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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7b6210f --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #53478 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53478) diff --git a/old/53478-0.txt b/old/53478-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index aa5b006..0000000 --- a/old/53478-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9707 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Blackmore Country, by F. J. Snell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Blackmore Country - -Author: F. J. Snell - -Release Date: November 8, 2016 [EBook #53478] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BLACKMORE COUNTRY *** - - - - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - - The Pilgrimage Series - - THE BLACKMORE COUNTRY - - [Illustration] - - AGENTS-- - - AMERICA: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY - 64 and 66 Fifth Avenue, New York - - AUSTRALASIA: THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS - 205 Flinders Lane, Melbourne - - CANADA: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, LTD. - St Martin’s House, 70 Bond Street, Toronto - - INDIA: MACMILLAN & COMPANY, LTD. - Macmillan Building, Bombay - 309 Bow Bazaar Street, Calcutta - - [Illustration: ON THE LYN, BELOW BRENDON (page 162).] - - - - - [Illustration] - - THE - BLACKMORE COUNTRY - - BY - F. J. SNELL - - AUTHOR OF “A BOOK OF EXMOOR,” ETC. - - SECOND EDITION - WITH 32 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS - FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY - CATHARINE W. BARNES WARD - - LONDON - ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK - - [Illustration] - - “So holy and so perfect is my love, - - * * * * * - - That I shall think it a most plenteous crop - To glean the broken ears after the man - That the main harvest reaps.” - --Sir PHILIP SIDNEY. - - _First Edition, containing 50 illustrations, published 1906_ - _This Edition published 1911_ - - - - -PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION - - -The _Blackmore Country_ having achieved a second edition, it is proper -to state that it is now presented to the public substantially in the -same form as in the original issue. Advantage, however, has been taken -of a friendly critique by Mr Arthur Smyth to effect some revision. Mr -Smyth, who was well acquainted with the Blackmore family, and indeed a -distant relation, is rather perplexed at the assertion that the -novelist’s father was a poor man; but he certainly passed for such at -Culmstock, and the fact that he took pupils, in addition to serving his -poor cure, tends to show that he was by no means too well off. - -In my _Early Associations of Archbishop Temple_ it is stated with -reference to the restoration of Culmstock Church: “Nobody knew from what -source Mr Blackmore obtained the necessary funds, but it was supposed -that his wife’s relations were rich.” This is, in a sense, confirmed by -Mr Smyth, who says that Mr Turberville, R. D. Blackmore’s elder brother, -inherited considerable property from his mother; but, when I wrote the -passage above quoted, I was not aware that John Blackmore was married -twice. His first wife, who died three years after their marriage, and -before John Blackmore set foot in Culmstock, may not have been in -possession of means, although Turberville’s estate--Mr Smyth says, “his -will was proved for (I believe) £20,000”--may have been derived from his -maternal connections. Mr Snowden Ward, in his Introduction to the -Doone-land edition of _Lorna Doone_, informs us regarding R. D. -Blackmore, also a son of this lady: “A bequest from the Rev. H. Hay -Knight, his mother’s brother, put an end to his financial worries.” - -Nevertheless, it may be doubted whether the novelist was ever in even -“comparative affluence.” He himself publicly declared that he lost more -than he gained from market-gardening--he was, by the way, a -F.R.H.S.--and the late Rev. D. M. Owen, Blackmore’s old schoolfellow, -with whom he maintained a lifelong correspondence, told me that he was -constantly complaining of his pecuniary limitations. Mr Owen’s reply was -that he had no excuse; he had only to write another _Lorna Doone_ to -replenish his treasury to the brim. When, also, he was asked for a -subscription to the Culmstock flower show, Blackmore declined, assigning -as the reason that he “couldn’t afford it.” This does not look like -“comparative affluence.” - -Mr Smyth says that he never saw or heard of any daughters of the Rev. -John Blackmore. If he implies that there were none, he is certainly -mistaken (see Prologue), but he raises a problem which, I confess, I am -not able to solve. “In Charles Church there is a marble slab erected to -the memory of the Rev. John Blackmore by his children, J. B., R. B., M. -A. B. No allusion is made to M. A. B. in the pedigree either by the -Rev. J. F. Chanter or Mr Snell.” The only explanation which occurs to me -is that M. A. B. may represent the initials of their full sister, who -died in infancy. The Rev. John Blackmore married in 1822. Three years -later he sustained a terrible trial. “The novelist’s father,” says Mr -Ward, “was a ‘coach’ for Oxford pupils, until, in 1825, a great outbreak -of typhus fever swept away his wife, daughter, two pupils, the family -physician, and all the servants, and almost broke John Blackmore’s -heart.” R. D. Blackmore’s mother’s maiden name was Anne Basset Knight; -and the A. in M. A. B. suggests that her daughter may have been called -Anne--perhaps Mary Anne, if M. A. B. indicates that daughter. She had -long been dead, but the brothers, as an act of piety, may have chosen to -commemorate her in this way, whilst ignoring the daughters of the second -family, whom Mr Smyth never saw or heard of. - -In conclusion, the demand for a second edition of this work is a -satisfactory answer to the disparaging remarks of the late Mr F. T. -Elworthy in a presidential address to the members of the Devonshire -Association for the Promotion of Literature, Science, and Art. It is a -bad precedent that the title and contents of a new work should be -officially censured on an occasion when it was by an accident that the -author was not present to be lectured for his shortcomings, just as it -was a pure accident that Mr Elworthy was not named in the book as -accompanying Dr Murray and Professor Rhys in their visit to the -Caractacus stone on Winsford Hill (p. 109)! I now repair this omission, -and at the same time express regret that the secretaries did not take -steps to delete from the reports of a learned and very useful -association criticism which, to say the least, was beside the mark. - -F. J. SNELL. - -_January 30, 1911._ - - - - -PROLOGUE - - -The “Blackmore Country” is an expression requiring some amount of -definition, as it clearly will not do to make it embrace the whole of -the territory which he annexed, from time to time, in his various works -of fiction, nor even every part of Devon in which he has laid the scenes -of a romance. The latter point may perhaps be open to discussion in the -sense that, ideally, the glamour of his writing ought to rest with its -full might of memory on all the neighbourhoods of the West around which -he drew his magic circle. As a fact, however, it is North Devon and a -slice of the sister county that form his literary patrimony, while -Dartmoor is a more general possession, which he failed to seal with the -same staunch and archetypal impression. There have been many good -Dartmoor stories, and one instinctively associates that region with the -names of Baring-Gould and Eden Phillpotts; with Blackmore, hardly at -all. But from Exmoor to Barnstaple, and from Lynton to Tiverton, he -reigns supreme--and naturally, for this was his homeland, which, through -all its length and breadth, he knew with an intimacy, and loved with a -devotion, and portrayed with a skill, that will surely never again be -the portion of any child of Devon. - -Richard Doddridge Blackmore was born on June 7, 1825, at Longworth, in -Berkshire--a circumstance which raises the delicate and important -question whether, after all, he can be justly claimed as a Devonshire -man. On the whole, I think, the question may be answered affirmatively, -although it is evident that he cannot possibly be described as a native -of the county. Who, however, would dream of depriving an Englishman of -his nationality merely for the accident of his being born abroad, unless -indeed he deliberately abandoned that proud title and threw in his lot -with the country of his birth, to the exclusion of his ancestral home? -And this practically represents the state of affairs as regards -Blackmore. In one sense it must be admitted he did not remain constant -to his Devonshire connections, inasmuch as he resided through a great -part of his life, and to the day of his death, at Teddington, in -Middlesex. But as against this must be set the facts that he descended -from an old North Devon stock, a stock so old that it may fairly be -termed indigenous, and that his boyish experiences were almost entirely -confined within the county. To these weighty considerations may be added -that he eventually became possessor of the ancient residence of his -race, that he always manifested the warmest interest in county concerns, -and that his great achievement in literature was inspired by -West-country legend. That well-known authority, the Rev. J. F. Chanter, -worthy son of a worthy sire, would like to say “Devon” legend, and much -may be urged in favour of his contention, notwithstanding that modern -Exmoor is altogether in Somerset. He points out, for instance, that -Bagworthy (or “Badgery”) Wood, the centre of the Doone traditions, is in -Devon. Still it were better, perhaps, to consider _Lorna Doone_ in the -light of a border romance. Indeed, on an impartial survey, it seems -almost necessary to adopt this view; and Blackmore himself was anything -but unwilling to recognise, and even to emphasise, the Somerset element -in his story. - -Not long before the novelist’s death, a gentleman wrote to him from -Taunton, calling attention to the widely prevalent idea that in the -course of the tale he conveyed the impression of allocating this -charming country to North Devon rather than West Somerset; and Mr -Blackmore’s correspondent went on to mention that recently strenuous -efforts had been made to procure the inclusion of Exmoor in Devon, but -that the policy of plunder had been defeated by the vigilant action of -the Somerset County Council. In reply to this communication the -following letter was received:-- - - “My dear Sir,--Nowhere, to the best of my remembrance, have I said, - or even implied, that Exmoor lies mainly in Devonshire. Having - known that country from my boyhood--for my grandfather was the - incumbent of Oare as well as of Combe Martin--I have always borne - in mind the truth that by far the larger part of the moor is within - the county of Somerset, and the very first sentence in _Lorna - Doone_ shows that John Ridd lived in the latter county. Moreover, - when application is made to Devon J.P.’s for a warrant against the - Doones, does not one of them say that the crime was committed in - Somerset, and therefore he cannot deal with it? See also p. 179 - (6d. edition), which seems to me clear enough for anything. - Moreover, the rivalry of the militia, both in _Lorna Doone_ and - _Slain by the Doones_--which title I dislike, and did not choose - freely--shows that the Doone Valley was upon the county border. I - think also that Cosgate, supposed to be ‘County’s Gate,’ is - referred to in _Lorna Doone_, but I cannot stop to look.[1] The - Warren where the Squire lived is on the westward of the line, as - Lynmouth is--or, at least, I think so--and therefore North Devon is - spoken of the heroine who lives there. All this being so very clear - to me, I have been surprised more than once at finding myself - accused in Somerset papers of describing Exmoor as mainly a - district of Devonshire--a thing which I never did, even in haste of - thought. And if you should hear such a charge repeated, I trust - that your courtesy will induce you to contradict it, which I have - never done publicly, as I thought the refutation was self-evident.” - -It is certainly true that at Dulverton, which, if not Exmoor, is next -door to it, visitors frequently imagine that they are in Devonshire, as -I have myself proved, but, for my own part, I have never attributed this -delusion to the influence of _Lorna Doone_. On the contrary, it has -seemed to me that a river is the culprit. The Exe is universally -esteemed a Devon stream, and lends its name to the metropolis of the -West. That in these circumstances Exmoor should be anywhere but in -Devonshire, may well appear a violation of the fitness of things, and as -coloured maps seldom perhaps emerge from their impedimenta, these -visitors revenge themselves on the makers of England by substituting for -artificial delimitations their own easy beliefs and natural assumptions. - -This, however, is somewhat of a digression. I return to the probably -more interesting topic of Mr Blackmore’s Devonshire “havage,” which good -old West-country term I once heard a good old West-country clergyman -derive from the Latin _avus_--needless to say, a most unlikely etymon. -In the above-quoted letter reference is made to the novelist’s -grandfather as incumbent of Oare and Combe Martin, but, had the occasion -required it, Blackmore could no doubt have furnished a much fuller -account of his North Devon pedigree. It is extremely probable, but not -absolutely certain, that one of his remote ancestors, sharing the same -Christian name Richard, married a Wichehalse of Lynton. To have read -_Lorna Doone_ is to remember how John Ridd rudely disturbed young Squire -Wichehalse in the act of kissing his sister Annie; and I shall have more -to say of this half-foreign clan, their fortunes, and their eyry in a -subsequent chapter. Meanwhile one may note that the first entry in the -parish register of Parracombe relates to the marriage of Richard -Blackmore and Margaret, daughter of Hugh Wichehalse, of Ley, Esq.; and, -further, that the bride’s father died on Christide, 1653, and the bride -herself thirty years later. These dates are important, as they seem to -preclude the possibility of the Richard Blackmore who wedded the Lady of -Ley being the direct progenitor of the Richard Blackmore who wrote -_Lorna Doone_, though it can scarcely be questioned that he was of the -same kith and kin, and so, in the larger sense, an ancestor. In any -case, the match cannot be accepted as a criterion of the standing of the -family. _Mésalliances_ are not unknown in North Devon, one such romantic -union of erstwhile celebrity being the marriage of a small farmer’s son -with a daughter of the resident rector, a gentleman of good descent and -prebendary of Exeter Cathedral. From the time of John Ridd, and who -shall say for how many ages antecedent thereto, love has laughed at -locksmiths and gone its own wilful way. - -Small farmers, however, the Blackmores were not. They were freeholders -settled at East Bodley and Barton in the parish of Parracombe, and -leaseholders of the neighbouring farm of Killington, or Kinwelton, in -the parish of Martinhoe. Over the porch of the old farmstead at -Parracombe may still be read the inscription, “R.B., J.B., 1638”; and as -the Subsidy Rolls of 16 Charles I. for Parracombe and Martinhoe contain -the names of Richard and John Blackmore, we may conjecture without -difficulty to whom the initials belonged. The first of the yeomen on -whom we can fasten as a certain ancestor of the novelist was a John -Blackmore who died in 1689. His son Richard, and grandson John, and -great-grandson John--not to mention other members of the family whose -names are duly recorded--suffered themselves to be absorbed with the -peaceful and healthful pursuit of husbandry, which they practised, -generation after generation, on their estate at Bodley. Then, towards -the end of the eighteenth century there occurred a change; and the -Blackmore name, in the person of another John, took what may be termed -an upward turn. This John Blackmore, born in 1764, betrayed a taste for -learning, and through Tiverton School found his way to Exeter College, -Oxford, where he won the degree of B.A. He was soon after ordained, and -entered on his duties as curate of High Bray, on the outskirts of -Exmoor, and in his own country and county. An antiquary and a person of -general cultivation, he was at the pains of copying the parish register, -and in the new edition did what every parson should do, set down items -of current interest, together with an informal history of the parish, so -far as it could be learned. He did also what few parsons should -attempt--adorned his copy of the register with original Latin verses. -Such specimens of new Latin poetry as I have disinterred from parochial -records are, for the most part, fearful and wonderful lucubrations as to -both sentiment and technique, whereas it is frequently the case that -voluntary jottings in the vulgar tongue gild and redeem, with their -human touches, whole continents of inky wilderness. - -Not long after his advent at High Bray Mr Blackmore appears to have -married, and in process of time his wife bore him a first-born son, whom -he named John. He was, however, not quite content with his position as -curate; and accordingly he bought the advowson of the adjacent living of -Charles, in the confident expectation that it would shortly become void, -pending which happy consummation he agreed to serve as curate-in-charge. -No speculation could have been more disastrous, since, in point of fact, -the hoped-for vacancy did not occur till quite half a century had passed -over his head, and at that advanced age he did not think proper to enter -upon possession. Instead of doing so, he presented his second son -Richard to the rectory. During this protracted era of suspense John -Blackmore, senior, as he must now be designated, did not lack -preferment. In 1809 he was appointed rector of Oare, and in 1833 -(pluralities being still admissible) he received in addition the -valuable living of Combe Martin; and both these appointments he -continued to hold till his death in 1842. - -As has been intimated, the original Parson Blackmore had two sons, John -and Richard, each of whom, following in his footsteps, entered the -Church; and the elder at all events met with considerably worse luck -than his father. Curiously enough, his early life was full of promise, -for in 1816 he was elected Fellow of Exeter, his father’s old college, -and this might well have proved the inception of a long and successful -academic career, either in Oxford or at one of our public schools. But -in 1822 he vacated his fellowship on his marriage with Anne Basset, -daughter of the Rev. J. Knight, of Newton Nottage. Thirteen years later -he had attained to no higher position than that of curate-in-charge of -Culmstock, near Tiverton; and when he retired from that, it was only to -proceed in a similar capacity to Ashford, near Barnstaple. He was always -poor, but deserved a happier fate, since he was always good (see _Maid -of Sker_, chapter xxxix.). He died in 1858. - -By his wife Anne the Rev. John Blackmore had one daughter and two sons, -Henry John, who afterwards took the name of Turberville, and Richard -Doddridge. The former produced a bizarre poem entitled “The Two -Colonels,” and was proficient in a number of sciences, notably in -astronomy, but he was eccentric to such a degree that there was grave -doubt, in spite of all his attainments, whether he was quite _compos -mentis_. He resided at Bradiford, near Barnstaple, died at Yeovil under -distressing circumstances, and was buried at Charles (in 1875). He -assumed the name Turberville, so it is said, out of resentment at the -sale of the family estates for the benefit of a half-brother, Frederick -Platt Blackmore, an officer in the army and a spendthrift; and he -notified his intention, as well as his reason, to all whom it might -concern in a printed handbill. Anger was also the motive for his writing -“The Two Colonels”; he conceived there had been discourtesy on the part -of the members of the Ilfracombe Highway Board and others. The -publication caused much excitement, and at one time an action for libel -seemed imminent. Eventually, it is believed, the book was withdrawn. - -Besides the son already mentioned, the Rev. John Blackmore had by his -second wife two daughters, Charlotte Ellen, who married the Rev. J. P. -Faunthorpe, of Whitelands College, Chelsea, and Jane Elizabeth, who was -the wife of the Rev. Samuel Davis, for many years vicar of Barrington, -Devon. He was for a year or two at Bude Haven, and won some reputation -there as a preacher. Hence, his son, Mr A. H. Davis, thought he might -possibly be the “Bude Light” of _Tales from the Telling House_, but my -friend, the late Rev. D. M. Owen, who probably knew, gave me to -understand that the “Bude Light” was the Rev. Goldsworthy Gurney. - -Returning to the first family--the second son was Richard Doddridge -Blackmore, the novelist. In his case, although great wit is proverbially -allied to madness, the question of sanity is not likely to be raised; -and probably the worst fault that the world will lay to his charge is -that of undue secretiveness. It is common knowledge that he interdicted -anything in the shape of a biography, and doubtless he took measures to -prevent the survival of private papers and letters which might be used -as material for the purpose. Whether or not he did this, his wish will -assuredly be held sacred by his more intimate friends, who alone are -qualified to undertake such a work. Meanwhile the novelist has to pay -for his prohibition of an authentic Life, by the unrestricted play of -_ben trovare_. Having myself been victimised by this insidious enemy of -truth, I seize the opportunity to protest that any statements regarding -the late Mr Blackmore to be found in the present work are made without -prejudice and with all reserve, as being, conceivably, the inventions -of the Father of Lies. At the same time, as due caution has been -observed and the evidence has, in various instances, been drawn from -reputable and independent witnesses who, without knowing it, acted as a -check on each other, I cannot seriously believe that these contributions -to history are either gratuitous or garbled. - -An illustration, pointed and germane, is not far to seek. I always -understood from my late kind friend, the Rev. C. St Barbe, Sydenham, -rector of Brushford, who, to the deep regret of a wide circle of -acquaintance, passed away in the spring of 1904 at the age of 81, that -R. D. Blackmore, as a boy, spent many of his vacations at the moorland -village of Charles, to the rectory of which his uncle Richard had, as we -have seen, been presented by his grandfather. Mr Sydenham even went so -far as to use the expression “brought up” in this connection, which -indicates at least the length and frequency of young Blackmore’s visits. -Now the Rev. J. F. Chanter, in a paper written in 1903, shows that he -also has gained a knowledge of the circumstance--certainly by some other -means. As the rector of Charles did not die till 1880, and so lived to -see his nephew and guest grown famous, it is not to be supposed that he -allowed his share in the hero’s tirocinium to remain obscure. What more -natural than that he should communicate it freely to his neighbours, -with all the pride of a fond uncle with no children of his own? Would he -not have related also, as the harvest of imparted wisdom, that in the -rectory parlour, the scene of former instruction, great part of _Lorna -Doone_ was written? Nor must we forget the old Blackmore property at -Bodley, where the novelist’s grandfather, in order to adapt it to his -requirements as an occasional residence, had added to the venerable -homestead a new wing; and where, or at Oare rectory, the future romancer -passed blissful holidays, roaming at will in the North Devon fields and -lanes, and drinking in quaint lore, conveyed in the broad, kindly -accents of the North Devon country-folk. The Bodley estates, consisting -of East Bodley, West Hill, and Burnsley Mill, passed to the novelist’s -father, by whom they were sold a few years before his death. Mr Arthur -Smyth, referring to R. D. Blackmore’s college days, avers that even then -he was very reserved. Mr Smyth’s father often went shooting with him. -About this time a white hare was caught at Bodley, and, having been -stuffed, was treasured by the Rev. R. Blackmore in his dining-room at -Charles. - -Thus the limits of the Blackmore country are definitely staked out by -family tradition, as well as by literary interest, running from -Culmstock to Ashford, and from Oare to Combe Martin, with the commons -appurtenant. The confines are somewhat vague and irregular, and I must -crave some indulgence for my method of configuration. Obviously, the -novelist’s recollections of his youth with their accompanying sentiments -and inspirations, cannot be taken as an absolute guide, for then it -would be requisite to cross the Bristol Channel to Newton Nottage, his -mother’s home, in the vicinity of which are laid the opening scenes of -the charming _Maid of Sker_. Such a course would infringe too much on -the popular conception of the phrase, and the attempt to link -localities without any natural connection, and severed by an arm of the -sea, however successfully accomplished in the romance, would in our case -involve needless confusion. What little is said about Newton Nottage, -therefore, may as well be said here. - -A village in Glamorganshire, it had peculiarly sacred and solemn -associations for R. D. Blackmore. Nottage Court, the seat of the Knight -family, was his mother’s ancestral home, and it was also one of the -homes of his own childhood. Here he wrote his first book, the -above-named romance, which was ever his favourite, but the story was -re-written, and not published till a later date. For Blackmore, however, -the place had sad as well as pleasant memories, for it was here that his -father, then curate of Ashford, was found dead in his bed on the morning -of September 24, 1858, whilst on a visit to his wife’s people, and at -Newton Nottage he lies buried. - -If this is crossing the Bristol Channel, so be it; we are soon back -again, and ready to discourse of Tiverton, and Southmolton, and Lynton, -and Barnstaple, and their smaller neighbours, with the moors and commons -appurtenant.[2] - - - - -PEDIGREE OF THE BLACKMORE FAMILY - - - JOHN BLACKMORE of Parracombe, _d._ 1689.{*} - | - RICHARD BLACKMORE === MARY ----. - of Parracombe, | - _d._ 1733.{*} | - ----------------------- - | | - RICHARD BLACKMORE, JOHN BLACKMORE === ELISABETH, - _b._ 1698.{*} _b._ 1701,{*} | daughter of - _m._ 1731-2,{*} | William Dovel - _d._ 1761.{*} | of Parracombe. - | - ---------------------------------------------- - | | | | | | - PHILPOT, RICHARD, 2 Daughters. | RICHARD, - _b._ 1732-3,{*} _b._ 1733, | _b._ 1742. - _m._ 1756,{*} _d._ 1733. | - R. Cook, Clothier, -------- - son of | - the Rev. J. Cook, | - Rector JOHN BLACKMORE === ELISABETH, - of Trentishoe. _b._ 1739,{*} | daughter of - _m._ 1762,{*} | John Slader - _d._ 1805.{*} | of - | Parracombe. - | - ----------------------------------------- - | | | - JOHN BLACKMORE === MARY. RICHARD, BETTY, - _b._ 1764,{*} | _b._ 1766,{*} _b._ 1768,{*} - _m._ 179-, _d._ 1842.{**} | | _m._ 1796,{*} - Rector of Oare and Combe | Issue. Henry Quart - Martin. | of Molland. - | - ----------------------------------------- - | | - JOHN BLACKMORE === ANNE BASSET, RICHARD - _b._ 1794,{***} | daughter of _b._ 1798,{***} - _m._ 1822,{***} | Rev. J. Knight _d._ 1880,{**} - _a._ 1858{**} | of Rector of Charles. - at Newton Nottage; | Newton Nottage. | - Fellow of | No Issue. - Exeter College, | - Oxford | - (1816-1822){*****}; | - C. of Culmstock | - and Ashford. | - | - --------------------- - | | - HENRY JOHN RICHARD DODDRIDGE === LUCY M‘GUIRE. - (Turberville), BLACKMORE, - _b._ 1824, _b._ 1825,{****} - _d._ 1875.{**} _m._ 1852, - | _d._ 1900, - No Issue. Scholar of Exeter College; - B.A., 1847.{*****} - | - No Issue. - -{*} Parracombe Registers. - -{**} Charles Registers. - -{***} High Bray Registers. - -{****} _Dict. Nat. Biog._ - -{*****} Register Exeter College. - - NOTE.--For the Blackmore pedigree and other kindly assistance, the - author is indebted to the Rev. J. F. CHANTER, of Parracombe. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - -PROLOGUE ix - - -_PERLYCROSS_ - -CHAPTER I. THE APPROACH 1 - -“ II. BLACKMORE’S VILLAGE 12 - -“ III. THE HINTERLAND 33 - - -_LORNA DOONE_ - -“ IV. BLACKMORE’S SCHOOL 49 - -“ V. THE TOWN OF THE TWO FORDS 61 - -“ VI. THE WONDERS OF BAMPTON 77 - -“ VII. WHERE MASTER HUCKABACK THROVE 89 - -“ VIII. BROTHERS BARLE AND EXE 107 - -“ IX. THE HEART OF THE MOOR 122 - -“ X. BAGWORTHY AND BRENDON 138 - -“ XI. THE MOUTH OF THE LYN 162 - -“ XII. ROUND DUNKERY 178 - - -_LORNA DOONE AND THE MAID OF SKER_ - -“ XIII. GOSSIP-TOWN 201 - -“ XIV. THE FORGE OF FAGGUS, AND THE CURE OF -CHOWNE 216 - -“ XV. BARUM 241 - -“ XVI. THE SHORE OF DEATH 256 - -ENVOY 277 - -INDEX 281 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - -FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY CATHARINE W. BARNES WARD. - - -1 On the Lyn, below Brendon _Frontispiece_ - - FACING PAGE - -2 Culmstock Vicarage and Church 9 - -3 Rectory House at Charles 16 - -4 Culmstock Church and River 25 - -5 Hemyock 32 - -6 Culmstock Bridge 41 - -7 Old Blundell’s School, Tiverton 48 - -8 Chapel, Greenway’s Almshouses, Tiverton 73 - -9 Combe, Dulverton 80 - -10 A Bit of Old Dulverton 89 - -11 Torr Steps, Hawkridge 96 - -12 Winsford 121 - -13 Landacre Bridge, Exmoor 128 - -14 Bagworthy Valley 137 - -15 Brendon, near Oare 144 - -16 Nicholas Snow’s Farmyard Gate 153 - -17 Oare Church 160 - -18 Junction of Lyn and Bagworthy Water 169 - -19 “The Waterslide,” Lancombe 176 - -20 The Cheesewring, Valley of Rocks 174 - -21 Ship Inn, Porlock 185 - -22 Minehead Church 192 - -23 Dunster Castle Gate, from the Outside 201 - -24 Square at Southmolton 208 - -25 Whitechapel Barton 217 - -26 Tom Faggus’s Forge, Northmolton 224 - -27 Chancel, Northmolton Church 233 - -28 Ashford Church, near Barnstaple 240 - -29 Barnstaple Bridge 249 - -30 Tawstock Church, near Barnstaple 256 - -31 Towards Morte Point 265 - -32 Combmartin Church 272 - -Sketch Map of Blackmore Country 288 - -R. D. Blackmore, from a Photograph by Frederick Jenkins _On the Cover_ - - - - -THE BLACKMORE COUNTRY - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE APPROACH - - -R. D. Blackmore was about ten years of age when his father took up his -abode at Culmstock, a village in East Devon, at the foot of the -Blackdowns. Notwithstanding an inclination to wander, evidence of which -has been adduced in the previous section, the boy must have passed a -fair amount of time at home; and wherever Blackmore tarried, he became -imbued with the spirit of the place, wrested all its secrets, and -acquired an intimate acquaintance with its arts and crafts such as would -do credit to a committee of experts. Above all, he had the enviable gift -of being able to distil from the rude realities their poetic -essence--the prize of loving intelligence. - -So far as Culmstock and the neighbourhood are concerned, the fruits of -his observation are to be seen in _Perlycross_, and in a much lesser -degree in _Tales from the Telling House_. The former, by no means so -_répandu_ as _Lorna Doone_, labours under the disadvantage, which is yet -not all disadvantage, of fictitious names; consequently but few are -aware that Perliton, Perlycross, and Perlycombe are pretty, but -deceptive aliases of Uffculme, Culmstock, and Hemyock. These little -places--Uffculme, however, claims to be a town--are tapped by a light -railway of serpentine construction, which branches from the main line at -Tiverton Junction. The trains are appallingly slow, chiefly on account -of the curves; and just outside the junction is a stiff gradient, the -ascent of which, especially in frosty weather, is problematical. Often -there is nothing for it but to drop back to the station and try again, -or, as the French have it, _se reculer pour mieux sauter_. - -The level champaign traversed by the caricature of locomotion is -remarkable for its fertility, and for many other things redolent, I wot, -to the ordinary resident of nothing but the meanest bathos--so deadly in -use! It is otherwise with the stranger within the gates, to whom these -items of every day unfold themselves as precious boons, creating a -joyous sense of novelty and possession. A rapid but happy and accurate -description of the vale by Mr Henry, who, I believe, is an Irishman, -points the common lesson how much of beauty and wonder lies around us, -had we but eyes to see. Impatient for the hills, and doubtless as -purblind as my neighbours, I should scarce have lingered amid these -pastoral scenes but for his restraining touch, so that I rest doubly -indebted to his sage and kindly interpretation. - -“I live in Uffculme. Its name might appropriately be Coleraine, for it -is indeed a corner of ferns; every lane abounds with them, the hart’s -tongue being specially abundant. Uffculme takes its name from the river -Culm, and means simply up Culm. It is noted for ‘zider’ and its grammar -school. It is a quaint and quiet village. I love its charming thatched -cottages, with their niched eaves, each niche the eyebrow of a little -window. The inns too are quaint, with their suspended signs, each a -symbolic gem. Some in the country around here bear such names as the -‘Merry Harriers,’ the ‘Honest Heart,’ the ‘Rising Sun,’ the ‘Half Moon,’ -the ‘Hare and Hounds,’ etc. - -“There are four streets in Uffculme, and a triangular ‘square,’ on which -a market is held every two months. In the interval the grass has its own -sweet will. Everything is still; the smoke rises like incense in the -air. Here, as I write, looking into a garden, which even now, in -October, has many flowers in bloom, I hear no sounds but the song of the -robin enjoying the glory of the morning sun, a chanticleer crowing in -the distance, and the clanging anvil of the village blacksmith. - -“The narrowness of the lanes around adds greatly to the country’s -charms, their high hedgerows being a mass of many kinds of flowers. -Thoroughly to enjoy the beauties of the neighbourhood, however, it must -be viewed from one of the hills or downs. Embowered in a wealth of -greenery, Uffculme sleeps on a slope of the Culm valley. As far as the -eye can reach, lies a most beautiful panorama of diversified hill and -dale with rounded trees, every field hedged with them. The quiet herds -of Devon cattle lie ruminating and adorning the green bosom of the -country. The whole scene has a charming cultured aspect, as if some -giant landscape-gardener had laid it out. What peacefulness! How -beautiful the cattle! - - ‘Aren’t they innocent things, them bas’es, - And haven’t they got old innocent faces? - A-strooghin’ their legs that lazy way, - Or a-standin’ as if they meant to pray. - They’re that sollum an’ lovin’ an’ steady an’ wise, - And the butter meltin’ in their big eyes, - Eh, what do you think about it, John? - Is it the stuff they’re feedin’ on? - The clover, and meadow grass, and rushes, - And then goin’ pickin’ among the bushes, - And sniffin’ the dew when its fresh and fine, - The sweetest brew of God’s own wine.’ - -“And then the Devonshire clotted cream! It is delicious, yet simply -made. The milk stands on the hob till the cream rises and attains almost -the consistency of dough. Every son of Devon, native and adopted, enjoys -this luxury to the full. - -“The Culm is a little wandering river, abounding in trout. Otters are -hunted at Hemyock. Foxes also are found in the neighbourhood, and on one -occasion the noble wild red deer approached within five miles of us. -Birds of all kinds are plentiful, and flowers abound. Bullfinches are a -pest, even among the apple-trees. In my first walk, I saw a kingfisher -and a jay. The country exudes vegetation at every pore. The mildness of -the climate is evidenced by the fact that on Saturday last (October 17) -I saw in bloom the foxglove, poppy, primrose, wild anthernum, and many -other flowers. I ate a strawberry grown in the open; watched the bees on -the mignonette beds, and saw a wood-pigeon’s nest with young. The -climax is reached when I say that a man of great agricultural faith, in -the neighbouring parish of Halberton, is attempting a second crop of -potatoes. - -“The country is well-watered; little rills gush from every quarter. The -natives reckon by the flowers--_e.g._, ‘He went to Canada last hyacinth -time.’ The gentlemen’s seats are lovely in the extreme, and are -surrounded by trees that would not grow ‘in the cold North’s unhallowed -ground.’ Within a stone’s throw of the ‘square,’ and in a former -Coleraine gentleman’s seat, grow Wellingtonia pines, the cypress, the -breadfruit tree, the Spanish chestnut, and other exotic beauties. A -house in the village has its walls adorned with passion-flowers, now in -bloom. - -“We are out of the tourist’s track here. The motor rarely invades our -quiet life; indeed, the roads are not suited for motoring, as the -streams cross them in several places, and a foot-bridge affords the only -means of dry transit for the passengers. - -“I need not dwell on the Devon dialect. It is familiar to every reader -of _Lorna Doone_. Suffice it to say that it slides out with the maximum -ease, and in defiance of every rule of grammar. Have I exhausted -Devonian joys? Nay, I could mention the melodious church-bells, the -beauty of the children, and many other matters; but I have fulfilled my -intention, if I have conveyed the quaintness, the peace, and the good -living of this part of rural Devon--a land ‘where the plain old men have -rosy faces, and the simple maidens quiet eyes.’” - -Hence it appears that all the glory did not depart from Devon with -fustian coats and brass buttons. - -Mr Henry, it will be observed, speaks admiringly, as well he may, of the -extreme loveliness of the country-seats. So far as the Culm valley is -concerned, none will compare with Bradfield, the immemorial home of the -Walrond family. Readers of _Perlycross_ will recollect the brave -veteran, Sir Thomas Waldron, and the wrong done to his honoured remains; -and they may perchance note the different modes of spelling the name. -Blackmore follows the local pronunciation, and the precedent of good old -John Waldron, founder of an almshouse at Tiverton, of whom Harding -remarks, “By his arms I judge his ancestors were branched from the -ancient family at Bradfield, near Cullompton, where they were located in -Henry II.’s time.” - -According to Hutchins, the family of Walrond is descended from Walran -Venator, to whom William I. gave eight manors in Dorsetshire. The name -is indubitably of French origin, and apparently represents the old Latin -patronymic Valerian. - -To turn from names to things, an authentic note attests that, in 1332, -John Walrond had a licence for an oratory. Presumably this was the -ancient chapel of which Lysons speaks, and which probably stood on a -site still known as the Chapel Yard, on the north side of the mansion. -The present house does not go back to so remote a time. On the north -wall are the words, “Vivat E. Rex”; and elsewhere may be seen the dates -1592 and 1604. It is considered that the house was rebuilt in sections -and at intervals, during the short reign of Edward VI., and towards the -close of that of Elizabeth. - -Apart from inevitable decay, the mansion remained practically unaltered -until about the middle of the last century, when it was thoroughly -restored by the late Sir John Walrond, who planted the fine avenues of -oak and cedar. Sir John did nothing to destroy or impair the character -of the place, and the changes he introduced were extremely judicious, as -indeed was to be expected from a gentleman of his refined taste. Son of -Mr Benjamin Bowden Dickinson, of Tiverton, who assumed his wife’s name -on his marriage with the heiress of the last of the Bradfield line, he -came into possession in 1845. At that time the house consisted of north -and south gabled wings, united by the old hall, and in ruinous repair, -roughcast and whitewashed. Low offices disfigured the west side, and the -south wall was propped with timber. A farmyard and other buildings -occupied the site of the present entrance. - -Such was Bradfield. To-day it is one of the most charming and beautiful -homes in the West. The most ancient and characteristic portion is the -noble hall, which is forty-four feet long by twenty-one feet wide, and -glories in a magnificent hammer-beam roof, adorned with carved angels, a -rich cornice, carved pendants, and old oak plenishings. The napkin -panelling is in excellent preservation, and the fine woodwork, once -covered with many coats of paint, is now fully exposed. Quaint and -delightful features of the apartment are the open fireplace, the -minstrel gallery, and a dog-gate which kept canine favourites below -stairs. Just off the minstrel gallery is the state bedroom, containing a -good sketch of the hall and gallery in days of yore, which gives one to -see how rich the colouring must have been. Below the gallery is the -“buttery hatch,” and beyond the “buttery hatch,” the old kitchen, now -the library. - -The drawing-room, communicating by a doorway with the hall dais, and one -of the last rooms to be restored, has, in lieu of paint and whitewash, -walls of moulded oakwork, a richly panelled and decorated ceiling, and a -Jacobean mantelpiece. On the screen over the doorway are coloured -figures of Adam and Eve; and among other curios are an embroidered silk -sachet, in which is enclosed a love letter from Mr Walrond to Anne -Courtenay, written on parchment, and dated October 27, 1659, and a -prayer-book belonging to the old family chapel. Many other charming -sights the interior affords, such as the oak panelling of the -dining-room, its old chimney-piece, its pictures. And outside is a rare -plesaunce, with clipped box-trees, and great clipped yews, and a lake, -and an old bowling-green. Truly, an ideal country-house! - -Another branch of the Walronds lived at Dulford House, which is also in -the neighbourhood. Neither of these mansions can be exactly identified -with the “Walderscourt” of the romance, which is represented as standing -on a spot roughly indicated by Pitt Farm, in the parish of Culmstock, -and not far from the village. - -[Illustration: CULMSTOCK VICARAGE AND CHURCH (page 33).] - -There are coloured effigies of the Cavalier period in Uffculme Church, -which, by the way, has a magnificent screen, sixty-seven feet in length, -probably the longest in the county. Nothing authentic is known about the -effigies, but many have the impression that they represent members of -the Walrond family. It is possible, however, that the originals of the -busts were Holways, of Leigh, since the oldest monuments in the church -were erected in memory of their dead. Leigh Court is the name of the -present mansion, but Goodleigh, as is shown by old deeds, was the -description of the more ancient manorial residence, which did not stand -on the same site. And thereby hangs a tale. - -The late Mr William Wood, father of my kind friend, Mr William Taylor -Wood, of Gaddon, owned and lived at Leigh, and, being of an economical -turn of mind, he thought he would clear away the few mouldering ruins of -the old manor house, which only cumbered the ground, and thus extend the -area of one of his fields. Men were engaged for the work, and had -already proceeded some way with their task, when suddenly a workman -threw down his tools and vanished clean out of the neighbourhood. For -years there were no tidings of him. Eventually he returned, but never -vouchsafed the least explanation of his extraordinary conduct. The -people of the place, by whom a new coat or pair of boots would have been -scrutinised with suspicion, all decided that he had found a “pot of -treasure,” whilst Mr Wood, who, with all his good qualities, was -somewhat touched with superstition, commanded the operation to be -stayed. - -Wandering about in this pleasant and hospitable region one gathers many -a charming idyll of bygone times. Such, for instance, is the story of -the young lady who arrived at Gaddon on a short visit and remained -fourteen years. It seems that the old housekeeper was sitting on a box -before the kitchen fire, preparing lamb’s tails for a pie (by dipping -them in water brought to a certain temperature, in order to facilitate -the removal of the wool), when all at once she fell back--dead. - -The master of the house, Mr Richard Hurley, had relations living in -another part of the parish, and, on learning the sad news, sent off to -them for assistance. There were a lot of girls in the family, and they -and their mother were sitting cosily round the hearth, when there came a -knock at the door. In those days a knock at the door was enough to throw -any country household into a ferment of excitement, which, in this -instance, was not diminished when the messenger announced his errand. - -“Please, master wants one of the young ladies to come over, because old -Betty has dropped dead.” - -Upon this a family council was held, and the following morning Mary -Garnsey, a pretty, rosy-cheeked maiden of fourteen, mounted her horse, -and with her impedimenta slung from the saddle-bow--there were no -Gladstone bags in those days--rode over to Gaddon to aid her uncle in -his difficulty. Pleased with her agreeable company, and more than -satisfied with her efficient services, Mr Hurley became loth to part -with her, and, in fact, coaxed her to remain till she was twenty-eight, -when she left to be married. Old inhabitants may, perchance, remember -Mrs Pocock, of Rock House, Halberton. She was the lady. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -BLACKMORE’S VILLAGE - - -At Culmstock one finds oneself in a village of considerable beauty, to -which the little stream with its border of aspens, and the fine old -church on the knoll, are the principal contributors. Hence also are -avenues leading up to the witching prospects of the Blackdown Hills, -Culmstock Beacon, in particular, being a favourite spot for picnics. So -far so good. But there are drawbacks. When one sets foot in any of these -West-country villages, one is apt to be affected with a sense of -half-melancholy. Stillness is, of course, to be expected; stillness, -indeed, is one of the great charms of the country, and a happy contrast -to the bustle and confusion of the town. But stillness, to be entirely -welcome, must not be emblematic of decay. - -Not that Culmstock is altogether in that parlous state; there are many -signs of enterprise and activity. Witness the erection of tidy brick -houses in lieu of crumbling, thatched cottages, so sweet to look upon, -but not specially comfortable to live in. That, however, is not all. One -reason why cob-cottages are no longer built is that this is, to a great -extent, a lost art. A friend of mine, who is not an architect, but is a -pretty shrewd observer of things in general, has explained to me what he -believes to have been the process. The angle of a roof is formed by -“half-couples,” and in the case of cob-cottages my friend thinks that -underneath the “half-couples,” at tolerably close intervals, were set -upright posts. The whole of this scaffolding constituted the permanent -frame of the building, and as soon as it was completed by the addition -of horizontal timbers, the roof was thatched. Then the “cob,” which -resembled mortar with a thickening of hair, etc., was erected in -sections about two or three feet high, so as to envelop the posts, and -each section was allowed to dry before the mud-wall was carried higher. -This was a necessity, but, as the result, the work was slow and tedious, -and nowadays would be more expensive than building with brick or stone. - -Be that as it may, the fact cannot be gainsaid that at Culmstock, and -not at Culmstock alone, the advent of the railway and the newspaper, and -the general opening-up of communications with the outer world, have made -a difference. So great indeed is the revolution that one is constrained -to admit that here, though one is in Blackmore’s village, one is yet not -properly in the village that Blackmore knew. True, there is the old -church tower, the stone-screen (Mr Penniloe’s glorious “find”), and even -the old yew-tree springing from the ledge below the battlements. The -bridge, too, is much the same, save for a tasteless, if necessary, -addition. The vicarage also stands, its back turned discourteously on -the wayfarer; and I certify that it is the identical structure which -sheltered Blackmore as a boy, though his father was never the vicar, -only curate-in-charge. - -All this may be granted, but the man of feeling still mourns the -loss--for loss he knows there has been--of local life and colour. As -Pericles observed many centuries ago, a city is not an affair of walls -only; and were the material village of seventy years since more intact -than it is, the change in its social conditions would be none the less. -In the old days, Culmstock was no mere geographical expression; it was a -distinct entity, a separate organism, fully equipped for its own needs, -and harbouring, as _Perlycross_ testifies, a spirit of pride and -independence. The warlike rivalry between rustic communities like -Culmstock and Hemyock, though almost universal, may strike one as a -trifle ridiculous; but if a “bold peasantry” could be retained at the -cost of occasional horseplay, it was worth the price. What can be -conceived more admirable than a strong and healthy, and in its heart of -hearts, contented population, grouped into parishes, living on the land? - -Old inhabitants with a tincture of education do not, I admit, see things -quite in this light. They are all for modern improvements, and refer -with bitter cynicism to the hardships experienced, and the low wages -earned, in days of yore, for which they have usually not a particle of -regret. But such people are not always right, and now and then one meets -with a pleasing appreciation of the olden times. Not long ago there -might have been seen, tottering about the village, a Culmstock veteran, -who had been wont to ply the flail. The staccato of the “broken stick,” -however, had yielded place to the drone of the threshing-machine, which -was not so agreeable. Suddenly he paused and cocked his ear--what was -that? From the interior of a yeoman’s barn came a familiar sound. Bang! -bang! bang! bang! ’Twas the flail; and the wrinkled old face beamed with -delight as Hodge exclaimed, rubbing his hands, “Blest if Culmstock be -dead yet!” - -(Which demonstrates, by the way, the truth of Blackmore’s dictum--“There -are very few noises that cannot find some ear to which they are -congenial.”) - -The task will not be easy, but let us endeavour to form some idea of -Culmstock parish as it appeared to the veteran in his long-past youth. -Most likely he was a parish apprentice, bound out at one of the -triennial meetings of the local magistrates held for that purpose in a -cottage near the church. Farmers generally appreciated the privilege of -having poor boys assigned to them as apprentices, especially as they -were not compelled to take any particular boy; but this was not -invariably so, and sometimes they would pay a tailor or a shoemaker -(say) five pounds to relieve them of the distasteful duty. We will -suppose, however, that the farmer is willing to stand _in loco parentis_ -to the trembling little mortal--not more than ten years old, -perhaps--and accordingly signs his name and sets his seal to the -indenture. - -Have you ever seen such a document? A more portentous agreement than -“these presents,” seeing that the business itself was so simple, was -surely never devised by misplaced ingenuity. No less than six -officials--to say nothing of the master--were parties to the deed, viz., -two justices, two overseers, and two churchwardens; and their names were -entered in the blank spaces of the form reserved for them. I will not -inflict the whole of the rigmarole on the reader, but here is the cream -of it:-- - -The instrument conveys that the churchwardens and overseers between them -do put and place M. or N., a poor child of the parish, apprentice to -John Doe or Richard Roe, yeoman, with him to dwell and serve until the -said apprentice shall accomplish his full age of twenty-one years, -according to the statute made and provided, during all which term the -said apprentice the said master faithfully shall serve in all lawful -business according to his power, wit, and ability; and honestly, -orderly, and obediently, in all things demean and behave himself towards -him. On the contrary part, the said master the said apprentice in -husbandry work shall and will teach and instruct, and cause to be taught -and instructed, in the best way and manner he can, during the said term; -and shall and will, during all the term aforesaid, find, provide, and -allow unto the said apprentice, meet, competent, and sufficient meat, -drink, and apparel, lodging, washing, and all other things necessary and -fit for an apprentice. - -With such tautological, though no doubt impressive verbiage, was the -poor child of the parish launched on the sea of life. Conducted to the -farmhouse, he was speedily initiated into the habits of the -occupants--rough people, but - -[Illustration: RECTORY HOUSE AT CHARLES (page 225).] - -sometimes not unkindly. At dinner the “missus” usually presided, with -the master on one side and the family on the other, and the servants in -the lowest places. For the broth, which was an important item in the -menu, wooden spoons were in favour, although an old fellow called Tinker -Toogood came round from time to time and cast the lead that had been -saved for him into a pewter spoon. In some farmhouses no real plates of -any description were employed; instead of that, the table was carved -throughout its length into a series of mock plates, and on these spaces -the meat was placed. Every day the table was washed with hot water, and -covers were set over the imitation plates to keep the dust off. It was -the custom to serve the pudding and treacle first, so as to lessen the -appetite and effect a saving in the meat--salt pork as a rule. Wheaten -bread was unknown. It was always barley bread, nearly black, and cut up -into chunks. These were placed in a wooden bowl. - -In addition to Tinker Toogood, itinerant tailors, shoemakers, and -harness-makers were regular visitors at the farmhouses, where they -performed their tasks and were allowed free commons. Harness-menders -were the best paid; they received two shillings a day. Commons, although -free, were not always abundant; and a Mr Snip once complained, in the -bitterness of his heart, that he had tea and fried potatoes for -breakfast, fried potatoes and tea for dinner, and tea and fried potatoes -for supper. With the blacksmith the farmer made a contract, agreeing to -pay so much for the shoeing of horses, repairing of ploughshares, etc., -and, as in the ploughing season coulter and share required to be -sharpened every night, the smithy on the hill was generally crowded. - -At least fifty oxen were kept on the different farms for ploughing; and, -in the opinion of some, these animals were better than horses. Young -bullocks were stationed between the wheelers and the front oxen, but -soon became used to the work, and placed themselves in the furrow as a -matter of course. All the time a boy, armed with a goad, used to sing to -them: - - “Up along, jump along, - Pretty, Spark, and Tender” [_i.e._, the near bullocks].[3] - -Wishing to encourage his team, the boy would say, not “Woog up!” as in -the case of horses, but “Ur up!” Other cries were, “Broad, hither!” -“Tender, hither!” and the like. - -In reaping, when the time came for sharpening hooks, the foreman sang -out: - - “A sheave or two further, and then-- - -whereupon the catchpoll asked, - - “What then? - -To this the foreman replied, - - “A fresh edge, a merry look, and along agen, - -and the catchpoll rejoined, - - “Well done, Mr Foreman!” - -As the finale, all drank out of a horn cup. - -In the first verse of an old Devonshire harvest-home song, convivial -spirits were thus addressed: - - “Here’s a health to the barley mow, my brave boys; - Here’s a health to the barley mow! - We’ll drink it out of the jolly brown bowl; - Here’s a health to the barley mow!” - -In successive verses they were adjured to drink it out of the nipperkin, -the quarter-pint, the half-pint, the quart, the pottle, the gallon, the -half-anker, the anker, the half-hogshead, the hogshead, the pipe, the -well, the river, and, finally, the ocean. - -In the direction of Nicolashayne were three large barns (since converted -into six cottages) in front of which was a broad area of road for the -wagons to halt upon. The “Church of Exeter” has proprietary rights in -the parish; and a proctor came up from Thorverton to receive tithes on -behalf of the Dean and Chapter. Only the small tithes went to the vicar. - -The grandson of Clerk Channing of _Perlycross_, a man over seventy, -tells me that he can remember the introduction of the first wagon and -the first spring-cart at Culmstock, pack-horses being used always -before. This circumstance can be accounted for in two ways, partly from -the intense conservation of rural Devonshire--at last, perhaps, broken -up--and partly from the pose of the village, with its face towards the -valley of the Culm and its back against the hills. In a rough country -like the Blackdowns the pack-horse would be certain to tarry longer -than in more cultivated regions, and a large portion of the parish of -Culmstock, though, according to Blackmore, it comprises some of the best -land in East Devon, consists of hills and commons. - -The wildest tract of all is Maidendown--a dreary waste compact of bog -and scrub in the vicinity of the late Archbishop Temple’s paternal home, -Axon, and reaching out to the main road between Wellington and Exeter. -Its situation does not agree with that of the Black Marsh, or Forbidden -Land, of _Perlycross_, which is described as lying a long way back among -the Blackdown Hills, and “nobody knows in what parish”; otherwise one -might have guessed that Maidendown was the prototype of that barren -stretch with a curse upon it. - -In the West country pack-horses are equally associated with moors and -lanes. Nowadays a Devonshire lane--love is compared to a Devonshire -lane--is regarded as essentially beautiful, with its beds of wild -flowers and tracery of briars; but Vancouver’s impartial testimony -compels one to think that in former days this domain of the pack-horse -was not so attractive. He says: - -“The height of the hedge-banks, often covered with a rank growth of -coppice-wood, uniting and interlocking with each other overhead, -completes the idea of exploring a labyrinth rather than that of passing -through a much-frequented country. This first impression, however, will -be at once removed on the traveller’s meeting with, or being overtaken -by, a gang of pack-horses. The rapidity with which these animals descend -the hills, when not loaded, and the utter impossibility of passing -loaded ones, require that the utmost caution should be used in keeping -out of the way of the one, and exertion in keeping ahead of the other. A -cross-way in the road or gateway is eagerly looked for as a retiring -spot to the traveller, until the pursuing squadron, or heavily-loaded -brigade, may have passed by.... As there are but few wheel-carriages to -pass along them, the channel for the water and the path for the -pack-horse are equally in the middle of the way, which is altogether -occupied by an assemblage of such large and loose stones only as the -force of the descending torrents have not been able to sweep away or -remove.” - -This was certainly not pleasant, although in most other respects -Culmstock was then a more interesting place than now. I do not assert -that it was more moral. About seventy years ago, a native of the -village, one Tom Musgrove, was hanged for sheep-stealing, being the last -man, it is said, to experience that fate in the county of Devon. We -stand aghast at the barbarity of our forefathers; but if ever the -penalty could be made to fit the crime, then it must be owned, Tom -deserved the rope. He was a notorious thief, whose depredations were the -common talk of the village, and, to make matters worse, his evil deeds -were performed under the cloak of religion. Once a couple of ducks were -missed, and, whilst every cottage was being searched in the hope of -regaining the stolen property, Tom, secure in his pretensions to piety, -stood complacently in his doorway, and the party of inquisitors passed -on. Just inside were the ducks, feeding out of his platter. - -One night a huckster’s shop, kept by Betsy Collins, at Millmoor, was -feloniously entered and robbed. Next morning, Tom, apprised of the -event, ran off in his night-cap to condole with the poor woman in her -misfortune, and succeeded so well as to be invited to share her morning -repast. “There!” said he, “her’ve a-gied the old rogue a good -breakfast.” - -As a professor of religion Tom contracted a warm friendship with a baker -named Potter, who was an ardent Methodist. Neither friendship nor -religion, however, prevented Mr Musgrove from enriching himself at his -neighbour’s expense. Profiting by an opportunity when Potter was at -chapel, and closely engaged with pious exercises, Tom and his one-armed -daughter broke into the bakehouse and carried off Potter’s bacon, the -lady burglar aiding herself with her teeth. - -These breaches of morality appear to have been condoned--at any rate, -they did not land the culprit in any serious trouble. But at last Tom -went a step too far. Down in the hams, or water-meadows, between -Culmstock and Uffculme, he seized a large ram, which he slew, brought -home, and buried in his garden. The crime was traced to his door, -professions and protestations proved unavailing, and Musgrove, tried and -convicted at the following Assizes, was publicly executed at Exeter -Gaol. It will be remembered that Mrs Tremlett’s “dree buys was hanged, -back in the time of Jarge the Third, to Exeter Jail for ship-staling” -(_Perlycross_, chapter xxvi.) - -Sheep-stealing was not the only excitement. In Blackmore’s youth--and -_Perlycross_ is built on the circumstance--smuggling was carried on with -spirit (in both senses) over the Blackdowns, and queer stories are told -of fortunes made by “fair trade,” in the conduct of which a mysterious -tower, out on the hills, is said to have played an important part. An -octogenarian of my acquaintance admits that, as a boy, he shared in -these illegal adventures, which did not receive that amount of social -reprobation they may have deserved. He does not deny that he slept in a -friend’s house over kegs of brandy which he knew to be contraband, nor -does he disguise the fact that he was not a mere sleeping partner. He -acknowledges being sent with a keg to meet a fellow-conspirator, who for -the sake of appearances toiled in the local woollen factory, but out of -business hours drove a lucrative trade with the farmers in the forbidden -thing. Worst of all, on one occasion, when an excise officer was -reported to be in the village, a cask was hastily transferred to his -shoulders, which, as being youthful, were less likely to attract -suspicion, and he actually walked past the Government man--barrel and -brandy and all! Horses laden with the foreign stuff came up from Seaton. -They had no halters, and were guided, says my friend, by the scent, the -journey being naturally performed in the dark. - -Smuggling, however, took various forms. Men from Upottery, Clayhidon, -and elsewhere would halt a cart on the outskirts of the village, and go -round with brandy or gin in bladders, which they carried in the pockets -of their greatcoats. One Giles, of Clayhidon, had a donkey and cart -with a keg of brandy concealed in a furnace turned upside down. A -Culmstock man called Townsend, landlord of the “Three Tuns,” is said to -have been ruined by a smuggler, who sold him a gallon of brandy and -demanded accommodation, as usual. The publican refused it on the ground -that the house was already full, upon which the smuggler, stung with -resentment, informed the police, and Townsend was fined £270. - -By these instances, something, it may be hoped, has been done towards -reconstructing the Culmstock in which Blackmore grew up, and which -helped to make him what he was--essentially the prophet of the village -and rural life. And here I must rectify a possible misunderstanding, -Because stress has been laid on changes in the social conditions of the -parish, as being of deeper significance, it must not be inferred that -there have been no alterations, or none of any importance, in the face -of things. The contrary is the truth, and, on a reckoning, one is -tempted to say with Betty Muxworthy, “arl gone into churchyard.” - -Culmstock churchyard has indeed swallowed up, not only successive -generations of the inhabitants, but a goodly share of the village -itself. This is the more regrettable, as the portions absorbed are -precisely those which, being redolent of the olden times, one would have -liked preserved. The shambles, a covered enclosure for butchers -attending the weekly market, has gone the way of all flesh. So also has -the stockhouse, which was, rather inconsequently, an open - -[Illustration: CULMSTOCK CHURCH AND RIVER (page 12).] - -space where the stocks were kept. Hard by stood an inn, called the “Red -Lion,” which either failed to draw sufficient custom, or having a -handsome porch, was deemed too good for a common inn and metamorphosed -into a school. A Mr Kelso arriving with wife and daughters three, -accomplished the transformation, and, according to local tradition, he -had the honour of instilling the rudiments of learning into the late -Archbishop Temple. This, not the National School which was built in the -Rev. John Blackmore’s time and mainly through his exertions, was the -academy of Sergeant Jakes, the position of which is plainly defined in -chapter xxxvi.[4] - -There was formerly a considerable trade at Culmstock in combing and -spinning wool. Thirty hands are now employed at the mill (no longer an -independent concern, but a branch establishment of Messrs Fox Brothers, -of Wellington); once four hundred were busy at home. Soap also throve. -It was made on the right shoulder of the hill, and the manufacturer, a -Mr Hellings, kept seven pack-horses to transport it to Exeter. Culmstock -soap had a great vogue in the cathedral city, and it was a common -observation that no one had a chance till Hellings was “sold out.” In -the neighbouring village of Clayhidon was a silk factory, employing, I -believe, a hundred hands, and run by a gentleman of the Methodist -persuasion, whose house and chapel adjoined--the three together -producing a combination of the earthly and the heavenly which impressed -my informant as the acme of convenience. A similar factory in Red Lion -Court, Culmstock, met with speedy failure. - -These industries are now extinct, and one is somewhat at a loss in -seeking for “live” interests, although it is impossible to forget that -Hemyock is a famous mart for pigs. The whole district is piggy, and the -sleek black animal with the curly tail is as highly respected, in life -and in death, as his congener in that porcine paradise, Erin. I was -talking to an old fellow at Culmstock, it may have been two years ago, -and the conversation turned on swine. Rather to my surprise, he spoke of -a certain female of the breed as having been “brought up in house,” and -with full appreciation of the fun, volunteered a local saw to the effect -that “when a sow has had three litters, she is artful enough to open a -door.” - -Culmstock, it is not too much to say, is redolent of Waterloo. The -beacon was often aflame during the Napoleonic wars, and, upon their -conclusion, the famous Wellington Monument was erected at no great -distance, in honour of the Iron Duke, who took his title from Wellington -in Somerset, the Pumpington of _Perlycross_. - -Thanks to the industry of Mr William Doble, who is, I believe, a -descendant of more than one of the local heroes, it is possible to -restore the atmosphere which brought about the creation, years -afterwards, of Sir Thomas Waldron and Sergeant Jakes. When R. D. -Blackmore was a boy, many were still living who could remember the -incessant din of the joy-bells on the announcement of the victory--a -din continued for several days; and the scene in the Fore-street, the -“grateful celebration,” when high and low, indiscriminately, turned out -to share the feast. Naturally, however, the festivities were dashed with -some amount of sorrow and anxiety, as it was not yet known what had been -the fortunes of the gallant fellows who had gone forth to fight -England’s battle. Two stanzas of a song, which an old lady of Culmstock -sang as a girl, reflect with simple pathos the dreadful suspense of -relations and friends. - - “Mother is the battle over? - Thousands have been slain they say. - Is my father coming? Tell me, - Have the English gained the day? - - “Is he well, or is he wounded? - Mother, is he among the slain? - If you know, I pray you tell me, - Will my father come again?” - -A rough list of the Culmstock warriors comprises the following names:-- - - Major Octavius Temple, (father of the late Archbishop). - Dr Ayshford. - Sergt. J. Mapledorham. - Sergt. W. Doble. - Sergt. Gregory. - William Berry. - William Sheers. - Robert Wood. - Thomas Scadding. - Richard Fry. - Abram Lake. - William Gillard. - John Jordan. - Thomas Andrews. - John Nethercott. - John Tapscott. - “Urchard” Penny. - James Mapledorham, jun. - Betty Milton. - Betsy Mapledorham. - -Mapledorham, was too much of a mouthful for Culmstock people, so they -consulted their own convenience by calling the couple Maldrom. The -excellent sergeant already possessed a long record of service when -summoned to the final test of Waterloo, and in several campaigns he had -been accompanied by his faithful Betsy. Equally adventurous, Betty -Milton was full of reminiscences of her hard life in the Peninsula. - -William Berry, too, was fond of story-telling. He related, with humorous -glee, that he had once captured a mule with a sack of doubloons. -Unfortunately a wine-shop proved seductive, and whilst he was regaling -himself therein, an artful Spaniard made off with the booty. Robert, -better known as “Robin,” Wood was literary, and published a penny -history of his exploits, of which, alas! not a single copy is known to -exist. William Sheers, figuratively speaking, turned his spear into a -ploughshare, as he took to shopkeeping and became a pronounced Methodist -and zealous supporter of the Smallbrook Chapel. I can just remember this -bearded veteran, who in his last days was a victim to a severe form of -cardiac asthma. Tapscott and “Urchard” Penny were both ex-marines. The -former had been present at the Battle of Trafalgar and rejoiced in the -nicknames “John Glory” and “Blue my Shirt.” As for Penny, he was -sometimes called “Tenpenny Dick,” the reason being that he would never -accept more than tenpence as his day’s wage. When his turn came to be -buried, the bystanders observed that water had found its way into his -last resting-place, so that, it was said, he remained constant to the -element in which he had so long served. - -The foremost of the group of veterans is claimed to have been Doble, -who, after starting in life as a parish apprentice, at the age of seven, -took part in seven pitched battles in the Peninsula, and ended his -military career at Waterloo. He retired from the service on a pension of -twelve shillings a week, and was the proud owner of two medals and nine -clasps. As a civilian, he was the trusted foreman of the silk factory in -Red Lion Court, which, despite his probity, soon came to grief; and at -his funeral his old comrades assembled, some from considerable -distances, to pay a last tribute to the brave soldier who had rallied -the waverers at Waterloo. - -Dr Ayshford used to say that he had three sources of income--his -pension, his practice, and his property. On the strength of these -resources he kept a pack of hounds. He was naturally very intimate with -the Temples, and I have been told by a descendant that it was thanks to -his generosity that the late Archbishop Temple was enabled to proceed to -Oxford. _Mutatis mutandis_, it seems not improbable that by Frank -Gilham, Blackmore may have intended his schoolmate. Think of it. Major -Temple was not only an officer of the army, but a practical farmer, and -the late primate could plough and thresh with the best. Gilham is -described as no clodhopper: he “had been at a Latin school, founded by a -great high priest of the Muses in the woollen line,” _i.e._, Blundell. -Again, his farm adjoins the main turnpike road from London to Devonport, -at the north-west end of the parish; and where is Axon, the Temples’ old -place? The name “White Post” is perhaps adapted from “Whitehall,” a -fine old-fashioned farmhouse between Culmstock and Hemyock. - -Like Parson Penniloe (see _Perlycross_, chapter xxxiii.), Parson -Blackmore kept pupils--a fact to which allusion is made in _Tales from -the Telling House_. The Bude Light was the Rev. Goldsworthy Gurney. The -existence of a wayside cross, from which and the fictitious description -of the Culm was formed the name of both village and romance, is -attributed to the public spirit of one Baker, who lived in the -Commonwealth time, and usurped the manor; but whether it was anything -more than a tradition in Blackmore’s youth, is perhaps doubtful. -Priestwell is Prescott, Hagdon Hill Hackpen, and Susscott Northcott. -Crang’s forge, had any such institution existed, would have been at -Craddock. - -The reader, however, may rest assured that Blackmore did not select -these fanciful appellations without excellent reason. He desired for -himself a large freedom, which, as we have seen, he used in transporting -mansions, and other feats of imagination. One more illustration of this -spiritual liberty may be cited. By the Foxes he evidently means the -Wellington family. The dialogue between Mrs Fox of Foxden and Parson -Penniloe, in chapter xliv., is sufficient to settle that. The name -Foxdown, too, is evidently based on that of Mr Elworthy’s residence, -Foxdene. Yet in chapter xii. Foxden is stated to be thirty miles from -Perlycross by the nearest roads. On the other hand, Pumpington, as -Wellington is called in _Perlycross_, is just where it should be -(chapter xxiv.). - -Turning to another matter, Blackmore has idealised the bells, inasmuch -as he states that on the front of one of them--the passing bell--was -engraven, - - “Time is over for one more”; - -and on the back, - - “Soon shall thy own life be o’er.” - -The Culmstock set is an interesting collection of bells, but not one of -them is adorned with mottoes such as those. One bears the inscription -“Ave Maria Gracia Plena,” and this was cast by Roger Semson, a -West-country founder of repute, who was dwelling at Ash Priors, in -Somerset, in 1549, and who stamped his initials on the bell. Another of -his bells, at Luppitt, is at once more and less explicit on this point, -since the inscription runs “nosmes regoremib.” To make sense, this must -be read backwards. Two modern bells, placed in the Culmstock belfry in -1852 and 1853 respectively, awaken proud or painful memories. The former -was cast in memory of the Duke of Wellington, the cost being defrayed by -subscription, while the latter was “the free gift of James Collier, of -Furzehayes, and John Collier, of Bowhayes.” John Collier, who was killed -by lightning at Bowhayes, was the sporting yeoman with the otter hounds, -to whom Blackmore alludes. The old house, by the way, was reputed to be -haunted, and for years no one would live in it. - -Blackmore’s description of the vicarage is literally correct, save that -he calls it “the rectory.” A long and rambling house it certainly is, -and the dark, narrow passage, like a tunnel, beneath the first-floor -rooms, is a feature explained by the higher level of the front of the -house “facing southwards upon a grass-plot and a flower-garden, and as -pretty as the back was ugly” (_Perlycross_, chapter vi.). - -[Illustration: HEMYOCK (page 26).] - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE HINTERLAND - - -Although Culmstock and its immediate vicinity is somewhat deficient in -what I have ventured to term “live” interests, it must not be inferred -that the neighbourhood has nothing further to show; and among the -objects that deserve to be scheduled as worthy of attention are the -colossal stone quarries at Westleigh, which, whether viewed from the -parallel line of railway or from the opposite height on which stands -Burlescombe Church, present an imposing spectacle. For ages they have -been the principal source of supply for the district, huge quantities of -limestone having been drawn from them for building and agricultural -purposes. Much of it was formerly conveyed to Tiverton in barges towed -along the canal, the terminus of which was fitted with a number of -kilns. These, in my boyhood, I have often seen burning, and regarded -with no little awe, owing to stories that were circulated of persons -having gone to sleep on the margin, fallen over into the glowing -furnace, and been consumed to powder. They are now a picturesque ruin. -Older men can recall a yet earlier time when pack-horses came to -Westleigh from Tiverton and fetched lime in boxes. In front was a man -riding a pony, and the horses followed without compulsion. - -The string of pack-horses mentioned in chapter ii. of _Lorna Doone_, as -arriving from Sampford Peverell, may be a reminiscence of this traffic. - -Not far from the entrance to the Whiteball tunnel, and in the -neighbourhood of the great limestone quarries, in a pleasant meadow -facing south, are the ruins of Canonsleigh Abbey. To a connoisseur like -Mr F. T. Elworthy, these remains tell their own story, and it is thanks -to that gentleman’s investigations and researches that we are able to -furnish a concise account of the ancient nunnery. A gateway yet stands, -though unhappily disfigured by the desecrating touch of modern man, and -near it is a doorway of red sandstone leading to a staircase doubtless -belonging to the porter. In the upper storey, square-headed -windows--wrought, we may believe, in the fourteenth century--command the -approach in either direction; other features are less easy to determine, -since there are modern walls and a modern roof, which have been added -for the purpose of turning the place into a shed, and incidentally -obscure the older architecture. - -Without spending more time here, let us pass to a quadrangular building -of massive construction, and supported at two of its angles by solid -buttresses. Situated at the east end of the convent, this is considered -to have been a great flanking tower communicating, by means of strong -walls (fragments of which yet remain), at the angles opposite to the -buttresses, with the residential portions. The outer or enclosing wall -of the abbey precincts started from the middle of the east wall of the -tower; and under the middle of the tower flowed a stream, which issued -through a covered exit and continued its course outside the boundary -wall, washing its base. The reason for this somewhat peculiar -arrangement was a good one--the supply of the abbey stews; but its -effect was to throw the tower out of line with the walls and the other -buildings. - -Inside the walls were two spaces, irregular in shape, and clearly open -courtyards, from one of which a doorway led into the tower. The chief -entrances seem to have been from the two or more floors of the domestic -quarters. On the side next the convent, approached by a massive doorway, -is a narrow chamber, conjectured to have been a “guard-room” for -refractory nuns. Over this, but running the entire length of the -building, and not, like the lower floor, divided by wall and doorway, is -a floor supported by beams. - -This tower, with the plaster clinging to its walls--how can we explain -its survival when the rest of the once stately abbey has vanished? -Probably the reason lies partly in its strength and partly in its -plainness and the absence of wrought stone tempting human greed. As has -been well said, “it still stands a picturesque and sturdy relic of an -age of good lime-burners and honest masons.” The wrought stone of one or -two windows in the adjacent walls has been removed, but what indications -remain suggest the close of the twelfth century as that virtuous age. - -The Priory of Leigh was founded, Dr Oliver says, in the latter half of -the twelfth century, and Prebendary Hingeston-Randolph opines, before -1173. In its infant days, it seems to have been a dependency of Plympton -Priory--at any rate, in the estimation of the latter monastery, whose -head claimed the right to appoint the superior of Leigh. This demand was -resisted, and in 1219 the then Bishop of Exeter composed the quarrel by -deciding, as a sort of compromise, that the Prior of Plympton might, if -he chose, be present at the election. - -In the second half of the thirteenth century there were scandals at -Leigh calling for episcopal cognisance and visitation; and these -disorders proving incurable, Bishop Quivil went the length of ejecting -the prior and canons, and transferring the monastery, with all its -belongings, to a body of canonesses of the same rule of St Augustine. -And Matilda de Tablere became the first Prioress of Leigh. Next year, -Matilda de Clare, Countess of Gloucester and Hertford, presented the -convent with the (then) great sum of six hundred marks, in -acknowledgment of which Bishop Quivil erected the priory into an abbey, -and appointed the countess its abbess. - -The patron saints, under the old régime, had been the Blessed Virgin -Mary and St John the Evangelist. St Ethelreda the Virgin was now added, -and practically displaced St Mary, whose name is omitted in later -descriptions. Another change affected the name of the place, “_Mynchen_” -being often substituted for “_Canon_”-leigh. “Mynchen” is the old -English feminine of “monk,” and therefore equivalent to the modern -“nun.” - -The indignant canons did not take their extrusion meekly. They appealed -to the archbishop, and, through him, to the king, against the -usurpation of the “little women,” but they appealed in vain. - -Sad to relate, the ladies do not appear to have behaved much better than -their predecessors. In 1314 Bishop Stapledon, Quivil’s successor, -addressed a letter to his dear daughters in Christ, telling them in -Norman-French that he had heard of many _deshonestetes_, and calling -particular attention to the fact that there was an entrance into the -cellar where a man brewed _le braes_, and another under the new chamber -of the abbess! These he ordered to be closed by a stone wall before the -following Easter. - -The abbey was suppressed in February 1538, and at the end of the same -year the king granted a lease of the site and precincts, with the tithes -of sheaf and the rectories of Oakford and Burlescombe, to Thomas de -Soulemont, of London. The inmates, however, were not turned adrift on -the charity of the cold world. Each received a pension, and this, in the -case of the abbess, Elisabeth Fowell, was considerable. There were -eighteen sisters in all, and some of them, as is proved by their -names--Fortescue, Coplestone, Sydenham, Carew, Pomeroy--were of good -West-country extraction. - -In course of time the property passed through various hands, and out of -the spoils of the abbey a certain owner appears to have built a mansion, -which was demolished in 1821. - -From Canonsleigh let us away to Dunkeswell, about equidistant from -Culmstock, but in another direction. On the journey we may look again at -the grassy plateau which has Culmstock Beacon at one extremity and the -Wellington Monument, set up in honour of the Iron Duke and his -victories, at the other. This stretch of moorland is yet in its -primitive state, and the Dean and Chapter of Exeter, whose property it -is, exercise zealous supervision over it. Time was when the villagers -depastured their donkeys thereon, but of late years the privilege seems -to have been withdrawn. - -The Blackdowns, generally, have been enclosed and turned into farms; and -although one sometimes stumbles on desolate fields with patches of -gorse, mindful of their ancient savagery, this does not affect, to any -appreciable extent, the character of the country. On the whole, a ride -or walk across the long level chines is not specially delightsome, save -indeed for the wholesome air and an occasional glimpse of a fairy-like -_mappa mundi_ spread out at their base. It is only when one descends -into charming little villages, like Hemyock, or Dunkeswell, or -Broadhembury, with their orchards fair and hollyhocks, that complete -satisfaction is attained, and then it _is_ attained. - -Amidst so much that is bare (and on this subject we have not said our -last word) the ivied ruins of Dunkeswell Abbey, nearer Hemyock than -Dunkeswell village, and lending its name to a very respectable hamlet, -assuredly deserve remark. Situated in a charmingly secluded spot, they -consist merely of parts of the gatehouse and fragments of walls. The -latter have a blackened appearance as if the destruction of the -buildings had been accelerated by fire; more probably, however, this is -due to the mould of age. In its heyday the abbey boasted an imposing -range of buildings, the outlines of which may still be traced in the -grass, when, in the drought of summer, it withers, more rapidly than -elsewhere, over the foundations. - -The history of the abbey is almost as scanty as its remains. It was -founded in 1201 by William Lord Briwere or Bruere, on land that had -previously belonged to William Fitzwilliam, who, having borrowed from -one Amadio, a Jew, was compelled to mortgage his manor of Dunkeswell. -According to one version, Briwere redeemed the land from the Hebrew, but -a charter of King John shows the vendor to have been Henry de la -Pomeroy. There is clearly a tangle. Possibly Pomeroy bought Dunkeswell -from the mortgagee and resold it to Briwere, who, in any case, bestowed -it on the Cistercians of Ford. - -Just outside the north wall of the modern church may be seen a stone -coffin, with depressions for the head and heels. It is one of two that -were discovered some thirty years ago covered with plain Purbeck slabs, -and containing skeletons--a man’s and a woman’s; in all likelihood, -those of the powerful Lord Briwere and his good lady. The body of the -founder, it is known, was laid to rest in 1227 in the choir of the abbey -church; and it is only natural to suppose, though there is no evidence -to prove it, that husband and wife shared a common tomb. The bones, -placed together in one of the coffins, were reinterred, while the other -coffin, as I said, has been suffered to remain above-ground, a -gazing-stock for posterity. - -The abbey was richly endowed by its founder with lands and tenements, -including the manor of Uffculme and the mill there; and his munificence -was supplemented by liberal gifts from the monks of Ford and others. At -the date of its surrender, February 14, 1539, the annual value of the -property amounted to £300--a large income in those days. - -Most of the notices relating to the abbey are drawn either from the -Coroners’ or De Banco Rolls, and, as they are concerned with actions for -debt or trespass, are anything but entertaining. The one exception is -the account or accounts of the storming of Hackpen Manor by John Cogan, -of Uffculme, his son Philip, and others, in the year of grace 1299. -Entering the buildings _vi et armis_, they ejected the monks and lay -brethren, who, after the custom of their order, were carrying on farming -operations there; and beat and wounded two of the abbot’s servants to -such purpose that he was deprived of their services for a year or -longer. Moreover, they were said to have captured three score oxen and a -score of cows, and driven them to Cogan’s manor of Uffculme, whither -also they bore certain _furcæ_, which were there burnt. - -To this grave indictment Cogan replied, denying the trespass, and -alleging that the two manors adjoined, and that the abbot desired to -“lift” _furcæ_, etc., the property of Cogan, whereupon he instructed his -men to prevent him, which they did. Now as to those _furcæ_. Writing -aforetime on the subject, I fell into the pardonable error, if error it -be, of supposing that the term, being employed in an agricultural or -pastoral context, denoted “pitchforks.” It is my present - -[Illustration: CULMSTOCK BRIDGE (page 13).] - -belief that these _furcæ_ were the kind of thing that gave its name to -Forches Corner, just over the Somerset border--in other words, gallows. -The abbot, as lord of Broadhembury, had not only assize of bread and -beer in that manor, but, very certainly, a gallows. The Lady Amicia, -Countess of Devon, had at least one gallows, and considering the extent -of her domains, probably gallows galore; and apparently John Cogan had -one. The Abbot of Dunkeswell, it seems to me, must have had at least -two. If this reading be correct, the undignified squabble was all about -that grisly symbol of mortality and power. - -It is possible that a distorted version of this affair yet lingers in -Culmstock tradition. I have heard from a Methuselah of the place that, -according to an old tale, a band of freebooters named Sylvester made an -eyry of Hackpen, whence they descended to the more fertile regions -below, raiding the farms, and carrying off the fleecy spoil to their -hold on the hill. - -On the break-up of the monastery the site of the buildings, the home -farm, and other lands were assigned by letters patent to John, Lord -Russell, who showed himself an utter vandal. The lead of the roofs and -the bells, of which there were four in the church tower, were the -special objects of his rapacity; but all was grist that came to his -mill, and, as the result, the fabric was left in a condition in which it -was bound to become “to hastening ills a prey.” As there was never an -abbey at Culmstock, either Canonsleigh or Dunkeswell probably served as -a model for the ruins described in _Perlycross_. The latter is the more -likely, owing to the presence of the “district” church built by Mrs -Simcoe, close to the remains of the ancient abbey. - -At the southern end of the Blackdowns is Hembury Fort, an old British -encampment, of triple formation and considerable extent, which commands -perhaps the finest view in the neighbourhood. It is believed by some to -have been also a Roman station--the Moridunum (or Muridunum) of -Antonine. On this point, however, there is considerable doubt, there -being other claimants, of which High Peak on the coast is one, and -Honiton another. The very latest view of the matter is that given by -Canon Raven in _The Antiquary_ of December 1904, in which he inclines to -the opinion that the legion divided the year between a winter at Honiton -and a summer at Hembury, with the advantage of a strong fort to retire -upon in case of Dumnonian risings. - -In writing of these distant ages, I have often felt how remote they are -in another sense. Such a term as “Dumnonian,” for instance, though we -know its geographical significance as referring to the inhabitants of -south-west Britain--how little it conveys, and perhaps can be made to -convey, to us of the life that people lived, even if we are sure that -beneath their breasts beat human hearts like our own, with interests and -affections strong and manifold! Much gratitude, therefore, is due to the -late Rev. William Barnes, author of the classic Dorset poems, for his -bold attempt to reconstruct for us the mode of existence and -surroundings of those ancient Britons, of whom all have heard from their -childhood. This also may be poetry, but it is worth perusing only as -such. The picture he describes is that of a little pastoral settlement -occupying a valley, and finding refuge in time of war in a great camp -that crowns a neighbouring hill; and the season is the end of summer, -after the reaping of oats and rye and the mowing of lawns and meadows -round the homesteads. - -“The cattle are on the downs, or in the hollows of the hills. Here and -there are wide beds of fern, or breadths of gorse and patches of wild -raspberry, with gleaming sheets of flowers. The swine are roaming in the -woods and shady oak-glades, the nuts are studding the brown-leaved -bushes. On the sunny side of some cluster of trees is the herdsman’s -round wicker-house, with its brown conical roof and blue wreaths of -smoke. In the meadows and basins of the sluggish streams stand clusters -of tall elms waving with the nests of herons; the bittern, coot, and -water-rail are busy among the rushes and flags of the reedy meres. Birds -are ‘charming’ in the wood-girt clearings, wolves and foxes slinking to -their covers, knots of maidens laughing at the water-spring, beating the -white linen or flannel with their washing bats; the children play before -the doors of the round straw-thatched houses of the homestead, the -peaceful abode of the sons of the oaky vale. On the ridges of the downs -rise the sharp cones of the barrows, some glistening in white chalk, or -red, the mould of a new burial, and others green with the grass of long -years.” - -Close to Hembury Fort is a house built by Admiral Samuel Graves, whose -best title to fame is that he invented the lifeboat. The fort is in the -parish of Payhembury. The adjacent parish of Broadhembury, a picturesque -village among the hills, could vaunt in ancient days a cell of Cluniac -monks belonging to Montacute Priory, Somerset; and from 1768 to 1775 the -incumbent was none other than Augustus Toplady, author of “Rock of -Ages.” The Grange, a fine old Jacobean manor house, long the residence -of the Drewes, was built in 1610 by an ancestor of theirs, who was -sergeant-at-law to Queen Elizabeth--Edward Drewe. It was modernised -about the middle of the last century. - -At one time the Blackdowns must have presented a very different -appearance from that which they do now, and the cause of the -transformation may be found in a measure passed in the thirty-ninth year -of His Majesty King George the Third, up to which time the commons of -Church Staunton, Clayhidon, and Dunkeswell produced little but heath, -fern, dwarf-furze,[5] and very coarse, tough and wiry herbage. At the -beginning of the last century these lands were taken in hand with a view -to cultivation or planting. - -The Napoleon of the reclamation was General Simcoe, an officer who, -having greatly distinguished himself in the American War, afterwards -settled down on the Blackdowns. Altogether he enclosed about twelve -thousand acres, and part of his design was to build two or three -farmhouses, assigning to each of them about three hundred acres. The -remaining allotments he portioned out to adjacent farms belonging to -him, or converted into plantations. At Wolford Lodge--the name of his -residence--he carried out some interesting experiments in arboriculture. - -One practice adopted at Wolford, and apparently with success, was that -of pruning the young oak, the stem being left clean to a height of -twenty feet, and a proportionate top being allowed. The wounds soon -healed and became covered with bark, and the result is said to have been -a notable increase in the strength and substance of the stock. - -General Simcoe paid much attention also to the culture of exotic trees. -The black spruce of Newfoundland, the red spruce of Norway, the Weymouth -pine, pineaster, stone and cluster pine, the American sycamore or -butterwood, the black walnut, red oak, hiccory, sassafras, red bud, -together with many small trees and shrubs of the sorts which, in the -Western hemisphere, compose the undergrowth of the forests--all these -different species were introduced and found to flourish at Dunkeswell. - -The soil of Dunkeswell Common consisted chiefly of a brown and black -peaty earth on beds of brown and yellow clay and fox-mould, all resting -ultimately on a deep stratum of chip sand. Wherever the chip sand and -marl emerged, the more retentive stratum of the latter held up the -water, which burst forth into springs or formed “weeping -ground”--“zogs,” as it is termed by the natives, who add that you must -be careful where you plant your foot. Many of the morasses and peaty -margins along the declivities and side-hills abounded with bog-timber. -Out of a bed of peat near Wolford Lodge was raised an oak of this -description, about twenty feet long and squaring thirteen inches at the -butt. The whole of its sap was gone, and, to judge from its appearance, -it might have been a fork of a much larger tree. Before it was taken up, -General Simcoe received and refused an offer of five guineas for it. -Local opinion favours Roughgrey Bottom, Dunkeswell, as the original of -Blackmarsh or the Forbidden Land of _Perlycross_. The situation is -fairly suitable; it was not far from the Blackborough quarries (see -chapter xxxviii.). - -There is probably still preserved at Wolford Lodge, which is a -treasure-house of interesting curios, a specimen of the serpent stone, -or _cornu ammonis_, found at the Blackborough quarries, which in their -time have produced a large crop of fossilised shells, and delighted the -geologist with instructive visions of the underworld. The specimen in -question exceeded fourteen inches in diameter. - -Once upon a time the Blackdowns were generally known as the Scythestone -Hills, and travellers often digressed from the beaten track in order to -pay a visit to the whetstone pits at Blackborough, which were justly -regarded as a remarkable scene of industry, and, indeed, one of the -sights of the West. These quarries were worked in the following way. A -road or level about three feet wide and about five and a half feet high -was driven from the side of the hill to a distance of three or four -hundred yards. All the loose sandstones within eight or ten yards of -the road were extracted, pillars being left to support the roof of the -mine, until, having served their purpose, these also were gradually -worked out and the whole excavation suffered to fall in. The size of the -stones rarely exceeded that of a horse’s head; and all were more or less -grooved and indented, their appearance suggesting that they had been -subjected to the action of rills or running water. Many years have -elapsed since the pits were in full working order. A little while ago -there were two shafts remaining; to-day there is only one, and, most -probably, by the time this paragraph is in print, the doom of the mines -will be irrevocably sealed, and Finis appended to their history. Dr -Fox’s strange adventure in this weird spot must be in the recollection -of all readers of _Perlycross_ (chapter xii.). - -But there is another wonder at Blackborough besides the quarries, and -that is Blackborough House--a great rambling mansion, with windows and -doors innumerable. The building, which is rented by an aged lady and her -daughter, is so utterly inconsequent as to inspire curiosity concerning -its origin in this lonely out-of-the-way place. Well, a good many years -ago, Dr Dickinson, of Uffculme, was in one of the eastern counties when -he fell in with an old admiral who knew the spot, knew its former -owner--the eccentric Lord Egremont--and told him all about it. Long -before, the earl and the admiral were looking over the property, when -the latter chanced to remark that it might be a good thing to erect a -residence there. My lord was impressed with the notion, and the -construction of this gigantic tenement--in its way almost as -extraordinary as Silverton House, now demolished, which stamped him as -an _aedificator_ that neither reckoned nor finished--was his mode of -giving effect to the idea. - -In the middle of the last century Blackborough House was a warren of -young students professedly reading with the Rev. William Cookesley -Thompson, most of whom were of Irish nationality. They were a wild set, -and enjoyed nothing so much as sharing in one of the country revels, -which were then so common in Devonshire. On one occasion they made their -way to Kentisbeare Revel, where an old woman had a gingerbread stall. -Evening came on, and to avoid a slight sprinkling of rain, the dame took -refuge in the doorway of the inn. At the same instant a wagonette or -some such vehicle emerged from the adjoining passage, and turning a -sharp corner, overturned the old woman’s stall, whose contents, tilted -into the roadway, were eagerly scrambled for by children. Of course -there were profuse, if not very sincere, apologies, and sympathetic -promises of compensation, but whether they were ever honoured in the -sequel my informant is inclined to query. - -One great feature of a revel was wrestling, and this reminds me that at -Kentisbeare there are about fifty acres of common, which were once the -subject of debate between that parish and Broadhembury. After much -bickering it was agreed to settle the point by “fair shoe and stocking,” -with the result that the men of Kentisbeare were victorious, and -acquired firm possession of the disputed territory. - -[Illustration: OLD BLUNDELL’S SCHOOL, TIVERTON.] - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -BLACKMORE’S SCHOOL - - -In 1837 R. D. Blackmore underwent a momentous experience, that being the -year in which he entered, a trembling novice, the portals of the famous -school, founded by Mr Peter Blundell, clothier. With all its many -virtues as a place of learning, Tiverton School long maintained a -reputation for roughness, and those days were among its roughest. It -might have appeared, therefore, a providential circumstance that the boy -had a sturdy sponsor in Frederick Temple, with whom he at first lodged -in the simplicity of Copp’s Court, though afterwards he became a boarder -inside the gates. Nor can it be doubted that Temple, ever “justissimus -unus,” must sometimes have interposed to prevent any unconscionable -bullying of his delicate charge. Unfortunately he seems to have taken a -severe view of his duties as amateur father; and on one occasion, many -years later, when he handed to a prize-winner a copy of _Lorna Doone_, -he mentioned, with a humorous twinkle, that he had often chastised the -author by striking him on the head with a brass-headed hammer. We have -it on the authority of Mr Stuart J. Reid that Blackmore neither then -nor subsequently felt the least gratitude for these attentions, and was -wont to refer to his distinguished contemporary in language the reverse -of flattering. And what he felt about his schoolfellow, he felt--or Mr -Reid is mistaken--about his school, the retrospect of the misery and -privations of his boyhood affecting him to his latest hour with a lively -sense of horror and reprobation. - -One would not have thought it. The opening chapters of _Lorna Doone_, -though candid, seem written with relish of the little barbarians at -play, just as if Blackmore had settled with himself that the trials of -child’s estate were goodly exercises for the larger palæstras of life -and literature. The filial note is never wanting, and those classic -pages, so redolent of the place, and so descriptive of its customs, even -to the verge of exaggeration, appeal to the younger generation of -“Blundellites” as a splendid and enduring achievement, to which Mr -Kipling’s _Stalky and Co._, and Mr Eden Phillpott’s _Human Boy_, and -even _Tom Brown’s Schooldays_, must humbly vail. - -It would be a considerable satisfaction to report that the scenes which -Blackmore pictured are still in all respects as he painted them; but to -do so would be to tamper with truth, and lead to unnecessary -disappointment. In the first place, the school, as a society of men and -boys, was removed in 1882 to a new and more convenient abiding-place -about a mile distant, where it has renewed its youth, and flourishes -with such a plentitude of numbers as was never known on the traditional -site by the bank of the Lowman. The venerable buildings--it moves a -nausea to tell--have been remodelled into villas. Apparently there was -no remedy, for, although there was talk at the time of acquiring them as -a local museum and library, like the Castle at Taunton, nothing came of -it all, Tiverton being a small town, and philanthropists few and far -between. To be sure, some stipulation was required that the elevation -should be preserved _in statu quo_; but this has been only partially -observed. The new residents could not be expected to live in dungeons, -and so, for the admission of air and sunshine, the Jacobean windows have -been extended and deprived of their pristine proportions. Within, the -carved oak ceilings and panels have fled before an invasion of varnished -deal, and the whole of the beautiful interior has become a memory. - -Would that I could stop here, but stern Clio bids me go on and declare -that, a quarter of a century ago, might have been seen over the outer -gateway an original brass plate with a curiously inaccurate inscription, -recording the circumstances of the foundation in 1604, with a pair of -ambitious elegiacs, which not even the most lenient Latinist could with -safety to his soul pronounce elegant. This brass is now at Horsdon, in -charge of the new school, which has also the mystic white “P.B.” pebbles -that adorned the pathway outside the boundary wall. The pathway is -another ghost. Not only have the pebbles, both white and black, been -uprooted, but sacrilegious hands have been laid on a most sensible and -delightful old barricade, formed of heavy posts and heavy angular beams, -which ran the whole length of the wall, and was closed at each end with -a gate. How Dr Johnson would have loved it! - -But the zeal for improvement, which set in during the seventies, is not -accountable for all the changes that have marked the spot since -Blackmore’s time; and without more explanation, many of the allusions in -_Lorna Doone_ must appear mysterious and unintelligible. When Blackmore -was at the school, the converging lines of railway, with their -passengers and goods stations, and multiplex ramifications, and the -adjacent coal-yards and slaughterhouse, were still in the future, and -the sites they now occupy were pleasant meadows. At the north-west -corner, the point nearest the school, was a “kissing”-gate, whence a -footpath, traversing the first meadow, led to another gate of the same -amorous description. The main path then struck across to the right and -joined the coach route, afterwards called the “old” London road, -opposite Zephyr Lodge. Another track pursued an easterly direction to a -pretty white timber bridge, which spanned the Lowman with a shallow -arch, and near which was the celebrated Taunton Pool. This bridge -afforded access to Ham Mills, remembered as a couple of low, white -thatched cottages, very picturesque, whither it was the custom of the -inhabitants to repair for Sunday junketings. - -From the entrance-gate near the school to the corner of the London road -ran a quickset hedge, which extended to a point over against a -comparatively modern building, which still exists and formerly served as -a turnpike, the old London road having been moved further up the hill -to make room for the Exe Valley railway bridge. In a similar fashion, -the construction of the branch line to the Junction, or “Park” station, -as the old people call it, necessitated a great diversion of the Lowman, -which previously described a zigzag erratic course, and shot much nearer -to the Lodge and London road, so that the little torrent, known to the -natives as the Ailsa, and to Blackmore and his boarders as the Taunton -brook, joined it almost at right angles. - -Blackmore, of course, described the locality as he knew it in his own -schooltime. He does not appear to have urged his researches so far back -as the assigned age of John Ridd, or he would have eschewed certain -anachronisms which, in default of this precaution, have crept into his -narrative. They are of no particular consequence, but may be mentioned, -as it were, by the way. - -To begin with, there were no iron-barred gates for the boys to lean -against in 1673, nor for twenty years afterwards. Until 1695, there were -only wooden gates, with a small door for entrance, and it may be noticed -incidentally, that at the time of their removal they were much decayed. -Nor again, in 1673, were there any porter’s lodges. These accessories -were first built at the close of the seventeenth century. There being no -lodges, the porter was evidently the invention of a later date--1699, -apparently. The “old Cop” of the romance, with his sympathetic boots and -nose, was the identical functionary of Blackmore’s youth. His name was -George Folland, and he succeeded Hezekiah Warren in 1818. - -Another chronological error has to do with the Homeric fight between -John Ridd and Robin Snell, which the author paraphrases as an “item of -importance.” As such I will treat it--to the extent of proving that it -can never have taken place. The fleshly existence of the victor has been -warrantably challenged, but no such question can arise as to his -antagonist. Not that he was called Robin, but the voluntary statement -that he became thrice Mayor of Exeter is a plain indication of the -person implicated. Now, a visit to the north aisle of the choir of -Exeter Cathedral will reveal the presence of three gravestones placed -there to the memory of his father, his mother, and himself, with their -arms. The inscription which mostly concerns us here is the following:-- - -“Here, at the Feet of his Father, lyeth the Body of John Snell, Esq., -who served this City three times as Mayor, and several times as one of -her Representatives in Parliament, served her faithfully and diligently, -fearing God and honouring the King. He died ye 26 of Aug. A.D. 1717, -ætat suæ 78. Here also lyeth Hannah, his virtuous and religious wife.” - -The Rev. John Snell, the mayor’s father, was a notable man. Son of the -Rev. Arthur Snell, M.A., and born at Lezant, Cornwall, in or about 1610, -he was educated at Blundell’s School, Tiverton, and Caius and Gonville -College, Cambridge, where he graduated M.A. In February 1634-5, he was -instituted to the rectory of Thurlestone, South Devon, from which he was -ejected in or about 1646. Reinstated in his living at the Restoration, -he was, in 1662, elected Canon Residentiary of Exeter Cathedral. This -honourable post he resigned January 4, 1678-9, and died the following -April. It may be added, as an almost, if not quite unprecedented -circumstance, that he was succeeded in his canonry by two of his sons, -Thomas and George; and, as a Rev. John Snell, Vicar of Heavitree, died -Canon of Exeter, September 4, 1727, I am by no means certain that a -fourth member of the family--probably a grandson of the original John -Snell--did not rise to the same office and dignity. - -It is natural to inquire whether there can be found any explanation of -this prosperity. The answer is partially, yes. As chaplain to the -Royalist garrison, the rector of Thurlestone went through the siege of -Fort Charles, Salcombe, and in Walker’s _Sufferings of the Clergy_ may -be read the story of his persecution by the lying Roundheads, when his -first-born son was a boy in jackets. - -Many more particulars might be adduced--especially the tradition that -“Robin” Snell was killed in a riot--but enough! There remains the -question, how came the novelist to know or care aught about this -personage. On this point there can be no mistake, as I had it from Mr -Blackmore himself that he remembered a schoolfellow named Snell, who -must have been either my father or my uncle, the late Mr W. H. Snell, -who entered the school on the same day (August 16, 1837) as Blackmore. -The latter was uncommonly well posted up in the history of his family, -and from him probably the information was derived. There are many Snells -in Devonshire. The principal families of that name were long settled in -the neighbouring parishes of Chawleigh and Lapford, where they were -small landowners, and intermarried with the Kellands and Melhuishes. -Curiously, as one may think, in John Ridd’s time Grace Snell, of -Lapford, wedded Dr Thomas Bartow, son of Peter Bartow, of Tiverton, and -thus became sister-in-law to Philip Blundell, of Collipriest, who was of -the kindred of the famous Peter, and a feoffee of the school. - -While it is natural to regret, and needful to state the alterations that -have taken place in the time-honoured premises and their immediate -surroundings, it must not be supposed for a moment that modern vandalism -has wiped out every feature of interest. The “Ironing Box,” or triangle -of turf, whereon John Ridd fought his great fight with Robin Snell, is -still there. So also are the paved causeways and rows of mighty limes -(save for sad gaps caused by a recent storm), and the porches and the -lodges,--all vestiges of former days of which the present generation of -Blundellites are not unmindful. Every seven years do they meet--old boys -and new--in the historic Green, thence to perform a pilgrimage on St -Peter’s Day to St Peter’s Church, after the example of their ancestors, -which pleasant and pious custom neither time nor circumstance will, it -is to be hoped, cause to fall into desuetude. - -“Blundellites” is _à la_ Blackmore; the more usual, the official, -appellation is “Blundellians.” The school magazine is called _The -Blundellian_, and I am indebted to an anonymous letter which appeared in -its columns (April 1887), and was indited, no doubt, by my late friend, -the Rev. D. M. Owen, for quotations from a private communication, -unquestionably the production of R. D. Blackmore himself. The extracts -are as follows:-- - -“I am much obliged for a copy of the _Blundellite_, which certainly was -the ancient and therefore more classical form of the word. My father -always called himself a ‘Blundellite,’ and so did my uncles, and I -believe my grandfather. All went from Peter to Ex. Coll. (Oxford); -however, the juniors have fixed it otherwise and so it must abide.... -‘Blundellian,’ if anything, is the adjectival form, at least according -to my theories, though even then ‘Blundelline’ would seem more elegant. -‘Scholæ Blundellinæ Alumnus’ is in most of my father’s school-books (in -1810). And I think we find the distinction between the ‘ite’ and the -‘ian’ in good writers, _e.g._, a ‘Cromwellite,’ but the ‘Cromwellian’ -army, a ‘Jacobite,’ a ‘Carmelite,’ etc.... All, I maintain, is that, in -my days, we never heard of a ‘Blundellian,’ _i.e._, in school talk, or -from the masters.” - -Blackmore’s mention of his grandfather, by which he evidently intends -his paternal grandfather, having been at Blundell’s school, is worthy of -note. Many years ago the novelist himself acquainted me with the fact, -but the curious thing is that the name of John Blackmore, the elder, -apparently does not occur in the school register. This has recently been -edited by Mr Arthur Fisher, who shows that during certain periods it was -ill kept, and there seem to have been frequent omissions. One of the -uncles must have been a brother of his mother, and, strange to say, his -name also is wanting. The entries referring to other members of the -family are:-- - - 1162. JOHN BLACKMORE, 15, son of John Blackmore, clerk, Charles, - South Molton, Aug. 13, 1809--June 29, 1812. - - 1498. RICHARD BLACKMORE, 15, son of John Blackmore, clerk, Charles, - South Molton, Feb. 19, 1816--Dec. 18, 1817. - - 1258. RICHARD DODDRIDGE BLACKMORE, 12¼, son of Rev. John Blackmore, - Culmstock, Wellington, Aug. 16, 1837--Dec. 16, 1843; elected to an - exhibition on---- 1843; Giffard Scholar at Exeter Coll., Oxford. - -Blackmore’s schooldays are now so remote, the survivors so few, that it -is hard to recover many details. I have been favoured, however, with -communications from two of his contemporaries--Colonel H. Cranstoun -Adams and the Rev. E. Pickard-Cambridge; and at this distance of time it -is not likely that much more can be gleaned. Colonel Adams writes:-- - -“He was a very quiet little fellow, and was looked upon as being very -clever. He was always ready to help any juniors in their work, and often -assisted me. There was really nothing very particular about him, except -that he was quieter than the average run of boys. He joined in all the -games, and I recollect his having one fight in which he got very much -knocked about; but he was extremely plucky about it, and his opponent -got a caning for daring to fight a monitor, which Blackmore was at the -time.... He was a popular boy, and kind-hearted; but, although he was -looked upon as clever, I don’t think any of us thought he would become -the author of such a work as _Lorna Doone_.” - -Mr Pickard-Cambridge sends the following:-- - -“R. D. Blackmore was a day-boy, and I believe remained so; but it is so -long since my schooldays that my memory fails me. He was a clever boy at -schoolwork. I used to go and stay with him at his father’s vicarage, -Culmstock, at the Easter holidays, and when there became acquainted with -Temple and his relations. After we left school, I never saw him, but -learned his mode of life from public reports. - -“He was a small, unhealthy-looking boy, and I could never have dreamt -that he would turn out such as I see him in his photograph by Mr -Jenkins. - -“Now it may be interesting if I tell you what happened one afternoon as -I and Blackmore were walking up the Lowman. We came to a gate at the end -of a field, and just before we got over it, I saw something sitting on -the gate at the opposite end of the field. It was a figure dressed in -white clothing, no head appearing, and while I was wondering what it -was, it suddenly disappeared to the right of a gate thro’ a hedge. - -“I said to Blackmore, ‘Did you see that white figure sitting on the -gate?’ - -“‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I could not make out what it was.’ - -“When we got to the gate, we hunted the hedge and all about by the -stream, but could not find or see anything; so we came to the conclusion -that it must have been a ghost. When we got back to the school, I -believe we told what we had seen; anyhow, we thought no more about it. -But about three days afterwards, some people coming by the coach from -Halberton saw the same apparition about the same spot, and told of it -in the town, and it came to our ears, and then we immediately related -what we had seen. - -“This was a great confirmation of our story, and there it must end. But -I can state that all that I have said was true. I am no great believer -in ghosts, but have related the above whenever in conversation ghosts -have come to the front.” - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE TOWN OF THE TWO FORDS - - -An imaginative mind, anxious for exercise, might easily find a worse -pretext than the probable appearance of Tiverton at different epochs in -its history. Three monstrous fires--in 1598, 1612, and 1731--have -reduced the town to ashes, so that, despite its antiquity, it presents, -on the whole, an extremely modern aspect, which, as time goes on, tends -to become accentuated. Still certain buildings remain--not many, I -fear--from which, like Richard Owen in another sphere of palæontology, -the lover of the past may gather ideas for his reconstructive task. _Ex -pede Herculem._ - -Every stranger, on arriving at Tiverton, is at once struck by the -Greenway almhouses, with their quaint little chapel. These were -miraculously preserved in the earlier devastations, when, according to -contemporary notices, the fire “invironed those sillie cottages on every -side, burning other houses to the grounde which stood about them, and -yet had they no hurt at all.”[6] In the third welter of flame the -almhouses were less fortunate, and it is a singular fact that the only -life lost on this occasion--on the two previous there had been many -victims--was that of an inmate who obstinately refused to quit the -building, saying, “Who ever heard of an almshouse being burnt?” When, at -last, he was convinced of the peril of optimism, and he would fain have -made good his escape, it was too late--all egress was barred. Even in -this, however, there was something miraculous, for, though the -almshouses were burnt and transformed into fiery catacombs, the chapel -was inexplicably preserved, and remains to this day, with all its rich -ornaments and emblematical figures untouched. The inscriptions, however, -or, as Blackmore playfully expresses it, “the souls of John and Joan -Greenway” are not “set up in gold letters.” Had the name “Gold Street” -anything to do with this idea? - -The founder of the almshouses was John Greenway, born about 1460, of -whom little is known that is authentic. Apparently of lowly origin, “by -ability and industry he acquired an ample income” as a merchant. So says -Harding, but it is seldom that ample incomes are acquired by brains and -diligence alone. The stroke of luck may almost always be charged as a -contributory factor. If legend may be believed, Greenway was positively -inspired to wealth-making. A simple weaver, young and without prospects, -he dreamed a dream which was thrice repeated. Each time a mysterious -voice admonished him to proceed to London town, and there, on London -Bridge, to await a cavalier on a white nag, who would have a message for -him. The sanguine youth obeyed these supernatural instructions; and, -taking his stand on the appointed spot, was accosted by an unknown -horseman, by whom he was told to return forthwith to Tiverton and dig in -a certain quarter. Again Greenway obeyed, and was rewarded by the -discovery of a crock or pot of gold, which, as his initial capital, -enabled him to launch out into business, and ultimately to found these -almshouses in 1517. There is a notion that amidst the exterior carvings -of St Peter’s Church, where Greenway built him a lovely chantry with -wagon roof and Renaissance door, is sculptured the crock of plenty, but -hitherto--owing perhaps to _embarras de richesse_--it has escaped -detection. - -Now the embellishments of Greenway’s two chapels deserve close -attention, not only on account of their beauty, but for other reasons -that will immediately appear. Greenway is represented by his arms (_a -chevron between 3 covered cups, on a chief 3 sheep’s heads erased_), his -staple-mark, and his cipher, which are figured on shields inserted in -the quatrefoil of the cornices of the chapel in Gold Street and its -porch; and by the following rhyme inscribed in bold letters under the -main cornice:-- - - “Have grace, ye men, and ever pray - For the sowl of John and Jone Grenway.” - -These marks of parentage are merely what one would expect, but the walls -have other symbolism, some of which demands comment. In two compartments -of the upper cornice are to be found the arms of Courtenay and an eagle -rising from a bundle of sticks. These devices are repeated on a larger -scale over the archway, with the addition of the arms of England. The -eagle montant, to borrow a term from falconry, is understood to typify -the mythical phœnix, and may be regarded as alluding to the -vicissitudes of that illustrious and ever-resurgent family. - -The arms of England present no difficulty. They are to be explained by -the marriage of William Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon, with Katherine, -youngest daughter of Edward IV., her elder sister Elizabeth being the -consort of Henry VII. Miss Strickland, by the way, records a quaint -incident in connection with a tournament held at the wedding of Prince -Arthur, when “Lord William Courtenay (brother-in-law of the Queen) made -his appearance riding on a red dragon led by a giant with a large tree -in his hand.” What time the almshouses were building Katherine de -Courtenay was actually resident at Tiverton Castle, and she was buried, -in 1527, with immense pomp in the Earl of Devonshire’s chapel, which was -destroyed by the Puritans, and is believed to have stood on the north -side of the chancel in St Peter’s Church. In her honour was erected that -large achievement in the centre of the porch, consisting of Courtenay -and Rivers quarterly, impaling quarterly, 1st France and England -quarterly, 2nd and 3rd Burgh, 4th Mortimer. It is surmounted with the -Courtenay badge before-mentioned, and the supporters are St George and a -woman. - -It would be incompatible with the limits of this work to enter upon a -minute description of all the charming imagery of this beauteous -chantry. Much of it speaks for itself, but it may be as well to put the -reader on his guard against a false blazoning of one of the coats of -arms, which displays what looks suspiciously like a tiara. It may -possibly be permissible to use the term, but subject to the -understanding that we have here nothing to do with any papal insignia. -_The three clouds radiated in base, each surmounted with a triple -crown_, are for the Drapers’ Company; just as the _Barry nebulée_; _a -chief quarterly, on the 1st and 4th a lion passant guardant, on the 2nd -and 3rd two roses_, are for the Merchant Venturers of London. Attention -may also be drawn to a series of sermons in stones, or small sculptures -illustrating the chief events in the life of our Lord; on account of the -height at which they are ranged, they might easily be passed unnoticed. - -Viewing the decorations generally, we cannot but observe that the place -of honour is assigned to the Courtenays; and, probably on the strength -of this fact, Harding speaks of the Marquis of Exeter as Greenway’s -great patron. In this he may be mistaken, since, on the death of her -husband, the Lady Katherine succeeded to the manor of Tiverton, and -doubtless exerted much influence in the town and county during the -sixteen years of her widowhood. This brings us to the stately home in -which, more than anywhere else, those sorrowful years were spent. - -Due north of St Peter’s churchyard, from which only a wall parts them, -are the precincts of Tiverton Castle whereof there exist somewhat -extensive remains in varying degrees of preservation. This was for -several centuries one of the chief residences of the Courtenays, and in -the Middle Ages was a strong place of arms. On the west is a precipice, -which runs down sixty feet sheer to the River Exe and secured the -castle on that side; in other directions it had towers and turrets, and -ramparts and moats, and all that military science then knew in the way -of elaborate fortification. Two of the towers yet stand--a square and a -round, while the ivy-covered ruin, which is detached from the rest of -the buildings, at the south-west angle of the castle grounds, is -supposed to represent the oratory or chapel. From its position it was -evidently distinct from the Earl of Devonshire’s Chapel, mentioned -above, and must have been a private sanctuary reserved to the household. - -The castle is stated to have been built by Richard de Redvers or Rivers, -who was an Earl of Devon in his time--about 1106; it came into the -possession of the Courtenays on the extinction of the Redvers family in -1274, when Hugh de Courtenay, great-grandson of Mary de Redvers, -succeeded to all their estates. His immediate predecessor was Isabella -de Fortibus, born Redvers, who is credited with the gift of an ample -stream of water known as the Town Lake, a section of which, enclosed -between paved banks, may be observed in Castle Street. She, of course, -was _not_ a Courtenay; and it is with these rather than with other -possessors of the castle that we are mainly concerned. As, with brief -intervals, they were the ruling element in the town for a period of -three centuries, it is natural to inquire what manner of men were those -great lords, and how it went with the neighbourhood when they were -uppermost. - -With their emblems around us, and with the odour of sanctity investing -the places where those emblems appear, there is a palpable danger of -attributing to the Courtenays a larger measure of piety than is at all -their due. Of him who is called sometimes the Good, sometimes the Blind -Earl, no word of censure may be spoken; and as for the husband and -descendants of Katherine--William, Henry, Edward--their tragic fates -evoke that infinite compassion for which the blood of the innocent cries -always, and never in vain. Even the guilty Courtenays were not devoid of -redeeming qualities; they were stout warriors, and loyal to their king. -Yet two of the race, father and son, both of them named Thomas, were the -authors of a felon deed--a deed as black as any that soils the pages of -history, or swells the calendar of crime. To all appearance the plot was -hatched in Tiverton, and Tiverton yeomen were the willing, or unwilling, -instruments of the scandalous theft, the inhuman murder. The whole may -not be told here; let what follows suffice. - -On Thursday, October 23, 1455, Nicholas Radford, sometime “steward” of -the Earl of Devon, now an old man and a justice, was dwelling in God’s -peace and the king’s in his own place at Upcott, in the parish of -Cheriton Fitzpaine. The same day and year came Sir Thomas Courtenay, -eldest son of the earl, with a body of retainers to the number of -ninety-four, armed with jacks, sallets, bows, arrows, swords, bucklers, -etc., who beset the house at midnight, and with a great shout fired the -gates. Naturally at that hour Radford, his wife, and his servants, were -in bed, but awakened by the sudden commotion, the good old man opened -his window, and demanded whether there were among them any gentlemen. - -“Here is Sir Thomas Courtenay,” answered one of the yeoman; and almost -at the same moment the knight called out to him, “Come down and speak -with me.” - -The old man, however, would not comply, until Courtenay swore as a true -knight and gentleman, that neither his person nor his property should be -molested. Relying on this promise Radford descended with a lighted torch -and ordered the gates to be thrown open, whereupon, much to his alarm, -the rabble of followers began to stream in. The knight reassured him, -and standing by his cupboard, condescended to drink of his wine. Whilst -Courtenay held the master of the house with tales, his men plundered the -mansion of its treasures. Money and bedding, and furs, and books, the -ornaments of his chapel and the like--they carried them all away on -Radford’s own horse, and did not spare even his sick wife, but rolling -her out of bed, took away the sheets she was lying in. - -Sir Thomas now said to the justice, “Have done, Radford, for thou must -need go with me to my lord my father.” The old man expressed his -readiness, and bade his servant saddle a horse, only to receive the -reply that his horse had been removed and laden with his own goods. -Hearing this, Radford said to his visitor, - -“Sir, I am aged, and may not well go upon my feet, and therefore I pray -you that I may ride.” - -“No force (odds), Radford,” was the answer, “thou shalt ride enough -anon, and therefore come on with me.” - -Accordingly they went on together about a stone’s throw, when Sir -Thomas, having secretly conferred with three of his men--two of them -Tiverton yeomen--set spurs to his horse and rode on his way, exclaiming, -“Farewell Radford!” - -In a trice Nicholas Philip slashed the old justice across the face with -his sword, and as he lay on the ground, dealt him another stroke, which -caused the brain to drop out from the back of his head. His brother, -Thomas Philip, cut the victim’s throat with a knife, while the third -man, with surely supererogatory caution, pierced him through the back -with a long dagger. Thus was Nicholas Radford feloniously and horribly -slain and murdered. - -As an aggravation of the crime, on the following Tuesday the old man’s -godson, Henry Courtenay, with certain of the ruffians, arrived at -Upcott, where the body of Radford lay in his chapel, and opened a mock -inquest. One of them, Richard Bertelot, sat as coroner, and the -murderers were summoned by strange names. They answered, “scornfully -appearing,” made what presentment they chose, and gave out that they -should accuse Radford of his own death. They then compelled his servants -to carry the body to the church of Cheriton Fitzpaine, John Brymoor, -_alias_ Robyns, a singer, leading the way with derisive songs and -catches, as it was borne along. - -Gaining the churchyard, they took the murdered man out of his coffin, -rolled him out of his winding-sheet, and cast him all naked into the -grave, where they threw upon his head and body sundry stones that -Radford had provided for the making of his tomb, crushing them. They had -no more pity or compassion for him than for a Jew or a Saracen. - -It seems that in January of this year the justice had sold a good deal -of land, including the manors of Calverleigh, Poughill, and Ford, for -£400, and this large sum in cash is believed to have been the incentive -of the murder. The Earl of Devon, who was no doubt accessory before the -fact, speedily prepared an expedition to Exeter in order to obtain -possession of such goods and chattels as Radford had lodged with the -Dean and Chapter; and in November, he and his son Thomas assembled an -armed retinue of a thousand or more at Tiverton, and marched to the -city. We need not follow their proceedings there--they were -outrageous--and, as signalising the barbarous character of the age, be -content to note that neither the Earl nor his son received the penalty -they deserved. Providence, however, suffered neither of them to escape. -The Earl was poisoned at Abingdon, and his son and successor beheaded at -York, after being taken prisoner at the battle of Wakefield, 1461. - -The subsequent history of the castle must be traced briefly. After -passing through various hands, it was purchased by Roger Giffard, fifth -son of Sir Roger Giffard, of Brightleigh, in the parish of -Chittlehampton, who pulled down the greater part of the buildings, and -named it “Giffard’s Court.” Nevertheless, it was in a condition to repel -an attack by the Parliamentarian forces under Massey in October 1645, -though two days later it was stormed by Sir Thomas Fairfax at the head -of an army outnumbering the somewhat disaffected garrison by thirty to -one. The owner of the castle was then Roger Giffard, grandson of the -first-named Roger, and despite the fact that the defence of the place -was entrusted to Sir Gilbert Talbot, as military governor, there is no -reason to suppose that Giffard was an absentee. Like his more famous -kinsman, Colonel John Giffard, of Brightleigh, Roger was a devoted -Royalist, and is mentioned among those persons who were fined for their -loyalty. Blackmore’s reference to bales of wool used in the defence is -strictly historical (see _Lorna Doone_, chapter xi.). - -The modern house was built in 1700 for Peter West, who came of an old -Tiverton mercantile stock connected with the Blundells. In 1594 John -West had married Edy, daughter of James Blundell, and niece of Peter -Blundell and his sister Elinor, wife of John Chilcott, of Fairby, and -mother of Robert Chilcott, the founder of Chilcott’s School, which -stands at the lower end of St Peter Street, and, with its mullioned and -transomed windows, its handsome archway, and solid, iron-studded, black -oak door, forms an interesting specimen of Jacobean architecture. Peter -West’s daughter Dorothy took for her bridegroom Sir Thomas Carew, of -Haccombe, and thus manor and castle passed into the possession of the -distinguished family which still owns them. - -We have enjoyed many opportunities of estimating the wealth and -importance of the “woollen” merchants of Tiverton; but, if anything yet -lack, the reader may station himself before the great House of St -George, nearly opposite Chilcott’s School, and consider it at his -leisure. This seemly residence, with its garden close, was built -apparently by George Skinner, merchant, whose initials were formerly to -be seen on the northern termination of the hood-mould. On the southern -termination is the date 1612--the date of the second great fire. As the -house is thoroughly Jacobean in style, it is natural to conclude that it -is in all essentials the identical structure erected in that memorable -year, but the confused account in Harding’s _History of Tiverton_ -contains documentary evidence showing that it was “demolished and -consumed by reason of the late unhappy wars” (_i.e._, the Civil War), -and suggests that the “messuage” was rebuilt at various periods, from -1541 onwards. I shall not attempt to unravel the mystery, but content -myself with observing that, beyond any question, the building has been -altered, and that within living memory. Once, and for long, it rejoiced -in another storey, but modern wisdom having determined that the edifice -was “top-heavy,” the upper portion was removed. - -About the year 1740 the manufacture of serges, druggets, drapeens, and -the like began to decline, and, later, the effects of the American -Revolution were severely felt in the town. In 1790, however, there were -still a thousand looms and two hundred woolcombers in the neighbourhood. -Then came the great war with France, which almost paralysed the local -firms; and on its cessation the Tiverton manufacturers vainly -endeavoured to restore old connections with the Continent. It was plain -that the ancient trade - -[Illustration: CHAPEL, GREENWAY’S ALMSHOUSES, TIVERTON (page 61).] - -in wool, on which so many depended, was in its last throes. The end was -sudden and dramatic. One morning, when the workpeople were at breakfast, -the inhabitants of Westexe were startled by the loud report of a gun, -and the news soon spread that Mr Armitage, the manager of a large mill, -which had been built in 1790, and in which, as in a last refuge, the -remains of the staple industry were concentrated, had shot himself in -the counting-house. - -The ruin of the place now seemed certain. Happily, however, the -following year (1815), Messrs Heathcoat, Boden, and Oliver purchased the -mill, and by extensive additions, converted it into an immense lace -factory. In 1809 they had obtained a fourteen years’ patent for a -greatly improved bobbin-net machine, of which Mr Heathcoat was the -inventor, and erected a factory at Loughborough. The firm removed to -Tiverton in consequence of the injury done to the machines by the -Luddites, and thither a number of their men accompanied them. Some of -the Leicestershire “hands,” about the year 1820, had a dispute with Mr -Heathcoat, who had become sole proprietor of the factory, and, this -having ended in their discharge or voluntary retirement from his -service, they determined to set up an opposition concern. It is believed -that the artisans had machines of their own brought down along with -those of Mr Heathcoat and installed in the mill under some arrangement -with him. Anyhow, they resolved to start lace-making on their own -account. - -Money, of course, had to be provided, and this to a limited amount--very -limited for such a venture--was found them by a physician of the town -named Houston, whilst premises were secured behind, or near what is now -the Golden Lion Inn, Westexe. Here the quixotic scheme was launched, and -here it came to an inglorious end, after a futile imitation of the frog -in the fable. The credulous doctor, who lived in a house, now a -saddler’s shop, next the “White Ball,” and whose backyard abutted on the -infant factory, lost what he had lent, and no doubt learnt a lesson. - -Hardly more felicitous was Mr George Cosway’s attempt to resuscitate the -woollen industry. Mr Cosway “took up arms against a sea of troubles”; -his capital was none too large, and in the face of powerful competition -in other parts of the country, his factory in Broadlane was never a -conspicuous success. On his death it was closed, and that finally. Mr -Cosway belonged to the same family as the famous miniaturist, one of -whose larger paintings, designed for an altar-piece, hangs on the north -wall of St Peter’s Church. The subject is “St Peter delivered by an -Angel,” and the picture was Richard Cosway’s gift to the town of which -he was a native. The larger painting on the other side of the vestry -door, the subject of which is “The Adoration of the Magi,” is a very -fine work by Gaspar de Crayer, and an almost exact reproduction of a -picture by Rubens in the Antwerp gallery. - -It would be improper, I suppose, to refer to Tiverton without mentioning -Lord Palmerston, whose Parliamentary connection with the borough -extended from 1835 to 1865--just thirty years. As an Irishman, the -popular statesman must have been perfectly at home in the town, which is -always lively at election times, and during his early acquaintance with -it, had an unenviable reputation as a rival to Donnybrook Fair. Most of -the inhabitants had their chosen inn, the tradesmen being accommodated -in the parlour, the artisans in the bar, and the labourers in the -kitchen; and the consumption of beer and spirits almost exceeds belief. -One would make ten glasses of grog his nightly quantum, another was not -content with fewer than eighteen, while a third drank gin and water by -the bucketful. Every now and then women would have a fight in the -streets. A ring would be formed, whereupon the trulls grappled with each -other, and with their long hair streaming down their backs, and blood -down their faces, presented a pitiful and degrading spectacle. Things -are better now. - -Speaking of the Tiverton inns reminds me that John Ridd and Fry lodged, -on the eve of their departure, at the “White Horse,” in Gold Street. -This tavern is still in existence, and as it is not specially -picturesque, the reader may be at a loss to conceive why Blackmore -should have selected this particular house of entertainment. The -novelist, however, knew what he was about. In the seventeenth century it -may have been the most important inn in the town. On the entry of the -Royalists into the town in the month of August, 1643, they were stoned -by the mob, many of whom were killed or wounded by the fire of the -soldiers; “and,” says Harding, in recounting the circumstance, “the -effect produced was a dispersion of the remainder, when one, John Lock, -a miller, was taken and executed at the sign of the White Horse, on the -north side of Gold Street” (_History of Tiverton_, vol. i., p. 58). - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE WONDERS OF BAMPTON - - -The country between Tiverton and Bampton reminds us how comparatively -new are many of our main roads. Beginning with the town, although -Bampton Street is one of the principal thoroughfares, this is not the -case with Higher Bampton Street; and of both it may be stated with -absolute assurance that they do not owe their names to accident or -caprice. They were christened thus because they were a direct -continuation of the old road from Bampton, the whole of the present -route through the picturesque Exe valley not having been constructed -until long after the days of John Ridd and the less mythical Bampfylde -Moore Carew. For this reason “Jan,” on his way home, would have -proceeded first to Red Hill, with the inn at its foot;[7] and hereafter -we shall cease to wonder that Carew and his companions fell in with the -convivial gipsies at the same “Brick House,” since it adjoined the -king’s highway. Hence, he climbed the steep ascent of Knightshayes, from -whose summit he might have cast a last lingering look at the town. -Afterwards he would, for some time, have seen nothing but the hedgerows -and a stretch of desolate road. - -Even to Ridd, however, the glory of the Exe was not utterly forbidden, -inasmuch as from Bolham onwards there was some kind of road. Moreover, -on the opposite side of the river was an accommodating lane, from which -lesser lanes scamper off to the “weeches” of Washfield and Stoodleigh -Church, and which, steadily pursued in its northward trend, has coigns -of vantage imparting grateful visions of Rock, with its sweet old -cottages, and the romantic Fairby Gorge, and the woody amphitheatre of -Cove Cliff, together with such pretty accessories as a wayside spring, -trim dairies, rich orchards, a modern suspension bridge, an old-world -bridge, and beside it a quaint little lodge, with its porch and its -bonnets of thatch--a miracle of rustic beauty! But it really matters not -from which side the landscape is viewed, the prospects are equally -charming; and the only cause for regret, from an æsthetic standpoint, is -the railway, whose rigid track, bisecting the valley as far as the -Exeter Inn, brusquely intrudes on its soft contrasts of forest, stream, -and lea. - -From the inn, one branch of the new road still follows the river through -a sylvan paradise, while another, nearly parallel with an older lane, -yclept Windwhistle, leads on to Bampton along the tributary Batherum, On -quitting that highway of loveliness, the Exe, one is conscious of a -difference--the outlook is more tame. However, as one approaches the -town, the scenery improves, and of the town itself it must be conceded -that it is beautifully situated among the hills. - -For me, Bampton is a place with sacred memories; but I am well aware -that, to sound its depths of sentiment, an initiation is necessary. A -stranger strolling listlessly through the churchyard, or seated with -callous heart against a walled-up yew--to him it is all a void. What can -he know of all the unrecorded history which, for certain souls, has -transfigured the spot into a shrine? Moreover, although a fair resident -informed me recently that Bampton “stands still,” I have an -uncomfortable conviction, forced upon me in a brief visit, that this is -not quite the case, that it has exchanged some of its old Sabbatic calm -for an irreverent spirit of enterprise and strivings to be “up-to-date.” -Thanks to a disciple and friend of the late Mr Cecil Rhodes, the -quarries have been galvanised into stupendous energy, and, aided by the -contrivances of modern science, are now working at high pressure, and -all Bampton is cock-a-whoop over the same. Well, well, one must have -patience. Only suffer me to write of _my_ Bampton, which was also -Blackmore’s Bampton, not the Bampton that now is. - -In those far-off days of 1891-3, the quarries were not wholly quiescent; -even then they were shedding their riches, but in a decent, leisurely -way, leaving many a grass-grown plot and fern-clad lovers’ walk, and -tokens of vanished industry in what we termed “the rubble-heaps.” The -distinctive feature of Bampton stone is that it contains a large -proportion of “chert” or flint, which makes it good for roads. The -principal structures in the neighbourhood--including the county and -other bridges--are built of it, and, judging from the age of the church -tower, these black limestone beds have been worked for at least six -hundred years. - -The topography asks some explaining. A noter hies here, noting. Somebody -has told him of Bampton Castle, and forthwith the heady ass swoops on a -circular shed on the quarry plane as a relic. To be sure, at the -south-east entrance of the town there are plentiful suggestions of -military operations. The wind-swept knoll, whence you catch the first -glimpse of Bampton, would be a fine station for a park of French -artillery, to which the exposed railway station, with its less warlike -engines, could offer but a faint resistance. A few paces further on, and -you come to what is uncommonly like a bastion, crowned by the -pseudo-Bampton Castle. Of the real Bampton Castle, at the opposite end -of the town, nothing remains but the site and some rather doubtful -fortifications in what is now an orchard. - -But there _was_ a castle, for in 1336 Richard Cogan had a licence from -the Crown to castellate his mansion-house at Bampton, and to enclose his -wood at Uffculme, and three hundred acres for a park. The exact site of -the castle is believed to have been on a lower level, but closely -adjacent to the existing Mote. The origin and purpose of this great -mound, which is artificial, is not perhaps free from obscurity, but a -former resident favours the following elucidation: The name of - -[Illustration: COMBE, DULVERTON (page 91).] - -the place is derived from the Saxon word _mot_ or _gemot_ (a “meeting”), -and it was probably the seat of the Hundred-mote, or court of -judicature, Bampton being the head manor of the hundred.[8] It was also -a burgh, or fortified place, and by the laws of King Edgar the -Burghmote, or Court of the Borough, was held thrice a year. The parish, -it may be observed, is still divided into Borough, East, West, and -Petton quarters, and the ancient office of portreeve is yet retained. -Some time before Domesday and the Geldroll, the king gave Bampton to -Walter de Douay. From Walter’s son, Robert de Baunton, the lordship -passed through the Paynells to the Cogans, and from the Cogans to the -Bourchiers, Earls of Bath, who, so far as is known, were the last owners -of the barony to reside at the castle. The Bourchier knot is to be seen -in the church--on the screen and the roof-bosses. - -Apart from such rather dry particulars, it is not much that I can tell -you of the public annals of Bampton, but one morsel relating to the -Bourchier reign you must swallow, if only for its rarity. In May 1607, -Walter Yonge, of Colyton, thus wrote in his diary: “There were -earthquakes felt in divers parts of this realm, and, namely, at -Barnstaple, Tiverton, and Devonshire; also I heard it by one of Bampton -credibly reported that there it was felt also. And at Bampton, being -four”--Tush, Squire Yonge, it is full seven--“miles from Tiverton, there -was a little lake which ran by the space of certain hours, the water -whereof was as blue as azure, yet notwithstanding as clear as possible -might be. It was seen and testified by many who were eye-witnesses, and -reported to me by Mr Twistred, who dwelleth in the same parish, and felt -the earthquake.” - -Can it be that this “little lake”--good Devonshire for running -water--was the shut-up and buried, but by no means dared or dead, -Shuttern stream? Perchance it was. Flowing under broad Brook Street, in -times of flood he emerges and revenges himself for his confinement, -spreading across the roadway, and swamping the sunken cottages, and -waxing a lake indeed, in the Biblical acceptation of the term. But the -Shuttern was not shut up or buried for many a year after the miracle. He -flowed muddily along in open channel, though straitly enclosed by banks -and spanned at intervals by bridges--a poor copy of a Venetian canal and -a rare playground for the oppidan ducks. Now they have to waddle their -way, and a long way it is for some of them, to the Batherum, a few, it -may be, tumbling down the hill from Briton Street. And let not Master -Printer, in his wisdom, correct to “Britain Street,” as he hath -aforetime been moved to do. For “Briton” is the recognised and official -spelling, and who is he that he should alter and amend what has been -approved by lawful authority? - -The Conscript Fathers of the town are greatly exercised at such odious -disguisings of the true and proper form, which they rightly decline to -sanction or accept. I am with them, heart and soul. Here in Beamdune, in -this very street, the ancient Britons--’twas in 614--fought a great -fight for freedom against the West Saxons, and there were slain of them -forty and two thousand. The present inhabitants are descended from the -vanquished, the Britons. You doubt it? Then little you know of their -intermarriages. An outsider has no chance. Why even the pedlars and -pedlaresses complain of Bampton’s closeness. “They’re no use,” they -exclaim, “they deal only with their own people.” You still doubt? Then I -renounce you as a heathen man and a publican.[9] - -Bampton’s chief boast is its fair, which is held on the last Thursday in -October, and attracts thousands of visitors, many of them coming from -considerable distances. It is not easy to say precisely why, since there -are other places nearer the moor, but for a long succession of years the -town has served as the principal mart for the wild Exmoor ponies, -deprived of which the fair would no doubt rapidly dwindle. These shaggy -little horses--a good number of them mere “suckers”--are sold by -auction, and the incidents connected with their coming and going, and -their manners in the sale-ring, constitute the “fun of the fair.” - -On the last occasion when I travelled to Bampton Fair, my compartment -was entered by a gipsy belle with abundance of raven hair in traces, the -dark complexion of her race, the regulation earrings and trinkets, and -much conversational fluency. She had come up from Exeter on the chance -of meeting with some of her people whom she had not seen for several -years. That brought to my recollection a prevalent belief that the -Romany folk have a septennial reunion, no doubt intended to be cordial -and friendly in the extreme. Nevertheless, I can answer for it that the -intention is not always fulfilled, for on one fair day two rival tribes -fought a pitched battle with blackthorns, etc., in the orchard of the -Tiverton Hotel. And the women will fight like the men, and with the men. -They are artful beggars. A gipsy matron guided round a youngster of -three or four years, with his small legs already encased in trousers, to -claim a penny, because on one hand he had little excrescent thumbs. The -boy could hold a penny between these thumbs, and, on being given a coin, -was told to say “Thank you,” his mother expressing her gratitude with -the wish, “May you enjoy the lady you loves!” - -It is a safe assumption that no one visits a place of the size of -Bampton--at all events, at ordinary times--without having a look at the -church. Ten years ago you would have been rewarded with the spectacle of -high pews, over the backs of which I can remember feminine eyes taking -stock of the congregation. Nose and mouth were not visible, and -consequently the fair damsels had somewhat the appearance of hooded -Turkish ladies. Now that Bampton Church has been swept and garnished and -the arcade straightened--it fell over quite two feet and crushed the -timbers in the aisle--the building hardly seems the same, but the most -valuable features, to an antiquary, remain untouched. - -Entering the chancel from the churchyard, you will find against the -north wall fragments of bold and graceful sculpture, with tabernacle -work, tracery, shields, the symbol I.H.S., and the Bourchier knot and -water bouget, or budget, as it is sometimes written. Perhaps “bucket” -may be permissible as a variant, since the bearing, which is in the form -of a yoke with two pouches of leather appended to it, was originally -intended to represent bags slung on a pole which was carried across the -shoulders--an arrangement adopted by the Crusaders for conveying water -over the desert. To return to the fragments, they were part of two -ancient monuments which, according to the Rev. Bartholomew Davy, -formerly stood in the chancel; on their removal, about a hundred years -ago, the sides were used to line the wall. - -That the monuments covered the remains of Sir John Bourchier, knight, -Lord Fitzwarner, created Earl of Bath July 9, 1536, and those of his -father, is certain. The will of the former, bearing date October 20, -1535, and proved June 11, 1541, expressly directs that his body shall be -buried in the parish church of Bampton, Devon, in the place there where -his father lies buried, and that a tomb or stone of marble be made and -set over the grave where his body shall be buried, with his picture, -arms, and recognisances, and the day and the year engraven and fixed on -the same tomb within a year after his decease. During the restoration -the workmen discovered under the place where the organ now stands, a -vault containing several ridged coffins, believed to be those of members -of the Bourchier family, but, as the dates were not taken, this is -merely a matter of speculation. - -Behind the organ is a triptych of black marble, one compartment of which -perpetuates the memory of a lady. The two others contain the following -inscriptions:-- - -“Vnder lyeth the body of Arthur the sone of John Bowbeare of this Town, -Yeoman, who departed this life the 17 day of December Anno Dom 1675.” - -“Here vnder lyeth ye body of John the sone of John Bowbeare of this -Town, Yeoman, who departed this life the 12 day of May Anno Domi 1676.” - -According to local tradition, Arthur and John Bowbeare were giants, like -John Ridd; and it will be noted as a further coincidence that they were -of the yeoman class. The name is still preserved in Bowbear Hill, to the -south-east of the town, and in Higher and Lower Bowbear Farms. Another -interesting point is that John Ridd may have entered the town of his -fellow-giants, who were still alive, though soon to die, not by the old -Tiverton road, but by an ancient track which ran down Bowbear Hill. This -track, now disused, was an old Roman road, and, having been paved, is -still known as Stony Lane. - -Giants are said to be usually short-lived--a charge which cannot be laid -against the Vicars of Bampton. On consulting the list I find that from -1645 to 1711 the living was held by the Rev. James Style, from 1730 to -1785 by the Rev. Thomas Wood, and from 1785 to 1845 by the Rev. -Bartholomew Davy. In the case of the last-mentioned divine--familiarly -known as “old Bart Davy”--the patience of some member of his flock was -evidently exhausted, for one fine morning there was found, nailed to the -church door, the following lamentation:-- - - “The Parson is a-wored out, - The Clerk is most ado; - The Saxton’s gude vor nort-- - ’Tis time to have all new.” - -According to the son of the last parish clerk of Bampton, there was a -servant of Mr Trickey, of the Swan Inn, named Joe Ridd, or Rudd, who -amused the townspeople of a generation or two ago with stories of the -“girt Jan Ridd,” of Exmoor, ostensibly an ancestor. One of these stories -was that the huge yeoman, “out over,” broke off the branch of a tree and -used it as a weapon. This circumstance gives special point to the -statement in chapter liii. of _Lorna Doone_, that “much had been said at -Bampton about some great freebooters, to whom all Exmoor owed suit and -service, and paid them very punctually.” Moreover, in Mr Snow’s grounds -at Oare is a mighty ash, whose limbs incline downwards, they (it is -said) having been bent out of their natural set by the constraining -power of the matchless Ridd. - -Blackmore not only conducts his hero and heroine through Bampton as a -place on their line of route, but alludes to it respectfully (see -chapter xiii.) as one of the important towns on the southern side of the -moor, though he dare not for conscience’ sake compare it with -metropolitan Taunton. - -[Illustration: A BIT OF OLD DULVERTON.] - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -WHERE MASTER HUCKABACK THROVE[10] - - -The stage from Bampton to Dulverton was not easy for John Ridd and his -serving-man, nor is it easy for us. From the very heart of the town is a -toilsome ascent to High Cross, fitly so named, and reputed to be -haunted. Chains have been heard to rattle there, and the enemy of -mankind is alleged to have a predilection for the spot. On this subject -an old Bamptonian once told me an amusing story. In the days when the -“bone-shaker” wooden bicycle was a novelty, and the Barretts (relations -of Mrs Barrett Browning) resided at Combehead, someone belonging to the -house was riding down the hill in the twilight on his machine, which was -rattling and creaking to a merry tune. Half-way down he encountered a -labourer, who, never having seen or heard of anything of the kind, and -totally at a loss to account for the phenomenon in the “dimpse,” as he -would have called it, incontinently jumped to the conclusion that the -strange shape advancing towards him was that of Apollyon, and, in abject -terror, turned and fled. - -Whatever the explanation may be--whether it is the beetling trees or the -unfrequentedness--there is no doubt, as is proved by the universal -testimony of those who have used the road, especially by night, that it -differs from most roads in being distinctly uncanny. - -Combehead is the property of the lord of the manor (Mr W. H. White), and -the manor is, roughly speaking, the parish. But just as there are wheels -within wheels, so there may be manors within manors, and it happens that -Mr Wensley, an excellent yeoman who lately purchased the farm which he -had previously occupied as a tenant--Birchdown, at the right base of the -hill--is also a lord, though he modestly disclaims any intention of -proceeding to the Upper House of Parliament. Locally, however, he has -his rights, and I believe the other lord has to pay his lesser brother -“quit-rent” for certain land “within the ambit” of the manor of Bampton. - -From the summit of Grant’s Hill one gains the first sight of Somerset, -and very prepossessing one finds it, with the twin valleys of the Exe -and Barle cleaving the high ground, and Pixton enthroned between. By -their junction the two rivers form a wide basin in which lies the -township of Exebridge. This, as will be shown, was the scene of one of -the exploits of the famous Faggus. There is nothing uncanny about -Exebridge; indeed, it may be called an open, sunny hamlet. Nevertheless, -the river here has its black pool, to which was “banished”--when or for -what reason I cannot say--Madam Thorold, of Burston, an old house in the -neighbourhood. In like manner, but rather less cruelly, Madam Gaddy, of -Great House, Bampton, was “banished” to Barton, with leave to return at -a cock’s-stride a year. When she gets back, she will be horrified to -find her grand old mansion gone and a modern public-house usurping its -name and place. Similarly, the late Captain Musgrove, of Stone Farm, -Exford, is reputed to have been conjured away by so many parsons to -Pinkery Pond, whence he is on his way back at the conventional -cock’s-stride. - -As chance wills, without going out of my way, I have it in my power to -supplement these brief, but poignant, accounts of the supernatural with -other and more detailed ghost-stories derived from the history or -traditions of the Sydenham family. Close to Dulverton Station are two -roads branching off to the left; either of these will conduct you to the -village of Brushford, and from there to the entrance to Combe, a -beautiful Elizabethan manor-house built in the usual shape of an E. The -Sydenhams were a distinguished Somersetshire family, and, although some -of its branches are extinct, and others fallen from their high estate, -there are left ample proofs of its former greatness, and, if I may be -permitted to say so much of those whom I have been privileged to know as -friends, “still in their ashes glow their wonted fires.” - -It was in 1568 that John Sydenham bought the manor of Dulverton from -Francis Babington, a gentleman of the Privy Chamber, but the connection -of the family with Dulverton is of much longer standing; and as a John -de Sydenham is mentioned as marrying Mary, daughter and heir of Joan -Pixton, of Pixton, in the fourteenth century, this may perhaps be taken -as the period of their first settlement in the neighbourhood. They had -other homes in Somerset--notably at Brympton d’Evercy, near Yeovil, now -the property of Sir Spencer Ponsonby Fane; and the canopied monument, -erected in the little church hard by, to a Sydenham by a Sydenham, is -worth going a day’s journey to see. - -So far as the house and estate of Combe are concerned, they first came -into the possession of the Sydenhams through the marriage of Edward, son -of John Sydenham, of Badialton (Bathealton), with Joan, daughter and -heir of Walter Combe, of Combe, in 1482. Part of the original mansion -still remains, and is used as servants’ quarters; the house, however, -was rebuilt during the reign of Elizabeth, and probably towards its -close, as two medals, struck to commemorate the defeat of the Armada, -were found, some few years ago, beneath the floor of the entrance porch. -The main entrance of the older building appears to have been in the east -wing, where cross-beams, over what were once two very wide doorways, are -still to be seen. The second doorway opened into the inner court or -quadrangle. The stone, a species of shillett, was quarried near the -house, and, instead of mortar, clay was largely used. A better sort of -stone was employed in the later building, with plenty of lime and sand. -The oak work is magnificent. - -There was a close connection between the Sydenhams of Combe and those of -Brympton. Humphry, well-known as the “silver-tongued,” Sydenham, was a -scion of the latter branch. He entered at Exeter College, Oxford, became -Fellow of Wadham in the same university, and then chaplain to Lord -Howard, of Escrigg, and Archbishop Laud successively. Appointed rector -of Pockington and Odcombe, he resided in the latter place (Tom Coryate’s -native village); and his preferments included a prebendal stall at -Wells. On the establishment of the Commonwealth, he was deprived of his -living by the Commissioners, and retired to Combe, where he performed -the church service for tenants and others who chose to attend in the -chapel-room over the hall. This eloquent divine was buried at Dulverton. - -Major Sir George Sydenham, another brother of Sir John Sydenham, of -Brympton d’Evercy, and a knight-marshal in the army of Charles I., had -married his cousin Susan, daughter of George Sydenham, of Combe; and, -whilst staying with his wife at her father’s house, received an urgent -summons to accompany his brother on some public occasion. Nothing more -was heard of him until one night, as his wife was sleeping peacefully, -he appeared to her in his military dress, but deathly pale. Starting up -in affright, she exclaimed that her husband was dead, and announced her -intention of joining him. Accordingly, the next morning she set out, and -on the way was met by a messenger who unluckily confirmed her -presentiment, saying that her lord had died suddenly.[11] - -Ever since then the spirit of the major has had an uncomfortable trick -of turning up at unexpected hours in the mansion in which he made his -first apparition. One day Mrs Jakes, a tenant of the family, was -ascending the stairs, when she met a strange figure coming out of one of -the rooms, and, according to her account, motioned as if he would snuff -the candle for her. She was not alarmed, because Sir George looked -kindly on her, and it was only later that she remembered the story of -the ghost. - -More extraordinary still were the circumstances of another visit. When -the late rector of Brushford was a young man, he invited a -college-friend to stay with him. The evening of his arrival was spent -in the usual way, with plenty of fun and pleasantry, after which the -party broke up for the night. The following morning the guest came down -in the same good spirits, but he had a tale to tell. - -“You fellows thought you were going to frighten me last night,” he -observed. Everybody disclaimed such an intention, and begged to know -what he meant. There were signs of incredulity on the part of the -collegian, and then he was induced to explain that an old cavalier -arrayed in a wide cloak and Spanish hat had presented himself at his -bedside. The spectacle, however, had given him no concern, as he had -taken it for a practical joke. - -Major Sydenham’s portrait was painted at Combe, and is still in the -possession of the family. It is that of a man with the pointed beard and -moustache of the period, wearing a cavalier’s hat and feather; and -within living memory was concealed behind curtains. In view of what was -said about the subject, this was not unnatural, but the picture itself -had a peculiar quality. A boy, it is remembered, refused to look at it, -and hid under the table, because the eyes followed him. - -I have not yet done with the Sydenham phantom. As may easily be -supposed, the country-side has its legends of these great people, who, -it is averred, drove a carriage with six or eight horses shod with -silver. Amongst the legends is one that narrates the laying of Major -Sydenham’s ghost, whose visits became so frequent and inopportune that -the family at Combe resolved on serious measures to prevent their -recurrence. They communicated with the Vicar of Dulverton, desiring him -to perform the rite of exorcism, and accordingly that divine, attended -by his curate, proceeded to the large upper room still known as “the -chapel,” where, as we have seen, the “silver-tongued” Sydenham had so -often read prayers under the Commonwealth. At the conclusion of the -service the man-servant was ordered to lead a handsome watch-dog to -Aller’s Wood, on the border of the present highway to Dulverton, and -there release him. Particular instructions were given him on no account -to hurt or ill-use the animal, but these he seems to have disobeyed. The -result was a sudden flash of lightning, followed immediately by a loud -clap of thunder, in the midst of which the dog disappeared. On returning -to the house the terrified emissary reported the occurrence, but the -opinion was expressed that the spirit had been effectually laid. - -The country-side, however, was unwilling to resign its ghost, and, -amongst other “yarns,” the following has been told. There is a stone -staircase at Combe, and one step was always coming out. If it was put -back one day, it was found dislodged the next; and this was believed to -be Major Sydenham’s work. At length the two Blackmores, father and son, -were sent for. They were masons of Exebridge, and skilled men at their -trade, of which they were proud. They thought they had secured the step -in its place firmly. - -“Damme, Major Sydenham, push it out if - -[Illustration: TORR STEPS, HAWKRIDGE (page 109).] - -you can,” exclaimed one of them. No sooner said than done. - -I now come to what may be either the basis or a variant of the main -tradition, unless, as may well be the case, it is an entirely -independent narrative--namely, a circumstantial relation quoted in the -_Treatise of the Soul of Man_, which edifying composition was published -in 1685. It is, word for word, as follows:-- - -“Much to the same purpose is that so famous and well-attested story of -the apparition of Major George Sydenham to Captain William Dyke, both of -Somersetshire, attested by the worthy and learned Dr Thomas Dyke, a near -kinsman of the captain’s, and by Mr Douch, to whom both the major and -captain were intimately known. The sum is this:--The major and captain -had many disputes about the Being of a God and the immortailty of the -Soul, on which points they could never be resolved, though they much -sought and desired it, and therefore it was at last fully agreed betwixt -them, that he who died first should on the third night after his -funeral, come betwixt the hours of twelve and one, to the little house -at Dulverton in Somersetshire; and the captain happened to lie that very -night which was appointed in the same chamber and bed with Dr Dyke. He -acquainted the doctor with the appointment, and his resolution to attend -the place and hour that night, for which purpose he got the key of the -garden. The doctor could by no means divert his purpose, but when the -hour came he was upon the place, where he waited two hours and a half, -neither seeing nor hearing anything more than usual. - -“About six weeks after, the doctor and captain went to Eaton, and lay -again at the same inn, but not the same chamber as before. The morning -before they went thence the captain stayed longer than was usual in his -chamber, and at length came into the doctor’s chamber, but in a visage -and form much differing from himself, with his hair and eyes staring and -his whole body shaking and trembling. Whereat the doctor, wondering, -demanded, ‘What is the matter, cousin captain?’ The captain replies, ‘I -have seen my major.’ At which the doctor seeming to smile, the captain -said, ‘If ever I saw him in my life, I saw him but now,’ adding as -followeth. ‘This morning (said he) after it was light, someone came to -my bedside, and suddenly drawing back the curtains, calls, ‘Cap, cap,’ -(which was the term of familiarity that the major used to call the -captain by), to whom I replied, ‘What, my major.’ To which he returns, -‘I could not come at the time appointed, but I am come now to tell you -that there is a God, and a very just and terrible one, and if you do not -turn over a new leaf, you will find it so.’ This stuck close to him. -Little meat would go down with him at dinner, though a handsome treat -was provided. These words were sounding in his ears frequently during -the remainder of his life, he was never shy or scrupulous to relate it -to any that asked him concerning it, nor ever mentioned it but with -horror and trepidation. They were both men of a brisk humour and jolly -conversation, of very quick and keen parts, having been both University -and Inns of Court gentlemen.” - -The intimacy to which this narrative bears witness, though easily -accounted for in officers of the same regiment, is further explained by -the fact they were near neighbours at home. The Sydenhams, as has been -shown, dwelt at Combe, and the Dykes, I may now add, at Pixton, the -former residence of the Sydenhams, whilst the salutation “Cap, cap” -indicates much friendliness. The Dyke dynasty came to an end when Sir -Thomas Acland (seventh baronet) married Elizabeth Dyke, and joined her -estates at Dulverton and elsewhere to his own vast patrimony. With them -I am not concerned, more than to state that they were the grandparents -of John Dyke Acland, who wedded in 1771 the Lady Christian Harriet -Caroline Fox-Strangways, sister of Stephen, first Earl of Ilchester. - -In the commonplace book of Thomas Sayer, parish clerk and schoolmaster -of Dulverton, I find the following entries relating to the family:-- - -“Jn^{o} Dyke Acland, Esq., married Jan^{y} 7, 1771. The above Jn^{o} -Dyke Acland born Feb. 18, 1746, and died Nov. 15, 1778. The old Sir -Thos. Dyke Acland, Father of above Jn^{o} Dyke Acland, born Aug. 12, -1722, and died Feb^{y} 20, 1785.” - -The same manuscript includes particulars regarding Pixton House, which -prove the existing structure, the “frozen music” of which is superbly -classical, to be differently laid out from its predecessor, which we may -conjecture to have been of some type of English domestic architecture, -and, according to Saver’s measurements, contained some fine rooms. The -old house was pulled down in February 1803, and the new, built by -Hassell, of Exeter, was finished in November 1805. This work was carried -out on the initiative of Lady Harriet Acland, after whom the private -road through the serried woods of the sequestered Haddeo valley is named -“Lady Harriet’s Drive”--doubtless, because she ordered its construction. - -Two or three years ago Mr Broomfield, of Dulverton, showed me an old -picture, dim, dirty, and discoloured, yet significant. Through the crust -of time one could discern a man, a woman, and a boat; and the attitudes -and certain of the details convinced me that the faded, and not very -valuable, heirloom represented a scene in the life of the great lady of -Pixton, to which _she_ must have looked back with horror, and her -posterity will ever refer with pride. I will try to interpret that -picture, and conjure up the scene it so feebly portrays. - -It was the year 1777, and Major Acland’s grenadiers, forming the -advanced guard of General Fraser’s brigade, were advancing against the -American insurgents. Lady Harriet had already endured cruel privations, -and in the course of the previous year had nursed her husband through a -dangerous bout of sickness, contracted in the campaign. Now it had begun -again. Only a short time before, the tent they were sleeping in had -caught fire, and most of their clothing had been burnt. It was winter, -and bitter cold. - -Now, however brave a woman may be, unless she is a professed Amazon, she -is not expected to fight, and, as an action was about to take place, -Acland requested his wife to remain with the baggage. In a small log-hut -with three other ladies--the Baroness Ruysdael, Mrs Ramage, and Mrs -Reynell--Lady Harriet spent hours of agonising suspense, the high notes -of the incessant musketry fire mingling with the diapason of the -artillery, to be varied erelong by the groans of the wounded borne into -their place of shelter, and littering the ground around. - -After a while the news reached Mrs Ramage that her husband had been -killed. Then came another message that Lieutenant Reynell had been -dangerously wounded; and finally, at the close of the day, Lady Harriet -received the information that Major Acland, seriously hurt, was in the -hands of the enemy. - -With equal courage and affection, the devoted woman resolved to go in -search of him, and that without delay. Accordingly, with Dr Brudenell, -chaplain of the regiment, she entered a small boat and proceeded down -the river to the enemy’s outposts. Here they were challenged by the -sentry, and Brudenell, hoisting a white handkerchief on a stick, -attempted to explain their errand. The sentinel, however, proved -obdurate, not only refusing to carry any message to the officer in -command, but warning them not to move, or he would fire on the boat. So -all through that inclement night, insufficiently clad, without a -particle of food, and in imminent danger of becoming a target for the -foe, they sat and waited. - -With the morning their situation improved. The general, on being made -cognisant of the facts, received the lady with soldierly sympathy, and -accorded her full permission to attend on her husband until his -recovery. - -Soon after they returned to England, and to Pixton, but Colonel Acland -was born to ill-luck. He fought a duel on Bampton Down, November 11, -1778, with Captain Lloyd, an officer of his own regiment, whom he had -offended by praising the humanity of the American people, and caught a -chill. Four days later he was dead. - -Lady Harriet had two children--Elizabeth Kitty and John Dyke. The -latter, after succeeding to the baronetcy, died at the age of seventeen, -whilst his sister married, in 1796, Lord Porchester (afterwards second -Earl of Carnarvon), and died in 1816. Lady Harriet outlived both husband -and children, dying in 1818. - -The present possessor of Pixton is the Dowager Countess of Carnarvon; -and her sons are the lineal descendants of the intrepid woman whose -adventures I have described. - -Pixton Park, with its beeches and herd of fallow deer, and Lady -Harriet’s Drive, flanked on each side by gorgeous oak woods or oak -coppice, vocal with streams, and centred by brown Haddon, are among the -features which enable Dulverton to maintain its proud claim to -extraordinary beauty of scenery. In this respect it has no superior in -the West Country, and Tennyson, who visited the neighbourhood not long -before his death, went away delighted with it. An account of this visit -appears in the life of the poet by his son, the present Lord Tennyson; -and, although rather inaccurate in some of the details, yet, as a piece -of impressionism, deserves to be reproduced. - -“In June, Colonel Crozier lent us his yacht, the _Assegai_, and we went -to Exmouth, and thence by rail to Dulverton--a land of bubbling streams, -my father called it. - -“Lord Carnarvon had told him years ago that the streams here were the -most delicious he knew. - -“We drove up the Haddon valley, and to Barlynch Abbey on the Exe. The -ragged robin and wild garlic were profuse. We returned by Pixton Park. - -“The Exe is ‘arrowy’ just before its confluence with the Barle, running, -as my father remarked, ‘too vehemently to break upon the jutting rocks.’ -We sat next on a wooden bridge over the Exe, and he said to me, ‘That is -an old simile, but a good one: Time is like a river, ever past and ever -future.’ - -“In the afternoon, we drove through the Barle valley to Hawkridge, then -to the Torr Steps, high up among the hills, with an ancient bridge -across the river, flat stones laid on piers. Some tawny cows were -cooling themselves in mid-stream; a green meadow on one side, on the -other a wooded slope. ‘If it were only to see this,’ he said, ‘the -journey is worth while.’ - -“We climbed Haddon Down [Draydon Knap?], and then to Higher Combe--a -valley down which there was a most luxuriant view, the Dartmoor range as -background, almost Italian in colouring.” - -Lord Tennyson adds, that, at Dulverton, his father began the Hymn to -the Sun in a new metre, for his “Akbar.” - -A most exquisite view is to be obtained from Baron’s Down, situated on -the lofty height of Bury Hill. Formerly the seat of the Stucley Lucases -(who were as great in stag-hunting, or nearly so, as Tennyson was in -poetry), it afterwards served as the country-house of Dr Warre, -Headmaster of Eton, who resigned his tenancy, much to the regret of his -neighbours and friends, as recently as last year. - -Of Dulverton town, as distinct from its environs, it is impossible to -say much. It is, however, one of the chief centres of Exmoor -stag-hunting and fishing, and the hotels, which thrive on these -attractions, provide adequate accommodation. Owing to the constant -stream of fashionable visitors from all parts of the world, Dulverton, -though in point of size a mere village, wears, during the season, a -quite cosmopolitan aspect; and, as if to emphasise its superiority to -other rustic communities, the enterprising inhabitants have lately -caused to be installed a system of electric lighting by means of high -poles with wire attachments. - -Here, it will be remembered, dwelt Master Reuben Huckaback, John Ridd’s -maternal uncle, who, when bound on the back of the frightened mountain -pony, described himself as “an honest hosier and draper, serge and -long-cloth warehouseman, at the sign of the Gartered Kitten, in the -loyal town of Dulverton.” Huckaback, I am disposed to think, was -Blackmore’s creation, the name in itself being suspicious. What is -Huckaback? Nuttall defines it as “a kind of linen with raised figures -on it, used for tablecloths and towels”--the sort of thing that a -shopkeeper in Uncle Ben’s line would be likely to sell. Blackmore, no -doubt, somewhat exaggerates the commercial advantages of Dulverton, but -in the good old days, tradesmen managed to subsist very comfortably, and -even to retire on a competence. The premises now occupied by Mr Bayley -were probably those Mr Blackmore had in his eye, though their -spick-and-span appearance does not suggest anything venerable. The -proprietor, however, has good warrant for ascribing a decent antiquity -to the house, whose traditional sign is the Vine, not the Gartered -Kitten. That it may have been partially remodelled or reconstructed -since the seventeenth century, is readily granted, as being in the -nature of things, but, having been the head shop at Dulverton time out -of mind, it is, at all events, in the apostolic succession. - -Some Dulverton streets bear interesting names. Thus we have Rosemary -Lane and Lady Street. The latter was formerly much narrower at its -entrance into Fore Street, and an old inhabitant once told me that he -believed that anciently it had been built over, and that the front of -the superincumbent structure was adorned with an image of the Virgin -Mary. - -The widening process involved the demolition of two ancient cottages, -which had formed the Nightingale Inn; and amongst the débris was -discovered an old coin, on seeing which a local connoisseur forthwith -pronounced it Spanish, adding that it had been probably left by the Dons -when they invaded England in 1600. A companion denied that England was -ever invaded by the Spaniards, but the other would not be contradicted. -“He knowed they did, and it weren’t likely they could pass Dulverton -without stopping for a drink.” In point of fact, the coin was a poor -specimen of a sixpenny bit, struck in 1566. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -BROTHERS BARLE AND EXE[12] - - -It is now time to quit Dulverton, and one has to face the somewhat -complex question in which direction one’s steps should next be turned. -There are three main routes--by the railway to Barnstaple; by the -“turnpike” to Dunster and Minehead; and by one of several roads to -Simonsbath, the heart of the moor. All these ways lead to interesting -places--places much too interesting to be passed by; and it is at one’s -choice which to seek out first. That is assuming that one intends to -establish Dulverton as one’s base, making longer or shorter excursions -to the spots hereafter to be named. To recommend such a course, however, -would be obviously impolite to other towns equally avid of patronage. -They must all be visited in turn--so much is certain. - -As a start must be made, and a selection may not be avoided, I will fall -back on the line I always followed as a boy, and once more breast Mount -Sydenham, with its chaplet of firs. When the panting and perspiring -traveller reaches a turn of the road he may hap to espy a hollow in a -field on the left. That is Granny’s Pit, where an old woman with -dishevelled tresses has been viewed, bewailing her daughter. A few more -paces bring us to the grove of firs, whence the sinuous Barle may be -surveyed far below in all his sylvan glory. This may be Blackmore’s -“corner of trees,” if Ridd followed this route, and not Hollam Lane, -which runs parallel with it. Stepping back into the lane, one soon finds -oneself on Court Down, which, though not of any great extent, is a -genuine bit of moorland “debated” by green fern, and purple heather, and -golden gorse, embosomed in which there may stand at gaze fleecy, -white-faced sheep of the horned variety peculiar to Exmoor. - -Nature’s “much-admired confusion,” however, is exhibited on a much -grander scale in the undulating sweep of Winsford Hill, which, from -Mountsey Hill Gate to Comer’s Gate, boasts four miles of continuous -brake. This free and joyous expanse is the native heath of Sir Thomas -Acland’s wild Exmoor ponies, which, in their shaggy deshabille may at -times be seen grazing on the rough sward, or scampering playfully over -moss and ling. They suffer none to approach. - -At Spire Cross is a confluence of roads, that to the left being one way -to Torr Steps, an old Keltic bridge formed of large, loose slabs laid -athwart low piers, which bears a family likeness to Post Bridge on -Dartmoor, but the latter is grooved for chariots. It is well to point -out that this charming vestige of prehistoric civilisation--a gem in a -lovely setting--is by no means isolated. The remains of several British -castles are to be found in the neighbourhood, Mountsey Castle being -quite near; and up on the hill, not far from Spire Cross, but in the -opposite direction, is a menhir. The stone carries an inscription, -which, though extremely rude and partially obliterated, is yet -distinctly legible; and the monument is supposed to mark the -burial-place of a Romanised British chieftain--the “grandson of -Caractacus,” which is the English rendering of “Carataci Nepos.” Dr -Murray recently took a “squeeze” of the face of the stone, from which a -cast was made, now at Oxford; and both he and Professor Rhys, who -accompanied him, were convinced of the genuineness of the scrawl. The -actual lettering appears to be: CVRAACI EPVC. Moreover, beside the road -to Comer’s Gate are three immense cairns, known as the Wambarrows. This -is the highest point of Winsford Hill--1405 feet above the level of the -sea. - -Around all these spots cluster superstitions weird or bizarre. The -menhir is an index of buried treasure. The Wambarrows are the haunt of a -mysterious black dog. Round Mountsey Castle a spectral chariot races at -midnight, to disappear into a cairn in a field at the foot of the hill. -As for Torr Steps, the legend is that they were placed there by the -devil, who menaced with dire penalties the first mortal that should -presume to use them. The sable monarch took his seat on one bank of the -stream, while the other was occupied by a parson, eager to try -conclusions with him. The holy man was astute, and, as a preliminary -measure, dispatched a cat across the bridge. On touching the opposite -side she was ruthlessly rent in pieces, whereupon, the charm having been -shattered, the parson boldly strode over the causeway and engaged the -devil in a conflict of words, each abusing the other in good set terms. -In the end the enemy of mankind retired vanquished, resigning the bridge -to all and sundry. Close above these steps was one of the two homes of -Mother Melldrum (see _Lorna Doone_, chapter xvii., where Blackmore -alludes to the legend of their origin). - -It appears that the Oxford _cognoscenti_ went down into the stream in a -vain search for more inscribed stones. This reminds me of a curious -story of the Barle, the willows on whose banks, by the way, overhang its -amber bed so as to form almost an arch. On a hill to the right, looking -downstream, stands Hawkridge Church, and what is termed, in -contradistinction to the parish, Hawkridge town. Well, once upon a time -a villager was asked to take the place of the bass-singer in the choir -for one Sunday only, and consented. A day or two later he was discovered -by the incumbent, a well-known hunting parson, wading up and down the -little river apparently without aim or object. The cleric drew rein, -and, much amazed, inquired the meaning of this extraordinary procedure. -“Plaze your honour,” was the reply, “I be trying to get a bit of a hooze -on me.” - -In other words, he was attempting to catch a cold, so that he might -become hoarse, this being, as he thought, the best means of qualifying -himself for the successful discharge of his duty. - - “Where the swift Exe, by Somerset’s fair hills, - In curving eddies, borders pastures deep, - Near fern-fringed slope of lawn, where babbling rills - Sing sweetest music, mid thick foliage peep - Five bridges, and thatched roofs. The grey Church Tower - O’er all looks down on groves of oak and pine: - Red deer, red Devons, ponies of the moor, - Delight the traveller in this home of mine.” - -This acrostic, in praise of a charming village, is the composition of -the Rev. Prebendary W. P. Anderson, vicar of Winsford, who has resided -there ever since 1857, and the lines show that his experience of the -place has been like the place itself--happy. Far otherwise was it with -one of his predecessors. In the church porch may be seen a list of the -parish clergymen, not so dry as such lists are wont to be, from which it -appears that early in the fourteenth century Winsford had a blind -vicar--one Willelmus. Being unable to perform all the duties of his -office, he was allowed two coadjutors, of whom it is recorded, to their -eternal infamy, that they were deprived “for starving the Blind Vicar.” -This conduct, inhuman at the best, was the more scandalous in that the -Priory of Barlynch, to which the advowson belonged, had, in 1280, -endowed the vicarage with the whole tithe of wool, lambs, chicken, -calves, pigs, sucklings, cheese, butter, flax, honey, and all other -small tithes and oblations and dues pertaining to the altar offerings. -And yet he starved--the Blind Vicar! - -Barlynch Priory, a community of Austin Friars stood, where its remains -yet stand, some two or three miles down the Exe. Shaded by what the old -charter calls “the mountain of the high wood of Berlic,” its situation -was in the highest degree romantic; and if the prior had a lust for -venery, his taste might easily be gratified, for in the adjacent woods -or “copes,” the deer would have found abundant shelter, and thither they -doubtless resorted to pass the long summer day under the dense foliage. - -Returning to Winsford, Mr Anderson’s lines omit one trait which to many -will seem the chief glory of the village--namely, the old inn. The -“Royal Oak” is a hostelry such as one does not see every day. Its -thatched roofs, and low ceilings, and projecting windows, and general -crinkle-crankle are eloquent of the olden time, and the sign, as was the -case with all ancient signs, hangs from its own post--a reminder of -Boscobel. Hence, by a beautiful rustic lane the traveller wends his way -to Exford, and on the outskirts of the village encounters the church. - -On a pedestal in the churchyard stands the mutilated shaft of a -venerable preaching cross, and hard by the gate one observes an -“upping-stock,” or “upstock,” for the convenience of women in mounting -their horses after divine service. - -Before Exmoor was disafforested and, yet later, made a parish of itself, -it is probable that Exford was the ecclesiastical capital of the -district--at any rate, of the southern portion of the moor. The parish -stands on the very verge of the old forest, and during the reign of King -John was actually brought within its limits. Lanes in the neighbourhood -were, in more scrupulous times, the forest-bounds, and along these -tracks, still passable, were certain marks mentioned in the -Perambulations, almost all of which can be identified. One such track, -partly diverted from its old course--which, however, may be easily -traced--led from what is now a cottage, but was once a small farmhouse, -straight to the church. This cottage bears the name of Prescott, and -still contains a round-headed stone doorway, and a little square window -let into the side of the big fireplace. The late vicar, the Rev. E. G. -Peirson, suggests that this may have been the original priest’s cot or -parsonage house. “I like to think,” he says, “that my predecessors, -before they came into permanent residence here, used to stop at that -house when they came over the moor, and clean themselves before going -into the church.” He adds, however, that in that case the cottage or its -name must date a long way back, as there would seem to have been clergy -resident at Exford early in the twelfth century. - -Mr Peirson’s theory is pretty, but a simpler explanation is that the -cottage belonged to the glebe. It is curious that just at the point -where the old lane used to strike the churchyard, a few projecting -stones still form a rough stile over the wall. - -Probably it will affect most people with a feeling of surprise that -there should be any connection between a place so far inland as Exford -and smuggling, yet the same is true. In an orchard above West Mill was -formerly an old malt-house, where malt was made and whisky distilled. -But the most interesting spot to excise men lay rather to the north, at -Pitsworthy Cottage. Here was an old stone building used as a turf-house; -but the room where the turf was stowed had a party-wall concealing -another chamber, to which access could be obtained only by a secret -entrance under the office of the thatch. Ordinarily this was blocked by -a large stone fitted with a swivel. Long after, pieces of hoops and -decayed staves were discovered in this hiding-place. Wooden hoops are -seen even now round brandy casks, but these were smaller and adapted to -the kegs which the smugglers, landing under Culbone, transported to -Hawkcombe Head, and Black Mire, and White Cross, and right down to -Pitsworthy. There was no road across the moors in those days--I am -thinking of the “forties”--and a man called Hookway is remembered as -travelling from Culbone with pack-horses. - -More of smuggling anon. Meanwhile, I am disposed to record, for the -first time, the nefarious doings of Jan Glass and Betty, his wife. -Sheep-stealing was a fashionable pursuit on Exmoor; and at Brendon Forge -(see _Lorna Doone_, chapter lxii.) the conversation was divided between -the hay-crop and “a great sheep-stealer”--apparently not the same -individual whose hanging set up strife between the manors of East Lyn, -West Lyn, and Woolhanger on account of his small clothes, since he is -described as “a man of no great eminence” (_Lorna Doone_, chapter lv.). -Be that as it may, Jan was a daring sheep-stealer, and yet, in his way, -a public benefactor. Often, during a hard winter, he would bring into -Exford stolen mutton, which he retailed at twopence a pound, and at such -times the inhabitants were fairly kept alive by him. His _modus -operandi_ was to go and gather the sheep--his own and others--on Kitnor -Heath and Old Moor into Larcombe Pound at the entrance to his farm, -where there was a convenient avenue or grove of beech-trees. Having -brought them so far, he would kill the strange sheep, and turn out his -own again over the allotments. - -Jan played this trick so often that old Farmer Brewer determined to take -him, if possible, in the act. With this object in view he “redded” his -sheep, and as he could stand in his farm and observe the manœuvres, -saw Glass driving among the sheep some red ones. With all speed Brewer -made his way across, but by the time he reached Larcombe, Glass had -killed and skinned the sheep that were not his own. - -In the meantime Betty had not been idle. She had dipped the skins in hot -water, so that the wool had come off as easily as from a lamb’s tail, -and had given the skins to the dogs. - -What had become of the wool? Farmer Brewer, anxious to ascertain, -glanced around and spied a large pot. Lifting the cover, he found the -fleeces, and, turning to the disconcerted woman, exclaimed: - -“Aw, fy, Betty! Here’s the wool!” - -This led to Glass’s conviction, and he was sentenced to seven years’ -transportation. He had certainly had a wonderful career. He did not -confine his attention to sheep, but was quite as notorious for stealing -colts. Not being able to keep her from her foal, he had been known to -kill the mare and throw the carcass into the pond. His thefts of sheep -from “Squire” Knight alone used to average fifty or sixty a year. He -would gallop into a flock, pick up one of the sheep, as a hawk or a -raven would pick up a small bird, and carry it home on the top of his -saddle. It may seem strange that he was permitted to indulge in these -malpractices so long, but he lived in a very out-of-the-way place. There -were no police in those days, sheep were gathered only once or twice in -the year, and the animal he appropriated might possibly be crippled or -diseased. Anyhow, until Farmer Brewer interfered, nobody took any -notice. - -Glass lived to return after being transported, and eventually found -himself on a bed of sickness, when he was visited by an old farmer, -James Moore. - -“Jan,” said he, “I yur thee art very bad, and thee hasn’t got nort to -eat. I’ve killed a sheep and brought thee a piece of mutton.” - -“Aw, maister,” answered the poor man, “I thort thee’d a bin the last man -to come to zee me.” - -“What vur, Jan?” - -“Well, I don’t know, maister, how I can taste the mutton, for I’ve stole -scores o’ sheep from thee at the time you lived to Thurn and the time -you lived to Ashit.” - -“Never mind, Jan, I freely forgive thee, and I aup that God’ll do the -same.” - -Glass never got over the illness, but soon after this touching interview -gave up the ghost, and was buried in Exford churchyard. - -Betty Glass was just as resolute a thief as old Jan, and, whilst at -Larcombe, was very intimate with Sally Bristowe (or “Bursta,” as the -name was pronounced), at Rocks, an adjoining farm. On one occasion, -Betty paid a visit to Sally at harvest time, when young turkeys were -about, and after she had been hospitably entertained, eating what she -liked and drinking what she liked, she had the good taste to go out and -steal a score of the aforesaid small turkeys. Shortly afterwards, Sally -happened to open the door and found the heads of some of the birds lying -in the yard, whereupon she set out in pursuit of old Betty, overtook -her, and discovered the bodies of the turkeys in the old woman’s apron, -blood still flowing from them. - -“Now, Betty,” quoth the indignant woman, “however could’st thee steal my -turkeys after I’d gi’d thee plenty to eat and drink.” - -“Aw, for goodness sake,” was the reply, “keep dark. I’ll give thee a -guinea. Say nort about it.” - -Sally thereupon accepted the guinea, deeming it better to do so than -institute proceedings. This was certainly a mistake, for a week or two -later, when Betty was in company with Farmer Brewer, and three sheets in -the wind, she remarked, “Hey, Jimmy, what’s think of Sal Bursta’s -spot-faced yo? D’ye think I be going to give her a guinea for nort?” - -From which it was evident that she stole the ewe to make good the loss -of the money. Sal undoubtedly lost the sheep. - -During a visit to Minehead, seeing nothing else on which she could -conveniently lay hands, Betty appropriated two 7-lb. weights; but she -had not gone more than a mile or two from the town when she found the -weights too heavy to carry, and dropped them beside the hedge. - -At that time the Crown Inn, Exford, was kept by Nicholas and Mary -Harwood. One day when Betty was on the spree, Mrs Harwood entered the -house and looked over the old woman’s wardrobe. To her surprise she -found three of her own dresses and several petticoats, which she brought -down into the kitchen, and, spreading them out before old Betty, -inquired how she came by them. - -“Needn’t make so much fuss about it,” was the easy response, “for, if -I’d sold ’em, you’d a had the coin.” - -As Betty was a good customer at the Crown, Mrs Harwood “kept dark” and -condoned the offence. - -On another occasion, Betty brought a bag into the “White Horse” and put -it behind the settle. A man, called Mike Adams, was in the room, and -mischievously turned the bag mouth downwards, so that when old Betty -took it up, out fell the mutton--very likely a joint of Sal Bristowe’s -spot-faced ewe. On hearing the thud, Mike ran round the settle, and was -immediately “squared” by Betty, who observed, “Say nort, and I’ll sell -it and spend the money.” - -Before her marriage with Jan, Betty had an illegitimate son, Jack Reed. -In due time this boy was apprenticed to the husband of Sal Bristowe, who -kept a farm and proved a rough master. Things grew so bad that at last -the lad declared that, if he stayed there, he should be either -transported or hanged. Luckily he had a warm friend in young Sally -Bristowe. They had grown up boy and girl together, and shared each -other’s confidences. Privately, Sally made a collection for Jack, and -amassed the large sum of sixteen shillings, which she placed in his -hands. - -The ’prentice had now to look out for a favourable opportunity of -escape, and this offered when Farmer Bristowe went to Bratton Fleming -Fair, since by running away at this time the boy was assured of a day’s -start. On going to bed, Jack ostentatiously bolted the door, but -unbolted it “with the same,” so that the old woman might not hear when -he made his exit. The plan worked perfectly, and Jack ultimately settled -down at Bristol. - -The master of the Devon and Somerset staghounds (Mr R. A. Sanders) -resides at Exford, and here are the kennels of the pack. The latter are -substantial stone buildings with gable ends, and stand on the slope of a -hill, close beside the road to Simonsbath. One enters first the -“cooking-house,” the lobby of which is hung around with antlered heads, -brow, bay, and tray. Some heads are preserved on account of their -peculiarities or misshapen forms; and to each head is attached a plate -setting forth the date and place of the capture of the animal. -Advancing, one is conscious of a pungent odour, which is found to -proceed from a chamber where a huge furnace is burning fiercely, and a -seething mass of horse flesh is being boiled off the bones for the dogs. -Some of this boiled flesh is in a large wooden trough, and, mixed with -oatmeal, flour, or biscuit, is undergoing a process of solidification. -In the adjoining room are two larger troughs, in one of which biscuit is -soaking, whilst the other contains a quantity of oatmeal paste. Both -sorts of food are intended for the younger dogs. - -The kennels of these hounds, situated at a short distance, are provided -with an extensive boarded-in grass plot, which forms their -exercise-yard. When heavy rain does not permit of a parade, they will be -found on the bench. A magnificent lot of dogs, containing the blood of -the most celebrated hounds in the best packs, they are not much -disturbed by the entrance of strangers. Some of them half step down from -the bench, when you pat and stroke them; they do not attempt to bite, -and are, in fact, exceedingly quiet, unless you are foolish enough to -strike them. Then you will see. Although the hounds are so much alike, -the huntsman has the name of each dog on the tip of his tongue, and -when, he calls, the animal is back in his place in an instant--so -absolute is his command. - -As regards the older hounds, they are kennelled in the same fashion, -reclining on a bench with a thick layer of clean straw. They have had a -season or two’s “blooding,” and during that time some of them, by their -doings in the pack, have made a name for themselves. A few years ago two -of them had the honour of appearing on several public platforms in -attendance on the huntsman, the late Anthony Huxtable, a merry dog -himself, who, as he could troll a rattling hunting-song, was in great -request at local concerts, and on such occasions brought the hounds with -him as a bit of realism. - -Another kennel houses the oldest hounds--dogs which have hunted for -seven seasons or more, and are still fit. - -[Illustration: WINSFORD (page 111).] - -It is a curious fact that nothing upsets hounds so much as thunder. A -flash of lightning followed by a loud crash of thunder makes every dog -spring to his feet and relieve his feelings by low whines and growls. - -A Faggus incident (see below, chapter xiv.) is duly credited to Exford -by Blackmore, who entrusts the telling of it to John Fry (_Lorna Doone_, -chapter xxxix.). He appears, however, to have robbed the parish of a -still more thrilling episode (see chapters xiv. and xvi.). - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE HEART OF THE MOOR - - -From Exford to Simonsbath the road presents few points of interest. At -White Cross enters the highway that leads from Spire Cross to Comer’s -Gate, and thence between hedges to Chibbet (always so spelt and -pronounced, but query Gibbet?) Post, a rendezvous of the staghounds and -other packs; and perhaps the spot where Red Jem hung in chains, but it -is more than two miles from Dunkery. After White Cross we arrive at Red -Stone Gate, where we alight or not as we choose. Red Stone, having been -mentioned in the perambulation records as a landmark of the old forest, -has some claim to be considered historic. Then we pass what is commonly -known as Gallon House, a white-washed building with a porch, standing -back from the road and formerly a public-house. Its proper name was the -Red Deer, and it is said to have been called Gallon House from the fact -that “drink”--beer is always or often thus described hereabouts--was -sold only by the gallon. That may or may not have been the case, but, as -regards intoxicants, Exmoor is still under restrictions. To ensure the -respectability of the neighbourhood, the “Exmoor Forest” Hotel (late -the “William Rufus”) is limited to the sale of wine, no beer or spirits -being obtainable. This rule was imposed by Sir Frederick Knight, and is -maintained in full force by his successor, Lord Ebrington. - -The proper name of Gallon House was the “Red Deer,” but Blackmore was -evidently acquainted with the other description. John Fry is led by a -shepherd to a “public-house near Exford,” where “nothing less than a -_gallon of ale_ and half a gammon of bacon” brings him to his right mind -again (_Lorna Doone_, chapter xxxi.). - -The associations of Gallon House and its vicinage are tragic, since it -was in a cottage situated in the rear that William Burgess, in the -fifties of the last century, murdered his little daughter. He then -conveyed her body across the road and down into the valley, where he -buried it; but, fearing detection, he again removed the poor child’s -corpse and threw it down the shaft of the disused Wheal Eliza, a -copper-mine. Here it remained undiscovered for months, but at last, -through the untiring exertions of the Rev. W. H. Thornton, then curate -of Exmoor, it was found, and the unnatural father expiated his crime on -the gallows. - -In his privately printed _Reminiscences_, Mr Thornton has given a -detailed account of the whole episode. - -The Wheal Eliza appears to have been the original of Uncle Ben’s -gold-mine, so far as situation is concerned. - -The next stage is to Honeymead Two Gates, with Honeymead Farm[13] lying -away to the left. “Two Gates” is quite an Exmoor term. We meet with it -again in Brendon Two Gates, and it stands for an arrangement whereby on -both sides of the posts are suspended separate gates, so hung as to fall -inwards. These effectually prevent stock from getting either in or out -of the enclosures _proprio motu_, whilst the farmer, by crooking back -the near gate with his whip, and pushing his horse against the other, -can pass through without having to dismount. To judge from the maps, -Simonsbath is the hub of the moor. In some senses this is true and -soothfast, but as one travels along the excellent highway and looks -across the country, there is little suggestion of either moor or forest. -The land is evidently poor, but everywhere one’s glance falls on -enclosed fields, and Winsford Hill harmonises much better with one’s -preconceived ideas of Exmoor than this eminently civilised region. -Doubtless the landscape presented a very different aspect before Mr -Knight’s advent in 1818, and one hardly knows whether to thank him for -his pioneer improvements or not. At all events, one would have preferred -the dry-wall system that obtains in the North Forest, to fences that -seem stable and permanent, though shivering sheep may be of a different -opinion. - -Cloven Rocks, the next point, has no obvious right to the name. Its -situation, however, may be indicated by stating that it lies at a bend -of the road, and a tiny stream trickles down through the bare turf. It -may be needless to remind the reader that Cloven Rocks is twice -mentioned in _Lorna Doone_ as adjacent to the Wizard’s Slough, a -perilous morass that has since been drained. Whether the story which -appears in chapter lviii. of the romance is based on a real tradition, -or is the offspring of Blackmore’s fertile imagination, I am unable to -say. It has, at any rate, a genuine ring, and all Exmoor once teemed -with strange legends, which the present “more enlightened” generation -has chosen to forget. - -Which reminds me. The little stream above referred to is called White -Water, and joins the Barle at Cow Castle, an old British camp, which is -situated on one of three hills. Cow Castle is the name of the principal -eminence as given in the maps, and Cae Castle it is sometimes called by -the learned. To the natives, however, it is known as Ring Castle, and is -so described in a delightful article contributed by the Rev. George -Tugwell, M.A., author of an excellent _North Devon Handbook_, to -_Frasers Magazine_ in 1857. His delineations of the scenery are worthy -of a Blackmore or a Black, and would that I had room for some of them! -As I have not, I must confine the quotation to the dialogue between the -wanderer and a peasant, carried on by the blaze of the latter’s peat -fire. - -“‘Half an hour before we met you and little Nelly, we discovered an old -British camp--a real discovery, an indubitable camp, with its line of -earthworks as perfect, gateway and all, as when it was first piled--and -to be found in no book or antiquarian memoir in all the three kingdoms. -There it stood, a circular crown on the brow of a lonely conical hill, -washed on three sides by the wanderings of the Barle, out of bow-shot -from all the neighbouring heights, with plenty of water, and provisions -in abundance, for three valleys trended from it in a triple direction, -commanding a wide and glorious view of peak and ravine, centrally placed -in the very heart of “the forest.” In truth, those old Britons knew -something of the art of fastnesses, if they were not well skilled in the -art of war. Did you ever see the stronghold of your ancestors, friend -Jan?’ - -“‘I’m thinking we’re somehow about Ring Castle!’ quoth Jan, with sly -good humour in his eye. ‘Camp indeed! I don’t know much about camps [we -omit the Doric]; but all I know is, that it was something far different -which built Ring Castle.’ - -“Hereupon, dropping his voice, he hurled up the broad chimney a whole -series of mystery-betokening smoke cloudlets. - -“‘Did you ever hear tell on Pixies?’ quoth Jan again, after a pause. -‘And fairy rings?’ he added, as Nelly emerged from a dark corner, and -nestled close to her father’s shoulder. We suggested that we had heard -of the Devonshire fairies, a race of spirits peculiar for their -diminutive size and perfect beauty, and for their friendly dealing with -mankind. - -“‘Well,’ said John, ‘this here be all about it.’ - -(And he proceeded to tell us so pretty a legend that we cannot refrain -from translating it for the benefit of the uninitiated in the Devonshire -dialect.) - -“‘Ever so long ago, the Pixies were at war with the mine spirits who -live underground all about the forest and the wild hill-country around. -Now, the Pixies being perfectly harmless, and withal good-natured to -excess, weren’t at all a match for the evil-nurtured earth-demons, who -were always forging all kinds of fearful weapons in their underground -armouries, and overcoming their poor little foes by all manner of unfair -and unexpected stratagems. But the Pixie Queen of those days being like -all women, fertile in resources, bethought her of a means of escape from -the unbearable tyranny of the oppressors. Ever since the days of Merlin, -running water, the numbers three and seven, and the mysteries of the -emblematic circle, have been sure protections against the machinations -of the foul fiend and his allies. And the fairy queen, like a wise -woman, recollected this fact, and, like a wiser woman, applied it; for -she assembled all her subjects, and bade them build on the summit of -this central Exmoor Peak that strange circle which you have seen to-day. -But it was no common building this, for with every stone and turf that -the builders laid, they buried the memory of some kindly deed which the -good Pixies had done to the race of men; and so, when the magic ring was -completed, the baffled demons raved and plotted in vain around its -sacred enclosure. Nor was this all; for when the grey morning broke upon -that first night of victory and repose, as the driving mists rolled -upwards and swept along the hill-tops like the advance-guard of a -victorious army [we are not sure that this was Jan’s own similitude], -from the summit of the fairy fortification there rose ring after ring of -faintest amber-tinted vapour, and floated away in the brightening sky, -each on its own mission of safety and peace. - -“‘For these tiny wreathlets wandered hither and thither all over the -broad expanse of the Exmoor country, and wherever the grass was -greenest, and the neighbouring stream sang most merrily, and the -sunlight was purest, and the moonbeams brightest, there these magic -circles sank down softly on the level sward, and left no trace behind -them of what they had been, or whence they had journeyed. - -“‘But from each soft resting-place there sprang a ring of greenest -grass, which flourished and grew year by year; and within those safe -enclosures the Pixies danced on moonlight nights in peace and security, -unharmed by the demon rout, who were never seen aboveground after that -memorable morning. So you see that kind hearts and actions do not go -unrewarded, even in other spheres than our own. - -“‘And so,’ concluded Jan, ‘that’s my story about the building of the -Pixie’s camp; and wise folk may talk for a year and a day without making -me believe that there’s any other reason for fairy rings, at all events, -hereabouts in Exmoor Forest.’ - -“Of course it would have been absolute cruelty, after so fanciful a -legend, to have instilled any botanical ideas into Jan’s head, with -regard to the law of the circular increase of fungi and the like; so we -‘left him alone in his glory,’ and felt duly thankful for the pleasure -he had given us.” - -Lower down the river is Landacre Bridge, where Jeremy Stickles had so -narrow an escape - -[Illustration: LANDACRE BRIDGE, EXMOOR.] - -from flood and foeman (_Lorna Doone_, chapter xlvii.), and lower down -still is the moorland village of Withypool. In summer, the water-meadows -here, with background of brown moor, are lovely, but in rainy seasons -Withypool is a wet place indeed, the little streams being even more to -be dreaded that the raging of the Barle and Kennsford Water. In passing -through the village a few years ago, I happened to hear that there are -five wise men of Withypool, whose names were mentioned to me. One, I -believe, was a follower of St Crispin, whom his neighbours, on account -of his being at once “long-headed” and little of stature, called, Torney -Mouse. Here also resides the renowned “Joe” Milton, a champion of the -old wrestling days, in which he bore off many a trophy. - -When the snow lies piled in impracticable drifts on the main Exford -road, the Simonsbath people creep round to Dulverton and the world by -way of Withypool. Let us proceed to the capital of Exmoor by this route. -As we do so, it may be well to say something of the term “forest,” as -applied to Exmoor. To anyone who knows the country, such a description -must inevitably suggest the famous etymology, _lucus a non lucendo_; -except at Simonsbath, there is hardly a tree to be seen. But, according -to legal usage the word does not of necessity connote timber; it -indicates nothing more than an uncultivated tract of country reserved -for the chase. The term indeed is said to be identical with the Welsh -_gores_ or _gorest_ (waste land), whence comes also the word “gorse,” -used alternately with “furze,” as being a common growth on wastes. From -the earliest times, Exmoor was a royal hunting-ground, and so remained -until that portion of it which still belonged to the Crown was sold, in -1818, to Mr John Knight, of Worcestershire. The Crown allotment -comprised 10,000 acres; subsequently Mr Knight bought 6000 more, and so -became owner of, at least, four-fifths of the forest. - -Much has been written concerning those ancient denizens of the moor--the -ponies. In my _Book of Exmoor_, I have dealt almost exhaustively with -the subject as regards the pure breed; and every year experts in horsey -matters favour the British public with accounts of those wary little -animals in various periodicals. Sportsmen, however, have often put to me -the question, “After all, what good are they?” That they are good for -some purpose, is proved by the ready sales at Bampton Fair; but it is -true, nevertheless, that the breed labours under a grave disadvantage in -point of size, and those interested in the problem have often essayed to -produce a serviceable cross. - -Instead of treating once again those aspects of pony science which have -been discussed _ad nauseam_, I propose to devote attention almost -exclusively to Mr Knight’s remarkable efforts in this direction, full -particulars of which have never, so far I know, been embodied in any -permanent work. - -For some years previous to the sale of the forest, the price of the -ponies ranged from four to six pounds, but the exportation of this class -of live-stock, as well as sheep, did not always proceed on regular or -legitimate lines. The Exmoor shepherds, in defiance of the “anchor -brand,” took liberal tithe of them, and, at nightfall, passed them over -the hills to their crafty Wiltshire customers. On the completion of the -sale the original uncrossed herd was transferred to Winsford Hill, where -Sir Thomas had another “allotment,” only a dozen mare ponies being left -to continue the line. At that time Soho Square was as fashionable a -quarter as Belgravia, and one of its residents was the celebrated -naturalist, Sir Joseph Banks, who invited Mr Knight to a dinner party. -Bruce’s Abyssinian stories were then all the rage, and the conversation -chanced to fall on the merits of the Dongola horse, described by the -“travelling giant” as an Arab of sixteen hands, peculiar to the regions -round about Nubia. Sir Joseph consulted his guests as to the -desirability of procuring some of the breed, and Lords Hadley, Morton, -and Dundas, and Mr Knight were so enamoured of the idea that they handed -him there and then a joint cheque for one thousand pounds to cover the -expense. - -Over and above their height, the Dongola animals had somewhat Roman -noses, their skin was of a very fine texture, they were well chiselled -under the jowl, and, like all their race, clear-winded. As regards their -action, it was of the “knee-in-the-curb-chain” sort, whilst their short -thick backs and great hindquarters made them rare weight-carriers. As -against all this, the “gaudy blacks” had flattish ribs, drooping croups, -rather long white legs, and blaze foreheads. Perfect as _manège_ horses, -the dusky Nubian who brought them over galloped them straight at a wall -in the riding-school, making them stop dead when they reached it. -Altogether ten or twelve horses and mares arrived, of which the Marquis -of Anglesey observed that they would “improve any breed alive.” Acting -on his advice, Mr Knight bought Lord Hadley’s share, and two sires and -three mares were at once sent to Simonsbath, where the new owner had -established a stud of seven or eight thoroughbred mares, thirty -half-breds of the coaching Cleveland variety, and a dozen twelve-hand -pony mares. The result of the first cross between these last and one of -the Dongolas was that the produce came generally fourteen hands two, and -very seldom black. The mealy nose, so distinctive of the Exmoors, was -completely knocked; but not so the buffy, which stood true to its -colour, so that the type was not wholly destroyed. - -The West Somerset pack often visited Exmoor to draw for a fox, and on -such occasions the services of white-robed guides were usually called -into requisition; but the half Dongolas performed so admirably that this -practice gradually fell into disuse. They managed to get down the -difficult hills so cleverly, and in crossing the brooks were so close up -to the hounds, that nothing further was necessary.[14] - -The cross-out was intended for size only, not for character. No sire -with the Dongola blood was used, and such mares as did not retain a -good proportion of the Exmoor type were immediately drafted. The first -important successor of the Dongola was Pandarus, a white-coloured son of -Whalebone, fifteen hands high, who confirmed the original bay, but -reduced the standard to thirteen hands or thirteen and a half. Another -sire was Canopus, a grandson of Velocipede, by whom the fine breeding as -well as the Pandarus bay was perpetuated. - -Meanwhile the colts were wintered on limed land, and thus enabled to -bear up pretty well against the climate. Later, however, the farms were -let by the late Sir Frederick (then Mr F. W.) Knight--a course which -necessitated the withdrawal of the ponies to the naked moor, where, if -the mares with the first cross could put up with the fare and the -climate, they grew too thin to give any milk. On the other hand, those -which were only half bred stood it well with their foals. About 1842 the -whole pony stud was remodelled. The lighter mares were drafted, and from -that time Mr Knight resolved to stick to his own ponies and the -conventional sire. For many years this was strictly observed, and apart -from the chestnut Hero, a horse of massive build sprung from a Pandarus -sire, and the grey Lillias, of almost unalloyed Acland blood, no colour -was used but the original buff. - -An able judge who visited the moor in 1860, included in his report the -following remarks, which are worth quoting:-- - -“The pony stock consists of a hundred brood mares of all ages, from one -to thirteen. The mares are put to the horse at three, and up to that -age they share the eight hundred heather acres of Badgery with the red -deer and the blackcock, protected on all sides by high stone walls, -which even Lillias, the gay Lothario of the moor, cannot jump in his -moonlight rambles.... - -“The bays and the buffy bays (a description of yellow), both with mealy -noses, are in a majority of at least three to one. The ten sires are all -wintered together in an allotment until the 1st of May, apart from the -mares; but Lillias, who has more of the old pony blood than any of them, -twice scrambled over at least a score of six feet walls, and away to his -loved North Forest. It is a beautiful sight to see them jealously -beating the bounds, when they are once more in their own domains; and -they would, if they wore shoes, break every bone in a usurper’s skin. -The challenge to a battle royal is given with a snort, and then they -commence by rearing up against each other’s necks, so as to get the -first leverage for a worry. When they weary of that they turn tail to -tail, and commence a series of heavy exchanges, till the least exhausted -of the two watches his opportunity, and whisking round, gives his -antagonist a broadside in the ribs, which fairly echoes down the glen. -In the closing scene they face each other once more, and begin like -bull-dogs to manœuvre for their favourite bite on the arm. The first -which is caught off his guard goes down like a shot, and then scurries -off with the victor in hot pursuit, savagely ‘weaving,’ while his head -nearly touches the ground, and his ‘flag’ waves triumphantly in the air. -With the exception of Lillias, the ten are generally pretty content -with their one thousand acres of territory, and like Sayers and Heenan, -they are ultimately ‘reconciled’ in November. - -“The percentage of deaths is comparatively small, and during last -winter, when many of the old ponies fairly gave in on the neighbouring -hills, Mr Knight’s ponies fought through it, but five or six of them -died from exhaustion at foaling, or slipped foals at ten months. Their -greatest peril is when they are tempted into bogs about that period by -the green bait of the early aquatic grasses, and flounder about under -weakness and heavy pressure till they die. The stud-book contains some -very curious records. ‘Died of old age in the snow,’ forms quite a -pathetic St Bernard sort of entry. ‘Found dead in a bog’ has less poetry -about it. ‘Iron grey, found dead with a broken leg at the foot of a -hill,’ is rather an odd mortality comment on such a chamois-footed race; -while ‘grey mare c. 22 and grey yearling, missing; both found, mare with -a foal at her foot,’ gives a rather more cheery glimpse of forest -history.” - -The “forest mark,” with which the foals are branded on the saddle-place, -was changed by Mr Knight from the Acland anchor to the spur, which -formed part of his crest, and is burnt in with a hot iron, just enough -to sear the roots of the hair. No age eradicates it. Should a dispute -arise concerning a wandering pony, the hair is clipped off, and once it -happened that after a white sire had been lost for three seasons he was -discovered in this manner by the head herdsman’s brother. The spur has -only one heel, and the brand can be affixed with a rowel pointing in -four directions, on each side of the pony, beginning towards the neck. -It thus coincides with a cycle of eight years, and is available as a -guide if the footmarks are prematurely worn out. - -The hoof-marks are of two kinds--that of the year of entry on the off -hoof, and the register figure of the dam on the near. In the second week -of October the Dominical letters of their year are placed on the -yearlings, and the registered hoof-marks renewed on the mares. The foal, -of course, is not marked on the foot, but an exact record is taken of -his dam and all his points. - -Until 1850 the ponies were sold by private contract. Sales were then -established, and in 1853 an auditory of two hundred persons assembled at -Stony Plot, the knoll with its belt of grey quartz boulders where now -stands the church. The following autumn the venue was altered to Bampton -Fair. There is a curious story or legend--I hardly know what to make of -it--that after one of the Simonsbath sales a Mr Lock, of Lynmouth, -roasted an Exmoor pony for his friends, who, if they ever partook of the -repast, must be credited with fine Tartar taste. - -According to one version the original Exmoor ponies, with their buffy -bay colour and mealy nose, were brought over by the Phœnicians during -their visits to the shores of Cornwall to trade in tin and metals; and -ever since that time the animals have preserved their characteristics. -We do not propose to go so far back into the recesses of history, but -will return for a moment to the now rather distant date, 1790, before - -[Illustration: BAGWORTHY VALLEY (page 141).] - -which hardly anything is known of Simonsbath. At that period there are -said to have been only five men and a woman and a girl on Exmoor. The -girl drew beer at the Simonsbath public-house, and the customers were a -decidedly rough lot. Doones indeed there were none--their day was -past--but the illicit love of mutton was universal in the West country, -as was also a partiality for cheap cognac. Smugglers slung their kegs -across their “scrambling Jacks” at night, and hid their treasure in the -rocks, or left it at a certain gate till the next mystic hand in the -living chain gave it a lift on the road to Exeter. When they did not -care to do this, there were always friendly cellars under the old house -at Simonsbath. The ale was decent, the landlady wisely deaf, and who can -doubt that the old ingle, where the date 1654 still lingers on a beam -shorn or built into half its length, heard many an exciting tale of -contraband prime brandy and extra parochial liberties which would have -extorted blushes from an honest beadle and groans from a conscientious -exciseman? - -Simonsbath having been formerly so insignificant, it is not to be -wondered at that Blackmore only refers to it as the abode of a “wise -woman,” by which he means a witch (_Lorna Doone_, chapter xviii.). - - - - -CHAPTER X - -BAGWORTHY AND BRENDON - - -Simonsbath is the centre of several converging roads, all of them -waiting to help the traveller out of Exmoor before he is well in it. A -drive from Lynton or some other fairly populous or fashionable resort, -followed by a lunch at the Simonsbath Hotel, is many people’s conception -of the proper method of “doing” Exmoor; but, while pleasant enough as an -excursion, such a mode of exploration permits of only scanty guesses and -imperfect glimpses of the inner fastnesses, which seem for the most part -far away. - -If the excitement of the chase be not too distracting, possibly the best -way of acquainting oneself with the country is by following the -staghounds; but should that be impracticable, the most useful advice the -writer can offer is to follow the watercourses. Any one of these, if -patiently traced, will usher the pilgrim into Nature’s mysterious -solitudes, which, if he be at all of a contemplative turn of mind, will -awaken in him many a pleasant or pensive reverie. In any case, one must -get away from the roads, the very excellence of which is evil, as -tempting to sloth. - -I cannot, however, send forth an innocent person into the wilds without -referring to the bogs. Personally, I have a considerable respect for -Exmoor bogs, as I have for “they Hexëmoor vogs,” which are equally -treacherous, and make one wet through as sure and as fast as any rain; -nor is it so many years ago that Sheardon Hutch and similar names were -sounds of terror in my ears. Familiarity breeds contempt, and therefore -those at home in the district--some of them, at all events--are apt to -disparage these man-traps, which are not by any means confined to the -low lands, but are found on the summits of hills, especially the -notorious Chains. In many places black decayed vegetable matter has been -accumulating for ages to a depth of several feet, and as the rocks -beneath are of the transition class, impervious to water, the rain is -retained and saturates the bog-mould. After much wet weather, there are -spots that will not bear the weight of a man, let alone a horse, and in -riding over the moor, they constitute so real and serious a danger that -great care should be exercised to avoid getting into them. Otherwise it -may prove an impossible task to extricate the devoted “mount.” There is -one consolation--heather will not grow on those deep bogs, and wherever -its purple bells show, the ground is safe. - -The Exmoor hills are variously configured. Sometimes they take the form -of a bold foreland, sometimes of a continuous ridge, sometimes of an -isolated cone or orb. A very intelligent moorman reminded me, somewhat -superfluously, when I looked in upon him on a September evening, that -all the hills have names, and queer names some of them are--_e.g._, -“Tom’s Hill,” “Swap Hill,” “Scob Hill,” etc., etc. The meaning of not a -few is anything but plain, but one “termination,” if the phrase be -permitted, speaks for itself. I allude to the expression “ball,” which -is frequent on Exmoor, and much more likely to be derived from visual -impression than any long-descended traditions of Baal, to which a late -friend of mine, out of regard for the Phœnicians and their -hill-altars, was anxious to assign it. Thus we have Cloutsham Ball -(famous as the scene of the opening-meet of the Devon and Somerset -Staghounds), Ware Ball, Ricksy Ball, Ferny Ball, and, as a gloss, Round -Hill. The intersecting valleys have somewhat the character of huge -corridors leading in and out of each other, and the smaller “combes,” -running up into the hills, may be likened to stairways of providential -appointment, for the Exmoor “sides” are not quite perpendicular. The -hill-tops and slopes are dotted with sure-footed Exmoor horned sheep and -Cheviots, beautiful long-tailed ponies, and a few red cattle. The grass -is of two sorts--a short, close variety found in the drier parts, and -tall sedge grass on wet ground, where it grows rankly. Sheep are fond of -the former when it comes up green and fresh after the annual “swalings,” -which take place in February or March. Exmoor sheep have faces like -those of the native deer, being free from wool, while the sharp-pointed -nose resembles that of a fox. - -Simonsbath village is in a sheltered position on the left bank of the -Barle, and, thanks to the care of the late Sir Frederick Knight and his -father, it is further protected against the keen winterly gales by ample -plantations of fir and other trees. Hence we again mount the hills, this -time in the direction of Brendon Two Gates, where the “forest” ends. -After a time we gain a point from which a good view is obtained of the -Prayway (or Prayaway) Meads. There are no hedges here, and, with the -inconsistency of human nature, one misses them. It seems so odd to stand -and gaze over a grassy expanse that has never been enclosed, and yet has -much the look of ordinary meadow. Through the midst flows the Exe, here -quite a baby-stream; we are, indeed, not far from its source. To those -who are familiar with its lower reaches, and call to mind the river as -it appears (say) at Cowley Bridge, the sight is inexpressibly absurd. -The absence of trees and shrubs makes Prayway seem bare and forsaken. -The high sloping banks are like deserted ramparts or--but the name may -have some influence--the nave of a vast natural cathedral haunted by the -ghosts of dead Britons. Continuing our route, we arrive at a gate, -inside which is a sort of quarry known as Black Pits. The gate opens -into a common, at the other end of which is Brendon Two Gates. The -origin of this term has been explained; it may be well to add that at -present it is a misnomer. - -We now for the first time catch sight of Bagworthy, lying over on the -right, and Bagworthy, as the reader may happen to remember, was, or has -been imputed to be, the stronghold of the savage Doones. This is, in a -sense, the parting of the ways. The traveller may either quit the -beaten track for the carpet of sward in quest of a shepherd’s cot, -whence he may easily proceed to the traditional site of Doone Castle and -down the Doone valley, along the Bagworthy Water, to Malmsmead, where -the Bagworthy water unites with the East Lyn, and so by Cosgate or -Brendon to Lynton; or he may stick to the road, which will take him by a -shorter cut to the same destination, by Farley and Cheriton and the -aforesaid Scob Hill. It may be that, like the mythical churchmen of old, -when asked to state which see he preferred--Bath or Wells--the -latter-day pilgrim may elect for “both.” I will assume, however, that -his immediate objective is the famous valley, and that, once there, he -will pursue without faltering the longest way round. - -Technically we are no longer on Exmoor. Bagworthy, Badgworthy, or -Badgery--all are permissible forms--is in the parish of Brendon and the -county of Devon. In ancient times the wood is said to have covered a -much greater area, and a century ago some of the older shepherds could -point out its former limits. Within their recollection and since their -time, its dimensions steadily contracted, until the disappointment with -the valley, to which visitors so often and freely own, became -explicable. - -Now it must be admitted that in _Lorna Doone_ there is a large spice of -exaggeration, and this quality is naturally reflected in the -illustrations with which the goodlier editions are adorned. Such -deviations from the literal have brought it to pass that nowhere is -Blackmore in so little esteem as among the hills he pictured so -lovingly. Even the humble writer of the present volume probably enjoys -on Exmoor a greater measure of esteem as a more trustworthy historian of -the neighbourhood. But, sensible people will agree, the writer of a -romance must be in a large measure a law unto himself, and he is under -not the least obligation to consult the feelings of plain folk incapable -of sharing his flights of imagination. It is a question of the light -“borrowed from the youthful poet’s dream,” and I am inclined to apply -the phrase in a somewhat distinct and definite sense. A romance--this -romance in particular--may be regarded as a fairy-tale raised to a -higher plane of evolution, and Blackmore seems to have possessed the -godlike faculty of reflecting in his pages the shining images of his -boyish fantasy, when, to copy Kingsley, every goose was a swan and every -lass a queen. On this point I shall say no more, but return forthwith to -the matter-of-fact. This includes the deep pool and the waterslide, but -the reality of Doone Castle, or its remains, cannot for various reasons -be taken for granted. - -The first printed notice regarding these malefactors occurs in Mr -Cooper’s _Guide to Lynton_, published in 1851, and runs as follows:-- - -“The ruins of a village long forsaken and deserted stand in an adjacent -valley, which, before the destruction of the timber, must have been a -spot exactly suited to the wants of the wild inhabitants. Tradition -relates that it consisted of eleven cottages, and that here the ‘Doones’ -took up their residence, being the terror of the country for many miles -round. For a long time they were in the habit of escaping with their -booty across the wild hills of Exmoor to Bagworthy, where few thought it -safe or even practicable to follow them. They were not natives of this -part of the country, but having been disturbed by the Revolution from -their homes, suddenly entered Devonshire and erected the village alluded -to. It was known from the first to the inhabitants of the neighbouring -villages that this village was erected and inhabited by robbers, but the -fear which their deeds inspired in the minds of the peasants prevented -them from attacking and destroying it. The idea is prevalent that before -their leaving home they had been men of distinction, and not common -peasants. The site of a house may still be seen on a part of the forest -called the Warren, which is said to have belonged to a person called -‘the Squire,’ who was robbed and murdered by the Doones. - -“A farmhouse called Yenworthy, lying just above Glenthorne, on the left -of the Lynton and Porlock road, was beset by them one night; but a woman -firing on them from one of the windows with a long duck-gun, they -retreated, and blood was tracked the next morning for several miles in -the direction of Bagworthy. The gun was found at Yenworthy, and was -purchased by the Rev. W. S. Halliday. They entered and robbed a house at -Exford in the evening before dark, and found there only a child, whom -they murdered. A woman servant who was concealed in an oven, is said to -have heard them say to the unfortunate infant the following barbarous -couplet: - - ‘If any one asks who killed thee, - Tell ’m ’twas the Doones of Bagworthy.’ - -[Illustration: BRENDON, NEAR OARE (page 150).] - -“It was for this murder that the whole country rose in arms against -them, and going to their abode in great haste and force, succeeded in -taking into custody the whole gang, who soon after met with the -punishment due to their crimes.” - -This excerpt represents the legend of the Doones which Blackmore -inherited, and which it is absurd to designate as his invention. What he -did was to add colour and definition to an already existing, though -faded, tradition. How much of the substructure of _Lorna Doone_ is due -to his imaginative genius, is a fascinating problem, which, it is to be -feared, it is beyond the wit of man to solve satisfactorily. In the -above quotation, for instance, no mention occurs of the heroine, but it -does not follow that she found no place in the local tales, and -Blackmore, quite as good an authority as the writer of the guide, and on -this particular subject even better, expressly affirms the contrary. - -As to the time of the Doones, Mr Cooper, it will be noticed, says “after -the Revolution.” This is altogether opposed to Blackmore’s account, -which sets back their advent to a date long anterior to 1688. Mr Edwin -J. Rawle, whose valuable _Annals of the Royal Forest of Exmoor_ entitles -him to a very respectful hearing, is absolute in rejecting any -historical basis for the tradition, the mere existence of which he -tardily acknowledges. Mr Rawle’s theory is that “Doone” really stands -for “Dane,” the sea-wolves in the olden times having harried the -neighbourhood pretty severely. I do not know what philologers may say of -this suggestion, but the vagaries of the local dialect suggest a far -more plausible explanation. In the romance John Fry speaks of his -“goon,” meaning his “gun.” Now “Dunn” is a fairly common patronymic in -the West Country, and I am informed that the natives formerly pronounced -the vowel in an indeterminate manner consistent with either spelling. - -Blackmore, however, evidently regarded the name as identical with the -Scottish “Doune,” and his assertion of a high North British pedigree for -the robbers has been wonderfully seconded of late by the publication of -Miss Ida Browne’s _Short History of the Original Doones_, which, if -correct in every particular, proves amongst other things how extremely -imperfect and untrustworthy are many of the records on which the -scrupulous historian is wont to rely. Mr Rawle will not have that it is -correct, and her pleasant and plausible narrative is the object of a -fierce onslaught in his brochure, _The Doones of Exmoor_. Personally, I -have always favoured the notion that the rogues were a similar set to -the Gubbinses and Cheritons, little communities of moorland savages, and -that their rascalities, handed down from generation to generation, were -magnified and distorted in every re-telling. This solution has the -advantage of being easily reconciled with Mr Rawle’s demand for -authentic evidence of their monstrous doings and Blackmore’s and Miss -Ida’s Browne’s insistence on their Scottish nationality. To me, however, -it seems like beating the air to attempt any final settlement of the -question on our present information, and if I again refer to the lady’s -booklet--already I have given the substance of it in my _Book of -Exmoor_--it is not so much from the belief that it casts any certain -light on the actuality of the Exmoor marauders as on account of the -possibility--which she notes--that Blackmore by some means obtained -access to the evidence now in her possession. - -This consists of a manuscript entitled “The Lineage and History of our -Family, from 1561 to the Present Day,” compiled by Charles Doone of -Braemar, 1804; the Journal of Rupert Doone, 1748; oral information, and -certain family heirlooms. Assuming these to be genuine, there is -obviously much likelihood, in view of the numerous points in common, -that Blackmore succeeded in getting hold of the written testimony of the -later Doones; and, indeed, the circumstance may have been the factor -which led him to elaborate the romance on a scale transcending that of -his other stories, since he must have realised that here he had struck -an entirely original vein of historical fiction. - -Before quitting this part of the subject, it is desirable to present the -views of the Rev. J. F. Chanter, who has given much attention to the -problem, and whose long and intimate acquaintance with the district -invests his opinions with exceptional importance. In a letter received -from him, he remarks:-- - -“I may say that, as far as I am concerned, I accept as genuine the main -facts of Miss Browne’s story, but not its details, _i.e._, the -relationship between Sir Ensor and Lord Moray, or even Sir Ensor being a -knight. The title ‘Sir’ was given at that date to many who were neither -knights nor baronets, _e.g._, the clergy always; and as I find in rural -districts, even to this day, a lady of the manor is spoken of, and -written to, as Lady so-and-so. Mr Rawle’s criticism is entirely -negative; his position seems to be this:--Miss Browne’s paper states -that Sir Ensor was twin brother of Lord Moray. Now Lord Moray had no -twin brother; therefore the whole claim falls to the ground.” - -To this I answer: - -“1. If the claim of Charles Doone of Braemar, as to the ancestry of his -family, is wrong, it is absurd to say he had no ancestors. We are all -apt to claim as ancestors people who were not really so, and many of the -published pedigrees do this, claiming as ancestors some of the same -name, though there is no evidence of the link. - -“2. The peerage is no evidence that Lord Moray had not other brothers, -though not twins. There is, for instance, evidence that Lord Moray had a -brother mentioned in no peerage I ever saw, one John Stuart who was -executed for murder in 1609. - -“3. There may have been merely a tribal connection between the Doones of -Bagworthy and the Stewarts of Doune, and a tribal feud caused them to -fly to a remote spot; and they were recalled on a later Lord Moray -wanting every help when he fell from Royal favour. - -“Be this as it may, Miss Browne’s story fits in so wonderfully with -Blackmore’s romance that I cannot conceive he had not heard of it. This -I can vouch for--Miss Browne did not invent it. - -“Now as to Miss Browne’s documentary evidence, I had the original of -Charles Doone’s family history, and it was undoubtedly a genuine -document of the age it purported to be. I made a full copy of it. Of -other documents I only saw copies. The originals she stated to be in the -possession of a cousin in Scotland, and promised to get them for me as -soon as she could. I have, however, not seen them as yet. The relics -also seem to me genuine.” - -It must not be supposed that these were Blackmore’s only sources of -information--they deal in the main with merely one side of the story. -Other material, both written and oral, was available on the spot. Mr -Chanter observes on this point: “I myself can perfectly recall that, -when I first went to a boarding-school in 1863, there was a boy there -from the Exmoor neighbourhood who used to relate at night in the -dormitories blood-curdling stories of the Doones.” That boy, it is -interesting to know, is still alive. At any rate, he was alive in July -1903, when he addressed to the _Daily Chronicle_ the following letter in -answer to a sceptical effusion from a correspondent signing himself -“West Somerset.” “‘West Somerset’ could never have known Exmoor half so -intimately as was the case with myself during my boyhood, youth, and -early manhood, or he must have heard of the Doones. During the ‘fifties’ -and ‘sixties’ of last century I lived on Exmoor, knew it thoroughly, and -rarely missed a meet of the staghounds. The stories or legends of the -Doones were perfectly familiar to me. They varied much, but the germs of -the great romance were so well known and remembered by me that when it -was issued, one of its many charms was the tracing of the writer’s -embroidery of the current tales. I have hardly been in the district -since 1868, but my memory is sufficiently good to remember the names of -several from whom I heard the traditional annals. Among them were John -Perry, the old ‘wanter’ or mole-catcher of Luccombe; Larkham, the -one-armed gamekeeper of Sir Thomas Acland, and above all, Blackmore, the -harbourer of the deer.[15] The name of another old man, who allowed me -on two occasions to take down Doone stories at the inn at Brendon, has -escaped me. So familiar were these stories to me when I was a boy that I -used to retail them with curdling embellishments of my own in the -dormitory of a West-country boarding-school. The result of this was that -a room-mate of mine, either just before or just after he went to Oxford, -wove my yarns (he had not himself then ever visited Exmoor) into a -story, which he called ‘The Doones of Exmoor.’ This tale was eventually -published in some half-dozen consecutive numbers of the _Leisure Hour_. -My copy of it has long been lost, but I remember that, though it was -delayed some time by the editor, it appeared three or four years before -_Lorna Doone_. Moreover, I had a letter from Mr R. D. Blackmore, soon -after his immortal work was issued, wherein he acknowledged that it was -the accidental glancing at the poor stuff in the _Leisure Hour_ that -gave him the clue for the weaving of the romance, and caused him to -study the details on the spot. I have never been across Exmoor since -_Lorna Doone_ was published, but I am sure that I could at once find my -way either on foot or horseback to the very place that I knew so well as -the stronghold of the Doones, either from the Porlock or the Lynton -side.” - -I am permitted to quote also a passage from a private letter of Miss -Gratiana Chanter (now Mrs Longworth Knocker), author of _Wanderings in -North Devon_, who is a firm believer in the Doones. - -“I wish you could have a talk with old John Bate of Tippacott [he is -dead]; he gave me a most exciting description one day of how the Doones -first ‘coomed in over.’ No dates, of course; you never get them. He said -there was a farmhouse in the Doone Valley where an old farmer lived with -his maidservant. ’Twas one terrible snowy night when the Doones first -‘coomed.’ They came to the house and turned the farmer and his maid out -into the black night. Both were found dead--one at the withy bank and -the other somewhere else. He said, ‘They say, Miss, they was honest folk -in the North, but they took to thieving wonderful quick.’ - -“Bate, and one John Lethaby, a mason, were both at work at the building -of the shepherd’s cot in the Doone Valley, and had tales of an -underground passage they found that fell in, and that they took a lot of -stones from the huts for the shepherd’s cot.” - -To return to Mr Chanter, we learn that, even before those nightly -entertainments in the dormitory, he had read about the Doones in an old -manuscript belonging to his father, and he adds that there were to be -found at that period in North Devon several such manuscripts, which, he -thinks, had a common origin, and might be traced to the tales of old -people living in and around Lynton seventy or eighty years ago. In range -of information and power of memory none might compare with a reputed -witch, one Ursula Johnson, who, though now practically forgotten, can be -proved from the parish register to have been born a Babb in 1738--not -forty years after the exeunt of the Doones. The family of Babb were -servants to Wichehalses, and one may recall the circumstance that in -chapter lxx. of _Lorna Doone_ John Babb is represented as shooting and -capturing Major Wade. Ursula was not so ignorant as many of her gossips, -and upon her marriage to Richard Johnson, a “sojourner,” could sign her -name--a feat of which the bridegroom was incapable. Her long life -reached its termination in 1826, when she was, so to speak, within sight -of ninety. - -Seven years later a locally well-remembered vicar, the Rev. Matthew -Murdy, came to Lynton, and being keenly interested in the old lady’s -stories, began a collection of them. Subsequently two friends of his, Dr -and Miss Cowell, entered into his labours by “pumping” Ursula Fry, a -native of Pinkworthy on Exmoor, and Aggie Norman. Both were tough old -creatures, the former dying in 1856, at the age of ninety, and the -latter in 1860, when she was eighty-three. In Mrs Norman, who passed a -good deal of her time in a hut built by her husband on the top of the -Castle Rock, in the Valley of - -[Illustration: NICHOLAS SNOW’S FARMYARD GATE (page 159).] - -Rocks, Lynton, Mr Chanter identifies the original Mother Meldrum. - -Mr Mundy reduced the tales to something like literary shape, and they -were then transcribed by the older girls in the National School, whose -mistress, Miss Spurrier, saw that the copies were properly executed. An -old lady residing at Lynton possesses one of the documents, dated 1848, -of which the contents include a description of the neighbourhood, -reference to Ursula Johnson, and three “legends”: those of De -Wichehalse, the Doones of Bagworthy, and Faggus and his Strawberry -Horse. In the _Western Antiquary_ of 1884, part xi., may be found an -excellent account of the manuscript by the late Mr J. R. Chanter, who -quotes the following observations by the editor:-- - -“The recent introduction of candles into the cottages of the -neighbouring poor has tended greatly to produce the most lamentable -decay of legendary lore: the old housewife, crouching over the -smouldering turf, no longer enlivens the tedious winter evening with -well-remembered tales of the desperate deeds of the outlaws or the -wonders wrought by the witches or wisemen, and many of the curious -legends are in danger of being consigned to utter oblivion, unless -immediately collected from the old peasants, who are falling fast: their -children being by far too much engrossed by the Jacobin publications of -the day, to pay any attention to these memorials of the days of yore. -From these causes much has already been lost.” - -That R. D. Blackmore obtained a sight of one of these MSS. is, on the -face of it, extremely probable, but for certain elements of the story -he might well have been indebted to his grandfather, the Rector of Oare. -Such are the account of the great frost, the mining and wrestling -incidents, and the tales of the Doones, in chapters v. and lxix., which -the notes pronounce to be authentic, and which differ from other -versions. - -I come now to the facts of the Wade episode mentioned in chapter lxx. of -_Lorna Doone_. In this same parish of Brendon is a hamlet called -Bridgeball, and on a hill just above the hamlet is Farley farm, where a -comparatively new house occupies the site of an older structure pulled -down in 1853. It was on this farm that Major Wade, one of the leaders in -the Monmouth Rebellion, was captured after the battle of Sedgemoor. -Driven ashore in an attempt to escape down the Channel, he succeeded in -concealing himself for several days among the rocks at Illford Bridges, -and made a confidante of the wife of a little farmer named How, who -lived at Bridgeball in a house of which he was the owner, while the -field behind it and a portion of land near the present parsonage were -also his property. The good woman provided him with food so long as he -continued in his rocky hiding-place, and interceded for him with a -farmer at Farley named Birch, who consented to harbour him for a time. -Situated on the verge of Exmoor, no refuge could have appeared more -secure than this isolated spot, but the event proved that Wade might -have been as safe, or safer, in a great and populous centre. To his -credit it must be recorded that, after obtaining his pardon, the gallant -gentleman did not forget his benefactress, on whom he settled an -annuity. The particulars of his capture have been preserved in the -Lansdowne MS., No. 1152, which contains the following rather dramatic -reports:-- - - -“_To the Right Hon. the Earl of Sunderland, Principal Secretary of -State._ - -“BARNSTAPLE, _y_{e} 31st July 1685_. - - “My Lord,--I here enclosed send your Lop. an account of y^{e} - apprehending of Nathaniel Wade, one of y^{e} late rebells. I came - to this towne to-day, and can, therefore, only give y^{r} Lop. - w^{t} relation I have from y^{e} apothecary and chirurgeon w^{ch} - they had drawn up in a letter designed for Sir Bourchier Wrey; - their examination of him is enclosed in y^{e} letter, to w^{ch} I - refer your Lop. He continues very ill of a wound given him at his - apprehending sixteen miles hence, at Braundon parish in Devon. I - designe to examine him as soon as his condition will permitt, he - promising to make large and considerable confessions; and herein, - or if he dye, I humbly desire your Lop.’^{s} directions to me at - Barnstaple, and shall herein proceed as becomes my duty to his - Majesty and your Lop.--My Lord, y^{r} Lop.’^{s} most humble - Servant, - -RICHARD ARMESLEY.” - - - - -“_To the Honourable Sir Bourchier Wrey, K^{t}. and Bart., in London._ - -“BRENDON, _30th July ’85_. - - “Hon^{rd} Sir,--This comes to give you an account of one, not y^{e} - least of y^{e} rebells, who was taken up last Monday night at a - place called Fairleigh in y^{e} p’ish of Brundun, by Jno. - Witchalse, Esq., Ric^{d} Powell, Rec^{t} of y^{e} same, Jno. Babb, - serv^{t} to Jno. Witchalse and Rob. Parris. They haveing some small - notice of a stranger to have bin a little before about y^{t} - village, came about nine of y^{e} clock at night to one Jno. - Burtchis house. As soon as they had guarded y^{e} house round, they - heard a noise. Watching closely and being well armed, out of a - little back door slipt out this person within named, and two more - as they say, and run all as hard as they cold. Babb and Parris - espieing them, bid them stand againe and againe. They still kept - running, and they cockt their pistols at them. Parris his mist - fire, but Babb’s went off, being charg^{d} w^{th} a single bullett, - w^{ch} stuck very close in y^{e} rebells right side; ye entrance - was about two inches from y^{e} spina doris. Y^{e} bullett lodged - in y^{e} under part of y^{e} right hypogastrind, w^{ch} we cut out. - Y^{e} bullett past right under y^{e} pleura; from the orifice it - entered to y^{e} other, w^{ch} we were forced to make to extract - y^{e} bullett (having strong convulsions on him): it was in - distance between six and seven inches. He was very faint, having - lost a great quantity of blood. Y^{e} orifice we made (y^{e} - bullett lying neere y^{e} cutis) was halfe an inch higher y^{n} - y^{e} other. It begins to digest, and his spirits are much revived, - only this day about 10 of y^{e} clock he was taken with an aguish - fitt, w^{ch} I suppose was caused by his hard diet and cold lodging - ever since y^{e} rout, he leaving his horse at Illfordcomb. Ever - since Tuesday last in the afternoon, Mr Ravening and myself have - bin w^{th} him, and cannot w^{th} safety move from him. We desire - to know his Maties pleasure w^{t} we shall due w^{th} his corps, if - he dyes, w^{ch} if he does before ye answer, we think to embowell - him. We will due w^{t} possible we can, for he hath assur^{d} us, - y^{t} as soon as he is a little better, he will make a full - discovery of all he knows, of w^{ch} this inclosed is part, by - w^{ch} he hopes to have, but not by merrits, his pardon. Here is - noe one y^{t} comes to him y^{t} he will talk soe freely w^{th} as - w^{th} us; if you will have any materiall questions of business or - p’sons to be askt of him, pray give it in y^{rs} to us. We will be - privat, faithfull, to o^{r} King, whome God long preserve. W^{ch} - is all at present from them who will ever make it their business to - be.--S^{r} y^{r} most humble Serv^{ts}, - -“Nic^{s} Cooke and HENRY RAVENING.” - - - -The addressee was Sir Bourchier Wrey, of Tawstock, Bart., son of another -Sir Bourchier, and grandson of Sir Chichester Wrey, who married Ann, -youngest daughter of Edward Bourchier, Earl of Bath. - -Bagworthy and Farley are both in the parish of Brendon, but we must not -forget that, as regards bodily presence, we are still in the Doone -valley, and not far from Oare, where, according to Rupert Doone’s Diary, -his ancestors, on quitting Scotland in 1627, first fixed their -residence. They then removed to the upper part of the Lyn valley, on an -estate bounded on one side by Oare and on the other by Bagworthy. The -Doone valley, which used to be called Hoccombe, is a glen lying between -Bagworthy Lees and Bagworthy, and Mr Chanter expresses the belief that -this name and that of “Lorna’s Bower” were first applied to the small -sidecombes by his cousins, the Misses Chanter, soon after the -publication of _Lorna Doone_. Ruins of the traditional “Castle,” -rectangular in form, are still to be traced, and consist of two groups. -Unfortunately, stones were taken from them to build an adjoining wall, -and now it is impossible to state the character of the buildings, some -of which were probably houses, and others cattle-sheds. Miss Browne, -indeed, is of opinion that they were all of the latter description, and -that the real home of the Doones was in the Weir Water valley, between -Oareford and the rise of the East Lyn. So far as Hoccombe is concerned, -Blackmore has idealised it with a vengeance. The “sheer cliffs standing -around,” the “steep and gliddening stairway,” the rocky cleft or -“Doone-gate,” the “gnarled roots,” are all purely imaginary. As regards -“Doone track” or “Doones’ path,” it directly faces the valley, and after -crossing the Bagworthy Water, ascends the Deer Park and Oare Common, and -so to Oare. Being covered with grass or hidden by heather and scrub, it -is not easy to follow, but viewed at a little distance it presents the -appearance of a broad terraced roadway, not improbably Roman, and -connecting Showlsborough Castle, near Challacombe, with the coast. The -site of the house where the “Squire” was robbed and murdered by the -Doones is still visible in the part of the forest known as the Warren -(_Lorna Doone_, chapter lxxii.). - -Exmoor was once a paradise of yeomen, thrifty sons of the soil, who -owned their own farms. They consisted of two classes: those who did the -work themselves, with the assistance of their family and jobbing -workmen, to whom they paid good wages; and the owners of large farms, -where labourers were constantly employed at a shilling a day. The former -sort is entirely extinct. Many of their descendants have been merged in -the mass of common labourers; a few have risen to the rank of large -farmers; others have emigrated. - -The more substantial class of yeomen is still represented in the -district. The late Mr W. L. Chorley, Master of the Quarme Harriers, was -an excellent specimen of the order, but the most relevant example is -that of the Snows, whom Blackmore treats somewhat unfairly. The family -may not have been rich in what Counsellor Doone described as the “great -element of blood,” but a genuine yeoman of the type in question would -hardly have been dubbed “Farmer Snowe,” and he certainly would not have -perpetrated such an awful lapse as “pralimbinaries.” I have been -informed by a correspondent that Blackmore apologised to the family for -his painful caricature, which was only just, in view of their actual -status and the esteem in which they are held by their neighbours. About -the year 1678, two-fifths of the manor of Oare belonged to the family of -Spurrier, and passed by marriage at the beginning of the eighteenth -century into the possession of Mr Nicholas Snow, who left it to a son of -his own name. The latter, in 1788, purchased the other three-fifths, -and, at his death in 1791, bequeathed the manor to his youngest son, -John Snow, who died without issue, leaving the property to his nephew, -Nicholas Snow--the “Farmer Snowe” of _Lorna Doone_. - -It will be noticed that the Snows did not become landowners at Oare -until long after the period of the story. As for the Ridds, or Reds, the -only mention of the name in the parish register occurs in the year 1768, -when John Red was married to Mary Ley. The real Plover’s Barrows was -Broomstreet Farm, in the neighbouring parish of Culbone; at any rate, a -John Ridd was resident there. A John Fry, no mere farm-servant, was -churchwarden of Countisbury, of which Jasper Kebby was likewise a -parishioner. Plover’s Barrows has been identified by Mr Page with Mr -Snow’s residence--“according to Blackmore, anciently the farm of the -Ridds.” But in _Lorna Doone_ (chapter vii.) the two farms are -represented as adjoining, and Plover’s Barrows is evidently further -upstream (see _Lorna Doone_, chapter xiv.: “In the evening Farmer Snowe -_came up_.”) The same writer speaks of the Snows as having been seated -at Oare since the time of Alfred. Can Mr Page be thinking of John Ridd’s -boast to King Charles (_Lorna Doone_, chapter lxviii.)? - -Oare Church, where the elder Ridd lay buried, where his son stole the -lead from the porch to his subsequent shame, and where the brute Carver -shot Lorna on her bridal morn, has received an addition in the shape of -the chancel - -[Illustration: OARE CHURCH.] - -since the last disastrous event--which, as things are, rather falsifies -the narrative. Graced with ash and sycamore, the little cemetery is as -Blackmore describes it, “as meek a place as need be.” - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE MOUTH OF THE LYN - - -The scenery of the district described in many excellent guide-books may -not tally in every particular with the superb word-portraiture of _Lorna -Doone_, but that it possesses charms of supreme merit will be admitted -by all who know the country, whether as residents or visitors. Almost -before R. D. Blackmore was breeched, the poet Coleridge testified: “the -land imagery of the north of Devon is most delightful”; and his -brother-in-law, Robert Southey, is equally emphatic. - -“My walk to Ilfracombe,” he says, “led me through Lynmouth, the finest -spot, except Cintra and Arrabida, that I ever saw. Two rivers [_i.e._, -the East and West Lyn] join at Lynmouth. You probably know the hill -streams of Devonshire. Each of these flows through a combe, rolling over -huge stones like a long waterfall; immediately at their juncture they -enter the sea, and the rivers and sea make but one noise of uproar. Of -these combes, the one is richly wooded, the other runs between two high, -bare, stony hills. From the hill between the two is a prospect most -magnificent, on either hand combes, and the river before the little -village--the beautiful little village--which, I am assured, by one who -is familiar with Switzerland, resembles a Swiss. This alone would -constitute a view beautiful enough to repay the weariness of a journey; -but, to complete it, there is the blue and boundless sea, for the faint -and feeble outline of the Welsh coast is only to be seen, if the day be -perfectly clear.” - -Inland, it is certain, the moorland streams--Lancombe, Bagworthy Water, -the East and West Lyn, etc.--and all that they imply, are paramount -attractions; and Miss Gratiana Chanter both truly and happily observes -that, “to follow one of these tiny streams from its birth to its end, is -a dream of delight to those who love to be alone with nature and her -many marvels.” Another reason why we should seek the “founts of Lyn” is, -that there Jeremy Stickles gave his pursuers “a loud halloo” on feeling -himself secure (see _Lorna Doone_, chapter xlvii.). - -The name “Lyn” is said to be derived from the Saxon word _hlynna_, -signifying a torrent. The East Lyn, rising above Oare, John Ridd’s -birthplace, flows in a north-westerly direction to Malmsmead, where it -unites with the Bagworthy Water, which at this point is the richer for -two or three tributaries, including Lancombe (or Longcombe) stream and -its waterslide. From the bridge and the thatched cottages that define -this spot, the river pursues its course past Lyford Green and Lock’s -Mill, where it encounters a weir, to Millslade and its meadows, and the -blacksmith’s forge, “where the Lyn stream runs so close that he dips -his horse-shoes in it,” (_Lorna Doone_, chapter lxii.), and thence -through woodlands to pretty Brendon. Here the Farley Water, arriving -from Hoar Oak by way of Bridgeball and Illford Bridges, joins the East -Lyn, and their confluence is known as Watersmeet, a poetical description -not belied by the rare beauty of the scene. - -Meanwhile, from the hills around Woolhanger the water gathers into two -streams, which are trysted at a place called Barham, whilst at -Cheribridge another brook, hailing from Furzehill, helps to swell the -current. Passing Barbrook Mill and Lynbridge, the West Lyn weds the East -Lyn in private grounds at Lynmouth, and then the combined torrent eddies -tumultuously into the sea. Nothing can excel the cataracts of the West -Lyn, dashing athwart huge boulders and down a chasm of grey rock, in an -incline stated to be “one in five.” Clothing the sides of the ravine are -oaks and beeches and thickets of underwood, while ferns of the most -exquisite sorts fringe the banks. - - “Here are mosses deep, - And thro’ the moss the ivies creep, - And in the stream the long-leaved flowers weep, - And from the craggy ledges the poppy hangs in sleep.” - -It must not be forgotten, however, that the road _via_ Brendon, Illford -Bridges, and Barbrook was that taken by John Ridd and Uncle Reuben on -their visit to Ley Manor (_Lorna Doone_, chapter xv.). - -All who are fond of quaint authors will find a congenial companion in -old Thomas Westcote, whose _Survey of Devon_, written in the reign of -James I., or during the early years of his successor, is stored with all -manner of gossip, set forth with many a stroke of arch or _naïve_ -humour. In his book, at all events, he approaches Lynton by much the -same route as we have followed, and then spins us an amusing yarn about -the finny visitors and a certain parson. - -“For our easier and better proceeding, let us once again return to -Exmoor. We will, with an easy pace, ascend the mount of Hore Oak Ridge; -not far from whence we shall find the spring of the rivulet Lynne, -which, in his course, will soon lead us into the North Division, for I -desire you should always swim with the stream, and neither stem wind nor -tide. This passeth by Cunsbear, _alias_ Countisbury, and naming Lynton, -where Galfridus Lovet and Cecilia de Lynne held sometime land, and, -speeding, falls headlong with a great downfall into the Severn at -Lynmouth; a place unworthy the name of a haven, only a little inlet, -which, in these last times, God hath plentifully stored with herrings -(the king of fishes), which, shunning their ancient places of repair in -Ireland, come hither abundantly in shoals, offering themselves (as I may -say) to the fishers’ nets, who soon resorted hither with divers -merchants, and so, for five or six years, continued to the great benefit -and good of the country, until the parson taxed the poor fishermen for -extraordinary unusual tithes, and then (as the inhabitants report) the -fish suddenly clean left the coast, unwilling, as may be supposed, by -losing their lives to cause contention. God be thanked, they begin to -resort hither again, though not as yet in such multitudes as heretofore. -Henry de Lynmouth, after him Isabella de Albino, and now Wichals, -possesseth it. A generous family: he married Pomerois; his father, -Achelond, his grandfather, Munck.” - -Concerning the “generous family” more anon; we have not quite done with -the sign of Pisces. Originally Lynmouth was a little village--Blackmore -speaks of it as “the little haven of Lynmouth” (_Lorna Doone_, chapter -xxxix.)--whose inhabitants dwelt in huts and depended for a livelihood -on the curing of herrings, which was carried on in drying-houses. From -the beginning of September to the end of October shoals of these fish -frequented the shore, and sometimes their number was so great that tons -of them were thrown away or used as manure. In 1797 the herrings -deserted the coast, and the peasantry attributed their conduct to the -insult just referred to. The common duration of truancy was computed at -forty years--a calculation which seems to hold true of the period -between 1747 and 1787. The following decade consisted of fat years, when -the sea at Lynmouth yielded rich autumnal harvests, and masses of -herrings were sent to Bristol, whence they were shipped to the West -Indies. From 1797 to 1837, and indeed longer, the fish fought shy of the -place, but not entirely. On Christmas Day, 1811, there was an -exceptional and very abundant shoal of herrings, and the inhabitants -were called out of church in order to take them out of the weirs. A -similar gift of fortune marked the year 1823. Practically, however, the -fishermen’s avocation was gone, and they had to look elsewhere for a -livelihood. Happily, they did not look in vain. Pastured on the -surrounding hills were large flocks of sheep, and in the neighbouring -towns there was a constant demand for yarn. This was of two kinds--one -for the woof, consisting of worsted, which was supplied by the Yorkshire -mills; the other for the warp, which was of softer texture, and then -made by hand. The latter industry became the chief--almost the -sole--prop of Lynton and Lynmouth, where the good people diligently -applied themselves to spinning, and by this means kept the wolf from the -door. - -The sea-fishing is not altogether unconnected with the history of the De -Wichehalses, since the original fishermen are stated to have been Dutch -Protestants forced by religious (or irreligious?) persecution to -emigrate from their homes by the Zuyder Zee. The names Litson, Vellacot, -etc., still borne by local families, are quoted as evidence of Dutch -extraction. A trade in cured herrings sprang up with Scotland, and the -Dutchmen not only had commercial transactions with Scotch sailors and -traders, but married, many of them, braw Scotch lassies who came to buy -their herrings. The possible bearing of this intercourse on the problem -of _Lorna Doone_ will not escape attention. It was at Lynmouth that old -Will Watcombe, the great authority on the “Gulf Stream,” lived and -sought to be buried (_Lorna Doone_, chapter xii.). - -Now as to the Wichehalses, whose name Blackmore spells with a -supererogatory “h”--Whichehalse. The Protestants of the Low Countries -had often attempted, by petition and remonstrance, to bend the stubborn -will of their master, Philip II., and not a few of the Gueux or -Beggars--a sobriquet bestowed on the Huguenot conspirators who met at -Breda--left the country in despair. In 1567 the Spanish despot -dispatched to the ill-fated land the Duke of Alva with an army of 20,000 -men, and the latter signalised his arrival by instituting a “Council of -Blood,” which resulted in the execution of 1800 patriots, while 30,000 -more were reduced to abject straits by the confiscation of their -property. Hordes of terrified Dutch folk fled to England, in the wake of -the nobles, and a certain number of them settled, as we have seen, on -the north coast of Devon. - -Hugh de Wichehalse belonged, strictly speaking, to neither class of -fugitives. The head of a noble and wealthy family, which had early -become converts to the principles of the Reformation, he continued to -struggle for his beliefs until the fatal day of Gemmingen, when, -escaping the clutches of the vindictive Spaniards, he crossed the -channel with his wife and children. The bulk of his property had -already, by a timely precaution, been removed hither. - -Such is the tradition which has to be reconciled with the pedigree of -the family in the visitation of 1620. This shows three generations, and, -to say the least, would be consistent with a much longer settlement in -the county. The following is a copy:-- - -[Illustration: JUNCTION OF LYN AND BAGWORTHY WATER (page 163).] - - NICHOLAS WICHALSE = MARGERIE, - of Chudley, in Devon, | d. of - gent. | - +--------------+------------------+----------+-------+-------------------------+ - | | | | | -MARGERY, JOHN = JOANE, JOANNA, WILLM. = ELLEN, NICHOLAS = MARY, -wife to WICHALSE | D. and Co-h. Wife of WICHALSE, | d. of WICHALSE | d. and h. - Peter of | of Bartholomew 2 sonne. | Humphry of | of -Lutton Chudley, | Cotwell, Borringdon | Walrond Barnstaple | Richard Welsh - of in Devon. | b. ---- of Ydford. | of Bisofield, in Devon, | of Pilton. -Nowleghe, | d. and co-h. | in Devon, 3 sonne. | - Devon, | of ---- | relict of | - gent. | | Anthony JOANE. - | | Fortescue. - | | - | +-------+-------+ - | | | - | RICHARD MARGERY. - | WICHALSE. JANE. - | JOANE. - +----------+--------------+-------------------------------+ - | | | | -CHRISTIAN, JOHN, 2. RICHARD = ELINOR, JOANE, - 2 dau. GEORGE, 3. WICHALSE d. of ux. Thos. Sterte -ELLEN, 3. NICHOLAS, 4. of Chudley, John Marwood of Stert, - BENNET, 5. eldest son. of Westcott, Devon. - THOMAS, 6. in Count. Devon. - PIERCE, 7. - JOHN, 8. - -On one point there is no possible doubt--namely, that the Wichehalses -were once owners of a manor-house at Lynton, standing on the site of the -handsome residence known as Lee Abbey. Traces of the old structure were -to be seen in an intermediate building, and gave indications of much -splendour, while, as could be easily recognised, the adjacent fields and -orchards formed part of the erstwhile pleasure-grounds. Just above Lee -Abbey is Duty Point, famous for its beautiful views--northwards, the -belt of silver sea, southwards the heathery hills, eastwards the Valley -of Rocks, and westwards the grey oaks of Woody Bay; famous, too, as the -scene of romantic tragedy. The principal personages of the story were -old Wichehalse, his daughter Jennifried, and cruel Lord Auberley. One -evening the lovelorn maiden fell or threw herself over the terrific -precipice; and, hungry for revenge, her father met and slew the false -suitor at the battle of Lansdown, near Bath--one of the memorable -encounters of the Great Civil War. It is needless to recapitulate the -details of the narrative. The story has been told by Blackmore in his -_Tales from the Telling House_; and before that, it was told very -pathetically by Mr Cooper in his _Guide to Lynton_. - -On the south wall of Lynton Church, close to the west window, is the -following inscription on the monument of Hugh Wichehalse of Ley, who -departed this life, Christide Eve, 1653, æt. 66. - - “No, not in silence, least those stones below - That hide such worth, should in spight vocal grow. - Wee’l rather sob it out, our grateful teares - Congeal’d to Marble shall vy threnes with theirs. - This weeping Marble then Drops this releife - To draw fresh lines to fame, and Fame to greife; - To greife which groanes sad loss in him t’ us all, - Whose name was Wichehalse--’twas a Cedar’s fall. - For search this Urn of Learned dust, you’le find - Treasures of Virtue and Piety enshrin’d, - Rare Paterns of blest Peace and Amity, - Models of Grace, Emblems of Charity, - Rich Talents not in niggard napkins Layd, - But Piously dispenced, justly payd, - Chast Sponsal Love t’ his Consort; to Children nine - Surviving th’ other fowre his care did shine - In Pious Education; to Neighbours, friends, - Love seald with Constancy, which knowes no end. - Death would have stolne this Treasure, but in vaine-- - It stung, but could not kill; all wrought his gaine. - His Life was hid with Christ; Death only made this story, - Christ cal’d him hence his Eve, to feast with him in glory.” - -The subject of this epitaph would have been the hero of the legend. One -may observe, in passing, the play upon words, the Scotch elm being often -termed the _wych_ elm. This suggests a possible, and indeed probable, -derivation of the name. The reader should compare Blackmore’s account of -the family, and especially his portrait of Hugh Wichehalse, in chapter -xv. of _Lorna Doone_. - -According to the folklore of the district it was intended to build the -church at Kibsworthy, opposite Cheribridge, on the Barnstaple road, and -day after day the workmen brought materials to the spot. Each morning, -however, it was found that they had been carried away during the night -to the present site--it was supposed by pixies; and finally, those -little gentlemen had their way. Obviously, little dependence can be -placed on folklore where questions of fact are concerned. A small -volume, entitled _Legends of Devon_, printed at Dawlish in 1848, -contains another story about a church equally void--the story, and the -church, too--of foundation. In the middle of the twelfth century, it is -said, Lynton Castle was the abode of a family named Lynton, in whom the -Evil One, from the year 500, had taken a malicious interest. Reginald of -that ilk then resolved to erect a church at Lynmouth in honour of his -God, and chose for it the site of an old abbey. This devout undertaking -ended the long and dreadful spell. “The castle fell, the cliff heaved as -if in pain, and the terrible convulsion formed the valley of rocks. The -devil was seen scudding before the wind; he had lost his hold on the -House of Lynton.” Unfortunately, there never was a castle at Lynton, nor -an abbey or church at Lynmouth. Moreover, one learns from Hazlitt, that, -according to the popular belief, the rocks represent persons caught -dancing on a Sunday, and so, like Lot’s wife, transformed into stone. - -The “Valley of Rocks,” is not the primitive name of this singular and -romantic spot. The Devon peasantry knew it of old as the “Danes” or -“Denes”--a term probably connected with the word “den,” and signifying -“hollows.” Prebendary Hancock, in his estimable _History of Selworthy_, -shows it to be a commonplace name in this corner of the world. One is -tempted to inquire--who christened the locality the “Valley of Rocks?” -The problem is perhaps insoluble, but the _London Magazine_ for 1782 -contains a poem on the “Valley of Stones,” in a note on which it is -stated that the place owed this name to Dr Pococke, Bishop of Upper -Ossory, who had visited it “some years since” with Dr Mills, the Dean of -Exeter. - -Some have found fault with the name “Valley of Rocks” as too ambitious, -but attempts to belittle the grandeur of the spot would have received -small support from Southey, who wrote about the scene in the language of -ecstasy. - -“Imagine a narrow vale between two ridges of hills somewhat steep; the -southern hill turfed; the vale which runs from east to west covered with -huge stones and fragments of stone among the fern that fills it; the -northern ridge completely bare; excoriated of all turf and all soil, the -very bones and skeletons of the earth; rock reclining upon rock, stone -piled upon stone; a huge, terrific mass--a palace of the pre-Adamite -kings, a city of the Anakim, must have appeared so shapeless, and yet so -like the ruins of what had been shaped after the waters of the Flood had -subsided. I ascended, with some toil, the highest point; two large -stones inclining on each other formed a rude portal on the summit. Here -I sat down. A little level platform, about two yards long, lay before -me, and then the eye immediately fell upon the sea far, very far below. -I never felt the sublimity of solitude before.” - -Southey evidently referred to the “Castle Rock” on the right. On the -left is the pile of stone which marked the abode of Mother Melldrum (see -_Lorna Doone_, chapter xvii.). Blackmore mentions two names by which the -place was known--the “Devil’s Cheese-ring” and the “Devil’s -Cheese-knife,” which he states to be convertible; but there appears to -have been a third--the “Devil’s Cheese-press.” - -At one time the valley was the fitting haunt of a herd of wild goats, -but the animals had to be destroyed--they butted so many sheep over the -adjoining cliffs. - -It would be pardonable to imagine that Lynton is indebted for its -popularity as a watering-place to _Lorna Doone_, but this would betray -ignorance of its history. I have spoken of the spinning industry -formerly carried on by hand; when that ceased owing to the introduction -of machinery into the towns, the dealers, who had employed people to -work up the wool or bought up the poor folk’s yarn and taken it to -larger markets, found their occupation gone. What was to be done? Mr -William Litson, one of the persons in this predicament, hit upon the -idea of opening an hotel. This was at the beginning of the last century, -but already visitors, hearing reports of the rare and beautiful scenery, -wended their way to Lynton, although not in large numbers. For their -accommodation Mr Litson acquired the “Globe,” and furnished also the -adjoining cottage. Among the first to patronise his establishment were -Mr Coutts the banker, and the Marchioness of Bute. From that time the -tale of visitors rapidly grew until, in 1807, the enterprising Mr Litson -was encouraged to build the “Valley of Rocks” Hotel. The ball had now -been fairly set rolling; hotels, lodging-houses, and private residences -multiplied, and in the middle of the last century--years before a line -of _Lorna Doone_ had been written or so much - -[Illustration: THE CHEESEWRING, VALLEY OF ROCKS.] - -as meditated--Lynton and Lynmouth were in all essentials the same as -they are now. - -To the lover of nature and the simplicity of country life this -conversion of scenery into shekels, and Exmoor into Bayswater, -represents by no means pure gain, albeit the lover of humanity may -decide otherwise--on the principle of the greatest happiness of the -greatest number. Both sorts, however, may unite in casting curious -glances at the old Lynton which courted neither aristocratic nor -democratic favour, and actually had a revel. This began on the first -Sunday after Midsummer Day, and lasted a week. When the congregations -emerged from the parish church, there awaited them near the gate a -barrel of beer, and the majority of them were speedily “at it,” quaffing -a glass or discussing revel-cake--a special confection made of dark -flour, currants, and caraway seeds. The principal feature in this, as in -all revels, was the wrestling, in anticipation of which big sums were -laid out in prizes. Silver spoons, for instance, were sometimes an -incentive to competition. However, what with the drunkenness and the -collusion that characterised too often the annual festival, the custom -became obsolescent, and then obsolete, having incurred the taboo of the -“respectable inhabitant” and the genuine sportsman alike. - -In chapter xv. of the _Maid of Sker_ mention is made of the practice of -singing hymns at funeral processions on the Welsh side of the Bristol -Channel. The same practice obtained on the North Devon side. One of the -singers gave out the words verse by verse and the dirge was chanted to -peculiar music reserved for such occasions. The first two or three -verses were sung on the removal of the coffin from the house before the -procession started, and the rest at intervals _en route_ to the church. -The following is a hymn used at the funeral of a grown-up person:-- - - “Farewell, all my parents[16] dear, - And, all my friends, farewell! - I hope I’m going to that place, - Where Christ and saints do dwell. - - “Oppressed with grief long time I’ve been, - My bones cleave to my skin; - My flesh is wasted quite away - With pain that I was in. - - “Till Christ his messenger did send - And took my life away, - To mingle with my mother earth, - And sleep with fellow clay. - - “Into thy hands I give my soul; - Oh! cast it not aside; - But favour me and hear my prayer, - And be my rest and guide. - - “Affliction hath me sore oppressed, - Brought me to death in time; - O Lord, as thou hast promised - Let me to life return. - - “How blest is he who is prepared, - Who fears not at his death; - Love fills his heart, and hope his breast, - With joy he yields his breath. - -[Illustration: “THE WATERSLIDE,” LANCOMBE (page 163).] - - - “Vain world, farewell! I must begone, - I cannot longer stay; - My time is spent, my glass is run, - God’s will I must obey. - - “For when that Christ to judgment comes, - He unto us will say, - If we his laws observe and keep, - ‘Ye blessed, come away!’” - -A friend of mine wrote to Blackmore respecting the harvest-song in -_Lorna Doone_ (chapter xxix.), being under the impression that it might -be a true farmhouse ditty such as were common until a comparatively -recent date. The romancer, however, admitted that the composition was -his own. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -ROUND DUNKERY - - -West of Lee Abbey and Duty Point lies much that is interesting, but this -is also true of the country to the east of Lynton. For the moment we -mount the coach with the intention of making a circuitous return to -Dulverton. The writer does not forget his first experience of North -Devon coaching. The placards showed four noble steeds, full of fettle -and the joy of life; but “galled jades” would better have described the -aspect of the miserable brutes condemned to drag the trunk-laden vehicle -up those frightful ascents. Once on the summit, however, the going was -easy, and passengers resumed their seats with a safe conscience, so far -as cruelty to animals was concerned. - -The drive from Lynton to Porlock, and from Porlock to Minehead, over -breezy commons or through entrancing sylvan scenery, is gloriously -exhilarating, and might put heart into the most confirmed dyspeptic. -Which reminds me that in the neighbourhood of Porlock and Minehead there -used to be gathered from the rocks vast quantities of laver, which was -pickled and exported to large centres, such as Bristol, Exeter, and -London. This sea-liverwort was eaten at the tables of the rich as a -great delicacy. The hills and heaths also minister to the palate, since -they produce various sorts of wild fruit--the dwarf juniper, the -cranberry, and the whortleberry. The last, a most delicious fruit, is -often made into pies, and the writer, when staying in the neighbourhood, -is always glad if he finds one before him, knowing that he can command -instant popularity, especially with the fair, by suggesting a second -helping. Other bipeds appreciate it no less, since it is the summer food -of the black game, and the decrease in the number of the species on the -Brendon and Quantock hills has been attributed to the great demand for -this fruit in the large towns. The berries grow singly, like -gooseberries, the little plants being from a foot to eighteen inches in -height. The leaves are ovated, and of a pale green colour. - -Porlock and Porlock Weir are both charming places. Perhaps the most -memorable object at the former--if the epithet may be applied to an -object rather than a speech or event--is the old Ship Inn at the foot of -the hill. This quaint survival of an older day is closely associated -with the poet Southey, who used to wander thus far from his home on the -Quantocks; and in the parlour, on the right of the main entrance, is a -nook still known as “Southey’s Corner,” where he is said to have indited -his sonnets and other poetry on the landscapes he so warmly admired. - - “Porlock, thy verdant vale so fair to sight - Thy lofty hills, which fern and furze embrown, - Thy waters that roll musically down, - Thy woody glens the traveller with delight - Recalls to memory,” etc. - -Then there is the church with its spire, which, if not beautiful, is at -least peculiar, being faced with wooden shales. Opinions differ as to -whether or not it was once of superior altitude, but tradition alleges -that in the year 1700, a great storm arose and the tower suffered. -Porlock tradition possesses unusual claims to respect, the reason being -that it has been proved, in one instance at least, to be remarkably -accurate. In the preface of his excellent _History of the Ancient Church -of Porlock_, the late Prebendary Hook, alluding to the great monument, -observes: “There had always been a tradition handed down from sexton to -sexton, that the effigies were those of Lord Harington and his wife, the -Lady of Porlock. But neither Collinson, the historian of Somerset, nor -Savage, in his _History of the Hundred of Carhampton_, knew anything of -it, and the former speaks of it as the tomb of a Knight Templar, though -he does not explain how a wife happened to be there! But investigation -proved the truth of the tradition, as is shown in the beautifully -illustrated volume entitled _The Porlock Monuments_, now, unfortunately, -out of print.” - -It may be worth recalling that one of Miss Ida Browne’s relics is an old -flint-lock pistol, engraved midway between stock and barrel with the -name “C. Doone,” whilst on the reverse side is the word “Porlok.” Miss -Browne is in some doubt as to whether the weapon was purchased in the -village, or a C. Doone resided there, but she inclines to the latter -opinion. - -Porlock served as market town for the Ridds; indeed, it was in returning -from Porlock market that Ridd’s father was murdered (_Lorna Doone_, -chapter iv.). There also dwelt Master Pooke, and there a lawyer made -John Ridd’s will. - -Just off the road to Minehead, in the parish of Selworthy, stands -Holnicote (pronounced Hunnicot), the Exmoor seat of the Acland family--a -comparatively modern mansion, its predecessors having been destroyed by -fire. In the widest sense, this old West-country race is best known -through Mr Arthur Acland, late Minister of Education, and his father, -the late Sir Thomas Acland, who was contemporary with Mr Gladstone at -Oxford, and, like him, the winner of a “double first,” and between whom -and the distinguished statesman there was maintained to the very last a -close and uninterrupted friendship. Locally, although the late baronet -was always most highly esteemed, it is doubtful whether he was quite as -popular as his sire, still referred to by the departing generation as -“the _old_ Sir Thomas.” One of my childish recollections is lying in bed -one dark night at Tiverton and listening to a muffled peal on St Peter’s -bells. It was the first muffled peal I ever heard, and I was much -impressed when told that it was rung to mark the passing of a great -county magnate, Sir Thomas Acland, tenth baronet, and for forty years a -member of Parliament. This was in 1871. - -When at Holnicote--the family has another seat, Killerton, near -Exeter--the _old_ Sir Thomas made it a rule to attend church twice on -Sundays, and in the afternoon he usually brought with him two or three -favourite dogs, which were shut up in Farmer Stenner’s barn during the -service. The Acland pew was in the parvise over the south porch, while -in the west gallery the village orchestra, comprising fiddle, -violoncello, flute, hautboy, and bassoon, was yet in its glory. Animated -by something of the feudal spirit, the choir, on the first Sunday after -the baronet’s arrival, invariably indulged in an anthem. On one such -occasion, back in the fifties, the Rev. Edward Cox, rector of the -neighbouring parish of Luccombe, chanced to be officiating, and at the -conclusion of an elaborate performance, graced by startling orchestral -effects, was so unnerved that he forgot his place in the service, and -began in a faltering tone the Apostles’ Creed! Naturally there was some -confusion, which was ended by Sir Thomas himself coming to the rescue. -Bending forward from his seat in the gallery, he not only seconded the -clergyman with stentorian accents, but waving his hand peremptorily, -signed to the congregation to repeat the creed over again. The command -was obeyed, and with such fervour that soon every corner of the church -was echoing with the confession of faith. After the service Sir Thomas -waited for Mr Cox in the porch, and slapping him on the back, remarked -cheerily, “Well done, well done! Whenever you are in doubt, fall back on -the articles of your belief, and I’ll support you!” - -The pew occupied by Sir Thomas was originally a priest’s chamber, and -was transformed into a pew by the Hon. Mrs Fortescue, whose husband was -a pluralist rector of the old school, and a rare lover of port wine. Her -brother, the Rev. Robert Gould, born in the rectory house at Luccombe, -was a remarkable fisherman and an equally remarkable shot. Once he is -said to have caught such a quantity of fish in Bagworthy Water as to -make his basket ridiculous, and he was forced to requisition a boy and -horse to carry his spoil away. At another time he walked from -Ilfracombe, where he resided, to Allerford, on a visit to his -mother--most probably by way of Hangman Hill, Showlsborough Castle, -Cheriton Ridge, and Bagworthy. However that may be, he was able to bring -as a present to the old lady, forty snipe--a snipe for every mile, as he -said. The same accomplished gentleman shot two bitterns in Porlock -Marsh--a feat which, it is safe to assert, has never been repeated in -that quarter or, perhaps, in England. The birds were stuffed, and passed -into the keeping of his sister, Mrs Fortescue. - -The Rev. W. H. Thornton avers that Mr Fortescue was in the habit of -winking his eye and confessing that he had excellent cognac in his -cellar. _Apropos_ of this weakness, he reports these not quite -“imaginary conversations.” - -“‘I found one morning that both my horses were gone,’ he would say, ‘but -James Dadd (his coachman), James Dadd knew which way to search, and we -found them loose in a lane beyond Exford, and there was a keg of this -brandy left under the manger too. Will you try it?’ - -“Now, in all my intercourse with smugglers, illicit distillers, and -such-like people, I have remarked the peculiarity that their wares -either were, or were honestly deemed to be, of extra quality! Was it -that the sense of irregularity added flavour to the dram, or were the -smuggled spirits really particularly choice? I do not know, but later in -my life I sat by the deathbed of a very old smuggler, who told me how he -used to have a donkey with a triangle on his back, so rigged up as to -show three lanthorns, and how chilled he would become as he lay out -winter’s night after winter’s night, watching on the Foreland or along -Brandy Path, as he called it, for the three triangled lights of the -schooner, which he knew was coming in to land her cargo, where -Glenthorne[17] now stands, and where was the smugglers’ cave. ‘Lord -bless ee, sir,’ and the dying man of nearly ninety years chuckled, ‘we -never used no water. We just put the brandy into the kettle, and heated -it, and drinked it out of half-pint stoups.’” - -If it is to be a question of retailing smuggling stories, I also can -tell one of Exmoor origin, only it relates to Minehead, whither our -course now lies. Many years ago--I fancy it was in the forties--there -was a certain quay-lumper, who “caddled about” anywhere, away under -Greenaleigh. His name was Moorman. Just about this time a French vessel -was on her way with a cargo of smuggled brandy, but a fall-out between -uncle and nephew, on account of the former refusing to lend money, led -to information being given, with the result that one of Her Majesty’s -cutters was seen cruising up and down before Minehead. The whole town -was in an uproar. - -After a while the foreigner drew in under Greenaleigh, and discharged -her cargo; and - -[Illustration: SHIP INN, PORLOCK (page 179).] - -Moorman, having been called to assist, was rewarded with a sum of money -and a quantity of brandy. It was beautiful brandy, and Moorman’s wife -very kindly gave some of it to her neighbours, remarking as she did so, -“My old man helped discharge the cargo.” This observation was carried to -the excise officers, who searched for Moorman, and insisted on his -telling them where the spirit was concealed. As a matter-of-fact, it had -been hidden in the sand; but this was perfectly smooth, and Moorman, -though he made a show of looking for them, declared he could not find -the kegs. Just as they were about to give up in despair, one of the -party hitched his foot in a rope, with which, it turned out, the kegs -had been slung together. Several persons were arrested in connection -with the affair, among others an old Mr Rawle, a farmer; and some few -were sent to prison. As for the cutter, she had been lying useless in -Minehead harbour, in low water.[18] - -It cannot be charged against Minehead that “the hobby-horse is forgot,” -and those mindful of him belong, for the most part, to the seafaring -class. Early on May morning, they perambulate the town with the idol, a -rough similitude of the equine species, decked off with ribbons; the -“counterfeit presentment” being supported on the shoulders of a man -whose legs are concealed by the trappings, and who is responsible for -its motions. Its progress through the streets is heralded by the tap of -the drum, and horseplay--seldom is the expression so apt--is the order -of the day. For it may be taken for granted that there is more than one -performance, and the worship of the beast is resumed at intervals till -vesper-time. However, the custom, which was formerly observed at -Combmartin also, is gradually dying out. - -Probably one of the most sensational events in the annals of Minehead, -which do not appear to be particularly rich in historic interest, is a -seventeenth-century episode, in which the chief actors were the Rev. -Henry Byam, rector of Selworthy, and “another.” A notable man was Henry -Byam, who was born at Luccombe, in 1580. Being a devoted Royalist, he -attended Prince Charles in his flight to the Scilly Islands, and thence -to Jersey. Byam was in great esteem as a preacher, and his sermons were -edited by Hamnet Ward, Prebendary of Wells, who states that “most of -them were preached before His Majesty King Charles II., in his exile.” -Perhaps, however, the discourse which will most attract modern readers, -is that entitled: “A Return from Argier.--A Sermon preached at Minehead, -in the County of Somerset, the 16th of March, 1627, at the re-admission -of a Relapsed into our Church.” It seems that a young Minehead man had -been taken prisoner by the Turks and compelled to embrace the -Mohammedan religion. Having escaped, he returned to Minehead, where, -clothed in Turkish attire, he had to stand in St Michael’s Church, -whilst the rector of Selworthy “improved” the occasion. In one part of -the sermon, the preacher addressed himself directly to the offender: - -“You whom God suffered to fall, and yet of His infinite mercy vouchsafed -graciously to bring you home, not only to your country and kindred, but -to the profession of your first faith, and to the Church and Sacraments -again; let me say to you (but in a better hour), as sometime Joshua to -Achan: ‘Give glory to God, sing praises to Him who hath delivered your -soul from the nethermost hell.’ When I think upon your Turkish attire, I -do remember Adam and his fig-leaf breeches; they could neither conceal -his shame, nor cover his nakedness. I do think upon David clad in Saul’s -armour. How could you hope, in this unsanctified habit, to attain -Heaven?” - -But it is time that we set out for Dunster, which is as rich in striking -memories as the seaport town is poor. The two places, however, are not -altogether separable; indeed, it must be evident at a glance that small -towns situated at so short a distance from each other--two miles and a -half--will have been influenced, though in varying degrees, by the same -incidents and accidents, and freaks of fortune. If we go back to the -first quarter of the fifteenth century, we find that a “shipman” of -Minehead, called Roger King, was employed in conveying provisions from -this part of the world to Normandy, where war was then raging; and his -return cargo often consisted of wine, which Lady Catherine Luttrell, of -Dunster Castle, readily purchased from him. Once Sir Hugh Luttrell -embarked on a vessel called the _Leonard of Dunster_, taking with him -five live oxen and two pipes of beer for consumption during the voyage. -His expenses, including repairs, amounted to the then considerable sum -of £42, 3s. 1d.; but the master, Philip Clopton, having been paid £40, -10s. by certain foreign merchants for a freight of wine on the journey -home, the lucky knight had merely to make good the difference--£1, 13s. -1d. In 1427, several Minehead fishermen, tenants of Sir Hugh, -adventuring as far as Carlingford, were captured by a Spaniard named -Goo, and having been conveyed to Scotland, were confined in Bothwell -Castle, whence a special letter, addressed to the King of Scotland in -the name of Henry VI., was necessary to procure their release. - -In the Middle Ages, Dunster itself was a seaport, and, in the reign of -Edward III., writs directed to the bailiffs forbade friars, monks, or -treasure to quit the realm by that door. It is to be observed in this -connection that the river Avill, before joining the sea, widens out at a -place called the “Hone” or the “Hawn”--no doubt the site of the old -_haven_, of which term its present name is a corruption. - -To many, Dunster Castle is indissolubly associated with the family of -Luttrell, and no wonder, seeing the ages that have elapsed since it was -owned by persons of different descent. Its earliest lords, however, were -Mohuns--a name which at once awakens recollections of Thackeray and the -famous duel between Lord Mohun and the Duke of Hamilton in Hyde Park, -in 1712. The first Mohun of Dunster was a gallant leader called William -the Old, who attended his namesake, the Conqueror, with a large retinue -to the field of Senlac, and received Dunster as a part of that day’s -spoil. The family had large possessions in Normandy, and drew their -name--De Moion--from a village near St Lo. - -The history of the English branch, or rather branches, is by no means -devoid of interest. The founder of Newenham Abbey (Devon), for instance, -was Reginald de Mohun, who died in 1246. In recognition of his -munificence, he received from the Pope the gift of a golden rose, and as -such a present was made only to persons of high rank, His Holiness -dubbed him Earl of Este (or Somerset). The monkish chronicler reports -that Reginald had seen in a vision a venerable man, who bade him make -his election between going with him then, in which case he would be -safe, or remaining until overtaken by danger. De Mohun at once accepted -the former alternative, but the old man would have him stay till the -third day, when the confessor saw in another dream the same old man -leading a boy “more radiant than the sun, and vested in a robe brighter -than crystal,” which boy, he heard him say, was the soul of Reginald de -Mohun. The chronicler further states that he was present when Reginald’s -tomb was opened nearly a hundred years later, what time the body was -perfect, and exhaled a most fragrant odour. - -I now pass to the year 1376, when the Lady Joan, relict of Sir John de -Mohun, sold the right of succession to the barony for £3333, 6s. 8d. to -the Lady Elizabeth Luttrell, the receipt being still in the possession -of the present owner, Mr G. F. Luttrell. It is worth remarking that Mr -Luttrell is a descendant of the Mohuns of Beconnoc (the junior branch -which produced the Lord Mohun before mentioned), through the marriage of -his ancestor, John Fownes, with the heiress of Samuel Maddock, her -mother having been the daughter and ultimate heiress of the third Lord -Mohun of Okehampton. - -The Lady Elizabeth Luttrell was the daughter of Hugh Courtenay, Earl of -Devon, and Margaret, daughter of Humphry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and -Essex, who was styled “the flower of knighthood, and the most Christian -knight of the knights of the world.” Her husband was a less considerable -person, being only a cadet of a younger branch of the baronial family of -Luttrell of Irnham. Their son was the Sir Hugh Luttrell already referred -to, who, in his time, was governor of Harfleur and Grand Seneschal of -France--in fact, the right-hand man of Harry the Fifth. He rebuilt -Dunster Castle in somewhat the form we find it to-day, and added a new -gate-house. The alabaster effigies on the north side of the chancel of -the conventual church are those of Sir Hugh and Lady Catherine Luttrell. - -There are black sheep in every family, and among the Luttrells one black -sheep was pretty clearly James, grandson of great Sir Hugh. The latter -had a receiver-general named Thomas Hody, and it was probably his -son--one Alisaunder Hody, at any rate--that drew up a complaint against -James Luttrell which enables us to see what manner of man he was. -First, it seems, Luttrell ascertained from Hody’s unsuspecting wife -where her husband was likely to be for the next three days, and then -clapped one of his servants into Dunster Castle, where he kept him -closely confined for a night, to prevent him from giving information. -Luttrell’s next move was to set out with a party of thirty-five -followers, with bows bent and arrows in their hands, for the house of -Alisaunder’s father-in-law, Thomas Bratton, with the intention of -murdering the object of his resentment. - -In the course of another expedition, in which he was attended by -twenty-four armed retainers, he fell upon John Coker, a servant of Hody, -and beat and wounded him so that his life was despaired of. His greatest -coup, however, was his attack on Taunton Castle, where he broke open the -doors and searched for Alisaunder, confiscated seven silver spoons, five -ivory knives, and other goods belonging to him, struck his wife, and -threatened to kill her with their daggers. A servant, Walter Peyntois, -was stabbed, almost fatally, while “Sir” Robert, Alisaunder’s priest, -was assaulted, dragged to the ground by the hair of his head, and beaten -by the ruffians with the pommels of their swords. - -Whatever his faults, James Luttrell was undoubtedly brave, and, taking -part in the strife of the Roses, was knighted on the field after the -battle of Wakefield. At the second battle of St Albans he received a -mortal wound, and in the first Parliament of Edward IV. his property was -forfeited to the Crown. The attainder was reversed on the accession of -Henry VII. - -Another fighting Luttrell was Sir John, who served in the Scottish wars -of the mid-sixteenth century, won the name of a “noble captain,” and was -ultimately taken prisoner in the fort of Bouticraig. Among the treasures -of Dunster Castle is preserved a painting of Sir John Luttrell by a -Flemish artist, Lucas de Heere, dated 1550; and a very extraordinary -painting it is. - -In the great Civil War, the Luttrell of the period, whose Christian name -was Thomas, espoused the side of the Parliament, and “Mistress” Luttrell -commanded the men in the castle to “give fire” at sixty of Sir Ralph -Hopton’s troopers, who had come to demand entrance, but after this -reception deemed it expedient to retire. In 1643 the owner, rather -weakly, surrendered the place, of which Francis Wyndham now became -governor. Two years later, Colonel Blake, with a Parliamentarian force -from Taunton, began the investment of the castle, which finally -capitulated on April 19, 1646. - -In 1645, after the battle of Naseby, the Prince of Wales (afterwards -Charles II.) was commanded by his father to take up his quarters at -Dunster, in order to escape the plague, which was raging at Bristol. -This was to jump from the frying-pan into the fire, as the contagion was -so bad at Dunster that the inhabitants feared to venture into the -streets. However, there is no doubt that the prince visited the castle, -where a room leading out - -[Illustration: MINEHEAD CHURCH (page 187).] - -into the gallery is called “King Charles’s Room.” The “King’s Chamber,” -mentioned in the inventory of 1705, adjoined the gallery; but the -evidence does not point conclusively to the traditional apartment, -which, being very narrow, with no window and only a stone bench, might -have done fairly well as a place of concealment, more especially as -there is a secret door in one of the walls. But at this time the -Royalists were in possession, and there was no obvious motive for -selecting the incommodious lodging for a guest of princely blood. - -To conclude this account of the Luttrells, the male line came to an end -on the death of Alexander, in 1737. Ten years later, his daughter -married Henry Fownes of Nethway, and from him the present owner, Mr -George Fownes Luttrell, is descended. - -From the lords of Dunster let us turn to the place which, in spite of -inevitable changes, retains a greater variety of mediæval features than -may easily be found within the same compass. A complete description of -the castle and park is impossible here, but it may be mentioned that -very full information is contained in Mr G. T. Clark’s preliminary essay -in Sir H. C. Maxwell-Lyte’s standard work. One thing is certain--that -the aspect of the castle has been considerably altered from what it was -in mediæval times. During the eighteenth century sad liberties were -taken with the buildings. Spurious Gothic windows were inserted, and a -thoroughly incongruous chapel erected. The restoration undertaken by Mr -G. F. Luttrell rectified these absurdities, but went much further. The -northern tower of the principal façade was pulled down and rebuilt, and -a new wing was added. The old Edwardian gateway has been left intact. - -About the year 1775, through the caprice of the then owner, was erected -the Conegar Tower, which is merely a hollow shell standing on a conical -hill. Owing to its commanding position it is a prominent landmark, -rising amidst woods which in the summer season are a mass of foliage, -whilst intersecting footpaths form shady alleys in which it is a joy to -wander. It is pleasant to add that the master of this splendid domain -has always observed a most generous and unselfish attitude to strangers -desirous of inspecting his house and grounds. - -But Dunster has other wonders hardly inferior to the castle itself. One -may instance the Yarn Market, with its broad, overhanging penthouses, -manifold gables, and pyramidal roof, in one of the beams of which is a -hole said to have been caused by a cannon shot fired from the castle in -the time of the Civil War. Such a ball, however, could not have passed -the intervening woodwork leaving it uninjured, so that the story is, at -least, doubtful. - -Hard by is the Luttrell Arms Hotel--a perfect treasure-house of -antiquities. These comprise a gabled porch pierced with lancet holes for -crossbows, a façade of oak, elaborately carved, and an oak chamber, with -an open roof of timber work, somewhat resembling that of Westminster -Hall. In Room 13 are emblazoned the Luttrell Arms--_or, a bird between -three martlets sable_. With these are impaled _a chevron between three -trefoils, slipped, proper_. - -Says an anonymous writer: “In old times it was the custom of every -gentleman to set up his family shield on the house in which he -sojourned; this served as a rallying-point to his followers, and, in my -opinion, was the origin of the signs formerly displayed on houses of -business of every kind, but now confined to inns only.” In the present -instance the suggestion is not particularly helpful, as there are -reasons for supposing that the building once belonged to the Abbey of -Cleeve. Nothing, however, is certainly known of its origin and history, -and it is quite possible that it was at one time in the occupation of a -cadet of the great family at the castle. - -Room No. 12 boasts a far more notable feature--namely, an elaborate -mantelpiece bearing two shields, one emblazoned with the arms of -England, and the other with those of France; also a poor bust of -Shakespeare, two large Elizabethan female figures, and a central -medallion showing a prostrate man, nude, and worried by three dogs, -clearly intended for Actæon, who was torn to pieces by his hounds for -looking on Diana whilst bathing. - -The “Luttrell Arms” is mentioned in chapter xxvii. of _Lorna Doone_, -which tells also of Ridd’s mother’s cousin, the tanner, and his bevy of -daughters, all resident in the town. - -Another architectural curiosity is a weather-tiled house on the north -side of Middle Street. This is usually described as “the Nunnery”--a -quite modern appellation, born of pure fancy. Even so late as the last -century it was known as the “High House,” while a yet older name was -the “Tenement of St Lawrence.” Yet another interesting old structure is -“Lower Marsh,” with rich Perpendicular oratory over its entrance porch. - -Next, as to the church. At the entrance to the churchyard stands a -quaint timber building which goes by the name of the Priest’s House. The -church itself is a magnificent specimen of its kind, and worthy of the -name of a cathedral. The most ancient part of it is the Norman arch at -the west end. The east end is Early English, and nearly all the rest -Perpendicular, including the old and beautiful rood-screen of open work -with fan tracery headings, over which are four rows of ornaments. The -portion of the church to the west of the screen is called by the -inhabitants the “Parish Church,” while the eastern section is termed the -“Priory Church.” The reason is that this was formerly the chapel of the -Priory of Dunster, which belonged to the Benedictine monks of Bath; and -shortly after the dissolution of the monasteries the priory was acquired -by the Luttrells, who have long claimed the part of the church assigned -to the monks by the award of the Abbot of Glastonbury and his -colleagues, and erected therein a number of funeral monuments, yet -remaining, in various states of preservation. To the north-west of the -church are the ruins of the priory, the great barn in which the good -monks stored their grain, and two great gateways that led into the -priory precincts. - -Every visitor to Dunster is admonished to make the ascent of Grabhurst -(or Grabbist) Hill, on the southern slope of which there was in the -Middle Ages a vineyard--not, by the way, a solitary example in the -England of that distant time. The view from the summit is extremely -beautiful. In the foreground are moors, in the background the sea, and -on the right and the left hand towards Minehead and St Audries, varied -and charming landscapes. On one side of the ridge may be descried a -typical farmhouse, nestling amidst bright, green meadows and clumps of -trees; and over the deep, narrow valley towers the massive form of old -Dunkery and other heights in shadowy perspective. - -Still grander are the prospects to be obtained from Dunkery Beacon -itself--the most commanding landmark of the district. About eight miles -south of Minehead, Dunkery is a mountain large and high, with a base -about twelve miles in circumference and an altitude of 1700 feet. With -the exception of Cawsand Beacon, it is the highest summit in the West of -England. One approach to it is from Wootton Courtenay, the distance from -the parish church to the top of the hill being three miles; another is -from Cutcombe, in which parish part of Dunkery lies. The hilly character -of the country is well illustrated by the name of the hostelry at the -corner, where the road to Dunkery digresses from the “Minehead -turnpike”--“Rest and Be Thankful.” - -The view from the beacon embraces an immense tract, the sky-line being -quite five hundred miles in circumference. To the south-west can be -discerned the tors near Plymouth; northwards, the Malvern Hills, in -Worcestershire--regions more than two hundred miles apart. North and -north-west, nearly a hundred and thirty miles of the Bristol Channel, -and behind it the coast of Wales from Monmouthshire to Pembrokeshire. -Most of Somerset, Devon, and Dorset, with parts of Wiltshire and -Hampshire, are included in a spectacle which premises a clear atmosphere -and not too bright a sun, lest the prospect be obscured by haze. - -On Dunkery top is a vast quantity of rough, loose stones of all shapes -and sizes, and ranging from one pound to two hundred pounds in weight, -together with the remains of three large hearths, built of unhewn -stones, and about eight feet square. They compose an equilateral -triangle, in the interior of which is another and larger hearth. More -than two hundred feet lower, on the slope of the hill, and nearly a mile -distant, are two other hearths, with the same accompaniment of loose -stones scattered in large numbers around. These are undoubtedly ruins of -old-world beacons which, in periods of civil commotion or when foreign -invasion threatened, were used to rouse the countryside and pass the -fiery message from one end of the realm to the other. According to -_Lorna Doone_ (chapter iii.), the marauders prevented this legitimate -use by throwing a watchman on the top of it. Chapters xliii. and xliv. -contain a vivid description of the firing of the actual beacon in Doone -Glen. - -For the neighbours the beacon is a huge barometer. Often it is covered -with clouds, and this is regarded as an infallible sign of rain; hence -the saying: - - “When Dunkery’s top cannot be seen, - Horner will have a flooded stream.” - -A former inhabitant of Luccombe, with a nicer ear for rhyme, penned the -following pretty song on Dunkery Beacon, evidently modelled on “Sweet -and Low,” but worth quoting all the same:-- - - “Stern and black, stern and black, - Low lies the storm on the mountain track: - Black and stern, black and stern, - Hardly may we thy face discern - By the light westward--lurid and red-- - And the thunder voices are overhead! - Where the lightning is never still, - Who’ll now come with me over the hill? - - “Grey and sad, grey and sad, - With a rain-wrought veil are thy shoulders clad: - Sad and grey, sad and grey, - Weird is the mist creeping up to-day, - Ghostlike and white from the stream where it lay, - Hanging a shroud o’er the lone wild way; - Hidden and still, hidden and still, - Who’ll now come with me over the hill? - - “Fair and bright, fair and bright, - Purple and gold in the autumn light, - Bright and fair, bright and fair; - The butterflies float in the warm, soft air, - Float and suck ’midst the heather bells, - And green are the ferns in the dear-loved dells; - Now who will, now who will - Come with me, come with me over the hill?” - -The “Minehead turnpike,” as it is termed, dates from the reign of George -IV. Before that period the road, after leaving Timberscombe, passed up -the long steep ascent of Lype Hill. The present highway is a trotting -road of undoubted excellence. Being cut through hanging woods in some -sections, and along the banks of the Exe in others, it is perhaps the -finest and most romantic drive of its kind in the kingdom. - - NOTE.--Watchet, the burial-place of Lorna’s mother--a rather - forlorn little haven by the wash of the Bristol Channel, lies - somewhat apart from our suggested route, but is easily accessible - by the railway, by which it is half-spoilt. St Decuman’s Church, - alone on the hill, contains exceptionally fine monuments of the - Wyndham family, with effigies. - -[Illustration: DUNSTER CASTLE GATE, FROM THE OUTSIDE (page 193.)] - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -GOSSIP-TOWN - - -We have now returned to Dulverton, but our pilgrimage is not yet over, -for we have yet to explore a territory which may be termed the joint -property, or “debateable ground,” of _Lorna Doone_ and the _Maid of -Sker_. The Devon and Somerset line, connecting as it does with the light -railway to Lynton, and the London and South-Western branch from Exeter -to Barnstaple, will be found extremely convenient for our purpose, -although these “iron roads” do not in every instance land us at the -precise spots where we would be. So, peradventure, it may be wisdom to -set up our headquarters at Southmolton and Barnstaple in succession, and -peregrinate from those centres at our discretion. - -First, a word of explanation as to the title of this chapter. Far be it -from me to give evil pre-eminence to Southmolton as a school for -scandal, but in chapter xii. of _Lorna Doone_ Blackmore distinctly -states that it is “a busy place for talking.” There is no going from -that. - -Southmolton, like Bampton, is subject to the “slings and arrows” of -outrageous criticism as a place where it is “always afternoon.” If that -be so, all I can say is that, personally, I invariably find the P.M. -extremely pleasant, and nothing will induce me to cast a stone at a town -so hospitable. Moreover, it is beyond question an important hub of -Blackmore associations, and the faithful votary of the novelist _must_ -betake himself thither. Whether or not the fact be due to this -circumstance, it seems certain that more visitors patronise the -neighbourhood than formerly, and Mr Brown, the obliging chemist, informs -me that he has developed negatives for Americans, from whom he has -received flattering testimonials. Well done, Mr Brown! The following -entry in the visitors’ book at the “George” has an independent interest. - -“July 3rd, 1888--Dr Walter B. Gilbert, of New York, U.S., who was saved -by being thrown out of the window at the corner house opposite, during -the fatal fire of July 1835.” - -This reminds one of an early incident in the life of a famous divine, -who declared that “the world was his parish.” It was certainly Dr -Gilbert’s. - -On one occasion when I stayed at the “George,” where, it may be -remembered, Master Stickles filled his little flat bottle with “the very -best _eau de vie_” (_Lorna Doone_, chapter xlvii.), the fair was in full -swing, and I recollect that, among other attractions, there was a negro -marionette of large size, with aggressive, red lips. A young man -indulged in an entertaining dialogue with him as a prelude to the sale -of quack medicine. Now, the proletariat is master at Southmolton, and -the Corporation dare not remove from the Square the shooting-galleries, -ginger-bread stalls, confetti tents, and other encumbrances connected -with this event. It was whispered to me that at the time of an -Agricultural Show, when the band of the Plymouth division of the Royal -Marines was to perform in the market, the Mayor offered £10 for an hour -and a half’s suspension of the strident and powerful tones of a -steam-organ, but in vain. This mechanical purveyor of popular airs -represents the combined snort of a tornado of galloping horses fitted to -a roundabout of the most modern type. In the old-style roundabout a boy -worked a turnstile, and in doing so sometimes slipped or fell, when he -received pretty severe contusions. This arrangement was succeeded by a -cog-wheel in charge of a man. - -At fair time, East Street is blocked with Exmoor sheep and North Devon -cattle, and _à propos_ of this, you may notice over the entrance to the -market three carved rams’ heads. On the first day of the fair, a white -sheepskin glove is projected on a pole from a ring on the side of a -“Star.” Locally, this is supposed to signify the “hand of welcome,” -which accounts perhaps for the nosegay. Another and less romantic -version declares it the “hand of authority.” - -Let us stroll through the town in search of adventures. Naturally, our -steps will be directed, in the first instance, to the parish church, of -which the inhabitants are extremely proud. Well, it is handsome, very -handsome--sumptuous, if you like--but the interior is nearly all -brand-new. As to that, however, there are exceptions, and I will -undertake to affirm that the amazing gargoyle on the north side of the -chancel arch, albeit there are gargoyles on the Town Hall and gargoyles -on the “George,” is not of our time. Apparently, it is the face of a -craftsman, and, quite possibly, that of the master-builder of the -church. The pulpit also is ancient; the four evangelists’ flattened -countenances and noses sadly out of repair proclaim a reckoning with -time. The font is ancient and goodly. The tower is a fine one, as is -also that of Northmolton; but if you would see what North Devon can show -in the shape of church towers, away to Chittlehampton. There is a local -proverb: “Southmolton for strength; Chittlehampton for beauty,” and -tradition states that the tower of the fane of St Heriswitha was erected -by a pupil of the man that built Southmolton tower. - -For my own part, I find Southmolton churchyard, with its walled and -paved avenues, more stimulating than the church. The margins of four -banks were, it appears, planted with lime-trees in 1735-6, and -twenty-five years later the New Walk was adorned with similar trees. -These in 1866 were rooted up by a “fanatical iconoclast,” but others -took their place, and so there is at present not much occasion to find -fault. - -I remember one September evening standing in this churchyard and talking -to that worthy man, the sexton, when he mentioned to me casually that it -was the scene of a desperate battle. Particulars he had none to give, -and for the nonce I had forgotten my history book, so we stood and gazed -in silence, with a sense of vague respect and profound mystery, at the -home of the dead, on which the shades of evening were rapidly falling. -Too late to enlighten him, I recalled the abortive rising of the -Cavaliers in 1655, when Sir Joseph Wagstaffe, aided and abetted by a -couple of Wiltshire squires, Hugh Groves and John Penruddock, and a -force of loyal Cornishmen, proclaimed Prince Charles king at -Southmolton, after a rather discreditable fiasco at Southampton. -Cromwell’s troops were soon on their traces, and in a bloody fight, -mainly in the churchyard, the Royalists were hopelessly defeated. -Wagstaffe and a few of his officers escaped by jumping their horses over -the north-west portion of the churchyard wall (on which some forty years -ago a lime-house was built), and, crossing Exmoor, arrived at -Bridgewater. Groves and Penruddock, with twenty others, were captured -and conducted to the castle at Exeter, where they were arraigned for -high treason, found guilty, and executed. The leaders were beheaded and -the rest hanged, the drawing and quartering, ordinarily a feature in -such ceremonies, being omitted. - -Comedy, as well as tragedy, may claim Southmolton churchyard for her -own, for here Bampfylde Moore Carew, the famous King of the Gipsies, -wreaked dire vengeance on the local bellman, who had insulted him, by -appearing in the likeness of Infernal Majesty, and chasing the -affrighted officer among the tombs. The fact that the ghost of an old -gentleman not long deceased was reputed to walk the churchyard probably -made this characteristic revenge more easy. - -A ruinous building, to which no stranger uninitiated would direct more -than a passing glance, stands back from the road on Factory Hill. Once -it was a celebrated academy, at which nearly all the youth of -Southmolton, and doubtless many boys of the neighbouring parishes, -received their education. In this now abandoned seat of learning there -were two departments--an English school and a Latin school--for which -there were separate halls. The place wears a horrible appearance of -neglect and desecration, but some of the old fittings yet remain, and -when I inspected it, there were even some loose forms amongst the -miscellaneous lumber. The founder was one Hugh Squier, a lesser Peter -Blundell, who left injunctions that his portrait should be hung in what -is now the sitting-room of a cottage, but was then, no doubt, the -master’s house, and that there, as if he were bodily present, his -trustees should dine once a year. The portrait has been removed to the -Town Hall. There is also a beautiful miniature of Squier attached to the -mayor’s chain of office, which is probably at his worship’s. - -Southmolton has been a great place for poets, the best of them being -perhaps Richard Manley, a journeyman saddler, who died in 1832. The -following lines are taken from a poem after Gray, entitled -_Recollections of Schoolboy Days_, and supposed to be written in front -of Squier’s Free School, where the author had been taught reading, -writing, and arithmetic:-- - - “Ah! it was there, where yon green trees are bending, - And waving gently to the sunny air, - Where schoolboys dally, anxiously contending - For empty honours in their sports--’twas there - Young life to me with hope and joy was beaming; - Its sun in brightness rose, in sweetness set; - And childhood’s happy hours were spent in dreaming - Of future bliss and happier moments yet: - And now those dreams are vanisht and forsaken - By childhood’s hopes: to manhood I awaken.” - -Personally, I must confess, I should not have appreciated the pathos of -the scholastic derelict but for my good friend, the late Mayor of -Southmolton, who offered his services as cicerone. Mr Kingdon was -formerly associated with the firm of Crosse, Day, and Crosse, -solicitors, and he recollects Blackmore coming into their office, his -object being to look over some documents relating to the Manor of Oare. -On leaving, he complained that he had not found much to the purpose; but -Mr Kingdon is not so sure. - -Speaking of Mayors--and we must not forget that Master Paramore was a -high member of the town council (see _Lorna Doone_, chapter xii.)--the -chief magistrate of Southmolton is noted for the splendour of his -official retinue--doubtless a legacy from the days when corporations -were wont to insist more than they do now on outward show and ceremony. -Mr Mills, a local historian, gives an excellent account of the old -style, founded in part on his own recollections: - -“The Bailiff’s livery is a coat and vest of cerulean colour, with red -facings, velveteen breeches, and a gold-laced, three-cornered hat. This -functionary formerly, as part of his livery, wore red stockings, but on -the appointment of Mr Philip Widgery about sixty years ago (1892), he -besought the Corporation to provide him with gaiters--alleging as a -reason that his legs were the same shape as German flutes. His petition -was granted, and he and his successors have had their legs encased in -drab gaiters. The Sergeants at Mace have three-cornered hats and ample -blue cloaks--both hats and cloaks being trimmed with gold lace. - -“Prior to the Municipal Corporations Reform Act, 1834, these three -officers always proceeded with the Mayor and other members of the -Corporation to the Parish Church every Sunday morning. All the members -wore robes; those who had passed the office of Mayor wore scarlet gowns, -the other members were robed in black. A posse of the borough constables -always preceded this procession, carrying blue staves with the borough -arms in gilt letters on the upper end. These staves were about six feet -long, and are preserved at the Guildhall. As soon as the second lesson -had been read, the four took their staves in their hands, and holding -them aloft, marched sedately out of church, to pay visits to the -public-houses, in order to see if any person was tippling in them during -Divine Service. The first place of call was the ‘Ring of Bells,’ -adjacent to the churchyard, where, knowing the exact time their visit -would be paid, the landlord had four half-pints of ale in readiness for -their delectation as soon as they arrived. A similar visit was next paid -to the ‘King’s Arms,’ and similar treatment awaited them there. -Generally by the time these two visits had been paid, the congregation -at the church had been dismissed, and the vigilant constables retired to -their respective homes to preside over the family dinner, and to - -[Illustration: SQUARE AT SOUTHMOLTON (page 204).] - -say grace, after eating it, as good churchmen should do.” - -We are now to travel back three centuries and more, to the reign of -Queen Elizabeth. - -Leaving Southmolton for a time, we set out in the first instance for an -ancient manor-house about three miles distant, in the parish of Bishop’s -Nympton. In doing so, we pass two old factories, which formerly gave -employment to three hundred combers, etc. One of them is now a grist -mill, while the other is turned to account as a collar factory, in which -a score or two of women imitate the “little busy bee.” As for the men -who once worked in the mills, on the break-up of the industry some -transferred their services to Mr Vicary, of North Tawton, while others -migrated to Yorkshire. - -A well-remembered character at Southmolton, Chappie, the parish clerk, -was seated as usual at the foot of the pulpit, when the late rector, Mr -King, being momentarily at a loss, whispered down to him, “What do they -make at the factory?” Chappie replied in an audible tone, “Serge.” -Whereupon the preacher resumed, “I am informed,” etc., drawing an -illustration from the fabric. - -Through winding lanes and some rough fields, which Leland would probably -have described as “morisch,” lies the approach to Whitechapel, and were -it not for the railway, with its “level crossing,” the spot would be -rightly described as sequestered, and such as could hardly be excelled -as the scene of a tragedy or perhaps a romance. The house stands on the -slope of a green hill, against which its white walls stand pleasantly -outlined. It has two courtyards, the inner being entered by a gateway -flanked by tall brick pillars surmounted by huge globes. It is said that -on this inner platform were mounted cannon--a battery of five pieces of -ordnance. About fifty years ago the original mullioned windows were -removed by a farmer-tenant, and deposited in a cellar, where they were -lately discovered. Some of them have been re-inserted in the right end -of the building. In the rear the remains of an old hearth have been -found, showing that cooking was carried on outside the house proper. The -interior is remarkable for a splendid oak screen. The place is now in -thoroughly good hands, but it has naturally suffered from having been so -long a farmhouse, the occupiers of which were profoundly indifferent to -its contents and history. The present owner, Captain Glossop, when I met -him, was bringing taste and energy to bear on the old mansion, although -portions of it were beyond repair. - -Working backwards, I find that at the beginning of the last century the -property was in Chancery, and sold by the order of the Lord Chancellor -by public auction. The purchaser was a familiar figure in Southmolton, a -Mr Sanger, who occupied Whitechapel till his death. He made it his boast -that he cut down and sold enough timber on the estate to pay the whole -of the purchase money. At one time the property belonged to an ancestor -of Sir John Heathcoat-Amory; and during the Civil Wars it was the -residence of Colonel Basset, one of Prince’s “Worthies.” Blackmore -clearly remembered this circumstance when he introduced Sir Roger -Bassett into his work (_Lorna Doone_, chapter xlvi.), and allowed him to -be victimised by the joint cunning of lawyers and outlaw. - -According to Prince, the place was the original home of all the Bassets; -and the walls, as they now stand, were built during the reign of -Elizabeth by Sir Robert de Basset, on the site of an earlier structure, -and in the fashionable shape of an E. A few years later the knight lost -his wife, and having had the good fortune to win the heart and hand of -Mistress Beaumont of Umberleigh, removed to her mansion, standing where -once had stood King Athelstan’s palace. Umberleigh was afterwards the -property of John o’ Gaunt, from whom it passed to a relative--a fact to -which old doggerel lines bear witness: - - “I John o’ Gaunt, do give and grant, - From me and mine, to thee and thine, - The barton fee of Umberlee.” - -Sir Robert de Basset not only bade adieu to Whitechapel, whither he -never returned, but shortly before the death of Queen Elizabeth, he made -another change, and for the sake of his wife’s health, took up his -residence at Heanton Court, she having brought to him the manors of -Sherwill and Heanton Punchardon. Situated on the right bank of the Taw, -about three miles below Barnstaple, Heanton Court is now only a -picturesque farmhouse, but sixty years ago, according to an eye-witness, -the walls were still worse, and resembled a dilapidated factory. This -place, as will be shown more plainly hereafter, was the original of the -Narnton Court of the _Maid of Sker_. - -Now Sir Robert and his wife were both descended from the -Plantagenets--his wife certainly, and Sir Robert himself, if there was -any truth in the allegation that his great-great-grandmother was the -illegitimate daughter of Edward IV. Be that as it may, the knight saw -fit to join himself to the inglorious company of claimants to the vacant -throne of the Virgin Queen, two hundred in number; and, on the accession -of King James, he had, in consequence to escape down the river Taw and -sail into the open sea _en route_ for the Continent. Two years later an -edict was promulgated, assuring the pretenders that, on dutiful -submission, they would be allowed to escape with a fine. So the Bassets -came back, and on bended knees craved King Jamie’s forgiveness. Mrs -Basset of Watermouth Castle is said to be the possessor of the -embroidered silk apron worn by Lady Basset on this memorable occasion. -The monarch used rough language, intimating to the male suppliant that -he was a big bird, and that he must clip his wings--no idle threat, -since he imposed a fine necessitating the sale of fifteen manors. The -title also was annulled. - -The next station to Umberleigh on the London and South-Western line is -Burrington, where Mrs Shapland was discovered (_Maid of Sker_, chapter -lxiv.). - -About three miles and a half west of Southmolton lies the parish of -Filleigh, in which is situate Castle Hill, the beautiful seat of Earl -Fortescue, with its park of over eight hundred acres, a feature of which -is an avenue of trees nearly a mile long, leading to a triumphal arch. -The name Castle Hill is actually a misnomer, as the mansion is not of -the old baronial type; but the top of the wooded eminence, on whose -slope it stands, has an artificial ruin, serving to keep the description -in countenance. From the terrace the ground drops away to an ornamental -lake, and what with the clusters of trees, the shrubbery, and the rare -garden, Castle Hill may be fairly commended as a domain worthy of the -ancient family by which it is owned. One old building which has now -disappeared, was called the “Hermitage.” This was the subject of a poem -by Mr Badcock, a native of Southmolton, in the _London Magazine_ for -1782, but I have been unable to discover much about it, save that it -bore the inscription: “I have seen an end of all perfection, but Thy -commandment is exceeding broad”--a suitable text, one may think, for a -hermitage. - -The grounds of Castle Hill were remodelled by Hugh Fortescue, Lord -Clinton, created Earl Clinton and Baron Fortescue in 1746. He died -without issue in 1751, when the earldom became extinct. The barony -passed to his half-brother Matthew, who died in 1785, and was succeeded -by his son Hugh. In 1789 the latter was created Earl Fortescue and -Viscount Ebrington, the second title being derived from his -Gloucestershire seat, Ebrington Hall. He was followed by his son, also -called Hugh, who had taken an active part in the debates on the Reform -Bill in the Lower House, and was appointed Lord-Lieutenant and Custos -Rotulorum of the County of Devon. An interesting episode in this -nobleman’s career was a visit to Napoleon in December 1814, of which he -published a vivacious description. - -The present earl was born in 1818. As is well known, he has long -suffered from an affection of the eyes, brought about by a conscientious -discharge of public duty. Viscount Ebrington, his eldest son, now -occupies the honourable position so ably filled by his grandfather. - -For a full history of the Fortescue family in all its branches, the -reader is referred to the late Lord Clermont’s large and handsome volume -on the subject, of which it contains an exhaustive account. Here it may -be observed that the name, which is a little remarkable, is traced to an -incident in the battle of Senlac, when Richard le Fort saved the life of -William, Duke of Normandy, by protecting him with his shield from the -blows of his assailants. From that time, and for that reason, he was -known as Richard le Fortescue, or Strong Shield. Such, at least, is -Holinshed’s story. Tradition further states that after the Conquest -Richard returned to Normandy, where his descendants through his second -son, Richard, continued to flourish till the eighteenth century. The -eldest son, Sir Adam, who had also fought at Senlac, remained behind in -England, and was the ancestor of all the English Fortescues. - -Among the benefactors of Southmolton occurs the name of Lord Fortescue -of Credan, who left £50 to the poor of the parish. A Justice of the -Common Pleas, and descended from an offshoot of the Castle Hill branch -(which, by the way, is not the senior), the _Conveyancer’s Guide_ -preserves the following amusing anecdote respecting him. The baron was -the possessor of one of the strangest noses ever seen, much resembling -the trunk of an elephant. “Brother, brother,” said he to the counsel, -“you are handling the case in a very lame manner.” “No, no, my lord,” -was his reply, “have patience with me, and I will make it as plain as -the nose on your lordship’s face.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE FORGE OF FAGGUS AND THE CURE OF CHOWNE[19] - - -A “TOWN” by courtesy (though Blackmore shows it no courtesy, dubbing it -“a rough rude place at the end of Exmoor”), Northmolton is an -inconsiderable village--that is, as regards size and population; very -pretty, however, and romantic. Despite its comparative unimportance some -of the inhabitants of the larger Molton cherish respect for its smaller -neighbour as the seat of ancient tradition. I remember talking to a -tonsorial artist--one does not speak of “barbers” nowadays--and a native -of Southmolton, who referred with bated breath to the Court Leet and -Baron held in the sister parish, and the strange customs connected with -such tribunals; and he evidently considered the Southmolton Town Council -a mere mushroom institution of scant interest compared with the feudal -juries. I determined to look into the matter. - -There are two routes between South-and Northmolton--one the present -highway along - -[Illustration: WHITECHAPEL BARTON (page 209).] - -the richly wooded valley of the Mole; the other, doubtless more ancient, -over the hill to the right, from the summit of which is obtained an -excellent view of the village situated on the opposite ridge. - -Northmolton is known far and wide as the birthplace of the renowned Tom -Faggus, who from being a smith turned highwayman. It is only a few years -ago since the forge at which he is supposed to have toiled was pulled -down. It stood at the bottom of the square, next to and facing the -“Poltimore Arms”; and picture post-cards, showing what it was like, are -on sale in the village. Just as I presented the reader with the -pre-Blackmorian legend of the Doones, drawn from Mr Cooper’s _Lynton_, -so I reproduce from the same source the legend of Tom Faggus, as it -existed before the publication of the romance. - - -_Faggus and his Strawberry Horse._ - -Faggus was a native of Northmolton, and by trade a blacksmith, but being -engaged in a lawsuit with Sir Richard Bampfylde, he was ruined, and -obliged to leave his home. - -He then turned a gentleman-robber, and for many years collected -contributions on the highways, sometimes in company with a companion -named Penn, but more frequently alone. - -Many stories are told concerning his famous enchanted strawberry horse, -and it was chiefly by means of this horse that Faggus escaped punishment -for so long a time. - -On one occasion a large party of farmers agreed to ride home together -from Barnstaple Fair for the purpose of avoiding an attack from Faggus, -who was supposed to be in the neighbourhood. However, when they arrived -at the post on the top of Bratton-down, Faggus rode up, a cocked pistol -in each hand and the reins lying on the neck of his strawberry horse; he -threatened them with instant death, if they did not deposit their purses -at the foot of the post. The farmers obeyed him in silent awe, and -Faggus rode off with his booty. - -He was seized while sitting in the ale-house at Simonsbath, but at his -shrill whistle his invaluable horse, having broken down the stable door, -rushed into the house, and after seriously maltreating the enemies of -his master with his hoofs and teeth, bore him off in triumph. On another -occasion he was recognised in Barnstaple and closely pursued to the -bridge, where he was met by a party of constables, who blockaded the -other end. Seeing all hopes of escape by the road completely cut off, he -boldly put his horse at the parapet of the bridge. This he cleared, and -swam off, to the great disappointment of his numerous assailants, who -had considered his capture now as quite certain. - -Intelligence being received at Exford that Faggus was to pass through -that village on a certain day, a number of men were stationed in a -certain part of the road to endeavour to seize him. They had not been -long at their post, when Faggus rode up in complete disguise. - -“Pray, my good friends,” said he, “may I ask for what purpose you are -waiting here in such numbers?” - -On being answered that they were waiting for Faggus, he replied that he -knew him well for a great rascal, and volunteered his services in -assisting to take him. After a little more conversation he asked what -firearms they had; four or five guns were produced. He proposed that -they should be discharged and reloaded, to secure their going off when -required, as the dampness of the morning might have injured their -priming. This was agreed to, and when his advice had been taken and the -guns put for a moment _hors de combat_, he produced his pistols, and -having declared his name and robbed his terrified adversaries, galloped -away. - -It being discovered on another occasion that Faggus had taken refuge in -a house at Porlock, the whole of the inhabitants assembled; some seized -the rusty arms which had long hung neglected over their chimneys, or -been emptied only in inoffensive war against the timid wild-fowl; others -armed themselves with scythes, pitchforks, and other rustic weapons. -They surrounded the house in a formidable array, shouting aloud, “Faggus -is taken!” “Faggus is taken!” But they were mistaken. The door suddenly -opened, and he rushed forth mounted on his strawberry horse, dashing -through the crowd. Regardless of the blows and shots aimed at him from -all sides, he disappeared, leaving them astonished and confounded at his -daring and good fortune. He was at length captured in an ale-house at -Exebridge, in the following curious manner. - -One of the officers, equipped as an old beggar woman, entered the -tap-room where Faggus was. With his usual kindness he ordered the -supposed vagrant some food and liquor, and sat down near him. At a -preconcerted signal the disguised constable, rising quickly, pulled the -chair from under Faggus, and being thereupon joined by others who were -concealed in the room, instantly fastened a rope to Faggus’ feet and -hoisted him up to the bacon rack. The shrill whistle Faggus gave, as was -his custom when in difficulty, was given in vain, for the poor horse had -been shot in the stable at the very moment the attack was made upon his -master. All was now over with poor Faggus. He was tried and hanged at -Taunton at the ensuing assizes. - -Through his whole career not one act of cruelty was ever laid to his -charge, while numerous are the acts of kindness and charity to the sick -and the distressed that are recorded of him. Like the celebrated Robin -Hood, he seems to have taken from the rich to give to the poor, for it -required but little to supply his own immediate wants, living as he did -in the most frugal manner. - -On my last visit to Northmolton I was fortunate in making the -acquaintance of Mr Dobbs, who represents the oldest firm of auctioneers -in the district, his father and grandfather having wielded the fateful -hammer before him. From this informant I learnt that over forty years -ago, long before he set eyes on _Lorna Doone_, he gathered many -particulars regarding Tom Faggus from Harry Lake, the parson’s boy, who -possessed a history of that half or wholly fabulous hero, which he was -in the habit of reading whilst seated on the vicarage steps, waiting for -his master and in charge of his Bucephalus. Harry afterwards emigrated -to America, taking his book with him, but Mr Dobbs is able to recollect -that Faggus had a relative living in Milk Street, Exeter--a poulterer. -One anecdote in the book, which is mentioned also in _Lorna Doone_, was -to the effect that once when Sir Robert Bampfylde, who had ruined Faggus -and occasioned him the loss of his house, was riding to Barnstaple, he -met the highwayman, who made him give up his purse. The next moment he -threw it back, saying, “There is a rule among robbers not to rob -robbers.” - -It is worth while to observe that if Faggus lived at the period to which -Blackmore assigns him, the head of the family would have been, not Sir -Robert, but Sir Coplestone, Bampfylde, one of Prince’s “Worthies.” As -for the tale of tyranny, it is somewhat improbable; but, if true, is the -more deplorable, in that the Bampfyldes themselves had endured pecks of -financial trouble--a fact candidly and explicitly set forth on the great -monument in the church, where mention is made of “diuturna litigia et -graves impensas,” which had nothing whatever to do with poor Faggus, but -were undertaken for the object of regaining possession of their estates. - -The two chiefs--Amias, to whom the monument was erected, and John, by -whom it was erected, “pietatis ergo”--were both endued with the bump of -philo-progenitiveness. The former was the father of twelve sons and five -daughters, and the latter of eight sons and seven daughters. The -sculptor has made a brave attempt to introduce as many figures as -possible into his imposing work of art, but there was evidently scope -for a sort of human ant-hill. From the way the numbers are paraded, the -Bampfyldes, like the Hebrews of old, manifestly regarded a large family -as a merit, or, at least, a blessing. “Happy is the man that hath his -quiver full of them.” Apart from the monument, the most striking feature -of the church is the gorgeous display of carved oak in the chancel. The -insertion of modern work in the old oak pulpit was a most wretched -inspiration, whoever may have been responsible for it. - -The Bampfylde family acquired the property by marriage with a coheiress -of the St Maurs; and in the course of centuries their honourable name -has undergone almost every possible variety of spelling. Bamfylde, -Bampfylde, Baumfield, Bampfeild, are some of the forms I have met with, -but I will not answer for it that the list is exhaustive. The first -baronet was Sir John Bampfylde, who received the title in 1641. The -sixth baronet, the Right Hon. Sir George Warwick Bampfylde, was raised -to the peerage in 1831 as Baron Poltimore, that being the name of -another estate belonging to the family near Exeter. The present Lord -Poltimore was born in 1837. He owns not only Court Hall, a fine old -mansion standing to the east of the church, and almost hidden by trees, -but Court House, an ancient ivy-covered structure, formerly the -residence of the Parkers, the Earl of Morley’s ancestors. - -There lived in the village in those days a charitably-disposed old -lady, one Mrs Passmore, a dressmaker; and at Christmas-tide the dear old -soul had always ready basins full of coppers, threepenny-bits, sixpenny -bits, etc., to be distributed in the shape of doles. The Lady Morley of -the period is said to have taken it into her head that this amiable -custom detracted, in some measure, from the honour and reverence due to -herself; so she suggested to Mrs Passmore that, as no doubt their -charities overlapped, and some people had more than their share, while -others had nothing, it might be well to entrust her with the combined -funds, and allow her to act as almoner. - -“No, my lady,” was the reply, “I don’t think I will. You know they come -and say, ‘Thankee, Lady Morley!’ and ‘God bless ee, Lady Morley!’ but if -I give away my own money, I shall have all the God bless ee’s mysel’.” - -An apprentice of Mrs Passmore was the rather noted Mrs Treadwin, who -wrote a book on lace, and from whose shop on the north-east side of -Exeter Cathedral were supplied the wardrobes of generations of queens -and princesses, including the wedding-dress of Queen Victoria. - -The almshouses, the inmates of which live rent free and receive -fourpence a week, were originally Parker property; and on the panelling -round the chancel of the parish church may be detected the initials “T. -P.,” supposed to refer to one of the family--_not_ to the well-known -editor and Parliamentarian. - -The Court Leet and Baron is held at the Poltimore Arms. In the -bar-parlour of this hotel is a curious object--namely, a fire-back of -cast-iron, bearing the inscription, “^{16} H S I ^{89}.” The purpose of -the utensil is to throw the fire forward and prevent it from burning the -bricks. The venue of the Court Leet, however, is not the bar-parlour, -but the large state-room on the right, where a feast, to which Lord -Poltimore contributes thirty shillings and a hare, is held once a year. -The _personnel_ consists of sixteen jurymen, twelve of whom form the -king’s jury, and four that of the manor. The presiding officer is the -Portreeve (commonly known as the “Mayor”), and his subordinates include -a Bailiff, Ale Tasters, and Searchers of the Market. The Court Leet -possesses copper cups used as measures, but it may be mentioned, -parenthetically, that the Searchers have not been round lately, as they -found on a certain occasion that their own weights were not just. Mr -Dobbs’s father served for a long time as Bailiff, the only pay he -received being a dinner, while Mr Dobbs himself has been Portreeve, and -though now quit of the office, is chaffingly greeted as “Mr Mayor.” This -jest has been doing duty for at least half a century, but somehow the -humour does not grow stale, and nobody is so foolish as to object. - -The most colossal witticism attaching to Northmolton concerns a certain -Peter, which appellation is, or used to be, in great favour in the -village. The Peter in question was taken ill and died, whereupon a -district visitor, or somebody of the sort, called to condole with the -widow. - -“So you have lost your good man?” - -“Iss,” replied Betty, “Peter’s gone to Belzebub’s bosom.” - -[Illustration: TOM FAGGUS’S FORGE, NORTHMOLTON (page 217).] - -“Pst!” said the visitor, “you don’t know what you’m talking about.” - -“P’raps I don’t,” answered Betty, placidly, “Peter and me never could -mind the names of great folks.” - -Five miles from Northmolton is the village of Charles, so long the home -of the Rev. Richard Blackmore, the uncle of the novelist. During his -incumbency a Northmolton man, fond of lifting his right arm, called on -business at the rectory, and was immediately taken in hand by the -rector’s wife. - -“Did you notice any wood-stacks as you came along?” she inquired. - -“Yes, ma’am--a good many.” - -“And did you see any pigs?” - -“Pigs, ma’am? Yes, I ran up against one.” - -“Ah, well; do you know why there are so many pigs at Charles?” - -“No, I don’t,” replied the man, puzzled. - -“Then I will tell you--because there is no public-house here,” concluded -the lady, triumphantly. - -Almost due north of Charles is the parish of High Bray, where is a -farmhouse called Ludcote, Liddicot, or Lidcote. The last is Sir Walter -Scott’s spelling of the name, which is, after all, a secondary matter. -What is of more importance is the imputed connection with the place of -Amy Robsart and her family. Chapter xii. of _Kenilworth_ commences as -follows: “The ancient seat of Lidcote Hall was situated near the village -of the same name, and adjoined the wild and extensive forest of Exmoor, -plentifully stocked with game, in which some ancient rights belonging -to the Robsart family entitled Sir Hugh to pursue his favourite -amusement of the chase.” On the faith of this statement it has been -generally assumed that the unhappy Amy sprang from a good old Devonshire -stock. Reference to the standard authorities, however, has failed to -discover the slightest trace of such a family, and one or two -antiquaries of repute, whom I have consulted, confess themselves utterly -at a loss to explain the allusion. It is a suspicious circumstance that -in neither his introduction nor his notes does the author throw any -light on the Devonshire connections of his heroine, and for all these -reasons combined I am disposed to regard this portion of his narrative -as wholly imaginary. - -As the topic is literature, I may here allude to a contemporary writer, -whose portrait I purchased in a shop opposite the Poltimore Arms. At the -time I was quite ignorant of his precise claim to celebrity, and the -silk hat, frock coat and walking-stick were too conventional to suggest -genius, though the face, perhaps, was not strictly normal. However, -experience told me that no man would figure on a picture post-card -unless possessed of unusual gifts, and it turned out that Mr Richard -Slader was a poet and a solitary, whose recreations--to borrow a hint -from _Who’s Who?_--consist in keeping a hundred head of poultry and -selling nuts and blackberries at Southmolton Fair. About forty-five -years of age, and careless of appearances, he might be taken, as -somebody expressed it, for an “old tramp,” but he belongs to a -respectable family; indeed, the name occurs in the Blackmore pedigree. -Moreover, it is known that his father left him a good round sum of -money. Slader talks broad Devonshire, and “Rachard and his pigs” have -passed into a proverb. Swine have been a source of infinite worry to -him. Certain of the species owned by his sister at Pixyweek became -infected with anthrax, and were ordered by the police to be destroyed. -This annoyed Mr Slader, and he gave vent to his indignation in a poem. -On another occasion he was summoned for allowing his own pigs to stray -on the highway, convicted, and fined. Resentment at this petty tyranny -led to his penning an effusion, which was printed and circulated in -leaflet form. - -Like all poets, Mr Slader has his critics and detractors. In a -counter-leaflet put forth by some “snake in the grass,” he is reviled as -the “silly old man of Northmolton,” but the hiss of these ignoble -stanzas is as far beneath his polished verse as it is possible to -conceive. It is proper to add that Mr Slader indited pathetic and very -pious compositions on the deaths of his mother and sister, so that his -graceful muse is not always wedded to satire. - -“With various talents, variously we excel,” and as at Molland Cross we -are not very far from Molland parish, in which Tom Faggus had land -(_Lorna Doone_, chapter xlvi.), I am tempted to make a passing allusion -to another family represented in the Blackmore pedigree--the Quartlys of -Champson. When the Quartlys first sprang into fame as cattle-breeders, I -cannot precisely state, but as such they certainly enjoyed a high -reputation at the commencement of the last century, and they attained -perhaps the acme of distinction during the reign of George IV., when -their red kine were never shown at Smithfield without winning first -prizes. The best animal painters in England visited Champson to inspect -the stock, and among the rest came H. B. Chalon, animal painter to the -king, who drew a sketch of two cows, afterwards engraved by Raddon for -Mr White, of Pilton House, and dedicated to Mr T. W. Coke, M.P. for -Norfolk.[20] - -The Quartlys no longer reside at Champson, the death of the late Mr John -Quartly on the railway, a few years ago, having led to the severance of -a connection which had lasted for generations.[21] - -The parish of Molland is associated with that of Knowstone. For -centuries they have been consolidated as one benefice, and formed the -original of Blackmore’s “Nympton-in-the-Moors.” Here, I must improve on -this precedent by including a third parish, Lapford, which lies in a -southerly direction. The reason is as follows. A reader of the _Maid of -Sker_, who is also familiar with North Devon, must be struck with the, -no doubt, intentional looseness of the geographical references. From a -perusal of the romance, it would be natural to conclude that -“Nympton-in-the-Moors” is much nearer Barnstaple and the coast than is -actually the case,[22] and that no considerable town like Southmolton -is interposed between them. Southmolton is ignored also in favour of -Tiverton, for, although “Nympton” is in the rural deanery of the former -town, it is to the old church of St Peter, Tiverton, that Chowne is -appointed by his bishop to bring his young people to a “noble -confirmation” (_Maid of Sker_, chapter liii.). The name “Nympton” is -common in Devon, where there are four or five villages so called, and -distinguished from each other by some addition like “King’s,” -“Bishop’s,” “George,” etc. Besides these there is the form “Nymet” -(apparently contracted in the first syllable of “Nympton”), which is -found in Nymet-Roland, near Lapford, which, by virtue of the -watercourses, stands in more direct relation to Barnstaple than the -parishes before named. Still, I do not deny that on the whole, Blackmore -intended by “Nympton-in-the-Moors” Knowstone-cum-Molland, of which the -Rev. John Froude (“Parson Chowne”), who died in 1852, was incumbent for -forty-seven years. It is distinctly stated that “Parson Chowne happened -to have two churches” (_Maid of Sker_, chapter xxviii.), but it appears -to me that, for certain purposes, he blended with them the parish of -Lapford, of which his nephew, the notorious John Radford (“Parson -Rambone”), was rector. - -It was at Nymet-Roland that the “naked people,” who bulk so largely in -the _Maid of Sker_, lived in semi-nudity and utter savagery, in an old -cottage of clay, of which one wall had given way, so that in their only -room grass grew on the earth floor. They stole what clothes they -required, and continually got into trouble with the police, one of whom -was felled to the ground by a girl of the family. Contrary to -Blackmore’s account, they were finely built, muscular, and strong. The -patriarch of the race died at Whitstone, having spent his declining -years in a cider cask; and about 1860 the family was dispersed. These -people were called Cheriton, and as they lived on their own freehold, -could not be interfered with, until financial difficulties arose, which -compelled them to give up possession. - -Froude’s real “lambs” were not of this description, but ordinary village -folk. With these his word was law, and no matter how extravagant his -commands, they were obeyed to the letter. Though a man of unquestioned -ability, the parson hardly possessed the diabolical cunning of Chowne, -but it is to be feared that he had no small share of his cruel malice, -and he carried buffoonery to a pitch utterly inconsistent with his cloth -and calling. His moral character was such that his relations, some of -whom I know, regard him as outside the pale of apology; while old -labourers, who remember his white hat, though perhaps none too good -themselves, are shocked to recall such conduct in a “minister.” Froude -never issued instructions directly; he preferred oblique methods. Thus -he would be riding along where a group of men were at work, and begin to -mutter, “I’m certain sure Farmer Besley’s fuzz-brake will be burnt--I -know ’twill.” The nearest man would prick up his ears, and, having -accomplished the prophecy, would return to the spot, where he would -find a sovereign on the gatepost. At another time, Froude would say to a -follower severely, “Look here, John, don’t you cut off that donkey’s -tail”--pointing to an animal on the other side of the hedge. The next -day the unfortunate animal would be found minus its appendage. Froude’s -“lambs” were staunch to him, and years afterwards one of them, called -Peagram, who lived at Southmolton, refused to divulge anything of their -relations. - -Parson Chowne was a marrying man--having, it will be recollected, three -wives in succession; Froude was twice married, his second wife being -Miss Halse, daughter of “Squire” Halse, a yeoman farmer of Pulworthy. -Tradition says that he officiated at the lady’s christening, and, at the -convivial party given in honour of the event, observed that, if the girl -baby lived to grow up, he would marry her. From another source I have -heard that, when he was courting her, he and her father would stay up -late, drinking, and Froude, by no means so abstinent as the terrible -Chowne, generally got into a condition which rendered it necessary for -him to be “personally conducted” to Knowstone by one of the men, who -would ride behind him, buoy him up in the saddle, and lift him from his -horse at the end of the journey, and make himself responsible for his -safety. Sad to say, Froude was neither civil nor grateful, and although -consciously incapable, heaped all kinds of profane and opprobrious -epithets on his companion. “You only do it for your guts’ sake. Go -back--go back, or I’ll yaw (thrash) tha.” Bragg did not dare to -dismount, knowing that if he showed signs of fear Froude would be as -good as his word, and give him a good horse-whipping. - -Froude could be a perfect gentleman if he chose, and, when in his -capacity as master of hounds, he entertained sportsmen like Lord -Portsmouth to dinner, he acquitted himself with surprising ease and some -amount of refinement. But he was always relieved when such ordeals were -over and he had attended the last of his guests to the door. He would -then turn to a boon companion with the remark, “Thank Heaven, George; -I’ve been a gentleman long enough. Come into the kitchen, and have some -grog.” - -Radford was nothing like so prominent a character as Froude, but he was, -if possible, even more disreputable. He was tall and well built, and his -favourite recreation was fighting. As to time and place, he was not at -all particular, and was often seen in the boxing booths at Southmolton -Fair giving an exhibition of his powers. Radford seems to have had quite -a mania for pugilism. Once he invaded a gipsy encampment, and offered a -sovereign to any of them who could beat him. The best man was picked, -but proved of no use against the parson, who thereupon offered to fight -the next, and eventually went through about a dozen of them, each new -opponent being buoyed up with the hope that Radford was getting worn out -with his exertions. But the hope turned out delusive. - -In the same way, when the railway was being cut between Exeter and -Barnstaple, Radford appeared among the navvies, issuing challenges - -[Illustration: CHANCEL, NORTHMOLTON CHURCH (page 222).] - -right and left, and, as they were accompanied with offers of money, his -gages of battle were eagerly taken up. The navvies, as a rule, fared no -better than the gipsies, but one man named Tolly, who was afterwards a -stationmaster on the line, was credited with the proud distinction of -having beaten the redoubtable rector. - -The Hon. Newton Fellowes, afterwards Lord Portsmouth, used to drive a -four-in-hand, and occasionally experienced trouble with lazy carters, -who did not make room for him as fast as he could wish, and whom he -punished with a slash of his whip. One day Radford got himself up as a -carter, and, lying down inside the cart, pretended to be asleep. On came -Newton Fellowes, who, finding the carter deaf to his commands, flew into -a perfect fury and began to flourish his whip. At the first touch up -jumped Radford, and administered to his lordship the worst drubbing he -ever had in his life. - -As I have said, however, Radford was by no means Froude’s equal, and as -the Parson Rambone of the romance, rightly holds a secondary place. -Radford, not Russell, was the original of the character, since Blackmore -himself told Mr Bryan, of Southmolton, that the former was his model. -Froude’s redeeming virtue was his success as a sportsman, and the -following article from the _Sporting Magazine_ for 1821 shows in what -esteem he was held by the hunting community. - - -_Close of Mr Froude’s Season in North Devon._ - -Experience teaches us that happiness is unattainable without -reciprocity. I do not mean that in all our actions we are to look out -for an equivalent; reason and Scripture equally denounce such -selfishness; but if in our amusements and recreations we are partially -dependent on others, some attention must inevitably be paid to the -feelings and predilections of our fellow-mortals. The galling yoke of -feudalism is long ago removed; and it is better to be loved than -dreaded. The rod of iron may chastise, but cannot win the affections, -nor repress resentment; which, if not cancelled by kindness will, sooner -or later, burst forth with the devastating fury of an avalanche. When a -perfect understanding is established between sportsmen and farmers, game -is seldom wanting, and every facility is afforded in following the -hounds. A more harmonious feeling of unanimity and respect I never -beheld, than at a hunting feast the other day at the house of Mr Froude, -the master of a crack pack of harriers in the North of Devon. I may say -_the_ crack pack; in which Nimrod will, I think, agree, as he has -signalised some of the hounds in your magazine, particularly old Guilty. -We need not refer to Buffon for arguments to prove the sagacity of the -canine species, as old Guilty has given abundant proof of it. The -efficient number of the pack is about twenty-five couples; the hunting -days are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays: Guilty, though kept at a -farmhouse nearly three miles distant from the kennel, always attended of -her own accord on hunting mornings. If too late, one of the servants had -only to point to her the direction the hounds went, and she invariably -joined them without the aid of a compass. - -At the end of a hunting season it is a custom with many masters of -hounds to invite the yeomen and farmers over whose land they hunt, to -dinner, thereby verifying the old adage, _finis coronat opus_. The other -day I was present at one of those dinners or hunting feasts given by Mr -Froude, where there were from fifty to sixty persons enjoying the good -things of life, and where - - “The story ran in such familiar strains, - With so much humour and so little pains.” - -On such occasions particular customs are strictly observed. The host -resigns his domestic sovereignty into the hands of his guests, who -appoint a Tapster from their own body, a Sword to enforce fines, and a -Judge to settle disputes and to keep up ancient customs, who, in this -instance, executed his office with the impartiality of a Rhadamanthus, -particularly in seeing that his Sword performed his duty with justice in -the sconcing department. On a table were huge flagons of foaming old -October, with four magnums, or, as the classics say, _magna_, of -spirits, surrounded with drinking cups, horns, and glasses, marked with -hunting devices. Among other toasts, “the King” was drunk, while -standing, at _one draught_, in tolerably large tumblers: and those who -were not particular in doing so were fined, as his Judgeship said, for -cutting His Majesty in two--such being the established rule handed down -from their forefathers. At all events the toast was a loyal one, and I -wonder King Charles had it not inserted among his golden rules. -Youngsters on their first introduction had to pledge the Judge in a -glass of neat spirits; and after this matriculating ceremony was over -they were considered as efficient members. One of the initiated gave us -a hunting song; and his memory having failed him in three or four -instances, the inexorable Judge fined him a wineglassful of brandy for -each omission; and ere he finished his melody, his head reclined on the -mahogany, and he softly reposed himself in the arms of Morpheus. I was -excused fines, not being a member of the club. - - “It always has been thought discreet - To know the company you meet; - And sure there may be secret danger - In talking much before a stranger. - Agreed: what then? then drink your ale, - I’ll pledge you, and repeat my tale.” - -His Lordship the Judge now stood up to propose THE TOAST--viz., “Success -to the merry harriers and their worthy master! Whoever does not preserve -game, and allow him to follow his hounds wherever he pleases, is a -craven, _et cetera, et cetera_!”--(what the _et ceteras_ are I must beg -leave to be silent)--which was received with tumultuous applause. The -contents of the cups disappeared with such a magic rapidity that -Macbeth’s words, “Damn’d be he who first cries hold! enough!” would have -been an exceedingly appropriate motto. I did not see the finale; but I -saw quite enough to convince me that a little attention timely applied -has gained Mr Froude the goodwill of all his neighbours. Our English -yeomen are composed of too tough materials _to be driven_; they require -as much management as a restive horse; however, with a little tact they -can _be easily led_. A rough, generous, and hospitable yeoman is a -perfect epitome of JOHN BULL. Who can read Sir W. Scott’s description of -Dandy Dinmont without a feeling of admiration? The neighbouring poor -also partook of the entertainment; and the day is always looked upon as -a jubilee by the villagers. - -Mr Froude is generally allowed to be one of the first hare-hunters in -the West of England. One glance of his is sufficient to find out the -good and bad points of a dog. His first instructions he received at the -hands of the late Mr Karslake, and it may be justly said of him that he -was bred up at the feet of Gamaliel. The moment his leading-strings were -thrown aside, he set about organising a pack of harriers, to which he -has ever since devoted the greater part of his time. Hounds are kept by -many for the sake of effect and parade, by way of getting a name in the -Sporting World; but it cannot be said so in this instance. Sportsmen -being so few in the neighbourhood of Knowstone, the field mostly -consists of persons staying at the Vicarage, a few surrounding friends, -and an occasional wandering lover of the chase, attracted by the fame of -the Knowstone pack. The hounds, in size, shape, and colour, bear a -wonderful similarity to each other. I recollect once, on meeting the -Tivy-side Hunt on the Welsh Hills, my remarking that one of the hounds -bore a strong similarity to Mr Froude’s breed of hounds, which I found -on inquiry came from Devonshire--so strong is the family likeness -through the whole pack. When a man’s principal attention has for years -been devoted to the breed of hounds, it must ultimately arrive at the -maximum of perfection, particularly if the person, like Mr Froude, -understands his business well. The prominent points of his hounds -are:--height nineteen inches, considerable length of back, immense -strong loins, with firm and well-shaped haunches, productive of speed -and durability: they are particularly quick in all their movements: one -should have the flying arrow of Ababis to follow them; and their note is -sharp and cutting. A friend of mine used to say that “a deep-mouthed -Southern hound” sounded well in poetry, but it always reminded him of a -cathedral bell. The deep and solemn tone of Great Tom is very well at -Lincoln; but the sharp and cheering cry of harriers is much more -invigorating to the spirits on a raw and cold morning on the bleak hills -of Devonshire. - -Had Nimrod time during his Devonshire Tour to call on Mr Froude, he -would have had many amusing anecdotes. One of those whose minds are -chiefly devoted to the admiration of their pretty selves happened once -to join the Knowstone pack, and kept on in spite of hints, though -pointedly given, clearing banks and furze bushes to the manifest danger -of the dogs’ lives. A hare at last was started; off went the parson and -the dandy side by side until they came to the margin of a bog. His -reverence instantly tightened one of his bridle-reins, and continued to -spur his nag, which gave it the appearance of shying. The dandy went in -neck and crop; and thus the nuisance was got rid of by “his own act and -deed,” as the lawyers say. However, he was soon landed, and had every -attention paid him. This I had from the late poor Jack Harvey, who was -a tolerable master of the laconic style. The late Marsh, Fauntleroy & -Company used to be his bankers. I recollect when he wanted the needful -to go to Warwickshire, his addressing Mr Marsh thus: “Dear Agent, send -me some coin. I am yours, etc.” When his house in Devon was burnt, he -acquainted his guardian with the accident thus: “Dear Nunky, I have no -_domus_: ditto is burnt.” His brother, who was then studying at St -John’s, Cambridge, offered him his purse: for his kind offer he was -answered thus: “Dear George, I thank you for your Balm of Gilead letter; -send me fifty pounds.” Coulton himself could not have improved on this. - -Mr Froude has hunted the fox more frequently for the last two years than -he used to do, and has bred two couples of hounds out of a favourite -harrier bitch of his own by a clever foxhound from the celebrated blood -of George Templar, Esq.: these are reserved expressly to go with the -harriers, when drawing for a fox, to keep them steady to the varmint. -Here instinct is clearly shown on the drag; and when the pack is well -settled to the line of scent, the quickness and vivacity of the merry -harrier are quickly apparent. They have this season, I hear, had some -brilliant runs, an animated account of which has been given in our -provincial papers by a gentleman from the neighbourhood of Exeter, -attracted to visit the pack by common fame, like the Queen of Sheba, -when she paid a visit to Solomon. - -The hunting season is now over; the horn is replaced in its case; the -whip is suspended from the nail, denoting a suspension of field sports. -The fox and the hare are allowed to revel unmolestedly over hill and -dale, secure from the thrilling “tally-ho” and “gone away” of the keen -and determined sportsman. A straggling hound may now and then steal -unperceived to remind them of their implacable foes. However, the period -will arrive - - “When bright Aurora shall unbar the morn, - And light discover Nature’s cheerful face; - The cracking whip and the loud-sounding horn - Will call blithe huntsmen to the distant chase. - - “Eftsoons they issue forth a goodly band, - The sharp-tongued hounds with music rend the air, - The fiery coursers strike the rising sand; - Far through the thicket flies the frighted hare. - - “Froude the honour of the day supports, - His presence glads the woods, his orders guide the chase.” - --LEEK. - -[Illustration: ASHFORD CHURCH, NEAR BARNSTAPLE.] - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -BARUM - - -To Barnstaple, capital of North Devon, and capital also of the _Maid of -Sker_, or such portions of the story as relate to the county, proceed we -now. Already we have winged brief flights to the neighbourhood in -connection with Heanton Court and Ashford, one of Blackmore’s early -homes described so lovingly in the above-named romance. The scenes -appear very real, and would have been still more so but for the -construction of the railway, which shuts off from the view the house and -the old boat-stage (_Maid of Sker_, chapter xxxix.). The true name of -“Deadman’s Pill,” which was opposite Ashford, is Fremington Pill or -Penhill, a creek in which there was a sort of dock, where the larger -vessels anchored, and received or delivered cargoes. - -Barnstaple is a place on which it would be a pleasure to bestow many a -page of garnered lore, and the district around is no less delightful to -the lover of the past. This being the case, it may be well to premise -that my hope is, in a subsequent volume on the Kingsley country, to -amplify the account here given, and this must excuse seeming -deficiencies. - -The recollections of old inhabitants are always interesting, and it may -be laid down that, next to our own, no age attracts like that -immediately preceding it, out of which we are sprung, and in which -Blackmore flourished. Therefore I account it a fortunate accident that -made me for a short time an inmate in the house of Mr Parminter, one of -the makers of modern Barnstaple, who drew my attention to a remarkable -fact--that in the old days the town was provided with iron gates, which -were closed at night, to keep out tramps and travellers. Mr Parminter -remembers two--those in High Street and Cross Street. Boutport Street, -where Parson Rambone challenged all and sundry, must also have had its -gate. - -A great support of old Barnstaple was the shipping industry. Vessels of -one hundred to two hundred tons were built here and owned by Barnstaple -men, amongst whom was Mr Bament, father of Mrs Carruthers Gould, who was -also a tanner. The ships were employed in different services, and known -as London traders, Liverpool traders, Bristol traders, etc., according -to the port of arrival. Their cargoes were of all kinds--groceries, -draperies, and general merchandise. There was also a considerable -traffic in Scotch herrings. The quays, of which there were four--three -above Barnstaple Bridge--were at right angles to the river. At present, -ships are barred from coming up beyond a certain distance by the railway -bridge. Below this, however, is the Rolle Quay (so called after the -Rolle family, to whom it belongs), which is still accessible, and where -much business is done. When in Barnstaple recently, I watched a sailing -ship from the opposite bank, and her action in entering curiously -resembled that of a mouse stealing into its hole. One of the services of -the Barnstaple vessels was as emigrant ships, and Mr Bament helped to -export hundreds of sturdy colonists to the Antipodes. In the _Maid of -Sker_ (chapter xxx.), the “Tawton fleet” of brown-sailed lighters is -referred to; the river is navigable for barges and small craft to about -three miles above the town. - -Mr Parminter has many appetising reminiscences of parliamentary -elections, which in days of yore were in the hands of the freeman. This -position was esteemed a valuable privilege, since it carried with it -other rights, not merely that of voting. Mr Parminter, for instance, as -a freeman, was able, when building a chapel at Ilfracombe, to convey all -the material by sea without paying quay dues. As to politics, however. -Adjoining the North Walk is a mansion called the Castle, in the grounds -of which is a raised mound, on which in former times guns were mounted -for the defence of the river passage. This house was occupied for many -years by Mr Brembridge, M.P. for the borough (commonly known as “Dick -Brembridge”), who was pitted against Lord Ebrington, the present Lord -Fortescue, on one occasion, and, together with his colleague, unseated -for bribery. His lordship, however, was unable to occupy either of the -vacant places, as one of his own agents was convicted of corruption, to -the tune of £10. This was really a modest amount, seeing that in 1841 as -much as £80 was paid for a single vote. There were other modes of -gaining or retaining support, and amongst these may be reckoned a -champagne breakfast at the King’s Arms, which Mr Parminter recollects -attending when quite a boy, with his father. A famous contest was that -in which Messrs Hudson and Gore, the former a wealthy brewer, succeeded -in ousting the Hon. John Fortescue, brother of the present Earl, and Sir -John Palmer Chichester (“Arlington Jack”), representing two of the -oldest local families. - -All the world has heard of Mr F. Carruthers Gould, the renowned -caricaturist, but all the world may not know that, although not a -resident in the town, Mr Gould is a thorough Barnstaple man, and his -wife, as we have seen, is a Barnstaple lady. The Goulds are an old -Barnstaple family. The grandfather of F. C. G. was a lime and slate -merchant, and his father, Mr Richard David Gould, a very clever -architect, in large practice, who designed the market and many private -residences, including the house in which Mr Parminter lives and I -lodged. Prior to this my excellent landlord occupied the Castle, an -hotel which he built for himself in the street of the same name, where -he had Mr R. D. Gould himself as a paying guest. In his youth Mr -Carruthers Gould was a clerk in the Old Bank, and, whilst in that -position, presumed to caricature old Trewin, the jailor--a terrible -personage, with a great capacity for holloaing. The sight of the picture -enraged him beyond measure, and it is said he was almost for murdering -the daring young artist. - -For many years Barnstaple has known no such benefactor as the late Mr -W. F. Rock, who, I believe, started in life as a linen-draper and lived -to found the North Devon Athenæum, which originated in a debating -society. He was the author of a dialogue in the North Devon dialect, and -took an interest in many other things besides literature. For instance, -he gave a most useful stimulus to the slumbering artistic taste of the -townspeople; and the wonderful development of Barum ware and cabinet -work may be attributed, directly or indirectly, to the seed sown by this -wise and patriotic townsman. - -From this gossip of recent days I turn to severer researches, suggested -in part by points that have already cropped up--for instance, the matter -of the castle. When Barnstaple Castle was first erected, whether by King -Athelstan or some other Saxon ruler, cannot be accurately stated. This -much is certain--that there was ample reason for such a fort in -Anglo-Saxon times, since the berserker Hubba appeared in the -neighbourhood, and at the mouth of the Taw is the so-called Hubba-stone, -supposed to mark his grave. Two other Norse chieftains, Crida and Putta, -are reputed to have given their names to Croyde and Putsborough. The -castle was rebuilt or considerably extended by Judhel de Totnes, a -favourite of William the Conqueror, to whom he, William, granted the -borough of Barnstaple, and who occasionally resided there. He also -repaired the town walls. Judhel was afterwards banished, and the barony -and castle, after passing through a number of different hands, came at -length to Sir John Chichester, who in 1566 conveyed the entire manor, -with the exception of the castle, to the corporation, in whom it is -still vested. For some reason the fortress attracted the jealous -attention of the Government, and in the reign of Henry III., A.D. 1228, -a precept was directed to the Sheriff of Devon, commanding him to reduce -its walls to a height not exceeding ten feet. According to Fuller, it -was in the following century the principal residence of the worthy Lord -Audley, but in Leland’s time (1542) it was already a ruin. - -“The town of Berdenstaple,” he says, “hath been waulled, and the waulle -was in compace by estimation half a myle. It is now almost clene -faullen. The names of the four gates by east, west, north and south, yet -remain, and manifest tokens of them. There be manifest ruines of a great -castelle at the north-west side of the towne, a little beneath the towne -bridge, and a place of dungeon yet standeth.” - -The next notice of the castle is found in the Journal of Philip Wyott, -Town Clerk of Barnstaple from 1586 to 1608: “1601, nineteenth day of -December, at night, some of the castle walls was blown down and blown -into the Castle, and did no harm, saving some ravens were found dead, -and belike sat within the wall.” Elsewhere the Journal tells how two -hundred trained soldiers were reviewed in the Castle Green, and, how, in -October 1606, a great flood “threw down the whole house wherein James -Frost did dwell, whereby himself was slayne, and two children lying -within bed was slayne, with the falling of the walls, and all the walls -between that and the Castle fell.” - -The aforesaid mound, and some remains of two or three massive walls -incorporated with the Castle House, alone are left to mark the site of -the once proud river-fort. With regard to the mound, time was when it -was surmounted by a small keep or watch-tower, and it is supposed that -part of a wall on one side of it is a remnant of the ancient building. -This had plainly vanished in 1727, when trespassers on the mound were -put on their trial at Exeter. - -Next, as to shipping. Barnstaple was one of the subsidiary Cinque Ports, -and, as such, assisted in repelling the Spanish Armada. The local -contribution to the English fleet amounted to five ships out of a total -number of 197. Old Philip Wyott says briefly: “Five ships went over the -bar to join Sir Francis Drake at Plymo,” but Stow, in his _Annals_, -supplies the names of three of them--the _Tiger_, the _God Save Her_, -and the _Galleon Dudley_. On the dispersal of the dreaded Armada, -letters of marque were issued by the English Government, and piracy -having become both legal and respectable, Barumites engaged in it with -considerable energy and success, the reprisal ships bringing in freights -of gold, ivory, and wine. The _White Hart_, the _Blessing_, the -_Prudence_, the _John of Braunton_, and the _Mayflower_ were the names -of some of these Barnstaple vessels, and in the case of the two last, -complete lists of the “governors” and crews in 1612, together with -inventories of the fittings, are yet extant. - -One of the sights of Barnstaple is Queen Anne’s Walk, with its -convenient colonnade, in which one may see old men, who have borne the -burden and heat of the day, resting placidly and watching the stream of -traffic surge past them. Originally the building was intended as an -exchange or merchant’s walk, and did not acquire its present name till -1708, when it was restored by the Corporation, with the help of some -noblemen; and the statue of Queen Anne, in the costume of the period, -was presented by Mr Rolle, of Stevenstone. - -Not far away is Barnstaple Bridge, with its many arches, spanning the -river Taw--the scene of one of Tom Faggus’s exciting adventures. -Westcote has a quaint tale concerning the origin of this stately bridge, -which, he declares, was due to two maiden ladies, sisters, who were -spinsters in both senses. Not only did they spin themselves, but they -taught young children the art, and with the proceeds of their industry -brought about the completion of the first two piers. Nor was this all. -They obtained a license to go a-begging among good and charitable people -with a view to accumulating funds for the finishing of the structure. - -A terrible episode in the history of Barnstaple was the visitation of -the plague in 1646. This came direct from the Levant in a vessel laden -with wool, and after decimating Bideford, extended its ravages to the -larger town. There is a gruesome tradition on the subject, which is -worth recording, and may possibly have some foundation in fact. It is as -follows. Four brothers, sons of Thomas and Agnes Ley, were fishing on -the banks of the Taw, when the tide floated up a bundle. This they drew -to the shore, and discovered that it was simply bedding and rugs, which -had no doubt been the property of a - -[Illustration: BARNSTAPLE BRIDGE.] - -sailor, and had for some reason been thrown into the sea. The sequel -rendered it well-nigh certain that the poor man had died of the -pestilence, with which all four brothers became infected, and of which -they all died. As a precaution against the further spread of the -disease, the corpses were ferried across the river to the Tawstock bank, -and interred at high-water mark. Here a monument was erected to their -memory, and an enclosure formed by seven elms, which, through some -confusion, resulted in the spot being named the “Seven Brethren Bank.” -In 1791 a certain Elizabeth Horwood made a copy of the inscription on -the tombstone, which she described as standing in Higher Pill Marsh, on -the east side of the gut that emptied itself into the Taw, a little -above the higher Tawstock marsh and bank. The epitaph, apparently -genuine, is stated to have been:-- - - “To the memory of our four sweet sons, John, Joseph, Thomas, and - Richard, who immaturely taken from us altogether, by Divine - Providence, are Hear inter’d, the 17 August, Anno 1646. - - “Good and great God, to thee we do resigne - Our four dear sons, for they were duly thine, - And, Lord, we were not worthy of the name - To be the sonnes of faithful Abrahame, - Had we not learnt for thy just pleasure sake - To yield our all as he his Isaack. - Reader, perhaps thou knewest this field, but ah! - ’Tis now become another Macpelah. - What then? This honour it doth boast the more, - Never such seeds were sowne therein before, - W^{ch} shall revive and Christ his angells warne - To beare with triumphe to the heavenly Barne.” - - - -From tragedy to romance. Mr Charles Cutcliffe, of Weach, a solicitor -residing at Bideford, is the narrator; Madam Chichester, daughter of the -Rev. Charles Howard, and relict of Arthur Chichester, of Hall, the lady -implicated, and the Rev. George Bradford, the eloping parson. The -incident is succinctly related in the following letters--with a rider. - -“May 21, 1728.--There was a very great storm at Pill last Friday. I mean -within doors, for that morning ab^{t} one, the parson of Tawton and -Mad^{m} Chichester ridd away together without a serv^{t}, in order to be -married; but where the jobb was done, I don’t yet hear with certainty. -The parson yesterday made a visit in his coach, and no doubt looks very -grand. - -“June 9, 1728.--I think I wrote you that the Viccar of Tawton had -married Mad^{m} Chichester. I must now acquaint you that Coz^{n} Moll -Chichester was married to Mr Waldron, her old sweetheart, the Monday -following, but not discovered till last week. I had the pleasure -yesterday of bringing father and daughter together at Pill, where all -things were perfectly reconciled, and am forthwith to prepare an -handsome settlement.” - -Tawstock Court, a long castellated building, and Tawstock Church, which -has been called the “Westminster Abbey of the West,” encompassed with -old woods, and so closely linked that they may almost be regarded as -one, are near neighbours of Bishop’s Tawton, the home of the romantic -vicar. Their unity of interest may be illustrated by an ancient custom -depicted in a print belonging to Sir Bourchier Wrey, and a much valued -heirloom. In the churchyard are two ivy-covered pillars, the remains of -a gateway through which the family at the mansion walked on their way to -church, while behind them, in solemn procession, marched their servants -and retainers. - -A full account of the contents of this most sumptuous church is beside -my purpose, but attention may be drawn to some of its more important -features. In the north transept is a square wainscoted seat, which has a -canopy adorned with coloured bosses, and on the cornice are Bourchier -knots. The latter circumstance suggests that it was the state pew of the -Bourchiers, Earls of Bath, though the opinion has been hazarded that it -was a confessional box. The late Sir Gilbert Scott thought the best -piece of carving in the building the little gallery leading into the -belfry, the principal adornment being the vignette or running decoration -of leaves and tendrils. The bench-ends also, with their alto-rilievo of -rose, pomegranate, and royal arms, are excellent specimens of -wood-carving. - -The beautiful screen was erected by John Bourchier, second earl, whose -arms and quarterings, impaling those of his countess, the Lady Elinor, -are to be seen on the outside of the church over the priest’s door. - -The monuments are of almost unparalleled splendour. The “goodliest of -all,” as Risdon has it, is that erected to the memory of William -Bourchier, third earl, and his wife, Lady Elisabeth Russell, daughter of -Francis, Earl of Bedford, whose armorial bearings are fully blazoned. -The recumbent figures of the earl and countess are life-size, and the -colouring of their crimson robes, lined with ermine, is still perfect. -The fifth and last earl, Henry, was honoured with a large sarcophagus, -which is surmounted by “an elegant black urn,” supported by four -griffins. Beside it stands the marble statue of his wife, the Lady -Rachel Fane, daughter of Francis, Earl of Westmorland. The work of -Bernini, a famous Florentine sculptor it is mounted on a decorated -pedestal of circular form. A square canopy, built in memory of Lady -Fitzwarren and her babes in 1586, adorns the south wall, and under an -arch in the north wall of the chancel is the recumbent figure of a lady, -_temp._ Edward III., carved in wood. - -An ancient chest in a small room, to which access is gained by a flight -of old oak stairs, preserves the remains of a collection of armour of -the style worn by musketeers in the reign of Charles I., and till 1832 -“as good as new.” In that year a visitor requested permission to -purchase it, but was informed that he was just too late--it had been -sold to a Taunton man as old iron. And so nearly the whole of the -morions, gorgets, back and breast-plates, wheel-lock guns and -bandoliers, which were deposited in this chamber until comparatively -recently, have been irrecoverably lost. - -Another village within easy reach of Barnstaple is Landkey, the original -home of the great Devonshire family of Acland. If, however, I allude to -it here, it is on account of an extraordinary story, for which old -Westcote vouches, and which may as well be given in his own quaint -language. - -“In this parish of Landkey are two towns (indeed both will make but a -pretty village were they joined), named Easter and Wester Newlands; a -thoroughfare much travelled, as being not passing two miles from -Barnstaple. These are somewhat dangerous to be passed by strangers; not -for thieves or such like, but to those whose tongues are ushers to their -wits, and walk before them, such I mean as bring the cause with them; -for if out of their blindness and boldness (for it is no other), though -they term it valour, they shall cry out these words (I am almost afraid -to whisper them), “Camp-le-tout, Newland,” held of the good women very -scandalous to their honesty, they are instantly all up like a nest of -wasps with the first alarum, the streets are corded, the party (or more, -if more be in the company) beaten down from his horse (if he ride) with -stones, or other dog-bolts always in readiness, so taken and used at the -pleasure of the good townswomen, washed, shaved, and perfumed (and other -like dainty trimming, not for modesty to be spoken) that he that travels -that way a fortnight after may smell what hath there been done; and he -that hath made the trial will confess, by experience, that it is folly -for a wise man to anger a multitude causelessly. - - “Believe what I set down for your behoof - Or come that way and find it true by proof.” - -The great event in Barnstaple was, and perhaps is, its fair, for which -David Llewellyn arrived just in the nick of time, establishing his -headquarters at the “Jolly Sailors” in Bear Street. I cannot find that -any hostelry of that name ever existed in this thoroughfare, which, -however, boasted the “Ebberly Arms,” the “Rolle Arms,” and the -“Northmolton Inn.” The importance of Barnstaple Fair is beyond dispute, -and formerly was much greater. It is still the largest in the county, -both for business and pleasure. The opening ceremony is quaint; for a -company assemble in the Guildhall, where the Mayor provides a feast of -mulled ale, toast, and cheese. On such occasions the civic plate is -displayed, including two massive silver flagons, which are among the few -Elizabethan municipal drinking-vessels in the country; and another -interesting piece is the punch-bowl presented by Thomas Benson, who -forgot to supply the ladle, but afterwards repaired the omission, and -caused the latter to be inscribed “He who gave the bowl gave the ladle.” -Benson represented Barnstaple in Parliament, but having cheated the -Government by sending convicts to Lundy Island instead of abroad, was -compelled to fly the country. Numerous speeches are made by the Mayor -and others, after which a procession is formed and wends its way to the -High Cross, where the Fair is formally proclaimed. - -The duration of the Fair is three days, the first being devoted to the -buying and selling of cattle. In the middle of the last century £20,000, -it is said, was often expended in the purchase of live stock. The cattle -fair used to be held in Boutport Street--the scene of Rambone’s -swagger. On the second day was the horse fair, and, in conjunction -therewith, a stag-hunt was held. The meet was on the borders of Exmoor. -The third day was given up to sight-seeing and all manner of -amusements. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -THE SHORE OF DEATH - - -In relation to the _Maid of Sker_, the most important places in the -immediate vicinity of Barnstaple are undoubtedly Heanton Court, -Braunton, and Saunton. Heanton Court, as we have seen, is only a memory. -In the early part of the seventeenth century it was described as a -“sweet, pleasant seat”; and the account proceeded, “the house is a -handsome pile, well-furnished with every variety of entertainment which -the earth, the sea, and the air can afford. A place, whether you respect -pleasure or profit, daintily situated on an arm of the sea.” A later -notice speaks of it as standing at the bottom of a park, very near the -river Taw, and acquaints us that it had a new front of two storeys, each -of which contained eleven windows, and was ornamented with battlements, -while at either end was a tower. Other particulars have been given in a -previous chapter (see p. 211), and need not be recapitulated here. The -reader, however, may be assured of the identity of Blackmore’s Narnton -Court with this historic mansion. - -Braunton is a village not easily forgotten. The scenery is magnificent, -and the great hills - -[Illustration: TAWSTOCK CHURCH, NEAR BARNSTAPLE (page 250).] - -furnish admirable opportunity for climbing. On alighting at the railway -station, the stranger will encounter an array of coachmen anxious to -whisk him off without delay to Saunton Sands, but he will do well to -resist their importunities until, at least, he has inspected the -interior of Braunton Church. If he converses with the natives, somebody -will be sure to tell him that three successive attempts were made to -erect it on Chapel Hill, and that each time the building collapsed, the -assumed reason being that the spot chosen by man was not the site -approved and predestined by Heaven. He will learn also that in the panel -work of the roof of the church, carved on one of the bosses, is the -representation of a sow with a litter of pigs. This singular emblem is -associated with St Brannock, the Irish missionary; indeed, the very name -of the place is said to have been originally Brannock’s town, and it is -averred that he founded a church on the site of the present one. As for -the sow and her offspring, the legend is that St Brannock was commanded -in a dream to rear a Christian temple on the spot where he should light -on this vision of fecundity; and it is added that he fetched the timber -on a plough, to which he yoked the red deer of the adjacent forests, -“who mildly obeyed him,” while he milked the complaisant hinds. The old -writer concludes summarily: “But to proceed no farther and to forbear to -speak of his cow (which, being killed, chopped in pieces, and boiling in -his kettle, came out whole and sound at his call), his staff, his oak, -and his man Abel, which would seem wonders--yet all these you may see -lively represented unto you in a fair glass window as this present, if -you desire it.” - -Mr Z. E. A. Wade characterises this venerable tradition rather fiercely -as a “senseless story,” and proposes a symbolic interpretation which is -certainly ingenious, and in the main not unlikely to be correct. - -“Popular story says he tried in vain to build on a certain spot, but was -bidden in a dream to rear his proposed church where he should encounter -a litter of pigs. He was to rebuild the work of earlier saints, the -_pige_ or _pigen_, female teachers, who had before his day fulfilled the -promise of the Psalmist, ‘The women that publish the tidings are a great -host.’ _Pige_ is the Danish word for a maid; _piga_ is the Anglo-Saxon -form, hence the diminutive of Margaret. So Peg-cross is not unknown.... - -“The cow or ox of sacrifice--also on an ancient church of Youghal--which -finds place in his story, is suggested by the name of the place whence -he came, Cowbridge, and by the covering of the boat in which he and his -fellow-travellers came. His staff and oak explain themselves.... The -‘man Abel’ in the story carries sticks; ‘Isaac carrying wood represents -Christ bearing the Cross,’ said Bede in A.D. 677, a few years after -Brannock’s time. ‘Under wood, under rood.’ This saint’s man was ‘the man -Christ Jesus.’ The hart was one of the earliest types of the Christian, -to be met with over and over again in the Catacombs, and on -baptisteries, and the image of the 42nd Psalm is still used in sacred -song. It is said of monks in St David’s school ‘that they were required -to yoke themselves to the plough and turn up the soil without the aid -of oxen.’ The harts at Braunton, like those on the sketch from St -Andrew’s, were converts.” - -At Braunton dwelt the fair Polly, after her days of service, and before -she wedded old David (_Maid of Sker_, chapter lxiii.). - -Now as to Saunton Sands, which are perhaps three miles in length, and -viewed from the high ground at Braunton, form, with their grotesque -hummocks, a weird background to the smiling landscape. Although efforts -have been made to bind it by means of vegetation, sand continues to be -blown inland, and Westcote states that in his time the wind drove it to -large heaps near the house or court, by which he apparently intends -Saunton Court, now a farmhouse. Between Saunton and Braunton the ruins -of an ancient settlement have been seen amidst trees that have been -“thrown down and overwhelmed.” Westcote goes on to declare that a great -quantity of the sand was removed every day to serve as manure for the -fields, yet there was no diminution in the sum total, the wind -constantly supplying the deficiency. On these grounds the old historian -makes the name of the place “Sandton, _quasi_ Sand-town.” - -To this Mr Wade demurs, his own derivation being “Sancton,” a holy -place. It seems that on Saunton Sands were chapels of St Sylvester, St -Michael, and St Helen, as well as numerous palmer’s crosses; and he -suggests that since the Celtic missionaries set foot in the country in -the sixth and seventh centuries, hundreds of acres have been submerged -by the sands. This idea is more than probable, and will remind the -reader of the early chapters of the _Maid of Sker_, which contain -realistic descriptions of similar visitations on the coast of Wales. In -the same work Blackmore frequently alludes to the Saunton Sands, the -scene of the fictitious burial of the Bampfylde infants. - -More famous than Saunton Sands are Woolacombe Sands, chiefly owing to -their associations with the Tracys, some of which are purely mythical. -There is a sensational story of two brothers fighting a duel on -Woolacombe Sands for the hand of a waif who had been rescued from the -sea by their father; and a notion exists that they were possibly Henry -de Tracy, who died in 1272, and his brother and co-heir Oliver, who -followed him within a year or two after. Dark hints are thrown out that -one of the duellists was rector of Ilfracombe from 1263 to 1272. - -The most celebrated member of the family came earlier, and he owes his -celebrity to the fact that he was one of the four assassins of Thomas à -Becket. According to Risdon, who is decidedly wrong, William de Tracy, -after the commission of the deed, lived in retirement at Woolacombe; and -on the south side of Morthoe Church is an altar tomb, which Risdon and -Westcote agree in assigning to the murderer (or patriot). The Devonshire -tradition is in flat contradiction to the official version of the Church -of Rome, which imputes that William de Tracy died at Cosenza, in -Calabria, within four years of the sacrilege; but other accounts testify -that four years after Becket’s death Tracy was Justiciar of Normandy, -and that he survived his victim fifty-three years. These various stories -are clearly irreconcilable, but one thing appears certain, that the -altar tomb with the figure engraved on the grey marble and bearing the -half-erased inscription, _Sqre [Guillau] me de Tracy [gist ici Dieu de -son al] me eyt merci_, has absolutely nothing to do with any secular -person. The figure is that of a priest in his robes, holding a chalice -with both hands over his breast, and that priest was William de Tracy, -rector of Morthoe, who died in 1322. - -Blackmore does not say much of the Tracys, although he brackets them -with the Bassets and “St Albyns” as an old West-country family. (See -_Maid of Sker_, chapter lxvi.). - -It is singular to find a remote spot like Woolacombe identified with -political adventure, although it might have been, at one time, an apt -place “to talk treason in.” Odd to say, the Tracys of Woolacombe-Tracy -have not been the only men to bring the great world, as it were, to -these yellow sands. Already I have quoted the gossiping Cutcliffe; now I -will quote him once more. In a letter of October 8, 1728, he writes: - -“Last Sunday se’nnight, the Duke of Ripperda (who lately escaped out of -the Castle of Segovia) was putt on Woolacombe Sands, out of an Irish -barque; he had no one with him but the lady who procured his -deliverance, the corporal of the guard, and one servant. He was -handsomely treated at Mr Harris’s, and last Tuesday went on to Exon.” - -The Mr Harris by whom the stranger was entertained was John Harris, of -Pickwell, in the parish of Georgeham, who was twice M.P. for Barnstaple, -and died in 1768, aged sixty-four. Who was the Duke of Ripperda? - -Protestant, Catholic, Mussulman, soldier, courtier, diplomatist, -Dutchman, Spaniard, Moor--all these parts were supported (not, of -course, at one and the same time) by the extraordinary character, who -appeared momentarily, in his meteoric career, on the north-west coast of -Devon. The whole of his chequered life cannot be recorded here. Suffice -it to say that he was born towards the end of the seventeenth century, -and came of a distinguished family in Holland. Having won his spurs as a -soldier, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Madrid, where he became -the trusted minister of Philip V., and was created a duke. Incurring the -hostility of the Spanish grandees, he was accused of treason and thrown -in 1726 into the Castle of Segovia, whence, at the date of the above -letter, he had just escaped. He next turned Mahomedan, and took service -with the Emperor of Morocco, who appointed him commander in his army. -His attacks on the Spaniards proving unsuccessful, he was imprisoned, -and solaced his captivity by elaborating a sort of _via media_ between -the Jewish religion and Islamism. In 1734 he was ordered to quit the -country, and found an asylum in Tetuan. He died in 1737. - -The northern horn of Morte Bay is formed by Morte Point, with Morte -Stone in close proximity. As the spot is unquestionably dangerous, there -is no risk, I imagine, in accepting the ordinary and obvious -etymology--Mort, Morte Point and Morte Stone are as tragedy and comedy. -Concerning the latter there is an ancient saw, “Would you remove Morte -Stone?” and for centuries it has been held that no one can accomplish -the feat save the man who can rule his spouse. Another tradition asserts -that the stone can be moved by a bevy of good wives exercising -sovereignty over their husbands. In this connection it may be noted that -the old fable of Chichevache and Bycorn (the former a sorry cow, whose -food is good women; and the latter fat and well-liking, owing to -abundance of good and enduring husbands) is represented on the corbels -of Ilfracombe Church amidst a menagerie of apes, mermaids, griffins, -gnomes, centaurs, cockatrices, and other extinct hybrids too numerous to -mention. - -Morthoe has a bad record for wrecking operations, which brought much -discredit on this coast, and of which it was one of the principal -centres. Prayers are said to have been offered that “a ship might come -ashore before morning.” To facilitate this blessed consummation, a -lantern was tied to some animal, and by this wandering light poor -mariners were lured through the treacherous mist to their doom. Even -women were to be found cruel enough to participate in this murderous -trade, and the tale is told that one of Eve’s daughters held a drowning -sailor under water with a pitchfork. Another, a farmer’s wife living at -a certain barton, secured as a prize some chinaware, which was arranged -on her dresser. One day a sailor’s widow happened to enter, and -recognising the ware as belonging to her late husband’s craft, seized a -stick and smashed it to atoms. The farmer’s wife thereupon became a -prey to remorse, and not long afterwards gave herself up to justice. A -painful story regards the wreck of an Italian ship, when the only person -on board to reach the shore was a young and beautiful lady, who bore -with her a casket of precious family jewels, saved at the risk of her -life. Utterly unmoved by her tears and entreaties, the savage wreckers -carried her off to one of their vile haunts, and nothing was heard of -her again. Many years after the event, the jewels, it was said, were -still in the neighbourhood. - -The last recorded instance of this shameful practice on the north-west -coast of Devon occurred in 1846, at Welcomb, near Hartland, where a -vessel and her ill-fated crew were ruthlessly sacrificed to the cupidity -of heartless local wreckers. By the way, Blackmore’s account of a wreck -in the _Maid of Sker_ is perhaps founded on the circumstance that at the -commencement of the great war two transports from the French West India -islands, laden with black prisoners, were driven ashore at Rapparee -Cove, many lives being lost, whilst, afterwards, gold and pearls were -washed about among the shingle. - -Rapparee Cove is at Ilfracombe, which Blackmore describes as “a little -place lying in a hole, and with great rocks all around it, fair enough -to look at it, but more easy to fall down than to get up them” (_Maid of -Sker_, chapter lxv.). - -Historically, Ilfracombe has not much of interest save the escapades of -the saint-like Cavalier, Sir Francis Doddington, who in - -[Illustration: TOWARDS MORTE POINT.] - -September 1644 set the place on fire, but was beaten out by the townsmen -and sailors, with the loss of many of his followers. Ten days later he -returned, and, falling on the town with his horse, succeeded in -capturing it. “Twenty pieces of ordnance, as many barrels of powder, and -near 200 arms,” were amongst his spoils. Ilfracombe was retaken for the -Parliament in April 1646. - -Sir Francis was no lukewarm partisan, for meeting one Master James, -described as “an honest minister,” near Taunton, he demanded whom he was -for? “For God and His Gospel,” was the other’s reply, whereupon the -enraged knight immediately shot him. - -It was to Ilfracombe that Colonel Wade, Captains Hewling and Carey, and -others fled after the battle of Sedgemoor, and here they left Ferguson, -their chaplain, and Thompson, captain of the Blue Regiment, whilst they -themselves, having seized and victualled a vessel, put out to sea. Being -pursued by two frigates, they had to land at Lynmouth, as already -narrated (see p. 154). - -The great charm of the neighbourhood is its bold scenery and romantic -walks, one of which will conduct the wayfarer to Hele, with its old -earthwork, and thence to Chambercombe, concerning which Mr Tugwell has -preserved a most delightful legend, worthy to be reproduced at length:-- - -Chambercombe is now a retired farmhouse in a beautifully wooded valley, -through which saunters the little streamlet which shortly afterwards -empties itself into the sea at Hele Strand. The inhabitants still show -the Haunted Room to the curious in such matters--a long, low chamber in -the roof of the house, from which the flooring has been removed, and -which is now used only for the purpose of storing away useless lumber. -There are many versions of the legend which belongs to this house; the -one which I shall give seems to have the merit of a quaint originality, -and is sufficiently mysterious in its unexplained connection with former -days. - -Many years ago, the burly, ruddy-cheeked, well-to-do yeoman who owned -this farm was sitting under the shade of a tree in his garden, enjoying -in the cool of the summer’s evening his much-loved pipe of meditation -and contentment. After a time he exhausted his usual subjects of -reverie, the state of his crops, the rise or fall of wages, the -prospects of the next Barnstaple Fair. What should he do? He could not -“whistle for want of thought,” because of his pipe--he couldn’t even -indulge in the excitement of a matrimonial “difference of opinion,” -because his wife was gone into ‘Combe to sell her last batch of -chickens. Whatever should he do? - -The evening was very still and warm, not even a breath of wind stirring -in the copse on the hillside, where the last kiss of the sunset lingered -lovingly. He was just dropping off into a doze, and had nodded once or -twice with much energy, to the imminent danger of his “yard o’ clay,” -when it suddenly occurred to him that he had forgotten to see about some -necessary repairs in the roof of his house, and that his spouse had a -better memory for such things than himself, and would not fail to -remind him of the same on her return. - -So he roused himself, and facing his chair in the direction of the -house, began to arrange in his mind the when and where of his intended -operations. The hole in the roof was over his wife’s store-room, which -accounted for her anxiety in the matter, and as he did not expect to be -allowed to interfere with that sanctum, he settled that he would get at -the roof from the next window, which opened into a passage, and had a -low parapet in front of it. Then he rubbed his eyes. Certainly the -passage was next to the store-room, and the passage window was the only -window with a parapet to it, and therefore the next window to the -parapet must be the store-room window, and consequently must have the -hole in the roof over it--ably argued and very conclusive. But, to his -great perplexity, the fact stared him in the face that the aforesaid -hole was over the window which was _next but one_ to the parapet. Then -he counted the rooms of the house--“Our Sal’s bedroom--passage--wife’s -store-room--own bedroom--one--two--three--four.” Next he counted the -windows--“one--two--three--four--_five_.” - -There was one too many. He repeated the process with the same result. - -Between the passage and the store-room, which were next to each other, -there was decidedly a window--the window too many. - -If a window, then a room--unanswerable logic! - -Now thoroughly aroused, he dashed his pipe to the ground with a vast -exclamation, and rushed into the house at the top of his speed. It was -the work of a moment to call together half a dozen able-bodied -serving-men, to arm them and himself with divers spades and mattocks, -and to scale the creaking stairs which led to the parapet window. There -was no trace of a door, nothing but a flat, white-washed wall. He -sounded it with a hasty blow, and a dull, hollow sound rang through the -house. - -“Odswinderakins!” roared the farmer. “Down wi’ un, boys! Virst o’ ye -thro’ un shall ha’ Dame’s apern vull of zilver gerts.[23] Gi’ it un, -lads!” - -Clash went the mattocks into the cob-wall; cling, clang rang the spades -on the oak floor. A cloud of dust rolled through the staircase as the -farmer’s pick-axe went up to the head in the first breach, and the -farmer’s wife rushed up the stairs. Half-choked, and wholly stunned by -the din, she could get little information beyond a general statement -that the Goodger[24] was in the house, which seemed self-evident. -Another five minutes’ work, and the farmer dashed through the gap, which -barely admitted his burly person, followed by his wife, whose curiosity -mastered her rage and fright. - -And what did they see? - -A long, low room, hung with moth-eaten, mouldering tapestry, whose every -thread exhaled a moist rank odour of forgotten years; black festoons of -ancient cobwebs in the rattling casement and round the carved work of -the open cornice; carved oak chairs, and wardrobe, and round table; -black, too, and rickety, and dust-covered, and worm-eaten; the white -ashes of a wood fire on a cracked hearth-stone; and a bed. The -embroidered hangings were drawn closely round the oaken posts, and -rustled shiveringly in the gust of fresh air which wandered round the -room. - -“Draw un, Jan, if thee beest a mon,” whispered the dame under her -breath, looking round anxiously in the direction of the gap at which she -had entered. - -John screwed up all his courage, and with a desperate hand tore down the -hangings on the side which was nearest the window. - -In that dim half-light, for the night was closing in rapidly and the -shadows falling heavily, they saw a white and grinning skull gazing -grimly at them from the hollowed pillow, and one white and polished -arm-bone lying idly on the crimson quilt, and clutching the silken -fringe with its crooked fingers. - -The dame swooned with a great cry, and her husband, stunned and -sickened, dashed to the casement, and, swinging it back on its creaking -hinges, leant out, for the sake of a breath of pure air. - -Horror of horrors! The garden was alive with ghastly forms; ill-shapen, -unearthly, demon-like heads rose and fell with threatening gestures, and -mopped and mowed at him from among the flowers of that quiet plesaunce. - -Hastily raising his wife in his strong arms, he made his way as best he -could through the welcome breach, nor did he rest that night till he had -walled up and secured, for a future generation, the terrors of the -Haunted Room. - -“I should love thee, Jewel, wert thou not a Zwinglian. In thy faith thou -art a heretic, but in thy life thou art an angel”--in such terms did Dr -John Harding address his former school-fellow at Barnstaple, but at that -time his great antagonist--Bishop Jewel, whom Westcote describes, with -punning enthusiasm, as “a perfect rich gem and true jewel indeed.” This -ornament of the English Church was born at Bowden, in the parish of -Berry Narbor, which has the reputation of being about the healthiest in -the country--a place where only old people die. The seventeenth-century -writer, evidently a lover of puns, quotes the following epitaph on one, -Nicholas Harper, who lies buried in the church:-- - - “Harper, the musique of thy life, - So sweet, so free from jarr or strife, - To crowne thy skill hath raysed thee higher - And placed thee in angels’ quier, - For though that death hath throwen thee down, - In heaven thou hast thy harpe and crowne.” - -In Swymbridge Church, where Parson “Jack” Russell ministered so long, is -a “shoppy” inscription on a monument erected to the memory of “John -Rosier, Gent., one of the Attorneys of the Court of Common Pleas and an -Auncient of the Hon^{ble} Society of Lyons Inne, who died the 25th day -of December, 1685, Ætatis suae, 57.” It is as follows:-- - - “Loe with a warrant sealed by God’s decree - Death his grim sergieant hath arrested mee, - No bayle was to be given, no law could save - My body from the prison of the grave. - Yet by the Gospell my poor soule had got - A supersedeas, and death seaz’d it not; - And for my downe cast body, here it lyes; - A prisoner of hope, it shall arise. - Faith doth assure mee God of his great love - In Christ will send a writ for my remove, - And set my body, as my soul is, free - With Christ in Heaven--Come, glorious Libertie!” - -Our next and last point is Combmartin, Westcote’s village--a long, -straggling place, which Miss Marie Corelli annexed for her _Mighty -Atom_, and another lady, whom I met at Challacombe some years ago, -designated with pious horror as “dark”--no doubt in allusion to the bits -of folklore, which--happily, as I think--yet linger in these rural -districts. It would be easy to cite many illustrations of West-country -“superstition,” such as the fruitful influences of the moon, which will -send a man to dig in his garden when it is covered with snow; but, -having devoted a considerable section of my _Book of Exmoor_ to this -fascinating topic, I will here confine myself to the principal interest -of Combmartin--namely, its silver mines. In the reign of Elizabeth, -however, it was a great place for hemp, and a project was formed for -establishing a port at Hartland entirely on account of this trade. As it -was, the shoemakers’ thread manufactured in the neighbourhood was -sufficient to supply the whole of the western counties. - -As to the mines, Westcote states:-- - -“This town hath been rich and famous for her silver mines, of the first -finding of which there are no certain records remaining. In the time of -Edward I. they were wrought, but in the tumultuous reign of his son -they might chance to be forgotten until his nephew (?) Edward III., who -in his French conquest made good use of them, and so did Henry V., of -which there are divers monuments, their names to this time remaining; as -the King’s mine, storehouse, blowing-house, and refining-house.” - -The industry was resumed in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, but seems to have -been checked by the influx of water. However, a great quantity of silver -is said to have been raised and refined, mainly through the enterprise -of Adrian Gilbert and Sir Beavois Bulmer, who bargained for half the -profit. Each partner realised £10,000. The owner of the land, Richard -Roberts, who happens to have been Westcote’s father-in-law, presented -William Bourchier, Earl of Bath, with a “rich and rare” cup, bearing the -quaint inscription:-- - - “In Martin’s Comb long lay I hiyd, - Obscur’d, deprest w^{th} grossest soyle, - Debased much w^{th} mixed lead, - Till Bulmer came, whoes skill and toyle - Refined me so pure and cleen, - As rycher no wher els is seene. - - “And adding yet a farder grace, - By fashion he did inable - Me worthy for to take a place - To serve at any Prince’s table, - Comb Martyn gave the Oare alone, - Bulmer fyning and fashion.” - -Another cup was given to Sir Richard Martin, Lord Mayor of London, who -was also master and manager of the Mint, the design being that it - -[Illustration: COMBMARTIN CHURCH.] - -should remain in the permanent possession of the Corporation. It weighed -137 oz., and like its fellow, was engraved with naïve, and, I fear, -doggerel verses. - - “When water workes in broaken wharfe - At first erected were, - And Beavis Bulmer with his art - The waters, ’gan to reare, - Disperced I in earth dyd lye - Since all beginnings old, - - “In place cal’d Comb wher Martin long - Had hydd me in his molde. - I did no service on the earth, - Nor no man set me free, - Till Bulmer by skill and charge - Did frame me this to be.” - -The Latin appendices to the “poems” show the date of the presentations -to have been the year 1593; and Blackmore seems to refer to them when he -speaks of the “inaccurate tales concerning” the silver cup at -Combmartin, sent to Queen Elizabeth (_Lorna Doone_, chapter lviii.). -Ultimately the flooding, with which there was no means of effectually -coping, put a stop to the operations; but it is possible that they were -not entirely suspended, as a few years ago I saw a report in a local -journal that a Combmartin half-crown of 1645 was sold in an auction room -in London for the sum of £5. 12s. 6d. - -In 1659 the working of the mines was brought before Parliament by a -distinguished mineralogist named Bushell, but nothing was done, and, -when, forty years later, an attempt was made to exploit them, it -resulted in failure. Between 1796 and 1802 the experiment was renewed, -and 9293 tons of ore were shipped to Wales. The mines were then closed, -and so remained till 1813, when 208 tons were sent to Bristol. The cost, -however, exceeded the profit, and in 1817 the mining was again -abandoned. - -Yet another effort was made in 1833, this time by a joint-stock company -with a capital of £30,000, nearly half of which was expended in plant, -the sinking of shafts, etc. However, a rich vein having been discovered, -work was carried on feverishly night and day, and a large profit -realised, three dividends being made to the shareholders. As the result, -shares were run up to a high premium by speculators, who, in mining -phraseology, “worked the eye out.” In 1845 a smelting company was -formed, but neither this nor the mining company, whose expenses averaged -£500 a month, was destined to last. In 1848 the engines were taken down, -and apart from a spasmodic and, ’tis said, unprincipled attempt at -company promoting in 1850, nothing has since been done. - -The levels were driven under the village; and beneath the King’s Arms -(or Pack of Cards, as the old manor-house of the Leys is usually -designated) runs a subterranean passage, constructed for drainage -purposes. The ore is exceedingly rich in silver and lead, and the -opinion has been expressed that the mines, worked fairly, would have -yielded a tolerable return. - -There is an old saying, “Out of the world, and into Combmartin.” On this -odd text Miss Annie Irwin has based the following pretty verses:-- - - “‘Out of the world’ they call thee. True, - Thy rounded bay of loveliest blue, - Thy soft hills veiled in silvery grey, - Where glancing lights and shadows stray; - - “Thy orchards gemmed with milk-white bloom, - Thy whispering woodlands, grateful gloom, - Thy tower, whose fair proportions rise, - ’Mid the green trees, to summer skies-- - - “Viewed thus afar, by one just fled - From the vast city’s restless tread, - He well might deem, when gazing here, - His footsteps pressed some lovelier sphere.” - -Both Combmartin and Martinhoe--Martin’s vale and Martin’s hill--received -their name from one of William the Conqueror’s ablest lieutenants, -Martin of Tours. - -The horrible murder which gave rise to the traditional couplet, - - “If anyone asketh who killed thee, - Say ’twas the Doones of Bagworthy,” - -is located by Blackmore in the parish of Martinhoe, and he subjoins the -following note: “The story is strictly true; and true it is that the -country-people rose, to a man, at this dastard cruelty, and did what the -Government failed to do.” The term “strictly” seems to imply that -Blackmore had been informed by some authority that Martinhoe was the -place of the tragedy, and that murder was aggravated by abduction. On -both these points the account in _Lorna Doone_ is at variance with Mr -Cooper’s version (quoted on p. 144), which mentions Exford as the scene -of the butchery, and altogether omits the other incident. Of course, -there may have been different versions floating about. - -Past Lee Bay and Wooda Bay, both sweetly sylvan, the pilgrim fares to -the Valley of Rocks and Lynton. - - - - -ENVOY - - -The most expeditious mode of returning from the precipices and cascades -of Lynton is by means of the light railway to Barnstaple. The -conscientious pilgrim, however, will not quit the neighbourhood without -visiting Parracombe, which ought to be, in a peculiar sense, his Mecca. -In the prologue, reasons have been advanced, which need not be repeated, -why this is the case, and although our course has been a devious one, it -will now be recognised that there was method in the madness. The spot -which must have been to Blackmore the most sacred of all--except, -perhaps, Teddington Churchyard, where his wife slept her last sleep--was -surely Parracombe--the home of his race; and here I propose to take -leave of the reader. The local traffic being small, trains do not stop -at Parracombe all the year round, but at any time this courtesy will be -extended to passengers desiring it. - -The manor of Parracombe was formerly in the hands of the St Albans (or -Albyns) family, joined by Blackmore (_Maid of Sker_, chapter lxvi.) with -the Tracys and Bassets, as among the most distinguished in North Devon. -About a century and a half ago their lands were sold, principally to -yeomen who farmed the soil; and, as we have seen, the Blackmores -belonged to this category. A representative of the clan still owns Court -Place and Church Town farms; and Mr H. R. Blackmore, proprietor of the -“Fox and Goose,” can claim to be second cousin of the novelist. - -Situated on the south-west of the river Heddon is Halwell Farm, the -property of Sir Thomas Acland, where is a circular British encampment, -standing, as such encampments usually do, on a height. The trenches are -about fifteen feet deep. There are two or three similar remains within a -short radius, but they are less conspicuous and important. It is said -that cannon balls have been dug up at Halwell Castle. - -Mr Page does not speak too flatteringly of the scenery, but Parracombe -Common, with its scent-laden breezes, is by no means destitute of charm, -for the purple eminence of Chapman Barrows, the highest point in North -Devon, and the lovely valley of Trentishoe below, compose a landscape -fair enough for the most exacting eye. Beyond is Heddon’s Mouth, where -Old Davy landed on a memorable occasion (_Maid of Sker_, chapter liii.), -and on the road is that well-known and most quaint and attractive -hostel, the Hunter’s Inn. - -This, however, is to wander away from Parracombe, which is itself a -quaint old village, while Parracombe Mill, Heal, and Rowley are -picturesque hamlets. The old twelfth-century church has been abandoned, -since 1878, for ordinary uses, but it still stands--about half a mile -from the village--and the tower has been recently in part restored. And -now, with a final reminder of East Bodley and Barton and Kinwelton (in -Martinhoe parish), our pilgrimage has reached its goal. In a few moments -we shall be tumbling downhill along the surprising curves of the Lynton -railway, to re-enter the world of commonplace. - - - - -NOTES - - -I. Mr Arthur Smyth believes that the founder of the Quartly herd was Mr -Henry Quartly, who married Betty Blackmore. His mother often visited her -uncle Quartly, and he tells us that he had heard her speak of the care -and attention they received, and how fat they were. They were brought to -perfection by his son, Mr James Quartly, of West Molland House, who was -one of the judges at Smithfield. Mr John Quartly of Champson never -exhibited. Mr James Quartly had no children, and on his retirement the -herd was dispersed. - - * * * * * - -II. Son of the before-named John Quartly, and grandson of Henry Quartly, -he had never exhibited, but kept up the reputation of the family as -breeders. - -A sister of John and James Quartly married her cousin, the Rev. Richard -Blackmore, of Charles, and another sister married Captain William -Dovell, to whom at one time the novelist’s brother, Mr Turberville, -bequeathed his property. Captain Dovell’s mother was a Blackmore. To -what branch of the family she belonged is uncertain, but it was through -her that Court Barton came to the Dovells. - -Mr Smyth tells an extraordinary story of this gentleman. - -“Captain Dovell,” he says, “was born at Killiton. He hated farming, and -at last his family gave him his desire and he went to sea. He related a -story of his wreck off the coast of Ireland, and how the natives fought -for the wreckage. At last, as captain of an East Indiaman (his own), he -took his wife and son, a boy of eight years, with him to sea. The vessel -was wrecked. He never saw the boy, but he caught his wife and swam for -hours; she died in his arms from exposure. He got ashore at last, and -had to read the burial service over his wife. He was never the same -after that. When I knew him in the early sixties, he was a powerfully -built man of the kindliest disposition. I was an invalid then, and he -would sit with me for hours relating stories of his boyish scrapes or -playing for hours. He married again, and settled at Barnstaple, where he -died about twenty years ago. His wife survived him only about one week; -both are buried in the family vault at Parracombe churchyard.” - - - - -INDEX - - -Acland, family of, 166, 181, 252 - Lady Harriet, 100-2 - Major John Dyke, 99-102 - Sir Thomas (9th baronet), 99 - the “Old” Sir Thomas, 181-2 - -Albans (or Albyns), family of, 277 - -Alva, the Duke of, 168 - -Anderson, Prebendary, 111 - -“Arlington Jack,” 244 - -Ashford, 241 - -Ayshford, Dr, 29 - - -Babb, John, 152, 156 - -Badcock, Mr, 213 - -Bagworthy, 141, 157-8 - Water, 163 - -Baker, usurper, 30 - -Bament, Mr, 242, 243 - -Bampfylde, Amias, 221 - family of, 221-2 - John, 221 - Sir Coplestone, 221 - Sir Robert, 221 - -Bampton, 77-8 - Castle, 80 - Down, 102 - Fair, 83-4 - Mote, 80-1 - -Banks, Sir Joseph, 131 - -Barbrook, Mill, 164 - -Barham, 164 - -Barle, river, 108, 110, 125 - -Barlynch Priory, 111-2 - -Barnes, Rev. William, 42 - -Barnstaple, 107, 155, 201, 211, 241-55 - Bridge, 218, 248 - Castle, 245-7 - Fair, 253-5 - -Baron’s Down, 104 - -Barton, 279 - -Basset, Colonel, 210 - Mrs, 212 - Sir Roger, 210 - Sir Robert, 211-2 - -Batherum, river, 78 - -Beaumont, Mistress, 211 - -Berry Narbor, 270 - -Birch, Farmer, 154 - -Birchdown, 90 - -Black Marsh, 26 - -Blackborough House, 47-8 - quarries, 46-7 - -Blackdown hills, 12 - -Blackmore, Mr H. R., 278 - Mrs R., 225 - R. D., 1, 26, 49, 56, 58-60, 150, 207, 233 - Rev. John, sen., 57 - -Blackmore, Rev. John, jun., 25, 30, 58 - Rev. Richard, 58 - -Blake, Colonel, 192 - -_Blessing_, the, 247 - -Blind Vicar, the, 111 - -Blundell, Mr Peter, 49 - -Blundell’s School, 29, 49-60 - -Bodley, East, 279 - -Bolham, 77 _note_, 78 - -Bourchier, family of, 81, 85-6, 157 - -Bowden, 270 - -Bradfield, 6-8 - -Brannock, St, 257, 258 - -Braunton, 256-9 - -Brembridge, Mr “Dick,” 243 - -Brendon, 150, 154, 157, 164 - Forge, 114 - Two Gates, 124, 141 - -Brickhouse, 78 - -Bridgeball, 154, 164 - -Britons, 83 - -Briwere (or Bruere), Lord, 39 - -Broadhembury, 38, 44 - -Broomstreet Farm, 160 - -Brown, Mr, chemist, 202 - -Browne, Miss Ida, 146, 148, 158, 180 - -Bryan, Mr, 233 - -Bude Light, the, 30 - -Bulmer, Sir Beavois, 272 - -Burgess, murderer, 123 - -Burrington, 212 - -Bury Hill, 104 - -Bushell, mineralogist, 273 - -Byam, Henry, 180-1 - - -Canonsleigh Abbey, 34-7 - -Carew, Bampfylde Moore, 77, 205 - Sir Thomas, 71 - -Castle Hill, 212-3 - Rock, 152, 173 - -Chains, the, 139 - -Chambercombe, 265-9 - -Chanter, Misses, 158 - Miss Gratiana, 151, 164 - Mr J. R., 153 - Rev. J. F., 147, 149, 151, 158 - -Chapel, Earl of Devonshire’s, 63, 66 - -Chapman Barrows, 278 - -Chapple, parish clerk, 209 - -Charles, village, 225 - II., 193, 205 - -Cheribridge, 164 - -Cheriton, 142 - Fitzpaine, 67, 69 - -Cheritons, the, 229-30 - -Chichester, Madame, 250 - Moll, 250 - Sir John, 245 - Sir John Palmer, 244 - -Chilcott’s School, 71 - -Chittlehampton Tower, 204 - -Chorley, Mr W. L., 159 - -“Chowne, Parson,” 229-44 - -Cistercians, 39 - -Clark, Mr G. T., 193 - -Clayhidon, 23, 24, 25 - -Clerk Channing, 19 - -Cloutsham Ball, 140 - -Cloven Rocks, 124-5 - -Cogan, John, 40-1 - -Coleridge, 62 - -Collier, Messrs John and James, 33 - -Combe, 91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 99 - -Combehead, 89, 90 - -Combmartin, 271-5 - -Comer’s Gate, 108, 109 - -Cooper, Mr, 143, 170, 276 - -Corelli, Miss Marie, 271 - -Cosway, Mr George, 74 - Richard, miniaturist, 74 - -Court Down, 108 - Hall, 222 - House, 222 - Leet and Baron, 216, 224 - -Courtenay, family of, 66-7 - Henry, 69 - Lady Katherine, 64 - Sir Thomas, 64 - -Cow (or Cae) Castle, 125-8 - -Cowell, Dr, 152 - -Cove Cliff, 78 - -Cox, Rev. Edward, 182 - -Cranstoun-Adams, Col., 58 - -Culmstock, 1, 12-32 - Beacon, 12, 26 - bells, 33 - men at Waterloo, 27-9 - Vicarage, 33-4 - -Cutcliffe, Mr Charles, 250, 261 - - -_Daily Chronicle_, the, 149 - -Davy, Rev. Bartholomew, 85, 87 - -Deadman’s Pill, 224 - -Deer Park, 158 - -Devil’s Cheese-ring, 173 - -Dickinson, Dr, 47 - -Dobbs, Mr, 220, 224 - -Doble, Mr William, 26 - -Doddington, Sir Francis, 264-5 - -Dongola horses, 131, 132 - -Doone Castle, 142, 143-4, 158 - Valley, 142, 157 - -_Doones of Exmoor_, 146 - -Doones’ Path, 158 - -Drake, Sir Francis, 247 - -Drewe, Edward, 44 - -Dulverton, 89-106, 107, 201 - -Dunkery Beacon, 197-9 - -Dunkeswell, 37, 38 - -Dunkeswell Abbey, 38-41 - Common, 44-5 - -Dunster, 187-96 - Castle, 188, 190, 191, 193-4 - Church, 196 - Conegar Tower, 194 - Lower Marsh, 196 - Luttrell Arms, 194-5 - “Nunnery,” 195 - Yarn Market, 194 - -Dyke, family of, 99 - Captain William, 97 - Dr Thomas, 97 - - -Ebrington, Lord, 123 - -Egremont, Lord, 47 - -Elworthy, Mr F. T., 34 - -Exe, river, 78, 79, 103, 141 - -Exebridge, 91, 219 - -Exeter Cathedral, 54 - -“Exeter” Inn, 78 - -Exford, 91, 112-21 - -Exmoor bogs, 139 - hills, 139-40 - - -Faggus, Tom, 77 _note_, 121, 217-21 - -Farley, 142, 154 - Water, 164 - -Fellowes, Hon. Newton, 233 - -Foreland, Countisbury, 184 - -Fortescue, family of, 213-5 - Hon. John, 244 - Lord, of Credan, 214-5 - Mr, 183 - -Fox Brothers, Messrs, 25 - Dr, 47 - Mrs, 30 - -Foxden, 30 - -Fowell, Elizabeth, 37 - -Fremington Pill, 241 - -Froude, Rev. John, 229-40 - -Gaddon, 10 - -Gaunt, John o’, 211 - -_Galleon Dudley_, the, 247 - -Gallon House (Red Deer), 122, 123 - -Garnsey, Mary, 10-11 - -“George” Hotel, the, 202-4 - -Giffard, Col. John, 71 - Roger (_a_), 70 - Roger (_b_), 71 - Court, 70 - -Gilbert, Adrian, 272 - Dr, 202 - -Gipsies, 84 - -Glass, John and Betty, 114-9 - -Glenthorne, 144, 184 - -Glossop, Captain, 210 - -_God Save Her_, the, 247 - -Gould, F. Carruthers, 244 - Mr R. D., 244 - Rev. Robert, 182-3 - -Grabhurst Hill, 197 - -Granny’s Pit, 108 - -Graves, Admiral, 43 - -Greenaleigh, 184 - -Greenway, John and Joan, 62 - -Greenway’s Almshouses, 61, 64 - Chapels, 63-4 - -Groves, Hugh, 205 - -_Guide to Lynton_, 143, 170 - - -Hackpen, 30 - -Hagdon Hill, 30, 40 - -Halliday, Rev. W. S., 144 - -Halwell Castle, 278 - -Hancock, Prebendary, 172 - -Harding, Colonel, 65 - Dr John, 270 - -Harris, Mr John, 261, 262 - -Hartland, 264, 271 - -Hawkbridge, 110 - -Heal, 278 - -Heanton Court, 211, 256 - -Heathcoat, Mr, 73 - -Heddon, river, 278 - -Heddon’s mouth, 278 - -Hele, 265 - -Hellings, Mr, 25 - -Hembury Fort, 42 - -Hemyock, 2, 4, 14, 26 - -Henry, Mr S., 2 - -“Hermitage,” the, 213 - -High Bray, 225, 241 - Cross, 89 - -Hingeston-Randolph, Prebendary, 35 - -_History of Porlock Church_, 180 - -_History of Selworthy_, 172 - -_History of Tiverton_, 72, 75-6 - -Hoar Oak, 164, 165 - -Hoccombe, 157, 158 - -Hollam Lane, 108 - -Holnicote, 181 - -Honeymead, 124 - -Hook, Prebendary, 180 - -House of St George, 172 - -Houston, Dr, 74 - -Huckaback, Reuben, 104, 123 - -Hurley, Mr Richard, 10 - -Huxtable, Anthony, 120 - - -Ilfracombe, 263, 264 - -Illford Bridges, 154, 164 - -“Ironing Box,” the, 56 - -Irwin, Miss Anne, 275 - - -Jakes, Sergeant, 25, 26 - -James I., 212 - -Jewel, Bishop, 270 - -_John of Braunton_, the, 247 - -Johnson, Ursula, 152 - - -Karslake, Mr, 237 - -Kelso, Mr, 25 - -Kenilworth, 225 - -Kennels, 119-20 - -Kennsford Water, 129 - -Kentisbeare, 48 - -Kibsworthy, 171 - -King, Rev. Mr, 209 - -Kingdon, Mr J. A., 207 - -Kinwelton, 279 - -Knight, Mr F. W. (Sir Frederick), 115, 123, 133, 135, 141 - -Knight, Mr John, 124, 130, 131, 132 - -Knightshayes, 78 - -Knowstone, 229 - - -Lady Harriet’s Drive, 100, 102 - -Lancombe, 163 - -Landacre Bridge, 128 - -Landkey, 252-3 - -Lee Abbey, 170 - -_Legends of Devon_, 172 - -Leigh Court, 9 - -_Leisure Hour_, the, 150 - -Leland, 209, 246 - -_Leonard of Dunster_, the, 188 - -Lidcote Hall, 225 - -Lock, Mr, of Lynmouth, 136 - -_London Magazine_, the, 172, 213 - -_Lorna Doone_, 1, 34, 49, 52, 58, 71, 77 _note_, 87, - 89 _note_, 110, 114, 123, 125, 129, 137, 142, 145, - 150, 152, 154, 158, 160, 162, 163, 164, 166, 167, - 171, 173, 174, 177, 181, 185 _note_, 189, 201, - 202, 207, 256, 273 - -Lowman, river, 52 - -Lucas de Heree, 192 - -Luttrell, Mr G. F., 190, 193 - Lady Catherine, 188, 190 - Lady Elizabeth, 190 - James, 190-1 - -Luttrell, Sir Hugh, 188, 190 - Sir John, 192 - Thomas, 192 - -Lyn, East, 142, 162, 163, 164 - West, 142, 162, 163, 164 - -Lynbridge, 164 - -Lynmouth, 162, 166 - Henry de, 166 - -Lynton, 174-5, 201 - - -Madam Gaddy, 91 - Thorold, 91 - -_Maid of Sker_, the, 176, 201, 212, 216 _note_, 228, - 229, 241, 243, 256, 259, 260, 261, 264, 277, 278 - -Maidendown, 20 - -Malmsmead, 163 - -Manley, Richard, 206 - -Manors, 90 - -Martin, Sir Richard, 272 - -Martinhoe, 275, 279 - -Mary de Redvers, 66 - -Matilda de Clare, 37 - Tablere, 36 - -Maxwell-Lyte, Sir H. C., 193 - -_Mayflower_, the, 247 - -Meldrum, Mother, 110, 153, 173 - -_Mighty Atom_, the, 271 - -Mills, John, 207 - -Millslade, 163 - -Milton, “Joe,” 129 - -Minehead, 107, 184-7 - -“Minehead Turnpike,” the, 199-200 - -Mohun, Reginald de, 189 - the, 188-90 - -Molland, 227-9 - -Morley, Lady, 223 - -Moridunum, 42 - -Morte Point, 262-3 - Stone, 262-3 - -Morthoe, 263 - Church, 260 - -Mount Sydenham, 107 - -Mountsey Castle, 109 - Hill Gate, 108 - -Mundy, Rev. Matthew, 152, 153 - -Murray, Dr, 109 - - -Narnton Court, 211, 256 - -Norman, Aggie, 152 - -Northmolton, 216-25 - -Nymet Roland, 229-30 - -“Nympton-in-the-Moors,” 228-9 - - -Oare, 87, 154, 157, 158 - Church, 160-1 - -Old Cop, 53 - -Oliver, Dr, 34 - -Owen, Rev. D. M., 56 - - -Page, Mr J. W., 160, 278 - -Palmerston, Lord, 75 - -Paramore, Master, 207 - -Parracombe, 277 - Common, 278 - Mill, 278 - -Parker, family of, 222-3 - -Parminter, Mr J., 242, 243 - -Passmore, Mrs, 223 - -Peirson, Rev. E., 113 - -Penhill, 241 - -Penniloe, Parson, 13, 30 - -Penruddock, John, 205 - -Perliton, 1 - -Perlycombe, 2 - -Perlycross, 1 - -_Perlycross_, 14, 19, 20, 22, 23, 47 - -Phœnicians, the, 136, 140 - -Pickard-Cambridge, Rev. E., 58 - -Pinkery Pond, 91 - -Pitsworthy, 114 - -Pixies, 127-8 - -Pixton, 90, 92, 99-100, 102 - -Plympton Priory, 36 - -Pococke, Dr, 173 - -Poltimore, Lord, 222 - -Ponies, Exmoor, 108 - -Porlock, 178, 179, 219 - Marsh, 183 - Weir, 179, 180 - -Potter, Mr, 22 - -Prayway Meads, 141 - -Prescott, 113 - -Prince’s Worthies, 210, 221 - -_Prudence_, the, 247 - -Pumpington, 26, 30 - - -Quartlys, the, 227-8 - -Queen Anne’s Walk, 247-8 - -Quivil, Bishop, 36 - - -Radford, Nicholas, 67-70 - Rev. John, 229, 232-3 - -Rambone, Parson, 242 - -Rapparee Cove, 264 - -Raven, Canon, 42 - -Red Stone, 122 - -Reid, Mr Stuart J., 50 - -Rhys, Professor, 109 - -Ridd, family of, 160, 180 - John, 54, 56, 75, 77, 78, 87, 160 - -Ripperda, Duke of, 261-2 - -Risdon, 251 - -Robsart, Amy, 225 - -Rock, 78 - Mr W. F., 245 - -“Rock of Ages,” 44 - -Russell, Rev. John, 233, 270 - - -Sampford Peverell, 34 - -Saunton Sands, 257, 259-60 - -Sayer, Thomas, 99 - -Scott, Sir Gilbert, 251 - Sir Walter, 225, 237 - -Seaton, 23 - -Semson, 33 - -Seven Brethren Bank, 249 - -Sherwill, 211 - -Ship Inn, 179 - -_Short History of the Original Doones_, 146 - -Showlsborough Castle, 158 - -Shuttern, river, 83 - -Simcoe, General, 44-5 - -Simonsbath, 107, 124, 137 - -Slader, Mr Richard, 226-7 - -Snell, Canon, 54-5 - Mr W. H., 55 - “Robin,” 54 - -Snows, the, 159, 160 - -Southey, Robert, 162, 173, 179 - -Southey’s Corner, 179 - -Spire Cross, 108, 109 - -Squier, Hugh, 206 - -Stapledon, Bishop, 37 - -Stickles, Jeremy, 128, 163, 185, 202 - -Stow, 247 - -_Survey of Devon_, Risdon’s, 165 - -Sydenham, family of, 91-99 - Humphry, 93 - Major Sir George, 93-9 - -Sylvesters, the, 41 - - -Talbot, Sir Gilbert, 71 - -_Tales from the Telling House_, 1, 30 - -Taunton Pool, 52 - -Taw, river, 211, 212, 248-9 - -Tawstock Church, 250-2 - Court, 250 - -Templar, Mr George, 239 - -Temple, Archbishop, 25, 29, 49 - -Tennyson, 102-4 - -Thompson, Rev. W. C., 48 - -Thornton, Rev. W. H., 123, 183 - -_Tiger_, the, 247 - -Tinker Toogood, 17 - -Tiverton, 61-76, 77 - Castle, 70-1 - -Toplady, Augustus, 44 - -Torr Steps, 103, 109-10 - -Tracy, family of, 260, 261 - William de, 260 - -Treadwin, Mrs, 223 - -_Treatise of the Soul of Man_, 97 - -Trentishoe, 278 - -Tugwell, Rev. G., 135 - - -Uffculme, 2, 3 - Church, 9 - -Umberleigh, 211 - -Upottery, 23 - - -Valley of Rocks, 170, 172-4 - -Vancouver, Mr, 19, 20 - - -Wade, Major, 152, 154-7, 265 - Mr Z. E. A., 258, 259 - -Wagstaffe, Sir Joseph, 205 - -Waldron, John, 6 - Sir Thomas, 6 - -Walrond, family of, 6 - Sir John, 7 - -Wambarrows, 109 - -_Wanderings in North Devon_, 151 - -Warre, Dr, 104 - -Warren, the, 144 - -Washfield, 78 - -Watchet, 200 _note_ - -Watersmeet, 164 - -Weir Water, 158 - -Welcomb, 265 - -Wellington, Duke of, 26, 33 - -Westcote, 164, 248, 259, 271 - -_Western Antiquary_, the, 153 - -Westleigh Quarries, 35 - -Westmill, 113 - -Wheal Eliza, 123 - -“White Horse,” the, 75 - -White Water, 125 - -Whitechapel, 209-10, 211 - -Wichehalse, family of, 152, 156, 167-71 - Hugh, 170, 171 - -Windwhistle Lane, 78 - -Winsford, 111, 112 - Hill, 108, 109, 131 - -Withypool, 129 - -Wizard’s Slough, 125 - -Wolford Lodge, 45 - -Wood, Mr William, 9 - Mr W. 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BROWNE - - -_VOLUMES IN THE SERIES_ - -GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE -GREEK ARCHITECTURE -NORMAN ARCHITECTURE -ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE - -Each volume contains an Illustrated Glossary of Architecture Terms, 48 -full-page reproductions from photographs of famous Buildings, with -Historical Notes upon each, and an Introductory Text. - - _SQUARE_ _BOUND_ - _DEMY_ PRICE =3/6= NET EACH _IN_ - _8vo_ _CLOTH_ - - (_By Post 3/10_) - - -SOME PRESS OPINIONS - - “Besides being of inestimable value to the intelligent amateur, it - should appeal also to all students, for it contains in brief nearly - everything that he would have to extract for himself from more - voluminous works.... The plates alone make it worthy of a place in - every architect’s library.”--_Art and Architecture._ - - “We cordially commend this volume to everyone who desires to be in - a position to appreciate to the full extent the glories of Norman - architecture, of which we in this country possess so many noble - specimens.”--_Scottish Review._ - - “To the person who, interested in the especial beauty of great - buildings, would glean, even here at home, some eloquent idea of - what he may never actually see, no book in point of adequate notes, - of excellent illustrations, and cheapness, could well be more - useful.”--_Outlook._ - - “The beautiful illustrations alone make the book worthy of a place - in the library of every book-lover and student of - architecture.”--_Aberdeen Free Press._ - - “The introductory chapters are lucid, simple, appreciative and well - adapted to the understanding of the moderately intelligent - amateur.... The illustrations are admirably chosen, well produced, - and generally effective. The accompanying notes are clear, brief, - and to the point.”--_Guardian._ - - “Is written in a facile and personal style which makes it - delightful to read and easy to understand.... The illustrations are - extremely good and helpful in making doubly clear the teaching of - the chapters.”--_Bookman._ - - PUBLISHED BY - - ADAM & CHARLES BLACK, 4, 5 & 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W. - - -FOOTNOTES: - - [1] Cosgate is mentioned in chapter xlviii., where the county boundary - is defined.--F. J. S. - - [2] This term recurs to me almost as often as I think of moors - and commons, and for the following reason. An old friend of mine, - who lived to be nearly ninety, a lawyer by profession and a wit - by practice, once told me how he attended an inquiry held in - West Somerset by a certain Government Commission, concerning a - well-known tract adjacent to his property. To his surprise, a fussy - solicitor, who did not know that he was addressing another “limb - of the law,” rushed up to him, and after expatiating volubly on - the difference between a claim in gross, a claim appendant, and a - claim appurtenant, begged to be informed what was the nature of his - claim. “_Im_pertinent, if any,” replied my friend, delighted at the - opportunity, “as I am not here on business.” - - [3] Vancouver, referring to this custom, observes: “Their day’s work - at plough or harrow is usually performed in a journey of about eight - hours, during which time the ploughboy has a peculiar mode of cheering - them on with a song he continually chaunts in low notes, suddenly - broken and rising a whole octave. The ceasing of the song is said to - occasion the stopping of the team, which is either followed by a man - holding the plough, or as occasion may require, in attending the drag - or harrows.” - - [4] Here and elsewhere in the chapter these references are to - Blackmore’s local romance _Perlycross_, unless otherwise stated. - - [5] Two species of furze are produced in Devonshire--the rank - luxuriant sort flourishing in the spring, and the smaller dwarf or - dale furze, which blooms in the autumn. The larger, which goes by the - name of French furze, forms considerable brakes, and is usually cut - at four years’ growth. Its crane stems used to be burnt for charcoal, - whereas the dwarf furze was cut and grubbed by farmers and labourers - for fuel. - - [6] _Lorna Doone_, chapter iii. - - [7] This is, of course, assuming that they did not take the turning to - Bolham. By an apparent anachronism, Blackmore talks of “the village - of Bolham on the Bampton Road” (_Lorna Doone_, chapter lx.) as the - place where the ladies’ coach was stopped by Faggus. There was no - _coach_-road passing through Bolham at that date. - - [8] Perhaps a more likely explanation is that it was a Norman motte, - specimens of which are to be found not only in England, but in - France, and which is depicted in several scenes of the Bayeux. These - earthworks are usually planted not on hill-tops, but on low sites in - or near villages, and not far from a church. - - [9] This story, repeated in directories and guide-books for - generations, receives short shrift from Mr R. N. Worth. “It has been - claimed as the Beamdune where Kynegils defeated the Britons in 614, - but that was Bampton in Oxfordshire” (_History of Devonshire_, p. 98). - _Sic transit gloria mundi._ - - [10] “And truly, the Dulverton people said that he was the richest man - in their town, and could buy up half of the county armigers” (_Lorna - Doone_, chapter xiii.). Some of the local “armigers” figure in the - following pages. - - [11] It may be worth mentioning that an incident similar to that which - marred the happiness of Susan Sydenham occurred in the life of the - celebrated John Donne. In 1610, on the third day after his arrival at - Paris, he was left alone in a room where he had been dining with Sir - Robert Drury and others. Half an hour later the knight returned, and - was surprised to find him in a curious sort of ecstasy. At first he - was unable to speak, but after a time he declared-- - - “I have seen a dreadful vision since I saw you. I have seen my dear - wife pass twice by me through this room, with her hair hanging about - her shoulders, and a dead child in her arms.” - - Sir Robert suggested that it was nothing but a dream, which he advised - him to forget, but Donne replied, “I cannot be surer that I am now - living than that I have not slept since I saw you, and I am so sure - that at her second appearance she stopped, looked me in the face and - vanished.” - - As he seemed so certain, a messenger was sent to Drury House, who - brought back the news that he had found Mrs Donne ill in bed, after - the birth of a dead infant--an event which had happened on the very - day and hour that her husband had seen the vision. - - [12] In chapter iii. of _Lorna Doone_, Blackmore speaks of Dulverton - as a town near which “the Exe and his big brother Barle have union.” - - [13] A Dulverton farmer once remarked to me on the great size of - Exmoor farmhouses, saying that it would be possible to put into one of - them two or three average homesteads. - - [14] According to one writer, that mighty hunter, Katerfelto, earned - huge glory both for himself and for his owner, a lusty farmer, by - taking the bit between his teeth on the Barkham Hills, and carrying - him bodily over a twenty-foot gap in an old Roman iron-mine. - - [15] The original of “Red Rube” in Melville’s _Katerfelto_. - - [16] Subject to variation, _e.g._, “children.” - - [17] _Lorna Doone_, chapters ix., xlviii. - - [18] Blackmore refers to the subject in _Lorna Doone_, chapter xxxix. - Speaking of Jeremy Stickles, he says that “his duty was first and - most ostensibly to see to the levying of poundage in the little haven - of Lynmouth and further up the coast, which was now becoming a place - of resort for the folk whom we call smugglers, that is to say, who - land their goods without regard to the King’s revenue, as by law - established. And indeed there had been no officer appointed to take - toll, until one had been sent to Minehead, not so very long before” - (see also _Lorna Doone_, chapter xii.). - - [19] These worthies are coupled by Blackmore in the _Maid of Sker_ - (chapter lxviii.). “Since Tom Faggus died, there has not been such a - man to be found, nowhere round these parts.” - - [20] See Note I., p. 280. - - [21] See Note II., p. 280. - - [22] True, in chapter liii. Blackmore speaks of the place as five or - six leagues distant from Heddon’s Mouth; still, Chowne’s frequent - appearances at Barnstaple and beyond, and such indications as the fate - of the Sherwill girl (chapter xlvii.), produce the opposite impression. - - [23] Groats. - - [24] The Devil. - - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -the neighbournood in connection=> the neighbourhood in connection {pg -241} - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Blackmore Country, by F. J. 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J. Snell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Blackmore Country - -Author: F. J. Snell - -Release Date: November 8, 2016 [EBook #53478] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BLACKMORE COUNTRY *** - - - - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter"><a name="cover" id="cover"></a> -<a href="images/cover_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="343" height="500" alt="Image unavailable." /></a> -</div> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="border: 2px black solid;margin:auto auto;max-width:50%; -padding:1%;"> -<tr><td> - -<p class="c"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents.</a></p> -<p class="c">A typographical error has been corrected; -<a href="#transcrib">a list follows the text</a>.</p> - -<p class="c"><a href="#LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">List of Illustrations</a><br /> <span class="nonvis">(In certain versions of this etext [in certain browsers] -clicking on the image will bring up a larger version.)</span></p> - -<p class="c">(etext transcriber's note)</p></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_i" id="page_i"></a>{i}</span></p> - -<p class="eng"> -The Pilgrimage Series</p> - -<h1> -THE BLACKMORE COUNTRY</h1> - -<p class="r"> -<a href="images/i_001_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_001_sml.jpg" alt="Image unavailable." /></a> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_ii" id="page_ii"></a>{ii}</span></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:80%;"> -<tr><td class="c" colspan="2">Agents—</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2">America: The Macmillan Company</td></tr> -<tr><td><span style="margin-left: 3.5em;"> </span></td><td align="left">64 and 66 Fifth Avenue, New York</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2">Australasia: The Oxford University Press</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td align="left">205 Flinders Lane, Melbourne</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2">Canada: The Macmillan Company of Canada, Ltd.</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td align="left">St Martin’s House, 70 Bond Street, Toronto</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2">India: Macmillan & Company, Ltd.</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td align="left">Macmillan Building, Bombay</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td align="left">309 Bow Bazaar Street, Calcutta</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iii" id="page_iii"></a>{iii}</span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iv" id="page_iv"></a>{iv}</span> </p> - -<p><a name="ill_001" id="ill_001"></a><a name="front" id="front"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_004_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_004_sml.jpg" width="313" height="450" alt="Image unavailable: ON THE LYN, BELOW BRENDON (page 162)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">ON THE LYN, BELOW BRENDON (<a href="#page_162">page 162</a>).</span> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_v" id="page_v"></a>{v}</span></p> - -<div class="dblbx"> -<p class="c"> -<a href="images/titlea_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/titlea.jpg" -style="max-width:30em;" -alt="Image unavailable." -/></a></p> - -<div class="dblbx2"> - -<p class="cb">THE<br /><big><big><big> -<span class="smcap">Blackmore Country</span></big></big></big></p> -<p class="cb"> -<small>BY</small><br /> -F. J. SNELL<br /> -<br /> -<small>AUTHOR OF “A BOOK OF EXMOOR,” ETC.</small><br /> -<br /><br /> -<small>SECOND EDITION<br /> -WITH 32 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS<br /> -FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY<br /> -CATHARINE W. BARNES WARD</small><br /> -<br /> -LONDON<br /> -ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK<br /> -</p></div> - -<p class="c"> -<a href="images/titleb_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/titleb.jpg" -style="max-width:30em;" -alt="Image unavailable." -/></a></p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vi" id="page_vi"></a>{vi}</span></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“So holy and so perfect is my love,<br /></span> -<span style="margin-left: 4em;">. . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -<span class="i0">That I shall think it a most plenteous crop<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To glean the broken ears after the man<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That the main harvest reaps.”<br /></span> -<span class="i5">—Sir <span class="smcap">Philip Sidney</span>.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="c"><small> -<i>First Edition, containing 50 illustrations, published 1906</i><br /> -<i>This Edition published 1911</i></small><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vii" id="page_vii"></a>{vii}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="PREFACE_TO_THE_SECOND_EDITION" id="PREFACE_TO_THE_SECOND_EDITION"></a>PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> <i>Blackmore Country</i> having achieved a second edition, it is proper -to state that it is now presented to the public substantially in the -same form as in the original issue. Advantage, however, has been taken -of a friendly critique by Mr Arthur Smyth to effect some revision. Mr -Smyth, who was well acquainted with the Blackmore family, and indeed a -distant relation, is rather perplexed at the assertion that the -novelist’s father was a poor man; but he certainly passed for such at -Culmstock, and the fact that he took pupils, in addition to serving his -poor cure, tends to show that he was by no means too well off.</p> - -<p>In my <i>Early Associations of Archbishop Temple</i> it is stated with -reference to the restoration of Culmstock Church: “Nobody knew from what -source Mr Blackmore obtained the necessary funds, but it was supposed -that his wife’s relations were rich.” This is, in a sense, confirmed by -Mr Smyth, who says that Mr Turberville, R. D. Blackmore’s elder brother, -inherited considerable property from his mother; but, when I wrote the -passage above quoted, I was not aware that John Blackmore was married -twice. His first wife, who died three years after their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_viii" id="page_viii"></a>{viii}</span> marriage, and -before John Blackmore set foot in Culmstock, may not have been in -possession of means, although Turberville’s estate—Mr Smyth says, “his -will was proved for (I believe) £20,000”—may have been derived from his -maternal connections. Mr Snowden Ward, in his Introduction to the -Doone-land edition of <i>Lorna Doone</i>, informs us regarding R. D. -Blackmore, also a son of this lady: “A bequest from the Rev. H. Hay -Knight, his mother’s brother, put an end to his financial worries.”</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, it may be doubted whether the novelist was ever in even -“comparative affluence.” He himself publicly declared that he lost more -than he gained from market-gardening—he was, by the way, a -F.R.H.S.—and the late Rev. D. M. Owen, Blackmore’s old schoolfellow, -with whom he maintained a lifelong correspondence, told me that he was -constantly complaining of his pecuniary limitations. Mr Owen’s reply was -that he had no excuse; he had only to write another <i>Lorna Doone</i> to -replenish his treasury to the brim. When, also, he was asked for a -subscription to the Culmstock flower show, Blackmore declined, assigning -as the reason that he “couldn’t afford it.” This does not look like -“comparative affluence.”</p> - -<p>Mr Smyth says that he never saw or heard of any daughters of the Rev. -John Blackmore. If he implies that there were none, he is certainly -mistaken (see Prologue), but he raises a problem which, I confess, I am -not able to solve. “In Charles Church there is a marble slab erected to -the memory of the Rev. John Blackmore by his children, J. B., R. B., M. -A. B. No allusion is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_ix" id="page_ix"></a>{ix}</span> made to M. A. B. in the pedigree either by the -Rev. J. F. Chanter or Mr Snell.” The only explanation which occurs to me -is that M. A. B. may represent the initials of their full sister, who -died in infancy. The Rev. John Blackmore married in 1822. Three years -later he sustained a terrible trial. “The novelist’s father,” says Mr -Ward, “was a ‘coach’ for Oxford pupils, until, in 1825, a great outbreak -of typhus fever swept away his wife, daughter, two pupils, the family -physician, and all the servants, and almost broke John Blackmore’s -heart.” R. D. Blackmore’s mother’s maiden name was Anne Basset Knight; -and the A. in M. A. B. suggests that her daughter may have been called -Anne—perhaps Mary Anne, if M. A. B. indicates that daughter. She had -long been dead, but the brothers, as an act of piety, may have chosen to -commemorate her in this way, whilst ignoring the daughters of the second -family, whom Mr Smyth never saw or heard of.</p> - -<p>In conclusion, the demand for a second edition of this work is a -satisfactory answer to the disparaging remarks of the late Mr F. T. -Elworthy in a presidential address to the members of the Devonshire -Association for the Promotion of Literature, Science, and Art. It is a -bad precedent that the title and contents of a new work should be -officially censured on an occasion when it was by an accident that the -author was not present to be lectured for his shortcomings, just as it -was a pure accident that Mr Elworthy was not named in the book as -accompanying Dr Murray and Professor Rhys in their visit to the -Caractacus stone on Winsford<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_x" id="page_x"></a>{x}</span> Hill (p. 109)! I now repair this omission, -and at the same time express regret that the secretaries did not take -steps to delete from the reports of a learned and very useful -association criticism which, to say the least, was beside the mark.</p> - -<p class="r"> -F. J. SNELL.<br /> -</p> - -<p><i>January 30, 1911.</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xi" id="page_xi"></a>{xi}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="PROLOGUE" id="PROLOGUE"></a>PROLOGUE</h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> “Blackmore Country” is an expression requiring some amount of -definition, as it clearly will not do to make it embrace the whole of -the territory which he annexed, from time to time, in his various works -of fiction, nor even every part of Devon in which he has laid the scenes -of a romance. The latter point may perhaps be open to discussion in the -sense that, ideally, the glamour of his writing ought to rest with its -full might of memory on all the neighbourhoods of the West around which -he drew his magic circle. As a fact, however, it is North Devon and a -slice of the sister county that form his literary patrimony, while -Dartmoor is a more general possession, which he failed to seal with the -same staunch and archetypal impression. There have been many good -Dartmoor stories, and one instinctively associates that region with the -names of Baring-Gould and Eden Phillpotts; with Blackmore, hardly at -all. But from Exmoor to Barnstaple, and from Lynton to Tiverton, he -reigns supreme—and naturally, for this was his homeland, which, through -all its length and breadth, he knew with an intimacy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xii" id="page_xii"></a>{xii}</span> and loved with a -devotion, and portrayed with a skill, that will surely never again be -the portion of any child of Devon.</p> - -<p>Richard Doddridge Blackmore was born on June 7, 1825, at Longworth, in -Berkshire—a circumstance which raises the delicate and important -question whether, after all, he can be justly claimed as a Devonshire -man. On the whole, I think, the question may be answered affirmatively, -although it is evident that he cannot possibly be described as a native -of the county. Who, however, would dream of depriving an Englishman of -his nationality merely for the accident of his being born abroad, unless -indeed he deliberately abandoned that proud title and threw in his lot -with the country of his birth, to the exclusion of his ancestral home? -And this practically represents the state of affairs as regards -Blackmore. In one sense it must be admitted he did not remain constant -to his Devonshire connections, inasmuch as he resided through a great -part of his life, and to the day of his death, at Teddington, in -Middlesex. But as against this must be set the facts that he descended -from an old North Devon stock, a stock so old that it may fairly be -termed indigenous, and that his boyish experiences were almost entirely -confined within the county. To these weighty considerations may be added -that he eventually became possessor of the ancient residence of his -race, that he always manifested the warmest interest in county concerns, -and that his great achievement in literature was inspired by -West-country legend. That well-known authority, the Rev. J. F. Chanter, -worthy son of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xiii" id="page_xiii"></a>{xiii}</span> a worthy sire, would like to say “Devon” legend, and much -may be urged in favour of his contention, notwithstanding that modern -Exmoor is altogether in Somerset. He points out, for instance, that -Bagworthy (or “Badgery”) Wood, the centre of the Doone traditions, is in -Devon. Still it were better, perhaps, to consider <i>Lorna Doone</i> in the -light of a border romance. Indeed, on an impartial survey, it seems -almost necessary to adopt this view; and Blackmore himself was anything -but unwilling to recognise, and even to emphasise, the Somerset element -in his story.</p> - -<p>Not long before the novelist’s death, a gentleman wrote to him from -Taunton, calling attention to the widely prevalent idea that in the -course of the tale he conveyed the impression of allocating this -charming country to North Devon rather than West Somerset; and Mr -Blackmore’s correspondent went on to mention that recently strenuous -efforts had been made to procure the inclusion of Exmoor in Devon, but -that the policy of plunder had been defeated by the vigilant action of -the Somerset County Council. In reply to this communication the -following letter was received:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“My dear Sir,—Nowhere, to the best of my remembrance, have I said, -or even implied, that Exmoor lies mainly in Devonshire. Having -known that country from my boyhood—for my grandfather was the -incumbent of Oare as well as of Combe Martin—I have always borne -in mind the truth that by far the larger part of the moor is within -the county of Somerset, and the very first sentence in <i>Lorna -Doone</i> shows that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xiv" id="page_xiv"></a>{xiv}</span> John Ridd lived in the latter county. Moreover, -when application is made to Devon J.P.’s for a warrant against the -Doones, does not one of them say that the crime was committed in -Somerset, and therefore he cannot deal with it? See also p. 179 -(6d. edition), which seems to me clear enough for anything. -Moreover, the rivalry of the militia, both in <i>Lorna Doone</i> and -<i>Slain by the Doones</i>—which title I dislike, and did not choose -freely—shows that the Doone Valley was upon the county border. I -think also that Cosgate, supposed to be ‘County’s Gate,’ is -referred to in <i>Lorna Doone</i>, but I cannot stop to look.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> The -Warren where the Squire lived is on the westward of the line, as -Lynmouth is—or, at least, I think so—and therefore North Devon is -spoken of the heroine who lives there. All this being so very clear -to me, I have been surprised more than once at finding myself -accused in Somerset papers of describing Exmoor as mainly a -district of Devonshire—a thing which I never did, even in haste of -thought. And if you should hear such a charge repeated, I trust -that your courtesy will induce you to contradict it, which I have -never done publicly, as I thought the refutation was self-evident.”</p></div> - -<p>It is certainly true that at Dulverton, which, if not Exmoor, is next -door to it, visitors frequently imagine that they are in Devonshire, as -I have myself proved, but, for my own part, I have never attributed this -delusion to the influence of <i>Lorna Doone</i>. On the contrary, it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xv" id="page_xv"></a>{xv}</span> has -seemed to me that a river is the culprit. The Exe is universally -esteemed a Devon stream, and lends its name to the metropolis of the -West. That in these circumstances Exmoor should be anywhere but in -Devonshire, may well appear a violation of the fitness of things, and as -coloured maps seldom perhaps emerge from their impedimenta, these -visitors revenge themselves on the makers of England by substituting for -artificial delimitations their own easy beliefs and natural assumptions.</p> - -<p>This, however, is somewhat of a digression. I return to the probably -more interesting topic of Mr Blackmore’s Devonshire “havage,” which good -old West-country term I once heard a good old West-country clergyman -derive from the Latin <i>avus</i>—needless to say, a most unlikely etymon. -In the above-quoted letter reference is made to the novelist’s -grandfather as incumbent of Oare and Combe Martin, but, had the occasion -required it, Blackmore could no doubt have furnished a much fuller -account of his North Devon pedigree. It is extremely probable, but not -absolutely certain, that one of his remote ancestors, sharing the same -Christian name Richard, married a Wichehalse of Lynton. To have read -<i>Lorna Doone</i> is to remember how John Ridd rudely disturbed young Squire -Wichehalse in the act of kissing his sister Annie; and I shall have more -to say of this half-foreign clan, their fortunes, and their eyry in a -subsequent chapter. Meanwhile one may note that the first entry in the -parish register of Parracombe relates to the marriage of Richard -Blackmore and Margaret, daughter of Hugh Wichehalse, of Ley, Esq.;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xvi" id="page_xvi"></a>{xvi}</span> and, -further, that the bride’s father died on Christide, 1653, and the bride -herself thirty years later. These dates are important, as they seem to -preclude the possibility of the Richard Blackmore who wedded the Lady of -Ley being the direct progenitor of the Richard Blackmore who wrote -<i>Lorna Doone</i>, though it can scarcely be questioned that he was of the -same kith and kin, and so, in the larger sense, an ancestor. In any -case, the match cannot be accepted as a criterion of the standing of the -family. <i>Mésalliances</i> are not unknown in North Devon, one such romantic -union of erstwhile celebrity being the marriage of a small farmer’s son -with a daughter of the resident rector, a gentleman of good descent and -prebendary of Exeter Cathedral. From the time of John Ridd, and who -shall say for how many ages antecedent thereto, love has laughed at -locksmiths and gone its own wilful way.</p> - -<p>Small farmers, however, the Blackmores were not. They were freeholders -settled at East Bodley and Barton in the parish of Parracombe, and -leaseholders of the neighbouring farm of Killington, or Kinwelton, in -the parish of Martinhoe. Over the porch of the old farmstead at -Parracombe may still be read the inscription, “R.B., J.B., 1638”; and as -the Subsidy Rolls of 16 Charles I. for Parracombe and Martinhoe contain -the names of Richard and John Blackmore, we may conjecture without -difficulty to whom the initials belonged. The first of the yeomen on -whom we can fasten as a certain ancestor of the novelist was a John -Blackmore who died in 1689. His son Richard, and grandson John, and -great-grandson John—<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xvii" id="page_xvii"></a>{xvii}</span>not to mention other members of the family whose -names are duly recorded—suffered themselves to be absorbed with the -peaceful and healthful pursuit of husbandry, which they practised, -generation after generation, on their estate at Bodley. Then, towards -the end of the eighteenth century there occurred a change; and the -Blackmore name, in the person of another John, took what may be termed -an upward turn. This John Blackmore, born in 1764, betrayed a taste for -learning, and through Tiverton School found his way to Exeter College, -Oxford, where he won the degree of B.A. He was soon after ordained, and -entered on his duties as curate of High Bray, on the outskirts of -Exmoor, and in his own country and county. An antiquary and a person of -general cultivation, he was at the pains of copying the parish register, -and in the new edition did what every parson should do, set down items -of current interest, together with an informal history of the parish, so -far as it could be learned. He did also what few parsons should -attempt—adorned his copy of the register with original Latin verses. -Such specimens of new Latin poetry as I have disinterred from parochial -records are, for the most part, fearful and wonderful lucubrations as to -both sentiment and technique, whereas it is frequently the case that -voluntary jottings in the vulgar tongue gild and redeem, with their -human touches, whole continents of inky wilderness.</p> - -<p>Not long after his advent at High Bray Mr Blackmore appears to have -married, and in process of time his wife bore him a first-born son, whom -he named John. He was, however,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xviii" id="page_xviii"></a>{xviii}</span> not quite content with his position as -curate; and accordingly he bought the advowson of the adjacent living of -Charles, in the confident expectation that it would shortly become void, -pending which happy consummation he agreed to serve as curate-in-charge. -No speculation could have been more disastrous, since, in point of fact, -the hoped-for vacancy did not occur till quite half a century had passed -over his head, and at that advanced age he did not think proper to enter -upon possession. Instead of doing so, he presented his second son -Richard to the rectory. During this protracted era of suspense John -Blackmore, senior, as he must now be designated, did not lack -preferment. In 1809 he was appointed rector of Oare, and in 1833 -(pluralities being still admissible) he received in addition the -valuable living of Combe Martin; and both these appointments he -continued to hold till his death in 1842.</p> - -<p>As has been intimated, the original Parson Blackmore had two sons, John -and Richard, each of whom, following in his footsteps, entered the -Church; and the elder at all events met with considerably worse luck -than his father. Curiously enough, his early life was full of promise, -for in 1816 he was elected Fellow of Exeter, his father’s old college, -and this might well have proved the inception of a long and successful -academic career, either in Oxford or at one of our public schools. But -in 1822 he vacated his fellowship on his marriage with Anne Basset, -daughter of the Rev. J. Knight, of Newton Nottage. Thirteen years later -he had attained to no higher position than that of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xix" id="page_xix"></a>{xix}</span> curate-in-charge of -Culmstock, near Tiverton; and when he retired from that, it was only to -proceed in a similar capacity to Ashford, near Barnstaple. He was always -poor, but deserved a happier fate, since he was always good (see <i>Maid -of Sker</i>, chapter xxxix.). He died in 1858.</p> - -<p>By his wife Anne the Rev. John Blackmore had one daughter and two sons, -Henry John, who afterwards took the name of Turberville, and Richard -Doddridge. The former produced a bizarre poem entitled “The Two -Colonels,” and was proficient in a number of sciences, notably in -astronomy, but he was eccentric to such a degree that there was grave -doubt, in spite of all his attainments, whether he was quite <i>compos -mentis</i>. He resided at Bradiford, near Barnstaple, died at Yeovil under -distressing circumstances, and was buried at Charles (in 1875). He -assumed the name Turberville, so it is said, out of resentment at the -sale of the family estates for the benefit of a half-brother, Frederick -Platt Blackmore, an officer in the army and a spendthrift; and he -notified his intention, as well as his reason, to all whom it might -concern in a printed handbill. Anger was also the motive for his writing -“The Two Colonels”; he conceived there had been discourtesy on the part -of the members of the Ilfracombe Highway Board and others. The -publication caused much excitement, and at one time an action for libel -seemed imminent. Eventually, it is believed, the book was withdrawn.</p> - -<p>Besides the son already mentioned, the Rev. John Blackmore had by his -second wife two<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xx" id="page_xx"></a>{xx}</span> daughters, Charlotte Ellen, who married the Rev. J. P. -Faunthorpe, of Whitelands College, Chelsea, and Jane Elizabeth, who was -the wife of the Rev. Samuel Davis, for many years vicar of Barrington, -Devon. He was for a year or two at Bude Haven, and won some reputation -there as a preacher. Hence, his son, Mr A. H. Davis, thought he might -possibly be the “Bude Light” of <i>Tales from the Telling House</i>, but my -friend, the late Rev. D. M. Owen, who probably knew, gave me to -understand that the “Bude Light” was the Rev. Goldsworthy Gurney.</p> - -<p>Returning to the first family—the second son was Richard Doddridge -Blackmore, the novelist. In his case, although great wit is proverbially -allied to madness, the question of sanity is not likely to be raised; -and probably the worst fault that the world will lay to his charge is -that of undue secretiveness. It is common knowledge that he interdicted -anything in the shape of a biography, and doubtless he took measures to -prevent the survival of private papers and letters which might be used -as material for the purpose. Whether or not he did this, his wish will -assuredly be held sacred by his more intimate friends, who alone are -qualified to undertake such a work. Meanwhile the novelist has to pay -for his prohibition of an authentic Life, by the unrestricted play of -<i>ben trovare</i>. Having myself been victimised by this insidious enemy of -truth, I seize the opportunity to protest that any statements regarding -the late Mr Blackmore to be found in the present work are made without -prejudice and with all reserve,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xxi" id="page_xxi"></a>{xxi}</span> as being, conceivably, the inventions -of the Father of Lies. At the same time, as due caution has been -observed and the evidence has, in various instances, been drawn from -reputable and independent witnesses who, without knowing it, acted as a -check on each other, I cannot seriously believe that these contributions -to history are either gratuitous or garbled.</p> - -<p>An illustration, pointed and germane, is not far to seek. I always -understood from my late kind friend, the Rev. C. St Barbe, Sydenham, -rector of Brushford, who, to the deep regret of a wide circle of -acquaintance, passed away in the spring of 1904 at the age of 81, that -R. D. Blackmore, as a boy, spent many of his vacations at the moorland -village of Charles, to the rectory of which his uncle Richard had, as we -have seen, been presented by his grandfather. Mr Sydenham even went so -far as to use the expression “brought up” in this connection, which -indicates at least the length and frequency of young Blackmore’s visits. -Now the Rev. J. F. Chanter, in a paper written in 1903, shows that he -also has gained a knowledge of the circumstance—certainly by some other -means. As the rector of Charles did not die till 1880, and so lived to -see his nephew and guest grown famous, it is not to be supposed that he -allowed his share in the hero’s tirocinium to remain obscure. What more -natural than that he should communicate it freely to his neighbours, -with all the pride of a fond uncle with no children of his own? Would he -not have related also, as the harvest of imparted wisdom, that in the -rectory parlour, the scene of former instruction, great part of <i>Lorna -Doone</i> was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xxii" id="page_xxii"></a>{xxii}</span> written? Nor must we forget the old Blackmore property at -Bodley, where the novelist’s grandfather, in order to adapt it to his -requirements as an occasional residence, had added to the venerable -homestead a new wing; and where, or at Oare rectory, the future romancer -passed blissful holidays, roaming at will in the North Devon fields and -lanes, and drinking in quaint lore, conveyed in the broad, kindly -accents of the North Devon country-folk. The Bodley estates, consisting -of East Bodley, West Hill, and Burnsley Mill, passed to the novelist’s -father, by whom they were sold a few years before his death. Mr Arthur -Smyth, referring to R. D. Blackmore’s college days, avers that even then -he was very reserved. Mr Smyth’s father often went shooting with him. -About this time a white hare was caught at Bodley, and, having been -stuffed, was treasured by the Rev. R. Blackmore in his dining-room at -Charles.</p> - -<p>Thus the limits of the Blackmore country are definitely staked out by -family tradition, as well as by literary interest, running from -Culmstock to Ashford, and from Oare to Combe Martin, with the commons -appurtenant. The confines are somewhat vague and irregular, and I must -crave some indulgence for my method of configuration. Obviously, the -novelist’s recollections of his youth with their accompanying sentiments -and inspirations, cannot be taken as an absolute guide, for then it -would be requisite to cross the Bristol Channel to Newton Nottage, his -mother’s home, in the vicinity of which are laid the opening scenes of -the charming <i>Maid of Sker</i>. Such a course would infringe too much on -the popular<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xxiii" id="page_xxiii"></a>{xxiii}</span> conception of the phrase, and the attempt to link -localities without any natural connection, and severed by an arm of the -sea, however successfully accomplished in the romance, would in our case -involve needless confusion. What little is said about Newton Nottage, -therefore, may as well be said here.</p> - -<p>A village in Glamorganshire, it had peculiarly sacred and solemn -associations for R. D. Blackmore. Nottage Court, the seat of the Knight -family, was his mother’s ancestral home, and it was also one of the -homes of his own childhood. Here he wrote his first book, the -above-named romance, which was ever his favourite, but the story was -re-written, and not published till a later date. For Blackmore, however, -the place had sad as well as pleasant memories, for it was here that his -father, then curate of Ashford, was found dead in his bed on the morning -of September 24, 1858, whilst on a visit to his wife’s people, and at -Newton Nottage he lies buried.</p> - -<p>If this is crossing the Bristol Channel, so be it; we are soon back -again, and ready to discourse of Tiverton, and Southmolton, and Lynton, -and Barnstaple, and their smaller neighbours, with the moors and commons -appurtenant.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xxiv" id="page_xxiv"></a>{xxiv}</span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xxv" id="page_xxv"></a>{xxv}</span> </p> - -<h3>PEDIGREE OF THE BLACKMORE FAMILY</h3> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_025_lg.png"> -<img src="images/i_025_sml.png" width="302" height="500" alt="Image unavailable." /></a> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xxvi" id="page_xxvi"></a>{xxvi}</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang"><span class="smcap">Note.</span>—For the Blackmore pedigree and other kindly assistance, the -author is indebted to the Rev. <span class="smcap">J. F. Chanter</span>, of Parracombe.</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xxvii" id="page_xxvii"></a>{xxvii}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td colspan="3"> </td><td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="3" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Prologue</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_ix">ix</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th class="c" colspan="4"><i>PERLYCROSS</i></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span></td> -<td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">I.</a></td><td valign="top"> -<a href="#CHAPTER_I"><span class="smcap">The Approach</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_001">1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c">”</td><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a></td><td> -<a href="#CHAPTER_II"><span class="smcap">Blackmore’s Village</span></a></td> -<td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_012">12</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c">”</td><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a></td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><span class="smcap">The Hinterland</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_033">33</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th class="c" colspan="4"><a href="#page_049"><i>LORNA DOONE</i></a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c">”</td><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a></td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><span class="smcap">Blackmore’s School</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_049">49</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c">”</td><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a></td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><span class="smcap">The Town of the Two Fords</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_061">61</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c">”</td><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a></td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><span class="smcap">The Wonders of Bampton</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_077">77</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c">”</td><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a></td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><span class="smcap">Where Master Huckaback throve</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_089">89</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c">”</td><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a></td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><span class="smcap">Brothers Barle and Exe</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_107">107</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c">”</td><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a></td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><span class="smcap">The Heart of the Moor</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_122">122</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c">”</td><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">X.</a></td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_X"><span class="smcap">Bagworthy and Brendon</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_138">138</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c">”</td><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI.</a></td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><span class="smcap">The Mouth of the Lyn</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_162">162</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c">”</td><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">XII.</a></td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><span class="smcap">Round Dunkery</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_178">178</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th class="c" colspan="4"><a href="#page_211"><i>LORNA DOONE AND THE MAID OF SKER</i></a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c">”</td><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">XIII.</a></td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><span class="smcap">Gossip-town</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_201">201</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c">”</td><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">XIV.</a></td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><span class="smcap">The Forge of Faggus, and the Cure of<br /> -Chowne</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_216">216</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c">”</td><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">XV.</a></td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><span class="smcap">Barum</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_241">241</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="c">”</td><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">XVI.</a></td><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"><span class="smcap">The Shore of Death</span></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_256">256</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="3" valign="top"><span class="smcap"><a href="#ENVOY">Envoy</a></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_277">277</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="3" valign="top"><span class="smcap"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a>: -<small><a href="#A">A</a>, -<a href="#B">B</a>, -<a href="#C">C</a>, -<a href="#D">D</a>, -<a href="#E">E</a>, -<a href="#F">F</a>, -<a href="#G">G</a>, -<a href="#H">H</a>, -<a href="#I-i">I</a>, -<a href="#J">J</a>, -<a href="#K">K</a>, -<a href="#L">L</a>, -<a href="#M">M</a>, -<a href="#N">N</a>, -<a href="#O">O</a>, -<a href="#P">P</a>, -<a href="#Q">Q</a>, -<a href="#R">R</a>, -<a href="#S">S</a>, -<a href="#T">T</a>, -<a href="#U">U</a>, -<a href="#V-i">V</a>, -<a href="#W">W</a>, -<a href="#Y">Y</a></small></span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_281">281</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xxviii" id="page_xxviii"></a>{xxviii}</span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xxix" id="page_xxix"></a>{xxix}</span> </p> - -<h2><a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - -<p class="c"><span class="smcap">From Photographs by</span> CATHARINE W. BARNES WARD.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_001">1</a></td> -<td valign="top">On the Lyn, below Brendon</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#front"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class="rt"><small>FACING PAGE</small></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_002">2</a></td><td valign="top">Culmstock Vicarage and Church</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_009">9</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_003">3</a></td><td valign="top">Rectory House at Charles</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_016">16</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_004">4</a></td><td valign="top">Culmstock Church and River</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_025">25</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_005">5</a></td><td valign="top">Hemyock</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_032">32</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_006">6</a></td><td valign="top">Culmstock Bridge</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_041">41</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_007">7</a></td><td valign="top">Old Blundell’s School, Tiverton</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_048">48</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_008">8</a></td><td valign="top">Chapel, Greenway’s Almshouses, Tiverton</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_073">73</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_009">9</a></td><td valign="top">Combe, Dulverton</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_080">80</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_010">10</a></td><td valign="top">A Bit of Old Dulverton</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_089">89</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_011">11</a></td><td valign="top">Torr Steps, Hawkridge</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_096">96</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_012">12</a></td><td valign="top">Winsford</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_121">121</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_013">13</a></td><td valign="top">Landacre Bridge, Exmoor</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_128">128</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_014">14</a></td><td valign="top">Bagworthy Valley</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_137">137</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_015">15</a></td><td valign="top">Brendon, near Oare</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_144">144</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_016">16</a></td><td valign="top">Nicholas Snow’s Farmyard Gate</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_153">153</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_017">17</a></td><td valign="top">Oare Church</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_160">160</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_018">18</a></td><td valign="top">Junction of Lyn and Bagworthy Water</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_169">169</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_019">19</a></td><td valign="top">“The Waterslide,” Lancombe</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_176">176</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_020">20</a></td><td valign="top">The Cheesewring, Valley of Rocks</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_174">174</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_021">21</a></td><td valign="top">Ship Inn, Porlock</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_185">185</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_022">22</a></td><td valign="top">Minehead Church</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_192">192</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_023">23</a></td><td valign="top">Dunster Castle Gate, from the Outside</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_201">201</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_024">24</a></td><td valign="top">Square at Southmolton</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_208">208</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_025">25</a></td><td valign="top">Whitechapel Barton</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_217">217</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_026">26</a></td><td valign="top">Tom Faggus’s Forge, Northmolton<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_xxx" id="page_xxx"></a>{xxx}</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_224">224</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_027">27</a></td><td valign="top">Chancel, Northmolton Church</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_233">233</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_028">28</a></td><td valign="top">Ashford Church, near Barnstaple</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_240">240</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_029">29</a></td><td valign="top">Barnstaple Bridge</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_249">249</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_030">30</a></td><td valign="top">Tawstock Church, near Barnstaple</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_256">256</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_031">31</a></td><td valign="top">Towards Morte Point</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_265">265</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="rt" valign="top"><a href="#ill_032">32</a></td><td valign="top">Combmartin Church</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_272">272</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td valign="top">Sketch Map of Blackmore Country</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_288">288</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td valign="top">R. D. Blackmore, from a Photograph by Frederick Jenkins -</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#cover"><i>On the Cover</i></a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_001" id="page_001"></a>{1}</span></p> - -<h1>THE BLACKMORE COUNTRY</h1> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I<br /><br /> -<small>THE APPROACH</small></h2> - -<p class="nind">R. D. <span class="smcap">Blackmore</span> was about ten years of age when his father took up his -abode at Culmstock, a village in East Devon, at the foot of the -Blackdowns. Notwithstanding an inclination to wander, evidence of which -has been adduced in the previous section, the boy must have passed a -fair amount of time at home; and wherever Blackmore tarried, he became -imbued with the spirit of the place, wrested all its secrets, and -acquired an intimate acquaintance with its arts and crafts such as would -do credit to a committee of experts. Above all, he had the enviable gift -of being able to distil from the rude realities their poetic -essence—the prize of loving intelligence.</p> - -<p>So far as Culmstock and the neighbourhood are concerned, the fruits of -his observation are to be seen in <i>Perlycross</i>, and in a much lesser -degree in <i>Tales from the Telling House</i>. The former, by no means so -<i>répandu</i> as <i>Lorna Doone</i>, labours under the disadvantage, which is yet -not all disadvantage, of fictitious names; consequently but few are -aware that Perliton, Perlycross, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_002" id="page_002"></a>{2}</span> Perlycombe are pretty, but -deceptive aliases of Uffculme, Culmstock, and Hemyock. These little -places—Uffculme, however, claims to be a town—are tapped by a light -railway of serpentine construction, which branches from the main line at -Tiverton Junction. The trains are appallingly slow, chiefly on account -of the curves; and just outside the junction is a stiff gradient, the -ascent of which, especially in frosty weather, is problematical. Often -there is nothing for it but to drop back to the station and try again, -or, as the French have it, <i>se reculer pour mieux sauter</i>.</p> - -<p>The level champaign traversed by the caricature of locomotion is -remarkable for its fertility, and for many other things redolent, I wot, -to the ordinary resident of nothing but the meanest bathos—so deadly in -use! It is otherwise with the stranger within the gates, to whom these -items of every day unfold themselves as precious boons, creating a -joyous sense of novelty and possession. A rapid but happy and accurate -description of the vale by Mr Henry, who, I believe, is an Irishman, -points the common lesson how much of beauty and wonder lies around us, -had we but eyes to see. Impatient for the hills, and doubtless as -purblind as my neighbours, I should scarce have lingered amid these -pastoral scenes but for his restraining touch, so that I rest doubly -indebted to his sage and kindly interpretation.</p> - -<p>“I live in Uffculme. Its name might appropriately be Coleraine, for it -is indeed a corner of ferns; every lane abounds with them, the hart’s -tongue being specially abundant. Uffculme takes its name from the river -Culm, and means simply<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_003" id="page_003"></a>{3}</span> up Culm. It is noted for ‘zider’ and its grammar -school. It is a quaint and quiet village. I love its charming thatched -cottages, with their niched eaves, each niche the eyebrow of a little -window. The inns too are quaint, with their suspended signs, each a -symbolic gem. Some in the country around here bear such names as the -‘Merry Harriers,’ the ‘Honest Heart,’ the ‘Rising Sun,’ the ‘Half Moon,’ -the ‘Hare and Hounds,’ etc.</p> - -<p>“There are four streets in Uffculme, and a triangular ‘square,’ on which -a market is held every two months. In the interval the grass has its own -sweet will. Everything is still; the smoke rises like incense in the -air. Here, as I write, looking into a garden, which even now, in -October, has many flowers in bloom, I hear no sounds but the song of the -robin enjoying the glory of the morning sun, a chanticleer crowing in -the distance, and the clanging anvil of the village blacksmith.</p> - -<p>“The narrowness of the lanes around adds greatly to the country’s -charms, their high hedgerows being a mass of many kinds of flowers. -Thoroughly to enjoy the beauties of the neighbourhood, however, it must -be viewed from one of the hills or downs. Embowered in a wealth of -greenery, Uffculme sleeps on a slope of the Culm valley. As far as the -eye can reach, lies a most beautiful panorama of diversified hill and -dale with rounded trees, every field hedged with them. The quiet herds -of Devon cattle lie ruminating and adorning the green bosom of the -country. The whole scene has a charming cultured aspect, as if some -giant landscape-gardener had laid it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_004" id="page_004"></a>{4}</span> out. What peacefulness! How -beautiful the cattle!</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">‘Aren’t they innocent things, them bas’es,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And haven’t they got old innocent faces?<br /></span> -<span class="i1">A-strooghin’ their legs that lazy way,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Or a-standin’ as if they meant to pray.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">They’re that sollum an’ lovin’ an’ steady an’ wise,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the butter meltin’ in their big eyes,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Eh, what do you think about it, John?<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Is it the stuff they’re feedin’ on?<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The clover, and meadow grass, and rushes,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And then goin’ pickin’ among the bushes,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And sniffin’ the dew when its fresh and fine,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The sweetest brew of God’s own wine.’<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>“And then the Devonshire clotted cream! It is delicious, yet simply -made. The milk stands on the hob till the cream rises and attains almost -the consistency of dough. Every son of Devon, native and adopted, enjoys -this luxury to the full.</p> - -<p>“The Culm is a little wandering river, abounding in trout. Otters are -hunted at Hemyock. Foxes also are found in the neighbourhood, and on one -occasion the noble wild red deer approached within five miles of us. -Birds of all kinds are plentiful, and flowers abound. Bullfinches are a -pest, even among the apple-trees. In my first walk, I saw a kingfisher -and a jay. The country exudes vegetation at every pore. The mildness of -the climate is evidenced by the fact that on Saturday last (October 17) -I saw in bloom the foxglove, poppy, primrose, wild anthernum, and many -other flowers. I ate a strawberry grown in the open; watched the bees on -the mignonette beds, and saw a wood-pigeon’s nest with young. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_005" id="page_005"></a>{5}</span> -climax is reached when I say that a man of great agricultural faith, in -the neighbouring parish of Halberton, is attempting a second crop of -potatoes.</p> - -<p>“The country is well-watered; little rills gush from every quarter. The -natives reckon by the flowers—<i>e.g.</i>, ‘He went to Canada last hyacinth -time.’ The gentlemen’s seats are lovely in the extreme, and are -surrounded by trees that would not grow ‘in the cold North’s unhallowed -ground.’ Within a stone’s throw of the ‘square,’ and in a former -Coleraine gentleman’s seat, grow Wellingtonia pines, the cypress, the -breadfruit tree, the Spanish chestnut, and other exotic beauties. A -house in the village has its walls adorned with passion-flowers, now in -bloom.</p> - -<p>“We are out of the tourist’s track here. The motor rarely invades our -quiet life; indeed, the roads are not suited for motoring, as the -streams cross them in several places, and a foot-bridge affords the only -means of dry transit for the passengers.</p> - -<p>“I need not dwell on the Devon dialect. It is familiar to every reader -of <i>Lorna Doone</i>. Suffice it to say that it slides out with the maximum -ease, and in defiance of every rule of grammar. Have I exhausted -Devonian joys? Nay, I could mention the melodious church-bells, the -beauty of the children, and many other matters; but I have fulfilled my -intention, if I have conveyed the quaintness, the peace, and the good -living of this part of rural Devon—a land ‘where the plain old men have -rosy faces, and the simple maidens quiet eyes.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>Hence it appears that all the glory did not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_006" id="page_006"></a>{6}</span> depart from Devon with -fustian coats and brass buttons.</p> - -<p>Mr Henry, it will be observed, speaks admiringly, as well he may, of the -extreme loveliness of the country-seats. So far as the Culm valley is -concerned, none will compare with Bradfield, the immemorial home of the -Walrond family. Readers of <i>Perlycross</i> will recollect the brave -veteran, Sir Thomas Waldron, and the wrong done to his honoured remains; -and they may perchance note the different modes of spelling the name. -Blackmore follows the local pronunciation, and the precedent of good old -John Waldron, founder of an almshouse at Tiverton, of whom Harding -remarks, “By his arms I judge his ancestors were branched from the -ancient family at Bradfield, near Cullompton, where they were located in -Henry II.’s time.”</p> - -<p>According to Hutchins, the family of Walrond is descended from Walran -Venator, to whom William I. gave eight manors in Dorsetshire. The name -is indubitably of French origin, and apparently represents the old Latin -patronymic Valerian.</p> - -<p>To turn from names to things, an authentic note attests that, in 1332, -John Walrond had a licence for an oratory. Presumably this was the -ancient chapel of which Lysons speaks, and which probably stood on a -site still known as the Chapel Yard, on the north side of the mansion. -The present house does not go back to so remote a time. On the north -wall are the words, “Vivat E. Rex”; and elsewhere may be seen the dates -1592 and 1604. It is considered that the house was rebuilt in sections<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_007" id="page_007"></a>{7}</span> -and at intervals, during the short reign of Edward VI., and towards the -close of that of Elizabeth.</p> - -<p>Apart from inevitable decay, the mansion remained practically unaltered -until about the middle of the last century, when it was thoroughly -restored by the late Sir John Walrond, who planted the fine avenues of -oak and cedar. Sir John did nothing to destroy or impair the character -of the place, and the changes he introduced were extremely judicious, as -indeed was to be expected from a gentleman of his refined taste. Son of -Mr Benjamin Bowden Dickinson, of Tiverton, who assumed his wife’s name -on his marriage with the heiress of the last of the Bradfield line, he -came into possession in 1845. At that time the house consisted of north -and south gabled wings, united by the old hall, and in ruinous repair, -roughcast and whitewashed. Low offices disfigured the west side, and the -south wall was propped with timber. A farmyard and other buildings -occupied the site of the present entrance.</p> - -<p>Such was Bradfield. To-day it is one of the most charming and beautiful -homes in the West. The most ancient and characteristic portion is the -noble hall, which is forty-four feet long by twenty-one feet wide, and -glories in a magnificent hammer-beam roof, adorned with carved angels, a -rich cornice, carved pendants, and old oak plenishings. The napkin -panelling is in excellent preservation, and the fine woodwork, once -covered with many coats of paint, is now fully exposed. Quaint and -delightful features of the apartment are the open fireplace, the -minstrel gallery, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_008" id="page_008"></a>{8}</span> a dog-gate which kept canine favourites below -stairs. Just off the minstrel gallery is the state bedroom, containing a -good sketch of the hall and gallery in days of yore, which gives one to -see how rich the colouring must have been. Below the gallery is the -“buttery hatch,” and beyond the “buttery hatch,” the old kitchen, now -the library.</p> - -<p>The drawing-room, communicating by a doorway with the hall dais, and one -of the last rooms to be restored, has, in lieu of paint and whitewash, -walls of moulded oakwork, a richly panelled and decorated ceiling, and a -Jacobean mantelpiece. On the screen over the doorway are coloured -figures of Adam and Eve; and among other curios are an embroidered silk -sachet, in which is enclosed a love letter from Mr Walrond to Anne -Courtenay, written on parchment, and dated October 27, 1659, and a -prayer-book belonging to the old family chapel. Many other charming -sights the interior affords, such as the oak panelling of the -dining-room, its old chimney-piece, its pictures. And outside is a rare -plesaunce, with clipped box-trees, and great clipped yews, and a lake, -and an old bowling-green. Truly, an ideal country-house!</p> - -<p>Another branch of the Walronds lived at Dulford House, which is also in -the neighbourhood. Neither of these mansions can be exactly identified -with the “Walderscourt” of the romance, which is represented as standing -on a spot roughly indicated by Pitt Farm, in the parish of Culmstock, -and not far from the village.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_009" id="page_009"></a>{9}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_002" id="ill_002"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_040_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_040_sml.jpg" width="450" height="307" alt="Image unavailable: CULMSTOCK VICARAGE AND CHURCH (page 33)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">CULMSTOCK VICARAGE AND CHURCH (<a href="#ill_033">page 33</a>).</span> -</div> - -<p>There are coloured effigies of the Cavalier period in Uffculme Church, -which, by the way, has a magnificent screen, sixty-seven feet in length, -probably the longest in the county. Nothing authentic is known about the -effigies, but many have the impression that they represent members of -the Walrond family. It is possible, however, that the originals of the -busts were Holways, of Leigh, since the oldest monuments in the church -were erected in memory of their dead. Leigh Court is the name of the -present mansion, but Goodleigh, as is shown by old deeds, was the -description of the more ancient manorial residence, which did not stand -on the same site. And thereby hangs a tale.</p> - -<p>The late Mr William Wood, father of my kind friend, Mr William Taylor -Wood, of Gaddon, owned and lived at Leigh, and, being of an economical -turn of mind, he thought he would clear away the few mouldering ruins of -the old manor house, which only cumbered the ground, and thus extend the -area of one of his fields. Men were engaged for the work, and had -already proceeded some way with their task, when suddenly a workman -threw down his tools and vanished clean out of the neighbourhood. For -years there were no tidings of him. Eventually he returned, but never -vouchsafed the least explanation of his extraordinary conduct. The -people of the place, by whom a new coat or pair of boots would have been -scrutinised with suspicion, all decided that he had found a “pot of -treasure,” whilst Mr Wood, who, with all his good qualities, was -somewhat touched with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_010" id="page_010"></a>{10}</span> superstition, commanded the operation to be -stayed.</p> - -<p>Wandering about in this pleasant and hospitable region one gathers many -a charming idyll of bygone times. Such, for instance, is the story of -the young lady who arrived at Gaddon on a short visit and remained -fourteen years. It seems that the old housekeeper was sitting on a box -before the kitchen fire, preparing lamb’s tails for a pie (by dipping -them in water brought to a certain temperature, in order to facilitate -the removal of the wool), when all at once she fell back—dead.</p> - -<p>The master of the house, Mr Richard Hurley, had relations living in -another part of the parish, and, on learning the sad news, sent off to -them for assistance. There were a lot of girls in the family, and they -and their mother were sitting cosily round the hearth, when there came a -knock at the door. In those days a knock at the door was enough to throw -any country household into a ferment of excitement, which, in this -instance, was not diminished when the messenger announced his errand.</p> - -<p>“Please, master wants one of the young ladies to come over, because old -Betty has dropped dead.”</p> - -<p>Upon this a family council was held, and the following morning Mary -Garnsey, a pretty, rosy-cheeked maiden of fourteen, mounted her horse, -and with her impedimenta slung from the saddle-bow—there were no -Gladstone bags in those days—rode over to Gaddon to aid her uncle in -his difficulty. Pleased with her agreeable company, and more than -satisfied with her<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_011" id="page_011"></a>{11}</span> efficient services, Mr Hurley became loth to part -with her, and, in fact, coaxed her to remain till she was twenty-eight, -when she left to be married. Old inhabitants may, perchance, remember -Mrs Pocock, of Rock House, Halberton. She was the lady.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_012" id="page_012"></a>{12}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II<br /><br /> -<small>BLACKMORE’S VILLAGE</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">At</span> Culmstock one finds oneself in a village of considerable beauty, to -which the little stream with its border of aspens, and the fine old -church on the knoll, are the principal contributors. Hence also are -avenues leading up to the witching prospects of the Blackdown Hills, -Culmstock Beacon, in particular, being a favourite spot for picnics. So -far so good. But there are drawbacks. When one sets foot in any of these -West-country villages, one is apt to be affected with a sense of -half-melancholy. Stillness is, of course, to be expected; stillness, -indeed, is one of the great charms of the country, and a happy contrast -to the bustle and confusion of the town. But stillness, to be entirely -welcome, must not be emblematic of decay.</p> - -<p>Not that Culmstock is altogether in that parlous state; there are many -signs of enterprise and activity. Witness the erection of tidy brick -houses in lieu of crumbling, thatched cottages, so sweet to look upon, -but not specially comfortable to live in. That, however, is not all. One -reason why cob-cottages are no longer built is that this is, to a great -extent, a lost art. A<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_013" id="page_013"></a>{13}</span> friend of mine, who is not an architect, but is a -pretty shrewd observer of things in general, has explained to me what he -believes to have been the process. The angle of a roof is formed by -“half-couples,” and in the case of cob-cottages my friend thinks that -underneath the “half-couples,” at tolerably close intervals, were set -upright posts. The whole of this scaffolding constituted the permanent -frame of the building, and as soon as it was completed by the addition -of horizontal timbers, the roof was thatched. Then the “cob,” which -resembled mortar with a thickening of hair, etc., was erected in -sections about two or three feet high, so as to envelop the posts, and -each section was allowed to dry before the mud-wall was carried higher. -This was a necessity, but, as the result, the work was slow and tedious, -and nowadays would be more expensive than building with brick or stone.</p> - -<p>Be that as it may, the fact cannot be gainsaid that at Culmstock, and -not at Culmstock alone, the advent of the railway and the newspaper, and -the general opening-up of communications with the outer world, have made -a difference. So great indeed is the revolution that one is constrained -to admit that here, though one is in Blackmore’s village, one is yet not -properly in the village that Blackmore knew. True, there is the old -church tower, the stone-screen (Mr Penniloe’s glorious “find”), and even -the old yew-tree springing from the ledge below the battlements. The -bridge, too, is much the same, save for a tasteless, if necessary, -addition. The vicarage also stands, its back turned discourteously on -the wayfarer; and I certify that it is the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_014" id="page_014"></a>{14}</span> identical structure which -sheltered Blackmore as a boy, though his father was never the vicar, -only curate-in-charge.</p> - -<p>All this may be granted, but the man of feeling still mourns the -loss—for loss he knows there has been—of local life and colour. As -Pericles observed many centuries ago, a city is not an affair of walls -only; and were the material village of seventy years since more intact -than it is, the change in its social conditions would be none the less. -In the old days, Culmstock was no mere geographical expression; it was a -distinct entity, a separate organism, fully equipped for its own needs, -and harbouring, as <i>Perlycross</i> testifies, a spirit of pride and -independence. The warlike rivalry between rustic communities like -Culmstock and Hemyock, though almost universal, may strike one as a -trifle ridiculous; but if a “bold peasantry” could be retained at the -cost of occasional horseplay, it was worth the price. What can be -conceived more admirable than a strong and healthy, and in its heart of -hearts, contented population, grouped into parishes, living on the land?</p> - -<p>Old inhabitants with a tincture of education do not, I admit, see things -quite in this light. They are all for modern improvements, and refer -with bitter cynicism to the hardships experienced, and the low wages -earned, in days of yore, for which they have usually not a particle of -regret. But such people are not always right, and now and then one meets -with a pleasing appreciation of the olden times. Not long ago there -might have been seen, tottering about the village, a Culmstock veteran, -who had been wont to ply<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_015" id="page_015"></a>{15}</span> the flail. The staccato of the “broken stick,” -however, had yielded place to the drone of the threshing-machine, which -was not so agreeable. Suddenly he paused and cocked his ear—what was -that? From the interior of a yeoman’s barn came a familiar sound. Bang! -bang! bang! bang! ’Twas the flail; and the wrinkled old face beamed with -delight as Hodge exclaimed, rubbing his hands, “Blest if Culmstock be -dead yet!”</p> - -<p>(Which demonstrates, by the way, the truth of Blackmore’s dictum—“There -are very few noises that cannot find some ear to which they are -congenial.”)</p> - -<p>The task will not be easy, but let us endeavour to form some idea of -Culmstock parish as it appeared to the veteran in his long-past youth. -Most likely he was a parish apprentice, bound out at one of the -triennial meetings of the local magistrates held for that purpose in a -cottage near the church. Farmers generally appreciated the privilege of -having poor boys assigned to them as apprentices, especially as they -were not compelled to take any particular boy; but this was not -invariably so, and sometimes they would pay a tailor or a shoemaker -(say) five pounds to relieve them of the distasteful duty. We will -suppose, however, that the farmer is willing to stand <i>in loco parentis</i> -to the trembling little mortal—not more than ten years old, -perhaps—and accordingly signs his name and sets his seal to the -indenture.</p> - -<p>Have you ever seen such a document? A more portentous agreement than -“these presents,” seeing that the business itself was so simple, was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_016" id="page_016"></a>{16}</span> -surely never devised by misplaced ingenuity. No less than six -officials—to say nothing of the master—were parties to the deed, viz., -two justices, two overseers, and two churchwardens; and their names were -entered in the blank spaces of the form reserved for them. I will not -inflict the whole of the rigmarole on the reader, but here is the cream -of it:—</p> - -<p>The instrument conveys that the churchwardens and overseers between them -do put and place M. or N., a poor child of the parish, apprentice to -John Doe or Richard Roe, yeoman, with him to dwell and serve until the -said apprentice shall accomplish his full age of twenty-one years, -according to the statute made and provided, during all which term the -said apprentice the said master faithfully shall serve in all lawful -business according to his power, wit, and ability; and honestly, -orderly, and obediently, in all things demean and behave himself towards -him. On the contrary part, the said master the said apprentice in -husbandry work shall and will teach and instruct, and cause to be taught -and instructed, in the best way and manner he can, during the said term; -and shall and will, during all the term aforesaid, find, provide, and -allow unto the said apprentice, meet, competent, and sufficient meat, -drink, and apparel, lodging, washing, and all other things necessary and -fit for an apprentice.</p> - -<p>With such tautological, though no doubt impressive verbiage, was the -poor child of the parish launched on the sea of life. Conducted to the -farmhouse, he was speedily initiated into the habits of the -occupants—rough people, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_017" id="page_017"></a>{17}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_003" id="ill_003"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_049_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_049_sml.jpg" width="450" height="303" alt="Image unavailable: RECTORY HOUSE AT CHARLES (page 225)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">RECTORY HOUSE AT CHARLES (<a href="#page_225">page 225</a>).</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">sometimes not unkindly. At dinner the “missus” usually presided, with -the master on one side and the family on the other, and the servants in -the lowest places. For the broth, which was an important item in the -menu, wooden spoons were in favour, although an old fellow called Tinker -Toogood came round from time to time and cast the lead that had been -saved for him into a pewter spoon. In some farmhouses no real plates of -any description were employed; instead of that, the table was carved -throughout its length into a series of mock plates, and on these spaces -the meat was placed. Every day the table was washed with hot water, and -covers were set over the imitation plates to keep the dust off. It was -the custom to serve the pudding and treacle first, so as to lessen the -appetite and effect a saving in the meat—salt pork as a rule. Wheaten -bread was unknown. It was always barley bread, nearly black, and cut up -into chunks. These were placed in a wooden bowl.</p> - -<p>In addition to Tinker Toogood, itinerant tailors, shoemakers, and -harness-makers were regular visitors at the farmhouses, where they -performed their tasks and were allowed free commons. Harness-menders -were the best paid; they received two shillings a day. Commons, although -free, were not always abundant; and a Mr Snip once complained, in the -bitterness of his heart, that he had tea and fried potatoes for -breakfast, fried potatoes and tea for dinner, and tea and fried potatoes -for supper. With the blacksmith the farmer made a contract, agreeing to -pay so much for the shoeing of horses, repairing of ploughshares, etc., -and, as in the ploughing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_018" id="page_018"></a>{18}</span> season coulter and share required to be -sharpened every night, the smithy on the hill was generally crowded.</p> - -<p>At least fifty oxen were kept on the different farms for ploughing; and, -in the opinion of some, these animals were better than horses. Young -bullocks were stationed between the wheelers and the front oxen, but -soon became used to the work, and placed themselves in the furrow as a -matter of course. All the time a boy, armed with a goad, used to sing to -them:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Up along, jump along,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Pretty, Spark, and Tender” [<i>i.e.</i>, the near bullocks].<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Wishing to encourage his team, the boy would say, not “Woog up!” as in -the case of horses, but “Ur up!” Other cries were, “Broad, hither!” -“Tender, hither!” and the like.</p> - -<p>In reaping, when the time came for sharpening hooks, the foreman sang -out:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“A sheave or two further, and then—<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">whereupon the catchpoll asked,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“What then?<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">To this the foreman replied,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“A fresh edge, a merry look, and along agen,<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_019" id="page_019"></a>{19}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">and the catchpoll rejoined,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Well done, Mr Foreman!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">As the finale, all drank out of a horn cup.</p> - -<p>In the first verse of an old Devonshire harvest-home song, convivial -spirits were thus addressed:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Here’s a health to the barley mow, my brave boys;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Here’s a health to the barley mow!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">We’ll drink it out of the jolly brown bowl;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Here’s a health to the barley mow!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>In successive verses they were adjured to drink it out of the nipperkin, -the quarter-pint, the half-pint, the quart, the pottle, the gallon, the -half-anker, the anker, the half-hogshead, the hogshead, the pipe, the -well, the river, and, finally, the ocean.</p> - -<p>In the direction of Nicolashayne were three large barns (since converted -into six cottages) in front of which was a broad area of road for the -wagons to halt upon. The “Church of Exeter” has proprietary rights in -the parish; and a proctor came up from Thorverton to receive tithes on -behalf of the Dean and Chapter. Only the small tithes went to the vicar.</p> - -<p>The grandson of Clerk Channing of <i>Perlycross</i>, a man over seventy, -tells me that he can remember the introduction of the first wagon and -the first spring-cart at Culmstock, pack-horses being used always -before. This circumstance can be accounted for in two ways, partly from -the intense conservation of rural Devonshire—at last, perhaps, broken -up—and partly from the pose of the village, with its face towards the -valley of the Culm and its back against the hills. In a rough country -like the Blackdowns the pack-horse<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_020" id="page_020"></a>{20}</span> would be certain to tarry longer -than in more cultivated regions, and a large portion of the parish of -Culmstock, though, according to Blackmore, it comprises some of the best -land in East Devon, consists of hills and commons.</p> - -<p>The wildest tract of all is Maidendown—a dreary waste compact of bog -and scrub in the vicinity of the late Archbishop Temple’s paternal home, -Axon, and reaching out to the main road between Wellington and Exeter. -Its situation does not agree with that of the Black Marsh, or Forbidden -Land, of <i>Perlycross</i>, which is described as lying a long way back among -the Blackdown Hills, and “nobody knows in what parish”; otherwise one -might have guessed that Maidendown was the prototype of that barren -stretch with a curse upon it.</p> - -<p>In the West country pack-horses are equally associated with moors and -lanes. Nowadays a Devonshire lane—love is compared to a Devonshire -lane—is regarded as essentially beautiful, with its beds of wild -flowers and tracery of briars; but Vancouver’s impartial testimony -compels one to think that in former days this domain of the pack-horse -was not so attractive. He says:</p> - -<p>“The height of the hedge-banks, often covered with a rank growth of -coppice-wood, uniting and interlocking with each other overhead, -completes the idea of exploring a labyrinth rather than that of passing -through a much-frequented country. This first impression, however, will -be at once removed on the traveller’s meeting with, or being overtaken -by, a gang of pack-horses. The rapidity with which these animals descend -the hills, when not loaded, and the utter impossibility<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_021" id="page_021"></a>{21}</span> of passing -loaded ones, require that the utmost caution should be used in keeping -out of the way of the one, and exertion in keeping ahead of the other. A -cross-way in the road or gateway is eagerly looked for as a retiring -spot to the traveller, until the pursuing squadron, or heavily-loaded -brigade, may have passed by.... As there are but few wheel-carriages to -pass along them, the channel for the water and the path for the -pack-horse are equally in the middle of the way, which is altogether -occupied by an assemblage of such large and loose stones only as the -force of the descending torrents have not been able to sweep away or -remove.”</p> - -<p>This was certainly not pleasant, although in most other respects -Culmstock was then a more interesting place than now. I do not assert -that it was more moral. About seventy years ago, a native of the -village, one Tom Musgrove, was hanged for sheep-stealing, being the last -man, it is said, to experience that fate in the county of Devon. We -stand aghast at the barbarity of our forefathers; but if ever the -penalty could be made to fit the crime, then it must be owned, Tom -deserved the rope. He was a notorious thief, whose depredations were the -common talk of the village, and, to make matters worse, his evil deeds -were performed under the cloak of religion. Once a couple of ducks were -missed, and, whilst every cottage was being searched in the hope of -regaining the stolen property, Tom, secure in his pretensions to piety, -stood complacently in his doorway, and the party of inquisitors passed -on. Just inside were the ducks, feeding out of his platter.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_022" id="page_022"></a>{22}</span></p> - -<p>One night a huckster’s shop, kept by Betsy Collins, at Millmoor, was -feloniously entered and robbed. Next morning, Tom, apprised of the -event, ran off in his night-cap to condole with the poor woman in her -misfortune, and succeeded so well as to be invited to share her morning -repast. “There!” said he, “her’ve a-gied the old rogue a good -breakfast.”</p> - -<p>As a professor of religion Tom contracted a warm friendship with a baker -named Potter, who was an ardent Methodist. Neither friendship nor -religion, however, prevented Mr Musgrove from enriching himself at his -neighbour’s expense. Profiting by an opportunity when Potter was at -chapel, and closely engaged with pious exercises, Tom and his one-armed -daughter broke into the bakehouse and carried off Potter’s bacon, the -lady burglar aiding herself with her teeth.</p> - -<p>These breaches of morality appear to have been condoned—at any rate, -they did not land the culprit in any serious trouble. But at last Tom -went a step too far. Down in the hams, or water-meadows, between -Culmstock and Uffculme, he seized a large ram, which he slew, brought -home, and buried in his garden. The crime was traced to his door, -professions and protestations proved unavailing, and Musgrove, tried and -convicted at the following Assizes, was publicly executed at Exeter -Gaol. It will be remembered that Mrs Tremlett’s “dree buys was hanged, -back in the time of Jarge the Third, to Exeter Jail for ship-staling” -(<i>Perlycross</i>, chapter xxvi.)</p> - -<p>Sheep-stealing was not the only excitement.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_023" id="page_023"></a>{23}</span> In Blackmore’s youth—and -<i>Perlycross</i> is built on the circumstance—smuggling was carried on with -spirit (in both senses) over the Blackdowns, and queer stories are told -of fortunes made by “fair trade,” in the conduct of which a mysterious -tower, out on the hills, is said to have played an important part. An -octogenarian of my acquaintance admits that, as a boy, he shared in -these illegal adventures, which did not receive that amount of social -reprobation they may have deserved. He does not deny that he slept in a -friend’s house over kegs of brandy which he knew to be contraband, nor -does he disguise the fact that he was not a mere sleeping partner. He -acknowledges being sent with a keg to meet a fellow-conspirator, who for -the sake of appearances toiled in the local woollen factory, but out of -business hours drove a lucrative trade with the farmers in the forbidden -thing. Worst of all, on one occasion, when an excise officer was -reported to be in the village, a cask was hastily transferred to his -shoulders, which, as being youthful, were less likely to attract -suspicion, and he actually walked past the Government man—barrel and -brandy and all! Horses laden with the foreign stuff came up from Seaton. -They had no halters, and were guided, says my friend, by the scent, the -journey being naturally performed in the dark.</p> - -<p>Smuggling, however, took various forms. Men from Upottery, Clayhidon, -and elsewhere would halt a cart on the outskirts of the village, and go -round with brandy or gin in bladders, which they carried in the pockets -of their greatcoats.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_024" id="page_024"></a>{24}</span> One Giles, of Clayhidon, had a donkey and cart -with a keg of brandy concealed in a furnace turned upside down. A -Culmstock man called Townsend, landlord of the “Three Tuns,” is said to -have been ruined by a smuggler, who sold him a gallon of brandy and -demanded accommodation, as usual. The publican refused it on the ground -that the house was already full, upon which the smuggler, stung with -resentment, informed the police, and Townsend was fined £270.</p> - -<p>By these instances, something, it may be hoped, has been done towards -reconstructing the Culmstock in which Blackmore grew up, and which -helped to make him what he was—essentially the prophet of the village -and rural life. And here I must rectify a possible misunderstanding, -Because stress has been laid on changes in the social conditions of the -parish, as being of deeper significance, it must not be inferred that -there have been no alterations, or none of any importance, in the face -of things. The contrary is the truth, and, on a reckoning, one is -tempted to say with Betty Muxworthy, “arl gone into churchyard.”</p> - -<p>Culmstock churchyard has indeed swallowed up, not only successive -generations of the inhabitants, but a goodly share of the village -itself. This is the more regrettable, as the portions absorbed are -precisely those which, being redolent of the olden times, one would have -liked preserved. The shambles, a covered enclosure for butchers -attending the weekly market, has gone the way of all flesh. So also has -the stockhouse, which was, rather inconsequently, an open<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_025" id="page_025"></a>{25}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_004" id="ill_004"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_060_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_060_sml.jpg" width="309" height="450" alt="Image unavailable: CULMSTOCK CHURCH AND RIVER (page 12)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">CULMSTOCK CHURCH AND RIVER (<a href="#page_012">page 12</a>).</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">space where the stocks were kept. Hard by stood an inn, called the “Red -Lion,” which either failed to draw sufficient custom, or having a -handsome porch, was deemed too good for a common inn and metamorphosed -into a school. A Mr Kelso arriving with wife and daughters three, -accomplished the transformation, and, according to local tradition, he -had the honour of instilling the rudiments of learning into the late -Archbishop Temple. This, not the National School which was built in the -Rev. John Blackmore’s time and mainly through his exertions, was the -academy of Sergeant Jakes, the position of which is plainly defined in -chapter xxxvi.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> - -<p>There was formerly a considerable trade at Culmstock in combing and -spinning wool. Thirty hands are now employed at the mill (no longer an -independent concern, but a branch establishment of Messrs Fox Brothers, -of Wellington); once four hundred were busy at home. Soap also throve. -It was made on the right shoulder of the hill, and the manufacturer, a -Mr Hellings, kept seven pack-horses to transport it to Exeter. Culmstock -soap had a great vogue in the cathedral city, and it was a common -observation that no one had a chance till Hellings was “sold out.” In -the neighbouring village of Clayhidon was a silk factory, employing, I -believe, a hundred hands, and run by a gentleman of the Methodist -persuasion, whose house and chapel adjoined—the three together -producing a combination of the earthly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_026" id="page_026"></a>{26}</span> and the heavenly which impressed -my informant as the acme of convenience. A similar factory in Red Lion -Court, Culmstock, met with speedy failure.</p> - -<p>These industries are now extinct, and one is somewhat at a loss in -seeking for “live” interests, although it is impossible to forget that -Hemyock is a famous mart for pigs. The whole district is piggy, and the -sleek black animal with the curly tail is as highly respected, in life -and in death, as his congener in that porcine paradise, Erin. I was -talking to an old fellow at Culmstock, it may have been two years ago, -and the conversation turned on swine. Rather to my surprise, he spoke of -a certain female of the breed as having been “brought up in house,” and -with full appreciation of the fun, volunteered a local saw to the effect -that “when a sow has had three litters, she is artful enough to open a -door.”</p> - -<p>Culmstock, it is not too much to say, is redolent of Waterloo. The -beacon was often aflame during the Napoleonic wars, and, upon their -conclusion, the famous Wellington Monument was erected at no great -distance, in honour of the Iron Duke, who took his title from Wellington -in Somerset, the Pumpington of <i>Perlycross</i>.</p> - -<p>Thanks to the industry of Mr William Doble, who is, I believe, a -descendant of more than one of the local heroes, it is possible to -restore the atmosphere which brought about the creation, years -afterwards, of Sir Thomas Waldron and Sergeant Jakes. When R. D. -Blackmore was a boy, many were still living who could remember the -incessant din of the joy-bells on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_027" id="page_027"></a>{27}</span> announcement of the victory—a -din continued for several days; and the scene in the Fore-street, the -“grateful celebration,” when high and low, indiscriminately, turned out -to share the feast. Naturally, however, the festivities were dashed with -some amount of sorrow and anxiety, as it was not yet known what had been -the fortunes of the gallant fellows who had gone forth to fight -England’s battle. Two stanzas of a song, which an old lady of Culmstock -sang as a girl, reflect with simple pathos the dreadful suspense of -relations and friends.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Mother is the battle over?<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Thousands have been slain they say.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Is my father coming? Tell me,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Have the English gained the day?<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Is he well, or is he wounded?<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Mother, is he among the slain?<br /></span> -<span class="i1">If you know, I pray you tell me,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Will my father come again?”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>A rough list of the Culmstock warriors comprises the following names:—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr valign="top"><td>Major Octavius Temple,<br /> (father of the late Archbishop). <br /> -Dr Ayshford.<br /> -Sergt. J. Mapledorham.<br /> -Sergt. W. Doble.<br /> -Sergt. Gregory.<br /> -William Berry.<br /> -William Sheers.<br /> -Robert Wood.<br /> -Thomas Scadding.</td> -<td>Richard Fry.<br /> -Abram Lake.<br /> -William Gillard.<br /> -John Jordan.<br /> -Thomas Andrews.<br /> -John Nethercott.<br /> -John Tapscott.<br /> -“Urchard” Penny.<br /> -James Mapledorham, jun.<br /> -Betty Milton.<br /> -Betsy Mapledorham.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>Mapledorham, was too much of a mouthful for Culmstock people, so they -consulted their own<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_028" id="page_028"></a>{28}</span> convenience by calling the couple Maldrom. The -excellent sergeant already possessed a long record of service when -summoned to the final test of Waterloo, and in several campaigns he had -been accompanied by his faithful Betsy. Equally adventurous, Betty -Milton was full of reminiscences of her hard life in the Peninsula.</p> - -<p>William Berry, too, was fond of story-telling. He related, with humorous -glee, that he had once captured a mule with a sack of doubloons. -Unfortunately a wine-shop proved seductive, and whilst he was regaling -himself therein, an artful Spaniard made off with the booty. Robert, -better known as “Robin,” Wood was literary, and published a penny -history of his exploits, of which, alas! not a single copy is known to -exist. William Sheers, figuratively speaking, turned his spear into a -ploughshare, as he took to shopkeeping and became a pronounced Methodist -and zealous supporter of the Smallbrook Chapel. I can just remember this -bearded veteran, who in his last days was a victim to a severe form of -cardiac asthma. Tapscott and “Urchard” Penny were both ex-marines. The -former had been present at the Battle of Trafalgar and rejoiced in the -nicknames “John Glory” and “Blue my Shirt.” As for Penny, he was -sometimes called “Tenpenny Dick,” the reason being that he would never -accept more than tenpence as his day’s wage. When his turn came to be -buried, the bystanders observed that water had found its way into his -last resting-place, so that, it was said, he remained constant to the -element in which he had so long served.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_029" id="page_029"></a>{29}</span></p> - -<p>The foremost of the group of veterans is claimed to have been Doble, -who, after starting in life as a parish apprentice, at the age of seven, -took part in seven pitched battles in the Peninsula, and ended his -military career at Waterloo. He retired from the service on a pension of -twelve shillings a week, and was the proud owner of two medals and nine -clasps. As a civilian, he was the trusted foreman of the silk factory in -Red Lion Court, which, despite his probity, soon came to grief; and at -his funeral his old comrades assembled, some from considerable -distances, to pay a last tribute to the brave soldier who had rallied -the waverers at Waterloo.</p> - -<p>Dr Ayshford used to say that he had three sources of income—his -pension, his practice, and his property. On the strength of these -resources he kept a pack of hounds. He was naturally very intimate with -the Temples, and I have been told by a descendant that it was thanks to -his generosity that the late Archbishop Temple was enabled to proceed to -Oxford. <i>Mutatis mutandis</i>, it seems not improbable that by Frank -Gilham, Blackmore may have intended his schoolmate. Think of it. Major -Temple was not only an officer of the army, but a practical farmer, and -the late primate could plough and thresh with the best. Gilham is -described as no clodhopper: he “had been at a Latin school, founded by a -great high priest of the Muses in the woollen line,” <i>i.e.</i>, Blundell. -Again, his farm adjoins the main turnpike road from London to Devonport, -at the north-west end of the parish; and where is Axon, the Temples’ old -place? The name “White Post” is perhaps adapted from “Whitehall,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_030" id="page_030"></a>{30}</span>” a -fine old-fashioned farmhouse between Culmstock and Hemyock.</p> - -<p>Like Parson Penniloe (see <i>Perlycross</i>, chapter xxxiii.), Parson -Blackmore kept pupils—a fact to which allusion is made in <i>Tales from -the Telling House</i>. The Bude Light was the Rev. Goldsworthy Gurney. The -existence of a wayside cross, from which and the fictitious description -of the Culm was formed the name of both village and romance, is -attributed to the public spirit of one Baker, who lived in the -Commonwealth time, and usurped the manor; but whether it was anything -more than a tradition in Blackmore’s youth, is perhaps doubtful. -Priestwell is Prescott, Hagdon Hill Hackpen, and Susscott Northcott. -Crang’s forge, had any such institution existed, would have been at -Craddock.</p> - -<p>The reader, however, may rest assured that Blackmore did not select -these fanciful appellations without excellent reason. He desired for -himself a large freedom, which, as we have seen, he used in transporting -mansions, and other feats of imagination. One more illustration of this -spiritual liberty may be cited. By the Foxes he evidently means the -Wellington family. The dialogue between Mrs Fox of Foxden and Parson -Penniloe, in chapter xliv., is sufficient to settle that. The name -Foxdown, too, is evidently based on that of Mr Elworthy’s residence, -Foxdene. Yet in chapter xii. Foxden is stated to be thirty miles from -Perlycross by the nearest roads. On the other hand, Pumpington, as -Wellington is called in <i>Perlycross</i>, is just where it should be -(chapter xxiv.).</p> - -<p>Turning to another matter, Blackmore has<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_031" id="page_031"></a>{31}</span> idealised the bells, inasmuch -as he states that on the front of one of them—the passing bell—was -engraven,</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Time is over for one more”;</p></div> - -<p class="nind">and on the back,</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Soon shall thy own life be o’er.”</p></div> - -<p>The Culmstock set is an interesting collection of bells, but not one of -them is adorned with mottoes such as those. One bears the inscription -“Ave Maria Gracia Plena,” and this was cast by Roger Semson, a -West-country founder of repute, who was dwelling at Ash Priors, in -Somerset, in 1549, and who stamped his initials on the bell. Another of -his bells, at Luppitt, is at once more and less explicit on this point, -since the inscription runs “nosmes regoremib.” To make sense, this must -be read backwards. Two modern bells, placed in the Culmstock belfry in -1852 and 1853 respectively, awaken proud or painful memories. The former -was cast in memory of the Duke of Wellington, the cost being defrayed by -subscription, while the latter was “the free gift of James Collier, of -Furzehayes, and John Collier, of Bowhayes.” John Collier, who was killed -by lightning at Bowhayes, was the sporting yeoman with the otter hounds, -to whom Blackmore alludes. The old house, by the way, was reputed to be -haunted, and for years no one would live in it.</p> - -<p>Blackmore’s description of the vicarage is literally correct, save that -he calls it “the rectory.” A long and rambling house it certainly is, -and the dark, narrow passage, like<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_032" id="page_032"></a>{32}</span> a tunnel, beneath the first-floor -rooms, is a feature explained by the higher level of the front of the -house “facing southwards upon a grass-plot and a flower-garden, and as -pretty as the back was ugly” (<i>Perlycross</i>, chapter vi.).<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_033" id="page_033"></a>{33}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_005" id="ill_005"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_069_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_069_sml.jpg" width="450" height="305" alt="Image unavailable: HEMYOCK (page 26)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">HEMYOCK (<a href="#page_026">page 26.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III<br /><br /> -<small>THE HINTERLAND</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Although</span> Culmstock and its immediate vicinity is somewhat deficient in -what I have ventured to term “live” interests, it must not be inferred -that the neighbourhood has nothing further to show; and among the -objects that deserve to be scheduled as worthy of attention are the -colossal stone quarries at Westleigh, which, whether viewed from the -parallel line of railway or from the opposite height on which stands -Burlescombe Church, present an imposing spectacle. For ages they have -been the principal source of supply for the district, huge quantities of -limestone having been drawn from them for building and agricultural -purposes. Much of it was formerly conveyed to Tiverton in barges towed -along the canal, the terminus of which was fitted with a number of -kilns. These, in my boyhood, I have often seen burning, and regarded -with no little awe, owing to stories that were circulated of persons -having gone to sleep on the margin, fallen over into the glowing -furnace, and been consumed to powder. They are now a picturesque ruin. -Older men can recall a yet earlier time when pack-horses came to -Westleigh from Tiverton and fetched lime in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_034" id="page_034"></a>{34}</span> boxes. In front was a man -riding a pony, and the horses followed without compulsion.</p> - -<p>The string of pack-horses mentioned in chapter ii. of <i>Lorna Doone</i>, as -arriving from Sampford Peverell, may be a reminiscence of this traffic.</p> - -<p>Not far from the entrance to the Whiteball tunnel, and in the -neighbourhood of the great limestone quarries, in a pleasant meadow -facing south, are the ruins of Canonsleigh Abbey. To a connoisseur like -Mr F. T. Elworthy, these remains tell their own story, and it is thanks -to that gentleman’s investigations and researches that we are able to -furnish a concise account of the ancient nunnery. A gateway yet stands, -though unhappily disfigured by the desecrating touch of modern man, and -near it is a doorway of red sandstone leading to a staircase doubtless -belonging to the porter. In the upper storey, square-headed -windows—wrought, we may believe, in the fourteenth century—command the -approach in either direction; other features are less easy to determine, -since there are modern walls and a modern roof, which have been added -for the purpose of turning the place into a shed, and incidentally -obscure the older architecture.</p> - -<p>Without spending more time here, let us pass to a quadrangular building -of massive construction, and supported at two of its angles by solid -buttresses. Situated at the east end of the convent, this is considered -to have been a great flanking tower communicating, by means of strong -walls (fragments of which yet remain), at the angles opposite to the -buttresses, with the residential portions. The outer or enclosing wall -of the abbey precincts started from the middle of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_035" id="page_035"></a>{35}</span> the east wall of the -tower; and under the middle of the tower flowed a stream, which issued -through a covered exit and continued its course outside the boundary -wall, washing its base. The reason for this somewhat peculiar -arrangement was a good one—the supply of the abbey stews; but its -effect was to throw the tower out of line with the walls and the other -buildings.</p> - -<p>Inside the walls were two spaces, irregular in shape, and clearly open -courtyards, from one of which a doorway led into the tower. The chief -entrances seem to have been from the two or more floors of the domestic -quarters. On the side next the convent, approached by a massive doorway, -is a narrow chamber, conjectured to have been a “guard-room” for -refractory nuns. Over this, but running the entire length of the -building, and not, like the lower floor, divided by wall and doorway, is -a floor supported by beams.</p> - -<p>This tower, with the plaster clinging to its walls—how can we explain -its survival when the rest of the once stately abbey has vanished? -Probably the reason lies partly in its strength and partly in its -plainness and the absence of wrought stone tempting human greed. As has -been well said, “it still stands a picturesque and sturdy relic of an -age of good lime-burners and honest masons.” The wrought stone of one or -two windows in the adjacent walls has been removed, but what indications -remain suggest the close of the twelfth century as that virtuous age.</p> - -<p>The Priory of Leigh was founded, Dr Oliver says, in the latter half of -the twelfth century, and Prebendary Hingeston-Randolph opines, before<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_036" id="page_036"></a>{36}</span> -1173. In its infant days, it seems to have been a dependency of Plympton -Priory—at any rate, in the estimation of the latter monastery, whose -head claimed the right to appoint the superior of Leigh. This demand was -resisted, and in 1219 the then Bishop of Exeter composed the quarrel by -deciding, as a sort of compromise, that the Prior of Plympton might, if -he chose, be present at the election.</p> - -<p>In the second half of the thirteenth century there were scandals at -Leigh calling for episcopal cognisance and visitation; and these -disorders proving incurable, Bishop Quivil went the length of ejecting -the prior and canons, and transferring the monastery, with all its -belongings, to a body of canonesses of the same rule of St Augustine. -And Matilda de Tablere became the first Prioress of Leigh. Next year, -Matilda de Clare, Countess of Gloucester and Hertford, presented the -convent with the (then) great sum of six hundred marks, in -acknowledgment of which Bishop Quivil erected the priory into an abbey, -and appointed the countess its abbess.</p> - -<p>The patron saints, under the old régime, had been the Blessed Virgin -Mary and St John the Evangelist. St Ethelreda the Virgin was now added, -and practically displaced St Mary, whose name is omitted in later -descriptions. Another change affected the name of the place, “<i>Mynchen</i>” -being often substituted for “<i>Canon</i>”-leigh. “Mynchen” is the old -English feminine of “monk,” and therefore equivalent to the modern -“nun.”</p> - -<p>The indignant canons did not take their extrusion meekly. They appealed -to the archbishop,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_037" id="page_037"></a>{37}</span> and, through him, to the king, against the -usurpation of the “little women,” but they appealed in vain.</p> - -<p>Sad to relate, the ladies do not appear to have behaved much better than -their predecessors. In 1314 Bishop Stapledon, Quivil’s successor, -addressed a letter to his dear daughters in Christ, telling them in -Norman-French that he had heard of many <i>deshonestetes</i>, and calling -particular attention to the fact that there was an entrance into the -cellar where a man brewed <i>le braes</i>, and another under the new chamber -of the abbess! These he ordered to be closed by a stone wall before the -following Easter.</p> - -<p>The abbey was suppressed in February 1538, and at the end of the same -year the king granted a lease of the site and precincts, with the tithes -of sheaf and the rectories of Oakford and Burlescombe, to Thomas de -Soulemont, of London. The inmates, however, were not turned adrift on -the charity of the cold world. Each received a pension, and this, in the -case of the abbess, Elisabeth Fowell, was considerable. There were -eighteen sisters in all, and some of them, as is proved by their -names—Fortescue, Coplestone, Sydenham, Carew, Pomeroy—were of good -West-country extraction.</p> - -<p>In course of time the property passed through various hands, and out of -the spoils of the abbey a certain owner appears to have built a mansion, -which was demolished in 1821.</p> - -<p>From Canonsleigh let us away to Dunkeswell, about equidistant from -Culmstock, but in another direction. On the journey we may look again at -the grassy plateau which has Culmstock Beacon<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_038" id="page_038"></a>{38}</span> at one extremity and the -Wellington Monument, set up in honour of the Iron Duke and his -victories, at the other. This stretch of moorland is yet in its -primitive state, and the Dean and Chapter of Exeter, whose property it -is, exercise zealous supervision over it. Time was when the villagers -depastured their donkeys thereon, but of late years the privilege seems -to have been withdrawn.</p> - -<p>The Blackdowns, generally, have been enclosed and turned into farms; and -although one sometimes stumbles on desolate fields with patches of -gorse, mindful of their ancient savagery, this does not affect, to any -appreciable extent, the character of the country. On the whole, a ride -or walk across the long level chines is not specially delightsome, save -indeed for the wholesome air and an occasional glimpse of a fairy-like -<i>mappa mundi</i> spread out at their base. It is only when one descends -into charming little villages, like Hemyock, or Dunkeswell, or -Broadhembury, with their orchards fair and hollyhocks, that complete -satisfaction is attained, and then it <i>is</i> attained.</p> - -<p>Amidst so much that is bare (and on this subject we have not said our -last word) the ivied ruins of Dunkeswell Abbey, nearer Hemyock than -Dunkeswell village, and lending its name to a very respectable hamlet, -assuredly deserve remark. Situated in a charmingly secluded spot, they -consist merely of parts of the gatehouse and fragments of walls. The -latter have a blackened appearance as if the destruction of the -buildings had been accelerated by fire; more probably, however, this is -due to the mould of age. In its<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_039" id="page_039"></a>{39}</span> heyday the abbey boasted an imposing -range of buildings, the outlines of which may still be traced in the -grass, when, in the drought of summer, it withers, more rapidly than -elsewhere, over the foundations.</p> - -<p>The history of the abbey is almost as scanty as its remains. It was -founded in 1201 by William Lord Briwere or Bruere, on land that had -previously belonged to William Fitzwilliam, who, having borrowed from -one Amadio, a Jew, was compelled to mortgage his manor of Dunkeswell. -According to one version, Briwere redeemed the land from the Hebrew, but -a charter of King John shows the vendor to have been Henry de la -Pomeroy. There is clearly a tangle. Possibly Pomeroy bought Dunkeswell -from the mortgagee and resold it to Briwere, who, in any case, bestowed -it on the Cistercians of Ford.</p> - -<p>Just outside the north wall of the modern church may be seen a stone -coffin, with depressions for the head and heels. It is one of two that -were discovered some thirty years ago covered with plain Purbeck slabs, -and containing skeletons—a man’s and a woman’s; in all likelihood, -those of the powerful Lord Briwere and his good lady. The body of the -founder, it is known, was laid to rest in 1227 in the choir of the abbey -church; and it is only natural to suppose, though there is no evidence -to prove it, that husband and wife shared a common tomb. The bones, -placed together in one of the coffins, were reinterred, while the other -coffin, as I said, has been suffered to remain above-ground, a -gazing-stock for posterity.</p> - -<p>The abbey was richly endowed by its founder<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_040" id="page_040"></a>{40}</span> with lands and tenements, -including the manor of Uffculme and the mill there; and his munificence -was supplemented by liberal gifts from the monks of Ford and others. At -the date of its surrender, February 14, 1539, the annual value of the -property amounted to £300—a large income in those days.</p> - -<p>Most of the notices relating to the abbey are drawn either from the -Coroners’ or De Banco Rolls, and, as they are concerned with actions for -debt or trespass, are anything but entertaining. The one exception is -the account or accounts of the storming of Hackpen Manor by John Cogan, -of Uffculme, his son Philip, and others, in the year of grace 1299. -Entering the buildings <i>vi et armis</i>, they ejected the monks and lay -brethren, who, after the custom of their order, were carrying on farming -operations there; and beat and wounded two of the abbot’s servants to -such purpose that he was deprived of their services for a year or -longer. Moreover, they were said to have captured three score oxen and a -score of cows, and driven them to Cogan’s manor of Uffculme, whither -also they bore certain <i>furcæ</i>, which were there burnt.</p> - -<p>To this grave indictment Cogan replied, denying the trespass, and -alleging that the two manors adjoined, and that the abbot desired to -“lift” <i>furcæ</i>, etc., the property of Cogan, whereupon he instructed his -men to prevent him, which they did. Now as to those <i>furcæ</i>. Writing -aforetime on the subject, I fell into the pardonable error, if error it -be, of supposing that the term, being employed in an agricultural or -pastoral context, denoted “pitchforks.” It is my present<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_041" id="page_041"></a>{41}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_006" id="ill_006"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_080_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_080_sml.jpg" width="450" height="314" alt="Image unavailable: CULMSTOCK BRIDGE (page 13)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">CULMSTOCK BRIDGE (<a href="#page_013">page 13.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">belief that these <i>furcæ</i> were the kind of thing that gave its name to -Forches Corner, just over the Somerset border—in other words, gallows. -The abbot, as lord of Broadhembury, had not only assize of bread and -beer in that manor, but, very certainly, a gallows. The Lady Amicia, -Countess of Devon, had at least one gallows, and considering the extent -of her domains, probably gallows galore; and apparently John Cogan had -one. The Abbot of Dunkeswell, it seems to me, must have had at least -two. If this reading be correct, the undignified squabble was all about -that grisly symbol of mortality and power.</p> - -<p>It is possible that a distorted version of this affair yet lingers in -Culmstock tradition. I have heard from a Methuselah of the place that, -according to an old tale, a band of freebooters named Sylvester made an -eyry of Hackpen, whence they descended to the more fertile regions -below, raiding the farms, and carrying off the fleecy spoil to their -hold on the hill.</p> - -<p>On the break-up of the monastery the site of the buildings, the home -farm, and other lands were assigned by letters patent to John, Lord -Russell, who showed himself an utter vandal. The lead of the roofs and -the bells, of which there were four in the church tower, were the -special objects of his rapacity; but all was grist that came to his -mill, and, as the result, the fabric was left in a condition in which it -was bound to become “to hastening ills a prey.” As there was never an -abbey at Culmstock, either Canonsleigh or Dunkeswell probably served as -a model for the ruins described in <i>Perlycross</i>. The latter is the more -likely, owing to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_042" id="page_042"></a>{42}</span> presence of the “district” church built by Mrs -Simcoe, close to the remains of the ancient abbey.</p> - -<p>At the southern end of the Blackdowns is Hembury Fort, an old British -encampment, of triple formation and considerable extent, which commands -perhaps the finest view in the neighbourhood. It is believed by some to -have been also a Roman station—the Moridunum (or Muridunum) of -Antonine. On this point, however, there is considerable doubt, there -being other claimants, of which High Peak on the coast is one, and -Honiton another. The very latest view of the matter is that given by -Canon Raven in <i>The Antiquary</i> of December 1904, in which he inclines to -the opinion that the legion divided the year between a winter at Honiton -and a summer at Hembury, with the advantage of a strong fort to retire -upon in case of Dumnonian risings.</p> - -<p>In writing of these distant ages, I have often felt how remote they are -in another sense. Such a term as “Dumnonian,” for instance, though we -know its geographical significance as referring to the inhabitants of -south-west Britain—how little it conveys, and perhaps can be made to -convey, to us of the life that people lived, even if we are sure that -beneath their breasts beat human hearts like our own, with interests and -affections strong and manifold! Much gratitude, therefore, is due to the -late Rev. William Barnes, author of the classic Dorset poems, for his -bold attempt to reconstruct for us the mode of existence and -surroundings of those ancient Britons, of whom all have heard from their -childhood. This also may be poetry, but it is worth perusing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_043" id="page_043"></a>{43}</span> only as -such. The picture he describes is that of a little pastoral settlement -occupying a valley, and finding refuge in time of war in a great camp -that crowns a neighbouring hill; and the season is the end of summer, -after the reaping of oats and rye and the mowing of lawns and meadows -round the homesteads.</p> - -<p>“The cattle are on the downs, or in the hollows of the hills. Here and -there are wide beds of fern, or breadths of gorse and patches of wild -raspberry, with gleaming sheets of flowers. The swine are roaming in the -woods and shady oak-glades, the nuts are studding the brown-leaved -bushes. On the sunny side of some cluster of trees is the herdsman’s -round wicker-house, with its brown conical roof and blue wreaths of -smoke. In the meadows and basins of the sluggish streams stand clusters -of tall elms waving with the nests of herons; the bittern, coot, and -water-rail are busy among the rushes and flags of the reedy meres. Birds -are ‘charming’ in the wood-girt clearings, wolves and foxes slinking to -their covers, knots of maidens laughing at the water-spring, beating the -white linen or flannel with their washing bats; the children play before -the doors of the round straw-thatched houses of the homestead, the -peaceful abode of the sons of the oaky vale. On the ridges of the downs -rise the sharp cones of the barrows, some glistening in white chalk, or -red, the mould of a new burial, and others green with the grass of long -years.”</p> - -<p>Close to Hembury Fort is a house built by Admiral Samuel Graves, whose -best title to fame is that he invented the lifeboat. The fort<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_044" id="page_044"></a>{44}</span> is in the -parish of Payhembury. The adjacent parish of Broadhembury, a picturesque -village among the hills, could vaunt in ancient days a cell of Cluniac -monks belonging to Montacute Priory, Somerset; and from 1768 to 1775 the -incumbent was none other than Augustus Toplady, author of “Rock of -Ages.” The Grange, a fine old Jacobean manor house, long the residence -of the Drewes, was built in 1610 by an ancestor of theirs, who was -sergeant-at-law to Queen Elizabeth—Edward Drewe. It was modernised -about the middle of the last century.</p> - -<p>At one time the Blackdowns must have presented a very different -appearance from that which they do now, and the cause of the -transformation may be found in a measure passed in the thirty-ninth year -of His Majesty King George the Third, up to which time the commons of -Church Staunton, Clayhidon, and Dunkeswell produced little but heath, -fern, dwarf-furze,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> and very coarse, tough and wiry herbage. At the -beginning of the last century these lands were taken in hand with a view -to cultivation or planting.</p> - -<p>The Napoleon of the reclamation was General Simcoe, an officer who, -having greatly distinguished himself in the American War, afterwards -settled down on the Blackdowns. Altogether he enclosed about twelve -thousand acres, and part<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_045" id="page_045"></a>{45}</span> of his design was to build two or three -farmhouses, assigning to each of them about three hundred acres. The -remaining allotments he portioned out to adjacent farms belonging to -him, or converted into plantations. At Wolford Lodge—the name of his -residence—he carried out some interesting experiments in arboriculture.</p> - -<p>One practice adopted at Wolford, and apparently with success, was that -of pruning the young oak, the stem being left clean to a height of -twenty feet, and a proportionate top being allowed. The wounds soon -healed and became covered with bark, and the result is said to have been -a notable increase in the strength and substance of the stock.</p> - -<p>General Simcoe paid much attention also to the culture of exotic trees. -The black spruce of Newfoundland, the red spruce of Norway, the Weymouth -pine, pineaster, stone and cluster pine, the American sycamore or -butterwood, the black walnut, red oak, hiccory, sassafras, red bud, -together with many small trees and shrubs of the sorts which, in the -Western hemisphere, compose the undergrowth of the forests—all these -different species were introduced and found to flourish at Dunkeswell.</p> - -<p>The soil of Dunkeswell Common consisted chiefly of a brown and black -peaty earth on beds of brown and yellow clay and fox-mould, all resting -ultimately on a deep stratum of chip sand. Wherever the chip sand and -marl emerged, the more retentive stratum of the latter held up the -water, which burst forth into springs or formed “weeping -ground”—“zogs,” as it is termed by the natives, who add that you must<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_046" id="page_046"></a>{46}</span> -be careful where you plant your foot. Many of the morasses and peaty -margins along the declivities and side-hills abounded with bog-timber. -Out of a bed of peat near Wolford Lodge was raised an oak of this -description, about twenty feet long and squaring thirteen inches at the -butt. The whole of its sap was gone, and, to judge from its appearance, -it might have been a fork of a much larger tree. Before it was taken up, -General Simcoe received and refused an offer of five guineas for it. -Local opinion favours Roughgrey Bottom, Dunkeswell, as the original of -Blackmarsh or the Forbidden Land of <i>Perlycross</i>. The situation is -fairly suitable; it was not far from the Blackborough quarries (see -chapter xxxviii.).</p> - -<p>There is probably still preserved at Wolford Lodge, which is a -treasure-house of interesting curios, a specimen of the serpent stone, -or <i>cornu ammonis</i>, found at the Blackborough quarries, which in their -time have produced a large crop of fossilised shells, and delighted the -geologist with instructive visions of the underworld. The specimen in -question exceeded fourteen inches in diameter.</p> - -<p>Once upon a time the Blackdowns were generally known as the Scythestone -Hills, and travellers often digressed from the beaten track in order to -pay a visit to the whetstone pits at Blackborough, which were justly -regarded as a remarkable scene of industry, and, indeed, one of the -sights of the West. These quarries were worked in the following way. A -road or level about three feet wide and about five and a half feet high -was driven from the side of the hill to a distance of three or four -hundred yards. All the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_047" id="page_047"></a>{47}</span> loose sandstones within eight or ten yards of -the road were extracted, pillars being left to support the roof of the -mine, until, having served their purpose, these also were gradually -worked out and the whole excavation suffered to fall in. The size of the -stones rarely exceeded that of a horse’s head; and all were more or less -grooved and indented, their appearance suggesting that they had been -subjected to the action of rills or running water. Many years have -elapsed since the pits were in full working order. A little while ago -there were two shafts remaining; to-day there is only one, and, most -probably, by the time this paragraph is in print, the doom of the mines -will be irrevocably sealed, and Finis appended to their history. Dr -Fox’s strange adventure in this weird spot must be in the recollection -of all readers of <i>Perlycross</i> (chapter xii.).</p> - -<p>But there is another wonder at Blackborough besides the quarries, and -that is Blackborough House—a great rambling mansion, with windows and -doors innumerable. The building, which is rented by an aged lady and her -daughter, is so utterly inconsequent as to inspire curiosity concerning -its origin in this lonely out-of-the-way place. Well, a good many years -ago, Dr Dickinson, of Uffculme, was in one of the eastern counties when -he fell in with an old admiral who knew the spot, knew its former -owner—the eccentric Lord Egremont—and told him all about it. Long -before, the earl and the admiral were looking over the property, when -the latter chanced to remark that it might be a good thing to erect a -residence there. My lord was impressed with the notion, and the -construction of this gigantic<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_048" id="page_048"></a>{48}</span> tenement—in its way almost as -extraordinary as Silverton House, now demolished, which stamped him as -an <i>aedificator</i> that neither reckoned nor finished—was his mode of -giving effect to the idea.</p> - -<p>In the middle of the last century Blackborough House was a warren of -young students professedly reading with the Rev. William Cookesley -Thompson, most of whom were of Irish nationality. They were a wild set, -and enjoyed nothing so much as sharing in one of the country revels, -which were then so common in Devonshire. On one occasion they made their -way to Kentisbeare Revel, where an old woman had a gingerbread stall. -Evening came on, and to avoid a slight sprinkling of rain, the dame took -refuge in the doorway of the inn. At the same instant a wagonette or -some such vehicle emerged from the adjoining passage, and turning a -sharp corner, overturned the old woman’s stall, whose contents, tilted -into the roadway, were eagerly scrambled for by children. Of course -there were profuse, if not very sincere, apologies, and sympathetic -promises of compensation, but whether they were ever honoured in the -sequel my informant is inclined to query.</p> - -<p>One great feature of a revel was wrestling, and this reminds me that at -Kentisbeare there are about fifty acres of common, which were once the -subject of debate between that parish and Broadhembury. After much -bickering it was agreed to settle the point by “fair shoe and stocking,” -with the result that the men of Kentisbeare were victorious, and -acquired firm possession of the disputed territory.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_049" id="page_049"></a>{49}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_007" id="ill_007"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_089_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_089_sml.jpg" width="320" height="450" alt="Image unavailable: OLD BLUNDELL’S SCHOOL, TIVERTON." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">OLD BLUNDELL’S SCHOOL, TIVERTON.</span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV<br /><br /> -<small>BLACKMORE’S SCHOOL</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">In</span> 1837 R. D. Blackmore underwent a momentous experience, that being the -year in which he entered, a trembling novice, the portals of the famous -school, founded by Mr Peter Blundell, clothier. With all its many -virtues as a place of learning, Tiverton School long maintained a -reputation for roughness, and those days were among its roughest. It -might have appeared, therefore, a providential circumstance that the boy -had a sturdy sponsor in Frederick Temple, with whom he at first lodged -in the simplicity of Copp’s Court, though afterwards he became a boarder -inside the gates. Nor can it be doubted that Temple, ever “justissimus -unus,” must sometimes have interposed to prevent any unconscionable -bullying of his delicate charge. Unfortunately he seems to have taken a -severe view of his duties as amateur father; and on one occasion, many -years later, when he handed to a prize-winner a copy of <i>Lorna Doone</i>, -he mentioned, with a humorous twinkle, that he had often chastised the -author by striking him on the head with a brass-headed hammer. We have -it on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_050" id="page_050"></a>{50}</span> the authority of Mr Stuart J. Reid that Blackmore neither then -nor subsequently felt the least gratitude for these attentions, and was -wont to refer to his distinguished contemporary in language the reverse -of flattering. And what he felt about his schoolfellow, he felt—or Mr -Reid is mistaken—about his school, the retrospect of the misery and -privations of his boyhood affecting him to his latest hour with a lively -sense of horror and reprobation.</p> - -<p>One would not have thought it. The opening chapters of <i>Lorna Doone</i>, -though candid, seem written with relish of the little barbarians at -play, just as if Blackmore had settled with himself that the trials of -child’s estate were goodly exercises for the larger palæstras of life -and literature. The filial note is never wanting, and those classic -pages, so redolent of the place, and so descriptive of its customs, even -to the verge of exaggeration, appeal to the younger generation of -“Blundellites” as a splendid and enduring achievement, to which Mr -Kipling’s <i>Stalky and Co.</i>, and Mr Eden Phillpott’s <i>Human Boy</i>, and -even <i>Tom Brown’s Schooldays</i>, must humbly vail.</p> - -<p>It would be a considerable satisfaction to report that the scenes which -Blackmore pictured are still in all respects as he painted them; but to -do so would be to tamper with truth, and lead to unnecessary -disappointment. In the first place, the school, as a society of men and -boys, was removed in 1882 to a new and more convenient abiding-place -about a mile distant, where it has renewed its youth, and flourishes -with such a plentitude of numbers as was never known on the traditional -site by the bank of the Lowman.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_051" id="page_051"></a>{51}</span> The venerable buildings—it moves a -nausea to tell—have been remodelled into villas. Apparently there was -no remedy, for, although there was talk at the time of acquiring them as -a local museum and library, like the Castle at Taunton, nothing came of -it all, Tiverton being a small town, and philanthropists few and far -between. To be sure, some stipulation was required that the elevation -should be preserved <i>in statu quo</i>; but this has been only partially -observed. The new residents could not be expected to live in dungeons, -and so, for the admission of air and sunshine, the Jacobean windows have -been extended and deprived of their pristine proportions. Within, the -carved oak ceilings and panels have fled before an invasion of varnished -deal, and the whole of the beautiful interior has become a memory.</p> - -<p>Would that I could stop here, but stern Clio bids me go on and declare -that, a quarter of a century ago, might have been seen over the outer -gateway an original brass plate with a curiously inaccurate inscription, -recording the circumstances of the foundation in 1604, with a pair of -ambitious elegiacs, which not even the most lenient Latinist could with -safety to his soul pronounce elegant. This brass is now at Horsdon, in -charge of the new school, which has also the mystic white “P.B.” pebbles -that adorned the pathway outside the boundary wall. The pathway is -another ghost. Not only have the pebbles, both white and black, been -uprooted, but sacrilegious hands have been laid on a most sensible and -delightful old barricade, formed of heavy posts and heavy angular beams, -which ran the whole length of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_052" id="page_052"></a>{52}</span> the wall, and was closed at each end with -a gate. How Dr Johnson would have loved it!</p> - -<p>But the zeal for improvement, which set in during the seventies, is not -accountable for all the changes that have marked the spot since -Blackmore’s time; and without more explanation, many of the allusions in -<i>Lorna Doone</i> must appear mysterious and unintelligible. When Blackmore -was at the school, the converging lines of railway, with their -passengers and goods stations, and multiplex ramifications, and the -adjacent coal-yards and slaughterhouse, were still in the future, and -the sites they now occupy were pleasant meadows. At the north-west -corner, the point nearest the school, was a “kissing”-gate, whence a -footpath, traversing the first meadow, led to another gate of the same -amorous description. The main path then struck across to the right and -joined the coach route, afterwards called the “old” London road, -opposite Zephyr Lodge. Another track pursued an easterly direction to a -pretty white timber bridge, which spanned the Lowman with a shallow -arch, and near which was the celebrated Taunton Pool. This bridge -afforded access to Ham Mills, remembered as a couple of low, white -thatched cottages, very picturesque, whither it was the custom of the -inhabitants to repair for Sunday junketings.</p> - -<p>From the entrance-gate near the school to the corner of the London road -ran a quickset hedge, which extended to a point over against a -comparatively modern building, which still exists and formerly served as -a turnpike, the old London road having been moved further up<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_053" id="page_053"></a>{53}</span> the hill -to make room for the Exe Valley railway bridge. In a similar fashion, -the construction of the branch line to the Junction, or “Park” station, -as the old people call it, necessitated a great diversion of the Lowman, -which previously described a zigzag erratic course, and shot much nearer -to the Lodge and London road, so that the little torrent, known to the -natives as the Ailsa, and to Blackmore and his boarders as the Taunton -brook, joined it almost at right angles.</p> - -<p>Blackmore, of course, described the locality as he knew it in his own -schooltime. He does not appear to have urged his researches so far back -as the assigned age of John Ridd, or he would have eschewed certain -anachronisms which, in default of this precaution, have crept into his -narrative. They are of no particular consequence, but may be mentioned, -as it were, by the way.</p> - -<p>To begin with, there were no iron-barred gates for the boys to lean -against in 1673, nor for twenty years afterwards. Until 1695, there were -only wooden gates, with a small door for entrance, and it may be noticed -incidentally, that at the time of their removal they were much decayed. -Nor again, in 1673, were there any porter’s lodges. These accessories -were first built at the close of the seventeenth century. There being no -lodges, the porter was evidently the invention of a later date—1699, -apparently. The “old Cop” of the romance, with his sympathetic boots and -nose, was the identical functionary of Blackmore’s youth. His name was -George Folland, and he succeeded Hezekiah Warren in 1818.</p> - -<p>Another chronological error has to do with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_054" id="page_054"></a>{54}</span> the Homeric fight between -John Ridd and Robin Snell, which the author paraphrases as an “item of -importance.” As such I will treat it—to the extent of proving that it -can never have taken place. The fleshly existence of the victor has been -warrantably challenged, but no such question can arise as to his -antagonist. Not that he was called Robin, but the voluntary statement -that he became thrice Mayor of Exeter is a plain indication of the -person implicated. Now, a visit to the north aisle of the choir of -Exeter Cathedral will reveal the presence of three gravestones placed -there to the memory of his father, his mother, and himself, with their -arms. The inscription which mostly concerns us here is the following:—</p> - -<p>“Here, at the Feet of his Father, lyeth the Body of John Snell, Esq., -who served this City three times as Mayor, and several times as one of -her Representatives in Parliament, served her faithfully and diligently, -fearing God and honouring the King. He died ye 26 of Aug. A.D. 1717, -ætat suæ 78. Here also lyeth Hannah, his virtuous and religious wife.”</p> - -<p>The Rev. John Snell, the mayor’s father, was a notable man. Son of the -Rev. Arthur Snell, M.A., and born at Lezant, Cornwall, in or about 1610, -he was educated at Blundell’s School, Tiverton, and Caius and Gonville -College, Cambridge, where he graduated M.A. In February 1634-5, he was -instituted to the rectory of Thurlestone, South Devon, from which he was -ejected in or about 1646. Reinstated in his living at the Restoration, -he was, in 1662, elected Canon Residentiary of Exeter Cathedral. This<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_055" id="page_055"></a>{55}</span> -honourable post he resigned January 4, 1678-9, and died the following -April. It may be added, as an almost, if not quite unprecedented -circumstance, that he was succeeded in his canonry by two of his sons, -Thomas and George; and, as a Rev. John Snell, Vicar of Heavitree, died -Canon of Exeter, September 4, 1727, I am by no means certain that a -fourth member of the family—probably a grandson of the original John -Snell—did not rise to the same office and dignity.</p> - -<p>It is natural to inquire whether there can be found any explanation of -this prosperity. The answer is partially, yes. As chaplain to the -Royalist garrison, the rector of Thurlestone went through the siege of -Fort Charles, Salcombe, and in Walker’s <i>Sufferings of the Clergy</i> may -be read the story of his persecution by the lying Roundheads, when his -first-born son was a boy in jackets.</p> - -<p>Many more particulars might be adduced—especially the tradition that -“Robin” Snell was killed in a riot—but enough! There remains the -question, how came the novelist to know or care aught about this -personage. On this point there can be no mistake, as I had it from Mr -Blackmore himself that he remembered a schoolfellow named Snell, who -must have been either my father or my uncle, the late Mr W. H. Snell, -who entered the school on the same day (August 16, 1837) as Blackmore. -The latter was uncommonly well posted up in the history of his family, -and from him probably the information was derived. There are many Snells -in Devonshire. The principal families of that name were long settled in -the neighbouring parishes of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_056" id="page_056"></a>{56}</span> Chawleigh and Lapford, where they were -small landowners, and intermarried with the Kellands and Melhuishes. -Curiously, as one may think, in John Ridd’s time Grace Snell, of -Lapford, wedded Dr Thomas Bartow, son of Peter Bartow, of Tiverton, and -thus became sister-in-law to Philip Blundell, of Collipriest, who was of -the kindred of the famous Peter, and a feoffee of the school.</p> - -<p>While it is natural to regret, and needful to state the alterations that -have taken place in the time-honoured premises and their immediate -surroundings, it must not be supposed for a moment that modern vandalism -has wiped out every feature of interest. The “Ironing Box,” or triangle -of turf, whereon John Ridd fought his great fight with Robin Snell, is -still there. So also are the paved causeways and rows of mighty limes -(save for sad gaps caused by a recent storm), and the porches and the -lodges,—all vestiges of former days of which the present generation of -Blundellites are not unmindful. Every seven years do they meet—old boys -and new—in the historic Green, thence to perform a pilgrimage on St -Peter’s Day to St Peter’s Church, after the example of their ancestors, -which pleasant and pious custom neither time nor circumstance will, it -is to be hoped, cause to fall into desuetude.</p> - -<p>“Blundellites” is <i>à la</i> Blackmore; the more usual, the official, -appellation is “Blundellians.” The school magazine is called <i>The -Blundellian</i>, and I am indebted to an anonymous letter which appeared in -its columns (April 1887), and was indited, no doubt, by my late friend, -the Rev. D. M. Owen, for quotations from a private communication,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_057" id="page_057"></a>{57}</span> -unquestionably the production of R. D. Blackmore himself. The extracts -are as follows:—</p> - -<p>“I am much obliged for a copy of the <i>Blundellite</i>, which certainly was -the ancient and therefore more classical form of the word. My father -always called himself a ‘Blundellite,’ and so did my uncles, and I -believe my grandfather. All went from Peter to Ex. Coll. (Oxford); -however, the juniors have fixed it otherwise and so it must abide.... -‘Blundellian,’ if anything, is the adjectival form, at least according -to my theories, though even then ‘Blundelline’ would seem more elegant. -‘Scholæ Blundellinæ Alumnus’ is in most of my father’s school-books (in -1810). And I think we find the distinction between the ‘ite’ and the -‘ian’ in good writers, <i>e.g.</i>, a ‘Cromwellite,’ but the ‘Cromwellian’ -army, a ‘Jacobite,’ a ‘Carmelite,’ etc.... All, I maintain, is that, in -my days, we never heard of a ‘Blundellian,’ <i>i.e.</i>, in school talk, or -from the masters.”</p> - -<p>Blackmore’s mention of his grandfather, by which he evidently intends -his paternal grandfather, having been at Blundell’s school, is worthy of -note. Many years ago the novelist himself acquainted me with the fact, -but the curious thing is that the name of John Blackmore, the elder, -apparently does not occur in the school register. This has recently been -edited by Mr Arthur Fisher, who shows that during certain periods it was -ill kept, and there seem to have been frequent omissions. One of the -uncles must have been a brother of his mother, and, strange to say, his -name also is wanting. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_058" id="page_058"></a>{58}</span> entries referring to other members of the -family are:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot2"><p class="hang">1162. <span class="smcap">John Blackmore</span>, 15, son of John Blackmore, clerk, Charles, -South Molton, Aug. 13, 1809—June 29, 1812.</p> - -<p class="hang">1498. <span class="smcap">Richard Blackmore</span>, 15, son of John Blackmore, clerk, Charles, -South Molton, Feb. 19, 1816—Dec. 18, 1817.</p> - -<p class="hang">1258. <span class="smcap">Richard Doddridge Blackmore</span>, 12¼, son of Rev. John Blackmore, -Culmstock, Wellington, Aug. 16, 1837—Dec. 16, 1843; elected to an -exhibition on—— 1843; Giffard Scholar at Exeter Coll., Oxford.</p></div> - -<p>Blackmore’s schooldays are now so remote, the survivors so few, that it -is hard to recover many details. I have been favoured, however, with -communications from two of his contemporaries—Colonel H. Cranstoun -Adams and the Rev. E. Pickard-Cambridge; and at this distance of time it -is not likely that much more can be gleaned. Colonel Adams writes:—</p> - -<p>“He was a very quiet little fellow, and was looked upon as being very -clever. He was always ready to help any juniors in their work, and often -assisted me. There was really nothing very particular about him, except -that he was quieter than the average run of boys. He joined in all the -games, and I recollect his having one fight in which he got very much -knocked about; but he was extremely plucky about it, and his opponent -got a caning for daring to fight a monitor, which Blackmore was at the -time.... He was a popular boy, and kind-hearted; but, although he was -looked upon as clever, I don’t think any of us thought he would become -the author of such a work as <i>Lorna Doone</i>.”</p> - -<p>Mr Pickard-Cambridge sends the following:—</p> - -<p>“R. D. Blackmore was a day-boy, and I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_059" id="page_059"></a>{59}</span> believe remained so; but it is so -long since my schooldays that my memory fails me. He was a clever boy at -schoolwork. I used to go and stay with him at his father’s vicarage, -Culmstock, at the Easter holidays, and when there became acquainted with -Temple and his relations. After we left school, I never saw him, but -learned his mode of life from public reports.</p> - -<p>“He was a small, unhealthy-looking boy, and I could never have dreamt -that he would turn out such as I see him in his photograph by Mr -Jenkins.</p> - -<p>“Now it may be interesting if I tell you what happened one afternoon as -I and Blackmore were walking up the Lowman. We came to a gate at the end -of a field, and just before we got over it, I saw something sitting on -the gate at the opposite end of the field. It was a figure dressed in -white clothing, no head appearing, and while I was wondering what it -was, it suddenly disappeared to the right of a gate thro’ a hedge.</p> - -<p>“I said to Blackmore, ‘Did you see that white figure sitting on the -gate?’</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Yes,’ he said, ‘I could not make out what it was.’</p> - -<p>“When we got to the gate, we hunted the hedge and all about by the -stream, but could not find or see anything; so we came to the conclusion -that it must have been a ghost. When we got back to the school, I -believe we told what we had seen; anyhow, we thought no more about it. -But about three days afterwards, some people coming by the coach from -Halberton saw the same apparition about the same spot,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_060" id="page_060"></a>{60}</span> and told of it -in the town, and it came to our ears, and then we immediately related -what we had seen.</p> - -<p>“This was a great confirmation of our story, and there it must end. But -I can state that all that I have said was true. I am no great believer -in ghosts, but have related the above whenever in conversation ghosts -have come to the front.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_061" id="page_061"></a>{61}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V<br /><br /> -<small>THE TOWN OF THE TWO FORDS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">An</span> imaginative mind, anxious for exercise, might easily find a worse -pretext than the probable appearance of Tiverton at different epochs in -its history. Three monstrous fires—in 1598, 1612, and 1731—have -reduced the town to ashes, so that, despite its antiquity, it presents, -on the whole, an extremely modern aspect, which, as time goes on, tends -to become accentuated. Still certain buildings remain—not many, I -fear—from which, like Richard Owen in another sphere of palæontology, -the lover of the past may gather ideas for his reconstructive task. <i>Ex -pede Herculem.</i></p> - -<p>Every stranger, on arriving at Tiverton, is at once struck by the -Greenway almhouses, with their quaint little chapel. These were -miraculously preserved in the earlier devastations, when, according to -contemporary notices, the fire “invironed those sillie cottages on every -side, burning other houses to the grounde which stood about them, and -yet had they no hurt at all.”<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> In the third welter of flame the -almhouses were less fortunate, and it is a singular fact that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_062" id="page_062"></a>{62}</span> only -life lost on this occasion—on the two previous there had been many -victims—was that of an inmate who obstinately refused to quit the -building, saying, “Who ever heard of an almshouse being burnt?” When, at -last, he was convinced of the peril of optimism, and he would fain have -made good his escape, it was too late—all egress was barred. Even in -this, however, there was something miraculous, for, though the -almshouses were burnt and transformed into fiery catacombs, the chapel -was inexplicably preserved, and remains to this day, with all its rich -ornaments and emblematical figures untouched. The inscriptions, however, -or, as Blackmore playfully expresses it, “the souls of John and Joan -Greenway” are not “set up in gold letters.” Had the name “Gold Street” -anything to do with this idea?</p> - -<p>The founder of the almshouses was John Greenway, born about 1460, of -whom little is known that is authentic. Apparently of lowly origin, “by -ability and industry he acquired an ample income” as a merchant. So says -Harding, but it is seldom that ample incomes are acquired by brains and -diligence alone. The stroke of luck may almost always be charged as a -contributory factor. If legend may be believed, Greenway was positively -inspired to wealth-making. A simple weaver, young and without prospects, -he dreamed a dream which was thrice repeated. Each time a mysterious -voice admonished him to proceed to London town, and there, on London -Bridge, to await a cavalier on a white nag, who would have a message for -him. The sanguine youth obeyed these supernatural instructions;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_063" id="page_063"></a>{63}</span> and, -taking his stand on the appointed spot, was accosted by an unknown -horseman, by whom he was told to return forthwith to Tiverton and dig in -a certain quarter. Again Greenway obeyed, and was rewarded by the -discovery of a crock or pot of gold, which, as his initial capital, -enabled him to launch out into business, and ultimately to found these -almshouses in 1517. There is a notion that amidst the exterior carvings -of St Peter’s Church, where Greenway built him a lovely chantry with -wagon roof and Renaissance door, is sculptured the crock of plenty, but -hitherto—owing perhaps to <i>embarras de richesse</i>—it has escaped -detection.</p> - -<p>Now the embellishments of Greenway’s two chapels deserve close -attention, not only on account of their beauty, but for other reasons -that will immediately appear. Greenway is represented by his arms (<i>a -chevron between 3 covered cups, on a chief 3 sheep’s heads erased</i>), his -staple-mark, and his cipher, which are figured on shields inserted in -the quatrefoil of the cornices of the chapel in Gold Street and its -porch; and by the following rhyme inscribed in bold letters under the -main cornice:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Have grace, ye men, and ever pray<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For the sowl of John and Jone Grenway.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">These marks of parentage are merely what one would expect, but the walls -have other symbolism, some of which demands comment. In two compartments -of the upper cornice are to be found the arms of Courtenay and an eagle -rising from a bundle of sticks. These devices are repeated on a larger -scale over the archway, with the addition<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_064" id="page_064"></a>{64}</span> of the arms of England. The -eagle montant, to borrow a term from falconry, is understood to typify -the mythical phœnix, and may be regarded as alluding to the -vicissitudes of that illustrious and ever-resurgent family.</p> - -<p>The arms of England present no difficulty. They are to be explained by -the marriage of William Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon, with Katherine, -youngest daughter of Edward IV., her elder sister Elizabeth being the -consort of Henry VII. Miss Strickland, by the way, records a quaint -incident in connection with a tournament held at the wedding of Prince -Arthur, when “Lord William Courtenay (brother-in-law of the Queen) made -his appearance riding on a red dragon led by a giant with a large tree -in his hand.” What time the almshouses were building Katherine de -Courtenay was actually resident at Tiverton Castle, and she was buried, -in 1527, with immense pomp in the Earl of Devonshire’s chapel, which was -destroyed by the Puritans, and is believed to have stood on the north -side of the chancel in St Peter’s Church. In her honour was erected that -large achievement in the centre of the porch, consisting of Courtenay -and Rivers quarterly, impaling quarterly, 1st France and England -quarterly, 2nd and 3rd Burgh, 4th Mortimer. It is surmounted with the -Courtenay badge before-mentioned, and the supporters are St George and a -woman.</p> - -<p>It would be incompatible with the limits of this work to enter upon a -minute description of all the charming imagery of this beauteous -chantry. Much of it speaks for itself, but it may be as well to put the -reader on his guard against a false<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_065" id="page_065"></a>{65}</span> blazoning of one of the coats of -arms, which displays what looks suspiciously like a tiara. It may -possibly be permissible to use the term, but subject to the -understanding that we have here nothing to do with any papal insignia. -<i>The three clouds radiated in base, each surmounted with a triple -crown</i>, are for the Drapers’ Company; just as the <i>Barry nebulée</i>; <i>a -chief quarterly, on the 1st and 4th a lion passant guardant, on the 2nd -and 3rd two roses</i>, are for the Merchant Venturers of London. Attention -may also be drawn to a series of sermons in stones, or small sculptures -illustrating the chief events in the life of our Lord; on account of the -height at which they are ranged, they might easily be passed unnoticed.</p> - -<p>Viewing the decorations generally, we cannot but observe that the place -of honour is assigned to the Courtenays; and, probably on the strength -of this fact, Harding speaks of the Marquis of Exeter as Greenway’s -great patron. In this he may be mistaken, since, on the death of her -husband, the Lady Katherine succeeded to the manor of Tiverton, and -doubtless exerted much influence in the town and county during the -sixteen years of her widowhood. This brings us to the stately home in -which, more than anywhere else, those sorrowful years were spent.</p> - -<p>Due north of St Peter’s churchyard, from which only a wall parts them, -are the precincts of Tiverton Castle whereof there exist somewhat -extensive remains in varying degrees of preservation. This was for -several centuries one of the chief residences of the Courtenays, and in -the Middle Ages was a strong place of arms. On the west is a precipice, -which runs down sixty feet<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_066" id="page_066"></a>{66}</span> sheer to the River Exe and secured the -castle on that side; in other directions it had towers and turrets, and -ramparts and moats, and all that military science then knew in the way -of elaborate fortification. Two of the towers yet stand—a square and a -round, while the ivy-covered ruin, which is detached from the rest of -the buildings, at the south-west angle of the castle grounds, is -supposed to represent the oratory or chapel. From its position it was -evidently distinct from the Earl of Devonshire’s Chapel, mentioned -above, and must have been a private sanctuary reserved to the household.</p> - -<p>The castle is stated to have been built by Richard de Redvers or Rivers, -who was an Earl of Devon in his time—about 1106; it came into the -possession of the Courtenays on the extinction of the Redvers family in -1274, when Hugh de Courtenay, great-grandson of Mary de Redvers, -succeeded to all their estates. His immediate predecessor was Isabella -de Fortibus, born Redvers, who is credited with the gift of an ample -stream of water known as the Town Lake, a section of which, enclosed -between paved banks, may be observed in Castle Street. She, of course, -was <i>not</i> a Courtenay; and it is with these rather than with other -possessors of the castle that we are mainly concerned. As, with brief -intervals, they were the ruling element in the town for a period of -three centuries, it is natural to inquire what manner of men were those -great lords, and how it went with the neighbourhood when they were -uppermost.</p> - -<p>With their emblems around us, and with the odour of sanctity investing -the places where<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_067" id="page_067"></a>{67}</span> those emblems appear, there is a palpable danger of -attributing to the Courtenays a larger measure of piety than is at all -their due. Of him who is called sometimes the Good, sometimes the Blind -Earl, no word of censure may be spoken; and as for the husband and -descendants of Katherine—William, Henry, Edward—their tragic fates -evoke that infinite compassion for which the blood of the innocent cries -always, and never in vain. Even the guilty Courtenays were not devoid of -redeeming qualities; they were stout warriors, and loyal to their king. -Yet two of the race, father and son, both of them named Thomas, were the -authors of a felon deed—a deed as black as any that soils the pages of -history, or swells the calendar of crime. To all appearance the plot was -hatched in Tiverton, and Tiverton yeomen were the willing, or unwilling, -instruments of the scandalous theft, the inhuman murder. The whole may -not be told here; let what follows suffice.</p> - -<p>On Thursday, October 23, 1455, Nicholas Radford, sometime “steward” of -the Earl of Devon, now an old man and a justice, was dwelling in God’s -peace and the king’s in his own place at Upcott, in the parish of -Cheriton Fitzpaine. The same day and year came Sir Thomas Courtenay, -eldest son of the earl, with a body of retainers to the number of -ninety-four, armed with jacks, sallets, bows, arrows, swords, bucklers, -etc., who beset the house at midnight, and with a great shout fired the -gates. Naturally at that hour Radford, his wife, and his servants, were -in bed, but awakened by the sudden commotion, the good old man opened -his window, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_068" id="page_068"></a>{68}</span> demanded whether there were among them any gentlemen.</p> - -<p>“Here is Sir Thomas Courtenay,” answered one of the yeoman; and almost -at the same moment the knight called out to him, “Come down and speak -with me.”</p> - -<p>The old man, however, would not comply, until Courtenay swore as a true -knight and gentleman, that neither his person nor his property should be -molested. Relying on this promise Radford descended with a lighted torch -and ordered the gates to be thrown open, whereupon, much to his alarm, -the rabble of followers began to stream in. The knight reassured him, -and standing by his cupboard, condescended to drink of his wine. Whilst -Courtenay held the master of the house with tales, his men plundered the -mansion of its treasures. Money and bedding, and furs, and books, the -ornaments of his chapel and the like—they carried them all away on -Radford’s own horse, and did not spare even his sick wife, but rolling -her out of bed, took away the sheets she was lying in.</p> - -<p>Sir Thomas now said to the justice, “Have done, Radford, for thou must -need go with me to my lord my father.” The old man expressed his -readiness, and bade his servant saddle a horse, only to receive the -reply that his horse had been removed and laden with his own goods. -Hearing this, Radford said to his visitor,</p> - -<p>“Sir, I am aged, and may not well go upon my feet, and therefore I pray -you that I may ride.”</p> - -<p>“No force (odds), Radford,” was the answer, “thou shalt ride enough -anon, and therefore come on with me.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_069" id="page_069"></a>{69}</span></p> - -<p>Accordingly they went on together about a stone’s throw, when Sir -Thomas, having secretly conferred with three of his men—two of them -Tiverton yeomen—set spurs to his horse and rode on his way, exclaiming, -“Farewell Radford!”</p> - -<p>In a trice Nicholas Philip slashed the old justice across the face with -his sword, and as he lay on the ground, dealt him another stroke, which -caused the brain to drop out from the back of his head. His brother, -Thomas Philip, cut the victim’s throat with a knife, while the third -man, with surely supererogatory caution, pierced him through the back -with a long dagger. Thus was Nicholas Radford feloniously and horribly -slain and murdered.</p> - -<p>As an aggravation of the crime, on the following Tuesday the old man’s -godson, Henry Courtenay, with certain of the ruffians, arrived at -Upcott, where the body of Radford lay in his chapel, and opened a mock -inquest. One of them, Richard Bertelot, sat as coroner, and the -murderers were summoned by strange names. They answered, “scornfully -appearing,” made what presentment they chose, and gave out that they -should accuse Radford of his own death. They then compelled his servants -to carry the body to the church of Cheriton Fitzpaine, John Brymoor, -<i>alias</i> Robyns, a singer, leading the way with derisive songs and -catches, as it was borne along.</p> - -<p>Gaining the churchyard, they took the murdered man out of his coffin, -rolled him out of his winding-sheet, and cast him all naked into the -grave, where they threw upon his head<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_070" id="page_070"></a>{70}</span> and body sundry stones that -Radford had provided for the making of his tomb, crushing them. They had -no more pity or compassion for him than for a Jew or a Saracen.</p> - -<p>It seems that in January of this year the justice had sold a good deal -of land, including the manors of Calverleigh, Poughill, and Ford, for -£400, and this large sum in cash is believed to have been the incentive -of the murder. The Earl of Devon, who was no doubt accessory before the -fact, speedily prepared an expedition to Exeter in order to obtain -possession of such goods and chattels as Radford had lodged with the -Dean and Chapter; and in November, he and his son Thomas assembled an -armed retinue of a thousand or more at Tiverton, and marched to the -city. We need not follow their proceedings there—they were -outrageous—and, as signalising the barbarous character of the age, be -content to note that neither the Earl nor his son received the penalty -they deserved. Providence, however, suffered neither of them to escape. -The Earl was poisoned at Abingdon, and his son and successor beheaded at -York, after being taken prisoner at the battle of Wakefield, 1461.</p> - -<p>The subsequent history of the castle must be traced briefly. After -passing through various hands, it was purchased by Roger Giffard, fifth -son of Sir Roger Giffard, of Brightleigh, in the parish of -Chittlehampton, who pulled down the greater part of the buildings, and -named it “Giffard’s Court.” Nevertheless, it was in a condition to repel -an attack by the Parliamentarian forces under Massey in October 1645, -though two days later it was stormed by Sir<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_071" id="page_071"></a>{71}</span> Thomas Fairfax at the head -of an army outnumbering the somewhat disaffected garrison by thirty to -one. The owner of the castle was then Roger Giffard, grandson of the -first-named Roger, and despite the fact that the defence of the place -was entrusted to Sir Gilbert Talbot, as military governor, there is no -reason to suppose that Giffard was an absentee. Like his more famous -kinsman, Colonel John Giffard, of Brightleigh, Roger was a devoted -Royalist, and is mentioned among those persons who were fined for their -loyalty. Blackmore’s reference to bales of wool used in the defence is -strictly historical (see <i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter xi.).</p> - -<p>The modern house was built in 1700 for Peter West, who came of an old -Tiverton mercantile stock connected with the Blundells. In 1594 John -West had married Edy, daughter of James Blundell, and niece of Peter -Blundell and his sister Elinor, wife of John Chilcott, of Fairby, and -mother of Robert Chilcott, the founder of Chilcott’s School, which -stands at the lower end of St Peter Street, and, with its mullioned and -transomed windows, its handsome archway, and solid, iron-studded, black -oak door, forms an interesting specimen of Jacobean architecture. Peter -West’s daughter Dorothy took for her bridegroom Sir Thomas Carew, of -Haccombe, and thus manor and castle passed into the possession of the -distinguished family which still owns them.</p> - -<p>We have enjoyed many opportunities of estimating the wealth and -importance of the “woollen” merchants of Tiverton; but, if anything yet -lack, the reader may station himself<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_072" id="page_072"></a>{72}</span> before the great House of St -George, nearly opposite Chilcott’s School, and consider it at his -leisure. This seemly residence, with its garden close, was built -apparently by George Skinner, merchant, whose initials were formerly to -be seen on the northern termination of the hood-mould. On the southern -termination is the date 1612—the date of the second great fire. As the -house is thoroughly Jacobean in style, it is natural to conclude that it -is in all essentials the identical structure erected in that memorable -year, but the confused account in Harding’s <i>History of Tiverton</i> -contains documentary evidence showing that it was “demolished and -consumed by reason of the late unhappy wars” (<i>i.e.</i>, the Civil War), -and suggests that the “messuage” was rebuilt at various periods, from -1541 onwards. I shall not attempt to unravel the mystery, but content -myself with observing that, beyond any question, the building has been -altered, and that within living memory. Once, and for long, it rejoiced -in another storey, but modern wisdom having determined that the edifice -was “top-heavy,” the upper portion was removed.</p> - -<p>About the year 1740 the manufacture of serges, druggets, drapeens, and -the like began to decline, and, later, the effects of the American -Revolution were severely felt in the town. In 1790, however, there were -still a thousand looms and two hundred woolcombers in the neighbourhood. -Then came the great war with France, which almost paralysed the local -firms; and on its cessation the Tiverton manufacturers vainly -endeavoured to restore old connections with the Continent. It was plain -that the ancient trade<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_073" id="page_073"></a>{73}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_008" id="ill_008"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_116_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_116_sml.jpg" width="314" height="450" alt="Image unavailable: CHAPEL, GREENWAY’S ALMSHOUSES, TIVERTON (page 61)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">CHAPEL, GREENWAY’S ALMSHOUSES, TIVERTON (<a href="#page_061">page 61.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">in wool, on which so many depended, was in its last throes. The end was -sudden and dramatic. One morning, when the workpeople were at breakfast, -the inhabitants of Westexe were startled by the loud report of a gun, -and the news soon spread that Mr Armitage, the manager of a large mill, -which had been built in 1790, and in which, as in a last refuge, the -remains of the staple industry were concentrated, had shot himself in -the counting-house.</p> - -<p>The ruin of the place now seemed certain. Happily, however, the -following year (1815), Messrs Heathcoat, Boden, and Oliver purchased the -mill, and by extensive additions, converted it into an immense lace -factory. In 1809 they had obtained a fourteen years’ patent for a -greatly improved bobbin-net machine, of which Mr Heathcoat was the -inventor, and erected a factory at Loughborough. The firm removed to -Tiverton in consequence of the injury done to the machines by the -Luddites, and thither a number of their men accompanied them. Some of -the Leicestershire “hands,” about the year 1820, had a dispute with Mr -Heathcoat, who had become sole proprietor of the factory, and, this -having ended in their discharge or voluntary retirement from his -service, they determined to set up an opposition concern. It is believed -that the artisans had machines of their own brought down along with -those of Mr Heathcoat and installed in the mill under some arrangement -with him. Anyhow, they resolved to start lace-making on their own -account.</p> - -<p>Money, of course, had to be provided, and this to a limited amount—very -limited for such<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_074" id="page_074"></a>{74}</span> a venture—was found them by a physician of the town -named Houston, whilst premises were secured behind, or near what is now -the Golden Lion Inn, Westexe. Here the quixotic scheme was launched, and -here it came to an inglorious end, after a futile imitation of the frog -in the fable. The credulous doctor, who lived in a house, now a -saddler’s shop, next the “White Ball,” and whose backyard abutted on the -infant factory, lost what he had lent, and no doubt learnt a lesson.</p> - -<p>Hardly more felicitous was Mr George Cosway’s attempt to resuscitate the -woollen industry. Mr Cosway “took up arms against a sea of troubles”; -his capital was none too large, and in the face of powerful competition -in other parts of the country, his factory in Broadlane was never a -conspicuous success. On his death it was closed, and that finally. Mr -Cosway belonged to the same family as the famous miniaturist, one of -whose larger paintings, designed for an altar-piece, hangs on the north -wall of St Peter’s Church. The subject is “St Peter delivered by an -Angel,” and the picture was Richard Cosway’s gift to the town of which -he was a native. The larger painting on the other side of the vestry -door, the subject of which is “The Adoration of the Magi,” is a very -fine work by Gaspar de Crayer, and an almost exact reproduction of a -picture by Rubens in the Antwerp gallery.</p> - -<p>It would be improper, I suppose, to refer to Tiverton without mentioning -Lord Palmerston, whose Parliamentary connection with the borough -extended from 1835 to 1865—just thirty years.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_075" id="page_075"></a>{75}</span> As an Irishman, the -popular statesman must have been perfectly at home in the town, which is -always lively at election times, and during his early acquaintance with -it, had an unenviable reputation as a rival to Donnybrook Fair. Most of -the inhabitants had their chosen inn, the tradesmen being accommodated -in the parlour, the artisans in the bar, and the labourers in the -kitchen; and the consumption of beer and spirits almost exceeds belief. -One would make ten glasses of grog his nightly quantum, another was not -content with fewer than eighteen, while a third drank gin and water by -the bucketful. Every now and then women would have a fight in the -streets. A ring would be formed, whereupon the trulls grappled with each -other, and with their long hair streaming down their backs, and blood -down their faces, presented a pitiful and degrading spectacle. Things -are better now.</p> - -<p>Speaking of the Tiverton inns reminds me that John Ridd and Fry lodged, -on the eve of their departure, at the “White Horse,” in Gold Street. -This tavern is still in existence, and as it is not specially -picturesque, the reader may be at a loss to conceive why Blackmore -should have selected this particular house of entertainment. The -novelist, however, knew what he was about. In the seventeenth century it -may have been the most important inn in the town. On the entry of the -Royalists into the town in the month of August, 1643, they were stoned -by the mob, many of whom were killed or wounded by the fire of the -soldiers; “and,” says Harding, in recounting the circumstance, “the -effect produced<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_076" id="page_076"></a>{76}</span> was a dispersion of the remainder, when one, John Lock, -a miller, was taken and executed at the sign of the White Horse, on the -north side of Gold Street” (<i>History of Tiverton</i>, vol. i., p. 58).<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_077" id="page_077"></a>{77}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI<br /><br /> -<small>THE WONDERS OF BAMPTON</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> country between Tiverton and Bampton reminds us how comparatively -new are many of our main roads. Beginning with the town, although -Bampton Street is one of the principal thoroughfares, this is not the -case with Higher Bampton Street; and of both it may be stated with -absolute assurance that they do not owe their names to accident or -caprice. They were christened thus because they were a direct -continuation of the old road from Bampton, the whole of the present -route through the picturesque Exe valley not having been constructed -until long after the days of John Ridd and the less mythical Bampfylde -Moore Carew. For this reason “Jan,” on his way home, would have -proceeded first to Red Hill, with the inn at its foot;<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> and hereafter -we shall cease to wonder that Carew and his companions fell in with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_078" id="page_078"></a>{78}</span> -convivial gipsies at the same “Brick House,” since it adjoined the -king’s highway. Hence, he climbed the steep ascent of Knightshayes, from -whose summit he might have cast a last lingering look at the town. -Afterwards he would, for some time, have seen nothing but the hedgerows -and a stretch of desolate road.</p> - -<p>Even to Ridd, however, the glory of the Exe was not utterly forbidden, -inasmuch as from Bolham onwards there was some kind of road. Moreover, -on the opposite side of the river was an accommodating lane, from which -lesser lanes scamper off to the “weeches” of Washfield and Stoodleigh -Church, and which, steadily pursued in its northward trend, has coigns -of vantage imparting grateful visions of Rock, with its sweet old -cottages, and the romantic Fairby Gorge, and the woody amphitheatre of -Cove Cliff, together with such pretty accessories as a wayside spring, -trim dairies, rich orchards, a modern suspension bridge, an old-world -bridge, and beside it a quaint little lodge, with its porch and its -bonnets of thatch—a miracle of rustic beauty! But it really matters not -from which side the landscape is viewed, the prospects are equally -charming; and the only cause for regret, from an æsthetic standpoint, is -the railway, whose rigid track, bisecting the valley as far as the -Exeter Inn, brusquely intrudes on its soft contrasts of forest, stream, -and lea.</p> - -<p>From the inn, one branch of the new road still follows the river through -a sylvan paradise, while another, nearly parallel with an older lane, -yclept Windwhistle, leads on to Bampton along the tributary Batherum, On -quitting that <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_079" id="page_079"></a>{79}</span>highway of loveliness, the Exe, one is conscious of a -difference—the outlook is more tame. However, as one approaches the -town, the scenery improves, and of the town itself it must be conceded -that it is beautifully situated among the hills.</p> - -<p>For me, Bampton is a place with sacred memories; but I am well aware -that, to sound its depths of sentiment, an initiation is necessary. A -stranger strolling listlessly through the churchyard, or seated with -callous heart against a walled-up yew—to him it is all a void. What can -he know of all the unrecorded history which, for certain souls, has -transfigured the spot into a shrine? Moreover, although a fair resident -informed me recently that Bampton “stands still,” I have an -uncomfortable conviction, forced upon me in a brief visit, that this is -not quite the case, that it has exchanged some of its old Sabbatic calm -for an irreverent spirit of enterprise and strivings to be “up-to-date.” -Thanks to a disciple and friend of the late Mr Cecil Rhodes, the -quarries have been galvanised into stupendous energy, and, aided by the -contrivances of modern science, are now working at high pressure, and -all Bampton is cock-a-whoop over the same. Well, well, one must have -patience. Only suffer me to write of <i>my</i> Bampton, which was also -Blackmore’s Bampton, not the Bampton that now is.</p> - -<p>In those far-off days of 1891-3, the quarries were not wholly quiescent; -even then they were shedding their riches, but in a decent, leisurely -way, leaving many a grass-grown plot and fern-clad lovers’ walk, and -tokens of vanished industry in what we termed “the rubble-heaps.” The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_080" id="page_080"></a>{80}</span> -distinctive feature of Bampton stone is that it contains a large -proportion of “chert” or flint, which makes it good for roads. The -principal structures in the neighbourhood—including the county and -other bridges—are built of it, and, judging from the age of the church -tower, these black limestone beds have been worked for at least six -hundred years.</p> - -<p>The topography asks some explaining. A noter hies here, noting. Somebody -has told him of Bampton Castle, and forthwith the heady ass swoops on a -circular shed on the quarry plane as a relic. To be sure, at the -south-east entrance of the town there are plentiful suggestions of -military operations. The wind-swept knoll, whence you catch the first -glimpse of Bampton, would be a fine station for a park of French -artillery, to which the exposed railway station, with its less warlike -engines, could offer but a faint resistance. A few paces further on, and -you come to what is uncommonly like a bastion, crowned by the -pseudo-Bampton Castle. Of the real Bampton Castle, at the opposite end -of the town, nothing remains but the site and some rather doubtful -fortifications in what is now an orchard.</p> - -<p>But there <i>was</i> a castle, for in 1336 Richard Cogan had a licence from -the Crown to castellate his mansion-house at Bampton, and to enclose his -wood at Uffculme, and three hundred acres for a park. The exact site of -the castle is believed to have been on a lower level, but closely -adjacent to the existing Mote. The origin and purpose of this great -mound, which is artificial, is not perhaps free from obscurity, but a -former resident favours the following elucidation: The name of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_081" id="page_081"></a>{81}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_009" id="ill_009"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_125_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_125_sml.jpg" width="450" height="309" alt="Image unavailable: COMBE, DULVERTON (page 91)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">COMBE, DULVERTON (<a href="#page_091">page 91.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">the place is derived from the Saxon word <i>mot</i> or <i>gemot</i> (a “meeting”), -and it was probably the seat of the Hundred-mote, or court of -judicature, Bampton being the head manor of the hundred.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> It was also -a burgh, or fortified place, and by the laws of King Edgar the -Burghmote, or Court of the Borough, was held thrice a year. The parish, -it may be observed, is still divided into Borough, East, West, and -Petton quarters, and the ancient office of portreeve is yet retained. -Some time before Domesday and the Geldroll, the king gave Bampton to -Walter de Douay. From Walter’s son, Robert de Baunton, the lordship -passed through the Paynells to the Cogans, and from the Cogans to the -Bourchiers, Earls of Bath, who, so far as is known, were the last owners -of the barony to reside at the castle. The Bourchier knot is to be seen -in the church—on the screen and the roof-bosses.</p> - -<p>Apart from such rather dry particulars, it is not much that I can tell -you of the public annals of Bampton, but one morsel relating to the -Bourchier reign you must swallow, if only for its rarity. In May 1607, -Walter Yonge, of Colyton, thus wrote in his diary: “There were -earthquakes felt in divers parts of this realm, and, namely, at -Barnstaple, Tiverton, and Devonshire; also I heard it by one of Bampton -credibly reported that there it was felt also. And at Bampton, being<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_082" id="page_082"></a>{82}</span> -four”—Tush, Squire Yonge, it is full seven—“miles from Tiverton, there -was a little lake which ran by the space of certain hours, the water -whereof was as blue as azure, yet notwithstanding as clear as possible -might be. It was seen and testified by many who were eye-witnesses, and -reported to me by Mr Twistred, who dwelleth in the same parish, and felt -the earthquake.”</p> - -<p>Can it be that this “little lake”—good Devonshire for running -water—was the shut-up and buried, but by no means dared or dead, -Shuttern stream? Perchance it was. Flowing under broad Brook Street, in -times of flood he emerges and revenges himself for his confinement, -spreading across the roadway, and swamping the sunken cottages, and -waxing a lake indeed, in the Biblical acceptation of the term. But the -Shuttern was not shut up or buried for many a year after the miracle. He -flowed muddily along in open channel, though straitly enclosed by banks -and spanned at intervals by bridges—a poor copy of a Venetian canal and -a rare playground for the oppidan ducks. Now they have to waddle their -way, and a long way it is for some of them, to the Batherum, a few, it -may be, tumbling down the hill from Briton Street. And let not Master -Printer, in his wisdom, correct to “Britain Street,” as he hath -aforetime been moved to do. For “Briton” is the recognised and official -spelling, and who is he that he should alter and amend what has been -approved by lawful authority?</p> - -<p>The Conscript Fathers of the town are greatly exercised at such odious -disguisings of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_083" id="page_083"></a>{83}</span> the true and proper form, which they rightly decline to -sanction or accept. I am with them, heart and soul. Here in Beamdune, in -this very street, the ancient Britons—’twas in 614—fought a great -fight for freedom against the West Saxons, and there were slain of them -forty and two thousand. The present inhabitants are descended from the -vanquished, the Britons. You doubt it? Then little you know of their -intermarriages. An outsider has no chance. Why even the pedlars and -pedlaresses complain of Bampton’s closeness. “They’re no use,” they -exclaim, “they deal only with their own people.” You still doubt? Then I -renounce you as a heathen man and a publican.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> - -<p>Bampton’s chief boast is its fair, which is held on the last Thursday in -October, and attracts thousands of visitors, many of them coming from -considerable distances. It is not easy to say precisely why, since there -are other places nearer the moor, but for a long succession of years the -town has served as the principal mart for the wild Exmoor ponies, -deprived of which the fair would no doubt rapidly dwindle. These shaggy -little horses—a good number of them mere “suckers”—are sold by -auction, and the incidents connected with their coming and going, and -their manners in the sale-ring, constitute the “fun of the fair.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_084" id="page_084"></a>{84}</span></p> - -<p>On the last occasion when I travelled to Bampton Fair, my compartment -was entered by a gipsy belle with abundance of raven hair in traces, the -dark complexion of her race, the regulation earrings and trinkets, and -much conversational fluency. She had come up from Exeter on the chance -of meeting with some of her people whom she had not seen for several -years. That brought to my recollection a prevalent belief that the -Romany folk have a septennial reunion, no doubt intended to be cordial -and friendly in the extreme. Nevertheless, I can answer for it that the -intention is not always fulfilled, for on one fair day two rival tribes -fought a pitched battle with blackthorns, etc., in the orchard of the -Tiverton Hotel. And the women will fight like the men, and with the men. -They are artful beggars. A gipsy matron guided round a youngster of -three or four years, with his small legs already encased in trousers, to -claim a penny, because on one hand he had little excrescent thumbs. The -boy could hold a penny between these thumbs, and, on being given a coin, -was told to say “Thank you,” his mother expressing her gratitude with -the wish, “May you enjoy the lady you loves!”</p> - -<p>It is a safe assumption that no one visits a place of the size of -Bampton—at all events, at ordinary times—without having a look at the -church. Ten years ago you would have been rewarded with the spectacle of -high pews, over the backs of which I can remember feminine eyes taking -stock of the congregation. Nose and mouth were not visible, and -consequently the fair damsels had somewhat the appearance<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_085" id="page_085"></a>{85}</span> of hooded -Turkish ladies. Now that Bampton Church has been swept and garnished and -the arcade straightened—it fell over quite two feet and crushed the -timbers in the aisle—the building hardly seems the same, but the most -valuable features, to an antiquary, remain untouched.</p> - -<p>Entering the chancel from the churchyard, you will find against the -north wall fragments of bold and graceful sculpture, with tabernacle -work, tracery, shields, the symbol I.H.S., and the Bourchier knot and -water bouget, or budget, as it is sometimes written. Perhaps “bucket” -may be permissible as a variant, since the bearing, which is in the form -of a yoke with two pouches of leather appended to it, was originally -intended to represent bags slung on a pole which was carried across the -shoulders—an arrangement adopted by the Crusaders for conveying water -over the desert. To return to the fragments, they were part of two -ancient monuments which, according to the Rev. Bartholomew Davy, -formerly stood in the chancel; on their removal, about a hundred years -ago, the sides were used to line the wall.</p> - -<p>That the monuments covered the remains of Sir John Bourchier, knight, -Lord Fitzwarner, created Earl of Bath July 9, 1536, and those of his -father, is certain. The will of the former, bearing date October 20, -1535, and proved June 11, 1541, expressly directs that his body shall be -buried in the parish church of Bampton, Devon, in the place there where -his father lies buried, and that a tomb or stone of marble be made and -set over the grave where his body<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_086" id="page_086"></a>{86}</span> shall be buried, with his picture, -arms, and recognisances, and the day and the year engraven and fixed on -the same tomb within a year after his decease. During the restoration -the workmen discovered under the place where the organ now stands, a -vault containing several ridged coffins, believed to be those of members -of the Bourchier family, but, as the dates were not taken, this is -merely a matter of speculation.</p> - -<p>Behind the organ is a triptych of black marble, one compartment of which -perpetuates the memory of a lady. The two others contain the following -inscriptions:—</p> - -<p>“Vnder lyeth the body of Arthur the sone of John Bowbeare of this Town, -Yeoman, who departed this life the 17 day of December Anno Dom 1675.”</p> - -<p>“Here vnder lyeth ye body of John the sone of John Bowbeare of this -Town, Yeoman, who departed this life the 12 day of May Anno Domi 1676.”</p> - -<p>According to local tradition, Arthur and John Bowbeare were giants, like -John Ridd; and it will be noted as a further coincidence that they were -of the yeoman class. The name is still preserved in Bowbear Hill, to the -south-east of the town, and in Higher and Lower Bowbear Farms. Another -interesting point is that John Ridd may have entered the town of his -fellow-giants, who were still alive, though soon to die, not by the old -Tiverton road, but by an ancient track which ran down Bowbear Hill. This -track, now disused, was an old Roman road, and, having been paved, is -still known as Stony Lane.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_087" id="page_087"></a>{87}</span></p> - -<p>Giants are said to be usually short-lived—a charge which cannot be laid -against the Vicars of Bampton. On consulting the list I find that from -1645 to 1711 the living was held by the Rev. James Style, from 1730 to -1785 by the Rev. Thomas Wood, and from 1785 to 1845 by the Rev. -Bartholomew Davy. In the case of the last-mentioned divine—familiarly -known as “old Bart Davy”—the patience of some member of his flock was -evidently exhausted, for one fine morning there was found, nailed to the -church door, the following lamentation:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The Parson is a-wored out,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The Clerk is most ado;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The Saxton’s gude vor nort—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">’Tis time to have all new.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>According to the son of the last parish clerk of Bampton, there was a -servant of Mr Trickey, of the Swan Inn, named Joe Ridd, or Rudd, who -amused the townspeople of a generation or two ago with stories of the -“girt Jan Ridd,” of Exmoor, ostensibly an ancestor. One of these stories -was that the huge yeoman, “out over,” broke off the branch of a tree and -used it as a weapon. This circumstance gives special point to the -statement in chapter liii. of <i>Lorna Doone</i>, that “much had been said at -Bampton about some great freebooters, to whom all Exmoor owed suit and -service, and paid them very punctually.” Moreover, in Mr Snow’s grounds -at Oare is a mighty ash, whose limbs incline downwards, they (it is -said) having been bent out of their natural set by the constraining -power of the matchless Ridd.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_088" id="page_088"></a>{88}</span></p> - -<p>Blackmore not only conducts his hero and heroine through Bampton as a -place on their line of route, but alludes to it respectfully (see -chapter xiii.) as one of the important towns on the southern side of the -moor, though he dare not for conscience’ sake compare it with -metropolitan Taunton.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_089" id="page_089"></a>{89}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_010" id="ill_010"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_136_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_136_sml.jpg" width="450" height="306" alt="Image unavailable: A BIT OF OLD DULVERTON." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A BIT OF OLD DULVERTON.</span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII<br /><br /> -<small>WHERE MASTER HUCKABACK THROVE<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> stage from Bampton to Dulverton was not easy for John Ridd and his -serving-man, nor is it easy for us. From the very heart of the town is a -toilsome ascent to High Cross, fitly so named, and reputed to be -haunted. Chains have been heard to rattle there, and the enemy of -mankind is alleged to have a predilection for the spot. On this subject -an old Bamptonian once told me an amusing story. In the days when the -“bone-shaker” wooden bicycle was a novelty, and the Barretts (relations -of Mrs Barrett Browning) resided at Combehead, someone belonging to the -house was riding down the hill in the twilight on his machine, which was -rattling and creaking to a merry tune. Half-way down he encountered a -labourer, who, never having seen or heard of anything of the kind, and -totally at a loss to account for the phenomenon in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_090" id="page_090"></a>{90}</span> “dimpse,” as he -would have called it, incontinently jumped to the conclusion that the -strange shape advancing towards him was that of Apollyon, and, in abject -terror, turned and fled.</p> - -<p>Whatever the explanation may be—whether it is the beetling trees or the -unfrequentedness—there is no doubt, as is proved by the universal -testimony of those who have used the road, especially by night, that it -differs from most roads in being distinctly uncanny.</p> - -<p>Combehead is the property of the lord of the manor (Mr W. H. White), and -the manor is, roughly speaking, the parish. But just as there are wheels -within wheels, so there may be manors within manors, and it happens that -Mr Wensley, an excellent yeoman who lately purchased the farm which he -had previously occupied as a tenant—Birchdown, at the right base of the -hill—is also a lord, though he modestly disclaims any intention of -proceeding to the Upper House of Parliament. Locally, however, he has -his rights, and I believe the other lord has to pay his lesser brother -“quit-rent” for certain land “within the ambit” of the manor of Bampton.</p> - -<p>From the summit of Grant’s Hill one gains the first sight of Somerset, -and very prepossessing one finds it, with the twin valleys of the Exe -and Barle cleaving the high ground, and Pixton enthroned between. By -their junction the two rivers form a wide basin in which lies the -township of Exebridge. This, as will be shown, was the scene of one of -the exploits of the famous <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_091" id="page_091"></a>{91}</span>Faggus. There is nothing uncanny about -Exebridge; indeed, it may be called an open, sunny hamlet. Nevertheless, -the river here has its black pool, to which was “banished”—when or for -what reason I cannot say—Madam Thorold, of Burston, an old house in the -neighbourhood. In like manner, but rather less cruelly, Madam Gaddy, of -Great House, Bampton, was “banished” to Barton, with leave to return at -a cock’s-stride a year. When she gets back, she will be horrified to -find her grand old mansion gone and a modern public-house usurping its -name and place. Similarly, the late Captain Musgrove, of Stone Farm, -Exford, is reputed to have been conjured away by so many parsons to -Pinkery Pond, whence he is on his way back at the conventional -cock’s-stride.</p> - -<p>As chance wills, without going out of my way, I have it in my power to -supplement these brief, but poignant, accounts of the supernatural with -other and more detailed ghost-stories derived from the history or -traditions of the Sydenham family. Close to Dulverton Station are two -roads branching off to the left; either of these will conduct you to the -village of Brushford, and from there to the entrance to Combe, a -beautiful Elizabethan manor-house built in the usual shape of an E. The -Sydenhams were a distinguished Somersetshire family, and, although some -of its branches are extinct, and others fallen from their high estate, -there are left ample proofs of its former greatness, and, if I may be -permitted to say so much of those whom I have been privileged to know as -friends, “still in their ashes glow their wonted fires.”</p> - -<p>It was in 1568 that John Sydenham bought<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_092" id="page_092"></a>{92}</span> the manor of Dulverton from -Francis Babington, a gentleman of the Privy Chamber, but the connection -of the family with Dulverton is of much longer standing; and as a John -de Sydenham is mentioned as marrying Mary, daughter and heir of Joan -Pixton, of Pixton, in the fourteenth century, this may perhaps be taken -as the period of their first settlement in the neighbourhood. They had -other homes in Somerset—notably at Brympton d’Evercy, near Yeovil, now -the property of Sir Spencer Ponsonby Fane; and the canopied monument, -erected in the little church hard by, to a Sydenham by a Sydenham, is -worth going a day’s journey to see.</p> - -<p>So far as the house and estate of Combe are concerned, they first came -into the possession of the Sydenhams through the marriage of Edward, son -of John Sydenham, of Badialton (Bathealton), with Joan, daughter and -heir of Walter Combe, of Combe, in 1482. Part of the original mansion -still remains, and is used as servants’ quarters; the house, however, -was rebuilt during the reign of Elizabeth, and probably towards its -close, as two medals, struck to commemorate the defeat of the Armada, -were found, some few years ago, beneath the floor of the entrance porch. -The main entrance of the older building appears to have been in the east -wing, where cross-beams, over what were once two very wide doorways, are -still to be seen. The second doorway opened into the inner court or -quadrangle. The stone, a species of shillett, was quarried near the -house, and, instead of mortar, clay was largely used. A better sort of -stone was employed in the later<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_093" id="page_093"></a>{93}</span> building, with plenty of lime and sand. -The oak work is magnificent.</p> - -<p>There was a close connection between the Sydenhams of Combe and those of -Brympton. Humphry, well-known as the “silver-tongued,” Sydenham, was a -scion of the latter branch. He entered at Exeter College, Oxford, became -Fellow of Wadham in the same university, and then chaplain to Lord -Howard, of Escrigg, and Archbishop Laud successively. Appointed rector -of Pockington and Odcombe, he resided in the latter place (Tom Coryate’s -native village); and his preferments included a prebendal stall at -Wells. On the establishment of the Commonwealth, he was deprived of his -living by the Commissioners, and retired to Combe, where he performed -the church service for tenants and others who chose to attend in the -chapel-room over the hall. This eloquent divine was buried at Dulverton.</p> - -<p>Major Sir George Sydenham, another brother of Sir John Sydenham, of -Brympton d’Evercy, and a knight-marshal in the army of Charles I., had -married his cousin Susan, daughter of George Sydenham, of Combe; and, -whilst staying with his wife at her father’s house, received an urgent -summons to accompany his brother on some public occasion. Nothing more -was heard of him until one night, as his wife was sleeping peacefully, -he appeared to her in his military dress, but deathly pale. Starting up -in affright, she exclaimed that her husband was dead, and announced her -intention of joining him. Accordingly, the next morning she set out, and -on the way was met by a messenger who unluckily<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_094" id="page_094"></a>{94}</span> confirmed her -presentiment, saying that her lord had died suddenly.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<p>Ever since then the spirit of the major has had an uncomfortable trick -of turning up at unexpected hours in the mansion in which he made his -first apparition. One day Mrs Jakes, a tenant of the family, was -ascending the stairs, when she met a strange figure coming out of one of -the rooms, and, according to her account, motioned as if he would snuff -the candle for her. She was not alarmed, because Sir George looked -kindly on her, and it was only later that she remembered the story of -the ghost.</p> - -<p>More extraordinary still were the circumstances of another visit. When -the late rector of Brushford was a young man, he invited a -college-friend<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_095" id="page_095"></a>{95}</span> to stay with him. The evening of his arrival was spent -in the usual way, with plenty of fun and pleasantry, after which the -party broke up for the night. The following morning the guest came down -in the same good spirits, but he had a tale to tell.</p> - -<p>“You fellows thought you were going to frighten me last night,” he -observed. Everybody disclaimed such an intention, and begged to know -what he meant. There were signs of incredulity on the part of the -collegian, and then he was induced to explain that an old cavalier -arrayed in a wide cloak and Spanish hat had presented himself at his -bedside. The spectacle, however, had given him no concern, as he had -taken it for a practical joke.</p> - -<p>Major Sydenham’s portrait was painted at Combe, and is still in the -possession of the family. It is that of a man with the pointed beard and -moustache of the period, wearing a cavalier’s hat and feather; and -within living memory was concealed behind curtains. In view of what was -said about the subject, this was not unnatural, but the picture itself -had a peculiar quality. A boy, it is remembered, refused to look at it, -and hid under the table, because the eyes followed him.</p> - -<p>I have not yet done with the Sydenham phantom. As may easily be -supposed, the country-side has its legends of these great people, who, -it is averred, drove a carriage with six or eight horses shod with -silver. Amongst the legends is one that narrates the laying of Major -Sydenham’s ghost, whose visits became so frequent and inopportune that -the family at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_096" id="page_096"></a>{96}</span> Combe resolved on serious measures to prevent their -recurrence. They communicated with the Vicar of Dulverton, desiring him -to perform the rite of exorcism, and accordingly that divine, attended -by his curate, proceeded to the large upper room still known as “the -chapel,” where, as we have seen, the “silver-tongued” Sydenham had so -often read prayers under the Commonwealth. At the conclusion of the -service the man-servant was ordered to lead a handsome watch-dog to -Aller’s Wood, on the border of the present highway to Dulverton, and -there release him. Particular instructions were given him on no account -to hurt or ill-use the animal, but these he seems to have disobeyed. The -result was a sudden flash of lightning, followed immediately by a loud -clap of thunder, in the midst of which the dog disappeared. On returning -to the house the terrified emissary reported the occurrence, but the -opinion was expressed that the spirit had been effectually laid.</p> - -<p>The country-side, however, was unwilling to resign its ghost, and, -amongst other “yarns,” the following has been told. There is a stone -staircase at Combe, and one step was always coming out. If it was put -back one day, it was found dislodged the next; and this was believed to -be Major Sydenham’s work. At length the two Blackmores, father and son, -were sent for. They were masons of Exebridge, and skilled men at their -trade, of which they were proud. They thought they had secured the step -in its place firmly.</p> - -<p>“Damme, Major Sydenham, push it out if<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_097" id="page_097"></a>{97}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_011" id="ill_011"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_145_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_145_sml.jpg" width="450" height="306" alt="Image unavailable: TORR STEPS, HAWKRIDGE (page 109)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">TORR STEPS, HAWKRIDGE (<a href="#page_109">page 109.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">you can,” exclaimed one of them. No sooner said than done.</p> - -<p>I now come to what may be either the basis or a variant of the main -tradition, unless, as may well be the case, it is an entirely -independent narrative—namely, a circumstantial relation quoted in the -<i>Treatise of the Soul of Man</i>, which edifying composition was published -in 1685. It is, word for word, as follows:—</p> - -<p>“Much to the same purpose is that so famous and well-attested story of -the apparition of Major George Sydenham to Captain William Dyke, both of -Somersetshire, attested by the worthy and learned Dr Thomas Dyke, a near -kinsman of the captain’s, and by Mr Douch, to whom both the major and -captain were intimately known. The sum is this:—The major and captain -had many disputes about the Being of a God and the immortailty of the -Soul, on which points they could never be resolved, though they much -sought and desired it, and therefore it was at last fully agreed betwixt -them, that he who died first should on the third night after his -funeral, come betwixt the hours of twelve and one, to the little house -at Dulverton in Somersetshire; and the captain happened to lie that very -night which was appointed in the same chamber and bed with Dr Dyke. He -acquainted the doctor with the appointment, and his resolution to attend -the place and hour that night, for which purpose he got the key of the -garden. The doctor could by no means divert his purpose, but when the -hour came he was upon the place, where he waited two hours and a half, -neither seeing nor hearing anything more than usual.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_098" id="page_098"></a>{98}</span></p> - -<p>“About six weeks after, the doctor and captain went to Eaton, and lay -again at the same inn, but not the same chamber as before. The morning -before they went thence the captain stayed longer than was usual in his -chamber, and at length came into the doctor’s chamber, but in a visage -and form much differing from himself, with his hair and eyes staring and -his whole body shaking and trembling. Whereat the doctor, wondering, -demanded, ‘What is the matter, cousin captain?’ The captain replies, ‘I -have seen my major.’ At which the doctor seeming to smile, the captain -said, ‘If ever I saw him in my life, I saw him but now,’ adding as -followeth. ‘This morning (said he) after it was light, someone came to -my bedside, and suddenly drawing back the curtains, calls, ‘Cap, cap,’ -(which was the term of familiarity that the major used to call the -captain by), to whom I replied, ‘What, my major.’ To which he returns, -‘I could not come at the time appointed, but I am come now to tell you -that there is a God, and a very just and terrible one, and if you do not -turn over a new leaf, you will find it so.’ This stuck close to him. -Little meat would go down with him at dinner, though a handsome treat -was provided. These words were sounding in his ears frequently during -the remainder of his life, he was never shy or scrupulous to relate it -to any that asked him concerning it, nor ever mentioned it but with -horror and trepidation. They were both men of a brisk humour and jolly -conversation, of very quick and keen parts, having been both University -and Inns of Court gentlemen.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_099" id="page_099"></a>{99}</span></p> - -<p>The intimacy to which this narrative bears witness, though easily -accounted for in officers of the same regiment, is further explained by -the fact they were near neighbours at home. The Sydenhams, as has been -shown, dwelt at Combe, and the Dykes, I may now add, at Pixton, the -former residence of the Sydenhams, whilst the salutation “Cap, cap” -indicates much friendliness. The Dyke dynasty came to an end when Sir -Thomas Acland (seventh baronet) married Elizabeth Dyke, and joined her -estates at Dulverton and elsewhere to his own vast patrimony. With them -I am not concerned, more than to state that they were the grandparents -of John Dyke Acland, who wedded in 1771 the Lady Christian Harriet -Caroline Fox-Strangways, sister of Stephen, first Earl of Ilchester.</p> - -<p>In the commonplace book of Thomas Sayer, parish clerk and schoolmaster -of Dulverton, I find the following entries relating to the family:—</p> - -<p>“Jn<sup>o</sup> Dyke Acland, Esq., married Jan<sup>y</sup> 7, 1771. The above Jn<sup>o</sup> -Dyke Acland born Feb. 18, 1746, and died Nov. 15, 1778. The old Sir -Thos. Dyke Acland, Father of above Jn<sup>o</sup> Dyke Acland, born Aug. 12, -1722, and died Feb<sup>y</sup> 20, 1785.”</p> - -<p>The same manuscript includes particulars regarding Pixton House, which -prove the existing structure, the “frozen music” of which is superbly -classical, to be differently laid out from its predecessor, which we may -conjecture to have been of some type of English domestic architecture, -and, according to Saver’s measurements, contained some fine rooms. The -old house was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a>{100}</span> pulled down in February 1803, and the new, built by -Hassell, of Exeter, was finished in November 1805. This work was carried -out on the initiative of Lady Harriet Acland, after whom the private -road through the serried woods of the sequestered Haddeo valley is named -“Lady Harriet’s Drive”—doubtless, because she ordered its construction.</p> - -<p>Two or three years ago Mr Broomfield, of Dulverton, showed me an old -picture, dim, dirty, and discoloured, yet significant. Through the crust -of time one could discern a man, a woman, and a boat; and the attitudes -and certain of the details convinced me that the faded, and not very -valuable, heirloom represented a scene in the life of the great lady of -Pixton, to which <i>she</i> must have looked back with horror, and her -posterity will ever refer with pride. I will try to interpret that -picture, and conjure up the scene it so feebly portrays.</p> - -<p>It was the year 1777, and Major Acland’s grenadiers, forming the -advanced guard of General Fraser’s brigade, were advancing against the -American insurgents. Lady Harriet had already endured cruel privations, -and in the course of the previous year had nursed her husband through a -dangerous bout of sickness, contracted in the campaign. Now it had begun -again. Only a short time before, the tent they were sleeping in had -caught fire, and most of their clothing had been burnt. It was winter, -and bitter cold.</p> - -<p>Now, however brave a woman may be, unless she is a professed Amazon, she -is not expected to fight, and, as an action was about to take place,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a>{101}</span> -Acland requested his wife to remain with the baggage. In a small log-hut -with three other ladies—the Baroness Ruysdael, Mrs Ramage, and Mrs -Reynell—Lady Harriet spent hours of agonising suspense, the high notes -of the incessant musketry fire mingling with the diapason of the -artillery, to be varied erelong by the groans of the wounded borne into -their place of shelter, and littering the ground around.</p> - -<p>After a while the news reached Mrs Ramage that her husband had been -killed. Then came another message that Lieutenant Reynell had been -dangerously wounded; and finally, at the close of the day, Lady Harriet -received the information that Major Acland, seriously hurt, was in the -hands of the enemy.</p> - -<p>With equal courage and affection, the devoted woman resolved to go in -search of him, and that without delay. Accordingly, with Dr Brudenell, -chaplain of the regiment, she entered a small boat and proceeded down -the river to the enemy’s outposts. Here they were challenged by the -sentry, and Brudenell, hoisting a white handkerchief on a stick, -attempted to explain their errand. The sentinel, however, proved -obdurate, not only refusing to carry any message to the officer in -command, but warning them not to move, or he would fire on the boat. So -all through that inclement night, insufficiently clad, without a -particle of food, and in imminent danger of becoming a target for the -foe, they sat and waited.</p> - -<p>With the morning their situation improved. The general, on being made -cognisant of the facts, received the lady with soldierly sympathy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a>{102}</span> and -accorded her full permission to attend on her husband until his -recovery.</p> - -<p>Soon after they returned to England, and to Pixton, but Colonel Acland -was born to ill-luck. He fought a duel on Bampton Down, November 11, -1778, with Captain Lloyd, an officer of his own regiment, whom he had -offended by praising the humanity of the American people, and caught a -chill. Four days later he was dead.</p> - -<p>Lady Harriet had two children—Elizabeth Kitty and John Dyke. The -latter, after succeeding to the baronetcy, died at the age of seventeen, -whilst his sister married, in 1796, Lord Porchester (afterwards second -Earl of Carnarvon), and died in 1816. Lady Harriet outlived both husband -and children, dying in 1818.</p> - -<p>The present possessor of Pixton is the Dowager Countess of Carnarvon; -and her sons are the lineal descendants of the intrepid woman whose -adventures I have described.</p> - -<p>Pixton Park, with its beeches and herd of fallow deer, and Lady -Harriet’s Drive, flanked on each side by gorgeous oak woods or oak -coppice, vocal with streams, and centred by brown Haddon, are among the -features which enable Dulverton to maintain its proud claim to -extraordinary beauty of scenery. In this respect it has no superior in -the West Country, and Tennyson, who visited the neighbourhood not long -before his death, went away delighted with it. An account of this visit -appears in the life of the poet by his son, the present Lord Tennyson; -and, although rather inaccurate in some of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a>{103}</span> details, yet, as a piece -of impressionism, deserves to be reproduced.</p> - -<p>“In June, Colonel Crozier lent us his yacht, the <i>Assegai</i>, and we went -to Exmouth, and thence by rail to Dulverton—a land of bubbling streams, -my father called it.</p> - -<p>“Lord Carnarvon had told him years ago that the streams here were the -most delicious he knew.</p> - -<p>“We drove up the Haddon valley, and to Barlynch Abbey on the Exe. The -ragged robin and wild garlic were profuse. We returned by Pixton Park.</p> - -<p>“The Exe is ‘arrowy’ just before its confluence with the Barle, running, -as my father remarked, ‘too vehemently to break upon the jutting rocks.’ -We sat next on a wooden bridge over the Exe, and he said to me, ‘That is -an old simile, but a good one: Time is like a river, ever past and ever -future.’</p> - -<p>“In the afternoon, we drove through the Barle valley to Hawkridge, then -to the Torr Steps, high up among the hills, with an ancient bridge -across the river, flat stones laid on piers. Some tawny cows were -cooling themselves in mid-stream; a green meadow on one side, on the -other a wooded slope. ‘If it were only to see this,’ he said, ‘the -journey is worth while.’</p> - -<p>“We climbed Haddon Down [Draydon Knap?], and then to Higher Combe—a -valley down which there was a most luxuriant view, the Dartmoor range as -background, almost Italian in colouring.”</p> - -<p>Lord Tennyson adds, that, at Dulverton, his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a>{104}</span> father began the Hymn to -the Sun in a new metre, for his “Akbar.”</p> - -<p>A most exquisite view is to be obtained from Baron’s Down, situated on -the lofty height of Bury Hill. Formerly the seat of the Stucley Lucases -(who were as great in stag-hunting, or nearly so, as Tennyson was in -poetry), it afterwards served as the country-house of Dr Warre, -Headmaster of Eton, who resigned his tenancy, much to the regret of his -neighbours and friends, as recently as last year.</p> - -<p>Of Dulverton town, as distinct from its environs, it is impossible to -say much. It is, however, one of the chief centres of Exmoor -stag-hunting and fishing, and the hotels, which thrive on these -attractions, provide adequate accommodation. Owing to the constant -stream of fashionable visitors from all parts of the world, Dulverton, -though in point of size a mere village, wears, during the season, a -quite cosmopolitan aspect; and, as if to emphasise its superiority to -other rustic communities, the enterprising inhabitants have lately -caused to be installed a system of electric lighting by means of high -poles with wire attachments.</p> - -<p>Here, it will be remembered, dwelt Master Reuben Huckaback, John Ridd’s -maternal uncle, who, when bound on the back of the frightened mountain -pony, described himself as “an honest hosier and draper, serge and -long-cloth warehouseman, at the sign of the Gartered Kitten, in the -loyal town of Dulverton.” Huckaback, I am disposed to think, was -Blackmore’s creation, the name in itself being suspicious. What is -Huckaback? Nuttall defines it as “a kind of linen<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a>{105}</span> with raised figures -on it, used for tablecloths and towels”—the sort of thing that a -shopkeeper in Uncle Ben’s line would be likely to sell. Blackmore, no -doubt, somewhat exaggerates the commercial advantages of Dulverton, but -in the good old days, tradesmen managed to subsist very comfortably, and -even to retire on a competence. The premises now occupied by Mr Bayley -were probably those Mr Blackmore had in his eye, though their -spick-and-span appearance does not suggest anything venerable. The -proprietor, however, has good warrant for ascribing a decent antiquity -to the house, whose traditional sign is the Vine, not the Gartered -Kitten. That it may have been partially remodelled or reconstructed -since the seventeenth century, is readily granted, as being in the -nature of things, but, having been the head shop at Dulverton time out -of mind, it is, at all events, in the apostolic succession.</p> - -<p>Some Dulverton streets bear interesting names. Thus we have Rosemary -Lane and Lady Street. The latter was formerly much narrower at its -entrance into Fore Street, and an old inhabitant once told me that he -believed that anciently it had been built over, and that the front of -the superincumbent structure was adorned with an image of the Virgin -Mary.</p> - -<p>The widening process involved the demolition of two ancient cottages, -which had formed the Nightingale Inn; and amongst the débris was -discovered an old coin, on seeing which a local connoisseur forthwith -pronounced it Spanish, adding that it had been probably left by the Dons -when they invaded England in 1600. A<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a>{106}</span> companion denied that England was -ever invaded by the Spaniards, but the other would not be contradicted. -“He knowed they did, and it weren’t likely they could pass Dulverton -without stopping for a drink.” In point of fact, the coin was a poor -specimen of a sixpenny bit, struck in 1566.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a>{107}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII<br /><br /> -<small>BROTHERS BARLE AND EXE<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">It</span> is now time to quit Dulverton, and one has to face the somewhat -complex question in which direction one’s steps should next be turned. -There are three main routes—by the railway to Barnstaple; by the -“turnpike” to Dunster and Minehead; and by one of several roads to -Simonsbath, the heart of the moor. All these ways lead to interesting -places—places much too interesting to be passed by; and it is at one’s -choice which to seek out first. That is assuming that one intends to -establish Dulverton as one’s base, making longer or shorter excursions -to the spots hereafter to be named. To recommend such a course, however, -would be obviously impolite to other towns equally avid of patronage. -They must all be visited in turn—so much is certain.</p> - -<p>As a start must be made, and a selection may not be avoided, I will fall -back on the line I always followed as a boy, and once more breast Mount -Sydenham, with its chaplet of firs. When<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a>{108}</span> the panting and perspiring -traveller reaches a turn of the road he may hap to espy a hollow in a -field on the left. That is Granny’s Pit, where an old woman with -dishevelled tresses has been viewed, bewailing her daughter. A few more -paces bring us to the grove of firs, whence the sinuous Barle may be -surveyed far below in all his sylvan glory. This may be Blackmore’s -“corner of trees,” if Ridd followed this route, and not Hollam Lane, -which runs parallel with it. Stepping back into the lane, one soon finds -oneself on Court Down, which, though not of any great extent, is a -genuine bit of moorland “debated” by green fern, and purple heather, and -golden gorse, embosomed in which there may stand at gaze fleecy, -white-faced sheep of the horned variety peculiar to Exmoor.</p> - -<p>Nature’s “much-admired confusion,” however, is exhibited on a much -grander scale in the undulating sweep of Winsford Hill, which, from -Mountsey Hill Gate to Comer’s Gate, boasts four miles of continuous -brake. This free and joyous expanse is the native heath of Sir Thomas -Acland’s wild Exmoor ponies, which, in their shaggy deshabille may at -times be seen grazing on the rough sward, or scampering playfully over -moss and ling. They suffer none to approach.</p> - -<p>At Spire Cross is a confluence of roads, that to the left being one way -to Torr Steps, an old Keltic bridge formed of large, loose slabs laid -athwart low piers, which bears a family likeness to Post Bridge on -Dartmoor, but the latter is grooved for chariots. It is well to point -out that this charming vestige of prehistoric civilisation—<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a>{109}</span>a gem in a -lovely setting—is by no means isolated. The remains of several British -castles are to be found in the neighbourhood, Mountsey Castle being -quite near; and up on the hill, not far from Spire Cross, but in the -opposite direction, is a menhir. The stone carries an inscription, -which, though extremely rude and partially obliterated, is yet -distinctly legible; and the monument is supposed to mark the -burial-place of a Romanised British chieftain—the “grandson of -Caractacus,” which is the English rendering of “Carataci Nepos.” Dr -Murray recently took a “squeeze” of the face of the stone, from which a -cast was made, now at Oxford; and both he and Professor Rhys, who -accompanied him, were convinced of the genuineness of the scrawl. The -actual lettering appears to be: CVRAACI EPVC. Moreover, beside the road -to Comer’s Gate are three immense cairns, known as the Wambarrows. This -is the highest point of Winsford Hill—1405 feet above the level of the -sea.</p> - -<p>Around all these spots cluster superstitions weird or bizarre. The -menhir is an index of buried treasure. The Wambarrows are the haunt of a -mysterious black dog. Round Mountsey Castle a spectral chariot races at -midnight, to disappear into a cairn in a field at the foot of the hill. -As for Torr Steps, the legend is that they were placed there by the -devil, who menaced with dire penalties the first mortal that should -presume to use them. The sable monarch took his seat on one bank of the -stream, while the other was occupied by a parson, eager to try -conclusions with him. The holy man was astute,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a>{110}</span> and, as a preliminary -measure, dispatched a cat across the bridge. On touching the opposite -side she was ruthlessly rent in pieces, whereupon, the charm having been -shattered, the parson boldly strode over the causeway and engaged the -devil in a conflict of words, each abusing the other in good set terms. -In the end the enemy of mankind retired vanquished, resigning the bridge -to all and sundry. Close above these steps was one of the two homes of -Mother Melldrum (see <i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter xvii., where Blackmore -alludes to the legend of their origin).</p> - -<p>It appears that the Oxford <i>cognoscenti</i> went down into the stream in a -vain search for more inscribed stones. This reminds me of a curious -story of the Barle, the willows on whose banks, by the way, overhang its -amber bed so as to form almost an arch. On a hill to the right, looking -downstream, stands Hawkridge Church, and what is termed, in -contradistinction to the parish, Hawkridge town. Well, once upon a time -a villager was asked to take the place of the bass-singer in the choir -for one Sunday only, and consented. A day or two later he was discovered -by the incumbent, a well-known hunting parson, wading up and down the -little river apparently without aim or object. The cleric drew rein, -and, much amazed, inquired the meaning of this extraordinary procedure. -“Plaze your honour,” was the reply, “I be trying to get a bit of a hooze -on me.”</p> - -<p>In other words, he was attempting to catch a cold, so that he might -become hoarse, this being, as he thought, the best means of qualifying<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a>{111}</span> -himself for the successful discharge of his duty.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Where the swift Exe, by Somerset’s fair hills,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In curving eddies, borders pastures deep,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Near fern-fringed slope of lawn, where babbling rills<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Sing sweetest music, mid thick foliage peep<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Five bridges, and thatched roofs. The grey Church Tower<br /></span> -<span class="i1">O’er all looks down on groves of oak and pine:<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Red deer, red Devons, ponies of the moor,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Delight the traveller in this home of mine.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>This acrostic, in praise of a charming village, is the composition of -the Rev. Prebendary W. P. Anderson, vicar of Winsford, who has resided -there ever since 1857, and the lines show that his experience of the -place has been like the place itself—happy. Far otherwise was it with -one of his predecessors. In the church porch may be seen a list of the -parish clergymen, not so dry as such lists are wont to be, from which it -appears that early in the fourteenth century Winsford had a blind -vicar—one Willelmus. Being unable to perform all the duties of his -office, he was allowed two coadjutors, of whom it is recorded, to their -eternal infamy, that they were deprived “for starving the Blind Vicar.” -This conduct, inhuman at the best, was the more scandalous in that the -Priory of Barlynch, to which the advowson belonged, had, in 1280, -endowed the vicarage with the whole tithe of wool, lambs, chicken, -calves, pigs, sucklings, cheese, butter, flax, honey, and all other -small tithes and oblations and dues pertaining to the altar offerings. -And yet he starved—the Blind Vicar!</p> - -<p>Barlynch Priory, a community of Austin<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a>{112}</span> Friars stood, where its remains -yet stand, some two or three miles down the Exe. Shaded by what the old -charter calls “the mountain of the high wood of Berlic,” its situation -was in the highest degree romantic; and if the prior had a lust for -venery, his taste might easily be gratified, for in the adjacent woods -or “copes,” the deer would have found abundant shelter, and thither they -doubtless resorted to pass the long summer day under the dense foliage.</p> - -<p>Returning to Winsford, Mr Anderson’s lines omit one trait which to many -will seem the chief glory of the village—namely, the old inn. The -“Royal Oak” is a hostelry such as one does not see every day. Its -thatched roofs, and low ceilings, and projecting windows, and general -crinkle-crankle are eloquent of the olden time, and the sign, as was the -case with all ancient signs, hangs from its own post—a reminder of -Boscobel. Hence, by a beautiful rustic lane the traveller wends his way -to Exford, and on the outskirts of the village encounters the church.</p> - -<p>On a pedestal in the churchyard stands the mutilated shaft of a -venerable preaching cross, and hard by the gate one observes an -“upping-stock,” or “upstock,” for the convenience of women in mounting -their horses after divine service.</p> - -<p>Before Exmoor was disafforested and, yet later, made a parish of itself, -it is probable that Exford was the ecclesiastical capital of the -district—at any rate, of the southern portion of the moor. The parish -stands on the very verge of the old forest, and during the reign of King -John was actually brought within its limits. Lanes in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a>{113}</span> the neighbourhood -were, in more scrupulous times, the forest-bounds, and along these -tracks, still passable, were certain marks mentioned in the -Perambulations, almost all of which can be identified. One such track, -partly diverted from its old course—which, however, may be easily -traced—led from what is now a cottage, but was once a small farmhouse, -straight to the church. This cottage bears the name of Prescott, and -still contains a round-headed stone doorway, and a little square window -let into the side of the big fireplace. The late vicar, the Rev. E. G. -Peirson, suggests that this may have been the original priest’s cot or -parsonage house. “I like to think,” he says, “that my predecessors, -before they came into permanent residence here, used to stop at that -house when they came over the moor, and clean themselves before going -into the church.” He adds, however, that in that case the cottage or its -name must date a long way back, as there would seem to have been clergy -resident at Exford early in the twelfth century.</p> - -<p>Mr Peirson’s theory is pretty, but a simpler explanation is that the -cottage belonged to the glebe. It is curious that just at the point -where the old lane used to strike the churchyard, a few projecting -stones still form a rough stile over the wall.</p> - -<p>Probably it will affect most people with a feeling of surprise that -there should be any connection between a place so far inland as Exford -and smuggling, yet the same is true. In an orchard above West Mill was -formerly an old malt-house, where malt was made and whisky distilled. -But the most interesting spot to excise<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a>{114}</span> men lay rather to the north, at -Pitsworthy Cottage. Here was an old stone building used as a turf-house; -but the room where the turf was stowed had a party-wall concealing -another chamber, to which access could be obtained only by a secret -entrance under the office of the thatch. Ordinarily this was blocked by -a large stone fitted with a swivel. Long after, pieces of hoops and -decayed staves were discovered in this hiding-place. Wooden hoops are -seen even now round brandy casks, but these were smaller and adapted to -the kegs which the smugglers, landing under Culbone, transported to -Hawkcombe Head, and Black Mire, and White Cross, and right down to -Pitsworthy. There was no road across the moors in those days—I am -thinking of the “forties”—and a man called Hookway is remembered as -travelling from Culbone with pack-horses.</p> - -<p>More of smuggling anon. Meanwhile, I am disposed to record, for the -first time, the nefarious doings of Jan Glass and Betty, his wife. -Sheep-stealing was a fashionable pursuit on Exmoor; and at Brendon Forge -(see <i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter lxii.) the conversation was divided between -the hay-crop and “a great sheep-stealer”—apparently not the same -individual whose hanging set up strife between the manors of East Lyn, -West Lyn, and Woolhanger on account of his small clothes, since he is -described as “a man of no great eminence” (<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter lv.). -Be that as it may, Jan was a daring sheep-stealer, and yet, in his way, -a public benefactor. Often, during a hard winter, he would bring into -Exford stolen mutton, which he retailed at twopence a pound, and at such -times the inhabitants were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a>{115}</span> fairly kept alive by him. His <i>modus -operandi</i> was to go and gather the sheep—his own and others—on Kitnor -Heath and Old Moor into Larcombe Pound at the entrance to his farm, -where there was a convenient avenue or grove of beech-trees. Having -brought them so far, he would kill the strange sheep, and turn out his -own again over the allotments.</p> - -<p>Jan played this trick so often that old Farmer Brewer determined to take -him, if possible, in the act. With this object in view he “redded” his -sheep, and as he could stand in his farm and observe the manœuvres, -saw Glass driving among the sheep some red ones. With all speed Brewer -made his way across, but by the time he reached Larcombe, Glass had -killed and skinned the sheep that were not his own.</p> - -<p>In the meantime Betty had not been idle. She had dipped the skins in hot -water, so that the wool had come off as easily as from a lamb’s tail, -and had given the skins to the dogs.</p> - -<p>What had become of the wool? Farmer Brewer, anxious to ascertain, -glanced around and spied a large pot. Lifting the cover, he found the -fleeces, and, turning to the disconcerted woman, exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“Aw, fy, Betty! Here’s the wool!”</p> - -<p>This led to Glass’s conviction, and he was sentenced to seven years’ -transportation. He had certainly had a wonderful career. He did not -confine his attention to sheep, but was quite as notorious for stealing -colts. Not being able to keep her from her foal, he had been known to -kill the mare and throw the carcass into the pond. His thefts of sheep -from “Squire” Knight alone<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a>{116}</span> used to average fifty or sixty a year. He -would gallop into a flock, pick up one of the sheep, as a hawk or a -raven would pick up a small bird, and carry it home on the top of his -saddle. It may seem strange that he was permitted to indulge in these -malpractices so long, but he lived in a very out-of-the-way place. There -were no police in those days, sheep were gathered only once or twice in -the year, and the animal he appropriated might possibly be crippled or -diseased. Anyhow, until Farmer Brewer interfered, nobody took any -notice.</p> - -<p>Glass lived to return after being transported, and eventually found -himself on a bed of sickness, when he was visited by an old farmer, -James Moore.</p> - -<p>“Jan,” said he, “I yur thee art very bad, and thee hasn’t got nort to -eat. I’ve killed a sheep and brought thee a piece of mutton.”</p> - -<p>“Aw, maister,” answered the poor man, “I thort thee’d a bin the last man -to come to zee me.”</p> - -<p>“What vur, Jan?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I don’t know, maister, how I can taste the mutton, for I’ve stole -scores o’ sheep from thee at the time you lived to Thurn and the time -you lived to Ashit.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind, Jan, I freely forgive thee, and I aup that God’ll do the -same.”</p> - -<p>Glass never got over the illness, but soon after this touching interview -gave up the ghost, and was buried in Exford churchyard.</p> - -<p>Betty Glass was just as resolute a thief as old Jan, and, whilst at -Larcombe, was very intimate with Sally Bristowe (or “Bursta,” as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a>{117}</span> the -name was pronounced), at Rocks, an adjoining farm. On one occasion, -Betty paid a visit to Sally at harvest time, when young turkeys were -about, and after she had been hospitably entertained, eating what she -liked and drinking what she liked, she had the good taste to go out and -steal a score of the aforesaid small turkeys. Shortly afterwards, Sally -happened to open the door and found the heads of some of the birds lying -in the yard, whereupon she set out in pursuit of old Betty, overtook -her, and discovered the bodies of the turkeys in the old woman’s apron, -blood still flowing from them.</p> - -<p>“Now, Betty,” quoth the indignant woman, “however could’st thee steal my -turkeys after I’d gi’d thee plenty to eat and drink.”</p> - -<p>“Aw, for goodness sake,” was the reply, “keep dark. I’ll give thee a -guinea. Say nort about it.”</p> - -<p>Sally thereupon accepted the guinea, deeming it better to do so than -institute proceedings. This was certainly a mistake, for a week or two -later, when Betty was in company with Farmer Brewer, and three sheets in -the wind, she remarked, “Hey, Jimmy, what’s think of Sal Bursta’s -spot-faced yo? D’ye think I be going to give her a guinea for nort?”</p> - -<p>From which it was evident that she stole the ewe to make good the loss -of the money. Sal undoubtedly lost the sheep.</p> - -<p>During a visit to Minehead, seeing nothing else on which she could -conveniently lay hands, Betty appropriated two 7-lb. weights; but she -had not gone more than a mile or two from the town when she found the -weights too<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a>{118}</span> heavy to carry, and dropped them beside the hedge.</p> - -<p>At that time the Crown Inn, Exford, was kept by Nicholas and Mary -Harwood. One day when Betty was on the spree, Mrs Harwood entered the -house and looked over the old woman’s wardrobe. To her surprise she -found three of her own dresses and several petticoats, which she brought -down into the kitchen, and, spreading them out before old Betty, -inquired how she came by them.</p> - -<p>“Needn’t make so much fuss about it,” was the easy response, “for, if -I’d sold ’em, you’d a had the coin.”</p> - -<p>As Betty was a good customer at the Crown, Mrs Harwood “kept dark” and -condoned the offence.</p> - -<p>On another occasion, Betty brought a bag into the “White Horse” and put -it behind the settle. A man, called Mike Adams, was in the room, and -mischievously turned the bag mouth downwards, so that when old Betty -took it up, out fell the mutton—very likely a joint of Sal Bristowe’s -spot-faced ewe. On hearing the thud, Mike ran round the settle, and was -immediately “squared” by Betty, who observed, “Say nort, and I’ll sell -it and spend the money.”</p> - -<p>Before her marriage with Jan, Betty had an illegitimate son, Jack Reed. -In due time this boy was apprenticed to the husband of Sal Bristowe, who -kept a farm and proved a rough master. Things grew so bad that at last -the lad declared that, if he stayed there, he should be either -transported or hanged. Luckily he had a warm friend in young Sally -Bristowe. They had<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a>{119}</span> grown up boy and girl together, and shared each -other’s confidences. Privately, Sally made a collection for Jack, and -amassed the large sum of sixteen shillings, which she placed in his -hands.</p> - -<p>The ’prentice had now to look out for a favourable opportunity of -escape, and this offered when Farmer Bristowe went to Bratton Fleming -Fair, since by running away at this time the boy was assured of a day’s -start. On going to bed, Jack ostentatiously bolted the door, but -unbolted it “with the same,” so that the old woman might not hear when -he made his exit. The plan worked perfectly, and Jack ultimately settled -down at Bristol.</p> - -<p>The master of the Devon and Somerset staghounds (Mr R. A. Sanders) -resides at Exford, and here are the kennels of the pack. The latter are -substantial stone buildings with gable ends, and stand on the slope of a -hill, close beside the road to Simonsbath. One enters first the -“cooking-house,” the lobby of which is hung around with antlered heads, -brow, bay, and tray. Some heads are preserved on account of their -peculiarities or misshapen forms; and to each head is attached a plate -setting forth the date and place of the capture of the animal. -Advancing, one is conscious of a pungent odour, which is found to -proceed from a chamber where a huge furnace is burning fiercely, and a -seething mass of horse flesh is being boiled off the bones for the dogs. -Some of this boiled flesh is in a large wooden trough, and, mixed with -oatmeal, flour, or biscuit, is undergoing a process of solidification. -In the adjoining room are two larger troughs, in one of which biscuit is -soaking, whilst the other contains<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a>{120}</span> a quantity of oatmeal paste. Both -sorts of food are intended for the younger dogs.</p> - -<p>The kennels of these hounds, situated at a short distance, are provided -with an extensive boarded-in grass plot, which forms their -exercise-yard. When heavy rain does not permit of a parade, they will be -found on the bench. A magnificent lot of dogs, containing the blood of -the most celebrated hounds in the best packs, they are not much -disturbed by the entrance of strangers. Some of them half step down from -the bench, when you pat and stroke them; they do not attempt to bite, -and are, in fact, exceedingly quiet, unless you are foolish enough to -strike them. Then you will see. Although the hounds are so much alike, -the huntsman has the name of each dog on the tip of his tongue, and -when, he calls, the animal is back in his place in an instant—so -absolute is his command.</p> - -<p>As regards the older hounds, they are kennelled in the same fashion, -reclining on a bench with a thick layer of clean straw. They have had a -season or two’s “blooding,” and during that time some of them, by their -doings in the pack, have made a name for themselves. A few years ago two -of them had the honour of appearing on several public platforms in -attendance on the huntsman, the late Anthony Huxtable, a merry dog -himself, who, as he could troll a rattling hunting-song, was in great -request at local concerts, and on such occasions brought the hounds with -him as a bit of realism.</p> - -<p>Another kennel houses the oldest hounds—dogs which have hunted for -seven seasons or more, and are still fit.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a>{121}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_012" id="ill_012"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_172_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_172_sml.jpg" width="450" height="306" alt="Image unavailable: WINSFORD (page 111)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">WINSFORD (<a href="#page_111">page 111.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<p>It is a curious fact that nothing upsets hounds so much as thunder. A -flash of lightning followed by a loud crash of thunder makes every dog -spring to his feet and relieve his feelings by low whines and growls.</p> - -<p>A Faggus incident (see below, chapter xiv.) is duly credited to Exford -by Blackmore, who entrusts the telling of it to John Fry (<i>Lorna Doone</i>, -chapter xxxix.). He appears, however, to have robbed the parish of a -still more thrilling episode (see chapters xiv. and xvi.).<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a>{122}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX<br /><br /> -<small>THE HEART OF THE MOOR</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">From</span> Exford to Simonsbath the road presents few points of interest. At -White Cross enters the highway that leads from Spire Cross to Comer’s -Gate, and thence between hedges to Chibbet (always so spelt and -pronounced, but query Gibbet?) Post, a rendezvous of the staghounds and -other packs; and perhaps the spot where Red Jem hung in chains, but it -is more than two miles from Dunkery. After White Cross we arrive at Red -Stone Gate, where we alight or not as we choose. Red Stone, having been -mentioned in the perambulation records as a landmark of the old forest, -has some claim to be considered historic. Then we pass what is commonly -known as Gallon House, a white-washed building with a porch, standing -back from the road and formerly a public-house. Its proper name was the -Red Deer, and it is said to have been called Gallon House from the fact -that “drink”—beer is always or often thus described hereabouts—was -sold only by the gallon. That may or may not have been the case, but, as -regards intoxicants, Exmoor is still under restrictions. To ensure the -respectability<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a>{123}</span> of the neighbourhood, the “Exmoor Forest” Hotel (late -the “William Rufus”) is limited to the sale of wine, no beer or spirits -being obtainable. This rule was imposed by Sir Frederick Knight, and is -maintained in full force by his successor, Lord Ebrington.</p> - -<p>The proper name of Gallon House was the “Red Deer,” but Blackmore was -evidently acquainted with the other description. John Fry is led by a -shepherd to a “public-house near Exford,” where “nothing less than a -<i>gallon of ale</i> and half a gammon of bacon” brings him to his right mind -again (<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter xxxi.).</p> - -<p>The associations of Gallon House and its vicinage are tragic, since it -was in a cottage situated in the rear that William Burgess, in the -fifties of the last century, murdered his little daughter. He then -conveyed her body across the road and down into the valley, where he -buried it; but, fearing detection, he again removed the poor child’s -corpse and threw it down the shaft of the disused Wheal Eliza, a -copper-mine. Here it remained undiscovered for months, but at last, -through the untiring exertions of the Rev. W. H. Thornton, then curate -of Exmoor, it was found, and the unnatural father expiated his crime on -the gallows.</p> - -<p>In his privately printed <i>Reminiscences</i>, Mr Thornton has given a -detailed account of the whole episode.</p> - -<p>The Wheal Eliza appears to have been the original of Uncle Ben’s -gold-mine, so far as situation is concerned.</p> - -<p>The next stage is to Honeymead Two Gates,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a>{124}</span> with Honeymead Farm<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> lying -away to the left. “Two Gates” is quite an Exmoor term. We meet with it -again in Brendon Two Gates, and it stands for an arrangement whereby on -both sides of the posts are suspended separate gates, so hung as to fall -inwards. These effectually prevent stock from getting either in or out -of the enclosures <i>proprio motu</i>, whilst the farmer, by crooking back -the near gate with his whip, and pushing his horse against the other, -can pass through without having to dismount. To judge from the maps, -Simonsbath is the hub of the moor. In some senses this is true and -soothfast, but as one travels along the excellent highway and looks -across the country, there is little suggestion of either moor or forest. -The land is evidently poor, but everywhere one’s glance falls on -enclosed fields, and Winsford Hill harmonises much better with one’s -preconceived ideas of Exmoor than this eminently civilised region. -Doubtless the landscape presented a very different aspect before Mr -Knight’s advent in 1818, and one hardly knows whether to thank him for -his pioneer improvements or not. At all events, one would have preferred -the dry-wall system that obtains in the North Forest, to fences that -seem stable and permanent, though shivering sheep may be of a different -opinion.</p> - -<p>Cloven Rocks, the next point, has no obvious right to the name. Its -situation, however, may be indicated by stating that it lies at a bend -of the road, and a tiny stream trickles down through the bare turf. It -may be needless to remind the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a>{125}</span> reader that Cloven Rocks is twice -mentioned in <i>Lorna Doone</i> as adjacent to the Wizard’s Slough, a -perilous morass that has since been drained. Whether the story which -appears in chapter lviii. of the romance is based on a real tradition, -or is the offspring of Blackmore’s fertile imagination, I am unable to -say. It has, at any rate, a genuine ring, and all Exmoor once teemed -with strange legends, which the present “more enlightened” generation -has chosen to forget.</p> - -<p>Which reminds me. The little stream above referred to is called White -Water, and joins the Barle at Cow Castle, an old British camp, which is -situated on one of three hills. Cow Castle is the name of the principal -eminence as given in the maps, and Cae Castle it is sometimes called by -the learned. To the natives, however, it is known as Ring Castle, and is -so described in a delightful article contributed by the Rev. George -Tugwell, M.A., author of an excellent <i>North Devon Handbook</i>, to -<i>Frasers Magazine</i> in 1857. His delineations of the scenery are worthy -of a Blackmore or a Black, and would that I had room for some of them! -As I have not, I must confine the quotation to the dialogue between the -wanderer and a peasant, carried on by the blaze of the latter’s peat -fire.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Half an hour before we met you and little Nelly, we discovered an old -British camp—a real discovery, an indubitable camp, with its line of -earthworks as perfect, gateway and all, as when it was first piled—and -to be found in no book or antiquarian memoir in all the three kingdoms. -There it stood, a circular crown on the brow of a lonely conical hill, -washed on three sides by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a>{126}</span> wanderings of the Barle, out of bow-shot -from all the neighbouring heights, with plenty of water, and provisions -in abundance, for three valleys trended from it in a triple direction, -commanding a wide and glorious view of peak and ravine, centrally placed -in the very heart of “the forest.” In truth, those old Britons knew -something of the art of fastnesses, if they were not well skilled in the -art of war. Did you ever see the stronghold of your ancestors, friend -Jan?’</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I’m thinking we’re somehow about Ring Castle!’ quoth Jan, with sly -good humour in his eye. ‘Camp indeed! I don’t know much about camps [we -omit the Doric]; but all I know is, that it was something far different -which built Ring Castle.’</p> - -<p>“Hereupon, dropping his voice, he hurled up the broad chimney a whole -series of mystery-betokening smoke cloudlets.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Did you ever hear tell on Pixies?’ quoth Jan again, after a pause. -‘And fairy rings?’ he added, as Nelly emerged from a dark corner, and -nestled close to her father’s shoulder. We suggested that we had heard -of the Devonshire fairies, a race of spirits peculiar for their -diminutive size and perfect beauty, and for their friendly dealing with -mankind.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Well,’ said John, ‘this here be all about it.’</p> - -<p>(And he proceeded to tell us so pretty a legend that we cannot refrain -from translating it for the benefit of the uninitiated in the Devonshire -dialect.)</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Ever so long ago, the Pixies were at war with the mine spirits who -live underground all<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a>{127}</span> about the forest and the wild hill-country around. -Now, the Pixies being perfectly harmless, and withal good-natured to -excess, weren’t at all a match for the evil-nurtured earth-demons, who -were always forging all kinds of fearful weapons in their underground -armouries, and overcoming their poor little foes by all manner of unfair -and unexpected stratagems. But the Pixie Queen of those days being like -all women, fertile in resources, bethought her of a means of escape from -the unbearable tyranny of the oppressors. Ever since the days of Merlin, -running water, the numbers three and seven, and the mysteries of the -emblematic circle, have been sure protections against the machinations -of the foul fiend and his allies. And the fairy queen, like a wise -woman, recollected this fact, and, like a wiser woman, applied it; for -she assembled all her subjects, and bade them build on the summit of -this central Exmoor Peak that strange circle which you have seen to-day. -But it was no common building this, for with every stone and turf that -the builders laid, they buried the memory of some kindly deed which the -good Pixies had done to the race of men; and so, when the magic ring was -completed, the baffled demons raved and plotted in vain around its -sacred enclosure. Nor was this all; for when the grey morning broke upon -that first night of victory and repose, as the driving mists rolled -upwards and swept along the hill-tops like the advance-guard of a -victorious army [we are not sure that this was Jan’s own similitude], -from the summit of the fairy fortification there rose ring after ring of -faintest amber-tinted vapour,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a>{128}</span> and floated away in the brightening sky, -each on its own mission of safety and peace.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>For these tiny wreathlets wandered hither and thither all over the -broad expanse of the Exmoor country, and wherever the grass was -greenest, and the neighbouring stream sang most merrily, and the -sunlight was purest, and the moonbeams brightest, there these magic -circles sank down softly on the level sward, and left no trace behind -them of what they had been, or whence they had journeyed.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>But from each soft resting-place there sprang a ring of greenest -grass, which flourished and grew year by year; and within those safe -enclosures the Pixies danced on moonlight nights in peace and security, -unharmed by the demon rout, who were never seen aboveground after that -memorable morning. So you see that kind hearts and actions do not go -unrewarded, even in other spheres than our own.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>And so,’ concluded Jan, ‘that’s my story about the building of the -Pixie’s camp; and wise folk may talk for a year and a day without making -me believe that there’s any other reason for fairy rings, at all events, -hereabouts in Exmoor Forest.’</p> - -<p>“Of course it would have been absolute cruelty, after so fanciful a -legend, to have instilled any botanical ideas into Jan’s head, with -regard to the law of the circular increase of fungi and the like; so we -‘left him alone in his glory,’ and felt duly thankful for the pleasure -he had given us.”</p> - -<p>Lower down the river is Landacre Bridge, where Jeremy Stickles had so -narrow an escape<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a>{129}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_013" id="ill_013"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_181_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_181_sml.jpg" width="450" height="311" alt="Image unavailable: LANDACRE BRIDGE, EXMOOR." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">LANDACRE BRIDGE, EXMOOR.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">from flood and foeman (<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter xlvii.), and lower down -still is the moorland village of Withypool. In summer, the water-meadows -here, with background of brown moor, are lovely, but in rainy seasons -Withypool is a wet place indeed, the little streams being even more to -be dreaded that the raging of the Barle and Kennsford Water. In passing -through the village a few years ago, I happened to hear that there are -five wise men of Withypool, whose names were mentioned to me. One, I -believe, was a follower of St Crispin, whom his neighbours, on account -of his being at once “long-headed” and little of stature, called, Torney -Mouse. Here also resides the renowned “Joe” Milton, a champion of the -old wrestling days, in which he bore off many a trophy.</p> - -<p>When the snow lies piled in impracticable drifts on the main Exford -road, the Simonsbath people creep round to Dulverton and the world by -way of Withypool. Let us proceed to the capital of Exmoor by this route. -As we do so, it may be well to say something of the term “forest,” as -applied to Exmoor. To anyone who knows the country, such a description -must inevitably suggest the famous etymology, <i>lucus a non lucendo</i>; -except at Simonsbath, there is hardly a tree to be seen. But, according -to legal usage the word does not of necessity connote timber; it -indicates nothing more than an uncultivated tract of country reserved -for the chase. The term indeed is said to be identical with the Welsh -<i>gores</i> or <i>gorest</i> (waste land), whence comes also the word “gorse,” -used alternately with “furze,” as being a common growth on wastes.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a>{130}</span> From -the earliest times, Exmoor was a royal hunting-ground, and so remained -until that portion of it which still belonged to the Crown was sold, in -1818, to Mr John Knight, of Worcestershire. The Crown allotment -comprised 10,000 acres; subsequently Mr Knight bought 6000 more, and so -became owner of, at least, four-fifths of the forest.</p> - -<p>Much has been written concerning those ancient denizens of the moor—the -ponies. In my <i>Book of Exmoor</i>, I have dealt almost exhaustively with -the subject as regards the pure breed; and every year experts in horsey -matters favour the British public with accounts of those wary little -animals in various periodicals. Sportsmen, however, have often put to me -the question, “After all, what good are they?” That they are good for -some purpose, is proved by the ready sales at Bampton Fair; but it is -true, nevertheless, that the breed labours under a grave disadvantage in -point of size, and those interested in the problem have often essayed to -produce a serviceable cross.</p> - -<p>Instead of treating once again those aspects of pony science which have -been discussed <i>ad nauseam</i>, I propose to devote attention almost -exclusively to Mr Knight’s remarkable efforts in this direction, full -particulars of which have never, so far I know, been embodied in any -permanent work.</p> - -<p>For some years previous to the sale of the forest, the price of the -ponies ranged from four to six pounds, but the exportation of this class -of live-stock, as well as sheep, did not always proceed on regular or -legitimate lines. The Exmoor<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a>{131}</span> shepherds, in defiance of the “anchor -brand,” took liberal tithe of them, and, at nightfall, passed them over -the hills to their crafty Wiltshire customers. On the completion of the -sale the original uncrossed herd was transferred to Winsford Hill, where -Sir Thomas had another “allotment,” only a dozen mare ponies being left -to continue the line. At that time Soho Square was as fashionable a -quarter as Belgravia, and one of its residents was the celebrated -naturalist, Sir Joseph Banks, who invited Mr Knight to a dinner party. -Bruce’s Abyssinian stories were then all the rage, and the conversation -chanced to fall on the merits of the Dongola horse, described by the -“travelling giant” as an Arab of sixteen hands, peculiar to the regions -round about Nubia. Sir Joseph consulted his guests as to the -desirability of procuring some of the breed, and Lords Hadley, Morton, -and Dundas, and Mr Knight were so enamoured of the idea that they handed -him there and then a joint cheque for one thousand pounds to cover the -expense.</p> - -<p>Over and above their height, the Dongola animals had somewhat Roman -noses, their skin was of a very fine texture, they were well chiselled -under the jowl, and, like all their race, clear-winded. As regards their -action, it was of the “knee-in-the-curb-chain” sort, whilst their short -thick backs and great hindquarters made them rare weight-carriers. As -against all this, the “gaudy blacks” had flattish ribs, drooping croups, -rather long white legs, and blaze foreheads. Perfect as <i>manège</i> horses, -the dusky Nubian who brought them over galloped them straight at a wall -in the riding-school, making<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a>{132}</span> them stop dead when they reached it. -Altogether ten or twelve horses and mares arrived, of which the Marquis -of Anglesey observed that they would “improve any breed alive.” Acting -on his advice, Mr Knight bought Lord Hadley’s share, and two sires and -three mares were at once sent to Simonsbath, where the new owner had -established a stud of seven or eight thoroughbred mares, thirty -half-breds of the coaching Cleveland variety, and a dozen twelve-hand -pony mares. The result of the first cross between these last and one of -the Dongolas was that the produce came generally fourteen hands two, and -very seldom black. The mealy nose, so distinctive of the Exmoors, was -completely knocked; but not so the buffy, which stood true to its -colour, so that the type was not wholly destroyed.</p> - -<p>The West Somerset pack often visited Exmoor to draw for a fox, and on -such occasions the services of white-robed guides were usually called -into requisition; but the half Dongolas performed so admirably that this -practice gradually fell into disuse. They managed to get down the -difficult hills so cleverly, and in crossing the brooks were so close up -to the hounds, that nothing further was necessary.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p> - -<p>The cross-out was intended for size only, not for character. No sire -with the Dongola blood<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a>{133}</span> was used, and such mares as did not retain a -good proportion of the Exmoor type were immediately drafted. The first -important successor of the Dongola was Pandarus, a white-coloured son of -Whalebone, fifteen hands high, who confirmed the original bay, but -reduced the standard to thirteen hands or thirteen and a half. Another -sire was Canopus, a grandson of Velocipede, by whom the fine breeding as -well as the Pandarus bay was perpetuated.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the colts were wintered on limed land, and thus enabled to -bear up pretty well against the climate. Later, however, the farms were -let by the late Sir Frederick (then Mr F. W.) Knight—a course which -necessitated the withdrawal of the ponies to the naked moor, where, if -the mares with the first cross could put up with the fare and the -climate, they grew too thin to give any milk. On the other hand, those -which were only half bred stood it well with their foals. About 1842 the -whole pony stud was remodelled. The lighter mares were drafted, and from -that time Mr Knight resolved to stick to his own ponies and the -conventional sire. For many years this was strictly observed, and apart -from the chestnut Hero, a horse of massive build sprung from a Pandarus -sire, and the grey Lillias, of almost unalloyed Acland blood, no colour -was used but the original buff.</p> - -<p>An able judge who visited the moor in 1860, included in his report the -following remarks, which are worth quoting:—</p> - -<p>“The pony stock consists of a hundred brood mares of all ages, from one -to thirteen. The mares are put to the horse at three, and up to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a>{134}</span> that -age they share the eight hundred heather acres of Badgery with the red -deer and the blackcock, protected on all sides by high stone walls, -which even Lillias, the gay Lothario of the moor, cannot jump in his -moonlight rambles....</p> - -<p>“The bays and the buffy bays (a description of yellow), both with mealy -noses, are in a majority of at least three to one. The ten sires are all -wintered together in an allotment until the 1st of May, apart from the -mares; but Lillias, who has more of the old pony blood than any of them, -twice scrambled over at least a score of six feet walls, and away to his -loved North Forest. It is a beautiful sight to see them jealously -beating the bounds, when they are once more in their own domains; and -they would, if they wore shoes, break every bone in a usurper’s skin. -The challenge to a battle royal is given with a snort, and then they -commence by rearing up against each other’s necks, so as to get the -first leverage for a worry. When they weary of that they turn tail to -tail, and commence a series of heavy exchanges, till the least exhausted -of the two watches his opportunity, and whisking round, gives his -antagonist a broadside in the ribs, which fairly echoes down the glen. -In the closing scene they face each other once more, and begin like -bull-dogs to manœuvre for their favourite bite on the arm. The first -which is caught off his guard goes down like a shot, and then scurries -off with the victor in hot pursuit, savagely ‘weaving,’ while his head -nearly touches the ground, and his ‘flag’ waves triumphantly in the air. -With the exception of Lillias, the ten<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a>{135}</span> are generally pretty content -with their one thousand acres of territory, and like Sayers and Heenan, -they are ultimately ‘reconciled’ in November.</p> - -<p>“The percentage of deaths is comparatively small, and during last -winter, when many of the old ponies fairly gave in on the neighbouring -hills, Mr Knight’s ponies fought through it, but five or six of them -died from exhaustion at foaling, or slipped foals at ten months. Their -greatest peril is when they are tempted into bogs about that period by -the green bait of the early aquatic grasses, and flounder about under -weakness and heavy pressure till they die. The stud-book contains some -very curious records. ‘Died of old age in the snow,’ forms quite a -pathetic St Bernard sort of entry. ‘Found dead in a bog’ has less poetry -about it. ‘Iron grey, found dead with a broken leg at the foot of a -hill,’ is rather an odd mortality comment on such a chamois-footed race; -while ‘grey mare c. 22 and grey yearling, missing; both found, mare with -a foal at her foot,’ gives a rather more cheery glimpse of forest -history.”</p> - -<p>The “forest mark,” with which the foals are branded on the saddle-place, -was changed by Mr Knight from the Acland anchor to the spur, which -formed part of his crest, and is burnt in with a hot iron, just enough -to sear the roots of the hair. No age eradicates it. Should a dispute -arise concerning a wandering pony, the hair is clipped off, and once it -happened that after a white sire had been lost for three seasons he was -discovered in this manner by the head herdsman’s brother. The spur has -only one<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a>{136}</span> heel, and the brand can be affixed with a rowel pointing in -four directions, on each side of the pony, beginning towards the neck. -It thus coincides with a cycle of eight years, and is available as a -guide if the footmarks are prematurely worn out.</p> - -<p>The hoof-marks are of two kinds—that of the year of entry on the off -hoof, and the register figure of the dam on the near. In the second week -of October the Dominical letters of their year are placed on the -yearlings, and the registered hoof-marks renewed on the mares. The foal, -of course, is not marked on the foot, but an exact record is taken of -his dam and all his points.</p> - -<p>Until 1850 the ponies were sold by private contract. Sales were then -established, and in 1853 an auditory of two hundred persons assembled at -Stony Plot, the knoll with its belt of grey quartz boulders where now -stands the church. The following autumn the venue was altered to Bampton -Fair. There is a curious story or legend—I hardly know what to make of -it—that after one of the Simonsbath sales a Mr Lock, of Lynmouth, -roasted an Exmoor pony for his friends, who, if they ever partook of the -repast, must be credited with fine Tartar taste.</p> - -<p>According to one version the original Exmoor ponies, with their buffy -bay colour and mealy nose, were brought over by the Phœnicians during -their visits to the shores of Cornwall to trade in tin and metals; and -ever since that time the animals have preserved their characteristics. -We do not propose to go so far back into the recesses of history, but -will return for a moment to the now rather distant date, 1790, before<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a>{137}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_014" id="ill_014"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_192_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_192_sml.jpg" width="450" height="306" alt="Image unavailable: BAGWORTHY VALLEY (page 141)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">BAGWORTHY VALLEY (<a href="#page_141">page 141.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">which hardly anything is known of Simonsbath. At that period there are -said to have been only five men and a woman and a girl on Exmoor. The -girl drew beer at the Simonsbath public-house, and the customers were a -decidedly rough lot. Doones indeed there were none—their day was -past—but the illicit love of mutton was universal in the West country, -as was also a partiality for cheap cognac. Smugglers slung their kegs -across their “scrambling Jacks” at night, and hid their treasure in the -rocks, or left it at a certain gate till the next mystic hand in the -living chain gave it a lift on the road to Exeter. When they did not -care to do this, there were always friendly cellars under the old house -at Simonsbath. The ale was decent, the landlady wisely deaf, and who can -doubt that the old ingle, where the date 1654 still lingers on a beam -shorn or built into half its length, heard many an exciting tale of -contraband prime brandy and extra parochial liberties which would have -extorted blushes from an honest beadle and groans from a conscientious -exciseman?</p> - -<p>Simonsbath having been formerly so insignificant, it is not to be -wondered at that Blackmore only refers to it as the abode of a “wise -woman,” by which he means a witch (<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter xviii.).<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a>{138}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X<br /><br /> -<small>BAGWORTHY AND BRENDON</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Simonsbath</span> is the centre of several converging roads, all of them -waiting to help the traveller out of Exmoor before he is well in it. A -drive from Lynton or some other fairly populous or fashionable resort, -followed by a lunch at the Simonsbath Hotel, is many people’s conception -of the proper method of “doing” Exmoor; but, while pleasant enough as an -excursion, such a mode of exploration permits of only scanty guesses and -imperfect glimpses of the inner fastnesses, which seem for the most part -far away.</p> - -<p>If the excitement of the chase be not too distracting, possibly the best -way of acquainting oneself with the country is by following the -staghounds; but should that be impracticable, the most useful advice the -writer can offer is to follow the watercourses. Any one of these, if -patiently traced, will usher the pilgrim into Nature’s mysterious -solitudes, which, if he be at all of a contemplative turn of mind, will -awaken in him many a pleasant or pensive reverie. In any case, one must -get away from the roads, the very<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a>{139}</span> excellence of which is evil, as -tempting to sloth.</p> - -<p>I cannot, however, send forth an innocent person into the wilds without -referring to the bogs. Personally, I have a considerable respect for -Exmoor bogs, as I have for “they Hexëmoor vogs,” which are equally -treacherous, and make one wet through as sure and as fast as any rain; -nor is it so many years ago that Sheardon Hutch and similar names were -sounds of terror in my ears. Familiarity breeds contempt, and therefore -those at home in the district—some of them, at all events—are apt to -disparage these man-traps, which are not by any means confined to the -low lands, but are found on the summits of hills, especially the -notorious Chains. In many places black decayed vegetable matter has been -accumulating for ages to a depth of several feet, and as the rocks -beneath are of the transition class, impervious to water, the rain is -retained and saturates the bog-mould. After much wet weather, there are -spots that will not bear the weight of a man, let alone a horse, and in -riding over the moor, they constitute so real and serious a danger that -great care should be exercised to avoid getting into them. Otherwise it -may prove an impossible task to extricate the devoted “mount.” There is -one consolation—heather will not grow on those deep bogs, and wherever -its purple bells show, the ground is safe.</p> - -<p>The Exmoor hills are variously configured. Sometimes they take the form -of a bold foreland, sometimes of a continuous ridge, sometimes of an -isolated cone or orb. A very intelligent moorman reminded me, somewhat -superfluously, when I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a>{140}</span> looked in upon him on a September evening, that -all the hills have names, and queer names some of them are—<i>e.g.</i>, -“Tom’s Hill,” “Swap Hill,” “Scob Hill,” etc., etc. The meaning of not a -few is anything but plain, but one “termination,” if the phrase be -permitted, speaks for itself. I allude to the expression “ball,” which -is frequent on Exmoor, and much more likely to be derived from visual -impression than any long-descended traditions of Baal, to which a late -friend of mine, out of regard for the Phœnicians and their -hill-altars, was anxious to assign it. Thus we have Cloutsham Ball -(famous as the scene of the opening-meet of the Devon and Somerset -Staghounds), Ware Ball, Ricksy Ball, Ferny Ball, and, as a gloss, Round -Hill. The intersecting valleys have somewhat the character of huge -corridors leading in and out of each other, and the smaller “combes,” -running up into the hills, may be likened to stairways of providential -appointment, for the Exmoor “sides” are not quite perpendicular. The -hill-tops and slopes are dotted with sure-footed Exmoor horned sheep and -Cheviots, beautiful long-tailed ponies, and a few red cattle. The grass -is of two sorts—a short, close variety found in the drier parts, and -tall sedge grass on wet ground, where it grows rankly. Sheep are fond of -the former when it comes up green and fresh after the annual “swalings,” -which take place in February or March. Exmoor sheep have faces like -those of the native deer, being free from wool, while the sharp-pointed -nose resembles that of a fox.</p> - -<p>Simonsbath village is in a sheltered position on the left bank of the -Barle, and, thanks to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a>{141}</span> care of the late Sir Frederick Knight and his -father, it is further protected against the keen winterly gales by ample -plantations of fir and other trees. Hence we again mount the hills, this -time in the direction of Brendon Two Gates, where the “forest” ends. -After a time we gain a point from which a good view is obtained of the -Prayway (or Prayaway) Meads. There are no hedges here, and, with the -inconsistency of human nature, one misses them. It seems so odd to stand -and gaze over a grassy expanse that has never been enclosed, and yet has -much the look of ordinary meadow. Through the midst flows the Exe, here -quite a baby-stream; we are, indeed, not far from its source. To those -who are familiar with its lower reaches, and call to mind the river as -it appears (say) at Cowley Bridge, the sight is inexpressibly absurd. -The absence of trees and shrubs makes Prayway seem bare and forsaken. -The high sloping banks are like deserted ramparts or—but the name may -have some influence—the nave of a vast natural cathedral haunted by the -ghosts of dead Britons. Continuing our route, we arrive at a gate, -inside which is a sort of quarry known as Black Pits. The gate opens -into a common, at the other end of which is Brendon Two Gates. The -origin of this term has been explained; it may be well to add that at -present it is a misnomer.</p> - -<p>We now for the first time catch sight of Bagworthy, lying over on the -right, and Bagworthy, as the reader may happen to remember, was, or has -been imputed to be, the stronghold of the savage Doones. This is, in a -sense, the parting of the ways. The traveller may either<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_142" id="page_142"></a>{142}</span> quit the -beaten track for the carpet of sward in quest of a shepherd’s cot, -whence he may easily proceed to the traditional site of Doone Castle and -down the Doone valley, along the Bagworthy Water, to Malmsmead, where -the Bagworthy water unites with the East Lyn, and so by Cosgate or -Brendon to Lynton; or he may stick to the road, which will take him by a -shorter cut to the same destination, by Farley and Cheriton and the -aforesaid Scob Hill. It may be that, like the mythical churchmen of old, -when asked to state which see he preferred—Bath or Wells—the -latter-day pilgrim may elect for “both.” I will assume, however, that -his immediate objective is the famous valley, and that, once there, he -will pursue without faltering the longest way round.</p> - -<p>Technically we are no longer on Exmoor. Bagworthy, Badgworthy, or -Badgery—all are permissible forms—is in the parish of Brendon and the -county of Devon. In ancient times the wood is said to have covered a -much greater area, and a century ago some of the older shepherds could -point out its former limits. Within their recollection and since their -time, its dimensions steadily contracted, until the disappointment with -the valley, to which visitors so often and freely own, became -explicable.</p> - -<p>Now it must be admitted that in <i>Lorna Doone</i> there is a large spice of -exaggeration, and this quality is naturally reflected in the -illustrations with which the goodlier editions are adorned. Such -deviations from the literal have brought it to pass that nowhere is -Blackmore in so little esteem as among the hills he pictured so -lovingly. Even the humble writer of the present volume<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_143" id="page_143"></a>{143}</span> probably enjoys -on Exmoor a greater measure of esteem as a more trustworthy historian of -the neighbourhood. But, sensible people will agree, the writer of a -romance must be in a large measure a law unto himself, and he is under -not the least obligation to consult the feelings of plain folk incapable -of sharing his flights of imagination. It is a question of the light -“borrowed from the youthful poet’s dream,” and I am inclined to apply -the phrase in a somewhat distinct and definite sense. A romance—this -romance in particular—may be regarded as a fairy-tale raised to a -higher plane of evolution, and Blackmore seems to have possessed the -godlike faculty of reflecting in his pages the shining images of his -boyish fantasy, when, to copy Kingsley, every goose was a swan and every -lass a queen. On this point I shall say no more, but return forthwith to -the matter-of-fact. This includes the deep pool and the waterslide, but -the reality of Doone Castle, or its remains, cannot for various reasons -be taken for granted.</p> - -<p>The first printed notice regarding these malefactors occurs in Mr -Cooper’s <i>Guide to Lynton</i>, published in 1851, and runs as follows:—</p> - -<p>“The ruins of a village long forsaken and deserted stand in an adjacent -valley, which, before the destruction of the timber, must have been a -spot exactly suited to the wants of the wild inhabitants. Tradition -relates that it consisted of eleven cottages, and that here the ‘Doones’ -took up their residence, being the terror of the country for many miles -round. For a long time they were in the habit of escaping with their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_144" id="page_144"></a>{144}</span> -booty across the wild hills of Exmoor to Bagworthy, where few thought it -safe or even practicable to follow them. They were not natives of this -part of the country, but having been disturbed by the Revolution from -their homes, suddenly entered Devonshire and erected the village alluded -to. It was known from the first to the inhabitants of the neighbouring -villages that this village was erected and inhabited by robbers, but the -fear which their deeds inspired in the minds of the peasants prevented -them from attacking and destroying it. The idea is prevalent that before -their leaving home they had been men of distinction, and not common -peasants. The site of a house may still be seen on a part of the forest -called the Warren, which is said to have belonged to a person called -‘the Squire,’ who was robbed and murdered by the Doones.</p> - -<p>“A farmhouse called Yenworthy, lying just above Glenthorne, on the left -of the Lynton and Porlock road, was beset by them one night; but a woman -firing on them from one of the windows with a long duck-gun, they -retreated, and blood was tracked the next morning for several miles in -the direction of Bagworthy. The gun was found at Yenworthy, and was -purchased by the Rev. W. S. Halliday. They entered and robbed a house at -Exford in the evening before dark, and found there only a child, whom -they murdered. A woman servant who was concealed in an oven, is said to -have heard them say to the unfortunate infant the following barbarous -couplet:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">‘If any one asks who killed thee,<br /></span> -<span class="i0"> Tell ’m ’twas the Doones of Bagworthy.’<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_145" id="page_145"></a>{145}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_015" id="ill_015"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_201_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_201_sml.jpg" width="450" height="311" alt="Image unavailable: BRENDON, NEAR OARE (page 150)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">BRENDON, NEAR OARE (<a href="#page_150">page 150.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<p>“It was for this murder that the whole country rose in arms against -them, and going to their abode in great haste and force, succeeded in -taking into custody the whole gang, who soon after met with the -punishment due to their crimes.”</p> - -<p>This excerpt represents the legend of the Doones which Blackmore -inherited, and which it is absurd to designate as his invention. What he -did was to add colour and definition to an already existing, though -faded, tradition. How much of the substructure of <i>Lorna Doone</i> is due -to his imaginative genius, is a fascinating problem, which, it is to be -feared, it is beyond the wit of man to solve satisfactorily. In the -above quotation, for instance, no mention occurs of the heroine, but it -does not follow that she found no place in the local tales, and -Blackmore, quite as good an authority as the writer of the guide, and on -this particular subject even better, expressly affirms the contrary.</p> - -<p>As to the time of the Doones, Mr Cooper, it will be noticed, says “after -the Revolution.” This is altogether opposed to Blackmore’s account, -which sets back their advent to a date long anterior to 1688. Mr Edwin -J. Rawle, whose valuable <i>Annals of the Royal Forest of Exmoor</i> entitles -him to a very respectful hearing, is absolute in rejecting any -historical basis for the tradition, the mere existence of which he -tardily acknowledges. Mr Rawle’s theory is that “Doone” really stands -for “Dane,” the sea-wolves in the olden times having harried the -neighbourhood pretty severely. I do not know what philologers may say of -this suggestion, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_146" id="page_146"></a>{146}</span> the vagaries of the local dialect suggest a far -more plausible explanation. In the romance John Fry speaks of his -“goon,” meaning his “gun.” Now “Dunn” is a fairly common patronymic in -the West Country, and I am informed that the natives formerly pronounced -the vowel in an indeterminate manner consistent with either spelling.</p> - -<p>Blackmore, however, evidently regarded the name as identical with the -Scottish “Doune,” and his assertion of a high North British pedigree for -the robbers has been wonderfully seconded of late by the publication of -Miss Ida Browne’s <i>Short History of the Original Doones</i>, which, if -correct in every particular, proves amongst other things how extremely -imperfect and untrustworthy are many of the records on which the -scrupulous historian is wont to rely. Mr Rawle will not have that it is -correct, and her pleasant and plausible narrative is the object of a -fierce onslaught in his brochure, <i>The Doones of Exmoor</i>. Personally, I -have always favoured the notion that the rogues were a similar set to -the Gubbinses and Cheritons, little communities of moorland savages, and -that their rascalities, handed down from generation to generation, were -magnified and distorted in every re-telling. This solution has the -advantage of being easily reconciled with Mr Rawle’s demand for -authentic evidence of their monstrous doings and Blackmore’s and Miss -Ida’s Browne’s insistence on their Scottish nationality. To me, however, -it seems like beating the air to attempt any final settlement of the -question on our present information, and if I again refer to the lady’s -booklet—already I have<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_147" id="page_147"></a>{147}</span> given the substance of it in my <i>Book of -Exmoor</i>—it is not so much from the belief that it casts any certain -light on the actuality of the Exmoor marauders as on account of the -possibility—which she notes—that Blackmore by some means obtained -access to the evidence now in her possession.</p> - -<p>This consists of a manuscript entitled “The Lineage and History of our -Family, from 1561 to the Present Day,” compiled by Charles Doone of -Braemar, 1804; the Journal of Rupert Doone, 1748; oral information, and -certain family heirlooms. Assuming these to be genuine, there is -obviously much likelihood, in view of the numerous points in common, -that Blackmore succeeded in getting hold of the written testimony of the -later Doones; and, indeed, the circumstance may have been the factor -which led him to elaborate the romance on a scale transcending that of -his other stories, since he must have realised that here he had struck -an entirely original vein of historical fiction.</p> - -<p>Before quitting this part of the subject, it is desirable to present the -views of the Rev. J. F. Chanter, who has given much attention to the -problem, and whose long and intimate acquaintance with the district -invests his opinions with exceptional importance. In a letter received -from him, he remarks:—</p> - -<p>“I may say that, as far as I am concerned, I accept as genuine the main -facts of Miss Browne’s story, but not its details, <i>i.e.</i>, the -relationship between Sir Ensor and Lord Moray, or even Sir Ensor being a -knight. The title ‘Sir’ was given at that date to many who were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_148" id="page_148"></a>{148}</span> neither -knights nor baronets, <i>e.g.</i>, the clergy always; and as I find in rural -districts, even to this day, a lady of the manor is spoken of, and -written to, as Lady so-and-so. Mr Rawle’s criticism is entirely -negative; his position seems to be this:—Miss Browne’s paper states -that Sir Ensor was twin brother of Lord Moray. Now Lord Moray had no -twin brother; therefore the whole claim falls to the ground.”</p> - -<p>To this I answer:</p> - -<p>“1. If the claim of Charles Doone of Braemar, as to the ancestry of his -family, is wrong, it is absurd to say he had no ancestors. We are all -apt to claim as ancestors people who were not really so, and many of the -published pedigrees do this, claiming as ancestors some of the same -name, though there is no evidence of the link.</p> - -<p>“2. The peerage is no evidence that Lord Moray had not other brothers, -though not twins. There is, for instance, evidence that Lord Moray had a -brother mentioned in no peerage I ever saw, one John Stuart who was -executed for murder in 1609.</p> - -<p>“3. There may have been merely a tribal connection between the Doones of -Bagworthy and the Stewarts of Doune, and a tribal feud caused them to -fly to a remote spot; and they were recalled on a later Lord Moray -wanting every help when he fell from Royal favour.</p> - -<p>“Be this as it may, Miss Browne’s story fits in so wonderfully with -Blackmore’s romance that I cannot conceive he had not heard of it. This -I can vouch for—Miss Browne did not invent it.</p> - -<p>“Now as to Miss Browne’s documentary<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_149" id="page_149"></a>{149}</span> evidence, I had the original of -Charles Doone’s family history, and it was undoubtedly a genuine -document of the age it purported to be. I made a full copy of it. Of -other documents I only saw copies. The originals she stated to be in the -possession of a cousin in Scotland, and promised to get them for me as -soon as she could. I have, however, not seen them as yet. The relics -also seem to me genuine.”</p> - -<p>It must not be supposed that these were Blackmore’s only sources of -information—they deal in the main with merely one side of the story. -Other material, both written and oral, was available on the spot. Mr -Chanter observes on this point: “I myself can perfectly recall that, -when I first went to a boarding-school in 1863, there was a boy there -from the Exmoor neighbourhood who used to relate at night in the -dormitories blood-curdling stories of the Doones.” That boy, it is -interesting to know, is still alive. At any rate, he was alive in July -1903, when he addressed to the <i>Daily Chronicle</i> the following letter in -answer to a sceptical effusion from a correspondent signing himself -“West Somerset.” “<span class="lftspc">‘</span>West Somerset’ could never have known Exmoor half so -intimately as was the case with myself during my boyhood, youth, and -early manhood, or he must have heard of the Doones. During the ‘fifties’ -and ‘sixties’ of last century I lived on Exmoor, knew it thoroughly, and -rarely missed a meet of the staghounds. The stories or legends of the -Doones were perfectly familiar to me. They varied much, but the germs of -the great romance were so well known and remembered by me<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_150" id="page_150"></a>{150}</span> that when it -was issued, one of its many charms was the tracing of the writer’s -embroidery of the current tales. I have hardly been in the district -since 1868, but my memory is sufficiently good to remember the names of -several from whom I heard the traditional annals. Among them were John -Perry, the old ‘wanter’ or mole-catcher of Luccombe; Larkham, the -one-armed gamekeeper of Sir Thomas Acland, and above all, Blackmore, the -harbourer of the deer.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> The name of another old man, who allowed me -on two occasions to take down Doone stories at the inn at Brendon, has -escaped me. So familiar were these stories to me when I was a boy that I -used to retail them with curdling embellishments of my own in the -dormitory of a West-country boarding-school. The result of this was that -a room-mate of mine, either just before or just after he went to Oxford, -wove my yarns (he had not himself then ever visited Exmoor) into a -story, which he called ‘The Doones of Exmoor.’ This tale was eventually -published in some half-dozen consecutive numbers of the <i>Leisure Hour</i>. -My copy of it has long been lost, but I remember that, though it was -delayed some time by the editor, it appeared three or four years before -<i>Lorna Doone</i>. Moreover, I had a letter from Mr R. D. Blackmore, soon -after his immortal work was issued, wherein he acknowledged that it was -the accidental glancing at the poor stuff in the <i>Leisure Hour</i> that -gave him the clue for the weaving of the romance, and caused him to -study the details on the spot. I have never been across Exmoor<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_151" id="page_151"></a>{151}</span> since -<i>Lorna Doone</i> was published, but I am sure that I could at once find my -way either on foot or horseback to the very place that I knew so well as -the stronghold of the Doones, either from the Porlock or the Lynton -side.”</p> - -<p>I am permitted to quote also a passage from a private letter of Miss -Gratiana Chanter (now Mrs Longworth Knocker), author of <i>Wanderings in -North Devon</i>, who is a firm believer in the Doones.</p> - -<p>“I wish you could have a talk with old John Bate of Tippacott [he is -dead]; he gave me a most exciting description one day of how the Doones -first ‘coomed in over.’ No dates, of course; you never get them. He said -there was a farmhouse in the Doone Valley where an old farmer lived with -his maidservant. ’Twas one terrible snowy night when the Doones first -‘coomed.’ They came to the house and turned the farmer and his maid out -into the black night. Both were found dead—one at the withy bank and -the other somewhere else. He said, ‘They say, Miss, they was honest folk -in the North, but they took to thieving wonderful quick.’</p> - -<p>“Bate, and one John Lethaby, a mason, were both at work at the building -of the shepherd’s cot in the Doone Valley, and had tales of an -underground passage they found that fell in, and that they took a lot of -stones from the huts for the shepherd’s cot.”</p> - -<p>To return to Mr Chanter, we learn that, even before those nightly -entertainments in the dormitory, he had read about the Doones in an old -manuscript belonging to his father, and he adds<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_152" id="page_152"></a>{152}</span> that there were to be -found at that period in North Devon several such manuscripts, which, he -thinks, had a common origin, and might be traced to the tales of old -people living in and around Lynton seventy or eighty years ago. In range -of information and power of memory none might compare with a reputed -witch, one Ursula Johnson, who, though now practically forgotten, can be -proved from the parish register to have been born a Babb in 1738—not -forty years after the exeunt of the Doones. The family of Babb were -servants to Wichehalses, and one may recall the circumstance that in -chapter lxx. of <i>Lorna Doone</i> John Babb is represented as shooting and -capturing Major Wade. Ursula was not so ignorant as many of her gossips, -and upon her marriage to Richard Johnson, a “sojourner,” could sign her -name—a feat of which the bridegroom was incapable. Her long life -reached its termination in 1826, when she was, so to speak, within sight -of ninety.</p> - -<p>Seven years later a locally well-remembered vicar, the Rev. Matthew -Murdy, came to Lynton, and being keenly interested in the old lady’s -stories, began a collection of them. Subsequently two friends of his, Dr -and Miss Cowell, entered into his labours by “pumping” Ursula Fry, a -native of Pinkworthy on Exmoor, and Aggie Norman. Both were tough old -creatures, the former dying in 1856, at the age of ninety, and the -latter in 1860, when she was eighty-three. In Mrs Norman, who passed a -good deal of her time in a hut built by her husband on the top of the -Castle Rock, in the Valley of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_153" id="page_153"></a>{153}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_016" id="ill_016"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_212_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_212_sml.jpg" width="307" height="450" alt="Image unavailable: NICHOLAS SNOW’S FARMYARD GATE (page 159)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">NICHOLAS SNOW’S FARMYARD GATE (<a href="#page_159">page 159.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<p>Rocks, Lynton, Mr Chanter identifies the original Mother Meldrum.</p> - -<p>Mr Mundy reduced the tales to something like literary shape, and they -were then transcribed by the older girls in the National School, whose -mistress, Miss Spurrier, saw that the copies were properly executed. An -old lady residing at Lynton possesses one of the documents, dated 1848, -of which the contents include a description of the neighbourhood, -reference to Ursula Johnson, and three “legends”: those of De -Wichehalse, the Doones of Bagworthy, and Faggus and his Strawberry -Horse. In the <i>Western Antiquary</i> of 1884, part xi., may be found an -excellent account of the manuscript by the late Mr J. R. Chanter, who -quotes the following observations by the editor:—</p> - -<p>“The recent introduction of candles into the cottages of the -neighbouring poor has tended greatly to produce the most lamentable -decay of legendary lore: the old housewife, crouching over the -smouldering turf, no longer enlivens the tedious winter evening with -well-remembered tales of the desperate deeds of the outlaws or the -wonders wrought by the witches or wisemen, and many of the curious -legends are in danger of being consigned to utter oblivion, unless -immediately collected from the old peasants, who are falling fast: their -children being by far too much engrossed by the Jacobin publications of -the day, to pay any attention to these memorials of the days of yore. -From these causes much has already been lost.”</p> - -<p>That R. D. Blackmore obtained a sight of one of these MSS. is, on the -face of it, extremely<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_154" id="page_154"></a>{154}</span> probable, but for certain elements of the story -he might well have been indebted to his grandfather, the Rector of Oare. -Such are the account of the great frost, the mining and wrestling -incidents, and the tales of the Doones, in chapters v. and lxix., which -the notes pronounce to be authentic, and which differ from other -versions.</p> - -<p>I come now to the facts of the Wade episode mentioned in chapter lxx. of -<i>Lorna Doone</i>. In this same parish of Brendon is a hamlet called -Bridgeball, and on a hill just above the hamlet is Farley farm, where a -comparatively new house occupies the site of an older structure pulled -down in 1853. It was on this farm that Major Wade, one of the leaders in -the Monmouth Rebellion, was captured after the battle of Sedgemoor. -Driven ashore in an attempt to escape down the Channel, he succeeded in -concealing himself for several days among the rocks at Illford Bridges, -and made a confidante of the wife of a little farmer named How, who -lived at Bridgeball in a house of which he was the owner, while the -field behind it and a portion of land near the present parsonage were -also his property. The good woman provided him with food so long as he -continued in his rocky hiding-place, and interceded for him with a -farmer at Farley named Birch, who consented to harbour him for a time. -Situated on the verge of Exmoor, no refuge could have appeared more -secure than this isolated spot, but the event proved that Wade might -have been as safe, or safer, in a great and populous centre. To his -credit it must be recorded that, after obtaining his pardon, the gallant -gentleman did not forget his benefactress,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_155" id="page_155"></a>{155}</span> on whom he settled an -annuity. The particulars of his capture have been preserved in the -Lansdowne MS., No. 1152, which contains the following rather dramatic -reports:—</p> - -<h3>“<i>To the Right Hon. the Earl of Sunderland, Principal Secretary of -State.</i></h3> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">Barnstaple</span>, <i>y<sub>e</sub> 31st July 1685</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“My Lord,—I here enclosed send your Lop. an account of y<sup>e</sup> -apprehending of Nathaniel Wade, one of y<sup>e</sup> late rebells. I came -to this towne to-day, and can, therefore, only give y<sup>r</sup> Lop. -w<sup>t</sup> relation I have from y<sup>e</sup> apothecary and chirurgeon w<sup>ch</sup> -they had drawn up in a letter designed for Sir Bourchier Wrey; -their examination of him is enclosed in y<sup>e</sup> letter, to w<sup>ch</sup> I -refer your Lop. He continues very ill of a wound given him at his -apprehending sixteen miles hence, at Braundon parish in Devon. I -designe to examine him as soon as his condition will permitt, he -promising to make large and considerable confessions; and herein, -or if he dye, I humbly desire your Lop.’<sup>s</sup> directions to me at -Barnstaple, and shall herein proceed as becomes my duty to his -Majesty and your Lop.—My Lord, y<sup>r</sup> Lop.’<sup>s</sup> most humble -Servant,</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Richard Armesley</span>.”<br /> -</p></div> - -<h3>“<i>To the Honourable Sir Bourchier Wrey, K<sup>t</sup>. and Bart., in London.</i></h3> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">Brendon</span>, <i>30th July ’85</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“Hon<sup>rd</sup> Sir,—This comes to give you an account of one, not y<sup>e</sup> -least of y<sup>e</sup> rebells, who<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_156" id="page_156"></a>{156}</span> was taken up last Monday night at a -place called Fairleigh in y<sup>e</sup> p’ish of Brundun, by Jno. -Witchalse, Esq., Ric<sup>d</sup> Powell, Rec<sup>t</sup> of y<sup>e</sup> same, Jno. Babb, -serv<sup>t</sup> to Jno. Witchalse and Rob. Parris. They haveing some small -notice of a stranger to have bin a little before about y<sup>t</sup> -village, came about nine of y<sup>e</sup> clock at night to one Jno. -Burtchis house. As soon as they had guarded y<sup>e</sup> house round, they -heard a noise. Watching closely and being well armed, out of a -little back door slipt out this person within named, and two more -as they say, and run all as hard as they cold. Babb and Parris -espieing them, bid them stand againe and againe. They still kept -running, and they cockt their pistols at them. Parris his mist -fire, but Babb’s went off, being charg<sup>d</sup> w<sup>th</sup> a single bullett, -w<sup>ch</sup> stuck very close in y<sup>e</sup> rebells right side; ye entrance -was about two inches from y<sup>e</sup> spina doris. Y<sup>e</sup> bullett lodged -in y<sup>e</sup> under part of y<sup>e</sup> right hypogastrind, w<sup>ch</sup> we cut out. -Y<sup>e</sup> bullett past right under y<sup>e</sup> pleura; from the orifice it -entered to y<sup>e</sup> other, w<sup>ch</sup> we were forced to make to extract -y<sup>e</sup> bullett (having strong convulsions on him): it was in -distance between six and seven inches. He was very faint, having -lost a great quantity of blood. Y<sup>e</sup> orifice we made (y<sup>e</sup> -bullett lying neere y<sup>e</sup> cutis) was halfe an inch higher y<sup>n</sup> -y<sup>e</sup> other. It begins to digest, and his spirits are much revived, -only this day about 10 of y<sup>e</sup> clock he was taken with an aguish -fitt, w<sup>ch</sup> I suppose was caused by his hard diet and cold lodging -ever since y<sup>e</sup> rout, he leaving his horse at Illfordcomb. Ever -since Tuesday last in the afternoon, Mr Ravening and myself have -bin w<sup>th</sup> him, and cannot w<sup>th</sup> safety move<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_157" id="page_157"></a>{157}</span> from him. We desire -to know his Maties pleasure w<sup>t</sup> we shall due w<sup>th</sup> his corps, if -he dyes, w<sup>ch</sup> if he does before ye answer, we think to embowell -him. We will due w<sup>t</sup> possible we can, for he hath assur<sup>d</sup> us, -y<sup>t</sup> as soon as he is a little better, he will make a full -discovery of all he knows, of w<sup>ch</sup> this inclosed is part, by -w<sup>ch</sup> he hopes to have, but not by merrits, his pardon. Here is -noe one y<sup>t</sup> comes to him y<sup>t</sup> he will talk soe freely w<sup>th</sup> as -w<sup>th</sup> us; if you will have any materiall questions of business or -p’sons to be askt of him, pray give it in y<sup>rs</sup> to us. We will be -privat, faithfull, to o<sup>r</sup> King, whome God long preserve. W<sup>ch</sup> -is all at present from them who will ever make it their business to -be.—S<sup>r</sup> y<sup>r</sup> most humble Serv<sup>ts</sup>,</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">Nic<sup>s</sup> Cooke</span> and <span class="smcap">Henry Ravening</span>.”<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>The addressee was Sir Bourchier Wrey, of Tawstock, Bart., son of another -Sir Bourchier, and grandson of Sir Chichester Wrey, who married Ann, -youngest daughter of Edward Bourchier, Earl of Bath.</p> - -<p>Bagworthy and Farley are both in the parish of Brendon, but we must not -forget that, as regards bodily presence, we are still in the Doone -valley, and not far from Oare, where, according to Rupert Doone’s Diary, -his ancestors, on quitting Scotland in 1627, first fixed their -residence. They then removed to the upper part of the Lyn valley, on an -estate bounded on one side by Oare and on the other by Bagworthy. The -Doone valley, which used to be called Hoccombe, is a glen lying between -Bagworthy<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_158" id="page_158"></a>{158}</span> Lees and Bagworthy, and Mr Chanter expresses the belief that -this name and that of “Lorna’s Bower” were first applied to the small -sidecombes by his cousins, the Misses Chanter, soon after the -publication of <i>Lorna Doone</i>. Ruins of the traditional “Castle,” -rectangular in form, are still to be traced, and consist of two groups. -Unfortunately, stones were taken from them to build an adjoining wall, -and now it is impossible to state the character of the buildings, some -of which were probably houses, and others cattle-sheds. Miss Browne, -indeed, is of opinion that they were all of the latter description, and -that the real home of the Doones was in the Weir Water valley, between -Oareford and the rise of the East Lyn. So far as Hoccombe is concerned, -Blackmore has idealised it with a vengeance. The “sheer cliffs standing -around,” the “steep and gliddening stairway,” the rocky cleft or -“Doone-gate,” the “gnarled roots,” are all purely imaginary. As regards -“Doone track” or “Doones’ path,” it directly faces the valley, and after -crossing the Bagworthy Water, ascends the Deer Park and Oare Common, and -so to Oare. Being covered with grass or hidden by heather and scrub, it -is not easy to follow, but viewed at a little distance it presents the -appearance of a broad terraced roadway, not improbably Roman, and -connecting Showlsborough Castle, near Challacombe, with the coast. The -site of the house where the “Squire” was robbed and murdered by the -Doones is still visible in the part of the forest known as the Warren -(<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter lxxii.).<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_159" id="page_159"></a>{159}</span></p> - -<p>Exmoor was once a paradise of yeomen, thrifty sons of the soil, who -owned their own farms. They consisted of two classes: those who did the -work themselves, with the assistance of their family and jobbing -workmen, to whom they paid good wages; and the owners of large farms, -where labourers were constantly employed at a shilling a day. The former -sort is entirely extinct. Many of their descendants have been merged in -the mass of common labourers; a few have risen to the rank of large -farmers; others have emigrated.</p> - -<p>The more substantial class of yeomen is still represented in the -district. The late Mr W. L. Chorley, Master of the Quarme Harriers, was -an excellent specimen of the order, but the most relevant example is -that of the Snows, whom Blackmore treats somewhat unfairly. The family -may not have been rich in what Counsellor Doone described as the “great -element of blood,” but a genuine yeoman of the type in question would -hardly have been dubbed “Farmer Snowe,” and he certainly would not have -perpetrated such an awful lapse as “pralimbinaries.” I have been -informed by a correspondent that Blackmore apologised to the family for -his painful caricature, which was only just, in view of their actual -status and the esteem in which they are held by their neighbours. About -the year 1678, two-fifths of the manor of Oare belonged to the family of -Spurrier, and passed by marriage at the beginning of the eighteenth -century into the possession of Mr Nicholas Snow, who left it to a son of -his own<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_160" id="page_160"></a>{160}</span> name. The latter, in 1788, purchased the other three-fifths, -and, at his death in 1791, bequeathed the manor to his youngest son, -John Snow, who died without issue, leaving the property to his nephew, -Nicholas Snow—the “Farmer Snowe” of <i>Lorna Doone</i>.</p> - -<p>It will be noticed that the Snows did not become landowners at Oare -until long after the period of the story. As for the Ridds, or Reds, the -only mention of the name in the parish register occurs in the year 1768, -when John Red was married to Mary Ley. The real Plover’s Barrows was -Broomstreet Farm, in the neighbouring parish of Culbone; at any rate, a -John Ridd was resident there. A John Fry, no mere farm-servant, was -churchwarden of Countisbury, of which Jasper Kebby was likewise a -parishioner. Plover’s Barrows has been identified by Mr Page with Mr -Snow’s residence—“according to Blackmore, anciently the farm of the -Ridds.” But in <i>Lorna Doone</i> (chapter vii.) the two farms are -represented as adjoining, and Plover’s Barrows is evidently further -upstream (see <i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter xiv.: “In the evening Farmer Snowe -<i>came up</i>.”) The same writer speaks of the Snows as having been seated -at Oare since the time of Alfred. Can Mr Page be thinking of John Ridd’s -boast to King Charles (<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter lxviii.)?</p> - -<p>Oare Church, where the elder Ridd lay buried, where his son stole the -lead from the porch to his subsequent shame, and where the brute Carver -shot Lorna on her bridal morn, has received an addition in the shape of -the chancel<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_161" id="page_161"></a>{161}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_017" id="ill_017"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_221_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_221_sml.jpg" width="450" height="309" alt="Image unavailable: OARE CHURCH." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">OARE CHURCH.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">since the last disastrous event—which, as things are, rather falsifies -the narrative. Graced with ash and sycamore, the little cemetery is as -Blackmore describes it, “as meek a place as need be.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_162" id="page_162"></a>{162}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI<br /><br /> -<small>THE MOUTH OF THE LYN</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> scenery of the district described in many excellent guide-books may -not tally in every particular with the superb word-portraiture of <i>Lorna -Doone</i>, but that it possesses charms of supreme merit will be admitted -by all who know the country, whether as residents or visitors. Almost -before R. D. Blackmore was breeched, the poet Coleridge testified: “the -land imagery of the north of Devon is most delightful”; and his -brother-in-law, Robert Southey, is equally emphatic.</p> - -<p>“My walk to Ilfracombe,” he says, “led me through Lynmouth, the finest -spot, except Cintra and Arrabida, that I ever saw. Two rivers [<i>i.e.</i>, -the East and West Lyn] join at Lynmouth. You probably know the hill -streams of Devonshire. Each of these flows through a combe, rolling over -huge stones like a long waterfall; immediately at their juncture they -enter the sea, and the rivers and sea make but one noise of uproar. Of -these combes, the one is richly wooded, the other runs between two high, -bare, stony hills. From the hill between the two is a prospect most -magnificent, on either hand combes,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_163" id="page_163"></a>{163}</span> and the river before the little -village—the beautiful little village—which, I am assured, by one who -is familiar with Switzerland, resembles a Swiss. This alone would -constitute a view beautiful enough to repay the weariness of a journey; -but, to complete it, there is the blue and boundless sea, for the faint -and feeble outline of the Welsh coast is only to be seen, if the day be -perfectly clear.”</p> - -<p>Inland, it is certain, the moorland streams—Lancombe, Bagworthy Water, -the East and West Lyn, etc.—and all that they imply, are paramount -attractions; and Miss Gratiana Chanter both truly and happily observes -that, “to follow one of these tiny streams from its birth to its end, is -a dream of delight to those who love to be alone with nature and her -many marvels.” Another reason why we should seek the “founts of Lyn” is, -that there Jeremy Stickles gave his pursuers “a loud halloo” on feeling -himself secure (see <i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter xlvii.).</p> - -<p>The name “Lyn” is said to be derived from the Saxon word <i>hlynna</i>, -signifying a torrent. The East Lyn, rising above Oare, John Ridd’s -birthplace, flows in a north-westerly direction to Malmsmead, where it -unites with the Bagworthy Water, which at this point is the richer for -two or three tributaries, including Lancombe (or Longcombe) stream and -its waterslide. From the bridge and the thatched cottages that define -this spot, the river pursues its course past Lyford Green and Lock’s -Mill, where it encounters a weir, to Millslade and its meadows, and the -blacksmith’s forge, “where the Lyn<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_164" id="page_164"></a>{164}</span> stream runs so close that he dips -his horse-shoes in it,” (<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter lxii.), and thence -through woodlands to pretty Brendon. Here the Farley Water, arriving -from Hoar Oak by way of Bridgeball and Illford Bridges, joins the East -Lyn, and their confluence is known as Watersmeet, a poetical description -not belied by the rare beauty of the scene.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, from the hills around Woolhanger the water gathers into two -streams, which are trysted at a place called Barham, whilst at -Cheribridge another brook, hailing from Furzehill, helps to swell the -current. Passing Barbrook Mill and Lynbridge, the West Lyn weds the East -Lyn in private grounds at Lynmouth, and then the combined torrent eddies -tumultuously into the sea. Nothing can excel the cataracts of the West -Lyn, dashing athwart huge boulders and down a chasm of grey rock, in an -incline stated to be “one in five.” Clothing the sides of the ravine are -oaks and beeches and thickets of underwood, while ferns of the most -exquisite sorts fringe the banks.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i3">“Here are mosses deep,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And thro’ the moss the ivies creep,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And in the stream the long-leaved flowers weep,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And from the craggy ledges the poppy hangs in sleep.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>It must not be forgotten, however, that the road <i>via</i> Brendon, Illford -Bridges, and Barbrook was that taken by John Ridd and Uncle Reuben on -their visit to Ley Manor (<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter xv.).</p> - -<p>All who are fond of quaint authors will find a congenial companion in -old Thomas Westcote,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_165" id="page_165"></a>{165}</span> whose <i>Survey of Devon</i>, written in the reign of -James I., or during the early years of his successor, is stored with all -manner of gossip, set forth with many a stroke of arch or <i>naïve</i> -humour. In his book, at all events, he approaches Lynton by much the -same route as we have followed, and then spins us an amusing yarn about -the finny visitors and a certain parson.</p> - -<p>“For our easier and better proceeding, let us once again return to -Exmoor. We will, with an easy pace, ascend the mount of Hore Oak Ridge; -not far from whence we shall find the spring of the rivulet Lynne, -which, in his course, will soon lead us into the North Division, for I -desire you should always swim with the stream, and neither stem wind nor -tide. This passeth by Cunsbear, <i>alias</i> Countisbury, and naming Lynton, -where Galfridus Lovet and Cecilia de Lynne held sometime land, and, -speeding, falls headlong with a great downfall into the Severn at -Lynmouth; a place unworthy the name of a haven, only a little inlet, -which, in these last times, God hath plentifully stored with herrings -(the king of fishes), which, shunning their ancient places of repair in -Ireland, come hither abundantly in shoals, offering themselves (as I may -say) to the fishers’ nets, who soon resorted hither with divers -merchants, and so, for five or six years, continued to the great benefit -and good of the country, until the parson taxed the poor fishermen for -extraordinary unusual tithes, and then (as the inhabitants report) the -fish suddenly clean left the coast, unwilling, as may be supposed, by -losing their lives to cause contention. God be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_166" id="page_166"></a>{166}</span> thanked, they begin to -resort hither again, though not as yet in such multitudes as heretofore. -Henry de Lynmouth, after him Isabella de Albino, and now Wichals, -possesseth it. A generous family: he married Pomerois; his father, -Achelond, his grandfather, Munck.”</p> - -<p>Concerning the “generous family” more anon; we have not quite done with -the sign of Pisces. Originally Lynmouth was a little village—Blackmore -speaks of it as “the little haven of Lynmouth” (<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter -xxxix.)—whose inhabitants dwelt in huts and depended for a livelihood -on the curing of herrings, which was carried on in drying-houses. From -the beginning of September to the end of October shoals of these fish -frequented the shore, and sometimes their number was so great that tons -of them were thrown away or used as manure. In 1797 the herrings -deserted the coast, and the peasantry attributed their conduct to the -insult just referred to. The common duration of truancy was computed at -forty years—a calculation which seems to hold true of the period -between 1747 and 1787. The following decade consisted of fat years, when -the sea at Lynmouth yielded rich autumnal harvests, and masses of -herrings were sent to Bristol, whence they were shipped to the West -Indies. From 1797 to 1837, and indeed longer, the fish fought shy of the -place, but not entirely. On Christmas Day, 1811, there was an -exceptional and very abundant shoal of herrings, and the inhabitants -were called out of church in order to take them out of the weirs. A -similar gift of fortune marked the year 1823. Practically, however, the -fishermen’s avocation<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_167" id="page_167"></a>{167}</span> was gone, and they had to look elsewhere for a -livelihood. Happily, they did not look in vain. Pastured on the -surrounding hills were large flocks of sheep, and in the neighbouring -towns there was a constant demand for yarn. This was of two kinds—one -for the woof, consisting of worsted, which was supplied by the Yorkshire -mills; the other for the warp, which was of softer texture, and then -made by hand. The latter industry became the chief—almost the -sole—prop of Lynton and Lynmouth, where the good people diligently -applied themselves to spinning, and by this means kept the wolf from the -door.</p> - -<p>The sea-fishing is not altogether unconnected with the history of the De -Wichehalses, since the original fishermen are stated to have been Dutch -Protestants forced by religious (or irreligious?) persecution to -emigrate from their homes by the Zuyder Zee. The names Litson, Vellacot, -etc., still borne by local families, are quoted as evidence of Dutch -extraction. A trade in cured herrings sprang up with Scotland, and the -Dutchmen not only had commercial transactions with Scotch sailors and -traders, but married, many of them, braw Scotch lassies who came to buy -their herrings. The possible bearing of this intercourse on the problem -of <i>Lorna Doone</i> will not escape attention. It was at Lynmouth that old -Will Watcombe, the great authority on the “Gulf Stream,” lived and -sought to be buried (<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter xii.).</p> - -<p>Now as to the Wichehalses, whose name Blackmore spells with a -supererogatory “h”—Whichehalse. The Protestants of the Low<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_168" id="page_168"></a>{168}</span> Countries -had often attempted, by petition and remonstrance, to bend the stubborn -will of their master, Philip II., and not a few of the Gueux or -Beggars—a sobriquet bestowed on the Huguenot conspirators who met at -Breda—left the country in despair. In 1567 the Spanish despot -dispatched to the ill-fated land the Duke of Alva with an army of 20,000 -men, and the latter signalised his arrival by instituting a “Council of -Blood,” which resulted in the execution of 1800 patriots, while 30,000 -more were reduced to abject straits by the confiscation of their -property. Hordes of terrified Dutch folk fled to England, in the wake of -the nobles, and a certain number of them settled, as we have seen, on -the north coast of Devon.</p> - -<p>Hugh de Wichehalse belonged, strictly speaking, to neither class of -fugitives. The head of a noble and wealthy family, which had early -become converts to the principles of the Reformation, he continued to -struggle for his beliefs until the fatal day of Gemmingen, when, -escaping the clutches of the vindictive Spaniards, he crossed the -channel with his wife and children. The bulk of his property had -already, by a timely precaution, been removed hither.</p> - -<p>Such is the tradition which has to be reconciled with the pedigree of -the family in the visitation of 1620. This shows three generations, and, -to say the least, would be consistent with a much longer settlement in -the county. The following is a copy:—<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_169" id="page_169"></a>{169}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_018" id="ill_018"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_232_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_232_sml.jpg" width="450" height="304" alt="Image unavailable: JUNCTION OF LYN AND BAGWORTHY WATER (page 163)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">JUNCTION OF LYN AND BAGWORTHY WATER (<a href="#page_163">page 163.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_233_lg.png"> -<img src="images/i_233_sml.png" width="500" height="277" alt="Image unavailable: Decendants of NICHOLAS WICHALSE = MARGERIE" /></a> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_170" id="page_170"></a>{170}</span></p> - -<p>On one point there is no possible doubt—namely, that the Wichehalses -were once owners of a manor-house at Lynton, standing on the site of the -handsome residence known as Lee Abbey. Traces of the old structure were -to be seen in an intermediate building, and gave indications of much -splendour, while, as could be easily recognised, the adjacent fields and -orchards formed part of the erstwhile pleasure-grounds. Just above Lee -Abbey is Duty Point, famous for its beautiful views—northwards, the -belt of silver sea, southwards the heathery hills, eastwards the Valley -of Rocks, and westwards the grey oaks of Woody Bay; famous, too, as the -scene of romantic tragedy. The principal personages of the story were -old Wichehalse, his daughter Jennifried, and cruel Lord Auberley. One -evening the lovelorn maiden fell or threw herself over the terrific -precipice; and, hungry for revenge, her father met and slew the false -suitor at the battle of Lansdown, near Bath—one of the memorable -encounters of the Great Civil War. It is needless to recapitulate the -details of the narrative. The story has been told by Blackmore in his -<i>Tales from the Telling House</i>; and before that, it was told very -pathetically by Mr Cooper in his <i>Guide to Lynton</i>.</p> - -<p>On the south wall of Lynton Church, close to the west window, is the -following inscription on the monument of Hugh Wichehalse of Ley, who -departed this life, Christide Eve, 1653, æt. 66.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“No, not in silence, least those stones below<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That hide such worth, should in spight vocal grow.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Wee’l rather sob it out, our grateful teares<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Congeal’d to Marble shall vy threnes with theirs.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_171" id="page_171"></a>{171}</span><br /></span> -<span class="i1">This weeping Marble then Drops this releife<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To draw fresh lines to fame, and Fame to greife;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To greife which groanes sad loss in him t’ us all,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Whose name was Wichehalse—’twas a Cedar’s fall.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For search this Urn of Learned dust, you’le find<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Treasures of Virtue and Piety enshrin’d,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Rare Paterns of blest Peace and Amity,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Models of Grace, Emblems of Charity,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Rich Talents not in niggard napkins Layd,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">But Piously dispenced, justly payd,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Chast Sponsal Love t’ his Consort; to Children nine<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Surviving th’ other fowre his care did shine<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In Pious Education; to Neighbours, friends,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Love seald with Constancy, which knowes no end.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Death would have stolne this Treasure, but in vaine—<br /></span> -<span class="i1">It stung, but could not kill; all wrought his gaine.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">His Life was hid with Christ; Death only made this story,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Christ cal’d him hence his Eve, to feast with him in glory.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The subject of this epitaph would have been the hero of the legend. One -may observe, in passing, the play upon words, the Scotch elm being often -termed the <i>wych</i> elm. This suggests a possible, and indeed probable, -derivation of the name. The reader should compare Blackmore’s account of -the family, and especially his portrait of Hugh Wichehalse, in chapter -xv. of <i>Lorna Doone</i>.</p> - -<p>According to the folklore of the district it was intended to build the -church at Kibsworthy, opposite Cheribridge, on the Barnstaple road, and -day after day the workmen brought materials to the spot. Each morning, -however, it was found that they had been carried away during the night -to the present site—it was supposed by pixies; and finally, those -little gentlemen had their way. Obviously, little dependence can be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_172" id="page_172"></a>{172}</span> -placed on folklore where questions of fact are concerned. A small -volume, entitled <i>Legends of Devon</i>, printed at Dawlish in 1848, -contains another story about a church equally void—the story, and the -church, too—of foundation. In the middle of the twelfth century, it is -said, Lynton Castle was the abode of a family named Lynton, in whom the -Evil One, from the year 500, had taken a malicious interest. Reginald of -that ilk then resolved to erect a church at Lynmouth in honour of his -God, and chose for it the site of an old abbey. This devout undertaking -ended the long and dreadful spell. “The castle fell, the cliff heaved as -if in pain, and the terrible convulsion formed the valley of rocks. The -devil was seen scudding before the wind; he had lost his hold on the -House of Lynton.” Unfortunately, there never was a castle at Lynton, nor -an abbey or church at Lynmouth. Moreover, one learns from Hazlitt, that, -according to the popular belief, the rocks represent persons caught -dancing on a Sunday, and so, like Lot’s wife, transformed into stone.</p> - -<p>The “Valley of Rocks,” is not the primitive name of this singular and -romantic spot. The Devon peasantry knew it of old as the “Danes” or -“Denes”—a term probably connected with the word “den,” and signifying -“hollows.” Prebendary Hancock, in his estimable <i>History of Selworthy</i>, -shows it to be a commonplace name in this corner of the world. One is -tempted to inquire—who christened the locality the “Valley of Rocks?” -The problem is perhaps insoluble, but the <i>London Magazine</i> for 1782 -contains a poem on the “Valley of Stones,” in a note on which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_173" id="page_173"></a>{173}</span> it is -stated that the place owed this name to Dr Pococke, Bishop of Upper -Ossory, who had visited it “some years since” with Dr Mills, the Dean of -Exeter.</p> - -<p>Some have found fault with the name “Valley of Rocks” as too ambitious, -but attempts to belittle the grandeur of the spot would have received -small support from Southey, who wrote about the scene in the language of -ecstasy.</p> - -<p>“Imagine a narrow vale between two ridges of hills somewhat steep; the -southern hill turfed; the vale which runs from east to west covered with -huge stones and fragments of stone among the fern that fills it; the -northern ridge completely bare; excoriated of all turf and all soil, the -very bones and skeletons of the earth; rock reclining upon rock, stone -piled upon stone; a huge, terrific mass—a palace of the pre-Adamite -kings, a city of the Anakim, must have appeared so shapeless, and yet so -like the ruins of what had been shaped after the waters of the Flood had -subsided. I ascended, with some toil, the highest point; two large -stones inclining on each other formed a rude portal on the summit. Here -I sat down. A little level platform, about two yards long, lay before -me, and then the eye immediately fell upon the sea far, very far below. -I never felt the sublimity of solitude before.”</p> - -<p>Southey evidently referred to the “Castle Rock” on the right. On the -left is the pile of stone which marked the abode of Mother Melldrum (see -<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter xvii.). Blackmore mentions two names by which the -place was known—the “Devil’s Cheese-ring”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_174" id="page_174"></a>{174}</span> and the “Devil’s -Cheese-knife,” which he states to be convertible; but there appears to -have been a third—the “Devil’s Cheese-press.”</p> - -<p>At one time the valley was the fitting haunt of a herd of wild goats, -but the animals had to be destroyed—they butted so many sheep over the -adjoining cliffs.</p> - -<p>It would be pardonable to imagine that Lynton is indebted for its -popularity as a watering-place to <i>Lorna Doone</i>, but this would betray -ignorance of its history. I have spoken of the spinning industry -formerly carried on by hand; when that ceased owing to the introduction -of machinery into the towns, the dealers, who had employed people to -work up the wool or bought up the poor folk’s yarn and taken it to -larger markets, found their occupation gone. What was to be done? Mr -William Litson, one of the persons in this predicament, hit upon the -idea of opening an hotel. This was at the beginning of the last century, -but already visitors, hearing reports of the rare and beautiful scenery, -wended their way to Lynton, although not in large numbers. For their -accommodation Mr Litson acquired the “Globe,” and furnished also the -adjoining cottage. Among the first to patronise his establishment were -Mr Coutts the banker, and the Marchioness of Bute. From that time the -tale of visitors rapidly grew until, in 1807, the enterprising Mr Litson -was encouraged to build the “Valley of Rocks” Hotel. The ball had now -been fairly set rolling; hotels, lodging-houses, and private residences -multiplied, and in the middle of the last century—years before a line -of <i>Lorna Doone</i> had been written or so much<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_175" id="page_175"></a>{175}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_019" id="ill_019"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_239_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_239_sml.jpg" width="450" height="316" alt="Image unavailable: THE CHEESEWRING, VALLEY OF ROCKS." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THE CHEESEWRING, VALLEY OF ROCKS.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">as meditated—Lynton and Lynmouth were in all essentials the same as -they are now.</p> - -<p>To the lover of nature and the simplicity of country life this -conversion of scenery into shekels, and Exmoor into Bayswater, -represents by no means pure gain, albeit the lover of humanity may -decide otherwise—on the principle of the greatest happiness of the -greatest number. Both sorts, however, may unite in casting curious -glances at the old Lynton which courted neither aristocratic nor -democratic favour, and actually had a revel. This began on the first -Sunday after Midsummer Day, and lasted a week. When the congregations -emerged from the parish church, there awaited them near the gate a -barrel of beer, and the majority of them were speedily “at it,” quaffing -a glass or discussing revel-cake—a special confection made of dark -flour, currants, and caraway seeds. The principal feature in this, as in -all revels, was the wrestling, in anticipation of which big sums were -laid out in prizes. Silver spoons, for instance, were sometimes an -incentive to competition. However, what with the drunkenness and the -collusion that characterised too often the annual festival, the custom -became obsolescent, and then obsolete, having incurred the taboo of the -“respectable inhabitant” and the genuine sportsman alike.</p> - -<p>In chapter xv. of the <i>Maid of Sker</i> mention is made of the practice of -singing hymns at funeral processions on the Welsh side of the Bristol -Channel. The same practice obtained on the North Devon side. One of the -singers gave out the words verse by verse and the dirge<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_176" id="page_176"></a>{176}</span> was chanted to -peculiar music reserved for such occasions. The first two or three -verses were sung on the removal of the coffin from the house before the -procession started, and the rest at intervals <i>en route</i> to the church. -The following is a hymn used at the funeral of a grown-up person:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Farewell, all my parents<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> dear,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And, all my friends, farewell!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I hope I’m going to that place,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Where Christ and saints do dwell.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Oppressed with grief long time I’ve been,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">My bones cleave to my skin;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">My flesh is wasted quite away<br /></span> -<span class="i2">With pain that I was in.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Till Christ his messenger did send<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And took my life away,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To mingle with my mother earth,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And sleep with fellow clay.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Into thy hands I give my soul;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Oh! cast it not aside;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">But favour me and hear my prayer,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And be my rest and guide.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Affliction hath me sore oppressed,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Brought me to death in time;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">O Lord, as thou hast promised<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Let me to life return.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“How blest is he who is prepared,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Who fears not at his death;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Love fills his heart, and hope his breast,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">With joy he yields his breath.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_177" id="page_177"></a>{177}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_020" id="ill_020"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_243_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_243_sml.jpg" width="306" height="450" alt="Image unavailable: “THE WATERSLIDE,” LANCOMBE (page 163)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“THE WATERSLIDE,” LANCOMBE (<a href="#page_163">page 163.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Vain world, farewell! I must begone,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">I cannot longer stay;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">My time is spent, my glass is run,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">God’s will I must obey.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“For when that Christ to judgment comes,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">He unto us will say,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">If we his laws observe and keep,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">‘Ye blessed, come away!’<span class="lftspc">”</span><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>A friend of mine wrote to Blackmore respecting the harvest-song in -<i>Lorna Doone</i> (chapter xxix.), being under the impression that it might -be a true farmhouse ditty such as were common until a comparatively -recent date. The romancer, however, admitted that the composition was -his own.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_178" id="page_178"></a>{178}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII<br /><br /> -<small>ROUND DUNKERY</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">West</span> of Lee Abbey and Duty Point lies much that is interesting, but this -is also true of the country to the east of Lynton. For the moment we -mount the coach with the intention of making a circuitous return to -Dulverton. The writer does not forget his first experience of North -Devon coaching. The placards showed four noble steeds, full of fettle -and the joy of life; but “galled jades” would better have described the -aspect of the miserable brutes condemned to drag the trunk-laden vehicle -up those frightful ascents. Once on the summit, however, the going was -easy, and passengers resumed their seats with a safe conscience, so far -as cruelty to animals was concerned.</p> - -<p>The drive from Lynton to Porlock, and from Porlock to Minehead, over -breezy commons or through entrancing sylvan scenery, is gloriously -exhilarating, and might put heart into the most confirmed dyspeptic. -Which reminds me that in the neighbourhood of Porlock and Minehead there -used to be gathered from the rocks vast quantities of laver, which was -pickled and exported to large centres, such as Bristol, Exeter, and -London. This sea-liverwort was eaten at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_179" id="page_179"></a>{179}</span> the tables of the rich as a -great delicacy. The hills and heaths also minister to the palate, since -they produce various sorts of wild fruit—the dwarf juniper, the -cranberry, and the whortleberry. The last, a most delicious fruit, is -often made into pies, and the writer, when staying in the neighbourhood, -is always glad if he finds one before him, knowing that he can command -instant popularity, especially with the fair, by suggesting a second -helping. Other bipeds appreciate it no less, since it is the summer food -of the black game, and the decrease in the number of the species on the -Brendon and Quantock hills has been attributed to the great demand for -this fruit in the large towns. The berries grow singly, like -gooseberries, the little plants being from a foot to eighteen inches in -height. The leaves are ovated, and of a pale green colour.</p> - -<p>Porlock and Porlock Weir are both charming places. Perhaps the most -memorable object at the former—if the epithet may be applied to an -object rather than a speech or event—is the old Ship Inn at the foot of -the hill. This quaint survival of an older day is closely associated -with the poet Southey, who used to wander thus far from his home on the -Quantocks; and in the parlour, on the right of the main entrance, is a -nook still known as “Southey’s Corner,” where he is said to have indited -his sonnets and other poetry on the landscapes he so warmly admired.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Porlock, thy verdant vale so fair to sight<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Thy lofty hills, which fern and furze embrown,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Thy waters that roll musically down,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Thy woody glens the traveller with delight<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Recalls to memory,” etc.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_180" id="page_180"></a>{180}</span></p> - -<p>Then there is the church with its spire, which, if not beautiful, is at -least peculiar, being faced with wooden shales. Opinions differ as to -whether or not it was once of superior altitude, but tradition alleges -that in the year 1700, a great storm arose and the tower suffered. -Porlock tradition possesses unusual claims to respect, the reason being -that it has been proved, in one instance at least, to be remarkably -accurate. In the preface of his excellent <i>History of the Ancient Church -of Porlock</i>, the late Prebendary Hook, alluding to the great monument, -observes: “There had always been a tradition handed down from sexton to -sexton, that the effigies were those of Lord Harington and his wife, the -Lady of Porlock. But neither Collinson, the historian of Somerset, nor -Savage, in his <i>History of the Hundred of Carhampton</i>, knew anything of -it, and the former speaks of it as the tomb of a Knight Templar, though -he does not explain how a wife happened to be there! But investigation -proved the truth of the tradition, as is shown in the beautifully -illustrated volume entitled <i>The Porlock Monuments</i>, now, unfortunately, -out of print.”</p> - -<p>It may be worth recalling that one of Miss Ida Browne’s relics is an old -flint-lock pistol, engraved midway between stock and barrel with the -name “C. Doone,” whilst on the reverse side is the word “Porlok.” Miss -Browne is in some doubt as to whether the weapon was purchased in the -village, or a C. Doone resided there, but she inclines to the latter -opinion.</p> - -<p>Porlock served as market town for the Ridds; indeed, it was in returning -from Porlock market<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_181" id="page_181"></a>{181}</span> that Ridd’s father was murdered (<i>Lorna Doone</i>, -chapter iv.). There also dwelt Master Pooke, and there a lawyer made -John Ridd’s will.</p> - -<p>Just off the road to Minehead, in the parish of Selworthy, stands -Holnicote (pronounced Hunnicot), the Exmoor seat of the Acland family—a -comparatively modern mansion, its predecessors having been destroyed by -fire. In the widest sense, this old West-country race is best known -through Mr Arthur Acland, late Minister of Education, and his father, -the late Sir Thomas Acland, who was contemporary with Mr Gladstone at -Oxford, and, like him, the winner of a “double first,” and between whom -and the distinguished statesman there was maintained to the very last a -close and uninterrupted friendship. Locally, although the late baronet -was always most highly esteemed, it is doubtful whether he was quite as -popular as his sire, still referred to by the departing generation as -“the <i>old</i> Sir Thomas.” One of my childish recollections is lying in bed -one dark night at Tiverton and listening to a muffled peal on St Peter’s -bells. It was the first muffled peal I ever heard, and I was much -impressed when told that it was rung to mark the passing of a great -county magnate, Sir Thomas Acland, tenth baronet, and for forty years a -member of Parliament. This was in 1871.</p> - -<p>When at Holnicote—the family has another seat, Killerton, near -Exeter—the <i>old</i> Sir Thomas made it a rule to attend church twice on -Sundays, and in the afternoon he usually brought with him two or three -favourite dogs, which were shut up in Farmer Stenner’s barn during the -service.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_182" id="page_182"></a>{182}</span> The Acland pew was in the parvise over the south porch, while -in the west gallery the village orchestra, comprising fiddle, -violoncello, flute, hautboy, and bassoon, was yet in its glory. Animated -by something of the feudal spirit, the choir, on the first Sunday after -the baronet’s arrival, invariably indulged in an anthem. On one such -occasion, back in the fifties, the Rev. Edward Cox, rector of the -neighbouring parish of Luccombe, chanced to be officiating, and at the -conclusion of an elaborate performance, graced by startling orchestral -effects, was so unnerved that he forgot his place in the service, and -began in a faltering tone the Apostles’ Creed! Naturally there was some -confusion, which was ended by Sir Thomas himself coming to the rescue. -Bending forward from his seat in the gallery, he not only seconded the -clergyman with stentorian accents, but waving his hand peremptorily, -signed to the congregation to repeat the creed over again. The command -was obeyed, and with such fervour that soon every corner of the church -was echoing with the confession of faith. After the service Sir Thomas -waited for Mr Cox in the porch, and slapping him on the back, remarked -cheerily, “Well done, well done! Whenever you are in doubt, fall back on -the articles of your belief, and I’ll support you!”</p> - -<p>The pew occupied by Sir Thomas was originally a priest’s chamber, and -was transformed into a pew by the Hon. Mrs Fortescue, whose husband was -a pluralist rector of the old school, and a rare lover of port wine. Her -brother, the Rev. Robert Gould, born in the rectory house at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_183" id="page_183"></a>{183}</span> Luccombe, -was a remarkable fisherman and an equally remarkable shot. Once he is -said to have caught such a quantity of fish in Bagworthy Water as to -make his basket ridiculous, and he was forced to requisition a boy and -horse to carry his spoil away. At another time he walked from -Ilfracombe, where he resided, to Allerford, on a visit to his -mother—most probably by way of Hangman Hill, Showlsborough Castle, -Cheriton Ridge, and Bagworthy. However that may be, he was able to bring -as a present to the old lady, forty snipe—a snipe for every mile, as he -said. The same accomplished gentleman shot two bitterns in Porlock -Marsh—a feat which, it is safe to assert, has never been repeated in -that quarter or, perhaps, in England. The birds were stuffed, and passed -into the keeping of his sister, Mrs Fortescue.</p> - -<p>The Rev. W. H. Thornton avers that Mr Fortescue was in the habit of -winking his eye and confessing that he had excellent cognac in his -cellar. <i>Apropos</i> of this weakness, he reports these not quite -“imaginary conversations.”</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I found one morning that both my horses were gone,’ he would say, ‘but -James Dadd (his coachman), James Dadd knew which way to search, and we -found them loose in a lane beyond Exford, and there was a keg of this -brandy left under the manger too. Will you try it?’</p> - -<p>“Now, in all my intercourse with smugglers, illicit distillers, and -such-like people, I have remarked the peculiarity that their wares -either were, or were honestly deemed to be, of extra quality! Was it -that the sense of irregularity<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_184" id="page_184"></a>{184}</span> added flavour to the dram, or were the -smuggled spirits really particularly choice? I do not know, but later in -my life I sat by the deathbed of a very old smuggler, who told me how he -used to have a donkey with a triangle on his back, so rigged up as to -show three lanthorns, and how chilled he would become as he lay out -winter’s night after winter’s night, watching on the Foreland or along -Brandy Path, as he called it, for the three triangled lights of the -schooner, which he knew was coming in to land her cargo, where -Glenthorne<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> now stands, and where was the smugglers’ cave. ‘Lord -bless ee, sir,’ and the dying man of nearly ninety years chuckled, ‘we -never used no water. We just put the brandy into the kettle, and heated -it, and drinked it out of half-pint stoups.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>If it is to be a question of retailing smuggling stories, I also can -tell one of Exmoor origin, only it relates to Minehead, whither our -course now lies. Many years ago—I fancy it was in the forties—there -was a certain quay-lumper, who “caddled about” anywhere, away under -Greenaleigh. His name was Moorman. Just about this time a French vessel -was on her way with a cargo of smuggled brandy, but a fall-out between -uncle and nephew, on account of the former refusing to lend money, led -to information being given, with the result that one of Her Majesty’s -cutters was seen cruising up and down before Minehead. The whole town -was in an uproar.</p> - -<p>After a while the foreigner drew in under Greenaleigh, and discharged -her cargo; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a>{185}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_021" id="ill_021"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_254_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_254_sml.jpg" width="450" height="306" alt="Image unavailable: SHIP INN, PORLOCK (page 179)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SHIP INN, PORLOCK (<a href="#page_179">page 179.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<p>Moorman, having been called to assist, was rewarded with a sum of money -and a quantity of brandy. It was beautiful brandy, and Moorman’s wife -very kindly gave some of it to her neighbours, remarking as she did so, -“My old man helped discharge the cargo.” This observation was carried to -the excise officers, who searched for Moorman, and insisted on his -telling them where the spirit was concealed. As a matter-of-fact, it had -been hidden in the sand; but this was perfectly smooth, and Moorman, -though he made a show of looking for them, declared he could not find -the kegs. Just as they were about to give up in despair, one of the -party hitched his foot in a rope, with which, it turned out, the kegs -had been slung together. Several persons were arrested in connection -with the affair, among others an old Mr Rawle, a farmer; and some few -were sent to prison. As for the cutter, she had been lying useless in -Minehead harbour, in low water.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p> - -<p>It cannot be charged against Minehead that “the hobby-horse is forgot,” -and those mindful of him belong, for the most part, to the seafaring -class. Early on May morning, they perambulate the town with the idol, a -rough similitude of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_186" id="page_186"></a>{186}</span> the equine species, decked off with ribbons; the -“counterfeit presentment” being supported on the shoulders of a man -whose legs are concealed by the trappings, and who is responsible for -its motions. Its progress through the streets is heralded by the tap of -the drum, and horseplay—seldom is the expression so apt—is the order -of the day. For it may be taken for granted that there is more than one -performance, and the worship of the beast is resumed at intervals till -vesper-time. However, the custom, which was formerly observed at -Combmartin also, is gradually dying out.</p> - -<p>Probably one of the most sensational events in the annals of Minehead, -which do not appear to be particularly rich in historic interest, is a -seventeenth-century episode, in which the chief actors were the Rev. -Henry Byam, rector of Selworthy, and “another.” A notable man was Henry -Byam, who was born at Luccombe, in 1580. Being a devoted Royalist, he -attended Prince Charles in his flight to the Scilly Islands, and thence -to Jersey. Byam was in great esteem as a preacher, and his sermons were -edited by Hamnet Ward, Prebendary of Wells, who states that “most of -them were preached before His Majesty King Charles II., in his exile.” -Perhaps, however, the discourse which will most attract modern readers, -is that entitled: “A Return from Argier.—A Sermon preached at Minehead, -in the County of Somerset, the 16th of March, 1627, at the re-admission -of a Relapsed into our Church.” It seems that a young Minehead man had -been taken prisoner by the Turks and compelled to embrace the -Mohammedan<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_187" id="page_187"></a>{187}</span> religion. Having escaped, he returned to Minehead, where, -clothed in Turkish attire, he had to stand in St Michael’s Church, -whilst the rector of Selworthy “improved” the occasion. In one part of -the sermon, the preacher addressed himself directly to the offender:</p> - -<p>“You whom God suffered to fall, and yet of His infinite mercy vouchsafed -graciously to bring you home, not only to your country and kindred, but -to the profession of your first faith, and to the Church and Sacraments -again; let me say to you (but in a better hour), as sometime Joshua to -Achan: ‘Give glory to God, sing praises to Him who hath delivered your -soul from the nethermost hell.’ When I think upon your Turkish attire, I -do remember Adam and his fig-leaf breeches; they could neither conceal -his shame, nor cover his nakedness. I do think upon David clad in Saul’s -armour. How could you hope, in this unsanctified habit, to attain -Heaven?”</p> - -<p>But it is time that we set out for Dunster, which is as rich in striking -memories as the seaport town is poor. The two places, however, are not -altogether separable; indeed, it must be evident at a glance that small -towns situated at so short a distance from each other—two miles and a -half—will have been influenced, though in varying degrees, by the same -incidents and accidents, and freaks of fortune. If we go back to the -first quarter of the fifteenth century, we find that a “shipman” of -Minehead, called Roger King, was employed in conveying provisions from -this part of the world to Normandy, where war was then raging; and his -return cargo often<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_188" id="page_188"></a>{188}</span> consisted of wine, which Lady Catherine Luttrell, of -Dunster Castle, readily purchased from him. Once Sir Hugh Luttrell -embarked on a vessel called the <i>Leonard of Dunster</i>, taking with him -five live oxen and two pipes of beer for consumption during the voyage. -His expenses, including repairs, amounted to the then considerable sum -of £42, 3s. 1d.; but the master, Philip Clopton, having been paid £40, -10s. by certain foreign merchants for a freight of wine on the journey -home, the lucky knight had merely to make good the difference—£1, 13s. -1d. In 1427, several Minehead fishermen, tenants of Sir Hugh, -adventuring as far as Carlingford, were captured by a Spaniard named -Goo, and having been conveyed to Scotland, were confined in Bothwell -Castle, whence a special letter, addressed to the King of Scotland in -the name of Henry VI., was necessary to procure their release.</p> - -<p>In the Middle Ages, Dunster itself was a seaport, and, in the reign of -Edward III., writs directed to the bailiffs forbade friars, monks, or -treasure to quit the realm by that door. It is to be observed in this -connection that the river Avill, before joining the sea, widens out at a -place called the “Hone” or the “Hawn”—no doubt the site of the old -<i>haven</i>, of which term its present name is a corruption.</p> - -<p>To many, Dunster Castle is indissolubly associated with the family of -Luttrell, and no wonder, seeing the ages that have elapsed since it was -owned by persons of different descent. Its earliest lords, however, were -Mohuns—a name which at once awakens recollections of Thackeray and the -famous duel between Lord Mohun and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_189" id="page_189"></a>{189}</span> the Duke of Hamilton in Hyde Park, -in 1712. The first Mohun of Dunster was a gallant leader called William -the Old, who attended his namesake, the Conqueror, with a large retinue -to the field of Senlac, and received Dunster as a part of that day’s -spoil. The family had large possessions in Normandy, and drew their -name—De Moion—from a village near St Lo.</p> - -<p>The history of the English branch, or rather branches, is by no means -devoid of interest. The founder of Newenham Abbey (Devon), for instance, -was Reginald de Mohun, who died in 1246. In recognition of his -munificence, he received from the Pope the gift of a golden rose, and as -such a present was made only to persons of high rank, His Holiness -dubbed him Earl of Este (or Somerset). The monkish chronicler reports -that Reginald had seen in a vision a venerable man, who bade him make -his election between going with him then, in which case he would be -safe, or remaining until overtaken by danger. De Mohun at once accepted -the former alternative, but the old man would have him stay till the -third day, when the confessor saw in another dream the same old man -leading a boy “more radiant than the sun, and vested in a robe brighter -than crystal,” which boy, he heard him say, was the soul of Reginald de -Mohun. The chronicler further states that he was present when Reginald’s -tomb was opened nearly a hundred years later, what time the body was -perfect, and exhaled a most fragrant odour.</p> - -<p>I now pass to the year 1376, when the Lady Joan, relict of Sir John de -Mohun, sold the right of succession to the barony for £3333, 6s. 8d.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_190" id="page_190"></a>{190}</span> to -the Lady Elizabeth Luttrell, the receipt being still in the possession -of the present owner, Mr G. F. Luttrell. It is worth remarking that Mr -Luttrell is a descendant of the Mohuns of Beconnoc (the junior branch -which produced the Lord Mohun before mentioned), through the marriage of -his ancestor, John Fownes, with the heiress of Samuel Maddock, her -mother having been the daughter and ultimate heiress of the third Lord -Mohun of Okehampton.</p> - -<p>The Lady Elizabeth Luttrell was the daughter of Hugh Courtenay, Earl of -Devon, and Margaret, daughter of Humphry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and -Essex, who was styled “the flower of knighthood, and the most Christian -knight of the knights of the world.” Her husband was a less considerable -person, being only a cadet of a younger branch of the baronial family of -Luttrell of Irnham. Their son was the Sir Hugh Luttrell already referred -to, who, in his time, was governor of Harfleur and Grand Seneschal of -France—in fact, the right-hand man of Harry the Fifth. He rebuilt -Dunster Castle in somewhat the form we find it to-day, and added a new -gate-house. The alabaster effigies on the north side of the chancel of -the conventual church are those of Sir Hugh and Lady Catherine Luttrell.</p> - -<p>There are black sheep in every family, and among the Luttrells one black -sheep was pretty clearly James, grandson of great Sir Hugh. The latter -had a receiver-general named Thomas Hody, and it was probably his -son—one Alisaunder Hody, at any rate—that drew up a complaint against -James Luttrell which enables<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_191" id="page_191"></a>{191}</span> us to see what manner of man he was. -First, it seems, Luttrell ascertained from Hody’s unsuspecting wife -where her husband was likely to be for the next three days, and then -clapped one of his servants into Dunster Castle, where he kept him -closely confined for a night, to prevent him from giving information. -Luttrell’s next move was to set out with a party of thirty-five -followers, with bows bent and arrows in their hands, for the house of -Alisaunder’s father-in-law, Thomas Bratton, with the intention of -murdering the object of his resentment.</p> - -<p>In the course of another expedition, in which he was attended by -twenty-four armed retainers, he fell upon John Coker, a servant of Hody, -and beat and wounded him so that his life was despaired of. His greatest -coup, however, was his attack on Taunton Castle, where he broke open the -doors and searched for Alisaunder, confiscated seven silver spoons, five -ivory knives, and other goods belonging to him, struck his wife, and -threatened to kill her with their daggers. A servant, Walter Peyntois, -was stabbed, almost fatally, while “Sir” Robert, Alisaunder’s priest, -was assaulted, dragged to the ground by the hair of his head, and beaten -by the ruffians with the pommels of their swords.</p> - -<p>Whatever his faults, James Luttrell was undoubtedly brave, and, taking -part in the strife of the Roses, was knighted on the field after the -battle of Wakefield. At the second battle of St Albans he received a -mortal wound, and in the first Parliament of Edward IV. his property was -forfeited to the Crown. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_192" id="page_192"></a>{192}</span> attainder was reversed on the accession of -Henry VII.</p> - -<p>Another fighting Luttrell was Sir John, who served in the Scottish wars -of the mid-sixteenth century, won the name of a “noble captain,” and was -ultimately taken prisoner in the fort of Bouticraig. Among the treasures -of Dunster Castle is preserved a painting of Sir John Luttrell by a -Flemish artist, Lucas de Heere, dated 1550; and a very extraordinary -painting it is.</p> - -<p>In the great Civil War, the Luttrell of the period, whose Christian name -was Thomas, espoused the side of the Parliament, and “Mistress” Luttrell -commanded the men in the castle to “give fire” at sixty of Sir Ralph -Hopton’s troopers, who had come to demand entrance, but after this -reception deemed it expedient to retire. In 1643 the owner, rather -weakly, surrendered the place, of which Francis Wyndham now became -governor. Two years later, Colonel Blake, with a Parliamentarian force -from Taunton, began the investment of the castle, which finally -capitulated on April 19, 1646.</p> - -<p>In 1645, after the battle of Naseby, the Prince of Wales (afterwards -Charles II.) was commanded by his father to take up his quarters at -Dunster, in order to escape the plague, which was raging at Bristol. -This was to jump from the frying-pan into the fire, as the contagion was -so bad at Dunster that the inhabitants feared to venture into the -streets. However, there is no doubt that the prince visited the castle, -where a room leading out<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_193" id="page_193"></a>{193}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_022" id="ill_022"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_263_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_263_sml.jpg" width="287" height="450" alt="Image unavailable: MINEHEAD CHURCH (page 187)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">MINEHEAD CHURCH (<a href="#page_187">page 187.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">into the gallery is called “King Charles’s Room.” The “King’s Chamber,” -mentioned in the inventory of 1705, adjoined the gallery; but the -evidence does not point conclusively to the traditional apartment, -which, being very narrow, with no window and only a stone bench, might -have done fairly well as a place of concealment, more especially as -there is a secret door in one of the walls. But at this time the -Royalists were in possession, and there was no obvious motive for -selecting the incommodious lodging for a guest of princely blood.</p> - -<p>To conclude this account of the Luttrells, the male line came to an end -on the death of Alexander, in 1737. Ten years later, his daughter -married Henry Fownes of Nethway, and from him the present owner, Mr -George Fownes Luttrell, is descended.</p> - -<p>From the lords of Dunster let us turn to the place which, in spite of -inevitable changes, retains a greater variety of mediæval features than -may easily be found within the same compass. A complete description of -the castle and park is impossible here, but it may be mentioned that -very full information is contained in Mr G. T. Clark’s preliminary essay -in Sir H. C. Maxwell-Lyte’s standard work. One thing is certain—that -the aspect of the castle has been considerably altered from what it was -in mediæval times. During the eighteenth century sad liberties were -taken with the buildings. Spurious Gothic windows were inserted, and a -thoroughly incongruous chapel erected. The restoration undertaken by Mr -G. F. Luttrell rectified these absurdities, but went much further.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_194" id="page_194"></a>{194}</span> The -northern tower of the principal façade was pulled down and rebuilt, and -a new wing was added. The old Edwardian gateway has been left intact.</p> - -<p>About the year 1775, through the caprice of the then owner, was erected -the Conegar Tower, which is merely a hollow shell standing on a conical -hill. Owing to its commanding position it is a prominent landmark, -rising amidst woods which in the summer season are a mass of foliage, -whilst intersecting footpaths form shady alleys in which it is a joy to -wander. It is pleasant to add that the master of this splendid domain -has always observed a most generous and unselfish attitude to strangers -desirous of inspecting his house and grounds.</p> - -<p>But Dunster has other wonders hardly inferior to the castle itself. One -may instance the Yarn Market, with its broad, overhanging penthouses, -manifold gables, and pyramidal roof, in one of the beams of which is a -hole said to have been caused by a cannon shot fired from the castle in -the time of the Civil War. Such a ball, however, could not have passed -the intervening woodwork leaving it uninjured, so that the story is, at -least, doubtful.</p> - -<p>Hard by is the Luttrell Arms Hotel—a perfect treasure-house of -antiquities. These comprise a gabled porch pierced with lancet holes for -crossbows, a façade of oak, elaborately carved, and an oak chamber, with -an open roof of timber work, somewhat resembling that of Westminster -Hall. In Room 13 are emblazoned the Luttrell Arms—<i>or, a bird between -three martlets sable</i>. With<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_195" id="page_195"></a>{195}</span> these are impaled <i>a chevron between three -trefoils, slipped, proper</i>.</p> - -<p>Says an anonymous writer: “In old times it was the custom of every -gentleman to set up his family shield on the house in which he -sojourned; this served as a rallying-point to his followers, and, in my -opinion, was the origin of the signs formerly displayed on houses of -business of every kind, but now confined to inns only.” In the present -instance the suggestion is not particularly helpful, as there are -reasons for supposing that the building once belonged to the Abbey of -Cleeve. Nothing, however, is certainly known of its origin and history, -and it is quite possible that it was at one time in the occupation of a -cadet of the great family at the castle.</p> - -<p>Room No. 12 boasts a far more notable feature—namely, an elaborate -mantelpiece bearing two shields, one emblazoned with the arms of -England, and the other with those of France; also a poor bust of -Shakespeare, two large Elizabethan female figures, and a central -medallion showing a prostrate man, nude, and worried by three dogs, -clearly intended for Actæon, who was torn to pieces by his hounds for -looking on Diana whilst bathing.</p> - -<p>The “Luttrell Arms” is mentioned in chapter xxvii. of <i>Lorna Doone</i>, -which tells also of Ridd’s mother’s cousin, the tanner, and his bevy of -daughters, all resident in the town.</p> - -<p>Another architectural curiosity is a weather-tiled house on the north -side of Middle Street. This is usually described as “the Nunnery”—a -quite modern appellation, born of pure fancy. Even so late as the last -century it was known as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_196" id="page_196"></a>{196}</span> the “High House,” while a yet older name was -the “Tenement of St Lawrence.” Yet another interesting old structure is -“Lower Marsh,” with rich Perpendicular oratory over its entrance porch.</p> - -<p>Next, as to the church. At the entrance to the churchyard stands a -quaint timber building which goes by the name of the Priest’s House. The -church itself is a magnificent specimen of its kind, and worthy of the -name of a cathedral. The most ancient part of it is the Norman arch at -the west end. The east end is Early English, and nearly all the rest -Perpendicular, including the old and beautiful rood-screen of open work -with fan tracery headings, over which are four rows of ornaments. The -portion of the church to the west of the screen is called by the -inhabitants the “Parish Church,” while the eastern section is termed the -“Priory Church.” The reason is that this was formerly the chapel of the -Priory of Dunster, which belonged to the Benedictine monks of Bath; and -shortly after the dissolution of the monasteries the priory was acquired -by the Luttrells, who have long claimed the part of the church assigned -to the monks by the award of the Abbot of Glastonbury and his -colleagues, and erected therein a number of funeral monuments, yet -remaining, in various states of preservation. To the north-west of the -church are the ruins of the priory, the great barn in which the good -monks stored their grain, and two great gateways that led into the -priory precincts.</p> - -<p>Every visitor to Dunster is admonished to make the ascent of Grabhurst -(or Grabbist) Hill, on the southern slope of which there was in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_197" id="page_197"></a>{197}</span> -Middle Ages a vineyard—not, by the way, a solitary example in the -England of that distant time. The view from the summit is extremely -beautiful. In the foreground are moors, in the background the sea, and -on the right and the left hand towards Minehead and St Audries, varied -and charming landscapes. On one side of the ridge may be descried a -typical farmhouse, nestling amidst bright, green meadows and clumps of -trees; and over the deep, narrow valley towers the massive form of old -Dunkery and other heights in shadowy perspective.</p> - -<p>Still grander are the prospects to be obtained from Dunkery Beacon -itself—the most commanding landmark of the district. About eight miles -south of Minehead, Dunkery is a mountain large and high, with a base -about twelve miles in circumference and an altitude of 1700 feet. With -the exception of Cawsand Beacon, it is the highest summit in the West of -England. One approach to it is from Wootton Courtenay, the distance from -the parish church to the top of the hill being three miles; another is -from Cutcombe, in which parish part of Dunkery lies. The hilly character -of the country is well illustrated by the name of the hostelry at the -corner, where the road to Dunkery digresses from the “Minehead -turnpike”—“Rest and Be Thankful.”</p> - -<p>The view from the beacon embraces an immense tract, the sky-line being -quite five hundred miles in circumference. To the south-west can be -discerned the tors near Plymouth; northwards, the Malvern Hills, in -Worcestershire—regions more than two hundred miles apart. North and -north-west, nearly a hundred and thirty miles of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_198" id="page_198"></a>{198}</span> the Bristol Channel, -and behind it the coast of Wales from Monmouthshire to Pembrokeshire. -Most of Somerset, Devon, and Dorset, with parts of Wiltshire and -Hampshire, are included in a spectacle which premises a clear atmosphere -and not too bright a sun, lest the prospect be obscured by haze.</p> - -<p>On Dunkery top is a vast quantity of rough, loose stones of all shapes -and sizes, and ranging from one pound to two hundred pounds in weight, -together with the remains of three large hearths, built of unhewn -stones, and about eight feet square. They compose an equilateral -triangle, in the interior of which is another and larger hearth. More -than two hundred feet lower, on the slope of the hill, and nearly a mile -distant, are two other hearths, with the same accompaniment of loose -stones scattered in large numbers around. These are undoubtedly ruins of -old-world beacons which, in periods of civil commotion or when foreign -invasion threatened, were used to rouse the countryside and pass the -fiery message from one end of the realm to the other. According to -<i>Lorna Doone</i> (chapter iii.), the marauders prevented this legitimate -use by throwing a watchman on the top of it. Chapters xliii. and xliv. -contain a vivid description of the firing of the actual beacon in Doone -Glen.</p> - -<p>For the neighbours the beacon is a huge barometer. Often it is covered -with clouds, and this is regarded as an infallible sign of rain; hence -the saying:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“When Dunkery’s top cannot be seen,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Horner will have a flooded stream.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_199" id="page_199"></a>{199}</span></p> - -<p>A former inhabitant of Luccombe, with a nicer ear for rhyme, penned the -following pretty song on Dunkery Beacon, evidently modelled on “Sweet -and Low,” but worth quoting all the same:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Stern and black, stern and black,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Low lies the storm on the mountain track:<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Black and stern, black and stern,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Hardly may we thy face discern<br /></span> -<span class="i1">By the light westward—lurid and red—<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And the thunder voices are overhead!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Where the lightning is never still,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Who’ll now come with me over the hill?<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Grey and sad, grey and sad,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With a rain-wrought veil are thy shoulders clad:<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Sad and grey, sad and grey,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Weird is the mist creeping up to-day,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Ghostlike and white from the stream where it lay,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Hanging a shroud o’er the lone wild way;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Hidden and still, hidden and still,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Who’ll now come with me over the hill?<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Fair and bright, fair and bright,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Purple and gold in the autumn light,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Bright and fair, bright and fair;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The butterflies float in the warm, soft air,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Float and suck ’midst the heather bells,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And green are the ferns in the dear-loved dells;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Now who will, now who will<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Come with me, come with me over the hill?”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The “Minehead turnpike,” as it is termed, dates from the reign of George -IV. Before that period the road, after leaving Timberscombe, passed up -the long steep ascent of Lype Hill. The present highway is a trotting -road of undoubted excellence. Being cut through hanging woods in some -sections, and along the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_200" id="page_200"></a>{200}</span> banks of the Exe in others, it is perhaps the -finest and most romantic drive of its kind in the kingdom.</p> - -<div class="blockquot2"><p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>—Watchet, the burial-place of Lorna’s mother—a rather -forlorn little haven by the wash of the Bristol Channel, lies -somewhat apart from our suggested route, but is easily accessible -by the railway, by which it is half-spoilt. St Decuman’s Church, -alone on the hill, contains exceptionally fine monuments of the -Wyndham family, with effigies.</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_201" id="page_201"></a>{201}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_023" id="ill_023"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_274_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_274_sml.jpg" width="314" height="450" alt="Image unavailable: DUNSTER CASTLE GATE, FROM THE OUTSIDE (page 193.)" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">DUNSTER CASTLE GATE, FROM THE OUTSIDE (page 193.)</span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII<br /><br /> -<small>GOSSIP-TOWN</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">We</span> have now returned to Dulverton, but our pilgrimage is not yet over, -for we have yet to explore a territory which may be termed the joint -property, or “debateable ground,” of <i>Lorna Doone</i> and the <i>Maid of -Sker</i>. The Devon and Somerset line, connecting as it does with the light -railway to Lynton, and the London and South-Western branch from Exeter -to Barnstaple, will be found extremely convenient for our purpose, -although these “iron roads” do not in every instance land us at the -precise spots where we would be. So, peradventure, it may be wisdom to -set up our headquarters at Southmolton and Barnstaple in succession, and -peregrinate from those centres at our discretion.</p> - -<p>First, a word of explanation as to the title of this chapter. Far be it -from me to give evil pre-eminence to Southmolton as a school for -scandal, but in chapter xii. of <i>Lorna Doone</i> Blackmore distinctly -states that it is “a busy place for talking.” There is no going from -that.</p> - -<p>Southmolton, like Bampton, is subject to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_202" id="page_202"></a>{202}</span> “slings and arrows” of -outrageous criticism as a place where it is “always afternoon.” If that -be so, all I can say is that, personally, I invariably find the <small>P.M.</small> -extremely pleasant, and nothing will induce me to cast a stone at a town -so hospitable. Moreover, it is beyond question an important hub of -Blackmore associations, and the faithful votary of the novelist <i>must</i> -betake himself thither. Whether or not the fact be due to this -circumstance, it seems certain that more visitors patronise the -neighbourhood than formerly, and Mr Brown, the obliging chemist, informs -me that he has developed negatives for Americans, from whom he has -received flattering testimonials. Well done, Mr Brown! The following -entry in the visitors’ book at the “George” has an independent interest.</p> - -<p>“July 3rd, 1888—Dr Walter B. Gilbert, of New York, U.S., who was saved -by being thrown out of the window at the corner house opposite, during -the fatal fire of July 1835.”</p> - -<p>This reminds one of an early incident in the life of a famous divine, -who declared that “the world was his parish.” It was certainly Dr -Gilbert’s.</p> - -<p>On one occasion when I stayed at the “George,” where, it may be -remembered, Master Stickles filled his little flat bottle with “the very -best <i>eau de vie</i>” (<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter xlvii.), the fair was in full -swing, and I recollect that, among other attractions, there was a negro -marionette of large size, with aggressive, red lips. A young man -indulged in an entertaining dialogue with him as a prelude to the sale -of quack medicine. Now, the proletariat is master at Southmolton,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_203" id="page_203"></a>{203}</span> and -the Corporation dare not remove from the Square the shooting-galleries, -ginger-bread stalls, confetti tents, and other encumbrances connected -with this event. It was whispered to me that at the time of an -Agricultural Show, when the band of the Plymouth division of the Royal -Marines was to perform in the market, the Mayor offered £10 for an hour -and a half’s suspension of the strident and powerful tones of a -steam-organ, but in vain. This mechanical purveyor of popular airs -represents the combined snort of a tornado of galloping horses fitted to -a roundabout of the most modern type. In the old-style roundabout a boy -worked a turnstile, and in doing so sometimes slipped or fell, when he -received pretty severe contusions. This arrangement was succeeded by a -cog-wheel in charge of a man.</p> - -<p>At fair time, East Street is blocked with Exmoor sheep and North Devon -cattle, and <i>à propos</i> of this, you may notice over the entrance to the -market three carved rams’ heads. On the first day of the fair, a white -sheepskin glove is projected on a pole from a ring on the side of a -“Star.” Locally, this is supposed to signify the “hand of welcome,” -which accounts perhaps for the nosegay. Another and less romantic -version declares it the “hand of authority.”</p> - -<p>Let us stroll through the town in search of adventures. Naturally, our -steps will be directed, in the first instance, to the parish church, of -which the inhabitants are extremely proud. Well, it is handsome, very -handsome—sumptuous, if you like—but the interior is nearly all -brand-new. As to that, however, there are exceptions, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_204" id="page_204"></a>{204}</span> I will -undertake to affirm that the amazing gargoyle on the north side of the -chancel arch, albeit there are gargoyles on the Town Hall and gargoyles -on the “George,” is not of our time. Apparently, it is the face of a -craftsman, and, quite possibly, that of the master-builder of the -church. The pulpit also is ancient; the four evangelists’ flattened -countenances and noses sadly out of repair proclaim a reckoning with -time. The font is ancient and goodly. The tower is a fine one, as is -also that of Northmolton; but if you would see what North Devon can show -in the shape of church towers, away to Chittlehampton. There is a local -proverb: “Southmolton for strength; Chittlehampton for beauty,” and -tradition states that the tower of the fane of St Heriswitha was erected -by a pupil of the man that built Southmolton tower.</p> - -<p>For my own part, I find Southmolton churchyard, with its walled and -paved avenues, more stimulating than the church. The margins of four -banks were, it appears, planted with lime-trees in 1735-6, and -twenty-five years later the New Walk was adorned with similar trees. -These in 1866 were rooted up by a “fanatical iconoclast,” but others -took their place, and so there is at present not much occasion to find -fault.</p> - -<p>I remember one September evening standing in this churchyard and talking -to that worthy man, the sexton, when he mentioned to me casually that it -was the scene of a desperate battle. Particulars he had none to give, -and for the nonce I had forgotten my history book, so we stood and gazed -in silence, with a sense of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_205" id="page_205"></a>{205}</span> vague respect and profound mystery, at the -home of the dead, on which the shades of evening were rapidly falling. -Too late to enlighten him, I recalled the abortive rising of the -Cavaliers in 1655, when Sir Joseph Wagstaffe, aided and abetted by a -couple of Wiltshire squires, Hugh Groves and John Penruddock, and a -force of loyal Cornishmen, proclaimed Prince Charles king at -Southmolton, after a rather discreditable fiasco at Southampton. -Cromwell’s troops were soon on their traces, and in a bloody fight, -mainly in the churchyard, the Royalists were hopelessly defeated. -Wagstaffe and a few of his officers escaped by jumping their horses over -the north-west portion of the churchyard wall (on which some forty years -ago a lime-house was built), and, crossing Exmoor, arrived at -Bridgewater. Groves and Penruddock, with twenty others, were captured -and conducted to the castle at Exeter, where they were arraigned for -high treason, found guilty, and executed. The leaders were beheaded and -the rest hanged, the drawing and quartering, ordinarily a feature in -such ceremonies, being omitted.</p> - -<p>Comedy, as well as tragedy, may claim Southmolton churchyard for her -own, for here Bampfylde Moore Carew, the famous King of the Gipsies, -wreaked dire vengeance on the local bellman, who had insulted him, by -appearing in the likeness of Infernal Majesty, and chasing the -affrighted officer among the tombs. The fact that the ghost of an old -gentleman not long deceased was reputed to walk the churchyard probably -made this characteristic revenge more easy.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_206" id="page_206"></a>{206}</span></p> - -<p>A ruinous building, to which no stranger uninitiated would direct more -than a passing glance, stands back from the road on Factory Hill. Once -it was a celebrated academy, at which nearly all the youth of -Southmolton, and doubtless many boys of the neighbouring parishes, -received their education. In this now abandoned seat of learning there -were two departments—an English school and a Latin school—for which -there were separate halls. The place wears a horrible appearance of -neglect and desecration, but some of the old fittings yet remain, and -when I inspected it, there were even some loose forms amongst the -miscellaneous lumber. The founder was one Hugh Squier, a lesser Peter -Blundell, who left injunctions that his portrait should be hung in what -is now the sitting-room of a cottage, but was then, no doubt, the -master’s house, and that there, as if he were bodily present, his -trustees should dine once a year. The portrait has been removed to the -Town Hall. There is also a beautiful miniature of Squier attached to the -mayor’s chain of office, which is probably at his worship’s.</p> - -<p>Southmolton has been a great place for poets, the best of them being -perhaps Richard Manley, a journeyman saddler, who died in 1832. The -following lines are taken from a poem after Gray, entitled -<i>Recollections of Schoolboy Days</i>, and supposed to be written in front -of Squier’s Free School, where the author had been taught reading, -writing, and arithmetic:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Ah! it was there, where yon green trees are bending,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And waving gently to the sunny air,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Where schoolboys dally, anxiously contending<br /></span> -<span class="i2">For empty honours in their sports—’twas there<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_207" id="page_207"></a>{207}</span><br /></span> -<span class="i1">Young life to me with hope and joy was beaming;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Its sun in brightness rose, in sweetness set;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And childhood’s happy hours were spent in dreaming<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of future bliss and happier moments yet:<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And now those dreams are vanisht and forsaken<br /></span> -<span class="i1">By childhood’s hopes: to manhood I awaken.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Personally, I must confess, I should not have appreciated the pathos of -the scholastic derelict but for my good friend, the late Mayor of -Southmolton, who offered his services as cicerone. Mr Kingdon was -formerly associated with the firm of Crosse, Day, and Crosse, -solicitors, and he recollects Blackmore coming into their office, his -object being to look over some documents relating to the Manor of Oare. -On leaving, he complained that he had not found much to the purpose; but -Mr Kingdon is not so sure.</p> - -<p>Speaking of Mayors—and we must not forget that Master Paramore was a -high member of the town council (see <i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter xii.)—the -chief magistrate of Southmolton is noted for the splendour of his -official retinue—doubtless a legacy from the days when corporations -were wont to insist more than they do now on outward show and ceremony. -Mr Mills, a local historian, gives an excellent account of the old -style, founded in part on his own recollections:</p> - -<p>“The Bailiff’s livery is a coat and vest of cerulean colour, with red -facings, velveteen breeches, and a gold-laced, three-cornered hat. This -functionary formerly, as part of his livery, wore red stockings, but on -the appointment of Mr Philip Widgery about sixty years ago (1892), he -besought the Corporation to provide him with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_208" id="page_208"></a>{208}</span> gaiters—alleging as a -reason that his legs were the same shape as German flutes. His petition -was granted, and he and his successors have had their legs encased in -drab gaiters. The Sergeants at Mace have three-cornered hats and ample -blue cloaks—both hats and cloaks being trimmed with gold lace.</p> - -<p>“Prior to the Municipal Corporations Reform Act, 1834, these three -officers always proceeded with the Mayor and other members of the -Corporation to the Parish Church every Sunday morning. All the members -wore robes; those who had passed the office of Mayor wore scarlet gowns, -the other members were robed in black. A posse of the borough constables -always preceded this procession, carrying blue staves with the borough -arms in gilt letters on the upper end. These staves were about six feet -long, and are preserved at the Guildhall. As soon as the second lesson -had been read, the four took their staves in their hands, and holding -them aloft, marched sedately out of church, to pay visits to the -public-houses, in order to see if any person was tippling in them during -Divine Service. The first place of call was the ‘Ring of Bells,’ -adjacent to the churchyard, where, knowing the exact time their visit -would be paid, the landlord had four half-pints of ale in readiness for -their delectation as soon as they arrived. A similar visit was next paid -to the ‘King’s Arms,’ and similar treatment awaited them there. -Generally by the time these two visits had been paid, the congregation -at the church had been dismissed, and the vigilant constables retired to -their respective homes to preside over the family dinner, and to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_209" id="page_209"></a>{209}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_024" id="ill_024"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_283_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_283_sml.jpg" width="450" height="299" alt="Image unavailable: SQUARE AT SOUTHMOLTON (page 204)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SQUARE AT SOUTHMOLTON (<a href="#page_204">page 204.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">say grace, after eating it, as good churchmen should do.”</p> - -<p>We are now to travel back three centuries and more, to the reign of -Queen Elizabeth.</p> - -<p>Leaving Southmolton for a time, we set out in the first instance for an -ancient manor-house about three miles distant, in the parish of Bishop’s -Nympton. In doing so, we pass two old factories, which formerly gave -employment to three hundred combers, etc. One of them is now a grist -mill, while the other is turned to account as a collar factory, in which -a score or two of women imitate the “little busy bee.” As for the men -who once worked in the mills, on the break-up of the industry some -transferred their services to Mr Vicary, of North Tawton, while others -migrated to Yorkshire.</p> - -<p>A well-remembered character at Southmolton, Chappie, the parish clerk, -was seated as usual at the foot of the pulpit, when the late rector, Mr -King, being momentarily at a loss, whispered down to him, “What do they -make at the factory?” Chappie replied in an audible tone, “Serge.” -Whereupon the preacher resumed, “I am informed,” etc., drawing an -illustration from the fabric.</p> - -<p>Through winding lanes and some rough fields, which Leland would probably -have described as “morisch,” lies the approach to Whitechapel, and were -it not for the railway, with its “level crossing,” the spot would be -rightly described as sequestered, and such as could hardly be excelled -as the scene of a tragedy or perhaps a romance. The house stands on the -slope of a green hill, against which its white walls stand pleasantly -outlined. It has<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_210" id="page_210"></a>{210}</span> two courtyards, the inner being entered by a gateway -flanked by tall brick pillars surmounted by huge globes. It is said that -on this inner platform were mounted cannon—a battery of five pieces of -ordnance. About fifty years ago the original mullioned windows were -removed by a farmer-tenant, and deposited in a cellar, where they were -lately discovered. Some of them have been re-inserted in the right end -of the building. In the rear the remains of an old hearth have been -found, showing that cooking was carried on outside the house proper. The -interior is remarkable for a splendid oak screen. The place is now in -thoroughly good hands, but it has naturally suffered from having been so -long a farmhouse, the occupiers of which were profoundly indifferent to -its contents and history. The present owner, Captain Glossop, when I met -him, was bringing taste and energy to bear on the old mansion, although -portions of it were beyond repair.</p> - -<p>Working backwards, I find that at the beginning of the last century the -property was in Chancery, and sold by the order of the Lord Chancellor -by public auction. The purchaser was a familiar figure in Southmolton, a -Mr Sanger, who occupied Whitechapel till his death. He made it his boast -that he cut down and sold enough timber on the estate to pay the whole -of the purchase money. At one time the property belonged to an ancestor -of Sir John Heathcoat-Amory; and during the Civil Wars it was the -residence of Colonel Basset, one of Prince’s “Worthies.” Blackmore -clearly remembered this circumstance when he introduced Sir Roger<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_211" id="page_211"></a>{211}</span> -Bassett into his work (<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter xlvi.), and allowed him to -be victimised by the joint cunning of lawyers and outlaw.</p> - -<p>According to Prince, the place was the original home of all the Bassets; -and the walls, as they now stand, were built during the reign of -Elizabeth by Sir Robert de Basset, on the site of an earlier structure, -and in the fashionable shape of an E. A few years later the knight lost -his wife, and having had the good fortune to win the heart and hand of -Mistress Beaumont of Umberleigh, removed to her mansion, standing where -once had stood King Athelstan’s palace. Umberleigh was afterwards the -property of John o’ Gaunt, from whom it passed to a relative—a fact to -which old doggerel lines bear witness:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“I John o’ Gaunt, do give and grant,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">From me and mine, to thee and thine,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The barton fee of Umberlee.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Sir Robert de Basset not only bade adieu to Whitechapel, whither he -never returned, but shortly before the death of Queen Elizabeth, he made -another change, and for the sake of his wife’s health, took up his -residence at Heanton Court, she having brought to him the manors of -Sherwill and Heanton Punchardon. Situated on the right bank of the Taw, -about three miles below Barnstaple, Heanton Court is now only a -picturesque farmhouse, but sixty years ago, according to an eye-witness, -the walls were still worse, and resembled a dilapidated factory. This -place, as will be shown more plainly hereafter, was the original of the -Narnton Court of the <i>Maid of Sker</i>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_212" id="page_212"></a>{212}</span></p> - -<p>Now Sir Robert and his wife were both descended from the -Plantagenets—his wife certainly, and Sir Robert himself, if there was -any truth in the allegation that his great-great-grandmother was the -illegitimate daughter of Edward IV. Be that as it may, the knight saw -fit to join himself to the inglorious company of claimants to the vacant -throne of the Virgin Queen, two hundred in number; and, on the accession -of King James, he had, in consequence to escape down the river Taw and -sail into the open sea <i>en route</i> for the Continent. Two years later an -edict was promulgated, assuring the pretenders that, on dutiful -submission, they would be allowed to escape with a fine. So the Bassets -came back, and on bended knees craved King Jamie’s forgiveness. Mrs -Basset of Watermouth Castle is said to be the possessor of the -embroidered silk apron worn by Lady Basset on this memorable occasion. -The monarch used rough language, intimating to the male suppliant that -he was a big bird, and that he must clip his wings—no idle threat, -since he imposed a fine necessitating the sale of fifteen manors. The -title also was annulled.</p> - -<p>The next station to Umberleigh on the London and South-Western line is -Burrington, where Mrs Shapland was discovered (<i>Maid of Sker</i>, chapter -lxiv.).</p> - -<p>About three miles and a half west of Southmolton lies the parish of -Filleigh, in which is situate Castle Hill, the beautiful seat of Earl -Fortescue, with its park of over eight hundred acres, a feature of which -is an avenue of trees nearly a mile long, leading to a triumphal arch.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_213" id="page_213"></a>{213}</span> -The name Castle Hill is actually a misnomer, as the mansion is not of -the old baronial type; but the top of the wooded eminence, on whose -slope it stands, has an artificial ruin, serving to keep the description -in countenance. From the terrace the ground drops away to an ornamental -lake, and what with the clusters of trees, the shrubbery, and the rare -garden, Castle Hill may be fairly commended as a domain worthy of the -ancient family by which it is owned. One old building which has now -disappeared, was called the “Hermitage.” This was the subject of a poem -by Mr Badcock, a native of Southmolton, in the <i>London Magazine</i> for -1782, but I have been unable to discover much about it, save that it -bore the inscription: “I have seen an end of all perfection, but Thy -commandment is exceeding broad”—a suitable text, one may think, for a -hermitage.</p> - -<p>The grounds of Castle Hill were remodelled by Hugh Fortescue, Lord -Clinton, created Earl Clinton and Baron Fortescue in 1746. He died -without issue in 1751, when the earldom became extinct. The barony -passed to his half-brother Matthew, who died in 1785, and was succeeded -by his son Hugh. In 1789 the latter was created Earl Fortescue and -Viscount Ebrington, the second title being derived from his -Gloucestershire seat, Ebrington Hall. He was followed by his son, also -called Hugh, who had taken an active part in the debates on the Reform -Bill in the Lower House, and was appointed Lord-Lieutenant and Custos -Rotulorum of the County of Devon. An interesting episode in this -nobleman’s career was a visit to Napoleon in December<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_214" id="page_214"></a>{214}</span> 1814, of which he -published a vivacious description.</p> - -<p>The present earl was born in 1818. As is well known, he has long -suffered from an affection of the eyes, brought about by a conscientious -discharge of public duty. Viscount Ebrington, his eldest son, now -occupies the honourable position so ably filled by his grandfather.</p> - -<p>For a full history of the Fortescue family in all its branches, the -reader is referred to the late Lord Clermont’s large and handsome volume -on the subject, of which it contains an exhaustive account. Here it may -be observed that the name, which is a little remarkable, is traced to an -incident in the battle of Senlac, when Richard le Fort saved the life of -William, Duke of Normandy, by protecting him with his shield from the -blows of his assailants. From that time, and for that reason, he was -known as Richard le Fortescue, or Strong Shield. Such, at least, is -Holinshed’s story. Tradition further states that after the Conquest -Richard returned to Normandy, where his descendants through his second -son, Richard, continued to flourish till the eighteenth century. The -eldest son, Sir Adam, who had also fought at Senlac, remained behind in -England, and was the ancestor of all the English Fortescues.</p> - -<p>Among the benefactors of Southmolton occurs the name of Lord Fortescue -of Credan, who left £50 to the poor of the parish. A Justice of the -Common Pleas, and descended from an offshoot of the Castle Hill branch -(which, by the way, is not the senior), the <i>Conveyancer’s Guide</i> -preserves the following amusing anecdote<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_215" id="page_215"></a>{215}</span> respecting him. The baron was -the possessor of one of the strangest noses ever seen, much resembling -the trunk of an elephant. “Brother, brother,” said he to the counsel, -“you are handling the case in a very lame manner.” “No, no, my lord,” -was his reply, “have patience with me, and I will make it as plain as -the nose on your lordship’s face.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_216" id="page_216"></a>{216}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV<br /><br /> -<small>THE FORGE OF FAGGUS AND THE CURE OF CHOWNE<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></small></h2> - -<p>A “<span class="smcap">town”</span> by courtesy (though Blackmore shows it no courtesy, dubbing it -“a rough rude place at the end of Exmoor”), Northmolton is an -inconsiderable village—that is, as regards size and population; very -pretty, however, and romantic. Despite its comparative unimportance some -of the inhabitants of the larger Molton cherish respect for its smaller -neighbour as the seat of ancient tradition. I remember talking to a -tonsorial artist—one does not speak of “barbers” nowadays—and a native -of Southmolton, who referred with bated breath to the Court Leet and -Baron held in the sister parish, and the strange customs connected with -such tribunals; and he evidently considered the Southmolton Town Council -a mere mushroom institution of scant interest compared with the feudal -juries. I determined to look into the matter.</p> - -<p>There are two routes between South-and Northmolton—one the present -highway along<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_217" id="page_217"></a>{217}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_025" id="ill_025"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_294_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_294_sml.jpg" width="450" height="309" alt="Image unavailable: WHITECHAPEL BARTON (page 209)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">WHITECHAPEL BARTON (<a href="#page_209">page 209.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">the richly wooded valley of the Mole; the other, doubtless more ancient, -over the hill to the right, from the summit of which is obtained an -excellent view of the village situated on the opposite ridge.</p> - -<p>Northmolton is known far and wide as the birthplace of the renowned Tom -Faggus, who from being a smith turned highwayman. It is only a few years -ago since the forge at which he is supposed to have toiled was pulled -down. It stood at the bottom of the square, next to and facing the -“Poltimore Arms”; and picture post-cards, showing what it was like, are -on sale in the village. Just as I presented the reader with the -pre-Blackmorian legend of the Doones, drawn from Mr Cooper’s <i>Lynton</i>, -so I reproduce from the same source the legend of Tom Faggus, as it -existed before the publication of the romance.</p> - -<h3><i>Faggus and his Strawberry Horse.</i></h3> - -<p>Faggus was a native of Northmolton, and by trade a blacksmith, but being -engaged in a lawsuit with Sir Richard Bampfylde, he was ruined, and -obliged to leave his home.</p> - -<p>He then turned a gentleman-robber, and for many years collected -contributions on the highways, sometimes in company with a companion -named Penn, but more frequently alone.</p> - -<p>Many stories are told concerning his famous enchanted strawberry horse, -and it was chiefly by means of this horse that Faggus escaped punishment -for so long a time.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_218" id="page_218"></a>{218}</span></p> - -<p>On one occasion a large party of farmers agreed to ride home together -from Barnstaple Fair for the purpose of avoiding an attack from Faggus, -who was supposed to be in the neighbourhood. However, when they arrived -at the post on the top of Bratton-down, Faggus rode up, a cocked pistol -in each hand and the reins lying on the neck of his strawberry horse; he -threatened them with instant death, if they did not deposit their purses -at the foot of the post. The farmers obeyed him in silent awe, and -Faggus rode off with his booty.</p> - -<p>He was seized while sitting in the ale-house at Simonsbath, but at his -shrill whistle his invaluable horse, having broken down the stable door, -rushed into the house, and after seriously maltreating the enemies of -his master with his hoofs and teeth, bore him off in triumph. On another -occasion he was recognised in Barnstaple and closely pursued to the -bridge, where he was met by a party of constables, who blockaded the -other end. Seeing all hopes of escape by the road completely cut off, he -boldly put his horse at the parapet of the bridge. This he cleared, and -swam off, to the great disappointment of his numerous assailants, who -had considered his capture now as quite certain.</p> - -<p>Intelligence being received at Exford that Faggus was to pass through -that village on a certain day, a number of men were stationed in a -certain part of the road to endeavour to seize him. They had not been -long at their post, when Faggus rode up in complete disguise.</p> - -<p>“Pray, my good friends,” said he, “may I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_219" id="page_219"></a>{219}</span> ask for what purpose you are -waiting here in such numbers?”</p> - -<p>On being answered that they were waiting for Faggus, he replied that he -knew him well for a great rascal, and volunteered his services in -assisting to take him. After a little more conversation he asked what -firearms they had; four or five guns were produced. He proposed that -they should be discharged and reloaded, to secure their going off when -required, as the dampness of the morning might have injured their -priming. This was agreed to, and when his advice had been taken and the -guns put for a moment <i>hors de combat</i>, he produced his pistols, and -having declared his name and robbed his terrified adversaries, galloped -away.</p> - -<p>It being discovered on another occasion that Faggus had taken refuge in -a house at Porlock, the whole of the inhabitants assembled; some seized -the rusty arms which had long hung neglected over their chimneys, or -been emptied only in inoffensive war against the timid wild-fowl; others -armed themselves with scythes, pitchforks, and other rustic weapons. -They surrounded the house in a formidable array, shouting aloud, “Faggus -is taken!” “Faggus is taken!” But they were mistaken. The door suddenly -opened, and he rushed forth mounted on his strawberry horse, dashing -through the crowd. Regardless of the blows and shots aimed at him from -all sides, he disappeared, leaving them astonished and confounded at his -daring and good fortune. He was at length captured in an ale-house at -Exebridge, in the following curious manner.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_220" id="page_220"></a>{220}</span></p> - -<p>One of the officers, equipped as an old beggar woman, entered the -tap-room where Faggus was. With his usual kindness he ordered the -supposed vagrant some food and liquor, and sat down near him. At a -preconcerted signal the disguised constable, rising quickly, pulled the -chair from under Faggus, and being thereupon joined by others who were -concealed in the room, instantly fastened a rope to Faggus’ feet and -hoisted him up to the bacon rack. The shrill whistle Faggus gave, as was -his custom when in difficulty, was given in vain, for the poor horse had -been shot in the stable at the very moment the attack was made upon his -master. All was now over with poor Faggus. He was tried and hanged at -Taunton at the ensuing assizes.</p> - -<p>Through his whole career not one act of cruelty was ever laid to his -charge, while numerous are the acts of kindness and charity to the sick -and the distressed that are recorded of him. Like the celebrated Robin -Hood, he seems to have taken from the rich to give to the poor, for it -required but little to supply his own immediate wants, living as he did -in the most frugal manner.</p> - -<p>On my last visit to Northmolton I was fortunate in making the -acquaintance of Mr Dobbs, who represents the oldest firm of auctioneers -in the district, his father and grandfather having wielded the fateful -hammer before him. From this informant I learnt that over forty years -ago, long before he set eyes on <i>Lorna Doone</i>, he gathered many -particulars regarding Tom Faggus from Harry Lake, the parson’s boy, who -possessed a history of that half or wholly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_221" id="page_221"></a>{221}</span> fabulous hero, which he was -in the habit of reading whilst seated on the vicarage steps, waiting for -his master and in charge of his Bucephalus. Harry afterwards emigrated -to America, taking his book with him, but Mr Dobbs is able to recollect -that Faggus had a relative living in Milk Street, Exeter—a poulterer. -One anecdote in the book, which is mentioned also in <i>Lorna Doone</i>, was -to the effect that once when Sir Robert Bampfylde, who had ruined Faggus -and occasioned him the loss of his house, was riding to Barnstaple, he -met the highwayman, who made him give up his purse. The next moment he -threw it back, saying, “There is a rule among robbers not to rob -robbers.”</p> - -<p>It is worth while to observe that if Faggus lived at the period to which -Blackmore assigns him, the head of the family would have been, not Sir -Robert, but Sir Coplestone, Bampfylde, one of Prince’s “Worthies.” As -for the tale of tyranny, it is somewhat improbable; but, if true, is the -more deplorable, in that the Bampfyldes themselves had endured pecks of -financial trouble—a fact candidly and explicitly set forth on the great -monument in the church, where mention is made of “diuturna litigia et -graves impensas,” which had nothing whatever to do with poor Faggus, but -were undertaken for the object of regaining possession of their estates.</p> - -<p>The two chiefs—Amias, to whom the monument was erected, and John, by -whom it was erected, “pietatis ergo”—were both endued with the bump of -philo-progenitiveness. The former was the father of twelve sons and five -daughters, and the latter of eight sons and seven<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_222" id="page_222"></a>{222}</span> daughters. The -sculptor has made a brave attempt to introduce as many figures as -possible into his imposing work of art, but there was evidently scope -for a sort of human ant-hill. From the way the numbers are paraded, the -Bampfyldes, like the Hebrews of old, manifestly regarded a large family -as a merit, or, at least, a blessing. “Happy is the man that hath his -quiver full of them.” Apart from the monument, the most striking feature -of the church is the gorgeous display of carved oak in the chancel. The -insertion of modern work in the old oak pulpit was a most wretched -inspiration, whoever may have been responsible for it.</p> - -<p>The Bampfylde family acquired the property by marriage with a coheiress -of the St Maurs; and in the course of centuries their honourable name -has undergone almost every possible variety of spelling. Bamfylde, -Bampfylde, Baumfield, Bampfeild, are some of the forms I have met with, -but I will not answer for it that the list is exhaustive. The first -baronet was Sir John Bampfylde, who received the title in 1641. The -sixth baronet, the Right Hon. Sir George Warwick Bampfylde, was raised -to the peerage in 1831 as Baron Poltimore, that being the name of -another estate belonging to the family near Exeter. The present Lord -Poltimore was born in 1837. He owns not only Court Hall, a fine old -mansion standing to the east of the church, and almost hidden by trees, -but Court House, an ancient ivy-covered structure, formerly the -residence of the Parkers, the Earl of Morley’s ancestors.</p> - -<p>There lived in the village in those days a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_223" id="page_223"></a>{223}</span> charitably-disposed old -lady, one Mrs Passmore, a dressmaker; and at Christmas-tide the dear old -soul had always ready basins full of coppers, threepenny-bits, sixpenny -bits, etc., to be distributed in the shape of doles. The Lady Morley of -the period is said to have taken it into her head that this amiable -custom detracted, in some measure, from the honour and reverence due to -herself; so she suggested to Mrs Passmore that, as no doubt their -charities overlapped, and some people had more than their share, while -others had nothing, it might be well to entrust her with the combined -funds, and allow her to act as almoner.</p> - -<p>“No, my lady,” was the reply, “I don’t think I will. You know they come -and say, ‘Thankee, Lady Morley!’ and ‘God bless ee, Lady Morley!’ but if -I give away my own money, I shall have all the God bless ee’s mysel’.”</p> - -<p>An apprentice of Mrs Passmore was the rather noted Mrs Treadwin, who -wrote a book on lace, and from whose shop on the north-east side of -Exeter Cathedral were supplied the wardrobes of generations of queens -and princesses, including the wedding-dress of Queen Victoria.</p> - -<p>The almshouses, the inmates of which live rent free and receive -fourpence a week, were originally Parker property; and on the panelling -round the chancel of the parish church may be detected the initials “T. -P.,” supposed to refer to one of the family—<i>not</i> to the well-known -editor and Parliamentarian.</p> - -<p>The Court Leet and Baron is held at the Poltimore Arms. In the -bar-parlour of this hotel is a curious object—namely, a fire-back of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_224" id="page_224"></a>{224}</span> -cast-iron, bearing the inscription, “<sup>16</sup> H S I <sup>89</sup>.” The purpose of -the utensil is to throw the fire forward and prevent it from burning the -bricks. The venue of the Court Leet, however, is not the bar-parlour, -but the large state-room on the right, where a feast, to which Lord -Poltimore contributes thirty shillings and a hare, is held once a year. -The <i>personnel</i> consists of sixteen jurymen, twelve of whom form the -king’s jury, and four that of the manor. The presiding officer is the -Portreeve (commonly known as the “Mayor”), and his subordinates include -a Bailiff, Ale Tasters, and Searchers of the Market. The Court Leet -possesses copper cups used as measures, but it may be mentioned, -parenthetically, that the Searchers have not been round lately, as they -found on a certain occasion that their own weights were not just. Mr -Dobbs’s father served for a long time as Bailiff, the only pay he -received being a dinner, while Mr Dobbs himself has been Portreeve, and -though now quit of the office, is chaffingly greeted as “Mr Mayor.” This -jest has been doing duty for at least half a century, but somehow the -humour does not grow stale, and nobody is so foolish as to object.</p> - -<p>The most colossal witticism attaching to Northmolton concerns a certain -Peter, which appellation is, or used to be, in great favour in the -village. The Peter in question was taken ill and died, whereupon a -district visitor, or somebody of the sort, called to condole with the -widow.</p> - -<p>“So you have lost your good man?”</p> - -<p>“Iss,” replied Betty, “Peter’s gone to Belzebub’s bosom.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_225" id="page_225"></a>{225}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_026" id="ill_026"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_303_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_303_sml.jpg" width="450" height="307" alt="Image unavailable: TOM FAGGUS’S FORGE, NORTHMOLTON (page 217)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">TOM FAGGUS’S FORGE, NORTHMOLTON (<a href="#page_217">page 217.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<p>“Pst!” said the visitor, “you don’t know what you’m talking about.”</p> - -<p>“P’raps I don’t,” answered Betty, placidly, “Peter and me never could -mind the names of great folks.”</p> - -<p>Five miles from Northmolton is the village of Charles, so long the home -of the Rev. Richard Blackmore, the uncle of the novelist. During his -incumbency a Northmolton man, fond of lifting his right arm, called on -business at the rectory, and was immediately taken in hand by the -rector’s wife.</p> - -<p>“Did you notice any wood-stacks as you came along?” she inquired.</p> - -<p>“Yes, ma’am—a good many.”</p> - -<p>“And did you see any pigs?”</p> - -<p>“Pigs, ma’am? Yes, I ran up against one.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, well; do you know why there are so many pigs at Charles?”</p> - -<p>“No, I don’t,” replied the man, puzzled.</p> - -<p>“Then I will tell you—because there is no public-house here,” concluded -the lady, triumphantly.</p> - -<p>Almost due north of Charles is the parish of High Bray, where is a -farmhouse called Ludcote, Liddicot, or Lidcote. The last is Sir Walter -Scott’s spelling of the name, which is, after all, a secondary matter. -What is of more importance is the imputed connection with the place of -Amy Robsart and her family. Chapter xii. of <i>Kenilworth</i> commences as -follows: “The ancient seat of Lidcote Hall was situated near the village -of the same name, and adjoined the wild and extensive forest of Exmoor, -plentifully stocked with game, in which some ancient rights belonging<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_226" id="page_226"></a>{226}</span> -to the Robsart family entitled Sir Hugh to pursue his favourite -amusement of the chase.” On the faith of this statement it has been -generally assumed that the unhappy Amy sprang from a good old Devonshire -stock. Reference to the standard authorities, however, has failed to -discover the slightest trace of such a family, and one or two -antiquaries of repute, whom I have consulted, confess themselves utterly -at a loss to explain the allusion. It is a suspicious circumstance that -in neither his introduction nor his notes does the author throw any -light on the Devonshire connections of his heroine, and for all these -reasons combined I am disposed to regard this portion of his narrative -as wholly imaginary.</p> - -<p>As the topic is literature, I may here allude to a contemporary writer, -whose portrait I purchased in a shop opposite the Poltimore Arms. At the -time I was quite ignorant of his precise claim to celebrity, and the -silk hat, frock coat and walking-stick were too conventional to suggest -genius, though the face, perhaps, was not strictly normal. However, -experience told me that no man would figure on a picture post-card -unless possessed of unusual gifts, and it turned out that Mr Richard -Slader was a poet and a solitary, whose recreations—to borrow a hint -from <i>Who’s Who?</i>—consist in keeping a hundred head of poultry and -selling nuts and blackberries at Southmolton Fair. About forty-five -years of age, and careless of appearances, he might be taken, as -somebody expressed it, for an “old tramp,” but he belongs to a -respectable family; indeed, the name occurs in the Blackmore pedigree. -Moreover, it is known<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_227" id="page_227"></a>{227}</span> that his father left him a good round sum of -money. Slader talks broad Devonshire, and “Rachard and his pigs” have -passed into a proverb. Swine have been a source of infinite worry to -him. Certain of the species owned by his sister at Pixyweek became -infected with anthrax, and were ordered by the police to be destroyed. -This annoyed Mr Slader, and he gave vent to his indignation in a poem. -On another occasion he was summoned for allowing his own pigs to stray -on the highway, convicted, and fined. Resentment at this petty tyranny -led to his penning an effusion, which was printed and circulated in -leaflet form.</p> - -<p>Like all poets, Mr Slader has his critics and detractors. In a -counter-leaflet put forth by some “snake in the grass,” he is reviled as -the “silly old man of Northmolton,” but the hiss of these ignoble -stanzas is as far beneath his polished verse as it is possible to -conceive. It is proper to add that Mr Slader indited pathetic and very -pious compositions on the deaths of his mother and sister, so that his -graceful muse is not always wedded to satire.</p> - -<p>“With various talents, variously we excel,” and as at Molland Cross we -are not very far from Molland parish, in which Tom Faggus had land -(<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter xlvi.), I am tempted to make a passing allusion -to another family represented in the Blackmore pedigree—the Quartlys of -Champson. When the Quartlys first sprang into fame as cattle-breeders, I -cannot precisely state, but as such they certainly enjoyed a high -reputation at the commencement of the last century, and they attained -perhaps the acme<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_228" id="page_228"></a>{228}</span> of distinction during the reign of George IV., when -their red kine were never shown at Smithfield without winning first -prizes. The best animal painters in England visited Champson to inspect -the stock, and among the rest came H. B. Chalon, animal painter to the -king, who drew a sketch of two cows, afterwards engraved by Raddon for -Mr White, of Pilton House, and dedicated to Mr T. W. Coke, M.P. for -Norfolk.<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a></p> - -<p>The Quartlys no longer reside at Champson, the death of the late Mr John -Quartly on the railway, a few years ago, having led to the severance of -a connection which had lasted for generations.<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p> - -<p>The parish of Molland is associated with that of Knowstone. For -centuries they have been consolidated as one benefice, and formed the -original of Blackmore’s “Nympton-in-the-Moors.” Here, I must improve on -this precedent by including a third parish, Lapford, which lies in a -southerly direction. The reason is as follows. A reader of the <i>Maid of -Sker</i>, who is also familiar with North Devon, must be struck with the, -no doubt, intentional looseness of the geographical references. From a -perusal of the romance, it would be natural to conclude that -“Nympton-in-the-Moors” is much nearer Barnstaple and the coast than is -actually the case,<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> and that no considerable town like<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_229" id="page_229"></a>{229}</span> Southmolton -is interposed between them. Southmolton is ignored also in favour of -Tiverton, for, although “Nympton” is in the rural deanery of the former -town, it is to the old church of St Peter, Tiverton, that Chowne is -appointed by his bishop to bring his young people to a “noble -confirmation” (<i>Maid of Sker</i>, chapter liii.). The name “Nympton” is -common in Devon, where there are four or five villages so called, and -distinguished from each other by some addition like “King’s,” -“Bishop’s,” “George,” etc. Besides these there is the form “Nymet” -(apparently contracted in the first syllable of “Nympton”), which is -found in Nymet-Roland, near Lapford, which, by virtue of the -watercourses, stands in more direct relation to Barnstaple than the -parishes before named. Still, I do not deny that on the whole, Blackmore -intended by “Nympton-in-the-Moors” Knowstone-cum-Molland, of which the -Rev. John Froude (“Parson Chowne”), who died in 1852, was incumbent for -forty-seven years. It is distinctly stated that “Parson Chowne happened -to have two churches” (<i>Maid of Sker</i>, chapter xxviii.), but it appears -to me that, for certain purposes, he blended with them the parish of -Lapford, of which his nephew, the notorious John Radford (“Parson -Rambone”), was rector.</p> - -<p>It was at Nymet-Roland that the “naked people,” who bulk so largely in -the <i>Maid of Sker</i>, lived in semi-nudity and utter savagery, in an old -cottage of clay, of which one wall had given way, so that in their only -room grass grew on the earth floor. They stole what<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_230" id="page_230"></a>{230}</span> clothes they -required, and continually got into trouble with the police, one of whom -was felled to the ground by a girl of the family. Contrary to -Blackmore’s account, they were finely built, muscular, and strong. The -patriarch of the race died at Whitstone, having spent his declining -years in a cider cask; and about 1860 the family was dispersed. These -people were called Cheriton, and as they lived on their own freehold, -could not be interfered with, until financial difficulties arose, which -compelled them to give up possession.</p> - -<p>Froude’s real “lambs” were not of this description, but ordinary village -folk. With these his word was law, and no matter how extravagant his -commands, they were obeyed to the letter. Though a man of unquestioned -ability, the parson hardly possessed the diabolical cunning of Chowne, -but it is to be feared that he had no small share of his cruel malice, -and he carried buffoonery to a pitch utterly inconsistent with his cloth -and calling. His moral character was such that his relations, some of -whom I know, regard him as outside the pale of apology; while old -labourers, who remember his white hat, though perhaps none too good -themselves, are shocked to recall such conduct in a “minister.” Froude -never issued instructions directly; he preferred oblique methods. Thus -he would be riding along where a group of men were at work, and begin to -mutter, “I’m certain sure Farmer Besley’s fuzz-brake will be burnt—I -know ’twill.” The nearest man would prick up his ears, and, having -accomplished the prophecy, would return to the spot,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_231" id="page_231"></a>{231}</span> where he would -find a sovereign on the gatepost. At another time, Froude would say to a -follower severely, “Look here, John, don’t you cut off that donkey’s -tail”—pointing to an animal on the other side of the hedge. The next -day the unfortunate animal would be found minus its appendage. Froude’s -“lambs” were staunch to him, and years afterwards one of them, called -Peagram, who lived at Southmolton, refused to divulge anything of their -relations.</p> - -<p>Parson Chowne was a marrying man—having, it will be recollected, three -wives in succession; Froude was twice married, his second wife being -Miss Halse, daughter of “Squire” Halse, a yeoman farmer of Pulworthy. -Tradition says that he officiated at the lady’s christening, and, at the -convivial party given in honour of the event, observed that, if the girl -baby lived to grow up, he would marry her. From another source I have -heard that, when he was courting her, he and her father would stay up -late, drinking, and Froude, by no means so abstinent as the terrible -Chowne, generally got into a condition which rendered it necessary for -him to be “personally conducted” to Knowstone by one of the men, who -would ride behind him, buoy him up in the saddle, and lift him from his -horse at the end of the journey, and make himself responsible for his -safety. Sad to say, Froude was neither civil nor grateful, and although -consciously incapable, heaped all kinds of profane and opprobrious -epithets on his companion. “You only do it for your guts’ sake. Go -back—go back, or I’ll yaw (thrash) tha.” Bragg did not dare to -dismount, knowing that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_232" id="page_232"></a>{232}</span> if he showed signs of fear Froude would be as -good as his word, and give him a good horse-whipping.</p> - -<p>Froude could be a perfect gentleman if he chose, and, when in his -capacity as master of hounds, he entertained sportsmen like Lord -Portsmouth to dinner, he acquitted himself with surprising ease and some -amount of refinement. But he was always relieved when such ordeals were -over and he had attended the last of his guests to the door. He would -then turn to a boon companion with the remark, “Thank Heaven, George; -I’ve been a gentleman long enough. Come into the kitchen, and have some -grog.”</p> - -<p>Radford was nothing like so prominent a character as Froude, but he was, -if possible, even more disreputable. He was tall and well built, and his -favourite recreation was fighting. As to time and place, he was not at -all particular, and was often seen in the boxing booths at Southmolton -Fair giving an exhibition of his powers. Radford seems to have had quite -a mania for pugilism. Once he invaded a gipsy encampment, and offered a -sovereign to any of them who could beat him. The best man was picked, -but proved of no use against the parson, who thereupon offered to fight -the next, and eventually went through about a dozen of them, each new -opponent being buoyed up with the hope that Radford was getting worn out -with his exertions. But the hope turned out delusive.</p> - -<p>In the same way, when the railway was being cut between Exeter and -Barnstaple, Radford appeared among the navvies, issuing challenges<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_233" id="page_233"></a>{233}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_027" id="ill_027"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_314_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_314_sml.jpg" width="450" height="314" alt="Image unavailable: CHANCEL, NORTHMOLTON CHURCH (page 222)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">CHANCEL, NORTHMOLTON CHURCH (<a href="#page_222">page 222.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">right and left, and, as they were accompanied with offers of money, his -gages of battle were eagerly taken up. The navvies, as a rule, fared no -better than the gipsies, but one man named Tolly, who was afterwards a -stationmaster on the line, was credited with the proud distinction of -having beaten the redoubtable rector.</p> - -<p>The Hon. Newton Fellowes, afterwards Lord Portsmouth, used to drive a -four-in-hand, and occasionally experienced trouble with lazy carters, -who did not make room for him as fast as he could wish, and whom he -punished with a slash of his whip. One day Radford got himself up as a -carter, and, lying down inside the cart, pretended to be asleep. On came -Newton Fellowes, who, finding the carter deaf to his commands, flew into -a perfect fury and began to flourish his whip. At the first touch up -jumped Radford, and administered to his lordship the worst drubbing he -ever had in his life.</p> - -<p>As I have said, however, Radford was by no means Froude’s equal, and as -the Parson Rambone of the romance, rightly holds a secondary place. -Radford, not Russell, was the original of the character, since Blackmore -himself told Mr Bryan, of Southmolton, that the former was his model. -Froude’s redeeming virtue was his success as a sportsman, and the -following article from the <i>Sporting Magazine</i> for 1821 shows in what -esteem he was held by the hunting community.</p> - -<h3><i>Close of Mr Froude’s Season in North Devon.</i></h3> - -<p>Experience teaches us that happiness is unattainable without -reciprocity. I do not mean<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_234" id="page_234"></a>{234}</span> that in all our actions we are to look out -for an equivalent; reason and Scripture equally denounce such -selfishness; but if in our amusements and recreations we are partially -dependent on others, some attention must inevitably be paid to the -feelings and predilections of our fellow-mortals. The galling yoke of -feudalism is long ago removed; and it is better to be loved than -dreaded. The rod of iron may chastise, but cannot win the affections, -nor repress resentment; which, if not cancelled by kindness will, sooner -or later, burst forth with the devastating fury of an avalanche. When a -perfect understanding is established between sportsmen and farmers, game -is seldom wanting, and every facility is afforded in following the -hounds. A more harmonious feeling of unanimity and respect I never -beheld, than at a hunting feast the other day at the house of Mr Froude, -the master of a crack pack of harriers in the North of Devon. I may say -<i>the</i> crack pack; in which Nimrod will, I think, agree, as he has -signalised some of the hounds in your magazine, particularly old Guilty. -We need not refer to Buffon for arguments to prove the sagacity of the -canine species, as old Guilty has given abundant proof of it. The -efficient number of the pack is about twenty-five couples; the hunting -days are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays: Guilty, though kept at a -farmhouse nearly three miles distant from the kennel, always attended of -her own accord on hunting mornings. If too late, one of the servants had -only to point to her the direction the hounds went, and she invariably -joined them without the aid of a compass.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_235" id="page_235"></a>{235}</span></p> - -<p>At the end of a hunting season it is a custom with many masters of -hounds to invite the yeomen and farmers over whose land they hunt, to -dinner, thereby verifying the old adage, <i>finis coronat opus</i>. The other -day I was present at one of those dinners or hunting feasts given by Mr -Froude, where there were from fifty to sixty persons enjoying the good -things of life, and where</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The story ran in such familiar strains,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With so much humour and so little pains.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">On such occasions particular customs are strictly observed. The host -resigns his domestic sovereignty into the hands of his guests, who -appoint a Tapster from their own body, a Sword to enforce fines, and a -Judge to settle disputes and to keep up ancient customs, who, in this -instance, executed his office with the impartiality of a Rhadamanthus, -particularly in seeing that his Sword performed his duty with justice in -the sconcing department. On a table were huge flagons of foaming old -October, with four magnums, or, as the classics say, <i>magna</i>, of -spirits, surrounded with drinking cups, horns, and glasses, marked with -hunting devices. Among other toasts, “the King” was drunk, while -standing, at <i>one draught</i>, in tolerably large tumblers: and those who -were not particular in doing so were fined, as his Judgeship said, for -cutting His Majesty in two—such being the established rule handed down -from their forefathers. At all events the toast was a loyal one, and I -wonder King Charles had it not inserted among his golden rules. -Youngsters on their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_236" id="page_236"></a>{236}</span> first introduction had to pledge the Judge in a -glass of neat spirits; and after this matriculating ceremony was over -they were considered as efficient members. One of the initiated gave us -a hunting song; and his memory having failed him in three or four -instances, the inexorable Judge fined him a wineglassful of brandy for -each omission; and ere he finished his melody, his head reclined on the -mahogany, and he softly reposed himself in the arms of Morpheus. I was -excused fines, not being a member of the club.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“It always has been thought discreet<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To know the company you meet;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And sure there may be secret danger<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In talking much before a stranger.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Agreed: what then? then drink your ale,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I’ll pledge you, and repeat my tale.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>His Lordship the Judge now stood up to propose <span class="smcap">the toast</span>—viz., “Success -to the merry harriers and their worthy master! Whoever does not preserve -game, and allow him to follow his hounds wherever he pleases, is a -craven, <i>et cetera, et cetera</i>!”—(what the <i>et ceteras</i> are I must beg -leave to be silent)—which was received with tumultuous applause. The -contents of the cups disappeared with such a magic rapidity that -Macbeth’s words, “Damn’d be he who first cries hold! enough!” would have -been an exceedingly appropriate motto. I did not see the finale; but I -saw quite enough to convince me that a little attention timely applied -has gained Mr Froude the goodwill of all his neighbours. Our English -yeomen are composed of too tough materials <i>to be driven</i>; they require -as much management as a restive horse; however, with a little tact they<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_237" id="page_237"></a>{237}</span> -can <i>be easily led</i>. A rough, generous, and hospitable yeoman is a -perfect epitome of <span class="smcap">John Bull</span>. Who can read Sir W. Scott’s description of -Dandy Dinmont without a feeling of admiration? The neighbouring poor -also partook of the entertainment; and the day is always looked upon as -a jubilee by the villagers.</p> - -<p>Mr Froude is generally allowed to be one of the first hare-hunters in -the West of England. One glance of his is sufficient to find out the -good and bad points of a dog. His first instructions he received at the -hands of the late Mr Karslake, and it may be justly said of him that he -was bred up at the feet of Gamaliel. The moment his leading-strings were -thrown aside, he set about organising a pack of harriers, to which he -has ever since devoted the greater part of his time. Hounds are kept by -many for the sake of effect and parade, by way of getting a name in the -Sporting World; but it cannot be said so in this instance. Sportsmen -being so few in the neighbourhood of Knowstone, the field mostly -consists of persons staying at the Vicarage, a few surrounding friends, -and an occasional wandering lover of the chase, attracted by the fame of -the Knowstone pack. The hounds, in size, shape, and colour, bear a -wonderful similarity to each other. I recollect once, on meeting the -Tivy-side Hunt on the Welsh Hills, my remarking that one of the hounds -bore a strong similarity to Mr Froude’s breed of hounds, which I found -on inquiry came from Devonshire—so strong is the family likeness -through the whole pack. When a man’s principal attention has for years -been devoted to the breed of hounds, it must ultimately<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_238" id="page_238"></a>{238}</span> arrive at the -maximum of perfection, particularly if the person, like Mr Froude, -understands his business well. The prominent points of his hounds -are:—height nineteen inches, considerable length of back, immense -strong loins, with firm and well-shaped haunches, productive of speed -and durability: they are particularly quick in all their movements: one -should have the flying arrow of Ababis to follow them; and their note is -sharp and cutting. A friend of mine used to say that “a deep-mouthed -Southern hound” sounded well in poetry, but it always reminded him of a -cathedral bell. The deep and solemn tone of Great Tom is very well at -Lincoln; but the sharp and cheering cry of harriers is much more -invigorating to the spirits on a raw and cold morning on the bleak hills -of Devonshire.</p> - -<p>Had Nimrod time during his Devonshire Tour to call on Mr Froude, he -would have had many amusing anecdotes. One of those whose minds are -chiefly devoted to the admiration of their pretty selves happened once -to join the Knowstone pack, and kept on in spite of hints, though -pointedly given, clearing banks and furze bushes to the manifest danger -of the dogs’ lives. A hare at last was started; off went the parson and -the dandy side by side until they came to the margin of a bog. His -reverence instantly tightened one of his bridle-reins, and continued to -spur his nag, which gave it the appearance of shying. The dandy went in -neck and crop; and thus the nuisance was got rid of by “his own act and -deed,” as the lawyers say. However, he was soon landed, and had every -attention paid him. This I had from the late poor Jack Harvey, who<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_239" id="page_239"></a>{239}</span> was -a tolerable master of the laconic style. The late Marsh, Fauntleroy & -Company used to be his bankers. I recollect when he wanted the needful -to go to Warwickshire, his addressing Mr Marsh thus: “Dear Agent, send -me some coin. I am yours, etc.” When his house in Devon was burnt, he -acquainted his guardian with the accident thus: “Dear Nunky, I have no -<i>domus</i>: ditto is burnt.” His brother, who was then studying at St -John’s, Cambridge, offered him his purse: for his kind offer he was -answered thus: “Dear George, I thank you for your Balm of Gilead letter; -send me fifty pounds.” Coulton himself could not have improved on this.</p> - -<p>Mr Froude has hunted the fox more frequently for the last two years than -he used to do, and has bred two couples of hounds out of a favourite -harrier bitch of his own by a clever foxhound from the celebrated blood -of George Templar, Esq.: these are reserved expressly to go with the -harriers, when drawing for a fox, to keep them steady to the varmint. -Here instinct is clearly shown on the drag; and when the pack is well -settled to the line of scent, the quickness and vivacity of the merry -harrier are quickly apparent. They have this season, I hear, had some -brilliant runs, an animated account of which has been given in our -provincial papers by a gentleman from the neighbourhood of Exeter, -attracted to visit the pack by common fame, like the Queen of Sheba, -when she paid a visit to Solomon.</p> - -<p>The hunting season is now over; the horn is replaced in its case; the -whip is suspended from the nail, denoting a suspension of field sports.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_240" id="page_240"></a>{240}</span> -The fox and the hare are allowed to revel unmolestedly over hill and -dale, secure from the thrilling “tally-ho” and “gone away” of the keen -and determined sportsman. A straggling hound may now and then steal -unperceived to remind them of their implacable foes. However, the period -will arrive</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“When bright Aurora shall unbar the morn,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And light discover Nature’s cheerful face;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The cracking whip and the loud-sounding horn<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Will call blithe huntsmen to the distant chase.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Eftsoons they issue forth a goodly band,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The sharp-tongued hounds with music rend the air,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The fiery coursers strike the rising sand;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Far through the thicket flies the frighted hare.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Froude the honour of the day supports,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">His presence glads the woods, his orders guide the chase.”<br /></span> -<span class="i15">—<span class="smcap">Leek.</span><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_241" id="page_241"></a>{241}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_028" id="ill_028"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_323_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_323_sml.jpg" width="307" height="450" alt="Image unavailable: ASHFORD CHURCH, NEAR BARNSTAPLE." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">ASHFORD CHURCH, NEAR BARNSTAPLE.</span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV<br /><br /> -<small>BARUM</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">To</span> Barnstaple, capital of North Devon, and capital also of the <i>Maid of -Sker</i>, or such portions of the story as relate to the county, proceed we -now. Already we have winged brief flights to the neighbourhood in -connection with Heanton Court and Ashford, one of Blackmore’s early -homes described so lovingly in the above-named romance. The scenes -appear very real, and would have been still more so but for the -construction of the railway, which shuts off from the view the house and -the old boat-stage (<i>Maid of Sker</i>, chapter xxxix.). The true name of -“Deadman’s Pill,” which was opposite Ashford, is Fremington Pill or -Penhill, a creek in which there was a sort of dock, where the larger -vessels anchored, and received or delivered cargoes.</p> - -<p>Barnstaple is a place on which it would be a pleasure to bestow many a -page of garnered lore, and the district around is no less delightful to -the lover of the past. This being the case, it may be well to premise -that my hope is, in a subsequent volume on the Kingsley country, to -amplify the account here given, and this must excuse seeming -deficiencies.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_242" id="page_242"></a>{242}</span></p> - -<p>The recollections of old inhabitants are always interesting, and it may -be laid down that, next to our own, no age attracts like that -immediately preceding it, out of which we are sprung, and in which -Blackmore flourished. Therefore I account it a fortunate accident that -made me for a short time an inmate in the house of Mr Parminter, one of -the makers of modern Barnstaple, who drew my attention to a remarkable -fact—that in the old days the town was provided with iron gates, which -were closed at night, to keep out tramps and travellers. Mr Parminter -remembers two—those in High Street and Cross Street. Boutport Street, -where Parson Rambone challenged all and sundry, must also have had its -gate.</p> - -<p>A great support of old Barnstaple was the shipping industry. Vessels of -one hundred to two hundred tons were built here and owned by Barnstaple -men, amongst whom was Mr Bament, father of Mrs Carruthers Gould, who was -also a tanner. The ships were employed in different services, and known -as London traders, Liverpool traders, Bristol traders, etc., according -to the port of arrival. Their cargoes were of all kinds—groceries, -draperies, and general merchandise. There was also a considerable -traffic in Scotch herrings. The quays, of which there were four—three -above Barnstaple Bridge—were at right angles to the river. At present, -ships are barred from coming up beyond a certain distance by the railway -bridge. Below this, however, is the Rolle Quay (so called after the -Rolle family, to whom it belongs), which is still accessible, and where -much business is done. When in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_243" id="page_243"></a>{243}</span> Barnstaple recently, I watched a sailing -ship from the opposite bank, and her action in entering curiously -resembled that of a mouse stealing into its hole. One of the services of -the Barnstaple vessels was as emigrant ships, and Mr Bament helped to -export hundreds of sturdy colonists to the Antipodes. In the <i>Maid of -Sker</i> (chapter xxx.), the “Tawton fleet” of brown-sailed lighters is -referred to; the river is navigable for barges and small craft to about -three miles above the town.</p> - -<p>Mr Parminter has many appetising reminiscences of parliamentary -elections, which in days of yore were in the hands of the freeman. This -position was esteemed a valuable privilege, since it carried with it -other rights, not merely that of voting. Mr Parminter, for instance, as -a freeman, was able, when building a chapel at Ilfracombe, to convey all -the material by sea without paying quay dues. As to politics, however. -Adjoining the North Walk is a mansion called the Castle, in the grounds -of which is a raised mound, on which in former times guns were mounted -for the defence of the river passage. This house was occupied for many -years by Mr Brembridge, M.P. for the borough (commonly known as “Dick -Brembridge”), who was pitted against Lord Ebrington, the present Lord -Fortescue, on one occasion, and, together with his colleague, unseated -for bribery. His lordship, however, was unable to occupy either of the -vacant places, as one of his own agents was convicted of corruption, to -the tune of £10. This was really a modest amount, seeing that in 1841 as -much as £80 was paid for a single vote.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_244" id="page_244"></a>{244}</span> There were other modes of -gaining or retaining support, and amongst these may be reckoned a -champagne breakfast at the King’s Arms, which Mr Parminter recollects -attending when quite a boy, with his father. A famous contest was that -in which Messrs Hudson and Gore, the former a wealthy brewer, succeeded -in ousting the Hon. John Fortescue, brother of the present Earl, and Sir -John Palmer Chichester (“Arlington Jack”), representing two of the -oldest local families.</p> - -<p>All the world has heard of Mr F. Carruthers Gould, the renowned -caricaturist, but all the world may not know that, although not a -resident in the town, Mr Gould is a thorough Barnstaple man, and his -wife, as we have seen, is a Barnstaple lady. The Goulds are an old -Barnstaple family. The grandfather of F. C. G. was a lime and slate -merchant, and his father, Mr Richard David Gould, a very clever -architect, in large practice, who designed the market and many private -residences, including the house in which Mr Parminter lives and I -lodged. Prior to this my excellent landlord occupied the Castle, an -hotel which he built for himself in the street of the same name, where -he had Mr R. D. Gould himself as a paying guest. In his youth Mr -Carruthers Gould was a clerk in the Old Bank, and, whilst in that -position, presumed to caricature old Trewin, the jailor—a terrible -personage, with a great capacity for holloaing. The sight of the picture -enraged him beyond measure, and it is said he was almost for murdering -the daring young artist.</p> - -<p>For many years Barnstaple has known no<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_245" id="page_245"></a>{245}</span> such benefactor as the late Mr -W. F. Rock, who, I believe, started in life as a linen-draper and lived -to found the North Devon Athenæum, which originated in a debating -society. He was the author of a dialogue in the North Devon dialect, and -took an interest in many other things besides literature. For instance, -he gave a most useful stimulus to the slumbering artistic taste of the -townspeople; and the wonderful development of Barum ware and cabinet -work may be attributed, directly or indirectly, to the seed sown by this -wise and patriotic townsman.</p> - -<p>From this gossip of recent days I turn to severer researches, suggested -in part by points that have already cropped up—for instance, the matter -of the castle. When Barnstaple Castle was first erected, whether by King -Athelstan or some other Saxon ruler, cannot be accurately stated. This -much is certain—that there was ample reason for such a fort in -Anglo-Saxon times, since the berserker Hubba appeared in the -neighbourhood, and at the mouth of the Taw is the so-called Hubba-stone, -supposed to mark his grave. Two other Norse chieftains, Crida and Putta, -are reputed to have given their names to Croyde and Putsborough. The -castle was rebuilt or considerably extended by Judhel de Totnes, a -favourite of William the Conqueror, to whom he, William, granted the -borough of Barnstaple, and who occasionally resided there. He also -repaired the town walls. Judhel was afterwards banished, and the barony -and castle, after passing through a number of different hands, came at -length to Sir John Chichester, who in 1566 conveyed the entire manor, -with the exception of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_246" id="page_246"></a>{246}</span> the castle, to the corporation, in whom it is -still vested. For some reason the fortress attracted the jealous -attention of the Government, and in the reign of Henry III., <small>A.D.</small> 1228, -a precept was directed to the Sheriff of Devon, commanding him to reduce -its walls to a height not exceeding ten feet. According to Fuller, it -was in the following century the principal residence of the worthy Lord -Audley, but in Leland’s time (1542) it was already a ruin.</p> - -<p>“The town of Berdenstaple,” he says, “hath been waulled, and the waulle -was in compace by estimation half a myle. It is now almost clene -faullen. The names of the four gates by east, west, north and south, yet -remain, and manifest tokens of them. There be manifest ruines of a great -castelle at the north-west side of the towne, a little beneath the towne -bridge, and a place of dungeon yet standeth.”</p> - -<p>The next notice of the castle is found in the Journal of Philip Wyott, -Town Clerk of Barnstaple from 1586 to 1608: “1601, nineteenth day of -December, at night, some of the castle walls was blown down and blown -into the Castle, and did no harm, saving some ravens were found dead, -and belike sat within the wall.” Elsewhere the Journal tells how two -hundred trained soldiers were reviewed in the Castle Green, and, how, in -October 1606, a great flood “threw down the whole house wherein James -Frost did dwell, whereby himself was slayne, and two children lying -within bed was slayne, with the falling of the walls, and all the walls -between that and the Castle fell.”</p> - -<p>The aforesaid mound, and some remains of two<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_247" id="page_247"></a>{247}</span> or three massive walls -incorporated with the Castle House, alone are left to mark the site of -the once proud river-fort. With regard to the mound, time was when it -was surmounted by a small keep or watch-tower, and it is supposed that -part of a wall on one side of it is a remnant of the ancient building. -This had plainly vanished in 1727, when trespassers on the mound were -put on their trial at Exeter.</p> - -<p>Next, as to shipping. Barnstaple was one of the subsidiary Cinque Ports, -and, as such, assisted in repelling the Spanish Armada. The local -contribution to the English fleet amounted to five ships out of a total -number of 197. Old Philip Wyott says briefly: “Five ships went over the -bar to join Sir Francis Drake at Plymo,” but Stow, in his <i>Annals</i>, -supplies the names of three of them—the <i>Tiger</i>, the <i>God Save Her</i>, -and the <i>Galleon Dudley</i>. On the dispersal of the dreaded Armada, -letters of marque were issued by the English Government, and piracy -having become both legal and respectable, Barumites engaged in it with -considerable energy and success, the reprisal ships bringing in freights -of gold, ivory, and wine. The <i>White Hart</i>, the <i>Blessing</i>, the -<i>Prudence</i>, the <i>John of Braunton</i>, and the <i>Mayflower</i> were the names -of some of these Barnstaple vessels, and in the case of the two last, -complete lists of the “governors” and crews in 1612, together with -inventories of the fittings, are yet extant.</p> - -<p>One of the sights of Barnstaple is Queen Anne’s Walk, with its -convenient colonnade, in which one may see old men, who have borne the -burden and heat of the day, resting placidly and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_248" id="page_248"></a>{248}</span> watching the stream of -traffic surge past them. Originally the building was intended as an -exchange or merchant’s walk, and did not acquire its present name till -1708, when it was restored by the Corporation, with the help of some -noblemen; and the statue of Queen Anne, in the costume of the period, -was presented by Mr Rolle, of Stevenstone.</p> - -<p>Not far away is Barnstaple Bridge, with its many arches, spanning the -river Taw—the scene of one of Tom Faggus’s exciting adventures. -Westcote has a quaint tale concerning the origin of this stately bridge, -which, he declares, was due to two maiden ladies, sisters, who were -spinsters in both senses. Not only did they spin themselves, but they -taught young children the art, and with the proceeds of their industry -brought about the completion of the first two piers. Nor was this all. -They obtained a license to go a-begging among good and charitable people -with a view to accumulating funds for the finishing of the structure.</p> - -<p>A terrible episode in the history of Barnstaple was the visitation of -the plague in 1646. This came direct from the Levant in a vessel laden -with wool, and after decimating Bideford, extended its ravages to the -larger town. There is a gruesome tradition on the subject, which is -worth recording, and may possibly have some foundation in fact. It is as -follows. Four brothers, sons of Thomas and Agnes Ley, were fishing on -the banks of the Taw, when the tide floated up a bundle. This they drew -to the shore, and discovered that it was simply bedding and rugs, which -had no doubt been the property of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_249" id="page_249"></a>{249}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_029" id="ill_029"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_334_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_334_sml.jpg" width="450" height="305" alt="Image unavailable: BARNSTAPLE BRIDGE." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">BARNSTAPLE BRIDGE.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">sailor, and had for some reason been thrown into the sea. The sequel -rendered it well-nigh certain that the poor man had died of the -pestilence, with which all four brothers became infected, and of which -they all died. As a precaution against the further spread of the -disease, the corpses were ferried across the river to the Tawstock bank, -and interred at high-water mark. Here a monument was erected to their -memory, and an enclosure formed by seven elms, which, through some -confusion, resulted in the spot being named the “Seven Brethren Bank.” -In 1791 a certain Elizabeth Horwood made a copy of the inscription on -the tombstone, which she described as standing in Higher Pill Marsh, on -the east side of the gut that emptied itself into the Taw, a little -above the higher Tawstock marsh and bank. The epitaph, apparently -genuine, is stated to have been:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot2"><p>“To the memory of our four sweet sons, John, Joseph, Thomas, and -Richard, who immaturely taken from us altogether, by Divine -Providence, are Hear inter’d, the 17 August, Anno 1646.</p></div> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Good and great God, to thee we do resigne<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Our four dear sons, for they were duly thine,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And, Lord, we were not worthy of the name<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To be the sonnes of faithful Abrahame,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Had we not learnt for thy just pleasure sake<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To yield our all as he his Isaack.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Reader, perhaps thou knewest this field, but ah!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">’Tis now become another Macpelah.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">What then? This honour it doth boast the more,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Never such seeds were sowne therein before,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">W<sup>ch</sup> shall revive and Christ his angells warne<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To beare with triumphe to the heavenly Barne.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>From tragedy to romance. Mr Charles<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_250" id="page_250"></a>{250}</span> Cutcliffe, of Weach, a solicitor -residing at Bideford, is the narrator; Madam Chichester, daughter of the -Rev. Charles Howard, and relict of Arthur Chichester, of Hall, the lady -implicated, and the Rev. George Bradford, the eloping parson. The -incident is succinctly related in the following letters—with a rider.</p> - -<p>“May 21, 1728.—There was a very great storm at Pill last Friday. I mean -within doors, for that morning ab<sup>t</sup> one, the parson of Tawton and -Mad<sup>m</sup> Chichester ridd away together without a serv<sup>t</sup>, in order to be -married; but where the jobb was done, I don’t yet hear with certainty. -The parson yesterday made a visit in his coach, and no doubt looks very -grand.</p> - -<p>“June 9, 1728.—I think I wrote you that the Viccar of Tawton had -married Mad<sup>m</sup> Chichester. I must now acquaint you that Coz<sup>n</sup> Moll -Chichester was married to Mr Waldron, her old sweetheart, the Monday -following, but not discovered till last week. I had the pleasure -yesterday of bringing father and daughter together at Pill, where all -things were perfectly reconciled, and am forthwith to prepare an -handsome settlement.”</p> - -<p>Tawstock Court, a long castellated building, and Tawstock Church, which -has been called the “Westminster Abbey of the West,” encompassed with -old woods, and so closely linked that they may almost be regarded as -one, are near neighbours of Bishop’s Tawton, the home of the romantic -vicar. Their unity of interest may be illustrated by an ancient custom -depicted in a print belonging to Sir Bourchier Wrey, and a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_251" id="page_251"></a>{251}</span> much valued -heirloom. In the churchyard are two ivy-covered pillars, the remains of -a gateway through which the family at the mansion walked on their way to -church, while behind them, in solemn procession, marched their servants -and retainers.</p> - -<p>A full account of the contents of this most sumptuous church is beside -my purpose, but attention may be drawn to some of its more important -features. In the north transept is a square wainscoted seat, which has a -canopy adorned with coloured bosses, and on the cornice are Bourchier -knots. The latter circumstance suggests that it was the state pew of the -Bourchiers, Earls of Bath, though the opinion has been hazarded that it -was a confessional box. The late Sir Gilbert Scott thought the best -piece of carving in the building the little gallery leading into the -belfry, the principal adornment being the vignette or running decoration -of leaves and tendrils. The bench-ends also, with their alto-rilievo of -rose, pomegranate, and royal arms, are excellent specimens of -wood-carving.</p> - -<p>The beautiful screen was erected by John Bourchier, second earl, whose -arms and quarterings, impaling those of his countess, the Lady Elinor, -are to be seen on the outside of the church over the priest’s door.</p> - -<p>The monuments are of almost unparalleled splendour. The “goodliest of -all,” as Risdon has it, is that erected to the memory of William -Bourchier, third earl, and his wife, Lady Elisabeth Russell, daughter of -Francis, Earl of Bedford, whose armorial bearings are fully<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_252" id="page_252"></a>{252}</span> blazoned. -The recumbent figures of the earl and countess are life-size, and the -colouring of their crimson robes, lined with ermine, is still perfect. -The fifth and last earl, Henry, was honoured with a large sarcophagus, -which is surmounted by “an elegant black urn,” supported by four -griffins. Beside it stands the marble statue of his wife, the Lady -Rachel Fane, daughter of Francis, Earl of Westmorland. The work of -Bernini, a famous Florentine sculptor it is mounted on a decorated -pedestal of circular form. A square canopy, built in memory of Lady -Fitzwarren and her babes in 1586, adorns the south wall, and under an -arch in the north wall of the chancel is the recumbent figure of a lady, -<i>temp.</i> Edward III., carved in wood.</p> - -<p>An ancient chest in a small room, to which access is gained by a flight -of old oak stairs, preserves the remains of a collection of armour of -the style worn by musketeers in the reign of Charles I., and till 1832 -“as good as new.” In that year a visitor requested permission to -purchase it, but was informed that he was just too late—it had been -sold to a Taunton man as old iron. And so nearly the whole of the -morions, gorgets, back and breast-plates, wheel-lock guns and -bandoliers, which were deposited in this chamber until comparatively -recently, have been irrecoverably lost.</p> - -<p>Another village within easy reach of Barnstaple is Landkey, the original -home of the great Devonshire family of Acland. If, however, I allude to -it here, it is on account of an extraordinary story, for which old -Westcote vouches,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_253" id="page_253"></a>{253}</span> and which may as well be given in his own quaint -language.</p> - -<p>“In this parish of Landkey are two towns (indeed both will make but a -pretty village were they joined), named Easter and Wester Newlands; a -thoroughfare much travelled, as being not passing two miles from -Barnstaple. These are somewhat dangerous to be passed by strangers; not -for thieves or such like, but to those whose tongues are ushers to their -wits, and walk before them, such I mean as bring the cause with them; -for if out of their blindness and boldness (for it is no other), though -they term it valour, they shall cry out these words (I am almost afraid -to whisper them), “Camp-le-tout, Newland,” held of the good women very -scandalous to their honesty, they are instantly all up like a nest of -wasps with the first alarum, the streets are corded, the party (or more, -if more be in the company) beaten down from his horse (if he ride) with -stones, or other dog-bolts always in readiness, so taken and used at the -pleasure of the good townswomen, washed, shaved, and perfumed (and other -like dainty trimming, not for modesty to be spoken) that he that travels -that way a fortnight after may smell what hath there been done; and he -that hath made the trial will confess, by experience, that it is folly -for a wise man to anger a multitude causelessly.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Believe what I set down for your behoof<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Or come that way and find it true by proof.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The great event in Barnstaple was, and perhaps is, its fair, for which -David Llewellyn<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_254" id="page_254"></a>{254}</span> arrived just in the nick of time, establishing his -headquarters at the “Jolly Sailors” in Bear Street. I cannot find that -any hostelry of that name ever existed in this thoroughfare, which, -however, boasted the “Ebberly Arms,” the “Rolle Arms,” and the -“Northmolton Inn.” The importance of Barnstaple Fair is beyond dispute, -and formerly was much greater. It is still the largest in the county, -both for business and pleasure. The opening ceremony is quaint; for a -company assemble in the Guildhall, where the Mayor provides a feast of -mulled ale, toast, and cheese. On such occasions the civic plate is -displayed, including two massive silver flagons, which are among the few -Elizabethan municipal drinking-vessels in the country; and another -interesting piece is the punch-bowl presented by Thomas Benson, who -forgot to supply the ladle, but afterwards repaired the omission, and -caused the latter to be inscribed “He who gave the bowl gave the ladle.” -Benson represented Barnstaple in Parliament, but having cheated the -Government by sending convicts to Lundy Island instead of abroad, was -compelled to fly the country. Numerous speeches are made by the Mayor -and others, after which a procession is formed and wends its way to the -High Cross, where the Fair is formally proclaimed.</p> - -<p>The duration of the Fair is three days, the first being devoted to the -buying and selling of cattle. In the middle of the last century £20,000, -it is said, was often expended in the purchase of live stock. The cattle -fair used to be held in Boutport Street—the scene of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_255" id="page_255"></a>{255}</span> Rambone’s -swagger. On the second day was the horse fair, and, in conjunction -therewith, a stag-hunt was held. The meet was on the borders of Exmoor. -The third day was given up to sight-seeing and all manner of -amusements.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_256" id="page_256"></a>{256}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI<br /><br /> -<small>THE SHORE OF DEATH</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">In</span> relation to the <i>Maid of Sker</i>, the most important places in the -immediate vicinity of Barnstaple are undoubtedly Heanton Court, -Braunton, and Saunton. Heanton Court, as we have seen, is only a memory. -In the early part of the seventeenth century it was described as a -“sweet, pleasant seat”; and the account proceeded, “the house is a -handsome pile, well-furnished with every variety of entertainment which -the earth, the sea, and the air can afford. A place, whether you respect -pleasure or profit, daintily situated on an arm of the sea.” A later -notice speaks of it as standing at the bottom of a park, very near the -river Taw, and acquaints us that it had a new front of two storeys, each -of which contained eleven windows, and was ornamented with battlements, -while at either end was a tower. Other particulars have been given in a -previous chapter (<a href="#page_211">see p. 211</a>), and need not be recapitulated here. The -reader, however, may be assured of the identity of Blackmore’s Narnton -Court with this historic mansion.</p> - -<p>Braunton is a village not easily forgotten. The scenery is magnificent, -and the great hills<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_257" id="page_257"></a>{257}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_030" id="ill_030"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_343_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_343_sml.jpg" width="450" height="328" alt="Image unavailable: TAWSTOCK CHURCH, NEAR BARNSTAPLE (page 250)." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">TAWSTOCK CHURCH, NEAR BARNSTAPLE (<a href="#page_250">page 250.</a>)</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">furnish admirable opportunity for climbing. On alighting at the railway -station, the stranger will encounter an array of coachmen anxious to -whisk him off without delay to Saunton Sands, but he will do well to -resist their importunities until, at least, he has inspected the -interior of Braunton Church. If he converses with the natives, somebody -will be sure to tell him that three successive attempts were made to -erect it on Chapel Hill, and that each time the building collapsed, the -assumed reason being that the spot chosen by man was not the site -approved and predestined by Heaven. He will learn also that in the panel -work of the roof of the church, carved on one of the bosses, is the -representation of a sow with a litter of pigs. This singular emblem is -associated with St Brannock, the Irish missionary; indeed, the very name -of the place is said to have been originally Brannock’s town, and it is -averred that he founded a church on the site of the present one. As for -the sow and her offspring, the legend is that St Brannock was commanded -in a dream to rear a Christian temple on the spot where he should light -on this vision of fecundity; and it is added that he fetched the timber -on a plough, to which he yoked the red deer of the adjacent forests, -“who mildly obeyed him,” while he milked the complaisant hinds. The old -writer concludes summarily: “But to proceed no farther and to forbear to -speak of his cow (which, being killed, chopped in pieces, and boiling in -his kettle, came out whole and sound at his call), his staff, his oak, -and his man Abel, which would seem wonders—yet all these you may see -lively<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_258" id="page_258"></a>{258}</span> represented unto you in a fair glass window as this present, if -you desire it.”</p> - -<p>Mr Z. E. A. Wade characterises this venerable tradition rather fiercely -as a “senseless story,” and proposes a symbolic interpretation which is -certainly ingenious, and in the main not unlikely to be correct.</p> - -<p>“Popular story says he tried in vain to build on a certain spot, but was -bidden in a dream to rear his proposed church where he should encounter -a litter of pigs. He was to rebuild the work of earlier saints, the -<i>pige</i> or <i>pigen</i>, female teachers, who had before his day fulfilled the -promise of the Psalmist, ‘The women that publish the tidings are a great -host.’ <i>Pige</i> is the Danish word for a maid; <i>piga</i> is the Anglo-Saxon -form, hence the diminutive of Margaret. So Peg-cross is not unknown....</p> - -<p>“The cow or ox of sacrifice—also on an ancient church of Youghal—which -finds place in his story, is suggested by the name of the place whence -he came, Cowbridge, and by the covering of the boat in which he and his -fellow-travellers came. His staff and oak explain themselves.... The -‘man Abel’ in the story carries sticks; ‘Isaac carrying wood represents -Christ bearing the Cross,’ said Bede in <small>A.D.</small> 677, a few years after -Brannock’s time. ‘Under wood, under rood.’ This saint’s man was ‘the man -Christ Jesus.’ The hart was one of the earliest types of the Christian, -to be met with over and over again in the Catacombs, and on -baptisteries, and the image of the 42nd Psalm is still used in sacred -song. It is said of monks in St David’s school ‘that they were required -to yoke themselves<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_259" id="page_259"></a>{259}</span> to the plough and turn up the soil without the aid -of oxen.’ The harts at Braunton, like those on the sketch from St -Andrew’s, were converts.”</p> - -<p>At Braunton dwelt the fair Polly, after her days of service, and before -she wedded old David (<i>Maid of Sker</i>, chapter lxiii.).</p> - -<p>Now as to Saunton Sands, which are perhaps three miles in length, and -viewed from the high ground at Braunton, form, with their grotesque -hummocks, a weird background to the smiling landscape. Although efforts -have been made to bind it by means of vegetation, sand continues to be -blown inland, and Westcote states that in his time the wind drove it to -large heaps near the house or court, by which he apparently intends -Saunton Court, now a farmhouse. Between Saunton and Braunton the ruins -of an ancient settlement have been seen amidst trees that have been -“thrown down and overwhelmed.” Westcote goes on to declare that a great -quantity of the sand was removed every day to serve as manure for the -fields, yet there was no diminution in the sum total, the wind -constantly supplying the deficiency. On these grounds the old historian -makes the name of the place “Sandton, <i>quasi</i> Sand-town.”</p> - -<p>To this Mr Wade demurs, his own derivation being “Sancton,” a holy -place. It seems that on Saunton Sands were chapels of St Sylvester, St -Michael, and St Helen, as well as numerous palmer’s crosses; and he -suggests that since the Celtic missionaries set foot in the country in -the sixth and seventh centuries, hundreds of acres have been submerged -by the sands. This idea is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_260" id="page_260"></a>{260}</span> more than probable, and will remind the -reader of the early chapters of the <i>Maid of Sker</i>, which contain -realistic descriptions of similar visitations on the coast of Wales. In -the same work Blackmore frequently alludes to the Saunton Sands, the -scene of the fictitious burial of the Bampfylde infants.</p> - -<p>More famous than Saunton Sands are Woolacombe Sands, chiefly owing to -their associations with the Tracys, some of which are purely mythical. -There is a sensational story of two brothers fighting a duel on -Woolacombe Sands for the hand of a waif who had been rescued from the -sea by their father; and a notion exists that they were possibly Henry -de Tracy, who died in 1272, and his brother and co-heir Oliver, who -followed him within a year or two after. Dark hints are thrown out that -one of the duellists was rector of Ilfracombe from 1263 to 1272.</p> - -<p>The most celebrated member of the family came earlier, and he owes his -celebrity to the fact that he was one of the four assassins of Thomas à -Becket. According to Risdon, who is decidedly wrong, William de Tracy, -after the commission of the deed, lived in retirement at Woolacombe; and -on the south side of Morthoe Church is an altar tomb, which Risdon and -Westcote agree in assigning to the murderer (or patriot). The Devonshire -tradition is in flat contradiction to the official version of the Church -of Rome, which imputes that William de Tracy died at Cosenza, in -Calabria, within four years of the sacrilege; but other accounts testify -that four years after Becket’s death Tracy was Justiciar of Normandy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_261" id="page_261"></a>{261}</span> -and that he survived his victim fifty-three years. These various stories -are clearly irreconcilable, but one thing appears certain, that the -altar tomb with the figure engraved on the grey marble and bearing the -half-erased inscription, <i>Sqre [Guillau] me de Tracy [gist ici Dieu de -son al] me eyt merci</i>, has absolutely nothing to do with any secular -person. The figure is that of a priest in his robes, holding a chalice -with both hands over his breast, and that priest was William de Tracy, -rector of Morthoe, who died in 1322.</p> - -<p>Blackmore does not say much of the Tracys, although he brackets them -with the Bassets and “St Albyns” as an old West-country family. (See -<i>Maid of Sker</i>, chapter lxvi.).</p> - -<p>It is singular to find a remote spot like Woolacombe identified with -political adventure, although it might have been, at one time, an apt -place “to talk treason in.” Odd to say, the Tracys of Woolacombe-Tracy -have not been the only men to bring the great world, as it were, to -these yellow sands. Already I have quoted the gossiping Cutcliffe; now I -will quote him once more. In a letter of October 8, 1728, he writes:</p> - -<p>“Last Sunday se’nnight, the Duke of Ripperda (who lately escaped out of -the Castle of Segovia) was putt on Woolacombe Sands, out of an Irish -barque; he had no one with him but the lady who procured his -deliverance, the corporal of the guard, and one servant. He was -handsomely treated at Mr Harris’s, and last Tuesday went on to Exon.”</p> - -<p>The Mr Harris by whom the stranger was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_262" id="page_262"></a>{262}</span> entertained was John Harris, of -Pickwell, in the parish of Georgeham, who was twice M.P. for Barnstaple, -and died in 1768, aged sixty-four. Who was the Duke of Ripperda?</p> - -<p>Protestant, Catholic, Mussulman, soldier, courtier, diplomatist, -Dutchman, Spaniard, Moor—all these parts were supported (not, of -course, at one and the same time) by the extraordinary character, who -appeared momentarily, in his meteoric career, on the north-west coast of -Devon. The whole of his chequered life cannot be recorded here. Suffice -it to say that he was born towards the end of the seventeenth century, -and came of a distinguished family in Holland. Having won his spurs as a -soldier, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Madrid, where he became -the trusted minister of Philip V., and was created a duke. Incurring the -hostility of the Spanish grandees, he was accused of treason and thrown -in 1726 into the Castle of Segovia, whence, at the date of the above -letter, he had just escaped. He next turned Mahomedan, and took service -with the Emperor of Morocco, who appointed him commander in his army. -His attacks on the Spaniards proving unsuccessful, he was imprisoned, -and solaced his captivity by elaborating a sort of <i>via media</i> between -the Jewish religion and Islamism. In 1734 he was ordered to quit the -country, and found an asylum in Tetuan. He died in 1737.</p> - -<p>The northern horn of Morte Bay is formed by Morte Point, with Morte -Stone in close proximity. As the spot is unquestionably dangerous, there -is no risk, I imagine, in accepting the ordinary and obvious -etymology—Mort,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_263" id="page_263"></a>{263}</span> Morte Point and Morte Stone are as tragedy and comedy. -Concerning the latter there is an ancient saw, “Would you remove Morte -Stone?” and for centuries it has been held that no one can accomplish -the feat save the man who can rule his spouse. Another tradition asserts -that the stone can be moved by a bevy of good wives exercising -sovereignty over their husbands. In this connection it may be noted that -the old fable of Chichevache and Bycorn (the former a sorry cow, whose -food is good women; and the latter fat and well-liking, owing to -abundance of good and enduring husbands) is represented on the corbels -of Ilfracombe Church amidst a menagerie of apes, mermaids, griffins, -gnomes, centaurs, cockatrices, and other extinct hybrids too numerous to -mention.</p> - -<p>Morthoe has a bad record for wrecking operations, which brought much -discredit on this coast, and of which it was one of the principal -centres. Prayers are said to have been offered that “a ship might come -ashore before morning.” To facilitate this blessed consummation, a -lantern was tied to some animal, and by this wandering light poor -mariners were lured through the treacherous mist to their doom. Even -women were to be found cruel enough to participate in this murderous -trade, and the tale is told that one of Eve’s daughters held a drowning -sailor under water with a pitchfork. Another, a farmer’s wife living at -a certain barton, secured as a prize some chinaware, which was arranged -on her dresser. One day a sailor’s widow happened to enter, and -recognising the ware as belonging to her late husband’s craft, seized a -stick and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_264" id="page_264"></a>{264}</span> smashed it to atoms. The farmer’s wife thereupon became a -prey to remorse, and not long afterwards gave herself up to justice. A -painful story regards the wreck of an Italian ship, when the only person -on board to reach the shore was a young and beautiful lady, who bore -with her a casket of precious family jewels, saved at the risk of her -life. Utterly unmoved by her tears and entreaties, the savage wreckers -carried her off to one of their vile haunts, and nothing was heard of -her again. Many years after the event, the jewels, it was said, were -still in the neighbourhood.</p> - -<p>The last recorded instance of this shameful practice on the north-west -coast of Devon occurred in 1846, at Welcomb, near Hartland, where a -vessel and her ill-fated crew were ruthlessly sacrificed to the cupidity -of heartless local wreckers. By the way, Blackmore’s account of a wreck -in the <i>Maid of Sker</i> is perhaps founded on the circumstance that at the -commencement of the great war two transports from the French West India -islands, laden with black prisoners, were driven ashore at Rapparee -Cove, many lives being lost, whilst, afterwards, gold and pearls were -washed about among the shingle.</p> - -<p>Rapparee Cove is at Ilfracombe, which Blackmore describes as “a little -place lying in a hole, and with great rocks all around it, fair enough -to look at it, but more easy to fall down than to get up them” (<i>Maid of -Sker</i>, chapter lxv.).</p> - -<p>Historically, Ilfracombe has not much of interest save the escapades of -the saint-like Cavalier, Sir Francis Doddington, who in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_265" id="page_265"></a>{265}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_031" id="ill_031"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_354_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_354_sml.jpg" width="450" height="309" alt="Image unavailable: TOWARDS MORTE POINT." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">TOWARDS MORTE POINT.</span> -</div> - -<p>September 1644 set the place on fire, but was beaten out by the townsmen -and sailors, with the loss of many of his followers. Ten days later he -returned, and, falling on the town with his horse, succeeded in -capturing it. “Twenty pieces of ordnance, as many barrels of powder, and -near 200 arms,” were amongst his spoils. Ilfracombe was retaken for the -Parliament in April 1646.</p> - -<p>Sir Francis was no lukewarm partisan, for meeting one Master James, -described as “an honest minister,” near Taunton, he demanded whom he was -for? “For God and His Gospel,” was the other’s reply, whereupon the -enraged knight immediately shot him.</p> - -<p>It was to Ilfracombe that Colonel Wade, Captains Hewling and Carey, and -others fled after the battle of Sedgemoor, and here they left Ferguson, -their chaplain, and Thompson, captain of the Blue Regiment, whilst they -themselves, having seized and victualled a vessel, put out to sea. Being -pursued by two frigates, they had to land at Lynmouth, as already -narrated (<a href="#page_154">see p. 154</a>).</p> - -<p>The great charm of the neighbourhood is its bold scenery and romantic -walks, one of which will conduct the wayfarer to Hele, with its old -earthwork, and thence to Chambercombe, concerning which Mr Tugwell has -preserved a most delightful legend, worthy to be reproduced at length:—</p> - -<p>Chambercombe is now a retired farmhouse in a beautifully wooded valley, -through which saunters the little streamlet which shortly afterwards -empties itself into the sea at Hele<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_266" id="page_266"></a>{266}</span> Strand. The inhabitants still show -the Haunted Room to the curious in such matters—a long, low chamber in -the roof of the house, from which the flooring has been removed, and -which is now used only for the purpose of storing away useless lumber. -There are many versions of the legend which belongs to this house; the -one which I shall give seems to have the merit of a quaint originality, -and is sufficiently mysterious in its unexplained connection with former -days.</p> - -<p>Many years ago, the burly, ruddy-cheeked, well-to-do yeoman who owned -this farm was sitting under the shade of a tree in his garden, enjoying -in the cool of the summer’s evening his much-loved pipe of meditation -and contentment. After a time he exhausted his usual subjects of -reverie, the state of his crops, the rise or fall of wages, the -prospects of the next Barnstaple Fair. What should he do? He could not -“whistle for want of thought,” because of his pipe—he couldn’t even -indulge in the excitement of a matrimonial “difference of opinion,” -because his wife was gone into ‘Combe to sell her last batch of -chickens. Whatever should he do?</p> - -<p>The evening was very still and warm, not even a breath of wind stirring -in the copse on the hillside, where the last kiss of the sunset lingered -lovingly. He was just dropping off into a doze, and had nodded once or -twice with much energy, to the imminent danger of his “yard o’ clay,” -when it suddenly occurred to him that he had forgotten to see about some -necessary repairs in the roof of his house, and that his spouse had a -better memory for such things than himself, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_267" id="page_267"></a>{267}</span> would not fail to -remind him of the same on her return.</p> - -<p>So he roused himself, and facing his chair in the direction of the -house, began to arrange in his mind the when and where of his intended -operations. The hole in the roof was over his wife’s store-room, which -accounted for her anxiety in the matter, and as he did not expect to be -allowed to interfere with that sanctum, he settled that he would get at -the roof from the next window, which opened into a passage, and had a -low parapet in front of it. Then he rubbed his eyes. Certainly the -passage was next to the store-room, and the passage window was the only -window with a parapet to it, and therefore the next window to the -parapet must be the store-room window, and consequently must have the -hole in the roof over it—ably argued and very conclusive. But, to his -great perplexity, the fact stared him in the face that the aforesaid -hole was over the window which was <i>next but one</i> to the parapet. Then -he counted the rooms of the house—“Our Sal’s bedroom—passage—wife’s -store-room—own bedroom—one—two—three—four.” Next he counted the -windows—“one—two—three—four—<i>five</i>.”</p> - -<p>There was one too many. He repeated the process with the same result.</p> - -<p>Between the passage and the store-room, which were next to each other, -there was decidedly a window—the window too many.</p> - -<p>If a window, then a room—unanswerable logic!</p> - -<p>Now thoroughly aroused, he dashed his pipe to the ground with a vast -exclamation, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_268" id="page_268"></a>{268}</span> rushed into the house at the top of his speed. It was -the work of a moment to call together half a dozen able-bodied -serving-men, to arm them and himself with divers spades and mattocks, -and to scale the creaking stairs which led to the parapet window. There -was no trace of a door, nothing but a flat, white-washed wall. He -sounded it with a hasty blow, and a dull, hollow sound rang through the -house.</p> - -<p>“Odswinderakins!” roared the farmer. “Down wi’ un, boys! Virst o’ ye -thro’ un shall ha’ Dame’s apern vull of zilver gerts.<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> Gi’ it un, -lads!”</p> - -<p>Clash went the mattocks into the cob-wall; cling, clang rang the spades -on the oak floor. A cloud of dust rolled through the staircase as the -farmer’s pick-axe went up to the head in the first breach, and the -farmer’s wife rushed up the stairs. Half-choked, and wholly stunned by -the din, she could get little information beyond a general statement -that the Goodger<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> was in the house, which seemed self-evident. -Another five minutes’ work, and the farmer dashed through the gap, which -barely admitted his burly person, followed by his wife, whose curiosity -mastered her rage and fright.</p> - -<p>And what did they see?</p> - -<p>A long, low room, hung with moth-eaten, mouldering tapestry, whose every -thread exhaled a moist rank odour of forgotten years; black festoons of -ancient cobwebs in the rattling casement and round the carved work of -the open cornice; carved oak chairs, and wardrobe, and round table; -black, too, and rickety, and dust-covered,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_269" id="page_269"></a>{269}</span> and worm-eaten; the white -ashes of a wood fire on a cracked hearth-stone; and a bed. The -embroidered hangings were drawn closely round the oaken posts, and -rustled shiveringly in the gust of fresh air which wandered round the -room.</p> - -<p>“Draw un, Jan, if thee beest a mon,” whispered the dame under her -breath, looking round anxiously in the direction of the gap at which she -had entered.</p> - -<p>John screwed up all his courage, and with a desperate hand tore down the -hangings on the side which was nearest the window.</p> - -<p>In that dim half-light, for the night was closing in rapidly and the -shadows falling heavily, they saw a white and grinning skull gazing -grimly at them from the hollowed pillow, and one white and polished -arm-bone lying idly on the crimson quilt, and clutching the silken -fringe with its crooked fingers.</p> - -<p>The dame swooned with a great cry, and her husband, stunned and -sickened, dashed to the casement, and, swinging it back on its creaking -hinges, leant out, for the sake of a breath of pure air.</p> - -<p>Horror of horrors! The garden was alive with ghastly forms; ill-shapen, -unearthly, demon-like heads rose and fell with threatening gestures, and -mopped and mowed at him from among the flowers of that quiet plesaunce.</p> - -<p>Hastily raising his wife in his strong arms, he made his way as best he -could through the welcome breach, nor did he rest that night till he had -walled up and secured, for a future generation, the terrors of the -Haunted Room.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_270" id="page_270"></a>{270}</span></p> - -<p>“I should love thee, Jewel, wert thou not a Zwinglian. In thy faith thou -art a heretic, but in thy life thou art an angel”—in such terms did Dr -John Harding address his former school-fellow at Barnstaple, but at that -time his great antagonist—Bishop Jewel, whom Westcote describes, with -punning enthusiasm, as “a perfect rich gem and true jewel indeed.” This -ornament of the English Church was born at Bowden, in the parish of -Berry Narbor, which has the reputation of being about the healthiest in -the country—a place where only old people die. The seventeenth-century -writer, evidently a lover of puns, quotes the following epitaph on one, -Nicholas Harper, who lies buried in the church:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Harper, the musique of thy life,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">So sweet, so free from jarr or strife,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To crowne thy skill hath raysed thee higher<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And placed thee in angels’ quier,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For though that death hath throwen thee down,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In heaven thou hast thy harpe and crowne.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>In Swymbridge Church, where Parson “Jack” Russell ministered so long, is -a “shoppy” inscription on a monument erected to the memory of “John -Rosier, Gent., one of the Attorneys of the Court of Common Pleas and an -Auncient of the Hon<sup>ble</sup> Society of Lyons Inne, who died the 25th day -of December, 1685, Ætatis suae, 57.” It is as follows:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Loe with a warrant sealed by God’s decree<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Death his grim sergieant hath arrested mee,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">No bayle was to be given, no law could save<br /></span> -<span class="i1">My body from the prison of the grave.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_271" id="page_271"></a>{271}</span><br /></span> -<span class="i1">Yet by the Gospell my poor soule had got<br /></span> -<span class="i1">A supersedeas, and death seaz’d it not;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And for my downe cast body, here it lyes;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">A prisoner of hope, it shall arise.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Faith doth assure mee God of his great love<br /></span> -<span class="i1">In Christ will send a writ for my remove,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And set my body, as my soul is, free<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With Christ in Heaven—Come, glorious Libertie!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Our next and last point is Combmartin, Westcote’s village—a long, -straggling place, which Miss Marie Corelli annexed for her <i>Mighty -Atom</i>, and another lady, whom I met at Challacombe some years ago, -designated with pious horror as “dark”—no doubt in allusion to the bits -of folklore, which—happily, as I think—yet linger in these rural -districts. It would be easy to cite many illustrations of West-country -“superstition,” such as the fruitful influences of the moon, which will -send a man to dig in his garden when it is covered with snow; but, -having devoted a considerable section of my <i>Book of Exmoor</i> to this -fascinating topic, I will here confine myself to the principal interest -of Combmartin—namely, its silver mines. In the reign of Elizabeth, -however, it was a great place for hemp, and a project was formed for -establishing a port at Hartland entirely on account of this trade. As it -was, the shoemakers’ thread manufactured in the neighbourhood was -sufficient to supply the whole of the western counties.</p> - -<p>As to the mines, Westcote states:—</p> - -<p>“This town hath been rich and famous for her silver mines, of the first -finding of which there are no certain records remaining. In the time of -Edward I. they were wrought, but in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_272" id="page_272"></a>{272}</span> tumultuous reign of his son -they might chance to be forgotten until his nephew (?) Edward III., who -in his French conquest made good use of them, and so did Henry V., of -which there are divers monuments, their names to this time remaining; as -the King’s mine, storehouse, blowing-house, and refining-house.”</p> - -<p>The industry was resumed in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, but seems to have -been checked by the influx of water. However, a great quantity of silver -is said to have been raised and refined, mainly through the enterprise -of Adrian Gilbert and Sir Beavois Bulmer, who bargained for half the -profit. Each partner realised £10,000. The owner of the land, Richard -Roberts, who happens to have been Westcote’s father-in-law, presented -William Bourchier, Earl of Bath, with a “rich and rare” cup, bearing the -quaint inscription:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“In Martin’s Comb long lay I hiyd,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Obscur’d, deprest w<sup>th</sup> grossest soyle,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Debased much w<sup>th</sup> mixed lead,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Till Bulmer came, whoes skill and toyle<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Refined me so pure and cleen,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">As rycher no wher els is seene.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“And adding yet a farder grace,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">By fashion he did inable<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Me worthy for to take a place<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To serve at any Prince’s table,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Comb Martyn gave the Oare alone,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Bulmer fyning and fashion.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Another cup was given to Sir Richard Martin, Lord Mayor of London, who -was also master and manager of the Mint, the design being that it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_273" id="page_273"></a>{273}</span></p> - -<p><a name="ill_032" id="ill_032"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_363_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_363_sml.jpg" width="308" height="450" alt="Image unavailable: COMBMARTIN CHURCH." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">COMBMARTIN CHURCH.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">should remain in the permanent possession of the Corporation. It weighed -137 oz., and like its fellow, was engraved with naïve, and, I fear, -doggerel verses.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“When water workes in broaken wharfe<br /></span> -<span class="i2">At first erected were,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And Beavis Bulmer with his art<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The waters, ’gan to reare,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Disperced I in earth dyd lye<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Since all beginnings old,<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“In place cal’d Comb wher Martin long<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Had hydd me in his molde.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I did no service on the earth,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Nor no man set me free,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Till Bulmer by skill and charge<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Did frame me this to be.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The Latin appendices to the “poems” show the date of the presentations -to have been the year 1593; and Blackmore seems to refer to them when he -speaks of the “inaccurate tales concerning” the silver cup at -Combmartin, sent to Queen Elizabeth (<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter lviii.). -Ultimately the flooding, with which there was no means of effectually -coping, put a stop to the operations; but it is possible that they were -not entirely suspended, as a few years ago I saw a report in a local -journal that a Combmartin half-crown of 1645 was sold in an auction room -in London for the sum of £5. 12s. 6d.</p> - -<p>In 1659 the working of the mines was brought before Parliament by a -distinguished mineralogist named Bushell, but nothing was done, and, -when, forty years later, an attempt was made to exploit<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_274" id="page_274"></a>{274}</span> them, it -resulted in failure. Between 1796 and 1802 the experiment was renewed, -and 9293 tons of ore were shipped to Wales. The mines were then closed, -and so remained till 1813, when 208 tons were sent to Bristol. The cost, -however, exceeded the profit, and in 1817 the mining was again -abandoned.</p> - -<p>Yet another effort was made in 1833, this time by a joint-stock company -with a capital of £30,000, nearly half of which was expended in plant, -the sinking of shafts, etc. However, a rich vein having been discovered, -work was carried on feverishly night and day, and a large profit -realised, three dividends being made to the shareholders. As the result, -shares were run up to a high premium by speculators, who, in mining -phraseology, “worked the eye out.” In 1845 a smelting company was -formed, but neither this nor the mining company, whose expenses averaged -£500 a month, was destined to last. In 1848 the engines were taken down, -and apart from a spasmodic and, ’tis said, unprincipled attempt at -company promoting in 1850, nothing has since been done.</p> - -<p>The levels were driven under the village; and beneath the King’s Arms -(or Pack of Cards, as the old manor-house of the Leys is usually -designated) runs a subterranean passage, constructed for drainage -purposes. The ore is exceedingly rich in silver and lead, and the -opinion has been expressed that the mines, worked fairly, would have -yielded a tolerable return.</p> - -<p>There is an old saying, “Out of the world, and into Combmartin.” On this -odd text Miss<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_275" id="page_275"></a>{275}</span> Annie Irwin has based the following pretty verses:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Out of the world’ they call thee. True,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Thy rounded bay of loveliest blue,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Thy soft hills veiled in silvery grey,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Where glancing lights and shadows stray;<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Thy orchards gemmed with milk-white bloom,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Thy whispering woodlands, grateful gloom,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Thy tower, whose fair proportions rise,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">’Mid the green trees, to summer skies—<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Viewed thus afar, by one just fled<br /></span> -<span class="i1">From the vast city’s restless tread,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">He well might deem, when gazing here,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">His footsteps pressed some lovelier sphere.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Both Combmartin and Martinhoe—Martin’s vale and Martin’s hill—received -their name from one of William the Conqueror’s ablest lieutenants, -Martin of Tours.</p> - -<p>The horrible murder which gave rise to the traditional couplet,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“If anyone asketh who killed thee,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Say ’twas the Doones of Bagworthy,”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">is located by Blackmore in the parish of Martinhoe, and he subjoins the -following note: “The story is strictly true; and true it is that the -country-people rose, to a man, at this dastard cruelty, and did what the -Government failed to do.” The term “strictly” seems to imply that -Blackmore had been informed by some authority that Martinhoe was the -place of the tragedy, and that murder was aggravated by abduction. On -both these points the account in <i>Lorna Doone</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_276" id="page_276"></a>{276}</span> is at variance with Mr -Cooper’s version (quoted on p. 144), which mentions Exford as the scene -of the butchery, and altogether omits the other incident. Of course, -there may have been different versions floating about.</p> - -<p>Past Lee Bay and Wooda Bay, both sweetly sylvan, the pilgrim fares to -the Valley of Rocks and Lynton.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_277" id="page_277"></a>{277}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="ENVOY" id="ENVOY"></a>ENVOY</h2> - -<p>The most expeditious mode of returning from the precipices and cascades -of Lynton is by means of the light railway to Barnstaple. The -conscientious pilgrim, however, will not quit the neighbourhood without -visiting Parracombe, which ought to be, in a peculiar sense, his Mecca. -In the prologue, reasons have been advanced, which need not be repeated, -why this is the case, and although our course has been a devious one, it -will now be recognised that there was method in the madness. The spot -which must have been to Blackmore the most sacred of all—except, -perhaps, Teddington Churchyard, where his wife slept her last sleep—was -surely Parracombe—the home of his race; and here I propose to take -leave of the reader. The local traffic being small, trains do not stop -at Parracombe all the year round, but at any time this courtesy will be -extended to passengers desiring it.</p> - -<p>The manor of Parracombe was formerly in the hands of the St Albans (or -Albyns) family, joined by Blackmore (<i>Maid of Sker</i>, chapter lxvi.) with -the Tracys and Bassets, as among the most distinguished in North Devon. -About a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_278" id="page_278"></a>{278}</span> century and a half ago their lands were sold, principally to -yeomen who farmed the soil; and, as we have seen, the Blackmores -belonged to this category. A representative of the clan still owns Court -Place and Church Town farms; and Mr H. R. Blackmore, proprietor of the -“Fox and Goose,” can claim to be second cousin of the novelist.</p> - -<p>Situated on the south-west of the river Heddon is Halwell Farm, the -property of Sir Thomas Acland, where is a circular British encampment, -standing, as such encampments usually do, on a height. The trenches are -about fifteen feet deep. There are two or three similar remains within a -short radius, but they are less conspicuous and important. It is said -that cannon balls have been dug up at Halwell Castle.</p> - -<p>Mr Page does not speak too flatteringly of the scenery, but Parracombe -Common, with its scent-laden breezes, is by no means destitute of charm, -for the purple eminence of Chapman Barrows, the highest point in North -Devon, and the lovely valley of Trentishoe below, compose a landscape -fair enough for the most exacting eye. Beyond is Heddon’s Mouth, where -Old Davy landed on a memorable occasion (<i>Maid of Sker</i>, chapter liii.), -and on the road is that well-known and most quaint and attractive -hostel, the Hunter’s Inn.</p> - -<p>This, however, is to wander away from Parracombe, which is itself a -quaint old village, while Parracombe Mill, Heal, and Rowley are -picturesque hamlets. The old twelfth-century church has been abandoned, -since 1878, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_279" id="page_279"></a>{279}</span> ordinary uses, but it still stands—about half a mile -from the village—and the tower has been recently in part restored. And -now, with a final reminder of East Bodley and Barton and Kinwelton (in -Martinhoe parish), our pilgrimage has reached its goal. In a few moments -we shall be tumbling downhill along the surprising curves of the Lynton -railway, to re-enter the world of commonplace.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_280" id="page_280"></a>{280}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="NOTES" id="NOTES"></a>NOTES</h2> - -<div class="blockquot2"> -<p>I. Mr Arthur Smyth believes that the founder of the Quartly herd was Mr -Henry Quartly, who married Betty Blackmore. His mother often visited her -uncle Quartly, and he tells us that he had heard her speak of the care -and attention they received, and how fat they were. They were brought to -perfection by his son, Mr James Quartly, of West Molland House, who was -one of the judges at Smithfield. Mr John Quartly of Champson never -exhibited. Mr James Quartly had no children, and on his retirement the -herd was dispersed.</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot2"> - -<p>II. Son of the before-named John Quartly, and grandson of Henry Quartly, -he had never exhibited, but kept up the reputation of the family as -breeders.</p> - -<p>A sister of John and James Quartly married her cousin, the Rev. Richard -Blackmore, of Charles, and another sister married Captain William -Dovell, to whom at one time the novelist’s brother, Mr Turberville, -bequeathed his property. Captain Dovell’s mother was a Blackmore. To -what branch of the family she belonged is uncertain, but it was through -her that Court Barton came to the Dovells.</p> - -<p>Mr Smyth tells an extraordinary story of this gentleman.</p> - -<p>“Captain Dovell,” he says, “was born at Killiton. He hated farming, and -at last his family gave him his desire and he went to sea. He related a -story of his wreck off the coast of Ireland, and how the natives fought -for the wreckage. At last, as captain of an East Indiaman (his own), he -took his wife and son, a boy of eight years, with him to sea. The vessel -was wrecked. He never saw the boy, but he caught his wife and swam for -hours; she died in his arms from exposure. He got ashore at last, and -had to read the burial service over his wife. He was never the same -after that. When I knew him in the early sixties, he was a powerfully -built man of the kindliest disposition. I was an invalid then, and he -would sit with me for hours relating stories of his boyish scrapes or -playing for hours. He married again, and settled at Barnstaple, where he -died about twenty years ago. His wife survived him only about one week; -both are buried in the family vault at Parracombe churchyard.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_281" id="page_281"></a>{281}</span></p> -</div> - -<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h2> - -<p class="c"><a href="#A">A</a>, -<a href="#B">B</a>, -<a href="#C">C</a>, -<a href="#D">D</a>, -<a href="#E">E</a>, -<a href="#F">F</a>, -<a href="#G">G</a>, -<a href="#H">H</a>, -<a href="#I-i">I</a>, -<a href="#J">J</a>, -<a href="#K">K</a>, -<a href="#L">L</a>, -<a href="#M">M</a>, -<a href="#N">N</a>, -<a href="#O">O</a>, -<a href="#P">P</a>, -<a href="#Q">Q</a>, -<a href="#R">R</a>, -<a href="#S">S</a>, -<a href="#T">T</a>, -<a href="#U">U</a>, -<a href="#V-i">V</a>, -<a href="#W">W</a>, -<a href="#Y">Y</a></p> - -<p class="nind"> -<a name="A" id="A"></a>Acland, family of, <a href="#page_166">166</a>, <a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_252">252</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lady Harriet, <a href="#page_100">100-2</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Major John Dyke, <a href="#page_099">99-102</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Thomas (9th baronet), <a href="#page_099">99</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the “Old” Sir Thomas, <a href="#page_181">181-2</a></span><br /> - -Albans (or Albyns), family of, <a href="#page_277">277</a><br /> - -Alva, the Duke of, <a href="#page_168">168</a><br /> - -Anderson, Prebendary, <a href="#page_111">111</a><br /> - -“Arlington Jack,” <a href="#page_244">244</a><br /> - -Ashford, <a href="#page_241">241</a><br /> - -Ayshford, Dr, <a href="#page_029">29</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="B" id="B"></a>Babb, John, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_156">156</a><br /> - -Badcock, Mr, <a href="#page_213">213</a><br /> - -Bagworthy, <a href="#page_141">141</a>, <a href="#page_157">157-8</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Water, <a href="#page_163">163</a></span><br /> - -Baker, usurper, <a href="#page_030">30</a><br /> - -Bament, Mr, <a href="#page_242">242</a>, <a href="#page_243">243</a><br /> - -Bampfylde, Amias, <a href="#page_221">221</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">family of, <a href="#page_221">221-2</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">John, <a href="#page_221">221</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Coplestone, <a href="#page_221">221</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Robert, <a href="#page_221">221</a></span><br /> - -Bampton, <a href="#page_077">77-8</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Castle, <a href="#page_080">80</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Down, <a href="#page_102">102</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fair, <a href="#page_083">83-4</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mote, <a href="#page_080">80-1</a></span><br /> - -Banks, Sir Joseph, <a href="#page_131">131</a><br /> - -Barbrook, Mill, <a href="#page_164">164</a><br /> - -Barham, <a href="#page_164">164</a><br /> - -Barle, river, <a href="#page_108">108</a>, <a href="#page_110">110</a>, <a href="#page_125">125</a><br /> - -Barlynch Priory, <a href="#page_111">111-2</a><br /> - -Barnes, Rev. William, <a href="#page_042">42</a><br /> - -Barnstaple, <a href="#page_107">107</a>, <a href="#page_155">155</a>, <a href="#page_201">201</a>, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_241">241-55</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bridge, <a href="#page_218">218</a>, <a href="#page_248">248</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Castle, <a href="#page_245">245-7</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fair, <a href="#page_253">253-5</a></span><br /> - -Baron’s Down, <a href="#page_104">104</a><br /> - -Barton, <a href="#page_279">279</a><br /> - -Basset, Colonel, <a href="#page_210">210</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mrs, <a href="#page_212">212</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Roger, <a href="#page_210">210</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Robert, <a href="#page_211">211-2</a></span><br /> - -Batherum, river, <a href="#page_078">78</a><br /> - -Beaumont, Mistress, <a href="#page_211">211</a><br /> - -Berry Narbor, <a href="#page_270">270</a><br /> - -Birch, Farmer, <a href="#page_154">154</a><br /> - -Birchdown, <a href="#page_090">90</a><br /> - -Black Marsh, <a href="#page_026">26</a><br /> - -Blackborough House, <a href="#page_047">47-8</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">quarries, <a href="#page_046">46-7</a></span><br /> - -Blackdown hills, <a href="#page_012">12</a><br /> - -Blackmore, Mr H. R., <a href="#page_278">278</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mrs R., <a href="#page_225">225</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">R. D., <a href="#page_001">1</a>, <a href="#page_026">26</a>, <a href="#page_049">49</a>, <a href="#page_056">56</a>, <a href="#page_058">58-60</a>, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a>, <a href="#page_233">233</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rev. John, sen.,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_282" id="page_282"></a>{282}</span> <a href="#page_057">57</a></span><br /> - -Blackmore, Rev. John, jun., <a href="#page_025">25</a>, <a href="#page_030">30</a>, <a href="#page_058">58</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rev. Richard, <a href="#page_058">58</a></span><br /> - -Blake, Colonel, <a href="#page_192">192</a><br /> - -<i>Blessing</i>, the, <a href="#page_247">247</a><br /> - -Blind Vicar, the, <a href="#page_111">111</a><br /> - -Blundell, Mr Peter, <a href="#page_049">49</a><br /> - -Blundell’s School, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_049">49-60</a><br /> - -Bodley, East, <a href="#page_279">279</a><br /> - -Bolham, <a href="#page_077">77</a> <i>note</i>, <a href="#page_078">78</a><br /> - -Bourchier, family of, <a href="#page_081">81</a>, <a href="#page_085">85-6</a>, <a href="#page_157">157</a><br /> - -Bowden, <a href="#page_270">270</a><br /> - -Bradfield, <a href="#page_006">6-8</a><br /> - -Brannock, St, <a href="#page_257">257</a>, <a href="#page_258">258</a><br /> - -Braunton, <a href="#page_256">256-9</a><br /> - -Brembridge, Mr “Dick,” <a href="#page_243">243</a><br /> - -Brendon, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_154">154</a>, <a href="#page_157">157</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Forge, <a href="#page_114">114</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Two Gates, <a href="#page_124">124</a>, <a href="#page_141">141</a></span><br /> - -Brickhouse, <a href="#page_078">78</a><br /> - -Bridgeball, <a href="#page_154">154</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a><br /> - -Britons, <a href="#page_083">83</a><br /> - -Briwere (or Bruere), Lord, <a href="#page_039">39</a><br /> - -Broadhembury, <a href="#page_038">38</a>, <a href="#page_044">44</a><br /> - -Broomstreet Farm, <a href="#page_160">160</a><br /> - -Brown, Mr, chemist, <a href="#page_202">202</a><br /> - -Browne, Miss Ida, <a href="#page_146">146</a>, <a href="#page_148">148</a>, <a href="#page_158">158</a>, <a href="#page_180">180</a><br /> - -Bryan, Mr, <a href="#page_233">233</a><br /> - -Bude Light, the, <a href="#page_030">30</a><br /> - -Bulmer, Sir Beavois, <a href="#page_272">272</a><br /> - -Burgess, murderer, <a href="#page_123">123</a><br /> - -Burrington, <a href="#page_212">212</a><br /> - -Bury Hill, <a href="#page_104">104</a><br /> - -Bushell, mineralogist, <a href="#page_273">273</a><br /> - -Byam, Henry, <a href="#page_180">180-1</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="C" id="C"></a>Canonsleigh Abbey, <a href="#page_034">34-7</a><br /> - -Carew, Bampfylde Moore, <a href="#page_077">77</a>, <a href="#page_205">205</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Thomas, <a href="#page_071">71</a></span><br /> - -Castle Hill, <a href="#page_212">212-3</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rock, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a></span><br /> - -Chains, the, <a href="#page_139">139</a><br /> - -Chambercombe, <a href="#page_265">265-9</a><br /> - -Chanter, Misses, <a href="#page_158">158</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Miss Gratiana, <a href="#page_151">151</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr J. R., <a href="#page_153">153</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rev. J. F., <a href="#page_147">147</a>, <a href="#page_149">149</a>, <a href="#page_151">151</a>, <a href="#page_158">158</a></span><br /> - -Chapel, Earl of Devonshire’s, <a href="#page_063">63</a>, <a href="#page_066">66</a><br /> - -Chapman Barrows, <a href="#page_278">278</a><br /> - -Chapple, parish clerk, <a href="#page_209">209</a><br /> - -Charles, village, <a href="#page_225">225</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">II., <a href="#page_193">193</a>, <a href="#page_205">205</a></span><br /> - -Cheribridge, <a href="#page_164">164</a><br /> - -Cheriton, <a href="#page_142">142</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fitzpaine, <a href="#page_067">67</a>, <a href="#page_069">69</a></span><br /> - -Cheritons, the, <a href="#page_229">229-30</a><br /> - -Chichester, Madame, <a href="#page_250">250</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Moll, <a href="#page_250">250</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir John, <a href="#page_245">245</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir John Palmer, <a href="#page_244">244</a></span><br /> - -Chilcott’s School, <a href="#page_071">71</a><br /> - -Chittlehampton Tower, <a href="#page_204">204</a><br /> - -Chorley, Mr W. L., <a href="#page_159">159</a><br /> - -“Chowne, Parson,” <a href="#page_229">229-44</a><br /> - -Cistercians, <a href="#page_039">39</a><br /> - -Clark, Mr G. T., <a href="#page_193">193</a><br /> - -Clayhidon, <a href="#page_023">23</a>, <a href="#page_024">24</a>, <a href="#page_025">25</a><br /> - -Clerk Channing, <a href="#page_019">19</a><br /> - -Cloutsham Ball, <a href="#page_140">140</a><br /> - -Cloven Rocks, <a href="#page_124">124-5</a><br /> - -Cogan, John, <a href="#page_040">40-1</a><br /> - -Coleridge, <a href="#page_062">62</a><br /> - -Collier, Messrs John and James, <a href="#page_033">33</a><br /> - -Combe, <a href="#page_091">91</a>, <a href="#page_092">92</a>, <a href="#page_093">93</a>, <a href="#page_095">95</a>, <a href="#page_096">96</a>, <a href="#page_099">99</a><br /> - -Combehead, <a href="#page_089">89</a>, <a href="#page_090">90</a><br /> - -Combmartin, <a href="#page_271">271-5</a><br /> - -Comer’s Gate, <a href="#page_108">108</a>, <a href="#page_109">109</a><br /> - -Cooper, Mr, <a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_170">170</a>, <a href="#page_276">276</a><br /> - -Corelli, Miss Marie,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_283" id="page_283"></a>{283}</span> <a href="#page_271">271</a><br /> - -Cosway, Mr George, <a href="#page_074">74</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Richard, miniaturist, <a href="#page_074">74</a></span><br /> - -Court Down, <a href="#page_108">108</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hall, <a href="#page_222">222</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">House, <a href="#page_222">222</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Leet and Baron, <a href="#page_216">216</a>, <a href="#page_224">224</a></span><br /> - -Courtenay, family of, <a href="#page_066">66-7</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Henry, <a href="#page_069">69</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lady Katherine, <a href="#page_064">64</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Thomas, <a href="#page_064">64</a></span><br /> - -Cow (or Cae) Castle, <a href="#page_125">125-8</a><br /> - -Cowell, Dr, <a href="#page_152">152</a><br /> - -Cove Cliff, <a href="#page_078">78</a><br /> - -Cox, Rev. Edward, <a href="#page_182">182</a><br /> - -Cranstoun-Adams, Col., <a href="#page_058">58</a><br /> - -Culmstock, <a href="#page_001">1</a>, <a href="#page_012">12-32</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beacon, <a href="#page_012">12</a>, <a href="#page_026">26</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bells, <a href="#page_033">33</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">men at Waterloo, <a href="#page_027">27-9</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vicarage, <a href="#page_033">33-4</a></span><br /> - -Cutcliffe, Mr Charles, <a href="#page_250">250</a>, <a href="#page_261">261</a><br /> - -<br /> -<i><a name="D" id="D"></a>Daily Chronicle</i>, the, <a href="#page_149">149</a><br /> - -Davy, Rev. Bartholomew, <a href="#page_085">85</a>, <a href="#page_087">87</a><br /> - -Deadman’s Pill, <a href="#page_224">224</a><br /> - -Deer Park, <a href="#page_158">158</a><br /> - -Devil’s Cheese-ring, <a href="#page_173">173</a><br /> - -Dickinson, Dr, <a href="#page_047">47</a><br /> - -Dobbs, Mr, <a href="#page_220">220</a>, <a href="#page_224">224</a><br /> - -Doble, Mr William, <a href="#page_026">26</a><br /> - -Doddington, Sir Francis, <a href="#page_264">264-5</a><br /> - -Dongola horses, <a href="#page_131">131</a>, <a href="#page_132">132</a><br /> - -Doone Castle, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_143">143-4</a>, <a href="#page_158">158</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Valley, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_157">157</a></span><br /> - -<i>Doones of Exmoor</i>, <a href="#page_146">146</a><br /> - -Doones’ Path, <a href="#page_158">158</a><br /> - -Drake, Sir Francis, <a href="#page_247">247</a><br /> - -Drewe, Edward, <a href="#page_044">44</a><br /> - -Dulverton, <a href="#page_089">89-106</a>, <a href="#page_107">107</a>, <a href="#page_201">201</a><br /> - -Dunkery Beacon, <a href="#page_197">197-9</a><br /> - -Dunkeswell, <a href="#page_037">37</a>, <a href="#page_038">38</a><br /> - -Dunkeswell Abbey, <a href="#page_038">38-41</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Common, <a href="#page_044">44-5</a></span><br /> - -Dunster, <a href="#page_187">187-96</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Castle, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, <a href="#page_190">190</a>, <a href="#page_191">191</a>, <a href="#page_193">193-4</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Church, <a href="#page_196">196</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Conegar Tower, <a href="#page_194">194</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lower Marsh, <a href="#page_196">196</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Luttrell Arms, <a href="#page_194">194-5</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Nunnery,” <a href="#page_195">195</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yarn Market, <a href="#page_194">194</a></span><br /> - -Dyke, family of, <a href="#page_099">99</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Captain William, <a href="#page_097">97</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dr Thomas, <a href="#page_097">97</a></span><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="E" id="E"></a>Ebrington, Lord, <a href="#page_123">123</a><br /> - -Egremont, Lord, <a href="#page_047">47</a><br /> - -Elworthy, Mr F. T., <a href="#page_034">34</a><br /> - -Exe, river, <a href="#page_078">78</a>, <a href="#page_079">79</a>, <a href="#page_103">103</a>, <a href="#page_141">141</a><br /> - -Exebridge, <a href="#page_091">91</a>, <a href="#page_219">219</a><br /> - -Exeter Cathedral, <a href="#page_054">54</a><br /> - -“Exeter” Inn, <a href="#page_078">78</a><br /> - -Exford, <a href="#page_091">91</a>, <a href="#page_112">112-21</a><br /> - -Exmoor bogs, <a href="#page_139">139</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hills, <a href="#page_139">139-40</a></span><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="F" id="F"></a>Faggus, Tom, <a href="#page_077">77</a> <i>note</i>, <a href="#page_121">121</a>, <a href="#page_217">217-21</a><br /> - -Farley, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_154">154</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Water, <a href="#page_164">164</a></span><br /> - -Fellowes, Hon. Newton, <a href="#page_233">233</a><br /> - -Foreland, Countisbury, <a href="#page_184">184</a><br /> - -Fortescue, family of, <a href="#page_213">213-5</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hon. John, <a href="#page_244">244</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord, of Credan, <a href="#page_214">214-5</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr, <a href="#page_183">183</a></span><br /> - -Fox Brothers, Messrs, <a href="#page_025">25</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dr, <a href="#page_047">47</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mrs, <a href="#page_030">30</a></span><br /> - -Foxden, <a href="#page_030">30</a><br /> - -Fowell, Elizabeth, <a href="#page_037">37</a><br /> - -Fremington Pill, <a href="#page_241">241</a><br /> - -Froude, Rev. John,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_284" id="page_284"></a>{284}</span> <a href="#page_229">229-40</a><br /> -<br /> -<a name="G" id="G"></a>Gaddon, <a href="#page_010">10</a><br /> - -Gaunt, John o’, <a href="#page_211">211</a><br /> - -<i>Galleon Dudley</i>, the, <a href="#page_247">247</a><br /> - -Gallon House (Red Deer), <a href="#page_122">122</a>, <a href="#page_123">123</a><br /> - -Garnsey, Mary, <a href="#page_010">10-11</a><br /> - -“George” Hotel, the, <a href="#page_202">202-4</a><br /> - -Giffard, Col. John, <a href="#page_071">71</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Roger (<i>a</i>), <a href="#page_070">70</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Roger (<i>b</i>), <a href="#page_071">71</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Court, <a href="#page_070">70</a></span><br /> - -Gilbert, Adrian, <a href="#page_272">272</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dr, <a href="#page_202">202</a></span><br /> - -Gipsies, <a href="#page_084">84</a><br /> - -Glass, John and Betty, <a href="#page_114">114-9</a><br /> - -Glenthorne, <a href="#page_144">144</a>, <a href="#page_184">184</a><br /> - -Glossop, Captain, <a href="#page_210">210</a><br /> - -<i>God Save Her</i>, the, <a href="#page_247">247</a><br /> - -Gould, F. Carruthers, <a href="#page_244">244</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr R. D., <a href="#page_244">244</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rev. Robert, <a href="#page_182">182-3</a></span><br /> - -Grabhurst Hill, <a href="#page_197">197</a><br /> - -Granny’s Pit, <a href="#page_108">108</a><br /> - -Graves, Admiral, <a href="#page_043">43</a><br /> - -Greenaleigh, <a href="#page_184">184</a><br /> - -Greenway, John and Joan, <a href="#page_062">62</a><br /> - -Greenway’s Almshouses, <a href="#page_061">61</a>, <a href="#page_064">64</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chapels, <a href="#page_063">63-4</a></span><br /> - -Groves, Hugh, <a href="#page_205">205</a><br /> - -<i>Guide to Lynton</i>, <a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_170">170</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="H" id="H"></a>Hackpen, <a href="#page_030">30</a><br /> - -Hagdon Hill, <a href="#page_030">30</a>, <a href="#page_040">40</a><br /> - -Halliday, Rev. W. S., <a href="#page_144">144</a><br /> - -Halwell Castle, <a href="#page_278">278</a><br /> - -Hancock, Prebendary, <a href="#page_172">172</a><br /> - -Harding, Colonel, <a href="#page_065">65</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dr John, <a href="#page_270">270</a></span><br /> - -Harris, Mr John, <a href="#page_261">261</a>, <a href="#page_262">262</a><br /> - -Hartland, <a href="#page_264">264</a>, <a href="#page_271">271</a><br /> - -Hawkbridge, <a href="#page_110">110</a><br /> - -Heal, <a href="#page_278">278</a><br /> - -Heanton Court, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_256">256</a><br /> - -Heathcoat, Mr, <a href="#page_073">73</a><br /> - -Heddon, river, <a href="#page_278">278</a><br /> - -Heddon’s mouth, <a href="#page_278">278</a><br /> - -Hele, <a href="#page_265">265</a><br /> - -Hellings, Mr, <a href="#page_025">25</a><br /> - -Hembury Fort, <a href="#page_042">42</a><br /> - -Hemyock, <a href="#page_002">2</a>, <a href="#page_004">4</a>, <a href="#page_014">14</a>, <a href="#page_026">26</a><br /> - -Henry, Mr S., <a href="#page_002">2</a><br /> - -“Hermitage,” the, <a href="#page_213">213</a><br /> - -High Bray, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_241">241</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cross, <a href="#page_089">89</a></span><br /> - -Hingeston-Randolph, Prebendary, <a href="#page_035">35</a><br /> - -<i>History of Porlock Church</i>, <a href="#page_180">180</a><br /> - -<i>History of Selworthy</i>, <a href="#page_172">172</a><br /> - -<i>History of Tiverton</i>, <a href="#page_072">72</a>, <a href="#page_075">75-6</a><br /> - -Hoar Oak, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_165">165</a><br /> - -Hoccombe, <a href="#page_157">157</a>, <a href="#page_158">158</a><br /> - -Hollam Lane, <a href="#page_108">108</a><br /> - -Holnicote, <a href="#page_181">181</a><br /> - -Honeymead, <a href="#page_124">124</a><br /> - -Hook, Prebendary, <a href="#page_180">180</a><br /> - -House of St George, <a href="#page_172">172</a><br /> - -Houston, Dr, <a href="#page_074">74</a><br /> - -Huckaback, Reuben, <a href="#page_104">104</a>, <a href="#page_123">123</a><br /> - -Hurley, Mr Richard, <a href="#page_010">10</a><br /> - -Huxtable, Anthony, <a href="#page_120">120</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="I-i" id="I-i"></a>Ilfracombe, <a href="#page_263">263</a>, <a href="#page_264">264</a><br /> - -Illford Bridges, <a href="#page_154">154</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a><br /> - -“Ironing Box,” the, <a href="#page_056">56</a><br /> - -Irwin, Miss Anne, <a href="#page_275">275</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="J" id="J"></a>Jakes, Sergeant, <a href="#page_025">25</a>, <a href="#page_026">26</a><br /> - -James I., <a href="#page_212">212</a><br /> - -Jewel, Bishop, <a href="#page_270">270</a><br /> - -<i>John of Braunton</i>, the, <a href="#page_247">247</a><br /> - -Johnson, Ursula, <a href="#page_152">152</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="K" id="K"></a>Karslake, Mr, <a href="#page_237">237</a><br /> - -Kelso, Mr,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_285" id="page_285"></a>{285}</span> <a href="#page_025">25</a><br /> - -Kenilworth, <a href="#page_225">225</a><br /> - -Kennels, <a href="#page_119">119-20</a><br /> - -Kennsford Water, <a href="#page_129">129</a><br /> - -Kentisbeare, <a href="#page_048">48</a><br /> - -Kibsworthy, <a href="#page_171">171</a><br /> - -King, Rev. Mr, <a href="#page_209">209</a><br /> - -Kingdon, Mr J. A., <a href="#page_207">207</a><br /> - -Kinwelton, <a href="#page_279">279</a><br /> - -Knight, Mr F. W. (Sir Frederick), <a href="#page_115">115</a>, <a href="#page_123">123</a>, <a href="#page_133">133</a>, <a href="#page_135">135</a>, <a href="#page_141">141</a><br /> - -Knight, Mr John, <a href="#page_124">124</a>, <a href="#page_130">130</a>, <a href="#page_131">131</a>, <a href="#page_132">132</a><br /> - -Knightshayes, <a href="#page_078">78</a><br /> - -Knowstone, <a href="#page_229">229</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="L" id="L"></a>Lady Harriet’s Drive, <a href="#page_100">100</a>, <a href="#page_102">102</a><br /> - -Lancombe, <a href="#page_163">163</a><br /> - -Landacre Bridge, <a href="#page_128">128</a><br /> - -Landkey, <a href="#page_252">252-3</a><br /> - -Lee Abbey, <a href="#page_170">170</a><br /> - -<i>Legends of Devon</i>, <a href="#page_172">172</a><br /> - -Leigh Court, <a href="#page_009">9</a><br /> - -<i>Leisure Hour</i>, the, <a href="#page_150">150</a><br /> - -Leland, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_246">246</a><br /> - -<i>Leonard of Dunster</i>, the, <a href="#page_188">188</a><br /> - -Lidcote Hall, <a href="#page_225">225</a><br /> - -Lock, Mr, of Lynmouth, <a href="#page_136">136</a><br /> - -<i>London Magazine</i>, the, <a href="#page_172">172</a>, <a href="#page_213">213</a><br /> - -<i>Lorna Doone</i>, <a href="#page_001">1</a>, <a href="#page_034">34</a>, <a href="#page_049">49</a>, <a href="#page_052">52</a>, <a href="#page_058">58</a>, <a href="#page_071">71</a>, <a href="#page_077">77</a> <i>note</i>, <a href="#page_087">87</a>, <a href="#page_089">89</a> <i>note</i>, <a href="#page_110">110</a>, <a href="#page_114">114</a>, <a href="#page_123">123</a>, <a href="#page_125">125</a>, <a href="#page_129">129</a>, <a href="#page_137">137</a>, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_145">145</a>, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_154">154</a>, <a href="#page_158">158</a>, <a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_166">166</a>, <a href="#page_167">167</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a>, <a href="#page_174">174</a>, <a href="#page_177">177</a>, <a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_185">185</a> <i>note</i>, <a href="#page_189">189</a>, <a href="#page_201">201</a>, <a href="#page_202">202</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a>, <a href="#page_256">256</a>, <a href="#page_273">273</a><br /> - -Lowman, river, <a href="#page_052">52</a><br /> - -Lucas de Heree, <a href="#page_192">192</a><br /> - -Luttrell, Mr G. F., <a href="#page_190">190</a>, <a href="#page_193">193</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lady Catherine, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, <a href="#page_190">190</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lady Elizabeth, <a href="#page_190">190</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">James, <a href="#page_190">190-1</a></span><br /> - -Luttrell, Sir Hugh, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, <a href="#page_190">190</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir John, <a href="#page_192">192</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thomas, <a href="#page_192">192</a></span><br /> - -Lyn, East, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">West, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a></span><br /> - -Lynbridge, <a href="#page_164">164</a><br /> - -Lynmouth, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_166">166</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Henry de, <a href="#page_166">166</a></span><br /> - -Lynton, <a href="#page_174">174-5</a>, <a href="#page_201">201</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="M" id="M"></a>Madam Gaddy, <a href="#page_091">91</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thorold, <a href="#page_091">91</a></span><br /> - -<i>Maid of Sker</i>, the, <a href="#page_176">176</a>, <a href="#page_201">201</a>, <a href="#page_212">212</a>, 2<a href="#page_016">16</a> <i>note</i>, <a href="#page_228">228</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a>, <a href="#page_241">241</a>, <a href="#page_243">243</a>, <a href="#page_256">256</a>, <a href="#page_259">259</a>, <a href="#page_260">260</a>, <a href="#page_261">261</a>, <a href="#page_264">264</a>, <a href="#page_277">277</a>, <a href="#page_278">278</a><br /> - -Maidendown, <a href="#page_020">20</a><br /> - -Malmsmead, <a href="#page_163">163</a><br /> - -Manley, Richard, <a href="#page_206">206</a><br /> - -Manors, <a href="#page_090">90</a><br /> - -Martin, Sir Richard, <a href="#page_272">272</a><br /> - -Martinhoe, <a href="#page_275">275</a>, <a href="#page_279">279</a><br /> - -Mary de Redvers, <a href="#page_066">66</a><br /> - -Matilda de Clare, <a href="#page_037">37</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tablere, <a href="#page_036">36</a></span><br /> - -Maxwell-Lyte, Sir H. C., <a href="#page_193">193</a><br /> - -<i>Mayflower</i>, the, <a href="#page_247">247</a><br /> - -Meldrum, Mother, <a href="#page_110">110</a>, <a href="#page_153">153</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a><br /> - -<i>Mighty Atom</i>, the, <a href="#page_271">271</a><br /> - -Mills, John, <a href="#page_207">207</a><br /> - -Millslade, <a href="#page_163">163</a><br /> - -Milton, “Joe,” <a href="#page_129">129</a><br /> - -Minehead, <a href="#page_107">107</a>, <a href="#page_184">184-7</a><br /> - -“Minehead Turnpike,” the, <a href="#page_199">199-200</a><br /> - -Mohun, Reginald de, <a href="#page_189">189</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the, <a href="#page_188">188-90</a></span><br /> - -Molland, <a href="#page_227">227-9</a><br /> - -Morley, Lady, <a href="#page_223">223</a><br /> - -Moridunum, <a href="#page_042">42</a><br /> - -Morte Point, <a href="#page_262">262-3</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stone,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_286" id="page_286"></a>{286}</span> <a href="#page_262">262-3</a></span><br /> - -Morthoe, <a href="#page_263">263</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Church, <a href="#page_260">260</a></span><br /> - -Mount Sydenham, <a href="#page_107">107</a><br /> - -Mountsey Castle, <a href="#page_109">109</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hill Gate, <a href="#page_108">108</a></span><br /> - -Mundy, Rev. Matthew, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_153">153</a><br /> - -Murray, Dr, <a href="#page_109">109</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="N" id="N"></a>Narnton Court, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_256">256</a><br /> - -Norman, Aggie, <a href="#page_152">152</a><br /> - -Northmolton, <a href="#page_216">216-25</a><br /> - -Nymet Roland, <a href="#page_229">229-30</a><br /> - -“Nympton-in-the-Moors,” <a href="#page_228">228-9</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="O" id="O"></a>Oare, <a href="#page_087">87</a>, <a href="#page_154">154</a>, <a href="#page_157">157</a>, <a href="#page_158">158</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Church, <a href="#page_160">160-1</a></span><br /> - -Old Cop, <a href="#page_053">53</a><br /> - -Oliver, Dr, <a href="#page_034">34</a><br /> - -Owen, Rev. D. M., <a href="#page_056">56</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="P" id="P"></a>Page, Mr J. W., <a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_278">278</a><br /> - -Palmerston, Lord, <a href="#page_075">75</a><br /> - -Paramore, Master, <a href="#page_207">207</a><br /> - -Parracombe, <a href="#page_277">277</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Common, <a href="#page_278">278</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mill, <a href="#page_278">278</a></span><br /> - -Parker, family of, <a href="#page_222">222-3</a><br /> - -Parminter, Mr J., <a href="#page_242">242</a>, <a href="#page_243">243</a><br /> - -Passmore, Mrs, <a href="#page_223">223</a><br /> - -Peirson, Rev. E., <a href="#page_113">113</a><br /> - -Penhill, <a href="#page_241">241</a><br /> - -Penniloe, Parson, <a href="#page_013">13</a>, <a href="#page_030">30</a><br /> - -Penruddock, John, <a href="#page_205">205</a><br /> - -Perliton, <a href="#page_001">1</a><br /> - -Perlycombe, <a href="#page_002">2</a><br /> - -Perlycross, <a href="#page_001">1</a><br /> - -<i>Perlycross</i>, <a href="#page_014">14</a>, <a href="#page_019">19</a>, <a href="#page_020">20</a>, <a href="#page_022">22</a>, <a href="#page_023">23</a>, <a href="#page_047">47</a><br /> - -Phœnicians, the, <a href="#page_136">136</a>, <a href="#page_140">140</a><br /> - -Pickard-Cambridge, Rev. E., <a href="#page_058">58</a><br /> - -Pinkery Pond, <a href="#page_091">91</a><br /> - -Pitsworthy, <a href="#page_114">114</a><br /> - -Pixies, <a href="#page_127">127-8</a><br /> - -Pixton, <a href="#page_090">90</a>, <a href="#page_092">92</a>, <a href="#page_099">99-100</a>, <a href="#page_102">102</a><br /> - -Plympton Priory, <a href="#page_036">36</a><br /> - -Pococke, Dr, <a href="#page_173">173</a><br /> - -Poltimore, Lord, <a href="#page_222">222</a><br /> - -Ponies, Exmoor, <a href="#page_108">108</a><br /> - -Porlock, <a href="#page_178">178</a>, <a href="#page_179">179</a>, <a href="#page_219">219</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Marsh, <a href="#page_183">183</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Weir, <a href="#page_179">179</a>, <a href="#page_180">180</a></span><br /> - -Potter, Mr, <a href="#page_022">22</a><br /> - -Prayway Meads, <a href="#page_141">141</a><br /> - -Prescott, <a href="#page_113">113</a><br /> - -Prince’s Worthies, <a href="#page_210">210</a>, <a href="#page_221">221</a><br /> - -<i>Prudence</i>, the, <a href="#page_247">247</a><br /> - -Pumpington, <a href="#page_026">26</a>, <a href="#page_030">30</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="Q" id="Q"></a>Quartlys, the, <a href="#page_227">227-8</a><br /> - -Queen Anne’s Walk, <a href="#page_247">247-8</a><br /> - -Quivil, Bishop, <a href="#page_036">36</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="R" id="R"></a>Radford, Nicholas, <a href="#page_067">67-70</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rev. John, <a href="#page_229">229</a>, <a href="#page_232">232-3</a></span><br /> - -Rambone, Parson, <a href="#page_242">242</a><br /> - -Rapparee Cove, <a href="#page_264">264</a><br /> - -Raven, Canon, <a href="#page_042">42</a><br /> - -Red Stone, <a href="#page_122">122</a><br /> - -Reid, Mr Stuart J., <a href="#page_050">50</a><br /> - -Rhys, Professor, <a href="#page_109">109</a><br /> - -Ridd, family of, <a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_180">180</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">John, <a href="#page_054">54</a>, <a href="#page_056">56</a>, <a href="#page_075">75</a>, <a href="#page_077">77</a>, <a href="#page_078">78</a>, <a href="#page_087">87</a>, <a href="#page_160">160</a></span><br /> - -Ripperda, Duke of, <a href="#page_261">261-2</a><br /> - -Risdon, <a href="#page_251">251</a><br /> - -Robsart, Amy, <a href="#page_225">225</a><br /> - -Rock, <a href="#page_078">78</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr W. F., <a href="#page_245">245</a></span><br /> - -“Rock of Ages,” <a href="#page_044">44</a><br /> - -Russell, Rev. John, <a href="#page_233">233</a>, <a href="#page_270">270</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="S" id="S"></a>Sampford Peverell, <a href="#page_034">34</a><br /> - -Saunton Sands, <a href="#page_257">257</a>, <a href="#page_259">259-60</a><br /> - -Sayer, Thomas,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_287" id="page_287"></a>{287}</span> <a href="#page_099">99</a><br /> - -Scott, Sir Gilbert, <a href="#page_251">251</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Walter, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_237">237</a></span><br /> - -Seaton, <a href="#page_023">23</a><br /> - -Semson, <a href="#page_033">33</a><br /> - -Seven Brethren Bank, <a href="#page_249">249</a><br /> - -Sherwill, <a href="#page_211">211</a><br /> - -Ship Inn, <a href="#page_179">179</a><br /> - -<i>Short History of the Original Doones</i>, <a href="#page_146">146</a><br /> - -Showlsborough Castle, <a href="#page_158">158</a><br /> - -Shuttern, river, <a href="#page_083">83</a><br /> - -Simcoe, General, <a href="#page_044">44-5</a><br /> - -Simonsbath, <a href="#page_107">107</a>, <a href="#page_124">124</a>, <a href="#page_137">137</a><br /> - -Slader, Mr Richard, <a href="#page_226">226-7</a><br /> - -Snell, Canon, <a href="#page_054">54-5</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr W. H., <a href="#page_055">55</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Robin,” <a href="#page_054">54</a></span><br /> - -Snows, the, <a href="#page_159">159</a>, <a href="#page_160">160</a><br /> - -Southey, Robert, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a>, <a href="#page_179">179</a><br /> - -Southey’s Corner, <a href="#page_179">179</a><br /> - -Spire Cross, <a href="#page_108">108</a>, <a href="#page_109">109</a><br /> - -Squier, Hugh, <a href="#page_206">206</a><br /> - -Stapledon, Bishop, <a href="#page_037">37</a><br /> - -Stickles, Jeremy, <a href="#page_128">128</a>, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_185">185</a>, <a href="#page_202">202</a><br /> - -Stow, <a href="#page_247">247</a><br /> - -<i>Survey of Devon</i>, Risdon’s, <a href="#page_165">165</a><br /> - -Sydenham, family of, <a href="#page_091">91-99</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Humphry, <a href="#page_093">93</a></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Major Sir George, <a href="#page_093">93-9</a></span><br /> - -Sylvesters, the, <a href="#page_041">41</a><br /> - -<br /> -<a name="T" id="T"></a>Talbot, Sir Gilbert, <a href="#page_071">71</a><br /> - -<i>Tales from the Telling House</i>, <a href="#page_001">1</a>, <a href="#page_030">30</a><br /> - -Taunton Pool, <a href="#page_052">52</a><br /> - -Taw, river, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_212">212</a>, <a href="#page_248">248-9</a><br /> - -Tawstock Church, <a href="#page_250">250-2</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Court, <a href="#page_250">250</a></span><br /> - -Templar, Mr George, <a href="#page_239">239</a><br /> - -Temple, Archbishop, <a href="#page_025">25</a>, <a href="#page_029">29</a>, <a href="#page_049">49</a><br /> - -Tennyson, <a href="#page_102">102-4</a><br /> - -Thompson, Rev. W. C., <a href="#page_048">48</a><br /> - -Thornton, Rev. W. H., <a href="#page_123">123</a>, <a href="#page_183">183</a><br /> - -<i>Tiger</i>, the, <a href="#page_247">247</a><br /> - -Tinker Toogood, <a href="#page_017">17</a><br /> - -Tiverton, <a href="#page_061">61-76</a>, <a href="#page_077">77</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Castle, <a href="#page_070">70-1</a></span><br /> - -Toplady, Augustus, <a href="#page_044">44</a><br /> - -Torr Steps, <a href="#page_103">103</a>, <a href="#page_109">109-10</a><br /> - -Tracy, family of, <a href="#page_260">260</a>, <a href="#page_261">261</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">William de, <a href="#page_260">260</a></span><br /> - -Treadwin, Mrs, <a href="#page_223">223</a><br /> - -<i>Treatise of the Soul of Man</i>, <a href="#page_097">97</a><br /> - -Trentishoe, <a href="#page_278">278</a><br /> - -Tugwell, Rev. 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A., <a href="#page_258">258</a>, <a href="#page_259">259</a></span><br /> - -Wagstaffe, Sir Joseph, <a href="#page_205">205</a><br /> - -Waldron, John, <a href="#page_006">6</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Thomas, <a href="#page_006">6</a></span><br /> - -Walrond, family of, <a href="#page_006">6</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir John, <a href="#page_007">7</a></span><br /> - -Wambarrows, <a href="#page_109">109</a><br /> - -<i>Wanderings in North Devon</i>, <a href="#page_151">151</a><br /> - -Warre, Dr, <a href="#page_104">104</a><br /> - -Warren, the, <a href="#page_144">144</a><br /> - -Washfield, <a href="#page_078">78</a><br /> - -Watchet, <a href="#page_200">200</a> <i>note</i><br /> - -Watersmeet, <a href="#page_164">164</a><br /> - -Weir Water, <a href="#page_158">158</a><br /> - -Welcomb, <a href="#page_265">265</a><br /> - -Wellington, Duke of, <a href="#page_026">26</a>, <a href="#page_033">33</a><br /> - -Westcote,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_288" id="page_288"></a>{288}</span> <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_248">248</a>, <a href="#page_259">259</a>, <a href="#page_271">271</a><br /> - -<i>Western Antiquary</i>, the, <a href="#page_153">153</a><br /> - -Westleigh Quarries, <a href="#page_035">35</a><br /> - -Westmill, <a href="#page_113">113</a><br /> - -Wheal Eliza, <a href="#page_123">123</a><br /> - -“White Horse,” the, <a href="#page_075">75</a><br /> - -White Water, <a href="#page_125">125</a><br /> - -Whitechapel, <a href="#page_209">209-10</a>, <a href="#page_211">211</a><br /> - -Wichehalse, family of, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_156">156</a>, <a href="#page_167">167-71</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hugh, <a href="#page_170">170</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a></span><br /> - -Windwhistle Lane, <a href="#page_078">78</a><br /> - -Winsford, <a href="#page_111">111</a>, <a href="#page_112">112</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hill, <a href="#page_108">108</a>, <a href="#page_109">109</a>, <a href="#page_131">131</a></span><br /> - -Withypool, <a href="#page_129">129</a><br /> - -Wizard’s Slough, <a href="#page_125">125</a><br /> - -Wolford Lodge, <a href="#page_045">45</a><br /> - -Wood, Mr William, <a href="#page_009">9</a><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr W. 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BROWNE</p> - -<p><i>VOLUMES IN THE SERIES</i></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td>GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE<br /> -GREEK ARCHITECTURE<br /> -NORMAN ARCHITECTURE<br /> -ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE<br /> -</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="nind">Each volume contains an Illustrated Glossary of Architecture Terms, 48 -full-page reproductions from photographs of famous Buildings, with -Historical Notes upon each, and an Introductory Text.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:90%;"> -<tr><td align="left"><i>SQUARE</i><br /><i>DEMY 8VO</i></td> -<td class="c">EACH <big><big><big><b>3/6</b></big></big></big> NET<br />(<i>By Post 3/10</i>)</td><td align="left"><i>BOUND</i><br /><i>IN CLOTH</i></td></tr> - -</table> - -<hr /> -<p class="c">SOME PRESS OPINIONS</p> - -<div class="blockquot3"><p>“Besides being of inestimable value to the intelligent amateur, it -should appeal also to all students, for it contains in brief nearly -everything that he would have to extract for himself from more -voluminous works.... The plates alone make it worthy of a place in -every architect’s library.”—<i>Art and Architecture.</i></p> - -<p>“We cordially commend this volume to everyone who desires to be in -a position to appreciate to the full extent the glories of Norman -architecture, of which we in this country possess so many noble -specimens.”—<i>Scottish Review.</i></p> - -<p>“To the person who, interested in the especial beauty of great -buildings, would glean, even here at home, some eloquent idea of -what he may never actually see, no book in point of adequate notes, -of excellent illustrations, and cheapness, could well be more -useful.”—<i>Outlook.</i></p> - -<p>“The beautiful illustrations alone make the book worthy of a place -in the library of every book-lover and student of -architecture.”—<i>Aberdeen Free Press.</i></p> - -<p>“The introductory chapters are lucid, simple, appreciative and well -adapted to the understanding of the moderately intelligent -amateur.... The illustrations are admirably chosen, well produced, -and generally effective. The accompanying notes are clear, brief, -and to the point.”—<i>Guardian.</i></p> - -<p>“Is written in a facile and personal style which makes it -delightful to read and easy to understand.... The illustrations are -extremely good and helpful in making doubly clear the teaching of -the chapters.”—<i>Bookman.</i></p></div> - -<hr /> - -<p class="c">PUBLISHED BY<br /> -ADAM & CHARLES BLACK, 4, 5 & 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnotes"><p class="cb">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Cosgate is mentioned in chapter xlviii., where the county -boundary is defined.—F. J. S.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> This term recurs to me almost as often as I think of moors -and commons, and for the following reason. An old friend of mine, who -lived to be nearly ninety, a lawyer by profession and a wit by practice, -once told me how he attended an inquiry held in West Somerset by a -certain Government Commission, concerning a well-known tract adjacent to -his property. To his surprise, a fussy solicitor, who did not know that -he was addressing another “limb of the law,” rushed up to him, and after -expatiating volubly on the difference between a claim in gross, a claim -appendant, and a claim appurtenant, begged to be informed what was the -nature of his claim. “<i>Im</i>pertinent, if any,” replied my friend, -delighted at the opportunity, “as I am not here on business.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Vancouver, referring to this custom, observes: “Their day’s -work at plough or harrow is usually performed in a journey of about -eight hours, during which time the ploughboy has a peculiar mode of -cheering them on with a song he continually chaunts in low notes, -suddenly broken and rising a whole octave. The ceasing of the song is -said to occasion the stopping of the team, which is either followed by a -man holding the plough, or as occasion may require, in attending the -drag or harrows.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Here and elsewhere in the chapter these references are to -Blackmore’s local romance <i>Perlycross</i>, unless otherwise stated.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Two species of furze are produced in Devonshire—the rank -luxuriant sort flourishing in the spring, and the smaller dwarf or dale -furze, which blooms in the autumn. The larger, which goes by the name of -French furze, forms considerable brakes, and is usually cut at four -years’ growth. Its crane stems used to be burnt for charcoal, whereas -the dwarf furze was cut and grubbed by farmers and labourers for fuel.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> <i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter iii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> This is, of course, assuming that they did not take the -turning to Bolham. By an apparent anachronism, Blackmore talks of “the -village of Bolham on the Bampton Road” (<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter lx.) as -the place where the ladies’ coach was stopped by Faggus. There was no -<i>coach</i>-road passing through Bolham at that date.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Perhaps a more likely explanation is that it was a Norman -motte, specimens of which are to be found not only in England, but in -France, and which is depicted in several scenes of the Bayeux. These -earthworks are usually planted not on hill-tops, but on low sites in or -near villages, and not far from a church.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> This story, repeated in directories and guide-books for -generations, receives short shrift from Mr R. N. Worth. “It has been -claimed as the Beamdune where Kynegils defeated the Britons in 614, but -that was Bampton in Oxfordshire” (<i>History of Devonshire</i>, p. 98). <i>Sic -transit gloria mundi.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> “And truly, the Dulverton people said that he was the -richest man in their town, and could buy up half of the county armigers” -(<i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter xiii.). Some of the local “armigers” figure in -the following pages.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> It may be worth mentioning that an incident similar to -that which marred the happiness of Susan Sydenham occurred in the life -of the celebrated John Donne. In 1610, on the third day after his -arrival at Paris, he was left alone in a room where he had been dining -with Sir Robert Drury and others. Half an hour later the knight -returned, and was surprised to find him in a curious sort of ecstasy. At -first he was unable to speak, but after a time he declared— -</p><p> -“I have seen a dreadful vision since I saw you. I have seen my dear wife -pass twice by me through this room, with her hair hanging about her -shoulders, and a dead child in her arms.” -</p><p> -Sir Robert suggested that it was nothing but a dream, which he advised -him to forget, but Donne replied, “I cannot be surer that I am now -living than that I have not slept since I saw you, and I am so sure that -at her second appearance she stopped, looked me in the face and -vanished.” -</p><p> -As he seemed so certain, a messenger was sent to Drury House, who -brought back the news that he had found Mrs Donne ill in bed, after the -birth of a dead infant—an event which had happened on the very day and -hour that her husband had seen the vision.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> In chapter iii. of <i>Lorna Doone</i>, Blackmore speaks of -Dulverton as a town near which “the Exe and his big brother Barle have -union.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> A Dulverton farmer once remarked to me on the great size -of Exmoor farmhouses, saying that it would be possible to put into one -of them two or three average homesteads.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> According to one writer, that mighty hunter, Katerfelto, -earned huge glory both for himself and for his owner, a lusty farmer, by -taking the bit between his teeth on the Barkham Hills, and carrying him -bodily over a twenty-foot gap in an old Roman iron-mine.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> The original of “Red Rube” in Melville’s <i>Katerfelto</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Subject to variation, <i>e.g.</i>, “children.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> <i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapters ix., xlviii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Blackmore refers to the subject in <i>Lorna Doone</i>, chapter -xxxix. Speaking of Jeremy Stickles, he says that “his duty was first and -most ostensibly to see to the levying of poundage in the little haven of -Lynmouth and further up the coast, which was now becoming a place of -resort for the folk whom we call smugglers, that is to say, who land -their goods without regard to the King’s revenue, as by law established. -And indeed there had been no officer appointed to take toll, until one -had been sent to Minehead, not so very long before” (see also <i>Lorna -Doone</i>, chapter xii.).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> These worthies are coupled by Blackmore in the <i>Maid of -Sker</i> (chapter lxviii.). “Since Tom Faggus died, there has not been such -a man to be found, nowhere round these parts.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> <a href="#page_280">See Note I., p. 280.</a></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> <a href="#page_280">See Note II., p. 280.</a></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> True, in chapter liii. Blackmore speaks of the place as -five or six leagues distant from Heddon’s Mouth; still, Chowne’s -frequent appearances at Barnstaple and beyond, and such indications as -the fate of the Sherwill girl (chapter xlvii.), produce the opposite -impression.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> Groats.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> The Devil.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><a name="transcrib" id="transcrib"></a></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="padding:2%;border:3px dotted gray;"> -<tr><th align="center">Typographical error corrected by the etext transcriber:</th></tr> -<tr><td align="left">the neighbournood in connection=> the neighbourhood in connection {pg 241}</td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Blackmore Country, by F. 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