St. Keyne
On the other side of the valley, not far from the famous old mine of Herodsfoot, is the Well of St. Keyne. Over it, in an astonishingly small space, are five trees, oak, elm, and ash, and although these were planted in 1750, it was only in the place of older trees mentioned in 1602. Concerning the water of this celebrated well, it is fabled that if after marriage the wife should drink of its waters before her husband she shall have the mastery and vice-versa. Southey's ballad tells us of a bride who took some to church with her in a bottle and drank it while her husband was running to the well.
At Duloe is a circle which probably encloses a burial place. The stones are all of quartz, which is unusual, and they are large, the biggest being 8 ft. high and 7 ft. wide. In this church lies gallant old Sir John Arundell, the defender of Pendennis Castle.
Looe
East and West Looe are two quaint fishing-villages divided by the estuary and joined by a bridge. They are, as usual, huddled together as near the bottom of their hills as possible and consist of a few crooked and narrow streets, with houses built anyhow and anywhere. Like Fowey, they look as if presently they might slip a little, make a tiny splash, and disappear into the water, to be talked of by succeeding generations as a "great city of seven churches and thousands of inhabitants that for some forgotten crime on the part of its people had been overwhelmed by a sea wave," and to prove this thing they would quote from the Chronicle (not the Saxon this time but the Daily), "in this year came that great sea flood, widely through this land, and it ran up so far as never at any time before, and it drowned many towns and mankind too innumerable to be computed."
A Cage for Scolds
Meanwhile East and West Looe still lie poised insecurely above the tide, while donkeys laden with panniers scramble up the precipitous streets, and in this way your groceries and so forth come to your door. It is thoroughly in keeping with the place that the old ducking stool and they say the cage for scolds should still exist. About the latter Mr. Bond tells the following appropriate story:
"At East Looe Hannah Whit and Bessy Niles, two women of fluent tongue, having exerted their oratory on each other, at last thought it prudent to leave the matter in dispute to be settled by the Mayor. Away they posted to his worship. The first who arrived had scarce begun her tale when the other bounced in, in full rage, and began hers likewise, and abuse commenced with redoubled vigour. His worship, Mr. John Chubb, ordered the constable to be called and each of the combatants thought her antagonist was going to be punished, and each thought right. When the constable arrived, his worship pronounced to him the following command: 'Take these women to the cage, and there keep them till they have settled their dispute.' They were immediately conveyed thither, and after a few hours' confinement became as quiet and inoffensive beings as ever breathed, and were then liberated to beg Mr. Mayor's pardon."
Looe Island and the Smugglers
Except the Scillies, the only inhabited island of Cornwall is St. George (or Looe Island). It measures fourteen acres and was once exceedingly useful to smugglers. Not many years since, the floor of a respectable looking building gave way, and the reason thereof became apparent when it was found that it had been hollowed underneath to form a receptacle for those good spirits which came from France by way of the Looe galleys. The most wonderful hiding-place in this part of the country is the now well-known duckpond, said to have been at Lansallos, near Polperro. This swung on a pivot, and when moved disclosed a cavity. At all other times it presented an innocently rural appearance, so much so that the preventive officers often sat, all unsuspiciously, within a few feet of it.