Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume II.djvu/98

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through the broad vale in serpentine lines of silver. On descending again to the town, and visiting the church-yard, the spirit of antiquarian conjecture was excited by the singular ancient monument called the Gianfs -Grave; consisting of two rudely-carved stone pillars nearly four yards high and three feet in circumference, standing upright in a direction east and west, about fourteen feet distant from each other. Between these lie two pieces of ma- sonry, bearing the appearance of rude shields, lying parallel to each other, stretching from pillar to pil- lar, and inclosing an oblong area rather wider than that occupied by a common grave. Many idle tales are grounded on these remains of ancient sepulture, which, from the grotesque ornaments that cover them, may with greater probability be given to the Danes than any other people. They conceal, in all likelihood, the remains of two Scandinavian war- riors, whose military renown is transmitted to pos- terity by the representation of their spears in the upright pillars, and of their shields in the broad spheroidal stones which lie between the two.

Our route to Haweswater led us by two other ancient curiosities about a mile and a half from Penrith the round table of Arthur, as it is called, and Mayburgh; apparently cotemporary with each other, and of Druidical antiquity. The former,

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