kept a school at a chapel in the
village of Dwyrain, in Anglesey. It was said of Owen that he never had
more than a quarter of a year's schooling, so that he could not teach
me much. I went to his school at seven, and remained with him about a
year. Then he left; and some time afterwards I went for a short period
to an old preacher's school, at Brynsieneyn chapel. There I learnt but
little, the teacher being negligent. He allowed the children to play
together too much, and he punished them for slight offences, making
them obstinate and disheartened. But I remember his once saying to the
other children, that I ran through my little lesson 'like a coach.'
However, when I was about twelve years old, my father died, and in
losing him I lost almost all the little I had learnt during the short
periods I had been at school. Then I went to work for the farmers.

"In this state of ignorance I remained for years, until the time came
when on Sunday I used to saddle the old black mare for Cadwalladr
Williams, the Calvinist Methodist preacher, at Pen Ceint, Anglesey; and
after he had ridden away, I used to hide in his library during the
sermon, and there I learnt a little that I shall not soon forget. In
that way I had many a draught of knowledge, as it were, by stealth.
Having a strong taste for music, I was much attracted by choral
singing; and on Sundays and in the evenings I tried to copy out airs
from different books, and accustomed my hand a little to writing. This
tendency was, however, choked within me by too much work with the
cattle, and by other farm labour. In a word, I had but little fair
weather in my search for knowledge. One thing enticed me from another,
to the detriment of my plans; some fair Eve often standing with an
apple in hand, tempting me to taste of that.

"The old preacher's books at Pen Ceint were in Welsh. I had not yet
learned English, but tried to learn it by comparing one line in the
English New Testament with the same line in the Welsh. This was the
Hamiltonian method, and the way in which I learnt most languages. I
first got an idea of astronomy from reading 'The Solar System,' by Dr.
Dick, translated into Welsh by Eleazar Roberts of Liverpool. That book
I found on Sundays in the preacher's library; and many a sublime
thought it gave me. It was comparatively easy to understand.

"When I was about thirty I was taken very ill, and could no longer
work. I then went to Bangor to consul