190 



MANNERS AND CUSTOMS INFLUENCED BY TART III. 



the Egyptian sphynx looks forth over the sands of the 

 Memphean Desert. 1 





SITE OF AN ANCIENT BRITISH VILLAGE AND FAIR ON DARTMOOR. 

 [By Percival Skelton, after his oriAinal Drawing ] 



The last occasion on which the fair was held in this 

 secluded spot was in the year 1625, when the plague 

 raged at Tavistock ; and there is a part of the ground, 

 situated amidst a line of pillars marking a stone avenue 

 a characteristic feature of the ancient aboriginal worship 



1 Vixen Tor is the name of this 

 singular-looking rock. Mr. Rowe thus 

 describes it : " Fronting the river 

 [ Walkham] the huge masses of which 

 the tor is composed are piled up tier 

 after tier, in a rude but noble facade, 

 divided into three compartments by 

 fissures, through which an ascent to 

 the summit can be effected, whereon 

 appearances of rock-basins will be ob- 

 served. The river-front faces directly 

 south, and this lofty Vixen-rock is 

 traditionally reported to have been re- 

 sorted to in past times for astronomical 

 purposes. Vixen Tor, whether con- 

 sidered in itself or with reference to 



the striking scenery of which it forms 

 the central object, is one of the most 

 interesting in the moorland district." 

 ' Perambulations of Dartmoor,' 186. 

 It is proper, however, to add, that 

 the appearance of the rock is most 

 probably accidental, and that the 

 head of the Sphynx is produced by 

 the three angular blocks of rock being 

 seen in profile. But Mr. Borlasc, in 

 his 'Antiquities of Cornwall,' ex- 

 presses the opinion that the rock- 

 basins on the summit of the rock 

 were used by the Druids for purposes 

 connected with their religious cere- 

 monies. 



