It continued showery all day; and the omnibus was crowded. I had chosen
the outside from Rhyl to Denbigh, but, all the rest of the journey,
imprisoned myself within. On our way home, an old lady got into the
omnibus,--a lady of tremendous rotundity; and as she tumbled from the
door to the farthest part of the carriage, she kept advising all the rest
of the passengers to get out. "I don't think there will be much rain,
gentlemen," quoth she, "you'll be much more comfortable on the outside."
As none of us complied, she glanced along the seats. "What! are you all
Saas'uach?" she inquired. As we drove along, she talked Welsh with great
fluency to one of the passengers, a young woman with a baby, and to as
many others as could understand her. It has a strange, wild sound, like
a language half blown away by the wind. The lady's English was very
good; but she probably prided herself on her proficiency in Welsh. My
excursion to-day had been along the valley of the Clwyd, a very rich and
fertile tract of country.
The next day we all took a long walk on the beach, picking up shells.
On Monday we took an open carriage and drove to Rhyddlan; whence we sent
back the carriage, meaning to walk home along the embankment of the river
Clwyd, after inspecting the castle. The fortress is very ruinous, having
been dismantled by the Parliamentarians. There are great gaps,--two, at
least, in the walls that connect the round towers, of which there were
six, one on each side of a gateway in front, and the same at a gateway
towards the river, where there is a steep descent to a wall and square
tower, at the water-side.
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