
Deep Down, a Tale of the Cornish Mines
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About This Book
In this heart-warming tale of love, life, laughter, and tragedy (with some smuggling thrown in for good measure), travel back in time to explore life set amongst the people living near the tin and copper mines of St. Just, Cornwall, in the mid-nineteenth century. During the mid-1860s, R.M. Ballantyne spent more than three months living amongst the Cornish mineworkers of St. Just. There, amidst the dangers of the deep mines, he sets a story of courage, contentment, and adversity, encouraging young readers to be grateful for the many blessings we all enjoy of home and faith. Ballantyne incorpora...
Chapters (68)(click to expand)
- R.M. Ballantyne "Deep Down, a Tale of the Cornish Mines"
- Chapter One.
- Begins the Story with a Peculiar Meeting.
- Chapter Two.
- Shows what Astonishing Results may follow from taking the Wrong Road.
- Chapter Three.
- Introduces a few more Characters and Homely Incidents.
- Chapter Four.
- At Work under the Sea.
- Chapter Five.
- Describes a Wreck and some of its Consequences.
- Chapter Six.
- Treats of the Miner’s Cottage, Work, and Costume.
- Chapter Seven.
- Tells of the Great Mine and of a Royal Dive under the Sea.
- Chapter Eight.
- Down, Down, Down.
- Chapter Nine.
- Treats of Difficulties to be Overcome.
- Chapter Ten.
- Shows how Maggot made a Desperate Venture, and what Flowed from it.
- Chapter Eleven.
- Shows that Music hath Charms, and also that it sometimes has Disadvantages.
- Chapter Twelve.
- In which Oliver gets “a Fall,” and sees some of the Shadows of the Miner’s Life.
- Chapter Thirteen.
- Treats of Spirits and of Sundry Spirited Matters and Incidents.
- Chapter Fourteen.
- Continues to treat of Spirits, and shows the Value of Hospitality.
- Chapter Fifteen.
- Introduces a Stranger, describes a Picnic, and reveals some Secrets of Mining.
- Chapter Sixteen.
- Describes “Holing to a House of Water” and its Terrible Consequences.
- Chapter Seventeen.
- Touches on the Causes of Accidents: Oliver in a New Light and his Uncle in a sad one.
- Chapter Eighteen.
- Tells of King Arthur and other more or less Fabulous Matters.
- Chapter Nineteen.
- Small Talk and some Account of Cornish Fairies.
- Chapter Twenty.
- The Mine in the Sea.
- Chapter Twenty One.
- Treats of Tin-Smelting and other Matters.
- Chapter Twenty Two.
- Shows how Oliver and his Friend went to Newlyn and saw the Mackerel Market, and found some Difficulties and Mysteries Awaiting them there.
- Chapter Twenty Three.
- In which is Recorded a Visit to an Infant-School; a Warning to a Thankless Old Gentleman; also a Storm, and a Sudden as well as Surprising End of a Mine, besides Dark Designs.
- Chapter Twenty Four.
- Exhibits the Managing Director and the Secretary of Wheal Dooem in Confidential Circumstances, and Introduces the Subject of “Locals.”
- Chapter Twenty Five.
- Shows the Miner in his Sunday Garb, and Astonishes Clearemout, besides Relating some Incidents of an Accident.
- Chapter Twenty Six.
- Tells of a Discovery and a Disaster.
- Chapter Twenty Seven.
- Indicates that “We little know what Great Things from Little Things may rise.”
- Chapter Twenty Eight.
- Describes Setting-Day at the Mine, etcetera.
- Chapter Twenty Nine.
- Details, among other Things, a Deed of Heroism.
- Chapter Thirty.
- Reveals some Astonishing Facts and their Consequences.
- Chapter Thirty One.
- Describes a Marred Plot, and tells of Retributive Justice.
- Chapter Thirty Two.
- Touches on Love and on Pilchard Fishing.
- Chapter Thirty Three.
- The Last.
- The End.
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