Rambles among the Channel Islands / by a Naturalist.

Date:
[1855?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Rambles among the Channel Islands / by a Naturalist. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    made by a mall packet, which leaves South- ampton at a quarter to twelve at night, and reaches Guernsey at times varying with the state of the weather, but most commonly at about nine o’clock on the following mornincr. The rocks in question lying in the direct route to the latter island, are generally approached rather closely; and, when enwrapped with mist, and consequently only indistinctly seen, they communicate an impression akin to that of awe to the mind ; and the idea of coming in contact with such fearful obstacles seldom fails to suggest itself. The early hour in the morning at which these rocks are first seen also combines to convey a feeling of vague alarm ; and though in the present state of navigation such fears may be groundless, history records, vdth mournful frequency, the losses of life and ships upon these wild and gloomy rocks, at a period when there existed no sea-marks upon them, and when the power of steam was less employed than it is at present in mai’ine navigation. As the sun rises and dispels the morning obscurities, and as the steamer glides swiftly past the rocks, their real form and characters become evident; but it is difficult even then to survey the Caskets without a shudder; and as they sink into the distance, leaving only the white summits of the artificial structures reared upon them, the eye