He had his mimic castles and fortresses along its shores,
and his mimic fleets upon its waters, and used to get up mimic sea-
fights. The remains of his petty fortifications still awaken the
curious inquiries of visitors. In one of his vagaries, he caused a
large vessel to be brought on wheels from the sea-coast and launched in
the lake. The country people were surprised to see a ship thus sailing
over dry land. They called to mind a saying of Mother Shipton, the
famous prophet of the vulgar, that whenever a ship freighted with ling
should cross Sherwood Forest, Newstead would pass out of the Byron
family. The country people, who detested the old Lord, were anxious to
verify the prophecy. Ling, in the dialect of Nottingham, is the name
for heather; with this plant they heaped the fated bark as it passed,
so that it arrived full freighted at Newstead.
The most important stories about the lake, however, relate to the
treasures that are supposed to lie buried in its bosom. These may have
taken their origin in a fact which actually occurred. There was one
time fished up from the deep part of the lake a great eagle of molten
brass, with expanded wings, standing on a pedestal or perch of the same
metal.
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