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| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-27 18:35:18 -0800 |
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| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-27 18:35:18 -0800 |
| commit | 472860041f80d1009a0770368e2ac56a421e9abb (patch) | |
| tree | ffee97ccdaa9ffefb23a6dc8adb4de26acff0577 /48207-h | |
| parent | 8d664fd65728daf597115939ba86d28bb800da82 (diff) | |
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diff --git a/48207-h/48207-h.htm b/48207-h/48207-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f72e9e7 --- /dev/null +++ b/48207-h/48207-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,12940 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Lays and Legends Of the English Lake Country, by John Pagen White. + </title> + +<style type="text/css"> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .51em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .49em; +} + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; +} + +hr.tb {width: 45%;} +hr.chap {width: 65%} + +table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; +} + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; +} /* page numbers */ + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.right {text-align: right;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + +.u {text-decoration: underline;} + +/* Images */ +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; +} + +/* Footnotes */ +.footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + +.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + +.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + +.fnanchor { + vertical-align: super; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: + none; +} + +/* Poetry */ +.poem { + margin-left:10%; + margin-right:10%; + text-align: left; +} + +/* Transcriber's notes */ +.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; + color: black; + font-size:smaller; + padding:0.5em; + margin-bottom:5em; + font-family:sans-serif, serif; } + +/********** CSS taken from HTML best practices ***********/ +h1 +{ + text-align: center; + font-size: x-large; + font-weight: bold; + line-height: 1.6; +} + +h1 small +{ + font-size: small; +} + +h2 +{ + text-align: center; + font-weight: bold; + line-height: 1.5; +} + +.spaced +{ + line-height: 1.5; +} + +.space-above +{ + margin-top: 3em; +} + +#half-title +{ + text-align: center; + font-size: large; +} + +@media print, handheld +{ + #half-title + { + page-break-before: always; + page-break-after: always; + margin: 0; + padding-top: 6em; + } +} +/********** CSS taken from HTML best practices ***********/ + + </style> + </head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 48207 ***</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 373px;"> +<img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" width="373" height="600" alt="" /> +</div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[i]</a></span></p> + +<p id="half-title"> +LAYS AND LEGENDS<br /> +<small>OF THE</small><br /> +ENGLISH LAKE COUNTRY. +</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[ii]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span></p> + +<h1> +<span class="smcap">Lays and Legends</span><br /> +<small>OF THE</small><br /> +<span class="smcap">English Lake Country</span>. +</h1> + +<p class="center"> +<i>WITH COPIOUS NOTES.</i><br /> +</p> + +<p class="center spaced space-above"> +<small>BY</small><br /> +JOHN PAGEN WHITE, F.R.C.S.<br /> +</p> + +<div class="poem spaced space-above"> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">"In early date,</span><br /> +When I was beardless, young, and blate,<br /> +E'en then a wish, I mind its power,<br /> +A wish that to my latest hour<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Shall strongly heave my breast;</span><br /> +That I for poor auld <i>Cumbria's</i> sake,<br /> +Some usefu' plan or beuk could make,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Or sing a sang at least."</span><br /> +</div> + +<p class="center spaced space-above"> +LONDON: JOHN RUSSELL SMITH.<br /> +CARLISLE: G. & T. COWARD.<br /> +MDCCCLXXIII.<br /> +</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p> + +<h2>INTRODUCTION.</h2> + +<p>In submitting this Book to the Public, I have +thought it best to give it precisely as it was left in +manuscript by my late Brother. His sudden death +in 1868 prevented the final revision which he still +contemplated.</p> + +<p>The Notes may by some be thought unnecessarily +long, and in many instances they undoubtedly are +very discursive. Much labour, however, was expended +in their composition, in the hope, not merely +of giving a new interest to localities and incidents +already familiar to the resident, but also of affording +the numerous visitors to the charming region +which forms the theme of the Volume, an amount of +information supplementary to the mere outline which, +only, it is the province of a Guide Book, however +excellent, to supply.</p> + +<p>The Work occupied for years the leisure hours of +a busy professional life; and the feelings with which +the Author entered upon and continued it, are best +expressed in those lines of Burns chosen by himself +for the motto.</p> + +<div class="right">B. J.</div> +<p> +<i>July 1st, 1873.</i><br /> +</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span></p> + +<h2>PREFACE.</h2> + + +<p>The English Lake District may be said, in general +terms, to extend from Cross-Fell and the Solway +Firth, on the east and north, to the waters of Morecambe +and the Irish Sea; or, more accurately, to be +comprised within an irregular circle, varying from +forty to fifty miles in diameter, of which the centre +is the mountain Helvellyn, and within which are +included a great portion of Cumberland and Westmorland +and the northern extremity of Lancashire.</p> + +<p>After the conquest of England by the Normans, +the counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, the +ancient inheritance of the Scottish Kings, as well as +the county of Northumberland, were placed by +William under the English crown. But the regions +thus alienated were not allowed to remain in the +undisturbed possession of the strangers. For a long +period they were disquieted by the attempts which +from time to time were made by successive kings of +Scotland to re-establish their supremacy over them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span> +Supporting their pretensions by force of arms, they +carried war into the disputed territory, and conducted +it with a rancour and cruelty which spared neither +age or sex. The two nations maintained their cause, +just or unjust, with unfaltering resolution; or if they +seemed to hesitate for a moment, and a period of +settlement to be at hand, their frequent compromises +only ended in a renewal of their differences. Thus +these northern counties continued to pass alternately +under the rule of both the contending nations, until +the Scottish dominion over them was finally terminated +by agreement in the year 1237; Alexander of +Scotland accepting in lieu lands of a certain yearly +value, to be holden of the King of England by the +annual render of a falcon to the Constable of the +Castle of Carlisle, on the Festival of the Assumption.</p> + +<p>The resumption, at no distant period, of the +manors which had been granted to Alexander, +renewed in all their strength the feelings of animosity +with which the Scots had been accustomed +to regard their southern neighbours, and the feuds +between the two kingdoms continued with unabated +violence for more than three centuries longer. The +dwellers in the unsettled districts lying along the +English and Scottish borders, being originally +derived from the same Celtic stock, had been +gradually and progressively influenced as a race by +the admixture of Saxon and Danish blood into the +population; and although much of the Celtic character<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span> +was thereby lost, they seem to have retained +in their mountains and forests much of the spirit, +and many of the laws and manners, of the ancient +Britons. They continued to form themselves into +various septs, or clans, according to the Celtic custom; +sometimes banded together for the attainment +of a common end; and as often at feud, one clan +with another, when some act of personal wrong had +to be revenged upon a neighbouring community. +Thus a state of continual restlessness, springing out +of mutual hatred and jealousies, existed among the +borderers of either nation. The same feelings of +enmity were fostered, and the same system of petty +warfare was carried on, between the borderers of the +two kingdoms. Cumberland and Westmorland, +from their position, were subject to the frequent +inroads of the Scots; by whom great outrages were +committed upon the inhabitants. They drove their +cattle, burned their dwellings, plundered their monasteries, +and even destroyed whole towns and villages. +A barbarous system of vengeance and retaliation +ensued. Every act of violence and bloodshed was +perpetrated; whilst the most nefarious practices of +free-booting became the common occupation of the +marauding clans; and a <i>raid</i> into a neighbouring +district had for them the same sort of charm and +excitement which their descendants find in a modern +fox chase. Even after the union of the two kingdoms +under one sovereign, when the term "Borders" +had been changed to "Middle Shires," as being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span> +more suitable to a locality which was now nearly in +the centre of his dominions, the long cherished distinctions +and prejudices of the inhabitants were +maintained in all their vigour; and it required a +long period of conflict with these to be persevered +in, before the extinction of the border feuds could +be completely effected. These distractions have +now been at an end for more than two centuries. +The mountains look down upon a peaceful domain; +the valleys, everywhere the abode of quiet and +security, yield their rich pasturage to the herds, or +their corn-fields redden, though coyly, to the harvest; +and the population, much of it rooted in the soil, +and attached by hereditary ties to the same plots of +ancestral ground in many instances for six or seven +hundred years, is independent, prosperous, and +happy.</p> + +<p>Some evidences of the old troublous times remain, +in the dismantled Border Towers, and moated or +fortified houses called Peles, which lie on the more +exposed parts of the district; in the ruins of the +conventual retreats; and in the crumbling strongholds +of the chiefs, which still retain something of a +past existence in the names which even yet cling +about their walls, as if the spirits of their former +possessors were reluctant to depart entirely from +them. Whilst a few traditions and recollections +survive of those stirring periods which have left +their mark upon the nation's history, and are +associated for ever with images of those illustrious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span> +persons whose familiar haunts were within the +shadows of the hills.</p> + +<p>But the great charm of this region, which is not +without attractions also of a superstitious and +romantic character, lies in the variety of the +aspects of nature which it presents; exhibiting, +on a diminutive scale, combinations of the choicest +features of the scenery of all those lands which +have a name and fame for beauty and magnificence. +Mr. West, a Roman Catholic clergyman, long resident +in the district, and the author of one of the +earliest Guides to the Lakes, thus expresses himself: +"They who intend to make the continental tour +should begin here; as it will give in miniature, an +idea of what they are to meet with there, in +traversing the Alps and Appenines: to which our +northern mountains are not inferior in beauty of +line, or variety of summit, number of lakes, and +transparency of water; not in colouring of rock +or softness of turf; but in height and extent +only. The mountains here are all accessible to the +summit, and furnish prospects no less surprising, +and with more variety than the Alps themselves." +Wordsworth also, who could well judge of this fact, +and none better; he who for fifty years</p> + +<div class="poem"> +"Murmured near <i>these</i> running brooks<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A music sweeter than their own,"</span><br /> +</div> + +<p>and looked on all their changing phases with a +superstitious eye of love; after he had become +acquainted with the mountain scenery of Wales,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span> +Scotland, Switzerland, and Italy, gave his judgment +that, as a whole, the English Lake District within +its narrow limits is preeminent above them all. He +thus speaks: "A happy proportion of component +parts is indeed noticeable among the landscapes of +the North of England; and, in this characteristic +essential to a perfect picture, they surpass the +scenes of Scotland, and, in a still greater degree, +those of Switzerland.... On the score even of +sublimity, the superiority of the Alps is by no means +so great as might hastily be inferred; and, as to the +<i>beauty</i> of the lower regions of the Swiss mountains, +their surface has nothing of the mellow tone and +variety of hues by which our mountain turf is +distinguished.... The Lakes are much more +interesting than those of the Alps; first, as is +implied above by being more happily proportioned +to the other features of the landscape; and next, +as being infinitely more pellucid, and less subject +to agitation from the winds." And again, "The +water of the English Lakes being of a crystalline +clearness, the reflections of the surrounding hills are +frequently so lively, that it is scarcely possible to +distinguish the point where the real object terminates, +and its unsubstantial duplicate begins."</p> + +<p>It is therefore not to be wondered at, that during +the greater part of a century, where the old Border +<i>raids</i> of violence have ceased, excursions of a very +different character should have taken their place. +Every summer brings down upon the valleys clouds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[xiii]</a></span> +of visitors from every corner of our island, and from +many countries of Europe and America, eager to +enjoy their freshness and beauty, and breathe a new +life in the companionship of the lakes and hills. +And if in a spirit somewhat more akin to the moss-trooping +Borderer of an earlier time, an occasional +intruder has scoured the vales in search of their +traditions; and in the pursuit of these has ransacked +their annals, plundered their guides, and levied a +sort of black-mail upon even casual and anonymous +contributors to their history; it may in some degree +extenuate the offence to remember that such literary +free-booting makes no one poorer for what it takes +away; and that the <i>opima spolia</i> of the adventurer +are only so much gathered to be distributed again. +More especially to the Notes which constitute so +large a portion of the present Volume may this +remark be applied. Scenery long outlasts all +traditional and historical associations. To revive +these among their ancient haunts, and to awaken +yet another interest in this land of beauty, has been +the aim and end of this modern <i>Raid</i> into the +valleys of the North, and the regions that own the +sovereignty of the "mighty Helvellyn."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[xiv]</a></span></p> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[xv]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<div class="center"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td align="left"> </td><td align="right">PAGE</td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Past</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Banner of Broughton Tower</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_3">3</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Giltstone Rock</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Crier of Claife</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Cuckoo of Borrodale</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">King Eveling</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Sir Lancelot Threlkeld</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Pan on Kirkstone</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_66">66</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Saint Bega</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Harts-Horn Tree</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Bekan's Ghyll</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Chimes of Kirk-Sunken</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Raven on Kernal Crag</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_106">106</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Lord Derwentwater's Lights</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_110">110</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Laurels on Lingmoor</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_124">124</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Vale of St. John</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Luck of Edenhall</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_143">143</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Hob-Thross</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_153">153</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Abbot of Calder</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Armboth Banquet</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_170">170</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[xvi]</a></span>Britta in the Temple of Druids</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Lady of Workington Hall</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Altar upon Cross Fell</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_199">199</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Willie o' Scales</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_209">209</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Ermengarde</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_217">217</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Gunilda</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_227">227</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Shield of Flandrensis</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_234">234</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Rooks of Furness</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_242">242</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">King Dunmail</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_255">255</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Bridals of Dacre</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_266">266</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Threlkeld Tarn</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_279">279</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Robin the Devil</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_284">284</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Lay of Lord Lucy of Egremond </td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_295">295</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">Sölvar How</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_312">312</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="left">The Church among the Mountains</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_323">323</a></td></tr> +</table> +</div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> + + +<h2>THE PAST.<br /> +(IN SIGHT OF DACRE CASTLE.)</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +Through yon old archway grey and broken<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rides forth a belted knight;</span><br /> +Upon his breast his true-love's token<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And armour glittering bright.</span><br /> +<br /> +His arm a fond adieu is waving,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And answering waves a hand</span><br /> +From one whose love her grief is braving—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The fairest of the land.</span><br /> +<br /> +The trumpet calls, and plain and valley<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Give forth their armed men;</span><br /> +And round the red-cross flag they rally,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From every dale and glen.</span><br /> +<br /> +And she walks forth in silent sorrow,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who was so blest to-day,</span><br /> +And thinks on many a lone to-morrow<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In those old towers of grey.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span><br /> +From many a piping throat so mellow<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The joyful song bursts forth:</span><br /> +On many a field the corn so yellow<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Makes golden bright the earth.</span><br /> +<br /> +And mountains o'er the green woods frowning<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Close round the banner'd walls;</span><br /> +While mid-day sunshine, all things crowning,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In summer splendour falls.</span><br /> +<br /> +But ours is not the age they walk in;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It is the years of yore:</span><br /> +And ours is not the tongue they talk in;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">'Tis language used no more.</span><br /> +<br /> +Yet many an eye in silence bending<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O'er this unmurmur'd lay,</span><br /> +Beholds that knight the vale descending,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And feels that summer's day.</span><br /> +<br /> +Lives it then not? Yes; and when hoary<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beneath our years we stand,</span><br /> +That scene of summer, love, and glory,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Shall still be on the land.</span><br /> +<br /> +Truth from the earth itself shall perish<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ere that shall be no more;</span><br /> +The heart in song will ever cherish<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">What has been life of yore.</span><br /> +</div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>THE BANNER OF BROUGHTON TOWER.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +The knight looked out from Broughton Tower;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The stars hung high o'er Broughton Town;</span><br /> +"There should be tidings by this hour,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From Fouldrey Pile or Urswick Down!"</span><br /> +<br /> +Far out the Duddon roll'd its tide<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beneath; and on the verge afar,</span><br /> +The Warder through the night descried<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The beacon, like a rising star.</span><br /> +<br /> +It told that Fouldrey by the sea<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Was signall'd from the ships that bore,</span><br /> +With Swart's Burgundian chivalry,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The false King from the Irish shore.</span><br /> +<br /> +And Lincoln's Earl, and Broughton's Knight,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And brave Lord Lovel, wait the sign</span><br /> +To march their hosts to Urswick's height,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To hail him King, of Edward's line.</span><br /> +<br /> +Brave men as ever swerv'd aside!<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But faithful to their ancient fame,</span><br /> +The white Rose wooed them in her pride<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Once more; and foremost forth they came.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span><br /> +The Knight looked out beneath his hand;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Warder pointed to the glow;</span><br /> +"Now droop my banner, that my band<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">May each embrace it! then we'll go.</span><br /> +<br /> +"And if we fall, as fall we may,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus resolute the wronged to raise,</span><br /> +The banner that we bear to-day,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Shall be our monument and praise!"</span><br /> +<br /> +One look into his lady's bower;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">One step into his ancient hall;</span><br /> +And then adieu to Broughton Tower,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till blooms the white Rose over all!</span><br /> +<br /> +High o'er the surge of many a fight,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That banner, for the Rose, had led</span><br /> +The liegemen of the Broughton knight<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To victory's smiles, or glory's bed.</span><br /> +<br /> +And 'twas a glorious sight to see<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That break of day, from tower and town,</span><br /> +Pour forth his martial tenantry,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To swell the array on Urswick Down:</span><br /> +<br /> +To see the glancing pennons wave<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Above them, and the banner borne</span><br /> +All joyously by warriors, brave<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As ever hailed a battle morn.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span><br /> +And 'twas a stirring sound to hear,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Uprolling from the camp,—the drum,</span><br /> +The music, and the martial cheer,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That told the chiefs, "We come, we come!"</span><br /> +<br /> +Then in that sunny time of June,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When green leaves burdened every spray,</span><br /> +With all the merry birds in tune,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They marched upon their southward way.</span><br /> +<br /> +And, as through channel'd sands afar<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The tides with steady onward force</span><br /> +Push inland, roll'd their wave of war<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To Trent, its unresisted course.</span><br /> +<br /> +And spreading wide its crest where Stoke<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O'erlook'd the Royal lines below,</span><br /> +Spent its long gathering strength, and broke,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And plung'd in fury on the foe.</span><br /> +<br /> +For three long hours that summer morn<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">King Henry by his standard rode,</span><br /> +Through onset and repulse upborne,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A tower of strength where'er it glowed.</span><br /> +<br /> +For three long hours the fated band<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of chiefs, that summer morning waged</span><br /> +A desperate battle, hand to hand,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where'er the thickest carnage raged,</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span><br /> +Till midst four thousand liegemen slain,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The flower of that misguided host,</span><br /> +Borne down upon the fatal plain,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fame, honour, life, and cause were lost.</span><br /> +<br /> +Turn ye, who high in hall and tower<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sit waiting for your lords, and burn</span><br /> +To wrest the tidings of that hour<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From lips that never may return:</span><br /> +<br /> +Turn inwards from the news that flies<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Through England's summer groves, and close</span><br /> +The circlets of your asking eyes<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Against the coming cloud of woes!</span><br /> +<br /> +Wild rumour, like the wind that wings,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">None knows or how or whence, its way,</span><br /> +Storm-like on Broughton's turret rings<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The dire disaster of that day.</span><br /> +<br /> +Storm-like through his dislorded halls<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And farmsteads lone, the rumour breaks;</span><br /> +And far by Witherslack's grey walls,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And hamlet cots, despair awakes.</span><br /> +<br /> +And all old things meet shock and change,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Since Broughton, down-borne in his pride</span><br /> +On that red field, no more shall range<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">By Duddon's rocks, or Winster's side.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span><br /> +And while the hills around rejoiced,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And in the triumph of their King</span><br /> +Old strains of peace sang trumpet-voiced,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And bade the landscapes smile and sing;</span><br /> +<br /> +Far stretching o'er the land, his sign<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The King from Broughton's charters tore;</span><br /> +And the old honours of his line<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In his old tower were known no more.</span><br /> +<br /> +His halls, his manors, his fair lands,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pass'd from his name; round all he'd loved,</span><br /> +And all that loved him, power's dread hands<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In shadow through the noontide moved:</span><br /> +<br /> +E'en to those cottage homes apart,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His poor men's huts by lonely ways—</span><br /> +To crush from out the humblest heart<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Each pulse that dared to throb his praise!</span><br /> +<br /> +But when old feuds had all been healed,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And England's long lost smiling years</span><br /> +Returned, and tales of Stoke's red field<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fair eyes had ceased to flood with tears;</span><br /> +<br /> +'Twas whispered 'mid the fields and farms,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That once were Broughton's free domain,—</span><br /> +His <i>banner</i>, saved from strife of arms,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Was somewhere 'mid those homes again.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span><br /> +That o'er the hills afar, where lies<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lone Witherslack by moorland roads,</span><br /> +His own old liegemen true the prize<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Held fast within their safe abodes.</span><br /> +<br /> +Thrice honour'd in that matchless zeal<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To brave proscription, death and shame;</span><br /> +Thus rescued by their hearths to feel<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The symbol of his ancient fame!</span><br /> +<br /> +So for old faithfulness renowned,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The tenants of that knightly race</span><br /> +Their age-long acts of service crowned<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With that last deed of loyal grace.</span><br /> +<br /> +Last? Nay! for on one Sabbath morn,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">An old man, blanch'd by years and cares,</span><br /> +Gave up his spirit, tired and worn,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Amidst those humble liegemen's prayers.</span><br /> +<br /> +Gave up a long secreted life<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">'Mid hinds and herds, by peasant maids</span><br /> +Nurtured and soothed, while shadows rife<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With death's stern edicts, stalked the glades.</span><br /> +<br /> +He pass'd while Cartmel's monks sang dole,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As for a brave man gone to rest;</span><br /> +And men sighed, "Glory to his soul!"<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And wrapt the banner round his breast:</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span><br /> +And placed the tassell'd bridle reins<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And spurs that, by his lattice, led</span><br /> +His thoughts so oft to far off plains,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beside him in his narrow bed:</span><br /> +<br /> +And borne on high their arms above,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As hinds are borne to churchyard cells,</span><br /> +With kindly speech of truth and love,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mix'd with the sound of mournful bells,</span><br /> +<br /> +They laid him in a tomb, engraved<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With no memorial, date, or name;</span><br /> +But one dear relic round him, saved<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To whisper in the earth his fame.</span><br /> +<br /> +And when that age had all gone down<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To mingle with its native dust,</span><br /> +And time his deeds had overgrown,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His banner yielded up its trust;</span><br /> +<br /> +And told from one low chancel's shade<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where good men sang on holy days—</span><br /> +"Here Broughton's Knight in earth was laid.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Peace! To his tenants, endless praise!"</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "THE BANNER OF BROUGHTON +TOWER."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>Broughton Tower, the ancient part of which is all that +remains of the residence of the unfortunate Sir Thomas +Broughton, stands a little to the eastward of the town of that +name, upon the neck of a wooded spur of land, which projects +from the high ground above the houses towards the river +Duddon, about a mile distant. The towered portion, as it +rises from the wood, has much of the appearance of a church; +but is in reality part of the ancient building, now connected +with a modern mansion. It has a southern aspect, with a +slope down to the river, being well sheltered in the opposite +direction. "It commands an extensive view, comprising in a +wonderful variety hill and dale, water, wooded grounds, and +buildings; whilst fertility around is gradually diminished, being +lost in the superior heights of Black Comb, in Cumberland, +the high lands between Kirkby and Ulverston, and the estuary +of the Duddon expanding into the sands and waters of the +Irish sea."</p> + +<p>The Broughtons were an Anglo-Saxon family of high +antiquity, in whose possession the manor of Broughton had +remained from time immemorial, and whose chief seat was at +Broughton, until the second year of the reign of Henry the +Seventh. At this period the power and interest of Sir Thomas +Broughton were so considerable, that the Duchess of Burgundy, +sister to the late King and the Duke of Clarence, +relied on him as one of the principal confederates in the +attempt to subvert the government of Henry by the pretensions +of Lambert Simnel.</p> + +<p>Ireland was zealously attached to the house of York, and +held in affectionate regard the memory of the Duke of +Clarence, the Earl of Warwick's father, who had been its +lieutenant. No sooner, therefore, did the impostor Simnel +present himself to Thomas Fitz-Gerald, Earl of Kildare, and +claim his protection as the unfortunate Warwick, than that +credulous nobleman paved the way for his reception, and +furthered his design upon the throne, till the people in Dublin +with one consent tendered their allegiance to him as the true +Plantagenet. They paid the pretended Prince attendance as +their sovereign, lodged him in the Castle of Dublin, crowned +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>him with a diadem taken from a statue of the Virgin, and +publicly proclaimed him King, by the appellation of Edward +the Sixth.</p> + +<p>In the year 1487 Lambert, with about two thousand +Flemish troops under the command of Colonel Martin Swart, +a man of noble family in Germany, an experienced and valiant +soldier, whom the Duchess of Burgundy had chosen to support +the pretended title of Simnel to the crown of England, and a +number of Irish, conducted by Thomas Gerardine their captain +from Ireland, landed in Furness at the Pile of Fouldrey. The +army encamped in the neighbourhood of Ulverston, at a place +now known by the name of Swart-Moor. Sir Thomas +Broughton joined the rebels with a small body of English. +The army, at this time about eight thousand strong, proceeded +to join the Earl of Lincoln, Lord Lovel, and the rest of the +confederates, passing on through Cartmel to Stoke field, near +Newark-upon-Trent, where they met and encountered the +King's forces on the 5th of June, 1487.</p> + +<p>The day being far advanced before the King arrived at +Stoke, he pitched his camp and deferred the battle till the +day following. The forces of the Earl of Lincoln also encamped +at a little distance from those of the King, and +undismayed by the superior numbers they had to encounter, +bravely entered the field the next day, and arranged themselves +for battle, according to the directions of Colonel Swart and +other superior officers. The charge being sounded, a desperate +conflict was maintained with equal valour on both sides for +three hours. The Germans were in every respect equal to the +English, and none surpassed the bravery of Swart their commander. +For three hours each side contended for victory, +and the fate of the battle remained doubtful. The Irish +soldiers, however, being badly armed, and the Germans being +overpowered by numbers, the Lambertines were at length +defeated, but not before their principal officers, the Earl of +Lincoln, Lord Lovel, <i>Sir Thomas Broughton</i>, Colonel Swart, +and Sir Thomas Gerardine captain of the Irish, and upwards +of four thousand of their soldiers were slain.</p> + +<p>Young Lambert and his tutor were both taken prisoners. +The latter, being a priest, was punished with perpetual +imprisonment; Simnel was too contemptible to be an object +either of apprehension or resentment to Henry. He was +pardoned, and made a scullion in the King's kitchen, whence +he was afterwards advanced to the rank of falconer, in which +employment he ended his days.</p> + +<p>Sir Thomas Broughton is said to have fallen on the field of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>battle: but there remains a tradition, that he returned and +lived many years amongst his tenants in Witherslack, in Westmorland; +and was interred in the Chapel there; but of this +nothing is known for certain at present, or whether he returned +or where he died. Dr. Burn, speaking of the grant of Witherslack +to Sir Thomas, on the attainder of the Harringtons in +the first year of Henry's reign for siding with the house of +York, and of its subsequent grant to Thomas Lord Stanley, +the first Earl of Derby, on the attainder of Sir Thomas for +having been concerned in this affair of Lambert Simnel, goes +on to say—"And here it may not be amiss to rectify a mistake +in Lord Bacon's history of that King, (Henry VII.) who saith +that this Sir Thomas Broughton was slain at Stoke, near +Newark, on the part of the counterfeit Plantagenet, Lambert +Simnell; whereas Sir Thomas Broughton escaped from that +battle hither into Witherslack, where he lived a good while +<i>incognito</i>, amongst those who had been his tenants, who were +so kind unto him as privately to keep and maintain him, and +who dying amongst them was buried by them, whose grave Sir +Daniel Fleming says in his time was to be seen there."</p> + +<p>The erection of the new chapel of Witherslack by Dean +Barwick, in 1664, at a considerable distance from where the +ancient chapel stood, has obliterated the memory of his once +well-known grave. With this unhappy gentleman the family +of Broughton, which had flourished for many centuries and +had contracted alliances with most of the principal families in +these parts, was extinguished in Furness.</p> + +<p>After these affairs the King had leisure to revenge himself +on his enemies, and made a progress into the northern parts +of England, where he gave many proofs of his rigorous disposition. +A strict inquiry was made after those who had +assisted or favoured the rebels, and heavy fines and even +sanguinary punishments, were imposed upon the delinquents +in a very arbitrary manner. The fidelity therefore of Sir +Thomas Broughton's tenants to their fallen master was not +without its dangers, and is a pleasing instance of attachment +to the person of a leader in a rude and perilous age.</p> + +<p>In the wars of the Roses the Broughtons had always +strenuously supported the House of York. It is however +remarkable that, the manor of Witherslack having been +granted to Sir Thomas by Henry the Seventh in the first +year of his reign, he should have joined the Pretender in arms +against that monarch in the following year.</p> + +<p>Methop and Ulva, though distinctly named in the title +and description of this manor, yet make but a small part of it. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>They are all included within a peninsula, as it were, between +Winster Beck, Bryster Moss, and Lancaster Sands.</p> + +<p>The fate of Lord Lovel, another of the chiefs in this +disastrous enterprise, is also shrouded in mystery. It has +often been told that he was never seen, living or dead, after +the battle.</p> + +<p>The dead bodies of the Earl of Lincoln and most of the other +principal leaders, it was said, were found where they had fallen, +sword-in-hand, on the fatal field; but not that of Lord Lovel. +Some assert that he was drowned when endeavouring to escape +across the river Trent, the weight of his armour preventing +the subsequent discovery of his body. Other reports apply to +him the circumstances similar to those which have been related +above as referring to Sir Thomas Broughton; namely, that he +fled to the north where, under the guise of a peasant, he +ended his days in peace. Lord Bacon, in his History of +Henry the Seventh, says "that he lived long after in a cave +or vault." And his account has been partly corroborated in +modern times. William Cowper, Esquire, Clerk of the +House of Commons, writing from Hertingfordbury Park in +1738, says—"In 1708, upon the occasion of new laying a +chimney at Minster Lovel, there was discovered a large vault +or room underground in which was the entire skeleton of a +man, as having been sitting at a table which was before him, +with a book, paper, pen, etc.; in another part of the room +lay a cap, all much mouldered and decayed; which the family +and others judged to be this Lord Lovel, whose exit has +hitherto been so uncertain."</p> + +<p>A tradition was rife in the village in the last century to the +effect that, in this hiding place, which could only be opened +from the exterior, the insurgent chief had confided himself to +the care of a female servant, was forgotten or neglected by her, +and consequently died of starvation.</p> + +<p>The ancient Castle or Pile of Fouldrey, (formerly called +Pele of Foudra, or Futher,) stands upon a small island near +the southern extremity of the isle of Walney; and is said by +Camden to have been built by an Abbot of Furness, in the +first year of King Edward the Third (<span class="smcap">A. D.</span> 1327). It was +probably intended for an occasional retreat from hostility; a +depository for the valuable articles of the Monastery of Furness; +and for a fortress to protect the adjoining harbour; all +which intentions its situation and structure were well calculated +to answer at the time of its erection.</p> + +<p>It seems to have been the custom in the northern parts of +the kingdom, for the monasteries to have a fortress of this +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>kind, in which they might lodge with security their treasure +and records on the approach of an enemy; of this the Castle +on Holy Island, in Northumberland, and Wulstey Castle, near +the Abbey of Holm Cultram, in Cumberland, are examples. +It has even been said that an underground communication +existed between Furness Abbey and the Pele of Fouldrey.</p> + +<p>The harbour alluded to, appears to have been of considerable +importance to the shipping of that period, when the relations +of Ireland with the monks had become established. In the reign +of Henry the Sixth, it is mentioned as being found a convenient +spot for the woollen merchants to ship their goods to Ernemouth, +in Zealand, without paying the duty; and in Elizabeth's +days as "the only good haven for great shippes to londe or +ryde in" between Scotland and Milford Haven, in Wales.</p> + +<p>It was apprehended that the Spanish Armada would try to +effect a landing in this harbour.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2><a name="GILTSTONE_ROCK" id="GILTSTONE_ROCK">GILTSTONE ROCK;</a><br /> +OR, THE SLAVER IN THE SOLWAY.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +The Betsey-Jane sailed out of the Firth,<br /> +As the Waits sang "Christ is born on earth"—<br /> +The Betsey-Jane sailed out of the Firth,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">On Christmas-day in the morning.</span><br /> +The wind was East, the moon was high,<br /> +Of a frosty blue was the spangled sky,<br /> +And the bells were ringing, and dawn was nigh,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And the day was Christmas morning.</span><br /> +<br /> +In village and town woke up from sleep,<br /> +From peaceful visions and slumbers deep—<br /> +In village and town woke up from sleep,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">On Christmas-day in the morning,</span><br /> +The many that thought on Christ the King,<br /> +And rose betimes their gifts to bring,<br /> +And "peace on earth and good will" to sing,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As is meet upon Christmas morning.</span><br /> +<br /> +The Betsey-Jane pass'd village and town,<br /> +As the Gleemen sang, and the stars went down—<br /> +The Betsey-Jane pass'd village and town,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">That Christmas-day in the morning;</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span><br /> +And the Skipper by good and by evil swore,<br /> +The bells might ring and the Gleemen roar,<br /> +But the chink of his gold would chime him o'er<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Those waves, next Christmas morning.</span><br /> +<br /> +And out of the Firth with his reckless crew,<br /> +All ready his will and his work to do—<br /> +Out of the Firth with his reckless crew<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">He sailed on a Christmas morning!</span><br /> +He steer'd his way to Gambia's coast;<br /> +And dealt for slaves; and Westward cross'd;<br /> +And sold their lives, and made his boast<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As he thought upon Christmas morning.</span><br /> +<br /> +And again and again from shore to shore,<br /> +With his human freight for the golden ore—<br /> +Again and again from shore to shore,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ere Christmas-day in the morning,</span><br /> +He cross'd that deep with never a thought<br /> +Of the sorrow, or wrong, or suffering wrought<br /> +On souls and bodies thus sold and bought<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">For gold, against Christmas morning!</span><br /> +<br /> +And at length, with his gold and ivory rare,<br /> +When the sun was low and the breeze was fair—<br /> +At length with his gold and ivory rare<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">He sailed, that on Christmas morning</span><br /> +He might pass both village and town again<br /> +When the bells were ringing, as they rung then,<br /> +When he pass'd them by in the Betsey-Jane,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">On that last bright Christmas morning.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span><br /> +The Betsey-Jane sailed into the Firth,<br /> +As the bells rang "Christ is born on earth"—<br /> +The Betsey-Jane sailed into the Firth,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And it <i>was</i> upon Christmas morning!</span><br /> +The wind was west, the moon was high,<br /> +Of a hazy blue was the spangled sky,<br /> +And the bells were ringing, and dawn was nigh,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Just breaking on Christmas morning.</span><br /> +<br /> +The Gleemen singing of Christ the King,<br /> +Of Christ the King, of Christ the King—<br /> +The Gleemen singing of Christ the King,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Hailed Christmas-day in the morning;</span><br /> +When the Betsey-Jane with a thundering shock<br /> +Went ripping along on the Giltstone Rock,<br /> +In sound of the bells which seemed to mock<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Her doom on that Christmas morning.</span><br /> +<br /> +With curse and shriek and fearful groan,<br /> +On the foundering ship, in the waters lone—<br /> +With curse and shriek and fearful groan,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">They sank on that Christmas morning!</span><br /> +The Skipper with arms around his gold,<br /> +Scared by dark spirits that loosed his hold,<br /> +Was down the deep sea plunged and roll'd<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">In the dawn of that Christmas morning:—</span><br /> +<br /> +While village and town woke up from sleep,<br /> +From peaceful visions and slumbers deep—<br /> +While village and town woke up from sleep,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">That Christmas-day in the morning!</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span><br /> +And many that thought on Christ the King,<br /> +Rose up betimes their gifts to bring,<br /> +And, "peace on earth and good will to sing,"<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Went forth in the Christmas morning!</span><br /> +</div> + +<h3>NOTE.</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The rock thus named, lies off the harbour at Harrington, +on the coast of Cumberland, and is only visible at low water +during spring tides.</p> + +<p>The Gleemen, or Waits, as the Christmas minstrels are +called, still keep up their annual rounds, with song and salutation, +and with a heartiness and zeal, which have been well +described by the great Poet of the Lake district in those +feeling and admirable verses to his brother, Dr. Wordsworth, +prefixed to his Sonnets on the River Duddon.</p> + +<p>In the parish of Muncaster, on the eve of the new year, the +children go from house to house, singing a ditty, which craves +the bounty, "<i>they were wont to have, in old king Edward's +days</i>." There is no tradition whence this custom arose; the +donation is two-pence or a pie at every house. Mr. Jefferson +suggests, may not the name have been altered from Henry to +Edward? and may it not have an allusion to the time when +King Henry the sixth was entertained at Muncaster Castle in +his flight from his enemies?</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>CRIER OF CLAIFE.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +A wild holloa on Wynander's shore,<br /> +'Mid the loud waves' splash and the night-wind's roar!<br /> +Who cries so late with desperate note,<br /> +Far over the water, to hail the boat?<br /> +<br /> +'Tis night's mid gloom; the strong rain beats fast:<br /> +Is there one at this hour will face the blast,<br /> +And the darkness traverse with arm and oar,<br /> +To ferry the Crier from yonder shore?<br /> +<br /> +A mile to cross, and the skies so dread;<br /> +With a storm around that would wake the dead;<br /> +And fathoms of boiling depths below;<br /> +The ferry is hailed, and the boat must go.<br /> +<br /> +Snug under that cliff, whence over the Mere,<br /> +When summer is merry and skies are clear,<br /> +In holiday times hearts light and gay<br /> +Look over the hills and far away—<br /> +<br /> +At the Ferry-house Inn, sat warm beside<br /> +The bright wood-fire and hearthstone wide,<br /> +A rollicking band of jovial souls<br /> +With tinkling cans and full brown bowls.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span><br /> +Without, the sycamores' branches rode<br /> +The storm, as if fiends the roof bestrode;<br /> +Yet stout of heart, to that wild holloa<br /> +The ferryman smiled—"The boat must go."<br /> +<br /> +His comrades followed out into the dark,<br /> +As the young man strode to the tumbling bark;<br /> +And, wishing him luck in the perilous storm,<br /> +With a shudder went back to the fireside warm.<br /> +<br /> +An hour is gone! against wind and wave<br /> +Well struggled and strove that heart so brave.<br /> +Another! they crowd to the whistling door,<br /> +To welcome the guide and his freight to shore.<br /> +<br /> +But pallid, and stunn'd, aghast, alone,<br /> +He stood in the boat, and speech had none:<br /> +His lips were locked, and his eyes astare,<br /> +And blanched with terror his manly hair.<br /> +<br /> +What thing he had seen, what utterance heard,<br /> +What horror that night his senses stirr'd,<br /> +Was frozen within him, and choked his breath,<br /> +And laid him, ere morning, cold in death.<br /> +<br /> +But what that night of horror revealed,<br /> +And what that night of horror concealed<br /> +Of spirits and powers in storms that roam,<br /> +Lies hid with the monk in St. Mary's Holm.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span><br /> +Still, under the cliff—whence over the Mere,<br /> +When summer was merry and skies were clear,<br /> +In holiday times hearts light and gay<br /> +Looked over the hills and far away—<br /> +<br /> +When the rough winds blew amid rain and cold,<br /> +The Ferry-house gathered its hearts of old,<br /> +Who sat at the hearth and o'er the brown ale,<br /> +Oft talked of that night and its dismal tale.<br /> +<br /> +And often the Crier was heard to wake<br /> +The night's foul echoes across the lake;<br /> +But never again would a hand unmoor<br /> +The boat, to venture by night from shore:<br /> +<br /> +Till they sought the good monk of St. Mary's Holm,<br /> +With relics of saints and beads from Rome,<br /> +To row to the Nab on Hallowmas night,<br /> +And bury the Crier by morning's light.<br /> +<br /> +With Aves muttered, and spells unknown,<br /> +The monk rows over the Mere alone;<br /> +Like a feather his bark floats light and fast;<br /> +When the Crier's loud hail sweeps down the blast.<br /> +<br /> +Speed on, bold heart, with gifts of grace!<br /> +He is nearing the wild fiend-blighted place.<br /> +Now heed thee, foul spirit! the priest has power<br /> +To bind thee on earth till the morning hour.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span><br /> +He rests his oars; and the faint blue gleam<br /> +From a marsh-light sheds on the ground its beam.<br /> +There's a stir in the grass; and there's <span class="smcap">ONE</span> on a knoll,<br /> +Unearthly and horrid to sight and soul.<br /> +<br /> +That horrible cry rings through the dark,<br /> +As the monk steps out of the grounding bark;<br /> +And he charms a circle around the knoll,<br /> +Wherein he must sit till the mass bell toll.<br /> +<br /> +Then over the lake, with the fiend in tow,<br /> +To the quarry beyond the monk will go,<br /> +And bury the Crier with book and bell,<br /> +While the birds of morning sing him farewell.<br /> +<br /> +The morn awoke. As the breezy smile<br /> +Of dawn played over St. Mary's Isle,<br /> +The tinkling sound of the mass-bell rose,<br /> +And startled the valleys from brief repose.<br /> +<br /> +Then, like a speck from afar descried,<br /> +The monk row'd out on the waters wide—<br /> +From the Nab row'd out, with the fiend in his wake,<br /> +To lay him in quiet, across the lake.<br /> +<br /> +And fear-struck men, and women that bore<br /> +Their babes, beheld from height and shore,<br /> +How he reached the wood that hid the dell,<br /> +Where he laid the Crier with book and bell.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span><br /> +"For the ivy green" the spell was told;<br /> +"For the ivy green" his knell was knoll'd;<br /> +That as long as by wall and greenwood tree<br /> +The ivy flourished, his rest might be.<br /> +<br /> +So did the good monk; and thus was laid<br /> +The Crier in ground by greenwood shade.<br /> +In the quarry of Claife the wretched ghost<br /> +To human ear for ever was lost.<br /> +<br /> +And country folk in peace again<br /> +Went forth by night through field and lane,<br /> +Nor dreaded to hear that terrible note<br /> +Cry over the water, and hail the boat.<br /> +<br /> +And still on that cliff, high over the Mere,<br /> +When summer is merry, and skies are clear,<br /> +In holiday times hearts light and gay<br /> +Look over the hills and far away.<br /> +<br /> +But what that night of horror revealed,<br /> +And what that night and morrow concealed,<br /> +Of spirits so wicked and given to roam,<br /> +Lies hid with the monk in St. Mary's Holm.<br /> +<br /> +Peace be with him, peaceful soul!<br /> +Long his bell has ceased to toll.<br /> +Green the Isle that folds his breast;<br /> +Clear the Lake that lull'd his rest.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span><br /> +Though the many ages gone<br /> +Long have left his place unknown;<br /> +Yet where once he kneel'd and pray'd,<br /> +By his altar long decay'd,<br /> +Stranger to this Island led!<br /> +Humbly speak and softly tread;<br /> +Catching from the ages dim<br /> +This, the burden of his hymn:—<br /> +<br /> +"Ave, Thou before whose name<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wrath and shadows swiftly flee!</span><br /> +Arm Thy faithful bands with flame,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Earth from foulest foes to free.</span><br /> +<br /> +"Peace on all these valleys round,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Breathe from out this Islet's breast;</span><br /> +Wafting from this holy ground<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Seeds of Thy eternal rest.</span><br /> +<br /> +"Wrath and Evil, then no more<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Here molesting, all shall cease.</span><br /> +Peace around! From shore to shore—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Peace! On all Thy waters—peace!"</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "CRIER OF CLAIFE."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The little rocky tree-decked islet in Windermere, called +St. Mary's, or the Ladye's Holme, hitherto reputed to have +formed part of the conventual domains of the Abbey at +Furness, had its name from a chantry dedicated to the Virgin +Mary, which was standing up to the reign of King Henry the +Eighth, but of which no traces are now remaining. "When," +says an anonymous writer, "at the Reformation, that day of +desolation came, which saw the attendant priests driven forth, +and silenced for ever the sweet chant of orison and litany +within its walls; the isle and revenues of the institution were +sold to the Philipsons of Calgarth. By them the building +was suffered to fall into so utter a state of ruin, that no trace +even of its foundations is left to proclaim to the stranger who +meditates upon the fleeting change of time and creed, that +here, for more than three centuries, stood a hallowed fane, +from whence at eventide and prime prayers were wafted +through the dewy air, where now are only heard the festal +sounds of life's more jocund hours." Lately renewed antiquarian +investigation has, however, disclosed the erroneousness +of the generally received statement respecting the early ownership +of this tiny spot; as in Dodsworth's celebrated collection +of ancient evidences there is contained an Inquisition, or the +copy of one, taken at Kendal, so far back as the Monday after +the feast of the Annunciation, in the 28th Edward the Third, +which shews that this retreat, amid the waters of our English +Como, appertained not to Furness Abbey, but to the house of +Segden, in Scotland, which was bound always to provide two +resident chaplains for the service of our Ladye's Chapel in +this island solitude. For the maintenance and support of those +priests, certain lands were given by the founder, who was +either one of that chivalrous race, descended from the Scottish +Lyndseys "light and gay," whose immediate ancestor in the +early part of the thirteenth century had married Alice, second +daughter and co-heiress of William de Lancaster, eighth Lord +of Kendal; and with her obtained that moiety of the Barony +of Kendal, whose numerous manors are collectively known +as the Richmond Fee; or the chantry may have owed its +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>foundation to the pious impulses of Ingelram de Guignes, +Sire de Courci, one of the grand old Peers of France, whose +house, so renowned in history and romance, proclaimed its +independence and its pride in this haughty motto:—</p> + +<div class="poem"> +"Je ne suis Roy ni Prince aussi,<br /> +Je suis Le Seignhor de Courci."<br /> +</div> + +<p>And which Ingelram in 1285 married Christiana, heiress of +the last de Lyndsey, and in her right, besides figuring on +innumerable occasions as a feudal potentate, both in England +and Scotland, he became Lord of the Fee, within which lies +St. Mary's Isle.</p> + +<p>On an Inquisition taken after the death of Johanna de +Coupland, in the 49th Edward the Third, it was found that +she held the advowson of the Chapel of Saint Mary's Holme, +within the lake of Wynandermere, but that it was worth +nothing, because the land which the said Chapel enjoyed of +old time had been seized into the hands of the King, and lay +within the park of Calgarth. It is on record, however, that +in 1492, an annual sum of six pounds was paid out of the +revenues of the Richmond Fee, towards the support of the +Chaplains; and in the returns made by the ecclesiastical +Commissioners in Edward the Sixth's reign, "the free Chapel +of Holme and Wynandermere" is mentioned, shortly after +which it was granted, as aforesaid, to the owners of Calgarth.</p> + +<p>The singular name of the "Crier of Claife" is now applied +to an extensive slate or flag quarry, long disused, and overgrown +with wood, on the wildest and most lonely part of the +height called Latter-barrow, which divides the vales of Esthwaite +and Windermere, above the Ferry. In this desolate +spot, by the sanctity and skill of holy men, had been exorcised +and laid the apparition who had come to be known throughout +the country by that title; and the place itself has ever since +borne the same name. None of the country people will go +near it after night fall, and few care to approach it even in +daylight. Desperate men driven from their homes by domestic +discord, have been seen going in its direction, and never known +to return. It is said the Crier is allowed to emerge occasionally +from his lonely prison, and is still heard on very stormy +nights sending his wild entreaty for a boat, howling across +Windermere. Mr. Craig Gibson, in one of his graphic +sketches of the Lake country, says that he is qualified to speak +to this, for he himself has heard him. "At least," says he, "I +have heard what I was solemnly assured by an old lady at +Cunsey must have been the Crier of Claife. Riding down +the woods a little south of the Ferry, on a wild January +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>evening, I was strongly impressed by a sound made by the +wind as, after gathering behind the hill called Gummershow +for short periods of comparative calm, it came rushing up and +across the lake with a sound startlingly suggestive of the cry +of a human being in extremity, wailing for succour. This +sound lasted till the squall it always preceded struck the +western shore, when it was lost in the louder rush of the wind +through the leafless woods. I am induced to relate this," he +continues, "by the belief I entertain that the phenomenon +described thus briefly and imperfectly, may account for much +of the legend, and that the origin of many similar traditional +superstitions may be found in something equally simple."</p> + +<p>The late Mr. John Briggs, in his notes upon "Westmorland +as it was," by the Rev. Mr. Hodgson, has furnished his +readers with some curious information upon the "philosophy +of spirits," which he collected from those ancient sages of the +dales who were supposed to be best acquainted with the +subject. Many of these superstitions are now exploded: but +the marvellous tales at one time currently believed, still furnish +conversation for the cottage fireside. According to the gravest +authorities, he says, no spirit could appear before twilight had +vanished in the evening, or after it had appeared in the +morning. On this account, the winter nights were peculiarly +dangerous, owing to the long revels which ghosts, or dobbies, +as they were called, could keep at that season. There was +one exception to this. If a man had murdered a woman who +was with child by him, she had power to haunt him at all +hours; and the Romish priests (who alone had the power of +laying spirits,) could not lay a spirit of this kind with any +certainty, as she generally contrived to break loose long before +her stipulated time. A culprit might hope to escape the +gallows, but there was no hope of escaping being haunted. +In common cases, however, the priest could "lay" the ghosts; +"while ivy was green," was the usual term. But in very +desperate cases, they were laid in the "Red Sea," which was +accomplished with great difficulty and even danger to the +exorcist. In this country, the most usual place to confine +spirits was under Haws Bridge, a few miles below Kendal. +Many a grim ghost has been chained in that dismal trough!</p> + +<p>According to the laws to which they were subject, ghosts +could seldom appear to more than one person at a time. +When they appeared to the eyes, they had not the power of +making a noise; and when they saluted the ear, they could +not greet the eyes. To this, however, there was an exception, +when a human being spoke to them in the name of the Blessed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>Trinity. For it was an acknowledged truth, that however +wicked the individual might have been in this world, or however +light he might have made of the Almighty's name, he +would tremble at its very sound, when separated from his +earthly covering.</p> + +<p>The causes of spirits appearing after death were generally +three. Murdered persons came again to haunt their murderers, +or to obtain justice by appearing to other persons likely to see +them avenged. Persons who had hid any treasure, were +doomed to haunt the place where that treasure was hid; as +they had made a god of their wealth in this world, the place +where their treasure lay was to be their heaven after death. +If any person could speak to them, and give them an opportunity +of confessing where their treasure was hid, they could +then rest in peace, but not otherwise. Those who died with +any heavy crimes on their consciences, which they had not +confessed, were also doomed to wander on the earth at the +midnight hour.</p> + +<p>Spirits had no power over those who did not molest them; +but if insulted, they seem to have been extremely vindictive, +and to have felt little compunction in killing the insulter. +They had power to assume any form, and to change it as +often as they pleased; but they could neither vanish nor +change, while a human eye was fixed upon them.</p> + +<p>Midway on Windermere, below the range of islands which +intersect the lake, extends the track along which ply the Ferry +boats between the little inn on the western side and the +wooded promontory on the opposite shore. The Ferry +House, with its lawn in front and few branching sycamores, +occupies a jutting area between the base of a perpendicular +cliff and the lake. Few finer prospects can be desired than +that afforded from the summit which overhangs the Mere at +this point. The summer house, which has been built for the +sake of the views it commands of the surrounding country, is +a favourite resort of lovers of the beautiful in nature, whence +they may witness, in its many aspects afar, the grandeur of the +mountain world; and near and below, the beauty of the +curving shores and wooded isles of this queen of English +lakes. From the Ferry House to the Ferry Nab, as the +promontory is called, on the western shore, is barely half a +mile. It was from thence that in the dark stormy night the +Evil voice cried "Boat!" which the poor ferryman obeyed so +fatally. No passenger was there, but a sight which sent him +back with bloodless face and dumb, to die on the morrow.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>THE CUCKOO IN BORRODALE.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +Far within those rocky regions<br /> +Where old Scawfell's hoary legions,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Robed and capped with storms and snow,</span><br /> +Here like rugged Vikings towering,<br /> +There like giants grimly cowering,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Look into the vales below;</span><br /> +<br /> +Once where Borrhy wild and fearless,<br /> +Once where Oller brave and peerless,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hew'd the forest, cleared the vale,</span><br /> +Gave their names to cling for ever<br /> +Round thy dells by crag and river,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dark and wintry Borrodale!</span><br /> +<br /> +In that dreariest of the valleys,<br /> +Strifes for evermore, and malice<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Without end the dalesmen vexed.</span><br /> +Neighbour had no heart for neighbour.<br /> +Never side by side to labour<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Went or came they unperplex'd.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span><br /> +Cheerless were the fields and houses.<br /> +Gloomily the sullen spouses<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Moved about the hearths and floors.</span><br /> +Sunshine was an alms from Heaven<br /> +That not one day out of seven<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">God's bright beams brought to their doors.</span><br /> +<br /> +And 'mid discontent and anguish<br /> +Every virtue seem'd to languish;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Every soul groan'd with its load.</span><br /> +Lingering in his walks beside them,<br /> +Oft their friendly Pastor eyed them,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And his heart with pity glow'd.</span><br /> +<br /> +"Ah!" he thought, "that looks of kindness<br /> +Could but enter here! the blindness<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of this life, could it but seem</span><br /> +To them the death it is!—but listen!"—<br /> +And his eyes began to glisten:<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Spring was round him like a dream.</span><br /> +<br /> +"'Tis the Cuckoo!"—In the hollow<br /> +Up the valley seem'd to follow<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Spring's fair footsteps that sweet throat.</span><br /> +All the fields put off their sadness;<br /> +Trees and hills and skies with gladness<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Answering to the Cuckoo's note.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span><br /> +Then on that still Sabbath-morrow,<br /> +Spake the Pastor—"Let us borrow<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gladness from this new-born Spring.</span><br /> +Hark, the bird that brings the blossoms!<br /> +Brings the sunshine to our bosoms!<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Makes with joy the valleys ring!</span><br /> +<br /> +"Coming from afar to cheer us,<br /> +Could we always keep him near us,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All these heavenly skies from far,</span><br /> +All this blessed morn discovers,<br /> +All this Spring that round us hovers,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Would be still what now they are!</span><br /> +<br /> +"Let us all go forth and labour,<br /> +Sire, and son, and wife, and neighbour,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">First the bread, the life, to win:</span><br /> +Then by yonder stream we'll rally,<br /> +Build a wall across the valley,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And we'll close the Cuckoo in.</span><br /> +<br /> +"So this Spring time, never failing,<br /> +While it hears his music hailing<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From the wood and by the rill.</span><br /> +Shall, its new born life retaining,<br /> +Till our mortal hours are waning,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Warm and light and cheer us still."—</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span><br /> +Flush'd the morn; and all were ready.<br /> +Sowers sowed with paces steady;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Plough'd the ploughers in the field;</span><br /> +Delved the gardeners; planters planted;<br /> +Then to their great work, undaunted<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Forth they fared their wall to build.</span><br /> +<br /> +Stone by stone, the wall beside them<br /> +Rose. Their Pastor came to guide them,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Day by day, and spake to cheer;</span><br /> +While each labouring hand the others<br /> +Helped, and one and all like brothers<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wrought along the ripening year.</span><br /> +<br /> +Then they gathered in their houses,<br /> +Men and maidens, sires and spouses,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Talking of their wall. And when</span><br /> +Soon the long bright day returning<br /> +Called them, every heart was yearning<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To resume its task again.</span><br /> +<br /> +And on every eve they parted<br /> +At their thresholds, kindlier-hearted,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Looking forth again to meet.</span><br /> +All had something good or gladdening<br /> +On their lips; the only saddening<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sounds were those of parting feet.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span><br /> +So their wall, extending ever,<br /> +Spann'd at length the vale and river;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Grasp'd the mountains there and here:</span><br /> +Reached towards the blue of heaven;<br /> +Touched the light cloud o'er it driven;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the end at length was near.</span><br /> +<br /> +June had come; and all was vernal:<br /> +Seemed secure their Spring eternal:<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Eyes were bright, and skies were blue:</span><br /> +When—at Nature's call—unguided—<br /> +Out the voice above them glided,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Cuckoo!"—far away, "Cuckoo!"</span><br /> +<br /> +"Gone!" a hundred tongues in chorus<br /> +Shouted; "Gone! the bird that bore us<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Spring with all things bright and good!"</span><br /> +While, in stupor and amazement,<br /> +Vacantly from cope to basement<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Glowering at their wall, they stood.—</span><br /> +<br /> +But though all forgot, while building<br /> +Up their wall, that months were yielding<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Each in turn to others' sway,</span><br /> +With their leaves and landscapes changing;<br /> +And, to skies more constant ranging,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fled the Cuckoo far away!</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span><br /> +Winter from their hearts had perished;<br /> +Spring in every heart was cherished;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Every charm of life and love—</span><br /> +Love for wife and home and neighbour—<br /> +Sprang from out that genial labour;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Peace around, and Heaven above.</span><br /> +<br /> +Faith into their lives had entered;<br /> +Joy and fellowship were centred<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wheresoe'er a hearth was found.</span><br /> +While the calm bright hope before them<br /> +Temper'd even the rains, and o'er them<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Charmed to rest the tempests' sound.</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "THE CUCKOO IN BORRODALE."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>If the traditions of the past, and the estimate formed of +them by their distant neighbours, bear rather hardly upon the +people of Borrodale, it must be remembered that the relations +of that dale to the world without were very different a hundred +years ago from what they are now. It was a recess, approached +by a long and winding valley, from the vale of Keswick, with +the lake extending between its entrance and the town. The +highest mountains of the district closed round its head. Its +entrance was guarded by a woody hill, on which had formerly +stood a Roman fortress, afterwards occupied by the Saxons, +and which in later times was maintained in its military capacity +by the monks of Furness. For here one of their principal +magazines was established, and the holy fathers had great +possessions to defend from the frequent irruptions of the Scots +in those days. Besides their tithe corn, they amassed here +the valuable minerals of the country; among which salt, +produced from a spring in the valley, was no inconsiderable +article.</p> + +<p>In this deep retreat the inhabitants of the villages of Rosthwaite +and Seathwaite, having at all times little intercourse +with the country, during half the year were almost totally +excluded from all human commerce. The surrounding hills +attract the vapours, and rain falls abundantly; snow lies long +in the valleys; and the clouds frequently obscure the sky. +Upon the latter village, in the depth of winter, the sun never +shines. As the spring advances, his rays begin to shoot over +the southern mountains; and at high noon to tip the chimney +tops with their light. That radiant sign shows the cheerless +winter to be now over; and rouses the hardy peasants to the +labours of the coming year. Their scanty patches of arable +land they cultivated with difficulty; and their crops late in +ripening, and often a prey to autumnal rains, which are violent +in this country, just gave them bread to eat. Their herds +afforded them milk; and their flocks supplied them with +clothes: the shepherd himself being often the manufacturer +also. No dye was necessary to tinge their wool: it was +naturally a russet brown; and sheep and shepherds were +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>clothed alike, both in the simple livery of nature. The +procuring of fuel was among their greatest hardships. Here +the inhabitants were obliged to get on the tops of the mountains; +which abounding with mossy grounds, seldom found +in the valleys below, supplied them with peat. This, made +into bundles, and fastened upon sledges, they guided down +the precipitous sides of the mountains, and stored in their +outbuildings. At the period to which we refer, a hundred +years ago, the roads were of the rudest construction, scarcely +passable even for horses. A cart or any kind of wheeled +carriage was totally unknown in Borrodale. They carried +their hay home upon their horses, in bundles, one on each +side: they made no stacks. Their manure they carried in the +same manner, as also the smaller wood for firing: the larger +logs they trailed. Their food in summer consisted of fish and +small mutton; in winter, of bacon and hung mutton. Nor +was their method of drying their mutton less rude: they hung +the sheep up by the hinder legs, and took away only the head +and entrails. In this situation, I myself, says Clarke, have +seen seven sheep hanging in one chimney.</p> + +<p>The inhabitants of Borrodale were a proverb, even among +their unpolished neighbours, for ignorance; and a thousand +absurd and improbable stories are related of their stupidity; +such as mistaking a red-deer, seen upon one of their mountains, +for a horned horse; at the sight of which they assembled +in considerable numbers, and provided themselves with ropes, +thinking to take him by the same means as they did their +horses when wild in the field, by running them into a strait, +and then tripping them up with a cord. A chase of several +hours proved fruitless; when they returned thoroughly convinced +they had been chasing a witch. Such like is the story +of the mule, which, being ridden into the dale by a stranger +bound for the mountains, was left in the care of his host at the +foot of a pass. The neighbours assembled to see the curious +animal, and consulted the wise man of the dale as to what +it could be. With his book, and his thoughts in serious +deliberation, he was enabled to announce authoritatively that +the brute was a peacock! So when a new light broke into +Borrodale, and lime was first sent for from beyond Keswick; +the carrier was an old dalesman with horse and sacks. Rain +falling, it began to smoke: some water from the river was +procured by him to extinguish the unnatural fire; but the evil +was increased, and the smoke grew worse. Assured at length +that he had got the devil in his sacks, as he must be in any +fire which was aggravated by water, he tossed the whole load +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>over into the river. The tale of the stirrups is perhaps a little +too absurd even for Borrodale. A "'statesman" brought home +from a distant fair or sale, what had never before been seen in +the dale, a pair of stirrups. Riding home in them, when he +reached his own door, his feet had become so fastened in +them, that they could not be got out; so as there was no +help for it, he patiently sat his horse in the pasture for a day +or two, his family bringing him food, then it was proposed +to bring them both into the stable, which was done; his +family bringing him food as before. At length it occurred to +some one that he might be lifted with the saddle from the +horse, and carried thereupon into the house. There the +mounted man sat spinning wool in a corner of the kitchen, +till the return of one of his sons from St. Bees school, whose +learning, after due consideration of the case, suggested that +the good man should draw his feet out of his shoes: when to +the joy of his family he was restored to his occupation and to +liberty. But the story of the Cuckoo has made its local name +the "Gowk" synonymous with an inhabitant of the vale. There +the Spring was very charming, and the voice of the bird rare +and gladsome. It occurred to the natives that a wall built +across the entrance of their valley, at Grange, if made high +enough, would keep the cuckoo among them, and make the +cheerful Spring-days last for ever. The plan was tried, and +failed only because, according to popular belief from generation +to generation, the wall was not built one course higher.</p> + +<p>The wetness of the weather in Borrodale is something more +than an occasional inconvenience. It may be judged of by +observations which show the following results. The average +quantity of rain in many parts of the south of England does +not exceed 20 inches, and sometimes does not even reach that +amount. The mean rain fall for England is 30 inches. +Kendal and Keswick have been considered the wettest places +known in England; and the annual average at the former +place is 52 inches. It was found by experiments made in +1852, that while 81 inches were measured on Scawfell Pike; +86 at Great Gable; 124 at Sty Head; 156 were measured at +Seathwaite in Borrodale; shewing, with the exception of that +at Sprinkling Tarn, between Scawfell, and Langdale Pikes, +and Great Gable, where it measured 168 inches nearly, the +greatest rainfall in the Lake District to be at the head of +Borrodale. Taking a period of ten years, the average annual +rainfall at Seathwaite in that dale was over 126 inches; for +the rest of England it was 29 inches.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>KING EVELING.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +King Eveling stood by the Azure River,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When the tide-wave landward began to flow;</span><br /> +And over the sea in the sunlight's shiver,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He watch'd one white sail northward go.</span><br /> +<br /> +"Twice has it pass'd; and I linger, weary:<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">How I long for its coming, my life to close!</span><br /> +My lands forget me, my halls are dreary,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And my age is lonely; I want repose.</span><br /> +<br /> +"If rightly I read the signs within me,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The tides may lessen, the moon may wane,</span><br /> +And then the Powers I have serv'd will win me<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A pathway over yon shining plain.</span><br /> +<br /> +"It befits a King, who has wisely spoken,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whose rule was just, and whose deeds were brave,</span><br /> +To depart alone, and to leave no token<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">On earth but of glory—not even a grave.</span><br /> +<br /> +"And now I am going. No more to know me,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">My banners fall round me with age outworn.</span><br /> +I have buried my crown in the sands below me;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And I vanish, a King, into night forlorn.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span><br /> +"What of mine is good will endure for ever,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Growing into the ages on earth to be,</span><br /> +When—Eveling dwelt by the Azure River,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A King—shall be all that is told of me."</span><br /> +<br /> +For days the tides with ebbing and flowing<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Grew full with the moon; and out of the dim,</span><br /> +On the ocean's verge came the white sail growing,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And anchor'd below on the shoreward rim.</span><br /> +<br /> +His people slept. For to them descended,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In that good time of the King, their rest,</span><br /> +While the lengthening shades of the eve yet blended<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With the golden sunbeams low in the west.</span><br /> +<br /> +No banded host on his footsteps waited,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No child nor vassal from bower or hall:</span><br /> +He look'd around him like one belated<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">On a lonely wild; and he went from all.</span><br /> +<br /> +Slowly he strode to the ship; and for ever<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sailed out from the land he had ruled so well;</span><br /> +And the name of the King by the Azure River<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Is all that is left for the bards to tell.</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "KING EVELING."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The ancient, but now insignificant town and seaport of +Ravenglass, six miles from Bootle and about sixteen from +Whitehaven, is situated on a small creek, at the confluence +of the rivers Esk, Mite, and Irt, which form a large sandy +harbour. Of this place the Editor of Camden, Bishop Gibson, +says—"The shore, wheeling to the north, comes to Ravenglass, +a harbour for ships, and commodiously surrounded with +two rivers; where, as I am told, there have been found Roman +inscriptions. Some will have it to have been formerly called +Aven-glass, i.e. (Cœruleus) an azure sky-coloured river; and +tell you abundance of stories about King Eveling, who had +his palace here."</p> + +<p>Ravenglass appears from Mr. Sandford's M.S. to have been +of old of some importance as a fishing town. He says—"Here +were some salmons and all sorts of fish in plenty; but the +greatest plenty of herrings, (it) is a daintye fish of a foot long; +and so plenteous a fishing thereof and in the sea betwixt and +the ile of man, as they lie in sholes together so thike in the +sea at spawning, about August, <i>as a ship cannot pass thorow</i>: +and the fishers go from all the coast to catch them."</p> + +<p>There was also formerly a considerable pearl-fishery at this +place: and Camden speaks of the shell-fish in the Irt producing +pearls. Sir John Hawkins obtained from government +the right of fishing for pearls in that river. The pearls were +obtained from mussels, by the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, +who sought for them at low water, and afterwards sold them +to the jewellers. About the year 1695, a patent was granted +to some gentlemen, for pearl-fishing in the Irt; but how the +undertaking prospered is uncertain. The pearl-mussels do not +appear to have been very plentiful for many years. Nicolson +and Burn observe, that Mr. Thomas Patrickson, of How in +this County, is said to have obtained as many from divers +poor people, whom he employed to gather them, as he +afterwards sold in London for £800.</p> + +<p>Tacitus in the "Agricola" describes the pearls found in +Britain as being of a dark and livid hue. Pliny also:—"In +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>Britain some pearls do grow, but they are small and dim, not +clear and bright." And again:—"Julius Cæsar did not deny, +that the breast-plate which he dedicated to Venus Genitrix, +within the temple, was made of British pearls." So that it is +not at all improbable that our little northern stream even may +have contributed in some degree to the splendour of the +imperial offering.</p> + +<p>The manor in which Ravenglass is included is dependent +on the barony of Egremont; and King John granted to +Richard Lucy, as lord paramount, a yearly fair to be held +here on St. James's day, and a weekly market every Saturday; +and at the present time the successor to the Earls of Egremont, +Lord Leconfield, holds the fair of Ravenglass, on the eve, +day, and morrow of St. James. Hutchinson thus describes +it:—"There are singular circumstances and ceremonies +attending the proclamation of this fair, as being anciently +held under the maintenance and protection of the Castle of +Egremont. On the first day, the lord's steward is attended +by the sargeant of the Borough of Egremont, with the insignia +(called the bow of Egremont), the foresters, with their bows +and horns, and all the tenants of the forest of Copeland, +whose special service is to attend the lord and his representative +at Ravenglass fair, and abide there during its +continuance; anciently, for the protection of a free-trade, and +to defend the merchandise against free-booters, and a foreign +enemy: such was the wretched state of this country in former +times, that all such protection was scarce sufficient. For the +maintenance of the horses of those who attend the ceremony, +they have by custom, a portion of land assigned in the meadow, +called, or distinguished, by the name of two Swaiths of grass +in the common field of Ravenglass. On the third day at noon, +the earl's officers, and tenants of the forest depart, after proclamation; +and Lord Muncaster (as mesne lord) and his tenants +take a formal repossession of the place; and the day is +concluded with horse races and rural diversions."</p> + +<p>A genuine specimen of feudal observances is preserved in +the custom of riding the boundaries of manors, which, in the +mountain district, where the line of division is not very +distinct, is performed perhaps once during each generation, +by the representatives of the lord of the manor, accompanied +by an immense straggling procession of all ages,—the old men +being made useful in pointing out important or disputed +portions of the boundary, and the young in having it impressed +on their memories, so that their evidence or recollection may +be made available in future peregrinations. In older times, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>when the interests of the lords outweighed farther than in our +own day the rights of the peasantry, certain youthful members +of the retinue, in order to deepen the impression and make it +more enduring, were severely whipped at all those points +which the stewards were most anxious to have held in +remembrance. The occasions always wind up with a banquet, +provided on a most liberal scale by the lord of the manor, and +open to all who take part in the business of the day.</p> + +<p>Another local usage connected with the landed interest, and +long observed with notable regularity, was the following. +When salmon was plentiful in the Cumberland rivers, and +formed a very important element in the ordinary living of the +occupants of adjoining lands, the tenants of the manor of +Ennerdale and Kinniside claimed "a free stream" in the river +Ehen, from Ennerdale lake to the sea, and assembled once a +year to "ride the stream." If obstructions were found, such +as weirs and dams, they were at once destroyed. Refreshments +were levied or provided at certain places on the river for the +cavalcade. This custom has long ceased to be observed.</p> + +<p>About a quarter of a mile to the south east of this place is +an old ivy-mantled ruin, designated Wall Castle. It is said +to have been the original residence of the Penningtons, but in +all probability it dates from a much remoter period. Stone +battle-axes and arrow-heads have been found around it, and +coins of different people, principally Roman and Saxon. The +building is strongly cemented with run lime.</p> + +<p>This old castle stands at no great distance from the second +cutting through which the railroad passes after leaving Ravenglass: +adjoining to which, a little below the surface of the +ground, an ancient fosse and several foundations of walls have +been laid bare by the owner of the estate, and large quantities +of building stone removed from them at various times. In +making this cutting, the workmen laid open an ancient burial +place, which was of great depth, and contained a quantity of +human remains, with several bones of animals. The sides +were secured by strong timber and stone work. The buried +bodies were very numerous, and the place was evidently +of very great antiquity. From the presence of oak leaves and +acorns, charred wood, etc., it has been supposed to have been +the tomb of the victims in some Druidical sacrifice: it being +known that the Druids immolated their criminals, by placing +them collectively in the interior of a large image of wickerwork, +and then setting fire to it; and that various animals +were sacrificed along with them by way of expiation.</p> + +<p>About five miles to the east of Ravenglass is the small lake +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>of Devoke Water, near the foot of which, on the summit of a +considerable hill, stand the ruins of another interesting piece +of antiquity, the so-called city of Barnscar or Bardscar. Its +site is so elevated, as to command a wide extent of country, +and an ancient road from Ulpha to Ravenglass passes through +it. The name is purely Scandinavian, and tradition ascribes +it to the Danes. A well known popular saying in the locality +refers to the manner in which this city is said to have been +peopled by its founders, who gathered for inhabitants the men +of Drigg and the women of Beckermet. The original helpmates +of the latter place are supposed to have fallen in battle: +what had become of the wives and daughters of the former +place is not averred. But the saying continues—"Let us gang +togidder like t' lads o' Drigg, an' t' lasses o' Beckermet."</p> + +<p>The description of this place given by Hutchinson at the +latter end of last century is as follows:—"This place is about +300 yards long, from east to west; and 100 yards broad, from +north to south; now walled round, save at the east end, near +three feet in height; there appears to have been a long street, +with several cross ones: the remains of housesteads, within +the walls, are not very numerous, but on the outside of the +walls they are innumerable, especially on the south side and +west end; the circumference of the city and suburbs is near +three computed miles; the figure an oblong square." It is +added that about the year 1730, a considerable quantity of +silver coin was found in the ruins of one of the houses, +concealed in a cavity, formed in a beam; none of which unfortunately +has been preserved, to throw light upon the name, +the race, or character and habits of its possessors.</p> + +<p>From the Pow to the Duddon innumerable objects of +interest lie scattered between the mountains and the sea coast, +of which little more can be said than was stated, as above, by +Camden's editor—"Some tell you abundance of stories about +them"—as well as "about King Eveling, who had his palace +here."</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>SIR LANCELOT THRELKELD.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +The widows were sitting in Threlkeld Hall;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The corn stood green on Midsummer-day;</span><br /> +Their little grand-children were tossing the ball;<br /> +And the farmers leaned over the garden wall;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the widows were spinning the eve away.</span><br /> +<br /> +They busily talk'd of the days long gone,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While the corn stood green on Midsummer-day;</span><br /> +How old Sir Lancelot's armour had shone<br /> +On the panels of oak by the broad hearthstone,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where the widows sat spinning that eve away.</span><br /> +<br /> +For, Threlkeld Hall of his mansions three—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where the corn stood green on Midsummer-day—</span><br /> +Was his noblest house; and a stately tree<br /> +Was the good old Knight, and of high degree;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And a braver rode never in battle array.</span><br /> +<br /> +Now peaceful farmers think of their corn—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The corn so green on Midsummer-day—</span><br /> +Where once, at the blast of Sir Lancelot's horn,<br /> +His horsemen all mustered, his banner was borne;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he went like a Chief in his pride to the fray.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span><br /> +And there the good Clifford, the Shepherd-Lord,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When the corn stood green on Midsummer-day,</span><br /> +Sat, humbly clad, at Sir Lancelot's board;<br /> +And tended the flocks, while rusted his sword<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In the hall where the widows were spinning away;</span><br /> +<br /> +Till the new King called him back to his own—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When the corn stood green on Midsummer-day—</span><br /> +To his honours and name of high renown;<br /> +When Sir Lancelot old and feeble had grown;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From his rude shepherd-life called Lord Clifford away.</span><br /> +<br /> +And sad was that morrow in Threlkeld Hall—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the corn was green on that Midsummer-day—</span><br /> +When the Clifford stood ready to part from all;<br /> +And his shepherd's staff was hung up on the wall,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In that room where the widows sat spinning away.</span><br /> +<br /> +And Sir Lancelot mounted, and called his men—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While the corn stood green on Midsummer-day—</span><br /> +And he gazed on Lord Clifford again and again;<br /> +And Sir Lancelot rode with him over the plain;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And at length with strong effort his silence gave way.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span><br /> +"I am old," Sir Lancelot said; "and I know—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When the corn stands green on Midsummer-day—</span><br /> +There will wars arise, and I shall be low,<br /> +Who ever was ready to arm and go!"—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For he loved the war tramp and the martial array.</span><br /> +<br /> +"If ever a Knight might revisit this earth—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While the corn stands green on Midsummer-day"—</span><br /> +Said the Clifford—"When troubles and wars have birth,<br /> +Thou never shalt fail from Threlkeld's hearth!"<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From that hearth where the widows were spinning away.</span><br /> +<br /> +And so, along Souther Fell-side they press'd—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While the corn stood green on Midsummer-day,—</span><br /> +And then they parted—to east and to west—<br /> +And Sir Lancelot came and was laid to his rest.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Said the widows there spinning the eve away.</span><br /> +<br /> +And the Shepherd had power in unwritten lore:<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The corn stands green on Midsummer-day:</span><br /> +And although the Knight's coffin his banner hangs o'er,<br /> +Sir Lancelot yet can tread this floor;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Said the widows there spinning the eve away.—</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span><br /> +Thus gossip'd the widows in Threlkeld Hall,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While the corn stood green on Midsummer-day:</span><br /> +When the sound of a footstep was heard to fall,<br /> +And an arm'd shadow pass'd over the wall—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of a Knight with his plume and in martial array.</span><br /> +<br /> +With a growl the fierce dogs slunk behind the huge chair,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While the corn stood green on that Midsummer-day;</span><br /> +And the widows stopt spinning; and each was aware<br /> +Of a tread to the porch, and Sir Lancelot there—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And a stir as of horsemen all riding away.</span><br /> +<br /> +They turned their dim eyes to the lattice to gaze—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While the corn stood green on Midsummer-day—</span><br /> +But before their old limbs they could feebly raise,<br /> +The horsemen and horses were far on the ways—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From the Hall, where the widows were spinning away.</span><br /> +<br /> +And far along Souter Fell-side they strode,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While the corn stood green on that Midsummer-day.</span><br /> +And the brave old Knight on his charger rode,<br /> +As he wont to ride from his old abode,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With his sword by his side and in martial array.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span><br /> +Like a chief he galloped before and behind—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While the corn stood green on Midsummer-day—</span><br /> +To the marshalled ranks he waved, and signed;<br /> +And his banner streamed out on the evening wind,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As they rode along Souter Fell-side away.</span><br /> +<br /> +And to many an eye was revealed the sight,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While the corn stood green that Midsummer-day;</span><br /> +As Sir Lancelot Threlkeld the ancient Knight<br /> +With all his horsemen went over the height:<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O'er the steep mountain summit went riding away.</span><br /> +<br /> +And then as the twilight closed over the dell—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where the corn stood green that Midsummer-day—</span><br /> +Came the farmers and peasants all flocking to tell<br /> +How Sir Lancelot's troop had gone over the fell!<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the widows sat listening, and spinning away.</span><br /> +<br /> +And the widows looked mournfully round the old hall;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the corn stood green on Midsummer-day;</span><br /> +"He is come at the good Lord Clifford's call!<br /> +He is up for the King, with his warriors all!"—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Said the widows there spinning the eve away.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span><br /> +"There is evil to happen, and war is at hand—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where the corn stands green this Midsummer-day—</span><br /> +Or rebels are plotting to waste the land;<br /> +Or he never would come with his armed band"—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Said the widows there spinning the eve away.</span><br /> +<br /> +"Our old men sleep in the grave. They cease:<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While the corn stands green on Midsummer-day—</span><br /> +They rest, though troubles on earth increase;<br /> +And soon may Sir Lancelot's soul have peace!"<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sighed the widows while spinning the eve away.</span><br /> +<br /> +"But this was the Promise the Shepherd-Lord—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When the corn stood green that Midsummer-day—</span><br /> +Gave, parting from Threlkeld's hearth and board,<br /> +To the brave old Knight—and he keeps his word!"<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Said the widows all putting their spinning away.</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "SIR LANCELOT THRELKELD."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The little village of Threlkeld is situated at the foot of +Blencathra about four miles from Keswick, on the highroad +from that town to Penrith. The old hall has long been in a state +of dilapidation, the only habitable part having been for years +converted into a farm house. Some faint traces of the moat +are said to be yet discernible. This was one of the residences +of Sir Lancelot Threlkeld, a powerful knight in the reign of +Henry the Seventh, step-father to the Shepherd Lord. His +son, the last Sir Lancelot, was wont to say that he had "three +noble houses—one for pleasure, Crosby in Westmorland, where +he had a park full of deer; one for profit and warmth, wherein +to reside during winter, namely, Yanwath, near Penrith; and +the third, Threlkeld, on the edge of the vale of Keswick, well +stocked with tenants to go with him to the wars." Sir Lancelot +is said to have been a man of a kind and generous disposition, +who had either taken the side of the White Rose in the great +national quarrel, or at least had not compromised himself to +a ruinous extent on the other side; and has long had the +reputation of having afforded a retreat to the Shepherd Lord +Clifford, on the utter ruin of his house, after the crushing of +the Red Rose at Towton, when the Baron (his late father) +was attained in parliament, and all his lands were seized by +the crown.</p> + +<p>The Cliffords, Lords of Westmorland, afterwards Earls of +Cumberland, were a family of great power and princely +possessions, who for many generations occupied a position in +the North West of England, similar to that held by the Percies, +Earls of Northumberland, in the north-east.</p> + +<p>Their blood was perhaps the most illustrious in the land. +Descended from Rollo first Duke of Normandy, by alliances +in marriage it intermingled with that of William the Lion, +King of Scotland, and with that of several of the Sovereigns +of England.</p> + +<p>Their territorial possessions corresponded with their illustrious +birth. These comprised their most ancient stronghold, Clifford +Castle, on the Wye, in Herefordshire; the lordship of the +barony of Westmorland, including the seigniories and Castles +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>of Brougham and Appleby; Skipton Castle in the West +Riding of Yorkshire, with its numerous townships, and important +forest and manorial rights, their most princely, and +apparently favourite residence; and the Hall and estates of +Lonsborrow in the same County.</p> + +<p>The Cliffords are said to be sprung from an uncle of William +the Conqueror. The father of William had a younger brother, +whose third son, Richard Fitz-Pontz, married the daughter +and heiress of Ralph de Toni, of Clifford Castle, in Herefordshire. +Their second son, Walter, succeeding to his mother's +estates, assumed the name of Clifford, and was the father of +the Fair Rosamond, the famous mistress of King Henry the +Second. He died in 1176. His great-grandson, Roger de +Clifford acquired the inheritance of the Veteriponts or Viponts, +Lords of Brougham Castle in Westmorland, by his marriage +with one of the co-heiresses of Robert de Vipont, the last of that +race. It was their son Robert who was first summoned to sit +in parliament, by a writ dated the 29th of December, 1299, as +the Lord Clifford.</p> + +<p>The Cliffords were a warlike race, and engaged in all the +contests of the time. For many generations the chiefs of their +house figure as distinguished soldiers and captains; and most +of them died on the field of battle.</p> + +<p>Roger, the father of the first lord, was renowned in the +wars of Henry III. and of Edward I., and was killed in a +skirmish with the Welsh in the Isle of Anglesey, on St. +Leonard's day, 1283.</p> + +<p>His son Robert, the first Lord Clifford, a favourite and +companion in arms of Edward I., was one of the guardians of +Edward II. when a minor, and Lord High Admiral in that +monarch's reign. He fell at the battle of Bannockburn, +in 1314.</p> + +<p>Roger, his son, the second lord, was engaged in the Earl +of Lancaster's insurrection, and had done much to deserve +political martyrdom in that rebellious age: but a feeling of +humanity, such as is seldom read of in civil wars, and especially +in those times, saved him from execution, when he was taken +prisoner with Lancaster and the rest of his associates. He +had received so many wounds in the battle (of Borough bridge), +that he could not be brought before the judge for the summary +trial, which would have sent him to the hurdle and the +gallows. Being looked upon, therefore, as a dying man, he +was respited from the course of law: time enough elapsed, +while he continued in this state, for the heat of resentment to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>abate, and Edward of Carnarvon, who, though a weak and +most misguided prince, was not a cruel one, spared his life; +an act of mercy which was the more graceful, because Clifford +had insulted the royal authority in a manner less likely to be +forgiven than his braving it in arms. A pursuivant had served +a writ upon him in the Barons' Chamber, and he made the +man eat the wax wherewith the writ was signed, "in contempt, +as it were, of the said King."</p> + +<p>He was the first Lord Clifford that was attainted of treason. +His lands and honours were restored in the first year of +Edward III., but he survived the restoration only a few weeks, +dying in the flower of his age, unmarried; but leaving "some +base children behind him, whom he had by a mean woman +who was called Julian of the Bower, for whom he built a little +house hard by Whinfell, and called it Julian's Bower, the +lower foundation of which standeth, and is yet to be seen," +said the compiler of the family records, an hundred and fifty +years ago, "though all the walls be down long since. And it +is thought that the love which this Roger bore to this Julian +kept him from marrying any other woman."</p> + +<p>Roger de Clifford was succeeded in his titles and estates by +his brother Robert, the third baron, who married Isabella de +Berkeley, sister to Thomas, Lord Berkeley, of Berkeley +Castle; in which Castle, two years after it had rung with +"shrieks of death," when the tragedy of Edward II. was +brought to its dreadful catastrophe there, the marriage was +performed.</p> + +<p>This Robert lived a country life, and "nothing is mentioned +of him in the wars," except that he once accompanied an army +into Scotland. It is, however, related of him, that when +Edward Baliol was driven from Scotland, the exiled king was +"right honourably received by him in Westmorland, and +entertained in his Castles of Brougham, Appleby, and Pendragon;" +in acknowledgement for which hospitality Baliol, +if he might at any time recover the kingdom of Scotland out +of his adversaries' hands, made him a grant of Douglas Dale, +which had been granted to his grandfather who fell in Wales. +The Hart's Horn Tree in Whinfell Park, well known in +tradition, and in hunters' tales, owes its celebrity to this visit. +He died in 1340.</p> + +<p>Robert, his son, fourth lord, fought by the side of Edward +the Black Prince at the memorable battles of Cressy and +Poictiers.</p> + +<p>Roger, his brother, the fifth lord, styled "one of the wisest +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>and gallantest of the Cliffords," also served in the wars in +France and Scotland, in the reign of Edward III.</p> + +<p>Thomas, his son, sixth lord Clifford, one of the most +chivalrous knights of his time, overcame, in a memorable +passage of arms, the famous French knight, "le Sire de +Burjisande," and, at the age of thirty, was killed in the battle +at Spruce in Germany.</p> + +<p>John, his son, the seventh lord, a Knight of the Garter, +carried with him to the French wars three knights, forty-seven +esquires, and one hundred and fifty archers. He fought under +the banner of Henry V. at the battle of Agincourt, attended +him at the sieges Harfleur and Cherbourg, and was eventually +slain, at the age of thirty-three, at the siege of Meaux in +France.</p> + +<p>Thomas, his son, eighth lord Clifford, described as "a chief +commander in France," was grandson on his mother's side to the +celebrated Hotspur, Harry Percy, and gained renown by the +daring and ingenious stratagem which he planned and successfully +executed for taking the town of Pontoise, near Paris, in +1438. The English had lain for some time before the town, +with little prospect of reducing it, when a heavy fall of snow +suggested to Lord Clifford the means of effecting its capture. +Arraying himself and his followers with white tunics over +their armour, he concealed them during the night close to the +walls of the town, which at daybreak he surprised and carried +by storm. Two years afterwards he valiantly defended the +town of Pontoise against the armies of France, headed by +Charles VII. in person.</p> + +<p>In the Wars of the Roses they were not less prominent. +The last mentioned Thomas, though nearly allied by blood to +the house of York, took part with his unfortunate sovereign, +Henry VI., and fell on the 22nd of May, 1455, at the first +battle of St. Albans, receiving his death-blow from the hands +of Richard Duke of York, at the age of forty.</p> + +<p>John, his son, the next and ninth lord, called from his +complexion the Black-faced Clifford, thirsting to revenge the +fate of his father, perpetrated that memorable act of cruelty, +which for centuries has excited indignation and tears, the +murder of the young Earl of Rutland, brother of Edward IV., +in the pursuit after the battle of Wakefield, on the 30th +December, 1460. The latter, whilst being withdrawn from +the field by his attendant chaplain and schoolmaster, a priest, +called Sir Robert Aspall, was espied by Lord Clifford; and +being recognised by means of his apparel, "dismayed, had +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>not a word to speak, but kneeled on his knees imploring +mercy and desiring grace, both with holding up his hands and +making dolorous countenance, for his speech was gone for +fear. 'Save him,' said his chaplain, 'for he is a prince's son, +and peradventure may do you good hereafter.' With that +word, the Lord Clifford marked him and said, 'By God's +blood, thy father slew mine, and so will I do thee and all thy +kin;' and with that word stuck the earl to the heart with his +dagger, and bade his chaplain bear the earl's mother and +brother word what he had done and said."</p> + +<p>The murder in cold blood of this unarmed boy, for he was +only twelve or at most seventeen years old, while supplicating +for his life, was not the only atrocity committed by Lord +Clifford on that eventful day. "This cruel Clifford and +deadly blood-supper," writes the old chronicler, "not content +with this homicide or child-killing, came to the place where +the dead corpse of the Duke of York lay, and caused his head +to be stricken off, and set on it a crown of paper, and so fixed +it on a pole and presented it to the queen, not lying far from +the field, in great spite and much derision, saying, 'Madam, +your war is done; here is your king's ransom;' at which +present was much joy and great rejoicing."</p> + +<p>Lord Clifford fought at the second battle of St. Albans, on +the 17th of February, 1461. It was in his tent, after the +Lancastrians had won the victory, that the unfortunate +Henry VI. once more embraced his consort Margaret of +Anjou, and their beloved child.</p> + +<p>Lord Clifford is usually represented as having been slain at +the battle of Towton. He fell, however, in a hard fought +conflict which preceded that engagement by a few hours, at a +spot called Dittingale, situated in a small valley between +Towton and Scarthingwell, struck in the throat by a headless +arrow, discharged from behind a hedge.</p> + +<p>A small chapel on the banks of the Aire formerly marked +the spot where lay the remains of John Lord Clifford, as well +as those of his cousin, Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, +who perished later in the day upon Towton Field, on the 29th +of March, 1461.</p> + +<p>For nearly a quarter of a century from this time, the name +of Clifford remained an attainted one; their castles and +seigniories passed into the hands of strangers and enemies. +The barony of Westmorland was conferred by Edward IV. +upon his brother Richard Duke of Gloucester; the castle and +manor of Skipton he bestowed, in the first instance, upon Sir +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>William Stanley; but in the fifteenth year of his reign he +transferred them to his "dear brother," which lordly appanage +he retained till his death on Bosworth Field.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> + +<p>The young widow left by the Black-faced Clifford, was +Margaret daughter and sole heiress of Henry de Bromflete, +Baron de Vesci. She had borne her husband three children, +two sons and a daughter, now attainted by parliament, +deprived of their honours and inheritance, and their persons +and lives in hourly jeopardy from the strict search which was +being made for them. The seat of her father at Lonsborrow +in Yorkshire, surrounded by a wild district, offered a retreat +from their enemies; and thither, as soon as the fate of her +lord was communicated to her, driven from the stately halls +of Skipton and Appleby, of which she had ceased to be +mistress, flew the young widow with her hunted children, and +saved them from the rage of the victorious party by concealment.</p> + +<p>Henry, the elder son, at the period of their flight to +Lonsborrow was only seven years old. He was there placed +by his mother, in the neighbourhood where she lived, with a +shepherd who had married one of her inferior servants, an +attendant on his nurse, to be brought up in no better condition +than the shepherd's own children. The strict inquiry which +had been made after them, and the subsequent examination +of their mother respecting them, at length led to the conclusion +that they had been conveyed beyond the sea, whither in +truth the younger boy had been sent, into the Netherlands, +and not long after died there. The daughter grew up to +womanhood, and became the wife of Sir Robert Aske, from +whom descended the Askes of Yorkshire, and the Lord +Fairfax of Denton in the same county.</p> + +<p>When the high born shepherd boy was about his fourteenth +year, his grandfather, Lord de Vesci being dead, and his +mother having become the wife of Sir Lancelot Threlkeld, a +rumour again arose and reached the court that the young +Lord Clifford was alive; whereupon his mother, with the +connivance and assistance of her husband, had the shepherd +with whom she had placed her son, removed with his wife +and family from Yorkshire to the more mountainous country +of Cumberland. In that wild and remote region, the persecuted +boy was "kept as a shepherd sometimes at Threlkeld amongst +his step-father's kindred, and sometimes upon the borders of +Scotland, where they took land purposely for those shepherds +who had the custody of him, where many times his step-father +came purposely to visit him, and sometimes his mother, though +very secretly."</p></blockquote> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span></p> +<blockquote> + +<p>In this obscurity the heir of the Cliffords passed the +remainder of his boyhood, all his youth, and his early manhood; +haunting, in the pursuit of pastoral occupations, the +lofty moorland wastes at the foot of Blencathra, or musing in the +solitude of the stupendous heights of that "Peak of Witches;" +at other times, ranging amid the lonesome glens of Skiddaw +Forest, or on the bleak heath-clad hills of Caldbeck and +Carrock.</p> + +<p>Thus being of necessity nurtured much in solitude, and, +habited in rustic garb, bred up to man's estate among the +simple dalesmen, to whom, as well as to himself, his rank and +station were unknown, he was reared in so great ignorance that +he could neither read nor write; for his parents durst not have +him instructed in any kind of learning, lest by it his birth +should be discovered; and when subsequently he was restored +to his title and estates, and took his place among his peers, he +never attained to higher proficiency in the art of writing than +barely enabled him to sign his name.</p> + +<p>One of the first acts of Henry VII. was to restore the lowly +Clifford to his birthright and to all that had been possessed +by his noble ancestors. And his mother, who did not die till +the year 1493, lived to see him thus suddenly exalted from a +poor shepherd into a rich and powerful lord, at the age of one +and thirty.</p> + +<p>In his retirement he had acquired great astronomical knowledge, +watching, like the Chaldeans of old time, the stars by +night upon the mountains, as is current from tradition in the +village and neighbourhood of Threlkeld at this day. And +when, on his restoration to his estates and honours, he had +become a great builder and repaired several of his castles, he +resided chiefly at Barden Tower, in Yorkshire, to be near the +Priory of Bolton; "to the end that he might have opportunity +to converse with some of the canons of that house, as it is said, +who were well versed in astronomy; unto which study having +a singular affection (perhaps in regard to his solitary shepherd's +life, which gave him time for contemplation,) he fitted himself +with diverse instruments for use therein."</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p> +<p>Whitaker, in like manner, represents the restored lord as +having brought to his new position "the manners and +education of a shepherd," and as being "at this time, almost, +if not altogether, illiterate." But it is added that he was "far +from deficient in natural understanding, and, what strongly +marks an ingenuous mind in a state of recent elevation, +depressed by a consciousness of his own deficiencies." If it +was on this account, as we are also told, that he retired to the +solitude of Barden, where he seems to have enlarged the +tower out of a common keeper's lodge, he found in it a retreat +equally favourable to taste, to instruction, and to devotion. +The narrow limits of his residence show that he had learned +to despise the pomp of greatness, and that a small train of +servants could suffice him, who had lived to the age of thirty +a servant himself.</p> + +<p>Whitaker suspects Lord Clifford, however, "to have been +sometimes occupied in a more visionary pursuit, and probably +in the same company," namely, the canons of Bolton, from +having found among the family evidences two manuscripts on +the subject of Alchemy, which may almost certainly be referred +to the age in which he lived. If these were originally deposited +with the MSS. of the Cliffords, it might have been for the use +of this nobleman. If they were brought from Bolton at the +Dissolution, they must have been the work of those canons +with whom he almost exclusively conversed.</p> + +<p>In these peaceful employments Lord Clifford spent the whole +reign of Henry VII., and the first years of that of his son. +His descendant the Countess of Pembroke describes him as a +plain man, who lived for the most part a country life, and +came seldom either to court or London, excepting when called +to Parliament, on which occasion he behaved himself like a +wise and good English nobleman. But in the year 1513, +when almost sixty years old, he was appointed to a principal +command over the army which fought at Flodden, and showed +that the military genius of the family had neither been chilled +in him by age, nor extinguished by habits of peace.</p> + +<p>He survived the battle of Flodden ten years, and died April +23rd, 1523, aged about 70; having by his last will appointed +his body to be interred at Shap, if he died in Westmorland; +or at Bolton, if he died in Yorkshire. "I shall endeavour," +says Whitaker, "to appropriate to him a tomb, vault, and +chantry, in the choir of the Church of Bolton, as I should be +sorry to believe that he was deposited, when dead, at a distance +from the place which in his life time he loved so well." There +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>exists no memorial of his place of burial. The broken floors +and desecrated vaults of Shap and Bolton afford no trace or +record of his tomb. It is probable, however, that in one of +these sanctuaries he was laid to rest among the ashes of his +illustrious kindred.</p> + +<p>The vault at Skipton Church was prepared for the remains +of his immediate descendants. Thither, with three of their +wives, and a youthful scion of their house, the boy Lord +Francis, were borne in succession the five Earls of Cumberland +of his name; when this their tomb finally closed over +the line of Clifford: the lady Anne choosing rather to lie +beside "her beloved mother," in the sepulchre which she had +erected for herself at Appleby, than with her martial ancestors +at Skipton.</p> + +<p>Having thus been wonderfully preserved—says a writer +whose words have often been quoted in these pages—and +after twenty years of secretness and seclusion, having been +restored in blood and honours, to his barony, his lands, and +his castles; he, the Shepherd Lord, came forth upon the +world with a mind in advance of the age, a spirit of knowledge, +of goodness, and of light, such as was rarely seen in +that time of ignorance and superstition; averse to courtly +pomp, delighting himself chiefly in country pursuits, in repairing +his castles, and in learned intercourse with such +literate persons as he could find. He was the wisest of his +race, and falling upon more peaceful times, was enabled to +indulge in the studies and thoughtful dispositions which his +early misfortunes had induced and cultured. Throughout a +long life he remained one, whose precious example, though it +had but few imitators, and even exposed him to be regarded +with dread, as dealing in the occult sciences, and leagued with +beings that mortal man ought not to know, was nevertheless +so far appreciated by his less enlightened countrymen, that +his image was always linked in their memories and affections +with whatever was great and ennobling, and caused him to +be recorded to this, our day, by the endearing appellation of +the "Good Lord Clifford."</p> + +<p>This nobleman was twice married,—first to Anne, daughter +of Sir John St. John of Bletsoe, cousin-germain to King +Henry the Seventh, by whom he had two sons and five +daughters. Lady Clifford was a woman of great goodness +and piety, who lived for the most part a country life in her +husband's castles in the North, during the twenty-one years +she remained his wife. His second wife was Florence, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>daughter of Henry Pudsey, of Bolton, in Yorkshire, Esquire, +grandson of Sir Ralph Pudsey, the faithful protector of Henry +the Sixth after the overthrow of the Lancastrian cause at +Hexham. By her he had two or three sons, and one daughter, +Dorothy, who became the wife of Sir Hugh Lowther, +of Lowther, in Westmorland, and from whom the Earls of +Lonsdale are descended.</p> + +<p>It is said that, towards the end of the first Lady Clifford's +life, her husband was unkind to her, and he had two or three +base children by another woman.</p> + +<p>Lord Clifford was unfortunate in having great unkindness +and estrangement between himself and his oldest son Henry. +Early habits of friendship, on the part of the latter, with King +Henry VIII. and a strong passion for parade and greatness, +seem to have robbed his heart of filial affection. The pure +simplicity and unequivocal openness of his father's manners +had long been an offence to his pride; but the old man's +alliance with Florence Pudsey provoked his irreconcilable +aversion. By his follies and vices, also, the latter years of +his father were sorely disturbed. That wild and dissolute +young nobleman, attaching himself to a troop of roystering +followers, led a bandit's life, oppressed the lieges, harassed +the religious houses, beat the tenants, and forced the inhabitants +of whole villages to take sanctuary in their churches. He +afterwards reformed, and was employed in all the armies sent +into Scotland by Henry the Seventh and his successor, where +he ever behaved himself nobly and valiantly; and subsequently +became one of the most eminent men of his time, and +within two years after his father's death, having been through +life a personal friend and favourite of Henry the Eighth, was +elevated by that partial monarch to the dignity of Earl of +Cumberland, which title he held till his decease in 1542. It +has been conjectured, but on no sufficient grounds, that he was +the hero of the ballad of "The Nut-Brown Maid."</p> + +<p>In addition to the members of this distinguished family who +have already been enumerated as attaining to great personal +distinction, may be named George, the third of the five Earls +of Cumberland, the favourite of Queen Elizabeth, called the +"Great Sea-faring Lord Clifford," an accomplished courtier as +well as naval hero,<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> one of those to whom England is indebted +for her proud title of "the Ocean Queen." And lastly, his +daughter, the Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke, +and Montgomery, of famous memory, one of the most +celebrated women of her time.</p></blockquote> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p> +<blockquote> + +<p>About three miles from Threlkeld, the ancient home of Sir +Lancelot Threlkeld and his noble step-son, stands as the eastern +barrier of the Blencathra group of mountains, that part of it +which is known as Souter Fell; whose irregular and precipitous +summit, everywhere difficult of access, rises to a +height of about 2,500 feet. It is on the south of Bowscale Fell, +leaning westward from the Hesketh and Carlisle road, by +which its eastern base is skirted. This mountain is celebrated +in local history as having several times been the scene of those +singular aerial phenomena known as mirages. A tradition of +a spectral army having been seen marching over these mountains +had long been current in the neighbourhood, and this +remarkable exhibition was actually witnessed in the years +1735, 1737, and 1745, by several independent parties of the +dalesmen; and, as may well be supposed, excited much +attention in the north of England, and long formed a subject +of superstitious fear and wonder in the surrounding district. +A sight so strange as that of the whole side of the mountain +appearing covered with troops, both infantry and cavalry, +who after going through regular military evolutions for more +than an hour, defiled off in good order, and disappeared over +a precipitous ridge on the summit, was sure to be the subject +of much speculation and enquiry. Many persons at a distance +hearing of the phenomenon, proceeded to the places where it +was witnessed, purposely to examine the spectators who asserted +the fact, and who continued positive in their assertions +as to the appearances. Amongst others, one of the contributors +to Hutchinson's History of Cumberland went to inquire +into the subject; and the following is the account of the information +he obtained, given in his own words.</p> + +<p>"On Midsummer Eve 1735, William Lancaster's servant +related that he saw the east side of Souter Fell, towards the +top, covered with a regular marching army for above an hour +together; he said they consisted of distinct bodies of troops, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>which appeared to proceed from an eminence in the north +end, and marched over a nitch in the top, but as no other +person in the neighbourhood had seen the like, he was discredited +and laughed at.</p> + +<p>"Two years after, on Midsummer Eve also, betwixt the hours +of eight and nine, William Lancaster himself imagined that +several gentlemen were following their horses at a distance, as +if they had been hunting, and taking them for such, paid no +regard to it, till about ten minutes after, again turning his +head to the place, they appeared to be mounted, and a vast +army following, five in rank, crowding over at the same place, +where the servant said he saw them two years before. He +then called his family, who all agreed in the same opinion; +and what was most extraordinary, he frequently observed that +some one of the five would quit the rank, and seem to stand +in a fronting posture, as if he was observing and regulating +the order of their march, or taking account of the numbers, +and after some time appeared to return full gallop to the +station he had left, which they never failed to do as often as +they quitted their lines, and the figure that did so was one of +the middlemost men in the rank. As it grew later they +seemed more regardless of discipline, and rather had the appearance +of people riding from a market, than an army, +though they continued crowding on, and marching off, as +long as they had light to see them.</p> + +<p>"This phenomenon was no more seen till the Midsummer +Eve, which preceded the rebellion, when they were determined +to call more families to witness this sight, and accordingly +went to Wiltonhill and Souther Fell-side, till they convened +about twenty-six persons, who all affirm that they saw +the same appearance, but not conducted with the usual +regularity as the preceding ones, having the likeness of carriages +interspersed; however it did not appear to be less real, +for some of the company were so affected with it as in the +morning to climb the mountain, through an idle expectation +of finding horse shoes, after so numerous an army, but they +saw not a vestige or print of a foot.</p> + +<p>"William Lancaster, indeed, told me, that he never concluded +they were real beings, because of the impracticability +of a march over the precipices, where they seemed to come +on; that the night was extremely serene; that horse and +man, upon strict looking at, appeared to be but one being, +rather than two distinct ones; that they were nothing like +any clouds or vapours, which he had ever perceived elsewhere; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>that their number was incredible, for they filled +lengthways near half a mile, and continued so in a swift +march for above an hour, and much longer he thinks if night +had kept off."</p> + +<p>The writer adds,—"This whole story has so much the air +of a romance, that it seemed fitter for <i>Amadis de Gaul</i>, or +<i>Glenvilles System of Witches</i>, than the repository of the learned; +but as the country was full of it, I only give it verbatim from +the original relation of a people, that could have no end in +imposing upon their fellow-creatures, and are of good repute +in the place where they live."</p> + +<p>Not less circumstantial is the account of this remarkable +phenomenon gathered from the same sources by Mr. James +Clarke, the intelligent author of the Survey of the Lakes; +and which account, he says, "perhaps can scarcely be paralleled +by history, or reconciled to probability; such, however, +is the evidence we have of it," he continues, "that I +cannot help relating it, and then my readers must judge for +themselves. I shall give it nearly in the words of Mr. Lancaster +of <i>Blakehills</i>, from whom I had the account; and +whose veracity, even were it not supported by many concurrent +testimonies, I could fully rely upon. The story is as +follows:</p> + +<p>"On the 23rd of June 1744 (Qu. 45?), his father's servant, +Daniel Stricket (who now lives under Skiddaw, and is an +auctioneer), about half past seven in the evening was walking +a little above the house. Looking round him he saw a troop +of men on horseback riding on <i>Souther Fell-side</i>, (a place so +steep that an horse can scarcely travel on it at all,) in pretty +close ranks and at a brisk walk. Stricket looked earnestly at +them some time before he durst venture to acquaint any one +with what he saw, as he had the year before made himself +ridiculous by a visionary story, which I beg leave here also to +relate: He was at that time servant to John Wren of <i>Wiltonhill</i>, +the next house to <i>Blakehills</i>, and sitting one evening +after supper at the door along with his master, they saw a +man with a dog pursuing some horses along Souther Fell-side; +and they seemed to run at an amazing pace, till they got out +of sight at the low end of the Fell. This made them resolve to +go next morning to the place to pick up the shoes which they +thought these horses must have lost in galloping at such a +furious rate; they expected likewise to see prodigious grazes +from the feet of these horses on the steep side of the mountain, +and to find the man lying dead, as they were sure he run +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>so fast that he must kill himself. Accordingly they went, +but, to their great surprise, found not a shoe, nor even a single +vestige of any horse having been there, much less did they +find the man lying dead as they had expected. This story they +some time concealed; at length, however, they ventured to +tell it, and were (as might be expected) heartily laughed at. +Stricket, conscious of his former ridiculous error, observed +these aerial troops some time before he ventured to mention +what he saw; at length, fully satisfied that what he saw was +real, he went into the house, and told Mr. Lancaster he had +something curious to show him. Mr. Lancaster asked him +what it was, adding, "I suppose some bonefire," (for it was +then, and still is a custom, for the shepherds, on the evening +before St. John's day, to light bonefires, and vie with each +other in having the largest.) Stricket told him, if he would +walk with him to the end of the house he would show him +what it was. They then went together, and before Stricket +spoke or pointed to the place, Mr. Lancaster himself discovered +the phenomenon, and said to Stricket, "Is that +what thou hast to show me?" "Yes, Master," replied +Stricket: "Do you think you see as I do?" They found +they did see alike, so they went and alarmed the family, +who all came, and all saw this strange phenomenon.</p> + +<p>"These visionary horsemen seemed to come from the lowest +part of Souther Fell, and became visible first at a place called +<span class="smcap">Knott</span>: they then moved in regular troops along the side of +the Fell, till they came opposite <i>Blakehills</i>, when they went +over the mountain: thus they described a kind of curvilineal +path upon the side of the Fell, and both their first and last +appearance were bounded by the top of the mountain.</p> + +<p>"Frequently the last, or last but one, in a troop, (always +either the one or the other,) would leave his place, gallop to +the front, and then take the same pace with the rest, a <i>regular, +swift walk</i>: these changes happened to every troop, (for many +troops appeared,) and oftener than once or twice, yet not at +all times alike. The spectators saw, <i>all alike</i>, the same +changes, and at the same time, as they discovered by asking +each other questions as any change took place. Nor was this +wonderful phenomenon seen at Blakehills only, it was seen by +<i>every</i> person at <i>every cottage</i> within the distance of a mile; +neither was it confined to a momentary view, for from the +time that Stricket first observed it, the appearance must have +lasted at least two hours and a half, viz. from half past seven, +till the night coming on prevented the farther view; nor yet +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>was the distance such as could impose rude resemblances on +the eyes of credulity: <i>Blakehills</i> lay not half a mile from the +place where this astonishing appearance <i>seemed</i> to be, and +many other places where it was likewise seen are still nearer."</p> + +<p>This account is attested by the signatures of William Lancaster +and Daniel Stricket, and dated the 21st day of July +1785.</p> + +<p>"Thus I have given," continues Mr. Clark, "the best +account I can procure of this wonderful appearance; let +others determine what it was. This country, like every other +where cultivation has been lately introduced, abounds in the +<i>aniles fabellæ</i> of fairies, ghosts, and apparitions; but these are +never even <i>fabled</i> to have been seen by more than one or two +persons at a time, and the view is always said to be momentary. +Speed tells of something indeed similar to this as preceding +a dreadful intestine war. Can something of this nature +have given rise to Ossian's grand and awful mythology? or, +finally, Is there any impiety in supposing, as this happened +immediately before that rebellion which was intended to subvert +the liberty, the law, and the religion of England; that +though immediate prophecies have ceased, these visionary +beings might be directed to warn mankind of approaching +<i>tumults</i>? In short, it is difficult to say what it was, or what +it was not."</p> + +<p>Sir David Brewster, in his work on <i>Natural Magic</i>, after +quoting this narrative from Mr. James Clark, which he describes +as "one of the most interesting accounts of aerial +spectres with which we are acquainted," continues—"These +extraordinary sights were received not only with distrust, but +with absolute incredulity. They were not even honoured +with a place in the records of natural phenomena, and the +philosophers of the day were neither in possession of analagous +facts, nor were they acquainted with those principles of +atmospherical refraction upon which they depend. The strange +phenomena, indeed, of the <i>Fata Morgana</i>, or the <i>Castles +of the Fairy Mor-Morgana</i>, had been long before observed, +and had been described by Kircher, in the 17th century, but +they presented nothing so mysterious as the aerial troopers of +Souter Fell; and the general characters of the two phenomena +were so unlike, that even a philosopher might have been excused +for ascribing them to different causes."</p> + +<p>The accepted explanation of this appearance now is, that +on the evenings in question, the rebel Scotch troops were performing +their military evolutions on the west coast of Scotland, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>and that by some peculiar refraction of the atmosphere +their movements were reflected on this mountain. Phenomena +similar to these were seen near Stockton-on-the-Forest, in +Yorkshire, in 1792; in Harrogate, on June 28th, 1812; +and near St. Neot's, in Huntingdonshire, in 1820. Tradition +also records the tramp of armies over Helvellyn, on the eve +of the battle of Marston Moor. To these may be added the +appearance of the Spectre of the Brocken in the Hartz Mountains; +and an instance mentioned by Hutchinson, that in the +spring of the year 1707, early on a serene still morning, two +persons who were walking from one village to another in +Leicestershire, observed a like appearance of an army marching +along, till, going behind a great hill, it disappeared. The +forms of pikes and carbines were distinguishable, the march +was not entirely in one direction, but was at first like the +junction of two armies, and the meeting of generals.</p> + +<p>Aerial phenomena of a like nature are recorded by Livy, +Josephus, and Suetonius; and a passage in Sacred History +seems to refer to a similar circumstance. See Judges ix. 36.</p> + +<p>Many in this country considered these appearances as +ominous of the great waste of blood spilt by Britain in her +wars with America and France. Shakespeare says, in <i>Julius +Cæsar</i>,</p> + +<div class="poem"> +"When these prodigies<br /> +Do so conjointly meet, let not men say,<br /> +— — —they are natural;<br /> +For, I believe, they are portentous things<br /> +Unto the climate that they point upon."<br /> +</div> +</blockquote> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Whitaker gives the terms of this grant: "The king, in cons'on of +ye laudable and commendable service of his dere b'r Richard Duke of +Gloucester, as <i>for the encouragement of piety and virtue</i> in the said duke, +did give and grant, etc., the honor, castle, manors, and demesnes of +Skipton, with the manor of Marton, etc., etc." Pat: Rolls, 15 Edw. IV.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> A notable example of the piety of our ancestors is recorded in a MS. +Journal of a Voyage to India, still preserved in Skipton Castle, made under +the auspices of this Earl of Cumberland. It gives an account of the +proceedings of the Expedition on a Saturday and Sunday. +</p> + +<p> +"Nov. 5. Our men went on shor and fet rys abord, and burnt the +rest of the houses in the negers towne; and our bot went downe to the +outermoste pointe of the ryver, and burnt a towne, and brout away all +the rys that was in the towne. The 6th day we servyd God, being +Sunday." +</p> + +<p> +In what manner they served God on the Sunday, after plundering +and burning two towns on the Saturday, the writer has not thought it +necessary to relate. +</p> +</div> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p> + +<h2>PAN ON KIRKSTONE.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +Not always in fair Grecian bowers<br /> +Piped ancient Pan, to charm the hours.<br /> +Once in a thousand years he stray'd<br /> +Round earth, and all his realms survey'd.<br /> +<br /> +And fairer in the world were none<br /> +Than those bright scenes he look'd upon,<br /> +Where Ulph's sweet lake her valleys woo'd,<br /> +And Windar all her isles renew'd.<br /> +<br /> +For, long ere Kirkstone's rugged brow<br /> +Was worn by mortal feet as now,<br /> +Great Pan himself the Pass had trod,<br /> +And rested on the heights, a God!<br /> +<br /> +Who climbs from Ulph's fair valley sees,<br /> +Still midway couched on Kirkstone-Screes,<br /> +Old as the hills, his Dog on high,<br /> +At gaze athwart the southern sky.<br /> +<br /> +A rock, upon that rocky lair,<br /> +It lives from out the times that were,<br /> +When hairy Pan his soul to cheer<br /> +Look'd from those heights on Windermere.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span><br /> +There piped he on his reed sweet lays,<br /> +Piped his great heart's delight and praise;<br /> +While Nature, answering back each tone,<br /> +Joy'd the glad fame to find her own.<br /> +<br /> +"Could I, while men at distance keep,"<br /> +Said Pan, "in yon bright waters peep,<br /> +And watch their ripples come and go,<br /> +And see what treasures hide below!<br /> +<br /> +"Rivall'd is my fair Greece's store,<br /> +My own Parnassian fields and shore!<br /> +I will delight me, and behold<br /> +Myself in yon bright Mere of gold."<br /> +<br /> +Like thought, his Dog sprang to yon lair<br /> +To watch the heights and sniff the air:<br /> +Like thought, on Helm a Lion frown'd,<br /> +To guard the northern Pass's bound:<br /> +<br /> +And with his mate a mighty Pard<br /> +On Langdale-head, kept watchful ward:—<br /> +That great God Pan his soul might cheer,<br /> +Glass'd in the depths of Windermere.<br /> +<br /> +Then down the dell from steep to steep,<br /> +With many a wild and wayward leap,<br /> +The God descending stood beside<br /> +His image on the golden tide.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span><br /> +His shaggy sides in full content<br /> +He sunn'd, and o'er the waters bent;<br /> +Then hugg'd himself the reeds among,<br /> +And piped his best Arcadian song.<br /> +<br /> +What was it, as he knelt and drew<br /> +The wave to sip, that pierced him through?<br /> +What whispered sound, what stifled roar,<br /> +Has reached him listening on the shore?<br /> +<br /> +He shivers on the old lake stones;<br /> +He leans, aghast, to catch the groans<br /> +Which come like voices uttering woe<br /> +Up all the streams, and bid him go.<br /> +<br /> +Onward the looming troubles roll,<br /> +All centring towards his mighty soul.<br /> +He shriek'd! and in a moment's flight,<br /> +Stunn'd, through the thickets plunged from sight.<br /> +<br /> +Plunged he, his unking'd head to hide<br /> +With goats and herds in forests wide?<br /> +Or down beneath the rocks to lie,<br /> +Shut in from leaves, and fields, and sky?<br /> +<br /> +Gone was the great God out from earth!<br /> +Gone, with his pipe of tuneful mirth!<br /> +Whither, and wherefore, men may say<br /> +Who stood where Pilate mused that day.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span><br /> +And with that breath that crisp'd the rills,<br /> +And with that shock that smote the hills,<br /> +A moment Nature sobb'd and mourn'd,<br /> +And things of life to rocks were turned.<br /> +<br /> +Stricken to stone in heart and limb,<br /> +Like all things else that followed him,<br /> +Yonder his Dog lies watching still<br /> +For Pan's lost step to climb the hill.<br /> +<br /> +And those twin Pards, huge, worn with time,<br /> +Stretch still their rocky lengths sublime,<br /> +Where once they watched to guard from man<br /> +The sportive mood of great God Pan.<br /> +<br /> +And craggy Helm's grey Lion rears<br /> +The mane he shook in those old years,<br /> +In changeless stone, from morn to morn<br /> +Awaiting still great Pan's return.<br /> +<br /> +Could he come back again, to range<br /> +The earth, how much must all things change!<br /> +Not Nature's self, even rock and stone,<br /> +Would deign her perished God to own.<br /> +<br /> +The former life all fled away—<br /> +No custom'd haunt to bid him stay—<br /> +No flower on earth, no orb on high,<br /> +No place, to know him—Pan must die.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span><br /> +Down with his age he went to rest;<br /> +His great heart, stricken in his breast<br /> +By tidings from that far-off shore,<br /> +Burst—and great Pan was King no more!<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "PAN ON KIRKSTONE."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The sudden trouble and annihilation of Pan have reference +to a passage in Plutarch, in his <i>Treatise on Oracles</i>, in which +he relates that at the time of the Crucifixion, a voice was +heard by certain mariners, sweeping over the Egean Sea, and +crying "Pan is dead"; and the Oracles ceased. This idea, +so beautifully expressing the overthrow of Paganism, and the +flight of the old gods, at the inauguration of Christianity, +Milton has finely elaborated in his sublime "Hymn on the +Morning of the Nativity."</p> + +<p>Many of the mountains in the North of England derive +their name from some peculiarity of form: as <i>Helm-Crag</i> in +Grasmere, <i>Saddle-Back</i> near Keswick, <i>Great Gable</i> at the +head of Wast-Water, <i>The Pillar</i> in Ennerdale, <i>The Hay +Stacks</i>, <i>The Haycocks</i>, <i>High Stile</i>, <i>Steeple</i>, &c.</p> + +<p>There are also very marked resemblances to animate objects, +well known to those familiar with the Lake District, as +the <i>Lion and the Lamb</i> on the summit of Helm-Crag; the +<i>Astrologer</i>, or <i>Old woman cowering</i>, on the same spot when +seen from another quarter; the rude similitude of a female +colossal statue, which gives the name of <i>Eve's Crag</i> to a cliff +in the vale of Derwentwater. An interesting and but little +known Arthurian reminiscence is found in the old legend that +the recumbent effigy of that great king may be traced from +some parts of the neighbourhood of Penrith in the outlines of +the mountain range of which the peaks of Saddleback form +the most prominent points. From the little hill of Castle +Head or Castlet, the royal face of George the Third with its +double chin, short nose, and receding forehead, can be quite +made out in the crowning knob of Causey Pike. From under +Barf, near Bassenthwaite Water, is seen the form which gives +name to the <i>Apostle's Crag</i>. At a particular spot, the solemn +shrouded figure comes out with bowed head and reverent +mien, as if actually detaching itself from the rock—a vision +seen by the passer by only for a few yards, when the magic +ceases, and the Apostle goes back to stone. The massy +forms of the Langdale Pikes, as seen from the south east, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>with the sweeping curve of Pavey Ark behind, are strikingly +suggestive of two gigantic lions or pards, crouching side by +side, with their breasts half turned towards the spectator. And +a remarkable figure of a shepherd's dog, but of no great size, +may be seen stretched out on a jutting crag, about half way +up the precipice which overhangs the road, as the summit of +Kirkstone Pass is approached from Brother's Water. It is +not strictly, as stated in the foregoing verses, on the part of +Kirkstone Fell called Red Screes, but some distance below it +on the Patterdale side.</p> + +<p>Among the freaks of Nature occasionally to be found in +these hilly regions, is the print of the heifer's foot in Borrowdale, +shown by the guides; and on a stone near Buck-Crag +in Eskdale, the impressions of the foot of a man, a boy, and a +dog, without any marks of tooling or instrument; and the remarkable +precipices of Doe-Crag and Earn-Crag, whose +fronts are polished as marble, the one 160 yards in perpendicular +height, the other 120 yards.</p> + +<p>On the top of the Screes, above Wastwater, stood for ages +a very large stone called Wilson's Horse; which about a century +ago fell down into the lake, when a cleft was made +one hundred yards long, four feet wide, and of incredible +depth.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>ST. BEGA AND THE SNOW MIRACLE.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +The seas will rise though saints on board<br /> +Commend their frail skiff to the Lord.<br /> +And Bega and her holy band<br /> +Are shipwrecked on the Cumbrian strand.<br /> +<br /> +"Give me," she asked, "for me and mine,<br /> +O Lady of high Bretwalda's line!<br /> +Give, for His sake who succoured thee,<br /> +A shelter for these maids and me."—<br /> +<br /> +Then sew'd, and spun, and crewl-work wrought,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a><br /> +And served the poor they meekly taught,<br /> +These virgins good; and show'd the road<br /> +By blameless lives to Heaven and God.<br /> +<br /> +They won from rude men love and praise;<br /> +They lived unmoved through evil days;<br /> +And only longed for a home to rise<br /> +To store up treasures for the skies.<br /> +<br /> +That pious wish the Lady's bower<br /> +Has reached; and forth she paced the tower:—<br /> +"My gracious Lord! of thy free hand<br /> +Grant this good Saint three roods of land.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span><br /> +"Three roods, where she may rear a pile,<br /> +To sing God's praise through porch and aisle;<br /> +And, serving Him, us too may bless<br /> +For sheltering goodness in distress."<br /> +<br /> +The Earl he turned him gaily near,<br /> +Laughed lightly in his Lady's ear—<br /> +"By this bright Eve of blessed St. John!<br /> +I'll give—what the snow to-morrow lies on."<br /> +<br /> +His Lady roused him at dawn with smiles—<br /> +"The snow lies white for miles and miles!"<br /> +From loophole and turret he stares on the sight<br /> +Of Midsummer-morning clothed in white.<br /> +<br /> +"—Well done, good Saint! the lands are thine.<br /> +Go, build thy church, and deck thy shrine.<br /> +I 'bate no jot of my plighted word,<br /> +Though lightly spoken and lightly heard.<br /> +<br /> +"If mirth and my sweet Lady's grace<br /> +Have lost me many a farm and chace,<br /> +I know that power unseen belongs<br /> +To holy ways and Christian songs.<br /> +<br /> +"And He, who thee from wind and wave<br /> +Deliverance and a refuge gave,<br /> +When we must brave a gloomier sea,<br /> +May hear thy prayers for mine and me."<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></p> + +<h3>NOTES TO "ST. BEGA AND THE SNOW +MIRACLE."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The remains of the Monastery of St. Bees, about four miles +south of Whitehaven, stand in a low situation, with marshy +lands to the east, and on the west exposed to storms from +the Irish Channel.</p> + +<p>In respect to this religious foundation, Tanner says, "Bega, +an holy woman from Ireland is said to have founded, about +the year 650, a small monastery in Copeland, where afterwards +a church was built in memory of her. This religious +house being destroyed by the Danes, was restored by William, +brother to Ranulph de Meschines, Earl of Cumberland, in the +time of King Henry I., and made a cell for a prior and six +Benedictine monks, to the Abbey of St. Mary, York."</p> + +<p>The earliest documents connected with this place call it +<i>Kirkby-Begogh</i>, the market town of St. Bega; and <i>St. Bee</i>, +or <i>St. Bees</i>, the Saint's house or houses, names given to it +<i>after</i> the Irish Saint resided there.</p> + +<p>St. Bega is said to have been the daughter of an Irish king, +"who was a Christian, and an earnest man, to boot." He +wished to marry his daughter to a Norwegian prince; but +she, having determined to be a nun, ran away from her +father's house, and joining some strange sailors, took ship, +and sailed to the coast of Cumberland.</p> + +<p>The accounts given of the first foundation of the nunnery of +St. Bees are very contradictory, the common version being +the traditionary account in Mr. Sandford's MS., namely, that +the extent of the territories was originally designated by a +preternatural fall of snow, through the prayers of the Saint, +on the eve of St. John's or Midsummer day. From this MS. +it would appear that a ship, containing a lady abbess and her +sisters, being "driven in by stormy weather at Whitehaven," +the abbess applied for relief to the lady of Egremont, who, +taking compassion on her destitution, obtained of her lord a +dwelling place for them, "at the now St. Bees;" where +they "sewed and spinned, and wrought carpets and other +work and lived very godly lives, as got them much love." +It goes on to say that the lady of Egremont, at the request of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>the abbess, spoke to her lord to give them some land "to lay +up treasure in heaven," and that "he laughed and said he +would give them as much as snow fell upon the next morning, +being Midsummer day; and on the morrow as he looked out +of his castle window, all was white with snow for three miles +together. And thereupon builded this St. Bees Abbie, and +gave all those lands was snowen unto it, and the town and +haven of Whitehaven, &c."</p> + +<p>The "Life of Sancta Bega," however, a latin chronicle of +the Middle Ages, in which are recorded the acts of the Saint, +gives the Snow Miracle somewhat differently, and places it +many years after the death of the mild recluse, in the time of +Ranulph de Meschines. The monkish historian relates that +certain persons had instilled into the ears of that nobleman, +that the monks had unduly extended their possessions. A +dispute arose on this subject, for the settlement of which, by +the prayers of the religious, "invoking most earnestly the +intercession of their advocate the blessed Bega," the whole +land became white with snow, except the territories of the +church which stood forth dry.</p> + +<p>It is certain that the name of <i>Sancta Bega</i> is inseparably +connected with the Snow Miracle; but the anachronism which +refers the former of the accounts just given to the period of +William de Meschines would seem to show that the narrator +has mixed up the circumstances attending its foundation in the +middle of the seventh century with its restoration in the +twelfth; for, says Denton, "the said Lord William de Meschines +seated himself at Egremont, where he built a castle upon +a sharp topped hill, and thereupon called the same <i>Egremont</i>." +This writer elsewhere says, "The bounders of +William Meschines aforesaid, which he gave the priory are +in these words: 'Totam terram et vis totum feodum inter has +divisas, viz. a pede de Whit of Haven ad Kekel, et per Kekel +donec cadit in Eyre et per Eyre quousque in mare.' Kekel +runneth off from Whillymore by Cleator and Egremont, and +so into Eyne; at Egremont Eyre is the foot of Eyne, which +falleth out of Eynerdale."</p> + +<p>The monkish version of the legend, therefore, refers to +William de Meschines, as the Lord of Egremont, and to the +lands which were given by him at the restoration of the Priory +in the twelfth century: whilst that related by Sandford alludes +to some other powerful chief, who, in the life time of the +Saint in the seventh century had his seat at Egremont, which, +as has been stated elsewhere, "was probably a place of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>strength during the Heptarchy, and in the time of the Danes."</p> + +<p>It might almost seem as if some such legend as that of the +Snow Miracle were necessary to account for the singular form +of this extensive and populous parish: which includes the +large and opulent town of Whitehaven; the five chapelries of +Hensingham, Ennerdale, Eskdale, Wastdale-Head, and Nether-Wastdale; +and the townships of St. Bees, Ennerdale, +Ennerdale High End, Eskdale and Wastdale, Hensingham, +Kinneyside, Lowside-Quarter, Nether-Wastdale, Preston-Quarter, +Rottington, Sandwith, Weddicar, and Whitehaven. +It extends ten miles along the coast, and reaches far inland, +so that some of its chapelries are ten and fourteen miles from +the mother-church.</p> + +<p>In the monkish chronicle of the Life and Miracles of Sancta +Bega occurs the following passage:—</p> + +<p>"A certain celebration had come round by annual revolution +which the men of that land use to solemnise by a most holy +Sabbath on the eve of Pentecost, on account of certain tokens +of the sanctity of the holy virgin then found there, which they +commemorate, and they honor her church by visiting it with +offerings of prayers and oblations."<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> + +<p>In allusion to which, Mr. Tomlinson the editor and translator +of the MS. observes that "this is another of those marks +of dependence of the surrounding chapelries which formerly +existed; a mark the more interesting because to this day some +traces of it remain. Communicants still annually resort to +the church of St. Bees at the festival of Easter from considerable +distances; and the village presents an unusual appearance +from their influx; and at the church the eucharist is +administered as early as eight in the morning, in addition to +the celebration of it at the usual time. There can be no doubt +but that Whitsuntide, and perhaps Christmas, as well as Easter, +were formerly seasons when the church of St. Bees was resorted +to by numbers who appeared within it at no other +time, save perhaps at the burial of their friends. The great +festivals of the church appear in the middle ages to have been +considered by the English as peculiarly auspicious for the +solemnization of marriages. At these seasons then, from concurring +causes, the long-drawn solemn processions of priests +and people would be chiefly seen, and then also, the accustomed +oblations of the latter to the mother church of St. +Bees would be discharged."</p></blockquote> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span></p> +<blockquote> + +<p>As to the "town and haven of Whitehaven" included in +the gift to "St. Bees Abbie," its eligibility as a fishing +ground, when the tides ran nearer the meadows than at present, +would doubtless attract the attention of the monks of +St. Bees; and the fact of its being denominated <i>Whittofthaven</i>, +<i>Quitofthaven</i>, <i>Wythoven</i>, <i>Whyttothaven</i>, <i>Whitten</i>, &c., +in the register of St. Bees and other ancient records, evidently +shows that it is a place of greater antiquity than has generally +been ascribed to it; and some fragments of tradition, still +extant, seem to countenance this opinion.</p> + +<p>Denton (MS.) speaking of Whitehaven or White-Toft +Haven, says "It was belonging to St. Beghs of antient time, +for the Abbot of York, in Edward I.'s time was impleaded for +wreck, and his liberties there, by the King, which he claimed +from the foundation, to be confirmed by Richard Lucy, in +King John's time, to his predecessors."</p> + +<p>That Whitehaven was anciently a place of resort for shipping +appears from some particulars respecting it mentioned in +those remarkable Irish documents, called the <i>Annals of the +Four Masters</i>, much of which was written at the Abbey of +Monesterboice, in the county of Louth—nearly opposite, on +the Irish shore. In the account of the domestic habits and +manufactures of the Irish, it is stated that their <i>coracles</i>, or +<i>Wicker Boats</i>, their Noggins, and other domestic utensils, +were made of wood called <i>Wythe</i> or <i>Withey</i>, brought from +the opposite shore of <i>Baruch</i> (i.e. rocky coast) and that a +small colony was placed there for the purpose of collecting +this wood. That Barach mouth, or Barrow mouth, and +Barrow mouth wood is the same as that alluded to by the +Four Masters, is evident from the legend of St. Bega, which +places it in the same locality; and that the colony of Celts +resided in the neighbourhood of the now <i>Celts</i>, or <i>Kell's Pit</i>, +in the same locality also, is manifest from the name. About +the year 930, it appears that one of the Irish princes or chiefs, +accompanied an expedition to this place for wood (for that a +great portion of the site of the present town and the neighbouring +heights were formerly covered with forest trees there +can be no doubt) and that the inhabitants who were met at +<i>Whitten</i>, or <i>Wittenagemote</i>, fell upon and look the chief and +several of the accompanying expedition prisoners from a +jealousy of their sanctuary being invaded. Many of the Irish +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>utensils were imported hither, particularly the <i>noggin</i>, or +small water pail, which was made of closely woven wickerwork, +and covered inside with skin, having a projecting +handle for the purpose of dipping into a river or well. The +same article, in its primitive shape, though made of a different +material, called a <i>geggin</i>, is still used by some of the +farmers in that neighbourhood. When <i>Adam de Harris</i> gave +lands at Bransty Beck to the church of Holm Cultram, he +also gave privilege to the monks to cut wood for making +geggins or noggins.</p> + +<p>From an old history of the county of Durham, Whitehaven +appears to have been a resort for shipping in the tenth century; +and when the Nevills of Raby were called upon to furnish +their quota of men to accompany Henry in his expedition +to Ireland in 1172, they were brought to <i>Wythop-haven</i>, +or <i>Witten-haven</i>, and transported thence in ships to the Irish +coast. When Edward was advancing against Scotland, in +the fourteenth century, he found a ship belonging to this +place, in which he sent a cargo of oats, to be ground by the +monks of St. Bees.</p> + +<p>In nearly all histories of Cumberland, the name of Whitehaven +has been attributed either to some imaginary whiteness +of the rocks on the east side of the harbour, or to the cognomen +of an old fisherman who resided there about the year 1566, at +which time the town is said to have had only six houses. In +1633 it consisted of only nine thatched cottages. Sir Christopher +Lowther, second son of Sir John Lowther, purchased +Whitehaven and the lands lying in its neighbourhood, and +built a mansion on the west end of the haven at the foot of a +rock. He died in 1644, and was succeeded by his son, Sir +John Lowther, who erected a new mansion on the site of the +present castle, described by Mr. Denton, in 1688, as a +"stately new pile of building, called the Flatt," and having +conceived the project of working the coal mines, and improving +the harbour, he obtained from Charles the Second, about the +year 1666, a grant of all the "derelict land at this place," +which yet remained in the crown; and in 1678, all the lands +for two miles northward, between high and low water mark, +the latter grant containing about 150 acres. Sir John having +thus laid the foundation of the future importance of Whitehaven, +commenced his great work, and lived to see a small +obscure village grow up into a thriving and populous town.</p> + +<p>There is a traditionary account of the existence of an ancient +ruin where the castle stands (probably Druidical; or, where +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>at a later period, the Whitten, or Wittenagemote, was held) +the remains of which were broken up about the year 1628. +Respecting these real or imaginary stones it has been related, +that the inhabitants believed them to be enchanted warriors, +and gave them the appellation of "<i>Dread Ring</i>, or <i>Circle</i>," +and occasionally "<i>Corpse Circle</i>"—corrupted into the word +<i>Corkickle</i>, the name which the locality now bears.</p> + +<p>A reminiscence of the old mansion of the Lowthers is +preserved by the road which skirts the precincts of the castle. +This is still called, by the older townspeople, the Flatt +Walk.</p></blockquote> + + +<h3>CREWL-WORK.</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p><i>Krull</i>, or <i>Crewel</i>, is a word evidently derived from the old +Norse <i>Krulla</i>, signifying to blend, to mix, and also to curl; +in fact, "crewel" work is embroidery, the Berlin wool work of +modern days; but the word is generally applied, in this +locality, to the covering of a hand ball with worsted work +of various colours and devices, the tribute of mothers and +sisters in our boyhood. +</p> +</blockquote> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> See Note on page <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Advenerat annua revolutione quædam celebritas quam sacro sancto +sabbato in vigilia pentecosten homines illius terræ ob quædam insignia +sanctitatis sanctæ virginis tunc illic inventa, et signa ibidem perpetrata +solent solempnizare; et ecclesiam illius visitando orationum et oblationum +hostiis honorare. +</p> +<p> +Vita S. Begæ, et de Miraculis Ejusdem, p. 73. +</p> +</div> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p> + + +<h2>HART'S-HORN TREE.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +When wild deer ranged the forest free,<br /> +Mid Whinfell oaks stood Hart's-Horn Tree;<br /> +Which, for three hundred years and more,<br /> +Upon its stem the antlers bore<br /> +Of that thrice-famous Hart-of-Grease<br /> +That ran the race with Hercules.<br /> +<br /> +The King of Scots, to hunt the game<br /> +With brave de Clifford southward came:<br /> +Pendragon, Appleby, and Brough'm,<br /> +Gave all his bold retainers room;<br /> +And all came gathering to the chase<br /> +Which ended in that matchless race.<br /> +<br /> +Beneath a mighty oak at morn<br /> +The stag was roused with bugle horn;<br /> +Unleashed, de Clifford's noblest Hound<br /> +Rushed to the chase with strenuous bound;<br /> +And stretching forth, the Hart-of-Grease<br /> +Led off with famous Hercules.<br /> +<br /> +They ran, and northward held their way;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span><br /> +They ran till dusk, from dawning grey;<br /> +O'er Cumbrian waste, and Border moor,<br /> +Till England's line was speeded o'er;<br /> +And Red-kirk on the Scottish ground<br /> +Mark'd of their chase the farthest bound.<br /> +<br /> +Then turned they southward, stretching on,<br /> +They ran till day was almost gone;<br /> +Till Eamont came again in view;<br /> +Till Whinfell oaks again they knew;<br /> +They ran, and reached at eve the place<br /> +Where first began their desperate race.<br /> +<br /> +They panted on, till almost broke<br /> +Each beast's strong heart with its own stroke!<br /> +They panted on, both well nigh blind,<br /> +The Hart before, the Hound behind!<br /> +And now will strength the Hart sustain<br /> +To take him o'er the pale again?<br /> +<br /> +He sprang his best; that leap has won<br /> +His triumph, but his chase is done!<br /> +He lies stone dead beyond the bound;<br /> +And stretched on this side lies the Hound!<br /> +His last bold spring to clear the wall<br /> +Was vain; and life closed with his fall.<br /> +<br /> +The steeds had fail'd, squires', knights', and king's,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span><br /> +Long ere the chase reached Solway's springs!<br /> +But on the morrow news came in<br /> +To Brough'm, amidst the festive din,<br /> +How held the chase, how far, how wide<br /> +It swerved and swept, and where they died.<br /> +<br /> +Ah! gallant pair! such chase before<br /> +Was never seen, nor shall be more:<br /> +And Scotland's King and England's Knight<br /> +Looked, mutely wondering, on the sight,<br /> +Where with that wall of stone between<br /> +Lay Hart and Hound stretched on the green.<br /> +<br /> +Then spoke the King—"For equal praise<br /> +This hand their monument shall raise!<br /> +These antlers from this Oak shall spread;<br /> +And evermore shall here be said,<br /> +That Hercules killed Hart-of-Grease,<br /> +And Hart-of-Grease killed Hercules.<br /> +<br /> +"From Whinfell woods to Red-kirk plain,<br /> +And back to Whinfell Oaks again,<br /> +Not fourscore English miles would tell!<br /> +But"—said the King—"they spann'd it well.<br /> +And by my kingdom, I will say<br /> +They ran a noble race that day!"—<br /> +<br /> +Then said de Clifford to the King—<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span><br /> +"Through many an age this feat shall ring!<br /> +But of your Majesty I crave<br /> +That Hercules may have his grave<br /> +In ground beneath these branches free,<br /> +From this day forth called Hart's-Horn Tree."<br /> +<br /> +And there where both were 'reft of life,<br /> +And both were victors in the strife,<br /> +Survives this saying on that chase,<br /> +In memory of their famous race—<br /> +"Here Hercules killed Hart-of-Grease,<br /> +And Hart-of-Grease killed Hercules."<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "HART'S-HORN TREE."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>I.—The memorable Westmorland Forest, or Park of Whinfell, +anciently written Qwynnefel, was a grant to Robert de +Veteripont from King John. This grant restrained him from +committing waste in the woods, and from suffering his servants +to hunt there in his absence during the king's life. Till the +beginning of last century it was famous for its prodigious oaks; +a trio of them, called The Three Brothers, were the giants of +the forest; and a part of the skeleton of one of them, called +<i>The Three Brothers' Tree</i>, which was thirteen yards in girth, +at a considerable distance from the root, was remaining until +within a very recent period.</p> + +<p>On the east side of this park is Julian's Bower, famous for +its being the residence of Gillian, or Julian, the peerless mistress +of Roger de Clifford, about the beginning of the reign of +Edward III. The Pembroke memoirs call it "a little house +hard by Whinfell-park, the lower foundations of which standeth +still, though all the wall be down long since." This record +also mentions the Three Brother Tree and Julian's Bower, as +curiosities visited by strangers in the Countess of Pembroke's +time, prior to which a shooting seat had been erected near +these ruins, for she tells us, that her grandson, Mr. John +Tufton, and others at one time, "alighted on their way over +<i>Whinfield</i> park at Julian's Bower, to see all the rooms and +places about it." Its hall was spacious, wainscotted, and +hung round with prodigious stags' horns, and other trophies +of the field. One of the rooms was hung with very elegant +tapestry; but since it was converted into a farm-house all these +relics of ancient times have been destroyed.</p> + +<p>A large portion of the park was divided into farms in +1767; and the remainder in 1801, when its deer were finally +destroyed. It was thus stripped of its giant trees, and consigned +to its present unsheltered condition.</p> + +<p>II.—A fine oak formerly stood by the way side, near +Hornby Hall, about four miles from Penrith on the road to +Appleby, which, from a pair of stag's horns being hung up in +it, bore the name of Hart's-Horn Tree. It grew within the +district which to this day is called Whinfell Forest. Concerning +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>this tree there is a tradition, confirmed by Anne, +Countess of Pembroke in her memoirs, that a hart was run by +a single greyhound (as the ancient deer hound was called) from +this place to Red-Kirk in Scotland, and back again. When +they came near this tree the hart leaped the park paling, but, +being worn out with fatigue, instantly died; and the dog, +equally exhausted, in attempting to clear it, fell backwards +and expired. In this situation they were found by the hunters, +the dog dead on one side of the paling, and the deer on the +other. In memory of this remarkable chase, the hart's horns +were nailed upon the tree, whence it obtained its name. And +as all extraordinary events were in those days recorded in +rhymes, we find the following popular one on this occasion, +from which we learn the name of the dog likewise:—</p> + +<div class="poem"> +Hercules killed Hart-o-Grease,<br /> +And Hart-o-Grease killed Hercules.<br /> +</div> + +<p>This story appears to have been literally true, as the Scots +preserve it without any variation, and add that it happened in +the year 1333 or 1334, when Edward Baliol King of Scotland +came to hunt with Robert de Clifford in his domains at +Appleby and Brougham, and stayed some time with him at +his castles in Westmorland. In course of time, it is stated, +the horns of the deer became grafted, as it were, upon the +tree, by reason of its bark growing over their root, and there +they remained more than three centuries, till, in the year 1648, +one of the branches was broken off by some of the army, and +ten years afterwards the remainder was secretly taken down +by some mischievous people in the night. "So now," says +Lady Anne Clifford in her Diary, "there is no part thereof +remaining, the tree itself being so decayed, and the bark so +peeled off, that it cannot last long; whereby we may see time +brings to forgetfulness many memorable things in this world, +be they ever so carefully preserved—for this tree, with the +hart's horn in it, was a thing of much note in these parts."</p> + +<p>The tree itself has now disappeared; but Mr. Wordsworth, +"well remembered its imposing appearance as it stood, in a +decayed state by the side of the high road leading from Penrith +to Appleby."</p> + +<p>This remarkable chase must have been upwards of eighty +miles, even supposing the deer to have taken the direct road.</p> + +<p>Nicolson and Burn remark, when they tell the story, "So +say the Countess of Pembroke's Memoirs, and other historical +anecdotes. But from the improbable length of the course, we +would rather suppose, that they ran to Nine Kirks, that is +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>the Church of Ninian the Scottish Saint, and back again, +which from some parts of the park might be far enough for +a greyhound to run." These writers have overlooked the +circumstance, that the animal which in those days was called +a greyhound was the ancient deerhound, a large species of +dog having the form of the modern greyhound, but with +shaggy hair and a more powerful frame. The breed is not +yet extinct: Sir Walter Scott's Maida was of the species.</p> + +<p>Dr. Burn deals another blow at the tradition; for he goes +on to say, "And <i>before</i> this time there was a place in the +park denominated from the <i>Hart's horns</i>; which seem therefore +to have been put up on some former occasion, perhaps +for their remarkable largeness. For one of the bounder +marks of the partition aforesaid between the two daughters of +the last Robert de Veteripont is called <i>Hart-horn sike</i>".</p> + +<p>III.—Dr. Percy, referring to the expression <i>hart-o-greece</i> +in a verse given below from the old ballad of "Adam Bell," +explains it to mean a fat hart, from the French word <i>graisse</i>.</p> + +<div class="poem"> +"Then went they down into a lawnde,<br /> +These noble archarrs thre;<br /> +Eche of them slew a hart of greece,<br /> +The best that they cold se."<br /> +</div> + +<p>Clarke, in an appendix to his "Survey of the Lakes," +speaking of the Red Deer which is bred upon the tops of the +mountains in Martindale, gives <i>Hart of Grease</i> as the proper +name of the male in the eighth year.</p> + +<p>In Black's "Picturesque Guide to the English Lakes," it is +stated in a note upon this subject, that there is an ancient +broadside proclamation of a Lord Mayor of London, preserved +in the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth, in which, after +denouncing "the excessyve and unreasonable pryses of all +kyndes of vytayles," it is ordered that "no citizen or freman +of the saide citie shall sell or cause to be solde," amongst +other things, "Capons of grece above <span class="smcap">XX</span>d. or Hennes of +grece above <span class="smcap">VII</span>d."</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>BEKAN'S GHYLL.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +Dim shadows tread with elfin pace<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The nightshade-skirted road,</span><br /> +Where once the sons of Odin's race<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In Bekan's vale abode;</span><br /> +Where, long ere rose Saint Mary's pile,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The vanquish'd horsemen laid</span><br /> +Their idol Wodin, stained and vile,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beneath the forest's shade.</span><br /> +<br /> +There hid—while clash of clubs and swords<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Resounded in the dell,</span><br /> +To save it from the Briton's hordes<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When Odin's warriors fell—</span><br /> +It lay with Bekan's mightiest charms<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of magic on its breast;</span><br /> +While Sorcery, with its hundred arms,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Had sealed the vale in rest.</span><br /> +<br /> +It woke when fell with sturdy stroke<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Norman axe around,</span><br /> +And builders' hands in fragments broke<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Idol from the ground;</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span><br /> +And hewed therefrom that corner stone<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Which yet yon tower sustains,</span><br /> +Where Wodin's Moth sits, grim and lone,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And holds the dell in chains.</span><br /> +<br /> +There youth at love's sweet call oft glides<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">By cloister, aisle, and nave,</span><br /> +To stop above the stone that hides<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The beauteous Fleming's grave:—</span><br /> +Fair flower of Aldingham—the child<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of old Sir William's days,—</span><br /> +Low where the Bekan straggling wild<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Its deadly arms displays.</span><br /> +<br /> +There in the quiet more profound<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Than sleep, than death more drear,</span><br /> +Her shadow walks the silent ground<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When leaves are green or sere;</span><br /> +When autumn with its cheerless sky<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or winter with its pall,</span><br /> +Puts all the year's fair promise by<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With fruits that fade and fall.</span><br /> +<br /> +And where the Bekan by the rill<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So bitter once, now sweet,</span><br /> +Its lurid purples ripens still<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While ages onward fleet,</span><br /> +She tastes the deadly flower by night,—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">If yet its juices flow</span><br /> +Sweet as of yore; for then to light<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And rest her soul shall go.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span><br /> +Ah, blessed forth from far beyond<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Jordan once he came,—</span><br /> +Her Red-cross Knight,—the marriage bond<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To twine with love and fame:</span><br /> +His meed of valour, Beauty's charms,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pledged with one silvery word,</span><br /> +Beneath the forest's branching arms<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And by the breezes stirred.</span><br /> +<br /> +Another week! and she would stand<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In Urswick's halls a bride:</span><br /> +Another week! the marriage band<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Had round her life been tied:</span><br /> +When wild with joyfulness of heart<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That beat not with a care,</span><br /> +She carolled forth alone, to start<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The grim Moth from its lair.</span><br /> +<br /> +She bounded from his heart elate!<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But Urswick's halls of light,</span><br /> +And Aldingham's embattled gate<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No more shall meet her sight.</span><br /> +For her no happy bridal crowd<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Press out into the road,</span><br /> +But Furness monks with dirges loud<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bend round her last abode.</span><br /> +<br /> +To chase the moth that guards the flower<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That makes the dell its own,</span><br /> +Flew forth the maid from hall and tower<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Through wood and glen alone.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span><br /> +Where Odin's men had left their god<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In earth, long overgrown</span><br /> +With tangled bushes rude, she trod<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Enchanted ground unknown.</span><br /> +<br /> +The abbey walls before her gaze<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">At distance rising fair,</span><br /> +While deep within the magic maze<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She wandered unaware:</span><br /> +She loitered with the song untired<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Upon her lips, nor thought</span><br /> +What foes against her peace conspired,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While love his lost one sought!</span><br /> +<br /> +They found her with close-lidded eyes,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Watched by that Moth unblest,</span><br /> +Perched high between her and the skies,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And nightshade on her breast.</span><br /> +There lay she with her lips apart<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In peace; by Wodin's power</span><br /> +Stilled into death her truest heart<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With Bekan's lurid flower.</span><br /> +<br /> +Woe was it when Sir William's hall<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Received the mournful train:</span><br /> +No more her voice with sweetest call<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His morns to wake again!</span><br /> +No more her merry step to cheer<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The days when clouds were wild!</span><br /> +No more her form on palfrey near<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When sport his noons beguiled!</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span><br /> +Worse woe when Furness monks with dole—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While gentle hands conveyed</span><br /> +Her body—for a parted soul<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The solemn ritual said;</span><br /> +And laid her where the waving leaves<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Breathed low amidst the calm,</span><br /> +When loud upon the fading eves<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rolled organ-chant and psalm.</span><br /> +<br /> +With Urswick's hand in fondest grasp<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Said Fleming—"Vainly rise</span><br /> +My days for me: my heart must clasp<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her image, or it dies!</span><br /> +Through mass and prayer I hear her voice;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I know the fiends have power—</span><br /> +That chant and dole and choral noise<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Can purge not—o'er that flower!"</span><br /> +<br /> +They wandered where Engaddi's palms<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Sharon's roses wave;</span><br /> +Where Hebrew virgins chant their psalms<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">By many a mountain cave:</span><br /> +Mid rock-hewn chambers by the Nile,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where Magian fathers lay;—</span><br /> +The secret of the spell-struck pile<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To drag to realms of day.</span><br /> +<br /> +In vain! His gallant heart sleeps well,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beneath the Lybian air;</span><br /> +And still the enchantment holds the dell,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And her so sweet and fair.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span><br /> +Still on yon loop hole stretched by night,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The tyrant-moth is laid:</span><br /> +While circling in their ceaseless flight<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The ages rise and fade.</span><br /> +<br /> +There sometimes as in nights of yore,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Heard faint and sweet, a sound</span><br /> +Peals from yon tower, while o'er and o'e<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The vale repeats it round.</span><br /> +And down the glen the muffled tone<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Floats slowly, long upborne;</span><br /> +Answered as if far off were blown<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A warrior's bugle-horn.</span><br /> +<br /> +Yet one day, with unconscious art,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">May some rude hand unfold</span><br /> +Great Wodin's breast, and rend apart<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The fragment from its hold.</span><br /> +Then, while the deadly nightshade's veins<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In bitter streams shall pour</span><br /> +Their juices, his usurped domains<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Shall own the Moth no more.</span><br /> +<br /> +Then him a milk white swallow's power<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Shall timely overthrow.</span><br /> +And fair, as from a beauteous bower,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In raiment like the snow,</span><br /> +The Flower of Aldingham—the child<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of old Sir William's days—</span><br /> +Shall break the bondage round her piled;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But not to meet his gaze.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span><br /> +Nor forth beneath the dewy dawn,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All radiant like the morn,</span><br /> +Shall Urswick's Knight lead up the lawn<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beside the scented thorn,</span><br /> +His bride into the blighted halls<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whence once she wildly strayed</span><br /> +In ages past, by Furness walls,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And with the Bekan played.</span><br /> +<br /> +The sea-snake through the chambers roves<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of old Sir William's home—</span><br /> +Fair Aldingham, its bowers, and groves,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And fields she loved to roam:</span><br /> +And where the gallant Urswick graced<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His own ancestral board,</span><br /> +Now ferns and wild weeds crowd the waste,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The creeping fox is lord.</span><br /> +<br /> +But gracious spirits of the light<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Shall call a welcome down</span><br /> +On her, the beauteous lady bright,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And lead her to her own.</span><br /> +Not to that home o'er which the tide<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Unceasing heaves and rolls;</span><br /> +But through that porch which opens wide<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Into the land of souls.</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "BEKAN'S GHYLL."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>In the Chartulary of Furness Abbey, some rude Latin +verses, written by John Stell a monk, refer to a plant called +<i>Bekan</i>, which at some remote period grew in the valley in +great abundance, whence the name of Bekansghyll was +anciently derived. The etymology is thus metrically rendered:</p> + +<p> +"Hæc vallis, tenuit olim sibi nomen ab herba<br /> +Bekan, qua viruit; dulcis nunc tunc sed acerba,<br /> +Inde domus nomen Bekanes-gill claruit ante."<br /> +</p> + +<p>This plant "whose juice is now sweet, but was then bitter," +is assumed to be one of the species of Nightshade which are +indigenous in the dell and flourish there in great luxuriance; +probably the Solanum Dulcamara, the bitter-sweet or woody +nightshade, although the Atropa Belladonna, the deadly +nightshade, also grows among the ruins of the Abbey. This +"lurid offspring of Flora," as Mr. Beck calls it, the emblem +of sorcery and witchcraft, might well give the name of +Nightshade to that enchanting spot. But what authority the +monks may have had for their derivation it is now impossible +to ascertain. Various glossaries and lexicons are said to have +been consulted for <i>bekan</i>, as signifying the deadly nightshade +but without effect; "and after all," says Mr. Beck, "I am +inclined to believe that Beckansgill is a creation of the +monastic fancy."</p> + +<p>Bekan is Scandinavian, and a proper name: and has +probably been localised in this district by the Northmen from +the period of its colonisation. It is said to have been quite in +accordance with the practice of these rovers to give the name of +their chiefs not only to the mounds in which they were buried, +but also in many cases to the valley or plain in which these +were situated, or in which was their place of residence; or +to those ghylls or small ravines, which, with the rivers or +brooks, were most frequently the boundaries of property. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>Bekan's gill may be associated in some way with one of the +northern settlers whose name has thus far outlived his memory +in the district.</p> + +<p>An interesting passage in Mr. Ferguson's "Northmen in +Cumberland and Westmorland" bears upon this subject. It +refers to the opening of an ancient barrow at a place called +Beacon Hill, near Aspatria in Cumberland, in 1790, by its +proprietor. Speaking of the barrow, Mr. Ferguson says:— +"From its name and its commanding situation has arisen the +very natural belief that this hill must have been the site of a +beacon. But there is no other evidence of this fact, and as +Bekan is a Scandinavian proper name found also in other +instances in the district, and as this was evidently a Scandinavian +grave, while the commanding nature of the situation +would be a point equally desired in the one case as the other, +there can hardly be a doubt that the place takes its name from +the mighty chief whose grave it was. On levelling the +artificial mound, which was about 90 feet in circumference at +the base, the workmen removed six feet of earth before they +came to the natural soil, three feet below which they found a +vault formed with two large round stones at each side, and +one at each end. In this lay the skeleton of a man measuring +seven feet from the head to the ankle bone—the feet having +decayed away. By his side lay a straight two-edged sword +corresponding with the gigantic proportions of its owner, +being about five feet in length, and having a guard elegantly +ornamented with inlaid silver flowers. The tomb also contained +a dagger, the hilt of which appeared to have been +studded with silver, a two-edged Danish battle-axe, part of a +gold brooch of semi-circular form, an ornament apparently of +a belt, part of a spur, and a bit shaped like a modern snaffle. +Fragments of a shield were also picked up, but in a state too +much decayed to admit of its shape being made out. Upon +the stones composing the sides of the vault were carved some +curious figures, which were probably magical runes. This +gigantic Northman, who must have stood about eight feet +high, was evidently, from his accoutrements, a person of considerable +importance."</p> + +<p>The situation of Furness Abbey, in Bekan's Ghyll, justifies +the choice of its first settlers. The approach from the north +is such that the ruins are concealed by the windings of the +glen, and the groves of forest trees which cover the banks and +knolls with their varied foliage: but unluckily it has been +thought necessary to disturb the solitude of the place by +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>driving a railway through it, within a few feet of the ruins, +and erecting a station upon the very site of the Abbot's +Lodge. A commodious road from Dalton enters this vale, +and crossing a small stream which glides along the side of +a fine meadow, branches into a shaded lane which leads +directly to the ruins of the sacred pile. The trees which +shade the bottom of the lane on one side, spread their bending +branches over an ancient Gothic arch, adorned with picturesque +appendages of ivy. This is the principal entrance into the +spacious enclosure which contains the Monastery. The building +appertaining to it took up the whole breadth of the vale; +and the rock from whence the stones were taken, in some +parts made place for and overtopped the edifice. Hence it +was so secreted, by the high grounds and eminences which +surround it, as not to be discovered at any distance. The +Western Tower must have originally been carried to a very +considerable height, if we judge from its remains, which +present a ponderous mass of walls, eleven feet in thickness, +and sixty feet in elevation. These walls have been additionally +strengthened with six staged buttresses, eight feet +broad, and projecting nine feet and a half from the face of the +wall; each stage of which has probably been ornamented +like the lower one now remaining, with a canopied niche and +pedestal. The interior of the tower, which measures twenty-four +feet by nineteen feet, has been lighted by a fine graceful +window of about thirty feet in height, by eleven and a half in +width; the arch of which must have been beautifully proportioned. +A series of grotesque heads, alternating with flowers, +is introduced in the hollow of the jambs, and the label +terminates in heads. On the right side of the window is a +loophole, admitting light to a winding staircase in the south-west +angle of the tower, by which its upper stories might be +ascended, the entrance to the stairs being by a door, having a +Tudor arch, placed in an angle of the interior. The stairs are +yet passable, and the view from the top is worth the trouble +of an ascent.</p> + +<p>The workmen employed by the late Lord G. Cavendish, +state that the rubbish in this tower, accumulated by the fall +of the superstructure, which filled up the interior to the window +sill, was rendered so compact by its fall, so tenacious by the +rains, and was composed of such strongly cemented materials, +as to require blasting with gunpowder into manageable pieces +for its removal. Prior to its clearance, it was the scene of +some marvellous tales disseminated and credited by many, who +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>alleged that this heap covered a vault to which the staircase +led, containing the bells and treasure of the abbey, with the +usual accompaniments of the White Lady, at whose appearance +the lights were extinguished, the impenetrable iron-grated +door, and the grim guardian genius. Though many essayed, +none were known to have succeeded in the discovery of this +concealed treasure house, much less of its contents. The +inhabitants of the manor house, on one occasion, were roused +from their slumbers by a noise proceeding from the ruins, and +on hastening to the spot, discovered that it was made by some +scholars from the neighbouring town of Dalton, digging +among the ruins at midnight, in quest of the buried spoils.</p> + +<p>Within the inner enclosure, on the north side of the Church +at St. Mary's Abbey in Furness, a few tombstones lie scattered +about in what has formerly been a part of the cemetery. +One of these bears the inscription, partly defaced,</p> + +<div class="center"> +HIC JACET ANA F.. ... ......TI FLANDREN...,<br /> +</div> + +<p>and commemorates one of the ancient family of Le Fleming.</p> + +<p>Michael Le Fleming, the first of the name, called also +Flemengar, and in some old writings Flandrensis, was kinsman +to Baldwin, Earl of Flanders, father-in-law to the Conqueror; +by whom he was sent with some forces to assist William in +his enterprise against England.</p> + +<p>After the Conquest was completed, and William was seated +on the throne of England, the valiant Sir Michael, for his +fidelity, and good services against the Saxons and Scots, +received from his master many noble estates in Lancashire; +Gleaston, and the manor of Aldingham, with other lands in +Furness. William de Meschines also granted him Beckermet +Castle, vulgarly at that time called Caernarvon Castle, with +the several contiguous manors of Frizington, Rottington, +Weddaker, and Arloghden, all in Cumberland.</p> + +<p>Sir Michael and his heirs first settled at Aldingham. By a +singular accident, the time of which cannot now be ascertained, +the sea swallowed up their seat at this place, with the village, +leaving only the church at the east end of the town, and the +mote at the west end, which serve to show what the extent +of Aldingham has been. About the same time, it is supposed, +the villages of Crimilton and Ross, which the first Sir Michael +exchanged with the monks for Bardsea and Urswick, were +also swallowed up. After this, they fixed their residence at +Gleaston Castle; and it has been conjectured, from the nature +of the building, that the castle was built on the occasion, and +in such haste, as obliged them to substitute mud mortar +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>instead of lime, in a site that abounds with limestone. Sir +Michael, is said, to have also resided at Beckermet.</p> + +<p>The little knowledge that we are now able to gather of the first +Le Fleming exhibits him in a very favourable light. He was +undoubtedly a valiant man; and was acknowledged as such +by his renowned master, when, with other Norman chiefs, he +was dispatched into the north to oppose the Scots, and awe +the partisans of Edwin and Morcar, two powerful Saxons who +opposed themselves to the Conqueror for some time after the +nation had submitted itself to the Norman yoke, and whose +power William dreaded the most. His regard for the memory +of his sovereign he expressed in the name conferred upon his son +and heir, William. We have glimpses too that in his household +there was harmony and kindness between him and his +children. To the Abbey of Furness he was a great benefactor. +There is an affecting earnestness in the language with which +in the evening of his long life he declares in one of his +charters—"In the name of the Father, &c. Be it known to +all men present and to come, That I, Michael Le Fleming, +consulting with God, and providing for the safety of my soul, +and the souls of my father and mother, wife and children, in the +year of our Lord 1153, give and grant to St. Mary of Furness, +to the abbot of that place, and to all the convent there serving +God, Fordeboc, with all its appurtenances, in perpetual alms; +which alms I give free from all claims of any one, with quiet +and free possession, as an oblation offered to God"—<i>saltim +vespertinum</i>, he pathetically adds, in allusion to his great age—"at +least an evening one." He adds, "signed by me with consent +of William my son and heir, and with the consent of all my +children. Signed by William my son, Gregory my grandson, +and Hugh." Few gifts of this kind show greater domestic +harmony. That Michael lived to a very advanced age is +evident from this charter signed eighty-seven years after the +Conquest; supposing him to be the same Michael Le Fleming +who came over with the Conqueror. He was buried with his +two sons within the walls of the Abbey Church. His arms, +a fret, strongly expressed in stone over the second chapel in +the northern aisle indicate the spot where he found a resting +place; not the least worthy among the many of the nobility +and gentry who in those days were interred within the sacred +precincts of St. Mary's Abbey in Furness.</p> + +<p>The lands in Furness, belonging to Sir Michael, were +excepted in the foundation charter of Stephen to the Abbey. +This exception, and the circumstance of his living in Furness, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>occasioned his lands to be called Michael's lands, to distinguish +them from the Abbey lands; and now they are called Muchlands, +from a corruption of the word Michael. In like manner +Urswick is called Much-Urswick for Michael's Urswick; and +what was originally called the manor of Aldingham, is now +called the manor of Muchland.</p> + +<p>From Baldwin's kinsman, the first Le Fleming, the founder +of the family in England, two branches issued. William, the +eldest son of Sir Michael, inherited Aldingham Castle and his +Lancashire estates. His descendants, after carrying the name +for a few generations, passed with their manors into the +female line; and their blood mingling first with the de +Cancefields, and successively with the baronial families of +Harrington, de Bonville, and Grey, spent itself on the steps +of the throne in the person of Henry Grey, King Edward the +Sixth's Duke of Suffolk, who was beheaded by Queen Mary +on the 23rd of February 1554. This nobleman being father to +Lady Jane Grey, his too near alliance with the blood royal +gave the occasion, and his supposed ambition of being father +to a Queen of England was the cause of his violent death. +By his attainder the manors of Muchland, the possessions of +the le Flemings in Furness, were forfeited to the Crown.</p> + +<p>Richard le Fleming, second son of the first Sir Michael, +having inherited the estates in Cumberland which William le +Meschines had granted to his father for his military services, +seated himself at Caernarvon Castle, Beckermet, in Copeland. +After two descents his posterity, having acquired by +marriage with the de Urswicks the manor of Coniston and other +considerable possessions in Furness, returned to reside in that +district. The Castle of Caernarvon was abandoned, then +erased, and Coniston Hall became the family seat for seven +descents. About the tenth year of Henry IV. Sir Thomas +le Fleming married Isabella, one of the four daughters and +co-heiresses of Sir John de Lancaster, and acquired with her +the lordship and manor of Rydal. The manor of Coniston +was settled upon the issue of this marriage; and for seven +generations more Rydal and Coniston vied with each other +which should hold the family seat, to fix it in Westmorland +or Lancashire. Sir Daniel le Fleming came, and gave his +decision against the latter, about the middle of the seventeenth +century. Since that event, the hall of Coniston, pleasantly +situated on the banks of the lake of that name, has been +deserted.</p> + +<p>Singularly enough, the inheritance of this long line also has +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>been broken in its passage through the house of Suffolk. Sir +Michael, the 23rd in succession from Richard, married, in the +latter part of the last century, Diana only child of Thomas +Howard, 14th Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire, by whom he +had one daughter, afterwards married to her cousin Daniel le +Fleming, who succeeded her father in the title. This marriage +being without issue, on the demise of Lady le Fleming, +the estates passed under her will to Andrew Huddleston of +Hutton-John, Esq., and at his decease, which occurred +shortly after, in succession to General Hughes, who assumed +the name of Fleming; both these gentlemen being near of kin +to the family at Rydal. The title descended to the brother of Sir +Daniel, the late Rev. Sir Richard le Fleming, Rector of Grasmere +and Windermere; and from him to his son, the present +Sir Michael, the twenty-sixth in succession from Richard, the +second son of Michael, Flandrensis, <i>the</i> Fleming, who came +over with the Conqueror, and founded the family in England.</p> + +<p>In this family there have been since the Conquest twelve +knights and seven baronets.</p> + +<p>The article <i>le</i> is sometimes omitted in the family writings +before the time of Edward IV., and again assumed. Sir +William Fleming, who died in 1756, restored the ancient +orthography, and incorporated the article <i>le</i> with the family +name at the baptism of his son and heir.</p> + +<p>Rydal Hall suffered much from the parliamentary party: +the le Flemings remaining Catholic to the reign of James II. +For their adherence to the royal cause in the reign of Charles +I., they were forced to submit to the most exorbitant demands +of the Commissioners at Goldsmiths' Hall, in London (23 +Car. <span class="smcap">1</span>) and pay a very great sum of money for their loyalty +and allegiance. They were very obnoxious to Oliver Cromwell's +sequestrators, and subjected to very high annual +payments and compositions, for their attachment to regal +government.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>THE CHIMES OF KIRK-SUNKEN.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +Twelve sunken ships in Selker's Bay<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rose up; and, righting soon,</span><br /> +With mast and sail stretched far away<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beneath the midnight moon.</span><br /> +<br /> +They sailed right out to Bethlehem;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And soon they reached the shore.</span><br /> +They steered right home from Bethlehem;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And these the freights they bore.</span><br /> +<br /> +The first one bore the frankincense;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The second bore the myrrh;</span><br /> +The third the gifts and tribute pence<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Eastern Kings did bear.</span><br /> +<br /> +The fourth ship bore a little palm<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Meet for an infant's hands;</span><br /> +The fifth the spikenard and the balm;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The sixth the swathing bands.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span><br /> +The seventh ship bore without a speck,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A mantle fair and clean;</span><br /> +The eighth the shepherds on her deck<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With heavenward eyes serene.</span><br /> +<br /> +One bore the announcing Angel's song;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">One Simeon's glad record;</span><br /> +And one the bright seraphic throng<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whose tongues good tidings poured.</span><br /> +<br /> +And midst them all, one, favoured more,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whereon a couch was piled,</span><br /> +The blessed Hebrew infant bore,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">On whom the Virgin smiled.</span><br /> +<br /> +They sailed right into Selker's Bay:<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And when the night was worn</span><br /> +To dawning grey, far down they lay,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Again that Christmas morn.</span><br /> +<br /> +But through the brushwood low and clear<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Came chimes and songs of glee,</span><br /> +That Christmas morning, to my ear<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beneath Kirk-sunken Tree.</span><br /> +<br /> +Not from the frosty air above,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But from the ground below,</span><br /> +Sweet voices carolled songs of love,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And merry bells did go.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span><br /> +From out a City great and fair<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The joyous life up-flow'd,</span><br /> +Which once had breathed the living air,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And on the earth abode.</span><br /> +<br /> +A City far beneath my feet<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">By passing ages laid;</span><br /> +Or buried while the busy street<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Its round of life convey'd.</span><br /> +<br /> +So to the ground I bent an ear,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That heard, as from the grave,</span><br /> +The blessed Feast-time of the year<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tell out the joy it gave;</span><br /> +<br /> +The gladness of the Christmas morn.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O fair Kirk-Sunken Tree!</span><br /> +One day in every year's return<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Those sounds flow up by thee.</span><br /> +<br /> +They chime up to the living earth<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The joy of them below,</span><br /> +At tidings of the Saviour's birth<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In Bethlehem long ago.</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "CHIMES OF KIRK-SUNKEN."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>In the parish of Bootle is a small inlet of the sea, called +Selker's Bay, where the neighbouring people say, that in calm +weather the sunken remains of several small vessels or galleys +can be seen, which are traditionally stated to have been sunk +and left there on some great invasion of the northern parts of +this island, by the Romans, or the colonizing Northmen.</p> + +<p>Various circles of standing stones, or what are generally +called Druidical remains, lie scattered about the vicinity of +Black Combe near the sea shore: several indicating by their +name the popular tradition associated with them, to which +the inhabitants around attach implicit credence, the spot +beneath which lie the ruins of a church that sank on a sudden, +with the minister and all the congregation within its walls. +Hence, they say, the name Kirk-Sank-ton, Kirk-Sunken, +Kirk-Sinking, and Sunken Kirks.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>THE RAVEN ON KERNAL CRAG.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +A Raven alighted on Kernal Rock<br /> +Amid thunder's roar and earthquake's shock.<br /> +O'er the tumbling crags he rolled his eye<br /> +Round valley and lake, and hills and sky.<br /> +'Twas a gloomy world. He settled his head<br /> +Close into his shoulders and meekly said—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">"Poor Raven!"</span><br /> +<br /> +The Raven on Kernal Crag grew old:<br /> +A human voice up the valley rolled.<br /> +Bel was worshipp'd on mountain brows:<br /> +Men made huts of the forest boughs:<br /> +And wrapt in skins in ambush lay<br /> +At the base of his crag, and seized their prey.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">An old Raven.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span><br /> +The Raven sat in his purple cloke.<br /> +A Roman column the silence broke.<br /> +He had watched the eagles around him fly:<br /> +He saw them perched on spears go by.<br /> +The legions marched from hill to hill.<br /> +He settled his feathers; and all was still—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">Still was the Raven.</span><br /> +<br /> +The Raven was thinking, on Kernal Stone.<br /> +The hammers of Thor he heard them groan:<br /> +Regin, and Korni, and Lodinn, and Bor,<br /> +Clearing the forests from fell to shore;<br /> +With Odin's bird on their banner upraised.<br /> +And he quietly said as he downward gazed—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">"A Raven!"</span><br /> +<br /> +The Raven on Kernal was musing still.<br /> +King Dunmail's hosts went up the hill,<br /> +In the narrow Pass, to their final fall.<br /> +With an iron gaze he followed them all;<br /> +Till, piled the cairn of mighty stones,<br /> +Was heaped the Raise o'er Dunmail's bones.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">Ha! hungry Raven!</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span><br /> +The Raven on Kernal saw, in a trance,<br /> +Knights with gorgeous banner and lance,<br /> +Castles, and towers, and ladies fair.<br /> +Music floating high on the air<br /> +Reached his nest on Kernal's Steep,<br /> +And broke the spell of his solemn sleep.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">A lonely Raven.</span><br /> +<br /> +That Raven is sitting on Kernal Rock;<br /> +Counting the lambs in a mountain flock.<br /> +Pleasant their bleat is, pleasant to hear,<br /> +Pleasant to think of; but shepherds are near.<br /> +Cattle are calling below in the vale,<br /> +Maidens singing a true-love tale.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">List to them, Raven.</span><br /> +<br /> +That Raven will sit upon Kernal Rock<br /> +Till the mountains reel in the world's last shock.<br /> +Till the new things come to end like old,<br /> +He will roll his eye, and his wings unfold,<br /> +And settle again; and his solemn brow<br /> +Draw close to his shoulders, and muse as now.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">That Raven.</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "THE RAVEN ON KERNAL CRAG."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>Kernal Crag is a huge mass of solid rock, with a face of +broken precipice, on the side of Coniston Old Man. In that +unique and admirable Guide Book entitled "The Old Man; +or Ravings and Ramblings round Conistone," it is said; "on +this Crag, probably for ages, a pair of ravens have annually +had their nest, and though their young have again and again +been destroyed by the shepherds, they always return to this +favourite spot; and frequently when one of the parents has +been shot in the brooding season, the survivor has immediately +been provided with another helpmate; and, what is still more +extraordinary, and beautifully and literally illustrative of a +certain impressive scripture passage—it happened a year or +two since, that both the parent birds were shot, whilst the +nest was full of unfledged young, and their duties were immediately +undertaken by a couple of strange ravens, who attended +assiduously to the wants of the orphan brood, until they were +fit to forage for themselves."</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>LORD DERWENTWATER'S LIGHTS.<br /> +1716.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +You yet in groves round Dilston Hall<br /> +May hear the chiding cushat's call;<br /> +Its true-love burden for the mate<br /> +That lingers far and wanders late.<br /> +<br /> +But who in Dilston Hall shall gaze<br /> +On all its twenty hearths ablaze;<br /> +Its courteous hosts, its welcome free,<br /> +And all its hospitality;<br /> +<br /> +The grace from courtly splendour, won<br /> +By Royal Seine, that round it shone;<br /> +Or feel again the pride or power<br /> +Of Radcliffe's name in hall and bower;—<br /> +<br /> +As when the cause of exiled James<br /> +Filled northern hearts with loyal flames,<br /> +And summers wore their sweetest smile<br /> +Round Dilston's Courts and Derwent's Isle;<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span><br /> +Ere Mar his standard wide unrolled,<br /> +And tower to tower the rising told,<br /> +And Southwards on the gathering came,<br /> +All kindling at the Prince's name?—<br /> +<br /> +The glory and the pomp are shorn;<br /> +The banners rent, the charters torn;<br /> +The loved, the loving, dust alone;<br /> +Their honours, titles carved in stone.<br /> +<br /> +On Witches' Peak the winds were laid:<br /> +Crept Glenderamakin mute in shade:<br /> +El-Velin's old mysterious reign<br /> +Hung stifling over field and plain.<br /> +<br /> +Around on all the hills afar<br /> +Had died the sounds foreboding war.<br /> +Only a dull and sullen roar<br /> +Reached up the valley from Lodore.<br /> +<br /> +Through all the arches of the sky<br /> +The Northern Lights streamed broad and high.<br /> +Wide o'er the realm their shields of light<br /> +Flung reddening tumults on the night.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span><br /> +Then dalesmen hoar and matrons old<br /> +Look'd out in fear from farm and fold:<br /> +Look'd out o'er Derwent, mere and isle,<br /> +On Skiddaw's mounds, Blencathra's pile.<br /> +<br /> +They saw the vast ensanguined scroll<br /> +Across the stars the streamers roll:<br /> +The Derwent stain'd with crimson dyes:<br /> +And portents wandering through the skies.<br /> +<br /> +And prophet-like the bodings came—<br /> +"The good Earl dies the death of fame;<br /> +For him the Prince that came in vain,<br /> +A King, to enjoy his own again."—<br /> +<br /> +The sightless crone cried from her bed—<br /> +"'Tis blood that makes this midnight red.<br /> +I dreamed the young Earl heavenward rode;<br /> +His armour flashed, his standard glow'd."<br /> +<br /> +The fearful maiden trembling spoke—<br /> +"The good Earl blessed me, and I woke.<br /> +The white and red cockade he wore;<br /> +He bade adieu for evermore."—<br /> +<br /> +Far show'd huge Walla's craggy wall<br /> +The 'Lady's Kerchief' white and small,<br /> +Dropt when, pursued like doe from brake,<br /> +She scaled its rampart from the lake.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span><br /> +"I served my Lady when a bride:<br /> +I was her page:"—A stripling cried.<br /> +"I served her well on bended knee,<br /> +And many a smile she bent on me."—<br /> +<br /> +—"Upon this breast, but twenty years<br /> +Are pass'd"—a matron spoke with tears—<br /> +"I nursed her; and in all her ways,<br /> +She was my constant theme of praise."—<br /> +<br /> +Like flaming swords, that round them threw<br /> +Their radiance on the star-lit blue,<br /> +Flash'd and re-flash'd with dazzling ray<br /> +The splendours of that fiery fray.<br /> +<br /> +—"When spies and foes watch'd Dilston Hall,<br /> +To seize him ere the trumpet-call"—<br /> +A yeoman spake that loved him well—<br /> +"I brought him mid our huts to dwell.<br /> +<br /> +"We shelter'd him in farm and bield,<br /> +Till all was ready for the field,<br /> +Till all the northern bands around<br /> +Were arm'd, and for the battle bound.<br /> +<br /> +"Then came he forth, and if he stay'd<br /> +A few short hours, and still delay'd,<br /> +'Twas for those priceless treasures near,<br /> +My lady and her children dear.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span><br /> +"I heard reproaches at his side!<br /> +—'Or take this jewelled fan'—she cried,<br /> +With high-born scornful look and word—<br /> +And I will bear the warrior's sword!'<br /> +<br /> +"He called, 'To horse!'—his dapple grey<br /> +He welcomed forth, and rode away.<br /> +The white and red unstained he wore:<br /> +His heart was stainless evermore!"—<br /> +<br /> +And thus the night was filled with moan.<br /> +And was the good Earl slain and gone?<br /> +For him the Prince that came in vain,<br /> +A King, to enjoy his own again.<br /> +<br /> +From Derwent's Island-Castle gate,<br /> +In robe and coronet of state,<br /> +A phantom on the vapours borne,<br /> +Passed in the shadows of the morn.<br /> +<br /> +Pale hollow forms in suits of woe<br /> +Appear'd like gleams to come and go.<br /> +And wreathed in mists was seen to rest<br /> +A 'scutcheon on Blencathra's breast.—<br /> +<br /> +Full soon the speeding tidings came.<br /> +The Earl had died the death of fame,<br /> +By axe and block, on bended knee,<br /> +For true-love, faith, and loyalty.<br /> +<br /> +And still, when o'er the Isles return<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span><br /> +The Northern lights to blaze and burn;<br /> +The vales and hills repeat the moan<br /> +For him the good Earl slain and gone.<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "LORD DERWENTWATER'S LIGHTS."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>Lord's Island, in Keswick Lake, is memorable as having +been the home of James Radcliffe, third and last Earl of +Derwentwater, whose life and great possessions were forfeited +in 1716, in the attempt to restore the royal line of Stuart to +the throne, and whose memory is affectionately cherished in +the north of England. An eminence upon its shores, called +Castle-Rigg, which overlooks the vale of Keswick, was formerly +occupied by a Roman fort, and afterwards by the +stronghold of the Norman lords, who were called, from the +locality of this their chief residence, de Derwentwater. Their +early history is wrapt in obscurity; but their inheritance +comprised the greater part of the parish of Crosthwaite, in +addition to possessions in other parts of Cumberland, and in +other counties. These became vested in the Radcliffe family +in the reign of Henry the Fifth, by the marriage of Margaret +daughter and heiress of Sir John de Derwentwater, with Sir +Nicholas Radcliffe, of lineage not less ancient than that of his +wife, he being of Saxon origin, and of a family which derived +its name from a village near Bury in Lancashire. In later +time the Norman tower on Castle-Rigg was abandoned, and +its materials are said to have been employed in building the +house upon that one of the three wooded islands in the lake, +which is called Lord's Island, and upon which the Radcliffe +family had a residence. This island was originally part of a +peninsula; but when the house was built, it was separated +from the main land by a ditch or moat, over which there was +a draw-bridge, and the approaches to this may still be seen. +Of the house itself, little more than the moss-covered foundations +remain. The stones, successively, of the Roman Castrum, +of the Norman Tower, and of the lord's residence, are said to +have been subsequently used in building the town-hall of +Keswick.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span></p> +<p>The estate of the Derwentwater family seems to have +originally extended along the shores of the lake for nearly two +miles, and for a mile eastward of the shore. On one side of it lies +the present road from Keswick to Ambleside, on the other +its boundary approached Lodore, whilst the crest of Walla +Crag, divided it from the common. There, surrounded by a +combination of grandeur and beauty which is almost unrivalled +in this country, the Knightly ancestors of James Radcliffe, the +third and last Earl of Derwentwater, whose virtues and whose +fate have encircled his name with traditional veneration, had +their paternal seat.</p> + +<p>This chivalrous and amiable young nobleman was closely +allied by blood to the Prince Edward, afterwards called "the +Pretender," in whose cause he fell a sacrifice; his mother, the +Lady Mary Tudor, a natural daughter of King Charles II. +and Mrs. Davis, being first cousin to the Prince. He was +nearly the same age as the Prince, being one year younger: +and in his early childhood was taken to France to be educated, +when James the Second and his consort were living in exile +at St. Germain's, surrounded, however, by the noble English, +Scottish, and Irish emigrant royalists, who followed the fortunes +of their dethroned monarch. The sympathies of his +parents having also led them thither, the youthful heir of +Derwentwater was brought up with the little Prince, at St. +Germain's, sharing his infantine pleasures and pastimes, and +occasionally joining his studies under his governess the +Countess of Powis. A friendship thus formed in youth, +nurtured by consanguinity, strengthened by ripening age, and +cemented by the extraordinary good qualities of the young +nobleman, and his power to win affection and esteem, culminated +in that attachment and devotion to the cause of his +Prince and friend, which terminated only with his life.</p> + +<p>The Earl appears to have visited Dilston, his ancestral home +in Northumberland, for the first time in 1710, when he was +in his twenty-first year; and in the spring of the same year he +spent some time on the Isle of Derwent, where the ancient +mansion of the Radcliffes was then standing. During a considerable +portion of the two next succeeding years, his chief +residence appears to have been at Dilston, where he lived in +the constant exercise of hospitality, and in the practice of active +benevolence towards not only the peasantry on his wide +estates, but all who needed his assistance, whether known to +him or not, and whether Papist or Protestant. He seems to +have taken great delight in rural pursuits, and in the pleasures +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>of the chase, and in the charms of nature by which he was +surrounded.</p> + +<p>On the 10th of July 1712, when he had completed his 23rd +year, he espoused Anna Maria, eldest daughter of Sir John +Webb, of Canford, in the county of Dorset, Bart. His +acquaintance with this charming young lady began in the early +springtime of their lives, when both were receiving their +education in the French capital. The lady had been placed +in the convent of Ursuline Nuns in Paris for instruction: and +they had frequent opportunities of seeing each other at the +Chateau of St. Germain's, where the exiled monarch took +pleasure in being surrounded by the scions of his noble +English and Scottish adherents, who were then living at Paris.</p> + +<p>On the rising of the adherents of the house of Stuart under +the Earl of Mar in August 1715, it was very well known to +the government, that the Earl's religion, his affections, and +sympathies, were all on the side of the exiled heir of that +family, and that his influence in the north of England was not +less than his constancy and devotion. A warrant was issued +for the apprehension of the Earl and his brother, the government +hoping by thus, as it were, gaining the move in the +game, to prevent the exercise of the Earl's influence against +King George. A friendly warning of the attentions which +were being paid to him at Whitehall reached the Earl in time; +and on hearing that the government messengers had arrived at +Durham, on their way to arrest him and his brother, they +withdrew from their home, and proceeded to the house of Sir +Marmaduke Constable, where they stayed some days. The +Earl afterwards took refuge in the home of a humble cottager +near Newbiggin House, where he lay hidden some time. +He remained in concealment through the latter part of +August, and the whole of September. During this time of +anxiety and surveillance, all the money, and even all the +jewels of the Countess, are said by local tradition to have +become exhausted: and to such straits was she reduced, that +a silver medal of Pope Clement XI. struck in the 14th year +of his Pontificate (1713), for want of money is said to have +been given by her, when encompassed by the Earl's enemies, +to a peasant girl, for selling poultry, or rendering some such +trifling service.</p> + +<p>Early in October it was represented to the Earl that the +adherents of the exiled Prince were ready to appear in arms, +and to be only waiting for him and his brother to join them. +It would appear that at this critical moment, the Earl, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>influenced by many considerations, personal and domestic, as +well as prudential, wavered in his resolution; and tradition +avers that, on stealthily revisiting Dilston Hall, his Countess +reproached him for continuing to hide his head in hovels from +the light of day, when the gentry were in arms for their +rightful sovereign; and throwing down her fan before her +lord, told him in cruel raillery to take it, and give his sword +to her. Something of this feeling is attributed to her in the +old ballad poem entitled "Lord Derwentwater's Farewell," +wherein the following lines are put into his mouth:—</p> + +<p> +"Farewell, farewell, my lady dear:<br /> +Ill, ill thou counselled'st me:<br /> +I never more may see the babe<br /> +That smiles upon thy knee."<br /> +</p> + +<p>The popular notion that the Earl was driven into his fatal +enterprise by the persuasions of his lady is evidently here +referred to. But the amiable and gentle character of the +Countess, that affectionate and devoted wife, whom the Earl +in his latest moments declared to be all tenderness and virtue, +and to have loved him constantly, is a sufficient refutation of +the popular opinion, which does so much injustice to her +memory. Nevertheless there is historical reason for believing +that the Earl did suddenly decide on joining the Prince's +friends, who were then in arms; and his lady's persuasions +may have contributed to that fatal precipitation. On the 6th +of October, the little force of horse and men, consisting of his +own domestic levy, was assembled in the courtyard of his +castle; arms were supplied to them; the Earl, his brother, +and the company, crossed the Devil's Water at Nunsburgh +Ford; and the fatal step was irrevocably taken. Old ladies +of the last century used to tell of occurrences of evil omen +which marked the departure of the devoted young nobleman +from the home of his fathers, to which he was destined never +to return; how on quitting the courtyard, his favourite dog +howled lamentably; how his horse, the well-known white or +dapple gray, associated with his figure in history and poetry, +became restive, and could with difficulty be urged forward; +and how he soon afterwards found that he had lost from his +finger a highly prized ring, the gift of his revered grandmother, +which he constantly wore.</p> + +<p>It is not necessary to dwell upon the details of this unfortunate +and ill-conducted enterprise, in the course of which +James III. was proclaimed in town and village, in Warkworth +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>and Alnwick, in Penrith and Appleby, Kendal and Lancaster, +to the final catastrophe of the little band at Preston. There, +hemmed in by the government troops, the brave and devoted +friends of the royal exiles, who had been led into this premature +effort contrary to their better judgments, and went forth +with a determined loyalty which good or bad report could not +subdue, saw reason to regret, when too late, their misplaced +confidence in their leaders. Already they saw themselves +about to be sacrificed to the divided counsels of their comrades +and the incapacity of Foster, their general. Defensive means +imperfectly planned, and hastily carried out, enabled them to +hold the approaches to the town for three or four days against +the Brunswickers, whom they gallantly repulsed, in a determined +attack upon their barricades. But overmatched by +disciplined troops; out-generalled, and out-numbered; and +finding resistance to be unavailing; on the morning of Monday +the 14th of October they surrendered at discretion to the forces +sent to oppose them. Being assembled in the market place +to the number of 1700, they delivered up their arms, and +became prisoners. The young Earl was sent to London, +which he reached on the 9th of December, and was conducted +to the Tower on the capital charge of high treason. Unavailing +efforts were made by his wife and friends to save him. +It appears that on the 20th of February his life was offered to +him by two noblemen who came to him in the tower, in the +name of the King, if he would acknowledge the title of +George I. and conform to the Protestant religion: but these +terms were refused by him. The offer of his life and fortune +was repeated on the scaffold, but he answered that the terms +"would be too dear a purchase." The means proposed to +him, he looked upon as "inconsistent with honour and conscience, +and therefore I rejected them." He went to the +block with firmness and composure: and his behaviour was +resolute and sedate. In an address which he delivered on the +scaffold, he said "If that Prince who now governs had +given me my life, I should have thought myself obliged never +more to have taken up arms against him." And the axe +closed, by a "violent and vengeful infliction," the brief +career of the beloved, devoted, and generous Earl of Derwentwater. +He was twenty-seven years of age.</p> + +<p>Lady Derwentwater, who had been unceasing in her efforts +to save her husband, and solaced him in his confinement by +her society and tender care, after his death succeeded eventually +in having his last request in the Tower fulfilled. She had +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>his body borne to its last resting place in the peaceful chapel +at Dilston to be interred with his ancestors. She made a +short sojourn at Dilston before leaving it for ever; and then +repaired with her little son and daughter to Canford, under the +roof of her parents.</p> + +<p>Before leaving the North, the Countess visited the house +and estates at Derwentwater; and while there her life seems +to have been in some danger; for the rude peasantry of the +neighbourhood, to whom her southern birth and foreign +education, as well as the principles and attachments in which +she was brought up, were doubtless uncongenial, blamed her, +in the unreasoning vehemence of their grief, for the tragic fate +of their beloved lord and benefactor. Accordingly, not far +from the fall of Lodore, a hollow in the wild heights of Walla +Crag is pointed out by the name of Lady's Rake,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> in which +the noble widow is said to have escaped from their vengeance. +Her misfortunes needed not to be thus undeservedly augmented. +A more pleasing version of the story of her flight is, that the +Countess escaped through the Lady's Rake with the family +jewels, when the officers of the crown took possession of the +mansion on Lord's Island. No doubt this loving woman did +her utmost for the release of her lord. And this steep and +dangerous way has a human interest associated with it which +has given a special hold upon the hearts of the Keswick +people. In old times a large white stone in among the +boulders used to be pointed out as the Lady's Pockethandkerchief, +and that it still hung among the crags, where no one +could get at it.</p> + +<p>In June, 1716, the Countess was living at Kensington Gravel +Pits, near London: whence she soon afterwards went to +Hatherhope; and subsequently made a brief sojourn under +the roof of her parents at Canford Manor; after which she +took up her residence at Louvaine. Here she died on the 30th +of August, 1723, at the early age of thirty; having survived +her noble husband little more than seven years; and was +interred there in the Church of the English regular Canonesses +of St. Augustine.</p></blockquote> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p> +<blockquote> + +<p>The white or gray horse of the Earl is historical. Shortly +before the rising, and when he was in danger of apprehension, +the following short note was written by him:—</p> + +<blockquote> +<div class="right">"Dilston, July 27th, 1715.</div> + +<p>"Mr. Hunter,</p> + +<p>"As I know nobody is more ready to serve a friend +than yourself, I desire the favour you will keep my gray horse +for me, till we see what will be done relating to horses. I +believe they will be troublesome, for it is said the D. of +Ormond is gone from his house. God send us peace and +good neighbourhood,—unknown blessings since I was born. +Pray ride my horse about the fields, or any where you think +he will not be known, and you will oblige, Sir, your humble +servant,</p> + +<div class="right">"<span class="smcap">Derwentwater</span>."</div> + +<p>"He is at grass."</p></blockquote> + +<p>In the first sentence the reference is made to the jealous penal +regulation, which forbade a Roman Catholic to possess a noble +animal of height and qualities suited to military equipment.</p> + +<p>From tradition preserved in the family of Mr. Hunter of +Medomsley, the person addressed, there is every reason to +believe that the gray horse mentioned in the above letter, was +the identical steed which was brought by the son of Mr. +Hunter to Bywell, and taken thence by Lord Derwentwater's +servant to Hexham for his lordship's use; and upon which +the devoted Earl rode from Hexham, with the gallant champions +of the Prince's right, on the 19th of October following.</p> + +<p>A man named Cuthbert Swinburn, then 90 years of age, +who was born at Upper Dilston, and whose family resided +there for some generations, related to a correspondent of +W. S. Gibson, Esq., the author of Memoirs of the Earl of Derwentwater, +that he remembered the young Earl, and saw him +pass their house riding on a white horse, and accompanied by +several retainers, on the morning when he joined his neighbours +in the Prince's cause.</p> + +<p>In a ballad relating to that fatal expedition it is said—</p> + +<div class="poem"> +"Lord Derwentwater rode away<br /> +Well mounted on his dapple gray."<br /> +</div> + +<p>And in the touching verses well known as "Derwentwater's +Farewell," his "own gray steed" is one of the earthly objects +of his regard to which he is supposed to bid adieu.</p> + +<p>Of the house on Lord's Island, itself, only some low walls +now remain. A few relics of the mansion are preserved in +the neighbourhood. The ponderous lock and key of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> +outer door, the former weighing eleven pounds, are preserved +in Crosthwaite's museum. The door itself, which was of oak +studded with knobs and rivets, was sold to a person named +Wilson, of Under Mozzer, a place thirteen miles from Keswick. +A bell, probably the dinner bell of the mansion, is in the town +hall of Keswick, and is of fine tone. A fine old carved chair +is preserved in the Radcliffe Room at Corby Castle, and +known as "My Lady's Chair." In Crosthwaite's museum is +preserved another ancient one of oak, which came from Lord +Derwentwater's house, and has the Radcliffe arms carved upon +it. And a stately and most elaborately carved oak bedstead +which belonged to Lord Derwentwater was purchased at the +sale of the contents of his house on Lord's Island, by an +ancestor of Mr. Wood, of Cockermouth, in whose family it +has remained, highly valued, ever since 1716.</p> + +<p>Many articles of furniture, some family portraits, and other +property, that once belonged to Dilston Hall, still linger in +the vicinity of that place, where they are greatly treasured.</p> + +<p>The Northumbrian and Cumbrian peasantry believed that +miraculous appearances marked the fatal day on which the +Earl of Derwentwater was beheaded. It was affirmed that the +"Divel's Water" acquired a crimson hue, as if his fair +domains were sprinkled with the blood of their gallant possessor; +and that at night the sky glowed ominously with +ensanguined streams. "The red streamers of the north" are +recorded to have been seen for the first time in that part of +England, on the night of the fatal 24th of February, 1716; +and in the meteor's fiery hue, the astonished spectators beheld +a dreadful omen of the vengeance of heaven. The phenomenon +has ever since been known as "Lord Derwentwater's +Lights." On the 18th of October, 1848, a magnificent and +very remarkable display of aurora borealis was witnessed in +the northern counties. The crimson streamers rose and +spread from the horizon in the form of an expanded fan, and +the peasantry in Cumberland and elsewhere said at the time, +that nothing like that display had been seen since the appearance +of "Lord Derwentwater's Lights," in February, 1716, +which may therefore be presumed to have been of a crimson +or rosy hue.</p></blockquote> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> This hollow, in the summit of Walla Crag, is visible from the road +below. Rake, the term applied in this country to openings in the hills +like this, is an old Norse word, signifying a journey or excursion. It is +now commonly applied to the scene of an excursion as the Lady's Rake +in Walla Crag, and the Scot's Rake at the head of Troutbeck, by which a +band of Scottish marauders is said to have descended upon the vale.</p></div></div> + + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE LAURELS ON LINGMOOR.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +High over Langdale, vale and hill,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The swans had winged their annual way;</span><br /> +By Brathay pools and Dungeon-Ghyll<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The lambs as now were wild at play;</span><br /> +The mighty monarchs of the vale,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Twins in their grandeur, towered on high;</span><br /> +And brawling brooks to many a tale<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of lowly life and love went by.</span><br /> +<br /> +There cheerful on the lonely wild<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">One happy bower through shine and storm,</span><br /> +Amidst the mountains round it piled,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Preserved its hearth-stone bright and warm;</span><br /> +Where now a mother and her boy<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stood parting in one fond embrace;</span><br /> +The shadow of their faded joy,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Between them, darkening either face.</span><br /> +<br /> +"I'll think, when that great city's folds<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Enclose me like a restless sea,</span><br /> +Of all this northern valley holds<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In its warm cottage walls for me.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>I'll think amidst its ceaseless roar,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Within these little bounds how blest</span><br /> +Was here our life, and long the more<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For that far-off return and rest."—</span><br /> +<br /> +Forth sped the youth: the valley closed<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Behind him: adamantine hills,</span><br /> +Like giants round the gates reposed<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of his lost Eden, frowned; the rills</span><br /> +With fainter murmurs far away<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Died in the distance; and at length</span><br /> +He stood amidst the proud array<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of London in his youth and strength.</span><br /> +<br /> +He came when mid the moving life<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Terror and the Plague went by.</span><br /> +He walked where Panic fled the strife<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of Strength with Death the Shadow nigh.</span><br /> +The shaft that flew unseen by night,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The deadly plague-breath, striking down</span><br /> +Thousands on thousands in its flight,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Made soon the widow's boy its own.</span><br /> +<br /> +Ah! woe for her! in that far vale<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The sorrow reached her; for there came</span><br /> +Dread tidings and the mournful tale,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dear relics and the fatal Name.</span><br /> +All in the brightness of the noon<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She bent above those relics dear;</span><br /> +And ere the glimmering of the moon<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Shadow from his side was near.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span><br /> +And forth from out her home there stalked<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Terror with the name so dread;</span><br /> +It pass'd the dalesman as he walked;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It dogg'd the lonely shepherd's tread;</span><br /> +It breathed into the farms; it smote<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The homesteads on the loneliest moor;</span><br /> +And shuddering Nature cowered remote;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All fled the plague-struck widow's door.</span><br /> +<br /> +Alone, in all the vale profound:<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Alone, on Lingmoor's mosses wide:</span><br /> +Alone, with all the hills around<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From Langdale head to Loughrigg's side;</span><br /> +Alone, beneath the cloud of night,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The morning's mist, the evening's ray;</span><br /> +The hearthstone cold, and quenched its light;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Shadow wrestled with its prey.</span><br /> +<br /> +And day by day, while went and came<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The sunlight in the cheerless vale,</span><br /> +Her hearth no more its wonted flame<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Renewed, the opening morns to hail:</span><br /> +Glow'd not, though beating blasts and rain<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Drove in beneath her mournful eaves,</span><br /> +Through Springs that brought the buds again,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Autumns strew'd with fading leaves.</span><br /> +<br /> +No human foot its timorous falls<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Led near it, venturing to unfold</span><br /> +The scene within those mouldering walls,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The mystery in that lonely hold.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>Nor on that mountain side did morn<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or noon show how, or where, for rest</span><br /> +That Earth to kindlier earth was borne—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The kinless to the kindred breast.</span><br /> +<br /> +Only the huntsman on the height,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The herdsman on the mountain way,</span><br /> +Looked sometimes on the far-off site<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">How desolate and lone it lay.</span><br /> +Till when the years had rolled, their eyes<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Saw wondering, where that home decay'd,</span><br /> +A little plot of green arise<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Contiguous to the ruined shade.</span><br /> +<br /> +A little grove of half a score<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of laurels, intertwining round</span><br /> +One nameless centre, blossomed o'er<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That homestead's desolated bound;</span><br /> +And where their leaves hang green above—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A lowly circling fence of stone</span><br /> +Sprang, reared by Powers that build to Love<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When man, too weak, forsakes his own.</span><br /> +<br /> +And there where all lies wild and bare—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where mountains rise and waters flow,</span><br /> +From Langdale's summits high in air,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To Brathay pools that sleep below—</span><br /> +A green that never fades, one grove<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of brightest laurels rears its boughs;</span><br /> +While o'er that home's foundations rove<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The wild cats, and the asses browse.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span><br /> +There, if the song birds come, their notes<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Are hushed, that nowhere else are still:</span><br /> +And when the winds pipe loud, and floats<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The mist-cloud down from Dungeon-Ghyll,</span><br /> +Again the cottage-eaves arise<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Within it, as of old, serene,—</span><br /> +Its lights shine forth, its smoke up flies,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And fades the grove of laurels green.</span><br /> +<br /> +But dimly falls the gleam of morn<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Around it; on the ferns the shade</span><br /> +Of evening leaves a look forlorn<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That elsewhere Nature has not laid.</span><br /> +So, lonely on its height, so, drear,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It stands, while seasons wax and fail,</span><br /> +Unchanged amid the changing year,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The voiceless mystery of the vale.</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "THE LAURELS ON LINGMOOR."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>There seems to have been a long hereditary emulation +among the inhabitants of these districts to raise their sons +beyond the situation of their birth; a laudable practice, but +one which until recent times was clouded by a comparative +neglect of their daughters, whose education at the best was +very indifferent. Hence many of these youths have risen to +be respectable merchants, whose early circumstances compelled +them to toil for their daily bread, and to be educated in night +schools taught during the winter by a village schoolmaster, a +parish clerk, or some industrious mechanic. Dr. Todd states, +that in his time it was reported that Sir Richard Whittington, +knight, thrice Lord Mayor of London, was born of poor +parents in the parish of Great Salkeld, in East Cumberland; +that he built the church and tower from the foundation; and +that he intended to present three large bells to the parish, +which by some mischance stopped at Kirkby-Stephen on their +way to Salkeld. And a similar tradition is yet current in the +neighbourhood. Less apocryphal, perhaps, is the instance of +Richard Bateman, a native of the township of Staveley, near +Windermere; who, being a clever lad, was sent by the inhabitants +to London, and there by his diligence and industry +raised himself from a very humble situation in his master's +house to be a partner in his business, and amassed a considerable +fortune. For some years he resided at Leghorn; but his +end was tragical. It is said, that in his voyage to England, +the captain of the vessel in which he was sailing, poisoned him +and seized the ship and cargo. The pretty little Chapel of +Ings, in the vicinity where he was born, was erected at his +expense, and the slabs of marble with which it is floored were +sent by him from Leghorn. Hodgson states, that he gave +twelve pounds a year to the Chapel, and a thousand pounds +more to be applied in purchasing an estate, and building eight +cottages in the Chapelry for the use of its poor.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span></p> +<p>In Westmorland and Cumberland, thanks to the piety and +local attachments of our ancestors, endowed, or, as they are +more commonly called, free, schools abound. Grammar +schools were established on the verge of, and even within, the +lake district, prior to the dissolution of monasteries. From +these institutions a host of learned and valuable men were +distributed over England; many of them rose to great +eminence in the literary world; and contributed to the +establishment of Schools in the villages where they were born. +Before the conclusion of the 17th century, seminaries of this +kind were commenced in every parish, and in almost every +considerable village; and education to learned professions, +especially to the pulpit, continued the favourite method of the +yeomanry of bringing up their younger sons, till about the year +1760, when commerce became the high road to wealth, and +Greek and Latin began reluctantly, and by slow gradation, to +give way to an education consisting chiefly in reading, writing, +and arithmetic. Many of this new species of scholars were +annually taken into the employment of merchants and bankers +in London, and several of them into the Excise. The clergyman +generally found preferment at a distance from home, +where he settled and died; but the merchant brought his +riches and new manners and habits among his kindred.</p> + +<p>The predilection for ancient literature and the learned professions +seems to have been a kind of instinctive propensity +among the people of these secluded vales. In the grammar +schools the discipline was severe, and the instruction imparted +was respectable. In addition to the endowment, the master's +industry was usually rewarded at Shrovetide with a gift in +money or provisions, proportioned to his desert, and the circumstances +of the donor. This present was called Cock-penny, +a name derived from the master being obliged by ancient usage +and the "barring-out" rules, to give the boys a prize to +fight cocks for; which cock-fighting was held either at +Shrovetide or Easter. Indeed this custom seems to have +originated in the care which was taken to instil into youth a +martial and enterprising spirit. This appears from the +founders, in many of the schools, having made half of the +master's salary to depend on the cock-pennies; and if the +master refused to give the customary prize, the scholars withheld +the present. The vacations were at Christmas and +Pentecost, for about a fortnight; and all red-letter days were +half-holidays. But between the former seasons the Barring-out +occurred; which consisted in the boys taking possession +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>of the schoolroom early in the morning, and refusing the +master admittance until he had signed certain rules for the +regulation of the holidays, and a general pardon for all past +offences, demanding a bondsman to the instrument. Then +followed a feast and a day of idleness.</p> + +<p>The youths of a neighbourhood, rich and poor, were all +educated together; a circumstance which diffused and kept +alive a plain familiarity of intercourse among all ranks of people, +which inspired the lowest with independence of sentiment, +and infused no insolent or unreal consequence into the wealthy. +Thus it was no unusual thing for the yeoman and the shepherd +to enliven their employments or festivities with recitations from +the bucolics of Virgil, the idyls of Theocrites, or the wars of +Troy. A story is told of the late Mr. John Gunson, a worthy +miller, who formerly kept the Plough Inn, a small public-house +near the Church at Ulpha. Two or three young fellows +from a neighbouring town, or, as some say, a party of students +from St. Bees School, being out on a holiday excursion, +called at John's, and after regaling themselves with his ale, +and indulging in a good deal of quizzing and banter at the +landlord's expense, demanded their bill. John in his homely +country dialect, said, "Nay, we niver mak' any bills here, ye +hev so much to pay"—mentioning the sum. "O," replied +one of the wags, "you cannot write: that is the cause of your +excuse." John, who had quietly suffered them to proceed +in their remarks, retired, and in a short time brought them in +a bill written out in the Hebrew language, which it need +scarcely be said quite puzzled them. He then sent them one +in Greek, and afterwards in Latin, neither of which they could +make out. They then begged that he would tell them in +plain English what they had to pay. John laughed heartily +at their ignorance, which on this occasion shone as conspicuous +as their impertinence to their learned and unassuming host.</p> + +<p>If such was the level upon which the yeomanry stood in an +educational sense, their favourite plan of bringing up their +younger sons to the learned professions, and especially the +pulpit, may account for a saying which is almost proverbial +in Cumberland, "Owt 'll mak' a parson!" meaning thereby +that if one of their sons proved more stupid than another, the +church was the proper destination for him.</p> + +<p>In the more secluded valleys the scholars were taught in the +church; the curate, who was also schoolmaster, sitting within +the communion rails, and using the table as a desk, while the +children occupied the pews or the open space beside him.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p> +<p>In the parish register of the last named chapelry is a notice, +that a youth who had quitted the valley, and died in one of +the towns on the coast of Cumberland, had requested that his +body should be brought and interred at the foot of the pillar +by which he had been accustomed to sit while a school-boy.</p> + +<p>Teachers of writing and arithmetic also wandered from +village to village, being remunerated by a whittle gate. The +churches and chapels have mostly a little school-house adjoining. +In some places the school-house was a sort of antichapel +to the place of worship, being under the same roof, an +arrangement which was abandoned as irreverent. It continues +however to this day in Borrowdale and some other chapelries.</p> + +<p>Superstitious fears were sometimes entertained lest a boy +should <i>learn too far</i>. It was usual to consider all schoolmasters +as <i>wise men</i> or conjurors. Wise men were such as +had spent their lives in the pursuit of science, and had <i>learned +too much</i>. For conjuration was supposed to be a science +which as naturally followed other parts of learning as compound +addition followed simple addition. The wise man +possessed wonderful power. He could recover stolen goods, +either by fetching back the articles, showing the thief in a +black mirror, or making him walk round the cross on a market +day, with the stolen goods on his shoulders. The last, however, +he could not do, if the culprit wore a piece of <i>green sod</i> +upon his head. When any person applied to the wise man +for information, it was necessary for him to reach home before +midnight, as a storm was the certain consequence of the +application, and the applicant ran great risk of being tormented +by the devil all the way home. The wise men were +supposed to have made a compact with the devil, that he was +to serve them for a certain number of years, and then have +them, body and soul, after death. They were compelled to +give the devil some living animal whenever he called upon +them, as a pledge that they intended to give themselves at +last. Instances are recorded of boys, in the master's absence, +having got to his books, and raised the devil. The difficulty +was to lay him again. He must be kept employed, or have +one of the boys for the trouble given to him. The broken flag +through which he rose is no doubt shown to this day. Such +superstitions are not so completely exploded in the country, +but that many equally improbable tales are told and believed.</p> + +<p>The old register-book of the parish of Penrith, which +appears to have been commenced about the year 1599, contains +some entries of an earlier date, which have been either +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>copied from a former register, or inserted from memory. The +following entries occur:—</p> + +<p>"Liber Registerii de Penrith scriptus in anno dni 1599 anno +regni regine Elizabethe 41.</p> + +<p>Proper nots worth keeping as followethe.</p> + +<p>Floden feild was in anno dni 15....</p> + +<p>Comotion in these north parts 1536.</p> + +<p>St. George day dyd fall on good friday.</p> + +<p>Queene Elizabethe begene her rainge 1558.</p> + +<p>Plague was in Penrith and Kendal 1554.</p> + +<p>Sollome Mose was in the yere....</p> + +<p>Rebellion in the North Partes by the two earls of Northumberland +& Westmorland & leonard Dacres in the year of our +lord god 1569 & the 9th day of November.</p> + +<p>A sore plague was in London, notinghome Derbie & lincolne +in the year 1593.</p> + +<p>A sore plague in new castle, durrome & Dernton in the +year of our lord god 1597.</p> + +<p>A sore plague in Richmond Kendal Penrith Carliell Apulbie +and other places in Westmorland and Cumberland in the +year of our lord god 1598 of this plague there dyed at Kendal"—a +few words more, now very indistinct, follow, and the +remainder of the page is cut or torn off.</p> + +<p>Several records of the ravages committed by the plague in +Cumberland and Westmorland are preserved in the more +populous parts. The following inscription on the wall in +Penrith Church is singular:—</p> + +<div class="center"> +AD MDXCVIII<br /> +Ex gravi peste quæ regionibus hisce<br /> +incubuit, obierunt apud<br /> +Penrith 2260<br /> +Kendal 2500<br /> +Richmond 2200<br /> +Carlisle 1196<br /> +Posteri<br /> +Avertite vos et vivite<br /> +Ezek. 18th —— 32 ——<br /> +</div> + +<p>From the Register it appears that William Wallis was vicar +at the time; the following entries noting the beginning and +end of the calamity are interesting:—</p> + +<p>"1597. 22d of September, Andrew Hodgson, a foreigner, +was buried."</p> + +<p>"Here begonne the plague (God's punismet in Perith.)"</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span></p> +<p>"All those that are noted with the ltre P. dyed of the infection; +and those noted with F. were buried on the Fell."</p> + +<p>"December 13th, 1598, Here ended the visitation."</p> + +<p>The fear of infection prevented the continuance of the usual +markets; and places without the town were appointed for +purchasing the provisions brought by the country people.</p> + +<p>The Church register in the neighbouring parish of Edenhall +takes notice of 42 persons dying in the same year, of the +plague, in that village.</p> + +<p>Some centuries previous to this, in 1380, when the Scots +made an inroad into Cumberland, under the Earl of Douglas, +Penrith was suffering from a visitation of the same nature; +they surprised the place at the time of a fair, and returned +with immense booty; but they introduced into their country +the plague contracted in this town, which swept away one-third +of the inhabitants of Scotland.</p> + +<p>It is not at all likely that these calamitous visitations were +confined to the towns and villages. Although few traces may +be found of this frightful disease having invaded the more remote +and scattered population of the dales. Records of +isolated cases might easily be lost in the course of ages; and, +as mere memorials of domestic affliction, were not likely to be +preserved in families. Yet tradition has its utterances where +purer history fails. On the side of Lingmoor in Great Langdale, +a small stone-fenced enclosure, a few feet across, of green +and shining laurels, indicates a spot which the pestilence had +reached. This bright circular patch of evergreens is very +conspicuous amid the ferns, from the heights on the opposite +side of the valley. On a near approach, the foundations of +what appear to be the remains of an ancient dwelling may be +traced at a little distance from it. Still more distant are the +ruins of one or two deserted cottages, where the sheep pasture +along the base of the mountain. What has been gathered +from the dalespeople about the laurels, so singular in such a +spot, is, that in the time of the great plague in England a +woman and her son occupied a cottage near the place. The +youth went from this remote district, in the spirit of enterprise, +to push his fortunes in London, was smitten by the pestilence, +and died. After a time some clothes and other things belonging +to him were sent to his home among the hills, infected the +mother, and spread terror throughout the neighbourhood. +The woman having fallen a victim to the disease, so great was +the dread of the pestilence that the ordinary rites of burial +could not be obtained for her. The body could not be borne +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>for interment in consecrated ground. It mouldered away, it +is supposed, on the spot which to this day is marked by the +little enclosure of evergreens, a memorial of the fearful visitation +in the lonely dale.</p> + +<p>One of the most pleasing characteristics of manners in +secluded and thinly-peopled districts, is a sense of the degree +in which human happiness and comfort are dependent on the +contingency of neighbourhood. This is implied by a rhyming +adage common here, "<i>Friends are far, when neighbours are +nar</i>" (near). This mutual helpfulness is not confined to out-of-doors +work; but is ready upon all occasions. Formerly, if +a person became sick, especially the mistress of a family, it +was usual for those of the neighbours who were more particularly +connected with the party by amicable offices, to visit the +house, carrying a present; this practice, which is by no means +obsolete, is called <i>owning</i> the family, and is regarded as a +pledge of a disposition to be otherwise serviceable in a time of +disability and distress.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>THE VALE OF SAINT JOHN.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +The morn was fresh; and ere we won<br /> +The famous Valley of Saint John,<br /> +For many a rood our thoughts had plann'd<br /> +The scenery of that magic land.<br /> +We pictured bowers where ladies fair<br /> +Had breathed of old enchanted air;<br /> +Groves where Sir Knights had uttered vows<br /> +To Genii through the silvery boughs;<br /> +Piles of the pride of ages gone<br /> +Cleft between night and morning's sun,<br /> +Or veiled by mighty Merlin's power;<br /> +And her, too, Britain's peerless flower—<br /> +Her, chained in slumbering beauty fast<br /> +While generations rose and pass'd,<br /> +Gyneth 'mid the Wizard's dens,<br /> +King Arthur's child and Guendolen's!<br /> +So, led by many a wandering gleam<br /> +From youth and poetry's sweet dream,<br /> +We climbed the old created hills,<br /> +And cross'd the everlasting rills,<br /> +Which lay between us and the unwon<br /> +But glorious Valley of Saint John.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span><br /> +The morn was fresh, and bright the sun<br /> +Burst o'er the drowsy mountains dun.<br /> +A moment's pause for strength renewed,<br /> +And we our pleasant march pursued.<br /> +Blythely we scaled the steep, surpass'd<br /> +By steeps each loftier than the last;<br /> +O'er rocks and heaths and wilds we follow<br /> +The vapoury path from height to hollow;<br /> +And through the winding vale below,<br /> +Where yellowing fields with plenty glow;<br /> +And, scattered wide and far between,<br /> +Lay white-walled farms and orchards green;<br /> +The hedge-rows with their verdure crowned<br /> +Hemming the little plots of ground;<br /> +The happy kine for pastures lowing;<br /> +The rivulets through the meadows flowing;<br /> +The sunshine glittering on the slopes;<br /> +The white lambs on the mountain tops;<br /> +No vision and no gleam to call<br /> +Enchantment from her airy hall;<br /> +But beauty through all seasons won<br /> +From Nature and her parent sun,<br /> +There brightening as through ages gone,<br /> +Lay round us as our hearts sped on<br /> +To reach the Valley of Saint John.<br /> +<br /> +The noon was past; the sun's bright ray<br /> +Sloped slowly down his westering way<br /> +With mellower light; the sobering gleams<br /> +Touched Glenderamakin's farthest streams;<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>Flung all the richness of their charms<br /> +Round lonely Threlkeld's wastes and farms:<br /> +And high beyond fired with their glow<br /> +Blencathra's steep and lofty brow;<br /> +When suddenly—as if by power<br /> +Of Magic wrought in that bright hour—<br /> +Shone out, with all the circumstance<br /> +And splendour of restored Romance,<br /> +Southwards afar behind us spread,<br /> +With its grey fortress at its head,<br /> +The Valley, spell-bound as of old,<br /> +In all its mingling green and gold;<br /> +In all the glory of the time<br /> +When Uther's son was in his prime,<br /> +And chivalry ranged every clime;<br /> +And peaceful as when Gyneth, kept<br /> +In Merlin's halls, beneath it slept.<br /> +There had we roamed the live-long day<br /> +Saint John's fair fields and winding way,<br /> +With hearts unconsciously beguiled<br /> +By witcheries and enchantment wild!<br /> +And not till steps that toiled no more<br /> +It's utmost bound had vanish'd o'er,<br /> +Knew youth's wild thought our hearts had won,<br /> +And thrid the Valley of Saint John.<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "THE VALE OF SAINT JOHN."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>Near the village of Threlkeld, the road from Keswick to +Penrith, branching off on the right, discloses obliquely to the +view, the Vale of St. John. The well known description of +this beautiful dell by Mr. Hutchinson, who visited it in the +year 1773, conferred upon it a reputation which was greatly +increased when the genius of Scott made it the scene of his +tale of enchantment "The Bridal of Triermain." The interest +which it derives from its traditional connection with the wiles +of Merlin, whose magic fortress continues to attract and elude +the gaze of the traveller, is well given in the words of the +former writer.</p> + +<p>"We now gained a view of the Vale of St. John's, a very +narrow dell, hemmed in by mountains, through which a small +brook makes many meanderings, washing little enclosures of +grass ground, which stretch up the risings of the hills. In the +widest part of the dale you are struck with the appearance of +an ancient ruined castle, which seems to stand upon the summit +of a little mount, the mountains around forming an amphitheatre. +This massive bulwark shews a front of various +towers, and makes an awful, rude, and Gothic appearance, +with its lofty turrets and rugged battlements: we traced the +galleries, the bending arches, the buttresses. The greatest +antiquity stands characterized in its architecture; the inhabitants +near it assert it is an antidiluvian structure.</p> + +<p>"The traveller's curiosity is roused, and he prepares to +make a nearer approach, when that curiosity is put upon the +rack, by his being assured that, if he advances, certain genii, +who govern the place, by virtue of their supernatural arts and +necromancy will strip it of all its beauties, and by enchantment +transform the magic walls. The vale seems adapted for the +habitation of such beings; its gloomy recesses and retirements +look like the haunts of evil spirits. There was no delusion in +the report; we were soon convinced of its truth; for this piece +of antiquity, so venerable and noble in its aspect, as we drew +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>near, changed its figure, and proved no other than a shaken +massive pile of rocks, which stand in the midst of this little +vale, disunited from the adjoining mountains, and have so +much the real form and resemblance of a castle, that they bear +the name of <i>The Castle Rocks of St. John's</i>."</p> + +<p>The more familiar appellation of this rocky pile among the +dalesmen is <i>Green Crag</i>. The approach into the valley from +Threlkeld displays it in the most poetical point of view, and +under some states of atmosphere it requires no stretch of the +imagination to transform its grey perpendicular masses into an +impregnable castle, whose walls and turrets waving with ivy +and other parasitical plants, form the prison of the immortal +Merlin.</p> + +<p>Other atmospheric effects, which occasionally occur in this +District, have been alluded to elsewhere in these notes; as the +aerial armies seen on Souter Fell, and the Helm Cloud and +Bar, with their accompanying wind, generated upon Cross +Fell.</p> + +<p>Phenomena of a singular character, which may be ascribed +to reflections from pure and still water in the lakes, have also +attracted observation. Mr. Wordsworth has described two of +which he was an eye-witness. "Walking by the side of +Ulswater," says he, "upon a calm September morning, I saw +deep within the bosom of the lake, a magnificent Castle, with +towers and battlements; nothing could be more distinct than +the whole edifice;—after gazing with delight upon it for some +time, as upon a work of enchantment, I could not but regret +that my previous knowledge of the place enabled me to +account for the appearance. It was in fact the reflection of a +pleasure house called Lyulph's Tower—the towers and battlements +magnified and so much changed in shape as not to be +immediately recognised. In the meanwhile, the pleasure +house itself was altogether hidden from my view by a body of +vapour stretching over it and along the hill-side on which it +extends, but not so as to have intercepted its communication +with the lake; and hence this novel and most impressive +object, which, if I had been a stranger to the spot, would, +from its being inexplicable, have long detained the mind in a +state of pleasing astonishment. Appearances of this kind, +acting upon the credulity of early ages, may have given birth +to, and favoured the belief in, stories of sub-aqueous palaces, +gardens, and pleasure-grounds—the brilliant ornaments of +Romance.</p> + +<p>"With this inverted scene," he continues, "I will couple a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>much more extraordinary phenomenon, which will shew how +other elegant fancies may have had their origin, less in invention +than in the actual process of nature.</p> + +<p>"About eleven o'clock on the forenoon of a winter's day, +coming suddenly, in company of a friend, into view of the +Lake of Grasmere, we were alarmed by the sight of a newly +created Island; the transitory thought of the moment was, +that it had been produced by an earthquake or some convulsion +of nature. Recovering from the alarm, which was +greater than the reader can possibly sympathize with, but +which was shared to its full extent by my companion, we +proceeded to examine the object before us. The elevation of +this new island exceeded considerably that of the old one, its +neighbour; it was likewise larger in circumference, comprehending +a space of about five acres; its surface rocky, +speckled with snow, and sprinkled over with birch trees; it +was divided towards the south from the other island by a +firth, and in like manner from the northern shore of the lake; +on the east and west it was separated from the shore by a +much larger space of smooth water.</p> + +<p>"Marvellous was the illusion! comparing the new with the +old Island, the surface of which is soft, green, and unvaried, +I do not scruple to say that, as an object of sight, it was much +the more distinct. 'How little faith,' we exclaimed, 'is due +to one sense, unless its evidence be confirmed by some of its +fellows! What stranger could possibly be persuaded that this, +which we know to be an unsubstantial mockery, is <i>really</i> so; +and that there exists only a single Island on this beautiful +Lake?' At length the appearance underwent a gradual +transmutation; it lost its prominence and passed into a +glimmering and dim <i>inversion</i>, and then totally disappeared;—leaving +behind it a clear open area of ice of the same dimensions. +We now perceived that this bed of ice, which was +thinly suffused with water, had produced the illusion, by +reflecting and refracting (as persons skilled in optics would no +doubt easily explain,) a rocky and woody section of the +opposite mountain named Silver-how."</p> + +<p>Southey describes a scene that he had witnessed on Derwent +Lake, as "a sight more dreamy and wonderful than any +scenery that fancy ever yet devised for Faery-land. We had +walked down," he writes, "to the lake side, it was a delightful +day, the sun shining, and a few white clouds hanging motionless +in the sky. The opposite shore of Derwentwater consists +of one long mountain, which suddenly terminates in an arch, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>thus [arch symbol], and through that opening you see a long valley +between mountains, and bounded by mountain beyond mountain; +to the right of the arch the heights are more varied and +of greater elevation. Now, as there was not a breath of air +stirring, the surface of the lake was so perfectly still, that it +became one great mirror, and all its waters disappeared; the +whole line of shore was represented as vividly and steadily as +it existed in its actual being—the arch, the vale within, the +single houses far within the vale, the smoke from the chimneys, +the farthest hills, and the shadow and substance joined at their +bases so indivisibly, that you could make no separation even +in your judgment. As I stood on the shore, heaven and the +clouds seemed lying under me; I was looking down into the +sky, and the whole range of mountains, having the line of +summits under my feet, and another above me, seemed to be +suspended between the firmaments. Shut your eyes and dream +of a scene so unnatural and so beautiful. What I have said is +most strictly and scrupulously true; but it was one of those +happy moments that can seldom occur, for the least breath +stirring would have shaken the whole vision, and at once +unrealised it. I have before seen a partial appearance, but +never before did, and perhaps never again may, lose sight of +the lake entirely; for it literally seemed like an abyss of sky +before me, not fog and clouds from a mountain, but the blue +heaven spotted with a few fleecy pillows of cloud, that looked +placed there for angels to rest upon them."</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>THE LUCK OF EDENHALL.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +The martial Musgraves sheathed the sword,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And held in peace sweet Edenhall.</span><br /> +For never that house or that house's lord<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">May evil luck or mischance befal,</span><br /> +While their crystal chalice can soundly ring,<br /> +Or sparkle brim-full at St. Cuthbert's spring.<br /> +<br /> +Rude warlike men were the race of old:<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And seldom with priest of holy rood</span><br /> +Or penance discoursed their knights so bold,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who won them the Forest of Inglewood.</span><br /> +For better lov'd they to grasp the spear,<br /> +Than beads to count or masses to hear.<br /> +<br /> +There came a bright Lady from over the sea,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Once to look on their youthful heir.</span><br /> +Saintly and like a spirit was she;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sweetest words did her tongue declare;</span><br /> +When filling a beautiful glass to the brim<br /> +At St. Cuthbert's Well, she gave it to him.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span><br /> +Radiant and rare—from her garment's hem<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To her shining forehead, all dazzling o'er,</span><br /> +As of crystal and gold and enamel the gem<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of sparkling light from the fount she bore—</span><br /> +Her snow-white fingers unringed she spread<br /> +On the gallant young Musgrave's lordly head.<br /> +<br /> +With his ruby lips he touch'd the glass,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And quaff'd off the crystal draught within.</span><br /> +"From thee and from thine if ever shall pass<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The pledge of this hour, shall their doom begin.</span><br /> +Whenever that cup shall break or fall,<br /> +Farewell the luck of Edenhall!"<br /> +<br /> +While marvelling much at so fair a sight,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And wooing a vision so sweet to stay,</span><br /> +Like a vanishing dream of the closing night<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Within the dark Forest she pass'd away;</span><br /> +And left him musing, with senses dim,<br /> +On the gifts the bright chalice had brought to him.<br /> +<br /> +He clasped it close, and he turn'd it o'er;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Within and without its form survey'd;</span><br /> +Till the deeds and thoughts of his sires of yore<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Seem'd to him like rust on a goodly blade.</span><br /> +And the more the glass in his hands he turned,<br /> +The more for a nobler life he yearned.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span><br /> +And there on the verge of the Forest, where stood<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Hall for ages, he vow'd to be</span><br /> +The servant of Him who died on the Rood,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And lay in the Tomb of Arimathee;</span><br /> +And to drink of that cup at the Holy Well.<br /> +So wrought within him the Lady's spell.<br /> +<br /> +And down the twilight came on his thought;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sleep fell on him beneath the trees;</span><br /> +When an errand for water the butler brought<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To the spot, where around the slumberer's knees</span><br /> +The envious fairies, a glittering band,<br /> +Were loosing the cup from his slackening hand.<br /> +<br /> +He scared them forth: and in fierce despite<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They mocked, and mowed, and sang in his ear,—</span><br /> +"See you yon horsemen along the height?<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They had harried the Hall had'st thou not come near.</span><br /> +Whenever that cup shall break or fall,<br /> +Farewell the luck of Edenhall."<br /> +<br /> +And the martial lords of Edenhall<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They kept their cup with enamel and gold</span><br /> +Where never the goblet could break or fall,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or fail its measure of luck to hold;</span><br /> +That birth or bridal, beneath its sway,<br /> +Might never befal on an evil day;<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span><br /> +And land and lordship stretching wide,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And honour and worship might still be theirs;</span><br /> +As long as that cup, preserved with pride,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Should be honoured and prized by Musgrave's heirs:</span><br /> +The goblet the Lady from over the wave<br /> +To their sire in the Forest of Inglewood gave.<br /> +<br /> +It has sparkled high o'er the cradled babe:<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It has pledged the bride on her nuptial day:</span><br /> +It has bless'd their lips at life's last ebb,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With its sacred juice to cleanse the clay.</span><br /> +For the touch the bright Lady left on its brim<br /> +Can give light to the soul when all else is dim.<br /> +<br /> +Long prosper the luck of that noble line.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">May never the Musgrave's name decay.</span><br /> +And to crown their board, when the goblets shine,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">May the crystal chalice be found alway!</span><br /> +For Whenever that cup shall break or fall,<br /> +Farewell the luck of Edenhall!<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "THE LUCK OF EDENHALL."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The curious ancient drinking glass, called the Luck of +Edenhall, on the preservation of which, according to popular +superstition, the prosperity of the Musgrave family depends, +is well known from the humourous parody on the old ballad +of Chevy Chase, commonly attributed to the Duke of Wharton, +but in reality composed by Lloyd, one of his jovial companions, +which begins,</p> + +<div class="poem"> +"God prosper long from being broke<br /> +The Luck of Edenhall."<br /> +</div> + +<p>The Duke, after taking a draught, had nearly terminated +"the Luck of Edenhall;" but fortunately the butler caught +the cup in a napkin as it dropped from his grace's hands. It +is understood that it is no longer subjected to such risks. It +is now generally shown with a damask cloth securely held by +the four corners beneath it, which for this purpose is deposited +along with the vessel in a safe place where important family +documents are preserved.</p> + +<p>Not without good reason do the Musgraves look with superstitious +regard to its careful preservation amongst them. The +present generation could, it is said, tell of disasters following +swift and sure upon its fall, in fulfilment of the omen embodied +in the legend attached to it.</p> + +<p>The vessel is of a green coloured glass of Venice manufacture +of the 10th century, ornamented with foliage of different +colours in enamel and gold; it is about seven inches in height +and about two in diameter at the base, from which it increases +in width and terminates in a gradual curve at the brim where +it measures about four inches. It is carefully preserved in a +stamped leather case, ornamented with scrolls of vine leaves, +and having on the top, in old English characters, the letters +I. H. C.; from which it seems probable that this vessel was +originally designed for sacred uses. The covering is said to +be of the time of Henry VI. or Edward IV. The glass is +probably one of the oldest in England.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p> +<p>The tradition respecting this vessel is connected with the +still current belief, that he who has courage to rush upon a +fairy festival, and snatch from them their drinking cup or horn, +shall find it prove to him a cornucopia of good fortune or +plenty, if he can bear it safely across a running stream. The +goblet still carefully preserved in Edenhall is supposed to have +been seized at a banquet of the elves, by one of the ancient +family of Musgrave; or, as others say, the butler, going to +fetch water from St. Cuthbert's Well, which is near the hall, +surprised a company of fairies who were dancing on the green, +near the spring, where they had left this vessel, which the +butler seized, and on his refusal to restore it, they uttered the +ominous words,—</p> + +<div class="poem"> +"Whenever this cup shall break or fall,<br /> +Farewell the luck of Edenhall."<br /> +</div> + +<p>The name of the goblet was taken from the prophecy. There +is no writing to shew how it came into the family, nor any +record concerning it. Its history rests solely on the tradition. +Dr. Todd supposes it to have been a chalice, when it was +unsafe to have those sacred vessels made of costlier metals, on +account of the predatory habits which prevailed on the borders. +He also says, that the bishops of this diocese permitted not +only the parochial or secular, but also the monastic or +regular clergy, to celebrate the eucharist in chalices of that +clear and transparent metal. The following was one of the +canons made in the reign of king Athelstan:—<i>Sacer calix +fusilis sit, non ligneus</i>—<i>Let the holy chalice be fusile, and not of +wood, which might imbibe the consecrated wine.</i></p> + +<p>William of Newbridge relates how one of these drinking-vessels, +called elfin goblets, came into the possession of King +Henry the First. A country-man belonging to a village near +his own birthplace, returning home late at night, and tipsy, +from a visit to a friend in a neighbouring village, heard a +sound of merriment and singing within a hill; and peeping +through an open door in the side of the hill, he saw a numerous +company of both sexes feasting in a large and finely lighted +hall. A cup being handed to him by one of the attendants, +he took it, threw out the contents, and made off with his booty, +pursued by the whole party of revellers, from whom he +escaped by the speed of his mare, and reached his home in +safety. The cup, which was of unknown material and of +unusual form and colour was presented to the king.</p> + +<p>At Muncaster Castle there is preserved an ancient glass +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>vessel of the basin form, about seven inches in diameter, +ornamented with some white enamelled mouldings; which, +according to family tradition, was presented by King Henry +VI. to Sir John Pennington, Knight, who was steadily attached +to that unfortunate monarch, and whom he had the honour of +entertaining at Muncaster Castle, in his flight from the +Yorkists. In acknowledgment of the protection he had +received, the King is said to have presented his host with this +curious glass cup with a prayer that the family should ever +prosper, and never want a male heir, so long as they preserved +it unbroken: hence the cup was called "the luck of Muncaster." +The Hall contains, among other family pictures, +one representing "King Henry VI. giving to Sir John +Pennington, on his leaving the Castle 1461, the luck of +Muncaster."</p> + +<p>It is probable that the king was here on two occasions; the +first being after the battle of Towton, in 1461, when accompanied +by his queen and their young son, with the dukes of +Exeter and Somerset, he fled with great precipitation into +Scotland: the second, after the battle of Hexham, which was +fought on the 15th of May, 1463. On his defeat at Hexham, +some friends of the fugitive king took him under their protection, +and conveyed him into Lancashire. During the +period that he remained in concealment, which was about +twelve months, the king visited Muncaster. On this occasion +the royal visit appears to have been attended with very little +of regal pomp or ceremony. Henry, having made his way +into Cumberland, with only one companion arrived at Irton +Hall soon after midnight; but his quality being unknown, or +the inmates afraid to receive him, he was denied admittance. +He then passed over the mountains towards Muncaster, where +he was accidentally met by some shepherds at three o'clock in +the morning, and was conducted by them to Muncaster Castle. +The spot where the meeting took place is still indicated +by a tall steeple-like monument on an eminence at some +distance from the castle.</p> + +<p>The "luck of Burrell Green," at the house of Mr. Lamb, +yeoman, in Great Salkeld, Cumberland, is less fragile in +structure, is not less venerated for its traditional alliance with +the fortunes of its possessors than the lordly cups of the Penningtons +and Musgraves. It is an <i>ancient</i> brass dish resembling +a shield, with an inscription round it, now nearly effaced. +Like the celebrated glass of Edenhall, this too has its legend +and couplet, the latter of which runs thus:—</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span></p> + +<div class="poem"> +"If this dish be sold or gi'en,<br /> +Farewell the luck of Burrell Green."<br /> +</div> + +<p>When Ranulph de Meschines had received the grant of +Cumberland from William the Conqueror, he made a survey +of the whole county, and gave to his followers all the frontiers +bordering on Scotland and Northumberland, retaining to himself +the central part between the east and west mountains, "a +goodly great forest, full of woods, red deer and fallow, wild +swine, and all manner of wild beasts." This Forest of Inglewood +comprehends all that large and now fertile tract of +country, extending westward from Carlisle to Westward, +thence in a direct line through Castle Sowerby and Penrith to +the confluence of the Eamont and the Eden, which latter river +then forms its eastern boundary all the way northward to Carlisle, +forming a sort of triangle, each side of which is more +than twenty miles in length. The Duke of Devonshire, as +lord of the Honour of Penrith, has now paramount authority +over the manors of Inglewood Forest.</p> + +<p>The Forest, or Swainmote, court, for the seigniory, is held +yearly, on the feast of St. Barnabas the apostle (June 11.) in +the parish of Hesket-in-the-Forest, in the open air, on the +great north road to Carlisle; and the place is marked by a +stone placed before an ancient thorn, called <i>Court-Thorn</i>. +The tenants of more than twenty mesne manors attend here, +from whom a jury for the whole district is empanelled and +sworn; and Dr. Todd says, that the chamberlain of Carlisle +was anciently foreman. Here are paid the annual dues to the +lord of the forest, compositions for improvements, purprestures, +agistments, and puture of the foresters.</p> + +<p>Until the year 1823, there was an old oak on Wragmire +Moss, well known as <i>the last tree of Inglewood Forest</i>, which +had survived the blasts of 700 or 800 winters. This "time-honored" +oak was remarkable, not only for the beauty of the +wood, which was marked in a similar manner to satin-wood, +but as being a boundary mark between the manors of the +Duke of Devonshire and the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle, as +also between the parishes of Hesket and St. Cuthbert's, Carlisle; +and was noticed as such for upwards of 600 years. +This oak, which had weathered so many hundred stormy +winters was become considerably decayed in its trunk. It fell +not, however, by the tempest or the axe, but from sheer old +age on the 13th of June, 1823. It was an object of great +interest, being the veritable last tree of Inglewood Forest: +under whose spreading branches may have reposed victorious +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>Edward I., who is said to have killed 200 bucks in this ancient +forest; and, perhaps at a later period, "John de Corbrig, the +poor hermit of Wragmire," has counted his beads beneath its +shade.</p> + +<p>On the same day on which this tree fell, Mr. Robert Bowman, +who was born at Hayton, in 1705, died at Irthington, at +the extraordinary age of 117 years and 8 months, retaining his +faculties till about three months before his death. He lived +very abstemiously, was never intoxicated but once in his life, +and at the age of 111, used occasionally to assist his family at +their harvest work. The last forty years of his life were spent +at Irthington, and in his 109th year he walked to and from +Carlisle, being 14 miles, in one day.</p> + +<p>The most remarkable instance of longevity in a native of +Cumberland is that of John Taylor, born at Garragill in the +parish of Aldston moor. He went underground to work in the +lead mines at eleven years of age. He was fourteen or fifteen +at the time of the great solar eclipse, called in the North <i>mirk +Monday</i>, which happened 29th of March, 1652. From that +time till 1752, except for two years, during which he was +employed in the mint at Edinburgh, he wrought in the mines +at Aldston, at Blackhall in the Bishoprick of Durham, and in +various parts of Scotland. His death happened sometime in +the year 1772, in the neighbourhood of Moffat, near the Leadhills +mines, in which he had been employed several years. +He worked in the mines till he was about 115. At the time +of his decease he must have been 135 years of age.</p> + +<p>The Rev. George Braithwaite, who died, curate of St. +Mary's Carlisle, in 1753, at the age of 110, is said to have +been a member of the Cathedral, upwards of one hundred +years, having first become connected with the establishment +as a chorister.</p> + +<p>In Cumberland the prevalence of longevity seems to be confined +to no particular district: the parishes which border on +the fells on the east side of the county, are rather more +remarkable for longevity than those on the Western coast: +but there is little difference except in the large towns.</p> + +<p>A list of remarkable instances of longevity, chiefly taken +from the registers of burials in the several parishes in Cumberland, +is given in Lyson's Magna Britannia. It embraces the +period between 1664 and 1814 inclusive, and gives the date, +name, parish, and age of each individual. In that space of +150 years, the list comprises 144 individuals ranging from 100 +to 113 years of age. Seventy were males, seventy-four were +females.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span></p> +<p>The number of persons in Cumberland who have reached +from 90 to 99 years inclusive, since the ages have been noted +in the parish registers is above 1120: of these about one fourth +have attained or exceeded the age of 95 years.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>HOB-THROSS.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +Millom's bold lords and knights of old<br /> +Quaff'd their mead from cups of gold.<br /> +A lordly life was theirs, and free,<br /> +With revel and joust and minstrelsy.<br /> +Their fields were full, and their waters flow'd;<br /> +On a hundred steeds their warriors rode:<br /> +And glorious still as their line began,<br /> +It broaden'd out as it onward ran.<br /> +<br /> +Millom's proud courts had page and groom,<br /> +To serve in hall, to wait in room;<br /> +Maid and squire in fair array:<br /> +But better than these, at close of day—<br /> +Better than groom or page in hall,<br /> +Than maid and squire, that came at a call,<br /> +Was the Goblin Fiend, that shunn'd their sight,<br /> +And wrought for the lords of Millom by night.<br /> +<br /> +When sleepy maidens left their fires,<br /> +Hob-Thross forth from barns and byres<br /> +Came tumbling in, and stretching his form<br /> +Out over the hearthstone bright and warm,<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>He folded his stunted thumbs, to dream<br /> +For an idle hour ere he sipp'd his cream;<br /> +Or smoothed his wrinkled visage to gaze<br /> +On his hairy length at the kindly blaze.<br /> +<br /> +His snipp'd brown bowl of creamy store<br /> +Set nightly—nothing Hob wanted more.<br /> +He scoured, and delved, and groom'd, and churned;<br /> +But favour or hire he scorned and spurned.<br /> +Leave him alone to will and to do,<br /> +Never were hand and heart so true.<br /> +Tempt him with gift, or lay out his hire—<br /> +Farewell Hob to farm and fire.<br /> +<br /> +Blest the manor, and blest the lord,<br /> +That had Hob to work by field and board!<br /> +Blest the field, and blest the farm,<br /> +That Hob would keep from waste and harm!<br /> +Or ever a wish was fairly thought,<br /> +Hob was ready, and all was wrought;<br /> +Was grain to be cut, or housed the corn,<br /> +All was finish'd 'twixt night and morn.<br /> +<br /> +Millom's great lords rode round their land<br /> +With courteous speech and bounteous hand.<br /> +Hob-Thross too went forth to roam;<br /> +Made every hearth in Millom his home.<br /> +He thresh'd the oats, he churn'd the cream,<br /> +He comb'd the manes of the stabled team,<br /> +And fodder'd them well with corn and hay,<br /> +When the lads were laggards at peep of day.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span><br /> +Millom's good lord said—"Nights are cool;<br /> +Weave Hob a coat of the finest wool.<br /> +Service long he has tender'd free:<br /> +Of the finest wool his hood shall be."—<br /> +For his service good, in that ancient hold,<br /> +To them and to theirs for ages told,<br /> +They wove him a coat of the finest wool,<br /> +And a hood to wrap him when nights were cool.<br /> +<br /> +It broke his peace, and he could not stay.<br /> +Hob took the clothes and went his way.<br /> +He wrapp'd him round and he felt him warm:<br /> +But his life at Millom lost all its charm.<br /> +Night and day there was heard a wail<br /> +In his ancient haunts, through wind and hail,—<br /> +"Hob has got a new coat and new hood,<br /> +And Hob no more will do any good."<br /> +<br /> +Blight and change pass'd over the place.<br /> +Came to end that ancient race.<br /> +Millom's great lords were found alone<br /> +Stretch'd in chancels, carved in stone.<br /> +Gone to dust was all their power;<br /> +Spiders wove in my lady's bower.<br /> +While Hob in his coat and hood of green<br /> +Went wooing by night the Elfin Queen.<br /> +<br /> +Call him to field, or wish him in stall,<br /> +Hob-Thross answers no one's call.<br /> +The snipp'd brown bowls of cream in vain<br /> +On the hearths he loved are placed again.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>The old and glorious days are flown.<br /> +Hob is too proud or lazy grown;<br /> +Or he goes in his coat and his hood of green<br /> +By night a-wooing the Elfin Queen.<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "HOB-THROSS."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The lords of Millom are connected with an ancient legend +of Egremont Castle, which is given elsewhere, and which +especially alludes to the horn and hatterell which they bore on +their helmets. This crest is said to have been assumed in the +time of Henry I., on the occasion of the grant of this seignory +by the Lord of Egremont to Godard de Boyvill or Boisville, +whose descendants retained possession of the greater part of it +for about one hundred years when it became vested by marriage +in Sir John Hudleston, whose pedigree is alleged to be traceable +for five generations before the Conquest. In this family +it remained for about five hundred years, when, for failure of +male issue it was sold to Sir James Lowther, nearly a century +ago. The names of the first possessors are now almost +forgotten in their own lands. The castle is of great antiquity. +It is uncertain at what date it was originally built; but it was +fortified and embattled by Sir John Hudleston, in 1335. In +ancient times it was surrounded by a fine park, of which there +are some scanty remains on a ridge to the north. The great +square tower is still habitable, though its old battlements are +gone. The castle was invested during the parliamentary war, +and the old vicarage house was pulled down at the same time, +"lest the rebels should take refuge there." There are traces +of the ancient moat still visible. Between the broken pillars +of an old gateway, an avenue leads to the front of the ruin, +which, though not of great extent, presents a fine specimen of +the decayed pomp of early times. The walls of the court yard +are all weather-stained and worn; and, here and there, delicate +beds of moss have crept over them, year after year, so +long, that the moist old stones are now matted with hues of +great beauty. The front of the castle is roofless, and some +parts of the massive walls are thickly clothed with ivy. A +fine flight of worn steps leads up through the archway, to the +great tower, in the inner court. Above the archway a stone +shield bears the decayed heraldries of the Hudleston family; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>and these arms appear, also, on a slab in the garden wall, and +in other parts of the buildings. The front entrance of the +great tower, from the inner court, when open, shews within +a fine old carved staircase, which leads one to suppose that the +interior may retain many of its ancient characteristics.</p> + +<p>The church is a venerable building, with its quaint little +turret, containing two bells. The edifice consists of a nave +and chancel, a south aisle, and a modern porch on the same +side. The aisle was the burial place of the Hudlestons. Here +is an altar-tomb, ornamented with Gothic tracery and figures +bearing shields of arms, on which recline the figures of a knight +and his lady, in alabaster, very much mutilated. The knight +is in plate armour, his head resting on a helmet, and having a +collar of S.S.; the lady is dressed in a long gown and mantle, +with a veil. They appear to have originally been painted and +gilt, but the greater part of the colouring has been rubbed off. +Near the altar-tomb are the very mutilated remains of a knight, +carved in wood, apparently of the fourteenth century. A few +years ago there was a lion at his feet. A mural marble tablet +to the memory of the Hudleston family is on the wall of the +aisle.</p> + +<p>The lordship of Millom is the largest seignory within the +barony of Egremont; its ancient boundaries being described +as the river Duddon on the east, the islands of Walney and +Piel de Foudray on the south, the Irish Sea on the west, and +the river Esk and the mountains Hardknot and Wrynose on +the north. It anciently enjoyed great privileges: it was a +special jurisdiction into which the sheriff of the county could +not enter: its lords had the power of life and death, and enjoyed +<i>jura regalia</i> in the six parishes forming their seignory, +namely, Millom, Bootle, Whicham, Whitbeck, Corney, and +Waberthwaite. Mr. Denton, writing in 1688, says that the +gallows stood on a hill near the Castle, on which criminals +had been executed within the memory of persons then living. +To commemorate the power anciently possessed by the lords +of this seignory, a stone has recently been erected with this +inscription—"Here the Lords of Millom exercised Jura +Regalia."</p> + +<p>This lordship still retains its own coroner.</p> + +<p>A small nunnery of Benedictines formerly existed within +this seignory, at Lekely in Seaton, which lies westward from +Bootle, near the sea. The precise date of its foundation cannot +be ascertained: but it appears to have taken place on or +before the time of Henry Boyvill, the fourth lord of Millom, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>who lived about the commencement of the thirteenth century; +and who "gave lands in Leakley, now called Seaton, to the +nuns;" and who in the deed of feofment of the manor of +Leakley made by the said Henry to Goynhild, his daughter, +on her marriage with Henry Fitz-William, excepts "the land +in Leakley which I gave to the holy nuns serving God and +Saint Mary in Leakley."</p> + +<p>The nunnery was dedicated to St. Leonard; and was so +poor that it could not sufficiently maintain the prioress and +nuns. Wherefore the Duke of Lancaster, afterwards Henry +IV., by his charter, in 1357, granted to them in aid the hospital +of St. Leonard, at Lancaster, with power to appoint the +chantry priest to officiate in the said hospital. At the dissolution +the possessions of the priory were only of the annual value +of £12 12s. 6d. according to Dugdale, or £13 17s. 4d. by +Speed's valuation.</p> + +<p>When at the suppression of Abbeys it came to the crown, +Henry VIII. gave the site and lands at Seaton to his servant +Sir Hugh Askew, and his heirs. This Knight was descended +from Thurston de Bosco, who lived in the days of King John +at a place then called the Aikskeugh, or Oakwood, near Millom, +and afterwards at Graymains, near Muncaster; and from +a poor estate was raised to great honour and preferment, by +his service to King Henry VIII. in his house and in the field. +Anne Askew, whose name stands so eminent in the annals of +martyrology, was one of his descendants.</p> + +<p>There are few remains of the convent now left: some part +of the priory-chapel is still standing, particularly a fine window +with lancets, in the style of the thirteenth century. Seton-Hall, +formerly a part of the conventual buildings, and subsequently +the residence of Sir Hugh Askew, is now occupied as +a farm house.</p> + +<p>Of Seton and Sir Hugh Askew, we have the following +quaint story in Sandford's M.S. account of Cumberland:—</p> + +<p>"Ffour miles southward stands Seaton, an estate of £500 +per annum, sometimes a religious house, got by one Sir Hugo +Askew, yeoman of the sellar to Queen Catherine in Henry +Eight's time, and born in this contry. And when that Queen +was divorced from her husband, this yeoman was destitute. +And he applied for help to (the) Lo. Chamberlain for some +place or other in the King's service. The Lord Steward knew +him well, because he had helpt to a cup (of) wine ther before, +but told him he had no place for him but a charcoal carrier. +'Well' quoth this monsir Askew, 'help me in with one foot, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>and let me gett in the other as I can.' And upon a great +holiday, the king looking out at some sports, Askew got a +courtier, a friend of his, to stand before the king; and Askew +gott on his velvet cassock and his gold chine, and basket of +chercole on his back, and marched in the king's sight with it. +'O,' saith the king, 'now I like yonder fellow well, that disdains +not to do his dirty office in his dainty clothes: what is +he?' Says his friend that stood by on purpose, 'It is Mr +Askew, that was yeoman of the sellar to the late Queen's +M<sup>tie</sup>, and now glad of this poor place to keep him in your +ma<sup>tie's</sup> service, which he will not forsake for all the world.' +The king says, 'I had the best wine when he was i'th cellar. +He is a gallant wine-taster: let him have his place againe;' +and after knighted him; and he sold his place, and married +the daughter of Sir John Hudleston; (and purchased<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> this +religious place of Seaton, nye wher he was borne, of an ancient +freehold family,) and settled this Seaton upon her, and she +afterwards married monsir Penengton, Lo: of Muncaster, and +had Mr. Joseph and a younger son with Penington, and gave +him this Seaton."</p> + +<p>A brass plate on the south wall of the chancel of Bootle +Church, bears the effigies of a knight in armour, with the following +inscription in old English characters, indicating his +tomb. "Here lieth Sir Hughe Askew, knyght. late of the +seller to Kynge Edward the VI. which Sir Hughe was made +knyght, at Musselborough felde, in ye yeare of our Lord, +1547, and died the second day of Marche, in the yere of our +Lord God, 1562."</p> + +<p>Among the local spirits of Cumberland, whose existence is +believed in by the vulgar, is one named Hob-Thross, whom +the old gossips report to have been frequently seen in the +shape of a "Body aw ower rough," lying by the fire side at +midnight. He was one of the class of creatures called Brownies, +and according to popular superstition, had especially attached +himself to the family at Millom Castle. He was a solitary +being, meagre, flat-nosed, shaggy and wild in his appearance, +and resembled the "lubbar fiend," so admirably described +by Milton in L'Allegro. Gervase of Tilbury speaks of him +as one of the "dæmones, senile vultu, facie corrugata, statura +pusilli, dimidium pollicis non habentes." In the day time he +lurked in remote recesses of the old houses which he delighted +to haunt; and, in the night, sedulously employed himself in +discharging any laborious task which he thought might be +acceptable to the family, to whose service he had devoted +himself. He loved to stretch himself by the kitchen fire when +the menials had taken their departure. Before the glimpse of +morn he would execute more work than could be done by a +man in ten days. He did not drudge from the hope of recompense: +on the contrary, so delicate was his attachment, that +the offer of reward, but particularly of food, infallibly would +occasion his disappearance for ever. He would receive, however, +if placed for him in a <i>snipped pot</i>, a quart of cream, or a +mess of milk-porridge. He had his regular range of farm +houses; and seems to have been a kind spirit, and willing to +do any thing he was required to do. The servant girls would +frequently put the cream in the churn, and say, "I wish Hob +would churn that," and they always found it done. Hob's +readiness to fulfil the wishes of his friends was sometimes +productive of ludicrous incidents. One evening there was +every prospect of rain next day, and a farmer had all his grain +out. "I wish," said he, "I had that grain housed." Next +morning Hob had housed every sheaf, but a fine stag which +had helped him was lying dead at the barn door. The day +however became extremely fine, and the farmer thought his +grain would have been better in the field: "I wish," said he, +"that Hob-Thross was in the mill-dam;" next morning all the +farmer's grain was in the mill-dam. Such were the tales which +were constantly told of the Millom Brownie, and as constantly +believed. He left the country at last, through the mistaken +kindness of some one, who made him a coat and hood to keep +him warm during the winter. He was heard at night singing +at his favourite haunts for a while about his apparel, and +"occupation gone," and at length left the country.</p></blockquote> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span></p> +<blockquote> + +<p>The Cumberland tradition affirms that those persons who on +Fasting's-Even, as Shrove Tuesday is vulgarly called in the +North of England, do not eat heartily, are crammed with +barley chaff by Hob-Thross: and so careful are the villagers +to set the goblin at defiance, that scarcely a single hind retires +to rest without previously partaking of a hot supper.</p> + +<p>Sir Walter Scott tells us that the last Brownie known in +Ettrick Forest, resided in Bodsbeck, a wild and solitary spot, +near the head of Moffat Water, where he exercised his functions +undisturbed, till the scrupulous devotion of an old lady +induced her <i>to hire him away</i>, as it was termed, by placing in +his haunt a porringer of milk and a piece of money. After +receiving this hint to depart, he was heard the whole night to +howl and cry, "Farewell to bonnie Bodsbeck!" which he +was compelled to abandon for ever.</p></blockquote> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Qu. Had a grant of?</p> +</div> +</div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE ABBOT OF CALDER.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +The Abbot of Calder rode out from his gate<br /> +To the town, saying, "Sorrow lies, early and late,<br /> +In this wretched wide world upon every degree;<br /> +And each child of the Church must have comfort from me!<br /> +So on palfrey I wend to Lord Lucy's strong hold:<br /> +For this life must press hard on these barons so bold."<br /> +<br /> +The Abbot was welcome to Lucy's proud hall.<br /> +And he sat down with knights, and with ladies, and all,<br /> +High at feast, joyous-hearted, light, gallant, and fair:<br /> +Where to speak upon woe were but jesting with care.<br /> +So his palfrey re-mounting at evening, he troll'd,<br /> +"The world goes not ill with these barons so bold."<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span><br /> +Ambling on by the forge, he drew up by the flame,<br /> +"Well, my son! how is all with the children and dame?<br /> +Toiling on!"—"Yes! but, father, not badly we speed;<br /> +We have health; and for wealth, we lack nought that we need."<br /> +Then at least, thought the Monk, here no text I need urge,<br /> +For the world passes well with my friend at the forge!<br /> +<br /> +Turning off by the stream at the foot of the hill,<br /> +All were busy, as bees in a hive, at the mill.<br /> +"Benedicite!" cried he to women and wives,<br /> +Where they sang at their labour as if for their lives,<br /> +All so fat, fair, and fruitful. The Abbot jogg'd on,<br /> +Humming, "Sweet, too, is rest when the labour is done."<br /> +<br /> +As he pass'd by the lane that leads up to the stile,<br /> +Pretty Lillie came down with her curtsey and smile,—<br /> +"Well, my daughter!" the Abbot said, chucking her chin;<br /> +"How is Robin?—or Reuben? which—which is to win?"<br /> +"—Thank you!—Robin," she said, as she blushed in her sleeve;<br /> +While the Monk, spurring on, laughed a joyous "good eve!"<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span><br /> +On the verge of the chase rode the falconer by:<br /> +With a song on his lip and a laugh in his eye,<br /> +All the day o'er the moors he had gallop'd, and now<br /> +He was off to the quintain-match over the brow;<br /> +Then to crown with good cheer all the sports of the day.<br /> +And the Abbot sighed, "Springtime, and beautiful May!"<br /> +<br /> +And at length in the hollow he came, as he rode,<br /> +To the forester Robin's trim cottage abode.<br /> +And there stood the youth, ruddy, stalwart, and curled:—<br /> +"—Ha, Robin! this looks not like strife with the world!"—<br /> +"No! and please you, good father, <i>she's</i> coming to-morrow!"<br /> +"—Well! a blessing on both of you!—keep you from sorrow."<br /> +<br /> +So he reached his fair Abbey by Calder's sweet stream,<br /> +Well believing all troubles in life are a dream;<br /> +Looked around on his park and his fertile domain,<br /> +With a thought to his cellars, a glance at his grain;<br /> +While the stream through his meadow-lands rippled and purled;<br /> +And exclaimed, "What a place is a sorrowful world!"<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span><br /> +And the Abbot of Calder that night o'er his bowl<br /> +Felt a peace passing speech in the depths of his soul.<br /> +And he dreamt mid the noise and the merry uproar<br /> +Of the brethren beneath—all his fasting was o'er;<br /> +That earth's many woes had to darkness been driven;<br /> +And the sweet woods of Calder were gardens in Heaven.<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "THE ABBOT OF CALDER."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>On the northern bank of the river Calder, in a deeply +secluded vale, sheltered by majestic forest trees, which rise +from the skirts of level and luxuriant meadows to the tops of +the surrounding hills, stands the ruined Abbey and home of +that little colony of Monks, who, with their Abbot Gerold at +their head, were detached from the mother Abbey of Furness +in 1134 to begin their fortunes under the auspices of Ranulph +de Meschines (the second of the name) their powerful neighbour +and founder. Here they contrived to live "in some +discomfort and great poverty for four years, when an army of +Scots under King David despoiled the lately begun Abbey and +carried away all its possessions. Finding they could get no +help elsewhere, the hapless thirteen resolved to return to the +maternal monastery" for refuge. This happened about the +third year of King Stephen.</p> + +<p>The Abbot of Furness refused to receive Gerold and his +companions, reproaching them with cowardice for abandoning +their monastery, and alleging that it was rather the love of +that ease and plenty which they expected in Furness, +than the devastation of the Scottish army, that forced them +from Calder. Some writers say that the Abbot of Furness +insisted that Gerold should divest himself of his authority, and +absolve the monks from their obedience to him, as a condition +of their receiving any relief. This, Gerold and his companions +refused to do, and turning their faces from Furness, they, with +the remains of their broken fortune, which consisted of little +more than some clothes and a few books, with one cart and +eight oxen, taking providence for their guide, went in quest of +better hospitality.</p> + +<p>The result of the next day's resolution was to address themselves +to Thurstan, Archbishop of York, and beg his advice +and relief. The reception they met with from him, answered +their wishes; the Archbishop graciously received them, and +charitably entertained them for some time, then recommended +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>them to Gundrede de Aubigny, who sent them to Robert de +Alneto, her brother, a hermit, at Hode, in the East Riding of +Yorkshire, where for a period she supplied them with +necessaries. They afterwards obtained a monastery of their +own called Byland, when they voluntarily made themselves +dependant upon Savigny, in order that Furness should exercise +no right of paternity over them.</p> + +<p>In the same year, 1142, the Abbot of Furness understanding +that Gerold had obtained a settlement, sent another colony, +with Hardred, a Furness monk, for their Abbot, to take possession +of ravaged Calder, which the Lord of Egremont, +William Fitz-Duncan, nephew of David, King of Scots, had +refounded. Their endowments and revenues were chiefly from +the founder's munificence, and were small, being valued, at +the suppression, at about sixty pounds per annum.</p> + +<p>The ruins of this Abbey are approached from Calder-Bridge +by a pleasant walk for about a mile on the banks of the river, +presenting several glimpses of the tower rising out of the foliage +of the forest trees by which it is surrounded.</p> + +<p>The Abbey Church was in the form of a cross, and small, +the width of the chancel being only twenty five feet, and that +of the transepts twenty two. Of the western front little more +than the Norman doorway remains. The five pointed arches +of the north side of the nave, dividing it from the aisle; the +choir; the transepts, with a side chapel on the south; the +square tower supported by four lofty pointed arches; the +walls and windows of a small cloister running south; with the +remains of upper chambers, showing a range of eight windows +to the west and seven to the east, beautiful specimens of early +English Architecture, terminated by a modern mansion, occupying +the site of the conventual buildings, but built in a style +altogether unsuited to the locality; these, with the porter's lodge +at a short distance from the west end, and a large oven by the +side of a rapid stream in the meadow on the east, all so changed +since the times of Gerold and Hardred, constitute in our days +the Abbey of Calder.</p> + +<p>Against the walls of the Abbey are fragments of various +sepulchral figures, which from the mutilated sculptures and +devices on the shields, would seem to have belonged to the +tombs of eminent persons. One of them is represented in a +coat of mail, with his hand upon his sword; another bears a +shield reversed, as a mark of disgrace for cowardice or +treachery; "but," says Hutchinson, "the virtues of the one, +and the errors of the other, are alike given to oblivion by the +hand of time and by the scourging angel Dissolution."</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span></p> +<p>Sir John le Fleming, of Beckermet, ancestor of the Flemings +of Rydal Hall, Westmorland, gave lands in Great Beckermet +to this abbey, in the 26th year of Henry III, A. D. +1242. He died during that long reign, and was buried in the +abbey. One of the effigies above alluded to, with the shield +charged fretty, is probably that mentioned by Sir Daniel +Fleming, who says that in his time (in the seventeenth century) +here was "a very ancient statue of a man in armour, with a +frett (of six pieces) upon his shield, lying upon his back, with +his sword by his side, his hands elevated in a posture of +prayer, and legs across; being so placed probably from his +taking upon him the cross, and being engaged in the holy +war. Which statue was placed there most probably in +memory of this Sir John le Fleming."</p> + +<p>Among some ancient charters and documents in the possession +of William John Charlton, of Hesleyside, Esq., (1830) and +which came into his family, in 1680, by the marriage of his +great-great-grandfather, with Mary, daughter of Francis +Salkeld, in the parish of All-Hallows, in Cumberland, Esq., +is one that is very curious. It is an assignment made in +A. D. 1291, by John, son of John de Hudleston, of William, +son of Richard de Loftscales, formerly his native, with all his +retinue and chattels, to the Abbot and Monks of Caldra. The +deed is witnessed by "Willmo. Wailburthuait. Willmo. +Thuaites. Johe de Mordling. Johe Corbet. Johe de Halle +et aliis:" and is alluded to in the following passages quoted +by Mr. Jefferson from <i>Archælogia Æliana</i>. "It is, in fact, +that species of grant of freedom to a slave, which is called +manumission implied, in which the lord yields up all obligation +to bondage, on condition of the native agreeing to an annual +payment of money on a certain day. The clause, 'so that +from this time they may be free, and exempt from all servitude +and reproach of villainage from me and my heirs,' is very +curious, especially to persons of our times, on which there has +been so much said about the pomp of Eastern lords, and the +reproachful slavery in which their dependents are still kept. +Here the Monks of Caldra redeemed a man, his family, and +property from slavery, on condition of his paying them the +small sum of two pence a-year. The Hudleston family were +seated at Millum, in the time of Henry the Third, when they +acquired that estate, by the marriage of John de Hudleston +with the Lady Joan, the heiress of the Boisville family."</p> + +<p>"Slavery continued to thrive on the soil of Northumberland +long after the time of Edward the First; for in 1470, Sir Roger +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>Widdrington manumitted his native, William Atkinson, for +the purpose of making him his bailiff of Woodhorn."</p> + +<p>The inmates of Calder were probably neither better nor +worse than other cowled fraternities. A certain Brother +Beesley, a Benedictine Monk, of Pershore, in Worcestershire, +speaks very boldly of certain shortcomings, in his own experience +of "relygyus men." The following passage occurs in a +petition addressed by him to the Vicar-General Cromwell, at +the time of the visitation of the Monasteries:—</p> + +<p>"Now y wyll ynstrux your grace sumwatt of relygyus men——. +Monckes drynke an bowll after collatyon tyll ten or +twelve of the clok, and cum to matyns as dronck as myss +(mice)—and sum at cardys, sum at dyes, and at tabulles; +sum cum to mattyns begenying at the mydes, and sum wen +yt ys almost dun, and wold not cum there so only for boddly +punyshment, nothyng for Goddes sayck."</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>THE ARMBOTH BANQUET.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +To Calgarth Hall in the midnight cold<br /> +Two headless skeletons cross'd the fold,<br /> +Undid the bars, unlatched the door,<br /> +And over the step pass'd down the floor<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where the jolly round porter sat sleeping.</span><br /> +<br /> +With a patter their feet on the pavement fall;<br /> +And they traverse the stairs to that window'd wall,<br /> +Where out of a niche, at the witch-hour dark,<br /> +Each lifts a skull all grinning and stark,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And fits it on with a creaking.</span><br /> +<br /> +Then forth they go with a ghostly march;<br /> +And bending low at the portal arch,<br /> +Through Calgarth woods, o'er Rydal braes,<br /> +And over the Pass by Dunmail-Raise<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The Two their course are keeping.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span><br /> +Now Wytheburn's lowly pile in sight<br /> +Gleams faintly beneath the new-moon's light;<br /> +And farther along dim forms appear,<br /> +All hurrying down to the darksome Mere,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The drunken ferryman seeking.</span><br /> +<br /> +From old Helvellyn's domain they come,<br /> +A spectral band demure and dumb;<br /> +By twos, and threes, and fours, and more,<br /> +They beckon the man to ferry them o'er,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To where yon lights are breaking.</span><br /> +<br /> +And thither the twain are wending fast;<br /> +For there from many a casement cast,<br /> +The festal blaze is burning high<br /> +In Armboth Hall; the hills thereby<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In uttermost darkness sleeping.</span><br /> +<br /> +In Wytheburn City there wakes not one<br /> +To see those dim forms hastening on;<br /> +But at Wytheburn Ferry may travellers wait,<br /> +For busy with guests for Armboth gate,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The boatman's sinews are aching.</span><br /> +<br /> +They've reached the shore, they've cross'd the sward<br /> +To where the old portal stands unbarr'd.<br /> +With courteous steps and bearing high<br /> +They pass the hollow-eyed porter by,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With his torch high over him sweeping.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span><br /> +Then might the owls that move by night<br /> +Have seen thin shadows flit through the light,<br /> +Where the windows glared along the wall<br /> +In every chamber of Armboth Hall,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And the guests high revel were keeping.</span><br /> +<br /> +Then too from cold and weary ways<br /> +A traveller's eyes had caught the rays:<br /> +And wandering on to the silent door<br /> +He knocked aloud—he knew no more;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">But the lights went out like winking.</span><br /> +<br /> +A wreath of mist rushed over the Mere,<br /> +And reached Helvellyn as dawn grew near;<br /> +And two thin streaks went down the wind<br /> +O'er Dunmail-Raise with a storm behind,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The leaves in Grasmere raking.</span><br /> +<br /> +On Rydal isles the herons awoke;<br /> +A pattering cloud by Wansfell broke;<br /> +And the grey cock stretched his neck to crow<br /> +In Calgarth roost, that ghosts might know<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">It was time for maids to be waking.</span><br /> +<br /> +The skeletons two rushed through the yard,<br /> +They pushed the door they left unbarr'd,<br /> +Laid by their skulls in the niched wall,<br /> +And flew like wind from Calgarth Hall<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where still the round porter sat sleeping.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span><br /> +As out they rattled, the wind rushed in<br /> +And slamm'd the doors with a terrible din;<br /> +The grey cock crew; the dogs were raised;<br /> +And the old porter rubb'd his eyes amazed<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">At the dawn so coldly breaking.</span><br /> +<br /> +And lying at morn by Armboth gate<br /> +Was found the form that knocked so late;<br /> +A traveller footworn, mired, and grey,<br /> +Who, led by marsh lights lost his way,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And coldly in death was sleeping.</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "THE ARMBOTH BANQUET."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The Old Hall of Calgarth, whose history, it has been said, +belongs to the world of shadows, but whose remains still form +an object of interest from their picturesqueness and antiquity, +is situated within a short distance of the water, upon the +narrowest part of a small and pleasant plain on the eastern +shore of Windermere. The house has been so much injured +and curtailed of its original proportions, that it is impossible +to make out what has been its precise form: many parts having +gone entirely to decay, and others being much out of +repair; the materials having been used in the erection of +offices and outbuildings, for the accommodation of farmers, in +whose occupation it has been for a long period. Its original +character has been quite lost in the additions and alterations +of later days. It is however said to have been constructed +much after the style of those venerable Westmorland mansions, +the Halls of Sizergh and Levens. But there are few traces of +the "fair old building," which even so late as the year 1774, +Dr. Burn described it to be; and the destruction of this +ancient home of the Philipsons has well nigh been complete. +What is now called the kitchen, and the room over it, are the +only portions of the interior remaining, from which a judgment +may be formed of the care and finish that have been +applied to its internal decoration. In the former, which appears +to have been one of the principal apartments, though +now divided, and appropriated to humble uses, the armorial +achievements of the Philipsons, crested with the five ostrich +plumes of their house, and surmounted by their motto, "Fide +non fraude," together with the bearings of Wyvill impaling +Carus, into which families the owners of Calgarth intermarried, +are coarsely represented in stucco over the hearth, and still +serve to connect their name with the house. The large old +open fireplace has been filled up by an insignificant modern +invention. The window still retains some fragments of its +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>former display of heraldic honours; the arms of the early +owners, impaling those of Wyvill, and the device of Briggs, +another Westmorland family, with whom the Philipsons were +also matrimonially connected, yet appear in their proper +blazon. And in the same window, underneath the emblazonry, +is this legend, likewise in painted glass:—</p> + +<div class="center"> +Robart. Phillison.<br /> +and. Jennet. Laibor<br /> +ne. his. wife. he. die<br /> +d. in. anno. 1539<br /> +the. ZZ. Dece<br /> +mbar 1579<br /> +</div> + +<p>The old dining table of black oak, reduced in its dimensions, +occupies one side of this apartment. The room over the +kitchen, to which a steep stair rises from the threshold of the +porch, and which looks over the lake, has been nobly ornamented +after the fashion of the day, by cunning artists, and it +still retains in its dilapidated oak work, and richly adorned +ceiling, choice, though rude remnants of its former splendour. +It has a dark polished oak floor, and is wainscotted on three +sides, with the same tough wood, which, bleached with age, +is elaborately carved in regular intersecting panels, inlaid with +scroll-work and tracery, enriched by pilasters, and surmounted +by an embattled cornice. In this wainscot two or three doors +indicate the entrances to other rooms, whose approaches are +walled up, the rooms themselves having been long since +destroyed. The ceiling is flat, and formed into compartments +by heavy square intersecting moulded ribs, the intermediate +spaces of which are excessively adorned with cumbrous ornamental +work of the most grotesque figures and designs imaginable, +amidst which festoons of flowers, fruits, and other +products of the earth, mingled with heraldic achievements, +moulded in stucco, yet exist, to tell how many times the fruitage +and the leaves outside have come and gone, have ripened +and decayed, whilst they endure unchanged.</p> + +<p>In the window of the staircase leading to this chamber +tradition has localized the famous legend of the skulls of Old +Calgarth. The dilapidated, and somewhat melancholy appearance +of the dwelling, in concurrence with the superstitious +notions which have ever been common in country places, have +probably given rise to a report, which has long prevailed, that +the house is haunted. Many stories are current of the frightful +visions and mischievous deeds, which the goblins of the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>place are said to have performed, to terrify and distress the +harmless neighbourhood; and these fables are not yet entirely +disbelieved. Spectres yet are occasionally to be seen within +its precincts. And the two human skulls, whose history and +reputed properties are too singular not to have contributed +greatly to the story of the house being haunted, are, although +out of sight, still within it, and as indestructible as ever.</p> + +<p>These were wont to occupy a niche beneath the window of +the staircase: and in 1775, when Mr. West visited the Hall, +they still remained in the place where they had lain from time +immemorial. All attempts, it is said, to dispossess them of +the station they had chosen to occupy, have invariably proved +fruitless. As the report goes, they have been buried, burnt, +reduced to powder and dispersed in the wind, sunk in the +well, and thrown into the lake, several times, to no purpose +as to their permanent removal or destruction. Till at length, +so persistent was found to be their attachment to the niche +which they had selected for their abiding place, they are said +to have been, as a last resource to keep them out of sight, +walled up within it; and there they remain. Of course, many +persons now living in the neighbourhood can bear testimony +to the fact that the skulls did really occupy the place assigned +to them by tradition.</p> + +<p>A popular tale of immemorial standing relates that the +skulls were those of an aged man and his wife, who lived on +their own property adjoining the lands of the Philipsons, whose +head regarded it with a covetous eye, and had long desired +to number it among his extensive domains. The owners however +not being willing to part with it, he determined in evil +hour to have it at any cost.</p> + +<p>The old people, as the story runs, were in the habit of going +frequently to the Hall, to share in the viands which fell from +the lord's table, for he was a bounteous man to the poor; and +it happened once that a pie was given to them, into which had +been put some articles of plate. After their return home, the +valuables were missed, and the cottage being searched, the +things were found therein. The result was as the author of +the mischief had plotted. They were accused of theft, tried, +convicted, and sentenced to be executed, and their persecutor +ultimately got their inheritance. When brought up for execution, +the condemned persons requested the chaplain in attendance +to read the 109th psalm; for under their circumstances, +there was an awful significance in the imprecatory verses, +which denounced the conduct of evil doers like Philipson; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>and in the solemn malison prophesied against the cruel, they +pronounced a curse upon the owners of Calgarth, which the +gossips of the neighbourhood say has ever since cast its blight +upon the proprietorship of the estate; and that, notwithstanding +whatever authentic records may prove to the contrary, the +traditionary malediction has been regularly fulfilled down to +the present time. After the death of his victims, the oppressor +was greatly tormented; for, as if to perpetuate the memory of +such injustice, and as a memento of their innocence, their +skulls came and took up a position in the window of one of +the rooms in the Hall, from whence they could not by any +means be effectually removed, the common belief being that +they were for that end indestructible, and it was stoutly asserted +that to whatever place they were taken, or however used, they +invariably reappeared in their old station by the window.</p> + +<p>The property of Calgarth came by purchase into the possession +of the late Dr. Watson, Lord Bishop of Llandaff, who +built a mansion upon the estate, where he passed much of the +later period of his life: and who lies buried in the neighbouring +churchyard of Bowness. The Bishop's grandson, Richard +Luther Watson, Esquire, is the present possessor.</p> + +<p>It is believed that anciently a burial ground was attached to +the buildings of Old Calgarth; as when the ground has been +trenched thereabouts, quantities of human bones have frequently +been turned over and re-buried. There are now in +the dairy of the Old Hall two flat tombstones, with the name +of Philipson inscribed upon them, which not very many years +ago were dug up in the garden near the house; their present +use being a desecration quite in accordance with the associations +which hang around the place. This circumstance may +afford a clue to the re-appearance of the skulls so frequently, +after every art of destruction had been tried upon them, in the +mysterious chambers of Old Calgarth Hall.</p> + +<p>The old house at Armboth, on Thirlmere, has also the +reputation of being occasionally at midnight supernaturally +lighted up for the reception of spectres, which cross the lake +from Helvellyn for some mysterious purpose within its walls. +The long low white edifice lying close under the fells which +rise abruptly behind it, with the black waters of the lake in +front, has something very gloomy and weird-like about its +aspect, which does not ill accord with those superstitious +ideas with which it is sometimes associated. As Miss +Martineau has said, "there is really something remarkable, +and like witchery, about the house. On a bright moonlight +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>night, the spectator who looks towards it from a distance of +two or three miles, sees the light reflected from its windows +into the lake; and when a slight fog gives a reddish hue to the +light, the whole might easily be taken for an illumination of a +great mansion. And this mansion seems to vanish as you approach,—being +no mansion, but a small house lying in a nook, +and overshadowed by a hill."</p> + +<p>The City of Wytheburn is the name given to a few houses, +some of them graced by native trees, and others by grotesquely +cut yew trees, distant about half a mile from the head of +Thirlmere.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>BRITTA IN THE TEMPLE OF DRUIDS.<br /> +(THE LAST HUMAN SACRIFICE.)</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +Blencathra from his loftiest peak<br /> +Had often heard the victims' shriek,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">When lapp'd by wreathing fire,</span><br /> +Their limbs in wicker bondage caged,<br /> +Dying, the draught and plague assuaged,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And calmed the Immortals' ire.</span><br /> +<br /> +There came a Rumour,<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> strayed from far.<br /> +Helvellyn's bale-fire paled its star:<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Hoarse Glenderaterra moaned.</span><br /> +The dark destroying angel fled:<br /> +And from Blencathra's topmost head<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Old demons shrunk dethroned.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span><br /> +He saw beneath his rugged brow<br /> +The temple on the plain below,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">By sacred Druids trod:</span><br /> +Mountains on mountains piled around;<br /> +Forests of oak with acorns crowned:<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And distant, man's abode.</span><br /> +<br /> +Where men had hewn by stream and dell<br /> +An opening in the woods to dwell,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">The pestilence by night</span><br /> +Had fallen amidst their little throng;<br /> +Had changed, and stricken down the strong;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And put the weak to flight.</span><br /> +<br /> +Who may the angry god appease?—<br /> +The oracle that all things sees,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And knows all laws divine,</span><br /> +Spake from the awful forest bower—<br /> +"A maiden in her virgin flower<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Must her young life resign."—</span><br /> +<br /> +Fallen is the lot on thee, so late<br /> +Betrothed to love, and now to fate.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Sweet Britta!—Forth she fares,</span><br /> +Led by the Druids to her doom,<br /> +Within that circle's ample room,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">For which the rite prepares.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span><br /> +Fire cleanses: she must cleanse by fire.<br /> +With oaken garland, white attire,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Bearing the mistletoe,</span><br /> +Beside the wicker hut her feet<br /> +Pause—till her eyes her lover greet,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And cheer him as they go.</span><br /> +<br /> +These two had heard of what had been<br /> +In Judah—of the Nazarene—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And talked of new things born</span><br /> +To them, that in their fathers' place<br /> +They might not speak of to their race,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">But thought on eve and morn.</span><br /> +<br /> +Now when the sound is given to pile<br /> +The branches each one—friends-erewhile,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Strangers, yea sisters, sire,</span><br /> +And brethren—all from far and near,—<br /> +Must furnish for the victim's bier;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">His they in vain require.</span><br /> +<br /> +No might of Druid, lord, or king,<br /> +Could move that hand one leaf to bring—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">No, though they throng to slay.</span><br /> +Calmly beyond the crowd he stood,<br /> +Holding on high two staves of wood<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Cross'd—till she turned away.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span><br /> +Then hoary Chief, Arch Druid, came<br /> +Thy hands to minister the flame,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Wrought from the quick-rubb'd pine.</span><br /> +It touch'd: it leapt: the branches blazed!<br /> +When to the hills they looked amazed,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And owned the wrath divine.</span><br /> +<br /> +Bellowed the mountains, and cast forth<br /> +Their waters, east, south, west, and north.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Rivers and mighty streams</span><br /> +Down from their raging sides out-poured<br /> +Their cataracts, and in thunders roared<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Along earth's opening seams.</span><br /> +<br /> +They rolled o'er all the temple's bound,<br /> +Quenching the angry fire around<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">The hut unscathed by flame:</span><br /> +Then backward to their source retired.<br /> +While like a seraph's form inspired<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">The white-robed maiden came.</span><br /> +<br /> +Upon her fair head garlanded<br /> +No brightest leaflet withered—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">No berry from her hand</span><br /> +Dropt, of the branching mistletoe—<br /> +With crossing palms and paces slow<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">She mov'd across the land.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span><br /> +Then loud the hoary Druid cried,<br /> +"The god we serve is satisfied!<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">His are the unbidden powers.</span><br /> +A human sacrifice no more<br /> +He needs, our dwellings to restore,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And devastated bowers.</span><br /> +<br /> +For thee, a maiden fair and pure,<br /> +Thou hast a treasure made secure<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">In heaven: depart in peace.</span><br /> +Earth's voices witness of a faith<br /> +In thee serene and sure, that saith<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Here we too soon must cease."</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span></p> + +<h3>NOTES TO "BRITTA IN THE TEMPLE OF THE +DRUIDS."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>Traces of the Celts are clearly distinguishable in the names +of some of the more prominent mountains within a few miles +of Keswick, Skiddaw, Blencathra, Glaramara, Cat-Bells, Helvellyn. +The first is derived from the name of the solar god, +Ska-da, one of the appellations of the chief deity of Celtic +Britain, to whom Skiddaw was consecrated. The second has +been supposed to be a corruption of blen-y-cathern, the "peak +of witches"; the fourth to signify "the groves of Baal"; and +the last El-Velin, "the hill of Baal or Veli." The worship +of the Assyrian deity was celebrated amongst the Celtic inhabitants +of our island with the greatest importance and +solemnity. The stone circles are still remaining in many +places where the bloody sacrifices to his honour were performed: +and one of the most important of these is near Keswick. +In the immediate vicinity is also a gloomy valley, +Glenderaterra, the name of which is sufficiently indicative of +the purpose for which, like Tophet of old, it was ordained; +Glyn-dera taran signifying in Celtic, "the valley of the angel +or demon of execution."</p> + +<p>It is a curious fact that till the last few years, a trace also of +the ancient worship still lingered around two temples in this +county, where it was once habitually performed. Both at +Keswick, and at Cumwhitton where there is a similar druidical +circle, the festival of the Beltein, or the fire of Baal, was till +very recently celebrated on the first of May. As the Jews had +by their "prophets of the groves," made their children "pass +through the fire to Baal"; so the Britons, taught by their +Druids, were accustomed once a year to drive their flocks and +herds through the fire, to preserve them from evil during the +remainder of the year. Indeed the custom still prevails. If +the cows are distempered, it is actually a practice in many of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>the dales to light "the Need-fire"; notice being given +throughout the neighbouring valleys, that the charm may be +sent for if wanted. "Need-fire" is said to mean cattle-fire, +and to be derived from the Danish <i>nod</i>, whence also is the +northern word nolt or nowte. The Need-fire is produced by +rubbing two slicks together. A great pile of combustible +stuff is prepared, to give as much smoke as possible. When +lighted, the neighbours snatch some of the fire, hurry +home with it, and light their respective piles; and the +cattle, diseased and sound, are then driven through the +flame. Mr. Gibson says, that in 1841, when the cattle-murrain +prevailed in Cumberland, he had many opportunities +of witnessing the application of this charm to animals +both diseased and sound. And he tells us, that to ensure +its efficacy it was necessary to observe certain conditions. +The fire had to be produced at first by friction, the domestic +fires in the neighbourhood being all previously extinguished; +then it had to be brought spontaneously to each farm by some +neighbour unsolicited: and neither the fire so brought, nor +any part of the fuel used, must ever have been under a roof. +These conditions being observed, a great fire was made, and +the cattle driven to and fro in the smoke. One honest +farmer who had an ailing wife and delicate children passed +<i>them</i> through this ordeal, as was averred with most beneficial +effect. Another inadvertently carried the fire just brought to +him into his house to save it from extinction by a sudden +shower: and it was declared that in his case the need-fire +would be inoperative. "It is interesting," says Mr. Ferguson, +"to see how men cling to the performance of ancient religious +rites, when the significance of the ceremony has long been +forgotten; and what a hold must that worship have held +over the minds of men, which Thor and Odin have not +supplanted, nor the Christianity of a thousand years."</p> + +<p>The tribe of ancient Britons who occupied Cumberland previous +to the Roman conquest, the Brigantes, who were as +wild and uncultivated as their native hills, subsisting principally +by hunting and the spontaneous fruits of the earth; +wearing for their clothing the skins of animals, and dwelling +in habitations formed by the pillars of the forest rooted in the +earth, and enclosed by interwoven branches, or in caves; have +left one undoubted specimen of their race behind them. In +the parish of Scaleby, in Cumberland, the land on the north +end is barren, and large quantities of peat are cut and sent to +Carlisle and other places for sale. At the depth of nine feet +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>in this peat moss, has been found the skeleton of an ancient +Briton, enclosed in the skin of some wild animal, and carefully +bound up with thongs of tanned leather. It is conjectured +that the body must have lain in the moss since the invasion of +Julius Cæsar, and from the position in which the skeleton was +found, grasping a stick about three feet long and twelve inches +in circumference, it is supposed he must have perished accidentally +on the spot. The remains were not long ago in the +possession of the rector and Dr. Graham of Netherhouse.</p> + +<p>In this part of the island the Britons were not in the worst +state of mental darkness; these were not ignorant of a Deity, +and they were not idolators. Their druids and bards possessed +all the learning of the age. And it is believed that some of +the Chief Druids had their station in Cumberland, where many +of their monuments still remain, and of these one of the most +noble and extensive of any in the island is the circle near Keswick. +It stands on an eminence, about a mile and a half on +the old road to Penrith, in a field on the right hand. The +spot is the most commanding which could be chosen in that +part of the country, without climbing a mountain. Derwentwater +and the vale of Keswick are not seen from it, only the +mountains that enclose them on the south and west. Latrigg +and the huge side of Skiddaw are on the north: to the east is +the open country towards Penrith, with Mell fell in the distance, +where it rises alone like a huge tumulus on the right, +and Blencathra on the left, rent into deep ravines. On the +south east is the range of Helvellyn, from its termination at +Wanthwaite Craggs to its loftiest summits, and to Dunmail +Raise. The lower range of Nathdale Fells lies nearer in a +line parallel with Helvellyn. The heights above Leathes +Water, with the Borrowdale mountains complete the panorama.</p> + +<p>This circle is formed of stones of various forms, natural and +unhewn, of a species of granite; of a kind, according to +Clarke, not to be found within many miles of this place. The +largest is nearly eight feet high, and fifteen feet in circumference; +most of them are still erect, but some are fallen. +They are set in a form not exactly circular; the diameter +being thirty paces from east to west, and thirty-two from north +to south. At the eastern end a small enclosure is formed +within the circle by ten stones, making an oblong square in +conjunction with the stones on that side of the circle, seven +paces in length, and three in width within. At the opposite +side a single square stone is placed at the distance of three +paces from the circle.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span></p> +<p>Concerning this, like all similar monuments in great Britain, +the popular superstition prevails, that no two persons can number +the stones alike, and that no person will ever find a second +count confirm the first. This notion is curiously illustrated by +the various writers who have described it. According to +Gough, Stukely states the number to be forty; Gray says they +are fifty; Hutchinson makes them fifty; Clarke made them +out to be fifty-two; others, more correctly, forty-eight. +Southey says, the number of stones which compose the circle +is thirty-eight, and besides these there are ten which form +three sides of a little square within, on the eastern side, three +stones of the circle itself forming the fourth; this being evidently +the place where the Druids who presided had their +station; or where the more sacred and important part of the +rites and ceremonies (whatever they may have been) were performed.</p> + +<p>The singularity noticed in this monument, and what distinguishes +it from all other druidical remains of this nature, +is the recess on the eastern side of the area. Mr. Pennant +supposes it to have been allotted for the Druids, the priests of +the place, as a peculiar sanctuary, a sort of holy of holies, +where they met, separated from the vulgar, to perform their +rites, their divinations, or to sit in council to determine on +controversies, to compromise all differences about limits of +land, or about inheritances, or for the trial of greater criminals. +The cause that this recess was on the east side, seems to arise +from the respect paid by the ancient Britons to Baal or the +Sun; not originally an idolatrous respect, but merely as a +symbol of the Creator.</p> + +<p>The rude workmanship, or rather arrangement, of these +structures, for it cannot be called architecture, indicates the +great barbarity of the times of the Druids; and furnishes +strong proof of the savage nature of these heathen priests. +Within this magical circle we may conceive any incantations +to have been performed, and any rites of superstition to have +been celebrated; their human executions, their imposing sacrifices; +and their inhuman method of offering up their victims, +by enclosing them in a gigantic figure of Hercules (the emblem +of human virtue) made of wicker work, and burning them +alive in sacrifice to the divine attribute of Justice.</p> + +<p>This impressive monument of former times (the Keswick +circle) is carefully preserved: the soil within the enclosure is +not broken; a path from the road is left, and a stepping style +has been placed, to accommodate visitors with an easy access +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>to it. The old legend about the last human sacrifice of the +Druids belongs to this monument. Gilpin says, "a romantic +place seldom wants a romantic story to adorn it." And here +certainly, amidst unmistakeable evidences of the worship of +Baal: within sight of the vale (St. John's) which reveals the +isolated rock, once the enchanted fortress of the powerful Merlin: +within sound of the Greta, "the mourner," "the loud +lamenter," in whose torrents are heard voices complaining +among the stones: within range of Souter Fell with its +shadowy armies and spectres marching in military array, why +and whence and whither we know not; here, if anywhere, the +very realm of mystery and superstition is made manifest to us, +with almost awful significance; overlying the fairest scenes of +nature, and investing them with all the charms of a region of +romance.</p> + +<p>The neighbourhood of this temple, too, is not without a +certain notoriety on account of the violent floods with which it +has been visited even in modern times. Hutchinson speaks of +a remarkable one caused by impetuous rains, which happened +on the twenty-second of August, 1749, in the vale of St. +John's. "The clouds discharged their torrents like a waterspout; +the streams from the mountains uniting, at length +became so powerful a body, as to rend up the soil, gravel, and +stones to a prodigious depth, and bear with them mighty fragments +of rocks; several cottages were swept away from the +declivities where they had stood in safety for a century; the +vale was deluged, and many of the inhabitants with their cattle +were lost. A singular providence protected many lives, a +little school, where all the youths of the neighbourhood were +educated, at the instant crowded with its flock, stood in the +very line of one of these torrents, but the hand of God, in a +miraculous manner, stayed a rolling rock, in the midst of its +dreadful course, which would have crushed the whole tenement +with its innocents; and by its stand, the floods divided, and +passed on this hand and on that, insulating the school-house, +and leaving the pupils with their master, trembling at once for +the dangers escaped and as spectators of the horrid havock in +the valley, and the tremendous floods which encompassed +them on every side." He received this account from one of +the people then at school: and also gives the following description +of that inundation, which he had met with. "It +began with most terrible thunder and incessant lightning, the +preceding day having been extremely hot and sultry; the inhabitants +for two hours before the breaking of the cloud, heard +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>a strange noise, like the wind blowing in the tops of high trees. +It is thought to have been a spout or a large body of water, by +which the lightning incessantly rarifying the air, broke at once +on the tops of the mountains, and descended upon the valley +below, which is about three miles long, half a mile broad, and +lies nearly east and west, being closed on the south and +north sides with prodigious high, steep, and rocky mountains. +Legbert Fells on the north side, received almost the whole +cataract, for the spout did not extend above a mile in length; +it chiefly swelled four small brooks, but to so amazing a degree, +that the largest of them, called Catchertz Ghyll, swept +away a mill and other edifices in five minutes, leaving the +place where they stood covered with fragments of rocks and +rubbish three or four yards deep, insomuch that one of the +mill stones could not be found. During the violence of the +storm, the fragments of rock which rolled down the mountain, +choked up the old course of this brook; but the water forcing +its way through a shivery rock, formed a chasm four yards +wide and about eight or nine deep. The brooks lodged such +quantities of gravel and sand on the meadows, that they were +irrecoverably lost. Many large pieces of rocks were carried a +considerable way into the fields; some larger than a team of +ten horses could move, and one of them measuring nineteen +yards about." Clarke says, "Many falsehoods are related of +this inundation: for instance, the insulation of the school-house +with its assembled master and scholars, which, though commonly +told and believed, is not supported by any tradition of +the kind preserved in the neighbourhood." No doubt, the +circumstances are exaggerated: but even his own narrative +shows it to have been one of the most dreadful and destructive +inundations ever remembered in this country. He relates that +"all the evening of that 22nd day of August, horrid, tumultuous +noises were heard in the air; sometimes a puff of wind +would blow with great violence, then in a moment all was +calm again. The inhabitants, used to bosom-winds, whirlwinds, +and the howling of distant tempests among the rocks, +went to bed as usual, and from the fatigues of the day were in +a sound sleep when the inundation awoke them. About one +in the morning the rain began to fall, and before four such a +quantity fell as covered the whole face of the country below +with a sheet of water many feet deep; several houses were +filled with sand to the first story, many more driven down; +and among the rest Legberthwaite mill, of which not one stone +was left upon another; even the heavy millstones were washed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>away; one was found at a considerable distance, but the other +was never discovered. Several persons were obliged to climb +to the tops of the houses, to escape instantaneous death; and +there many were obliged to remain, in a situation of the most +dreadful suspense, till the waters abated. Mr. Mounsey of +Wallthwaite says, that when he came down stairs in the morning, +the first sight he saw was a gander belonging to one of +his neighbours, and several planks and kitchen utensils, which +were floating about his lower apartments, the violence of the +waters having forced open the doors on both sides of the house. +The most dreadful vestiges of this inundation, or waterspout, +are at a place called Lob-Wath, a little above Wallthwaite; +here thousands of prodigious stones are piled upon each other, +to the height of eleven yards; many of these stones are upwards +of twenty tons weight each, and are thrown together in +such a manner as to be at once the object of curiosity and +horror.</p> + +<p>"The quantity of water which had fallen here is truly astonishing; +more particularly considering the small space it +had to collect in. The distance from Lob-Wath to Wolf-Crag, +is not more than a mile and a half, and there could none collect +much above Wolf-Crag; nor did the rain extend more +than eight miles in any direction. At Melfell only three miles +distant, the farmers were leading corn all night (as is customary +when they fear ill weather,) and no rain fell there; yet such +was the fury of the descending torrent, that the fields at Fornside +exhibited nothing but devastation. Here a large tree +broken in two, there one torn up by the root, and the ground +everywhere covered with sand and stones." The rivulet called +Mosedale Beck, which has its source between the mountains +Dodd and Wolf-Crag, was by its sudden and continuous overflow +the chief contributory of the inundation.</p></blockquote> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Birth of Christ.</p></div></div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE LADY OF WORKINGTON HALL.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +In her neat country kirtle and kerchief array'd,<br /> +A wild little maiden tripp'd through the green shade;<br /> +With her pitcher, just filled from the rill, at her side,<br /> +And a song on her lip of the Solway's rude tide;<br /> +When a rider came by, gallant, youthful, and gay—<br /> +"Pretty Maid, let me drink! and good luck to your lay!"<br /> +<br /> +As he glanced o'er the brim, arch and sweet was her smile;<br /> +Then "Adieu!" passing on, he sang gaily the while—<br /> +"Who knows what may happen, or what may befall?<br /> +I may be——" something she could not recall:<br /> +For the tramp of his steed mingled in with the tone,<br /> +And the burden ceased, broken—the singer was gone.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span><br /> +There are words, notes, and whisperings, broken and few,<br /> +That from depths in the soul will oft start up anew,<br /> +Like a dream voice, unconsciously, early or late,<br /> +Mid all changes of circumstance, fortune, and fate,<br /> +Unappealed to, unsought for, unreck'd of, and brought<br /> +From afar to the tongue without effort or thought.<br /> +<br /> +And 'twas thus the few notes which she caught of that strain<br /> +Often stirr'd on the lips of the Maiden again.<br /> +When a child at the school or a maid at the Hall—<br /> +"Who knows what may happen, or what may befall?<br /> +I may be—" lilted she low, as she sate<br /> +At her finger-work meekly, or stroll'd by the gate.<br /> +<br /> +So it chanced as she robed on one morning her bloom<br /> +With a mantle of state, in her lost Lady's room;<br /> +While the mirror gave back to her sight all her charms;<br /> +Came that strain to her lip as she folded her arms—<br /> +"Who knows what may happen, or what may befall?<br /> +I may be—Lady of Workington Hall!"<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span><br /> +Thus the wild-hearted Maid ended gaily the song.<br /> +Like a flash from the mirror it glanced from her tongue,<br /> +Void of meaning or thought of the future; but lo!<br /> +There's a witness beside her the glass does not show.<br /> +From a distance unseen are displayed to the eyes<br /> +Of her Lord all her pranks in that courtly disguise.<br /> +<br /> +He charged the proud Butler, that evening to call<br /> +To high feast all the maidens and grooms of the Hall;<br /> +To send round the bowl, and when mirth flowing high<br /> +Brought the heart to the lip, the bright soul to the eye,<br /> +At the sound of his footstep to crown their good cheer<br /> +With a round to the toast he has breathed in his ear.<br /> +<br /> +Bold and stern, on that evening arose mid the crowd<br /> +The bold Butler, and called for a bumper aloud:<br /> +Look'd around on the bevy of maidens and men:<br /> +Glanced his eye past the Beauty, and spoke out again—<br /> +"Who knows what may happen, or what may befall?<br /> +Let us drink to the Lady of Workington Hall."<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span><br /> +How they stared at each other, how glanced at their Lord,<br /> +As he entered that moment and stood by the board,<br /> +How they trembled to witness his eye's flashing ray,<br /> +Was a sight to be seen that no art can portray.<br /> +But the one conscious Maid who could read it alone,<br /> +With a shriek, like a vanishing spirit was gone.<br /> +<br /> +But in vain! What the fates have determined will come!<br /> +And in time, tired of clangour of trumpet, and drum,<br /> +Came the Heir to the Hall of his ancestry old;<br /> +Met the Maid of the pitcher once more as he stroll'd;<br /> +Woo'd and won her, in spite of whate'er might befall;<br /> +And made her the Lady of Workington Hall.<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "THE LADY OF WORKINGTON +HALL."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The ancient family of the Curwens of Workington can trace +their descent to Ivo de Tailbois and Elgiva daughter of +Ethelred, King of England. Ivo came to England with the +Conqueror, was the first lord of the barony of Kendal, and +brother of Fulk, Earl of Anjou and King of Jerusalem. +Ketel, the grandson of Ivo, had two sons;—Gilbert, the +father of William de Lancaster, from whom descended, in a +direct line, the barons of Kendal; and Orme, from whom +descended the Curwens. These took their surname by +agreement from Culwen, a family of Galloway, whose heir +they married. It is said, that Culwen, which is on the seacoast +of Galloway, had its name from a neighbouring rock, +which was thought to resemble a white monk; that being the +meaning of the word in the Irish language. It is also said, +that the family name was changed to Curwen, by a corruption, +which first appeared in the public records in the reign of +King Henry VI. Orme having espoused Gunilda, sister of +Waldieve, first lord of Allerdale, received in marriage with +her the manor of Seaton below Derwent, and took up his +abode there. Their son, Gospatrick, received the manors of +Workington and Lamplugh from William de Lancaster in +exchange for Middleton, in Westmorland. He was succeeded +by his son Thomas, who became lord of Culwen in +Galloway, and died in 1152, and was buried in the Abbey of +Shap, to which he had been a benefactor; his estates descending +to his second son, Patric de Culwen, who removed +his residence from Seaton to Workington, where his descendants +have since remained.</p> + +<p>Sir Thomas Curwen, the seventh in descent from Patric, +died in the thirty fourth year of Henry VIII. In reference to +this member of the family, Sandford in his M.S. History of +Cumberland relates an instance of the pleasant manner in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>which conventual property at the dissolution was dealt with, +and disposed of, among that monarch's favourites and friends. +It is thus given:—"Sir Tho. Curwen Knight in Henry +the Eight's time, an excellent archer at twelve score merks: +And went up with his men to shoote with that reknowned +King at the dissolution of abbeis: And the King says to him, +Curwen, why doth thee begg none of thes Abbeis: I wold +gratifie the some way: Quoth the other, thank yow, and afterward +said he wold desire of him the Abbie of ffurness (nye unto +him) for 20 ty one years: Sayes the King, take it for ever: +Quoth the other, its long enough, for youle set them up +againe in that time: But they not likely to be set up againe, +this Sir Tho. Curwen sent Mr. Preston who had married his +daughter to renew the lease for him; and he even renneued +in his owne name; which when his father in law questioned, +quoth Mr. Preston, yow shall have it as long as yow live: +and I thinke I may as well have it with your daughter as +another."<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> + +<p>There is probably some truth in the anecdote, related +by Sandford. For it is said by West, that not long after +the dissolution of Monasteries, Thomas Preston, of Preston-Patrick +and Levens, purchased the site and immediate +grounds of Furness Abbey from the trustees of the crown, +with other considerable estates to the value of £3000 a year: +after which he removed from Preston-Patrick, and resided at +the Abbey, in a manor house built on the spot where the Abbot's +apartments stood. Of his two sons, John the elder married +the daughter of Curwen. His descendants were called +Prestons of the Abbey, and of the Manor; and continued for +four generations, when the two great grandsons of the +purchaser died without issue. The family of Christopher, +his second son, were known as the Prestons of Holker. Of +these, Catharine, the fifth in the direct line from Christopher, +was the mother of Sir Thomas Lowther, Baronet, of Yorkshire, +to whom on the failure of the elder branch, the property +of the Prestons in Furness was granted by George the First. +This gentleman, by his marriage with the Lady Elizabeth +Cavendish, daughter of the Duke of Devonshire, had an only +son and heir, Sir William Lowther, Baronet, the last descendant +of the Prestons of Preston-Patrick, who died unmarried +in 1756, bequeathing all his estates in Furness and Cartmel to +his cousin Lord George Augustus Cavendish, through whom +they passed by inheritance to the present Duke of Devonshire.</p></blockquote> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span></p> +<blockquote> + +<p>In a report to the government of Queen Elizabeth, of the +date of 1588, inserted among the Burghley Papers, the son +and heir of this sharp-handed son-in-law of Curwen is mentioned +in somewhat detractory terms, in a passage which describes +"the Pylle of Folder," or Pile of Fouldrey. "The same +Pylle is an old decayed castell of 'the dowchie of Lancaster, +in Furness Felles, where one Thomas Preestone (a Papyshe +Atheiste) is depute steward, and comaunders the menrede +and lands ther, which were sometime members appertayninge +to the Abbeye of Furnes.'"</p> + +<p>Workington Hall, the seat of the Curwens, is a large +quadrangular building, with battlemented parapets, situated +on a woody acclivity over looking the river Derwent, at the east +end of the town. It has been almost entirely rebuilt within +the present century. The old mansion was castellated pursuant +to the royal license granted by Richard II., in 1379, to +Sir Gilbert de Culwen. It is remarkable for having been the +first prison-house of the unfortunate Mary of Scotland, after +she had landed within the dominions of her rival. Having +left the Scottish shore in a small fishing boat, she landed with +about twenty attendants near the Hall on Sunday, May 16th, +1568; and was received by Sir Henry Curwen as became her +rank and misfortunes, and hospitably entertained by him, till +she removed to Cockermouth, on her route to Carlisle. The +apartment in which the Queen had slept was long preserved, +out of respect to her memory, as she had left it. But some +recent alterations of the mansion having become necessary, it +was found that these could not be effected without the destruction +of that portion which had been so long distinguished +as the Queen's Chamber.</p> + +<p>Mr. Denton, who wrote about the year 1676, says, "I do +not know any seat in all Britain so commodiously situated for +beauty, plenty, and pleasure as this is." And Mr. Sandford, +who wrote about the same time, has the following rapturous +description, "And a very fair mansion-house and pallace-like; +a court of above 60 yards long and 40 yards broad, built +round about; garretted turret-wise, and toors in the corner; +a gate house, and most wainscot and gallery roomes; and +the brave prospect of seas and ships almost to the house, +the tides flowing up. Brave orchards, gardens, dovecoats, +and woods and grounds in the bank about, and brave corn +fields and meadows below, as like as Chelsay fields. And now +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>the habitation of a brave young Sq. his father Monsir Edward +Curwen, and his mother the grandchild of Sir Michael +Wharton o' th' Wolds in Yorkshire."</p> + +<p>Even Mr. Gilpin, a century later, was struck with "its +hanging woods and sloping lawns," and speaks of its situation +as "one of the grandest and most beautiful in the country."</p> + +<p>The anecdote upon which the poem is founded was related +by a person who about fifty years ago was much acquainted +with what was current in some of the principal families in the +West of Cumberland. She stated that it was commonly +repeated among the servants of the different houses, and was +quite credited by them: and that she herself had not any +doubt as to the truth of the story, but could not give the +period to which the circumstances refer.</p> + +<p>One of the domestics of the Hall was said to have been +surprised by her master in the manner described, and to have +been overheard by him, uttering the words,—</p> + +<div class="poem"> +"Who knows what may happen, or what may befall?<br /> +I may be Lady of Workington Hall!"<br /> +</div> + +<p>The butler was instructed to repeat the words publicly in the +presence of the Maid, who fled from the mansion, overwhelmed +with confusion. She subsequently formed a matrimonial +alliance with a principal member of the family; and +thus in a manner her prediction was verified.</p> + +<p>Such was the story, and such the narrator. It may be +added, that the published notices of the family are devoid of +anything to give confirmation to the story; but as it was +related in the neighbourhood in the spirit alluded to, a place +has been given to it among the traditions of Cumberland.</p></blockquote> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> "John Preston of the Manor in Furness, Esquire, married Margaret +daughter of Sir Thos. Curwen, of Workington, and had issue, tempore +Henry VIII."</p></div></div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE ALTAR ON CROSS-FELL.<br /> +(FORMERLY FIENDS'-FELL.)</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +Come listen and hear of the Fiends'-Fell dread;<br /> +And the helm of storm that shrouds its head,<br /> +When the imps and cubs of Evil that tread<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Its summit, their strifes are waging:</span><br /> +Who made their haunt on its topmost height,<br /> +And down the valleys came often by night,<br /> +To affright the Shepherds, the herds to blight,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And set the strong winds raging.</span><br /> +<br /> +Ah, dwellers in peaceful vales afar!<br /> +The cloudy Helm and the dismal Bar—<br /> +You know whose work on the Fell they are;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And you know whose wort they are brewing.</span><br /> +And you wish that the saintly Augustine<br /> +A warier man on his errand had been,<br /> +When the lizard crept into his chalice unseen,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The power of his spells undoing.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span><br /> +For he came, by good men sought, they say,<br /> +To the Fiends'-Fell foot, a weary way,<br /> +To chase the fiends from the cloud that lay<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">On its summit, as if to hide it.</span><br /> +At an hour unmarked, by paths unknown,<br /> +He climbed up the mountain side alone,<br /> +And built on the top an altar of stone,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And reared the cross beside it.</span><br /> +<br /> +And there within that mighty cloud,<br /> +Where wrathful spirits were raging loud,<br /> +The old good man, with mind unbow'd,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">But body so oft-times bending,</span><br /> +Moved to and fro on the haunted top,<br /> +And gathered the stones from off the slope,<br /> +Nor bated a jot of heart or hope<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">While the Altar pile was ascending.</span><br /> +<br /> +Then while the sun made bright below<br /> +And warmed the vales with its cheerful glow,<br /> +The mighty cloud began to blow,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And deafening cries flew round him.</span><br /> +But still the altar on high begun<br /> +With heart and will, from his labours done<br /> +The crowning recompence now has won<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">For him, to that end who bound him.</span><br /> +<br /> +There stands the Altar the saint before.<br /> +The long laborious task is o'er.<br /> +The Cross which once the victim bore,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">It too spreads wide its arms.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>The Chalice is there with the juice divine;<br /> +The wafer that bares the sacred sign;<br /> +And the tapers beside the Cross to shine;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">To work out the counter-charms.</span><br /> +<br /> +All ready beside the holy man<br /> +Stood—when for a moment his eyes began<br /> +To droop, and a feeling of slumber ran<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Through his veins oppress'd and weary.</span><br /> +For toil an old man's limbs will shake:<br /> +And toil an old man's frame will break:<br /> +But, that instant past, he stands awake<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Within that cloud so dreary.</span><br /> +<br /> +It was enough: No counter-charm<br /> +Might work that day the fiend-cubs harm.<br /> +The Chalice he offers with outstretched arm<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Has a reptile form within it!</span><br /> +And neither the saint nor the wine has power<br /> +To banish one fiend from the Fell, that hour:<br /> +For a lizard the edge of the chalice crept o'er,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">While he slept but that tithe of a minute.</span><br /> +<br /> +Then blew the fiends, as if they would blow<br /> +The mountain itself to the plain below.<br /> +And when the saint turned round to go,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Down tumbled the Altar behind him:</span><br /> +And boiled and seethed the Helm and Bar,<br /> +And the winds rushed down on the valleys afar;<br /> +While the Saint emerged, like a shining star,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">From the cloud where they could not bind him.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span><br /> +And he went his way; and the fiends prevailed.<br /> +And still is the mountain by fiends assailed.<br /> +And the dismal Helm from afar is hailed<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As a tempest surely growing.</span><br /> +The herdsman shudders, and hies away<br /> +To his hut on the hills at close of day,<br /> +For he knows whose cubs are abroad at play<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And setting the Helm wind blowing.</span><br /> +<br /> +His children mourn at the dolorous roar,<br /> +And rush to his arms from hearth and floor.<br /> +But the good man thinks of his stacks and store,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">His fields and his farmstead wasting.</span><br /> +The housewife prays that the rain may fall:<br /> +But the stars are shining high over all:<br /> +And the Bar extends like a pitchy wall<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">In the West, where the storm is hasting.</span><br /> +<br /> +The long loud roar, it deepens amain;<br /> +And down from the Helm along valley and plain<br /> +Goes the wind with invisible hosts in its train,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And they mount the black Bar-cloud appalling;</span><br /> +And they heave it and row it, those mariners dread,<br /> +For days, till it anchors on Fiends'-Fell head:<br /> +Then the big drops pour from the skies o'er spread,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And the torrents to torrents are calling.</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "THE ALTAR ON CROSS-FELL."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The Editor of Camden (Bishop Gibson), speaking of huge +stones found together on the top of steep and high mountains, +thought they might possibly be the ruins of Churches +or Chapels which had been built there. "For," says +he, "it was thought an extraordinary piece of devotion, upon +the planting of Christianity in these parts, to erect crosses, +and build chapels on the most eminent places, as being both +nearer heaven and more conspicuous: they were commonly +dedicated to St. Michael. That large tract of mountains on +the east side of the county (of Cumberland), called Cross-Fells, +had the name given them upon that account; for before, +they were called Fiends'-Fell, or Devil's Fell; and Dilston, a +small town under them, is contracted from Devil's-town."</p> + +<p>Among the several monuments on the pavement in the +cross-aisle in Hexham Cathedral, is one ornamented with a +crosier, and inscribed, "Hic Jacet Thomas de Devilston."</p> + +<p>The mountain, Cross-Fell, which is remarkable for the +phenomenon of the Helm-Cloud upon its summit, and the +Helm-wind, as it is called, generated within it, which is +sometimes productive of such destructive effects in the valleys +below, is said to have been formerly designated Fiends'-Fell, +from the common belief that evil spirits had their haunt upon +it; until St. Augustine, to whom and his forty followers, +when travelling on their missionary labours in these parts, a +legendary tradition ascribes the expulsion of the demons of +the storms, erected a <i>Cross</i>, and built an altar on the summit, +where he offered the holy eucharist, and thus was supposed to +have counter-charmed the demons. Since that time it has +borne the name of Cross-Fell; and the people of the neighbourhood +style a heap of stones lying there, the Altar upon +Cross-Fell.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p> +<p>The common saying, "Its brewing a storm," or "A storm +is brewing," is one of the many phrases in which we only repeat +the thought of our primeval Scandinavian ancestors; +amongst whom the beverage quaffed in the halls of Valhalla, +the drink of the Gods, was conceived to be a product of the +storm, and had more or less identity with the Cloud-Water. +In Germany, the mists that gather about the mountain tops +before a storm are said to be accounted for in like manner, as +if they were steam from the brewing or boiling in which +dwarfs, elves, or witches were engaged. Such modes of expression, +according to the dictionary of the brothers Grimm, +are of extreme antiquity.</p> + +<p>Some such ideas seem to have been popularly associated +with that enormous cloud, which is often seen, like a helmet, +to cover the summit of Cross-Fell, and in which the Helm-Wind +is generated.</p> + +<p>In speaking of the Helm-Wind, it may be necessary to premise +that Cross-Fell is one continued ridge, stretching without +any branches, or even subject mountains, except two or three +conical hills called Pikes, from the N.N.W. to the S.S.E., +from the neighbourhood of Gilsland almost to Kirkby-Stephen, +that is about forty miles. Its direction is nearly in a right +line, and the height of its different parts not very unequal; +but is in general such, that some of its more eminent parts are +exceeded in altitude by few hills in Britain, being 2901 feet +above the level of the sea. The slope to the summit from the +east is gradual, and extends over perhaps fifty miles of country; +whilst on the west it is abrupt, and has at five miles from its +base the river Eden running parallel to the mountain.</p> + +<p>Upon the upper part of this lofty ridge, there often rests, in +dry and sunny weather, a prodigious wreath of clouds, extending +from three or four to sixteen or eighteen miles each way, +north and south, from the highest point; it is at times above +the mountain, sometimes it rests upon its top, but most frequently +descends a considerable way down its side. This +mighty collection of vapour, from which so much commotion +issues, exhibits an appearance uncommonly grand and solemn; +and is named from a Saxon word, which in our language implies +a covering, the Helm. The western front of this +enormous cloud is clearly defined, and quite separated from +any other cloud on that side. Opposite to this, and at a variable +distance towards the west, and at the same elevation, is +another cloud with its eastern edge as clearly defined as the +Helm; this is called the Bar or Bur. It is said to have the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>appearance of being in continual motion, as if boiling, or at +least agitated by a violent wind.</p> + +<p>The distance between the Helm and the Bar varies as the +Bar advances towards, or recedes from, the Helm; this is sometimes +not more than half a mile, sometimes three or four miles, +and occasionally the Bar seems to coincide with the western +horizon; or it disperses and there is no Bar, and then there is +a general east wind extending over all the country westward.</p> + +<p>The description of this remarkable phenomenon, the Helm-Wind, +we will give from observations made by the Rev. John +Watson, of Cumrew, and others. The places most subject to +it are Milburn, Kirkland, Ousby, Melmerby, and Gamblesby. +Sometimes when the atmosphere is quite settled, hardly a +cloud to be seen, and not a breath of wind stirring, a small +cloud appears on the summit of the mountain, and extends +itself to the north and south; the Helm is then said to be on, +and in a few minutes the wind is blowing so violently as to +break down trees, overthrow stacks, occasionally blow a person +from his horse, or overturn a horse and cart. When the +wind blows, the Helm seems violently agitated; and on +descending the fell and entering it, there is not much wind. +Sometimes a Helm forms and goes off without a wind; and +there are easterly winds without a Helm. The open space +between the Helm and Bar varies from eight or ten to thirty +or forty miles in length, and from half a mile to four or six +miles in breadth; it is of an elliptical form, as the Helm and +Bar are united at the ends. A representation of the Helm, +Bar, and space between, may be made by opening the forefinger +and thumb of each hand, and placing their tips to each +other; the thumbs will then represent the Helm on the top of +the fell, the forefingers the Bar, and the space between, the +variable limits of the wind.</p> + +<p>The open space is clear of clouds with the exception of +small pieces breaking off now and then from the Helm, and +either disappearing or being driven rapidly over the Bar; but +through this open space is often seen a high stratum of clouds +quite at rest. Within the space described the wind blows +continually; it has been known to do so for nine days together, +the Bar advancing or receding to different distances. +When heard or felt for the first time it does not seem so very +extraordinary; but when heard or felt for days together, it +gives a strong impression of sublimity. Its sound is peculiar, +and when once known is easily distinguished from that of +ordinary winds; it cannot be heard more than three or four +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>miles, but in the wind or near it, it is grand and awful, and +has been compared to the noise made by the sea in a violent +storm.</p> + +<p>Its first effect on the spirits is exhilarating, and it gives a +buoyancy to the body. The country subject to it is very +healthy, but it does great injury to vegetation by beating +grain, grass, and leaves of trees, till quite black.</p> + +<p>It may further be remarked of this wind, that it is very +irregular, rarely occurring in the summer months, and more +frequent from the end of September to May. It generally +blows from Cross-Fell longest in the spring, when the sun has +somewhat warmed the earth beneath, and does not cease till +it has effectually cooled it; thus it sometimes continues, +according to Mr. Ritson, for a fortnight or three weeks, which +he considers a peculiarity of the Helm wind of Cross-Fell. +The wind itself is very chill, and is almost always terminated +by a rain, which restores, or to which succeeds, a general +warmth, and into which the Helm seems to resolve itself.</p> + +<p>The best explanation of this very interesting and remarkable +phenomenon is given in the following observations of Dr. T. +Barnes of Carlisle.</p> + +<p>The air or wind from the east ascends the gradual slope of +the eastern side of the Penine chain or Cross-Fell range of +mountains, to the summit of Cross-Fell, where it enters the +Helm or cap, and is cooled to a low temperature; it then +rushes forcibly down the abrupt declivity of the western side of +the mountain into the valley beneath, in consequence of the +valley being of a warmer temperature, and this constitutes the +Helm wind.</p> + +<p>The sudden and violent rushing of the wind down the +ravines and crevices of the mountains occasions the loud noise +that is heard.</p> + +<p>At a varying distance from the base of the mountain the +Helm wind is rarified by the warmth of the low ground, and +meets with the wind from the west, which resists its further +course. The higher temperature it has acquired in the valley, +and the meeting of the contrary current, occasion it to rebound +and ascend into the upper region of the atmosphere. When +the air or wind has reached the height of the Helm, it is again +cooled to the low temperature of this cold region, and is consequently +unable to support the same quantity of vapour it +had in the valley; the water or moisture contained in the air, +is therefore condensed by the cold, and forms the cloud called +the Helm-Bar.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span></p> +<p>The meeting of the opposing currents beneath,—where there +are frequently strong gusts of wind from all quarters, and the +sudden condensation of the air and moisture in the Bar-cloud, +give rise to its agitation or commotion, as if "struggling with +contrary blasts." The Bar is therefore not the cause of the +limit of the Helm wind, but is the consequence of it. It is +absurd to suppose that the Bar, which is a light cloud, can +impede or resist the Helm wind; but if it even possessed a +sufficient resisting power, it could have no influence on the +wind which is blowing near the surface of the earth, and which +might pass under the Bar.</p> + +<p>The variable distance of the Bar from the Helm is owing to +the changing situation of the opposing and conflicting currents, +and the difference of temperature of different parts of the low +ground near the base of the mountain.</p> + +<p>When there is a break or opening in the Bar, the wind is +said to rush through with great violence, and to extend over +the country. Here again, the effect is mistaken for the +cause. In this case, the Helm-Wind, which blows always +from the east, has, in some places underneath the observed +opening, overcome the resistance of the air, or of the wind +from the west, and of course does not rebound and ascend into +the higher regions to form the Bar. The supply being cut +off, a break or opening in that part of the Bar necessarily +takes place.</p> + +<p>When the temperature of the lower region has fallen and +become nearly uniform with that of the mountain range, the +Helm wind ceases; the Bar and the Helm approach and join +each other, and rain not unfrequently follows.</p> + +<p>When the Helm-Wind has overcome all the resistance of +the lower atmosphere, or of the opposing current from the +west, and the temperature of the valley and of the mountain is +more nearly equalized, there is no rebound or ascent of the +wind, consequently the Bar ceases to be formed, the one +already existing is dissipated, and a general east wind +prevails.</p> + +<p>There is little wind in the Helm-cloud, because the air is +colder in it than in the valley, and the moisture which the +air contains is more condensed and is deposited in the cloud +upon the summit of the mountain.</p> + +<p>There is rarely either a Helm, Helm-wind, or Bar, during +the summer, on account of the higher temperature of the summit +of the Cross-Fell range, and the upper regions of the +atmosphere, at that season of the year.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span></p> +<p>The different situations of the Helm, on the side, on the +summit, and above the mountain, will depend on the +temperature of these places: when the summit is not cold +enough to condense the vapour, the Helm is situated higher +in a colder region, and will descend down the side of the +mountains if the temperature be sufficiently low to produce +that effect.</p> + +<p>The sky is clear between the Helm and Bar, because the +air below is warmer and can support a greater quantity of +vapour rising from the surface of the earth, and this vapour +is driven forward by the Helm-Wind, and ascends up in the +rebound to the Bar. In short, the Helm is merely a cloud or +cap upon the mountain, the cold air descends from the +Helm to the valley, and constitutes the Helm Wind, and +when warmed and rarified in the valley, ascends and forms +the Bar.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>WILLIE O' SCALES.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +Said Willie o' Scales, at break of day,<br /> +"The hunt's up! I must busk and away!<br /> +Steed, good wife? and saddle? I trow,<br /> +Willie o' Scales is steed enow."<br /> +<br /> +—Scotland's King is a hunting gone:<br /> +Willie o' Scales, he runs alone:<br /> +Knights and Nobles many a score:<br /> +Hounds full twenty tongues and more.<br /> +<br /> +Through the covert the deer he sprang:<br /> +Over the heather the music rang.<br /> +Dogs and steeds well speeded they:<br /> +But Willie o' Scales, he show'd the way.<br /> +<br /> +For speed of foot had Willie no peer.<br /> +He outstripp'd the horses, dogs, and deer.<br /> +He left the Nobles far behind.<br /> +He pass'd the King like a puff of wind.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span><br /> +At the close of day, with a greenwood bough,<br /> +Beside the deer he fann'd his brow.<br /> +And "There, my liege!" to the Monarch he said,<br /> +"Is as gallant a stag as ever lay dead.<br /> +<br /> +"I count him fleet, for a stag of ten!"—<br /> +—"And I count thee chief of my Border men.<br /> +No gallanter heart, I dare be sworn,<br /> +Ever drew the shaft or wound the horn.<br /> +<br /> +"No trustier hand than thine was found<br /> +When foes to Scotland hemm'd us round.<br /> +Now swifter of foot than our fleetest deer—<br /> +We'll try thy hold upon land and gear.<br /> +<br /> +"For his speed in sport, for his might in fray,<br /> +Write, '<span class="smcap">Gill's</span> broad lands' to 'Willie, <span class="smcap">the Rae</span>!'<br /> +And for ever a Willie the Rae be here,<br /> +When the King comes by to hunt the deer."—<br /> +<br /> +Thus spoke King William, where he stood,<br /> +The Lion of Scotland, fierce of mood.<br /> +And musing turned, and look'd again<br /> +On his Border vassal; and cross'd the plain.<br /> +<br /> +Centuries long have rolled away:<br /> +The Monarch is dust, his Nobles clay:<br /> +Old lines are changed, are changing still:<br /> +But Willie the Rae is lord of Gill.<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "WILLIE O' SCALES."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The long and scattered hamlet of High and Low Scales, +is on the west side of Crummock Beck, near Bromfield, and +a few miles from Wigton in Cumberland. Skells or scales, +from a Saxon or Gothic word signifying a cover, was the +name given to those slight temporary huts made of turf +or sods which in the mountainous district of this county and +Scotland are called Bields. They were erected most commonly +for the shelter of shepherds; and during the later periods, +in the border wars to protect the persons who were appointed +to watch the cattle of the neighbourhood. Few estates in +the kingdom have belonged to one family longer than this +of <span class="smcap">The Gill</span>, which was formerly, however, much more +extensive, comprising most probably the neighbouring hamlet +of Scales. Another somewhat uncommon circumstance +belonging to it is, that, to the close of last century, and +for anything we know to the contrary, to a much later date, +the owner had always lived on and occupied it himself; it +had never been in the hands of a farmer.</p> + +<p>The Reays of Gill, however variously their name has been +spelled and pronounced by different branches of the family, +derived it from one on whom it was undoubtedly bestowed as +being characteristical and descriptive of himself. The active +hunter, the companion and the friend of William the Lion, +was called in the commoner Saxon language of his time Ra, +or Raa, a Roe, from his unparalleled swiftness. In Scotland +and Germany a roe is still pronounced rae, as it was +formerly in England.</p> + +<div class="poem"> +"When the deer and the rae<br /> +Lightly bounding together,<br /> +Sport the lang simmer day<br /> +On the braes of Balquhither."<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span></p> + +<p>The tradition is that the head, or chief, of this family had a +grant of the lands of Gill to him, and his heirs for ever, from +William the Lion, King of Scotland, whose eventful reign +lasted nearly half a century; and who died in 1214. This +grant is said to have been made, not only as a reward for his +fidelity to his prince, but as a memorial of his extraordinary +swiftness of foot in pursuing the deer, outstripping in fleetness +most of the horses and dogs. The conditions of the grants +were, that he should pay a pepper corn yearly, as an acknowledgment, +and that the name of William should, if +possible, be perpetuated in the family. "And this is certain," +says a writer in the Gentleman's Magazine about the year +1794, "That ever since, till now, a William Reay has been +owner of the Gill. There is every reason to believe that the +present John Reay is the first instance of a deviation." It is +said that even in that instance the deviation was not made +without deliberation; William the father having first consulted +an eminent lawyer, whether he might safely call his +son John. It was replied that mere length of occupancy would +quiet the possession and make the title good.</p> + +<p>The great military tenure of lands in this district was by +<span class="smcap">HOMAGE</span>, <span class="smcap">FEALTY</span> and <span class="smcap">CORNAGE</span>. This last (cornage) drew after +it <i>wardship</i>, <i>marriage</i>, and <i>relief</i>. And the service of this tenure +was <i>knight's service</i>. <span class="smcap">Homage</span> was the most honourable +service, and the most humble service of reverence, that a free +tenant can do to his lord. For when he was to do homage +to his lord, he was to appear ungirt, bareheaded, without his +sword, and, kneeling on both knees, his hands held out and +clasped between his lord's, was to say—"I become your man +from this day forward of life, and limb, and earthly honour, and +unto you will be true and faithful, and faith unto you will +bear for the tenements that I claim to hold of you, saving the +faith that I owe to our Sovereign Lord the King." And then +the lord so sitting was to kiss him; by which kiss he was +bound to be his vassal for ever.</p> + +<p>When a free tenant was to do <span class="smcap">FEALTY</span> to his lord, he was to +hold his right hand upon a book, and say thus—"Know ye +this, my lord, that I will be faithful and true to you, and faith +to you will bear for the tenements which I claim to hold of +you, and that I will lawfully do to you the customs and +services which I ought to do at the terms assigned; so +help me God and his Saints." But he was not to kneel, +nor make such humble reverence as in homage; and fealty +might be done before the steward of the court, but homage +could only be done to the lord himself.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span></p> +<p><span class="smcap">Cornage</span>, called also <span class="smcap">HORNGELD</span>, and <span class="smcap">NOWTEGELD</span> or (cow-tax) +seems early to have been converted into a pecuniary fine, +being a stipulated payment in the first instance for the finding +of scouts or horners to procure intelligence. It was first paid +in cattle. The tenants who held by cornage were bound to +be always ready to serve the King and lord of the manor on +horseback, or on foot, at their own charge; and when the +King's army marched into Scotland, their post was in the +vanguard as they advanced, and in the vanguard on their +return. Because they best knew the passes and defiles, and +the way and manner of the enemy's attacking and retreating. +<i>Wardship</i> and <i>marriage</i> were included in this tenure. When +the tenant died, and the heir male was within the age of +twenty one years, the lord was to have the land holden of him +until the heir should attain that age; because the heir by +intendment of law was not able to do knight's service before +his age of twenty-one years. And if such heir was not +married at the time of the death of his ancestor, then the lord +was to have the wardship and marriage of him. But if the +tenant died leaving an heir female, which heir female was of +the age of fourteen years or upwards, then the lord was not +to have the wardship of the land, nor of the body; because a +woman of that age might have a husband to do knight's +service. But if such heir female was under the age of fourteen +years, and unmarried at the time of the death of her ancestor, +the lord was to have the wardship of the land holden of him +until the age of such heir female of fourteen years; within +which time the lord might tender unto her convenable +marriage without disparagement; and if the lord did not +tender such marriage within the said age, she might have +entered into the lands, and ousted the lord.</p> + +<p>Thus the consent of a superior lord was requisite for the +marriage of a female vassal; and this power was distorted +into the right of disposing of the ward in marriage. When +the King or lord was in want of money it was by no means +unusual to offer the wards, male or female, with their lands, +in a sense to the highest bidder. If the ward refused to fulfil +the marriage so made, then a sum was due from the estates +equal to what they would have fetched.</p> + +<p><i>Relief</i> was a certain sum of money, that the heir, on coming +of age, paid unto the lord, on taking possession of the inheritance +of his ancestor.</p> + +<p>A <i>Knight's fee</i> was estimated, not according to the quality +but the quantity of the land, about 640 acres; and the relief +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>was after the rate of one fourth part of the yearly value of the +fee.</p> + +<p>The <i>lord's rent</i> was called <i>white money</i>, or <i>white rent</i>, from +its being paid in silver.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Scutage</span> or service of the shield, was another compensation +in money, instead of personal service against the Scots.</p> + +<p>The <span class="smcap">DRENGAGE</span> tenure, which prevailed about Brougham and +Clifton, was extremely servile. The tenants seem to have +been drudges to perform the most laborious and servile offices. +Dr. Burn quotes authority to prove that Sir Hugh de Morville +in Westmorland changed drengage into free service; and +that Gilbert de Brougham gave one half of the village of +Brougham to Robert de Veteripont to make the other half +free of drengage. One of the de Threlkelds also, who +lived at Yanwath Hall, in the time of Edward I., relieved his +tenants at Threlkeld of servile burdens at four pence a head. +The services were half a draught for one day's ploughing; one +day's mowing; one of shearing; one of clipping; one of +salving sheep; one carriage load in two years, not to go +above ten miles; to dig and load two loads of peat every year—the +tenants to have their crowdy (a coarse mess of meal, +dripping and hot water) while they worked; the cottagers the +same, only they found a horse and harrow instead of the half +plough, and a footman's load, not a carriage load.</p> + +<p>Many of these have long been lost sight of; and now +most of the lands, whether held on customary or arbitrary +tenures, merely pay an almost nominal rent, besides certain +fines, to the lord of the manor. Nevertheless there is much +truth in what Blackstone says: that "copy holders are only +villeins improved."</p> + +<p>Lands of arbitrary tenure pay, with certain deductions, +fines of two years value on the death of lord or tenant, or of +both, and on alienation. Some pay dower to the widow; +others do not. Some pay a live heriot, which means the best +animal in the tenant's possession; others, a dead heriot, +that is, the most valuable implement, or piece of furniture. +In Catholic times, the Church also, on some manors, claimed +as heriot the second best animal the tenant might die +possessed of, and on others the best. In some instances a +heriot is only payable when a widow remains in possession +of the tenement, and in these cases the original object of the +impost was to recompense the lord of the manor for the loss +of a man's military service during the widow's occupancy. In +some joint manors where two, or perhaps three, lords have +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>claims for heriots, very discreditable, and, to a dying tenant's +family, very distressing scenes are enacted; for, when it becomes +known that the holder of a tenement so burdened is on +his death-bed, the stewards of the several manors place +watches round the premises, who ascertain what and where +the best animal may be, and, as soon as the demise of the +tenant is announced, a rush ensues, and an unseemly contest +for possession.</p> + +<p>In arbitrary lands some lords claim all the timber; others +only the oak; others the oak and yew; others oak and white +thorn; and so on. In some the tenant is bound to plant two +trees of the same kind for every one he fells; but tenants have +a right to timber for repairs, rebuilding, or implements, +though they must not cut down without license. Many lands +are bound to carry their grain to the manorial mill to be +ground and <i>multured</i>; but this custom has fallen into disuse. +Most lords retain the minerals and game if they enfranchise +the soil, as many have done.</p> + +<p>Many lands used to pay boons of various kinds; and some +of these services are still enforced. By these were demanded +so many men or boys, horses, carts, &c., in peat cutting +time, hay time, harvest, wood-cutting and carting, and so on. +In Martindale Chace, near Ulswater, where Mr. Hasell has +a herd of that now rare species, the Red Deer, the tenants +are bound to attend the lord's hunt once a year, which is called +on their court roll a <i>Boon Hunt</i>. On this occasion, they each +held their district allotted on the boundaries of the Chace, +where they are stationed, to prevent the stag flying beyond +the liberty. In the east of Cumberland, the tenants were +obliged to send horses and sacks to St. Bees, for salt for the +lord's use; some had to bring their own provisions when engaged +in these services: some were entitled to a cake of a +stated size for each man, and a smaller for a boy, on assembling +in the morning at a fixed hour, under a certain tree, as was +the custom at Irton Hall. Breach of punctuality forfeited +this cake, but the work was always exacted. Certain farms in +some manors were bound to maintain male animals for the +use of all the tenants, subject to various conditions and regulations. +Formerly many tenants paid a pound of pepper at +the lord's court; others only a pepper-corn; and some lands +are still held by this custom.</p> + +<p>Many other peculiar customs connected with the tenure of +land formerly existed.</p> + +<p>Curious individual exemptions from certain burthens are to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>be met with occasionally. In the parish of Renwick a copyholder +is released from payment of the prescription in lieu of +tithe, paid by all his neighbours, because one of his ancestors +slew "a cock-a-trice." This monster is alleged to have been +nothing more than a bat of extraordinary size, which terrified +the people in church one evening, so that all fled save the +clerk, who valiantly giving battle, succeeded in striking it +down with his staff. For this exploit, which is stated to have +taken place about 260 years ago, he was rewarded with the +exemption mentioned, which is still claimed by his successors.</p> + +<p>In the parish of Castle-Sowerby, the ten principal estates +were anciently called <i>Red Spears</i>, on account of the singular +service by which the tenants held them, viz:—that of riding +through the town of Penrith on Whit-Tuesday, brandishing +their spears. Those who held by this tenure were of the +order of Red Knights, mentioned in our law books; a name +derived from the Saxon, who held their lands by serving the +lord on horseback. <i>Delient equitare cum domino suo de manerio +in manerium, vel cum domini uxore.</i> In times of peace, +it is presumed they held the annual service above noted as a +challenge to the enemies of their country, or those who might +dispute the title of their lord, similar to the parade of the +Champion of England at a coronation. The spears were +about nine feet in length, and till within the last century, +some of them remained in the proprietors' houses, where they +were usually deposited; and were sureties to the sheriff for +the peaceable behaviour of the rest of the inhabitants.</p> + +<p>The ancient owners of the Red Spears estates annually +served as jurors at the forest court held near Hesket, on St. +Barnabas Day, by which they were exempted from all parish +offices.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>ERMENGARDE.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +It was the early summer time,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When Maidens stint their praying</span><br /> +To wander forth at morning's prime,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With happy hearts, a maying;</span><br /> +To wash their rosy cheeks with dew,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And roam the meadows over:</span><br /> +And ask the winds to tell them true<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of some far distant lover.</span><br /> +<br /> +Then little Ermengarde, the while<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To graver thoughts awaking,</span><br /> +Look'd sadly on St. Herbert's Isle<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As morn was brightly breaking.</span><br /> +Some tapestry for his altar wrought<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beside her bed was lying;</span><br /> +Her beads, and little scroll for thought,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No conscious look descrying.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span><br /> +And now when might the gentle Saint<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Be at his service bending;</span><br /> +His earnest life, without a taint<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of earth still heavenwards tending—</span><br /> +His silver voice, oft heard in prayer,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or in direction pleading—</span><br /> +His manhood's bright angelic air—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her thought too fond were feeding.</span><br /> +<br /> +In little Ermengarde her love<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With God the Saint divided.</span><br /> +Unknown even to herself she wove<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The threads her passion guided.</span><br /> +And when she trembled on her knees<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Confessing faith before him—</span><br /> +Ah! can this be but Man she sees,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So heart and soul adore him!</span><br /> +<br /> +So little Ermengarde with pale<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And thoughtful cheek sat sighing,</span><br /> +When rode an Elf-man down the vale<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her open lattice eyeing.</span><br /> +"Good morrow! May my Lady's thought,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">This happy May-day, blossom;</span><br /> +And tenfold blessedness be wrought<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Within that gentle bosom!"</span><br /> +<br /> +"My tongue no thought or wish express'd"—<br /> +—"Yet, trust me, fairest Lady!"<br /> +"In Bowscale tarn, for thy behest,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The undying twain are ready.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>Ask from their breasts two tiny scales<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of gold and pearly whiteness.</span><br /> +These on thy heart—fulfill'd prevails<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thy wish in all its brightness!"—</span><br /> +<br /> +The stranger pass'd. Away she hies,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The mountain pathway keeping,</span><br /> +Where deep amid the silence lies<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The gloomy water sleeping.</span><br /> +"Come, faithful fishes! give to me<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Two little scales"—she chanted—</span><br /> +That in my bosom peace may be,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And all my wishes granted."—</span><br /> +<br /> +They gave her from their pearly sides<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Two little scales. She bore them</span><br /> +Down from the hill the Tarn that hides,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And in her bosom wore them.</span><br /> +The simple Cross her mother gave<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Was on her neck, a token</span><br /> +Of that pure faith to which she clave;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But lo! the link was broken!</span><br /> +<br /> +Down Greta's side with wild delight<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The little Maiden wandered;</span><br /> +And on the Saint before her sight,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her inmost sight, she pondered;</span><br /> +Now thinking—O that wed with mine<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His holy heart were moving!</span><br /> +How shall we soar in thoughts divine,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">How walk in pathways loving!</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span><br /> +It was a festal day, and bands<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of youths and maids were trooping</span><br /> +With flowers and offerings in their hands,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And round the altar grouping.</span><br /> +And hark the little bell! it calls<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To every heart how sweetly!</span><br /> +But most on Ermengarde's it falls<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With joy that brings her fleetly.</span><br /> +<br /> +But on the stony river's brim<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A moment's space delaying,</span><br /> +To gaze—before she look'd on him—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">On her own features playing</span><br /> +Within the mirror'd pool below—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Its broken link dissevering,</span><br /> +Her little Cross fell sinking slow<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beyond her vain endeavouring.</span><br /> +<br /> +And from the stream two fin-like arms<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Leapt up and snatch'd her wailing,</span><br /> +And dragg'd her down with all her charms<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In anguish unavailing.</span><br /> +And down the rocks they bore her fast<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With struggles unrelenting:</span><br /> +And Greta's roar mix'd in the blast<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With Ermengarde's lamenting.</span><br /> +<br /> +And far adown the rushing tide<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Was dragg'd and whirled the Maiden;</span><br /> +And wildly mid the pools she cried<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In accents horror-laden.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span>The streams dash'd on with furious roar;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No aid the rude rocks lent her;</span><br /> +Wild and more wild they gather'd o'er<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The loud and lost lamenter.</span><br /> +<br /> +So she whom Magic's wiles had driven,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And her own heart persuaded,</span><br /> +To tempt a Saint to turn from heaven,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fell, snatch'd from life unaided.</span><br /> +Yet, not for ever lost, she roves<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Amid the winding currents,</span><br /> +And utters to the hills and groves<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her wail above the torrents.</span><br /> +<br /> +For yet some bard shall wander by<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With harp and song so holy,</span><br /> +That they shall wrench the caves where lie<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her limbs in anguish lowly.</span><br /> +And free her for the blessed light<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And air again to greet her</span><br /> +Awhile, before she takes her flight<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To where the Saint shall meet her.</span><br /> +<br /> +Even I, for little Ermengarde,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Would harp a life-long morrow,</span><br /> +But to reverse that doom so hard,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And lead her back from sorrow;</span><br /> +Mid happy thoughts again to beam,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All joyousness partaking;</span><br /> +But never more of Saints to dream<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When summer morns are breaking.</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "ERMENGARDE."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>I.—St. Herbert's Isle, placed nearly in the centre of Derwent +Lake, derives its name from a hermit who lived there in +the seventh century, and had his cell on this island.</p> + +<p>It contains about four acres of ground, is planted with firs +and other trees, and has a curious octagonal cottage built with +unhewn stones, and artificially mossed over and thatched. +This was erected many years ago by the late Sir Wilfred +Lawson, to whose representative the island at present belongs. +A few yards from its site are the ruins of the hermitage formerly +occupied by the recluse. These vestiges, being of stone +and mortar, give the appearance of its having consisted of two +apartments; an outer one, about twenty feet long and sixteen +feet broad, which has probably been his chapel, and another, +of narrower dimensions, his cell, with a little garden adjoining.</p> + +<p>The scene around was well adapted to excite the most +solemn emotions, and was in unison with the severity of his +religious life. His plot of ground and the waters around him +supplied his scanty fare; while the rocks and mountains inspired +his meditations with the most sublime ideas of the might +and majesty of the Creator. It is no wonder that "St. Herbert, +a priest and confessor, to avoid the intercourse of man, +and that nothing might withdraw his attention from unceasing +meditation and prayer, chose this island for his abode."</p> + +<p>There is no history of St. Herbert's life and actions to be +met with, or any tradition of his works of piety or miracles, +preserved by the inhabitants of the country. His contemporary +existence with St. Cuthbert, and his equo-temporary death +with him obtained by the prayers of the saint, at the time and +in the manner related below, according to the old legends, is +all that is known of him.</p> + +<p>Bede, in his History of the Church of England, writes thus +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>of the saint:—"There was a certain priest, revered for his +uprightness and perfect life and manners, named Herberte, +who had a long time been in union with the man of God (St. +Cuthbert of Farn Isle) in the bond of spiritual love and friendship; +for living a solitary life in the isle of that great and +extended lake from whence proceeds the river Derwent, he +used to visit St. Cuthbert every year, to receive from his lips +the doctrines of eternal life. When this holy priest heard of +St. Cuthbert's coming to Luguballea (Carlisle), he came, after +his usual manner, desiring to be comforted more and more +with the hopes of everlasting bliss by his divine exhortations. +As they sat together, and enjoyed the hopes of heaven, among +other things the Bishop said, 'Remember, brother Herberte, +that whatsoever ye have to say and ask of me, you do it now, +for after we depart hence, we shall not meet again, and see +one another corporeally in this world, for I know well the +time of my dissolution is at hand, and the laying aside of this +earthly tabernacle draweth on apace.' When Herberte heard +this, he fell down at his feet, and, with many sighs and tears, +beseeched him, for the love of the Lord, that he would not +forsake him, but to remember his faithful brother and associate, +and make intercession with the gracious God, that they might +depart hence into heaven together, to behold his grace and +glory whom they had in unity of spirit served on earth; for +you know I have ever studied and laboured to live according +to your pious and virtuous instructions; and in whatsoever +I offended through ignorance or frailty, I straightway used +my earnest efforts to amend after your ghostly counsel, will, +and judgment.'—At this earnest and affectionate request of +Herberte's, the Bishop went to prayer, presently being certified +in spirit that this petition to heaven would be granted—'Arise,' +said he, 'my dear brother; weep not, but let your rejoicing +be with exceeding gladness, for the great mercy of God hath +granted to us our prayer.'—The truth of which promise and +prophecy was well proved in that which ensued; for their +separation was the last that befell them on earth; on the same +day, which was the 19th day of March, their souls departed +from their bodies, and were straight in union in the beatific +sight and vision—and were transported hence to the kingdom +of heaven by the service and hands of angels."</p> + +<p>It is probable that the hermit's little oratory, or chapel, +might be kept in repair after his death, as a particular veneration +seems to have been paid by the religious of after ages to +this retreat, and the memory of the Saint.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span></p> +<p>There is some variation in the account given by authors of +the day of the Saint's death; Bede says the 19th day of March: +other authors the 20th day of May, A. D., 687; and by a +record given in Bishop Appleby's Register, it would appear +that the 13th day of April was observed as the solemn +anniversary.</p> + +<p>But, however, in the year 1374, at the distance of almost +seven centuries, we find this place resorted to in holy services +and procession, and the hermit's memory celebrated in +religious offices. The Vicar of Crosthwaite went to celebrate +mass in his chapel on the island, on the day above mentioned, +to the joint honour of St. Herbert and St. Cuthbert; to every +attendant at which forty days' indulgence was granted as a +reward for his devotion. "What a happy holiday must that +have been for all these vales," says Southey; "and how +joyous on a fine spring day must the lake have appeared, with +the boats and banners from every chapelry; and how must +the chapel have adorned that little isle, giving a human and +religious character to the solitude!"</p> + +<p>In the little church of St. John's in the Vale, which is one +of the dependent chapelries of the church of Crosthwaite, is +an old seat, with the date 1001 carved on the back of it, to +which tradition assigns, that it was formerly in St. Herbert's +Chapel, on the island in Derwent Lake.</p> + +<p>These figures correspond with those on the bell in the Town +Hall at Keswick, said to have been brought from Lord's +Island.</p> + + +<p>II.—Bowscale Tarn is a small mountain lake, lying to the +north-east of Blencathra. It is supposed by the country +people in the neighbourhood, with whom it has long been a +tradition, to contain two immortal fish; the same which held +familiar intercourse with, and long did the bidding of, the +Shepherd Lord when he studied the stars upon these mountains, +and gathered that more mysterious knowledge, which, +matured in the solitude of Barden Tower, has till this day +associated his name with something of supernatural interest in +this district, where he so long resided.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> + +<p>From some lines of Martial (lib. iv. 30) it appears that there +were some fishes in a lake at Baiæ in Campania consecrated +to Domitian, and like the undying ones of Bowscale Tarn, +they knew their master:—</p></blockquote> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span></p> +<blockquote> + +<div class="poem"> +"Sacris piscibus hæ natantur undæ,<br /> +Qui norunt dominum, manumque lambunt;<br /> +——— et ad magistri<br /> +Vocem quisquis sui venet citatus."<br /> +</div> + + +<p>III.—It has been stated with reference to the river Greta, +that its channel was formerly remarkable for the immense +stones it contained; and that by their concussion in high +floods were caused those loud and mournful noises which not +inappropriately have gained for it the characteristic title of +"Mourner." Mr. Southey has given the following description +of it in his "Colloquies";—"Our Cumberland river Greta +has a shorter course than even its Yorkshire namesake. St. +John's Beck and the Glenderamakin take this name at their +confluence, close by the bridge three miles east of Keswick on +the Penrith road. The former issues from Leathes Water, in +a beautiful sylvan spot, and proceeds by a not less beautiful +course for some five miles through the vale from which it is +called, to the place of junction. The latter receiving the stream +from Bowscale and Threlkeld Tarns, brings with it the waters +from the south side of Blencathra. The Greta then flows +toward Keswick; receives first the small stream from Nathdale; +next the Glenderaterra, which brings down the western +waters of Blencathra and those from Skiddaw Forest, and +making a wide sweep behind the town, joins the Derwent +under Derwent Hill, about a quarter of a mile from the town, +and perhaps half that distance from the place where that river +flows out of the lake, but when swollen above its banks, it +takes a shorter line, and enters Derwent Water.</p> + +<p>"The Yorkshire stream was a favourite resort of Mason's, +and has been celebrated by Sir Walter Scott. Nothing can +be more picturesque, nothing more beautiful, than its course +through the grounds at Rokeby, and its junction with the +Tees;—and there is a satisfaction in knowing that the possessor +of that beautiful place fully appreciates and feels its beauties, +and is worthy to possess it. Our Greta is of a different +character, and less known; no poet has brought it into notice, +and the greater number of tourists seldom allow themselves +time for seeing anything out of the beaten track. Yet the +scenery upon this river, where it passes under the sunny side +of Latrigg, is of the finest and most rememberable kind:</p> + +<div class="poem"> +—Ambiguo lapsu, refluitque fluitque,<br /> +Occurrensque sibi venturas aspicit undas.<br /> +</div> + +<p>There is no English stream to which this truly Ovidian +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>description can more accurately be applied. From a jutting +isthmus, round which the tortuous river twists, you look over +its manifold windings, up the water to Blencathra; down it, +over a high and wooded middle ground, to the distant mountains +of Newlands, Cawsey Pike, and Grizedale."</p></blockquote> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Vide Notes to Sir Lancelot Threlkeld, for a notice of Lord Clifford +the Shepherd.</p></div></div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span></p> + +<h2>GUNILDA;<br /> +OR, THE WOEFUL CHASE.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +A joyful train left Lucy's halls<br /> +At morning, cheer'd with bugle calls,<br /> +That long ere eve, a mournful train,<br /> +Returned to Lucy's halls again.<br /> +<br /> +They went with hound and spear and bow,<br /> +To lay the prowling wild-wolf low.<br /> +They came with hound and bow and spear—<br /> +And one fair daughter on her bier.<br /> +<br /> +Her prancing palfrey starting wide,<br /> +She gallop'd from Lord Lucy's side,<br /> +A shining huntress, gay, and bold,<br /> +And fair as Dian's self of old.<br /> +<br /> +The quarry cross'd her lover's view;<br /> +He led the chace with shrill halloo,<br /> +Through brake and furze, by stream and dell,<br /> +Nor stopp'd until the quarry fell.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span><br /> +Far off aloud rang out his horn<br /> +The triumph on the echoes borne,<br /> +Long ere the listening maid drew rein<br /> +To woo it to her ear in vain.<br /> +<br /> +Bright as a phantom, far astray,<br /> +She stood where broad before her lay<br /> +Wilton's high wastes and forest rude,<br /> +And all the Copeland solitude.<br /> +<br /> +Far off, and farther, rang the horn:<br /> +Farther the echoes seem'd to mourn.<br /> +"Now, my good Bay, thy frolic o'er,<br /> +Thy swiftest and thy best once more!"<br /> +<br /> +By Hole of Haile she turned her steed:<br /> +Coursed gaily on by Yeorton Mead;<br /> +Glanced where St. Bridget's hamlet show'd;<br /> +And down into the coppice rode.<br /> +<br /> +And singing on in gladness there,<br /> +She pass'd beside the she-wolf's lair;<br /> +When furious from her startled young<br /> +The wild brute on Gunilda sprung.<br /> +<br /> +From frighted steed dragg'd low to ground,<br /> +The she-wolf, with her cubs around,<br /> +Made havoc of that peerless form,<br /> +And heart with bounding life so warm.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span><br /> +Clearer rang out their horn, to cheer<br /> +Their lost one; and proclaim'd them near.<br /> +Proudly they said—"Gunilda's eyes<br /> +Will brighten when she sees our prize!"—<br /> +<br /> +They found her; but their words were "Woe!"<br /> +"Woe to the bank where thou liest low!<br /> +Woe to the hunting of this day,<br /> +That left thy limbs to beasts, a prey!"<br /> +<br /> +With downcast faces, eyeballs dim,<br /> +They bore her up that mount—to him<br /> +A Mount of Sorrow evermore,<br /> +Too faithful to the name it bore.<br /> +<br /> +They made in Bega's aisle her tomb,<br /> +And laid her in the convent gloom;<br /> +And carved her effigy in stone,<br /> +And hew'd the she-wolf's form thereon—<br /> +<br /> +In pity to this hour to wake<br /> +The pilgrim's sorrow for her sake,<br /> +And his who blew the lively horn,<br /> +Expecting her—and came to mourn.<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "GUNILDA; OR, THE WOEFUL +CHASE."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>A traditional story in the neighbourhood of Egremont +relates the circumstance of a lady of the Lucy family being +devoured by a wolf. According to one version this catastrophe +occurred on an evening walk near the Castle; whilst, a more +popular rendering of the legend ascribes it to an occasion on +which the lord of the manor, with his lady and servants, were +hunting in the forest; when the lady having been lost in the +ardour of the chase, was after a long search and heart-rending +suspense, found lying on a bank slain by a wolf which was in +the act of tearing her to pieces. The place is distinguished by +a mound of earth, near the village of Beckermet, on the banks +of the Ehen, about a mile below Egremont. The name of +Woto Bank, or Wodow Bank as the modern mansion erected +near the spot is called, is said to be derived by traditionary +etymology, from the expression to which in the first transports +of his grief the distracted husband gave utterance—"Woe to +this bank."</p> + +<p>Hutchinson is inclined to believe "that this place has been +witness to many bloody conflicts, as appears by the monuments +scattered on all hands in its neighbourhood; and by some the +story is supposed to be no more than an emblematic allusion +to such conflicts during the invasion of the Danes. It is +asserted that no such relation is to be found in the history of +the Lucy family; so that it must be fabulous, or figurative of +some other event."</p> + +<p>There are, however, yet to be seen in the burial ground +attached to the Abbey Church of St. Bees, the remaining +parts of two monumental figures which may reasonably be +presumed to have reference to some such event as that recorded +by tradition. The fragments, which are much mutilated, are +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>of stone; and the sculpture appears to be of great antiquity. +Common report has assigned to these remains the names of +Lord and Lady Lucy.</p> + +<p>In their original state, the figures were of gigantic size. +The features and legs are now destroyed. The Lord is +represented with his sword sheathed. There is a shield on +his arm, which appears to have been quartered, but the +bearings upon it are entirely defaced. On the breast of the +Lady is an unshapely protuberance. This was originally the +roughly sculptured limb of a wolf, which even so lately as the +year 1806, might be distinctly ascertained. These figures +were formerly placed in an horizontal position, at the top of +two raised altar tombs within the church. The tomb of the +Lady was at the foot of her Lord, and a wolf was represented +as standing over it. The protuberance above mentioned, on +the breast of the Lady, the paw of the wolf, is all that now +remains of the animal. About a century since, the figure of the +wolf wanted but one leg, as many of the inhabitants, whose +immediate ancestors remembered it nearly entire, can testify. +The horizontal position of the figures rendered them peculiarly +liable to injuries, from the silent and irresistible ravages of +time. Their present state is, however, principally to be +attributed to the falling in of the outer walls of the priory, and +more particularly to their having been used, many years since, +by the boys of the Free Grammar School, as a mark to fire +at. There can be little doubt that the limb of the wolf has +reference to the story of one of the Ladies Lucy related above.</p> + +<p>It may not however be unworthy of remark, that the Lucies +were connected, through the family of Meschines, with Hugh +d' Abrincis, Earl of Chester, who in the year 1070 is said to +have borne azure a wolf's head erased argent, and who had +the surname of Lupus.</p> + +<p>The wife of Hugh Lupus was sister to Ranulph de Meschin.</p> + +<p>The family of Meschines has been said to be descended from +that at Rome called by the name Mæcenas, from which the +former one is corrupted. "Certainly," says a recent writer, +"it has proved itself the Mæcenas of the Priory of St. Bees, +not merely in the foundation of that religious house, but also +in the charters for a long course of years, which have been +granted by persons of different names, indeed, but descended +from, or connected with, the same beneficent stock." This is +shown in the following extract from a MS. in the Harleian +Collection:—</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span></p> +<p>"Be y<sup>t</sup> notid that Wyllyam Myschen son of Ranolf Lord +of Egermond founded the monastery of Saint Beysse of blake +monks, and heyres to the said Meschyn y<sup>s</sup> the Lords Fitzwal, +the Lord Haryngton, and the Lord Lucy, and so restyth +founders of the said monastery therle of Sussex the Lord +Marques Dorset, therle of Northumberland as heyres to the +Lords aforesaid."</p> + +<p>The religious house thus restored, consisting of a prior and +six Benedictine monks, was made a cell to the mitred Abbey +of Saint Mary, at York. And under this cell, Bishop Tanner +says, there was a small nunnery situated at Rottington, about +a mile from St. Bees.</p> + +<p>At the dissolution, the annual revenues of this priory, +according to Dugdale, were £143 17<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i>; or, by Speed's +valuation, £149 19<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; from which it appears there were +only two religious houses in the county more amply endowed, +viz. the priory of Holme-Cultram, and the Priory of St. Mary, +Carlisle; which latter was constituted a cathedral church at +the Reformation.</p> + +<p>The conventual church of St. Bees is in the usual form of a +cross, and consists of a nave with aisles, a choir, and transepts, +with a massive tower, at the intersection, which until lately +terminated in an embattled parapet. This part of the building +is now disfigured by an addition to enable it to carry some +more bells. The rest of the edifice is in the early English +style, and has been thoroughly restored with great taste and +feeling. On the south side of the nave there was formerly a +recumbent wooden figure, in mail armour, supposed to have +been the effigy of Anthony, the last Lord Lucy of Egremont, +who died A. D. 1368. The Lady Chapel, which had been a +roofless ruin for two centuries, was fitted up as a lecture-room +for the College established by Bishop Law in 1817.</p> + +<p>The priors of this religious house ranked as barons of the +Isle of Man; as the Abbot of the superior house, St. Mary's, +at York, was entitled to a seat amongst the parliamentary +barons of England. As such he was obliged to give his +attendance upon the kings and lords of Man, whensoever they +required it, or at least, upon every new succession in the +government. The neglect of this important privilege would +probably involve the loss of the tithes and lands in that island, +which the devotion of the kings had conferred upon the priory +of St. Bees.</p> + +<p>In the library of the Dean and Chapter of Carlisle is the +following curious account of the discovery of a giant at St. +Bees:—</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span></p> +<p>"A true report of Hugh Hodson, of Thorneway, in Cumberland, +to S<sup>r</sup> Rob Cewell (qy. Sewell) of a Gyant found at +S. Bees, in Cumb'land, 1601, before X<sup>t</sup> mas.</p> + +<p>"The said Gyant was buried 4 yards deep in the ground, +w<sup>ch</sup> is now a corn feild.</p> + +<p>"He was 4 yards and an half long, and was in complete +armour: his sword and battle-axe lying by him.</p> + +<p>"His sword was two spans broad and more than 2 yards +long.</p> + +<p>"The head of his battle axe a yard long, and the shaft of it +all of iron, as thick as a man's thigh, and more than 2 yards +long.</p> + +<p>"His teeth were 6 inches long, and 2 inches broad; his +forehead was more than 2 spans and a half broad.</p> + +<p>"His chine bone could containe 3 pecks of oatmeale.</p> + +<p>"His armour, sword, and battle-axe, are at Mr. Sand's of +Redington, (Rottington) and at Mr. Wyber's, at St. Bees."—</p> + +<p>Machel MSS. Vol. vi.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>THE SHIELD OF FLANDRENSIS.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +The Knight sat lone in Old Rydal Hall,<br /> +Of the line of Flandrensis burly and tall.<br /> +His book lay open upon the board:<br /> +His elbow rested on his good sword:<br /> +His knightly sires and many a dame<br /> +Look'd on him from panel and dusky frame.<br /> +High over the hearth was their ancient shield,<br /> +An argent fret on a blood-red field—<br /> +"Peace, Plenty, Wisdom."—"Peace?" he said:<br /> +"Peace there is none for living or dead."<br /> +<br /> +The Autumnal day had died away:<br /> +The reapers deep in their slumbers lay:<br /> +The harvest moon through the blazoned panes<br /> +From Scandale Brow poured in the stains:<br /> +His household train, and his folk at rest,<br /> +And most the child that he loved best:<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>His startled ear caught up the swell<br /> +Of distant sounds he knew too well.<br /> +By his golden lamp to the shield he said,<br /> +"Peace? Peace there is none for living or dead."<br /> +<br /> +The Knight he came of high degree,<br /> +None better or braver in arms than he:<br /> +Worthy of old Flandrensis' fame,<br /> +Whose soul not battle nor broil could tame.<br /> +That neighing and trampling of horses late,<br /> +That hubbub of voices round his gate,<br /> +That sound of hurry along the floors,<br /> +That dirge-like wail through distant doors,<br /> +Tempestuous in the calm, he heard:<br /> +And he looked on the shield, nor spoke, nor stirr'd.<br /> +<br /> +From inmost chambers far remote<br /> +Responsive flow'd one dirge-like note:<br /> +Loud through the arches deep and wide<br /> +One little voice did sweetly glide;<br /> +Its sad accords along the gloom<br /> +Swelled on towards that lordly room—<br /> +"We wait not long, our watch we keep,<br /> +We all are singing, and none may sleep:<br /> +When stone on stone nor roof remain,<br /> +The unresting shall have rest again."<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span><br /> +The Knight turned listening to the door.<br /> +His little maid came up the floor.<br /> +Her nightly robe of purest white<br /> +Gleamed purer in the faded light.<br /> +The blazoned moonbeams slowly swept<br /> +The spaces round, as on she stept.<br /> +And lo! in his armour from head to toe,<br /> +With his beard of a hundred winters' snow,<br /> +Stood old Flandrensis burly and tall,<br /> +With his breast to the shield, and his back to the wall.<br /> +<br /> +The six score winters in his eyes<br /> +Unfroze, as on through the blazoned dyes,<br /> +Sable, and azure, and gules, she came.<br /> +Through his heaving beard low fluttered her name.<br /> +But slowly and solemnly, leading or led<br /> +By phantoms chanting for living or dead,<br /> +Pass'd on the little voice so sweet—<br /> +"We all are singing: we all must meet"—<br /> +And into the gloom like a fading ray:<br /> +And the form of Flandrensis vanished away.<br /> +<br /> +The Knight, alone, in his ancient hold,<br /> +Sat still as a stone: his blood ran cold.<br /> +For his little maiden was his delight.<br /> +Then forth he strode in the face of the night.<br /> +His dogs were in kennel, his steeds in stall:<br /> +His deer were lying about his hall:<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span>His swans beneath the Lord's Oak Tree:<br /> +The silvery Rotha was flowing free.<br /> +He set his brow towards Scandale hill:<br /> +The vale was breathing, but all was still.<br /> +<br /> +He thought of the spirits the snow-winds rouse,<br /> +The Piping Spirits of Sweden Hows,<br /> +That wail to the Rydal Chiefs their fate—<br /> +That pipe as they whirl around lattice and gate,<br /> +With their grey gaunt misty forms: but now,<br /> +There was not a stir in the lightest bough:<br /> +The winds in the mountain gorge were laid;<br /> +No sound through all the moonlight stray'd.<br /> +He turned again to his ancient Keep:<br /> +There all was silence, and calm, and sleep.<br /> +<br /> +But all grew changed in the gloomy pile.<br /> +His little maiden lost her smile.<br /> +The menials fled: that knightly race<br /> +Was left alone in its ancient place:<br /> +The pride of its line of warriors quailed—<br /> +Those sworded knights once peerless hailed:<br /> +To the earth broke down from its hold their shield.<br /> +With its argent fret and its blood-red field:<br /> +And they fled from the might of the powers that strode<br /> +In the darkness through their old abode.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span><br /> +And Sir Michael brooded an autumn day,<br /> +As he looked on the slope at his child at play,<br /> +On the green by the sounding water's fall:<br /> +And often those words did he recall—<br /> +"We wait not long, our watch we keep;<br /> +We all are singing, and none may sleep.<br /> +When stone on stone nor roof remain,<br /> +The unresting shall have rest again."<br /> +And the Knight ordained, as he brooded alone—<br /> +"There shall not be left of it roof or stone."<br /> +<br /> +And Sir Michael said—"I will build my hall<br /> +On the green by the sounding waterfall:<br /> +And an arbour cool at its foot, beside.<br /> +And I'll bury my shield in the crystal tide,<br /> +To cleanse it from blood perchance, that so<br /> +Peace, Plenty, and Wisdom again may flow<br /> +Round old Flandrensis' honours and name."<br /> +And the pile arose: and the sun's bright flame<br /> +Was pleasant around it: and morn and even<br /> +It lay in the light and the hues of heaven.<br /> +<br /> +And Sir Michael sat in the arbour cool,<br /> +Where the waters leapt in the crystal pool;<br /> +Saying—"Gone is yon keep to a grim decay.<br /> +And now, my little one, loved alway!<br /> +Whence came thy singing so wild and deep?"—<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span>—"We all were singing, and none might sleep,<br /> +Till all the Unmerciful heard their strain.<br /> +But now the unresting have rest again."—<br /> +<br /> +So the keep went down to the dust and mould.<br /> +And the new pile bore the blazon of old—<br /> +The pride of the old ancestral shield—<br /> +The argent fret on the blood-red field;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">"Peace, Plenty, Wisdom"</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5.5em;">Beneath enscrolled.</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "THE SHIELD OF FLANDRENSIS."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The ancient Manor house at Rydal stood in the Low Park, +on the top of a round hill, on the south side of the road leading +from Keswick to Kendal. But on the building of the new +mansion on the north side of the highway, in what is called +the High Park, the manor house became ruinous, and got the +name of the Old Hall, which, says Dr. Burn, in his time, "it +still beareth." Even then there was nothing to be seen but +ruinous buildings, walks, and fish ponds, and other marks of +its ancient consequence; the place where the orchard stood +was then a large enclosure without a fruit tree in it, and called +the Old Orchard. At the present day few indications of its +site remain. Tradition asserts that it was deserted from +superstitious fears.</p> + +<p>The present mansion was erected by Sir Michael le Fleming +in the last century. It stands on the north side of the road, +on a slope facing the south, is a large old fashioned building, +and commands a fine view of Windermere. Behind it rises +Rydal Head, and Nab-Scar a craggy mountain 1030 feet above +the level of the sea. The Park is interspersed with abundance +of old oaks, and several rocky protuberances in the lawn are +covered with fine elms and other forest trees. The Lord's +Oak, a magnificent specimen, is built into the wall on the +lower side of the Rydal Road over which it majestically +towers. "The sylvan, or rather forest scenery of Rydal +Park," says Professor Wilson, "was, in the memory of living +men, magnificent, and it still contains a treasure of old trees."</p> + +<p>The two waterfalls, the cascades of the rivulet which runs +through the lawn, are situated in the grounds. The way leads +through the park meadow and outer gardens by a path of +singular beauty and richness. They are in the opinion of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>Gilpin and other tourists unparalleled in their kind. The +upper fall is the finest, in the eyes of those who prefer the +natural accessories of a cascade: but the lower one, which is +below the Hall, is beheld from the window of an old summer +house. This affords a fine picture frame; the basin of rock +and the bridge above, with the shadowy pool, and the overhanging +verdure, constituting a perfect picture.</p> + +<p>The heraldic distinction, the fret, is found more than once +in Furness Abbey, and is undoubtedly the ancient arms of le +Fleming. An entire seal appended to a deed from Sir +Richard le Fleming of Furness dated 44 Edward the Third +(1371) shews a fret hung cornerwise, the crest, on a helmet a +fern, or something like it. The seal annexed to another deed +dated 6 Henry V. (1419) is the same as above described; the +motto, <i>S. Thome Flemin</i>, in Saxon characters.</p> + +<p>The present crest and motto are of modern date, and +explain each other: the serpent is the emblem of wisdom, as +the olive and the vine are of peace and plenty. But upon +what occasion this distinction was taken does not appear.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>THE ROOKS OF FURNESS.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +"Caw! Caw!" the rooks of Furness cry.<br /> +"Caw! Caw!" the Furness rooks reply.<br /> +In and about the saintly pile,<br /> +Over refectory, porch, and aisle,<br /> +Perching on archway, window, and tower,<br /> +Hopping and cawing hour by hour.<br /> +Saint Mary of Furness knows them well!<br /> +They are souls of her Monks laid under a spell.<br /> +They were once White Monks; ere the altars fell,<br /> +And the vigils ceased, and the Abbey bell<br /> +Was hush'd in the Deadly Nightshade Dell.<br /> +<br /> +"Caw! Caw!" for ever, from morn<br /> +Till night they trouble the ruins forlorn:<br /> +Roger the Abbot, parading in black,<br /> +Briand the Prior, and scores at his back<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>Of those old fathers cawing amain,<br /> +All robed in rooks' black feathers, in vain<br /> +Waiting again for the Abbey to rise,<br /> +For matins to waken the morning skies,<br /> +And themselves to chant the litanies.<br /> +<br /> +"Caw! Caw!" No wonder they caw!<br /> +To see—where their vigorous rule was law—<br /> +Fair Love with his troops of youths and maids,<br /> +With holiday hearts, through greenwood shades<br /> +Come forth, and in every Muse's name,<br /> +With songs, a joyful time proclaim;<br /> +And to hear the car-borne Demon's yell,<br /> +The Steam-Ghoul screeching the fatal knell<br /> +Of peace in the Deadly Nightshade Dell.<br /> +<br /> +"Caw! Caw!" still over the walls<br /> +You wheel and flutter, with ceaseless calls;<br /> +Thinking, no doubt, of your cells and holes,<br /> +You poor old Monks' translated souls!<br /> +Sad change for you to be cawing here,<br /> +And black, for many a hundred year!<br /> +But haunt as you may your ancient pile,<br /> +You will never more chant in the holy aisle;<br /> +You never will kneel as you knelt of yore;<br /> +Nor the censer swing, nor the anthem pour;<br /> +And your souls shall never shake off the spell<br /> +That binds you to all you loved so well,<br /> +Ere the altars fell, and the Abbey bell<br /> +Was hush'd in the Deadly Nightshade Dell.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span><br /> +"Caw! Caw!" In the ages gone,<br /> +When the mountains with oak were overgrown,<br /> +Up the glen the Norskmen came,<br /> +Lines of warriors, chiefs of fame—<br /> +With Bekan the Sorcerer, earthward borne,<br /> +By toil, and battle, and tempest worn—<br /> +Crowding along the dell forlorn.<br /> +Over the rill, high on the steep,<br /> +There in his barrow wide and deep,<br /> +With axe and hoe those armed men<br /> +Buried him down, by the narrow glen,<br /> +With the flower, at his feet, of wondrous spell:<br /> +Buried him down, and covered him well,<br /> +And left him hid by the lonely Dell.<br /> +<br /> +"Caw! Caw!" O would the wise Monks had known<br /> +Who slept his sleep in that barrow alone,<br /> +When they gathered the bekan he made to grow,<br /> +And bore it to bloom in the dell below.<br /> +For they pulled at the heart of the mighty Dead;<br /> +And they broke his peace in his narrow bed;<br /> +And on fibre and root the Sorcerer's power<br /> +Fasten'd the spell that changed the flower;<br /> +From sweet to bitter its juices pass'd;<br /> +And the deadly fruit on the poisoned blast<br /> +Scattered its sorcery ages down.<br /> +And where once with cowl and gown,<br /> +Hymning the Imperial Queen of Light,<br /> +Went forth the Monks—the shade of night<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span>Was spread more deadly than tongue can tell.<br /> +Witchery walked where all had been well:<br /> +Well with all that hymned and prayed;<br /> +Well with Monk, and well with maid<br /> +That sought the Abbey for solace and aid.<br /> +But the lethal juices wrought their spell:<br /> +One by one was rung their knell:<br /> +One by one from choir and cell<br /> +They floated up with a hoarse farewell;<br /> +And the altars fell, and the Abbey bell<br /> +Was hush'd in the Deadly Nightshade Dell.<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "THE ROOKS OF FURNESS."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>In the southern extremity of Furness, about half a mile to +the west of Dalton, a deep narrow vale stretches itself from +the north, and opens to the south with an agreeable aspect to +the noonday sun; it is well watered with a rivulet of fine +water collected from the adjacent springs, and has many convenient +places for mills and fish-ponds. This romantic spot +is the Vale of Deadly Nightshade, or, as it is sometimes +called, Bekangs-Gill.</p> + +<p>The solitary and private situation of this dell being so well +formed and commodious for religious retreat had attracted +the attention of Evanus, or Ewanus, a monk, originally +belonging to the monastery of Savigny in Normandy, from +which he and a few associates had migrated, and had +recently seated themselves at Tulket, near Preston in +Amounderness, where Evanus was chosen to be their first +abbot. Accordingly, they were induced to change their +residence; and exactly three years and three days after +their settling at Tulket on the fourth of the nones +of July, 1124, they removed to the sequestered shades of +Bekangs-Gill, and there began the foundation of the magnificent +Abbey of St. Mary in Furness, in magnitude only second +of those in England belonging to the Cistercian Monks, and +the next in opulence after Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, +being endowed with princely wealth and almost princely +authority, and not unworthy of the style in which its charter +records the gifts and grants, with all their privileges, of its +Royal founder, "to God and St. Mary," in the following +words:—</p> + +<p>"In the name of the Blessed Trinity, and in honour of St. +Mary of Furness, I Stephen, earl of Bulloign and Mortaign, +consulting God, and providing for the safety of my own soul, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span>the soul of my wife the countess Matilda, the soul of my lord +and uncle Henry king of England and duke of Normandy, +and for the souls of all the faithful, living as well as dead, in +the year of our Lord 1127 of the Roman indiction, and the +5th and 18th of the epact:</p> + +<p>"Considering every day the uncertainty of life, that the +roses and flowers of kings, emperors, and dukes, and the +crowns and palms of all the great, wither and decay; and +that all things, with an uninterrupted course, tend to dissolution +and death:</p> + +<p>"I therefore return, give and grant, to God and St. Mary +of Furness, all Furness and Walney, with the privilege of +hunting; with Dalton, and all my lordship in Furness, with +the men and everything thereto belonging, that is, in woods +and in open grounds, in land and in water; and Ulverston, +and Roger Braithwaite, with all that belongs to him; my +fisheries at Lancaster, and Little Guoring, with all the land +thereof; with sac<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a>, and soc<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a>, tol<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a>, and team<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a>, infangenetheof<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a>, +and every thing within Furness, except the lands +of Michael Le Fleming; with this view, and upon this condition, +That in Furness an order of regular monks be by +divine permission established: which gift and offering I by +supreme authority appoint to be for ever observed: and that +it may remain firm and inviolate for ever, I subscribe this +charter with my hand; and confirm it with the sign of the +Holy Cross.</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>"Signed by</p> + +<p> +Henry, King of England and Duke of Normandy.<br /> +Thurstan, Archbishop of York.<br /> +Audin, } Bishops.<br /> +Boces, }<br /> +</p> +<div class="right"> +Robert, Keeper of the Seal.<br /> +Robert, Earl of Gloster."<br /> +</div> +</blockquote> +</blockquote> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span></p> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The magnitude of the Abbey may be known from the +dimensions of the ruins; and enough is standing to show +the style of the architecture, which breathes the same simplicity +of taste which is found in most houses belonging to +the Cistercian monks, which were erected about the same +time with Furness Abbey. The round and pointed arches +occur in the doors and windows. The fine clustered Gothic +and the heavy plain Saxon pillars stand contrasted. The +walls shew excellent masonry, are in many places counter-arched, +and the ruins discover a strong cement. But all is +plain: had the monks even intended, the stone would not +admit of such work as has been executed at Fountains and +Rieval Abbeys. The stone of which the buildings have been +composed is of a pale red colour, dug from the neighbouring +rocks, now changed by time and weather to a tint of dusky +brown, which accords well with the hues of plants and +shrubs that everywhere emboss the mouldering arches.</p> + +<p>The church and cloisters were encompassed with a wall, +which commenced at the east side of the great northern door, +and formed the strait enclosure; and a space of ground, to +the amount of sixty-five acres, was surrounded with a strong +stone wall, which enclosed the porter's lodge, the mills, +granaries, ovens, kilns, and fish-ponds belonging to the Abbey, +the ruins of which are still visible. This last was the great +enclosure, now called the deer-park, within which, placed on +the crown of an eminence that rises immediately from the +Abbey, and seen over all low Furness, are the remains of a +beacon or watch-tower, raised by the society for their further +security, and commanding a magnificent prospect. The door +leading to it is still remaining in the enclosure wall, on the +eastern side.</p> + +<p>During the residence of the monks at Tulket, and until the +election of their fifth Abbot (Richard de Bajocis) they were of +the order of Savigny under the rule of St. Benedict; and from +their habit or dress were called Grey Monks; but at the time +of the general matriculation of the Savignian monasteries with +that of Citeaux, the monks of Furness also accepted of the +reform, exchanged their patron St. Benedict for St. Bernard, +changed their dress from grey to white, and so became White +Monks, Bernardins, or Cistercians, the rule of which order they +religiously observed until the dissolution of the monasteries.</p> + +<p>The Cistercian order in its origin was devoted to the practice +of penance, silence, assiduous contemplation, and the angelical +functions (as Mr. West expresses it) of singing the divine +praises; wherefore it did not admit of the ordinary dissipation +which attends scholastic enquiries. St. Bernard who was +himself a man of learning, well knowing how far reading was +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>necessary to improve the mind even of a recluse, took great +care to furnish his monks with good libraries. Such of them +as were best qualified were employed in taking copies of +books in every branch of literature, many of which, beautifully +written on vellum, and elegantly illuminated, are at this +time to be seen in their libraries. They used neither furs nor +linen, and never eat any flesh, except in time of dangerous +sickness; they abstained even from eggs, butter, milk, and +cheese, unless upon extraordinary occasions, and when given +to them in alms. They had belonging to them certain religious +lay brethren, whose office was to cultivate their lands, and +attend to their secular affairs: these lived at their granges and +farms, and were treated in like manner with the monks, but +were never indulged with the use of wine. The monks who +attended the choir slept in their habits upon straw; they rose +at midnight, and spent the rest of the night in singing the +divine office. After prime and the first mass, having accused +themselves of their faults in public chapter, the rest of the day +was spent in a variety of spiritual exercises with uninterrupted +silence. From the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross +(the 14th of September) until Easter they observed a strict +fast: and flesh was banished from their infirmaries from Septuagesima +until Easter. This latter class of monks was confined +to the boundary wall, except that on some particular +days the members of it were allowed to walk in parties +beyond it, for exercise and amusement; but they were very +seldom permitted either to receive or pay visits. Much of +these rigorous observances was mitigated by a bull of Pope +Sixtus IV., in the year 1485, when among other indulgencies +the whole order was allowed to eat flesh three times in every +week; for which purpose a particular dining-room, separate +and distinct from the usual refectory, was fitted up in every +monastery. They were distinguished for extensive charities +and liberal hospitality; for travellers were so sumptuously +entertained at the Abbey, that it was not till the dissolution +that an inn was thought necessary in this part of Furness, +when one was opened for their accommodation, expressly +because the Monastery could no longer receive them. With +the rules of St. Bernard the monks had adopted the white +cassock, with a white caul and scapulary. Their choral dress +was either white or grey, with caul and scapulary of the same, +and a girdle of black wool; over that a hood and a rocket, +the front part of which descended to the girdle, where it +ended in a round, and the back part reached down to the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span>middle of the leg behind: when they appeared abroad, they +wore a caul and full black hood.</p> + +<p>The privileges and immunities granted to the Cistercian +order in general were very numerous: and those to the Abbey +of Furness were proportioned to its vast endowments. The +Abbot held his secular court in the neighbouring castle of +Dalton, where he presided, with the power of administering +not only justice, but injustice, since the lives and property +of the villain tenants of the lordship of Furness were +consigned by a grant of King Stephen to the disposal +of the lordly Abbot! The monks also could be arraigned, +for whatever crime, only by him. The military establishment +of Furness likewise depended upon the Abbot. +Every mesne lord and free homager, as well as the customary +tenants, took an oath of fealty to the Abbot, to be true to +him against all men, except the king. Every mesne lord +obeyed the summons of the Abbot, or his steward, in raising +his quota of armed men; and every tenant of a whole tenement +furnished a man and a horse of war for guarding the +coast, for the border service, or any expedition against the +common enemy of the king and kingdom. The habiliments +of war were a steel coat, or coat of mail, a falce, or falchion, +a jack, the bow, the byll, the crossbow, and spear.</p> + +<p>What wonder, says a lively writer, that Abbot Pele, or any +other man, owning such vast possessions and having such temporal +and spiritual privileges as the following, should have +grown proud and gross, and contumacious! Within the +limits of his own district he was little short of omnipotent. +The same oath of fealty was taken to him as to the king +himself; he had no less than twelve hundred and fifty-eight +able men armed with coats of mail, spears, and bows and +arrows, upon the possessions of the Monastery, ready for +active service, four hundred of whom were cavalry; besides +manorial rights, he had extended feudal privileges, appointment +of sheriff, coroner, and constable, wreck of the sea, +freedom from suit of county; a free market and fair at Dalton, +with a court of criminal jurisdiction; lands and tenements +exempt from all toll and tax whatever; the emoluments incidental +to wardship, such as the fining of young ladies who +married against his will, &c. He had the patronage of all the +churches save one; no bailiff could come into his territories +under any pretence whatever; and no man was to presume +in any way to molest or disturb him on pain of forfeiting ten +pounds to the king. In addition to its rich home territory in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span>the North Lonsdale, the Abbey possessed the manor of Beaumont +in the south; land and houses at Bolton, and in many +other places near Lancaster; five villages in Yorkshire, with +much land and pasturage; and a mansion for the abbot, in +York itself; all beautiful Borrowdale in Cumberland was +their property; houses at Boston in Lincolnshire; land in the +Isle of Man; and houses in Drogheda and two other towns +in Ireland. The home lordship comprehended the rich district +of Low Furness and all the district included between the +river Duddon on the one side, and the Elter (beginning at the +Shire Stones on the top of Wrynose), Lake Windermere and +the Leven on the other; with the isles of Walney and Foulney, +and the Pile of Fouldrey. They had an excellent harbour of +refuge fitted to accommodate the largest vessels of that era at +any time of tide, and they had four good iron mines in their +near neighbourhood, the ore of which, however, they do not +seem to have exported. The total income of the society +appears, at the time of its dissolution in 1537, to have been +more than nine hundred pounds a-year; which would be +represented by about ten times that value in our time, or <i>nine +thousand a-year</i>.</p> + +<p>But in the reign of Edward the First, its revenues seem to +have been nearly as large again. According to the late Mr. +Beck, the author of <i>Annales Furnesienses</i>, to which we are +indebted for much of these particulars, the tenants of the +Abbey paid great part of their rents by provisioning the +monks with grain, lambs, calves, &c., or bartered them for +beer, bread, iron, wood, and manure. More than two +hundred gallons of beer were distributed weekly among these +tenants upon tunning days, accompanied with about three +score of loaves of bread; the expenditure in this particular +alone, per annum, must have been at least one thousand +pounds of our present money: one ton of malleable iron was +also given to the same people for the repair of their ploughs, +and wood for that of their houses and fences. They might +take, too, all the manure—amounting yearly to four or five +hundred cartloads—with the exception of that from the +Abbot's and high stables. The tenants paid by way of fine, +or admission to their tenements, but one penny, called "God's +Penny," and were sworn to be true to the king and to the +convent. What alms were distributed amongst the poor by +this wealthy and pious society we have no means of discovering. +It was bound, upon the anniversary of Saints +Crispin and Crispinian, to distribute two oxen, two cows, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span>one bull among the poor folks who assembled for that purpose +at the Porter's Lodge. At the same place, ninety-nine +shillings' worth of bread, and six maze of <i>fresh</i> herrings, +valued at forty shillings, were also given in alms every Monday +and Tuesday; the convent maintained from its very commencement +thirteen poor men, allowing each of them thirty-three +shillings and fourpence yearly: and eight widows +received a similar allowance of provisions to that allowed for +the same number of monks. They had five flagons of ale +weekly, and each of them a <i>clibanus</i>,<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> which it is supposed +must have been a certain quantity of bread. Lastly, there +were two schools held in some part of the monastery, where +the children of those tenants who paid their rent in provisions, +and who it is probable lived in the neighbourhood, received +their education gratuitously, and dined in the hall during their +attendance as well. If one of these showed symptoms of +superior intelligence, he had the privilege of being elected +into the society in preference to all others, by which step he +might rise by good fortune or <i>finesse</i> even to be Lord of +Furness.</p> + +<p>The society numbered three and thirty monks at the time +of its dissolution, and about one hundred converts and +servants, and no convert was admitted who could not pay for +the labour of an hireling. To have been head of such a +colony at home, and to have wielded such a power abroad, +must have made even the most pious of abbots "draw too +proud a breath;" and yet with all the faults and all the vices +of that cowled priesthood, we cannot now forbear to pity their +sad fate, when bidden by the remorseless king to leave their +grand old residences and quiet ways of life wherein they had +lived so long!</p> + +<p>It must be added, that to so much power and so great +prosperity, with all the beneficence and usefulness of the +society there had come to be allied an amount of profligacy +and irreligion proportionate to the many advantages which it +had enjoyed.</p> + +<p>The early part of the sixteenth century found the morality +of the monastery represented in many instances by social +arrangements in direct violation of the injunctions laid upon +all monastic institutions, "in the king's behalf;" amongst +others, of that one which especially enjoins that "women of +what state or degree soever they be, be utterly excluded from +entering into the limit or circuit of this monastery or place, +unless they first obtain license of the King's Highness, or his +visitor." It was stated, and apparently well authenticated, +that Rogerus Pele (abbot) had two wives, or what amounted +to the same thing, two concubines; and amongst his subordinate +monks, Johannes Groyn had one, whilst Thomas Hornsby +had five. Thus, evil days in one sense had already come; +and others were fast drawing nigh. The mandate, moreover, +had been prepared for their destruction independently of +these and such like shortcomings; but they afforded a +powerful handle by which to wrest them to destruction.</p></blockquote> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span></p> +<blockquote> + +<p>First came the commissioners appointed by the King for +visiting the monasteries in the North of England, with their +searching examination into everything connected with each +separate society: next, the list of crimes charged on the +monks at the time of the visitation: then the devices of the +Earl of Sussex "advertised" in his letter to the King, wherein +"I, the said erle, devising with myselfe, yf one way would +not serve, how, and by what other means, the said monks +might be ryd from the said abbey;" the summons to Whalley +of the unhappy Abbot to make his proposal, in his own +handwriting, according to the "ded enrolled, which A. Fitzherbert +hath drawn" for the surrender of his monastery to the +King: and then the final consummation of all. For come it +must. On the 7th day of April, 1537, in spite of prayers to +the "kynge," in spite of many a "shillinge in golde" given +to the "right honerable and our singler goode Mr. Mayster +Thomas Cromwell, secretarie to the Kynge's highness," the +royal commissioners came down upon their prey. After +hanging the Abbot of Whalley, and the royal injunction that +"all monks and chanons, that be in any wise faultie, are <i>to be +tyed uppe without further delay or ceremonie</i>," the Abbot of +Furnesse is found "to be of a very facile and ready minde," +and all hope of averting his doom being over, and his sense +of peril hastening his submission, "it coming freely of himself +and without enforcement," he signed the fatal deed of surrender, +confessing with contrition "the mysorder and evil lyfe +both to God and our prynce of the brethren of this monasterie;" +the pen passed from the hand of the Superior to each +monk in succession, and the "lamp on the altar of St. Mary +of Furness was extinguished for ever."</p> + +<p>With forty shillings given to them by the King, and clad in +"secular wedes" (that is, lay garments), without which they +were not permitted to depart, they turned their faces from +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span>their magnificent home in the Nightshade Dell. To the +degraded Abbot was given the Rectory of Dalton, valued at +£33 6s. 9d. yearly, obtained with difficulty, and even of +which he was not allowed undisturbed possession. But no +traces of his associates at the Abbey appear to have survived +their departure from it, unless we dimly discern them in the +miserable record which relates that sixteen years after the +period of their dissolution, fifteen pounds<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> were still paid in +annuities out of the revenues of the late monastery; that +noble possession which the hapless Thirty surrendered to the +King.</p> + +<p>Of the three and thirty monks of which the society at +Furness was composed, the names of the Abbot, the Prior, +and twenty-eight of the brethren, were appended to the deed: +two had been committed to ward and sure custody in the +King's castle of Lancaster, for being "found faultye:"<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> and +one of the number remains unaccounted for.</p></blockquote> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> <i>Saccum.</i>—The power of imposing fines upon tenants and vassals +within the lordship.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> <i>Soccum.</i>—The power and authority of administering justice.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> <i>Tollum.</i>—A duty paid for buying and selling, &c.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> <i>Theam, Team.</i>—A royalty granted for trying bondmen and villains, +with a sovereign power over their villain tenants, their wives, children, +and goods, to dispose of them at pleasure.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> <i>Infangenetheof.</i>—The power of judging of thefts committed within +the liberty of Furness.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> <i>Clibanus</i>, a portable oven: the term probably represents the +quantity of bread contained in it at one baking.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> This sum is stated by West to be £151, which Mr. Beck says is a +mistake. The deed of surrender of Bolton Priory was signed by the +Prior and fourteen canons. Of the subscribers to this instrument, two, +in 1553, which would be about sixteen years after their dissolution, +continued to receive annuities of £6 13s. 4d.; one, £6; seven, £5 6s. 8d. +each: and one, £4. The other canons were dead, or otherwise +provided for.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> For treason. One of them, Henry Talley, had said that no secular +knave should be head of the Church; and the other had declared that +the king was not the true king, and no rightful heir to the crown.</p></div></div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span></p> + +<h2>KING DUNMAIL.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +They buried on the mountain's side<br /> +King Dunmail, where he fought and died.<br /> +But mount, and mere, and moor again<br /> +Shall see King Dunmail come to reign.<br /> +<br /> +Mantled and mailed repose his bones<br /> +Twelve cubits deep beneath the stones;<br /> +But many a fathom deeper down<br /> +In Grisedale Mere lies Dunmail's crown.<br /> +<br /> +Climb thou the rugged pass, and see<br /> +High midst those mighty mountains three,<br /> +How in their joint embrace they hold<br /> +The Mere that hides his crown of gold.<br /> +<br /> +There in that lone and lofty dell<br /> +Keeps silent watch the sentinel.<br /> +A thousand years his lonely rounds<br /> +Have traced unseen that water's bounds.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span><br /> +His challenge shocks the startled waste,<br /> +Still answered from the hills with haste,<br /> +As passing pilgrims come and go<br /> +From heights above or vales below.<br /> +<br /> +When waning moons have filled their year,<br /> +A stone from out that lonely Mere<br /> +Down to the rocky Raise is borne,<br /> +By martial shades with spear and horn.<br /> +<br /> +As crashes on the pile the stone,<br /> +The echoes to the King make known<br /> +How still their faithful watch they hold<br /> +In Grisedale o'er his crown of gold.<br /> +<br /> +And when the Raise has reached its sum,<br /> +Again will brave King Dunmail come;<br /> +And all his Warriors marching down<br /> +The dell, bear back his golden crown.<br /> +<br /> +And Dunmail, mantled, crowned, and mailed,<br /> +Again shall Cumbria's King be hailed;<br /> +And o'er his hills and valleys reign<br /> +When Eildon's heights are field and plain.<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "KING DUNMAIL."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The heroic king Dunmail was the last of a succession of +native princes, who up to the tenth century ruled over those +mountainous provinces in the north-western region of England +which were chiefly peopled by the earliest masters of Britain, +the Celtic tribes of Cymri, or Picts. The territories of +Dunmail, as king of Cumbria, included the entire tract of +country from the western limits of the Lothians in Scotland +to the borders of Lancashire, and from Northumberland to +the Irish Sea.</p> + +<p>The several British kingdoms which were originally comprised +within this area maintained a long and resolute +resistance against the power of the first Saxon monarchs; +and although in the course of time most of them were brought +under the supremacy of those strangers, as tributary provinces, +they still continued a sort of independent existence, electing +their own kings and obeying their own laws.</p> + +<p>On the establishment of the Heptarchy, several of these +provinces were included within the Saxon kingdom of Northumbria; +but although they were claimed by the Northumbrian +monarchs, there was even then little admixture of their people +with the fair-haired followers of Hengist and Horsa, and each +continued to be governed by its own chieftain or king until +the Norman conquest, and existed under what was called the +Danish law. So long as the native chieftains were allowed to +exercise a subordinate authority, the Northumbrian kings had +no occasion to interfere with the internal government of the +subject provinces. If the tribute was duly rendered, they +remained unmolested; if it was withheld, payment was +enforced by arms; or, in extreme cases, the refractory state +(to use a modern phrase) was "annexed," and the domestic +government extinguished.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span></p> +<p>Of the petty rulers of these British kingdoms no notices +have been transmitted to us. These are confined to the kings +of Strathclyde, or, as they are designated by our earliest +informers, of Alclyde; the latter being the name of their +capital, which stood on a rocky eminence, adjacent to the +modern town of Dumbarton; whilst the former significantly +describes the position of their territory in the great strath or +valley of the Clyde. This little district (of Strathclyde), +which must not be confounded with the larger territory of +Cumbria, that as yet had no existence under any general +government or common name, comprised the modern counties +of Lanark, Ayr, and Renfrew, on the south of the Clyde, +and, probably, Dumbartonshire on the north. In the series +of Strathclydian kings, tradition has placed the name of the +celebrated King Arthur; and the local nomenclature is said +to afford many traces of his fame, especially in the case of their +citadel of Alclyde, or Dumbarton, which is styled "Castrum +Arthuri," in a record of the reign of David the Second. +Ryderic, the successor of Arthur, died in 601, in the eighth +year of the reign of Ethelfrith, king of Northumberland; and +from that time onward, during the remainder of this and the +succeeding reigns of Edwin and Oswald, we hear nothing +of the independent existence of this people, nor do we even +know the names of their chieftains; it is probable that they +had been reduced to subjection. But in the very year of +Oswald's disastrous death, <span class="smcap">A. D.</span> 642, we find the Britons +carrying on important military operations on their own +account, in which Owen their king distinguished himself, by +slaying on the battle-field of Strath-carmaic, Donal Break, +king of the Scots. During the long reign of Oswi in Northumberland, +we read of one king of Strathclyde, Guinet, but +the record is only of his death, <span class="smcap">A. D.</span> 657, not of any exploit +which he performed. On the death of Ecgfrith, <span class="smcap">A. D.</span> 670, +the Britons of Strathclyde appear to have recovered their +liberty; and thenceforward we have a tolerably complete list +of their kings during the two succeeding centuries.</p> + +<p>Ethelfrith, who had effected the conquest of the central +and western portion of Northumbria, and may be regarded as +the founder of the Northumbrian kingdom, "conquered," as +we read in Beda, "more territories from the Britons than +any other king or tribune;" but although he was thus able +to overrun a vast district of country, his followers were not +sufficiently numerous to colonise it. In some places, indeed, +"he expelled the inhabitants, and placed Angles in their +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span>stead," but "in others," and doubtless to a much greater +extent, "he allowed the vanquished to retain their lands, on +payment of tribute." In the reign of Edwine, too, the Anglo-Saxon +population were under his immediate government; the +petty British States were still ruled by tributary princes. +And no doubt their political condition continued more or less +the same during the century and half which preceded the +dissolution of the Heptarchy, and after the reconstruction of +its several parts under one crown.</p> + +<p>On Northumbria being overrun by the renowned Danish +Viking Healfdene, <span class="smcap">A. D.</span> 875, fifty years after the Heptarchal +kingdoms had been dissolved, it is recorded that the indigenous +inhabitants of the part called Cymriland, the Cumbrians, +or Britons, being too weak to defend themselves from the +hateful aggressions of the Danes, and deprived of the protection +of the Saxon kings of Northumbria, who had themselves +succumbed to the common enemy, turned for aid to the only +neighbours who seemed sufficiently powerful to resist the +invaders. They therefore implored the aid of Grig or Gregory, +king of Scotland, by whose assistance in the following year +the Scandinavian ravagers were expelled. These Indigenœ, or +British inhabitants, must have been the people of Galloway, +and of the district around Carlisle; for the Strathclyde +Britons were already under the authority of Gregory, as the +guardian of Eocha, a minor, who, as the son of Hu king of +Strathclyde, and nephew of the second Constantine, king of +Scotland, succeeded to the crowns of both these realms. +Whether the Britons subsequently quarrelled with their +powerful ally, and being defeated in battle, were obliged to +cede to the victor their rocky highlands and adjacent places; +or they voluntarily submitted themselves to Gregory, with +their lands and possessions, thinking it preferable to be subject +to the Scots, who, although enemies, were Christians, than +to infidel pagans, there does not appear to be any evidence to +determine.</p> + +<p>The vigour of Gregory king of Scotland having been found, +notwithstanding his prowess and the success of his arms, +inadequate to support an authority which had been usurped +by him as regent during the minority of Eocha, after holding +the reins of government in Scotland and Strathclyde during +eleven years, was expelled, together with Eocha, by Donal, +son of the late King Constantine II., <span class="smcap">A. D.</span> 893.</p> + +<p>To Donal, who was slain by the Danes, <span class="smcap">A. D.</span> 904, succeeded +his cousin Constantine III., the son of Aodh, who had been +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span>slain by Gregory. Another Donal, brother to Constantine +III., had been "elected" king of the Strathclyde Britons +four years before the elevation of that monarch to the throne +of Scotland. During the life of this Donal, the districts of +Carlisle and Galloway were not united to Strathclyde, but +remained attached to Scotland; from which, however, they +were separated after his decease, and given to his son and +successor, Eugenius.</p> + +<p>To the new kingdom, thus founded by Constantine in favour +of his nephew and presumptive heir, by the union of Carlisle +and Galloway with Strathclyde, was given the name of Cumbria, +derived from the common appellation of its inhabitants. Its +extent is precisely defined in a return made by the prior and +convent of Carlisle to a writ of Edward the First, requiring +them, as well as other religious houses, to furnish, from +chronicles or other documents in their possession, any information +bearing upon the alleged right of supremacy over +Scotland vested in the English crown. The return sets forth, +"That district was called Cumbria, which is now included in +the bishoprics of Carlisle, Glasgow, and Whitherne, together +with the country lying between Carlisle and the river +Duddon:" in other words, the entire tract from the Clyde to +the confines of Lancashire. In the "Inquisitio Davidis," +which does indeed extend to all parts of Cumbria which +remained in David's possession, we are expressly told that +"he had not then within his dominion the whole Cumbrian +region," the present county of Cumberland, or, as it was then +called, Earldom of Carlisle, having been severed from it soon +after the Norman Conquest. Although Fordun is the only +author who narrates the cession of Carlisle and Galloway to +Gregory, and the subsequent grant of these districts to +Eugenius, whereby they were united to Strathclyde, and the +whole merged into a single government, we have abundant +evidence of the existence of Cumbria and the intimate union +of Constantine and Eugenius at this period. In the year 938, +these princes, in conjunction with the Danes and Welsh, +attempted to wrest the sovereign power out of the vigorous +hands of Athelstane. The combined forces were signally +defeated by the Anglo-Saxon monarch at Brunanburgh (supposed +by some to be Bromborough, near Chester); Eugenius +was slain, and Constantine escaped only by a precipitate +retreat.</p> + +<p>It is at this period that Dunmail, the second and last <i>sole</i> +"king of rocky Cumberland," appears upon the historic +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span>stage. It has been thought not improbable that he was the +son of Eugenius or Owen, the preceding king, and the same +person who is described as Dunwallon, "the son of Owen," +and who died at Rome thirty years after his memorable +engagement with Edmund of England and Leoline of South +Wales, in the mountain pass which is distinguished by his +name. "In the annals of Ulster, indeed," say the supporters +of this supposition, "this Dunwallon is described as king of +Wales, but Caradoc calls him prince of Strathclyde, and his +patronymic designation seems to identify him with Dunmail, +if, as we assume, the latter was the son of the first king of +Cumberland." But by whatever means Dunmail obtained +the crown; whether by inheritance as the son of Eugenius, +or by "election" as one of the native Cumbrian princes, and +according to the ancient custom of the Britons; we soon find +him supporting the Northumbrians in hostilities against the +Saxon monarch, Edmund the First. That monarch, although +victorious, was so weakened that he dared not pursue Dunmail +without the assistance of the Scots. And the condition upon +which Malcolm, king of Scotland, joined Edmund with his +forces, was, that if they were successful, Malcolm should +possess Cumbria by paying homage to Edmund and his +successors. The subjection of this wild race of mountaineers +was then determined upon as a necessary step towards the +pacification of the kingdom; and the last record which history +affords us of the Cumbrian Britons, is that of their defeat, +<span class="smcap">A. D.</span> 945, in the heart of their native mountains, between +Grasmere and Keswick, and their final dispersion or emigration +into Wales.</p> + +<p>The place where Dunmail determined to hazard the battle +which proved fatal to him was the famous Pass which bears +his name. Edmund slew his vanquished enemy upon the spot +which is still commemorated by the rude pile of stones so well +known as his cairn; and, in conformity with the barbarous +customs of that age, put out the eyes of his two sons; after +which, having completely ravaged and laid waste the territories +of Dunmail, he bestowed them on his ally Malcolm; the latter +undertaking to preserve in peace the Northern parts of +England, and to pay the required fealty and homage to +Edmund. Upon the same conditions they were afterwards +confirmed to him by one of Edmund's successors, Edgar; +which monarch also divided what at that time remained of +the ancient kingdom of Northumbria into Baronies, and +constituted it an Earldom. Thenceforward these north +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span>western regions were held as a military benefice subject to the +English sceptre by the heir to the crown of Scotland, under +the title of the Principality of Cymriland or Cumbria. This +Principality, which included Westmorland, continued in +possession of the heirs to the Scottish crown during the reigns +of Harold and Hardicanute, the last Danish Kings, and of +Edward the Confessor and Harold the Second, the last Saxon +monarchs of England.</p> + +<p>The only circumstance which is recorded of it during the +century which followed the defeat of Dunmail, is its total +devastation by Ethelred, king of England, <span class="smcap">A. D.</span> 1000, at +which time it is represented by Henry of Huntingdon as the +principal rendezvous of the marauding Danes.</p> + +<p>In the year 1052, Macbeth held the Scottish throne, whilst +Malcolm, the son of his predecessor, the murdered Duncan, +sat on that of Cumbria. Siward, earl of Northumberland, +was commissioned by Edward the Confessor to invade Scotland, +and avenge the "murder" of Duncan. In this he +succeeded, defeated and slew Macbeth, and placed the king +of Cumbria, or, as some historians assert, his son, on the +throne of Scotland. This Malcolm, surnamed Canmore, +held at the time of the Conquest, Cumbria and Lothian, in +addition to the ancient kingdom of Scotland.</p> + +<p>In the year 1072, the Earldom of Carlisle, containing the +present County of Cumberland, with the Barony of Westmorland, +was wrested from Malcolm Canmore by William +the Conqueror, who granted it to his powerful noble, Ranulph +de Meschin, one of that numerous train of military adventurers, +amongst whom he had distributed all the fair territory of +Britain, to hold, with a sort of royal power, by the sword, as +he himself held the kingdom by virtue of the crown,—<i>tenere +ita libere ad gladium, sicut ipse rex tenebat Angliam per +coronam</i>.</p> + +<p>Thus the existing limits were established between England +and Scotland. The kingdom of Cumbria was reduced to the +dimensions indicated by the "Inquisitio Davidis," and was +held as a principality dependent on the crown of Scotland; +until it at length became formally attached to the Scottish +dominions.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the Barony of Westmorland having been +separated from the Earldom of Carlisle, there remained the +district comprised within the present limits of the County of +Cumberland, to which alone that name was thenceforward +applied.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span></p> +<p>The circular heap of stones which forms the pile called +Dunmail-Raise, and gives its name to the mountain Pass +between the vales of Grasmere and Wytheburn, is seen +adjoining the highroad, where it is crossed by the wall which +there marks the boundaries of Westmorland and Cumberland. +The stones constituting this rude monument are thrown loosely +together on each side of an earthen mound in a huge cairn +or <i>raise</i>, the history of which is little known, and concerning +which antiquarians are by no means agreed. It measures +twenty-four yards in diameter, and rises gradually to an +elevation of six feet, being flat at the top, and the centre +indicated by a well defined space in rather larger stones.</p> + +<p>Mr. Gilpin conjectures that the pile was probably intended to +mark a division not between the two Counties of Cumberland +and Westmorland, but rather between the two kingdoms of +England and Scotland, in elder times, when the Scottish +border extended beyond its present bounds. The generally +received tradition, however, concerning this cairn is, that it was +raised to commemorate the name and defeat of Dunmail, the last +king of Cumbria, in the year 945, in his conflict with the +Saxon Edmund, on the occasion above related. "But," +says Mr. Gilpin, "for whatever purpose this rude pile was +fabricated, it hath yet suffered little change in its dimensions; +and is one of those monuments of antiquity, which may be +characterized by the scriptural phrase of <i>remaining to this very +day</i>."</p> + +<p>The legend of the Cumbrian hero and his host, awaiting +the completion of their rocky pile beneath the lonely mountain +pass; from which they are to issue in their appointed time to +join "in that great battle which will be fought before the end +of the world;" is but one of the beliefs which seem to have +been left behind them by our Scandinavian ancestors. It is +in fact another version of the story of Woden and his host, +whose winter trance is enacted by various popular heroes; +and which has not only been localised amongst ourselves, +but has almost overspread all christendom. The original +nature of Woden or Odin was represented as that of a +storm god, who swept through the air in roaring winds, +either alone or with a great retinue consisting of souls of +the dead which have become winds. The whirlwind, +which precedes the tempest, and has ravaged the woods and +fields, is pursued to its death in the last storms of autumn. +Sometimes the god is pictured as a hunter, and the winds +have taken the shapes of men, dogs, etc., whilst the whirlwind +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span>figures as a boar. The achievement of its death is soon +followed by that of the hunter Woden himself; who during +the winter is dead, or asleep, or enchanted in the cloud +mountain. From this beautiful fiction of a twilight age, the +winter trance of Woden, has grown up the story of those +caverned warriors, which, under whatever name they are +known, and wherever they repose, are all representations of +Odin and his host.</p> + +<p>Arthur, the vanished king, our own Arthur, whose return +is expected by the Britons, according to mediæval Germany, +is said to dwell with his men at arms in a mountain; all well +provided with food, drink, horses, and clothes.</p> + +<p>Charlemagne slumbers with his enchanted army in many +places; in the Desenberg near Warburg, in the Castle of +Herstella on the Weser, in the Karlsburg on the Spessart, +the Frausberg and the Donnersberg on the Pfalz, etc.</p> + +<p>The Emperor Henry the Fowler is entranced in the Sudernerberg, +near Goslar.</p> + +<p>The Emperor Frederick Barbarossa is in a cavern in the +Kyffhaüser mountain, in the old palatinate of the Saxon +imperial house. There with all his knights around him, he +sits to this day, leaning his head upon his arm, at a table +through which his beard has grown, or round which, according +to other accounts, it has grown twice. When it has thrice +encircled the table he will wake up to battle. The cavern +glitters with gold and jewels, and is as bright as the sunniest +day. Thousands of horses stand at mangers filled with thorn +bushes instead of hay, and make a prodigious noise as they +stamp on the ground and rattle their chains. The old Kaiser +sometimes wakes up for a moment and speaks to his visitors. +He once asked a herdsman who had found his way into the +Kyffhaüser, "Are the ravens (Odin's birds) still flying about +the mountain?" The man replied that they were. "Then," +said Barbarossa, "I must sleep a hundred years longer."</p> + +<p>The Eildon Hills, which witnessed of old the magical +exploits of Michael Scott, are three in number. These were +originally one: their present formation being the work of a +demon, for whom the wizard, in fulfilment of some infernal +contract, was obliged to find employment, and by whom the +mighty task was achieved in a single night. They are nearly +of the same height, changing greatly their appearance, and, +as it were, their attitude, with the point of view; at one time +one of them only being visible, at another time two, and +again all three. They form a peculiar and romantic feature +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span>in the scenery of the Tweed: and are still to the eye of +the imagination what they once were in the common belief,—wizard +hills, the subjects of wild traditions and unearthly +adventures. In them lay for centuries those "caverned +warriors," which Thomas the Rhymer showed at night to the +daring horse jockey, who went by appointment to the Lucken +Hare to receive the price of the black horse which he had +sold to the venerable favourite of the Fairy Queen. His +money having been paid to him, in ancient coin; on the +invitation of his customer to view his residence, he followed +his guide in the deepest astonishment through long ranges of +stalls, in each of which a horse stood motionless, while an +armed warrior lay equally still at the charger's feet. "All +these men," said the prophet in a whisper, "will awaken at +the battle of Sheriffmuir."</p> + +<p>The small mountain lake, called Grisedale Tarn, is situated +at a very considerable elevation above the surrounding vales, +in a depression formed at a point where the shoulders of +Helvellyn, Seat-Sandal, and Fairfield touch each other; and +just below the summit of the "hause" or pass through which +winds the mountain track that leads from Grasmere into +Patterdale.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>THE BRIDALS OF DACRE.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +The Baron of Greystoke is laid in the quire.<br /> +Who is she that sits lone in her mourning attire?<br /> +Her maids all in silence stand weeping apart:<br /> +Or but whisper the woe that is big at her heart.<br /> +<br /> +From her guardian the King the dread summons has come;<br /> +And Greystoke's sweet orphan must quit her lone home:<br /> +With the proudest of Barons to wait on her word—<br /> +His domain for her pleasaunce, her safeguard his sword.<br /> +<br /> +But what is to her all their homage and state,<br /> +Since the youthful Lord Dacre may pass not their gate?<br /> +Even now he forgets her, she thinks in her gloom;<br /> +And the Cliffords to-morrow will bear her to Brough'm.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span><br /> +"With him, O with him," in her sorrow she cried,<br /> +"With the gallant Lord Dacre to run by my side<br /> +"In the fields, as of old, with his hand on my rein,<br /> +"I would give all the wealth the wide world can contain."—<br /> +<br /> +Lord Dacre forget her? No! sooner the might<br /> +Of Helvellyn shall bend to the storm on its height;<br /> +He has vow'd—"Let them woo! but in spite of the King<br /> +"The wide north with her bridal at Dacre shall ring."<br /> +<br /> +As the Cliffords rode hard on that morrow to claim<br /> +The fair ward of the King, by Lord Dacre's they came.<br /> +And they cast out their words in derision and scorn,<br /> +As they pass'd by his tower in the prime of the morn.<br /> +<br /> +"Shall we greet the bright heiress of Greystock for thee?<br /> +"Or await thee at Brough'm her rich bridal to see?"<br /> +—"In our annals," he cried, "we've a story of old,<br /> +"A fit tale for a bridal, that <i>twice</i> shall be told.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span><br /> +"In your Skipton's high hall, in your stateliest room<br /> +"Of Pendragon, and high through the arches of Brough'm,<br /> +"Have your bridals been sung, but not one to the lay<br /> +"That I'll ring through old Brough'm for the bride on that day.<br /> +<br /> +"Your meats may be scant, and unbrimm'd the bright bowl;<br /> +"But the notes of that tale through your fortress shall roll!<br /> +"Here I pledge me, proud Cliffords! come friend, or come foe,<br /> +"With that tale of old times to her bridal I'll go!"—<br /> +<br /> +Loud laugh'd they in scorn as hard onward they rode:<br /> +And the horsemen and horses all gallantly show'd.<br /> +With bright silver and gold, too, her harness did ring,<br /> +As they rode back to Brough'm with the Ward of the King.<br /> +<br /> +And proud was the welcome, and courtly the grace,<br /> +And warm was the clasp of that stately embrace,<br /> +When the Lady of Brough'm took her home to her breast,<br /> +Like a lamb to the fold, a lone dove to its nest.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span><br /> +But in still hours of night, and mid pastimes by day,<br /> +To the wild woods of Greystoke her heart fled away,<br /> +To the fields where, as once with <i>his</i> hand on her rein,<br /> +She would give all the world to ride child-like again.<br /> +<br /> +It was night; when the moon through her circle had worn;<br /> +And back into darkness her crescent was borne;<br /> +Not in fancy nor dreams came a voice to her side—<br /> +"Sweet, awake thee, Lord Dacre is come for his bride."<br /> +<br /> +Through the lattice he bore her, and fast did he fold<br /> +In his arms the sweet prize from the wind and the cold;<br /> +Sprang the wall to his steed, and o'er moorland and plain<br /> +Bore her off to his Tower by the Dacor again.<br /> +<br /> +And the Cliffords that morn in their banquetting hall<br /> +Read the legend his dagger had traced on the wall—<br /> +"In the annals of Dacre the story is told<br /> +Of Matilda the Fair and Lord Ranulph the Bold!<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span><br /> +"The bride-meats unbaked, and the bride-cup unbrew'd,<br /> +Not by bridesmaid for bride even a rose to be strew'd,<br /> +Was the way with our sire in that story of old<br /> +Of Matilda the Fair and Lord Ranulph the Bold!<br /> +<br /> +"But they woke up to fury in Warwick that morn.<br /> +For a bride from their Fortress by night had been borne.<br /> +And your annals in Brough'm of its sluggards shall ring,<br /> +That have lost for the Cliffords the Ward of their King."<br /> +<br /> +The beard of that Baron curled fiercely with ire,<br /> +And the blood through his veins raged—a torrent of fire,<br /> +As he glanced from the panel by turns to his sword;<br /> +And then strode from the hall without deigning a word.<br /> +<br /> +They sought her through turret, by bush, and by stone;<br /> +But the bower had been broken, the Beauty was gone;<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span>And the joy-bells of Dacre from Greystock to Brough'm<br /> +Pealed the news through the vales that the bride was brought home.<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "THE BRIDALS OF DACRE."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>Dacre Castle, one of the outermost of a chain of border +fortresses stretching down the valleys of the Eamont and the +Eden in Cumberland, is a plain quadrangular building, with +battlemented parapets, and four square turrets, one at each +corner; it is now converted into a farm house. The moat is +filled up, although the site is still to be traced, and the +outworks are destroyed. There are two entrances—one at +the west tower, and another between the towers in the east +front. The walls are about seven feet in thickness. There +are two arched dungeons communicating by steps with the +ground floor; and access was obtained to the roof by means +of four circular staircases, one in each tower; some of which +are now closed up. The staircases, however, did not conduct +to the top of the towers; this was gained by means of stone +steps from the roof of the Castle.</p> + +<p>Bede mentions a monastery, which being built near the +river Dacor, took its name from it, over which the religious +man Suidbert presided. It was probably destroyed by the +Danes, and never restored; and there are no vestiges of it +remaining: the present church is supposed to have been built +from the ruins.</p> + +<p>William of Malmesbury speaks of a Congress held at Dacre +in the year 934, when Constantine, king of Scotland, and his +nephew Eugenius, king of Cumberland, met king Athelstan, +and did homage to him at Dacre. This fact is singularly +corroborated by there being in the Castle a room called to +this day the "room of the three kings," while the historical +fact itself is entirely forgotten in the country. This proves +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span>the antiquity of the tradition, which has survived the original +building and attached itself to the present, no part of which +dates from an earlier period than the fourteenth century. +That Dacre was in those remote times a place of some +importance is evident from the meeting aforesaid. The occasion +appears to have been the defection of Guthred, with +Anlaff his brother, and Inguld king of York, when Athelstan +levied a great force, and entered Northumberland so unexpectedly, +that the malcontents had scarcely time to secure +themselves by flight. Guthred obtained protection under +Constantine, king of Scotland, to whom Athelstan sent +messengers, demanding his surrender, or upon refusal, he +threatened to come in quest of him at the head of his army. +Constantine, although greatly piqued at this message, yet +afraid of the formidable arms of Athelstan, consented to +meet him at Dacre; to which place he came, attended by +the then king of Cumberland, where they did homage to +Athelstan.</p> + +<p>After the Conquest, if not before, Dacre was a mesne +manor held of the barons of Greystoke by military suit and +service. The parish, manor, rivulet, and castle, were all +blended with the name of the owners. Their arms, the +pilgrim's scallop, may possibly have been taken from their +being engaged in Palestine; but as the name of their place +dates as far back as the time of Athelstan, the Dacres no +doubt took their name, like most of the families of the +district, from the place where they were settled, and with all +deference to the cross-legged knight<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> in the church, who may +or may not have battled at the siege of Acre, its present +Norman spelling is more likely to have arisen from the +manner in which it is entered in the Domesday Book than +from any exploits of his before that famous fortress. That +they were men of high spirit and enterprise, and favourites of +the ladies, there exists convincing evidence. Matilda, the +great heiress of Gilsland,<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> was by Randolph Dacre carried +off from Warwick Castle, in the night-time, while she was +Edward the Third's Ward, and under the custody and care of +Thomas de Beauchamp, a stout Earl of Warwick; and +Thomas Lord Dacre dashingly followed the example of his +ancestor, nearly two centuries afterwards, by carrying off, +also in the night time, from Brougham Castle, Elizabeth of +Greystoke, the heiress of his superior lord, who was also the +King's ward, and in custody of Henry Lord Clifford, who, +says Mr. Howard, probably intended to marry her. Their +vigour and ability displayed as wardens of the Marches must +also add favourably to our estimate of them as men.</p></blockquote> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span></p> +<blockquote> + +<p>Sandford in his MS. gives the following curious account, +written apparently immediately after the repair of the Castle +by the Earl of Sussex:—"And from Matterdale mountains +comes Daker Bek; almost at the foot thereof stands Dacker +Castle alone, and no more house about it, And I protest looks +very sorrowfull, for the loss of its founders, in that huge +battle of Touton feild: and that totall eclips of that great +Lord Dacres, in that Grand Rebellion with lords Northumberland, +and Westmorland in Queen Elizabeth's time, and +in the north called <i>Dacre's Raide</i>.</p> + +<p>"——but it seems an heroyick Chivaleir, steeles the +heir of Lord Moulton of Kirkoswald and Naward and +Gilsland, forth of Warwick Castle, the 5th year of King +Edward the 3rd; and in the 9th year of the same king had +his pdon for marying her and Created Lord Dacres and +Moulton. In King Henry the eight's time the yong Lord +Dacres steels the female heir of the Lord Graistoke forth of +Broham Castle besides Peareth: where the Lord Clifford had +gott her of the king for his sons mariage: and thereupon was +the statute made of felony to marry an heir. And thus +became the Lord Dacres decorate with all the hono<sup>rs</sup> and +Lands of the Lord Graistok a very great Baron: but the now +Earle of Sussex Ancesto<sup>re</sup> had married the female heir of the +Lord Dacres in King Edward the 4th time, before the Lands +of Graistock came to the Lord Dacre's house."</p> + +<p>The Barony of Greystoke, which comprehends all that part +of Cumberland, on the south side of the Forest of Inglewood, +between the seignory of Penrith and the manor of Castlerigg +near Keswick, and contains an area comprehending the +parishes of Greystoke, Dacre, and part of Crosthwaite, and +nearly twenty manors, was given by Ranulph de Meschines, +Earl of Cumberland, to one Lyulph, whose posterity assumed +the name of the place, and possessed it until the reign of +Henry the Seventh, when their heiress conveyed it in marriage +to Thomas Lord Dacre, of Gilsland, whose family +ended in two daughters, who married the two sons of the Duke +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span>of Norfolk. Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, the Duke's +eldest son, had, with his wife, Lady Anne Dacre, the lands +of Greystoke, which have since continued in his illustrious +family.</p> + +<p>The original fortress of Greystock was built in the reign of +Edward III. by Lord William de Greystock, that nobleman +having obtained the king's license to castellate his manor-house +of Greystock in the year 1353. Being garrisoned for +Charles I., it was destroyed by a detachment of the Parliamentary +army in June, 1648, except one tower and part of +another. The Castle was almost entirely rebuilt about the +middle of last century by the Hon. Charles Howard, and +additional extensions were subsequently made by his great-grandson, +the eleventh Duke of Norfolk, who bequeathed it +to the present Mr. Howard, by whom the work of renovation +was continued and completed in 1846. In the night of the 3rd +and 4th of May, 1868, it was very seriously damaged by fire.</p> + +<p>Elizabeth Greystoke, Baroness Greystoke and Wemme, was +a minor at the time of her father's death. She was the only +daughter of Sir Robert Greystoke, knight, who died June +17th, 1483, in the lifetime of his father, Ralph, seventeenth +Baron Greystoke. By an inquisition held after the death of +that nobleman, it was found that he died on Friday next after +the Feast of Pentecost, in the second year of King Henry +VII., namely, June 1st, 1487. He was succeeded by +Elizabeth, his grand-daughter and heiress, who during her +minority was a ward of the crown, and had special livery of +all her lands in 1506. This lady married Thomas, ninth +Baron Dacre of Gillesland, and third Lord Dacre of the +North; by which marriage the Barony of Greystoke became +united with that of Gillesland.</p> + +<p>The nobleman in whose custody the King had placed his +ward was Henry the tenth Baron Clifford, better known as +Lord Clifford the Shepherd. He had married a cousin of +Henry VII., and on the accession of that monarch had been +restored, by the reversal of his father's attainder, to his +honours and estates. Their sons had been educated together, +and brought up in habits of intimacy; and the friendship +thus formed in youth was continued after the one had +succeeded to the crown as Henry VIII., and the other had +ceased to be " Wild Henry Clifford," and had been advanced +by his royal kinsman and associate to the dignity of Earl of +Cumberland.</p> + +<p>Of the Lady Elizabeth it is stated that "lord Clifford gott +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span>her of the king for his son's marriage;" or for himself, "who +probably intended to marry her." These suppositions lose +something of their importance when we learn that a considerable +disparity in years existed between Lord Clifford and +the Lady, as well as between her and his son; the former +being nearly thirty years her senior, and the latter almost a +dozen years her junior; and during a great portion of her +minority, the first Lady Clifford, though probably residing +much apart from her husband, or unhappily with him, was +yet alive. He was, however, a nobleman nearly allied to the +king, of great power and influence in the north of England, +and had been neighbour to the old Lord Greystoke, her +grandfather. Under the circumstances, the selection made by +the sovereign was a natural one. Her youth, her rank, and +her rich inheritance, were a prize worthy of the aspiration of +the noblest among her peers, whoever may have been the +suitor intended for her by the king; and they were won by +one who afterwards showed that he was as gallant in war as +he had proved himself to be daring and loyal in love.</p> + +<p>Lord Dacre, after imitating the spirited bearing of his +ancestor in his love affair, exhibited it in an equal degree in a +more serious enterprise, when it was attended with equal +success. He had a principal command in the English army +in the battle of Flodden Field, which was gained on the 9th +of September, 1514, over the Scots, who had invaded the +kingdom during the absence of Henry VIII. at Tournay. +He commanded the right wing of the army; and wheeling +about during the action, he fell upon the rear of the enemy +and put them to the sword without resistance, and thus contributed +greatly to the complete victory which followed.</p> + +<p>The gratitude of his sovereign for his faithful services +invested him with the dignity of the most noble Order of the +Garter, and with the office of Lord Warden of the West +Marches. He died October 24th, 1525, and was buried with +his wife, under the rich altar-tomb, in the south aisle of the +choir of Lanercost.</p> + +<p>Brougham Castle in the thirteenth century, the time of John +de Veteripont, the most ancient owner that history points out, +is called in instruments wherein his name is mentioned, the +<i>house of Brougham</i>; from which it is inferred that license had +not then been procured to embattle it. It came to the +Cliffords by the marriage of his grand-daughter Isabella, the +last of the Veteriponts, with Roger, son and heir of Roger +Clifford, of Clifford Castle, Herts, whom the king had +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span>appointed guardian to her during her minority.<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> This Roger +de Clifford built the greater part of the Castle, and had placed +over its inner gateway the inscription—<span class="smcap">This made Roger</span>; +"which," says Bishop Nicholson, "some would have to be +understood not so much of <i>his</i> raising the Castle, as of the +Castle raising <i>him</i>, in allusion to his advancement of fortune +by his marriage, this Castle being part of his wife's inheritance." +On the death of Roger, who was slain in the Isle of +Anglesey, in a skirmish with the Welsh, his widow, during +her son's minority, sat as sheriffess in the county of Westmorland, +upon the bench with the judges there, "concerning the +legality of which," says the Countess of Pembroke, "I +obtained Lord Hailes his opinion."<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p> + +<p>Her grandson Robert built the eastern parts of the Castle. +During the subsequent centuries it fell several times into +decay, having been destroyed by the Scots and by fire, and +was as often restored.</p> + +<p>King James was magnificently entertained at Brougham +Castle, on the sixth, seventh, and eighth days of August, +1617, on his return from his last journey out of Scotland. +After this visit it appears to have been again injured by fire, +and to have lain ruinous until 1651 and 1652, when it was +repaired for the last time, by Anne, Countess of Pembroke, +who tells us, "After I had been there myself to direct the +building of it, did I cause my old decayed Castle of Brougham +to be repaired, and also the tower called the <i>Roman Tower</i>, +in the said old castle, and the court house, for keeping my +courts in, with some dozen or fourteen rooms to be built in it +upon the old foundation." The <i>tower of leagues</i> and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span> +<i>Pagan tower</i> are mentioned in her Memoirs; and also a state +room called <i>Greystocke Chamber</i>. But the room in which her +father was born, her "blessed mother" died, and King James +lodged in 1617, she never fails to mention, as being that in +which she lay, in all her visits to this place. After the death +of the Countess, the Castle appears to have been neglected, +and has gradually gone to decay.</p></blockquote> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Cross-legs have been proved of late not to indicate Crusaders always.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Matilda de Multon, the daughter and heir of Thomas de Multon, +of Gilsland, was only thirteen years of age at the time of her father's +death, when she became the ward of King Edward II.; but in 1317 by +the marriage which consummated this act of daring chivalry, the barony +was transferred to the Dacre family.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> The King committed these ladies (Isabella and Idonea de Veteripont), +being then young, to the guardianship of Roger de Clifford, of Clifford +Castle, Herefordshire, and Roger de Leybourne. According to the +custom of the times, and the real intent of the trust, as soon as the +heiresses were of proper age, they were married to the sons of their +guardians.—<i>Pennant.</i></p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> It has again and again been stated, that the Countess herself in the +seventeenth century repeated this exhibition of her ancestress in the +thirteenth: and not merely as an assertion of her right, but frequently +and habitually. No evidence has been found, that she ever did so at +all. She was, however, recognized as sheriff, and she exercised the +authority of the office by deputy. Thus we have her recording that she +appointed such a deputy sheriff in 1651. The office appears to have been +regarded as attached to the estate of Brougham Castle, or the other lands +which had originally belonged to the Veteriponts; it descended with +those estates to the Earls of Thanet: but in 1850 a sheriff was appointed +by the crown, under the authority of an Act passed in the previous +session of Parliament, entitled "An Act to provide for the execution for +one year of the Office of Sheriff in the County of Westmorland."</p></div></div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span></p> + + +<h2>THRELKELD TARN:<br /> +OR, TRUTH FROM THE DEEPS.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +By doubts and darkest thoughts oppress'd,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From cheerful hope out-driven,</span><br /> +A sceptic laid him down to rest<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mid regions earthquake-riven.</span><br /> +<br /> +And scanning Nature's awful face,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And all the glorious sky,</span><br /> +He cried—"To perish, and no trace<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Survive us when we die,—</span><br /> +<br /> +"This, spite of hope, is man's forlorn<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And unremitting lot;</span><br /> +No realm awaits the heart outworn;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Earth fades, and heaven is not.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span><br /> +"For Reason's ray, like yon bright sun,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rebukes the feebler light</span><br /> +Of hope from star-eyed Fable won,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And old Tradition's night.</span><br /> +<br /> +"We shall no more to life arise,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor reassume our breath,</span><br /> +Nor light revisit these dim eyes<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Once closed in endless death.</span><br /> +<br /> +"As soon shall stars at noontide beam<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While burns the sun's bright ray,</span><br /> +As stand before high Truth the dream<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That Thought survives the clay."—</span><br /> +<br /> +He turned: beside him yawning wide<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lay Mountains hugely rent:</span><br /> +Whence far within their depths espied,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A little gleam was sent.</span><br /> +<br /> +One star the blackened pool below<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Reflected bright and clear,</span><br /> +While earth was revelling in the glow<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sunshine of the year.</span><br /> +<br /> +Then starting, cried he—"Heaven! thou art<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Above our powers to know.</span><br /> +Take thou this blindness from my heart,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And let me, trusting, go."</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "THRELKELD TARN; OR TRUTH +FROM THE DEEPS."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>Threlkeld or Scales Tarn is a small lake lying deeply +secluded in a recess on the north eastern side of Saddleback, +or Blencathra, between that mountain and Scales Fell. From +the peculiarity of its situation it has excited considerable +curiosity: but the supposed difficulty of access to it, its +insignificant size, and the peculiar nature of its attractions, +cause it to be seldom visited except by those who take it on +their way to the top of Linethwaite Fell, the most elevated +point of the Saddleback range.</p> + +<p>Having gained, by a toilsome and rugged ascent from the +south-east, the margin of the cavity in which the Tarn is +imbedded, let the traveller be supposed to stand directly facing +the middle of the mountain, the form of which gives its name +to Saddleback. From the high land between its two most +elevated points before him, and jutting right out to the north-east, +depends an enormous perpendicular rock called Tarn +Crag; at the base of which, engulphed in an immense basin +or cavity of steeps, above and on the left lofty and precipitous, +and gradually diminishing as they curve on the right, lies +Threlkeld Tarn, described as a beautiful piece of circular +transparent water, covering a space of from thirty to thirty-five +acres, and surrounded with a well defined shore. From +the summit, elevated upwards of two hundred yards above it, +its surface is black, though smooth as a mirror; and it lies so +deeply imbedded, that it is said, the reflection of the stars may +be seen therein at noonday. It is generally sunless; and +when illuminated, it is in the morning, and chiefly through an +aperture to the east, formed by the running waters in the +direction of Penrith. "A wild spot it is," says Southey, "as +ever was chosen by a cheerful party where to rest, and take +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span>their merry repast upon a summer's day. The green mountain, +the dark pool, the crag under which it lies, and the little +stream which steals from it, are the only objects; the gentle +voice of that stream the only sound, unless a kite be wheeling +above, or a sheep bleats on the fell side. A silent solitary +place; and such solitude heightens social enjoyment, as much +as it conduces to lonely meditation."</p> + +<p>Southey adds, in a note—"Absurd accounts have been +published both of the place itself, and the difficulty of reaching +it. The Tarn has been said to be so deep that the reflection +of the stars may be seen in it at noonday—and that the sun +never shines upon it. One of these assertions is as fabulous +as the other—and the Tarn, like all Tarns, is shallow."</p> + +<p>Its claim to this singularity need not be wholly rejected, +however, on the ground of shallowness, if, to be deeply +imbedded, rather than to be deep, be the essential condition. +Several of the most credible inhabitants thereabouts have +affirmed that they frequently see stars in it at mid-day; but it +is also stated that in order to discover that phenomenon, +there must be a concurrence of several circumstances, viz: +the firmament must be perfectly clear, the air and the water +unagitated; and the spectator must be placed at a certain +height above the lake, and as much below the summit of the +partially surrounding ridge.</p> + +<p>The impression produced upon travellers a century ago by +the features of Blencathra at a considerable elevation, will +excite a smile in tourists of the present day. The <i>Southern</i> +face of the mountain is "furrowed with hideous chasms." +One of these "though by far the least formidable," is described +as "unconceivably horrid:" "its width is about two hundred +yards, and its depth at least six hundred." Between two of +these horrible abysses, and separated from the body of the +mountain on all sides by deep ravines, a portion of the hill +somewhat pyramidal in shape stands out like an enormous +buttress. "I stood upon this," says the narrator, whose +account is quoted, "and had on each side a gulf about two +hundred yards wide, and at least eight hundred deep; their +sides were rocky, bare, and rough, scarcely the appearance of +vegetation upon them: and their bottoms were covered +with pointed broken rocks." Again he "arrived where the +mountain has every appearance of being split; and at the +'bottom' he 'saw hills about forty yards high and a mile in +length, which seem to have been raised from the rubbish that +had fallen from the mountain.'" From the summit he "could +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span>not help observing that the back of this mountain is as remarkably +smooth, as the front is horrid."</p> + +<p>Over this front of Blencathra, the bold and rugged brow +which it presents when seen from the road to Matterdale, or +from the Vale of St. John's, the view of the country to the +south and east is most beautiful. The northern side is, as has +been said, remarkably smooth, and in striking contrast to that +so ruggedly and grandly broken down towards the south, +where every thing around bears evident marks of some great +and terrible convulsion of nature.</p> + +<p>Mr. Green with his companion, Mr. Otley, was among the +early adventurers who stood on the highest ridge of Blencathra. +This accurate observer, whose descriptions of this, and other +unfrequented and unalterable places, will never be old, +describes without exaggeration the difficulties of the ground +about the upper part of this mountain. Describing the +neighbourhood of the Tarn, he says, "From Linthwaite Pike +on soft green turf, we descended steeply, first southward, and +then in an easterly direction to the tarn,—a beautiful circular +piece of transparent water, with a well defined shore. Here +we found ourselves engulphed in a basin of steeps, having +Tarn Crag on the north, the rocks falling from Sharp Edge +on the east, and on the west, the soft turf on which we made +our downward progress. These side grounds, in pleasant +grassy banks, verge to the stream issuing from the lake, +whence there is a charming opening to the town of Penrith; +and Cross Fell seen in the extreme distance. Wishing to +vary our line in returning to the place we had left, we crossed +the stream, and commenced a steep ascent at the foot of Sharp +Edge. We had not gone far before we were aware that our +journey would be attended with perils; the passage gradually +grew narrower, and the declivity on each hand awfully +precipitous. From walking erect, we were reduced to the +necessity either of bestriding the ridge or of moving on one of +its sides, with our hands lying over the top, as a security +against tumbling into the tarn on the left, or into a frightful +gully on the right, both of immense depth. Sometimes we +thought it prudent to return; but that seemed unmanly, and +we proceeded; thinking with Shakespeare, that "dangers +retreat when boldly they're confronted." Mr. Otley was the +leader, who, on gaining steady footing, looked back on the +writer, whom he perceived viewing at leisure from his saddle +the remainder of his upward course."</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>ROBIN THE DEVIL'S COURTESY.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +While the vales of the North keep the Philipsons' fame,<br /> +Calgarth and Holm-Isle will exult at their name!<br /> +Ever true to the rights of the King, and his throne,—<br /> +Now hearken how Robin was true to his own!<br /> +<br /> +"Ride, brother! ride stoutly, ride in from Carlisle!<br /> +For the Roundheads from Kendal beleaguer Holm-Isle.<br /> +On land and on mere I have fifty at bay;<br /> +And I speed on mine arrow this message away!"—<br /> +<br /> +The arrow struck truly the henchman's far door;<br /> +And swift from the arrow that message he tore.<br /> +Then, booted and spurr'd, over mountain and plain<br /> +He rides as for life, and he rides not in vain.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span><br /> +He has reached the fair City, has sought through the crowd<br /> +The bold form of his master, and thus spoke aloud—<br /> +"The Roundheads beleaguer my lord in his Isle,<br /> +And he bids thee for life to ride in from Carlisle."—<br /> +<br /> +He rode with his men, and he came to the Mere,<br /> +When a shout for the Philipsons burst on his ear;<br /> +And his errand sped well; for the Whigs to a man,<br /> +At the sight of his horsemen, all mounted and ran.<br /> +<br /> +"Now listen, my Brother!—I stay'd by the Isle,<br /> +Whilst thou for the King wert array'd at Carlisle;<br /> +I have stood by thy treasure; I've guarded thy store;<br /> +I have kept our good name; and now this I'll do more!<br /> +<br /> +"Yon braggart, that thief-like came on in the dark,<br /> +And thought to catch Robin—but miss'd his good mark!<br /> +I'll repay him his visit; and, by the great King!<br /> +I'll be straight with the varlet, and make his casque ring."—<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span><br /> +With a half-score of horsemen, next Sunday at morn,<br /> +While the sound of the bells o'er the meadows was borne,<br /> +To the Kent he rode easily—on to the town—<br /> +And along the dull street—with clenched hand and dark frown.<br /> +<br /> +"Is there none of this Boaster's fanatical crew<br /> +In all Kendal to give me the welcome that's due?<br /> +Not a blade of old Noll's, or in street or in porch?<br /> +By the Rood, then I'll look for such grace in the church!"<br /> +<br /> +He spurr'd his wild horse through the open church door;<br /> +He spurr'd to the chancel, and scann'd it well o'er;<br /> +Then turned by the Altar, and glanced at each one<br /> +Of the Roundheads that leapt from their knees, and look'd on.<br /> +<br /> +But their Leader, the trooper, his foe at the Mere,<br /> +His eye could not 'light on—"He cannot be here!"<br /> +So he rushed at the portal; but not ere arose<br /> +From the panic-loosed swordsmen harsh words and hard blows.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span><br /> +He dashed at the doorway, unstooping; a stroke<br /> +From the arch rent his helmet, his saddle-girths broke;<br /> +Half-stunn'd from the ground he strove up to his steed,<br /> +And ungirth'd has he mounted, and off with good speed.<br /> +<br /> +With his men at his back, that stood keeping true ward<br /> +By each gate, when he entered alone the churchyard,<br /> +Soon left he the rebel rout straggling behind;<br /> +And was off to his Mere like a hawk on the wind.<br /> +<br /> +And there with his half-score of horsemen once more<br /> +He cross'd to his calm little Isle, from the shore;<br /> +And then said bold Robin—"I've miss'd him, tis true;<br /> +But I paid back his visit—so much was his due!<br /> +<br /> +"Had I caught but a glance of the low canting knave,<br /> +The next psalm that they sung had been over his grave!"—<br /> +And they guess'd through all Westmorland whose was the hand<br /> +That would dare such a deed with so feeble a band.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span><br /> +Saying—"Robin the Devil, who man never fear'd,<br /> +Would have dared to take Satan himself by the beard;<br /> +Then why not a troublesome Whig at his prayers!<br /> +—He'll not try to catch Robin again unawares."<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "ROBIN THE DEVIL'S COURTESY."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>Holm Isle, Belle Isle, or Curwen's Island, as it is sometimes +called from the name of its present proprietor, formerly +belonged to the Philipsons of Calgarth, an ancient family in +Westmorland. It is the largest island in Windermere, lying +obliquely across the lake, just above its narrowest part called +the Straits, and opposite to Bowness. It is of an oblong +shape, distant on one side from the shore about half a mile, +on the other considerably less, while at its northern and +southern points there is a large sheet of water extending four +or five miles. It is about one mile and three-quarters in +circumference, and contains nearly thirty acres of land. Its +shores are irregular, occasionally retiring into bays, or breaking +into creeks. A circular structure surmounted by a dome-shaped +roof was erected upon it in 1776, which is so planned +as to command a prospect of the whole lake. The plantations, +consisting of Weymouth pines, ash and other trees, are +disposed so as to afford a complete shelter to the house, +without intercepting the view. The grounds are tastefully +laid out; and the island is surrounded by a gravel walk, +which strangers are permitted to use. In the middle are a few +clumps of trees; and a neat boat-house has been erected +contiguous to the place of landing.</p> + +<p>When the ground underneath the site of the house was +excavated, traces of an ancient building were discovered at a +considerable depth below the surface; among which were a +great number of old bricks, and a chimney-piece in its perfect +state. Several pieces of old armour, weapons, and cannon +balls were also found embedded in the soil. In levelling the +ground on the north part of the building, a beautiful pavement +formed of a small kind of pebbles, and several curious +gravel walks were cut through. These were probably some +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span>remains of "the strong house on the island," in which +Huddleston Philipson is said to have left the family treasure +under the care of his brother "Robin," while he was absent +in the Royal cause at the siege of Carlisle.</p> + +<p>During the civil wars these two members of the Philipson +family served the king. Huddleston, the elder, who was the +proprietor of this island, commanded a regiment. Robert +held a commission as major in the same service. He was a +man of great spirit and enterprise; and for his many feats of +personal valour, had obtained among the Oliverians of those +parts the appellation of <i>Robin the Devil</i>.</p> + +<p>After the war had subsided, and the more direful effects of +public opposition had ceased, revenge and private malice +long kept alive the animosities of individuals. Colonel Briggs, +a distant kinsman of the Philipsons, of whom, notwithstanding, +he was a bitter enemy, and a steady friend to the usurpation, +resided at this time at Kendal; and under the double character +of a leading magistrate and an active commander, held the +county in awe. This person having heard that Major +Philipson was at his brother's house, on the island in Windermere, +resolved, if possible, to seize and punish a man who +had made himself so particularly obnoxious. With this view +he mustered a party which he thought sufficient, and went +himself on the enterprise. How it was conducted the +narrator does not inform us—whether he got together the +navigation of the lake, and blockaded the place by sea, or +whether he landed, and carried on his approach in form. It +is probable, as he was reduced to severe privation, that Briggs +had seized all the boats upon the lake, and stopped the +supplies. Neither do we learn the strength of the garrison +within, nor of the works without, though every gentleman's +house was at that time in some degree a fortress. All we +learn is, that Major Philipson endured a siege of eight or ten +days with great gallantry; till his brother the Colonel, +hearing of his distress, raised a party, and relieved him; or, +as another account says, till his brother returned from Carlisle, +after the siege of that city was raised.</p> + +<p>It was now the Major's turn to make reprisals. He put +himself therefore at the head of a little troop of horse, and +rode to Kendal. Here being informed that Colonel Briggs +was at prayers (for it was on a Sunday morning), he stationed +his men properly in the avenues, and himself, armed, rode +directly into the church. It is said he intended to seize the +Colonel and carry him off; but as this seems to have been +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span>totally impracticable, it is rather probable that his intention +was to kill him on the spot; and in the midst of the confusion, +to escape. Whatever his intention was, it was frustrated, for +Briggs happened to be elsewhere.</p> + +<p>The congregation, as might be expected, was thrown into +great confusion on seeing an armed man, on horseback, make +his appearance amongst them; and the Major, taking +advantage of their astonishment, turned his horse round, and +walked quietly out. But having given an alarm, he was +presently assaulted as he left the assembly; and, being seized, +his girths were cut, and he was unhorsed.</p> + +<p>Another account says, that having dashed forward down +the principal aisle of the church, and having discovered that +his principal object could not be effected, he was making his +escape by another aisle, when his head came violently in +contact with the arch of the doorway, which was much lower +than that through which he had entered; that his helmet was +struck off by the blow, his saddle girth gave way, and he +himself, much stunned, was thrown to the ground.</p> + +<p>At this instant his party made a furious attack on the +assailants, who taking advantage of his mishap, attempted to +detain him; and the Major killed with his own hand the man +who had seized him, clapped the saddle, ungirthed as it was, +upon the horse, and vaulting into it, rode full speed through +the streets of Kendal, calling his men to follow him, and +with his whole party made a safe retreat to his asylum on the +lake, which he reached about two o'clock.</p> + +<p>The action marked the man. Many knew him; and they +who did not, knew as well from the exploit, that it could be +nobody but <i>Robin the Devil</i>.</p> + +<p>In the Bellingham Chapel, in Kendal Church, is suspended +high over an ancient altar tomb, a battered helmet, through +whose crust of whitewash the rust of ages is plainly to be +discerned. Whether this antique casque belonged to Sir +Roger Bellingham, who was interred <span class="smcap">A. D.</span> 1557 in the tomb +beneath, and was exalted as a token of the distinction he had +received, when made a knight banneret by the hand of his +sovereign on the field of battle, or was won by the puissant +burgesses of Kendal from one of the Philipsons, and elevated +to its present position as a trophy of their valour, it is, +strangely enough, called the "Rebel's Cap," and forms the +theme of the bold and sacreligious action recorded of Robert +Philipson.</p> + +<p>As for "Robin" (who has also, though unjustly, been +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span>calumniated and accused of having murdered the persons to +whom the skulls at Calgarth belonged, and who figures, it is +said, in many other desperate adventures), after the final +defeat at Worcester had, by depressing for a time the hopes of +the royalists, in some degree restored a sort of subdued quiet +to the kingdom, finding a pacific life irksome to his restless +spirit, he passed over into the sister country, and there fell in +some nameless rencontre in the Irish wars, sealing by a +warrior's fate a course of long tried and devoted attachment +to his king; in his death, as in his life, affording a memorable +illustration of the fine sentiment embodied in these proud +lines—</p> + +<div class="poem"> +"Master! lead on and I will follow thee<br /> +To the last gasp, with truth and loyalty."<br /> +</div> + +<p>During the Protectorate of Cromwell, Briggs ruled in the +ascendancy; but on the accession of Charles the Second, he +was obliged for a long period to hide in the wilds of Furness.</p> + +<p>Two hundred years have rolled away, since the generation +that saw those events has vanished from the earth, and every +tangible memorial of the island hero has been thought to have +perished with him. Nevertheless, time has spared one fragile, +though little noticed relic; for in the library of that most +interesting of our northern English fanes, the Parish Church +of Cartmel, whose age-stricken walls, so rich in examples of +each style of Gothic architecture, rise but a few miles from the +foot of the lake, in the centre of a vale of much beauty of a +monastic character, there is retained upon the shelves a small +volume in Latin, entitled "Vincentii Lirinensis hæres, Oxoniæ, +1631," on one of the blank leaves of which is this inscription +in MS., the signature to which has been partly torn off:—</p> + +<div class="poem"> +"For Mr Rob. Philipson.<br /> +Inveniam, spero, quamvis Peregrinus, amicos:<br /> +Mite peto tecum cominus hospitium. R——"<br /> +</div> + +<p>It is pleasing to dwell on this enduring testimony of regard +for a man, whose portrait, as limned on the historic canvas, has +hitherto been looked upon as that only of a bold unnurtured +ruffler in an age of strife. Seen under the effect of this touch +by the hand of friendship, a gentler grace illumes the air of one, +whose unwavering principles and firm temper well fitted him +to encounter the troubles of a stormy epoch, while, as long as +the island itself shall endure, his heroic shadow rising over its +groves, will cast the enthralling interest of a romantic episode +upon a scene so captivating by its natural loveliness.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span></p> +<p>That the individual so addressed, was our Robin of Satanic +notoriety, there cannot reasonably be a doubt, as the pedigree +of the Crook Hall Philipsons does not recognise any other +member of the family of that name, living between the time of +the publication of the book, and the death of their last male +heir. Neither is the genealogical tree of the Calgarth branch +enriched with the name between that and 1652, when +Christopher Philipson (of the house of Calgarth) who, amid +the bitter struggle of parties, seems to have been devoted to +the cultivation of letters, and who is supposed to have presented +the book, along with others, to the library at Cartmel, +died. Therefore to the successful soldier, whose actions gave +to himself and his cause so chivalrous a colouring, alone, must +the inscription be applied, the evidence it affords furnishing +another illustration of the saying that "the Devil is not always +as black as he is painted." But whether it be questionable +that it was directed to the royalist Robin, or not, the +probability is sufficiently great to justify what has been said +on the subject.</p> + +<p>Recent research through public archives has ascertained +that the family of the Philipsons was established in Westmorland +at least as far back as the reign of Edward III., for in an +inquisition relative to the possessions of the chantry on Saint +Mary's Holme, taken in 1355, the name of John Philipson is +recorded as tenant to certain lands belonging to that religious +foundation.</p> + +<p>This family owned not only Calgarth Hall and extensive +domains which reached along the shores of Windermere, from +Low Wood to Rayrigg, consisting of beautiful woods and rich +pastures, but also Crook and Holling Halls, with much of the +surrounding country, as well as the large island in the centre +of the lake, opposite to Bowness, in documents of the 13th +century especially designated "Le Holme," but the earliest +name of which was Wynandermere Isle, afterwards changed +to the "Long Holme," which latter word signifies, in the old +vernacular, "an island or plain by the water side," and in +which they had a mansion of the old fashioned Westmorland +kind, strongly fortified, called the Holme House.</p> + +<p>Their alliances having connected them with many of the +chief families of the county, they fixed their principal dwelling +places at Holling, and at Crook or Thwatterden Halls; which +latter abode in the time of Queen Elizabeth again became the +seat of a younger branch of the house at Calgarth.</p> + +<p>With Sir Christopher Philipson, the last heir male of the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span>family of Crook Hall, who, according to Mr. West, lived in +the Holme in 1705, and who died in that year, the race was +extinguished. Their mouldered dust lies beneath the pavement +in Windermere Church, and their homes, for the most +part but grey and naked ruins, know them no more.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>THE LAY OF LORD LUCY OF +EGREMOND.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +On that Mount surnamed "of Sorrow"<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Glass'd in Enna's winding flood,</span><br /> +Looking forth through many a morrow<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Both the warriors, Lucies, stood;</span><br /> +Stood beside the ramparts hoary,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Brothers, vow'd their brows to wreathe</span><br /> +In the Holy Land with glory,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or its sands to rest beneath.</span><br /> +<br /> +Quietly the vale was lying,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Farm and meadow, forge and mill,</span><br /> +As the day-star faintly dying<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Paled above the eastern hill.</span><br /> +But beneath the cullis'd portal<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Press'd the pent-up throng of war,</span><br /> +Eager for the strife immortal<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With the Soldan's hosts afar.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span><br /> +Fame has all his soul's embraces—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Clasps Lord Lucy maid nor wife.</span><br /> +As the warriors' vizor'd faces<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Turn towards the land of strife.</span><br /> +Through the gate beneath the towering<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pile they wind in shining mail.</span><br /> +Soon afar the fortress lowering<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sinks beneath them in the vale.</span><br /> +<br /> +Scawfell saw them take the billow,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Man by man on Cumbria's shore;</span><br /> +Carmel's foot was first their pillow<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When again to land they bore.</span><br /> +And in holy fight they bound them<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To their Saviour's service true;</span><br /> +Fought and bled, through hosts around them,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till their ranks were faint and few.</span><br /> +<br /> +Then beneath the foe contending,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Faithful, fearless, but in vain,</span><br /> +Lo, the brothers bound and bending<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Drag the hopeless captive's chain.</span><br /> +In the Moslem dungeon wasting,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">England's bravest, both they lie;</span><br /> +No sweet hope nor solace tasting,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Only blank captivity.</span><br /> +<br /> +Months have rolled; and moons are waning;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then stood Lucy forth and said,—</span><br /> +"Emir, over millions reigning!<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">We are two in dungeon laid.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span>I, who bore a noble's banner,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I have halls and realms afar,</span><br /> +Wealth which many a lordly manor<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yields, beneath the western star.</span><br /> +<br /> +"Let the Emir's heart be gracious!<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Free my brother at my side;</span><br /> +And a ransom rich and precious<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">We will bring o'er ocean wide.</span><br /> +So we two, whose arms avail'd not<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Here our freedom to sustain,</span><br /> +But whose constant courage fail'd not,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">May be Freedom's sons again."</span><br /> +<br /> +Greed for gain o'er wrath prevailing<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Softened soon the tyrant's mind.</span><br /> +Homewards one is swiftly sailing;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Calmly one will wait behind.</span><br /> +For a twelve-months thus they parted.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Weary months, the year, went o'er.</span><br /> +But that brother, evil-hearted,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From the West return'd no more.</span><br /> +<br /> +Then the Emir's soul no longer<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Would its vengeance stern forego;</span><br /> +All his rage suppress'd the stronger,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Burn'd, and burst upon his foe.</span><br /> +And he bade his hair be knotted<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Into cords around a beam,</span><br /> +There to chain him till he rotted,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where no light of heaven could gleam.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span><br /> +And in hunger sore he wasted;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And his nails grew like a bird's;</span><br /> +Day's sweet blesséd airs untasted,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And no sound of human words!</span><br /> +Changed in soul, and form, and feature,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ah! how changed from that fair mould.</span><br /> +In which heaven had stamped its creature<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Man and warrior, mild as bold!</span><br /> +<br /> +Yet one heart whose daily gladness<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Once had been, from latticed bower</span><br /> +To look down on him in sadness<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Walking forth at evening hour;</span><br /> +She, the Emir's fairest daughter,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sees brave Lucy now no more,—</span><br /> +Till unresting love has brought her<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Trembling to his dungeon's floor.</span><br /> +<br /> +There, with one mute form attending,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Swift her arm the faulchion drew</span><br /> +Through his locks; the hatterel rending<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From him, as it cleaved them through.</span><br /> +And with words of woman-kindness<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whisper'd she—"To light and air,</span><br /> +Life and love, from dungeon blindness,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Are we come the brave to bear."</span><br /> +<br /> +And for love of him she bore him<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To a ship, wherein he rode</span><br /> +Seaward till the bright sky o'er him<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Circled round his own abode.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span>Then his castle-horn he sounded,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Which none other's skill could sound,</span><br /> +Where the traitor sat, confounded,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With his bold retainers round.</span><br /> +<br /> +But brave Lucy's soul forgave him<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All that wrong so foully done;</span><br /> +Him who went not back to save him<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With the ransom he had won.</span><br /> +Yea, and more: "From Duddon's borders<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Far as Esk, and from the sea</span><br /> +To where Hard-knott's ancient warders<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sleep," he said, "I give to thee.</span><br /> +<br /> +"Here once more by vale and mountain,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">On these ramparts side by side,</span><br /> +Wells up from my heart a fountain<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wastes and dungeons have not dried."</span><br /> +And his stately halls he entered,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Borne mid cheers and warriors' clang;</span><br /> +While a thousand welcomes, centred<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In one shout of triumph, rang.</span><br /> +<br /> +High the feast and great the story<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then that fill'd his ancient halls.</span><br /> +Healths to Lucy's House and glory<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Shook the banners on the walls.</span><br /> +And their deep foundations hail'd him<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With such echoes as were born</span><br /> +When his own true breath avail'd him<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">On the faithful Castle-horn.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span><br /> +And 'twas joy again to wander<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">On his own fair fields, and chase</span><br /> +There the wild wolf, and bring under<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The strong deer in deadly race.</span><br /> +And if sometimes more the forest<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Won him, museful and alone;</span><br /> +'Twas when secret thoughts were sorest.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Turn'd upon the past and gone.</span><br /> +<br /> +But that lone and lordly bosom<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sought no mate of high degree;</span><br /> +Wooed no fair and beauteous blossom<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From a noble kindred tree,—</span><br /> +As might have beseem'd, to wear her<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Throned within a warrior's breast;</span><br /> +Evermore to bloom, the sharer<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of its love, its life, its rest.</span><br /> +<br /> +So in field, and hall, and tourney,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As he lived—upon a day,</span><br /> +Wearied with a toilsome journey,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Came a guest from far away;</span><br /> +Feebly at his gate and humbly<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Asking, "Dwells Lord Lucy here?"</span><br /> +But all question parried dumbly,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till the voice she sought was near.</span><br /> +<br /> +Then indeed the sorrow-laden,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Travel-stricken form sunk down;</span><br /> +Slow the hatterel forth the maiden<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Drew; he knew her! 'twas his own!</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span>Knew her, as she stood before him<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">On that barren Syrian shore,</span><br /> +When from wrath and death she bore him<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where no wrong might touch him more.</span><br /> +<br /> +Bear her in! he tells them of her,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tells them all with eyeballs dim.</span><br /> +Cannot be but he must love her,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For she bears such love to him.</span><br /> +She has left her father's mansion,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Left her country, faith, and name,</span><br /> +Travell'd o'er the sea's expansion,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Him to find in life and fame.</span><br /> +<br /> +Was there ever like devotion?—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Is he husband, father; she</span><br /> +Who has braved the boundless ocean<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Will his serving maiden be.</span><br /> +No! she shall abide in honour,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">One for ever at his side;</span><br /> +Every gift and grace upon her<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That beseems a warrior's bride.</span><br /> +<br /> +Then again his days were gladden'd<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With more joys than e'er of yore.</span><br /> +And if thought at times was sadden'd<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With the memories which it bore,</span><br /> +Clasping oft his wife with true love,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He would say with whispering breath—</span><br /> +"Love is life indeed! for through love<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I am here, reprieved from death!"</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span><br /> +And his soul's allegiance fail'd not<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That fair consort, all his days.</span><br /> +And their blissful love—avail'd not<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chance or time to quench its rays.</span><br /> +Love unto his gate had brought her<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O'er the seas from far beyond.</span><br /> +And with love the Emir's daughter<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ruled the halls of Egremond.</span><br /> +<br /> +But that kinsman, far divided<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From them by remorse and shame,</span><br /> +Round his courts in secret glided<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ghost-like—nevermore the same:</span><br /> +Conscience-torn, repentant, weary,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Burning, longing for the close</span><br /> +Of that pilgrimage so dreary.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Power had come, but not repose.</span><br /> +<br /> +Shadows the rebuked and chastened,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Worn-out warrior lowly laid.</span><br /> +And from Bega's cloisters hastened<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thrice the prior with his aid:</span><br /> +Thrice: And ere the leaves had faded,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Brave Lord Lucy clasped his breast;<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></span><br /> +Kiss'd him; and the convent shaded<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">One more spirit into rest.</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span></p> +<h3>NOTES TO "THE LAY OF LORD LUCY OF +EGREMOND."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>The name of Egremont seems to be derived from its ancient +possessors, the Normans, and being changed by a trifling +corruption of their language, carries the same meaning, and +signifies the Mount of Sorrow.</p> + +<p>The charter of Richard de Lucy, granted to the burgesses +in the time of King John, declares it to be given and confirmed +"burgensibus meis de <i>Acrimonte</i>," &c.</p> + +<p>William the Conqueror having established himself on the +throne of England, and added the county of Cumberland, +which he wrested from Malcolm, king of Scotland, to his +northern possessions; he gave it, together with the barony of +Westmorland, to Randolph or Ranulph du Briquesard, also +surnamed le Meschin, Vicomte du Bessin, elder brother of +William le Meschin. This nobleman was allied to the +Conqueror by marriage with his niece, and was one of his +numerous train of military adventurers. He was the first +Norman paramount feudatory of Cumberland. When Ranulph +granted out to his several retainers their respective allotments; +reserving to himself the forest of Inglewood, he gave to his +brother, William le Meschin, the great barony of Copeland, +bounded by the rivers Duddon and Derwent, and the sea. +The latter seated himself at Egremont and there erected a +castle; and in distinction of this his baronial seat, he changed +the name of the whole territory to that of the barony of Egremont. +After possessing this estate with great power for +several years, and dying without male issue, it devolved to his +daughter Alice, married to Robert de Romili, Lord of Skipton. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span>They having no male issue, these two great baronies descended +to their only daughter Alice, who married William Fitz-Duncan, +Earl of Murray, nephew to David, King of Scots. +By this marriage there was issue a son, who died in infancy, +and three daughters who divided the vast inheritance. To +Amabil, the second daughter, the barony of Egremont came +in partition; and by her marriage with Reginald Lucy, passed +to that family. William Fitz-Duncan was Lord of the +adjoining Cumbrian seigniory or honor of Cockermouth, and +of the barony of Allerdale below Derwent, which large estates +had descended to him from his mother Octreda, who inherited +them from her grandfather Waldeof, first lord of Allerdale, to +whom they had been granted by Ranulph de Meschin. +Waldeof was the son of Gospatrick, Earl of Dunbar.</p> + +<p>Particular mention is made of two only of the name of Lucy +in succession: Reginald de Lucy, who was governor of +Nottingham for the King, in the rebellion of the Earl of +Leicester, and who also attended the coronation of Richard I. +among the other Barons; and Richard de Lucy, his son, who, +in the reign of King John, paid a fine of three hundred marks +for the livery of all his lands in Coupland and Canteberge, +<i>and to have the liberty of marrying whom he pleased</i>, &c. He +married Ada, one of the two daughters and co-heiresses of +Hugh de Morville; and obtained a grant from King John, by +which he claimed and held the whole property of his father-in-law, +without partition to the other daughter, Joane. He +died before or about the 15th year of King John, leaving two +daughters, between whom the estates were divided, and who +both married into the Multon family.</p> + +<p>At that time, and long after, it was a part of the King's +prerogative to interfere in the marriages of his nobility.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a></p> + +<p>The subsequent acts of the widowed Ada de Lucy afford us +a fine illustration of the exercise of this prerogative on the +part of the sovereign in the matters of widows and heiresses. +Ada paid a fine of five hundred marks for livery of her +inheritance; as also for dowry of her late husband's lands; +and that she might not be compelled to marry again. She +espoused, however, without compulsion, and without the +king's licence, Thomas de Multon; in consequence of which, +the Castle of Egremont, and her other lands, were seized by +the Crown. But upon paying a compensation, they were +restored, and she had livery of them again. Her second +husband, on his payment of one thousand marks to the crown, +was made guardian over the two daughters, and co-heiresses, +of her first husband, de Lucy: and as a necessary consequence, +and, in fact, in accordance with the permission implied by the +arrangement, he married them to his two sons by his first +wife.</p></blockquote> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span></p> +<blockquote> + +<p>These two daughters and co-heiresses of Lucy having +married the two sons of Thomas de Multon, the elder carried +with her the lordship of Egremont; while the son of the +younger assumed the surname of his maternal family, and was +ancestor of the barons Lucy of Cockermouth. The infant +daughter of Anthony, the third and last baron Lucy, dying in +the year following his own demise, the barony was carried by +the marriage of his sister Maude with the first Earl of Northumberland +to the Percy family: thence to the Seymours, +Dukes of Somerset; and through them to Wyndham, Earl of +Egremont, by whose descendant, the first Lord Leconfield, it +is at present enjoyed.</p> + +<p>Egremont was anciently a borough, sending two members +to parliament; but was disfranchised on the petition of the +burgesses, to avoid the expense of representation. The +burgesses possessed several privileges, but all records of them +are lost. The ordinances of Richard de Lucy for the government +of the borough is a curious record, in which several +singularities are to be observed, which point out to us the +customs of that distant age. By this burgage tenure, the people +of Egremont were obliged to find armed men, for the defence of +the Castle, forty days at their own charge. The lord was +entitled to forty days' credit for goods, and no more; and his +burgesses might refuse to supply him, till the debt which had +exceeded that date was paid. They were bound to aids for +the redemption of the lord and his heir from captivity; for the +knighthood of one of the lord's sons, and the marriage of one +of his daughters. They were to find him twelve men for his +military array. They were to hold watch and ward. They +could not enter the forest with bow and arrow. They were +relieved from cutting off the dogs' feet within the borough, +as being a necessary and customary defence: on the borders, +the dogs appointed to be kept for defence, were called <i>slough +dogs</i>: this privilege points out, that within the limits of +forests, the inhabitants keeping dogs for defence were to lop +off one foot or more, to prevent their chasing the game; which +did not spoil them for the defence of a dwelling. A singular +privilege appears in the case of a burgess committing fornication +with the daughter of a rustic, one who was not a burgess; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span>that he should not be liable to the fine imposed in other cases +for that offence, unless he had seduced by promise of marriage. +The fine for seducing a woman belonging to the borough was +three shillings to the lord. By the rule for inspecting dyers, +weavers, and fullers, it seems those were the only trades at +that time within the borough under the character of craftsmen. +The burgesses who had ploughs were to till the lord's +demesne one day in the year, and every burgess to find a +reaper: their labour was from morning <i>ad nonam</i>, which was +three o'clock, as from six to three.</p> + +<p>Egremont was probably a place of strength, and the seat of +some powerful chief, during the Heptarchy, and in the time +of the Danes. The ruins of the Castle, on the west of the +town, stand on an eminence, the northern extremity of which +forms a lofty mound, seventy-eight feet in perpendicular +height above the ditch which surrounds the fortress. On the +crown of this hill, it is believed, there formerly stood a Danish +fortification. The mound is said to be artificial. Tradition +goes so far as to assert that it is formed of soil brought by St. +Bega from Ireland, as ballast for her ship. The miraculous +power of the Saint must have been largely exercised to +increase it to its present proportions. It still, however, +retains the virtue given to Irish earth by the blessing of St. +Patrick, and no reptile can live upon it.</p> + +<p>This fortress is not of very great extent, but bears singular +marks of antiquity and strength. The approach and grand +entrance from the south, has been kept by a draw-bridge over +a deep moat. The entrance to the castle is by a gateway +vaulted with semi-circular arches, and guarded by a strong +tower. The architecture of this tower, which is the chief +part of the fortress now standing, points out its antiquity to be +at least coeval with the entry of the Normans. The outward +wall has enclosed a considerable area of a square form; but it +is now gone so much to decay, that no probable conjecture +can be made as to the particular manner in which it was +fortified. On the side next the town a postern remains. To +the westward, from the area, there is an ascent to three narrow +gates, standing close together, and on a straight line, which +have communicated with the outworks: these are apparently +of more modern architecture, and have each been defended +with a portcullis. Beyond these gates is the lofty mount, +which has already been referred to, and on which anciently +stood a circular tower, the western side of which endured the +rage of time till within the last century. The whole fortification +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span>is surrounded by a moat, more properly so called than +a ditch, as it appears to have been walled on both sides. This +is strengthened with an outward rampart of earth, which is +five hundred paces in circumference. A small brook runs on +the eastern side of the Castle, and it may be presumed, +anciently filled the moat. The mode of building which +appears in part of the walls, is rather uncommon, the construction +being of large thin stones, placed in an inclined +position, the courses lying in different directions, so as to form +a kind of feathered work, the whole run together with lime +and pebbles, impenetrably strong. It seems to have been +copied from the filling parts of the Roman wall.</p> + +<p>An old tradition connects the lords of this Castle with the +Crusades. One version of it given in the histories of Cumberland, +for it is variously related, is to this effect:—"The +Baron of Egremont being taken prisoner beyond the seas by +the infidels, could not be redeemed without a great ransom, +and being for England, entered his brother or kinsman for his +surety, promising with all possible speed to send him money +to set him free; but upon his return home to Egremont, he +changed his mind, and most unnaturally and unthankfully +suffered his brother to lie in prison, in great distress and +extremity, until the hair was grown to an unusual length, like +to a woman's hair. The Pagans being out of hopes of the +ransom, in great rage most cruelly hanged up their pledge, +binding the long hair of his head to a beam in the prison, +and tied his hands so behind him, that he could not reach to +the top where the knot was fastened to loose himself: during +his imprisonment, the Paynim's daughter became enamoured +of him, and sought all good means for his deliverance, but +could not enlarge him: she understanding of this last cruelty, +by means made to his keeper, entered the prison, and taking +her knife to cut the hair, being hastened, she cut the skin of +his head, so as, with the weight of his body, he rent away the +rest, and fell down to the earth half dead; but she presently +took him up, causing surgeons to attend him secretly, till he +recovered his former health, beauty, and strength, and so +entreated her father for him that he set him at liberty. Then, +desirous to revenge his brother's ingratitude, he got leave to +depart to his country, and took home with him the hatterell +of his hair rent off as aforesaid, and a bugle-horn, which he +commonly used to carry about him, when he was in England, +where he shortly arrived, and coming to Egremont Castle +about noontide of the day, where his brother was at dinner, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span>he blew his bugle-horn, which (says the tradition) his brother +the baron presently acknowledged, and thereby conjectured +his brother's return; and then sending his friends and servants +to learn his brother's mind to him, and how he had escaped, +they brought back the report of all the miserable torment +which he had endured for his unfaithful brother the baron, +which so astonished the baron (half dead before with the +shameful remembrance of his own disloyalty and breach of +promise) that he abandoned all company and would not look +on his brother, till his just wrath was pacified by diligent +entreaty of their friends. And to be sure of his brother's +future kindness, he gave the <i>lordship of Millum</i> to him and +his heirs for ever. Whereupon the first Lords of Millum gave +for their arms <i>the horn and the hatterell</i>.</p> + +<p>Others relate that it was the baron who remained as hostage: +and that on his release from captivity by the Paynim's +daughter, and after his departure to his native country, urged +by her love towards him, she found her way across the sea, +and presenting herself at his castle-gate, with the hatterell of +his hair which she had preserved as a token, was joyfully +recognized by the Baron, who made her his wife and the +mistress of his halls.</p> + +<p>It is, on various grounds, an anachronism to refer this +tradition to the period when the Lucies were Lords of +Egremont. For, according to Denton, the great seignory of +Millom "in the time of King Henry I. was given by William +Meschines, Lord of Egremont, to ... de Boyvill, father +to Godard de Boyvill, named in ancient evidences Godardus +Dapifer." This accords with the tradition, which is very old, +and is given by both Denton and Sandford, and which +makes, as we have seen, the Boyvills to be very near of kin to +the Lords of Egremont. It also particularises the occasion +upon which Millom was transferred to that family; who took +their surname from the place, and were styled de-Millom.</p> + +<p>That some members of the family were engaged in the +crusades, we learn from the record that Arthur Boyvill or de +Millom, the third lord, and the son of Godardus Dapifer, +granted to the Abbey of St. Mary in Furness the services of +Kirksanton in Millom, which Robert de Boyvill, his cousin-german, +then held of him; and soon after he mortgaged the +same to the Abbot of Furness, until his return from the Holy +Land.</p> + +<p>The crest of Huddleston of Hutton John is, Two arms, +dexter and sinister embowed, vested, argent, holding in their +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span>hands a scalp proper, the inside gules. The tradition of the +Horn of Egremont Castle, which could only be sounded by +the rightful lord, and which forms the subject of a fine poem +by Mr. Wordsworth, is said properly to belong to Hutton-John, +an ancient manor of the Huddlestons, who were +descended from the Boyvills in the female line; Joan, the +daughter and heiress of the last of the de-Milloms, in the +reign of Henry III., having married Sir John Hudleston, Kt.; +and thus transferred the seignory into that family, with whom +it continued for a period of about 500 years.</p> + +<p>The name of Egremont will remind the poetical reader of +the story of the "Youthful Romili," celebrated by Wordsworth +in his noble ballad "The Founding of Bolton Priory," and +by Rogers in his less ambitious lines "The Boy of Egremond." +It seems to be by no means certain to which generation of +William le Meschines' descendants the tale belongs. Denton +says, "Alice Romley, the third daughter and co-heir of +William Fitz-Duncan, was the fourth lady of Allerdale: but +having no children alive at her death, she gave away divers +manors and lands to houses of religion, and to her friends and +kinsmen. She had a son named William, who was drowned +in Craven coming home from hunting or hawking. His hound +or spaniel being tied to his girdle by a line, (as they crossed +the water near Barden Tower, in Craven) pulled his master +from off his horse and drowned him. When the report of his +mischance came to his mother, she answered, "<i>Bootless bayl +brings endless sorrow</i>." She had also three daughters, Alice, +Avice, and Mavice, who all died unmarried, and without +children; wherefore the inheritance was after her death +parted between the house of Albemarl and Reginald Lucy, +Baron of Egremont, descending to her sister's children and +their posterity."</p> + +<p>This is Whitaker's statement:—"In the year 1121 William +le Meschines and Cecilia his wife founded a Priory for canons +regular, at Embsay, which was dedicated to St. Mary and St. +Cuthbert, and continued there about thirty-three years, when +it is said by tradition to have been translated to Bolton, on +the following account.</p> + +<p>"The founders of Embsay were now dead, and had left a +daughter, who adopted her mother's name, Romillé, and was +married to William Fitz-Duncan. They had issue a son, +commonly called the Boy of Egremond (one of his grandfather's +baronies, where he was probably born), who, surviving +an elder brother, became the last hope of the family.</p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span></p> +<p>"In the deep solitude of the woods betwixt Bolton and +Barden, the Wharf suddenly contracts itself to a rocky channel +little more than four feet wide, and pours through the +tremendous fissure with a rapidity proportionate to its confinement. +This place was then, as it is yet, called the Strid, from +a feat often exercised by persons of more agility than prudence, +who stride from brink to brink, regardless of the destruction +which awaits a faltering step. Such, according to tradition, +was the fate of young Romillé, who inconsiderately bounding +over the chasm with a greyhound in his leash, the animal +hung back, and drew his unfortunate master into the torrent. +The forester, who accompanied Romillé, and beheld his fate, +returned to the Lady Aäliza, and, with despair in his countenance, +enquired, 'What is good for a bootless Bene?' To +which the mother, apprehending that some great calamity had +befallen her son, instantly replied, 'Endless Sorrow.'</p> + +<p>"The language of this question, almost unintelligible at +present, proves the antiquity of the story, which nearly +amounts to proving its truth. But 'bootless Bene' is +unavailing prayer; and the meaning, though imperfectly +expressed, seems to have been, 'What remains when prayer +is useless?'"</p> + +<p>The accuracy of this account, though admitted to be true so +far as the death of a scion of Romili's house, is however +doubted by Dr. Whitaker, who states that the son of the Lady +Alice or Aäliza was a party and witness to the charter of +translation to Bolton in 1154 of the Canons of the Priory of +Embsay, founded in 1121 by William de Meschines and +Cecilia de Romili his wife. Besides, as the Boy of Egremond +was alive in 1160, and a partaker in the rebellion of the Pictish +Celts of Scotland, of which the object was to set him on the +throne as the rightful heir, Dr. Whitaker is of opinion that +the story refers to one of the sons (both of whom died young) +of Cecilia le Meschines, grandmother of Lady Alice.</p> + +<p>There is however an oversight of some importance in +Whitaker's statement. He altogether omits the second +generation of the descendants of William le Meschines. +Alice, the daughter of W. le Meschines, married Robert de +Romili; Alice, her daughter, married Fitz-Duncan, who +assumed the name of his wife, and was William le Romili. +If their son was "the Boy of Egremond," he could not have +been a witness to the charter of translation in 1154. If he +was drowned in the Wharf, his death could not have been the +occasion of the refounding of the Priory at Bolton. If the son +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span>of Cecilia le Meschines was "the Boy of Egremond"; as he +might be so styled from his father's barony; he may have been +drowned at the Strid, but his mother could not have been the +second foundress of the Priory; for, as Whitaker says, the +founders of Embsay were already dead. Tradition, moreover, +clings to the name of the Lady Alice, as being that of the +pious dispenser of her goods to sacred and religious uses. +And however history may conflict with tradition, there will +remain, that the Lady of Skipton, Cockermouth, and the +Allerdales, bestowed her lands and goods most liberally upon +the Abbeys of Fountains and Pomfret, and other religious +confraternities; that she, the Lady Alice, seems always to +have cherished those dispositions whose spiritual convictions +moved in unison with the votive religious practices of the age; +and although she, for the health of her dear son's soul (if he it +were who perished in the Wharf) could not have founded +near the scene of his untimely fate, the Priory before mentioned; +its legendary history, which has so enshrined her +affections and her sorrows, will continue to connect in the +future, as in the past, the image of the youthful Romili with +her griefs, and the stately Priory of Bolton with his imperishable +name.</p></blockquote> + + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> The scalp with the hair attached.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> In the early and middle ages kissing was the common +form of salutation, and the <i>osculum pacis</i> was a sign of +reconciliation and charity. Examples will occur to every +reader of Scripture and the classics.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> + +<p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Dr. Whitaker. Vide notes to the "Bridals of Dacre," for instances.</p></div></div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span></p> + +<h2>SÖLVAR-HOW.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +Up the valley of Brathay rode Dagmar the Dane.<br /> +There was gold on her bit, there was silk on her rein.<br /> +You might see her white steed in the distance afar,<br /> +On the green-breasted hill, shining out like a star;<br /> +Where beyond her on high in his barrow lay sleeping<br /> +Old Sölvar the chief; and the shade, that sat keeping<br /> +His fame, by his tomb sang the Norseland's wild strain.<br /> +<br /> +As the white steed of Dagmar shone, breasting the hill;<br /> +To the mound where old Sölvar lies lonely and still,<br /> +In the red light of evening, arresting her gaze,<br /> +Flocked the meek mountain ewes and the steers up the ways,<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span>With the firstlings and yearlings, from hill top and hollow,<br /> +Gathering far, the sweet voice of the Phantom to follow—<br /> +To them sweeter than murmur of fountain and rill.<br /> +<br /> +There was joy in their looks, in their eyes the clear light<br /> +Glistened searchingly forth on that mystical sight.<br /> +And from far, too, the white steed of Dagmar the Dane<br /> +Pricked his ears, stepping proudly, unheeding the rein;<br /> +And aside to the summit turned joyfully pacing;<br /> +While the steers and the ewes listened wistfully gazing,<br /> +And the Phantom sat singing of Sölvar the Bright.<br /> +<br /> +O'er the pools of the Brathay, from Skelwith's lone tower<br /> +The sire of the princess looked forth in that hour.<br /> +He beheld the white steed of his child, like a star<br /> +On the green-breasted hill, and he cried from afar—<br /> +"She has heard his wild strains on the hill-top awaken,<br /> +And I from this hour am alone and forsaken.<br /> +—Not her voice nor her foot-fall, to come to me more!"<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span><br /> +For to Dagmar the fair, when the flocks of the field<br /> +And the herds were in motion their homage to yield<br /> +To the bright Norseland Boy—with the fire and the grace<br /> +Of his sires in his limbs and their pride in his face—<br /> +In the garb of his country, rehearsing the story<br /> +Of chiefs and of kings and the Norseland's old glory—<br /> +Was the Phantom in all his bright beauty revealed.<br /> +<br /> +There entranced in that vision, enchained by his tongue,<br /> +As the strains through his harp-strings melodiously rung,<br /> +Sat the maid on White Svend mid the yearlings; till now<br /> +Far departing he turns from the hill's sunny brow;<br /> +And the ewes at his feet awhile falteringly follow,<br /> +Then range back bewildered to hill-top and hollow;<br /> +While the Maid on his fast-fading accents still hung.<br /> +<br /> +Through the still light receding his loose tresses streamed;<br /> +But to fly with him still was the dream she had dreamed;<br /> +Side by side o'er the hills, through the valleys, and on<br /> +To the Norseland to hear his wild songs all alone;<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span>And to chase from his lips every accent of sorrow,<br /> +As they walked through the dawn of a brighter to-morrow<br /> +Into sunlight that heaven upon earth never beamed.<br /> +<br /> +Springing down from White Svend, swiftly Dagmar the Dane<br /> +Cast aside on his neck the rich silk-tassel'd rein;<br /> +With her eyes fixed afar o'er the green mountain sward,<br /> +Whence the bright Norseland Boy cast a backward regard.<br /> +Call aloud from thy Tower, call aloud and implore her,<br /> +Hapless sire! to return, ere the night gathers o'er her!<br /> +She can hear but the voice of the Phantom's sweet strain.<br /> +<br /> +Light and fleet was her foot over hollow and hill;<br /> +Till they reached the rude cleft of the deep-roaring Ghyll.<br /> +On the black dungeon's brink not a moment he stay'd;<br /> +O'er the black roaring Ghyll glided softly the Shade.<br /> +Like a thin wreath of mist she descried him far over—<br /> +And her cry pierced the night-boding hill tops above her;<br /> +When down the loose rocks plunged, and bridged the dark Ghyll.<br /> +<br /> +Heard the eagle that shriek from his eyrie on high?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span><br /> +Struck his wings the poised rocks as he rushed to the sky?<br /> +Did the wild goat leap, startled, and press from their hold<br /> +With his hoof the loose crags?—that they bounded and roll'd<br /> +Far above, down, and on, soughing, plunging, and clashing,<br /> +Till they reached the dark Ghyll, and fell, wedging and crashing,<br /> +In the gulf's horrid jaws, there for ever to lie.<br /> +<br /> +The fleet foot of Dagmar sprang light to the stone,<br /> +Where it bridged the dread gulf, in the twilight, alone.<br /> +For one moment she stood with her eyes straining o'er<br /> +Into space, for the bright one that answered no more.<br /> +He was gone from the hand she stretched, vainly imploring;<br /> +He was gone from the heart that beat, madly adoring:<br /> +And a voice from the waters cried wailingly—"Gone."<br /> +<br /> +Roar thou on, Dungeon-Ghyll! there was mourning in vain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span><br /> +In the fortress of Skelwith for Dagmar the Dane.<br /> +From their tower on the cliff they looked, tearful and pale,<br /> +On her riderless steed as it came down the vale.<br /> +In her bower and in hall there was wailing and sorrow.<br /> +And the hills shone renewed with each glorious to-morrow.<br /> +But their bright star, their Dagmar, they knew not again.<br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "SÖLVAR HOW."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>While many Celtic names of places remain to attest the +prolonged sovereignty of the Britons in Cumbria, by far the +greater number refer to a period when the enterprising +Northmen, coming from various shores, but all included +under the comprehensive title of Danes, had pushed their +conquests into the mountain country of Cumberland and +Westmorland and those portions of the north of Lancashire, +which are comprised within the district of the English Lakes. +This territory had become the exclusive possession of the +Norwegian settlers. Every height and how, every lake and +tarn, every swamp and fountain, every ravine and ghyll, every +important habitation on the mountain side, the dwelling place +amidst the cleared land in the forest, the narrow dell, the +open valley, every one is associated with some fine old name +that belonged to our Scandinavian forefathers. Silver How +is the hill of Sölvar, and Butter-lip-how, the mound of +Buthar, surnamed Lepr the Nimble; Windermere and Buttermere, +and Elter-water are the meres and water called +after the ancient Norsemen, Windar, and Buthar or Butar, +and Eldir, Gunnerskeld, and Ironkeld, and Butter-eld-keld, +are the spring or marsh of Gunnar, and Hiarn, and Buthar +the Old, or Elder. Bekangs-Ghyll, and Staingill, and Thortillgill, +indicate the ravines or fissures, which were probably at +one time the boundaries respectively of the lands of Bekan, +and Steini, and Thortil; Seatallau and Seatoller were once +the dwelling places whence Elli and Oller looked on the +plains below them; and in Ormthwaile, and Branthwaite, +and Gillerthwaite we recognise the lands cleared amid the +forests with the axe, whose several possessors were Ormr, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span>Biorn, and Geller; while Borrodale, and Ennerdale, and +Riggindale, and Bordale recall the days when these remote +valleys were subject to the lordly strangers Borrhy, and Einar, +and Regin, and Bor. All these names are Scandinavian proper +names, and are to be found in the language of that ancient +race, of whose sojourn amongst our hills so many traces remain +in the nomenclature of the district.</p> + +<p>Coming from the wildest and poorest part of the Norwegian +coast, and mixing with the Celtic tribes of these regions, in +the early ages; those hardy sons of the sea made extensive +and permanent settlements among them. They penetrated +into the remotest recesses of the mountains, carrying thither +their wild belief in the old northern gods, and their rude ideas +of a future life. Their warlike recollections, and their attachment +to the scenes of their valorous exploits, fostered the +notion which was not uncommon among them, that the spirits +of chieftains could sometimes leave the halls of Valhalla, and, +seated each on his own sepulchral hill, could look around him +on the peaceful land over which in life he had held rule, or +on that beloved sea which had borne him so often to war and +conquest. It was this thought that induced them to select for +their burial places high mountains, or elevated spots in the +valleys and plains. As a natural result of their long continued +dominion in the North of England, they came to be classed +in the imagination of the people with invisible and mystic +beings which haunted that district. The shadows of the +remote old hills were the abodes of enchantment and superstition. +And the spirits of the departed were supposed to be +seen visiting the earth, sometimes in the guise of a Celtic +warrior careering on the wind, and sometimes in the form of +one of the old northern chieftains sitting solitary upon his +barrow. It is related of one being permitted to do so for the +purpose of comforting his disconsolate widow, and telling her +how much her sorrow disquieted him. Hence also the +dwellers among the hills, it is said, still fancy they hear on the +evening breeze musical tones as of harp strings played upon, +and melancholy lays in a foreign tongue; a beautiful concert, +to which we owe the exquisite medieval legend of the cattle, +in thraldom to the potent spirit of harmony that rings through +the air, often when no musical sound is audible to the organ +of man, pricking up their ears in astonishment, as they listen +to the Danish or Norseland Boy, sadly singing the old bardic +lays over the barrows of his once mighty forefathers.</p> + +<p>It has been conjectured that the colonization of this district +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span>by the Northmen was effected at two distinct periods, by two +separate streams of emigration, issuing from two different parts +of the Scandinavian shore. The first recorded invasion of +Cumberland by the Danes appears to have taken place about +the year 875; when an army under the command of Halfdene, +having entered Northumberland and made permanent settlements +there, commenced a series of incursions into the adjacent +countries lying on the north and west, and thereby reached the +borders of the lake region, first plundering them and finally +settling there. The indications of the presence of the northern +adventurers in that quarter are found to be more purely of a +Danish character than those which abound beyond the eastern +line of the district, and which may with great probability be +referred to a colonization more particularly Norwegian.</p> + +<p>Our own histories make no mention of anything bearing +upon the subject, but there seem to be good reasons for +concluding that Cumberland was also invaded from the sea +coast. The Norwegian sea-rover Olaf, according to Snorro +Sturlessen, had visited, among other countries, both Cumberland +and Wales. And Mr. Ferguson supposes, from various +circumstances, which concur to fix the date of the Norwegian +settlements here in the interval between 945 and 1000, that +his descents must have taken place somewhere about the year +990. At that period the Cumbrian Britons had been for half +a century in subjugation to the Saxons, and since the death of +Dunmail their country had been handed over to Malcolm to be +held in fealty by the Scottish crown. The scattered remnants +of the Celtic tribes were for the most part shut up amongst +their hills, or had retired into Wales. The plains of Westmorland +and Cumberland on the north and east were probably +chiefly occupied by a mixed Saxon and Danish population; +for nearly a century had elapsed since the Danes from Northumberland +had overrun them. In fifty years more the result +of events was, as we are informed by Henry of Huntingdon, +that one of the principal abodes of the "Danes," under which +title old writers comprehend all Northmen, was in Cumberland. +A stream of Northern emigrants, issuing, it may be supposed, +from the districts of the Tellemark, and the Hardanger, a +name signifying "a place of hunger and poverty," had +descended along the north of Scotland, swept the western side +of the island, fixed its head-quarters in the Isle of Man, and +from thence succeeded in obtaining a firm footing upon the +opposite shore of England; a land, like their own, of mountains +and valleys, waiting for a people as they were for a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span>settlement, a wild and untamed country, always thinly populated +and never cultivated, a land of rocks and forests and of +desolation. These protected by their ships, having command +of the coast, and being unopposed except by the apparently +impenetrable mountain barriers before them, these warlike +settlers cleared for themselves homes amidst the woods, began +to gather tribute from the mountain sides, and laid the foundations +of those "thwaites" and "seats" and "gates" and +"garths," which at the end of almost nine centuries of +fluctuation and change still bear testimony to their wide-spread +rule and are called by their Northern names.</p> + +<p>Not only do traces of them everywhere survive in names +which indicate possession and location, or in words which +particularise the multiform features of the country and describe +the minor variations of its surface; but the sites of their +legislative and judicial institutions, and their places of burial, +as well as their towns and villages, are preserved in that local +nomenclature which lives in the language spoken by their +kinsmen in the mother-land at the present day. The old +Norse element has penetrated, and diffused itself, and hardened +into the dialect of the Cumberland and Westmorland "fell-siders," +and emphatically pronounces from whom it came. +And, lastly, the physical and moral characteristics, as well as +the manners and customs of the people, are those of the hardy +race, whose transmitted blood gave the larger nerve and more +enduring vigour which characterise their frame. Tall, bony, +and firmly knit; fair-haired, and of Sanguine complexion; +possessing strong feelings of independance, and a large share +of shrewdness and mother-wit; intolerant of oppression; +cautious, resolute, astute and brave; these people, and the +Cumbrians, especially, crown their list of claims to be of Norse +descent with one more striking feature, a litigious spirit. +Litigation appears to be almost as natural and necessary to +their minds, as wrestling and other manly exercises are to their +limbs: in respect to which, as well as to other amusements in +which they are said to bear some resemblance to the old Icelanders, +they bear away the palm from the rest of England.</p> + +<p>Dungeon Ghyll in Great Langdale is a deep chasm or fissure +in the southern face of the first great buttress of the Pikes. It +is formed by a considerable stream from Pike o' Stickle; +which after making several fine leaps down the mountain side, +tumbles at length over a lofty precipice about eighty feet +between impending and perpendicular rocks into a deep and +gloomy basin. A few slender branches are seen springing +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span>from the crevices in either face of the chasm near the top; and +immediately above the basin, a natural arch, made by two +large stones which have rolled from a higher part of the +mountain, and got wedged together between the cheeks of +rock. By scrambling over some rough stones in the bed of +the stream, the largest and finest chamber may be reached; +and the visitor stands underneath the arch, and in front of the +waterfall. Over the bridge thus rudely formed, Wordsworth's +"Idle Shepherd Boy" challenged his comrade to pass; and +even ladies have had the intrepidity or temerity to cross it, +undeterred by the narrowness and awkwardness of the footing, +and the threatening aspect of the dismal gulf below.</p> + +<p>The station in the field adjoining the farm house called +Skelwith-Fold, is the site where the Danish fortress is assumed +to have stood.</p></blockquote> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h2>THE CHURCH AMONG THE MOUNTAINS.</h2> + +<div class="poem"> +In this sweet vale where peace has found<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">An undisturbed abode,</span><br /> +The everlasting hills surround<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A temple reared to God;</span><br /> +Where one pure stream, the Gospel's sound,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Flows as it ever flow'd.</span><br /> +<br /> +Here never reach the angry jars<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Which break the Church's rest.</span><br /> +The unity that strife debars<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Is on this Branch imprest;</span><br /> +Her truths of old no discord mars;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Here peace is in her breast.</span><br /> +<br /> +One Book reveals the living lore<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of prophets, saints, and kings.</span><br /> +One mild apostle here its store<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To every household brings;</span><br /> +And on this temple's sacred floor<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The pure glad tidings sings.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span><br /> +Race follows race from field and home,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And all in earth are laid:</span><br /> +But steadfast as the starry dome<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Above, the truth is spread</span><br /> +Around their feet, howe'er they roam,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Unquestioned, ungainsaid.</span><br /> +<br /> +How blest, to live and hope in peace<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Like these! nor hear the knell</span><br /> +Of some sure promise, made to cease<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Beneath the mystic's spell,</span><br /> +Or subtle casuist's caprice—<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And know that all is well.</span><br /> +<br /> +In vainest strifes we cast away<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Too much from life's fair page.</span><br /> +The flock becomes the spoiler's prey,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Because the shepherds rage.</span><br /> +And while the life is but a day,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The warfare lasts an age.</span><br /> +<br /> +But here may piety rejoice<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To tread the ancient ways:</span><br /> +Still make the one true part the choice<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of even the darkest days;</span><br /> +And lift an undivided voice<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of thankful prayer and praise.</span><br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span><br /> +Guard, Sovereign of the heights and rills!<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">These precincts of Thy fold;</span><br /> +This little Church, which thus fulfils<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thy purpose framed of old.</span><br /> +And this Thy flock amidst these hills<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Still in Thy bosom hold.</span><br /> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span></p> + + +<h3>NOTES TO "THE CHURCH AMONG THE +MOUNTAINS."</h3> + +<blockquote> + +<p>Wordsworth in his description of the Lake Country as it +was, and had been through centuries, till within about +one hundred years, thus alludes to the places of worship. +"Towards the head of these Dales was found a perfect +Republic of shepherds and agriculturists, among whom the +plough of each man was confined to the maintenance of his +own family, or to the occasional accommodation of his neighbour. +Two or three cows furnished each family with milk +and cheese. The Chapel was the only edifice that presided +over these dwellings, the supreme head of this pure commonwealth: +the members of which existed in the midst of a +powerful empire, like an ideal society or an organised +community, whose constitution had been imposed and +regulated by the mountains which protected it.</p> + +<p>"The <i>religio loci</i> is nowhere violated by these unstinted, +yet unpretending works of human hands. They exhibit +generally a well proportioned oblong, with a suitable porch, +in some instances a steeple tower, and in others nothing more +than a small belfry, in which one or two bells hang visibly. +A man must be very insensible who would not have been +touched with pleasure at the sight of the former Chapel of +Buttermere, so strikingly expressing by its diminutive size, +how small must have been the congregation there assembled, +as it were, like one family; and proclaiming at the same time +to the passenger, in connection with the surrounding mountains, +the depth of that seclusion in which the people lived, +that rendered necessary the building of a separate place of +worship for so few. The edifice was scarcely larger than +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span>many of the single stones or fragments of rock which were +scattered near it. The old Chapel was perhaps the most +diminutive in all England, being incapable of receiving more +than half a dozen families. The length of the outer wall was +about seventeen feet. The curacy was 'certified to the +Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty at £1. paid by the +contributions of the inhabitants,' and it was also certified, +'this Chapel and Wythop were served by Readers, except +that the Curate of Lorton officiated there three or four times +in the year.'"</p> + +<p>Such cures were held in these northern counties by unordained +persons, till about the middle of George II.'s reign; +when the Bishops came to a resolution, that no one should +officiate who was not in orders. But, because there would +have been some injustice and some hardship in ejecting the +existing incumbents, they were admitted to deacons' orders +without undergoing any examination. The person who was +then Reader as it was called, at the Chapel in the Vale of +Newlands, and who received this kind of ordination, exercised +the various trades of Clogger, Tailor, and Butter-print maker.</p> + +<p>How otherwise than by following secular occupations were +even Readers to exist? The Chapel of "Secmurthow" on the +south side of the river Derwent, not far from the foot of +Bassenthwaite lake, was certified to the Governors of Queen +Anne's Bounty at £2., being the interest of £40. raised by the +inhabitants for a Reader. "Before its augmentation," says +Hutchinson, "the Reader of divine service had a precarious +income; but an actual custom existed for several years of +allowing the poor minister a <i>whittle-gate</i>. He was privileged +to go from house to house in the Chapelry, and stay a certain +number of days at each place, where he was permitted to enter +his <i>whittle</i> or knife with the rest of the family. This custom," +he adds, "has been abolished in such modern times, that it is +in the memory of many now living." (i.e. 1794.)</p> + +<p>The inhabitants of many of the Chapelries in the north got +by custom from the Rectors or Vicars the right of nominating +and presenting the curate; for this reason: before the death +of Queen Anne, many of the Chapelries were not worth above +two or three pounds a year, and the donees could not get +persons properly qualified to serve them; so they left them to +the inhabitants, who raised voluntary contributions for them +in addition to their salary, with clothes yearly and whittle-gate.</p> + +<p>Clothes yearly, were one new suit of clothes, two pairs of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span>shoes, and one pair of clogs, shirts, stockings, etc., as they +could bargain.</p> + +<p>Whittlegate is, to have two or three weeks' victuals at each +house, according to the ability of the inhabitants, which was +settled amongst them, so that he should go his course as +regularly as the sun, and complete it annually. Few houses +having more knives than one or two, the pastor was often +obliged to buy his own; sometimes it was bought for him by +the chapel-wardens. He marched from house to house with +his whittle seeking fresh pasturage; and as master of the herd, +he had the elbow chair at the table-head, which was often +made of part of a hollow ash-tree, such as may be seen in +those parts at this day.</p> + +<p>Buttermere was said to allow its priest whittle-gate, and +twenty shillings yearly; by other accounts, "clogg-shoes, +harden-sark, whittle-gate, and guse-gate"—that is, a pair of +shoes clogged or iron-shod, a shirt of coarse linen or hemp +once a year, free-living at each parishioner's house for a certain +number of days, and the right to pasture a goose or geese on +the common.</p> + +<p>The Wytheburn reader had sark, whittle-gate, and guse-gate.</p> + +<p>The Mungrisdale priest had £6. 0<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i> a year.</p> + +<p>Many worthies have appeared, nevertheless, among these +unpretending ministers of the dales; most prominently so, +Robert Walker, for a long period curate of Seathwaite, and +surnamed for his many virtues and industry, the Wonderful: +of whose life and actions an interesting and detailed account +is given in the Notes in Wordsworth's Works.</p> + +<p>The Chapel of Martindale, a perpetual curacy under the +vicarage of Barton, near Penrith, was served for 67 years by +a Mr. Richard Birket. The ancient endowment was only +£2. 15<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> per annum, a small house, and about four acres +of land. At his first coming, Birket's whole property consisted +of two shirts and one suit of clothes; yet he amassed a +considerable sum of money. Being the only man except one +in the parish who could write, he transcribed most of the law +papers of his parishioners. Whenever he lent money, he +deducted at the time of lending, two shillings in the pound +for interest, and the term of the loan never exceeded a year. +He charged for writing a receipt twopence, and for a +promissory note fourpence; and used other means of extortion. +He likewise taught a school, and served as parish-clerk; and +in both these offices he showed his wonderful turn for economy +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span>and gain; for his quarter-dues from his scholars being small, +he had from the parents of each scholar a fortnight's board +and lodging; and the Easter-dues being usually paid in eggs, +he, at the time of collecting, carried with him a board, in +which was a hole that served him as a gauge, and he positively +refused to accept any which would pass through. He got a +fortune of £60 with his wife; to whom he left at his decease +the sum of £1200. Clark says, that on account of transacting +most of the law affairs of his parishioners, he was called Sir +Richard, or the Lawyer. But with reference to this title, +Nicholson, Bishop of Carlisle, at the beginning of the 18th +century says, "Since I can remember, there was not a reader +in any chapel who was not called 'Sir.'" The old designation +of the clergy before the Reformation was always "Sir"; +knight being added as the military or civil distinction. +It has also been stated that the last curate of this parish, or of +these parts at all, called "Sir," was the Reverend Richard +Birket (apud 1689).</p> + +<p>On the death of Mr. Birket no one would undertake the +cure, on account of the smallness of the stipend: those therefore +of the parishioners who could read, performed the service +by turns. Things remained in this situation for some time; +at length a little decrepid man, named Brownrigg, to whom +Mr. Birket had taught a little Latin and Greek, was by the +parishioners appointed perpetual Reader. For this they +allowed him, with the consent of the Donee, the church perquisites, +then worth about £12 per annum. Brownrigg being +a man of good character, and there being no clergyman within +several miles to baptize their children, or bury their dead, the +parishioners petitioned the Bishop to grant him deacon's +orders; this was accordingly done, and he served the cure +forty-eight years.</p> + +<p>Mr. Mattinson, the curate of Paterdale, who died about the +year 1770, was a singular character. For fifty-six years he +officiated at the small "chapel with the yew tree," at the foot +of St. Sunday's Crag. His ordinary income was generally +twelve pounds a year, and never above eighteen. He married +and lived comfortably, and had four children, all of whom he +christened and married, educating his son to be a scholar, and +sending him to College. He buried his mother; married his +father and buried him; christened his wife, and published his +own banns of marriage in the church. He lived to the age of +ninety-six, and died worth a thousand pounds. It has been +alleged that this provident curate assisted his wife to card and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span>spin the tithe wool which fell to his lot, viz. one third; that +he taught a school which brought him in about five pounds a +year; that his wife was skilful and eminent as a midwife, performing +her functions for the small sum of one shilling; but +as according to ancient custom she was likewise cook at the +christening dinner, she received some culinary perquisites +which somewhat increased her profits. Clarke adds, "One +thing more I must beg leave to mention concerning Mrs. +Mattinson: On the day of her marriage, her father boasted +that his two daughters were married to the two best men in +Paterdale, the priest and the bag piper."</p> + +<p>In Langdale, in Clark's time, the poor Curate was obliged +to sell ale to support himself and his family; and, he says, +"At his house I have played <i>Barnaby</i> with him on the +Sabbath morning, when he left us with the good old song,</p> + +<p> +'I'll but preach, and be with you again.'"<br /> +</p> + +<p>Taking all their circumstances into consideration, it is not +to be wondered at that the personal failings of these men were +looked upon by their neighbours with a leniency which would +hardly be intelligible elsewhere. Not very long ago an +excellent old dame only recently deceased, who for her +intelligence and goodness was respected and esteemed by +the highest and the lowest, and was one of the finest specimens +of nature's gentlewomen to be found anywhere, was heard +warmly upholding the character of a neighbouring clergyman +in these words,—"Well, I'll not say but he may have <i>slanted</i> +now and then, at a christenin' or a weddin'; but for buryin' a +corp, he is undeniable!"</p> + +<p>In 1866 the Bishop of Carlisle consecrated a new church +at Wythop on the shores of Bassenthwaite Lake. The old +building which this edifice is intended to supersede is a decayed +barn-like structure, supplied with a bell which hung from an +adjoining tree. Some curious customs are associated with +this Church. It was built in 1473. For some hundreds of +years the inhabitants of the Chapelry were in the habit of +dividing it into four quarters, from each of which a representative +was elected yearly; the functions of the four being set +forth in a document dated 1623. They have to elect a parish +minister or reader, who was generally the schoolmaster, a +layman being eligible; they had to collect "devotion money," +supervise the repairs of the fabric, and look after the parish +school. The stipend of the minister was 10½d. per Sunday. +Here is a copy of an old receipt:—"Received of the chapelmen +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span>of Wythop the sum of 28s. 5d. for thirty-one weeks' +reading wages, by me, John Fisher." The stipend was +however supplemented by Whittlegate; he was boarded and +lodged by the inhabitants of the four quarters in turn. The +value of the living at the present day is only £51 per annum.</p> + +<p>This old church which is to remain as a curiosity, stands +high on a mountain side; and not many years ago nettles +grew luxuriantly beneath the seats in the pews and along the +middle of the passage. A narrow board on a moveable bracket +constitutes the communion table, and the vessels employed in +the celebration of the Lord's Supper are a pewter cheese-plate +and pewter pot. There is no font provided for baptisms, the +purpose was served by a common earthenware vessel; nor is +any vestry room attached to the building.</p> + +<p>Vestries are seldom to be found in these remote chapels. +And in the chapel at Matterdale, the sacramental wine used +to be kept in a wooden keg, or small cask; perhaps is so +still.</p> + +<p>It is said of Whitbeck Chapel, which lies on the base of +Black Combe, near the sea shore, that smugglers frequenting +that exposed part of the coast, on many occasions deposited +their illegal cargoes within its walls, until a convenient opportunity +arose for removing them unobserved. Sunday sometimes +came round when the sacred edifice was not in the most suitable +condition for celebrating divine service. The parish clerk had +then to advise the minister that it would be inconvenient to +officiate on that day. It was not politic to scrutinize too +closely the nature of the difficulty that existed: it was +sufficiently understood. A substantial sample of the intruding +contraband element found its way to the house of the minister; +and forthwith due notice was circulated among the parishioners +that the usual service would not be held until the Sunday +following. Meanwhile the stores were disposed of, and the +wild and desperate adventurers were in full career again +towards the Manx or Scottish shore.</p> + +<p>In 1300 the Lady of Allerdale, and of the Honour of +Cockermouth, Isabel Countess of Albemarle was summoned +to prove by what right she held a market at Crosthwaite (near +Keswick). She denied that she held any market there, but +said that the men of the neighbourhood met at the Church on +Festival days, and there sold flesh and fish; and that she as +lady of the Manor of Derwent Fells took no toll. This +practice being persevered in, in 1306 the inhabitants of +Cockermouth represented in a petition to parliament that there +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span>was a great concourse of people every Sunday at Crosthwaite +Church, where corn, flour, beans, peas, linen, cloth, meat, +fish, and other merchandise were bought and sold, which was +so very injurious to the market at Cockermouth, that the +persons of that place who farmed the tolls of the king were +unable to pay their rent. Upon this a prohibitory proclamation +was issued against the continuance of such an unseemly usage.</p> + +<p>Things had not got quite straight in this respect within the +sanctuary at a much later period. The Rev. Thos. Warcup, +incumbent of the parish church of Wigton, in the civil war +was obliged to fly on account of his loyalty to the sovereign. +After the restoration of Charles II. he returned to his cure; +and tradition says, that the butcher-market was then held upon +the Sunday, and the butchers hung up their carcasses even at +the church door, to attract the notice of their customers as +they went in and came out of church; and it was not an +unfrequent thing to see people, who had made their bargains +before prayer began, hang their joints of meat over the +backs of the seats until the pious clergyman had finished the +service. The zealous priest, after having long, but ineffectually, +endeavoured to make his congregation sensible of the +indecency of such practices, undertook a journey to London, +on foot, for the purpose of petitioning the king to have the +market-day established on the Tuesday; which favour it is +said he had interest enough to obtain.</p> + +<p>This faithful priest long before his death caused his own +monument to be erected in the churchyard, with this inscription +in verse of his own composing:</p> + +<div class="poem"> +Thomas Warcup prepar'd this stone,<br /> +To mind him of his best home.<br /> +Little but sin and misery here,<br /> +Till we be carried on our bier.<br /> +Out of the grave and earth's dust,<br /> +The Lord will raise me up, I trust;<br /> +To live with Christe eternallie,<br /> +Who, me to save, himself did die.<br /> +</div> + +<div class="center"> +Mihi est Christus et in vita et in morte lucrum. Phil. i. 21.<br /> +Obiit anno 1653.<br /> +</div> + +<p>Thus it appears his decease did not take place until some +years after the date at which he records his death; probably +a period marked by some important change in his life, or of +unusual solemnity reminds us that only thirty-five years ago, +at a very few miles from its base, one who served the pastoral +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span>office more than fifty years, eking out a wretched maintenance +upon a small farm; while his sons were at the plough, was +of necessity compelled to send his daughters with horses and +carts for coals and lime, and to lead manure to the fields and +distribute it over the land; whilst the Dean and Chapter of +his diocese were the patrons of his cure.</p> + +<p>Such things can hardly be witnessed at this day. But a +minister may be seen even now (1867) on the other side of the +district, leading the choir in the aisle, in his surplice, with +bow and fiddle in his hands, and then resuming his place at +the desk, with becoming solemnity, until the course of the +service requires his instrument again. His sense of harmony +is acute; for in the middle of the psalm, his arms will fly +apart, and the volume of sound be stopped, until an offensive +note has been ejected, and the strain rectified, and renewed.</p> + +<p>A curious discovery has recently been made in the venerable +parish church of Windermere. The plaster having come away +over one of the arches, a band of red and black was revealed. +On the removal of more of the thick layers of whitewash, a +beautiful inscription in old English characters was found. +Further search was instituted, and similar inscriptions have +been discovered on all the walls between the arches in the +nave. It is conjectured that these inscriptions were placed in +the church at the time of the Reformation, as they are mostly +directed against the dogma of transubstantiation, whilst they +give plain instructions in the doctrine of the Sacraments.</p> + +<p>On the north side of the nave the following have been +deciphered:—</p> + +<p>"Howe many sacramentes are their?—Two: baptisme and +the supper of the Lord.</p> + +<p>"In baptisme which ys ye signe yt may be seene?—Water +onelie.</p> + +<p>"Which is ye grace yt cannot be seene?—The washinge +awaie of synnes by the bloode of Christe.</p> + +<p>"In the Lordes supper which is ye signe yt may be sene?—Breade +and Wyne.</p> + +<p>"Which is ye grace yt cannot be seene?—The bodie and +bloode of Christe."</p> + +<p>On the south wall the inscriptions are as follow:—</p> + +<p>"In goinge to ye table of the Lord, what ought a man to +consider or doe pryncipalie?—T examine him selfe.</p> + +<p>"Is the breade and wine turned into ye bodie and bloode +of Christe?—No, for if you turne or take away ye signe that +may be sene it is no sacrament.</p> + +<hr class="tb" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span></p> + +<p>"For the strengthenynge of your faith, howe many things +learne yow in ye Lordes Supper?—Two: as by ye hand and +mouthe, my bodie receiuth breade and wine: so by faithe, my +soule dothe feade of ye bodie and blood of Christ: secondlie +all ye benefittes of Christ his passion and his righteousness, +are as surelye sealled up to be mine as my selfe had wrought +them.</p> + +<p>"To the strengthening of your faithe how many thinges +learne you in baptisme?—Two: first, as water washeth away +the filthines of ye fleshe: so ye bloode of Christ washeth +awaie synne from my soull; secondly, I am taught to rise +againe to neunes of life."</p></blockquote> + + +<div class="center">G. AND T. COWARD, PRINTERS, CARLISLE.</div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + + +<div class="center">SECOND EDITION.<br /> +<br /> +<small><i>Small Crown 8vo. In neat Cloth binding, Price 3s. 6d.</i></small><br /> +</div> + +<blockquote> +<p>THE FOLK-SPEECH OF CUMBERLAND +and some Districts Adjacent; being short Stories and +Rhymes in the Dialects of the West Border Counties. +By <span class="smcap">Alex. Craig Gibson, F.S.A.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<p>The tales are remarkable for their spirit and humour. The +poetry, too, is marked by the same characteristics.—<i>Westminster +Review.</i></p> + +<p>The stories and rhymes have the freshness of nature about +them.—<i>Contemporary Review.</i></p> + +<p>Brimful of humour, homely wit and sense, and reflect the +character and life and ways of thought of an honest sturdy +people.—<i>Spectator.</i></p> + +<p>The stories, or prose pieces, are wonderfully clever and well +done.—<i>Saturday Review.</i></p> + +<p>This is an uncommon book, combining, as it does, in an +extraordinary degree, the recondite lore which throws antiquarians +into ecstacies, with the shrewd humour, the descriptive +force, and the poetic charm which, garbed in the old +Norse-rooted vernacular which Cumbrians love so well, will +secure for it a cordial reception among all those who claim +"canny Cumberland" for their childhood's home.—<i>Eddowes's +Shrewsbury Journal.</i></p> + +<p>His poems are pictures in very natural colours.—<i>Durham +Chronicle.</i></p> + +<p>Destined to an honourable place among the choicest productions +of our native literature.—<i>Carlisle Journal.</i></p> + +<p>Besides being a learned antiquary, he has wit, humour, and +a true vein of poetry in him, and the literary skill, in addition +to turn all these to the best account.—<i>Carlisle Express.</i></p> + +<p>In its way perfectly unique.—<i>Carlisle Examiner.</i></p> + + +<div class="center">CARLISLE: G. AND T. COWARD. LONDON: J. RUSSELL SMITH.</div> + + + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<div class="center"> +<small><i>Small Crown 8vo. In neat Cloth binding, Price 3s. 6d.</i></small><br /> +</div> + +<blockquote> + +<p><big>"CUMMERLAND TALK;"</big> being Short Tales +and Rhymes in the Dialect of that County. By <span class="smcap">John +Richardson</span>, of Saint John's.</p></blockquote> + + +<p>A very good specimen of its class. The ordinary subscriber +to Mudie's would not for a moment dream of ever looking +into it, and yet Mr. Richardson possesses far more ability +than the generality of novelists who are so popular.—<i>Westminster +Review.</i></p> + +<p>Good and pleasant.—<i>Saturday Review.</i></p> + +<p>There are both pathos and humour in the various stories +and ballads furnished by Mr. Richardson. We congratulate +Cumberland on having so many able champions and admirers +of her dialect.—<i>Athenæum.</i></p> + +<p>Some of the rhymes are admirable. "It's nobbut me!" +is a capital specimen of a popular lyric poem.—<i>Notes and +Queries.</i></p> + +<p>He has seized on some of the most striking habits of thought, +and describes them simply and naturally, without any straining +after effect.—<i>Carlisle Patriot.</i></p> + +<p>To all lovers of the dialect literature of this county the +volume will be heartily welcome.—<i>Whitehaven News.</i></p> + +<p>A worthy companion to Dr. Gibson's "Folk Speech."—<i>Wigton Advertiser.</i></p> + +<p>The sketches are quite equal to anything of the kind we +have seen.—<i>Kendal Mercury.</i></p> + +<p>A very pleasant addition to the records of the dialect of +Cumberland.—<i>Westmorland Gazette.</i></p> + +<p>The best and most comprehensive reflex of the folk-speech +of Cumberland that has been put into our hands.—<i>Soulby's +Ulverston Advertiser.</i></p> + +<p>There is plenty of variety in the volume.—<i>Ulverston Mirror.</i></p> + + +<div class="center">CARLISLE: G. AND T. COWARD. LONDON: J. RUSSELL SMITH.</div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<div class="center"><small><i>F. Cap 8vo. Price 2s. 6d.</i></small><br /> +<br /> +<big>SONGS AND BALLADS</big><br /> +By JOHN JAMES LONSDALE,<br /> +Author of "The Ship Boy's Letter," "Robin's Return," &c.<br /> +WITH A BRIEF MEMOIR.<br /> +</div> + + +<div class="center"><i>From the ATHENÆUM.</i></div> + +<p>Mr. Lonsdale's songs have not only great merit, but they +display the very variety of which he himself was sceptical. +His first lay, "Minna," might lay claim even to imagination; +nevertheless, for completeness and delicacy of execution, we +prefer some of his shorter pieces. Of most of these it may be +said that they are the dramatic expressions of emotional ideas. +In many cases, however, these songs have the robust interest +of story, or that of character and picture. When it is borne +in mind that by far the greater portion of these lays were +written for music, no small praise must be awarded to the +poet, not only for the suitability of his themes to his purpose, +but for the picturesqueness and fancy with which he has +invested them under difficult conditions.</p> + +<div class="center"><i>From the WESTMINSTER REVIEW.</i></div> + +<p>Poetry seems now to flourish more in the north than in the +south of England. Not long ago we noticed an admirable +collection of Cumberland ballads, containing two songs by +Miss Blamire, which are amongst the most beautiful and +pathetic in our language. We have now a small volume by +a Cumberland poet, which may be put on the same shelf with +Kirke White. Like Kirke White's, Mr. Lonsdale's life seems +to have been marked by pain and disappointment. Like +Kirk White too, he died before his powers were full developed. +A delicate pathos and a vein of humour characterize his best +pieces.</p> + +<div class="center"><i>From the SPECTATOR.</i></div> + +<p>"The Children's Kingdom" is really touching. The picture +of the band of children setting out in the morning bright and +happy, lingering in the forest at noon, and creeping to their +journey's end at midnight with tearful eyes, has a decided +charm.</p> + +<div class="center"><i>From NOTES AND QUERIES.</i></div> + +<p>A volume containing some very pleasing poems by a young +Cumberland poet, who but for his early death, would probably +have taken a foremost place amongst the lyrists of our day.</p> + + +<div class="center">CARLISLE: G. AND T. COWARD. LONDON: J. RUSSELL SMITH.</div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<div class="center"><small><i>Small Crown 8vo. Price 3s. 6d. Cloth Limp.</i></small></div> + +<blockquote> + +<p>A GLOSSARY of the WORDS and PHRASES +OF FURNESS (North Lancashire), with Illustrative +Quotations, principally from the Old Northern Writers. +By <span class="smcap">J. P. Morris</span>, F.A.S.L.</p></blockquote> + + +<p>We are thoroughly pleased with the creditable way in which +Mr. Morris has performed his task. We had marked a number +of words, the explanation of which struck us as being good +and to the point, but space unfortunately fails us. We commend +the Furness Glossary to all students of our dialects.—<i>Westminster +Review.</i></p> + +<p>The collection of words is remarkably good, and Mr. Morris +has most wisely and at considerable pains and trouble illustrated +them with extracts from old writers.—<i>The Reliquary Quarterly +Review.</i></p> + +<p>Mr. Morris is well known in the district, both as a writer +and an antiquarian. His labours in the work before us evince +him to be a zealous and untiring student. We trust his book +will have the success which we think it well deserves.—<i>Ulverston +Advertiser.</i></p> + +<p>The stranger who takes up his abode in Furness will find +Mr. Morris's little book a capital helpmate.—<i>Ulverston Mirror.</i></p> + +<p>Apart from its etymological value the work is highly acceptable +as a contribution to local literature.—<i>Carlisle Journal.</i></p> + +<p>We cordially recommend the glossary to admirers of the old +writers, and to all curious philologists.—<i>Carlisle Patriot.</i></p> + +<p>Valuable as tracing to their source many good old forms of +the Furness dialect, and as explaining not a few archaisms +which have been stumbling-blocks to students of their mother +tongue.—<i>Whitehaven News.</i></p> + + +<div class="center">CARLISLE: G. AND T. COWARD. LONDON: J. RUSSELL SMITH.</div> + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<div class="center"><small><i>Price 3s. 6d. in Cloth; or 5s. in Extra Gilt Binding.</i></small></div> + +<div class="center"><span class="smcap">POEMS. By PETER BURN.</span></div> + +<div class="center">A NEW AND COMPLETE EDITION.</div> + +<p>If Mr. Burn's genius does not soar very high, he leads us +into many a charming scene in country and town, and imparts +moral truths and homely lessons. In many points our author +resembles Cowper, notably in his humour and practical aim. +One end of poetry is to give pleasure, and wherever these +poems find their way they will both teach and delight.—<i>Literary +World.</i></p> + +<p>If Mr. Burn will confine himself to pieces as expressive and +suggestive as "The Leaves are Dying," or as sweet as "The +Rivulet," he need not despair of taking a good position amongst +the ever-increasing host of minor poets.—<i>The Scotsman.</i></p> + +<p>Throughout the volume there is a healthy, vigorous tone, +worthy of the land of song from which the author hails. The +book is a desirable contribution to the already rich literature +of Cumberland.—<i>Dundee Advertiser.</i></p> + +<hr class="tb" /> + +<blockquote> + +<p><span class="smcap">The SONGS and BALLADS of CUMBERLAND +and the LAKE COUNTRY</span>; with Biographical +Sketches, Notes, and Glossary. Edited by <span class="smcap">Sidney +Gilpin</span>.</p></blockquote> + +<div class="center">(<i>A New and Revised Edition in preparation.</i>)</div> + + +<div class="center">CARLISLE: G. AND T. COWARD. LONDON: J. RUSSELL SMITH.</div> + + +<hr class="chap" /> +<div class="center"><small><i>F. Cap 8vo. Price 2s.6d., in neat Cloth binding.</i></small></div> + +<blockquote> + +<p>MISS BLAMIRE'S SONGS AND POEMS; +together with Songs by her friend <span class="smcap">Miss Gilpin</span> of +Scaleby Castle. With Portrait of Miss Blamire.</p></blockquote> + + +<p>She was an anomaly in literature. She had far too modest an +opinion of herself; an extreme seldom run into, and sometimes, +as in this case, attended like other extremes with disadvantages. +We are inclined, however, to think that if we have +lost a great deal by her ultra-modesty, we have gained something. +Without it, it is questionable whether she would have +abandoned herself so entirely to her inclination, and left us +those exquisite lyrics which derive their charms from the +simple, undisguised thoughts which they contain. The characteristic +of her poetry is its simplicity. It is the simplicity +of genuine pathos. It enters into all her compositions, and is +perhaps preeminent in her Scottish songs.—<i>Carlisle Journal, 1842.</i></p> + +<p>In her songs, whether in pure English, or in the Cumbrian +or Scottish dialect, she is animated, simple, and tender, often +touching a chord which thrills a sympathetic string deep in +the reader's bosom. It may, indeed, be confidently predicted +of several of these lyrics, that they will live with the best +productions of their age, and longer than many that were at +first allowed to rank more highly.—<i>Chambers' Journal, 1842.</i></p> + +<hr class="tb" /> + +<div class="center"><small><i>F. Cap 8vo. Price 2s., in neat Cloth binding.</i></small></div> + +<blockquote> + +<p>ROBERT ANDERSON'S CUMBERLAND +BALLADS.</p></blockquote> + + +<p>As a pourtrayer of rustic manners—as a relator of homely +incident—as a hander down of ancient customs, and of ways +of life fast wearing or worn out—as an exponent of the +feelings, tastes, habits, and language of the most interesting +class in a most interesting district, and in some other respects, +we hold Anderson to be unequalled, not in Cumberland only, +but in England. As a description of a long, rapid, and varied +succession of scenes—every one a photograph—occurring at a +gathering of country people intent upon enjoying themselves +in their own uncouth roystering fashion, given in rattling, +jingling, regularly irregular rhymes, with a chorus that is of +itself a concentration of uproarious fun and revelry, we have +never read or heard anything like Anderson's "Worton +Wedding."—<i>Whitehaven Herald.</i></p> + + +<div class="center">CARLISLE: G. AND T. COWARD. LONDON: J. RUSSELL SMITH.</div> + + + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<div class="center"><small><i>Small Crown 8vo. Price One Shilling.</i></small></div> + +<blockquote> + +<p>FORNESS FOLK, <span class="smcap">the'r Sayin's an' Dewin's</span>: +or Sketches of Life and Character in Lonsdale North of +the Sands. <span class="smcap">By ROGER PIKETAH.</span></p></blockquote> + + +<p>We have been greatly entertained by these stories, which +reveal to us traits of a humoursome, shrewd, sturdy race, of +whom from their geographical isolation, very little has been +communicated to us by the compilers of guide books or by +local sketchers.—<i>Carlisle Patriot.</i></p> + +<p>We can honestly say the tales are not spoiled in serving +up. They come upon the reader with almost the full force of +<i>viva voce</i> recital, and prove conclusively that Roger Piketah +is a thorough master of the "mak o' toak" which he has so +cleverly manipulated.—<i>Whitehaven News.</i></p> + +<p>Whoever Roger Piketah may be, he has succeeded in +producing a good reflex of some of our Furness traditions, +idioms, and opinions; and we venture to predict it will be a +favorite at penny readings and other places.—<i>Ulverston +Advertiser.</i></p> + +<div class="center"><small><i>F. Cap 8vo. Price 3s. 6d.</i></small></div> + +<blockquote> + +<p>POEMS BY MRS. WILSON TWENTYMAN of +Evening Hill. Dedicated, by permission, to <span class="smcap">H. W. +Longfellow</span>.</p></blockquote> + + +<div class="center"><small><i>F. Cap 8vo. Price 2s. 6d.</i></small></div> + +<blockquote> + +<p>ROUGH NOTES OF SEVEN CAMPAIGNS +in Spain, France, and America, from 1809 to 1815. +By JOHN SPENCER COOPER, late Sergeant in the +7th Royal Fusileers.</p></blockquote> + + +<div class="center">CARLISLE: G. AND T. COWARD. LONDON: J. RUSSELL SMITH.</div> + + +<hr class="chap" /> +<div class="center"><small><i>Crown 8vo. Price 1s. in extra Cloth Binding: or 6d. in +neat Paper Cover.</i></small></div> + + +<blockquote> + +<p>OLD CASTLES: Including Sketches of <span class="smcap">Carlisle</span>, +<span class="smcap">Corby</span>, and <span class="smcap">Linstock Castles</span>; with a Poem on +Carlisle. By M. S., Author of an "Essay on Shakspeare," +&c.</p> + + +<p>WISE WIFF. A Tale in the Cumberland Dialect +By the Author of "Joe and the Geologist." Price +Threepence.</p> + + +<p>THREE FURNESS DIALECT TALES. Price +Threepence. Contains:—Siege o' Brou'ton, Lebby +Beck Dobby, Invasion o' U'ston.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">The SONGS and BALLADS of CUMBERLAND</span> +With Music by <span class="smcap">William Metcalfe</span>.</p> + + +<p>1. D'YE KEN JOHN PEEL? Words by John Woodcock +Graves. Price 4s.</p> + +<p>2. LAL DINAH GRAYSON ("M'appen I may"). Words +by Alex. Craig Gibson. Price 4s.</p> + +<p>3. REED ROBIN. Words by Robert Anderson. Price 2s. 6d.</p> + +<p>4. "WELCOME INTO CUMBERLAND." Words by the +Rev. T. Ellwood. Price 3s.</p> + +<p>5. THE WAEFU' HEART. Words by Miss Blamire. +Price 2s. 6d.</p> + +<p>THE WELCOME INTO CUMBERLAND QUADRILLE. +Price 4s.</p> + +<p>THE JOHN PEEL MARCH. Price 4s.</p></blockquote> + + +<div class="center"><small>(<i>To be continued.</i>) <i>The above at Half-Price.</i></small></div> + +<div class="center">CARLISLE: G. AND T. COWARD.</div> + + + +<hr class="chap" /> + +<div class="transnote"> + +<h2>Transcriber's Notes</h2> + +<p>Obvious punctuation errors repaired.</p> + +<p>Hyphen removed: wicker[-]work (p. 42), extra[-]ordinary (p. 141), +eye[-]balls (p. 301), ferry[-]man (p. 171), hearth[-]stone (pp. 19 +(twice), 44), high[-]road (p. 263), loop[-]hole (p. 74), noon[-]day (p. +282), out[-]buildings (p. 174), out[-]worn (p. 279), +pre[-]eminent (ad for Miss Blamire's Songs and Poems), +two[-]pence (p. 18).</p> + +<p>Space removed: water[ ]spout (p. 190), wicker[ ]work (p. 79).</p> + +<p>Spelling normalized to "Souther Fell[-side]".</p> + +<p>P. 13: Herlingfordbury Park -> Hertingfordbury Park.</p> + +<p>P. 26: Sire de Couci -> Sire de Courci.</p> + +<p>P. 122: Darwentwater -> Derwentwater.</p> + +<p>P. 127: Of brighest laurels -> Of brightest laurels.</p> + +<p>P. 159: gave lands in Leakly -> gave lands in Leakley.</p> + +<p>Pp. 177, 292: Phillipson -> Philipson.</p> + +<p>P. 269: the story is old -> the story is told.</p> + +<p>P. 291: that that through which he had entered -> than that through +which he had entered.</p> + +<p>P. 329: served him as a guage -> served him as a gauge.</p> + +<p>Ad for Poems by Peter Burn: she leads us -> he leads us.</p> + +<p>Ad for The Songs and Ballads of Cumberland: The abore at Half-Price -> +The above at Half-Price.</p> +</div> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 48207 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/48207-h/images/cover.jpg b/48207-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..d318df5 --- /dev/null +++ b/48207-h/images/cover.jpg |
