“What was that, booy? Let us hear about it, Billy,” exclaimed several voices.
“Well, this is the way of it,” said Billy: “the owld gravedigger in Cambourne was standin’ about, after mittin’ was over, a-readin’ of the tombstones, for he’d got a good edjication, had owld Tom. His name was Tom—the same man as put a straw rope to the bell which the cows did eat away, so that he cudn’t ring the people to mittin’. Well, when he was studdyin’ the morials on the stones out comes Captain Rowe. He was wan o’ the churchwardens, or somethin’ o’ that sort, but I don’t knaw nothin’ ’bout the church, so I ain’t sure—an’ he calls owld Tom into the vestry.
“‘Now look here, Tom,’ says the captain, very stern, ‘they tell me thee ’rt gettin’ lazy, Tom, an’ that thee do dig the graves only four fut deep. Now, Tom, I was over to St. Just t’other day to a berryin’, and I see that they do dig their graves six fut or more deeper than you do. That won’t do, Tom, I tell ’ee. What’s the meanin’ of it?’
“This came somewhat suddent on owld Tom, but he wor noways put out.
“‘Well, you do see, Cap’n Rowe,’ says he, ‘I do it apurpose, for I do look at the thing in two lights.’”
“‘How so?’ asked the captain.
“‘Why, the people of St. Just only think of the berryin’, but I do think of the resurrection; the consekince is that they do dig too deep, an’ afore the St. Just folk are well out of their graves, ours will be a braave way up to heaven!’”
The laugh with which this anecdote was received had scarcely subsided when the upper half of one of the account-house windows opened, and the fine-looking head and shoulders of old Mr Cornish appeared.
The manager laid an open book on the window-sill, and from this elevated position, as from a pulpit, he read out the names, positions, etcetera, of the various “pitches” that were to be “sett” for the following month. One of the mine captains stood at his elbow to give any required information—he and his three brother captains being the men who had gone all over the mine during the previous month, examined the work, measured what had been done by each man or “pare” of men, knew the capabilities of all the miners, and fixed the portion that ought to be offered to each for acceptance or refusal.
The men assembled in a cluster round the window, and looked up while Mr Cornish read off as follows:—