Every hour shortens man’s life.

Inside the church there was a curiosity in the shape of a wooden tablet, on which was painted a copy of a letter of thanks from King Charles I to the county of Cornwall for its assistance during his conflict with the Roundheads, It was written from his camp at Sudeley Castle on September 10th, 1643, and was one of several similar tablets to be found in various churches in Cornwall.

[Illustration:  REV.  JOHN WESLEY. (The Founder of Methodism in England.)]

The Wesleyan chapel at St. Austell, with accommodation for a congregation of 1,000 persons, also attracted our attention, as it had a frontage like that of a mansion, with columns supporting the front entrance, and was situated in a very pleasant part of the town.  John Wesley laboured hard in Cornwall, and we were pleased to see evidences of his great work there as we travelled through the Duchy; and as Cornishmen must surround the memory of their saints with legends, it did not surprise us that they had one about Mr. Wesley.  He was travelling late one night over a wild part of Cornwall when a terrific storm came on, and the only shelter at hand was a mansion that had the reputation of being haunted.  He found his way into the hall and lay down on a bench listening to the raging elements outside until he fell fast asleep.  About midnight he awoke and was surprised to find the table in the hall laid out for a banquet, and a gaily dressed company, including a gentleman with a red feather in his cap, already assembled.  This person offered Wesley a vacant chair and invited him to join them, an invitation which he accepted; but before he took a bite or a sup he rose from his chair, and said, “Gentlemen! it is my custom to ask a blessing on these occasions,” and added, “Stand all!” The company rose, but as he pronounced the sacred invocation the room grew dark and the ghostly guests vanished.

We should have liked to hear what followed, but this was left to our imagination, which became more active as the darkness of night came on.  As we walked we saw some beautiful spar stones used to repair the roads, which would have done finely for our rockeries.

Late that night we entered Truro, destined to become years afterwards a cathedral town.

(Distance walked thirty-three miles.)

Friday, November 17th.

Truro formerly possessed a castle, but, as in the case of Liskeard, not a vestige now remained, and even Leland, who traced the site, described the castle as being “clene down.”  He also described the position of the town itself, and wrote, “The creke of Truro afore the very towne is divided into two parts, and eche of them has a brook cumming down and a bridge, and this towne of Truro betwixt them both.”  These two brooks were the Allen, a rivulet only, and the Kenwyn, a larger stream, while the “creke of Truro” was a branch of the Falmouth Harbour, and quite a fine sheet of water at high tide.  Truro was one of the Stannary Towns as a matter of course, for according to tradition it was near here that tin was first discovered.