CATARACTS, AND INUNDATIONS. 85 



between that of the other two; whence it is probable that it is a 

 mixture of both, meeting there together : To confirm which, we 

 mixed equal quantities of those two with a little common well- 

 water, and found, on stirring them together, and permitting them 

 to setlle, that tney produced water ef the same colour and taste as 

 this third stream." EDITOR. 



4, Lay-well Spring. 



GOING a-shore one day, I walked about a mile into the country, 

 to see .; well much talked of, near Torbay, called Lay-well, which 

 made me more than amends for the pains I had taken to come at 

 it. It is about 6 feet long, 5 feet broad, and near 6 inches deep j 

 and it ebbs and Mows often every hour, very visibly ; for from high, 

 water to low-water mark, which I measured, I found it somewhat 

 more fhan 5 inches. I could not see any augmentation above my 

 mark when v flowed, nor fell it below my mark when it ebbed, but 

 always kept the same distance. The flux and reflux, taken both 

 together, was performed in about two minutes ; nothing could be 

 more regular, each succeeding the other as the tides of the sea do. 

 I drank of it, and found it a pleasant, delicate, fine, soft-water, not 

 brackish at all ; which the country people use in fevers as their or- 

 dinary diet drink, which succeeds very well. 



On a second visit, I observed it performed its flux and reflux in 

 little more than a minute's time, yet it would stand at its lowest ebb 

 sometimes two or three minutes \ so that it ebbed and flowed by my 

 watch about 16 times in an hour, and sometimes, I have been told, 

 20. As soon as the water in the well began to rise, I saw a great 

 many bubbles ascend from the bottom; but when the water began 

 to fall, the bubbling immediately ceased. The whole country adja- 

 cent is very hilly all along the coast ; from Brixam to ihe top of the 

 hill is about a mile and half, the well is about halfway up the hill, 

 which hereabout is somewhat uneven and interrupted, and comes 

 out at a small descent, yet considerably higher than the surface of 

 the sea. The water does not seem to be impregnated with any 

 mineral, Its taste is very soft and pleasant, has no manner of 

 roughness in it, and serves for all manner of uses to the country 

 people in their houses*. [Phil. Trans. 1693.] 



* There isanother description of this spring contained in the same excellent 

 Journal, year 1732, by Mr. Joseph Atwell, and attempted to be explained by him 



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