with _rattles_. They call it _breaking the bones of Judas_. Cf.
"NOTES AND QUERIES," Vol. i., p. 357.

JANUS DOUSA.


LOCAL RHYMES AND PROVERBS OF DEVONSHIRE.

"River of Dart, oh river of Dart,
Every year thou claim'st a heart."

It is said that a year never passes without the drowning of one person,
at least, in the Dart. The river has but few fords, and, like all
mountain streams, it is liable to sudden risings, when the water comes
down with great strength and violence. Compare Chambers' _Popular
Rhymes_, p. 8., "Tweed said to Till," &c. See also Olaus Wormius,
_Monumenta Danica_, p. 17.

The moormen never say "_the_ Dart," but always "Dart." "Dart came down
last night--he is very full this morning." The _cry_ of the river is the
name given to that louder sound which rises toward nightfall. Cranmere
Pool, the source of the Dart, is a place of punishment for unhappy
spirits. They may frequently be heard wailing in the morasses there.
Compare Leyden _Scenes of Infancy_, pp. 315, 316., &c.

* * * * *

Wescote (_View of Devonshire_: Exeter, 1845 (reprint), p. 348.) has a
curious story of the Tamar and Torridge. It is worth comparing with a
local rhyme given by Chambers, p. 26.: "Annan, Tweed, and Clyde," &c.