I Shall Take This
Opportunity Of Mentioning What From Experience And Ocular Testimony
I Have Observed Respecting The Nature Of Dogs.
A dog is in general
sagacious, but particularly with respect to his master; for when he
has for some
Time lost him in a crowd, he depends more upon his nose
than upon his eyes; and, in endeavouring to find him, he first looks
about, and then applies his nose, for greater certainty, to his
clothes, as if nature had placed all the powers of infallibility in
that feature. The tongue of a dog possesses a medicinal quality;
the wolf's, on the contrary, a poisonous: the dog heals his wounds
by licking them, the wolf, by a similar practice, infects them; and
the dog, if he has received a wound in his neck or head, or any part
of his body where he cannot apply his tongue, ingeniously makes use
of his hinder foot as a conveyance of the healing qualities to the
parts affected.
CHAPTER VIII
Passage of the rivers Avon and Neth - and of Abertawe and Goer
Continuing our journey, {89} not far from Margan, where the
alternate vicissitudes of a sandy shore and the tide commence, we
forded over the river Avon, having been considerably delayed by the
ebbing of the sea; and under the guidance of Morgan, eldest son of
Caradoc, proceeded along the sea-shore towards the river Neth,
which, on account of its quicksands, is the most dangerous and
inaccessible river in South Wales. A pack-horse belonging to the
author, which had proceeded by the lower way near the sea, although
in the midst of many others, was the only one which sunk down into
the abyss, but he was at last, with great difficulty, extricated,
and not without some damage done to the baggage and books. Yet,
although we had Morgan, the prince of that country, as our
conductor, we did not reach the river without great peril, and some
severe falls; for the alarm occasioned by this unusual kind of road,
made us hasten our steps over the quicksands, in opposition to the
advice of our guide, and fear quickened our pace; whereas, through
these difficult passages, as we there learned, the mode of
proceeding should be with moderate speed. But as the fords of that
river experience a change by every monthly tide, and cannot be found
after violent rains and floods, we did not attempt the ford, but
passed the river in a boat, leaving the monastery of Neth {90} on
our right hand, approaching again to the district of St. David's,
and leaving the diocese of Landaf (which we had entered at
Abergevenny) behind us.
It happened in our days that David II., bishop of St. David's,
passing this way, and finding the ford agitated by a recent storm, a
chaplain of those parts, named Rotherch Falcus, being conversant in
the proper method of crossing these rivers, undertook, at the desire
of the bishop, the dangerous task of trying the ford. Having
mounted a large and powerful horse, which had been selected from the
whole train for this purpose, he immediately crossed the ford, and
fled with great rapidity to the neighbouring woods, nor could he be
induced to return until the suspension which he had lately incurred
was removed, and a full promise of security and indemnity obtained;
the horse was then restored to one party, and his service to the
other.
Entering the province called Goer, {91} we spent the night at the
castle of Sweynsei, {92} which in Welsh is called Abertawe, or the
fall of the river Tawe into the sea. The next morning, the people
being assembled after mass, and many having been induced to take the
cross, an aged man of that district, named Cador, thus addressed the
archbishop: "My lord, if I now enjoyed my former strength, and the
vigour of youth, no alms should ransom me, no desire of inactivity
restrain me, from engaging in the laudable undertaking you preach;
but since my weak age and the injuries of time deprive me of this
desirable benefit (for approaching years bring with them many
comforts, which those that are passed take away), if I cannot, owing
to the infirmity of my body, attain a full merit, yet suffer me, by
giving a tenth of all I possess, to attain a half." Then falling
down at the feet of the archbishop, he deposited in his hands, for
the service of the cross, the tenth of his estate, weeping bitterly,
and intreating from him the remission of one half of the enjoined
penance. After a short time he returned, and thus continued: "My
lord, if the will directs the action, and is itself, for the most
part, considered as the act, and as I have a full and firm
inclination to undertake this journey, I request a remission of the
remaining part of the penance, and in addition to my former gift, I
will equal the sum from the residue of my tenths." The archbishop,
smiling at his devout ingenuity, embraced him with admiration.
On the same night, two monks, who waited in the archbishop's
chamber, conversing about the occurrences of their journey, and the
dangers of the road, one of them said (alluding to the wildness of
the country), "This is a hard province;" the other (alluding to the
quicksands), wittily replied, "Yet yesterday it was found too soft."
A short time before our days, a circumstance worthy of note occurred
in these parts, which Elidorus, a priest, most strenuously affirmed
had befallen himself. When a youth of twelve years, and learning
his letters, since, as Solomon says, "The root of learning is
bitter, although the fruit is sweet," in order to avoid the
discipline and frequent stripes inflicted on him by his preceptor,
he ran away, and concealed himself under the hollow bank of a river.
After fasting in that situation for two days, two little men of
pigmy stature appeared to him, saying, "If you will come with us, we
will lead you into a country full of delights and sports."
Assenting and rising up, he followed his guides through a path, at
first subterraneous and dark, into a most beautiful country, adorned
with rivers and meadows, woods and plains, but obscure, and not
illuminated with the full light of the sun.
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