Tales and Legends of the English LakesArmistead, Wilson
General
Tales and Legends of the English Lakes
Armistead, Wilson
Folklore -- England -- Lake District; Legends -- England -- Lake District; Tales -- England -- Lake District
One or two of the horsemen continued to gallop down the side of the
beck, in the bootless hope of being able even yet to render them some
aid, but the most of them turned their horses' heads, and went off once
more at their utmost speed in pursuit of the murderous giant. He,
considering the chase at an end, had slackened his pace, and they were
not long in overtaking him. Great Will struck out manfully with his club
(time out of mind the giant's favourite weapon) as they rushed upon him,
but they speedily surrounded him, and, amid a storm of vengeful yells
and bitter execrations, the Giant of the Tarns was stretched upon the
sward, "with the blood running like a little brook" from a hundred
wounds; for he was so frightfully slashed and mangled by their swords,
that, as my informant naively averred, there was not so much whole skin
left upon his huge body as would have made a tobacco-pouch.
It will be apparent enough to the most obtuse intellect, that, after
such events as these, the localities where they occurred must, of
necessity, be haunted; and, as the ghosts of murderers, as well as of
murderees, if they be right orthodox apparitions, always appear to be
re-enacting the closing scene of their earthly career, it is scarcely
required of me to dilate farther upon the manner of their appearance. Of
course I do not expect, and certainly do not wish to be called upon to
prove the even-down truth of every particular of the story, with which I
have been doing my little best to amuse you; but the assured fact of the
Dub and the bridge being haunted, and that by sundry most pertinacious
spirits, I am ready to maintain against all comers.
KIRKBY LONSDALE BRIDGE.
A LEGEND.
Near to the bridge which crosses the Lune, not far from Kirkby Lonsdale,
the scenery is truly romantic. The river, which is here of considerable
width, winds through the bottom of the valley, and is overshadowed by
the trees that grow upon its banks. Its current is roughened by the
rocks which form its bed, some of which stand up in huge moss-grown
blocks in the midst of the stream. The water is clear to a great depth,
and the steep grassy banks, and abundance of trees which close in the
prospect, give it an air of seclusion. This stream is plentifully
stocked with trout and salmon, and here the angler may sit and watch the
gilded fly with a devotion worthy of a Davy or a Walton.
The singular construction of the bridge renders it an object of
curiosity; and when viewed in connection with the river and valley of
the Lune, it forms one of the most romantic prospects on which the eye
can dwell. It is composed of three beautifully ribbed arches, the
centre one rising to the height of thirty-six feet above the stream. It
is a lofty, firm and handsome structure, but so narrow as almost to
deserve the taunt cast upon the "auld brig of Ayr:"--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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