Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 63, No. 390, April, 1848Various
History
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 63, No. 390, April, 1848
Various
England -- Periodicals; Scotland -- Periodicals
But here our pedestrian resources again came to our aid; the
sun shone more bright than ever; we were in the bottom of the valley:
the heat was intense. The village was still four miles off, and by the
time we arrived abreast of the welcome notification of “_Cwrw dda_,” we
were dried, ironed, mangled, folded, and plaited, more commodiously,
(though less uniformly,) than ever our buxom little laundress could have
done for us.
Once and again we got into a brown predicament in Wales, not so easily
got rid of, nor leaving so few disagreeable reminiscences. You will
excuse us for mentioning it, if you please; but our _tableau de mœurs_
would not be complete without it. And here we beg leave to give notice
that fastidious readers may at once close their eyes and read no more,
or else skip over this page and try another. If they become offended,
‘twill be their own fault; what business have they to be prying into our
secrets?
Once upon a time we did a rash thing: we made up our mind—and also our
knapsack—to go to Bardsey Island. Now, ’tis a hundred to one that you
never heard of Bardsey Island; and that, though your careful parents may
have paid many a guinea per quarter for you, while at school, to learn
Geography and the use of the Globes, you never yet were questioned by
your usher as to where Bardsey Island was, nor what sort of a place it
might be. Know, then, that it lies, a solitary green isle, some three
miles or so from the extreme south-western point of Caernarvonshire,—a
sort of _avant-poste_ to Wales, like the Scilly Isles to Cornwall. On it
live some five-score of inhabitants, real natives, supporting themselves
on oysters and lobsters, and other marine monsters. An occasional
dog-fish is there reckoned a luxury. ’Tis a vastly curious place,—the
oddest kinds of sea-birds to be found there of any spot under the
sun,—at least in these latitudes; the rarest shells; the most unique
sea-weeds; the greatest pets of periwinkles; and such loves of limpets!
We were off, then, for Bardsey:—do not go there, dear reader—take our
warning by the way, and remain rather at home. We got to a place with a
most out-of-the-way name—Pwllheli; a sort of _ne plus ultra_ of
stupidity and dulness; and from thence we made our way in a car to one
of more euphonious denomination, Aberdaron. This was really a lovely
spot, embosomed in a deep valley, at the corner of a romantic bay, with
an expanse of snow-white sand, sufficient to accommodate all the bathers
in England,—the sea of as deep a blue as at Madeira, and rocks like
those of Land’s End, with the eternal spray of the ocean playing over
them. A picturesque old church, partly converted into a school, partly
into a pigeon-house—and the main entry to which was by one of the
windows, stands at one end of the village with a miserable pot-house at
the other. There is a stream and a bridge for loungers to lean and spit
over; but other amusement in the place is none. As for public
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account