He replied; I reiterated, and as my temper mounted, vented every imaginable epithet upon his head, and concluded by paying him his wages and sending him about his business.

In one hour more I was upon the road.
"'What road, sir,' said the postilion, as he mounted into the saddle.
"'To the devil, if you please,' said I, throwing myself back in the carriage.
"'Very well, sir,' replied the boy, putting spurs to his horse.
"That evening I arrived in Bedgellert.
"The little humble inn of Bedgellert, with its thatched roof and earthen floor, was a most welcome sight to me, after eleven hours' travelling on a broiling July day.

Behind the very house itself rose the mighty Snowdon, towering high above the other mountains, whose lofty peaks were lost amidst the clouds; before me was the narrow valley--" "Wake me up when he's under way again," said the skipper, yawning fearfully.
"Go on, Sparks," said Power, encouragingly; "I was never more interested in my life; eh, O'Malley ?" "Quite thrilling," responded I, and Sparks resumed.
"Three weeks did I loiter about that sweet spot, my mind filled with images of the past and dreams of the future, my fishing-rod my only companion.
Not, indeed, that I ever caught anything; for, somehow, my tackle was always getting foul of some willow-tree or water-lily, and at last, I gave up even the pretence of whipping the streams.

Well, one day--I remember it as well as though it were but yesterday, it was the 4th of August--I had set off upon an excursion to Llanberris.

I had crossed Snowdon early, and reached the little lake on the opposite side by breakfast time.