THE ENGLISH TRAVELLER. SUSSEX. "MY DEAR CHILDREN,"You may go from the Croydon Railway Station to a great many places. "The name 'BRIGHTON' is at the bottom of the railway table; it is printed in large letters because it is at the end of the line; for if the engines were to go any further they would run into the sea-but I was not afraid of any such mishap. I knew, without looking at the map, that Brighton is on the coast of Sussex, the county which I wanted to visit; therefore I took my place, and in an hour or two I was walking on the beach. "On Brighton beach-what is there to be seen? Look before you, there is a wide, wide sea, as green as grass; but, even supposing it to be a sea-meadow, it is a very barren one-hardly a single speck of a ship disturbs its even surface. "Then, behind you. 'Yes, here is plenty to be seen,' I said, as I turned round-for here was all the bustle of London-the Cliff, the Parade, the long row of shops and hotels, crowds of gay people on foot, and almost as many riding. The young ladies on horseback, accompanied by their riding-masters, or their papas, were very numerous. On the whole,' I thought, 'it is very much like London. I'll go and have a walk on the Parade.' "The walk on the Parade 'A quite settled the matter; it was too much like London. crowd of gay company,' I thought, is a very pretty thing in its way; and as for these splendid shops, with their enormous plate-glass fronts; they are-magnificent, I suppose; so their owners think." Well, they are right, but one does not leave London to see these things; so I hunted about for something different. I dived down the next turning, but I found it led to another street, and then to another, so I travelled from one end of the town to the other, and was amazed at its size. The hotels, the lodging-houses, and terraces, were in the grandest style. And they seemed to be without number-streets, and terraces, and squares; squares, and terraces, and streets; and new streets and old, dirty and clean, narrow and-in fact, read my walk through London in the 4th volume of PLEASANT PAGES, and you have Brighton. "And it was very hot-very. There was hardly a breath of air stirring. I found myself under the shade of a large building called the Pavilion, and walked round to examine it. Certainly I thought it a curious specimen of architecture-with its domes, minarets, and pinnacles; it is half Chinese and half Turkish in character. As the gateway was open, and people were going to and fro, I ventured to go inside, and walk through part of the grounds. Here I was struck with the desolate appearance of the building. The walls and windows were out of repair, and dusty; looking inside, the rooms seemed to be nearly empty, and the whole place to be neglected and deserted. I inquired, and found that the Pavilion was formerly a royal palace, that it was built and expensively furnished by King George IV., but that her Majesty the Queen does not make use of it, not being partial to Brighton. The building has lately been sold. "So I wandered from the Pavilion back to the streets. Still the heat was oppressive. I sauntered to the Chain-pier, gazed at the bathing-machines, the baths, the children on the beach, and at last went down to try and pick up shells. Then, for the first time, I began to enjoy myself. Looking at the children and the waves, I was reminded of the old enjoyments at Ramsgate, and remembered what I had come to the seaside for. "Then I was reconciled to Brighton, and was sorry I had grumbled at the town. There were the shops for those who liked shops; and the sea for those who liked sea; and 'The Ocean Queen' and other pleasure yachts, and boats. "Boat, sir?' said a waterman, touching his hat, as I thought these thoughts. Beautiful day for a ride, sir. Don't go away, sir; you'd better have a ride-havn't been out these two days.' "The poor waterman seemed to want a job; for as soon as he saw I was half inclined to go he ran down to the beach, pushed out his boat, and so decided for me. "You can't earn very much at this kind of work, if this is all the employment you have had for two days,' I said to the boatman. "No, sir, not much,' said the man; but this is early in the season-and then, again, people ride so much in this place. There's SO much riding on horseback. Look at the lots of young ladies that come out from the riding-schools; it's all the fashion here.' "Yes, I noticed a great many young ladies riding;but which part of the year do you call the season?' "The busy time is just beginning now, sir. At midsummer we have the holiday folks, the tradespeople from London, and the children from boardingschools-then in the autumn the great folks come, the grand fashionable company.' "But what a pity you never have the Queen here now! Her Majesty does not like Brighton.' "Pity, sir! not a bit. There are quite as many people as there were before; and more, perhaps; for a good many of the visitors used to leave whenever the Queen came.' "Did you ever see the Queen?' "Ah! that I did, sir, often. The last time she was here I was once as near to her as I am to you; she was just landing, and my boat was the nearest to her-close alongside-when, as she was going to step on to the pier, she looked down and saw me.' """Indeed!' "Yes, sir, she did indeed. But as for our missing the Queen-there, sir! that's quite a mistake. Brighton always has been, and so it always will be, the most fashionable watering-place in England.' "You are going round the pier?' I said. แ "Yes, sir." I went to bed, slept, and woke the next morning soon enough to take the early train to Hastings. "HASTINGS is an improvement on Brighton. It may be remembered because it is the most sheltered of the wateringplaces, and has the mildest climate in the winter. To see how sheltered it is, you must go up the steps to the top of the West Cliff (called St. Mary's Cliff), where the castle is. There you will perceive that the town is built between two great "And when we had passed the pier, and stood out some dis-hills, and that it has hills behind tance, we saw Brighton to advantage; I never had any idea that the row of houses facing the sea was so long and varied. "After floating about on the water, on the gentlest waves imaginable, which seemed so languid with the heat that they could only rock the boat enough to send one to sleep, I returned to one of the Brighton inns. it, at the north. The view of the sea on the East Cliff is very fine, and at some distance beyond there is a beautiful spot called the Lovers' Seat, where the view is finer still. The surrounding country is very pretty, and affords many a pleasant ride to the visitors. "On account of the warm climate of Hastings there are visitors all the year round. Many poor people who are dying of consumption remain during the winter, in the hope of prolonging their lives. "Here I dived into the history of Brighton-found that it was once a fishing village called Brighthelmstone; that in the middle of the last century Dr. Russell (a medical man who "The old town of Hastings, wrote a famous work on the use between the cliffs, is now the of sea-water) recommended it least important part;-the High as a watering place; that Street cannot make very high George IV., when Prince of pretensions. To take lodgings Wales, was partial to it as his in it would, by the fashionable summer residence, and in 1784 people, be considered even 'low.' caused the foundation of the The new houses have been Pavilion to be laid, at the same brought out to face the sea, time founding the prosperity of in the regular watering-place the town. Then I thought to style; so that there are the myself, It is wonderful how, Crescent, Parade, and squares, in the space of fifty years, such as other watering-places Brighton became such a magni- have. Joined to Hastings is a ficent place.' With this thought new and highly fashionable neighbourhood, consisting of 'first-rate' dwellings, and called St. Leonard's. "But the lowest part of all, which is furthest from St. Leonard's, but which pleased me most, is the neighbourhood of the fishermen, near the High Street and the East Cliff. Here, in a few hours, I learned very much about the mackerel and herrings which the fishermen catch; and one morning, having got out of bed at five o'clock, I saw the boats come in and unload, and saw the fish sold by Dutch auction, which I had heard of at Lowestoft (vol. iii. p. 76). "Hastings is noted as one of the ancient Cinque ports,' which I spoke of in the account of Dover (vol. iii. p. 235); but, above all, it is famous for the battle between William the Conqueror and Harold, which you heard of in your English History. "The village of Battle, and the abbey, which William I. built by way of thanksgiving, are a few miles distant from Hastings. "I am, dear children, KINDNESS. THERE's nothing lost by being kind, Respect and love from all around, It is a treasure to possess, Which wealth cannot impart; Which reaches to the heart. It is the sunshine of the soul, And raises up man's nobler powers If men were kind pure joy would spring We should see blooming everywhere "Twill breathe around celestial calm, It will secure domestic bliss, And make a heaven of home. Then let our hearts be ever kind, JOHN BOOKER. SWITZERLAND. W. Where is uncle Richard's letter, papa? P. Uncle Richard has gone to ASIA. He purposed during his stay at Constantinople to write you a description of every country in Europe, but he could not persuade himself to remain any longer in Turkey. So we will ourselves finish the Geography of Europe, while he is taking notes in other quarters of the globe. W. I remember the countries we have heard aboutSPAIN and PORTUGAL, MALTA, GREECE, TURKEY, and ITALY. Ion. Please let us hear about SWITZERLAND next. It is close to ITALY, just at the north. P. Very well. You remember how uncle Richard said we were first to notice the position of a country and its surface. Ion. And then, if we know the position and surface, we can tell something of the climate, and soil, and produce. W. Yes. And when we know of the produce of a country, and notice its position again, we can pretty nearly imagine what commerce and manufactures it has. P. And from these points we can often judge what the character of a people may be. A mountainous or level country influences the character of a people. An inland or a maritime country influences the character of a people. A hot or cold climate influences the character of a people. Particular manufactures and trades influence the character of a people; and the natural character of a people also influences their manufactures. We may see these things in the Geography of SWITZERLAND, and of most other countries. To begin. You know the position of Switzerland, and by looking at the map you may tell something of its surface. Ion. It is between Italy, Germany, and France. Italy is at the south; Germany at the north and east; and France at the west. So much for its position. W. And the map tells us of its surface also. It is all amidst the mountains-the great Alps. The map also tells us how small it is. P. Yes. We have these three well-known facts:-1. It is a very small country. 2. It is at the north of Italy. 3. It is the most mountainous country in Europe. You have heard of the ranges of Alps in your Physical Geography lessons (vol. ii. p. 315), and you know that most are above the snow-line.* Then let us consider the lastmentioned fact, that Switzerland is the most mountainous country in Europe. What are the consequences when there are mountains, especially when they are above the snow-line? *Vol. ii. p. 235. |