Whilst a prince he was revered for his wisdom and equity, and
he is said in one of the historical triads to have been one of the three
consulting warriors of Arthur.

In the evening I attended service in the old church at Bala. The
interior of the edifice was remarkably plain; no ornament of any kind was
distinguishable; the congregation was overflowing, amongst whom I
observed the innkeeper and his wife, the little freckled maid and the
boots. The entire service was in Welsh. Next to the pew in which I sat
was one filled with young singing women, all of whom seemed to have
voices of wonderful power. The prayers were read by a strapping young
curate at least six feet high. The sermon was preached by the rector,
and was a continuation of the one which I had heard him preach in the
morning. It was a very comforting discourse, as the preacher clearly
proved that every sinner will be pardoned who comes to Jesus. I was
particularly struck with one part. The preacher said that Jesus' arms
being stretched out upon the cross was emblematic of His surprising love
and His willingness to receive anybody. The service concluded with the
noble anthem Teyrnasa Jesu Mawr, "May Mighty Jesus reign!"

The service over I returned to the parlour of the inn. There I sat for a
long-time, lone and solitary, staring at the fire in the grate. I was
the only guest in the house; a great silence prevailed both within and
without; sometimes five minutes elapsed without my hearing a sound, and
then, perhaps, the silence would be broken by a footstep at a distance in
the street. At length, finding myself yawning, I determined to go to
bed. The freckled maid as she lighted me to my room inquired how I liked
the sermon. "Very much," said I. "Ah," said she, "did I not tell you
that Mr Pugh was a capital preacher?" She then asked me how I liked the
singing of the gals who sat in the next pew to mine. I told her that I
liked it exceedingly. "Ah," said she, "them gals have the best voices in
Bala. They were once Methody gals, and sang in the chapels, but were
converted, and are now as good Church as myself. Them gals have been the
cause of a great many convarsions, for all the young fellows of their
acquaintance amongst the Methodists--"

"Follow them to church," said I, "and in time become converted. That's a
thing of course. If the Church gets the girls she is quite sure of the
fellows."

CHAPTER LXXIV

Proceed on Journ