A TOUR IN THE ISLAND OF JERSEY.
(Concluded from page 262.)
A view of the western side of Jersey, is calculated to impress a stranger with an idea that it is a barren, unproductive island; but no supposition could be more erroneous, as, in fact, a great proportion of it may be described as orchard. The extent of ground planted, with fruit trees—apple, pear, and plumb is prodigious; and consequently cider—and very excellent cider too—is one of the staple products of the country, and a favourite beverage among the natives. At the Union Hotel, St. Helier, boarders were allowed to quaff as much as they had a liking for, without being subjected to any additional charge.
About three miles inland from St. Helier, is a singular structure named Prince's Tower, erected on an artificial mound or tumulus, and embowered in a grove of fine trees. The extensive prospect it commanded, and the indubitable antiquity of the masonry, induced me to apply for permission to ascend it; and I was rewarded with a bird's eye view of nearly the whole island, and a vast sweep of the French coast extending almost from Cape de la Hogue to Avranches. An Englishman had lately taken up his abode in the tower, which, with the adjacent pleasure ground, he rented at forty pounds a-year. His object was to render it a place of resort to the inhabitants of St. Helier, and his advertisements promised that the "delightful emotions excited by its unrivalled scenery, and the harmonious chat of the feathered tribe, should not be counteracted by the comfortless sensations of hunger, thirst, and weariness." The interior of the tower was neatly and appropriately fitted up. One apartment was designated the chapel; and in the highest room were several telescopes, mounted so as to traverse to any point of the compass, for the gratification of visitors.
But it is the traditionary history of Prince's Tower that renders it interesting in the eyes of the islanders. In former times it was known by the name of La Hogue-Bye, and the following legend, quoted from Le Livre noir de Coutances, gives the origin of its celebrity:—In remote times, a moor or fen in this part of Jersey, was the retreat of a monstrous serpent or dragon, which spread terror and devastation throughout the island. At length a valorous Norman, the Seigneur de Hambye, undertook to attempt its destruction, which, after a terrible conflict, he accomplished. He was accompanied in this adventure by a vassal of whose fidelity he had no suspicion, but who, seeing his lord overcome by fatigue, after having vanquished the reptile, suddenly bethought himself of monopolizing the glory of the action. Instigated by this foul ambition, he assassinated his lord, and, returning to Normandy, promulgated a fictitious narrative of the encounter; and, to further his iniquitous views, presented a forged letter, which he said had been written by De Hambye to his widow, just before his death, enjoining her to reward his faithful servant, by accepting him as her second husband. Reverence for the last injunction of her deceased lord, induced the lady to obey, and she was united to his murderer. But the exultation of the homicidal slave was of short duration. His sleep was disturbed by horrid dreams; and at length, in one of his nightly paroxysms, he disclosed the extent of his villany. On being arrested and questioned, he made a full confession, and was tried, found guilty, and publicly executed. De Hambye's widow, in memory of her lord, caused a tumulus of earth, to be raised on the spot where he was buried; and on the summit she built a chapel, with a tower so lofty, as to be visible from her own mansion at Coutances.
So much for the fable. As to the word Hogue, there are several places in Jersey called Hougues, which are always situated on a rising ground. The word has evidently originated from the German hoch, from which is derived our English high. A hougue, therefore, means a mound or hillock, and in the present instance, the addition of bye is obviously a contraction of Hambye; and, in accordance with the foregoing tradition, means literally the barrow or tomb of the Seigneur de Hambye.
The chapel at la Hogue is said to have been rebuilt in imitation of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, by one of the popish deans of Jersey, in the reign of Henry VIII. La Hogue-bye remained for many years in a dilapidated state, till about 1790, when the late Admiral d'Auvergne, a native of Jersey, better known under his French title of Duke of Bouillon, became its owner by purchase, and hence it obtained its present name. At his death, in 1816, it was purchased by the late lieutenant-governor, Lieutenant-General Sir Hugh Mackay Gordon, whose heirs afterwards sold it to Francis le Breton, Esq., to whom it now belongs.
The most prominent object in the noble panoramic view from the top of Prince's Tower, is a huge fortress on the eastern side of the island, called the Castle of Mont Orgueil. It crests a lofty conical rock, that forms the northern headland of Grouville Bay, and looks down, like a grim giant, on the subjacent strait. The fortifications encircle the cone in picturesque tiers, and the apex of the mountain shoots up in the centre of them, as high as the flag-staff, which is in fact planted upon it. During war a strong garrison constantly occupied Mont Orgueil, but now a corporal and two privates of artillery composed the whole military force. The corporal, a quiet intelligent man, who spoke with much horror of paying a visit to the West Indies, which, in the mutations of his professional life, he had a prospect of doing at no distant period, acted as cicerone, and, among other places, introduced me into a small circular apartment, forming one of the suite appropriated to officers, which he said had been the habitation of Charles II. when a wanderer. This prince, when his unfortunate father fell into the hands of the regicidal party, found a loyal welcome in Jersey. Here he was recognised as king, when in England they sought his blood: here he remained in security, when his fatherland afforded him no asylum. During his lonely sojourn in this remote portion of his hereditary dominions, he is said to have employed himself in making a survey and delineating a map of the island. The natives, flattered by the confidence he reposed in them, and justly proud of nine centuries of unblemished loyalty to the throne of Great Britain, still refer to his residence as a memorable event; and in no other part of the British dominions, is the memory of the "merry monarch" more respected. When Cromwell, after the disastrous issue of the battle of Worcester, sent an expedition, under Admiral Blake, to reduce the island, it made a most gallant and protracted defence; and had not circumstances conspired to favour the Invaders, their victory would have been dearly purchased.
Mount Orgueil, in point of historical association, is by far the most interesting spot in Jersey. A part of the fortifications, according to tradition, are coeval with Caesar's incursions into Gaul; and the islanders hold it famous in their oldest story, and of antiquity beyond record. In 1374, the celebrated Constable du Guesclin passed over from Bretagne at the head of a large army, including some of the bravest knights of France, and encamped before this fortress, then called Gouray Castle, into which the principal inhabitants had retired for safety; but after a siege of several months, he was obliged to draw off his forces in despair, and quit the island. Henry V. added much to the strength and beauty of Gouray—made it a depot of arms, and conferred on it the proud name of Mont Orgueil. About 1461, Nanfant, the governor, a dependent of Henry VI. was prevailed upon, by an order of Queen Margaret, to surrender it to Surdeval, a Frenchman, agent of Peter de Brezé, Count of Maulevrier; but though de Brezé kept possession of it for several years, the natives, under the command of Philip de Carteret, Seigneur of St. Ouen, a family long illustrious in Jersey annals, prevented him from completely subjugating the island. Sir Richard Harliston, vice-admiral of England, afterwards re-captured Mont Orgueil, and put an end to Maulevrier's usurpation.
A small pier, intended to facilitate the landing of stores, and shelter the numerous oyster vessels that resort to Grouville Bay at the dredging season, projects into the sea, immediately under the castle guns. The bay, like that of St. Aubin, is defended by a regular line of martello towers, several of which are built far within flood-mark, on reefs that form part of the Violet Bank. The adjacent country is a perfect garden, and numerous secluded villas and cottages are scattered among the umbrageous and productive orchards that spread around. A small village, called Goree, lies a short way southward of Mont Orgueil. In former times, it was a sutling-place for the garrison; now it is only the rendezvous of a few oyster-fishers. In the auberges here, (every alternate house retailed liquor), brandy sold at a shilling a bottle.
The road leading directly from Grouville to St. Helier runs parallel with the southern shore, among corn fields, orchards, and hamlets, and is the best in the island. I travelled it after sunset, and found myriads of toads hopping across it in every direction. These reptiles are extremely common in Jersey; while, in the neighbouring island of Guernsey, if popular report may be credited, they are not only unknown, but cannot exist, as has been ascertained by importing them from less favoured countries. This exemption in favour of Guernsey, is in all probability a mere fable, originating with some ignorant native, the absurdity of which no person has been at the trouble to expose. Lizards and small snakes are also numerous in Jersey; and at night-fall, a chorus of crickets resounds from every hedge.
The Jersey cattle are small; but like the pigmy breed of the Scottish Highlands, their flesh is delicate, and their milk and butter rich. The butcher market at St. Helier is supplied chiefly from France. There are sportsmen in Jersey as well as in other countries, but game is neither various nor abundant. The list, however, includes hares, rabbits, the Jersey partridge, a beautiful bird, with pheasant eyes, red legs, and variegated plumage; and several varieties of water fowl. In severe winters, flocks of solan geese, locally denominated "barnacles," frequent the shores.
The Romans, the pioneers of discovery and civilization in Europe, conferred on Jersey the name of Caesarea, in honour of their leader; and Caesar and Tacitus concur in describing it as a stronghold of Druidism, of which worship many monuments still exist. The aborigines were doubtless sprung from the Celtic tribes spread over the adjacent continent; but the present inhabitants are universally recognised as the lineal descendants of the warlike Normans, who, under the auspices of the famous Rollo, conquered and established themselves in the north of France in the ninth century. It was first attached to the British crown at the conquest; and though repeated descents have been made on it by France during the many wars waged between the countries since that remote era, none of them were attended with such success as to lead to a permanent occupation of the island. The islanders, proud of an unconquered name, and gratified to recollect that they originally gave a king to England, not England a king to them, have been always distinguished for fidelity to the British government; and their unshaken loyalty has, from time to time, been rewarded by immunities and privileges, highly conducive to their prosperity, and calculated to foster that spirit of nationality, which is invariably distinctive of a free people. They are exempted from those taxes which press heaviest on the English yeoman, and from naval and military service beyond the boundaries of their own island. The local administration of justice is still regulated by the old Norman code of laws, and this circumstance is regarded by the natives as a virtual recognition of their independence; but strangers, when they inadvertently get involved in legal disputes, have often cause to regret its existence. In cases of assault, particularly the assaulting of a magistrate, even though his official character be unknown to the offender, a severe punishment is generally awarded. We heard several instances of military officers, who had been guilty of raising an arm of flesh against jurats in night frolics at St. Helier's, narrowly escaping the penalty attached to this heinous infraction of the laws—a penalty which would have left them maimed for life.
The introduction of Christianity, and final extirpation of idolatry, is said to have occurred in the sixth century. In the latter days of the reign of popery, Jersey formed part of the diocese of Coutances in Normandy, where the ancient records of the island were deposited; but at the Reformation, in the reign of Elizabeth, it was attached to the see of Winchester—an annexation, however, merely nominal, for the island is in reality exempt from the dominion of the church of England. The inhabitants are a well-disposed and peaceable race, but not particularly distinguished for enthusiasm in religion. The peasantry are orderly and industrious; the merchants enterprising; and the seamen, a numerous class, hardy and adventurous. The aggregate of the people live more after the French manner than the English; that is, they substitute fruit and vegetables, in a great measure, for animal food, and cider for ale. Neither men nor women are distinguished for personal beauty, though we noticed several very comely dames in our perambulations; and notwithstanding the boasted purity of their descent from the ocean-roamers of the north, they have many of the anomalous features of a mixed race.—Edinburgh Journal of Natural and Geographical Science. No. I.