FURZE THE CRUEL

BY

JOHN TREVENA

AUTHOR OF "A PIXY IN PETTICOATS" AND "ARMINEL OF THE WEST"

LONDON

ALSTON RIVERS, LTD.

BROOKE ST., HOLBORN BARS, E.C.

1907

Almost everywhere on Dartmoor are Furze, Heather, and Granite. The Furze seems to suggest Cruelty, the Heather Endurance, and the Granite Strength. The Furze is destroyed by fire, but grows again; the Heather is torn by winds, but blossoms again; the Granite is worn away imperceptibly by the rain. This work is the first of a proposed trilogy, which the author hopes to continue and complete with "Heather" and "Granite."

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTORY
I. ABOUT THE TAVY FAMILY
II. ABOUT BRIGHTLY
III. ABOUT PASTOR AND MASTER
IV. ABOUT BEETLES
V. ABOUT THOMASINE
VI. ABOUT VOCAL AND INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
VII. ABOUT FAIRYLAND
VIII. ABOUT ATMOSPHERE
IX. ABOUT A KNAVE AND A FOOL
X. ABOUT THE VIGIL OF ST. GOOSE
XI. ABOUT THE FEAST OF ST. GOOSE
XII. ABOUT THE OCTAVE OF ST. GOOSE
XIII. ABOUT VARIOUS EMOTIONS
XIV. ABOUT A STRUGGLE AT THE GATE OF FAIRYLAND
XV. ABOUT JUSTICE
XVI. ABOUT WITCHCRAFT
XVII. ABOUT PASTIMES
XVIII. ABOUT AUTUMN IN FAIRYLAND
XIX. ABOUT THE GOOD RIGHT HAND OF FELLOWSHIP
XX. ABOUT THE PASSOVER OF THE BRUTE
XXI. ABOUT WINTER IN REAL LIFE
XXII. ABOUT THE PINCH
XXIII. ABOUT A HOUSE ON THE HIDDEN LANES
XXIV. ABOUT BANKRUPTS
XXV. ABOUT SWALING-FIRES
XXVI. ABOUT "DUPPENCE"
XXVII. ABOUT REGENERATION AND RENUNCIATION

FURZE THE CRUEL

INTRODUCTORY

ABOUT RAINDROPS

The river of Tavy is a great mountain-carver. From its mud-holes of Cranmere to the walls of Tavistock it is a hewer of rocks. Thenceforth it becomes a gardener, raising flowers and herbs; it becomes idyllic. It goes into Arcadia. And at last it floats ships of war.

There is a story in Hebrew literature of a king called Solomon, a man reputed wise, although a fool with women, who desired to build a temple to his God. There was a tradition which forbade the use of hammer or chisel in the erection of a place of worship, because, according to the Mischna, "Iron is used to shorten life, the altar to prolong it." The stones were not to be hewn. The temple was to be built noiselessly. The narrative suggests that Solomon had the stones cut and shaped at some distance from the building site, which was a decidedly Jesuitical way of solving the problem. Myth suggests that the king sought the aid of Asmodeus, chief of the devils, who told him where he could discover a worm which would split the toughest rock. The introduction of the devil to assist in the building of the temple was no doubt of Persian origin, since Persian thought influenced Hebrew