DEATH OF A STONE-CUTTER. 121 



dividing two waters, botli beautiful ; tlie one undula- 

 ting with tlie long swells of the Atlantic, the other 

 smooth, or at most but rippled. Wyke crowns the 

 hill just opposite with its tall tower and the hedge- 

 rowed fields chequering the slopes around, and beyond 

 it sweeps a long blue line of coast with dim headlands 

 here and there, as far as Torquay. 



I passed the Quarries rapidly, for I wished to get to 

 the southern end of the island by low water, desiring, 

 as the time was favourable, to explore the rocky caves 

 and coves that indent the precipitous coast; — and 

 posted on through two other villages, Highstone and 

 Wakeham, which, like the former two, merge into one. 

 I met here with a gan'ulous old man, a characteristic 

 specimen of the island population. Like nine-tenths 

 of his fellows, he had united the trades of smuggler 

 and stone-cutter ; he gave me some graphic anecdotes 

 of the adventm-es of his younger days, when "running 

 tubs," and described the sad fate of his hopeful son, 

 a stone-hewer like himself, who was suddenly snatched 

 from his side by a block of stone falling upon him, 

 from the seaward cliff where they were quanying. 

 " The stone split my poor boy right open," said the 

 old man ; and pathetically added, " I've never worked 

 a stroke since ! " 



Few specimens of vegetation can Portland produce 

 that attain the dimensions of a tree ; but near the 

 middle there is a pretty grove of horse-chestnut, 

 maple, elm, and other trees, of no great altitude 

 certainly, but imparting a rural aspect to the vicinity 

 of Pennsylvania Castle, the quondam seat of the gover- 

 nor of the island. Beside this a narrow road scarped 



