228 GLIMPSES OF NATURE. 



Herne Bay itself. Here, sea-action has evidently been 

 long and successfully at work ; for of ba3' there is 

 little or none, and the former contour of the coast 

 has thus been materially altered by the attack of the 

 waves. 



Walk across to Reculvers a pleasant stroll of five 

 miles or so and you come upon historic evidence of 

 this theft of land by the sea. A hamlet nestles around 

 the old dismantled church, which, with its twin towers, 

 " the Sisters," forms a familiar landmark of the coast. 

 A bungalow establishment lies to the west ; below, 

 and in the valley, as it were, are a house or two and 

 the inn ; while above, and nearly on a level with the 

 church, is the coastguard station as neat and trim a 

 collection of dwelling-places as the eye can light upon 

 anywhere, even among these proverbially ship-shape 

 sailors' quarters. 



The towers face you as you climb the ascent from 

 the inn, and each is surmounted by a wind-gauge, 

 which the Trinity House has erected, and which you 

 can see distinctly from the windows of the train after 

 you pass Herne Bay, on your way to Margate. The 

 keeper of the towers unlocks the gate of the church- 

 yard, and a conversation with him (he is Reculvers- 

 bred) reveals the fact that, even in the short space of 

 a human lifetime, the sea has played havoc with the 

 cliff. 



This man tells you that he remembers a time when 

 the outlines of the cliffs and bays were very different 

 from their present aspect. The tablet in front of the 

 church tells you that the Trinity Brethren acquired 

 the building in 1810, and under their care it has re- 

 mained. Looking down some twenty-five feet or so 

 to the beach, you note the sea-wall, which has saved 



