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twg_000012580900 | of a giant in thick darkness against the chaotic flood; but his strength soon gave way, and in a few seconds he became insensible. That a terrible catastrophe had occurred was at once known to all the men in the mine by the roar of the rushing water. In order that the reader may clearly understand the situation, it is | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580901 | necessary to explain that the accident occurred in one of the _upper_ levels, at or near its extremity. At the same depth there were many of these underground passages, running in various directions, and several miles in extent, some of them being worked, but most of them old and used up--all the ore having been extrac... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580902 | depths below this level other levels had been cut--also running in various directions, and of several miles' extent. These successive levels were not only connected and communicated with by the main shafts of the mine, but by "winzes" or smaller shafts which connected level with level in many places. Some of these were... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580903 | cut merely for the purpose of securing ventilation. In many parts of these lower levels miners were at work--some, in following the course of promising lodes, "stopeing," or cutting overhead, some cutting downwards, some "driving ends" or extending the levels, and others sinking winzes to keep up the ventilation as the... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580904 | down which flowed the life-giving air. By all of these men the dreaded sounds above--which reached the profounder depths with the muffled but deep-toned roar of a distant storm--were well understood and well heard, for the pent-up waters, in their irresistible fury, carried before them the pent-up atmosphere, and sent ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580905 | the circling tubes of a monster trumpet, which, mingled with the crash of hurling timbers, rocks, and debris, created a mighty roar that excelled in hideous grandeur the prolonged peals of loud thunder. Every man dropped his tools, and ran to the nearest shaft for his life. It was not, indeed, probable that the flood w... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580906 | ramifications of the vast mine, but no one knew for certain where the catastrophe had occurred, or how near the danger might be to the spot where he laboured. Enough for each that death was dealing terrible destruction somewhere _overhead_, and that, unless every muscle were strained to the uttermost, the pathway might... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580907 | off. The rush was swiftly but not easily made. Those who have never traversed the levels of a Cornish mine may perhaps fancy, on hearing of levels six feet high, and about two and a half feet broad, on the average, that the flight might resemble the rush of men through the windings and turnings of the intricate passage... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580908 | a stupendous old castle. But it was far otherwise. The roofs, walls, and floors of these levels were irregular, not only in direction, but in height and form. There was no levelling or polishing-off anywhere. It was tunnelling of the roughest kind. Angles and projections remained as the chisel, the pick, and the blasti... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580909 | tripped over a lump, or plunged into a hollow; there, the head narrowly missed a depending mass of rock, or the shoulder grazed a projecting one. Elsewhere, pools of water lay in the path, and at intervals the yawning chasm of a winze appeared, with one or two broken planks to bridge the gulf, of twenty, forty, or sixt... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580910 | that descended to the levels below. Sometimes it was possible to run with the head stooped a little; generally the back had to be bent low--often double; and occasionally progress could only be made on hands and knees,--this, too, with a candle to be guarded from blasts of air or dripping water, and trimmed, lest it sh... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580911 | leave the place in total darkness. But long-continued habit and practice had made the men so familiar with the place, and so nimble in their movements, that they traversed the levels with wonderful rapidity, and most of them ascended the shaft of the mine in safety. Some, however, escaped with the utmost difficulty, an... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580912 | who had been near to or immediately below the scene of the outbreak--who perished miserably. At the first rush the water had almost filled the level where it occurred, and, sweeping onward about eight fathoms to a winze, plunged down and partly over it. The greater part, however, went down to the eighty-five fathom lev... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580913 | named Anguin, with his two sons, William and James--youths of about twenty years of age--were at work. They heard the roar of the approaching torrent, and the father and younger son James rushed towards the winze, intending to ascend the ladder. Before they reached it the flood was pouring down with deafening noise. Th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580914 | was the water, for the current now carried along with it stones, pieces of timber, and rubbish. To encounter all this might have caused the stoutest hearts to quail, but miners can never calculate the probable extent of an inundation. They might, indeed, by remaining in the roof of the level, escape; but, on the other ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580915 | should be great enough to fill the place, they would certainly be drowned. Father and son, therefore, preferred to make a desperate effort to save their lives. They dashed into the flood and made a grasp at the ladder, but before their hands touched the first round they were beaten down and swept away dead corpses. Wil... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580916 | hand, climbed to a cross-piece of timber, where he remained until the water abated, which it did in a very short time, for events of this kind are for the most part awfully sudden and brief as well as fatal. Then, descending, he groped his way in the dark over the very spot where his father and brother lay dead--fearfu... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580917 | mutilated and covered with rubbish--and escaped up the shaft. In a still lower level two brothers were at work. Miners usually work in couples--sometimes in larger numbers--and brothers frequently go together. They were in a winze about thirty fathoms from the engine-shaft. Being overtaken by the flood they were washed... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580918 | the shaft. As the torrent tore past this place, bearing splintered timber, stones, and rubbish along with it, an iron wagon was caught up and flung across the level. This formed a barricade, against which the brothers were dashed. The elder of these brothers was afterwards found alive here, and carried to the surface; ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580919 | twenty minutes after being brought up. When the dead body of the younger and weaker brother was recovered, it was found to be dreadfully shattered, nearly every bone being crushed. In the same level, two men--John Paul and Andrew Teague--hearing the rush of the advancing torrent above their head, made for a shaft, went... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580920 | of water, and escaped. A man named Richard--a powerful man and a cool experienced miner, who had faced death in almost every form--was at work in one of the lowest levels with his son William, a youth of twenty-one, and his nephew, a lad of seventeen, who was the sole support of a widowed mother with six children. They... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580921 | thirty fathoms from one of the winzes down which the water streamed. On hearing the roar Richard cautioned the younger men to be prompt, but collected. No time was to be lost, but rash haste might prove as fatal as delay. He sent them on in front of him, and they rushed under and past the winze, where they were | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580922 | nearly crushed by the falling water, and where, of course, their candles were extinguished, leaving them in midnight darkness. This last was not so serious a matter to the elder Richard as, at first sight, it might appear. He knew every foot of the ground they had to traverse, with all its turnings, yawning chasms, and... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580923 | have led the way blindfold almost as easily as with a light. As they neared the shaft he passed the younger men, and led the way to prevent them falling into it. At this time the water raged round them as high as their waists. The nephew, who was weak, in consequence of a fever from which he had not | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580924 | quite recovered, fell, and, passing the others unobserved, went down the shaft and was lost. The escape of Richard and his son was most wonderful. William was a stout fellow, but the father much more so. They were driven at first into the shaft, but there the fall of water was so great that they could do nothing more t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580925 | cling to the ladder. By this cataract they were beaten back into the level, but here the water rose around them so quickly and with such force as to oblige them to make another effort to ascend. There was a crevice in the roof of the level here, in which the father had left part of his supply of candles | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580926 | and a tinder-box. He succeeded in reaching these, and in striking a light, which revealed to them the full horrors of their situation. It was with difficulty that the candle could be kept burning by holding it close to the roof under a projecting piece of rock which sheltered it partially from the dashing spray. "Let u... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580927 | the father. The noise was so great that it was with difficulty they could make each other hear. "It's all over with we," cried the son; "let us pray, faither." The father urged his son, however, to make another effort, as the water had risen nearly to their waists, and prevailed on him to do so, getting on the ladder | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580928 | himself first, in order to bear the brunt of the falling water and thus break its force to his son. As the water below was now rising swiftly William only held the light long enough to enable his father to obtain a secure footing on the ladder, when he dropped it and followed him. So anxious was the youth to | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580929 | escape from the danger that menaced him from below, that he pressed eagerly up against his father. In doing so, he over-reached the rounds of the ladder on which his father trod, and, almost at every step, the latter unwittingly planted his heavy-nailed boots on the son's hands, lacerating them terribly. To avoid this ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580930 | descending flood, that it was only his unusually great strength which enabled the father to advance slowly up against it. The son, being partially sheltered by his father's body, knew not the power against which he had to contend, and, being anxious to go up faster, pressed too closely on him, regardless, in his alarm,... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580931 | of stone, wood, and rubbish, dashed down the shaft and grazed their shoulders, but providentially none struck them severely. Thus, slowly and painfully, did they ascend to a height of eighty-four feet, and were saved. In another part of the mine, below the level where the accident occurred, James Penrose, whom we have ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580932 | work with John Cock. The latter having taken a fancy to try mining for a time instead of smuggling--just by way of a change--had joined the former in working a "pitch" in Botallack mine. These men were peculiarly situated. They were in a level which the water entered, not by flowing along or descending, but, by rising ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580933 | winze. On hearing the noise they ran to this winze, and, looking down, saw the water boiling and roaring far below. They were about to pass on to the shaft when Penrose observed a dark object moving on the ladder. It came slowly up. "Hallo! John," cried Penrose, "stay a bit; here's some one on the ladder." John Cock re... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580934 | and they both stooped to afford help. In another moment Oliver Trembath, drenched and bleeding, and covered with mud, stood, or rather reeled, before them. It was evident that he was only half conscious, and scarcely able to stand. But they had no time to speak--scarcely to think--for the water was already boiling up t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580935 | fountain, and filling the level. They seized Oliver by the arms and dragged him hastily towards the nearest winze that led upward. Here they found water pouring down like rain, and heard its thunders above them, but the stream was not sufficient to retard their progress up the winze, which they ascended with comparativ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580936 | at this, but the small quantity of water was soon accounted for by the fact that the hatch or trap-door of the winze had been closed; and thus, while it prevented the great body of water above from descending, also effectually shut off the only way of escape. They were therefore compelled to descend again to the level,... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580937 | the water was now rising rapidly. Oliver leaned against the rock, and stood in apathetic silence. Penrose tried to rouse him, but failed. His injuries had rendered him almost in capable of coherent speech, and his replies showed that his mind was rambling on the necessity of making haste and struggling hard. James Penr... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580938 | local preacher among the Wesleyans, and mentally much superior to his comrades, now proved beyond a doubt that his God was to him "a very present help in trouble." Both he and Cock knew, or at least believed, that death was certain to overtake them in a few minutes, for both before and behind retreat was cut off, and t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580939 | water was increasing with frightful rapidity. Observing that Cock looked anxious, Penrose turned and said earnestly,--"John, you and I shall be dead in a few minutes. "For myself I have no fear, for my peace is already made with God, through Jesus Christ--blessed be His name--but, oh! John, you do know that it is not s... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580940 | turn, even now, to the Lord, who tells you that `though thy sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow,' and that `_now_ is the day of salvation,' if you will only repent, and believe on Him!" "Pray for un, James," said Cock, whose face betrayed his fears. Penrose at once clasped his hands, and, closing his | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580941 | eyes, prayed for his comrade with such fervour that his voice rose loud and strong above the turmoil of the flood. He was still engaged in prayer when the water drove them from the level, and compelled them to re-ascend the winze. Here John Cock began to pray for himself in agonising tones. By this time Oliver had part... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580942 | and suggested that they should ascend the winze to the top. Penrose assured him that it was useless to do so; but, while he was still speaking, he observed that the water ceased to rise, and began quickly to abate. In fact, all that we have taken so long to describe--from the outburst to the termination of the great ru... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580943 | place within half an hour. The noise overhead now grew less and less, until it almost ceased. They then ascended to the trap-door and tried to force it open, but failed. They shouted, however, and were heard, ere long, by those who had escaped and had returned to the mine to search for their less fortunate companions. ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580944 | opened, strong and willing hands were thrust down the dark winze to the rescue, and in a few seconds the three men were saved. The danger was past--but several lives had been lost in the terrible catastrophe. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. TOUCHES ON THE CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS: OLIVER IN A NEW LIGHT AND HIS UNCLE IN A SAD ONE. That w... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580945 | sad day in St. Just which followed the event related in the last chapter. Many a heart-broken wail was heard round the mouths of the shafts, as the remains of those who perished were brought to the surface, and conveyed to their former homes. Saddest of all perhaps was the procession that marched slowly to the cottage ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580946 | Batten, and laid the two fair-haired lads before their stricken parents. Tears were wrung from the strongest men there when they beheld the agonised but tearless mother guide her husband's hand to their faces that he might for the last time feel the loved ones whom, she said in the bitterness of her grief, "he should n... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580947 | see more, dear lass!" he replied with a sad smile, "how can thee say so? Shall we not behold their dear faces again when we see our blessed Lord face to face?" Thus the Christian miner comforted himself and his sorrowing family. It is right to add that such catastrophes are not of frequent occurrence in the mines. The ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580948 | of "holing to a house of water," is so great and so well known that the operation is usually conducted with great care, and accident is well guarded against. Nevertheless, an occasional act of carelessness will now and then result in a terrible disaster. A catastrophe, similar in all its chief features to that which ha... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580949 | last chapter, happened in North Levant mine many years ago, and in the burying-ground of the Wesleyan Chapel of St. Just may be seen a tombstone, which bears record of the sad event as follows:-- _Sacred to the memory of_ JAMES, _aged_ , _and_ JOHN, _aged_ _years, sons of James and Nanny Thomas of Bollowall, in this Pa... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580950 | drowned (with three others) by the holing to a house of water in North Levant Mine on the first of April_ . A "house" of much larger dimensions, and containing a much greater body of water than that which caused the latest destruction of life in North Levant mine, was cleared of water not long ago in Botallack. The age... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580951 | knew of its existence, for, the whole region both above and below ground being measured off and planned, they could lay their finger on the exact spot where they knew that an old mine existed. They kept a large borer, six feet long, going constantly before them as they cut their way towards the point of danger. The res... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580952 | that when the borer at last pierced through to the old mine, there were six feet of solid rock between them and the water. Through the small hole the water flowed, and thus the mine was slowly but safely drained. In the other case, the ground happened to be soft, and had been somewhat recklessly cut away. Of course, th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580953 | are occasions--proving the truth of the proverb that "accidents will happen in the best regulated families"--in which neither foresight nor precaution can prevent evil; but these are comparatively few. Sometimes the cupidity of a miner will lead him, for the sake of following a rich lode, to approach too near and too r... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580954 | and cause considerable risk to the mine as well as to themselves. Such was the case once long ago at Botallack, when the miners below the sea cut away the rock to within three or four feet of the water, and actually made a small hole through so that they had to plug it up with a piece of wood. | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580955 | This is a fact which we can vouch for, having seen the plug, and heard the boulders rattling loudly over our head with each successive wave; but there is no danger here, because the cutting under the sea is narrow, and the rock solid and intensely hard. Such also was the case, not many years since, at Levant mine, wher... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580956 | the men working in the levels under the sea drove upwards until the salt water began to trickle through to them in alarming quantities--insomuch that the other miners struck work, and refused to go again into the mine, unless the workings in that part were stopped, and the place made secure. This was accordingly done, ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580957 | the mine. The danger here was really great, because the cutting that had been made was wide, and the ground overhead comparatively soft. But, to return to our tale. For many days after the catastrophe Oliver Trembath lay in his bed suffering from severe cuts and bruises, as well as from what must have been, as nearly a... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580958 | of the brain, for he had certainly been washed down one of the winzes, although he himself retained only a confused recollection of the events of that terrible day, and could not tell what had befallen him. At length, however, he became convalescent, and a good deal of his old vigour returned. During this period of ill... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580959 | had been constrained by old Mr Donnithorne to take up his abode in his house, and the young doctor could not have experienced more attention and kindness from the old couple if he had been their son. Rose Ellis, too, did her best to cheer him, and, as we need scarcely add, was wonderfully successful in her efforts! It ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580960 | during this period that Oliver made the acquaintance of a young man of St. Just, named Charles Tregarthen--a congenial spirit--and one who was, besides, a thorough gentleman and an earnest Christian. With this youth he formed a sincere friendship, and although the subject of religion was never obtrusively thrust upon h... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580961 | his thoughts, and shone so clearly in his words and conduct, that Oliver's heart was touched, and he received impressions at that time which never left him. Oliver and his friend were sitting one forenoon in Mr Donnithorne's dining-room, which commanded an extensive view of green fields and grass-covered stone walls, w... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580962 | horizon, and the blue sea beyond. They were planning a short walking tour, which it was thought would be of great benefit to Oliver in that stage of his recovery, when old Mr Donnithorne entered the room with a somewhat perturbed expression of countenance. "How are you, Charlie my boy?" he said. "Oliver, I want to have... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580963 | talk with you in my room on business; I know Charlie will excuse you." "I was on the point of taking leave at any rate," said Tregarthen with a smile, as he grasped Oliver's hand; "think over our plan, like a good fellow; I am sure Mr Donnithorne will approve of it, and I'll look in to-morrow forenoon to hear | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580964 | what decision you come to." "Oliver," said Mr Donnithorne, sitting down opposite the invalid when his friend had left, and frowning portentously, "d'you know I'm a ruined man?" "I trust not, uncle," replied Oliver with an incredulous smile, supposing that the old gentleman was jesting. "Yes, but I am," he repeated with... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580965 | ere long. These--these--vile jewels will be the death of me." Having thus broken the ice Mr Donnithorne went on with much volubility of utterance and exasperation of tone to explain that legal proceedings had been instituted for the recovery of the jewels which he had purchased from the fishermen; that things seemed al... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580966 | in all probability he should be compelled to sell his estate in order to refund the money. "But can you not sell your shares in Botallack and refund with the proceeds?" said Oliver. "No, I cannot," replied the old gentleman. "You know that at present these shares are scarcely saleable except at a ruinous discount, and ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580967 | pity to part with them just now, seeing that there is some hope of improvement at this time. There is nothing for it but to sell my estate, and I don't think there will be enough left to buy butter to my bread after this unhappy affair is settled, for it amounts to some thousands of pounds." "Indeed, uncle! how | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580968 | comes it that they found out the value of them?" "Oh, simply enough, Oliver, but strangely too. You must know that Maggot, the scoundrel (and yet not such a scoundrel either, for the fellow informed on me in a passion, without having any idea of the severity of the consequences that would follow),--Maggot, it seems, ke... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580969 | which the jewels were found tied round the owner's waist, and there happened to be a piece of parchment sewed up in the folds of it, in which the number and value of the jewels were enumerated. This belt was ferreted out by the lawyers, and the result is that, as I said before, I shall be a ruined man. | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580970 | Verily," added Mr Donnithorne, with a look of vexation, as he stumped up and down the room with his hands thrust deep into his breeches pockets, "verily, my wife was a true prophetess when she told me that my sin would be sure to find me out, and that honesty was the best policy. 'Pon my conscience, I'm half inclined | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580971 | to haul down my colours and let her manage me after all!" "I am much concerned at what you tell me," said Oliver, "and I regret now very deeply that the few hundreds which I possessed when I came here--and which you know are all my fortune--have also been invested in Botallack shares, for they should have been heartily... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580972 | your service, uncle." "Don't trouble yourself about your hundreds, lad," said the old gentleman testily; "I didn't come here to ask assistance from you in that way, but to tell you the facts of the case, and ask you to do me the favour to carry a letter to my lawyer in Penzance, and inquire into the condition of a | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580973 | mine I have something to do with there--a somewhat singular mine, which I think will surprise as well as interest you; will you do this, for me, lad?" "Most willingly," replied Oliver. "You heard my friend Charlie Tregarthen speak of our intention to go on a walking tour for a couple of days; now, if you have no object... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580974 | and I will set off together without delay, and make Penzance our goal, going round by the Land's End and the coast." "So be it, Oliver, and don't hurry yourselves, for the business will wait well enough for a day or two. But take care of yourself, lad; don't go swimming off the Land's End again, and above all things | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580975 | avoid smugglers. The scoundrels! they have been the ruin of me, Oliver. Not bad fellows in their way either, but unprincipled characters-- desperately regardless of the national laws; and--and--keep clear of 'em, I advise you strongly--have nothing to do with 'em, Oliver, my son." So saying the old gentleman left the r... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580976 | TELLS OF KING ARTHUR AND OTHER MORE OR LESS FABULOUS MATTERS. Next day Oliver Trembath and his friend Charles Tregarthen, before the sun had mounted his own height above the horizon, were on their way to the Land's End. The young men were admirably suited to each other. Both were well educated, and possessed similar ta... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580977 | dissimilar, and both were strong athletic youths--Oliver's superiority in this latter respect being at that time counterbalanced by his recent illness, which reduced him nearly to a level with his less robust companion. Their converse was general and desultory until they reached the Land's End, on the point of which th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580978 | an appetite," said Tregarthen, throwing down a wallet in which he carried some provisions; "let us to work." "Stay, Charlie, not here," said Oliver; "let us get out on the point, where we shall have a better view of the cliffs on either side of the Land's End. I love a wide, unobstructed view." "As you will, Oliver; I ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580979 | you to select our table, but I pray you to remember that however steady your head may have been in days of yore when you scaled the Scottish mountains, the rough reception it has met with in our Cornish mines has given it a shake that renders caution necessary." "Pshaw! Charlie, don't talk to me of caution, as if I | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580980 | were a timid old woman." "Nay, then, I talk of it because you are _not_ a timid old woman, but a reckless young man who seems bent on committing suicide. Yonder is a grassy spot which I think will suit you well." He pointed to a level patch of sward on the neck of land that connects the outlying and | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580981 | rugged promontory which forms the extreme Land's End with the cliffs of the mainland. Here they spread their meal, and from this point they could see the cliffs and bays of the iron-bound shore extending on the one hand towards Cape Cornwall, and on the other towards that most romantic part of the coast known by the so... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580982 | of Tolpedenpenwith, where rocks and caverns are found in such fantastic fashion that the spot has become justly celebrated for picturesque grandeur. At their feet, far below, the great waves (caused by the swell, for there was no wind) boomed in solemn majesty, encircling the cliffs with a lace-work of foam, while on t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580983 | seen shimmering faintly. A bright sun shone on the unruffled sea, and hundreds of ships and boats lay becalmed on its breast. "'Tis a splendid scene!" said Oliver, sitting down beside his friend. "It is indeed, and reminds me of the sea of glass before the great white throne that we read of in Revelation. It is difficu... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580984 | or to believe that the peaceful water before us, lying between this spot and the Scilly Islands yonder, was once a land full of verdure and life--yet such tradition tells us was the case." "You mean, I suppose, the fabled land of Lionesse?" said Oliver. "Yes; you have heard the story of its destruction, I suppose?" "No... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580985 | "so if you have a mind to tell it me while I satisfy the cravings of an unusually sharp appetite I'll consider you a most obliging fellow. Pass me the knuckle of ham--thanks--and the bread; now go ahead." "'Tis a romantic story," said Tregarthen. "All the better," replied Oliver. "And terrible," added Tregarthen. "It w... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580986 | friend. "Well, then, I'll tell it--to the best of my ability." The youth then began the following legend, pausing ever and anon during the narration to swallow a piece of bread or a mouthful of cold tea, which constituted the principal elements of their frugal meal. "You must know that, once upon a time, long, long ago... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580987 | days before Norman or Dane had invaded this land, while Britain still belonged to the British, and King Arthur held his court in Tintagel's halls, there was a goodly land, named Lethowsow or the Lionesse, extending a distance of thirty miles between this cape and yonder shadowy islets which seem to float like cirrus cl... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580988 | said that this land of Lionesse was rich and fertile, supporting many hundreds of families, with large flocks and herds. There were no fewer than forty churches upon it, from which it follows that there must have been a considerable population of well-doing people there. "About the time of the events which I am going t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580989 | was drawing to a close. Treason had thinned the ranks of the once united and famous knights of the Round Table. It is true that Sir Kaye, the seneschal, remained true, and Sir Ector de Mans, and Sir Caradoc, and Sir Tristram, and Sir Lancelot of the Lake, of whom it was said that `he was the kindest man that | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580990 | ever struck with sword; and he was the goodliest person that ever rode among the throng of knights; and he was the meekest man, and the gentlest, that did ever eat in hall among ladies; and he was the sternest knight to his mortal foe that ever laid lance in rest.' But many seats at the Round Table that once | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580991 | were filled by brave warriors had become empty, and among these, that of Prince Mordred, who, it was rumoured, meant to declare open war against his royal cousin and benefactor. "One night King Arthur sat at the Round Table in Tintagel Castle with his knights gathered round him, and Queen Guenever with her maidens by h... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580992 | of the feast the king's brow was clouded, for, although there was no lack of merriment or song, there was a want of the free-hearted courtesy and confidence of former days. Still the semblance of unabated good-fellowship was kept up, and the evening passed in gaiety until its close, when the king rose to retire. Taking... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580993 | golden cup to pledge his guests, he was about to drink, when a shudder passed through his frame, and he cast the goblet away, exclaiming, `It is not wine, but blood! My father Merlin is among us, and there is evil in the coming days. Break we up our court, my peers! It is no time for feasting, but rather | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580994 | for fasting and for prayer.' "The king glanced with a dark frown at the chair of his kinsman Mordred, but it was not empty! A strange, indistinct, shadowy form rested on it. It had no human shape, but a dreadful outline of something unearthly. Awe-struck and silent, the company at once broke up. "On the following day, ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580995 | revolt arrived at Tintagel Castle, and day after day fresh rumours reached it of foes flocking in numbers to the rebel standard. The army increased as it advanced, but, strange to say, King Arthur showed no disposition to sally forth and meet the traitor. It seemed as if his brave heart had quailed at last, and his goo... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580996 | had lost its magic virtue. Some thought that he doubted the fidelity of those who still remained around him. But, whatever the cause might have been, King Arthur made no preparation, and indicated no feeling or intention. He lay still in his castle until the rebels had approached to the very gates. There was something ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580997 | of the king, which had a tendency to overawe the rebels as they drew near, and remembered that they were about to match themselves against warriors who had grown old in fellowship with victory. "When the main body of the invaders appeared, the great bell of the fortress at last rang out a stirring peal, and before the ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580998 | trumpets sounded to horse. King Arthur then with his knights and men-at-arms, the best warriors of Britain, arose and sallied forth to fight in their last battle. "Next evening a broken band of horsemen alone remained to tell of the death of their king and the destruction of all their hopes. They numbered several hundr... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012580999 | steeds, and gaping wounds told that they were unfit to offer battle to any foe. They were in full flight, bearing a torn banner, still wet with the blood of King Arthur; yet they fled unwillingly, as men who were unused to retreat, and scarce knew how to comport them in the novel circumstances. Their course was in the ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
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