Produced by Ted Garvin, Josephine Paolucci and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team.
1906
To
PROLOGUE
THE SPINSTER'S MAYING
DAPHNIS
WHEN THE SAP ROSE
THE PAUPERS
CUCKOO VALLEY RAILWAY
THE CONSPIRACY ABOARD THE "MIDAS"
LEGENDS OF ST. PIRAN.
I St. Piran: the Millstone
II St. Piran: the Visitation
IN THE TRAIN.
I. Punch's Understudy
II. A Corrected Contempt
WOON GATE
FROM A COTTAGE IN GANTICK.
I. The Mourner's Horse
II. Silhouettes
THE DRAWN BLIND
A GOLDEN WEDDING
SCHOOL FRIENDS
PARENTS AND CHILDREN.
I. The Family Bible
II. Boanerges
TWO MONUMENTS
EGG-STEALING
SEVEN-AN'-SIX
THE REGENT'S WAGER
LOVE OF NAOMI
THE PRINCE OF ABYSSINIA'S POST-BAG.
I. An Interruption
II. The Great Fire on Freethy's Quay
A week ago, my friend the Journalist wrote to remind me that once upona time I had offered him a bed in my cottage at Troy and promised toshow him the beauties of the place. He was about (he said) to givehimself a fortnight's holiday, and had some notion of using that timeto learn what Cornwall was like. He could spare but one day for Troy,and hardly looked to exhaust its attractions; nevertheless, if mypromise held good…. By anticipation he spoke of my home as a "nook."Its windows look down upon a harbour, wherein, day by day, vesselsof every nation and men of large experience are for ever going andcoming; and beyond the harbour, upon leagues of open sea, highwayof the vastest traffic in the world: whereas from his own far moreexpensive house my friend sees only a dirty laurel-bush, a high greenfence, and the upper half of a suburban lamp post. Yet he is convincedthat I dwell in a nook.
I answered his letter, warmly repeating the invitation; and last weekhe arrived. The change had bronzed his face, and from his talk Ilearnt that he had already seen half the Duchy, in seven days. Yet hehad been unreasonably delayed in at least a dozen places, and used thestrongest language about 'bus and coach communication, local trains,misleading sign-posts, and the like. Our scenery enraptured him—everyaspect of it. He had travelled up the Tamar to Launceston, crossedthe moors, climbing Roughtor and Brown Willy on his way, plunged downtowards Camelford, which he appeared to have reached by following twovalleys simultaneously, coached to Boscastle, walked to Tintagel,climbed up to Uther's Castle, diverged inland to St. Nectan's Kieve,driven on to Bedruthan Steps, Mawgan, the Vale of Lanherne, Newquay,taken a train thence to Truro, a steamer from Truro to Falmouth,crossed the ferry to St. Mawes, walked up the coast to Mevagissey,driven from Mevagissey to St. Austell, and at St. Austell takenanother train for Troy. This brought half his holiday to a close: theremaining half he meant to devote to the Mining District, St. Ives,the Land's End, St. Michael's Mount, the Lizard, and perhaps theScilly Isles.
Then I began to feel that I lived in a nook, and to wonder how I couldspin out its attractions to cover a whole day: for I could not hear tothink of his departing with secret regret for his lavished time. Ina flash I saw the truth; that my love for this spot is built up ofn