VISIT TO THE SOUTH COAST OUTPORTS 141 



of Fisheries and Marine, and personal friends such as Mr. 

 E. C. Watson^ and Judge Prowse. 



Five hours' journey on the southern branch of the New- 

 foundland Railway takes the traveller to the summit of the 

 southern chain of mountains, and then you drop down to a 

 great sea lagoon surrounded by broken hills which end in 

 a sea beach, and the quaint old-world village of Placentia. 

 The journey is comparatively safe, and if you know nothing 

 about the railway or the state of the track, you can enjoy 

 the beautiful scenery as you pass along the wooded cliffs — 



" Where the sea through all the mountains stretches up long arms between. 

 Flashing, sweeping, with swift current, like a river rushing on. 

 Till the tide turns, and the current, turning too, is seaward drawn, 

 Skirting mountain brow and valley, changing still, yet still the same, 

 Opening up unnumbered vistas, fairer far than lands of fame, 

 Scenes to make an artist famous, to the world as yet unknown. 

 Lovelier than that Lakeland region sung by poets of its own, 

 Nestling in its sea-girt valley, 'midst its mountains forest clad, 

 Lies Placentia rich in story, that might make an author glad." 



Placentia is one of the most charming spots in New- 

 foundland. The town itself is not attractive, as it lies scattered 

 on a stony beach thrown up by the sea, and kept in place on 

 one side by the Atlantic, and on the other by the swift currents 

 of the north-east and south-east arms. The situation of the place 

 and its surroundings are, however, delightful. To the north 

 it is flanked by the summits of Casde Hill, where the cannon 

 used to stand, and to the south there rise the wooded hills 

 of the Strouter and Mount Pleasant. I have spent hours 

 sitting on the beach watching the ospreys hawking and 

 dashing down on the sea trout as they come in on the rising 

 tide, and enjoying the play of light on hill and sea. At one 



* Since these lines were written St. John's has to lament the death of Mr. Watson.- 

 A more charming gentleman or one more interested in his work as Secretary of the 

 Fishery Board it will be impossible to find. 



