Part 14

The conversation was interrupted by our arrival at this inn, where my uncle has determined on passing the night, as we were occupied a much longer time than he had expected, in examining the magnificent chain bridge, lately suspended across the straits of Menai. I have made a little sketch of it for you, dear mamma, which shall be accompanied by as good a description as I can give; but in the mean time I must tell you, that this “wonderful piece of work,” as my uncle calls it, is almost two hundred yards long from pier to pier, and so high above the water, that large vessels pass under it with all their sails set.

_Holyhead._

_23rd._--Here we arrived this day at eleven; early to-morrow we are to sail, and in six hours we shall probably arrive in Ireland. What our immediate operations are to be in Dublin I do not yet know; but my journal shall be regularly kept for your satisfaction, my dear mamma, though probably not so much at length as at quiet, peaceful Fernhurst.

On the road from Mona, this morning, we were talking over our travels; and as we all agreed that they had been delightful, my aunt asked each of us what was the peculiar circumstance that had made this journey appear so very agreeable. One suggested that it was the uninterrupted fine weather; another, the gaiety and good humour of the whole party; a third said it was the kindness and indulgence of my uncle and aunt; but Wentworth was decidedly of opinion that it was because “we had not pushed on in a desperate hurry.”

My aunt agreed that all those circumstances had concurred in promoting the general cheerfulness; but she thought that some others might be also mentioned. For instance, there had been no indecision in our plans; the whole route, and the objects to be seen, had been previously discussed; the wishes of all had been consulted; and with that happy mixture of candour and of consideration for others, which constitutes good breeding, they had been expressed, adopted, or waived, as appeared most suitable to the general taste. The punctuality of every body had been another source of satisfaction; as well as the mutual pains to share with each other every little discovery; and she placed above all, the disposition to be pleased. “Even here,” she added, “where to most people the _ennui_ of such a place as Holyhead is only varied by dwelling on the expected miseries of a voyage, the same happy habits will produce the same results; out of doors you will, I am sure, find sufficient objects of interest, and within, we can double the pleasure of our journey by recalling the principal occurrences; Bertha, indeed, will have the additional resource of her journal, the scribbling of which has been her daily, and I fear, her nightly occupation for the past twelvemonth.”

We soon after walked to the beautiful new pier and light-house, which have both rendered the harbour so much more safe and convenient than it was formerly; and then my uncle, Wentworth, and Frederick, proposed going to the Stack light-house, on the other side of Holyhead Island. Caroline and I begged very hard to be allowed to accompany them, and at last my uncle consented, though he thought the walk would be too fatiguing for us.

We scrambled up the high bare mountain, which rises behind the town; and certainly no place ever looked more bleak and comfortless. At last the path unexpectedly led us to an abrupt precipice, at the bottom of which the sea beat in among the rocks with terrible violence. Indeed I could scarcely bring myself to look down. We found here a flight of steps, four hundred, I believe, which are cut in the rock, and which wind along its face to a sort of platform. We descended very carefully, keeping, as you may suppose, close to the rock, for the wind was rather high, the steps narrow, and we were often startled by the flocks of sea-birds that suddenly bounced up from the cliffs.

From this platform a sort of bridge of ropes extends to the Stack-rock, on which the light-house stands; the bridge is a hundred feet long; the sides are of net-work, and a few boards are loosely laid to walk on. It all moves so much, that I could not help feeling a little afraid; and once the wind having blown my light gown into the openings of the net work, I fancied that the guide, who was walking close behind, was pulling me back; I stopped, and he scolded me for stopping; but my uncle fortunately heard us, and smiling at my nonsense, he explained the cause of my alarm.

The poor light-house men are looking forward with great satisfaction to a new chain bridge which is preparing for this place. It will not only be more safe and convenient for them in stormy weather and dark nights, but, by inducing more travellers to visit them, it will help to cheer their loneliness; and as there is a something in such very wild and dreary scenes, that touches a stranger’s sympathy, they will no doubt frequently obtain little presents, which will enable them to indulge in a few more comforts than they can now afford. In truth this light-house must be a melancholy abode; the wind always howling above, and the sea continually roaring below, and sometimes even throwing its spray over the windows. It was, however, very nice and clean, and as comfortable as such a place can be: my uncle took us up into what is called the lantern, and explained the use of the concave metallic reflectors which are placed behind the lamps for the purpose of increasing the brilliancy of their light by reflection. He also shewed us the contrivance by which the light is made to disappear every two minutes, in order that sailors should be able to distinguish it from all other light-houses in the Irish channel.

In returning, we observed that the tide had ebbed in the harbour, which had been so full when we first arrived, that the water came up almost to the door of the inn. It was now nearly empty; great mud-banks extending from each side, and leaving only a little winding stream in the middle. This led to some questions about the cause of the tides, and my uncle promised that to-morrow, when we are quietly seated on the deck--as neither of us intend to be seasick--he will endeavour to make me comprehend the manner in which the moon acts upon the ocean, so as to raise the waters in one part of the globe while they are depressed in another.

He then joined in a conversation that had been going on between Wentworth and Caroline, about the bottom of the sea. He said they were both greatly mistaken, if they supposed it to be everywhere a flat, even surface; on the contrary, like all other parts of the crust which surrounds the globe, it consists of sloping hills and plains, rocks and mountains. When these approach nearly to the surface of the water, they are called shoals and banks; and when their summits rise above it, they become islands. The different strata that compose the coast, may be often traced to some island at a considerable distance; the shores of France and England exactly correspond in some places; and to shew the continuity of the strata, he says it is well known that many springs of fresh water, which must proceed from the land, rise through the sea from its bottom. He gave several instances of this, but I recollect only Bridlington Bay in Yorkshire; and the gulf of Naples, where there is a spring of hot-water, that bubbles as it comes to the surface. Bituminous and mineral waters are also found rising through the sea; and near Cumana, in South America, there is a spring of _naphtha_, which spreads itself on the waves, and frequently inflames.

When we reached the inn, we found that my aunt and Mary had bought some beautiful specimens of the green stone of Anglesea: it is called Mona marble, and is veined something like the verd-antique; but my uncle says it is not marble, but a species of _serpentine_; and that, like the green serpentine of Ireland, there is so much _mica_ in it, that large pieces will not take an even polish.

I had intended to have given you some description of the great causeway which has been made to connect the little island of Holyhead, with the great island of Anglesea; but my uncle is waiting to enclose this to London, and my aunt is almost out of patience at my not going to bed, as we are to embark very early in the morning.

I must, therefore, abruptly conclude--though this is my last English letter. Oh! when shall I again embrace you and dear Marianne!

Your ever affectionate

BERTHA MONTAGUE.

INDEX.

The Numerals refer to the Volumes.

Abib, Hebrew month of, ii. 4

Abstraction, iii. 155

Adjutant bird, iii. 30

Agriculture, i. 85, 98

Albacore, i. 7

Albatross, i. 6

Ancient Manuscripts, iii. 182

Anglesea druids, iii. 227

Antiparos grotto, iii. 42

Antique remains, i. 119, 140

Ants, ii. 65, 289

Apennines, i. 199

Aphis, purveyor to the ant, ii. 245, 290

Aqueduct near Llangollen, iii. 214

Arbutus, native country of, ii. 262

Areca palm, method of climbing, i. 289

Ariel, ii. 30

Arithmetic, i. 24, 80, 203, 307

Arno, vale of, i. 200

Atonement, ii. 270, 276

Auvergne, i. 208

Australian forests, i. 155

Baal-worship, ii. 216--iii. 229

Babylon, i. 100

Balaam and Balak, ii. 214, 229, 243

Baltimore bird, i. 143

Bamboo, i. 243

Bangor, iii. 214

Barbadoes flower fence, ii. 164

Bark, i. 152

Basket-maker, i. 57, 73

Baya, or Bengal grossbeak, i. 78

Beads of the Haram, ii. 211

Bear, polar, or white, ii. 89

Bedahs of Ceylon, ii. 23

Bees, i. 287--ii. 204, 253

Bel, Belus, Baal, Bali, Pali, i. 263--ii. 47, 218--iii. 229

Bengal grossbeak, i. 78

Betel-nut palm, i. 289

Bettws bridge, iii. 217

Bible, difficult passages in, i. 168, 191, 295--ii. 16--iii. 58 ... integrity of the text, iii. 39

Bird-catchers of St. Kilda, i. 159

Bonito, i. 7

Boobies, i. 13

Borrowing from the Egyptians, ii. 17

Brazil, i. 46, 65, 152

Breakfast things, where from, ii. 207

Breda, mineral waters, i. 162

Brunel’s tunnel imitated from the Teredo, ii. 254

Buds, ii. 182, 237--iii. 1

Budding, iii. 106

Butterflies, emigration of, iii. 147

Cabbage family, all from one species, ii. 239

Cairn, iii. 229

Canada Letters, ii. 226, 230, 282--iii. 172

Catechumens and Fideles, i. 91

Caliban, ii. 31

Camels of Italy, i. 201

Canova, i. 270

Caoutchouc, iii. 167

Capping verses, ii. 44

Caterpillars, cotton and silk cocoons, iii. 193 ... veil woven by, i. 284

Cat, sagacity of, iii. 124

Celts and Elf-bolts, i. 141--iii. 189

Ceremonial worship, ii. 132

Ceylon buffaloes, i. 293

Ceylonese story, ii. 22

Chibouque, or Turkish pipe, ii. 18

Children’s prayers, i. 92

Christian dispensation, iii. 176 ... hope, iii. 197

Christianity, characteristics of, i. 71

Christmas customs, ii. 46

Cloth manufactory, iii. 81

Coal, iii. 115, 140 ... spontaneous combustion of, iii. 175

Coal-money, iii. 190

Coffin, Mount, on Colombia river, iii. 112

Commandments, or “The Ten Words”, ii. 122

Commerce, ii. 209

Comparative anatomy, iii. 96

Corals, ii. 61

Cork-tree, i. 182

Cormorants trained to catch fish, ii. 15

Cottages, English and Brazilian, i. 44

Cows, i. 43

Cricket, torpid occasionally, ii. 91 ... mole, iii. 61

Crows, i. 266

Crystals, ii. 85

Cushites, or shepherd-kings, i. 262

Cypress, deciduous, i. 231

Dairy, i. 138--iii. 89

Date-palm, i. 189, 198

Davy, the musician, ii. 2

Deane forest, i. 45, 56--iii. 115

Decalogue, ii. 122

Delta formed by alluvial deposit, iii. 26

Deluge, ii. 241--iii. 14

Deuteronomy, iii. 2

Dew, i. 77--iii. 207

Dispensations, Christian, iii. 176 ... Levitical, iii. 150 ... Patriarchal, iii. 132

Dolomieu, ii. 12

Dolphin, i. 9

Dongola, i. 274

Dormouse, ii. 89, 129, 181

Dress, neatness of, i. 122

Druids, i. 119--ii. 47---iii. 225

Ducks of Asia Minor, ii. 11

Early rising, i. 95

Easter, ii. 276

Egyptian plagues, i. 308

Elephant, ii. 119 ... fossil, iii. 71

Elf-bolts and Celts, i. 141--iii. 189

Ephod, ii. 79

Epistles of St. Paul, i. 191

Falcon, Persian, iii. 205

Fancy, iii. 156

Farmer Moreland, i. 41, 69--iii. 195

Fata Morgana, i. 220, 233--iii. 172

Fernhurst, arrival at, i. 17

Festivals of the Jews, ii. 7--iii 74

Fideles and Catechumens, i. 91

Fieldfares, i. 260

Fire-flies, i. 34, 78

Fish caught by diving, ii. 15 ... air-bladder of, ii. 20

Flexible iron-pipes, ii. 255

Flexible cups and spoons, ii. 211

Flying fish, i. 6

Forest of Deane, i. 45, 56--iii. 115

Forests of Australia, i. 155 ... Brazil, i. 47, 152 ... Europe, i. 179 ... submarine, iii. 34

Franklin and Bessy Grimley, i. 75, 125, 235

Frost, ii. 77, 81, 94, 99, 120--iii. 73

Fruitieres of Switzerland, iii. 88

Fruit-trees, experiments on, ii. 196, 202

Futurity, ii. 279

Garden, Bertha’s, i. 129, 137, 174--ii. 287--iii. 100, 125, 192

Gas-wash to destroy insects, ii. 196

Genius, i. 268, 270, 314--ii. 2, 12, 32

Geology, classification, series, &c., ii. 198 ... strata, dip, &c., ii. 220 ... alluvial formation, ii. 235 ... changes in the surface of the globe--deluge, ii. 241 ... secondary formations--organic remains, ii. 247 ... specimens of all the series--organic remains, ii. 265 ... conglomerates, ii. 280 ... trap rocks, iii. 4 ... vallies--diluvium, iii. 15 ... alluvial changes--ravages of the sea--blowing-sands, iii. 25 ... change of level of the sea, iii. 33 ... petrified sands, stalactites, iii. 41 ... volcanoes, iii. 49 ... organic remains, iii. 69, 96 ... coal, peat, iii. 115 ... vegetable remains, iii. 140

Gipsies, ii. 57, 69

Glass, plate, manufacture, iii. 43, 45, 56

Gloucester cathedral, iii. 139

Glow-worm, i. 34--iii. 196

Goat-sucker, iii. 203

Good Friday, ii. 270

Goshen, land of, i. 262

Grampus, i. 9

Grasses, i. 171--iii. 126

Gravel-walk, effect of frost on, ii. 83

Grenier, Mont, i. 125

Grossbeak, i. 78, 94

Gulf-stream, i. 10

Gum-lac, i. 143

Guyton de Morveau, ii. 13

Habit, force of, in plants, ii. 140, 191, 223

Hail, formation of, ii. 115

Halcyon, i. 178

Hamlet, ii. 102

Harvest-home, i. 69, 85

Hawking in Persia, iii. 204

Haydn, the composer, i. 314

Hebrides, Hertford’s Letters from, i. 37, 58, 87, 119, 132, 140, 157

Herculaneum manuscripts, iii. 182

Hoar-frost, ii. 77

Holyhead, iii. 232

Honey-bird, i. 288

Hope, iii. 198

Horse, courage and power of, iii. 11

Hottentots, iii. 32

Humming-bird, i. 164

Ice, ii, 77, 85--iii. 73

Iceland moss, i. 30

Ichneumons, iii. 193

Imagination, iii. 154

Inclined plane, iii. 211

Indigenous plants of Great Britain, ii. 262

Industrious miller of Breda, i. 162

Insects, ingenuity of, ii. 245, 290--iii. 121, 149, 173, 191, 193

Islay Island, antique remains, i. 140

Israelites, i. 262--ii. 17, 34, 67, 183

Japhet’s descendants, i. 227

Jay, i. 246

Jews, their dispersion, iii. 93

Jewish festivals, ii. 7--iii. 75

Joseph’s character, i. 238

Juan Fernandez’ Isle, ii. 58

Kapiolani, heroic woman of the Sandwich Islands, iii. 63

Kelek, raft on the Tigris, i. 83

Kilda, St., Isle, i. 157

Kingfisher, i. 177

Lac, gum, i. 143

Lady-bird destroys the hop-aphis, ii. 190

Lace, machines for singeing, iii. 215

Laplanders, i. 212

Leaven, ii. 6

Leaves, fall of the, i. 298

Lethargic animals, ii. 89, 129, 181

Levitical dispensation, iii. 150

Leviticus, ii. 131

Lewis Isle, Druidical remains of, i. 119

Lincolnshire, submarine forest, iii. 34

Light-houses of Holyhead, iii. 233

Lion, conflict with a horse, iii. 12

Locusts, i. 311, 316

Looking-glass silvered, iii. 57

Looking-glasses (in Exod. xxxviii. 8), iii. 58

Love of God, the governing principle, iii. 20

Love your enemies, i. 134

Luminous sea-water, i. 4, 133, 282

Lumley, Mr., his history, i. 104, 194

Madeleine’s history, i. 247, 306

Madeira, singular deposit of sand, iii. 28

Malaria of Rome, i. 200, 202

Malt, ii. 135

Mammoth, iii. 70, 101

Man-of-war bird, i. 6

Manuscripts, ancient, iii. 182

Marmot, ii. 109

Mason wasp, ii. 149

Maté of Paraguay, ii. 212

Mauritia palms, inhabited by the Indians, i. 187

May-day customs, iii. 77

Memory, iii. 65

Mexican volcanoes, iii. 50

Migration of butterflies, iii. 147 ... swallows, iii. 145, 158

Mirage, i. 218

Mirrors, iii. 57

Mississippi, ii. 114, 125--iii. 145

Mona marble, iii. 237

Monsters of ancient fable, iii. 103

Moses, character of, i. 275--ii. 193 ... prophecies of, iii. 38, 52, 90 ... the two songs of, in Exod. xv. and in Deut. xxxii., ii. 66--iii. 110 ... his exhortation and death, iii. 2

Mosses, i. 258

Mozart, ii. 32

Mummers, ii. 48

Mummy from Egypt, i. 284

Narrative of Mrs. P., ii. 146

New South Wales trees, i. 155

Nisan, Hebrew month of, ii. 4

North Rona Isle, i. 59

Northwich salt-mine, iii. 212

Norway, i. 43--ii. 64

Numbers, book of, ii. 184

Oats and wheat, mode of growing, ii. 274

Organic remains, ii. 248, 265--iii. 69, 96, 140

Palms, i. 187, 198, 289--iii. 165

Paddy, cultivation of, ii. 8

Palimpsest Manuscripts, iii. 186

Papyrus, i. 279

Parable, ii. 229

Parys coppermine, iii. 228

Paraguay tea, ii. 212

Passover, ii. 3--iii. 74

Patriarchial dispensation, iii. 132

Paul, St., how to read his Epistles, i. 191

Pear-tree, transplanted, iii. 123

Pearl fishery, ii. 22

Pen, ancient term for hill, iii. 187

Penrhyn slate-quarries, iii. 218

Peony, Chinese, i. 32

Pepper, white and black, ii. 1

Petrels, i. 4, 7, 8

Persian spoons, ii. 210

Pharaoh’s heart hardened, i. 295

Phaëton, or Tropic-bird, i. 3

Pin-making, iii. 138

Plagiary in poetry, ii. 73

Plagues of Egypt, i. 308

Plants, distribution of, iii. 6 ... migration of, ii. 262 ... naturalize by habit, ii. 140, 191, 223

Play of capping, ii. 44 ... questions, ii. 39 ... stories, ii. 106

Polish given to glass, iii. 56

Pontcysylte aqueduct, iii. 214

Potatoe, i. 32, 117, 304--ii. 192

Practical hints on self-government, iii. 200

Prairie dog, ii. 128

Prickly pear hedges, i. 27

Psalms, i. 148--ii. 49

Question play, ii. 39

Questions, arithmetical, i. 204, 307

Radiation of heat and cold, ii. 78, 102, 137--iii. 209

Rafflesia, enormous flower of, iii. 8

Railways, iii. 222

Rapid flight of birds, iii. 162

Red-sea, passage of the Israelites, ii. 34

Rein-deer, i. 29, 214

Resistance to injuries, i. 134

Resurrection, ii. 276

Rhinoceros, ii. 232

Rice, ii. 8, 140, 143

Rivers that form alluvial deposits, ii. 235--iii. 26

Rona, North, i. 58

Rooks, ii. 260

Roses, ii. 9--iii. 106

Rose-beads, ii. 211

Rumbdé, ii. 187

Sabbath, origin of, i. 51

Sacrifices, ii. 4, 131, 137, 270--iii. 133, 150

St. Kilda, Hebrides, i. 157

St. Paul’s epistles, difficulties in reading, i. 191

Salt plain and cliffs, i. 63

Salt-mine, iii. 212

Sandwich isles, ii. 144--iii. 62

Sarana lily, eaten, ii. 213

Scouler’s voyage, ii. 58, 112

Sea, change of level, iii. 33 ... form of the bottom, iii. 286 ... water, simple method of ascertaining the salt it contains, i. 12 ... luminous, i. 4, 133, 282 ... weed, i. 11

Seal-cutting, iii. 221

Shakspeare, ii. 29, 102

Sheep-shearing, iii. 195

Shem and Japhet’s descendants, i. 227

Siberian flexible cups, ii. 211 ... fossil elephant, iii. 71

Sin-offerings, ii. 138

Sinai, Mount, ii. 68

Sky, isle of, i. 88

Slate-quarries of Penrhyn, iii. 218

Snow, ii. 115

Solan-goose, i. 159

Sparrow, i. 178--iii. 146

Spicula of ice, ii. 87, 96

Spider, i. 283

Sponge, ii. 39

Spring, the advance of, ii. 182, 187

Springs, i. 286

Staffa island, i. 37

Staffin, Loch, i. 89

Staffordshire vallies, iii. 189

Stalactites, iii. 42

Starling, red-winged, i. 142

Stockholm, i. 115

Stories, i. 73, 105, 222--ii. 22, 107, 146

Story-play, ii. 106

Stove for Palms, i. 187--iii. 165

Strawberries irrigated, iii. 125

Straw-plait for the Florence hats, i. 201

Sunday, when instituted, i. 51

Suspension bridges, iii. 231, 234

Swallows, iii. 47, 143, 158, 203

Tabasheer, i. 240

Tailor-bird, i. 80

Talipot-tree, i. 290

Taste, iii. 250

Tendrils, iii. 95

Teredo, ii. 254

Thaw, ii. 120

Thy kingdom come, explained, i. 117

Tigris river, boats, i. 83

Tillandsia moss, i. 232--ii. 286

Titmouse, ii. 134, 203

Toad enclosed in plaster of Paris, ii. 92

Tobacco, ii. 93

Toddy-bird, i. 79

Torpid animals, ii. 89, 130

Toucan, i. 49

Trallhätta cataract, ii. 64

Trees of North America, i. 183, 231 ... European, i. 179, 198 ... of New South Wales, i. 155 ... of Brazil, i. 152

Tree-ferns, iii. 140, 165

Tunnel, suggested by the Teredo, ii. 254

Turkish pipe, iii. 18

Unicorn, ii. 231

Unleavened bread, ii. 6

Urim and Thummim, ii. 80

Valleys colder than hills, ii. 101

Vegetables brought from the East, i. 31

Venice, iii. 85

Vine-culture, South of Europe, i. 197

Vinegar, made from ants, ii. 65

Volcanoes, iii. 49, 63

Voyage to England, i. 1

Walker, Dr., habits of plants, ii. 141, 191, 223

Water, viscidity of, i. 8

Watering plants by a dropping syphon, iii. 123

Wells, Dr., frost and dew, ii. 76, 137, iii. 207

Welsh roads, iii. 216

West the painter, i. 269

Whale catching, ii. 21

Wheat, i. 303--ii. 274

Wren, parental courage of, iii. 23

Yule-clogs, ii. 47

Zafferonee caravanserai, i. 222

LONDON: Printed by WILLIAM CLOWKS, Stamford-street.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Acts iii. 22. vii. 37.

[2] Chap. xxxviii. 8.

[3] Deuteronomy xvi. 16.

[4] Chap. xiii. ver. 6.

[5] Daniel iii. 29.

[6] iv. 34.

[7] Romans xv. 10.

[8] Galatians iii. 19.

[9] Hebrews vi. 18, 19.