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Page 96:-
the country people to get them to speak their minds fully,
will find that they still hold to the notion that nobody can
count the druid stones correctly; and also that a treasure
is buried under the largest stone. As to the first, there
are, in most such circles, some smaller stones cropping out
of the ground which some visitors will, and others will not,
include among those of the circle. We ourselves counted Long
Meg and her daughters, near Penrith, many times before
making out the prescribed sixty-seven, with any certainty.
As for the treasure, can any one prove that it is not there?
Nobody wants to undermine the stone, to get rid of the
tradition: so our neighbours are like the Arabs at Petra,
who have been shooting with sling, bow, and matchlock, for a
thousand years, at the urn, where they are sure Pharaoh's
treasure is,- in its niche in the rock temple. For a
thousand years, they have failed to bring it down, and are
determined that no European shall. And no European would
dismantle the temple to disabuse the Arabs; and so the
tradition and the urn stand untouched. So may it be for ages
to come with Long Meg, and the giant of eight tons' weight
that presides over the Keswick circle!
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The ascent of Saddleback may begin behind Threlkeld, up a
path which the villagers will point out: but an easier way
is, to diverge from the main road some way further on, by
the road to Hesket, near the village of Scales. The
hill-side path is to be taken which leads along Souter Fell,
by the side of the stream which descends from Scales tarn.
This part is the very home of superstition and romance. This
Souter, or Soutra
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Lakes Guides menu.
