. Highways and byways in Devon and Cornwall. casting now and then a frightened glance upwards throughthe water. Now, Lutey had seen mermaids before, thoughnever so close, and he was by no means alarmed, but resolvedto make the most of the good luck which had brought onewithin his grasp. So he put on his most wheedling voice, andcooed and comforted her till she raised her timid head out ofthe water, and told him she had gone into a cavern to combher hair, and the tide had ebbed without her noticing it, andshe would give him great gifts if he would carry her back tothe water. With that she wept
. Highways and byways in Devon and Cornwall. casting now and then a frightened glance upwards throughthe water. Now, Lutey had seen mermaids before, thoughnever so close, and he was by no means alarmed, but resolvedto make the most of the good luck which had brought onewithin his grasp. So he put on his most wheedling voice, andcooed and comforted her till she raised her timid head out ofthe water, and told him she had gone into a cavern to combher hair, and the tide had ebbed without her noticing it, andshe would give him great gifts if he would carry her back tothe water. With that she wept and sobbed and looked sobewitching that Lutey took her on his back and carried herdown to the water, bargaining only that he should be madewise, in the special sense applied to that word in the mermaid agreed very readily to these easy terms ; andtaking the comb out of her hair gave it to the lucky Lutey,telling him she would come and teach him all he wanted toknow whenever he stroked the comb upon the surface of thewater. •>:. v, So he fut on /lis most wheedling [To face />. -70- xvi KYNANC1 COVE 277 Now, Luteys family is said to exist still, and it has alwaysbeen very famous for tin- possession of charms and othervaluable secrets which they say were Learnt from the may be that some readers will be interested to see a spe< imen of the kind of lore which the mermaid probably taught Lutey. It is taken from a manuscript hook of charms which Couch found at Polperro, and which very possibl)had a mermaid origin also. It is as follows, . Bradgty,Bradgty, Bradgty, under the ashing leaf, to be repeated threetimes, and strike your hand with the growing of the Bradgty, Bradgty, Bradgty, to he repeated three times beforeeight, eight before sewn, seven before six, six before five, fivebefore four, four before three, three before two, two before one,and one before every one, three times for the bite of an is not, as might be hasti
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