Popular Superstitions. On Washing Linen : ON WASHING LINEN "THEY that wash Monday got all the week to dry, They that wash Tuesday are pretty near by, They that wash Wednesday make a good housewife, They that wash Thursday must wash for their life, They that wash Friday must wash in need, They that wash Saturday are sluts indeed."
Demons And Spectres. The Ghost Of Rosewarne : THE GHOST OF ROSE WARNE. EZEKIEL GROSSE, gent., attorney-at-law," bought the land of Rosewarne from one of the De Rosewarnes, who had become involved in difficulties, by endeavouring, without sufficient means, to support the dignity of his family. There is reason for believing that Ezekiel w...
Demons And Spectres. The Haunted Widower : THE HAUNTED WIDOWER A LABOURING man, very shortly after his wife's death, .sent to a servant girl, living at the time in a small shipping port, requesting her to come to the inn to him. The girl went, and over a "ha' pint" she agreed to accept him as her husband. All went on pleasantly enough...
Romances Of The Mermaids. Morva Or Morveth : ROMANCES OF THE MERMAIDS. MORVA OR MORVETH (Sea-daughters). You dwell not on land, but in the flood, Which would not with me agree.' -- Duke Magnus and the Mermaid.--SMALAND THE parish of this name is situated on the north-west coast of Cornwall, - the parish of St Just being on its western...
Demons And Spectres. The Parson And His Clerk : THE PARSON AND CLERK. NEAR Dawlish stand, out in the sea, two rocks, of red sand-stone conglomerate, to which the above name is given. Seeing that this forms a part of Old Cornwall, I do not go beyond my limits in telling the true story of these singular rocks. The Bishop of Exeter was sick un...
Romances Of Arthur. King Arthur In The Form : KING ARTHUR IN THE FORM OF A CHOUGH. I QUOTE the following as it stands :-- [a] "In Jarvis's translation of ' Don Quixote,' book ii. chap. V., the following passage occurs -- "'Have you not read, sir,' answered Don Quixote, 'the annals and histories of England, wherein are recorded the famous...
Demons And Spectres. Jago's Demon : JAGO'S DEMON. THE vicar of Wendron, who bore the name of Jago, appears to have had strange intercourse with the invisible world; or, rather, the primitive people of this district believe him to have possessed supernatural powers. Any one visiting the parish of Wendron will be struck with many...
Appendix. Rock Masses, Celtic : ROCK MASSES, CELTIC "THE Celts, or Ke, or Ke were a people of the origin of which nothing positive is known. They occupied a great part of Western Europe perhaps in times antecedent to the invasion of Indo-Germanic nations. "The very name "Celt" is of uncertain etymology. Ammian derives it...
Romances Of The Rocks. The Men Scryfa : THE MEN-SCRYFA. AT the entrance to Penzance rises, rather abruptly, a hill, crowned with a very remarkable earthwork. It is known as Castle Lesgudzhek, or, the " Castle of the Bloody Field," to this day. Tradition, our only guide, tells us that this castle was one of the strong places of a British...
Popular Superstitions. The Horns On The Church : THE HORNS ON THE CHURCH TOWER. WHEN the masons were building the tower of Towednack Church, the devil came every night and carried off the pinnacles and battlements. Again and again this work was renewed during the day, and as often was it removed during the night, until at length the builders...
The Fairies. Changelings : CHANGELINGS. A CORRESPONDENT, to whom I am much indebted for many curious examples of the folk-lore of the people in the -remote districts to the west of Penzance, says, in reference to some stories of fairy changelings--"I never knew but one child that had been kept by the Spriggans more th...
Appendix. Pengerswick : PENGERSWICK ANOTHER legend relates that it was not the stepmother found by Pengerswick whose "skin was covered with scales like a serpent," but that the lady brought 'home from Palestine by him was an Ophidian--a serpent-worshipper. Hence she became celebrated as a woman possessed by...
Holy Wells. Rickety Children : RICKETY CHILDREN. THE practice of bathing rickety children on the first three, Wednesdays in May is still far from uncommon in the outlying districts of Cornwall. The parents will walk many miles for the purpose of dipping the little sufferers in some well, from which the "healing virtue" has not...
Sham Mayors. The Mayor Of St Germans : SHAM MAYORS. II.--THE MAYOR OF ST GERMANS. One of the first objects that attracts attention, on entering the village of St Germans is the large walnut-tree, at the foot of what is called Nut-Tree Hill. In the early part of the present century there was a very ancient dwelling a few yards...
Traditions Of Tinners. The Black Dogs : THE BLACK DOGS. ABOUT thirty years since, a man and a lad were engaged in sinking a shaft at Wheal Vor Mine, when the lad, through carelessness or accident, missed in charging a hole, so that a necessity arose for the dangerous operation of picking out the charge. This they proceeded to do...
Romances Of Lost Cities. The Padstow hobby Horse : THE PADSTOW "HOBBY-HORSE." [a] AT the time of the spring festival, which is observed at Helston as a revel in honour, probably, of Flora, and hence called the "Furry-day," and by the blowing of horns and gathering of the "May" in St Ives and other places, the people of Padstow were a few years...
Romances Of Fishermen And Sailors. Whipping : WHIPPING THE HAKE. IT is not improbable that the saying applied to the people of one of the Cornish fishing-towns, of" Who whipped the hake ?" may be explained by the following :-- "Lastly, they are persecuted by the hakes, who (not long silence) haunted the coast in great abundance; but now being...
The Giants. Trebiggan The Giant : TREBIGGAN THE GIANT [a] TREBEGEAN is the name of a village near the Land's End. This name, as we have already stated, signifies the town of the giant's grave. The giant's existence was confirmed by the discovery of a vault and some large bones in it, on this spot. [b] Trebiggan divides with...
Miscellaneous Stories. The Legend Of Tamara : THE LEGEND OF TAMARA THE lovely nymph Tamara was born in a cavern. Although her parents were spirits of the earth, the child loved the light of day. Often had they chided her for yielding to her desires and visiting the upper world; and often had they warned her against the consequences which...
The Fairies. The Muryan's Bank : THE MURYANS' BANK [a] The ant is called by the peasantry a Muryan. Believing that they are the Small People in their state of decay from off the earth, it is deemed most unlucky to destroy a colony of ants. If you place a oiece of tin in a bank of Muryans at a certain age of the moon, it will be...
The Fairies. The Pixies Of Dartmoor : THE PIXIES OF DARTMOOR. THERE is a celebrated piskie haunt at Costellas in Cornwall (says Mrs Bray), where they have been seen sitting in a ring--the men smoking after.the most approved fashion of the Dutch burgomaster, and the women spinning, perhaps in emulation of the frugal vrow. I never heard...
Popular Superstitions. by Hook Or : "BY HOOK OR BY CROOK." IN the parish of Egles-Hayle are two crosses, known as "Peverell's Crosses;" and near Mount Charles, also in this parish, is another "moorstone" cross, called the Prior's Cross, whereon is cut the figure of a hook and a crook, in memory of the privileges granted by a pri...
Miscellaneous Stories. Saint Gerennius : SAINT GERENNIUS THIS reached me, at too late a period to be included with the legends of the saints :-- "The beacon at Veryan stands on the highest ground in Roseland, at a short distance from the cliff which overlooks Pendower and Gerrans Bay. Dr Whitaker, in his 'Cathedral of Cornwall,' states...
Appendix. The Mermaid's Revenge : THE MERMAID'S VENGEANCE "INEVITABLE death awaits the wretch who is seduced by their charms. They seize and drown the swimmer, and entice the child; aitd when they anticipate that their malevolence will be gratified, they are seen gaily darting over the surface of the waters." Since lhis tale h...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. Trewa, The Home : TREWA, OR TREWE, THE HOME OF WITCHES. AS we walk from Nancledrea Bottoms towards Zennor we pass Trewa (pronounced "Truee), "which is said to have been the place where at Midsummer all the witches of the west met. Here are the remains of very ancient tin stream works, and these, I was informed...
The Fairies. The Fairy Revels On The gump : THE FAIRY REVELS ON THE "GUMP", ST. JUST. LONG has the Gump been the reputed playground of the Small People. Many of the good old people were permitted to witness their revels, and for years they have delighted their grandchildren with tales of the songs they have heard, and of the sights they...
Popular Superstitions. The Spark On The Candle : THE SPARK ON THE CANDLE. A BRIGHT spark on the candle-wick indicates a letter coming to the house. The person towards whom it shines will receive it. The time of its arrival is determined by striking the bottom of the candlestick on the table. If the spark comes off on the first blow, it will be...
Popular Superstitions. Peculiar Words And Phrases : PECULIAR WORDS AND PHRASES [a] "THE people in the west," writes a correspondent, "have I adopted many words from the Danish invaders." Tradition assures us that the sea-rovers of the North frequently landed at Witsand Bay, burned and pillaged the villages of Escols and Mayon, sometimes took off...
The Giants. The Giant Of St. Michael's Mount : THE GIANT OF ST MICHAEL'S MOUNT LOSES HIS WIFE. THE giant on the Mount and the giant on Trecrobben Hill were very friendly. They had only one cobbling-hammer between them, which they would throw from one to the other, as either required it. One day the giant on the Mount wanted the hammer...
Miscellaneous Stories. Goldsithney Fair : GOLDSITHNEY FAIR AND THE GLOVE ON the 5th of August, St James's day (old style), a fair is held here, which was originally held in the Church-town of Sithney near Helston. In olden time, the good "St" Perran the Little gave to the wrestlers in his parish a glove as the prize, and the winner...
Popular Superstitions. The Black Cat's Tail : THE BLACK CAT'S TAIL THOSE little gatherings which occur on the eyelids of children, locally called "whilks," are cured by passing a black cat's tail nine times over the place. If a ram cat, the cure is more certain.
Miscellaneous Stories. The Clerks Of Cornwall : THE CLERKS OF CORNWALL. I. "IN the last age there was a familiarity between the parson and the clerk and the people which our feelings of decorum would revolt at "-- e.g., "'I have seen the ungodly flourish like a green bay.tree.' 'How can that be, maister ?' said the clerk of St Clement's...
Popular Superstitions. Weather Signs : WEATHER SIGNS. THE WEATHER DOG--It frequently happens in unsettled weather that banks of rain-cloud gather around the horizon, and that, over isolated tracts, the rain falls. If these depositions from this low stratum of clouds occur opposite to the sun, the lower limb of a bow is formed, often...
Legends Of The Saints. Legends Of The Saints : LEGENDS OF THE SAINTS. "This lik monk let olde thinges pace, And held after the new world the trace. He gave not of the text a pulled hen, That saith, that hunters be not holy men, Ne that a monk, when he is reckless, Is like to a fish that is waterless; This is to say, a monk out of his cloister...
The Giants. Corineus And Gogmagog : CORINEUS AND GOGMAGOG. WHO can dare question such an authority as John Milton? In his "History of Britain, that part especially now called England. From the first Traditional beginning continued to the Norman Conquest. Collected out of the antientest and best authors ther." he gives us the story...
Demons And Spectres. The Spectral Coach : THE SPECTRAL COACH.[a] "You have heard of such a spirit, and well you know The superstitius, idle-headed eld Received and did deliver to our age This tale of Herne the Hunter for a truth." -- MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR. HE old vicarage-house at Talland, as seen from the Looe road, its low roof...
Popular Superstitions. Moon Superstitions : MOON SUPERSTITIONS. THE following superstitions are still prevalent on the north coast of Cornwall :-- "This root (the sea-poppy), so much valued for removing all pains in the breast, stomach, and intestines, is good also for disordered lungs, and is so much better here than in other places, th...
Sham Mayors. The Faction Fight At Cury Great Tree : THE FACTION FIGHT AT CURY GREAT TREE. ON a green knoll in the centre of the intersection of the road from Helston to the Lizard, and Mawgan to Cury, flourished an ash-tree of magnificent dimensions. The peculiarity of its position, together with its unusual size, in the midst of a district...
Popular Superstitions. Shooting Stars : SHOOTING STARS A MUCILAGINOUS substance is found on the damp ground near the granite quarries of Penryn, this is often very phosphorescent at night. The country people regard this as the substance of shooting stars. A tradesman of Penryn once brought me a bottle full of this substance for analysis...
Demons And Spectres. Sir Francis Drake : SIR FRANCIS DRAKE AND HIS DEMON. SIR FRANCIS DRAKE--who appears to have been especially befriended by his demon--is said to drive at night a black hearse drawn by headless horses, and urged on by running devils and yelping, headless dogs, through Jump, on the road from Tavistock to Plymouth. Sir...
The Fairies. The Fairy Miners.The Knockers : THE FAIRY MINERS--THE KNOCKERS. AT Ransom Mine the "Knockers" were always very active in their subterranean operations. In every part of the mine their "knockings" were heard, but most especially were they busy in one particular "end." There was a general impression that great wealth must exist...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. The Lord Of Pengerswick : THE LORD OF PENGERSWICK AN ENCHANTER. THE Lord of Pengerswick came from some Eastern clime, bringing with him a foreign lady of great beauty. She was considered by all an "outlandish" woman; and by many declared to be a "Saracen." [a] No one, beyond the selected servants, was ever allowed with...
Romances Of The Rocks. The Logan Or Loging Rock : THE LOGAN OR LOGING ROCK. [a] MODRED, in Mason's" Caractacus," addressing Vellinus and Elidurus, says-- "Thither, youths, Turn your astonish'd eyes; behold yon huge And unhewn sphere of living adamant, Which, poised by magic, rests its central weight On yonder pointed rock: firm as it seems, Such...
Miscellaneous Stories. Cornish Dialogue : CORNISH DIALOGUE AS the Cornish dialogue peculiarly illustrates a description of literary composition which has no resemblance to that of any county, I think it advisable to give one specimen :-- DIALOGUE BETWEEN MAL TRELOARE AND SAUNDRY KEMP. 'Twas Kendle teening, when jung Mal Treloare Trudg'd...
Romances Of Arthur. The Cornish Chough : THE CORNISH CHOUGH. THE tradition relative to King Arthur and his transformation into a raven, is fixed very decidedly on the Cornish Chough, from the colour of its beak and talons. The -- "Talons and beak all red with blood" are said to mark the violent end to which this celebrated chieftain came.
The Giants. The Giant Bolster : THE GIANT BOLSTER. HIS mighty man held especial possession of the hill formerly known as Carne Bury-anacht or "Bury-anack", [a] "the sparstone grave," sometimes called "St Agnes' Ball" and "St Agnes' Pestis", but which is now named, from the use made of the hill during the long war, St Agnes'...
Romances Of The Rocks. The Men An Tol : THE MEN-AN-TOL NOT more than two miles from Penzance stands the celebrated cromlech of Lanyon -- often pronounced Lanine. This, like all the other cromlechs, marks, no doubt, the resting-place of a British chieftain, many of whose followers repose within a short distance of this, the principal...
The Fairies. The Elfin Creed Of Cornwall : THE FAIRIES THE ELFIN CREED OF CORNWALL. Elves, urchins, goblins all, and little fairyes."--"Mad Franke,." "I do wander everywhere, Swifter than the moone's sphere; And I serve the fairy queen, To dew her orbs upon the green." --SHAKESPEARE. "By the moon we sport and play; With the night begins...
Holy Wells. The Preservation Of Holy Wells : THE PRESERVATION OF HOLY WELLS. IT is a very common notion amongst the peasantry, that a retribution overtakes those who wilfully destroy monuments such as stone circles, crosses, wells, and the like. Mr Blight writes me--"Whilst at Boscaswell, in St Just, a few weeks since, an old man told me...
Customs Of Ancient Days. Crying The Neck : CRYING THE NECK. OWING to the uncertain character of the climate of Cornwall, the farmers have adopted the plan of gathering the sheaves of wheat, as speedily as possible, into "arishmows." These are solid cones from ten to twelve feet high, the heads of the stalks turned inwards, and the whole...
Romances Of Fishermen And Sailors. The Drowned : THE DROWNED "HAILING THEIR NAMES." THE fishermen dread to walk at night near those parts of the I shore where there may have been wrecks. The souls of the drowned sailors appear to haunt those. spots, and the "calling of the dead" has frequently been heard. I have been told that, under cert...
Appendix. St Piran's Day And Picrous Day : ST PIRAN'S-DAY AND PICROUS-DAY. HONE, in his "Every-Day Book," has the following remarks on St Piran : "This saint, anciently of good repute in Cornwall, is not mentioned by Butler. According to Porter, he was born in Ireland, and became a hermit there. He afterwards came to England, and settling...
Death Tokens And Superstitions. Popular Superstitions : POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS IT is, or rather was, believed, In nearly every part of the West of England, that death is retarded, and the dying kept in a state of suffering, by having any lock closed, or any bolt shot, in the dwelling of the dying person. A man cannot die easy on a bed made of fowls'...
Death Tokens And Superstitions. Sir John Arundell : SIR JOHN ARUNDELL. IN the first year of the reign of Edward IV., the brave Sir John Arundell dwelt on the north coast of Cornwall, at a place called Efford, on the coast near Stratton. He was a magistrate, and greatly esteemed amongst men for his honourable conduct. He had, however, in his...
Holy Wells. Chapell Uny : CHAPELL UNY. ON the first three Wednesdays in May, children suffering from mesenteric diseases are dipped three times in this well, against the sun, and "dragged "three times around the well on the grass, in the same direction.
Romances Of Fishermen And Sailors. The Voice : THE VOICE FROM THE SEA. A FISHERMAN or a pilot was walking one night on the sands at Porth-Towan, when all was still save the monotonous fall of the light waves upon the sand. He distinctly heard a voice from the sea exclaiming,-- "The hour is come, but not the man." This was repeated three times...
Popular Superstitions. Cures For Whooping Cough : CURES FOR WHOOPING COUGH I. GATHER nine spar stones from a running stream, taking care not to interrupt the free passage of the water in doing so Then dip a quart of water from the stream, which must be taken in the direction in which the stream runs ;-- by no means must the vessel be dipped...
Appendix. The City Of Langarrow Or Lang : THE CITY OF LANGARROW OR LANGONA.-- PERRAN CHURCHES. NEAR the oldest Perran church there formerly existed a lake called the "Vlow", and across this lake the sand was never blown. The sands encroached rapidly on the first church, and it was resolved by the parish to build a church on the other side...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. Cornish Sorcerors : CORNISH SORCERERS. THE powers of the sorcerer appear to have been passed on from father to son through a long succession of generations. There are many families--the descendants from the ancient Cornish people--who are even yet supposed to possess remarkable powers of one kind or another. Several...
Legends Of The Saints. The Saint's Path : THE SAINT'S PATH. The path along which St Leven was accustomed to walk from Bodellen, by Rospletha, on to St Leven's Rocks, as they are still called, may be yet seen; the grass grows greener wherever the good priest trod than in any other part of the fields through which the footpath passes.
Romances Of Fire Worship. Baal Fires : BAAL FIRES. OF these Cornish Midsummer fires an account is given by a correspondent in Hone's "Year Book," which I quote entire, not because I can agree with the writer in all his views, but because he places the main question in a fair light:-- "An immemorial and peculiar custom prevails...
The Fairies. Anne Jeffries And The Fairies : ANNE JEFFERIES AND THE FAIRIES. ANNE JEFFERIES was the daughter of a poor labouring man, who lived in the parish of St Teath. She was born in 1626, and is supposed to have died in 1698. When she was nineteen years old, Anne, who was a remarkably sharp and clever girl, went to live as a servant...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. How To Become A Witch : HOW TO BECOME A WITCH. TOUCH a Logan stone nine times at midnight, and any woman I will become a witch. A more certain plan is said to be--To get on the Giant's Rock at Zennor Church-town nine times without shaking it. Seeing that this rock was at one time a very sensitive Logan stone, the task...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. Madgy Figgy's Chair : MADGY FIGGY'S CHAIR. ALL those who have visited the fine piles of rocks in th vicinity of the so-called "St Levan," Land's-End, callec Tol-Pedden-Penwith, - and infinitely finer than anything immediately surrounding the most western promontory itself,--cannot have failed to notice the arrangement...
Demons And Spectres. The Spectre Bridegroom : THE SPECTRE BRIDEGROOM. LONG, long ago a farmer named Lenine lived in Boscean. He had but one son, Frank Lenine, who was indulged into waywardness by both his parents. In addition to the farm servants, there was one, a young girl, Nancy Trenoweth, who especially assisted Mrs Lenine in all...
Death Tokens And Superstitions. The Death. Part 02 : DEATH TOKENS AND SUPERSTITIONS. "Continually at my bed's head A hearse doth hang, which doth me tell That I ere morning may be dead, Though now I feel myself full well." ROBERT SOUTHWELL THE DEATH-TOKEN OF THE VINGOES. "The messenger of God With golden trumpet I see, With many other angels more...
Popular Superstitions. A Loose Garter : A LOOSE GARTER. IF an unmarried woman's garter loosens when she is walking, her sweetheart is thinking of her.
Popular Superstitions. A Cure For Rheumatism : A CURE FOR RHEUMATISM CRAWL under a bramble which has formed a second root in the ground. Or get a woman who has been delivered of a child feet foremost, to tread the patient.
Miscellaneous Stories. The Spaniard At Penryn : THE SPANIARD AT PENRYN IN the reign of James I. there happened to be upon our coast a Spanish vessel of war. Favoured by the mists of evening and the growing darkness, the ship entered Falmouth Harbour unseen. The crew armed themselves, and taking to their boats, proceeded with great cauti...
The Giants. The Giants Of The Mount : THE GIANTS OF THE MOUNT. THE history of the redoubtable Jack proves that St Michael's Mount was the abode of the giant Cormelian, or, as the name is sometimes given, Cormoran. We are told how Jack destroyed the giant, and the story ends. Now, the interesting part, which has been forgotten...
Holy Wells. The Well Of St Constantine : THE WELL OF ST CONSTANTINE. IN the parish of St Merran, or Meryn, near Padstow, are the remains of the Church of St Constantine, and the holy well of that saint. It had been an unusually hot and dry summer, and all the crops were perishing through want of water. The people inhabiting the parish...
Legends Of The Saints. The Longstone : THE LONGSTONE. THE GIANT'S HAT AND STAFF. SOME say it was St Roach, others refer it to St Austell; but all agree in one thing, that the Longstone was once the staff of some holy man, and that its present state is owing to the malignant persecution of the demon of darkness. It happened after this...
Popular Superstitions. The Convalescent's Walk : THE CONVALESCENT'S WALK. IF an invalid goes out for the first time and makes a circuit, this circuit must be with the sun; if against the sun, there will be a relapse.
Holy Wells. St Gundred's Well At Roach Rock : ST GUNDRED'S WELL AT ROACH ROCK. CAREW, in his "Survey of Cornwall," p. 139 (p. 324, Lord Dunstanville's edit.), tells us, "near this rock there is another which, having a pit in it, containeth water which ebbs and flows as the sea does. I was thereupon very curious to inspect this matter...
Holy Wells. The Well Of St Ludgvan : THE WELL OF ST LUDGVAN. AT LUDGVAN, an Irish missionary, had finished his work. On the hill-top, looking over the most beautiful of bays, the church stood with all its blessings. Yet the saint, knowing human nature, determined on associating with it some object of a miraculous character, which...
Popular Superstitions. Lights Seen : LIGHTS SEEN BY THE CONVERTED. THERE is, in many parts of the county, a belief, derived no doubt from the recollection of St Paul's conversion, that, when sinners are converted, they see shining lights about themselves. I have many times heard this, but every one seems to have his own particular...
Sham Mayors. The Duke Of Restormel : THE DUKE OF RESTORMEL A VERY singular custom formerly prevailed at Lostwithiel, in Cornwall, on Easter Sunday. The freeholders of the town and manor having assembled together, either in person or by their deputies, one among them, each in his turn, gaily attired and gallantly mounted, with...
Legends Of The Saints. St Neot And The Fox : ST NEOT AND THE FOX. One day the holy hermit was standing in his bath chanting the Psalms, when he heard the sound of huntsmen approaching. Whether the saint feared, ridicule or ill-treatment, we know not; but certainly he left some psalms unsung that day, and hastily gathering up his clothes, he...
Popular Superstitions. The Magpie : THE MAGPIE. "ONE is asign of anger, Two is a sign of mirth, Three is a sign of a wedding, Four is a sign of a birth/death." A scolding woman is called a magpie. Whenever you see a magpie, take off your hat to it; this will turnaway the anger.
The Fairies. The Four Leaved Clover : THE FOUR-LEAVED CLOVER. NOT many years since a farmer lived in Bosfrancan in St Burrien, who had a very fine red-and-white cow called Daisey. The cow was always fat, with her dewlaps and udder sweeping the grass. Daisey held her milk from calf to calf; had an udder like a bucket, yet she would...
Romances Of The Rocks. Zennor Coits : ZENNOR COlTS. TAYLOR STEPHENS, lately deceased, who was for some time the rural postman of Zennor, sought, in his poem, "The Chief of Barat-Anac," to embody in a story some descriptions of the Zennor coits and other rock curiosities. I employed this man for some weeks to gather up for me all th...
Popular Superstitions. The Horse Shoe : THE HORSE-SHOE TO nail a horse-shoe, which has been cast on the road, over the door of any house, barn, or stable, is an effectual means of preventing the entrance of witches.
Miscellaneous Stories. Thomasine, Bonaventure : THOMASINE BONA VENTURE IN the reign of Henry VI., about the year 1450, in the parish of Week St Mary, on the northern coast of Cornwall, was born of humble parents a girl, to whom the name of Thomasine was given. This child was in no way distinguished from other Cornish children; they ever have...
Miscellaneous Stories. The Lizard People : THE LIZARD PEOPLE THERE is a tradition that the Lizard people were formerly a very inferior race. In fact it is said that they went on all fours, till the crew of a foreign vessel, wrecked on the coast, settled among them, and improved the race so much that they became as remarkable for their...
Popular Superstitions. Fortune Telling, Charms Etc : FORTUNE-TELLING, CHARMS, ETC. IN relation to this subject, and confirming an opinion already expressed in the existence still of a belief in magic and charms, I print the following communication from a lady of considerable literary ability - "Every country, it may be safely inferred, has its own...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. Notes On Witchcraft : NOTES ON WITCHCRAFT. IN confirmation of the melancholy facts related of the continuance of the belief in witchcraft, I would give the accompanying cuttings from the "West Briton "newspaper of a very recent date GROSS SUPERSTITION. "During the week ending Sunday last, a 'wise man' from Illogan h...
Romances Of Tregeagle. Jahn Tergagle The Steward : JAHN TERGAGLE THE STEWARD. THERE are numerous versions of this legend, and sundry statements I made as to the man who is supposed to have achieved the no very envious immortality which he enjoys. One or two of these may interest the reader. The following very characteristic narrative...
Romances Of Arthur. Slaughter Bridge : SLAUGHTER BRIDGE. HISTORIANS and poets have made the world familiar with King Arthur. We know how Merlin deceived, by his magic, the beautiful Igerna, so that she received King Uter as her husband. We know also that Uter P.endragon died, and that his son, by Igerna, reigned King of Britain. How...
The Giants. The Giant Wrath, Or Ralph : THE GIANT WRATH, OR RALPH. NOT far from Portreath there exists a remarkable fissure, or gorge, on the coast, formed by the wearing out, through the action of the sea, of a channel of ground softer than that which exists on either side of it. This is generally known as Ralph's Cupboard; and one...
Romances Of The Rocks. The Devil's Doorway : THE DEVIL'S DOORWAY. IN the slate (Killas) formations behind Polperro is a good example of a fault. The geologist, in the pride of his knowledge, refers this to some movement of the solid mass--a rending of the rocks, produced either by the action of some subterranean force lifting the earth-crust...
Romances Of The Mermaids. The Mermaid's Vengence : THE MERMAID'S VENGEANCE. [a] IN one of the deep valleys of the parish of Perranzabuloe, which are remarkable for their fertility, and especially for the abundance of fruit which the orchards produce, lived in days long ago, amidst a rudely-civilised people, a farmer's labourer, his wife, with one...
Popular Superstitions. Treading On Graves : TREADING ON GRAVES "To see a man tread over graves, I hold it no good mark; 'Tis wicked in the sun and moon, And bad luck in the dark!" So sings Coleridge in his ballad of "The Three Graves." Whenever a person shivers from a sensation of cold down the spine, it is said some one is walking over his...
Demons And Spectres. The Lugger Of Croft : THE LUGGER OF CROFT PASCO POOL IN the midst of the dreary waste of Gornhilly, which occupies a large portion of the Lizard promontory, is a large piece of water known as "Croft Pasco Pool," where it is said at night the form of a ghostly vessel may be seen floating with lug-sails spread. A more...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. The peller : THE "PELLER" A MAN who has resided at several places on the south coast was known by this name. He is said to be in possession of no end of charms, and to possess powers, of no common order, over this and the other world. "He is able," writes a friend, "to put ghosts, hobgoblins, and, I believe...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. The cunning Man : ROMANCES OF WITCHES, ETC. "And wow ! Tam saw an unco sight - Warlocks and witches in a dance." Tam o' Shanter - BURNS THE "CUNNING MAN." "And as he rode over the more, Hoe see a lady where shee sate Betwixt an oke and a greene hollen; She was cladd in red scarlett. "Then there as shold have stood...
Romances Of Fire Worship. Fire Worship : ROMANCES OF FIRE WORSHIP. "Safely hid Beneath the purple pall of sacrifice Did sleep our holy fire, nor saw the air, Till to that pass we came, where whilom Brute Planted his five hoar altars. To our rites Then swift we hasted, and in one short moment The rocky piles were clothed with livid flame...
Romances Of The Rocks. The Nine Maids : THE NINE MAIDS, OR VIRGIN SISTERS. NINE "Moor Stones" are set up near the road in the parish of Gwendnon, or Wendron, to which the above name is given. The perpendicular blocks of granite have evidently been placed with much labour in their present position. Tradition says they indicate the graves...
Popular Superstitions. To Secure Good Luck : TO SECURE GOOD LUCK FOR A CHILD. GIVE the first person whom you meet between your own house and the church to which you are taking the infant to be christened, a piece of bread and salt.
The Fairies. The Small People's Gardens : THE SMALL PEOPLE'S GARDENS. IF the adventurous traveller who visits the Land's End district will go down as far as he can on the south-west side of the Logan Rock Cairn, and look over, he will see, in little sheltered places between the cairns, close down to the water's edge, beautifully green...
Romances Of Fishermen And Sailors. The Pressing : THE PRESSING-STONES THOSE who are not familiar with the process of "curing" (salting) pilchards for the Italian markets, will require a little explanation to understand the accompanying story. The pilchards being caught in vast quantities, often amounting to many thousand hogsheads at a time...
Death Tokens And Superstitions. Phantoms : PHANTOMS OF THE DYING. GAY party were assembled one afternoon, in the latter days of January, in the best parlour of a farmhouse near the Land's-End. The inhabitants of this district were, in many respects, peculiar. Nearly all the land was divided up between, comparatively, a few owners...
Popular Superstitions. Itching Ears : ITCHING EARS WHEN the ears are red and itch, it is a sign that some one is talking of the suffering individual. If it is the left ear, they are being scandalised; if the right ear, they are being praised. Often have I heard, when the lower and middle class people have been indulging in some gossip...
The Fairies. The Spriggan's Child : THE SPRIGGAN'S CHILD, AS TOLD BY A CORNISH DROLL. I'LL tell you a tale, an you've patience to hear an, 'Bout the Spriggans, that swarm round Partinney still-- You knew Janey Tregeer, who lives in Brea Vean, In the village just under the Chapel Hill. One arternoon she went out for to reap, And left...
Romances Of Tregeagle. The Demon Tregeagle : ROMANCES OF TREGEAGLE. THE DEMON TREGEAGLE. "In Cornwaile's fair land, bye the poole on the moore. Tregeagle the wicked did dwell." --Tregeagle; or Dozmare Pool. by John Penwarne "Thrice he began to tell his doleful tale, And thrice the sighs did swallow up his voice." - Thomas Sackville WHO h...
Popular Superstitions. Rhyme On The Even Ash : RHYME ON THE EVEN ASH. "EVEN ash, I thee do pluck; Hoping thus to meet good luck. If no luck I get from thee, I shall wish thee on the tree."
Romances Of The Rocks. King Arthur's Stone : KING ARTHUR'S STONE. IN the western part of Cornwall, all the marks of any peculiar kind found on the rocks are referred either to the giants or the devil. In the eastern part of the county such markings are almost always attributed to Arthur. Not far from the Devil's Coit in St Columb...
Legends Of The Saints. How St Piran Reached : HOW ST PIRAN REACHED CORNWALL. GOOD men are frequently persecuted by those whom they have benefited the most. The righteous Piran had, by virtue of his sanctity, been enabled to feed ten Irish kings and their armies for ten days together with three cows. He brought to life by his prayers the dogs...
The Fairies. The Piksie Threshers : THE PISKIE THRESHERS. MANY an industrious farmer can speak of the assistance which he has received from the piskies. Mr T. Q. Couch tells a story of this kind so well that no other is required. [a] Long, long ago, before threshing-machines were thought of, the farmer who resided at C --, in going...
Traditions Of Tinners. The Dead Hand : THE DEAD HAND. "I 've seen it--I've seen it !" exclaimed a young woman, pale with terror, approaching with much haste the door of a cottage, around which were gathered several of the miners' wives inhabiting the adjoining dwellings. "God's mercy be with the chield !" replied the oldest wom...
Traditions Of Tinners. Hingston Downs : HINGSTON DOWNS. "Hengsten Down, well ywrought, Is worth London town dear ybought." CAREW--Lord De Dunstanvlle's Edition. IT may be worthy of consideration whether we have not evidence in this distich of the extent to which mining operations were carried on over this moorland and the adjoining...
Romances Of The Rocks. Cromlech And Druid Stones : ROMANCES OF THE ROCKS. CROMLECH AND DRUID STONES. "Among the rocks and stones, methinks I see More than the heedless impress that belongs To lonely nature's casual work: they bear A semblance strange of power intelligent, And of design not wholly worn away." - "The Excursion" - WORDSWORTH "Surely...
The Giants. Holibun Of The Cairn : HOLIBURN OF THE CAIRN. [a] HOLIBURN, according to tradition, was a very amiable and somewhat sociable gentleman; but, like his brethren, he loved to dwell amongst the rocks of Cairn Galva. He made his home in this remote region, and relied for his support on the gifts of sheep and oxen...
The Fairies. The Piskies' Changeling : THE PISKIES' CHANGELING. THIS story is told by Mr T. Q. Couch, as an example of the folk-lore of a Cornish village, in "Notes and Queries," under the name of" Coleman Gray: "-- "There is a farmhouse of some antiquity with which my family have a close connection; and it is this circumstance, more...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. Madame Noy And Old Joan : MADAM NOY AND OLD JOAN. THEY say that, a long time since, there lived an old witch down by Alsia Mill, called Joan. Everybody feared to offend the old woman, and gave her everything she looked for, except Madam Noy, who lived in Pendrea. Madam Noy had some beautiful hens of a new sort, with "cops"...
Miscellaneous Stories. Bolait, The Field Of Blood : BOLAIT, THE FIELD OF BLOOD. TRADITION asserts that it was on the spot, so called in the parish of Burian, that the last battle was fought between the Cornish Britons and Athelstan. This is, in some measure, confirmed by the discovery of flint arrow-heads, in considerable quantities, from time...
Romances Of Lost Cities. St Michsel's Mount : ST MICHAEL'S MOUNT--THE WHITE ROCK IN THE WOOD. "An old legend of St Michael speaketh of a tounelet in this part (between Pensandes and Mousehole), now defaced, and lying under the water." .Leland's Itinerary. ALREADY it has been told how St Michael's Mount was built by the giants. So much for its...
Traditions Of Tinners. Dorcas, The Spirit : DORCAS, THE SPIRIT OF POLBREEN MINE. POLBREEN MINE is situated at the foot of the hill known as St Agnes Becon. In one of the small cottages which immediately adjoins the mine once lived a woman called Dorcas. Beyond this we know little of her life; but we are concerned-chiefly with her death...
Romances Of Arthur. Arthur Legends : ROMANCES OF ARTHUR ARTHUR LEGENDS. "For there was no man knew from whence he came; But after tempest, when the long wave broke All down the thundering shores of Bude and Boss, There came a day as still as heaven, and then They found a naked child upon the sands Of wild Dundagll by the Cornish sea;...
Miscellaneous Stories. Boyer, Mayor Of Bodmin : BOYER, MAYOR OF BODMIN IN the reign of Edward VI., Boyer was the mayor of Bodmin, and he appears to have been suspected of aiding in an insurrection of the men of Devonshire and Cornwall. However this may be, Sir Anthony Kingston, provost-marshal of the king's army, sent orders to Boyer to have...
Holy Wells. The Well Of Altar Nun : THE WELL AT ALTAR-NUN. CURE OF INSANITY. MONGST the numerous holy wells which exist in Cornwall, that of Alternosi, or Altar-Nun, is the only one, as far as I can learn, which possessed the virtue of curing the insane. We are told that Saint Nunne or Nuanita was the daughter of an Earl of Cornwall...
Customs Of Ancient Days. Midsummer Superstitious : MIDSUMMER SUPERSTITIOUS CUSTOMS. IF on midsummer-eve a young woman takes off the shift which I she has been wearing, and, having washed it, turns its wrong side out, and hangs it in silence over the back of a chair, near the fire, she will see, about midnight, her future husband, who deliberately...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. The Sailor Wizard : THE SAILOR WIZARD. THIS appears to have been, and it may still be, a very common superstition. I have lately received from Mr T. Q. Couch of Bodmin the story of some sailors, who had reason to suspect that one of their body was a wizard. This was eventually proved to have been the case, by...
Popular Superstitions. The New Moon : THE NEW MOON. TO see the new moon for the first time through glass, is unlucky; you may be certain that you will break glass before that moon is out. I have known persons whose attention has been called to a clear new moon hesitate. "Hey I seed her out a' doors afore?" if not, they will go...
Legends Of The Saints. St Keyne : SAINT KEYNE. BRAGHAN, or Brechan, was a king in Wales, and the builder of the town of Brecknock. This worthy old king and saint was the happy father of twenty-six children, or, as some say, twenty-tour. Of these, fourteen or fifteen were sainted for their holiness, and their portraits are...
The Giants. The Rival Giants : THE RIVAL GIANTS. THOSE who have visited the Logan Rock will be familiar with the several groups which form the Treryn promontory. Treryn Castle, an ancient British fortress, the Cyclopean walls of which, and its outer earthwork, can still be traced, was the dwelling of a famous giant and his wife...
Customs Of Ancient Days. Allhallows Eve At St Ives : ALLHALLOWS-EVE AT ST IVES. THE ancient custom of providing children with a large apple on Allhallows-eve is still observed, to a great extent, at St Ives. "Allan-day," as it is called, is the day of days to hundreds' of children, who would deem it a great misfortune were they to go to bed...
Romances Of The Mermaids. The Mermaid Of Padstow : THE MERMAID OF PADSTOW. THE port of Padstow has a good natural harbour, so far as rocky area goes, but it is so choked up with drifting sands as to be nearly useless. A peasant recently thus explained the cause. He told how "it was once deep water for the largest vessel, and under the care...
Romances Of Fishermen And Sailors. The Pirate : THE PIRATE- WRECKER AND THE DEATH SHIP. ONE lovely evening in the autumn, a strange ship was seen at a short distance from Cape Cornwall. The little wind there was blew from the land, but she did not avail herself of it. She was evidently permitted to drift with the tide, which was flowing...
Sham Mayors. Towednack Cuckoo Feast : TOWEDNACK CUCKOO FEAST. THE parish feast takes place on the nearest Sunday to the 28th of April. It happened in very early times, when winters extended further into the spring than they now do, that one of the old inhabitants resolved to be jovial, notwithstanding the inclemency of the season; so...
Romances Of The Rocks. Piper's Hole, Scilly : PIPER'S HOLE, SCILLY ON the banks of Peninnis, in St Mary's, is Piper's Hole, which communicates, as tradition saith, with the island of Tresco, where another orifice known by the same name is seen. Going in at the orifice at Peninnis Banks in St Mary's, it is above man's height, and of as much...
Appendix. Moses Pitt's Letter Respecting : MOSES PITT'S LETTER RESPECTING ANNE JEFFERIES. "AN account of Anne Jefferies, now living in the county of Cornwall, who was fed for six months by a small sort of airy people, called fairies; and of the strange and wonderful cures she performed with salves and medicines she received from them...
The Fairies. How Joan Lost The Sight Of Her Eye : HOW JOAN LOST THE SIGHT OF HER EYE. JOAN was housekeeper to Squire Love!, and was celebrated for her beautiful knitting. One Saturday afternoon Joan wished to go to Penzance to buy a pair of shoes for herself, and some things for the Squire. So the weather being particularly fine, away she trudged...
The Fairies. Betty Stogs And Jan The Mounster : BET TY STOGS AND JAN THE MOUNSTER. IN the "high countries," as the parishes of Morva, Zennor, and Towednack are called, there has long existed a tradition that the children of dirty, lazy, "courseying" women are often taken away by the Small People, carefully cleansed, and then returned--of course...
Legends Of The Saints. The Discovery Of Tin : THE DISCOVERY OF TIN. St Piran, or St Perran, leading his lonely life on the plains which now bear his name, devoted himself to the study of the objects which presented themselves to his notice. The good saint decorated the altar in his church with the choicest flowers, and his cell was adorned...
Appendix. Millington Of Pengerswick : MILLINGTON OF PENGERSWICK IN the reign of Henry VIII., one Militon, or Millington, appears to have purchased Pengerswick Castle. This Millington is said to have retired into the solitude of this place on account of a murder which he had committed. (Mr. Wilkie Collins appears to have founded his...
The Giants. The Key Of The Giant's Castle : THE KEY OF THE GIANT'S CASTLE. THE giant's castle at Treryn, remarkable as a grand example of truly British Cyclopean architecture, was built by the power of enchantment. The giant to whom all the rest of his race were indebted for this stronghold was in every way a remark-able mortal. He w...
Appendix. Peculiar Words And Phrases : PECULIAR WORDS AND PHRASES AN angry Cornishman would formerly say when in anger, "I shall push a stone in his cairn," meaning he shall see him buried. "Curri mi clack er du cuirn" is the expression of a Scotch Highlander (Labbach's "Prehistoric Times"). This is interpreted as a mark of respect...
Romances Of Fire Worship. Burning Animals Alive : BURNING ANIMALS ALIVE. HERE can be no doubt but that a belief prevailed, until a very recent period, amongst the small farmers in the districts' remote from towns, in Cornwall, that a living sacrifice appeased the wrath of God. This sacrifice must be by fire; and I have heard it argued th...
Popular Superstitions. Characteristic : CHARACTERISTIC AN esteemed and learned correspondent, himself a Cornishman, writing to me on the Crnish character, says - "There are some adages in which beadledom receives various hard knocks--that abstraction mostly taking the shape of some unlucky mayor; and I have heard in Cornwall, but never...
Romances Of Fishermen And Sailors. Pilchards : PILCHARDS CRYING FOR MORE WHEN there is a large catch of fish (pilchards), they are preserved,--put in bulk, as the phrase is,--by being rubbed with salt, and placed in regular order, one on the other, head and tails alternately, forming regular walls of fish. The fish often, when so placed, make...
Demons And Spectres. The Suicide's Spearman : THE SUICIDE'S SPEARMAN. A FAMILY of the name of Spearman has lived in Cornwall for many ages, their native centre having been somewhere between Ludgvan and St Ives. Years long ago, an unfortunate man, weary of life, destroyed himself; and the rude laws of a remote age, carrying out, as they...
Demons And Spectres. Laying A Ghost : LAYING A GHOST. TO the ignorance of men in our age in this particular and mysterious part of philosophy and religion,--namely, the communication between spirits and men,--not one scholar out of ten thousand, though otherwise of excellent learning, knows anything of it, or the way how to manage it...
Introduction : INTRODUCTION. THE beginning of this collection of Popular Romances may I be truly said to date from my early childhood. I remember with what anticipations of pleasure, sixty-eight years since, I stitched together a few sheets of paper, and carefully pasted them into the back of an old book. This...
Miscellaneous Stories. A Fairy Caught : A FAIRY CAUGHT THE following, communicated to me on the 8th of August, is too good to be lost. I therefore give it in my correspondent's own words :-- "I heard last week of three fairies having been seen in Zennor very recently. A man who lived at the foot of Trendreen hill, in the valley...
Popular Superstitions. The Blue Vein : THE BLUE VEIN A FOND mother was paying more than ordinary attention to a fine healthy-looking child, a boy about three years old. The poor woman's breast was heaving with emotion, and she struggled to repress her sighs. Upon inquiring if anything was really wrong, she said "the old lady...
Miscellaneous Stories. Temple Moors : TEMPLE MOORS. THE parish of Temple in 1851 had a population of 24. Yet once the Knights Templar built a church here; and with the purpose of civilising the inhabitants of the moor in the midst of which it was founded, they secured for their temple some special privileges. "Many a bad marriage...
Legends Of The Saints. Probus And Grace : PROBUS AND GRACE. EVERY one is acquainted with the beautiful tower of Probus' Church. If they are not, they should lose no time in visiting it. Various are the stories in connection with those two saints, who are curiously connected with the church, and one of the fairs held in the Church-town...
Customs Of Ancient Days. The Game Of Hurling : THE GAME OF HURLING. THE game of " Hurling" was, until a recent period, played in the parishes to the west of Penzance on the Sunday afternoon. The game was usually between two parishes, sometimes between Burian and Sancreed, or against St Leven and Sennen, or the higher side of the parish played...
Customs Of Ancient Days. Geese Dancing.Plough : GEESE-DANCING--PLOUGH MONDAY. THE first Monday after Twelfth-day is Plough Monday, and it is the ploughman's holiday. At this season, in the Islands of Scilly, at St Ives, Penzance, and other places, the young people exercise a sort of gallantry called "geese-dancing." The maidens are dressed up...
The Giants. How Tom And The Tinkeard Found : HOW TOM AND THE TINKEARD [a] FOUND THE TIN, AND HOW IT LED TO MORVA FAIR. WHEN Tom had fairly thrown the tinkeard in the wrestling match, which, it must be remembered, was seen by the miners of Tregender, at which Tom was much pleased, although he did not express his pleasure, it was settled th...
Legends Of The Saints. St Peran, The Miner's Saint : ST PERRAN, THE MINERS' SAINT. ST PIRAN, or St Perran, has sometimes gained the credit of discovering tin in Cornwall; yet Usher places the date of his birth about the year "352; "and the merchants of Tyre are said to have traded with Cornwall for tin as early as the days of King Solomon. There are...
The Giants. The Giant Of Nancledry : THE GIANT OF NANCLEDRY.[a] IN Nancledry Bottoms, about a mile from the famous hill Castle-an-Dinas, there stood at one time a thatched house near the brook which runs murmuring down the valley. Rather more than thirty years since, some mouldering "clob" (mud) walls, indicating the existence at one...
Miscellaneous Stories. The Bells Of Forrabury : THE BELLS OF FORRABURY CHURCH. "Farewell, rewards and fairies, Good housewives now may say: For now foul sluts in dairies Do fare as well as they. "A tell-tate in their company They never could endure; And who kept riot secretly Their mirth, was punish'd sure." "Farewell to the Fairies"- Richard...
Traditions Of Tinners. Traditions Of Tinners : TRADITIONS OF TINNERS. "To us our Queen, who, in the central earth, Midst fiery lavas or basaltine seas, Deep-throned the illimitable waste enjoys, Enormous solitude, has given these Her subterraneous realms; bids us dwell here, In the abyss of darkness, and exert Immortal alchymy." "Each devious...
Title Page : POPULAR ROMANCES OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND The Drolls, Traditions, And Superstitions Of Old Cornwall COLLECTED AND EDITED BY ROBERT HUNT 3d Ed., Rev. And Enl. London, Chatto And Windus, 1903. Scanned And Redacted By Phillip Brown. Additional Formatting And Proofing By John B. Hare. Second Revisi...
Appendix. St Piran.Perran Zabuloe : ST PIRAN--PERRAN ZABULOE "IT is rather a curious circumstance," says Davies Gilbert, "that the word "Zabuloe" added to Perran, for the distinction of this parish, is not Celtic, but through the French "sable", from "sabalum", a word frequently used by Pliny, as indicative of sand or gravel. "...
Romances Of The Mermaids. The Mermaid Of Seaton : THE MERMAID OF SEATON. NEAR Looe,--that is, between Down Derry and Looe,--there is a little sand-beach called "Seaton." Tradition tells us that here once stood a goodly commercial town bearing this name, and that when it was in its pride, Plymouth was but a small fishing-village. The town...
Romances Of Fishermen And Sailors. The Hooper : THE HOOPER, OR THE HOOTER, OF SENNEN COVE. THIS was supposed to be a spirit which took the form of a band of misty vapour, stretching across the bay, so opaque that nothing could be seen through it. It was regarded as a kindly interposition of some ministering spirit, to warn the fishermen against...
Romances Of Lost Cities. The Sands At Lelant : THE SANDS AT LELANT AND PHILLACK. THERE is a tradition that Lelant and Phillack towns were all meadow land, and that the whole was covered with sand in a single night. Also that the low tract of land extended on both sides of Hayle far beyond the present bar, so that the sea has swallowed up some...
The Fairies. The Old Woman Who Turned Her Shift : THE OLD WOMAN WHO TURNED HER SHIFT IN a lone house--situated not far from the hill on which now stands Knill's Steeple, as it is called--which was then known as Chyanwheal, or the House on the Mine, lived a lone woman, the widow of a miner, said to have been killed in one of the very ancient...
Legends Of The Saints. St Nectan's Kieve : ST NECTAN'S KIEVE AND THE LONELY SISTERS. FAR up the deep and rocky vale of Trevillet, in the parish of Tintagel, [a] stands on a pile of rocks the little chapel of the good St Nectan. No holy man ever selected a more secluded, or a more lovely spot in which to pass a religious life...
Legends Of The Saints. St Sennen And St Just : ST SENNEN AND ST JUST. THESE saints held rule over adjoining parishes; but, like neighbours, not unfrequently they quarrelled. We know not the cause which made their angry passions rise; but no doubt the saints were occasionally exposed to the influences of the evil principle, which appears to be...
Holy Wells. Holy Well At Little Conan : HOLY WELL AT LITTLE CONAN ON Palm Sunday the people resorted to the well sacred to "Our Lady of Nants," with a cross of palm, and after making the priest a present, they' were allowed to throw the cross into the well; if it swam the thrower was to outlive the year, if sank he was not. [a] [a]...
Customs Of Ancient Days. Oxen Pray On Christm : OXEN PRAY ON CHRISTMAS-EVE. I REMEMBER, when a child, being told that all the oxen and cows kept at a farm in the parish of St Germans, at which I was visiting with my aunt, would be found on their knees when the clock struck twelve. This is the only case within my own knowledge of this...
Romances Of Lost Cities. The Chapel Rock : THE CHAPEL ROCK, PERRAN-PORTH. THIS is one of the rocks--of which many exist--around the Cornish coast, upon which, at one time, there stood, in all probability, a small chapel or oratory. This rock is left dry at every tide, but stands far out in the sea at high-water. A curious fancy exists with...
Miscellaneous Stories. Pengerswick Castle : PENGERSWICK CASTLE. THIS castellated building--for it does not now admit of being called a castle, notwithstanding its embattled turrets and its machicolated gate--is situated in a hollow running down to Pengerswick Cove, in the Mount's Bay, where there never could have been anything to defend;...
Romances Of The Rocks. The Crick Stone In Morva : THE CRICK STONE IN MORVA. IF any one suffering from a "crick in the back" can pass through this forked rock, on the borders of Zennor and Morva, without touching the stone, he is certain of being cured. This is but a substitute for the holed stone, which, it is admitted, has much more virtue th...
Appendix. The Poem Of The Wrestling : THE POEM OF THE WRESTLING* lt may be here remarked as something more than accidental, that Magog is a well.known Oriental giant, that Gog and Magog figure in the Guildhall of London, and that Gogmagog was the champion selected for a trial of strength with Corineus. "Amongst the ragged Cleeves...
Appendix. The Giant Of Nancledry. And Trebigg : THE GIANT OF NANCLEDRY; AND TREBIGGAN THE GIANT FROM time to time, in. Cornwall and other places, bones of a large size have been found, and very exaggerated accounts of these finds have beets published. Some years since it was currently reported that the bones of a giant had been discovered...
Popular Superstitions. An Old Cornish Rhyme : AN OLD CORNISH RHYME. "WHEN the corn is in the shock, Then the fish are on the rock." The pilchard visits this coast in the early autumn. These are the "fish par excellence" of the Cornish, and they are thus distinguished.
Demons And Spectres. Duffy And The Devil : DUFFY AND THE DEVIL.[a] MANY of the superstitions of our ancestors are preserved in quaint, irregular rhymes, the recitation of which was the amusement of the people in the long nights of winter. These were sung, or rather said, in a monotone, by the professional Drolls, who doubtless added such...
Sham Mayors. The Mayor Of Mylor : SHAM MAYORS. I.--THE MAYOR OF MYLOR. HERE was a curious custom in the town of Penryn in Cornwall, which long outlived all modern innovations. On some particular day in September or October (I forget the exact date), about when the hazel-nuts are ripe, the festival of nutting-day is kept...
Popular Superstitions. The Floating Grindstone : THE FLOATING GRINDSTONE. I HAVE already told of St Piran and his grindstone. I have, however, another and a more modern story, which is told with great glee at some of the social meetings of the fishermen. This is given merely to indicate the simplicity of this honest race. A party was got...
Romances Of Tregeagle. Dosmery Pool : DOSMERY POOL. MR BOND, in his "Topographical and Historical Sketches of the Boroughs of East and West Looe," writes--" This pool is distant from Looe about twelve miles off. Mr Carew says: 'Dosmery Pool amid the moores, On top stands of a hill; More than a mile about, no streams It empt, nor any...
Romances Of The Rocks. Mincamber, Main Amber : MINCAMBER, MAIN-AMBER OR AMBROSE'S STONE. MIGHTY Logan Stone was poised and blessed by Ambrose Merlin, not far from Penzance. "So great," says Drayton, in his "Polyalbion, that many men's united strength cannot remove it, yet with one finger you may wag it." Merlin proclaimed that this stone...
Romances Of The Rocks. The Irish Lady : THE IRISH LADY NEAR "Pedn-men-dw", the "Headland of Black Rock," is a curiously-shaped rock, known as the Irish Lady. In days long ago some adventurous sailors from Ireland were shipwrecked at night on this rock, and every soul perished, save a lady, who was seen in the morning sitting on the top...
Sham Mayors. The Mayor Of Halgaver Moor : SHAM MAYORS. III --THE MAYOR OF HALGAVER MOOR. The people of Bodmin had an old custom of assembling in large numbers on Halgaver Moor in the month of July, and electing a "Mayor of Misrule," for the punishment of petty offenders. Our old historian gives a quaint description. "The youthlyer sort...
Appendix. Merry Sean Lads : MERRY SEAN LADS Could Roos, or "Cold-ruse", may, however, signify the original for "shooting the seine"," or net; "roos", or "ruz", being the Cornish for net, or pilchard seine.
The Giants. The Giant Of Morva : THE GIANT OF MORVA [a] IN the Giant's Field in Morva still stand some granite fragments which once constituted the Giant's House. From this we see the Giant's Castle at Bosprenis, and the Giant's Cradle, thus perpetuating the infancy of the great man, and his subsequent power. The quoits used by...
Traditions Of Tinners. The Ghost On Horseback : THE GHOST ON HORSEBACK. BILLY--and John --, working at Wheal Vor, were in the habit, early in the morning, of calling out a dog or two, kept by the occupier of an adjoining farm, and with them hunt over the Godolphin warren adjoining. One morning, while thus engaged, one of them gave the alarm th...
Popular Superstitions. Rain At Bridal Or Burial : RAIN AT BRIDAL OR BURIAL. "BLESSED is the bride Whom the sun shines on, Blessed is the dead Whom the rain rains on." If it rains while a wedding party are on their way to the church, or on returning from it, it betokens a life of bickering and unhappiness. If the rain falls on a coffin, it is...
Popular Superstitions. On The Births Of Children : ON THE BIRTHS OF CHILDREN. "SUNDAY'S child is full of grace, Monday's child is full in the face, Tuesday's child is solemn and sad, Wednesday's child is merry and glad, Thursday's child is inclined to thieving, Friday's child is free in giving, Saturday's child works hard for his living."
Holy Wells. The Well Of St Keyne : THE WELL OF ST KEYNE. ST KEYNE came to this well about five hundred years before the Norman Conquest, and imparted a strange virtue to its waters--namely, that whichever of a newly-married couple should first drink ther, was to enjoy the sweetness of domestic sovereignty ever after. Situated...
Death Tokens And Superstitions. The H : THE HAND OF A SUICIDE. PLACING the hand of a man who has died by his own act is a cure for many diseases. The following is given me by a thinking man, living in one of the towns in the west of Cornwall :-- "There is a young man in this town who had been afflicted with running tumours from his...
Miscellaneous Stories. Packs Of Wool : PACKS OF WOOL THE FOUNDATION OF THE BRIDGE OF WADEBRIDGE LOVEBONE was the vicar of Wadebridge, and there was a ferry across the river. It was a frequent custom for the farmers to ride their horses and to drive their cattle across when the tide was low, and frequently men and beasts were lost...
The Giants. The Hack And Cast : THE HACK AND CAST. IN the parish of Goran is an intrenchment running from cliff to cliff, and cutting off about a hundred acres of coarse ground. This is about twenty feet broad, and twenty-four feet high in most places. Marvellous as it may appear, tradition assures us that this was the work...
Romances Of Arthur. Traditions Of The Danes : TRADITIONS OF THE DANES IN CORNWALL. THE Danes are said to have landed in several places around the coast, and have made permanent settlements in some parts. We have already spoken of the battle of Vellan-Druchar. In Sennen Cove there was for a long period a colony of red-haired people,--indeed, I...
Holy Wells. St Cuthbert's Or Cubert's Well : ST CUTHBERT'S OR CUBERT'S WELL. HAL thus describes this famous place ":-- In this parish is that famous and well-known spring of water called Holy-well (so named, the inhabitants say, for that the virtues of this water was first discovered on All-hallows day). The same stands in a dark cavern...
Romances Of Arthur. The Battle Of Vellan Druchan : THE BATTLE OF VELLA N-DRUCHAR. [a] THE Sea Kings, in their predatory wanderings, landed in Genvor Cove, and, as they had frequently done on previous occasions, they proceeded to pillage the little hamlet of Escols. On one occasion they landed in unusally large numbers, being resolved, as it...
The Fairies. The Fairy Widower : THE FAIRY WIDOWER. NOT many years since a very pretty girl called Jenny Permuen lived in Towednack. She was of poor parents, and lived in service. There was a good deal of romance, or what the old people called nonsense, in Jenny. She was always smartly dressed, and she would arrange wildflowers...
Popular Superstitions. The Croaking Of The Raven : THE CROAKING OF THE RAVEN THERE is a common feeling that the croaking of a raven over the house bodes evil to some member of the family. The following incident, given to me by a really intelligent man, illustrates the feeling : [a] "One day our family were much annoyed by the continued croaking...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. The Witch And The Toad : THE WITCH AND THE TOAD. AN old woman called Alsey--usually Aunt Alsey--occupied a small cottage in Anthony, one of a row which belonged to a tradesman living in Dock--as Devonport was then designated to distinguish it from Plymouth. The old woman possessed a very violent temper, and this, more th...
Demons And Spectres. The Suicide's Ghost : THE SUICIDE'S GHOST. ON the bleak road between Helston and Wendron Church-town, at its highest and wildest spot, three roads meet about a quarter of a mile from the latter place. Here, at "Three Cross," as the place is called, years ago, when the Downs being unenclosed, it was more desolate th...
Popular Superstitions. The Sun Never Shines : THE SUN NEVER SHINES ON THE PERJURED THERE appears to exist a very old superstition, to the effect that when a man has deeply perjured himself--especially if by his perjury he has sacrificed the life of a friend,--he not merely loses the enjoyment of the sunshine, but he actually loses all...
Customs Of Ancient Days. Shrove Tuesday At St Ives : SHROVE TUESDAY AT ST IVES. FORMERLY it was customary for the boys to tie stones to cords, and with these parade the town, slinging these stones against the doors, shouting aloud,-- "Give me a pancake, now--now--now, Or I 'II souse in your door with a row--tow--tow." A genteel correspondent assures...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. The Witch Of Fraddam : THE WITCH OF FRADDAM AND THE ENCHANTER OF PENGERSWICK. AGAIN and again had the Lord of Pengerswick reversed the spells of the Witch of Fraddam, who was reported to be the most powerful weird woman in the west country. She bad been thwarted so many times by this "white witch," that she resolved...
Romances Of Fishermen And Sailors. How : HOW TO EAT PILCHARDS. IT is unlucky to commence eating pilchards, or, indeed, any kind I of fish, from the head downwards. I have often heard persons rebuked for committing such a grievous sin, which is "sure to turn the heads of the fish away from the coasts." The legitimate process--mark this...
Romances Of The Mermaids. Merrymaids And Merrymen : MERRYMAIDS AND MERRYMEN. THE "merry-maids" of the Cornish fishermen and sailors possess the well-recognised features of the mermaid. The Breton ballad, quoted by Mr Keightley, relating to the Morgan ("sea-women") and the Morverch (sea-daughters), peculiarly adapts itself to the Cornish merry.maid...
Appendix. Saracen : SARACEN THE term Saracen is always now supposed to apply to the Moors. This is not exactly correct. Percy, for example, in his "Essay on the Ancient Minstrels," says, "The old metrical romance of 'Horn Child,' which, although from the mention of Saracens, &c., it must have been written, at least...
Romances Of Arthur. Dameliock Castle : DAMELIOCK CASTLE THIS ancient British castle once stood in savage grandeur a rival to Tintagel. Its ruins, which can scarcely be traced, are in the parish of St Tudy. Here Gothlois of the Purple Spear, Earl of Cornwall, fortified himself against Uter Pendragon's soldiery, and here he was sl...
The Giants. Tom The Giant, His Wife Jane : TOM THE GIANT, HIS WIFE JANE, AND JACK THE TINKEARD, AS TOLD BY THE "DROLLS." [a] WHEN Tom and his wife had settled themselves in the giant's castle, they took good care not to allow any one to make a king's highway across their grounds. Tom made the hedges higher, and the gates stronger than ever...
Legends Of The Saints. St Neot And The Thieves : ST NEOT AND THE THIEVES When St Neot was abbot, some thieves came by night and stole the oxen belonging to the farm of the monastery. The weather was most uncertain,--the seed-time was passing away,--and a fine morning rendered it imperative that the ploughs should be quickly employed. There were...
Miscellaneous Stories. The Last Of The Killigrews : THE LAST OF THE KILLIGREWS LADY JANE, the widow of Sir John Killigrew, sate in one of the windows of Arwenick house, looking out upon the troubled waters of Falmouth Harbour. A severe storm had prevailed for some days, and the Cornish coast was strewn with wrecks. The tempest had abated; the waves...
Demons And Spectres. The Lovers Of Porthangwartha : THE LOVERS OF PORTHANGWARTHA. [a] THE names of the youth and maiden who fixed the term of the Lover's Cove upon this retired spot have passed from the memory of man. A simple story, however, remains, the mere fragment, without doubt, of a longer and more ancient tale. The course of love with this...
Romances Of Tregeagle. The Wish Hounds : THE WISH HOUNDS. THE tradition of the Midnight Hunter and his headless hounds--always, in Cornwall, associated with Tregeagle--prevails everywhere. The Abbot's Way on Dartmoor, an ancient road which extends into Cornwall, is said to be the favourite coursing ground of "the wish or wisked hounds...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. Ill Wishing : ILL- WISHING. GIVE the following notices as I receive them :-- "I caant altogether exackly bleve in wiches at al," said a good dame to us ; "but this I can tell ee, our John's wife quarrelled once wit her next door neighbor's wife, and when John come home, like husband always should, he took up...
Appendix. The Discoverer Of Tin : THE DISCOVERER OF TIN BY an anachronism of fifteen hundred years or more, of Perran was considered as the person who first found tin; and this conviction induced the miners to celebrate his day, the 5th of March, with so much hilarity, that any one unable to guide himself along the road h...
Romances Of Lost Cities. Cudden Point : CUDDEN POINT AND THE SILVER TABLE THiS point is situated in the parish of Perranuthnoe; the parish, it will be remembered, into which Trelawney escaped, aided by the fleetness of his horse, from the deluge which buried the lands between this and the Scilly Isles. At the low-water of spring-tides...
Romances Of Lost Cities. The City Of Langarrow : THE CITY OF LANCARROW OR LANGONA [a] WE cannot say how many years since, but once there stood on the northern shores of Cornwall, extending over all that country between the Ganrell and Perranporth, a large city called Langarrow or Langona. The sand-hills which now extend over this part...
Legends Of The Saints. The St Leven Stone : THE ST LEVEN STONE. On the south side of the church, to the east of the porch, is a rock known by the above name. It is broken in two, and the fissure is filled in with ferns and wild flowers, while the grass grows rank around it. On this rock St Leven often sat to rest after the fatigue...
Legends Of The Saints. St German's Well : ST GERMAN'S WELL. THE good St German was, it would appear, sent into Cornwall in the reign of the Emperor Valentinian, mainly to suppress the Pelagian heresy. The inhabitants of the shores of the Tamar had long been schooled into -the belief in original sin, and they would not endure its denial...
The Fairies. The Fairy Funeral : THE FAIRY FUNERAL. HIS and two or three other bits of folk-lore were communicated to the Athaenaum by me, when Ambrose Merton (Mr Thorns) solicited such contributions. The parish church of Lelant is curiously situated amidst hills of blown sand, near the entrance of the creek of Hayle. The sandy...
The Fairies. Nursing A Fairy : NURSING A FAIRY. A THRIFTY housewife lived on one of the hills between Zennor Church-town and St Ives. One night a gentleman came to her cottage, and told her he had marked her cleanliness and her care that he had a child whom he desired to have brought up with much tenderness, and he had fixed...
Romances Of The Mermaids. The Mermaid Of Rock : THE MERMAID'S ROCK. To the westward of the beautiful Cove of Lemorna is a rock which has through all time borne the above name. I have never been enabled to learn any special story in connection with this rock. There exists the popular fancy of a lady showing herself here previous to a storm--with...
Miscellaneous Stories. Churches Built : CHURCHES BUILT IN PERFORMANCE OF VOWS. THERE are several churches which, tradition tells us, owe their origin to vows made by terrified men that they would, if relieved from their dangers, build a temple to God. Amongst these may be named Brent Tor, thus spoken of by Mr Bray :-- "The church...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. Old Mage Figgy : OLD MADGE FIGGEY AND THE PIG. MADGE FIGGEY once lived in St Leven, but she removed to Burian Church-town. She had a neighbour, Tom Trenoweth, who had a very fine sow, and the old creature took it into her head to desire this sow. The pig was worth a pound of any man's money, but Madge offered Tom...
Traditions Of Tinners. Christmas Eve In The Mines : CHRISTMAS-EVE IN THE MINES. ON Christmas-eve, in former days, the small people, or the spriggans, would meet at the bottom of the deepest mines, and have a midnight mass. Then those who were in the mine would hear voices, melodious beyond all earthly voices, singing, "Now well ! now well; " [a]...
Popular Superstitions. Meeting On The Stairs : MEETING ON THE STAIRS IT is considered unlucky to meet on the stairs, and often one will retire to his or her room rather than run the risk of -giving or receiving ill luck. I find this superstition prevails also in the Midland counties.
Romances Of The Rocks. The Dancing Stones : THE DANCING STONES, THE HURLERS, they are to be found, indeed, to the extremity of Old Cornwall, many of those circles being upon Dartmoor. It is not necessary to name them all. Every purpose will be served if the tourist is directed to those which lie more directly in the route which is usually...
Demons And Spectres. Dando And His Dogs : DANDO AND HIS DOGS. IN the neighbourhood of the lovely village of St Germans formerly lived a priest connected with the old priory church of this parish, whose life does not appear to have been quite consistent with his vows. He lived the life of the traditional "jolly friar." He ate and drank...
Customs Of Ancient Days. May Day : MAY-DAY THE first of May is inaugurated with much uproar. As soon as the clock has told of midnight, a loud blast on tin trumpets proclaims the advent of May. This is long continued. At daybreak, with their "tintarrems," they proceed to the country, and strip the sycamore-trees (called May-trees)...
Traditions Of Tinners. Warnings And tokens : WARNINGS AND "TOKENS." AMONGST the mining population there is a deeply-rooted belief in warnings. The following, related by a very respectable man, formerly a miner, well illustrates this - "My father, when a lad, worked with a companion (James or 'Jim,' as he was called) in Germo. They lived...
Appendix. Wayland Smith : WAYLAND SMITH. "'WAYLAND SMITH:' a Dissertation on a Tradition of the Middle Ages, from the French of G. B. Depping and Francisque Michel, with Additions by S. W. Singer, and the Amplified Legend, by Oehlenschlager." Pickering, 1847. To this very interesting little volume I would refer those of my...
Romances Of Fishermen And Sailors. The Smuggler's : THE SMUGGLER'S TOKEN. UNTIL about the time of the close of the last French war, a large portion of the inhabitants of the south-west coast of Cornwall were in some way or other connected with the practice of smuggling. The traffic with the opposite coast was carried on principally in boats...
The Fairies. The Fairy Revel : THE FAIRY REVEL. RICHARD also once witnessed a fairy revel in the Towen--upon which tables were spread, with the utmost profusion of gold and silver ornaments, and fruits and flowers. Richard however, according to the statement of " Aunt Alcey" (the name by which his wife was familiarly called)...
Popular Superstitions. To Charm A Snake : TO CHARM A SNAKE. WHEN an adder or snake is seen a circle is to be rapidly drawn around it, and the sign of the cross made within it, while the two first verses of the 68th Psalm are repeated :-- "Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered; let them also that hate him flee before him. "As smoke...
Appendix. The Wonderful Cobbler Of Wellington : THE WONDERFUL COBBLER OF WELLINGTON. THERE is a considerable family likeness between the Tinker in this Cornish tale of the Giants, and the Wonderful Cobbler of Wellington, in Shropshire, as related by Mr. Thomas Wright in his interesting paper "On the Local Legends of Shropshire." As this story...
Popular Superstitions. Unlucky Things : UNLUCKY THINGS TO put the loaf on the table upside down--to cut the butter at both ends--to place the bellows on the table--to upset the salt--to cross your knife and fork--to pour gravy out of a spoon backwards (or back-handed), is each unlucky and leads to quarrels. To borrow or lend a bellows...
Legends Of The Saints. St Neot And The Fishes : ST NEOT AND THE FISHES. On one occasion, when the saint was at his devotions, an angel appeared unto him, and showing him three fishes in the well, he said, "These are for thee; take one each day for thy daily food, and the number shall never grow less: the choice of one of three fishes shall be...
The Fairies. The Lost Child : THE LOST CHILD. IN the little hamlet of Treonike, in the parish of St Allen, has long lingered the story of a lost child, who was subsequently found. All the stories agree in referring the abduction of the child to supernatural agency, and in some cases it is referred to the "Small People...
Romances Of The Mermaids. The Old Man Of Cury : THE OLD MAN OF CURY MORE than a hundred years since, on a fine summer day, when the sun shone brilliantly from a cloudless sky, an old man from the parish of Cury, or, as it was called in olden time, Corantyn, was walking on the sands in one of the coves near the Lizard Point. The old man w...
Romances Of The Rocks. The Devil's Coit Andc : THE DEVIL'S COlTS, &c. IN St Columb Major, not far from the ruins of what is generally considered to be a British fortification, Castele-an-Dinas, stands a tumulus known as the Devil's Coit. It is curious to find one tradition directly contradicting another. We are told, on the one hand, th...
Legends Of The Saints. The Crowza Stones : THE CROWZA STONES. ST JUST, from his home in Penwith, being weary of having little to do, except offering prayers for the tinners and fishermen, went on a visit to the hospitable St Keverne, who had fixed his hermitage in a well-selected spot, not far from the Lizard headland. The holy brothers...
Miscellaneous Stories. The Last Wolf In England : THE LAST WOLF IN ENGLAND THE extirpation of the wolves, which once existed in every part of these islands, is an oft-told story. But it is not generally known that the last native wolf lived in the forests of Ludgvan, near Penzance. The last of his race was a gigantic specimen, and terrible w...
Customs Of Ancient Days. The Twelfth Cake : THE TWELFTH CAKE. THE custom, apparently a very ancient one, of putting certain, articles into a rich cake, is still preserved in many districts. Usually, sixpence, a wedding-ring, and a silver thimble are employed. These are mixed up with the dough, and baked in the cake. At night the cake is...
The Giants. Tom And The Giant Blunderbuss : TOM AND THE GIANT BLUNDERBUSS; OR, THE WHEEL AND EXE FIGHT. [a] YOUNG giant, who does not appear to have been known by any other name than Tom, lived somewhere westward of Hayle, probably in Lelant. Tom would eat as much meat as three men, and when he was in the humour he could do as much work...
Legends Of The Saints. The Saint And Johana : THE SAINT AND JOHANA. THE walls of what are supposed to be the hut of St Leven are still to he seen at Bodellen. If -you walk from Bodellen to St Leven Church, on passing near the stile in Rospletha you will see a three-cornered garden. This belonged to a woman who is only known to us as Johann...
The Fairies. A Native Pigsey Story : A NATIVE PIGSEY STORY. " 'YE see that 'ere hoss there?" said a Liskeard farmer to a West-Country miner. "What ov it?" asked the miner. "Well, that 'ere hoss he 'n been ridden to death a'most by the pigsies again." "Pigsies!" said the miner; "thee don't b'leve in they, do 'ee?" "Ees I do; but I...
Popular Superstitions. J.H.The Conjurer : J--H-- , THE CONJURER OF ST COLOMB. THIS old man was successful in persuading his dupes that he owed his powers over evil spirits to his superior learning and his unblemished life. This assumption of piety was well preserved, and to the outside world his sanctity was undoubted. The only practice...
Appendix. Ambrosiae Petrae : AMBROSIAE PETRAE IN connection with the Bambury stone in Worcestershire, Mr. Jabez Allies remarks, and Dr. Nash is of the same opinion, that it was in all probability originally "Ambury". He then gives us several examples of the occurrence of this name--as Ambreforde in Yorkshire, Ambrelie...
Miscellaneous Stories. The Church And The Barn : THE CHURCH AND THE BARN THE Daunays were great people in their day; but many of them bore indifferent characters. Sir John de Daunay was a strange mixture of ostentatious pride and penuriousness. His Lady Emelyn was as proud as her husband, but extravagant to a fault. The priests of St Germans...
The Giants. The Age Of The Giants : THE AGE OF THE GIANTS. "Eald ents geweorc Idiu stodon."--The Wanderer. Exeter Book. "The old works of giants Stood desolate."--THOMAS WRIGHT. IN wandering over some of the uncultivated tracts which still maintain their wildness, austerely and sullenly, against the march of cultivation, we are...
Holy Wells. Well Worship : WELL WORSHIP. "A well there is in the west country, And a clearer one never was seen." Robert Southey "One meek cell, Built by the fathers o'er a lonely well, Still breathes the Baptist's sweet remembrance round A spring of silent waters." "Echoes from Old Cornwall--R. S. "HAWKES. SPRING of water...
Romances Of Fishermen And Sailors. The Phantom : THE PHANTOM SHIP. YEARS long ago, one night, a gig's crew was called to go off to a "hobble," to the westwards of St Ives Head. No sooner was one boat launched than several others were put off from the shore, and a stiff chase was maintained, each one being eager to get to the ship, as she had...
Popular Superstitions. To Choose A Wife : TO CHOOSE A WIFE. ASCERTAIN the day of the young woman's birth, and refer to the last chapter of Proverbs. Each verse from the 1st to the 31st is supposed to indicate, either directly or indirectly, the character, and to guide the searcher--the verse corresponding with her age indicating...
Legends Of The Saints. Theodore, King Of Cornwall : THEODORE, KING OF CORNWALL RIVIERE, near Hayle, now called Rovier, was the palace of Theodore, the king, to whom Cornwall appears to have been indebted for many of its saints. This Christian king, when the pagan people sought to destroy the first missionaries, gave the saints shelter in his palace...
Romances Of Tregeagle. Chaney's Hounds : CHENEY'S HOUNDS. IN the parish of St Teath, a pack of hounds was once kept by an old squire named Cheney. How he or they died I cannot learn; but on "Cheney Downs" the ghosts of the dogs are sometimes seen, and often heard, in rough weather. In the western parishes of the county, I can name...
Death Tokens And Superstitions. The White Hare : THE WHITE HARE IT is a very popular fancy that when a maiden, who has loved not wisely but too well, dies forsaken and broken-hearted, that she comes back to haunt her deceiver in the shape of a white hare. This phantom follows the false one everywhere, mostly invisible to all but him. It...
Customs Of Ancient Days. Lady Lovell's Courtship : LADY LOVELL'S COURTSHIP. BY the especial kindness of one who has a more abundant store of old Cornish stories than any man whom I have ever met, I am enabled to give some portion of one of the old Cornish plays, or guise-dances. Many parts are omitted, as they would, in our refined days, be...
Miscellaneous Stories. The Harlyn Pie : THE HARLYN PIE [a] ADJOINING the Church of Constantine in the parish of St Merryn, was a cottage which a family of the name of Edwards held for generations, under the proprietors of Harlyn, by the annual render of a pie, made of limpets, raisins, and various herbs, on the eve of the festival...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. Kenidzhak Witch : KENIDZHEK WITCH. ON the tract called the "Gump," near Kenidzhek, is a beautiful well of clear water, not far from which was a miner's Cot, in which dwelt two miners with their sister. They told her never to go to the well after daylight; they would fetch the water for her. However, on one Saturday...
Romances Of Arthur. Camelford And King Arthur : CAMELFORD AND KING ARTHUR. The head of this river Alan is seated Camelford, otherwise written Galleford, a small town. It was formerly called Kambton, according to Leland, who tells us that "Arthur, the British Hector," was slain here, or in the valley near it. He adds, in support of this, th...
Demons And Spectres. The Devil And His Dandy Dogs : THE DEVIL AND HIS DANDY-DOGS. A POOR herdsman was journeying homeward across the moors one windy night, when he heard at a distance among the Tors the baying of hounds, which he soon recognised as the dismal chorus of the dandy-dogs. It was three or four miles to his house; and very much alarmed...
Holy Wells. Perran Well : PERRAN WELL. CHILDREN were cured of several diseases by being bathed in this well. They were also carried to the sea-shore, and passed through a cleft in a rock on the shore at Perranzabalo. In the autumn of 1863 I sought for these holy waters. I was informed that some miners, in driving an adit...
Miscellaneous Stories. Cornish Teeny Tiny : CORNISH TEENY-TINY M. HALLIWELL gives us, in his "Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales," the story of Teeny-tiny. In this a little old woman takes a bone from the churchyard to make soup. She goes to bed, and puts the bone in the cupboard. During the night some one comes demanding the bone...
Miscellaneous Stories. The Penryn Tragedy : THE PENRYN TRAGEDY. "News from Penryn, in Cornwall, of a most bloody and unexampled Murder." SUCH was the title of a black-letter pamphlet of eight pages referred to by Lysons. This curious book does not appear to be in existence. Mr Davies Gilbert, who possessed much property in the parish...
Customs Of Ancient Days. the Furry, Helstone : "THE FURRY "--HELSTONE THIS ancient custom, which consists in dancing through the streets of the town, and entering the houses of rich and poor alike, is thus well described - "On the 8th of May, at Heistone, in Cornwall, is held what is called 'the Furry.' The word is supposed by Mr Polwhele...
Romances Of The Rocks. The Armed Knight : THE ARMED KNIGHT. "AT low water there is to be seen, off the Land's End, towards the Scilly Island (probably so called from the abundance of eel or conger fishes caught there, which are called sillys, or lillis), for a mile or more, a dangerous strag of ragged rocks, amongst which the Atlantic Se...
Romances Of Lost Cities. Gwavas Lake : GWAVAS LAKE. ON the western side of the Mount's Bay, between the fishing. towns of Newlyn and Mousehole, is the well-known anchoring-place known by the above name. It is not a little curious that any part of the ocean should have been called a lake. Tradition, however, helps us to an explanati...
Popular Superstitions. Tea Stalks And Smut : TEA-STALKS AND SMUT STEMS of tea floating in that beverage indicate strangers. Flakes of smut hanging loose to the fire-bars do the same thing. The time of the stranger's arrival may be known by placing the stem on the back of one hand and smacking it with the other:` the number of blows given...
Romances Of Fishermen And Sailors. The Lady : THE LADY WITH THE LANTERN. THE night was dark and the wind high. The heavy waves I rolled round the point of "the Island" into St Ives Bay, as Atlantic waves only can roll. Everything bespoke a storm of no ordinary character. There were no ships in the bay--not a fishing-boat was afloat. The few...
Romances Of The Rocks. The Cock Crow Stone : THE COCK-CROW STONE. A ROCK of white marble (?) with many rock basins on its surface lies in Looe harbour, under Saunder's Lane, and is now -covered by every tide. This stone once stood on the top of an elevated rock near it, and when in this position, whenever it heard a cock crow...
Romances Of The Rocks. Table Men.The Saxon's : TABLE-MEN. THE SAXON KINGS' VISIT TO THE LAND'S END. AT a short distance from Sennen church, and near the end of a cottage, is a block of granite, nearly eight feet long, and about three feet high. This rock is known as the Table-men, or Table-"main", which appears to signify the stone-table...
The Fairies. The Fairy Tools, Or Barker's Knee : THE FAIRY TOOLS; OR, BARKER'S KNEE. Buccas or knockers are believed to inhabit the rocks, caves, adits, and wells of Cornwall. In the parish of Towednack there was a well where those industrious small people might every day be heard busy at their labours--digging with pickaxe and shovel. I said...
Popular Superstitions. Celts Flint Arrow : CELTS--FLINT ARROW-HEADS, ETC. THE common people believe these to be produced by thunder, and thrown down from the clouds, and that they show what weather will ensue by changing their colour. I have also found a belief prevailing in many districts, that Celts impart a virtue to water in which they...
Popular Superstitions. Innocency : INNOCENCY. TO wash the hands is an attestation of innocency. To call a man "dirty fingers," is to accuse him of some foul or unjust deed.
Romances Of Lost Cities. Lost Lands : ROMANCES OF LOST CITIES. "Between Land's End and Scilly rocks Sunk lies a town that ocean mocks. Where breathes the man that would not weep O'er such fine climes beneath the deep?" Historical Records of Ancient Cornwall --THOMAS HOGG. LOST LANDS. "And oh how short are human schemes! Here ended all...
Romances Of Arthur. Arthur At The Land's End : ARTHUR AT THE LAND'S-END. BOLERIUM, or "Bellerium, "is the name given by the ancients to the Land's-End. Diodorus writes Belerium; Ptolemy, Bolerium. Milton adopts this name in his "Lycidas," and leads his readers to infer that it was derived from the Giant Bellerus. It is quite possible th...
Traditions Of Tinners. Miner's Superstitions : MINERS' SUPERSTITIONS MINERS say they often see little imps or demons underground. Their presence is considered favourable; they indicate the presence of lodes, about which they work during the absence of the miners. A miner told my informant that he had often seen them, sitting on pieces of timber...
The Giants. Ordulph The Giant : ORDULF THE GIANT THIS "Tavistock" Sampson is far removed from our fine old legendary giant; yet we perceive in the stories of Ordulph precisely the same process as that which has given immortality to Blunderbuss and others. In the church of the monastery of Tavistock, built by Orgar in 960...
Customs Of Ancient Days. Sanding The Step : CUSTOMS OF ANCIENT DAYS. "The king was to his palace, though the service was ydo, Vied with his mienie, and the queen to her also; For she held "the old usages"." ROBERT OF GLOUCESTER SANDING THE STEP ON NEW YEAR'S DAY. "They say, miracles are past, and we have oar philosophical persons, to make...
Traditions Of Tinners. The Tinner Of Chryannor : THE TINNER OF CHYANNOR [a] THE village of Trereen, near the Logan Stone, was at one time an important market-town. Here came all the tin-streamers who worked from Penberth to the hills, and to protect the place and the valuable property which was accumulated here, Castle Trereen was built. Here...
Popular Superstitions. The Month Of May Unlucky : THE MONTH OF MAY UNLUCKY MAY is regarded by many as an unhealthy and unlucky month. Children born in the month of May are called "May chets," and kittens cast in May are invariably destroyed, for-- " May chets Bad luck begets." Another rhyme is-- "A hot May, Fat church hay," meaning that funerals...
The Fairies. The Night Riders : THE NIGHT-RIDERS. I WAS on a visit when a boy at a farmhouse situated near Fowey river. Well do I remember the farmer with much sorrow telling us one morning at breakfast, that "the piskie people had been riding Tom again;" and this he regarded as certainly leading to the destruction of a fine...
Popular Superstitions. Cures For Warts : CURES FOR WARTS. I. THE vicar of Bodmin found, not long since, a bottle full of pins laid in a newly-made grave. I have heard of this as an unfailing remedy; each wart was touched with a new pin, and the pin then dropped into the bottle. I am not quite certain that it was necessary that the bottle...
The Giants. The Giants At Play : THE GIANTS AT PLAY. IN several parts of Cornwall there are evidences that these Titans were a sportive race. Huge rocks are preserved to show where they played at trap-ball, at hurling, and other athletic games. The giants of Trecrobben and St Michael's Mount often met for a game at bob-buttons...
The Fairies. The Adventures Of Cherry Of Zennor : THE ADVENTURE OF CHERRY OF ZENNOR. THIS may be regarded as another version of the story of the Fairy Widower:-- Old Honey lived with his wife and family in a little hut of two rooms and a "talfat," [a] on the cliff side of Trereen in Zennor. The old couple had half-a-score of children, who were...
Death Tokens And Superstitions. The North : THE NORTH SIDE OF A CHURCH. [a] STRONG prejudice has long existed against burying on, the northern side of the church. In many churchyards the southern side will be found full of graves, with scarcely any on the northern side. I have sought to discover, if possible, the origin of this prejudice...
Holy Wells. Gulval Well : GULVAL WELL. YOUNG woman, with a child in her arms, stands by the side of Gulval Well, in Fosses Moor. There is an expression of extreme anxiety in her interesting face, which exhibits a considerable amount of intelligence. She appears to doubt, and yet be disposed to believe in, the virtues...
Preface To The Third Edition : PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. DURING the last few years a new interest has been awakened, and the West of England has attracted the attention of many, who had previously neglected the scenes of interest, and the spots of beauty, which are to be found in our own island. The rugged granite range...
Holy Wells. Redruth Well : REDRUTH WELL. NO child christened in this well has ever been hanged. Saint Ruth, said to have been called Red Ruth, because she always wore a scarlet cloak, especially blessed, to this extent, those waters. I believe the population in this large parish cares but little now whether their children...
Demons And Spectres. The Hooting Cairn : DEMONS AND SPECTRES "A ghost, shrouded and folded up In its own formless honor." "The Cenci" - SHELLEY "I woke; it was the midnight hour, The dock was echoing in the tower; But though my slumber was gone by, This dream it would not pass away - It seems to live upon my eye!" Christobel - COLERIDGE...
Popular Superstitions. The Migratory Birds : THE MIGRATORY BIRDS. I FIND a belief still prevalent amongst the people in the outI lying districts of Cornwall, that such birds as the cuckoo and the swallow remain through the winter in deep caves, cracks in the earth, and in hollow trees; and instances have been cited of these birds having been...
Popular Superstitions. Charming And Prophetic : CHARMING, AND PROPHETIC POWER. "The carrion crow, that loathsome beast, Which cries against the rain, Both for her hue, and for the rest, The devil resembleth plain. And as with guns we kill the crow For spoiling our relief, The devil so must we o'erthrow With gunshot of belief." - GEORGE...
Popular Superstitions. Whistling : WHISTLING TO whistle by night is one of the unpardonable sins amongst the fishermen of St Ives. My correspondent says, "I would no more dare go among a party of fishermen at night whistling a popular air than into a den of untamed tigers." No miner will allow of whistling underground. I could...
Popular Superstitions. The Bonfire Test : THE BONFIRE TEST A BONFIRE is formed of faggots of furze, ferns, and the like. Men and maidens by locking hands form a circle, and commence a dance to some wild native song. At length, as the dancers become excited, they pull each other from side to side across the fire. If they succeed...
Popular Superstitions. A Cure For Paralysis : A CURE FOR PARALYSIS. MARGERY PENWARNE, a paralysed woman, about fifty years of age, though from her affliction looking some ten years older, sat in the church porch of St --, and presented her outstretched withered arm and open palm to the congregation as they left the house of God after...
Romances Of Fire Worship. Fire Ordeal : FIRE ORDEAL FOR THE CURE OF DISEASE. MINER, who was also a small farmer, living in Zennor, once consulted me on the condition of his daughter, a little girl about five or six years of age. This child was evidently suffering from some scrofulous taint. She was of a delicate complexion, with...
Popular Superstitions. The First Butterfly : THE FIRST BUTTERFLY "ONE of the superstitions prevailing in Devonshire is, that any individual neglecting to kill the first butterfly he may see for the season, will have ill luck throughout the year." [a] The following recent example is given by a young lady :-- "The other Sunday, as we were...
Legends Of The Saints. St Neot, The Pigmy : ST NEOT, THE PIGMY. WHENCE came the saint, or hermit, who has given his name to two churches in England, is not known. Tradition, however, informs us that he was remarkably small in stature, though exquisitely formed. He could not, according to all accounts, have been more than fifteen inches high...
Popular Superstitions. Snakes Avoid The Ash Tree : SNAKES AVOID THE ASH-TREE. IT is said that no kind of snake is ever found near the "ashen-tree," and that a branch of the ash-tree will prevent a snake from coming near a person. A child who was in the habit of receiving its portion of bread and milk at the cottage door, was found to be...
Appendix. Geese Dancing.Guise Dancing.Guizards : GEESE DANCING--GUISE DANCING-- GUIZARDS "THE doings of the guizards--that is, masquers--form a conspicuous feature in the New Year's proceedings throughout Scotland. The evenings on which these personages are understood to be privileged to appear are those of Christmas, Hogmanay, New Year's day...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. The Witch Of Treva : THE WITCH OF TREVA. Once a time, long ago, there lived at Treva, a hamlet in Zennor, a wonderful old lady deeply skilled in necromancy. Her charms, spells, and dark incantations made her the terror of the neighbourhood. However, this old lady failed to impress her husband with any belief in her...
Traditions Of Tinners. Pitmen's Omens And Goblins : PITMEN'S OMENS AND GOBLINS. IT is curious to notice the correspondence between the superstitions of the coal-miner and those employed in the metalliferous mines. The following comes very opportunely to our hand :-- The superstitions of pitmen were once many and terrible; but so far from existing...
The Giants. The Lord Of Pengerswick : THE LORD OF PENGERSWICK AND THE GIANT OF ST MICHAEL'S MOUNT. THE giant who dwelt on St Michael's Mount had grown very old, and had lost all his teeth; still he was the terror of the neighbouring villages. The horrid old monster--who had but one eye, and that one in the middle of his forehead--would...
Appendix. The Tinner Of Chyannor : THE TINNER OF CHYANNOR IN Trengothal stood a low hut called the Ram's House. This was said to have been built by the tinners, and called Chyan-nance or House in the Valley. "Nor", in Williams's Welsh Dictionary, is earth, This makes "Chyan-nor", or the House of Earth.
Appendix. The Sisters Of Glen Neot : THE SISTERS OF GLEN-NEOT by THE LATE REV. R. S. HAWKER OF MORWENSTOW. IT IS from Neot's sainted steep The foamy waters flash and leap; It is where shrieking wildflowers grow, They lave the nymph that dwells below ! But wherefore in this far-off dell, The reliques of a human cell ? Where the sad...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. The Witches : THE WITCHES OF THE LOGAN STONE. WHO that has travelled into Cornwall but has visited the Logan Stone ? Numerous Logan rocks exist on the granite hills of the county, but that remarkable mass which is poised on the cubical masses forming its Cyclopean support, at Trereen, is beyond all others "...
Popular Superstitions. The Ash Tree : THE ASH-TREE WEAKLY children--"children that wouldn't goode," or thrive - were sometimes drawn through the cleft ash-tree. I have seen the ceremony performed but in one case. The tree was young, and it was taken by the two forks,-- bifurcation having taken place,--and by force rended...
Appendix. Shara And Sheela : SHARA AND SHEELA. AFTER the meeting of the British Association at Cork, I spent some days visiting, with two friends, the various spots of interest in the south of Ireland. At Fermoy, the name given to a somewhat curious cromlech, "The Hag's Bed," interested me. I was at some trouble to learn...
Miscellaneous Stories. Woeful Moor, And Bodrigan's : WOEFUL MOOR, AND BODRIGAN'S LEAP THE Bodrigans, from a very early period, were connected with the borough of Looe. Otto, or Otho de Bodrigan, was lord of the manor of Pendrim and Looe in the reign of 'Edward II. Another Otho de Bodrigan was sheriff of Cornwall in the third of Richard II., A.D...
Popular Superstitions. To Cure The Hiccough : TO CURE THE HICCOUGH. WET the forefinger of the right hand with spittle, and cross the front of the left shoe or boot three times, repeating the Lord's Prayer backwards.
Romances Of Fishermen And Sailors. The Spectre : THE SPECTRE SHIP OF PORTHCURNO. PORTHCURNO COVE is situated a little to the west of the Logan Stone. There, as in nearly all the coves around the -coast, once existed a small chapel [a] or oratory, which appears to have been dedicated to St Leven. There exists now a little square enclosure...
Miscellaneous Stories. The Tower Of Minster Church : THE TOWER OF MINSTER CHURCH. "The Minster of the Trees! a lonely dell, Deep with old oaks, and 'mid their quiet shade, Gray with the moss of years, yon antique cell ! Sad are those walls: the cloister lowly laid, Where pacing monks at solemn evening made Their chanted orisons: and as the breeze...
Death Tokens And Superstitions. The Death : THE DEATH FETCH OF WILLIAM RUFUS. ROBERT, Earl of Moreton, in Normandy,--who always carried the standard of St Michael before him in battle,--was made Earl of Cornwall by William the Conqueror. He was remarkable for his valour and for his virtue, for the exercise of his power, and his benevolence...
Appendix. The North Side Of A Church : THE NORTH SIDE OF A CHURCH I HAVE been favoured with the following remarks on this subject by the Rev. J. C. Atkinson, of Danby, Grosmont :- I translate the following from Hylten Cuvalliecs' "Wrend och Wirdurne", pp. 287, 288. "Inasmuch as all light and all vigour springs from the sun, our Swedish...
The Fairies. The Piskies In The Cellar : THE PISKIES IN THE CELLAR. THE following story, for which I am indebted to Mr T. Q. Couch, will remind the reader of "The Cluricaun" and "The Haunted Cellar," in "Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland." By T. Crofton Croker, Esq. On the Thursday immediately preceding Christmas-tide...
Customs Of Ancient Days. Christmas At St Ives : CHRISTMAS AT ST IVES. "THE GUISE-DANCING." "WE doubt if there is a spot in 'merrie England' where Christmas receives so hearty a welcome, and is 'made so much of,' as in the old-fashioned 'antient borough of beloved St Ives.' It is often said that 'extremes meet;' but as well might we expect...
Popular Superstitions. Weather At Liskeard : WEATHER AT LISKEARD. "THE south wind always brings wet weather; The north wind, wet and cold together. The west wind always brings us rain; The east wind blows it back again. If the sun in red should set, The next day surely will be wet If the sun should set in gray, The next will be a rainy day."...
The Fairies. St Margery And The Piskies : ST MARGERY AND THE PISKIES. WE have no reliable information of the birth, parentage, or education of Margery Daw, but we have a nursery rhyme which clearly indicates that she must have been a sloven--perhaps an ancient picture of a literary lady, who was by her sad habit reduced to extreme...
Legends Of The Saints. St Dennis's Blood : ST DENNIS'S BLOOD. THE patron saint of the parish church of St Dennis was born in the city of Athens, in the reign of Tiberius. His name and fame have full record in the "History of the Saints of the Church of Rome." How his name was connected with this remote parish is not clearly made out. We...
Appendix. The Hag's Bed Near Fermoy : THE HAG'S BED NEAR FERMOY. "NEAR Fermoy is a very peculiar variety of these early structures, being en oblong building constructed with large blocks of limestone of the locality. It contains an internal chamber, from twenty to thirty feet long, five feet wide, and at the present time about four...
Demons And Spectres. The Warning : THE WARNING. THE following instance is given me, as from the party to whom it happened, "a respectable person, of undoubted veracity. When a young man, fearing and caring for no one, I was in the habit of visiting Sancreed from Penzance, and of returning in the evening. One night I took up my h...
Legends Of The Saints. The Two Breams : THE TWO BREAMS. Although in common with many of the churches in the remote districts of Cornwall, "decay's effacing fingers" have been allowed to do their work in St Leven Church, yet there still remains some of the ornamental work which once adorned it. Much of the carving is irremediably gone;...
Customs Of Ancient Days. st George : "ST GEORGE"--THE CHRISTMAS PLAYS. THE Christmas play is a very ancient institution in Cornwall. At one time religious subjects were chosen, but those gave way to romantic plays. The arrangements were tolerably complete, and sometimes a considerable amount of dramatic skill was displayed. "St...
Popular Superstitions. The Zennor Charmers : THE ZENNOR CHARMERS. BOTH men and women in this parish possessed this power to a remarkable degree. They could stop blood, however freely it might be flowing. "Even should a pig be sticked in tie very place, if a charmer was present, and "thought" of his charm at the time, the pig would not bleed...
Romances Of Lost Cities. the Island St Ives : "THE ISLAND," ST IVES. THE so-called island is now a peninsular mass of clay slate rocks, interpenetrated by very hard trappean masses. Between this and the town of St Ives is a low neck of land, which consists chiefly of sand and gravel, with some masses of clay slate broken into small angular...
Popular Superstitions. The Mutton Feast : THE MUTTON FEAST. AN old tradition--the particulars of which I have failed to recover--says that a flock of sheep were blown from the Gwithian Sands over into St Ives Bay, and that the St Ives fishermen caught them,-- believing them to be a new variety of fish,--either in their nets, or with hook...
Popular Superstitions. Sundry Charms : SUNDRY CHARMS. THE vicar of a large parish church informs me that a woman came to him some time since for water from the font after a christening; she required it to undo some spell. The vicar states, that all the fonts in. the country were formerly locked, to prevent people from stealing the "holy...
Popular Superstitions. The Limp Corpse : THE LIMP CORPSE. IF a corpse stiffens shortly after death, all is thought to proceed naturally; but if the limbs remain flexible, some one of the family is shortly to follow. If the eyes of a corpse are difficult to close, it is said "they are looking after a follower." To find a louse on one's...
Romances Of Fishermen And Sailors. Jack Harry's : JACK HARRY'S LIGHTS. THE phantom lights are called, they tell me, "Jack Harry's lights," because he was the first man who was fooled by them. They are generally observed before a gale, and the ship seen is like the ship which is sure to be wrecked. The man who communicated this to me said, "Wh...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. How Pengerswick : HOW PENGERSWICK BECAME A SORCERER. THE first Pengerswick, by whom the castle, which still bears his name, was built, was a proud man, and desired to ally himself with some of the best families of Cornwall. He wished his son to wed a lady who was very much older than himself; who is said to have...
Popular Superstitions. A Test Of Innocency : A TEST OF INNOCENCY A FARMER in Towednack having been robbed of some property of no great value, was resolved nevertheless, to employ a test which he had heard the "old people" resorted to for the purpose of catching the thief. He invited all his neighbours into his cottage, and when they were...
Demons And Spectres. The ha Af A Face : THE "HA-AF" A FACE. JAMES BERRYMAN said, "Fa-ather took a house doun to Lelant, whear we lived for a bra' bit. Very often after I ben in bed, our ould cat wud tear up, coover its ars like a ma-aged thing, jump uppon the bed, and dig her ould hed under the clothes, as if she wud git doun to bottom...
Romances Of Fishermen And Sailors. The Pilot's : ROMANCES OF FISHERMEN AND SAILORS. "I was saying to Jack, as we talk'd t' other day About lubbers and snivelling elves, That if people in life did not steer the right way, They had nothing to thank but themselves. Now, when a man's caught by those mermaids the girls With their flattering palaver...
Romances Of Fire Worship. The Garrack Zans : THE GARRICK ZANS, OR HOLY ROCK. FEW years--really but a few years--since, the stone altars on which the first inhabitants of these islands lit their holy fires had yet a place amongst us. In the village of Roskestall stood one such altar; in Treen was to be found another. These huge masses of rock...
Legends Of The Saints. St Neot And The Doe : ST NEOT AND THE DOE. Again, on another day, when the hermit was in his fountain, a lovely doe, flying from the huntsmen, fell down on the edge of the well, imploring, 'with tearful eyes and anxious pantings, the aid of St Neot. The dogs followed in full chase, ready to pounce on the trembling doe...
Demons And Spectres. Peter The Devil : PETER THE DEVIL. THE church at Altarnun is said to have been built from the remains of an ancient nunnery which had been founded in the early days of Christianity by the saint to whom it was dedicated. There was a peculiar sanctity about all that surrounded this little church and its holy well...
Miscellaneous Stories. Prussia Cove And Smugglers' : PRUSSIA COVE AND SMUGGLERS' HOLES SMUGGLERS' hiding-places (now, of course, unused) are numerous. On the banks of the Helford river are several, and two or three have lately been discovered on the coast about St Keverne by the falling in of their roofs. In a part of Penzance harbour, nine years...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. How Mr Lenine Gave : HOW MR LENINE GAVE UP COURTING. MR LENINE had been, as was his wont, spending his evening hours with the lady of his love. He was a timid man and always returned to Tregenebris early. Beyond this, as the lady was alone, she deemed it prudent to let the world know that Mr Lenine left her by...
Appendix. The Bargest, Or Spectre Hound : THE BARGEST, OR SPECTRE-HOUND. IN the glossary to the Rev. Mr. Carr's "Horae Momenta Carvenae," I find the following: "Bargest", a sprite that haunts towns and populous places. Belg. "berg", and "geest", a ghost." I really am not a little amused at Mr. Carr's derivation, which is most erroneous...
Appendix. Bellerian : BELLERIAN SAMUEL BUTLER of Shrewsbury, in his "Ancient and Modern Geography," p. 112, says, "Ocrinum was the Lizard, and B"o"lerium the Land's End." Ainsworth, Latin Dictionary, 4th edition, has "B"a"lerium --Burien in Cornwall." It is really in the parish of Sennen.
Romances Of The Rocks. The Twelve O' Clock Stone : THE TWELVE-O'CLOCK STONE. NUMBERS of people would formerly visit a remarkable Logan stone, near Nancledrea, which had been, by supernatural power, impressed with some peculiar sense at midnight. Although it was quite impossible to move this stone during daylight, or indeed by human power at any...
Appendix. The Harlyn Pie : THE HARLYN PIE THE Peter family, who formerly lived at Harlyn, left the place, and sold the estate to a farmer. The common report was that one of the family manured his land with earth from the graves in Constantine churchyard. A considerable quantity of land formerly said to belong to the po...
Traditions Of Tinners. Who Are The Knockers : "WHO ARE THE KNOCKERS ?" CHARLES KINGSLEY in his "Yeast: a Problem," asks this question--Tregarra answers,--"They are "the ghosts, "the miners hold, of the old Jews that crucjfled our Lord, and were sent for slaves by the Roman emperors to work the mines: and we find their old smelting-houses...
The Giants. The Giants Of Trencrom, Or Trecrobben : THE GIANTS OF TRENCROM, OR TRECROBBEN. THE rough granite hill of Trecrobben rises in almost savage grandeur from the wooded lands which form the park of Trevetha, close by the picturesque village of Lelant. From the summit of this hill may be surveyed one of the most striking panoramic views...
Legends Of The Saints. St Kea's Boat : ST KEA'S BOAT. ST KEA, a young Irish saint, stood on the southern shores of Ireland and saw the Christian missionaries departing to carry the blessed Word to the heathens of Western England. He watched their barks fade beneath the horizon, and he felt that he was left to a solitude which was not...
Popular Superstitions. Crowing Hens Etc : CROWING HENS, ETC. A WHISTLING maid and a crowing hen in one house, is a certain sign of a downfall to some one in it. I have known hens killed for crowing by night. The braying of an ass is a sign of fair weather; so is also the crowing of a cock. The quacking of ducks foretells rain.
Romances Of Arthur. Carlian In Kea : CARLIAN IN KEA ONE of the most celebrated of Arthur's knights, Sir Tristram, is said to have been born in this parish. A tradition of this is preserved in the parish, but it is probably derived from the verses of Thomas of Erceldoune, better known as Thomas the Rhymer.
The Fairies. The Fairy Ointment : THE FAIRY OINTMENT MANY years since, there lived as housekeeper with a celebrated squire, whose name is associated with the history of his native country, one Nancy Tregier. There were many peculiarities about Nancy; and she was, being a favourite with her master, allowed to do much as she pleased...
Popular Superstitions. Adders And The Milpreve : ADDERS, AND THE MILPREVE THE country people around the Land's End say that in old I times no one could live in the low grounds, which were then covered with thickets, and these swarming with adders. Even at a much later period, in the summer-time, it was not safe to venture amongst the furze...
Holy Wells. Maddern Or Madron Well : MADDERN OR MADRON WELL. "Plunge thy right hand in St Maciron's spring, If true to its troth be the palm you bring; But if a false digit thy fingers bear, Lay them at once on the burning share." OF the holy well at St Maddern, Carne [a] writes thus -- "It has been contended that a virgin w...
Appendix. Padstow Hobby Horse : PADSTOW HOBBY HORSE. MR. GEORGE RAWLINGS writes, September 1, 1865:-- Formerly all the respectable people kept the anniversary decorated with the choicest flowers, but some unlucky day a number of rough characters from a distance joined it, and committed some sad assaults on old...
Popular Superstitions. The Robin And The Wren : THE ROBIN AND THE WREN "THOSE who kill a robin or a wran, Will never prosper, boy or man." This feeling is deeply impressed on every young mind; there are few, therefore, who would injure either of those birds. I remember that a boy in Redruth killed a robin: the dead robin was tied round his neck...
Appendix. St Chiwidden : ST CHIWIDDEN. THE last Thursday--a clear week before Christmas day --was formerly always claimed by the tinners as a holiday, and was called by them White-Thursday ("Jew-whidn"), because on this day, according to tradition, black tin (tin ore) was first melted and refined into white t...
Popular Superstitions. Cure Of Toothache : CURE OF TOOTHACHE. ONE good man informed me that, though he had no faith in charming, yet this he knew, that he was underground one day, and had the toothache "awful bad, sure enough; and Uncle John ax'd me, 'What's the matter ?' says he. 'The toothache,' says I. 'Shall I charm it ?' says he. 'Ees...
The Fairies. The Spriggans Of Trencrom Hill : THE SPRIGGANS OF TRENCROM HILL. IT is not many years since a man, who thought he was fully informed as to the spot in which a crock of the giant's gold was buried, proceeded on one fine moonlight night to this enchanted hill, and with spade and pick commenced his search. He proceeded for some time...
Customs Of Ancient Days. Drinking The Apple : DRINKING TO THE APPLE-TREES ON TWELFTH-NIGHT'S-EVE IN the eastern part of Cornwall, and in western Devonshire, it was the custom to take a milk-panful of cider, into which roasted apples had been broken, into the orchard This was placed as near the centre of the orchard as possible, and each...
Romances Of Lost Cities. The Traditi : THE TRADITION OF THE LYONESSE OR LETHOWSO W. THOSE who may stand on the extreme point of the Land's End, and, looking over that space where the waters of the Atlantic mix with those of the British Channel, see in the far distance the Scilly Islands, will have to call upon their imaginati...
Popular Superstitions. The Club Moss : THE CLUB-MOSS. (LYCOPODIUM INUNDATUM.) IF this moss is properly gathered, it is "good against all diseases of the eyes." The gathering is regarded as a mystery not to be lightly told; and if any man ventures to write the secret, the virtues of the moss avail him no more. I hope, therefore, my...
Demons And Spectres. A Flying Spirit : A FLYING SPIRIT. ABOUT the year 1761 a pinnacle was thrown down, by lightning, from the tower of the church at Ludgvan. The effect was then universally imputed to the vengeance of a perturbed spirit, exorcised from Treassow, and passing eastward, towards the usual place of banishment --THE RED SE...
The Fairies. The Fairy Fair In Germoe : THE FAIRY FAIR IN GERMOE. BAL LANE in Germoe was a notorious place for piskies. One night Daniel Champion and his comrade came to Godolphin Bridge,--they were a little bit "overtook" with liquor. They said that when they came to "Bal Lane," they found it covered all over from end to end...
Romances Of Witches, Etc. Bewitched Cattle : BEWITCHED CATTLE. FARMER, who possessed broad acres, and who was in many respects a sensible man, was greatly annoyed to find that his cattle became diseased in the spring. Nothing could satisfy him but that they were bewitched, and he was resolved to find out the person who had cast the evil eye...
Romances Of The Rocks. Merlyn's Prophecies : MERLYN'S PROPHECIES. PROPHECIES by Merlyn are tolerably prevalent in Cornwall. The character of these may be known by one or two examples -- "Aga syth tyer, war and meyne Merlyn Ara neb syth Leskey Paul, Penzance hag Newlyn." This has been translated-- "There shall land on the stone of Merlyn...
Appendix. H : H THE following letter, addressed to the publisher of the first and second editions of this book, will be read with interest :-- 263 HAMPSTRAD ROAD, NW., April 18th, 1865 DEAR MR. HOTTEN,-- I have received your note, in which you express a doubt as to whether some portion of the public will...
Untitled : Title Page Preface to the Third Edition Introduction VOLUME ONE THE GIANTS The Age of the Giants Corineus and Gogmagog The Giants of the Mount The Key of the Giant's Castle The Rival Giants The Giants of Trencrom, or Trecrobben The Giants at Play Holibun of the Cairn The Giant of Nancledry...
Demons And Spectres. The Execution And Wedding : THE EXECUTION AND WEDDING. WOMAN, who had lived at Ludgvan, was executed at Bodmin for the murder of her husband. There was but little doubt that she had been urged on to the diabolical deed by a horse dealer, known as Yorkshire Jack, with whom, for a long period, she was generally supposed...
Appendix. St Neot : ST NEOT THE following account of this celebrated saint, as given by Mr Davies Gilbert, will not be without interest :-- "Multitudes flocked to him from all parts. He founded a monastery, and repaired to Rome for a confirmation, and for blessing at the hands, of the Pope; these were readily...
The Fairies. St Levan Fairies : ST LEVAN FAIRIES YEARS since--the time is past now--the green outside the gate at the end of Trezidder Lane was a favourite place with the Small Folks on which to hold their fairs. One might often see the rings in the grass which they made in dancing, where they footed it. Mr Trezillian w...