en
there was a pause--she expected every moment to hear some one cry out,
and tell her to come to her sister, but she heard no farther sound,
neither voice nor stump of horse. She thought she had been deceived, so,
without awakening her husband, she tried to go to sleep, but sleep she
could not. The next night, at about the same time, she again heard a
horse's feet come stump, stump, up to the door. She now waked her
husband and told him to listen. He did so, and both heard the stumping.
Presently, the stumping ceased, and then there was a loud "Hey!" as if
somebody wished to wake them. "Hey!" said my father, and they both lay
for a minute expecting to hear something more, but they heard nothing.
My father then sprang out of bed, and looked out of the window; it was
bright moonlight, but he saw nothing. The next night, as they lay in bed
both asleep, they were suddenly aroused by a loud and terrible knocking.
Out sprang my father from the bed, flung open the window, and looked out,
but there was no one at the door. The next morning, however, a messenger
arrived with the intelligence that my aunt had had a dreadful confinement
with twins in the night, and that both she and the babes were dead."

"Thank you," said I; and paying for my ale, I returned to Llangollen.

CHAPTER XII

A Calvinistic-Methodist--Turn for Saxon--Our Congregation--Pont y
Cyssyltau--Catherine Lingo.

I had inquired of the good woman of the house, in which we lived, whether
she could not procure a person to accompany me occasionally in my walks,
who was well acquainted with the strange nooks and corners of the
country, and who could speak no language but Welsh; as I wished to
increase my knowledge of colloquial Welsh by having a companion who would
be obliged, in all he had to say to me, to address me in Welsh, and to
whom I should perforce have to reply in that tongue. The good lady had
told me that there was a tenant of hers who lived in one of the cottages,
which looked into the perllan, who, she believed, would be glad to go
with me, and was just the kind of man I was in quest of. The day after I
had met with the adventures, which I have related in the preceding
chapter, she informed me that the person in question was awaiting my
orders in the kitchen. I told her to let me see him. He presently made
his appearance. He was about forty-five years of age, of middle stature,
and had a good-natured open countenance. His dress wa