Clovelly. " • 443 



the purpose of visiting these shores. All the villagers seem 

 industrious, and they are very obliging, without a tiuge of the 

 servility too often found elsewhere. Of the internal life of the 

 place a visitor can discern little, but the good folks seem 

 intimately bound together by their common staircase, and by 

 other ties. 



Devonshire used to be famous for its superstitions ; how 

 much of the popular faith in weird wonders lingers in Clovelly 

 we do not know, but one old woman who is lame with one leg 

 owes her calamity to the credulity of her youth. At that time 

 a girl of the village was declared to be possessed by the devil, 

 and under the management of a local preacher, a ceremony of 

 exorcism was performed in the presence of numerous witnesses. 

 Prayers and exhortations, together with the howlings and con- 

 tortions of the patient, brought the spectators to a high pitch 

 of excitement, when suddenly the chief operator declared that 

 the Evil One was skurrying through the bacon rack, making 

 fast for the door. The crowd rushed back, and the old woman, 

 who now goes lame, damaged her ankle by an unlucky fall. 



This brief and imperfect sketch of Clovelly may be wound 

 up with a few words on its climate and accommodation. Any 

 tourist or visitor who has pretty strong legs, and is given to 

 climbing, will be delighted with it. The New Inn, though 

 small, is of good repute, and has serviceable vehicles and 

 horses for hire. The lodging houses only number some half 

 dozen. One or two are nicely furnished, and the rest are sup- 

 plied with indispensables. Provisions of good quality are 

 easily obtained by a little management, and learning the ways 

 of the place ; while any article not supplied by the village shops 

 — which strangers would not always discover without assist- 

 ance — can be had by ordering it through the carrier, who 

 makes frequent journeys to Bideford. A little stream, locally 

 and oddly termed a " lake," runs down the right side of the 

 stone staircase. This tiny torrent, which is flushed once or 

 twice a day, carries off rubbish and helps to keep the village 

 healthy. East winds are pleasant companions, having some- 

 how lost their sting. W., and S.W., and N.W. winds do not 

 get sufficiently into all parts of the cleft in which Clovelly is 

 built, but a good blow can nearly always be obtained on the 

 hills, or on the beach. Those who can stand a moderate amount 

 of fatigue, and like to be out of doors for hours together, need 

 have no difficulty in getting an appetite ; but the old or feeble 

 will find the stairs and hills too much for them. Those who 

 like fish must look sharp after it, as what is caught imme- 

 diately passes into the hands of dealers, or " fish jowders," as 

 they are termed, and dispersed through other towns by the 

 help of donkeys, provided with panniers, who toil patiently up 

 the stone stairs. 



