PKEFACE. 



The Isle of Wight is described by Sir Walter 

 Scott, as " that beautiful Island, which he icho once 

 sees, never forgets, through whatever part of the wide 

 world his future path may lead Mm." And if this 

 favoured spot deserve such an encomium from the 

 Poet, and the ardent admirer of beautiful and 

 picturesque scenery, it possesses stronger claims 

 to the attention of the natural philosopher, for the 

 strata of which it is composed, present phenomena 

 of the highest interest, and abound in those 

 " Medals of Creation" which elucidate some of 

 the most important revolutions, recorded in the 

 early pages of the earth's physical history. 



The geological characters of the Isle of Wight 

 are well known to the scientific inquirer, through 

 the labours and publications of Sir Henry Englefield, 

 Mr. Thomas Webster, and other able observers ; 

 while the beautiful models of the stratification of 



