VEGETABLE SHELLS. 77 



a sort of ravine ; cottages were scattered here and 

 there. A low spit of rock runs out into the sea, where 

 I was the other day searching for Actinias. The ruins 

 of Sandsfoot Castle just peep over the hrow of the 

 slope ; and beyond is the calm Bay sleeping under the 

 sun, bounded by Portland with its breakwater and 

 its throng of shipping. A little to the right is 

 that wondrous barrier, the Ghesil Beach, and outside 

 that the vast expanse of West Bay and the British 

 Channel. 



My little boy interrupts me with " Give me some of 

 those shells!" He points to the hedge, and I find that 

 he means the young shoots of the Male Shield Fern 

 coming up in great tufts, the points of each frond 

 being curled round like a ram's horn, or still more 

 closely like the shell of Trochus magus, which my 

 little urchin supposed them to be. What a strange 

 plastic imitative power there is in nature ! 



After a season in Devonshire, the scenery around 

 Weymouth appears tame and mean, but this road is 

 an exception tc the rule. It is the back way to 

 Wyke, leading past Belfield, the seat of Mrs. Buxton; 

 and what with the rural character of the lanes, the 

 woods that ornament the estate, and the fine views 

 that occur, it is by far the most charming walk in the 

 vicinity. Along the road-side there is a belt of wood, 

 into which we took the liberty of straying, though I 

 believe we were trespassers. However, the hoary and 

 lichened trunks of the trees, the cool shadow, and the 

 rank herbage that covered the ground tempted us too 

 strongly. Among the coarse grass were many tufts 

 of the stinking Iris, and the whorled stalks of the 



