THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 



August, 1850. :•' 



FOUR days in Qie Isle of Wight : — the yriaihetf, the elimate, 

 aud the soeBery, all delightful. The Island itself, about fifteeii 

 miles long, is England in miniature — with, its. hedges; green lawh^^ 

 soft-tufted verdure^-n(#V and then a great house, and pleiity of 

 omSe 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 soigne^ ' 

 than this spot. A considerable portion of the Island— especially 

 the western end, is neither cultivated fields nor gardens, bnt brbad 

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

 idea of the Isle of Wi^ht, without seeing it, by imagining it comf 

 ^osed partly of Nahant, and partly of Brooklipe — near' Boston-^-:- 

 the prettiest rural nest of cottage villas iii Ameriea. The bare grass 

 Slopes and bluffs of Nahant, will correspond to the Western part of 

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

 tioned, are a very fair offset' to th6 more decorated- arid oultivslted 

 cottages and grounds of the eastern an^ 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 vrith the pretty 

 vessels of the vai-ious yacht cl'ubsi'that hold their regattas hete— 



