THE laugh has been sadly against me today, and, I must confess, with some reason. Not that the cap will fit my head alone, since many a zealous brother antiquary is equally qualified to wear it, as you will allow, when made acquainted with the story. 1 The road to Machynlleth ascends a tiresome hill of two miles in length, but recompenses the traveller when he reaches the summit of it, by a magnificent view of the ocean, and the promontories and headlands which form the spacious bay of Cardigan. Whilst we were admiring this glorious scene, a man of very decent appearance passed us in his way to Aberystwith. Not knowing the track we were to pursue, (for a short distance from us were two diverging roads) we asked for information on this subject. It immediately appeared, that our friend was little qualified to give it, his dialect being a barbarous kind of language, composed of English and Welsh, with the proportion of about one word of the former to ten of the latter. We made out, however, that the left-hand road led to Machynlleth, and the right (as we understood him) to Kilgarran. You know, my dear sir, that I have an ardent passion for Gothic remains; the moment, therefore, the honest man mentioned the name of Kilgarran, I felt the amabilis insania strong within me; the noble ruin of Cardiganshire rushed into my mind, and, totally forgetting that we must have left it at least fifty miles behind us, I eagerly asked whether or not there were an old castle at the place he mentioned. Yes," replied the man, with some hesitation, "but Mr. Pool is not at "home at present." As I did not conceive there was any need of a ciceroni, to conduct us round a ruin, I instantly pressed my companions to quit the Machynlleth road, and visit this precious relic of antiquity. Jn, who did not admire an addition of twelve or fifteen miles to the walk of the day, seemed rather averse to this deviation from the direct track; but I knew how to interest his mind in the object, and immediately repeated, with all the enthusiasm that I myself felt, Warton's noble poem, the scene of which is laid in Kilgarran castle: 66 Stately the feast, and high the cheer: "And canopied with golden pall, "And warlike splendour, Henry sate." This had the desired effect, Jn and C. Cll were now "up to the game," and quitting the man abruptly, we set off at full speed, as if fearful that the old ruin would run away from us, before we could reach 66 the spot on which it stood. We proceeded for two miles, without seeing any thing like the object of our pursuit. At length straining my vision to the utmost, I discerned at a distance something like an old building, and exclaimed, with the rapture of the celebrated geometrician, Ευρηκα, Ευρηκα: « I have found " it, I have found it!" On we pushed therefore, and in twenty minutes reached the ruin, when, lo! instead of a castle, we found a dilapidated barn. Well," said I, shortly after, now I cannot be deceived, I see the extensive remains spread along yonder valley."-Once more we clapped spurs to our heels, and, defying the intense heat of a meridian dogday sun, laboured through lane, and over field, "thorough bog, and thorough briar," for another half hour, when in lieu of Kilgarran castle, nought was to be seen, but a small groupe of peasant's cottages, with their sheds and out-houses. By this time the enthusiasm of my companions was entirely exhausted, and mine, I confess, like Acres's courage, was "oozing out at every pore," when an old man, a cobler by trade, with spectacles on his nose, popping his head out of a cottage door, J▬▬n asked him how far we were from Kilgarran castle?" Alackaday," said the old man, who fortunately spoke English, "there is no castle, gentlemen, in this part of the world. The only house of consequence, near us, is Curgarran, the seat of Mr. Pool, which you passed "about four miles back." The antiquary, you. may suppose, looked a little sheepish on the occasion; he was, however, in merciful hands, who contented themselves with consigning to old Nick all the ruins in the world, and swearing they never would go castle-hunting again. Aware that we must have come greatly out of our road, and that to return would be adding too much to our day's ambulation, we requested the cobler to give us directions across the mountains to Talybont, an inn half way between Aberystwith and Machynlleth. This he did very minutely, and we followed them with great care for two hours but without seeing any thing like a human dwelling. Still we kept on, and still without success; till perplexed by intersecting roads, which every step grew less perceptible, we at length found ourselves at the top of a mountain, perfectly at a loss how to proceed. Rambling on for some time, we discovered a solitary cottage at a considerable distance. To this we directed our steps, |