Noble
Eilio to the north; enormous Pen Drws Coed to the south; a tall
mountain far beyond them to the east. "I never was in such a
lovely spot!" I cried to myself in a perfect rapture. "Oh, how
glad I should be to learn the name of this bridge, standing on
which I have had 'Heaven opened to me,' as my old friends the
Spaniards used to say." Scarcely had I said these words when I
observed a man and a woman coming towards the bridge in the
direction in which I was bound. I hastened to meet them in the
hope of obtaining information. They were both rather young, and
were probably a couple of sweethearts taking a walk or returning
from meeting. The woman was a few steps in advance of the man;
seeing that I was about to address her, she averted her head and
quickened her steps, and before I had completed the question, which
I put to her in Welsh, she had bolted past me screaming "Ah Dim
Seasneg," and was several yards distant.
I then addressed myself to the man who had stopped, asking him the
name of the bridge.
"Pont Bettws," he replied.
"And what may be the name of the river?" said I.
"Afon - something," said he.
And on my thanking him he went forward to the woman who was waiting
for him by the bridge.
"Is that man Welsh or English?" I heard her say when he had
rejoined her.
"I don't know," said the man - "he was civil enough; why were you
such a fool?"
"Oh, I thought he would speak to me in English," said the woman,
"and the thought of that horrid English puts me into such a
flutter; you know I can't speak a word of it."
They proceeded on their way and I proceeded on mine, and presently
coming to a little inn on the left side of the way, at the entrance
of a village, I went in.
A respectable-looking man and woman were seated at tea at a table
in a nice clean kitchen. I sat down on a chair near the table, and
called for ale - the ale was brought me in a jug - I drank some,
put the jug on the table, and began to discourse with the people in
Welsh. A handsome dog was seated on the ground; suddenly it laid
one of its paws on its master's knee.
"Down, Perro," said he.
"Perro!" said I; "why do you call the dog Perro?"
"We call him Perro," said the man, "because his name is Perro."
"But how came you to give him that name?" said I.
