1850 LLANFAIRYNGHORNWY RECTORY 173 



Apart from the geological work, there is a peculiar 

 interest in these few weeks of Survey doings in 

 Anglesey, for now, unconsciously, Ramsay was ap- 

 proaching one of the momentous epochs of his life. 

 During the day he and Selwyn traversed the rocky 

 northern coast of the island, charmed with ' the cliffy 

 foregrounds, the white breakers, the great misty plains 

 of Anglesey, and the snow-covered mountains rising 

 beyond so still and grandly.' At night they had the 

 shelter of little inns, sometimes of the homeliest kind. 

 In the course of their traverses they received an 

 invitation to make, for a day or two, the rectory of 

 Llanfairynghornwy their headquarters. The following 

 notes from his diary convey Ramsay's first impressions 

 of this hospitable household : ' The house is some- 

 what characteristic, being full of all sorts of odds and 

 ends, and not in the highest order, yet everything 

 telling that they are people who do not exclusively 

 busy themselves with externals. There is a character 

 about the family. Mr. Williams is one of the best 

 specimens of a Welsh clergyman I have met, polished 

 and conversational, not at all deep, but very agreeable, 

 and, I should say, conscientious and hard-working. 

 Mrs. Williams is a remarkable woman. She was 

 engaged [when the two geologists arrived] enlarging 

 a map of Palestine for the use of a school her daughter 

 takes care of. They all assist at wrecks, etc., and she has 

 made a survey of the Skerries, taking the angles with 

 a prismatic compass. They [afterwards] made me 

 explain the glacial theory, and were, I think, interested, 

 especially Miss Louisa, who is certainly a very clever 

 girl.' 



The geologists were asked to come back and spend 

 Christmas at the rectory. This pleasant visit is thus 



