OCTOBEE. 463 



of dreaminess upon surrounding nature. The day 

 was not cloudy, and yet the sun did not shine forth in 

 his ^fullest effulgence, but tempered his radiance with 

 a thin gausy veil, which occasionally admitted a bril- 

 liant gleam over the landscape, while ever and anon, 

 though without a breeze, the yellow leaves of the elms 

 fell eddying through the air. "With renovated spirits 

 I advanced on the road to Salterton, and beautiful 

 were the prospects that occasionally presented them- 

 selves Exmouth and the sea when I had mounted 

 the hill beyond the town a lovely expanse of woody 

 country, with a bare, heathy, gravelly hill in front, 

 near Salterton, and beech trees (oh, the beautiful 

 beechen tree) in the richest diversity of gold and 

 auburn. Salterton is a pleasantly situated village, 

 close to a fine pebbly beach, expanding for about 

 half a mile from a fine semi-circular sweep of red 

 sandcliffs that stretch close up to the village on the 

 right, to where the little river Otter (jGoleridge's 

 Otter) makes its embouchure into the sea on the left. 

 An isolated mass also rises between, where the beau- 

 tiful Sea Pink (Statice armeria) was displaying its 

 rosy loveliness in great profusion. From the base of 

 this cliff extends a fine beach composed of large peb- 

 bles, forming a noble mound or breakwater, at the 

 base of which the calm sea was faintly gurgling ; but 

 what must be the clash of the ' proud waves ' here in 

 rough weather, when 



" settling on the sea the surges sweep, 



Raise liquid mountains and disclose the deep ; 

 South, east, and west, with mix'd confusion roar, 

 And roll the foaming billows to the shore."* 



* Dryden'a Virgil. 



