small talk and some account of cornish fairies.
“what a splendid country for a painter of cliffs!” observed oliver, as the friends walked briskly along; “i wonder much that our artists do not visit it more frequently.”
“perhaps they find metal more attractive nearer home,” replied tregarthen; “all the world has not fallen so violently in love with furze-clad moorland and rugged sea-cliffs as you seem to have done. besides, the country is somewhat remote. mayhap when a railway runs into it, which will doubtless be the case before many years pass by, we shall see knights of the brush pitching their white tents on the land’s end; meanwhile we have a few promising young men of our own who bid fair to rival the great opie himself. you have heard of him, of course?”
“i have heard of him indeed, and seen some of his works, but i’m ashamed to confess that, having left cornwall when very young, and been a dweller in the far north of the kingdom ever since, i have only known the facts that he was a celebrated cornish artist, and became the president of the royal academy. can you tell me anything of his personal history?”
“not much, but i can give you a brief outline of his career. john opie was the son of a carpenter of st. agnes, near truro, and was discovered and extracted, like a ‘bunch’ of rich ore, from the midst of the tin-mines, by dr wolcot—who was celebrated under the name of peter pindar. the doctor first observed and appreciated opie’s talent, and, resolving to bring him into notice, wrote about him until he became celebrated as the ‘cornish wonder.’ he also introduced people of note to the artist’s studio in london, many of whom sat for their portraits. these gave so much satisfaction that the reputation of the ‘cornish wonder’ spread far and wide, and orders came pouring in upon him, insomuch that he became a rich man and a royal academician, and ultimately president of the academy. he married an authoress, and his remains were deposited in st. paul’s cathedral, near to those of sir joshua reynolds. i have heard my grandfather say that he met him once in the town of helston, and he described him as somewhat rough and unpolished, but a sterling, kind-hearted man.”
“did he paint landscape at all?” inquired oliver.
“not much, i believe. he devoted himself chiefly to portraits.”
“well, now,” said oliver, looking round him; “it strikes me that this is just the country for a landscape painter. there is nowhere else such fine cliff scenery, and the wild moors, which remind me much of scotland, are worthy of being sketched by an able brush.”
“people have curiously different opinions in reference to the moors which you admire so much,” said tregarthen. “a clergyman who lived and wrote not very long ago, came to cornwall in search of the picturesque, and he was so disappointed with what he termed a barren, desolate region, that he stopped suddenly on the road between launceston and bodmin, and turned his back on cornwall for ever. as might be expected, such a man gave a very false idea of the country. on the other hand, a more recent writer, commenting on the first, speaks of his delight—after having grown somewhat tired of the almost too rich and over-cultivated scenery of kent—on coming to what he styled ‘a sombre apparition of the desert in a corner of green england,’ and dwells with enthusiasm on ‘these solitudes, and hills crowned with rugged rocks, classical heaths and savage ravines, possessing a character of desolate grandeur.’ but this writer did more. he travelled through the country, and discovered that it possessed other and not less beautiful features; that there were richly clothed vales and beautiful rivulets, cultivated fields and prolific gardens, in close proximity to our grand cliffs and moors.”
“he might have added,” said oliver, “that plants and flowers flourish in the open air here, and attain to a size, and luxuriance which are rare in other parts of england. why, i have seen myrtles, laurels, fuchsias, pomegranates, and hortensias forming hedges and growing on the windows and walls of many houses. to my mind cornwall is one of the finest counties in england—of which flora herself has reason to be proud, and in which fairies as well as giants might dwell with much delight.”
“spoken like a true cornishman!” said tregarthen, laughing; “and in regard to the fairies i may tell you that we are not without a few of them, although giants confessedly preponderate.”
“indeed!” said oliver; “pray whereabouts do they dwell?”
“you have heard of the gump, i suppose?”
“what! the barren plain near carn kenidjack, to the north of st. just?”
“the same. well, this is said to be a celebrated haunt of the pixies, who have often led benighted travellers astray, and shown them wonderful sights. of course one never meets with any individual who has actually seen them, but i have frequently met with those who have assured me they had known others who had conversed with persons who had seen fairies. one old man, in particular, i have heard of, who was quite convinced of the reality of a fairy scene which he once witnessed.
“this old fellow was crossing the gump one evening, by one of the numerous paths which intersect it. it was summer-time. the sun had gone down beyond the sea-line, and the golden mists of evening were merging into the quiet grey that hung over the atlantic. not a breath of wind passed over land or sea. to the northward chun castle stood darkly on the summit of the neighbouring hill, and the cromlech loomed huge and mysterious; southward were traces of mystic circles and upright stones, and other of those inexplicable pieces of antiquity which are usually saddled on the overladen shoulders of the druids. everything, in fact—in the scene, the season, and the weather—contributed to fill the mind of the old man with romantic musings as he wended his way over the barren moor. suddenly there arose on the air a sound of sweet, soft music, like the gentle breathings of an aeolian harp. he stopped and gazed around with looks of mingled curiosity and surprise, but could see nothing unusual. the mysterious sounds continued, and a feeling of alarm stole over him, for twilight was deepening, and home was still far distant. he attempted to advance, but the music had such a charm for him that he could not quit the spot, so he turned aside to discover, if possible, whence it came. presently he came to a spot where the turf was smoother and greener than elsewhere, and here the most wonderful and enchanting scene met his gaze. fairies innumerable were before him; real live fairies, and no mistake. lying down on the grass, the old man crept cautiously towards them, and watched their proceedings with deep interest. they were evidently engaged in the pleasant occupation of holding a fair. there were stalls, tastefully laid out and decorated with garlands of flowers. on these were spread most temptingly all the little articles of fairy costume. to be sure the said costume was very scanty, and to all appearance more picturesque than useful; nevertheless there was great variety. some wore heath-bells jauntily stuck on their heads; some were helmeted with golden blossoms of the furze, and looked warlike; others had nothing but their own luxuriant hair to cover them. a few of the lady fairies struck the old man as being remarkably beautiful, and one of these, who wore an inverted tulip for a skirt, with a small forget-me-not in her golden hair, seemed to him the very picture of what his old molly had been fifty years before. it was particularly noticeable that the stalls were chiefly patronised by the fairy fair sex, with the exception of one or two which were much frequented by the men. at these latter, articles were sold which marvellously resembled cigars and brandy, and the old man declared that he saw them smoke the former, and that he smelt the latter; but as he had himself been indulging a little that evening in smuggled spirits and tobacco, we must regard this as a somewhat ungenerous statement on his part, for it is ridiculous to suppose that fairies could be such senseless creatures as to smoke or drink! they danced and sang, however, and it was observed that one young man, with a yellow night-cap and a bad cold, was particularly conspicuous for his anxiety to be permitted to sing.
“the music was naturally the great attraction of the evening. it consisted of a large band, and although some of the performers used instruments made of reeds, and straws, and other hollow substances, cut into various forms and lengths, most of them had noses which served the purpose of musical instruments admirably. indeed, the leader of the band had a prolongation of the nose so like to a flesh-coloured clarionet, that it might easily have been mistaken for the real thing, and on this he discoursed the most seraphic music. another fairy beside him had a much longer nose, which he used as a trombone with great effect. this fellow was quite a character, and played with such tremendous energy that, on more than one occasion, he brought on a fit of sneezing, which of course interrupted the music, and put the clarionet in a passion. a stout old misshapen gnome, or some such creature, with an enormous head, served for the big drum. four fairies held him down, and a fifth belaboured his head with a drumstick. it sounded wonderfully hollow, and convinced the old man that it was destitute of brains, and not subject to headache.
“all the time that the old man gazed at them, troops of fairies continued to arrive, some on the backs of bats, from which they slipped as they whirred past; others descending, apparently, on moonbeams. the old man even fancied that he saw one attempting to descend by a starbeam, which, being apparently too weak to support his weight, broke, and let him down with a crash into the midst of a party who were very busy round a refreshment stall, where a liberal supply of mountain dew was being served out; but the old man never felt quite sure upon this point, for, at sight of the mountain dew, he felt so thirsty that he determined to taste it. fixing his eyes on the stall, he suddenly threw his hat into the midst of the party, and made a dash at it; but, to his intense disappointment, the vision was instantly dispelled, and nothing was to be seen on the spot but a few snails creeping over the wet grass, and gossamer threads bespangled with dewdrops.”
“a very pretty little vision,” exclaimed oliver, “and not the first that has been prematurely dispelled by too ardent a pursuit of strong drink! and now, charlie, as you appear to be in the vein, and we have still some distance to go, will you tell me something about the giants, and how it came to pass that they were so fond of roaming about cornwall?”
“their fondness for it, oliver, must be ascribed to the same cause as your own—just because it is a lovable place,” said tregarthen; “moreover, being a thinly-peopled county, they were probably not much disturbed in their enjoyment of it. to recount their surprising deeds would require a longer space of time than is just now at our disposal, but you have only to look round, in passing through the country, to understand what a mighty race of men they were. there are ‘giants’ quoits,’ as you know, without end, some of which have the marks of the fingers and thumbs with which they grasped them. their strength may be estimated by the fact that one of these quoits is no less than forty feet long and twenty wide, and weighs some hundreds of tons. it would puzzle even your strong arm to toss such a quoit! one of these giants was a very notable fellow. he was named ‘wrath,’ and is said to have been in the habit of quenching his thirst at the holy well under st. agnes’s beacon, where the marks of his hands, made in the solid granite while he stooped to drink, may still be seen. this rascal, who was well named, is said to have compelled poor st. agnes, in revenge for her refusing to listen to his addresses, to carry in her apron to the top of beacon hill the pile of stones which lies there. but here we are at penzance, so we shall have done with fiction for the present, and revert to matters of fact. you have business with a lawyer, i believe, and i have business for a short time with a friend. let us appoint a time and place of meeting.”
“what say you to the wherry mine at two o’clock?” said oliver. “it is probable that my business will be concluded by that time, when we can go and see this mine together. my uncle seems to set great store by it, because of an old prophecy to the effect that some day or other it will enrich somebody!”
“why, that prophecy has been fulfilled long ago,” said tregarthen, with a laugh. “the mine was a bold undertaking, and at one time paid well, but i fear it won’t do so again. however, let us meet there; so farewell, old boy, till two.”
