128 
THE GEOLOGIST. 
change has been effected in the condition of some garden-plots, wliidi were pre- 
viously inclined towards the sea, at an angle of alioiit forty-five degrees, but now 
dip in the oi)posite direction ; the ])lane of this portion of land having traversed 
ninety degi'ees, or one-fourth of a circle. The entire ground, from the beach 
upwards, is rent with innumerable cracks, from a few inches to several feet in 
width, and in lines ])arallel to the coast, rising in a series of steps or terraces. On 
reaching the sunnnit, other effects are visible, especially to those familiar with the 
locality. For many years past the waste material of the neighbouring cpiarries 
has been here thrown from tracks over the cliff, and had firnied there a kind of 
causeway, extending about forty feet ; all this has sunk bodily down into basin- 
shaped cavities, carrying with it portions of the main cliff'. Either from the sudden 
withdrawal of this enormous mass, or the undermining below, a i)artial severance 
of a large })art of the solid cliff has been effected. At present, the crack is but a 
few inches in width, and the opinion among the more experienced quaiTymen is, 
that at present there will be no further displacement beyond a slight settlement. 
Should this ever be detached, the crash would be trenienclous^ and be attended 
with danger both to life and property. The east side of the island has in past 
years been the scene of many extensive landslips, some of which are recorded in 
Hutchins' ' History of Dorset.' On the 2d February, 1615, the \nev was demolished, 
blocks that lay forty yards oft' in the sea were raised above the water, and the ways 
leading from the pier to the quan-ies were turned upside down. The earth for one 
hundred yards sank into the sea. It was conjectured that this, too, was caused by 
the weight of rubbish throivn over the cliff' upon a foundation of clay. After an 
exceedingly wet season, in December, 1734, another landslip occurred, when one 
hundred and fifty yards of the north-east enil of the island sank into the sea, by 
which a i>ier and road were destroyed ; tlie damage being computed at £4G,000. 
A still more destructive one occm-red in February, 1792, when the extent of ground 
moved was a mile and a quarter in lenglh, and six hundred yards in width. One 
effect of these slii)s on the east side of the island has l)cen to bring down the old 
burying-gi'ound from the level of the land above to within a few feet of the sea. 
The insulated contUtion of large ]iortions of cliff' near Pensylvania Castle, are due 
to the same cause. The whole offers a good illustration of the wasting process of 
land-s]irings, when acting on formations such as the Oolitic, in which the stony 
beds are interspersed with bauds of clay and sand." 
REVIEWS. 
The Earth and the Word; or, Gculorjy for Bible-Students. By S. R. Pattison, 
F.G.S. London : Longman and Co. 1858. 
The Primeval World : a Treatise on the relations of Geology to Theology. By Rev. 
Paton J. Gloag. Edinburgh : T. and T. Clark. Loudon : Hamilton, Adams 
and Co. 1859. 
These are two charming little books upon subjects to which, of late years, the 
Christian public have looked with gi'eat interest, and upon which some of our best 
geohjgists and theologians have spent nuich study and labour. Every ett'ort to 
bring about a reconciliation of the biblical account of creation with the truths of 
geology is to be praised and nut condemned ; at all events, a thorough and con- 
stant discussion of all the points of coincidence or difference must be productive of 
beneficial eft'ects. 
Many, indeed, of the Protestant clergymen of our own land are those who have 
not feared to become geologists, nor have hesitated to believe that neither the 
testimony of the BiUe in its proper or moral aspect could be invalidated, nor the 
stability of true religion shaken, by the teachings of science. 
To Mr. Gloag is particularly due the praise of having dared to view every subject 
— and we say it sincerely, whether we coucm: in all liis views or not — iu a bold and 
