The "Written Stone" in Dilworth. 13 his parlour, reading or meditating, when he was interrupted by the appearance of a cat, which came down the chimney, and called out, "Tell Dildrum, Doldrum 's dead!" He was naturally startled by the occurrence; and when, shortly afterwards, his wife entered, he related to her what had happened, and their own cat, which had accompanied her, exclaimed, "Is Doldrum dead?" and immediately rushed up the chimney, and was heard or no more. Of course there were numberless conjectures upon such a remarkable event, but the general opinion appears to be that Doldrum had been king of cat-land, and that Dildrum was the next heir.-N. and Q., 2d ser. x. 464. THE "WRITTEN STONE" IN DILWORTH. THE anonymous author of "The New Clock" mentions, in his "Curious Corners round Preston," that, having heard of a farm called "Written Stone," from an ancient stone bearing an inscription which stands near it, and that the place was reputed to be the haunt of boggarts, he determined to visit it. It is in the township or Dilworth, and parish of Ribchester, about two miles from the village of Longridge, and seven miles N.E. of Preston. Turning down a narrow lane, or old bridle-road, it soon plunged the searcher into a deep ravine, with a rapid mountain rivulet coursing through it, and a tall hedge of holly and hazel making the place a grove. For half a mile he walked and waded through mud and water, and on emerging from this long and tedious lane, turning to his right into a neat farmyard, he espied in a corner the object of his search. He describes it as a huge stone, a foot thick, nine feet long, two feet wide, and apparently from the adjacent rocks, placed like a gravestone on the cop. The inscription is on the side facing the road :-RAVFFE: RADCLIFFE : LAIDE: THIS STONE : TO: LYE FOR: EVER: A.D. 1655." The characters (he adds) are not the raised letters so prevalent in the seventeenth century, but deeply cut in the stone. He found the farmhouse tenanted by a young woman of very respectable appearance, the daughter of the owner of the estate, who, in this romantic spot, leads almost the life of a recluse. She had no dread of supernatural visitants, having never been disturbed by ghost or hobgoblin; and her theory on the subject was pithily summed up in the declaration, "that if folks only did what was right in this world, they would have nothing to fear." The date on the stone speaks of the days of sorcery and witchcraft, and of the troubled times of Cromwell's protectorate. Tradition declares this spot to have been the scene of a cruel and barbarous murder, and it is stated that this stone was put down in order to appease the restless spirit of the deceased, which played its nightly gambols long after the body had been "hearsed in earth." A story is told of one of the former occupants of Written Stone farm, who, thinking that the stone. would make a capital "buttery stone," removed it into the house and applied it to that use. The result was, that the indignant or liberated spirit would never suffer his family to rest. Whatever pots, pans, kettles, or articles of crockery were placed on the stone, were tilted * In Baines's "Lancashire" (vol. iii. p. 383), there is a somewhat different version of this inscription :-" Rafe Ratcliffe laid this stone here to lie for ever. A.D. 1607." He adds, that this Rafe was owner of the estate. It will be seen that neither christian name nor surname nor date agrees with the text, which latter, however, we believe to be correct. over, their contents spilled, and the vessels themselves kept up a clattering dance the live-long night, at the beck of the unseen spirit. Thus worried out of his night's rest, the farmer soon found himself compelled to have the stone carefully conveyed back to its original resting-place, where it has remained ever since, and the good man's family have not again been disturbed by inexplicable nocturnal noises. Well may they say with Hamlet, "Rest, perturbed spirit!" THE DULE UPO' DUN. THE tradition upon which Mr Roby has founded one of his stories appeared many years ago in the Kaleidoscope, a Liverpool weekly literary publication. Barely three miles from Clitheroe, as you enter a small village on the right of the high road to Gisburne, stood a public-house, having for its sign the above title, which, being translated into plain English, is "The Devil upon Dun" (horse) The story runs that a poor tailor sold himself to Satan for seven years, after which term, according to the contract, signed, as is customary, with the victim's own blood, his soul was to become "the devil's own." He was to have three wishes, and these were expended in a wish for a collop of bacon; in a second, that his wife were "far enough ;" and then that she were back home again. At the end of the seven years the Father of Lies appeared and claimed his victim, who tremblingly contended that the contract was won from him by fraud and dishonest pretences, and had not been fulfilled. He ventured to hint at the other party's lack of power to bestow riches or any great gift; on which Satan was goaded into granting him another wish. "Then," said the trembling tailor, "I wish thou wert riding back again to thy quarters, on yonder dun horse, and never able to plague me again, or any other poor wretch whom thou hast gotten into thy clutches!" The demon, with a roar, went away riveted to the back of this dun horse, and the tailor watched his departure almost beside himself for joy. He lived happy to a good old age, leaving behind him at his death good store of this world's gear, which was divided amongst his poorer relatives. One of them, having bought the house where the tailor dwelt, set up the trade of a tapster therein, having for his sign, "The Dule upo' Dun.” On it is depicted "Old Hornie," mounted upon a scraggy dun horse, without saddle, bridle, or any sort of equipments whatever the terrified steed being "off and away" at full gallop from the door, where a small hilarious tailor, with shears and measures, appears to view the departure of him of the cloven foot with anything but grief or disapprobation. The house itself is one of those ancient gabled black-and-white edifices, now fast disappearing under the march of improvement. Many windows of little lozenge-shaped panes set in lead, might be seen here in all the various stages of renovation and decay. Over the door, till lately, swung the old and quaint sign, attesting the truth of the tradition and the excellence of mine host's beer. THE DUN COW AND THE OLD RIB. THE anonymous writer of "Curious Corners round Preston," states that the "Old Rib" is the name given to an old farm in the township of Whittingham, in the parish of Kirkham, five miles north of Preston. name, he says, is derived from an extraordinary rib, The which was taken from an extraordinary old dun cow; which rib is placed over the door of the farmhouse, as a monument to the excellence of the defunct animal. About a quarter of a mile below the Towneley Arms Inn, in Longridge, about seven miles north-east of Preston, the seeker diverged from the main road into one of those old lanes or pack-horse roads so common in England, a short distance down which lane he came to the house bearing the name of "The Old Rib." It is a somewhat lofty, square building, with four turrets, like elongated sugar-loaves. The windows are of various forms and sizes, some of elaborate workmanship; and altogether the place has the aspect of having once been a mansion of some importance. On the doorway, at one end of the house, the architect and sculptor appear to have bestowed the greatest labour. The door is of oak, thick and strong, and studded with large square-headed nails; and there is a ponderous iron ring, serving at once for latch and knocker. Some armorial bearings are seen above, and over these again the "Old Rib." The doorway has the date of 1615, so that the place was in existence two years before the visit of King James I. to Hoghton Tower. The remains of a moat may be traced around the Old Rib House; but the moat has been filled up, and the surface is nearly level with its old banks. The few out-buildings standing near are ruins, notwithstanding that they had been built at a much later period in all probability, than the house itself. As to the tradition of the "Old Dun Cow," it is related that "once upon a time" there wandered over the elevated and dark moors of Parlick, Bleasdale, Bowland, and Browsholme, a dun cow of stupendous size, and withal of most generous and extraordinary nature; and it is supposed in its daily pasturings to have been B |