Traditions And Hearthside Stories Of West Cornwall, Second Series - free ebook by William Bottrell

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Traditions And Hearthside Stories Of West Cornwall, Second Series

William Bottrell

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TRADITIONS AND HEARTHSIDE STORIES OF WEST CORNWALL.

TRADITIONS AND HEARTHSIDE STORIES OF WEST CORNWALL.

BY WILLIAM BOTTRELL. "Legends that once were told or sung In many a smoky fireside nook." Longfellow. With Illustrations by Mr. Joseph Blight. SECOND SERIES. ( Right of Translation reserved. ) "Of strange tradition many a mystic trace, Legend and vision, prophecy and sign." Scott....

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Part First.

Part First.

Open your doors, and let me in, I hope your favours I shall win; Whether I rise, or whether I fall, I'll do my best to please you all. Christmas Play of St. George and the Dragon. A SSOCIATED with Trove and the ancient family who lived, for many generations, in that pleasant place, there is a tradition that one old Squire Lovell wedded a poor girl solely because he believed her to be the best spinster and knitster in Buryan; but that all the fine stockings and other knitted garments with which s

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Part Second.

Part Second.

"Refinement, too, that smoothens all O'er which it in the world hath pass'd, Has been extended in its call, And reach'd the devil, too, at last. That Northern Phantom found no more can be, Horns, tail, and claws, we now no longer see. * * * * * * But with your like, when we the name can learn, Your nature too we commonly discern." Goethe's Faust . Filimore's Translation. I N a mill scene, after the Squire's marriage, there is a long dialogue, in rh

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Boleigh or Boleit.

Boleigh or Boleit.

Although we never heard of any Household Stories connected with this interesting spot, yet we cannot pass it without some notice of its prehistoric remains. Our antiquaries follow the fashion of spelling the name of the hamlet on the hill as above, yet everyone here who ought best to know the name of the place in which they live, call it Bolé. Most likely it has been thus pronounced from long before it was ever written. All sorts of contradictory meanings have been given for the name of this not

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Menheres.

Menheres.

The most striking objects seen after passing through the hamlet are two large long stones or pillars of granite, sometimes called the pipers, but formerly known as the hurlers, which stand in the fields on the north side of the road. Antiquaries are far from being unanimous in their conjectures as to the purpose intended to be served in the erection of these remarkable stones. Whether they were astronomical, sacerdotal, or sepulchral monuments—whether erected for all or neither of these objects—

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Holed Stones, &c.

Holed Stones, &c.

Continuing on the road towards Boskenna, a minute's walk from the Menheres brings us to a holed stone standing in the hedge on the right hand side. This stone has been removed a considerable distance from its original site to form the side of a gateway. The upper portion of the stone is very much broken, and is irregular in shape, yet its head appears to have been triangular and worked to an angle similar to the Men-an-tol at Lanyon. In the lane near the holed stone is an ancient cross, seemingl

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Story of Nelly Wearne.

Story of Nelly Wearne.

This damsel was an illegitimate daughter of the last Cardew of Boskenna, and, (according to a very general custom which prevailed in the West) this love-child was bound a parish 'prentice to her father that he might be legally entitled to some degree of guardianship over his irregularly-begotten offspring. Children thus bound to their fathers were mostly regarded as a sort of poor cousins to the legitimate members of the family, and they were often taught a trade or handicraft, or portioned off

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The Witch of Burian Church-town.

The Witch of Burian Church-town.

These midnight hags, By force of potent spells, of bloody characters, And conjurations, horrible to hear, Call fiends and spectres from the yawning deep, And set the ministers of hell at work. Rowe. —" Jane Shore. " Who rides my horse a' nights, Who lamed the miller's boy, Who raised the wind that blew my old barn roof down; But I've a silver bullet ready for her that will lame her, Hobble how she will.— Old Song. A BOUT the time of Captain Black's exit old Betty Trenoweth from her superstitious

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The Story of Madam Noy.

The Story of Madam Noy.

After Betty had gained her ends with Tom Trenoweth, nobody ventured to deny her anything she coveted except Madam Noy, of Pendre. From the little known of this lady, she seems to have been a strong-minded close-fisted termagant. She was fond of going to law, and had always suits on hand concerning the bounds and common rights of her lands. She is said also to have kept the best hunter and hounds in the West Country, and that she coursed with them daily as she rode over her farms, across hedges a

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A Modern Sancreed Witch.

A Modern Sancreed Witch.

Only t'other day a farmer of Sancreed had three or four dairy-cows to let, and a woman who lived near by offered to take them, but as he didn't altogether like this woman he wouldn't close the bargain with her, and another neighbour soon agreed for the dairy. When the woman heard who had been preferred, she told everybody she met with that Jemmy—the man who took the cows—should rue the day that he ventured to cross her path. "For if I didn't know the right hour and minute," said she, "I would il

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A Queen's Visit to Baranhual.

A Queen's Visit to Baranhual.

At all feasts where ale was strongest, Sat this gracious Queen the longest, First to come and last to go. Longfellow , slightly altered . T HERE is a tradition,—that has taken the form of a droll, as it is related by old people of Buryan,—which sayeth that when the Pendars lived in grand style, in Baranhual, a Queen and her retinue landed from a Man-of-war, at Moushal, for the sake of seeing the Logan Rock and Land's End. News of the intended trip soon spread, and reached Buryan ere sufficient h

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The Small People's Cow.

The Small People's Cow.

They are fairies; he that speaks to them shall die. I'll wink and couch; no man their works must eye. Merry Wives of Windsor. T HERE is a story connected with the Pendars which says that, when this family was on its wane, the owner of Baranhual had a fine red cow, called Rosy, which gave twice as much milk as an ordinary one. She retained her milk-yielding power all the year through, and kept in good condition, even in winter, when other cattle on better food were reduced to skin and bone. Rosy

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Tom of Chyannor, the Tin-Streamer. A West-Country Droll.

Tom of Chyannor, the Tin-Streamer. A West-Country Droll.

Telle us swiche thing, as may our hertes glade. Be blithe, although thou ride upon a jade. What though thyn horse be bothe foule and lene, If he wol serve thee, recke thee not a bene: Loke that thyn herte be mery evermore. Yes, hoste, quode he, so mote I ride or go, But I be mery, ywis I wol be blamed. * * * * * * * But right anon thise gentiles gan to crie; Nay, let him tell us of no ribandrie, Tel us som moral thing, that we mow lere, Som wit, and th

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The Fairy Dwelling on Selena Moor.[3]

The Fairy Dwelling on Selena Moor.[3]

"Merry elves, their morrice pacing, To aërial minstrelsy, Emerald rings on brown heath tracing, Trip it deft and merrily." Scott. W HEN the ancient family of Noy flourished in Buryan there was a large tract of unenclosed common, belonging to the farms of Pendrea, Selena, and Tresidder, which extended from Cotnewilly to Baranhual, and branched off in other directions. Great part of this ground was swampy and produced a rank growth of rushes, water-flags, and coarse herbage. Many acres were gay in

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The I'ans quit Treen.

The I'ans quit Treen.

She woke at length, but not as sleepers wake, Rather the dead, for life seem'd something new, A strange sensation which she must partake Perforce, since whatsoever met her view, Struck not her memory, though a heavy ache Lay at her heart, whose earliest beat, still true, Brought back the sense of pain without the cause, For, for a while, the furies made a pause. Byron. I'an being reluctant to leave his sister all alone with her sorrow, procured a good seaman to command the Mur for her next run.

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Unexpected Visitors.

Unexpected Visitors.

With fairest flowers, Whilst summer lasts, and I live here, Fidele, I'll sweeten thy sad grave. Cymbeline. A little above Penberth Cove, and near the Green, there is an ancient cottage in an orchard. In this dwelling lived an old dame called Joan Taskes, who kept a kind of public-house, as liquors and other goods were entrusted to her, by smugglers, for sale. One afternoon, about nineteen or twenty years after Willy's death—when he and the I'ans were almost forgotten—An' Joan, whilst busy spinni

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The Proud Pendars.

The Proud Pendars.

O it is sad! O it is sad To think of the joys that once I had: To wander lone over land and sea, And know that she waits no more for me. This tress of her fair, soft, chestnut hair, Is all the cruel grave would spare. Mortimer Collins. At Beaton's death what had been her portion of the property fell in hand, and Mary removed to Chynance, taking with her a few such articles of the old furniture as were not too cumbersome for her small dwelling; but everything in "Beaton's chamber" was left there

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The I'an's Ghosts.

The I'an's Ghosts.

We have no title-deeds to house or lands, Owners and occupants of earlier dates From graves forgotten stretch their dusty hands, And hold in mortmain still their old estates. Longfellow. Now that ghostly visits are rare, many persons may be sceptical of what is said of this haunted house, and we shall only relate a few of the most remarkable stories. Shortly after Beatrice died, noises like the rumble of a spinning-wheel and clicking of cards, with unnatural shrieks, were often heard in "Beaton'

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The Key of the Castle.

The Key of the Castle.

It is not known what powerful magician raised this giant's hold, though it was believed that its security depended on a magic stone called "the key of the Castle," respecting which Merlin had something to say, as well as about many other remarkable stones in the neighbourhood. Castle Treen, however, must have stood where it is long before Arthur and his magician visited West Cornwall. The key was an egg-shaped stone, between two and three feet long, which was contained in the cavity of a rock wi

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Giants of Castle Treen.

Giants of Castle Treen.

The earliest inhabitants of this stronghold were giants who protected the neighbouring people in return for cattle and other necessaries with which the last-named provided their powerful friends, as was usual here in olden times. An aged giant, his childless wife, and their adopted son, are the only ones of whom connected traditions are handed down by old folks of Treen. Not only this giant (how we wish the chroniclers had preserved his name) and his wife but all people who depended on his prote

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Dan Dynas.

Dan Dynas.

Old folks held—and long tradition made it pass for true—that the outer wall of Castle Treen was built by a deaf-and-dumb giant, called Dan Dynas, or, as some say, Den-an-Dynas, assisted by his wife An' (aunt) Venna, who broke up the ditch, filled her leathern towser (large apron) with the soil, and put it for filling behind the rocks, as her husband rolled them into their places. When they had thus constructed a stronghold, in which people with their tin and cattle were safe from marauding pirat

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The Small People (Fairies).

The Small People (Fairies).

When our giants and other antique people left their human bodies they continued to dwell in their old homes down almost to our times. As they had no idea of any life but a carnal existence on earth, they were permitted to live there as spriggans (elves) and they seemed to have enjoyed themselves, in their small way, by imitating mortals' pleasures. Old folks, only just departed, often witnessed their gambols amongst the carns of Castle Treen. Fishermen, when becalmed near Pedn-y-vounder cliff, o

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St. Levan Witches.

St. Levan Witches.

In days of yore ugly old hags that sold themselves to Satan merely to have their "spite out" on their neighbours, or to ride on a broomstick and play pranks but little known except among themselves, made the Castle crags their resort. When all the neighbouring witches were assembled they scampered up to the platform on the top of Castle Peak, mounted their ragworts or brooms, and took flight over to Wales to milk Taffy's cows and steal his leeks. Those who lived in Roskestal, and other places ov

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Traditions of Parcurno.

Traditions of Parcurno.

A ghostly ship, with a ghostly crew, In tempests she appears; And before the gale, or against the gale, She sails without a rag of sail; Without a helmsman steers. Longfellow. N OT long since a general belief prevailed in the western parishes that in ancient times Parcurno was the principal port of Cornwall, and that, until the Cove became "sanded up" there was sufficient depth of water to float the largest ships then made, in to the foot of an old caunce (paved road) which may still be seen. On

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St. Levan and his Sister.

St. Levan and his Sister.

A N old habitation, in which, according to tradition, St. Levan dwelt, is still standing. This humble dwelling, situated in Bodellan, is on the eastern side of Parcurno Bottom, near its upper part within a hundred yards of the road, towards which stands the end that contains its sole fire-place. The hearth-stone may still be there, much as it was when St. Levan's sister, the good midwife, St. Breage, cooked on it the fatal chads which choked her children. The story says that good old St. Levan w

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Johanna's Garden.

Johanna's Garden.

St. Levan road passed by a small enclosure in Rospeltha, called Johanna's Garden, (at least it retained that name a few years ago when the writer knew it well). One Sunday morning the holy hermit, going down to cliff to get a fish for his dinner, in passing by this garden saw a woman called Johanna gathering pot-herbs. St. Levan rested the end of his rocking-rod on the ground, stopped, and gave her a kindly greeting. But she, looking over the hedge, exclaimed, "Oh sinful man that you are, for go

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The St. Levan Stone.

The St. Levan Stone.

In St. Levan Churchyard is a cloven rock called St. Levan's stone. For some reason, now unknown, this must have been a venerated object when the church was built, or it would have been used in the building. The common notion, however, is that long before St. Levan's time this rock was regarded as sacred, because Merlin prophecied— "When, with panniers astride, A pack-horse one can ride Through St. Levan stone, The world will be done." It is stated that Merlin came here with King Arthur, when he

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Parchapel Well.

Parchapel Well.

To find the Saint's Well one should take a pathway bearing westward, from a little below the church, and which leads over Roskestal cliff to Pargwarra (we spell all names as the inhabitants pronounce them). After crossing the brook and mounting a hedge keep straight towards the sea, and on a pretty level spot the ruined walls of St. Levan's baptistry will be found, as also some traces of rude steps on a pathway that connected this holy fount with an ancient chapel and burying-ground which stood

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The Tragedy of Sweet William and Fair Nancy.

The Tragedy of Sweet William and Fair Nancy.

This composition of a forgotten western bard related that, far back in old times, the son of a fisherman, who dwelt at Pargwarra, lived many years—off and on from a boy—in service with a rich farmer in Roskestal, and courted his master's only daughter, who, almost from her childhood, loved the young serving-man with a strength of affection beyond her control. The youngster, being of a roving turn, often went to sea for many months in summer, and although he was then most wanted on the farm, his

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Pendeen of Old.

Pendeen of Old.

Capt. Peter, having taken a pull from the pewter pot, continued with—"Believe me, comrades, Pendeen didn't then look wisht at feasten tides nor at any other time, when one saw, (and smelt, too), the sweet scent of turf-smoke that curled up from chimney stacks, which now look down sorrowfully on cold hearths; and one saw fair faces peering through the casements, numbers of ladies and gentlemen walking about the garden alleys and courts of the old mansion, or when the cry of hounds and the winding

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How Piskey Left Boslow.

How Piskey Left Boslow.

Tells how the drudging goblin sweat To earn his cream bowl duly set, When in one night, ere glimpse of morn, His shadowy flail hath thresh'd the corn. Milton. "No doubt," said the tinner after a pause, "Piskey threshed the corn and did other odd jobs for the old man of Boslow, as long as he lived, and they said that after his death he worked some time for the old widow, till he took his departure from the place about three score years ago. Some say"— "Stop a minute, my son, I can tell 'e a story

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An Overseer and a Parish Clerk of St. Just about sixty years ago.

An Overseer and a Parish Clerk of St. Just about sixty years ago.

"It was no wonder if persons coming from Penzance to Pendeen of a dark night should miss their way and think themselves piskey-led," said the tinner. "There was neither bridge nor house in the place called New Bridge before wheel carriages were in use, and the only St. Just road from Penzance this side of Cardew Water was a mere bridle-path or rather a great number of horse tracks, often crossing each other and twisting about far and wide round rocks and intervening patches of furze, over miles

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The Fairy Master, or Bob o' the Carn.

The Fairy Master, or Bob o' the Carn.

Out steps some Faery, with quick motion, And tells him wonders of some flowrie vale. Marston. J UST fifty years ago, one Tom Treva lived on a small lone tenement near the foot of Carn Kenidjack hill. He had a large family and disliked for any of them to go in service. The boys, as they grew up, worked in the mines, and helped about the tillage of their few acres of crofts 'out of core.' The eldest daughter, Grace, remained at home to assist her mother, who took pride in making her handy in doing

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The Knockers of Ballowal.

The Knockers of Ballowal.

Blest be that spot, where cheerful guests retire, To pause from toil, and trim their evening fire. Goldsmith. A FEW years ago, in talking with a Lelant miner about the sprites that haunt many old mines, he told us the following story, which we give in his own words, as an example of West Country dialect. We wish to correct an error that many persons, not Cornish, entertain with regard to the language of Cornish working people. Their mistake originates, in many instances, from seeing in stories—

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Tom and the Knackers.

Tom and the Knackers.

"Do let's have the droll, Uncle Bill," said I, and he related as follows,— "From the time Tom was old enow to handle a pick and showl he had lived in Trecroben, and worked in Wheal Reath, till twenty years or so ago, when work fell slack here, and some bals were knacked (stopped). Then he went to Santust (St. Just) to look for a job and found work in Ballowal. Most people have heard of that queer old bal, that was worked before The Flood, they say. There the old men's works, weth their deep open

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Old Songs and Nicknames.

Old Songs and Nicknames.

"One would like to know," said I to the old tinner, "whether Tom heard the knackers sing what he believed he did; or if there were any old rhymes, somewhat similar, that he might, long before, have learnt and forgotten till something brought them to mind." "Never heard of any such," Bill replied. But An' Mary—who knew a rare lot of queer sayings, odds and ends of old songs and the like,—said, "In a story relating to small people (fairies), that I often heard when a child, there are some lines ab

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An Excursion to Chapel Uny Well, With a Legend of the Changeling of Brea Vean.

An Excursion to Chapel Uny Well, With a Legend of the Changeling of Brea Vean.

These, when a child haps to be got, That after proves an idiot, When folks perceive it thriveth not, The fault therein to smother, Some silly, doating, brainless calf, That understands things by the half, Says that the fairy left this aulfe, And took away the other. Drayton. T HOUGH the numerous visitors who resort to Penzance in autumn are rarely satiated with our fine cliff scenery, they might, with pleasure, vary their excursions by a ramble inland, where various objects of interest are found

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The Changeling of Brea Vean.

The Changeling of Brea Vean.

A hundred years or more ago—one afternoon in harvest time—a woman called Jenny Trayer, who lived in Brea Vean (a little out-of-the-way place at the foot of Chapel Carn Brea) gave her baby suck, rocked it to sleep, then covered up the fire, turned down the brandis, placed fire-hook and furze-prong across the hearth for good luck, and, leaving the child alone, away she hastened over to Brea to "help cut the neck." It was nearly dark when the last handful of wheat, called "the neck," was tied up an

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Betty Stogs's Baby. [4]

Betty Stogs's Baby. [4]

L ITTLE more than twenty years ago, there lived in a lonely cot on a moor in Towednack a man and his wife with one child. The woman—from her slatternly habits—was known by the name of Betty Stogs; she had been married about a year and had a baby six months old or so; when, almost every day, whilst her husband was away 'to bal,' she would pass best part of the time 'courseying' from house to house in the nearest village. The child would mostly be left in the house alone or with nothing but the ca

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How a Morvah Man Bought Clothes for his Wife. [4]

How a Morvah Man Bought Clothes for his Wife. [4]

"Contented toil, and hospitable care, And kind connubial tenderness are there." Goldsmith. M OST of the dwellers in the cottages scattered over the hills to the north of Penzance (like the tinners of old) work in the mines and cultivate a few acres 'out of core.' They are also remarkable for preserving many old customs which are become extinct in less remote and more populous districts, as well as for the quaint simplicity of their manners and language. A few weeks ago a tall, middle-aged man en

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How a Zennor Man Choked Himself, but had his Will in his Pocket.[4]

How a Zennor Man Choked Himself, but had his Will in his Pocket.[4]

N OT long ago a high-country farmer, after having finished his marketing, in Penzance, treated himself to a supper at a cook-shop in Caunsehead. Being in great hunger, or haste, he thought it waste of time to cut his meat into smaller pieces than he could possibly swallow; besides, solid junks would stand by his ribs and do the more good. He made but two morsels of a quarter of a pound of beef; and in bolting the last it stuck in his throat. In an instant he went blue in the face and fell on the

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Part the First.

Part the First.

In winter's tedious nights, sit by the fire With good old folkes; and let them tell thee tales Of woful ages, long ago betid. King Richard II. W HAT remains of the old mansion of Penrose, in Sennen, stands on a low and lonely site at the head of a narrow valley; through which a mill-brook winds, with many abrupt turns, for about three miles, thence to Penberth Cove. So late as forty years ago, it was one of those antique, mysterious looking buildings, which most persons regard with a degree of i

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Part the Second.

Part the Second.

Blood, though it sleeps a time, yet never dies; The gods on murd'rers fix revengeful eyes. Chapman. After the old steward had retired from the dreaded room, its occupant was in no haste to rest himself on the large stately looking bed; but seemed never weary of examining the old portraits and quaint figures in the arras (which might have been intended for portraits too), the massive oak furniture with bold, grotesque, carvings, ancient armour, coats of mail, and other interesting objects, which

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Tregagle.

Tregagle.

In Cornwaile's fair land, bye the poole on the moore, Tregeagle the wicked did dwell. He once was a shepherde, contented and poore, But growing ambytious, and wishing for more, Sad fortune the shepherde befelle. John Penwarne. O NE may almost every day hear West Country folks make allusion to Tregagle; for instance, a squalling child is called a Tregagle; and to a blusterer they often say, "Hold thy bleatan, thee art worse than Tregagle roaran before a storm." But little is known here of the liv

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Devil's Money.

Devil's Money.

There needs no other charm nor conjurer, To raise infernal spirits up, but fear. Butler. N OT long ago it was believed that Old Nick frequently appeared in the form of a bull, and that he often placed money to tempt the unwary. The following story—told us of the late Sir Rose Price's huntsman—will help to explain notions which are not yet wholly exploded. When the huntsman was a boy his parents lived in Nancledra, and sent him daily to a school two or three miles off, till he was about thirteen

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The Slighted Damsel of Gwinear.

The Slighted Damsel of Gwinear.

Trust me no tortures that the poets feign Can match the fierce, th' unutterable pain He feels who, day and night, devoid of rest, Carries his own accuser in his breast. Juvenal. T HERE is a general belief, in the western part of Cornwall, that if a greatly injured person, the last thing before death, reads or recites the 109th Psalm, usually called the "Cursing Psalm," applying its comminations to the injurer, the dying maledictions are sure to take effect. Nearly a hundred years ago there lived

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The Wreck of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel.

The Wreck of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel.

W E are reminded by the above of the wreck of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovel's ship, the "Association," at Scilly; and of a tradition, common to the Islands, which attributes that disaster to the reading or reciting of the 109th Psalm, shortly before death, by one of Sir Cloudesley's crew, whom he unjustly condemned to be hanged. The Admiral was returning with his fleet from Toulon, when, on the evening of the 22nd October, 1707, his ship struck on the Gilstone, about three miles and a half from

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A Night's Ride to Scilly.

A Night's Ride to Scilly.

No repares en eso, Sancho, que como estas cosas y estas volaterías van fuera de los cursos ordinarios, de mil leguas verás y oiras lo que quisieres, y no me aprietes tanto, que me derribas; y en verdad que no sé de qué te turbas ni te espantas, que osaré jurar que en todos los dias de mi vida he subido en cabalgadura de paso mas llano: no parece sino que no nos movemos de un lugar. Destierra, amigo, el miedo, que en efecto la cosa va como ha de ir, y el viento llevamos en popa. * *

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Ancient Bridal Customs.

Ancient Bridal Customs.

With the past and with the present, Quaint old manners still are link'd; Olden customs, grave and pleasant, Ling'ring still, though nigh extinct. C. T. C. S OME West Country folks still observe a few old-fashioned marriage usages; one of which the following sketch will explain. It was given us, as inserted, by a young man who was one of the wedding guests. "In the winter of 1860 we were invited to a wedding at a place called the Grambler in Sancreed; with strict orders to be in time to accompany

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Madron Well.

Madron Well.

O N passing over a stile and entering the moor in which the well is situated, cross the moor at a right-angle to the hedge, and a minute's walk will bring one to the noted spring, which is not seen until very near, as it has no wall above the surface, nor any mark by which it can be distinguished at a distance. Much has been written of the remarkable cures effected by its holy waters, and the intercession of St. Madron, or Motran; when it was so famous that the maimed, halt, and lame, made pilgr

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The Crick-Stone, or Men-an-tol.

The Crick-Stone, or Men-an-tol.

I N a croft belonging to Lanyon farm, and about half a mile north of the town-place, there is a remarkable group of three stones, the centre one of which is called by antiquaries the Men-an-tol (holed stone), and by country folk the Crick-stone, from an old custom—not yet extinct—of "crameing" (crawling on all fours) nine times through the hole in the centre stone, going against the sun's course, for the cure of lumbago, sciatica, and other "cricks" and pains in the back. Young children were als

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Charms.

Charms.

T HERE are persons in every parish west of Hayle, and in many east of it, who charm for the cure of various ailments. The members of a family, formerly of Sennen, are believed to possess peculiar virtues as charmers, which is said to have been obtained, hundreds of years ago, from a forefather of theirs, dwelling in Escols, who found, washed in on Gwenvor sand, a very old man, almost dead, whom he took to his house, had him well cared for, so that he soon recovered and prepared to depart. Before

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The Fairy Tribes.

The Fairy Tribes.

B ELIEF in fairies is far from being extinct in Cornwall, though our country folks never call them by that name. A few days since, a woman of Mousehal told me that not long ago troops of small people, no more than a foot and a half high, used—on moonlight nights—to come out of a hole in the cliff, opening onto 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 they would scamper away into the hol

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Mermaids and the Hooper.

Mermaids and the Hooper.

W ITHIN easy memory many parts of the western coast were said to be frequented by mermaids, particularly Sennen Cove. This place was also resorted to by a remarkable spirit called the Hooper—from the hooting or hooping sounds which it was accustomed to make. In old time, according to tradition, a compact cloud of mist often came in from over sea—when the weather was by no means foggy—and rested on the rocks called Cowloe, thence it spread itself, like a curtain of cloud, quite across Sennen Cove

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The Wrecker and the Death Ship.

The Wrecker and the Death Ship.

Full well 'tis known adown the dale; Tho' passing strange indeed the tale, And doubtful may appear. Shenstone. P ERSONS of a notoriously wicked character were said to have been frequently taken off bodily by Old Nick when they died. The following is one of many stories to that effect. More than a hundred years ago a dark strange man appeared in St. Just; no one knew whence he came, but it was supposed, however, that he was put ashore from a pirate ship, by way of marooning him; as the crews of s

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The Sun Never Shines on Those Who Have "Sworn Away a Life."

The Sun Never Shines on Those Who Have "Sworn Away a Life."

O NE frequently hears, in remote country places, the reproachful sayings of, "The sun wont shine on thee," or, "the sun don't shine on thee." This is regarded as a very bitter taunt, even by those who do not understand its allusion or the old belief from which it proceeds. The following story, told me by an aged mine captain, of Lelant, will serve to explain it. A few years ago a smuggler of Breage gave false evidence, which caused one of another crew to be hanged, on the charge of having fired

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A Legend of Pengersec.

A Legend of Pengersec.

So I your presence may enjoye, No toil I will refuse; But wanting you, my life is death; Nay, death Ild rather chuse. Fair Rosamond. M ANY years ago an elderly gentleman of Gwinear told me the following story, which he had often heard related by old folks of that parish and Breage, about certain ancient occupants of Pengersec; who dwelt there long before the present castle was built by Milliton, who, according to their legend, constructed his stronghold in the time of Henry VIII, out of the ruin

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Miracle Plays, Christmas Plays, &c. Page 1.

Miracle Plays, Christmas Plays, &c. Page 1.

T HE accounts published last spring of Miracle Plays being acted in Yorkshire, by a company of Congregationalists under the direction of a Roman Catholic priest, would seem to indicate a primitive state of society in the north—good feeling and sympathy between members of old mother church and the followers of new lights; and that Yorkshire folks are as much attached to ancient customs as are the Cornish, or even more. Mummery, and the acting of such old Christmas plays as St. George and the Drag

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The Levelis, of Trewoof.

The Levelis, of Trewoof.

Trewoof (or as it is now called Trove) was formerly the seat of a family of gentlemen bearing that name, who gave for their arms "Arg a chev, sa between 3 black birds (hoops) ppr." This family flourished here from a very remote period, and we find that as early as 1292 (12 Edwd. I.) one Hawise Trewoof, the relict of William de Trewoof, intermarried with Henry de Boscawen, of Boscawen Rose (ancestor of the noble family of Boscawen Earls of Falmouth.) Trewoof and Boscawen Rose are both in the pari

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Duffy and the Devil. Page 3.

Duffy and the Devil. Page 3.

An old droll teller of Sancreed, called Billy Foss, used to relate a story very similar to that of the guise-dance; he made no mention, however, in his droll, of any family names, nor of any particular place in which the "Lord" dwelt, who married a poor girl; but her name was Duffy; and the demon who worked for her, and who was also fooled by a witch through strong drink, was called Tarraway. Billy used to say, "Some who know no better, call Duffy's devil Terrytop; but his ancient and proper nam

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Pendre and Baranhual. Pages 63, 73, and 94.

Pendre and Baranhual. Pages 63, 73, and 94.

This place gave name to the family of Pendrea, or Pender. Hals says, "John Pendrea, the last of his tribe, temps. Henry VI, having only two daughters, that became his heirs, who were married to Bonython, of Carclew, and Noy. To Noy's share fell this tenement of Pendrea, which was the dwelling of him and his posterity for several descents; and here was born, as I was informed, William Noy, the Attorney General to Charles I, who designed to have built a noteable house here, but was prevented by de

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The Danes Landing on the Cornish Coast For Plunder. Pages 127-141.

The Danes Landing on the Cornish Coast For Plunder. Pages 127-141.

Then his cruisings o'er the seas, Westward to the Hebrides, And to Scilly's rocky shore; And the hermit's cavern dismal, Christ's great name and rites baptismal, In the ocean's rush and roar. Longfellow. We find an interesting notice of Danish marauding expeditions in Cornwall, and of King Olaf's conversion at Scilly, in Snorri Sturleson's "Heimskringla"—the "World's Circle"—which relates events from the early ages, when mythology and history were undistinguishably blended, down nearly to the pe

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St. Levan's Path. Page 146.

St. Levan's Path. Page 146.

"Aux lieux où la charrette et le saint ont passés, Le froment pousse encor plus vert et plus pressé." Brizeux. We find a similar belief to that connected with the path St. Levan trod, in the Breton legend of St. Cornély, from which the above lines are quoted. "La Charrette" was the cart—drawn by oxen—in which the saint rode when he and his people were pursued by an invading host of pagans. St. Cornély, being hard pressed, to prevent the Bretons being driven into the sea, turned about, cursed th

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A Ghostly Ship's-Bell.

A Ghostly Ship's-Bell.

In the southern side of St. Levan Churchyard there is a low altar-tomb on the grave of Captain Wetherel, whose ship sprung a-leak and sunk, and who was drowned near the Rundle Stone many years ago. This grave is regarded with fear and wonder by many persons of that neighbourhood; for ever since the Captain was laid there, it has been believed that a ghostly bell strikes the hours, and half-hours, in his grave, the same as on board ship. 'Tis said this sound beneath the sod may be heard the clear

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Brea and Pendeen, in St. Just. Pages 42, 166, and 200.

Brea and Pendeen, in St. Just. Pages 42, 166, and 200.

"Brea, at present, retains no traces of its former consequence, which may be assumed from its chapel, noticed in a former page. The family of Bray, or Brea, came with the Conqueror. In the 3rd Henry IV., A.D. 1402, Michael de Bray held two parts of one Knight's fee, in Bray, in Penwith, and in the 12th Edw. I., Brea, or Bray, is charged by the Justices' Itinerant for eight acres. Edward Bray was summoned to Parliament, 3rd November, 1529, by the style and title of Baron Bray, which honour expire

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The Burning of Vellan-Dreath. Page 215.

The Burning of Vellan-Dreath. Page 215.

It is said that in Queen Elizabeth's reign the Spaniards did much mischief by pillaging defenceless places on the western shores. About the time they burnt Moushal, an old miller and his son, a stout man, were the only dwellers in Vellan-Dreath. Early one morning, the miller, on returning from the mill-pool, which was far up on the hill, whither he had been to lift the flushet, noticed a boat with several men put off from a ship, and he watched them till they landed just beneath his mill. Suspec

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The Men-an-tol, Constantine Tolmen, &c. Page 242.

The Men-an-tol, Constantine Tolmen, &c. Page 242.

"D'un passé sans mémoire incertaines reliques, Mystères d'un vieux monde en mystères écrits." Lamartine. Mr. J. T. Blight, F.S.A., gives the following graphic description of various perforated stones in Cornwall, and elsewhere. "In the western part of Cornwall there are several ancient monuments known by the name of 'Holed Stones.' They consist of thin slabs of Granite, each being pierced by a round hole, generally near its centre. They vary in size and in form. That near the Men-Scryfa in Madro

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The Garrack Zans (Holy Rock.)

The Garrack Zans (Holy Rock.)

Within the memory of many persons now living, there was to be seen, in the town-places of many western villages, an unhewn table-like stone called the Garrack Zans. This stone was the usual meeting place of the villagers, and regarded by them as public property. Old residents in Escols have often told me of one which stood near the middle of that hamlet on an open space where a maypole was also erected. This Garrack Zans they described as nearly round, about three feet high, and nine in diameter

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Divination by Rushes and Ivy-leaves. Page 217.

Divination by Rushes and Ivy-leaves. Page 217.

Many persons, who were anxious to know their future fate with regard to love and marriage, or for mere fun, were in the habit of assembling, on twelfth night, in a farm house kitchen, which had a large open fire-place—used for burning furse and turf. A fire was laid that would make plenty of "umers" (embers) and hot ashes, such being required for working the spells; then each person touched the "cravel" (mantle stone) with his or her forehead, and departed in single file and silence, which was r

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Recent Ill-wishing. Page 65.

Recent Ill-wishing. Page 65.

The following case of an ill-wished woman, living in ——, was told me a few days since by one of her neighbours. In the Autumn of 1870 a pilot, or one of a pilot's crew, that my informant called a "hobbler," gained upwards of twenty pounds for his share of the "hobble," or pilotage of a ship, which was only one night's work. Next morning, whilst the "hobbler" was in bed, his wife, elated with her husband's good luck, stood outside her door when the neighbouring women were passing by to the spring

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Midsummer Bonfires.

Midsummer Bonfires.

Our bonfires, torches, and tar-barrels, with the peculiar hand-in-hand dance around the blazing piles, remind us of ancient times when similar customs were regarded as sacred rites by our forefathers; and it would seem as if some vestiges of these time-honoured religious notions were still connected with Midsummer bonfires in the minds of old-fashioned people, living in remote and primitive districts, where they still believe that dancing in a ring over the embers, around a bonfire, or leaping (

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The Mermaid of Zennor.

The Mermaid of Zennor.

Zennor folks tell the following story, which, according to them, accounts for a singular carving on a bench-end in their Church. Hundreds of years ago a very beautiful and richly attired lady attended service in Zennor Church occasionally—now and then she went to Morvah also;—her visits were by no means regular,—often long intervals would elapse between them. Yet whenever she came the people were enchanted with her good looks and sweet singing. Although Zennor folks were remarkable for their fin

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Glossary of Local Words.

Glossary of Local Words.

A or Ah , he or it; e.g. a es, it is. After-winding , waste corn. An' , aunt, an expression of regard applied to aged women. Arreah! (Maria?) an exclamation of angry surprise. Arish , stubble. Bal , a mine. Bannal , broom plant. Bowjey , sheepfold, &amp;c., on cliff or downs. Brave , much, very well, &amp;c. Bruyans , crumbs. Bucca , a spirit. Bucca-boo ( -dhu ), a black spirit. Bulhorn , a large shell-snail. Bussa , an earthen crock. Busy (to be), to require; e.g. it is busy all, it req

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ERRATA.

ERRATA.

Page 35 , "of of" changed to "of". (... would sooner or later overtake the sacrilegious destroyer of the ancient holy stones.) Page 35 , "alter-like" changed to "altar-like". (In many of the oldest villages there were formerly altar-like stones, known by the name of garrac zans, (the holy stones) which were protected by the fear of the goddess of Bad Luck;) Page 43 , "the the" changed to "the". ("And have ye been lawfully married, my darling?" asked the old dame.) Page 60 , "her's" changed to "h

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