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palian party were being deprived of their churches by the Round- 

 heads — in the time of the CromweUian Revolution — and it cannot 

 be wondered at that they should now and then show reluctance in 

 giving up what they considered to be their own, or refuse to 

 relinquish them without a struggle. 



These Philipsons of Crooke Hall and the island upon Winder- 

 mere, are noted elsewhere. Dr. Gibson, who was for many years 

 our Coniston writer and poet, in a long ballad, entitled, "The 

 Skulls of Culgaith," describes how a fatal curse was pronounced 

 upon that same family for its over-reaching injustice. And a 

 gentleman — Mr. Rawnsley — who, the last time I was here, 

 delivered an address upon Lake District Defence, from this 

 platform, in his volume of very interesting sonnets upon Lakeland, 

 has written a piece upon these Skulls of Culgaith, in which he 

 follows in pretty much the same tack. Thus the Philipsons have 

 called forth the attention of not less than three of our poets to 

 their decline and fall. 



Speaking of the fortunes of families, I am reminded of a theme 

 which in a varied form has often afforded a subject for Cumberland 

 legend and poetry, and is connected with the luck of castles 

 and other baronial residences. Often a cup or goblet is retained 

 there, and known as the luck of the place. Thus we have the 

 Luck of Muncaster, in a goblet said to have been given to the 

 Pennington family by Henry VII. Goblets connected with the 

 luck of other houses have been handed down in the same way. 

 Possibly the most famed both in legend and poetry is that famous 

 goblet called the Luck of Edenhall. 



The best known legend on the subject is, that one of the 

 Musgraves rushed in amongst the festive revels of a band of fairies 

 and seized and gallopped off with their goblet. There was a chase 

 of course — very much in the style of the chase described in "Tam 

 o' Shanter;" and Musgrave, like Tam, made for the running 

 stream, for he knew that the fairies would be powerless to cross it. 

 He succeeded in crossing the stream in a more fortunate condition 

 than the hero of Burns — for his mare carried over it both the 



