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and commanding sea-views of the Isles of Wight and Purbeck. There is a fine firm sandy beach, and the cliffs on the north and east afford such shelter as to render this a most desirable retreat for the invalid during the winter months. To provide accommodation for the daily increasing number of visitors, hotels, assembly rooms, libraries, bathing establishments, and, in short, every accessory to the comfort and enjoyment of the frequenters, have been furnished on the most liberal scale, and nothing has been omitted to secure and retain that patronage it so freely receives, and has so justly deserved. The markets are well provided with fish, meat, and other comestibles, and the railway stations at Christchurch and Poole render every facility of access to or from the metropolis and Southampton.

We have thus endeavoured-as far as in us lies-to make the reader acquainted with all that is necessary to be known in a ramble through this romantic haunt of Nature's loveliness; and as he reclines, like Jaques, under many an oak, Whose boughs are mossed with age,

And high-top bald with dry antiquity,

we would have him remember this as our parting exhortation. The whole of the roads through the New Forest are delightful, and the rides and drives they yield are all sufficiently charming in themselves; but if one would thoroughly enjoy the full attractions of this sylvan spot, we must abjure the common and everyday path, and dive into the very depths of the Forest. We must wander about with Nature, hand in hand, from one wild and silent retreat to another, till the mind becomes filled with the exquisite woodland pictures on which it has luxuriated, and the memory is stored with a thousand agreeable mages on which it can afterwards dwell with delight.

37

WE Y MOUTH.

[graphic]

EYMOUTH is now,

by the branch of the South-Western Railway to Dorchester, brought within speedy reach of the metropolis, and this only was wanted to give a stimulus to the migrating frequenters of the southern shores,

who are now enabled to enjoy a sunset off Weymouth Bay, and yet-thanks to railway transit-be in time the same evening to relish a supper in the Strand.

The towns of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis form opposite boundaries of the harbour, in the conveniences of which they

had their origin, and, to terminate their mutual rivalry, they were, in the reign of Elizabeth, united into one borough. Of these two Weymouth, deriving its name from the mouth of the Wey, is the more ancient, and was probably known to the Romans, as in the immediate neighbourhood there are evident traces of a vicinal way, leading from one of the principal landing stations connected with their camp at Maiden Castle to the Via Iceani, where the town of Melcombe Regis now stands. By the charters of Henry I. these ports, with their dependencies, were granted to the monks of St. Swithin, in Winchester, from whom, however, no legendary wet weather was happily bequeathed in return. Here it was where, in 1471, Margaret of Anjou, with her son, Prince Edward, landed at this port from France, to assist in restoring her husband, Henry the Sixth, to the throne of England. During the parliamentary war it shared in the usual broils and turmoils of the time, having been alternately garrisoned by both parties. In 1644 it was evacuated by the royalists, on which occasion several ships and a great quantity of arms fell into the hands of the parliamentary forces, who obtained possession of it. Soon afterward an attempt at recovery was made by the royalists, but the garrison sustained the attack for eighteen days, and finally obliged them to raise the siege. From this time it sank from an opulent and commercial port to a mere fishing village, until, by the notice of Ralph Allen, of Prior Park, Bath, in 1763, and the repeated visits of George the Third and the royal family, with whom it was a most admired place of resort, the foundation was laid for its present prosperity.

Nothing can be more striking and picturesque than the situation of this delightful watering-place. The town is built

on the western shore of one of the finest bays in the English Channel, and being separated into two parts by the river, which forms a commodious harbour, it is most conveniently situated for trade. A long and handsome bridge of two arches, constructed of stone, with a swivel in the centre, was erected in 1820, and thus the divided townships enjoy a communication. The town, especially on the Melcombe side of the harbour, is regularly built, and consists chiefly of two principal streets, parallel with each other, intersected with others at right angles; it is well paved and lighted, and is tolerably supplied with fresh water Since the town has become a place of fashionable resort for sea-bathing, various handsome ranges of building and a theatre, assembly-rooms, and other places of public entertainment have been erected, and these are now rapidly extending and increasing in every direction. The principal of these are Belvidere, the Crescent, Gloucester-row, Royal-terrace, Chesterfield-place, York-buildings, Charlotte-row, Augustaplace; and Clarence, Pulteney, and Devonshire-buildings, are conspicuous; to which may perhaps be added Brunswickbuildings, a handsome range of houses at the entrance of the town. From the windows of these buildings, which front the sea, a most extensive and delightful view is obtained, comprehending on the left a noble range of hills and cliffs, extending for many miles in a direction from west to east, and of the sea in front, with the numerous vessels, yachts, and pleasure-boats which are continually entering and leaving the harbour.

To the west of the town are the barracks, a very neat and commodious range of buildings. The Esplanade is one of the finest marine promenades in the kingdom. It is a beautiful terrace, thirty feet broad, rising from the sands, and secured by a strong wall, extending in a circular direction parallel

with the bay for nearly a mile, and commanding a most beautiful panorama of the sea, cliffs, and the mountainous range of rocks by which the bay is enclosed.

On the Esplanade is the Royal Lodge, where George the Third and the royal family resided, and here also will be found the principal public libraries, echoing with the dulcet strains of some experimental musician.

The theatre is a neat and well-arranged edifice, in Augustaplace, but it is seldom inconveniently crowded. Races are held early in September, and during their continuance a splendid regatta is celebrated in the bay, which has a fine circular sweep of two miles, and being sheltered by a continuous range of hills from the north and north-east winds, the water is generally very calm and transparent. The sands are smooth, firm, and level, and so gradual is the descent towards the sea, that, at the distance of 100 yards, the water is not more than two feet deep. Bathing-machines of the usual number and variety are in constant attendance, and on the South-parade is an establishment of hot salt-water baths, furnished with dressing-rooms and every requisite accommodation. At the south entrance of the harbour are the higher and lower jetties, the latter of which is a little to the east of the former. The sea has been for a long series of years, retiring from the eastern side of the harbour, and part of the ground over which it formerly flowed is now covered with buildings, other parts being enclosed with iron railings, which form a prominent feature on the Esplanade. On the Weymouth side are the Look Out and the Nothe, affording extensive and interesting prospects; on the latter is a battery, formerly mounted with six pieces of ordnance, which, on the fort being dismantled, were removed into Portland Castle..

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