STATHAM — OX THE GEOLOGY OF THE SCILLY ISLES. 15 



pit to the right of the path leading from the Star Fort, on the Hugh, 

 to the two dismantled windmills on the summit of the Downs. The 

 pit consists almost exclusively of crumbling granitic rubble, so fre- 

 quently met with almost immediately beneath the surface-soil in these 

 islands ; but, in one corner of the pit, that to the south, the character 

 of the rubble is entirely changed, and it consists of irregular angular 

 fragments of hard clayslate, many of them of considerable size, lying 

 in a kind of rough order, as though they had been broken by the 

 action of the elements from some higher spot, and had rolled down 

 and become tightly wedged in the jDosition in which they are now 

 found. Lying at no great distance (probably two feet) below the 

 existing level, and isolated altogether from all the traces of any other 

 rocks of a similar character, I was almost inclined to think, at first, 

 they might have been the rough fragments left after some building- 

 operations, which, in the lapse of ages, had allowed the surface-ground 

 to have gradually formed above them ; but a closer inspection of the 

 pit assured me that this could never have been the case ; indeed, the 

 fragments were so diverse in shape, and their position in the midst of 

 the granitic rubble so unmistakeable, that I could form no other 

 opinion than that they belonged to some different class of rocks, now 

 destroyed, and leaving no traces of their previous existence, save in 

 these buried fragments. 



The general appearance of this group of islands, when approached 

 from the east, is that of smooth, swelling lowlands, scattered in 

 picturesque confusion on the bosom of the deep ; Hangjague alone 

 presenting the appearance of a rugged precipitous crag, almost 

 of the shape of a sugar-loaf, and gleaming white in the sun. But, 

 if visited from the north, by way of Round Island and Menavawr, 

 or from the south-west, passing the Bishop Rock, the Crebawethans, 

 and Annette, the aspect of the islands is entirely changed, 

 and they show forth in all their dangerous and romantic beauty, 

 fringing the sea with pinnacled crags and battlemented headlands, 

 against which many a gallant vessel has dashed and gone down 

 with its terrified crew. The cause of this difference of aspect is 

 obvious. The wide Atlantic, rolling in its tremendous waves during 

 stormy seasons of the equinoxes, sweeps against these exposed sides 

 with almost incalculable force. To form some idea of its power when 



