BLUE MUD. 67 



VII. 



BLUE MUD. 



AFTER last night's rain, the cliffs that bound 

 the bay have come out in all their most bril- 

 liant colours ; so this morning I am turning 

 my steps seaward, and wandering along the 

 great ridge of pebbles which here breaks the 

 force of the Channel waves as they beat 

 against the long line of the Dorset downs. 

 Our cliffs just at this point are composed of 

 blue lias beneath, with a capping of yellow 

 sandstone on their summits, above which in 

 a few places the layer of chalk that once 

 topped the whole country-side has still 

 resisted the slow wear and tear of unnum- 

 bered centuries. These three elements give 

 a variety to the bold and broken bluffs which 



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