II. 



FEBEUAKY. 



WHAT will Babbicombe Bay yield us this fine 

 February morning? One thing at least it yields, a 

 magnificent coast view ; and this is scarcely affected 

 by the season. Let there be only a moderately clear 

 atmosphere, a sky chequered with blue spaces and 

 white wind-bosne clouds, and snatches of sunshine 

 interchanging with shadows, which last there will be, 

 of course, with such a sky, and such a prospect cannot 

 fail to please. 



And, indeed, this noble sweep of precipitous coast 

 can hardly be surpassed for beauty all round the sea- 

 girt shores of Britain. The forms of the cliffs are im- 

 posing : their broad masses of vivid, colour alternating, 

 the white compact limestone, the bright red sand- 

 stone, becoming almost scarlet as the sun shines out 

 full, yet prevented from being tawdry by its harmonies 

 with the various hues of green that crown it, by its 

 own breadth of light and shadow, by its dimming tints 

 as it softens and mellows into the purple of the dis- 



