354 A Winter in Cornwall. [Sess. 
bright appearance of the wooden-fronted and creeper-covered 
cottages of the Midlands of England. Like many of our 
Scottish houses, substantiality is the first consideration, orna- 
mentation, either in design or floral adornment, being of 
secondary importance. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, 
they have a charm of their own, and will well repay one for 
the time spent in hunting them up. 
Returning to the cliff scenery, the rocks about the Lizard 
Point and Land’s End district are perhaps the finest on the 
south coast. The granite takes the most fantastic shapes, and 
at a distance one would almost be justified in supposing that 
portions were placed in position by some of the ancient giants, 
who, if we are to believe the story of ‘Jack the Giant-Killer’ 
which charmed our youthful minds, inhabited the district long 
ago. Some of the formations strongly resemble medieval 
castles, and especially is this the case at Castle Treryn, where 
the far-famed Logan Rock is situated. The north coast, while 
equally rugged, has the additional advantage of possessing 
magnificent sandy beaches, those about the Newquay district 
being wonderfully fine; while, to add to the amenity, the high 
cliffs are honeycombed with caves, some of them of enormous 
size. These caves were a perfect godsend to smugglers in the 
old days, when almost every man along the coast was engaged 
in the forbidden traffic, and many a stirring event has no doubt 
been enacted along that rock-bound shore, when cargoes of 
wine, brandy, lace, silk, &c., were being run in from France 
and other Continental countries. Another pleasant little 
pastime indulged in by the old Cornishmen was that of 
“wrecking,” and here again these caves came in handy as 
hiding-places and storehouses. In one of the larger caves 
near Newquay concerts are often held, and some of our most 
famous operatic singers have been among the performers. 
There is a great want of wood on the north coast, and the 
inland scenery is not nearly so fine as that of the south. The 
tide rushes in with great rapidity, and one has to be extremely 
careful about wandering at the base of the rocks, as should the 
sea overtake the luckless pedestrian there is no hope of escape 
save by climbing the cliffs, which, even at the easiest point, 
are most difficult to scale. 
As may naturally be supposed, boating enters largely into 
