BEGGARS ON HORSEBACK. 165 



wooded cliff at its back, and the river at its foot, 

 and the river meadows with their tranquil sweet- 

 ness ; but on that Saturday night neither we nor 

 the Tommies complained of its dinginess. It had 

 a chemist, who kept sulphate of zinc and iodoform, 

 and lead lotion, with which to anoint the invalid ; 

 and it had a sedate and venerable hotel, the Owen 

 Glendwr, in which instantly to go to bed. Hav- 

 ing risen thus to the occasion, Corwen may be 

 assured that it has not lived in vain. 



Carriages, with Sunday bonnets in them, began 

 to pass next morning, while yet we were taking 

 in the delicate antique absurdity of the pair of 

 spinets in the drawing-room, the charms of the 

 brass finger-plates and door-handles, the impres- 

 siveness of the low-ceiled, spotless kitchen, with 

 the vast fireplace, and all the strong and sound 

 old age of a house that has been a notable inn 

 since the fifteenth century. Finding that the 

 church was immediately behind the hotel, and, 

 furthermore, that the service was in Welsh, we 

 lingered a little in the tour of brew-house and 



