V. 



THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 



August, I860. 



FOUR days in the Isle of Wight : the weather, the climate, 

 and the scenery, all delightful. The Island itself, about fifteen 

 miles long, is England in miniature with its hedges, green lawns, 

 soft-tufted verdure now and then a great house, and plenty of 

 ornee cottages. In some respects it fell below, but in many, fully 

 equalled my expectations. If you think of it as the " Garden of 

 England," it will disappoint you, for there are counties in England 

 for example, Warwickshire better cultivated, and more soignee, 

 than this spot. A considerable portion of the Island especially 

 the western end, is neither cultivated fields nor gardens, but broad 

 downs and high bluffs. I should say that you would get the best 

 idea of the Isle of Wight, without seeing it, by imagining it com- 

 posed partly of Nahant, and partly of Brookline near Boston 

 the prettiest rural nest of cottage villas in America. The bare grass 

 slopes and bluffs of Nahant, will correspond to the western part of 

 the Isle of Wight, while the suburbs of Boston, that I have men- 

 tioned, are a very fair offset to the more decorated and cultivated 

 cottages and grounds of the eastern and southern portions. 



You cross from Southampton to the Island, in rather less than 

 an hour, by one of the small mail steamers plying here. The 

 towns of East and West Cowes, where you land, as well as Ryde, 

 which is a few miles further, have quite a gay appearance at this 

 season of the year, from the harbors being filled with the pretty 

 vessels of the various yacht clubs, that hold their regattas here 



