to
distil Irish whisky. We have reason to believe that Celtic saints were
very human, but we need not credit every idle legend. The saint seems
to have been something of a farmer, possessing many horses and cattle.
We may question the statement that he lived to the age of two hundred,
and then dug his own grave in the sand; but the possibility that the
large skeleton found here was really his has some support from the
fact that it was headless when discovered, and this tallies with an
entry in the will of Sir John Arundell of Trerice: "To provide
honourable protection for St. Pieran's head, the sum of 40s." Those
who wish to find the ancient oratory had better first reach the site
of the second church, marked by a high granite cross; from this the
older remains lie about a quarter of a mile westward, towards the sea.
Another _plan-an-guare_, resembling that of Redruth, lies near the
hamlet of Rose (_ros_, a moorland); it is about 130 feet in diameter,
and has faint traces of seven tiers of seats, which afforded
accommodation for two thousand spectators. Originally it was probably
a natural subsidence, strengthened by artificial earthworks; and
whatever its first use may have been, it became a popular amphitheatre
for public performance of miracle-plays. There are many water-mills in
this district, and they provide a feature not common in Cornwall.

CHAPTER XIV

CRANTOCK, NEWQUAY, MAWGAN

After passing the extensive sands of Perran Bay the coast once more
becomes rugged and broken. This is a very quiet and lonely part of the
Cornish seaboard, but the popularity of Newquay is bringing it within
the knowledge of an increasing number of visitors. The railway now
touches the coast here at two points, Newquay and Perranporth, between
which limits those who wish to explore the country-side must rely on
other methods of transit. The shore is not only broken into rough
headlands, but has a number of off-lying islets. Thus there are the
Gull Rocks, off Penhale Point; the Chick, off Kelsey Head; and the
Goose, off East Pentire. The sands in this district have wrought more
havoc than the sea; and if tradition may be trusted there was once a
far more dense population. Barrows and traces of encampment are fairly
common, but the sand is supposed to hold more secrets yet; and if it
surrendered the old lost church of St. Piran, why should it not some
day unseal still other mysteries? There is indeed an atmosphere of
mystery