The Argosy — page 328: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Exmoor and its People. 303 which tells of the passing of some large steamer, moving swiftly towards Bristol: bearing home, it may be, from distant colonies some of our hill country folk, who left us years ago bright lads and lasses, and are now returning grave, care-worn men and women. There, too, are many gleaming sails flitting up and down, and there, beyond all, rise the Welsh mountains, filling our fancies with dreams about the Cimri. Among them all stands out the Sugar-loaf, conspi- cuous from its quaint shape. Tired with gazing, we sink back on our heathery bed and float down a stream of idle musing, as we listen to the hum of the bees that are so busy, this sunny day, gathering the honey to which the heather gives such a peculiar, aromatic flavour. All at once we are disturbed by merry children’s voices near us, and we rouse ourselves and look round. The new-comers wear such shabby, not to say ragged frocks and jackets, that, at first sight, an uncomfortable notion concerning a troop of professional beggars begins to haunt us. JBut there is nothing of a beggar’s whine or beggar’s shuffle in the laughter which comes ringing towards us on the breeze, in the steps which dance lightly over the heather; there is nothing either of poverty or want in those smiling, sunburnt faces. These are the whortleberry gatherers, who, at this season, come from all the neighbouring villages both of hill and valley to pick the fruit which grows on a little stiff bush in among the heath, during the period when the whortleberries are ripe, which is August and September. . Every village school round about Dunkerry and Exmoor is closed, for the simple reason that, if it were kept open, not a single child would set foot within its doors. They are all sent out whortleberry picking by their parents, dressed in their very oldest and most dila- pidated clothes ; for the occupation naturally involves many a soil and many a tear, and the thrifty west country matron knows better than to allow best garments to be exposed to such dangers. The profit made by whortleberry gathering is often considerable. Carts come round to the different villages to buy the fruit, which is carried off to our large manufacturing towns, and there used to make a rich purple dye. Small quantities of it are also sold for the table—whortle- berry tart and clotted cream being a dish highly appreciated by west country men and women. A hill country child will often earn her Sunday costume for the whole year by her whortleberry gathering, and one small parish last season calculated that the total gains of the boys and girls of the village amounted to above £30. The whortle- berry is sweet and mild in taste. The lips of profane strangers sometimes pronounce it insipid, but this is most rank heresy in a west country house, and the visitor who holds such an opinion had best keep it to himself. But to return to our seat on the top of Dunkerry, from which the whortleberry has made us wander for a while. Gomichboo (E@) m