Muse,
he drew up a statute relating to poets and poetry, and at the great
Eisteddfodd, or poetical congress, held at Carmarthen in the year
1450, under the auspices of Griffith, which was attended by the
most celebrated bards of the north and south, he officiated as
judge, in conjunction with the chieftain, upon the compositions of
the bards who competed for the prize - a little silver chair. Not
without reason, therefore, do the inhabitants of Machynlleth
consider the residence of such a man within their walls, though at
a far by-gone period, as conferring a lustre on their town, and
Lewis Meredith has probability on his side when, in his pretty poem
on Glen Dyfi, he says:-
"Whilst fair Machynlleth decks thy quiet plain,
Conjoined with it shall Lawdden's name remain."
CHAPTER LXXX
The Old Ostler - Directions - Church of England Man - The Deep
Dingle - The Two Women - The Cutty Pipe - Waen y Bwlch - The Deaf
and Dumb - The Glazed Hat.
I ROSE on the morning of the 2nd of November intending to proceed
to the Devil's Bridge, where I proposed halting a day or two, in
order that I might have an opportunity of surveying the far-famed
scenery of that locality. After paying my bill I went into the
yard to my friend the old ostler, to make inquiries with respect to
the road.
"What kind of road," said I, "is it to the Devil's Bridge?"
"There are two roads, sir, to the Pont y Gwr Drwg; which do you
mean to take?"
"Why do you call the Devil's Bridge the Pont y Gwr Drwg, or the
bridge of the evil man?"
"That we may not bring a certain gentleman upon us, sir, who
doesn't like to have his name taken in vain."
"Is their much difference between the roads?"
"A great deal, sir; one is over the hills, and the other round by
the valleys."
"Which is the shortest?"
"Oh, that over the hills, sir; it is about twenty miles from here
to the Pont y Gwr Drwg over the hills, but more than twice that by
the valleys."
"Well, I suppose you would advise me to go by the hills?"
"Certainly, sir - that is, if you wish to break your neck, or to
sink in a bog, or to lose your way, or perhaps, if night comes on,
to meet the Gwr Drwg himself taking a stroll. But to talk soberly.
The way over the hills is an awful road, and, indeed, for the
greater part is no road at all."
"Well, I shall go by it. Can't you give me some directions?"
"I'll do my best, sir, but I tell you again that the road is a
horrible one, and very hard to find."
He then went with me to the gate of the inn, where he began to give
me directions, pointing to the south, and mentioning some names of
places through which I must pass, amongst which were Waen y Bwlch
and Long Bones.
