STATHAM — OX THE GEOLOGY OF THE SCILLY ISLES. l.~> 
pit to the right of the path leading from the Star Fort, ou 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 position 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 assiired 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 uumistakeable, 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 Bound 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 
