striped flannel.  Twm, unobserved, took his
+stand behind her, and dexterously stitching her bale to his coat, he,
+with a sudden jerk, transferred it from the old woman’s grasp to his own.
+Her wonder and dismay was unutterable.
+
+Elbowed and tossed about by the bustling crowd who were passing to and
+fro, she knew not who to vent her spleen upon; but, in utter despair, set
+up a tremendous howl, as a requiem for her beloved departed.  Instead of
+seeking the assistance of a light pair of heels, Twm scarcely moved a
+yard, but drew from his pocket a little black tobacco-pipe, and puffed a
+cloud with admirable coolness, while his right arm lovingly embraced the
+bale of flannel.
+
+Roused by the old beldame’s outrageous expressions of grief and fury, he
+asked in a very pathetic tone, the cause of her sorrow, which she related
+with many curses, sobs, and furious exclamations.  Shocked at her
+impiety, and want of resignation, Twm took upon him to rebuke her, and
+edified her much, by a discourse on the virtue of patience; assuring her
+she ought to thank heaven that she was not a neglected being.  In
+conclusion, he remarked, that fairs and markets in these degenerate days
+were so sadly infested with rogues and vagabonds, that an honest person
+was completely encompassed by dangers.
+
+“Now for my part,” continued he, “I never enter such places without
+previously sewing my goods to my clothes, which you ought also to have
+done, in this manner.”—showing at the same time, the roll beneath his
+arm, which he thought the old crone’s eyes had glanced on, with something
+like a light of suspicion, that instantly vanished, on this notable
+display and explanation.
+
+Our hero’s appetite only grew by what it fed upon, and the taste of fun
+he had as yet been able to snatch only made him wish for more.  He did
+not wait long for an opportunity; it was his habit to be so; he either
+met “opportunity” half-way or entirely created his chance, making
+circumstances, in a measure, contribute to his especial purposes.
+
+Casting a sharp glance around, he saw making towards him, a man of the
+cadaverous aspect, one who was an entire stranger to substantial creature
+comforts, or, if not, one who “shamed his pasture” considerably.
+
+On closer scrutiny, Twm saw it was his old friend Moses, whose hungry
+stomach had kept him hopelessly poor.  Moses advanced and tried to
+bargain for a few yards of his flannel; but on reckoning his money found
+he could not come up to the price, as he said he had to buy a three
+legged iron pot, in addition to a winter petticoat for his wife: “and,”
+observed the man of tatters, with a grin of miserable mirth, “it will be
+better for her to go without flannel than our whole family to want a
+porridge pot.”
+
+Twm liked Moses, but not his logic; which implied a want of courtesy and
+due deference to his better half, whose indisputable right to warm
+petticoats claimed precedence to all the pots, pans, and every earthly
+consideration.
+
+“Here take this bale, take it all, for I have lost my yard and scissors,
+and pay me when you grow rich;—confound your thanks! away with you,
+bestow it safe, then return here; perhaps I may get thee an iron pot at
+as cheap a rate as the flannel.”
+
+Moses did not want twice bidding to induce him to avail himself of his
+good fortune, but entering into the spirit of the scene at once, appeared
+to understand our hero’s joking propensities, although he had no
+suspicion that it was the veritable Twm himself.  Off Moses ran with his
+enormous present, and immediately returned; when our hero accompanied him
+to the shop of an old curmudgeon of an ironmonger, whose face, hardly
+distinguishable behind his habitual screen of snuff and spectacles,
+seemed of the same material as his own hardware.
+
+The man of rags was quite in luck, and as instructed, followed his
+benefactor into the shop in silence.  Twm examined the culinary ware,
+with all the caution of an old farm-wife, asking the prices of various
+articles, and turned up the whites of his eyes in the most approved
+puritanic fashion, expressive of astonishment at such excessive charges.
+Old hammerhead repelled the insinuation, and swore that cheaper or better
+pots were never seen in the kitchen of a king.  “Then you must mean the
+king of the beggars,” quoth Twm, “for you have nothing here but damaged
+ware.”
+
+“Damaged devil! what do you mean?” roared the enraged ironmonger.  “I
+mean,” replied Twm Shon Catty, with provoking equanimity, “that there is
+scarcely a pot here without a hole in it; now this which I hold in my
+hand for instance, has one.”  “Where! where!” asked the fiery old shop
+keeper, holding it up between his eyes and the light: “if there is a hole
+in this pot, I’ll eat it: where is the hole that you speak of?”  “Here!”
+bawls the inexorable hoaxer, pulling it over his ears, and holding it
+there, while Moses took the wink from his patron, and walked off with a
+most choice article, which he had selected from the whole lot.
+
+Here was a predicament for a respectable old tradesman!  Our hero fairly
+held his sides with laughter as the old curmudgeon sprawled about, vainly
+endeavouring to free himself from the pot, in which his terrible shouts
+for help were entirely lost.  Having tied his hands behind his back, Twm
+left him howling and sweating beneath his huge extinguisher, and made as
+he took his departure, this consolatory speech—“Had there not been a hole
+in it how could that large stupid knob of yours have entered such a
+helmet?”
+
+Twm left the enraged ironmonger to get out of his dilemma as best he
+could, having very little sympathy with him in his distress.  When once
+more in the street, he found that the people were all moving in one
+direction, and Twm discovered shortly that there was some unusual
+attraction at the Town Hall.  As the assemblage increased, the way, like
+a choaked mill-dam, became more and more impeded, until the whole
+restless mass was consolidated, and stood still perforce.
+
+Our hero had forced his way till near the entrance of the hall, where he
+ventured to ask what cause had drawn together such a crowd; but he got no
+immediate answer, as many came there, like himself, drawn by the powerful
+influence of curiosity.
+
+At length he heard his own name buzzed about; one said that Twm Shon
+Catty whose humorous tricks were the themes of every tongue, was
+discovered to be a great thief: and that he who had fought against
+highwaymen, had at last become one himself, and committed all the
+robberies which had taken place in that country for years past.  One said
+that he could never be taken; and a third contradicted that assertion,
+declaring that he was then fettered in the hall, and waiting to be
+conveyed to Carmarthen gaol.  One assigned him to the gallows as his due,
+while another tenderly replied that hanging was too good for him.
+Opposing the sentiments and opinions of all these, more than one declared
+that the hemp was neither spun nor grown that would hang Twm; and pity it
+should, as he was a friend of the poor, and an enemy to none but the
+stupid, the cruel, and the oppressive.
+
+The disputed argument was disposed of summarily by the appearance of an
+important functionary, resplendent in the gorgeous dress which he wore in
+virtue of his exalted office.  This individual, who was the town crier,
+obtaining silence, informed the assembled multitude that the magistrates
+who were now sitting, required that any “_person or persons_” who might
+have been defrauded in the fair, should now come forward, so as to form a
+clue towards the identity of the robber, which it was generally believed
+was no other than the notorious Twm Shon Catty.  The crier retired, and
+in a few minutes re-appeared, and read the court’s proclamation, offering
+a reward of twenty pounds to any person who would apprehend the said Twm
+Shon Catty; which was answered with loud hisses by the majority of the
+crowd, and effectually drowned the applause of the rest.
+
+This was a most flattering ovation for Twm, and his spirits rose
+accordingly; while, at the same time, he felt himself aggrieved by this
+public proclamation concerning him by the authorities, who, he
+considered, had, in this instance, somewhat exceeded their vocation.  He
+resolved to “beard the lion in his den,” or in other words, to enter the
+hall and give the lie to any base-minded cur who should dare to associate
+his name with common robbers and felons.
+
+Softly, Twm, softly, my boy!  On second thoughts he came to the
+conclusion that that would not be quite prudent—he would make his way
+into the Hall of Justice, and preserving his disguise, see how matters
+were progressing, and try if he could not secure a little personal
+entertainment for himself.
+
+Daring Twm! thy genius adapted itself to circumstances; many people would
+be doubtless astonished that our hero should venture on such cause, but
+when enthusiasm, and the pride of achievement, even in a worthless cause,
+actuates the passion-fraught breast, supplanting the place of reasoning
+calculation, the wonder vanishes.  The desperate outlaw, whose temerity
+is applauded, feels the gust of heroism in as warm a degree as the
+generous patriot whose claim to renown is better founded and graced with
+national approbation.  Twm soon found himself in the hall; for it was his
+own native energies stood him in better stead than the fabled cap of
+Fortunatus: he wished, and obtained; hated, and was revenged; desired to
+tread a difficulty under foot, and gained his purpose; while the
+generality of men would be analyzing every shadow of obstruction that
+impeded their aim.
+
+He took his stand in a conspicuous place near the bench, the “awful
+judgment-seat,” which was at this time filled by three magistrates
+including his laughter-loving friend Prothero, whose ruddy happy round
+face deprived law itself of half its terrors.  Before him, he found his
+old _friend_ Evans of Tregaron, who had been sputtering a confused
+account of our hero’s gracelessness from his childhood, to the last trick
+he had played him, by stealing his grey horse at Machynlleth.  How he had
+cheated the heir of Graspacre-Hall of the horse at Welshpool; and how the
+same horse was traced into the possession of a simple fellow in straw
+boots and cow-hide breeches, who that very day had sold it to his friend
+Mr. Powell; which sale, he contended, could not stand good, as the stolen
+horse was his property to all intents and purposes, which he could prove
+by credible witnesses.
+
+This recapitulation of Twm’s tricks tickled the gravity of Prothero
+amazingly; and at every pause which Evans made in his narration, he was
+answered by the loud “ho, ho, ho!” of that merry magistrate.
+
+Mr. Powell then told his story, and, in conclusion, said he was in the
+commission of the peace in the town of Brecon.  “Ho, ho, ho!” roared
+Prothero, “here we are, three magistrates, ho, ho, ho! three magistrates,
+and all fooled by Twm Shon Catty.—Clever fellow, ho, ho, ho! wild dog,
+ho, ho, ho!—means no great harm—never keeps what he steals—gives all to
+the poor fellows that want—ho, ho, ho!  Never mind, gentlemen, the fun of
+the thing repays the loss, which can be shared between you.  Let Mr.
+Evans take the horse, on paying Mr. Powell what he gave young
+cow-breeches, ho, ho, ho! better than lose all.”
+
+Mr. Powell immediately acceded to the arrangement, but the
+unaccommodating Evans insisted on having the horse without the payment,
+and made some tart remarks on conniving at a rascal’s tricks and
+villanies.  “For my part, I’d shoot him dead like a dog!” cried the
+reverend preacher of peace and concord; drawing at the same time, a pair
+of pistols from his pocket, and replacing them, in a fiery fit of
+passion.  “Ho, ho, ho!” roared Prothero, “but you’d catch him first,
+brother, ho, ho, ho!—too cunning for you, for me, and all of us—might be
+here this moment, laughing in his sleeve at us, for what we know, ho, ho,
+ho!”
+
+Twm thought it was now time to be taking a more active part in the scene,
+so taking out a small book, while appearing to be deeply absorbed in its
+perusal, he gave a deep groan as if much moved by what he read, and the
+mourning sound at once attracted notice.
+
+Prothero, alive to everything allied to comicality, burst out into a loud
+ho, ho, ho!  Evans arrayed his naturally gloomy brows in a magisterial
+frown, and Powell smiled, with an expression of wonder.  “What are you
+reading, friend?” asked Prothero, chuckling as he surveyed the black
+Welsh wig.  “The wisdom of Solomon,” quoth the man of solemnity, drawing
+the muscles of his face most ludicrously long; “but mark you, worshipful
+gentlemen, I mean not the Solomon of the scriptures, but our own Cambrian
+Solomon—that is to say, Catwg the Wise, the excellent and erudite abbot
+of Llancarvan, and teacher of the Bard Taliesin.”
+
+“That’s all right enough.  Catwg was doubtless a clever man, but why do
+you bring him here?” enquired Prothero, with a broad smile on his face.
+“Wherever I go, I have resolved to make his wisdom known, and to reprove
+all deviators from it, in the sage’s own words,” quoth Twm.  “Poor man,
+poor man, he’s crazy, his brain turned, perhaps by too much study,”
+observed Prothero.  “An impudent fellow!” cried Evans; “but you are
+strangely lenient here in Carmarthenshire; were I the king, I would have
+such fellows put in Bedlam.”
+
+Twm looked at the clerical magistrate, then read from the book, “If a
+crown were worn by every fool, we should all of us be kings.”
+“Gentlemen, he calls us all fools!” cried Evans.  Twm, without raising
+his eyes from the book, read on, “were there horns on the head of every
+fool, a good sum might be gained by showing a bald man.”  “Gentlemen, he
+makes us all cuckolds!” cried Evans, in his usual sputter; “however it
+may fit you, gentlemen, I can safely say, that no disgrace as a horn
+belongs to my brow.”
+
+Twm read on:—“If the shame of every one were written on his forehead, the
+materials for masks would be surprisingly dear.”  “Ho, ho, ho!” roared
+Prothero, till the hall echoed with his loud laughter, which the
+Cardiganshire magistrate seemed to take as a personal affront, and
+sulkily observed, that this was no place for foolery, but for gravity,
+wisdom, and truth.
+
+Twm read on:—“If no tongue were to speak other than truth and wisdom, the
+number of mutes would be astonishingly great.”  The consequential Inco,
+mumbled something about his own mode of doing business at Cardigan, and
+declared that he would commit such a fellow to gaol for three months, at
+least, for disturbing a court of justice.  Twm cut him short with another
+passage from Catwg:—“Were the talkative to perceive the folly of his
+chattering, he would save his breath to cool his broth.”
+
+Here Powell of Brecon entered a little into the spirit of the scene, by
+quoting also from the well-known aphorisms of Catwg, applying the passage
+to Twm himself;—“If the buffoon were to see the vanity of his feat, he
+would leave it off for shame.”  This feeble hit excited the applause of
+the good-humoured Prothero, who clapped the speaker heartily on the back,
+and, amid his eternal ho, ho, ho! exclaimed, “Well said, brother, well
+said; better silence him with wit than by authority; well done, well
+done.”
+
+Twm was not slow in taking up the gauntlet which the Breconshire
+magistrate had thrown at his feet, and so turning pointedly to him, he
+read;—“If the lover were to see his weakness, terror would drive him to a
+premature end.”  A general laugh at the expense of Powell, instantly
+followed.  To him that passage was considered peculiarly applicable, as
+the unsuccessful woer of the gay widow of Ystrad Feen.  It was a tender
+string to touch so roughly.  Losing his ease and temper at the same
+instant, he cast a most ungracious frown at the utterer of proverbs, and
+said in an undertone of threatening energy, “Whoever you may be, it were
+not wise of you to repeat such conduct towards me again.”  “Again?” said
+Twm, pretending to misunderstand him, “Oh, certainly, I’ll give you the
+passage again, or any other, to you; ‘If the lover—’” here Powell’s face
+blazed with anger, as he clenched his fist, and cried, “You had better
+not.”
+
+Twm began again,—“If the lover—of war, were to see his cruelty, he would
+fear that every atom in the sunbeam might stab him as a sword.”  The
+dexterous evasion, with the point given to the words “of war,” had its
+full effect in restoring the good humour, so suddenly disturbed; but that
+beautiful passage from the aphorisms of the old Welsh abbot failed to
+elicit the applause which its moral merits deserve.
+
+At this moment the attention of all present was attracted by the noisy
+entrance of the ex-proprietress of the flannel, who almost deafened them
+by the vehemence of her complaints; which, however, were too incoherently
+expressed to be immediately understood.
+
+“Oh! my roll of flannel, my fine, my excellent flannel! all of my own
+spinning too,—eight and twenty good yards, and a yard and a half wide—my
+wooden shoe too, that I lost in the crowd—and my poor corns trod off by
+the villains—my dear sweet flannel, all of my own carding and
+spinning—nobody but the devil himself, or his first cousin Twm Shon
+Catty, could have taken it in such a manner—it was whisked from me as if
+a whirlwind had swept it away.”
+
+At length she paused for want of breath, and Twm approached her with the
+air of a comforter, and read from his book,—“Were a woman as quick with
+her feet as with her tongue, she would catch the lightning to kindle her
+fire in the morning.”  It is probable that she did not perfectly hear
+this passage, as on perceiving Twm, she gave a shout of joy, and then as
+incoherently as before, appealed to the magistrate; “This honest man,
+your worship, knows it all.  I told him, the moment I lost my
+flannel—this worthy man, your worship—a good man, a man who reads books,
+your worship, he can witness.”
+
+This vehement outburst of eloquence was brought to a sudden termination,
+and the old woman’s wordy complaint effectually strangled by the laughter
+and applause which greeted the appearance of a more ridiculous applicant
+for justice and his right.
+
+Supported by two constables, who rather dragged forward, than led him,
+came Twm’s friend the hardwareman, crowned with the identical iron pot
+before named, which the officers, as a matter of official formality, or
+to indulge their own facetiousness, refused to remove, till in the
+presence of a magistrate.  When his laughter had a little subsided,
+Prothero ordered the pot to be removed, and his hands untied.  The
+hardwareman then told his lamentable tale in a few words; in conclusion,
+he declared, that having overheard certain words between the robber and
+his accomplice, he had learned that the thief was no other than Twm Shon
+Catty.  His eye now caught on the figure of our hero, and with a yell as
+astounding as if the eternal enemy of man stood before him, he cried,
+“There he is! there he is!  As heaven shall save me, there stands the
+man, or devil, who crowned me with the iron pot, while his accomplice ran
+off with the other.”
+
+“And who robbed me of my flannel!” roared the old woman, who now changed
+her opinion, as her earliest suspicions became thus suddenly confirmed.
+
+“And who stole my grey horse!” bawled Evans of Tregaron.
+
+“And who sold it to me when disguised in straw boots and cow-hide
+breeches!” cried Powell of Brecon, who had now closely examined his
+features.
+
+Things looked desperate as far as Twm was concerned, as an attack was now
+made upon him by three or four of his most determined enemies; but Twm
+eluding their eager attempts to grasp him, sprang upon the table before
+the bench, and drawing a couple of pistols from his coat pockets, held
+one in each hand, and kept them all at bay, protesting he would shoot the
+first who would advance an inch towards him.  Loud was his laughter when
+they all started back: but Prothero, now sat silently on the bench,
+alarmed for his safety, which he had thought to secure by giving him
+warning of his danger, in the feint of his proclaimed reward for his
+apprehension.
+
+As he stood in this manner, with extended arms, watchful eyes, and
+grasping the pointed pistols with a finger to each trigger, Powell of
+Brecon exclaimed, “Thou art a clever fellow, by Jove, Twm! very clever
+for a Cardy; but wert thou with us, the quick-witted sons of Brecon, thou
+wouldst soon find thyself overmatched.  I dare thee to enter Brecon, to
+trust to thy cunning—come there, and welcome, and thou shalt stand
+harmless of me, in the affair of the grey horse.”  Twm smiled, and
+nodded, in token of having accepted his challenge.
+
+Rather daunted by the failure of their first attempt to seize Twm, his
+assailants had held back awed by his resolute and defiant attitude, but
+recovering their courage on reflecting upon the odds against him, they
+now, headed by Evans of Tregaron, got behind him, and clung to his right
+arm, but with one violent effort Twm shook them away, as the mighty bull
+throws off the yelping curs that dare to attack him.  Then, with a single
+leap, he sprang from the table into the crowded court, where a lane was
+formed for him, and rushed out of the door unimpeded, and pursued by his
+accusers.  They soon lost sight of him among the moving multitude, some
+of whom dispersed from fear of accidents, while others followed him as
+spectators.
+
+To the great astonishment of his pursuers they next caught a view of him
+mounted on that grand subject of contention, the grey horse.  He took the
+route of Ystrad Feen, followed by several constables in the employ of
+Evans of Tregaron, and many disinterested persons from the fair.  Loud
+were the shouts of the numerous riders; loud the tramp of galloping
+horses; and wild the disorder and terror created, as Twm at different
+intervals turned on his pursuers, and fired his pistols.  This caused a
+powerful retrograde movement among them, by which the foremost horses
+fell back to those behind them, unhorsing some who lay groaning and
+crying with fright on the ground, and frightening others altogether from
+the pursuit.
+
+It was on this occasion that a bard of that day wrote the stanza which
+appears on the title page, thus translated by the late Iolo Morganwg:—
+
+    “In Ystrad Feen a doleful sound
+    Pervades the hollow hills around;
+    The very stones with terror melt,
+    Such fear of Twn Shon Catty felt.”
+
+Fortune still favoured Twm, who reaching the foot of Dinas somewhat in
+advance of his motley train of pursuers, dismounted, sprung from stone to
+stone, that formed the ford of the Tower, and climbed the steep side of
+that majestic mount, with the utmost ease.  Like a prudent sea-captain,
+Twm was chased in his small boat by a fleet of rovers, till he reaches
+his own war-ship, and springs up her fort-like side, and treads his deck
+in the ecstasy of surmounted peril, conscious strength, and superiority.
+
+Thus Twm now attained the summit of a prominent knoll, and waved his hand
+triumphantly, in defiance of his foes below.  Evans of Tregaron, with his
+crew of catchpoles, made an attempt to climb also; Twm permitted them to
+advance about twenty yards above the river, when he ended the warfare, by
+rolling down several huge stones, that swept them in a mass into the bed
+of the river Towey, sadly bruised, but more frightened, from whence they
+were extricated by the amazed and terrified spectators.
+
+Evans of Tregaron met with an accident, which during the remainder of his
+life reminded him of his hasty chase after Twm Shon Catty.  In starting
+aside to avoid the dreadful leaping crags that threatened to crush him,
+his pistols went off in his pockets, and carried away, besides his coat
+skirts and the rear of his black breaches, a large portion of postern
+flesh, that deprived him forever after of that agreeable cushion which
+nature had provided.
+
+Amusing to the population of Tregaron was the singular sight of their
+crest-fallen magistrate and his hated gang, brought home in woeful
+plight, as inside passenger of a dung-cart, which had been hired for the
+purpose; and more than all, that his discomfiture should have been caused
+by their long-lost countryman Twm Shon Catty.
+
+Our hero was clearly in an unassailable position, and his enemies were
+not so stupid as to be entirely blind to that important fact.  So, like a
+princely chieftain of the days of old, enthroned upon his native tower of
+strength, marking in his soul’s high pride the awkward predicament of his
+baffled foes, perceiving them all depart; leaving him the undisputed lord
+of his alpine territory, the glorious height of Dinas.
+
+After witnessing, with his limbs stretched upon his mountain couch, the
+glorious beauty of the setting sun, he entered the cave, tore from its
+top a sufficiency of fern and heather to form his bed, threw on it his
+fatigued, over-exerted frame, and slept soundly until morning.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI.
+
+
+TWM at Brecon.  An angling feat.  Twm in a musical character.  Wins the
+prize offered for a poem.  A new style of marriage—and some other little
+“odds and ends.”  Conclusion.
+
+With the earliest rays of the morning’s sun Twm was astir, and during a
+long ramble on the hills, was busily turning over in his mind the
+exciting-incidents of the previous day.  Unable to account for his second
+disappointment of seeing his mistress, according to promise, he gave way
+to despondency, and conjectured the worst—that she was no longer true to
+his vows, but had yielded to the persuasions of her haughty relative, and
+become a renegade both to love and to honour.  He was now, however, so
+near her residence, he would at least ascertain how matters stood; and,
+after many efforts of resolution, he descended the hill for that purpose.
+
+On crossing the Towey, he was surprised to find that the “gallant grey”
+was still left for him; he was busily feeding in an adjoining field, and
+the saddle and bridle hung dangling from a storm-stricken old thorn.  He
+felt this, directly, as a handsome piece of attention to him, on the part
+of Powell of Brecon, who, doubtless, had left it there for convenience.
+
+On examining further, he found a note, tied to the bridle, from that
+generous individual, inviting him to be present at the Eisteddvod, the
+Races and the Ball, which were to take place successively in the gay town
+of Brecon.
+
+He was doomed to disappointment; for on reaching Ystrad Feen he found
+nobody but the servants, who informed him that their lady, Miss Meredith,
+and the late visitors, were all gone to Brecon, and would not return for
+some days.  This intelligence determined him to go there also; and
+recollecting a trunk of clothes of his, which had been left ever since
+his sojourning there, he called for it; and having dressed himself, and
+placed with other things, in his saddle-bags, an elegant suit which he
+had brought from London, he mounted his horse, and rode off for Brecon.
+
+About a couple of miles beyond Trecastle, he overtook a poor fellow
+driving an ass, laden with coarse crockery ware, who turned out to be no
+other than Ready Rosser.  Having long been married to a Cardiganshire
+lass, they both, pretending to be single, entered Squire Prothero’s
+service at the same time; but the circumstance being at length
+discovered, they were both discharged a few days since, and now commenced
+the crockery business for a livelihood.  After a few jests on the white
+bull, ox, and sheep, Twm spurred on, but not before he had purchased the
+whole of Rosser’s stock, which, however, that worthy was to take to
+Brecon, for a purpose to be hereafter described.
+
+At Brecon he took lodgings at the Three Cocks’ inn, to which he gave a
+preference, on account of the sign being the armorial bearings of the
+celebrated David Gam, (Shakespeare’s Captain Fuellin,) the hero of
+Agincourt.
+
+Crowds still poured into the town from all points of the compass, until
+it seemed impossible that the streets would hold them.  While our hero
+looked through the window to observe Rosser, who arranged his crockery in
+front of the inn, his attention was suddenly caught by the sound of a
+harp, which proceeded from the kitchen.  To his great surprise, he found
+the performer to be his old friend the venerable Ianto Gwyn of Tregaron.
+
+The old man was very glad to see him, and after learning the particulars
+of the fortunes he had met since he left his native town, proceeded to
+inform him of the Tregaron news.  His mother was well three weeks ago,
+and had received the various sums which he had sent her at different
+times, and was in daily hopes of burying her churl of a husband.  Rachael
+Ketch was now dead; having broken her heart for the loss of her money,
+which had been stolen by Watt the mole-catcher, who was transported.
+
+In conclusion, the old man said that he had come to the Eisteddvod rather
+as a spectator than a candidate for the prize, having accidentally hurt
+his right hand, which nearly disabled him altogether from playing.  “That
+circumstance is now the more provoking,” said the old man, “as I am
+convinced that were my hand well, I should certainly win the noble silver
+harp, which is to be the meed of the best player.”
+
+Twm took his musical friend upstairs, and, after dining together, began
+coquetting with the harp, which with the hand of a ready player, he soon
+tinkled into alternate fits of grief and laughter, as he ran over many of
+our most popular airs.
+
+The old man jumped up from his seat, and embraced him with rapture,
+protesting that he could not fail to win the harp, if he chose to be a
+candidate.  Our hero, having practised but little on the harp since he
+left London, felt considerable diffidence in becoming a competitor among
+proficients in music, but resolved, at any rate to avail himself of the
+instructions of his friend Ianto Gwyn.
+
+Intensely anxious to meet his mistress once more, he sought an early
+opportunity of a walk through the streets; but instead of the desired
+one, it was his lot to meet Powell the magistrate, who gave him a jocular
+and right hearty welcome.  They were soon joined by two other high bloods
+of the town, one a wealthy attorney, named Phillips, and the other a
+reverend and right-portly son of the church, who shone more at the
+punch-bowl than in the pulpit.  They all adjourned to the parlour of the
+Three Cocks, where the best of wine was soon in request, and a gay scene
+of conviviality and good fellowship ensued.
+
+Twm’s fame had of course preceded him, for Powell’s tongue had been busy
+in his praise, although he had done him no more than justice, and those
+four worthies soon understanding each other, they spent a pretty jolly
+time of it.  Being all lads of the turf, the practice of betting was
+familiar to them; and the lawyer offered to oppose Twm in a match of
+angling for five pounds; and the bet should be, that “_whoever fished the
+largest weight_, _no matter of what kind_, _in half an hour_, _should be
+declared the winner_.”  Our hero, although a poor angler, accepted the
+wager, and Powell, as the umpire, wrote down the terms of it, which was
+signed by each.
+
+Possessing himself of angling paraphernalia, he repaired with them to the
+bridge, and had the upper side of it assigned to him, while Phillips had
+the lower.  The latter displayed a grand morocco pocket-book, filled in
+the neatest order with the most choice artificial flies, of every
+description, and soon had his handsome rod in order; while the former had
+nothing better than what could be procured at a shop.  The lawyer landed
+fish after fish, with great rapidity, and when half the given time had
+expired, Twm found himself much in arrears, and the continued good
+fortune of his antagonist left him, apparently, no chance of ultimate
+success.
+
+“Confound these good-for-nothing flies! fetch me a beef steak!” cried he
+at last, and gave money for that purpose to a by-stander, who immediately
+brought the article wanted.
+
+“There’s a Cardy angler, fishing for trout with a beef steak!” cried the
+Breconians, with an exulting laugh.  Twm made no reply, but fastened
+several hooks in different parts of a strong line, to each of which he
+attached a small piece of beef; and, watching the movement of a flock of
+ducks that floated in luxurious ease down the Usk, he threw the whole
+among them.
+
+Loud was the clamour of the aquatic crew, as they hustled each other, in
+their eagerness to partake of the showered feast, which they soon
+gobbled, and were drawn up to the top of the bridge by the singular
+angler above, amid the shouts of laughter of the numerous spectators.
+
+This feat was greeted by the by-standers with shouts of derision, as they
+thought that Twm, in thus trifling, had practically confessed his
+inability to win the wager.  Powell called time, saying that the half
+hour had struck.  Phillips, as the conscious winner, produced a goodly
+show of trout, and, as Twm had caught but four small fish, said it would
+be idle to weigh them.
+
+“Not so,” replied our wag, “let the written terms of the bet be read, and
+you will find that my ducks have a right to be weighed against your
+boasted trout, aye! and shall make them kick the beam.”
+
+Phillips started at such an assertion made in earnest, and Powell read,
+“Whoever fished the largest weight, no matter of what kind, would be
+declared the winner,” and as umpire, awarded the five pounds to our hero.
+
+Some merriment at the expense of Powell was caused by his declaring
+himself the unlucky proprietor of the said flock of ducks; but with his
+usual good-humour, he proposed that the ducks and the trout should be
+cooked at his house for their supper, in which Phillips acquiesced.
+
+After dinner, when the bottle had passed pretty freely, and all were
+prepared for any fun which might fall in their way, our hero contrived to
+bring Powell, who had hitherto fought shy, into a bet with him.  He
+declared that a stranger as he was to Brecon, he firmly believed that he
+could command, and be obeyed there, with greater promptitude than
+himself, although a justice of the peace and one of the quorum.
+
+“I’ll lay you twenty pounds to the contrary,” cried the magistrate.
+
+“Done!” replied Twm, “and we can prove it without quitting this room, by
+opening the window, and practising on some of those people opposite.”
+
+“Let it be yon crockery-wareman, who is the most conspicuous,” said
+Powell, and Twm, of course, could have no possible objection.
+
+The magistrate opened the window, and called in a tone of authority,
+“Come here, you fellow; go directly to the Black Lion, and tell the
+landlord to let you have Justice Powell’s black mare, and bring her here
+to me.”
+
+“I can’t quit my goods, sir,” said Rosser, “or I would willingly oblige
+you.”
+
+“I tell you, fellow, do as I order you, or I shall kick you and your ware
+out of the town,” said Powell in a blustering tone, and with a look the
+most terrifying that he could assume.
+
+Rosser repeated his former answer; and when the magistrate increased his
+threats, he burst out into a rude laugh, and, without further difference,
+said he really believed that his worship was drunk: this was enough, and
+the worthy magistrate felt himself completely put down.
+
+Our wag now took his turn, and commenced with him: “I say, fellow, did’st
+thou ever see or hear of Twm Shon Catty?”
+
+“Yes,” replied Rosser, “often at Llandovery; once at Cardigan; and now I
+see him before me at Brecon.”
+
+“Well then,” continued Twm, “I order thee to give us a dance in the
+middle of the crockery.”
+
+“With all my heart, if _you_ order it, for I should dread to disobey Twm
+Shon Catty more than twenty times my loss.”  On which he jumped, capered
+and danced, in the midst of his brittle commodities, kicking and treading
+the dishes, pans, basins, and other articles, to powder beneath his feet.
+
+“By the Lord, thou art a strange fellow!” said Powell, as he paid him the
+amount of his forfeit; “and I foresee that there’s much more luck for
+thee than thou dreamest of: and I confidently anticipate what will come
+in thy favour, my Cardiganian hero.”
+
+Twm was much surprised to hear Powell speak thus, as his manner implied
+much more than his words; but his astonishment was considerably augmented
+when, in a subsequent conversation, our hero discovered that Powell knew
+all his affairs and connections with the lady of Ystrad Feen.
+
+“She once,” said he, “played me a jade’s trick; but no matter, we are now
+friends, and she has even assisted me in my suit with her amiable friend,
+Miss Meredith.  In heart and soul, she is attached to you, Jones; but she
+is a weak yielding woman beneath the terrors of her father’s frown, and
+in some evil hour might again sacrifice herself, if you are too long out
+of her sight.  She is proud of you and of your wild achievements, and
+even finds excuses for your most blameable courses.  Now, my advice is,
+that you will endeavour to distinguish yourself during the races, and
+start for the gold plate: the grey horse, I suspect, has blood in him,
+and will beat the best that is to run.”
+
+“But why,” asked Twm, “did she not keep her promise to meet me at
+Llandovery fair?”
+
+Powell replied that she was prevented by her father’s sudden illness; and
+great is her sorrow for the disappointment she must have caused.
+
+On the following day the town speedily put on its gala dresses, and flags
+waved from every corner.  Bells were rung and guns fired in honour of the
+festival, which consisted of a rather extensive programme, namely the
+Eisteddvod, Races, and Ball.  Between eleven and twelve o’clock, our
+hero, with other musical and literary competitors, entered the Town-Hall,
+in bardic trim, with the harp of his friend Ianto Gwyn, slung by a blue
+ribbon, and attached to his shoulder.
+
+The audience included all the intellect, taste, and fashion of the
+district, and the competitors were greeted on their appearance, with
+hearty and long-continued applause.
+
+At length the business of the meeting was begun by a speech from the
+president, who occupied a central seat on the raised platform.  He dwelt
+emphatically on the laudable object of the Eisteddvod; “to preserve from
+annihilation one of the most ancient languages spoken by mankind,
+remarkable for its perspicuousness, energy, and expression; that, like a
+perpetual living miracle, kept its firm stand in this solitary nook of
+country;—to revive and preserve the beautiful melodies which had been the
+delight of our gallant and patriotic forefathers;—and lastly by
+emulation, to keep alive the brilliant blaze of the native Awen, the
+darling poesy of the land, which yielded their fragrant and refreshing
+blossoms, lovely sacrifice on the altar of Taste.”
+
+Penillion singing succeeded; in which the minstrels of Merionethshire
+excelled.  The rest went on in rotation, minutely according to the
+description given by the ever-faithful Drayton, to whose pages we refer
+the reader.
+
+There was a surprise awaiting Twm.  Among the given subjects for the
+Cowydd, or Poem, was “Govid,” or Affliction, for which it turned out that
+there was but one who had written on it; and, to his unutterable
+astonishment, he heard his own poem on that title recited, and more than
+all, a prize awarded to it by the umpires.
+
+Lady Devereaux, who had attached her name to this effusion, was called
+upon to receive the meed of her talents.  That lady, who sat by her
+father, as one of the audience, now rose, and said, with some emotion,
+that the poem so highly honoured was not of her composition, but had been
+sent to her by its author, a person of taste and ingenuity, whom she was
+bound ever to esteem; as to his valour and courtesy she had once been
+indebted for the preservation of her life.  Then naming Mr. Thomas Jones
+as the author, she pointed him out; and, amid loud and long applause, a
+handsome silver medal was placed round his neck.
+
+We will not occupy more space in relating what the reader can so readily
+imagine.  Our hero was the most successful competitor at the Eisteddvod,
+and at the Races.  At the Ball too he won the admiration of the ladies,
+and withal, the wonder and esteem of the Breconians.  But alas! the
+buoyancy of spirits, and the exultation of heart, which owed their
+evanescent existence to these distinction, were soon doomed to give way
+to feelings of contrasted severity.
+
+Now, while in the zenith of his glory, confidently anticipating, as the
+final crown of his happiness, the willing hand of his mistress, a note
+for him arrived at the inn, from the fair widow, that threw him into
+absolute despair.  She told him in plain terms, that unless he could
+outwit her, all his hopes of her hand would be utterly in vain.  This
+intimation he could understand only as a formal _permit_ to wear the
+willow as soon as he pleased; that she was otherwise engaged, and had
+altogether done with him.
+
+His reasoning and conclusions in this argument received absolute and
+entire confirmation by the tantalising conduct of Miss Meredith, who
+accidentally meeting him one day, did nothing but laugh and jest at his
+anxious-looking face and restless behaviour.  She would give no answers
+to his eager, importunate questioning, and ran away and left him, half
+wild and desperate.  The next hour, at least, was spent by Twm in railing
+bitterly the “vile caprice and inconsistency of woman.”
+
+Hearing that her company had preceded her in the way home, next evening,
+and that she was about to follow them alone, he resolved to way-lay and
+put her under contribution, at any rate; which he conceived would be one
+way, at least, of out-witting her, and perhaps the right one.
+
+He hastily assumed a dress which thoroughly disguised him, for his
+features were almost altogether concealed by a large hairy travelling
+cap, which he wore well down over his ears, and his figure was equally
+lost amongst the ample folds of a great coat, which had never been made
+for him.
+
+His preparations made, he took his stand by the gate that in those days
+led from the town into the mountains, through which the road ran to
+Llanspyddyd, Trecastle, and Llandovery.
+
+At length the gay widow arrived, and Twm immediately caught hold of her
+bridle, and, in an assumed snuffling tone of voice, demanded her money.
+She begged hard for mercy on her pocket, but in vain; and gave at last a
+considerable sum, which, she said, was the whole contents of her pocket.
+Our hero, having placed the booty in the crown of his cap, declared
+himself quite satisfied; “And so am I!” cried the spirited widow; and, at
+the same moment, grasping his cap and its whole contents, laughing aloud
+as she galloped away from him, she cried, “Thus the widow outwits and
+triumphs over Twm Shon Catty!”
+
+Had Fortune determined to spite poor Twm Shon Catty as much as she had
+previously favoured him?  It looked most unpleasantly like; for he had
+never been in such a deplorable condition as now, standing there in the
+road, glancing wistfully at the fast retreating figure of the widow.  He
+was shorn of his laurels completely, and at once a bankrupt in love and
+fortune; as the cap contained the whole of the money he brought with him
+to Brecon, as well as what he had gained there.
+
+This inauspicious adventure, although it damped his spirits for a time,
+had the ultimate effect of rousing his latent energies to the highest
+pitch.  He was not long in hatching a scheme to forward his purposes,
+which, however, required the aid (which was soon offered to him) of
+Powell and his two friends.
+
+Twelve o’clock the next morning saw him dismounting at the door of Ystrad
+Feen, accoutred in a military undress; originally used by him in London,
+as at present, for masquerading purposes.  In this disguise, he expected
+immediate admittance as a stranger; but to his unutterable dismay,
+instead of finding the door fly open to his knock, it appeared to have
+been doubly barricaded against him.
+
+After his repeated summons, the lady of the mansion, with pompous
+formality, appeared at the window, like the warder of a fortress holding
+a parley at the outpost.  In a gay spirit of bantering, she declared that
+the military uniform became him exceedingly, and begged to know what rank
+he held in the army.  Our hero parried these home-thrusts but with an
+ordinary degree of grace, and, in a bowed spirit, entreated admission to
+the inner walls.  The lady Joan was quite peremptory in her refusal,
+declaring, that having lately heard so much to his disadvantage, she had
+decided on breaking off all future acquaintance with him as a lover;
+“especially,” added she, “as, instead of the witty person I thought you,
+I find you quite a dull animal, that any school-girl might outwit.”
+
+Here she indulged in a provoking laugh, and bade him “good bye,” as she
+turned to close the window.
+
+“Nay then,” said Twm in a desponding key, “if we are indeed to be
+henceforth strangers, as we have been friends, true and warm friends, you
+will give me your hand, at least, in parting.”  She slowly stretched out
+her hand through the window, and our hero, with the eager spring of a
+hungry tiger, darted forward, grasped her wrist with his left hand, and
+drawing his sword with the right, exclaimed in a tone of affected fury,
+“Revenge at least is left me—by yon blessed sky above us, I’ll be trifled
+with no longer—off goes your hand unless you consent to our union this
+instant, and on this very spot.”
+
+“Lord! don’t squeeze so hard and look so fierce,” cried the lady of
+Ystrad Feen.
+
+Twm, with increased boisterousness, resumed, “On your answer will depend,
+whether, for the remainder of your life, you have a single hand or a pair
+of them—for on the pronouncing of a negative, this hand, this soft white
+hand, beautiful as it is, will instantly fly, severed from the wrist; and
+only think now, my gentle lady Joan, how dreadful you would look with a
+stump.”
+
+Twm looked determined enough, and what could a lady do in respectable
+society with only one hand?  The idea was preposterous.  In her vexation,
+she stretched her pretty neck out, and endeavoured to make her tormentor
+relax his grasp by inflicting a bite on the back of his hand.  Twm seized
+this opportunity of imprinting a very decisive kiss on her check, on
+which she drew back her head, her face glowing radiantly with blushes.
+
+“You villain!” cried she, “I suspected you were about to bite my ear
+off.”
+
+“No, only your hand, Joan,” replied Twm; “and that I _will_ have, unless
+you consent to be mine this instant.”
+
+“I would not so much care,” cried the lady of Ystrad Feen, “but your
+horrid name; I could not endure to be called Mrs. Twm Shon Catty.”
+
+“I have protested bitterly, and will not be foresworn,” cried Twm, “that
+here, even here, with your hand stretched through the window, the
+marriage ceremony shall be performed; and so your answer at once without
+evasion.”
+
+“The parson of our parish has gone to a christening,” said the lady of
+Ystrad Feen.
+
+“Yes or no!” roared the terrific Twm, menacing the threatened blow.
+
+“Well then, as I could not handle a knife or fork, or play my spinnet, or
+give you a box on the ear when I want pastime, I may as well say—Yes!”
+
+“Bless thee for that,” cried Twm in ecstacy, and eagerly kissed the
+captured hand.  Sticking his sword in the ground, he drew forth a small
+bugle, and blew a loud blast that was re-echoed by the surrounding
+mountains.  Immediately a party of ten persons, wearing masks, appeared,
+one of which was arrayed in a clerical habit, who drawing forth his book,
+at once commenced the marriage ceremony, Twm the while holding her hand
+through the window.
+
+The Lady of Ystrad Feen had never calculated upon being married in this
+unceremonious fashion; but she was fairly at a loss, and therefore came
+to the conclusion to endure her fate, patiently and with resignation, yet
+in her heart very glad that she was under such a pleasant pressure of
+circumstances.
+
+The ceremonial was nearly half over, when four windows of the first floor
+were suddenly opened, and several highly-dressed ladies and gentlemen put
+out their heads and displayed most mirthful countenances, the fair ones
+waving their whitest cambrics above their heads; and with shaking peals
+of laughter, looked down upon this singular wedding.  The “ho, ho, ho!”
+of the merry Prothero, was heard with surpassing loudness; and “Well
+done, Twm!” were the first words that the spirit of titillation permitted
+him to utter.
+
+Notwithstanding this interruption, the ceremony was finished, and parson
+Hughes pronounced them man and wife.  Unwilling to loosen the hand which
+he now considered his own, our hero held it fast till he entered the
+house through the window.
+
+Once within the mansion that now called him master, an amazing change of
+circumstances took place.  The lady endearingly asked for forgiveness for
+her latter conduct, while Twm entreated the same for himself.  Squire
+Prothero had been the author of many good offices for our hero; having
+conciliated Sir John Price, who, although a proud man, was also something
+of a humorist, as he proved himself in this instance.  A plan was
+concerted to throw every impediment in the way of Twm’s union, for him to
+surmount them as he could, to afford sport for the old baronet and his
+merry friend Prothero, in which trickery the lady herself was by promise
+compelled to join, which accounts for her latter conduct.
+
+Being ushered by his bride into the drawing-room, our hero was introduced
+to, and warmly greeted by two most unexpected personages, his lady’s
+father and his own!  Sir John, who had been a visitor at the Priory-House
+for a week, was the gayest of the gay on this occasion.  Placing an
+elegant tiara of jewels on her brow, the northern Baronet embraced her
+tenderly; and handing her to our hero, said, “Here, you lucky dog! prove
+thyself worthy of the blood of the Wynns, and that shall warm to thee
+yet.”
+
+This most unexampled wedding was followed in a few days by another
+ceremony more befitting the social position of Lady Devereaux, and at the
+same time Miss Meredith gave her hand to the delighted Justice Powell.
+Somehow, it did not occur to any of the parties that its brilliance was
+much impaired by the absence of Miss Felina Tomtabby Price, and her
+high-minded sister.  These stately spinsters determined to punish their
+family for this unprecedented proceeding, by withdrawing their
+countenance from them, and the degenerate world for ever.
+
+Some of the _great_, (great fools!) that is to say, the most eminently
+useless residents of the then proud town of Brecon, were in the most
+embarrassing state of dilemma on this occasion.  They entertained very
+serious doubts as to the possibility of admitting our hero into their
+exquisitely select circle, on account of his left-handed origin; and more
+than all, his former questionable doings:—certain malignant spirits
+having insinuated suspicions of his once figuring in London as a
+black-leg, if not a thief.  But as the patronizing influence of Sir John
+Price was scanned, they condescended to overlook these supposed
+peccadilloes; as it was decidedly proved to them that he had never
+vulgarized himself by any practice of usefulness in the world, by what
+they deemed worse than witchcraft in the debasement of gentility—the
+following of a trade or profession.
+
+Our tale is almost ended; we have only to add a word or two with respect
+to our principal characters, as it would hardly be respectful to dismiss
+them without some appearance of attention.
+
+Reparation having been made to all parties who were sufferers by our
+hero’s faults and follies, the Graspacres, father and son, by the good
+offices of Sir John Wynn and the friendly Prothero, were in time
+conciliated.  The luckless Inco Evans had soon after to add to his other
+losses, that of his clerical gown, on account of a certain complaint
+preferred against him to his diocesan, by Miss Bessy Gwevel-heer: and his
+magisterial function was also numbered with the things that were, but are
+not.  When despised and impoverished, in his old age, Twm stepped forward
+with timely aid, that more than compensated for the injuries he had ever
+done him.
+
+Twm showed most kindly consideration for hungry Moses and his ever
+starving family, and made a praiseworthy attempt to fatten them up.  All
+was in vain, and Moses was struck with wonder and admiration when he saw
+an unusually stout specimen of humanity.
+
+The venerable Ianto Gwyn was installed as the family harper; while each
+and all of the humbler companions of his wild days, were acknowledged,
+befriended, and aided in their views in life.
+
+The landlady of the Cat and Fiddle was so greatly benefited by the
+association of our hero’s name in her house, that her increased wealth
+and charms gained her another husband, in the person of little Tommy
+Thomas, the late under whipper-in of Ystrad Feen; and their sign
+underwent a change to “The Twm Shon Catty Inn.”
+
+One day, many years after all these things had been so happily and
+comfortably settled, to the satisfaction of the principal parties
+concerned, an old friend called upon Twm in the person of Doctor John
+David Rhys, who had acquired great fame and honour in far-off Continental
+cities.  Their meeting was most joyous; and when he reminded his old
+pupil of his prophecy respecting his union with the lady of his dream, a
+friendly pressure of her hand accompanied by an inexpressibly sweet
+smile, acknowledged her pleasure in the truth of his foresight.
+
+Poetical justice and fact, are unhappily at variance in our closing
+notice of this most excellent character.  During his residence abroad, he
+changed his profession of a Protestant Divine, and became a Catholic, and
+a physician; practising among princes and nobles, he soon realized an
+ample fortune.  For the enjoyment of a further intercourse with these,
+his friends, in preference to his own native Anglesea, he fixed his
+residence at Llanllwch, in the neighbourhood of Brecon.
+
+Here our hero’s friendship stood him much in stead; for when the
+_enlightened_ Protestant mobs of the time persecuted him for his faith,
+forcibly entering his house to search for the Pope in the cavity of his
+porridge pot, and a legion of Friars in his night-chair and warming-pan,
+Squire Jones was the magistrate that stood forward to check their
+lawlessness.  His great popularity and known Protestant principles were
+all sufficient warrants for his word, when he assured the many-headed
+monster of the groundlessness of such suspicions.
+
+Our hero, who, the reader must be aware, has shown no little power in
+poesy, set to work to write the history of the Gwydir family, when he
+discovered that his father was devoting himself to the same purpose.  The
+old man candidly declared that among his ten sons, not one of them
+possessed a literary taste, or evinced a congenial feeling with him in
+his pursuits.  But his left-handed eleventh seemed to justify the adage
+respecting luck in odd numbers, which drew on him his affections
+accordingly.
+
+Squire Jones never forgot the humble way in which he spent the earliest
+portion of his life; his was a nature as little likely to be unduly
+elevated by prosperity as unnecessarily cast down by adversity.
+
+When he built a mansion at Tregaron, beside the cottages of his
+childhood, he would never suffer the homely fabric to be removed, but
+kept it as a private appendage to his house; the interior containing all
+its rude characteristics, as left at his mother’s death, which took place
+a week before his union; although poor Catty survived both her sister
+Juggy and her husband.  There, once a year he made a lonely visit of many
+hours; and felt his heart soften as he surveyed the rude shelves and
+wooden bowls and piggins; platters and trenchers; and even the spoons and
+ladles manufactured by the coarse hand of his late step-father.  The
+unflattering reminiscences awakened by the annual visits were better than
+sackcloth to the skin of kings, as an antidote to worldly pride, and a
+check to the overweening heartiness and want of sympathy with our humbler
+brethren in their struggles for a little firmer feeling on the earth;
+which is ever the result of the undisputed despotism of prosperity.
+
+Thomas Jones, Esq., filled many most honourable offices in the good town
+of Brecon, and in such a manner as to prove that fortune for this once
+had not showed her favours upon one unworthy of them.  His early friend,
+Dr. John David Rhys, mentions him with respect as an accomplished
+antiquary, and testifies to the general excellence and worth of his
+character.  For many years he was Mayor and Sheriff of Brecon, and we
+will close our chronicle of his various achievements by one more
+anecdote.
+
+“Bless me!” cried the lady mayoress one day to her husband, as they
+passed arm in arm through the street from church, “the people are always
+laughing to think of my marrying you.”  “I don’t wonder,” replied the
+hero of these adventures, “for whenever I think of it, I laugh myself.”
+
+
+
+
+
+                                APPENDIX.
+
+
+THE Triads referred to, as the collection made by Thomas Jones, of
+Tregaron, (Twm Shon Catty,) are translated from a series in the second
+volume of the Welsh Archæology, p. 57.  The series bear the following
+title.  “These are Triads of the Island of Britain—that is to say, Triads
+of memorial and record, and the information of remarkable men or things
+which have been in the Island of Britain; and of the events which befell
+the Race of the Cymry, from the age of ages.”
+
+To the copy, from which the transcript was made for the London edition,
+the following note is annexed.
+
+(Translation.) “These Triads were taken from the book of Caradoc of
+Nantcarvan, and from the book of Jevan Brechva, by me, Thomas Jones, of
+Tregaron—and those are all I could get of _the three hundred_—1601.”
+
+I.  The three pillars of the Race of the Island of Britain.
+
+The first _Hu Gudarn_, who first brought the Race of the Cymry into the
+Island of Britain; and they came from the land of _Hav_ called
+_Defrobani_, [where Constantinople stands,] and they passed over Mor
+Tawch (the German ocean) to the Island of Britain, and to Llydaw where
+they remained.
+
+The second, _Prydain_, the son of _Aedd-Mawr_, who first established
+regal government in the Island of Britain.  [Before this, there was no
+equity but what was done by gentleness, nor any law but that of force.]
+
+The third, _Dyfnwal Moelmud_, who first discriminated the laws and
+ordinances, customs and privileges of the land and nation.  [And for
+these reasons they were called the three pillars of the nation of Cymry.]
+
+II.  The three benevolent tribes of the Island of Britain.
+
+The first was the stock of the _Cymry_, who came with Hu Gadarn, into the
+Island of Britain; for _He_ would not have lands by fighting and
+contention, but of equity, and in peace.
+
+The second was the race of the Lloegrwys, who came from the land of
+Gwas-gwyn, and were sprung from the primitive stock of the Cymry.
+
+The third were the Britons.  They came from the land of Llydaw, and were
+also sprung from the primordial line of the Cymry.
+
+[And they are called the three peaceful tribes because they came by
+mutual consent and permission, in peace and tranquillity.  The three
+tribes descended from the primitive race of the Cymry, and the three were
+of one language and one speech.
+
+III.  Three tribes came, under protection, into the Island of Britain,
+and by the consent and permission of the nation of Cymry, without weapon,
+without assault.
+
+The first was the tribe of the Caledonians, in the North.
+
+The second was the Gwyddelian Race, which are now in Alban (Scotland.)
+
+The third were the men of the Galedin, who came in their naked ships
+(canoes) into the Isle of Wight, when their country was drowned, and had
+lands assigned them by the Race of the Cymry.
+
+And they had neither privilege nor claim in the Island of Britain, but
+the land and protection that they granted, under specified limits.  And
+it was decreed, that they should not enjoy the immunities of the native
+Cymry, before the ninth generation.
+
+IV.  Three usurping tribes came into the Island of Britain, and never
+departed out of it.
+
+The first was the _Coranied_, who came from the land of Pwyl.
+
+The second were the Gwyddelian Fichti, who came into Alban, over the sea
+of _Llychlyn_ (Denmark).
+
+The third were the Saxons.
+
+[The Corained are _about_ the Humber, and on the shore of Mor Tawch, and
+the Gwyddelian Finchti are in Alban, on the shore of the sea of Llychlyn.
+The Coranied united with the Saxons, and being partly incorporated with
+them, deprived the Lloegrwys of their government, by wrong and
+oppression; and afterwards, they deprived the Race of the Cymry of their
+crown and sovereignty.  All the Lloegrwys became Saxons, except those who
+are found in Cornwall, and in the Commot of _Carnobun_, in _Deria_ and
+_Bernicia_.
+
+The primitive Race of the Cymry have kept their land and their language;
+but they lost their sovereignty of the Island of Britain, through the
+treachery of the protected tribes, and the violence of the three usurping
+tribes.]
+
+V.  The three awful events of the Island of Britain.
+
+First, the bursting of the lake of waters, and the overwhelming of the
+face of all lands; so that all mankind were drowned excepting Dwyvan and
+Dwyvach, who escaped in a naked vessel, (without sails), and of them the
+Island of Britain was re-peopled.
+
+The second was the consternation of the tempestuous fire, when the earth
+split asunder, to Annwn, (lower region,) and the greatest part of all
+living was consumed.
+
+The third was the scorching summer, when the woods and plants were set on
+fire, by the intense heat of the sun, and multitudes of men and beasts,
+and all kinds of birds, and reptiles and trees and plants irrecoverably
+lost.
+
+VI.  The three chief master works of the island of Britain.
+
+The ship of _Nevydd Nav Neivion_, who carried in it a male and a female
+of all living, when the lake of waters burst forth.
+
+The drawing of the _avanc_ to land out of the lake, by the branching oxen
+of _Hu Gadarn_, so that the lake burst no more;
+
+And the stones of Gwyddon Ganhebon, on which were read the arts and
+sciences of the world.
+
+VII.  The three great Regulators of the Island of Britain.
+
+Hu Gadarn, bringing the Race of the Cymry out of the land of Hav, which
+is called Defrobahi into the Island of Britain.
+
+Prydain, the son of Aedd-Mawr, establishing government and law over the
+Island of Britain.
+
+And Rhitta Gawr, who made himself a robe of the beards of kings, whom he
+caused to be shaved (reduced to vassalage) for their oppressions and
+contempt of justice.
+
+VIII.  The three happy controllers of the Island of Britain.
+
+Prydain, the son of Aedd-Mawr, suppressing the Dragon tyranny.  [This was
+a tyranny of pillage and contempt of Equity, that sprung up in the
+Island.]
+
+Caradog, the son of Bran, the son of Llyr, checking the oppression of the
+Cæsars;
+
+And Rhitta Gawr, controlling the tyranny and pillage of the tumultary
+kings.
+
+IX.  The three benefactors of the Race of Cymry.
+
+The first, Hu Gadarn, who first showed the Race of the Cymry the method
+of cultivating the ground, when they were in the land of Hav [namely,
+where Constantinople now stands] before they came into the Island of
+Britain.
+
+Coll, the son of Coll-Frewi, who first brought wheat and barley into the
+island of Britain, where, before, there had only been oats and rye;
+
+And Elldyd the knight, [a holy man of Cor Dewdws,] who improved the
+manner of cultivating the ground, taught the Cymry a better method than
+had been known before, and showed the art of ploughing which now
+prevails.  [For before the time of Elldyd, land was cultivated only with
+a mattock and a spade, after the manner of the Gyddelians.]
+
+X.  The three primary Sages of the Race of the Cymry.
+
+Hu Gadarn, who first collected the Race of the Cymry, and disposed them
+into tribes.
+
+Dyvnwal-Molemud, who first regulated the laws, privileges, and
+institutions of the country and the nation.
+
+And Tydain tad Awen, who first introduced order and method into the
+memorials and preservation of the Oral art (poetry) and its properties.
+
+And from that order, the privileges and methodical usages of the Bards
+and Bardism (Druidism) of the Island of Britain, were first devised.
+
+XI.  The three primary Bards of the Island of Britain.
+
+Plennydd, Alwan, and Gwron.
+
+These were they who devised the privileges and usages which belong to
+Bards and Bardism.
+
+[Yet there had been Bards and Bardism before; but they were not
+completely methodized, and they enjoyed neither privileges nor
+established customs, but they were obtained through gentleness and
+civility, and the protection of the country and the nation, before the
+time of these three.
+
+Some say they were in the time of Prydain, the son of Aedd Mawr, others,
+that they were in the time of his son, Dyvnwal-Molemud, whom some of the
+old books call Dyvnvarth, the son of Prydain.
+
+XII.  The three elementary masters of Poetry and Memorial, of the Race of
+the Cymry.
+
+Gwyddon Ganhebon, the first man in the world who composed poetry;
+
+Hu Gadarn, who first adapted poetry to the preservation of records and
+memorials;
+
+And Tydain Tad Awen, who first developed the art and structure of poetry,
+and the due disposition of thought.
+
+And, from the labours of these three personages, sprang Bards and
+Bardism, and the regulation of their privileges and established
+discipline, by the three primary Bards, Plenvydd, Alwan, and Gwron.
+
+XIII.  The three primary baptized (or christian) Bards.
+
+Merddyn Emrys; Taliesin, the chief of the Bards, and Merddin, the son of
+Madawc Morvyn.
+
+XIV.  The three mighty Labours of the Isle of Britain.
+
+Erecting the stone of Ketti.  Constructing the work of Emrys.  And
+heaping the pile of _Cyvrangon_.
+
+The three happy astronomers.  (_Serenyddion_, _Suronides_) of the
+_Island_ of _Britain_.  _Idris Gawr_.  _Gwyddion_ the son of the _Don_.
+And _Gwyn_ the son of _Nudd_.
+
+So great was their knowledge of the stars, and of their nature and
+situations, that they could foretell whatever might be desired to be
+known to the day of doom.
+
+XVI.  The three masters of mysterious and secret science, of the _Island_
+of _Britain_.
+
+_Math_, the son of _Mothanwy_, and he disclosed his secret to _Gwyndion_
+the son of _Don_.
+
+_Mengw_, the son of _Teiagmaedd_, who taught his secret to _Uthyr
+Bendragon_.
+
+And _Rhuddlwm Gawr_, and he learned his mystery of _Eddic Gor_ and
+_Coll_, the son of _Coll Frewi_.
+
+XVII.  The three great modellers of the _Island_ of _Britain_.
+
+_Corvinwr_, the Bard of _Ceri Hir_ of _Llyngwyn_, who first made a ship,
+with a sail and a helm, for the race of the _Cymry_.
+
+_Mozdial Gwr Gweilgi_, the architect of _Ceraint_, the son of _Greidial_,
+who first taught the race of the _Cymry_, the work of stone and lime, [at
+the time _Alexander the Great_ was subduing the world.]
+
+And _Coll_, the son of _Cylin_, [the son of _Caradawr_, the son of
+_Bran_,] who first made a mill with a wheel, for the race of _Cymry_.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+           W. NICHOLSON AND SONS, LIMITED, PRINTERS, WAKEFIELD.
+
+
+
+
+Footnotes
+
+
+{9a}  The truth against the world.
+
+{9b}  The English pronunciation of Twm Shon Catty, is Toom Shone Cutty;
+instead of which the Londoners call it TWIM JOHN KATTY, which seemed
+doubly ludicrous as the name of a tragedy hero.
+
+{10}  A small cup, so called from its contents being able merely to damp
+the clay of a genuine toper.
+
+{31}  In the farce of the Spirit Child.
+
+{50a}  The good ale of old Wales.
+
+{50b}  Wheat that may have been left out too long unharvested from the
+prevalence of rain, when found to sprout, is sometimes used in Wales
+instead of malt in brewing beer.
+
+{55}  In addition to the _Gwahoddwr’s_ address, there is another mode
+prevalent in the present day, of inviting to the Bidding, by a printed
+circular, which in some parts of the principality supersedes that merry
+personage altogether, a thing to be regretted, as it deprives the rural
+Welsh wedding of one of its most pleasing features, and cuts off its
+alliance with romance, and the manners of _oulden tyme_.  The following
+is a specimen of a Bidding circular.
+
+                                                           _October_ 183–.
+
+    As we intend to enter the matrimonial state, on Saturday, the 10th
+    November next, we are encouraged by our friends to make a Bidding on
+    the occasion, the same day, at the young woman’s house, called
+    Tynant, at which place, the favour of your agreeable company is most
+    respectfully solicited; and whatever donation you may be pleased to
+    bestow upon us then will be thankfully received, and cheerfully
+    repaid whenever called for on the like occasion.
+
+                                             Your obedient Servants, A. B.
+                                                                     C. D.
+
+    *** The parents of the young man, and his brothers and sisters,
+    desire that all gifts of the above nature due to them, be returned to
+    the young man on the above day, and will be thankful for all favours
+    granted.  Also, the young woman’s parents and her brothers and
+    sisters, desire that all gifts of the above nature due to them, be
+    returned to the young woman on the above day, and will be thankful
+    for all favours granted.
+
+{58}  A large three-legged iron pot used for cooking.
+
+{72}  Havod un-nôs, signifies _one summer night_.  A poor wandering
+family pitching their tent on a common, building a hearth, and boiling
+their pot thereon, in the course of one Summer’s day and night, claimed
+from ancient usage their right to the spot.  Thus a hut so built, was
+gradually made into a decent cottage; the surrounding ground, from a mere
+yard of scant dimensions, would become a yard and a garden; and patch
+after patch being cribbed and inclosed, in the course of a few years a
+little farm was created, in the midst, or on the margin of a dreary
+common.  These practices were often _winked_ at by the parish, in favour
+of a poor industrious large family, who were thus provided for, instead
+of becoming objects of parochial relief.  If the intrusion remained
+unnoticed for sixty years, it became a freehold property!
+
+{140}  Anglice, Bessy Blubberlip.
+
+{149}  Translated from a very popular Welsh ballad, by John Jones, of
+Glangors, author of many humorous songs in the same language.
+
+{153}  Hob y deri dando signifies “away my herd to the oaken grove.”  Mr.
+Parry, for whose Welsh Melodies the modern words were written, remarks,
+“There is something very quaint and characteristic in this ancient air,
+and it is popular in Wales.”
+
+{165}  The victim of the sons of Maes-y-velin was Samuel, the son of Rhys
+Prichard, the celebrated author of “Canwyll y Cymry,” (the Welshman’s
+candle,) a volume of religious poems, the most popular, and said to have
+done the most good, of any that ever was printed in the Welsh language.
+To this favourite son the pious author addressed many of his poems,
+exhorting and directing him, by name, to the most minute acts in his
+devotion.  On hearing of his murder, the old man is said to have burst
+out in the wildest strain of prophetic phrenzy, with the following CURSE
+on the murderers of Maes-y-velin.
+
+    Melldith Duw a fyddo’n dilyn
+    Pob rhyw ach o’ Vaes y Felin,
+    Am daflu blodeu plwyf Llanddyvri
+    Ar ei ben i Deifi foddi.
+
+The translation of which runs thus—
+
+    May God with heavy curses chase
+    All Maes-y-velin’s villain race,
+    Since they have drown’d in Teivy’s tide
+    Llandovery’s flower—Cymry’s pride!
+
+{203}  In the original—
+
+    “Nid twyll twyllo twyllwr,
+    Nid brad bradychu bradwr;
+    Nid lladrad mi wn yn dda,
+    Lladrada or ladratwr.”
+
+{210}  Should it be asked why this trick (a similar one being related of
+the Friar of Gil Blas) is attributed to Twm Shon Catty, his Editor can
+attest that this is not the only incident of the kind that he would
+willingly have related if he had dared.  But as this, and others, have
+long been on record, both in the memories of the country people, and in
+the Welsh Jest Books, any omission of incident or anecdote on the score
+of being property claimable by others, would be scouted, as a
+poor-spirited compromise of their rights: it being utterly out of the
+pale of possibility that the said good things could have belonged
+originally, to any other than their own redoubted Twm Shon Catty!  This
+explanation, once for all, must answer every similar objection on the
+part of the English reader.
+
+{264}  Signifying “_The Poem of Affliction_.”  The original Welsh Poem,
+in recitative measure, of which the above is rather a condensed
+paraphrase of the late Mr. Jenkins, of Llwynygroes, Cardiganshire.
+
+{269}  Between these rivers, before they unite, is an angular slip of
+lowland, being the last of Cardiganshire; Dinas, and all the interesting
+height here described, are in Carmarthenshire; while the boundary of
+Breconshire is about half a mile off.  The reader, who if a Welshman,
+will hence recognize the etymology of Ystrad Fin, which signifies, “The
+vale of the boundary.”
+
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COMICAL ADVENTURES OF TWM SHON
+CATTY***
+
+
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+
+The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Comical Adventures of Twm Shon Catty, by
+T. J. Llewelyn Prichard
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: The Comical Adventures of Twm Shon Catty
+       Commonly known as the Welsh Robin Hood
+
+
+Author: T. J. Llewelyn Prichard
+
+
+
+Release Date: August 5, 2012  [eBook #40421]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COMICAL ADVENTURES OF TWM SHON
+CATTY***
+</pre>
+<p>Transcribed from the 1900[?] W. Nicholson and Sons edition by
+David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org</p>
+<h1>THE<br />
+COMICAL ADVENTURES<br />
+<span class="GutSmall">OF</span><br />
+TWM SHON CATTY,<br />
+<span class="GutSmall">(THOMAS JONES, ESQ.)</span><br />
+<span class="GutSmall">COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">Welsh Robin Hood</span>.</h1>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;In Ystrad Feen a mirthful sound<br />
+Pervades the hollow hills around;<br />
+The very stones with laughter bound,<br />
+At Twm Shon Catty&rsquo;s jovial round.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<h2><a name="page5"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+5</span>PREFACE.</h2>
+<p>In presenting to the public the following Enlarged and
+Corrected Edition of &ldquo;Twm Shon Catty,&rdquo; the author
+cannot forget that on its first appearance in 1836, with
+&ldquo;all its imperfections on its head,&rdquo; it was received
+with a welcome quite unlooked for on the part of the writer, and
+he now presents this edition to the world, with several additions
+and alterations.</p>
+<p>On examining the cause of such unlooked-for approbation, he
+found it, not in any merit of his own, but in the nationality of
+his subject, and the humiliating suggestion that, slight as it
+was, it was the first attempted thing that could bear the title
+of a Welsh Novel.</p>
+<p>It is true others have made Wales the scene of action for the
+heroes of their Tales; but however talented such writers might
+be, to the Welshman&rsquo;s feelings they lacked nationality, and
+betrayed the hand of the foreigner in the working of the web; its
+texture perchance, filled up with yams of finer fleeces, but
+strange and loveless to their unaccustomed eyes.</p>
+<p>Were a native of one of the South Sea Islands to publish the
+life and adventures of one of their legendary heroes, it is
+probable that such a production would excite more attention, as a
+true transcript of mind and manners of the people he essayed to
+describe, than the more polished pages of the courtly English and
+French novelist, who undertook to write on the same
+subject.&nbsp; On the same principle, the author of this
+unpretending little provincial production accounts for the sunny
+gleams of favour that have flashed on the new tract which he has
+endeavoured to tread down, among briers and brambles of an
+unexplored way, while the smoother path of the practised
+traveller has been shrouded in gloom.</p>
+<p><a name="page6"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 6</span>The
+expression of the Author&rsquo;s gratitude is here presented to
+the Rev. W. J. Rees, Rector of Cascob, for numerous favours; and
+especially for the historic and traditional matter that his
+researches furnished.&nbsp; To the Critics of the Cambrian
+Quarterly for their favourable notice of the &ldquo;Small
+Book,&rdquo; a skeleton as it then was, compared to the present
+Edition, imperfect as it still remains.&nbsp; And lastly to the
+revered memory of the late Archdeacon Benyon of Llandilo.&nbsp;
+That lamented friend of Wales and Welshmen, (whose aims were ever
+directed to the enlargement of the narrow boundary within which
+prejudice and custom had encircled and enchained Welsh
+literature,) in the town-hall of Carmarthen, before his highly
+respectable Auditors, honoured this production with a favourable
+notice.&nbsp; He warmly eulogised the Author&rsquo;s attempt at
+the production of the first Welsh Novel; and concluded by an
+offer of a pecuniary reward to the person who could give the best
+translation of it in the best Welsh language.</p>
+<h2><a name="page7"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 7</span>CHAPTER
+I.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">The</span> name of Twm
+Shon Catty, popular throughout Wales.&nbsp; &ldquo;The
+Inn-Keeper&rsquo;s Album,&rdquo; and the drama founded
+thereon.&nbsp; Twm Shon Catty apparently born in different
+towns.&nbsp; A correct account of his birth and parentage.</p>
+<p>It is often the custom, however foolish it may be, to frighten
+the occupants of an English nursery into submission by saying,
+&ldquo;The bogie is coming,&rdquo; and though the exact form or
+attributes of the said &ldquo;bogie&rdquo; are by no means
+definitely known, the mere mention of the individual has
+sufficient power to make the juveniles cover their heads, and
+dive under the bed-clothes, with fear.&nbsp; The preface to the
+once popular farce of &ldquo;Killing no Murder&rdquo; informs us,
+that many a fry of infant Methodists are terrified and frightened
+to bed by the cry of &ldquo;the Bishop is
+coming!&rdquo;&mdash;That the right reverend prelates of the
+realm should become bugbears and buggaboos to frighten the
+children of Dissenters, is curious enough, and evinces a
+considerable degree of ingenious <a name="page8"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 8</span>malignity in bringing Episcopacy into
+contempt, if true.&nbsp; Be that as it may in England, in Wales
+it is not so; for the demon of terror and monster of the nursery
+there, to check the shrill cry of infancy, and enforce silent
+obedience to the nurse or mother is Twm Shon Catty.</p>
+<p>But &ldquo;babes and sucklings&rdquo; are not the only ones on
+whom that name has continued to act as a spell; nor for fear and
+wonder its only attributes, for the knavish exploits and comic
+feats of Twm Shon Catty are, like those of Robin Hood in England,
+the themes of many a rural rhyme, and the subject of many a
+village tale; where, seated round the ample hearth of a farm
+house, or the more limited one of a lowly cottage, an attentive
+audience is ever found, where his mirth-exciting tricks are told
+and listened to with vast satisfaction, unsated by the frequency
+of repetition; for the &ldquo;lowly train&rdquo; are generally
+strangers to that fastidiousness which turns disgusted, from a
+twice-told tale.</p>
+<p>Although neither the legends, the poetry, nor the history of
+the principality, seem to interest, or accord with the taste of
+our English brethren, the name of Twm Shon Catty, curiously
+enough, not only made its way among them, but had the unexpected
+honour of being woven into a tale, and exhibited on the stage, as
+a Welsh national dramatic spectacle, under the title, and the
+imposing second title, of Twn <i>John</i> Catty, or, the Welsh
+Rob Roy.&nbsp; The nationality of the Welsh residents in London,
+who always bear their country along with them wherever they go,
+was immediately roused, notwithstanding the great offence of
+substituting &ldquo;John&rdquo; for &ldquo;Shon,&rdquo; which
+called at once on their curiosity and love of country to pursue
+the &ldquo;Inkeeper&rsquo;s Album,&rdquo; in which this tale
+first appeared, and to visit the Cobourg Theatre, where
+overflowing houses nightly attended the representation of the
+&ldquo;Welsh Rob Roy.&rdquo;&nbsp; Now this second title, which
+confounded the poor Cambrians, was a grand expedient of the
+Dramatist, to excite the attention <a name="page9"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 9</span>of the Londoners, who naturally
+associated it with the hero of the celebrated Scotch novel.&nbsp;
+The bait was immediately swallowed, and that tale, an awkward and
+most weak attempt to imitate the &ldquo;Great Unknown,&rdquo; and
+by far the worst article in a very clever book, actually sold the
+volume.</p>
+<p>As Twm Shon Catty was invariably known to every Crymrian as a
+great practical joker, they were of course proportionately
+surprised to find him manufactured into a stilted, injured,
+melo-dramatic chieftain, for the love of his <i>Ellen</i>, dying
+the death of a hero!</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This may do for London, but in Wales, where
+&lsquo;<i>Gwir yn erbyn y byd</i>&rsquo; <a
+name="citation9a"></a><a href="#footnote9a"
+class="citation">[9a]</a> is our motto, we know better!&rdquo;
+muttered many a testy Cambrian, which he felt doubly indignant at
+the authors&rsquo; and actors&rsquo; errors in the mis-writing
+and the mis-pronouncing the well-known &ldquo;sponsorial or
+baptismal appellation,&rdquo; <a name="citation9b"></a><a
+href="#footnote9b" class="citation">[9b]</a> as Doctor Pangloss
+would say: and another source of umbrage to them was, that an
+English author&rsquo;s sacrilegiously dignifying Twm with the
+qualities of a hero, conveying the villanous inference that Wales
+was barren of <i>real</i> heroes&mdash;an insinuation that no
+Welshman could tamely endure to forgive.&nbsp; In an instant
+recurred the honoured names of Rodri Mawr, Owen Gwyneth,
+Caswallon ab Beli, Own Glyndwr, Rhys ab Thomas, and a vast chain
+of Cambrian worthies, not forgetting the royal race of Tudor,
+that gave an Elizabeth to the English throne; on which the mimic
+scene before them, and the high vauntings of Huntley in the
+character of Twm Shon Catty, sunk into the insignificance of a
+punch and puppet show, in comparison with the mighty men who then
+passed before the mental eye.</p>
+<p>Sir John Wynn, of Gwydir, bart., was the father of our hero,
+who was a natural son by a woman called Catherine.&nbsp; Little
+or nothing is known of her, but <a name="page10"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 10</span>surnames not being generally adopted
+in Wales, her son, by Universal consent, was called &ldquo;Twn
+Shon Catty,&rdquo; which means literally, &ldquo;Thoms John
+Catherine.&rdquo;&nbsp; One very astute English Commentator
+informs us that the name &ldquo;Catty&rdquo; originated in the
+fact that of his armorial bearings included a Cat&rsquo;s
+Eye!!&nbsp; This is simply nonsense, as every Welshman can
+testify.</p>
+<p>Like the immortal Homer, different towns have put forth their
+claims to the enviable distinction of having given our hero
+birth; among which Cardigan, Llandovery, and Carmarthen, are said
+to have displayed considerable warmth in asserting their
+respective pretentions.&nbsp; A native of the latter far-famed
+borough town, whose carbuncled face and rubicund
+nose&mdash;indelible stamps of bacchanalian
+royalty&mdash;proclaimed him the undisputed prince of topers,
+roundly affirmed that no town but Carmarthen&mdash;ever famed for
+its stout ale, large dampers, <a name="citation10"></a><a
+href="#footnote10" class="citation">[10]</a> and blustering
+heroes of the pipe and pot&mdash;could possibly have produced
+such a jolly dog.&nbsp; It is with regret that we perceive such
+potent authority opposed by the united opinions of our Cambrian
+bards and antiquaries, who place his birth in the year 1570, at
+Tregaron, that primitive, yet no longer obscure, Cardiganshire
+town, but long celebrated throughout the principality for its
+pony fair; and above all, as the established birthplace of Twm
+Shon Catty.</p>
+<p>He first saw the light, it seems, at a house of his
+mother&rsquo;s, situate on a hill south-east of Tregaron, called
+Llidiard-y-Fynnon, (Fountain-Gate,) from its situation beside an
+excellent well, that previous to the discovery of other springs
+nearer to their habitations, supplied the good people of Tregaron
+with water.&nbsp; That distinguished spot is now, however, more
+generally known by the more elevated name of Pl&acirc;s Twm Shon
+Catty, (the mansion of Twm Shon Catty,) the ruins of which are
+now pointed out by the neighbouring <a name="page11"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 11</span>people to any curious traveller who
+may wish to enrich the pages of his virgin tour by their
+important communications.</p>
+<p>And now, having given our hero&rsquo;s birth and parentage
+with the fidelity of a true historian, who has a most virtuous
+scorn of the spurious embellishments of fiction, a more excursive
+pen shall flourish on our future chapters.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">The</span> grandfather of
+Twm Shon Catty.&nbsp; Squire Graspacre on morality.&nbsp; Sir
+Jno. Wynn, the practical exponent of it&mdash;and our hero the
+result thereof.</p>
+<p>Catty, the mother of Twm, lived in the most unsophisticated
+manner at Llidiard-y-Fynnon, with an ill-favoured, hump-backed
+sister, who was the general drudge and domestic manager.&nbsp;
+Their mother had long been dead, and their father, the horned
+cattle, a small farm and all its appurtenances, had been lost to
+them about two years.&nbsp; This little farm was their
+father&rsquo;s property, but provokingly situated in the middle
+of the vast possessions of Squire Graspacre, an English
+gentleman-farmer, who condescendingly fixed himself in the
+principality with the laudable idea of civilizing the Welsh.</p>
+<p>The most feasible mode of accomplishing so grand an
+undertaking, that appeared to him, was, to dispossess them of
+their property, and to take as much as possible of their country
+into his own paternal care.&nbsp; The rude Welsh, to be sure, he
+found so blind to their own interests as to prefer living on
+their farms to either selling or giving them away, to profit by
+his superior management.&nbsp; His master-genius now became
+apparent to everybody; for after ruining the owners, and
+appropriating to himself half the neighbouring country, the other
+half became his own with <a name="page12"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 12</span>ease, as the poor little freeholders
+found it better to accept a small sum for their property, than to
+have all wasted in litigation, and perhaps, ultimately, to end
+their days in prison.</p>
+<p>The maternal grandfather of Twm Shon Catty, was the last who
+held out against the tyranny of the squire.&nbsp; He triumphantly
+won his cause; but because he could not pay the costs, he was
+imprisoned by his own solicitor, in the county gaol of Cardigan,
+where it is said he died of a broken heart.&nbsp; The squire then
+gained his ends.&nbsp; The farm-house (separated from the land,
+which was added to another farm) became the dwelling of the old
+farmer&rsquo;s two daughters: not a gift, as they had to pay
+annually about twice as much rental as they ought to have
+paid.</p>
+<p>It was soon after this admirable settlement of his affairs,
+that the squire had a grand visitor to entertain at Graspacre
+Hall, who was no less a personage than Sir John Wynn, of Gwydir,
+in North Wales, whose sister our deep-scheming squire had just
+married, with the politic view of identifying himself with the
+Cambrian principality, and becoming one of the landed proprietors
+of the country.&nbsp; One day, after a long ride with his noble
+guest, over his far-spreading hills and vales, it was poor
+Catty&rsquo;s lot to be observed by these lordly sons of
+affluence.&nbsp; She was spinning wool at the cottage door, a
+work which she seldom performed without the accompaniment of a
+song; and at that time she was giving utterance to a mournful
+ditty, as the recent death of her father had naturally attuned
+her mind to melancholy, and cast a cloud over her usual
+cheerfulness.</p>
+<p>The great men stopped their horses: &ldquo;a fine girl, Sir
+John,&rdquo; cried the squire.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are right!&rdquo; said the baronet: &ldquo;I wonder
+if she would object to a few delicate attentions from a man of
+honour?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Object! my dear sir, I am surprised that you should ask
+the question.&nbsp; The girl is poor and <a
+name="page13"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 13</span>friendless,
+and has just buried her father.&nbsp; My dear sir, it would be
+kind of you, if you were to call and offer her those
+&lsquo;delicate attentions&rsquo; of which you speak.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The amorous baronet was not slow to avail himself of this very
+amiable suggestion, delivered with a significant leer which could
+not be mistaken; he called for several successive evenings at
+Llidiard-y-Fynnon; but we may very reasonably question the
+<i>delicacy</i> of the attentions he proffered to the fair
+Catty.&nbsp; The sequel to the adventure soon became notorious,
+and the maiden Catty became the mother of our redoubted hero,
+thence, with an illusion to his father, called Twm Shon
+Catty.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">The</span> boy indicative
+of the man.&nbsp; Antiquarian propensities show themselves.&nbsp;
+His mother rises in the world, and assumes the dignified office
+of village schoolmistress.&nbsp; Her mode of tuition.&nbsp; Twm a
+member of the &ldquo;academy.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>As the period of early infancy seldom contains incidents
+worthy the recording pen of history, we shall bring our hero at
+once at his fourth year.&nbsp; The biographers of great men have
+generally evinced a predilection to present their readers with
+certain early indications of the peculiar genius that has
+distinguished their heroes in after life; and far from us be the
+presumption of deviating from such a popular and legitimate rule,
+by any radical attempt at innovation or improvement.</p>
+<p>Pope&rsquo;s lispings in numbers, West&rsquo;s quaker
+daublings in childhood, with many other instances, not forgetting
+Peter Pindar&rsquo;s waggery on Sir Joseph Bank&rsquo;s spreading
+spiders and butterflies on his bread and butter, <a
+name="page14"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 14</span>(certain
+indication of the future Naturalist,) are cases in point, which
+are familiar to every reader; true or not, we have also heard the
+story of Sir Isaac Newton&rsquo;s partiality for apples, in
+childhood; that Paganini&rsquo;s first desire was for a sixpenny
+toy fiddle; that other great men in infancy exemplified the motto
+that &ldquo;Coming events cast their shadows before them;&rdquo;
+and it will not appear strange to those already acquainted with
+his fame, that we have to add to these eminent names that of our
+long neglected hero.</p>
+<p>It is true he became neither a poet, a painter, nor a natural
+historian, but, according to the unbiassed opinions of geniuses
+of the same caste with himself, who could not be suspected of
+either egotism or partiality, a superior character to
+either&mdash;an eminent antiquary&mdash;to which may be added,
+though perhaps it ought to take the lead&mdash;a no less eminent
+thief&mdash;if thief he can be called whose illicit doings were
+prompted by no motives of selfishness, but were ever the
+spontaneous offspring of whim and madcap daring.</p>
+<p>Twm&rsquo;s mother affirms (and when a lady affirms anything
+the gentlemen feel bound to believe in, and swear by it,) that
+her son&rsquo;s first predilection consisted of an intense
+affection for street rubbish.&nbsp; The gutters and sweepings of
+Tregaron furnished him with materials for an antiquarian
+exhibition which he held in a stable manger.&nbsp; The pottery of
+bygone days, somewhat the worse for wear and tear, but still
+exhibiting the taste and substantial ideas of the original
+manufactures&mdash;cutlery of Sheffield manufactures, discarded
+and useless, but not beneath the notice of our juvenile
+showman&mdash;twisted hemp and bits of figured rags and paper,
+relics of time past&mdash;all formed part and parcel of his
+&ldquo;exhibition.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>To be sure his occupation was not of the cleanest.&nbsp; To
+secure these priceless relics, he coated hands, face, and
+clothes, with a thick crust of mud, and thus showed his origin,
+by the close affection he had for mother earth.&nbsp; As in these
+little fancies he spent the <a name="page15"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 15</span>greater part of his time, it became a
+wonder to his mother that he seldom ran home for food; but it was
+soon discovered that he had a mode peculiar to himself of raising
+contributions on the public of which he was a member, by forcing
+them to part with a portion of their bread and butter&mdash;a
+praiseworthy act, and trebly commendable, as in the first place
+it showed his filial piety, in saving his mother the expense of
+his victuals; in the next, it taught courtesy to the churlish,
+who in time anticipated his demand by voluntary offerings; and
+thirdly, it engendered the principle of honesty in their tender
+minds, by marking the propriety of paying for their curiosity in
+gaping over the produce of his labours.&nbsp; This, it will also
+be observed, was another feature that announced his future
+character, which, it will be seen, &ldquo;grew with his growth,
+and strengthened with his strength.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Sir Jno. Wynn was made acquainted with the result of those
+&ldquo;delicate attentions,&rdquo; to which we have before
+alluded, and as some sort of compensation, he bought the cottage
+of Squire Graspacre, and presented it to Catty, as the reward of
+her kind compliance with his &ldquo;delicate&rdquo; wishes.&nbsp;
+The little property made her of great importance in the
+district.&nbsp; As the house was large, and not overstocked with
+inhabitants, it occurred to the good people of Tregaron, that a
+day-school might be established within its walls; and having with
+their own consent found a school-room, by the same indisputable
+right they fixed on Catty for its mistress, and instituted her
+governess, to rule their tender progeny.</p>
+<p>Catty, with huge grin of approbation at her unexpected
+promotion, immediately ratified their election, and declared both
+her house and self ready for the reception of pupils at the
+moderate terms of a penny a week.&nbsp; Her hump-backed sister
+was by no means pleased with this arrangement, and very testily
+asked, &ldquo;Who was to clean up the house after the grubby
+fry?&rdquo;&nbsp; Catty made no reply, but in the pride of her
+heart hummed a gay song, scratched the mud off her <a
+name="page16"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 16</span>boy&rsquo;s
+clothes with an old birch broom, which being hardened by sweeping
+the house, answered the purpose better than a brush, and had some
+old coffers converted into benches for the service of her
+scholars.</p>
+<p>She then with singular alacrity, proceeded to cut from the
+hedge, with her own fair hand, one of the most engaging-looking
+birch rods, that ever was wielded by rural governess.&nbsp; This
+premature display of the sceptre of severity was far from
+fortunate, and nearly ruined the undertaking at the outset.&nbsp;
+The tender mothers of Tregaron were startled at so unexpected a
+proceeding, and practically declared they had rather their dear
+babes should be brought up like calves and pigs, in the most
+bestial ignorance, than have knowledge beaten into them at the
+nether end with a birch rod.</p>
+<p>Catty immediately quieted their fears, by protesting that she
+entertained the utmost abhorrence of the flagellation system, and
+that the bunch of birch was but bound together for a very
+different purpose, namely, to be suspended as a sign over her
+door.&nbsp; As Catty was all compliance with their requisitions,
+every thing was set to rights; and without more ado children were
+sent from every house where the affluence of the inmates enabled
+them to give their offspring the first rudiments of
+education.&nbsp; The mother of Twm became the pink and paragon of
+schoolmistresses.&nbsp; &rsquo;Tis true, the noise and uproar of
+her school was so great, that the pigs were frightened from their
+trough, and the curate&rsquo;s wife, who rode an ill-tamed horse,
+was thrown headlong into the well, when passing the academy, from
+the animal taking fright; but that was no fault of Catty&rsquo;s;
+people should break in their horses properly, and curates&rsquo;
+wives should learn to ride and keep their seats better.&nbsp;
+Besides, the alleged uproar was the greatest evidence in her
+favour, as it proved the tenderness of her heart in not
+correcting her scholars&mdash;a quality more valued by their
+maternal parents than any other that could be substituted; and in
+their appreciation of this prime <a name="page17"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 17</span>desideratum, they omitted to inquire
+minutely into her other qualifications for a governess.</p>
+<p>Unreasonable people might have asserted that she should at
+least have been able to read and write with ordinary
+ability.&nbsp; But poor Catty was not troubled with either of
+these accomplishments, and believed with Dogberry, that
+&ldquo;reading and writing came by nature,&rdquo; and that
+&ldquo;where ignorance is bliss, &rsquo;twere folly to be
+wise.&rdquo;&nbsp; She congratulated herself that none could say
+to her &ldquo;Too much learning hath made thee mad;&rdquo; and
+inwardly thanked heaven that her sanity would be unquestioned if
+such a test was applied to her.</p>
+<p>Many of Catty&rsquo;s pupils had been taken by their wise and
+considerate mothers out of the curate&rsquo;s school, fearful
+that his severity would break their hearts; and having there
+learnt their letters and a little spelling, they kept possession
+at least of what they had acquired, by teaching other children,
+which flattered their childish vanity, while it served their
+mistress, who, like a sage general that stands aloof from the
+broil of battle, takes to herself the credit of success, while
+the real operators are forgotten.&nbsp; Thus in time, with the
+powerful support of the matrons of Tregaron, who took the lead of
+their spouses, and directed the taste and opinions of the
+clodhopping community, Catty&rsquo;s school became an alarming
+rival to the curate&rsquo;s.</p>
+<p>The mode of tuition adopted by Twm&rsquo;s mother, was an
+entirely original one, as the reader will have surmised.&nbsp; It
+cost very little trouble in acquiring, because its chief secret
+consisted in tutor and pupils doing just what they chose.&nbsp;
+It may save a good deal of anxiety and trouble to those tutors
+who are too conscientious if we furnish them with a leaf from the
+book of this original preceptor.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Come here, little Guenny Cadwgan,&rdquo; said Catty one
+day, &ldquo;Come here, my little pretty buttercup, and say your
+lesson, if you can; but if you can&rsquo;t, never mind, I
+won&rsquo;t beat nor scold you.&rdquo;&nbsp; Guenny came forward
+bobbing a curtsey, and while his mistress <a
+name="page18"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 18</span>broomed the
+mud from little Twm&rsquo;s breeches, began her lesson.</p>
+<p><i>Guenny</i>.&mdash;a, b, hab.</p>
+<p><i>Catty</i>.&mdash;There&rsquo;s a good maaid!</p>
+<p><i>Guenny</i>.&mdash;e, b, heb.</p>
+<p><i>Catty</i>.&mdash;There&rsquo;s a good maaid!</p>
+<p><i>Guenny</i>.&mdash;o, b, hob.</p>
+<p><i>Catty</i>.&mdash;There&rsquo;s a good maaid!</p>
+<p><i>Guenny</i>.&mdash;i, b,&mdash;can&rsquo;t tell.</p>
+<p><i>Catty</i>.&mdash;Skipe it, child, skipe it&mdash;(meaning
+&ldquo;skip it.&rdquo;)</p>
+<p><i>Guenny</i>.&mdash;u, b, cub.</p>
+<p><i>Catty</i>.&mdash;There&rsquo;s a good maaid!&nbsp; Twm you
+little wicked dog, don&rsquo;t kick the child.&nbsp; Go on,
+Guenny vach.</p>
+<p><i>Twm</i>.&mdash;(who had been struggling for some time to
+get from under his mother&rsquo;s combs,) I want to go a
+fishing.</p>
+<p><i>Catty</i>.&mdash;Lord love the darling child!&nbsp;
+You&rsquo;ll fall into the river and be drowned.</p>
+<p><i>Twm</i>.&mdash;Oh! no, mother; I always fish in the
+gutters.</p>
+<p><i>Dio Bengoch</i>.&mdash;I want to go home for some bread and
+butter.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And I! and I! and I!&rdquo; squalls every urchin in the
+school; and out they would run in a drove, on perceiving the
+independent exit of master Twm, without waiting for the
+permission of his parent and governess.</p>
+<h2><a name="page19"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+19</span>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">A <span class="smcap">lecture</span> on
+learning.&nbsp; Astuteness below stairs.&nbsp; A
+gentleman&rsquo;s opinion on servants.&nbsp; A horse
+milliner.&nbsp; Intimacy with Catty.&nbsp; More suspicion of
+&ldquo;delicate attentions,&rdquo; which so far are not quite so
+criminal as the squire&rsquo;s.</p>
+<p>Perhaps our modern governesses who possess the vain
+accomplishment of reading and writing, may feel disposed to
+undervalue the acquirements of our rural Welsh governess.&nbsp;
+But let them not triumph; and be it recollected that tastes
+differ, and that many of our living patricians, as well as
+wealthy plebeians, who are considered the great, the mighty, and
+the respectable of the land, deprecate with becoming vehemence
+the prevailing mania for educating the poor.&nbsp; We have heard
+ladies, and great ones too, attired in silks and velvets, pall
+and purple, and &ldquo;faring sumptuously every day,&rdquo;
+declare most positively that they never knew a servant good for
+anything that could read and write.</p>
+<p>No sooner were they capable of wielding a goose quill, than
+the impudent hussies presumed to have a will of their own, and
+their opinions mounted a step nearer to the attitude of their
+mistresses.&nbsp; And on men, they said, education had a worse
+effect, as thereby they became the idle readers of books and
+newspapers, which made them saucy to their superiors, and
+sometimes the most villanous cut-throat radicals.&nbsp; Now it
+will be readily admitted, we should think, that there was little
+danger of Catty&rsquo;s scholars ever becoming such pernicious
+characters; and therefore, let not liberal envy withhold from her
+the well-merited meed of applause.&nbsp; Alas for the good old
+times&mdash;we see no such school-mistresses now-a-days! those
+days of the golden age of simplicity are gone for ever.</p>
+<p>Perhaps we might wonder that the parents of the children,
+those who paid such a round sum every <a name="page20"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 20</span>week for instruction administered to
+those &ldquo;babes and sucklings,&rdquo; did not grumble at the
+slow pace at which the process went on.&nbsp; But to criticise a
+subject properly, we must be &ldquo;well up&rdquo; in it, and the
+villagers of Tregaron were not exactly calculated to measure the
+amount of &ldquo;book larning&rdquo; their babes did, or did not
+acquire.&nbsp; They were satisfied if their children were
+&ldquo;out of the way, the livelong day&rdquo; and a penny per
+week was surely not so high a price to pay for that luxury.</p>
+<p>Although our hero&rsquo;s mother could not be called a woman
+of letters, she certainly possessed qualities more original than
+generally fell to the lot of persons in her station.&nbsp; At
+carding wool or spinning it, knitting stockings or mittens, the
+most envious admitted her superiority to every woman in
+Tregaron.</p>
+<p>She moreover had gained no small consideration in another
+character, which her jealous neighbours satirically denominated a
+hedge milliner, whose province it was to mend hedging gloves and
+coarse frocks for ploughmen, to darn or patch with leather the
+heels of their stout woollen stockings, and also to repair horse
+collars at half the price charged by old Daff the saddler; the
+latter part of her occupation, which required a delicate hand to
+cut the slender sewing thongs from the raw bull hides, caused her
+to be called a horse milliner, which, after all, was not much
+more applicable than if she had been called a bull tailor.&nbsp;
+This malignant waggery, however, was unable to disturb the
+tranquil soul of Catty; she loved horses, and in her juvenile
+days had often whiled away her mornings and evenings in the rural
+pastime of driving them, both in plough and harrow, while
+carolling some rural ditty, till the rocks and mountains echoed
+with the cadence of her harmony.</p>
+<p>Catty, with such capabilities and accomplishments, was of
+course an object of wonder, awe, and admiration, to many of the
+swains of Tregaron, notwithstanding those &ldquo;delicate
+attentions&rdquo; bestowed upon her by Sir Jno. Wynn, bart., but
+the success of her <a name="page21"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+21</span>original method of tuition made her quite independent of
+their protestations.&nbsp; But, altering the sex in the
+quotation, we may say that, &ldquo;There is a tide in the affairs
+of women;&rdquo; and it proved to be so in Catty&rsquo;s
+case.</p>
+<p>The right man came at last.&nbsp; Like all her amiable sex,
+she professed the utmost abhorrence of mercenary motives in
+marriage, though many insinuated that she knew the value of
+property from having never possessed any worth mentioning.&nbsp;
+It was observed that she treated with indifference, if not
+aversion, those unprofitable lovers who had nothing but their
+goodly persons to recommend them.</p>
+<p>Certain innuendoes were even thrown out respecting a suspicion
+of her coquettings with one of the most ugly, miserly, and
+repulsive of clowns;&mdash;one who was not only a clown, but a
+red-haired one;&mdash;not only knock-kneed, but
+squint-eyed;&mdash;not only squint-eyed, but a woman-hater; and
+worse than all, a foreigner!&mdash;being a native of a distant
+part of the adjoining county of Carmarthen, and known only by the
+nick-name of Jack of Sheer G&acirc;r, or Carmarthenshire
+Jack.</p>
+<p>This person was repulsive in the extreme.&nbsp; Clad in old,
+patched, dirty clothes, with such peculiar facial properties as
+we have before enumerated, he was apparently the last man upon
+whom one of the opposite sex would have cast her favouring
+eye.&nbsp; He was at this time chief husbandman and bailiff to
+the squire, an office which, giving him power over other
+servants, we may be very sure did not increase his
+popularity.&nbsp; But few showed their distaste and aversion
+openly; it would have been a dangerous experiment with Jack of
+Sheer G&acirc;r.</p>
+<p>The standing jest against him was, his qualifications as a
+trencherman, and his reputation as a &ldquo;huge feeder&rdquo;
+was certainly unrivalled.&nbsp; As there was not a single pastime
+under the head of amusement, that the ingenuity of man has ever
+devised for the entertainment of his fellows, save eating, that
+possessed a charm for him, it might of course be expected that <a
+name="page22"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 22</span>this solitary
+recreation would be indulged in the proportion that he excluded
+all others.&nbsp; He not only performed all the functions of the
+gross glutton, but as the actors say, &ldquo;looked the
+character,&rdquo; to perfection.</p>
+<p>The reader, measuring him by other men, would make a very
+erroneous guess on the most prominent feature of his face, if he
+fixed on the nasal protuberance&mdash;no such thing&mdash;his
+nose was flat and small, but his large projecting upper teeth,
+like &ldquo;rocks of pearl jutting over the sea,&rdquo; were ever
+bared for action, white as those of his only companion, the
+mastiff, and nobly independent of a sheathing lip.</p>
+<blockquote><p>Others more comely features might wear<br />
+But Jack was famed for his white teeth bare.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>As the squire&rsquo;s lady was not the most liberal in
+supplying the servants&rsquo; table, those wags, male or female,
+who were in the habit of committing the silent mimicry against
+Jack, were soon taught a severe lesson at the expense of their
+bowels.&nbsp; It was discovered that, whenever enraged at their
+treatment, instead of spending his breath in vain reproaches, or
+taking to the more violent proceeding of fisty-cuffs, Jack
+revenged himself by eating most outrageously, so that scoffers,
+deprived of their shares, often found their stomachs minus.&nbsp;
+His power of mastication increased with his anger; and the
+flaming energy that was mentally inciting him to give an enemy a
+fierce facer, or a destructive cross-buttock, was diverted from
+his knuckles to his teeth; and in every quantum which he ground
+in his relentless mill, he felt the glowing satisfaction of
+having annihilated a foe.</p>
+<p>Woe to those who were his next neighbours at table, and sat so
+close to his elbows at those hours of excitement; fierce punches
+in the ribs, as if by accident, were among the slightest
+consequences; and those who were thus taught the manners to keep
+a respectable distance, declared that the fears they <a
+name="page23"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 23</span>entertained
+was only of his knife.&nbsp; But his bloodthirsty propensities
+were not so great as they were represented to be.&nbsp; Jack
+believed in the &ldquo;power of the eye,&rdquo; and exemplified
+it, in his own case, by making that organ express what his head
+never meant to carry out.&nbsp; The squire knew his value as a
+faithful servant, and turned a deaf ear to all the evil that was
+reported of him.</p>
+<p>Before fanaticism had cast its puritanic gloom over Wales, and
+identified itself almost with the Welsh in character, mirth and
+minstrelsy, dance and song, emulative games and rural pastimes
+were the order of the day; and, as the people worked hard all the
+week, it must be confessed that these sports often infringed upon
+the sanctity of the Sabbath.</p>
+<p>Sundays were often entirely spent in dancing, wrestling, and
+kicking the foot-ball.&nbsp; The latter violent exercise, at this
+time prevalent in Cardiganshire, was performed in large parties
+of village against village, and parish against parish, when the
+country brought together its mass of population either to partake
+in the glories of the game or to enjoy the success of their
+friends, as spectators.&nbsp; On these occasions Carmarthen Jack
+loved to be present, but only as a spectator, as he was never
+known to take a part in the game.</p>
+<p>Jack thought the exercise of play was waste of time and
+breath.&nbsp; He told others that he &ldquo;kept his breath to
+cool his flummery, and his strength to make money.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Whilst the others were panting with efforts made in the game,
+Jack was quietly cutting and carving his wooden spoons, made out
+of the birch or alder which he stored all the week under his bed,
+for the purpose of drying it.</p>
+<p>At fairs also, Carmarthen Jack would be equally punctual, and
+after having done his master&rsquo;s business of buying or
+selling a horse or so, would be seen with a load of merchandise
+of his own manufacture, wooden spoons, ladles, and clog soles, in
+abundance, which drew about him all the rural house-keepers far
+and near.&nbsp; <a name="page24"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+24</span>&ldquo;No milliner could suit her customers with
+gloves&rdquo; in greater variety than Jack with spoons to please
+his purchasers.&nbsp; He had spoons for man, woman and child,
+fashioned for every sort of mouth, from the tiny infant&rsquo;s
+to the shark-jaws of the hungry ploughman, which, like his own,
+was said to present a gap from ear to ear.&nbsp; He had spoons
+for use, and spoons for ornament; the latter, meant to keep
+company with the showy polished pewter, were made of box or yew,
+highly polished and curiously carved with divers characters,
+supposed to be suns, moons, stars, hearts transfixed with the
+dart of cupid, and sometimes a hen and chickens; with
+hieroglyphics for fear of their being mistaken for a cat and
+mice, with other such misconstructions, Jack always explained at
+the time of bargaining, without any extra charge.</p>
+<p>Nothing could more emphatically prove the excellency of
+Jack&rsquo;s wares, than the circumstance of his being personally
+unpopular among the women, and yet his wares in the highest
+esteem.&nbsp; The frowns of the fair, which threw a gloom on the
+sunshine of his days, may be traced to a source not at all
+dishonourable to him.&nbsp; The girls at the squire&rsquo;s had
+played him so many tricks, that once in the height of
+aggravation, Jack waged war against the whole sex, devoting to
+the infernal gods every creature that wore a petticoat, and
+vowing, from that day forward, not one of the proscribed race
+should ever enter his room, which was romantically situated over
+the stable, its wickered lattice commanding a full view of both
+the pigsty and the dunghill.</p>
+<p>The consequence of this terrible row caused him, at first,
+some trouble, as, to keep it, he was obliged thenceforward to be
+his own chambermaid, laundress, and sempstress, offices that
+accorded ill with his previous habits.&nbsp; The laudable
+firmness of his nature, however, soon overcame these petty
+difficulties; and so far was he from backsliding from his
+previous determination, that he vowed to throw through the window
+the first woman who entered his chamber, <a
+name="page25"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 25</span>which the
+satirical hussies called his den&mdash;a threat which effectually
+secured him from further intrusion.</p>
+<p>Sometimes, indeed, while sitting at the door of the cow-house,
+or the stable, listening to the rural sounds of the cackling
+geese and grunting pigs, and darning his hose, or patching his
+leather breeches, or treading his shift in the brook by way of
+washing it, those eternal plagues of his, the girls, would be
+seen and heard behind the covert of a wall or hedge, smothering
+their tittering, which at last would burst out, in spite of
+suppression, into a loud horse-laugh, when, one and all, they
+would take to their heels, while Jack amused himself by pelting
+their rear, in their precipitate retreat, with clods of earth,
+small stones or anything that came in his way.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Circumstances alter cases.&rdquo;&nbsp; In time Jack
+gained the reputation of being rich.&nbsp; He had made spoons to
+some purpose, and however the fair sex may cry up their
+disinterestedness, we are all aware that money materially alters
+the position of a man in their eyes.&nbsp; One of the maids with
+this knowledge, became very suddenly enamoured of him, and tried
+to gain his good will.&nbsp; But having one day ventured to
+Jack&rsquo;s &ldquo;sanctum,&rdquo; the wench was pitched into
+the dunghill below, and as a consequence the &ldquo;pangs of
+despised love&rdquo; raged in her bosom.&nbsp; The first act of
+her resentment was to spread about the insidious report that Jack
+Sheer was a woman-hater&mdash;an insinuation that rather preyed
+upon his mind, as he dreaded the effect such an unmerited stigma
+would have upon his private trade.&nbsp; But innocence is ever
+predestined to an ultimate triumph; and an event soon happened
+that proved the falsehood of those prevalent tales to his
+discredit, and convinced his greatest foes that he possessed a
+heart, if not overflowing with human charity, at least penetrable
+to the blandishments of beauty, and quick with sensibility to
+female merit.</p>
+<p>On one auspicious market-day, Carmarthen Jack appeared in the
+streets of Tregaron where the market is held, loaded with his
+usual merchandise, which he <a name="page26"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 26</span>spread on the ground, and sat beside
+them; but not meeting with a ready sale, and disdaining even
+momentary idleness, began with earnestness to cut and scoop away
+at a piece of alder, gradually forming it into a huge ladle, to
+correspond with the largest size three-legged iron pot.&nbsp; On
+this eventful morning Catty had occasion to perambulate the fair,
+to purchase a new ladle, her cross-grained sister having broken
+the old one, by thumping with it on the back of an overgrown hog,
+whose foraging propensities had led him to investigate the
+recesses of the schoolroom.</p>
+<p>The notoriety occasioned by Jack&rsquo;s peculiarities, and
+the fact of his having money, reached the ears of Catty, and our
+prudent tutor determined to make his acquaintance through the
+medium of the broken ladle.&nbsp; Some people say that Catty
+broke the ladle herself, broke it with a design and that design
+was an excuse for visiting and conquering one who hated all her
+sex.&nbsp; Be that as it may, she sought and found him in the
+fair, and fell in love with him and his ladle at the same
+instant.&nbsp; After an effort to conquer her native bashfulness,
+and to look as lovely as possible, she accosted him with such
+uncommon civility as utterly astounded the poor clownish
+misanthropic bachelor.&nbsp; She examined the ladle in his hand,
+and though not half finished, declared it to be the handsomest
+ever her eyes beheld, and paid for it without seeking the least
+abatement in the price.&nbsp; Jack gaped at her, with open mouth
+and staring eyes, and thought her a very interesting woman,
+though his first impression was, that she was mad, as he had
+asked double the selling price, on purpose to abate one half,
+according to the custom immemorial in Welsh dealings.</p>
+<p>She next purchased half a dozen common birch-wood spoons, and,
+as many ornamental ones made of box, to adorn her shelf, and, as
+before paid him his own price.&nbsp; Jack thought her very lovely
+indeed: and when she made another purchase of a pair of clog <a
+name="page27"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 27</span>soles, quite
+irresistible!&mdash;her ready money opened his heart as the best
+key in the world would have done a patent lock; and he was almost
+ready to offer them as a present, but for fear of wounding her
+delicacy.&nbsp; As she found he had no further variety, she
+ordered half a dozen more common spoons, and Jack, with all the
+amiability that he could possibly throw into his hard features,
+presented her with one of his most finished articles in
+box.&nbsp; She received it with that peculiar smile with which a
+lady accepts a welcome love-token, and replied in the softest
+tone imaginable, &ldquo;Indeed I will keep it for your sake, John
+bach!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Jack had nothing to do but wonder&mdash;he never had been
+called John in his life before; at any other time he would have
+thought she mocked him&mdash;and the endearing term of
+&ldquo;bach&rdquo; too, was equally new to his ears, which seemed
+to grow longer as they tingled with the grateful sound.&nbsp;
+This interesting scene was closed by Catty asking him to her
+house to partake of a dinner of flummery and milk, which he
+accepted with the best grace imaginable, and trudged off with his
+wares on his back and dangling from his arms and button-holes;
+and thus gallanting her in the most amatory style; he walked by
+her side to Llidiard-y-Fynon.</p>
+<p>Unaccustomed to kindness in either word or deed, poor Jack of
+Sheer G&acirc;r, met her condescensions and advances with a
+sheepish sort of gratitude.&nbsp; A cordial invitation on the
+part of Catty to repeat his visit as soon, and as often, as
+possible, affected him almost to tears; and as a proof of his
+unbounded confidence, he left in her care his whole stock of
+ready-made spoons and ladles, and almost blubbered when he shook
+her hand at parting.</p>
+<p>As a proof of the beneficial effect of kindness on a churlish
+nature, and the contrary, of ridicule and persecution, we need
+but contrast this rugged man&rsquo;s previous character and
+conduct with what followed, after <a name="page28"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 28</span>the tenderness of Catty had melted
+the frost of misanthropy which formed a crusty coat round his
+heart.&nbsp; The adventure of the day produced a most
+extraordinary revolution in his habits.&nbsp; None of the
+servants of the hall, male or female, could conceive what it
+portended, when Jack asked one of them, his fellow husbandman, to
+trim his hair; and while the fellow clipped his rough red locks
+with his sheep-shears, once mischievously pinching his ear with
+them till he roared, he was surprised at his questions about the
+price of a new pair of leather breeches, and a red
+neck-cloth.&nbsp; Greater still was the astonishment of the whole
+house, when, in a few days after, he appeared changed into a
+complete rustic buck in those very articles of dress, and while
+he thought nobody saw him, endeavoured to cut a dancing caper on
+the green, which they mistook for a frisky bullock.&nbsp; Changes
+like these are seldom without a reason, thought his fellow
+servants; and when they saw Jack&rsquo;s elated steps lead him
+towards Catty&rsquo;s house, they jeered, and laughed, and
+winked; and nothing knew of course, although their knowledge made
+him all the worse.&nbsp; Tregaron and its neighbourhood had now
+food for gossip, and gossip to some people is indeed the very
+acme of human felicity.</p>
+<p>Flummery and milk, named here as the food on which those
+lovers regaled, has been considered in Wales a very popular mess,
+common, but still a favourite among high and low, and might be
+seen on the board of the lord lieutenant of county, as well as on
+that of the humblest cottager.&nbsp; The lofty of the land whose
+pampered stomachs have turned with loathing from more dainty
+dishes in sultry seasons, have welcomed the simplicity of milk
+and flummery, as the advocate of native charms would greet the
+smilings of a rustic beauty, while the meretricious fair of
+fashion would be passed by, neglected.</p>
+<p>The English reader will not be offended if I dilate a little
+praise of my favourite bowl or platter, (too much to call it a
+dish perhaps,) while I explain its <a name="page29"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 29</span>nature; and if he be a bloated son of
+affluence, overflowing with bile and spleen, he will thank us,
+after adopting our recommendation of feeding on it often during
+his rustication among our mountains.&nbsp; Our candid sages of
+the pill and potion, also recommend it as very effective in
+promoting an increase of good clear healthy blood.</p>
+<p>Flummery is made of the inner hulls of ground oats, when
+sifted from the meal, some of which still adheres to it, by
+soaking it in water till it acquires a slight taste of acidity,
+when it is strained through a hair sieve and boiled till it
+becomes a perfect jelly.&nbsp; When poured from that prince of
+culinary vessels, the large three-legged iron pot, into a vast
+earthen dish, it presents a smooth smiling aspect of the most
+winning equanimity, till destroyed by the numerous invading
+spoons of the company, who plunge a portion of it, scalding hot,
+into their bowls of cool milk.&nbsp; Thus much of the descriptive
+history is given, to illustrate the following ode to its immortal
+praise, with which we shall now close this long chapter.</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">MILK AND FLUMMERY.</p>
+<p>Let luxury&rsquo;s imbecile train,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Of appetites fastidious,<br />
+Each sauced provocative obtain,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The draught or viand perfidious;<br />
+But oh! give me that simple food,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Lov&rsquo;d by the sons of Cymru.<br />
+With health, with nourishment imbued,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The sweet cool milk and flummery.</p>
+<p>Let pudding-headed English folk<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; With boast of roast-beef fag us;<br />
+Let Scottish Burns crack rural jokes,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And vaunt kail-brose and haggis;<br />
+But Cymrian sons, of mount and plain,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; From Brecknock to Montgomery,<br />
+Let us the honest praise maintain,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Of sweet cold milk and flummery.</p>
+<p>On sultry days when appetites<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Wane dull, and low, and queasy,<br />
+<a name="page30"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 30</span>When
+loathing stomachs nought delights,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; To gulph our flummery&rsquo;s easy.<br />
+Dear oaten jelly, pride of Wales!<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Thou smooth-faced child of Cymry.<br />
+On the ruddy swain regales,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And blesses milk and flummery.</p>
+<p>&rsquo;Tis sweet to stroll on Cambrian heights<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; O&rsquo;er-looking vales and rivers.<br />
+Where thin and purest air invites,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The soul from spleen delivers;<br />
+That foe of bile the light repast<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; To bloated gout may come wry.<br />
+But Nature&rsquo;s child, thy mid-day fast<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Break thou with milk and flummery.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<h2>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Another</span> lecture in
+Welsh.&nbsp; &ldquo;Courting in bed.&rdquo;&nbsp; Our
+hero&rsquo;s education progresses.&nbsp; The Curate&rsquo;s
+school.</p>
+<p>Whilst our lovers were regaling themselves upon milk and
+flummery, Twm Shon Catty was concocting and putting into
+execution his first practical joke, for while they sat side by
+side at the goodly oak table, he fastened them together by the
+coat and gown with a peeled thorn spike, which before the
+introduction of pins, was used by the fair sex to unite about
+them their various articles of attire.</p>
+<p>This freak being performed, Twm stole off unperceived, and
+getting on the outside of the door, he was joined by Watt the
+mole catcher, and a party of children instructed for the purpose,
+in a loud and astounding cry of mad bull! a mad bull! at the same
+time forcing before them into the house a little trotting calf,
+whose buttocks were tortured by Twm&rsquo;s ox-goad till he
+reared and capered up to the very table where the lover&rsquo;s
+sat.&nbsp; Catty screamed, and both jumped up mutually terrified,
+as sudden fear had <a name="page31"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+31</span>magnified the little animal to the proportions of an
+enormous brute of an enraged bull, whose uninvited visit and
+uncalled for appearance at their dinner table, portending nothing
+less than death.&nbsp; When Twm and Watt&rsquo;s laughter at
+length undeceived them, the spoon merchant, who had been so
+liberally assisted with spoon and meat, found to his dismay, that
+with his heart Catty had carried away the skirt of his coat, by
+the sudden jerk of rising from their seats; and had the gods made
+Jack poetical, he might have exclaimed with the renowned Mr.
+Tag,&mdash;<a name="citation31"></a><a href="#footnote31"
+class="citation">[31]</a></p>
+<blockquote><p>The lovely maid on whom I dote<br />
+Hath made a spencer of my coat.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The wicked urchin who caused this unsanctioned union continued
+with his mischievous party, their laughter long and loud, and
+Catty&rsquo;s grumpy sister Juggy, for the first time in her
+life, astonished them with a grin on the occasion.&nbsp; Twm
+received a severe rebuke from his parent, and poor hapless Jack,
+with the view of propitiating an evil spirit that might prove
+troublesome to him hereafter, made him a present of a new spoon,
+which, because it was merely a common one he ungratefully threw
+into the blazing turf fire, that on this festal occasion glowed
+on the hearth in a higher pile and wider dimensions than usual,
+and demanded one of his best box-wood ware.</p>
+<p>Jack would have given it to him immediately but for the
+intervention of his mother, who forbade the indulgence.&nbsp; No
+sooner, however, was he gone than Twm watched his opportunity and
+purloined as many of the better sort as he could conveniently
+take away unperceived, and sold them at the cheap rate of stolen
+goods, to an old woman named, or rather nick-named, Rachel Ketch,
+from some supposed resemblance in her character to that finisher
+of the law, although some persons roundly asserted that she was
+in fact a <a name="page32"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+32</span>relict of one John Ketch, Esquire, of
+Stretch-neck-Place, Session Court, Carmarthen.</p>
+<p>As no further consequence followed this act of unprovoked
+delinquency, it was scarcely worth mentioning, except that it
+stands as the first of the kind on record; and when discovered,
+Twm&rsquo;s over affectionate parent did not punish him for
+it,&mdash;an omission that might have watered the root of a vast
+tree of after enormities, but the mirthful mind rarely produces
+such an upas monstrosity.</p>
+<p>We come now to the era of his history when our hero entered
+another scene of life, in that of a new school, which event was
+ushered in by an unlooked-for circumstance, that must be first
+narrated.</p>
+<p>To our English readers it may be a piece of information if we
+make known that in some parts of Wales, &ldquo;Courting in
+bed&rdquo; is very common.&nbsp; It was so, at least when the
+first and second editions of this work were issued, but now is
+confined only to a few particular districts.&nbsp; Some of our
+readers may be shocked; but when they are assured that the custom
+embraces nothing which is not consistent with the strictest
+honour, they will perhaps accord our ancient custom a little more
+charity.&nbsp; This comfortable mode of forwarding a marriage
+connexion prevailed very generally at Tregaron, to the great
+scandal and virtuous indignation of the lady of Squire
+Graspacre.&nbsp; It was amazing to witness with what energy this
+good gentlewoman set about reforming the people, by the forcible
+abolishment of what she pleased to call, this odious, dangerous,
+blasphemous, and ungodly custom.</p>
+<p>Her patronage was for ever lost to any man or woman, youth or
+maid, of the town or country, who was related to, or connected
+with any person who connived at bed courtship.&nbsp; There was
+not a cottager who called at the great house for a pitcher of
+whey, skim milk, or buttermilk, as a return for labour in harvest
+time, but was closely examined on this head; and woe to those who
+had the temerity to assert that there was no harm in the custom;
+or that the wooers <a name="page33"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+33</span>merely laid down in their clothes, and thus conversed at
+their ease on their future plans or prospects; or who denied that
+such a situation was more calculated for amorous caresses and
+endearments than sitting by a scanty fire in a chimney
+corner.</p>
+<p>Mrs. Graspacre was certainly a very virtuous&mdash;a very
+termagant of decorous propriety.&nbsp; If any person dared, in
+her presence, to advocate this proscribed and utterly condemned
+mode, disdaining to argue the point, she would settle the matter
+in a summary manner, peculiarly her own, by protesting she would
+have a woman burnt alive who would submit to be courted in
+bed.</p>
+<p>In the course of two years there were no less than four young
+men, and twice as many damsels, turned away from her service for
+courting in the hay-loft; and on these occasions the poor girls
+never escaped personal violence from the indignant and
+persevering Mrs. Graspacre.&nbsp; She also assured them in
+language undistinguished for choiceness or delicacy, that
+&ldquo;they were not to try and hoodwink her by telling her it
+meant nothing.&nbsp; She knew better, she had not lived all these
+years to be lied to and cheated by a common
+w&mdash;e.&rdquo;&nbsp; In her flaming zeal for decorum, the
+tongs, the poker, the pitchfork, or the hay-rake, became an
+instrument of chastisement.&nbsp; A double advantage was
+discovered in the terror thus created, the dignity of her sex
+being in the first place asserted and supported: in the next, the
+offenders preferred running away without payment of their wages,
+to standing the chance of having their heads or arms broken with
+a poker, or their bodies pierced by the terrible prongs of a
+pitchfork.</p>
+<p>All the lowly dependents of Mrs. Graspacre found it their
+interest to become her spies, who soon vied with each other in
+giving the earliest intimation of any amorous pair who committed
+this most diabolical offence; and those who were least forward in
+bringing intelligence on this score, immediately sunk in her
+esteem, and were mulct of their allowance of skim milk and blue
+whey.</p>
+<p><a name="page34"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 34</span>But in
+time the old hen-wives of the neighbourhood discovered the virtue
+of sycophancy and the efficacy of a little seasonable cant! and
+when they were not warranted by real occurrences, they contrived
+to conciliate their patroness by drawing upon their fertile
+imagination and inventions; at other times, their knowledge of
+Mrs. Graspacre&rsquo;s failing served their own revenge.&nbsp;
+Let anybody offend them, and they immediately went to the lady
+with a manufactured tale, doing more credit to the imagination
+than the heart.&nbsp; Their enemy had been found courting in bed
+with Miss So-and-so, which was the signal for immediate
+condemnation without trial.</p>
+<p>Not satisfied with these auxiliaries in the cause of virtue,
+the zealous Mrs. Graspacre enlisted on her side a very powerful
+champion, in the person of the reverend Mr. Inco Evans, the
+curate of Tregaron.&nbsp; Great was her mortification to find her
+attempts on the rector fail of success, as he declared it
+dangerous and ungenerous to interfere with the peculiarities and
+long-established customs of the people; especially as he
+conceived it was rarely that any bad consequences ensued from the
+mode in question; but when the evil really occurred, if the
+faithless swain delayed making due reparation, a gaol, exile from
+his native place, or a compelled marriage, was the consequence, a
+penalty incurred.&nbsp; &ldquo;Besides,&rdquo; quoth the worthy
+rector, with a hearty laugh, &ldquo;that was the very way in
+which I courted my own wife, and many persons who are no enemies
+of virtue, consider it the best mode in the world, and were I
+young again, ha, ha, ha! egad, I think I should pursue the same
+fashion.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And I too!&rdquo; cries Mr. Graspacre, &ldquo;as I have
+no objection in the world to the custom.&rdquo;&nbsp; The
+reader&rsquo;s experience of the squire will certainly give him
+credit for speaking truth in this instance.&nbsp; The notions of
+morality would be highly forwarded by courting in bed.&nbsp; But
+as for Mrs. Graspacre, had the faces of all the foul-fiends been
+united in one for the purpose of producing a <i>ne plus ultra</i>
+of concentrated devilry, it <a name="page35"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 35</span>would not have surpassed the amiable
+expression upon her face.&nbsp; &ldquo;You, Mr. Graspacre!
+<i>you</i>!&nbsp; I&rsquo;m astonished; but&rdquo;&mdash;(with a
+severe glance at the rector) &ldquo;when the shepherd goes
+astray, no wonder the silly sheep follow his
+example!&rdquo;&nbsp; With that, she bounced out of the room, and
+slammed the door in a high fit of indignation, aggravated by the
+calm looks of the rector, and the provoking tittering of her
+liege lord.</p>
+<p>The rector&rsquo;s honest dissent from her scheme of
+reformation, Mrs. Graspacre considered a direct declaration of
+hostilities, and therefore, by her peculiar creed of morality,
+she felt herself bound to vilify his name, and most piously
+longed for his death, that the cause of virtue might be supported
+by the talents of her favourite curate, who was now, she said, on
+a poor stipend which he increased by keeping a school in the
+church.</p>
+<p>The reverend Inco Evans, the curate, played his cards well; he
+was a hard-featured man, with lowering brows and a complete
+ploughman&rsquo;s gate; insolent to his poor parishioners, and a
+very awkward cringer to the great.&nbsp; But flattery, direct or
+covert, does much, and in time completely won him the favour of
+the great lady.&nbsp; She encouraged his patience by assuring him
+that the vicar, in his declined state of health, could not
+possibly live long; and his death, happen when it might, must
+appear, to all unprejudiced christians, as a judgment, for
+advocating, or not prosecuting, that execrable custom courting in
+bed.</p>
+<p>As the living had long been promised to him, the hopes and
+expectations of Mr. Inco Evans were very sanguine.&nbsp; Waiting
+for dead men&rsquo;s shoes is rather a wearisome thing,
+especially if the object of your affectionate solicitude be
+apparently in the best of health; but the curate was hopeful, and
+patient; and as he was no less ambitious than sycophantic and
+impervious, he looked forward with confidence to the period when
+he should strut forth in a fire-shovel hat, as vicar of the
+parish, and a magistrate in the county.</p>
+<p>Notwithstanding that the living was promised him <a
+name="page36"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 36</span>by the lady,
+he was aware that she was not always paramount, and therefore
+lost no opportunity of insinuating himself in the squire&rsquo;s
+favour.&nbsp; He would laugh loudly to the injury of his lungs,
+at the squire&rsquo;s most vapid jokes; praise the beauty of his
+snub-nosed children, and call curs, pointers; tell him where the
+prettiest lasses in the parish were to be found; with many such
+<i>honourable</i> civilities, that Squire Graspacre at length
+discovered him to be a very useful sort of person.</p>
+<p>When Sir John Wynn of Gwydir paid his before mentioned visit,
+his sister introduced and recommended our curate, as a right
+worthy divine who deserved preferment; and the baronet promised
+to remember her recommendation, if anything turned out, within
+his power, to benefit him.&nbsp; Much time had elapsed, and
+nothing followed this agreeable promise; but Inco Evans
+persevered in his sycophancy, and if the labour and dirty work be
+properly estimated, he certainly justified his claims to a good
+living&mdash;in his majesty&rsquo;s plantations, beyond the seas;
+to which he ought to have been inducted at the expense of
+government, and, as the artful Dodger says, he should have</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Gone abroad for the good of his health,<br
+/>
+But not at his own expense!&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>He soon saw the weak side of his lady patroness: and anxious
+to strengthen his influence by promoting her views, he gave great
+encouragement to those boys in his school who brought him the
+piquant tales of their grown up brothers and sisters.&nbsp; Much
+scandal was afloat at this time respecting the loves of
+Carmarthen Jack and Catty of Llidiard-y-Fynnon; he would almost
+have given his right hand to know how it was carried on.&nbsp;
+But Jack was wily; and though Catty possessed little
+book-learning, she had enough knowledge to outwit the
+curate.&nbsp; These lovers only went out at night, and took care
+to choose a solitary place for their meetings, so that getting
+information <a name="page37"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+37</span>was, in their case, difficult of attainment.&nbsp; At
+length the cunning man thought he had hit upon a plan.</p>
+<p>Little Twm Shon Catty, being the natural child of Sir John
+Wynn, was of course the illegitimate nephew of the great lady; a
+relationship which she, however, disdained to acknowledge; but
+the cunning curate took the liberty of observing one day, it was
+a great pity that the slightest drop of the noble blood of the
+Wynns, however perverted and polluted, should be run to waste and
+be neglected.&nbsp; Proceeding in this drift, he insinuated that
+if the boy Twm Shon Catty were removed to his school, he should
+not only be instructed and improved, but that he, the curate,
+might thereby learn from the youngster something of his
+mother&rsquo;s proceedings; and especially, whether she
+entertained her lover in the legal or the proscribed
+manner.&nbsp; This was striking on the very string that made
+music to her busy, meddling, troublesome soul;&mdash;she of
+course warmly approved of his idea, and put it into immediate
+execution.&nbsp; Thus, the very next day, in her own and in her
+brother&rsquo;s name, little Twm Shon Catty was ordered for the
+future to be sent to the curate&rsquo;s school, which of course
+was complied with accordingly.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm</span> progresses at
+the opposition school.&nbsp; Flogging made easy.&nbsp; Out of the
+frying-pan into the fire.&nbsp; Sports at Whirligoogan.</p>
+<p>The great success of Catty&rsquo;s school excited the ill-will
+of parson Inco; although he had far more scholars than he could
+possibly attend to.&nbsp; His indignation at his wife&rsquo;s
+fall from her horse into the well, while passing his humble
+rival&rsquo;s seminary, together with the humiliating
+consideration that many <a name="page38"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 38</span>of the most juvenile deserted his
+rule, to submit to hers, wounded this consequential personage to
+the quick.&nbsp; Like the fox and the grapes, he sneered at that
+which was out of his reach, protested that the &ldquo;room&rdquo;
+of those scholars who had deserted him was much better than their
+company.</p>
+<p>This new arrangement respecting Twm, they thought could not
+but be vexatious to Catty, and therefore Mistress Evans felt
+herself avenged for the tittering that she heard in her school,
+on her fall into the well as before mentioned.&nbsp; But far
+different was the case from what they anticipated, for Catty no
+sooner heard the order, than in the sincerity of her heart, she
+exclaimed, &ldquo;Thank God! the boy will learn something from
+the parson, but I could teach him nothing.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Little Twm was now in his seventh year, and as refractory a
+pupil as ever was spoiled by a dawdling mother.&nbsp; Kept aloof
+from his dear duck-ponds and puddles, and compelled to explore
+the mysteries of the horn-book, this first change in his life was
+acutely felt.&nbsp; Self-willed and stubborn, he conceived the
+utmost abhorrence of horn-books, cross curates, and birch-rods;
+he wept and sulked, struck the boys who mocked him, stayed away
+from school, and was flogged so often, that at length he found it
+much easier to learn his book than endure the consequence of
+neglecting it.</p>
+<p>Once arrived at this happy mood, and being one day praised by
+his master, a new spirit possessed the boy; he resolved to
+revenge himself on those youths who formerly had made him their
+butt of ridicule, by getting the start of them in learning.&nbsp;
+The horn-book was soon thrown by; the Reading-made-easy and
+Spelling-book shared a similar fate; and the pride of a young
+heart sparkled in his eyes when his great lady aunt, on hearing a
+good account of him from his master, presented him with a bible,
+on the inside of the cover of which was the following
+couplet:&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Take this Holy Bible book,<br />
+God give thee grace therein to look.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><a name="page39"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 39</span>A
+specimen of poetry which was considered by everybody to be the
+index to a master-mind.&nbsp; Mount Parnassus was scaled, and
+that by an inhabitant of Tregaron!&nbsp; Poor Catty proudly
+showed the book and the poetry to all her neighbours, who sagely
+declared Mrs. Graspacre&rsquo;s bounty and poetry equally
+fine.</p>
+<p>Notwithstanding his rapid advancement in book learning, parson
+Evans was far from being satisfied with his pupil, nor was his
+main end answered in having brought him to his school.&nbsp; Twm
+loved his mother, and felt no great affection for his master, nor
+gratitude for the floggings which had enforced so much learning
+into his head; and never could the generous boy be brought to
+tell any tales to her disadvantage.&nbsp; The curate&rsquo;s
+severity increased, and no longer praised or encouraged; Twm
+became not only indifferent to his tasks, but wanton and unjust
+severity had the effect of blunting his feelings; and making him
+stubborn and revengeful; until at length he arrived at such an
+extremity of youthful recklessness, as to study tricks for the
+annoyance of his master, and the scholars whom he found
+unfriendly.</p>
+<p>In the eleventh year of his age, some decisive shoots of
+character made their appearance; a taste for sharp sayings, a
+skilful trickery in outwitting his opponents, appear to be his
+striking peculiarities, as well as boldness and resolution on the
+play-ground, where none could surpass him in robust or violent
+exercises.&nbsp; His faithful ally and constant instructor, Watt
+the mole catcher, taught him many useful and <i>striking</i>
+lessons when the pedagogue had done with our hero for the
+day.&nbsp; Twm, under his tuition, soon became proficient in the
+use of cudgels and quarter-staff.</p>
+<p>More particular in the latter he excelled; and his superiority
+in this ancient and national exercise was exemplified by the loud
+cries and broken heads of his defeated schoolfellows.&nbsp; A
+catastrophe of that kind one day, even in school-time, brought
+the enraged master out, who severely asked Twm what he meant by
+such <a name="page40"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+40</span>conduct.&nbsp; &ldquo;Why, sir,&rdquo; cried the little
+rogue, &ldquo;You always say that you never can beat anything
+into the head of Peter Penddwl, so I tried what I could do with
+the cudgel, that&rsquo;s all!&rdquo;&nbsp; For this he was booked
+for a future flogging.&nbsp; A few days after, his master sent
+him from the school to his house, for a book which he wanted.</p>
+<p>Twm found the mistress and maid out, the first at the Hall,
+and the last had made a present of her little leisure to her
+sweetheart, Watt the mole-catcher.&nbsp; On entering the parlour,
+he saw there a fine bunch of grapes, which his great lady aunt
+had sent his master.&nbsp; As this was a fruit hitherto unknown
+to him, he deliberately tasted two or three to discover whether
+they were eatable.&nbsp; Having gradually seen the bunch grow
+&ldquo;beautifully less,&rdquo; it seemed a pity to separate the
+lovely fruit, so Twm thought they should all go the same way.</p>
+<p>He therefore resolved to finish it, and lay the blame on the
+cat, if charged with the theft; as to dividing the spoil, and
+leaving a portion for the owner, the scheme was impracticable, he
+decided to abide by his master&rsquo;s maxim, &ldquo;that it was
+not decent for two to eat from the same dish.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Lifting up the remains of the luscious bunch with affected
+ceremony, he exclaimed in a lofty tone, mimicking his master,
+&ldquo;I publish the banns of marriage between my mouth and this
+bunch of grapes; if any one knows just cause or impediment why
+they should not be joined together, let him now declare it, or
+hereafter forever, hold his peace!&rdquo;&nbsp; And as no
+dissentient voice intervened, he abruptly
+cried&mdash;&ldquo;silence gives consent,&rdquo; and hastily
+consummated the delicious union.</p>
+<p>No sooner had he gulped the grapes than his master made his
+appearance.&nbsp; Suspecting the cause of his delay, he had
+followed after, and witnessing the imposing ritual, he stood, rod
+in hand, surrounded by his scholars, whom he had called.&nbsp;
+When all was in readiness, he exclaimed, &ldquo;I publish the
+banns of marriage between my rod and your breech; if any <a
+name="page41"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 41</span>one knows
+just cause or impediment why they may not be lawfully joined
+together in wedlock, let him now declare it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I forbid the banns!&rdquo; roared Twm Shon Catty;
+&ldquo;For what reason?&rdquo; cried the awful pedant,
+flourishing his rod in eager preparation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Because,&rdquo; cried the waggish urchin, &ldquo;the
+parties are not agreed.&rdquo;&nbsp; At this moment a servant
+from Graspacre Hall brought a message from the lady of that
+mansion, that she wished to see the Reverend Mr. Inco Evans
+immediately; on which Twm obtained a remission of his
+flogging.&nbsp; History does not furnish us with satisfactory
+particulars as to whether Twm was liberated on account of his
+ready wit, or because necessity demanded it, the pedagogue being
+in a hurry.</p>
+<p>The boys were now thrilled to ecstasy with that magic word, a
+&ldquo;holiday!&rdquo; and away scampered each and all to their
+respective amusements.&nbsp; Briefly, however, was their gust of
+enjoyment, for parson Inco&rsquo;s voice was soon heard,
+vociferating his wrath in no gentle terms; and now he appeared in
+his shirt sleeves, his best Sunday sable coat in his hand,
+divested of every button.</p>
+<p>His face at no time prepossessing, was now terrible to look
+on, inflamed with anger, with a slight tint of blue-black over
+his native strong ground of turkey-red.&nbsp; Great was the
+terror of the poor enslaved scholars as he howled out &ldquo;What
+villain has cut off all the buttons from my coat?&rdquo;&nbsp; A
+general whimper of, &ldquo;it was not I, sir,&rdquo; passed among
+the shivering train.&nbsp; And upon Mr. Inco&rsquo;s threat to
+flog them all round unless the culprit was instantly discovered,
+one blue-nosed wretch, upon whom Evans had seized to commence his
+vengeance, roared out that it was Twm Shon Catty.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Where is the young catiff?&rdquo; roared the Reverend Mr.
+Inco Evans.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Playing at whirligoogan on the horseblock.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll whirligoogan him with a vengeance,&rdquo;
+roared the Tyro, at the same time snatching up his terrific bunch
+of birch which he had facetiously christened the tree of
+knowledge.&nbsp; Either from having a foreboding of the <a
+name="page42"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 42</span>cause of this
+bustle, or being timely warned of the approaching danger, Twm had
+now made good his retreat, wisely considering that
+&ldquo;Discretion was the better part of valour,&rdquo; and that
+&ldquo;He who fights and runs away, may live to fight another
+day.&rdquo;&nbsp; So that at the precise moment when the curate
+thought Twm&rsquo;s presence desirable, that happy individual,
+not the least afraid, was busy sketching a caricature of his
+master.</p>
+<p>The materials were blank wall, a piece of chalk, and an
+extensive imagination, whilst he took care to place this artistic
+production within the precincts of a small house never visited
+except when absolutely necessary, but where he knew the curate
+would be able to study the fine arts at his leisure, though
+possibly it might turn out to be the &ldquo;pursuit of knowledge
+under difficulties.&rdquo;&nbsp; On the horse-block, however, was
+found his stock of whirligigs, which the Welsh boys called the
+whirligoogans.&nbsp; These were no other than the identical
+button moulds, which our hero had cut from the best gala-day coat
+of the Reverend Inco Evans, with pegs driven through each centre
+hole, so that when twirled between finger and thumb, on the
+surface of the horse-block, they became the puerile pastime of
+the younger scholars, who preferred &ldquo;Whirligoogan&rdquo; to
+the more robust exercise of the ball or bandy.</p>
+<p>Baffled in his present vengeance, parson Inco shuffled off
+towards the house, and covered his buttonless coat with his gown
+and cassock, vowing inwardly, as he adjusted his dress, future
+chastisement, in the superlative degree, against our hero.&nbsp;
+Unfortunately at this luckless moment, a perverse hog that seemed
+to enter into the spirit of this disastrous hour, having risen
+from his bed of mud in the horse-pond, where he had dreamed and
+philosophised away the whole morning, was making his way towards
+the feeding trough, when a lean and sour household cur which
+appeared to envy him his swinish beauty, and easy-life
+rotoundity, maliciously bit him in the breech, and drove him
+snorting between the legs of the newly-dressed curate; so that <a
+name="page43"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 43</span>the reverend
+gentleman was thrown headlong into the mass of muck, uniting the
+nature of matter and fluidity.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The son of Catty shall pay for all,&rdquo; muttered the
+enraged Inco Evans, as the servant cleansed his soiled
+sables.&nbsp; Thus when poor Twm was flogged next morning, with
+the leniency that the tired arm of the pedagogue alone afforded,
+he had to answer for the sins of the hog and the dog as well as
+his own&mdash;and all for playing whirligoogan with the
+parson&rsquo;s buttons!</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Mr. Graspacre</span>
+upholds the national customs, and Welsh custom receives his
+support.&nbsp; A &ldquo;tiff&rdquo; with Lady Graspacre.&nbsp;
+The squire defends bed courtships.&nbsp; Newcastle Emlyn
+Ale.&nbsp; Thirsty rats.</p>
+<p>At this time a warm altercation one day took place between the
+squire and his lady, which terminated in consequences little
+expected by either.&nbsp; Notwithstanding the prejudice to which
+Squire Graspacre&rsquo;s harsh conduct had given birth, on his
+first settlement in Cardiganshire, he had about him certain
+saving points, that not only reconciled them to his rule, but
+really gained their esteem.&nbsp; He was a plain, bold, sensible
+man, and although entertaining a most exalted opinion of English
+superiority, generally, in particular instances he had the
+liberality to confess that he found things in this nation of
+mountaineers highly worthy of imitation among his more civilized
+brethren.</p>
+<p>There are many exceptions like the squire, but we are sorry to
+add that in Wales we have more illiberal Englishmen, who sneer at
+all Welsh customs, because they are Welsh, than people would
+dream of.&nbsp; They forget that our usages are as dear to us, as
+theirs to them, and that however peculiar they may be in the eyes
+of an Englishman, the Welshman considers them <a
+name="page44"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 44</span>a <i>sine qua
+non</i> of his own nationality.&nbsp; But these instances are
+fast dying out.&nbsp; Railroads, free and continued intercourse,
+and a liberal spirit of toleration, enable the Englishman to see
+our custom and our usages in a different light.</p>
+<p>He had formerly expressed his disapprobation of a custom
+prevalent among Welsh farmers of leaving their corn a long time
+on the ground after being cut, instead of housing it as soon as
+possible; but experience taught him that they were right and
+himself in error; among the corn was a large quantity of weeds,
+which required to be dried, before it could with safety be
+brought to the barn or the rick, otherwise the grain was sweated,
+and literally poisoned with the rank juice.&nbsp; He found the
+Cardiganshire mode of cropping the young mountain furze, and
+giving it as food for horses and cattle, worthy of his attention,
+and after various trials, decided on its efficacy so far as to
+adopt it for the future; and actually set Carmarthen Jack to
+gather the seed of that mountain plant, which he forwarded to
+England to be sown and reared on his Devonshire farms.</p>
+<p>The planting of flowers on the graves of deceased friends, he
+eulogized as a beautiful and endearing custom, forming an
+agreeable contrast to the clumsy English tombstones with
+barbarous lines, often setting truth, rhyme and reason at
+defiance.&nbsp; The Welsh harp he declared the prince of all
+musical instruments, and Welsh weddings the best contrived, and
+conducted in the best manner in the world, and proved his
+sincerity by always giving something at the <i>Biddings</i> of
+the peasantry, and patronizing all those who entered that happy
+state.&nbsp; Above all things he admired the female costume in
+Wales, and protested with much truth, that the poor people in
+England were not half so well or so neatly clothed.</p>
+<p>His lofty lady, although a Welshwoman bred and born,
+entertained a very different set of ideas on these
+subjects.&nbsp; Whenever her husband related the anecdote of
+Polydore Virgil&rsquo;s ecstacy on his first landing <a
+name="page45"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 45</span>in Britain,
+when he beheld the yellow-blossomed furze, which gave a golden
+glow to the swelling bosom of the hills&mdash;how he knelt on the
+ground beside a bush of it, fervently worshipping the God of
+Nature, that beautified the world with the production of such a
+plant; she would instantly reply, &ldquo;The man was a fool! for
+<i>my part</i> I see nothing in the nasty prickly thing to
+admire, but wish the fire would burn them all from one end of the
+mountains to the other.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And yet, my dear,&rdquo; he would answer,
+&ldquo;Polydore Virgil was a native of no rude soil, but came
+from the land of the laurel, the cypress, and the vine, the
+orange, the lemon, and the citron, and many other splendid
+plants, the very names of which you perhaps never heard of; yet
+he had the liberality to admire what he justly deemed beautiful,
+even in a northern clime, and a comparatively harsh mountainous
+district.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>As to the harp, whenever he praised its melody, she declared
+it odious and unbearable, and gave preference to the fiddle, the
+bagpipes, or even the hurdy-gurdy; and the Welsh female costume
+she protested still more loudly against, and asked him with a
+sneer if he did not conceive it capable of improvement.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, certainly, my dear,&rdquo; would he reply;
+&ldquo;for instance, I would have the Glamorganshire girls wear
+shoes, and feet to their stockings, and convert their awkward
+wrappers into neat gowns; the Cardiganshire fair ones should doff
+their clogs, and wear leathern shoes; and the Breconshire lass,
+with all others who follow the abominable habit, should be
+hindered from wearing a handkerchief around the head; but I know
+of no improvement that can be suggested for the Pembrokeshire
+damsel, except <i>one</i> which would be equally applicable to
+all Welsh girls,&mdash;namely, to throw off their flannel shifts
+and wear linen ones.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Now this good gentlewoman, whose leading weakness it was to
+suspect her husband&rsquo;s fidelity when from home, kindled with
+rage at this remark.&nbsp; &ldquo;Shifts, Mr. Graspacre,&rdquo;
+exclaimed the angered lady, &ldquo;what <a
+name="page46"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 46</span>business have
+you to concern yourself about such matters?&nbsp; You ought, at
+least, to know nothing about such matters, but I dare say you
+know too much.&nbsp; There&rsquo;s but one woman&rsquo;s shifts
+in the world of which you ought to know anything, but no, you
+seem to know the cut of every girl&rsquo;s shifts, and you
+couldn&rsquo;t get that experience without other of a different
+kind.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Anxious as a seaman to turn his bark from the direction of a
+dangerous rock, he mildly replied, &ldquo;Surely, my dear, I may
+exercise my eyes, when the washed clothes are bleaching on the
+hedge,&rdquo; and then adding in the same breath, &ldquo;indeed,
+if I were you, my dear, I would make some improvements, <i>such
+as your good taste will suggest</i>, among our own maids; taking
+care however, not to destroy the stamp of nationality on their
+garbs at any rate.&rdquo;&nbsp; This was a well-judged hit on his
+part, and had the effect of averting the impending storm.</p>
+<p>It should have been mentioned before, that the squire, soon
+after his marriage, had made a tour of South Wales, and, as his
+lady expressed it, taken a whim in his head of engaging a maid
+servant in every county through which he passed; so that in
+Graspacre Hall there were to be found maiden representatives in
+their native costumes, of all the different shires in South
+Wales, except Radnor, in which, the squire said, the barbarous
+jargon of Herefordshire, and the English cottons, had supplanted
+the native tongue and dress of Wales.&nbsp; There might you see
+the neat maiden of Pembrokeshire in her dark cloth dress of one
+hue, either a dark brown approximating to black, or a claret
+colour, made by the skill of a tailor, and very closely
+resembling the ladies&rsquo; modern riding-habit,&mdash;a perfect
+picture of comfort and neatness, in alliance with good taste.</p>
+<p>There would you see the extreme contrast, the Glamorganshire
+lass in stockings cut off at the ankle, and without shoes; and,
+although a handsome brunette with fine black eyes, dressed in a
+slammatkin check wrapper of cotton and wool, utterly shapeless,
+and tied <a name="page47"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+47</span>about the middle like a wheat-sheaf, or a faggot of
+wood; possessing, however, the peculiar convenience that it could
+be put on in an instant, without the loss of time in dressing
+tastefully, and that it would fit every body alike, as it is
+neither a gown nor a bedgown, but between both, and without a
+waist.</p>
+<p>There would you see the young woman of Breconshire, with her
+pretty blushing face, half hidden in a handkerchief which
+envelops her head that at first you would fancy the figure before
+you to be a grandmother at least.&nbsp; Her long linsey gown is
+pinned up behind, each extreme corner being joined together in
+the centre, and confined a few inches below her waist; she has
+her wooden-soled shoes for every day, and leathern ones for
+Sunday, or for a dance, which, with her stockings, she very
+economically takes off should a shower of rain overtake her on a
+journey; and when it ceases, washes her feet in the first brook
+she meets, and puts them on again.&nbsp; Some might term this a
+curious method of appreciating the protective excellence of the
+shoemaker&rsquo;s art, but a Welsh girl, or rather, a Breconshire
+girl studies economy quite as much as comfort, and considers her
+shoes to be made as much for ornament as for use, and rather
+more.</p>
+<p>This fair one takes especial care that her drapery shall be
+short enough to discover her pretty ankle, and her apron
+sufficiently scanty to disclose her gay red petticoat with black
+or white stripes, beneath, and at the sides.&nbsp; Then comes the
+stout Carmarthenshire lass, with her thick bedgown and petticoat
+of a flaring brick-dust red, knitting stockings as she walks, and
+singing a loud song as she cards or spins.</p>
+<p>Lastly, though not least in importance, behold the clogged and
+cloaked short-statured woman of Cardiganshire.&nbsp; She scorns
+the sluttish garb and bare feet of the Glamorganshire maiden, and
+hates the abominable pride of the Pembrokeshire lass who is vain
+enough to wear leathern shoes instead of honest clogs; proving at
+the same time that her own vanity is of a more pardonable
+stamp.&nbsp; &ldquo;Thank God too, that she <a
+name="page48"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 48</span>is not vain
+like the others are.&nbsp; Yet in her thanks shows vanity,&rdquo;
+while she boasts with truth, that her dress costs twice as much
+as either of the others.&nbsp; The Cardiganshire woman&rsquo;s
+dresses, in fact&mdash;generally blue, with red stripes and bound
+at the bottom with red or blue worsted caddis, are entirely of
+wool, solidly woven and heavy, consequently more expensive than
+those made of linsey or minco, or of the common intermixture of
+wool and cotton, and presenting an appearance of weighty warmth,
+equally independent of a comely cut and tasty neatness.</p>
+<p>It was one of the squire&rsquo;s fancies never to call these
+girls by their proper names, but by that of their shires, as
+thus, &ldquo;Come here little Pembroke, and buckle my shoe: and
+you Carmarthen, bring me a bason of broth; Cardigan, call
+Glamorgan and Brecon, and tell them they must drive a harrow a
+piece through the ploughed part of Rockfield.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On his return to dinner, a few days after the suggestion about
+the dresses of the maids, he was astonished to find that Mrs.
+Graspacre had used her privilege with a vengeance; having with
+decided bad taste, put them all, <i>at their own expense</i>, to
+be deducted from their wages, into glaring cotton prints.</p>
+<p>The girls were unhappy enough at this change, as well as at
+the expense thus incurred, and they could not enter the town
+without experiencing the ridicule of their friends and
+neighbours; the Cardiganshire maid, who considered such a change
+in the light of disowning her country, and like a renegade
+putting on the livery of the Saxon, in something of a termagant
+spirit, tendered her resignation to her master rather than comply
+with such an innovation.</p>
+<p>This ungenerous invasion of his harmless rules, roused his
+indignation; and after venting a few &ldquo;damns,&rdquo; <i>a la
+John Bull</i>, against draggle-tail cotton rags, without a word
+of expostulation with his rib, he desired the girls to bring all
+their trumpery to him, which they gladly did, and he made them
+instantly into a bonfire in the farm-yard.&nbsp; Then in a firm
+undertone <a name="page49"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+49</span>of subdued resentment, gave strict injunctions that no
+further liberties should be taken with their national costume; to
+which his lady made the polite and submissive reply, that the
+girls might all walk abroad without any dress at all if he chose,
+and go to the devil his own way.</p>
+<p>At this juncture little Pembroke came in with rosy smiles, and
+told her master that Carmarthen Jack wanted to speak to him very
+particularly, on which the squire laughed, and asked on what
+<i>important</i> matter.&nbsp; &ldquo;Why, sir,&rdquo; said the
+rustic beauty, while arch smiles and blushes contended in her
+sweet oval face, &ldquo;Parson Inco has found out that he has
+been courting in bed, with Catty the schoolmistress, and he has
+run here before the parson to say it is all a
+falsehood.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s an impious rascal for you!&rdquo; cried
+the lady of the house, &ldquo;to charge the clergyman with a
+falsehood; but I am sure &rsquo;tis true, for I long suspected
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Madam, your own dignity and delicacy ought to suggest
+to you that the less you interfere in these matters the more
+creditable it will be to your own common sense,&rdquo; said the
+squire, in a tone which was unmistakable.&nbsp; &ldquo;I
+insist,&rdquo; cried the imperious dame, &ldquo;that he be put in
+the stocks, and be ducked in the river.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Neither shall be done,&rdquo; said he firmly,
+&ldquo;and from henceforward no person shall be annoyed or
+persecuted on that score, but everyone shall court as he or she
+pleases.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;What!&rdquo; cried the indignant
+lady, &ldquo;would you fill the country with bastards!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, madam,&rdquo; was the reply, &ldquo;but with as
+happy a set of people as possible.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Encouraged by the turn which affairs had taken, the
+Cardiganshire maid now asked her master for her discharge; as her
+mistress, she said, had thrown a slur on her brewing abilities,
+which had almost broken her heart; &ldquo;for&rdquo; said she,
+with a ludicrous whimper, &ldquo;she says my brewing is unfit for
+the drinking of Christian people, and hardly worthy of the
+hogs!&mdash;but,&rdquo; cried the sturdy little wench, raising
+her voice <a name="page50"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+50</span>to an accusatory pitch, and at the same time a tone of
+triumph, &ldquo;I came from Newcastle Emlyn, the country of good
+beer, the very home where the <i>Cwrw da</i> of <i>Hen Gymru</i>
+<a name="citation50a"></a><a href="#footnote50a"
+class="citation">[50a]</a> is bred and born, and I would rather
+die than be told that I can&rsquo;t brew!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Indeed, Cardy,&rdquo; said the squire, with a smile,
+&ldquo;though your mistress may have been too severe in her
+censure, I must say that your two last brewings were unequal to
+the first.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;A good reason why, sir; who can
+brew without malt and hops? who can make bricks without
+straw?&nbsp; I hear some of the great London brewers do without
+either malt or hops, but I wouldn&rsquo;t drink their brewings, I
+know; their brewings won&rsquo;t do for us at Newcastle Emlyn!
+and your wheat, <a name="citation50b"></a><a href="#footnote50b"
+class="citation">[50b]</a> sir, which has grown by being cut in
+the wet harvest, so as to be unfit for bread, is but a poor
+make-shift for malt&mdash;it may do for the wish-wash paltry
+brewers&rsquo; ale of Haverfordwest and Fishguard, or the Swansea
+folk, Merthyr blacks, and Cardiff boys, but our ploughboys would
+turn up their noses at such stuff at Newcastle Emlyn!</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Damn Newcastle Emlyn!&rdquo; cried the squire, provoked
+by her continual reference to her native place.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Master! master!&rdquo; cried the girl, as if rebuking him
+for the greatest impiety conceivable, &ldquo;don&rsquo;t damn
+Newcastle Emlyn; I had rather you should knock me down than damn
+Newcastle Emlyn! it is the country of decent people and good
+home-brewed ale,&mdash;the country where&rdquo;&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You brewed good ale from the grown wheat the first
+time,&rdquo; said the squire, not deeming it necessary to notice
+her observations.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good! was it?&rdquo; retorts the girl, struggling
+between respect for her master and contempt for his taste in the
+matter of malt drink; &ldquo;good was it!&nbsp; I tell you what,
+master, you are a good master, and I have nothing to <a
+name="page51"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 51</span>say against
+mistress, for it would not be decent, but you never tasted beer
+like ours at Newcastle Emlyn! the real hearty <i>cwrw da</i>!
+which I could make you to-morrow, if you would give me good malt
+and hops, and let it stand long enough untapped.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But Cardy, there must be a sound reason for your two
+last brewings being inferior to the first.&nbsp; You could brew a
+well-flavoured, palatable beer, but you don&rsquo;t now, although
+you have the same ingredients given you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The last was better, a good deal, than the other.&nbsp;
+The first would have turned the devil&rsquo;s stomach, had he
+known what was in it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Explain yourself,&rdquo; said the squire,
+surprised.&nbsp; &ldquo;I will, sir, if I were to be hanged for
+it,&rdquo; cried the girl in a tone of confidence; &ldquo;it
+seems that rats love beer as well as any christian folks, and get
+drunk and die in drink, as a warning to all sober-minded rats;
+but that is neither here nor there, and I hate to tell a
+rigmarole story; the long and the short of it is, that when I
+came to wash out the barrels after the first brewing, I found
+three rats in one, and two in the other.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You found what?&rdquo; asked the squire and his lady at
+the same time.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I found three rats, sir, that had burst themselves with
+drinking beer, and afterwards fell in and were drowned&mdash;they
+were then putrid, and it was that, it seems, that made the ale so
+palatable; there were no dead animals in the last brewing, so
+that of course it wasn&rsquo;t so &lsquo;palatable&rsquo; and
+well-flavoured as the other.&nbsp; But had I known your mind I
+might have killed a couple of cats, or put you in a bushel of
+lively cockroaches.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This explanation excited a titter among the girls, and a loud
+laugh from the squire, while the lady evinced the shock which her
+delicacy had sustained, by making wry faces, and snuffing
+violently at her smelling-bottle to avoid fainting.</p>
+<p>The squire good-humouredly addressed the
+girl,&mdash;&ldquo;now, Cardy, you are perfectly right in the
+praise you bestow on your own country ale, and I promise <a
+name="page52"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 52</span>you shall
+have the best of malt and hops for your next attempt, when I
+expect it to be equal to the best <i>cwrw da</i> of Newcastle
+Emlyn&mdash;and, do you hear? we shall dispense with either rats
+or cats in it for the future.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This amicable settlement of differences set every one in good
+humour, except the haughty mistress, who, embittered with her
+double defeat, retired in gloom, while her husband went to give
+audience to Jack of Sheer G&acirc;r.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">&ldquo;<span class="smcap">The</span> manners
+and customs&rdquo; attendant on a Welsh Wedding.&nbsp; The
+Bidding.&nbsp; The Gwahoddwr.&nbsp; The Ystavell.&nbsp; Pwrs a
+Gwregys.&nbsp; Pwython.&nbsp; In which our hero and his friend
+Watt play rather important parts.</p>
+<p>Carmarthen Jack had not been long waiting for his master,
+before little Pembroke full of glee, ran to inform him that the
+embargo had been taken for ever off bed courtship; and that he
+was now free whether guilty or not.&nbsp; This happy news
+affected him so well that he met his master with comparative
+ease; and after some struggles with his native bashfulness, an
+important secret came out&mdash;that he was going to be married
+to Catty the schoolmistress; and wished to know whether he should
+be retained in the squire&rsquo;s service after that event.</p>
+<p>Now this was a circumstance exactly to the squire&rsquo;s
+taste; as a Welsh wedding portrayed many national features in the
+character of the peasantry, that pleased him; and, as he was
+generally a donor on these occasions, his vanity was flattered by
+being looked up to as their patron.&nbsp; He of course acquiesced
+in his servant&rsquo;s request, and after a little jocular and
+rough rallying, <a name="page53"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+53</span>proposed that the <i>Bidding</i> should be immediately
+commenced.</p>
+<p>A <i>Bidding</i> was another of the excellent customs peculiar
+to the Welsh, but of late years confined exclusively to the lower
+classes, which the squire so much admired, and considered worthy
+of imitation, he said, throughout the world.&nbsp; It signifies a
+general and particular invitation to all the friends of the bride
+and bridegroom elect, to meet them at the houses of their
+respective parents, or any other place appointed.&nbsp; Any
+strangers who choose to attend are also made welcome.&nbsp; It is
+an understood thing that every person who comes, contributes a
+small sum towards making a purse for the young pair to begin the
+world with.&nbsp; They have a claim on those persons whose
+weddings they had themselves attended; and at these times their
+parents and friends also make their claims in their favour on all
+whom they may have at any time befriended in a similar
+manner.&nbsp; These donations are always registered, and
+considered as debts, to be repaid, on the occurrence of weddings
+only; but there are many contributors, especially the masters and
+mistresses of the parties, that of course require no
+repayment.&nbsp; These returns being made only by small
+instalments, and only at the weddings of their donors, are easily
+accomplished; and the benefit derived from this custom is great,
+where the parties are respected.</p>
+<p>A novel feature, to those who have been unaccustomed to the
+Welsh wedding, is the Gwahoddwr or Bidder, who goes from house to
+house, with his staff of office&mdash;a white wand embellished
+with ribbons.&nbsp; His hat, and often the breast of his coat, is
+similarly decorated.&nbsp; Thus attired, he enters each house
+with suitable &ldquo;pride of place,&rdquo; amidst the smiles of
+the old people, and giggling of the young ones; and taking his
+stand in the centre of the house, and striking his wand on the
+floor to enforce silence, announces the wedding which is to take
+place, sometimes in rhyme, but more frequently in a set speech of
+prose.</p>
+<p><a name="page54"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 54</span>The
+banns were immediately put in, and every preparation made for the
+wedding.&nbsp; Watt the mole-catcher, as the greatest wag in the
+parish, was appointed by the squire to the enviable office of
+<i>Gwahoddwr</i>.&nbsp; The following homely lines, from a
+correct and liberal translation of those written for the purpose
+of giving Watt&rsquo;s oratory full scope on this occasion.&nbsp;
+The Rev. John David Rhys, a young poetical clergyman, at this
+time a visitor with Squire Graspacre, was the author; and though
+they do not betoken the &ldquo;unapproachable of
+Parnassus,&rdquo; they yet suited the purpose for which they were
+penned.</p>
+<blockquote><p>List to the Bidder!&mdash;a health to all<br />
+Who dwell in this house, both great and small;<br />
+Prosperity&rsquo;s comforts ever attend<br />
+The Bride and Bridegroom&rsquo;s generous friend.</p>
+<p>His door may it never need a latch;<br />
+His hearth a fire, his cottage a thatch;<br />
+His wife a card, or a spinning-wheel;<br />
+His floor a table, nor on it a meal!</p>
+<p>On Saturday next a wedding you&rsquo;ll see,<br />
+In fair Tregaron, as gay as can be,<br />
+Between John Rees, called Jack o Sheer G&acirc;r,<br />
+And Catherine Jones, his chosen fair.</p>
+<p>Haste to the wedding, its joy to share!<br />
+Mirth and good humour shall meet you there;<br />
+Come one, come all: there&rsquo;s a welcome true<br />
+To master and mistress and servants too!</p>
+<p>Stools you will find to sit upon,<br />
+And tables, and goodly food thereon,<br />
+Butter and cheese, and flesh and fish,<br />
+(If you can catch them!) all you wish.</p>
+<p>There many a lad shall a sweetheart find,<br />
+And many a lass meet a youth to her mind,<br />
+While nut-brown ale, both good and strong,<br />
+Shall warm the heart for the dance and song.</p>
+<p>Oft at the wedding are matches made,<br />
+When dress&rsquo;d in their best come youth and maid,<br />
+And dance together, and whisper and kiss.&mdash;<br />
+Who knows what wedding may rise from this.</p>
+<p><a name="page55"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 55</span>Whoever
+may come to the bidding note,&mdash;<br />
+There&rsquo;s thanks to the friend who brings three groat;<br />
+And ne&rsquo;er may they hobble upon a crutch<br />
+Whoe&rsquo;er gives the lovers twice as much!</p>
+<p>Whatever is given, so much they&rsquo;ll restore&mdash;<br />
+One shilling or two, or three, or four,<br />
+Whenever in similar case &rsquo;tis claim&rsquo;d,<br />
+Else were defaulters ever shamed. <a name="citation55"></a><a
+href="#footnote55" class="citation">[55]</a></p>
+<p>So haste to the wedding, both great small,<br />
+Master and mistress and servants all!<br />
+Catty at home, Jack&rsquo;s at the sign of the Cat;<br />
+Now God save the king and the bidder Watt!</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>During this hubbub and preparation, Twm Shon Catty was granted
+the glorious privilege of a week&rsquo;s holiday, and his friend
+Watt took him along with him to every house where he had to act
+as bidder.&nbsp; To see, was to learn with Twm, and to learn was
+to imitate.&nbsp; The thought soon struck him that he might be a
+<i>Gwahoddwr</i>; so he at once cut a stout willow wand, peeled
+it, and tacked a bunch of carpenter&rsquo;s shavings and rush
+flags to the top.&nbsp; Forth he went, and standing in the midst
+of a group of admiring boys and girls, proceeded to imitate Watt
+in every motion.&nbsp; On this occasion it is said he invoked the
+aid of the tuneful nine, and composed the following effusion, but
+we <a name="page56"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 56</span>suspect
+that he was only the mouthpiece to the real poet.</p>
+<p>After Watt had finished, our hero struck <i>his</i> emblem of
+office upon each floor, and repeated the following:&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>Who&rsquo;ll come to the wedding of Catty my
+mother?<br />
+Come mother, come daughter, son, father, brother,<br />
+And bring all your cousins, and uncles, and aunts,<br />
+To revel the feast at our jolly courants.<br />
+Haste, haste to the Bidding, ye stingy scrubs!<br />
+And out with your purses, and down with your dubs.</p>
+<p>Come Gwenny and Griffith, and Roger and Sal;<br />
+Morgan, Meredith, and Peggy and Pal;<br />
+Come one, come all, with your best on back,<br />
+To see mother married to spoon-making Jack;<br />
+He&rsquo;s a spoon for his pains, as ye all shall see soon,<br />
+But lucky at finding a bowl to his spoon.</p>
+<p>Haste, haste to the Bidding! my friends, if you please,<br />
+For lack of white money bring good yellow cheese,<br />
+And butter, but not in your pockets alack,<br />
+Bring bacon or mutton well dried on the rack.<br />
+So endeth my story; come, haste we, friend Watty;<br />
+Now God save the King, and his friend Twm Shon Catty!</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Twm&rsquo;s delivery of these lines excited much mirth and
+laughter, and, added to those of the real <i>Gwahoddwr</i>, drew
+more than ordinary attention to this Bidding.&nbsp; Many of the
+children of the different houses had been Twm&rsquo;s
+school-fellows, and the pupils of his mother, which had the
+effect of influencing them, and became a sort of tie, to claim
+their presence at her bidding.&nbsp; As Jack&rsquo;s friends were
+in Carmarthenshire, another <i>Gwahoddwr</i> was appointed by his
+master to go with him to call on his at his own native place; and
+so liberal was the squire on this occasion, that he sent them
+both mounted on horses of their own.</p>
+<p>Jack and his Bidder had no great success, as his friends
+reproached him for his perverse intention of marrying a strange
+woman in a far land; and finding but little pleasure in the
+subject or manner of their lectures, he made a precipitate
+retreat.&nbsp; Jack blushed for his countrymen, and he had
+sufficient native delicacy to see that their liberality would
+contrast <a name="page57"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+57</span>disadvantageously with the warm generosity of
+Catty&rsquo;s friends.&nbsp; He therefore bribed Ianto Gwyn, the
+harper, who had acted as his bidder, to silence; and brought with
+him to Tregaron, in a hired cart, the common contribution of a
+bridegroom,&mdash;namely, a bedstead, a table, a stool, and a
+dresser.&nbsp; These, he feigned had been bought with his
+bidding-money, received at Carmarthen.&nbsp; Friday is always
+allotted to bring home the <i>Yestavell</i>, or the woman&rsquo;s
+furniture; consisting generally of an oaken coffer or chest; a
+feather-bed and blankets; all the crockery and pewter; wooden
+bowls, piggings, spoons, and trenchers, with the general
+furniture of the shelf; but as Catty was already provided with
+every thing of this kind, she had but little to add to her
+stock.</p>
+<p>The landlord of the public-house originally called &ldquo;The
+Lion,&rdquo; but with a sign resembling a more ignoble animal,
+causing it to be ultimately known by no other designation than
+that of &ldquo;the cat,&rdquo; offered Jack his parlour to
+receive his Cardiganshire friends in.&nbsp; Accordingly, on the
+Friday before the wedding, he was busily employed in receiving
+money, cheese, and butter, from them, while Catty was similarly
+engaged at her residence, with <i>her</i> partizans, which were
+not a few.&nbsp; This custom in Welsh is called <i>Pwrs a
+Gwregys</i>, or purse and girdle; and is, doubtless, of very
+remote origin.</p>
+<p>At length the long-looked-for, the important Saturday arrived;
+a day generally fixed upon for the celebration of the hymeneal
+ordinances, in Wales, from the sage persuasion that it is a
+<i>lucky day</i>, as well as for the convenience of the Sabbath
+intervening between it and a working day&mdash;a glorious season
+of sunshine to the children of labour.</p>
+<p>Jack was agreeably disappointed to see a great many of his
+Carmarthen friends had repented of their unkind treatment of his
+bidder, and had now come to make amends.&nbsp; They came mounted
+on their ponies, and honourably paid their <i>Pwython</i>; that
+is to say, returned the presents which he or his relatives or
+friends <a name="page58"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+58</span>had made at different weddings.&nbsp; Jack&rsquo;s
+resentful and sudden disappearance, had a beneficial effect on
+the feelings of his friends and countrymen; and a jealousy of
+yielding the palm for liberality to a neighbouring country,
+stirred a spirit of emulous contention among them, which ended in
+a resolution that a party should attend the wedding, and bear
+with them the <i>Pwython</i> of the others, who had an aversion
+to travel such a very distant journey, being nearly five and
+twenty miles, a distance in those days which was considered no
+joke, but which we now, in this age of steam and locomotion,
+bridge over in five and twenty minutes.</p>
+<p>After depositing their offerings, and partaking of a little
+refreshment, twelve of the bridegroom&rsquo;s friends, headed by
+Ianto Gwyn the harper, mounted their ponies and called at
+Catty&rsquo;s house, to demand the bride; and Watt the
+mole-catcher and <i>Gwahoddwr</i>, who added to these functions
+the father to Catty, expecting their arrival, at length heard
+without appearing, the following lines, delivered by the merry
+harper, from the back of his pony.</p>
+<blockquote><p>Open windows, open doors,<br />
+And with flowers strew the floors,<br />
+Heap the hearth with blazing wood,<br />
+Load the spit with festal food<br />
+The <i>crochen</i> <a name="citation58"></a><a href="#footnote58"
+class="citation">[58]</a> on its hook be placed,<br />
+And tap a barrel of the best!<br />
+For this is Catty&rsquo;s wedding day!<br />
+Now bring the fair one out, I pray.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>On which Watt, with the door still closed, made this reply
+without appearing.</p>
+<blockquote><p>Who are ye all! ye noisy train!<br />
+Be ye thieves, or honest men,<br />
+Tell us now what brings you here,<br />
+Or this intrusion costs you dear!</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Ianto Gwyn then rejoins,</p>
+<blockquote><p>Honest men are we, who seek<br />
+A dainty maid both fair and meek,<br />
+<a name="page59"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 59</span>Very good
+and very pretty,<br />
+And known to all by name of Catty;<br />
+We come to claim her for a bride;<br />
+Come, father! let the pair be tied<br />
+To him who loves her ever well:&mdash;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Watt still within, answers;</p>
+<blockquote><p>So ye say, but time will tell;<br />
+My daughter&rsquo;s very well at home,<br />
+So ye may pack and homeward roam.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Ianto Gwyn exclaims, in resolute tones,</p>
+<blockquote><p>Your home no more she&rsquo;s doom&rsquo;d to
+share,<br />
+Like every marriageable fair,<br />
+Her father&rsquo;s roof she quits for one<br />
+Where she is mistress: woo&rsquo;d and won,<br />
+It now remains to see her wedded,<br />
+And homeward brought and safely bedded;<br />
+Unless you give her up, we swear<br />
+The roof from off your house to tear,<br />
+Burst in the doors, and batter walls<br />
+To rescue her whom wedlock calls.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Another of the bridegroom&rsquo;s party then calls aloud, in a
+voice of authority,</p>
+<blockquote><p>Ho! peace in the king&rsquo;s name, here peace!<br
+/>
+Let vaunts and taunting language cease;<br />
+While we, the bridesmen, come to sue<br />
+The favour to all bridesmen due,<br />
+The daughter from the father&rsquo;s hand,<br />
+And entertainment kindly bland.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Now the great Watt, the famous entrapper of moles, with airs
+mighty and grand, well befitting the dignity of the
+occasion&mdash;and however absurd our English brethren may term
+the custom, it is considered of serious importance with
+us&mdash;throws open the door of Catty&rsquo;s dwelling, sallies
+forth to give the querists a warm welcome, and as a preliminary
+helps them to dismount.&nbsp; After taking a little more
+refreshment, consisting of newly-baked oaten cakes, with butter
+and cheese, washed down with copious draughts of ale, they all
+remounted, and were joined by those of the bridegroom&rsquo;s
+party; the whole rustic cavalcade making their way towards the
+church.&nbsp; A motley assemblage, in truth it was, but <a
+name="page60"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 60</span>withal
+picturesque, and agreeable to contemplate, for every face was
+happy; save when now and then a cautious damsel, mounted behind
+her father or brother, would exhibit a touch of the dismals in
+the length of her features, on discovering that the <i>cwrw</i>
+had any other effect but that of rendering her protector steady
+in his seat on the saddle.&nbsp; Almost every sort of animal,
+large or small, lame or blind, good or bad, seemed to have been
+pressed into the service, and reduced to the levelling system,
+and without regard to either size or quality, doomed to carry
+double.</p>
+<p>And thus they went on at a walking pace, while the loud chat
+of many seemed drowned in the loud laughter and shouting of
+others, till now and then rebuked by some of the elders; who
+however, to little purpose, vociferated the words
+decency&mdash;propriety&mdash;sober purposes&mdash;&amp;c.
+&amp;c., the tendency of which seemed but little
+understood.&nbsp; Jack, the happy bridegroom elect, bestrode a
+wretched apology for a horse, whose antiquated legs trembled like
+an aspen leaf; as for its bones, they were painfully apparent,
+and the very curs seemed, as they looked upon this time worn
+piece of cattle, to anticipate their feast.&nbsp; Elevated behind
+her temporary father on a fleet horse of the squire&rsquo;s, poor
+Catty was doomed to present purgatory to contrast her enjoyment
+of future happiness, for, unprovided with a pillion, she sat on
+the crupper, holding fast by Watt&rsquo;s coat.&nbsp; The quiet
+pace which commenced this little journey was soon changed into
+rough horsemanship, for the mad-cap mole-catcher turning his
+steed into the Cardigan road, gave him the spur, and commenced an
+outrageous gallop; the wedding party followed him with all the
+might of their little beasts, and like valiant villagers in chase
+of a highwayman, strove their utmost to rescue the bride.&nbsp;
+Ianto Gwyn, the rural bard and harper, ever ready with an
+extempore, produced on this occasion:&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>Oh yes! lost, strayed, or run away<br />
+This moment from the king&rsquo;s highway,<br />
+<a name="page61"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 61</span>A tall and
+sightly strapping woman,<br />
+A circumstance which is a rum &rsquo;un;<br />
+&rsquo;Tis said a murderer of vermin<br />
+On her abduction did determine;<br />
+Whoe&rsquo;er will bear to gaol th&rsquo; offender,<br />
+The lost one to her owner render,<br />
+Shall be as handsomely rewarded,<br />
+As can be readily afforded.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Having considerably distanced his pursuers, he stopped at
+length, at Catty&rsquo;s request, who complained sadly of being
+sorely bumped upon the buckle of the crupper.&nbsp; Dexterously
+turning to the bye-road toward the church, he was soon perceived
+and followed by the party, and altogether they soon arrived at
+their journey&rsquo;s end, and alighting, they entered the sacred
+fane with due decorum.&nbsp; Evans the curate, to enhance his own
+services and increase his importance, took care to damp their
+hilarity by keeping them waiting full three quarters of an hour,
+before he made his appearance; and when he came, his looks and
+demeanour partook more of the rigid priest of Saturn, than the
+heart-joining, bliss-dispensing Hymen.&nbsp; His cherished plans,
+which were to result in a discovery of dishonour to poor Catty,
+were terribly overthrown by this decent Welsh marriage, and the
+curate was in a corresponding temper.&nbsp; His nature was not
+such as would rejoice at virtue triumphant, more especially as he
+had calculated upon vice occupying the same position.</p>
+<p>He very sternly rebuked their smiles and happy looks, and
+actually threatened not to perform the marriage ceremony, until,
+alarmed at the menace, they all became perfectly joyless, and
+most orthodoxically gloomy.&nbsp; The indissoluble knot was soon
+tied; and no longer dependent on the good offices of the
+magisterial churchman, their spirit of joyousness burst forth;
+while in the churchyard the mellow harp of Ianto Gwyn was playing
+the sprightly air of <i>Morwynion Glan Meirionydd</i>, or the
+Fair Maids of Merionethshire; while many of the party joined in
+the words which belong to that beautiful and <a
+name="page62"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 62</span>animating
+tune.&nbsp; Suddenly changing the air, the eccentric harper
+struck up &ldquo;Megan has lost her garter,&rdquo; which was
+succeeded by &ldquo;Mentra Gwen,&rdquo; and a string of such
+national melodies, equally gay and appropriate.</p>
+<p>After the marriage ceremony, they returned in much the same
+order, or rather disorder; with the difference that the bride sat
+behind her husband, instead of her father; the harper playing the
+whole time, and many sweet voices joining in the words of the
+airs.</p>
+<p>Coming to Catty&rsquo;s house, the company found that Juggy
+had been useful and hospitable.&nbsp; There was a first-rate
+dinner provided, in ample proportions, of which all could and did
+partake freely; every one had to pay for his own ale, but the
+females, by courtesy, were &ldquo;treated&rdquo; at the expense
+of males.&nbsp; In the course of the evening, jigs, reels, and
+country dances, were successfully gone through with much
+spirit.&nbsp; Catty danced with much agility; Jack, pressed on
+all sides, and at length compelled to make one in a country
+dance, showed every indication of this being his virgin attempt
+at &ldquo;the poetry of motion;&rdquo; and alternately stumping
+and blowing, while copious streams ran down his rugged forehead,
+as they every instant corrected his erratic course, and literally
+pushed him down the dance, he vowed that this his first, should
+also be his last exhibition on the &ldquo;light fantastic
+toe.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Young Twm, who had been playing at sweethearts, with little
+Gwenny Cadwgan on his knee, to the great mirth of his seniors,
+soon brought her out to try her foot at the dance with him.&nbsp;
+The poor little wench blushed scarlet deep, made her first essay
+with one equally young and inexperienced with herself; and the
+juvenile pair were very good-naturedly instructed in the figure
+of the dance, and they contributed not a little to the general
+harmony.&nbsp; Juggy, the sister of Catty, absolutely refused to
+sport her figure among the dancers, and treated Watt the <a
+name="page63"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 63</span>mole-catcher
+with a hard favour in the face for attempting to drag her in
+perforce.&nbsp; At length, fatigued with the dancing, and alarmed
+for the state of their inebriated friends and companions, many,
+especially the females, turned their serious thoughts towards
+home.</p>
+<p>It was now drawing towards the hour of retiring for the night,
+when the usual trick was played of concealing the bride from the
+bridegroom.&nbsp; Poor Jack, whom nature had not favoured with a
+great share of facetiousness, and who never mixed with such a
+company before, began to be seriously alarmed.&nbsp; Great was
+the mirth of the company, while, with a strange expression of
+countenance, he sought her up and down in every corner of the
+house.&nbsp; At length he discovered a part of her red petticoat
+sticking out from under the bottom of the straw arm-chair, and
+soon drew her out from the place of concealment.</p>
+<p>The parting hour had now arrived; then came the general
+shaking of hands, and serious expressions of good wishes among
+the sober; while the tipsy folks vented their wit in jocular
+allusions to their conjugal felicity: some offering themselves
+for godfathers and godmothers to their future offspring, while
+others far gone in drink, laid bets on the probability that the
+first child would be either a boy or a girl.&nbsp; At this time
+considerable surprise was excited by the conduct of an individual
+who had been remarkably unsocial the whole evening, no person
+having heard him speak a word; and when asked a question, or in
+answer to a health being drank, he merely nodded in a hurried
+manner, and immediately drew hard at his pipe, and puffed forth
+volumes of smoke, as if to envelop himself in a cloud of
+invisibility.</p>
+<p>The mysterious stranger had been evidently &ldquo;taking
+stock&rdquo; the whole of the evening, but whether pleased or
+displeased with the proceedings did not appear, as reticence
+seemed to be about the only accomplishment he possessed.&nbsp;
+Every one was <a name="page64"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+64</span>too much engaged with their own pleasure to give him
+much attention, and thus he remained till the moment of
+departure, when he was observed to stagger as he rose from his
+seat.&nbsp; Somebody then observed, that it must have been with
+smoke and not the beer that affected his brains, as he drank but
+little; a remark that imputed niggardly and curmudgeon
+propensities to him.&nbsp; Determined to give him something of a
+roast, a young farmer asked him, with a defying air, whether he
+had paid his <i>Pwython</i>.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No!&rdquo; roared the hitherto silent man, &ldquo;but
+here it is&mdash;take it &lsquo;Catty&rsquo; my girl, and much
+good may it do thee!&rdquo;&nbsp; On which he put five golden
+angels into her hand.&nbsp; With emotions of wonder and
+gratitude, while catching an eager glance at his face, Catty
+involuntarily exclaimed&mdash;&ldquo;the squire!&rdquo; when he
+darted out, mounted his horse, as did the rest of the party, rode
+off, and disappeared.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm Shon Catty</span>
+improves under a more able tuition.&nbsp; Watt&rsquo;s vagaries,
+and the troubles and trials of a poor pedlar.&nbsp; Twm begins
+his apprenticeship to a Cardiganshire farmer.</p>
+<p>Determined to witness the humble festivities of the
+&ldquo;lowly train,&rdquo; Squire Graspacre had been among them
+the whole evening, disguised like a rough mountaineer husbandman,
+and was heartily gratified, although his apparent incivility of
+conduct had nearly subjected him to harsh treatment from the
+jovial ale-fraught rustics, who, of course, but little relished
+his strange behaviour.&nbsp; His deficiency in the Welsh language
+had been concealed by alternately feigning deafness and
+drunkenness, which, with the aid of the pipe left him free from
+suspicion.&nbsp; The morning of Sunday after the wedding, which
+is called <i>Neithior</i>, <a name="page65"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 65</span>being come, the happy pair stayed at
+home, receiving their friends who called with their good-will,
+which they manifested by the payment of <i>Pwython</i>.&nbsp; The
+day was drank out, but not as in every other respect, save the
+diminishing of ale, each seemed to recollect it was the Sabbath,
+and tossed off their cups in quietness.</p>
+<p>On Monday morning the supply of ale was exhausted, tottering
+legs waggled homeward, and all was again quiet.&nbsp; Like
+prudent accountants, Jack and Catty reckoned up the amount of
+their wedding gifts, and found the amount to be twenty-seven
+pounds eight shillings and sixpence, besides fourteen whole, and
+twenty-two half cheeses, the greater part of which they soon
+turned into cash.</p>
+<p>In these days, when the value of money has been so much
+decreased, the amount of the <i>Pwython</i>, and presents at a
+Welsh wedding, have been known to reach more than treble the sum
+here stated; especially when the friends of the party have been
+numerous, and headed by the patronage of a wealthy and liberal
+master and mistress, who generally enlist their friends and
+visitors under the hymeneal banners of a faithful servant, the
+architects of whose humble fortunes they become, by laying
+themselves the foundation stone.</p>
+<p>As, from this part of our history, the hero will rise in
+importance, those who have hitherto stood forward, must
+proportionably draw back, to give him due place; especially Jack
+and Catty; the grand drama of whose lives has been closed by a
+matrimonial union; whence, henceforth, they must sink into
+inconsiderable personages.</p>
+<p>In consequence of the squire&rsquo;s liberality on the
+celebration of Catty&rsquo;s wedding, and a general report
+prevailing that he was inclined towards the Welsh, a protector of
+their customs, a general good-will towards him was manifested by
+the country people.&nbsp; But his popularity reached its
+culminating point when he gave forth the opinion that the Welsh
+female costume was a <a name="page66"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 66</span>useful, elegant, and picturesque one,
+and for once, a scion of John Bull became popular with us.</p>
+<p>When he eulogized the Welsh harp, and gave, in addition to
+various pieces of silver at different times, a golden angel to
+Ianto Gwyn for his performances at Jack and Catty&rsquo;s
+wedding, he gained a few steps more into their good
+opinion.&nbsp; But when he declared that bed courtship should not
+be abolished, there was a burst of enthusiasm in his favour in
+every breast, especially among the females.&nbsp; During this new
+impulse given to the reign of happiness, the great lady at the
+hall and her favourite curate hid their diminished heads; the
+former declaring that it was utterly impossible that the world
+could last many months longer, while such immorality and
+ungodliness was practiced under the auspices of a declared
+patron.</p>
+<p>Whether it was the influence of this alarm, or the bitterness
+of baffled malignity, that preyed on her mind, certain it is, she
+was soon thrown on a sick bed, and considered seriously
+indisposed.&nbsp; The squire, to his honour be it said, although
+unfortunately married to a very disagreeable woman, allowed a
+sense of duty to supply the place of affection, when his
+attentions were so indispensably needed.&nbsp; During her
+illness, the worthy old rector, who had been ill but a single
+week, died; and Squire Graspacre, against his own judgment and
+feelings, well knowing that such an arrangement would be
+agreeable to his wife, inducted the curate, Evans, into the
+vacant living.&nbsp; In a fortnight after, however, she died
+herself; a circumstance, perhaps, that gave no real sorrow to any
+creature breathing.</p>
+<p>The general report of a liberal English squire in
+Cardiganshire, who patronized and upheld the customs of the
+Welsh, penetrated to the extremities of the neighbouring
+counties, and became at last so strangely exaggerated, that he
+was represented as the patron of the learned; consequently many
+of the humbler sons of the church took long journeys to be
+undeceived.&nbsp; Of the many who called upon him with a view of
+seeking his <a name="page67"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+67</span>patronage of their literary undertakings, one especially
+took his fancy; a young clergyman named John David Rhys, before
+named as the author of the Bidder&rsquo;s song.</p>
+<p>But poetry was not his forte; his energy and perseverance in
+the favourite study of Welshmen, British antiquities, and
+systemizing his native language, deserved encouragement and
+applause.&nbsp; He had been composing a Welsh grammar, and had
+actually commenced a dictionary.&nbsp; As he spoke English very
+well, the squire soon understood the merit of his undertakings,
+and promised his patronage and good offices; in the mean time
+requesting him to remain on the footing of a friend beneath his
+roof, till something could be done for him.&nbsp; This excellent
+person he now fixed upon to succeed Evans in the school and
+curacy; stipulating, that for his fulfilment of the latter, he
+was to have thirty pounds, and for the former ten pounds
+a-year.</p>
+<p>Fortunate for Rhys would it have been had the old rector
+outlived the squire&rsquo;s lady, in which case it is more than
+probable he would have filled the living instead of Evans, whom
+the squire never liked.&nbsp; The change was a fortunate one for
+Twm Shon Catty, who, as we have before seen, had already a name
+for composing doggerel, and had even tried his muse in the
+orthodox four-and-twenty Welsh measures.&nbsp; When he found his
+new master a kind young man, an historian, antiquarian, and
+something of a poet, the homage of the heart was immediately paid
+him.&nbsp; Twm thought he was the wisest man in the world, when
+he heard him speak of the battles fought by the Britons in
+ancient times, against the Romans, Danes, and Saxons.&nbsp; This
+was to him a knowledge the most estimable, and he longed to be
+enabled also to talk about battles and to write patriotic
+songs.&nbsp; Having now his information from a better source, he
+soon learnt to despise the jargon and misstatements of Ianto
+Gwyn, with whom he argued boldly, and proved to him that Geoffry
+of Monmouth was a fabulist, and no historian; that it was not
+Joseph of Arimathea who christianized Britain, but <a
+name="page68"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 68</span>Br&acirc;n ab
+Llyr, the father of renowned Caractacus, with various other such
+knotty points.</p>
+<p>The great deference which he paid his master, his attention to
+every word which fell from his lips, with his close and
+successful application to his lessons, gained him the esteem and
+admiration of Rhys, with whom he became a great favourite.&nbsp;
+The amiable young clergyman found much satisfaction on
+discovering a youngster with taste, sufficient to appreciate his
+favourite pursuits, and took pleasure in explaining to him every
+subject of his enquiries.&nbsp; A thirst for information
+possessed the boy; and he rummaged the most dry and tedious works
+connected with Welsh antiquities, with an avidity that was
+astonishing even to his master.</p>
+<p>It would perhaps have been fortunate for Twm had this thirst
+for study remained unchecked by any less noble desire.&nbsp; But
+joking and learning, &ldquo;larks&rdquo; and Latin, practical
+jests and Welsh history, are scarcely likely to agree well.&nbsp;
+Watt the mole-catcher occupied his attention, and, in the end,
+his acquaintance with that personage was an ill wind which blew
+nobody good.</p>
+<p>About eighteen months after Rhys&rsquo;s appointment to the
+school, one evening in the Christmas holidays, Watt asked him if
+he would take a share in a freak that would keep him up the
+greater part of the night.&nbsp; Twm immediately assented,
+without enquiring its nature; enough for him it was that it was a
+scheme of merry mischief, in the prospect of which his heart ever
+bounded.</p>
+<p>This idle whim of Watt&rsquo;s was nothing more than to pull
+down the signs of all the public-houses and shops; which being
+few, was easily done, but the greater difficulty was to suspend
+them from, or attach them to, the tenements of others, in which
+they however succeeded.&nbsp; This trick elicited some humour;
+and a satirical application was discernible in the new disposal
+of the boards.&nbsp; When the light of day discovered their
+handy-work, great was the astonishment of the ale-house-keepers
+<a name="page69"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 69</span>and
+others, to find their signs vanished, and gracing the fronts of
+their neighbours&rsquo; private houses; and the anger of the
+reverend Inco Evans was boundless, on perceiving the &ldquo;Fox
+and Goose&rdquo; over the rectory house door, with the words
+proceeding from the mouth of reynard, &ldquo;I have thee
+now;&rdquo; and under the pictorial figures &ldquo;Good
+entertainment for man or horse.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>A crowd was in consequence collected about his door, and the
+provoking laughter of the people stung him to the bitterest
+degree of resentment.&nbsp; A most unlucky old carl of a Scotch
+pedlar at this moment very innocently entered the house, taking
+it, as the sign imported, for a tavern, and unstrapping his huge
+pack, laid it on the clerical magistrate&rsquo;s table, calling
+about, &ldquo;hollow! Fox and Goose;&rdquo; on which the reverend
+host and his spouse appeared, she laughing at the jest, and he
+frowning with the aspect of a demon.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah ye &rsquo;re come,&rdquo; said the facetious Scot,
+&ldquo;by my saul aw never kenn&rsquo;d twa that looked the
+characters sa weal afore&mdash;a merry guse an a sour fox! come
+gi us a pot of your best half and half.&rdquo;&nbsp; The lady ran
+out laughing, but Inco sourly answered, &ldquo;O yes! friend,
+thou shalt have half and half to thy heart&rsquo;s
+content;&rdquo; and turning his back, shut and locked the door,
+leaving the poor pedlar in gaping wonderment.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They&rsquo;re an aufu&rsquo; time coming!&nbsp;
+I&rsquo;se warrant they&rsquo;re brewing the beer.&nbsp; Hech,
+sirs, this is a strange place o&rsquo; ca&rsquo;, and they
+wouldna&rsquo; find sic a vile &rsquo;yun, frae John
+o&rsquo;Groat&rsquo;s to John o&rsquo;
+Aberdeen&rsquo;s!&rdquo;&nbsp; But his rumination on the subject
+was cut short by the return of Inco, who unlocking the door, was
+followed in by two serving damsels, each bearing a pewter vase
+containing something less fragrant than the sweets of Araby,
+which they duly discharged in the face of the unconscious pedlar,
+accompanied with Inco&rsquo;s exclamation &ldquo;there&rsquo;s
+half and half for you!&rdquo; and the girls retreated in roars of
+laughter, while their poor victim cursed them for vile nanny
+goats of the mountains.</p>
+<p>At this moment young Twm, humanely feeling for the
+stranger&rsquo;s ill treatment, informed him of his error <a
+name="page70"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 70</span>in mistaking
+that house, the residence of the clergyman and magistrate of the
+town, for a tavern.&nbsp; Adding that be feared the constables
+were sent for, to put him in the stocks.&nbsp; It need scarcely
+be added, that Sawney was soon many miles away from
+Tregaron.&nbsp; Hop-o-my-Thumb never used his legs and his
+seven-leagued boots to such express purpose as did Sawney, for he
+pushed on as though he knew terrors were behind, and the safety
+of the body depended upon the speed of his legs.&nbsp; Squire
+Graspacre from indolence or dislike to all business except
+farming, declined being in the commission of the peace himself,
+and put the parson in his stead.&nbsp; Having now attained the
+summit of his ambition, as rector and justice of the peace, his
+overweening presumption and conceit became daily more
+conspicuous; and therefore this slur upon his consequence was
+intolerable.&nbsp; The actor in this simple freak became at
+length known in consequence of the secret being intrusted, a very
+common case, to a <i>confidential friend</i>.</p>
+<p>Although the twenty shillings reward which the parson offered
+could not induce the poorest to be base enough to become an
+informer, yet an idle spirit of tattling among the women brought
+it at length to the ears of Mistress Evans, and her husband soon
+became possessed of the whole particulars.&nbsp; He instantly
+made his complaint to the squire against both Twm and Watt, who
+were merely reprimanded, cautioned for the future, and
+dismissed.</p>
+<p>The circumstances under which Twm Shon Catty was educated, now
+suddenly occurred to him.&nbsp; &ldquo;What the goodness is to
+become of that young imp of mischief?&rdquo; said he, one day, to
+Rhys the curate, whom he had informed of the particulars of the
+birth, and his deceased wife&rsquo;s whim of having him well
+educated, in consequence of him being a slip of Sir John
+Wynn&rsquo;s.&nbsp; That connection being entirely closed by the
+death of his wife, he no longer felt himself bound or inclined to
+notice him.&nbsp; When Rhys gave so good an account of his
+proficiency, he was surprised to hear the squire <a
+name="page71"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+71</span>exclaim&mdash;&ldquo;I am sorry for it, for he has no
+prospect in the world but labour and beggary.&nbsp; As he had
+already had too good an education for his circumstances, he must
+be instantly dismissed from the school.&nbsp; Since Sir John does
+not think proper to protect his son, I don&rsquo;t see why I
+should.&nbsp; As the poet very properly says:&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Too much learning makes a man a fool;<br />
+I&rsquo;d have no lad attend too long at school:<br />
+Give him a taste, then turn him out adrift;<br />
+In knowledge, at the least, he&rsquo;s had a lift.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Twm and his master parted with mutual regret, for latterly
+they were more like companions than master and scholar; and the
+generous Rhys could not restrain a tear on beholding a youth of
+so much promise destined to the uncertain wilderness of a hard
+and cold world, especially after having evinced a superiority of
+taste and intellect, that under favourable auspices would have
+entitled him to shine and flourish in his day.&nbsp; Twm remained
+awhile at his mother&rsquo;s, a big boy of fifteen, idling away
+his days without any view to the future.&nbsp; Greatly concerned
+on his account and her own inability to support him, Catty went
+one day to the squire, and implored him to do something for her
+son; and he at last <i>generously</i> decided to send him as a
+parish apprentice to a farmer, whose grounds were situate in the
+neighbouring mountains.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">The</span> family of the
+Welsh farmer.&nbsp; Not a bright look-out for our hero.</p>
+<p>Morris Greeg, the farmer to whom the parish had consigned our
+hero, as an apprentice, possessed a small freehold farm, fourteen
+miles up the mountain; and thither, in the company or custody of
+<a name="page72"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 72</span>Watt the
+mole-catcher, Twm was now marched.&nbsp; Dull and joyless was
+their journey, unenlivened either by incident or the charms of
+scenery.&nbsp; On their arrival at the destined spot, Twm could
+scarcely forbear shuddering at the prospect before him.&nbsp; The
+farm-house was a low long building, under the same roof as the
+cow-house and stable, and as the whole was covered with a black
+mass of rotten thatch, composed of varied patches of
+half-perished straw and fern, the only signs of its being
+inhabited by humanity were a chimney, with two or three farm
+implements lying at the hovel door.</p>
+<p>The farm, called Cwm y Gwarm Ddu, (Black marsh dingle,) was
+abbreviated usually to Gwern Ddu; the latter word, be it known to
+our English readers, is pronounced <i>Thee</i>.&nbsp; The land of
+which it was composed, had been anciently cribbed from the
+mountain, according to the Havod un-n&ocirc;s <a
+name="citation72"></a><a href="#footnote72"
+class="citation">[72]</a> system.&nbsp; Being too remote from any
+other settlements to be noticed by any of the parishioners but
+the shepherds, who were bribed to silence by occasional
+refreshment as they passed that way, the appropriation remained
+long unquestioned.&nbsp; And when of later years some of the
+nearest farmers became troublesome busy-bodies on the occasion, a
+few days&rsquo; labour given gratis in harvest time by Morris
+Greeg&rsquo;s grandfather and father, made all quiet again, till
+latterly, the farm of Gwern Ddu became incontestably a freehold
+property.</p>
+<p>Twm felt no great wonder that its existence, as narrated by
+Watt, remained so long unknown, and wished an earthquake had been
+so good as to swallow it before he had been destined to enter its
+precincts.</p>
+<blockquote><p><a name="page73"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+73</span>&ldquo;It was in sooth a landscape harsh.<br />
+On one side rock, and three sides marsh:<br />
+With naught to please the restless eye,<br />
+A scene to cause a weary sigh.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The farm occupied one side of a dreary dingle, being one
+field&rsquo;s breadth only from the rocky mountain above, and
+divided from a swampy turbary marsh by a roaring torrent-like
+brook.&nbsp; The house and the farm appertainments, with a view
+to shelter at the expense of a healthier foundation, were
+situated on the marsh-side of the brook, the waters of which were
+crossed by a rustic bridge formed of a fallen tree, that led
+towards the fields, and by a short lane and a path through the
+wood, to the mountain above them.&nbsp; Instead of the hawthorn,
+willow, birch, and the nut-bearing pleasant hazel, that usually
+form the hedges in more favoured lands, these poor little fields
+had their boundary ditches surmounted by that rude bantling of
+barrenness, the prickly gorse, more poetically called the
+yellow-blossomed furze; intermingled here and there, as in the
+adjoining mountain, with its brunette sister, the
+purple-flowering heath, immortalized in Scottish literature as
+the mountain heather.</p>
+<p>Above the rustic bridge, the bright pure water, yet unpolluted
+by the touch of man, rolled in a small cascade over the smooth
+black rock, contrasting by its foaming whiteness, with the sable
+bed from which it sprung.&nbsp; This little water-fall was
+called&mdash;Y Pistyll, or the spout; from which was obtained the
+water destined for household uses.&nbsp; From its side the farm
+lasses scooped the gravel wherewith they scoured their
+milk-pails, hoops and staves, rivalling by their whiteness, the
+nectarious stream within.&nbsp; Below the bridge, the brook had
+been widened by human art, so as to form a considerable pool,
+wherein the aquatic members of the farm-yard, the stately silent
+geese and the noisy ducks, at times floated gravely, with their
+young yellow brood, at others, ploughing and gambolling merrily
+and undisturbed; save when the horses, cows, or oxen were driven
+across; for the <a name="page74"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+74</span>upper part of the pool formed part of the regular
+road.</p>
+<p>Through this wood, ran an oblique path, that after turning the
+corner of an angular rising whose upper end was bounded by a
+terrific precipice of no less than ninety feet perpendicular
+height, and known by the name of Allt y Craig Llwyd, or
+Acclivious Forest of the Grey Rock, which indicated that trees at
+some period clothed the scene now defaced by hideous
+nakedness.&nbsp; On winding round and gaining the summit of the
+peak above this quarry, an extensive tract of level mountain
+appeared in one direction; in another, the dreary monotony was
+broken by the appearance of petty lakes or mountain pools, on
+which floated at times certain families of migratory aquatic
+birds, that here made their temporary resting place, in their
+hasty journeys to more favoured regions.&nbsp; Ravines, and
+caves, the reputed bed-chambers of evil spirits, long-maned
+unbroken horses, and numerous flocks of wild-looking small sheep,
+were the other objects that diversified the scene; and the
+horizon was closed by the distant mountain peaks, one above
+another, wildly strange, but most grandly clustered.</p>
+<p>On Watt&rsquo;s presenting Twm to a tall, gaunt, swarthy-faced
+man, who proved to be Morris Greeg himself, as the apprentice
+which the parish had sent him, his brows contracted, and his
+sunken eyes threw out their fires in a flash of indignation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ha!&rdquo; cried the old man, after eyeing our hero
+with the contempt which a sordid clown might evince towards a
+puny insect, as he wondered, in the dulness of his conception,
+why heaven should trouble itself in creating a thing incapable of
+hewing wood or carrying burdens&mdash;&ldquo;a pretty help they
+have sent me truly!&nbsp; Of what service will a weak creature
+like this be to me?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;None!&rdquo; screamed a thin hag of a yellow-faced
+woman, &ldquo;but to eat up all the victuals; I warrant, by his
+thin carcass and long crane neck, that he has the stomach of a
+hound.&nbsp; This neck looks as if it had <a
+name="page75"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 75</span>been
+stretched already.&nbsp; But if it hasn&rsquo;t, it soon will be
+by the looks of him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Four damsels, the daughters of the house, now made their
+appearance, and scrutinized our hero over each other&rsquo;s
+shoulder, as if he had been a reptile of some unquestionable
+species, whom it was not safe to approach too near.&nbsp; A
+sturdy ploughman in a white frock sat at the table, silently, but
+sullenly, descanting on the merits of the food before him, by
+alternately sneering and masticating what appeared to be more
+necessary to his stomach than agreeable to his palate.&nbsp; On
+the left of the ploughman sat a singular-looking thin
+parrot-nosed boy, the only one that appeared to greet him with a
+look of welcome; his small black eyes actually laughed with
+satisfaction.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, Moses, thou hast now a companion to help thee to
+devour food, and do nothing,&rdquo; said farmer Greeg, as he
+motioned to Watt and Twm to sit and eat.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, thee hast now a companion to help thee to eat and
+do nothing,&rdquo; repeated the farmer&rsquo;s eldest daughter
+Shaan, whose habit it was to echo all the sayings of her father
+and mother, so as to publish herself as one of the authorities of
+the house.&nbsp; Moses said nothing audibly, but a rueful
+expression of countenance gave it the lie to the insinuation most
+pointedly, and Twm fancied that he brushed away a tear with his
+sleeve, as he rose hastily and walked out of the house.</p>
+<p>Watt had been busy &ldquo;taking stock&rdquo; of the
+ploughman&rsquo;s countenance; a compliment apparently by no
+means appreciated by the object of his regard.&nbsp; The
+ploughman hastily finished his dinner, and was about to beat a
+retreat, when Watt enquired, &ldquo;Is&rsquo;nt thy name Abel
+Prosser?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No!&rdquo; cried the man.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; cried Shaan, &ldquo;what does thou deny thy
+name for?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then, I have a warrant against thee, as the runaway
+father of Palley Bais Wen&rsquo;s bantling,&rdquo; cried Watt;
+&ldquo;help to secure him in the king&rsquo;s name!&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page76"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 76</span>The man
+made a dart from the house, and Watt after him.&nbsp; The event
+of the chase remained long unknown as neither were seen again by
+the present party for many a month.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The devil take that Watt Gwathotwr!&rdquo; screamed
+Sheeny Greeg the farmer&rsquo;s wife, &ldquo;for he brings us
+nothing but trouble.&nbsp; Two years ago he brought us this
+Moses, the deserted bantling of a rascally Jew, who deceived the
+silly wench of a hedge-ale-house maid, where he lodged; and now
+he has brought another of no more strength than a grey-hound
+puppy; and worse than all, he has scared away Abel Prosser.&nbsp;
+What are we to do now?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do!&rdquo; cried Shaan scornfully, &ldquo;we shall do
+very well; make these two fellows do Abel&rsquo;s work, and their
+own.&rdquo;&nbsp; With this very comfortable prospect before him,
+Twm went to rest with the Jew boy in the hay-loft, this first
+night after his arrival in the alpine region of Cwmny Gwern
+Ddu.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Moses</span> has many
+youthful yearnings.&nbsp; The exploits of the lads in fasting and
+feasting.</p>
+<p>Some say it is a comfort to have a brother in affliction,
+visited by similar trials, and persecuted rigour.&nbsp; Now Moses
+and Twm could be sympathetic enough, for they had to endure
+labour enough and too much, but quite the opposite quantity of
+eatables; they, therefore, in their misery, became firm and
+attached companions.&nbsp; Twm at first found much to disgust him
+with his fellow sufferer, as he seemed disposed to talk of
+nothing but culinary matters; the roast and boiled, the stewed,
+the fried, were his darling topics.&nbsp; When Twm dilated on
+some of the festal doings at Graspacre-hall, the prematurely
+sunken eyes <a name="page77"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+77</span>of this wretched starveling would glisten with a lambent
+flame that threatened the immediate extinction of his senses, he
+exclaimed, &ldquo;O Lord, how I should like to make one of
+them!&mdash;I heard a strange man once talk of an ox being
+roasted whole&mdash;can such a thing be? what a&mdash;what a
+sight!&nbsp; O Lord, how I should like to tear two, three, four,
+hot ribs out of a roasting ox&mdash;I would get into the carcass,
+and roast with it, so that I might tug, tear, and eat my fill
+first.&nbsp; If I knew my way to any great town from this awful
+place, I&rsquo;ll tell thee Twm, how I should like to get my
+living&mdash;I would eat for wagers&mdash;I have heard of such
+doings, and I know I could die contented, if I had once my
+stomach full of flesh&mdash;ha! ha! ha!&nbsp; I would tear it,
+and ha! ha! ha!&nbsp; Oh! how I would tear and swallow
+it!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm felt horror-struck to hear these frantic ravings of this
+poor famished being, his eyes starting from their sockets, and
+his thin talon-like hands clutching vacantly at imaginary
+food.&nbsp; He strove to comfort him with future hopes, but the
+wretch had now sunk into a fit of weeping despondency, and as the
+tears ran down his young emaciated face, he exclaimed, in a tone
+of utter hopelessness, &ldquo;no, no, I shall sleep on these
+mountains, and never have my fill of any thing but work and
+sorrow, work and sorrow till I die!&rdquo;&nbsp; Suddenly
+starting from his reclining posture to his feet, and as suddenly
+changing his querulous tones to those of maniac rapture that was
+alarming from the startling transition&mdash;&ldquo;Canst thee
+eat raw eggs, Twm?&nbsp; I have a store of them hid away in the
+barn&mdash;we&rsquo;ll have a feast of them to-night,
+boy!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Previous to this scene, they had been thrashing together till
+over fatigued they sat themselves down on the straw.&nbsp; The
+silence of their flails informed the quick ears of old Sheeny of
+this pause in their labour.&nbsp; Hastening with stealthy steps
+towards the barn, she unluckily arrived the moment when Moses
+vaunted of the intended feast of eggs.&nbsp; With the soundless
+steps and savage purpose of the taloned cat, that marks the
+moment to dart upon the heedless bird, she reached over <a
+name="page78"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 78</span>the latch;
+unlatching it, she burst into the middle of the barn, and seizing
+the first flail in her way, she vowed with a tremendous oath to
+break every bone in his body with it unless the eggs were
+immediately produced.&nbsp; As she had once broke his leg, which
+Evans the blacksmith had imperfectly set for him, poor Moses made
+a virtue of necessity, and at once took her to his little
+hoard.&nbsp; Poor lad; it was like drawing his blood, to take
+away this prospect of a feed, and his eyes filled with tears as
+Sheeny gathered them all in her apron and marched off
+triumphantly.&nbsp; The loss of the eggs, valuable as they were
+in their hungry circumstances, was trivial to the daily
+annoyances of the female tongues that trimmed and stung them both
+within and without doors for many a day after, on this
+subject.</p>
+<p>Old Sheeny was certainly a notable manager, an economist to
+the back bone.&nbsp; Abstemious moralists, those excellent
+friends of the human race, have declared, that the new-fangled
+improvements in modern cookery have inclined mankind to devour
+twice the quantity of food requisite or beneficial for the health
+and happiness of our species.&nbsp; Sheeny Greeg, the careful
+mistress of this mountain mansion, had no idea of inflicting such
+an evil on those favoured beings confided to her
+protection.&nbsp; Therefore, in a pure philosophic spirit, as an
+antidote to gluttony and intemperance, she took care, like an
+ancient Spartan dame, that the food and drink of her providing
+should be neither too rich nor too savory.&nbsp; Consequently
+gout and plethora were never found among the maladies of her
+inmates.&nbsp; She had an admirable contrivance that did honour
+to her inventive powers, of substituting durability for the
+dangerous quality of palatableness, in the food she
+administered.</p>
+<p>For instance, in the article of bread, her custom was to bake
+an enormous batch at once; so that it soon got hard, musty and
+mouldy, it must be admitted that the temptation to gluttonize on
+it and its accompaniments, was diminished.&nbsp; In preparing
+that standing dish of the Welsh farm, the flummery, <a
+name="page79"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 79</span>she would
+steep for a considerable time, a large portion of the oaten
+commodity for that purpose, till thoroughly soured to the acidity
+of crab-juice.&nbsp; The skim milk, in which this mess was
+soused, she considered as too gross for their unsophisticated
+stomachs, till diluted with the pure element from the brook.</p>
+<p>The whey and butter-milk underwent the same process; and the
+cheese kept for home consumption was manufactured of that
+fang-defying, heart of oak, sort of toughness, which answers the
+patriotic purpose of cannon-balls, to repel invaders, should
+their cupidity ever be inflamed by the reported felicities of
+Cwmny Gwern Ddu: in which alarming supposition it is some
+satisfaction to reflect, as a point to our moral, that the crime
+would carry the punishment along with it.&nbsp; Whenever those
+rare and almost denounced strangers to the table, the beef or
+bacon made their appearance, the greedy fangs that seized them
+would suddenly relax their tenacious grip, like the blind dog
+that mistook a red-hot poker for a bone, in evident alarm, lest a
+portion of Lot&rsquo;s wife had accidentally fallen in their way;
+a cannibal impression that seemed to haunt them long after, till
+washed away by many a copious draught of the fluid that cost
+nothing.&nbsp; Morris Greeg himself was a fine example to his
+household, as a scorner of unnecessary dainties.&nbsp; Doubtless
+it was very edifying to Twm and Moses, to hear him descant on the
+enormities of gross feeding, enlivened by anecdotes of people who
+had eaten themselves to death.</p>
+<p>He would tell tales about the dreadful troubles brought upon a
+man by being over fat&mdash;obesity was, to hear him, a state of
+existence only equalled in horror by the pains and penalties of
+the lower regions.&nbsp; He narrated a veritable instance of a
+Daniel Lambert, who got so fat, and so immovable, that he rolled
+himself into a large trough of water, and voluntarily died the
+death of a suicide.&nbsp; Moses, the young infidel, would gape
+incredulously at such an intimation, <a name="page80"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 80</span>and evidently doubted the probability
+of such a death; and if it were possible, impious cormorant as he
+was, he would have no objection to martyrdom on such a score.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Plain food, and as little of it as possible,&rdquo;
+quoth Morris, &ldquo;is a fine thing,&rdquo; grinding as he spoke
+a mass of black-eyed winter-dried beans with rusty bacon.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;And leaven,&rdquo; cried the sage of the mountains,
+&ldquo;is far better in the bread than barn; it warms the stomach
+with its generous acid, and makes me content with
+little.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Our hero, however, had a bold heart; and if a little better
+fed, would have endured all with that indifference and vein of
+whim which were natural to him.&nbsp; As it was, with the wild
+companionship of Moses, he turned misery herself into a scarecrow
+of mirth rather than of terror.&nbsp; Together those
+mischievously merry boys dispatched their breakfasts of highly
+watered milk and porridge, thickened with mouldy bread, with
+hungry yet loathing stomachs, and indulged in under currents of
+laughter, as either of them aped some peculiarity of gait or
+visage in their amiable hostess.</p>
+<p>And when the rusty bacon liquor was enlarged for repeated
+messes of broth, their wry faces gave indications of their inmost
+feelings, whilst the latter manifested themselves by a waterspout
+movement generally supposed to indicate disquietude of the
+stomach.&nbsp; Their patience was severely tried; often when they
+felt a conviction that this species of drenching was over, they
+had the unexpected mortification to find a quantity of water
+added, to spin it out for another meal.&nbsp; This was truly a
+sad change to Twm, compelled as he was daily to embrace his
+antipathies, and disconnect himself from all that he had learned
+to love.&nbsp; He loved ballad lore, rural festivities, rambling,
+and all those light modes of passing his time that were most
+allied to idleness.</p>
+<p>But in this dreary house, not a book was to be seen nor the
+sound of mirth, harp, or song, ever heard; still Twm did not
+despond; his good humour had <a name="page81"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 81</span>the effect of brightening, by many a
+shade, the desponding apprehensions of Moses; and more than once
+he actually won a smile from one or two of the younger daughters
+of the house, who, however, soon rebuked themselves for
+descending to be pleased with anything that a parish apprentice
+boy could advance.</p>
+<p>In the long winter evenings, when no one could possibly invent
+a task or job for them, Twm and Moses would be allowed to sit a
+little by the turf fire; when the latter would venture to narrate
+some hungry tale of gastronomic heroism, in which his fancy
+revelled, Twm would recite ghost stories that terrified the
+damsels; and war tales of olden times that he had heard from
+Ianto Gwyn, or his master, Rhys, that astonished and amused his
+auditors, at least part of them, for Sheeny Greeg and her echo
+Shaan disdained to be among the number, but cried shame on him
+for repeating such audacious lies.</p>
+<p>Miserly people often overshoot their mark, and it was so in
+this farm-house.&nbsp; Old Elwes would have called Morris Greeg a
+worthy disciple, whilst other misers of even greater note would
+have looked upon the farm-house and its ways as the very acme of
+human felicity.&nbsp; But &ldquo;greed&rdquo; begets greater
+evils; and when Morris was by chance called away, the girls
+indulged themselves in the best way they could find.&nbsp; Theft
+was largely patronized, and as we should charitably think not
+without very reasonable excuse.&nbsp; One fair, day when Morris
+and Sheeny had betaken themselves to a distant corn and cattle
+mart, the girls, as usual, commenced their preparation for a
+regular junketing.&nbsp; Twm and Moses, whom they kept at the
+humble distance of lowly menials, were out together, mending some
+gaps in the hedges, when Moses sniffing the wind that blew from
+the direction of the house, with the gifted nose of a dog of the
+chase, called out with ecstacy, &ldquo;Twm, I smell
+pan-cake!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So do I, Moses,&rdquo; returned our little hero,
+expanding his nostrils with jocular comicality, &ldquo;Ha!&rdquo;
+cried Moses, with an envious snarl, &ldquo;The selfish wenches <a
+name="page82"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 82</span>of the house
+are treating their dainty chops with something nice.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Aye!&rdquo; retorted Twm, quoting from some learned
+Theban, &ldquo;when the cat&rsquo;s away the mice will
+play.&nbsp; But stop thee here, Moses, and see if I don&rsquo;t
+bring thee a share of what is going, in five
+minutes.&rdquo;&nbsp; Moses grinned and licked his lips in eager
+anticipation as Twm hurried off.&nbsp; He entered the house with
+a sudden startling step, and a bundle of firewood under his arm
+as an excuse for the intrusion.&nbsp; All was panic within an
+instant.&nbsp; Two of the girls dashed their jug of sweetened
+small beer into the pail of hog&rsquo;s wash, as they heard the
+first rattle of the wooden latch on Twm&rsquo;s entrance; Shaan
+turned pale as the unfried pancake before her, so great was their
+fear that their parents had returned in the midst of their
+underhand clandestine doings.&nbsp; &ldquo;It is only that devil
+Twm Shon Catty,&rdquo; cried Shaan, who was the first to recover
+from the general terror; &ldquo;Never mind, girls, go and sweeten
+more beer, for father and mother can&rsquo;t be home before
+night.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Aye, go and sweeten more beer, and let poor Moses and I
+have a share of your beer and pancakes,&rdquo; cried Twm,
+pointedly eyeing a raised heap of them in a wooden platter before
+the fire;&mdash;&ldquo;let <i>us</i> have a part, and we
+won&rsquo;t tell.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Get along to thy work, thou saucy cur!&rdquo; cried
+Shaan, striking him with all her strength with the hot
+frying-pan.&nbsp; &ldquo;Not till I have our share to take with
+me,&rdquo; cried our hero, making a grasping snatch at the heaped
+pancakes, which he bore off in spite of the united efforts of the
+lasses to re-capture them.&nbsp; His manner of bestowing them was
+more commendable on the score of security than of delicacy, as
+the greater portion was thrust into his shirt-breast and breeches
+pockets; off he ran over the wooden bridge and along the path
+through the wood.</p>
+<p>In this chase the great heat against his breast gave him
+considerable pain, and almost arrested his steps, half persuaded
+to throw away the larded delicacy; St. <a name="page83"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 83</span>Vitus never danced faster nor more
+spasmodically under his pains, than did our hero under the
+effects of his hot pancakes.&nbsp; They gave him shocks equal in
+intensity to those from the voltaic pile; in fact he may be said
+to have been a Salamander enduring the scorchings of heat, but
+with this difference.&mdash;Twm Shon Catty could not well bear
+them, whereas the Salamander was represented as rather enjoying
+them than otherwise.</p>
+<p>But, like the Spartan boy, Twm heroically determined to bear
+the self-inflicted torture, and endure to the last.&nbsp;
+However, it must be confessed, to the minoration of his fame,
+that not having been favoured with so stoical an education as the
+aforesaid Lacedemonian, he yielded to nature, and ran and roared,
+and roared and ran, till he outran his pursuers, who returned
+breathless home, and he as breathless joined young Moses, where,
+in their secret haunt, they enjoyed the fruit of his
+dexterity.</p>
+<p>The spot they occupied was one of the discoveries of Moses,
+before Twm&rsquo;s arrival, the craggy recesses of which became
+the depositaries of his filching achievements, and which
+recurring to in after years, he called his larder.&nbsp; It was
+situated above the torrent, beside the mountain, at the extreme
+end of the farm&mdash;just where the wilderness had refused to
+yield another patch to add to former accumulation.&nbsp; But
+these gormandizing youths were at present too busily engaged to
+remark on either the beauties or the horrors of the scene.</p>
+<h2><a name="page84"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+84</span>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Studies</span> piscatorial
+and fleshy, and certain tricks connected therewith.&nbsp; Pork
+capers&mdash;a new dish.</p>
+<p>Emboldened by the impunity with which they had foraged for
+themselves during the last three months that had followed the
+doings in our last chapter, both Twm and Moses grew somewhat
+daring in their gastronomical speculations.&nbsp; Moses, among
+his restless peerings for something to gratify appetite, had
+peeped into one of the mountain pools, and joyfully detected the
+existence of a certain sizeable fish there.&nbsp; This was a
+discovery which made the young Jew&rsquo;s mouth water, and his
+eyes distend with visions of future work for the jaws!&nbsp; Here
+was an El Dorado of good food, and Moses went into proportionate
+rapture at the prospect.&nbsp; Twm annoyed him not a little, by
+laughing at his futile attempts to spear a pike with the dull and
+clumsy prongs of a dungfork.</p>
+<p>Our hero was more successful in his warfare on the trout and
+eels that abounded in a brook which ran through one of the
+tarns.&nbsp; Without any contrivance that resembled
+fishing-tackle in the most remote degree, he remarked a sweeping
+curve, of a horse-shoe shape, in one part of the brook, and
+determined, with the assistance of Moses, on sporting his
+engineering skill, in cutting a new channel for the water, so
+that it might for the future, run a straight course, and leave
+the horseshoe portion of it dry.&nbsp; This at different
+intervals, with no small labour, they at last effected; and when
+the flood ran along the new channel, its deserted curve became a
+mess of slimy mud.&nbsp; Into this, with naked feet, they soon
+waded, and groping cautiously about, succeeded in gathering an
+abundant harvest of trout and eels.&nbsp; Moses was noisy in his
+raptures at the result, and so anxious to have them immediately
+cooked, that he could scarcely wait for that tedious
+progress.</p>
+<p><a name="page85"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+85</span>However, they soon kindled a fire by rubbing together
+some rotten wood, and with the aid of some dry turf, the quarry
+under the precipice of Allt y Craig became a temporary heath of
+blazing beauty.&nbsp; Utterly void of any culinary utensils, they
+resolved on the primitive mode of broiling their fish on hot
+stones, and Moses, all alacrity, proceeded on the task of
+preparing them.</p>
+<p>But, alas, for the sequel of their adventure!&nbsp; Before
+they could realize their project, the dark countenance of Morris
+Greeg paralyzed their efforts, as the serpent&rsquo;s gaze is
+said to fascinate its victim.&nbsp; The angry farmer gruffly
+demanded where they had been, how they had dared to idle away
+their time, and what was the meaning of that wasteful fire
+against the rock.&nbsp; The ready lie, or presence of mind as it
+is favourably called, of Twm and Moses soon supplied answers,
+such as they were.&nbsp; Twm said, that hearing the good woman of
+the house complain of a visit from the old enemy the cholic, he
+determined to catch a dish of fish for her, to drive it away,
+pointing triumphantly to his piscatory store; thus beating a
+retreat with all the diplomacy and tact of a good general, who
+when he finds he cannot obtain a victory, at any rate manages to
+gain credit for a wise &lsquo;retrograde.&rsquo;</p>
+<p>Moses followed up Twm&rsquo;s assertion by declaring that the
+fire was to frighten away the crows and the kites that might take
+fancy to the young lambs, or the wheat in the neighbouring field;
+a manifestation of care over his master&rsquo;s property, which
+had, at any rate, the claim of originality to back it.&nbsp;
+Morris was as great an economist of his words as in matters of
+worldly goods, and therefore, whatever he thought, he did not
+waste breath with reply; but suddenly ordered Moses to carry the
+fish into the house, and Twm to give some hay to the cows.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;And be sure,&rdquo; quoth the careful farmer, &ldquo;that
+you give most hay to the cow that gives most milk.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I will be sure of it!&rdquo; replied Twm pointedly, and
+with sulky asperity.&nbsp; The next moment, to the great <a
+name="page86"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 86</span>astonishment,
+and greater anger of Morris Greeg, he threw as much hay as his
+two arms could embrace, under the water-spout.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;There,&rdquo; cried the redoubted son of Catty,
+&ldquo;that is the cow which gives me most milk, for that cursed
+broth and porridge is almost wholly made from this never-failing
+animal.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>A precipitous retreat of course, followed this explanation,
+and Morris Greeg was left alone to chew the cud of his
+resentment.&nbsp; At dinner the next day, the wrath of Morris
+having evaporated, all grew smooth again.&nbsp; While Twm and
+Moses bolted their insipid mess of dovery, otherwise called
+burgoo, the gratification was rather questionable in having as
+their share merely the smell of the fried fish, on which Sheeny
+and Shaan with the younger daughters were regaling, and praising
+the flavour at every mouthful they swallowed.&nbsp; Moses ground
+his teeth, and would have impaled them in the excess of his rage,
+for the loss of his expected feast.&nbsp; Twm said nothing, but
+inwardly resolved on faring better, and that very speedily.&nbsp;
+Shaan grinned like a hyena as she treated her dainty gums with
+fish after fish, and spitefully enjoyed their mortification, as
+she whispered to Twm, &ldquo;now we are even for the
+pancakes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Just at the finishing of this mid-day meal, the barking of a
+strange dog drew Twm and Moses out to the yard.&nbsp; There they
+saw a half-starved cur, belonging to a cottager who was cutting
+turf in the adjoining turbary.&nbsp; This wretched animal,
+evidently a cut-throat leveller in principle, was disputing with
+one of the pigs his right to engross the whole trough to himself,
+which the bristly conservative at length resented by snapping in
+two one of the hind legs of his canine enemy.</p>
+<p>The dog set up a dismal howl as a requiem for the loss of the
+fourth part of his understanding, which was soon silenced by
+Moses striking him on the head with a large stone, which killed
+him on the spot.&nbsp; The cottager hurried home, frightened by
+Twm, who told him would be sued for the damages done by his
+dog.&nbsp; Our hero, with the assistance of Moses, to whom he <a
+name="page87"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 87</span>imparted the
+scheme he had now in hand, immediately bathed the buttocks of the
+pig with the dog&rsquo;s blood; and then pouring some dry sand in
+his ear, drove him howling down the yard.&nbsp; Annoyed with the
+freedom thus taken with his auricular organ, the offended
+gentleman of the sty rushed to and fro, at a rate as violent as
+some of his celebrated ancestors, when they sought to drown both
+themselves and the devils within them in the sea.&nbsp; Morris
+lifted his hands amidst the assembled household, and ruefully
+exclaimed, &ldquo;the devil is in the pig!&rdquo;&nbsp; His
+gambols were certainly most extraordinary, and far surpassed the
+evolutions&rsquo; of the bull&rsquo;s frisky wife, commonly
+called the cow&rsquo;s courante.&nbsp; He sometimes aimed to
+stand on his hind legs, to emulate the figure, intimating in
+pantomime, &ldquo;I am as good a man as the best of
+you!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>While in this position, he would toss his head as loftily as
+an envious beauty that heard her rival praised; and then, as if
+to evince his unrivalled versatility, he aimed to reverse his
+position, and stand on his head.</p>
+<p>Thus did he enliven the farm-yard, and cut sundry unusual
+capers, not at all in keeping with the hitherto grave tenor of
+all his modest life; at which Morris was scandalized, the women
+astonished, and the two mischievous imps that caused this
+torture, amused as if a party of mountebanks had exhibited before
+them.&nbsp; &ldquo;Such things have been in the days of
+old,&rdquo; cried Morris, with a pious whine, &ldquo;the pig is
+possessed of a devil.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of a legion of devils!&rdquo; screamed Sheeny and
+Shaan, in the utmost alarm; &ldquo;the pig is mad!&rdquo; cried
+Moses; &ldquo;the dog was mad that bit the pig!&rdquo; cried
+Twm.&nbsp; This remark, which assigned a natural cause for the
+frisky gambols of the tortured grunter, had the effect of
+sobering every one from their wild supernatural speculations, to
+the no less alarming fact that poor porker was the victim of
+hydrophobia.&nbsp; Morris all at once turned pious, and remarked
+that &ldquo;this might be <a name="page88"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 88</span>one of the signs which were to
+precede the end of the world.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; whispered Twm to Moses, &ldquo;it is a sign
+which certainly precedes the end of the pig.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Convinced by the reiteration of Twm and Moses, that the pig
+was really stark staring maliciously and mischievously mad,
+Morris seemed more grieved at his prospect of worldly loss in so
+much hog&rsquo;s flesh, than as if his first suggestion had been
+verified about the dissolution of the world.&nbsp; He
+pathetically lamented the loss it would be, to kill him before he
+was duly fattened.&nbsp; &ldquo;He must be killed and eaten
+fresh,&rdquo; whined Morris, &ldquo;as he is too lean to be
+salted and baconed.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He shall be killed and buried like a dog!&rdquo; cried
+Sheeny, &ldquo;or we shall all be maddened and biting one
+another, if we swallow a bit of him, fat or lean&mdash;Oh! the
+pity to lose this precious griskin!&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;I
+won&rsquo;t eat mad pork!&rdquo; cried Shaan; &ldquo;nor
+I,&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;nor I!&rdquo; cried the younger lasses,
+deeply horrified at the idea of being smothered between two
+feather-beds, which Twm assured them, with a very grave and
+serious face, was an easy and comfortable death, and such as was
+always allotted by law to those who got mad by the bite of a mad
+dog, or by eating what was venomed by his bite.&nbsp; &ldquo;I
+will never touch a bit of him,&rdquo; cried all the girls at
+once; &ldquo;but I will!&rdquo; muttered both Twm and Moses, to
+themselves, glowing with the thought of future feasting.</p>
+<p>Morris in the deepest tribulation pondered on the perversity
+of his household, and at last decided on waiting till next
+morning before he would give his ultimatum as to how the pig was
+to be disposed of, in the meantime locking him up in a
+stable.&nbsp; It was a night of trial for Morris.&nbsp; To lose
+an entire porker at one fell swoop, and the household to be so
+very unaccommodating as not to eat him, was a really serious
+thing.&nbsp; He mentally prayed for the renewed health on the
+part of the pig, or else that some kind pig-drover would fall
+from the clouds and be the saving angel of him.&nbsp; The said
+Morris Greeg&rsquo;s conscience <a name="page89"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 89</span>did not see further than his own
+acts.&nbsp; If the imaginary drover bought the pig, and others
+were made mad, why it was none of Morris&rsquo;s concern.&nbsp;
+So much for his refined morality.&nbsp; Thus he comforted himself
+by reflecting, that whoever got mad with eating him, that was
+<i>their</i> concern, not <i>his</i>; as it would be unbecoming
+in him to dictate to others what they were to buy or to
+eat.&nbsp; And as to mentioning his faults, as some unreasonable
+readers require, he defied any one to prove <i>that</i> to be a
+fault, which was evidently his misfortune.</p>
+<p>Boundless was the mirth of Twm and Moses, as in their season
+of rest they agitated the question as to what report they were to
+make in the morning.&nbsp; &ldquo;Suppose,&rdquo; said the
+waggish Jew-boy &ldquo;that we let the pig out, and say that he
+escaped into the yard, and bit a goose, (which we can kill and
+eat;) that the goose got mad and bit the wheel-barrow; that the
+wheel-barrow dashed itself frantically against the dung-cart; and
+that both together they rolled and rattled all night about the
+yard, like the capering of ten thousand devils.&rdquo;&nbsp; Twm
+over-ruled this wild suggestion, and gave a report more consonant
+with probabilities that the animal was more mad than ever, and
+that he feared his malady would infect the stable, so as to make
+it unsafe to put the horses there again till the walls were
+white-washed and every part of it purified.</p>
+<p>This was a grave and plausible position in which to place the
+affair, and quite fell in with Morris&rsquo;s own way of
+thinking; and at last he determined on having the maddened
+monster, as he called him, killed and buried.&nbsp; This was at
+last carried into effect by our young worthies, with the
+assistance of Mike the mat-man, who inhabited a wretched hovel in
+the neighbourhood, and maintained himself, a wife, and one child,
+by making rush mats, and coarse willow baskets, which he hawked
+over the country.&nbsp; Mike, of course, was let into the secret,
+and in the night the worthy trio commenced their avocations of
+body-snatchers.&nbsp; The much injured porker was disinterred,
+and more honours were paid him after death, than had ever been
+conferred <a name="page90"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+90</span>upon him in life.&nbsp; But this is the way with human
+beings, sometimes, as well as with the denizens of the sty; and
+if we choose to moralize, we have an excellent opportunity given
+us&mdash;but we forbear.</p>
+<p>Many and merry were the evenings spent over the remains of the
+pork, by Twm and Moses, under the humble roof of Mike the mat-man
+and his wife, who were equal partakers of the feast.&nbsp; These
+promising youths, on pretending to retire to their nightly rest,
+made a point of hastening to the place of goodly food and
+pleasant smells, where they spent the greater part of the night,
+and thus acquired their earliest taste for dissipation.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Moses</span> displays his
+inventive power in catching mutton.&nbsp; The storm bursts, and
+the tricks of Twm and Moses are discovered.&nbsp; Hukin Heer
+informs, and receives his reward.&nbsp; The house is in an
+uproar.</p>
+<p>As the material of their feasting was waning, like a pleasant
+moon that declines towards the latter quarter, Moses grew more
+and more uneasy, as foul food or starvation was staring him in
+the face, night and day.&nbsp; As he utterly failed to sleep, he
+employed the silent hours of midnight to hatch a scheme for the
+procurement of future provender.&nbsp; &ldquo;Twm,&rdquo; quoth
+the young schemer one morning, &ldquo;you love mutton, and so do
+I; and as you provided the pancakes and the pigs, as well as the
+fish, (a quinsey fill the throats that swallowed them!) it is now
+my turn to be founder of the feast.&nbsp; I will not only find
+the feast, but I will manage matters so well, that Sheeny Greeg
+herself shall cook it for us.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Then he related, as Morris had informed him, <a
+name="page91"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 91</span>how in former
+years the sheep had repeatedly fallen headlong from the height of
+Allty Craig, and been killed, and how since those times he had
+made a thick hedge to keep them from the edge of the
+precipice.&nbsp; &ldquo;But we won&rsquo;t be so particular
+now,&rdquo; said Moses, &ldquo;for I mean to get up an accident
+for one of the sheep.&nbsp; Then we may eat and be happy again;
+we&rsquo;ll have a change this time.&nbsp; It was pork before,
+and now we&rsquo;ll have mutton.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;With all my heart,&rdquo; said Twm, &ldquo;only do it
+all yourself, then we shall see what you can do without my
+assistance.&rdquo;&nbsp; Thus challenged, Moses felt it as a
+point of humour to proceed in the affair alone.</p>
+<p>Explanatory of what follows, it is here necessary to quote the
+observation of one of our best South Wales tourists, on the
+subject of the Welsh hilly sheep.&nbsp; &ldquo;I was much
+struck,&rdquo; says Malkin, &ldquo;with the difference between
+the hilly sheep and those of the vale; the former are not only
+smaller, but infinitely more elegant and picturesque in
+figure.&nbsp; They seemed to have all their wits about them, so
+that one would think the race had acquired its proverbial
+character for silliness by feeding on rich and artificial
+pastures, without having inherited it originally in the state of
+nature.&nbsp; When we got into the lane, we met with a flock of
+several hundred, which live among the rocks all the year round,
+only coming down in shearing time.&nbsp; They had us in front,
+and their shepherd and his dog in the rear.&nbsp; <i>The bounds
+many of them made in avoiding us</i>, <i>were equally powerful
+and lofty with those of wild goats</i>.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Even such was the woolly tribe, from which the insatiate Jew
+was now preparing to select a victim.&nbsp; Ambitious of the sole
+credit of the enterprise, he desired Twm to stay below and leave
+him to follow his own plan.&nbsp; Scarcely thinking of the matter
+in hand, Twm took his seat on a gate, opposite to the lofty cliff
+of Allty Craig Llwyd, pondering in his mind about his distant
+home, the loved scenes which he had left for these, and above
+all, his mother, from <a name="page92"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 92</span>whom he had been so long
+separated.&nbsp; Moses wound up the hill, and attained the top at
+the back of the cliff.</p>
+<p>With the assistance of the farm-dog he soon drove one of the
+finest of the wethers into the angular nook formed by the hedge
+of the adjoining wood, and that which screened from the edge of
+the terrific cliff.&nbsp; The dog, being set on, barked and bit
+incessantly, while Moses shouted and bellowed with waving arms,
+till, worried by stupidity at last, the sheep bounded up, and
+sprang far over the hedge, and downward in the yielding
+air&mdash;ignorant of the yawning gulf behind the hedge, and the
+snare laid for his life!&nbsp; Moses set up a triumphant yell
+like that of a wild Indian, as he peered over the precipice and
+saw the downward movements of the poor sheep.&nbsp; Startled with
+the shout of Moses, at this moment Twm looked up, and saw the
+animal describing a rainbow sweep, and turning over and over in
+its descent through the air, and its ultimate fall into the
+quarry beneath, where it dropped lifeless.</p>
+<p>So little did our hero relish this cruel affair that he would
+scarcely speak to Moses, when the latter expected high applause
+for his handywork.&nbsp; But the Jew-boy, nothing daunted, ran to
+the farmer, whom he found cobbling up an old plough in the yard,
+to save expense of paying a wheelwright.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh dear!&nbsp; Oh dear!&rdquo; whined Moses, with the
+greatest appearance of heart-touched concern, &ldquo;a terrible
+accident has happened&mdash;one of the sheep&mdash;the fattest
+and finest of the whole flock&mdash;has just sprung over the
+hedge above Allty Craig, and broke its beautiful
+neck.&rdquo;&nbsp; Morris threw down the axe he was using, and
+looked nearly as sorry, angry, and despondent as he felt.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Nothing but misfortunes!&rdquo; cried he at last,
+&ldquo;nothing but misfortunes for me, wretched man that I
+am!&rdquo; his thoughts dwelling at that moment on the fine pig
+that he lately lost.&nbsp; &ldquo;First a fine pig, and now my
+finest sheep.&nbsp; Verily, this must be the end of the world,
+such judgments could not come without reason!&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page93"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+93</span>&ldquo;Hadn&rsquo;t we better cut his throat to save his
+life,&rdquo; inquired Moses in the most compassionate and tender
+tone that he could assume, forgetting the slight anomaly which
+his suggestion presented; &ldquo;and then, sir, hadn&rsquo;t we
+better skin him too?&rdquo; continued the young slip of
+Judaism.&nbsp; &ldquo;If he isn&rsquo;t bled directly, and
+nothing said about the accident, the women will vote him to be
+buried in the same grave with the hog, considering his beautiful
+mutton as no better than so much carrion.&nbsp; You know the
+women are so shamefully dainty in such matters.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This wily speech won the entire approbation of Morris Greeg,
+and patting Moses&rsquo;s shoulder, he thanked Providence that he
+had so faithful a servant; adding in the same breath, &ldquo;be
+sure you don&rsquo;t cut the skin.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This gave Twm and Moses full employment for the rest of the
+evening, while Morris entered the house, and delivered the
+startling intelligence to his household that he had determined to
+give them all a treat, and that for this purpose he had ordered
+one of the finest sheep to be slaughtered, that they might have
+fresh mutton.</p>
+<p>It was just as the first dinner from this promised feast was
+finished, on the day following, that Hukin Heer, that tall lanky
+cottager, whose dog had been killed by Moses, under the
+imputation of madness, called on Morris and Sheeny; and in a
+self-sufficient mysterious manner, informed them that he had a
+long story to tell them.&nbsp; As he cast a furious look at
+Moses, that worthy felt an inward conviction that his long story
+boded him no good; so taking up his hat in a hurried manner, he
+prepared to depart.&nbsp; Hukin Heer, however, told Morris, that
+as his tidings concerned the whole household, and that he was a
+man who scorned to criminate any one behind his back, he
+particularly wished that Moses and Twm should be present, to hear
+all that he had to urge against them.&nbsp; Moses treated his
+insinuations with a bold look of defiance as his insignificant
+features could <a name="page94"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+94</span>possibly assume, yet trembling with dread that some
+important discoveries to his disadvantage were to be made.</p>
+<p>Twm&rsquo;s only amusement at that moment consisted in
+watching the terrified expression upon the countenance of the
+young Israelite, and in mentally commenting upon the probable
+consequences of Heer&rsquo;s information.&nbsp; Now all the
+family were seated round; Hukin occupying a chair that commanded
+the passage, in case the culprits aimed to escape, and Sheeny
+with her female brood, bursting with curiosity to hear what
+diableries Hukin had to unfold.</p>
+<p>It turned out that this unlucky cottager, on the destruction
+of whose cur, by the relentless hand of Moses, fled in the utmost
+alarm at the supposed damages done by him, according to the
+insinuations of Twm, under the influence of canine madness.&nbsp;
+This, Hukin knew to be a fabrication, and suspecting the rest to
+be so, indulged in bitter feelings of resentment against the
+insignificant Jew whelp, as he called him, who on false pretences
+had destroyed his poor dog.&nbsp; Brooding over his wrongs, he at
+times revenged himself, in the early dark winter evenings, by
+tearing the hedges of Morris Greeg, by which amiable pastime he
+repaired the deficiency of his own fuel, and gave endless labour
+to those parish apprentices to repair them.</p>
+<p>One eventful evening he caught up the clue which furnished him
+with the means of revenge.&nbsp; He was returning home, after
+despoiling the hedges, when he heard the sound of footsteps; at
+once he concealed himself and his load of faggots, and like a
+stealthy spy, awaited the results.&nbsp; While in this position,
+by the imperfect light of a dull moon, he caught a full view of
+Twm and Moses.&nbsp; Abandoning his load of wood, he dogged their
+steps till they were housed in the hovel of Mike the
+mat-man.&nbsp; He then saw the inmates enjoying the lingering
+remains of the pig, gloating over it, and making sundry comments
+which might, to say the least, be considered suspicious.&nbsp;
+For <a name="page95"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+95</span>several nights Heer followed them, and saw the same
+scene enacted; he had at last gathered a full and connected
+narrative of the whole affair, and it was an intense satisfaction
+to have these sweet means of revenge in his possession.</p>
+<p>On the day previous to the present, in the full glow of
+triumphant malice, he called on Mike, and informed him that his
+midnight feastings were discovered.&nbsp; Poor Mike trembled with
+apprehension of the evil consequences that might accrue to him;
+and in the hope of propitiating the angry spirit of his
+revengeful neighbour, confessed all he knew, which was
+everything, about the matter.&nbsp; It seemed as if the spirit of
+vengeance had yielded a favourable ear to Hukin&rsquo;s desires;
+for on this same evening, as he lurked in the wood adjoining
+Allty Craig, and only separated from it by the hedge, it was his
+lot to witness the last enormity of Moses, in driving the sheep,
+on which they had been feeding, over the dreadful precipice.</p>
+<p>All these particulars, with the exception of his own part in
+despoiling the hedges, he narrated before the present assembled
+party, with the most enlarged minuteness, while the different
+members of the family were agitated with various feelings as they
+listened to his exaggerated account of the affair.</p>
+<p>Vain would be the attempt to seek words that could do adequate
+justice in describing the effects of this discovery on the
+countenance of the economic Morris, and that amiable provider of
+short commons, his wife.&nbsp; If one groaned forth her
+unutterable grief, the other ground his teeth; and in the
+vehemence of his wrath could not help thinking that the penal
+statutes required amendment&mdash;that it was an infamous
+interference on the part of the law to call the sacrifice of a
+parish apprentice or two, in the way of just resentment, by the
+hideous name of murder; while to his thinking, it was much less
+criminal than clandestinely killing a pig or a sheep, that would
+fetch so much more money.&nbsp; Almost delirious with his
+troubles, he paced the house to and fro, at the frantic rate of
+five miles to the hour, <a name="page96"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 96</span>muttering to himself a complete
+summary of the evils that had befallen him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Pig not mad&mdash;tickled by the sand in his
+ear&mdash;all eaten by the boys and the mat-man&mdash;curse their
+stomachs!&mdash;sheep driven over the precipice&mdash;worth ten
+shillings&mdash;Oh!&mdash;villainy unheard of&mdash;the world was
+innocent till now&mdash;all former villainy child&rsquo;s play to
+this&mdash;the latter day is coming fast&mdash;signs like these
+are not given for nothing!&nbsp; The prophets have
+said&rdquo;&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What&rsquo;s become of all the fine lard, you
+cut-throat villains?&rdquo; whined Sheeny, in the most touching
+accents, thinking of the <i>tesian vroy</i>, or short cake, that
+was lost to her forever; while the younger lasses looked
+bewildered at the prophetic passage alluded, and wondering where
+it was to be found.&nbsp; As nobody answered her interesting
+inquiry, Sheeny continued to bite her nails and drum the
+devil&rsquo;s tattoo with the heel of the wooden shoe; while
+Hukin Heer grinned like a demon at the mischief which he had
+made.</p>
+<p>Both Morris and Sheeny were at length roused from their stupor
+by the inquiry of Hukin,&mdash;&ldquo;Well, what be you going to
+do with them?&nbsp; I have a couple of hairy halters in my
+pockets here, that I brought for the purpose; we had better tie
+their hands behind them, and send them at once in a cart to jail,
+where they will be hanged, drawn, and quarted, as a warning to
+all rogues who take away the lives of innocent
+dogs,&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;and pigs!&rdquo; roared Griffith;
+&ldquo;and sheep!&rdquo; shrieked Sheeny, as a climax to the
+whole.</p>
+<p>Twm and Moses were on the alert, and in less time than it
+takes us to narrate the fact, Moses threw a three-legged stool at
+the informer, and that with such force that it fractured the
+elbow-bone of his right arm.&nbsp; In an instant Hukin recovered
+himself, and was about to rush on the young Jew.&nbsp; But Twm
+Shon Catty was ready, his &ldquo;soul was in arms and eager for
+the fray.&rdquo;&nbsp; As Hukin advanced, Twm launched a heavy
+oaken stool at his head, which laid his lank carcass on the
+floor, bathed in blood.&nbsp; The scene was almost taking a
+tragic turn when Sheeny changed its spirit by attacking <a
+name="page97"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 97</span>Moses with a
+birch broom, while one of the younger was pricking him in the
+breech with a toasting-fork, till he blared like a beaten
+calf.&nbsp; In the confusion of the fray, Shaan attacked her
+father with a dirty flummery ladle, that whitened and disfigured
+his black beard and whiskers, as if a barber had commenced his
+operations, while the good man stood open-mouthed marvelling
+whether these were not additional signs of approaching doom.</p>
+<p>Aware that these ladle-bastings were intended for himself, Twm
+caught Shaan behind, and holding her elbows fast to her sides,
+gave her a twist round, and inflicting a tremendous kiss on her
+fat blubbery lips; then pouting with passion, he loosened his
+hold, and springing over the prostrate carcass of Hukin Heer,
+retreated through the doorway in good order.&nbsp; Moses
+followed, but with considerable confusion; dodging his head, and
+rubbing his seat of honour in his retreat, as the visions of
+birch-brooms and toasting-forks haunted him long after he was far
+beyond their reach, whilst seating himself was made a painful
+operation, and he mentally thought he had undergone the same
+punishment as he had seen somewhere in an old print, where his
+satanic majesty was impaling an old witch in that portion of her
+body, <i>for the convenience of which</i>, <i>chairs were
+originally invented</i>.</p>
+<h2><a name="page98"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+98</span>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">The</span> flight of the
+Israelite and Mike.&nbsp; Mirth changed to grief.&nbsp; Killing
+by kindness, and saving by neglect.&nbsp; A bright vision, and a
+supernatural se&aacute;nce.&nbsp; The end of the miserly
+household.</p>
+<p>On Twm&rsquo;s rushing out of the house, he sought his bed in
+the hay-loft, and laying himself down, laughed incessantly, at
+the thought of the scene just passed; at the same time wondering
+what had become of his luckless fellow in mischief, whom he
+momentarily expected to follow him.&nbsp; Moses, however, was so
+confused by his head-drubbings from the broom of Sheeny, and
+tail-piercing from the fork of little Gwenny, that failing to see
+Twm in his retreat, he ran straight forward, without knowing
+whither.&nbsp; But the very legs of Moses without the guidance of
+his head, seemed to have a predilection for the favourite road
+which led to the house of feasting; as in this instance they bore
+him without pause, till housed in the hovel of Mike, the
+mat-man.</p>
+<p>Poor Mike, he found busied in packing up, and loading his pony
+with a cargo of mats, and preparing for immediate departure,
+fearing that day-light would send somebody to take cognizance of
+the share which he had taken in devouring Morris Greeg&rsquo;s
+swine-flesh.&nbsp; Moses related all that had passed, and
+entreated that he might become his companion in his present
+excursion; assuring him that he had as sweet a voice for crying
+mats as he could meet with in a month&rsquo;s march.</p>
+<p>Mike assented, and told him to fortify his stomach with what
+his hut afforded, against the dangers of the midnight air, a hint
+which was seldom thrown away upon him.&nbsp; The good-natured
+wife of the mat-man earnestly requested her husband to divide the
+head of the pig (the only part left!) between himself and
+Moses.&nbsp; That youth seconded the motion; observing <a
+name="page99"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 99</span>it was
+dangerous to leave any portion of it behind, as, though dead, it
+might tell tales, and be claimed by some of the Greeg family;
+feelingly remarking, &ldquo;if you have any more pork, rather
+than you should get into a scrape, I&rsquo;ll risk it, and take
+it all myself.&mdash;I am not so selfish as to begrudge to carry
+it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mike winked at his wife, intimating that he <i>knew</i> his
+customer.&nbsp; Next morning our hero called at the
+mat-man&rsquo;s house, with the laudable desire of putting him on
+his guard, intending to communicate the adventures and
+disclosures of the preceding day.&nbsp; But he was doomed to
+disappointment.&nbsp; Mike had &ldquo;cleared out&rdquo; three
+hours before, escorted by the Israelite, whilst the wife had been
+left behind to &ldquo;take care of the things,&rdquo; and to be
+the link that should join them to more auspicious times.&nbsp;
+This breach of good-fellowship on the part of Moses, in leaving
+him so abruptly, piqued and fretted him not a little.&nbsp; With
+a commendable spirit that disdained to act the paltry part of a
+run-away, he entered the house of Morris Greeg at the usual
+breakfast hour, and took his meal in silence.&nbsp; Sheeny kept
+her bed this morning, overcome by the tumults of the preceding
+evening, and Shaan officiated in her place.</p>
+<p>The absence of Moses was very slightly commented upon, both
+father and daughter declaring it would have been well for them if
+he had taken himself off much sooner; yet, under all this feigned
+indifference, it was very perceivable to Twm that his loss was
+much felt by them.&nbsp; Under a couple of old sacks on the
+settle by the fire lay the damaged body of Hukin Heer, where he
+had been groaning all night.&nbsp; Without the slightest
+reference to the past, Twm was told that his first job that
+morning would be to take Hukin home in a dung-cart, charging him
+to put plenty of clean straw under him, so that he might ride in
+style and comfort.</p>
+<p>Thus Twm had to perform an office for an enemy, who the day
+before volunteered to do the same for him,&mdash;under different
+circumstances, that he was to <a name="page100"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 100</span>be pinioned like a felon, bound hand
+and foot, and escorted to the county jail, a reversion of the
+scene which Twm liked rather than otherwise.&nbsp; It reminded
+him of the gallows which the scriptural Jew had made for some one
+else, but eventually took his position there himself.</p>
+<p>On Twm&rsquo;s return, after depositing Hukin with his wife,
+whose inquiries he cut short, by urging his haste, he was
+surprised to find that although it was the dinner hour, no food
+was prepared, nor was any one member of the family to be seen or
+heard.&nbsp; This unusual stillness he considered as strangely
+contrasting with the bustle and agitation of the previous day,
+nor could he in any way account for it.&nbsp; At length the deep
+silence was feebly broken by some voices upstairs, in the
+softened tones of pitying condolement, succeeded by the heavy
+sobbing of a female, amidst the earnest and agonized prayer of a
+gruff broken voice, which he at once knew to be that of
+Morris.</p>
+<p>At length he recognized the well-known voice of Sheeny, amidst
+the loud wailing of her daughters, passionately exclaiming,
+&ldquo;It is&mdash;O God, it is&mdash;that murderous disorder,
+the white-plague pest!&rdquo;&nbsp; Such was the expressive name
+by which that awful visitor since known by the name of small-pox,
+was announced to be in the house.&nbsp; An indescribable vague
+feeling of terror thrilled through his whole frame, as the
+dreadful fact became known to him.&nbsp; As in those days
+scarcely any one knew how to treat this remorseless enemy of the
+race of man, its very existence in the neighbourhood was deemed a
+certain messenger of doom, and even in those rare cases where the
+life of the infected was spared, the envious demon stamped
+fearful foulness on the face of beauty, and hideously scarified
+the smoothest cheek, so that the parent knew not the features of
+his child.</p>
+<p>The first hasty thought that crossed our hero&rsquo;s mind,
+was to fly, and escape while yet clear of the contagion; but in
+an instant his nobler though mistaken feelings abjured the
+thought, bad as they had <a name="page101"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 101</span>been to him, of deserting this
+afflicted family in the dark day of their heavy visitation.&nbsp;
+However, his presence was no more noticed than his absence would
+have been.&nbsp; Day after day, things remained in a similar
+state; at length the lower part of the house was absolutely
+deserted, or inhabited by him alone.&nbsp; Even the fire was
+extinguished, and the house might have been uninhabited for
+anything to be seen to the contrary.&nbsp; There were no sounds,
+except the occasional groans of Morris, and the cries of the
+frightened females.&nbsp; The family assembled together upstairs,
+almost courting infection by their presence, and Twm was
+therefore left to provide for his own wants.</p>
+<p>Rarely could he meet with any one to enquire, as his feelings
+prompted, who were the sufferers, and how they fared.&nbsp; The
+third day since the commencement of the sickness, as he sat
+lonely and languidly, from the disordered state of his stomach,
+unable to partake of the dry food before him, a shriek of women
+announced some fatality to have taken place.&nbsp; Morris came
+down, with streaming eyes and agitated face, and for the first
+time in his life grasping his hand in friendly wise, emphatically
+proved how suffering had subdued his selfishness, and humanized
+his hard heart.&nbsp; At length, with broken voice, he said,
+&ldquo;She is gone&mdash;my youngest girl is gone,&mdash;and I
+fear my little Gwen will follow soon.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Even while commiserating with Morris, Twm complained of a
+head-ache, and a loathing sickness, with a feverish burning of
+the whole frame, that was overwhelming him.&nbsp; Morris
+immediately saw that he was infected, and told him to go and lie
+down; informing his family of the feeling evinced by him for
+their suffering, and that he was decidedly in the disorder.&nbsp;
+Then taking his staff he hurried to the different cottages that
+were thinly scattered among the lonely mountain cwms or dingles,
+with the hope that either kindness or considerations of interest
+would induce an elderly female or two to engage with him as
+nurses, to watch and attend the sick.</p>
+<p><a name="page102"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+102</span>Accordingly, two that had gone through the ordeal of
+the <i>frech wen</i>, or the white pest, as the small-pox was
+called, accompanied him home.&nbsp; They commenced their office
+by making a regular, roasting fire, and feasting themselves in
+the best manner the house afforded, attending to number one
+first, as it behoved all nurses to do, their patients for the
+time being of course quite a secondary consideration.&nbsp;
+Feasting to inaugurate their arrival, they averred was an ancient
+custom, and must be adhered to.&nbsp; He knew not whether it was
+an ancient one; but that it is a <i>convenient</i> one, none
+could deny.&nbsp; Twm soon found himself at the height of the
+malady.&nbsp; Well for him was it, that the fever and other
+accompaniments of this fearful disorder removed from him all
+desire for food&mdash;for none was brought to him; none called to
+offer their kindly offices, nor to inquire how he fared; and he
+had to feel in the acutest degree the abandoned lot of that
+&ldquo;no man&rsquo;s child,&rdquo; the sick and suffering parish
+apprentice.&nbsp; His bed in the hay-loft was an old hop-sack,
+half filled with the chaff of oats; and his covering an old
+tattered blanket, and a musty rug that had served several offices
+for horses.</p>
+<p>Thus, with the whistling of the wind through the numerous
+crevices of the crazy walls, and the rain dripping on him at
+times, through the imperfect rotten thatch, he remained hours,
+days, and dreary nights, groaning away his time, impatiently
+longing for death, or speedy recovery.&nbsp; When daylight
+dawned, his mind wearied by aches and pains of the body, and by a
+complete absence of the power of thought, would seek some
+occupation and amusement in speculation on the formation of the
+dark heavy folds of the numerous cob-webs that waved to and fro
+over his head, from the mouldy beams and rafters, like the
+triumphant flags of squalid penury; while the squeaking of mice,
+that ran in troops about him, became the miserable music that
+served to vary the monotony of his heavy hours.</p>
+<p>One night, while doubly darkened, both by the deep <a
+name="page103"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 103</span>shades of
+midnight, and his eyes scaled by the glutinous adhesion of the
+putrid &ldquo;pest,&rdquo; lonely and uncared for, he was cheered
+and comforted in a manner as mysterious as it was
+delightful.&nbsp; In after years, when referring to the
+circumstances about to be detailed, marvellous and incredible as
+it may appear, he always protested with a solemnity that he
+deemed the subject called for, that he was neither absorbed in
+slumber at its occurrence, nor under the influence of the
+slightest delirium, but wakeful and sensible as ever he was
+during his healthful mid-day avocations.</p>
+<p>Turning upon his humble bed, wearied by the long and continued
+gloom, weakened by continual aches and pains, a chorus of sweet
+voices broke upon his ear, ravishing from the beauty of its
+strains.&nbsp; In an instant afterwards, the wretched gloom was
+dispersed by a brilliant light which burst into the loft, and
+made all the old familiar objects radiant with a most unearthly
+brilliance.&nbsp; Simultaneously with the sight and sound,
+pleasant sensations sprang within his breast, and every pain had
+vanished.&nbsp; While striving with the efforts of reason to
+account for what he had felt and mentally beheld, to his
+unutterable wonder, a tall female form appeared beside his lowly
+bed, in full glow of youth and beauty, arrayed in costly
+attire.</p>
+<p>She had nothing about her allied to what he called the
+supernatural&mdash;all seemed perfect reality&mdash;and although
+exceedingly lovely, and benevolent in aspect, she was nothing
+more nor less than a living &ldquo;lady of the land,&rdquo; in
+widow&rsquo;s weeds of the costly habiliments of the present
+time.&nbsp; As he sank abashed from her fixed and smiling gaze,
+she extended one of the finest hands he had ever beheld, and
+pointed to two marriage rings, one above the other, on the third
+finger of the left hand.&nbsp; He gazed steadfastly on the rings,
+and, as he thought, he saw a third one above the others, of a
+much paler hue; but on viewing it closer, it appeared simply a
+white narrow silken ribbon, tied in that peculiar fashion, called
+a true-lover&rsquo;s knot.&nbsp; Twice <a
+name="page104"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 104</span>he looked
+from the finger to the face, struggling to give utterance to the
+question that was trembling on his lips, as to the meaning
+indicated, when a shriek from the house thrilled through his
+heart; the glorious vision with the heavenly accompaniments of
+light and music, were in an instant gone.</p>
+<p>The lovely picture vanished, leaving poor Twm more chagrined
+than ever was Tantalus.&nbsp; Like the mirage, it vanished and
+faded away, leaving the weary gazer disappointed and
+dispirited.&nbsp; But still the heart of Twm was comforted with
+high, though baseless hopes, that fortune had some precious gift
+in store for him, which time would yet bring forth.</p>
+<p>The pleasurable sensations excited in the breast of our
+worthy, by what he ever after called his &ldquo;glorious
+vision,&rdquo; in healing the mind, had the auspicious effect in
+cicatrizing his body.&nbsp; But as he recovered his sight, and
+found the fever abandoning him, his appetite increased, and he
+became at length tremendously hungry, with apparently nothing
+within his reach to appease his inward cravings; and he was yet
+too weak to quit his loft in search of any food.</p>
+<p>At times, indeed, somewhat nerved, or rather maddened by his
+rage for food, his weak hands would rustle in the pea-straw that
+was heaped between his bed and the wall; and occasionally, after
+a long search, to his great joy, he would discover an unbroken
+pea-shell that had escaped the searching of the flail, while in
+the act of thrashing in the barn.&nbsp; He had heard tales of
+shipwreck and disaster, when lots had been cast between the
+mariners as to which should be killed to furnish food for the
+rest.&nbsp; He could believe them all now, whatever doubt he
+might have had before.&nbsp; If he could now discover a neglected
+pea-shell, in spite of the soreness of his hands and mouth, he
+would open it and devour it with the utmost avidity.&nbsp; Just
+as this wretched resource was failing him, one day, after a vain
+and heart-aching search for another pea-pod, a sudden rustle in
+the straw startled him, and <a name="page105"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 105</span>in great alarm he drew back his
+hand, in the dread of coming in contact with a rat.</p>
+<p>From this feeling he was agreeably relieved by the clucking of
+a hen, that in the same moment descended through a hole in the
+floor of the loft into the stable below.&nbsp; This homely
+&ldquo;household fowl&rdquo; now became his &ldquo;bird of good
+omen,&rdquo; which in after years he adopted as his crest; for
+after a short search he discovered no less than three of her
+eggs.&nbsp; This was indeed &ldquo;manna in the wilderness&rdquo;
+to his declining hopes.&nbsp; A spring in the desert to the
+parched pilgrim; a port and safety to the shipwrecked mariner;
+wealth unexpected to the victim of poverty.&nbsp; Not one of
+those electrifying &ldquo;God-sends&rdquo; was ever welcome with
+greater heartfelt thankfulness, than the humble prize presented
+to our hero.&nbsp; But this assistance, however welcome at the
+time,&mdash;and wildly welcome it most truly was,&mdash;proved
+after all but temporary.</p>
+<p>Thus, although recovering fast from the horrors of the
+small-pox, he was in the perilous jeopardy of becoming a victim
+to starvation.&nbsp; Yet hope was strong within him, and wild,
+young, and thoughtless as he was, he was no stranger to the
+comfort to be derived from a dependence on Providence.</p>
+<p>While the cravings of hunger assailed the poor parish
+apprentice with unrelenting wolfishness, very different was the
+treatment of the suffering children of the house.&nbsp; The
+neglect visited upon the poor parish apprentice, was avenged by
+the attention paid to the children of Morris.&nbsp; Twm&rsquo;s
+neglect proved his salvation, while the unremitting kindness
+(mistaken though it was), shown to the farmer&rsquo;s offspring,
+proved their destruction, for Morris literally <i>killed them
+with kindness</i>.&nbsp; Without judgment, or advice, except from
+those self-interested conceited nurses, who were more ignorant
+than herself; Sheeny Greeg sought every delicacy to coax the
+waned and pampered appetites of her afflicted ones.</p>
+<p>Every breath of pure air studiously excluded from <a
+name="page106"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 106</span>their room,
+they were almost suffocated by the quantity of clothes in which
+they were wrapped.&nbsp; She gave them the most delicate cakes
+that the homely hands of her assistants could contrive, with
+spiced and sugared ale, and even wine; so thoroughly was the
+accumulating spirit of avarice swallowed up by the nobler and
+more powerful passion of affection for their perishing young
+ones; a feeling after all, more eulogized than it really merits,
+as it is but another mortification of human selfishness.</p>
+<p>Three victims had already succumbed to the ravages of the
+disease, and their fourth child now lay at the door of
+death.&nbsp; Lamentations and groans were continual, but no
+proper means for the recovery of the patients were adopted.&nbsp;
+A poor hedge carpenter came from the distant village of Mawn Dee,
+and brought with him the last covering of the victims of disease,
+placing them, with assistance, in the slight alder coffins; the
+parents took their heart-rent final look, and sank insensible
+with excessive grief;&mdash;and yet the nurses feasted.&nbsp;
+They continued to roast and boil, piously hoping their valuable
+services would be long wanted; and although none of the family
+could partake of their cookery, yet, the nurses feasted!&nbsp;
+These good ladies, however, were rather disturbed at this time in
+their comfortable doings, as some of the Mawn Dee women, like the
+vulture which smells the warfield and the human gore afar off,
+followed in the wake of the carpenter, hoping by a little canting
+condolement with the family, to be engaged; but finding the field
+occupied, they were guilty, as their opponents said, of the
+heinous offence of offering their services gratis, to sit up in
+their turn and watch the sick.</p>
+<p>This, it must be said, was ever a welcome office to persons of
+this description, especially at a substantial house; as on such
+occasions as watching the sick, and laying out the dead, feasting
+is as prevalent as at weddings.&nbsp; As the paid nurses who
+assumed the consequence of regulars, failed to eject the
+volunteers, who were more numerous, they revenged themselves by
+<a name="page107"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 107</span>giving
+them all the work to do except what appertained to swilling and
+mastication; their own veteran talents bearing the full brunt of
+that important piece of service, which was not to be trusted to
+mere mercenary recruits.</p>
+<p>Superstition was rampant amongst these old hen-wives.&nbsp;
+All sorts of intimations concerning future events were made out
+of very simple occurrences.&nbsp; No one must go under a ladder,
+if they would enter the matrimonial noose.&nbsp; Salt was a very
+unfortunate article of diet, whilst candlewicks were made a
+medium for the discovery of a coming death.&nbsp; Some of these
+old grannies dilated upon corpse candles seen by them previous to
+the deaths of the young women of the house; others dilated on the
+awfulness of a spectral burial, where shadows of the living
+supported the bier of the departed towards the church-yard.</p>
+<p>One night, between twelve and one, while the three coffins and
+their contents presented a woeful sight, lying side by side on
+the oak table, Morris, afflicted as he was, assisted his wife in
+supporting by the fireside his fourth daughter, whose death they
+also deeply dreaded, as an old cottage woman, while she basted a
+loin of mutton roasting before the fire, dwelt much on the
+certainty of supernatural appearances, illustrating her
+convictions by instances of her own experience.&nbsp; All at
+once, the current of her discourse was arrested by a shudder that
+overcame and struck her dumb, on hearing a rumbling and irregular
+noise, as of falling furniture, which also terrified the group
+about the fire.&nbsp; The noise increased, and at last seemed as
+if somebody was stumbling in his way in the dark.</p>
+<p>Some shrieked, some rose and ran to remote corners, covering
+their head with their aprons, while others sat breathless, as if
+nailed to the bench, and dissolved in streams of perspiration,
+their eyes starting from their sockets&mdash;when a figure with
+the air and rush of a maniac darted in, tore the roasting meat
+from the string, and disappeared with it, uttering in a dismal
+hollow tone,</p>
+<p><a name="page108"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+108</span>&ldquo;O God, I am famished by these
+wretches!&rdquo;&nbsp; The consciences of the farmer and his wife
+were dreadfully wrung, as they recollected the poor apprentice
+Twm, whom they had left in the depth of the malady which had
+deprived them of three of their children, to live or to die, as
+he might; nor would Morris allow anybody to rescue the meat, but
+snatching a loaf from the shelf, he entreated Twm to come in and
+eat his fill at the fire.&nbsp; But the youngster having secured
+the bread, re-entered his hay-loft, and with the ravenousness of
+a starved hound devoured his precious prey in darkness.&nbsp;
+That was the sweetest meal ever eaten by our hero.</p>
+<p>In narrating this event in after life, he used to say that the
+theft of this joint saved his life.&nbsp; He was then as ravenous
+as a wolf, and was only endowed with supernatural strength for
+the moment, to effect his purpose.&nbsp; While yet the farmer,
+with tears of real penitence, was calling out to him, a loud
+scream from his wife convinced him that his fourth child was also
+dead.</p>
+<p>With wild and insupportable agony, Morris fell upon his knees,
+and with interrupting sobs exclaimed, &ldquo;I see the hand of
+Heaven in this, and a heavy judgment has befallen us for our
+cruelty to the poor boy; but he will live! he! the lad whom we
+treated fouler than the beast! he will outlive this pest, while I
+and mine perish.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The suffering of the unhappy man was pitiable and
+heart-rending to witness; and on the very day of his
+children&rsquo;s burial, with loud cries of remorse and sorrow,
+he expired.</p>
+<p>Twm recovered, according to the farmer&rsquo;s prediction,
+which was further verified, inasmuch as the remainder of his
+children did not live to see the end of the year; and his wife,
+losing her senses, was ever after a wretched moping idiot.</p>
+<h2><a name="page109"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+109</span>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">The</span> return of our
+hero to Tregaron.&nbsp; His welcome from old friends, cronies,
+and acquaintances.&nbsp; Is engaged by Squire Graspacre, and is
+elevated socially and physically.</p>
+<p>After setting out early in the morning, and walking all day
+over the rugged mountain road, the heart of Twm Short Catty
+thrilled with delight, and the tears filled in his eyes, when,
+late in the evening, his own native place, the humble town of
+Tregaron appeared before him.&nbsp; Each object that met his
+eager gaze was familiar; not a shrub but Twm knew it, not a spot
+but was remembered in Twm&rsquo;s mind by some vagary or other
+practised either by himself or the renowned Watt; and although
+his feet were so blistered that he could scarcely move, he
+attempted to make his limbs partake of the new vigour which
+sprung up in his heart, and essayed to run, but failing in his
+aim, fell down completely mastered by exhaustion and
+fatigue.&nbsp; Whether, like Brutus, he was re-nerved by
+breathing awhile on the bosom of his mother earth, or that the
+thoughts within, of home and its association, gave him strength,
+he rose much refreshed, but with considerable pain continued the
+short untraced portion of his journey.</p>
+<p>Entering the town, at length, just as the darkness began to
+veil every object, he came to his mother&rsquo;s door, which was
+open, and cast an inquiring look before he entered.&nbsp; Catty
+had long dismissed her scholars, and sat in the chimney corner
+with her back towards the door; whilst Carmarthen Jack was busily
+engaged upon an artistic combination upon the handle of a
+ladle.&nbsp; He was a thoroughly business man, as far as spoons
+and ladles were concerned, and on this occasion he sat sullenly
+busy in scooping out the bowl of a new ladle.</p>
+<p>Twm&rsquo;s merry trick-loving soul is not to be subdued by
+his troubles; having drawn his flat-rimmed old hat over his eyes,
+he leaned over his mother&rsquo;s hatch, and in <a
+name="page110"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 110</span>a feigned
+voice, begged for a piece of bread and cheese, saying that he was
+a poor boy, very hungry and tired, who was making his way home to
+Lampeter.&nbsp; &ldquo;We are poor folk ourselves, and have
+nothing to give,&rdquo; said Carmarthen jack, rather
+gruffly.&nbsp; &ldquo;Stop!&rdquo; cried Catty, &ldquo;he&rsquo;s
+a poor child, Jack, a bit of bread and cheese is not much, and
+somebody might take pity on my poor Twm, and give him as much, if
+he should need it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The affectionate heart of Twm could no longer contain itself,
+but opening the latch, he burst forward, dashing his hat on the
+ground, and falling on her neck, giving the most ardent utterance
+to the word &ldquo;mother,&rdquo; and after the tender pause of
+nature&rsquo;s own embrace, he cried with streaming eyes,
+&ldquo;My good, kind, charitable mother! you shall never want
+bread and cheese while your poor Twm has health and strength to
+earn it.&rdquo;&nbsp; Warmly returning his embrace and kisses,
+Catty long clasped her boy, and was quite terrified to see his
+pale lean cheek, and altered looks.&nbsp; Ashamed of the exposure
+of his pitiless nature, Jack now came up, shook hands and
+condoled with him, but Twm <i>had seen the man</i>, <i>and loved
+him not</i>.</p>
+<p>Twm was an excellent judge of human nature, and he knew well
+the duplicity and cunning of his father-in-law, and shunned him
+accordingly.&nbsp; Twm would never fraternize harmoniously with
+those he did not like.&nbsp; In this, he was invariably
+honest.</p>
+<p>After being refreshed, Catty eagerly enquired of all that had
+happened to him since he left home, and wept much as he detailed
+his narrow escape from starvation and the small-pox.&nbsp; By
+twelve o&rsquo;clock next day, his tale was known to everybody at
+Tregaron.</p>
+<p>The catastrophe at Morris Greeg&rsquo;s, of course, was
+considered a judgment from heaven for his miserly propensities;
+and Ianto Gwyn again set his poetical muse at work, and after a
+slight effort wrote a pathetic ballad, to the great edification
+of old women and tender-hearted damsels, giving a <i>true and
+particular</i> account of the whole affair; to which was attached
+a moral on the <a name="page111"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+111</span>cruelty of mal-treating parish apprentices, and
+stuffing them with mouldy bread and sour flummery.&nbsp; This
+interesting ballad was daily sung by Watt, the mole-catcher, to
+the English tune of Chevy Chase, which gained the good-will of
+all those old cronies who had taken deep offence at his numerous
+tricks.</p>
+<p>Carmarthen Jack, although so careful of his bread and cheese,
+was determined not to be outdone on this occasion, but brought
+the graphic art to perpetuate his stepson&rsquo;s tale; that is
+to say, he carved on a wooden bowl the figures of four beings,
+well-attended, in bed, with the scythe of death across their
+throats, while in the distance a meagre boy was snatching a joint
+of meat from the fire.&nbsp; The effort, artistically regarded,
+was not calculated to carry away the Royal Academy&rsquo;s prize;
+the idea perhaps was better than the execution; but altogether it
+gained Jack very great applause.</p>
+<p>Right glad were all Twm&rsquo;s cronies to see him again at
+Tregaron; but dearer than all to him was the welcome of the
+curate Rhys, with whose books he was again permitted to make
+free, while he profited by his instructions and
+conversation.&nbsp; He had now been at home about three months,
+and recovered his health, strength and spirits to perfection;
+when his mother fancied he had become an eye-sore to her husband,
+who she thought looked at him with the scowling brow of a
+step-father, which Twm&rsquo;s conduct, she might imagine,
+justified, as his behaviour towards Jack had been very
+unconciliating, ever since the bread and cheese adventure.</p>
+<p>With this impression, Catty once more waited on Squire
+Graspacre, to solicit that some employment should be found for
+her boy, as she could not afford to keep him in idleness.&nbsp;
+The tale of his sufferings at <i>Gwern Ddu</i>, interested the
+squire in his favour; and he felt some reluctance to send him
+again as a parish apprentice.&nbsp; The worthy curate, Rhys, had
+also spoken a kind word in his late pupil&rsquo;s favour; and
+Carmarthen Jack, gaping, hat in hand, looked as if he would say
+much to get rid of his step-son, could he hit on <a
+name="page112"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 112</span>words to
+his purpose.&nbsp; Amused by his simplicity and awkward gestures
+the squire asked him,</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, Jack, what would you advise me to do with
+Catty&rsquo;s boy?&rdquo;&nbsp; This plain question met with as
+blunt an answer, &ldquo;Make him your servant boy, sir, if you
+please.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;And so I will, old hedgehog!&rdquo;
+cried the squire, slapping him on the shoulder, &ldquo;Your
+oratory has settled the matter.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Accordingly, our hero next appears as the squire&rsquo;s man
+at Graspacre-Hall.&nbsp; This was an agreeable change in life to
+him, where he lived, as they say in clover; and by his good
+temper and turn for mirth, gained the good-will and admiration of
+his fellow-servants, particularly the girls, with whom he became
+an especial favourite.&nbsp; Behold him now in the seventeenth
+year of his age, with his looks and habits of twenty, gay, happy,
+and as mischievous as an ape; kissing and romping with the girls,
+caring for none of them, but showing attentions to all, while he
+jeered and mocked the cross-grained and disagreeable, and
+whenever he could, raised a laugh at their peculiarities.&nbsp;
+His employments at the squire&rsquo;s were various, among which,
+waiting at table every day, neatly dressed, and carrying his
+master&rsquo;s gun, and attending him during his shooting
+excursions, formed the principal.</p>
+<p>To these, Squire Graspacre, who since the death of his wife
+was ever wench-hunting, aimed to add the noble office of pimp,
+which Anglicized, means, the honourable office of wench-procurer,
+to satisfy the lustful appetite of the squire.&nbsp; Twm,
+however, had been swayed too long by the counsels of Rhys the
+curate, to lend himself to any such service; and having by his
+conversations with him, and by the tenor of his readings, imbibed
+a taste for romantic honour, he was not without a secret hope
+that his great father might some day own him, and destine him to
+a very different sphere in life.&nbsp; With the growth of these
+notions, rose in his mind a distaste for servitude, and an ardent
+longing to shine in a sphere allied to literature and
+respectability.</p>
+<h2><a name="page113"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+113</span>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm</span> goes the way of
+all flesh, and &ldquo;falls in love.&rdquo;&nbsp; So does the
+Squire, with Twm&rsquo;s maiden.&nbsp; Twm defeats his
+master&rsquo;s scheme.&nbsp; The adventures of farmer
+Cadwgan&rsquo;s ass.&nbsp; Twm makes his exit from Squire
+Graspacre&rsquo;s &ldquo;local habitation.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The squire and his man Twm returning one evening from grousing
+on the hills, in their descent towards the valleys had to pass by
+a small farm-house, inhabited by a tenant of the squire&rsquo;s,
+who whispered Twm, &ldquo;This is the keep, the close, that
+contains better game, and can afford livelier sport than any I
+have had to-day.&rdquo;&nbsp; Twm by his silence testified his
+ignorance of his drift; but he resumed, &ldquo;What! you
+don&rsquo;t understand me? haven&rsquo;t you seen this
+farmer&rsquo;s plump partridge of a daughter, the pretty Gwenny
+Cadwgan, you young dog!&nbsp; I am determined to have that bird
+down, some way or other, and you must help me.&nbsp; She is fine
+game, and well worth bringing down.&nbsp; She will take time, I
+know, but if she should be shy why then</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll weedle, coax, and try my
+arts,<br />
+For I can play a thousand parts;<br />
+When she shall weep, I&rsquo;ll laugh and sing:<br />
+The devil to my aid I&rsquo;ll bring.<br />
+She&rsquo;ll ne&rsquo;er resist me long, I ween,<br />
+For many a victory I have seen;<br />
+The wench will kick, but what of that?<br />
+I&rsquo;ll bear the brunt: she&rsquo;s plump and fat.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Before Twm could reply, the squire alighted and entered the
+cottage, at the door of which the farmer and Gwenny Cadwgan, now
+grown a fine and blooming young woman, met and welcomed their
+landlord.&nbsp; Some oaten bread, butter, and cheese, and a cup
+of homely-brewed ale were put before him; and while he ate, the
+pretty Gwenny carried a portion to Twm, as he held the horses in
+the yard.&nbsp; While he received the welcome food from the hand
+of the happy smiling <a name="page114"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 114</span>girl, he perceived the blush with
+which she gave it, and felt in his breast certain sensations no
+less new than agreeable.</p>
+<p>Thus, while each other made brief allusions to their days of
+childhood, a tear started in the eyes of Twm, on seeing which the
+bright eyes of Gwenny were also suffused, till the pearly drops
+over-ran her fresh ruddy cheeks.&nbsp; Her father then calling
+her in, she suddenly shook hands with, and left our hero, who in
+that hour became a captive to her charms, while the innocent girl
+herself then felt the first shooting of a passion that daily
+grew, in sympathy with his own.</p>
+<p>The squire having finished his hasty lunch, he remarked to his
+tenant Cadwgan in a hurried manner, that he should have company
+the next day to entertain at his house, and would thank him to
+let his lass come to the hall to assist in attending on
+them.&nbsp; The farmer of course, assented in words, for what
+small farmer would dare to deny his landlord such a favour,
+though his heart might tremble with apprehensions?</p>
+<p>After the squire&rsquo;s departure, Cadwgan became deeply
+distressed at the predicament in which he found himself; to deny
+his landlord, was probably to lose his farm; and to assent to his
+specious proposal, was to endanger, if not utterly ruin the
+innocence of his darling daughter; as since the death of Mistress
+Graspacre, more than one of the neighbouring damsels had to rue
+their intimacy with the squire, who inveighled them to the hall
+with all sorts of arts, pretences, and excuses, and then
+contriving that he should be alone with the object of his lust,
+had paid them a little of that &ldquo;delicate attention&rdquo;
+which he had previously recommended to the father of Twm.&nbsp;
+The poor farmer passed a restless night of bitter reflection, and
+saw daylight with an agonized spirit; but the active mind imbued
+with honourable ideas, never fails in due season to work its own
+relief.</p>
+<p>When Twm appeared next morning on horse-back before his door,
+with a pillion behind, Cadwgan&rsquo;s terrors <a
+name="page115"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 115</span>had
+vanished, his indignation at the premeditated injuries intended
+him, was roused, and with braced nerves, and a firm heart, he
+determined to deny the squire, and abide the consequences, be
+what they might.&nbsp; But honest nature was elsewhere at work in
+Cadwgan&rsquo;s favour, and unknown to him, had raised a friend
+to save him from the impending perils, to the preservation of
+both his farm and his more precious daughter, in the person of
+young Twm Shon Catty.</p>
+<p>On his journey home the last evening, while listening to his
+master&rsquo;s commands, and hearing his plan to inveigle the
+innocent Gwenny, Twm was mentally engaged in studying some mode
+to preserve her from his clutches; and at length heroically
+determined to save the object of his admiration, even at the risk
+of losing his place, and being cast again on the wide
+world.&nbsp; He fed his fancy all night in dwelling on her
+beauty, and the merit of preserving her, while he ardently
+enjoyed in anticipation the sacrifice he was about to make for
+her sake.</p>
+<p>The morning came, and the squire gave the dreaded order,
+&ldquo;Take the horse Dragon, put a saddle and pillion on him,
+and bring the farmer&rsquo;s lass behind you here; tell Cadwgan
+not to expect her back to-night, but she shall be brought
+to-morrow, and by that time, Twm, we shall have shot the plump
+partridge, and found her good game, I doubt not.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Although Twm had been preparing himself to give a doughty reply,
+and so commence the heroic character he had modelled, yet when
+the moment came, his resolution failed him, and the high-sounding
+words were not forthcoming; although the determination to disobey
+remained as strong as ever.&nbsp; He rode off, through Tregaron,
+and up the hills, in a melancholy mood, without any settled
+purpose, except that of straightforward resistance to the orders
+he had received.&nbsp; As he jogged on listlessly, he was
+suddenly roused from his reverie by the braying of
+Cadwgan&rsquo;s ass, that was grazing in a green lane, which he
+was about to enter.&nbsp; Such an animal being a rarity in the
+country, Twm, <a name="page116"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+116</span>with surprise, audibly muttered, &ldquo;What the devil
+is that!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>An old woman at that moment opening the gate, which she
+civilly held for our hero to pass into the lane which she was
+leaving, hearing his words, replied, &ldquo;It is only
+Cadwgan&rsquo;s <i>ass</i>.&rdquo;&nbsp; Twm, whose thoughts ran
+entirely on the farmer&rsquo;s fair daughter, mistaking what she
+said, rejoined, &ldquo;Cadwgan&rsquo;s <i>lass</i>, did you
+say?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;You are very ready with your mocks and
+pranks, Master Twm,&rdquo; cried the old woman, slamming the gate
+against the buttocks of the horse, &ldquo;but you know very well
+that I said Cadwgan&rsquo;s <i>ass</i>, and not <i>lass</i>! for
+I should be very sorry to compare the good and pretty Gwenny
+Cadwgan to such an ugly ill-voiced animal.&rdquo;&nbsp; Twm was
+amused at the error he had made, made the good dame the <i>amende
+honourable</i>, bade her good day, and rode forward with new
+spirits, for this little adventure had furnished him with the
+means of deliverance for little Gwenny, and a defeat to his
+master&rsquo;s unlawful desires.</p>
+<p>The farmer&rsquo;s mind being made up, as before observed, to
+refuse the attendance of his daughter at his landlord&rsquo;s, he
+was astonished to hear Twm say, &ldquo;Master Cadwgan, it was
+Squire Graspacre&rsquo;s order to me, that I should saddle this
+horse, come to your house, and, with your consent, bring your
+<i>ass</i> to him, on the pillion behind me.&rdquo;&nbsp; Cadwgan
+stared doubtfully, and Twm resumed, &ldquo;I hope you are too
+sensible to question or look into the reasonableness of his
+whims, and will be so good as to catch the strange animal, which
+I passed on the road, that we may tie him across the
+pillion.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Cadwgan immediately concluded this to be a providential
+mistake of the young man&rsquo;s, that might have the most
+desirable effect of relieving him from his apprehended trouble,
+and with a ready presence of mind said, laughing, &ldquo;To be
+sure it is no business of mine to look into the oddness of his
+fancies, and he shall have my ass by all means.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Put an L to ass, and &rsquo;twill be
+<i>lass</i>,&rdquo; said Twm seriously, and with emphasis,
+&ldquo;and such is the squire&rsquo;s <a name="page117"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 117</span>demand; but,&rdquo; said the youth
+with, rising enthusiasm, &ldquo;I will risk my life to save your
+daughter from his snares, and will feign that I thought he said
+<i>ass</i> instead of <i>lass</i>, to be brought on the
+pillion.&rdquo;&nbsp; Affected by this instance of generosity,
+the farmer, as well as his lovely daughter, burst into tears,
+thanking and blessing him; whilst the former told him that if he
+lost his place through the adventure, his home was always open to
+him.&nbsp; Twm was not slow in thanking them for their kindness,
+but a smile from Gwenny rewarded him more than anything said, or
+anything promised could do.</p>
+<p>While Cadwgan went out to catch the long-eared victim, Twm
+spent a delicious half-hour in the company of fair Gwenny; and
+took that opportunity to protest the ardour of his affection for
+her, and vowed that whatever fortune favoured him with the means
+of getting a livelihood independent of servitude, it would be the
+glory of his life to come and ask her to be his own.&nbsp; The
+maiden heard him with streaming eyes and heaving breast, nor
+withdrew her cheek when her lover imprinted on it
+affection&rsquo;s first kiss; she considered it as a sacred
+compact, the seal of a true lover&rsquo;s faithful covenant; one
+never to be broken by the intrusion of another.</p>
+<p>Cadwgan at length returned, with his charge in a halter,
+grumbling and abusing the beast at every step, in consequence of
+having led a pretty dance in chase of her.&nbsp; With the
+assistance of Twm and a neighbouring cottager, he now tied the
+animal&rsquo;s legs and lifted her into the seat of the pillion,
+a situation that her struggling and resistance indicated to be
+more elevated than comfortable.&nbsp; Twm, however, rode on
+slowly with his grotesque companion, without the occurrence of an
+accident, till they arrived at Tregaron; when the whole town,
+men, women, and children, came to enjoy the strange sight, amidst
+roars and shouts of laughter.&nbsp; The ass either was not
+comfortable, or she felt her asinine dignity assailed, and <a
+name="page118"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 118</span>therefore
+&ldquo;he haw&rsquo;d&rdquo; her disapproval of the
+proceedings.&nbsp; She further manifested her displeasure by
+making a strong attempt to reach terra firma, eventually thinking
+it unjust to make her ride when she was perfectly able and
+willing to walk.</p>
+<p>Straining every nerve to liberate her captive limbs, she at
+length succeeded in breaking the cord by which she was fastened
+to the pillion, and tumbled in a heap to the ground, where she
+struggled hard, and soon shook off every remnant of her hempen
+gyves; and in all the pride of high achievement and newly
+acquired freedom, ran with all her might through the town,
+brandishing her heels to right and left whenever any person
+approached to impede her career, till through a long narrow lane
+she reached the mountains.&nbsp; Here she seemed to defy her
+numerous pursuers; but after a long chase, which lasted till
+dusk, she was surrounded, secured, and placed in her former
+situation behind our hero on the pillion.</p>
+<p>At length he reached Graspacre Hall, and made his approach at
+the back of the house.&nbsp; His step-father assisted him and his
+companion to alight, leading the latter to the stable, while Twm
+went to inform his master of his arrival, and the cause of his
+long delay.&nbsp; A tremor suddenly seemed to paralyze poor Twm,
+well knowing the wrath his disappointed master would shower down
+upon his devoted head.&nbsp; He mentally thought he should be
+thankful to anybody who could liberate him out of this dilemma;
+but after his fit of apprehension had lasted a few minutes, he
+plucked up his courage and his breeches at the same time,
+exclaiming, &ldquo;Well! he can&rsquo;t kill me for it:&rdquo;
+and thus self-comforted he entered the house.</p>
+<p>The squire at this time was seated at the head of the table,
+pushing down the bottle among his friends, principally consisting
+of the neighbouring gentry.</p>
+<p>In the course of the day he had sent several times to know
+whether Twm had arrived.&nbsp; When little Pembroke at length
+went in to announce his return, he desired he should be
+immediately sent in, and Twm <a name="page119"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 119</span>approached him with a burning cheek
+and an agitated heart.&nbsp; He questioned him in an undertone,
+asking <i>if he had brought her</i>, and where he had been so
+long; to which Twm replied, &ldquo;Yes, sir, I have brought her,
+and much trouble I had with her, for she didn&rsquo;t like to
+come, thinking perhaps you meant her foul play; and once she
+escaped off the pillion into the mountain.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The devil she did!&rdquo; cried the squire; &ldquo;but
+you caught her again?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh yes, sir, after losing much time, I have brought her
+at last, and she is now much tamer than at first; and you can do
+what you like with her.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s very well,&rdquo; said the squire;
+&ldquo;I like the notion that she is very tractable.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh! you&rsquo;ll find she&rsquo;ll do anything now,
+though I had to make her know her right position.&nbsp; She
+rolled off the pillion in Tregaron, and showed her legs most
+dreadfully.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Fie! fie!&rdquo; said the squire, &ldquo;I hope you did
+not look at them?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Faith, but I did then, and very pretty they
+looked.&nbsp; But you&rsquo;ll be able to give your own opinion,
+sir, by and bye.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A good lad, Twm, a good lad, remind me to give you a
+golden angel for this day&rsquo;s work; but what have you done
+with her? where is she?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, sir,&rdquo; cried Twm.&nbsp; &ldquo;I tied her up
+to the manger and locked the door, to prevent her
+escape.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Shame, Twm, shame! you ought not to have done that, for
+she will think it was by my orders, and hate me perhaps for my
+supposed cruelty,&rdquo; quoth the squire, thinking all the time
+that Cadwgan&rsquo;s <i>lass</i>, and not his ass was the subject
+of discussion.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, sir,&rdquo; replied Twm, &ldquo;but it is likely
+though, that she will have an ill-will towards me, as long as she
+lives, for it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, well,&rdquo; said his master hastily, &ldquo;take
+her from the stable into the housekeeper&rsquo;s room, and tell
+Margery to comfort her and give her a glass of wine.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This was too much for Twm, and the smothered <a
+name="page120"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 120</span>laugh burst
+out in spite of his efforts; on which, his master with a severe
+brow, asked how he dared to laugh in his presence.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Indeed I could not help it,&rdquo; cried Twm, &ldquo;but I
+don&rsquo;t think she ever drank a glass of wine in her life, and
+perhaps might not like it.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, that&rsquo;s true; then tell the butler to give
+out a bottle of the sweet home-made wine for her&mdash;let it be
+a bottle of the cowslip wine, and say that I am very sorry for
+the trouble and vexation she has had.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes, sir,&rdquo; cried Twm, who made his bow and
+retired to the servants&rsquo; hall, where he made them
+acquainted with the squire&rsquo;s freak of having farmer
+Cadwgan&rsquo;s ass brought there on a pillion behind him; and
+that it was his master&rsquo;s orders that she was to be brought
+into the house-keeper&rsquo;s room, and a glass of wine given to
+her, and that Margery was to make her comfortable.</p>
+<p>They were all aware of their master&rsquo;s occasional
+eccentricities, and that he was as absolute in demanding
+obedience to his wildest whims, as to the most important matter
+in the world.&nbsp; With one accord they therefore brought the
+ass, not without great trouble and opposition on the part of the
+poor animal, into the housekeeper&rsquo;s room, where Glamorgan
+Margery spread a small carpet for her to lie on, and amidst the
+side-aching laughter of the servants, offered a glass of wine,
+which no persuasion could induce her to accept.</p>
+<p>The squire had given orders that no person was to answer the
+bell the rest of the evening but Twm.&nbsp; It was now rung, and
+in went our hero, when he was asked, &ldquo;How is she
+now?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Rather fatigued sir; she doesn&rsquo;t
+like wine, nor would she touch a drop of it.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Well, well,&rdquo; said the squire, &ldquo;if she likes
+ale better let her have some, with a cold fowl and something of
+the nicest in the house, though perhaps she would prefer a cup of
+tea to anything.&nbsp; After she has taken the refreshment she
+chooses, tell Margery to put her to bed, in the green chamber,
+then lock the door and bring me the key.&nbsp; I can then <a
+name="page121"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 121</span>visit her
+when I am ready, you know Twm, and depend upon it I will reward
+you in the morning.&rdquo;&nbsp; Here Twm&rsquo;s risible
+faculties were again oppressed to bursting, but a look from his
+master checked him, though he bit his lip till the blood started
+in the aid to check his laughter.</p>
+<p>Squire Graspacre now secretly anticipated the completion of
+his scheme, anxiously waiting for the departure of his guests,
+who by their noisy hilarity had long given notice that a little
+more devotion to the bottle would lay them under the table.&nbsp;
+The wily squire however desisted, before he had passed the
+boundary of what topers call <i>half and half</i>, considering in
+the mean time, that his plan would best succeed by not appearing
+before Gwenny Cadwgan till midnight, when all his household would
+be asleep, and himself supposed to have retired to his room.</p>
+<p>After some trouble, which was heightened by their forced
+suppression of laughter, that however, broke out in spite of
+them, the servants got the donkey up stairs, having previously
+fed her with bread, oaten cakes, and oats, on her rejection of
+ale, wine, fowl, and tea, which to their great amusement they had
+successively offered her in vain.&nbsp; Having brought the poor
+animal into the green room, the best chamber in the house, and
+kept only for particular guests, they placed her on the fine
+handsome bed; the legs being already tied, they fastened them
+also to the bed-posts.&nbsp; Twm heightened the drollery of the
+scene by cutting two holes in a night-cap, drawing through the
+donkey&rsquo;s ears, and slitting it at the edge, he drew the cap
+down carefully towards the eyes.&nbsp; The bed-clothes were then
+carefully drawn up to the ass&rsquo;s neck, the curtains half
+drawn, and the first ass that ever slept in a feather bed was
+then left to enjoy its slumbers as best it could.&nbsp; They bade
+her good night, locked the door, and gave the key to their
+master.</p>
+<p>The guests at length dispersing, they all rode off as well as
+their muddled heads would let them, to their respective homes;
+the squire, as was his custom, <a name="page122"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 122</span>locked the door himself, and saw
+every light in the house out before he retired.&nbsp; At length
+he gained his chamber, and all was still in Graspacre-Hall.&nbsp;
+The amorous squire, chuckling at his luck as he thought of the
+fair lass in the green-room, grew too impatient to wait till the
+proposed hour of midnight, and leaving his candle on his own
+table, took off his shoes, and softly approached the casket that
+he deemed contained his precious jewel.</p>
+<p>Applying the key, he opened the door very gently, and
+cautiously approaching the side of the bed, said in a whisper
+towards the pillow, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t be alarmed, Gwenny, my
+dear, &rsquo;tis I, the squire; fear nothing, my girl, this will
+be the making of your fortune, my dear; and if you are as kind
+and loving as I could wish you to be, you may soon become the
+second Mrs. Graspacre.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Hearing no reply, he considered that according to the old
+usage, <i>silence gives consent</i>, and proceeded to bend his
+face down to kiss the fair one, when a severe bounce inflicted by
+his <i>incognita&rsquo;s</i> snout, knocked him backwards off the
+bed to the floor, and set his nose a-bleeding.</p>
+<p>After recovering himself a little, though labouring under the
+delusion that the blow had been struck by the hand of the fair
+maiden, he exclaimed in an under-tone, &ldquo;You little wixen!
+how dare you treat me in this manner?&rdquo;&nbsp; The answer
+received was a loud and repeated &ldquo;he-haw,&rdquo; with the
+clattering of hoofs against the bedposts.&nbsp; Now hoofs are
+suggestive, and the squire rather believed in the
+supernatural.&nbsp; He again proceeded towards the bed, but was
+completely horror-struck at the loud bray which the terrified ass
+sent forth; while the poor terrified animal, after a hard
+struggle, liberating her limbs, struck him a severe blow on the
+forehead with her hoof, and getting off the bed, made a terrible
+clatter with her shod feet over the boards of the room.&nbsp; The
+unfortunate squire, although hitherto a loud decrier of
+superstition, now felt a thrill of the utmost horror pervade him,
+while he decreed himself ensnared by <a name="page123"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 123</span>the enemy of man, as the punishment
+of his guilty intentions; and after a clamorous outcry fell
+senseless on the floor.</p>
+<p>The servants having but concealed the light, expecting some
+<i>denouement</i> of this sort, now rushed in, and saw their
+fallen master ghastly pale, with streams of perspiration running
+over his forehead, while his wildly-staring eyes alternately
+looked at, and turned from, the monster of alarm.&nbsp; When he
+had sufficiently recovered to learn the real state of affairs,
+from little Pembroke, who had been made Twm&rsquo;s confidante in
+this matter&mdash;how that wight had brought the farmer&rsquo;s
+ass according to his orders behind him on the pillion, although
+he had been in some doubt whether he had said Cadwgan&rsquo;s
+<i>ass</i> or Cadwgan&rsquo;s <i>lass</i>, the squire&rsquo;s
+rage was boundless.</p>
+<p>Squire Graspacre&rsquo;s rage can be better imagined than
+described, and all the dormant fiends of evil were at once
+awakened in his bosom, and the feeling which first actuated him
+was that of revenge upon Twm, and secondly shame at having been
+duped, and that with the knowledge of all his household.&nbsp;
+Exasperated at the trick put upon him by a mere youngster, and a
+menial, and scarcely less provoked at the exposure he had made of
+himself before his servants, down he rushed into the hall, and
+snatched a heavy horsewhip, unlocked the door, and made his way
+towards our hero&rsquo;s chamber over the laundry; but when he
+reached the bedside, prepared to inflict the severest punishment
+that the thong of a whip was capable of, how great was his
+mortification to find the bird had flown!&nbsp; His chagrin and
+resentment were anything but lessened, when he took a piece of
+paper off the bed, on which, in a large hand, were written these
+pretty lines:&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>If from lass you take the letter L.<br />
+Then lass is ass if I have learnt to spell;<br />
+Yes ass and lass methinks are coupled ill.<br />
+Though human asses follow lasses still!<br />
+An ass were I too&mdash;could I so arrange ill,<br />
+If now I stay&rsquo;d to claim my promised angel.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<h2><a name="page124"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+124</span>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm</span> finds that his
+father-in-law is as churlish as ever, but Carmarthen Jack comes
+to grief in consequence.&nbsp; The Squire turns reformer.&nbsp;
+His children arrive at the hall.&nbsp; A tender Devonian.&nbsp;
+Twm satirizes the cook.&nbsp; Thrashes the young squire, and then
+&ldquo;disappears.&rdquo;&nbsp; Calls upon Cadwgan and
+Rhys.&nbsp; An adventure on the hills.</p>
+<p>Twm reached his mother&rsquo;s at Tregaron about one
+o&rsquo;clock in the morning, and alarmed her greatly by the
+account he gave of his flight from the squire&rsquo;s, and the
+cause which led to it.&nbsp; Jack consoled poor Catty by assuring
+her that her son would go to the devil, and that ruin would come
+upon them through his tricks, to a certainty.&nbsp; Number one
+again, as the reader will see, with very little affection for his
+wife&rsquo;s offspring.&nbsp; It is a selfish world, and Jack did
+as Rome did, none the less eagerly because it always suited his
+own convenience.&nbsp; He concluded by saying that they ought to
+turn poor Twm adrift, and leave him to himself in order to
+conciliate the squire.&nbsp; While Jack beneath the bed-clothes,
+was grunting these suggestions of worldly wisdom, Catty
+half-dressed, was sitting dejectedly in the chimney corner.</p>
+<p>Having caught the drift of his father-in-law&rsquo;s
+mutterings, he rose abruptly, snatched up his hat, and while
+striding to the door, cried, &ldquo;Good night,
+mother.&rdquo;&nbsp; Alarmed at his precipitate movement, and the
+tone in which he spoke,&mdash;&ldquo;Where are you going,
+Twm?&rdquo; said Catty.&nbsp; Turning around, while he held the
+door in his left hand, he replied, &ldquo;Anywhere
+mother&mdash;the world is wide&mdash;and I&rsquo;ll go headlong
+to the devil, rather than stay here, where I am not
+welcome.&rdquo;&nbsp; With that he closed the door, and was in a
+moment out of sight, notwithstanding the cries and entreaties of
+his mother, who ran after, and earnestly sought to bring him
+back.</p>
+<p>Catty, with a bitter conscience, now found that <a
+name="page125"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 125</span>her son had
+a step-father, and she a husband, who was a rude and churlish
+tyrant.&nbsp; To give him his due, Jack was far from being
+regardless of her sorrow, but showed the tenderness of a husband
+in comforting her, in a manner most natural to himself.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;What signifies crying for such an imp of a devil as
+that?&rdquo; said this kind step-father: &ldquo;if he starves in
+the field by being out to-night, it will save him from dying at
+the gallows, where he would be sure to come some day or
+other.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This tender-hearted speech had the unexpected effect of
+immediately curing Catty&rsquo;s grief, which turned to a
+desperate fit of rage, and without a word to signify the
+transition wrought by his oratory, she snatched up a stout
+broom-stick from the floor, and be-laboured him with all her
+strength, as he lay beneath the bed-clothes, till he roared like
+a baited bull.&nbsp; When the strength of her arm failed, the
+energy of her tongue commenced; and after rating him soundly, she
+concluded her harangue with eloquent pithiness, hoping that she
+had left him a shirtful of bones; and expressing a devout hope
+that he would eventually arrive at that elevated position in
+society which he had described as the probable fate of her
+darling son.&nbsp; After which exertion and speechifying, she
+thought proper to disappear.</p>
+<p>Jack, although he received some hard blows, by dodging under
+the bed-clothes, escaped better than his help-mate intended he
+should; he soon rose, dressed himself and went to his
+master&rsquo;s sauntering sullenly about the outhouses till
+daylight, when a servant informed him, after narrating
+Twm&rsquo;s trick on his master, that he was to take
+Cadwgan&rsquo;s ass home.</p>
+<p>Squire Graspacre, since the death of his wife, gave such free
+range to his licentious pleasures, as placed him, especially at
+his years, in a most unseemly light.&nbsp; His only son had been
+two years at Oxford, returning only occasionally during the
+vacations; while his two daughters on the death of their mother,
+were sent to a boarding-school at Exeter.&nbsp; Thus in his own
+family he had no witnesses of his vices and follies.&nbsp; <a
+name="page126"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 126</span>He soon
+found, however, that in Wales, his offences against religion and
+morality were not to be committed with impunity.&nbsp; The
+respect in which he was formerly held by the country people
+gradually declined, while those who had daughters became
+extremely shy, and sent their female inmates out of the way
+whenever he approached.</p>
+<p>The squire was not slow to discover these changes, and all the
+pride of his nature, that pride which loved ambition and power,
+which demanded implicit obedience, and loved to sway the sceptre
+of power, had aroused him within; determined to subdue the
+glaring insolence, as he deemed it, of his neighbours.&nbsp;
+Never deficient in penetration, he was not long in discovering
+this change in the bearings of his tenants and neighbours, which
+to a mind like his, proud, fond of domineering, and being looked
+up to as the superior&mdash;the grand central luminary of his
+sphere, round which all others moved as silent and respectful
+satellites&mdash;was a very hell.</p>
+<p>The minds of men, however, are not to be overruled, and with a
+wisdom rare as effective, he immediately resolved, as the only
+mode of re-establishing his credit and happiness, to retrace his
+steps&mdash;to which end he sent for his daughters home, at a
+time when his son was about to return from Oxford&mdash;and thus,
+by the presence of his children, place a restrictive guard upon
+his future conduct.&nbsp; With this change in his ideas, it will
+be no wonder that Twm Shon Catty was again taken into favour, and
+replaced in his former situation.</p>
+<p>At length the merry bells of Tregaron announced the arrival of
+the heir, and the young ladies of Graspacre Hall, which mansion
+soon became a scene of festivity.&nbsp; The meeting of the squire
+with his daughters was ardently affectionate; but his son
+Marmaduke had nothing of cordiality in his nature.&nbsp; His
+figure was tall and thin, with loose joints and ill-knit bones,
+while his countenance indicated both phlegm, and a fidgetty,
+nervous peevishness.&nbsp; He bore the marks of late and <a
+name="page127"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 127</span>dissipated
+hours upon his countenance.&nbsp; His face was sallow, and his
+eyes sunken; he had the unmistakable air and <i>tout ensemble</i>
+of a rou&egrave; and a libertine.</p>
+<p>He was by no means prepossessing, whilst his pride and
+self-sufficiency made him an object of dislike to all who
+approached him.&nbsp; He scrupled not to say openly that he hated
+Wales and Welshmen.&nbsp; He condescended, however, to say, that
+until he could get a clever English servant, in the place of the
+last, who ran away from him, he must put up with one of the Welsh
+savages.&nbsp; Accordingly, our hero was appointed to be his
+temporary valet, and ordered to attend exclusively on the young
+squire.</p>
+<p>With the ladies came their aunt, the squire&rsquo;s younger
+sister, a very affected fantastical spinster from Exeter; who
+gave every fashion its Devonshire latitude in her conformation to
+it, carrying the mode to an extreme that left London absurdity
+far in the back-ground.&nbsp; The Misses Graspacre were neither
+imitators nor very ardent admirers of their aunt, whose silly
+affectation of excessive delicacy became their standing-point of
+ridicule, which they put in practice on the evening of their
+arrival.</p>
+<p>The hearty girls wanted something substantial for their
+supper, after travelling their long journey; but their aunt
+intimated her desire to have something that would be light upon
+the stomach.&nbsp; The poet expresses the old lady&rsquo;s
+opinion when he wrote in homely phrases:&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>Sup on dainty calf-foot jelly,<br />
+Never sleep with well-filled belly;<br />
+Sup upon the lightest food,<br />
+Rice; or anything that&rsquo;s good.<br />
+Mind you never eat cold meat!<br />
+If you&rsquo;d sleep, that is no treat!<br />
+The nightmare black you&rsquo;ll have, be sure!<br />
+But suppers light are just the cure.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>But great was the aunt&rsquo;s dismay on finding a duck and
+green peas brought to the table.&nbsp; She resolved, however,
+even on this fare, to show her superior Devonshire <a
+name="page128"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 128</span>breeding;
+and while the young ladies lifted their peas from their plates to
+their mouths in half-dozens or more at a time, she, delicate
+soul, cut every pea in four, and swallowed a quarter at a
+time!</p>
+<p>Another circumstance of note happened at this supper, which,
+as it relates to our hero, must be told.&nbsp; It seems that
+during Twm&rsquo;s disgrace, and consequent absence from the
+hall, the servants there indulged themselves in making remarks on
+his conduct, and its probable consequence.&nbsp; This discussion
+displayed their various dispositions.&nbsp; Some spoke of him
+with charity, and dwelt upon his rare qualities of good nature
+and cheerfulness; while others took a malignant pleasure in
+speaking of his satirical and mischievous propensities.&nbsp;
+Among the latter was the cook.&nbsp; Twm, on his return, heard of
+her <i>kindness</i>, and determined to take the first opportunity
+of showing his sense of the obligations she had laid him
+under.&nbsp; On the removal of the remains of the duck and its
+accompaniments, the company having just been helped round with
+tart or pie, their attention was suddenly arrested by the voice
+of Twm in the passage, who loudly sung the following
+distich:&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Apple pie is very rich,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And so is venison pasty;<br />
+But then our cook has got the itch,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And that is very nasty.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Ye gods! what sounds for ears polite!&nbsp; The young ladies
+laughed immoderately on perceiving the distress of their aunt,
+who showed a wry-faced consciousness of having partaken food
+prepared by unclean hands; her countenance underwent various
+contortions, and she mentally thought of the old proverb about
+the obligatory rule set down upon each member of humanity, that
+we must all eat a peck of dirt in our lifetime, but she devoutly
+hoped that all her share was not to be eaten at one meal.&nbsp;
+Those awful thoughts had a tragic ending, for they terminated in
+the grand climax of a shriek and a fit.&nbsp; The squire&rsquo;s
+anger was instantly kindled against Twm, probably from an
+unquenched spark <a name="page129"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+129</span>of his former resentment, which he evinced by telling
+his son to &ldquo;give that rascal a good thrashing.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Proud of his commission, out ran Marmaduke; and finding Twm in
+the hall, ran up and struck him a blow in the face; but great was
+the amazement of the servants to see the young man turn upon him
+like a lion, and with the most dexterous management of his fists
+overpowering their young master in an instant, whom he left
+groaning with pain, and covered with bruises, and then made a
+precipitate retreat.</p>
+<p>While walking to Tregaron, it occurred to Twm, that for that
+night at least, he should be favoured with a lodging by his
+constant friend, Rhys, the curate.&nbsp; Thither he went, and
+found the worthy man by the parlour fire, with a book in his
+hand, and papers before him, busily employed in preparing for the
+press a new edition of his Welsh Grammar.&nbsp; He was received
+by him with his usual kindness; and when Twm told him his tale,
+with the important addition that he must leave his native place
+for ever, and that immediately, he showed the goodness of his
+heart by assuring him of a retreat for the present, and a little
+pecuniary aid on his departure.&nbsp; He however gave him a
+friendly lecture on the impropriety of his conduct; observing
+that if he must be satirical, he ought to choose the subject for
+his lash from the famous among the great and wealthy, and not the
+puny and defenceless, to attack whom, he said, evinced a paltry
+and most dastardly spirit; concluding with the pithy injunction,
+&ldquo;while you live, whatever your state while on earth, act
+the generous and manly part; and never, never, either manually,
+or with the lash of satire, war with the weak.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>These words formed in a great measure the leading rule in
+Twm&rsquo;s after life.&nbsp; He never forgot them, and all the
+more because they came from the lips of one whom he revered and
+loved; and however reprehensible the after vagaries of
+Twm&rsquo;s life may have been, their harsher features were
+considerably modified by the remembrance of the words, &ldquo;War
+not against the <a name="page130"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+130</span>weak!&rdquo;&nbsp; Our hero was heartily pleased with
+his preceptor, inasmuch, that amidst all his observations and
+lectures he imputed to him but slight blame for his retaliation
+on young Graspacre; but when he vowed further vengeance, should
+he ever meet him alone in the mountains remonstrated with him on
+the risk he ran, urged the necessity of self-preservation, and
+advised him not to endanger himself needlessly.</p>
+<p>The next morning Rhys assured Twm that he had reflected on the
+peculiarity of his case, and found it by no means so bad as he
+had imagined.&nbsp; &ldquo;As to leaving this place,&rdquo; said
+he, &ldquo;I see no necessity; merely keep out of the way awhile,
+and in due time make your submissions to the squire; as he is by
+no means a hard man, I have no doubt but all will speedily be
+well again.&rdquo;&nbsp; Twm adopted this idea, though he
+ill-stomached the thought of submission, or of asking pardon for
+an act of manliness which he would on a similar case of
+aggravation repeat.</p>
+<p>Thus matters rested for the present; and in the dusk of the
+evening he crossed the hills towards Cadwgan&rsquo;s, and soon
+had the grateful satisfaction of seeing once more his beauteous
+mistress, sitting by her father before a cheerful fire.&nbsp; Her
+mild kind face was unusually pale, but brightened on his
+approach; and when he related his new mishap, and that he thought
+of immediately quitting the country in consequence, her cheek
+assumed an ashy paleness, and she nearly fainted in her
+father&rsquo;s arms.&nbsp; Cadwgan dissuaded him from the thought
+of quitting his native place for such a trifle, and advised him
+by all means to follow up the worthy curate&rsquo;s suggestion;
+and when the fair Gwenny repeated her father&rsquo;s wishes as
+her own, Twm at once acquiesced, and resolved not to quit.</p>
+<p>Thus time passed on pleasantly, for some days, when our hero
+said he longed exceedingly for a day&rsquo;s coursing on the
+neighbouring mountains.&nbsp; Cadwgan remarked that the squire
+had shown no desire to pursue him, as he had heard at Tregaron
+and he conceived <a name="page131"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+131</span>there would be no danger; and so in accordance with his
+opinion, he lent him his dog and gun, both great favourites, and
+never before entrusted to any one breathing.&nbsp; He advised him
+to confine his excursion to a certain remote hill called Twyn Du
+(<i>Black Hill</i>) which being rugged of ascent and marshy,
+seldom invited the steps of the sons of pleasure in the character
+of sportsmen.</p>
+<p>Thus with dog and gun, and accoutred with a shot-belt, our
+hero felt himself another and superior being to what he had ever
+been before, especially as Gwenny assured him that the
+sportsman&rsquo;s paraphernalia became him exceedingly.&nbsp; He
+shook Cadwgan&rsquo;s hand, kissed the lips of his fair mistress,
+and gallantly sallied forth.&nbsp; Having gone a few yards, he
+turned his face back to assure them, that he should return and
+well loaded with game.</p>
+<p>Twm enjoyed himself thoroughly.&nbsp; There was a complete
+sense of freedom and independence in his sport which more than
+pleased him; with light heart, cool head, and steady aim, he
+brought down bird after bird, filling his bag, and carolling old
+Welsh airs the while.&nbsp; He had been on Twyn Du about an hour
+and a half, and in that time had killed several birds, when the
+report of his gun attracted others to the spot.&nbsp; He could
+hear several persons on the hill contiguous, and saw one well
+mounted, descending into the deep dingle that, like a gulf,
+yawned between the two hills, and making his way up the steep
+side of Twyn Du.</p>
+<p>He now felt a presentiment that this visit portended him no
+good; but scorning an ignominious flight, he carelessly paced the
+brow of the hill till the sportsman approached, when, to his
+great amazement, who should present himself before him but his
+inveterate foe, Marmaduke Graspacre.&nbsp; He approached Twm with
+the fury of a demoniac, asking how he dared fire a gun on those
+grounds, and after a few harsh words of abuse, which our hero
+returned with interest, he took an aim at Cadwgan&rsquo;s
+pointer, and instantly shot him on the spot.</p>
+<p><a name="page132"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 132</span>This
+butcherly, cowardly act, aroused the indignation of our
+hero.&nbsp; He felt his Welsh blood course madly through his
+veins.&nbsp; The thought too, that this was Cadwgan&rsquo;s dog,
+his favourite pointer, the animal petted and nursed by his own
+sweet Gwenny, drove Twm furious, and he was further aggravated by
+the young squire demanding his gun, and laughing the while at his
+distress and rage.&nbsp; The youth was not formed of stuff so
+tame as to endure his insolent triumph.&nbsp; Snatching up his
+loaded gun with desperate rapidity, he in a moment lodged the
+contents in the head of the squire&rsquo;s fine hunter, on which
+his enemy sat taunting him.&nbsp; No sooner had Marmaduke reached
+the ground, disengaged himself from his fallen horse, and stood
+up, than Twm flew at him, and disregarding his threats, with his
+dexterous fists inflicted the most perfect chastisement; leaving
+him in a far worse predicament than after their first
+encounter.</p>
+<p>By this time the men who attended the young squire, hearing
+the report of the guns, and fearing that their young master had
+fallen in with poachers, made best of their way down across the
+dingle, and up the sides of Twyn Du.</p>
+<p>Roused by their shouts, Twm left his vanquished foe groaning
+on the ground by the side of the dead hunter, and darting down
+the opposite side he made a safe retreat.&nbsp; This was an
+adventure which constituted the turning point of our hero&rsquo;s
+life.&nbsp; The magnitude of the consequences it involved, he
+scarcely dreamt of at that moment.</p>
+<h2><a name="page133"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+133</span>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm</span> is
+&ldquo;wanted.&rdquo;&nbsp; Hides himself in a wood.&nbsp; Love
+takes him to Cadwgan&rsquo;s house, where he is welcomed.&nbsp;
+Parson Evans acting as &ldquo;detector.&rdquo;&nbsp; Twm escapes
+in the disguise of a female.&nbsp; Affectionate parting with the
+farmer and Gwenny.</p>
+<p>No sooner was Marmaduke Graspacre taken home, and the affair
+made known by him to his father, with some little exaggeration
+against the assailant, such as the trifling mis-statement that
+the blows inflicted on him were by the butt-end of the
+fowling-piece, instead of the fist, than the squire&rsquo;s
+indignation was roused.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;As this is not the first offence, and my forbearance
+has encouraged his atrocious conduct, I am now determined to make
+an example of him,&rdquo; said he, and immediately sent a servant
+for Parson Evans, who, in the capacity of magistrate, was ordered
+to take cognizance of the affair, and send constables in all
+directions to arrest the culprit.&nbsp; This was an office that
+well accorded with this malignant man; he had not the generosity
+enough to forget and forgive the follies of youth; and had a
+bloodhound been set upon Twm&rsquo;s track, he would not have
+scented him out with more pleasure than Parson Evans.</p>
+<p>The hue and cry instantly was raised and spread abroad, and
+excited as great a commotion throughout the country as if a
+convicted murderer were chased through the land.&nbsp; All
+Twm&rsquo;s haunts were searched, especially his mother&rsquo;s
+and farmer Cadwgan&rsquo;s; in each of which places there was
+heaviness and wailing for his misfortunes; and Parson Evans, who
+went there in person, took care to assure them, that when caught,
+all the world could not save him from the gallows, as he had
+attempted to murder the young squire of Graspacre-Hall.</p>
+<p>But with all the vigilance of his enemies, Twm&rsquo;s retreat
+remained undiscovered and those who were <a
+name="page134"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 134</span>friendly
+disposed towards him began to wonder among themselves what had
+become of him.&nbsp; Some thought that, in a fit of despondency,
+he had drowned himself; and others, that he had escaped into the
+neighbouring counties of Pembroke, Carmarthen, or Brecon; or that
+he had shipped himself in some vessel at Aberayon, or
+Aberystwyth, and got off in safety.&nbsp; The constables,
+however, had visited each of these places, and at length returned
+without any further intelligence than that their journey had been
+in vain.</p>
+<p>While the search was most hot, our hero concealed himself in a
+small patch of marshy underwood, a spot on which the keen eye of
+suspicion never glanced, his pursuers having passed the edge of
+it many times without a thought occurring of seeking him
+there.&nbsp; In this retreat he fed himself on nuts and
+blackberries, and in the night roved about for recreation, but
+returned to his green-wood shelter before day-light.&nbsp; Even
+here, Twm&rsquo;s love of mischief was as prominent as ever.</p>
+<p>One night, while the moon gave a good light, he found a large
+deep hole, close by his retreat.&nbsp; Knowing that his pursuers
+would very probably pass that way shortly, he covered over the
+opening with sticks and a thin layer of earth and leaves.&nbsp;
+Presently came Parson Evans, who had separated himself from the
+rest of the searchers, and coming to the trap, immediately sunk
+over-head, to the depth of twelve feet, giving a wild and very
+unparsonic yell as he descended.&nbsp; He bawled loudly for help,
+but Twm bounded from his retreat, and shouting down the hole,
+&ldquo;Ha! ha!&nbsp; Evans the fox is trapped at last,&rdquo;
+made best of his way to another part of the forest.</p>
+<p>His concealment and life in the woods continued four days,
+when, exceedingly tired of his solitude, he one midnight ventured
+to Cadwgan&rsquo;s door, and both surprised and gratified the
+farmer and his kinder daughter, when they heard the lost
+one&rsquo;s voice once more.&nbsp; They rose and let him in
+immediately, made a fire, gave every necessary refreshment, and
+then persuaded him to go to bed.</p>
+<p><a name="page135"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 135</span>Twm
+remained hidden here a week, when suspicion fixed upon
+Cadwgan&rsquo;s house, although searched before, as the probable
+place of concealment.&nbsp; One day, Gwenny ran in a fright to
+tell her father to conceal Twm immediately, as the constables,
+headed by Parson Evans, were coming.&nbsp; Twm started up and
+said, &ldquo;Bolt the door for ten minutes, and I shall be
+safe.&rdquo;&nbsp; Gwenny replied that they could not be there in
+that time, as they were then descending the opposite side of the
+Cwm, which was three long fields off, and that they approached
+slowly, with fox-like cunning, so as to excite no suspicion of
+their purpose.</p>
+<p>With that, at Twm&rsquo;s request, they both went up stairs
+with him, for a purpose which he said he was there to explain to
+them, as neither of them could conceive in what manner he was
+going to preserve himself.&nbsp; They all remained above
+&rsquo;till the loud summons of authority, in the raven voice of
+old Evans, brought Cadwgan down, when the cleric magistrate told
+him, in no gentle terms, that there was a suspicion attached to
+his house, as the place where the young villain, Twm Shon Catty,
+was concealed.</p>
+<p>The farmer replied, &ldquo;I must say this is very hard usage,
+as I have no one with me but my daughter and my eldest sister,
+who has come on a few weeks&rsquo; visit; but, as you are come,
+you may search in welcome.&rdquo;&nbsp; After a brief scrutiny
+below, they all went up stairs, where sat, busily employed at
+their needles, the fair Gwenny Cadwgan and the ingenious Twm Shon
+Catty, excellently disguised in the dress of Cadwgan&rsquo;s late
+wife; which having been the property of a tall women fitted him
+very well.&nbsp; His face was slightly coloured with the juice of
+blackberries; beneath his chin was pinned a dowdyish cap, which
+in the scant light of a small window, by the aid of a pair of
+spectacles he appeared a complete old granny.</p>
+<p>On the entrance of these amiable visitors, he turned his full
+spectacled face on Parson Evans, muttering, in the tone of an old
+woman, which he mimicked well, &ldquo;lack a day! lack a day!
+this is sad usage;&rdquo; <a name="page136"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 136</span>then whispered Gwenny, who took the
+hint, and, while they were searching, laid some hog&rsquo;s lard
+on different parts of the stairs, so that, on their descent, the
+precious party, with their rascally leader, slipped and fell
+headlong down from top to bottom, to the great amusement of those
+above.&nbsp; On being charged with this contrivance, each denied
+all knowledge of, and the quick witted Gwenny accounted for the
+cause of their accident by saying that they had been carrying
+butter and lard to the store, up stairs, the whole morning.</p>
+<p>In addition to this, Twm emptied the contents of a certain
+piece of crockery upon the devoted heads of the searchers, just
+as they emerged from the doorway, and when he discovered the
+splutterings and surprise manifested by the parson, shouted down
+from the upper window, &ldquo;Dear! dear!&nbsp; I thought you
+lazy folk would be half a mile from the house before now.&nbsp;
+Well well! ye&rsquo;ll get a washing for nothing.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+The parson muttered something very like a curse, while the
+constables &ldquo;d&mdash;d&rdquo; the old woman
+unceremoniously.</p>
+<p>They were no sooner gone than Twm assured Cadwgan that he saw
+there was no safety for him except in flight, which must take
+place that very night.&nbsp; His plan, he said, was matured, that
+he had no fear but he should do well, and that his only regret
+was in parting with them.&nbsp; He purposed, he said, to make his
+way towards Carmarthenshire, or perhaps farther and seek
+employment among the farmers; or, what was more agreeable to him,
+he might, perhaps, get to some village where he could set up a
+school; so that after saving a sum of money to begin life with,
+he should return and make Gwenny his wife.&nbsp; With tearful
+eyes Cadwgan expressed his admiration of his plan, while poor
+Gwenny wept herself almost into fits, at the thought of his
+perils, and sudden departure.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;At any rate, my boy, thou shalt not go penniless to
+wander the wide world,&rdquo; said Cadwgan, and put an old
+pocket-book, containing several angels, and near twenty shillings
+in silver, which Twm reluctantly took, <a
+name="page137"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 137</span>promising
+its return doubly when fortune favoured him.&nbsp; &ldquo;I have
+two favours more to ask,&rdquo; said he; &ldquo;the first is,
+that you will make the best of my affair when you tell my poor
+mother and the worthy Mr. Rhys of my flight, and my future plans
+in life; and my next request is, that you will give me this old
+woman&rsquo;s dress, with the red cloak belonging to it, as it
+will answer for a disguise should I be troubled before I get far
+enough off.&rdquo;&nbsp; Cadwgan kindly acquiesced, though he
+smiled at the latter whimsical fancy.&nbsp; At length, thus
+attired to avoid observation, with his own clothes in a bundle,
+he took an affecting leave of them, and made a hasty departure
+from their friendly door.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIX.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm</span> risks another
+visit to Tregaron.&nbsp; Alarms his friend Watt.&nbsp; Danger of
+betrayal by him.&nbsp; His cunning is more than a match for Watt,
+Parson Evans, and his wife.&nbsp; Escapes, and with a good
+booty.&nbsp; Disappearance of the Parson&rsquo;s horse, great
+coat, and cash.</p>
+<p>It was a dull heavy night, in which fog and darkness contended
+for precedence, and the moon gleamed as if about to retire
+altogether, when Twm Shon Catty shaped his course over the
+mountain, in the direction which led to Lampeter; he looked
+instinctively towards his dear native town, which a fashionable
+tourist would perhaps have called the most wretched village in
+the universe; but, to him, it was full of sweet associations, and
+recollections the most agreeable; the scene of his childhood, the
+home of his mother:</p>
+<blockquote><p>Dear to all their natal spot,<br />
+Although &rsquo;twere Nature&rsquo;s foulest blot;<br />
+For, wherever we may roam,<br />
+There&rsquo;s ne&rsquo;er a place like Home, sweet Home.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>He stopped, and looked wistfully towards Tregaron; <a
+name="page138"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 138</span>the lights
+were glistening in their various humble casements, and he fancied
+that among them all he could distinguish his
+mother&rsquo;s&mdash;his kind fond mother&rsquo;s&mdash;whom,
+perhaps, he was never to see again,&mdash;and now he recollected
+many instances of her tenderness, which had long slumbered in his
+recollection.&nbsp; His eyes filled with tears, and the softness
+of his heart was put at once into mournful harmony.</p>
+<p>A sudden thought, no less eccentric than daring, now took him,
+that thus disguised, he might safely pass through Tregaron, and
+perhaps see his mother before his departure.&nbsp; This idea was
+no sooner started than acted upon; and, before an hour had
+expired, he found himself once more in the long and almost only
+street in Tregaron.&nbsp; He met two or three old women whom he
+knew well, but there was no recognition on their part, only a
+long, vacant stare of astonishment, no doubt wondering who the
+stranger could be, venturing into Tregaron at that late
+hour.&nbsp; His mother&rsquo;s door was closed for the night, and
+he durst not call to her, as Jack was not to be trusted.&nbsp; He
+moved on, looking earnestly to every door.&nbsp; The whole street
+seemed still as death, except that various snores, here and
+there, reminded Twm of the sweet sleep enjoyed by others though
+denied to him; while the stray villagers whom he had met were
+busy locking their doors, or barring them with the wooden
+sash.</p>
+<p>He sauntered slowly along, meditating on the circumstance that
+made him afraid to face those who knew him, till opposite to the
+cottage of his old companion and elder brother in mischief, Watt
+the mole-catcher.&nbsp; Watt had long lived with a widowed
+mother, who had recently died, and now sojourned alone in her
+solitary hut; it was even reported that he had forsaken all his
+wicked ways, grown serious, and was consequently likely to do
+well.&nbsp; It occurred to Twm that he had often heard Watt deny
+the existence of ghosts and hobgoblins, and vaunt that nothing of
+that description could in the least frighten him; and now,
+thought Twm, I&rsquo;ll put his courage to the trial.</p>
+<p><a name="page139"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+139</span>Peeping through the casement, he saw Watt in bed, at
+the farther end of the cottage, and the fire burning through the
+peat heaped up to preserve it for the night, so that the white
+walls within were brightened by the gleams cast on them from the
+hearth.&nbsp; Softly lifting the latch, he opened the door,
+entered, and, walking quietly towards the hearth, sat on the
+three-legged stool, took up the old snoutless bellows, and began
+blowing the fire with all his might.&nbsp; Watt awoke in extreme
+terror, and seeing the figure of a tall woman in the chimney
+corner, deeming it no other than his mother&rsquo;s spirit, his
+fright increased.</p>
+<p>Trembling and almost dissolved in perspiration, he at last
+burst out into a roar of &ldquo;Lord have mercy on me! oh,
+mother&rsquo;s dear spirit, pity me!&rdquo;&nbsp; Twm laughed
+out, and ran to his bed-side to stop his roaring cries,
+exclaiming, &ldquo;Silence, man, &rsquo;tis I, Twm, your old
+friend, Twm Shon Catty.&rdquo;&nbsp; Watt slowly awoke to the
+consciousness that his theory did not stand the test of practice,
+and that this had been proven by one who had often heard him
+vaunting as to his fearlessness of the supernatural.</p>
+<p>Convinced of his identity, and having heard our hero&rsquo;s
+story, he said, &ldquo;&rsquo;Twere better you were at the bottom
+of a river, Twm, than here, for I have been compelled, by Parson
+Evans, to make an oath that if you came here, I would immediately
+either send or run myself to inform him of your arrival; and I
+can&rsquo;t break, an oath, Twm, for anybody.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I did not think,&rdquo; said our hero coolly,
+&ldquo;that you, who have broken so many laws, would scruple much
+about breaking a forced oath; but old companionship pleads
+weakly, opposed to the reward that will be given for my
+apprehension; I thought, though the whole town were to turn
+against me that you, Watt would have been my friend, for you have
+led me into many troubles, and I never laid a jot of blame to
+your charge, but took all to myself, and have often suffered on
+your account.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page140"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 140</span>Watt,
+who by this time had nearly dressed himself, was much affected by
+this appeal, and said, &ldquo;No, Twm, I will never betray you,
+but, if I were known in the least to favour you it would ruin all
+my hopes of success in life.&nbsp; I am, next week, to be married
+to Betsy Gwevelheer, <a name="citation140"></a><a
+href="#footnote140" class="citation">[140]</a> Parson
+Evan&rsquo;s maid that I have courted these ten years; and the
+parson has promised to do great things at the bidding: and more
+than that, I am to be the parish clerk and grave-digger when old
+Morgan Meredith dies, and he can&rsquo;t live long, as I have
+made him a present of a good church-yard cough, by breaking a
+hole in the thatch over his bed, by which he has gained a great
+hoarseness, and nearly lost his voice; so that I expect to be
+called in to officiate for him next Sunday.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I see you are still my friend,&rdquo; said Twm, who had
+been lost in a reverie during part of Watt&rsquo;s remarks,
+&ldquo;and I give you joy of your fair prospects, which I would
+not destroy on any account; you shall serve me, and, at the same
+time keep your oath.&nbsp; You know my talent at mimicry, and see
+how well this dress becomes me; aye, I become the dress equally
+as you shall see.&nbsp; Had I not already disclosed myself, I
+could have discoursed to you a whole hour at mid-day, fearless of
+a discovery; but let us see how this cloak becomes you,
+Watt.&rdquo;&nbsp; With that he took off the cloak and put it on
+Watt, and, after a little jesting on the subject, Twm suddenly
+exclaimed, &ldquo;Only sit down here with the cloak on your
+shoulders for ten minutes, while I step out, and, with the
+assistance of my bundle, I will astonish you with my
+transformation.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>All this was uttered with the gay rapidity of an anticipated
+freak, and Watt taken by surprise, immediately acquiesced,
+without knowing what he was about.&nbsp; Twm ran immediately to
+the Rectory House, and making a great clatter, roused Parson
+Evans, who opened the window and asked what was the matter; when,
+assuming Watt&rsquo;s voice, he said hastily, &ldquo;Mister
+Evans!&nbsp; Mister Evans!&nbsp; Twm Shon Catty is now in my
+cottage, <a name="page141"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+141</span>dressed in a cloak, and sitting at the fire.&nbsp; You
+had best be quick and secure him.&nbsp; He wanted me not to
+betray him, but I could not break my oath, you know; so pray you,
+Parson, make haste if you would have your desire.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Delighted with this intelligence, Evans awakened the whole
+house, especially two strapping fellows, whom he called his
+bull-dogs, sometimes employing them as husbandry servants, at
+others, on account of their large size, and muscular power, as
+constables.&nbsp; Both these fellows were first sent to saddle
+his horse, in case he should have to take Twm to Cardigan
+gaol,&mdash;and then to attend him to Watt&rsquo;s cottage, where
+the trio soon went.</p>
+<p>Peeping through the casement, Evans discovered a tall figure
+wrapped in a cloak, as described.&nbsp; &ldquo;There he is sure
+enough,&rdquo; quoth he in a whisper; &ldquo;now get your cords
+ready for binding his hands, and stay here till I call you in; be
+sure that you watch the door well.&rdquo;&nbsp; With that he
+lifted the latch and went in.&nbsp; Watt, who, in the interim of
+our hero&rsquo;s absence, had made up a good fire, now stood up,
+and, as he saw the clerical magistrate before him, exclaimed,
+&ldquo;Well done, Twm, my boy!&nbsp; I now give you credit; well,
+well, well, this is indeed strange; a wonderful disguise; you
+look the old rascal to the life; if you had not told me
+before-hand of your intended transformation, I could have sworn
+you were old Evans himself; you look now just as he did when he
+promised to make me parish clerk.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Evans remained petrified with astonishment till the last words
+were uttered, when he replied, &ldquo;Parish devil! you infernal
+scoundrel, have you roused me out of my bed at midnight to hoax
+and insult me in this manner? but you shall dearly repent your
+insolence.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Watt stared with wonder, and replied, &ldquo;Well, well,
+well!&nbsp; I never did hear such a thing in my life; you have
+just the old villain&rsquo;s voice and swaggering way; I wish I
+may die if you don&rsquo;t so frighten me; and I <a
+name="page142"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 142</span>could
+almost swear the spiteful old Evans himself stood before me; hang
+him, I hate his very looks, and I am only holding a candle to the
+devil, in hopes of the parish clerkship, by seeming so civil to
+him.&rdquo;&nbsp; Evans thought him certainly either mad or
+drunk; and without any further explanation, he called the two men
+in, and ordered them to secure him.&nbsp; The light at length
+broke in on Watt&rsquo;s mind; Twm&rsquo;s trick on him, and the
+real state of the case appeared; and he struggled hard before the
+fellows could secure him.</p>
+<p>At length he cleared up his confused and chagrined
+countenance, and said, in an undaunted tone, &ldquo;Well, well,
+well, I see the worst; farewell to mole-catching; farewell to
+parish-clerkship, and Bessy Gwevelheer; and you, you evil-minded
+old scourge, may bid farewell to all hopes of having me to father
+your brat, of which your maid Bessy is big.&nbsp; I will make the
+country ring with the stories of your rascalities if you dare to
+send me to the round house; but if you liberate me at once, I
+shall leave Tregaron for ever, in the course of a few days, and
+go abroad, to see the world and seek my fortune.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>To the great surprise of the men, and, perhaps, of Watt
+himself, Evans seemed cowed by his threats, and, after a little
+show of parleying, gave him that freedom of which he had no right
+to deprive him.&nbsp; Leaving him alone in his cottage, he
+shuffled home, accompanied by his worthless followers.</p>
+<p>While Watt&rsquo;s cottage became the theatre of the
+above-described scene, Twm Shon Catty had a performance of his
+own elsewhere&mdash;a dance if you will&mdash;to which the same
+reverend gentleman was doomed to pay the piper.&nbsp; Having
+watched the party to Watt&rsquo;s door, Twm hastened to the
+parson&rsquo;s, calling loudly in the assumed voice of one of the
+fellows who accompanied, &ldquo;Mistress Evans!&nbsp; Mistress
+Evans! make haste and send master his pocket-book with his money,
+immediately; Twm Shon Catty is taken, and we are going off with
+him to Cardigan gaol.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Evans sleeping in a front room, heard him <a
+name="page143"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 143</span>instantly,
+and with unusual alacrity jumped off bed; she soon threw down the
+pocket-book, which was caught by Twm, and asked him,
+&ldquo;Doesn&rsquo;t he want his weather-proof great coat
+also?&rdquo;&nbsp; Our hero replied, &ldquo;Yes, but, dear me, I
+did forget that,&rdquo; and immediately received the great coat
+likewise.&nbsp; Mrs. Evans wishing them safe home from Cardigan,
+shut the window.&nbsp; The saddled horse was already at the gate,
+and Twm, well coated and cashed, instantly mounted and rode off,
+glorying in his triumph over his old rancorous enemy.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Here,&rdquo; thought Twm, &ldquo;is tangible revenge for
+all the trouble and persecution this reverend gentleman has
+brought upon me.&rdquo;&nbsp; A full pocket-book, a good horse,
+and a warm great coat, after all, were not bad equivalents for
+Twm&rsquo;s injuries.&nbsp; Some philosophers might consider that
+outraged feelings could not be solaced in this way.&nbsp; But in
+Twm&rsquo;s case, at any rate, they were mistaken.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XX.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm</span> is robbed by a
+highwayman.&nbsp; His meditations.&nbsp; Again is despoiled by a
+gipsy and a ballad-singer at Aberayon.&nbsp; He adopts the
+musical profession at Cardigan Fair.</p>
+<p>Twm took a circuitous route over the mountains towards
+Lampeter, and, when he felt himself secure from pursuit, his
+first thought was to change his feminine attire for his own, as
+more convenient for riding, which was soon accomplished, and the
+suits changed places in the bundle.&nbsp; In his ignorance of the
+world, he scarce knew whither to direct his course after reaching
+Lampeter, where he arrived between one and two o&rsquo;clock in
+the morning.&nbsp; He recollected that this was a central place,
+from which different roads led to Aberystwith, Llandovery,
+Carmarthen, Aberayon, and Cardigan; but found a difficulty in
+deciding which way to take.</p>
+<p><a name="page144"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 144</span>It
+suddenly occurred to him that there was a fair at Cardigan the
+next day, and he determined to go there and sell the
+parson&rsquo;s horse.&nbsp; The whole town being wrapped in
+slumbers, he was now at a stand, not knowing the road which led
+through Aberayon to Cardigan; but, rousing a cottager, he soon
+gained the necessary information, and proceeded on.</p>
+<p>As he approached Aberayon, for the first time in his life, the
+distant roaring of the sea struck upon his ear, still increasing
+as he neared the ocean side.&nbsp; Wonder, awe, and even terror,
+were the successive sensations that agitated our hero.&nbsp; The
+saddening sobs of the mighty waters as they retreated from the
+shore, and the fearful fury of their rallying and re-assaulting
+the repulsing beach, with their successive wailing retreats, to
+gather the powers of the advancing tide, came on his soul like an
+accusing spirit that seemed to reproach him for his late
+misdeeds.</p>
+<p>Severe self-accusing reflection on the atrocity of his last
+act, succeeded the triumphs of enmity that had first given a gust
+to its perpetration.&nbsp; Consciousness of guilt and terror of
+punishment at once assailed him, for he was yet young in
+crime.&nbsp; On the impulse of the moment, he determined to leave
+the parson&rsquo;s nag behind him, and then return his cash and
+coat as early as possible.</p>
+<p>While these bitter agitations were racking his breast, the
+clatter of a galloping horse increased his terrors, and he
+discerned both horse and rider making briskly towards him.&nbsp;
+Strange as it may appear, notwithstanding the opposite quarter
+from where the danger proceeded, in the wildness of his
+apprehensions he conceived it could be no other than Squire
+Graspacre, Parson Evans, and their party.&nbsp; He was actually
+glad when made to understand that the horseman was a
+highwayman.&nbsp; His unwelcome assailant quickly approached him
+and presenting his pistol, with a loud oath, to oblige &ldquo;Dio
+the Devil&rdquo; with all his cash and valuables, or prepare for
+immediate death.</p>
+<p>The name of this terrific freebooter, who had, <a
+name="page145"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 145</span>among many
+other descriptions of persons, robbed half the farmers in the
+country, and was supposed to have committed more than one murder,
+had its full effect upon Twm.&nbsp; He instantly resigned the
+parson&rsquo;s purse, assuring him it was all he possessed and
+begged that he would allow him to retain a single angel; these
+terms, the robber, in a manner, acceded to, doubling his quest by
+giving two; but in return insisted on having his horse and great
+coat, which Twm gave up.&nbsp; Dio (whose name, by the way, is a
+familiar diminutive of David,) then with sarcastic politeness
+wished him good morning, and a pleasant journey! and galloped off
+in the direction of Lampeter, having the rein of the
+parson&rsquo;s horse over his left arm.</p>
+<p>No sooner had the highwaymen disappeared, than Twm was struck
+with a full conviction of the folly of the fears he had
+entertained, which by depressing his mind, he thought, led to
+confusedly yielding his property too easily: vowing to himself,
+after some reflection, that if possessed of a pair of pistols, no
+highwayman in the world should make him stand.&nbsp; His thoughts
+taking their course through this channel, wandered and diverged,
+till his mind rested on new, but perilous prospects.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What a life,&rdquo; thought he, &ldquo;this Dio the
+Devil leads&mdash;a gentleman of the road&mdash;the terror of
+wealthy scoundrels, who are themselves the scourge of the hapless
+poor, that are starved into crime&mdash;famed, feared, and mained
+at the general cost, while many an honest fool toils like the
+gulled drudge-horse, crawls through the world half-starved, and
+is despised for meanness!&rdquo;&nbsp; The weight and magnitude
+of his reflections were such as for a few moments to reduce him
+to absolute silence, when recovering himself, he continued,
+&ldquo;What does it matter to me what others do?&nbsp; I shall
+please myself, and I don&rsquo;t like hard work, nor do I care
+for coarse fare, and still less for great folk&rsquo;s abuse and
+buffets; and if I had a pistol, why, I shouldn&rsquo;t mind
+if&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At this moment a countryman was about to pass <a
+name="page146"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 146</span>him on the
+road, in whose hand he recognized his bundle, containing his
+feminine attire, which in his terror he had dropped, and it
+rolled from the side of the road, it seems, into the ditch,
+previous to the halt of the highwayman.&nbsp; Twm immediately
+claimed his property, but the fellow seemed disinclined to attend
+to him, until vehemently insisting on his right, he evinced an
+inclination to battle with him; when satisfied with this very
+convincing sort of logic, the clown made restitution.</p>
+<p>His little affray with the would-be-dishonest countryman, had
+not obliterated the thought of our hero with respect to
+highwaymen, and their independent style of existence, and with
+his mind still occupied, with the gentlemen of the road, he came
+to a small public-house near Aberayon, but which was so
+inconveniently crowded that he could scarce find a seat.</p>
+<p>With the exception of two or three fishermen and other
+seafarers, these were people who made a temporary halt on their
+way to Cardigan fair; low booth-keepers, fruit and gingerbread
+sellers, and suchlike.&nbsp; Twm called for beer and refreshment,
+and while eating, observed the habits of these strange people
+with much curiosity.&nbsp; He had contrived to squeeze himself
+into a window-seat between two females who sat apart and civilly
+made room for him, and pressed his acceptance of the place.</p>
+<p>Twm was delighted with his new position, and he was not a
+little surprised with the contrast which the kindness and
+affability of his fair companions offered to the rude gestures
+and uncouth speech of the remainder of the party.&nbsp; He did
+not think worse of them when he discovered that one was a gipsy
+fortune-teller, and the other a ballad-singer.&nbsp; He could not
+do less, he thought, than ask them to partake of his cup, and
+they found themselves bound in honour, in their great devotion to
+his health, to return it empty each time he handed it to them
+full.</p>
+<p>Such gallantry on the one hand, and confidence and affability
+on the other, begot a sudden friendship <a
+name="page147"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 147</span>between
+them; the gipsy insisting upon telling his fortune gratis, and
+the ballad-singer on the acceptance of two or three favourite
+songs; while Twm reciprocating in the warmest style, their
+affectionate attentions, ordered indefinite supplies of
+&ldquo;nut-brown,&rdquo; on which he and his fair ones regaled to
+their hearts&rsquo; content.</p>
+<p>While Twm was busily employed in looking over the bundle of
+ballads, among which he met many old friends, which he had
+frequently sung, one of the friendly nymphs was beckoned to, by a
+man at the opposite end of the kitchen, with whom they went out,
+and the gipsy soon followed them.</p>
+<p>Our hero having selected the songs that pleased him, waited
+impatiently the return of the damsels.&nbsp; No sign of their
+re-appearance being visible, and all the fair people having left
+one by one, until Twm found himself quite alone, he inquired of
+the landlord if he knew where the young women had gone to.&nbsp;
+He said he did not, but that the whole party having paid him were
+gone off, and he had no further business with them.</p>
+<p>Twm thought the ballad-singer a singular good-natured young
+woman, as she had left her bundles of melody with him, doubtless
+as a present, and merely taken herself away thus modestly,
+instead of ostentatiously proclaiming her gift, and receiving his
+thanks.&nbsp; His opinion was slightly changed, when wishful to
+pay the landlord, he found he had not a halfpenny in his
+pocket.&nbsp; His vexation and confusion were evident to mine
+host, who declared that his face was turned as white as the
+wall.&nbsp; Having searched every pocket over and over, at length
+the doleful tale came out that he had lost his money, and could
+not tell how.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, as to that,&rdquo; said the landlord, with bitter
+coolness, &ldquo;if it is any satisfaction to know <i>how</i> you
+lost your money, I can tell you; it was by sitting between two
+thieves&mdash;a gipsy and a ballad-singer and what could you
+expect else from mixing with <a name="page148"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 148</span>such cattle?&rdquo;&nbsp; Poor Twm
+remained silent, in a miserable mood, with his elbows resting on
+the table, and with his temples in the palms of his hands, for a
+full half hour; when the landlord disturbed his meditations by
+asking payment for his fare; good-naturedly adding, &ldquo;If you
+have no money, I don&rsquo;t wish to be hard with you, you can
+merely leave your jacket with me instead.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;My
+jacket!&rdquo; quoth he indignantly; &ldquo;why that is ten times
+the value of what I owe you.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;That&rsquo;s
+just as people think; but those are my terms, and you should be
+glad that I&rsquo;ll take it in place of good hard cash,&rdquo;
+was the reply of the uncompromising old fellow.&nbsp; The
+fishermen in the mean time passed on him their rough and scurvy
+jokes, one observing, &ldquo;You can sing ballads without a
+jacket, so I advise you to go to the fair at Cardigan, where you
+may perhaps meet your old friends.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm was too despondent to be much effected by these feeble
+attempts at wit, but he determined to accept the suggestion of
+the last speaker, and make his first appearance as a public
+vocalist in Cardigan, so without more ado he took off his jacket
+and gave it to the host, muttering a curse on his cruelty, and
+commenced his journey.&nbsp; The dress of Cadwgan&rsquo;s wife
+was again put on, not only as a fit disguise for his minstrel
+vocation, but a more perfect guard against the weather than his
+own, since deprived of his upper-garment; and thus equipped he
+once more took to the road, his late experience having completely
+sobered him, and left him depressed in spirits, as he glanced at
+the scene in which he had been thoroughly victimized.</p>
+<h2><a name="page149"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+149</span>CHAPTER XXI.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm&rsquo;s</span>
+appearance as a &ldquo;fair&rdquo; ballad singer at
+Cardigan.&nbsp; A sudden alarm.&nbsp; Poor Parson Inco.&nbsp;
+Twm&rsquo;s hasty flight.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The longest lane has a turning,&rdquo; and the weariest
+journey has an end, and at length Twm found himself in Cardigan,
+and prepared himself at once to commence his whimsical
+vocation.&nbsp; Although naturally bold, and more full of
+confidence than beseemed the modesty of youth, it was not without
+considerable efforts in struggling with some remains of
+diffidence that he at length ventured to sing in the public
+street; but he had fortified himself with a draught of strong
+beer, and his voice, in his own opinion, being almost unequalled
+in the country, he thought it foolish to hesitate.&nbsp; He fixed
+himself in rather an obscure part of the fair; but his musical
+voice and humorous execution of a comic song soon drew a crowd
+about him, and put his ballads in speedy request.</p>
+<p>Adapting the usual gait and manner of street-vocalists,
+holding his hand to his mouth to secure increased power, he
+introduced each song with a whimsical description of its matter,
+in a strain of drollery that set the grinning rustics in high
+glee; &ldquo;Here, my merry men and maidens,&rdquo; quoth he,
+&ldquo;is a pretty song about a young damsel, who was taken in by
+a false lover, that courted her for what he could get, and having
+wheedled her out of her heart and money, ran away and left her to
+wear the willow.&rdquo;</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">THE SLIGHTED
+MAID&rsquo;S LAMENT. <a name="citation149"></a><a
+href="#footnote149" class="citation">[149]</a></p>
+<p>In comfort and in credit,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; By the side of Pen-y-vole<br />
+I lived:&mdash;all knew and said it,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; None could my will control;<br />
+<a name="page150"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 150</span>Until a
+worthless lover<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Did try my heart to move:<br />
+Ah, soon my joys were over!<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; I listened to his love.</p>
+<p>From far he travelled to me,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Full many and many a night,<br />
+I thought he came to woo me&mdash;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; My heart was all delight:<br />
+My cash he thought of gaining,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; It was not me he sought,<br />
+E&rsquo;er mourning and complaining<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; For clothes&mdash;and clothes I bought.</p>
+<p>A pair of shoes I placed him<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Between his soles and ground,<br />
+With stockings then I graced him,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; With hat his head I crown&rsquo;d;<br />
+Red garters then I bought him,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; At fair the best I saw,<br />
+To bind his hose, od rod him!<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Instead of bands of straw.</p>
+<p>I bought him leather breeches<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Strong as a barley sack,<br />
+And laid out half my riches<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; To clothe the beggar&rsquo;s back;<br />
+I gave him money willing,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; (Vexation now upbraids!)<br />
+With which the thankless villain<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Soon treated other maids.</p>
+<p>When thus he had bereft me<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Of cash, and ah, my heart!<br />
+The cruel rover left me,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; It grieved me then to part;<br />
+Those clothes will rend in tatters,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; They cannot last him long:<br />
+A curse attends such matters,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; False lovers curse is strong!</p>
+<p>His coat will rend in creases,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; His stockings break in holes,<br />
+His breeches go to pieces,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; His shoes part from their soles;<br />
+His hair, like garden carrot,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Full soon will want a hat;<br />
+How soon, indeed I care not,&mdash;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The devil care for that!</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><a name="page151"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 151</span>His
+listeners appreciated his first song so much that all his copies
+were soon disposed of; so he selected another, before singing
+which he said: &ldquo;Now this, my friends, is about a Welsh boy,
+who was so foolish as to leave old Cymry and go to London, from
+which place, I warrant you, he would have been glad enough to
+return, as they have neither leeks, cheese, nor flummery, nor
+anything else there fit for a Christian people.&rdquo;</p>
+<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">When</span> a wild rural Welsh
+boy I ran o&rsquo;er the hills,<br />
+And sprang o&rsquo;er the hedges, the gates, brooks, and
+rills,<br />
+The high oak I climb&rsquo;d for the nest of the kite,<br />
+And plung&rsquo;d in the river with ardent delight!<br />
+Ah, who then so cheerful, so happy as me,<br />
+As I skipp&rsquo;d through the woodlands and meads of
+Brandee?</p>
+<p>How oft have I wander&rsquo;d through swamp, hedge, or
+brake,<br />
+While fearful of nought but the never-seen snake,<br />
+And gather&rsquo;d brown nuts from the copses around,<br />
+While ev&rsquo;ry bush echoed with harmony&rsquo;s sound!<br />
+Oh, gladness then thrill&rsquo;d me!&nbsp; I bounded as free<br
+/>
+As a hart o&rsquo;er the lawn through the meads of Brandee.</p>
+<p>Whenever I wander&rsquo;d to some neighb&rsquo;ring farm,<br
+/>
+How kindly was tendered the new milk so warm,<br />
+O&rsquo;er her best loaf as butter-or-honey she&rsquo;d
+spread,<br />
+The farm wife so friendly would stroke my white head,<br />
+And sure that she shortly again would see me<br />
+Whenever my rambles led forth from Brandee.</p>
+<p>How oft have I run with my strawberry wreath<br />
+To rosy young Gwenny of fair Llwyn-y-neath,<br />
+And help&rsquo;d her to drive the white sheep to the pen!<br />
+Oh! still I think how joyously sung little Gwen!<br />
+The old folks, oft chuckling, vow&rsquo;d sweet-hearts were
+we,<br />
+Then Llwyn-y-neath maiden and boy of Brandee.</p>
+<p>At the fair of Devynnock, o&rsquo;ertaken by night,<br />
+Returning, I&rsquo;ve dreaded the corpse-candle light,<br />
+The wandering spirit, the hobgoblin fell,<br />
+Of which cottage hen-wives so fearfully tell:<br />
+I&rsquo;ve ran, with my eyes shut, ghosts dreading to see,<br />
+Prayed, whistled, or sang as I flew to Brandee.</p>
+<p>Pleasure and innocence hand in hand went,<br />
+My deeds ever blameless, my heart e&rsquo;er content,<br />
+<a name="page152"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 152</span>Unknown
+to ambition, and free from all care,<br />
+A stranger to sorrow, remorse, or despair;<br />
+Oh bless&rsquo;d were those days! long departed from me,<br />
+Far, far&rsquo;s my loved Cambria! far, far is Brandee!</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>This did not take so well as the first, but Twm, now
+thoroughly interested in his new vocation, commenced a fresh
+ditty, which he announced as a sequel to the last.</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">ROSY GWEN.</p>
+<p>Rosy Gwen, Rosy Gwen,<br />
+Beloved of maids, beloved of men:<br />
+Aye, dearly loved of grave and gay,<br />
+In youth&rsquo;s early day&mdash;ah, what cheer&rsquo;d me
+then?<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &rsquo;Twas her voice so sweet,<br
+/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Her person neat,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Her form so sleek,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Her spirit meek,<br />
+And the cherry-merry cheek of Rosy Gwen.</p>
+<p>Gentle girl, gentle girl,<br />
+Coral lipp&rsquo;d, with teeth of pearl,<br />
+On either cheek a vivid rose,<br />
+And raven tresses graced thy brows!<br />
+Ah, thou wert my love and playmate then!<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Happy lass of smiles,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Unvers&rsquo;d in wiles,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Of guileless breast&mdash;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Of minds the best.<br />
+Oh my merry-cheek&rsquo;d young Rosy Gwen!</p>
+<p>Years have flown, years have flown,<br />
+And Gwenny thour&rsquo;t a woman grown,<br />
+While Time, that bears for most a sting,<br />
+Has fann&rsquo;d thy beauties with his wing;<br />
+Yet brighter thou canst not be than when<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; O&rsquo;er the mountain steep<br
+/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Thou drov&rsquo;st thy sheep,<br
+/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And sang in glee<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A child with me,<br />
+Oh my cheery-merry-cheek&rsquo;d young Rosy Gwen.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>As the last was but tolerated, the singer soon found that a
+merry strain was most congenial to their fancies.&nbsp; He
+therefore gave them the old and popular duet of <a
+name="page153"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 153</span>&ldquo;Hob
+y deri dando,&rdquo; rendered more comical by his singing
+alternately shrill and gruff, for male and female&rsquo;s
+parts.</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">HOB Y DERI DANDO. <a
+name="citation153"></a><a href="#footnote153"
+class="citation">[153]</a></p>
+<p><i>Ivor</i>.&nbsp; The summer storm is on the mountain,<br />
+Hob y deri dando, my sweet maid!</p>
+<p><i>Gweno</i>.&nbsp; And foul the stream, though bright the
+fountain,<br />
+Hob y deri dando for the shade.</p>
+<p><i>Ivor</i>.&nbsp; Let my mantle love protect thee,<br />
+Gentle Gweno dear;</p>
+<p><i>Gweno</i>.&nbsp; Ivor kind will ne&rsquo;er neglect me<br
+/>
+Faithful far and near;</p>
+<p><i>Both</i>.&nbsp; Through life the hue of first love true,<br
+/>
+Will never never fade.</p>
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p><i>Ivor</i>.&nbsp; Thus may the frowns of life pass over,<br
+/>
+Happy then our lot,</p>
+<p><i>Gweno</i>.&nbsp; And the smile of peace be bright as
+ever<br />
+In our humble cot!</p>
+<p><i>Both</i>.&nbsp; Through life the hue of first love true<br
+/>
+Will never never fade!</p>
+<p><i>Ivor</i>.&nbsp; The rain is past, the clouds are gone
+too,<br />
+Hob y deri dando, far they spread;</p>
+<p><i>Gweno</i>.&nbsp; The lark is up, and bright the sun too,<br
+/>
+Hob y deri dando, on the mead!</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>He sang the last three tunes, and sold a dozen copies; but
+just as he was going to favour his audience with <i>Nos
+Galan</i>, the malignant face of Parson Evans presented itself
+before him.</p>
+<p>As our hero wore petticoats, many gallant swains offered their
+treats of cake and ale, some of which was accepted; and presuming
+on that circumstance, they amusingly put in their claims to
+further notice, and seemed inclined to quarrel, as for a
+sweetheart.</p>
+<p>With this phalanx of protectors, beaus, and chaperons, Twm
+resolved to employ them in a new scheme of vengeance on the
+unpopular parson.&nbsp; &ldquo;You see <a
+name="page154"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 154</span>that old
+fellow in black,&rdquo; said he, directing their attention to him
+as he passed, &ldquo;he is a bumbailiff, and the greatest villain
+in all the country I come from; and at this very moment,
+I&rsquo;ll be bound for it, he is hunting out some poor fellow to
+put him in prison.&nbsp; He wanted to be a lover of mine, but
+only intended to ruinate me; but if he had loved me ever so much
+I would not have had him, if his old yellow skin was stuffed with
+diamonds.&nbsp; The villainous old catchpole! it was owing to
+refusing him for a sweetheart, that he grew as spiteful as a
+snake, and by telling a parcel of falsehoods he got me turned out
+of my place without a character, so that I am now brought to
+this&mdash;to sing ballads in the streets.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Here, assuming a whimpering tone, Twm was compelled to smother
+a fit of laughter, which emotion was taken for sobbing, and
+consequently drew much on the sympathy of those now addressed!
+but suddenly withdrawing the apron that veiled the features, he
+exclaimed, with the vehemence of a young termagant,
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;d give the world to see that old fellow tossed in
+a blanket!&rdquo;&nbsp; Mark Antony&rsquo;s effort of eloquence
+to rouse the Roman citizens to avenge the death of C&aelig;sar,
+was not more effective than our hero&rsquo;s appeal.</p>
+<p>Every one of those swains manifested the usual predilection
+for the smiles of a handsome young woman; being &ldquo;full of
+distempering draughts&rdquo; and ripe for a freak, their zeal
+became inflamed to a ferment; each felt himself the leading hero
+to avenge the wrongs of the fair ballad singer, in the manner
+suggested by himself.</p>
+<p>One of the young men, a native of the town, and son to the
+innkeeper, immediately procured a blanket, when, watching their
+opportunity as the supposed bailiff passed along, one tripped up
+his heels, while the rest received him in the extended blanket,
+and proceeded to the work-like play of giving the Black Kite an
+airing; or as Ready Rosser, a cunning clod of the party,
+expressed it, playing the wind-instrument to the tune of the
+Bumbailiff&rsquo;s courante.&nbsp; The athletic <a
+name="page155"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 155</span>employments
+of grasping the plough-handles, as they guided it through a
+stubborn soil, and the no less powerful exertions of wielding the
+axe, or hedge-bill, had their due effect in nerving the brawny
+arms of those youths of the farm and woodlands for this rough
+exercise.</p>
+<p>Drawing the extended blanket as tight as a drumhead, with
+their united efforts, up they tossed, re-tossed, and received
+into what threatened to be his winding-sheet, the quivering and
+terribly-frightened body of the Rev. and very worshipful Inco
+Evans.&nbsp; Whatever it might be to the parson, (and we do not
+venture to assert that it was agreeable to him,) the spectator of
+this singular and unexpected entertainment could not but enjoy it
+for the comical revolutions of the right rev. gentleman were, to
+say the least of them, very mirth-inspiring.&nbsp; As he flew
+upward, all legs and wings, and descended in the same sprawling
+style, one compared him to a cat shot from a cannon; another to a
+staked toad tossed in the air; while the hapless victim of their
+frolic foamed at the mouth with rage, and uncouthly floundered in
+his attempt to grasp the blanket in his fall.&nbsp; If for a
+moment he seized its edge, and shouted his threats of vengeance,
+a terrific bump against the stony street loosened his hold, and
+up he bounced, again like the rebounding ball, struck on the
+flag-stone by the eager hand of a merry schoolboy.</p>
+<p>Wearied by their arduous labours, and tempted by the shining
+handful of silver which the woe-begone parson eagerly offered as
+a conciliatory bribe, they at length desisted, each venting his
+jest on the crest-fallen Evans, &ldquo;hoping it would be a
+warning not to prosecute again a poor friendless
+girl.&rdquo;&nbsp; Inco answered not; but finding himself unable
+to walk, he was carried to the Inn, where he remained some days
+before he was able to remount his horse.</p>
+<p>The knot of swains now separated, and ran in different
+directions to avoid being recognized as the perpetrators of the
+&ldquo;freak;&rdquo; but soon met again at <a
+name="page156"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 156</span>an
+appointed place, where they had left our hero, between the empty
+carts of the ware vendors.</p>
+<p>On their arrival at the place, they searched in vain for their
+enchantress, in whose service they had wrought so gallantly, but
+no traces of the fair one could they find.&nbsp; There was a
+general smelling of a trick put upon them, and consequent
+&ldquo;curses on all jilting jades, and biting
+ballad-singers,&rdquo; uttered by the unlucky clods.</p>
+<p>A brilliant idea suddenly struck Ready Rosser.&nbsp; He had
+taken off his coat and left it in the careful custody of the
+injured damsel.&nbsp; Where was she?&nbsp; Could she have
+disappeared?&nbsp; All doubts were soon removed, for on
+ascertaining the precise spot where he had left her, he found her
+complete feminine attire, made into a bundle and fastened to a
+cart with a band of straw, left as a love-gift for him, while she
+kept his as a similar token of affection; having inscribed with
+chalk on the side of the cart.&mdash;&ldquo;An exchange is no
+robbery;&rdquo; a motto in which our rustic could not see, in its
+present application, any principles of justice whatever.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Escape</span> of Twm from
+Cardigan.&nbsp; Meets an old friend.&nbsp; The heiress of
+Maes-y-velin, a most tragical legendary ballad.</p>
+<p>The addition to his wardrobe pleased Twm exactly, and he had
+no qualms of conscience to prevent him from using it, for he
+remembered how easily he had been despoiled of his own.&nbsp; Not
+being fastidious about a dressing-room, Twm retired to a stable,
+and soon came out fully clad in his male attire; of which a coat
+only was before wanting.</p>
+<p>Bent on a precipitate retreat, as the urgency of his case
+demanded, he bolted down St. Mary&rsquo;s Street, and soon found
+himself on the turnpike road, with <a name="page157"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 157</span>the good town of Cardigan some miles
+behind him.&nbsp; In little more than two hours he reached the
+small town of Dinas Emlyn, now called New-castle-in-Emlyn, on a
+romantic part of the Teivy, dividing the counties of Cardigan and
+Carmarthen, and occupying its banks on each side.&nbsp; Entering
+a small public-house, he regaled himself on the fine potent ale
+for which that place has been so long famous.</p>
+<p>After addressing himself steadily for a good half hour to the
+pleasures of the table, he commenced a little private
+conversation with himself regarding his present and future
+prospects, and came to the conclusion that, on the whole, they
+were not worth much.&nbsp; Although the most serious cogitations
+on the subject might have availed little or nothing, chance very
+unexpectedly decided him, and relieved his apprehensions for the
+present.</p>
+<p>He could hear, in the adjoining room, a pig-drover, whose
+potations had not only loosened his tongue, but invested it with
+unusual power, boasting of his roaring trade at Cardigan fair,
+and he determined to take the same route, wherever it might lead,
+and on inquiry, found he was going to Llandovery.</p>
+<p>The inebriated dealer in cattle, glad of company, stretched
+out his hand at once and welcomed him as a fellow
+traveller.&nbsp; About ten o&rsquo;clock that night they arrived
+together at Lampeter, which Twm now visited for the second
+time.&nbsp; The geography of the country being but little known
+to him, he felt some alarm on finding himself so contiguous to
+his own native place.</p>
+<p>Twm and the pig-drover were getting thoroughly jolly and
+comfortable over a pot of foaming ale, when Twm caught sight of
+an old friend.&nbsp; It was worthy Rhys the curate, who had spied
+him from the little parlour where he had been sitting before his
+arrival, and now cordially welcomed him to partake of his supper,
+which was then preparing.</p>
+<p>Shaking hands with the elated pig-jobber, from whom he had
+heard all the mysteries of his calling, and bidding him good
+night and wishing him success <a name="page158"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 158</span>in his future dealings, Twm joyously
+accepted the curate&rsquo;s invitation to partake of his evening
+repast.&nbsp; Supper dispatched, Mr. Rhys informed him that he
+had left Tregaron for ever, disgusted with the treatment he had
+met with from old Evans, and was on his way to Llandovery to take
+possession of the curacy of Llandingad, to which he had been just
+appointed by the vicar, the reverend Rhys Prichard.</p>
+<p>In return, Twm recited his late adventures, colouring them in
+such a manner as to create a favourable impression on the curate,
+who laughed heartily at many points of his story, and finished by
+saying that he had also determined to visit Llandovery in quest
+of his fortune, which, somehow or another, he thought he should
+find there.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;your fortunes are
+altogether romantic, and fortitude such as yours is a virtue that
+becomes us all.&nbsp; Whatever I can do to get you into
+employment, when you are there, rest assured shall not be
+wanting.&rdquo;&nbsp; With this understanding Twm&rsquo;s hopes
+were buoyed up to the highest pitch, and to his sanguine mind,
+became already certainties, which presented themselves in dreams
+of various felicitous shapes.</p>
+<p>They were both early astir the following morning, and were
+soon on the road, the curate leading his horse by the bridle,
+that (generous and considerate soul) he might be on a level with
+Twm.&nbsp; They had nearly reached the top of Pen-y-garreg hill,
+over which the road leads from Lampeter to Llandovery, while a
+bright prospect of the newly-risen sun attracted their mutual
+attention, when the clergyman thus addressed his companion:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We are now on the spot to be yet immortalized, perhaps,
+by the legendary muse, for a deed of blood perpetrated here in
+our own times; when the banks of the impetuous Teivy, now before
+us, became the scene of a lamentable tragedy.&nbsp; The towers in
+the distance, are all that now remain of the family mansion of
+<span class="smcap">Maes-y-velin</span>, the fair seat of the
+ancient family of the <a name="page159"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 159</span>Vaughans, once of considerable note
+in this part of the principality.&nbsp; Ten years ago, a young
+lady and her three brothers, the last of that race, were its
+possessors.&nbsp; The lady named Ellen, was exceedingly
+beautiful, and beloved by the son of the venerable Rhys Prichard,
+the present vicar of Llandovery, whose curate I am now
+become.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On the very place where we now stand, the young man
+tied his handkerchief to the end of a rod, that he held as a
+flag-staff, which was immediately seen by the heiress of
+Maes-y-velin; and when she could succeed in getting her brothers
+out of the way, the signal of love was answered by hoisting her
+own handkerchief to a branch of a tree above the house, on which,
+both ran down from their respective hills, till they stood face
+to face on either side of the Teivy, when the fond lover,
+whenever the stream was unfordable, dashed into the river,
+crossed over, and caught the fair one in his arms.&nbsp; Perhaps
+you would like to hear the tragical story at further length; if
+so, I have employed my leisure time lately in versifying it, and
+will now read it to you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm signifying his willing assent, they took their seats on
+the side of the hill, when Rhys drew a manuscript from his pocket
+and read to his attentive auditor</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">THE HEIRESS OF
+MAES-Y-VELIN<br />
+<span class="smcap">and</span><br />
+<span class="smcap">The Flower of Llandovery</span>.</p>
+<p><span class="smcap">What</span> is amiss with the maiden
+fair,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; What is the sweet one ailing?&mdash;<br />
+Why pale her cheek, and her spirits low<br />
+And why up the hill doth she daily go,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The heiress of Maes-y-velin?</p>
+<p>Why are the brows of her brothers dark?<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Nor mother nor sire hath Ellen;&mdash;<br />
+Her brothers whisper&mdash;her steps they watch&mdash;<br />
+The heart of her mystery eager to catch,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The maiden of Maes-y-velin.</p>
+<p>The parents of Ellen her merits knew,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And frown&rsquo;d on her brothers&rsquo; vices:<br
+/>
+<a name="page160"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 160</span>Her
+brothers are disinherited,<br />
+And Ellen is heiress in either&rsquo;s stead;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Thereat all the land rejoices.</p>
+<p>Her brothers one day went out to hunt,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And alone at home left Ellen;<br />
+She watch&rsquo;d them away, then flew to her bower,<br />
+And cried &ldquo;Oh now for Llandovery&rsquo;s Flower!<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Right welcome to Maes-y-velin.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>She hoisted her silken kerchief red,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; To the highest branch of her bower,<br />
+To Pen-garreg hill then strained her eyes,<br />
+And the flag of her hope was seen to rise,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; &rsquo;Twas thine, oh Llandovery&rsquo;s Flower!</p>
+<p>Long had he watch&rsquo;d&mdash;the faithful youth!<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; His wish each day unavailing.<br />
+At length he sees with wild delight,<br />
+His true love&rsquo;s signal, the lady bright,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The heiress of Maes-y-velin.</p>
+<p>The signal that was chosen between the twain,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; When absent her stern proud kindred;<br />
+And then would they rush from either hill,<br />
+The lovers true, with a right good-will,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Till the waters of Teivy sunder&rsquo;d.</p>
+<p>Now as ers&rsquo;t they rush&rsquo;d, and as ers&rsquo;t they
+paused,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; When arrived on the banks of Teivy,<br />
+They gazed at each other across the stream,<br />
+And gestured affection&rsquo;s high glow supreme,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Till the two hearts grew less heavy.</p>
+<p>In plung&rsquo;d the youth with most anxious speed,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The flower of fair Llandovery,<br />
+The maiden trembling with wild alarms&mdash;<br />
+She brightens&mdash;she sinks in her true lover&rsquo;s arms,<br
+/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Deem&rsquo;d lost her past recovery.</p>
+<p>Oh nature hath many warm generous glows&mdash;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; But they say love&rsquo;s joys are fleeting;<br />
+Most dear to her mother her new-born son,<br />
+And sweet is the fame that&rsquo;s fairly won,<br />
+To the blind restor&rsquo;d, oh the summer&rsquo;s sun<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Less sweet than the lovers meeting!</p>
+<p>Sweet to the donor the generous deed,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; That serves merit&rsquo;s child, unweeting;<br />
+<a name="page161"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 161</span>Healing
+is sweet when gashed by the sword;<br />
+To the wounded heart, the benevolent word:<br />
+Oh sweet is the breeze to the sick restored;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; But sweeter true lover&rsquo;s greeting.</p>
+<p>Each flower that flaunts in vanity&rsquo;s cap,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And sets youthful hearts a gadding,<br />
+Has its charms, its zest,&mdash;but the whole above,<br />
+Is the magical thrill of sweet woman&rsquo;s love,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; That drives heart and brain a madding.</p>
+<p>And fondly loved this youthful pair,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The heiress of Maes-y-velin,<br />
+And he to whom they called Llandovery&rsquo;s Flower;<br />
+Oh frequent their meeting and parting hour,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Their moments of joy and wailing.</p>
+<p>Once when they met on Teivy&rsquo;s banks,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Canopied o&rsquo;er by the wild wood,<br />
+Mid fragrance of flowers that graced the shade,<br />
+The youth sung his song, of true lovers betrayed,<br />
+An ominous song&mdash;that drew tears from the maid,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; For her heart was as simple as childhood.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;Oh come to the banks of the Teivy with me,<br />
+To the deep woodland glade, &rsquo;neath the shady green tree,<br
+/>
+Fearless of foemen, of guile, or of might,<br />
+In the face of the day and the bright eye of light,<br />
+That God and his angels may witness our troth,<br />
+That God and his angels may favour us both.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;I&rsquo;ll go the green-wood,&rsquo; the lady
+replied,<br />
+&lsquo;Fore God and his angels be fairly affied,<br />
+Fearless of foemen, of guile, or of might,<br />
+In the face of the day and the bright eye of light;<br />
+That God and his angels may witness our troth,<br />
+That God and his angels may favour us both.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So sung a young chief to his lady love,<br />
+At the base of her tower&mdash;she answered above&mdash;<br />
+Vile vassals espied them, and flew to their lord,<br />
+The lady&rsquo;s true lover soon fell &rsquo;neath his sword;<br
+/>
+She hurled herself headlong, fulfilling her troth,<br />
+And Death was the priest that united them both.&rdquo;</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">PART II.</p>
+<p><span class="smcap">Over</span> the hill of Pen-garreg road<br
+/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Is seen that leads from Llandovery,<br />
+<a name="page162"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+162</span>Maes-y-velin&rsquo;s green hill is opposite,<br />
+The mansion below&mdash;oft on either height,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The lovers are making discovery.&mdash;</p>
+<p>But envious eyes were on the watch,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And the genius of evil hover&rsquo;d;<br />
+The brothers who wish&rsquo;d their sister unmatch&rsquo;d,<br />
+For any approach of a lover watch&rsquo;d,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; At length their flags discover&rsquo;d.</p>
+<p>They hatch&rsquo;d a scheme to enmesh the youth,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And see him at length on the mountain;<br />
+His flag they answer&mdash;he runs down the hill&mdash;<br />
+Now forth rush the wretches resolved to kill,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And waste his youth heart&rsquo;s warm fountain.</p>
+<p>Like prey-beasts they hide on the Teivy&rsquo;s banks,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; In the covert of thick-leaved bushes;<br />
+The youth he dashes across the river,<br />
+And ardent to seek his fond receiver,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; He seeks her form in the rushes&mdash;</p>
+<p>He deems she plays him at hide and seek,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Her heart he knew was gayful&mdash;<br />
+&ldquo;Oh come from thy covert, my Ellen dear?<br />
+Oh come forth and meet thy lover here!&rdquo;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; He cries in soft accents playful.</p>
+<p>No Ellen appears&mdash;rustling steps he hears&mdash;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Perhaps some perfidious stranger;&mdash;<br />
+He quits the rushes, and steals to a copse,<br />
+But there not an instant for breathing stops,<br />
+Peril&rsquo;s presentiment suddenly drops,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And he flies for his life from danger.</p>
+<p>He knew not his foes, up the hill he goes,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; With the speed of the hart that&rsquo;s hunted:<br
+/>
+The brothers pursue, till fatigued they grew<br />
+To Maes-y-velin his course they knew,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And eager revenge is blunted&mdash;</p>
+<p>They saw him enter&mdash;&ldquo;the foe is snared!&rdquo;<br
+/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Exclaimed the elder brother;<br />
+&ldquo;To kill him surely be firmly prepared,<br />
+Accursed be the arm by which he is spared!<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Let&rsquo;s stab him, or drown, or
+smother.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s do him dead, and no matter how,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And our sister&rsquo;s fortune is ours;<br />
+<a name="page163"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 163</span>No brats
+of her&rsquo;s shall supplant our hope:<br />
+Prepare we a dagger, a sack, and rope,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; For brief are the stripling&rsquo;s
+hours.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Now rush&rsquo;d the youth through the mansion door,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And fell at the feet of Ellen;<br />
+Ere he could speak the brothers appear,<br />
+The maiden shrieks with terrific fear,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The heiress of Maes-y-velin.</p>
+<p>She fell in a swoon, the brothers soon<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Gag and proceed to bind him,<br />
+His hands they fasten&rsquo;d behind his back,<br />
+And over his head they drew a sack,<br />
+They jump on his body&mdash;his rib bones crack,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Till a corpse on the ground they find him.</p>
+<p>Oh God! &rsquo;twas a barbarous, bloody deed;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; &rsquo;Twas piteous to hear him groaning;<br />
+A demon&rsquo;s heart might relent to hear<br />
+The sobs of death, and convulsions drear&mdash;<br />
+Oh Christ! is no merciful angel near,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Call&rsquo;d down by this woeful moaning!&mdash;</p>
+<p>Oh murderous fiends! the eye of God<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Hath flamed on this tearless murder!<br />
+They grasp at his throat to check his breath&mdash;<br />
+With knees on his breast&mdash;oh merciful death!<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Thou sav&rsquo;st him from anguish further.</p>
+<p>And dead in the sack his body they bore,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And sunk in a pool of the Teivy;<br />
+After many days when the corpse was found,<br />
+No tongue could tell whether smother&rsquo;d or drown&rsquo;d,<br
+/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Or crush&rsquo;d by men&rsquo;s buffets heavy.</p>
+<p>Thus fell in its bloom the blameless youth;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Insanity seized on Ellen,<br />
+The lovely maniac! with bosom bare,<br />
+And eyes of wildness, and streaming hair,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Roved frantic o&rsquo;er Maes-y-velin.</p>
+<p>She said he was thrown in the Teivy&rsquo;s stream,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The flower of fair Llandovery;<br />
+She cross&rsquo;d o&rsquo;er the hills to his father&rsquo;s
+town,<br />
+And he bless&rsquo;d the maid like a child of his own;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; But Ellen was past recovery.</p>
+<p>Rhys Prichard wept long o&rsquo;er his murder&rsquo;d son<br
+/>
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And buried the hapless Ellen;<br />
+<a name="page164"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 164</span>He
+curs&rsquo;d her brothers&mdash;the land of their birth&mdash;<br
+/>
+He curs&rsquo;d their mansion, its hall and hearth,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And the curse is on Maes-y-velin.</p>
+<p>Strong was the curse on the savage race,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The murderers and their kindred;<br />
+Their bosoms possess&rsquo;d by the furies of hell,<br />
+Oft vented the scream, the curse, and the yell;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; All men stood aloof and wonder&rsquo;d.</p>
+<p>They quarrell&rsquo;d and stood forth in mortal strife,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Each one oppos&rsquo;d to the other:<br />
+They never, oh never! are doom&rsquo;d to agree,<br />
+While sharing poor Ellen&rsquo;s property,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; To murder their elder brother.</p>
+<p>And yet the murderers still are foes,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Furious and unrelenting;<br />
+Each coveting all his sister&rsquo;s share;<br />
+At length one falls in the other&rsquo;s snare,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Ere yet of his crimes repenting.</p>
+<p>Now lived the survivor, a man forbid,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; For murder his brow had branded&mdash;<br />
+Shunn&rsquo;d by all men, none bade him God speed,<br />
+But solitude work&rsquo;d wild remorse for his deed,<br />
+In madness he seiz&rsquo;d on a poisonous weed,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And in a suicide&rsquo;s grave he landed.</p>
+<p>Maes-y-velin became a deserted spot,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; The roof of the mansion tumbled;<br />
+The lawns and the gardens o&rsquo;er-ran with weeds,<br />
+And reptiles, vile emblems of hellish deeds,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Bred there, and the strong walls
+crumbled.&mdash;</p>
+<p>They crumbled to dust, and fell to the earth,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And strangers bought Maes-y-velin;<br />
+Vain, it is said, their attempts to rebuild,<br />
+Vain was their labour in garden or field.<br />
+Snakes, toads, baneful weeds alone they yield.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Not a stone to another adhering.</p>
+<p>The possessors fled, and oft others came,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; But all their aims unavailing;<br />
+The peasants protest that at midnight hour,<br />
+The spirit of Ellen is seen in her bower.<br />
+While on Pen-gorreg stands Llandovery&rsquo;s Flower,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And shrieks burst from Maes-y-velin.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><a name="page165"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 165</span>Twm
+had listened with the most earnest attention to the terrible
+account, and rivetted his eyes on Maes-y-velin, the two hills,
+the banks of the Teivy, and scenes now subordinate to the modern
+grandeur of the new college of Lampeter; and still remaining
+silent, seemed, by the force of his imagination, to bring before
+his eyes the whole action of this domestic tragedy.&nbsp; Rhys
+assured him that all the particulars of the murder, as narrated
+in the ballad, were well authenticated, both by the evidence of
+the unhappy young lady herself, and that of a countryman who
+beheld the murderers bearing the body by night, and who
+distinctly saw, as the moon shone upon them while in the act of
+casting their burden into the river, the shining spurs of the
+murdered youth, projecting from the end of the sack which
+contained his body.&nbsp; But in so disorderly a state was the
+country at the time, from the civil wars between the king and the
+parliament, that no cognizance was taken of the atrocious
+circumstance. <a name="citation165"></a><a href="#footnote165"
+class="citation">[165]</a>&nbsp; After these remarks, they got up
+from their grassy resting-place, and re-commenced their walk to
+Llandovery.</p>
+<h2><a name="page166"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+166</span>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">A <span class="smcap">sermon</span> on
+mountains and country labourers.&nbsp; Twm retaliates upon Dio
+the devil, with whom he returns in triumph to Llandovery.&nbsp;
+The lady of Ystrad Feen, and Twm&rsquo;s gallant service in her
+behalf.</p>
+<p>As they advanced on their journey, which was amongst a most
+mountainous country, Twm expressed his wonder at seeing the
+turf-cutters and haymakers following their avocations almost side
+by side in this wild district.&nbsp; &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; cried
+he, &ldquo;I know that much has been said, sung and written, in
+praise of mountain scenery; and where &rsquo;tis truly romantic
+as well as wild, I am a great lover of it myself; but this is not
+to my liking&mdash;it is too dead in its deserted appearance for
+me.&nbsp; Here no sound salutes the ear but the lonely cry of a
+few melancholy kites, hungry enough to prey upon one another; and
+no object strikes the eye but the flat, tame desert, and a few
+wretched cottages thinly scattered over this desolate region,
+whose inhabitants are miserably employed in scooping peat from
+the marsh for their fires, or cutting their bald thin crop of hay
+from the unenclosed mountain&mdash;<i>the gwair rhos cwtta</i>,
+or moor hay, which dispensing with the incumbrance of a cart or
+sledge, the women carry home in their aprons, as the winter
+maintenance of a half-starved cow.&nbsp; To me, there is nothing
+that associates more with squalid poverty than turf fires: the
+crackling faggot and the Christmas log, have their rustic
+characteristics; coal has its proud and solid warmth; the
+clay-and-culm fires of Cardigan and Pembrokeshire, formed of
+balls, and fantastically arranged by the industrious hands of
+fair maidens, are bright and durable, revealing the gay faces of
+the cheerful semi-circular group&mdash;and above all, the
+smokeless cleanly stone coal; but turf, smoky, ill-savoured,
+ash-creating, dusty turf&mdash;recalls the marsh and moor,
+rain-loaded skies, and fern-thatched cottages, <a
+name="page167"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 167</span>whose
+battered roofs swept by the blast, discover the rotten rafters
+grinning like the bare ribs of poverty; worse than all, the
+joyless faces of the toil-bowed children of the desert.&nbsp; The
+old stanza is quite to my mind when it says&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;How gay seems the valley with rich waving
+wheat,<br />
+Fair hands and fair houses, with shelters so neat;<br />
+While the whole feather&rsquo;d choir to delight us conspires,<br
+/>
+There&rsquo;s nought on the mountain but turf and turf
+fires.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>&ldquo;And besides that,&rdquo; added Twm, &ldquo;I can give
+you a few rhyming lines of my own, bearing in the same
+direction.&nbsp; Here they are,</p>
+<blockquote><p>Three things&mdash;to my mind each with loveliness
+teems;<br />
+A vale between mountains that&rsquo;s threaded by streams;<br />
+A neat white-wall&rsquo;d cottage, &rsquo;mid gardens and
+trees;<br />
+And a young married pair that appreciate these.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; replied Rhys, &ldquo;do not let us find
+too much fault with these scenes, for the recollection of what
+our mountain land has been, would induce me to kiss the sod of
+its dullest region, when I remember how it became the refuge of
+our war-worsted fore-fathers in the days of old, as the star of
+liberty seemed to vanish for ever from our sphere.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+The curate grew warm with his subject, and his eyes kindled with
+enthusiasm as he proceeded.&nbsp; &ldquo;I could as soon twit my
+beloved mother with the furrows which Time has ploughed on her
+honoured brows, as censure the homeliest part of our dear
+mountains, hallowed of old by the tread of freemen, when the
+despot foreigner usurped the valleys.</p>
+<blockquote><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Freedom, amid a cloudy
+clime,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Erects her mountain throne sublime,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; While natives of the vales and plains<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Are gall&rsquo;d with yokes and slavish
+chains&mdash;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Then shrink we ne&rsquo;er, unnerved as
+bann&rsquo;d<br />
+In the cloudy clime of the Mountain Land.</p>
+<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Turban&rsquo;d in her folds of mist<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Our Mountain Land the sky has kiss&rsquo;d,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; While on her brow the native wreath<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Of yellow furze and purple heath<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; <a name="page168"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+168</span>The rural reign her vales command,<br />
+And the freeman&rsquo;s sword of the Mountain Land.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Twm accepted the remarks of Rhys as rebukes, for his own
+depreciatory observations on his native country, and was about to
+clear himself from all suspicion of lack of nationality; when the
+latter, looking up at the sun, declared the day so far advanced
+that he must instantly mount his horse and ride with speed, so as
+to meet the vicar of Llandovery at the place appointed; on which,
+directing Twm on the route he was to take, he rode off and left
+him to pursue his way at leisure.</p>
+<p>Thus left alone, Twm prepared for a lengthened walk, and
+pursued his way in thoughtful silence for many miles, but was at
+length brought to a stand by the discovery that the way he trod
+had ceased to be either a road or beaten path; and that he was
+actually pacing the trackless mountain, with the disagreeable
+conviction that he had gone wrong, without a clue to recover the
+right way.</p>
+<p>Taking a careful and critical view of the surrounding country,
+he came to the conclusion that there must be a road through
+<i>bwlch</i>, or gap, which he perceived dividing the mountains
+at some distance.&nbsp; He entered it, and hastened on with the
+utmost alacrity, till he came to a cottage on the road side,
+opposite to which was an immense rick of turf, that at a distance
+looked like a long black barn.&nbsp; He called at the cottage,
+and asked if he was right in his route to Llandovery,
+&ldquo;Right!&rdquo; squeaked a thin old man who met him at the
+door, &ldquo;God bless you young man, you could not be more
+wrong, as your back is to Llandovery, and you are making straight
+for Trecastle.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm&rsquo;s face indicated his deep chagrin, as he listened to
+the response, and the old man seeing him vexed, asked him to walk
+in and rest himself, an invitation that he gladly accepted.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;What, I suppose you thought to be at Llandovery to hear
+the great preaching there to-day?&rdquo; said the man&rsquo;s
+wife, a little <a name="page169"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+169</span>fat woman who was carding wool by the fire.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;No,&rdquo; replied Twm, &ldquo;I never heard of any
+preaching that is to be there.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;That&rsquo;s
+very odd,&rdquo; rejoined the old man, &ldquo;as the whole
+country has been crowding there to hear the good Rhys Prichard,
+the great vicar of Llandovery.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;I have heard
+he is very popular,&rdquo; said Twm.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Popular!&rdquo; screamed the weazon-faced old man, as
+if indignant at the coldness of our hero&rsquo;s eulogy,
+&ldquo;he is the shining light of our times, and hardly less than
+a prophet; wisely has he called his divine book the
+<i>Welshman&rsquo;s Candle</i>, for it blazes with exceeding
+brightness, and men find their way by it from the darkness of
+perdition.&nbsp; When it is known that his health permits him to
+preach, the country hereabouts is up in swarms, to the distance
+of two score miles and more.&nbsp; Then, the farmer forsakes his
+cornfield, the chapman his shop, and every tradesman and artizan
+quits his calling, to listen to the music of his discourse.&nbsp;
+Infirmity alone has kept me from going to hear him to-day; but my
+wife is no better than an infidel, and would rather listen to a
+profane fiddler, or a vagrant harper, than the finest preacher
+that ever breathed out a pious discourse.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This was too much for any woman to listen quietly to, without
+saying a word or two in reply, and his spouse assured Twm that he
+was a miserable dreamer, whose brains had been turned by the
+ravings of fanatical preachers; that some months ago he ran three
+miles, howling, thinking he was pursued by the foul fiend, when
+it turned out to be only his own shadow; and that when a patch of
+the mountain furze was set on a blaze to fertilize the land,
+nothing could convince him that the world was not on fire, and
+the day of judgment come, till he caught an ague by hiding
+himself up to the chin in the river for twelve hours.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Facts are stubborn things,&rdquo; and as these were
+most unpleasant ones to be served up at his cost, for the
+entertainment of a stranger, the old man&rsquo;s reply was angry
+and indignant, and the war of words seemed likely to degenerate
+into one of actual blows, when <a name="page170"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 170</span>the violent galloping of a horse
+drew their attention, and in an instant a steed and rider passed
+the door; but suddenly checking his speed he returned, and
+calling at the cottage door, asking in a tone of authority if a
+lady had passed that way towards Llandovery within the last half
+hour.</p>
+<p>The old man, trembling as he spoke, protested that no lady had
+passed for many hours; on which the bluff horseman told him as he
+valued his life, that neither he nor his wife should appear on
+the outside of the cottage door till he gave them leave.&nbsp;
+The old man assured him of his entire obedience, when the fellow
+quietly crossed the road, and effectually concealed himself and
+horse behind the opposite turf-stack.</p>
+<p>This scene had received all attention from Twm, who had
+recognized in the despotic horseman, his late dearly-remembered
+friend, Dio the devil.&nbsp; He suspected Dio&rsquo;s intentions
+and prepared forthwith to take part in some approaching business
+in which his presence had not been reckoned upon.&nbsp; He asked
+the timorous old cottager if he possessed such a thing as a
+long-handled hedge bill-hook, to which the poor dotard, his teeth
+chattering the while, replied in the negative.&nbsp; On searching
+the cottage, with the assistance of his mistress, to his great
+vexation he could find no weapon, but a blunt old hatchet, and a
+rusty reaping hook.</p>
+<p>While they were yet seeking, Twm&rsquo;s ear, sharpened to the
+utmost by the excitement and impending danger, heard another
+horse approaching, his heart caught fire at the sound, and with
+almost fierce vehemence he called to the people of the cottage,
+&ldquo;Give me some weapon in the name of God! to defend you and
+myself from having our throats cut;&rdquo; but it only increased
+their terror and confusion.</p>
+<p>As he still spoke, there stopped opposite the cottage, a lady
+on a beautiful white horse, and the horseman darted forward from
+behind the turf-rick, and producing pistols demanded her
+money.&nbsp; The lady protested, in the most piteous and earnest
+tone, that she had accidentally left her purse behind and must be
+indebted to <a name="page171"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+171</span>a friend at Llandovery, should she fail to meet her
+husband there, for some small change.</p>
+<p>A momentary thrill, mysteriously strange and unaccountable,
+overcame our hero, as he caught a view of the lady&rsquo;s face,
+and recognized one that he felt certain he had seen before; and
+when, or where, he could not recollect; and the enquiring thought
+was checked in its birth by the consideration of her present
+danger.&nbsp; &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll not be disappointed for
+nothing,&rdquo; cried the ruffian, &ldquo;Dio the devil is not to
+be fooled, and my pretty lady of Ystrad Feen, I have depended on
+a good booty from you to-day, so that unless in two minutes you
+strip, and give me every article in which you are clothed, a
+pistol bullet shall pass through your fair and delicate
+body.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The fair horseman begged for consideration, and promised a
+liberal reward for any mercy shown to her.&nbsp; But the
+scoundrel laughed scornfully in her face, and cocked his pistol,
+on which she uttered a loud scream and fainted, when he
+immediately approached to dismount, strip, and rifle her.</p>
+<p>Our hero whose blood was boiling with honest indignation, now
+started up from behind the lady&rsquo;s horse, and struck the
+highwayman an astounding blow on the temples, with a stout
+hedge-stake grasped with both hands, and repeated that delicate
+treatment till it brought the desperado senseless to the
+ground.&nbsp; After the first terrible blow, confused as he was,
+he instinctively presented his pistol at random, but Twm struck
+him heavily on the extended arm, which caused it to fall like a
+withered oak branch smote by the thunderbolt.</p>
+<p>In a few minutes the lady began to recover under the kind and
+attentive treatment of the old woman, who bathed her face with
+water.&nbsp; How Twm was rewarded by the deeply grateful
+expression on her countenance!&nbsp; Truly he had delivered her
+from peril, but into what a difficulty had he brought
+himself!&nbsp; He was in love; over head and ears.&nbsp; The fair
+one appeared to be still in dread of other dangers, but Twm, in
+the gentlest manner, assured her of her entire safety, and that
+he would have the happiness of conducting and protecting <a
+name="page172"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 172</span>her to
+Llandovery, where he intended to bring the highwayman dead or
+alive, and deliver him, with an account of the whole affair, to
+the magistrate.</p>
+<p>Poor Twm!&nbsp; The lady praising his courage, informed him
+that she was the wife of Sir George Devereaux, and that her
+husband would not allow his services to pass without pecuniary
+reward.&nbsp; Poor Twm! in love with another man&rsquo;s wife,
+and that man with an aristocratic handle to his name.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;For my own part,&rdquo; continued she, &ldquo;as I assured
+the merciless highwayman, I am at present without my purse,
+having left it accidentally at the house of a poor sick person,
+whom I relieved, and stayed with many hours this morning, by
+which delay I have missed hearing the sermon preached to-day by
+the Rev. Rhys Prichard.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm declared he did not in the least feel himself entitled to
+any reward; sufficient for him was the approval of so beautiful
+and amiable a lady; but that he had another gratification in the
+action he had performed, as it was his fortune to have punished
+the man who had once stopped him on the highway and robbed him of
+his little all.&nbsp; Our hero felt quite sure he had seen the
+lady before, and in endeavouring to remember where, he fell into
+a silent reverie; from which, however, he was suddenly roused by
+the loud groaning of his wounded captive.</p>
+<p>The fears of the old man had driven him beneath the rickety
+old bedstead, and no threat nor offer of reward could induce him
+to leave his retreat, where he lay exclaiming, &ldquo;Oh Lord! oh
+dear!&nbsp; I shall surely have my throat cut.&rdquo;&nbsp; The
+lady of Ystrad Feen, however, alighted and lent an active hand in
+binding the thief, still insensible, with old halters contributed
+by the fat woman of the cottage, who also gave all possible
+assistance; so that with their united aid Twm soon got him across
+his own horse, like a sack of barley, and secured him by tying
+him neck and heels under the horse&rsquo;s belly.&nbsp; Our
+elated hero leaped into the saddle, and rode side by side with
+the lady of Ystrad <a name="page173"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+173</span>Feen, and conversing freely with her, no longer
+embarrassed with his former bashfulness, till they reached
+Llandovery.</p>
+<p>The good people of the town were just leaving Llandingad
+church, and were considerably astonished with what they saw, and
+Twm and his fair companion were soon surrounded by a large and
+curious crowd.&nbsp; Sir George Devereaux, a ruddy and hearty
+fox-hunting Baronet, came up and assisted his lady to alight, Mr.
+Rhys the curate approached Twm, and each in a few minutes was in
+possession of the whole story.&nbsp; The baronet eagerly grasped
+our hero by the hand, and assured him of his protection and
+favour to the utmost of his power; declaring at the same time
+that no possible reward could equal his deserts or repay his
+services.</p>
+<p>All were delighted to hear of the defeat and capture of Dio
+the Devil, as, with very few exceptions, the farmers of that
+district had suffered from the highwayman&rsquo;s depredations,
+and a subscription was immediately raised, to reward the captor;
+so that our hero was soon in possession of a sum of no less than
+ten pounds, in addition to five more that the county awarded.</p>
+<p>Twm and Mr. Rhys received an invitation to dinner for the
+following day, at Ystrad Feen, where Sir George promised them
+good entertainment, and added that they would decide in what
+manner our hero&rsquo;s gallant service could be best
+repaid.&nbsp; As for Dio the Devil, when the constables advanced
+to unloose him, it was discovered that he was dead.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Dead as a fox within the jaws of Juno!&rdquo; exclaimed
+Sir George, as the lifeless robber fell heavily on the ground,
+amid the crowd of spectators.</p>
+<h2><a name="page174"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+174</span>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm</span> remains at
+Ystrad Feen.&nbsp; The vicar of Llandovery.&nbsp; A famous run
+with the hounds.&nbsp; An enthusiastic hunter&rsquo;s leap.</p>
+<p>Twm took up his abode, for the time, at a tavern recommended
+by Mr. Rhys, where, being decidedly the hero of the day, he was
+surrounded by a large company, all anxious to minister to the
+bodily wants of so brave a fellow, and wishful to hear the
+details of his desperate encounter with the famous robber, from
+the lips of Twm himself.&nbsp; Cautioned by the worthy curate,
+however, his potations were rather limited; and urging his
+fatigue as an excuse for retiring, he soon left his admirers, and
+slept on a bed of roses.</p>
+<p>At an early hour Mr. Rhys awoke Twm, and told him that they
+were invited to breakfast with the Rev. Rhys Prichard, who had
+expressed a desire to see the brave young man that had captured
+the highway robber.&nbsp; This invitation was the more acceptable
+to Twm, as he was exceedingly anxious to see so celebrated a
+character as the vicar of Llandovery; though no less for his
+pious than his poetical celebrity, and more especially the
+association of his name with his own family calamity, in the
+death of his son Samuel, poetically called the &ldquo;Flower of
+Llandovery,&rdquo; at the murderous hands of the young men of
+Maes-y-velin, as before related.</p>
+<p>Twm was desirous to change his country suit for something
+better, and commenced negotiations with Mr. Rhys, for the
+purchase of one of the latest clerical cut from him.&nbsp; The
+worthy curate, however, cut him short, and generously presented
+him with one a little the worse for wear, that as the mass of
+mankind were apt to judge by external appearances, an appropriate
+<a name="page175"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 175</span>garb
+would aid even a man of merit in making a favourable
+impression.</p>
+<p>The house of the vicar of Llandovery was among the best in the
+town; a well built strong mansion, distinguished from all others
+by a neat small cupola on the top, for a bell, to call the boys
+to school.&nbsp; Twm and Rhys waited in the breakfast parlour
+about half an hour, filling up the time by noticing and remarking
+on the well-waxed oaken floor and furniture, that, with the
+prints of some of the English martyrs, with which the room was
+hung, gave it something of a gloomy appearance; and in skimming
+over some dusty old volumes of divinity, till the clock struck
+six.</p>
+<p>The worthy vicar received his visitors with a few brief but
+courteous sentences, in which he quietly yet earnestly expressed
+his gratification at their presence.&nbsp; Breakfast was preceded
+by prayers; after which came in bowls of milk and hot cakes, with
+cold meat, butter and cheese, and ale.&nbsp; Twm looked at his
+venerable host with awed reverence.&nbsp; This eminent character
+was of a tall, stately figure; his hair white as wool, his face
+pale, and rather long, with a countenance beaming with sedate
+benignity.&nbsp; He regarded Twm for some time with silent
+attention, and afterwards made a few enquiries respecting his
+recent feat, which when answered, he indulged in some pious
+ejaculations on the fortunate event.</p>
+<p>Their host compared the physical capacity and appearance of
+Twm to the well developed and robust figure of Dio the Devil, and
+referred to the scriptural records of the combat between David
+and Goliah; strictly charging the fortunate youth to take no
+credit to himself for the achievement, as he was but an humble
+instrument in a mighty hand, and for a special purpose unknown to
+the actors of the scenes themselves.</p>
+<p>All justice having been done to the good things before them,
+grace was said, and Twm received some excellent advice from the
+celebrated divine, who <a name="page176"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 176</span>placed twenty shillings and a copy
+of his &ldquo;Welshman&rsquo;s Candle&rdquo; in the hand of Twm;
+and after shaking him warmly by the hand, he saw the pair to the
+door and bade them farewell.</p>
+<p>In an hour or so afterwards, Rhys and Twm prepared for
+departure to Ystrad Feen, the latter mounting the noble hunter
+which Dio the Devil had so lately bestrode in all his arrogant
+pride.&nbsp; The road was entirely over the mountains, through
+diversified scenery of much interest.&nbsp; At times it ran above
+the edge of a deep ravine; at others, hills overtopped them, in
+peaks of various, fantastic forms; till a length succeeded the
+tame and flat moorland, abounding with wild ducks and various
+aquatic and mountain fowl.&nbsp; These scenes were soon left
+behind, and others of a different character succeeded, tamed to
+softer beauty by the indefatigable hand of industrious man.</p>
+<p>Passing through a small ravine at the base of a well-wooded
+hill, they emerged suddenly upon a view which embraces the rural
+chapel of Boiley, the ornamented estate of Ystrad Feen, the hill
+of Dinas, and a glimpse of the river Towey.&nbsp; The ancient
+mansion of Ystrad Feen they found most romantically situated,
+terminating a sloping descent from the mountain, with a roaring
+alpine brook falling headlong through its rocky bed, at the back;
+while the high conical hill of Dinas stood, an object of singular
+beauty, in front; and the background was occupied by an almost
+endless perspective of forest, vale and mountain.</p>
+<p>They entered the farm-yard, which occupied one side of the
+house, in which stood several large elms and oaks, and, here and
+there, a huge hollow yew, that associated well with the antique
+appearance of the house.</p>
+<p>They were expected, for the baronet and his lady were awaiting
+their arrival, and hastened, as they appeared, to give them
+hearty welcome.&nbsp; It wanted about a couple of hours to dinner
+time, which interim Sir George wished to fill up by introducing
+them to his fox-hounds and pigs, while his lady urged <a
+name="page177"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 177</span>the
+superior attractions of the lawn and flower-garden, to the terror
+of the sporting baronet, who seemed to consider her taste not
+only questionable, but absolutely depraved.&nbsp; Sir George
+shook his comical head in a comical manner, inferring a protest
+against their choice, when the young men decided on seeing the
+garden first, and the kennel and pig-stye after; a preference
+that seemed to involve an absolute inversion of the order of
+things, apparently, to his thinking.</p>
+<p>What a contrast there was between the lady of Ystrad Feen and
+her lord and master!&nbsp; Twm&rsquo;s attention was almost
+entirely taken up with the sweet and unaffected grace of the
+lady; but we must be impartial and take some notice of her
+husband.&nbsp; Sir George was a spare and somewhat tall figure,
+the erectness of which was frequently disturbed by what at first
+appeared some constitutional fidgetiness&mdash;a habit of
+perpetually drawing up, and letting down, his right shoulder;
+while he conversed in jerking short sentences, never standing
+still an instant when speaking.&nbsp; These peculiarities, at
+first sight, gave him the appearance of a man afflicted with St.
+Vitus&rsquo;s dance; and affected the observer with the repulsive
+sensations endured by those who, from delicacy towards the
+afflicted, aim to conceal their notice of a personal blemish or
+deformity.</p>
+<p>But this strange habit had its source in a fox-hunting
+accident that occurred in a chase wherein Sir George, in the heat
+and ardour of the pursuit, leapt down a terrific precipice in
+which the fox had sought cover.&nbsp; His noble hunter, named
+Dare-devil, was killed by the achievement of this feat, his own
+neck nearly broken, and his shoulder so dislocated and otherwise
+injured, that no surgical skill could cure him of the nervous
+affection which caused the continual restlessness alluded to.</p>
+<p>Sir George, however, gloried in his dearly-bought triumph, and
+boasted like a veteran detailing the particulars of a famous
+battle in which he had figured; <a name="page178"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 178</span>winding up his narrative
+with&mdash;&ldquo;glorious and remarkable hunt&mdash;the world
+never saw the like&mdash;and I was solus in at the death&mdash;in
+a hell-hole that none but myself dared approach.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>His face was no less curious than his figure.&nbsp; He was
+rather small featured, with very light blue eyes; indeed so
+exceedingly light that they were often described as literally
+white; and when he gazed, with the wildness of imperfect
+consciousness, caused by indulgence in the potent cup, might give
+no inapt idea of Pygmalion&rsquo;s marble statue, on its first
+wild stare when imbued with inward light and life; although his
+merry neighbour, Squire Prothero, summed their description up,
+less classically, as the nearest approach to a boiled
+salmon&rsquo;s eyes, or the lack-lustre dullness of a couple of
+baked gooseberries.&nbsp; His face was fair, and much freckled in
+the upper part; while a shock head of closely-curling red hair,
+and white, or rather sandy eyebrows, concludes the description of
+this strange piece of eccentric manhood.</p>
+<p>The walk through the garden was by no means to his
+taste.&nbsp; He did not understand flowers, and could not
+restrain his expression of impatience, protesting that there was
+nothing worth seeing there.&nbsp; &ldquo;Besides,&rdquo; added
+he, with the gravity of a philosopher who aimed to eradicate a
+vulgar error, and instil a superior principle, &ldquo;flowers are
+bad&mdash;a great evil&mdash;showy nuisance&mdash;bank of violets
+often a snare to the hounds&mdash;like beauty to the boy, to lure
+him from the paths of duty;&mdash;but come and see my
+kennel&mdash;finest dogs in the world&mdash;no false charms
+there&mdash;they say truth&rsquo;s hid in a well&mdash;all a
+mistake&mdash;she&rsquo;s hid in the snouts of my
+fox-hounds;&mdash;strong as bulls, and swift as hell&mdash;a
+cannon ball&rsquo;s a fool to them&mdash;deadly as the doctor
+wherever they rush&mdash;but what&rsquo;s your name, my young
+C&aelig;sar of the Welsh mountains, hey?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm was too busy with the lady of Ystrad Feen to listen to the
+rattling tongue of Sir George, and Mr. Rhys hastened to give the
+story of Twm&rsquo;s parentage, dwelling with much emphasis on
+the cruel <a name="page179"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+179</span>neglect of his father, Sir John Wynn of Gwydir; and, in
+conclusion, he said his friend&rsquo;s name, derived from his
+humble mother as well as from his stately father, was Thomas ap
+John a Catty, familiarized into Twm Shon Catty; but that which he
+intended to adopt, and desired to be known by, was Thomas
+Jones.</p>
+<p>The promenade had, in the fox-hunter&rsquo;s opinion, been
+unreasonably prolonged, and he hailed with delight their approach
+to his sanctum sanctorum, the dog-kennel, where he anticipated
+the delight of his visitors, when&mdash;how shall we express the
+intensity of his disappointment!&mdash;a voice struck on his ear,
+like the croak of the bird of ill-omen with the intelligence of
+&ldquo;dinner waits!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Fain would he have horse-whipped the intruding messenger, and
+expatiated with his friends on the absurdity of eating dinners,
+when the sublimer pastime of entering a kennel of fox-hounds was
+offered to them.&nbsp; But before he found words to his purpose
+he had the mortification to see his auditors accompany his lady
+wife into the house, where, musing on their questionable taste,
+he followed them.</p>
+<p>We need not dwell on the delicacy of the viands, the rarity of
+the wines, the jocularity of Squire Prothero, the laughing
+magistrate, who dropped in and joined them after dinner; the
+beauty and fascination of Miss Meredith, the lady&rsquo;s
+companion, who almost made a conquest of the heart of poor
+Rhys&mdash;and, above all, the captivating sweetness of our
+heroine, the young hostess! and other interesting details.&nbsp;
+But we must find space to say that a short hunt was got up,
+contrary to usual custom, in the evening, to save the baronet
+from dying of chagrin for his failure of exhibiting his animal
+treasures to his guests before dinner.</p>
+<p>A young fox being started, our hero acquitted himself so
+amazingly to the satisfaction of his host by the most daring
+feats of leaping and yelling out, in the fox-hunter&rsquo;s
+strain, &ldquo;yoy, yoy, hark forward, wind him Juno!&rdquo; and
+many other such expressions, that Sir George in <a
+name="page180"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 180</span>the ecstacy
+of his feelings almost wept in the contemplation of such a
+promising genius, vowing that a year&rsquo;s tuition under his
+first whipper-in would make him a truly great man, and a fit
+companion of princes.&nbsp; Grasping his hand with the tenacity
+of a blacksmith&rsquo;s vice, he vowed that from that moment he
+had engrossed his name upon his heart, high on the list of his
+most choice friends.</p>
+<p>Sir George was not one who limited his friendship to
+profession only; and, having learned from Twm his position in
+life, he became desirous to aid him permanently, and put him on
+the road to fortune, knowing right well that if he had only a
+glimpse of it, that he was wide awake enough never again to lose
+sight of it.&nbsp; He lost many nights&rsquo; rest in striving to
+settle this knotty point, and at last determined that he should
+live with him on the footing of a friend; indeed so necessary had
+he become to him in his hunts, that he at length declared it was
+impossible to part with him.</p>
+<p>Thus, as an inmate of Ystrad Feen, Twm spent some of the
+happiest days of his life, for the best part of this, and the
+following year.&nbsp; Alternately hunting with the baronet and
+reading with his lady, who called him her hero, and made him an
+absolute show lion among her friends, Twm could not but feel
+this, as a remarkable contrast to the wretched life passed at the
+house of Morris Greeg.</p>
+<p>Twm also enjoyed many happy hours with his staunch friend
+Rhys, at the houses of the surrounding rural potentates, where,
+on account of his brave reputation, and for his ready wit, so
+unsparingly lavished by him wherever he went, he speedily became
+a favourite.&nbsp; We shall close this somewhat long chapter with
+the relation of one of these adventures which gave universal
+satisfaction to his friends, and became the subject of remark and
+wonderment for many a year.</p>
+<p>Llandovery was just at this time honoured by a visit from a
+London buck, who, thoroughly convinced of the utter darkness and
+benighted state of that retired district, had charitably come to
+reside amongst the <a name="page181"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+181</span>miserable inhabitants thereof, that they might know and
+understand what civilization meant, as evinced in his own proper
+and illustrious person.&nbsp; He took a very ungracious way of
+teaching the important fact, for he did nothing but boast of the
+immense superiority of everything appertaining to his glorious
+self, and depreciate that which belonged to others.</p>
+<p>Mr. Tomkins (that was his euphonious title) insisted that his
+gun, his fishing tackle, his boots, the cut of his coat, and
+everything that was his, was better than those belonging to any
+body else.&nbsp; But if there was one object above all others
+that engrossed his volubility, it was the praise of his horse;
+daily did he ring the changes on his wonderful animal, his feats,
+his beauty, blood, and pedigree, at every house where he
+visited.</p>
+<p>One day after dinner at Ystrad Feen, in company with the
+baronet, Squire Prothero, our hero, and the ladies, he rudely
+asserted the superiority of his own horse to any in that country,
+when both our baronet and the squire seemed nettled at his
+disparaging remarks, which, had he not been his guest, it is
+probable Sir George would have resented.</p>
+<p>He offered to wager fifty pounds that his horse should surpass
+the best of theirs in running or leaping, be the given feat what
+it might.&nbsp; Great and gratifying was their surprise when our
+hero, with much emphasis cried &ldquo;done!&rdquo;&nbsp; Adding,
+&ldquo;I have a mare of no very splendid exterior that shall
+perform a feat, with myself on her back, that you and your
+boasted hunter dare not follow for your lives.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Done! for fifty pounds,&rdquo; cried the London buck;
+&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll back him for a hundred, without knowing what he
+is at,&rdquo; exclaimed the baronet; &ldquo;And so will I,&rdquo;
+roared and laughed the excited Squire Prothero.&nbsp; With
+unusual alacrity up rose all four, bent on having the bet lost or
+won instanter.&nbsp; &ldquo;Now hasten all together up the hill
+towards Craig Ddu, and I will be with you in the cracking of a
+whip,&rdquo; said Twm, as he hurried off in another
+direction.&nbsp; The two neighbours looked at each other, and
+wondered what would be the upshot <a name="page182"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 182</span>of this adventure; but, having all
+faith in Twm, they attended the boastful Londoner to the place
+appointed.</p>
+<p>The summit of Craig Ddu (the Black Rock) was soon reached,
+where they waited Twm&rsquo;s arrival.&nbsp; The town-bred buck
+expressed impatience at the delay; adding with great complacency,
+&ldquo;I intend, gentlemen, to teach this youngster a lesson that
+he will not forget as long as he lives.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Ho,
+ho, ho!&rdquo; laughed the portly Squire Prothero, &ldquo;take
+care that he does not teach you one!&rdquo;&nbsp; Scarcely were
+these words uttered when our hero appeared among them; but what
+was their dismay, and the sneers of his antagonist, when they
+beheld him mounted on a sorry old blind mare, scarcely worth a
+dozen shillings!</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll do as I do?&rdquo; asked our hero,
+addressing the Londoner, &ldquo;or forfeit fifty
+pounds?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;That I will, and something more
+too!&rdquo; cried the buck, vauntingly, &ldquo;in which case the
+forfeit of that sum will be yours.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Agreed!&rdquo; replied Twm; and gradually facing his
+animal towards a rising sward or ditch, that had been raised to
+prevent the cattle from falling over the almost perpendicular
+side of a deep ravine; &ldquo;Now for it then,&rdquo; cried he,
+imitating the sound of a trumpet, and spurring his sorry jade,
+&ldquo;neck or nothing for the fifty pounds!&rdquo; and at the
+word the blind mare reached the ditch, and obedient to the spur
+and rein, sprung over, and was out of sight in an instant.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good God, he has gone to a sure death!&rdquo; cried
+Prothero; the stout heart of the baronet (accustomed as he was to
+such mad freaks,) seemed to have leapt to his throat and choked
+his utterance, as he expanded his singular white eyes in a chalky
+stare towards the spot of his disappearance.&nbsp; The party rode
+forward, and, with the most thrilling anxiety looked down the
+precipice.</p>
+<p>Down at the bottom of the ravine, lay the poor old mare,
+evidently having concluded a hard life by an equally hard
+death.&nbsp; But they had no time for sympathy with the
+unfortunate beast; they were too anxious <a
+name="page183"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 183</span>about its
+daring rider to waste much consideration on it.&nbsp; Their
+phrenzied eyes at length rested on the object of their search;
+scarcely six feet beneath their standing place lay the redoubted
+son of Catty, sound in wind and limb!</p>
+<p>The baronet yelled a terrific <i>view halloo</i> that made the
+old rocks echo with his dissonance, and the kind-hearted old
+Prothero was so over-joyed at his safety that he actually failed
+to laugh.&nbsp; Our hero, who had dexterously thrown himself off
+at the critical instant that the mare sprung over, and fell, as
+he had calculated, on a projecting ledge, which was thickly
+covered with a mass of heath and long grass; so that, although
+rather stunned, he was but little hurt.&nbsp; An instant&rsquo;s
+delay in throwing himself off would have precipitated him to the
+bottom, and the fate of the poor mare would have been his
+own.</p>
+<p>Great was the delight of his friends to see him rise, and wave
+a handkerchief in token of his safety, and in a few minutes he
+stood before his disconcerted antagonist, who had calculated,
+from the appearance of the ground, that a race was the thing in
+contemplation; but when the feat here narrated took place, the
+pallid hue of his countenance evinced his inward feelings.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Now, sir, it is your turn,&rdquo; cried our hero, bowing
+courteously to Mr. Tomkins, who looked paler and paler as he
+peered down the declivity; and as his eye for a moment rested on
+the dead mare in the bottom, his teeth chattered, and he turned
+away shuddering.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have no notion of such mad doings,&rdquo; muttered
+the crest-fallen Mr. Tomkins.&nbsp; &ldquo;Then you lose the
+bet,&rdquo; cried Prothero; &ldquo;which I can afford to pay, as
+well as any one here,&rdquo; replied the Londoner, in a tone of
+haughty sulkiness, as he witnessed the applause bestowed on our
+hero by the admiring baronet and his friend the squire.</p>
+<p>Mr. Tomkins rightly arguing that he had lost caste by this
+little transaction, had sense enough to leave the district and
+take his departure for town, dispensing <a
+name="page184"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 184</span>with the
+ceremony of bidding farewell to any of those country friends, of
+whose hospitality he had so often partaken.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXV.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">The</span> Land of
+Dreams.&nbsp; Twm&rsquo;s journey to London.&nbsp; A bet upon a
+bull.&nbsp; Ready Rosser outwitted, and Squire Prothero&rsquo;s
+fright.</p>
+<p>When Twm had any leisure or reflection, his mind was occupied
+with but one subject, so that at this period of his life he could
+hardly be said to be a man of many ideas.&nbsp; This remark
+applies only to the time when he indulged in retired country
+rambles, or when he was in the solitude of his own
+apartment.&nbsp; Confront him with any specimen of male humanity
+extant, and his faculties returned in all their natural vigour,
+and success generally attended his enterprises.</p>
+<p>As before related, the moment he first set his eyes on the
+remarkable and pleasing countenance of the lady of Ystrad Feen,
+he felt a conviction that it was not the first time that he
+experienced the pleasurable sensation that then pervaded his
+whole soul.&nbsp; His continued intercourse with her during his
+prolonged stay stubbornly maintained his first conviction that
+they had met before; but when, where, and under what
+circumstances, he could not discover.&nbsp; At length, when the
+mind had been repeatedly fatigued with these vain tuggings at the
+nerve of memory, although compelled by exhaustion to give up the
+point, it was only for a season, to be resumed on the first
+opportunity for putting his powers of recollection again into
+practice.</p>
+<p>After analyzing these mental enquiries with the closest
+precision, he came to the successive negative conclusions, that
+he could not possibly have seen her <a name="page185"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 185</span>either at Graspacre Hall, at Inco
+Evan&rsquo;s, nor, most assuredly, at the cottage of his
+mother.&nbsp; &ldquo;Then, where on earth else?&rdquo; muttered
+he, wiping his moist brow, which was a little fevered by the
+intensity of his labours in this mental research.&nbsp;
+Determined, for his future ease, to dismiss the thought
+altogether, he answered himself peevishly, &ldquo;nowhere,
+surely, but in the land of <i>dreams</i>.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Yes, indeed, this chance thought provided him with the key so
+long sought, to his remembrance of the face and form of his
+charming hostess, for scarcely had he uttered those talismanic
+words than they acted on his memory like Ithuriel&rsquo;s
+spear;&mdash;the sentence fell like a flash of fire on the
+touch-spring of the whole mystery, and flashed in full
+effulgence, illuminating fully his long-darkened powers of
+recollection!</p>
+<p>Little had he thought of putting to himself what appeared so
+vain a query, whether it was at Morris Greeg&rsquo;s home of
+misery that he had beheld the never-to-be-forgotten face of
+beauty and intellect&mdash;but at length he traced it!&nbsp; And,
+of all places in the world, the most unfitting to be associated
+with it&mdash;the murky hay-loft of Cwm y Wern Ddu: in short
+mysterious still as the inference gave out, Lady Devereaux, in
+every glance, feature, and movement, was indeed the spirit of his
+glorious vision&mdash;the lady of his dream!</p>
+<p>Thoroughly absorbed by this unexpected and most interesting
+discovery, he forgot altogether the lapse of time, and was
+startled by the sudden appearance of Sir George by his bed
+side.&nbsp; The friendly baronet inquired with much concern, if
+he was unwell, as they had been waiting breakfast for him full
+half an hour.&nbsp; On being assured of the contrary, and that he
+had only overslept himself, Sir George hastened down with the
+glad tidings, as the whole family feared the consequence of his
+temerity on the day before.</p>
+<p>Our hero was soon among them, tendering his apologies, and
+parrying the graceful banterings and rallyings of the ladies, who
+rated him playfully for a sluggard and <a
+name="page186"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 186</span>a
+lie-abed.&nbsp; The baronet soon recurred to the punishment
+inflicted by our hero on the intolerable vanity and presumption
+of the London buck.&nbsp; A knock at the parlour door checked the
+current of his discourse, and, on permission being given, in
+walked that little comical undersized fellow, familiarly called
+Tommy Thomas, the second whipper-in, with a face of ruefully long
+dimensions.</p>
+<p>After a very worshipful bow, accompanied with many a bodily
+turn and twist, while his fingers wandered among the regions of
+his head and his whiskers, it turned out that honest Tom Thomas
+came to report a calamitous visitation that had befallen this
+very respectable house.&nbsp; During this worthy
+functionary&rsquo;s absence at Llandovery, yesterday, (of course
+his stay was not prolonged by his curiosity to examine the
+quality of the different taps there!) he said that some audacious
+villain had been to the stable, and stolen all the food which he
+had purchased for the hounds.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What food&mdash;what food?&rdquo; inquired the baronet;
+for everything was important to him that was in any way connected
+with his darling hounds.&nbsp; &ldquo;Why look you now, I wass py
+an oil plind mare for ten shillings and two quarts of beer from a
+travelling packman that wass sold off his goots, and not want her
+agen; so I did pargen for hur, see you now, and wass paay for
+hur, and dit put hur in te stapples, for foots for te hounce; and
+look you now, some loucey peggar wass steal hur.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>All the party except the baronet laughed heartily at this
+intimation; but our hero soon relieved both Sir George and honest
+Tommy Thomas, by informing the latter that his bargain was to be
+found at the bottom of the Craig Ddu ravine; on which the poor
+fellow joyfully withdrew.&nbsp; Twm immediately called him back,
+and astonished him with the present of a broad piece, in company
+with divers smaller silver coins, in acknowledgment that his
+precious bargain had enabled him to win his bet from the
+Londoner.</p>
+<p>This was another piece of information for the baronet <a
+name="page187"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 187</span>and his
+friends, and the cause of another explosion of triumphant
+laughter, at the expense of their late nuisance, the bragging Mr.
+Tomkins,&mdash;Sir George declaring that he had repeatedly
+thought of asking the question as to how he had possessed himself
+of the wretched animal; and now the mystery was amusingly
+explained.</p>
+<p>One long winter&rsquo;s morning, when the weather was so
+stormy as to forbid all hope of being able to stir out for the
+day, the baronet broke an unusually protracted silence by saying,
+&ldquo;Mr. Jones, I have a favour to ask you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Glad in my heart,&rdquo; replied Twm, &ldquo;for some
+change to make any return for the favours I have
+received.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Fiddle-de-dee with your favours! you talk like a
+mountainer, lad,&rdquo; cried Sir George; &ldquo;balance against
+us&mdash;owe thee much&mdash;Joan&rsquo;s life&mdash;thy merry
+company; but how the devil to part with thee!&mdash;joy to thee,
+this London&mdash;death to me&mdash;no fox-hunting, all smoke and
+devilment!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Lady Devereaux came out and explained that Sir George had a
+pressing necessity which he had long put off, of sending to
+London a considerable sum, due to a certain Mr. Martyn, being the
+last instalment of the purchase-money for some land bought of him
+by our baronet.</p>
+<p>Having just received an application for the cash, Sir George
+was startled to find how much time had elapsed in the delay
+caused by his aversion to going personally to London; for nothing
+less would do in those days, except by a trusty messenger.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Thou&rsquo;rt a lad of mettle, Twm, head as well as
+heart,&rdquo; resumed Sir George&mdash;&ldquo;arms to fight, and
+legs to run&mdash;roads full of thieves&mdash;can&rsquo;t fight
+them all&mdash;out-wit them!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm was at no loss to discover that the baronet was loth to
+leave his family residence, his fox-hunting, and his
+neighbours&rsquo; society, to encounter the perils and
+discomforts of a journey to the metropolis, and that he was
+wishful that Twm should go there as his representative, and
+accordingly he declared himself <a name="page188"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 188</span>ready to commence his journey
+whenever Sir George might please.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let us have a little fine weather first,&rdquo; replied
+his engaging hostess, &ldquo;and in the meantime we will make the
+necessary preparations for your departure.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Our hero gazed on her animated friendly face, with an
+admixture of the romantic gallantry of the knights of old, and
+the religious veneration of a devotee towards his patron saint;
+for he felt that his fate was somehow mysteriously connected with
+her influence, and never forgot that she was the spirit of his
+glorious vision, the lady of his dream.</p>
+<p>Squire Prothero&rsquo;s hearty laugh disturbed somewhat these
+gentle reflections.&nbsp; He had just bought a bull and hired a
+servant, and was in high glee at what he considered the
+accomplishment of a favourable bargain.&nbsp; The bull, he said,
+was a large and glorious white creature of the Herefordshire
+breed, and the man a small black one, of the true Cardiganshire
+runt description; but cunning as a fox, and keen as a kite.&nbsp;
+A fellow, the worthy squire said, who was proverbially known in
+the neighbourhood of Aberteivy for his exceeding shrewdness, by
+no other cognomen than Ready Rosser.</p>
+<p>Twm chuckled inwardly at his recollection of the swain whom he
+had outwitted at Cardigan; and, in the hair-brain spirit that
+often possessed him, longed to break a lance with this worthy
+once more.&nbsp; As robbing the fields and hills was the
+prevalent villainy of the period, and as Prothero, as well as
+some of his neighbours, had been a considerable loser in numerous
+instances, he was the more elated with his present
+acquisition.&nbsp; &ldquo;I have now,&rdquo; quoth he, with the
+usual accompaniment of a hearty laugh, &ldquo;a guardian for my
+ox and my ass, my bull, and my bulwarks, and I defy the most
+cunning thief in the country to ferret away my live things from
+the custody of Ready Rosser of Aberteivy.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, I&rsquo;ll undertake to walk off with your bull,
+in spite of Ready Rosser, if you&rsquo;ll leave it out three <a
+name="page189"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 189</span>nights, let
+him do what he pleases,&rdquo; said Twm, with a confident
+air.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Done!&rdquo; roared the merry Prothero, with a loud ho,
+ho! that shook the room; but recollecting himself, he
+added&mdash;&ldquo;but hark ye, my buck of bucks; my bull shall
+not be left out to starve of these cold winter nights; he shall
+be secured within the shelter of the cow-house, and if thou canst
+abduct him from thence, within the three days and nights, welcome
+shalt thou be to his carcase, and twenty pounds to reward thy
+cleverness.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Done!&rdquo; cried the baronet, &ldquo;and I&rsquo;ll
+pay forty pounds for him if he fails.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Remember, three days and three nights is the time
+given,&rdquo; cried Twm, &ldquo;as it will take two to get all in
+train.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The squire lost no time in communicating his wager to the
+members of his household, and putting them on their guard.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Now mind,&rdquo; he exclaimed, &ldquo;our friendly
+antagonist is a sharp fellow, and you must sleep with your eyes
+open during the next three days.&nbsp; Look out, Ready
+Rosser.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The worthy thus addressed merely laughed at the impudence of
+any one that could venture on such a bet.&nbsp; The emphasis
+which Twm laid upon the period of three days was merely a <i>ruse
+de guerre</i> of his, to throw his opponents off their guard, as
+he fully intended commencing operations soon as darkness came
+on.</p>
+<p>The snow was thick on the ground; therefore, as the nearest
+approach to invisibility, our hero arrayed himself in a white
+frock and a cloth cap of the same colour, and sallied forth at
+eight o&rsquo;clock in the evening, on a march of
+observation.&nbsp; Having arrived at Llwyn-mawr, the residence of
+Prothero, crossing the garden hedge, he coolly leaned over the
+gate, and listening to the squire and his party in the adjoining
+farm yard heard the whole plan of defence, as laid down by that
+skilful Cardiganshire engineer, Ready Rosser.&nbsp; The white
+bull the hero of the present wager, <a name="page190"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 190</span>had been placed in his stall for the
+night, the door of the cow-house duly locked; and now the whole
+party of farm servants, under the command of Rosser, were busily
+employed by lantern light in forming the outward
+fortification.</p>
+<p>In the first place, four harrows were laid one upon the other,
+across the entrance to the cow-house; on the upper harrow was
+placed a heavy roller, then a new implement in Welsh farming, and
+beside it two ploughs; the whole being surmounted by a sledge,
+used in those days for a harvest cart.&nbsp; To make this sledge,
+which was placed across the ploughs and roller, still more
+unmovable, Rosser had it heaped with hay, duly trodden down,
+carefully, as if intended for the foundation of a rick.&nbsp; His
+last stroke of masterly management was to suspend to one of the
+shafts of the sledge a large bell, which the squire, at the
+request of vicar Prichard, had procured from Bristol, to ornament
+the dome of his school, and to call the boys to their meals and
+studies.&nbsp; Rosser shrewdly remarked that any movement of
+these barricades, would be announced by its peal in the
+night.</p>
+<p>By nine o&rsquo;clock the whole party, including, the squire,
+were wrapt in sound slumber, and the field was open to the
+operations of our hero, who, in the meantime had returned to
+Ystrad Feen, and brought back from thence the tools that he
+required for the purpose.&nbsp; These consisted of an iron
+crow-bar and a saw, a bag containing something, and little Tommy
+Thomas for his <i>avante courier</i>, or look out, in case of
+surprisal.&nbsp; Twm had observed that the cow-house was formed
+of two pine-ends, substantially built of stone, while the back
+and front, were on planks, nailed across horizontally.&nbsp; The
+cunning Rosser had effectually fortified the front, where there
+was a door, but entirely neglected the back, where there was
+none; considering perhaps that the duck-pool or horse-pond, which
+ran parallel the length of the lowly edifice, would prove a
+sufficient rear-guard.&nbsp; <a name="page191"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 191</span>But greatly did that scheming wight
+err in his estimation of the ingenious daring of his adversary;
+for although three feet deep, black, and full of frogs and their
+spawn, it was through the middle of this domestic lake, our Twm,
+shouldering his crow-bar, made his way to commence the attack,
+while Tommy Thomas occupied his post of observation on the top of
+an old blighted oak stump.</p>
+<p>To the great satisfaction of our hero, his onset was
+auspicious; he succeeded without noise in wrenching off numerous
+planks, and in a short time entered the building.&nbsp; He made
+up at once to the grand object of his enterprise, and approached
+the mighty brute with deference; then patting him kindly with a
+patronizing air, he called familiarly by his name, which he had
+learnt was Bishop, from the fair resemblance perhaps, of his
+outward bull to the outward man of the lord of the lawn sleeves;
+or, in his dignified rotundity, to some specimens of that
+princely priest of our favoured land.&nbsp; Bishop having sniffed
+and snorted a little, wondering at the temerity of the two-legged
+animal that so daringly sought his acquaintance treated his
+advances as due homage, and resumed his easy contemplative
+posture, like a politic Autocrat that condescendingly gives
+audience to a loyal peasant.&nbsp; Guessing the yearning of his
+mighty mind, and no less mighty carcase, our hero presented him
+with a small bag of oats, to conciliate his good-will, which
+being graciously received, gave goodly omen of the magnanimity of
+his disposition.</p>
+<p>Twm now proceeded to his task of enlarging the opening for his
+egress.&nbsp; After having heaved up, with his crowbar, two of
+the uprights which formed the ribs of the old cow-house, from
+which he had removed its sinews the planks, just as he was
+enjoying his conquest over his worst obstructions, he found to
+his dismay, that he had reckoned without his hostess, as Lady
+Fortune claimed more from his exertions than he thought
+due.&nbsp; A strong square heart-of-oak piece of timber ran
+along, horizontally, the whole length of <a
+name="page192"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 192</span>the
+building, which nothing but a saw could remove.&nbsp; As the
+bull, Bishop, was too lordly and unaccustomed to diminish his
+lofty altitude by dropping on his knees, like the meek docile
+camel, and too stiff and heavy to spring like the active dog,
+nothing remained but to remove in some way, the stout wood that
+formed a bar across his furious-looking forehead.</p>
+<p>As he considered the noise of sawing would rouse the
+Philistines of Llwynmawr, for an instant Twm&rsquo;s inventive
+powers were at a stand; but they soon rallied, and he how had to
+strike a bold stroke, that promised anything but success, while
+certain failure would otherwise be his lot.&nbsp; From the bag he
+took two pairs of top-boots which he had provided, and drew them,
+one at a time, with the toes pointing backward, on the feet of
+the bull, Bishop, who seemed at first modestly to decline such an
+unusual honour.&nbsp; But as Twm was very pressing, he meekly
+submitted, like a bashful maid to don her wedding robes, or like
+King Richard, to have fortune buckled on his back; for he in fact
+endured to have his boots corded above his knees.</p>
+<p>Twm now took the crow-bar to the front of the house, and fixed
+it firmly through an old-fashioned iron ring in the farm-house
+door, so as utterly to prevent the opening of it from the
+inside.&nbsp; Fastening next a halter to the bell attached to the
+sledge-shaft, he instructed Tommy Thomas to ring and roar
+&ldquo;fire&rdquo; with all the strength of his arms and might of
+his lungs; applying as he spoke, a candle to the hay on the
+sledge, while he retreated to saw, amid this din, the stubborn
+wood that barred alike the bull&rsquo;s departure and the
+progress of the enterprise.</p>
+<p>Whiz, crick, crack went the blaze! ding, dong! went the
+clapper of the bell! fire, fire! roared the scare-crow voice of
+little Tommy Thomas; Twm&rsquo;s saw being unheard through the
+prevalence of these mightier sounds.&nbsp; The squire was the
+first awakened by the unusual noise, and terrible was the fat
+man&rsquo;s fright on seeing the blazing pyramid that illumined
+the whole house inwardly, and all over the yard, while <a
+name="page193"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 193</span>he beheld
+some little devil ringing the bell and roaring
+&ldquo;fire!&rdquo; like a sergeant major while drilling a
+battalion.</p>
+<p>The activity of a fat man in a fright is truly
+ludicrous.&nbsp; The nimbleness of the thinnest frightened tailor
+that ever hid himself behind a fishing-rod, was mere sluggishness
+compared to the flea-hopping trips of Squire Prothero, although
+almost too large to conceal himself behind a church, in some
+mountain parishes of Wales.&nbsp; Down stairs he rolled, ten
+steps at a time, and tried in vain to open the outward
+door.&nbsp; Up he rushed again, as if his unbreeched hams and
+shirted shoulders had wings appended to them, to assist his
+upward flight, bellowing &ldquo;fire! fire!&rdquo; till
+hoarseness silenced him.</p>
+<p>Just as he lost his voice, he found a deputy for it in a
+broomstick, with which he ran into the men&rsquo;s room,
+cudgelling Ready Rosser and the rest through the bed-clothes,
+till they roared a dissonant chorus to the hoarse bass of
+&ldquo;fire, fire!&rdquo; &ldquo;get up and be d&mdash;ned to
+you, or be fried in your own tallow!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Still the bell rung, and still Tommy Thomas lustily roared
+&ldquo;fire!&rdquo;&nbsp; Ready Rosser, overwhelmed with fear and
+stupidity, proved his name to be henceforth a misnomer, having,
+with the rest of the clowns, utterly failed to open the
+door.&nbsp; Running up stairs again, they met the squire at the
+top, flourishing his cudgel like a flail about their heads.&nbsp;
+In his extremity, to give poor Rosser his due, he tried the
+notable plan of rising above his troubles by climbing up the
+chimney; but when he had nearly attained the top, like many other
+ambitious aspirants, he lost his footing, and tumbled down to the
+bottom, blackened with soot, and smarting with his bruises.&nbsp;
+At length this scene of confusion received a turn by the
+adventurous daring of Gaby Snipe, a parish apprentice boy, who,
+squeezing himself through a narrow casement, dropped to the
+ground, and ultimately succeeded in removing the crow-bar and
+opening the door.</p>
+<p>During this scene of dire confusion, Twm&rsquo;s enterprise
+had progressed swimmingly, and he had his worship the bull out of
+the cow-house, through the <a name="page194"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 194</span>horse-pond, over the snow-clad
+field, and into a lane that led to the parish road, which brought
+them to a sheep-cot on the high mountain top, that almost
+overhung the mansion Ystrad Feen.&nbsp; Just as he had bestowed
+his precious charge within the aforesaid shelter, he was joined
+by little Tommy Thomas, terribly out of breath with running and
+laughing.&nbsp; Our hero had also his full share of laughter,
+daylight having now pretty well advanced, in noting the paces of
+the mighty brute as he stamped it along in his top-boots, with,
+the toes reversed, being the first of the family, as he deemed,
+that ever was honoured with such a dashing leg and heel
+trimmings.</p>
+<p>Tommy Thomas related that on the descent of Gaby Snipe, he
+quitted his bell-rope and hid himself awhile to witness the
+result of the outpouring from the house.&nbsp; The rush was
+whimsical to witness, for fear, as usual, had exaggerated the
+danger, and when in the yard they ran to and fro like scared
+rabbits, not knowing what to do, nor what was required of
+them.&nbsp; The hay being all consumed, and the fire
+self-extinguished, Ready Rosser called out, &ldquo;water,
+water!&rdquo; which, in their confusion and imperfect state of
+wakefulness, they dashed, by pailsful, at one another, till at
+length a general fight commenced in the farm-yard; and when the
+squire came and parted them, not one could tell how the fray
+began, any more than they could account for the stirring
+incidents that had frightened them all out of their senses.</p>
+<h2><a name="page195"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+195</span>CHAPTER XXVI.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Philosophy</span> of
+smiles.&nbsp; Twm sets out for modern Babylon.&nbsp; New use of a
+pack-saddle.&nbsp; A gentleman of the road, and how Twm borrowed
+his horse.</p>
+<p>Laughter was the order of the morning at Ystrad Feen.&nbsp;
+Grief causes the loss of the appetite, but mirth produced the
+same effect in a different way on this particular occasion, as no
+one seemed to have strength nor leisure to attack the tempting
+delicacies spread before them in such profusion.&nbsp; Laughter,
+loud, strong, boisterous, hearty ringing laughter, burst forth
+again and again as Twm, in the drollest manner, excited their
+risibility by a relation of what had passed the preceding
+evening.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A bull in boots!&rdquo; chuckled the Baronet, laughing
+till the tears ran down his florid countenance.&nbsp; &ldquo;A
+bull in boots!&rdquo; cried the lady of Ystrad Feen, till a sweet
+glow diffused itself over her whole countenance, developing, by
+the effort a pair of the finest dimples that ever lent their
+attraction to a female face.&nbsp; &ldquo;A bull in boots!&rdquo;
+cried the Reverend John David Rhys, whose excited countenance
+bore animated contrast to the &ldquo;pale cast of thought&rdquo;
+that usually distinguished him, and with whom laughter was not
+habitual.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A bull in boots!&rdquo; tittered Miss Meredith, with
+something more than a simper, or small grin, used to exhibit a
+fine set of teeth (which Parson Rhys thought peerless;) for
+honest, hearty, spleen-dispersing laughter, was not voted to be
+vulgar in those days; nor gentility and insipidity considered as
+synonymous terms.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A bull in boots!&rdquo; muttered a tall elderly
+gentleman with a long saturnine nose, that seemed to curl away,
+half disdainfully, from the mouth beneath it, which laughed,
+however, in spite of the nose, inclining to extend itself from
+ear to ear, in revenge for never having so indulged itself
+before.&nbsp; &ldquo;A bull in boots!&rdquo; <a
+name="page196"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 196</span>repeated he
+sneeringly; &ldquo;how ridiculous!&nbsp; I should have as soon
+thought to see a pig in pattens.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>In the midst of this merriment, Tommy Thomas made his
+appearance, to announce something; but catching the exclamation
+of &ldquo;a bull in boots,&rdquo; and &ldquo;a pig in
+pattens,&rdquo; was immediately infected with the general
+contagion, and laughed and snorted like a pig in a hay-field,
+when a cunning cur has suddenly seized him by the buttocks.&nbsp;
+The new arrival promised additional fun, and all were prepared to
+enjoy it.&nbsp; At length he explained himself in a brief
+sentence, &ldquo;Mr. Prothero is coming!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm now made a hasty retreat for some unexplained purpose; and
+in a few minutes the portly figure of Squire Prothero was seen in
+the yard, sitting on his horse, and laughing till too convulsed
+to alight.&nbsp; The company ran out and greeted him, while the
+good-natured squire co-mingled with their mirthful peals as
+hearty a &ldquo;ho, ho, ho!&rdquo; as ever shook his jolly fat
+sides.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Laugh away, ho, ho, ho! laugh away,&rdquo; cried he,
+&ldquo;I know I look an ass, after bragging up such a nincompoop
+as my fellow against this young wag of yours.&nbsp; But where is
+he? where is the young dog?&nbsp; I suppose my noble bull is
+slaughtered by this time.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Tough steaks he gave us for breakfast,&rdquo; cried the
+baronet, &ldquo;tough as an alligator with his scales
+on.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Fine fun if he had choked you all! but never
+mind!&rdquo; returned the squire, &ldquo;a joke is a joke, and a
+bet is a bet; and I have come to pay mine.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Scarcely had he uttered these magnanimous sentiments, that
+proved him worthy of the Grand Master&rsquo;s chair in a society
+of laughing philosophers, than the booted bull, Bishop, gravely
+approached, with our hero on his back.&nbsp; A fresh explosion
+now burst from the party, to note the stately and apparently
+conceited paces of the buskind king of the kine, who now wore his
+boots with toes foremost, like any other gentleman; but none
+laughed so heartily as Prothero himself, who seemed in raptures
+to find his bull unbutchered.</p>
+<p><a name="page197"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+197</span>&ldquo;This fellow would tame a fiery dragon,&rdquo;
+quoth he, &ldquo;aye, and ride him through the air, too, without
+fear, or he could never have coaxed Bishop into such a good
+humour as to become a steed for him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The whole party now entered the house, and Prothero narrated,
+to their boundless amusement, their ultimate discovery of the
+bull&rsquo;s abduction.&nbsp; Rosser and his fellows had been
+sent in a body to trace the foot-prints of the bull in the snow,
+and recapture him if possible; but as such signs were utterly
+invisible, Rosser returned in the utmost dismay, with a face half
+a yard long, from the effect, he said, of a new light that had
+just broken in upon him.&nbsp; With great solemnity, he declared
+his conviction that the supposed bull was no beast at all, but
+the devil in disguise, as not a print of his hoof was to be found
+anywhere, although four set of human feet were traceable,
+backwards and forwards.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That was no bull,&rdquo; said the wise Rosser;
+&ldquo;it was a devil which, after kicking down the cow-house,
+and firing the hay with his brimstone breath, flew away in a clap
+of thunder, which indeed I heard myself, as plainly as I hear my
+own voice at this moment.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;For all these abominable bounces,&rdquo; quoth the
+squire, &ldquo;I called him a liar and a fool, when the fellow
+turned upon me with &lsquo;the devil take the bull! you
+didn&rsquo;t think I could keep him in my pocket!&rsquo;&nbsp;
+Now the whimsicality of the idea of a fellow&rsquo;s pocketing a
+bull, tickled me so much that I forgave him
+everything!&rdquo;&nbsp; Another chorus of the trebles and bass
+aforesaid burst out again, and, at the conclusion, the ladies
+declared they had almost laughed themselves into illness.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Never mind, fair ones, let the stay-laces
+crack&mdash;cut them asunder, and give the lungs and laughter
+fair play!&rdquo; cried the squire; closing his period with as
+hearty a &ldquo;ho, ho, ho!&rdquo; as usually formed the climax
+of his sayings and doings.&nbsp; In the present instance the
+elderly gentleman chimed in with him, and <a
+name="page198"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 198</span>exclaiming,
+&ldquo;droll as ever, Prothero, but now outwitted by a mere
+boy.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;True, Sir John, (your pardon for the omission of my
+respects thus long),&rdquo; cried the squire, as he cordially
+shook his hand, &ldquo;but such a boy as our combined manhood
+here never met with before.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The worthy here referred to, and before noticed as the
+gentleman with the saturnine nose, was no less a personage than
+Sir John Price, Baronet, of Priory House, Brecon, the highly
+respected father of Lady Devereaux.&nbsp; He had arrived the
+preceding evening, about the time that Twm commenced his attack
+upon the bull.</p>
+<p>Lady Devereaux explained to her father the great and gallant
+services which she had received at Twm&rsquo;s hands, and her
+statement was made in the most earnest and impassioned manner, as
+if her gratitude was as great as on the day she was attacked by
+Dio the Devil, and rescued by our hero.&nbsp; Sir John Price at
+once rose from his chair, in a way that strongly contrasted with
+his usual cold and ceremonious habit, and extending his white,
+diamond-ringed, aristocratic hand to Twm, assured him of his
+friendship and protection in all things wherein he could serve
+him.</p>
+<p>Twm would not accept the money which Prothero tendered in
+liquidation of his bet.&nbsp; &ldquo;No,&rdquo; said the
+successful champion, &ldquo;it was all for fun and amusement, and
+you will allow that we have had some enjoyment out of it, and all
+I ask is that, when I am far away, and you are brought face to
+face with your well-prized bull, Bishop, you will think of
+me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The generosity of his sentiments met with the encomiums of all
+present; and the worthy squire reluctantly consenting to receive
+back his bull without fee or fine, absolutely insisted on leaving
+the forfeited twenty pounds in the hands of Lady Devereaux, who
+received it accordingly.&nbsp; Recollecting the manner in which
+he had been hunted from Tregaron, it was truly gratifying to his
+feelings, and flattering to his pride, to hear persons of the
+rank of the present company express <a name="page199"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 199</span>their regret that he was to leave
+them the next morning.</p>
+<p>The following day was the one appointed for Twm&rsquo;s
+departure to London, and he arose with a sorrowful heart, (for he
+was thinking of the lady of his dream,) to make a preparation for
+his departure.&nbsp; The baronet having presented him with a sum
+of money for his expenses, insisted on his leaving behind him,
+with Lady Devereaux, whatever cash he possessed, till his return;
+while the lady herself, playfully promising to be a faithful
+banker, threw on his neck a heavy golden chain, as her
+present.&nbsp; Twm had often seen her wear it; and fervently
+kissing the splendid article, returned it to her keeping till his
+return.</p>
+<p>If anything could add to his satisfaction, it was to
+experience the attention of his two fast friends, Rhys and the
+Squire, who even at this early hour had hastened to bid him
+farewell.&nbsp; Right glad was he of the opportunity of sending
+some cash to his mother, and to remit what he had borrowed from
+his friend, Cadwgan.&nbsp; In the yard, he had to receive the
+good wishes and parting civilities of every man and maidservant
+in the establishment, particularly of the huntsman and the
+whippers-in, with whom he had become an amazing favourite.</p>
+<p>It had been concerted that his best mode of travelling
+<i>incog.</i> would be on a mean horse, with a pack-saddle, and
+disguised as a lowly country lad.&nbsp; Thus mounted and
+accoutred, behold him at length disappearing through the
+yard-gate of Ystrad Feen; the cash and papers entrusted to his
+care having been studiously concealed about his person.&nbsp;
+Although but ill-contented with his homely harness, he found his
+mountain pony, like his race in general, far better than his
+looks promised; so that he rode on with a heart full of glee,
+proud of the honours which he had gained, and glowing with bright
+anticipations of the future.</p>
+<p>Through his native principality, his journey was interesting
+enough, so we need not note the scenes, which, <a
+name="page200"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 200</span>however
+charming in their rural beauty and romantic wildness to Twm,
+would lose most of their attraction in mere description.&nbsp; He
+jogged on steadily and perseveringly till he had left Bristol
+behind, and he had even passed through Bath and Chippenham before
+a single adventure occurred worthy of record.</p>
+<p>Riding late one evening, between the last-named town and
+Marlborough, he found it necessary to put up at a small
+public-house on the road-side, distinguished by the sign of the
+&ldquo;Hop-pole,&rdquo; the obscurity of which he considered
+favourable to his safety.</p>
+<p>Having fed his beast and eaten his supper, he went immediately
+to bed; and, with a view of preserving his treasure in the best
+manner, slept without divesting himself of his clothes.&nbsp; He
+had slept some hours, and day was just breaking, when he was
+aroused by the trampling of a horse, and the gruff voice of a
+traveller whom he heard alight and enter the house.</p>
+<p>A strong impulse of curiosity determined him to rise from his
+bed; and, as the large treble-bedded room which he occupied was
+over the parlour, to which the guest was introduced, he listened,
+to learn whether anything portended danger to himself.&nbsp; He
+found, to his surprise and dismay, that he was the subject of
+conversation between the landlady and her guest, whom he
+discovered to be no other than the very character of which he
+stood most particularly in peril&mdash;a highwayman.</p>
+<p>He had heard himself described to him by the landlady, as an
+uncouth booby of a countryman from the Welsh mountains, miserably
+mounted on a piece of animated carrion, for which the crows cawed
+as it limped along; and what booty was to be expected from such a
+beggar inquired she?</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are wrong, mistress, you are quite wrong,&rdquo;
+cried the stranger; &ldquo;from your account I expect much from
+him.&nbsp; I have robbed more than one such, dressed like a
+scarecrow, while making for London, and bearing with him the
+twelvemonth&rsquo;s rent of half-a-dozen of his neighbours to pay
+the landlord in town.&nbsp; I shall be <a
+name="page201"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 201</span>at this
+fellow as soon as he quits your roof; I have no doubt but what he
+is a prize, and if he is, you of course come in for
+shares.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Having learnt thus much, Twm, in some trepidation, retired to
+his bed, and began to consider how he should contrive, in order
+to preserve the property in his possession.&nbsp; He rose again,
+thinking to escape through the window, but found it too small to
+admit his egress, and therefore gave up the idea.</p>
+<p>As he looked out through the miserable casement, busily
+plotting to hatch a scheme of deliverance, he could perceive no
+favourable object to aid his purpose except a large pool on the
+road-side, in which he thought of dropping his cash if he could
+reach it, and do the act unobserved, so that he might recover it
+at his leisure.</p>
+<p>As nothing better offered, he determined to adopt his plan
+immediately; and therefore, after making a studied clattering in
+putting on his shoes, he went down stairs, and called for a jug
+of beer and toast for his breakfast.&nbsp; The freebooter did not
+show himself, but the landlady and her daughter, who seemed to be
+in the habit of sitting up all night to receive and entertain
+such guests, scrutinized our hero very closely.</p>
+<p>The worthy hostess asked him some apparently careless
+questions respecting his business in travelling the country, to
+which he replied he was trying to overtake a brother pigman, who
+was driving their joint charge to London.</p>
+<p>While at breakfast, Twm&rsquo;s brain showed him another
+project for securing his valuables, which he considered an
+improvement upon the pond scheme.&nbsp; To give a more clownish
+character to his manners, the night before, he had carried the
+old pack-saddle up stairs, brought it down in the morning, and
+while at breakfast sat on it before the fire, instead of a
+stool.</p>
+<p>It occurred to him that this peculiarity of his would have
+been attributed to other motives, and that, no doubt, the honest
+inmates of the place thought that he would not have exhibited
+such care for his pack-saddle <a name="page202"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 202</span>if it were not worth more than it
+looked.&nbsp; He was ultimately convinced that they had decided
+that all his treasure was contained therein.</p>
+<p>Indeed, it was not a bad idea, for he could then sit on it all
+day and make a pillow of it by night.&nbsp; He determined to
+encourage their suspicions; accordingly, bursting a hole in the
+fore end of it, he called the landlady to receive her reckoning,
+and in her presence, pushing his fist into the straw cushion of
+the pack-saddle, he drew out several pieces of gold, and asked
+her if she could give him change; but she answered in the
+negative, on which he again thrust his hand into the pack-saddle,
+and brought out more gold and silver intermixed; and with the
+latter settled his bill, and went to the stable for his
+horse.</p>
+<p>Securing all his money about his person, he mounted his
+Rosinante.&nbsp; Having cut away the girths from the pack-saddle,
+he bade the landlady farewell, and rode with all his might
+towards the pool, which was about a quarter of a mile forward on
+the road.&nbsp; He soon heard the highwayman brushing forward in
+his rear, with many oaths calling on him to stop, a summons that
+increased our hero&rsquo;s speed, till, being opposite the pond,
+his pursuer overtook him.</p>
+<p>Twm rode to the edge of the water, and threw the pack-saddle,
+with all his strength, towards the centre of the pool; but in
+bustling to regain a steady seat as he made towards the road, he
+fell headlong from his horse.&nbsp; The free-booter cursed him
+for a Welsh fool, and with a thundering voice ordered him to hold
+his horse, or he would blow his brains out, (brandishing his
+pistol all the while,) that he might go into the water to recover
+the booty.</p>
+<p>Twm appeared to be frightened out of his senses, and trembled
+with very visible terror as he approached to do the
+robber&rsquo;s bidding; but no sooner had the highwayman reached
+the centre of the pool, and began groping about for the object of
+his search, than Twm, with one spring, mounted his fine tall
+horse, and rode away with all his might.</p>
+<p><a name="page203"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 203</span>So
+far all went well; but, to Twm&rsquo;s unspeakable horror, the
+knight of the road, finding himself thus tricked, placed his
+fingers in his mouth and gave a loud whistle, on which his horse
+immediately stopped quite still.</p>
+<p>Twm, in real terror, as he was within pistol-shot, roared
+&ldquo;murder!&rdquo; with all his might; when the horse, to his
+great amazement, took his exclamation of terror for a counter
+order, and again started into a gallop.&nbsp; The freebooter
+repeated his whistle, and again the horse stood still as a
+mile-stone: Twm reiterated &ldquo;murder!&rdquo; with all the
+power of his lungs; and the well-taught horse instantly resumed
+his gallop.</p>
+<p>Thus the highwayman&rsquo;s whistle and Twm&rsquo;s roaring of
+&ldquo;murder!&rdquo; had an alternate effect on the noble
+animal, till at length, our hero got completely out of hearing of
+the baffled robber.&nbsp; As he rode on triumphantly, he sang the
+old Welsh pennill or stanza&mdash;<a name="citation203"></a><a
+href="#footnote203" class="citation">[203]</a></p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;No cheat is it to cheat the cheater<br />
+No treason to betray the traitor:<br />
+Nor is it theft, but just deceiving,<br />
+To thieve from him who lives by thieving.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>As he rode into Marlborough, in the highest spirit, one of the
+church chimes was playing &ldquo;See the conquering hero
+comes!&rdquo; which appeared to him to be a singularly
+appropriate greeting, and which he accepted as a personal tribute
+to his ingenious trickery upon the highwayman, whom, Twm secretly
+hoped, had not yet got out the old pack-saddle from the pool.</p>
+<p>How Twm laughed when he pictured to himself the rage and
+dismay of the villain when he discovered its contents!&nbsp; That
+was a thought to chuckle over and enjoy.&nbsp; It would extort
+many a boisterous &ldquo;ho, ho, ho!&rdquo; from old Squire
+Prothero, when he should have the pleasure of giving him the
+story.</p>
+<p><a name="page204"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 204</span>He
+received great commendation at the inn where he stayed for the
+night, when he related his adventure; and many of the inhabitants
+were loud in their congratulations to the young Welshman, who had
+so cleverly outwitted the English highwayman.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Watt</span>, the
+mole-catcher, in a pleasant mood.&nbsp; Twm hears of his old
+love, Gwenny Cadwgan.&nbsp; Tom Dorbell, and his feats.&nbsp;
+Another adventure with a knight of the road.</p>
+<p>Twm had reason to be satisfied with his progress on his road
+to London, for he had met danger, and his wit and ingenuity had
+proved equal to any emergency.&nbsp; But success did not make him
+over-confident, and consequently careless; but, on finding
+himself yet seventy-four miles from his journey&rsquo;s end, he
+prepared for more trials of his skill and courage.&nbsp; He was
+sent for next morning by the mayor of Marlborough, who had heard
+of his adventure, and required to bring the horse with him, which
+he had so adroitly won.</p>
+<p>Many gentlemen having assembled at the entrance to the
+town-hall, our hero appeared in all the pride of a conqueror,
+mounted on his goodly steed; although so humbly clad, their hats
+were doffed, and loud shouts of applause were immediately
+given.&nbsp; It was soon ascertained by the mayor and the
+gentlemen present, that the horse was regularly bred to the road,
+and instructed by a highwayman, therefore, not, as at first
+conjectured, the property of any person deprived of it by one of
+these free-faring gentry; consequently, his worship, with many
+comments on his cleverness and courage told our hero that the
+horse was his own by right of <a name="page205"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 205</span>conquest; but that if he were
+inclined to part with it, he would give forty pounds for it Twm
+directly assented; and the money was paid to him the same
+morning.</p>
+<p>Being now in want of an animal on which to continue his
+travel, Twm determined to walk on to Hungerford, and purchase one
+nearly like the one he had set out upon at the commencement of
+his journey, as he was still of the same opinion, that the less
+temptation in his outward appearance to the gentlemen of the
+road, the less likely were they to interfere with him.</p>
+<p>About three miles out of Hungerford, he saw before him a
+pig-drover, with a large herd of porkers, that he alternately
+cursed in his ancient British tongue, and cut up with a whip;
+while at intervals between these amusing recreations he loudly
+sang, or roared, certain scraps of Welsh songs.&nbsp; Twm&rsquo;s
+ear was quick in recognizing the well-known voice, and he soon
+stood side by side with his old friend Watt the
+mole-catcher.&nbsp; After mutual expressions of wonder and
+congratulation, Twm immediately asked him how his mother was, as
+well as farmer Cadwgan and his daughter Gwenny.</p>
+<p>Watt replied that his mother and her husband were well; but
+instead of answering the latter question, enquired his adventures
+since he left Tregaron.&nbsp; Twm, with animated vanity, ran over
+that bright portion of his history, occasionally heightening the
+colour of events, according to the general practice of
+story-tellers, from time immemorial; dwelling particularly on his
+fortunate preservation of the lady of Ystrad Feen, and the
+benefits which accrued to him in consequence, from the liberality
+of Sir George Devereaux, whose confidential agent he then was, on
+business of the utmost importance, to London.</p>
+<p>These extraordinary events were intended by Twm to astonish
+the sulky-looking mole-catcher, Watt, who was not in an
+impressionable mood; but Twm, nothing daunted, still ran on,
+saying, in allusion to his &ldquo;friend&rdquo; Sir
+George,&mdash;&ldquo;Well, Watt, were he ten times as rich and
+happy as he is, I should never envy him any <a
+name="page206"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 206</span>thing he
+possessed, but one lovely piece of property.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;And what might that be?&rdquo; asked Watt.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Why,&rdquo; replied the other, &ldquo;could I once forget
+poor Gwenny Cadwgan, which I never can, I should envy him the
+possession of his charming young wife, the beautiful lady of
+Ystrad Feen&mdash;the finest, the handsomest, and cleverest woman
+I ever saw! and although now married to a second husband, she is
+little more than one-and-twenty years of age.&nbsp; But I was
+asking of my old sweet-heart Gwenny, poor Gwenny
+Cadwgan.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Poor Gwenny Cadwgan indeed!&rdquo; echoed Watt.</p>
+<p>The sneering manner in which the mole-catcher spoke this,
+alarmed our hero; &ldquo;What of her, Watt?&rdquo; cried he
+eagerly; &ldquo;is anything the matter? tell me quickly, for
+Heaven&rsquo;s sake!&rdquo;&nbsp; Watt replied evasively, that
+great trouble had come to both her and her father, in consequence
+of their having harboured him when the hue and cry was up.&nbsp;
+That fact, he said, was discovered a few days after his
+disappearance, by old Rachel Ketch, who sold the secret to the
+Squire for the highest price she could get; and would have sold
+her own soul on similar terms to the Devil himself.</p>
+<p>Twm observed Watt writhing as he spoke, and struggling
+inwardly, with some terrible feeling, that for awhile deprived
+him of utterance.&nbsp; He noticed with regret the deep furrows
+of worldly care on his cheek, so lately ruddy and mirthful; and
+thought he observed a sinister expression in his sunken eye and
+trembling lips, that now were paler than his sallow face.&nbsp;
+Fiercely resenting the closeness of our hero&rsquo;s scrutiny by
+an assumption of rude abruptness, he said &ldquo;but why do I
+waste time in talking here, when&mdash;but I must be
+off&mdash;good-bye!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But you have not told me of Gwenny and her
+father,&rdquo; quote Twm, in amazement at his demeanour.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That is soon told,&rdquo; replied Watt, pettishly;
+&ldquo;the squire turned him out of his farm, and made so many
+claims one sort or other, that Cadwgan was beggared, and left him
+so poor that he could scarcely take a cottage for himself and
+daughter.&nbsp; If I hadn&rsquo;t let him <a
+name="page207"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 207</span>mine, he
+would have had none.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Good heavens!&rdquo;
+exclaimed Twm, &ldquo;thy hovel for farmer Cadwgan and the gentle
+Gwenny!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why not?&rdquo; replied Watt, with a lowering brow;
+&ldquo;is he not a day labourer? it served me <i>when I was
+one</i>, for many a bitter day.&nbsp; His daughter too, the
+dainty Gwenny, she was too good for me&mdash;turned with scorn
+from poor Watt the mole-catcher&mdash;but never mind! she was a
+bit of a sweet-heart of thine too, Twm, I remember; but set thy
+heart at rest, lad, if she won&rsquo;t be mine, she will never be
+thine, at any rate.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>All this was uttered in a tone of bitter sarcasm, that both
+surprised and enraged our hero; especially when he thus learned
+from his own mouth that Watt had sought to win the affections of
+the fair and generous Gwenny Cadwgan.&nbsp; He
+replied&mdash;&ldquo;Well, the devil take thee when he will, for
+he must have marked thee for his own, long since, or thou wouldst
+never have had the impudence to court Gwenny Cadwgan!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ha! ha!&rdquo; laughed Watt, with a bitter snarl;
+&ldquo;she will never be thine nor mine! so don&rsquo;t burden
+thy memory with one who has already forgotten thee.&nbsp;
+Farewell! and better luck with thy next sweet-heart!&rdquo;&nbsp;
+With that he cracked his whip and drove on his herd of swine,
+with an air of excited fierceness that was actually fearful to
+witness.</p>
+<p>So much hurt was Twm at the bearing and conduct of Watt that
+he allowed him to go without asking more questions.&nbsp; His
+sorrow to hear of the change in the fortunes of Cadwgan and his
+lovely daughter, threw a heavy cloud over his mind; and he
+regretted that his remittance to him, by the hand of his friend,
+was so small.&nbsp; He felt rather relieved by the reflection
+that however small the sum was, it would be deemed a
+&ldquo;God-send&rdquo; to them under present circumstances; and
+at the same time prove to friends that he was not unmindful of
+them, nor ungrateful for their boundless kindness in his dark
+days of peril.&nbsp; However, he felt somewhat embittered by the
+<a name="page208"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+208</span>insinuations of Watt, that the fair Gwenny&rsquo;s
+regard for him was on the wane, if not altogether given to
+another; and right glad would he have been to learn the exact
+bearing of the whole affair, at which the mole-catcher&rsquo;s
+hints but darkly hinted.</p>
+<p>Twm was detained at Hungerford for some days, by starving
+weather; and while looking about for another animal, was taken by
+an old pedlar, down a green lane, to a creature of his, left
+there to graze.&nbsp; He was not a little surprised to find it to
+be his own pony, left in exchange with the highwayman, having on
+his back the identical pack-saddle in which he had formerly
+concealed his money.&nbsp; Twm made a purchase of both, and the
+next morning took his departure from Hungerford.</p>
+<p>His enforced leisure at Hungerford had not been unprofitably
+spent, for he had listened attentively to the conversation of the
+different drinking parties at the tavern where he stayed; and
+found the dangers of the road to be the general theme.&nbsp; The
+great hero of the turnpikes at this time, was a certain knight of
+the road called the Gallant Glover, alias Tom Dorbell, originally
+a leather-breeches maker and glover.&nbsp; It appeared that he
+was a man who, by his shrewdness in general, as well as
+particular instances of cunning, combined with his dauntless
+daring, had become so much an object of admiration to those who
+had nothing to lose, as of terror to the men of money, who had
+become the victims of his audacity.</p>
+<p>The following anecdote of him, told by one of these tavern
+worthies, interested our worthy much, and had the effect of
+putting him on his mettle, in case of an accidental meeting with
+him during his journey.</p>
+<p>It seems, a gentleman&rsquo;s son was taken for robbing on the
+highway; and as he had been formerly pardoned, he despaired of
+mercy a second time.&nbsp; Upon this, Tom Dorbell opened a treaty
+with his wealthy relatives, and undertook, for five hundred
+pounds, to bring him off.&nbsp; It was stipulated and agreed to,
+that one half of that sum be paid in hand, and the other half <a
+name="page209"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 209</span>when the
+deliverance was effected.&nbsp; On the trial of the young
+gentleman, he was found guilty; but just as the judge was about
+to pass sentence, Tom Dorbell cried out &ldquo;Oh! what a sad
+thing it is to shed innocent blood!&rdquo; and continuing to
+reiterate the expression, he was apprehended, and the judge asked
+him what he meant by such exclamations, he
+answered,&mdash;&ldquo;May it please your Lordship, it is a
+dreadful thing for a man to die wrongfully; but one may see how
+hard-mouthed some people are, by the witnesses swearing that this
+gentleman now at the bar robbed them on the highway, at the time
+stated in the indictment, when, indeed, my Lord, I was the person
+who committed that robbery.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Accordingly the &ldquo;Gallant Glover&rdquo; was taken into
+custody, and the young gentleman liberated.&nbsp; Being brought
+to trial the following assizes, to the astonishment of the court,
+he pleaded not guilty.&nbsp; &ldquo;Not guilty!&rdquo; exclaimed
+the judge in a voice of thunder, &ldquo;did you not at the last
+assizes own yourself guilty of the robbery in
+question?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; replied Tom Dorbell, as meek
+as a mouse, &ldquo;how far I was guilty then, but, upon my word,
+I am not guilty now; therefore, if any person can accuse me of
+committing such a robbery, I desire them to prove the
+same.&rdquo;&nbsp; No witnesses appearing, the Gallant Glover was
+of course acquitted.</p>
+<p>What Twm had heard about the Gallant Glover and his
+achievements, warned him that fresh trials on the road awaited
+him; but he was no &ldquo;Bob Acre,&rdquo; and, &ldquo;screwing
+his courage to the sticking-point,&rdquo; he manfully resumed his
+journey.</p>
+<p>He had got within ten miles of Reading, in Berkshire,
+anxiously hoping to reach it without disaster, when the sudden
+discharge of a pistol, close to his ear, convinced him that he
+was in the centre of danger.&nbsp; Instantly a horseman, well
+mounted, rode fiercely down a lane that entered the road, and
+ordered him to stop and deliver in a minute, or have his brains
+scattered on the hedge beside him.</p>
+<p><a name="page210"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+210</span>&ldquo;Catch a weasel asleep!&rdquo;&nbsp; You might do
+that, but to surprise Twm Shon Catty when he had reason to be on
+the alert, was almost impossible.&nbsp; Assuming an air of
+clownish simplicity, he replied, &ldquo;Lord bless ye master, I
+ha gotten nothing to deliver but an old testament, a crooked
+sixpence, and a broken fish-hook,
+and&mdash;and&mdash;&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;And what, you
+prevaricating young scoundrel!&rdquo; roared the
+highwayman.&nbsp; &ldquo;Why, this purse,&rdquo; continued Twm,
+&ldquo;which uncle Timothy gave I to market for him, and pay his
+bills at Reading to-morrow;&rdquo; producing at the same time an
+old stocking, which he had stuffed with old nails and cockle
+shells, in order to make a jingle. <a name="citation210"></a><a
+href="#footnote210" class="citation">[210]</a>&nbsp; The robber
+made a grasp at the supposed well-stocked purse, which Twm
+dexterously evaded, and flung it over the hedge into the
+adjoining field, riding on; while the former instantly alighted,
+blustering out a string of oaths and threats as he made his way
+to the field to search for the coveted treasure.</p>
+<p>Twm was, of course aware that as soon as the robber had
+discovered how he had been tricked, that he would doubtless ride
+after him, and in his rage, shoot him on the spot.&nbsp; As
+Twm&rsquo;s poor pony would have no chance in a race with the
+highwayman&rsquo;s high-spirited charger, he determined that a
+daring act, if carried out successfully, would both ensure his
+safety and prove profitable to him likewise.&nbsp; The knight of
+the road, when he alighted, had thrown his bridle over a
+hedge-stake; so Twm, abandoning his pony for the second time,
+watched the robber into the field, crawled along the ditch till
+he reached his horse, which he <a name="page211"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 211</span>instantly seized by the bridle,
+mounted and rode off in a hot gallop, till he got safe into the
+ancient town of Reading, as the clear-toned bells of St. Lawrence
+were chiming their last evening peal.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm">A <span class="smcap">gracious</span>
+Lawyer.&nbsp; Twm determines to &ldquo;pedestrianize&rdquo; a
+bit.&nbsp; Watt&rsquo;s horrible tale.&nbsp; A fair bevy of
+lasses from Cardigan.&nbsp; Guilt and the punishment.</p>
+<p>Next morning, Twm had the horse which he had taken from the
+robber, cried through the town of Reading, in the honest hope
+that he should find the rightful owner.&nbsp; He was right in his
+conjecture that it would prove to be the property of some one in
+that town, for a wealthy attorney claimed it, with a considerable
+degree of hauteur and insolence.&nbsp; So far was this limb of
+the law from either allowing our hero anything for the loss of
+his own humble beast, or even thanking him for his
+instrumentality in recovering a valuable horse, that he told him
+he might think himself very lucky he was not prosecuted for its
+being found in his possession.&nbsp; Our worthy did think himself
+so, and took a precipitate departure accordingly.</p>
+<p>Being now within eight-and-thirty miles of London, he resolved
+to throw off his disguise, and walk the rest of the
+journey.&nbsp; Accordingly, he bought a suit of clothes at
+Reading, in which he concealed his money and valuables, with a
+pair of pocket pistols; and thus provided he resumed his journey
+to the metropolis.&nbsp; Having walked twelve miles, he attained
+the town of Maidenhead.</p>
+<p>On a seat outside the Bear Inn, he beheld a jovial company of
+topers, and in the midst of them, Watt the mole-catcher.&nbsp; It
+turned out that he had sold his <a name="page212"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 212</span>pigs without going to London, and
+was now sauntering from tavern to tavern, squandering the money
+that was not his own.&nbsp; The moment he recognized our hero, he
+started on his legs, and offered him his hand.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Twm, I take shame to myself for the manner in which we
+met and parted last, but I was sober then! and in my grave and
+sober moods all the evil and bitterness of my heart come out; now
+I am rather mellow, there&rsquo;s nothing but good in
+me.&rdquo;&nbsp; On being asked when he intended to return to
+Tregaron, Watt ground his teeth and
+exclaimed&mdash;&ldquo;never!&rdquo; adding, &ldquo;it is not
+from fear of old Inco Evans, for I stayed there as long as I
+pleased, in spite of him, notwithstanding my promise to the
+contrary.&nbsp; But for other reasons Tregaron has been made too
+hot for me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The whole of the drinking party having gradually dropped off,
+Watt and our hero were left alone, when the latter with much
+feeling asked his old companion what was the meaning of the
+extraordinary change of manner, and of character, which he
+perceived in him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll tell thee, lad, what&rsquo;s the
+meaning&mdash;it means that instead of the frank merry fellow I
+was in the dear gone days, I now am&mdash;call it what you like,
+but,&rdquo;&mdash;cried Watt, laughing with wet eyes, &ldquo;some
+of my dear friends who scorn flattery, would say a d&mdash;ed
+rascal, and I quite agree with them.&nbsp; But never mind&mdash;I
+belong to the strongest party after all.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Our hero here pressed him for something of a connected account
+of his adventures since he left Tregaron; on which Watt
+immediately assented, and ran them over in the following off-hand
+strain.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You remember, I dare say, Twm, that when you were only
+a child, that I was famed throughout the village as a wit and
+joker; in short, that I was the funny fellow of Tregaron, and my
+ambition was to retain this title.&nbsp; The comical tricks and
+humorous saying of Watt the mole-catcher, made mirth at every
+farmer&rsquo;s heath, and their tables were spread with food for
+me whenever I called.&nbsp; As I grew older, my pleasures <a
+name="page213"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 213</span>and
+antipathies acquired a stronger cast; and there were but few in
+our adjoining parishes who were subject either to execration or
+ridicule, and dreaded my satire and exposure.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I formed attachments more than once among the daughters
+of the farmers, whom I had frequently entertained at the social
+evening hearth; but although my jests were relished, my overtures
+were rejected.&nbsp; In short, I found that while mirth,
+innocence and harmless wit were my companions, parents generally
+disposed of their daughters to young men of characters directly
+opposite to mine&mdash;the stupidly grave, and thrifty, no matter
+how knavish.&nbsp; My eyes were at length opened; and I found
+that the funny man, however amusing as an acquaintance, was
+coveted by none as a relative, but considered as a mere diverging
+vagabond at best.&nbsp; Well, thought I, this will never do; but
+since gravity is the order of the day, I will be as grave and
+roguish as the most successful of my fellow-men.&nbsp; Having
+come to this conclusion, I studied knavery, that is to say,
+thrifty rascality like a science.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;As the first step I went immediately to my grandmother,
+who had often exhorted me to quit my sinful mirth and become
+serious, when I assured her of my conversion, in token of which I
+threw myself on my knees, and entreated her blessing.&nbsp; She
+afterwards took me to a puritanic chapel, and in that assembly,
+where I had often pinned the skirts and gown-tails of the elect
+together, the poor old doting soul in the pride of her heart
+exhibited her convert to the gaze of the saints; but neglected to
+inform them that I had robbed her that same evening of half the
+contents of her pocket, as she lay asleep.&nbsp; I was not long
+in discovering that a sedate aspect was a goodly mask for the
+most profitable villainy, and therefore determined to wear it for
+life.&nbsp; Laughter, jest, and mirthful humour, and all those
+thriftless indications of the light and harmless heart, I abjured
+for ever.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I now gave a respite to the rats and moles, and set up
+as a butcher at Tregaron; and for one sheep that <a
+name="page214"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 214</span>I bought of
+the farmers, I stole three, and slaughtered them either by
+moonlight on the hills, or by candle-light in my own
+cottage.&nbsp; Although I daily bettered my condition, I
+considered this but a slow and creeping course of thrift; and
+therefore, as conscience no longer stood in my way, I meditated
+some bolder way of leaping into property at once.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You know that wrinkled old she-usurer of Tregaron,
+Rachel Ketch, who made money, Heaven knows how, and increased it
+by lending out to country people, at a higher rate than city
+usurers dared to ask.&nbsp; In the bitterness of my heart, after
+losing all hope of a girl, whom I had long doated on, I went to
+the old Jezabel and sought her hand in marriage; aye, and would
+have taken her were she ten times as loathsome, in the anxious
+hope of her speedy death, and of succeeding to her golden
+hoards.&nbsp; I strove to recommend myself by assuring her I was
+the most finished scoundrel in existence; and that when gain was
+my object, theft, perjury, and even murder, however hideous to
+silly innocents, had no power to scare me from my pursuit.&nbsp;
+This avowal of my noble qualifications I thought would have won
+her heart forever, but I was mistaken.&nbsp; The keen-eyed hag,
+who was never seen to smile before, laughed outright at my
+proposal.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;What! you want the old woman&rsquo;s gold,
+master cut-throat of the muttons, do you? to slit her weasand
+also, and make away with her a month after marriage, like a
+troublesome old ewe;&rsquo; screamed she, as her spiteful black
+and broken snags grinned defiance, and her shrill tones broke out
+in laughs of mockery.&nbsp; I never saw mirth so damnable
+before!&nbsp; I felt myself the butt of her ridicule, humbled and
+degraded; and as my anger rose against the beldame, I resolved
+that since I could not wed her, to rob her would answer my
+purpose full as well.&nbsp; Accident supplied an opportunity; the
+little boys who had formerly been my favourites, and who in their
+innocence failed to recognize my change of character, I found it
+difficult to drive from me.</p>
+<p><a name="page215"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+215</span>&ldquo;A neighbour&rsquo;s child one day asked me to
+lift him up to Rachel Ketch&rsquo;s thatch, to take from it a
+wren&rsquo;s nest, which he had long watched, and said he was
+sure that the young ones were on the eve of flying.&nbsp; It was
+a winning little urchin that made the request, and I could not
+refuse him.&nbsp; The moment that I raised him to a standing
+position on my shoulders, he eagerly thrust his little hand into
+the thatch, and cried, &lsquo;Dear, dear, how cold!&rsquo; when a
+snake which he had felt, that had destroyed the young birds,
+coiled itself round in the nest, darted out into his face, and
+the youngster shrieked and fainted in my arms.&nbsp; I carried
+him home, where he soon died of the fright, for it appeared he
+was not stung.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Supposing there was a nest of these reptiles in the old
+rotten straw thatch, I poked it in all directions with a long
+hooked stick, and at last felt something attached to it.&nbsp; As
+I drew it forward and examined it, to my great astonishment, I
+found it to be an old woollen stocking, closely stuffed with
+various golden coins.&nbsp; Here was a discovery!&nbsp; I felt
+myself a man for ever!&nbsp; The old woman was at this time in
+Carmarthenshire, where she had gone to enforce her claims to
+certain debts among her former neighbours; and therefore, having
+no fear of detection, I pushed back the golden prize and went
+away, intending to return for it at night.&nbsp; As I anxiously
+watched the hours and minutes pass away, reflecting on my
+newly-acquired wealth, a raging savage spirit of avarice so
+possessed me, that I determined to plunder old Rachel&rsquo;s
+cottage of all the money I could find.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Night came, and with breathless haste I made an
+entrance through the thatch, on the side furthest from the
+street, and at midnight went away with a heavy booty, the greater
+part of which I buried beneath the floor of my own cottage,
+determined to seek an opportunity of quitting Tregaron for
+ever.&nbsp; Fortune seemed to favour me beyond my hopes; Squire
+Graspacre having a numerous herd of fine pigs, engaged me to
+drive them to England, and sell them at a good price; I <a
+name="page216"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 216</span>have done
+so, and pocketed the cash, not one farthing of which will the
+squire ever handle.&nbsp; To relate all my rogueries since I
+became a grave man, would take too much of your time; so here
+ends my story.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm had heard Watt&rsquo;s tale with sorrow and regret, and
+his spirits were fast sinking below zero, when a party of
+Cardiganshire lasses, who were making their annual journey to
+weed the gardens in the neighbourhood of London, passed opposite
+the tavern door where our worthies were sitting.&nbsp; With
+heart-touched delight, our hero recognized the comfortable and
+not unpicturesque costume of his native country; and his
+satisfaction was still increased when he found among the rural
+damsels, two Tregaron girls; one of whom, named Martha Gwyn, was
+a fast friend of Gwenny Cadwgan&rsquo;s.&nbsp; These poor girls
+expressed their gladness to see their long-lost
+&ldquo;neighbour&rsquo;s child,&rdquo; as their homely but
+touching phrase went; but their recognition of Watt amounted to
+such terror and abhorrence that the rose of health and innocence
+faded on their cheeks, while their expanded eyes were fearfully
+fixed on his countenance, as if something unearthly met their
+stony stare.</p>
+<p>At length they found words to say that he was charged, not
+only with the robbery of Rachael Ketch&rsquo;s cottage, but with
+murder; that the constables were out to search for him in all
+quarters, and that Squire Graspacre had sent out a man to
+supersede Watt in the care of his pigs.</p>
+<p>This unexpected news, and the evident horror evinced by the
+fair maidens for him, quite overcame Watt, and he showed
+unmistakable signs of the fear which had taken possession of
+him.&nbsp; From Martha Gwyn, Twm learned that poor Gwenny&rsquo;s
+affection for him was unchanged, but it was thought, for all
+that, said the candid girl, that she will be married to a
+Breconshire farmer&rsquo;s son, who met her in Herefordshire,
+when she went a hop-picking there.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But if Gwenny has him,&rdquo; said Martha, &ldquo;it
+will be for the sake of making a home for her poor
+father.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page217"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+217</span>Twm&rsquo;s generous heart prompted him to give each
+maiden a piece of silver; and, having made them eat heartily of a
+good homely, substantial meal of cheese and bread and ale, he
+dismissed them on their journey.&nbsp; Watt, in great agony of
+mind, exclaimed&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh God, where shall I fly! all my supposed security I
+find but a dream, and misery alone awaits me!&nbsp; When I told
+you the tale of my enormities, I kept back the relation of one
+crime&mdash;a dreadful one&mdash;which, lost as I am, I felt
+averse to acknowledge, and too heart-smote with the consciousness
+of its atrocity, to turn to it my most secret
+thought&mdash;&rsquo;twas a deed of blood, the crime of
+murder!</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You remember a tall, thin, skeleton-like man, generally
+dressed in a suit of grey, who lived in a cottage on the
+mountain, in the neighbourhood of Tregaron, known by the nickname
+of Stalking Simon the Mooncalf, from his wandering by moon-light
+over the hills.&nbsp; This man was known to be a spy, employed
+and paid by all the neighbouring farmers.&nbsp; His habits were,
+to sleep all day and to spend the night on the hill, watching to
+identify the hedge-pluckers and sheep-stealers.&nbsp; Many poor
+persons who depended on their nightly excursions for fuel, while
+they deemed themselves unobserved of any human being, cutting
+down a tree, or drawing dry wood from an old hedge, would
+suddenly find themselves in the presence of Stalking Simon.&nbsp;
+So instantaneous was his appearance, as to startle his victims
+with the idea of an apparition suddenly sprung up through the
+ground, as his approach was never seen till close upon them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;&rsquo;Tis only me, neighbour,&rsquo; would be
+the hypocrite&rsquo;s reply, &lsquo;searching for my stray
+pony:&rsquo; but when two persons had been executed and three
+transported, on his evidence, the nature of his employment became
+known, and he was execrated by the whole country.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One moon-light night, as I was skinning a fine weather,
+which I had suspended and spread out on an old storm-beaten
+thorn, in a field adjoining the mountain, easy in mind, and so
+fearless of danger, that I <a name="page218"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 218</span>whistled in a half hushed manner, as
+I followed my illicit occupation, a circumstance took place that
+wrought a violent change in the tone of my mind.&nbsp; My
+thoughts ran on the whimsicality of the idea of selling this very
+mutton to the rightful owner, on the morrow, which was
+market-day, and laughing inwardly at the thought: all at once,
+Stalking Simon, with a single stride, moved from behind a mossy
+dwarf thorn, gray as his own suit, and stood before me.&nbsp; My
+blood curdled with terror; but when the old stone-hearted wretch
+made the old Judas-like reply&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;&lsquo;It is only me, searching for my pony,&rsquo; I
+knew my danger, and my terror changed to savage ferocity against
+the vile informer, who had ruined so many of my friends and
+neighbours.&nbsp; I darted on him, grasped his collar with one
+hand, and with the other stabbed him to the heart.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Watt&rsquo;s tale was now ended, and he seemed to be terribly
+agitated at the recollection of old Simon&rsquo;s murder, and of
+the dreadful position into which his crime had brought him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;O God! what shall I do; where shall I fly?&rdquo; he
+exclaimed, &ldquo;I cannot return, for that road leads straight
+to the gallows, and in London I should be in hourly danger of
+being seen by somebody from the country.&nbsp; Since the
+perpetration of this deed of blood, I have not known an
+hour&rsquo;s peace.&nbsp; Heaven is my witness, I could be
+content with slavery, and smile beneath the man-driver&rsquo;s
+whip&mdash;could strip myself and wander the world in nakedness,
+or herd with beasts, to regain my former peace and
+innocence!&nbsp; Oh, I could labour till my bones ached, and my
+exhausted body dropped to the earth with fatigue, to be once more
+free from the keen stings of a guilty conscience!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm was but a poor comforter; for his strict ideas of justice
+and retribution made him look upon Watt&rsquo;s terrible agony as
+part of the punishment which he was called upon to pay for the
+awful crime of murder.</p>
+<p>After all, Watt&rsquo;s distress was due quite as much to the
+fear of the gallows, which he now saw to be in close <a
+name="page219"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 219</span>proximity
+to him, as to regret and repentance for his unwarrantable
+deed.</p>
+<p>Twm hardly recognized Watt as he sat there, his face blanched
+with fear, large drops of sweat rolling down his pale checks,
+with quivering lips and staring eyes, all showing the effect
+which his knowledge of the dreadful penalty which, from every
+prospect, speedily awaited him.</p>
+<p>A grey-coated man now approaching the tavern, brought dreadful
+associations to Watt&rsquo;s terrified conscience, and, in the
+utmost trepidation, he darted out at the back door of the inn,
+and ran across the fields with the speed of a pursued
+murderer.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIX.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm</span> encounters Tom
+Dorbell.&nbsp; The quick encounter of their wits, in which our
+hero has the advantage.&nbsp; Twm rescues a high dignitary of the
+church.&nbsp; Twm&rsquo;s triumphal entry into London in a
+bishop&rsquo;s carriage.</p>
+<p>It was yet only four o&rsquo;clock the following morning, when
+our hero was once more upon the road.&nbsp; The stars were bright
+as at midnight, and the fine bracing frost, the glory of our
+northern clime, seemed to have purified his blood, and at the
+same time excited his fancy, so that both mind and body were
+sweetly attuned, and in the full glow of enjoyment.&nbsp; It
+might be thought the knowledge he had gained of Gwenny&rsquo;s
+coquettings would have disheartened him; but his residence at
+Ystrad Feen, with his communion with the &ldquo;lady of his
+vision,&rdquo; had a little tinged his mind with something of
+romantic forebodings, that overshone the rusticity of earlier
+impressions.</p>
+<p>Elastic and lusty were his healthy limbs, as they bounded to
+the music of his heart, while he strode forward on the highway,
+exulting in the thought that the day had at length arrived on
+which his eyes were <a name="page220"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 220</span>to be regaled with a sight of the
+far-famed city of London.</p>
+<p>In this happy spirit, he successively passed through Langley
+Broom and Colnbrook, anxiously hoping to reach Hounslow by
+mid-day.&nbsp; Thus, light of heart, and full of brilliant
+anticipations, he continued to bound along the road.</p>
+<p>In this overweening fit of enthusiasm, he considered danger of
+every sort entirely out of the question; and this, too, if he
+knew the truth, while he wandered over the very hot-bed of
+robbers, both foot-pads and equestrians!&nbsp; Deluded by such a
+course of cogitation, he began to jeer himself on his simplicity
+in keeping his pistols loaded, and considered whether he had best
+fire them off for amusement or not.</p>
+<p>Before he had formed his resolution, he was startled to hear a
+rude and heavy tread close at his heels.&nbsp; Sudden as the
+thought, he turned round, and reeled some steps backward at the
+sight that presented itself!&nbsp; In the advanced light of the
+morning, he beheld a villainous-looking powerful man, with a long
+black-beard, who might have passed for the high-priest of a
+Jewish synagogue.&nbsp; He grasped a pistol that was levelled at
+his head, while his forefinger seemed actually pressing on the
+trigger.&nbsp; By his ominous silence, and the fierce glare of
+his eye, Twm conceived that murder and not robbery was his
+object, till the ruffian roared, &ldquo;Garnish or
+die!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Wha&mdash;what is garnish?&rdquo; stuttered Twm.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Money, and be d&mdash;d to you, or here goes!&rdquo;
+replied the bearded man, without the slightest touch of the
+dialect of the people whose chin-trimmings he had assumed.&nbsp;
+Our hero saw at once that this prepared ruffian was not to be
+trifled with, and that an instant&rsquo;s delay might cost him
+his existence; therefore, he immediately produced from his bosom
+the packet entrusted to him by Sir George Devereaux.</p>
+<p>As the robber reached to snatch it, Twm&rsquo;s wits were at
+work; assuming the dialect and foolery which he knew passed among
+the English for Welsh, &ldquo;Here <a name="page221"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 221</span>wass the money, look you now, but
+God tam! it wass not mine, but you shall haf it in the
+tifel&rsquo;s name, only let master see I wass praave, and show
+fight for it, look you, and not gif it up like a
+craaven.&rdquo;&nbsp; With that he gave it into the
+fellow&rsquo;s hand, saying, &ldquo;Now, her begs, and solicits,
+and entreats you to be so kind ass to shoot some holes in hur
+cott lappets, just a pounce or two, look you, to prove hur hard
+fight and praavery.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Aye, with the greatest pleasure in life!&rdquo; cried
+the ruffian, laughing.&nbsp; Here Twm put off his coat in an
+instant, and threw it over a bush on the roadside.&nbsp; When the
+robber fired at it, Twm leapt up, laughing with idiotic glee,
+crying, &ldquo;Got pless hur for a praave marksman! that was a
+noble pounce, look you!&nbsp; But now another pounce for tother
+lappet, and I wass have great praise for praavery!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>So the foot-pad, apparently amused, fired again, and Twm leapt
+and laughed as before, exclaiming, &ldquo;That was another nople
+pounce, look!&rdquo;&nbsp; He now ran to the bush, and snatching
+up his coat, put it on, seemingly as delighted with its
+perforations as a warrior of his vaunted scars.&nbsp; &ldquo;Now,
+one pounce more through my hat, look you, and all will be
+right!&rdquo; added he, appealingly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, as to that!&rdquo; replied the robber, commencing
+to break open the parcel with great eagerness, &ldquo;I have no
+more pounces, as you call them, to give you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But I have!&rdquo; thundered our hero, holding a pistol
+in each hand to the robber&rsquo;s breast, &ldquo;return the
+packet and garnish!&rdquo; continued he, &ldquo;or I will pounce
+your rascal prains apout the road, look you&mdash;and that wass
+not goot for your health, look you, this fine morning.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The robber was no bad judge of circumstances, so immediately
+returned the packet.&nbsp; &ldquo;Garnish!&rdquo; roared Twm,
+laughing, and holding the pistols nearer to his head; &ldquo;I
+must have a new suit for the one you pounced for me, look you
+now!&rdquo;&nbsp; The robber handed him a heavy purse, with a
+couple of splendid watches, exclaiming &ldquo;the devil&rsquo;s
+luck to you with them!&rdquo; on <a name="page222"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 222</span>which Twm snatched off his false
+beard, as he laughingly said, &ldquo;So much for a shallow knave
+whose length of beard is greater than his brains!&rdquo;&nbsp; No
+sooner was the beard removed, than Twm saw a deep scar on his
+left jaw, which cleared all doubt as to the identity of his
+antagonist.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Never was Tom Dorbell so humbugged before!&rdquo; cried
+the baffled ruffian, as he tore his hair up by the roots in
+resentment against Fortune, that allowed such an inauspicious day
+to dawn on him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What!&nbsp; Tom Dorbell, the Gallant Glover?&rdquo;
+queried Twm, with amazement.&nbsp; &ldquo;The same,&rdquo;
+growled the knight of the road, &ldquo;till my luck turned; but
+now I am nobody.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;By that blushing witness on your jaw-bone, I perceive
+we once met before,&rdquo; quoth Twm, jeeringly; &ldquo;I think,
+on the other side of Reading.&nbsp; I think, too, that, in token
+of friendship, we exchanged horses on that occasion, a Welsh pony
+for a gallant grey; and, I think, also, but perhaps I am
+mistaken, that I threw thee a long purse full of something
+<i>that uncle Timothy gave I to market for him at
+Reading</i>.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>By the well mimicked simplicity of the latter words, the
+freebooter knew him at once, and laughing in his turn, vowing
+that he was now satisfied that he was outdone by no common
+&rsquo;un, &ldquo;but a d&mdash;ned clever fellow, whoever thee
+bee&rsquo;st&rdquo;&nbsp; Quick as the fox who hears the hounds
+and hunters long before the sound can reach indifferent ears, Tom
+Dorbell started&mdash;gave a hasty farewell, dashed through the
+hedge, over a field, and was soon out of sight.</p>
+<p>The Gallant Glover&rsquo;s well-trained ears had heard the
+sound of horses&rsquo; feet, and, taking all things into
+consideration, he had thought it best to decline any fresh
+interview with travelling humanity until he had recovered his
+serenity of mind, and was in a position to enforce any demands it
+might please him to make.</p>
+<p>As the approaching horse and rider neared him, Twm perceived
+the latter to be a wounded man, evidently so much disabled as to
+be scarcely capable <a name="page223"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 223</span>of sitting on his horse.&nbsp; With
+courteous but hurried accents, the stranger addressed our hero,
+lifting his hat as he spoke.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Your pardon, sir; if you are armed and inclined to act
+a brave and generous part, you have now an opportunity of doing
+so.&rdquo;&nbsp; Twm declared his readiness.&nbsp; The stranger
+dismounted, with pain; &ldquo;Take this horse,&rdquo; cried he,
+&ldquo;ride forward as fast as you can, and a quarter of a mile
+on you will find a couple of robbers rifling a coach.&nbsp; Other
+assistance may arrive&mdash;on! on, sir! in heaven&rsquo;s name!
+the party assaulted are of no common rank or
+estimation&mdash;profit and reputation will attend their
+liberator, and&rdquo;&mdash;Twm was out of hearing before he
+could finish his sentence.</p>
+<p>Never did a young medical practitioner, called on an emergency
+to the bedside of a wealthy patient, whom he never thought to
+have the honour to approach, ride forth with a more excited
+imagination.&nbsp; Fire flashed from the stones, ground to powder
+by his horse&rsquo;s hoofs, and brief was the gallop that brought
+him in sight of the scene of villainy.</p>
+<p>The first object that struck his view were three or four
+horses, with their harness cut, one dead, and the others
+struggling on the road-side, while the centre was occupied by an
+un-horsed coach.&nbsp; As he came nearer, he distinctly made out
+a man at each door of the vehicle, their feet resting on the
+steps, while their heads, and the greater portion of their
+bodies, were invisible, implying their activity in the work of
+depredation.&nbsp; So intently devoted were they to this grand
+undertaking, that Twm&rsquo;s approach seemed either unnoticed or
+mistaken, perhaps, for the wounded and unharmed
+gentleman&rsquo;s, who had apprised him of this nefarious
+business.&nbsp; With that happy forethought given by indulgent
+Providence to the self-dependent, and which forms one of the
+grand ingredients in the chalice of success, our hero turned his
+horse from the thundering road to the soundless green beside it,
+and silently gained upon his object.</p>
+<p>He arrived within twenty paces of the coach, when <a
+name="page224"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 224</span>the green
+altogether ceased.&nbsp; Dismounting with the alacrity of the
+occasion, silent as the mole, and swift as the greyhound, he made
+a rush forward, and, contrary to his expectation, he found
+himself, unchallenged or unnoticed, close to the coach.&nbsp; He
+heard one of the amiable threatening instant death to his
+&ldquo;Lordship&rsquo;s reverence&rdquo; unless his watch
+accompanied his purse into the hands of his
+&ldquo;solicitors.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The opposite worthy was equally polite to a lady, after his
+own fashion, declaring that he had shot one of her sex lately for
+less provocation than she had shown, in withholding his fair
+demands, which was merely all her cash and jewels.</p>
+<p>Twm&rsquo;s instantaneous action was to catch the nearest
+gentleman by the ankles.&nbsp; With a powerful drag backwards,
+his feet were jerked off the coach-steps, and his full face
+literally <i>scraped</i> an ungentle acquaintance with their iron
+edges, in its rapid descent to the frosty road, which was flooded
+with his blood.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Hollo! where are you, Bill?&rdquo; enquired his active
+partner, thinking that he had merely lost his footing and falling
+accidentally.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here!&rdquo; cried Twm, firing at the word, when the
+robber fell backward from his perch, a lifeless corpse.&nbsp;
+Before he could recover himself, our hero was grappled at the
+throat by the powerful hands of the first robber.&nbsp; In the
+struggle, Twm managed to strike him twice with his discharged
+pistol on his blood-covered face; but the strong ruffian&rsquo;s
+tenacious grip tightened notwithstanding; and our tale must have
+terminated here, with the death of its hero, but for an
+unexpected relief.</p>
+<p>The venerable and aged gentleman in the coach with his
+daughter, looking out on this deadly struggle with intense
+anxiety, snatched up a pistol which had been dropped in the
+carriage, seized a critical moment, and discharged it at the ear
+of the freebooter, whose head was perforated by the bullet, so
+that his grasp relaxed, and he fell backward, with his eyes
+glaring on his <a name="page225"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+225</span>intended victim, and, with a ferocious oath in his
+mouth, he expired.</p>
+<p>The aged gentleman now called to the lady, who sprang from the
+coach, declaring he feared that the villain had succeeded in
+destroying their deliverer.&nbsp; Well, indeed, might he have
+thought so, as Twm had sunk senseless on the road, the stagnant
+blood blackening in his face, and his eyes projecting from their
+sockets.</p>
+<p>On recovering a little, he found a young lady bathing his
+temples, and applying her scent-bottle, while the venerable old
+gentleman was busied in rubbing his neck to restore the
+circulation of the blood, which now happily took place.</p>
+<p>On his recovery, our hero learnt that the party whom he had
+succoured were the venerable Doctor Morgan, Bishop of St. Asaph,
+translator of the Scriptures into Welsh, and his only daughter;
+and that the wounded gentleman who sent Twm to their rescue, and
+who had now rejoined the party, was his lordship&rsquo;s
+chaplain.</p>
+<p>This spirited clergyman had manfully opposed the depredators,
+when they first attacked the coach, but was sadly wounded by a
+bullet in the right arm.&nbsp; In the midst of the
+congratulations, compliments, and explanations that followed, the
+spirit of the scene became suddenly changed to one that is
+patronized by the comic muse.</p>
+<p>Alarmed by the report of the bishop&rsquo;s servants, who
+liberated themselves, having been tied to a tree by the thieves,
+the town of Hounslow evinced its heroism by sending forth its
+constabulary force, with the principal inn-keeper, who was also a
+farmer, and his farm-servants.</p>
+<p>A motley assemblage, in truth, it proved!&nbsp; Some were on
+foot, and some on horse or ass-back, and one fellow was seen
+bestriding a large horned ox, that reluctantly yielded the speed
+required of him; while each and all were as whimsically armed as
+mounted.&nbsp; The valiant joskin on the ox, flourished a flail,
+threatening annihilation to the rogues of the road, but
+lucklessly <a name="page226"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+226</span>struck his own sconce by exercising the weapon.&nbsp;
+The ostler and waiter, who was also the plough-boy, was mounted
+on a superannuated blind mare, and grasped a dung-fork with the
+consequence of a Neptune&rsquo;s trident.&nbsp; Among the others
+were seen bill-hooks, a scythe, three spades, an awfully long
+spit, and a ponderous wooden beetle.</p>
+<p>But the most amusing figure in the group was the old landlady
+and farm-wife, who had hastily mounted a donkey, and was riding
+it in a more masculine style than is usual to the fair sex, and
+thumping the restive brute with a vast wooden ladle, with which,
+for she led the van, she was prepared to battle with the
+highwaymen.&nbsp; Finding them already conquered, her heroic
+spirit vented itself in discontent, that she had had no hand in
+the great event.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Dang un!&rdquo; quoth the doughty dame, &ldquo;I would
+ha baisted the chops o&rsquo;un noicely!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Shame on thee, dame! cover thy garters&mdash;whoy
+dusten roide like a christen woman,&rdquo; cried her lord and
+master, who rode a high horse, and bore a huge cavalry sword.</p>
+<p>At this rebuke, the bishop&rsquo;s daughter, his lordship, and
+the chaplain, laughed most heartily; while our hero, now pretty
+well recovered, joined in their glee.</p>
+<p>The fallen being consigned to the care of the landlord, and
+the coach somewhat righted, our hero was seated by the chaplain,
+and facing his lordship, who, with his amiable daughter,
+cordially acknowledged his services; which the worthy prelate
+declared were not to be requited with mere words.</p>
+<p>Twm, with truth, averred he was indebted for his life to the
+promptitude with which his lordship brought the ruffian down; and
+therefore the services he received, he said, far over-balanced
+any that he had rendered.&nbsp; The modest position in which he
+had thus placed himself, worked well in his favour, and was fully
+estimated.&nbsp; After having refreshed at Hounslow, and the
+chaplain&rsquo;s arm dressed, depositions having been made,
+before the judicial authorities, of the attack and rescue, the
+party <a name="page227"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+227</span>filled his lordship&rsquo;s carnage again, and all were
+driven off towards London, well guarded by a rustic patrol sent
+from Hounslow.</p>
+<p>On the way, Twm explained that he was an agent of Sir George
+Devereaux&rsquo;s to a Mr. Martyn&rsquo;s in Holborn, and the
+bearer of a sum of money to him.&nbsp; The bishop seemed
+surprised, and declared that Mr. Martyn was his very good friend,
+and chosen by him to be an umpire on the following day, in a
+matter of great importance.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;To-morrow, then,&rdquo; added the bishop, &ldquo;I
+shall see you at my friend&rsquo;s house, and learn from you in
+what manner I can serve your interests.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Our hero bowed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Your lordship will have your long deferred explanation
+with the fiery old baronet, Sir John Wynn, then,
+to-morrow?&rdquo; asked the chaplain.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied the old bishop, &ldquo;and heaven
+send me scatheless from a contest with that self-willed
+man!&nbsp; In our interview I can only repeat what I have
+objected in my letters; and right well I know, he can only
+reiterate his former ill-grounded assertions.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Our hero was thunderstruck with these observations and became
+silent and thoughtful.</p>
+<p>Many were the villages and suburbs through which they passed,
+before the lady, breaking a silence which had endured some time,
+exclaimed, &ldquo;The stones of London, at last, my
+Lord.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The worthy prelate directed his coachman to drive to Mr.
+Martyn&rsquo;s; and, in a brief space, the carriage stopped at a
+large, lofty, and many gabled house, opposite to St.
+Andrew&rsquo;s Church, in Holborn, where Twm was put down, and
+kindly received by Mr. Martyn, who helped him from the
+bishop&rsquo;s coach.&nbsp; His lordship observed that he was
+waited for by his brother, the Bishop of London, at Lambeth
+Palace; briefly referred to the business of the morrow, kindly
+shook hands with our hero, as did the young lady and the
+chaplain, each repeating their acknowledgments, and when the <a
+name="page228"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 228</span>carriage
+drove off, Twm Shon Catty was ceremoniously ushered into the fine
+town-house of Mr. Martyn.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXX.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm</span>, at last, face
+to face with his paternal parent.&nbsp; A little scene between a
+Baronet and a Bishop.&nbsp; Twm&rsquo;s particular star
+brightens.</p>
+<p>When it became known that Twm was the bearer of money from the
+baronet to Mr. Martyn, that he had rescued the bishop of St.
+Asaph and party, and that he was the hero of many other
+encounters with daring highwaymen, he became quite a lion in the
+house, was regarded as a fine specimen of a Welshman, and, in
+homely language, was &ldquo;made much of.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Previous to the sound slumber that soon overcame his
+softly-pillow&rsquo;d head, he pondered much on what he had heard
+of his reputed father, and felt his mind strongly impressed with
+the idea that the coming morrow teemed with events that would
+cast their shade or sunshine on his future days.</p>
+<p>In a dream that followed, he found himself in the presence of
+a passionate little gentleman who threatened him with terrible
+vengeance, unless he returned to the house of Morris Greeg, and
+gave his hand in marriage to the amiable daughter Shaan; and he
+thought he discovered in a murky recess, a parrot-nosed sprite,
+resembling Moses, who was grinning at his dilemma; when the lady
+of his former dream appeared suddenly, and smiled like an angel
+on the churlish old man, who forthwith smiled again, when Ianto
+Gwyn stood forth with his harp; on which he joined her in a Welsh
+jig.&nbsp; Then came a long and dreamless sleep, which at length
+was broken by the numerous clocks of London, clamorously
+informing its citizens of the seventh hour of a new day.</p>
+<p><a name="page229"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 229</span>The
+letters borne by our hero to Mr. Martyn from Sir George Devereaux
+spoke most highly of his abilities and good qualities; and the
+trust reposed in him by the baronet was fully evinced by his
+being trusted with such an important pecuniary mission as that
+which had brought him to London.</p>
+<p>In addition, his introduction by the Bishop of St. Asaph, with
+the details of his acknowledged services to that venerable
+prelate, insured our hero the most marked consideration among his
+present friends, who vied with each other in their attentions to
+him.&nbsp; The whole family expressed their hope that his stay
+would be long in town; and Mrs. Martyn insisted that he would
+make their house his home the while.</p>
+<p>After breakfast, Twm requested a private conversation with his
+host; when he explained, with straightforward candour, that,
+although unlooked-for circumstances had placed him in his present
+favourable position, he was, in reality, the most friendless of
+human beings; inasmuch that he was a natural son, unacknowledged
+by his father.</p>
+<p>Mr. Martyn kindly commiserated him; and our hero
+continued,&mdash;&ldquo;I learnt yesterday evening that the
+Bishop of St. Asaph is to-day engaged to meet the man, who, of
+all others, I wish, yet dread to see&mdash;my father, Sir John
+Wynn of Gwydir.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Sir John Wynn, your father!&rdquo; exclaimed Mr.
+Martyn, in great astonishment.&nbsp; &ldquo;The same,&rdquo;
+replied Twm, &ldquo;yet he knows me not, nor have I a single
+document or a witness to prove it.&nbsp; Yet did I hope, ardently
+hope, that some chance would turn up in my favour, to avail
+myself of the meeting of this day, between Sir John and the good
+bishop.&rdquo;&nbsp; Mr. Martyn said, with much concern, that,
+although their mutual friend, he saw great difficulties to oppose
+the introduction of such a matter.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This conference,&rdquo; continued he, &ldquo;cannot end
+amicably; one party is bent on urging a claim, while the other is
+resolved to reject it, and they will part bad friends at last;
+while I, their umpire, cannot prevent <a name="page230"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 230</span>it.&nbsp; Sir John, ruffled by
+disappointment, will be in no cue to listen to any claims on his
+kindness, especially one of a nature so serious, more especially
+as the very existence of such a complaint, criminates his past
+conduct.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It struck our hero, that it would be well to make the
+benevolent bishop acquainted with his tale, and take his advice;
+with which suggestion, Mr. Martyn entirely agreed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Bishop,&rdquo; observed the latter, &ldquo;is an
+early man, generally, and will, no doubt, be the first to call
+this morning.&rdquo;&nbsp; While they were yet speaking, a
+servant announced Sir John Wynn&rsquo;s carriage; and before Mr.
+Martyn could reply, or rise from his chair, Sir John Wynn
+entered.&nbsp; Martyn, rising with a bland countenance, met the
+Baronet&rsquo;s advances with courtesy, if not cordiality.&nbsp;
+Our hero having retired to the window, was unseen by Sir John,
+although Twm seized the opportunity of exercising all his powers
+of observation.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, I am the first in the field, I see,&rdquo;
+observed the Baronet; &ldquo;and now, my dear Mr. Martyn, let me
+again impress you with the sense of the wrongs I endured from
+this ungrateful Priest, this Bishop of my own
+making.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;My dear Sir John,&rdquo; replied
+Martyn, &ldquo;he may arrive this instant, and then see how
+unseemly it will be to find you touching on the case before his
+arrival, and me your unbiassed umpire.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, Martyn, Martyn!&rdquo; replied the Baronet,
+disregarding the delicacy of the appeal, &ldquo;there is no grief
+like the grief of unkindness; he rewarded me with evil for good,
+to the great discomfort of my soul.&nbsp; I may well say so, and
+justly complain to you of my Lord of St. Asaph, who, besides what
+his ancestors received of mine, is in many matters beholden to
+me.&nbsp; My mind is eased by opening to you his hard dealings
+with me, and my benefits towards him;&mdash;but who is
+that?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Our hero, feeling the awkwardness of his situation, had
+coughed gently, to inform the gentleman of his presence, and
+while making towards the door, was not <a
+name="page231"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+231</span>ungracefully apologizing for his presence.&nbsp; He
+stopped as Mr. Martyn took his hand, and replied, &ldquo;A young
+countryman of yours, Sir John; or, I should say, a South Walian,
+whom I beg leave to introduce to you as my friend.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ha, ha!&rdquo; cried Sir John, with his constitutional
+heartiness, &ldquo;a young Welshman, a countryman of my own; your
+hand, Sir!&rdquo; and the old gentleman shook it with a friendly
+feeling towards his country, if not the individual.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;I could have sworn,&rdquo; continued Sir John, &ldquo;he
+was a native of our glorious mountain land, by his frank open
+countenance, and healthy look, unlike your suet-pudding-faced
+cockneys here.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>A servant answering the bell, Mr. Martyn desired that his son
+should show his guest to the picture gallery, on which our hero
+withdrew, with a tear in his eye which he found it impossible to
+suppress, when he felt the pressure of his father&rsquo;s
+hand.</p>
+<p>The parlour door being closed, Martyn recounted briefly our
+hero&rsquo;s adventures, in bringing him a considerable sum of
+money, from Carmarthenshire.&nbsp; Sir John gave one of his most
+loud and hearty laughs, when he heard how he outwitted the
+notorious Tom Dorbell.&nbsp; But when he related his part in the
+rescue of the Bishop, at the imminent peril of his life, the
+Baronet grew serious; but giving way to his spleen against the
+prelate, he replied, &ldquo;I wish he had saved some one more
+worthy of his bravery!&mdash;but, Martyn, I must be better
+acquainted with this gallant.&nbsp; A brave young Welshman like
+this, should be known, noted, and patronized! but perhaps he has
+abundance of friends without my thought of him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not so, Sir John, he is a stranger in London, and
+almost friendless anywhere,&mdash;he is a natural son; but you
+may hear his history hereafter,&rdquo; replied Mr. Martyn, almost
+pointedly, as he fixed his eyes on the Baronet.</p>
+<p>This was not unobserved by him, as he smiled, and said,
+&ldquo;You mean something, Martyn; but let it pass <a
+name="page232"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 232</span>for the
+present; so let us proceed with this matter of mine.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In honour and truth, I can hear no more till his
+lordship arrives,&rdquo; was the reply.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, why doesn&rsquo;t he come, then,&rdquo; said Sir
+John, with the unamiable frown that at times distinguished him;
+adding, rather superciliously, &ldquo;is it fitting Mr. Martyn,
+that the head of the house of Gwydir should be waiting the
+leisure of this parson lord,&mdash;I shall drive out a little,
+and let him wait for me in his turn.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Sir John took a quick turn towards the door, but, stopping
+suddenly, said he would join the young men in the picture
+gallery, where, accompanied by Mr. Martyn, he went.&nbsp; With
+the younger Martyn, the Baronet was well enough acquainted; and
+now his aim was to chat with our hero.</p>
+<p>Twm became a little agitated as he found himself in close
+contact with his father, and a something like an equality in
+society, since they were both friends in the same family.&nbsp;
+True, this was really owing to the accident of circumstances, but
+Twm was there fairly upon his own merits, and not by
+imposition.&nbsp; Sir John asked him particulars concerning his
+adventures on the highway, and Twm, throwing all his natural wit
+into the account, made a favourable impression on his father.</p>
+<p>The Martyns, father and son, being summoned down stairs, the
+stately baronet was left alone with his humble and unknown
+son.&nbsp; Twm looked towards the walls, with some feelings of
+awkwardness.&nbsp; The old-fashioned gallery was hung with
+numerous paintings: portraits by Holbein and Vandyke, with
+interesting and humorous pieces by foreign masters.&nbsp; Sir
+John pointed out and warmly expatiated on the merits and
+peculiarities of the various schools, fixing his eyes more on our
+hero&rsquo;s face than on the paintings, to measure the extent of
+his taste and intellect by the effect they might produce on him;
+for the Baronet was quite an enthusiast in the fine arts, and
+would be quick in discovering whether or not he <a
+name="page233"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 233</span>was
+throwing away his observations on a blockhead.&nbsp; He was not
+slow in observing the evidence of mind in his auditor, from the
+deep interest which he took in his details; but he especially
+remarked that his fancy was principally taken by the drolleries
+and homeliness of the Dutch and Flemish pictures, in one of which
+Twm fancied he saw a resemblance to Carmarthen Jack, his aunt
+Juggy, of hump-backed peculiarity, and even a counterpart to the
+starveling Moses.&nbsp; Apologizing for the rusticity of his
+taste, he owned his admiration of the boors and the lowly
+damsels, as they reminded him of some such, the familiars of his
+childhood in Wales.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And where might that be passed?&rdquo; enquired the
+Baronet, smilingly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In the humble town of Tregaron, in
+Cardiganshire,&rdquo; replied Twm.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Who are the principal gentry in that
+neighbourhood?&rdquo; enquired the Baronet.&nbsp; When Twm
+mentioned Squire Graspacre and his late lady, Sir John looked him
+hard in the face; then, silently fixing his eyes on the floor, he
+recollected a certain passage in his life, that prevented him
+visiting Graspacre-Hall, from the dread he entertained of the
+censures and lectures of his decorous and straight-laced sister,
+Mrs. Graspacre.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Did you know the lady you mentioned, Mrs.
+Graspacre?&rdquo; enquired the baronet.&nbsp; &ldquo;Very well,
+Sir John,&rdquo; was Twm&rsquo;s reply, &ldquo;I have great
+reason, for, to that lady&rsquo;s benevolence I am indebted for
+the little education I have received.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Now, Sir John knew very well that his sister was anything but
+benevolent, so that by this assertion our hero lost a little in
+his opinion, and he suspected him of a little cant.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;If she sent you to school, she had some motive; what
+was it?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;I am a natural son, Sir John, which,
+perhaps Mr. Martyn informed you of: the lady sent me to school,
+because one of her great relations was said to be my
+father,&rdquo; replied Twm, fixing his eyes on the <a
+name="page234"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+234</span>baronet&rsquo;s face, which he had the satisfaction of
+seeing quail beneath his riveting gaze.</p>
+<p>Recovering himself, however, he cast a severe look on our
+hero, and, in a harsh tone and manner, said, &ldquo;Now must I
+doubt all your assertions, as one falsehood is apparent to
+me.&nbsp; The lady you named was my sister, and certain it is
+that no relation of hers could be your father.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Here the lion in our hero&rsquo;s heart was roused, and he
+indignantly repelled the charge of falsehood, saying that he
+expected neither truth nor honour from his father, since he was
+known to him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And what may be your father&rsquo;s name then?&rdquo;
+asked the Baronet, biting his lip, to prevent the laughter that
+seemed ready to burst out.&nbsp; &ldquo;Sir John Wynn of
+Gwydir!&rdquo; exclaimed Twm in a dare-devil strain, that made
+the Baronet start at his vehemence.&nbsp; Admiring the fire that
+flashed in his eyes, his honest, fearless, and energetic
+behaviour, Sir John opened his arms, and received him in his
+embrace!</p>
+<p>When Mr. Martyn came to announce the arrival of the bishop, he
+found our hero sobbing on his father&rsquo;s neck, who soothed
+him by promises, that the neglect of years should now be
+remedied, and that he was glad and proud of the original, which
+he found in Mr. Martyn&rsquo;s picture gallery.</p>
+<p>The interview had ended very differently to what Twm and Mr.
+Martyn had expected, and our hero felt grateful to a protecting
+Providence which had so ordered events.</p>
+<p>Sir John and Mr. Martyn descended, and our hero was left alone
+in the picture gallery.&nbsp; They joined the worthy Bishop at
+the table in the old-fashioned saloon, which, being overlooked
+from the rails of the gallery, Twm saw and heard all that passed,
+by the particular invitation of his worthy host.</p>
+<p>The Bishop commenced addressing Mr. Martyn:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We are here met to-day, Mr. Martyn,&rdquo; said he,
+&ldquo;to submit to your arbitration, a matter in dispute between
+Sir John and myself.&nbsp; Sir John has expressed <a
+name="page235"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 235</span>himself to
+you with reference to me, in an unfriendly manner, yet I have
+every confidence in your impartial judgment.&rdquo;&nbsp; Here
+Mr. Martyn bowed, and Sir John, coughing to keep down his choler,
+of which he had as good a share as ever fell to the lot of a
+Cambro Briton, flourished his laced cambric handkerchief about
+his face, as he added, &ldquo;His lordship cannot be more glad of
+an unbiassed umpire than I am myself, Mr. Martyn.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Bishop continued:&mdash;&ldquo;Sir John&rsquo;s request to
+me, was, that I would confirm a lease for three lives, upon the
+rectory of Llanrwst, at the yearly rent of fifty pounds; the same
+being worth one hundred and forty pounds, and is of my
+patronage.&nbsp; This request much perplexed my mind, for it
+grieved me to deny Sir John anything, yet my conscience cried
+aloud against such a grant, so prejudicial to the church itself,
+and especially to the next incumbent, whom I should have
+grievously wronged by beggaring the See, and injuring the living
+for future Clergymen.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Here the Bishop resumed his seat, and the Baronet with great
+assumption of stateliness, rose and spoke in a slow and
+acrimonious strain.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The sower went out to sow; and some of his seed fell in
+stony ground, where it withered, because it took not root; the
+seed was good, but the land nought.&nbsp; I may justly say so by
+you, my lord.&nbsp; I have in all things showed myself a friend,
+my lord; inasmuch that if I had not pointed the way with my
+finger, whereof I have yet good testimony, your lordship would
+have been still humble vicar of Llaurhaiader.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Bishop, without rising, mildly replied, &ldquo;You have
+done me much kindness, Sir John, but no dishonest kindness; nor
+do I mean to deny you any of your fair requests.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am really much obliged to your lordship, for your
+present good opinion,&rdquo; replied the Baronet, with sneering
+courtesy, &ldquo;more particularly that you express your opinion
+before Mr. Martyn.&nbsp; But the words you <a
+name="page236"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 236</span>have just
+uttered agree only indifferently with others you have at various
+times used in reference to me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Good Sir John,&rdquo; replied the Bishop, &ldquo;you do
+wrong me very much to say so.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Sir John replied with much warmth, &ldquo;I have good proof,
+my lord, that you protested to your late servant, Thomas Vaughan,
+that all the good I ever did you, when vicar of Llaurhaiader, was
+to go to Llandda Church, and with my family add so much to your
+scanty congregation there; and, forsooth! that I had once on a
+time sent you a fat ox, on your installation in the See of Asaph;
+truly, my lord, this is to strain at a gnat, and swallow a
+camel.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The good Bishop&rsquo;s reply was mild and conciliating.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Good Sir John, you wrong yourself as much as me, to
+believe such idle sayings.&nbsp; If this were not a case of
+conscience, you should not need to ask me twice; remembering
+ancient kindness, your request is of great force to
+me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You plead conscience when you should give, and make no
+pains to receive courtesy of your friends,&rdquo; replied Sir
+John.&nbsp; Then, changing from the sarcastic tone in which this
+was uttered to one of vehemence, he proceeded.&nbsp; &ldquo;But I
+appeal to Him who searches the consciences of all men, whether
+you have used me well; and whether conscience, which you have
+ever in your mouth, be the sole hindrance of my request.&nbsp; I
+will avow and justify it before the greatest divines in England,
+that has always been the usage, now is, and ever will be, that a
+man may with a safe conscience be a farmer of a living, paying in
+effect for the same as much as it is worth.&nbsp; I stand on your
+word, my lord of St. Asaph, your sacred word of promise, the
+confirmation of my lease and the advowson.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Temperate and patient still was the Prelate&rsquo;s
+reply.&nbsp; &ldquo;I made no such promise; my words were
+&lsquo;that I would be very loath to confirm any lease upon any
+presentative benefice; that I would do as much, and more for you,
+than for any other; that if I would confirm any <a
+name="page237"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 237</span>lease,
+yours would be the first.&rsquo;&nbsp; In conclusion, I never did
+confirm any, nor do I mean so to do; therefore is such
+conditional promise void, and my honour and word sufficiently
+vindicated.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Baronet tenaciously urged,&mdash;&ldquo;It is well known
+that your Lordship has favoured others in such a
+matter.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not so,&rdquo; replied the Bishop, rather more
+impatiently; &ldquo;you well know there is a difference between
+granting a lease of our own, and confirming the lease of another;
+between a presentative benefice and an impropriation; between a
+public usage and a private one: still you refuse to note these
+distinctions, and exclaim that I have confirmed the lease, and
+will not, according to my promise, confirm yours.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The last remark of the Bishop&rsquo;s appeared to be
+unanswerable, and Sir John seemed to think so too, as, instead of
+replying to the argument directly, he began to beg the question,
+and give way to the overbearing petulance of a spoiled child of
+fortune.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is not,&rdquo; replied he, &ldquo;the loss of the
+thing that I regard a dobkin, but your unkind dealing; it shall
+lessen me hereafter to expect no sweet fruit from so sour a
+stock.&nbsp; But my lord of St. Asaph, you know my stand in the
+world.&nbsp; I never have been a man to make requests and be
+denied; therefore having never failed before in my requests, my
+grief is the greater.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Pray Heaven, Sir John, that your grief of missing be
+not like Ahab&rsquo;s grief for Naboth&rsquo;s vineyard,&rdquo;
+was the Bishop&rsquo;s pithy and characteristic reply.</p>
+<p>Here Sir John sprang to his feet, exclaiming almost fiercely,
+&ldquo;My lord, my lord, I am not of a nature to put up with
+wrongs; for as I have studied for your good, and wrought the
+same, so be assured of me as bitter an enemy as ever I was a
+steadfast friend!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A fiery little father have I found to-day,&rdquo;
+thought Twm, as he noticed the vehemence of the baronet.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am ashamed of you,&rdquo; continued he, &ldquo;almost
+forgetting the courtesy of a gentleman, and the firm, <a
+name="page238"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 238</span>but mild
+and patriachal character of the Bishop.&nbsp; I am ashamed for
+you, that you have hereby given cause to your enemies and mine to
+descant on the ingrate disposition.&nbsp; You have made use of
+gentlemen when they serve you, and afterwards discard them, on
+the pretence of conscience, forsooth!&nbsp; I laboured in your
+cause, my lord, as if it had been to save the life of one of my
+children.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>These hard uncompromising words did not exasperate the
+venerable prelate, whose command of temper under trying
+circumstances, and unjust aspersions, was worthy of his
+reputation.&nbsp; He rose with dignified demeanour, and said,
+&ldquo;Amongst other kindnesses, Sir John you gave good testimony
+of me; I pray you let me continue worthy of it; so many chips
+have been already hewed from the church, that it is ready to
+fall; you ought rather to help than to despoil it.&nbsp; Thus it
+stands with us, Sir John, which I pray you Mr. Martyn note.&nbsp;
+You ask of me certain leases&mdash;you ask me to injure my
+successor in my diocese, to benefit you! you urge the favours I
+have received at your hands, and claim from me rewards that are
+not mine to give.&nbsp; Were I to grant your desires I should
+prove myself a dishonest, unconscionable, irreligious man, a
+sacrilegious robber of the church, a perfidious spoiler of my
+diocese, and an unnatural foe to preachers and scholars.&nbsp; I
+do verily think it were better to rob on the highway than to do
+the thing you request.&nbsp; However hard you may take my denial,
+be it known to you, if the father and mother whom I loved and
+honoured were alive and made such requests, I should have the
+grace to say nay.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Bishop took his seat, and began to repeat his regrets,
+when the Baronet started from the table, and in a furious mood
+began to pace the saloon to and fro; but stopping suddenly he
+exclaimed, &ldquo;Your verbal love I esteem as nothing!&nbsp; I
+have ten sons&mdash;(eleven interrupted the Bishop, with quite
+jocoseness;) I say I have ten sons,&rdquo; repeated the Baronet;
+and &ldquo;if <a name="page239"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+239</span>ever they forget this,&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;Eleven sons
+and the last as good as the best;&rdquo; interrupted the Bishop
+again.&nbsp; &ldquo;But where is this gallant
+deliverer?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr. Martyn beckoned our hero down, while Sir John suddenly
+resumed his seat at the table.&nbsp; On the good Prelate&rsquo;s
+pressing Twm to name in what manner he could reward his services,
+he at last replied, &ldquo;By yielding to Sir John&rsquo;s
+request as far as your Lordship sees right.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The whole party stared with amazement at the unexpected
+reply.&nbsp; The Baronet was softened to tears, and but for
+compromising his dignity, would have embraced him before them
+all.&nbsp; The Bishop smiled, and shaking his hand very cordially
+replied, &ldquo;The request is as graceful in you to make as in
+me, to deny; that question is disposed of.&nbsp; In a few days I
+will call again, when you may decide in what I can be of service
+to you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>He then took a courteous leave of Mr. Martyn and of our hero,
+with a ceremonious bow to Sir John, and departed.&nbsp; Right
+glad was Martyn to be relieved, by the temper of the Baronet,
+from the unpleasant office of an arbitrator of their
+differences.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXI.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm</span> meets one of
+his best friends from Wales.&nbsp; Death of Sir George
+Devereaux.&nbsp; Hopes and fears.&nbsp; Interruption of happy
+hours.&nbsp; Lady Devereaux&rsquo;s forced return to Wales.&nbsp;
+Twm follows her.</p>
+<p>Our hero was now living amongst the <i>elite</i> of the
+metropolis, and his daily communion with men of taste, feeling,
+and education, produced a quick and remarkable change for the
+better in his manners and personal appearance.&nbsp; His
+new-found father assisted him largely in his finances, and a
+handsome pecuniary present from the worthy bishop, accompanied
+with a <a name="page240"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+240</span>complimentary letter, which was doubly gratifying to
+him, as emanating from so respectable a source.</p>
+<p>When he had been eight months in London, he was sitting alone
+one morning in Mr. Martyn&rsquo;s picture gallery, intently
+pondering on his future plans of life, considering whether to
+return to his friends at Ystrad Feen, or seek employment in
+town.&nbsp; His reverie was disturbed by a servant&rsquo;s
+informing him that a gentleman was waiting to see him.</p>
+<p>On his descent to the parlour, great and gratifying was his
+surprise to meet there his old friend Rhys.&nbsp; The cordiality
+of their mutual greetings but faintly echoed the ardour of their
+feelings.&nbsp; News from the country was our hero&rsquo;s first
+inquiry, and Rhys assured him he had an abundance to
+relate.&nbsp; Gwenny Cadwgan is married, and living with her
+husband and father on a fine farm at Kevencoer-Cummer, near
+Merthyr.&nbsp; Walt the mole-catcher is transported, having
+narrowly escaped the gallows.&nbsp; Your mother and step-father
+are well.&nbsp; &ldquo;So much for Tregaron news,&rdquo; said
+Rhys; &ldquo;and now for Ystrad Feen and Llandovery.&nbsp; A
+singular coincidence,&mdash;in the same week we lost the
+venerable Vicar Prichard, and your friend Sir George
+Devereaux.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The last is a climax indeed to your budget; but is it
+really a fact that Sir George is no more?&rdquo; enquired Twm,
+looking hard in his friend&rsquo;s face.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Fact as deeth! as the Scotchman says,&rdquo; replied
+Rhys; &ldquo;He threw his life away in one of his foolish
+fox-hunting leaps.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, well!&nbsp; I am truly sorry,&rdquo; exclaimed
+Twm, &ldquo;for he was a kind being.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;He was
+so; but tell me truly,&rdquo; said Rhys, looking archly in his
+friend&rsquo;s eyes, &ldquo;is it for death, or his lady&rsquo;s
+being left so young a widow, that your sorrow is most
+intense?&rdquo;&nbsp; Twm looked grave, but finally smiled, as
+Rhys, with great archness, added, &ldquo;It somewhat strikes me
+that this is a sorrow which you will soon get over; and, if I
+mistake not, so will the widow too.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Here Twm took his hand, and said, &ldquo;You look deeper into
+the hearts of men than I thought; but listen to a <a
+name="page241"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 241</span>mystery and
+expound the dream that has so long haunted me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Here he related the particulars of the &ldquo;glorious
+vision&rdquo; in the hay-loft of Morris Greeg, and of its
+repetition since he came to London; &ldquo;and strange to
+say,&rdquo; added he, &ldquo;it was in widow&rsquo;s weeds the
+fair spirit each time appeared.&nbsp; What can be the meaning or
+end of such dreams?&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll tell
+thee,&rdquo; answered Rhys, leaning on his shoulder and looking
+in his face; &ldquo;Dreams long nursed, especially waking dreams,
+in time become realities&mdash;so will yours; you will marry this
+young widow, Twm!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Me! impossible!&rdquo; cried Twm, blushing from the
+chin to the forehead.&nbsp; &ldquo;Oh, very well, I&rsquo;ll
+court her myself, then!&rdquo; cried Rhys; on which they both
+burst into a most hearty laugh.</p>
+<p>Our hero was growing silent and meditative, when Rhys,
+striking him a hearty smack on the shoulder, asked, &ldquo;What
+would you say now, if the fair widow was herself in town at this
+moment?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What!&rdquo; cried Twm, starting up, with an expression
+of interest that nothing could repress.&nbsp; Rhys in a most
+serious strain, assured him that her father, being chosen a
+knight of the shire for the ancient county of Brecon, was now in
+town with his widowed daughter.&nbsp; That he had ridden to town
+in their company, by which he had availed himself of a safe
+escort from the dangers of the road.&nbsp; Rhys added, that he
+had frequently conversed with the Lady Devereaux, both at home
+and on the journey, and that he, Master Thomas Jones, had always
+been the subject of her conversation and eulogy.</p>
+<p>Very shortly after this conversation, in fact as shortly after
+as sufficed to take Twm and his friend Rhys to the town-house of
+Sir John Price, which was situated in Derby-street, Westminster,
+our hero was shaking hands and exchanging hearty good-wishes and
+congratulations with the &ldquo;lady of his dream.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+His recollection of his dearly-cherished vision was now <a
+name="page242"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 242</span>stronger
+than ever, in consequence of the widows&rsquo; cap which she had
+lately assumed.</p>
+<p>On the part of Sir John, our hero&rsquo;s reception was more
+ceremonious than friendly, but the feeling evinced in his
+daughter&rsquo;s eyes, and the speaking pressure of her hand,
+made ample amends for the baronet&rsquo;s stately coldness.</p>
+<p>Having dined together, Sir John retired early on a more
+ceremonial visit, and the three friends were left together; for
+Lady Devereaux held Rhys in great esteem for his high
+professional character, and unassuming manners; and, in truth, we
+must add, more than all, for the friendship evinced by him for
+our hero, and the friendly way in which he spoke of him in his
+absence.&nbsp; It was with surprise and regret they heard the
+announcement of Rhys&rsquo; intention (being now superceded in
+his curacy by the new incumbent,) of quitting his country and
+entering a foreign university, to seek in a far land that
+consideration and advancement not attainable in his own.</p>
+<p>Lady Devereaux being only in the fifth month of her widowhood,
+the conversation, although kindly in the extreme, was of a
+melancholy cast.&nbsp; Rhys having to embark in the morning,
+urged the necessity of retiring early, and took his final leave
+of the fair widow, who expressed the kindest wishes for his
+prosperity and success in all undertakings.</p>
+<p>Accompanying his friend, Twm bade her adieu for the evening,
+and gained her leave to repeat his visit on the morrow.&nbsp; The
+permission to repeat his visits was eagerly seized by Twm, and
+not once a day only, but many times did he trouble Sir
+John&rsquo;s stately domestic to open the door to him.&nbsp; That
+he was welcome by the fair enchantress, he could not doubt, and
+pleasant were the mid-day walks in the Park or Mall, their indoor
+conferences, and the evening parties at which they shone as
+twin-stars; but trebly pleasant to our hero was the hour in which
+he ventured to break to her his tender feelings and his darling
+hopes.</p>
+<p><a name="page243"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 243</span>With
+the utmost candour, and without the least reservation, he told
+the humbleness of his origin, the blemish in his birth, his
+wretched bringing-up, and withal, the mysterious matter of his
+glorious vision.&nbsp; The assertion that the moment he beheld
+her, on rescuing her from the robber, he identified her face and
+figure with the lady of his dream, called forth her deepest
+blushes, and she audibly whispered
+&ldquo;Incredible!&rdquo;&nbsp; His repeated assertions,
+passionately urged, of the truth of his assertion, silenced and
+perhaps convinced her.</p>
+<p>Certain it is that, like the gentle Desdemona, &ldquo;She gave
+him for his pains a world of sighs;&rdquo; and time evinced to
+him that the lady had a tale to tell also, which proved that
+although highly born, and affluent as she was, her lot had not
+been entire sunshine.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am yet hardly twenty-one,&rdquo; replied she,
+&ldquo;although I have been twice married.&nbsp; To neither of
+these husbands have I been able to give my entire heart.&nbsp; My
+first union was at my father&rsquo;s <i>command</i>, when
+solicitations proved useless, to his contemporary and old
+schoolfellow, who was old-fashioned enough to restore the
+long-exploded <i>abs</i> in his name, vaunting himself as Thomas
+ab Rhys ab Thomas Gock, of Ystrad Feen; who could carry on the
+antique and rusty chain of <i>abs</i>, without a broken link,
+through several centuries up to the patriarch of his tribe,
+Elystan Glodrydd.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Poor old gentleman!&nbsp; I fed him with a pap-spoon,
+in his large gothic arm-chair, when a stroke of paralysis had
+withered his right hand; but in six months after our marriage
+(marriage!) he fell a victim to his ruling passion, which I will
+not name to his disparagement, and died of apoplexy.&nbsp; My
+year&rsquo;s mourning for him had barely expired, when my mother
+claimed her right of choosing my next husband; and, in the course
+of time, poor Sir George (peace to the memory of a harmless man!)
+became my second husband.&nbsp; Had I lived to these days
+unwedded,&rdquo; said she, with a look and tone of resolute
+firmness, almost foreign to her usual gentleness, &ldquo;it is
+more than probable that I <a name="page244"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 244</span>should not have become the victim of
+either of my parents&rsquo; whims.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My poor mother has been long deceased; but well I know
+my father&rsquo;s future aim respecting me&mdash;to have me
+united to some other choice of his own; but no! the sapling may
+bend to the storm, but, springing up again, who shall re-bend the
+youthful oak that time matures?&nbsp; If my good father inclines
+to play the tyrant with me, he will find some difference between
+the woman and the child.&rdquo;&nbsp; Applauding her resolution,
+Twm, kissed her hand with rapture; and, she added in a tone of
+gaiety, &ldquo;if ever I change my state, I shall become the
+votary of a different shrine to any that I have yet bowed
+to;&rdquo;</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;The little god shall shoot the porch,<br />
+Ere faithful Hymen waves his torch.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>With that expressive couplet, she rose, and our hero, with
+enlarged hopes, took a tender, but restrained and respectful
+leave of her.</p>
+<p>If Twm was heartily welcomed by Lady Devereaux, he was no less
+heartily disliked by her father.&nbsp; Sir John had learnt that
+he was a natural son of Sir John Wynn of Gwydir&rsquo;s, and no
+earthly merit could compensate, in his estimation, the bar of
+bastardy in his escutcheon.&nbsp; He sternly desired his daughter
+to break off all intercourse with our hero, as he had discovered,
+he said, the baseness of his origin.&nbsp; Although Twm appeared
+no more in his house, he had the mortification to learn that at
+the play, the ball, and in the Park and Mall, their meetings had
+been frequent.&nbsp; In a bitter spirit of resentment against his
+daughter, without the least previous warning, he one morning
+compelled her roughly to enter a coach at the door, which soon
+drove off, taking her she knew not whither.</p>
+<p>Our hero&rsquo;s surmises became numerous and agonizing, when
+for three long weeks he had neither seen nor heard from his
+charmer, although he had not missed one opportunity of
+encountering her at any of <a name="page245"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 245</span>their accustomed places of meeting,
+and his days became burdensome, and his nights sleepless.&nbsp;
+Just as he was sinking into a state of despondency, he one
+evening received a note in the hand of Lady Devereaux, informing
+him of her forcible conveyance to, and safe arrival at Ystrad
+Feen.&nbsp; His father having long since returned to North Wales,
+he took an affectionate but hasty leave of the hospitable family
+of the Martyns, and commenced his journey to his native
+principality.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm</span> in Wales
+again.&nbsp; His meeting with the &ldquo;lady of his
+dream.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;The course of true love never did run
+smooth,&rdquo; which Twm ruefully acknowledges.</p>
+<p>The dangers of the road had been somewhat reduced by the
+vigorous prosecution of highwaymen and robbers, many of whom had
+been lately convicted and executed.&nbsp; Travellers could pursue
+their way in comparative security, so Twm encountered no
+&ldquo;hair-breadth escapes by flood or field&rdquo; and his
+journey home, consequently added no exciting incident to swell
+his gallant reputation.&nbsp; At Reading, he heard of the late
+execution there of his former antagonist Tom Dorbell.</p>
+<p>Our hero&rsquo;s impatience towards the close of his journey
+was so great that he rode all night, that he might reach Ystrad
+Feen a day earlier.&nbsp; How would the &ldquo;lady of his
+dream&rdquo; receive him?&nbsp; With what delight would he not
+gaze upon her dear face again!&nbsp; When Twm, mounted on a
+goodly steed, dashed into the court-yard, Lady Devereaux, who
+witnessed his arrival sprang from her seat and hurried to meet
+him as he reached the entrance hall.&nbsp; We fear, for the
+honour of prudery, that her resistance was not very great.</p>
+<p><a name="page246"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 246</span>When
+our gallant hero caught her in his arms, and impressed a certain
+number of kisses somewhere about the region of the cheeks and
+lips, both of which looked many degrees redder than when, a few
+minutes before, she complained to Miss Meredith of his strange
+delay in town.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Kiss her also, so that she can&rsquo;t tell tales of
+me!&rdquo; said the gay young widow; so Twm, somewhat less
+ardently, kissed Miss Meredith, and seemed to look about to see
+if there were any more business of that kind on hand.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My dear Mr. Jones, you are welcome, most welcome, back
+to Wales, and trebly welcome to me, and the lonely walls of
+Ystrad Feen,&rdquo; were the kind Lady Joan&rsquo;s first
+words.&nbsp; Neither of the ladies was slow in discovering the
+change for the better which had taken place in his address, his
+former diffidence and indecision of manner being supplanted by
+easy confidence, and high animal spirits.</p>
+<p>Twm was now, indeed, happy with the &ldquo;lady of his
+dream;&rdquo; for he was on much more intimate terms with her
+than he had, at one time, ever hoped to be.&nbsp; She told him
+that when her father so suddenly forced her into the coach, to be
+hurried towards the country, she was joined by two lofty ladies,
+his maiden sisters, who literally became her jailors in the
+travelling vehicle.&nbsp; Our hero remembered them well, from
+seeing them at cards one evening at their brother&rsquo;s; and he
+did not fail to describe them to young Martyn, as ugly as
+heartless pride, ill-temper, long saturnine noses, yellow ribbons
+and slippers, could make them.</p>
+<p>The ancient gentlewomen had chosen the state of ceaseless
+virginity, they said, to keep up the dignity of the family,
+which, in their persons, they proudly added, should never be
+lowered by an unworthy alliance.&nbsp; During their homeward
+journey, they entertained their victim with ingenious reproaches
+and disparaging observations respecting &ldquo;the strange young
+man who had obtruded himself into their brother&rsquo;s
+house&mdash;the unknown Mr. Jones.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page247"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+247</span>&ldquo;Why, the creature has no family,&rdquo; observed
+the long-waisted Miss Felina Tomtabby Price.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Then,&rdquo; replied our heroine, &ldquo;he is never
+likely to be pestered with the claims of poor relations, nor the
+persecution of rich ones.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;No, he is of no
+stock,&rdquo; said Miss Euphemia Polparrot Price, following up
+her sister&rsquo;s remark; &ldquo;the creature was only born
+yesterday.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Then he is singularly young and
+harmless,&rdquo; answered the lady of Ystrad Feen.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;And, above all blemishes, he is base-born,&rdquo; added
+Miss Felina Tomtabby Price.&nbsp; &ldquo;That is less his fault
+than his misfortune, as the Irishman said who warranted his blind
+mare free from faults,&rdquo; answered their merry niece.</p>
+<p>The young lady was evidently more than a match for the two
+elder ones, and so these ancient gentlewomen kept a dignified
+silence, or spoke only to each other, during the rest of the
+journey; which terminated at length by their seeing her to Ystrad
+Feen, and betaking themselves to the Priory House at Brecon.</p>
+<p>In the course of many private conversations between Miss
+Meredith and the young widow, the subject of which discourses,
+strange to say, being invariably Twm himself; she declared
+herself delighted with him, and Twm, it was easy to see, returned
+the compliment with interest.&nbsp; At her invitation, he became
+an inmate of the house, until, as she said, he could put himself
+to rights.&nbsp; The golden chain and sum of money left to her
+care, were delivered up to him with considerable additions, in
+return for his services by a journey to London and from her own
+private bounty.</p>
+<p>With the evident encouragement vouchsafed to him by the lady
+of Ystrad Feen, Twm was soon madly and irrecoverably lost in his
+warm affection for her, and there is nothing to surprise any
+reasonable being when he is told that Twm, with energetic
+enthusiasm, protested that he admired&mdash;nay, loved her!&nbsp;
+If the lady chided him, it was with such winning gentleness that
+it seemed to say, &ldquo;Pray, do so again.&rdquo;&nbsp; If she
+turned aside her head to conceal her blushes, smiles ever
+accompanied them, in coming and retreating; or if <a
+name="page248"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 248</span>she
+frowned, it was so equivocally, that, for the life of him, our
+hero could not help considering each transient bend of the brow
+as so many invitations to kiss them away, which the gallant Twm
+never failed to accept and obey.</p>
+<p>These golden days were too rich in delight to last long.&nbsp;
+As the <i>good-natured and most virtuous world</i> discovered
+that they were very happy, and pleased with each other, it
+breathed forth its malignant spirit, and doubted whether they had
+a legitimate right to be so; of course, deciding negatively, and
+consequently awarding to the lovers the pains and penalties of
+persecution and mutual banishment.</p>
+<p>When they had become for some time, undivided companions, and
+walked, rode, danced at Brecon balls, and resided under the same
+roof together, although under the strict guidance of moral
+propriety, as daily witnessed by the lady&rsquo;s female friend;
+it will be no wonder that scandal at last became busy with the
+lady&rsquo;s fame.&nbsp; An additional incentive for raising
+these evil reports was that she had rejected the attentions of
+several of the rural noblesse, who had endeavoured to recommend
+themselves to her good graces.</p>
+<p>All at once like the inmates of a hornet&rsquo;s nest, the
+various members of her family, the proud Prices of Brecon, buzzed
+about her ears and stung her with their reproaches.&nbsp; She
+bore all with determined patience, until assured that her fame
+had been vilified, and that she had been described as living a
+life of profligacy and dishonour.&nbsp; Conscious of rectitude,
+however indiscreet she might have been, the haughtiness of her
+spirit now rose, as she indignantly repelled the infamous
+charges; in the end, requested her <i>dear friends and
+relations</i> to dismiss their tender fears for her reputation,
+and keep to their own homes for the future, or at least not to
+trouble hers.</p>
+<p>Although she had treated her officious friends with the
+contumely they deserved, she could not afford to set at nought,
+altogether, the opinions of the little world in which she lived;
+and, tired, irritated, and <a name="page249"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 249</span>vexed, by hearing the same tale from
+day to day, she at last consented to send away her deliverer and
+friend, as she called him, from the protection of her roof.&nbsp;
+Our hero, however, could never be brought to distinguish between
+her real kind feelings towards him, and the constrained
+appearance which her altered conduct made in his sight.</p>
+<p>Free as the air, as he felt himself, he could not understand
+why a great and wealthy lady was not equally unshackled and
+independent.&nbsp; Explanations and excuses were entirely thrown
+away upon him, as he could not, or would not, understand aught so
+opposed to his happiness and pre-conceived notions.</p>
+<p>When, at length, it was made known to him that the separation
+was inevitable, and the season of it arrived, he received the
+astounding intelligence like a severe blow of fortune, that
+struck him at once both sorrowful and meditative.&nbsp; Pride and
+resentment, from a supposed sense of injury at last supplanted
+every other feeling; and, starting up with a frenzied effort, he
+ordered his horse to be got ready, and gave directions for his
+things to be forwarded to Llandovery; after which, he wrote a
+note, and sent it to the lady&rsquo;s room requesting a momentary
+interview with her alone, before he took his departure.</p>
+<p>She came down with a slow, languid step, and met him in the
+parlour.&nbsp; Her eyes were red with weeping; and, before she
+uttered a syllable, our hero&rsquo;s much-altered looks affected
+her so much, that she burst out into a heavy fit of
+sobbing.&nbsp; &ldquo;Do not think hardly&mdash;do not feel
+unkindly towards me, Jones,&rdquo; were her first words!&nbsp;
+&ldquo;I entreat you to give me the credit due to my sincerity,
+when I assure you that the sacrifice I made on consenting to part
+with you, was&mdash;yes! although I have buried two husbands who
+loved me tenderly, it was the heaviest of my life.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm replied in a tone and manner that evinced both his pride
+and his suffering; &ldquo;I have but few words, madame, and they
+shall not long intrude upon your leisure.&nbsp; I came here a
+stranger, and had some <a name="page250"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 250</span>trifling claims, perhaps, on your
+attention.&nbsp; Those claims have been more than
+satisfied&mdash;noble has been your remuneration of my humble
+services, your beneficence generous and princely.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A change took place in your destiny; you honoured me
+beyond my merits, and bade me stand to the world in a new
+character.&nbsp; You called me friend, your sole friend, in a
+faithless world; nay, lady, your lover; I loved, and love you
+with a pure but unconquerable flame!&nbsp; Blame me not if I am
+presumptuous;&mdash;it was your own condescension, your own
+encouragement, that made me so, and elevated me to an equality
+with yourself.&nbsp; You gave me hopes to be the future, the only
+husband of your choice.&nbsp; You stretched forth your hand to
+aid my efforts, as I eagerly climbed towards the darling object
+of my aim; but before I attained the summit, you, madame, in the
+spirit of caprice or treachery, dashed me headlong downwards, to
+perish in despair.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Your great and wealthy friends will praise you for
+this, while the mincing madames and the insipid misses of Brecon
+shall learn a noble lesson by your conduct, and emulating you,
+become in their day as arrant coquettes and tramplers on manly
+hearts, as their limited powers and vanity will permit.&nbsp; But
+enough! you shall have your generous triumph,&mdash;and from this
+hour I tread the world without an aim, a wanderer in the
+wilderness, reckless of everything.&nbsp; Advancement,
+estimation, I here abjure; nor, from this hour, would I raise my
+hand to save from annihilation the being I am&mdash;for life is
+henceforth hateful to me.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Lady, farewell!&mdash;never more will I cross your
+path; but you may hear of my wayward steps,&mdash;and if in me
+you are told of a wretched idiot, a being whose mind had perished
+while his frame was strong, remember that it was yourself who
+wrought that mental desolation.&nbsp; Or, if they name me as a
+lawless being, plunged head-long into deeds of guilt, remember it
+is you, you, madame, who are the authoress of my crimes and
+sorrows, and, may be, of an ignominious death.&nbsp; And <a
+name="page251"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 251</span>now,
+madame, farewell!&rdquo;&nbsp; On which he darted out, mounted
+his horse, and rode off; while the unhappy lady of Ystrad Feen,
+whose agitation choked her utterance, caught a last glimpse of
+him, and fell on the parlour floor in a swoon.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXIII.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Fine</span> Arts at a
+discount.&nbsp; Hungry Moses, whose appetite was his ruin.&nbsp;
+New tricks and jokes on Ready Rosser.&nbsp; Parson Inco once
+more.</p>
+<p>Twm left Ystrad Feen in no enviable state of mind.&nbsp; He
+was in a similar temper to that of a child when deprived of a
+favourite toy, and as he urged his horse with speed in the
+direction of Llandovery, he determined never to place faith in
+woman again,&mdash;a resolution which underwent some slight
+modification before he reached the &ldquo;Cat and Fiddle,&rdquo;
+a diminutive-looking ale-house, where for the present he decided
+to take up his quarters.</p>
+<p>Notwithstanding his chagrin, he could not help smiling at this
+whimsical sign, then newly painted,&mdash;a droll-faced creature
+of the feline race, drawn, as an enthusiast in melody, erect on
+her hind feet, her eyes turned up in ecstacy, while her open
+mouth seemed to be mewing music, or tow-rowing harmony at a fine
+rate, in concord with the fiddle that she handled with the most
+artist-like taste, and professional gravity.&nbsp; If the sign
+was to his taste, a sort of homely snuggery in the form of a
+small parlour, and a good-humoured-looking fat landlady, were no
+less so.</p>
+<p>Dinah Dew, the widowed mistress of the Cat and Fiddle informed
+him that she owed her sign to the skill of a poor tramping
+painter, who had run into her debt, to the enormous amount of
+five shillings and sevenpence half-penny, for board, washing,
+lodging, and drinking: and the poor fellow being penniless <a
+name="page252"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 252</span>and without
+work, &ldquo;I let him free,&rdquo; said she, &ldquo;for the
+sign, and gave him a shilling and a brown loaf over.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This liberal patronage of the fine arts, (for the sign
+included music, poetry, and painting,) gave Twm a favourable
+opinion of his hostess.&nbsp; She apologized to him for the
+absence of her hostler, and said he was a poor ragged fellow with
+a pregnant wife, and two children; by trade a mat and basket
+maker; also a waiter at two other taverns; and an occasional
+husbandry servant with several farmers, who employed him in their
+busy times.&nbsp; &ldquo;The fellow is well enough,&rdquo; said
+the little round woman, &ldquo;but for his cormorant appetite;
+and eat what he may, he never looks better for it.&nbsp; Indeed
+your horse would scarcely be safe with him, but that this is not
+the most hungry time of year.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I knew such another once,&rdquo; thought Twm, his mind
+reverting to the hungry house of Morris Greeg; as he went forward
+on his walk over the fields.&nbsp; The said &ldquo;hostler&rdquo;
+soon overtook him, to ask his commands about his horse.&nbsp; Twm
+looked with compassion on the ragged Guy Fawkes figure before
+him, and conceived that he might earn a fair livelihood by merely
+walking over the farmer&rsquo;s grounds, as all the kites and
+crows must inevitably flap their departing wings at his
+approach.&nbsp; Twm looked into a keen pair of ferret eyes, that
+glistened above a high-bridged parrot nose, and found no
+difficulty in identifying the miserable Moses of past days.</p>
+<p>Twm&rsquo;s spirit of joking was rampant within him,
+notwithstanding the morning&rsquo;s vexations, and he determined
+upon having a little fun, in refreshing Moses&rsquo;s memory
+regarding a few incidents which were best forgotten.&nbsp;
+Assuming an attitude of tremendous importance, and overwhelming
+authority, he commenced:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are the very fellow I have been long seeking.&nbsp;
+You ran away from the comfortable and very plentiful house of
+Morris Greeg, in Cardiganshire; after having in concert with a
+young scamp, named Twm Shon Catty, eaten all his pork and
+mutton.&rdquo;&nbsp; Moses started and <a
+name="page253"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 253</span>looked blue
+as indigo.&nbsp; &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll have thee put in stocks, and
+taken back to the house of that generous and most injured
+man,&rdquo; cried Twm, in the tone of a jack-in-office.</p>
+<p>Compassionating the perplexity of the poor devil, he caught
+his hand and cried, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you know me?&mdash;Twm,
+your former fellow-starveling.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Well, well!
+who could have thought it!&rdquo; cried the astonished Moses;
+&ldquo;dear, dear, what a many good dinners you must have had to
+make you look so well.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm assured him, he should have dinners too, if he behaved
+himself, but charged him to be silent as to their former
+acquaintance.&nbsp; Moses so bounced and bounded up, in token of
+his rapture, that Twm feared the wind would bear away the poor
+creature like a paper kite from him.</p>
+<p>Poor fellow! anticipating warmth and comfort from such a
+proceeding, he married a very fat widow of a butcher, who was
+accomplished in her husband&rsquo;s calling.&nbsp; Moses had
+often sought the pleasant shelter of her slaughter-house, and
+amusingly admired the dexterous and delicate manner in which she
+cut the throats, and flayed the hides off the subjects that she
+operated on; inasmuch that he conceived the creatures themselves
+ought to be delighted at being so skilfully finished.&nbsp; After
+he had wooed and won the widow, oftentimes, when she was almost
+broken-hearted at her failing to sell certain joints towards the
+close of the market-day, Moses would be in raptures, as he
+feelingly observed, they would eat the unsold portion
+themselves.&nbsp; Somehow their trade gradually declined, till
+latterly it ceased altogether, and the widow was no longer a
+butcher, owing, as she protested, to her husband&rsquo;s being a
+&ldquo;huge feeder,&rdquo; and the mysterious disappearance of
+various joints that she suspected him of devouring in secret.</p>
+<p>Where were now the lover&rsquo;s despair and tears, his
+dedication to a life of solitude, nay, his refusal even of
+life?&nbsp; True, for some days, Twm stalked about in the
+neighbourhood of the &ldquo;Cat and Fiddle&rdquo; as if his <a
+name="page254"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 254</span>earthly
+mission had been brought to a sudden termination; as if, like
+Othello, his occupation was gone, and there was no likelihood of
+any other suitable employment turning up.&nbsp; Alas for the
+consistency of the lover!&mdash;days we repeat, and not weeks nor
+months, much less years, of seclusion of this kind.&nbsp; He soon
+illustrated the Shaksperian adage, &ldquo;Men have died, and
+worms have eaten them, but not for love.&rdquo;&nbsp; But by him
+everything was to be done by strokes of impulse.&nbsp; To banish
+his cares, he plunged at once into intemperance; and from merely
+tolerating a little cheerful company, he entered the society of
+the greatest topers and madcaps to be found, till he emulated and
+outdid the highest, and became the very prince of wags and
+practical jokers.</p>
+<p>He was of course recognized as the conqueror of the tremendous
+Dio the Devil, and the acknowledged preserver of the lady of
+Ystrad Feen, which, with his relation of many freaks and vagaries
+in England, together with the assured fact that he had been once
+to London, and spent a year there, gained him no inconsiderable
+share of celebrity.</p>
+<p>The good-humoured Justice Prothero, he found as merry, and as
+much a friend as ever.&nbsp; &ldquo;Fear not for the fair widow,
+boy!&rdquo; would he exclaim, slapping him heartily on the back;
+&ldquo;she&rsquo;ll have thee yet, in spite of the long-nosed
+Prices and their pedigrees.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>To divert him from his frequent fits of melancholy, and
+dangerous freaks of folly among his newly-made companions at
+Llandovery, Prothero would keep him a week at a time under his
+friendly roof, and make trifling bets, to amuse him, by which
+freaks he secured some enjoyment for himself also.</p>
+<p>Ready Rosser again became his antagonist in these rustic feats
+and stratagems.&nbsp; The first wager that Prothero laid, was of
+twenty shillings, that Twm would not by his cunning decoy a sheep
+out of the safe keeping of this worthy, as he was to fetch one
+home for butchering on the morrow; but if he succeeded, the
+mutton and the money would both <a name="page255"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 255</span>become his own; otherwise he would
+forfeit that sum and resign the woolly victim to its owner.&nbsp;
+To all this our hero agreed, and prepared accordingly.</p>
+<p>Ready Rosser was as loud in bidding defiance to our hero, now
+as he had been on a former occasion, where the result had
+scarcely justified his extravagant bragging.&nbsp; He shouldered
+his sheep, vowing before his grinning fellow-servants, who
+grouped round to crack their jests on him, that the devil himself
+should not deprive him of his burden.&nbsp; As he proceeded along
+a part of the high road, up a slight ascent, he discovered with
+surprise, a good leathern shoe lying in the mud.&nbsp; A shoe of
+leather, be it known, in a country where wooden clogs are
+generally worn, is no despicable prize.&nbsp; Rosser looked at
+the object before him with a longing eye; but reflecting that one
+shoe, however good, was useless unmatched with a fellow, spared
+himself the trouble of stooping, for troublesome it would have
+been with such a weight on his shoulders, and passed on without
+lifting it.&nbsp; On walking a little farther, and going round a
+bend in the road, great was his surprise on finding another shoe,
+a fellow to the former, lying in the sledge mark, which like the
+rut of a wheel, indented the mud with hollow stripes.&nbsp; In
+the height of his joy he laid down the sheep, with its legs tied,
+beside the shoe, and ran back for the other; when Twm Shon Catty,
+watching his opportunity, sprang over the hedge, and seized his
+prize, which he bore off securely; won his bet, and ate his
+mutton undisturbed.</p>
+<p>The termination of this sheep wager did not add to Ready
+Rosser&rsquo;s reputation, and that worthy was nearly beside
+himself with rage, on finding himself again beaten.&nbsp; His
+master, Squire Prothero, although the most good-humoured of
+country gentlemen, was rather angry with Rosser, whose shrewdness
+always became questionable when opposed to Twm&rsquo;s.&nbsp; It
+was admitted, in excuse, that the most cunning at times may be
+accidentally over-reached by his inferior in wit.&nbsp; On this
+plea the merry magistrate was conciliated, and induced into <a
+name="page256"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 256</span>another
+wager, precisely like the former, when a similar sum, against our
+hero, and in favour of his servant, was laid and accepted.&nbsp;
+The man of shrewdness, as before, determined to use the utmost
+vigilance and caution to preserve his charge and redeem his
+reputation.&nbsp; He grasped his load, which was a fine fat ewe,
+most manfully, and swore violent oaths in answer to his
+master&rsquo;s exhortation to chariness, that human ingenuity
+should never trick him again; but</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Great protestations do make that
+doubted,<br />
+Which we would else right willingly believe.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>In his way to Llangattock, he had to pass through a wood,
+which he had scarcely entered, when the bleating of a sheep
+attracted his attention, and he came to a dead stand, as he
+intently listened to what he conceived a well-known voice.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Baa&mdash;baa!&rdquo; again saluted his ear.&nbsp; A
+sudden conviction rushed across his mind, that this was the very
+sheep he had before lost, which he imagined might have been
+concealed by Twm in the recess of the woody dingle.</p>
+<p>What a glorious chance, thought he, of recovering his lost
+credit with his master, and depriving his antagonist of his
+laurels!&nbsp; He instantly deposited his burden beneath a tree;
+and eagerly forcing his way through the copse and bushes, he
+followed the bleating a considerable way down the wood, when to
+his great dismay it ceased altogether.&nbsp; A thought now struck
+him, though rather too late, that the bleating proceeded from no
+sheep, but a more subtle ram, in the presence of Twm Shon Catty;
+he hurried back in a grievous fright, and found his surmises but
+too true&mdash;the second sheep, and his high reputation for
+shrewdness, had both taken flight together.</p>
+<p>Moses&rsquo;s face and figure began to improve, for he
+received the greater proportion of the winnings both of money and
+mutton, and he secretly thanked the good fortune which had
+brought him into Twm&rsquo;s service.</p>
+<p>Squire Prothero, not yet being tired of our hero&rsquo;s witty
+genius and cunning cleverness, offered to oppose <a
+name="page257"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 257</span>to his
+cunning, the collective vigilance of his husbandmen and maidens;
+laying a bet with him that he should not steal a white ox, with
+which a black one was to be yoked to the plough.&nbsp; The plough
+to be held by Rosser and driven by another servant; while two
+girls, driving each a harrow, should also be on their guard, to
+prevent his aim if possible.</p>
+<p>There could be no doubt that Twm would accept this wager as he
+had done the others, and accordingly he very obligingly undertook
+to convey away the white ox, as he had formerly done the bull
+Bishop; and to eat the gentleman&rsquo;s beef, provided it turned
+out sufficiently tender; protesting with a half yawn, and the
+perfect ease of a modern Corinthian, that he was absolutely tired
+of mutton, which he had too long persisted in eating, against the
+judgment and advice of his physician.</p>
+<p>The morning at length dawned, when the test of Twm&rsquo;s
+sagacity, the most severe to which it had yet been exposed, was
+to be applied.&nbsp; The plough was guided and the cattle driven,
+while two bare-footed maidens giggled and laughed till the rocks
+echoed, as they whipped the horses and ran by their sides, till
+the harrows bounced against the stones, and sometimes turned
+over; their mirth was excited by the idea of Twm&rsquo;s folly in
+accepting such a bet, and thinking to steal the white ox from
+under their noses, the impossibility of which was so evident.</p>
+<p>The two servants at the plough also cracked and enjoyed their
+clumsy jokes at the thought of our hero&rsquo;s temerity, at the
+same time keeping a wary eye in every direction, armed against
+surprisals, and exulting in the thought that for once, at least,
+the dexterous Twm would be baffled in his aim.&nbsp; Time went
+on; the day waned away towards the evening, and as their fatigue
+increased, their vigilance gradually lessened.</p>
+<p>Such was the state of matters when Moses, who seemed to be
+loitering about without any particular purpose in view,
+encountered them, and, laughing loudly at the cautious and
+careful way in which they continued to <a
+name="page258"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 258</span>guard their
+prize, assured them that Twm had given up the idea of outwitting
+such a wary and clever party, and was at that moment drinking his
+wine with their master, whom he allowed to win the wager.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Allowing, indeed!&rdquo; quoth a sharp-tongued lass, as
+she stopped her harrow to listen, &ldquo;pretty allowing, when he
+could not help himself!&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Aye,&rdquo; cried the
+other girl, &ldquo;so the fox allowed the goose to escape, when
+she took to flight and escaped his clutches!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Rosser and the plough-boy exulted in their anticipated reward
+of a skin-full of strong beer.&nbsp; Thus the whole party was
+excited to a high pitch of triumphant mirth.&nbsp; Moses was, of
+course, a decoy, and his report had really the effect of throwing
+them off their guard, which another circumstance contributed to
+aid.&nbsp; The rural party had rested, sitting on their ploughs
+and harrows, at one end of the field, while they listened to
+their informant; and now were about to resume their labours, when
+a hare started from the adjoining thicket, crossing the ground
+towards the opposite hedge.</p>
+<p>Suddenly the halloo arose; away ran the ploughman and girls,
+over hedges and ditches, and away ran the yelping sheep-dog, amid
+the clamour of shouting and barking; but the wondering oxen stood
+still, and their grave looks of astonishment gradually changed to
+a more animated expression of alarm on the arrival of Twm Shon
+Catty.</p>
+<p>Having loosed his captive hare to decoy the clowns, he availed
+himself of their absence to dress the black ox in a white morning
+gown,&mdash;that is to say, a sheet, which became him much, and
+contrasted with his complexion amazingly; and the white ox he
+attired in a suit of mourning, formed of the burial pall which he
+had borrowed from the clerk of Llandingad church for that express
+purpose; and, having unloosened his fair friend from the yoke,
+they suddenly disappeared through a gap in the hedge.</p>
+<p>Although busily engaged in the gentlemanly pastime of the
+chase, the husbandry worthies now and <a name="page259"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 259</span>then glanced towards the plough, but
+seeing, as they thought, the white ox safe, returned to it at a
+leisurely pace, till quickened, as they neared it, by the
+singular sight before them; and their petty vexation at losing
+the hare was now swallowed up by the terrible circumstance of
+their loss of their especial charge.&nbsp; A suitable lamentation
+followed, of course, which was succeeded by fear and trembling,
+from a conviction that Twm Shon Catty dealt with the devil; and
+that the hare which they had chased was no other than the foe of
+man in disguise.&nbsp; This reasonable and self-evident
+assumption quite satisfied their merry master, who deemed himself
+quite compensated for his loss by the hearty laugh he
+enjoyed.</p>
+<p>Twm and his singular charge entered Llandovery in triumph, the
+white ox being gaily decorated with ribbons, and the
+half-starved, but trustworthy, Moses seated on its back.&nbsp;
+Loud were the huzzas and laughter by which he was received by the
+juvenile part of the population of Llandovery; not one of whom
+enjoyed the sight more than the good-humoured Prothero, who
+cheerfully paid the bet, and from a tavern window had full view
+of the scene, which he declared excited his laughter till his
+heart and sides ached with the agreeable convulsion.</p>
+<p>Twm did not confine himself to love of beef and mutton.&nbsp;
+He had higher aspirations which evinced a very ardent passion for
+horse-flesh; and pursued it with all the fiery zest of a
+first-love, when impeded by difficulties the most
+insurmountable.</p>
+<p>The lady of Ystrad Feen, still sitting on his heart like a
+night-mare, and pinching it with pain rendered him, however
+amusing to others, miserable enough within himself.&nbsp;
+Lassitude, chagrin, and bitterness, often betrayed themselves in
+his countenance and manners, and were only transiently removed by
+the hilarity of the company with which he mixed, or the freaks
+which he played, in his ill-combined humours of mirth and
+sorrow.&nbsp; Reckless of consequences, he now entered into the
+follies less innocent than hitherto <a name="page260"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 260</span>detailed; led to them, however, more
+by a spirit of youthful wildness than by any really criminal
+intention.</p>
+<p>In one of his many walks he found himself one day at
+Machynlleth, in Montgomeryshire, and who should he see but his
+old enemy Inco Evans of Tregaron, riding into the town on a fine
+grey horse?&nbsp; &ldquo;Ho, ho!&rdquo; quoth he, &ldquo;my dear
+friend still alive!&nbsp; Now is that horse to be mine or
+his?&rdquo; said he to himself, as he produced a copper coin;
+&ldquo;now heads for Inco, and tails for Twm,&rdquo; added he, as
+he tossed the penny high up in the air.&nbsp; On its fall to the
+ground he found that fortune had declared against the parson.</p>
+<p>With the utmost coolness he made himself known to the amiable
+Inco, whose features underwent various contortions at the
+recognition; nor did they settle to serenity when Twm with
+provoking laughter told him that he must journey homeward on
+foot, as it was a settled thing fixed by fate, that he was to
+have the gallant grey himself.&nbsp; Inco started and stared;
+but, without answering a word, he hurried to the innkeeper and
+the hostler, charging them to lock the stable, and assist him to
+secure a daring delinquent whom he had discovered in the
+street.&nbsp; On reaching the stable, the grey, like the grey
+mist of morning, had dissolved from view, and our hero was
+equally invisible in the ancient town of Machynlleth.</p>
+<p>This last transaction sat uneasily on Twm&rsquo;s
+conscience.&nbsp; He thought that it hardly came within the
+legitimate bounds of a joke, although the free and unlicensed
+spirit of the times permitted a long tether in this respect; he
+therefore promised himself some mirth in returning the grey horse
+to Inco, if he could be found in a Welshpool fair, which was
+probable, as the accumulating clerical magistrate was a great
+trafficker in farm stock of all kinds.&nbsp; Thither proceeded
+the gallant Twm, on a fine Monday morning, in the following week;
+but the purpose of his better thoughts was unluckily
+thwarted.</p>
+<p><a name="page261"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 261</span>On
+entering this little wool-combing town, a certain countenance
+burst upon his recollection; the owner of the face made known to
+him as a stranger, and made overtures for the purchase of the
+steed.&nbsp; It struck our hero that there would be some fun in
+selling it to this personage&mdash;no other than young Marmaduke
+Graspacre&mdash;as it could not but cause a whimsical altercation
+with Inco Evans.&nbsp; Accordingly a bargain was struck, and Twm
+received the amount in hard cash.</p>
+<p>Both parties were highly pleased with their transaction, and
+Twm praised the grey steed still more warmly now that he had
+pocketed the money.&nbsp; He spoke quite enthusiastically of the
+animal&rsquo;s points, remarking that its merits were far away in
+excess of what he had represented them to be.&nbsp; &ldquo;I
+protest to you in honesty and truth,&rdquo; he exclaimed with
+much earnestness, &ldquo;you have a greater bargain than you
+imagine.&nbsp; As I was not anxious to sell him, I have omitted
+to inform you of half his good qualities; he is capable of
+performing such wonderful feats as you never heard of.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t say so!&rdquo; exclaimed the elated
+Marmaduke, staring alternately at his horse and at our
+hero.&nbsp; &ldquo;In fact, I assure you,&rdquo; cries Twm, with
+the most sober face imaginable; &ldquo;and if you don&rsquo;t
+believe me, I&rsquo;ll convince you in a moment, if you will
+allow me to mount him.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Oh, certainly, with
+many thanks,&rdquo; quoth the delighted heir of Graspacre
+Hall.&nbsp; Twm very leisurely mounted, and after a variety of
+postures and curvetings, gradually got out of the fair into the
+high-road; suddenly giving spur and rein to the &ldquo;gallant
+steed,&rdquo; he astonished Marmaduke by his disappearance.</p>
+<p>The &ldquo;green&rdquo; one had to confess with bitterness of
+heart, that the jockey had certainly kept his word, as he showed
+him such a trick as he never before saw, or heard of.&nbsp; But
+when he received a note informing him that the horse-dealer was
+his old &ldquo;friend&rdquo; Twm, his wrath was boundless.</p>
+<p>The fame of Twm&rsquo;s cunning and adroitness spread <a
+name="page262"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 262</span>through the
+whole country round, and his wide-spread reputation brought him
+many country people to consult him respecting their
+difficulties.</p>
+<p>One morning, while sitting in his favourite corner at the Cat
+and Fiddle, a person called, who described himself as a small
+farmer in the neighbourhood, his name Morgan Thomas; and having
+heard so much of his cleverness, he came to ask his advice on an
+affair of great weight.&nbsp; He had been annoyed, he said, by
+the continual trespassing of a certain squire&rsquo;s pigeons on
+his ground, which had made such a havoc amid his wheat yearly,
+that the loss was grievous to him; he had computed his damages,
+and applied for the amount, for the last four years; reckoning
+that the forty pigeons would devour at least a bushel of wheat
+each annually.&nbsp; The squire only laughed at his claims and
+complaints, telling him he might pound them and be d&mdash;d, if
+he liked when he would pay the alleged damages and not till
+then.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now, to pound them, I should like vastly,&rdquo; quoth
+Morgan Thomas, &ldquo;but without the squire&rsquo;s polite
+invitation to be d&mdash;ned, at the same time.&nbsp; But,&rdquo;
+added the poor farmer, &ldquo;pounding pigeons, I look upon as
+impossible; yet as you have done feats no less wonderful, if you
+will pound those mischievous pigeons for me, I will engage to
+give you half the amount of my claims.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Agreed?&rdquo; cried Twm, and grasped his hand, in token
+that he undertook the task.</p>
+<p>He sent a quantity of hot grains from the brewing, to the
+farmer, next morning, which he afterwards scattered about the
+farm-yard.&nbsp; The pigeons came, as usual; and eagerly
+devouring the grain, each and all soon appeared as top-heavy as
+the veriest tress-pot in Carmarthenshire; and, like the said
+fraternity incapable of returning home, they fell in stupor on
+the ground.&nbsp; Our hero, assisted by the farmer, picked them
+up, tied their legs, and put the whole party in the pound.&nbsp;
+The squire, who was no other than Prothero, the laughing
+magistrate, ever pleased with a jest, especially when cracked by
+our hero, immediately paid the farmer&rsquo;s demand; <a
+name="page263"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 263</span>and Twm
+generously refused the proffered remuneration for his very
+effective assistance.</p>
+<p>Our hero never used the money acquired by his art for his own
+requirements, and we must not forget to say here that the cash
+our hero received for the parson&rsquo;s horse, was cast into the
+parish poor-box.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXIV.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm&rsquo;s</span>
+poetical address to his &ldquo;lady love.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;A
+gipsy&rsquo;s life is a joyous life.&rdquo;&nbsp; Dinas and a
+singular natural cave.&nbsp; Faithless woman.</p>
+<p>Twm&rsquo;s thoughts were not often forgetful of Ystrad Feen,
+and its inhabitants: the lady &ldquo;of the ilk&rdquo; seldom
+indulged in silent reverie, without making the absent Twm the
+principal figure in her day-dream.&nbsp; She had not known a
+day&rsquo;s peace since his absence, and was daily waving between
+a resolution to send for him back, to bestow on him her hand, and
+a deference for her father and proud relatives, who insisted that
+if she ever married again, it should only be to a title and
+fortune; by which they themselves might share in the honour.</p>
+<p>Information was brought to her of his wild excesses, which
+gave her the greatest concern, as she conceived herself in part
+the authoress of his misfortunes.&nbsp; Twm, at the same time,
+felt that his tedious absence from the fair widow was no longer
+to be endured; and as he knew her to be watched by her
+father&rsquo;s spies, he determined on paying her a visit in
+disguise.&nbsp; Previous to putting his design into execution, he
+composed and sent her the following poem, in which he dwells on,
+and exaggerates, his own misfortunes, in a strain calculated to
+move her tenderness in his favour.</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align: center"><a
+name="page264"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 264</span>CYWYDD Y
+GOVID. <a name="citation264"></a><a href="#footnote264"
+class="citation">[264]</a></p>
+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> outcast&rsquo;s forced ally is
+mine<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And Govid is his name;<br />
+It is a ruthless savage mate,<br />
+And like a foe that&rsquo;s pale with hate,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; To crush me is his aim:<br />
+His cruel shafts are fiercely hurl&rsquo;d,<br />
+He forced me friendless on the world.</p>
+<p>If forward, seeking good I wend,<br />
+My eager steps outstrip the fiend;<br />
+If backward I retreat from ill,<br />
+My cruel foe arrests me still:</p>
+<p>I seek the flood to end despair,<br />
+Relentless Govid meets me there,<br />
+And tells of endless pangs of pride,<br />
+The wages of the suicide.</p>
+<p>Fell Govid&rsquo;s mighty in the land,<br />
+His children are a horrid band,<br />
+Who joy in hapless man&rsquo;s distress,<br />
+Lo, one in debt&mdash;one nakedness:&mdash;<br />
+And need against me doth combine;<br />
+(Fierce Govid&rsquo;s loveless concubine;)<br />
+And care, that knows not how to yearn,<br />
+Is Govid&rsquo;s consort, keen and stern:<br />
+And thus this family of ill,<br />
+E&rsquo;er bruise my heart and curb my will.</p>
+<p>Though lost to me the tranquil day,<br />
+My vanquisher I hope to slay;<br />
+The fierce enormous giant fiend<br />
+No more the heart of Twm shall rend,<br />
+If thou, my lady-love! but smile,<br />
+Thou gentle fair, devoid of guile&mdash;<br />
+Thou darling object of my choice,<br />
+Oh bless me with assentive voice,<br />
+And soon shall Govid lay his length,<br />
+A curse! struck down by Rapture&rsquo;s strength.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The Lady of Ystrad Feen did not read the pathetic poem without
+being deeply affected, and tears ran down her fair cheeks as she
+sobbingly perused it for the fourth <a name="page265"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 265</span>time.&nbsp; She still bowed her head
+in grief, when her maid entered her chamber, and in a tone of
+complaint informed her mistress that there was a very important
+and troublesome gipsy in the kitchen, who, after having told the
+fortunes of all the servants in the house, insisted on seeing her
+also.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I am not in a mood to relish such foolery now, so send
+her about her business,&rdquo; answered the lady, in a tone more
+sorrowful than angry.&nbsp; &ldquo;It is quite useless,&rdquo;
+replied the girl, &ldquo;to attempt to send her away; big Evan
+the gardener tried to take her by the shoulders, and turn her out
+by force, but she whirled round, grasped him by his arms, tripped
+up his heels, and laid him in a moment on the floor.&nbsp; There
+she sits in the kitchen, and vows she will not budge from thence
+for either man or woman, till she sees the Lady of Ystrad Feen,
+whom she loves, she says, dearer than her life, and would not for
+millions harm a hair of her head.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Although too deeply absorbed in sorrow to have curiosity much
+excited, she went down stairs, and approached the sybil, who had
+now taken her station in the hall, asking her, &ldquo;What do you
+want, my good woman?&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;To tell you,&rdquo;
+answered she, &ldquo;not your fortune, but what may be your
+fortune if you choose.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Let me hear
+then,&rdquo; said the Lady Joan, with a faint incredulous smile,
+walking before her, at the same time, into a little back
+parlour.&nbsp; Before she could seat herself, the apparent gipsy
+caught her right hand wrist, and looking round, whispered in her
+ear,&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;To heal your torn bosom, and ease every
+smart,<br />
+Oh take&mdash;he&rsquo;s before you&mdash;the youth of thy
+heart.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The colour fled from the fair widow&rsquo;s cheeks, and in a
+moment she sank into a swoon in her lover&rsquo;s arms.&nbsp;
+Soon recovering, she desired her maid to deny her to every body
+that called, &ldquo;as,&rdquo; added she, with a smile, &ldquo;I
+have particular business with the gipsy.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>A scene of tears and tenderness ensued; when Twm, <a
+name="page266"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 266</span>with the
+utmost fervour, urged his suit.&nbsp; She replied that her father
+had insisted on, and received her promise that she should wed no
+being but who either bore a title or stood within a prospect of
+one.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You did well,&rdquo; replied our hero, with the most
+easy confidence, &ldquo;and your promise, so far from militating
+against me, would really be in my favour, for am I not the son of
+a baronet? his nature child, &rsquo;tis true, but still his son;
+and you would break no promise to your father in marrying me; but
+if you did, so much the better broke than kept.&nbsp; I have
+friends at this moment who are doing their utmost to move my
+father, Sir John Wynn, of Gwydir, to own me publicly, for his
+right worthy son; and if he does not, the loss is his, not mine,
+for I shall certainly disown him else for a father, and claim
+parentage of some greater man.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>In this interview, Twm pleaded his affection with such
+persuasive vigour and tender persistence, that the old
+&ldquo;lady of his dream&rdquo; resisted the promptings of her
+own heart no longer, and promised to be his in spite of every
+obstacle.&nbsp; The joy of our hero knew no bounds, nor did the
+lady very strenuously resist his rapturous embraces; but seemed
+to find her heart relieved by the resolution she had come to,
+that now for ever put an end to the conflicting doubts as to her
+future course, which had so long torn her heart, and banished her
+peace.</p>
+<p>It was now time for the pretended gipsy to depart, as the sun
+was descending rapidly, and Twm was chary of the fair
+widow&rsquo;s reputation.&nbsp; He would not have the faintest
+breath of slander associated with her name and so he unwillingly
+left.&nbsp; She directed him to wait for her, and her
+confidential friend Miss Meredith, at the entrance to the ancient
+cave on the top of Dinas, which was the name of the conical hill
+exactly fronting the mansion of Ystrad Feen.&nbsp; He accordingly
+took his departure; and winding round the base of Dinas, he
+crossed the river <a name="page267"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+267</span>Towey, which, being then in summer, was there little
+more than a brook.</p>
+<p>After walking over a couple of fields, and a piece of rough
+common, he had to cross the Towey once more, when he commenced
+his ascent at the only part of this very steep hill where it was
+possible to climb.</p>
+<p>During his former stay at Ystrad Feen, this wildly-romantic
+height had been his favourite haunt, as the cave in its side was
+the greatest wonder.&nbsp; It was in fact a mighty mound, that
+bore all the appearance of having been, at the period of its
+formation, convulsed by an earthquake, and in the height of
+nature&rsquo;s tremendous heavings, suddenly arrested and
+becalmed, even while the huge crags were in the act of tumbling
+down its steep sides.</p>
+<p>A narrow valley encircled its base, and the mountains around
+of equal height with itself, separated only by this deep and
+scanty dell, seemed as if rent from it, during the convulsions of
+the earth, and Dinas left alone, an interesting monument of the
+memorable event.&nbsp; The surface of the acclivity was so
+speckled with huge loose stones, that it was dangerous to hold by
+them in ascending, as the slightest impetus would roll them
+downward.</p>
+<p>Once in poetical mood, when accompanied by his mistress, while
+tenderly and lovingly protecting her during their ascent at this
+very spot, he had said, that no doubt an earthquake had turned
+the bosom of the hill inside out, so that no secret could be
+therein concealed: archly insinuating that he trusted the time
+would soon come, when, without so violent a process, her own fair
+bosom would be equally open to him, while it rejected the stony
+barriers that then stood between him and her heart.</p>
+<p>But let us proceed with our description, while Twm awaits the
+arrival, according to promise, of the Lady of Ystrad Feen.</p>
+<p>The approach to this curious place was as romantic as the cave
+itself.&nbsp; It was through a narrow aperture, formed of two
+immense slate rocks that face each other, <a
+name="page268"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 268</span>with the
+space between them narrower at the bottom than the top, so that
+the passage could be entered only side-ways, with the figure
+inclined forward, according to the slant of the rocks, a thin
+person being barely able to make his way in, while a man of some
+rotundity might also succeed, rising on his toes, forcing himself
+upwards.&nbsp; Between these rocks of entrance a massive stone
+block was wedged at the top, so that it formed a rude resemblance
+to an arch.</p>
+<p>After <i>sideling</i> so far through a comparatively long
+passage, it was a great surprise that it led to so small a cave;
+for it was scarcely large enough to shelter three persons huddled
+close together.&nbsp; What it wanted in breadth, it possessed in
+height, as it ran up like a chimney, to the attitude of
+forty-five feet, and was opened at the top to the very summit of
+the mount, forming a skylight to the <i>room</i> below.&nbsp;
+Although the little cave was void of a solid roof, a very rural
+one was formed by the large tufts of heather and fern, which
+sprung through the crevices of the rocks; the whole being
+surmounted by the pendant branch of a dwarf oak, that with many
+other trees stood like a crown on the elevated head of Dinas.</p>
+<p>However singular the interior of this cave might appear to our
+hero, he had great pleasure in examining the grand combination
+that graced its exterior.&nbsp; There he saw, with
+never-satisfied delight and wonder, objects of the most romantic
+character, curiously united, near the junction of the three
+counties.&nbsp; The rocky Dinas, with its many inaccessible
+sides, besides the loose crags before mentioned, was partially
+covered with aged dwarfish trees, all bending in the same
+direction; many with their heads broken by tempests, but still
+throwing out branches, while others, stark, sere, and shrouded in
+green moss, were things to which seasons brought no change.</p>
+<p>From the mouth of the cave a beautiful view was obtained of
+the well-wooded mountain of Maesmaddegan, while the junction of
+the rivers Towey and <a name="page269"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 269</span>Dorthea <a name="citation269"></a><a
+href="#footnote269" class="citation">[269]</a> enlivened the
+gloom caused by the deep gulf which separated Dinas.</p>
+<p>Twm was, however, careless for this once of the extremely
+attractive character of the scenery around him.&nbsp; One of the
+most interesting pages in the Book of Nature lay open before him,
+but it remained unperused, unnoticed at his feet.&nbsp; His eager
+eye was fixed steadily on the spot where it would catch the
+earliest glimpse of his approaching mistress.&nbsp; Out of all
+patience at her long delay, he now began to wonder at the cause
+of it; when at length, to his great dismay, he saw <i>one</i>
+female hurrying on, and her not the one, although the faithful
+Miss Meredith.</p>
+<p>Having reached the side of the river, which separated her from
+the base of Dinas, and finding that he was watching her, she
+placed a paper on the rock, and a stone upon it, then kissing her
+hand sportively, turned about and hastened homeward with the
+utmost precipitation.&nbsp; In his eagerness to overtake her, Twm
+attempted to run down the declivity, but soon lost his footing,
+sliding and rolling down several yards, by which he was for a few
+moments rather stunned.&nbsp; Losing all hope of overtaking his
+mistress&rsquo;s confidante, he applied to the paper on the rock,
+which he found to be a note hastily scrawled with a pencil,
+containing merely these words:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;My father has unexpectedly arrived, with several of his
+friends&mdash;can&rsquo;t see you at Llandovery on the Fair
+day.&nbsp; Yours ever.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;By the Dood!&rdquo;
+muttered Twm to himself, &ldquo;if this is a coquette&rsquo;s
+trick which she put on me, it shall avail her nothing;&mdash;mine
+she is, by promise, and mine she shall be, in spite of the devil,
+and all her Brecknockshire friends to boot!&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Determined to bring his affairs to a speedy crisis, he changed
+his clothes, and soon made his way to Llandovery.</p>
+<h2><a name="page270"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+270</span>CHAPTER XXXV.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm</span> assumes various
+disguises, and accomplishes many clever things at Llandovery
+fair.&nbsp; A strange scene in a court of justice.&nbsp; Twm
+flies and is pursued.</p>
+<p>Twm set off to Llandovery fair with a fluttering heart and
+hopeful anticipations of seeing his mistress, and planned another
+little drama, in which he intended the grey horse should have an
+important part.</p>
+<p>Much to their credit, the neighbouring gentry had recently
+opened a subscription for rebuilding between thirty and forty
+poor people&rsquo;s houses, which had unfortunately been burnt
+down; and our hero resolved that every farthing henceforward
+gained by the grey horse, or otherwise, clandestinely, should be
+appropriated to this laudable purpose.&nbsp; It was no small
+satisfaction to him to find that, while it mortified the
+purse-proud vanity of the haughty squires to see so large a sum
+attached to his name, it had the good effect of increasing their
+contributions, resolved not to be outdone, in money matters at
+least, by so obscure a personage as Twm.</p>
+<p>It was necessary for him to disguise himself thoroughly, for
+he intended, in the first place, to offer the horse for
+sale.&nbsp; He decided to dress as a country booby; and after he
+had finished, his most intimate friend would have been puzzled to
+recognize him.&nbsp; Twm Shon Catty, (we beg his pardon,) Mr.
+Thomas Jones was effectually concealed in the rough garb of a
+Welsh country ploughman.&nbsp; His feet got thrust into a very
+heavy pair of clogs, or wooden-soled shoes, which being stiff and
+large, maintained such a haughty independence of the inmates, as
+to need being tied on by a hay-band.&nbsp; His legs were
+enveloped in a pair of wheat-stalk leggings, or bands of twisted
+straw, winding round and round, and covering them from the knee
+to the ankle.</p>
+<p><a name="page271"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 271</span>A raw
+hairy cow-hide formed the material of his <i>inexpressibles</i>,
+which were loose, like trowsers cut at the knee; and his jerkin
+was of a brick-dust red, with black stripes, like the faded garb
+of the Carmarthenshire women.&nbsp; A load of red locks, straight
+as a bunch of carrots, hung dangling behind, but in front rather
+matted and entangled, quite innocent of the slightest
+acquaintance with that useful article, a comb; the whole
+surmounted with a soldier&rsquo;s cast-off Monmouth cap, so
+highly varnished with grease, as to appear waterproof.</p>
+<p>Without any apology for a waistcoat, he wore a blue flannel
+shirt, striped with white, opened from the chin to the waistband,
+to contain his enormous cargo of bread and cheese and leeks,
+which, as he was continually drawing upon his store, stood a
+chance of all becoming wholly inside passengers.&nbsp; Added to
+this, his booby gait and stupid vacant stare was such that he
+might have passed muster anywhere for what he pretended to
+be.</p>
+<p>He took up his post on the outskirts of the town, preferring
+that position to elbowing his way through the busy crowd in the
+middle of the fair.&nbsp; He did not appear anxious for a
+customer, and munched his bread and cheese and onions with quiet
+perseverance.&nbsp; Many persons, in passing by, gazed with
+wonder at this piece of cloddish rusticity, and asked if the
+horse was for sale; but receiving such drivelling and dolt-like
+answers, that it became a matter of wonder who could have trusted
+their property to such an oaf.</p>
+<p>When Twm had stood some time, patiently bearing the ridicule
+of many bystanders, who cracked jokes at his expense, a
+gentlemen, well-mounted on a chestnut-coloured hunter, entered
+the town, and cast an eager eye at the grey horse.&nbsp; Twm
+recognized him at a glance as a Breconshire magistrate, named
+Powell, one of the many rejected admirers of the lady of Ystrad
+Feen.&nbsp; Riding up to our hero, he asked if the horse was for
+sale.&nbsp; Twm answered in broken English, imitating the dialect
+of the lower class, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t no but it <a
+name="page272"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 272</span>iss, if I
+cann get somebody that is not wice, look you, somebody that was
+fools to buy him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But why,&rdquo; asked the gentleman, &ldquo;don&rsquo;t
+you take him into the horse-fair?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why inteed to goodness,&rdquo; answered Twm, &ldquo;I
+was shame to take him there; for look you, he has a fault on him,
+and I do not find in my heart and my conscience to take honest
+people in with a horse that has a fault on him, for all master
+did send me here to sell him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well, and what is this mighty fault?&rdquo; asked the
+stranger, smiling.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why inteed to goodness and mercy,&rdquo; replied Twm,
+&ldquo;it was a fault that do spoil him&mdash;it was a fault
+that&mdash;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But what is the fault?&rdquo; asked the Breconshire
+magistrate impatiently: &ldquo;give it a name, man.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why inteed to goodness,&rdquo; replied the scrupulous
+horse-dealer, &ldquo;I will tell you like an honest christian
+man, without more worts about it; I will make my sacrament and
+bible oaths&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t ask your
+oath,&rdquo; cried Powell, almost out of humour, &ldquo;merely
+tell me in word, what ails the horse?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Inteed and upon my soul and conscience to boot, I
+can&rsquo;t say what do ail him.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;You
+can&rsquo;t?&rdquo; cried Powell in an angry tone, and looking as
+surprised and wrath as might be expected from a proud Breconian;
+&ldquo;Confound me if I do,&rdquo; replied Twm, &ldquo;but I will
+tell you why he was no good to master; it wass thiss&mdash;Master
+iss a parson, a gentleman parson, not a poor curate, one mister
+Inco Evans, rector of Tregaron, and the white hairs do come off
+the grey horse here, and stick upon his best black coat and
+preeches; and that was his fault.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This was a curious reason for disposing of so good-a-looking
+animal as that Twm held by the bridle, and one that did not deter
+Powell from buying him without further parley, and paying for him
+there and then.&nbsp; He disappeared with his prize, wondering at
+the stupid dolt from whom his purchase had been made.</p>
+<p><a name="page273"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 273</span>Twm
+retired now to a small public-house, where having asked for a
+bed-room, he contrived, after making a total change in his garb,
+to slip out again unperceived, not wishing, for various reasons,
+to appear before his mistress <i>in propria
+person&aelig;</i>.&nbsp; He now wore a grey sober suit, shining
+black buckles, stockings of the wool of a black sheep, and a
+knitted Welsh wig, of the same, that fitted him like a skullcap,
+and concealed every lock of his hair.&nbsp; Thus arrayed, he
+presented the appearance of a grave puritanical farmer, from the
+remote district of Cardiganshire.</p>
+<p>After gazing awhile at the motley crowd that constitutes a
+fair, in a Welsh country town, he noticed a well-known crone, who
+had the reputation of being exceedingly covetous.&nbsp; Lean,
+yellow, and decrepid, her ferret-eyes glanced eagerly about for a
+customer, as she held beneath her arm a large roil of stout
+striped flannel.&nbsp; Twm, unobserved, took his stand behind
+her, and dexterously stitching her bale to his coat, he, with a
+sudden jerk, transferred it from the old woman&rsquo;s grasp to
+his own.&nbsp; Her wonder and dismay was unutterable.</p>
+<p>Elbowed and tossed about by the bustling crowd who were
+passing to and fro, she knew not who to vent her spleen upon;
+but, in utter despair, set up a tremendous howl, as a requiem for
+her beloved departed.&nbsp; Instead of seeking the assistance of
+a light pair of heels, Twm scarcely moved a yard, but drew from
+his pocket a little black tobacco-pipe, and puffed a cloud with
+admirable coolness, while his right arm lovingly embraced the
+bale of flannel.</p>
+<p>Roused by the old beldame&rsquo;s outrageous expressions of
+grief and fury, he asked in a very pathetic tone, the cause of
+her sorrow, which she related with many curses, sobs, and furious
+exclamations.&nbsp; Shocked at her impiety, and want of
+resignation, Twm took upon him to rebuke her, and edified her
+much, by a discourse on the virtue of patience; assuring her she
+ought to thank heaven that she was not a neglected <a
+name="page274"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+274</span>being.&nbsp; In conclusion, he remarked, that fairs and
+markets in these degenerate days were so sadly infested with
+rogues and vagabonds, that an honest person was completely
+encompassed by dangers.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now for my part,&rdquo; continued he, &ldquo;I never
+enter such places without previously sewing my goods to my
+clothes, which you ought also to have done, in this
+manner.&rdquo;&mdash;showing at the same time, the roll beneath
+his arm, which he thought the old crone&rsquo;s eyes had glanced
+on, with something like a light of suspicion, that instantly
+vanished, on this notable display and explanation.</p>
+<p>Our hero&rsquo;s appetite only grew by what it fed upon, and
+the taste of fun he had as yet been able to snatch only made him
+wish for more.&nbsp; He did not wait long for an opportunity; it
+was his habit to be so; he either met &ldquo;opportunity&rdquo;
+half-way or entirely created his chance, making circumstances, in
+a measure, contribute to his especial purposes.</p>
+<p>Casting a sharp glance around, he saw making towards him, a
+man of the cadaverous aspect, one who was an entire stranger to
+substantial creature comforts, or, if not, one who &ldquo;shamed
+his pasture&rdquo; considerably.</p>
+<p>On closer scrutiny, Twm saw it was his old friend Moses, whose
+hungry stomach had kept him hopelessly poor.&nbsp; Moses advanced
+and tried to bargain for a few yards of his flannel; but on
+reckoning his money found he could not come up to the price, as
+he said he had to buy a three legged iron pot, in addition to a
+winter petticoat for his wife: &ldquo;and,&rdquo; observed the
+man of tatters, with a grin of miserable mirth, &ldquo;it will be
+better for her to go without flannel than our whole family to
+want a porridge pot.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm liked Moses, but not his logic; which implied a want of
+courtesy and due deference to his better half, whose indisputable
+right to warm petticoats claimed precedence to all the pots,
+pans, and every earthly consideration.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Here take this bale, take it all, for I have lost <a
+name="page275"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 275</span>my yard and
+scissors, and pay me when you grow rich;&mdash;confound your
+thanks! away with you, bestow it safe, then return here; perhaps
+I may get thee an iron pot at as cheap a rate as the
+flannel.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Moses did not want twice bidding to induce him to avail
+himself of his good fortune, but entering into the spirit of the
+scene at once, appeared to understand our hero&rsquo;s joking
+propensities, although he had no suspicion that it was the
+veritable Twm himself.&nbsp; Off Moses ran with his enormous
+present, and immediately returned; when our hero accompanied him
+to the shop of an old curmudgeon of an ironmonger, whose face,
+hardly distinguishable behind his habitual screen of snuff and
+spectacles, seemed of the same material as his own hardware.</p>
+<p>The man of rags was quite in luck, and as instructed, followed
+his benefactor into the shop in silence.&nbsp; Twm examined the
+culinary ware, with all the caution of an old farm-wife, asking
+the prices of various articles, and turned up the whites of his
+eyes in the most approved puritanic fashion, expressive of
+astonishment at such excessive charges.&nbsp; Old hammerhead
+repelled the insinuation, and swore that cheaper or better pots
+were never seen in the kitchen of a king.&nbsp; &ldquo;Then you
+must mean the king of the beggars,&rdquo; quoth Twm, &ldquo;for
+you have nothing here but damaged ware.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Damaged devil! what do you mean?&rdquo; roared the
+enraged ironmonger.&nbsp; &ldquo;I mean,&rdquo; replied Twm Shon
+Catty, with provoking equanimity, &ldquo;that there is scarcely a
+pot here without a hole in it; now this which I hold in my hand
+for instance, has one.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Where! where!&rdquo;
+asked the fiery old shop keeper, holding it up between his eyes
+and the light: &ldquo;if there is a hole in this pot, I&rsquo;ll
+eat it: where is the hole that you speak of?&rdquo;&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Here!&rdquo; bawls the inexorable hoaxer, pulling it over
+his ears, and holding it there, while Moses took the wink from
+his patron, and walked off with a most choice article, which he
+had selected from the whole lot.</p>
+<p><a name="page276"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 276</span>Here
+was a predicament for a respectable old tradesman!&nbsp; Our hero
+fairly held his sides with laughter as the old curmudgeon
+sprawled about, vainly endeavouring to free himself from the pot,
+in which his terrible shouts for help were entirely lost.&nbsp;
+Having tied his hands behind his back, Twm left him howling and
+sweating beneath his huge extinguisher, and made as he took his
+departure, this consolatory speech&mdash;&ldquo;Had there not
+been a hole in it how could that large stupid knob of yours have
+entered such a helmet?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm left the enraged ironmonger to get out of his dilemma as
+best he could, having very little sympathy with him in his
+distress.&nbsp; When once more in the street, he found that the
+people were all moving in one direction, and Twm discovered
+shortly that there was some unusual attraction at the Town
+Hall.&nbsp; As the assemblage increased, the way, like a choaked
+mill-dam, became more and more impeded, until the whole restless
+mass was consolidated, and stood still perforce.</p>
+<p>Our hero had forced his way till near the entrance of the
+hall, where he ventured to ask what cause had drawn together such
+a crowd; but he got no immediate answer, as many came there, like
+himself, drawn by the powerful influence of curiosity.</p>
+<p>At length he heard his own name buzzed about; one said that
+Twm Shon Catty whose humorous tricks were the themes of every
+tongue, was discovered to be a great thief: and that he who had
+fought against highwaymen, had at last become one himself, and
+committed all the robberies which had taken place in that country
+for years past.&nbsp; One said that he could never be taken; and
+a third contradicted that assertion, declaring that he was then
+fettered in the hall, and waiting to be conveyed to Carmarthen
+gaol.&nbsp; One assigned him to the gallows as his due, while
+another tenderly replied that hanging was too good for him.&nbsp;
+Opposing the sentiments and opinions of all these, more than one
+declared that the hemp was neither <a name="page277"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 277</span>spun nor grown that would hang Twm;
+and pity it should, as he was a friend of the poor, and an enemy
+to none but the stupid, the cruel, and the oppressive.</p>
+<p>The disputed argument was disposed of summarily by the
+appearance of an important functionary, resplendent in the
+gorgeous dress which he wore in virtue of his exalted
+office.&nbsp; This individual, who was the town crier, obtaining
+silence, informed the assembled multitude that the magistrates
+who were now sitting, required that any &ldquo;<i>person or
+persons</i>&rdquo; who might have been defrauded in the fair,
+should now come forward, so as to form a clue towards the
+identity of the robber, which it was generally believed was no
+other than the notorious Twm Shon Catty.&nbsp; The crier retired,
+and in a few minutes re-appeared, and read the court&rsquo;s
+proclamation, offering a reward of twenty pounds to any person
+who would apprehend the said Twm Shon Catty; which was answered
+with loud hisses by the majority of the crowd, and effectually
+drowned the applause of the rest.</p>
+<p>This was a most flattering ovation for Twm, and his spirits
+rose accordingly; while, at the same time, he felt himself
+aggrieved by this public proclamation concerning him by the
+authorities, who, he considered, had, in this instance, somewhat
+exceeded their vocation.&nbsp; He resolved to &ldquo;beard the
+lion in his den,&rdquo; or in other words, to enter the hall and
+give the lie to any base-minded cur who should dare to associate
+his name with common robbers and felons.</p>
+<p>Softly, Twm, softly, my boy!&nbsp; On second thoughts he came
+to the conclusion that that would not be quite prudent&mdash;he
+would make his way into the Hall of Justice, and preserving his
+disguise, see how matters were progressing, and try if he could
+not secure a little personal entertainment for himself.</p>
+<p>Daring Twm! thy genius adapted itself to circumstances; many
+people would be doubtless astonished that our hero should venture
+on such cause, but when enthusiasm, and the pride of achievement,
+even in a worthless cause, actuates the passion-fraught breast,
+<a name="page278"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+278</span>supplanting the place of reasoning calculation, the
+wonder vanishes.&nbsp; The desperate outlaw, whose temerity is
+applauded, feels the gust of heroism in as warm a degree as the
+generous patriot whose claim to renown is better founded and
+graced with national approbation.&nbsp; Twm soon found himself in
+the hall; for it was his own native energies stood him in better
+stead than the fabled cap of Fortunatus: he wished, and obtained;
+hated, and was revenged; desired to tread a difficulty under
+foot, and gained his purpose; while the generality of men would
+be analyzing every shadow of obstruction that impeded their
+aim.</p>
+<p>He took his stand in a conspicuous place near the bench, the
+&ldquo;awful judgment-seat,&rdquo; which was at this time filled
+by three magistrates including his laughter-loving friend
+Prothero, whose ruddy happy round face deprived law itself of
+half its terrors.&nbsp; Before him, he found his old
+<i>friend</i> Evans of Tregaron, who had been sputtering a
+confused account of our hero&rsquo;s gracelessness from his
+childhood, to the last trick he had played him, by stealing his
+grey horse at Machynlleth.&nbsp; How he had cheated the heir of
+Graspacre-Hall of the horse at Welshpool; and how the same horse
+was traced into the possession of a simple fellow in straw boots
+and cow-hide breeches, who that very day had sold it to his
+friend Mr. Powell; which sale, he contended, could not stand
+good, as the stolen horse was his property to all intents and
+purposes, which he could prove by credible witnesses.</p>
+<p>This recapitulation of Twm&rsquo;s tricks tickled the gravity
+of Prothero amazingly; and at every pause which Evans made in his
+narration, he was answered by the loud &ldquo;ho, ho, ho!&rdquo;
+of that merry magistrate.</p>
+<p>Mr. Powell then told his story, and, in conclusion, said he
+was in the commission of the peace in the town of Brecon.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Ho, ho, ho!&rdquo; roared Prothero, &ldquo;here we are,
+three magistrates, ho, ho, ho! three magistrates, and all fooled
+by Twm Shon Catty.&mdash;Clever fellow, ho, ho, ho! wild dog, ho,
+ho, ho!&mdash;means no great harm&mdash;never keeps what he
+steals&mdash;gives all to the poor <a name="page279"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 279</span>fellows that want&mdash;ho, ho,
+ho!&nbsp; Never mind, gentlemen, the fun of the thing repays the
+loss, which can be shared between you.&nbsp; Let Mr. Evans take
+the horse, on paying Mr. Powell what he gave young cow-breeches,
+ho, ho, ho! better than lose all.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr. Powell immediately acceded to the arrangement, but the
+unaccommodating Evans insisted on having the horse without the
+payment, and made some tart remarks on conniving at a
+rascal&rsquo;s tricks and villanies.&nbsp; &ldquo;For my part,
+I&rsquo;d shoot him dead like a dog!&rdquo; cried the reverend
+preacher of peace and concord; drawing at the same time, a pair
+of pistols from his pocket, and replacing them, in a fiery fit of
+passion.&nbsp; &ldquo;Ho, ho, ho!&rdquo; roared Prothero,
+&ldquo;but you&rsquo;d catch him first, brother, ho, ho,
+ho!&mdash;too cunning for you, for me, and all of us&mdash;might
+be here this moment, laughing in his sleeve at us, for what we
+know, ho, ho, ho!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm thought it was now time to be taking a more active part in
+the scene, so taking out a small book, while appearing to be
+deeply absorbed in its perusal, he gave a deep groan as if much
+moved by what he read, and the mourning sound at once attracted
+notice.</p>
+<p>Prothero, alive to everything allied to comicality, burst out
+into a loud ho, ho, ho!&nbsp; Evans arrayed his naturally gloomy
+brows in a magisterial frown, and Powell smiled, with an
+expression of wonder.&nbsp; &ldquo;What are you reading,
+friend?&rdquo; asked Prothero, chuckling as he surveyed the black
+Welsh wig.&nbsp; &ldquo;The wisdom of Solomon,&rdquo; quoth the
+man of solemnity, drawing the muscles of his face most
+ludicrously long; &ldquo;but mark you, worshipful gentlemen, I
+mean not the Solomon of the scriptures, but our own Cambrian
+Solomon&mdash;that is to say, Catwg the Wise, the excellent and
+erudite abbot of Llancarvan, and teacher of the Bard
+Taliesin.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s all right enough.&nbsp; Catwg was
+doubtless a clever man, but why do you bring him here?&rdquo;
+enquired Prothero, with a broad smile on his face.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Wherever I go, I have resolved to make his wisdom known,
+and <a name="page280"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 280</span>to
+reprove all deviators from it, in the sage&rsquo;s own
+words,&rdquo; quoth Twm.&nbsp; &ldquo;Poor man, poor man,
+he&rsquo;s crazy, his brain turned, perhaps by too much
+study,&rdquo; observed Prothero.&nbsp; &ldquo;An impudent
+fellow!&rdquo; cried Evans; &ldquo;but you are strangely lenient
+here in Carmarthenshire; were I the king, I would have such
+fellows put in Bedlam.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm looked at the clerical magistrate, then read from the
+book, &ldquo;If a crown were worn by every fool, we should all of
+us be kings.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Gentlemen, he calls us all
+fools!&rdquo; cried Evans.&nbsp; Twm, without raising his eyes
+from the book, read on, &ldquo;were there horns on the head of
+every fool, a good sum might be gained by showing a bald
+man.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Gentlemen, he makes us all
+cuckolds!&rdquo; cried Evans, in his usual sputter;
+&ldquo;however it may fit you, gentlemen, I can safely say, that
+no disgrace as a horn belongs to my brow.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm read on:&mdash;&ldquo;If the shame of every one were
+written on his forehead, the materials for masks would be
+surprisingly dear.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Ho, ho, ho!&rdquo; roared
+Prothero, till the hall echoed with his loud laughter, which the
+Cardiganshire magistrate seemed to take as a personal affront,
+and sulkily observed, that this was no place for foolery, but for
+gravity, wisdom, and truth.</p>
+<p>Twm read on:&mdash;&ldquo;If no tongue were to speak other
+than truth and wisdom, the number of mutes would be astonishingly
+great.&rdquo;&nbsp; The consequential Inco, mumbled something
+about his own mode of doing business at Cardigan, and declared
+that he would commit such a fellow to gaol for three months, at
+least, for disturbing a court of justice.&nbsp; Twm cut him short
+with another passage from Catwg:&mdash;&ldquo;Were the talkative
+to perceive the folly of his chattering, he would save his breath
+to cool his broth.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Here Powell of Brecon entered a little into the spirit of the
+scene, by quoting also from the well-known aphorisms of Catwg,
+applying the passage to Twm himself;&mdash;&ldquo;If the buffoon
+were to see the vanity of his feat, he would leave it off for
+shame.&rdquo;&nbsp; This feeble hit excited the applause of the
+good-humoured <a name="page281"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+281</span>Prothero, who clapped the speaker heartily on the back,
+and, amid his eternal ho, ho, ho! exclaimed, &ldquo;Well said,
+brother, well said; better silence him with wit than by
+authority; well done, well done.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm was not slow in taking up the gauntlet which the
+Breconshire magistrate had thrown at his feet, and so turning
+pointedly to him, he read;&mdash;&ldquo;If the lover were to see
+his weakness, terror would drive him to a premature
+end.&rdquo;&nbsp; A general laugh at the expense of Powell,
+instantly followed.&nbsp; To him that passage was considered
+peculiarly applicable, as the unsuccessful woer of the gay widow
+of Ystrad Feen.&nbsp; It was a tender string to touch so
+roughly.&nbsp; Losing his ease and temper at the same instant, he
+cast a most ungracious frown at the utterer of proverbs, and said
+in an undertone of threatening energy, &ldquo;Whoever you may be,
+it were not wise of you to repeat such conduct towards me
+again.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;Again?&rdquo; said Twm, pretending to
+misunderstand him, &ldquo;Oh, certainly, I&rsquo;ll give you the
+passage again, or any other, to you; &lsquo;If the
+lover&mdash;&rsquo;&rdquo; here Powell&rsquo;s face blazed with
+anger, as he clenched his fist, and cried, &ldquo;You had better
+not.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm began again,&mdash;&ldquo;If the lover&mdash;of war, were
+to see his cruelty, he would fear that every atom in the sunbeam
+might stab him as a sword.&rdquo;&nbsp; The dexterous evasion,
+with the point given to the words &ldquo;of war,&rdquo; had its
+full effect in restoring the good humour, so suddenly disturbed;
+but that beautiful passage from the aphorisms of the old Welsh
+abbot failed to elicit the applause which its moral merits
+deserve.</p>
+<p>At this moment the attention of all present was attracted by
+the noisy entrance of the ex-proprietress of the flannel, who
+almost deafened them by the vehemence of her complaints; which,
+however, were too incoherently expressed to be immediately
+understood.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh! my roll of flannel, my fine, my excellent flannel!
+all of my own spinning too,&mdash;eight and twenty good yards,
+and a yard and a half wide&mdash;my wooden <a
+name="page282"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 282</span>shoe too,
+that I lost in the crowd&mdash;and my poor corns trod off by the
+villains&mdash;my dear sweet flannel, all of my own carding and
+spinning&mdash;nobody but the devil himself, or his first cousin
+Twm Shon Catty, could have taken it in such a manner&mdash;it was
+whisked from me as if a whirlwind had swept it away.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At length she paused for want of breath, and Twm approached
+her with the air of a comforter, and read from his
+book,&mdash;&ldquo;Were a woman as quick with her feet as with
+her tongue, she would catch the lightning to kindle her fire in
+the morning.&rdquo;&nbsp; It is probable that she did not
+perfectly hear this passage, as on perceiving Twm, she gave a
+shout of joy, and then as incoherently as before, appealed to the
+magistrate; &ldquo;This honest man, your worship, knows it
+all.&nbsp; I told him, the moment I lost my flannel&mdash;this
+worthy man, your worship&mdash;a good man, a man who reads books,
+your worship, he can witness.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This vehement outburst of eloquence was brought to a sudden
+termination, and the old woman&rsquo;s wordy complaint
+effectually strangled by the laughter and applause which greeted
+the appearance of a more ridiculous applicant for justice and his
+right.</p>
+<p>Supported by two constables, who rather dragged forward, than
+led him, came Twm&rsquo;s friend the hardwareman, crowned with
+the identical iron pot before named, which the officers, as a
+matter of official formality, or to indulge their own
+facetiousness, refused to remove, till in the presence of a
+magistrate.&nbsp; When his laughter had a little subsided,
+Prothero ordered the pot to be removed, and his hands
+untied.&nbsp; The hardwareman then told his lamentable tale in a
+few words; in conclusion, he declared, that having overheard
+certain words between the robber and his accomplice, he had
+learned that the thief was no other than Twm Shon Catty.&nbsp;
+His eye now caught on the figure of our hero, and with a yell as
+astounding as if the eternal enemy of man stood before him, he
+cried, &ldquo;There he is! there he is!&nbsp; As heaven shall
+save me, there stands the man, or devil, who crowned me with <a
+name="page283"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 283</span>the iron
+pot, while his accomplice ran off with the other.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And who robbed me of my flannel!&rdquo; roared the old
+woman, who now changed her opinion, as her earliest suspicions
+became thus suddenly confirmed.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And who stole my grey horse!&rdquo; bawled Evans of
+Tregaron.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And who sold it to me when disguised in straw boots and
+cow-hide breeches!&rdquo; cried Powell of Brecon, who had now
+closely examined his features.</p>
+<p>Things looked desperate as far as Twm was concerned, as an
+attack was now made upon him by three or four of his most
+determined enemies; but Twm eluding their eager attempts to grasp
+him, sprang upon the table before the bench, and drawing a couple
+of pistols from his coat pockets, held one in each hand, and kept
+them all at bay, protesting he would shoot the first who would
+advance an inch towards him.&nbsp; Loud was his laughter when
+they all started back: but Prothero, now sat silently on the
+bench, alarmed for his safety, which he had thought to secure by
+giving him warning of his danger, in the feint of his proclaimed
+reward for his apprehension.</p>
+<p>As he stood in this manner, with extended arms, watchful eyes,
+and grasping the pointed pistols with a finger to each trigger,
+Powell of Brecon exclaimed, &ldquo;Thou art a clever fellow, by
+Jove, Twm! very clever for a Cardy; but wert thou with us, the
+quick-witted sons of Brecon, thou wouldst soon find thyself
+overmatched.&nbsp; I dare thee to enter Brecon, to trust to thy
+cunning&mdash;come there, and welcome, and thou shalt stand
+harmless of me, in the affair of the grey horse.&rdquo;&nbsp; Twm
+smiled, and nodded, in token of having accepted his
+challenge.</p>
+<p>Rather daunted by the failure of their first attempt to seize
+Twm, his assailants had held back awed by his resolute and
+defiant attitude, but recovering their courage on reflecting upon
+the odds against him, they now, headed by Evans of Tregaron, got
+behind him, and clung to his right arm, but with one <a
+name="page284"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 284</span>violent
+effort Twm shook them away, as the mighty bull throws off the
+yelping curs that dare to attack him.&nbsp; Then, with a single
+leap, he sprang from the table into the crowded court, where a
+lane was formed for him, and rushed out of the door unimpeded,
+and pursued by his accusers.&nbsp; They soon lost sight of him
+among the moving multitude, some of whom dispersed from fear of
+accidents, while others followed him as spectators.</p>
+<p>To the great astonishment of his pursuers they next caught a
+view of him mounted on that grand subject of contention, the grey
+horse.&nbsp; He took the route of Ystrad Feen, followed by
+several constables in the employ of Evans of Tregaron, and many
+disinterested persons from the fair.&nbsp; Loud were the shouts
+of the numerous riders; loud the tramp of galloping horses; and
+wild the disorder and terror created, as Twm at different
+intervals turned on his pursuers, and fired his pistols.&nbsp;
+This caused a powerful retrograde movement among them, by which
+the foremost horses fell back to those behind them, unhorsing
+some who lay groaning and crying with fright on the ground, and
+frightening others altogether from the pursuit.</p>
+<p>It was on this occasion that a bard of that day wrote the
+stanza which appears on the title page, thus translated by the
+late Iolo Morganwg:&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;In Ystrad Feen a doleful sound<br />
+Pervades the hollow hills around;<br />
+The very stones with terror melt,<br />
+Such fear of Twn Shon Catty felt.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Fortune still favoured Twm, who reaching the foot of Dinas
+somewhat in advance of his motley train of pursuers, dismounted,
+sprung from stone to stone, that formed the ford of the Tower,
+and climbed the steep side of that majestic mount, with the
+utmost ease.&nbsp; Like a prudent sea-captain, Twm was chased in
+his small boat by a fleet of rovers, till he reaches his own
+war-ship, and springs up her fort-like side, <a
+name="page285"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 285</span>and treads
+his deck in the ecstasy of surmounted peril, conscious strength,
+and superiority.</p>
+<p>Thus Twm now attained the summit of a prominent knoll, and
+waved his hand triumphantly, in defiance of his foes below.&nbsp;
+Evans of Tregaron, with his crew of catchpoles, made an attempt
+to climb also; Twm permitted them to advance about twenty yards
+above the river, when he ended the warfare, by rolling down
+several huge stones, that swept them in a mass into the bed of
+the river Towey, sadly bruised, but more frightened, from whence
+they were extricated by the amazed and terrified spectators.</p>
+<p>Evans of Tregaron met with an accident, which during the
+remainder of his life reminded him of his hasty chase after Twm
+Shon Catty.&nbsp; In starting aside to avoid the dreadful leaping
+crags that threatened to crush him, his pistols went off in his
+pockets, and carried away, besides his coat skirts and the rear
+of his black breaches, a large portion of postern flesh, that
+deprived him forever after of that agreeable cushion which nature
+had provided.</p>
+<p>Amusing to the population of Tregaron was the singular sight
+of their crest-fallen magistrate and his hated gang, brought home
+in woeful plight, as inside passenger of a dung-cart, which had
+been hired for the purpose; and more than all, that his
+discomfiture should have been caused by their long-lost
+countryman Twm Shon Catty.</p>
+<p>Our hero was clearly in an unassailable position, and his
+enemies were not so stupid as to be entirely blind to that
+important fact.&nbsp; So, like a princely chieftain of the days
+of old, enthroned upon his native tower of strength, marking in
+his soul&rsquo;s high pride the awkward predicament of his
+baffled foes, perceiving them all depart; leaving him the
+undisputed lord of his alpine territory, the glorious height of
+Dinas.</p>
+<p>After witnessing, with his limbs stretched upon his mountain
+couch, the glorious beauty of the setting <a
+name="page286"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 286</span>sun, he
+entered the cave, tore from its top a sufficiency of fern and
+heather to form his bed, threw on it his fatigued, over-exerted
+frame, and slept soundly until morning.</p>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXVI.</h2>
+<p class="gutsumm"><span class="smcap">Twm</span> at
+Brecon.&nbsp; An angling feat.&nbsp; Twm in a musical
+character.&nbsp; Wins the prize offered for a poem.&nbsp; A new
+style of marriage&mdash;and some other little &ldquo;odds and
+ends.&rdquo;&nbsp; Conclusion.</p>
+<p>With the earliest rays of the morning&rsquo;s sun Twm was
+astir, and during a long ramble on the hills, was busily turning
+over in his mind the exciting-incidents of the previous
+day.&nbsp; Unable to account for his second disappointment of
+seeing his mistress, according to promise, he gave way to
+despondency, and conjectured the worst&mdash;that she was no
+longer true to his vows, but had yielded to the persuasions of
+her haughty relative, and become a renegade both to love and to
+honour.&nbsp; He was now, however, so near her residence, he
+would at least ascertain how matters stood; and, after many
+efforts of resolution, he descended the hill for that
+purpose.</p>
+<p>On crossing the Towey, he was surprised to find that the
+&ldquo;gallant grey&rdquo; was still left for him; he was busily
+feeding in an adjoining field, and the saddle and bridle hung
+dangling from a storm-stricken old thorn.&nbsp; He felt this,
+directly, as a handsome piece of attention to him, on the part of
+Powell of Brecon, who, doubtless, had left it there for
+convenience.</p>
+<p>On examining further, he found a note, tied to the bridle,
+from that generous individual, inviting him to be present at the
+Eisteddvod, the Races and the Ball, which were to take place
+successively in the gay town of Brecon.</p>
+<p><a name="page287"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 287</span>He
+was doomed to disappointment; for on reaching Ystrad Feen he
+found nobody but the servants, who informed him that their lady,
+Miss Meredith, and the late visitors, were all gone to Brecon,
+and would not return for some days.&nbsp; This intelligence
+determined him to go there also; and recollecting a trunk of
+clothes of his, which had been left ever since his sojourning
+there, he called for it; and having dressed himself, and placed
+with other things, in his saddle-bags, an elegant suit which he
+had brought from London, he mounted his horse, and rode off for
+Brecon.</p>
+<p>About a couple of miles beyond Trecastle, he overtook a poor
+fellow driving an ass, laden with coarse crockery ware, who
+turned out to be no other than Ready Rosser.&nbsp; Having long
+been married to a Cardiganshire lass, they both, pretending to be
+single, entered Squire Prothero&rsquo;s service at the same time;
+but the circumstance being at length discovered, they were both
+discharged a few days since, and now commenced the crockery
+business for a livelihood.&nbsp; After a few jests on the white
+bull, ox, and sheep, Twm spurred on, but not before he had
+purchased the whole of Rosser&rsquo;s stock, which, however, that
+worthy was to take to Brecon, for a purpose to be hereafter
+described.</p>
+<p>At Brecon he took lodgings at the Three Cocks&rsquo; inn, to
+which he gave a preference, on account of the sign being the
+armorial bearings of the celebrated David Gam,
+(Shakespeare&rsquo;s Captain Fuellin,) the hero of Agincourt.</p>
+<p>Crowds still poured into the town from all points of the
+compass, until it seemed impossible that the streets would hold
+them.&nbsp; While our hero looked through the window to observe
+Rosser, who arranged his crockery in front of the inn, his
+attention was suddenly caught by the sound of a harp, which
+proceeded from the kitchen.&nbsp; To his great surprise, he found
+the performer to be his old friend the venerable Ianto Gwyn of
+Tregaron.</p>
+<p>The old man was very glad to see him, and after learning the
+particulars of the fortunes he had met since <a
+name="page288"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 288</span>he left his
+native town, proceeded to inform him of the Tregaron news.&nbsp;
+His mother was well three weeks ago, and had received the various
+sums which he had sent her at different times, and was in daily
+hopes of burying her churl of a husband.&nbsp; Rachael Ketch was
+now dead; having broken her heart for the loss of her money,
+which had been stolen by Watt the mole-catcher, who was
+transported.</p>
+<p>In conclusion, the old man said that he had come to the
+Eisteddvod rather as a spectator than a candidate for the prize,
+having accidentally hurt his right hand, which nearly disabled
+him altogether from playing.&nbsp; &ldquo;That circumstance is
+now the more provoking,&rdquo; said the old man, &ldquo;as I am
+convinced that were my hand well, I should certainly win the
+noble silver harp, which is to be the meed of the best
+player.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm took his musical friend upstairs, and, after dining
+together, began coquetting with the harp, which with the hand of
+a ready player, he soon tinkled into alternate fits of grief and
+laughter, as he ran over many of our most popular airs.</p>
+<p>The old man jumped up from his seat, and embraced him with
+rapture, protesting that he could not fail to win the harp, if he
+chose to be a candidate.&nbsp; Our hero, having practised but
+little on the harp since he left London, felt considerable
+diffidence in becoming a competitor among proficients in music,
+but resolved, at any rate to avail himself of the instructions of
+his friend Ianto Gwyn.</p>
+<p>Intensely anxious to meet his mistress once more, he sought an
+early opportunity of a walk through the streets; but instead of
+the desired one, it was his lot to meet Powell the magistrate,
+who gave him a jocular and right hearty welcome.&nbsp; They were
+soon joined by two other high bloods of the town, one a wealthy
+attorney, named Phillips, and the other a reverend and
+right-portly son of the church, who shone more at the punch-bowl
+than in the pulpit.&nbsp; They all adjourned to the parlour of
+the Three Cocks, where the best of <a name="page289"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 289</span>wine was soon in request, and a gay
+scene of conviviality and good fellowship ensued.</p>
+<p>Twm&rsquo;s fame had of course preceded him, for
+Powell&rsquo;s tongue had been busy in his praise, although he
+had done him no more than justice, and those four worthies soon
+understanding each other, they spent a pretty jolly time of
+it.&nbsp; Being all lads of the turf, the practice of betting was
+familiar to them; and the lawyer offered to oppose Twm in a match
+of angling for five pounds; and the bet should be, that
+&ldquo;<i>whoever fished the largest weight</i>, <i>no matter of
+what kind</i>, <i>in half an hour</i>, <i>should be declared the
+winner</i>.&rdquo;&nbsp; Our hero, although a poor angler,
+accepted the wager, and Powell, as the umpire, wrote down the
+terms of it, which was signed by each.</p>
+<p>Possessing himself of angling paraphernalia, he repaired with
+them to the bridge, and had the upper side of it assigned to him,
+while Phillips had the lower.&nbsp; The latter displayed a grand
+morocco pocket-book, filled in the neatest order with the most
+choice artificial flies, of every description, and soon had his
+handsome rod in order; while the former had nothing better than
+what could be procured at a shop.&nbsp; The lawyer landed fish
+after fish, with great rapidity, and when half the given time had
+expired, Twm found himself much in arrears, and the continued
+good fortune of his antagonist left him, apparently, no chance of
+ultimate success.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Confound these good-for-nothing flies! fetch me a beef
+steak!&rdquo; cried he at last, and gave money for that purpose
+to a by-stander, who immediately brought the article wanted.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a Cardy angler, fishing for trout with a
+beef steak!&rdquo; cried the Breconians, with an exulting
+laugh.&nbsp; Twm made no reply, but fastened several hooks in
+different parts of a strong line, to each of which he attached a
+small piece of beef; and, watching the movement of a flock of
+ducks that floated in luxurious ease down the Usk, he threw the
+whole among them.</p>
+<p>Loud was the clamour of the aquatic crew, as they <a
+name="page290"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 290</span>hustled
+each other, in their eagerness to partake of the showered feast,
+which they soon gobbled, and were drawn up to the top of the
+bridge by the singular angler above, amid the shouts of laughter
+of the numerous spectators.</p>
+<p>This feat was greeted by the by-standers with shouts of
+derision, as they thought that Twm, in thus trifling, had
+practically confessed his inability to win the wager.&nbsp;
+Powell called time, saying that the half hour had struck.&nbsp;
+Phillips, as the conscious winner, produced a goodly show of
+trout, and, as Twm had caught but four small fish, said it would
+be idle to weigh them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Not so,&rdquo; replied our wag, &ldquo;let the written
+terms of the bet be read, and you will find that my ducks have a
+right to be weighed against your boasted trout, aye! and shall
+make them kick the beam.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Phillips started at such an assertion made in earnest, and
+Powell read, &ldquo;Whoever fished the largest weight, no matter
+of what kind, would be declared the winner,&rdquo; and as umpire,
+awarded the five pounds to our hero.</p>
+<p>Some merriment at the expense of Powell was caused by his
+declaring himself the unlucky proprietor of the said flock of
+ducks; but with his usual good-humour, he proposed that the ducks
+and the trout should be cooked at his house for their supper, in
+which Phillips acquiesced.</p>
+<p>After dinner, when the bottle had passed pretty freely, and
+all were prepared for any fun which might fall in their way, our
+hero contrived to bring Powell, who had hitherto fought shy, into
+a bet with him.&nbsp; He declared that a stranger as he was to
+Brecon, he firmly believed that he could command, and be obeyed
+there, with greater promptitude than himself, although a justice
+of the peace and one of the quorum.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll lay you twenty pounds to the
+contrary,&rdquo; cried the magistrate.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Done!&rdquo; replied Twm, &ldquo;and we can prove it
+without <a name="page291"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+291</span>quitting this room, by opening the window, and
+practising on some of those people opposite.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Let it be yon crockery-wareman, who is the most
+conspicuous,&rdquo; said Powell, and Twm, of course, could have
+no possible objection.</p>
+<p>The magistrate opened the window, and called in a tone of
+authority, &ldquo;Come here, you fellow; go directly to the Black
+Lion, and tell the landlord to let you have Justice
+Powell&rsquo;s black mare, and bring her here to me.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t quit my goods, sir,&rdquo; said Rosser,
+&ldquo;or I would willingly oblige you.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I tell you, fellow, do as I order you, or I shall kick
+you and your ware out of the town,&rdquo; said Powell in a
+blustering tone, and with a look the most terrifying that he
+could assume.</p>
+<p>Rosser repeated his former answer; and when the magistrate
+increased his threats, he burst out into a rude laugh, and,
+without further difference, said he really believed that his
+worship was drunk: this was enough, and the worthy magistrate
+felt himself completely put down.</p>
+<p>Our wag now took his turn, and commenced with him: &ldquo;I
+say, fellow, did&rsquo;st thou ever see or hear of Twm Shon
+Catty?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied Rosser, &ldquo;often at Llandovery;
+once at Cardigan; and now I see him before me at
+Brecon.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well then,&rdquo; continued Twm, &ldquo;I order thee to
+give us a dance in the middle of the crockery.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;With all my heart, if <i>you</i> order it, for I should
+dread to disobey Twm Shon Catty more than twenty times my
+loss.&rdquo;&nbsp; On which he jumped, capered and danced, in the
+midst of his brittle commodities, kicking and treading the
+dishes, pans, basins, and other articles, to powder beneath his
+feet.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;By the Lord, thou art a strange fellow!&rdquo; said
+Powell, as he paid him the amount of his forfeit; &ldquo;and I
+foresee that there&rsquo;s much more luck for thee than thou
+dreamest of: and I confidently anticipate what will come in thy
+favour, my Cardiganian hero.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page292"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 292</span>Twm
+was much surprised to hear Powell speak thus, as his manner
+implied much more than his words; but his astonishment was
+considerably augmented when, in a subsequent conversation, our
+hero discovered that Powell knew all his affairs and connections
+with the lady of Ystrad Feen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;She once,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;played me a
+jade&rsquo;s trick; but no matter, we are now friends, and she
+has even assisted me in my suit with her amiable friend, Miss
+Meredith.&nbsp; In heart and soul, she is attached to you, Jones;
+but she is a weak yielding woman beneath the terrors of her
+father&rsquo;s frown, and in some evil hour might again sacrifice
+herself, if you are too long out of her sight.&nbsp; She is proud
+of you and of your wild achievements, and even finds excuses for
+your most blameable courses.&nbsp; Now, my advice is, that you
+will endeavour to distinguish yourself during the races, and
+start for the gold plate: the grey horse, I suspect, has blood in
+him, and will beat the best that is to run.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But why,&rdquo; asked Twm, &ldquo;did she not keep her
+promise to meet me at Llandovery fair?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Powell replied that she was prevented by her father&rsquo;s
+sudden illness; and great is her sorrow for the disappointment
+she must have caused.</p>
+<p>On the following day the town speedily put on its gala
+dresses, and flags waved from every corner.&nbsp; Bells were rung
+and guns fired in honour of the festival, which consisted of a
+rather extensive programme, namely the Eisteddvod, Races, and
+Ball.&nbsp; Between eleven and twelve o&rsquo;clock, our hero,
+with other musical and literary competitors, entered the
+Town-Hall, in bardic trim, with the harp of his friend Ianto
+Gwyn, slung by a blue ribbon, and attached to his shoulder.</p>
+<p>The audience included all the intellect, taste, and fashion of
+the district, and the competitors were greeted on their
+appearance, with hearty and long-continued applause.</p>
+<p>At length the business of the meeting was begun by a speech
+from the president, who occupied a central seat on the raised
+platform.&nbsp; He dwelt emphatically <a name="page293"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 293</span>on the laudable object of the
+Eisteddvod; &ldquo;to preserve from annihilation one of the most
+ancient languages spoken by mankind, remarkable for its
+perspicuousness, energy, and expression; that, like a perpetual
+living miracle, kept its firm stand in this solitary nook of
+country;&mdash;to revive and preserve the beautiful melodies
+which had been the delight of our gallant and patriotic
+forefathers;&mdash;and lastly by emulation, to keep alive the
+brilliant blaze of the native Awen, the darling poesy of the
+land, which yielded their fragrant and refreshing blossoms,
+lovely sacrifice on the altar of Taste.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Penillion singing succeeded; in which the minstrels of
+Merionethshire excelled.&nbsp; The rest went on in rotation,
+minutely according to the description given by the ever-faithful
+Drayton, to whose pages we refer the reader.</p>
+<p>There was a surprise awaiting Twm.&nbsp; Among the given
+subjects for the Cowydd, or Poem, was &ldquo;Govid,&rdquo; or
+Affliction, for which it turned out that there was but one who
+had written on it; and, to his unutterable astonishment, he heard
+his own poem on that title recited, and more than all, a prize
+awarded to it by the umpires.</p>
+<p>Lady Devereaux, who had attached her name to this effusion,
+was called upon to receive the meed of her talents.&nbsp; That
+lady, who sat by her father, as one of the audience, now rose,
+and said, with some emotion, that the poem so highly honoured was
+not of her composition, but had been sent to her by its author, a
+person of taste and ingenuity, whom she was bound ever to esteem;
+as to his valour and courtesy she had once been indebted for the
+preservation of her life.&nbsp; Then naming Mr. Thomas Jones as
+the author, she pointed him out; and, amid loud and long
+applause, a handsome silver medal was placed round his neck.</p>
+<p>We will not occupy more space in relating what the reader can
+so readily imagine.&nbsp; Our hero was the most successful
+competitor at the Eisteddvod, and at the <a
+name="page294"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+294</span>Races.&nbsp; At the Ball too he won the admiration of
+the ladies, and withal, the wonder and esteem of the
+Breconians.&nbsp; But alas! the buoyancy of spirits, and the
+exultation of heart, which owed their evanescent existence to
+these distinction, were soon doomed to give way to feelings of
+contrasted severity.</p>
+<p>Now, while in the zenith of his glory, confidently
+anticipating, as the final crown of his happiness, the willing
+hand of his mistress, a note for him arrived at the inn, from the
+fair widow, that threw him into absolute despair.&nbsp; She told
+him in plain terms, that unless he could outwit her, all his
+hopes of her hand would be utterly in vain.&nbsp; This intimation
+he could understand only as a formal <i>permit</i> to wear the
+willow as soon as he pleased; that she was otherwise engaged, and
+had altogether done with him.</p>
+<p>His reasoning and conclusions in this argument received
+absolute and entire confirmation by the tantalising conduct of
+Miss Meredith, who accidentally meeting him one day, did nothing
+but laugh and jest at his anxious-looking face and restless
+behaviour.&nbsp; She would give no answers to his eager,
+importunate questioning, and ran away and left him, half wild and
+desperate.&nbsp; The next hour, at least, was spent by Twm in
+railing bitterly the &ldquo;vile caprice and inconsistency of
+woman.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Hearing that her company had preceded her in the way home,
+next evening, and that she was about to follow them alone, he
+resolved to way-lay and put her under contribution, at any rate;
+which he conceived would be one way, at least, of out-witting
+her, and perhaps the right one.</p>
+<p>He hastily assumed a dress which thoroughly disguised him, for
+his features were almost altogether concealed by a large hairy
+travelling cap, which he wore well down over his ears, and his
+figure was equally lost amongst the ample folds of a great coat,
+which had never been made for him.</p>
+<p>His preparations made, he took his stand by the gate <a
+name="page295"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 295</span>that in
+those days led from the town into the mountains, through which
+the road ran to Llanspyddyd, Trecastle, and Llandovery.</p>
+<p>At length the gay widow arrived, and Twm immediately caught
+hold of her bridle, and, in an assumed snuffling tone of voice,
+demanded her money.&nbsp; She begged hard for mercy on her
+pocket, but in vain; and gave at last a considerable sum, which,
+she said, was the whole contents of her pocket.&nbsp; Our hero,
+having placed the booty in the crown of his cap, declared himself
+quite satisfied; &ldquo;And so am I!&rdquo; cried the spirited
+widow; and, at the same moment, grasping his cap and its whole
+contents, laughing aloud as she galloped away from him, she
+cried, &ldquo;Thus the widow outwits and triumphs over Twm Shon
+Catty!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Had Fortune determined to spite poor Twm Shon Catty as much as
+she had previously favoured him?&nbsp; It looked most
+unpleasantly like; for he had never been in such a deplorable
+condition as now, standing there in the road, glancing wistfully
+at the fast retreating figure of the widow.&nbsp; He was shorn of
+his laurels completely, and at once a bankrupt in love and
+fortune; as the cap contained the whole of the money he brought
+with him to Brecon, as well as what he had gained there.</p>
+<p>This inauspicious adventure, although it damped his spirits
+for a time, had the ultimate effect of rousing his latent
+energies to the highest pitch.&nbsp; He was not long in hatching
+a scheme to forward his purposes, which, however, required the
+aid (which was soon offered to him) of Powell and his two
+friends.</p>
+<p>Twelve o&rsquo;clock the next morning saw him dismounting at
+the door of Ystrad Feen, accoutred in a military undress;
+originally used by him in London, as at present, for masquerading
+purposes.&nbsp; In this disguise, he expected immediate
+admittance as a stranger; but to his unutterable dismay, instead
+of finding the door fly open to his knock, it appeared to have
+been doubly barricaded against him.</p>
+<p>After his repeated summons, the lady of the mansion, <a
+name="page296"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 296</span>with
+pompous formality, appeared at the window, like the warder of a
+fortress holding a parley at the outpost.&nbsp; In a gay spirit
+of bantering, she declared that the military uniform became him
+exceedingly, and begged to know what rank he held in the
+army.&nbsp; Our hero parried these home-thrusts but with an
+ordinary degree of grace, and, in a bowed spirit, entreated
+admission to the inner walls.&nbsp; The lady Joan was quite
+peremptory in her refusal, declaring, that having lately heard so
+much to his disadvantage, she had decided on breaking off all
+future acquaintance with him as a lover;
+&ldquo;especially,&rdquo; added she, &ldquo;as, instead of the
+witty person I thought you, I find you quite a dull animal, that
+any school-girl might outwit.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Here she indulged in a provoking laugh, and bade him
+&ldquo;good bye,&rdquo; as she turned to close the window.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Nay then,&rdquo; said Twm in a desponding key,
+&ldquo;if we are indeed to be henceforth strangers, as we have
+been friends, true and warm friends, you will give me your hand,
+at least, in parting.&rdquo;&nbsp; She slowly stretched out her
+hand through the window, and our hero, with the eager spring of a
+hungry tiger, darted forward, grasped her wrist with his left
+hand, and drawing his sword with the right, exclaimed in a tone
+of affected fury, &ldquo;Revenge at least is left me&mdash;by yon
+blessed sky above us, I&rsquo;ll be trifled with no
+longer&mdash;off goes your hand unless you consent to our union
+this instant, and on this very spot.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Lord! don&rsquo;t squeeze so hard and look so
+fierce,&rdquo; cried the lady of Ystrad Feen.</p>
+<p>Twm, with increased boisterousness, resumed, &ldquo;On your
+answer will depend, whether, for the remainder of your life, you
+have a single hand or a pair of them&mdash;for on the pronouncing
+of a negative, this hand, this soft white hand, beautiful as it
+is, will instantly fly, severed from the wrist; and only think
+now, my gentle lady Joan, how dreadful you would look with a
+stump.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Twm looked determined enough, and what could a lady do in
+respectable society with only one hand?&nbsp; The idea was
+preposterous.&nbsp; In her vexation, she <a
+name="page297"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 297</span>stretched
+her pretty neck out, and endeavoured to make her tormentor relax
+his grasp by inflicting a bite on the back of his hand.&nbsp; Twm
+seized this opportunity of imprinting a very decisive kiss on her
+check, on which she drew back her head, her face glowing
+radiantly with blushes.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You villain!&rdquo; cried she, &ldquo;I suspected you
+were about to bite my ear off.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, only your hand, Joan,&rdquo; replied Twm;
+&ldquo;and that I <i>will</i> have, unless you consent to be mine
+this instant.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I would not so much care,&rdquo; cried the lady of
+Ystrad Feen, &ldquo;but your horrid name; I could not endure to
+be called Mrs. Twm Shon Catty.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I have protested bitterly, and will not be
+foresworn,&rdquo; cried Twm, &ldquo;that here, even here, with
+your hand stretched through the window, the marriage ceremony
+shall be performed; and so your answer at once without
+evasion.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The parson of our parish has gone to a
+christening,&rdquo; said the lady of Ystrad Feen.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes or no!&rdquo; roared the terrific Twm, menacing the
+threatened blow.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well then, as I could not handle a knife or fork, or
+play my spinnet, or give you a box on the ear when I want
+pastime, I may as well say&mdash;Yes!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Bless thee for that,&rdquo; cried Twm in ecstacy, and
+eagerly kissed the captured hand.&nbsp; Sticking his sword in the
+ground, he drew forth a small bugle, and blew a loud blast that
+was re-echoed by the surrounding mountains.&nbsp; Immediately a
+party of ten persons, wearing masks, appeared, one of which was
+arrayed in a clerical habit, who drawing forth his book, at once
+commenced the marriage ceremony, Twm the while holding her hand
+through the window.</p>
+<p>The Lady of Ystrad Feen had never calculated upon being
+married in this unceremonious fashion; but she was fairly at a
+loss, and therefore came to the conclusion to endure her fate,
+patiently and with resignation, yet in her heart very glad that
+<a name="page298"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 298</span>she was
+under such a pleasant pressure of circumstances.</p>
+<p>The ceremonial was nearly half over, when four windows of the
+first floor were suddenly opened, and several highly-dressed
+ladies and gentlemen put out their heads and displayed most
+mirthful countenances, the fair ones waving their whitest
+cambrics above their heads; and with shaking peals of laughter,
+looked down upon this singular wedding.&nbsp; The &ldquo;ho, ho,
+ho!&rdquo; of the merry Prothero, was heard with surpassing
+loudness; and &ldquo;Well done, Twm!&rdquo; were the first words
+that the spirit of titillation permitted him to utter.</p>
+<p>Notwithstanding this interruption, the ceremony was finished,
+and parson Hughes pronounced them man and wife.&nbsp; Unwilling
+to loosen the hand which he now considered his own, our hero held
+it fast till he entered the house through the window.</p>
+<p>Once within the mansion that now called him master, an amazing
+change of circumstances took place.&nbsp; The lady endearingly
+asked for forgiveness for her latter conduct, while Twm entreated
+the same for himself.&nbsp; Squire Prothero had been the author
+of many good offices for our hero; having conciliated Sir John
+Price, who, although a proud man, was also something of a
+humorist, as he proved himself in this instance.&nbsp; A plan was
+concerted to throw every impediment in the way of Twm&rsquo;s
+union, for him to surmount them as he could, to afford sport for
+the old baronet and his merry friend Prothero, in which trickery
+the lady herself was by promise compelled to join, which accounts
+for her latter conduct.</p>
+<p>Being ushered by his bride into the drawing-room, our hero was
+introduced to, and warmly greeted by two most unexpected
+personages, his lady&rsquo;s father and his own!&nbsp; Sir John,
+who had been a visitor at the Priory-House for a week, was the
+gayest of the gay on this occasion.&nbsp; Placing an elegant
+tiara of jewels on her brow, the northern Baronet embraced her
+tenderly; and handing her to our hero, said, <a
+name="page299"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+299</span>&ldquo;Here, you lucky dog! prove thyself worthy of the
+blood of the Wynns, and that shall warm to thee yet.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This most unexampled wedding was followed in a few days by
+another ceremony more befitting the social position of Lady
+Devereaux, and at the same time Miss Meredith gave her hand to
+the delighted Justice Powell.&nbsp; Somehow, it did not occur to
+any of the parties that its brilliance was much impaired by the
+absence of Miss Felina Tomtabby Price, and her high-minded
+sister.&nbsp; These stately spinsters determined to punish their
+family for this unprecedented proceeding, by withdrawing their
+countenance from them, and the degenerate world for ever.</p>
+<p>Some of the <i>great</i>, (great fools!) that is to say, the
+most eminently useless residents of the then proud town of
+Brecon, were in the most embarrassing state of dilemma on this
+occasion.&nbsp; They entertained very serious doubts as to the
+possibility of admitting our hero into their exquisitely select
+circle, on account of his left-handed origin; and more than all,
+his former questionable doings:&mdash;certain malignant spirits
+having insinuated suspicions of his once figuring in London as a
+black-leg, if not a thief.&nbsp; But as the patronizing influence
+of Sir John Price was scanned, they condescended to overlook
+these supposed peccadilloes; as it was decidedly proved to them
+that he had never vulgarized himself by any practice of
+usefulness in the world, by what they deemed worse than
+witchcraft in the debasement of gentility&mdash;the following of
+a trade or profession.</p>
+<p>Our tale is almost ended; we have only to add a word or two
+with respect to our principal characters, as it would hardly be
+respectful to dismiss them without some appearance of
+attention.</p>
+<p>Reparation having been made to all parties who were sufferers
+by our hero&rsquo;s faults and follies, the Graspacres, father
+and son, by the good offices of Sir John Wynn and the friendly
+Prothero, were in time conciliated.&nbsp; The luckless Inco Evans
+had soon after <a name="page300"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+300</span>to add to his other losses, that of his clerical gown,
+on account of a certain complaint preferred against him to his
+diocesan, by Miss Bessy Gwevel-heer: and his magisterial function
+was also numbered with the things that were, but are not.&nbsp;
+When despised and impoverished, in his old age, Twm stepped
+forward with timely aid, that more than compensated for the
+injuries he had ever done him.</p>
+<p>Twm showed most kindly consideration for hungry Moses and his
+ever starving family, and made a praiseworthy attempt to fatten
+them up.&nbsp; All was in vain, and Moses was struck with wonder
+and admiration when he saw an unusually stout specimen of
+humanity.</p>
+<p>The venerable Ianto Gwyn was installed as the family harper;
+while each and all of the humbler companions of his wild days,
+were acknowledged, befriended, and aided in their views in
+life.</p>
+<p>The landlady of the Cat and Fiddle was so greatly benefited by
+the association of our hero&rsquo;s name in her house, that her
+increased wealth and charms gained her another husband, in the
+person of little Tommy Thomas, the late under whipper-in of
+Ystrad Feen; and their sign underwent a change to &ldquo;The Twm
+Shon Catty Inn.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>One day, many years after all these things had been so happily
+and comfortably settled, to the satisfaction of the principal
+parties concerned, an old friend called upon Twm in the person of
+Doctor John David Rhys, who had acquired great fame and honour in
+far-off Continental cities.&nbsp; Their meeting was most joyous;
+and when he reminded his old pupil of his prophecy respecting his
+union with the lady of his dream, a friendly pressure of her hand
+accompanied by an inexpressibly sweet smile, acknowledged her
+pleasure in the truth of his foresight.</p>
+<p>Poetical justice and fact, are unhappily at variance in our
+closing notice of this most excellent character.&nbsp; During his
+residence abroad, he changed his profession of a Protestant
+Divine, and became a Catholic, and a <a name="page301"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 301</span>physician; practising among princes
+and nobles, he soon realized an ample fortune.&nbsp; For the
+enjoyment of a further intercourse with these, his friends, in
+preference to his own native Anglesea, he fixed his residence at
+Llanllwch, in the neighbourhood of Brecon.</p>
+<p>Here our hero&rsquo;s friendship stood him much in stead; for
+when the <i>enlightened</i> Protestant mobs of the time
+persecuted him for his faith, forcibly entering his house to
+search for the Pope in the cavity of his porridge pot, and a
+legion of Friars in his night-chair and warming-pan, Squire Jones
+was the magistrate that stood forward to check their
+lawlessness.&nbsp; His great popularity and known Protestant
+principles were all sufficient warrants for his word, when he
+assured the many-headed monster of the groundlessness of such
+suspicions.</p>
+<p>Our hero, who, the reader must be aware, has shown no little
+power in poesy, set to work to write the history of the Gwydir
+family, when he discovered that his father was devoting himself
+to the same purpose.&nbsp; The old man candidly declared that
+among his ten sons, not one of them possessed a literary taste,
+or evinced a congenial feeling with him in his pursuits.&nbsp;
+But his left-handed eleventh seemed to justify the adage
+respecting luck in odd numbers, which drew on him his affections
+accordingly.</p>
+<p>Squire Jones never forgot the humble way in which he spent the
+earliest portion of his life; his was a nature as little likely
+to be unduly elevated by prosperity as unnecessarily cast down by
+adversity.</p>
+<p>When he built a mansion at Tregaron, beside the cottages of
+his childhood, he would never suffer the homely fabric to be
+removed, but kept it as a private appendage to his house; the
+interior containing all its rude characteristics, as left at his
+mother&rsquo;s death, which took place a week before his union;
+although poor Catty survived both her sister Juggy and her
+husband.&nbsp; There, once a year he made a lonely visit of many
+hours; and felt his heart soften as he surveyed the rude shelves
+and wooden bowls and piggins; <a name="page302"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 302</span>platters and trenchers; and even the
+spoons and ladles manufactured by the coarse hand of his late
+step-father.&nbsp; The unflattering reminiscences awakened by the
+annual visits were better than sackcloth to the skin of kings, as
+an antidote to worldly pride, and a check to the overweening
+heartiness and want of sympathy with our humbler brethren in
+their struggles for a little firmer feeling on the earth; which
+is ever the result of the undisputed despotism of prosperity.</p>
+<p>Thomas Jones, Esq., filled many most honourable offices in the
+good town of Brecon, and in such a manner as to prove that
+fortune for this once had not showed her favours upon one
+unworthy of them.&nbsp; His early friend, Dr. John David Rhys,
+mentions him with respect as an accomplished antiquary, and
+testifies to the general excellence and worth of his
+character.&nbsp; For many years he was Mayor and Sheriff of
+Brecon, and we will close our chronicle of his various
+achievements by one more anecdote.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Bless me!&rdquo; cried the lady mayoress one day to her
+husband, as they passed arm in arm through the street from
+church, &ldquo;the people are always laughing to think of my
+marrying you.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t wonder,&rdquo;
+replied the hero of these adventures, &ldquo;for whenever I think
+of it, I laugh myself.&rdquo;</p>
+<h1><a name="page303"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+303</span>APPENDIX.</h1>
+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> Triads referred to, as the
+collection made by Thomas Jones, of Tregaron, (Twm Shon Catty,)
+are translated from a series in the second volume of the Welsh
+Arch&aelig;ology, p. 57.&nbsp; The series bear the following
+title.&nbsp; &ldquo;These are Triads of the Island of
+Britain&mdash;that is to say, Triads of memorial and record, and
+the information of remarkable men or things which have been in
+the Island of Britain; and of the events which befell the Race of
+the Cymry, from the age of ages.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>To the copy, from which the transcript was made for the London
+edition, the following note is annexed.</p>
+<p>(Translation.) &ldquo;These Triads were taken from the book of
+Caradoc of Nantcarvan, and from the book of Jevan Brechva, by me,
+Thomas Jones, of Tregaron&mdash;and those are all I could get of
+<i>the three hundred</i>&mdash;1601.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>I.&nbsp; The three pillars of the Race of the Island of
+Britain.</p>
+<p>The first <i>Hu Gudarn</i>, who first brought the Race of the
+Cymry into the Island of Britain; and they came from the land of
+<i>Hav</i> called <i>Defrobani</i>, [where Constantinople
+stands,] and they passed over Mor Tawch (the German ocean) to the
+Island of Britain, and to Llydaw where they remained.</p>
+<p>The second, <i>Prydain</i>, the son of <i>Aedd-Mawr</i>, who
+first established regal government in the Island of
+Britain.&nbsp; [Before this, there was no equity but what was
+done by gentleness, nor any law but that of force.]</p>
+<p>The third, <i>Dyfnwal Moelmud</i>, who first discriminated the
+laws and ordinances, customs and privileges of the <a
+name="page304"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 304</span>land and
+nation.&nbsp; [And for these reasons they were called the three
+pillars of the nation of Cymry.]</p>
+<p>II.&nbsp; The three benevolent tribes of the Island of
+Britain.</p>
+<p>The first was the stock of the <i>Cymry</i>, who came with Hu
+Gadarn, into the Island of Britain; for <i>He</i> would not have
+lands by fighting and contention, but of equity, and in
+peace.</p>
+<p>The second was the race of the Lloegrwys, who came from the
+land of Gwas-gwyn, and were sprung from the primitive stock of
+the Cymry.</p>
+<p>The third were the Britons.&nbsp; They came from the land of
+Llydaw, and were also sprung from the primordial line of the
+Cymry.</p>
+<p>[And they are called the three peaceful tribes because they
+came by mutual consent and permission, in peace and
+tranquillity.&nbsp; The three tribes descended from the primitive
+race of the Cymry, and the three were of one language and one
+speech.</p>
+<p>III.&nbsp; Three tribes came, under protection, into the
+Island of Britain, and by the consent and permission of the
+nation of Cymry, without weapon, without assault.</p>
+<p>The first was the tribe of the Caledonians, in the North.</p>
+<p>The second was the Gwyddelian Race, which are now in Alban
+(Scotland.)</p>
+<p>The third were the men of the Galedin, who came in their naked
+ships (canoes) into the Isle of Wight, when their country was
+drowned, and had lands assigned them by the Race of the
+Cymry.</p>
+<p>And they had neither privilege nor claim in the Island of
+Britain, but the land and protection that they granted, under
+specified limits.&nbsp; And it was decreed, that they should not
+enjoy the immunities of the native Cymry, before the ninth
+generation.</p>
+<p>IV.&nbsp; Three usurping tribes came into the Island of
+Britain, and never departed out of it.</p>
+<p><a name="page305"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 305</span>The
+first was the <i>Coranied</i>, who came from the land of
+Pwyl.</p>
+<p>The second were the Gwyddelian Fichti, who came into Alban,
+over the sea of <i>Llychlyn</i> (Denmark).</p>
+<p>The third were the Saxons.</p>
+<p>[The Corained are <i>about</i> the Humber, and on the shore of
+Mor Tawch, and the Gwyddelian Finchti are in Alban, on the shore
+of the sea of Llychlyn.&nbsp; The Coranied united with the
+Saxons, and being partly incorporated with them, deprived the
+Lloegrwys of their government, by wrong and oppression; and
+afterwards, they deprived the Race of the Cymry of their crown
+and sovereignty.&nbsp; All the Lloegrwys became Saxons, except
+those who are found in Cornwall, and in the Commot of
+<i>Carnobun</i>, in <i>Deria</i> and <i>Bernicia</i>.</p>
+<p>The primitive Race of the Cymry have kept their land and their
+language; but they lost their sovereignty of the Island of
+Britain, through the treachery of the protected tribes, and the
+violence of the three usurping tribes.]</p>
+<p>V.&nbsp; The three awful events of the Island of Britain.</p>
+<p>First, the bursting of the lake of waters, and the
+overwhelming of the face of all lands; so that all mankind were
+drowned excepting Dwyvan and Dwyvach, who escaped in a naked
+vessel, (without sails), and of them the Island of Britain was
+re-peopled.</p>
+<p>The second was the consternation of the tempestuous fire, when
+the earth split asunder, to Annwn, (lower region,) and the
+greatest part of all living was consumed.</p>
+<p>The third was the scorching summer, when the woods and plants
+were set on fire, by the intense heat of the sun, and multitudes
+of men and beasts, and all kinds of birds, and reptiles and trees
+and plants irrecoverably lost.</p>
+<p><a name="page306"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+306</span>VI.&nbsp; The three chief master works of the island of
+Britain.</p>
+<p>The ship of <i>Nevydd Nav Neivion</i>, who carried in it a
+male and a female of all living, when the lake of waters burst
+forth.</p>
+<p>The drawing of the <i>avanc</i> to land out of the lake, by
+the branching oxen of <i>Hu Gadarn</i>, so that the lake burst no
+more;</p>
+<p>And the stones of Gwyddon Ganhebon, on which were read the
+arts and sciences of the world.</p>
+<p>VII.&nbsp; The three great Regulators of the Island of
+Britain.</p>
+<p>Hu Gadarn, bringing the Race of the Cymry out of the land of
+Hav, which is called Defrobahi into the Island of Britain.</p>
+<p>Prydain, the son of Aedd-Mawr, establishing government and law
+over the Island of Britain.</p>
+<p>And Rhitta Gawr, who made himself a robe of the beards of
+kings, whom he caused to be shaved (reduced to vassalage) for
+their oppressions and contempt of justice.</p>
+<p>VIII.&nbsp; The three happy controllers of the Island of
+Britain.</p>
+<p>Prydain, the son of Aedd-Mawr, suppressing the Dragon
+tyranny.&nbsp; [This was a tyranny of pillage and contempt of
+Equity, that sprung up in the Island.]</p>
+<p>Caradog, the son of Bran, the son of Llyr, checking the
+oppression of the C&aelig;sars;</p>
+<p>And Rhitta Gawr, controlling the tyranny and pillage of the
+tumultary kings.</p>
+<p>IX.&nbsp; The three benefactors of the Race of Cymry.</p>
+<p>The first, Hu Gadarn, who first showed the Race of the Cymry
+the method of cultivating the ground, when they were in the land
+of Hav [namely, where Constantinople now stands] before they came
+into the Island of Britain.</p>
+<p>Coll, the son of Coll-Frewi, who first brought wheat <a
+name="page307"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 307</span>and barley
+into the island of Britain, where, before, there had only been
+oats and rye;</p>
+<p>And Elldyd the knight, [a holy man of Cor Dewdws,] who
+improved the manner of cultivating the ground, taught the Cymry a
+better method than had been known before, and showed the art of
+ploughing which now prevails.&nbsp; [For before the time of
+Elldyd, land was cultivated only with a mattock and a spade,
+after the manner of the Gyddelians.]</p>
+<p>X.&nbsp; The three primary Sages of the Race of the Cymry.</p>
+<p>Hu Gadarn, who first collected the Race of the Cymry, and
+disposed them into tribes.</p>
+<p>Dyvnwal-Molemud, who first regulated the laws, privileges, and
+institutions of the country and the nation.</p>
+<p>And Tydain tad Awen, who first introduced order and method
+into the memorials and preservation of the Oral art (poetry) and
+its properties.</p>
+<p>And from that order, the privileges and methodical usages of
+the Bards and Bardism (Druidism) of the Island of Britain, were
+first devised.</p>
+<p>XI.&nbsp; The three primary Bards of the Island of
+Britain.</p>
+<p>Plennydd, Alwan, and Gwron.</p>
+<p>These were they who devised the privileges and usages which
+belong to Bards and Bardism.</p>
+<p>[Yet there had been Bards and Bardism before; but they were
+not completely methodized, and they enjoyed neither privileges
+nor established customs, but they were obtained through
+gentleness and civility, and the protection of the country and
+the nation, before the time of these three.</p>
+<p>Some say they were in the time of Prydain, the son of Aedd
+Mawr, others, that they were in the time of his son,
+Dyvnwal-Molemud, whom some of the old books call Dyvnvarth, the
+son of Prydain.</p>
+<p><a name="page308"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+308</span>XII.&nbsp; The three elementary masters of Poetry and
+Memorial, of the Race of the Cymry.</p>
+<p>Gwyddon Ganhebon, the first man in the world who composed
+poetry;</p>
+<p>Hu Gadarn, who first adapted poetry to the preservation of
+records and memorials;</p>
+<p>And Tydain Tad Awen, who first developed the art and structure
+of poetry, and the due disposition of thought.</p>
+<p>And, from the labours of these three personages, sprang Bards
+and Bardism, and the regulation of their privileges and
+established discipline, by the three primary Bards, Plenvydd,
+Alwan, and Gwron.</p>
+<p>XIII.&nbsp; The three primary baptized (or christian)
+Bards.</p>
+<p>Merddyn Emrys; Taliesin, the chief of the Bards, and Merddin,
+the son of Madawc Morvyn.</p>
+<p>XIV.&nbsp; The three mighty Labours of the Isle of
+Britain.</p>
+<p>Erecting the stone of Ketti.&nbsp; Constructing the work of
+Emrys.&nbsp; And heaping the pile of <i>Cyvrangon</i>.</p>
+<p>The three happy astronomers.&nbsp; (<i>Serenyddion</i>,
+<i>Suronides</i>) of the <i>Island</i> of <i>Britain</i>.&nbsp;
+<i>Idris Gawr</i>.&nbsp; <i>Gwyddion</i> the son of the
+<i>Don</i>.&nbsp; And <i>Gwyn</i> the son of <i>Nudd</i>.</p>
+<p>So great was their knowledge of the stars, and of their nature
+and situations, that they could foretell whatever might be
+desired to be known to the day of doom.</p>
+<p>XVI.&nbsp; The three masters of mysterious and secret science,
+of the <i>Island</i> of <i>Britain</i>.</p>
+<p><i>Math</i>, the son of <i>Mothanwy</i>, and he disclosed his
+secret to <i>Gwyndion</i> the son of <i>Don</i>.</p>
+<p><i>Mengw</i>, the son of <i>Teiagmaedd</i>, who taught his
+secret to <i>Uthyr Bendragon</i>.</p>
+<p>And <i>Rhuddlwm Gawr</i>, and he learned his mystery of
+<i>Eddic Gor</i> and <i>Coll</i>, the son of <i>Coll
+Frewi</i>.</p>
+<p><a name="page309"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+309</span>XVII.&nbsp; The three great modellers of the
+<i>Island</i> of <i>Britain</i>.</p>
+<p><i>Corvinwr</i>, the Bard of <i>Ceri Hir</i> of
+<i>Llyngwyn</i>, who first made a ship, with a sail and a helm,
+for the race of the <i>Cymry</i>.</p>
+<p><i>Mozdial Gwr Gweilgi</i>, the architect of <i>Ceraint</i>,
+the son of <i>Greidial</i>, who first taught the race of the
+<i>Cymry</i>, the work of stone and lime, [at the time
+<i>Alexander the Great</i> was subduing the world.]</p>
+<p>And <i>Coll</i>, the son of <i>Cylin</i>, [the son of
+<i>Caradawr</i>, the son of <i>Bran</i>,] who first made a mill
+with a wheel, for the race of <i>Cymry</i>.</p>
+<div class="gapshortline">&nbsp;</div>
+<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">W. NICHOLSON
+AND SONS, LIMITED, PRINTERS, WAKEFIELD.</span></p>
+<h2>Footnotes</h2>
+<p><a name="footnote9a"></a><a href="#citation9a"
+class="footnote">[9a]</a>&nbsp; The truth against the world.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote9b"></a><a href="#citation9b"
+class="footnote">[9b]</a>&nbsp; The English pronunciation of Twm
+Shon Catty, is Toom Shone Cutty; instead of which the Londoners
+call it <span class="smcap">Twim John Katty</span>, which seemed
+doubly ludicrous as the name of a tragedy hero.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote10"></a><a href="#citation10"
+class="footnote">[10]</a>&nbsp; A small cup, so called from its
+contents being able merely to damp the clay of a genuine
+toper.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote31"></a><a href="#citation31"
+class="footnote">[31]</a>&nbsp; In the farce of the Spirit
+Child.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote50a"></a><a href="#citation50a"
+class="footnote">[50a]</a>&nbsp; The good ale of old Wales.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote50b"></a><a href="#citation50b"
+class="footnote">[50b]</a>&nbsp; Wheat that may have been left
+out too long unharvested from the prevalence of rain, when found
+to sprout, is sometimes used in Wales instead of malt in brewing
+beer.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote55"></a><a href="#citation55"
+class="footnote">[55]</a>&nbsp; In addition to the
+<i>Gwahoddwr&rsquo;s</i> address, there is another mode prevalent
+in the present day, of inviting to the Bidding, by a printed
+circular, which in some parts of the principality supersedes that
+merry personage altogether, a thing to be regretted, as it
+deprives the rural Welsh wedding of one of its most pleasing
+features, and cuts off its alliance with romance, and the manners
+of <i>oulden tyme</i>.&nbsp; The following is a specimen of a
+Bidding circular.</p>
+<blockquote><p style="text-align: right"><i>October</i>
+183&ndash;.</p>
+<p>As we intend to enter the matrimonial state, on Saturday, the
+10th November next, we are encouraged by our friends to make a
+Bidding on the occasion, the same day, at the young woman&rsquo;s
+house, called Tynant, at which place, the favour of your
+agreeable company is most respectfully solicited; and whatever
+donation you may be pleased to bestow upon us then will be
+thankfully received, and cheerfully repaid whenever called for on
+the like occasion.</p>
+<p style="text-align: right">Your obedient Servants, A. B.<br />
+C. D.</p>
+<p><sup>*</sup><sub>*</sub><sup>*</sup> The parents of the young
+man, and his brothers and sisters, desire that all gifts of the
+above nature due to them, be returned to the young man on the
+above day, and will be thankful for all favours granted.&nbsp;
+Also, the young woman&rsquo;s parents and her brothers and
+sisters, desire that all gifts of the above nature due to them,
+be returned to the young woman on the above day, and will be
+thankful for all favours granted.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><a name="footnote58"></a><a href="#citation58"
+class="footnote">[58]</a>&nbsp; A large three-legged iron pot
+used for cooking.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote72"></a><a href="#citation72"
+class="footnote">[72]</a>&nbsp; Havod un-n&ocirc;s, signifies
+<i>one summer night</i>.&nbsp; A poor wandering family pitching
+their tent on a common, building a hearth, and boiling their pot
+thereon, in the course of one Summer&rsquo;s day and night,
+claimed from ancient usage their right to the spot.&nbsp; Thus a
+hut so built, was gradually made into a decent cottage; the
+surrounding ground, from a mere yard of scant dimensions, would
+become a yard and a garden; and patch after patch being cribbed
+and inclosed, in the course of a few years a little farm was
+created, in the midst, or on the margin of a dreary common.&nbsp;
+These practices were often <i>winked</i> at by the parish, in
+favour of a poor industrious large family, who were thus provided
+for, instead of becoming objects of parochial relief.&nbsp; If
+the intrusion remained unnoticed for sixty years, it became a
+freehold property!</p>
+<p><a name="footnote140"></a><a href="#citation140"
+class="footnote">[140]</a>&nbsp; Anglice, Bessy Blubberlip.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote149"></a><a href="#citation149"
+class="footnote">[149]</a>&nbsp; Translated from a very popular
+Welsh ballad, by John Jones, of Glangors, author of many humorous
+songs in the same language.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote153"></a><a href="#citation153"
+class="footnote">[153]</a>&nbsp; Hob y deri dando signifies
+&ldquo;away my herd to the oaken grove.&rdquo;&nbsp; Mr. Parry,
+for whose Welsh Melodies the modern words were written, remarks,
+&ldquo;There is something very quaint and characteristic in this
+ancient air, and it is popular in Wales.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="footnote165"></a><a href="#citation165"
+class="footnote">[165]</a>&nbsp; The victim of the sons of
+Maes-y-velin was Samuel, the son of Rhys Prichard, the celebrated
+author of &ldquo;Canwyll y Cymry,&rdquo; (the Welshman&rsquo;s
+candle,) a volume of religious poems, the most popular, and said
+to have done the most good, of any that ever was printed in the
+Welsh language.&nbsp; To this favourite son the pious author
+addressed many of his poems, exhorting and directing him, by
+name, to the most minute acts in his devotion.&nbsp; On hearing
+of his murder, the old man is said to have burst out in the
+wildest strain of prophetic phrenzy, with the following <span
+class="smcap">curse</span> on the murderers of Maes-y-velin.</p>
+<blockquote><p>Melldith Duw a fyddo&rsquo;n dilyn<br />
+Pob rhyw ach o&rsquo; Vaes y Felin,<br />
+Am daflu blodeu plwyf Llanddyvri<br />
+Ar ei ben i Deifi foddi.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The translation of which runs thus&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>May God with heavy curses chase<br />
+All Maes-y-velin&rsquo;s villain race,<br />
+Since they have drown&rsquo;d in Teivy&rsquo;s tide<br />
+Llandovery&rsquo;s flower&mdash;Cymry&rsquo;s pride!</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><a name="footnote203"></a><a href="#citation203"
+class="footnote">[203]</a>&nbsp; In the original&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Nid twyll twyllo twyllwr,<br />
+Nid brad bradychu bradwr;<br />
+Nid lladrad mi wn yn dda,<br />
+Lladrada or ladratwr.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><a name="footnote210"></a><a href="#citation210"
+class="footnote">[210]</a>&nbsp; Should it be asked why this
+trick (a similar one being related of the Friar of Gil Blas) is
+attributed to Twm Shon Catty, his Editor can attest that this is
+not the only incident of the kind that he would willingly have
+related if he had dared.&nbsp; But as this, and others, have long
+been on record, both in the memories of the country people, and
+in the Welsh Jest Books, any omission of incident or anecdote on
+the score of being property claimable by others, would be
+scouted, as a poor-spirited compromise of their rights: it being
+utterly out of the pale of possibility that the said good things
+could have belonged originally, to any other than their own
+redoubted Twm Shon Catty!&nbsp; This explanation, once for all,
+must answer every similar objection on the part of the English
+reader.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote264"></a><a href="#citation264"
+class="footnote">[264]</a>&nbsp; Signifying &ldquo;<i>The Poem of
+Affliction</i>.&rdquo;&nbsp; The original Welsh Poem, in
+recitative measure, of which the above is rather a condensed
+paraphrase of the late Mr. Jenkins, of Llwynygroes,
+Cardiganshire.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote269"></a><a href="#citation269"
+class="footnote">[269]</a>&nbsp; Between these rivers, before
+they unite, is an angular slip of lowland, being the last of
+Cardiganshire; Dinas, and all the interesting height here
+described, are in Carmarthenshire; while the boundary of
+Breconshire is about half a mile off.&nbsp; The reader, who if a
+Welshman, will hence recognize the etymology of Ystrad Fin, which
+signifies, &ldquo;The vale of the boundary.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COMICAL ADVENTURES OF TWM SHON
+CATTY***</p>
+<pre>
+
+
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