Chapter IV: Introduction: Of the Mount's Bay, and the Land's End District (2)

[15] The rooms originally occupied by the Society, and which are represented in the vignette at the head of this chapter, becoming too small to accommodate the growing collection, a capacious and handsome suite of rooms were erected in the year 1817; to which are now attached a public library, and a room for the reception of newspapers. The former was established in 1818, under the auspices of Sir Rose Price, Bart. and with the support of above a hundred subscribers in the neighbourhood.

[16] See a paper "_On Elvan Courses_," by J. Carne, Esq. in the first volume of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall.

[17] The _Cowel_ is the provincial name of the peculiar basket in which they convey their fish, and is carried by means of a string round their hats, as represented above. Its name has been supposed to have been derived from its resemblance in position and appearance to the Monk's _cowl_.

[18] The custom of obtaining the cream from new milk by coagulation from heat, is peculiar to Devonshire, Cornwall, and the opposite coast of Brittany, and is supposed to be of Celtic origin. The butter obtained by beating up this cream does not differ much in flavour from that procured by churning new cream, except the process be carelessly conducted, when it will acquire a smoky taste.

[19] It is reasonable to advert to the Summer Solstice for this custom, although brought into the Christian Calendar under the sanction of John the Baptist. Those sacred fires "kindled about midnight, on the moment of the Solstice by the great part of the ancient and modern nations. The origin of which loses itself in antiquity;" See _Gebelin_, and also _Brand's Observations on Popular Antiquities_.

[20] The fifth day of the Eleusinian feast was called "_the day of the Torches_," because at night the men and women ran about with them in imitation of Ceres, who, having lighted a torch at the fire of Mount Ætna, wandered about from place to place, in search of her daughter Proserpine. Hence may we not trace the high antiquity of this species of popular rejoicing.

[21] Will not this historical fact explain the peculiar cast of beauty possessed by many of the Fish-women residing in this village.

[22] The house is the first on the left of the ascending footway, and its only two small windows visible in the vignette, are situated immediately beneath the clock of the market house tower.

[23] Many of these plants were enumerated in the former edition of this work, to which are now added some others, from the catalogue published by Dr. Forbes, in his observations on the climate of Penzance.

EXCURSION I.

TO SAINT MICHAEL'S MOUNT.

"This precious stone, set in the silver sea!"
_Richard II. Act 2. scene 1._

The traveller no sooner catches a glimpse of this extraordinary feature in the bay, than he becomes impatient to explore it; anticipating this feeling we have selected it as an object for his first excursion, and in its performance we promise him an intellectual repast of no ordinary kind.

To proceed to the Mount, by sea, the stranger may embark at Penzance pier, from which it is not more than two miles distant; by this arrangement an opportunity will be afforded for witnessing a fine panoramic view of the coast; should, however, his inclination, or the "tyranny of the winds and waves" oppose this project, he may proceed by land through the little village of Chyandour, over a semicircular beach covered with fine sand of about three miles in extent. Between this sand and the high road is the "_Eastern Green_," celebrated as the habitat of some rare plants, viz. _Panicum Dactylum_ (in a line with Gulval church); _Chironia Littoralis_; _Alisma Damasonium_; _Neottia Spiralis_; _Euphorbia Peplis_; _Euphorbia Paralias_; _Santolina Maritima_; _Convolvulus Soldanella_, &c. On the beach the Conchologist may collect some fine specimens of the _Echinus Cordatus_, which is the only shell ever found there. In the marshes on the left side of the road the common observer will be struck with the extreme luxuriance of the _Nymphæa alba_, while the Botanist may reap an ample harvest of interesting plants, viz. splendid specimens of _Montia Fontana_, as large as the figure of Micheli; _Illecebrum Verticillatum_; _Sison Inundatum_; _Apium Graveolens_; a rare variety of _Senechio Jacobæa_; _Alisma Ranunculoides_; _Stellaria Uliginosa_; _Pinguicula Lusitanica_; _Scirpus Fluitans_; _Exacum Filiforme_; _Drosera Longifolia_; _Scutellaria Minor_; _Myrica Gale_, &c.

Before our arrival at Saint Michael's Mount, the only intermediate object worthy of notice is the town of MARAZION, or MARKET JEW as it is sometimes called. It stands upon the sea shore, on the eastern shoulder of the bay, and is well sheltered from cold winds by a considerable elevation of land to the north; still, however, as it is exposed to the south-west, which is the prevailing wind, it is far less eligible as a place of residence for invalids than Penzance.

The town contains more than 1100 inhabitants; its principal support, if not its origin, according to some authors, was derived from the resort of pilgrims and other religious devotees to the neighbouring sacred edifice on Saint Michael's Mount; but its name was indisputably derived from the Jews who traded here several centuries ago, and held an annual _market_ for selling various commodities, and purchasing tin, and other merchandize in return. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth it obtained a charter, vesting its government in a mayor, eight aldermen, and twelve capital burgesses, with a power to hold a weekly market, and two annual fairs. In the preamble to this charter it is stated "that Marghaisewe was a trading borough town of great antiquity, and that it suffered considerable dilapidation in the days of Edward VI., when a number of rebellious people entered, and took possession of the town, and laid many of the buildings in ruin." From this disaster the town does not appear to have ever recovered, while from the growing importance of Penzance, the suppression of the Priory, and the loss of the Pilgrims, from whom it derived its principal resources, its consequence gradually declined, until at length it dwindled into its present condition.

It has been asserted on good authority, that under this charter of Elizabeth, the town formerly sent members to Parliament, and _Dr. Borlase_ in his manuscripts, mentions the names of _Thomas Westlake_, and _Richard Mills, Esqrs._ as those of the two members who were actually returned for Marazion in the year 1658. It does not, however, appear that they ever took their seats. It would seem, moreover, from some original letters which passed between the Sheriff of Cornwall and the mayor of this borough, during the protectorate of Cromwell, that the inhabitants were solicitous to recover their long neglected rights; but this effort proved ineffectual.

In going from Marazion to the Mount, we pass a large insulated rock, known by the name of the "_Chapel Rock_," whereon the Pilgrims, who came to visit the Priory of Saint Michael, are said to have performed certain devotionary and superstitious ceremonies, in a kind of initiatory chapel, previous to their admission to the more sacred Mount; there is not, however, the slightest vestige of any masonry to be discovered, and it would therefore seem more probable that it merely derived its name from its vicinity to the shrine of Saint Michael. The rock is composed of well marked _Greenstone_, resting on a bed of _clay-slate_, and which, in its direction and dip, will be found to correspond with the slaty rock on the western base of the Mount.

We arrive at Saint Michael's Mount.--The rock of which it is composed is of a conical form; gradually diminishing from a broad, craggy base, towards its summit, which is beautifully terminated by the tower of a chapel, so as to form a pyramidal figure. On its eastern base, is a small fishing town, holding about 250 inhabitants; and a commodious pier,[24] capable of containing fifty sail of small vessels, and which proves to the proprietor of the Mount a considerable source of revenue.

The height from low water mark to the top of the chapel tower is about 250 feet, being 48 feet higher than the monument in London. In circumference at the base, the Mount measures nearly a mile, and is said to contain about seven acres of land; such, however, is the effect of the vast extent of horizon, and the expanded tract of water which rolls around its base, that its real magnitude is apparently lost.

In a mineralogical point of view, this eminence is certainly the most interesting in Cornwall, or perhaps in England; who can believe that this little spot has occasioned greater controversy, and more _ink_-shed than any mountain in the globe? yet such is the fact; let us therefore before we ascend walk around its base and examine the geological structure which has excited so much attention. The scenery too is here of the most magnificent description; rocks overhang rocks in ruinous grandeur, and appear so fearfully equipoised, that, although secure in their immensity, they create in the mind the most awful apprehension of their instability, whilst the mighty roar of the ocean beneath, unites in effect with the scenery above.--All around is sublime.----But the Geology, enough of the picturesque.

The body of the rock is composed of _Slate_ and _Granite_; the whole northern base consists of the former, but no where does it extend to any height, the upper part, in every direction, consisting of _Granite_. On the south side this _Granite_ descends to the water's edge, and it continues to constitute the whole of the hill, both on the eastern and western side, for about three-fourths of its whole extent. Where the granite terminates numerous veins of it appear in the slate, in many different directions; while the granite in its turn, encloses patches of slate. In the vicinity of the former rock the latter is found to contain so much _Mica_, as to resemble _Micaceous Schist_, or fine grained _Gneiss_, for which it has been erroneously taken by some of our earlier observers. And, while at some of these junctions there would seem to be a mere apposition of the two rocks, at others, the intermixture is so complete as to render it difficult to say to which of the two certain considerable masses belong.

Here then is the phenomenon which has invested the spot with so much geological interest. Here is _Granite_, which _Werner_ conceived to be a primary formation, and around which he supposed all other rocks to have been deposited, if not of a later date, at least contemporaneous, in origin, with slate. How is this anomaly to be explained? _De Luc_ at once asserts what we presume no rational observer can for one moment believe, that the rock of which these veins are composed is _not_ true Granite, but "_Pseudo-granite_"! _Dr. Berger_ attempts to surmount the difficulty by a different expedient, and declares that _they are not veins!_ but prominences from the granite beneath, which have been filled up by the subsequent deposition of clay-slate. It might, says _Sir H. Davy_,[25] with nearly as much reason be stated, that the veins of copper and tin belong to a great interior metallic mass, and that they existed prior to the rocks in which they are found. The advocates of the Plutonian theory have, as might have been supposed, eagerly availed themselves of the support which this phenomenon is so well calculated to afford their favourite doctrine. They accordingly affirm that the granite has been raised up through the incumbent slate, into whose fissures it has insinuated itself. Upon these theories we shall offer no comment; it is the humble task of a "Guide" merely to direct the attention of the traveller to the phenomena themselves, and then to leave him to deduce his own conclusions from their appearance. In the fulfilment of this duty we recommend the geologist to proceed to the western base of the Mount, where he will find near the water's edge, what have been considered by _Dr. Thomson_ as "two large beds of granite in the slate, with veins running off from them; the position and appearance of which are such as to leave no doubt but that the great body of the granite has been deposited posterior to the slate formation." _Mr. Carne_, on the other hand, contends that "these granitic bodies cannot with any propriety be called '_Beds in the Slate_;' one of them," says he, "is a granite vein, and although six feet wide near the granite mass, it becomes gradually smaller as it recedes, and dwindles to a point at the distance of 80 feet. The other is a part of the granitic mass, from which some veins appear to diverge; and, in _no part_ does it overlie the slate."[26]

The whole body of the Granite of the Mount is traversed by an uninterrupted series of quartz veins, which run parallel to each other with wonderful regularity. They are very nearly vertical, and their direction is east and west. On the north-east side of the Mount many of them can be traced into the incumbent slate; a circumstance which strongly supports the idea of the cotemporaneous origin of these two rocks. In the investigation of these veins the Mineralogist may pass many an hour with satisfaction, we shall therefore point out some of the more leading phenomena which deserve his attention. _De Luc_ observed that "that part of the vein termed in Cornwall the _Capel_, and on the Continent _Selebanque_, and which is the first stratum adherent to the sides of the fissures, changes as it passes through different kinds of strata, sometimes consisting of white _Quartz_, sometimes of _Mica_." _Dr. Forbes_[27] says, that "occasionally, though rarely, the line of division between the vein and the rock is tolerably distinct; frequently, however, there is rather an insensible gradation of the matter of the one into that of the other, than an obvious apposition of surfaces." The exterior parts of the veins consist of a bluish _quartz_, very compact, and uniformly containing a great deal of _Schorl_. This _schorlaceous_ character is much more distinct towards the sides or walls of the veins, their centre being generally pure _quartz_; and, commonly, crystallized. In most of the veins there is a central line, or fissure, which divides them into two portions; this is formed by the close apposition and occasional union of two crystallized, or, as they may be called, _drusy_ surfaces.

Since Veins must be considered as having once been the most active laboratories of Nature, so may they now be regarded as her most valuable cabinets of mineralogy. In those of Saint Michael's Mount may be found crystals of _Apatite_, from a very light to a very dark green colour, and exhibiting most of the modifications of form[28] which are common to that mineral; _Oxide of Tin_; _Felspar_; _Mica_ beautifully crystallized in tables; _Topaz_ in small whitish or greenish crystals,[29] both translucent and opaque, and which are extremely numerous, many hundred being observable on the face of some small blocks of granite that have fallen from the precipices.

_Pinite_ has been said to have been also discovered in this spot. Besides which may be found that rare mineral, the _Triple Sulphuret of Copper,_ _Antimony, and Lead_; _Sulphuret of Tin_; _Malachite_; _Fluor Spar_; and _Wolfram_. The occurrence of this latter mineral was, we believe, first noticed in the earlier edition of the present work, and is important in as far as its presence is generally supposed to afford decisive evidence of the primitive formation of the mountain masses in which it occurs.

This spot also presents us with several lodes of _Tin_ and _Copper_; the latter may be traced for a considerable distance from the eastern to the southern base of the hill. The _lode_ of Tin was formerly worked at the Mount, and a considerable quantity of ore obtained; any farther excavation, however, threatened to injure the foundations of the castle, and it was therefore prudently abandoned.

The remains of the Mine may be seen on the south side of the hill, and should be visited by the mineralogist, who will find in the _Drift_,[30] _Tin crystals_ and _Carbonate of Copper_, besides some other minerals. Veins of Lead are also discoverable in the rocks. _Mr. Carne_[31] has lately directed the attention of the mineralogist to the _veins_ of _Mica_, which have hitherto only been found in the granite of this singular spot. They are seldom more than half an inch wide; and, although tolerably straight, are very short. They generally consist of two layers of Mica in plates, which meet in the centre of the veins. Some of the masses of _Granite_ which constitute the summit of the Mount have the appearance of an old wall retaining, in parts, a coating of plaster; this is the effect of decomposition, and of the _capel_ having in many places remained attached to the face of the rock, after the vein itself has crumbled down.

The Botanist will also find some amusement among the rocks; he will observe the Tamarisk, (_Tamarix Gallica_) growing in their crevices, and relieving by a delicate verdure the harsh uniformity of their surfaces. This shrub was probably imported from Normandy by the Monks. _Asplenium Marinum_ and _Inula Helenium_ are also to be seen among the rocks--but let us leave the Botanist and Mineralogist to their researches, while we climb the hill and examine the venerable building on its summit.

We ascend on the north-eastern side, by a rocky winding path, in the course of which, several remains of its ancient fortifications present themselves; thus, about the middle of the hill, there is a curtain, parallel to, and flanking the approach, at whose western end is a ravelin, through which every one is to pass, walled with three embrasures, and at the angle in the eastern shoulder is a centry box to guard the passage, and there was formerly also an iron gate; after having passed this ruin, we turn to our left, and ascend by a flight of broken steps to the door of the castle, whose appearance is much more monastic than martial. The most ancient parts of the building are the Entrance, with the Guardroom on the left hand; the Chapel, and the former Refectory, or common hall of the Monks. The other parts are of a modern date, although the style of their architecture confers upon them a corresponding air of antiquity.

The Refectory, or Common Hall, from the frieze, with which it is ornamented, appears to have been fitted up, since the reformation, as a dining room for a hunting party, and is popularly denominated "_The Chevy-Chace Room_." The cornice represents in stucco, the modes of hunting the wild boar, bull, stag, ostrich, hare, fox, and rabbit. At the upper end of this room are the royal arms, with the date 1644; and, at the opposite end, those of the St. Aubyn family. The room is 33 feet long, 16 wide, and 18 high, and has a solemn and imposing appearance, which is not a little heightened by the antique and appropriate character of its furniture and ornaments.

The Chapel exhibits a venerable monument of Saxon architecture; its interior has lately been renewed in a chaste style of elegance, and a magnificent organ has been erected. During these repairs, in levelling a platform for the altar, under the eastern window, a low gothic door was discovered to have been closed up with stone in the southern wall, and then concealed with the raised platform; when the enclosure was broken through, ten steps appeared descending into a stone vault under the church, about nine feet long, six or seven broad, and nearly as many high. In this room was found the skeleton of a very large man, without any remains of a coffin. The discovery, of course, gave rise to many conjectures, but it seems most probable, that the man had been there immured for some crime. The bones were removed and buried in the body of the chapel. At the same time upon raising the old pavement, the fragment of an inscribed sepulchral stone of some Prior was taken up; there was also a grave stone, not inscribed, which Antiquaries have supposed to have covered the remains of _Sir John Arundel_, of Trerice, Knight, who was slain on the strand below, in the wars of York and Lancaster. In the tower of this chapel are six sweet toned bells, which frequently ring when _Sir John St. Aubyn_ is resident; at this time also choral service is performed; and, on a calm day, the undulating sound of the bells, and the swelling note of the organ, as heard on the water, produce an effect which it is impossible to describe.

From the chapel, we may ascend by a narrow stone stair-case to the top of the tower. The prospect hence is of the grandest description, and is perhaps as striking as any that can occur to "_mortal eye_." "The immense extent of sea," says _Dr. Maton_, "raises the most sublime emotions, the waves of the British, Irish, and Atlantic seas all roll within the compass of the sight," whilst the eye is relieved from the uniform, though imposing grandeur of so boundless an horizon, by wandering on the north and west, over a landscape, which Claude himself might have transfused on his canvas.

On one of the angles of this tower is to be seen the carcase of a stone lantern, in which, during the fishing season, and in dark tempestuous nights, it may reasonably be supposed that the monks, to whom the tithe of such fishery belonged, kept a light, as a guide to sailors, and a safeguard to their own property; this lantern is now vulgarly denominated _Saint Michael's Chair_, since it will just admit one person to sit down in it; the attempt is not without danger, for the chair, elevated above the battlements, projects so far over the precipice, that the climber must actually turn the whole body at that altitude, in order to take a seat in it; notwithstanding the danger, however, it is often attempted; indeed one of the first questions generally put to a stranger, if married, after he has visited the Mount,--did you sit in the chair?--for there is a conceit that, if a married woman has sufficient resolution to place herself in it, it will at once invest her with all the regalia of petticoat government; and that if a married man sit in it, he will thereby receive ample powers for the management of his wife. This is probably a remnant of monkish fable, a supposed virtue conferred by some saint, perhaps a legacy of St. Keyne, for the same virtue is attributed to her well.

"The person of that man or wife,
Whose chance, or choice attains
First of this sacred stream to drink,
Thereby the mastery gains."

On the north-eastern side of the fabric are situated the modern apartments. They were erected by the late Sir _John St. Aubyn_ upon the ruins of the ancient convent, in clearing away which, cart loads of human bones were dug up, and interred elsewhere, the remains probably both of the nuns and of the garrison. All that deserves notice in this part are two handsome rooms leading into each other, from which the prospect is of the most extensive description. In the first parlour, placed in niches, are two large vases, with an alto relief of statuary marble in each, relating to Hymeneal happiness.

Let us now take a review of the various interesting events, which the traditionary lore of past ages represents as having occurred at this spot, and first of the natural history of the Hill itself.

THE NATURAL HISTORY.--The rock of the Mount has worn the same aspect for ages; tradition however whispers, that at a remote period it presented a very different appearance,--that it was cloathed with wood, and at a considerable distance from the sea! Its old Cornish name, "_Carreg Lug en Kug_," that is, _the hoary rock in the wood_, would seem to add some probability to the tradition. It appears also from the original charter of the Confessor, that the Mount was in his time only _nigh_ the sea, for he describes it expressly as Saint Michael _near_ the sea, "Sanctum Michaelum qui est _juxta_ mare." What this distance was the charter does not inform us, but the words of Worcester, who gained his information from the legend of Saint Michael, are sufficiently decisive, "_this place was originally inclosed within a very thick wood, distant from the ocean six miles, affording the finest shelter to wild beasts._" With respect to the period and causes of the catastrophe which have changed the face of this country, we have already offered some observations.

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.--The Mount appears to have been consecrated by superstition from the earliest period; and, according to monkish legends, from the supposed appearance of the archangel Saint Michael to some hermits, upon one of its craggy points. Tradition has not preserved the place where the vision appeared, but antiquarianism has attempted to supply the deficiency by conjecture; the spot was denominated "_Saint Michael's Chair_," and is said to be one of the large rocks overhanging the battery, an appellation which has been erroneously transferred to the carcase of a stone lantern, situated, as we have just stated, on the tower of the chapel. Our poet Milton alludes to this vision in the following passage of his Lycidas--

"Or whether thou to our moist views deny'd
"Sleeps't by the fable of Bellerus old
"_Where the great vision of the guarded mount_
"Looks towards Namancos and Bayonas hold.
"Look homeward Angel now, and melt with ruth,
"And O ye dolphins, waft the hapless youth."

Spencer also makes mention of this spot in a manner which proves that it was universally hallowed by the devout.

"In evil hour thou lenst in hond
"Thus holy hills to blame,
"For sacred unto Saints they stond,
"And of them han their name,
"St. Michael's Mount who does not know
"That wards the western coast."

Very little is known with respect to the ecclesiastical history of the Mount, previous to its endowment by Edward the Confessor. From what may be collected, however, from expiring tradition, it would appear that so early as the end of the fifth century, Saint Keyne, a holy virgin of the blood royal, daughter of Breganus Prince of Brecknockshire, with her cockle hat and staff, performed a pilgrimage to Saint Michael's Mount: now it is fair to conclude that it was before this time a place universally hallowed, or a person of Saint Keyne's rank would not have paid it such a visit; thus then was it renowned for its sanctity for at least five hundred years before the grant and settlement of it by the Confessor; before this period, however, it was probably little more than an hermitage, or oratory, with the necessary reception for pilgrims.

The Confessor found monks here serving God, and gave them by charter the property of the Mount together with "all the land of _Vennefire_ (a district probably in Cornwall), with the towns, houses, fields, meadows, land cultivated, and uncultivated, with their rents; together with a port called _Ruminella_ (Romney in Kent), with all things that appertain, as mills and fisheries," first obliging them to conform the rule of the order of Saint Benedict.

The peculiar respect in which this church was held may be estimated from an instrument recorded by William of Worcester, and asserted to have been found amongst its ancient registers.

"To all members of Holy Mother Church, who shall read or hear these letters, Peace and Salvation. Be it known unto you all, that our Most Holy Lord Pope Gregory, in the year of Christ's Incarnation, 1070, out of his great zeal and devotion to the church of Mount Saint Michal, in Tumba, in the county of Cornwall, hath piously granted to the aforesaid church, which is entrusted to the Angelical Ministry, and with full approbation, consecrated and sanctified, to remit to all the _faithful_, who shall _enrich_, _endow_, or _visit_ the said church, a _third part_ of their _Penance_, and that this grant may remain for ever unshaken and inviolable, by the authority of God the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, he forbids all his Successors from attempting to make any alteration against this Decree."

We learn from the same author, that in order to encrease, as much as possible, the influx of votaries to the shrine, the above decree was placed publicly on the gates of the church, and enjoined to be read in other churches.

When the Normans came in, Robert Earl of Morton and Cornwall became the patron of this religious house, erected buildings, and gave some lands, but from a superior affection for Normandy, he abridged its liberties, and annexed it to the monastery of _Saint Michael de periculo Maris_, on the coast of Normandy, to which situation the Mount is said to bear a striking resemblance; from this time, it became only a cell dependant upon, and subordinate to that foreign priory. As these Monks were of the reformed order of Benedictines, and of the Gilbertine kind, a nunnery was allowed in their vicinity; this they would make us believe was done with no other view, than to shew the triumph of faith over the impulse of sense, but it certainly must be confessed, to speak even most charitably of it, that such an union amid the sequestration of solitude, carries a strange appearance with it to our protestant suspiciousness. The remains of this convent, we have already said, were removed by the late proprietor, and the _New Buildings_, as they are called, erected on their site; from the appearance of the carved fragments of stone, and other marks of architectural distinction, found among the ruins, the Nunnery appears to have been by far the most costly and magnificent part of the edifice, the result we presume of _Monkish gallantry_. Its establishment appears to have terminated at the time Pomeroy surprised it, (an account of which transaction is recorded under the military history,) but the Priory continued a cell to Saint Michael's in Normandy, until that connection was destroyed, and all the alien priories were seized in the reign of Edward the Third.

Henry the Sixth granted this Priory to King's College, Cambridge, but it was afterwards transferred by Edward the Fourth to the nunnery of Sion, Middlesex; and so it continued until the general dissolution; at which period its revenues were valued at £110:12s. per annum, a considerable sum at that time, especially as the number of Monks maintained on the foundation never exceeded six; this sum, together with the government of the Mount, which was then a military post, was bestowed on Hugh Arundel, who was executed for rebellion in the year 1548. On his death it was demised to John Milliton of Pengersick, Esq., to William his son, and further to William Harris, Esq. of Hayne in Devonshire, connected by marriage with the family of Milliton. Queen Elizabeth, by Letters Patent, in the 29th year of her reign, demised it to Arthur Harris[32] of Kenegie, Esq. a younger son of the above William Harris, for life. It is in the Patent (which recites the former grants to the Millitons) described as in the note[33] below. Arthur Harris was about this time appointed Governor of the Mount, and held that appointment until his decease in 1628. It was then granted, it is supposed, in trust for the Earl of Salisbury, from whom it passed to Francis Bassett, Esq. who being imprisoned by the usurping powers in the reign of Charles the First, was obliged in order to purchase his liberty to part with it to John St. Aubyn, Esq. in whose family it now remains. The present Baronet seldom visits it, a circumstance universally regretted, for no gentleman better understands how to grace the venerable seat with Knightly dignity and splendor: Sir John too is a zealous mineralogist, and might by his presence in Cornwall contribute essentially to the progress of that science; in one respect his absence is fortunately supplied by the vigilance of his agents, and every geologist ought to feel obliged to them, we allude to the care with which they protect the picturesque and mineralogical beauties of the rocks by opposing the sacrilegious removal of any part of them.

MILITARY HISTORY.--From the time of King Edward the Confessor, to the middle of the reign of Richard the First, the Mount appears to have been exclusively the sacred nursery of religion; the earliest transaction of a military nature was during the captivity of Richard the First, in Germany, when Henry de la Pomeroy, of Berry Pomeroy in Devonshire, having stabbed a serjeant at arms who came to summon him to appear for a heavy crime, fled into Cornwall, and cast himself upon the protection of John, Earl of that province, who readily supplied him with an armed force, for he was then aspiring to his brother's throne; with this, Pomeroy went in disguise to the Mount, and under a pretence of visiting his sister, who was in the nunnery, gained admission, and treacherously reduced it to the service of the said John; upon the return however of the King from imprisonment, he surrendered the garrison on mercy, although, despairing himself of pardon, he soon died, or as some say, caused himself to be bled to death; after this event, the Prior and the Monks were restored to the full possession of their cells, revenues, and chapel; a small garrison however was still maintained, to defend it against the sudden invasion of enemies, and in this condition, "manned out with carnal and spiritual soldiers," did the Mount remain for a space of 275 years, when another military transaction occurred to disturb its repose. After the defeat of the Lancastrians at Barnet, in the eighteenth year of Edward the Fourth, John Vere, Earl of Oxford, one of the most zealous partisans, fled from the field, set sail for Saint Michael's Mount, and having disguised himself, together with a few attendants, in the habits of pilgrims, obtained entrance, massacred the unsuspecting garrison, and seized the fortress, which he valiantly defended for some time against the forces of Edward, but was at length compelled to surrender. Sir John Arundel de Trerice, Sheriff of Cornwall, at the command of the King, marched thither with _posse comitatus_ to besiege it, but he fell a victim on the sands, at its base, and lies buried in the chapel.

In King Henry the Seventh's reign, the Lady Catherine Gordon, wife of Perkin Warbeck, the pretended son of Edward the Fourth, remained here for safety, but after the flight of her husband, she was taken prisoner by Giles, Lord Banbury, and carried before that King.

During the Cornish commotion in the reign of Edward the Sixth, many of the superior families fled to the Mount for security, and were besieged by the rebels, who took the plain at the bottom of the rock by assault, at the time of low water, and afterwards the summit, by carrying great trusses of hay before them to obstruct the defendants sight, and deaden their shot. This situation, together with the fears of the women, and the want of food, obliged the besieged to surrender. During the civil contentions in the reign of Charles the First, the fortifications of the Mount were so much increased, that the works were styled "_impregnable and almost inaccessible_." The Parliament forces, however, under the command of Colonel Hammond, reduced the place, and liberated the Duke of Hamilton, who was there confined; a service which the historians of that period represent as full of danger and difficulty, and this was the last military transaction that occurred upon this romantic spot. Several batteries were erected by government during the late war, to command the western part of the bay, the eastern being too shallow to allow the entrance of large vessels.

We cannot conclude this account of the Mount without observing, that several antiquarians have considered it as the _Ictis_ of Diodorus, whither the Greek merchants traded for Cornish Tin; the limits of this work will not allow us to enter upon the discussion, but we beg to refer the curious reader to an ingenious work, published by _Sir Christopher Hawkins_,[34] and to _Dr. Maton's_ "Observations on the Western Counties." It is curious, and satisfactory, that these gentlemen should have arrived at the same conclusion upon the subject, and by nearly the same train of reasoning, without any previous communication with each other.

FOOTNOTES:

[24] This Pier has lately been considerably enlarged at the expense of Sir John St. Aubyn. The work was completed only in the last Summer (1823), and will now admit vessels of five hundred tons burthen.

[25] Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, Vol. i. p. 41.

[26] Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, Vol. ii. p. 73.

[27] Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, Vol. ii. p. 369.

[28] See MR. PHILLIPS'S "ELEMENTARY INTRODUCTION TO MINERALOGY." We shall on all occasions refer to this work without reserve, as being a book which is, or ought to be, in the hands of every scientific traveller. Its copious catalogue of English _habitats_ renders it extremely valuable.

[29] The mineralogist is apt to overlook these Topazes, or to regard them as common _quartz crystals_, to which they bear a great resemblance, until we inspect their prisms, which will rarely be found to be six-sided; there is also another simple mark of distinction--in the _quartz_ crystal the striated appearance on its surface is horizontal, whereas on the _Topaz_ it is longitudinal.

[30] A _Drift_ is a trench or foss, cut in the ground to a certain depth, resembling a channel dug to convey water to a mill wheel.

[31] Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, Vol. ii. p. 56.

[32] Ancestor of William Arundel Harris Arundel, Esq. of Kenegie.

[33] "Firmam nrtsm sti michis ad montem in dco nro cornub ac tot illum scit domu mansional sive capital messuag nrm vocat _Sainte Michaells Mounte_ als dict _the Priorie of Sainte Michalls Mounte_ in dco com nso cornub quondm menastr de Sion in com nro midd spectan & ptinen habendum & tenendum ad tmnm & pr tmno vite natural ipsius Arthuri Harris. Reddendo inde annuatim nob hered & successoribs nris viginti sex libras tres decem solid et quatuor denar legalis monete Angel." &c.

[34] See Sir C. Hawkins's Tract on the Tin Trade of the ancients in Cornwall, and on the _Ictis_ of Diodorus Siculus.

EXCURSION II.

TO THE LAND's END.--LOGAN ROCK, &c.

"The Sun beams tremble, and the purple light
Illumes the dark Bolerium;--seat of storms,
High are his granite rocks; his frowning brow
Hangs o'er the smiling ocean. In his caves,
Where sleep the haggard spirits of the storm,
Wild dreary are the schistose rocks around,
Encircled by the waves, where to the breeze
The haggard cormorant shrieks; and far beyond
Are seen the cloud-like islands, grey in mists."
_Sir H. Davy._

In an excursion to the _Land's End_ the traveller will meet with several intermediate objects well worthy his attention, more worthy, perhaps, than the celebrated promontory itself, as being monuments of the highest antiquity in the kingdom. They consist of _Druidical circles_, _Cairns_, or circular heaps of stones, _Cromlechs_, _Crosses_, _Military Entrenchments_, and the obscure remains of _Castles_. Many of these venerable objects, however, to the eternal disgrace of the inhabitants be it spoken, have of late been much mutilated, and indeed some have been entirely demolished. That the noblest monuments of Greece should have been converted into lime by the barbarous Turks, or that the temple of Diana should have furnished a cement for the voluptuous apartments of the Haram, are instances of degeneracy which we might have been prepared to witness in such a people; but that the venerable remains of British antiquity, the silent but faithful monuments of men and days long past, which are so interesting from their connection with the primitive history of our island, should in this enlightened age have been sawed into gate posts, or converted into pig-troughs, is really past all endurance.--But to proceed.--In riding from Penzance to the Land's End, which is about ten miles distant, the first objects to be noticed are two beautiful villas, well wooded, and adjoining each other,--_Castle-Horneck_, the seat of the Borlase family, and _Rose Hill_, the property of the Rev. Uriah Tonkin. The sea and land views from these houses are of the most enchanting description. In viewing the latter place, the stranger will scarcely believe that the spot which now exhibits so rich a pastural scene, was a few years since a deformed and barren rock! but what cannot gold effect, or where is the wild which its magic cannot convert into fairy land? The cost of the gunpowder alone for blowing up the rocks to facilitate their removal amounted to several hundred pounds.

About a mile farther west, the road passes another villa, Trereiffe, the ancient seat of the family of Nicholls, who have been proprietors of the great tythes of the parish of Madron from the period of the reformation. It is now the residence of the Rev. Charles Valentine Le Grice, into whose possession it has passed by marriage. The scenery about this place is of a very exquisite cast, and, from the richness of the land, and luxuriance of its productions, it may be fairly denominated the garden of the Mount's Bay. After passing through a shady avenue, from which we catch a delicious peep of the sea bounded by a grotesque group of rocks, we take leave of the picturesque, and plunge into a country of a very different aspect and description,--rough, wild, and unsheltered; never was contrast more complete or striking, not a tree is seen to break the extended uniformity of the hills, nor is there a single object, with the exception of a few scattered monuments of antiquity, to recommend it to notice. The agriculturist may, perhaps, view the district with somewhat different sensations, for the downs are certainly improveable, and those portions which have been brought into tillage have amply rewarded the labour of the adventurer: indeed in several districts cultivation has even spread to the very brim of the ocean.

The natural product of the high lands is only a thin turf interspersed with heath, fern and furze,[35] and many huge blocks of granite are disseminated in all directions; this circumstance has materially impeded the progress of cultivation, for in order to remove these _boulders_ it is necessary to blast them with gunpowder; the fragments, however, become useful in their turn, and are employed in making enclosures, which bear the provincial name of _hedges_. This stone, commonly called _Growan_, is, moreover, wrought into columnar masses, eight or ten feet long, which are used as supporters to sheds and outhouses, or gates posts, and bridges over rivulets. It is also the material of which common rollers, mill-stones, salting and pig troughs are made; in short, few stones are converted to more various purposes of rural oeconomy, and it accordingly forms an article of some commercial value. The mode of splitting it into the required forms is somewhat curious; it is effected by applying several wedges to holes cut, or _pooled_ as it is termed, in the surface of the stone at the distance of three or four inches from each other, according to its size and hardness; the harder the mass, the easier it may be split into the required form; the softer, the less regularly it separates. The blocks of granite employed in the construction of the Waterloo Bridge over the Thames were procured from the downs in the vicinity of Penhryn.[36]

The Granite of the Land's End district is remarkable for its coarse grain, and the large proportion of its felspar, which, according to the observations of _Dr. Paris_, may be estimated as high as from 70 to 90 per cent. It moreover possesses an earthy texture, which greatly accelerates its decomposition. This circumstance will in some measure account for the unusual fertility of the _growan_ soil in the parishes of Saint Burian, Sennen, and Saint Levan. It will moreover explain the theory of a practice, which would otherwise appear absurd, that of actually applying the disintegrated _growan_ to certain lands as a manure!

On a closer examination of this Granite, the prismatic crystals of felspar will often be found to exhibit that structure which _Haüy_ calls _hemitrope_; more often, they are termed _macles_, and are compounded of two crystals intersecting each other at particular angles.

The Botanist as he rides along in the Summer months will observe amongst the gorse (_Ulex_), which is abundant on each side of the road, the parasitical plant _Cuscuta Epithymum_, (called _Epiphany_ by the country people,) winding its spiral structure in all directions, and producing from its reddish hue a beautiful contrast.

The farming of this country is in general slovenly, and certainly very far behind any other part of the kingdom,[37] although it is but just to acknowledge that _Leha_, a farm situated near the Land's End road, forms a pleasing exception to this general remark. The proprietor, John Scobell Esq. of Nancealverne, has here introduced the _Drill Husbandry of Northumberland_, which would seem to be well adapted to a country so infested with weeds, those hungry invaders of the farmer's property, and usurpers of his soil. The farmers have a peculiar practice, obviously suggested by the inconstancy of the weather, that of putting up their wheat, barley, and other kinds of grain, in the field into what are called "_Arishmows_." The sheaves are built up into a regular solid cone about twelve feet high; the beards all turned inwards, and the butt end only exposed to the weather. The whole is finished by an inverted sheaf of reed or corn and tied to the upper rows.

The first objects of antiquity which we have to notice are the stone crosses placed by the roads' side; some of them still retain their original situation, while others, broken and mutilated, have been converted into the various purposes of rural oeconomy. They appear to have been originally designed as guides to direct the pilgrim to the different churches. A few of the more remarkable of them are represented as vignettes in different parts of the present work, from which the reader will become acquainted with their general appearance.

At BOSCAWEN-UN, in a field about a quarter of a mile west of _Leha_, we meet with one of the most ancient British monuments in the kingdom; "_a Druidical circle_," as it has been pronounced, consisting of nineteen stones, some of which have fallen, placed in a circle of about twenty-five feet in diameter, having a single one in the centre. There is considerable doubt and obscurity with respect to the origin and intended use of these circles, of which there are many similar examples in Cornwall. _Camden_ is inclined to consider them as military trophies, while _Borlase_ deems it highly probable that such monuments were of religious institution, and designed originally and principally for the rites of worship; at the same time he conceives "they might sometimes have been employed as places of council and judgment, and that, whilst any council or decree was pending, the principal persons concerned stood, each by his pillar, and that where a middle stone was erected, as at _Boscawen-Un_, there stood the Prince or General elect." This must certainly be acknowledged as one of the most extraordinary specimens of antiquarian dreaming ever presented to the public.

About half a mile to the right of the high road stands an object of later origin, but not of less interest to the antiquary; the ruins of a small oratory, or baptistry, dedicated to _Saint Euinus_, and commonly known by the name of _Chapel Euny_. It is situated near a well, whose waters have been long supposed to possess very extraordinary virtues, and to have performed many miraculous cures. There is a similar ruin, which we shall hereafter have occasion to notice at Madron; and it is worthy of remark that these wells do not possess any mineral impregnation; the sick, however, at this very day, repair to them, while the credulous attempt to read the future in the appearance of the bubbles produced in their waters by the dropping in of pins or pebbles. This mode of divining is perhaps one of the most ancient superstitions that have descended to us, and was termed _Hydromancy_. The Castalian fountain, and many others amongst the Grecians, were supposed to be of a prophetic nature; thus, by dipping a fair mirror into a well did the Patræans of Greece receive, as they vainly imagined, some notice of ensuing sickness, or convalescence.

On the summit of the hill above these ruins, are situated the remains of _Caerbran Castle_ or Round (that is _Brennus's Castle_) which is thus described by _Borlase_. "It is a circular fortification, consisting first of a deep ditch, fifteen feet wide, edged with stone, through which you pass to the outer _vallum_, which is of earth, fifteen feet high, and was well perfected towards the north-east, but not so towards the west; within this vallum, passing a large ditch about fifteen yards wide, you come to a stone wall, which quite rounded the top of the hill, and seems to have been of considerable strength, but lies, now, like a ridge of disorderly stones; the diameter of the whole is ninety paces, and in the centre of all is a little circle."

There are no less than seven of these _hill castles_, as they are termed, although they might with more propriety be called strong entrenchments, to be seen at this time within five miles around Penzance; all so placed on the hills as to admit of immediate communication with each other by signal. From several of them we have views of the North and South Channel, but from all of them either that of one sea or the other. Much doubt has arisen concerning their origin. _Mr. Polwhele_ attributes them to the Irish, while _Dr. Borlase_, like an orthodox antiquary, who takes shelter, whenever he is bewildered, under the sanction of a popular name, at once boldly decides upon their Danish origin.

The lonely ruins of _Chapel Carn Bre_ next attract our notice; they are situated upon the extremity of a high granite ridge, overlooking the surfy recess of _Whitsand Bay_; from their great elevation they are visible from every part of the country, although they scarcely form a skeleton of the original building, and in a short time, probably, not a vestige will remain to mark the consecrated spot. It appears to have been a Chantry, erected for the performance of religious service for the safety of mariners. It is not for the inspection of these ruins that we direct the stranger to ascend the hill, for they are too insignificant to merit attention, but it is for the purpose of his viewing the extensive prospect which its summit commands,--a wild expanse of waters occupying twenty-nine points of the compass!--From this spot also Saint Michael's Mount has a singularly fine effect, appearing as if placed in the centre of a lake at a distance from the ocean.

We now proceed to _Sennan Church-town_,[38] which according to barometrical admeasurement is 391 feet above the level of the sea. It is about a mile from the _Land's End_, and is celebrated for containing the Ale-house whimsically called "_The First and Last Inn in England_." On the western side of its sign is inscribed "_The First_," and on the eastern side "_The Last Inn in England_."

The last village towards the Land's End is named _Mayon_ or _Mean_. In this place is the large stone spoken of by Dr. Borlase under the name of "_Table mean_," and concerning which there is a vague tradition that three kings once dined together on it, in their journey to the Land's End.

On the turf between this village and the Land's End, the Botanist will find _Bartsia Viscosa_, and _Illocebrum Verticillatum_, the latter of which is peculiar to this county.

Having arrived at the celebrated Promontory, we descend a rapid slope, which brings us to a bold group of rocks, composing the western extremity of our island. Some years ago a military officer who visited this spot, was rash enough to descend on horseback; the horse soon became unruly, plunged, reared, and, fearful to relate, fell backwards over the precipice, and rolling from rock to rock was dashed to atoms before it reached the sea. The rider was for some time unable to disengage himself, but at length by a desperate effort he threw himself off, and was happily caught by some fragments of rock, at the very brink of the precipice, where he remained suspended in a state of insensibility until assistance could be afforded him! The awful spot is marked by the figure of a horse-shoe, traced on the turf with a deep incision, which is cleared out from time to time, in order to preserve it as a monument of rashness which could be alone equalled by the good fortune with which it was attended.