t up old
weathered domestic utensils from the sea bottom near at hand.

A lightship now marks the Seven Stones, and at low water on a rough day
the sight of the huge breakers dashing themselves into foam upon the
rocks is an awe-inspiring one.

The Scillies lie twenty-seven miles west of Land's End and are reached
by a regular service of steamers from Penzance. The journey across is
fascinating, and magnificent views of the rugged coast are to be
obtained.

And the Islands themselves provide a perfect place for a lazy holiday.
A winter climate they seldom know; flowers bloom right through the year,
and sea fishing and boating there are ideal. The Scillies consist of a
group of about forty granite islands, only a few of which are inhabited.
Many of the islets are joined together by bars of sand at low tide.

Though in the Scillies you may feel very far away from the great world,
quaint, fascinating Penzance, from which you start, is very near--in
time--from London. It is only six and a-half hours from Paddington,
although over 300 miles have to be traversed in the rail journey.

[Illustration: _The Seven Stones_]

[Illustration]

THE PISKIE'S FUNERAL

The sand-hills that abound near the church of Lelant, by St. Ives, are
now famous the world over for providing one of the most excellent golf
courses in this country. But in the far-away simpler days, before golf
had come south, and when Cornwall was a distant land seldom visited by
strangers, the Lelant sand-hills had a different fame.

In those days they used to say that they were the favourite
meeting-place of the piskies, or, as folks from other parts of England
would call them, fairies. Strange stories were told by the people
of Lelant of the moonlight revels indulged in by the small folk in
sheltered corners of that great stretch of sand-dunes that borders the
Hayle river.

One of the strangest stories is that of a piskie funeral, seen with his
own eyes by a respectable villager ever so many years ago.

Old Richard, who witnessed this amazing sight, was returning late
one night from St. Ives, whither he had been in search of fish. As he
ascended the hill towards his home, he thought he heard the bell of
Lelant church tolling. This struck him as being curious, for it was
just midnight, so he went out of his way to have a look at the church,
in case anything was wrong.

Arriving in sight of the building, he saw faint lights within; and still
the