Part 1 (1/2)
The Story of the Toys.
by Mary Harris Toy Dodge.
FOREWORD
This story of my mother's family was set down by her originally only to recall it to my mind when I might no longer listen to it as it fell so often from her own lips. It was written in the intervals of her ill-health, without copying or revision, and was not intended for publication. For this reason, she has dwelt more at length upon the history of her own family life than upon that of her sisters, and has purposely omitted all but a slight reference to the grandchildren and the events of later years, her intention being to record only what was outside my memory, leaving the rest to some other pen. The story, however, has proved to be of so much interest to the other members of the family that she was expecting to review it with me as soon as possible, in order to prepare it to be printed for them. Her sudden illness and death cut short her plans; but I have carried them out as closely as I could, and the little book is printed very nearly as she wrote it. Any errors or inaccuracies are mine and not hers.
It has seemed to me that there could be no more fitting memorial of my mother among ourselves, than this story. Its style is appropriate to the subject and characteristic of herself--forceful, yet full of tender sentiment, ready wit and apt quotation of Scripture; while through it all, quite unconsciously to herself, there s.h.i.+ne her cheery hopefulness, her rare unselfishness, and her beautiful faith in G.o.d. Since my father's death her health had been very much better, and she was looking forward to years of comfort; but, in December, 1908, she was suddenly seized with a serious heart trouble, and after a distressing illness of about three months, which she bore with her own brave patience, on the morning of February 27, 1909, she went to join her beloved.
For those of us who have known her wonderful personality, no memorial is needed to increase our love and admiration of her; but to the younger members of the family, whose memory of her may be slight, I hope that this little book may give a glimpse of the beauty of her life, as well as of the n.o.ble souls whom she so worthily represented and whose blood we are proud to share.
”They climbed the steep ascent of Heaven Through peril, toil and pain; O G.o.d, to us may grace be given To follow in their train.”
S. W. D.
THE STORY OF THE TOYS
I wish to preface this memorial by a little sketch of Cornwall, especially those parts of it most nearly connected with our family history. I have gathered the materials for it from a little book on Cornwall, by Mr. Tregellas.
The long coast-line of Cornwall, the most southern and western county of England, has been, like Italy, compared in shape to a Wellington boot, the iron heel of which is the ma.s.s of serpentine rock which forms the southern point of the Lizard, and the foot that part which lies between Mounts Bay and Land's End. The instep is at St. Ives Bay, and the body of the boot const.i.tutes the main portion of the county, the highest part toward the eastern end forming the Bodmin moors. Along the northern coast, the mural cliffs, against which the Atlantic rollers forever break, are in marked contrast to the tamer and more sylvan scenery of the south and west sh.o.r.es; while across the low-lying lands between St.
Ives and Mounts Bay the sea often threaten to meet in the spring tides.
The climate of Cornwall, owing to its situation, is so remarkable as to deserve notice. The month of January at Penzance is as warm as at Florence or Madrid, and July is as cool as at St. Petersburg. There is scarcely a country in the world with a climate so mild and equable.
The people are ”ardent and vivacious, self-reliant and versatile.” It is no uncommon thing for a Cornishman to build his own house, make his own shoes, be both fisherman and miner, and, possibly, small shop-keeper besides; and wherever the Cornish miner emigrates, he is pretty sure to take the lead in enterprise and danger.
Wilkie Collins says: ”As a body of men they are industrious, intelligent, sober, and orderly, neither soured by hard work, nor depressed by harsher privations”; and the old poet Taylor, in 1649, writes: ”Cornwall is the compleate and repleate Home of Abundance, for high, churlish hills and affable, courteous people. The country hath its share of huge stones, mighty rocks, n.o.ble free gentlemen, bountiful housekeepers, strong and stout men, handsome and beautiful women.”
Many curious old customs linger in Cornwall, among them the ceremony of ”cutting the neck,” or last few ears of corn at harvest time, the lighting of bonfires on the hills at St. John's Eve, and the ”furry” or Flora dance at Helston, on the eighth of May. Among the peculiar dishes of the Cornish cuisine, prominent is the pasty, the almost universal dinner of the working cla.s.s. It is a savory compound of meat and potatoes, inclosed in a crescent-shaped crust; but one must be a Cornishman to appreciate this dish thoroughly. The variety of pies is truly marvelous. It has been said that the devil himself would be put into a pie if he were caught in Cornwall. Most of them are richly saturated with clotted cream, a real Cornish dainty, which is very popular, as are also Cornish seed-cakes.
From time immemorial Cornwall has had a leading part in the mineral industries of England. Mines of tin, copper, lead, and zinc abound, and have been the chief source of revenue to the county. They give abundant employment to the laboring cla.s.s, and men, women, and even children are freely employed in various ways about the mines. Since 1870 the mining industries have declined; the mines have been less productive, and the great discoveries of ore in this and other countries have greatly reduced prices and scattered the Cornish miners over the world.
The fisheries of Cornwall have been another very important industry, especially the mackerel and pilchard fis.h.i.+ng. The pilchard is a very delicious fish, similar to a herring, and is found almost exclusively on the Cornish coast.
Cornwall abounds in interesting antiquities, and many of these are claimed to be almost as old as the granite rocks and cliffs of which they are composed. They are relics of the early Britons,--remains of villages, various sorts of sepulchral and memorial stones, and also some that were a.s.sociated with ancient religious rites. Some of these, such as the ”holed stones,” have given rise to many superst.i.tions among the common folk, who have been in the habit of dragging invalids through the orifices in the hope of curing them. There are also ”cliff castles,”
especially at Land's End and at other points on the coast,--retreats of the native tribes from enemies,--and also earth-work forts on elevated sites throughout the country. The early Christian antiquities include churches and priories and the oratories or small chapels, frequently a.s.sociated with a Baptistery or holy well. Some of these are as early as the fifth century. There is also an unusual number of crosses. As to their uses an ancient ma.n.u.script says: ”For this reason ben crosses by ye way, that when folk pa.s.synge see ye croysses they shoulde thynke on Hym that deyed on ye croysse, and worshyppe Hym above althyng.” They were also sometimes erected to guide and guard the way to the church, and sometimes for the beautiful custom of leaving alms on the crosses for poor wayfarers. The crosses were formerly far more numerous than now, but recently some of them have been rescued from doing duty as gate-posts and the like, to be reerected in the churchyards. There are also inscribed stones, such as the Camborne altar-slab, and others.
Of the towns of Cornwall, almost all have some interest, ancient or modern. Truro has recently become the episcopal town of the county; a fine cathedral has been built, and the Bishop has his residence there.
Falmouth, at the mouth of the Fal, is a comparatively modern town, beautifully situated. Its magnificent and famous harbor has given it considerable commercial importance in former times. One of its chief attractions is Pendennis Castle. It stands on a bold promontory two hundred feet high, on the western side of the harbor. It was one of the works of defense undertaken by Henry VIII, but the enclosure is of the time of Elizabeth. It is an interesting example of the military architecture of the period. During the Civil War, Pendennis Castle played a prominent and interesting part, and was the last but one of the old castles that held out for the King's cause.
A picturesque spot of much interest on the coast is the jutting headland of the Lizard. The serpentine rock of which it is composed is very beautiful when polished. The best time to visit this spot is at low tide on a summer day, after a storm. Its soft yellow sandy beach, its emerald waves, deep rock-pools and gorgeous serpentine cliffs, of green, purple, crimson, and black, are then of astonis.h.i.+ng beauty. Pa.s.sing eastward along the coast, we come to the little town of Marazion, in front of which rises from the strand the far-famed St. Michael's Mount--an isolated, rugged pyramid of granite, about a mile in circ.u.mference and two hundred and thirty feet high at the chapel platform. Several Sir John St. Aubyns have successively inherited it since 1860, the date on which they acquired it from a Ba.s.sett of Tehidy.
The chapel and the hall are the portions most worthy of examination. A few steps below the chapel is a recess called the dungeon; near it, a narrow winding stair leads to the tower. Near the platform are the remains of a stone cresset called St. Michael's Chair, which is supposed to bring good fortune to those that sit in it.
The town of Penzance, ”the Holy Headland,” is the place of approach to the Land's End--a bold promontory standing out into the sea at the southwestern extremity of England. Its granite cliff-scenery is the finest in Cornwall. The tempest-scarred cliffs, the furious onset of the waves in stormy weather, and the gorgeous sunsets, so frequent at that point, invest Land's End with a deep and almost melancholy grandeur. It is said that Wesley stood upon this point when he wrote the hymn,