Tales and Legends of the English Lakes Part 12

[4] A note to this pa.s.sage in "Percy's Reliques" (the editor of which, it must be stated, modernised and added to this ballad), informs us that Tearne-Wadling is near Hesketh, on the road from Penrith, where there is a tradition still in existence that an old castle once stood upon the spot.

THE DRUIDS' SACRIFICE.

A LEGEND OF KESWICK.

Mark yon altar ... See this wide circus Skirted with unhewn stone; they awe my soul, As if the very Genius of the place Himself appeared, and with terrific tread Stalked through his drear domain....

Know that thou stand'st on consecrated ground-- The mighty pile of magic-planted rocks, Thus ranged in mystic order, marks the place Where but at times of holiest festival The Druid led his train.

MASON.

The old road between Keswick and Penrith pa.s.ses over a rough hill, called Castle Rigg, which the new road now avoids. In a field adjoining this road, on the right hand side going to Penrith, just on the crown of the hill, and at the distance of a mile and a-half east by north from Keswick, are the remains of a Druidical Temple, popularly named the Druids' Stones.

These interesting memorials of the primeval age of Britain consist of forty-eight rude, unhewn blocks of granite, thirty-eight of which are disposed in an oval figure, of which the diameter is thirty-four yards from north to south, and nearly thirty from east to west: the remaining ten stones form an oblong square on the eastern side of the oval area.

The latter enclosure, which is seven yards by three, is supposed to have been the sacred place, exclusively appropriated to the Druidical order, where the priests a.s.sembled to perform their mystical rites, and to determine on matters of government and judicature. The largest of the stones is upwards of seven feet in height, and may weigh about eight tons, but the greater number measure only three or four feet in height; they mostly stand in an erect position.

The situation of this ancient place for superst.i.tious worship has been skilfully chosen, when considered with reference to the idolatrous superst.i.tions of the Druids; the objects of which were to subdue the mind with appalling images, and to extort obedience through the agency of terror. It is seated in the neighbourhood of Skiddaw, Blencathara, and Helvellyn, and some of the highest mountains of c.u.mberland, whose clouded summits impended over the sacrificial altar, casting obscure shadows through its precincts. Hither the trembling worshippers repaired, to hear and to acknowledge the teachings and denunciations of their potent masters. In the eyes of the barbarian Britons, alike ignorant, credulous, and superst.i.tious, the place would appear to be the very sanctuary of Omnipotence, and the Druid ministers themselves an impersonation of their G.o.ds. Wind and cloud, storm and tempest, wrought powerfully in the abstruse mysteries and terrific incantations const.i.tuting the Druidical worship; and the mind was prostrated, with terrific awe, at the shrine where natural sublimity combined with human cunning to thrill its scarcely awakened faculties. Here, at midnight, every Druid, summoned by the terrible horn, never sounded but upon high occasions, and descending from his mountain or secret cave, might a.s.semble, without intrusion from one sacrilegious footstep, and celebrate a festival.

"By rites of such strange potency, As, done in open day, would dim the sun, Though 'throned in noontide brightness."

The tourist will tread this once hallowed circle, where the Druids offered their adorations to Deity, and sat in judgment on their fellow-men, with a mixture of awe and veneration, so well expressed by the poet:--

"Skirted with unhewn stone, it awes my soul As if the very Genius of the place Himself appeared, and with terrific tread Stalked through this drear domain."

In spite of the ravages of time, a.s.sisted by the destructive hand of man, many Druidical monuments still remain amongst the seclusions of the lakes and mountains of c.u.mberland and Westmoreland, and many are the strange tales connected with them. For the interest of our readers, we select the following:--

In times long gone by, when these mountains reared their naked heads to the clouds--when their sides were clothed with oak, and their feet were wet with mora.s.ses--when the wild cow and the wolf contested the mastership of the unclaimed property--when human feet had never trod these hills or vales--a mighty warrior left his companions in the south and journeyed hitherward. His followers, as they traversed the forests towards the north, met with a beautiful river, at the foot of a gentle hill, well clothed with wood. The warrior said to his companions, let us here construct our tents. Here is wood for shelter and fire; and this river and these mountains will supply us with food.

Then they fixed poles in the ground, and fastened them together with wicker-work of branches, and covered them with the green sod from the ground. And the warrior said, the old oak trees around our dwellings will shelter us from the storm in winter, and shade us from the sun in summer. Thus they continued to pa.s.s the time in hunting the wild deer among the hills, and in fishing in the adjoining river; and as they were not disturbed by wars, they rapidly increased in strength and numbers.

Their ancient priests or Druids retired farther north, because their solemn rites required the greatest privacy; and the mistletoe, their sacred emblem, abounded more among the northern forests. Besides, stones to construct their temples of were more easily procured among these hills; and being far from the haunts of men, they could indulge in the gloomy contemplation of the vindictive character of the Deity--for they knew him only as a Being capable of revenging every insult offered to His name.

When their town was become very populous, there lived in it a youth of superior strength and agility, who was remarked for being particularly expert with the bow, and so swift that few could outstrip him in the race. At feats of strength or skill, he was ever foremost: and, in attacking the wolf, or the wild cow, few possessed so daring a soul. It is an old maxim, with few exceptions, that love is the companion of bravery--and Mudor loved the gentle Ella. They had retired, at an early age, to a grove farther up the river, where stood the image of their G.o.d Mogan, which had been purchased of some Phenician merchants, along with some iron hatchets, in exchange for the skins of beasts, slain in the chase. Before this rude representation of the Deity they mutually pledged their vows; and to render those pledges more binding, they each stained a blue sun on their b.r.e.a.s.t.s, as a memorial that their faith should be as durable as the light of that luminary. No one felt so proud on hearing the praise of Mudor as Ella did--no one hailed his return from the chase, loaded with spoils, with the warmth of Ella--nor did any one so much admire the elegance of the blue symbols of his prowess and his faith, which were painted on his skin, as did the faithful Ella.

Reared in two adjoining cabins, their infant sports had been together.

For her he had plunged into the mora.s.s to procure the richest and sweetest water-lilies--he had climbed the loftiest oak to gain the cushat eggs--and the scarf of squirrel skins which screened her from the cold, was the produce of his most early adventures in the chase.

Thus circ.u.mstanced, their hearts were knit together by those ties which bind the savage as well as the civilized; for the heart of the naked Indian who treads the burning sands of the desert is as warm to the tender impressions of love as the prince who stretches his limbs on a silken couch, or reposes on a bed of down.

These faithful lovers dreamt of no unkindly fate interfering, when a fever broke out in the town, and swept away a number of its inhabitants.

Application was made to the priest of Mogan to avert the awful visitation by prayer; but he returned for answer, that the wickedness of the people had offended the Great Invisible, and the fever was sent as a just punishment. The Druids, therefore, who resided in the neighbourhood, made a pilgrimage to one of their largest temples, situated among the mountains, in the midst of a vast forest. The Arch-Druid, having gathered the mistletoe, just as the rising sun licked the dew from its berries, and performed a number of other rites, to obtain answer from the Great Spirit, informed them that Heaven would not be appeased unless a young virgin was immolated as a sacrifice for the sins of the inhabitants. When this intelligence was announced, the utmost dismay seized on every heart. Parents trembled for their daughters, and the daughters trembled for themselves; for no one knew on whom the lot would fall.

The Druids of the neighbouring groves a.s.sembled together, and cast lots, according to their established usage. The lot fell on Ella! Sad was the heart of Mudor when he heard this; and vainly did he entreat that some other victim might be selected in her stead. It was the irrevocable decree of heaven, and the priests had not the power to alter it. No one felt the sentence less severely than Ella did. She resigned herself to the will of the Deity; and would not render unavailable the sacrifice by any vain and foolish complaints. Still the affection she felt for Mudor would steal across her mind, and a momentary wish that she might have lived to fulfil her vows would interrupt her devotional complacency.

The morning arrived when Ella was to be conveyed far into the deserts, among the northern mountains, to the gloomy dell, where Heaven would alone be appeased. Mudor, at a humble distance, followed the procession of the Druids, and separating himself from the crowd which usually a.s.sembled to witness those awful rites of the Druid priests, appeared like one who had no conception of what was pa.s.sing before him. They at length arrived at the place of sacrifice, which was a gloomy dell, in the midst of a forest, near the banks of a river, surrounded by magnificent scenery. This dell was a curious cavity in the rock, of considerable extent, and rendered almost dark by the overhanging branches of the ancient oaks which grew above it. A small circular area, surrounded with large upright stones, was the place of sacrifice. The priests a.s.sembled to perform their horrid rites; while the gaping crowd hung in the fissures of the rock on each side, or sat on the branches of the trees, waiting the celebration of the awful ceremony. The bards, with their heads crowned with oak, advanced to the north side of the circle; and after paying obedience to the sun, they chanted the following hymn:--

"Being great, who reign'st alone, Veiled in clouds, unseen, unknown, Centre of the vast profound, Clouds of darkness close thee round.

"Thy nod makes storms and tempests rise, Thy breath makes thunder shake the skies, Thy frown turns noon-day into night, And makes the sun withdraw his light.

"Beneath thy anger we expire, The victims of thy vengeful ire; Destruction rules at thy command, And ruin blackens all the land."

A small cabin of basket-work was erected near the western side of the circle, in the lowest part of the dell, with a door opening towards the Druidical circle. In this the youthful Ella was to be immolated. She was brought into the circle; a garland of oak leaves was bound round her neck, a chaplet of wild flowers placed on her head, and a piece of mistletoe in her hand. Thus adorned she was led to the centre of the circle, and supported there by two aged priests, while the bards chanted the following invocation to the sun:--

FIRST BARD.

"See, thy destined victim see, Bright, and chaste, and pure as thee, Let this sinless virgin please thee, Sinful man could ne'er appease thee."

SECOND BARD.

"Round her brows the wild flowers see, Emblems of thy purity-- Touch'd by mortal's fingers never;-- Round her breast the oak survey, Which like thee can ne'er decay-- Innocence endures for ever."

THIRD BARD.

"Spirit! who no birth has known, Springing from thyself alone, We thy living emblem show In the mystic mistletoe:-- Springs and grows without a root-- Yields without flower its fruit-- Seeks from earth no mother's care-- Lives and blooms the child of air."

FOURTH BARD.

"Thou dost thy mystic circle trace Along the vaulted blue profound, And, emblematic of thy race, We tread our mystic circle round."

ALL THE BARDS.

"Shine upon us, mighty G.o.d-- Raise this drooping world of ours-- Send from thy divine abode, Cheering sun and fruitful showers."

The lovely Ella was then enclosed in the wicker cabin: a quant.i.ty of dry withered leaves, and small dry branches, were laid all round the cabin ready to set fire to. Every one of the crowd was obliged to furnish at least one stick towards producing a fire to consume the victim. But Mudor stood at a distance, determined rather to incur the vengeance of the Invisible Spirit than add one particle to the destruction of his adorable Ella. The Arch-Druid took two pieces of wood, and exposing them to the sun, rubbed them together, while all the bards chanted the following verse:--

"Sun descend in a ray of light, Wrapp'd in thy power and clad in thy might; Come in a red and a fiery stream, Come in a bright and glowing beam; Come in thy flaming chariot down, Burn the wood in a flame of thy own."

The friction of the two pieces of wood had the desired effect--they took fire. The sticks and leaves round the cabin which contained the ill-fated Ella were instantly in a blaze. As the flames arose the bards chanted, with loud voices, the following verses:--

"Mighty Sovereign of the skies, Accept this virgin sacrifice, Let her spotless soul atone For wicked actions not her own.

As to death her spirit stoops, As she faints and as she droops, Lay aside thy fiery crown And spare, O spare, her native town!

She was good, and she was kind, And she possess'd a heavenly mind; Wicked man could ne'er atone For his sins and crimes alone, A purer victim must be found To wash the stain away."

The bards stopped short, and raised their hands with astonishment--the crowd shrieked out with fear--and all the rites were suspended; for at that moment a flood of water burst out from the fissures of the rock on every side, and came rolling down the dell like a river. The wicket hurdle in which Ella was confined was instantly surrounded by the flood--the fire was quenched, and she came out unhurt. It is said that a voice was heard by the Arch-Druid of solemn import, intimating that human victims were not acceptable to the Deity--that a greater sacrifice was about to be offered--and that the reign of Druidism was at an end.

The Arch-Druid, turning his face towards the sun for a moment, and then to the other priests, remarked that some mighty change was surely about to take place among them; for this was a miracle they could have no conception of.

The a.s.sembly dispersed in consternation; and the devoted Ella was happily restored to the arms of the overjoyed Mudor, with whom she lived to a good old age; and the rock has occasionally poured forth its stream ever since.

THE HEIGHTS OF HELVELLYN;

OR, THE UNFORTUNATE TOURIST.