IQOI-1902.] A Winter in Cornwall. 353 
still they are very grand. The prevailing rock is granite, 
chiefly grey, although, of course, there are a great many others, 
such as felspar, porphyry, slate, limestone, serpentine, &c. On 
the south coast there are hardly any beaches, the English 
Channel lapping the base of the cliffs, so that one cannot walk 
comfortably along the shore, even at low tide; but numerous 
little coves occur here and there, many of which give shelter 
to fishing boats, besides being utilised as lifeboat and coast- 
guard stations. Perhaps the two prettiest of these natural 
harbours are those of Looe and Fowey, on the sides of which 
are built the towns of the same names. At Fowey the tide 
finds its way inland in sinuous fashion about eight miles to 
Lostwithiel, and branching off this tidal river are several 
creeks, the hills sloping down to the shores being beautifully 
wooded, with quaint little hamlets, and some fine churches 
peeping out at intervals. Apple-orchards are very common, 
and a fair trade seems to be done in fruit for consumption, as 
well as for the manufacture of cider—a sour kind, different 
from the sweet variety made in Devonshire. The Fowey river 
and harbour form together, to my mind, one of the prettiest 
parts of Cornwall; and the town itself is decidedly quaint 
and most interesting, although where the coast is dotted with 
so many choice little retreats, it is not easy to pick out the 
best, as, after all, it resolves itself into a matter of taste. 
Many of the fishing-villages, particularly Polperro, are most 
picturesque: the houses are shot down on the steep slopes 
without any regard to order or uniform design, and from the 
windows of those higher up one can look down the chimneys 
of the cottages below. The so-called streets are, in some 
instances, no wider than an Edinburgh High Street close, and 
turn and twist in the most perplexing fashion. 
Time does not permit, however, of any lengthened descrip- 
tion of the numerous towns and villages: in a word, therefore, 
let it be said that the larger places do not present any out- 
standing features of interest; always excepting the churches, 
and it is to the smaller villages and hamlets that a visitor 
must turn if he wishes to make acquaintance with the unique 
and more old-world aspect of Cornwall. The houses, being 
almost entirely built of grey granite, have, particularly on a wet 
day, a cold and forbidding look, and possess none of the cheery, 
