I kept the hedge, which was my
right; the two first brushed roughly past me, the third came full
upon me and was tumbled into the road. There was a laugh from the
two first and a loud curse from the last as he sprawled in the
mire. I merely said "Nos Da'ki," and passed on, and in about a
quarter of an hour reached home, where I found my wife awaiting me
alone, Henrietta having gone to bed being slightly indisposed. My
wife received me with a cheerful smile. I looked at her and the
good wife of the Triad came to my mind.
"She is modest, void of deceit, and obedient.
"Pure of conscience, gracious of tongue, and true to her husband.
"Her heart not proud, her manners affable, and her bosom full of
compassion for the poor.
"Labouring to be tidy, skilful of hand, and fond of praying to God.
"Her conversation amiable, her dress decent, and her house orderly.
"Quick of hand, quick of eye, and quick of understanding.
"Her person shapely, her manners agreeable, and her heart innocent.
"Her face benignant, her head intelligent, and provident.
"Neighbourly, gentle, and of a liberal way of thinking.
"Able in directing, providing what is wanting, and a good mother to
her children.
"Loving her husband, loving peace, and loving God.
"Happy the man," adds the Triad, "who possesses such a wife." Very
true, O Triad, always provided he is in some degree worthy of her;
but many a man leaves an innocent wife at home for an impure
Jezebel abroad, even as many a one prefers a pint of hog's wash
abroad to a tankard of generous liquor at home.
CHAPTER LXIII
Preparations for Departure - Cat provided for - A Pleasant Party -
Last Night at Llangollen.
I WAS awakened early on the Sunday morning by the howling of wind.
There was a considerable storm throughout the day, but
unaccompanied by rain. I went to church both in the morning and
the evening. The next day there was a great deal of rain. It was
now the latter end of October; winter was coming on, and my wife
and daughter were anxious to return home. After some consultation
it was agreed that they should depart for London, and that I should
join them there after making a pedestrian tour in South Wales.
I should have been loth to quit Wales without visiting the
Deheubarth or Southern Region, a land differing widely, as I had
heard, both in language and customs from Gwynedd or the Northern, a
land which had given birth to the illustrious Ab Gwilym, and where
the great Ryce family had flourished, which very much distinguished
itself in the Wars of the Roses - a member of which Ryce ap Thomas
placed Henry the Seventh on the throne of Britain - a family of
royal extraction, and which after the death of Roderic the Great
for a long time enjoyed the sovereignty of the south.
