sou'-sou-west until he
spied land; and so he stepped ashore on the Cornish coast.
In Cornwall he lived many years till he died: and to this day there
are three places named after him--Perranaworthal, Perranuthno and
Perranzabuloe. But it was in the last named that he took most delight,
because at Perranzabuloe (Perochia Sti. Pirani in Sabulo) there was
nothing but sand to distract him from the Study of Objects that
Presented Themselves to his Notice: for he had given up miracles. So
he sat on the sands and taught the Cornish people how to be idle. Also
he discovered tin for them; but that was an accident.
II.--SAINT PIRAN AND THE VISITATION.
A full fifty years had St. Piran dwelt among the sandhills between
Perranzabuloe and the sea before any big rush of saints began to pour
into Cornwall: for 'twas not till the old man had discovered tin for
us that they sprang up thick as blackberries all over the county; so
that in a way St. Piran had only himself to blame when his idle ways
grew to be a scandal by comparison with the push and bustle of the
newcomers.
Never a notion had he that, from Rome to Land's End, all his holy
brethren were holding up their hands over his case. He sat in his
cottage above the sands at Perranzabuloe and dozed to the hum of the
breakers, in charity with all his parishioners, to whom his money
was large as the salt wind; for his sleeping partnership in the
tin-streaming business brought him a tidy income. And the folk knew
that if ever they wanted religion, they had only to knock and ask for
it.
But one fine morning, an hour before noon, the whole parish sprang to
its feet at the sound of a horn. The blast was twice repeated, and
came from the little cottage across the sands.
"'Tis the blessed saint's cow-horn!" they told each other. "Sure the
dear man must be in the article of death!" And they hurried off to the
cottage, man, woman, and child: for 'twas thirty years at least since
the horn had last been sounded.
They pushed open the door, and there sat St. Piran in his arm-chair,
looking good for another twenty years, but considerably flustered. His
cheeks were red, and his fingers clutched the cow-horn nervously.
"Andrew Penhaligon," said he to the first man that entered, "go you
out and ring the church bell."
Off ran Andrew Penhaligon. "But, blessed father of us," said one or
two, "we're all _here_! There's no call to ring the church bell, seem'
you're neither dead nor a
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