reached its present position is of course a matter for conjecture, but it is probable 

 that it was with the other smaller stones brought from the Wye. 



On the Dorstone slope of the hill, and in the valley, some large travelled 

 stones are found, which would seem to suggest that at one time there had been 

 an avenue of stones marking the ascent to the cromlech. 



It is much to be regretted that this interesting relic of a far-off time is left 

 in its present state of utter neglect, a i^rey not only to the destructive action 

 of the seasons, but also to the heedless ravages of mankind. It would require 

 no great expenditure at least to clear the outer circle of stones of the earth 

 which has accumulated upon them, and thus to lay bare to the observer the 

 exact nature of the place, and it would be a trivial sacrifice of land to divert 

 the road a little to the eastsvard, so as to save that side of the circle from fur- 

 ther destruction. It is possible that the excavation necessary for the purpose 

 would be rewarded by discoveries of articles of interest, but in any case 

 the diversion of the road would be an easy way of presendng this fine relic 

 from casual or wanton damage. As the only monument of its class in the 

 county, it merits some little care for its own sake, while such care would re- 

 lieve the archaeologists of the county of some discredit which the present 

 neglected condition of the stone justly throws upon them. 



As the party were grouped aroimd the stone, the Vice-Presidents and some 

 other gentlemen present invited Mr. Edmunds to say a few words on its 

 history. 



Mr. Editunds, in responding to the unexpected call, said that he was 

 much in the position of Canning's knife-grinder, when asked for his story : 



Storj', Lor' bless ye, I have none to tell. Sir ! 

 He had not been able to find any historical references to King Arthur's Stone, 

 while the legends were few and imperfect, yielding no distinct ground even for 

 plausible conjecttu-e as to the person to whom or the time when that structure 

 was reared. The name was rather patriotism than history. There is no reason 

 for supposing that King Arthiu? ever ruled in this district. It is true that the 

 existence of Arthur had been disputed, but the doubt seemed to the speaker an 

 unreasonable one. There was certainly a real King Arthur who ruled the 

 district now known as Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall, and whose body was 

 foimd buried at AvaUonia in the reign of Henry II., but there is no reason for 

 connecting him with this cromlech unless we take the name as a patriotic myth. 

 As the great national hero, Arthur was to the Briton the syrabol of the glorious 

 past of their independence, and everything remarkable or interesting seemed to 

 be consecrated by bearing the name of Arthur. Thus we have mountains, crom- 

 lechs, stones, and other objects in distant places where Arthur never ruled, as 

 well as in his own little kingdom, named from the hero-king. Of course where 

 nothing certain was loiown there was a fine field for conjecture (a laugh). The 

 archaeologists had " ample room and verge enough " for theory. There 

 were indeed some facts, very massive and imposing and undeniable ; there was 

 the huge table of stone, the crom-lech, or covering stone, its firmly fixed supports, 



