Wild Wales: The People, Language, & SceneryBorrow, George
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Wild Wales: The People, Language, & Scenery
Borrow, George
Borrow, George, 1803-1881 -- Travel -- Wales; Wales -- Description and travel
After walking some way, I turned round in order to take a last look of a
place which had so much interest for me. The mill may be seen from a
considerable distance; so may some of the scattered houses, and also the
wood which surrounds the house of the illustrious Gronwy. Prosperity to
Llanfair! and may many a pilgrimage be made to it of the same character
as my own.
CHAPTER XXXIII
Boxing Harry—Mr. Bos—Black Robin—Drovers—Commercial Travellers.
I arrived at the hostelry of Mr. Pritchard without meeting any adventure
worthy of being marked down. I went into the little parlour, and,
ringing the bell, was presently waited upon by Mrs. Pritchard, a nice
matronly woman, whom I had not before seen, of whom I inquired what I
could have for dinner.
“This is no great place for meat,” said Mrs. Pritchard, “that is fresh
meat, for sometimes a fortnight passes without anything being killed in
the neighbourhood. I am afraid at present there is not a bit of fresh
meat to be had. What we can get you for dinner I do not know, unless you
are willing to make shift with bacon and eggs.”
“I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” said I, “I will have the bacon and eggs
with tea and bread-and-butter, not forgetting a pint of ale—in a word, I
will box Harry.”
“I suppose you are a commercial gent,” said Mrs. Pritchard.
“Why do you suppose me a commercial gent?” said I. “Do I look one?”
“Can’t say you do much,” said Mrs. Pritchard; “you have no rings on your
fingers, nor a gilt chain at your waistcoat-pocket, but when you said
‘box Harry,’ I naturally took you to be one of the commercial gents, for
when I was at Liverpool I was told that that was a word of theirs.”
“I believe the word properly belongs to them,” said I. “I am not one of
them; but I learnt it from them, a great many years ago, when I was much
amongst them. Those whose employers were in a small way of business, or
allowed them insufficient salaries, frequently used to ‘box Harry,’ that
is have a beef-steak, or mutton-chop, or perhaps bacon and eggs, as I am
going to have, along with tea and ale instead of the regular dinner of a
commercial gentleman, namely, fish, hot joint and fowl, pint of sherry,
tart, ale and cheese, and bottle of old port, at the end of all.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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