294 SMALLMOUTH CAVE. 



This, however, was not one of the caverns of which 

 I was in search. They are situated at Smallmouth, 

 about a mile farther to the eastward. The stream 

 that runs in front of Watermouth Castle, expands into 

 a little pond, the water of which is made to pour down 

 a square well of stone, from the bottom of which it 

 escapes again as a brawling brook. Just at this 

 point, a path leads off from the main road, which 

 presently conducts the traveller to a steep descent 

 into a sort of glen, rough with boulders, and unplea- 

 sant to walk in, from the admixture of sand and mud 

 which forms the bottom. This glen is the head of a 

 long and narrow inlet, confined between precipices, 

 and up which the sea enters, to an extent which 

 varies with the condition of the tide. A stranger 

 might readily leave this cove with the impression that 

 he had seen all it had to display ; but if he turn into 

 a narrow opening in the rock on the right hand, he 

 will be rewarded by a sight of more than ordinary 

 sublimity and beauty. A great natural tunnel opens 

 before him, perforated in the solid rock. The roof is 

 nearly horizontal ; but the sides spring out into 

 angular groins and projecting buttresses. The mterior 

 of this archway is as dark as night; its obscurity 

 being heightened by contrast with the brilliancy of 

 the sunlight, that illumines the scene without, visible 

 at the far end. The prospect beheld through this 

 cavern is a lovely one, and reminds the beholder of a 

 sunny picture, set in an ample black frame. His eye 

 ranges across the beautiful bay of Combmartin, on 

 the surface of which, when I looked at it, the fresh 

 breeze was raising hillocks of foam upon the green 



