16 
FERNY COMBES. 
struction we have seen on Dartmoor, to which dis- 
trict they have been supposed to be confined. If 
my memory serve me right, there are not less than 
twelve or fourteen upright slabs rising out of the 
river, like so many piers ; as many flat stones rest 
on them, forming a path broad enough for three 
people to walk abreast. The name of this curious 
piece of architecture is “ Tor’s Steps.” I am in- 
clined to spell it Thor’s Steps ; for sure some an- 
cient hero, in bygone days, must have raised and 
poised those vast blocks. The first time I visited 
the Steps there occurred one of the most awful 
storms of thunder and lightning I ever experienced. 
The rain descended in torrents, the thunder growled 
and echoed through the hills, while the forked light- 
ning flashed, seeming to strike the turf close to 
our feet. Thor, the Thunder Grod, appeared dis- 
puting our right to invade his territories, wishing 
to punish us for our boldness by hurling some of 
his bolts at our devoted head. 
Erom Tor’s Steps two routes may be followed, 
and it depends on the time at command to say 
which shall be chosen. 
The longest is by Dulverton, a pleasant country 
town, built in a basin at the junction of the Barle 
and the Exe, surrounded by wooded hills. The 
road from thence to Dunster is extremely pretty ; 
