THE SEA SHORE 



CHAPTEK I 

 THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEA SHORE 



WHAT are the attractions which so often entice us to the sea shore, 

 which give such charm to a ramble along the cliffs or the beach, 

 and which will so frequently constrain the most active wanderer 

 to rest and admire the scene before him ? The chief of these 

 attractions is undoubtedly the incessant motion of the water and 

 the constant change of scene presented to his view. As we ramble 

 along a beaten track at the edge of the cliff, new and varied 

 features of the coast are constantly opening up before us. Each 

 little headland passed reveals a sheltered picturesque cove or a 

 gentle bay with its line of yellow sands backed by the cliffs and 

 washed by the foaming waves ; while now and again our path 

 slopes down to a peaceful valley with its cluster of pretty cottages, 

 and the rippling stream winding its way towards the sea. On the 

 one hand is the blue sea, full of life and motion as far as the eye 

 can reach, and on the other the cultivated fields or the wild and 

 rugged downs. 



The variety of these scenes is further increased by the frequent 

 changes in the character of the cliff's themselves. Where they are 

 composed of soft material we find the coast-line washed into gentle 

 curves, and the beach formed of a continuous stretch of fine sand ; 

 but where harder rocks exist the scenery is wild and varied, and 

 the beach usually strewn with irregular masses of all sizes. 



Then, when we approach the water's edge, we find a delight 

 in watching the approaching waves as they roll over the sandy or 

 pebbly beach, or embrace an outlying rock, gently raising its olive 

 covering of dangling weeds, 



B 



