ambitiously claims to _act_ the leader, under the unmanly
disguise of a female, yielding his post in turn to other such petticoat
heros. The "Rebecca" seems no more than a living figure to give _effect_
to the drama, as boys dress up an effigy and parade it as _the_ Guy
Fawkes.

It is curious to witness the chop-fallen aspect of the poor
toll-collectors. The "looking for" of a dark hour is depicted on the
_female_ faces, at least, and a certain constrained civility mixed with
sullenness, marks the manners of the male portion near large towns; for
elsewhere, humble civility has _always_ met the traveller in this class
of Welsh cottagers. The frequent appearance of dragoons, the clatter of
their dangling accoutrements of war, and grotesque ferocity of hairy
headgear, and mock-heroic air of superiority to the more quietly
grotesque groups of grey-coated men, and muffled up Welsh women gives a
new feature to our tour in this hitherto tranquil region, where a
soldier used to be a monster that men, women, children, all alike, would
run to the cottage door to look at. A very different sort of look than
that of childish curiosity now greets these gallant warriors, at least
from the farmers. "'Becca" is the beloved of their secret hearts--'Becca
has already given them roads without paying for them! 'Becca is longed
for by every _honest_ farmer of them all, whenever he pays a toll-gate.
And these fellows are come sword in hand, to hunt down poor innocent
'Becca! Well may the Welshman's eyes lower on them, whatever may be the
looks of the Welsh women.

We have now rode through several toll-gates, the ruins of the
toll-houses only remaining, and rode scatheless! No toll asked--no
darting forth of a grim figure from his little castle, at the shake of
the road by tramp of horses--like the spider showing himself at his
hole, on the trembling of his web to the struggle of a luckless fly.
Nothing appeared but a shell of a house, with blackened remains of
rafters, or a great heap of stones, not even a wall left--and huge
stumps of gate-posts, and not a hand extended, or voice raised to demand
payment for our use of a road!--that payment which the laws of the land
had formally pronounced due! Had new laws been passed? Had a new mode
arisen of discharging the debt we had incurred by the purchase of the
use of so much road for two horses? Nothing of the kind! A mob at
midnight had thrown down the barrier law had built; and law dared not,