"Thatisagreatdeal,"saidI,"foragroatIoughttohaveapintofalemadeofthebestmaltandhops。"
  "IgiveyouthebestIcanafford。Onemustlivebywhatonesells。Idonotfindthateasywork。"
  "Isthishouseyourown?"
  "Ohno!Ipayrentforit,andnotacheapone。"
  "Haveyouahusband?
  "Ihad,butheisdead。"
  "Haveyouanychildren?"
  "Ihadthree,buttheyaredeadtoo,andburiedwithmyhusbandatthemonastery。"
  "Whereisthemonastery?"
  "Agoodwayfartheron,atthestrathbeyondRhydFendigaid。"
  "Whatisthenameofthelittleriverbythehouse?"
  "AvonMarchnad(MarketRiver)。"
  "WhyisitcalledAvonMarchnad?"
  "Truly,gentleman,Icannottellyou。"
  IwentonsippingmyaleandfindingfaultwithitsbitternesstillIhadfinishedit,whengettingupIgavetheoldladyhergroat,badeherfarewell,anddeparted。
  CHAPTERXCI
  PontyRhydFendigaid—StrataFlorida—TheYew—Tree—Idolatry—
  TheTeivi—TheLlostlydan。
  ANDnowfortheresting—placeofDafyddAbGwilym!AfterwanderingforsomemilestowardsthesouthoverableakmoorycountryIcametoaplacecalledFairRhos,amiserablevillage,consistingofafewhalf—ruinedcottages,situatedonthetopofahill。FromthehillIlookeddownonawidevalleyofarussetcolour,alongwhichariverrantowardsthesouth。Thewholescenewascheerless。
  Sullenhillswereallaround。DescendingthehillIenteredalargevillagedividedintotwobytheriver,whichhererunsfromeasttowest,butpresentlymakesaturn。Therewasmuchmireinthestreet;immenseswinelayinthemire,whoturneduptheirsnoutsatmeasIpassed。WomeninWelshhatsstoodinthemire,alongwithmenwithoutanyhatsatall,butwithshortpipesintheirmouths;theyweretalkingtogether;asIpassed,however,theyheldtheirtongues,thewomenleeringcontemptuouslyatme,themenglaringsullenlyatme,andcausingtobaccosmokecurlinmyface;onmytakingoffmyhat,howeverandinquiringthewaytotheMonachlog,everybodywascivilenough,andtwentyvoicestoldmethewaytheMonastery。Iaskedthenameoftheriver:
  "TheTeivi,sir:theTeivi。"
  "Thenameofthebridge?"
  "PonyyRhydFendigaid—theBridgeoftheBlessedFord,sir。"
  IcrossedtheBridgeoftheBlessedFord,andpresentlyleavingthemainroad,Iturnedtotheeastbyadung—hill,upanarrowlaneparallelwiththeriver。Afterproceedingamileupthelane,amidsttreesandcopses,andcrossingalittlebrook,whichrunsintotheTeivi,outofwhichIdrank,Isawbeforemeinthemidstofafield,inwhichweretombstonesandbrokenruins,arustic—
  lookingchurch;afarm—housestoodnearit,inthegardenofwhichstoodtheframeworkofalargegateway。Icrossedoverintothechurchyard,ascendedagreenmound,andlookedaboutme。IwasnowintheverymidstoftheMonachlogYstradFlur,thecelebratedmonasteryofStrataFlorida,towhichinoldtimesPopishpilgrimsfromallpartsoftheworldrepaired。Thescenewassolemnandimpressive:onthenorthsideoftheriveralargebulkyhilllookeddownupontheruinsandthechurch,andonthesouthside,somewaybehindthefarm—house,wasanotherwhichdidthesame。
  Ruggedmountainsformedthebackgroundofthevalleytotheeast,downfromwhichcamemurmuringthefleetbutshallowTeivi。SuchisthescenerywhichsurroundswhatremainsofStrataFlorida:
  thosescantybrokenruinscomposeallwhichremainsofthatcelebratedmonastery,inwhichsaintsandmitredabbotswereburied,andinwhich,orinwhoseprecincts,wasburiedDafyddAbGwilym,thegreatestgeniusoftheCimbricraceandoneofthefirstpoetsoftheworld。
  AfterstandingforsometimeonthemoundIdescended,andwentuptothechurch。Ifoundthedoorfastened,butobtainedthroughawindowatolerableviewoftheinterior,whichpresentedanappearanceofthegreatestsimplicity。Ithenstrolledaboutthechurchyardlookingatthetombstones,whichwerehumbleenoughandforthemostpartmodern。Iwouldgivesomething,saidI,toknowwhereaboutsinthisneighbourhoodAbGwilymlies。That,however,isasecretthatnoonecanrevealtome。AtlengthIcametoayew—treewhichstoodjustbythenorthernwall,whichisataslightdistancefromtheTeivi。Itwasoneoftwotrees,bothofthesamespecies,whichstoodinthechurchyard,andappearedtobetheoldestofthetwo。Whoknows,saidI,butthisisthetreethatwasplantedoverAbGwilym’sgrave,andtowhichGruffyddGrygwroteanode?Ilookedatitattentively,andthoughtthattherewasjustapossibilityofitsbeingtheidenticaltree。Ifitwas,however,thebenisonofGruffyddGryghadnothadexactlytheeffectwhichheintended,foreitherlightningortheforceofwindhadsplittenoffaconsiderablepartoftheheadandtrunk,sothatthoughonepartofitlookedstrongandblooming,theotherwaswhiteandspectral。Nevertheless,relyingonthepossibilityofitsbeingthesacredtree,IbehavedjustasIshouldhavedonehadIbeenquitecertainofthefact。TakingoffmyhatIkneltdownandkisseditsroot,repeatinglinesfromGruffyddGryg,withwhichIblendedsomeofmyowninordertoaccommodatewhatIsaidtopresentcircumstances:—
  "Otreeofyew,whichhereIspy,ByYstradFlur’sblestmonast’ry,Beneaththeelies,bycoldDeathbound,Thetongueforsweetnessoncerenown’d。
  Betterfortheethyboughstowave,Thoughscath’d,aboveAbGwilym’sgrave,ThanstandinpristineglorydrestWheresomeignoblerbarddothrest;
  I’dratherhearatauntingrhymeFromonewho’lllivethroughendlesstime,ThanhearmypraiseschantedloudBypoetsofthevulgarcrowd。"
  Ihadleftthechurchyard,andwasstandingnearakindofgarden,atsomelittledistancefromthefarm—house,gazingaboutmeandmeditating,whenamancameupattendedbyalargedog。Hehadratherayouthfullook,wasofthemiddlesize,anddarkcomplexioned。Hewasrespectablydressed,exceptthatuponhisheadheworeacommonhairycap。
  "Goodevening,"saidItohiminWelsh。
  "Goodevening,gentleman,"saidheinthesamelanguage。
  "HaveyoumuchEnglish?"saidI。
  "Verylittle;Icanonlyspeakafewwords。"
  "Areyouthefarmer?"
  "Yes!IfarmthegreaterpartoftheStrath。"
  "Isupposethelandisverygoodhere?"
  "Whydoyousupposeso?"
  "Becausethemonksbuilttheirhousehereintheoldtime,andthemonksneverbuilttheirhousesexceptongoodland。"
  "Well,Imustsaythelandisgood;indeedIdonotthinkthereisanysogoodinShireAberteifi。"
  "Isupposeyouaresurprisedtoseemehere;IcametoseetheoldMonachlog。"
  "Yes,gentleman;Isawyoulookingaboutit。"
  "AmIwelcometoseeit?"
  "Croesaw!gwrboneddig,croesaw!many,manywelcomestoyou,gentleman!"
  "Domanypeoplecometoseethemonastery?"
  FARMER。—Yes!manygentlefolkscometoseeitinthesummertime。
  MYSELF。—Itisapoorplacenow。
  FARMER。—Verypoor,Iwonderanygentlefolkscometolookatit。
  MYSELF。—Itwasawonderfulplaceonce;youmerelyseetheruinsofitnow。ItwaspulleddownattheReformation。
  FARMER。—Whywasitpulleddownthen?
  MYSELF。—Becauseitwasahouseofidolatrytowhichpeopleusedtoresortbyhundredstoworshipimages。Hadyoulivedatthattimeyouwouldhaveseenpeopledownontheirkneesbeforestocksandstones,worshippingthem,kissingthem,andrepeatingpennilliontothem。
  FARMER。—Whatfools!HowthankfulIamthatIliveinwiserdays。
  IfsuchthingsweregoingonintheoldMonachlogitwashightimetopullitdown。
  MYSELF。—Whatkindofarentdoyoupayforyourland?
  FARMER。—Oh,ratherastiffishone。
  MYSELF。—Twopoundsanacre?
  FARMER。—Twopoundanacre!IwishIpaidnomore!
  MYSELF。—Well,Ithinkthatwouldbequiteenough。Inthetimeoftheoldmonasteryyoumighthavehadthelandattwoshillingsanacre。
  FARMER。—MightI?Thenthosecouldn’thavebeensuchbadtimes,afterall。
  MYSELF。—Ibegyourpardon!Theywerehorribletimes—timesinwhichthereweremonksandfriarsandgravenimages,whichpeoplekissedandworshippedandsangpennillionto。Betterpaythreepoundsanacreandliveoncrustsandwaterinthepresentenlighteneddaysthanpaytwoshillingsanacreandsitdowntobeefandalethreetimesadayintheoldsuperstitioustimes。
  FARMER。—Well,Iscarcelyknowwhattosaytothat。
  MYSELF。—Whatdoyoucallthathighhillontheothersideoftheriver?
  FARMER。—IcallthathillBunkPenBannedd。
  MYSELF。—IsthesourceoftheTeivifarfromhere?
  FARMER。—TheheadoftheTeiviisabouttwomilesfromherehighupinthehills。
  MYSELF。—WhatkindofplaceistheheadoftheTeivi?
  FARMER。—TheheadoftheTeiviisasmalllakeaboutfiftyyardslongandtwentyacross。
  MYSELF。—WheredoestheTeivirunto?
  FARMER。—TheTeivirunstothesea,whichitentersataplacewhichtheCumricallAberTeiviandtheSaxonsCardigan。
  MYSELF。—Don’tyoucallCardiganshireShireAberTeivi?
  FARMER。—Wedo。
  MYSELF。—AretheremanygleisiaidintheTeivi?
  FARMER。—Plenty,andsalmonstoo—thatis,fartherdown。Thebestplaceforsalmonandgleisiaidisaplace,agreatwaydownthestream,calledDinasEmlyn。
  MYSELF。—DoyouknowananimalcalledLlostlydan?
  FARMER。—No,Idonotknowthatbeast。
  MYSELF。—ThereusedtobemanyintheTeivi。
  FARMER。—WhatkindofbeastistheLlostlydan?
  MYSELF。—Abeastwithabroadtail,onwhichaccounttheoldCumrididcallhimLlostlydan。Cleverbeasthewas;madehimselfhouseofwoodinmiddleoftheriver,withtwodoors,sothatwhenhuntercameuponhimhemighthavegoodchanceofescape。Hunteroftenafterhim,becausehehadskingoodtomakehat。
  FARMER。—Ha,IwishIcouldcatchthatbeastnowinTeivi。
  MYSELF。—Whyso?
  Farmer。—BecauseIwanthat。Wouldmakemyselfhatofhisskin。
  MYSELF。—Oh,youcouldnotmakeyourselfahatevenifyouhadtheskin。
  FARMER。—Whynot?ShotconeyinBunkPenBanedd;mademyselfcapofhisskin。Sowhynotmakehatofskinofbroadtail,shouldI
  catchhiminTeivi?
  MYSELF。—HowfarisittoTregaron?
  FARMER。—’Tistenmilesfromhere,andeightfromtheRhydFendigaid。
  MYSELF。—MustIgobacktoRhydFendigaidtogettoTregaron?
  FARMER。—Youmust。
  MYSELF。—ThenImustbegoing,forthenightiscomingdown。
  Farewell!
  FARMER。—Farvel,Saxongentleman!
  CHAPTERXCII
  NocturnalJourney—MaesyLynn—TheFigure—EarlofLeicester—
  TwmShoneCatti—TheFarmerandBull—TomandtheFarmer—TheCave—TheThreat—TomaJustice—TheBigWigs—Tregaron。
  ITwasduskbythetimeIhadregainedthehigh—roadbythevillageoftheRhydFendigaid。
  AsIwasyeteightmilesfromTregaron,theplacewhereIintendedtopassthenight,Iputonmybestpace。InalittletimeI
  reachedabridgeoverastreamwhichseemedtocarryaconsiderabletributetotheTeivi。
  "Whatisthenameofthisbridge?"saidItoamanridinginacart,whomImetalmostimmediatelyafterIhadcrossedthebridge。
  "PontVleer,"methoughthesaid,butashisvoicewashuskyandindistinct,verymuchlikethatofapersonsomewhattheworseforliquor,Iambynomeanspositive。
  Itwasnowverydusk,andbythetimeIhadadvancedaboutamilefartherdarknightsettleddown,whichcompelledmetoabatemypacealittle,moreespeciallyastheroadwasbynomeansfirst—
  rate。Ihadcome,tothebestofmycomputation,aboutfourmilesfromtheRhydFendigaidwhenthemoonbeganpartlytoshowitself,andpresentlybyitsglimmerIsawsomelittlewayoffonmyrighthandwhatappearedtobealargesheetofwater。Iwenton,andinaboutaminutesawtwoorthreehousesontheleft,whichstoodnearlyoppositetotheobjectwhichIhaddeemedtobewater,andwhichnowappearedtobeaboutfiftyyardsdistantinafieldwhichwasseparatedfromtheroadbyaslighthedge。GoinguptotheprincipalhouseIknocked,andawomanmakingherappearanceatthedoor,Isaid:
  "Ibegpardonfortroublingyou,butIwishtoknowthenameofthisplace。"
  "MaesyLynn—TheFieldoftheLake,"saidthewoman。
  "Andwhatisthenameofthelake?"saidI。
  "Idonotknow,"saidshe;"buttheplacewhereitstandsiscalledMaesLlyn,asIsaidbefore。"
  "Isthelakedeep?"saidI。
  "Verydeep,"saidshe。
  "Howdeep?"saidI。
  "Overthetopsofthehouses,"shereplied。
  "Anyfishinthelake?"
  "Ohyes!plenty。"
  "Whatfish?"
  "Oh,therearellysowen,andthefishwecallysgetten。"
  "Eelsandtench,"saidI;"anythingelse?"
  "Idonotknow,"saidthewoman;"folkssaythatthereusedtobequeerbeastinthelake,water—cowusedtocomeoutatnightandeatpeople’scloverinthefields。"
  "Pooh,"saidI,"thatwasmerelysomeperson’scoworhorse,turnedoutatnighttofillitsbellyatotherfolks’expense。"
  "Perhapsso,"saidthewoman;"haveyouanymorequestionstoask?"
  "Onlyone,"saidI;"howfarisittoTregaron?"
  "Aboutthreemiles:areyougoingthere?"
  "Yes,IamgoingtoTregaron。"
  "Pitythatyoudidnotcomealittletimeago,"saidthewoman;
  "youmightthenhavehadpleasantcompanyonyourway;pleasantmanstoppedheretolighthispipe;hetoogoingtoTregaron。"
  "Itdoesn’tmatter,"saidI;"Iamneverhappierthanwhenkeepingmyowncompany。"Biddingthewomangoodnight,Iwenton。Themoonnowshonetolerablybright,sothatIcouldseemyway,andI
  spedonatagreatrate。Ihadproceedednearlyhalfamile,whenIthoughtIheardstepsinadvance,andpresentlysawafigureatsomelittledistancebeforeme。Theindividual,probablyhearingthenoiseofmyapproach,soonturnedroundandstoodstill。AsI
  drewnearIdistinguishedastoutburlyfigureofaman,seeminglyaboutsixty,withashortpipeinhismouth。
  "Ah,isityou?"saidthefigure,inEnglish,takingthepipeoutofhismouth;"goodevening,Iamgladtoseeyou。"Thenshakingsomeburningembersoutofhispipe,heputitintohispocket,andtrudgedonbesideme。
  "WhyareyougladtoseeIme?"saidI,slackeningmypace;"Iamastrangertoyou;atanyrate,youaretome。"
  "AlwaysgladtoseeEnglishgentleman,"saidthefigure;"alwaysgladtoseehim。"
  "HowdoyouknowthatIamanEnglishgentleman?"saidI。
  "Oh,IknowEnglishmanatfirstsight;noonelikehiminthewholeworld。"
  "HaveyouseenmanyEnglishgentleman?"saidI。
  "Ohyes,haveseenplentywhenIhavebeenupinLondon。"
  "HaveyoubeenmuchinLondon?"
  "Ohyes;whenIwasadroverwasupinLondoneverymonth。"
  "AndwereyoumuchinthesocietyofEnglishgentlemenwhenyouwerethere?"
  "Ohyes;agreatdeal。"
  "WhereaboutsinLondondidyouchieflymeetthem?"
  "Whereabouts?Oh,inSmithfield。"
  "Dearme!"saidI;"Ithoughtthatwasratheraplaceforbutchersthangentlemen。"
  "Greatplaceforgentlemen,Iassureyou,"saidthefigure;"mettherethefinestgentlemanIeversawinmylife;verygrand,butkindandaffable,likeeverytruegentleman。TalkedtomeagreatdealaboutAngleseyrunts,andWelshlegsofmutton,andatpartingshookmebythehand,andaskedmetolookinuponhim,ifIwaseverdowninhisparts,andseehissheepandtastehisale。"
  "Doyouknowwhohewas?"saidI。
  "Ohyes;knowallabouthim;EarlofLeicester,fromcountyofNorfolk;fineoldmanindeed—youverymuchlikehim—speakjustinsameway。"
  "Haveyougivenupthebusinessofdroverlong?"saidI。
  "Ohyes;givenhimupalongtime,eversincedomm’drailroadcameintofashion。"
  "Andwhatdoyoudonow?"saidI。
  "Oh,notmuch;liveuponmymeans;pickedupalittleproperty,afewsticks,justenoughforoldcrowtobuildhimnestwith—
  sometimes,however,undertakealittlejobforneighbouringpeopleandgetalittlemoney。Candoeverythinginsmallway,ifnecessary;buildlittlebridge,ifasked;—JackofallTrades—
  liveverycomfortably。"
  "Andwheredoyoulive?"
  "Oh,notveryfarfromTregaron。"
  "AndwhatkindofplaceisTregaron?"
  "Oh,verygoodplace;notquitesobigasLondonbutverygoodplace。"
  "Whatisitfamedfor?"saidI,"Oh,famedforverygoodham;besthamatTregaroninallShireCardigan。"
  "Famedforanythingelse?"
  "Ohyes!famedforgreatman,cleverthief,TwmShoneCatti,whowasbornthere。"
  "Dearme!"saidI;"whendidhelive?"
  "Oh,longtimeago,morethantwohundredyear。"
  "Andwhatbecameofhim?"saidI;"washehung?"
  "Hung,no!onlystupidthiefhung。TwmShonecleverthief;diedrichman,justiceofthepeaceandmayorofBrecon。"
  "Verysingular,"saidI,"thattheyshouldmakeathiefmayorofBrecon。"
  "OhTwmShoneCattiverydifferentfromotherthieves;funnyfellow,andsogood—naturedthateverybodylovedhim—sotheymadehimmagistrate,not,however,beforehehadbecomeveryrichmanbymarryinggreatladywhofellinlovewithhim。"
  "Ah,ah,"saidI;"that’sthewayoftheworld。Hebecamerich,sotheymadehimamagistrate;hadheremainedpoortheywouldhavehunghiminspiteofallhisfunandgood—nature。Well,can’tyoutellmesomeofthethingshedid?"
  "Ohyes,cantellyouplenty。OnedayintimeoffairTomShoneCattigoesintoironmonger’sshopinLlandovery。’Master,’sayshe,’Iwanttobuyagoodlargeironporridgepot;pleasetoshowmesome。’Sothemanbringsthreeorfourbigironporridgepots,theverybesthehas。Tomtakesuponeandturnsitround。’Thislookverygoodporridgepot,’saidhe;’Ithinkitwillsuitme。’
  Thenheturnsitroundandroundagain,andatlastliftsitabovehisheadandpeeksintoit。’Ha,ha,’sayshe;’thiswon’tdo;I
  seeoneholehere。Whatmeanyoubywantingtosellarticlelikethistostranger?’Saystheman,’Therebenoholeinit。’’Butthereis,’saysTom,holdingitupandpeekingintoitagain;’I
  seetheholequiteplain。Takeitandlookintoityourself。’Sothemantakesthepot,andhavinghelditupandpeekedin,’asI
  hopetobesaved,’sayshe,’Icanseenohole。’SaysTom,’Goodman,ifyouputyourheadin,youwillfindthatthereisahole。’
  Sothemantriestoputinhishead,buthavingsomedifficulty,Tomlendshimahelpinghandbyjammingthepotquitedownovertheman’sface,thenwhiskinguptheotherpotsTomleavestheshop,sayingashegoes,’Friend,Isupposeyounowseethereisaholeinthepot,otherwisehowcouldyouhavegotyourheadinside?"’
  "Verygood,"saidI;"canyoutellussomethingmoreaboutTwmShoneCatti?"
  "Ohyes;cantellyouplentyabouthim。ThefarmeratNewton,justonemilebeyondthebridgeatBrecon,hadoneveryfinebull,butwithaveryshorttail。SaysTomtohimself:’ByGod’snailsandblood,Iwillstealthefarmer’sbull,andthensellittohimforotherbullinopenmarketplace。’ThenTommakesonefinetail,justforalltheworldsuchatailasthebulloughttohavehad,thengoesbynighttothefarmer’sstallatNewton,stealsawaythebull,andthenstickstothebull’sshortstumpthefinebull’stailwhichhehimselfhadmade。Thenextmarketdayhetakesthebulltothemarket—placeatBrecon,andcallsout;’Veryfinebullthis,whowillbuymyfinebull?’Quoththefarmerwhostoodnighathand,’Thatverymuchlikemybull,whichthiefstolet’othernight;IthinkIcansweartohim。’SaysTom,’Whatdoyoumean?
  Thisbullisnotyourbull,butmine。’Saysthefarmer,’Icouldswearthatthisismybullbutforthetail。Thetailofmybullwasshort,butthetailofthisislong。Iwouldfainknowwhetherthetailofthisberealtailornot。’’Youwould?’saysTom;
  ’well,soyoushall。’Thereuponhewhipsoutbigknifeandcutsoffthebull’stail,somelittlewayabovewherethefalsetailwasjoinedon。’Ha,ha,’saidTom,asthebull’sstumpoftailbled,andthebitoftailbledtootowhichthefalsetailwasstuck,andthebullkickedandbellowed。’Whatsayyounow?Isitatruetailorno?’’Bymyfaith!’saysthefarmer,’Iseethatthetailisatruetail,andthatthebullisnotmine。Ibegpardonforthinkingthathewas。’’Beggingpardon,’saysTom,’isallverywell;butwillyoubuythebull?’’No,’saidthefarmer;’Ishouldbelothtobuyabullwithtailcutoffclosetotherump。’’Ha,’
  saysTom;’whomademecutoffthetailbutyourself?Didyounotforcemetodosoinordertoclearmycharacter?Nowasyoumademecutoffmybull’stail,Iwillmakeyoubuymybullwithouthistail。’’Yes,yes,’criedthemob;’asheforcedyoutocutoffthetail,doyounowforcehimtobuythebullwithoutthetail。’Saysthefarmer,’Whatdoyouaskforthebull?’SaysTom:’Iaskforhimtenpound。’Saysthefarmer,’Iwillgiveyoueight。’’No,’
  saysTom;’youshallgivemeten,orIwillhaveyouupbeforethejustice。’’Thatisright,’criedthemob。’Ifhewon’tpayyoutenpound,havehimupbeforethejustice。’Thereuponthefarmer,becomingfrightened,pulledoutthetenpoundsandgaveitforhisownbulltoTomShoneCatti,whowishedhimjoyofhisbargain。AsthefarmerwasdrivingthebullawayhesaidtoTom:’Won’tyougivemethetail?’’No,’saidTom;’IshallkeepitagainstthetimeIstealanotherbullwithashorttail;’andthereuponherunsoff。"
  "Acleverfellow,"saidI;"thoughitwasrathercruelinhimtocutoffthepoorbull’stail。Now,perhaps,youwilltellmehowhecametomarrytherichlady?