THE CAVERNS. 
139 
lichens; — the whole mass standing forth from a bold coast, 
and rising out of deep water, which, becomes white with foam 
as it heaves and breaks upon the obstacles that lie in its way. 
When caves are shallow, and mere semi-vaulted recesses, 
the dark shadows they present are always simple, but often 
effective, contrasting with the more broadly-lighted sides of 
the cliff. When they enter further into the cliff, the view from 
the mouth of the cavern, looking outwards, is very grand. 
When they bend, and the light of day is partly lost, there is a 
sti’ange pleasure in feeling one’s way to the end, enjoying the 
fresh sea smell from the waters, but lately retired, and hearing 
the distant boom of the waves, whose sound is reflected from 
the hollow vault beyond. Often the artist is able to obtain 
peculiar and hig’hly-picturesque effects from the vicinity of 
isolated peaks of rock near the mouths of such caverns, and 
not unfrequently there is a certain amount of difficulty ex- 
perienced in the entry and approach, but this only enhances the 
pleasure of exploring, and insures quiet and undisturbed pos 
session. 
Rarely, but still occasionally, it happens that these granite 
caverns are very extensive, and consist of many chambers open- 
ing one into another, and difficult of access. Crevices very 
narrow, but extending vertically to great height, connect open- 
ings of some magnitude. Such caverns can only be visited with 
artificial light, and involve some climbing and scrambling'. 
The contents of caverns in granite are generally confined 
to living limpets, sea-anemones and sea-weed sticking to 
the rocks, and pebbles and sand covering the floor. Many 
of them are remarkably rich in marine animals, but of all 
that have been explored none can approach the Sark caverns 
called the Gouliots . These very remarkable vaulted recesses 
are situated on the side of Sark next to Guernsey. They are the 
modern representatives of a succession of somewhat similar 
caves, the final laying open and destruction of which has caused 
the separation, first of the island of Brechou, and more recently 
of the intermediate Gouliot rock from the island of Sark. 
There is a wide space of cavern-floor left dry in these recesses 
at extreme low tides, but the caves may be visited partially, and 
with difficulty, at ordinary low water. The space occupied by 
these openings is separated into compartments by bold and 
grotesque arches, each compartment being the habitation of 
some marvellous group of marine animals. Here, owing to a 
combination of circumstances, there may be seen animals living' 
and flourishing, and exposed to view, which, under ordinary 
conditions, require several fathoms of sea-water over them. It 
is a natural marine aquarium on the grandest scale, compared 
with which all other collections of marine animals are mere toys. 
