346 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF PURBECK. 



At Yarmouth a cutter may be engaged to con- 

 vey the visitor to Swanage, a little town on the 

 eastern coast, situated near the once celebrated 

 quarries of Purbeck marble. But during a great 

 part of the year, steam-packets ply twice or thrice 

 weekly from Portsmouth and Southampton, to 

 Poole, and Swanage, calling for passengers at 

 Ryde, Cowes, and Yarmouth ; so that the Isle of 

 Purbeck may be included in our geological ex- 

 cursions with but little inconvenience. This short 

 voyage is very delightful in fine weather, for with 

 a telescope the principal lines of strata may be 

 traced along the distant coasts, and a comprehen- 

 sive view obtained of the relations, and original 

 continuity, of the now dissevered masses which form 

 the dry land. 



In sailing from Yarmouth towards the Isle of 

 Purbeck, our course, after passing by the Needles, 

 is to the west, and the chalk dill's of Dorsetshire 

 soon become distinctly visible ; and we at once 

 perceive, that if the vertical chalk range we are 

 leaving behind were prolonged in a direct line to 

 the west, it woidd unite with that towards which 

 we are steering our little bark. Mr. Webster has 

 graphically described the most striking features of 

 the varied landscapes which successively appeal- in 

 this voyage: "The Island we had just left assumed 



