to me. 'Twas all right and proper, Sara, and the nurse and
the doctor witnessed it.

"Caton pawb! he thought I had done a lot for him, poor fellow; when, if
he only knew, the Welsh hymns and the talks about Wales had helped me
to get well. I had my hand on his, just like you have yours on mine
now, when he died. He said a few serious words to me before he went,
Sara. I will keep them to myself, but I can tell you they often come
back to my memory. Well, he died and I got well, and as soon as I was
strong enough I hired on board a ship bound for Cardiff. I went at
once to a lawyer to see about my 500 pounds, and I felt a rich man, I
can tell you, but there was no pleasure in it, Sara.

"I would willingly have thrown it over the docks, if that would blot
out one evening behind the broom bushes at Garthowen, and one night
when I saw a sight which spoilt my life. It's twenty minutes to the
starting time yet, Sara. Art tired, or will I tell the rest of my
story?"

"Go on, 'machgen i," said Sara, "tell it me all today, and there will
be no need for us ever to have any more talk about it."

"No; that is what I wish," said Gethin. "Well, with my pay in my
pocket, and 500 pounds at my back, I thought I would enjoy myself as
much as I could, and smother the hiraeth[2] that was so strong upon me,
the longing to go home to see Morva, and you, and the moor, Sara; my
father, Ann, and Will, and all of them were dragging sore at my heart,
so I threw myself in with a lot of roystering fellows, who were bent
upon having as many sprees as they could while their money lasted. I
was keeping away from the Welsh sailors entirely, and my friend, Ben
Barlow, and I were having what they call in English a jolly time. We
went together to a low place near the docks, where there was singing
and dancing every night for sailors. I saw many of my old companions
there and amongst them was a girl called Bella Lewis, who used to come
often to see Kitty Jones in Bryn Street. She wasn't a bad sort
altogether, very kind-hearted and merry. She was altered a good deal
since I saw her last, she looked older and thinner, but she was
laughing and dancing as lively as ever. As soon as she caught sight of
me, she came to me, and I think she was real glad to see me, because
she thought I had been kind to her once when she was ill and very poor.

"'Gethin Owens, I do believe,' she says, 'where have you been all this
long time? Kitty Jones will be