derable time longer. At last, finding him silent, and
having finished my brandy and water, I got up, rang the bell, paid for
what I had had, and left him looking very miserable, perhaps at finding
that he was not quite so certain of eternal damnation as he had hitherto
supposed. There can be no doubt that the idea of damnation is anything
but disagreeable to some people; it gives them a kind of gloomy
consequence in their own eyes. We must be something particular they
think, or God would hardly think it worth His while to torment us for
ever.

I inquired the way to Festiniog, and finding that I had passed by it on
my way to the town, I went back, and as directed turned to the east up a
wide pass, down which flowed a river. I soon found myself in another and
very noble valley, intersected by the river which was fed by numerous
streams rolling down the sides of the hills. The road which I followed
in the direction of the east lay on the southern side of the valley and
led upward by a steep ascent. On I went, a mighty hill close on my
right. My mind was full of enthusiastic fancies; I was approaching
Festiniog the birthplace of Rhys Goch, who styled himself Rhys Goch of
Eryri or Red Rhys of Snowdon, a celebrated bard, and a partisan of Owen
Glendower, who lived to an immense age, and who, as I had read, was in
the habit of composing his pieces seated on a stone which formed part of
a Druidical circle, for which reason the stone was called the chair of
Rhys Goch; yes, my mind was full of enthusiastic fancies all connected
with this Rhys Goch, and as I went along slowly, I repeated stanzas of
furious war songs of his exciting his countrymen to exterminate the
English, and likewise snatches of an abusive ode composed by him against
a fox who had run away with his favourite peacock, a piece so abounding
with hard words that it was termed the Drunkard's chokepear, as no
drunkard was ever able to recite it, and ever and anon I wished I could
come in contact with some native of the region with whom I could talk
about Rhys Goch, and who could tell me whereabouts stood his chair.

Strolling along in this manner I was overtaken by an old fellow with a
stick in his hand, walking very briskly. He had a crusty and rather
conceited look. I spoke to him in Welsh, and he answered in English,
saying that I need not trouble myself by speaking Welsh, as he had plenty
of English, and of the very best. We were from first to last at c