[18] Should this compendium of topical applications seem at all overcharged, I would state that it consists of well known popular remedies, mostly of _some_ use, and falls far short, whether in variety, extravagance, or repulsiveness of the multifarious nostra recommended by amateurs of the healing art in Cumberland and the adjacent counties. The “poultice of o’ maks” is not, as its name seems to imply, a compound, but a simple substance, which it is unnecessary to indicate more distinctly than to mention that it was generally turned to when pleasanter applications had failed. I have frequently heard old people extol its virtues as a promoter of suppuration, but I trust its use may now be classed with the “many precious rites and customs of our rural forefathers,” which, as Wordsworth has said, “are gone or stealing from us.“ [19] This alludes to the popular belief, not altogether unfounded, that readiness in healing is connected with an easy disposition. [20] A delusion common enough after amputation. [21] The stone stood—I believe stands—behind the hedge which on the western side fences the lane called Scaw-lonning, near High Harrington. When I last saw it—many years ago—the subjoined inscription was quite distinct upon it—plainer, indeed, than any of similar date in the churchyard:— ”JOSEPH THOMPSON may here be found Who would not lie in consecrated ground Died May 13th 1745 Aged 63 when he was alive” With the traditional account of the circumstances that caused this fancy of Joseph Thompson’s, the details given in the rhyme coincide as closely as my recollection of a tale heard in boyhood enables me to make them. Since the first appearance of this, however, another version of the matter has been reported to me by old friends near the spot—but inasmuch as it does not account so perfectly as the old story for Joseph’s objection to ALL consecrated ground, I feel bound to abide by my first choice. The, to me, new story tells that Joseph Thompson annoyed the clerk in the church so seriously by repeating the responses in a voice that quite drowned his, that at length the said functionary exclaimed during service—“Is thoo t’ clark, or is I t’ clark? If thoo’s t’ clark, cūm up hèar, an’ I’ll cūm doon thèar!“—and, on Joseph’s paying no attention to his appeal, supplemented it by assaulting him. The clergyman taking his clerk’s side in the quarrel, Joseph Thompson declared he would never come near the church again, dead or alive, and kept his word.