Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1885-08-01
ABOUT "RocklNe sToNEs.u
The Famous Ones of England and Ireland
supposed Religious Use.
TChicaPo Times

PNPPS"NN NNSAaSAONo D'N'
[Chicago Times
The good people of Blackstone, Mon
mouthshire, England, are mourning the
loss of their rocking stone, which has
for centuries been the chief attraction
of the village. Indeed, the town is
supposed to have derived its name from
the stone. In the old vernacular of the
country, rocking and bucking were
synonymous. This rocking stone was a
natural block of rock, so formed and so
poised on a pivot as to oscillate forward
and backward without losing its equi-
librium Ever since the town was set
tied, this stone has been the delight of
the villagers. AS thousands of strangers
have visited the place every year on
purpose to see this famous stone and to
move it on its pivot, it brought no
small gains" to the stage-drivers and
the owners of inns and ale houses. The
stone stood on the summit of a hill, and
was, like many similar natural curiosi-
ties, the property of the crown. 1t was
overturned and rolled into the wooded
valley below by the members Of variety
company who had been performing in
the town AS the stone weighs several
tons. and is in an unfavorable position,
it will probably never be restored to its
original position.
The famous rocking stone of the Mon
mouthshire village was not the only one
of the kind in the British islande,
though it was the one most widely
known. Similar stones exist in York
shire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Wales,
and Cornwall. They are quite numer-
Gus in Scotland. Not far from Lands
End is famous rocking stone, known
as the "Loggan." Some sixty years ago.
certain Lieut.. Goldsmith, of the royal
navy, overturned the stone. with q
view, he said, to a scientific investiga-
ton. AS the admiralty caused him to
restore it to its former position at his
own expense, and as the stone was
found to weigh ninety tons, he re-
pented at leisure and at great expense
for his folly and zeal in making scien-
tifc investigations.
Ireland has several rocking stones
which have been carefully guarded by
the inhabitants. The one at Islandmagee,
near Browns bay, is the most famous.
1t not only rocks when the hand is
pressed on 1t, or when the wind strikes
ID, but it trembles and mods, or local
traditions are not to be trusted, when
ever an unjust landlord, an informer,
a process-server, or a malefacter APP
pr0aches near it. 1t is almost needless
to state that it is held in high estima.
ton by the people. Rocking stones are
quite common in Greece, and until re-
Gently it was supposed they were shaped
and poised by ancient artisans for somt
unknown purpose. Some of them con
tain inscriptions, which serve tC
strengthen the impression that the
stones themselves were fashioned by
artificial means.
The belief was general in Great Brit
ain, till biologists apparently disproveC
the theory that these rocking stones
were fashioned by the Druids, and thai
they made use of them in practicine
their savage rites which they performed
in the name of religion. That they useC
them in their devotional exercises an(
that they employed them to terrify tn,
people seem likely, but there is no gooC
reason for believing that they SHAPED
and poised them in the places wher,
they are found. That they might hav,
been used by the people who preceded
the Celts for purposes of divination i
] probable. In one of the poems of Os
sian men are represented as marching
. round one of these stones, singing
hymns to the gods and counting tn
) number of vibrations as an augury o
the issue of an approaching battle
These stones were held in superstition
veneration long after the introduction
of Christianity and it was found neces
sary to threaten excommunicatiol
against persons who persisted in payin
homage to rocking stones.
g Biologists have theory of their ow
{ about the origin of rocking stones. The
& state that they are masses of rock whic
owe their peculiar shape to the slow dc
9 cay of the softer portions of them. Tn
o decayed portions have washed away
!. leaving those not likely to become de
:. composed by the action of the atmo'
}. phere. The point that becomes a pivc
r is generally composed of very hard ms
e terial, and, being protected by tn
II portions that project over it, retains il
u hardness. Our Indians had rockin
Il stones which they regarded with revel
ence, and which they consulted as orr
l. Giles. One of them is at Devils LAX,
a Wisconsin, and constitutes one of ii
d chief attractions of the place. He
;. goologists not destroyed all sentimer
II concerning rocking stones, they woul
u he regarded with more interest tina
e they are at present.