82 
there. Thirteen miles from Falmouth lies Helstone, a little 
mining town of two thousand five hundred inhabitants, contain¬ 
ing some neat houses, but miserable pavements. The court-house 
stands in the middle of the town, under which is the market. 
On the other side of Helstone we came to a beautiful valley, where 
we saw trees again, and by means of a stone bridge we passed 
over Looe, a small stream, which at a short distance empties into 
the sea. As far as Marazion the region is agreeable; hilly indeed, 
but better cultivated. We approached the sea on the left; on the 
right we had the ridges, among which we discovered some neat 
farms. As we approached Marazion, which lies on a descent to¬ 
wards the sea, we enjoyed the really fine view of Mountbay and 
of St. MichaePs Mount. In Marazion we stopped at the Star 
Inn, and immediately took a boat to reach the mountain, which 
is a short distance from the shore. The rock, which at low wa¬ 
ter joins the shore, consists of granite, is a mile in circumference 
at its base, and is two hundred and fifty feet high. At its foot 
there is a small fishing village of about thirty houses, with a har¬ 
bour formed by two new piers. By means of very inconvenient 
steps which are cut out of the rock, we reached an old castle, 
standing at the highest point, and belonging to the family St. 
Aubyn. This is the same family, whose chief, Sir John St. Aubyn, 
owns almost all the houses in Devonport, and a large portion of 
the ground of the dock-yard. In former times, St. MichaePs 
Mount was a cloister. Adapted by its isolated situation for a 
fortress, art has contributed but little to its strength, and add¬ 
ed merely a pair of bastions, and platforms, on which a few 
small cannon belonging to the owner of the mount, are at present 
standing. It sustained several sieges in former times. We were 
conducted to a Gothic chapel with ancient,painted window-glasses, 
after which we examined the castle. In this, however, we found no¬ 
thing remarkable, except the old refectory of the cloister, called 
the chevy-chace-room, with strange bass-reliefs, representing an¬ 
cient hunting scenes. In this hall are very old pieces of furni¬ 
ture; one chair is said to be three hundred, another five hundred 
years old. 
The windows of the castle command a very fine "prospect to¬ 
wards Mountbay and its shores, in which Marazion and Pen¬ 
zance, which are three miles distant from each other, appear to very 
great advantage. Not far from the latter place, the Thetis lay at 
anchor. I regretted extremely that my time would not allow me 
to visit my gallant friend, Sir John Phillimore. A steeple rises 
above the church of the castle, which I, however, did not as¬ 
cend, being fatigued, and the steps in a neglected state. We rode 
back to Marazion, which was formerly called Marketzew, and 
has eleven hundred inhabitants, and passing by Helstone, we ar~ 
