XXXV POLITICAL, SOCIAL, LITERARY 155 



better. I had not heard of your having been ill, and 

 I have seen nothing about it since ; so I hope it was 

 merely a passing ailment, perhaps a slight cold, such 

 as many people have at present. 



With kind remembrances to Lady Avebury, I remain 

 yours sincerely, G. G. Stokes. 



The design of the book, like that of The Scenery 

 of Switzerland, was not so much, in the first 

 instance, to describe the scenery, as it may be 

 seen to-day, as to indicate the forces by which 

 it was formed in past ages. The following 

 quotation may serve as an example : 



Every one must have observed that there is a marked 

 difference between our east and west coasts — the west 

 being irregular and deeply indented, the east presenting 

 rounded sweeps. This is due partly to the greater 

 elevation, and partly to the different hardness of the 

 rocks, those on the west being more ancient, and much 

 harder, while those on our eastern shores, being more 

 recent and more destructible, consisting of chalk, clay, 

 sand, or gravel, have suffered far more from the action 

 of the waves ; the projecting headlands being gradually 

 worn away, and the materials carried into the bays. 

 The general trend of the currents on our eastern coast 

 being towards the south, it will be observed that the 

 headlands tend to point in that direction, as for instance 

 at Spurn Point, Felixstow, etc. ; and the mouths of 

 many of our eastern rivers are also deflected, some for 

 several miles, towards the south. 



A glance at the map of Europe will show that there 

 is a remarkable difference between the rivers of the 

 Atlantic and those of the Mediterranean. The Atlantic 

 rivers terminate in estuaries, those of the Mediterranean 

 in deltas. Our rivers terminate in estuaries because the 

 land stood at a recent period (speaking of course geo- 

 logically) at a higher level than the present ; but these 

 estuaries would have been to a great extent filled up 

 ere now if it had not been for the action of the tides. 

 The Mediterranean, on the contrary, is almost tideless, 

 and the rivers have been able to build out deltas. 



