“Well,” said I, “if I ever settle down here, I shall be happy to employ you. Farewell.”
I went back the way I had come, till I reached the little hamlet. Seeing a small public-house, I entered it. A good-looking woman, who met me in the passage, ushered me into a neat sanded kitchen, handed me a chair and inquired my commands; I sat down, and told her to bring me some ale; she brought it, and then seated herself by a bench close by the door.
“Rather a quiet place this,” said I, “I have seen but two faces since I came over the hill, and yours is one.”
“Rather too quiet, sir,” said the good woman, “one would wish to have more visitors.”
“I suppose,” said I, “people from Llangollen occasionally come to visit you.”
“Sometimes, sir, for curiosity’s sake; but very rarely—the way is very steep.”
“Do the Tylwyth Teg ever pay you visits?”
“The Tylwyth Teg, sir?”
“Yes; the fairies. Do they never come to have a dance on the green sward in this neighbourhood?”
“Very rarely, sir; indeed, I do not know how long it is since they have been seen.”