"That is single-handed," said I.
"Single-handed, no, nor double-handed either. Let England and France and the State which they are now trying to whip without being able to do it, that"s Russia, all unite in a union to whip the Union, and if instead of whipping the States they don"t get a whipping themselves, call me a braying jacka.s.s-"
"I see, Mr.," said I, "that you are a sensible man, because you speak very much my own opinion. However, as I am an unprejudiced person, like yourself, I wish to do justice to other countries-the States are fine countries-but there are other fine countries in the world. I say nothing of England; catch me saying anything good of England; but I call Wales a fine country: gainsay it who may, I call Wales a fine country."
"So it is, Mr."
"I"ll go farther," said I; "I wish to do justice to everything: I call the Welsh a fine language."
"So it is, Mr. Ah, I see you are an unprejudiced man. You don"t understand Welsh, I guess."
"I don"t understand Welsh," said I; "I don"t understand Welsh. That"s what I call a good one."
"Medrwch siarad c.u.mraeg?" said the short figure, spitting upon the carpet.
"Medraf," said I.
"You can, Mr.! Well, if that don"t whip the Union. But I see: you were born in the States of Welsh parents."
"No harm in being born in the States of Welsh parents," said I.
"None at all, Mr.; I was myself, and the first language I learnt to speak was Welsh. Did your people come from Bala, Mr.?"
"Why no! Did yourn?"
"Why yaas-at least from the neighbourhood. What State do you come from?
Virginny?"
"Why no!"
"Perhaps Pensilvany country?"
"Pensilvany is a fine state," said I.
"So it is, Mr. O, that is your state, is it? I come from Varmont."
"You do, do you? Well, Varmont is not a bad state, but not equal to Pensilvany, and I"ll tell you two reasons why; first, it has not been so long settled, and second, there is not so much Welsh blood in it as there is in Pensilvany."
"Is there much Welsh blood in Pensilvany, then?"
"Plenty, Mr., plenty. Welsh flocked over to Pensilvany even as far back as the time of William Penn, who, as you know, Mr., was the first founder of the Pensilvany State. And that puts me in mind that there is a curious account extant of the adventures of one of the old Welsh settlers in Pensilvania. It is to be found in a letter in an old Welsh book. The letter is dated 1705, and is from one Huw Jones, born of Welsh parents in Pensilvany country to a cousin of his of the same name, residing in the neighbourhood of this very town of Bala in Merionethshire where you and I, Mr., now are. It is in answer to certain inquiries made by the cousin, and is written in pure old Welsh language. It gives an account of how the writer"s father left this neighbourhood to go to Pensilvania; how he embarked on board the ship _William Pen_; how he was thirty weeks on the voyage from the Thames to the Delaware. Only think, Mr., of a ship now-a-days being thirty weeks on the pa.s.sage from the Thames to the Delaware river; how he learnt the English language on the voyage; how he and his companions nearly perished with hunger in the wild wood after they landed; how Pensilvania city was built; how he became a farmer and married a Welsh woman, the widow of a Welshman from shire Denbigh, by whom he had the writer and several other children; how the father used to talk to his children about his native region, and the places round about Bala, and fill their b.r.e.a.s.t.s with longing for the land of their fathers; and finally how the old man died, leaving his children and their mother in prosperous circ.u.mstances. It is a wonderful letter, Mr., all written in the pure old Welsh language."
"I say, Mr., you are a cute one, and know a thing or two. I suppose Welsh was the first language you learnt, like myself?"
"No, it wasn"t-I like to speak the truth-never took to either speaking or reading the Welsh language till I was past sixteen."
""Stonishing! but see the force of blood at last. In any line of business?"
"No, Mr., can"t say I am."
"Have money in your pocket, and travel for pleasure. Come to see father"s land."
"Come to see old Wales. And what brings you here, Hiraeth?"
"That"s longing. No, not exactly. Came over to England to see what I could do. Got in with house at Liverpool in the drapery business.
Travel for it hereabouts, having connections and speaking the language.
Do branch business here for a banking-house besides. Manage to get on smartly."
"You look a smart un. But don"t you find it sometimes hard to compete with English travellers in the drapery line?"
"I guess not. English travellers! set of nat"rals. Don"t know the language and nothing else. Could whip a dozen any day. Regularly flummox them."
"You do, Mr.? Ah, I see you"re a cute un. Glad to have met you."
"I say, Mr., you have not told me from what county your forefathers were."
"From Norfolk and Cornwall counties."
"Didn"t know there were such counties in Wales."
"But there are in England."
"Why, you told me you were of Welsh parents."
"No, I didn"t. You told yourself so."
"But how did you come to know Welsh?"
"Why, that"s my bit of a secret."
"But you are of the United States?"
"Never knew that before."
"Mr., you flummox me."
"Just as you do the English drapery travellers. Ah, you"re a cute un-but do you think it altogether a cute trick to stow all those sovereigns in that drawer?"
"Who should take them out, Mr.?"
"Who should take them out? Why, any of the swell mob, that should chance to be in the house, might unlock the drawer with their flash keys as soon as your back is turned, and take out all the coin."
"But there are none of the swell mob here."
"How do you know that?" said I; "the swell mob travel wide about-how do you know that I am not one of them?"
"The swell mob don"t speak Welsh, I guess."