Small Talk and some Account of Cornish Fairies.

“What a splendid country for a painter of cliffs!” observed Oliver, as the friends walked briskly along; “I wonder much that our artists do not visit it more frequently.”

“Perhaps they find metal more attractive nearer home,” replied Tregarthen; “all the world has not fallen so violently in love with furze-clad moorland and rugged sea-cliffs as you seem to have done. Besides, the country is somewhat remote. Mayhap when a railway runs into it, which will doubtless be the case before many years pass by, we shall see knights of the brush pitching their white tents on the Land’s End; meanwhile we have a few promising young men of our own who bid fair to rival the great Opie himself. You have heard of him, of course?”

“I have heard of him indeed, and seen some of his works, but I’m ashamed to confess that, having left Cornwall when very young, and been a dweller in the far north of the kingdom ever since, I have only known the facts that he was a celebrated Cornish artist, and became the President of the Royal Academy. Can you tell me anything of his personal history?”

“Not much, but I can give you a brief outline of his career. John Opie was the son of a carpenter of St. Agnes, near Truro, and was discovered and extracted, like a ‘bunch’ of rich ore, from the midst of the tin-mines, by Dr Wolcot—who was celebrated under the name of Peter Pindar. The doctor first observed and appreciated Opie’s talent, and, resolving to bring him into notice, wrote about him until he became celebrated as the ‘Cornish Wonder.’ He also introduced people of note to the artist’s studio in London, many of whom sat for their portraits. These gave so much satisfaction that the reputation of the ‘Cornish Wonder’ spread far and wide, and orders came pouring in upon him, insomuch that he became a rich man and a Royal Academician, and ultimately President of the Academy. He married an authoress, and his remains were deposited in St. Paul’s Cathedral, near to those of Sir Joshua Reynolds. I have heard my grandfather say that he met him once in the town of Helston, and he described him as somewhat rough and unpolished, but a sterling, kind-hearted man.”

“Did he paint landscape at all?” inquired Oliver.

“Not much, I believe. He devoted himself chiefly to portraits.”

“Well, now,” said Oliver, looking round him; “it strikes me that this is just the country for a landscape painter. There is nowhere else such fine cliff scenery, and the wild moors, which remind me much of Scotland, are worthy of being sketched by an able brush.”

“People have curiously different opinions in reference to the moors which you admire so much,” said Tregarthen. “A clergyman who lived and wrote not very long ago, came to Cornwall in search of the picturesque, and he was so disappointed with what he termed a barren, desolate region, that he stopped suddenly on the road between Launceston and Bodmin, and turned his back on Cornwall for ever. As might be expected, such a man gave a very false idea of the country. On the other hand, a more recent writer, commenting on the first, speaks of his delight—after having grown somewhat tired of the almost too rich and over-cultivated scenery of Kent—on coming to what he styled ‘a sombre apparition of the desert in a corner of green England,’ and dwells with enthusiasm on ‘these solitudes, and hills crowned with rugged rocks, classical heaths and savage ravines, possessing a character of desolate grandeur.’ But this writer did more. He travelled through the country, and discovered that it possessed other and not less beautiful features; that there were richly clothed vales and beautiful rivulets, cultivated fields and prolific gardens, in close proximity to our grand cliffs and moors.”

“He might have added,” said Oliver, “that plants and flowers flourish in the open air here, and attain to a size, and luxuriance which are rare in other parts of England. Why, I have seen myrtles, laurels, fuchsias, pomegranates, and hortensias forming hedges and growing on the windows and walls of many houses. To my mind Cornwall is one of the finest counties in England—of which Flora herself has reason to be proud, and in which fairies as well as giants might dwell with much delight.”

“Spoken like a true Cornishman!” said Tregarthen, laughing; “and in regard to the fairies I may tell you that we are not without a few of them, although giants confessedly preponderate.”

“Indeed!” said Oliver; “pray whereabouts do they dwell?”

“You have heard of the Gump, I suppose?”

“What! the barren plain near Carn Kenidjack, to the north of St. Just?”

“The same. Well, this is said to be a celebrated haunt of the pixies, who have often led benighted travellers astray, and shown them wonderful sights. Of course one never meets with any individual who has actually seen them, but I have frequently met with those who have assured me they had known others who had conversed with persons who had seen fairies. One old man, in particular, I have heard of, who was quite convinced of the reality of a fairy scene which he once witnessed.

“This old fellow was crossing the Gump one evening, by one of the numerous paths which intersect it. It was summer-time. The sun had gone down beyond the sea-line, and the golden mists of evening were merging into the quiet grey that hung over the Atlantic. Not a breath of wind passed over land or sea. To the northward Chun Castle stood darkly on the summit of the neighbouring hill, and the cromlech loomed huge and mysterious; southward were traces of mystic circles and upright stones, and other of those inexplicable pieces of antiquity which are usually saddled on the overladen shoulders of the Druids. Everything, in fact—in the scene, the season, and the weather—contributed to fill the mind of the old man with romantic musings as he wended his way over the barren moor. Suddenly there arose on the air a sound of sweet, soft music, like the gentle breathings of an Aeolian harp. He stopped and gazed around with looks of mingled curiosity and surprise, but could see nothing unusual. The mysterious sounds continued, and a feeling of alarm stole over him, for twilight was deepening, and home was still far distant. He attempted to advance, but the music had s............