Leaving Bala, I passed through the village of Llanfair, and found myself by the Dee, whose course I followed for some way. Coming to the northern extremity of the Bala valley, I entered a pass tending due north. Here the road slightly diverged from the river. I sped along, delighted with the beauty of the scenery. On my left was a high bank covered with trees, on my right a grove, through openings in which I occasionally caught glimpses of the river, over whose farther side towered noble hills. An hour’s walking brought me into a comparatively open country, fruitful and charming. At about one o’clock I reached a large village, the name of which, like those of most Welsh villages, began with Llan. There I refreshed myself for an hour or two in an old-fashioned inn, and then resumed my journey. I passed through Corwen; again visited Glendower’s monticle upon the Dee, and reached Llangollen shortly after sunset, where I found my beloved two well and glad to see me. That night, after tea, Henrietta played on the guitar the old muleteer tune of “El Punto de la Vana,” or the main point at the Havanna, whilst I sang the words:— “Never trust the sample when you go your cloth to buy: The woman’s most deceitful that’s dressed most daintily, The lasses of Havanna ride to mass in coaches yellow, But ere they go they ask if the priest’s a handsome fellow. The lasses of Havanna as mulberries are dark, And try to make them fairer by taking Jesuit’s bark.” CHAPTER LI The Ladies of Llangollen—Sir Alured—Eisteddfodau—“Pleasure and Care.”