THE AUTUMN EXCURSION. 141 



ting information they had given ; and Sir John Maclean suggested 

 that Mr. Foster could not do better than take the history of the 

 borough in hand. 



The next item in the programme was a drive to Fowey, taking 

 in the fine old camp of Castle Dor on the way, and a Romano- 

 British inscribed stone. The scenery en route was delightful, for 

 the road lay along the high ground which divides the Fowey and 

 Tywardreath valleys ; and the landscape is picturesque and ever- 

 changing. Moreover it has all the charms of historical association. 

 We may not know by whom and when Castle Dor was raised, 

 but we do know that in later times the wisdom which dictated 

 the original choice of the site was justified by its being selected 

 for a Royalist post in the civil wars of the 17th century. What 

 battles were fought there in pre-historic times we know not ; but, 

 standing on its ramparts, one can see Braddock Downs, the scene 

 of a great victory won by Sir Ralph Hopton over General 

 Ruthven ; and Castle Dor itself may be regarded as the scene of 

 the surrender of the entire Parliamentary army under Skippon, 

 while Essex barely made his escape by sea to Plymouth. Castle 

 Dor is a circular earthwork enclosed by three rings of rampart 

 and ditch, and its name is supposed to be derived from the Celtic 

 Dwr, water, and to be applied to it as commanding the waters on 

 either side of the ridge. By the forethought of Mr. Rashleigh 

 the camp had been rendered pleasantly accessible for the ladies. 

 The inscribed stone is a mile nearer Fowey. According to Borlase, 

 the inscription is CIRVSIVS HIC TACIT CVNOWORI FILIVS 

 and, though in parts eff"aced since his time, most of these letters 

 are still clear; he regards the W as an inverted M. Cirusius 

 may be a Latinized form of Kerris ; there is Polkerris near by, 



Next came Fowey — that quaint old seaport which in the 

 middle ages led the navy of England ; which carried on a war 

 against France on its own account when the King had proclaimed 

 peace, and came to grief therefore ; whose sons by their daring 

 deeds won the name of gallants, which their descendants still 

 fondly cherish. — Fowey, with its lovely harbour, its ruined forts, 

 and chain towers, its fine old church, and the stately mansion of 

 the Trefirys, famed so far back as Poictiers, when Sir John Treff"ry 

 was the Royal Standard Bearer, and gained the honourable aug- 

 mentation of supporters to the family arms, of which, as of their 

 pious motto, " Whyle God wyll," they may well be proud. Place 

 was the first spot visited, and here the party were received by its 

 owner, the Rev. Dr. TrefFry, who conducted them through the 

 picturesque mansion. Special note was taken of its unique 

 feature, the porphyry hall, commenced by the late Mr. J. T. 



