176 The Ancient Stone Crosses of Dartmoor. The indifference with which our antiquities have been regarded in times past is now happily disappearing, and it is at length recognised that the grey stones of the heath have an interesting story to tell, and one which cannot be lightly passed over by the student of history. There is a charm, too, in antiquarian study, which cannot fail to interest and delight ; as a writer in the Builder has well said, Those who have once caught the true flavour of antiquity, and learned what it is to extract its essence of humanity from the heart of an old stone, can very well afford to laugh in turn at those who take it for an axiom that the dying present is infinitely of more value than ' the dead past.' *' The old crosses of the moor are pleasing objects even to the casual passer-by who takes but slight heed of them, but to the antiquary and the student of history, the memories they serve to awaken add to their attractiveness, and endow these weather-stained and rough-hewn stones with a deeper interest and a greater charm.
