he village is just
above it on a rising ground, behind which are lofty hills pleasantly
dotted with groves, trees, and houses. The interior of the edifice has a
somewhat dilapidated appearance. The service was in Welsh. The
clergyman was about forty years of age, and had a highly-intelligent
look. His voice was remarkably clear and distinct. He preached an
excellent practical sermon, text, 14th chapter, 22nd verse of Luke, about
sending out servants to invite people to the supper. After the sermon
there was a gathering for the poor.

As I returned to the inn I had a good deal of conversation with the
landlord on religious subjects. He told me that the Church of England,
which for a long time had been a down-trodden Church in Wales, had of
late begun to raise its head, and chiefly owing to the zeal and activity
of its present ministers; that the former ministers of the Church were
good men, but had not energy enough to suit the times in which they
lived; that the present ministers fought the Methodist preachers with
their own weapons, namely, extemporary preaching, and beat them, winning
shoals from their congregations. He seemed to think that the time was
not far distant when the Anglican Church would be the popular as well as
the established Church of Wales.

Finding myself rather dull in the inn, I went out again, notwithstanding
that it rained. I ascended the toman or mound which I had visited on a
former occasion. Nothing could be more desolate and dreary than the
scene around. The woods were stripped of their verdure and the hills
were half shrouded in mist. How unlike was this scene to the smiling,
glorious prospect which had greeted my eyes a few months before. The
rain coming down with redoubled violence, I was soon glad to descend and
regain the inn.

Shortly before dinner I was visited by the landlady, a fine tall woman of
about fifty, with considerable remains of beauty in her countenance. She
came to ask me if I was comfortable. I told her that it was my own fault
if I was not. We were soon in very friendly discourse. I asked her her
maiden name.

"Owen," said she, laughing, "which, after my present name of Jones, is
the most common name in Wales."

"They were both one and the same originally," said I, "Owen and Jones
both mean John."

She too was a staunch member of the Church of England, which she said was
the only true Church. She spoke in terms of high respect and admiration
of