EERtfY COMBES. 
41 
Now let us turn inland, and visit another of the 
fine districts of Devon. 
Out upon the hills! the glorious, granite-capped 
hills of Dartmoor, breezy and fresh! Thousands of 
acres free from cultivation, for Nature has put her 
own seal upon them. Ages, ages ago were those 
huge blocks of granite strewn about, defying man 
to intrude on Nature’s solitude; for who could re¬ 
move all those countless myriads of stones, to till 
the ground that lies beneath ? 
Yet centuries ago this wild region, and the wild¬ 
est parts of it, now deserted by man, were the abodes 
of a curious, wonderful people. Dartmoor was one 
of the strongholds of the Druids; and the many 
“ hut circles, “ stone avenues,” tolmens, and crom¬ 
lechs, show them to have been a numerous people, 
marvellously attached to stones. 
Their peculiarly pet place, Wistman’s Wood, is 
unique. Gigantic blocks of granite, so piled one 
on the other that the only way to get along is to 
jump from stone to stone. Woe betide you if you 
put your foot on a nice tempting piece of sedge or 
grass ! The thin crust speedily gives way, and you 
may chance to get wedged in between Druidical 
remains. 
From among the rocks spring ancient oaks, 
known as ancients even in ancient days, gnarled 
