168 MY LIFE AS A NATURALIST 



even after an interval of years. I have the map spread out 

 before me as I write, and there is no need to consult my notes 

 for this general dissertation, so clarified are my remembrances 

 of what I have encountered. 



I see the glorious River Dart, down which I sailed from the old- 

 world town of Totnes. The steep-wooded banks running right down 

 to the water's edge still live within my memory, and, as we neared 

 the open sea, I vividly recall the shoals of small Jellyfish, which, 

 carried by the incoming tide, following a severe southern gale, were 



literally massed in countless 

 thousands. I have seen much 

 larger Jellyfish on the east 

 coast, but in *point of numbers 

 the River Dart holds pride of 

 place. 



I have watched the seething 

 masses of Herrings off the har- 

 bour at Brixham, where, by 

 the way, William of Orange 

 landed on November 5th, 1688, 

 to maintain, with his thirty- 

 thousand followers, the Pro- 

 testant Religion, and the 

 liberties of England. 



I have seen the famous 

 flotilla of Brixham trawlers 

 sail into harbour on a fine 



FIG. 72.-JELLYFISH. Summer evening, and, as the 



brown-sailed ships rounded 



Berry Head (where grows the rare White Rock Rose, which 

 I was fortunate enough to discover), by twos and threes, the 

 scene was one which will always remain with me. 



I have undertaken the beautiful cliff walk from Anstey's Cove, 

 round by Hope's Nose, to Torquay, watching the Porpoises 

 disporting their bulky bodies in the gleaming water beneath, 

 and I have explored famous Kent's Cavern, near Torquay, from 

 which such remarkable human and other remains have been 

 obtained, as a result of the life-long labours of that lovable man 

 of science, the late William Pengelly. 



Babbacombe's red cliffs, and unmatched greenery, have en- 

 chanted me, and the beautiful River Teign, and the more barren 

 Exe, have lured me to their fascinating shores so as to have a 



