tted Lord V--- said that the Bench found the prisoner guilty; that
they had taken into consideration what his counsel had said in his
defence, but that they could come to no other conclusion, more especially
as the accused was known to have been frequently guilty of similar
offences. They fined him four pounds, including costs.

As the people were going out I said to the farmer in Welsh: "A bad affair
this."

"Drwg iawn"--very bad indeed, he replied.

"Did these fellows speak truth?" said I.

"Nage--Dim ond celwydd"--not they! nothing but lies.

"Dear me!" said I to myself, "what an ill-treated individual!"

CHAPTER LXXIX

Machynlleth--Remarkable Events--Ode to Glendower--Dafydd Gam--Lawdden's
Hatchet.

Machynlleth, pronounced Machuncleth, is one of the principal towns of the
district which the English call Montgomeryshire, and the Welsh Shire
Trefaldwyn or the Shire of Baldwin's town, Trefaldwyn or the town of
Baldwin being the Welsh name for the town which is generally termed
Montgomery. It is situated in nearly the centre of the valley of the
Dyfi, amidst pleasant green meadows, having to the north the river, from
which, however, it is separated by a gentle hill. It possesses a stately
church, parts of which are of considerable antiquity, and one or two good
streets. It is a thoroughly Welsh town, and the inhabitants, who amount
in number to about four thousand, speak the ancient British language with
considerable purity.

Machynlleth has been the scene of remarkable events, and is connected
with remarkable names, some of which have rung through the world. At
Machynlleth, in 1402, Owen Glendower, after several brilliant victories
over the English, held a parliament in a house which is yet to be seen in
the Eastern Street, and was formally crowned King of Wales; in his
retinue was the venerable bard Iolo Goch, who, imagining that he now saw
the old prophecy fulfilled, namely, that a prince of the race of
Cadwaladr should rule the Britons, after emancipating them from the Saxon
yoke, greeted the chieftain with an ode, to the following effect:--

"Here's the life I've sigh'd for long:
Abash'd is now the Saxon throng,
And Britons have a British lord
Whose emblem is the conquering sword;
There's none I trow but knows him well,
The hero of the watery dell,
Owain of bloody spear in field,
Owain his country's strongest shield;
A sovereign bright in grandeur dres