244 MY LIFE 



together early in January, and continued to board and lodge 

 with Mr. Sims in the main street, where I had been very 

 comfortable, till the autumn, when, hearing that my sister 

 would probably be home from America the following summer, 

 and my mother wishing to live with us, we took a small cottage 

 close to Llantwit Church, and less than a mile from the middle 

 of the town. It had a nice little garden and yard, with fowl- 

 house, shed, etc., going down to the Neath Canal, immediately 

 beyond which was the river Neath, with a pretty view across 

 the valley to Cadoxton and the fine Drumau Mountain. 



Having the canal close at hand and the river beyond, and 

 then another canal to Swansea, made us long for a small 

 boat, and not having much to do, my brother determined to 

 build one, so light that it could easily be drawn or carried 

 from the canal to the river, and so give access to Swansea. 

 It was made as small and light as possible to carry two or, at 

 most, three persons. When finished, we tried it with much 

 anxiety and found it rather unstable, but with a little ballast 

 at the bottom and care in moving, it did very well, and was 

 very easy to row. One day I persuaded my mother to let me 

 row her to Swansea, where we made a few purchases ; and 

 then came back quite safely till within about a mile of home, 

 when, passing under a bridge, my mother put her hand out to 

 keep the boat from touching, and leaning over a little too 

 much, the side went under water, and upset us both. As the 

 water was only about two or three feet deep we escaped with 

 a thorough wetting. The boat was soon bailed dry, and then 

 I rowed on to Neath Bridge, where my mother got out and 

 walked home, and did not trust herself in our boat again, 

 though I and my brother had many pleasant excursions. 



Our chief work in 1846 was the survey of the parish of 

 Llantwit-juxta-Neath, in which we lived. The agent of the 

 Gnoll Estate had undertaken the valuation for the tithe com- 

 mutation, and arranged with me to do the survey and make 

 the map and the necessary copies. When all was finished 

 and the valuation made, I was told that I must collect the 

 payment from the various farmers in the parish, who would 

 afterwards deduct it from their rent. This was a disagreeable 



