The smuggling for which Poole was long notorious is handed down to posterity by the following doggerel:--
"If Poole was a fish-pool, and the men of Poole fish, There'd be a pool for the devil, and fish for his dish."
One of the most daring and successful of English buccaneers was _Harry Page_ of Poole, or, as he was more commonly called, _Arripay_. His enterprises were principally directed against the coasts of France and Spain, where he committed such havoc that a formidable expedition was fitted out in those countries to destroy him. It sailed along our southern shores, destroying as opportunity offered, until it reached Poole. Here it landed, and a battle ensued, in which the inhabitants were driven from the town and the brother of Arripay killed.
The island of _Brownsea_ or _Branksea_ (it has a score of other variations) is the most prominent feature in Poole Harbour. It is ovoid in shape, about one and a half miles long by one mile broad, and lies just within the narrow harbour entrance, the main channel sweeping round its eastern side. This made the island of considerable importance in the defence of the port, and led to the erection of _Brownsea Castle_ towards the end of the reign of Henry VIII. Prior to this Brownsea had been part of the possessions of the Abbey of Cerne. The castle was almost wholly destroyed by fire in 1896, and in the following year rebuilt.
From Poole the pilgrim can cross by the toll-bridge to Hamworth and visit Lytchett Minster, which is two miles north-west of the lonely railway junction. Part of the action of _The Hand of Ethelberta_ takes place in this neighbourhood. The sign of one of the village inns, "St Peter's Finger," is one of the most interesting features of Lytchett Minster. The sign shows St Peter holding up a hand with two extended fingers, and is a curious instance of the way in which old terms and traditions are exposed to corruption. Sir B. Windle explains the matter tersely and clearly: "August the 1st, Lammas Day, known in the calendar of the Catholic Church as St Peter ad Vincula, was one of the days on which prædial service had to be done for the lord of certain manors, as a condition of tenure by the occupants. Such lands were called St Peter-ad-Vincula lands, a term which easily got corrupted into St Peter's finger."