n a lone house--situated not far from the hill on which now stands Knill's
Steeple, as it is called--which was then known as Chyanwheal, or the House
on the Mine, lived a lone woman, the widow of a miner, said to have been
killed in one of the very ancient "coffens", as the open mine-workings
existed in this hill are termed. A village now bears this name, but it has
derived it from this lone house. Whether it was that they presumed upon her
solitude, or whether the old lady had given them some inducement, is not now
known, but the spriggans of Trencrom Hill were in the habit of meeting almost
every night in her cottage to divide their plunder. The old woman usually
slept, or at least she pretended to sleep, during the visit of the spriggans.
When they left, they always placed a small coin on the table by her bedside,
and with this indeed the old woman was enabled to provide herself with not
merely the necessaries of life, but to add thereto a few of those things
which were luxuries to one in her position. The old lady, however, was not
satisfied with this. She resolved to bide her time, and when the spriggans
had an unusually large amount of plunder, to make herself rich at once and for
ever at their expense. Such a time at last arrived. The spriggans had
gathered, we know not how much valuable gold and jewellery. It gleamed and
glistened on the floor, and the old woman in bed looked on with a most
covetous eye. After a while, it appears, the spriggans were not able to
settle the question of division with their usual amicability. The little
thieves began to quarrel amongst themselves.Now, thought the woman, is my time. Therefore huddling herself up under the bedclothes, she very adroitly contrived to turn her shift, and having completed the unfailing charm, she jumped from her bed, placed her hand on a gold cup, and exclaimed, "Thee shusn't hae one on 'em~"
In affright the spriggans all scampered away, leaving their stolen treasure behind them. The last and boldest of the spriggans, however, swept his hand over the old woman's only garment as he left the house. The old woman, now wealthy, removed in a little time from Chyanwheal to St Ives, and, to the surprise of every one, purchased property and lived like a gentlewoman. Whenever, however, she put on the shift which had secured her wealth, she was tortured beyond endurance. The doctors and all the leaned people used hard names to describe her pains, but the old woman knew all along that they came of the spriggans.
