At length we reached the Bridge of Llangollen, whence the river is seen to great advantage, tumbling over its rocky bed, and rushing beneath the dark shelter of the over-hanging trees. The village is small, and contains two respectable hotels, viz., the Hand, at which we stopped by the advice of my companion, and the Royal Hotel.
We were shown into a very good parlour, and after ordering a tea and supper dinner, my friend, somewhat exhausted by the day’s march, flung himself upon a sofa, while I resumed my journal, and soon afterwards retired to my bed-room, where the murmurs of the flowing Dee were distinctly heard beneath the window.
“Here I am, then,” said I, soliloquising, as I pressed the pillow; “here am I, at length, in the Vale of Llangollen; in the village of Llangollen,—a spot which I have so often longed to visit!”
“Flow on, thou shining river!”
and in a few moments I sank soundly to sleep.
CHAPTER II.
Plas Newydd.—Castell Dinas Brân.—Valle Crucis Abbey.—Pillar of Eliseg.—Vale of the Dee.—Corwen.—Route to Llandrillo.—Vale of Edeyrnion.—Arrival at Bala.
“I crossed in its beauty the Dee’s druid water,
The waves as I passed rippled lonely and lone,
For the brave on their borders had perished in slaughter,
The noble were banished, the gifted were gone.”W. Wiffen.
I was dreaming of home, and happiness, and a thousand lovely things, when I was awakened by my new acquaintance, who stood before me dressed for a sturdy walk. “A lovely morning,” said my companion, rubbing his hands with much delight; “come, bustle, bustle, my young friend; you are not in London, now. Permit me to open the lattice; you will find no perfume at your chamber window in town like this; and, as he spoke, he flung open the casement, and a rush of fragrance poured into the room from hundreds of roses that clustered upon the wall without; nor was my friend at all deficient in praising its sweetness, for, taking a long breath, he stood, for a moment, with his mouth wide open, and then sent forth a sigh, long enough to form a bridge over the river for the fairies to cross upon.
“Shall we breakfast before we set out upon our ramble? I think we had better give orders for it, and visit the cottage where Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Ponsonby so long resided, while it is preparing.”