efore me.

"Are the sessions being held here to-day?" said I.

"They are," said the landlord, "and there is plenty of business; two bad
cases of poaching, Sir Watkin's keepers are up at court and hope to
convict."

"I am not come on sessions business," said I; "I am merely strolling a
little about to see the country."

"He is come from South Wales," said the old fellow in the frieze coat, to
the landlord, "in order to see what kind of country the north is. Well
at any rate he has seen a better country than his own."

"How do you know that I come from South Wales?" said I.

"By your English," said the old fellow; "anybody may know you are South
Welsh by your English; it is so cursedly bad. But let's hear you speak a
little Welsh; then I shall be certain as to who you are."

I did as he bade me, saying a few words in Welsh.

"There's Welsh," said the old fellow, "who but a South Welshman would
talk Welsh in that manner? It's nearly as bad as your English."

I asked him if he had ever been in South Wales.

"Yes," said he; "and a bad country I found it; just like the people."

"If you take me for a South Welshman," said I, "you ought to speak
civilly both of the South Welsh and their country."

"I am merely paying tit for tat," said the old fellow. "When I was in
South Wales your people laughed at my folks and country, so when I meet
one of them here I serve him out as I was served out there."

I made no reply to him, but addressing myself to the landlord inquired
whether Huw Morris was not buried in Llan Silin churchyard. He replied
in the affirmative.

"I should like to see his tomb," said I.

"Well, sir," said the landlord, "I shall be happy to show it to you
whenever you please."

Here again the old fellow put in his word.

"You never had a prydydd like Huw Morris in South Wales," said he; "nor
Twm o'r Nant either."

"South Wales has produced good poets," said I.

"No, it hasn't," said the old fellow; "it never produced one. If it had,
you wouldn't have needed to come here to see the grave of a poet; you
would have found one at home."

As he said these words he got up, took his stick, and seemed about to
depart. Just then in burst a rabble rout of game-keepers and
river-watchers who had come from the petty sessions, and were in high
glee, the two poachers whom the landlord had mentioned having been
convicted and heavily fined. Two or three of them were particularly
boisterous, running ag