and Eve in Paradise," and their " Expulsion thence; the "Ark upon the waters,"" The whale swallowing Jonas,"" Abraham preparing to sacrifice Isaac," the "Baptism of the Saviour by John," and "Christ raising Lazarus from the tomb," and upon the sill, covered with a bit of green cloth, reposed the family bible, with a long list of the "Grubbs' family," their births, deaths, &c. Three massive silver clasps which ornamented the venerable book, black with age, but never cleaned "for fear of wearing them out," were considered of great value, from the tradition that they were made from the cover of a chalice, plundered from the cathedral of St. Juan de Ulloa, by Sir Francis Drake, in the year 1567!! By the same bible, the Grubbs, Drake, and Raleigh families, had intermarried; and a list of Drakes as long as a pike-staff occupied the second, third, and fourth leaves, (which appeared to have been originally intended for family records; but one seldom meets with more than one or two blank leaves in modern bibles) many of whose names were nearly obliterated by the "Ducks and Drakes' of some genuine young or old asses with ink or tobacco juice. These records, however, made it appear that Drake was only twenty two years old when he sacked "St. Juan de Ulloa," what a record in a bible!

66

The kitchen dresser must not be forgotten; nor the clean and dirty runners (as round towels were then called) behind the door,-where the farmer's boys were wont to wipe their noses in cold weather, and their fingers in warm.

The dresser stood against the north wall, for, it is presumed, the benefit of the light from the windows, to display its harlequin variety of pewter platters, real china, or cheney,' and brass wares in abundance,—the top shelves contained the larger dishes, and the under onesplates and trenchers in succession of sizes. Upon the table part upon a coarse but clean cloth, stood three inveuted china punch bowls, that had once had belonged to the two worthiest of Danmonian worthies' ( Sir Walter Raleigh, and Sir Francis Drake, which invaluable relics had seen the service, the very active service of upwards of two centuries, and shewed abundant cracks; so

numerous indeed, that independently of the white lead employed in fitting and keeping the pieces together, the two smaller bowls were— oh, what a falling off from their former glory!-rimm'd with plebeian tin! The drawers of the dresser' contained the table linen and toweling' of the family in daily use-scraps of old newspapers and a clothes brush or two-and the space below the drawers was filled with all the brass pans and 'skillets' of the family arranged in apple pie order '---which said household utensils, were laid up in ordinary, and kept brightly scoured by way of ornament; the handles displaying at full length, in cast half inch letters, the names of all their original possessors, ancestors long consigned, to the tomb of all the Grubses.'

CHAPTER VII.

THE KITCHEN FIRESIDE AT THE MANOR HOUSE. DEAF KIRCH'S EVENING DRESS.-STORY OF RICHARD CŒUR DE LION-AND SONG.

One evening, when all the manor house inmates were assembled as usual, around the enormous fireside (for such a thing as a kitchen range was unknown there,) blazing with green faggots and dry crackling furze-the sheep dogs and Neptune, occupying by general consent the front of the fire, and Jack lying at full length with his head upon Neptunes shaggy sides;-a terriffic dispute arose between deaf Kirch and Mrs. Honor, about seats, the one insisting that the seat next the oven was the sole privilege of nurses,' and that it mattered not that she was the only nurse there and that the seat would hold four.' 'If four nurses came, well and good,—or three, or two, or one only, the place was their's, or Her's, and too good for market carriers !-the other, that she was as good' although 'misfortunate' at being 'deef' as any nurse among 'em;' Jack at once determined to avenge the insult offered to his misfortunate favorite, by gently blowing up Mrs. Honor, but not according to modern phraseology, it could not, as he thought to himself, do her any

very great harm. That he sided with Kirch, he shewed by rising from his place near Neptune, and seating himself at her feet, spite of the furse spines that were abundantly sprinkled about the hearth; he laid his head upon the old woman's lap, and asked for a story, or a Cornish song.

The good old soul, too happy in the power to please the mischievous but general favourite of the family, began in her usual strain of inquiry as to "what it should be." Her budget of stories, too often heard perhaps, to amuse the general reader, would therefore afford neither novelty nor information; but as the usual preface to them may-' here goes.' The reader has not yet been properly introduced to Deaf Kirch' in her evening dress: behold her then, as she actually was fifty years' since, or, as the Cornubians express it, agone. As soon as the drudgery of the day was over-a drudgery of two days out of the seven-and 'Neddy' unhaltered and sent to browse upon the sides of the neighbouring hills, Kirch would wash and dress herself, change her gown, put on a clean kerchief, mob cap and white apron, and even half-mittens upon her arms, which in those days had no covering below the elbow except nature's own Bishop's sleeves' were as little known as rail-roads or steamers. Seated by the family patriarch, Gaffer Moyle, the old soul would thus begin the story of—-Richard Cœur de Lion, and his Dog.

"Once upon a time there was a king of England, who went to the Holy Wars---to Palestine, the Holy Land, where our Saviour (here she rose and curtsied, for that was her custom) was, God bless him, born. The king was called Richard the First, and had a brother called John, a very bad man, and I'm sorry Master Jack be called after him, for he killed one Prince Arthur, who was before him in the line to the crown---so 'twas said---it may be true, or it may not, 'twas afore my time. Well, as I was a-telling on ye, Richard (that is, King Richard---I forgot myself) had a cur dog, so like a lion, that all the souldiers would have it to be a real lion; and as King Richard took't him from the Saracen king, called 'Salad' or 'Saladin,' (matters not which at this time o'day) in battle, where they fought hand to hand, whiles a body might walk a mile, all

covered with blood, and muck's a'droud,* and sweat, till their swords was broken into shivers. The Saracen king fell---King Richard wouldn't kill a fallen foe---true Cornish blude !---but he seized the Saracen's dog, and took 'en with him to the English camp; and all the knights and templars, and souldiers, and pilgrims, with scallop shells in their hats, and cross sticks in their hands, cried, as if with one voice, God save King Richard, Cur de Lion. What became of the cur dog afterwards, nobody could tell; 'twas said he was witched away; and for ever arter that, King Richard was nicknamed Cur de Lion!! And now, good folks, if you like, I'll give the true history of the bold outlaw, in King Richard's time, called Robin Hood," which recital, however, the reader may be spared, as it extended to twenty-eight verses of four lines each, detailing all the various adventures of Robin Hood, which the old woman had by heart in poetry, and at her fingers end.

It was lucky for Kirch that her twenty-eight mile song, as Mrs. Honor dubbed it, had terminated; the old ill-tempered thing, as the dairy maids called her---could not bear a good thing herself, and did not like others to hear it.

'Come, master Jack,' said nurse, we have had quite enough of Mrs. Kirch's music, and it is time to music it to bed.'

'To the tune,' added he, ' of Go to bed old one, I suppose; and whilst Mrs. Honor was picking up her snuff-box, spectacles, and pocket handkerchief, and looking closely at the seat of the settle, to make sure that nothing remained behind, the highly-pleased occupants of the semi-circle in front of the fire, were vociferous in thanking good old Kirch. Jack clapped his hands with all his might, and Neptune and the very sheep-dogs looked up as if in admiration of the kind old creature's song in the true Cornish twang, and wagged their tails in its approbation.

"Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast,

To soften rocks, and bend the knotted oak!

I've often heard, that things immoveable, have mov'd."

Provincial for dust.

very great harm. That he sided with Kirch, he shewed by rising from his place near Neptune, and seating himself at her feet, spite of the furse spines that were abundantly sprinkled about the hearth; he laid his head upon the old woman's lap, and asked for a story, or a Cornish song.

The good old soul, too happy in the power to please the mischievous but general favourite of the family, began in her usual strain of inquiry as to "what it should be." Her budget of stories, too often heard perhaps, to amuse the general reader, would therefore afford neither novelty nor information; but as the usual preface to them may-'here goes.' The reader has not yet been properly introduced to Deaf Kirch' in her evening dress: behold her then, as she actually was fifty years' since, or, as the Cornubians express it, agone. As soon as the drudgery of the day was over-a drudgery of two days out of the seven-and 'Neddy' unhaltered and sent to browse upon the sides of the neighbouring hills, Kirch would wash and dress herself, change her gown, put on a clean kerchief, mob cap and white apron, and even half-mittens upon her arms, which in those days had no covering below the elbow except nature's own Bishop's sleeves' were as little known as rail-roads or steamers. Seated by the family patriarch, Gaffer Moyle, the old soul would thus begin the story of—Richard Cœur de Lion, and his Dog.

6

"Once upon a time there was a king of England, who went to the Holy Wars---to Palestine, the Holy Land, where our Saviour (here she rose and curtsied, for that was her custom) was, God bless him, born. The king was called Richard the First, and had a brother called John, a very bad man, and I'm sorry Master Jack be called after him, for he killed one Prince Arthur, who was before him in the line to the crown---so 'twas said---it may be true, or it may not, 'twas afore my time. Well, as I was a-telling on ye, Richard (that is, King Richard---I forgot myself) had a cur dog, so like a lion, that all the souldiers would have it to be a real lion; and as King Richard took't him from the Saracen king, called 'Salad' or 'Saladin,' (matters not which at this time o'day) in battle, where they fought hand to hand, whiles a body might walk a mile, all