29-1 president's address. 



This churchyard furnished to Bewick one of the most instruc- 

 tive of his " tail-pieces," the broken gravestone — 



Saevetr to tf)c JBcmorp of 

 " One gone and forgotten/' 



the crack, all through, leaving nothing legible, the rest covered 

 with the praises and virtues of the unknown deceased. 



I would mention that, in connection with Spindlestone, we have 

 the legend of the Laidley (or loathsome) Worm, an enormous 

 serpent that devoured the substance of the country, and scared 

 the people ; revelling in the muddy waters at the base of the trap 

 rocks thrown up in this district, then a general swamp ; and 

 coiling itself up in a cave on the hill above, which even to my 

 day had escaped the ruthless hammer, tut now paves the streeta 

 of London. Thus, in the old song of 1272, founded on this 

 tradition — 



At this day may be seen the cave, 



Which held her folded up, 

 And the stone trough, the very same 



Out of which she did sup. 



But they are seen no longer. It may be that the remains of some 

 such monster may still lie hid in the bogs beneath, to gratify a 

 future excavator ; and I mention the tradition here, as it goes 

 far to confirm the views of your late President, given in an able 

 paper to the Club, and clearly indicates what we cannot hesitate 

 to recognize, the real existence in our island at an age not far 

 distant of some great reptile of this species, which haply may yet 

 be found alive in the remote regions with which we are about to 

 make acquaintance. 



Let me say that these local tales are not to be despised. They 

 carry a hidden meaning, are usually founded in truth, and curious 

 in themselves (with the property of always interesting the hearer), 

 are to be taken and observed as a part of our domestic history, 

 and of tbe annals of mankind. 



In the same hills, I remember plots of ground, crofts called 

 Friars' dales, with gardens, for the reception of lepers, reserved 



