A book of the west. Volume 1, Devon : $b being an introduction to Devon and CornwallBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
History
A book of the west. Volume 1, Devon : $b being an introduction to Devon and Cornwall
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Devon (England)
twelve days, and actually lodged within his stomach was found a mass
of lead weighing nearly eight ounces. How he had lived so long was a
marvel.
Twelve months were not suffered to pass before a third lighthouse
was commenced--that of Smeaton. This was of stone, dovetailed
together. It was commenced in June, 1757, and completed by October,
1759. This lighthouse might have lasted to the present, had it not
been that the rocky foundation began to yield under the incessant
beat of the waves.
This necessitated a fourth, from the designs of Mr. (now Sir J.)
Douglass, which was begun in 1879 and completed in 1882. The total
height is 148 feet.
The Breakwater was begun in 1812, but was not completed till 1841.
The neighbourhood of Plymouth abounds in objects of interest and
scenes of great beauty. The Hamoaze, the estuary of the Tamar and
Tavy combined, is a noble sheet of water. The name (_am-uisge_),
Round about the water, describes it as an almost landlocked tract of
glittering tide and effluent rivers, with woods and hills sloping
down to the surface. Mount Edgcumbe, with its sub-tropical shrubs
and trees, shows how warm the air is even in winter, in spots where
not exposed to the sea breeze.
Up the creek of the Lynher (_Lyn-hir_, the long creek) boats
pass to S. Germans, where is a noble church, on the site of a
pre-Saxon monastery founded by S. Germanus of Auxerre. The little
disfranchised borough contains many objects to engage the artist's
pencil, notably the eminently picturesque alms-houses.
The noble church has been very badly "restored." The Norman work is
fine.
Cawsand, with its bay, makes a pleasant excursion. This was at one
time a great nest for smugglers. An old woman named Borlase had a
cottage with a window looking towards Plymouth, and she kept her eye
on the water. When a preventive boat was visible she went down the
street giving information. There was another old woman, only lately
deceased, who went by the name of Granny Grylls. When a young woman
she was wont to walk to the beach and back carrying a baby that was
never heard to wail.
One day a customs officer said to her, "Well, Mrs. Grylls, that baby
of yours is very quiet."
"Quiet her may be," answered she, "but I reckon her's got a deal o'
sperit in her."
[Illustration: ALMS HOUSES, S. GERMANS]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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