Breage

“ When Churches were built at Breage and Germoe, our local tithe instead of going to the support of the clergy of the diocese generally, would pass to the special use of the clergy of Breage and Germoe; the right of appointing such clergy passing also by custom, it seems more than probable, to the builders of the Churches and their heirs.
When we deal with the fast fading superstitions of the [Pg 151] district, it is interesting to note the extreme frequency in local folklore of superstitions exactly parallel to the Northern superstition of the Bargheist. ”

“ It would be unjust not to make mention in concluding this chapter of Joseph Boaden, who lived his whole life as a small cultivator in the parish of Breage, and who was laid to rest in Breage Churchyard in December, 1858. Self-taught, through his life he pursued the study of higher mathematics and astronomy, and was regarded as a valued correspondent by Professors Airy and Adams, of Cambridge. Under modern conditions education has become more diffused, but we look [Pg 147] in vain for men of the type of those whom we have been considering. ”

“ Before the lighthouse on the Wolf Rock was built (1871) this rocky coast was the scene of many a wreck. In 1873 the Vicar of Mullion wrote: "In six years and a quarter there have been nine wrecks, with a loss of sixty-nine lives, under Mullion Cliffs, on a bit of coast line not more than a mile and a half in length." It must be confessed that the inhabitants of Germoe and Breage had an unenviable reputation as wreckers:
"God keep us from rocks and shelving sands
And save us from Breage and Germoe men's hands." ”

“ It has been said that the history of England is written in the names of her fields and enclosures. Certain it is that in almost every parish, if the names of the fields be gone over, some name of exceeding interest or curiousness will be discovered, embalming some long-forgotten fact or tradition. There are in the parish of Breage two fields called "The Sentry"; this name is of course obviously a corruption of the word "sanctuary." These two sanctuary fields are at opposite ends of the parish; one forms the site of the main shaft of Wheal Vor Mine, and the other is in the Kenneggie district. ”

“ The stirrings were already in the souls of the people; all that was needed was some passing cause to set these forces in motion. If proof were needed it is only necessary to realise how incapable John Wesley found himself of guiding the movement into the rigid mould that he had designed for it. The reaper can only gather in the harvest when it is ready to his sickle: he cannot create the harvest.
I give John Wesley's experience at Breage in his own words from his diary ”

“ Well on into the first half of the last century, fighting seems to have been one of the chief topics of interest, if not the chief amusement of the neighbourhood, and fights for wagers were of constant occurrence in Breage parish, on Trew Green and elsewhere. To conclude this brief summary of past conditions, one cannot help feeling that there was something to be said for the old Roman view as to the results of the occupation of mining on human character. ”

“ Breage was dedicated to a saint named Breaca, sister of St. Enny, who lived in the sixth century and came from Ireland. There was a holed sandstone cross in the churchyard, which tradition asserted was made out of granite sand and then hardened with human blood! The tower was said to contain the largest bell in Cornwall, it having been made in the time of a vicar who, not liking the peals, had all the other bells melted down to make one large one. The men of St. ”

“ This legend goes on the usual supposition that the saint was really the Irish Levan, brother of St. Breage. Unhappily the children ate so eagerly that they were choked by the fishbones, in memory of which bream (or sometimes chad) used to be called "choke-cheeld." Mr. ”

“ In pre-Reformation times the Feasts and Festivals of the Church in Cornwall were bound up with the social life of the people, and its ritual, paradoxical though it may seem in the present age, satisfied the deep emotional cravings of the Cornish character, whilst its teaching was in unison with the needs of their hearts. As an instance of the deep hold of the Church upon the pre-Reformation life of the people, we have in Breage the curious anomaly that the chief fête day of our Nonconformists is St. ”

“ The two fortified camps previously referred to are contiguous to the spot, and the surrounding [Pg 24] fields on the slopes of Tregoning hill, bear abundant evidences of having been the site of a considerable settlement in Celtic times; huge stones that once no doubt did duty in stone avenues and circles have been piled by farmers of a latter age into boundary walls of cyclopean character, whilst the curious may still find ancient querns and stones fashioned to the rude uses of a forgotten age.
In ancient deeds the Church of Breage bears the name of Eglos Pembroc i.e. ”

“ Helston Old Church, Commissioner Body Murdered in, 60. Hingston Down, 27, 39. Hobbs, The Philosopher, 107, 108. Horses, Cornish, in 17th Century, 74. Human Remains: A Forgotten Tragedy, 53, 89, 90. Hurling, Game of, 75. Huthnance, Henry, Vicar of Breage, 82. I. Ictis, Island of, 14. Innes, James, Intruding Puritan Minister at Breage, 72, 82. Interdict, The, 40. Ireton, General, 107. Irish Saints, The, 17, 19, 22. Isabella de Clare, 41. Ivernians, The, 9, 17. [Pg 159] J. Jago, Robert, Vicar of Wendron, 151. Jago, Family of, 117. Jakes, Master John, Vicar of Breage, 59. Jews in Cornwall, 42. ”

“ Where was that escaped picket? And where was Braggs' army? Instantly we formed in line of battle and commenced digging holes for ourselves. We worked like beavers, turn about; no spade was idle for one moment. Daylight found us there, two thousand strong, with rifle pits a mile in length. Other brigades got over the river, pontoons soon were down; still other troops, whole divisions, were across, and forty cannon were massed close to the crossing to protect us. What a sight was that for General Bragg, when he woke up that morning at his headquarters' perch, on top of Missionary Ridge! ”

“ Breaca joined or headed a band of Irish missionary settlers. Accompanied by her foster-son, King Germoe, SS. Fingar and Piala, Ia, Burian, Crewenna, and several others, she crossed over from Ireland to Cornwall, where they landed in the Hayle estuary on the north coast. They were well received by King Theodore. Breaca built several churches. Cornish legend says she was a midwife, and the sister of St. Levin. He was a hermit at Bodellen, in Cornwall. He need to catch one fish every day for his own food. ”

“ A FIGHT FOR THE BREECHES.
Sung by Mr. Potts, Theatrical Pavilion, Glasgow.
I’ve often heard Will’s wife declare,
That she the breeches, Sirs, would wear;
And though her husband would resist,
For them she'd fight with nails and fist,
⁠To gain, to gain the breeches.
One day as they were at it driving,
(Who would he master they were striving)
A single rap came to the door,
And for a while they did give o’er
⁠Fighting, fighting, fighting for the breeches.
Will ope’d the door, the business asked;
When he who knocked poor Will thus tasked,
“The master of this house I want!” ”

“ Behind this great barrier Bragg felt, for a time at least, safe, and he utilized each hour in adding to his troops, men being forced into the Southern army wherever and whenever they could be found. The soldiers were poorly clothed and scantily fed, and some of the cavalry were mounted on mules. ”

“ Brage is celebrated for his wisdom, but more especially for his eloquence and correct forms of speech. He is not only eminently skilled in poetry, but the art itself is from his name called Brage, which epithet is also used to denote a distinguished poet or poetess. Runes are risted on his tongue. He wears a long flowing beard, and persons with heavy beard are called after him, beard-brage (skeggbragi) . His wife Idun (Iðunn) keeps in a box the apples which the gods, when they feel old age approaching, have only to taste of to become young again. ”

“ Brig-antes as a Roman name of Tribes in three Celtic countries, is a natural result of the frequent occurrence of Briga as the first part of the names of Celtic places.
The “Allo-bryg-es.” The name of this warlike tribe, the Celtic inhabitants of Savoy, has also been the source of perplexity, which may be removed in the same manner. This tribe had a town, called by the Romans “Brig-icum,” which was said to be “the only one they had.”55 Now Allo-Bryga may reasonably be identified with Alpo-Briga, the Town of the Alps (Briga being clearly the common base of “Allo-bryg-es,” and “Brig-icum.”) ”

“ When summer time comes round, Peace he never knows, He’s in the throat of all his fellows. When men of him do speak, As Gregor of the blows, ’Tis his delight to drive, Flocks and herds before him. Of that flock John’s [185] the head, [115] The king at lifting cattle, I myself will sing, Mouth with mouth at daybreak. When his sharp-armed men see, Mac Gregor at the Bealach, [186] His way so gently soft, No weight to them their burdens. Then when war arises, Proclaimed in enemies’ hearts, It is to him they’d gather, Clothed in martial dress. ’Tis of Mac Gregor’s fame, When fighting’s left behind. ”

“ This Briga is thought to be the same as St. Breaca, who settled in Cornwall, but it does not seem very likely that, when her brother had died at ninety-four, she could have been young enough to start on a missionary tour to another country. ”

“ Brieg carries on a considerable trade, its chief manufactures being linen, embroideries, cotton and woollen goods, ribbons, leather, machinery, hats, pasteboard and cigars. Important cattle-markets are held here. Brieg, or, as it is called in early documents, Civitas Altae Ripae, obtained municipal rights in 1250 from Duke Henry III. of Breslau, and was fortified in 1297; its name is derived from the Polish Brzeg (shore) . Burned by the Hussites in 1428, the town was soon afterwards rebuilt, and in 1595 it was again fortified by Joachim Frederick, duke of Brieg. ”

“ For awhile provisions came over the Cumberland plateau, but the hardships of the route soon exhausted the teams which could not follow the river, as that was patrolled by the enemy's pickets and were obliged to take circuitous roads over the hills and away from the river. The cattle that were driven that way were hardly able to stand alone, much less furnish sustenance. The soldiers with grim humor spoke of them as 'dried beef on the hoof.' Bragg, confident of his game, sat down and waited for the union army to be starved into surrendering, and his hopes did not seem unreasonable. ”

“ The road to Baréges is not particularly beautiful, and the town itself is hideous. Two rows of ill-built houses, forced into a narrow space between the river and the mountain, crammed full of the sick and the maimed, is what Baréges appears at first sight. Its mineral springs are the strongest in the Pyrenees, and famous for the cure of gun-shot wounds. There is a large hospital for soldiers, who saunter up and down the single street, in which scarcely a whole man is to be met with at once; and yet Baréges is the gayest place in the country; there are nothing but balls and parties every night. ”

“ It was next rumoured that the gentle Bragela, heart-broken and deserted, had, with her little babe and an old and faithful attendant, one-eyed Donald, taken up her abode in the lonely Castle Brochel. Here she reared her son, within whose infant mind the powers of good and evil seemed to struggle with unwonted energy. ”

“ Brooke, Henry, Irish dramatist and novelist, born in co. Cavan; author of the "Fool of Quality," a book commended by John Wesley and much lauded by Charles Kingsley, and the only one of his works that survives; wrote, among other things, a poem called "Universal Beauty," and a play called "Gustavus Vasa" (1703-1783) .
Brooke, Sir James, rajah of Sarawak, born at Benares, educated in England; entered the Indian army; was wounded in the Burmese war, returned in consequence to England; conceived the idea of suppressing piracy and establishing civilisation in the Indian Archipelago ”

“ He is the same kind of a man as General Bragg—no more heart than a tiger, I have seen a good deal of the inside of the rebel army, unt General Bragg is the coldest-blooded, cruelest man in it or in the whole world. ”

“ Descendants of the same men, carrying on what might have seemed a continuation of the same family quarrel, first one side and then another occupied Dry Fork as a fort; and when the rain was pouring as if to wash away the blood, Buell slept on a bench in this old house, and two days later Bragg's orders were issued from its pulpit.
Numerous horses were tied about and the mule colt was blowing his treble horn. Maidens in their finery and young fellows rigged out from the pack of the nomadic Hebrew walked about, glancing shyly at one another. ”

“ Thus the great battle of Stone's River, one of the bloodiest of the Civil War, came to be fought on the last day of the year 1862. Bragg, by a general wheel of his centre and left under Polk and Hardee, managed to work around our right, and to hurl upon this flank massive columns with such irresistible impetus that they swept before them, partly dispersed, and partly captured the first of our divisions encountered, and rolled back upon the centre the other two divisions. ”