one who has come the whole way from Llandovery--Taking a bit
of a walk in Wales, to see the scenery and to observe the manners and
customs of the inhabitants--Fine country, gentlemen, noble prospects,
hill and dale--Fine people too--open-hearted and generous; no wonder!
descendants of the Ancient Britons--Hope I don't intrude--other room
rather cold and smoking--If I do, will retire at once--don't wish to
interrupt any gentleman in their avocations or deliberations--scorn to do
anything ungenteel or calculated to give offence--hope I know how to
behave myself--ought to do so--learnt grammar at the High School at
Edinburgh."

"Offence, intrusion!" cried twenty voices. "God bless your honour! no
intrusion and no offence at all; sit down--sit here--won't you drink?"

"Please to sit here, sir," said an old grimy-looking man, getting up from
a seat in the chimney-corner--"this is no seat for me whilst you are
here, it belongs to you--sit down in it," and laying hold of me he
compelled me to sit down in the chair of dignity, whilst half-a-dozen
hands pushed mugs of beer towards my face; these, however, I declined to
partake of on the very satisfactory ground that I had not taken supper,
and that it was a bad thing to drink before eating, more especially after
coming out of a mist.

"Have you any news to tell of the war, sir?" said a large tough fellow,
who was smoking a pipe.

"The last news that I heard of the war," said I, "was that the snow was
two feet deep at Sebastopol."

"I heard three," said the man; "however, if there be but two it must be
bad work for the poor soldiers. I suppose you think that we shall beat
the Russians in the end."

"No, I don't," said I; "the Russians are a young nation and we are an
old; they are coming on and we are going off; every dog has its day."

"That's true," said the man, "but I am sorry that you think we shall not
beat the Russians, for the Russians are a bad set."

"Can you speak Welsh?" said a darkish man with black, bristly hair and a
small inquisitive eye.

"Oh, I know two words in Welsh," said I; "bara y caws."

"That's bread and cheese," said the man, then turning to a neighbour of
his he said in Welsh: "He knows nothing of Cumraeg, only two words; we
may say anything we please; he can't understand us. What a long nose he
has!"

"Mind that he an't nosing us," said his neighbour. "I should be loth to
wager that he doesn't understand Welsh; and, after all, he didn'