1 84 MY LIFE [Chap. 



not that a noble act, Mr. Wallace ? " to which we, as visitors, 

 were, of course, bound to assent with as much appearance of 

 conviction as we could manage to express. These things were 

 a little trying, but he carried them off so well, so evidently 

 believed them himself, and spoke in so earnest and dignified 

 a manner, that had we been more intimate, and could have 

 permitted ourselves to laugh openly at his more extravagant 

 outbursts, we should have had a more thorough enjoyment 

 of his society. 



Of course, such an appreciation of his own merits led to 

 his taking the blackest view of all who opposed him, and thus 

 led to what was in the nature of a tragedy for his wife as well 

 as for himself, and one in which we had to bear our part. 

 His property was bounded on one side by the little river 

 Dulais, which wound about in a narrow belt of level pasture, 

 and in places appeared to have changed its course, leaving 

 dry channels, which were occasionally filled during floods. It 

 was to one of these further channels that our friend claimed 

 that his property extended, founding his belief on the evidence 

 of some old people who remembered the river flowing in this 

 channel, some of whom also declared that the cattle and sheep 

 belonging to Gelli used to graze there. He would talk for 

 hours about it, maintaining that the old water-line was always 



the boundary, and that the adjoining landlord, Lord , 



was trying to rob him by the power of his wealth and influence. 

 The whole of the little pieces of land in dispute did not 

 amount to more than half an acre and were not worth more 

 than a few pounds, and his own lawyer tried to persuade him 

 that the issue was very doubtful, and that even if he won, the 

 bits of land were not worth either the cost or the worry. But 

 nothing would stop him, and by his orders an act of trespass 

 was committed on the land to which he thus formally laid 

 claim, and after much correspondence an action was com- 

 menced against him by Lord 's lawyers. Then we were 



employed to make a plan of the pieces claimed, and the case 

 came on for trial at the Cardiff Assizes. 



The partner of the London solicitor came down for the 

 case and engaged one of the most popular barristers, the best 



