The Parochial History of Cornwall, Volume 2 (of 4)
History
The Parochial History of Cornwall, Volume 2 (of 4)
Cornwall (England : County) -- History; Geology -- England -- Cornwall (County)
After the death of Humphrey Arundell, Governor of St. Michael’s Mount,
executed for treason as aforesaid, King Edward VI. sold or gave the
government and revenues thereof to Job Militon, Esq. aforesaid, then
Sheriff of Cornwall, during his life; but his son dying without issue
male, the government, by what title I know not, devolved upon the
Bassets of Tihidy, from some of whom, as I am informed, it came by
purchase to Sir John St. Aubyn, Bart. now in possession thereof.
In the month of July, 1676, at St. Michael’s Mount, about four of the
clock in the afternoon, came from the British ocean, or sea, a ball of
fire, seen by the inhabitants and fishermen at sea, which struck
against the south moorstone wall of this Mount’s church or chapel;
where, meeting resistance from the wall, it glanced through the stones
thereof with some rebounds, making a path, or strake, through the
same, in some places about four inches broad and two inches deep, from
one end of the long side wall almost to the other; and from thence, by
another rebound, it struck the strong oak durns of the dwelling-house
entry, and broke the same in two or three pieces, and so flew into the
hall, where it fell to the ground, having spent its force and strength
as aforesaid, and then brake asunder in pieces, by the side of Mrs.
Catherine St. Aubyn, without doing her any manner of hurt, leaving a
sulphurous smoke behind it in the room; which ball of fire then
appeared to consist of a black-blue metally matter, congealed or
melted by fire like as coal and cinders may be, as Sir John St. Aubyn,
the elder, and other spectators told me.
TONKIN.
Mr. Tonkin has not any thing in addition to Mr. Hals, except an
uninteresting dissertation to prove that St. Michael’s Mount is not
the Ocrinum of Ptolemy.
WHITAKER.
Mr. Whitaker has given several notes and comments on the narrative of
Mr. Hals, which will here be placed, together with references to the
passages to which they relate.
P. 170. (_a_) The name is Mara-zion, or zien, on the sea, I believe,
and Market-Jew is merely a similar appellation in English. A Jew, in
Cornish language, is Ethow, and Edheuon, Ethchan, are Jews.
P. 170. (_b_) This corrects Mr. Willis, in ii. 3, who there says of
the Market-Jew, and other towns expressly, “none of them ever sent
Members to Parliament, or were ever summoned so to do.” Yet it
coincides exactly with what Dr. Brady remarks in his very valuable
treatise on Boroughs, p. 57, 59, and adds one more to his few returns,
and instances of very many more which might have been produced “if
needful,” p. 59.
P. 172. (_c_) Sel, sil, or sul is merely a view, or prospect, from the
Welsh sylly, to look or behold, and the Armorick sell, a look or
sight; and din-sil, or din-sul, means only the hill of prospect.
(_d_) The real name of St. Michael’s Mount in Cornish is this, Carreg
luz en kuz, a hoary rock in a wood. Borlase’s Scilly Isles, p. 94.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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