The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1891-12-05
CORNISH FUNERALS.
Tho Manner in Which oldon Gus
toms are Preserved.
THE BURIAL OF THE LOYLIEST
Attended by Larger Crowds than that
OF tho HIGHEST LOrd---Thc Under
takers Importancc..-rhc Making Of
tho "Box".-.Tic Watch Over the
Dead.
l%coPYRiGnT lSOl.l

L
Special Correspondence Of Inc iRidliJtacr.
CRowAS, CoRSwALL, Nov. 2S.-1 al.
ways love to comcinto rough and hearty
Cornwall. Physically it has two inter
csting aspects, tho moorland, mincland
interior barrcnness; and the weird and
wondrons coastwisc scenic glory.
Tho moorlands stretch d~olcrously rs
ii in boundlcss loneliness. Tho tors or
hills arc bleak and bare. Tho whole
face OF nature seems torn aud SCARED
as II by tremendous elemental struggles.
Yet all these cayerns and chasms which
disiigure it were made by the hand OF
man. Its granite, shale and slate hide
copper, lin and iron. For more than
5000 years its surface has been cleft,
and lis depths gored and bored, until
its face is pitted rs il with extinct vol
canoes.
Towards st. Georges Channel at the
northwest and the English Channel ut
tho southeast, innumcrable valleys and
tiny burns slope towards aud cut
through the walls by the sea, every one
digcharging limpid streams, which 20
whirlin1, f0aming or singing TO the sea.
Along the sides OF these lovely combcs
arc tho quaint old homes, the rich
acres, the ample ricks oil grain and the
sleek herds oil the sturdy farmers OF
Cornwall. Tramp these coast roads but
u mile, you suddenly stumble upon
these lovely vales-the stream and the
farms half hidden by glorious foliage
dotting the sides lar up the combo us
eye can reach; here Il rumblihg old
mill; there u nesting church; below
you the quaint old village; beyond the
tiny haven skirted by the homes OF the
fishers, and spCckcd by queer fishers
crafts; further, the tide piowing up be-
tween massive haven walls, or 4 ~stretCl!
OF low-tide rocl; and drift, and at last
the bright blue sen.
So there are three kinds OF folk and
lie in Cornwall. Tho mines and min
cr8 largely occupy the barren interior.
Between these and the coast arc the
farms and farmers Of the tiny combcs
and Wales. And everybody on the
coast is Il fisherman. tishwIfc, or in some
way profits from the endless harvest
ing OF tho deep. Yet these Cornish
folk arc all onc. They are one in scnti-
ment and tradition; i'll everyday life
and custom; in ccaselcss labor and in
t~egrity i'll countless quaint and curious
suporstitions; in dislike and distrust OF
every English person and thing outside
OF Cornwall; and they are one in an
almost universal pioty. Thoysprc near
u all M%ethodists OF the first, firm sort.
They are all God-fearing, spools-believ-
ing, honest dealing folk, who believe
that liquor is as good for The body rs is
religion for the soul; s~criuiping neither;
INDUCING in neither 10 excess; and
withal savoring their rugged, everyday
lives with 4 mutual hclpiulncss that is
noble and 4 generous hospitality to the
right-mcarlng stranger Which knows no
bounds.
Having been much among these
simple and sturdy people, | have been
greatly impressed by the often mourn
iul and almost stern manner in which
their olden customs are preserved.
Change is unknown in Cornwall. 1t is
regarded in the nature OF dissertation.
The changclcsa pursuits OF the people
for thousands, not hundreds, OF years,
mining, farming and fishing, largely ac-
count for this. Besides, Cornwall has
few large towns. People live in miners
cottages, iarmhouscs and fishers huts,
which arc huddled, by the half dozen
to perhaps 4 score, in tiny hamlets. In
these, Cornish life may be seen to-day
precisely rs it has remained for hund-
reds OF years.