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diff --git a/old/54637-8.txt b/old/54637-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 700f67b..0000000 --- a/old/54637-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8949 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Cornish Feasts and Folk-lore, by M. A. Courtney - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Cornish Feasts and Folk-lore - -Author: M. A. Courtney - -Release Date: April 30, 2017 [EBook #54637] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CORNISH FEASTS AND FOLK-LORE *** - - - - -Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project -Gutenberg (This file was produced from images generously -made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - CORNISH - - FEASTS AND FOLK-LORE. - - BY - - MISS M. A. COURTNEY, - - AUTHOR OF "GLOSSARY OF WORDS USED IN WEST CORNWALL." - - REVISED AND REPRINTED FROM - THE FOLK-LORE SOCIETY JOURNALS, 1886-87. - - - - PENZANCE: - BEARE AND SON, 21, MARKET PLACE. - 1890. - - - - - - - - -PREFACE. - - -Few Cornish people are probably aware how wide-spread still with us is -the belief in charms and charmers, ghosts, and all other superstitions; -nor that there are witches in our county, shunned and dreaded by some -who fear their supposed power to ill-wish those who offend them, and -sought out by others who want by their aid to avert the evil eye, -or by their incantations to remove the spells already cast on them -and their cattle by an ill-wisher who has "overlooked" them. - -Folk-lore is an almost inexhaustible subject. There must be many -charms in use here that have not come under my notice; a few are too -coarse to record, as are some of the tales. - -A book on folk-lore cannot in this century contain original matter; -it must be compiled from various sources. I have when quoting from -other writers given my authority, and to communications from friends -generally appended their names. To "One and All" I beg leave to tender -my sincere thanks. - - - M. A. Courtney. - - - - - - - - -CORNISH FEASTS AND "FEASTEN" CUSTOMS. - - -Cornwall has always been a county largely given to hospitality, and, -as "all Cornish gentlemen are cousins," they have from time immemorial -made it a practice to meet at each other's houses to celebrate their -feasts and saints' days. - -Since "there are more saints in Cornwall than there are in heaven," -these friendly gatherings must necessarily be very numerous. Each -parish has its own particular saint to which its church is -dedicated. The feasts held in their honour, probably dating from the -foundation of the churches, are kept on the nearest Sunday and Monday -to dedication day, called by the people "feasten" Sunday and Monday. - -Every family, however poor, tries to have a better dinner than usual -on feasten Sunday; generally a joint of meat with a "figgy-pudden" -(a baked or boiled suet-pudding with raisins in it). - -On the preceding Saturdays large quantities of "plum cake" are baked; -light currant cakes raised with barm (yeast), and coloured bright -yellow with saffron (as dear as "saffern" is a very common simile -in Cornwall). This "saffern cake" at tea is often supplemented with -"heavy cake" (a delicacy peculiar to the county), a rich currant paste, -about an inch thick, made with clotted cream, and eaten hot. - -The Western hounds meet in all the villages situated at a convenient -distance from their kennel, at ten o'clock on feasten Mondays, and, -after a breakfast given by the squire of the parish to the huntsmen, -start for their run from somewhere near the parish church (the "church -town"). Three or four houses clustered together, and even sometimes -a single house, is called in Cornwall "a town," a farmyard is "a town -place," and London is often spoken of as "Lunnon church town." - -The first of the West Penwith feasts is that of Paul, a parish close to -Penzance, which has not the Apostle Paul but St. Pol-de-Lion for its -patron saint. It falls on the nearest Sunday to 10th of October. An -old proverb says, "Rain for Paul, rain for all," therefore, should -the day be wet, it is of course looked upon by the young people as -a bad sign for their future merry-makings. An annual bowling-match -was formerly held on feasten Monday, between Paul and Mousehole men -(Mousehole is a fishing village in the same parish); the last of -them took place sixty years ago. Up to that time the bowling-green, -an artificially raised piece of ground, was kept in order by the -parishioners. No one in the neighbourhood now knows the game; the -church schools are built on a part of the site, and the remainder -is the village playground. If there were ever any other peculiar -customs celebrated at Paul feast they are quite forgotten, and the -Monday night's carousal at the public-houses has here, as elsewhere, -given place to church and chapel teas, followed by concerts in the -school-rooms, although there are still a few "standings" (stalls) -in the streets, for the sale of gingerbread nuts and sweetmeats, and -one or two swings and merry-go-rounds, largely patronised by children. - -October 12th. A fair, called Roast Goose Fair, is held at Redruth. - -On the nearest Saturday to Hallowe'en, October 31st, the fruiterers -of Penzance display in their windows very large apples, known locally -as "Allan" apples. These were formerly bought by the inhabitants and -all the country people from the neighbourhood (for whom Penzance is -the market-town), and one was given to each member of the family to -be eaten for luck. The elder girls put theirs, before they ate them, -under their pillows, to dream of their sweethearts. A few of the apples -are still sold; but the custom, which, I have lately been told, was -also observed at St. Ives, is practically dying out. On "Allantide," -at Newlyn West, two strips of wood are joined crosswise by a nail in -the centre; at each of the four ends a lighted candle is stuck, with -apples hung between them. This is fastened to a beam, or the ceiling of -the kitchen, and made to revolve rapidly. The players, who try to catch -the apples in their mouths, often get instead a taste of the candle. - -In Cornwall, as in other parts of England, many charms were tried on -Hallowe'en to discover with whom you were to spend your future life, -or if you were to remain unmarried, such as pouring melted lead -through the handle of the front door key. The fantastic shapes it -assumed foretold your husband's profession or trade. - -Rolling three names, each written on a separate piece of paper, -tightly in the centre of three balls of earth. These were afterwards -put into a deep basin of water, and anxiously watched until one of -them opened, as the name on the first slip which came to the surface -would be that of the person you were to marry. - -Tying the front door key tightly with your left leg garter between the -leaves of a Bible at one particular chapter in the Song of Solomon. It -was then held on the forefinger, and when the sweetheart's name was -mentioned it turned round. - -Slipping a wedding-ring on to a piece of cotton, held between the -forefinger and thumb, saying, "If my husband's name is to be ---- -let this ring swing!" Of course, when the name of the person preferred -was spoken, the holder unconsciously made the ring oscillate. I have, -when a school-girl, assisted at these rites, and I expect the young -people still practise them. - -In St. Cubert's parish, East Cornwall, is a celebrated Holy well, so -named, the inhabitants say, from its virtues having been discovered -on All Hallows-day. It is covered at high spring tides. - -St. Just feast (which, when the mines in that district were prosperous, -was kept up with more revelry than almost any other) is always held -on the nearest Sunday to All Saints'-day. Formerly, on the Monday, -many games were played, viz.--"Kook, a trial of casting quoits farthest -and nearest to the goal, now all but forgotten" (Bottrell), wrestling, -and kailles, or keels (ninepins), &c. Much beer and "moonshine" (spirit -that had not paid the duty) were drunk, and, as the St. Just men are -proverbially pugnacious, the sports often ended with a free fight. A -paragraph in a local paper for November, 1882, described a St. Just -feast in those days as "A hobble, a squabble, and a 'hubbadullion' -altogether." Rich and poor still at this season keep open house, and -all the young people from St. Just who are in service for many miles -around, if they can possibly be spared, go home on the Saturday and -stay until the Tuesday morning. A small fair is held in the streets -on Monday evening, when the young men are expected to treat their -sweethearts liberally, and a great deal of "foolish money" that can -be ill afforded is often spent. - -In many Cornish parishes the bells are rung on November 4th, -"Ringing night." - -The celebration of Gunpowder Plot has quite died out in West Cornwall, -but in Launceston, and in other towns in the eastern part of the -county, it is still observed. As regularly as the 5th of November -comes around, fireworks are let off, and bonfires lit, to lively -music played by the local bands. - -"This year, 1884, 'Young Stratton' celebrated the Fifth with much -more than his customary enthusiasm. A good sum was raised by public -subscription by the energy of Mr. C. A. Saunders. The Bude fife and -drum band headed a grotesque procession, formed at Howl's Bridge, -and second in order came a number of equestrian torch-bearers in all -kinds of costumes, furnished by wardrobes of Her Majesty's navy, the -Royal Marines, the Yeomanry, and numerous other sources. 'Guido Faux' -followed in his car, honoured by a postilion and a band of Christy -Minstrels; then came foot torch-bearers, and a crowd of enthusiastic -citizens, who 'hurraed' to their hearts' content. Noticeable were -the banners, 'Success to Young Stratton,' the Cornish arms, and -'God save the Queen.' The display of fireworks took place from a -field overlooking the town, and the inhabitants grouped together -at points of vantage to witness the display. The bonfire was lit on -Stamford Hill, where the carnival ended. Good order and good humour -prevailed."--(Western Morning News.) - -When I was a girl, I was taught the following doggerel rhymes, which -were on this day then commonly chanted:-- - - - "Please to remember the fifth of November! - A stick or a stake, for King George's sake. - A faggot or rope, to hang the Pope. - For Gunpowder Plot, shall never be forgot, - Whilst Castle Ryan stands upon a rock." - - -This was in Victoria's reign; where Castle Ryan stands I have never -been able to learn. - -The old custom formerly practised in Camborne, of taking a marrow-bone -from the butchers on the Saturday before the feast, which is held on -the nearest Sunday to Martinmas, was, in 1884, revived in its original -form. "A number of gentlemen, known as the 'Homage Committee,' -went round the market with hampers, which were soon filled with -marrow-bones, and they afterwards visited the public-houses as -'tasters.'"--(Cornishman.) - -One night in November is known in Padstow as "Skip-skop night," when -the boys of the place go about with a stone in a sling; with this -they strike the doors, and afterwards slily throw in winkle-shells, -dirt, &c. Mr. T. Q. Couch says: "They strike violently against the -doors of the houses and ask for money to make a feast." - -At St. Ives, on the Saturday before Advent Sunday, "Fair-mo" (pig -fair) is held. This town is much celebrated locally for macaroons; -a great many are then bought as "fairings." The St. Ives fishing -(pilchard) season generally ends in November, consequently at this -time there is often no lack of money. - -The feast of St. Maddern, or Madron feast, which is also that of -Penzance (Penzance being until recently in that parish), is on -Advent Sunday. - -The last bull-baiting held here was on the "feasten" Monday of 1813, -and took place in the field on which the Union is now built. The -bull was supplied by a squire from Kimyel, in the neighbouring parish -of Paul. A ship's anchor, which must have been carried up hill from -Penzance quay, a distance of nearly three miles, was firmly fixed in -the centre of the field, and to it the bull was tied. Bull-baiting was -soon after discontinued in Cornwall. The following account of the last -I had from a gentleman who was well known in the county. He said, "This -I think took place in a field adjoining Ponsandane bridge, in Gulval -parish, at the east of Penzance, in the summer of 1814. I remember the -black bull being led by four men. The crowd was dispersed early in the -evening by a severe thunderstorm, which much alarmed the people, who -thought it (I was led to believe) a judgment from heaven."--(T.S.B.) - -The second Thursday before Christmas is in East Cornwall kept by -the "tinners" (miners) as a holiday in honour of one of the reputed -discoverers of tin. It is known as Picrous-day. Chewidden Thursday -(White Thursday), another "tinners'" holiday, falls always on the -last clear Thursday before Christmas-day. Tradition says it is the -anniversary of the day on which "white tin" (smelted tin) was first -made or sold in Cornwall. - -On Christmas-eve, in East as well as West Cornwall, poor women, -sometimes as many as twenty in a party, call on their richer neighbours -asking alms. This is "going a gooding." - -At Falmouth the lower classes formerly expected from all the -shopkeepers, of whom they bought any of their Christmas groceries, a -slice of cake and a small glass of gin. Some of the oldest established -tradespeople still observe this custom; but it will soon be a thing -of the past. - -In some parts of the county it is customary for each household to make -a batch of currant cakes on Christmas-eve. These cakes are made in -the ordinary manner, coloured with saffron, as is the custom in these -parts. On this occasion the peculiarity of the cakes is, that a small -portion of the dough in the centre of each top is pulled up and made -into a form which resembles a very small cake on the top of a large -one, and this centre-piece is usually called "the Christmas." Each -person in a house has his or her especial cake, and every person -ought to taste a small piece of every other person's cake. Similar -cakes are also bestowed on the hangers-on of the establishment, such -as laundresses, sempstresses, charwomen, &c.; and even some people who -are in the receipt of weekly charity call, as a matter of course, for -their Christmas cakes. The cakes must not be cut until Christmas-day, -it being probably "unlucky to eat them sooner."--(Geo. C. Boase, -Notes and Queries, 5th series, Dec. 21st, 1878.) - -The materials to make these and nearly all the cakes at this season -were at one time given by the grocers to their principal customers. - -In Cornwall, as in other English counties, houses are at Christmas -"dressed up" with evergreens, sold in small bunches, called "Penn'orths -of Chris'mas"; and two hoops fastened one in the other by nails at -the centres are gaily decorated with evergreens, apples, oranges, -&c., and suspended from the middle beam in the ceiling of the best -kitchen. This is the "bush," or "kissing bush." At night a lighted -candle is put in it, stuck on the bottom nail; but once or twice -lately I have seen a Chinese lantern hanging from the top one. - -In a few remote districts on Christmas-eve children may be, after -nightfall, occasionally (but rarely) found dancing around painted -lighted candles placed in a box of sand. This custom was very -general fifty years ago. The church towers, too, are sometimes -illuminated. This of course, on the coast can only be done in very -calm weather. The tower of Zennor church (Zennor is a village on the -north coast of Cornwall, between St. Ives and St. Just) was lit up -in 1883, for the first time since 1866. - -When open chimneys were universal in farmhouses the Christmas stock, -mock, or block (the log), on which a rude figure of a man had been -chalked, was kindled with great ceremony; in some parts with a piece -of charred wood that had been saved from the last year's "block." A -log in Cornwall is almost always called a "block." "Throw a block on -the fire." - -Candles painted by some member of the family were often lighted at -the same time. - -The choir from the parish church and dissenting chapels go from house -to house singing "curls" (carols), for which they are given money or -feasted; but the quaint old carols, "The first good joy that Mary -had," "I saw three ships come sailing in," common forty years ago, -are now never heard. The natives of Cornwall have been always famous -for their carols; some of their tunes are very old. Even the Knockers, -Sprig-gans, and all the underground spirits that may be always heard -working where there is tin (and who are said to be the ghosts of the -Jews who crucified Jesus), in olden times held mass and sang carols -on Christmas-eve. - -In the beginning of this century at the ruined baptistery of St. Levan, -in West Cornwall (Par-chapel Well), all the carol-singers in that -district, after visiting the neighbouring villages, met and sang -together many carols. Mr. Bottrell says, "One was never forgotten, -in which according to our West Country version, Holy Mary says to -her dear Child:-- - - - 'Go the wayst out, Child Jesus, - Go the wayst out to play; - Down by God's Holy Well - I see three pretty children, - As ever tongue can tell.' - - -"This for its sweet simplicity is still a favourite in the west." - -An old carol or ballad, - - - "Come and I will sing you," etc., - - -known to many old people in all parts of the county, has been thought -by some to be peculiar to Cornwall; but this is an error, as it has -been heard elsewhere. - -At the plentiful supper always provided on this night, [1] egg-hot, -or eggy-hot, was the principal drink. It was made with eggs, hot beer, -sugar, and rum, and was poured from one jug into another until it -became quite white and covered with froth. A sweet giblet pie was one -of the standing dishes at a Christmas dinner--a kind of mince-pie, -into which the giblets of a goose, boiled and finely chopped, were -put instead of beef. Cornwall is noted for its pies, that are eaten on -all occasions; some of them are curious mixtures, such as squab-pie, -which is made with layers of well-seasoned fat mutton and apples, -with onions and raisins. Mackerel pie: the ingredients of this are -mackerel and parsley stewed in milk, then covered with a paste and -baked. When brought to table a hole is cut in the paste, and a basin of -clotted cream thrown in it. Muggetty pie, made from sheep's entrails -(muggets), parsley, and cream. "The devil is afraid to come into -Cornwall for fear of being baked in a pie." - -There is a curious Christmas superstition connected with the Fogo, -Vug, or Vow (local names for a cove) at Pendeen, in North St. Just. - -"At dawn on Christmas-day the spirit of the 'Vow' has frequently -been seen just within the entrance near the cove, in the form of a -beautiful lady dressed in white, with a red rose in her mouth. There -were persons living a few years since who had seen the fair but -not less fearful vision; for disaster was sure to visit those who -intruded on the spirit's morning airing."--(Bottrell, Traditions, -&c., West Cornwall, 2nd series.) - -The following is an account by an anonymous writer of a Christmas -custom in East Cornwall:-- - -"In some places the parishioners walk in procession, visiting the -principal orchards in the parish. In each orchard one tree is selected, -as the representative of the rest; this is saluted with a certain form -of words, which have in them the form of an incantation. They then -sprinkle the tree with cider, or dash a bowl of cider against it, to -ensure its bearing plentifully the ensuing year. In other places the -farmers and their servants only assemble on the occasion, and after -immersing apples in cider hang them on the apple-trees. They then -sprinkle the trees with cider; and after uttering a formal incantation, -they dance round it (or rather round them), and return to the farmhouse -to conclude these solemn rites with copious draughts of cider. - -"In Warleggan, on Christmas-eve, it was customary for some of the -household to put in the fire (bank it up), and the rest to take a jar -of cider, a bottle, and a gun to the orchard, and put a small bough -into the bottle. Then they said:-- - - - "Here's to thee, old apple-tree! - Hats full, packs full, great bushel-bags full! - Hurrah! and fire off the gun." - - --(Old Farmer, Mid Cornwall, through T. Q. Couch, - Sept. 1883, W. Antiquary.) - - -The words chanted in East Cornwall were:-- - - - "Health to thee, good apple-tree, - Pocket-fulls, hat-fulls, peck-fulls, bushel-bag fulls." - - -An old proverb about these trees runs as follows:-- - - - "Blossom in March, for fruit you may search, - Blossom in April, eat you will, - Blossom in May, eat night and day." - - -"At one time small sugared cakes were laid on the branches. This -curious custom has been supposed to be a propitiation of some -spirit."--(Mrs. Damant, Cowes, through Folk-Lore Society.) - -From Christmas to Twelfth-tide parties of mummers known as 'Goose or -Geese-dancers' paraded the streets in all sorts of disguises, with -masks on. They often behaved in such an unruly manner that women and -children were afraid to venture out. If the doors of the houses were -not locked they would enter uninvited and stay, playing all kinds of -antics, until money was given them to go away. "A well-known character -amongst them, about fifty years ago (1862), was the hobby-horse, -represented by a man carrying a piece of wood in the form of a horse's -head and neck, with some contrivance for opening and shutting the -mouth with a loud snapping noise, the performer being so covered -with a horse-cloth or hide of a horse as to resemble the animal, -whose curvetings, biting and other motions he imitated. Some of these -'guise-dancers' occasionally masked themselves with the skins of the -head of bullocks having the horns on."--(The Land's End District, -by R. Edmonds.) - -Sometimes they were more ambitious and acted a version of the old -play, "St. George and the Dragon," which differed but little from -that current in other countries. - -Bottrell, in his Traditions in W. Cornwall (2nd series), gives large -extracts from another Christmas-play, "Duffy and the Devil." It turns -upon the legend, common in all countries, of a woman who had sold -herself to a devil, who was to do her knitting or spinning for her. He -was to claim his bargain at the end of three years if she could not -find out his name before the time expired. Of course, she gets it by -stratagem; her husband, who knows nothing of the compact, first meets -the devil, whilst out hunting, the day before the time is up, and makes -him half-drunk. An old woman in Duffy's pay (Witch Bet) completes -the work, and in that state the devil sings the following words, -ending with his name, which Bet remembers and tells her mistress:-- - - - "I've knit and spun for her - Three years to the day; - To-morrow she shall ride with me - Over land and over sea. - Far away! far away! - For she can never know - That my name is 'Tarraway.'" - - -Bet and some other witches then sing in chorus:-- - - - "By night and by day - We will dance and play - With our noble captain, - Tarraway! Tarraway!" - - -Mr. Robert Hunt in his Romances and Drolls of Old Cornwall has a -variation of this play, in which the devil sings-- - - - "Duffy my lady, you'll never know--what? - That my name is Ferry-top, Ferry-top--top." - - -These "goose-dancers" became such a terror to the respectable -inhabitants of Penzance that the Corporation put them down about ten -years since, and every Christmas-eve a notice is posted in conspicuous -places forbidding their appearance in the streets, but they still -perambulate the streets of St. Ives. Guise-dancing wit must have -very much deteriorated since the beginning of the present century, -as writers before that time speak of the mirth it afforded; and the -saying, "as good as a Christmas-play," is commonly used to describe -a very witty or funny thing. - -It was the custom in Scilly eighty years ago for girls to go to -church on Christmas morning dressed all in white, verifying the old -proverb--"pride is never a-cold." - -"On Porthminster Beach on Christmas-day, as seen from the Malakoff, -St. Ives, at nine o'clock in the morning the boys began to assemble -on the beach with their bats and balls. As soon as twelve youths -arrived a game commenced, called 'Rounders.' The first thing to be -done was to right up the 'bickens.' This accomplished, the sides -were chosen in the following manner:--Two of the best players, -whom we will call Matthew and Phillip, went aside and selected two -objects--the new and old pier. The old pier was Matthew and the new -pier was Phillip. After this was arranged the 'mopper' selected the -old pier, which meant he would rather have Matthew his side than -Phillip. Then Phillip selected some one for his side; and so it went -on until the whole twelve were elected one side or the other. Then -they tossed up for the first innings. Phillip's side won the toss, -and it was their luck to go in first. While they are taking off their -jackets and getting ready to go in I will briefly describe the game. - -"The bickens, four in number, were piles of sand thrown up; each one -being about ten yards from one another, and arranged so as to form -a square. In the centre of the square the bowler was placed with -ball in hand. Behind the batsman stands the 'tip,' while the other -four were off a long way waiting for the long hits. The coats off, in -went the first batsman. The ball was thrown towards him and he tipped -it. The tip instantly took the ball and threw it at the batsman, and -hit him before he arrived at the first bicken, and he was consequently -out. The second batsman had better luck; for on the ball being thrown -to him he sent it out to sea, and by that means he ran a rounder, -or in other words he ran around the four bickens without being hit by -the ball. The next batsman went in. The ball was thrown to him, when, -lo! it went whizzing into the bowler's hands and was caught. This -unlucky hit and lucky catch got the whole side out, before three of -them had a chance to show their skill. The other side then went in, -laughing at the discomfiture of their opponents. The tables, however, -were very soon turned; for the very first hit was caught, and this -produced a row, and the game was broken up! - -"I then went to the next lot: They were playing 'catchers.' There is -only one bicken required in this game, and at this stood a lad called -Watty, with bat and ball in hand. At last he hit the ball, and up it -went flying in the air, descended, and passed through the hands of a -boy named Peters. Peters took the ball from the sand and asked Watty, -'How many?' Watty replied-- - - - 'Two a good scat, [2] - Try for the bat.' - - -"Peters threw the ball to the bicken, but it stopped about -three lengths short. Watty took the ball up and again sent it a -great way. The question was again asked, and Watty gave the same -answer. Again the ball was thrown to the bicken, but this time with -better success; for it stopped at the distance of the length of the -bat and so was within the distance named. Williams then went in. He -was a strong lusty fellow, and the ball was sent spinning along the -sand. It was picked up by Curnow, who asked, 'How many?' - - - 'Three a good scat, - Try for the bat.' - - -"The ball was thrown home and rolled about three bats from the -bicken. This point, however, was the breaking-up of the game, -for Williams said it was more than three bats off, whilst Curnow -maintained that it was not three bats off, and there being no chance -of a compromise being arrived at the game was broken up. - -"The next party was one of young men. They were playing rounders -with a wooden ball, instead of an india-rubber one, as is generally -used. They were twelve each side, and the bickens were about 20 yards -distant. By this time the tide was out a great way, so that there was -no fear of the ball being knocked to sea, as was the case with the -other boys. When I got there they had been playing for about an hour, -and the side that was in had been in about half of that time. The -first hit I saw was 'a beauty!' The ball was sent about 75 yards, -and the result was a rounder. Two or three other persons went in and -did the same thing, and so the game went on for about an hour longer, -when one of the fellows knocked up a catcher and was caught. This -side had stayed in for about one hour and a half. The other side went -in at about a quarter to three, and after playing about another hour -they went home to tea. - -"I went to tea also, but was soon up in the Malakoff again. It was so -dark that the play was stopped for the time. At about seven o'clock the -older part of the town began to congregate, and about a quarter-past -seven they began to play 'Thursa.' This game is too well known to -need description, and I need only say that it was played about one -hour, when they began to form a ring with the intention, I supposed, -of playing that best of all games, 'Kiss-in-the-Ring'."--(Cornishman, -1881.) - -On St. Stephen's-day, 26th December, before the days of gun-licences, -every man or boy who could by any means get a gun went out shooting, -and it was dangerous to walk the lanes. The custom is said to have had -its origin in the legend of one of St. Stephen's guards being awakened -by a bird just as his prisoner was going to escape. A similar practice -prevailed in the neighbourhood of Penzance on "feasten Monday," the -day after Advent Sunday; but on that day I have never heard of any -religious idea connected with it. - -In the week after Christmas-day a fair is held at Launceston (and -also at Okehampton in Devonshire), called "giglet fair" (a "giglet or -giglot" is a giddy young woman). It is principally attended by young -people. "At this 'giglet market,' or wife-market, the rustic swain was -privileged with self-introduction to any of the nymphs around him, -so that he had a good opportunity of choosing a suitable partner if -tired of a single life."--(Britton and Brayley's Devon and Cornwall.) - -It is unlucky to begin a voyage on Childermas (Innocents'-day), -also to wash clothes, or to do any but necessary household work. - -On New Year's-eve in the villages of East Cornwall, soon after dusk, -parties of men, from four to six in a party, carrying a small bowl -in their hands, went from house to house begging money to make a -feast. They opened the doors without knocking, called out Warsail, -and sang,-- - - - "These poor jolly Warsail boys - Come travelling through the mire." - - -This custom was common fifty years since, and may still be observed -in remote rural districts. There is one saint whose name is familiar -to all in Cornwall, but whose sex is unknown. This saint has much to -answer for; promises made, but never intended to be kept, are all -to be fulfilled on next St. Tibbs's-eve, a day that some folks say -"falls between the old and new year;" others describe it as one that -comes "neither before nor after Christmas." - -Parties are general in Cornwall on New Year's-eve to watch in the New -Year and wish friends health and happiness; but I know of no peculiar -customs, except that before retiring to rest the old women opened their -Bibles at hap-hazard to find out their luck for the coming year. The -text on which the fore-finger of the right hand rested was supposed to -foretell the future. And money, generally a piece of silver, was placed -on the threshold, to be brought in the first thing on the following -day, that there might be no lack of it for the year. Nothing was ever -lent on New Year's-day, as little as possible taken out, but all that -could be brought into the house. "I have even known the dust of the -floor swept inwards."--(T. Q. Couch, W. Antiquary, September, 1883.) - -Door-steps on New Year's-day were formerly sanded for good luck, -because I suppose people coming into the house were sure to bring -some of it in with them sticking to their feet. - -Many elderly people at the beginning of the present century still kept -to the "old style," and held their Christmas-day on Epiphany. On the -eve of that day they said "the cattle in the fields and stalls never -lay down, but at midnight turned their faces to the east and fell on -their knees." - -Twelfth-day (old Christmas-day) was a time of general feasting -and merriment. Into the Twelfth-day cake were put a wedding-ring, -a sixpence, and a thimble. It was cut into as many portions as there -were guests; the person who found the wedding-ring in his (or her) -portion would be married before the year was out; the holder of the -thimble would never be married, and the one who got the sixpence would -die rich. After candlelight many games were played around the open -fires. I will describe one:--"Robin's alight." A piece of stick was -set on fire, and whirled rapidly in the hands of the first player, -who repeated the words-- - - - "Robin's alight, and if he go out I'll saddle your back." - - -It was then passed on, and the person who let the spark die had to -pay a forfeit.--(West Cornwall.) - -This game in East Cornwall was known as "Jack's alive." - - - "Jack's alive and likely to live, - If he die in my hand a pawn I'll give." - - -In this county forfeits are always called "pawns"; they are cried by -the holder of them, saying,-- - - - "Here's a pawn and a very pretty pawn! - And what shall the owner of this pawn do?" - - -After the midnight supper, at which in one village in the extreme West -a pie of four-and-twenty blackbirds always appeared, many spells to -forecast the future were practised. The following account of them was -given to me by a friend. He says--"I engaged in them once at Sennen -(the village at the Land's End) with a lot of girls, but as my object -was only to spoil sport and make the girls laugh or speak, it was -not quite satisfactory. I suppose the time to which I refer is over -forty years ago. After making up a large turf fire, for hot 'umers' -(embers) and pure water are absolutely necessary in these divinations, -the young people silently left the house in single file, to pull the -rushes and gather the ivy-leaves by means of which they were to learn -whether they were to be married, and to whom; and if any, or how many, -of their friends were to die before the end of the year. On leaving -and on returning each of these Twelfth-night diviners touched the -'cravel' with the forehead and 'wished.' The cravel is the tree that -preceded lintels in chimney corners, and its name from this custom may -have been derived from the verb 'to crave.' Had either of the party -inadvertently broken the silence before the rushes and ivy-leaves -had been procured they would all have been obliged to retrace their -steps to the house and again touch the cravel; but this time all went -well. When we came back those who wished to know their fate named the -rushes in pairs, and placed them in the hot embers: one or two of -the engaged couples being too shy to do this for themselves, their -friends, amidst much laughing, did it for them. The manner in which -the rushes burned showed if the young people were to be married to -the person chosen or not: some, of course, burnt well, others parted, -and one or two went out altogether. The couples that burnt smoothly -were to be wedded, and the one named after the rush that lasted longest -outlived the other. This settled, one ivy-leaf was thrown on the fire; -the number of cracks it made was the number of years before the wedding -would take place. Then two were placed on the hot ashes; the cracks -they gave this time showed how many children the two would have. We -then drew ivy-leaves named after present or absent friends through -a wedding ring, and put them into a basin of water which we left -until the next morning. Those persons whose leaves had shrivelled or -turned black in the night were to die before the next Twelfth-tide, -and those who were so unfortunate as to find their leaves spotted -with red, by some violent death, unless a 'pellar' (wise man) could -by his skill and incantations grant protection. These prophecies -through superstition sometimes unluckily fulfilled themselves." - -During the twelve days of Christmas card-playing was a very favourite -amusement with all classes. Whilst the old people enjoyed their game -of whist with 'swabbers,' the young ones had their round games. I will -append the rules of two or three for those who would like to try them. - -Whist (or whisk, as I have heard an old lady call it and maintain -that that was its proper name) with "swabbers." - -This game, which was played as recently as 1880, nightly, by -four maiden ladies at Falmouth, is like ordinary whist; but each -player before beginning to play puts into the pool a fixed sum for -"swabs." The "swab-cards" are--ace and deuce of trumps, ace of hearts -and knave of clubs. The four cards are of equal value; but should -hearts be trumps the ace would count double. - -"Board-'em," a round game that can be played by any number of players, -from two to eight; it is played for fish, and there must never be -less than six fish in the pool. Six cards are dealt to each person; -and the thirteenth, if two are playing, the nineteenth if three, and -so on, is turned up for trumps. The fore-hand plays; the next player, -if he has one, must follow suit, if not, he may play another suit, or -trump. The highest card of the original suit, if not trumped, takes -the trick and one or more fish, according to the number staked. If -you have neither card in your hand that you think will make a trick -you may decline to play, in which case you only lose your stake; -but should you play and fail to take a trick you pay for the whole -company, and are said to "be boarded." - -"Ranter-go-round" was formerly played in four divisions marked with -chalk upon a tea-tray; or even, in some cases, on a bellows--it is now -played on a table, and is called "Miss Joan." Any number of players -may join in it. The first player throws down any card of any suit, -and says:-- - - - "Here's a ---- as you may see. - 2nd Player--Here's another as good as he. - 3rd Player--And here's the best of all the three. - 4th Player--And here's Miss Joan, come tickle me." - - -The holder of the fourth card wins the trick. He sometimes added the -words wee-wee; but these are now generally omitted. If the person -sitting next to the fore-hand has neither one of the cards demanded -(one of the same value as the first played, in another suit), he -pays one to the pool, as must all in turn who fail to produce the -right cards. The player of the third may have the fourth in his hand, -in which case all the others pay. The holder of the most tricks wins -the game and takes the pool. - -I once, about thirty years since, at this season of the year, joined -some children at Camborne who were playing a very primitive game called -by them "pinny-ninny." A basin turned upside down was placed in the -centre of a not very large round table. The players were supplied -with small piles of pins--not the well-made ones sold in papers, -but clumsy things with wire heads--"pound-pins." A large bottle full -of them might, then, always be seen in the general shop window of -every little country village. Each in turn dropped a pin over the -side of the basin, and he whose pin fell and formed a cross on the -top of the heap was entitled to add them to his own pile. This went -on until one player had beggared all the others. Poor children before -Christmas often begged pins to play this game, and their request was -always granted by the gift of two. - -A wishing-well, near St. Austell, was sometimes called Pennameny -Well, from the custom of dropping pins into it. Pedna-a-mean is the -old Cornish for "heads-and-tails."--(See Divination at St. Roche and -Madron Well.) - -All Christmas-cakes must be eaten by the night of Twelfth-tide, -as it is unlucky to have any left, and all decorations must be -taken down on the next day, because for every forgotten leaf of -evergreen a ghost will be seen in the house in the course of the -ensuing year. This latter superstition does not prevail, however, -in all parts of Cornwall, as in some districts a small branch is kept -to scare away evil spirits. - -January 24th, St. Paul's-eve, is a holiday with the miners, and is -called by them 'Paul pitcher-day,' from a custom they have of setting -up a water-pitcher, which they pelt with stones until it is broken -in pieces. A new one is afterwards bought and carried to a beer-shop -to be filled with beer. - -"There is a curious custom prevalent in some parts of Cornwall of -throwing broken pitchers and other earthen vessels against the doors -of dwelling-houses on the eve of the conversion of St. Paul, thence -locally called 'Paul pitcher-night.' On that evening parties of young -people perambulate the parishes in which the custom is retained, -exclaiming as they throw the sherds, 'St. Paul's-eve and here's a -heave.' According to the received notions the first heave cannot -be objected to; but, upon its being repeated, the inhabitants of -the house whose door is thus attacked may, if they can, seize the -offenders and inflict summary justice upon them."--(F.M., Notes and -Queries, March, 1874.) - -I have heard of this practice from a native of East Cornwall, who -told me the pitchers were filled with broken sherds, filth, &c. - -The weather on St. Paul's-day still, with the old people, foretells -the weather for the ensuing year, and the rhyme common to all England -is repeated by them:-- - - - "If St. Paul's-day be fine and clear," &c. - - -St. Blazey, a village in East Cornwall, is so named in honour of -St. Blaize, who is said to have landed at Par, a small neighbouring -seaport, when he came on a visit to England. His feast, which is -held on 3rd February, would not be worth mentioning were it not for -the fact that--"This saint is invoked in the county for toothache, -while applying to the tooth the candle that burned on the altar of the -church dedicated to him. The same candles are good for sore-throats -and curing diseases in cattle."--(Mrs. Damant, Cowes.) - -On the Monday after St. Ives feast, which falls on Quinquagesima -Sunday, an annual hurling-match is held on the sands. Most writers -on Cornwall have described the old game. The following account is -taken from The Land's End District, 1862, by R. Edmonds:-- - -"A ball about the size of a cricket-ball, formed of cork, or light -wood, and covered with silver, was hurled into the air, midway -between the goals. Both parties immediately rushed towards it, each -striving to seize and carry it to its own goal. In this contest, -when any individual having possession of the ball found himself -overpowered or outrun by his opponents, he hurled it to one of his -own side, if near enough, or, if not, into some pool, ditch, furze, -brake, garden, house, or other place of concealment, to prevent his -adversaries getting hold of it before his own company could arrive." - -The hurlers, quaintly says Carew (Survey of Cornwall, p. 74), "Take -their next way ouer hills, dales, hedges, ditches--yea, and thorou -bushes, briers, mires, plashes, and rivers whatsoever--so as you -shall sometimes see twenty or thirty lie tugging together in the -water, scrambling and scratching for the ball. A play verily both -rude and rough." - -Hurling between two or more parishes, and between one parish and -another, has long ceased in Cornwall: but hurling by one part of a -parish against another is still played at St. Ives, as well as other -places in Cornwall. At St. Ives all the Toms, Wills, and Johns are on -one side, while those having other Christian names range themselves on -the opposite. At St. Columb (East Cornwall) the townspeople contend -with the countrymen; at Truro, the married men with the unmarried; -at Helston, two streets with all the other streets; on the 2nd of May, -when their town-bounds are renewed. - -"Fair-play is good play," is the hurlers' motto. This is sometimes -engraven on their balls in the old Cornish language. Private families -possess some of these balls won by their ancestors early in the last -century that are religiously handed down as heirlooms. - -A Druidic circle at St. Cleer, in East Cornwall, is known as the -Hurlers, from a tradition that a party of men hurling on a Sunday -were there for their wickedness turned into stone. - -'Peasen or Paisen Monday' is the Monday before Shrove Tuesday; it is so -called in East Cornwall from a custom of eating pea-soup there on this -day. This practice was once so universal in some parishes that an old -farmer of Lower St. Columb, who had a special aversion to pea-soup, -left his home in the morning, telling his wife that he should not -come back to dinner, but spend the day with a friend. He returned -two or three hours after in great disgust, as at every house in the -village he had been asked to stay and taste their delicious pea-soup. - -"This day also in East Cornwall bears the name of 'Hall Monday,' -why, I know not. And at dusk on the evening of the same day it is the -custom for boys, and in some cases for those above the age of boys, -to prowl about the streets with short clubs, and to knock loudly at -every door, running off to escape detection on the slightest sign of a -motion within. If, however, no attention be excited, and especially if -any article be discovered, negligently exposed or carelessly guarded, -then the things are carried away, and on the following morning are -seen displayed in some conspicuous place, to disclose the disgraceful -want of vigilance supposed to characterise the owner. The time when -this is practised is called 'Nicky Nan' night, and the individuals -concerned are supposed to represent some imps of darkness, that seize -on and expose unguarded moments."--(Polperro, p. 151, by T. Q. Couch.) - -A custom nearly similar to this was practised in Scilly in the last -century. - -The dinner on Shrove Tuesday in many Cornish houses consists of fried -eggs and bacon, or salt pork, followed by the universal pancake, -which is eaten by all classes. It is made the full size of the pan, -and currants are put into the batter. - -In Penzance large quantities of limpets and periwinkles are gathered -in the afternoon by poor people, to be cooked for their supper. This -they call "going a-trigging." Any kind of shell-fish picked up at -low water in this district is known as "trig-meat." - -Many other customs were formerly observed in Penzance on Shrove -Tuesday, peculiar, I believe, to this town. - -Women and boys stood at the corners of the streets, with well-greased, -sooty hands, which they rubbed over people's faces. I remember, not -more than thirty years ago, seeing a little boy run into a house in -a great hurry, and ask for what was he wanted. He had met a woman who -had put her hands affectionately on each side of his face, and said, -"Your father has been looking for you, my dear." She had left the -marks of her dirty fingers. - -The butchers' market was always thoroughly cleaned in the afternoon, -to see if the town hose were in perfect repair, and great merriment -was often excited by the firemen turning the full force of the water -on some unwary passer-by. - -People, too, were occasionally deluged by having buckets of water -thrown over them. Every Shrove Tuesday after dusk men and boys went -about and threw handfuls of shells, bottles of filth, etc., in at the -doors. It was usual then for drapers to keep their shops open until -a very late hour; and I have been told that boys were occasionally -bribed by the assistants to throw something particularly disagreeable -in on the floors, that the masters might be frightened, and order the -shops to be shut. Still later in the evening signs were taken down, -knockers wrenched off, gates unhung and carried to some distance. This -last was done even as far down as 1881. Pulling boats up and putting -them in a mill-pool (now built over) was a common practice at Mousehole -in the beginning of the century. - -"In Landewednack, on Shrove Tuesday, children from the ages of six -to twelve perambulate the parish begging for 'Col-perra' (probably -an old Cornish word); but, whatever be its meaning, they expect to -receive eatables or half-pence. As few refuse to give, they collect -during the day a tolerable booty, in the shape of money, eggs, buns, -apples, etc. The custom has existed from time immemorial, but none -of the inhabitants are acquainted with its origin."--(A Week in the -Lizard, by Rev. C. A. Johns, B.B., F.L.S.) - -I have been favoured by the Rev. S. Rundle, Godolphin, with the formula -repeated by the children on this occasion (now almost forgotten): -"Hen-cock, han-cock, give me a 'tabban' (morsel), or else 'Col-perra' -shall come to your door." - -Boys at St. Ives, Scilly, and other places, went about with stones -tied to strings, with which they struck the doors, saying:-- - - - "Give me a pancake, now! now! now! - Or I'll knock in your door with a row, tow, tow!" - - -This custom has only lately (if it has yet) quite died out. The rhyme -at Polperro ran thus:-- - - - "Nicky, Nicky, Nan, - Give me some pancake, and then I'll be gone, - But if you give me none - I'll throw a great stone, - And down your door shall come." - - T. Q. Couch. - - -Cock-fighting at Shrovetide was once a very favourite amusement in -Cornwall, and in some of the most remote western villages has until -recently been continued. "The Cock-pit" at Penzance, a small part -of which still remains as a yard at the Union Hotel, belonged to and -was kept up by the Corporation until (I think) the beginning of the -present century. - -"Sir Rose Price, when young, was a great patron of the pit between -the years 1780-1790. His father disapproved, and in consideration -of his son giving up cock-fighting bought him a pack of hounds, -the first foxhounds west of Truro."--(T.S.B.) - -"At St. Columb, about sixty years ago, on Shrove Tuesday, each child -in a dame's school was expected by the mistress to bring an egg, -and at twelve o'clock the children had an egg-battle. Two children -stood facing each other, each held an egg, and struck the end of it -against that of the opponent lengthwise, the result being that one -or both were broken. - -"An unbroken egg was used again and again to fight the rest, and -so the battle raged until all, or all but one, of the eggs were -broken. The child who at the end of the fight held a sound egg was -considered to be the conqueror, and was glorified accordingly. To -save the contents of the eggs, which were the perquisite of the -mistress, she held a plate beneath; and at the end of the battle -the children were dismissed. And the old lady having picked out all -the broken shells, proceeded to prepare her pancakes, of which she -made her dinner."--(Fred. W. P. Jago, M.B., Plymouth, W. Antiquary, -March, 1884.) - -"It must be now about thirty years ago that I was a day-scholar at -the National School of St. Columb, and it was the custom then for each -boy and girl to bring an egg. One of the senior boys stood at a table -and wrote the name of the donor upon each. At about eleven o'clock the -schoolmaster would produce a large punchbowl, and as he took up each -egg he read the name, and broke the egg into the bowl. Eggs at that -time were sold at three for a penny."--(W. B., Bodmin, W. Antiquary, -March, 1884.) - -In the eastern part of the county at the beginning of Lent a straw -figure dressed in cast-off clothes, and called "Jack-o'-lent," was not -long since paraded through the streets and afterwards hung. Something -of this kind is common on the Continent. - -The figure is supposed to represent Judas Iscariot. A slovenly ragged -person is sometimes described as a "Jack-o'-lent." - -1st March.--In Mid-Cornwall, people arise before the sun is up, and -sweep before the door to sweep away fleas.--(T. Q. Couch, W. Antiquary, -September, 1883.) - -5th March.--St. Piran's day is a miners' holiday. St. Piran is the -patron saint of "tinners," and is popularly supposed to have died -drunk. "As drunk as a Piraner" is a Cornish proverb. - -The first Friday in March is another miners' holiday, "Friday in -Lide." It is marked by a serio-comic custom of sending a young man -on the highest "bound," or hillock, of the "works," and allowing him -to sleep there as long as he can, the length of his siesta being the -measure of the afternoon nap of the "tinners" throughout the ensuing -twelve months.--(T. Q. Couch.) Lide is an obsolete term for the month -of March still preserved in old proverbs, such as "Ducks won't lay -'till they've drunk Lide water. - -Of a custom observed at Little Colan, in East Cornwall, on Palm Sunday, -Carew says: "Little Colan is not worth observation, unlesse you will -deride or pity their simplicity, who sought at our Lady Nant's well -there to foreknowe what fortune should betide them, which was in this -manner. Upon Palm Sunday these idle-headed seekers resorted thither -with a Palme cross in one hand and an offring in the other. The offring -fell to the Priest's share, the crosse they threwe into the well; -which if it swamme the party should outliue the yeere; if it sunk a -short ensuing death was boded; and perhaps not altogether vntimely, -while a foolish conceite of this 'halsening' myght the sooner helpe -it onwards." - -Holy Thursday.--On that Thursday, and the two following Thursdays, -girls in the neighbourhood of Roche, in East Cornwall, repair to -his holy or wishing well before sunrise. They throw in crooked pins -or pebbles, and, by the bubbles that rise to the surface, seek to -ascertain whether their sweethearts will be true or false. There was -once a chapel near this well, which was then held in great repute for -the cure of all kinds of diseases, and a granite figure of St. Roche -stood on the arch of the building that still covers it. - -"Goody Friday" (Good Friday) was formerly kept more as a feast than a -fast in Cornwall. Every vehicle was engaged days beforehand to take -parties to some favourite place of resort in the neighbourhood, and -labourers in inland parishes walked to the nearest seaport to gather -"wrinkles" (winkles), &c. - -On the morning of Good Friday at St. Constantine, in West Cornwall, -an old custom is still observed of going to Helford river to gather -shell-fish (limpets, cockles, &c.); this river was once famous for -oysters, and many were then bought and eaten on this day. - -"Near Padstow, in East Cornwall, is the tower of an old church -dedicated to St. Constantine. In its vicinity the feast of -St. Constantine used to be annually celebrated, and has only -been discontinued of late years. Its celebration consisted in the -destruction of limpet-pies, and service in the church, followed -by a hurling match."--(Murray's Cornwall.) Another writer says: -"The festival of St. Constantine" (March 9th) "was until very lately -kept at St. Merran" (Constantine and Merran are now one parish) "by an -annual hurling match, on which occasion the owner of Harlyn" (a house -in the neighbourhood) "had from time immemorial supplied the silver -ball. We are informed, on good authority, that a Shepherd's family, -of the name of Edwards, held one of the cottages in Constantine for -many generations under the owners of Harlyn, by the annual render -of a Cornish pie, made of limpets, raisins, and sweet herbs, on the -feast of St. Constantine."--(Lysons' Magna Britannia.) - -At St. Day a fair was formerly held on Good Friday, now changed to -Easter Monday. - -"On Good Friday, 1878, I saw a brisk fair going on in the little -village of Perran Porth, Cornwall, not far from the curious oratory of -St. Piran, known as Perranzabuloe."--(W. A. B. C., Notes and Queries, -April 23rd, 1881.) - -But, although many still make this day a holiday, the churches are -now much better attended. Good Friday cross-buns of many kinds are -sold by the Cornish confectioners; some, highly spiced, are eaten -hot with butter and sugar; a commoner bun is simply washed over the -top with saffron, and has a few currants stuck on it. There is one -peculiar, I believe, to Penzance: it is made of a rich currant paste -highly covered with saffron; it is about an eighth of an inch thick, -and four inches in diameter, and is marked with a large cross that -divides it into four equal portions. - -"In some of our farmhouses the Good Friday bun may be seen hanging -to a string from the bacon-rack, slowly diminishing until the return -of the season replaces it by a fresh one. It is of sovereign good in -all manners of diseases afflicting the family or cattle. I have more -than once seen a little of this cake grated into a warm mash for a -sick cow."--(T. Q. Couch, Polperro.) There is a superstition that -bread made on this day never gets mouldy. - -Many amateur gardeners sow their seeds on Good Friday; superstition -says then they will all grow. "There is a widely known belief -in West Cornwall, that young ravens are always hatched on Good -Friday."--(T. Cornish, W. Antiquary, October, 1887.) - -On Easter Monday, at Penzance, it was the custom within the last twenty -years to bring out in the lower part of the town, before the doors, -tables, on which were placed thick gingerbread cakes with raisins in -them, cups and saucers, etc., to be raffled for with cups and dice, -called here "Lilly-bangers." Fifty years since a man, nicknamed -Harry Martillo, with his wife, the "lovelee," always kept one of -these "lilly-banger stalls" at Penzance on market day. He would call -attention to his gaming-table by shouting-- - - - "I've been in Europe, Ayshee, Afrikee, and Amerikee, - And come back and married the lovelee." - - -I have heard that both used tobacco in three ways, and indulged -freely in rum, also "tom-trot" (hardbake), strongly flavoured with -peppermint. Of course a lively market would influence the dose, and -as for "lovelee," it must have been in Harry's partial eyes.--(H.R.C.) - -"Upon little Easter Sunday, the freeholders of the towne and mannour -of Lostwithiel, by themselves or their deputies, did there assemble, -amongst whom one (as it fell to his lot by turne), bravely apparelled, -gallantly mounted, with a crowne on his head, a scepter in his hand, -a sword borne before him, and dutifully attended by all the rest -also on horseback, ride thorow the principal streete to the Church; -there the Curate in his best 'beseene' solemne receiud him at the -Church-yard stile, and conducted him to heare diuine seruice; after -which he repaired with the same pompe to a house fore-prouided for -that purpose, made a feast to his attendants, kept the table's end -himselfe, and was serued with kneeling, assay, and all other rites -due to the estate of a Prince; with which dinner the ceremony ended, -and every man returned home again."--(Carew.) - -The ancient custom of choosing a mock mayor was observed at -Lostwithiel, on 10th October, 1884, by torchlight, in the presence of -nearly a thousand people. The origin of both these customs is now quite -forgotten. "A custom still existing at St. John's, Helston, and also at -Buryan. The last mayor of the Quay, Penzance, was Mr. Robinson, a noted -authority on sea fishing, etc. He died about ten years ago."--(H.R.C.) - -April 1st. The universal attempts at fooling on this day are carried on -in Cornwall as elsewhere, and children are sent by their schoolfellows -for penn'orths of pigeon's milk, memory powder, strap-oil, etc., or -with a note telling the receiver "to send the fool farther." When one -boy succeeds in taking in another, he shouts after him, Fool! fool! the -"guckaw" (cuckoo). - -Towednack's (a village near St. Ives) "Cuckoo" or "Crowder" feast is on -the nearest Sunday to the 28th April. Tradition accounts for the first -name by the story of a man who there gave a feast on an inclement -day in the end of April. To warm his guests he threw some faggots -on the fire (or some furze-bushes), when a cuckoo flew out of them, -calling "Cuckoo! cuckoo!" It was caught and kept, and he resolved -every year to invite his friends to celebrate the event. This, too, -is said to be the origin of the feast. - -"Crowder" in Cornwall means a fiddler, and the fiddle is called a -"crowd." In former days the parishioners of Towednack were met at -the church door on "feasten" day by a "crowder," who, playing on his -"crowd," headed a procession through the village street, hence its -second name. - -The only May-pole now erected in Cornwall is put up on April 30th, -at Hugh Town, St. Mary's, Scilly. Girls dance round it on May-day with -garlands of flowers on their heads, or large wreaths of flowers from -shoulder to waist. Dr. Stephen Clogg, of Looe, says that "May-poles -are still to be seen on May-day, at Pelynt, Dulver, and East and -West Looe."--(W. Antiquary, August, 1884.) In the beginning of this -century, boys and girls in Cornwall sat up until twelve o'clock on the -eve of May-day, and then marched around the towns and villages with -Musical Instruments, collecting their friends to go a-maying. May-day -is ushered in at Penzance by the discordant blowing of large tin -horns. At daybreak, and even earlier, parties of boys, five or six in -number, assemble at the street corners, from whence they perambulate -the town blowing their horns and conchshells. They enter the gardens -of detached houses, stop and bray under the bed-room windows, and -beg for money. With what they collect they go into the country, and -at one of the farmhouses they breakfast on bread and clotted cream, -junket, &c. An additional ring of tin (a penn'orth) is added to his -horn every year that a boy uses it. - -Formerly, on May-morn, if the boys succeeded in fixing a "May bough" -over a farmer's door before he was up, he was considered bound to -give them their breakfasts; and in some parts of the county, should -the first comer bring with him a piece of well-opened hawthorn, -he was entitled to a basin of cream. - -"In West Cornwall it is the custom to hang a piece of furze to a door -early in the morning of May-day. At breakfast-time the one who does -this appears and demands a piece of bread and cream with a basin of -'raw-milk' (milk that has not been scalded and the cream taken off). - -"In Landrake, East Cornwall, it was the custom to give the person -who plucked a fern as much cream as would cover it. It was also a -practice there to chastise with stinging nettles any one found in -bed after six on May-morning."--(Rev. S. Rundle, Vicar, Godolphin.) - -Young shoots of sycamore, as well as white thorn, are known as May in -Cornwall, and from green twigs of the former and from green stalks -of wheaten corn the children of this county make a rude whistle, -which they call a "feeper." - -Until very lately parties of young men and women rose betimes on -May-day and went into the country to breakfast; going a "a junketing" -in the evening has not yet been discontinued. - -At Hayle, on May-day (1883), as usual, groups of children, decorated -with flowers and gay with fantastic paper-clothes, went singing through -the streets. In the evening bonfires were lit in various parts of the -town, houses were illuminated with candles, torches and fire-balls -burnt until a late hour. The last is a new and dangerous plaything: -a ball of tow or rags is saturated with petroleum, set fire to, -and then kicked from one place to another; it leaves a small track -of burning oil wherever it goes. - -"On May-morning, in Polperro, the children and even adults go -out into the country and fetch home branches of the narrow-leaved -elm, or flowering boughs of white thorn, both of which are called -'May.' At a later hour all the boys sally forth with bucket, can, -or other vessel, and avail themselves of a license which the season -confers--to 'dip' or wellnigh drown, without regard to person or -circumstance, the passenger who has not the protection of a piece of -'May' conspicuously stuck in his dress; at the same time they sing, -'The first of May is Dipping-day.' This manner of keeping May-day is, -I have heard, common in Cornwall. We are now favoured with a call -from the boy with his pretty garland, gay with bright flowers and -gaudily-painted birds'-eggs, who expects some little gratuity for -the sight."--(T. Q. Couch.) - -"At East and West Looe the boys dress their hats with flowers, furnish -themselves with bullocks' horns, in which sticks of two feet long are -fixed, and with these filled with water they parade the streets and -dip all persons who have not the sprig of May in their hats."--(Bond.) - -"First of May you must take down all the horse-shoes (that are nailed -over doors to keep out witches, &c.) and turn them, not letting them -touch the ground."--(Old farmer, Mid-Cornwall, through T. Q. Couch, -W. Antiquary, September, 1883.) - -May-day at Padstow is Hobby-horse day. A hobby-horse is carried through -the streets to a pool known as Traitor's-pool, a quarter of a mile -out of the town. Here it is supposed to drink: the head is dipped -into the water, which is freely sprinkled over the spectators. The -procession returns home, singing a song to commemorate the tradition -that the French, having landed in the bay, mistook a party of mummers -in red cloaks for soldiers, hastily fled to their boats and rowed away. - -"The May-pole on the first of May at Padstow has only been discontinued -within the last six or eight years (1883). It was erected in connection -with the 'Hobby-horse' festival by the young men of the town, who on -the last eve of April month would go into the country, cut a quantity -of blooming yellow furze, and gather the flowers then in season, make -garlands of the same; borrow the largest spar they could get from -the shipwright's yard, dress it up with the said furze and garlands, -with a flag or two on the top, and hoist the pole in a conspicuous -part of the town, when the 'Mayers,' male and female, would dance -around it on that festival-day, singing-- - - - 'And strew all your flowers, for summer is come in to-day. - It is but a while ago since we have strewed ours - In the merry morning of May,' &c. - - -"The May-pole was allowed to remain up from a week to a fortnight, -when it was taken down, stripped, and the pole returned."--(Henry -Harding, Padstow, W. Antiquary, August, 1883.) - -"Formerly all the respectable people at Padstow kept this anniversary, -decorated with the choicest flowers; but some unlucky day a number of -rough characters from a distance joined in it, and committed some sad -assaults upon old and young, spoiling all their nice summer clothes, -and covering their faces and persons with smut. From that time--fifty -years since--(1865) the procession is formed of the lowest. - -"The May-pole was once decorated with the best flowers, now with -only some elm-branches and furze in blossom. The horse is formed -as follows: The dress is made of sackcloth painted black--a fierce -mask--eyes red, horse's head, horse-hair mane and tail; distended -by a hoop--some would call it frightful. Carried by a powerful man, -he could inflict much mischief with the snappers, &c. No doubt it is -a remnant of the ancient plays, and it represents the devil, or the -power of darkness. They commence singing at sunrise. - - - 'THE MORNING-SONG. - - 'Unite and unite, and let us all unite, - For summer is comen to-day; - For whither we are going we all will unite, - In the merry morning of May. - - 'Arise up, Mr. ----, and joy you betide, - For summer is comen to-day; - And bright is your bride that lays by your side, - In the merry morning of May. - - 'Arise, up Mrs. ----, and gold be your ring, - For summer is comen to-day; - And give us a cup of ale, the merrier we shall sing - In the merry morning of May. - - 'Arise up, Miss ----, all in your smock of silk, - For summer is comen to-day; - And all your body under as white as any milk, - In the merry morning of May. - - 'The young men of Padstow might if they would, - For summer is comen to-day; - They might have built a ship and gilded her with gold, - In the merry morning of May. - - 'Now fare you well, and we bid you good cheer, - For summer is comen to-day; - He will come no more unto your house before another year, - In the merry morning of May.'" - - (George Rawlings, September 1st, 1865, through - R. Hunt, F.R.S., Droles, &c., Old Cornwall.) - - -Mr. Rawlings all through his song has written "For summer has come -unto day," but this is clearly a mistake. He also gives another which -he calls the "May-Song," but it is not as well worth transcribing: -it bears in some parts a slight resemblance to that sung at the -Helston Hal-an-tow. - -Mr. George C. Boase, in an article on "The Padstow May-Songs," has many -additional verses in "The Morning-Song." He also gives "The Day-Song," -sung in honour of St. George, of which I will quote the first verse, -and the last paragraph of his paper. - - - "Awake, St. George, our English knight O! - For summer is a-come and winter is a-go, - And every day God give us His grace, - By day and by night O! - Where is St. George, where is he O! - He is out in his long boat, all on the salt sea O! - And in every land O! the land that ere we go. - - Chorus--And for to fetch the summer home, the summer and the May O! - For the summer is a-come and the winter is a-go, - etc." - - -The only account of "The Hobby-horse" found in the Cornish histories is -in Hitchins and Drew's Cornwall (vol. i., p. 720; vol. ii., pp. 525, -529), where it is stated that there is a tradition of St. George -on horseback having visited the neighbourhood of Padstow, where -the indentation of his horse's hoofs caused a spring of water to -arise. The spot is still known as St. George's well, and water is -said to be found there even in the hottest summer.--(W. Antiquary.) - -In East Cornwall they have a custom of bathing in the sea on the -three first Sunday mornings in May. And in West Cornwall children -were taken before sunrise on those days to the holy wells, notably to -that of St. Maddern (Madron), near Penzance, to be there dipped into -the running water, that they might be cured of the rickets and other -childish disorders. After being stripped naked they were plunged three -times into the water, the parents facing the sun, and passed round the -well nine times from east to west. They were then dressed, and laid -by the side of the well, or on an artificial mound re-made every year, -called St. Maddern's bed, which faced it, to sleep in the sun: should -they do so and the water bubble it was considered a good sign. Not -a word was to be spoken the whole time for fear of breaking the spell. - -A small piece torn (not cut) from the child's clothes was hung -for luck (if possible out of sight) on a thorn which grew out of -the chapel wall. Some of these bits of rag may still sometimes be -found fluttering on the neighbouring bushes. I knew two well-educated -people who in 1840, having a son who could not walk at the age of two, -carried him and dipped him in Madron well (a distance of three miles -from their home,) on the first two Sundays in May; but on the third -the father refused to go. Some authorities say this well should be -visited on the first three Wednesdays in May; as was for the same -purpose another holy well at Chapel Euny (or St. Uny) near Sancred. - -The Wesleyans hold an open-air service on the first three Sunday -afternoons in May, at a ruined chapel near Madron well, in the south -wall of which a hole may be seen, through which the water from the -well runs into a small baptistry in the south-west corner. - -Parties of young girls to this day walk there in May to try for -sweethearts. Crooked pins, or small heavy things, are dropped into the -well in couples; if they keep together the pair will be married; the -number of bubbles they make in falling shows the time that will elapse -before the event. Sometimes two pieces of straw formed into a cross, -fastened in the centre by a pin, were used in these divinations. An old -woman who lived in a cottage at a little distance formerly frequented -the well and instructed visitors how to work the charms; she was never -paid in money, but small presents were placed where she could find -them. Pilgrims from all parts of England centuries ago resorted to -St. Maddern's well: that was famed, as was also her grave, for many -miraculous cures. The late Rev. R. S. Hawker, Vicar of Morwenstow, in -East Cornwall, published a poem, called "The Doom Well of St. Madron," -on one of the ancient legends connected with it. - -"A respectable tradesman's wife in Launceston tells me that the -townspeople here say that a swelling in the neck may be cured by the -patients going before sunrise on the first of May to the grave of -the last young man (if the patient be a woman), to that of the last -young woman (if a man) who had been buried in the churchyard, and -applying the dew, gathered by passing the hand three times from the -head to the foot of the grave, to the part affected by the ailment. I -may as well add that the common notion of improving the complexion by -washing the face with the early dew in the fields on the first of May -prevails in these parts (East Cornwall), and they say that a child -who is weak in the back may be cured by drawing him over the grass -wet with the morning dew. The experiment must be thrice performed, -that is, on the mornings of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of May."--(H. G. T., -Notes and Queries, 14th December, 1850.) - -The 8th of May is at Helston given up to pleasure, and is known as -Flora-day, Flurry-day, Furry-day, and Faddy. To "fade" meant in old -English to dance from country to town. A legend says this day was -set apart to commemorate a fight between the devil and St. Michael, -in which the first was defeated. The name Helston has been fancifully -derived from a large block of granite which until 1783 was to be seen -in the yard of the Angel hotel, the principal inn of the place. This -was the stone that sealed Hell's mouth, and the devil was carrying -it when met by St. Michael. Why he should have burdened himself with -such a "large pebble" (as Cornish miners call all stones) is quite -unknown. The fight and overthrow are figured on the town-seal. - -The week before Flora-day is in Helston devoted to the "spring-clean," -and every house is made "as bright as a new pin," and the gardens -stripped of their flowers to adorn them. - -The revelry begins at day-break, when the men and maidservants -with their friends go into the country to breakfast; these are the -"Hal-an-tow." They return about eight, laden with green boughs, -preceded by a drum and singing an old song, the first verses of which -ran thus:-- - - - "Robin Hood and Little John - They both are gone to fair, O! - And we will to the merry greenwood - To see what they do there, O! - And for to chase--O! - To chase the buck and doe. - - Refrain--With Hal-an-tow! Rumbelow! - For we are up as soon as any O! - And for to fetch the summer home, - The summer and the May O! - For summer is a-come O! - And winter is a-gone O! - - -The whole of this song may be found with the music in the Rev. Baring -Gould's "Songs of the West," and the first verse set to another -tune in Specimens of Cornish Provincial Dialect, by Uncle Jan -Trenoodle. (Sandys.) - -The Hal-an-tow are privileged to levy contributions on strangers -coming into the town. - -Early in the morning merry peals are rung on the church-bells, -and at nine a prescriptive holiday is demanded by the boys at the -grammar-school. At noon the principal inhabitants and visitors dance -through the town. The dancers start from the market-house, and go -through the streets; in at the front doors of the houses that have -been left open for them, ringing every bell and knocking at every -knocker, and out at the back, but if more convenient they dance -around the garden, or even around a room, and return through the -door by which they entered. Sometimes the procession files in at one -shop-door, dances through that department and out through another, -and in one place descends into a cellar. All the main streets are -thus traversed, and a circuit is made of the bowling-green, which -at one end is the extreme limit of the town. Two beadles, their -wands wreathed with flowers, and a band with a gaily-decorated -drum, head the procession. The dance ends with "hands across" at -the assembly room of the Angel hotel, where there is always a ball -in the evening. Non-dancers are admitted to this room by a small -payment (which must be a silver coin), paid as they go up the stairs -either to the landlord or a gentleman,--one stands on each side of -the door. The gentlemen dancers on entering pay for their partners, -and by established custom, should they be going to attend the evening -ball, they are bound to give them their tickets, gloves, and the -first dance. The tradespeople have their dance at a later hour, -and their ball at another hotel. - -The figure of the Furry dance, performed to a very lively measure, -is extremely simple. To the first half of the tune the couples dance -along hand-in-hand; at the second the first gentleman turns the second -lady and the second gentleman the first. This change is made all down -the set. Repeat. - -I have appended the tune, to which children have adopted the following -doggerel:-- - - - "John the bone (beau) was walking home, - When he met with Sally Dover, - He kissed her once, he kissed her twice, - And he kissed her three times over." - - -Some writers have made the mistake of imagining that the tune sung -to the Hal-an-tow and the Furry dance are the same. - -Formerly, should any person in Helston be found at work on Flora-day, -he was set astride on a pole, then carried away on men's shoulders to -a wide part of the Cober (a stream which empties itself into Loe-pool -close by), and sentenced to leap over it. As it was almost impossible -to do this without jumping into the water, the punishment was remitted -by the payment of a small fine towards the day's amusement. Others -say the offender was first made to jump the Cober and then set astride -on a pole to dry. - -In many of the villages around Helston the children, on Flora-day, deck -themselves with large wreaths, which they wear over one shoulder and -under the other arm; and at Porthleven I observed, in 1884, in addition -to these wreaths, several children with large white handkerchiefs -arranged as wimples, kept on their heads with garlands of flowers. - -One of the first objects on entering the village of St. Germans -(East Cornwall) is the large walnut-tree, at the foot of what is -called Nut-tree Hill. Many a gay May-fair has been witnessed by -the old tree. In the morning of the 28th of the month splendid fat -cattle from some of the largest and best farms in the county quietly -chewed the cud around its trunk; in the afternoon the basket-swing -dangled from its branches filled with merry, laughing boys and girls -from every part of the parish. On the following day the mock mayor, -who had been chosen with many formalities, remarkable only for their -rude and rough nature, starting from some "bush-house" where he had -been supping too freely of the fair-ale, was mounted on wain or cart, -and drawn around it, to claim his pretended jurisdiction over the -ancient borough, until his successor was chosen at the following -fair. Leaving the nut-tree, which is a real ornament to the town, we -pass by a spring of water running into a large trough, in which many -a country lad has been drenched for daring to enter the town on the -29th of May without the leaf or branch of oak in his hat.--(R. Hunt, -F.R.S., Drolls, &c., Old Cornwall.) - -The wrestlers of Cornwall and their wrestling-matches are still famous, -and in the May of 1868 4,000 assembled one day on Marazion Green, -and 3,000 the next, to see one. The wrestlers of this county have a -peculiar grip, called by them "the Cornish-hug." - -Any odd, foolish game is in West Cornwall called a May-game -(pronounced May-gum), also a person who acts foolishly; and you -frequently hear the expression--"He's a reg'lar May-gum!" There is a -proverb that says--"Don't make mock of a May-gum, you may be struck -comical yourself one day." - -Whit-Sunday.--It was formerly considered very unlucky in Cornwall to -go out on this day without putting on some new thing. Children were -told that should they do so "the birds would foul them as they walked -along." A new ribbon, or even a shoe-lace, would be sufficient to -protect them. Whit-Monday is generally kept as a holiday, and is often -made an excuse for another country excursion, which, if taken in the -afternoon, ends at some farm-house with a tea of Cornish "heavy-cream -cake," followed (in the evening) by a junket with clotted-cream. - -Carew speaks of a feast kept in his time on Whit-Monday at the -"Church-house" of the different parishes called a "Church-ale." It was -a sort of large picnic, for which money had been previously collected -by two young men--"wardens," who had been previously appointed the -preceding year by their last "foregoers." This custom has long ceased -to exist. - -The Wesleyans (Methodists) in Cornwall hold an open-air service -on Whit-Monday at Gwennap-pit. The pit is an old earth-round, -excavated in the hill-side of Carn Marth, about three miles from the -small village of Gwennap, and one from Redruth. This amphitheatre, -which is then usually filled, is capable of holding from four to -five thousand people, and is in shape like a funnel. It is encircled -from the bottom to the top with eighteen turf-covered banks, made by -cutting the earth into steps. It is admirably adapted for sound, and -the voice of the preacher, who stands on one side, about half way up, -is distinctly heard by the whole congregation. Wesley, when on a visit -to Cornwall, preached in Gwennap-pit to the miners of that district, -and this was the origin of the custom. Many excursion-trains run to -Redruth on Whit-Monday, and a continuous string of vehicles of every -description, as well as pedestrians, may be seen wending their way -from the station to the pit, which is almost surrounded by "downs," -and in a road close by rows of "standings" (stalls) are erected for -the sale of "fairings." An annual pleasure-fair goes on at the same -time at Redruth, and many avail themselves of the excursion-trains -who have not the least intention of attending the religious service. - -"In Mid-Cornwall, in the second week of June, at St. Roche and in one -or two adjacent parishes, a curious dance is performed at their annual -'feasts.' It enjoys the rather undignified name of 'Snails' creep,' -but would be more properly called 'The Serpent's Coil.' - -"The following is scarcely a perfect description of it:--The young -people being all assembled in a large meadow, the village band -strikes up a simple but lively air, and marches forward, followed by -the whole assemblage, leading hand-in-hand (or more closely linked -in case of engaged couples), the whole keeping time to the tune -with a lively step. The band or head of the serpent keeps marching -in an ever-narrowing circle, whilst its train of dancing followers -becomes coiled around it in circle after circle. It is now that the -most interesting part of the dance commences, for the band, taking -a sharp turn about, begins to retrace the circle, still followed as -before, and a number of young men with long, leafy branches in their -hands as standards, direct this counter-movement with almost military -precision."--(W. C. Wade, W. Antiquary, April, 1881.) - -A game similar to the above dance is often played by Sunday-school -children in West Cornwall, at their out-of-door summer-treats, called -by them "roll-tobacco." They join hands in one long line, the taller -children at the head. The first child stands still, whilst the others -in ever-narrowing circles dance around singing, until they are coiled -into a tight mass. The outer coil then wheels sharply in a contrary -direction, followed by the remainder, retracing their steps. - -23rd of June. In the afternoon of Midsummer-eve little girls may be -still occasionally met in the streets of Penzance with garlands of -flowers on their heads, or wreaths over one shoulder. - -This custom was, within the last fifty years, generally observed -in West Cornwall. And in all the streets of our towns and villages -groups of graceful girls, rich as well as poor, all dressed in white, -their frocks decorated with rows of laurel-leaves ("often spangled -with gold-leaf"--Bottrell), might in the afternoon have been seen -standing at the doors, or in the evening dancing along with their -brothers or lovers. - -In Penzance, and in nearly all the parishes of West Penwith, -immediately after nightfall on the eves of St. John and St. Peter, -the 23rd and 28th of June, lines of tar-barrels, occasionally broken -by bonfires, were simultaneously lighted in all the streets, whilst, -at the same time, bonfires were kindled on all the cairns and hills -around Mount's Bay, throwing the outlines in bold relief against -the sky. "Then the villagers, linked in circles hand-in-hand, -danced round them to preserve themselves against witchcraft, and, -when they burnt low, one person here and there detached himself from -the rest and leaped through the flames to insure himself from some -special evil. The old people counted these fires and drew a presage -from them."--(Bottrell.) - -Regularly at dusk the mayor of Penzance sent the town-crier through -the streets to give notice that no fireworks were allowed to be let -off in the town; but this was done simply that he should not be held -responsible if any accident happened, for he and all in Penzance knew -quite well that the law would be set at defiance. Large numbers of men, -women, and boys came up soon after from the quay and lower parts of -the town swinging immense torches around their heads; these torches -(locally known as "to'ches") were made of pieces of canvas about -two feet square, fastened in the middle either to a long pole or a -strong chain, dipped until completely saturated in tar. Of course -they required to be swung with great dexterity or the holder would -have been burnt. The heat they gave out was something dreadful, -and the smoke suffocating. Most of the inhabitants dressed in their -oldest clothes congregated in groups in the street, and a great part -of the fun of the evening consisted in slyly throwing squibs amongst -them, or in dispersing them by chasing them with hand-rockets. The -greatest good humour always prevailed, and although the revellers -were thickest in a small square surrounded by houses, some of them -thatched, very few accidents have ever happened. A band stationed -here played at intervals. No set-pieces were ever put off, but there -were a few Roman-candles. Between ten and eleven a popular mayor might -often have been seen standing in the middle of this square (the Green -Market), encircled by about a dozen young men, each holding a lighted -hand-rocket over the mayor's head. The sparks which fell around him -on all sides made him look as if he stood in the centre of a fountain -of fire. The proceedings finished by the boys and girls from the -quay, whose torches had by this time expired, dancing in a long line -hand in hand through the streets, in and out and sometimes over the -now low burning tar-barrels, crying out, "An eye, an eye." At this -shout the top couple held up their arms, and, beginning with the -last, the others ran under them, thus reversing their position. A -year or two ago, owing to the increasing traffic at Penzance, -the practice of letting off squibs and crackers in the streets was -formally abolished by order of the mayor and corporation. Efforts -are still made and money collected for the purpose of reviving it, -with some little success; but the Green Market is no longer the -scene of the fun. A few boys still after dusk swing their torches, -and here and there some of the old inhabitants keep up the custom of -lighting tar-barrels or bonfires before their doors. A rite called -the Bonfire Test was formerly celebrated on this night. Mr. R. Hunt, -F.R.S., has described it in his Drolls, &c. Old Cornwall:--"A bonfire -is formed of faggots of furze, ferns, and the like. Men and maidens, -by locking hands, form a circle, and commence a dance to some wild -native song. At length, as the dancers become excited, they pull each -other from side to side across the fire. If they succeed in treading -out the fire without breaking the chain, none of the party will die -during the year. If, however, the ring is broken before the fire -is extinguished, 'bad luck to the weak hands,' as my informant said -(1865). All the witches in West Cornwall used to meet at midnight on -Midsummer-eve at Trewa (pronounced Troway), in the parish of Zennor, -and around the dying fires renewed their vows to their master, the -Devil. Zennor boasts of some of the finest coast scenery in Cornwall, -and many remarkable rocks were scattered about in this neighbourhood; -several of them (as does the cromlech) still remain, but others have -been quarried and carted away, amongst them one known as Witches' -Rock, which if touched nine times at midnight kept away ill-luck, -and prevented people from being 'over-looked' (ill-wished)." - -On Midsummer-day (June 24th) two pleasure fairs are held in Cornwall: -one at Pelynt, in the eastern part of the county, where in the evening, -from time immemorial, a large bonfire has been always lighted in an -adjoining field by the boys of the neighbourhood (some writers fix on -the summer solstice as the date of Pelynt fair, but this, I believe, -is an error); and the second on the old quay at Penzance. It is called -"Quay Fair," to distinguish it from Corpus Christi fair, another and -much larger one held at the other extremity of the town, and which -lasts from the eve of Corpus Christi until the following Saturday. Quay -fair was formerly crowded by people from the neighbouring inland towns -and villages; their principal amusement was to go out for a short row, -a great number in one boat, the boatmen charging a penny a head. This -was taking a "Pen'nord of Say." When not paid for, a short row is a -"Troil." (Troil is Old-Cornish for a feast). - -Although this fair has not yet been discontinued, the number of those -attending it grows less and less every year, and not enough money is -taken to encourage travelling showmen to set up their booths. The -old charter allowed the public-houses at the quay to keep open all -night on the 24th of June, but such is no longer the case. Quay -fair was sometimes known as Strawberry fair, and thirty years ago -many strawberries were sold at it for twopence a quart. They were -not brought to market in pottles, but in large baskets containing -some gallons, and were measured out to the customers in a tin pint -or quart measure. They were eaten from cabbage-leaves. Before the -end of the day, unless there were a brisk sale, the fruit naturally -got much bruised. They are still sold in the same way, but are not -nearly as plentiful. Many of the strawberry fields, through which the -public footpaths often went, have been turned up, and are now used -for growing early potatoes. On St. John's-day Cornish miners place -a green bough on the shears of the engine-houses in commemoration of -his preaching in the wilderness. - -This day is with Cornish as with other maidens a favourite one for -trying old love-charms. Some of them rise betimes, and go into the -country to search for an even "leafed" ash, or an even "leafed" -clover. When found, the rhymes they repeat are common to all England. - -An old lady, a native of Scilly, once gave me a most graphic -description of her mother and aunt laying a table, just before midnight -on St. John's-day, with a clean white cloth, knives and forks, and -bread and cheese, to see if they should marry the men to whom they -were engaged. They sat down to it, keeping strict silence-- - - - "For, if a word had been spoken, - The spell would have been broken." - - -As the clock struck twelve, the door (which had purposely been left -unbarred) opened, and their two lovers walked in, having, as they -said, met outside, both compelled by irresistible curiosity to go -and see if there were anything the matter with their sweethearts. - -It never entered the old lady's head that the men probably had an -inkling of what was going on, and to have hinted that such was the -case would, I am quite sure, have given dire offence. - -The following charm is from the W. Antiquary:--Pluck a rose at -midnight on St. John's-day, wear it to church, and your intended -will take it out of your button-hole.--(Old Farmer, Mid-Cornwall, -through T. Q. Couch.) - -"It was believed that if a young maiden gathered a rose on -Midsummer-day, and folding it in white paper, forbore to look at -it or mention what she had done until the following Christmas-day, -she would then find the flower fresh and bright; and further if she -placed it in her bosom and wore it at church, the person most worthy -of her hand would be sure to draw near her in the porch, and beseech -her to give him the rose."--Neota--Launcells. Charlotte Hawkey. - -In connection with Midsummer bonfires, I mentioned those on -St. Peter's-eve; although they are no longer lighted at Penzance, -the custom (never confined to West Cornwall) is in other places still -observed. Many of the churches in the small fishing villages on the -coast are dedicated to this saint, the patron of fishermen, and on -his tide the towers of these churches were formerly occasionally -illuminated. - -On St. Peter's-eve, at Newlyn West, in 1883, many of the men were -away fishing on the east coast of England, and the celebration of the -festival was put off until their return, when it took place with more -than usual rejoicings. The afternoon was given up to aquatic sports, -and in the evening, in addition to the usual bonfires and tar-barrels, -squibs, hand and sky-rockets were let off. The young people finished -the day with an open-air dance, which ended before twelve. In this -village effigies of objectionable characters, after they have been -carried through the streets, are sometimes burnt in the St. Peter's -bonfire. I have often in Cornwall heard red-haired people described -"as looking as if they were born on bonfire night." At Wendron, and -many other small inland mining villages, the boys at St. Peter's-tide -fire off miniature rock batteries called "plugs." - -I must now again quote from Mr. T. Q. Couch, and give his account of -how this day is observed at Polperro. - -"The patron saint of Polperro is St. Peter, to whom the church, built -on the seaward hill (still called chapel hill) was dedicated. His -festival is kept on the 10th of July (old style). At Peter's-tide is -our annual feast or fair. Though a feeble and insignificant matter, -it is still with the young the great event of the year. On the eve of -the fair is the prefatory ceremony of a bonfire. The young fishermen go -from house to house and beg money to defray the expenses. At nightfall -a large pile of faggots and tar-barrels is built on the beach, and, -amid the cheers of a congregated crowd of men, women, and children -(for it is a favour never denied to children to stay up and see the -bonfire), the pile is lighted. The fire blazes up, and men and boys -dance merrily round it, and keep up the sport till the fire burns -low enough, when they venturously leap through the flames. It is a -most animated scene, the whole valley lit up by the bright red glow, -bringing into strong relief front and gable of picturesque old houses, -each window crowded with eager and delighted faces, while around the -fire is a crowd of ruddy lookers-on, shutting in a circle of impish -figures leaping like salamanders through the flames. - -"The next day the fair begins, a trivial matter, except to the -children, who are dressed in their Sunday clothes, and to the -village girls in their best gowns and gaudiest ribbons. Stalls, or -'standings,' laden with fairings, sweetmeats, and toys, line the -lower part of Lansallos Street, near the strand. There are, besides, -strolling Thespians; fellows who draw unwary youths into games -of hazard, where the risk is mainly on one side; ballad-singers; -penny-peep men, who show and describe to wondering boys the most -horrid scenes of the latest murder; jugglers and tumblers also display -their skill. In the neighbouring inn the fiddler plays his liveliest -tunes at twopence a reel, which the swains gallantly pay. The first -day of the fair is merely introductory, for the excitement is rarely -allayed under three. The second day is much livelier than the first, -and has for its great event the wrestling-match on the strand, or -perhaps a boat-race. On the third day we have the mayor-choosing, -never a valid ceremony, but a broad burlesque. The person who is -chosen to this post of mimic dignity is generally some half-witted or -drunken fellow, who, tricked out in tinsel finery, elects his staff -of constables, and these, armed with staves, accompany his chariot -(some jowster's huckster's cart, dressed with green boughs) through -the town, stopping at each inn, where he makes a speech full of large -promises to his listeners, of full work, better wages, and a liberal -allowance of beer during his year of mayoralty. He then demands a -quart of the landlord's ale, which is gauged with mock ceremony, -and if adjudged short of measure is, after being emptied, broken on -the wheel of the car. Having completed the perambulation of the town, -his attendants often make some facetious end of the pageant by wheeling -the mayor in his chariot with some impetus into the tide."--Polperro, -1871, pp. 156-159. - -The ceremony of choosing a mock mayor was also observed at Penryn (near -Falmouth), but it took place in the autumn, on a day in September or -October, when hazel-nuts were ripe, and "nutting day" was kept by the -children and poor people. The journeymen tailors went from Penryn and -Falmouth to Mylor parish, on the opposite side of the river Fal. There -they made choice of the wittiest among them to fill that office. His -title was the "Mayor of Mylor." When chosen, he was borne in a chair -upon the shoulders of four strong men from his "goode towne of Mylor" -to his "anciente borough of Penryn." He was preceded by torch-bearers -and two town-sergeants, in gowns and cocked hats, with cabbages instead -of maces, and surrounded by a guard armed with staves. Just outside -Penryn he was met with a band of music, which played him into the -town. The procession halted at the town-hall, where the mayor made a -burlesque speech, often a clever imitation of the phrases and manners -of their then sitting parliamentary representative. This speech was -repeated with variations before the different inns, the landlords of -which were expected to provide the mayor and his numerous attendants -liberally with beer. The day's proceedings finished with a dinner at -one of the public-houses in Penryn. Bonfires, &c., were lighted, and -fireworks let off soon after dusk. It was popularly believed that this -choosing of a mock mayor was permitted by a clause in the town charter. - -A festival, supposed to have been instituted in honour of -Thomas-à-Beckett, called "Bodmin-Riding," was (although shorn of its -former importance) until very recently held there on the first Monday -and Tuesday after the 7th of July. - -In the beginning of this century all the tradespeople of the town, -preceded by music and carrying emblems of their trades, walked in -procession to the Priory. They were headed by two men, one with a -garland and the other with a pole, which they presented and received -back again from the master of the house as the then representative -of the Prior. Mr. T. Q. Couch had the following description of this -ceremony from those who took part in its latest celebration:-- - -"A puncheon of beer having been brewed in the previous October, -and duly bottled in anticipation of the time, two or more young -men, who were entrusted with the chief management of the affair, -and who represented 'the Wardens' of Carew's Church-ales, went -round the town (Bodmin) attended by a band of drummers and fifers, -or other instruments. The crier saluted each house with--'To the -people of this house, a prosperous morning, long life, health, -and a merry riding.' The musicians then struck up the riding-tune, -a quick and inspiriting measure, said by some to be as old as the -feast itself. The householder was solicited to taste the riding-ale, -which was carried round in baskets. A bottle was usually taken in, -and it was acknowledged by such a sum as the means or humour of the -townsmen permitted, to be spent on the public festivities of the -season. Next morning a procession was formed (all who could afford to -ride mounted on horse or ass, smacking long-lashed whips), first to -the Priory to receive two large garlands of flowers fixed on staves, -and then in due order to the principal streets to the town-end, where -the games were formerly opened. The sports, which lasted two days, -were of the ordinary sort--wrestling, foot-racing, jumping in sacks, -&c. It is worthy of remark that a second or inferior brewing from the -same wort was drunk at a minor merry-making at Whitsuntide."--(Popular -Antiquities, Journal Royal Institute of Cornwall, 1864.) - -In former days the proceedings ended in a servants'-ball, at which -dancing was kept up until the next morning's breakfast-hour. - -A very curious carnival was originally held under a Lord of Misrule, -in July, on Halgaver Moor, near Bodmin, thus quaintly described -by Carew:-- - -"The youthlyer sort of Bodmin townsmen vse to sport themselves by -playing the box with strangers whom they summon to Halgauer. The name -signifieth the Goat's Moore, and such a place it is, lying a little -without the towne, and very full of quauemires. When these mates meet -with any rawe seruing-man or other young master, who may serue and -deserue to make pastime, they cause him to be solemnely arrested, -for his appearance before the Maior of Halgauer, where he is charged -with wearing one spurre, or going vntrussed, or wanting a girdle, -or some such felony. After he had been arraygned and tryed, with -all requisite circumstances, iudgement is given in formal terms, and -executed in some one vngracious pranke or other, more to the skorne -than hurt of the party condemned. Hence is sprung the prouerb when we -see one slouenly appareled to say he shall be presented at Halgauer -Court (or take him before the Maior of Halgauer). - -"But now and then they extend this merriment with the largest, to -preiudice of ouer-credulous people, persuading them to fight with -a dragon lurking in Halgauer, or to see some strange matter there, -which concludeth at least with a trayning them into the mire."--(Survey -of Cornwall.) - -Heath says in his Description of Cornwall, "These sports and pastimes -were so liked by King Charles II., when he touched at Bodmin on his -way to Scilly, that he became a brother of the jovial society." - -"Taking-day."--"An old custom, about which history tells us nothing, -is still duly observed at Crowan, in West Cornwall. Annually, on -the Sunday evening previous to Praze-an-beeble fair (July 16th) -large numbers of the young folk repair to the parish church, and at -the conclusion of the service they hasten to Clowance Park, where -still large crowds assemble, collected chiefly from the neighbouring -villages of Leeds-town, Carnhell-green, Nancegollan, Blackrock, and -Praze. Here the sterner sex select their partners for the forthcoming -fair, and, as it not unfrequently happens that the generous proposals -are not accepted, a tussle ensues, to the intense merriment of passing -spectators. Many a happy wedding has resulted from the opportunity -afforded for selection on 'Taking-day' in Clowance Park."--(Cornishman, -July, 1882.) - -At St. Ives, on the 25th July, St. James's-day, they hold a quiennial -celebration of the "Knillian-games." These have been fully described -by the late J. S. Courtney in his Guide to Penzance, as follows:-- - -"Near St. Ives a pyramid on the summit of a hill attracts -attention. This pyramid was erected in the year 1782, as a place of -sepulture for himself, by John Knill, Esq., some time collector of -the Customs at St. Ives, and afterwards a resident in Gray's Inn, -London, where he died in 1811. The building is commonly called -'Knill's Mausoleum'; but Mr. Knill's body was not there deposited, -for, having died in London, he was, according to his own directions, -interred in St. Andrew's church, Holborn. The pyramid bears on its -three sides respectively the following inscriptions, in relief, on the -granite of which it is built: 'Johannes Knill, 1782.' 'I know that my -Redeemer liveth.' 'Resurgam.' On one side there is also Mr. Knill's -coat-of-arms, with his motto, 'Nil desperandum.' - -"In the year 1797, Mr. Knill, by a deed of trust, settled upon the -mayor and capital burgesses of the borough of St. Ives, and their -successors for ever, an annuity of ten pounds, as a rent-charge, -to be paid out of the manor of Glivian, in the parish of Mawgan, -in this county, to the said mayor and burgesses in the town-hall -of the said borough, at twelve o'clock at noon, on the feast of the -Nativity of St. John (Midsummer-day) in every year; and, in default, -to be levied by the said mayor and burgesses by distress on the said -manor. The ten pounds then received are to be immediately paid by the -mayor and burgesses to the mayor, the collector of customs, and the -clergyman of the parish for the time being, to be by them deposited -in a chest secured by three locks, of which each is to have a key; -and the box is left in the custody of the mayor. - -"Of this annuity a portion is directed to be applied to the repair and -support of the mausoleum; another sum for the establishment of various -ceremonies to be observed once every five years; and the remainder -'to the effectuating and establishing of certain charitable purposes.'" - -The whole affair has, however, been generally treated with ridicule. In -order, therefore, to show that Mr. Knill intended a considerable -portion of his bequest to be applied to really useful purposes, -we annex a copy of his regulations for the disposal of the money: - -"First. That, at the end of every five years, on the feast-day of -St. James the Apostle, Twenty-five pounds shall be expended as follows, -viz. Ten pounds in a dinner for the Mayor, Collector of Customs, -and Clergyman, and two persons to be invited by each of them, making -a party of nine persons, to dine at some tavern at the borough. Five -pounds to be equally divided among ten girls, natives of the borough, -and daughters of seamen, fishermen, or tinners, each of them not -exceeding ten years of age, who shall between ten and twelve o'clock -in the forenoon of that day dance, for a quarter of hour at least, -on the ground adjoining the Mausoleum, and after the dance sing the -100th Psalm of the Old Version, 'to the fine old tune' to which the -same was then sung in St. Ives church. - -"One pound to the fiddler who shall play to the girls while dancing -and singing at the Mausoleum, and also before them on their return -home therefrom. - -"Two pounds to two widows of seamen, fishermen, or tinners of the -borough, being 64 years old or upwards, who shall attend the dancing -and singing of the girls, and walk before them immediately after the -fiddler, and certify to the Mayor, Collector, and Clergyman that the -ceremonies have been duly performed. - -"One pound to be laid out in white ribbons for breast-knots for -the girls and widows, and a cockade for the fiddler, to be worn by -them respectively on that day and the Sunday following. One pound -to purchase account-books from time to time and pay the Clerk of the -Customs for keeping the accounts. The remaining Five pounds to be paid -to a man and wife, widower, or widow, 60 years of age or upwards, -the man being an inhabitant of St. Ives, and a seaman, fisherman, -tinner, or labourer, who shall have bred up to the age of ten years -and upwards, the greatest number of legitimate children by his or -her own labour, care, and industry, without parochial assistance, -or having become entitled to any property in any other manner. - -"Secondly. When a certain sum of money shall have accumulated in -the chest, over and above what may have been required for repairs -of the Mausoleum and the above payments, it is directed that on -one of the fore-mentioned days of the festival 'Fifty' pounds -shall be distributed in addition to the 'Twenty-five' pounds spent -quiennially in the following manner; that is Ten pounds to be given -as a marriage-portion to the woman between 26 and 36 years old, -being a native of St. Ives, who shall have been married to a seaman, -fisherman, tinner, or labourer, residing in the borough, between the -31st of December previously, and that day following the said feast-day, -that shall appear to the Mayor, Collector, and Clergyman, the most -worthy, 'regard being had to her duty and kindness to her parents, -or to her friends who have brought her up.' - -"Five pounds to any woman, single or married, being an inhabitant of -St. Ives, who in the opinion of the aforesaid gentlemen shall be the -best knitter of fishing-nets. - -"Five pounds to be paid to the woman, married or single, inhabitant -of St. Ives, or otherwise, who shall, by the same authorities, be -deemed to be the best curer and packer of pilchards for exportation. - -"Five pounds to be given between such two follower-boys as shall -by the same gentlemen be judged to have best conducted themselves -of all the follower-boys in the several concerns, in the preceding -fishing-season. (A follower is a boat that carries a tuck-net in -pilchard-fishing.) - -"And Twenty-five pounds, the remainder of the said Fifty, to be -divided among all the Friendly Societies in the borough, instituted -for the support of the Members in sickness or other calamity, in -equal shares. If there be no such Society, the same to be distributed -among ten poor persons, five men and five women, inhabitants of -the borough, of the age of 64 years or upwards, and who have never -received parochial relief." - -The first celebration of the Knillian games, which drew a large -concourse of people, took place in Knill's lifetime on July 25th, 1801. - -The chorus then sung by the 10 virgins was as follows:-- - - - 'Quit the bustle of the bay, - Hasten, virgins, come away: - Hasten to the mountain's brow, - Leave, oh! leave, St. Ives below. - Haste to breathe a purer air, - Virgins fair, and pure as fair. - Quit St. Ives and all her treasures, - Fly her soft voluptuous pleasures, - Fly her sons and all the wiles - Lurking in their wanton smiles; - Fly her splendid midnight halls, - Fly the revels of her balls, - Fly, oh! fly, the chosen seat - Where vanity and fashion meet! - Thither hasten: form the ring, - Round the tomb in chorus sing.' - - -These games have been repeated every five years up to the present time. - -Morvah feast, which is on the nearest Sunday to the 1st August, is said -to have been instituted in memory of a wrestling-match, throwing of -quoits, &c., which took place there one Sunday, "when there were giants -in the land." On the following Monday there was formerly a large fair, -and although Morvah is a very small village without any attractions, -the farmers flocked to it in great numbers to drink and feast, sitting -on the hedges of the small fields common in West Cornwall. "Three on -one horse, like going to Morvah Fair," is an old proverb. - -On August 5th a large cattle-fair is held in the village of -Goldsithney, in the parish of Perran-Uthnoe. Lysons, in 1814, -says:--"There is a tradition that this fair was originally held in -Sithney, near Helston, and that some persons ran off with the glove, by -the suspension of which to a pole the charter was held, and carried it -off to this village, where, it is said, the glove was hung out for many -years at the time of the fair. As some confirmation of the tradition -of its removal it should be mentioned that the lord of the manor, a -proprietor of the fair, used to pay an acknowledgment of one shilling -per annum to the churchwardens of Sithney." The same author makes the -statement that Truro fair, on November 19th, belongs to the proprietors -of Truro Manor, as high lords of the town, and that a glove is hung -out at this fair as at Chester; he also says that these same lords -claim a tax called smoke-money from most of the houses in the borough. - -In Cornwall the last sheaf of corn cut at harvest-time is "the -neck." This in the West is always cut by the oldest reaper, who -shouts out, "I hav'et! I hav'et! I hav'et!" The others answer, "What -hav'ee? What hav'ee? What hav'ee?" He replies, "A neck! A neck! A -neck!" Then altogether they give three loud hurrahs. The neck is -afterwards made into a miniature sheaf, gaily decorated with ribbons -and flowers; it is carried home in triumph, and hung up to a beam in -the kitchen, where it is left until the next harvest. Mr. Robert Hunt -says that "after the neck has been cried three times they (the reapers) -change their cry to 'we yen! we yen!' which they sound in the same -prolonged and slow manner as before, with singular harmony and effect -three times." After this they all burst out into a kind of loud, joyous -laugh, flinging up their hats and caps into the air, capering about, -and perhaps kissing the girls. One of them gets the "neck," and runs -as hard as he can to the farm-house, where the dairy-maid or one of -the young female domestics stands at the door prepared with a pail of -water. If he who holds the "neck" can manage to get into the house in -any way unseen, or openly by any other way than the door by which the -girl stands with the pail of water, then he may lawfully kiss her; but -if otherwise he is regularly soused with the contents of the bucket. - -The object of crying the "neck" is to give notice to the surrounding -country of the end of the harvest, and the meaning of "we yen" is we -have ended. - -The last sheaf of the barley-harvest (there is now but little grown) -was the "crow-sheaf," and when cut the same ceremony was gone through; -but instead of "a neck," the words "a crow" were substituted. - -When "the neck" is cut at the house of a squire, the reapers sometimes -assemble at the front of the mansion and cry "the neck," with the -addition of these words, "and for our pains we do deserve a glass of -brandy, strong beer, and a bun."--(John Hills, Penryn, W. Antiquary, -October, 1882.) - -In East Cornwall "the neck," which is made into a slightly different -shape, is carried to the mowhay (pronounced mo-ey) before it is cried -(a mowhay is an inclosure for ricks of corn and hay). One of the -men then retires to a distance from the others and shouts the same -formula. It is hung up in the kitchen until Christmas-day, when it -is given to the best ox in the stalls. - -The harvest-home feast in the neighbourhood of Penzance goes by the -name of "gool-dize," or "gool-an-dize." In Scilly it is known as the -"nickly thize." Farmers there at that season of the year formerly -killed a sheep, and as long as any portion of it was left the feast -went on. - -Ricks of corn in Cornwall are often made, and left to stand in the -"arish-fields" (stubble-fields) where they were cut. These are all -called "arish-mows," but from their different shapes they have also -the names of "brummal-mows" and "pedrack-mows." - -Probus and Grace fair is held on the 17th of September, through a -charter granted by Charles II. after his restoration, to a Mr. Williams -of that neighbourhood, with whom he had lived for some time during -the Civil Wars. - -Probus is in East Cornwall, and its church is famed for its beautiful -tower. Tradition has it that this church was built by Saint Probus, -but for want of funds he could not add the tower, and in his need -asked St. Grace to help him. - -She consented, but when the church was consecrated Probus praised -himself, but made no mention of her. Then a mysterious voice was heard, -repeating the following distich:-- - - - "St. Probus and Grace, - Not the first but the la-ast." - - -This town, consequently, has two patron saints. - -I know of no other feasten ceremonies in this month; but here, -as elsewhere, the children of the poor make up parties "to go a -blackberrying." This fruit, by old people, was said not to be good -after Michaelmas, kept by them 10th October (old style); after that -date they told you the devil spat on them, and birds fouled them. - -I knew an old lady whose birthday falling on that day she religiously -kept it by eating for the last time that year blackberry-tart with -clotted cream. - -This brings me round to the month from which I started. Many of the -feasts are of course omitted, as no local customs are now connected -with them. There must be one for nearly every Sunday in the year, -and a mere record of their names would be most wearisome. I cannot -do better, therefore, than finish this portion of my work with two -quotations. The first, from "Parochalia," by Mr. T. Q. Couch, Journal -Royal Institute of Cornwall, 1865, runs thus:-- - -"The patron saint of Lanivet feast is not known; it is marked -by no particular customs, but is a time for general visiting and -merry-making, with an occasional wrestling-match. A local verse says:-- - - - "On the nearest Sunday to the last Sunday in A-prel, - Lanivet men fare well. - On the first Sunday after the first Tuesday in May, - Lanivrey men fare as well as they." - - -In some parishes the fatted oxen intended to be eaten at these feasts -were, the day before they were killed, led through the streets, -garlanded with flowers and preceded by music. - -Quotation number two is what Carew wrote in 1569:-- - -"The saints' feast is kept upon dedication-day by every householder -of the parish within his own doors, each entertayning such forrayne -acquaintance as will not fayle when their like time cometh about to -requite him with the like kindness." - -These remarks, and the jingling couplets, could be equally well -applied to all the unmentioned feasts. - - - - - - - - -LEGENDS OF PARISHES, ETC. - - -Cornish people possess in a marked degree all the characteristics of -the Celts. They are imaginative, good speakers and story-tellers, -describing persons and things in a style racy and idiomatical, -often with appropriate gestures. Their proverbs are quaint and -forcible, they are never at a lack for an excuse, and are withal -very superstitious. Well-educated people are still to be met with -in Cornwall who are firm believers in apparitions, pixies (fairies, -called by the peasantry pisgies), omens, and other supernatural -agencies. Almost every parish has a legend in connection with its -patron saint, and haunted houses abound; but of the ghosts who -inhabit them, unless they differ from those seen elsewhere, I shall -say but little. - -This county was once the fabled home of a race of giants, who in -their playful or angry moments were wont to hurl immense rocks at -each other, which are shown by the guides at this day as proofs of -their great strength. To illustrate how in the course of time truth -and fiction get strangely mingled, I will mention the fact that -old John of Gaunt is said to have been the last of these giants, -and to have lived in a castle on the top of Carn Brea (a high hill -near Redruth). He could stride from thence to another neighbouring -town, a distance of four miles. I do not know if he is supposed to -be the one that lies buried under this mighty carn, and whose large -protruding hand and bony fingers time has turned to stone. Here, -too, in the dark ages, a terrific combat took place between Lucifer -and a heavenly host, which ended in the former's overthrow. A small -monument has been erected on Carn Brea, to the memory of Lord de -Dunstanville; and I once heard an old woman, after cleaning a room, -say, "It was fine enough for Lord de Dunstanville." Every child has -heard of Jack the Giant Killer, who, amongst his other exploits, -killed by stratagem the one who dwelt at St. Michael's Mount: - - - "I am the valiant Cornishman - Who slew the giant Cormoran." - - -He did not however confine himself to this neighbourhood, for of -an ancient earth-work near Looe, known as the "Giant's Hedge," it -is said:-- - - - "Jack the giant had nothing to do, - So he made a hedge from Lerrin to Looe." - - -But the sayings and doings of these mighty men have been told far -better than I could tell them in Mr. Halliwell Phillipps' book, Rambles -in West Cornwall by the Footsteps of the Giants; Mr. Robert Hunt's -Drolls, Traditions, and Superstitions of West Cornwall; Mr. Bottrell's -Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall; and by many other writers. - -Tourists visit West Cornwall to see the Land's End and its fine coast -scenery, and express themselves disappointed that none of the country -people in that district know anything of King Arthur. They forget that -Uther's [3] heir was washed up to Merlin's feet by a wave at the base -of "Tintagel Castle by the Cornish sea," which is in the eastern part -of the county. This castle was built on one of the grandest headlands -in Cornwall (slate formation). - -The ruins of King Arthur's Castle are most striking. They are situated -partly on the mainland and partly on a peninsula, separated by a -ravine, once said to have been spanned by a drawbridge connecting -the two. - -The ascent of this promontory, owing to the slippery nature of the path -cut in the friable slate, is far from pleasant; and, as there was a -stiff breeze blowing when I mounted it, I thought old Norden was right -when he said: "Those should have eyes who would scale Tintagel." You -are, however, amply repaid for your trouble when you get to the top. - -In addition to telling you of the grandeur of the castle in good -King Arthur's days, the guides show you some rock basins to which -they have given the absurd names of "King Arthur's cups and saucers." - -Tradition assigns to this king another Cornish castle as a -hunting-seat, viz.--the old earth-round of Castle-an-dinas, near -St. Columb, from whence it is said he chased the wild deer on Tregoss -Downs. - -A dreary drive through slate-quarries takes you from Tintagel to -Camelford. Near that town is Slaughter Bridge, the scene of a great -battle between King Arthur and his nephew Modred, whom by some writers -he is said to have killed on the spot; others have it that Arthur died -here of a wound from a poisoned arrow shot by Modred, and that, after -receiving his death wound at Camelford, he was conveyed to Tintagel -Castle, where, surrounded by his knights, he died. All the time he -lay a-dying supernatural noises were heard in the castle, the sea and -winds moaned, and their lamentations never ceased until our hero was -buried at Glastonbury. Then, in the pauses of the solemn tolling of the -funeral bells, sweet voices came from fairy-land welcoming him there, -from whence one day he will return and again be king of Cornwall. No -luck follows a man who kills a Cornish chough (a red legged crow), -as, after his death, King Arthur was changed into one. - -"In the parish of St. Mabyn, in East Cornwall, and on the high road -from Bodmin to Camelford, is a group of houses (one of them yet -a smith's shop), known by the name of Longstone. The legend which -follows gives the reason of the name: - -"In lack of records I may say: 'In the days of King Arthur there -lived in Cornwall a smith. This smith was a keen fellow, who made and -mended the ploughs and harrows, shod the horses of his neighbours, -and was generally serviceable. He had great skill in farriery, and -in the general management of sick cattle. He could also extract the -stubbornest tooth, even if the jaw resisted, and some gyrations around -the anvil were required. - -"'There seems ever to have been ill blood between devil and smith, -and so it was between the fiend and the smith-farrier-dentist of -St. Mabyn. At night there were many and fierce disputes between -them in the smithy. The smith, as the rustics tell, always got the -advantage of his adversary, and gave him better than he brought. This -success, however, only fretted Old Nick, and spurred him on to further -encounters. What the exact matter of controversy on this particular -occasion was is not remembered, but it was agreed to settle it by some -wager, some trial of strength and skill. A two-acred field was near; -and the smith challenged the devil to the reaping of each his acre -in the shortest time. The match came off, and the devil was beaten, -for the smith had beforehand stealthily stuck here and there over -his opponent's acre some harrow-tines or teeth. - -"'The two started well, but soon the strong swing of the fiend's scythe -was brought up frequently by some obstruction, and as frequently he -required the whetstone. The dexterous and agile smith went on smoothly -with his acre, and was soon unmistakeably gaining. The devil, enraged -at his certain discomfiture, hurled his whetstone at his rival, and -flew off. The whetstone, thrown with great violence, after sundry -whirls in the air, fell upright into the soil at a great depth, and -there remained a witness against the Evil One for ages. The devil -avoided the neighbourhood whilst it stood, but in an evil hour the -farmer at Treblethick, near, threw it down. That night the enemy -returned, and has haunted the neighbourhood ever since. - -"'This monolith was of granite, and consequently brought hither from -a distance, for the local stone is a friable slate. It yielded four -large gate-posts, gave spans to a small bridge, and left much granite -remaining.'"--T. Q. Couch, Notes and Queries, April, 1883. - -Upon St. Austell Down is an upright block of granite, called "the -giant's staff, or longstone," to which this legend is attached:--"A -giant, travelling one night over these hills, was overtaken by a -storm, which blew off his hat. He immediately pursued it; but, being -impeded by a staff which he carried in his hand, he thrust this into -the ground until his hat could be secured. After wandering, however, -for some time in the dark, without being able to find his hat, he gave -over the pursuit and returned for the staff; but this also he was -unable to discover, and both were irrevocably lost. In the morning, -when the giant was gone, his hat and staff were both found by the -country people about a mile asunder. The hat was found on White-horse -Down, and bore some resemblance to a mill-stone, and continued in its -place until 1798, when, some soldiers having encamped around it, they -fancied, it is said, as it was a wet season, this giant's hat was the -cause of the rain, and therefore rolled it over the cliff. The staff, -or longstone, was discovered in the position in which it remains; -it is about twelve feet high, and tapering toward the top, and is -said to have been so fashioned by the giant that he might grasp it -with ease."--Murray's Guide. - -There is another longstone in the parish of St. Cleer, [4] about -two miles north of Liskeard, which bears an inscription to Doniert -(Dungerth), a traditional king of Cornwall, who was drowned in 872. In -fact, these "menhirs," supposed to be sepulchral monuments, are to -be found scattered all over the county. - -The following curious bit of folk-lore appeared in the Daily News -of March 8th, 1883, communicated by the Rev. J. Hoskyns Abrahall, -Coombe Vicarage, near Woodstock:--"A friend of mine, who is vicar of -St. Cleer, in East Cornwall, has told me that at least one housemaid -of his--I think his servants in general--very anxiously avoided -killing a spider, because Parson Jupp, my friend's predecessor (whom -he succeeded in 1844), was, it was believed, somewhere in the vicarage -in some spider--no one knew in which of the vicarage spiders." Spiders -are often not destroyed because of the tradition that one spun a web -over Christ in the manger, and hid him from Herod. - -There are other superstitions current in Cornwall somewhat similar -to the above. Maidens who die of broken hearts, after they have been -deceived by unfaithful lovers, are said to haunt their betrayers -as white hares. The souls of old sea-captains never sleep; they are -turned into gulls and albatrosses. The knockers (a tribe of little -people), who live underground in the tin-mines, are the spirits of -the Jews who crucified our Saviour, and are for that sin compelled -on Christmas morning to sing carols in his honour. "Jew" is a name -also given to a black field-beetle (why, I know not). It exudes -a reddish froth: country children hold it on their hands and say, -"Jew! Jew! spit blood!" "A ghost at Pengelly, in the parish of Wendron, -was compelled by a parson of that village after various changes of -form to seek refuge in a pigeonhole, where it is confined to this -day."--Through Rev. S. Rundle. - -After this digression I will return to St. Cleer, and, beginning with -its holy well, briefly notice a few others. It is situated not far from -the church, and was once celebrated as a "boussening," or ducking-well -for the cure of mad people. Considerable remains of the baptistery, -which formerly enclosed it, are still standing, and outside, close -by, is an old stone cross. Carew says,--"There were many bowssening -places in Cornwall for curing mad people, and amongst the rest one -at Alter Nunne, in the hundred of Trigges, called S. Nunne's well, -and because the manner of this bowssening is not so vnpleasing to -heare as it was vneasie to feele, I wil (if you please) deliuer you -the practise, as I receyued it from the beholders. The water running -from S. Nunne's well fell into a square and close-walled plot, which -might be filled at what depth they listed. Vpon this wall was the -franticke person set to stand, his backe toward the poole, and from -thence with a sudden blow in the brest, tumbled headlong into the -pond, where a strong fellowe, provided for the nonce, tooke him and -tossed him vp and downe, alongst and athwart the water, vntill the -patient by foregoing his strength had somewhat forgot his fury. Then -was hee conueyed to the church and certain Masses sung ouer him; vpon -which handling if his wits returned S. Nunne had the thanks: but if -there appeared small amendment, he was bowssened againe and againe, -while there remayned in him any hope of life for recouery." The same -writer says of Scarlet's "well neare vnto Bodmin, howbeit the water -should seem to be healthfull, if not helpfull: for it retaineth this -extraordinary quality, that the same is waightier than the ordinary of -his kind, and will continue the best part of a yeere without alteration -or sent or taste, only you shall see it represent many colours, -like the Rain-bowe which (in my conceite) argueth a running throu -some minerall veine and therewithall a possessing of some vertue." I -must give one more quotation from Carew before I finish with him, -about a well at Saltash:--"I had almost forgotten to tell you that -there is a well in this towne whose water will not boyle peason to -a seasonable softnes." - -The holy wells in Cornwall are very numerous; the greater part were -in olden times enclosed in small baptisteries. Luckily the poor people -believe that to remove any of the stones of the ruins of these chapels -would be fatal to them and to their children, and for that reason a -great number yet remain. It is considered unlucky, too, to cart away -any of the druidical monuments ("pieces of ancientcy"), and many -are the stories told of the great misfortunes that have fallen on -men who have so done. The innocent oxen or horses who drag them away -are always sure to die, and their master never prosper. Persistent -ill-luck also follows any one defiling these wells; and a tradition -is current in one of the "West Country" parishes, of a gentleman, -who, after he had washed his dogs, afflicted with the mange, in its -holy well, fell into such poverty that his sons were obliged to work -as day labourers. Mr. T. Q. Couch, in Notes and Queries, vol. x., -gives this legend in connection with St. Nunn's well in Pelynt:--"An -old farmer once set his eyes upon the granite basin and coveted it; -for it was not wrong in his eyes to convert the holy font to the base -uses of the pig's stye; and accordingly he drove his oxen and wain to -the gateway above for the purpose of removing it. Taking his beasts -to the entrance of the well, he essayed to drag the trough from its -ancient bed. For a long time it resisted the efforts of the oxen, -but at length they succeeded in starting it, and dragged it slowly -up the hill-side to where the wain was standing. Here, however, it -burst away from the chains which held it, and, rolling back again to -the well, made a sharp turn and regained its old position, where it -has remained ever since. Nor will any one again attempt its removal, -seeing that the farmer, who was previously well-to-do in the world, -never prospered from that day forward. Some people say, indeed, -that retribution overtook him on the spot, the oxen falling dead, -and the owner being struck lame and speechless." - -This St. Nunn's well is not the "boussening" well formerly mentioned, -but another dedicated to the same saint, and is resorted to as a -divining and wishing well; it is commonly called by the people of that -district the "Piskies' well." Pins are thrown into it, not only to -see by the bubbles which rise on the water whether the wisher will get -what he desires, but also to propitiate the piskies and to bring the -thrower good luck. This county has many other divining wells which were -visited at certain seasons of the year by those anxious to know what -the future would bring them. Amongst them the Lady of Nant's well, in -the parish of Colan, was formerly much frequented on Palm Sunday, when -those who wished to foretell their fate threw into the water crosses -made of palms. There was once in Gulval parish, near Penzance, a well -which was reported to have had great repute as a divining well. People -repaired to it to ask if their friends at a distance were well or ill, -living or dead. They looked into the water and repeated the words: - - - "Water, water, tell me truly, - Is the man that I love duly - On the earth, or under the sod, - Sick or well? in the name of God." - - -Should the water bubble up quite clear, the one asked for was in -good health; if it became puddled, ill; and should it remain still, -dead. Of the wells of St. Roche, St. Maddern (now Madron), and St. Uny, -I have spoken in the first part of this work. - -The waters from several wells are used for baptismal rites (one near -Laneast is called the "Jordan"), and the children baptized with water -from the wells of St. Euny (at the foot of Carn Brea, Redruth) and -of Ludgvan (Penzance), &c., it was asserted could never be hanged -with a hempen rope; but this prophecy has unfortunately been proved -to be false. The water from the latter was famed too as an eye-wash, -until an evil spirit, banished for his misdeeds by St. Ludgvan, to -the Red Sea, spat into it from malice as he passed. The Red Sea is the -favourite traditional spot here for the banishment of wicked spirits, -and I have been told stories of wicked men whose souls, immediately -after their death, were carried off to well-known volcanoes. - -Almost all these holy wells were once noted for the curing of diseases, -but the water from St. Jesus' well, in Miniver, was especially famed -for curing whooping-cough. St. Martin's well, in the centre of Liskeard -at the back of the market, known as "Pipe Well," from the four iron -pipes through which four springs run into it, was formerly not only -visited for the healing qualities of its chief spring, but for a -lucky stone that stood in it. By standing on this stone and drinking -of the well's water, engaged couples would be happy and successful in -their married life. It also conferred magical powers on any person -who touched it. The stone is still there, but has now been covered -over and has lost its virtue. - -The saints sometimes lived by the side of the holy wells named after -them, notably St. Agnes (pronounced St. Ann), who dyed the pavement -of her chapel with her own blood. St. Neot in whose pool were always -three fish on which he fed, and whose numbers never grew less. [5] -St. Piran, the titular saint of tin-miners, who lived 200 years and -then died in perfect health. Of these three saints many miraculous -deeds are related; but they would be out of place in this work, and -I will end my account of the wells by a description of St. Keyne's, -more widely known outside Cornwall through Southey's ballad than -any of the others. It is situated in a small valley in the parish -of St. Neot, and was in the days of Carew and Norden arched over -by four trees, which grew so closely together that they seemed but -one trunk. Both writers say the trees were withy, oak, elm, and ash -(by withy I suppose willow was meant). They were all blown down by a -storm, and about 150 years ago, Mr. Rashleigh, of Menabilly, replaced -them with two oaks, two elms, and one ash. I do not know if they are -living, but Mr. J. T. Blight in 1858, in his book on Cornish Crosses, -speaks of one of the oaks being at that time so decayed that it had to -be propped. The reputed virtue of the water of St. Keyne's well is, -(as almost all know), that after marriage "whether husband or wife -come first to drink thereof they get the mastery thereby."--Fuller. - - - "In name, in shape, in quality, - This well is very quaint; - The name, to lot of 'Kayne' befell, - No ouer--holy saint. - - "The shape, four trees of diuers kinde, - Withy, oke, elme, and ash, - Make with their roots an arched roofe, - Whose floore this spring doth wash. - - "The quality, that man or wife, - Whose chance or choice attaines, - First of this sacred streame to drinke, - Thereby the mastry gaines."--Carew. - - -Southey makes a discomfited husband tell the story, who ends thus: - - - "I hasten'd as soon as the wedding was done, - And left my wife in the porch; - But i'faith she had been wiser than me, - For she took a bottle to church." - - -St. Keyne not only thus endowed her well, but during her stay at -St. Michael's Mount she gave the same virtue to St. Michael's -chair. This chair is the remains of an old lantern on the -south-west angle of the tower, at a height of upwards of 250 -feet from low water. It is fabled to have been a favourite seat of -St. Michael's. Whittaker, in his supplement to Polwhele's History of -Cornwall, says, "It was for such pilgrims as had stronger heads and -bolder spirits to complete their devotions at the Mount by sitting -in this St. Michael's chair and showing themselves as pilgrims to -the country round;" but it most probably served as a beacon for -ships at sea. To get into it you must climb on to the parapet, and -you sit with your feet dangling over a sheer descent of at least -seventy feet; but to get out of it is much more difficult, as the -sitter is obliged to turn round in the seat. Notwithstanding this, -and the danger of a fall through giddiness, which, of course, would be -certain death, for there is not the slightest protection, I have seen -ladies perform the feat. Curiously enough Southey has also written a -ballad on St. Michael's chair, but it is not as popular as the one -before quoted; it is about "Richard Penlake and Rebecca his wife," -"a terrible shrew was she." In pursuance of a vow made when Richard -"fell sick," they went on a pilgrimage to the Mount, and whilst he -was in the chapel, - - - "She left him to pray, and stole away - To sit in St. Michael's chair. - - "Up the tower Rebecca ran, - Round and round and round; - 'Twas a giddy sight to stand atop - And look upon the ground. - - "'A curse on the ringers for rocking - The tower!' Rebecca cried, - As over the church battlements - She strode with a long stride. - - "'A blessing on St. Michael's chair!' - She said as she sat down: - Merrily, merrily rung the bells, - And out Rebecca was thrown. - - "Tidings to Richard Penlake were brought - That his good wife was dead; - 'Now shall we toll for her poor soul - The great church bell?' they said. - - "'Toll at her burying,' quoth Richard Penlake, - 'Toll at her burying,' quoth he; - 'But don't disturb the ringers now - In compliment to me.'" - - -Old writers give the name of "Caraclowse in clowse" to St. Michael's -Mount, which means the Hoar Rock in the Wood; and that it was at one -time surrounded by trees is almost certain, as at very low tides in -Mount's Bay a "submarine forest," with roots of large trees, may still -be clearly seen. At these seasons branches of trees, with leaves, -nuts, and beetles, have been picked up. - -Old folks often compared an old-fashioned child to St. Michael's Mount, -and quaintly said, "she's a regular little Mount, St. Michael's Mount -will never be washed away while she's alive." - -Folk-lore speaks of a time when Scilly was joined to the mainland, -which does not seem very improbable when we remember that within the -last twenty-five years a high road and a field have been washed away -by the sea between Newlyn and Penzance. An old lady, whose memory went -back to the beginning of the present century, told me that she had -often seen boys playing at cricket in some fields seaward of Newlyn, -of which no vestige in my time remained. - -But the Lyonnesse, as this tract of land (containing 140 parish -churches) between the Land's End and Scilly was called, and where, -according to the Poet Laureate, King Arthur met his death-wound, - - - "So all day long the noise of battle roll'd - Among the mountains by the winter sea, - Until King Arthur's Table, man by man, - Had fallen in Lyonnesse about their lord, - King Arthur...." - - -is reputed to have been suddenly overwhelmed by a great flood. Only -one man of all the dwellers on it is said to have escaped death, an -ancestor of the Trevilians (now Trevelyan). He was carried on shore by -his horse into a cove at Perran. Alarmed by the daily inroad of the -sea, he had previously removed his wife and family. Old fishermen of -a past generation used to declare that on clear days and moonlight -nights they had often seen under the water the roofs of churches, -houses, &c., of this submerged district. - -Whether the memory of this flood is perpetuated by the old proverb, -"As ancient as the floods of Dava," once commonly current in West -Cornwall, but which I have not heard for years, I know not, as I have -never met with any one who could tell me to what floods it referred. - -Tradition also speaks of a wealthy city in the north of Cornwall, -called Langarrow, which for its wickedness was buried in sand, driven -in by a mighty storm. All that coast as far west as St. Ives is sand, -known as "Towans," and the sand is always encroaching. - -There is a little church now near Padstow, dedicated to St. Enodock, -which is often almost covered by the shifting drifts. It is in a -solitary situation, and service is only held there once a year, -when a path to it has to be cut through the sand. It is said that -the clergyman, in order to keep his emoluments and fees, has been -sometimes obliged to get into it through a window or hole in the roof. - -About eight miles from Truro is the lost church of Perranzabuloe, -which for centuries was supposed to have been a myth, but the shifting -of the sand disclosed it in 1835. - -In Hayle Towans is buried the castle of Tendar, the Pagan chief who -persecuted the Christians, and in the neighbouring parish of Lelant -that of King Theodrick, who, after beheading, in Ireland, many saints, -crossed over to Cornwall on a millstone. - -Many of the Cornish saints are reputed to have come into Cornwall in -the same way as this king; but St. Ia, the patron saint of St. Ives, -chose a frailer vessel. She crossed from Ireland on a leaf. - -The afore-mentioned lost city was most likely a very small place, -as I asked an old woman three or four years ago, who lived not far -from the little village of Gwithian, where I could get something I -wanted, and she told me, "In the city." - -The bay between this place and St. Ives (St. Ives Bay) has the -reputation of being haunted at stormy times before a shipwreck by a -lady in white, who carries a lantern. - -At Nancledra, a village near St. Ives, was formerly a logan rock, -which could only be moved at midnight; and children were cured of -rickets by being placed on it at that hour. It refused to rock for -those who were illegitimate. - -Not far from here is Towednack, and there is a legend to the -effect that the devil would never allow the tower of its church to -be completed, pulling down at night what had been built up in the -day. When a person makes an incredible statement he is in West Cornwall -told "To go to Towednack quay-head where they christen calves." (No -part of this parish touches the sea.) - -Mr. Robert Hunt records a curious test of innocency which, not long -since, was practised in this parish. "A farmer in Towednack having been -robbed of some property of no great value was resolved, nevertheless, -to employ a test which he had heard the 'old people' resorted to for -the purpose of catching the thief. He invited all his neighbours into -his cottage, and, when they were assembled, he placed a cock under the -'brandice' (an iron vessel, formerly much employed by the peasantry -in baking when this process was carried out on the hearth, the fuel -being furze and ferns). Every one was directed to touch the brandice -with his, or her, third finger, and say: 'In the name of the Father, -Son, and Holy Ghost, speak.' Every one did as they were directed, -and no sound came from beneath the brandice. The last person was a -woman, who occasionally laboured for the farmer in his fields. She -hung back, hoping to pass unobserved amongst the crowd. But her very -anxiety made her a suspected person. She was forced forward, and -most unwillingly she touched the brandice, when, before she could -utter the words prescribed, the cock crew. The woman fell faint -on the floor, and when she recovered, she confessed herself to be -the thief, restored the stolen property, and became, it is said, -'a changed character from that day.'" - -The following was told me by a friend. It took place in a school of one -of our western parishes about sixty years ago:--"It was in the days of -quill pens, and the master had lost his penknife. Every boy pleaded -not guilty. At twelve the master said no boy should leave the school -for half-an-hour, when he would return and see if they had found his -knife. The door was locked, and at the appointed time he came back -with a small, round table, on which he had inverted a 'half-strike' -(4 gallons) measure. The table was placed in the middle of the gangway; -the master stood by the side of it, and asked if they had found his -knife. All said 'No!' 'Well then,' answered he, 'come out slowly one -at a time and let each touch this measure with the right forefinger, -and the bantam-cock under it will crow at the thief.' The boys went -out boldly, as they passed touching the tub, but the master missed -one whom from the first he had suspected. He again locked the door, -searched the rooms, and there, under a desk, not in his own place, -he found the boy hiding. He began to cry, confessed the theft, and -gave up the knife." - -Another test of innocency, practised in bygone days, was to kindle a -fire on one of the table-mên (large flat stones), so common in villages -in West Cornwall. A stick lit at this was handed to the accused, -who had to put out the fire by spitting on it. It is well-known that -fear dries up saliva. It is still supposed in remote districts that -no one can bear witness to a misdemeanour, seen through glass. - -I will describe another rough ordeal before I go on to the legends -of the Land's End district. It is called "Riding the hatch," or -"heps" (a half-door often seen at small country shops). Any man -formerly accused of immorality was brought before a select number of -his fellow parishioners, and by them put to sit astride the "heps," -which was shaken violently backwards and forwards: if he fell into the -house he was judged innocent; but out on the road, guilty. When any -one has been brought before his superiors and remanded he is still -figuratively said "to have been made to ride the 'heps.'" Hands are -washed, as by Pontius Pilate, to clear a person from crime, and to -call any one "dirty-fingered" is to brand him as a thief. - -On a bench-end in Zennor church there is a very singular carving of -a mermaid. To account for it Zennor folks say that hundreds of years -ago a beautifully-attired lady, who came and went mysteriously, used -occasionally to attend their church and sing so divinely that she -enchanted all who heard her. She came year after year, but never aged -nor lost her good looks. At last one Sunday, by her charms, she enticed -a young man, the best singer in the parish, to follow her: he never -returned, and was heard of no more. A long time after, a vessel lying -in Pendower cove, into which she sailed one Sunday, cast her anchor, -and in some way barred the access to a mermaid's dwelling. She rose up -from the sea, and politely asked the captain to remove it. He landed -at Zennor, and related his adventure, and those who heard it agreed -that this must have been the lady who decoyed away the poor young man. - -Not far from St. Just is the solitary, dreary cairn, known as Cairn -Kenidzhek (pronounced Kenidjack), which means the "hooting cairn," -so called from the unearthly noises which proceed from it on dark -nights. It enjoys a bad reputation as the haunt of witches. Close -under it lies a barren stretch of moorland, the "Gump," over it the -devil hunts at night poor lost souls; he rides on the half-starved -horses turned out here to graze, and is sure to overtake them at a -particular stile. It is often the scene of demon fights, when one -holds the lanthorn to give the others light, and is also a great -resort of the pixies. Woe to the unhappy person who may be there -after night-fall: they will lead him round and round, and he may -be hours before he manages to get out of the place away from his -tormentors. Here more than once fortunate persons have seen "the -small people" too, at their revels, and their eyes have been dazzled -by the sight of their wonderful jewels; but if they have ever managed -to secrete a few, behold next morning they were nothing but withered -leaves, or perhaps snail-shells. - - - "Sennen Cove was much frequented by mermaids. This place was also - resorted to by a remarkable spirit called the Hooper--from the - hooping, or hooting sounds it was accustomed to make. In old times, - according to tradition, a compact cloud of mist often came in from - over the sea, when the weather was by no means foggy, and rested on - the rocks called Cowloc, thence it spread itself like a curtain of - cloud quite across Sennen Cove. By night a dull light was mostly - seen amidst the vapour, with sparks ascending as if a fire burned - within it: at the same time hooping sounds were heard proceeding - therefrom. People believed the misty cloud shrouded a spirit, which - came to forewarn them of approaching storms, and that those who - attempted to put to sea found an invisible force--seemingly in the - mist--to resist them. A reckless fisherman and his son, however, - disregarding the token, launched their boat and beat through the - fog with a "threshal" (flail); they passed the cloud of mist which - followed them, and neither the men nor the hooper were ever more - seen in Sennen Cove. This is the only place in the county where - any tradition of such a guardian spirit is preserved."--Bottrell. - - -The same author tells a story of a reputed astrologer called Dionysius -Williams, who lived in Mayon, in Sennen, a century ago. He found his -furze-rick was diminishing faster than it ought, and discovered by -his art that some women in Sennen Cove were in the habit of taking it -away at night. The very next night, when all honest folks should be -in bed, an old woman from the Cove came as was her wont to his rick -for a "burn" [6] of furze. She made one of no more than the usual size -but could not lift it, neither could she after she had lightened her -"burn" by half. Frightened, she tried to take out the rope and run -away, but she could neither draw it out nor move herself. Of course -Mr. Williams had put a spell upon her, and there she had to remain -in the cold all night. He came out in the morning and released her, -giving her, as she was poor, the furze. Neither she nor the other -women ever troubled him again. - -Before proceeding any further, to make an allusion in the next -legend intelligible, I must say something about Tregeagle (pronounced -Tregaygle), the Cornish Bluebeard, who was popularly supposed to have -sold his soul to the devil, that his wishes might be granted for a -certain number of years; and who, in addition to several other crimes, -is accused of marrying and murdering many rich heiresses to obtain -their money. One day, just before his death, he was present when one -man lent a large sum to another without receiving receipt or security -for it (the money was borrowed for Tregeagle). Soon after Tregeagle's -death the borrower denied that he had ever had it, and the case -was brought into Bodmin Court to be tried, when the defendant said, -"If Tregeagle ever saw it I wish to God that Tregeagle may come into -court and declare it." No sooner were the words spoken than Tregeagle -appeared, and gave his witness in favour of the plaintiff, declaring -"that he could not speak falsely; but he who had found it so easy to -raise him would find it difficult to lay him." The money was paid, -but the wretched man was followed night and day by the spirit, -and great labour had the parsons and wise men before they could -finally rid him of his tormentor. There are many versions of this -transaction. Tregeagle himself is said in another to have received the -money for an estate of which he was steward, and not to have entered -it in his books. His ghost was doomed to do many impossible things, -such as to empty Dosmery pool, near Bodmin Moor, with a limpet shell -that had a hole in the bottom. This pool had the reputation, too, -of being bottomless; but it has lately been cut into and drained by -the workers of the granite quarries. Strange tales are told in that -neighbourhood of his appearing to people, and of his dismal howls -at not being able to fulfil his tasks. Mothers all over Cornwall -when their children are loudly crying may be often heard to declare -"that they are roaring worse than Tregeagle." "A tradition of the -neighbourhood says that on the shores of this lonely mere (Dosmery -pool) the ghosts of bad men are ever employed in binding the sand -in bundles with 'beams' (bands) of the same. These ghosts, or some -of them, were driven out (they say horsewhipped out) by the parson -from Launceston."--H. G. T. Notes and Queries, December, 1850. - -Tregeagle had also to remove the sand from one cove to another, -where the sea always returned it. It was on one of these expeditions -that either by accident or design he dropped a sackful at the mouth -of Loe-pool, near Helston. (When in wet seasons the waters of this -pool rise to such a height as to obstruct the working of the mills -on its banks, and heavy seas have silted up the sand at its mouth, -the Mayor of Helston presents by ancient custom two leather purses -containing three halfpence each as his dues to the lord of Penrose who -owns Loe-pool, and asks for permission to cut a passage through the -bar to the sea). Another of Tregeagle's tasks is to make and carry -away a truss of sand bound with a rope of sand from Gwenvor (the -cove at Whitsand Bay) near the Land's End. But his unquiet spirit -finds no rest, for whilst he is trying to do his never-ending work -the devil hunts him from place to place, until he hides for refuge -in a hermit's ruined chapel on St. Roche's rocks (East Cornwall). - -When the sea roars before a storm, people in the Land's End district -say "Tregeagle is calling," and often, too, his voice may be heard -lamenting around Loe-pool. [7] - -The substance of the following I had from a Penzance man (H. R. C.), -to whom I must own I am indebted for much information about Cornish -folk-lore. All his life he has in his business mingled with the -peasantry of West Cornwall, and, unlike myself, he comes from a long -line of Cornishmen. - -"You know Gwenvor Sands, in Whitsand Bay, at the Land's End, and -have heard of the unresting spirit of Tregeagle, by whom that spot is -haunted. He foretells storms, and calls before the wind reaches home. I -have often heard him howling before a westerly hurricane in the still -of midnight at my house in Penzance, a distance of ten miles." - -Tradition tells that on these sands, many centuries ago, some -foreigners landed, and fought a great battle with the inhabitants, -under King Arthur, on Vellan-drucher Moor. "Where Madron, Gulval, and -Zennor meet, there is a flat stone where Prince Arthur and four British -kings dined, and the four kings collected the native Cornish who fought -under them at the battle of Vellan-drucher."--(Bottrell.) This was -long before the Spaniards (pronounced Spanyers) in 1595 came ashore -at the same place from a galley "high by day" (in broad daylight), -and burnt Vellan-dreath, a mill close by. - -These foreigners are popularly supposed to be red-haired Danes, and -they stayed so long "that the birds built in the rigging of their -ships." In all the western parishes of Cornwall there has existed -time out of mind a great antipathy to certain red-haired families, -who are said to be their descendants, and, much to their disgust, -they are often hailed as Danes (pronounced Deanes). Indeed this -dislike was carried so far that few would allow any members of their -families to intermarry with them. In addition to the usual country -gossip in the beginning of this century amongst the women of this -district whilst knitting at their doors (for the Cornish are famous -"knitsters"), or sitting round "breeding" (netting) fishing-nets, they -had one never-failing topic of conversation in their fears that the -foreigners would land once more on Gwenvor Sands, or at Priest's Cove, -[8] in Pendeen, near St. Just. Who these strangers were to be they -were not at all sure, but they knew that the red-haired Danes were to -come again, when Vellan-drucher (a water mill-wheel) would once more -be worked with blood, and the kings for the last time would dine around -the Garrick Zans (Table Mên); and the end of the world would come soon -after: for had not Merlin so prophesied more than a thousand years -ago? Garrick Zans is the old name for a large flat stone, the Table Mên -(pronounced Mayon), at Sennen, near the Land's End, and seven mythical -Saxon kings are said to have dined at it when on a visit to Cornwall, -A.D. 600. "Around it old folk went nine times daily, from some notion -that is was lucky and good against witchcraft."--(Bottrell.) - -Off the Land's End is a very striking rock rising out of the sea. It -is known as the Irish Lady, from the fact that an Irish vessel -was once wrecked on it, and out of all on board one poor lady alone -managed to scramble up to the top; but no boat could get to her, and, -exhausted by fatigue, she fell into the water, and was drowned. Her -spirit still haunts the spot. This is most probably a fanciful tale, -as the rock bears some resemblance to a human figure. - -"During a dreadful thunderstorm and hurricane on the 30th January, -1648, the day on which King Charles was beheaded, a large stone -figure of a man, called the 'Armed Knight,' which stood in an upright -position at the extremity of the Land's End, forty fathoms above the -level of the sea, was thrown down. On the same day a ship riding -in St. Ives Bay, having on board the king's wardrobe and other -furniture belonging to the royal family, bound for France, broke -from her moorings, and ran ashore on the rocks of Godrevy Island, -where all on board, about sixty persons, were drowned, except one -man and a boy."--G. S. Gilbert's Cornwall. - -The name of Armed Knight has been transferred to another pile of rocks -off the Land's End. The "stone figure" thrown down was most probably -a natural formation, as one of the rocks there now bears the fanciful -name of Dr. Johnson's Head, from a supposed likeness. Other versions -of this legend say "that the Armed Knight was only ninety feet high, -with an iron spire on its top." - -Porthgwarra in olden times was known as Sweethearts' Cove from the -following circumstance: The daughter of a well-to-do farmer loved a -sailor, who was once one of her father's serving-men. Her parents, -especially her mother, disapproved of the match; and when the young -man returned from sea and came to see his sweetheart, he was forbidden -the house. The lovers however met, and vowed to be true to each other, -Nancy saying, "That she would never marry any other man," and William, -"That, dead or alive, he would one day claim her as his bride." He -again went to sea, and for a long time no tidings came, neither from -nor of him. Poor Nancy grew melancholy, and spent all her days, and -sometimes nights, looking out seaward from a spot on the cliff, called -then Nancy's Garden, now Hella Point. She gradually became quite mad; -and one night fancied she heard her lover tapping at her bed-room -window, and calling her to come out to him, saying: "Sleepest thou, -sweetheart? Awaken, and come hither, love. My boat awaits us at the -cove. Thou must come this night, or never be my bride." She dressed, -went to the cove, and was never seen again. Tradition says that -the same night William appeared to his father, told him that he had -come for his bride, and bade him farewell; and that next day the news -arrived of his having been drowned at sea. Bottrell gives this legend -under the title of "The Tragedy of Sweet William and Fair Nancy." - -Not far from the parish of St. Levan is a small piece of -ground--"Johanna's Garden," which is fuller of weeds than of -flowers. The owner of it was one Sunday morning in her garden gathering -greens for her dinner, when she saw St. Levan going by to catch some -fish for his. He stopped and greeted her, upon which she reproved him -for fishing on a Sunday, and asked him what he thought would be his -end if he did so. He tried to convince her that it was not worse than -picking greens, but she would not listen to reason. At last St. Levan -lost patience, and said, "From this time for ever thou shalt be known, -if known at all, as the Foolish Johanna, and thy garden shall ever -continue to bear, as now, more hemlocks and nettles than leeks and -lentils. Mark this! to make thy remembrance the more accursed for all -time to come, if any child of thy name be baptised in the waters of -Parchapel-well (close at hand) it shall become a fool, like thyself, -and bad luck follow it."--Bottrell. - -There is a cleft-stone in St. Levan churchyard called St. Levan's -stone; but it is said to have been venerated in the days of King -Arthur; and Merlin, who once visited these parts with him, uttered -this prophecy concerning it:-- - - - "When, with panniers astride, - A pack-horse can ride - Through St. Levan's stone, - The world will be done." - - -Unless some earthquake splits it further the world will last thousands -of years longer. - -On an almost inaccessible granite peak seaward of the pile of rocks -known as Castle Treryn (pronounced Treen), once the haunt and -meeting-place of witches, on the summit of which is perched the -far-famed Cornish logan-rock, is a sharp peak with a hole in it, -large enough to insert a hand. At the bottom lay an egg-shaped stone, -traditionally called the key of the castle, which, although easily -shifted, had for ages defied all attempts at removal. It was said that -should any one ever succeed in getting it out, Castle Treryn--in fact -the whole cairn--would immediately disappear. It was unfortunately -knocked out by the men who replaced the logan-rock, thrown down by -Lieutenant Goldsmith. Its position was often altered by heavy seas, -and from it the old folk formerly foretold the weather. - -In Buryan parish, named after an Irish saint, a king's daughter, -who came into Cornwall with some of her companions in the fifth -century, is the famous circle of Dawns Myin, or the Merry Maidens, -originally consisting of nineteen upright stones. They are nineteen -maidens, who for their sin of dancing on a Sunday were all turned -into stone. Two mênhirs in a neighbouring field are the pipers, who -at the same time suffered the same fate. Of these and other stone -circles an old writer says, "No man when counting them can bring the -stones twice the same number." - -Not far from Buryan, between Sennen and Penzance, is a very -solitary weird spot--a disused Quakers' burial-ground. In its lonely -neighbourhood is sometimes seen by a privileged few, "high by day," -the spirit of a huntsman, followed by his dogs. He is dressed in the -hunting costume of bygone ages; he suddenly appears (for neither -his horse's hoofs nor his dogs' feet make any sound), jumps over -an adjacent hedge, and is as suddenly lost to view. I do not know -if tradition has ever connected this huntsman with Wild Harris of -Kenegie, [9] who was killed when hunting by a fall from his horse--it -was frightened by a white hare, the spirit of a deserted maiden, -which crossed its path. His ghost, in his hunting-dress, appeared -standing at the door of his house the night he was buried--the funeral, -according to an old custom, had taken place at midnight. For years -after he might be met in the vicinity of his home, and he and his -boon companions were often heard carousing at nights in a summer-house -on the bowling-green. Few then cared to pass Kenegie after dark, for -his was said not to be the only spirit that haunted the place. Wild -Harris's ghost was finally laid to rest by a famous ghost-laying -parson, and put as a task to count the blades of grass nine times in -an enclosure on the top of Castle-an-Dinas, an old earth fortification -near where he is said to have met his death. [10] Ghosts only "walk" -(appear) in the parish where their bodies were buried. - -On the opposite side of Buryan to the Quakers' burial-ground is -the parish of Paul (St. Pol-de-Leon). Its church was burnt by the -Spaniards in 1595. They landed on a rock, said to have been named -after Merlin--Merlin's car, and marched from Paul to Penzance, which -they also fired in several places. I am afraid the inhabitants did -not make a very bold stand against them; for Merlin had prophesied -centuries before-- - - - "That they should land on the rock of Merlin, - Who would burn Paul, Penzance, and Newlyn." - - -And this caused them to lose courage, and falsify the old proverb: - - - "Car and Pen, Pol and Tre, - Would make the devil run away." - - -Close by the highway, where the Buryan road joins the high-road -from Paul to Penzance, is a smoothly-cut, conical granite stone, -popularly supposed to have been placed there in memory of some woman -who was found murdered at that spot, with nothing on to identify her, -and with only a thimble and ring in her pocket. It really marks the -place where an ancient gold ring, three inches and a half in diameter, -bearing the motto, "In hac spe vivo," was discovered in 1781. In the -same parish, a short walk from this place, are some Druidical remains, -which have the curious name of "Kerris roundago." Some stones taken -from it to repair Penzance pier were fatal to the horses who drew them, -although they were young and healthy. - -In the adjacent parish of Newlyn, a fishing village, the favourite -resort of artists, a great deal of gossiping on summer evenings -goes on around the small wells (here called peeths), whilst the -women wait patiently for each in turn to fill her earthen pitchers; -some of the most industrious bring their knitting in their pockets -with them. Opposite one of these wells, towering over St. Peter's -church, is a striking pile of rocks, "Tolcarn." On the summit are -some curious markings in the stones, which, when a child, I was told -were the devil's footprints; but the following legend, which I give -on the authority of the Rev. W. S. Lach-Szyrma, Vicar of St. Peter's, -is quite new to me:-- - -"The summit of the rock is reticulated with curious veins of elvan, -about which a quaint Cornish legend relates that the Bucca-boo, or -storm-god of the old Cornish, once stole the fishermen's net. Being -pursued by Paul choir, who sang the Creed, he flew to the top of Paul -hill and thence over the Coombe to Tolcarn, where he turned the nets -into stone." - -We have now reached the town of Penzance, and through its streets -folks of the last generation often heard rumbling at midnight an -old-fashioned coach drawn by headless horses; or saw a procession of -coffins slowly wending its way to the churchyard. It was unlucky to -meet this, as death was sure soon to follow, and tradition speaks of a -woman who accidentally struck against one and died in the same night. A -coach with headless horses and coachman, also just before Christmas, -went through the streets of Penryn; this coachman had the power of -spiriting away people who met and stared at him, unless they turned -their heads and averted the evil by some mystical signs. In Penzance -town were many haunted houses, but space will only allow of my noticing -a few. One in Chapel Street (formerly Our Lady's Street) was tenanted -by the spirit of Mrs. Baines, an eccentric old lady. At the back -of her house was a very fine orchard well stocked with fruit-trees, -which the boys were too fond of visiting. She determined at last that -her gardener should watch for them, armed with an old blunderbuss, -charged with peas and small shot. She gave him strict orders should -he see any one, to say one, two, three, and then fire. He watched two -nights, but the boys were too cunning for him, and still the fruit -went. On the third, Mrs. Baines, thinking to catch him napping, went -herself into the garden and began to shake the apples down from one of -the trees. Some say that the man recognised his mistress, and, vexed -at her suspecting him, said one, two, three, as quickly as he could -utter the words, and fired; others, that he was sleeping, and awakened -by the noise she made, shot her by mistake, exclaiming, "I know-ee, -you thief, I do; now I'll sarve-ee out, I will." Terrified after he -had done the deed, he ran off into the country and there hid himself -for some days. The poor old lady was more frightened than hurt, and -all the shot were successfully extracted by her doctor; but very soon -after this adventure she died. From this time her house and grounds -began to have an evil reputation; Mrs. Baines's ghost, dressed in -antiquated garb, a quaint lace cap on her powdered hair, lace ruffles -hanging from her sleeves, and a short mode mantle over her shoulders, -was often seen walking in the gardens or standing under an apple-tree, -leaning on the gold-headed cane she always carried. Indoors, too, -her high-heeled shoes were plainly heard night after night tapping on -the floors as she paced up and down the rooms, which noise was often -varied by the whirring of her spinning-wheel. For some time the house -was unoccupied, now it is divided into two, and the ghost has been -laid to rest. But long after Mrs. Baines ceased to appear her wheel -was heard. At last it was discovered that some leather, which had -been nailed around a door to keep out draughts, was loose in places, -and that the whistling of the wind through this made the peculiar -sound. Mr. Bottrell says "that her spirit was laid by a parson, whose -name he thinks was Singleton, and he succeeded in getting her away -to the Western Green (west of Penzance), which was then spread over -many acres of land, where the waves now roll. [11] Here this powerful -parson single-handed bound her to spin from the banks, ropes of sand -for the term of a thousand years, unless she, before that time, spun -a sufficiently long and strong one to reach from St. Michael's Mount -to St. Clement's Isle (across the bay)." About a stone's throw from -Mrs. Baines's house, on an eminence above Quay street, stood in her -days Penzance Chapel of Ease (for Penzance was then in Madron parish), -called our Lady's or St. Mary's Chapel. On the same site was built, in -1835, the present parish church of St. Mary's. Here, in the memory of -a few who still survive, a gentleman in the early part of this century -did penance, and afterwards walked from thence through the streets to -his house, wrapped in a sheet, with a lighted taper in his hand. It -was usual then, as now, for the Mayor and Corporation of Penzance, -with the mace-bearers and constables, to go once a month in state -to church. Before the reading of the first lesson the mace-bearers -left, and visited the public-houses, in order to see that they were -shut during service time. When the sermon began they came back and -returned to their seats in order to be in readiness to escort the -Mayor home. Quay street was once the most fashionable part of Penzance, -but the large houses are now divided into smaller tenements; in some -of them bits of finely-moulded ceilings, &c., still exist. One of the -houses reputed to have been haunted was torn down in 1813, when the -skeleton of a man was found built into a wall. It was, of course, -put down to be the sailor's whose spirit was so often seen there, -and who (tradition said) had been murdered in that house for the sake -of his money. It was well known that he had brought back great riches -from foreign parts. There is a myth that Sir Walter Raleigh landed -at Penzance Quay when he returned from Virginia, and on it smoked the -first tobacco ever seen in England, but for this statement I believe -there is not the slightest foundation. Several western ports, both -in Devon and Cornwall, make the same boast. - -It is a fact, however, that the news of Nelson's death was first -heard here. It was brought into the port by two fishermen, who had -it from the crew of a passing vessel. A small company of strolling -actors were playing that night at the little theatre then standing -over some stables in Chapel street, and the play was stopped for a -few moments whilst one of the actors told the audience. - -Another haunted house, at the opposite side of Penzance, is celebrated -in a poem called "The Petition of an Old Uninhabited House," written -and published in 1811, by the Rev. C. V. Le Grice, who was then Vicar -of Madron. He was a friend of Charles Lamb, who mentions him in his -"Essay on Christ's Hospital." About this house a lady once told me a -strange story, that I will relate. Forty years ago, she, a perfect -stranger to the place, never having been in Penzance before, came -to it with her husband and her first child, for she was then a young -wife. As they meant to settle in the town, they went to this hotel, -where they intended staying until they could get a suitable house. On -the evening of their arrival, her husband having gone out, she sat -alone before the fire nursing her child, when she suddenly saw a -little old man, in a very old-fashioned dress, come into the room. He -sat down in a chair near her, looked steadfastly into the fire, -and, after some time, without saying a word, he rose and left. On -her husband's return, she told him of her queer visitor. The next -morning they made enquiries about him, and found that the hotel had -been built on the site of the old uninhabited house; that nearly the -whole of it had been destroyed, but a few of the best rooms remained; -and that they were in a haunted chamber. She declared that she could -never sleep there another night, and, temporarily, they engaged some -furnished lodgings. These old rooms are now pulled down and billiard -and other rooms cover the place where they stood. - -Outside the boundary-stone, west of Penzance, stands, in its own -grounds, a house to which additions have been made by many succeeding -generations. Tradition, of course, gave it a ghost. With the other -members of my family I lived there for several years, but none of -us ever saw it. I am bound, however, to state that we never slept in -the haunted chamber. For a short period it was occupied by a groom, -who one morning came to me with a very long face, and said he dared -not sleep there any more, for some mysterious being came night after -night, and pulled all the bed-clothes off him; rather than do so, -he would sleep in the harness-room. - -Still further west of Penzance is a much larger house, to which, -like the former, many additions have been made. And up its avenue, -after dark, a carriage may be often heard slowly making its way -until it reaches the hall-door, where it stops. In this house, about -sixty years ago, lived, in very great style, a gentleman, who was a -regular autocrat, and of him one of his old servants related to me -this anecdote, which is curious as an illustration of the manners of -those times. When in his employ, he gave an answer to some question, -which afterwards his master discovered to be an untruth. The next -Sunday he made him, as the congregation came out, stand at Madron -church door, by a tombstone covered with loaves of bread. Of these, -he had to give one to each poor person that passed, and say, in an -audible tone, "I, William ----, last week told my master a lie." - -Mr. G. B. Millett, in his Penzance Past and Present, gives a tale well -known in this district, about the drinking habits of our ancestors, -which, as I am now on the subject of manners, I will quote. - -"A particular gentleman, not far from Penzance, loved good liquor, -and one evening had gathered some of his jovial companions together, -determined to make a night of it. His wife, having had some experience -of such gatherings before, with wise precaution, saw as much wine -taken out of the cellar as she thought would be good for her husband -and his friends. Then, safely locking the strong oak door, she put the -key in her pocket, and announced her intention of spending the evening -with some lady friends. The hours were passing pleasantly away, and, -with a smile of inward satisfaction, she was congratulating herself -upon the success of her forethought, when a heavy stumbling noise -was heard upon the stairs, and shortly afterwards two burly footmen -staggered into the room, groaning under the weight of a ponderous -cellar door, with its posts and lintel, which had been sent by their -master for the mistress to unlock." - -The manor of Conerton, which at one time nearly included the whole -of West Penwith, had many privileges in Penzance. Before the days of -county courts the lord held a monthly court here for the trial of -small cases not criminal. Its prison, a wretched place (visited by -Howard), no longer exists, but people were confined there early in -this century--sometimes for long periods. I was once shown a beautiful -patchwork quilt made by a poor woman, who had been imprisoned for debt. - -Until within the last fifty years every butcher in Penzance market had -to pay to the bailiff of this manor at Christmas a marrow-bone or a -shilling. The first butcher who refused to pay it also defied one of -the bye-laws of the market that compelled them to wear white sleeves -over their blue blouses. He was brought before the magistrates, and -declared "that he would be incarcerated before he would do it." The -following is a favourite story handed down amongst the butchers from -father to son. A solicitor in Penzance had a very large dog that was in -the habit of coming into their market and stealing joints of meat from -the stalls. One day one of them went to the lawyer, and said,--"Please -sir, could I sue the owner of a dog for a leg of mutton stolen from my -stall?" "Certainly, my good man." "Then, please sir, the dog is yours, -and the price of the mutton is 4s. 6d." The money was paid, and the -man was going away in triumph, when he was called back by these words: -"Stay a moment, my good man, a lawyer's consultation is 6s. 8d., you -owe me the difference:" which sum the discomfited butcher had to pay. - -Every stream in Cornwall however small is called a river (pronounced -revvur). One flows into the sea west of Penzance, between it and -Newlyn, known as Laregan, and another at the east in Gulval parish, -as Ponsandane river. There is an old rhyme about them that runs thus: - - - "When Ponsandane calls to Laregan river, - There will be fine weather. - But we may look for rain - When Laregan calls to Ponsandane." - - -Years ago there was a marsh between Penzance and Newlyn, now covered -by the sea, known to the old people as the "Clodgy;" when the sea -moaned there they said, "Clodgy is calling for rain." Sometimes at -the present day it is "Bucca" is calling, Bucca being the nickname -in Penzance for the inhabitants of Newlyn. - - - "Penzance boys up in a tree, - Looking as wisht (weak, downcast) as wisht can be; - Newlyn 'Buccas,' strong as oak, - Knocking them down at every poke." - - -The weather at Mount's Bay is also foretold by the look of the Lizard -land, which lies south: - - - "When the Lizard is clear, rain is near." - - -The marsh on Marazion Green still exists, and not many years ago -no one cared to cross it after nightfall, especially on horseback, -for at a certain spot close by the marsh a white lady was sure to -arise from the ground, jump on the rider's saddle, and, like the -"White Lady of Avenel," ride with him pillion-fashion as far as the -Red river [12] that runs into the sea just below the smelting-works -at Chyandour, a suburb of Penzance. The last person who saw her -was a tailor of this town, who died in 1840. He was commonly called -"Buck Billy," from his wearing till the day of his death a pigtail, -a buff waistcoat, and a blue coat with yellow buttons. - -Marazion, or Market-jew, which latter is a corruption of its old -Cornish name, Marghaisewe, meaning a Thursday's market, is a small -town exactly opposite St. Michael's Mount. Until its present church -was built its mayor sat in a very high seat with his back against a -window. This is the origin of the Cornish proverb: "In your own light, -like the mayor of Market-jew." This mayor is jokingly said to have -three privileges. The first is, "That he may sit in his own light;" -the second, "Next to the parson;" and the third, "If he see a pig in -a gutter he may turn it out and take its place." [13] - -In the churchyard of the neighbouring parish of St. Hilary is -a monument to the Rev. John Penneck, M.A., who, in the early part -of the last century, was Chancellor of Exeter Cathedral. His ghost -is very eccentric, sometimes getting into a passion, and on these -occasions raising a great storm of wind. - -In the parish of Breage, near the sea, about four miles from Marazion, -are the ruins of Pengersick Castle, of which only some fragments of -walls and a square tower now stand. Some of the upper rooms in the -latter have fallen in, and they are all in a state of decay. The -lower have oak-panels curiously carved and painted, but time has -almost effaced the designs. The most perfect is one representing -"Perseverance," under which are the following lines: - - - "What thing is harder than the rock? - What softer is than water cleere? - Yet wyll the same, with often droppe, - The hard rock perce as doth a spere. - Even so, nothing so hard to attayne, - But may be hadde, with labour and payne." - - -So many are the legends told of the former inhabitants of Pengersick, -that it would be almost impossible at this date to decide which is -the original. These ruins stand on the site of a much older castle, -and in it dwelt, far back in the dark ages, a very wicked man, who, -when he was fighting in foreign parts, forgetting his wife at home, -courted a king's daughter, who gave him a magic sword, which ensured -in every battle the victory to its owner. He deceived and left her; -but she, with her son in her arms, followed him to his home by the -Mount. There she met him, and upbraided him with his cruelty, and -in a fit of passion he threw them both into the sea. The lady was -drowned, and after her death she was changed into a white hare, which -continually haunted the old lord; but her boy was picked up alive by a -passing ship. The lord's wife afterwards died, and he married again a -woman as bad as himself, reputed to be a witch, who was very cruel to -her step-son, who lived with his father at the castle. One night there -was a great storm in Mount's Bay, and the young man went down to the -shore to see if there were any vessels in distress, and spied on the -beach an almost exhausted sailor, who had been washed in by the waves, -and whom he bade his servants carry to his home, and put into his own -bed. When he revived, all were struck by the marvellous resemblance -to the young heir; and they conceived a great affection for each -other. Together they went to Marazion to see if they could find the -vessel from whose deck the stranger had fallen into the sea. It was -safe in harbour, and the captain, whom the sailor had always thought -to be his father, told him then for the first time, "How, when he -was an infant, he had rescued him from drowning where last night he -had nearly lost his life." Thus they were discovered to be brothers, -and a day or two after, when out hunting, guided by the white hare, -they accidentally came upon the miraculous sword that had disappeared -when his mother was drowned. Then these two brothers sailed away from -Cornwall, and dwelt in peace in the land of a strange princess; where -the Cornishman studied, under a celebrated master, astrology and all -other occult sciences. After some time the old lord of Pengersick met -his death in this wise: As he was riding out one fine morning, the -white hare suddenly sprang up in front of his horse and startled it, -so that it ran madly with its rider into the sea, where both were -swallowed up. When this news was brought to him, the Cornishman -bade his brother an affectionate farewell, and, with his wife, a -learned princess, went back to Pengersick, where they lived happily -for several generations, for amongst many other wonderful things, -the young lord had discovered an elixir of life which, had they so -wished, would have kept them alive to the present day. (See Bottrell.) - -In addition to being well versed in occult lore, Pengersick's wife -was a fine musician; she could with her harp charm and subdue evil -spirits, and compel the fish in Mount's Bay, also the mermaids who -then dwelt there, to come out of the sea. - -Another account of the old lord's death says that he and a party of -his friends were dining in his yacht around a silver table when she -went down, and all on board perished. This happened off Cudden Point, -which juts into the sea just opposite Pengersick. Children living there -formerly used to go down to the beach at low water to try and find -this silver table. (A ship laden with bullion is reported to have been -lost here in the time of Queen Elizabeth.) "The present castle," one -tradition says, "was built in the reign of Henry VIII. by a merchant -who had acquired immense wealth beyond the seas, and who loaded an ass -with gold, and broke its back. He sold the castle to a Mr. Milliton, -who, having slain a man, shut himself up in it to escape punishment." - -Another legend says that Sir William Milliton built it, and, soon after -its completion, married a very rich but extremely ugly and shrewish -woman, of whom he tried by various ways to rid himself but in vain. One -day, after a desperate quarrel, he begged her forgiveness, and asked -her, in proof of having pardoned him, to sup with him that evening -in a room overlooking the sea. She agreed; and at the conclusion of -the feast they pledged each other in goblets of rich wine. Then Sir -William's looks altered, and, in a fierce voice, he said, "Woman, -now prepare for death! You have but a short time to live, as the -wine that you have just drunk was poisoned." "Then we die together," -she answered, "for I had my suspicions, and mixed the contents of the -goblets." Up to this time the moon, which was at its full, had been -shining brightly through the open windows, for it was a warm summer -night, when suddenly a frightful storm of thunder and lightning arose, -the winds lashed the waves to fury, and the moon was darkened. The -servants, alarmed by this, and the unearthly fiendish yells that came -from the banqueting hall, rushed upstairs, and there found the bodies -of their master and mistress dead on the floor; and through the open -window they saw, by the light of the moon which for a moment shone -through a rift in the clouds, their souls borne away on the wings of -a demon in the shape of a bird. - -The original name of Breage parish was Pembro; but St. Breaca, hearing -that the inhabitants were at a loss to raise the money for a peal of -bells, offered to extricate them from their difficulty on condition -that they should call the parish after her. The condition was accepted, -the bells were hung, and the parish henceforth was known as that of -St. Breage.--Through Rev. S. Rundle. - -St. Germoe (Geronicus) an Irish king, who was converted to Christianity -in the fifth century, is said to have been the foster-son of Breaca -(or Breage), with whom he crossed over into Cornwall where they -settled. Two churches in adjoining parishes are dedicated to them; -St. Germoe is reputed to have been the founder of his, and there is -a curious structure at the north-east of the churchyard, known as -St. Germoe's chair or King Germoe's throne. - -"There is more than one story attached to this chair. One is to the -effect that the saint sat in the central chair with two assessors, -one on either side of him; another legend is that the priests rested -in the chair; whilst a third is that pilgrims to the tomb of the saint -also rested therein. Be that as it may, however, it is possible that -this is a shrine, and that the body of St. Germoe rests underneath -it."--Rev. W. A. Osborne, Transactions Penzance Natural History -Society, 1886, 1887. - -At Great Work Mine (Huel Vor) near by, a narrow level (not far down) -is still thought to have been made by Christian slaves, when the -first church at Germoe was built. - - - "Germoe, little Germoe lies under a hill, - When I'm in Germoe I count myself well; - True love's in Germoe, in Breage I've got none, - When I'm in Germoe I count myself at home."-- - - Through Rev. S. Rundle. - - -All Cornishmen at one time were supposed to be "wreckers," and from -the peninsular-shape of their county came the proverb, "'Tis a bad -wind that blows no good to Cornwall." But the dwellers in Breage and -Germoe must in olden times, from the following distich, have been -held in worse repute than their neighbours: - - - "God keep us from rocks and shelving sands, - And save us from Breage and Germoe men's hands." - - -The most noted and daring Cornish smuggler of the last century, -Coppinger, a Dane, lived on the north coast, and of him a legendary -catalogue of dreadful tales is told, all to be found in the -Rev. R. S. Hawker's book, the Footprints of Former Men in Far -Cornwall. He lays the scene of his exploits in the neighbourhood -of Hartland Bay, my informant near Newquay. He swam ashore here -in the prime of life, in the middle of a frightful storm, from a -foreign-rigged vessel that was seen in the offing, and of which nothing -more was ever heard or known. Wrapped in a cloak, that tradition says -he tore from off the shoulders of an old woman who was on the beach, -he jumped up behind a farmer's daughter, who had ridden down to see -the wreck, and was by her taken to her father's house, where he was -fed, clothed, and most hospitably received. He was a fine, handsome, -well-built man, and gave himself out to be most highly connected in -his own country. He soon won the young woman's affections, and at her -father's death, which took place not long after, he easily induced her -to marry him; but it was far from a happy union. Luckily they had but -one child--a deaf and dumb idiot, who had inherited his father's cruel -disposition, and delighted in torturing all living things. It is even -said that he cunningly killed one of his young playmates. Coppinger, -after his marriage, organized a band of smugglers, and made himself -their captain; and quickly through his misdeeds earned the title -of cruel Coppinger. One legend relates that he once led a Revenue -cutter into a dangerous cove, of which he alone knew the soundings, -and that he and his crew came out of it in safety, but the other -vessel with all on board perished. Mr. Hawker calls Coppinger's ship -the "Black Prince," and says he had it built for himself in Denmark, -and that men who had made themselves in any way obnoxious to him on -land were carried on board her, and compelled by fearful oaths to -enrol themselves in her crew. - -In 1835 an old man of the age of ninety-seven related to this writer -that when a youth he had been so abducted, and after two years' -service he had been ransomed by his friends with a large sum. "And -all," said the old man, very simply, "because I happened to see -one man kill another, and they thought I should mention it." The -same author gives him a wonderfully fleet horse, which no one but -Coppinger could master, and says that on its back he made more than -one hairbreadth escape. He has also a marvellous account of his end, -in which he disappears as he came, in a vessel which he boarded in -a storm of thunder, lightning, and hail. As soon as he was in her, -"she was out of sight in a moment, like a spectre or a ghost." For -this he quotes the following verse:-- - - - "Will you hear of the cruel Coppinger? - He came from a foreign kind; - He was brought to us from the salt water, - He was carried away by the wind." - - -The one thing certain about him is, that at one time he amassed money -enough by smuggling to buy a small freehold estate near the sea, the -title-deeds of which, signed with his name, still exist. But in his -old age, I have been told, he was reduced to poverty, and subsisted -on charity. - -That in those bygone days smuggling was thought no sin every one -knows. And who has not heard the oft-quoted apocryphal anecdote of -the Cornish clergyman, who--when he was in the middle of his sermon -and some one opened the church door and shouted in, "A wreck! a -wreck!"--begged his parishioners to wait whilst he took off his gown -that they might all start fair. - -The following is, however, a genuine letter of the last century from -a vicar in the eastern part of the county to a noted smuggler of -that district:-- - - - "Martin Rowe, you very well know, - That Cubert's vicar loves good liquor, - One bottle's all, upon my soul. - You'll do right to come to-night; - My wife's the banker, she'll pay for the anker." - - -To the same jovial vicar is credited this grace, given to his hostess' -horror at her table after he had dined out several days in succession, -and had rabbits offered him, a dish he detested:-- - - - "Of rabbits young and rabbits old, - Of rabbits hot and rabbits cold, - Of rabbits tender, rabbits tough, - I thank the Lord we've had enough." - - -Inland from Breage is the small hamlet of Leed's-town (called after -the Duke of Leeds, who has property in Cornwall). It is the seat of the -following short story:--"The Leed's-town ghost runs up and down stairs -in a house during the night, and then sits in a corner of the room -weeping and sleeking her hair. It is the ghost of a young woman who -was engaged to be married to a man who refused to become her husband -until she gave him certain deeds kept in a box in the above room. As -soon as the deeds were in his possession, he realised the property and -escaped to America, leaving the luckless girl to bemoan her loss. She -went mad: night and day she was searching for her deeds; sometimes she -would sit and wail in the spot where the box had been. At length she -died: her spirit, however, had no rest, and still constantly returns -to keep alive the memory of man's perfidy."--Through Rev. S. Rundle. - -Close to Leed's-town, at the foot of Godolphin-hill, is the old house, -or hall, of Godolphin. The basement-floor of the original house -alone remains: it consists of a long façade supported by pillars -of white granite, the interior containing many objects of interest -well worth a visit. Opposite the inhabited part of the house is the -King's room, opening on the King's garden. (The title of King's -room was given to it from the legend that Charles II. once slept -there.) You could leave it by five ways; as there were three doors, -one exit through the floor, and another through the roof. Godolphin -is held by a very curious tenure, said to have originated in a bet -between the representatives of the Godolphin and St. Aubyn families -on a snail race. As the Godolphin snail was being beaten, its owner -pricked it with a pin to make it go faster, but it drew in its horns -and refused to move, consequently the other won. The following is the -ceremony which takes place every Candlemas. Before sunrise a person, -appointed as reeve by the Rev. St. Aubyn Molesworth St. Aubyn, -the lord of the manor of Lamburn, in the parish of Perranzabuloe -(near Truro), knocks at the ancient outer door of the quadrangle, -and repeats this demand thrice:--"Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! Here come I -the reeve of the manor of Lamburn, to demand my lord's dues, eight -groats and a penny in money, a loaf, a cheese, a collar of brawn, -and a jack of the best ale in the house. God save the Queen and the -lord of the manor." It is said at the outer door of the quadrangle, -at the inner door, and for the third and last time at the table in -the kitchen (which is one of the oldest and not the least interesting -rooms). The above high lordship is paid by the Duke of Leeds to -the St. Aubyn family, to whom should they fail an heir the estate -reverts. There is another curious tenure in this part of Cornwall, -which as I am on the subject I will, before proceeding further, -quote. "The parsonage of St. Grade, with a small portion of land, -including an orchard, is held of the manor of Erisey by the following -tenure, viz., that on Easter-day, yearly, the parson provide a dinner -for the master and mistress of Erisey house, and their man and maid, -with a pan of milk for a greyhound bitch."--Lake, Helston and Lizard. - -The old manor-house of Erisey is in Ruan Major (near the Lizard), -and of one of the family the following story is told:--"He was -dancing with other ladies and gentlemen at Whitehall before James -I., and, through the violent motion and action of his body in the -middle of the dance, had his cap slip from his head and fall to the -ground; but he instantly with his foot tossed it on his head again, -and proceeded without let or hindrance with his part in that dance, -to the admiration of all who saw it, which gave occasion to King James -to enquire who that active gentleman was, and being told that his name -was Erisey, he forthwith replied, 'I like the gentleman very well, -but not his name of Heresey!'" The rector of Ruan Minor by ancient -usage and prescription (which is always admitted) claims a right of -sending a horse into a certain field in the parish of Landewednack, -whenever it is cropped with corn, and taking away as many sheaves as -the horse can carry away on its back. - -"At Jew's Lane Hill, near Godolphin, a Jew is said to have hung himself -on a tree still pointed out, and was buried beneath the road. His ghost -appears in the shape of a bull and a fiery chariot. This superstition -has been known for generations."--M. H., through Rev. S. Rundle. - - - - -CORNWALL STONE. - -"I remember this stone a rough cube about three feet in height; -it stood by the wayside forty or fifty years ago about a quarter -of a mile from the old Godolphin mansion near the coast, where the -nobility and gentry of the county were wont periodically to assemble -to hear the news from Court. The servants who waited on their masters -at the banquet diligently listened to the conversation, and afterwards -spread the information thus collected among the crowd assembled for -the purpose around Cornwall stone."--G. F. W., Western Antiquary, 1881. - -An old writer on the Scilly Isles mentions a rock on Bryher, one -of the smallest of the islands, where the neighbours were wont to -collect to hear and repeat the news. He calls it the News Rock. - -Between Helston and the Lizard lies the parish of St. Keverne; unlike -the other parishes of Cornwall it contains no mines. To account for -this it is said that St. Keverne cursed it when he lived there, for -the want of respect shown him by its inhabitants. Hence the proverb -"No metal will run within the sound of St. Keverne's bells." - -St. Just, from the Land's End district, once paid a visit to -St. Keverne, who entertained him for several days to the best of his -power. After his departure his host missed some valuable relics, and -determined to go in pursuit of his late guest, and try, if possible, -to get them from him. As he was passing over Crousadown, about two -miles from St. Keverne church, he pocketed three large stones, each -weighing about a quarter of a ton, to use if St. Just should offer -any resistance. He overtook him at a short distance from Breage -and taxed him with the theft, which was indignantly denied. From -words the saints came to blows, and St. Keverne flung his stones -with such effect that St. Just ran off, throwing down the relics as -he ran. These stones lay for centuries where they fell, about four -hundred yards from Pengersick Lane, as when taken away by day, they -were in bygone times always brought back at night. - -Going along the coast from Breage to the Lizard the solitary church of -Gunwalloe is passed, built so close to the sea that the waves wash its -graveyard walls. It is said to have been erected as a thank-offering by -some man who escaped drowning when shipwrecked. "In the sandbanks near -it (or, as others say, at Kennack cove), the notorious buccaneer Avery -is reported to have buried several chests of treasure previously to his -leaving England on the voyage from which he never returned. So strongly -did this opinion prevail that Mr. John Knill, collector of the Customs -at St. Ives, procured about the year 1770 a grant of treasure trove, -and expended some money in a fruitless search."--Rev. C. A. Johns, -Week at the Lizard. - -Near by is Mullion parish, of which the celebrated ghost-layer, -the Rev. Thomas Flavel, who died in 1682, was the vicar, and the -following quaint lines to his memory may still be read in the chancel -of his church:-- - - - "Earth take thine earth, my sin let Satan havet, - The world my goods, my soul my God who gavet; - For from these four, Earth, Satan, World, and God, - My flesh, my sin, my goods, my soul I had." - - -Of him the Rev. C. A. Johns writes:--"This Thomas Flavel, during his -life, attained great celebrity for his skill in the questionable art -of laying ghosts. His fame still lingers in the memories of the more -superstitious of the inhabitants through the following ridiculous -stories. On one occasion when he had gone to church his servant-girl -opened a book in his study, whereupon a host of spirits sprang up all -round her. Her master observed this, though then occupied at church, -closed his book, and dismissed the congregation. On his return home -he took up the book with which his servant had been meddling, and -read backwards the passage which she had been reading, at the same -time laying about him lustily with his walking-cane, whereupon all -the spirits took their departure, but not before they had pinched -the servant-girl black and blue. His celebrity, it seems, was not -confined to his own parish, for he was once called on to lay a very -troublesome ghost in an adjoining parish. As he demanded the large -fee of five guineas for his services, two of the persons interested -resolved to assure themselves, by the evidence of their own eyes, -that the ceremony was duly performed. They accordingly, without -apprising one another of their intention, secreted themselves -behind two graves in the churchyard a short time before the hour -named for the absurd rites. In due time the ghost-layer entered it -with a book in one hand and a horsewhip in the other. On the first -smack of the whip the watchers raised their heads simultaneously, -caught a glimpse of each other, and were both so terrified that they -scampered off in opposite directions, leaving the operator to finish -his business as he might. So popular are superstitions of this kind, -and so long do they linger, that to the present day a spot is pointed -out on the downs, named 'Hervan Gutter,' where Thomas Flavel's own -ghost was laid by a clergyman, of whom he said before his death, -'When he comes I must go.' In olden days there were several of these -ghost-laying clergymen in Cornwall, of whom, before going on with the -legends of the parishes, I will mention three known in folk-lore. In -the parish of Ladock, on the east side of Truro, dwelt rather more -than a century ago the famed ghost-layer, the Rev. Mr. Woods, who, -when walking, usually carried an ebony stick with a silver head, -on which was engraved a pentacle, and on a broad silver ring below -planetary signs and mystical figures. Of him Mr. Bottrell tells many -thrilling tales; I will only give the substance of one. Mr. Woods was -usually a match for most demons, whom he would change into animals -and thrash with his whip; but one more cunning than the rest defied -him, by taking the shape of an unknown coal-black bird, and perching -on the church tower, from whence during divine service he made all -sorts of queer noises, disturbing the congregation, and inciting the -irreverent to laughter. He was too high up to be exorcised or reached -with the whip. At last the clergyman, at his wit's end, remembered -that the Evil One could not endure the sight of innocent children, -and he sent his clerk round to all the mothers of his parish who had -unchristened children, asking them to bring them to church on the -next Sunday to have the rite performed. As he was a great favourite -with his people all the mothers, and they were eight, readily agreed -to come. But as twelve is the mystical number he invited four other -mothers whose children had recently been baptised, to come as well, -and bring their children and sponsors with them. The eight children -were christened, and the parson walked out of church followed by the -twelve mothers with their infants in their arms. The clerk arranged -them in lines five deep, the mothers in front, opposite the belfry -door. Mr. Woods directed each to pass her child from one to the other -of its sponsors, and then hand it to him that he might hold it up for -the demon to see; but for some time the cunning bird hid himself behind -a pinnacle, and nothing would induce him to look, until one of the -children, growing tired, began to cry, and all the others chimed in, -screaming in chorus at the top of their voices. Then the demon hopped -down from his perch and peered over the parapet to try and find out -what could be the matter. The sight of the twelve children had such -an effect upon him that he too gave an unearthly yell and flew away -never to re-appear. The church bells were soon after put in order, -and it is well known that no evil spirit ever ventures within sound -of their ringing." - -"One of the three Jagos, who were Vicars of Wendron, was much renowned -for his powers of necromancy. He was in the habit of taking people to -St. Wendron Cross, where a man called Tucker was buried, and asking -them whether they had a mind to see Tucker man; he would make him rise -from the dead as a mark of delicate attention to them."--Cornubiana, -Rev. S. Rundle, Penzance Natural History Society, 1885-1886. - -I will close this list of worthies by a short notice of Parson Dodge, -a vicar of Talland, a village on the south coast of Cornwall, and then -give an encounter of the famous Nonconformist divine, John Wesley, -with some spirits whom he vanquished at St. Agnes on the north. The -church of Talland is not in the centre of the parish, but near the -sea; a legend accounts for its position thus: It was begun at a spot -called Pulpit, but each night a voice was heard saying: - - - "If you will my wish fulfil, - Build the church on Talland hill;" - - -and the stones put up by day were removed. (Tales similar to this -are told of many Cornish churches. The work of removal is sometimes -carried on by the devil; at Altarnon he was accompanied by a hare -and a deer.) Of this church, about a hundred and fifty years ago, -the Rev. Richard Dodge was vicar. He had such command over the -spirit-world that he could raise and lay ghosts at his will, and by -a nod of his head banish them to the Red Sea. His parishioners looked -up to him with great awe, and were afraid of meeting him at midnight, -as he was sure then, whip in hand, to be pursuing and driving away the -demons, that in all kinds of shapes were to be seen hovering around -him. Amongst his other eccentricities he was fond of frequenting his -churchyard at the dead of night. Parson Dodge's fame was not confined -to his own immediate district, and one day he received a letter from -a fellow-clergyman, the Rev. Grylls, rector of Lanreath, asking his -assistance in exorcising a man habited in black, who drove a sable -coach, drawn by headless horses, across Black-a-down (a neighbouring -moor), as this apparition, when they happened to meet it, frightened -his people almost out of their wits. He acceded to this request, and -late at night the two clergymen rode to the spot, where they waited -for some time, but seeing nothing decided to separate and return to -their respective homes. Mr. Dodge, however, had not gone very far when -his horse obstinately refused to proceed a step further in a homeward -direction: this he interpreted to be a sign from heaven which he must -obey, and giving it the rein he allowed it to go as it willed. It -wheeled round and went back at a great pace to the moor. Here through -the gloom he saw standing the black coach with the headless horses: -its driver had dismounted, and the Rev. Grylls lay in a swoon at -his feet. Mr. Dodge was terribly alarmed, but managed to keep his -presence of mind, and began to recite a prayer: before he could finish -it the driver said--"Dodge is come! I must be gone!" jumped on to his -seat and disappeared for ever. Mr. Grylls' parishioners now arrived -in search of their rector; they knew there must be something amiss, -for his horse, startled by the horrible spectres, had thrown its -rider and galloped off, never stopping until it reached its stable -(his friend's, through fright, had also been, until the apparition -vanished, almost unmanageable). They found him senseless, supported -in Mr. Dodge's arms; but he soon revived, and they took him home, -although it was some days before his reason recovered from the shock. A -much fuller account of this may be found in the History of Polperro, -by Mr. T. Q. Couch. It has also been published by Mr. Robert Hunt in -his Popular Romances of the West of England. The Rev. R. S. Hawker, -in his Footprints of Former Men in Far Cornwall, gives some very -interesting extracts from the "Diurnal" of one Parson Rudall, of -Launceston, who in 1665, with the sanction of his Bishop, laid the -Botathen ghost--the spirit of a young woman by name Dorothy Dinglet, -who could not rest in her grave--"Unquiet because of a certain sin." It -is a very well-known fact that the Rev. John Wesley was a firm believer -in supernatural agencies; he compiled a book of ghost-stories, that -was lent to me when I was about ten years old by a kind but ignorant -woman, the reading of which caused me many sleepless nights. "On one -occasion Wesley could, when at St. Agnes, find no place to pass the -night save a house which had the reputation of being haunted. However, -he was not deterred; he entered and went to bed. But he could not -rest, for there was a terrible tumult below; the sound of carriages -was heard, the noise of feet, and fearful oaths. At length he could -bear it no longer; he descended, and then found the large hall -filled with guests. They greeted him with loud welcome, and begged -him to be seated. He consented, saying, however, that he must say -grace first. This remark was hailed with roars of laughter. Nothing -daunted he began--"Jesus, the Name high over all." He did not finish; -in a moment the lights were extinguished, he was alone, and from that -time the house was no more haunted.--Through Rev. S. Rundle. - -Clergymen in Cornwall are still supposed to be able to drive out -evil spirits. A poor, half-crazed woman, yet living in Madron parish, -near Penzance, went about ten years since to the house of a clergyman -then residing there, and asked him to walk around her, reading some -passages from the Bible, to exorcise the ghost of her dead sister, -who had entered into her, she said, and tormented her in the shape -of a small fly, which continually buzzed in her ear. Once before the -Board of Guardians she talked sensibly for some time, then suddenly -stopped and exclaimed, shaking her head: "Be quiet, you brute! don't -you see I am talking to the gentlemen?" - -We must now, after this long digression, return to Mullion. Between -it and the Lizard is a fine headland, the Rill, and on its summit -are a number of loose, rough stones, known as the Apron String, -which the country people say were brought here by an evil spirit, -who intended to build with them a bridge across to France for the -convenience of smugglers. He was hastening along with his load, -which he carried in his apron, when one of its strings broke, and in -despair he gave up the idea. On the opposite side of the Lizard, at the -mouth of Helford river, stands the church of St. Anthony in Meneage; -like that of Gunwalloe it is little above the level of the sea, and -is, also according to tradition, a votive offering. Some people of -high rank, crossing over from Normandy to England, were caught in a -storm, and in their peril vowed to St. Anthony that they would build -a church in his honour if he would bring them safe into harbour. The -saint heard their prayers, and the church was erected on the spot -where they landed. Helford river, in Carew's days, was the haunt -of pirates, and of it he says: "Falmouth's ower neere neighbourhood -lesseneth his vse and darkeneth his reputation, as quitting it onely -to the worst sort of Seafarers, I mean Pirats, whose guilty breasts -with an eye in their backs, looke warily how they may goe out, ere -they will aduenture to enter, and this at unfortified Hailford cannot -be controlled, in which regard it not vnproperly brooketh his common -term of Helford and the nickname of Stealford." - -On the subject of pirates a friend writes:--"The popular play of 'The -Pirates of Penzance' had not its origin in that town, but in the little -fishing village of Penberth, near the Land's End; but that, alas! is -in its 'custom port.' The captain of the pirate vessel, and all his -ship's crew, were wrestlers. They would go out to the small Spanish, -Dutch, and other merchant ships, and would ask for provisions, or -tender assistance, and on making sure that the ship was unarmed they -would overpower the sailors and plunder it. This was before the time -when the Trinity Corporation had begun its work on our Cornish coast. - -From Helford we will proceed to Penryn--the scene of Lillo's play, -"Fatal Curiosity." The legend on which it is founded is as follows: -A gentleman who had rashly squandered his own and his wife's fortune, -sent their only son early into the world to seek his. During his -absence his parents were reduced to penury; but he prospered, returned -home, and sought them out. He did not at first disclose to them who -he was, intending to do so later on, but begged to be allowed to rest -in their house, and whilst he was sleeping asked his mother to take -charge of a casket for him. Her curiosity impelled her to open it, -and her avarice was so inflamed at the sight of the rich jewels it -contained that she incited her husband by prayers and reproaches to -murder the poor young man. After the fatal deed was done, the unhappy -pair discovered him to be their son. - -It has been said that a party of Spaniards landed at Penryn in 1565, -intending to plunder the town, but were alarmed by the sound of a -drum beaten by some strolling players, and made a hasty retreat. - -Before the year 1600 there were only a few houses where Falmouth -now stands, called Pennycomequick, which name tradition declares -was given it from the following: A woman, who had been a servant to -a Mr. Pendarves, left his employ, and went there to reside, where, I -suppose, she kept an ale-house, as the story says that he ordered her -to brew a cask of ale, and on a certain day he and some friends would -come and drink it. The ale was brewed; but in the meantime a Dutch -vessel put into the creek, and she sold it all to the sailors. When -her former master and his friends arrived at the appointed time, -he was of course very angry. Her excuse was that the "penny comed so -quick" that she could not refuse it. The name really means the head -of the valley of the creek. - -There is a pyramidal monument at the south end of Falmouth erected -by one of the Killigrews to the memory of Sir Walter Raleigh, who -had been entertained by an ancestor at their family-seat of Arwenack, -when there was only one other house in the place. There is a red stain -on it, "A blood-mark," the old people said, "that would not wash out, -splashed there from the body of a man employed in making it, who fell -from its top and was killed." - -On the coast just outside the town is Gyllanvaes, or William's Grave, -which is pointed out as the place where King Henry I.'s son, who was -drowned on his passage from Normandy to England, was buried. - -On the opposite side of Falmouth harbour, where St. Anthony's church -now stands, was formerly the priory of St. Mary de Vale, and King -Henry VIII. is reported to have landed here in 1537, and told the -prior that it would soon be destroyed, and he with all his brethren -turned out. It was; but the prior left his curse behind him, and the -first holder of the lands lost all his family by untimely deaths, -and he himself committed suicide. - -Of all the creeks up the Fal from Falmouth to Truro, most marvellous -tales of smugglers and their daring deeds are told; and of King -Harry's passage, where a ferry-boat crosses the river, this legend: -That it is called after bluff King Hal, who forded it with his queen -(sometimes Katherine of Arragon) on his back. To have accomplished -this feat he must have been taller than the sons of Anak, for in the -middle the water is several fathoms deep. - -At the head of one of these creeks is Veryan parish. And there -is a tradition that should its church clock strike on the Sunday -morning during the singing of the hymn before the sermon, or before -the Collect against Perils at Evening Prayer (which does not often -happen), there will be a death in the parish before the next Sunday. - -On a hill near Veryan is a barrow, in which Gerennius, a mythical king -of Cornwall, was said to have been buried many centuries ago, with -his crown on his head, lying in his golden boat with silver oars. It -was opened in 1855, when nothing but a kistvaen (a rude stone chest) -containing his ashes was found. His palace of Dingerein was in the -neighbouring village of Gerrans. A subterranean passage, now known as -Mermaid's Hole, one day discovered when ploughing a field, was supposed -to have led from it to the sea. Treasures of great value are reputed to -be hidden under all the Cornish menhirs and barrows. Carew tells of a -gentleman who was persuaded that by digging under a menhir near Fowey -he would get great riches. "Wherefore, in a faire moone-shine night, -thither with certaine good fellowes hee hyeth to dig it up. A working -they fall, their labour shortneth, their hope increaseth, a pot of -gold is the least of their expectation. But see the chance. In midst -of their toyling the skie gathereth clouds, the moonelight is overcast -with darknesse, downe fals a mightie showre, up riseth a blustering -tempest, the thunder cracketh, the lightning flasheth. In conclusion, -our money-seekers washed instead of loden, or loden with water instead -of yellow earth, and more afraid than hurt, are forced to abandon their -enterprise and seeke shelter of the next house they could get into." - -Malpas (pronounced Mopus) ferry was, nearly a century ago, kept by -a woman called "Jenny Mopus," who was quite a character. "Wemmin and -pigs" she used to declare were the worst things to ferry across. - -The water bounds of the borough of Truro are renewed every six years, -and the following curious ceremony takes place: On reaching the limits -of their jurisdiction, the mayor, town clerk, members of corporation, -&c., go on shore, when a writ for the sum of 999l. 19s. 11 3/4d. is -produced against a person present, selected beforehand. He is -arrested by the bailiff of the borough, on which two of the party -offer themselves as bail, and the prisoner is liberated. Not far -from Perranworthal is one of the most celebrated Cornish Tol-mên, -Mên-an-tol, or holed stones. This is an immense egg-shaped mass -of granite, perched on a dreary hill nearly 700 feet above the -sea, and is thought to weigh 750 tons. It is generally known as -the Cornish Pebble, and is supported on the points of two other -stones leaving a hollow space beneath. In this it differs from -other Mên-an-tol which have the orifice in the centre of the stone -(hence their name). There are many in the county. The one at Madron -is sometimes called the Crick Stone. It gets this name because in -days not very long ago people afflicted with rheumatism, sciatica, -&c., in May, and at certain other seasons of the year, crawled on -all fours nine times around these Mên-an-tol from east to west, and, -if thin enough, squeezed themselves through the aperture. This was -then thought such a sovereign remedy for these diseases that parents -brought their weak-backed children and carried them around. To work -the charm properly there must always be two people, one of each sex, -who stand one on each side of the stone. The child, if a male, must -first be passed from the woman to the man; if a girl, from the man -to the woman, and always from the left of the one to the right of -the other. Some sort of divination, too, was formerly practised on -these Mên-an-tol by pins laid cross-ways on the top. - -In the parish of St. Dennis the church is dedicated to that saint. And -when St. Dennis had his head cut off at Paris, blood, a legend says, -fell on the stones of this churchyard; a similar occurrence often -afterwards foretold other calamities. [14] The exact centre of the -county is reputed to be a hole in a field at Probus, a neighbouring -parish. - -At Boconnoc, near Lostwithiel, not long ago stood the stump of an -old oak, in which, in 1644, when Charles I. made this seat his -head-quarters, the royal standard was fixed. It bore variegated -leaves. According to tradition, they changed colour when an attempt -was made to assassinate the king whilst he was receiving the sacrament -under its branches. The ball passed through the tree, and a hole in -its trunk was formerly pointed out in confirmation of the story. - -Heath, in his Description of Cornwall, 1750, speaks of two other trees -of the same kind to be seen in this county. "In Lanhadron Park," he -says, "there grows an oak that bears leaves speckled with white, as -another, called Painter's Oak, grows in the hundred of East. Some are -of opinion that divers ancient families of England are preadmonished -by oaks bearing strange leaves." A turtle-dove is said to be seen -by the Bassetts of Tehidy, in Camborne, before death, and to another -Cornish family a white bird appears. - -The church of St. Neot, in the parish of St. Neot, is celebrated -for its beautifully-painted glass. One of the windows contains many -legends of this saint, but they have all been too fully described by -other writers to require a lengthy notice from me. St. Neot is the -reputed brother of King Alfred, and lived some hundreds of years before -the present church dedicated to him was erected. But folk-lore has it -that it was built at night entirely by his own hands, and that he drew -from a neighbouring quarry, by the help of reindeer, all the stones -he used in the building. He is described as a man of short stature, -and tradition also says that after the church was finished he found -that he was not tall enough to reach the keyhole of the door, and -could not therefore unlock it. To remedy this defect he put a stone -opposite (still pointed out), from which, when he stood on it, he could -throw the key into the lock with unerring precision. About a mile -to the west of it, is an elevated spot with a square entrenchment; -an ancient granite cross stands at one corner. There is a story -attached to it which runs thus:--The crows in this neighbourhood -were in his time so numerous that the farmers could not, fearing -the mischief they might do in their absence, leave their fields and -young crops to attend St. Neot's discourses. He, on hearing of it, -determined to put a stop both to the excuse and the thieving habits -of the birds, and one day ordered them all to enter this enclosure, -from whence they could not stir until he gave the signal; upon which -they all immediately flew away and returned no more. - -"The church of St. Mawgan, in Kerrier, was formerly at Carminowe, -at the end of the parish. It was removed thence to its present site -on account of the ghoulish propensities of the giants, who used to -dig up the dead from their graves. The inhabitants tried in vain -to destroy them by making deep pits, and covering them over with -'sprouse' (light hay or grass) so that the unwary giants, walking -over them as on firm ground, might fall into them and be killed. As -this project failed, they were reluctantly compelled to remove the -church to its present place, beyond the reach of their troublesome -neighbours."--Rev. S. Rundle, Penzance Natural History Society, -1885-1886. - -The fine old mansion of Cottrell, situated on the River Tamar, was -built in the reign of Henry VII.; it belongs to the Earl of Mount -Edgcumbe, and is full of quaint treasures, many of the rooms and the -furniture they contain dating from the time of Queen Elizabeth. But -the only part that concerns us is a little chapel in the woods perched -on a rock overhanging the river, of which this legend is told. It was -erected by Sir Richard Edgcumbe, who was a partizan to Henry, Duke of -Richmond, the rival of Richard III. A party of soldiers were sent to -take him prisoner, but he managed to elude them and escaped into the -woods, where his pursuers were so close upon his heels that he would -certainly have been captured had not his cap, as he was climbing down -this rock, fallen off his head and floated on the stream. On seeing -it the men, thinking that Sir Richard had in despair drowned himself, -gave up the chase. He shortly after crossed over to Brittany, where -he stayed until the news came of the defeat and death of the king, -when he returned home, and, in gratitude for his miraculous escape, -caused this chapel to be built. - -Dupath Well, not far from Cottrell, was, according to tradition, the -scene of a desperate duel between two Saxons, called by one authority -Colan and Gotlieb, who were both suitors for the hand of the fair lady -Gither; but the Rev. R. S. Hawker, who has written a ballad on part -of the legend, gives the name of Siward to the younger and favoured -one who killed his rival, but who himself in the combat received a -wound from which he soon after died. The same author has also put -into verse the well-known story of Bottreaux bells. Bottreaux is -the parish church of Boscastle, a corruption of Bottreaux castle, -and its tower is, and always has been, silent. When it was built -the inhabitants, who had long been jealous of the beautiful peal at -Tintagel, a neighbouring village, aided by the Lord of Bottreaux, -raised enough money to buy a set for themselves, cast by a famous -London founder. But when the ship that brought them was nearly -in port the sound of Tintagel bells was in the calm evening borne -across the water. The pilot, a native of that parish, hearing them, -piously crossed himself, and thanked God that he should soon be safe -on shore. On this the captain grew very wroth, and said, "Thank the -ship and the canvas at sea, thank God on shore." "No!" meekly replied -the pilot, "we should thank God at sea as well as on land." At this -the captain grew still more angry, swore and blasphemed, and with -an oath exclaimed, "Not so, thank yourself and a fair wind." Upon -which a violent storm suddenly arose, the ship became unmanageable, -struck on a rock, and went down. All on board, with the exception of -the pilot, were drowned. Above the roar of the winds and waves the -eager watchers from the shore, who were waiting for the arrival of -the vessel with her precious freight, could hear the solemn tolling -of their bells. And still before a gale their warning chimes sound -from their ocean bed, but woe to the unhappy ship's crew that hears -them, for wreck, misfortunes, and deaths are sure to follow. The -following proverb would seem to infer that Boscastle, as well as no -bells, has no market: "All play and no play, like Boscastle Market, -which begins at twelve o'clock and ends at noon." Mevagissey church, -on the opposite coast, has neither tower nor bells, and there is a -standing joke against its people that they sold their bells to pay -the cost of pulling down the tower. - -Gorran men, who live in an adjoining parish, seem in former days -to have been rivals to the famous "Wise men of Gotham," from the -absurd deeds attributed to them, such as "Trying to throw the moon -over the cliffs," "Building a hedge to keep in the moonlight," -&c. The inhabitants of more than one parish in Cornwall are said -"to have built a hedge to keep in the 'guckaw' (cuckoo)." In fact, -of nearly all the parishes in the county some joke is current in the -neighbouring villages. - -Not far from Boscastle is the beautiful waterfall of St. Nighton's -Kieve, and close by are the ruins of a cottage, once the habitation -of two ladies, who took possession of it at night. They evidently -had seen better days, but their names and from whence they came -remain a mystery, as from the date of their arrival they held no -communication with the outer world. They kept no servant, and from -the villagers bought for themselves the necessaries of life, asking -but few questions, and not answering any. At first they took long -solitary walks in the most secluded spots of the district; when met -they were rarely conversing, and never spoke to a stranger. These walks -were gradually discontinued, and one day a rumour spread through the -village that one of the poor ladies was dead. Tradition says that the -neighbours found the other weeping silent tears by the side of the -corpse. After the funeral the survivor daily grew more infirm and but -rarely left the house, and one morning soon after, no smoke issuing -from the chimneys of the cottage, the villagers peeped in through -the uncurtained windows and saw her sitting dead in her chair. The -friends were buried in one grave, and their secret died with them. - -In Wellcombe church, near Morwenstow, against the font in the north -wall is a door called the "devil's door," opened at baptisms at the -Renunciation, that the devil, which is then supposed to come out of -the child, may be able to get away. - -Trecarrel, in East Cornwall, formerly belonged to the Trecarrels, -the last of whom built Launceston church. A singular story has been -handed down from the sixth century of the birth and death of his -only son. His father is described as having been very learned in -philosophy, astrology, astronomy, and other sciences; and it is said -that, having surveyed the planetary orbs just as his child was about to -be brought into the world, he perceived that the time was unfavourable -to its birth, and foreboded a speedy and accidental death to the -child. Overcome with these gloomy ideas he hastened to the house, -and requested the midwife to delay the birth (if it were possible) -for one hour; but nature, conspiring with fate on the downfall of his -house, turned a deaf ear to his entreaties, and a son was born, to the -great joy of all present except to him who was the most interested -in the event. The child, however, grew up in a very promising way, -until a servant-maid, having placed him to stand near a bowl of water -in order to wash him, chanced to have forgotten the towel, and having -stepped into another room to procure one, on her return found the -boy dead, having fallen into the water with his head foremost: and -in consequence of this unfortunate event the father spent a large -part of his large property in charitable purposes, and in building -and repairing churches in the county of Cornwall.--J. C. Gilbert. - -A story of a similar nature is related of one of the Arundells, -of whom it had been foretold "that he should die in the sands." To -prevent this he left his house of Efford, near Stratton, and took up -his abode at Trerice, another of his estates, about three-and-a-half -miles from Newquay. But the Earl of Oxford, having surprised and -taken St. Michael's Mount, Sir John Arundell, who was then sheriff -of Cornwall, marched there to besiege and retake it for the king, -Edward IV. Here his fate overtook him, for in a skirmish on Marazion -sands he lost his life, and was buried in the chapel at the Mount. A -funeral procession goes through Stratton before the death of the -Bathes of Kilkhampton. - -Between Stratton and the village of Marham, about half-a-mile from -the former town, in the orchard of Binamy farm-house, is an old -quadrangular moat, all that remains to show where stood the castle -of the Blanchminsters, an old family now, I believe, extinct in -this neighbourhood. Of one of them, who lived in the reign of Edward -I. and went with him on a crusade, folk-lore still tells some strange -but--through the lapse of time--vague tales. His name was Ranulph de -Blanchminster, corrupted by the country people into old Blowmanger, -and it is said that after he had been absent for two or three years -in the Holy Land, his wife, I suppose thinking that he was dead, -married another baron. On his return he shut himself up alone in his -castle, with the drawbridge generally raised to keep off intruders. No -one was with him when he died; but after his death a will was found -leaving the greater part of his property for the benefit of the poor -of the parish of Stratton. His effigy may be seen in the church, -in the habit of a Crusader, grasping a sword, with his feet resting -on the back of a lion. Through his interest Stratton had the charter -of its market. His spirit haunts Binamy grounds (avoided after dark -by the superstitious) in the form of a hare, which always starts out -of the moat and manages to elude the dogs. - -Of the doings of the famous Grenvilles of Stow,--Sir Beville, the -brave Royalist leader, who lost his life at the battle of Lansdowne in -1643,--Admiral Sir Richard, immortalized by Tennyson in his ballad -"The Revenge,"--and of his son, Sir John, who served under Sir -Walter Raleigh and died at sea,--I shall say nothing, these noted -men belonging more to history than folk-lore. - -Under the same head, too, may be classed the Cornish female -Whittington, Thomasine Bonaventure, of St. Mary Wike (now Week -St. Mary), who lived in the fourteenth century; the daughter of -a labourer, she herself was a shepherdess. A London merchant, when -travelling in Cornwall, lost himself on our moors, and accidentally met -her with her sheep. He asked of her the way, and was so much struck by -her good looks and intelligence that he begged her from her parents -and took her back with him to be a servant to his wife. In her new -situation she conducted herself with so much propriety that on his -wife's death he courted and married her. Soon after he himself died, -and left her a wealthy widow. Her next marriage was to a much richer -man, named Henry Gall. Widowed a second time, and again inheriting -her husband's money, she took for her third and last husband Sir -John Percival, Lord Mayor of London. Him, too, she outlived, and -after his death returned to her native village, where she employed -her great riches in works of charity. Amongst her other good deeds -she founded and endowed a chantry there, together with a free school, -and lodgings for masters, scholars, and officers. - -The Rev. R. S. Hawker, in his book before-quoted, has a legend which -he calls "The first Cornish Mole. A Morality." I, however, suspect -it to be a pure invention of this author; but as it is very pretty, -I will give the substance of it. Alice of the Coombe was a very -beautiful, but proud and vain, damsel; the only child of her widowed -mother, with whom she dwelt at Morwenstow. It chanced one day that -they, with all the neighbouring gentry, had been bidden to a grand -banquet at Stow; and, as she had set her love on the great and noble -Sir Beville Grenville, its owner, Alice, to win his affections, -dressed herself in her richest robe--"a woven velvet, glossy and -soft"--and put on her fairest jewellery. Her mother, when she saw -her thus attired, struck by her exceeding grace and beauty, said, -"Often shall I pray to-night that the Grenville heart may yield. Aye, -thy victory shall be my prayer." The haughty maiden replied, "With -the eyes I now see in that glass, and with this vesture, meet for a -queen, I lack no trusting prayer." At this a sudden cry was heard, -and the damsel disappeared from their sight for ever. Shortly after, -the Coombe gardener discovered in the garden a small, unknown hillock, -and on top of it shone a ring, which was recognized as the one the -lady wore on the day she vanished. A close examination showed that -an old Cornish couplet was now traced on it, which the parish priest -interpreted to mean-- - - - "The earth must hide - Both eyes with pride." - - -As he uttered these words a low cry was heard at his feet, and there -"They beheld, O wondrous and strange! a small dark creature, clothed -in a soft velvet skin, in texture and in hue like the robe of Lady -Alice, and they saw as it groped into the earth that it moved along -without eyes in everlasting night." "She, herself had become - - - THE FIRST MOLE - OF THE HILLOCKS OF CORNWALL." - - -Before finishing this section of my work I must say a few words about -the Islands of Scilly and their legends. The Rev. H. J. Whitfield, -M.A., in 1852, published a book on this subject, but his legends are -for the most part purely fictitious, and its title, Scilly and its -Legends, a little misleading. - -The Scilly Isles, just off the Land's End, are very numerous, -but only five are inhabited; some are mere rocks in the sea, and, -counting those, they are said to be a hundred and fifty. The largest is -St. Mary's, and the dwellers on it are apt to look with contempt on the -inhabitants of the other islands (the Off Islands). The word Scilly -is sometimes derived from Sullèh, rocks dedicated to the sun, and -sometimes from Sillyas, a conger. This fish is very plentiful on these -coasts, and a ridiculous rhyme says that Scilly fare consists of-- - - - "Scads and 'tates, scads and 'tates, - Scads, and 'tates, and conger, - And those who can't eat scads and 'tates-- - Oh, they must die of hunger." - - -Occasionally the saying runs: "Oh! the Scillonians live on fish and -'taties every day, and conger-pie for Sundays." - -In the beginning of this century, before steam-boats were invented, -when communication between Scilly and Penzance (the mainland) depended -upon wind and weather, in winter its people were often reduced to -great straits for want of provisions, which gave rise to the proverb, -"There is always a feast or a fast in Scilly." This is, however, now -far from being the truth, and it is one of the most prosperous parts -of Great Britain; its inhabitants, as a rule, are well educated, they -are noted for their courteous manners; and for its beautiful scenery -Scilly is well worth a visit. The dialect of its poorer people, as also -the tones of their voices (each island has its peculiarity), differ -from those of the same class in West Cornwall. Their pronunciation -rather resembles the Irish. Thread with them is tread, the th at the -beginning of words being rarely sounded, pint is point, and point pint. - -Irreverent people declare that when Ireland was made some little bits -of earth fell from the shovel and formed Scilly. Certain it is that -when St. Patrick drove out all venomous reptiles from the former place -he did the same kind service to the latter. The island of St. Agnes -was particularly favoured, for until recently there was not a rat on -it, they were introduced from a wrecked vessel. - -Small as St. Mary's is (about three miles long and nine around) -it boasts of two capitals; the modern one dates from the time of -Queen Elizabeth, and is called Hugh Town; before that Old Town was -the principal village. At the east of Old Town Bay is Tolman Point -(a corruption, I suppose, of Tôl Mên, the holed stone). Of it an old -legend says when Scilly was under the monks of Tavistock, and Old -Town the only port of St. Mary's, that they drew a chain from "Tollman -head" across the entrance, and levied a toll from all who embarked and -landed there, not excepting the fishermen. It was abolished by Richard -Plantagenet, who, coming disguised to the port, was not recognized by -the friar in charge, who demanded from him his dues. Upon which Earl -Richard, in a fit of passion, struck him dead at his feet. According -to Leland, "Inniscan longid to Tavestock, and there was a poor celle -of monkes of Tavestock. Sum caulle this Trescau." - -There was a settlement of Benedictine monks here long before the Norman -Conquest; their cell was dedicated to St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas, -as well as St. Peter, is the patron saint of fishermen; the former -also takes school-boys under his protection. Fragments of Tresco -Abbey which was then founded still exist. It was independent until -the reign of Edward I., when it was joined to Tavistock. The same -monarch, Edward I., made Ranulph de White Monastery (supposed to be -Ranulph de Blankminster, or Randolph de Blancheminster), according to -an old archive, constable of these islands, with the castle of Ennor, -in Old Town, on his "Paying yearly, at the feast of St. Michael the -Archangel, 300 birds, called puffins, or 6s. 8d." Traces of these -monastic visitors are to be found in a pile of rocks at St. Mary's, -called Carn Friars (a farm near by bears the same name), and one of the -most highly cultivated and sheltered spots, where a few trees grow, -is known as Holy Vale. Whitfield places a nunnery there, and says -Holy Vale takes its name from a miraculous rosebush that grew in it, -and that "One of its flowers was deemed to have the power, if worn, -to preserve its bearer from mortal sin," but no other authority -mentions it. - -Giants, of course, frequently played a great part in the history of -Scilly. Buzza's Hill, just beyond Hugh Town (St. Mary's), commemorates -a giant of the name of Bosow, who made his home on its summit (now -crowned by a Spanish windmill), and from whom the family of Bosow were -descended. One of the finest promontories on the same island is Giant's -Castle--Troutbeck says, built by the Danes. Here, too, is Giant's -Chair, where the Arch Druid used in former days to sit and watch -the sun rise. Druidical remains are scattered all over the different -islands, and the many "barrows" are known as "giants' graves." "In -the old abbey gardens at Tresco is a curious stone, about four feet -long, two feet wide, and six inches in thickness, in an upright -position. Near the top are two holes, one above the other (one being -somewhat larger than the other), through which a man might pass his -hand. It is supposed to be an old Druidical betrothal or wishing-stone, -and used before the monks built the abbey at Tresco. Young people, -engaged to be married, would pass their hands through the holes, and, -joining them together, would so plight their troth. As a wishing-stone, -or to break a spell, a ring would be passed through the holes with -some incantations."--J. C. Tonkin's Guide to the Isles of Scilly. - -The finest headland on St. Mary's is Peninnis, and some of the -sheltered nooks under its rocks have rather curious names. One -of them is known as Sleep's Abode (or Parlour), and close by is -Pitt's Parlour, which commands a lovely view; it is so called after -a Mr. Pitt, who, when on a visit to Scilly, spent his summer evenings -there with a chosen party of friends. An old lady, a native of Scilly, -long since dead, told me that tradition said Mr. Pitt came to Scilly -in consequence of a bet he made with a gentleman (I believe the then -governor of the islands), who, when in London, spoke in the highest -terms of the morality of its women, and offered to lay a heavy wager -that not a single courtesan could be found there. Mr. Pitt took up -the bet, travelled down to Scilly, and for a long time seemed likely -to lose it; but at last, by a large bribe, he overcame the virtue of -one very poor woman, and, in gratitude, allowed her a small pension -until her death. - -At the foot of Peninnis is Piper's Hole (in which there is a pool -of fresh water). This is said to be the entrance of a subterranean -passage leading to the island of Tresco, where another Piper's Hole -is shown as the exit. Old people told marvellous tales of rash people -venturing in so far that they never returned, but died in it overcome -by fatigue--the passage being too narrow for them to turn. Also -of dogs who disappeared in the hole at St. Mary's, and after many -days crept out from the one in Tresco, very emaciated, and almost -hairless. The Rev. J. W. North, in his Week in the Isles of Scilly, -has an interesting account of Piper's Hole at Tresco. - -Half-way down Giant's Castle, the steep carn before mentioned on -St. Mary's, lies a very inaccessible cave known as Tom Butt's Bed, -from the fact that a boy of that name hid himself there in Queen -Anne's time three days and three nights out of sight of the press-gang. - -The wreck of Sir Cloudesley Shovel in 1707, upon Gilston Rock, in Porth -Hellick Bay, near Old Town, is of course a matter of history. Very -many traditions have, however, gathered around this sad event, related -by many authors. I must briefly retell them, as no book of this kind -would be complete without them. - -The admiral, accompanied by the whole of his fleet, was returning -home from Toulon, after the capture of Gibraltar, in his ship the -Association. When they were off Scilly, on October 22nd, 1707, the -weather became thick and dirty, and orders were given "to lie-to." This -was in the afternoon. Later on, about six, Sir Cloudesley again made -sail, but two hours after his ship showed signals of distress, which -were answered from several of the others. In two minutes she struck on -the Gilston Rock, sank immediately, and all on board perished. The -Eagle and the Romney with their crews shared the same fate; the -Firebrand also was lost, but her captain with most of her men were -saved. "The other men-of-war with difficulty escaped by having timely -notice." In this storm between fifteen hundred and two thousand people -were drowned in one night. - -A day or two before this took place, one man, a native of Scilly, is -said to have persistently warned the officer of the watch on board -the Association that unless their ship's course was altered she, -with all the fleet, would soon be on the Scilly rocks amongst the -breakers. These warnings so exasperated the officer that he repeated -them to his admiral, and he, vexed that a common sailor should think -that he knew better than his superiors how to navigate a vessel, -summarily ordered him to be hanged at the yard-arm for inciting the -others to insubordination and mutiny. The man before his execution -begged, as a great favour, that the chaplain should be allowed to -read him one of the Psalms. His request was granted, and he chose the -109th, repeating after the reader in a loud voice all the curses it -contains. And with his last breath he prophesied that the admiral, with -those who saw him hanged, would find a watery grave. Up to that time -the weather had been fair, but as soon as his body had been committed -to the sea it changed, the wind began to blow, and his shipmates -were horrified to see the corpse out of its winding-sheet, face up, -following in their wake, and even before their vessel struck they -gave themselves up for lost men. Some say that Sir Cloudesley's body -came ashore on a hatch, on which he had endeavoured to save himself, -with his favourite little dog dead by his side. Others, that after -the wreck it was cast naked on Porth Hellick beach, where it was -discovered by a soldier, who took off his ring which he still wore, -and buried him in the sands. - -Another account, on the authority of Robert, second Lord Romney, Sir -Cloudesley Shovel's grandson, runs thus:--"There is one circumstance -relating to Sir Cloudesley Shovel's death that is known to very few -persons, namely, he was not drowned, having got to shore, where, -by the confession of an ancient woman, he was put to death. This, -many years after, when on her death-bed, she revealed to the minister -of the parish, declaring she could not die in peace until she had -made this confession, as she was led to commit this horrid deed for -the sake of plunder. She acknowledged having, among other things, -an emerald ring in her possession, which she had been afraid to sell -lest it should lead to a discovery. This ring, which she delivered -to the minister, was by him given to James, Earl of Berkeley, at his -particular request, Sir Cloudesley Shovel and himself having lived -on the strictest footing of friendship." - -In the place and manner of his burial all traditions agree. Where he -lay is still pointed out--a bare spot surrounded by green grass. And -the Scillonians will tell you that, because he so obstinately refused -to hear a warning, and wantonly threw away so many lives, God, to -keep alive the memory of this great wickedness, permits nothing to -grow on his grave. - -Another legend has it that the man who gave the warning escaped death, -as the storm suddenly arose whilst the Psalm was being read, before -the order for his execution could be carried out, and that he was -the only person on board the Association who was not drowned. - -When Lady Cloudesley Shovel heard of the wreck, she asked that a -search might be made for her husband's body. A soldier showed a ring -which he had in his possession, which was immediately recognised as -Sir Cloudesley Shovel's. The body was dug up and identified by the -marks of his wounds. The ring was forwarded to his wife, and she, in -gratitude for the soldier's kindness in giving her husband a decent -burial, rewarded him with a pension for life. Sir Cloudesley's body -was embalmed, first taken to Plymouth by sea, where for some time -it lay in state, and finally to London, where it was interred in -Westminster Abbey. - -The abbey at Tresco, formerly under the jurisdiction of the monks -of St. Nicholas [15] at Tavistock, has been already mentioned. The -abbey house, built on its site, is the seat of Mr. Dorrien Smith (the -Proprietor, as the Scillonians call him). The gardens that surround it -are very beautiful, and famed for the tropical plants that here grow -out of doors. There is an anecdote related of one of the inhabitants -of Tresco, who, when asked what they did for firewood in a spot where -no trees grew, answered, "We kindle our fires from the loppings of -our geranium hedges." Tresco, like St. Levan, at the Land's End, -was in bygone days the favourite haunt of witches. A poor man there -walking out at nightfall had the misfortune to meet with a party of -them taking a moonlight ride on their broomsticks. A relation of his -was one of the number, and she warned him, in a stentorian voice, -that if he ever mentioned what he had accidentally seen, he should -bear the marks of their wrath until his dying day. For a long time -the secret weighed heavily upon him, and at last he could not refrain -from telling his wife. The witches, in revenge, turned his black hair -white in a single night. - -The Rev. H. G. Whitfield, in his Legends of Scilly, gives some -marvellous tales of the family of "Dick the Wicked." They were -all hardened wreckers, who generations ago lived on this island, -and who also had the gift of second sight. Dick himself, according -to this writer, when ill and unrepentant, was, by Satanic agency, -taken out of his bed and borne, wrapt in a long loose coat, which -he was in the habit of wearing, some considerable distance from his -house. Here his friends discovered him on the following morning. - -On this island stands Cromwell's castle, built during his -Protectorate. Old people thought that he in person visited it. The -large china tankard, out of which he was said to have drunk his -breakfast-beer, still exists. On a hill above are the ruins of -Charles's castle. Scilly always remained loyal and true to the -unfortunate monarch, and this verse of a ballad told me by a Scillonian -was not written of one of them: - - - "In Cromwell's days I was for him, - But now, my boys, I'm for the king; - For I can turn, boys, with the tide, - And wear my coat on the strongest side." - - -St. Warna, who presided over wrecks, was the patron saint of St. Agnes, -another of the principal islands. She crossed over here from Ireland -in a wicker-boat covered with hides, and landed at St. Warna's -bay. Like many other saints she had her holy-well; and often the -superstitious inhabitants of St. Agnes (five families in all), -who enjoyed the reputation of being the most daring and unscrupulous -amongst the Scilly wreckers of those days, threw crooked pins into it, -and daily invoked and prayed her to send them "a rich wreck." There -was no church on it then, and its people rarely visited the other -islands. But it chanced one fine morning the entire population started -in their boats for the church of Ennor, in St. Mary Old Town, as two of -them wished to be married. After the ceremony was over the clergyman -in the presence of most of his parishioners, who had assembled to -witness it (between whom and the men of St. Agnes there was always -a bitter feud), rebuked them for their lawless deeds. They, angry at -being put to shame before their enemies, answered with many profane -and mocking words, and were with difficulty restrained from coming to -blows. So incensed were they that they took no notice of the signs -which heralded a coming storm, and hastily got on board their boats -to return to their own home, which none of them were ever destined -to reach, as it broke with great fury when they were about half-way -across. When close to land and the rowers were straining every nerve -to get there, one wave larger than the rest broke over them, and every -soul found a watery grave. This was of course said to be a judgment -on them for their wicked ways. (Leland briefly chronicles it.) From -that time St. Warna's well was neglected; there was no one left the -day after twelfth-day, as had been the custom, to clean it out and -return her thanks for her bounty: it gradually got filled with stones, -and at the present day is little more than a hole. - -There is a curious labyrinth on this island called "Troy-town," which -it is popularly supposed to represent; but all intricate places in -Cornwall are so denominated, and I have even heard nurses say to -children when they were surrounded by a litter of toys that they -looked as if they were in Troy-town. - -A peculiar mode of punishment was formerly practised in Scilly. The -offenders were placed in a chair called a "ducking chair," and publicly -at St. Mary's quay-head "ducked" in the salt water. - - - - - - - - -FAIRIES. - - -The fairies of Cornwall may be divided into four classes, the Small -People, the Pixies (pronounced Piskies or or Pisgies), the Spriggans, -and the Knockers. The first are harmless elfish little beings known -all over England, whose revels on fine summer nights have often been -described by those favoured individuals who have accidentally had -the privilege of seeing them. As a rule they, however, wish to think -themselves invisible, and in this county it is considered unlucky to -call them by the name of fairies. The stories told about them by our -old folk differed but slightly from those related elsewhere. There -was the well-known cow that gave the finest yield of milk, and -retained it all the year round when others of the herd ran dry, but -always ceased the flow at a certain time, and if efforts were made to -draw more from her, kicked over the the milking-pail. The milkmaid -discovered that the cow belonged to the small people, by reason of -her wearing in her hat a bunch of flowers having in it a four-leaved -clover, which rendered them visible, when she saw them climbing up -the cow's legs and sucking at her teats. The greedy mistress, when -the maid told her of this discovery, contrary to advice, washed the -poor animal all over with salt water, which fairies particularly -dislike (as well as the smell of fish and grease), in order to -drive them away. Of course she succeeded in her object, and by so -doing brought nothing but ill-luck for ever after on herself and -family. When unmolested, fairies bring good fortune to places they -frequent; but they are spiteful if interfered with, and delight in -vexing and thwarting people who meddle with them. It is well known -"that they can't abear those whom they can't abide." Then there were -the tales of persons spirited away to fairyland, to wait upon the -small people's children and perform various little domestic offices, -where the time has passed so pleasantly that they have forgotten all -about their homes and relations, until by doing a forbidden thing they -have incurred their master's anger. They were then punished by being -thrown into a deep sleep, and on awakening found themselves on some -moor close to their native villages. These unhappy creatures never, -after their return, settled down to work, but roamed about aimlessly -doing nothing, hoping and longing one day to be allowed to go back -to the place from whence they had been banished. They had first put -themselves into the fairies' power by eating or drinking something -on the sly, when they had surprised them at one of their moonlight -frolics; or by accepting a gift of fruit from the hands of one of -these little beings. There are also two or three legends of curious -women, who by underhand dealings have got hold of a mysterious box of -green ointment belonging to the fairies, which, rubbed on the eyes, -gave them the power of seeing them by daylight, when they look old, -withered, and grey, and hate to be spied upon by mortals. These women -are always interrupted when they have put the ointment on one eye -before they have time to anoint both, and by an inadvertent speech -they invariably betray their ill-gotten knowledge. They cannot resist -making an exclamation when they see a fairy pilfering or up to some -mischievous trick. Neither can they keep the secret of the side on -which they see, and they are quickly made to pay the penalty of their -misdeeds by a well-directed blow from the elf's fist, which deprives -them of the sight of that eye for ever. All these old wives' tales -are fully related by Mr. Bottrell in his three series of Traditions, -&c., of West Cornwall. - -Fairies haunt the ancient monuments of this county, and are supposed -to be the beings who bring ill-luck on the destroyers of them. "Not -long ago a woman of Moushal (a village near Penzance) told me that -troops of small people, not more than a foot-and-a-half high, used, -on moonlight nights, to come out of a hole in the cliff, opening on -to the beach, Newlyn side of the village, and but a short distance -from it. The little people were always dressed very smart, and if -anyone came near them would scamper away into the hole. Mothers often -told their children that if they went under cliffs by night the small -people would carry them away into 'Dicky Danjy's hole.'"--Bottrell. - -These small people are said to have been half-witted people who had -committed no mortal sin, but who, when they died, were not good -enough to go to Heaven. They are always thought, in some state, -to have lived before. - -The small people go about in parties, but pisky in his habits, at -least in West Cornwall, is a solitary little being. I gather however, -from Mr. T. Q. Couch's History of Polperro that in the eastern part -of the county the name of Pisky is applied indiscriminately to both -tribes. He says two only of them are known by name, and quotes the -following rhyme: - - - "Jack o' the lantern! Joan the wad, - Who tickled the maid and made her mad; - Light me home, the weather's bad." - - -Here in the west he is a ragged merry little fellow (to laugh like -a pisky is a common Cornish simile), interesting himself in human -affairs, threshing the farmer's corn at nights, or doing other -work, and pinching the maidservants when they leave a house dirty at -bed-time. Margery Daw, in our version of the nursery-song, meets with -punishment at his hands for her misdoings-- - - - "See saw, Margery Daw, - Sold her bed and lay upon straw; - Sold her bed and lay upon hay, - And pisky came and carried her away. - For wasn't she a dirty slut - To sell her bed and lie in the dirt?" - - -Should the happy possessor of one of these industrious, unpaid fairy -servants (who never object to taking food left for them by friends) -express his thanks aloud, thus showing that he sees him, or try to -reward him for his services by giving him a new suit of clothes, -he leaves the house never to return, and in the latter case may be -heard to say: - - - "Pisky fine, pisky gay! - Pisky now will fly away." - - -Or in another version: - - - "Pisky new coat, and pisky new hood, - Pisky now will do no more good."--(T.Q.C.) - - -Mr. Cornish, the Town Clerk of Penzance, mentioned at an antiquarian -meeting recently held in that town, "that there was a brownie still -existing in it; that a gentleman, whose opinion he would take on many -matters, had told him that he had often seen it sitting quietly by -the fireside." When mischievously inclined pisky often leads benighted -people a sad dance; like Will of the Wisp, he takes them over hedges -and ditches, and sometimes round and round the same field, from which -they in vain try to find their way home (although they can always see -the path close at hand), until they sit down and turn their stockings -the wrong side out, as an old lady, born in the last century, whom I -well knew, once told me she had done. To turn a pocket inside out has -the same effect. But to quote the words of a late witty Cornish doctor, -"Pisky led is often whiskey led." - -Mr. T. Q. Couch in his before-mentioned book has two or three amusing -stories of their merry pranks. One is called "A Voyage with the -Piskies." A Polperro lad meeting them one night as he was going -on an errand heard them say in chorus, "I'm for Portallow Green" -(a place in the neighbourhood). Repeating the cry after them, -"quick as thought he found himself there surrounded by a throng -of laughing piskies." The next place they visited was Seaton Beach, -between Polperro and Plymouth; the third and last cry was "I'm for the -King of France's cellar." Again he decided on joining them, dropped the -bundle he was carrying on the sands, and "immediately found himself in -a spacious cellar, engaged with his mysterious companions in tasting -the richest wines." Afterwards they strolled through the palace, where -in a room he saw all the preparations made for a feast, and could not -resist the temptation of pocketing one of the rich silver goblets from -the table. The signal for their return was soon given, and once more -he found himself on Seaton Beach, where he had just time to pick up -his bundle before he was whisked home. All these voyages were made -in the short space of five minutes. When on his return he told his -adventures they were listened to with incredulity until he produced the -goblet, which proved the truth of his tale. After having been kept for -generations this trophy has disappeared. "These little creatures seem -sometimes," Mr. Couch says, "to have delighted in mischief for its own -sake. Old Robin Hicks, who formerly lived in a house at 'Quay Head' -(Polperro), has more than once, on stormy winter nights, been alarmed -at his supper by a voice sharp and shrill--'Robin! Robin! your boat -is adrift.' Loud was the laughter and the tacking of hands (clapping) -when they succeeded in luring Robin as far as the quay, where the -boat was lying safely at its moorings." - -Another of his legends is about a fisherman of his district, John -Taprail, long since dead, who was, on a frosty night, aroused -from his sleep by a voice which called to him that his boat was -in danger. He went down to the beach to find that some person had -played a practical joke on him. As he was returning he saw a group -of piskies sitting in a semicircle under a much larger boat belonging -to one of his neighbours. They were dividing a heap of money between -them by throwing a piece of gold alternately into each of the hats -which lay before them. John was covetous, and forgot that piskies -hate to be spied upon; so he crept up and pushed his hat slily in -with the others. When the pile was getting low he tried to get off -with his booty without their detecting the fraud. He had got some -distance before the cheat was discovered; then they pursued him in -such hot haste that he only escaped with his treasure by leaving his -coat-tails in their hands. "The pisky's midwife" is common,--a mortal -who has been decoyed into fairyland discovers it by accidentally -rubbing her eye with a bit of soap whilst washing the baby. Like -those who have stolen and applied the green ointment, she loses -the sight of it by a blow from an angry pisky's fist. She meets and -recognizes the father at a fair where, as usual, he is pilfering, -and foolishly asks after the welfare of mother and child. But all -these stories in West Cornwall would be told of the "small people," -as well as the well-known "Colman Grey" (of course the name varies), -which relates how a farmer one day found a poor, half-starved looking -bantling, sitting alone in the middle of a field, whom he took home -and fed until he grew quite strong and lively. A short time after a -shrill voice was suddenly heard calling thrice upon "Colman Grey." Upon -which the imp cried "Ho! ho! ho! my daddy is come!" flew through the -keyhole, and was never heard of after. Unbaptised children were, in -this county at the beginning of the century, said to turn, when they -died, into piskies; they gradually went through many transformations -at each change, getting smaller until at last they became "Meryons" -[16] (ants) and finally disappeared. Another tradition is that they -were Druids, who, because they would not believe in Christ, were for -their sins condemned to change first into piskies; gradually getting -smaller, they too, as ants, at last are lost. It is on account of -these legends considered unlucky to destroy an ant's nest, and a -piece of tin put into one could, in bygone days, through pisky power -be transmuted into silver, provided that it was inserted at some -varying lucky moment about the time of the new moon. - -Moths were formerly believed in Cornwall to be departed souls, and -are still, in some districts, called piskies. - -There is also a green bug which infests bramble-bushes in the late -autumn that bears the same name, and one of the reasons assigned for -blackberries not being good after Michaelmas is that pisky spoils them -then. Pisky is in some places invoked for luck at the swarming of bees. - -It was once a common custom in East Cornwall, when houses were built, -to leave holes in the walls by which these little beings could enter; -to stop them up would drive away good luck. And in West Cornwall -knobs of lead, known as pisky's paws or pisky feet, were placed at -intervals on the roofs of farm-houses to prevent the piskies from -dancing on them and turning the milk sour in the dairies. - -Country people in East Cornwall sometimes put a prayer book under a -child's pillow as a charm to keep away piskies. I am told that a poor -woman, near Launceston, was fully persuaded that one of her children -was taken away and a pisky substituted, the disaster being caused -by the absence of a prayer book on one particular night.--H. G. T., -Notes and Queries, December, 1850. - -Small round stones, known as "Pisky Grinding Stones," are occasionally -found in Cornwall; they are most probably parts of old spindles. - -If piskies are kind and helpful little beings, spriggans or sprites -are spiteful creatures, never doing a good turn for anyone. It is -they who carry off poor babies from their mothers, when they have -been obliged to leave them for a few hours alone, putting their own -ugly, peevish brats in their cradles, who never thrive under the -foster-mother's care, in spite of all the trouble they may bestow -upon them. Mr. Bottrell tells the story of a spriggan, a married -man with a family, who took the place of a poor woman's child one -evening when she was at work in the harvest field. For although an -innocent baby held in the arms is thought in Cornwall to protect -the holder from mischief caused by ghosts and witches, it has no -power over these creatures, who are not supposed to have souls. The -scene of this legend was under Chapel Carn Brea, on the old road from -Penzance to St. Just in Penwith. The mother, Jenny Trayer by name, -was first alarmed on her return one night from her work in the harvest -field by not finding her child in its cradle, but in a corner of the -kitchen where in olden days the wood and furze for the then general -open fires were kept. She was however too tired to take much notice, -and went to bed, and slept soundly until the morning. From that time -forth she had no peace; the child was never satisfied but when eating -or drinking, or when she had it dandling in her arms. The poor woman -consulted her neighbours in turn as to what she should do with the -changeling (as one and all agreed that it was). One recommended her -to dip it on the three first Wednesdays in May in Chapel Uny Well, -[17] which advice was twice faithfully carried out in the prescribed -manner. The third Wednesday was very wet and windy, but Jenny -determined to persevere in this treatment of her ugly bantling, -and holding the brat (who seemed to enjoy the storm) firmly on her -shoulders, she trudged off. When they got about half-way, a shrill -voice from behind some rocks was heard to say, - - - "Tredrill! Tredrill! - Thy wife and children greet thee well." - - -Not seeing anyone, the woman was of course alarmed, and her fright -increased when the imp made answer in a similar voice, - - - "What care I for wife or child, - When I ride on Dowdy's back to the Chapel Well, - And have got pap my fill?" - - -After this adventure, she took the advice of another neighbour, who -told her the best way to get rid of the spriggan and have her own -child returned was "to put the small body upon the ashes' pile, and -beat it well with a broom; then lay it naked under a church stile; -there leave it and keep out of sight and hearing till the turn of -night; when nine times out of ten the thing will be taken away and -the stolen child returned." This was finally done; all the women of -the village after it had been put upon a convenient pile "belabouring -it with their brooms," upon which it naturally set up a frightful -roar. After dark it was laid under the stile, and there next morning -the woman "found her own 'dear cheeld' sleeping on some dry straw," -most beautifully clean and wrapped in a piece of chintz. "Jenny nursed -her recovered child with great care, but there was always something -queer about it, as there always is about one that has been in the -fairies' power--if only for a few days." - -There are many other tales of changelings, but they resemble each other -so much that they are not worth relating. In the one before quoted from -Mr. Bottrell he gives a third charm for getting a child restored, as -follows: "Make by night a smoky fire, with green ferns and dry. When -the chimney and house are full of smoke as one can bear, throw the -changeling on the hearthstone; go out of the house, turn three times -round; when one enters, the right child will be restored." Spriggans, -too, guard the vast treasures that are supposed to be buried beneath -our immense carns and in our cliff castles. No matter if the work -be carried on by night or by day, they are sure to punish the rash -person who ventures to dig in hopes of securing them. When he has -got some way down, he finds himself surrounded by hundreds of ugly -beings, in some cases almost as tall as he, who scare the unhappy -man until he loses all control over himself, throws down his tools, -and rushes off as fast as he can possibly go. The fright often makes -him so ill that he has to lie for days in bed. Should he ever summon -up courage to return to the spot, he will find the pit refilled, -and no traces to show that the ground had been disturbed. - -Knockers (pronounced knackers) are mine fairies, popularly supposed to -be (as related elsewhere) the souls of the Jews who crucified Christ, -sent by the Romans to work as slaves in the tin mines. In proof of -this, they are said never to have been heard at work on Saturdays, nor -other Jewish festivals. They are compelled to sing carols at Christmas -time. Small pieces of smelted tin found in old smelting-works are -known as "Jews' bowels." These fairies haunt none but the richest tin -mines, and many are reputed to have been discovered by their singing -and knocking underground; and miners think when they hear them that -it is a sign of good luck, because when following their noises they -often chance on lodes of good ore. When a miner goes into an "old -level" and sees a bright light, it is a sure sign that he will find -tin there. Knockers like spriggans are very ugly beings, and, if you -do not treat them in a friendly spirit, very vindictive. "As stiff as -Barker's knee" is a common saying in Cornwall; he having in some way -angered the knockers, either by speaking of them disrespectfully or -by not leaving (as was formerly the custom) a bit of his dinner on the -ground for them (for good luck), they in revenge threw all their tools -in his lap, which lamed him for the rest of his life. Mr. Bottrell -tells a similar story of a man named Tom Trevorrow, who when he was -working underground heard the knockers just before him, and roughly -told them "to be quiet and go." Upon which, a shower of stones fell -suddenly around him, and gave him a dreadful fright. He seems however -to have quickly got over it, and soon after, when eating his dinner, -a number of squeaking voices sang, - - - "Tom Trevorrow! Tom Trevorrow! - Leave some of thy 'fuggan' [18] for bucca, - Or bad luck to thee to-morrow!" - - -But Tom took no notice and ate up every crumb, upon which the knockers -changed their song to - - - "Tommy Trevorrow! Tommy Trevorrow! - We'll send thee bad luck to-morrow; - Thou old curmudgeon, to eat all thy fuggan, - And not leave a 'didjan' [19] for bucca." - - -After this such persistent ill-luck followed him that he was obliged -to leave the mine. - -Bucca is the name of a spirit that in Cornwall it was once thought -necessary to propitiate. Fishermen left a fish on the sands for bucca, -and in the harvest a piece of bread at lunch-time was thrown over the -left shoulder, and a few drops of beer spilled on the ground for him, -to ensure good luck. Bucca, or bucca-boo, was, until very lately -(and I expect in some places still is) the terror of children, who -were often when crying told "that if they did not stop he would come -and carry them off." It was also the name of a ghost; but now-a-days -to call a person a "great bucca" simply implies that you think him -a fool. There were two buccas-- - - - "'Bucca Gwidden,' the white, or good spirit, - 'Bucca Dhu,' the black, malevolent one." - - - - - - - - -SUPERSTITIONS: - -MINERS', SAILORS', FARMERS'. - - -Although Cornish miners, or "tinners" as they are generally called, -are a very intelligent, and since the days of Wesley a religious body -of men, many of their old-world beliefs still linger. To this day it is -considered unlucky to make the form of a cross on the sides of a mine, -and when underground you may on no account whistle for fear of vexing -the knockers and bringing ill-luck, but you may sing or even swear -[20] without producing any bad effect. Down one mine-shaft a black -goat is often seen to descend, but is never met below; in another -mine a white rabbit forebodes an accident. - -"The occurrence of a black cat in the lowest depths of a mine will warn -the older miners off that level until the cat is exterminated."--Thomas -Cornish, Western Antiquary, October, 1887. - -A hand clasping the ladder and coming down with, or after a miner, -foretells misfortune or death. This superstition prevails, also, -in the slate quarries of the eastern part of the county. - -The miners in the slate quarries of Delabole have a tradition that -the right hand of a miner, who committed suicide, is sometimes seen -following them down the ladders, grasping the rings as they let -them go, holding a miner's light between the thumb and finger. It -forebodes ill to the seer.--Esmè Stuart. See "Tamsin's Choice," -Longman, June, 1883. - -Miners, too, had some superstition in regard to snails, known in -Cornwall as "bullhorns;" for if they met one on their way to work -they always dropped a bit of their dinner or some grease from their -lanthorn before him for good-luck. - -Miraculous dreams are related; warnings to some miners, which have -prevented on particular days their going down below with their -comrades, when serious accidents have happened and several have -lost their lives. Rich lodes, too, have been discovered through the -dreams of fortunate women, who have been shown in them where their -male relatives should dig for the hidden treasure. - -"'Dowsing' (divining with the rod) is of course believed in here as -elsewhere, and some men are known as noted 'dowsers.' A forked twig -of hazel (also called a 'dowser') is used by our Cornish miners to -discover a vein of ore; it is held loosely in the hand, the point -towards the 'dowser's' breast, and it is said to turn round when the -holder is standing over metal." - -Miners still observe some quaint old customs; a horse-shoe is sometimes -placed on a convenient part of the machinery, which each, as he goes -down to his day's work, touches four times to ensure good-luck. These -must be "Tributers" (pronounced trib-ut-ers), who work on "trib-ut," -when a percentage is paid on ores raised; in contradistinction to -"Tut-workers," who are paid by the job. - -A miner, going underground with shoes on, will drive all the mineral -out of the mine.--Cornubiana, Rev. S. Rundle. - -In 1886, at St. Just in Penwith two men of Wheal Drea had their hats -burnt one Monday morning, after the birth of their first children. - -Three hundred fathoms below the ground at Cook's Kitchen mine, near -Camborne, swarms of flies may be heard buzzing, called by the men, -for some unknown reason, "Mother Margarets." From being bred in the -dark, they have a great dislike to light. - -Swallows in olden times were thought to spend the winter in deep, -old disused Cornish tin-works; also in the sheltered nooks of its -cliffs and cairns. It is the custom here to jump on seeing the first -in spring. - -A water-wagtail, in Cornwall a "tinner," perching on a window-sill, -is the sign of a visit from a stranger. - -Carew says--"The Cornish tynners hold a strong imagination, that in -the withdrawing of Noah's floud to the sea the same took his course -from east to west, violently breaking vp, and forcibly carrying with -it the earth, trees, and rocks, which lay anything loosely neere the -vpper face of the ground. To confirme the likelihood of which supposed -truth, they doe many times digge vp whole and huge timber-trees, which -they conceiue at that deluge to haue been ouerturned and whelmed." - -Miners frequently in conversation make use of technical proverbs, -such as "Capel rides a good horse." Capel is schorl, and indicates -the presence of tin. "It's a wise man that knows tin" alludes to the -various forms it takes. To an old tune they sing the words-- - - - "Here's to the devil, with his wooden spade and shovel, - Digging tin by the bushel, with his tail cocked up." - - -And on the signboard of a public-house in West Cornwall a few years -ago (and probably still) might be read-- - - - "Come all good Cornish boys [21] walk in, - Here's brandy, rum, and shrub, and gin; - You can't do less than drink success - To copper, fish, and tin." - - -Miners believe that mundic (iron pyrites) being applied to a wound -immediately cures it; of which they are so sure that they use no -other remedy than washing it in the water that runs through the mundic -ore.--A Complete History of Cornwall, 1730. - -It is an easy transition from mines to fish, the next staple -industry of Cornwall, and to the superstitions of its fishermen and -sailors. Fish is a word in West Cornwall applied more particularly -to pilchards (pelchurs). They frequent our coasts in autumn. - - - "When the corn is in the shock, - Then the fish are on the rock." - - -And if on a close foggy day in that season you ask the question,--"Do -you think it will rain?" the answer often is--"No! it is only het -(heat) and pelchurs," that sort of weather being favourable for -catching them. - -"A good year for fleas is a good year for fish," the proverb says; -and when eating a pilchard the flesh must be always taken off the bone -from the tail to the head. To eat them from head to tail is unlucky, -and would soon drive the fish from the shore. There are many other -wise sayings about pilchards; but I will only give one more couplet, -which declares that-- - - - "They are food, money, and light, - All in one night." [22] - - -Should pilchards when in bulk [23] make a squeaking noise, they are -crying for more, and another shoal will quickly be in the bay. - -Fishermen dread going near the spot where vessels have been wrecked, -as the voices of the drowned often call to them there, especially -before a storm. Sometimes their dead comrades call them by their -names, and then they know for certain that they will soon die; and -often when drowning the ghosts of their friends appear to them. They -are seen by them sometimes taking the form of animals. - -Mr. Bottrell speaks of a farmer's wife who was warned of her son's -death by the milk in the pans ranged round her dairy being agitated -like the sea waves in a storm. There is a legend common to many -districts of a wrecker who rushed into the sea and perished, after -a voice had been heard to call thrice, "The hour is come, but not -the man." He was carried off by the devil in a phantom ship seen in -the offing. But ships haunted with seamen's ghosts are rarely lost, -as the spirits give the sailors warning of storms and other dangers. - -In a churchyard near the Land's End is the grave of a drowned captain, -covered by a flat tombstone; proceeding from it formerly the sound of a -ghostly bell was often heard to strike four and eight bells. The tale -goes that when his vessel struck on some rocks close to the shore, -the captain saw all his men safely off in their boat, but refused -himself to leave the ship, and went down in her exactly at midnight, -as he was striking the time. His body was recovered, and given decent -burial, but his poor soul had no rest. An unbelieving sailor once -went out of curiosity to try if he could hear this bell; he did, -and soon after sailed on a voyage from which he never returned. - -Spectre ships are seen before wrecks; they are generally shrouded in -mist; but the crew of one was said to consist of two men, a woman, -and a dog. These ships vanish at some well-known point. Jack Harry's -lights, too, herald a storm; they are so called from the man who -first saw them. These appear on a phantom vessel resembling the one -that will be lost. - -On boarding a derelict, should a live cat or other animal be found, it -is thrown into the sea and drowned, under the idea that if any living -thing is in her, the finders can claim nothing from the owners. In -fact she is not a derelict. - -The apparition of a lady carrying a lanthorn always on one part of the -Cornish coast [24] foretells a storm and shipwrecks. She is supposed -to be searching for her child who was drowned, whilst she was saved, -because she was afraid to trust it out of her arms. For the legends -of "The Lady of the Vow" and "The Hooper or Hooter of Sennen Cove," -see ante, p. 71. [25] Mermaids are still believed in, and it is very -bad to offend them, for by their spite harbours have been filled up -with sand. They, however, kindly take idiot children under their -protection. The lucky finder of one of their combs or glasses has -the power (as long as it remains in his possession) of charming -away diseases. - -Boats are said to come to a sudden standstill when over the spot where -lies the body of a drowned man, for whom search is being made. The -body is supposed to rise when drowned, on the seventh, eighth, -or ninth day. Sailors regard many things as bad omens, such "as a -loaf of bread turned upside-down on a table." (This will bring some -ship to distress.) They will not begin a voyage on Childermas-day, -nor allow a piece of spar-stone (quartz) to be carried on board a -vessel: that would ensure her striking on a rock. Of course, they -neither whistle when there, nor speak of hares, two most unlucky -things; and should they meet one of these animals on their way to -the place of embarkation they think it far wiser to turn back home, -and put off sailing for a tide. Hares (as already noticed) play -a great part in Cornish folk-lore. The following amusing story I -had from a friend:--"Jimmy Treglown, a noted poacher living in a -village of West Cornwall, became converted at a revival meeting; -he was tempted on his way to class-meeting one Sunday morning soon -after by the devil in the form of a beautiful hare. Jimmy said, -'There thee art, my dear; but I waan't tooch thee on a Sunday--nor -yet on a weeky day, for that matter.' He went briskly on his way for -a few paces, and then, like Lot's wife, he was tempted to look behind -him. Alas! in Jimmy's own words, 'There she was in her seat, looking -lovely. I tooked up a stone, and dabbed at her. Away she runned, -and fare-ee well, religion. Mine runned away with her. I went home, -and never went to class no more. [26] You see it was the devil, and -'simmen to me' (seeming) I heard 'un laugh and say, 'Ah! ah! Jimmy, -boy, I had thee on the hip then. Thee must confess thee'st had a fair -fall.' So I gave in, and never went nigh the 'people' (Wesleyans) -no more. Nobody should fire at hares of this sort, except with a -silver bullet; they often appear as white, but the devil knowed I -couldn't be fooled with a white 'un.'" Nothing is too ridiculous -to be told of hares. Another old man from St. Just (still living) -once recited this anecdote in our kitchen, and from his grave manner -evidently expected it to be believed:--"I was out walking (he said) -one Sunday morning, when I saw a hare in a field which I longed to -have; so I shied a bit of 'codgy wax' (cobbler's wax), the only thing -I had in my pocket, at 'un, when he ran away. What was my surprise -on getting over a stile to see two hares in the next field face to -face, the 'codgy wax' had stuck to the nose of the first, and he in -his fright had runned against the other, and was holden 'un fast, -too. So I quietly broke the necks of both, and carried em home." - -"The grapes are sour" is in Cornwall often changed to "Lev-un go! he's -dry eaten after all," as the old man said when he couldn't catch -the hare. - -Sailors and fishermen have naturally many weather proverbs, of which -I will give a few:-- - -"A north wind is a broom for the Channel." - -"A Saturday's moon is a sailor's curse." - -"A Saturday's and Sunday's moon Comes once in seven years too soon." - -"Between twelve and two you'll see what the day will do." - -"A southerly wind with a fog bring an easterly wind in 'snog' -(with certainty)." - -"Friday's noon is Sunday's doom." - -"Friday and the week are never alike." - -"There's never a Saturday in the year But what the sun it doth -appear," etc. - -"Weather dogs" are pillars of light coloured like the rainbow, which -appear on the horizon generally over the sea in unsettled weather, -and always foretell storms. The inland dwellers of Cornwall have also -their wise sayings on this subject. Rooks darting around a rookery, -sparrows twittering, donkeys braying, are signs of rain. Cats running -wildly about a house are said to bring storms on their tails. Some of -their omens are simply ludicrous, such as "We may look for wet when a -cat, in washing its face, puts its paw over its ear," or when "hurlers" -(small sparks) play about the bars of a grate. A cock crowing on a -stone is a sign of fine weather; on the doorstep, of a stranger. But -here it is well known "That fools are weather-wise," and "That those -that are weather-wise are rarely otherwise." - -In West Cornwall, not very long ago farmers, before they began to -break up a grass field or plough for sowing, always turned the faces -of the cattle attached to the plough towards the west and solemnly -said, "In the name of God let us begin," and then with the sun's -course proceeded on their work. Everything in this county, even -down to such a small thing as taking the cream off the milk-pans set -round the dairy, must for luck be done from left to right. Invalids, -on going out for the first time after an illness, must walk with, -not against, the sun, for fear of a relapse. - -Farmers here are taught that if they wish to thrive they must "rise -with the craw (crow), go to bed with the yow (ewe)," not be "like -Solomon the wise, who was loth to go to bed and loth to rise," for -does not "the master's eye make the mare fat?" "A February spring," -according to one proverb, "is not worth a pin," and another says "a dry -east wind raises the spring." Sayings current in other counties, such -as "a peck of March dust is worth a king's ransom," are also quoted, -but those I shall not give. There should be as many frosty mornings in -May as in March, for "a hot May makes a fat church-hay." A wet June -makes a dry September. "Cornwall will stand a shower every day, and -two for Sundays." There is always a black month before Christmas. The -farmer too is told-- - - - "A rainbow in the morn, put your hook in the corn; - A rainbow in the eve, put your hook in the sheave." - - -In Cornwall, as well as in Devon, there is an old prophecy quoted -to the effect, that "in the latter days there will be no difference -between summer and winter, save in the length of the days and the -greenness of the leaf." It is erroneously asserted to be in the -Bible.--Cornubiana, Rev. S. Rundle, Transactions Penzance Natural -History Society, etc., 1885-1886. - -"Countrymen in Cornwall, if the breeze fail whilst they are winnowing, -whistle to the spriggan, or air spirit, to bring it back."--Comparative -Folk-lore, Cornhill, 1876. - -A swarm of bees in May is worth a "yow" (ewe) and lamb same day. It is -considered lucky in these parts for a stray swarm to settle near your -house; and if you throw a handkerchief over it you may claim it as your -own. To sell them is unlucky; but you may have an understanding with -a purchaser that he will give you an equivalent for your bees. The -inside of hives should be rubbed with "scawnsy buds" (elderflowers) -to prevent a new swarm from leaving them. Honey should be always -taken from the hive on St. Bartholomew's Day, he being the patron -saint of bees. Of course all the principal events happening in the -families to whom they belonged, in this as in other counties, were -formerly whispered to them, that the bees might not think themselves -neglected, and leave the place in anger. At a recent meeting of the -Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society a gentleman mentioned -that when a boy he had seen thirty hives belonging to Mr. Joshua Fox, -of Tregedna, tied up in crape (an universal practice) because of a -death in the Fox family. Another at the same time said that when, -some years since, the landlady of the "First and Last" Inn, at the -Land's End, died, the bird-cages and flower-pots were also tied with -crape, to prevent the birds and plants from dying. When withering, -because this has not been done, if the plants be remembered in time -and crape put on the pots, they may revive. Enquiring a short time ago -what had become of a fine maiden-hair fern that we had had for years, -I was told "that we had neglected to put it into mourning when a near -relative of our's had died, or to tell it of his death; and therefore -it had gradually pined away." After a death, pictures, but especially -portraits of the deceased, are also supposed to fade. Snails as well -as bees are thought here to bring luck, for "the house is blest where -snails do rest." Children on meeting them in their path, for some -reason stamp their feet and say, - - - "Snail! snail! come out of your hole, - Or I will beat you black as a coal." - - -Another Cornish farmers' superstition is that "ducks won't lay until -they have drunk 'Lide' (March) water;" and the wife of one in 1880 -declared "that if a goose saw a Lent lily (daffodil) before hatching -its goslings it would, when they came forth, destroy them." Some -witty thieves, many years ago, having stolen twelve geese from a -clergyman in the eastern part of the county, tied twelve pennies and -this doggerel around the gander's neck-- - - - "Parson Peard, be not afeard, - Nor take it much in anger, - We've bought your geese at a penny a-piece, - And left the money with the gander." - - -Hens must never be put to sit on an even number of eggs, eleven or -thirteen are lucky numbers; Basilisks are hatched from cock's eggs. - -When cocks crow children are told that they say, - - - "Cock-a-doodle-doo! - Grammer's lost her shoe, - Down by the barley moo (mow), - And what will grammer do, - Cock-a-doodle-doo." - - -Moles in this county are known as "wants," and once in the Land's End -district I overtook an old man and asked him what had made so many -hillocks in a field through which we were passing. His answer was, -"What you rich people never have in your houses, 'wants.'" - -To this day in Cornwall, when anything unforeseen happens to our small -farmers, or they have the misfortune to lose by sickness some of their -stock, they still think that they are "ill-wished," and start off -(often on long journeys) to consult a "pellar," or wise man, sometimes -called "a white witch" (which term is here used indiscriminately for -persons of both sexes). The following I had from a dairy-man I know, -who about twelve years ago quarrelled with a domestic servant, a woman -living in a neighbouring house. Soon after, from some reason, two or -three of his cows died; he was quite sure, he told me, that she had -"overlooked" and "ill-wished" him. To ease his mind he had consulted a -"pellar" about the matter, who had described her accurately to him, -and, for payment, removed the "spell" (I do not know what rites were -used), telling him to look at his watch and note the hour, as he would -find, when he returned home, that a cow he had left sick would have -begun at that moment to recover (which he says it did). The "pellar" -also added, "The woman who has 'ill-wished' you will be swaddled in -fire and lapped in water;" and by a strange coincidence she emigrated -soon after, and was lost in the ill-fated Cospatrick, that was burnt -at sea. - -Water from a font is often stolen to sprinkle "ill-wished" persons -or things. - -The two next examples were communicated to me by a friend: "Some -twenty-six years ago a farmer in a neighbouring village (West Cornwall) -sustained during one season continual losses from his cows dying -of indigestion, known as 'loss of cud,' 'hoven-blown,' etc. After -consulting an old farrier called Armstrong he was induced to go to a -'pellar' in Exeter. His orders were to go home, and, on nearing his -farm, he would see an old woman in a field hoeing turnips, and that -she was the party who had cast the 'evil eye' on him. When he saw her -he was to lay hold of her and accuse her of the crime, then tear off -some of her dress, take it to his farm, and burn it with some of the -hair from the tails of his surviving stock. These directions were -fully carried out, and his bad health (caused by worry) improved, -and he lost no more cows. A spotted clover that grew luxuriantly that -summer was no doubt the cause of the swelling." "Another farmer in -the same village eighteen years since lost all his feeding cattle -from pleuro-pneumonia; believing them to be 'ill-wished' by a woman, -he also consulted the Exeter 'pellar.' He brought home some bottles -of elixir, potent against magic, and made an image of dough, pierced -it from the nape of the neck downward, in the line of the spine, -with a very large blanket-pin. In order to make the agonies of the -woman with the 'evil eye' excruciating in the last degree, dough -and pin were then burnt in a fire of hazel and ash. The cure failed, -as anyone acquainted with the disease might have forecast." - -Besides those remedies already mentioned for curing cattle, you may -employ these:--"Take some blood from the sick animal by wounding him; -let the blood fall on some straw carefully held to the place--not -a drop must be lost; burn the straw; when the ill-wisher will be -irresistibly drawn to the spot; then by violence you can compel him -to take off the spell." Or, "Bleed one animal to death to save the -whole herd." - -A local newspaper, in 1883 (Cornishman), gives the -following:--"Superstitions die hard.--A horse died the other day on -a farm in the neighbourhood of St. Ives. Its carcase was dragged on a -Sunday away up to the granite rock basins and weather-worn bosses of -Trecoben hill, and there burnt, in order to drive away the evil spell, -or ill-wishing, which afflicted the farm where the animal belonged." I, -a few years since, saw a dying cat taken out of a house on a mat, by -two servants, that it might not die inside and bring ill-luck. "In 1865 -a farmer in Portreath sacrificed a calf, by burning, for the purpose of -removing a disease which had long followed his horses and cows." And -in another case a farmer burnt a living lamb, to save, as he said, -"his flock from spells which had been cast on them."--Robert Hunt. - -The Cornishman, in another paragraph, says:--"Our Summercourt (East -Cornwall) correspondent witnessed an amusing affair on Thursday -morning (April, 1883). Seeing a crowd in the street, he asked the -reason, and found that a young lady was about to perform the feat -of throwing a pig's nose over a house for good luck! This is how -it was done. The lady took the nose of a pig, that was killed the -day before, in her right hand, stood with her back to the house, -and threw the nose over her head, and over the house, into the -back garden. Had she failed in the attempt her luck was supposed to -be bad." "Whet your knife on Sunday, you'll skin on Monday," is a -very old Perranuthnoe and St. Hilary (West Cornwall) superstition, -so that, however blunt your knife may be, you must use it as it is, -lest by sharpening it you bring ill-luck on the farmer, and he lose -a sheep or bullock. Mr. T. Q. Couch, W. Antiquary, 1883, says of one, -"He is an old-fashioned man, and, amongst his other 'whiddles' (whims), -keeps a goat amongst his cattle for the sake of keeping his cows from -slipping their calves." Branches of care (mountain ash) were, in the -east of the county, hung over the cattle in their stalls to prevent -their being "ill-wished," also carried in the pocket as a cure and -prevention of rheumatism. "Rheumatism will attack the man who carries -a walking stick made of holly."--Cornubiana, Rev. S. Rundle. - -The belief in witchcraft in West Cornwall is much more general -than most people imagine. Several cases have lately come under -my own notice; one, that of a man-servant in our employ who broke -a blood-vessel, and for a long time was so ill that his life was -despaired of. He was most carefully attended by a Penzance physician, -who came to see him three times a day. But directly that his strength -began to return he asked permission to go to Redruth to consult a -"pellar," as he was quite sure that he had been "overlooked" and -"ill-wished." An old Penzance man, afflicted with rheumatism, who -gained his living by selling fruit in the streets, fancied himself -ill-wished. He went to Helston to see a "wiseman" residing there, -to whom he paid seven-and-sixpence, with a further promise of five -pounds on the removal of the "spell." As he was too poor to pay this -himself a brother agreed to do it for him, but somehow failed to -perform his contract. Now the poor old man thinks that the pellar's -ill-wishes are added to his former pains. - -The "pellars" wore formerly magical rings, with a blue stone in them, -said to have been formed by snakes breathing on hazel-twigs. Our -country-people often searched for these stones. - - - - - - - - -CHARMS, Etc. - - -Many are the charms against ill-wishing worn by the ignorant. I will -quote some mentioned by Mr. Bottrell: "A strip of parchment inscribed -with the following words forming a four-sided acrostic:-- - - - S A T O R - A R E P O - T E N E T - O P E R A - R O T A S - - -"At the time of an old lady's decease, a little while ago, on -her breast was found a small silk bag containing several charms, -among others a piece of parchment, about three inches square, having -written on one side of it 'Nalgah' (in capital letters); under this -is a pen-and-ink drawing something like a bird with two pairs of -wings, a pair extended and another folded beneath them. The creature -appears to be hovering and at the same time brooding on a large egg, -sustained by one of its legs, whilst it holds a smaller egg at the -extremity of its other leg, which is outstretched and long. Its -head, round and small, is unlike that of a bird. From the rudeness -of the sketch and its faded state it is difficult to trace all the -outlines. Under this singular figure is the word 'Tetragrammaton' -(in capitals); on the reverse in large letters-- - - - 'Jehovah.' - 'Jah, Eloim.' - 'Shadday.' - 'Adonay.' - 'Have mercy on a poor woman.' - - -"A pellar of great repute in the neighbourhood tells me that this -is inscribed with two charms, that Nalgah is the figure only. The -Abracadabra is also supplied, the letters arranged in the usual -way. Another potent spell is the rude draft of the planetary signs -for the Sun, Jupiter, and Venus, followed by a cross, pentagram, -and a figure formed by a perpendicular line and a divergent one -at each side of it united at the bottom. Under them is written, -'Whosoever beareth these tokens will be fortunate, and need fear no -evil.' The charms are folded in a paper on which is usually written, -'By the help of the Lord these will do thee good,' and inclosed in -a little bag to be worn on the breast." - -People in good health visited these pellars every spring to get -their charms renewed, and bed-ridden people who kept theirs under -their "pillow-beres" were then visited by the pellar for the same -purpose. "Of amulets mention must be made of certain small crystal -balls called 'kinning stones,' held in high esteem for cure of ailments -of the eye. I examined one of these 'kinning stones' recently, -which had been lent to a person with a bad eye, who on recovering -from his ailment had returned it to the owner. It proved to be a -translucent, blueish-white globular crystal, about one-and-a-quarter -inch in diameter; in texture, horny rather than vitreous; apparently -not made of glass, but perhaps of rock crystal; pierced by a hole -containing a boot lace for suspension; having striæ running through -the substance of the crystal perpendicular to the hole. It had been -for many generations in possession of the family of the owner, who -valued it very highly, 'but was willing to lend it to anyone to do -good.' This kind of amulet is worn around the neck, the bad eye being -struck with the crystal every morning. There are other 'kinning stones' -within reach, but examples are not common; their virtues are familiar -to the people, and instances are to be met with among the country folk, -whose recovery from a 'kinning' in the eye ('kennel,' West Cornwall) -is attributed solely to the use of these charms."--Notes on the -Neighbourhood of Brown Willy (North Cornwall), Rev. A. H. Malan, M.A. - -In every small Cornish village in olden times (and the race is not yet -extinct) lived a charmer or "white witch." Their powers were not quite -as great as those of a pellar, but they were thoroughly believed in, -and consulted on every occasion for every complaint. They were not -only able to cure diseases, but they could, when offended, "overlook" -and ill-wish the offender, bringing ill-luck on him, and also on his -family and farm-stock. The seventh son of the seventh son, or seventh -daughter of the seventh daughter, were born with this gift of charming, -and made the most noted pellars; but anyone might become a witch who -touched a Logan rock nine times at midnight. These Logan rocks are -mentioned elsewhere as being in Cornwall their favourite resorts, -and to them they went, it is said, riding on ragwort stems, instead -of the traditional broomsticks. - -Or, he might, says another authority, use the following charm: "Go -to the chancel of a church to sacrament, hide away the bread from -the hands of the priest, at midnight carry it around the church from -south to north, crossing east three times. The third time a big toad, -open-mouthed, will be met, put the bread in it; as soon as swallowed -he will breathe three times upon the man, and from that time he will -become a witch. Known by five black spots diagonally placed under the -tongue." There is also a strange glare in the eye of a person who can -"overlook," and the eyelids are always red. - -Witches could in this country change themselves into toads, as well as -hares. Mr. Robert Hunt relates the story of one who met her death in -that form, and Mr. T. Q. Couch tells the tale of a sailor who was a -"witch," who received several injuries whilst in the shape of that -animal. When a very small child, having a "kennel" (an ulcer) on my -eye, I was unknown to my parents taken by an old servant to a Penzance -"charmer," who then made a great deal of money by her profession. All -I can remember about it is, that she breathed on it, made some curious -passes with her hands and muttered some incantation. - -About twelve years ago, a woman who lived in the "west country" -(Land's End district) as well as being a "white witch was a famous -knitster," and we amongst others frequently gave her work. When she -brought it back she was treated by our maids, who lived in great fear -of her "ill-wishing" them, to the best our kitchen could afford; -and many were the marvellous stories she told me of her power to -staunch blood, etc., when doctors failed. It was not necessary for -her to see the person; she could cure them sitting by her fireside if -they were miles away. Witches are also consulted about the recovery -of stolen property, which, by casting their spells over the thief, -it is still supposed they can compel him to return. - -A part of Launceston Castle is locally known as Witch's Tower, from -the tradition that one was burnt at its foot; no grass grows on the -spot. Another is said to have met with the same fate on a flat stone -close to St. Austell market-house. - -"Charms are still in use by the simple-minded for thrush, warts, -and various complaints; also for the cure of cattle, when some evil -disposed person has 'turned a figure upon (i.e. bewitched) them;' -and white witches--those who avert the evil eye--have not yet ceased -out of the land."--Notes on the Neighbourhood of Brown Willy (North -Cornwall), Rev. A. H. Malan, M.A. - -I will give some of their charms culled from various sources, and -remedies for diseases still used in Cornwall:--Take three burning -sticks from the hearth of the "overlooker," make the patient cross -over them three times and then extinguish with water. Place nine -bramble-leaves in a basin of "Holy Well's water, pass each leaf over -and from the diseased part, repeating three times to each leaf. Three -virgins came from the east, one brought fire, the others brought -frost. Out fire! In frost! In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy -Ghost." Or take a stick of burning furze from the hearth, pass over -and above the diseased part, repeating the above nine times. If -you can succeed by any means in drawing blood from the "ill-wisher" -you are certain to break and remove the spell. Stick pins into an -apple or potatoe, carry it in your pocket, and as it shrivels the -"ill-wisher" will feel an ache from every pin, but this I fancy does -not do the person "overlooked" any good. Another authority says, -"Stick pins into a bullock's heart, when the 'ill-wisher' will feel -a stab for every one put in, and in self-defence take off the curse." - -A friend writes, "An old man called Uncle Will Jelbart, who had been -with the Duke of Kent in America, and also a very long time in the -Peninsular, about forty years ago lived in West Cornwall; he had a -small pension, and in addition made a good income by charming warts, -wildfire (erysipelas), cataracts, etc. He used to spit three times and -breathe three times on the part affected, muttering, 'In the name of -the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost I bid thee begone.' For cataract he -pricked the small white 'dew-snail' (slug), found about four a.m., -with a hawthorn spine, and let a drop fall into the eye; and in the -case of skin diseases occasionally supplemented the charm with an -ointment made of the juice extracted from house-leeks and 'raw-cream;' -he sometimes changed the words and repeated those which with slight -variations are known all over Cornwall--'Three virgins,' etc. - -"The crowfoot locally known as the 'kenning herb' is in some districts -used in incantations for curing 'kennings' or 'kennels' (ulcers in -the eye). - - - 'Three ladies (or virgins) come from the east: - One with fire and two with frost; - Out with thee, fire, and in with thee, frost: - In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.' - - -"This is often said nine times over a scald. In prose it begins thus: -'As I passed over the river Jordan, I met with Christ. He said, What -aileth thee? Oh Lord, my flesh doth burn. The Lord said unto me, -Two angels,'" etc. - -A lady once told me that about forty years ago she was taken to a -"charmer," who stood in a Cornish market-place on fixed days, to -have her warts cured. The remedies for this childish complaint are -very numerous. I once had my forehead rubbed with a piece of stolen -beef, which was then buried in a garden, to send them away, the idea -being that as the beef decayed the warts would fall off or dwindle -gradually. There are two or three other ways of getting rid of them -of a similar kind. Touch each wart with a new pin, enclose them in a -bottle, either bury them in a newly-made grave of the opposite sex, or -at four cross-roads; as the pins rust, the warts will disappear. Or, -touch them with a knot made in a piece of string (there should be as -many knots as there are warts), bury it; when the rope decays so will -the warts. The two next are selfish remedies. Touch each wart with -a pebble, put the stones in a bag, throw them away, and the finder -will get them and they will leave you. Or, in coming out of church, -wish them on some part of another person's body (or on a tree); they -will go from you and appear on him, or on the spot named. One method -employed by professional "charmers" is to take two pieces of charred -stick from a fire, form them into a cross and place them on the warts, -and repeat one of the formulæ above quoted. Yet another is to wash -the hands in the moon's rays focussed in a dry metal basin, saying, - - - "I wash my hands in this thy dish, - Oh man in the moon, do grant my wish, - And come and take away this." - - -The moon too is invoked for the curing of corns. "Corns down here! No -corns up there!" is repeated nine times. The fore-finger pointing -first to the ground and then to the sky. - -When pricked by a thorn, use one of the following charms:-- - - - "Christ was of a virgin born: - And he was pricked by a thorn, - And it did never 'bell' (fester), - And I trust in Jesus this never will." - - -Or, - - - "Christ was crowned with thorns, - The thorns did bleed but did not rot, - No more shall thy--(mentioning the part affected): - In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." - - -In prose: "When Christ was upon the middle earth the Jews pricked -him, his blood sprung up into heaven, his flesh never rotted nor -'fustered,' no more I hope will not thine. In the name," etc.--From -Mr. T. Q. Couch, who gives two others very similar. - - - - -FOR TETTERS. - - - "Tetter, tetter, thou hast nine sisters, - God bless thee, flesh, and preserve thee, bone; - Perish thou, tetter, and be thou gone: - In the name," etc. - - "Tetter, tetter, thou hast eight sisters," etc. - - -This charm is thus continued until it comes to the last, which is,-- - - - "Tetter, tetter, thou hast no sister," etc.--Bottrell. - - - - -TOOTHACHE. - -In prose and verse slightly varied, common in all parts of the -county,-- - - - "Christ passed by his brother's door, - Saw Peter his brother lying on the floor; - What aileth thee, brother?-- - Pain in thy teeth? - Thy teeth shall pain thee no more: - In the name of," etc. - - -This is to be worn in a bag around the neck. Mr. T. Q. Couch gives -this charm in prose. It begins thus: "Peter sat at the gate of the -Temple, and Christ said unto him, What aileth thee?" etc. Another -remedy against toothache is, always in the morning to begin dressing -by putting the stocking on the left foot.--Through Rev. S. Rundle. - -A knuckle-bone is often carried in the pocket as a cure and preventive -of cramp. I once saw an old woman turn out her pocket; amongst its -contents, as well as the knuckle-bone, was the tip of an ox-tongue -kept for good luck. - -Slippers on going to bed are, when taken off, for the same complaint -often placed under the bed with the soles upwards, or on their heels -against the post of the bed with their toes up. The following is -from Mr. T. Q. Couch: "The cramp is keenless, Mary was sinless when -she bore Jesus: let the cramp go away in the name of Jesus." All the -charms published by the above-named author in his History of Polperro -were taken from a manuscript book, which belonged to a white witch. - -When a foot has "gone to sleep" I have often seen people wet their -forefingers in their mouths, stoop and draw the form of a cross on -it. This is said to be an infallible remedy. Mr. Robert Hunt has a -rather similar cure for hiccough: "Wet the forefinger of the right -hand with spittle, and cross the front of the left shoe (or boot) -three times, repeating the Lord's Prayer backwards." The most popular -cure with children is a heaping spoonful of moist sugar. A sovereign -remedy for hiccough and almost every complaint is a small piece of -a stale Good Friday bun grated into a glass of cold water. This bun -is hung up in the kitchen from one year to the other. Bread baked on -this day never gets mouldy. - - - - -FOR A STRAIN. - - - "Christ rode over the bridge, - Christ rode under the bridge; - Vein to vein, strain to strain, - I hope God will take it back again." - - - - -FOR AGUE. - -When our Saviour saw the cross, whereon he was to be crucified, his -body did shake. The Jews said, "Hast thou an ague?" Our Saviour said, -"He that keepeth this in mind, thought, or writing, shall neither be -troubled with ague or fever." - - - - -FOR WILDFIRE (Erysipelas). - - - "Christ, he walketh over the land, - Carried the wildfire in his hand, - He rebuked the fire, and bid it stand; - Stand, wildfire, stand (three times repeated): - In the name of," etc.--T. Q. Couch. - - -Mr. Robert Hunt gives in his book on Old Cornwall a Latin charm for -the staunching of blood. I find, however, on making inquiries that -it is not the one generally used, which is as follows: - - - "Christ was born in Bethlehem, - Baptised in the river Jordan; - There he digged a well, - And turned the water against the hill, - So shall thy blood stand still: - In the name," etc. - - -There are other versions all much alike. A prose one runs thus: -"Baptised in the river Jordan when the water was wild, the water was -good, the water stood, so shall thy blood. In the name," etc.--T. Q. C. - -The Rev. S. Rundle says a charmer once told him the charm for -staunching blood consisted in saying a verse from the Psalms; but -she could not read, and he was inclined to believe the form was, -"Jesus came to the river Jordan, and said, 'Stand,' and it stood; -and so I bid thee, blood, stand. In the name," etc. For bleeding -at the nose, a door-key is often placed against the back. Cuts are -plugged with cobwebs, flue from a man's hat, tobacco leaves, and -occasionally filled with salt. - -Club-moss is considered good for eye diseases. On the third day of -the moon, when the thin crescent is seen for the first time, show it -the knife with which the moss for the charm is to be cut, and repeat, - - - "As Christ healed the issue of blood, - So I bid thee begone: - In the name of," etc. - - -Mr. Robert Hunt says, - - - "Do thou cut what thou cuttest for good!" - - -"At sun-down, having carefully washed the hands, the club-moss is -to be cut kneeling. It is to be carefully wrapped in a white cloth, -and subsequently boiled in water taken from the spring nearest its -place of growth. This may be used as a fomentation. Or the club-moss -made into an ointment with butter made from the milk of a new cow." - -A "stye" on the eye is often stroked nine times with a cat's tail; -with a wedding ring taken from a dead woman's, or a silver one from -a drowned man's, hand. The belief in the efficacy of a dead hand in -curing diseases in Cornwall is marvellous. I, in a short paper read at -an Antiquarian meeting, gave this instance, related to me by a medical -man about ten years ago (now dead). A day or two after, a number of -other cases in proof of my statement appeared, to my surprise, in our -local papers, which, as well as my own, I will transcribe. "Once I -attended a poor woman's child for an obstinate case of sore eyes. One -day when leaving the house the mother said to me, 'Is there nothing -more, doctor, I can do for my little girl?' I jokingly answered, -'Nothing, unless you care to stroke them with a dead man's hand.' About -a week after I met the woman in the streets, who stopped me, and said, -'My child's eyes are getting better at last, doctor.' I expressed -myself pleased that the ointment I had given her was doing good. To -my astonishment, she replied, 'Oh, it is not that, we never used it; -we took your advice about the dead man's hand.' Until she recalled -it to my memory, I had quite forgotten my foolish speech." "I am one -of those who can bear testimony to the fact of a cure having been -effected by the means above-named. I was born with a disfigurement on -my upper lip. My mother felt a great anxiety about this, so my nurse -proposed that a dead man's hand should be passed seven times over my -lip. I was taken to the house of one Robin Gendall, Causewayhead, -Penzance, who at that time was lying dead, and his hand was passed -over my lip in the manner named. By slow degrees my friends had the -satisfaction of seeing that the charm had taken effect."--Octogenarian. - -"I may add my testimony to Miss Courtney's remarks as to the belief -in Cornwall in the virtue of the touch of a diseased part by a dead -man's hand. A case came under my knowledge at Penzance of a child who -had from birth a peculiar tuberous formation at the junction of the -nose with the forehead, which the medical men would not cut for fear of -severing veins. The child was taken by her mother to a friend's house, -in which were lying the remains of a young man who had just died from -consumption. The deceased's hand was passed over the malformation seven -times, and it soon began to grow smaller and smaller." "I have myself -seen the child since Miss Courtney read her paper (November, 1881), -and, though the mark is still apparent, I am assured it is surely, -if slowly, disappearing. A relation of mine also tells me that, like -Miss Courtney, she was taken to the Penzance witch for the purpose -of having a 'stye' removed from one of her eyes by charming."--Tramp. - -I was told of many other cases--one by another surgeon; but it would -be useless to repeat them. I will end with one I have taken from -Notes and Queries, December, 1859:-- - -"A lady, who was staying lately at Penzance, attended a funeral, -and noticed that whilst the clergyman was reading the burial service -a woman forced her way through the pall-bearers to the edge of the -grave. When he came to the passage, 'Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, -dust to dust,' she dropped a white cloth upon the coffin, closed her -eyes, and apparently said a prayer. On making inquiries as to the cause -of this proceeding, this lady found that a superstition exists amongst -the peasantry in that part, that if a person with a sore be taken -secretly to a corpse, the dead hand passed over the sore place, and -the bandage afterwards be dropped upon the coffin during the reading -of the burial service, a perfect cure will be the result. This woman -had a child with a bad leg, and she had followed this superstition with -a firm belief in its efficacy. The peasants, also, to the present day -wear charms, believing they will protect them from sickness and other -evils. The wife of the clergyman of the parish was very charitable -in attending the sick and dispensing medicines, and one day a woman -brought her a child having sore eyes to have them charmed, having more -faith in that remedy than in medicines. She was greatly surprised to -find that medicines only were given to her."--E. R. - -There is no virtue in the dead hand of a near relation. A curious -old troth plight was formerly practised in Cornwall: The couple broke -a wedding ring taken from the finger of a corpse, and each kept one -half. The editor of a local paper (Cornishman) once obtained a piece -of rope, with which a man was hanged, for a poor woman who had walked -fourteen miles to Bodmin in the hopes of getting it, that she might -effect the cure of her sore eyes. - -The Rev. S. Rundle writes that "a Cornish surgeon recommended a charmer -as being more efficacious than himself in curing shingles. According -to the same authority, a liquid composed of bramble and butter-dock -leaves is poured on the place, whilst a light stick is waved over the -decoction by the charmer, who repeats an incantation." It is popularly -supposed in Cornwall that should shingles meet around your waist, -you would die. The cures and charms against epilepsy are also very -numerous, and very generally used here. Thirty pence are collected at -the church door by the person afflicted, from one of the opposite sex, -changed for sacrament money (silver), and made into a ring to be worn -day and night. Very lately, at St. Just-in-Penwith, a young woman -begged from young men pennies to buy a silver ring, a remedy which -she believed would cure her fits. Another charm, which it requires a -person of strong nerves to perform, is to walk thrice round a church -at midnight, then enter and stand before the altar. In connection -with this rite the Rev. S. Rundle relates the following:--"At Crowan -(a village in West Cornwall), an epileptic subject entered the church -at midnight. As he was groping his way through the pitchy dark, his -heart suddenly leaped, and almost stood still. He uttered shriek upon -shriek, for his hand had grasped a man's head. He thought it was the -head of the famous Sir John St. Aubyn. He was removed in a fainting -state, and it was then discovered that he had seized the head of the -sexton, who had come in to see that nothing was done to frighten the -man. The unfortunate fellow never recovered from the shock, but died in -a lunatic asylum." "A middle-aged Camborne man was subject to violent -fits until two years ago, when some one told him to kill a toad, put -one of its legs in a bag, and wear it suspended by a string around -his neck. He did so, and has never had a fit since."--Cornishman, -December, 1881. - -"In Cornwall a black cock is buried on the spot where the person is -first attacked by epilepsy" (to avert a similar attack).--Comparative -Folk-Lore, Cornhill, 1876. - -For other charms see Addenda, A Bundle of Charms, by the -Rev. A. H. Malan, M.A. - -Toads are also worn as charms for other diseases in this county:--"On -the 27th July, 1875, I was lodging with a very intelligent grazier -and horse-dealer, at Tintagel, Cornwall, when he was knocked down by -a very serious attack of quinsey, to which he had been subject for -many years. He pulled through the crisis; and on being sufficiently -recovered he betook himself to a 'wise woman' at Camelford. She -prescribed for him as follows:--'Get a live toad, fasten a string -around its throat, and hang it up till the body drops from the head; -then tie the string around your own neck, and never take it off, -night or day, till your fiftieth birthday. You'll never have quinsey -again.' When I left Tintagel, I understood that my landlord, greatly -relieved in mind, had already commenced the operation."--Augustus -Jessop, D.D. - -When a kettle won't boil, instead of the old adage, "A watched pot -never boils," Cornish people say, "There is a toad or a frog in -it." It is here considered lucky for a toad to come into the house. - -This charm for yellow jaundice I culled from the Western Antiquary. "I -was walking in a village churchyard near the town of St. Austell -(I think in the autumn of 1839), when I saw a woman approach an open -grave. She stood by the side of it and appeared to be muttering some -words. She then drew out from under her cloak a good-size baked -meal-cake, threw it into the grave and then left the place. Upon -inquiry I found the cake was composed of oatmeal mixed with dog's -urine, baked, and thrown into the grave as a charm for the yellow -jaundice. This cure was at that time commonly believed in by the -peasantry of the neighbourhood."--Joseph Cartwright, March, 1883. - -Snakes avoid and dread ash-trees; a branch will keep them away. Our -peasantry believe however much you may try to kill quickly an adder -or snake, it will never die before sunset. Mr. Robert Hunt says, -"When an adder is seen, a circle is to be rapidly drawn around it and -the sign of the cross made within it, whilst the first two verses of -the 68th Psalm are repeated." This is to destroy it; there are also -charms to be said for curing their bites, when they are apostrophised -"under the ashen leaf." The following old charm is to make them -destroy themselves, by twisting themselves up to nothing:-- - - - "Underneath this 'hazelen mot' [27] - There's a 'braggaty' [28] worm, with a speckled throat, - Now! nine 'double' [29] hath he. - Now from nine double, to eight double, - From eight double, to seven double, - From seven double, to six double, - From six double, to five double, - From five double, to four double, - From four double, to three double, - From three double, to two double, - From two double, to one double, - Now! no double hath he." - - -The words of charms must be muttered (they lose their efficacy -if recited aloud), and the charmer must never communicate them to -one of the same sex, for that transfers the power of charming to -the other person. Of superstitious rites practised for the cure of -whooping-cough, etc., I will speak a little further on. Cornishmen in -the last century from their cradles to their graves might have been -guided in their actions by old women's "widdles" (superstitions), -some as already shown are still foolishly followed; but I hope that -few people are silly enough at the present day to leave their babies' -heads a twelvemonth unwashed, under the mistaken notion that it would -be unlucky to do it. - -I have often and very recently seen the creases in the palms of -children's hands filled with dirt; to clean them before they were a -year old would take away riches--they would live and die poor. Their -nails, too, for the same period should be bitten, not cut, for that -would make them thieves. Hair at no age must be cut at the waning of -the moon, that would prevent its growing luxuriantly; locks shorn off -must be always burnt, it is unlucky to throw them away; then birds -might use them in their nests and weave them in so firmly that there -would be a difficulty in your rising at the last day. Children's first -teeth are burnt to prevent dog's or "snaggles" irregular teeth coming -in their stead. Coral necklaces are worn to ensure easy teething; -the beads are said to change their colour when the wearer is ill. "All -locks are unlocked to favour easy birth (or death)."--A. H. Bickford, -M.D., Camborne, 1883. Cornishmen in the West are said to be born with -tails; they drop off when the Tamar is crossed. - -"A popular notion amongst old folks is, that when a boy is born on the -waning moon the next birth will be a girl, and vice versâ. They also -say that when a birth takes place on the growing of the moon, the next -child will be of the same sex." A child born in the interval between -the old and new moons is fated to die young, and babies with blue -veins across their noses do not live to see twenty-one. A cake called -a groaning cake is made in some houses in Cornwall after the birth -of a child, of which every caller is expected to partake. The mother -often carries "a groaning cake" when she is going to be "upraised" -(churched); this she gives to the first person she meets on her way. - -"Kimbly" is the name of an offering, generally a piece of bread or -cake, still given in some rural districts of this county to the -first person met when going to a wedding or a christening. It is -sometimes presented to anyone who brings the news of a a birth to -an interested party. Two young men, I knew about thirty years ago, -were taking a walk in West Cornwall; crossing over a bridge they met a -procession carrying a baby to the parish church, where the child was -to be baptised. Unaware of this curious custom, they were very much -surprised at having a piece of cake put into their hands. A magistrate -wrote to the Western Morning News, in January, 1884, saying, that on -his way to his petty sessions he had had one of these christening -cakes thrust into his hand, but unluckily he did not state in what -parish this happened. This called forth several letters on the subject, -parts of which I will quote. - -"About thirty years ago at the christening of a brother (in the Meneage -district, Helston), and when the family party were ready for the walk -to the afternoon service in Cury church, I well recollect seeing the -old nurse wrap in a pure white sheet of paper what she called the -'cheeld's fuggan.' [30] This was a cake with plenty of currants and -saffron, about the size of a modern tea-plate. It was to be given to -the first person met on returning, after the child was christened. It -happened that, as most of the parishioners were at the service, no one -was met until near home, almost a mile from the church, when a tipsy -village carpenter rambled around a corner, right against our party, and -received the cake. Regrets were expressed that the 'cheeld's fuggan' -should have fallen to the lot of this notoriously evil liver, and -my idea was that it was a bad omen. However as my brother has always -been a veritable Rechabite, enjoys good health, a contented mind, and -enough of this world's goods to satisfy every moderate want, no evil -can thus far be traced to the mischance."--J. C., Western Morning News. - -"'Kimbly' in East Cornwall is the name of a thing, commonly a piece -of bread, which is given under peculiar circumstances at weddings and -christenings. When the parties set out from the house to go to church, -or on their business, one person is sent before them with this selected -piece of bread in his or her hand (a woman is commonly preferred for -this office), and the piece is given to the first individual that -is met. I interpret it to have some reference to the idea of the -evil eye and its influence, which might fall on the married persons -or on the child, which is sought to be averted by this unexpected -gift. It is also observed in births, in order that by this gift envy -may be turned away from the infant or happy parents. This 'kimbly' -is commonly given to the person bringing the first news to those -interested in the birth."--T. Q. Couch, Western Morning News. - -"I witnessed this custom very frequently at Looe, in South-east -Cornwall, from fifty to sixty-five years ago. I believe it is correct -to say that this gift was there a small cake, made for the occasion, -and termed the 'christening-crib,' a crib of bread or cake being a -provincialism for a bit of bread," etc.--William Pengelly, Western -Morning News. - -Children, when they leave small bits of meat, etc., on their plates, -are in Cornwall often told "to eat up their cribs." - -"On the afternoons of Good Friday, little girls of Carharrack, in the -parish of Gwennap (West Cornwall), take their dolls to a stream at -the foot of Carnmarth, and there christen them. Occasionally a young -man will take upon himself the office of minister, and will sprinkle -and name the dolls."--Charles James, Gwennap. - -The Rev. S. Rundle, Vicar of Godolphin, says, "That once he was -sent for to baptise a child, around whose neck hung a little bag, -which the mother said contained a bit of a donkey's ear, and that -this charm had cured the child of a most distressing cough." - -"In some parts of Cornwall it is considered a sure sign of being -sweethearts if a young man and woman 'stand witness together,' -i.e. become godfather and godmother of the same child."--T. C. But -not in all, for I remember once hearing in Penzance a couple refuse -to do so, saying that it was unlucky. "First at the font, never at -the altar." When I was young, old nurses often breathed in babies' -mouths to cure the thrush, thrice repeating the second verse of the -Eighth Psalm, "Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings," etc. "May -children and 'chets' (kittens) never thrive," and it is unlucky to -"tuck" (short coat) children in that month. - - - "Tuck babies in May, - You'll tuck them away." - - -It is of course considered an unfortunate month for marriages. Neither -should babies "be tucked" on a week day, but on a Sunday, which day -should also be chosen for leaving off any article of clothing; as then -you will have the prayers of every congregation for you, and are sure -not to catch cold. A friend lately sent me the following charm of one -year's duration which prevents your feeling or taking a cold. "Eat a -large apple at Hallow-een under an apple-tree just before midnight; no -other garment than a bed-sheet should be worn. A kill or cure remedy." - -An empty cradle should never be rocked unless you wish to have a -large family, for-- - - - "Rock the cradle empty - You'll rock the babies plenty." - - -Rev. S. Rundle says, "It is unlucky to rock an empty cradle, as the -child will die."--Cornubiana. - -The jingles which follow are often repeated by Cornish nurse-maids -with appropriate actions to amuse their little charges. First, -touching each part of the face as mentioned with the forefinger, - - - "Brow brender, [31] - Eye winker, - Nose dropper, - Mouth eater, - Chin chopper, - Tickle-tickle." - - -Second-- - - - "Tap a tap shoe, [32] that would I do, - If I had but a little more leather. - We'll sit in the sun till the leather doth come, - Then we'll tap them both together." - - -Here the two little feet are struck lightly one against the other. - -Several letters have lately appeared in the Western Morning News, -giving different versions of the old rhymes-- - - - "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, - Pray bless the bed that I 'lay' on, - Four corners to my bed, - Four angels there are spread, - Two 'to' foot and two 'to' head, - And six will carry me when I'm dead." - - -Although attributed by the correspondents to Cornwall, I have always -understood that they were known all over England. - -Children with rickets were taken by their parents on the three first -Sundays in May to be dipped at sunrise in one of the numerous Cornish -holy wells, and then put to sleep in the sun, with sixpence under their -heads. Small pieces torn from their clothes were left on the bushes -to propitiate the pixies. For the same disease they were passed nine -times through a Mên-an-tol (holed stone). A man stood on one side, -and a woman on the other, of the stone. The child was passed with -the sun from east to west, and from right to left; a boy from the -woman to the man, a girl from the man to the woman. This order is -always, in these charms, strictly observed. As lately as 1883, in -the village of Sancred, West Cornwall, a little girl, suffering from -whooping-cough, was passed from a man to a woman nine times under a -donkey's belly; a little boy standing the while at the donkey's head -feeding it with "cribs" of wheaten bread. My informant did not know -if on this occasion any incantation was repeated. Another family, he -tells me, some years back were in the same neighbourhood cured of the -whooping-cough by donkey's hair, which was dried on the baking iron of -the open hearth, reduced to powder, and administered to them. There -are very various ways of doing this, one is between thin slices of -bread and butter. Some authorities say the latter ingredients must -belong to a couple called John and Joan. Mr. Robert Hunt gives a -charm which in a measure combines the two above-mentioned. "The child -must be passed naked nine times over the back and under the belly -of a female donkey. Three spoonfuls of milk drawn from the teats of -the animal, three hairs cut from its back, and three from its belly, -are to stand in the milk three hours, and to be given in three doses -repeated on three mornings." Mr. Hunt also says, "There were some -doggerel lines connected with the ceremony which have escaped my -memory, and I have endeavoured in vain to find anyone remembering -them. They were to the effect that as Christ placed the cross on the -ass's back when he rode into Jerusalem and so rendered the animal holy, -if the child touched where Jesus sat it should cough no more." I will -quote another of Mr. Hunt's charms. "Gather nine spar-stones (quartz) -from a running stream, taking care not to interrupt the free passage -of the water in doing so. Then dip a quart of water from the stream, -which must be taken in the direction in which the stream runs--by -no means must the vessel be dipped against the stream. Then make the -nine stones red-hot, and throw them into the quart of water. Bottle -the prepared water, and give the afflicted child a wine-glass of this -water for nine mornings." Other remedies are to cross the child over -running water nine times, or under a bramble bough bent into the ground -(this latter and through a cleft ash are also tried for hernia). Some -nurses take children, with whooping-cough, out for a walk, in hopes of -meeting a man on a white or piebald horse. Should they be fortunate -enough to do so, they ask the rider how they can cure the patient: -his advice is always implicitly followed. - -Children with dirty habits are often told that a "mousey pasty" -shall be cooked for their dinners. - -Cornish children are warned by their nurses not to grimace, lest, -whilst so doing, the wind should change and their faces always remain -contorted. There is another form in which this warning is often given: -"Don't make mock of a 'magum' (May-game), for you may be struck comical -yourself one day." "Magum" in most cases means a facetious person, -one who is full of merry pranks; and the expressions, "He's a reg'lar -magum," or "He's full of his magums," are often heard. But the idea -intended to be conveyed in the first saying is that it is wrong to -make fun of a person suffering from an infirmity, which may at any -time afflict the jeerer. The puritanical notion of Sunday lingers in -the belief in Cornwall that it is unlucky to use a scissors on that -day, even to cut your nails; you must - - - "Cut them on Monday, before your fast you break, - And you'll have a present in less than a week." - - -Children here are pleased to see "gifts" (white spots) on their -thumb-nails, as - - - "Gifts on the thumb are sure to come, - But gifts on the finger are sure to linger." - - -Occasionally white spots on the five fingers are named as follows: -"A gift, a friend, a foe, a true lover, a journey to go." Should the -little ones, when picking flowers, sting themselves with nettles, they -are of course in this locality, as elsewhere in England, taught to rub -the spot with dock-leaves, repeating the words, "In dock, out nettle;" -but they are often told in addition to wet the place affected with -their spittle, and make a cross over it with their thumb-nails, pressed -down as heavily as possible. School-boys and school-girls often years -ago practised a cruel jest on their more innocent companions. They -induced them to pick a nettle by saying "Nettles won't sting this -month." When the children were stung and complained, the retort was, -"I never said they would not sting you." The blue scabious in Cornwall -is never plucked. It is called the devil's bit, and the superstition -is handed down from one generation of children to another that, should -they transgress and do so, the devil will appear to them in their -dreams at night. But anyone who wishes to dream of the devil should -pin four ivy-leaves to the corners of his pillow. Flowers plucked from -churchyards bring ill-luck, and even visitations from spirits on the -plucker. Wrens and robins are sacred in the eyes of Cornish boys, for - - - "Hurt a robin or a wran, - Never prosper, boy nor man." - - -A groom who had, when a lad, shot a robin and held it in one of his -hands told me that it shook ever after. But they always chase and try -to kill the first butterfly of the season; and, should they succeed, -they will overcome their enemies--I suppose, in football, etc. - -"To hear the first cuckoo of spring on the right ear is lucky, on the -left unlucky; as many times as it repeats its notes will the number -of years be before the hearer is married. The cuckoo song-- - - - 'In April, come he will, - In May, he sings all day, - In June, he alters his tune, - In July, he prepares to fly, - Come August, go he must'-- - - -is known all over the county, with additions and slight variations, -such as-- - - - 'In March, he sits upon his perch, - In Aperel, he tunes his bell.'" - - --South-east Cornwall, W. Pengelly. - - -"A bat in Cornwall is called an 'airy-mouse;' village boys address -it as it flits over their heads in the following rhymes-- - - - 'Airy-mouse, airy-mouse! fly over my head, - And you shall have a crust of bread, - And when I brew, or when I bake, - You shall have a piece of my wedding cake.'" - - --Polperro, T. Q. Couch. - - -Sometimes in West Cornwall they say-- - - - "Bit-bat! bit-bat! come under my hat." - - -Earwigs they hold in detestation, as they believe that, should they -get into their ears, they will cause madness. There is a legend popular -amongst them which relates that a poor man was once driven frantic by -a very queer sensation in his head. At last, not being able to bear -it any longer, he went into a meat-market, laid it down upon a block, -and asked a butcher to chop it off. Whilst in this recumbent position -an earwig crept out of his ear, and the pain instantly ceased. Our -school-boys have other fallacies, such as, the pain caused by a -"custice," i.e. a stroke across the palm of the hand with a cane, -may be neutralised by placing two hairs on it crossways. Also that -the wound made by a nail can be kept from festering by wrapping the -nail in a piece of fat bacon to prevent its rusting. - -School-girls' superstitions are more sentimental, and often connected -with wishing. If, when talking together, one accidentally makes a -rhyme, she wishes; and, should she be asked a question before she -speaks again, to which she can answer Yes, she thinks that she is -sure to get it. When an eyelash falls out its owner puts it on the -tip of her nose, wishes and blows at it; should she blow it off, -she will have her wish. Should she by chance hear a dog dreaming, -she stands up, puts a foot on each side of it, and then wishes. Years -ago one gravely told me that if I wanted to know a dog's dreams I -must throw a pocket-handkerchief over it when sleeping and keep it -there until it awoke; then, before getting into bed, put it under -my pillow, and I should have the same dream. Dreams in Cornwall are -always said to go by contraries. "If you dream of the dead you will -hear tell of the living," etc. To dream anyone is kissing you is a -sign of deceit. "Of fruit out of season, trouble without reason." - - - "A Friday's dream on Saturdays told - Is sure to come true, be it ever so old." - - -To see if a friend loves her, a Cornish girl pulls out a hair from her -friend's head, and then tries to suspend it by the root from the palm -of her own hand. If this can be done the test is successful. When a -little older there are many ways in which our maidens "try for their -sweethearts." A few of the rules prescribed for these rites, which -have been handed down from generation to generation, may be worth -transcribing. "Draw a bracken fern, cut it at the bottom of the stalk; -there you will find your lover's initials." Take an apple-pip between -the forefinger and the thumb, flip it into the air, saying, "North, -south, east, west, tell me where my love doth rest," and watch the -direction in which it falls. Go into the fields at the time of the -new moon and pluck a piece of herb yarrow; put it when going to bed -under your pillow, saying-- - - - "Good night, fair yarrow, - Thrice good night to thee; - I hope before to-morrow's dawn - My true love I shall see." - - -If you are to be married your sweetheart will appear to you in -your dreams. - -"Look out of your bed-room window on St. Valentine's morn, note the -first man you see, and you will marry the same, or one of the name." - -To lose your apron or your garter shows that your lover is thinking of -you. Three candles burning at the same time is the sign of a wedding; -and the girl who is nearest to the door, the cupboard, and the -shortest candle, will be married first. When two people accidentally -say the same thing at the same time the one who finishes first will -be married first. There are a great number of omens similar to these -last, equally stupid, and not worthy of notice. - -"Friday is a cross day for marriage," and "If you marry in Lent you'll -live to repent." Should you in marrying - - - "Change the name, and not the letter, - You'll change for the worse, and not for the better." - - -but it is lucky if your initials form a word. - -"The young men of a place, when they know that a person is paying -attention to a girl or woman, seize hold of him, place him in a -wheelbarrow, in which they wheel him up and down until they are tired, -when they upset him on the nearest pile or in a pond. This is called -riding in the 'one-wheel coach;' and to say that a man has ridden in -the 'one-wheel coach' is tantamount to the expression that he has -'gone-a-courting.'"--Rev. S. Rundle, Transactions Penzance Natural -History Society, etc., 1885-1886. - -When a younger sister marries first the elder is said to dance in -the "bruss" (short twigs of heath or furze), from an old custom -of dancing without shoes on the furze prickles which get detached -from the stalk. Only old maids can rear a myrtle, and they will -not blossom when trained against houses where there are none. It is -considered extremely unlucky here to break or lose your wedding-ring, -also for a wedding-cake to crack after baking. A lady told me of one -made for a couple she knew, which fell to pieces when taken out of -the oven. Before the wedding-day came the bride had sickened of some -disorder, was dead, and buried. A hole in a loaf, too, foretells a -separation in a family; and to turn one upside down on a table wrecks -a vessel. "If a hare cross the path of a wedding party, the bride or -bridegroom will die within seven years."--Rev. S. Rundle, Cornubiana. - -"A young woman who has been three times a bridesmaid will never be -a bride." "It was an old custom, religiously observed until lately -in Zennor and adjacent parishes on the north coast of Cornwall, -to waylay a married couple on their wedding night and flog them -to bed with cords, sheep-spans, or anything handy for the purpose, -believing that this rough treatment would ensure them happiness and the -'heritage and gift that cometh of the Lord,' of a numerous family. At -more modish weddings the guests merely entered the bridal chamber, -and threw stockings in which stones or something to make weight were -placed, at the bride and bridegroom in bed. The first one hit of the -happy pair betokened the sex of their first-born."--Bottrell. - -Should there be a great discrepancy between the ages of the bride -and bridegroom, or the marriage of a couple in any way be a matter -of notoriety, they are in West Cornwall on their wedding night often -treated to a "shallal," a serenade on tin-kettles, pans, marrow-bones, -&c. Any great noise in this part of the county is described as being -"a reg'lar shallal." In olden times (in fact the custom is not quite -discontinued at the present day, for I heard a whisper of one having -taken place in a small fishing-village two years ago) married people -accused of immorality were in Cornwall punished by a "riding." I will -give the description of one by Mr. T. Q. Couch. - -"A cart was got, donkeys were harnessed in, and a pair personating -the guilty or suspected were driven through the streets, attended by -a train of men and boys. At Polperro (East Cornwall) the attendants -acted as trumpeters; the bullocks' horns used by the fishermen at sea -for fog or night signals were always available for the purpose. The -mummers were very cautious, by careful disguise in dress or voice, -and avoiding of anything directly libellous in their rather ribald -dialogue, to keep themselves out of the clutches of the law. I remember -one riding when an old rusty cannon of the smuggling period was waked -up from its long quiet for service for the occasion, and bursting, -led to the mutilation of several and the death of one." On the borders -of Devon and in that county this ceremony was known as a "mock-hunt." - -A lock of hair hanging down over the forehead is in Cornwall called -"a widow's lock;" (and children are still here told when it falls down -"to shed their hair back out of their eyes.") A foolish warning says, - - - "Go thro' a gate when there's a stile hard by, - You'll be a widow before you die." - - -The sudden appearance of rats or mice in Cornish houses is said to -be a certain forerunner of sickness and death. Many curious tales -are told in confirmation of this superstition; one I particularly -remember was in connection with a young man who was killed on the -West Cornwall Railway. After the accident, they vanished as quickly -as they came. It is also considered to be very unlucky for a bird -to perch on the window-sill of a sick person's room, farewell then -to all chances of recovery; and strange birds coming into a house -(especially a robin through the back door) foretell the death of -some one in it, or connected with the family. I was once where a -little child lay dying, a small brown bird sang on the window-sill, -the nurse told me that it was waiting to carry away the child's -soul. "But when a flea bites a sick person he is sure not to be -dangerously ill, as it is well known that they never bite those who -have had their death-stroke." The superstitions that you cannot die -easily on pillows stuffed with wild birds' feathers, and that life -goes out with the tide, are as current here as in other places. Death -in Cornwall is often spoken of as "going round land," and "gone dead" -is a common idiom. A threat to kill is occasionally conveyed in the -words "I will give you your quietus." In some cases it is supposed -that life may be restored after death if when the breath stops the -body be violently shaken. When a member of a family dies, his death -it is said will bring two others with it, [33] from the idea that one -misfortune never comes alone. A Cornish country vicarage was lately -startled by the tolling at an unwonted hour of the church bell. On -sending to ascertain the cause of the disturbance an "old inhabitant -was found in the belfry, who had been engaged in the absence or -illness of the usual sexton to dig the grave. He said in explanation -that in his time it was always usual for the gravedigger to toll the -bell three times before breaking the consecrated ground."--J. H. C., -Notes and Queries, 5th series, vol. ii., August, 1874. - -A corpse should never be carried to church by a new road, and should -a hearse stop on its way to the churchyard there will soon be another -death in the house. Singing funerals, or as they are called in Cornwall -buryings (pronounced "berrins"), were once almost universal (and one -may still occasionally be met). The mourners and friends following -the coffin sang as they walked through the streets or lanes their -favourite hymns, often to most elaborate tunes. - - - "To shaw our sperrits lev-us petch [34] - The laast new berrin tune."--Tregellas. - - -Few people in old days were buried on the north side of a -church. Flowers and shrubs planted in Cornish churchyards are never -plucked, from the fear that the spirits of the departed will at night -visit the desecrator. Should an urn found in a "barrow" be taken -into a house, the person whose ashes it contained will haunt it; -it must be broken up and the pieces hidden. Cross-roads, the former -burying-place of suicides, are after nightfall avoided, such spots -being haunted; but if you have courage to go there at midnight and -wish, you will get your wish. - -With a few general superstitions I shall bring this part to an -end. It is unlucky in Cornwall to see the new moon first over the left -shoulder, or through a window, especially if the day should happen -to be a Friday. To ensure good luck on your first sight of her, you -should curtsey, spit on your money and turn it in your pocket. (A -man well paid for any chance job early in the day calls it here "a -hansel," and spits on the money for good luck.) If you particularly -desire anything, look at the new moon and wish before you speak. You -may also wish when you see a falling star, and if you can succeed in -framing it before it disappears your wish will be granted. Seeing the -new moon in the old moon's arms is a sign of a change in the weather, -so is a star passing over it. The change will be for the worse if the -moon goes over the star. "Herbs for drying must be gathered at full -moon; winter fruit picked and stored at full moon, not to lose its -plumpness. Timber should be felled on the bating of the moon, because -the sap is then down, and the wood will be more durable."--Bottrell. - -Card-table Superstitions:--"Good luck in cards, bad luck in a husband -(or wife)." "A shuffling cut is good for the dealer." "1 2 3 4 played -in succession kiss the dealer." To cut an honour for the trump card is -unlucky, for "When quality opens the door there is poverty behind;" -but "Good luck lurks under a black deuce" (it should be touched by -the cutter). - -Superstitions connected with the body:--A twitching in the eyelid is -lucky; but you must not say when it comes nor when it goes. - -Right eye itching, a sign of laughter; but left over right, you'll -cry before night. - -Right cheek burning, some one praising you; left one, abusing (a -knot tied in the apron-string will cause the slanderer to bite his -or her tongue); but left or right are both good at night. "If the -cheek burns, someone is talking scandal of you. I have often heard -the lines spoken:-- - - - Right cheek! left cheek! why do you burn? - Cursed be she that doth me any harm; - If she be a maid, let her be staid; - If she be a widow, long let her mourn; - But if it be my own true love--burn, cheek, burn!"--T. Q. Couch. - - -Nose itching, you will be kissed, cursed, or vexed; or shake hands -with a fool. - -Right hand itching, someone will pay or give you money; but the left -you will be the payer. In regard to the former, - - - "If you rub it on wood, - It will be sure to come good." - - Sneeze on Sunday morning fasting, - Enjoy your true love for everlasting. - - -On every other morning it is lucky to sneeze once before breakfast; -but not twice. - -Fire Superstitions:--A difficulty in kindling the fire in the mornings -is a sign of anger; burning only on one side, of a separation in -the family (some say of a wedding). A flake of smut on the bar -of the grate shows that a stranger is coming to the house. Should -the fire be burning brightly, he will bring good news; but if the -contrary, bad. If after you poke the fire it burns up brightly, your -sweetheart is in a good temper; but should it not improve he is in a -bad one. A coal popping out of the fire is either a cradle or coffin, -or a purse. It is allowed to cool and then examined to find out the -shape; if pronounced to be a purse, it is shaken close to the ear, -when should it jingle it is said to contain money. I once saw this done -in a school by its mistress. It is unlucky to put a bellows on a table. - -"Ladies' trees," small branches of dried seaweed, are sometimes hung -up in chimneys to protect houses from fire; or a Passover biscuit -suspended by a string from a nail in the wall. - -A bright spark on a candle foretells a letter, but if pointed out it -never arrives. - -There are so many unlucky omens in Cornwall that to believe in -them all would make life miserable, and to enumerate them would -fill a volume. The major part of them too are silly and not worth -transcribing; three or four of them as examples will, I am quite sure, -amply suffice. "A work begun on Friday is never ended." - - - "If you sing afore bite, - You'll cry before night." - - -"It is unlucky to sing carols before Christmas;" or before the first -"arish mow [35]" is made. Also, "To scat [36] hands before Christmas," -i.e., beat them for warmth. - -"It is unlucky to pour out water or any other liquor back-handed." - -"It is unlucky to lend, or say thank you for a pin." And - - - "If you see a pin, and pass it by, - You'll want a pin before you die." - - -"It is unlucky to mend your clothes on you, for then you will never -grow rich." - -It is unlucky to wear a hole in the bottom of a shoe, for - - - "A hole in the sole, - You'll live to spend whole." - - -Servants who come to their places after noon never stay, etc., etc. - - - - - - - - -CORNISH GAMES. - - -Many old games worth recording are still played by Cornish children, -out of doors in summer, indoors in winter, and at their numerous -school-treats. To those common elsewhere, other names in Cornwall are -often given, and different words sung. Some well known thirty-five -years ago, now (1890) live only in the memory of those who were -children then, or linger in a very fragmentary state in some remote -country districts. Such as - - - "Here come three dukes a-riding." - - -To play this the children were divided into two parties. In the first -were only the three dukes; in the second the other players, who stood -in a long line, linked hand in hand, facing them,--the mother in the -middle, with her daughters ranged according to size on each side of -her. One duke was chosen as spokesman, and he began the following -dialogue, which was sung; the party singing advanced and retreated, -whilst the others stood still:-- - - - "Here 'comes' three dukes a-riding, a-riding-- - Here 'comes' three dukes a-riding, to court your daughter Jane." - - "My daughter Jane is yet too young - To bear your silly, flattering tongue." - - "Be she young or be she old, - She for her beauty must and shall be sold." - - "So fare thee well, my lady gay, - We'll take our horse and ride away, - And call again another day." - - "Come back! come back! you Spanish knight, - And clean your spurs, they are not bright." - - "My spurs are bright as 'rickety rock' (and richly wrought), - And in this town they were not bought, - And in this town they shan't be sold, - Neither for silver, copper, nor gold. - So fare thee well," etc. - - "Come back! come back! you Spanish Jack (or coxcomb)." - - "Spanish Jack (or coxcomb) is not my name, - I'll stamp my foot (stamps) and say the same. - So fare thee well," etc. - - "Come back! come back! you Spanish knight, - And choose the fairest in your sight." - - -The dukes retired, consulted together, and then selected one, singing-- - - - "This is the fairest I can see, - So pray young damsel walk with me." - - -When all the daughters had been taken away, they were brought back -to their mother in the same order, the dukes chanting:-- - - - "We've brought your daughter, safe and sound, - And in her pocket a thousand pound, - And on her finger a gay gold ring, - We hope you won't refuse to take her in." - - "I'll take her in with all my heart, - For she and 'me' were loth to part." - - -The Rev. S. Rundle, vicar of Godolphin, near Helston, saw some -children lately in his neighbourhood playing a portion of this game, -when to "Here comes three dukes a-riding" they added--"My rancy, dancy -dukes." Mr. Halliwell Phillips, in his Nursery Rhymes and Tales of -England, has published three versions of it, but the game as played -in Cornwall has some additional couplets. - - - - -PRAY, PRETTY MISS. - -For this--quite, I think, a thing of the past--the children (a boy -and girl alternately) formed a ring. One stood in the middle holding -a white handkerchief by two of its corners: if a boy he would single -out one of the girls, dance backwards and forwards opposite to her, -and sing-- - - - "Pray, pretty Miss, will you come out? - Will you come out? will you come out? - Pray, pretty Miss, will you come out, - To help me in my dancing?" - - -If the answer were "No!" spoken with averted head over the left -shoulder, the rhyme ran-- - - - "Then you are a naughty Miss! - Then you are a naughty Miss! - Then you are a naughty Miss! - Won't help me in my dancing." - - -Occasionally three or four in turn refused. When the request was -granted the words were changed to-- - - - "Now you are a good Miss! - Now you are a good Miss! - Now you are a good Miss! - To help me in my dancing." - - -The handkerchief was then carefully spread on the floor; the couple -knelt on it and kissed: the child formerly in the middle joined the -ring, and the other took his place, or if he preferred it, remained in -the centre; in that case the children clasped hands and sang together-- - - - "Pray, pretty Miss (or Sir)," etc. - - -The last to enter the ring had always the privilege of selecting the -next partner. - -In all these childish games, to prevent disputes, and decide who shall -be middleman, hide first, etc., one or other of the following formulæ -is always recited by the eldest of the party, who as he repeats the -words points with his forefinger at each player in succession until -he comes to the end of the rhyme. The person then indicated goes out:-- - - - "Vizzery, vazzery, vozery-vem, - Tizzery, tazzery, tozery-tem, - Hiram, jiram, cockrem, spirem, - Poplar, rollin, gem." - - "There stands a pretty maid in a black cap, - If you want a pretty maid in a black cap, - Please to take 'she.'"--(East Cornwall). - - "Ene, mene, mona, mi, - Pasca, lara, bona (or bora), bi, - Elke, belke, boh!" - - "Eggs, butter, cheese, bread, - Stick, stack, stone, dead!"--(West Cornwall). - - -To this latter there are several nonsensical modern editions. - -A game with a jingle somewhat like the first is played by children -at Newlyn West, near Penzance, called-- - - - "Vesey, vasey, vum." - - -One child is blindfolded, the others hide something, and shout-- - - - "Vesey, vasey, vum, - Buck-a-boo has come! - Find if you can and take it home, - Vesey, vasey, vum!" - - -A search is then made for the hidden object: when found the finder -in his turn is blindfolded. - -After this digression I will give all the other forgotten games before -describing those still played. - - - - -"FRISKEE, FRISKEE, I WAS, AND I WAS." - -Known elsewhere as "Now we dance looby, looby, looby." To play it -the children formed a ring and danced around, singing-- - - - "Friskee, friskee, I was, and I was - A drinking of small beer." - - -They then stopped suddenly and said, "Right arms in!" (all were -extended towards the centre of the circle); "Right arms out!" (all -wheeled round with arms outstretched in the contrary direction); -"Shake yourselves a little and little and turn yourselves about." The -circle was reformed, "Friskee," etc., was repeated, and the game went -on until all the different parts of the body had been named. - - - - -"FOOL, FOOL, COME TO SCHOOL." - -All the children in this game, except one who left the room, called -themselves by the name of some bird, beast or fish. The child outside -was brought in, and one chosen as schoolmaster said-- - - - "Fool! fool! come to school, - And find me out the ----:" - - -giving the assumed name of one of the players. If the fool fixed on -the right person, he stayed in and the other went out, which of course -involved re-naming; but if he made a mistake they all cried out-- - - - "Fool! fool! go back to school, - And learn your letters better." - - -He retired, pretended to knock his head against the door, and returned, -when he was again asked in the same words to name some other player. - -Some of the games were much rougher, such as "Pig in the middle and -can't get out," and "Solomon had a great dog." - -For the first, one of the children stood in the centre, whilst the -others danced around him in a circle, saying, "Pig in the middle and -can't get out." He replied, "I've lost my key but I will get out," -and threw the whole weight of his body suddenly on the clasped hands -of a couple to try and unlock them. When he had succeeded he changed -the words to, "I've broken your locks, and I have got out." - -One of the pair whose hands he had opened took his place, and he -joined the ring. - -For the second, the players knelt in a line; the one at the head, -in a very solemn tone, chanted, "Solomon had a great dog;" the others -answered in the same way, "Just so" (this was always the refrain). Then -the first speaker made two or three more ridiculous speeches, ending -with, "And at last this great dog died, and fell down," giving at -the same time a violent lurch against his next neighbour, who, not -expecting it, fell against his, and so on to the end of the line. - - - - -"SCAT" (Cornish for "slap"). - -A paper-knife, or thin slip of wood, was placed by one player on -his open palm. Another took it up quickly, and tried to "scat" his -opponent's hand before he could draw it away. Sometimes a feint of -taking the paper-knife was made three or four times before it was -really done. When the "scat" was given, the "scatter" in his turn -rested the knife on his palm. - - - - -HOLE IN THE WALL. - -A person, who did not know the trick, was blindfolded, another stood -in the corner of the room with his mouth open. The forefinger of -the blindfolded player was carefully guided around the walls of the -room to find the hole, until at last it was put into the open mouth, -when it was sharply bitten. - - - - -MALAGA, MALAGA RAISINS (a forfeit game). - -The players sat in a circle. One acquainted with the trick took a poker -in his right hand, made some eccentric movements with it, passed it -to his left, and gave it to his next neighbour on that side, saying, -"Malaga, Malaga raisins, very good raisins I vow," and told him to -do the same. Should he fail to pass it from right to left, when he -in his turn gave it to his neighbour, without being told where the -mistake lay he was made to pay a forfeit. - - - - -SHE SAID, AND SHE SAID. - -This required a confederate, who left the room. The other in the secret -asked a person inside to whisper to him whom she (or he) loved, then -called in his companion, and the following dialogue was carried on:-- - - - "She said, and she said! - And what did she say?" - - "She said that she loved." - - "And whom did she love? - Suppose she said she loved ----?" - - "No! she never said that, whatever she said." - - -An indefinite number of names were mentioned before the right one. When -that came, to the surprise of the whisperer, the answer was-- - - - "Yes! she said that." - - -The secret was very simple, the name of a widow or widower was always -given before that whispered. - -The two next are played everywhere, but the words I believe are -peculiar to Cornwall. - - - - -DROP THE HANDKERCHIEF. - -This is much too common to require a description. I will therefore only -give the doggerel, which is recited by the holder of the handkerchief -as he walks around the ring:-- - - - "I sent a letter to my love, - I carried water in my glove, - And by the way I dropped it. - I did so! I did so! - I had a little dog that said 'Bow! wow!' - I had a little cat that said 'Meow! meow!' - Shan't bite you, shan't bite you, - Shall bite you." - - -Throws the handkerchief, and chases the girl. - - - - -HOW MANY MILES TO BABYLON? - -To this game, known elsewhere as "Thread the Needle," the following -lines are chanted:-- - - - "How many miles to Babylon? - Three score and ten. - Can I get there by candle-light? - Yes! if your legs are long and straight. - Then open your gates as high as the sky, - And let King George and all his troops pass by." - - - - -RULES OF CONTRARY. - -Four children hold a handkerchief by the four corners, one moves a -finger over it saying, as fast as possible-- - - - "Here I go round the rules of contrary, - Hopping about like a little canary, - When I say 'Hold fast' leave go; - When I say 'Leave go' hold fast." - - -Any player making a mistake pays a forfeit. - - - - -LADY QUEEN ANNE. - -A very pretty version of this old English game is often played at -juvenile parties in Cornwall. - -One child is chosen to remain in the room, whilst the others go -outside and consult together as to whom shall hold the ball (some small -thing). They then troop in, with their hands either hidden under the -skirts of their dresses, or clasped in such a way that Lady Queen Anne, -by looking at them, cannot tell which has it; all repeating-- - - - "Here come we to Lady Queen Anne, - With a pair of white gloves to cover our hand; - As white as a lily, as fair as the rose, - But not so fair as you may suppose." - - L. Q. A. "Turn, ladies, turn!" - - (Whirl round.) "The more we turn the more we may, - Queen Anne was born on Midsummer day." - - L. Q. A. "The king sent me three letters, I never read them all, - So pray, Miss ----, deliver the ball." - - -Should she have guessed correctly, all the party curtsey, and say-- - - - "The ball is yours and not ours, - You must go to the garden and gather the flowers." - - -And the child who had the ball takes the queen's seat, whilst she -retires with the others; but should she have made a mistake, the same -party go out again, saying as they curtsey-- - - - "The ball is yours and not ours, - (Repeat) We," etc. - - -Mr. Halliwell Phillips, in his book before quoted, has shorter versions -of this, with different rhymes. - -Another game which has descended from generation to generation is-- - - - - -OLD WITCH. - -The children chose from their party an old witch (who is supposed -to hide herself) and a mother. The other players are the daughters, -and are called by the names of the week. The mother says that she is -going to market, and will bring home for each the thing that she most -wishes for. Upon this they all name something. Then, after telling them -upon no account to allow anyone to come into the house, she gives her -children in charge of her eldest daughter Sunday, and goes away. In a -moment, the witch makes her appearance, and asks to borrow some trifle. - -Sunday at first refuses, but, after a short parley, goes into the next -room to fetch the required article. In her absence the witch steals the -youngest of the children (Saturday), and runs off with her. Sunday, -on her return, seeing that the witch has left, thinks there must be -something wrong, and counts the children, saying, "Monday, Tuesday," -etc., until she comes to Saturday, who is missing. She then pretends -to cry, wrings her hands, and sobs out--"Mother will beat me when -she comes home." - -On the mother's return, she, too, counts the children, and, -finding Saturday gone, asks Sunday where she is. Sunday answers, -"Oh, mother! an old witch called, and asked to borrow ----, and, -whilst I was fetching it, she ran off with Saturday." The mother -scolds and beats her, tells her to be more careful in the future, -and again sets off for the market. This is repeated until all the -children but Sunday have been stolen. Then the mother and Sunday, -hand in hand, go off to search for them. They meet the old witch, -who has them all crouching down in a line behind her. - -Mother. Have you seen my children? - -O. W. Yes! I think, by Eastgate. - -The mother and Sunday retire, as if to go there, but, not finding them, -again return to the witch, who this time sends them to Westgate, -then to Southgate and Northgate. At last one of the children pops -her head up over the witch's shoulder, and cries out, "Here we are, -mother." Then follows this dialogue:-- - -M. I see my children, may I go in? - -O. W. No! your boots are too dirty. - -M. I will take them off. - -O. W. Your stockings are too dirty. - -M. I will take them off. - -O. W. Your feet are too dirty. - -M. I will cut them off. - -O. W. Then the blood will stream over the floor. - -The mother at this loses patience, and pushes her way in, the witch -trying in vain to keep her out. She, with all her children, then chase -the witch until they catch her; when they pretend to bind her hand -and foot, put her on a pile, and burn her, the children fanning the -imaginary flames with their pinafores. Sometimes the dialogue after -"Here we are, mother," is omitted, and the witch is at once chased. - -Mr. Halliwell Phillips calls this the "Game of the Gipsy," and gives -some rhymes to which it is played, but I have never heard them in -this county. - -The next, a game quite unknown to me, I took down from the lips of -a little girl in West Cornwall, in 1882, who told me it was a great -favourite with her and her playmates. - - - - -GHOST AT THE WELL. - -One of the party is chosen for ghost (if dressed in white so much -the better); she hides in a corner; the other children are a mother -and daughters. The eldest daughter says: - -"Mother, mother, please give me a piece of bread and butter." - -M. Let me (or "leave me") look at your hands, child. Why, they are -very dirty. - -E. D. I will go to the well and wash them. - -She goes to the corner, the ghost peeps up, and she rushes back, -crying out-- - -"Mother! mother! I have seen a ghost." - -M. Nonsense, child! it was only your father's nightshirt I have washed -and hung out to dry. Go again. - -The child goes, and the same thing happens. She returns, saying-- - -"Yes, mother! I have seen a ghost." - -M. Nonsense, child! we will take a candle, and all go together to -search for it. The mother picks up a twig for a candle, and they -set off. When they come near to the ghost, she appears from her -hiding-place, mother and children rush away in different directions; -the ghost chases them until she has caught one, who in her turn -becomes ghost. - - - - -MOTHER, MOTHER, MAY I GO OUT TO PLAY? - -I thought this game was a thing of the past, but I came on some -children playing it in the streets of Penzance, in 1883. It may be -played by any number, and, as in the two former games, one is chosen -for mother. This is the dialogue: - -C. Mother, mother, may I (or we) go out to play? - -M. No, child! no, child! not for the day. - -C. Why, mother? why, mother? I won't stay long. - -M. Make three pretty courtesies, and away! begone! - -C. One for mammy, one for daddy, one for Uncle John. - -The child, as she mentions the names, spreads out the skirts of her -dress and courtesies, after which she retires to a little distance, -and then returns. - -M. Where, child! where, child! have you been all the day? - -C. Up to granny's. - -M. What have you been doing there? - -The answer to this is often "Washing dolls' clothes," but anything -may be mentioned. - -M. What did she give you? - -The reply is again left to the child's fancy. - -M. Where's my share? - -C. The cat ate it. What's in that box, mother? - -M. Twopence, my child. - -C. What for, mother? - -M. To buy a stick to beat you, and a rope to hang you, my child. - -The child at this tries to snatch at the box, the mother chases her -until she has caught her (when there are several children, until she -has caught one), she then pretends to beat her, and puts her hands -around her neck as if she were going to hang her. - - - - -HERE I SIT ON A COLD GREEN BANK. - -The children form a ring around one of the party, who sits in the -middle, and says: - - - "Here I sit on a cold green bank, - On a cold and frosty morning." - - -Then those in the circle dance round her, singing: - - - "We'll send a young man (or woman) to take you away, - To take you away, to take you away; - We'll send a young man to take you away, - On a cold and frosty morning." - - Child. "Pray tell me what his name shall be?" - - -Or, - - - "Pray, whom will you send to take me away?" - - Circle. "We'll send Mr. ---- to take you away." - - -This is repeated three times with the refrain, "On a cold," etc. after -which the dancing and singing cease, and the child is asked, "Sugar, -sweet, or vinegar, sour?" Her answer is always taken in a contrary -sense, and sung, as before, three times, whilst the children circle -round. The one in the middle then rises to her feet. The boy (or -girl) named advances and kisses her, they change places, and the game -begins again. - - - - -JOGGLE ALONG. - -This is a very favourite open-air game. To play it there must be an -uneven number. He (or she) stands in the middle, whilst the others, -arm in arm, circle around him singing:-- - - - "Come all ye young men, with your wicked ways, - Sow all your wild oats in your youthful days, - That we may live happy, that we may live happy, - That we may live happy when we grow old. - The day is far spent, the night's coming on, - Give us your arm, and we'll 'joggle along.'" - That we may live happy, etc., etc. - - -At the words "joggle along," they all drop the arm of the person they -are leading, and try to catch the arm of the player in front of them, -whilst the middle man tries at the same time to get a partner. Should -he succeed, the player left without one takes his place. (Repeat.) - -I am indebted to the Rev. S. Rundle, vicar of Godolphin, for another -set of words to this game, which he calls-- - - - - -THE JOLLY MILLER, - -And, under this title, a lady, two years since, saw some children -playing it at St. Ives, in Cornwall. - - - "There was a jolly miller, lived by himself, - By grinding corn he got his wealth; - One hand in the upper, the other in the bag, - As the wheel went round, they all called 'Grab.'" - - -In this county "Tom Tiddler's Ground" is known as "Mollish's Land," -"Cat and Mouse" as "The Duffan Ring," and "Blind Man's Buff" as -"Blind Buck-a-Davy." To this last the following words are repeated, -which I have never seen in print. One of the players takes the blind -person by the shoulders, and says: - -"How many horses has your father got in his stables?" - -A. Three. - -"What colour are they?" - -A. Red, white, and grey. - -(Whirling him round.) "Then turn about, and twist about, and catch -whom you may." - -To make barley bread (in other districts, "Cockley bread") this rhyme -is used in West Cornwall:-- - - - "Mother has called, mother has said, - 'Make haste home, and make barley bread.' - Up with your heels, down with your head, - That is the way to make barley bread." - - - - -BOBBY BINGO. - -Of this, which is a very common game at school-treats in some parts -of West Cornwall, I have only lately, through the kindness of the -Rev. S. Rundle, succeeded in getting a description. He saw some -children, in 1884, playing it in his parish (Godolphin, Helston). A -ring is formed, into the middle of which goes a child holding a stick, -the others with joined hands run round in a circle, singing-- - - - "There was a farmer had a dog, - His name was Bobby Bingo; - B. I. N. G. O., - His name was Bobby Bingo." - - -When they have finished singing they cease running, whilst the one -in the centre pointing with his stick asks them in turn to spell -Bingo. If they all spell it correctly they again move round singing; -but, should either of them make a mistake, he or she has to take the -place of the middle man. - - - - -WEIGH THE BUTTER, WEIGH THE CHEESE, - -is rather dangerous, and now but rarely played. Two children stand -back to back with their arms locked. One stoops as low as he can, -supporting the other on his back, and says, "Weigh the butter;" he -rises, and the second stoops in his turn with "Weigh the cheese." The -first repeats with "Weigh the old woman;" and it ends by the second, -with "Down to her knees." - - - - -LIBBETY, LIBBETY, LIBBETY-LAT. - -A game of a very different character, which pleases young children. The -child stands before a hassock, and as if he were going up-stairs puts -on it first his right and then his left foot, gradually quickening -his steps, keeping time to the words:-- - - - "Libbety, libbety, libbety-lat, - Who can do this? and who can do that? - And who can do anything better than that?" - - -This ends the games in which children of both sexes join. I must next -give those exclusively for boys. I will begin by a very old one: - - - - -SHIP SAIL - -is a game usually played with marbles; one boy puts his hand into his -trousers pocket and takes out as many marbles as he feels inclined; -he closes his fingers over them, and holds out his hand with the palm -down to the opposite player, saying, "Ship sail, sail fast. How many -men on board?" A guess is made by his opponent; if less, he has to -give as many marbles as will make up the true number; if more, as -many as he said over. But should the guess be correct he takes them, -and then in his turn says "Ship sail," etc. - - - - -BUCK SHEE, BUCK, - -is another game of chance, and is generally played by three boys in -the following way. One stands with his back to a wall, the second -stoops down with his head against the stomach of the first boy, -"forming a back," the third jumps on it, and holds up his hand with -the fingers distended, saying-- - - - "Buck shee, buck, shee buck, - How many fingers do I hold up?" - - -Should the stooper guess correctly, they all change places and the -jumper forms the back. Another and not such a rough way of playing -this game is for the guesser to stand with his face towards a wall, -keeping his eyes shut. - -Leap-frog is known in Cornwall as "Leap the long-mare," and there is -a curious variation of it called-- - - - - -ACCROSHAY. - -A cap or small article is placed on the back of the stooping boy -by each in turn as he jumps over him. The first as he jumps says -"Accroshay," the second "Ashotay," the third "Assheflay," and the last -"Lament, lament, Leleeman's (or Leleena's) war." The boy who in jumping -knocks off either of the things has to take the place of the stooper. - - - - -BUCKEY-HOW. - -For this the boys divide into sides; one "stops at home," the other -goes off to a certain distance agreed on beforehand and shouts -"Buckey-how." The boys "at home" then give chase, and, when they -succeed in catching an adversary, they bring him home and there he -stays until all on his side are caught, when they in turn become -the chasers. - - - - -CUTTERS AND TRUCKLERS (SMUGGLERS). - -A remembrance of the old smuggling days. The boys divide into two -parties; the "trucklers" try to reach some given point before the -cutter catches them. - - - - -MARBLE PLAYING - -is a favourite recreation with the young fishermen in West Cornwall; -"Pits" and "Towns" are the common games. Boys who hit their nails are -looked on with great contempt, and are said "to fire Kibby." When two -are partners and one in playing accidentally hits the other's marble, -he cries out "no custance," meaning that he has a right to put back -the marble struck; should he fail to do so, it would be considered -out of the game. To steal marbles is "to strakey." - -To make ducks and drakes with a stone on the water is in Cornwall -called "Tic-Tac-Mollard." - - - - -COCK-HAW. - -This game is, I believe, known in other counties as "Cob-nut," but -in Cornwall the boys give the name of "Victor-nut" to the fruit of -the common hazel, and play it to the words: - - - "Cock-haw! First blaw! Up hat! Down cap! Victor!" - - -The nut that cracks another is called a "cock battler." - -Children under the title of "Cock battler" often in country walks -play a variation of Cock-haw with the "Hoary plantain," which they -hold by the tough stem about two inches from the head; each in turn -tries to knock off the head of his opponent's flower. - - - - -WINKY-EYE. - -A rural game, played in the spring. An egg taken from a bird's nest -is placed on the ground, at some distance off--the number of paces -having been previously fixed. Blindfolded, one after the other, -the players attempt with a stick to hit and break it. - - - - -UPPA, UPPA HOLYE (pronounced oopa, oopa holly). - -When the writer was a boy, the following were the words used in the -boys' game of fox-hunting. When the hounds (the boys) were "at fault" -the leader cried-- - - - "Uppa, uppa holye, - If you don't speak - My dogs shan't folly." - - (East Cornwall. F. W. P. Jago, M.B., Plymouth.) - - -Boys here, as probably elsewhere, are very fond of hitting each other -and then running away, shouting-- - - - "Last blaw, never graw, - For seven years to come." - - -The old Cornish game of "Hurling" I have already described under the -head of "Feasten Customs." Cricket, football, and lawn tennis are of -course played in Cornwall. - - - - -TOM TODDY, - -an old drinking game, now I expect known to but few. Each person in -succession has to drink a glass of beer or spirits, on the top of -which a piece of lighted candle has been put, whilst the others sing-- - - - "Tom Toddy es come hoam, come hoam, - Tom Toddy es come hoam, - Weth es eyes burnt, and his nawse burnt, - And es eye-lids burnt also. - Tom Toddy es," etc. - - -Specimens of Cornish Provincial Dialect.--Uncle Jan Trenoodle. - - -Of the old dance "Letterpooch," the name only is remembered. - - - - - - - - -BALLADS, Etc. - - -There are a few well-known old Cornish ballads, which have already been -printed and reprinted; my apology for again introducing them here, must -be, that a work of this kind would not be complete without them. "John -Dory," "An old ballad on a Duke of Cornwall's Daughter," "The Stout -Cripple of Cornwall," and "The Baarley Mow," may all be found in -Specimens of Cornish Provincial Dialect, by Uncle Jan Trenoodle -(Sandys); "Tweedily, Tweedily, Twee,"--Through Rev. S. Rundle, in -Transactions Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society, 1887-88; -"Ye sexes give ear to my fancy," T. Q. Couch, Polperro, Cornwall; and -"A fox went forth one moonshining night," Edward Pole, in Notes and -Queries, 1854; "The Long Hundred," a song of Numbers, W. Pengelly, -Notes and Queries, 1873; "When shall we be married?" which I heard -many years ago in Scilly, and of which I only remember three verses, -I have never seen in print. - -The Rev. S. Baring Gould, M.A., is now making a collection of the -"Traditional Ballads and Songs of the West of England." Part I. has -been published; it contains "Sweet Nightingale," said to be a favourite -with the miners of Cornwall and Devon; this must be in North Cornwall, -as the nightingale is unknown in the western part of the county, -scared away, according to the country-folk, "by the sweet singing of -its men and women." And "The Hunting of Arscott of Tetcot," of which -as it has been recast, I will only transcribe the first four lines. - - - "In the month of November, in the year fifty-two (1652), - Three jolly fox-hunters, all sons of the blue, - Came o'er from Pencarrow, not fearing a wet coat, - To have some diversion, with Arscott of Tetcot," etc. - - -"Trelawny" was for many years supposed to be a genuine old Cornish -ballad, and as such was accepted and admired by several well-known -literary men; but it was written by the late Rev. R. Hawker, Vicar -of Morwenstowe; only the lines-- - - - "And shall Trelawny die? - Here's twenty thousand Cornishmen, - Will know the reason why!"-- - - -being ancient. - - - - -JOHN DORY. - - - As it fell on a holy day, - And upon a holytide a: - John Dory brought him an ambling nag, - To Paris for to ride a. - - And when John Dory to Paris was come, - A little before the gate a; - John Dory was fitted, the porter was witted, - To let him in thereat a. - - The first man that John Dory did meet, - Was good King John of France a; - John Dory could well of his courtesie, - But fell down in a trance a. - - A pardon, a pardon, my liege and my king, - For my merry men and for me a: - And all the churls in merry England - I'll bring them bound to thee a. - - And Nichol was then a Cornish man - A little beside Bohyde a; - He manned him forth a goodly bark, - With fifty good oars of a side a. - - Run up, my boy, into the main top, - And look what thou can'st spy a; - Who, ho! who, ho! a good ship do I see, - I trow it be John Dory a. - - They hoist their sails both top and top, - The mizen and all was tried a, - And every man stood to his lot, - Whatever should betide a. - - The roaring cannons then were plied, - And dub-a-dub went the drum a: - The braying trumpets loud they cried, - To courage both all and some a. - - The grappling hooks were brought at length, - The brown bill and the sword a; - John Dory at length, for all his strength, - Was clapt fast under board a. - - -This song is mentioned by Carew in his Survey of Cornwall; in it he -says--"the prowesse of one Nicholas, sonne to a widdow neere Foy is -deskanted upon." (He was one of the "Fowey gallants.") - - - - -AN OLD BALLAD, - -ON A DUKE OF CORNWALL'S DAUGHTER; - -WHO AFTER HER MARRIAGE TO A KING OF ALBION, WAS DIVORCED FOR THE SAKE -OF A FAVOURITE MISTRESS; AND HER EXEMPLARY REVENGE ON THEM BOTH. - - - When Humber in his wrathful rage - King Albanact in field had slain, - Whose bloody broils for to assuage, - King Locrin then applied his pain; - And with a host of Britons stout, - At length he found king Humber out: - - At vantage great he met him then, - And with his host beset him so, - That he destroyed his warlike men, - And Humber's power did overthrow; - And Humber, which for fear did fly, - Leapt into a river desp'rately; - - And being drowned in the deep, - He left a lady there alive, - Which sadly did lament and weep, - For fear they should her life deprive. - But by her face that was so fair, - The king was caught in Cupid's snare: - - He took this lady to his love, - Who secretly did keep it still; - So that the queen did quickly prove, - The king did bear her most good will: - Which though by wedlock late begun, - He had by her a gallant son. - - Queen Guendolin was griev'd in mind, - To see the king was alter'd so: - At length the cause she chanc'd to find, - Which brought her to much bitter woe. - For Estrild was his joy (God wot), - By whom a daughter he begot. - - The Duke of Cornwall being dead, - The father of that gallant queen: - The king with lust being overlaid, - His lawful wife he cast off clean: - Who with her dear and tender son, - For succour did to Cornwall run. - - Then Locrin crowned Estrild bright, - And made of her his lawful wife: - With her which was his heart's delight, - He sweetly thought to lead his life. - Thus Guendolin, as one forlorn, - Did hold her wretched life in scorn. - - But when the Cornish men did know - The great abuse she did endure, - With her a number great did go, - Which she by prayer did procure. - In battle then they march'd along, - For to redress this grievous wrong. - - And near a river called Store, - The king with all his host she met; - Where both the armies fought full sore, - But yet the queen the field did get: - Yet ere they did the conquest gain, - The king was with an arrow slain. - - Then Guendolin did take in hand, - Until her son was come to age, - The government of all the land; - But first her fury to assuage, - She did command her soldiers wild, - To drown both Estrild and her child. - - Incontinent then they did bring - Fair Estrild to the river-side, - And Sabrine, daughter to a king, - Whom Guendolin could not abide; - Who being bound together fast, - Into the river they were cast: - - And ever since that running stream - Wherein the ladies drowned were, - Is called Severn through the realm, - Because that Sabrine died there. - Thus those that did to lewdness bend, - Were brought unto a woful end. - - - - -YE SEXES GIVE EAR. - - - Ye sexes give ear to my fancy; - In the praise of good women I sing. - It is not of Doll, Kate, nor Nancy, - The mate of a clown nor a king. - - Old Adam when he was created, - Was lord of the universe round; - But his happiness was not completed, - Until that a helpmate was found. - - He had all things for food that was wanting, - Which give us content in this life; - He had horses and foxes for hunting, - Which many love more than a wife. - - He'd a garden so planted by nature, - As man can't produce in this life; - But yet the all-wise great Creator - Saw still that he wanted a wife. - - Old Adam was laid in a slumber, - And there he lost part of his side; - And when he awoke, in great wonder - He beheld his most beautiful bride. - - With transport he gazed all on her, - His happiness then was complete; - And he blessed the bountiful Donor, - Who on him bestowed a mate. - - She was not took out of his head, - To reign or to triumph o'er man: - She was not took out of his feet, - By man to be trampled upon. - - But she was took out of his side, - His equal and partner to be: - Though they are united in one, - Still the man is the top of the tree. - - Then let not the fair be despised - By man, as she's part of himself; - For a woman by Adam was prized - More than the whole world with its pelf. - - Then man without woman's a beggar, - Tho' of the whole world he's possessed; - And a beggar that has a good woman, - With more than the world he is blest. - - - - -A FOX WENT FORTH. - - - A fox went forth one moonshining night, - And he prayed to the moon to give him good light, - For he'd many miles to trot that night, - Before he got home to his den O, - His den O, his den O. - For he'd many miles to trot that night, - Before he got home to his den O. - - And when he came unto a wood, - As on his hinder legs he stood, - A little bit of goose will do me good, - Before I get home to my den O. - My den O, my den O. - - So off he set to a farmer's yard, - The ducks and the geese were all of them scared; - The best of you all shall grease my beard, - Before I get home to my den O. - - He seized the great goose by the neck - And flung it all across his back, - The young ones cried out, quack, quack, quack, - And the fox went home to his den O. - - Old mother Slipper-slopper jumped out of bed, - She open'd the window and popp'd out her head,-- - John! John! John! the great goose is dead. - And the fox has gone home to his den O. - - So John went up unto a hill, - And blew his horn both loud and shrill; - Says the fox This is very pretty music, still - I'd rather be safe in my den O. - - But when he came unto the den, - Where he had young ones, nine and ten, - Crying out, Daddy Fox, you must go there again, - For we think its a lucky town O. - - The fox and his wife they had such a strife, - They never ate a better goose in all their life; - They tore it abroad, without fork or knife, - And the little ones pick'd the bones O. - - - - -TWEEDILY, TWEEDILY, TWEE (North Cornwall). - - - There was an old couple and they were poor; - They lived in a house that had but one door, - Tweedily, tweedily, twee. - - Now this old man went far from home, - And left his old wife to stay at home, - Tweedily, tweedily, twee. - - Now this old man came home at last, - And found his door and windows fast, - Tweedily, tweedily, twee. - - Ah, I've bin sick whilst you've gone, - If you'd bin in the garden you could've heard me groan. - Tweedily, tweedily, twee. - - An I'm sorry for that, cries he; - An I'm sorry for that, cries he; - Tweedily, tweedily, twee. - - Then pluck me an apple from yonder tree, - That will I willingly do, cries he; - That will I willingly do, cries he; - Tweedily, tweedily, twee. - - Pop goes the ladder, and down goes he, - An that's cleverly done, cries she; - An that's cleverly done, cries she; - Tweedily, tweedily, twee. - - - - -WHEN SHALL WE BE MARRIED? - - - When shall we be married, Willy, my pretty lad? - To-morrow if you think it fit. - Not before to-morrow, Willy, my pretty lad? - Would you have me be married to-night? - I should think the girl was mad. - - What shall we have for dinner, Willy, my pretty lad? - Roast beef and plum pudding if you think it fit. - Shan't we have anything else, Willy, my pretty lad? - Would you have me to spend all my money? - I should think the girl was mad. - - Who shall we have to dinner, Willy, my pretty lad? - Father and mother, if you think it fit. - Shan't we have anyone else, Willy, my pretty lad? - Would you have me ask the king and queen? - I should think the girl was mad. - - - - -SWEET NIGHTINGALE. - - - My sweetheart, come along, - Don't you hear the fond song, - The sweet notes of the nightingale flow? - Don't you hear the fond tale - Of the sweet nightingale, - As she sings in the valley below? - - Pretty Betty, don't fail, - For I'll carry your pail - Safe home to your cot as we go; - You shall hear the fond tale - Of a sweet nightingale, - As she sings in the valley below. - - Pray let me alone, - I have hands of my own, - Along with you, Sir, I'll not go, - To hear the fond tale - Of the sweet nightingale, - As she sings in the valley below. - - Pray sit yourself down - With me on the ground, - On this bank where the primroses grow; - You shall hear the fond tale - Of the sweet nightingale, - As she sings in the valley below. - - The couple agreed, - And were married with speed, - And soon to the church did they go; - No more is she afraid - For to walk in the shade, - Nor sit in those valleys below. - - - - -THE STOUT CRIPPLE OF CORNWALL. - -WHEREIN IS SHEWED HIS DISSOLUTE LIFE AND DESERVED DEATH. - - - Of a stout cripple that kept the high-way, - And begg'd for his living all time of the day, - A story I'll tell you that pleasant shall be, - The Cripple of Cornwall surnamed was he. - - He crept on his hands and his knees up and down, - In a torn jacket and a ragged torn gown, - For he had never a leg to the knee; - The Cripple of Cornwall surnamed was he. - - He was of a stomach courageous and stout, - For he had no cause to complain of the gout; - To go upon stilts most cunning was he, - With a staff on his neck most gallant to see. - - Yea, no good fellowship would he forsake, - Were it in secret a horse for to take; - His stool he kept close in a hollow tree, - That stood from the city a mile, two, or three. - - Thus all the day long he begg'd for relief, - And all the night long he played the false thief; - For seven years together this custom kept he, - And no man knew him such a person to be. - - There were few graziers went on the way, - But unto the Cripple for passage did pay, - And every brave merchant that he did descry, - He emptied their purses ere they did pass by. - - The noble Lord Courtney, both gallant and bold, - Rode forth with great plenty of silver and gold, - At Exeter there a purchase to pay, - But that the false Cripple the journey did stay. - - For why, the false Cripple heard tidings of late, - As he sat for alms at the nobleman's gate; - This is, quoth the Cripple, a booty for me, - And I'll follow it closely as closely may be. - - Then to his companions the matter he mov'd, - Which their false actions before had prov'd; - They make themselves ready, and deeply they swear - The money's their own before they come there. - - Upon his two stilts the Cripple did mount, - To have the best share it was his full account, - All clothed in canvass down to the ground, - He took up his place his mates with him round. - - Then came the Lord Courtney with half-a-score men, - Yet little suspecting these thieves in their den, - And they perceiving them come to their hand, - In a dark evening bid them to stand. - - Deliver thy purse, quoth the Cripple, with speed, - We be good fellows and therefore have need, - Not so, quoth Lord Courtney, but this I'll tell ye, - Win it and wear it, else get none of me. - - With that the Lord Courtney stood in his defence, - And so did his servants, but, ere they went hence, - Two of the true men were slain in this fight, - And four of the thieves were put to the flight. - - And while for their safeguard they run thus away, - The jolly bold Cripple did hold them in play, - And with his pike-staff he wounded them so, - As they were unable to run or to go. - - With fighting the Lord Courtney was out of breath, - And most of his servants were wounded to death, - Then came other horsemen riding so fast, - The Cripple was forced to fly at the last. - - And over a river that run there beside, - Which was very deep, and eighteen foot wide, - With his long staff and his stilts leaped he, - And shifted himself in an old hollow tree; - - Then throughout the city was hue and cry made, - To have these thieves apprehended and staid; - The Cripple he creeps on his hands and his knees, - And in the high-way great passing he sees. - - And as they came riding he begging doth say, - O give me one penny, good masters, I pray, - And thus unto Exeter creeps he along, - No man suspecting that he had done wrong. - - Anon the Lord Courtney he spies in the street, - He comes unto him and kisses his feet, - God save your honor and keep you from ill, - And from the hands of your enemies still. - - Amen, quoth Lord Courtney, and therewith threw down - Unto the poor Cripple an English crown, - Away went the Cripple, and thus he did think, - Five hundred pounds more will make me to drink. - - In vain that hue and cry it was made, - They found none of them though the country was laid, - But this grieved the Cripple night and day, - That he so unluckily missed of his play. - - Nine hundred pounds this Cripple had got - By begging and thieving, so good was his lot; - A thousand pound he would make it, he said, - And then he would give over his trade. - - But as he striv'd his mind to fulfil, - In following his actions so lewd and so ill, - At last he was taken the law to suffice, - Condemned and hanged at Exeter 'size. - - Which made all men amazed to see - That such an impudent cripple as he - Should venture himself such actions as they, - To rob in such sort upon the high-way. - - - - -THE BAARLEY MOW (a harvest song). - - - Here's a health to the baarley mow, my braave boys, - Here's a health to the baarley mow. - We'll drenk et out of the jolly brown boul, - Here's a health to the baarley mow. - - Chorus. - - Here's a health to the baarley mow, my braave boys, - Here's a health to the baarley mow. - - We'll drenk et out of the nepperkin, [37] boys, - Here's a health to the baarley mow. - The nepperkin, and the jolly brown boul. - - Chorus.--Here's a health, etc. - - We'll drenk et out of the quaarter pint, boys, - Here's a health to the baarley mow. - The quaarter pint, nepperkin, and the jolly brown boul. - - Chorus.--Here's a health, etc. - - -This goes on through very many verses until all the different parts -of liquid measure are exhausted; the three last verses are-- - - - We'll drenk et out of the well, my braave boys, - Here's a health to the baarley mow. - The well, the hoosghead, [38] the haalf hoosghead, ainker, [39] - the haalf ainker, gallon, the pottle, the quaart, the - pint, the haalf a pint, quaarter pint, nepperkin, - and the jolly brown boul. - - Chorus.--Here's a health, etc. - - We'll drenk et out of the rever, my boys, - Here's a health to the baarley mow. - The rever, the well, etc. - - Chorus.--Here's a health, etc. - - We'll drenk et out of the ocean, my boys, - Here's a health to the baarley mow. - The ocean, the rever, the well, etc. - - Chorus.--Here's a health, etc. - - -"At Looe, in East Cornwall, it was usual forty years ago, and -probably it is still, for labourers to sing 'The Long Hundred' -(a song of numbers), when throwing ballast with shovels from a sand -barge into a ship. The object was said to be threefold; 'to keep time -(i.e. work simultaneously), to prevent anyone from shirking his share -of work, and to cheer themselves for the labour,' which was by no -means light. A shovelful of ballast was delivered by every man with -each line of the song, which ran thus:-- - - - - -THE LONG HUNDRED. - - - 'There goes one. - One there is gone. - Oh, rare one! - And many more to come - To make up the sum - Of the hundred so long. - - 'There goes,' etc. on to twenty. - - -"The song, it will be seen, consisted of twenty six-line stanzas; -hence when it was completed, each man had thrown on board one hundred -and twenty, i.e. 'a long hundred,' shovelfuls of ballast. After a -pause both the song and the ballasting were resumed, and so on to -the end."--W. Pengelly. - -There are a great many jingling local rhymes and modern dialect poems -not worth recording; I will only quote two of the first:-- - - - - -ELICOMPANE. - - - "What is your name?--Elicompane. - Who gave you that name?--My master and dame. - How long will you keep it?--As long as I like it. - How long will that be?--As long as me and my master agree." - - -Polwhele calls a tomtit "Elicompane;" and says "There is a vulgar -tradition that it is a bird by day and a toad by night." - - - - -UNCLE JAN DORY. - - - "I'll tell 'ee a story 'bout Uncle Jan Dory, - Who lived by the side of a well, - He went to a 'plomp' (pump), and got himself drunk, - And under the table he fell." - - -The Cornish peasantry of the last century were very fond of riddles, -but most of them will not bear repetition; they are (as well as many -of their sayings and rhymes) much too broad for the taste of this -generation, and would only be tolerated in the days when "a spade -was called a spade." There are two exceptions that I know worth -transcribing; one has already appeared with its answer, through -the Rev. S. Rundle, in Transactions Penzance Natural History and -Antiquarian Society, 1885-86. - - - "Riddle me! riddle me right! - Guess where I was to last Saturday night. - Up in the old ivy tree, - Two old foxes under me, - Digging a grave to bury me. - First I heard the wind blow, - Then I heard the cock crow, - Then I saw the chin-champ chawing up his bridle, - Then I saw the work-man working hisself idle." - - -Answer.--A young woman made an appointment to meet her sweetheart; -arriving first at the place, she climbed into an ivy-covered tree -to await his coming. He came in company with another man, and not -seeing her "the two old foxes" began to dig a grave, in which from -her hiding-place she heard that after murdering they intended putting -her. The "chin-champ" was the horse on which they rode away, when they -failed to discover her. "Working hisself idle," is working in vain. - - - "As I went over London bridge - Upon a cloudy day, - I met a fellow, clothed in yellow, - I took him up and sucked his blood, - And threw his skin away." - - -What was he? Answer.--An orange. - -With a nonsensical acrostic on the word Finis, well known in the -beginning of this century, I must end this (I fear) long, rambling -work. - - - "F--for Francis, - I--for Jancis, - N--for Nich'las Bony; - I--for John the water-man, - S--for Sally Stony." - - - M. A. Courtney. - - - - - - - - -ADDENDA. - - -Helston Borough Bounds, page 20.--At the close of this ceremony eleven -dozen buns are thrown amongst the crowd to be scrambled for. One is -always reserved for the Mayor. - -Wells, page 65.--Some wells in Cornwall (not holy) were famed for -their wonderful virtues: I will mention two. The water of the first, -which was west of Penzance, was esteemed a sovereign cure for sore -eyes. People from far and near visited it, and even carried away the -water in bottles. It was, however, best if possible to walk to the well -before breakfast, and there bathe the eyes. The second was at Castle -Chûn, between Penzance and St. Just; its water endowed the drinkers -with perpetual youth. Both have dried up within the last fifty years. - -Ghosts, page 99.--The following quaint story was told me by a girl -whose grandmother was the friend mentioned. - -In the last century there lived in Trezelah (a hamlet in the -parish of Gulval, near Penzance), a widow who had been deprived of -her rights. Walking one day in the fields near her home she saw a -strange spotted dog who seemed to know her; she met it a second time, -and decided when she next went out to take a friend with her. Again -she saw it (her friend did not), and said "In the Name of the Lord, -speak to me." It changed into her husband, who told her to be ready at -a certain time, when he would fetch her. Soon after, her friend being -in the house, the woman, who was giving her children their supper, said -"The time is come, I must be gone;" she then put on her sun-bonnet and -went out. She was away about an hour, when she suddenly appeared with -a great noise, as if someone had hurled her in through the door. Her -story was that her husband had taken her up in his arms and carried -her over the tree-tops as far as Ludgvan Church, where he deposited -her on the Church-stile, from whence she saw a great many spirits, -some good and some bad. The latter wanted her to join them, but her -husband bade her remain where she was. What they told her was never -known; but by their aid she got back her rights. Then her husband -bore her home again by the way they had come; but before he parted -from her said "I must take something from you; either your eyesight, -or your hearing." She preferred losing the latter, and from that hour -could never hear a word. One of her shoes that in her flight through -the air had caught on a tree-top, seven years after was placed on -her window-sill. - -Farmers' Superstitions, page 141.--"If you can throw fire over a -witch you will break the spell." "Bleeding a white hen on a millstone -prevents danger from the mill; for they say a mill will have blood -every seven years." - -Charms, page 144.--"Some were provided with little bags of earth, -teeth, or bones taken from a grave." "Most of the very religious -folks had a verse of scripture, concluded with the comfortable -assurance that by the help of the Lord the white witch hopes to do -them good."--Bottrell. - -Epilepsy, page 154.--Another authority says that the thirty pence -collected by thirty young men at the Church door is deposited for a -half-crown, from which the centre is cut. The flat ring left is worn -by the epileptic person day and night.--Through Rev. A. H. Malan, M.A. - - "The Bundle of Charms," Rev. A. H. Malan, M. A., is unavoidably - omitted. - -Burning the Witch, page 180.--Still played. A pole about five feet -long is placed with its ends resting on low stools, or bottles. On -this a person sits lengthways with crossed ankles. He (or she) holds -in his hand a long stick with a slit at one end, into which the paper -effigy of the witch is stuck. This must be burnt at a candle placed -on the floor at a short distance from the sitter; he must not support -himself in any way, nor leave his perch. - - - - - - - - -NOTES - - -[1] A very general one for poor people in some parts of the county -on Christmas-eve was pilchards and unpeeled potatoes boiled together -in one "crock." - -[2] Scat, a blow, a slap. - -[3] Uther is still used as a Christian name in Cornwall. - -[4] The Cornish manner of pronouncing the name of St. Clare. - -[5] Supposed to have been shads, vulgarly here called "Chuck-cheldern," -from the number of bones in them. - -[6] Burn, a, load, a burden. - -[7] A fuller account of Tregeagle and his wonderful doings may be -found in Bottrell's Traditions, West Cornwall. - -[8] A monastery existed there, and in 1883 portions of the building -were still standing. - -[9] A gentleman's seat in the parish of Gulval, near Penzance. - -[10] There is a small enclosure near the castle, where several -members of the family of Hosking were interred, owing to a quarrel -that Mr. Hosking had with the vicar of Ludgvan over some tithes. The -last funeral took place in 1823. On one of the stones is inscribed, -"It is virtue alone that consecrates this ground," and "Custom is -the idol of fools." - -[11] The Penzance Promenade is built on part of it. In my childhood -it was said to be one of the resorts of "Spring-heeled Jack," of whom -I then lived in mortal dread. - -[12] A small stream coloured by running through tin mining works. - -[13] Marazion is no longer a Corporate town. - -[14] Dennis is a very common Cornish surname. - -[15] "Old Monk" is a term of contempt in Cornwall, applied to old -or young men. "I saw the old monk coming down the garden" (a youth -of twenty). - -[16] The word Meryons is also used in Cornwall as a term of endearment, -"She's faather's little Meryon." - -[17] See ante, "Cornish Feasts and Feasten Customs." - -[18] Fuggan, a cake made of flour and raisins often eaten by miners -for dinner. - -[19] Didjan, a tiny bit. - -[20] Some say you must neither whistle nor swear, but you may sing -and laugh. - -[21] All men are boys in Cornwall. - -[22] Train-oil is expressed from them. - -[23] To "bulk" pilchards is to place them, after they have been rubbed -with salt, in large regular heaps, alternately heads and tails. - -[24] St. Ives. - -[25] And "Cornish Feasts and Customs." - -[26] The illiterate Cornish often double their negatives: "I don't -know, not I;" "I'll never do it, no, never no more." - -[27] Hazelen mot--root of a hazel tree. - -[28] Braggaty--spotted. - -[29] Double--a ring. - -[30] Fuggan, a flat cake. - -[31] Brend, to knit the brows. - -[32] Tap a shoe, to sole. - -[33] A similar superstition prevails about breakages, and a servant -who has had the misfortune to break a valuable piece of china will -sometimes smash a common basin or tea-cup to arrest the ill-luck. - -[34] "Pitch a tune," to give the keynote. - -[35] "Arish mow," a rick of corn made in the field where it was cut. - -[36] Scat, to slap. - -[37] A gill. - -[38] Cornish for hogshead. - -[39] Anker. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Cornish Feasts and Folk-lore, by M. 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