Blair Collection > Rhys Lewis, minister of Bethel

RRYS LEWIS. 255
junctions that Will in the meantime should diligently apply
himself to -weighing and wrapping sugar, which occupation the
said Will considered unworthy of his admitted abilities ; and
t e said Will, following his more congenial inclination, betook
himself to clock-cleaning, thinking that thereby he did not
waste valuable time by putting the time-keeper to rights. But
[in Welsh] it was a bigger job than I had bargained for, my
boy. In pulling the old arrangement to pieces, I had to make
notes of where each piece came from, and what it belonged to.
After cleaning the lot, and rubbing a little butter into every
wheel, screw and bar — there was no oil in the house — it had
got far into the afternoon, notwithstanding I had gone without
my dinner, so as not to lose a minute. It was high time now to
begin putting the pieces together if I wanted to finish before the
gaffer came home. So far— good. But when I went to set my old
Eight-Day to rights, and to consult my notes — you never saw
such a mess. Exactly like Parson Brown, I couldn't make
out what I had written. But I learnt this much — that a man
who takes to cleaning clocks, like the man who goes to preach,
should be able to do the job without notes. You can't imagine
the fix I was in. You must remember that I was labouring
under great disadvantages, all the tools I had being a knife and
a shoemaker's awl. I was sweating like a pig for fear old
Pilgrim's Progress should return from the fair before I got that
precious article together. However, I worked like a nigger,
and slapped up the affair some fashion. But when it was all
over, I found myself with a wheel to spare which I didn't
know in the blessed world what to do with; so I put it in my
pocked. Here it is."
Will showed the wheel.
" Surely to goodness, I put old Eight back in his place, and
wound him up ; but first thing my nabs did was to strike, and
strike, and keep on striking until the weights got to the bottom,
and he could strike no longer. It struck thousands upon thou-
sands did that blessed bell, and the sound of it got into my head
and made me quite stupid. It made such a row that I feared the-
neighbours would think the Hall owner's daughter was going
to get married. After striking all it could, the next thing my
beautiful must do was to stand stock stiil. As long as I kept