OUR HOLIDAY IN CORNWALL 83 



of a strong fisherman's net. This fossilized net- 

 work is really remarkable, and, of course, fully 

 justifies the legend that the devil had a hand in 

 it hence it has been properly named 



" The Demi's Fishing Net? 



Let me add a word about Cornish stiles. These 

 are the very easiest things for bipeds to cross, but 

 they are veritable traps to catch cattle or sheep. 

 They are at most not a foot in height. I hardly 

 know how to describe one. First, a pit is dug in 

 the fence two or three feet deep ; over this pit are 

 placed in line with the hedge four or six great slabs 

 of granite, each of them about six feet long, eight 

 inches deep, and six inches wide. These slabs are 

 laid at intervals of about a foot, so that cattle or 

 sheep attempting to cross may as likely as not get 

 one or other of their legs down between the slabs, 

 and so come to grief. Bipeds, of course, using 

 their eyes, can be more circumspect. I fancy they 

 are peculiar to Cornwall. One could wish they 

 were in common use everywhere, and specially 

 by river-sides, where anglers have always terrible 

 fences to contend with. 



Wednesday, August 2. This day we took a short 

 drive to the villages of Mousehole and Paul, 

 passing through the terrible village, beloved of 

 artists, called Newlyn. A drive through it is quite 

 a novel experience. Up streets as steep as the 

 roofs of the quaintest weather-beaten old houses ; 

 down streets quite as steep, and wide enough only 

 for one vehicle to pass. If you happen to meet 



