that is, in the day-time. Do you live at Wrexham?"

"No," I replied, "I am stopping at Llangollen."

"But you won't return there to-night?"

"Oh yes, I shall!"

"By this road?"

"No, by the common road. This is not a road to travel by night."

"Nor is the common road, sir, for a respectable person on foot; that is,
on a Saturday night. You will perhaps meet drunken colliers who may
knock you down."

"I will take my chance for that," said I, and bade him farewell. I
entered the pass, passing under the strange-looking crag. After I had
walked about half a mile the pass widened considerably and a little way
further on debauched on some wild moory ground. Here the road became
very indistinct. At length I stopped in a state of uncertainty. A
well-defined path presented itself, leading to the east, whilst northward
before me there seemed scarcely any path at all. After some hesitation I
turned to the east by the well-defined path, and by so doing went wrong,
as I soon found.

I mounted the side of a brown hill covered with moss-like grass, and here
and there heather. By the time I arrived at the top of the hill the sun
shone out, and I saw Rhiwabon and Cefn Mawr before me in the distance.
"I am going wrong," said I; "I should have kept on due north. However, I
will not go back, but will steeple-chase it across the country to
Wrexham, which must be towards the north-east." So turning aside from
the path, I dashed across the hills in that direction; sometimes the
heather was up to my knees, and sometimes I was up to the knees in quags.
At length I came to a deep ravine which I descended; at the bottom was a
quagmire, which, however, I contrived to cross by means of certain
stepping-stones, and came to a cart path up a heathery hill which I
followed. I soon reached the top of the hill, and the path still
continuing, I followed it till I saw some small grimy-looking huts, which
I supposed were those of colliers. At the door of the first I saw a
girl. I spoke to her in Welsh, and found she had little or none. I
passed on, and seeing the door of a cabin open I looked in--and saw no
adult person, but several grimy but chubby children. I spoke to them in
English, and found they could only speak Welsh. Presently I observed a
robust woman advancing towards me; she was barefooted and bore on her
head an immense lump of coal. I spoke to her in Welsh, and found she
could only speak English. "Truly," said I to