at the appearance of Saint Michael's head, which
looks like nothing so much as a Dutch cheese.
The fact is, that when this brass lay on the floor,
the feet of passers - by had gradually erased the
features of the archangel, leaving only the circular
nimbus or glory round his head. Some well-meaning
but misguided restorer of later days has evidently
taken the nimbus to be the outline of the head,
and has roughly filled in eyes, nose, and mouth to
correspond."[1]
An event occurred at Penzance in 1760 that was curious.
A large vessel was driven ashore on the beach. Numbers of persons crowded to the wreck to get from it what they could, when they were startled to see it manned by swarthy mariners with scimitars and turbans. At once a panic seized on those who had come out of interested motives to the wreck, and they scuttled off as hard as their legs would take them. Presently a company of volunteers was called out to roll of drum, and marched down to surround the 172 men who had disembarked from the wreck. These were gallantly captured and driven like sheep into a spacious barn, and left there under guard through the night.
Next morning it was ascertained from the men who had come ashore (some of whom could speak broken French), by means of some English officers who could understand a little French, especially when broken, that the vessel was an Algerine corsair, carrying twenty-four guns, and
- ↑ Matthews, A History of St. Ives. London, 1892.
