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
I sped along, Snowdon on my left, the lake on my right, and the tip of a
mountain peak right before me in the east. After a little time I looked
back; what a scene! The silver lake and the shadowy mountain over its
southern side looking now, methought, very much like Gibraltar. I
lingered and lingered, gazing and gazing, and at last only by an effort
tore myself away. The evening had now become delightfully cool in this
land of wonders. On I sped, passing by two noisy brooks coming from
Snowdon to pay tribute to the lake. And now I had left the lake and the
valley behind, and was ascending a hill. As I gained its summit, up rose
the moon to cheer my way. In a little time, a wild stony gorge
confronted me, a stream ran down the gorge with hollow roar, a bridge lay
across it. I asked a figure whom I saw standing by the bridge the
place’s name. “Rhyd du”—the black ford—I crossed the bridge. The voice
of the Methodist was yelling from a little chapel on my left. I went to
the door and listened: “When the sinner takes hold of God, God takes hold
of the sinner.” The voice was frightfully hoarse. I passed on; night
fell fast around me, and the mountain to the south-east, towards which I
was tending, looked blackly grand. And now I came to a milestone, on
which I read with difficulty: “Three miles to Bethgelert.” The way for
some time had been upward, but now it was downward. I reached a torrent,
which, coming from the north-west, rushed under a bridge, over which I
passed. The torrent attended me on my right hand the whole way to
Bethgelert. The descent now became very rapid. I passed a pine wood on
my left, and proceeded for more than two miles at a tremendous rate. I
then came to a wood—this wood was just above Bethgelert—proceeding in the
direction of a black mountain, I found myself amongst houses, at the
bottom of a valley. I passed over a bridge, and inquiring of some
people, whom I met, the way to the inn, was shown an edifice brilliantly
lighted up, which I entered.
CHAPTER XLV
Inn at Bethgelert—Delectable Company—Lieutenant P—.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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