Chapter V: Part 5

One day it is a French fisherman who has been seized by the “Argus,” the little man-of-war that lies in wait for poachers. He has been found fishing within the three-mile limit, and is punished, perhaps, by a fine and the confiscation of his fish.

Another time it is the arrival of a vessel from Scandinavia, laden with wood for flower-boxes. She is an antique Dutch scow, in shape like a flatiron, and with a hold like the bottomless pit, out of which are emptied two hundred tons of wood, all ready cut into tops and bottoms and sides, and needing only to be nailed together. She comes waddling in one Sunday morning long after she was expected, having been delayed by bad weather; and there is a fine row with the captain, who has left too much of his cargo at the Channel Islands en route, and now wants to receive full pay in Scilly for a deficient supply. But Scillonians know better! Or there is the arrival of the crew of a steam-drifter, which has struck on Gorregan in a fog. The men, fifteen in number, and natives of Brittany, got off in their small boat, and when daylight dawned were rescued by St. Agnes islanders. They are thoroughly enjoying themselves now that their painful experience is over. Clothes were lent to them temporarily on St. Agnes, but now they must be reclothed by the agents of the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, and it is amusing to see them being trotted round in a body to be outfitted. There are not enough coats and waistcoats to go round, but this does not matter at all. They revel in exhibiting their gorgeous embroidered braces, and their feet, encased in bran-new leather boots, probably for the first time in their lives.

These are just typical everyday happenings; but now and then there is some big event, which stirs the islands to their depths.

So who could ever find the islands dull?

Who indeed could be dull, with such a sea on which to sail, with such free and lonely downs on which to roam, and such a wealth of islands to explore! Only those, I think, who pack their dullness in their portmanteaus and carry it with them wherever they go.

And now we must say goodbye to it all. First we will sail to Tresco and take leave of the few friends we have made there. One of them gives us as a parting gift a bunch of Cynosures--“Shiny-shores,” _she_ calls them; and surely a more poetical name for this lovely golden narcissus than the one it really bears--“dog’s tail,” if we carry it back to its original meaning.

To Bryher next, just to gather a few early buds of sea-pink from the downs by Hell Bay, and to wave farewell to those we know who live in Bryher Town.

It is as we are flying merrily along to St. Martin’s that I remember I have made no sketch of this sailing-boat on which we have spent so many happy hours. And yet she is a thing of beauty, and well deserves recording. Perhaps even now it is not too late.

Did you ever try to make a sketch of a sailing-boat in full sail from the very doubtful vantage-ground of the dinghy attached behind--with the painter let out to its fullest extent to give you sufficient distance? If you ever do anything so foolish (I admit it was foolish), I would advise you to persuade all your weightiest friends to accompany you; for so your cockleshell would gain a little in steadiness, and dance a little less lightly on the waves. And then, perhaps, your brush-strokes would not so often be made half an inch or more from where you meant them to be! In my case the forepart of the boat rose high out of the water, at intervals bobbing down with a splash, and I had the opportunity of trying the effect of a mixture of salt water with my paints.

I have heard a story of a lady who said, in describing a certain painting made on the Mississippi, “I know it _must_ be like the place, for the man who painted it had made his colours out of the earths from the very river-banks he was painting.” On this principle sea-water _must_ be the proper medium for painting the sea!

We must not stop long at St. Martin’s, for time is going fast, so we will content ourselves with climbing to the top of Cruther’s Hill above the pier, and letting our eyes, instead of our feet, roam over the island once more.

And now to St. Agnes, which has a special corner in our hearts. So we will sail all round it, for the wind has slightly dropped, and get a glimpse of every part before we land in Perconger.

A flying visit to the lighthouse top, to look down once more on the fields and gardens, rocks and headlands of the little isle; a scamper over Wingletang Down, with the fresh sea-breeze in our faces; and a last peep at the little lonely church by the shore. That is all there is time for, if we wish to reach St. Mary’s before dark. And packing still to be done!

As we sail homeward, looking back we can discern on the Gugh that strange and fearful-looking rock, the Kittern, also called the Turk’s Head; fearful-looking, I say, because its shape recalls to me so strongly Watts’ dreadful Minotaur, crushing the life out of the innocent, as he overlooks the sea.

How can I end on such a note as that! It is but a strange and idle fancy that has come into my head; and there is nothing gloomy about the islands to justify it.

Here is something which is much more typical of them, our boatman’s two small--very small--sons, who have come down to the quay to “help” anchor the boat. Their bright faces are full of light and life and sparkle, like the islands bathed in noonday sunshine, and encircled with “the innumerable laughter of the sea.”

They are true children of their island-home; their joyous freedom finds an echo in the joyous freedom of the Life around them; in the spirit of the wild sea-birds; in the leaping, restless, shimmering waves; in the fresh sweet breezes that blow across the downs; and not least in those dancing myriads of flowers, flowers, flowers; those “hosts in the sunshine,” sent, as God’s messengers, “to set our hearts free.”

BOOKS REFERRED TO OR QUOTED FROM IN THE FOREGOING PAGES

Saga of King Olaf Tryggwason, by Snorri Sturluson, 1222.

Itinerary of William of Worcester, 1478.

Itinerary of John Leland, written 1533-9; first published 1710.

The Survey of Cornwall, by Richard Carew, 1602.

Voyage of Duke Cosmo III of Tuscany, 1669.

Memoirs of Lady Fanshawe, 1676.

A Natural and Historical Account of the Islands of Scilly, by
Robert Heath, 1750.

Observations on the Ancient and Present State of the Islands
of Scilly, by Dr. William Borlase, 1756.

A Survey of the Ancient and Present State of the Scilly
Islands, by the Rev. John Troutbeck, 1794.

History of Cornwall, by the Rev. R. Polwhele, with Supplement
by Whitaker, 1804.

A View of the Present State of the Scilly Islands, by the Rev.
George Woodley, 1822.

A Week in the Isles of Scilly, by the Rev. I. W. North, 1850.

Scilly and its Legends, by the Rev. H. J. Whitfeld, 1852.

A Londoner’s Walk to the Land’s End, by Walter White, 1855.

Sea-side Studies, by G. H. Lewes, 1857.

Rambles in Western Cornwall, by J. C. Halliwell, 1861.

Rambles beyond Railways, by Wilkie Collins, 1861.

Cornwall and its Coasts, by Alphonse Esquiros, 1865.

The Age of the Saints; a Monograph of Early Christianity in
Cornwall, by W. Copeland Borlase, 1893.

Book of the West, by the Rev. S. Baring-Gould, 1899.

Cassiterides and Ictis--where were they? by Thurstan Peter, 1909.

Armorel of Lyonnesse, by Walter Besant.

Major Vigoureux, by A. T. Quiller-Couch.

INDEX

Abbey of St. Nicholas, Tresco, 25, 140

Abbey Pond, Tresco, 145

Abbey Wood, 66

Abbot of Tresco, 23

Abbots of Tavistock, 26

Accommodation for visitors, 16, 82, 83, 146

Allet, John, and Isabella, 29

Annet, Isle of, 72, 111, 116, 124

“Ann Jigg,” 170

Apple-trees, 66

Armada, tradition of, 70

_Armorel of Lyonnesse_ quoted, 157

Armorel’s cottage, 157

Arthur, Great and Little, 63, 169

Arthur, King, 62

Arums, 13

Ashford, the name, 72

Athelstan, King, 23

Attractions, 11

Aunt Charlotte, 154

Ayscue, Sir George, defeated, 36

Azure colour, presence of, 79

Barrentine, Drew de, appointed Governor, 27

Barrows, 74, 75

Bastwick, Dr. John, a prisoner, 123

Batteries, built on St. Mary’s, 33

Battle of Flowers supplied, 56

Beads, search for, 164

Beady Pool, St. Agnes, 164

Benedictines, 23, 25, 28, 29, 30, 32, 51, 140

Besant, Sir Walter, quoted, 157

Biddle, John, a prisoner, 123

Bird Island, 111

Birds, number of, 109

Bishop Lighthouse, 20, 124, 167

Bishop of Exeter, visit of, 94

Bishop of Truro, 95

Black auk, 115

Blake, Admiral, defeat of, 36

Blankminster, Ranulph de, holds the isles, 27

Block-house, the, 147

Boatmen, industry of, 14

Bonsor, Mr. George, opens a barrow, 74

Borlase, Dr., quoted, 67, 73, 87, 173

Bovy Isle, 32

Bowl, the, 65

Bridges, 68

Bronze Age, the remains of, 74

Bryher, 61, 68, 94, 152

Bulbs, 53, 59

Bullock, a dead, a passenger, 156

Butcher’s shop, the only, 84

Buzza Hill, 80, 124

Camperdizl Point, 163

Campergurling, 163

“Canteen,” the, 143

Carn Near, 37, 143

Carns of Kestillier, 163

Cassiterides, 75

Castle of Bryer, 38

Castle Rocks, 127

Caves, 150, 170

Celts, 70, 80

Chair of Prince Charles, 34

Chapels, 95, 96, 121

Character of the people, 87

Charles’s Castle, 150

Charles, Prince, a prisoner, 34

Cherry-tree, 66

Children, 90

Christians, the first, in Scilly, 22

Churches, 94, 141

City of Lions, 62

Civil War, effects of the, 34, 36, 141, 166

Clapper Rocks, 74

Coal schooner, wreck of, 145

Cockroaches, 69

Colepepper, Lord, 34

“Colossus,” wreck of the, 38

Colour of Scilly, 11

Conger-eels, 85

Cormorants, 110

Corn, exportation forbidden, 40

Cornish words, list of, 78

Cornwall, Earl of, 26, 126, 127, 130

Cosmo de Medici, Duke, quoted, 37, 66, 71, 120

Coulter-neb, 111

Council of Scilly, 35

Crab-pots, 148, 166

Crim Rocks, 160

Cromwell’s Castle, 15, 37, 144, 150

Crow Bar, 62

Crow Sounds, 37

Cruther’s Hill, 182

Customs, ancient, 81

Daffodils, 13, 60, 67, 88, 128, 138, 155

Daisy Rock, 160

Davers, a gentleman, 31

Daymark, the, St. Martin’s, 170

Defence of the Isles, 33

Denominations, 92, 94, 95, 96

Dick’s Cam, 137

Distress in 1819, 46

Dorrien-Smith, Mr. T. A., 50

Dracæna, 66

Draper, an itinerant, 155

Drew de Berrentine, 27

Druid trysting-stone, 132

Education in Scilly, 80

Edward the Confessor, 25

Edward I, grants of, 26, 28

Edward III, 29

Eggs, orange-flavoured, 49

Ekins, Thomas, 170

Elizabeth, Queen, grants a lease, 33

Ellis, the name, 72

Ennor Castle, 27, 125, 127

Entertainments, lack of, 16

Excursions, 15

Exeter, Bishop of, 93

Fairies, 80

Fanshawe, Lady, quoted, 34

Felons, treatment of, 29

Fisheries, 14, 46

Flower fields, 13

Flower harvest, 12, 13, 53, 57

Flower houses, 59

Flower industry, beginnings of, 14, 49

“Flower of Kings,” 63

Flower picking and tying, 55

Fogs, 107, 166

Folk-lore, 80

French poachers, 31, 179

Fruit trees, 66

Fuchsias, 67

Garrison, the, 122

Garrison Hill, 54, 122

Geraniums, 67

German vessels, visits of, 49

Giant’s Castle, 136

Giants’ Graves, 73

Giant’s Punch-bowl, 64

Godolphins, the, 33, 37, 47, 170

Goldsmith quoted, 115

Goose-dancing, 81

Gorregan, 179

Gorse, 12, 125, 138, 170

Grandison, Bishop, 93

Granite, 64

Granville, Sir John, made Governor, 36

Grimsby, New, 145, 146, 147, 174

Grimsby, Old, 147

Gugh, the, 74, 137, 183

Guillemots, 115

Guinea-moneys, 151

Gulls, 31, 109

Hand-mills, 72, 162

Hangman’s Island, 150

Hanjague, 169

Heath, Lieut., quoted, 18, 41, 86, 90, 120, 123, 160

Hell Bay, 153

Hellingy Downs, 72

Hellweathers, 160

Henry I, grant of, 26

Henry III, 27

Henry VIII, 20

Hermit, a story of, 23

Herring-gulls, 109

History of Scilly, 22

Holy Vale, 28, 129

Horse-mackerel, 85

Hotels, 143

Hugh, the, 33, 38

Hugh Town, 96, 117, 118, 125

Human remains found, 72

Iberians, 69

Industries, 14, 42

Inisschawe, 32

Inn, the New, Tresco, 143

“Insect,” a dying, 21

Instantius, Bishop, 22

Islands, number of, 11, 30, 61

Isle of Elder, 32

Itinerary of Leland quoted, 30

Jenkins, the name, 72

Kelping, 42

Kindliness of Scillonians, 87

King, Mr. C. J., discovery of, 114

Kistavens, 74

Kitchen-middens, 72

Kittern, the, 183

Language, 71

Leeds, Duke of, gives up lease, 47

Legge, the name, 72

Leisureliness, 88

Leland, John, quoted, 29, 30, 70, 128, 150, 165, 166, 170

Le Poer, William, 28

Lethegus Ledge, 108

Lethowsow, 64

Lewes, G. H., quoted, 83

Licences not required, 86

Lifeboat, 161

Lighthouses, 20, 124, 161, 167, 168, 170, 177, 182

Lighting of Hugh Town, 121

Lilies, growth of, 14

Limpets, 175

Ling, 85

“Loaded Camel,” the, 137

Losses, 60

Lyonnesse, legend of, 12

“Lyonnesse,” the, 19, 20

Mackerel fishery, 15

Maiden Bower, 152

“Major Vigoureux ” quoted from, 42

Marguerites, 67

Mary, Queen, news of her death, 87

Maximus, Emperor, his treatment of Christians, 22

May Queen, the, crowning of, 82

Meat, scarcity of, 84

Menavawr, 175, 176

Mesembryanthemum edule, 143

Midsummer Eve, 81

Military establishment, 38

Mincarlo, 115

“Minnehaha,” wreck of the, 99, 153

Monk’s Cowl Rock, 133, 134

Mordred, 62

Mumford, Mr. Richard, 52, 131

Nag’s Head, 65

Names of islanders, 71

Nance, a pilot, introduces kelp, 36

Narcissi, 13, 148, 155

Naval base, Scilly as a, 23, 38

Neatness, 91

Nikla Thies, 81

Northmen in Scilly, 23

Norwithel, 36, 149

Olaf Tryggwason, saga of, 23

Oldest inhabitant, the, 14

Old Town, 125, 126

Old Town Castle, 126

Old Wreck Ledge, 160

Ornatus narcissus, 13

Outer Islands, 152

Oyster-catcher, 116

Parade, the, Hugh Town, 119

Park, the, Hugh Town, 120

Parliamentary forces, the, 36

Parsonage, the, Tresco, 41

Passage to Scilly, 15, 17

Pelistry Bay, 137

Pellew’s Redoubt, 138

Pendeen Lighthouse, 168

Pender, the name, 72

Peninnis 64, 133, 134

Pennis Lighthouse, 134, 162, 168

Penzance, 17, 58, 159

Perconger, 163

Pericles Bay, 165

Pernagie, 170

Pest-house, St. Helen’s, 174

“Peter the boy,” 158

Philpotts, Bishop, visit of, 94

Pilot Hicks, story of, 105

Pilot, story of a, 85

Piloting, 40, 48, 171

Piper’s Hole, 149, 150, 172

Pirates, 33, 36

Place-names, list of, 78

Ponds, 68

Porth Cressa, 124, 133

Porth Hellick, 54, 135

Porth Mellin, 128

Portus Ecclesiæ, 165

Potatoes, exportation of, 46, 163

Potting, 14, 171

Prehistoric remains, 72

Prices of flowers, 58

Prigis Bay, 165

Prisoners in Star Castle, 123

Privations of islanders, 162

Prosperity of islanders, 39

Proverbs, 81

Provisions, 146

“Prudence and Jane,” the, 19

Publius Crassus, 76

Puffins, 27, 31, 111

Puffins as rent, 27

Pulpit Rock, 64, 133, 134

Quay, St. Mary’s, 117

Querns, 162

Quiller-Couch, Sir Arthur, quoted, 42

Rabbits, 26, 31

Rat Island, 31, 32

Rats, 69, 174

Reginald, Earl of Cornwall, 26, 126, 127, 130

Religious toleration, 92

Richard III, inquisition by, 29

Rivers, absence of, 68

“Road,” the, 48

Rocky Hill, 131

Romans in Scilly, 22, 76

Rose-bush of Sister Mary, 131

Rose, Great and Little, 160

Round Island, 124, 168, 171, 175, 176

Saga of King Olaf, 23

Sailing-boats, 18, 181

Sailors, imprisoned, 135

St. Agnes, 30, 54, 61, 64, 70, 72, 85, 90, 96, 134, 159

St. Agnes Church, 165

St. Agnes Lighthouse, 134

St. Elidius, 26, 173

St. Elios, 173

St. Helen’s Isle, 62, 124, 173

St. Helen’s Pool, 174

St. Lide’s, 173

St. Martin’s, 54, 62, 85, 96, 124, 147, 169

St. Martin’s Head, 61, 170

St. Martin’s men, 70

St. Mary’s, 30, 61, 64, 96, 117, 133, 178

St. Mary’s Church, 94

St. Mary’s Pier, 73, 117

St. Mary’s Pool, 15, 109, 119, 123

St. Nicholas Isle, 32

St. Sampson, 26, 173

St. Teon, 26

St. Warna, 165

St. Warna Bay, 164

St. Warna’s Well, 160, 165

Sallakee Downs, 136

Samson, 61, 74, 103, 156

Saynct Lide’s Isle, 31, 173

Scads, 85

Scandinavians, 70

Scenery, character of, 12

“Schiller,” wreck of the, 99

Scilly, origin of the name, 77

Scilly Rock, 153, 176

Scilly Whites, 51, 52, 53

Sea-birds, 109

Sea-crow, 110

Sea-pie, 116

Sea-sickness, 17

Sea-swallows, 115

Seal Rock, 152

Seals, 162

Serpents, absence of, 69

Seven Stones, 62

Seymour, Lord Admiral, 32

Shags, 110

Shearwaters, 114

Shells, 72, 151

Shelters, planting of, advised, 67

Shipbuilding, 47, 48

Shipman Head, 153

Shovel, Sir Cloudesley, drowning of, 99, 135

Sister Mary’s bush, 131

Skirt Point, 151

“Sleep’s Abode,” 134

Smith, Mr. A., becomes Governor, 47, 50, 140

Smith, Mr. T. A. Dorrien-, the present Governor, 50

Smuggling, 40, 41

Snorri Sturluson, story of, 25

Soleil d’ors, 53

Spaniards, 31, 70

Spurgeon’s sermons, 95

Star Castle, 33, 68, 122

“Steamer-morning,” 54

“Stella Mariæ,” 122

Stoker, the story of a, 20

Storm-petrel, 116

Sugar Loaf, 170

“Sulleh,” 77

Sulpicius Severus, 22

Sunsets, 138

Sunshine, floods of, 13

Tavestoke Abbey, 30, 32

Tavistock, monks of, 29

Tean, 124

Tearing Ledge, 160

Terns, 115

“Thomas W. Lawson,” wreck of the, 105

“Three Damned Sinners,” 172

Tiberianus, Bishop, 22

Tin, presence of, 75

Toleration, religious, 92

Toll’s Island, 137

Tolman Head, 126

Tooth Rock, 64, 133

Tovey, Abraham, master-gunner, 122

Tree-mallow, the, 147

Trees, scarcity of, 66

Tresco, 29, 61, 85, 95, 112, 124, 180

Tresco Abbey, 25, 28

Tresco Gardens, 15, 142

Trevellick, Mr. W., 52, 131

Trevilian, story of, 64

Trippers, 15

Troutbeck, Rev. J., quoted, 18, 41, 68, 69, 94

Turk’s Head, 183

Uncle Sampy, 155

Underland Girt, 172

Upper Moors, the, 137

Van Tromp, Admiral, tries to gain Scilly, 36

“Vasty deep,” the, 12

Vegetation, 182

Visitors, 14, 15, 16, 49

Voyage to Scilly, 17

Watermill Bay, 138

Wells, 68

Wesley, John, visit of, 96

White Island, 171

Whitfeld, Rev. H. J., quoted, 131

Whitington, gentleman, 31

Wich, Richard de, gift of, 26

William IV, 47

William of Worcester, 112

Wingletang Down, 163

Wolf Lighthouse, 108

Woodley, Rev. G., quoted, 19, 45, 91, 95

Wrasse, 73

Wrecks, right to, 26

Wrecks, 26, 97, 145, 153, 161

UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON

* * * * *

SOME OPINIONS OF THE PRESS

THE TIMES:

“This is an acceptable volume, in which the author succeeds both as artist--in her pleasing and careful water-colours--and in her entertaining account of the scenery, the industries, and the people.”

THE MORNING POST:

“This is a charming book about a very charming place. The Scillies are not by any means so well known to the people of the mainland as they deserve to be. But the authoress has given us an informing introduction to their manifold attractions, their scenic beauty, their old-world simplicity and social quaintness, the romantic associations of their history and the picturesque character of their staple industry of flower-growing. The twenty-five water-colours scattered throughout the pages are not only dainty in execution, but are admirably illustrative of the letterpress.”

THE SCOTSMAN:

“Miss Mothersole has been captivated by the islands, their story and their people; and she has succeeded in conveying a distinct impression of this charm to the pages of her book, including those pages which contain the twenty-five reproductions in colour of her water-colours of land, sea, and ‘flowerscapes.’”

THE RECORD:

“Those of our readers who are looking for a suitable book as a present for a friend could not do better than purchase this handsome volume.”

THE METHODIST TIMES:

“A delightfully chatty volume, introducing us to a land that to the great majority is a veritable _terra incognita_. The pictures, reproduced in colour, are the work of a genuine artist who sees nature in all her beauty. The letterpress is full of interest, and the conversational, almost colloquial, style makes the book delightful reading.”

THE CHRISTIAN WORLD:

“The pictures are charmingly done, and inspire a desire to make the Scillies the scene of the next summer holiday.”

THE LITERARY WORLD:

“To most people it seems a far cry to the Scilly Isles, and it is therefore all the more desirable that some competent person should try and realize for us the atmosphere, colour, and outstanding features of such a story-haunted nook. This has been adequately done by Jessie Mothersole, who with pen and pencil has produced a charming account of this sea-worn district.”

THE DAILY NEWS:

“With the colour of the Scilly Islands Miss Mothersole has been really successful; she has reproduced much of that warmth and richness and harmony of hue which cling in the memories of everyone who knows these coasts. The water, the sky, the flowers, the cottages, lend themselves to the colourist, and Miss Mothersole has made some most attractive pictures.”

End of Project Gutenberg's The Isles of Scilly, by Jessie Mothersole