CHAPTER XVII._A Book of Dartmoor Second Edition

PRINCETOWN

Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt and Princetown--A desolate spot--The

prisons--Escapes--A burglary--Merrivale Bridge and its group

of remains--Staple Tor--Walk up the Walkham to Merrivale

Bridge--Harter Tor--Black Tor logan stone--Tor Royal--Wistman's

Wood--Bairdown Man--Langstone Moor Circle--Fice's

Well--Whitchurch--Archpriests--Heath and heather--Heather

ale--White Heath.

King Louis XIV. selected the most barren and intractable bit of land

out of which to create Versailles, with its gardens, plantations, and

palace; and Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt chose the most inhospitable site for

the planting of a town. Sir Thomas was Black Rod, and Warden of the

Stannaries. He was a man of a sanguine temperament, for he calculated

on reaping gold where he sowed shillings, and that in Dartmoor bogs.

At his recommendation prisons were erected at Princetown in 1806, at

a cost of £130,000, for the captives in the French and American wars.

Sir George Magrath, M.D., the physician who presided over the medical

department from 1814 until the close of the war, testified to the

salubrity of the establishment.

"From personal correspondence with other establishments similar

to Dartmoor, I presume the statistical record of that great tomb

of the living (embosomed as it is in a desert and desolate waste

of wild, and in the winter time terrible scenery, exhibiting the

sublimity and grandeur occasionally of elemental strife, but

never partaking of the beautiful of Nature; its climate, too,

cheerless and hyperborean), with all its disadvantages, will show

that the health of its incarcerated tenants, in a general way,

equalled, if not surpassed, any war prison in England or Scotland.

This might be considered an anomaly in sanitary history, when we

reflect how un-genially it might be supposed to act on southern

constitutions; for it was not unusual in the months of December and

January for the thermometer to stand at thirty-three to thirty-five

degrees below freezing, indicating cold almost too intense to

support animal life. But the density of the congregated numbers

in the prison created an artificial climate, which counteracted

the torpifying effect of the Russian climate without. Like most

climates of extreme heat or cold, the newcomers required a

seasoning to assimilate their constitution to its peculiarities,

in the progress of which indispositions, incidental to low

temperature, assailed them; and it was an everyday occurrence

among the reprobate and incorrigible classes of the prisoners, who

gambled away their clothing and rations, for individuals to be

brought up to the receiving room in a state of suspended animation,

from which they were usually resuscitated by the process resorted

to in like circumstances in frigid regions. I believe one death

only took place during my sojourn at Dartmoor, from torpor induced

by cold, and the profligate part of the French were the only

sufferers. As soon as the system became acclimated to the region in

which they lived, health was seldom disturbed."

There were from seven to nine thousand prisoners incarcerated in the

old portion of the establishment. They were packed for the night

in stages one above another, and we can well believe that by this

means they "created an artificial climate," but it must have been an

unsavoury as well as an unwholesome one.

Over the prison gates is the inscription "_Parcere subjectis_," and

the discomfort of so many being crammed into insufficient quarters

strikes us now, and renders the inscription ironical; but it was not so

regarded or intended at the time. Our convicts are nursed in the lap of

luxury as compared with the condition of the prisoners at the beginning

of the century. But then the criminal is the spoiled child of the age,

to be petted, and pampered, and excused.

A convict with one eye, his nose smashed on one side, with coarse

fleshy lips, was accosted by the chaplain. "For what are you in here,

my man?" "For bigamy," was the reply. "'Twasn't my fault; the women

would have me."

One marvels that such a deformed, plain spot as the _col_ between the

two Hessary Tors should have been selected for a town. The only reply

one can give is that Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt and the Prince Regent would

have it so. It is on the most inclement site that could have been

selected, catching the clouds from the south-west, and condensing fog

about it when everywhere else is clear. It is exposed equally to the

north and east winds. It stands over fourteen hundred feet above the

sea, above the sources of the Meavy, in the ugliest as well as least

suitable situation that could have been selected; the site determined

by Sir Thomas, so as to be near his granite quarries.

There have been various attempts made by prisoners to escape. One of

the most desperate was in November, 1880, when a conspiracy had been

organised among the convicts. At the time a good many were engaged in a

granite quarry. They had agreed to make a sudden dash on the warders,

overpower them, whilst in the quarry; and they chose for the attempt

the day in the month on which the governor went to Plymouth to receive

the money for payment of the officials, with intent to waylay, rob, and

murder him, then to break up into parties of two, and disperse over the

moor.

One of the conspirators betrayed them, so that the scheme was known. It

was deemed advisable not in any way to alter the usual arrangements,

lest this should inspire suspicion in the minds of the convicts. The

warders, armed with rifles, who keep guard at a distance round the

quarry, were told when they heard the chief warder's whistle to close

round the quarry, and, if necessary, fire.

The gang was marched, as usual, under a slender escort, to the quarry,

and work was begun as usual. All went well till suddenly the ringleader

turned about and, with his crowbar, struck at the head warder and

staggered him for the moment: he reeled and almost fell. Instantly the

convict shouted to his fellows, "Follow me, boys! Hurrah for freedom!"

And they made a dash for the entrance to the quarry.

Meanwhile the head warder had rallied sufficiently to whistle, but

before the outer ring of guards appeared some of the under warders

discharged their rifles at the two leading convicts. One fell dead,

the other was riddled with shot, yet, strange to say, lived, and, I

believe, is alive still.

Before the rest of the conspirators could master the warders in the

quarry and get away, the men who had been summoned appeared on the edge

of the hollow, that was like a crater, with their rifles aimed at the

convicts, who saw the game was up, and submitted.

There are always some crooked minds and perverse spirits in England

ready to side with the enemies of their country or of society, whether

Boers or burglars; and so it was in this case. A great outcry was made

at the shooting of the two ringleaders. If a warder had been killed, no

pity would have been felt for him by these faddists. All their feelings

of sympathy were enlisted on behalf of the wrongdoer.

A curious case occurred in 1895.

On March 10th, Sunday, at night, the chaplain, who lived in a house in

the town, being unable to sleep, about half-past eleven went downstairs

in his dressing-gown. He was surprised to notice a light approaching

from the study. Then he observed a man emerge into the hall, holding a

large clasp knife in his hand. On seeing the chaplain, whose name was

Rickards, he uttered a yell, and rushed at him with the knife.

The chaplain, who maintained his nerve, said, "Stop this fooling, and

come in here and let us have a little talk; you have clearly lost your

way."

The fellow offered no resistance, and allowed himself to be led into

the study, where the Rev. C. Rickards quietly seated himself on the

table, and said to the burglar, "Now, we shall get on better if you

give me up that knife." At the same time he took hold of the blade and

attempted to gain possession of it. He had disengaged two of the man's

fingers from it, when the fellow drew the knife away, thereby badly

cutting the chaplain's hand. Mr. Rickards then jumped off the table,

exclaiming, "This is not fair!"

"Look here," said the burglar, "I won't be took at no price," and

flourished the knife defiantly. Noticing that the fellow's pockets

bulged greatly, Mr. Rickards said, "You're not going out with my

property," and closed with him, and endeavoured to put his hand into

one of the pockets. The burglar resisted, and made for the door. Mr.

Rickards now got near where his gun hung on the wall; he took it down,

and clicked the hammer. The gun was not loaded. The burglar then blew

out the candle he carried, and ran from the room. Mr. Rickards at

once loaded his gun with cartridges, and followed the fellow into the

passage. He still had his own candle alight. The man then bolted into

the drawing-room, and endeavoured to open the window. The chaplain

entered, and said, "Now bail up; up with your arms, or I shall fire."

Thereupon the burglar made a dash at him, head down, and the chaplain

retreated, the man rushing after him. Mr. Rickards had no desire to

fire, and as the fellow plunged past him, he struck at him with the

gun, but missed him. The fellow then dashed through the doorway, and

ran again into the study. The chaplain pursued him, and, standing in

the doorway, said, "Now I have you. The gun is loaded, and I shall

certainly fire if you come towards me."

The burglar stood for a moment eyeing him, and then made a leap at him

with the uplifted knife; and Mr. Rickards fired at his legs. The man

was hit, and staggered back against the mantel-board. The chaplain

said, "Have you had enough?"

Again the fellow gathered himself up with raised knife to fall on him,

when Mr. Rickards said coolly, "The other barrel is loaded, and I

shall fire if you advance." The man, however, again came on, when the

chaplain fired again, and hit the man in his right arm, and the knife

fell. Mr. Rickards stooped, picked up the knife, closed it, and put it

into his pocket. Then, thinking that there might be more than this one

man engaged in the burglary, he reloaded his gun. The burglar now went

down in a lump on the hearthrug, bleeding badly.

By this time the house was roused; the servants had taken alarm, and

had sent for the warders, who arrived, and a doctor was summoned.

The fellow had been engaged in a good many robberies prior to this.

One night a couple of young convicts escaped, and obtained entrance

into the doctor's house, where evidently a large supper party had been

held, as the tables had not been cleared after the departure of the

guests. Afterwards, when retaken, one of the men said:--

"Sir, it was just as though the doctor had made ready, and was

expecting us to supper. The table was laid, and there were chickens and

ham, tongue, and cold meats, with puddings, cakes, and decanters of

wine, making our mouths fairly water. We ate and ate as only two hungry

convicts could eat after the semi-starvation of prison diet. I could

not look at a bit more when I had finished. 'Try just a leetle slice

more of this ham,' said my chum. 'No, thank you, Bill; I couldn't eat

another mouthful to save my life.' And so we left, and were caught on

going out."

Soon after this the chaplain visited the fellow who had been

recaptured, and seeing him depressed and in a very unhappy frame

of mind, said to him, "Anything on your soul, man? Your conscience

troubling you?"

"Terrible," answered the convict; "I shall never get over my

self-reproach--not taking another slice of ham."

An old man succeeded in getting away in a fog; he ran as far as

Ilsington before he was caught.

When brought back he was rather oddly attired, and amongst other things

carried a labourer's hoe. This he employed vigorously when crossing

fields, if anyone came in sight. When captured a farmer came to view

him. "Why, drat it," he exclaimed, "that's the man I saw hoeing Farmer

Coaker's stubble fields the other day. It struck me as something new in

farming, and I was going to ask him what there was in it that he paid

a labourer to hoe his stubbles." This same convict, who was acquainted

with the neighbourhood, whilst temporarily at large paid a visit to his

wife one night. He asked her to let him come into the house, telling

who he was. "Not likely; you don't come in here. The policeman's about

the place, and I don't want 'ee," was her cheering reply.

During another recent escape from Dartmoor an amusing incident occurred

in a lonely lane on a dark night in the neighbourhood of Walkhampton.

Two warders on guard mistook an inoffensive but partially inebriated

farmer for the escaped convict, and he mistook them for a couple of

runaways.

"Here he comes," exclaimed one warder to the other at the sound of

approaching footsteps. "Now for him," as they both pounced out of the

hedge where they had been in hiding, and seized hold of the man.

"Look here, my good fellows," he cried. "I know who you be. You be

them two runaways from Princetown, and I'll give you all I've got,

clothes and all, if only you won't murder me. I've got a wife and

childer to home. I'm sure now I don't a bit mind goin' home wi'out

any of my clothes on to my body. My wife'll forgive that, under the

sarcumstances; but to go back wi'out nother my clothes nor my body

either--that would be more nor my missus could bear and forgive. I'd

niver hear the end of it."

Formerly the manner in which escapes were made was by the convicts when

peat-cutting building up a comrade in a peat-stack, but the warders are

now too much on the alert for this to take place successfully.

Such buildings as have been erected at Princetown are ugly. The only

structure that is not so is the "Plume of Feathers," erected by the

French prisoners. Every other house is hideous, and most hideous of all

are the rows of residences recently erected for the warders, for they

are pretentious as well as ugly.

Yet Princetown may serve as a centre for excursions, if the visitor can

endure the intermittent rushes of the trippers on their "cherry-bangs,"

and the persistent presence of the convict. If he objects to these, he

can find accommodation a couple of miles off, at Two Bridges; but if he

desire creature comforts he is sure of good entertainment at Princetown.

The group of remains at Merrivale Bridge is within an easy walk. These

are the most famous on Dartmoor--not for their size or consequence,

but because most accessible, being beside the road. But the whole

collection is happily very complete.

There is a menhir, a so-called sacred circle, stone rows, a kistvaen, a

pound, hut circles, and a cairn.

The menhir was the starting-point of a stone row that has been

plundered for the construction of a wall. The sacred circle is composed

of very small stones, and probably at one time inclosed a cairn. The

stone rows that exist are fairly perfect. Those on the south, a double

row, start from a cairn at the west end that has been almost destroyed,

and end in blocking-stones to the east. They are, however, interrupted

by a small cairn within a ring of stones, and, curiously enough, much

as at Chagford, another row starts near it at a tangent from a partly

destroyed cairn. The double row runs 849 feet.

[Illustration: STAPLE TOR]

The north pair of rows is imperfect; it probably had a cairn at the

west end, but of it no traces now remain. It consists of a double row,

and ends in a blocking-stone at the east end. It can be traced for only

590 feet.

A fine kistvaen, formerly in a cairn, lies to the south of the southern

pair of rows. A few years ago a stonecutter at Merrivale Bridge took

a gatepost out of the coverer. In this kistvaen have been found,

though previously rifled, a flint knife and a polishing stone. There

were formerly two large cairns near, but both have been destroyed by

the road-makers, as have also many of the hut circles; a good many,

however, yet remain, and some are inclosed within a pound. In this

ground is an apple-crusher, like an upper millstone, that has been cut,

but never removed, because the demand for these stones ceased with

the introduction of the screw-press. Some ardent but not experienced

antiquaries have supposed it to be a cromlech! As such it is figured in

Major Hamilton Smith's plan of the remains in 1828.

The tor Over Tor, on the right-hand side of the road, was overthrown

by some trippers--the first swallows of a coming flight--early in the

century.

The descent to Merrivale Bridge is fine; the bold tors of Roos and

Staple stand up grandly above the Walkham river. Walkham, by the way,

is Wallacombe, the valley of the Walla.

The flank of Mis Tor towards the river is strewn with inclosures and

hut circles.

On Staple Tor is a so-called tolmen, a freak of nature, unassisted by

art. Cox Tor beyond is crowned with cairns, but they have been rifled.

A very charming excursion may be made by following the Plymouth road

to Peak Hill, then descending to Hockworthy Bridge, and ascending the

river as best possible thence, by Woodtown to Merrivale Bridge. There

is a lane above Ward Bridge that mounts the hillside on the east, and

commands a fine view of Vixen Tor with Staple and Roos Tors behind.

In the evening, when the valley is in purple shade, a flood of golden

glory from the west illumines Vixen Tor, and this is the true light in

which the river should be ascended. A so-called cyclopean bridge is

passed that spans a stream foaming down to join the Walkham.

Walkhampton church need not arrest the pedestrian; it has a fine tower,

but contains absolutely nothing of interest. Adjoining the churchyard

is, however, a very early church house, probably more ancient than the

present Perpendicular church.

Sampford Spiney has its village church, a quaint, small, old manor

house, and a good tower to the church. It is somewhat curious that the

dedication of neither of these churches is recorded.

Within an easy stroll of Princetown to the south is Harter Tor. There

are here many hut circles, and below Harter Tor are stone avenues

leading from cairns.

Black Tor, that looks down on these remains, is also above a

blowing-house and miners' hut, not of an ancient date, as it had a

chimney and fireplace. The mould-stone lies in the grass and weed.

Black Tor has on it a logan stone that can be rocked by taking hold of

a natural handle. On its summit is a rock basin.

[Illustration: OLD BLOWING-HOUSE ON THE MEAVY]

[Illustration: BLOWING-HOUSE BELOW BLACK TOR.]

Tor Royal was built by Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt, and there he entertained

the Prince Regent when that worthy visited Dartmoor. Tradition tells of

high revelry and debauches taking place on that occasion. Sir Thomas

planted trees that are doing fairly well. In the valley of the West

Dart, under Longaford and Littaford Tors, is Wistman's Wood, now sadly

reduced in size. It has been assumed to be the last remains of the

forest that once covered Dartmoor. But no forest ever did that; at all

events no forest of trees. The ashes of the fires used by the primitive

inhabitants show that peat was their principal fuel, and that what oak

and alder they burned was small and stunted.

In the sheltered combes doubtless trees grew, but not to any height and

size.

The early antiquaries, S. Rowe and E. Atkyns Bray, talked much tall

nonsense about Wistman's Wood as a sacred grove, dedicated to the

rites of Druidism, and of the collection of mistletoe from the boughs

of the oaks. As it happens, there are no prehistoric monuments near

the wood to indicate that it was held in reverence, and no mistletoe

grows in Devon, and in Somersetshire only on apple trees. Indeed, the

mistletoe will not grow higher than five or six hundred feet above the

sea, and Wistman's Wood is not much less than a thousand feet above the

sea-level.

In July, 1882, the central portion of the wood was set fire to, it was

thought by trippers, in an attempt to boil a kettle. This has helped to

reduce the ancient wood; but what prevents its increase is the sheep,

which eat the young trees as they shoot up. It has been said that

Wistman's Wood oaks produce no acorns. This, however, is not the case.

The trees are so venerable that their power to bear fruit is nearly

over, yet they still produce some acorns, and there are young oaks

growing--but not where sheep roam--that have come from these parent

stocks.

By ascending Bairdown, aiming for Lydford Tor, and then following the

ridge almost due north, but with a little deflection to the west, Devil

Tor may be reached, and near this stands the most impressive menhir

on the moor, the Bairdown Man. The height is only twelve feet, but it

is clothed in black lichen, and stands in such a solitary spot that it

inevitably leaves an impression on the imagination. There is no token

of there having ever been a stone row in connection with it.

It may here be noticed that the names Lydford Tor, Littaford,

Longaford, Belleford, Reddaford, do not apply to any _fords_ over

the streams, which may be crossed without difficulty, but take their

appellation from the Celtic _fordd_, "a way," and the tors about the

Cowsick and West Dart take their titles from the great central causeway

or from the Lych Way that passed by them.

The portion of the Cowsick above Two Bridges abounds in charming

studies of river, rock, and timber.

An excursion to Great Mis Tor will enable the visitor to see a large

rock basin, the Devil's Frying-pan as it is called, and then, if

he descends Greenaball, where are cairns, he will see on the slope

opposite him, beyond the Walkham, a large village, consisting of

circular pounds and hut circles. On reaching the summit of the hill he

will see a fine circle of upright stones. It was originally double, but

nearly all the stones forming the outer ring have been removed. The

rest were fallen, but have been re-erected by His Grace the Duke of

Bedford.

In such a case there can be no arbitrary restoration, for the holes

that served as sockets for the stones can always be found, together

with the trigger-stones. Indeed, it is easy by the shape of the

socket-holes to see in which way the existing stones were planted.

About half a mile to the north-west is the Langstone, which gives its

name to this down; it is of a basaltic rock, and not, as is usual, of

granite. Fice's Well, which I remember in the midst of moor, is now

included within the newtake of the prisons, and a wall has been erected

to protect it. This deprives it of much of its charm. It was erected by

John Fitz in 1568. Cut on the granite coverer are the initials of John

Fitz and the date.

The tradition is that John Fitz of Fitzford and his lady were once

pixy-led whilst on Dartmoor. After long wandering in vain effort to

find their way, they dismounted to rest their horses by a pure spring

that bubbled up on a heathery hillside. There they quenched their

thirst; but the water did more than that--it opened their eyes, and

dispelled the pixy glamour that had been cast over them, so that at

once they were able to take a right direction so as to reach Tavistock

before dark night fell. In gratitude for this, John Fitz adorned the

spring with a granite structure, on which were cut in low-relief his

initials and the date of his adventure.

There are some old crosses that may be seen by such as are interested

in these venerable relics. The Windy-post stands between Barn Hill

and Feather Tor, and there are also two on Whitchurch Down. One of

these, the more modern, of the fifteenth century, has lost its shaft,

and is reduced to a head; but the other cross may, perhaps, date

from the seventh century--it may even be earlier. Whitchurch was an

archpriesthood; there were two of these in Devon and one in Cornwall.

The origin of these archpriesthoods is probably this.

In Celtic countries the king liked to have his household priest, who

ministered to the retinue and to his family. On the other hand, the

tribe had its own saint, who was the ecclesiastical official for the

tribe and educated the young.

As the kings increased in power, and the old tribal arrangement broke

down, they had their household priests consecrated bishops, and the

tribal lands were constituted their dioceses. But in Devon and Cornwall

this could not be, as the Saxons took all power away from the native

princes, and the Latin ecclesiastics would not endure the peculiar

ecclesiastical organisation of the Celts. The household priests of the

conquered chieftains therefore simply remained as archpriests. The

Saxon and then the Norman nobles were not averse from having their own

chaplains free from episcopal jurisdiction, and in some places the

archpriest remained on. But the bishops did not like them, and one by

one gobbled them up. Whitchurch was regulated by Bishop Stapeldon in

1332. At present only one archpriesthood lingers on, that of Haccombe.

At an episcopal visitation, when the name of the archpriest is recited

by the episcopal official, he does not respond, as to answer the

citation would be a recognition of the bishop's jurisdiction over

Haccombe. The very fine piece of screen in Whitchurch was placed there

by a former Lord Devon. It comes from Moreton Hampstead. When the

dunderheads there cast it forth, the Earl secured it and placed it

where it might be preserved and valued. It is of excellent work.

Before laying down my pen I feel that I have not done homage to that

which, after all, gives the flavour of poetry to the moorland--the

heath and heather. I was one day on the top of the coach from

Holsworthy to Bude, between two Scotch ladies, and I put to them the

question, "Which is heath and which heather--that with the large, or

that with the small bells?" And Jennie, on my right, said: "The large

bell--that is heather"; but Grizel, on my left, said: "Nay, the small

bell--that is heather." As Scottish women were undecided, I referred to

books, and take their decision. The large bell is heath; the ling, that

is heather.

In old times, so it is said, the Picts made of the heather a most

excellent beer, and the secret was preserved among them. Leyden says

that when the Picts were exterminated, a father and son, who alone

survived, were brought before Kenneth the Conqueror, who promised them

life if they would divulge the secret of heather ale. As they remained

silent, the son was put to death before the eyes of his father. This

exercise of cruelty failed in its effect. "Sire," said the old Pict,

"your threats might have influenced my son, but they have no effect on

me." The king suffered the Pict to live, and the secret remained untold.

Ah, weel! the Scotch make up for their loss upon whisky.

A recent writer, referring to the story, says: "It is just possible

that the grain of truth contained in the tradition may be, that all

the northern nations, as the Swedes still do, used the narcotic gale

(_Myrica gale_), which grows among the heather, to give bitterness and

strength to the barley beer; and hence the belief that the beer was

made chiefly of the heather itself."

I do not hold this. I suspect that the ale was metheglin, made of the

honey extracted from the heather by the bees. Metheglin is still made

round Dartmoor, but it is only good and "heady" when many years old.

Avoid that which is younger than three winters. When it is older, drink

sparingly.[29]

It is quite certain that the ancient Irish brewed a beer, which we can

hardly think came from barley. S. Bridget has left but one poetical

composition behind her, and that begins:--

"I should like a great lake of ale

For the King of kings.

I should like the whole company of Heaven

To be drinking it eternally!"

The heath was doubtless largely used in former times, from the

Prehistoric Age, not only as a thatch for the huts and hovels, but as a

litter for the beds. Indeed, heath or heather is still employed in the

Scottish Highlands along with the peat earth as a substitute for mortar

between the stones of which a cottage is built. And that heather was

employed for bedding who can question? Leather is tanned even better

with heath than with oak-bark, and of it a brilliant yellow dye is

produced.

But--ah, me! the heath and the heather!--it is not for the beer

produced therefrom, not for the tan, not for the dye, that we love

it. Wonderful is the sight of the moorside flushed with pink when the

heather is in bloom--it is as though, like a maiden, it had suddenly

awoke to the knowledge that it was lovely, and blushed with surprise

and pleasure at the discovery.

But how short-lived is the heath!

It lies dead--a warm chocolate-brown, mantling the hills from October

till July. Only in the midsummer does it timidly put forth its

leaves--its spines rather--and then it flushes again in September. It

blooms for about a fortnight, perhaps three weeks, and then subsides

into its brown winter sleep. But what browns! what splendours of colour

we have when the fern is in its russet decay and the heather is in its

velvet sleep!

To him who wanders over the moor, and looks at the flowers at his feet,

some day comes the proud felicity of lighting on the white heath--and

that found ensures happiness. And I, as I make my _congé_, hand it to

my reader with best wishes for his enjoyment of that region I love best

in the world.

FOOTNOTES:

[29] Yet there is the Devonshire white ale--the composition of which is

a secret--that is still drunk in the South Hams, and in one tavern in

Tavistock. It is a singular, curdy liquor, in the manufacture of which

egg is employed. Is heath used also? _Qu en sabe?_

INDEX

Abbots' Way, 210-11.

Algeria, 36.

Amusing scene, 256.

Ancient tenements, 24.

Archerton, 27.

Archpriests, 275.

Arrow-heads, 37-8.

Asphodel, 11.

Assacombe, 163.

Aune Head, 6.

Avon River, 210-11.

Axe River, 1.

Bairdown Man, 273.

Bath huts, 46.

Batworthy, 160.

Becka Fall, 174.

Beehive huts, 213.

Bee-keeping, 13.

Bellever, 145, 223, 242, 256.

Belstone, 144-8, 156.

Bidlake, 106-7.

Birds of the moor, 251-2.

Bishop's Stone, 174.

Blachford, 217, 219.

Black Tor, 270.

Blowing-houses, 120-1, 148, 200, 215-16, 270.

Bog plants, 11-12.

Bogs, 2-11, 202.

Bovey Heathfield, 15.

Bowerman's Nose, 75.

Brent Tor, 97, 102-4.

Bridestowe, 23;

church, 138.

Bridges, 72-3, 242.

Brimpts, 25, 196.

Bronescombe's Loaf, 139-41.

Bronze implements, 15.

Brooke, Rajah, 229.

Broom, Yellow, 12.

Browne's House, 164.

Buckbean, 11.

Buckland-in-the-Moor, 194.

Bull-ring, 229.

Burglary, 263-5.

Burial alive, 174.

Burleigh Wood Camp, 104-6.

Burra Tor, 229.

Caches, 213, 230.

Cainnech, S., story of, 64-5.

Cairns, 71-2, 101, 211, 269.

Caistor Rock, 160.

Camps, 72, 82-3, 97-107, 130, 155, 162, 240.

Canoe, 15.

Castle, Lydford, 131.

Causeway, great central, 71, 170, 242.

Chagford, 157-60.

Chaw Gully, 170.

Childe the Hunter, 202-3.

Chinese, 33-5, 84.

Circles, stone, 57-9, 101, 160, 163, 164, 273.

Clakeywell Pool, 231.

Clerk, old, 125-6, 158.

Clitters, 17, 75.

Coffin-stone, 195.

Commons, 23.

Convicts, 262-3, 265-7.

Cooking-holes, 44-6, 70;

pots, 46, 70.

Cookworthy, William, 237-8.

Coral moss, 250-1.

Cosdon, 149.

Country dances, 236.

Cox Tor, 269.

Cranbrook Castle, 104, 162.

Cranmere Pool, 7, 149.

Cromlech, 55, 57, 162.

Crosses, Celtic, 42;

on Dartmoor, 65-6, 159, 203, 210-12, 236, 274.

Cuckoo, 252.

Culture, encroachment of, 26-8.

Cut Hill, 243.

Daddy longlegs, 254-5.

Damnonii, 44.

Dartmoor:

ancient inhabitants, 29-51;

antiquities, 52-73;

bogs, 2-10;

camps, 97-107;

cradle of rivers, 1;

forest, 22, 24-5, 271;

granite, 16;

lakes, 15, 16;

plants, 11-13, 19-21;

Preservation Society, 27;

salubrity of, 178-9, 259-60;

tin-streaming, 108-123;

tors, 7, 14-15, 75, _et passim_;

venville parishes, 22-3.

Dart River, 194-200;

East, 241;

West, 224, 256;

cry of, 235;

otter-hunting on, 224-8.

Dedication of Celtic Churches, 128-9.

Deer, 223.

Destruction of antiquities, 53-5, 162, 172, 210, 211, 228.

Dewerstone, 104, 239-40.

Dolly Trebble, 196-7.

Dolmens, 55-6.

Dolmen-builders, 36-9.

Drewsteignton cromlech, 162.

Drift, a Dartmoor, 25.

Drizzlecombe, 60, 63, 120, 236.

Druids, 80-1, 272.

Duchy, 27.

Dunnabridge Pound, 26.

Dyeing, 249.

Elford family, 221.

Epitaphs, 129-30, 193.

Erme Plains, 212;

river, 211.

Escapes of convicts, 265-7.

Exe River, 1.

Fardell, 219.

Farmhouses, 190.

Fernworthy, 163.

Fice's Well, 274.

Flint finds, 160, 243;

tools and weapons, 30, 37, 38, 45, 49.

Foale's Arrishes, 176-8.

Fordd = a road, 273.

Forest, 22, 24-5, 271.

Fox-hunting, 223.

Fox Tor Mire, 6.

Fresh air, 178.

Funeral customs, 83-96.

Fur Tor Cut, 7-8.

Furze, 12-13.

Gael, 39, 41-2.

Galford, 105-6.

Gates, how hung, 133.

Ghosts, 90-1.

Gidleigh, 162-3.

Gobbetts, 117, 203-6.

Gold, 122.

Granite, 14-16.

Greenaball, 273.

Grey Wethers, 164, 243.

Grimspound, 165-70.

Gubbinses, 134-5.

Harford church, 214.

Harter Tor, 270.

Hawns and Dendles, 217.

Heather, 276-8;

white, 162.

Hembury Castle, 104.

Hey Tor Rocks, 176.

Holne Chase, 194;

church, 193.

Hound Tor, 175.

Huccaby Bridge, 200.

Hut circles, 43-4, 66-71, 148, 168, 176, 212-13.

Idol, wooden, 15.

Inscribed stones, 142-3, 173, 219.

Iron: introduction of, 29;

smelting, 112;

smelting-houses, 194.

Ivybridge, 209.

Jack-o'-Lantern, 243-7.

Jolly Lane Cot, 200-1.

Kaolin, 237-9.

Kingset, 231.

Kingsley, Charles, 206.

King's Oven, 122.

King's Teignton, 207.

Kingston, Duchess of, 214-15.

Kistvaens, 57, 101, 149, 168, 175, 268-9.

"Lady" Darke, 183-9.

Lake-bed, 16.

Lake-head Hill, 242.

Langstone, 10, 101, 160, 274.

Laurence, Archbishop, 87.

Leather Tor, 235.

Lichens, 199, 249-50.

Lime, deficiency of, 255.

Logan rocks, 75-9, 141, 270.

Luminous moss, 19-20.

Lustleigh church, 173-4.

Lych Way, 255.

Lydford, 107, 124-32, 134-5.

Lynx Tor, 141-2.

"Maid and Lantern," ballad, 248.

Manaton, 171-2.

Marchant's Cross, 236.

Mary Tavy church, 137;

registers, 136-7.

May Day customs, 206-7.

Meavy, 236-7.

Menhirs, 62-6, 101, 149, 236, 268, 273.

Merrivale Bridge, 120, 268-9.

Mires, 6, 8.

Mistletoe, 272.

Mis Tor, 269, 273.

Murcens, 102.

Neolithic man, 31-51.

North Bovey, 172.

Nun's Cross, 230-1.

Oaks, 272.

Oghams, 219.

Okebrook, 200.

Okement River, 1;

West, 136, 138.

Otter-hunting, 224-8.

Otter River, 1.

Over Tor, 269.

Palæolithic man, 30.

Palgrave, Mr., 31.

Peat fires, 180;

works, 142.

Pebbles, 47.

Peter Tavy church, 137-8.

Petrock, S., 12, 127, 129, 214.

Phœnicians, 144-6.

Pixy Cave, 200, 221.

Plym River, 239.

Population, ancient, 48-9.

Post Bridge, 48, 241-58.

Pottery, neolithic, 30, 38, 177-8.

Pounds, 26, 48.

Prideaux, John, 214.

Prince's Hall, 27.

Princetown, 27, 259-71.

Prisoners, 261.

Prisons, 259-61.

Quarters of the Forest, 25.

Radford, Daniel, the late, 132.

Ravens, 170.

Ravine, Lydford, 134.

Redlake Mires, 7.

Redmoor Mire, 9.

Reservoir, Burra Tor, 221.

Rock basins, 78-9, 273.

Rooks, 254.

Roos Tor, 78.

Roundy Farm, 231.

Roundy Pound, 160.

Row. _See_ Stone rows.

Salubrity of Dartmoor, 178-9, 259-60.

Samoyeds, 58-9.

Satterleigh, Sally, 201.

Scaur Hill Circle, 160.

Screens in churches, 163, 171, 172, 210, 228, 275.

Shapleigh Common, 165.

Sheeps Tor, 220-2, 228, 236.

Sherrill, 199-200.

"Silly Doe," ballad, 222.

Slade, 219.

Snaily House, 256.

Sourton Down, 142.

South Brent church, 210.

Sparrow-hawk, 254.

Staple Tor, 269.

Steeperton Tor, 146, 148.

Sticklepath, 149-50.

Stinga Tor, 141.

Stonehenge, 31, 40.

Stone rows, 60-2, 149, 160-2, 163, 176, 212, 213, 268-9.

Sundew, 11.

Sweet gale, 11-12.

Swincombe, 114-20, 203.

Tailor lost on the moor, 4-5.

Taw Marsh, 146-7.

Teign River, 160, 162, 164.

Throwleigh, 156, 163.

Tin, 22, 30;

streaming, 108-23.

Tincombe Lane, 159.

Tolmens, 79-80, 162, 269.

Tor Royal, 271.

Tors, 17-18.

Tracklines, 47, 71.

Trackway, great central, 170, 242.

Trippers, 217-18, 268.

Tristis Rock, 213.

Two Bridges, 268.

Tyrwhitt, Sir Thomas, 26, 196, 259-61, 271.

Vectis, 110.

Venville parishes, 22-3.

Vitifer, 170.

Vixen Tor, 75, 270.

Voices, strange, 232-5.

Walkham River, 269-70.

Walkhampton church, 270.

Weekes family, 151-4.

West Okement valley, 155.

West Wyke, 151.

Whitaburrow, 211.

Whitchurch, 274.

White ale, 277.

Whitmoor Stone, 149.

Whit Tor Camp, 48, 98-100.

Whortleberry, 20-1.

Widdecombe-in-the-Moor, 180-2;

Fair ballad, 190-2.

Williams, Sir Thomas, 214.

Windstrew, 220.

Wireworm, 254.

Wistman's Wood, 271-2.

Wolfram, 21.

Wren, 252-3.

Yar Tor, 199.

Yealm River, 215.

Yelverton, 220.

Yes Tor, 155.

Zeal Plains, 210.

Zeal, South, 150-1.

PLYMOUTH

W. BRENDON AND SON, LIMITED

PRINTERS

A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY METHUEN AND COMPANY: LONDON 36 ESSEX

STREET W.C.

CONTENTS

PAGE

General Literature, 2-20

Ancient Cities, 20

Antiquary's Books, 20

Arden Shakespeare, 20

Beginner's Books, 21

Business Books, 21

Byzantine Texts, 21

Churchman's Bible, 22

Churchman's Library, 22

Classical Translations, 22

Classics of Art, 23

Commercial Series, 23

Connoisseur's Library, 23

Library of Devotion, 23

Illustrated Pocket Library of

Plain and Coloured Books, 24

Junior Examination Series, 25

Junior School-Books, 26

Leaders of Religion, 26

Little Books on Art, 26

Little Galleries, 27

Little Guides, 27

Little Library, 27

Little Quarto Shakespeare, 29

Miniature Library, 29

Oxford Biographies, 29

School Examination Series, 29

School Histories, 30

Textbooks of Science, 30

Simplified French Texts, 30

Standard Library, 30

Textbooks of Technology, 31

Handbooks of Theology, 31

Westminster Commentaries, 32

Fiction, 32-37

The Shilling Novels, 37

Books for Boys and Girls, 39

Novels of Alexandre Dumas, 39

Methuen's Sixpenny Books, 39

FEBRUARY 1908

A CATALOGUE OF

MESSRS. METHUEN'S

PUBLICATIONS

Colonial Editions are published of all Messrs. METHUEN'S Novels

issued at a price above 2_s._ 6_d._, and similar editions are

published of some works of General Literature. These are marked in

the Catalogue. Colonial editions are only for circulation in the

British Colonies and India.

I.P.L. represents Illustrated Pocket Library.

PART I.--GENERAL LITERATURE

=Abbott (J. H. M.).= Author of 'Tommy Cornstalk.' AN OUTLANDER IN

ENGLAND: BEING SOME IMPRESSIONS OF AN AUSTRALIAN ABROAD. _Second

Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s._

A Colonial Edition is also published.

=Acatos (M. J.).= See Junior School Books.

=Adams (Frank).= JACK SPRATT. With 24 Coloured Pictures. _Super

Royal 16mo. 2s._

=Adeney (W. F.)=, M.A. See Bennett and Adeney.

=Æschylus.= See Classical Translations.

=Æsop.= See I.P.L.

=Ainsworth (W. Harrison).= See I.P.L.

=Alderson (J. P.).= MR. ASQUITH. With Portraits and Illustrations.

_Demy 8vo. 7s. 6d. net._

=Aldis (Janet).= MADAME GEOFFRIN, HER SALON, AND HER TIMES. With

many Portraits and Illustrations. _Second Edition. Demy 8vo. 10s.

6d. net._

A Colonial Edition is also published.

=Alexander (William)=, D.D., Archbishop of Armagh. THOUGHTS AND

COUNSELS OF MANY YEARS. _Demy 16mo. 2s. 6d._

=Alken (Henry).= THE NATIONAL SPORTS OF GREAT BRITAIN. With

descriptions in English and French. With 51 Coloured Plates.

_Royal Folio. Five Guineas net._ The Plates can be had separately

in a Portfolio. _£3, 3s. net._