The river Taff, that flowed far below in the depths of the valley, was then unpolluted by the dross and impure refuse of the mines and manufactures of Merthyr-Tydfil, and, except when agitated into wrathful turbulence by storms, and the rapid influx of mountain torrents, rippled by in pure and calm serenity. The small forge, at which iron had been manufactured as early as the reign of Henry VIII., if not previously, at the place now called Pontygwaith, or the bridge of the work, and immediately below Penygraig, on the opposite side of the river, had long ceased to resound in the valley, and Merthyr-Tydfil was then a quiet village, containing perhaps at most a score of houses, or so. And now, when little more than a century has passed away, how wonderfully have all things changed, and the stillness of this remote locality been invaded. Midway up the side of the valley, not more than a mile from Penygraig House, now stands the Quaker’s-Yard Station of the West Midland Railway, and the two noble viaducts that carry the Taff Vale and the West Midland Railways across the Taff river; while at an equally short distance, stands another viaduct of elegant proportions that spans the tributary valley of Bargoed Taff. In this quiet spot David Morgan was roused from what may possibly have been peaceful dreams of happiness, and calm domesticity, to participate in the anxieties and perils of the Rebellion. On receiving the first intimation of the Pretender’s arrival in Scotland, he departed from Penygraig, to return there no more; and there is a tradition still extant in that neighbourhood that, in starting on his fatal journey, he stopped at Efail Llancaiach, which still exists as a smithy, to have his horse shod, and is stated so have said to the smith, in Welsh, “You are against me now, but when I return you will be all with me.” He then appears to have proceeded to join the friend of whom previous mention has been made, and to have journeyed with him on horseback through North Wales into Cheshire, where he paid a visit to an acquaintance residing at Etherton Hall. From thence he rode to Preston, in Lancashire, as already stated, to join the army of the Pretender. It is quite manifest that he must have been very actively and influentially engaged in the movement prior to this, and well known by reputation, if not by actual correspondence, to Prince Charles Edward, as he was immediately received into his confidence, and held so prominent a position in his counsels as to cause him to be designated the “Pretender’s Counsellor.” {19}