Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. The Convalescent—Shap Water—Persevering Guesses—What Shirts are for—The Lodgekeeper's Wife—Two Ways to Edenhall—The Way to the Giant's Caves—Young Cumbrians—Nine Kirks—The Caves—The Maiden's Step—Hugh's Parlour—Sir Lancelot du Lake—The Luck of Edeuhall—The Dnke's Ditty—The Fairies' Well—Sans Changer— The Ballad of the Luck. Two hours later I had left Penrith, and was on the way to Edenhall, when a respectable-looking labourer, who had his best suit on, and carried a carpet-bag in his hand, touched my knapsack and accosted me with " So ye're carryin'tea." Not tea! What was it then ? Having pondered awhile, he tried again with " It '11 be patterns ? " A Cumbrian of the old school, such as he seemed aged enough to be, should have used the old Cumbrian word for patterns—swatches. But he didn't; and his guess being wrong, he guessed again and again, as perseveringly as the Yankee did who tried to guess what it was had bitten the sailor's leg off. Meanwhile I questioned him, and his answer was that he had been a fortnight at Shap Wells, drinking the water and bathing, for the benefit of his health, and found that which he sought, and was now going to his home at Garrigill, a village near Alston. I congratulated him on the cure which enabled him, a sexagenarian, to undertake a walk of thirty miles burdened with a bag. " The water," he said, " tastes o'A DEBATE AT THE LODGE. 19 gunpowder; but it does folk good ; and Shap 's a place that suits a poor man's pocket." Haying guessed in vain, he begged me to tell him what I carried. " Shirts." He stood still in the middle of the road, and examined me curiously for a minute or two; shook his head, and asked, " And what d'ye carry shirts for ? " " To wear." He took another look at me, and would perhaps have m...