GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 347 



random from the Devonshire Coast. I quote it here as a 

 good, yet not exceptional example of his style : — 



" How rapidly the sea leaves the beach! Yonder is 

 "an area distinguished from the rest by its unruffled 

 " smoothness on the recess of the wave ; presently a 

 " black speck appears on it, now two or three more ; we 

 " fix our eyes on it, and presently the specks thicken, 

 " they have become a patch, a patch of gravel ; the 

 "waves hide it as they come up, but in an instant or two 

 "we predict that it will be covered no more. JMean- 

 " while the dark patch grows on every side ; it is now 

 " connected with the beach above, first by a little 

 "isthmus at one end, enclosing a pool of clear per- 

 " fectly smooth water, a miniature lagoon in which the 

 "young crescent moon is sharply reflected with in- 

 " verted horns ; the isthmus widens as we watch it ; 

 " we can see it grow, and now the water is running out 

 "of the lakelet in a rapid; the ridges of black rock 

 "shoot across it, they unite; — the pool is gone, and the 

 "water's edge that was just now washing the foot of the 

 "causeway on which we are sitting, is now stretched 

 " from yonder points, with a great breadth of shingle 

 " beach between it and us. And now the ruddy sea is 

 " bristling with points and ledges of rock, that are 

 *' almost filling the foreground of what was just now a 

 " smooth expanse ; and what were little scattered islets 

 " now look like the mountain-peaks and ridges of a con- 

 "tinent The glow of the sky is fading to a ruddy 

 " chestnut hue ; the moon and Venus are glittering 

 'bright; the little bats are out, and are flitting, on 

 'giddy wing, to and fro along the edge of the cause- 

 "way, ever and anon wheeling around close to our feet. 

 "The dorrs, too, with humdrum flight, come one after 

 " another, and passing before our faces, are visible for 



