Helston was another town where a lovely double stream of water ran down
the main street, rendering the town by its rapid and perpetual running
both musical and clean. The water probably came from the River Cober,
and afterwards found its way into the Looe Pool at the foot of the town.
This pool was the great attraction of Helston and district, as it formed
a beautiful fresh-water lake about seven miles in circumference and two
miles long, winding like a river through a forked valley, with woods
that in the springtime were filled with lovely wild flowers, reaching to
the water's edge. It must have been a paradise for one fisherman at any
rate, as he held his tenure on condition that he provided a boat and net
in case the Duke of Cornwall, its owner, should ever come to fish there;
so we concluded that if the Duke never came, the tenant would have all
the fish at his own disposal. The curious feature about the lake was
that, owing to a great bank of sand and pebbles that reached across the
mouth, it had no visible outlet where it reached the sea, the water
having to percolate as best it could through the barrier. When heavy
rain came on and the River Cober delivered a greater volume of water
than usual into the lake, the land adjoining was flooded, and it became
necessary to ask permission of the lord of the manor to cut a breach
through the pebbles in order to allow the surplus water to pass through
into the sea, which was quite near.
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