A Cornish Legend

Cornwall in the far South West of England is a beautiful county . The coastline is spectacular and rugged but that very coastline has taken many a ship to its doom. Cornwall once had its own language and it is a place alive with myths, legends and superstitions. It is a land of giants and mermaids, fairies and mysterious stones, smugglers and wreckers, of Jan Tregeagle who was “called back from the grave” knockers (spirits who haunted the tin mines and maybe still do). King Arthur of round table fame is said to have been born here. Land’s End was supposed to be the gateway to the lost land of Lyonesse. Over nine hundred years ago this land was suddenly engulfed by the sea and all the inhabitants were drowned. Only one man escaped riding on a swift white horse. Old Cornish fishermen say that the “drowned” buildings can still be seen beneath the waves when conditions are right.

Stories abound in the county and  although no book was ever written in the Cornish language, the folklore and superstitions have been passed down by word of mouth from generation unto generation.

Today I am going to share just one of those stories with you.

The Pekingese dog originated in China and was highly prized. Only the Royal Family were ever allowed to own them and to kill one was punishable by death.

The Imperial family carried their dogs around in their robes and very often in their sleeves. Their worth was considered  to be above gold.

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st,  the Chinese Emperor, wishing to honour her, could think of nothing better than to send her a pair of his dogs. Of course, they had to be accompanied by a person of royal bearing so he sent one of his own daughters along with them. The dogs were placed in a carved ivory box.  It was a long and very difficult journey from China before the ship finally docked in France. During the voyage the bitch gave birth to five puppies and the little dog guarded his family in the ivory box and also guarded his princess.

                 

On landing in France, the princess was able to find a Cornish ship to take them on to England. However, the Cornish crew were very superstitious, having never seen anyone Chinese before. In their quarters they began weaving stories about her and became convinced that she was a slant-eyed demon and that she was carrying jewels and coins in the ivory box. As the ship approached the Cornish coast a terrible storm arose and began driving the vessel towards the murderous cliffs. The crew were terrified and blamed the demon princess. They burst into her cabin, seized her and one man tried to grab the box. He recoiled in horror when he felt a sharp pain in his hand and saw blood. The seamen were even more frantic, their crewmate had been bitten. There had to be another demon inside the box.

In sheer terror they threw both the princess and the box overboard. Shortly afterwards the wind changed and the storm abated, thus confirming their beliefs.

The body of the poor princess and the box were washed ashore, into a lonely cove very close to Land’s End. The crew reached port and told their story. Nobody would approached the body of the poor girl until one man, the village simpleton, decided that something must be done. After all, she might still be alive. He went and tended to her. She was most certainly dead as was the little bitch and her pups. Only the dog had survived and he was dying.

The simpleton, out of pity, dug a grave for them. He placed all the bodies together in the grave, covered it over and then collected as many daisies as he could find and laid them on the grave in the shape of a cross. He placed the dying dog in amongst the daisies. The little creature licked his hand and then died.

Tales of the supposed “treasure” in the ivory box spread along the coast and people were talking of digging the box up again to obtain the riches. One thing stopped them. The crewman who had been bitten aboard the ship died suddenly and everyone was too terrified to approach the daisy strewn mound on the beach. It was rumoured that a ghost dog defended the grave of his mistress and his mate and that the dog’s bite was fatal. So the princess and her little animals were left in peace.

However, time did not dim the story. It is said that during the 1850’s a young boy found a piece of carved ivory near the base of the cliffs. As he bent to lift it up to examine it he felt himself stung or “bitten”. There was only a tiny mark on his hand but nevertheless it is said that he died shortly afterwards. People were convinced he was doomed as he had been attacked by the ghost Pekingese.

That,  my dear readers, is the legend of the Daisy Dog.

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