John Ayrton Paris

“ From Saint Just's Church-town, the road conducts us over a wild part of the peninsula, although highly salubrious, and invigorating from the fine sea breezes which blow from every side; after a ride over such bleak and barren hills, the eye experiences a singular repose on our approach to the cultivated shores of the Mount's Bay. ”

“ About a mile farther south is Kynance Cove, justly celebrated as one of the most interesting and extraordinary spots on the coast; the descent into it is extremely steep, and overhung with frowning crags; the cove itself is formed by a numerous assemblage of Serpentine rocks of a dark colour, and which exhibit a beautiful polish from the constant attrition of the waves at high water; in one part, these groups are so singularly disposed as to open a fine natural arch into a grotto, which penetrates deeply into the cliff ”

“ If we pursue the coast, and, turning round the western extremity of our island, trace its outline as it proceeds northerly, and then easterly to the Bay of St. Ives, a very different country presents itself; instead of the undulating curves, and luxuriant herbage of the southern shores, the land is generally high,—the vallies short, narrow, and quick of descent, and the whole landscape affords a scene of incomparable cheerlessness ”

“ But if you are thus struck and surprised at the scene when viewed from the cliff above, how much greater will be your wonder if you descend to the surface of the mine. You will then behold a combination of the powers of art with the wild sublimity of Nature which is quite unparalleled; the effects of the whole being not a little heightened by the hollow roar of the raging billows which are perpetually lashing the cliff beneath. ”

“ About two miles west of Redruth, is Dolcoath, a copper mine which every intelligent traveller ought to visit, not only on account of the immensity of the concern, and the ability and liberality with which it is conducted, but because it is so situated on the brow of a hill, that the spectator can at one glance see all the principal machinery by which it is worked. ”

“ TO REDRUTH, AND THE MINING DISTRICTS IN ITS VICINITY.
In the present excursion, the traveller in search of the Picturesque will meet with but meagre fare; for many a mile has the face of nature been robbed of all ornament, and the interior of the earth has been scattered over its surface in the anxious pursuit of mineral treasures. The unsightly mounds of rubbish thus produced have been accumulating for centuries, and are so highly impregnated with mineral matter that not a blade of grass will vegetate upon them. ”

“ The scenery too is here of the most magnificent description; rocks overhang rocks in ruinous grandeur, and appear so fearfully equipoised, that, although secure in their immensity, they create in the mind the most awful apprehension of their instability, whilst the mighty roar of the ocean beneath, unites in effect with the scenery above.—All around is sublime.——But the Geology, enough of the picturesque.
The body of the rock is composed of Slate and Granite ”

“ After passing through a shady avenue, from which we catch a delicious peep of the sea bounded by a grotesque group of rocks, we take leave of the picturesque, and plunge into a country of a very different aspect and description,—rough, wild, and unsheltered; never was contrast more complete or striking, not a tree is seen to break the extended uniformity of the hills, nor is there a single object, with the exception of a few scattered monuments of antiquity, to recommend it to notice. ”

“ As the coast advances, and at the same time spreads itself southward, it unites to its luxuriant richness a bolder character, and, rising like a vast amphitheatre, it opposes a barrier to western storms, while it presents its undulating bosom to the sun, and collecting his rays, pours them again with multiplied effect, upon every part of the surrounding country. ”

“ It is not for the inspection of these ruins that we direct the stranger to ascend the hill, for they are too insignificant to merit attention, but it is for the purpose of his viewing the extensive prospect which its summit commands,—a wild expanse of waters occupying twenty-nine points of the compass!—From this spot also Saint Michael's Mount has a singularly fine effect, appearing as if placed in the centre of a lake at a distance from the ocean. ”

“ Had the Cornish Society been earlier called into existence, we should never have heard of the most valuable productions of our country having been thrown into the sea, nor of their having been used as materials for the repair of roads, or the construction of cottages: on the contrary, how many thousand tons of ore might have been gained?—how [30] many years of unprofitable but expensive labour saved? and how many individual adventurers preserved from disappointment, or rescued from ruin? ”

“ Seldom do we find more than three or four men in one level, or gallery, at a time, where they are seen pursuing the common operations of digging or boring the rock, by the feeble glimmering of a small candle, stuck close by them, with very little noise or much latitude for bodily movement; besides whom there are generally one or two boys employed in wheeling the broken ore, &c. to the shaft. Each of these boys has also a candle affixed to his wheelbarrow, by the universal subterranean candlestick, a piece of clay. ”

“ From the peninsular situation of Cornwall, and its proximity to the Atlantic ocean, over which the wind blows, at least, three-fourths of the year, the weather is certainly very subject to rain, and it is found that when other parts of England suffer from drought, Cornwall has rarely any reason to complain; this peculiarity seems highly congenial to the inhabitants, as well as to the soil; a Cornishman never enjoys better health and spirits than in wet seasons, and there is a popular adage, that "the land will bear a shower every day, and two upon a sunday;" ”

“ Since the publication of the first Edition, Penzance, and the District of the Mount's Bay, have become objects of greatly increased interest; the successful establishment of the Geological Society,—the erection of commodious Sea Baths,—the growing confidence of the Public, and of [vi] the medical profession, in the superior mildness of the climate,—and the general amelioration of every thing connected with the wants and comforts of a winter residence, have powerfully operated in augmenting the influx of strangers and invalids, into this formerly obscure, and comparatively neglected district. ”

“ If we trace the north-west shore of the bay, from the Mount westward to Newlyn, the ebb tide leaves a large space uncovered; the sea sand is from one to two or three feet deep; and under this stratum of sand is found a black vegetable [17] mould, full of woodland detritus, such as the branches, leaves, and nuts of coppice wood, together with the roots and trunks of forest trees of large growth. All these are manifestly indigenous; and, from the freshness and preservation of some of the remains, the inundation of sand, as well as water, must have been sudden and simultaneous ”

“ By a circuitous route you may descend to the bottom of the cavern, into which the sea flows at high water. Here the Cornish Chough (Corvus Graculus) has built its nest for several years, a bird which is very common about the rocky parts of this coast, and may be distinguished by its red legs and bill, and the violaceous blackness of its feathers. This promontory forms the Western extremity of the Mount's Bay. The antiquary will discover in this spot the vestiges of one of the ancient "Cliff Castles," which were little else than stone walls, stretching across necks of land from cliff to cliff. ”

“ This product is carefully collected, and preserved in stacks by the inhabitants, for the purpose of fuel. It is worthy of remark that the nature of the fuel employed in a country always imparts a character to its cookery, hence the striking difference between that of Paris and London; so in Cornwall, the convenience afforded by the furze in the process of Baking, has given origin to the general use of pies. Every article of food is dressed in a pie, whence it has become a proverb, that "the Devil will not come into Cornwall, for fear of being put into a pie." ”

“ Why any promontory in an island should be exclusively denominated the Land's End, it is difficult to understand; yet so powerful is the charm of a name, that many persons have visited it on no other account; the intelligent tourist, however, will receive a much more substantial gratification from his visit ”

“ Amidst wild and rugged hills the road winds to Saint Ives, in the course of which, the geologist will have many opportunities of furnishing his portfolio with sketches, in illustration of the changes which time and weather produce on Granite; huge blocks of this stone lie scattered on all sides, while stupendous masses are seen on the hills above in different stages of decomposition, and which from their threatening attitude, would appear as if in preparation to join their former companions in the plains below. ”

“ In an excursion to the Land's End the traveller will meet with several intermediate objects well worthy his attention, more worthy, perhaps, than the celebrated promontory itself, as being monuments of the highest antiquity in the kingdom. They consist of Druidical circles, Cairns, or circular heaps of stones, Cromlechs, Crosses, Military Entrenchments, and the obscure remains of Castles. Many of these venerable objects, however, to the eternal disgrace of the inhabitants [75] be it spoken, have of late been much mutilated, and indeed some have been entirely demolished. ”

“ From the earliest periods of history, the Cornish have been famous for their enthusiastic fondness of the athletic exercises of hurling, racing, wrestling, and rowing, and for the pious fervour of the hymns which the Druids instructed them to sing round the Cromlechs of the departed brave. ”

“ I have also in my possession a series of incrustations which were taken out of steam boilers in Cornwall, one of which presents an admirable instance of the formation of sulphate of lime, its surface being beautifully studded with its crystals; the water which supplied the boiler, and by the evaporation of which this substance was deposited, was derived from a mine in clay-slate intersected with veins of Pyrites and carbonate of lime. ”

“ The workings of this mine extend at least seventy fathoms in length under the bed of the sea; and in these caverns of darkness are many human beings, for a small pittance, and even that of a precarious amount, constantly digging for ore, regardless of the horrors which surround them, and of the roar of the Atlantic ocean, whose boisterous waves are incessantly rolling over their heads. We should feel pity for the wretch who, [134] as an atonement for his crimes, should be compelled to undergo the task which the Cornish miner voluntarily undertakes, and as cheerfully performs ”

“ The Climate of Mount's Bay is the circumstance which has principally contributed to its celebrity, and is that which renders its shores so beneficial to invalids. Its seasons have been aptly compared to the neap tides, which neither ebb nor flow with energy; for, notwithstanding its southern latitude, the summer is never sultry, while the rigour of winter is so ameliorated, that thick ice [1] is rarely seen ”