Page:My people stories of the peasantry of West Wales.djvu/159

 you, man? Come down from the old cart.” Pedr eyed the people indulgently.

“Wasn’t that a fairish prayer?” he asked.

“As good as Bryn-Bevan’s,” was the response. “As good as Bryn-Bevan’s!” repeated Pedr.

“Iss, iss, you old owl. Deliver the message.” “Does not the least among you think he is wiser than Pedr?” he reproached them. “But am I not rich in grace? To whom did the little white Jesus come last night? He never visited even Essec. For why? Because when old Essec was dying he said wily words to his son Joshua Llanwen: ‘Keep your purse full and the strings tight, and nothing will fail you.’”

“But, Pedr,” Sadrach the Large explained, “Essec meant these things to come after religion.”