SCENERY OF THE COAST. 
11 
latter proportion has in the interval become greatly 
reduced. 4 
The scenery of the South Devon coasts, comes 
next to be spoken of, and that briefly. Taken 
generally, it is bold and much exposed, because the 
land slopes very suddenly and abruptly to the sea. 
In some spots however long runs of beach, or sand 
form the approach. The land itself, is most com¬ 
monly devoid of the characteristic pasturage of the 
county, being thin and poor; the perpetual beat of 
the sea wind likewise prevents the growth of tim¬ 
ber, so that the immediate coast wears a barren 
and dry aspect, and no foliage, or pasture of any 
richness appears, till we pass the barrier of one 
range of hills, which offers as it were a befriending 
shelter against these blasts, and even there, 
symptoms of enervation are betrayed in vegetation 
generally, making it manifest how necessary 
distance from maritime localities is, to the full 
development of most trees and plants. The coasts 
therefore, must not be sought, for any satisfaction 
they will render in respect of vegetation : on the 
contrary, the admirer of scenery will here feast 
on the wild and the majestic, more especially 
during seasons of great disturbance of the ocean, 
on which occasions the mind is more particularly 
engaged in reflecting on the incalculable power of 
the elements, and on the imbecility of every thing 
connected with this earth when submitted to their 
influence.* But still, there are times and spots in 
which different ideas are generated: our estuaries, 
* Unless we question ourselves narrowly as to the springs of 
our thoughts on various opportunities, Ave are apt to entirely 
overlook the chief and prevailing sentiment from which those 
thoughts emanate. Fcav perhaps have discovered that sea vieAvs 
induce on them a feeling of depression and the sentiment of 
melancholic ideality. 
