PETIT TOR. 7 



very unpleasant to walk in, of which the little lane 

 leading from Marychurch has quite enough. This 

 passed, however, a gate leads out on the down at the 

 summit of the cliffs, whence, as the day was most cloud- 

 lessly brilliant, the prospect out upon the sea was mag- 

 nificent. There was scarcely any wind, the atmosphere 

 was very clear, and the transparent blue of the water 

 sparkling in the sun was particularly summery The 

 mossy turf of the down was scarcely firm enough to 

 sustain the tread on the slope, but continually slid 

 away beneath the feet from the ruddy mud, affording 

 a treacherous footing in the descent, which as the 

 pathways over the cliffs frequently pass close to the edge 

 of tremendous precipices, is not without danger. A 

 zigzag road, however, leads down to the beach through 

 the gully, or chine, ( as it would be called in the Isle 

 of Wight) which bears the name of Petit Tor, though 

 this name belongs of right to the bluff promontory 

 on the south of it. The object of the road appears to 

 have been the transport of the beautiful variegated 

 marbles, huge blocks of which, some of them sawn and 

 marked with numbers, were lying beside the way at 

 different points, ready for removal. By running, 

 jumping and sliding I arrived at the bottom, and paused 

 awhile to look around. The ruined walls of what was 

 once probably a fisherman's cottage, built in the curious 

 manner peculiar to the neighbourhood, of rough frag- 

 ments of friable limestone, set in a strong red mortar, 

 stand on the declivity ; and in the midst of the beach, 

 starts up from the very shingle a pointed columnar mass 

 of rough conglomerate rock about 60 feet high, remind- 

 ing one of our common idea of the pillar of salt. The 



