182 SEA-SIDE STUDIES. 



whether I had been " driven by contrary winds " to this 

 unfrequented sjiot ; evidently never conceiving the possibility 

 of a sane Englishman coming here. They are also difficult 

 of access : "a very dangerous flat, and fatal, where the 

 carcasses of many a tall ship lie buried." Ten days, owing to 

 contrary winds, were consumed in getting here ; and under the 

 most favourable conjuncture of trains, coaches, and winds, 

 three days would be the very shortest time required. This 

 tlifficulty secures the place from the nuisance of " visitors." 

 Moreover, I had an idea of its being a good spot for zoologi- 

 cal research ; and with these two advantages, I could afford 

 to listen unmoved to the sarcastic questions pelted at me, 

 such as : Can you get anything to eat there ? Are the 

 Islands inhabited ? Do the people speak English ? Are they 

 civilised ? 



Contrary winds, and what sailors call " dirty weather," 

 detained me a week at Penzance, where I was stranded in a 

 lodging-house, kept by a middle-aged Harpy, rearing a brood 

 of young Harpies, and rendered all the more fierce in lodgiiig- 

 house instincts by her condition of widowhood, which, you 

 may have observed, generally throws a woman on the naked 

 ferocities of her nature. Were you ever in nautical lodgings? 

 Do you remember their ornaments, " above all reach of art " 

 — the cases of stuffed birds and fish, the shells on the 

 mantelpiece, and the engravings irradiating the walls : a 

 " Sailor's Departure," with whimpering wife and sentimental 

 offspring ; a " Sailor's Return," with joyous vnfe and caper- 

 ing juveniles ? All these adorned my rooms, which were 

 fm-ther adorned by a correct misrepresentation of the brig 



