The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-10-23

his "droll' or tale of giant, hobgoblin and
fairy with ggressive-defensive tenacity;
and a few of these are interesting by the
way ofillustration. Bellerian was formerly
the name of Lands End, as also the name
of a mighty giant who made it his home.
Cormoran built st. Michaeps mount,
but was slain by the redoubtable
Jack, the giant-killer. Holiburn of the
Cairn defended ordinary mortals against
other giants than himself. The Giant of
Nancedey principally suhsisted upon lit
tie children. The giant Trebiggan fright
ened bad children into virtuous lives, and
dined off the incorrigible ones, which he
usually fried on a fiat rock by his cave
door. The giant Blunderbus, killed by
little Tom Hickathrift with a cart-axle,
was the embodiment OF surly laziness and
cruel greed. The giant Wrath, terror of
the coast, walked out TO sea a dozen miles
or so, and, fastening the fishermen's boat
to his girdle. strolled leisurely back to his
cave to serve his prisoners up for food at
will. Gogmagog lost the kingdom of Corn
wall TO a Trojan giant, Corineus, in
wrestling match. Thunderbone walked
the land everywhere inspiring terror by
his awful ugliness. While the
mighty Bolster, whom Cruikshank
endeavored to depict, was so
huge that he could stride from st.
Agnes Beacon to the top of earn Brae,
distance of six miles. This was the amor
GUS giant who while nearly killing his
wife from overwork, was making love to
good st. Agnes, who, to rid herself OF his
opportunities, persuaded Bolster, as a test
of affection, to bleed himself to death in
an attempt at Chapel Perth TO fill hole,
which had a secret outlet 10 the sea, with
blood let from vein in his massive arm.
To all Cornish folk these monsters still
live in fireside tales, and the numberless
monuments 10 pagan past scattered over
the rocky tors and wild moors, such as the
cromlechs, monoliths and other rude stone
monuments, are the household goods and
pastime implements of this vanished but
not vanquished race.
The legends of Cornwall are so strange,
varied and many that an attempt to give
the reader of a newspaper article the
faintest idea OF their general character
cannot be made. But Cornish fairies may
safely be surmised as the small people,"
the brownies, the ''spriggans, the 'buc-
cas-" or knockers" and the pixies"
''piskies," or ''pigsies," as the latter are
variously termed. The first are the souls
OF the Cornish-folk of thousands of years
ago. condemned to haunt the earth until
ill they are one by one transformed into
ants when they will disappear. They are
not unfriendly, are shy and demure and
have been known to perform many kindly
offices. The brownies" are dear, de-
lightful household elves. happy in all
good, and sorrowing over all evil.
The schoolmaster is said to be in
imical to these gentle Cornish spirites and
they are fast disappearing. The ''sprig-
gan" is held to be the fairy representa-
tive of the olden giant. He is rude and
sometimes vicious. He haunts the old
stone monuments and if Cornish peasants
are to be believed it is dangerous ground
about these haunts when the 'spriggans"
return for their periodic debauches, when
tons of rock are still bowled through the
air, over the beetling crags and across the
dreary moors. The "pixy" is joker and
mischief-maker of the worst sort. He de-
lights in all sorts of mad pranks, but to
his credit, be it said, like that little green
joker OF Irish fairy mythology, the lepre-
chaun, his mischief is chiefly expended
upon mortals noted for their neighbor-
hood WEAKNESSES, avarice and greed. The
knockers" have their haunts exclusively
in the mines. Various theories are adj
vanced rs TO their origin. They are souls
of "Finicans" (Phenicians) or Jewish
slaves, or Cornish miners killed in the
mines, with invisible picks and mallets
still sounding or knocking" for the best
pitches" or lodes. But woe to the miner
who ofends them.
So along down this line of Cornish
wrath, mystery and portent come bound
less troops OF superstitions. Volumes
might be filled with them. Here are
few Nobody will cross Two-Stiles, lane
in Cr0wan parish, at night for fear Of meet
ing the devil. A child passed through"
the body of live ash sapling split near
the trunk and held open for that purpose,
will recover from disease. Bullock calves
are still burned in remote Cornish farming
districts to drive evil spirits from the herds.
If you will walk around the old abandoned
sepulcher in Crowan church-yard nine
times, exactly at midnight, you may meet
and make any sort of terms desired with
the evil one. There are a score of holy
wells still remaining in Cornwall whose
waters possess almost miraculous power
st. Cuthbert's we'll is sought for the cure
OF ''rickets" in children who are bathed in
it the first three Wednesdays in MAY. No
child ever christened in Redruth we'll has
been hanged But the we'll OF st. Keyne
is secretly sought by many of the Cornish
folk for its extraordinary power of giving
70 either husband or wife, who first drinks