FAREWELL TO WEYMOUTH. 221 



A LAST LOOK AT WEYMOUTH. 



In this changing state, the brightest, like 



" the da/rhest day, 



Live till to-morrow, will have passed away ;" 



— the summer, only too swiftly, passes into autumn, 

 and autumn quickly merges into gloomy winter. The 

 sea-side has few charms in Decemher ; reluctlantly, we 

 took our last walk upon the now bleak and spongy 

 Nothe, our last stroll along the gusty and deserted 

 Esplanade, and our last look at Weymouth. This, 

 however, was a charming one. Just half-way between 

 Weymouth and Dorchester, the hills, which rise 

 gradually on each side, attain their greatest elevation, 

 and the high-road passes over the summit of the ridge. 

 Here we made the carriage halt, and for ten minutes 



" oast one longing lingering look behind," 



on a widely-expanded panorama of the scenes with 

 which we had been so familiar. The sun and sky were 

 all that could be wished; the air more autumnal than 

 wintry; and, as we gazed on the town and harbour, about 

 four miles distant, the long promontory of the Nothe, 

 the calm silvery Bay, the huge mass of Portland, like 

 a sleeping lion, and the boundless expanse of open 

 sea beyond, we could not help feeling that this was by 

 far the finest prospect we had seen in Dorsetshire. 



But even in London,' thanks to the Aquarium, the 

 same pleasant studies can be prosecuted that had occu- 

 pied me on the coast ; and thus, by means of a few spe- 

 cimens that I brought up with me, and by the aid of 

 contributions forwarded to me by the kind courtesy of 



