hands of stewards or agents, at fixed salaries. Under them are several 'masters' or foremen, who take charge of a certain number of men, and whose pay is between that of a steward and a quarryman. The quarry itself is usually worked by a company of six men and two boys, whose pay in all cases depends on the quantity of good stone wrought or 'won,' in a given time, at a certain stipulated wages per ton. This being the condition, it follows that no money is earned by the quarryman until the 30 feet of rubbish and bad stone have been removed; and this removal, in the case of a new quarry, is said to occupy a space of three years, with the labours of six men and two boys! The men must, therefore, either have a little store of accumulated carnings by them, or they must have money advanced on account of their employers, to support them until the good and merchantable stone is brought to light. The real arrangement is said to be as follows:-Ten shillings per ton is fixed by common consent, as the average price paid to the quarrymen for their labour; and this is supposed to include the value of all the preliminary work. The money thus earned is placed to the credit of the quarrymen; and at the end of six months an account is made out, and a balance determined. During the interval, the agents or stewards open chandlers' shops, from whence the men can purchase their provisions, on the credit of their forthcoming account. The average wages of a quarryman are set down at about twelve shillings a week, if at full work; but there are many drawbacks from this sum. If it rain before nine in the morning, no work is to be done that day; if the wind be high, the dust in the quarries is so dangerous to his eyes, that he has to leave work; if the markets are dull, his labours are restricted to four days a week; if a burial occur in the island, he is expected by immemorial usage to refrain from work during the rest of the day; if accidents occur, which are very probable, expenses of one kind or another follow-so that the real earnings are not supposed to exceed ten shillings a week, on an average.

Without entering minutely into the processes described by Smeaton, it may be interesting to trace the history of a block of stone till it leaves the island. First, the layers of surface-soil and rubbish are dug up, and carried in strong iron-bound barrows, to be thrown over the fallow fields in the neighbourhood. Some of the next layers are then broken up and removed by picks and wedges, and carted away from the quarry, either to be thrown over the cliffs into the sea, or to be piled up in large mounds at a distance. When the roach is attained, the labour becomes more arduous, on account of the thickness and hardness of the mass. This is usually separated into blocks by blasting, in the following way :-A hole, nearly 5 feet in depth, by 3 inches in width, is drilled in the rock, vertically; this is filled at the bottom to the height of 2 or 3 inches with gunpowder, tightly rammed, and connected with a train on the outside. The train being fired, an explosion follows, which splits the stones for several yards around into perpendicular rents and fissures. The masses included between these rents sometimes weigh as much as fifty tons; and yet the quarrymen manage to detach them from their places. This is done by means of screw-jacks, which are pressed against the mass of stone in convenient positions, and worked by winches. The labour is immense and long-continued, to move the block one single inch; and when, as often happens, it has to be moved by similar means, over a rough and crooked road, to a distance of a hundred yards, one can with difficulty conceive that the stone beneath can repay the quarrymen for such exhausting toil.

But when the good stone is reached, the cutting is performed in a more systematic manner. It would not do to have rents and fissures in all directions: the rents must be symmetrical and rectangular with respect to each other. There are, however, many natural fissures, called 'gullies,' which separate the mass into smaller pieces ;

and these pieces are loosened and removed by means of wedges, picks, levers, jacks, &c. As each one is removed, its shape and size are carefully considered, and the men decide among themselves what purpose in building it is best fitted for, without any considerable waste of material: whether a pier, a shaft, or a baluster, and so on. Having come to a decision, the quarrymen drag the mass of stone to a convenient spot, where it is brought by the action of the kevel and other instruments, to a rough approximation to the required form. The block is then measured, weighed, and marked, and finally lifted on a stone cart, having solid wooden wheels, such as are to be seen in Spain and Morocco. Several horses are yoked to the cart, and the stone is dragged to a particular spot, where a tramroad or railway declines to the edge of the sea. The railway belongs to a distinct proprietor or company, and is employed by all the quarry lessees to bring the stones down to the place of shipment.

This descending railway is in some parts a remarkable one. It winds round in a circuitous form, in order to break the abruptness of the descent; and in certain parts it descends one straight path of uniform declivity, by chains and drums. If the block of stone on its cart were allowed to descend at its own speed, it would acquire a tremendous velocity before it reached the bottom, and would precipitate stone, cart, and all into the sea. But there is a chain fastened to the cart at one end, and to a string of empty carts at the other; and, by being worked over large drums or rollers, the chain pulls up the empty carts while it lowers the filled ones. At the place of shipment, near the Chesil Bank, a large number of vessels, from 50 to 150 tons burden, congregate to convey the stone to its various places of destination. It is said that nearly 50,000 tons of stone are annually carried away from the island.

In the Annual Report, for 1845, of the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, under whose control much of the Crown property is placed, there is an entry relating to the leasing of certain rights at Portland. The property granted was said so be 'The Demesne Lands and Quarries,' containing 307 acres, 17 perches. They were granted to John William Barrinton Browne and Richard Seward Wardell; the term for which the grant was made was 28 years, from Oct. 10, 1845; the estimated annual value £133 178. 9d. for the demesne lands, an average of £687 1s. 24d. for the quarries; the rent reserved in the lease was £133 17s. 9d., and a royalty of two shillings per ton of stone raised from the quarries, not to be less than £800 per annum. Under the preceding lease, the annual rentals had been rather larger, but the royalty or per centage was smaller.

In 1839, a Commission of scientific men was appointed to investigate the qualities of various kinds of stone available for the building of the New Houses of Parliament. The Commissioners visited nearly all the quarries in the kingdom, those of Portland being among the number. In the Report which the Commissioners presented to Government, the following points of information were given concerning the Portland quarries, and the stone thence procured :-Several different quarries are mentioned by name; such as Trade Quarry, King Barrow, East End Quarry, Vern Street Quarry, Castles Quarry, Waycroft Quarries, Maggott Quarry, Goslings Quarry, Grove Quarry, and Red Croft Quarry. The stone is designated 'oolitic carbonate of lime,' with numerous fragments of shells. The weight of the stone in its ordinary state, per cubic foot, varies from about 126 lb. to 184 lb. The entire depth or thickness of workable, available stone is stated at from 7 to 16 feet in different parts. The colour is whitish brown;' the blocks may be procured of any practicable size;' the price of the block stone at the quarry per cubic foot is 1s. 44d.; the charge, when delivered safely in London, all expenses paid, per cubic foot, is 2s. 3d. The Commissioners state that the present rate of working at Port

land is about one acre of the good workable stone per annum, and that there are 2000 acres yet unworked; so that the present rate of supply can be kept up for 2000 years. St. Paul's Cathedral, various London churches built during the reign of Queen Anne, Goldsmith's Hall, the Reform Club House, and other modern buildings, were constructed of Portland stone. Concerning the oolitic limestone generally, the Commissioners remark in their Report:-"Of buildings constructed of oolitic and other limestones, we may notice the church of Byland Abbey, of the twelfth century, as being in an almost perfect state of preservation. Sandy sfoot (Sandsfoot) Castle, near Weymouth, constructed of Portland oolite in the time of Henry VIII., is an example of that material, in excellent condition; a few decomposed stones used in the interior (and which are exceptions to this fact) being from another oolite in the immediate vicinity of the castle. Bow and Arrow Castle, and the neighbouring ruins of a church of the fourteenth century, in the island of Portland, also afford instances of the Portland oolite in perfect condition. The new church in the island, built in 1766, of a variety of the Portland stone termed 'roach,' is in an excellent state throughout, even to the preservation of the marks of the chisel."

We have thus taken a survey of the Isle of Portland, in two points of view: first, as a geological phenomenon, connected in all probability with a vast series of changes in the early periods of the earth's history; and then, as a field of commercial enterprise, in connexion with the working of the stone quarries. We will now take a topographical ramble over the island, to see the villages and the buildings, the productions and the people.

In taking the trip from Weymouth to Portland, there are three courses open for the visitor. He must trudge it on foot, or hire a vehicle expressly for the journey, or sail thither in a vessel across the harbour. Stage coaches or omnibuses there are none. Most of the inhabitants of the island are of a humble class, and probably could not afford to pay for the luxury of riding. It is a very pleasant, and by no means an expensive sail, from the quay at Weymouth to the stone-shipping wharf at Portland. A small sailing-vessel makes the trip twice a day in each direction, charging sixpence to each passenger. If we approach the island by this route, a curved road leads to the village next to the Chesil Bank; or we may at once clamber the hill by the side of the railway incline, see the huge blocks of stone roll downwards by our side, and finally place ourselves on the spot where a kind of railway-station contains all the requisite fittings for the work to be done.

On leaving Weymouth by the road leading to the bridge, and crossing the creek, we arrive-not exactly at the island itself-but at the narrow ridge of Chesil Bank, along the side of which a road is carried. This road leads to Fortune's Well, the first village arrived at, joined to and almost forming part of another village or hamlet, named Chesilton, or sometimes Chiswell. In this double, but still very small village, is a house-perhaps we ought to say the house-of entertainment for the island-the 'Portland Arms.' It is an honour treasured up in the memories of the inhabitants that George III. used occasionally to visit Portland while sojourning at Weymouth; that on such occasions His Majesty used to grace the 'Portland Arms' with his presence; that the landlady of the house used to make a particular kind of pudding, of which her royal guest was very fond, and for which he used to ask whenever he visited the island; and that the good lady bequeathed to her daughter the recipe for making this highly honoured pudding.

One of the first objects seen on reaching the island, is Portland Castle. It is so placed with respect to the opposite castle of Sandsfoot, that the two together command the roadstead. The castle was built by Henry VIII., after his return from the

interview with Francis I. at the 'field of the cloth of gold,' in 1520. Scarcely anything of importance occurred with respect to its history until the civil war, if we except the placing in it of a small garrison by Queen Elizabeth, during the alarm occasioned by the threatened Spanish Armada. The castle was taken by the Parliamentarians in 1643, who brought thither a large amount of valuable property, which they had seized at Wardour Castle. This property, and the castle also, were recovered soon after, by the following stratagem :-A gentleman, furnished with Parliamentary colours, and sixty men, proceeded towards the castle, and with the haste and appearance of flying from an enemy, called out to the guard that he was bringing a supply of men, but that he was pursued by the Earl of Carnarvon, who was, according to design, close upon his rear. Upon this, the gates were instantly opened, and the castle taken. After the civil war the castle ceased to be a place of much importance. In late years it has been the residence of a private gentleman, who holds a magistracy and a trusteeship in connexion with the royal quarries.

A very steep road leads up from the village of Fortune's Well to the higher level; so steep, indeed, that it is with great difficulty vehicles can make the ascent. When the summit is attained, a most extensive view meets the eye from Torbay in the west, nearly to the Isle of Wight in the east. From the main road, near the edge of the cliffs, a number of by-paths lead to the quarries, any one of which will conduct the rambler to the excavated spots where quarrying is still going on, or where deserted quarries lie. In the remoter parts of the island, the scene is often diversified by the rude wildness of the cliff scenery; there being, in many points, rocks varying from 100 feet to 300 feet in height, severed by some disruptive force from the body of the island, and separated by chasms running far inland. In other spots there are landslips, where stone is quarried under very perilous circumstances, and whence the huge blocks are hurled over the cliffs, to the beach below. These rugged cliffs, the sheep on the scanty downs, and the gulls soaring about the cliffs, form almost the only objects that meet the eye in this walk.

Near the southern extremity of the island are two lighthouses, on different levels: the one built in 1789, and the other in 1817. The reflector of the lower light is 130 feet above the level of the sea; that of the upper is 197 feet. These two lighthouses are invaluable to the mariner; for, in the immediate vicinity of Portland, there are points of meeting of opposite currents, which give rise to two dangerous obstacles—a sort of whirlpool, called the Race,' and a sandbank, called the 'Shambles.' Near these lighthouses the sea has worn away large caverns in the face of the cliff, all of which have received names from the islanders, and many of which are connected with legendary tales of sprites and sea-monsters. The coast varies in its character from one half-mile to another; presenting in one part a low range of sterile, craggy rocks; in another part, a lower coast, with patches of green and garden ground; and in a third, a gradual ascent to the same kind of lofty cliffs as those before met with.

Pennsylvania Castle is one of the few buildings to be seen in a tour of the island. It was erected in recent times by Mr. Penn, who was then governor of the Isle of Portland, and who was a lineal descendant of the great William Penn. The 'Castle' is an unassuming, comfortable mansion, around which the proprietor has contrived to rear a tolerable plantation of trees-almost a solitary example in the island. At a very short distance from this lies Rufus Castle, or Bow and Arrow Castle (for it is known by both names). This is the most venerable piece of antiquity in the island. It is but a relic, yet it carries us back to the reign of Stephen. The castle is situated 300 feet above the level of the sea, on a perpendicular cliff, split into various fanciful shapes. It has been so far kept from utter decay as to be used as a residence,

and is fitted up within with the requisite comforts, though presenting externally a wild and time-worn appearance. The view from the vicinity of this building is most varied and extensive; and on the surface of an undercliff, situated far beneath, many pretty little patches of garden are visible.

From Bow and Arrow Castle the walk along the cliffs is often of a rugged character, and it leads to a lofty conical mound, called Vern Hill, which serves the islanders as a common, affording pasturage for cows. From this hill, on account of the vapours rising from the neighbouring sea at particular seasons of the year, the whole of the lower ground of the island may occasionally be seen enveloped in clouds, as if about to be shut out from view by a fleecy covering, while the hill and the adjacent heights remain in bright daylight and clear atmosphere.

This brings us pretty nearly back to the spot from whence we started, at the junction of the island with the Chesil Bank. The reader may now very fairly ask, "What is the Chesil Bank?"

All the best authorities agree that Portland was really an island in remote ages; but at some period, the determination of which baffles geologists as well as antiquaries, it became united to the mainland by one of the most extraordinary ridges of pebbles in Europe. In all probability the formation of this ridge was very gradual. From its commencement at the Isle of Portland, it extends in a remarkably straight line north-west for many miles, not joining the shore at the part nearest to Portland, but running parallel to the coast, from which it is separated by a narrow arm of the sea, called the 'Swannery Fleet.' This is the creek before mentioned, over which a bridge was thrown a few years back. The Swannery Fleet extends as far as Abbotsbury, ten miles from Portland. At this spot the Chesil Bank unites with the mainland, and runs along the shore nearly six miles farther, to the commencement of the cliffs at Burton Castle, not far from Bridport. The breadth of the Chesil Bank is, in some places, nearly a quarter of a mile, but commonly much less. The base is formed of a mound of blue clay, which is covered to a depth varying from four to six feet with a coating of smooth round pebbles, chiefly of white calcareous spar, but partly of quartz, chert, jasper, &c. The pebbles are so loose, that a horse's legs sink between them almost knee-deep at every step, rendering travelling on them an impossibility. The Bank slopes on the one side towards the open sea, and on the other towards the narrow inlet intercepted by it. It is highest at the Portland end, and is there composed of pebbles as large as a hen's egg; but they diminish in size towards the west so regularly, that it is said the smugglers who land in the night can judge where they are by examining the pebbles. At Abbotsbury the pebbles are little larger than horsebeans. Marine plants grow in patches along the edge of the bank, by the water-side. The pebbly covering is continually shifting. A north-east wind sometimes clears away the pebbles in parts, leaving the blue clay exposed; but the denuded spaces are covered again with pebbles by the heavy sea which the south-west wind brings up. The Swannery Fleet receives the waters of several rivulets, and runs into the open sea at its south-castern extremity by a narrow channel, called Small-mouth. The Fleet is in some places half a mile broad, and has two or three bridges, or rather causeways, over it. At its north-western extremity it forms a swannery, whence it obtained its name, and where as many as seven thousand swans have, at some periods, been congregated.

The average height of the Chesil Bank is from 50 to 60 feet above the level of the sea. There can be no doubt, from the larger pebbles being at one end, and the smaller at the other, that the Bank must, in part at least, owe its formation to the gales from the south-west, which act against this part of the coast with great violence,