X Preface. historic times, and find the menhir no longer reared upon the heath, and that the circle and the dolmen cease to be up- raised, the symbol of that faith which is the salvation of fallen man, rough-hewn from the moorstone block, takes their place, dfid'the lamp is kept brightly burning. But these memorials which testify to the presence of men who set up by the green paths of the moor the emblem of their religion, have, in many instances yielded to the rude buffetings of the wintry blast, or have been cast down by those in whom, in a later day, these rudely fashioned stones could call up no tender feelings. Too often have I dis- covered an old cross overturned and partially hidden from view by the heather, its broken shaft and mutilated arms silently uprsuding the carelessness that permitted it to remain prostrate on the ground. To chronicle the existence of such as were previously unknown and to collect evidence, if such might be dis- covered, respecting the time and purpose of their erection, as well as of those of which mention had been made by others, has been to me a very pleasant and congenial task ; and the happy days spent on the breezy hills of Dartmoor in my search for these relics, which the companionship I enjoyed rendered happier still, will never be forgotten. These remarks were written some fifteen years ago, and Dartmoor is now to me as ever it was. But previous to their appearance I had made an appeal in behalf of the stone crosses of that old-time region, and it has been a source of gratification to me to find that what little I have done has not been without its effect. Since I first drew attention to these memorials about fifteen of them have been re-erected, and once more are seen by the wayside and in the villages as they were of old. Such evidence respect- ing the particular purposes they were designed to serve as I could bring together, my knowledge of the topography of the district enabled me the more clearly to read, and to draw the
