THE "TOE" OF CORNWALL 49 manner of Cornish streams ; and still the old chief- tain sleeps on, lulled by all the music of Nature in this wild outpost which England thrusts into the sea. The road surface round here is tolerably good. Much of it is granite, and the tiny crystals glitter in the sun like diamonds, and quickly dry up after the whirlwinds of rain that pitilessly descend in winter time. The road winds along around the desolate hills, keeping mostly rather far inland, and it passes by acres of rough land covered with the wayward gorse, where small, fox-red cows take an interest in the stranger. In spring primroses grow to enormous sizes, with leaves as large as those of foxgloves ; and the foxgloves in their turn deco- rate the hedges, rearing their tall spikes of magenta- coloured bells in profusion. Pigs abound, and great grey sheep-dogs, of the Old English bobtail breed, come shyly to make friends. And every- where in irrepressible masses is the furze, the quick- burning fuel of the poor, a godsend here where wood is so precious. Almost due west of Penzance is the mining region, where until lately there was great activity, now comparatively still. St. Just is the centre of this district ; but it is not what one would expect 7
