Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 23, 1912.djvu/355

 Collectanea. 333

of Lichfield christianized the northern parts of Gloucestershire ; St. Eaidhelm and the half-Saxon, half-Celtic missioners from Malmesbury penetrated into the southern spurs of our hills.

The vicissitudes and disputes of border life have left an endur- ing mark upon the character of the people. When a stranger was probably an enemy, and even the friends and allies of to-day might become the foes of to-morrow, Cotswold folk naturally learned to be suspicious of strangers, reserved with each other, and always on the defensive. They are so still, to a very marked degree ; distrust seems to be their natural attitude towards the world in general.

The physical features of the country have not tended to modify the exclusiveness of the people. One wind-swept hill was cut off from the next by an intervening stretch of swamp and bog in the narrow valleys. Even until a century or so ago, many of the main roads wound along the sides of the hills, because the lower ground was impassable in winter. The notorious hardships of Cotswold journeys led Shakespeare to define the scene of Kitig Richard II., Act 11. Sc. iii., as "The Wilds in Glostershire " :

Bolingbroke. How far is it, my lord, to Berkley now?

iVorihwnberland. Believe me, noble lord, I am a stranger here in Glostershire ; These high wild hills, and rough uneven ways. Draw out our miles, and make them wearisome.

As the people " kept themselves to themselves," and were cut off from their neighbours by difficulties of travel, the Cotswolds became a lonely backwater of life, where old ways died hard and old thoughts were bitterly opposed to new ideas. For instance, the villagers of Avening, near Nailsworth, were until quite lately noted for their aversion to newcomers. "They just made it uncomfortable for strangers," I was told. And if an outsider dared to woo an Avening girl, the lads of the place would set upon him and drive him forcibly away. I know a Minchinhamp- ton man, aged about 50, who got his nose broken for courting at Avening !

In such a neighbourhood one is not surprised to find many folklore survivals. Most of the tales and customs which I have collected have not hitherto been noted down. I am convinced