a brief inspection at the Royal Court will give the most complete information in reference to any portion of the island.

Along the coast here and there are stretches of broken rock, picturesque in their rugged grandeur. Particularly may be mentioned Perelle, Vazon, and Cobo Bays, where the inroads of the sea have necessitated the erection of a strong sea-wall. The coast is well protected by lights, so that there is rarely a shipwreck; but a lifeboat should be provided on this side of the island since valuable lives might be lost while horses were drawing the only one from St. Peter Port. By contrast with this scene, which, even in times of calm, is wild and rough, may be placed the picture, provided on the west coast, of the vraic industry. It is a charming one. The peasant proceeds slowly along in the track of the receding sea and gathers the dark brown clumps of seaweed glistening on the golden sands. High up out of reach of the tide are the dried heaps, shewing many shades of purple and other hues, contrasting with the browns of the bracken and the green of the fields bordering the road along the shore upon which jut forth the hard masses of brown rocks with their living coat of lichen. The vraic is consumed as fuel, and the ashes used for manure.

Many quiet spots and shady nooks can be found by the walker as he rambles through the island. Efforts will be made to inveigle him into one of the planned excursions which are arranged to shew most of the attractive features, but he will find it more satisfactory to trust to his own resources. In fact, the appeal of the island to the holiday seeker must be based upon its natural simplicity, and organized tours with an allotted number of minutes to admire some charming view are not in harmony with that conception. There are, no doubt, a certain number of its inhabitants who desire to assimilate it in character to the Isle of Man. They wish the cost of the passage to be reduced considerably, and an enterprising policy to be inaugurated in regard to the provision of ' attractions.' At the same time these progressives, if so they may be called, do not wish that the type of visitor should be lowered; they desire

to bring to their shores the cultured and educated classes. The two things are incompatible. Natural and not artificial advantages are the attraction to men of taste, who want quiet and restful surroundings for the refreshment of exhausted minds and bodies. It seems to be a short-sighted policy, at all events in the holiday season, to export the best of everything out of the island. As there is very little pasture land the islanders are necessarily dependent upon English markets for their supply of meat, but it only disgusts the visitor to be called upon to pay the best price for fruit and then to receive the least satisfactory produce. A striking comparison may be made with the prices fifty years ago, when purple figs might be obtained at from 3d. to 4d. a dozen, and strawberries at 2d. or 1d. per pound. The chief grievance with the progressive party is that for many of the most welcome visitors Guernsey is merely a stopping-place for Sark. In crossing from England, there is not a satisfactory connexion to enable the journey to be made without a halt for the night in Guernsey.

Sark is like the beautiful princess of the fairy story who placed every obstacle in the path of her admirers. It is rarely possible to be sure of making the crossing, and the return is equally uncertain. The difficulties of the Sark coast are aggravated by the fogs, which come up rapidly without warning and are unpleasant even for those on land, as 'John Oxenham ' has described in Pearl of Pearl Island2:—

'The cloud was on them, soft films of gauzy mist with the sun still bright overhead. Then quickly rolling folds of dense white clouds blotted out everything but the path on which they stood. The gorse and bluebells and sea pinks at their feet dropped suddenly wan and colourless, as though stricken with mortal sickness and wept sad tears. They stood bewildered, while the pallid folds grew thicker and thicker, lit from above with a strange spectral glare, and coiling about them like the trailing garments of an army of ghosts. From the unseen abysses all

1 Rambles among the Channel Islands, p. 291.

26

'John Oxenham's' other Sark story, Carette of Sark, is dated early in the nineteenth century, and is an endeavour to describe the condition of the island at that period.

round came the growl and wash of wave on rock and shingle, from the cliff above Pegane came the frightened bleat of a lamb, and an invisible gull went squawking over their heads on his way inland' (p. 149).

Urged on by novelists and journalists, the number of visitors has increased considerably in recent years, so that the island is in some danger of being overrun, and the islanders of losing their simplicity by being brought into contact with holiday makers and the temptation to exploit their surroundings for monetary gain. The charge for landing passengers and their luggage in a boat when the tide does not permit the approach of the little steamer to the landing-stage is regarded as unreasonable, and the cost of a conveyance is only half-concealed robbery. But the hotel charges are quite moderate, and the accommodation is excellent. The fact that the island is not large enough for a golf course and the difficulty of the approach will probably save its natural charm and freshness from extinction.

Several writers besides John Oxenham' have laid the scenes of their stories amid the rugged beauties of Sark, but no one perhaps has excelled the graphic charm of the language used by Miss Hesba Stretton in The Doctor's Dilemma. Her first impression of the scene on landing has often been quoted, but deserves repetition :

'The white foam of the waves was so near, that I could sce the rainbow colours playing through the bubbles as the sun shone on them. Below the clear water lay a girdle of sunken rocks, pointed as needles and with edges as sharp as swords, around which the waves fretted ceaselessly, drawing silvery lines about their notched and dented ridges. The cliffs ran up precipitously from the sea, carved grotesquely over their whole surface into strange and fantastic shapes; while the golden and gray lichens embroidered them richly, and bright sea-flowers, and stray tufts of grass, lent them the most vivid and gorgeous hues. Beyond the channel, against the clear western sky, lay the island of Guernsey, rising like a purple mountain out of the opal sea, which lay like a lake between us, sparkling and changing every minute under the light of the afternoon sun.'

The island of Sark consists of two portions-Great Sark

and Little Sark-joined by a natural causeway at an elevation of nearly three hundred feet above the sea. The rugged cliffs pierced with weird caves by the currents, which even the most experienced islander can never be certain of understanding, are prominent features of the island.

'Nowhere can the destroying power of the sea be better studied than in the grand scenes presented at every point round this remarkable island. Detached portions of the main island, others, nearly detached, and only connected by natural bridges or narrow necks of land, huge vaults through which the sea dashes at all times, or into which it penetrates only at high water, fragments of rock of all dimensions, some jagged and recently broken, some—and these the hardest and toughest-rounded and smooth, vast piles of smaller rocks heaped around: all these offer abundant illustrations of Nature's course when the elements meet on the battlefield of an exposed coast, the tidal wave undermining and bearing asunder even the hardest porphyries and granites, however they may seem to present a bold front and bear the reputation of being indestructible!'!

To some it may seem that the wonders of the coast are surpassed by the magnificence of the colouring. It is almost impossible for a stranger to believe that the pictures of Mr. Wimbush, who is the artist of the Channel Islands, are not exaggerated, or that in reproduction the printer has done him an injustice, but the visitor will find that the colours are as strong and vivid and varied as his brush has painted them. By sea may be seen every conceivable shade of blue; purple and violet, while the rocks form a contrast, with hardly perceptible gradations of brown, from a black in the deepest shadow to a light biscuit-coloured pebble, and behind all is a verdant background in which no shade of green is wanting. The air of Sark is delightful, and a stay in the island equals a sea voyage in its healthful influence. All around is peace and quiet, so that it is an attractive spot to the fagged worker in need of rest and recuperation of wasted tissues.

Herm and Brechou may be reached from Sark. The former is owned by a German Prince whose restrictions upon 1 Ansted's Channel Islands, pp. 63-64.

visitors do not enable them to do more than admire the wonderful shell beach, extending over half a mile. There is only a caretaker upon Brechou, which is a large rabbit warren. Alderney can be reached from Guernsey, but the crossing is uncertain and the goal cannot compare with Sark, so that few people take the trouble. For civil and ecclesiastical purposes the island is attached to Guernsey, but has its own court and legislative body under the authority of the Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey.

Sark is undoubtedly the gem of the islands, but Jersey has many admirers and certainly it contains many charming spots. Jersey, too, has other features of interest besides its natural beauty. The island has a history1 the influence of which has had an enduring effect. France has often desired to gain possession of it. The historic occasion was during the period when Great Britain was occupied by the conflict with her American Colonies. An enterprise was undertaken by an adventurer named Rullecour, but no Jerseyman would believe that he had not the active support of the French Government. The incidents of the betrayal of the island are recorded in the book published by Mr. Ouless, with excellent illustrations, in commemoration of the centenary of the battle of Jersey-6th January, 1781. The Lieutenant-Governor was made a prisoner, and the town of St. Helier was in the hands of the French. The brave young commander of the troops, Major Peirson, when called upon to surrender, returned a defiant answer, and was admirably supported by his soldiers in his determination to adopt the aggressive towards Rullecour and his undisciplined force of twelve hundred Frenchmen. In the moment of victory Major Peirson fell near the market-place, and the spot is marked by a commemorative inscription. Peirson is the insular hero, and antipathy to the French is a strong and generally prevalent sentiment. From time to time French political refugees have taken shelter in the Channel Islands.

'Mr. Falle's volume is not of great value, though Mr. Durell's notes provide useful information, especially concerning ecclesiastical history. M. Gustave Dupont's volumes contain a thorough and reliable history of all the islands.

VOL. LXVIII.-NO. CXXXV.

K