In the idea, I suppose, of making the close of the day harmonise with the rest, I found that my worthy host had prepared a light but excellent supper to welcome my return. Finding that he was as intelligent as he was good humoured and attentive, we afterwards requested his company; and by his exact local information and shrewd remarks, he left me less cause to regret the interruption of the learned conversation with the ancient guide. I was soon master of the prevailing topics of the village, to say nothing of its history, topography, and antiquities,—all the little changes, past or in progress, and all those varieties, vicissitudes and freaks of fortune-about as important on the rustic stage as upon the wider theatre of mighty cities.

It was no want of employment, therefore, as that agreeable and obvervant tourist, Mr. Bingley, says was his case at Beddgelert, but the surpassing beauty of the following night, which again tempted me forth.

Proceeding only a short distance, I first beheld the mountain of Craig Llan soaring high above the river which bathed its base, and immediately opposite to the inn. The clear full moon, which threw a mild splendour upon the summits, shone with yet brighter radiance, reflected by the water in strong contrast with the broad, dark shadow of the hills, which lay on the banks and part of the stream. Ascending an eminence, on the Caernarvon side above the vale, I obtained, in succession, a fine view of Moel Hebog, Dinas Emrys, and the lakes and falls at the opening of the three valleys, all clearly yet softly illumined by moon and starlight, and gradually expanding as I approached nearer to the majestic Snowdon. Though differing in character, this view was not

* Among these he never for a moment forgot the primary duty of a host, having modelled his conduct, it seemed to me, on the maxims of Lord Chesterfield-especially the Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re;' fair speech and good bright wine; or if you like it better-an excellent dish well served up. A breakfast, for instance-excellent tea and coffee, fresh salmon-trout hot, a fine lobster, mountain-mutton, ham, and eggs! But it is wholly impossible, as I found it, to do justice to such a subject.

surpassed for splendour and variety by the moonlight scene I had beheld from the pass of Llanberis.

High as my expectations had been, they were at length more than realised; for the sudden view of Vale Gwynant, bursting full upon me in the radiant beauty of such a night, was one of the most wildly picturesque I had ever beheld. It seemed well denominated at the moment the Vale of Waters,-the most lovely of all Snowdon,-comprehending within itself some or other charm peculiar to all its less favoured sisters. As magnificent as beautiful, at no hour could it have been seen under a more favourable aspect-in its richest autumnal hues and softest touches of the season's fall. The majestic calm and beauty of the hills appeared mirrored in the waters at their feet, which glowed with that mellow radiance never seen by day; while afar off the music of the flashing falls alone broke on the deep solitude and silence of the night. Innumerable mild and variegated hues, caught from the serene refulgent skies, contrasted with the dusky shadows of the rocks, painting every object, now bright, half hidden, or deeply obscured, some changing feature continually surprising the eye. And soon, to the eastward, where the mountain begins to recede, came a bolder stream of light, through the opening which revealed the distant peaks of Snowdon, arrayed in all the richness of rainbow hues, from the deepest purple to those gray, brown, and darkening masses which invest the foreground and the base.

The streaks of dawn were just beginning to glimmer in the east, when I betook myself to a cottage in a secluded little nook at the foot of a hill; and there, for once in my life, I proved the truth, that the hardy peasant's couch is softer than any bed of down to the repose won by toil, and that no refreshment is so sweet as that offered by nature to those who know how to appreciate it.

Under no aspect can lake and mountain scenery be viewed to more advantage than in the glow of a clear autumnal night. There is something mournful in its mellow beauty and deep repose, though

V

full of peace, which soothes the imagination; nor are its softer lights and shadows-its dim, undefined outlines-a less pleasing relief to the eye. The emblem of a more perfect rest, however sad the thoughts it often inspires, they have that in them more consoling and even refreshing to the mind than the forced smiles or the boisterous mirth and gayeties of the world. It is the melancholy charm we feel on beholding the prison of Bonnivard from the moon-lit waters of Chillon,-the tombs of the great reformers and benefactors of our race,―or the castellated ruins which frown on us like spectres from the banks of the Rhine; it is the same feeling which attracts our steps to the spots sacred to genius or martyred worth, and one of the noblest enjoyments of travel; and it is, perhaps, derived in part from the consciousness of our transitory and imperfect being.

CHAPTER XI.

THE GLYDER HILLS, TRIFAEN MOUNTAIN, LAKE OGWEN, LLYN IDWALL, AND NANT

FRANGON.

HERE rivers rushing from the upland lake,
With distant roar on rural stillness break;
Now slow, serene, the placid currents creep,
Now roll terrific from the threatening steep;
While rills unnumbered fill the fluid train,
And proudly roll with Ogwen to the main.
Lloyd.

THE next morning I pursued my excursion up the narrow vale watered by the Colwyn, and, through a wildly variegated landscape, came to the lakes near the foot of Mynydd Mawr, a vast precipice, presenting its bold, picturesque outline against the skies; it now threw its broadest shadow over hill, and rock, and vale, while the deep, clear waters of the neighbouring lakes, under the passing shadow of the clouds,-dispersing before the glowing sun,-produced a strangely varied and most pleasing effect. Proceeding on my right along the stupendous base of Snowdon, where the path to its loftiest summit first appears, I rambled towards the romantic Cwellyn,* known to have been long in possession of a family of the same name now extinct.

Through the opening of the expansive hills, which here approach nearer to each other, the sun, pouring a richer flood of light, threw fresh lustre on every object around; and the impression,

* Celebrated of old for the surpassing flavour of its char; and, like most of the lakes and streams round Beddgelert, affording admirable scope for the genius of the angler.

after the splendid night-scenes I had witnessed, was as vivid as it was dazzling to the sight. On my left rose Mynydd Mawr, wild and precipitous in its aspect-seeming yet vaster than it is, from its peculiar half-circular form. Moel Eilan, hardly inferior in majesty, but clothed in more light and verdant colours, presented no less marked a contrast; while not far beyond lay Bettws Garmon, its pretty village and antique church, where, as about Beddgelert, green slooping meadows and pleasant streams unite the milder features of landscape with the vast and sombre hills.

Returning in the afternoon to my favourite inn, I was glad to retire early to repose. The rain had wet me through during my last walk, and I now felt extremely fatigued, cold, and shivering. The church at Beddgelert is supposed to have been erected on the site of an ancient Priory of Augustine Monks. These holy fathers, it further appears, belonged to that class of monks-assuredly the most sociable-called Gilbertines, and consisted of persons of both sexes, who resided under the same roof, divided, however, by a wall; and there is a piece of ground, not far from the spot, which still goes by the name of the Nun's Meadow. is conjectured that the antique arched door-ways, seen on one side of the church, led to the monastery; and that the old mansionhouse was the residence of the good prior, whose pious shade may yet be observed, on the eve of solemn festivals, at the head of his humbler brethren pacing the well-beaten and accustomed path.

It

Being desirous of obtaining admission to the interior, I looked round and observed a little hunch-backed figure, with peculiar eyes and white hair, looking intently at me, and making strong signs for me to desist in trying to unfasten one of the doors. He had a huge bunch of keys at his girdle, to which he pointed significantly, and put his hand upon his pocket, with a broad grin which said, plainer than any words, here is the only legitimate way of entrance. His long arms, his broad, stunted frame, and large feet and hands, with a deep voice and deformed features, brought Scott's descrip