FOOTNOTES:

Thus upon simple and philosophical principles are such appearances to be easily explained, and thisPhantasmagoriaof the learned antiquary vanishes.

For the information of the Geologist who may visit this spot, we shall state, that in a porphyritic granite on the summit, Mr. W. Phillips has lately discovered that some of the crystals formerly considered asFelspar, wereCleavelandite;[122]and we have little doubt that this curious discovery might be extended to many of the granitic masses in Western Cornwall.

At the eastern end of the hill isCarn-breh Castle; the rocks upon which this building stands, not being contiguous, are connected by arches turned over the cavities; one part of the fortress pierced with loopholes is evidently very ancient, and is supposed to have been of British work; the other is of modern construction, and was probably erected as an ornamental object from the grounds of Tehidy. There were formerly some outworks to the north-west; and, near thesummit of the hill is a circular fortification called theOld Castle, which appears to have been included within a strong wall. The hill itself, on which the spectator stands, is quite in unison with the scene around him; its silence and desolation,—the awful vestiges of its convulsion,—and the immense rocky fragments which lie scattered on its brow, are well calculated to harmonize with an extended and barren tract of country, every where broken up by mining operations, and whose horizon is bounded by the ocean.

FOOTNOTES:[84]The Phœnicians traded upon the western coasts of Cornwall, for at least six hundred years before the birth of our Saviour, and that for the sake of Tin;—so that the antiquity of our tin trade has been established upon mercantile principles for not less than twenty-four centuries. But in the earlier ages this metal was all procured fromStream Works, the method of working mines not having been known and practised for more than seven hundred years.[85]In the year 1822, the produce of the Copper mines in Cornwall amounted to 106,723 tons of ore, which produced 9,331 tons in Copper, and £676,285 in money. Whereas the quantity of Tin Ore raised did not exceed 20,000 tons.[86]The Saxon Miners formerly regardedCobaltin the same way. They considered it so troublesome when they found it among other ores, that a prayer was used in the German Church,that God would preserve Miners from Cobalt, and from Spirits.[87]Leadis principally found in cross courses, or north and south veins.Pentire Glaze, near Padstow, which has lately produced the finest cabinet specimens ofCarbonate of Lead, ever found in this country; andHuel Goldingin Perranzabuloe, are the principal mines in which the Lead occurs in cross courses. Lately, however, East and West Lodes of Lead have been discovered in the Parish of Newlyn, by Sir C. Hawkins, in draining a marsh. They are about two feet wide. Besides the Lead and a little quartz, they consist entirely of Clay; neither Copper nor Tin have been seen in them. The Lead yields about Sixty Ounces of Silver per Ton.[88]Cobalt.Huel SparnonTin and Copper Mine in the Parish of Redruth, is the only mine in the county that ever produced any considerable quantity of Cobalt; one fragment raised from it weighed 1333 lbs.[89]Silver.In the Copper Lode of Huel Ann, there occurred a distinct vein ofblackandgrey Silver ore, withNative Silver, from two to five inches wide with a wall of Quartz, on each side. It was however very short. See Mr. Carne's paper on the Silver Mines of Cornwall,Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall,vol.i.p.118.[90]Only one Lode in Cornwall has, however, been found of this size, and that only for the length of 20 fathoms inRelistian. InNangilesthe lode is, in some parts, 30 feet wide.[91]As the Counting House of Dolcoath has been determined to be 360 feet above the level of the sea, the mine extends 1050 feet below it; which is probably deeper under the sea level than any mine in the globe.[92]Clay-slate is provincially calledKillas; and Porphyry is known by the name ofElvan.[93]For a full account of this subject, the reader must consult Mr. Carne's laborious paper, "On the Veins of Cornwall," in the 2nd Volume of the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall.[94]We must refer the reader to a Paper, "On the Veins of Cornwall," byW. Phillips, Esq., published in the 2nd vol. of the Transactions of the London Geological Society; and also to a Paper, "On the relative Age of Veins," byJoseph Carne, Esq.in the 2nd vol. of the Cornish Transactions.[95]We shall pass over, as being too absurd to require any serious refutation, the former belief in the power of theVirgula Divinatoriato discover Lodes. A power less poetical but not less fabulous then the story of theVirga Fatalisthat conducted Æneas to the Shades.[96]Grassis the technical name for the surface on all occasions.[97]The great Copper Mine, calledCrennis, was discovered by some casual observers in the cliff.[98]FromAditus, a passage?[99]The application of this machine in the county is estimated as saving the labour of 10,000 men; whilst the powers of the different steam-engines are considered as at least equivalent to 40,000 more.[100]See Dr. Forbes's Paper "On the Temperature of Mines," in the second volume of the Transactions of the Cornish Society.[101]The annual cost of gunpowder, used in the mines of the county, amounts to more than thirty thousand pounds.[102]Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, vol. 2, page 162.[103]The quantity of water discharged by the pumps from many of the Cornish mines is very considerable; thusHuel Abrahamdischarges from the depth of 1440 feet, about 2,092,320 gallons every 24 hours;Dolcoath, from nearly the same depth, 535,173 gallons in the same time; andHuel Vor, from the depth of 950 feet, 1,692,660 gallons.[104]See Dr. Forbes's paper on the temperature of mines, in the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, vol. 2, p. 208; also on the temperature of mines, by R. W. Fox, Esq. ibid. p. 14, and a paper on the same subject by M. P. Moyle, Esq. p. 404.[105]Crennis Copper Mine returned a clear profit to the adventurers of £84,000 in one year; and Huel Alfred, during the last period of its working, yielded very nearly £130,000, after having defrayed every necessary expense. The adventurers in Huel Vor have lately gained £10,000 in three months. But, on the contrary, how numerous are the losses, not perhaps corresponding in magnitude, in any individual mine, to the gains which have been above stated. In North Downs as much as £90,000 were lost, but this is a rare instance.[106]The consumption of such articles in a great mine far exceeds any estimate which a person unacquainted with mining operations could possibly imagine. InHuel Vor, no less than Three thousand pounds of candles are consumed in a month, and about Three thousand five hundred pounds of Gunpowder.[107]Before the invention of theStamping Mill, the Tin was pulverised in a kind of mortar, called aCrazing Mill; one of which ancient machines is still in the possession of Mr. Williams of Scorrier House.[108]This process might be more generally employed in Cornwall with much advantage. The green coloured water which so frequently issues from the adits, might be made to yield a considerable portion of Copper, if it were properly received in pits, and submitted to the action of Iron.[109]Stream Tin, on account of its purity, is alone capable of furnishing thegrain tin, employed principally by dyers.[110]The principal Stream works are in the parishes of Lanlivery, Luxilian, St. Blazy, St. Austel, St. Mewan, St. Stephens, and St. Columb. The greatest Stream work in the county is at Carnon, about half-way between Truro and Penrhyn; but there is scarcely a valley in which the operation has not been conducted on a small scale.[111]In the Ordnance Map of Cornwall, a spot marked "the Gold Mine" is noticed, near Liskeard. This name serves only to commemorate one of the many ruinous speculations into which the inhabitants of this County have repeatedly fallen, from a want of mineralogical knowledge. A mass of Pyrites having been discovered in this place, its brilliancy induced a belief that it wasGold, in consequence of which workings were immediately commenced, and the sanguine adventurers, urged forward no doubt by those who derived an interest from the undertaking, could not be convinced of their error, until the complete ruin of their fortunes obliged them to abandon every hope.[112]This is the deepestAditin the country; its mouth or extremity being nearly on a level with the water in one of the creeks of Falmouth Harbour, into which it empties itself. Taking into calculation its various windings, through the numerous mines which it relieves of water, it may be said to be not less than twenty-four miles in length.[113]Menabilly is situated about four miles west of Fowey, on an eminence at a short distance from the sea.[114]We have been told that this has been arranged by Mr. Aikin, according to the different modifications of its crystalline form, as they are described by Mr. William Phillips in his elaborate paper published in the 2nd Vol. of the Transactions of the London Geological Society.[115]See an interesting account of this mineral in a notice entitled "Contributions towards a knowledge of the Geological History of Wood-Tin, by A. Majendie, Esq." in the first volume of the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall.[116]Since the first edition of this work was printed, the mineral has been found atSaint Michael's Mount, and, by Dr. Boase, amongst a pile of ore which was supposed to come fromBotallack.[117]In one of which is to be seen theMuriate of Tin, as first noticed by the late Reverend William Gregor.[118]The following are the names of the respectable dealers to whom we recommend the mineralogist to apply,—AtTruro, Tregoning, Mudge, and Heard;—atRedruth, Bennett; atGwenap, Michell;—atSaint Agnes, Argall;—atFalmouth, Trathan;—and atPenzance, Jacobs, the latter of whom has generally a great variety of Saint Just minerals on sale.[119]Opiewas a parish apprentice to a person of the name of Wheeler, a house carpenter, in the village of Saint Agnes; Dr. Walcott, better known by his poetical appellation ofPeter Pindar, having been struck, during his occasional visits to the village, by some rude sketches in chalk which were shewn him as the productions of this poor lad, invited him to his house atTruro, supplied him with the necessary materials, and enabled him to set up as an itinerant portrait painter, from which station he rose to be Professor of Painting to the Royal Academy.[120]A highly interesting paper "On the decomposition of the Granite Tors of Cornwall," by this geologist, is published in the second volume of the Transactions of the Geological Society of London.[121]This may be distinctly seen in the granitic rocks in the islands of Scilly; and in theGritstonein the park of the late Sir Joseph Banks, in the parish of Ashover in Derbyshire.[122]The only chemical difference betweenCleavelanditeandFelsparis, that about 12 per cent. of Potass in the latter is replaced by an equal quantity of Soda in the former. The earthy ingredients in both minerals are the same, and exist in similar proportions. The primary form of each is a doubly oblique prism, but the two prisms differ so essentially from each other in the measurement of their angles, that the substances are easily distinguished from each other by the Goniometer.

[84]The Phœnicians traded upon the western coasts of Cornwall, for at least six hundred years before the birth of our Saviour, and that for the sake of Tin;—so that the antiquity of our tin trade has been established upon mercantile principles for not less than twenty-four centuries. But in the earlier ages this metal was all procured fromStream Works, the method of working mines not having been known and practised for more than seven hundred years.

[85]In the year 1822, the produce of the Copper mines in Cornwall amounted to 106,723 tons of ore, which produced 9,331 tons in Copper, and £676,285 in money. Whereas the quantity of Tin Ore raised did not exceed 20,000 tons.

[86]The Saxon Miners formerly regardedCobaltin the same way. They considered it so troublesome when they found it among other ores, that a prayer was used in the German Church,that God would preserve Miners from Cobalt, and from Spirits.

[87]Leadis principally found in cross courses, or north and south veins.Pentire Glaze, near Padstow, which has lately produced the finest cabinet specimens ofCarbonate of Lead, ever found in this country; andHuel Goldingin Perranzabuloe, are the principal mines in which the Lead occurs in cross courses. Lately, however, East and West Lodes of Lead have been discovered in the Parish of Newlyn, by Sir C. Hawkins, in draining a marsh. They are about two feet wide. Besides the Lead and a little quartz, they consist entirely of Clay; neither Copper nor Tin have been seen in them. The Lead yields about Sixty Ounces of Silver per Ton.

[88]Cobalt.Huel SparnonTin and Copper Mine in the Parish of Redruth, is the only mine in the county that ever produced any considerable quantity of Cobalt; one fragment raised from it weighed 1333 lbs.

[89]Silver.In the Copper Lode of Huel Ann, there occurred a distinct vein ofblackandgrey Silver ore, withNative Silver, from two to five inches wide with a wall of Quartz, on each side. It was however very short. See Mr. Carne's paper on the Silver Mines of Cornwall,Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall,vol.i.p.118.

[90]Only one Lode in Cornwall has, however, been found of this size, and that only for the length of 20 fathoms inRelistian. InNangilesthe lode is, in some parts, 30 feet wide.

[91]As the Counting House of Dolcoath has been determined to be 360 feet above the level of the sea, the mine extends 1050 feet below it; which is probably deeper under the sea level than any mine in the globe.

[92]Clay-slate is provincially calledKillas; and Porphyry is known by the name ofElvan.

[93]For a full account of this subject, the reader must consult Mr. Carne's laborious paper, "On the Veins of Cornwall," in the 2nd Volume of the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall.

[94]We must refer the reader to a Paper, "On the Veins of Cornwall," byW. Phillips, Esq., published in the 2nd vol. of the Transactions of the London Geological Society; and also to a Paper, "On the relative Age of Veins," byJoseph Carne, Esq.in the 2nd vol. of the Cornish Transactions.

[95]We shall pass over, as being too absurd to require any serious refutation, the former belief in the power of theVirgula Divinatoriato discover Lodes. A power less poetical but not less fabulous then the story of theVirga Fatalisthat conducted Æneas to the Shades.

[96]Grassis the technical name for the surface on all occasions.

[97]The great Copper Mine, calledCrennis, was discovered by some casual observers in the cliff.

[98]FromAditus, a passage?

[99]The application of this machine in the county is estimated as saving the labour of 10,000 men; whilst the powers of the different steam-engines are considered as at least equivalent to 40,000 more.

[100]See Dr. Forbes's Paper "On the Temperature of Mines," in the second volume of the Transactions of the Cornish Society.

[101]The annual cost of gunpowder, used in the mines of the county, amounts to more than thirty thousand pounds.

[102]Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, vol. 2, page 162.

[103]The quantity of water discharged by the pumps from many of the Cornish mines is very considerable; thusHuel Abrahamdischarges from the depth of 1440 feet, about 2,092,320 gallons every 24 hours;Dolcoath, from nearly the same depth, 535,173 gallons in the same time; andHuel Vor, from the depth of 950 feet, 1,692,660 gallons.

[104]See Dr. Forbes's paper on the temperature of mines, in the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, vol. 2, p. 208; also on the temperature of mines, by R. W. Fox, Esq. ibid. p. 14, and a paper on the same subject by M. P. Moyle, Esq. p. 404.

[105]Crennis Copper Mine returned a clear profit to the adventurers of £84,000 in one year; and Huel Alfred, during the last period of its working, yielded very nearly £130,000, after having defrayed every necessary expense. The adventurers in Huel Vor have lately gained £10,000 in three months. But, on the contrary, how numerous are the losses, not perhaps corresponding in magnitude, in any individual mine, to the gains which have been above stated. In North Downs as much as £90,000 were lost, but this is a rare instance.

[106]The consumption of such articles in a great mine far exceeds any estimate which a person unacquainted with mining operations could possibly imagine. InHuel Vor, no less than Three thousand pounds of candles are consumed in a month, and about Three thousand five hundred pounds of Gunpowder.

[107]Before the invention of theStamping Mill, the Tin was pulverised in a kind of mortar, called aCrazing Mill; one of which ancient machines is still in the possession of Mr. Williams of Scorrier House.

[108]This process might be more generally employed in Cornwall with much advantage. The green coloured water which so frequently issues from the adits, might be made to yield a considerable portion of Copper, if it were properly received in pits, and submitted to the action of Iron.

[109]Stream Tin, on account of its purity, is alone capable of furnishing thegrain tin, employed principally by dyers.

[110]The principal Stream works are in the parishes of Lanlivery, Luxilian, St. Blazy, St. Austel, St. Mewan, St. Stephens, and St. Columb. The greatest Stream work in the county is at Carnon, about half-way between Truro and Penrhyn; but there is scarcely a valley in which the operation has not been conducted on a small scale.

[111]In the Ordnance Map of Cornwall, a spot marked "the Gold Mine" is noticed, near Liskeard. This name serves only to commemorate one of the many ruinous speculations into which the inhabitants of this County have repeatedly fallen, from a want of mineralogical knowledge. A mass of Pyrites having been discovered in this place, its brilliancy induced a belief that it wasGold, in consequence of which workings were immediately commenced, and the sanguine adventurers, urged forward no doubt by those who derived an interest from the undertaking, could not be convinced of their error, until the complete ruin of their fortunes obliged them to abandon every hope.

[112]This is the deepestAditin the country; its mouth or extremity being nearly on a level with the water in one of the creeks of Falmouth Harbour, into which it empties itself. Taking into calculation its various windings, through the numerous mines which it relieves of water, it may be said to be not less than twenty-four miles in length.

[113]Menabilly is situated about four miles west of Fowey, on an eminence at a short distance from the sea.

[114]We have been told that this has been arranged by Mr. Aikin, according to the different modifications of its crystalline form, as they are described by Mr. William Phillips in his elaborate paper published in the 2nd Vol. of the Transactions of the London Geological Society.

[115]See an interesting account of this mineral in a notice entitled "Contributions towards a knowledge of the Geological History of Wood-Tin, by A. Majendie, Esq." in the first volume of the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall.

[116]Since the first edition of this work was printed, the mineral has been found atSaint Michael's Mount, and, by Dr. Boase, amongst a pile of ore which was supposed to come fromBotallack.

[117]In one of which is to be seen theMuriate of Tin, as first noticed by the late Reverend William Gregor.

[118]The following are the names of the respectable dealers to whom we recommend the mineralogist to apply,—AtTruro, Tregoning, Mudge, and Heard;—atRedruth, Bennett; atGwenap, Michell;—atSaint Agnes, Argall;—atFalmouth, Trathan;—and atPenzance, Jacobs, the latter of whom has generally a great variety of Saint Just minerals on sale.

[119]Opiewas a parish apprentice to a person of the name of Wheeler, a house carpenter, in the village of Saint Agnes; Dr. Walcott, better known by his poetical appellation ofPeter Pindar, having been struck, during his occasional visits to the village, by some rude sketches in chalk which were shewn him as the productions of this poor lad, invited him to his house atTruro, supplied him with the necessary materials, and enabled him to set up as an itinerant portrait painter, from which station he rose to be Professor of Painting to the Royal Academy.

[120]A highly interesting paper "On the decomposition of the Granite Tors of Cornwall," by this geologist, is published in the second volume of the Transactions of the Geological Society of London.

[121]This may be distinctly seen in the granitic rocks in the islands of Scilly; and in theGritstonein the park of the late Sir Joseph Banks, in the parish of Ashover in Derbyshire.

[122]The only chemical difference betweenCleavelanditeandFelsparis, that about 12 per cent. of Potass in the latter is replaced by an equal quantity of Soda in the former. The earthy ingredients in both minerals are the same, and exist in similar proportions. The primary form of each is a doubly oblique prism, but the two prisms differ so essentially from each other in the measurement of their angles, that the substances are easily distinguished from each other by the Goniometer.

TO KYNANCE COVE, AND THE LIZARD POINT.

An excursion to the peninsula of the Lizard offers to the scientific traveller many objects of great geological interest; he will be enabled to examine a very rare and important series of Rock Formations, while their various gradations and transitions into each other will afford ample materials for speculation. In the course of this excursion it will be our duty to point out some of the more prominent features as they may occur in our progress; but in performing this duty we wish to be considered as merely presenting the geologist with a rough and imperfect outline, which may give a useful direction to his researches, and enable him to acquire, through the medium of his own observation, more ample and perfect information.[123]

To the country south of a line drawn from the mouth of the Helford river, on the east, to the Loe-Bar on the west, has the appellation of the "Lizard District" been exclusively applied by Mr. Majendie; and the division appears to have been conventionally received by all the geologists who have traced his steps.

The fundamental rock of this peninsula appears to beClay-slate, associated withGreywacké, upon which are successively depositedGreenstone,Diallage rock, andSerpentine. At Marazion several alternate beds ofSlateandGreenstonemay be observed; the latter of which containsAsbestus-Actynolite, and is universally traversed by veins ofAxinite,[124]which occurs both in an amorphous and crystalline form.

In the vicinity of a projecting ledge of rocks, known by the name ofCuddan Point, stands a mansion calledActon Castle, which was erected as a marine residence by the late John Stackhouse, Esq. and is at present occupied by Capt. Praed. Its situation is wild and unsheltered, but it commands a prospect of very extraordinary grandeur and beauty.

About four miles from Marazion, and half a mile from the high road towards the coast, are the remains of a building calledPengerswick Castle, a square stone tower, with a smaller one annexed, and some ruins of walls, are all that remain of this ancient edifice, but its machiolated gate and embattled turrets are still preserved to announce its military origin. The different rooms are now converted into granaries, but the oak wainscot, which is curiously carved and painted, remains in a tolerable state of preservation. On one of these panels, under a rude representation of water dropping from a rock, with the title "Perseverance," is the following poetical inscription.

"What thing is harder than a rock?What softer is than water clear?Yet will the same with often dropThe hard rock pierce, which doth appear,Even so there's nothing so hard to attayneBut may be had with labour and pain."

The classical reader will at once recognise in this inscription a paraphrase of the well known lines of Ovid:

"Quid magis est saxo durum,—Quid mollius unda?Dura tamen molli Saxa cavantur Aqua."

There exists a tradition that this place belonged in the reign of Henry VIII. to one Milliton, who having slain a man privately, purchased the castle in the name of his son, and immured himself in a secret chamber in the tower.

On a bold pile ofGranite rockswhich projects from the shore near Pengerswick, Dr. Maton observed clusters ofTrochus crassus, besides some species ofActiniaandAsterias, not common on other parts of the coast. Pursuing our route we pass through a country principally composed of Slate, the great Granite chain running to the left of the road, and constitutingTregoning,Godolphin, andBreage hills. The Signal house at the top ofTregoning hill, which is 584 feet above the sea, constitutes the most elevated point in the country, and from which both channels are visible. The granite of this hill bears in some parts all the appearance of a stratified rock.

Upon arriving at the village ofBreage, three miles west of Helston, the traveller should turn off from the high road, in order to visit the Tin Mine calledHuel Vor, and which lies about a mile and a half to the north-east, and is by far the largest as well as the richest Tin Mine ever worked in Cornwall. Here there are five large Steam Engines for drawing the water out of the mine, besides several others for raising the ore. There are also four large Stamping Mills, worked by Steam, which constitute by far the most interesting part of the machinery. It is not many years since steam was first applied as the moving power of these mills, but without its aid it would have been impossible to stamp the whole ofHuel VorTin with sufficient expedition. In this mine all the operations are carried on which have been already described in our excursion to Redruth, and the Mining Districts. The ore is also roasted and smelted on the spot. Here then the stranger may witness the whole process, from the period when the ore is broken in the vein, to that when the pure Tin runs out of the furnace, and is laded into moulds which contain about 370 pounds. The principal Tinlodein this mine is, in one part, of the enormous width of 30 feet, and is so rich withal, that the adventurers latelygained a clear profit of upwards of £10,000, in the space of three months. The workings extend for more than a mile and a quarter under ground, and about thirteen hundred persons are engaged in conducting its operations.

On the Coast, about three miles west of Helston, is Portleven harbour; notwithstanding the enormous sum of money which has been expended in completing this work, we believe that it is never likely to answer the object for which it was projected; the fact is simply this, that at those times when the severity of the weather renders such a refuge desirable to the navigators of the Mount's Bay, the sea sets in with such tremendous force upon this part of the coast that it is absolutely unsafe for any vessels to approach it, and still more so to attempt a passage into the basin, through its narrow entrance.

Helstonis a large and populous town, containing nearly 3000 inhabitants, situated on the side of a hill which slopes gradually to the little riverCober. The houses are chiefly disposed in four streets in the form of a cross, and, at the point of intersection, stand the market house and town hall. The church, which was erected A.D. 1762, at the sole expense of the then Earl of Godolphin, stands on an eminence to the north,and forms a very pleasing object from the valley below, while to the tempest tossed mariner it serves as a useful landmark.

Helston has returned members to Parliament ever since Edward I., being one of the five ancient boroughs of Cornwall. There was formerly a castle, on the site of the present bowling green, but of which no vestige remains. The town is now lighted by means of gas.

In this town we shall be gratified to find the traces of an ancient custom, which the Antiquary has been anxious to trace to so high a source as the RomanFloralia, a festival observed by that people, in honour of the Goddess Flora, on the fourth of the Calends of May. It is called theFurry, and it is said that its present name alone would discover its origin, were it not satisfactorily pointed out by the time of its celebration. We confess ourselves to have been amongst the happy number[125]who regarded the annual festival of Helston as a faint trace of the RomanFloraliawhich the abrasion of fourteen centuries had not wholly obliterated. But the evil genius of Reality has at length appeared to dispel the illusion, and to extort from us the unwilling belief that it can be no other than the anniversary of a victory, obtained by the natives over an invading enemy.

The morning of theEighth of Mayis ushered in with the sound of drums and kettles, when the streets are soon thronged with spectators, and assistants in theMysteries. So strict is the observance of this day as a general holiday, that should any person be found at work, he is instantly seized, set astride on a pole, and hurried on men's shoulders to the river, where, if he does not commute his punishment by a fine, he is sentenced to leap over a wide place, which he of course fails in attempting, and falls into the water, to the great amusement of the spectators. At about the hour of nine the revellers appear before the Grammar school, and make their demand of a prescriptive holiday, after which they collect contributions from house to house. They thenfadéinto the country (fadébeing an old English word forgo), and about noon return with flowers and oak branches in their hats and caps; from this time they dance, hand in hand, through the streets, preceded by a violin,[126]playing an ancient traditional tune, the music ofwhich we shall here introduce.

There is also a traditional song which is sung in chorus, involving the history of Robin-Hood, whose connection with the present festival it is not easy to understand.

Upon this occasion it is a right, assumed from time immemorial, for the persons engaged in the dance to enter and run through any house they please, without molestation.

The higher classes of the inhabitants having, with much good humour, assisted in the rites of the day, and performed theirexforensicorgies, resort to the ball room, where they are usually met by the neighbouring families, and by those strangers who may happen to be in this part of Cornwall. The merry dance is commenced atan early hour, and generally protracted to the dawn of the ensuing day.

Long may this harmless and innocent festival continue to animate the blythe and young, on each annual return of its celebration;—Its classic spell may be dissolved, but the Temple of Hilarity, consecrated by the smiles of Cornish youth and beauty, needs not a Roman goddess for its sanction.

Why ask where the Flora derives its gay birth!Why each smiling brow wears its garland to-day?Enough that our sires kept it sacred to mirth,And their children have hearts all as fervent as they.And yet might we trace where his ashes are laidWho first made theFadéto sound in our bowers,To-day round his cromlech the dance should we braid,And the fairest of Hellas[127]enwreath it with flowers.And hallow'd for aye be their place of repose,Who their race have enrich'd with a dowry so rare,A spell—that yet brightens each year as it flowsWith one gleam of Eden—a day free from care.Then join we the Dance! to their mem'ries of yore,Let the mirth which they lov'd be the homage we pay.And the strain that inspir'd them long ages before,Wake the joys, which they felt, in our bosoms to-day.

About two miles from Helston isPenrose, the seat of John Rogers, Esq. situated in the midst of a finely wooded scene, and on the border of a large sheet of water called theLoe Pool; this forms one of the most considerable lakes in the county, and is produced by a very singular operation of nature,—the continual rolling of the waves of the British Channel towards the shore forces in a vast quantity of sand and pebbles, which, by constant accumulation, at length forms a very high bank extending across the valley, from hill to hill, and by closing up the mouth of the channel occasions the river to spread its waters over an area of nearly seven miles in circumference. This bar of gravel cannot be passed over by the waves of the highest tides, even during the excitement of a storm, unless it be attended with a very rare combination of circumstances. The water of the lake gradually finds its way through the gravel of the bar by slow filtration; but in wet seasons, as it cannot pass off with a rapidity equal to its influx, the lake will often rise ten feet higher than its ordinary level. This produces the singular effect of stopping two mills, one on theLoe, the other on a lateral stream, their wheels being at this time partly under water. When this occurs the millers present the Lord of the Manor with two leathern purses, each containing three halfpence, and solicit his permission to open a passage through the bar.This being of course granted, the Mayor of Helston engages workmen to carry the work into effect. In a few days, however, the bar is again filled up as before.

TheLoe Poolabounds with a peculiar trout, and other fresh-water fish. On its banks the Botanist may gatherCorrigiola Littoralis.

In proceeding to the Lizard Point, which is about fourteen miles distant from Helston, we shall examine the line of coast south of the Loe bar. The interior of this peninsular region has an aspect of dreary and barren uniformity, and when viewed from the high granite ridge near Constantine, it appears like a table land elevated some hundred feet above the level of the sea, presenting hardly any indication of rupture or contortion throughout the whole extent of its outline. The view of the same region from the western shore of the Mount's Bay is still more striking and characteristic; the upper surface seems so exactly horizontal, that one might almost be led to conjecture, that every projecting ledge had been planed down until the promontory resembled a great artificial terrace.[128]

NearGunwalloe Covethe geologist should notice the singularly contorted appearance of the slaty rock, which continues as far as a small cove north ofMullion, calledBolerium, where it runs under aGreenstonecomposed ofHornblendeandCompact Felspar. TheGreenstoneprevails through the whole of this district, and appears to pass by a slow gradation intoSerpentine, under which it lies, as may be distinctly seen near the south side ofMullion Cove.[129]A small quantity ofDiallageis occasionally present in this rock, but the predominant ingredient is commonHornblende; and where this latter substance greatly predominates over theFelspar, it in some places assumes an earthy appearance and decomposes into a kind ofClay, which is used in the neighbourhood with excellent effect as a top dressing for grass lands.

Serpentineis the next formation which we discover in our progress, and is that which confers such singular interest upon this part of the county, since it occurs in no other part of England. This beautiful rock derives its name from the variegated colours and spots, supposed to resemble the speckles of a serpent's skin; it is principally of a dark green or brown, suffused with shades of red. It occupies not less than one-third of the area of the peninsula; the whole extent ofGoonhilly downsrests on it. Its boundary is easily traced, saysMr. Sedgwick, by the brown scanty vegetation with which its surface is imperfectly covered; and the Professor might have added, by the growth of that beautiful heath, theErica Vagans, for so congenial and essential would a Magnesian soil appear to its production, that notwithstanding its immense profusion on the downs, not a single specimen is to be found beyond the line which defines the boundary of theSerpentineformation, nor is it to be seen in any other part of England.Genista Anglicais also to be found on these downs.

About three miles south of Mullion, close to the shore, is the celebratedSteatite, orSoap Rock, which appears to run in veins[130]in the Serpentine,although Dr. Thomson is inclined to consider it as Serpentine itself in a state of decomposition. When it is first quarried it is soft, but by exposure to air it gradually hardens, although it never loses that peculiarsoapyfeel which characterises it. Dillwyn & Co. of Swansea have, at present, the works in their possession, by paying to the proprietor, Lord Falmouth, a certain annual sum. Its value in the manufacture of China depends upon its infusibility, and the property it possesses of retaining its colour in the heat of the furnace; the first quality is to be explained by the total absence of lime in its composition, the latter by the very small proportion of metallic matter contained in it. There is, moreover, another purpose which it serves, depending upon the peculiar property ofMagnesian earthin preventing that degree of contraction[131]which always occurs in the fire whenAluminaandSilicaare alone made use of. Near this spot veins ofNative Coppermay be frequently seen at low water during spring tides,and a mass of this metal was once raised which weighed 104 pounds. Copper is the only metallic substance that has been found in any quantity in the Serpentine formation; and this has never occurred exceptnative, as in the above instance, or in the state ofGreen Carbonate, so that the mining adventurer need not anticipate much advantage from it.

About a mile farther south isKynance Cove, justly celebrated as one of the most interesting and extraordinary spots on the coast; the descent into it is extremely steep, and overhung with frowning crags; the cove itself is formed by a numerous assemblage of Serpentine rocks of a dark colour, and which exhibit a beautiful polish from the constant attrition of the waves at high water; in one part, these groups are so singularly disposed as to open a fine natural arch into a grotto, which penetrates deeply into the cliff; the largest of these pyramidal masses is termed theAsparagus Island, from its being the habitat ofAsparagus Officinalis. One of the rocks in this cove exhibits a very curious phenomenon whimsically called theDevil's Bellows; there is a very deep chasm, through which the sea rushes like a water spout, preceded by asub-marine rumbling, as loud as thunder; a flowing tide, accompanied with a swell of the waves, seems to be essential for the production of this effect. De Luc offers the following explanation of the phenomenon: "In the rock there is a succession of caverns, into which the agitated sea rushes by some sub-marine passage, and being dashed and broken against their sides, a large quantity of air[132]is thus disengaged from them, which becoming highly compressed, and not being able to escape beneath, in consequence of the perpetual entrance of the waves, is forced to pass with great violence and noise from cavern to cavern, until it forces itself, together with a column of water, through the opening above." Amongst these beautiful rocks may be seenDiallageof a brown colour;Jade;compact Felspar, orSaussurite; andAsbestus.Dykes of Felspar Porphyryare also to be observed in this spot. It is hardly necessary to inform the geological tourist that, in order to view this interesting scene to his satisfaction, he must contrive to arrive at a period near that of low water.

On the summit of the hill above this cove the Botanist will observeGeranium Sanguineumspreading itself in broad tufts.Campanula Rotundifoliaalso occurs here.

Continuing our route towards Cape Lizard, we shall perceive that theSerpentineterminates about half a mile before we reach it, and is succeeded byMicaceous Slate, under which, at the Lizard head lie alternate beds ofCompact Felspar, containing specks ofHornblendeandgreen Talc. There are two light-houses at this point which front the south, and stand nearly abreast of each other, but unhappily they are too often found to be insufficient securities against the darkness of the midnight storm, and the treachery of the sunken rocks with which this stern coast is beset. Foreign pilots, unacquainted with its perils, seldom keep the necessary distance from the shore, and from the steepness of the rocks no kind of assistance can be afforded to the mariner from the land.

On a low hedge under the light-houses is to be foundHerniaria Glabra. It was here in the pursuit of this very plant that a well known Botanist, during the late war, was seized as a spy by the suspicious natives, and carried to Helston for examination. The increased intercourse, however,with scientific travellers, will render the recurrence of such an event impossible.

The name of the promontory was most probably derived from the strikingcontourwhich it exhibits when viewed from sea, resembling the elongated and compressed form of the Lizard; at the same time it must be observed, that the colour of its rocks resemble also that of the animal to which we allude, while the British wordsLis-ardsignify a lofty projection; these are extraordinary coincidences, and are well calculated to fan the flame of etymological controversy.

If after visiting this promontory, the traveller feels inclined to trace the different rock formations, and to complete his geological survey of the LizardChersonesus, we recommend him to return by a circuitous route along its eastern coast.Greenstonereappears about half a mile east of the Lizard Point, and continues for some distance, with the occasional interruption of Serpentine, which dips towards the sea. This latter rock will be found best adapted for œconomical purposes at theBalk Hill,Landewednock, but it is certainly far inferior to that worked for chimney pieces, columns, &c. from the quarries in the Isle of Anglesea. NearCadgwiththe rocks on the coast form a very interesting and extraordinaryamphitheatre, which is termed by the inhabitants theFrying Pan, although the appellation ofCauldron, which it strongly resembles, would be much more appropriate. Its sides are nearly two hundred feet in height, and, at high water, the sea enters it and boils up through an arch near its bottom. In this spot the position of theSerpentineuponGreenstoneis very apparent. BeyondCadgwiththeSerpentineassumes a dark green colour, and contains small masses of the emerald greenDiallage, orSchiller-spar; whence it continues to constitute the coast round theBlack HeadtoCoverack Cove. About a mile from the coast atGwenter, the rock denominated by Abbe Haüy "Diallage Rock" (Gabbro) presents itself to our notice; it is composed ofSaussurite, orCompact Felspar, andDiallage Metalloïde. In a quarry near this spot it may be seen to joinSerpentine. In theDiallage Rock, at a small village near the coast calledGwendra, as well as in the rock ofSaint Keverne, Mr. Majendie discovered some small metallic specks, which he found on chemical examination to consist of Iron, with a portion ofTitanium. Some of the same substance was immediately transmitted to Mr. William Gregor, who stated that the resultsof his experiments proved it to be an assemblage of several ingredients,viz.Silica,Alumina, and theOxides of IronandTitanium, with a littlePotass. Some of which ingredients were no doubt derived from theganguewith which the metallic substance is intimately mixed. This is a discovery no less curious than important, and would seem to point out the origin of theMenachanite, in whichTitaniumwas first discovered by Mr. Gregor.

The great mass ofSerpentineends atCoverack Cove, a spot which well deserves the attention of the Geologist, as offering a series of rocks of a very mixed character; these consist of green and reddish-brownSerpentine, with theJadeof Saussure, (thefeldspath tenaceof Haüy) andDiallage[133]of the green and metalloïde varieties; some of theFelsparfound here is of a violet colour, and is striated like that of Labrador. In beds which lie below high-water mark in this Cove the mineralogist may obtain masses ofDiallage Metalloïde, six or eight inches in length.[134]A beautiful rock succeeds and continues for three miles along the coast to theManacles; and in the interior of the country it predominates through the greater part of the parish ofSaint Keverne. It hascompact Felsparfor its base, in which are imbedded crystals both ofDiallageandHornblende. In the proportion, as well as the magnitude of these constituents, says Mr. Professor Sedgwick, there is such an unusual variety, that we were almost led to conjecture, that during the deposition of the mass many conflicting principles had been in action, not one of which was long able to keep the mastery over the others; there are for instance many large blocks which in one part resemble a fineGreenstone, and in another, a coarse porphyriticDiallage Rock; within the distance of a few feet these varieties may be observed to alternate repeatedly, sometimes in the form of stripes, but more frequently in amorphous concretions separated from each other by lines which are perfectly defined.Schistose Greenstoneoccurs again atPorthowstock, and a small bed ofSerpentine, on the south-west side ofPorthalloin the cliff, which rests on a reddishTalcwhich lies, as before, onClay-slate. No other variety is observable from hence to the Helford River, except in the appearance of aPudding Stone, orConglomerate, near theDennis Creek, composed of rounded fragments of Slate in which veins ofQuartzare distinctly visible. The traveller will not fail to visit the stream ofTregonwell Mill,[135]near the village ofMenacchan, celebrated as the habitat of theTitaniferous Iron(Menacchanite, orGregorite) discovered by the late celebrated Mr. William Gregor.[136]He will also receive much gratification by extending his route toMawnanCliffs, where he will observe a most extraordinary intermixture of fine and coarse grained (Grawacke?) slate, which are traversed by many contemporaneous veins, some composed ofQuartz, and others ofFerriferousCarbonate of Lime; some small cavities arecoated with fine spicularArragonite, and a much rarer substance, which on a chemical examination by Mr. Gregor proved to be aSub-carburet of Iron, has been found in thin plates among the laminæ of the Slate. The Reverend John Rogers has also obtained from this spot small octohedral crystals of theYellow Sulphuret of Copper.

From a general review of the phenomena developed in the present excursion, Mr. Professor Sedgwick is led to conclude, that thegreat Plateau of the Lizard is not composed of stratified rocks, for although some obscure indications of an order of super-position appear nearCoverackandPorthalla, yet he considers them as being too uncertain to be opposed to the clear evidence offered to the south-eastern parts of the coast, where the alternating masses ofGreenstoneandSerpentineso often appear, like great wedges driven side by side into the escarpment, without any arrangement whatsoever. Mr. Majendie, however, who, be it known, actuallybivouackedin this district for a week, was satisfied that theGreenstoneandSerpentinedid exhibit characters of Stratification.—But we desist—feeling what no doubt our readers have likewise experiencedthe dry and uninviting nature of Geological details.—Having therefore completed the task we assigned ourselves, and conducted the traveller to the more prominent and interesting objects ofWestern Cornwall, we take our leave. The Agriculturist, the Antiquary, the Botanist, the Geologist, and Mineralogist, must, each in his turn, have received ample gratification and instruction from his visit to this interesting and important district of the British Empire, while the Capitalist must have seen from the agriculture, the mineral treasures, the fisheries, and the commerce of the country, how many, and what great opportunities are presented for the advantageous exercise of capital; the Valetudinarian too has, as we sincerely hope, derived his share of benefit from the excursions, and felt the salutary influence of those mild and genial breezes which clothe our fields with perpetual verdure, and impart to our cottagers the enviable blessing ofHealthandLong Life.

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