eving themselves," as the
historian has it, "to be the _upholsterers_ that were to make Duffin's
Dale a large soft pillow for death to rest on, whereas they proved only
the _stuffing to fill the same_."

The common phrase, "A cock and bull story," took its origin from these
symbolical prophecies, in which the figures of animals were so often
introduced.

Among the records of other mediaeval superstitions, are many curious
details of the "invocation of spirits" to aid the searchers after
"Treasure Trove," as it was called. In the days when "banking" was
unknown, wealth oftentimes accumulated in the hands of its owners, to a
degree that rendered its safe keeping a perilous task; and in very early
ages it would seem to have been a common practice to commit it to the
bosom of mother earth, until such time as its owner might have need of
it. The changes wrought upon the land by the several conquests that
succeeded the departure of the Romans, the reputed depositors of these
hidden treasures, caused the ownership to be forgotten and obscure, and
by degrees all such property became the right of the crown; and to
conceal any discovery of it was made an act of felony, at first
punishable by death, but afterwards subjecting the perpetrator only to a
pecuniary fine.

It seems, however, that in the sixteenth century, it was customary to
grant licenses to individuals, to engage in the search after these hidden
stores of precious stones, metal, or coins; also permission to invoke the
aid of spirits in their pursuit. Among many other quaint stories upon
the subject, two especially connected with the localities in this
neighbourhood claim attention here: the first is the confession of
William Stapleton, a monk in the abbey of St. Bennet in the Holm,
addressed to Cardinal Wolsey, and many very curious illustrations it
gives of the superstitious feeling of the time; the other is that of Sir
Edward Neville, who was arraigned, tried, and executed for high treason,
as an accomplice of Cardinal Pole, in the thirtieth year of Henry the
Eighth. The extracts are taken from the papers of the Norfolk
Archaeological Society.

Stapleton seems to have been an idle monk, often punished "for not rising
to matins, and doing his duty in the church, which led to his desire to
purchase a dispensation." Being too poor to do so at once, he obtained
six months' license to obtain the means, and set about searching for
"Treasure Trove," by the help o