THE COAST-GUARD. 



233 



in the chalk cliffs. Most frequently they are perched on the crest of the line of sand- 

 hills, with a broad look-out in all directions over ' promontory, cape, and bay/ And 

 often they form a conspicuous landmark on some flat stretch of grass-grown sand, where 

 the slow-shelving shore is intersected by a labyrinth of changing channels, and where mud- 

 banks submerged by the rising tides are a perfect paradise for the clamorous sea-fowl. But 

 whatever the situation, the general effect is almost invariably the same. They are sub- 

 stantial and watertight; suggestive of cheery shelter in bright interiors when the wind is 



DISCOVERING THE SAMPHIKE ON THE KOCK. 



howling through the shrouds of the flagstaff, driving the sand and gravel in flying scud 

 along the beach, and churning and grinding the pebbles in the surf with dull, monotonous 

 roar. There are low flat roofs with projecting eaves, and small, strongly-secured casements, 

 and the gleam of their spotless whitewash catches any sunlight that may be going. In 

 the neatly-palisaded little gardens that stretch before the door, a hard and not-unsuccessful 

 struggle is always going on with the unfriendly elements, while the shell-strewn walks are 

 invariably kept in the most perfect order. As you approach them of a warm summer after- 

 noon you are conscious of the briny breeze just tainted with a faint amphibious smell of 

 tar. It may not be so balmy or romantic as the resinous odours that breathe from the 

 pine-woods of Bayonne or Arcachon, under the fiercer rays of the sun of Gascony ; but it 

 is decidedly wholesome, and rather savoury than otherwise. The promiscuous use of pitch 

 150 



