THE STORY OF THE LAMB.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 9985, 15 March 1898, Page 6

THE STORY OF THE LAMB.

TON WORM. . + Genealogical Magazine. We openly confess that the legend ot, the Lambton worm which we have recently come across has fasoinated us. Can any of our readers supply the earliest reference to such a legend ? and is it a fact that of the nine previous generations to the Henry Lambton mentioned none died by a natural death* The legend is as follows :—

The park and manor house of Lambt-on, belonging to the family of that name, the head of which is the Earl of Durham, lie. on the bank of the river Wear to the north of Lumloy. Early in the fourteenth century the heir, young John Lambton, was leading a dissolute life. Amongst his delinquencies was the custom of fishing on Sunday, and on « one of these occasions, finding that his usual good fortune had deserted him, he gave way to temper, and invoked curses upon the river, the land, the fish, himself, his luck, and all that concerned him. Then he invoked the powers of evil to give him aid and success in one last cost of tlie rod. A great strain came upon the line, and, after a tremendous ettort, he landed an immense and hideous-looking worm, resembling an eft. This, in disgust, he threw into a well close by, where it grew with such marvellous rapidity as soon to fill it up with its body and limbs; and consequently it was able to scramble out. Then it made for a large rock in the centre of the river, and, coiling its tail around it, made it its headquarters by day, while at night it encircled a hill at a little distance from the river on the opposite bank. These are called respectively Worm well and Wormhill t« this day, and the latter is about a mile from Lambton Hall. From these, its coigns ol vantage, it would raid the country round, making forays amongst the farmsteads, suck* ing the cows, worrying the cattle, eating the lambs and smaller fry, frightening men, women, and children, and causing them to flee in terror for their lives. Thus it laid i waste all the country-side, and soon reached the castle itself, where dwelt the old lord in solitary and gloomy grandeur, the hopeful heir having joined the Crusaders and set out for Palestine.

Advised by his steward, the Lord of Lambton placed troughs of milk in the way by which the worm' must approach, to propitiate it. But in time the milk of the region gave out, and the worm', to signify | its anger, rooted up trees, and took to I destroying every living thing. The kuights errant of the period sought to make away with this terrible *uonster, but one and all | perished who made the attempt; the worm would envelop them in its tremendous folds and crush them to death, or should tlie knight succeed in dealing what would be thought a fatal blow or thrust, the worm had the power of re-uniting the severed parts, and becoming whole again. At length, after seven years' absence, John Lambton returned home, now a Knight of Rhodes. Acting on the advice of a venerable Sibyl whom he consulted, ho caused his armour to be studded with lance-points, engaged to go to the river at early morning, armed only with his sword, and, taking his stand upon the summit of the worm rock, await the.coming of the monster ; further,, he made a vow that, if successful in. hisenterprise, he would slay the first living' being that he might chance to meet on "his. : return from the encounter, and that, should he fail to perform his oath precisely as Erecrtribed, it was decreed that no Lord of lambton for nine successive generations should die a natural death or in his bed. The result of the combat between the knight and tho dragon was decisive in favour 6E the former, who slew his enemy by erabraining it and piercing it with the spear heads in many places, and then, having shorn the body in twain, let fall the lower portion into the stream first, the upper portion being held up on the spear \ points until the possibility of reuniting had passed. But when, in answer to the blast on his horn announcing victory, the old lord came out to greet him, the oath had to be broken, since filial piety would not allow of its fulfilment. During the period of the curse no Lord of Lambton did die a natural death; the last of the nine generations, Henry Lambton, M.P. for Durham in 1761, died while crossing the new bridge over the Wear in his carriage; his predecessors had all undergone the ban.

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