HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



ii 



of his followers, retired to Glastonbury, where they 

 greatly improved the church and form of religion, 

 and moreover enriched the altar with a sapphire of 

 inestimable value. 



King Arthur, after the fatal battle with his nephew 

 Mordred, was interred in Glastonbury ; his remains 

 are said to have been discovered in the reign of 

 Henry II., who instigated a search, which resulted in 

 a large cross being exhumed from the tomb, bearing an 

 inscription in rude characters something to the effect 

 of " Here lies the famous King Arthur, buried in the 

 isle of Avalon." Beneath was discovered a coffin- 

 like excavation in the solid rock containing the bones 

 of a human body, which was supposed to be that of 

 King Arthur. These bones were deposited in the 

 church and covered with a sumptuous monument. 



In 708 Ina, king of the Saxons, in a sudden and 

 spasmodic fit of zeal, greatly improved_the convent, 

 but it was left to Dunstan to execute alterations a*hd 

 improvements of any magnitude. He caused the 

 abbey to be enlarged, and had it furnished in a state 

 of unrivalled magnificence and splendour, to such an 

 extent, indeed, that in a short time it became " the 

 pride of England, and the glory of Christendom," as 

 an old chronicler states. This was soon after the 

 year 942. 



Edgar, who had a palace within two miles of the 

 town, and in a romantic situation still called 

 v 'Edgarley," — now a hamlet in the parish of St. 

 John — endowed the abbey with several estates, and 

 invested the monks with extensive privileges. The 

 abbots ^lived en prince ; the revenue having been, so 

 far as we can ascertain, quite ,£40,000. This large 

 sum of money, in common with the revenues of other 

 abbeys, was appropriated by William I. From various 

 causes, partly through internal ruptions and external 

 civil wars and strife, these magnificent buildings 

 vapidly degenerated into ruins, and nothing was 

 present in 1797 to demonstrate a former glory, except 

 the abbot's kitchen — which was pretty entire. 



Having briefly sketched the history of the ancient 

 town of Glastonbury, it now remains for us to mention 

 a shrub narrowly associated with the legendary lore 

 of this place ; it is the Glastonbury thorn, a variety 

 of Cratagus oxyacantha. Its origin is obscure, and 

 even that highly-respected individual, "the oldest 

 inhabitant," is not, as is usually the case, very dog- 

 matic on the point. There are, however, three theories 

 in connection with the history of this shrub. According 

 to some, it originated with Joseph of Arimathea, who 

 is reputed to have visited England, and, having struck 

 his staff into the ground, the celebrated thorn of 

 Glastonbury grew from it. It is also alleged that 

 this same shrub was planted by St. Peter from a staff 

 formed from the Jerusalem plant, whence the " crown 

 of thorns " was made. The third version is that it 

 was planted originally by St. Patrick ; and if we are 

 compelled to accept at least one of these theories let 

 t be the last, by all means. 



On Christmas Eve, 1753, a vast concourse of people 

 attended the noted thorn at Glastonbury, expecting it 

 to flower then ; but they were disappointed. It is 

 recorded, however, that they watched it again on the 

 5th of January — the old Christmas Day — when it 

 burst forth flotver as usual. The cause of its blooming 

 at Christmas is accounted for by the fact that the 

 owner of the original tree— whoever he may have 

 been — fixed the staff into the ground on a Christmas 

 Day, when it immediately rooted, put forth leaves, and 

 the next day was covered with milk-white blossoms. 

 It continued, so we are told, to bloom every Christmas 

 Day for a series of years with great regularity. 

 tempora ! 



At Quainton, in Bucks, we have it authentically 

 recorded that above ten thousand persons on one 

 occasion went with lanterns and candles to view a 

 thorn in that neighbourhood, which was remembered 

 to have been a slip from that at Glastonbury. 



Another presumably miraculous wonder inflicted on 

 the credulity of the Glastonbury folks in former days 

 was a walnut-tree, which was said never to expand its 

 leaves before the 1 ith of June — the feast of St. Barna- 

 bas — but this long ago ceased to exist. 



Equally absurd is a variety of legendary tales which 

 have become interwoven with the history of this 

 place ; particularly that in connection with some 

 Chalybeate springs. These were numerouslyattended 

 formerly by invalids from all parts, ostensibly for the 

 purpose of participating in their reputed curative 

 qualities. 



Again, adverting to the thorn, its season of flower- 

 ing, and the regularity of same, is passing strange. 

 We have had it in flower in the sunny clime of Corn- 

 wall repeatedly at, or near, but rarely before, Christ- 

 mas. We have come to the conclusion, after a patient 

 research, and sifting the exceedingly few facts 

 known, that its pedigree is not nearly so extensive as 

 is popularly supposed. 



THE GEOLOGICAL RECORD" 

 HALDON,! DEVONSHIRE. 



AT 



By the Rev. W. Downes, B.A., F.G.S. 



WHEN summer visitors to Teignmouth or 

 Dawlish have spent a day or two in boating, 

 bathing, and strolling along the beach, and a variety 

 in the programme of the day is becoming desirable, 

 the first thing probably which will suggest itself to 

 them, or be suggested by others, will be a walk upon 

 Haldon. Nor could any better suggestion be made. 

 That elevated plateau is equally accessible from either 

 of the two watering places, and is about equi-distant 

 from either. Two miles of stiff and steady up-hill work 

 will take the pedestrian from sea-level to 760 feet 

 above it, where he will be fully rewarded for his 

 climb by the splendid view over land and sea which 



