took it to
Landyrnog, where he sold it for ten shillings to the lads of the place,
who performed it the following summer; but I never got anything for my
labour, save a sup of ale from the players when I met them. This at the
heel of other things would have induced me to give up poetry, had it been
in the power of anything to do so. I made two interludes," he continues,
"one for the people of Llanbedr in the Vale of Clwyd, and the other for
the lads of Llanarmon in Yale, one on the subject of Naaman's leprosy,
and the other about hypocrisy, which was a re-fashionment of the work of
Richard Parry of Ddiserth. When I was young I had such a rage or madness
for poetizing, that I would make a song on almost anything I saw--and it
was a mercy that many did not kill me or break my bones, on account of my
evil tongue. My parents often told me I should have some mischief done
me if I went on in the way in which I was going. Once on a time being
with some companions as bad as myself, I happened to use some very free
language in a place where three lovers were with a young lass of my
neighbourhood, who lived at a place called Ty Celyn, with whom they kept
company. I said in discourse that they were the cocks of Ty Celyn. The
girl heard me, and conceived a spite against me on account of my
scurrilous language. She had a brother, who was a cruel fighter; he took
the part of his sister, and determined to chastise me. One Sunday
evening he shouted to me as I was coming from Nantglyn--our ways were the
same till we got nearly home--he had determined to give me a thrashing,
and he had with him a piece of oak stick just suited for the purpose.
After we had taunted each other for some time, as we went along, he flung
his stick on the ground, and stripped himself stark naked. I took off my
hat and my neck-cloth, and took his stick in my hand, whereupon running
to the hedge he took a stake, and straight we set to like two furies.
After fighting some time, our sticks were shivered to pieces and quite
short; sometimes we were upon the ground, but did not give up fighting on
that account. Many people came up and would fain have parted us, but he
would by no means let them. At last we agreed to go and pull fresh
stakes, and then we went at it again until he could no longer stand. The
marks of this battle are upon him and me to this day. At last, covered
with a gore of blood, he was dragged home by his neighbours. He was in a
dreadf