chalk-cliffs making one of
the most prominent landmarks of the southern coast.

BRIGHTON.

Westward of Beachy Head is the noted watering-place of this southern
coast, Brighton, the favorite resort of the Londoners, it being but
fifty-one miles south of the metropolis. This was scarcely known as a
fashionable resort until about 1780, when George IV., then the Prince of
Wales, became its patron. Taken altogether, its large size, fine
buildings, excellent situation, and elaborate decorations make Brighton
probably the greatest sea-coast watering-place in Europe. It stretches
for over three miles along the Channel upon a rather low shore, though
in some places the cliffs rise considerably above the beach. Almost the
entire sea-front, especially to the eastward, is protected by a strong
sea-wall of an average height of sixty feet and twenty-three feet thick
at the base. This wall cost $500,000 to build, and it supports a
succession of terraces available for promenade and roadway. In front the
surf rolls in upon a rather steep pebbly beach, upon which are the
bathing-machines and boats. Along the beach, and behind the sea-wall,
Brighton has a grand drive, the Marine Parade, sixty feet wide,
extending for three miles along the shore and in front of the buildings,
with broad promenades on the sea-side ornamented with lawns and gardens,
and on the other side a succession of houses of such grand construction
as to resemble rows of palaces, built of the cream-colored Portland
stone. The houses of the town extend far back on the hillsides and into
the valleys, and the permanent population of 130,000 is largely
augmented during the height of the season--October, November, and
December. Enormous sums have been expended upon the decoration of this
great resort, and its Marine Parade, when fashion goes there in the
autumn, presents a grand scene. From this parade two great piers extend
out into the water, and are used for promenades, being, like the entire
city front, brilliantly illuminated at night. The eastern one is the
Chain Pier, built in 1823 at a cost of $150,000, and extending eleven
hundred and thirty-six feet into the sea. The West Pier, constructed
about fifteen years ago, is somewhat broader, and stretches out eleven
hundred and fifteen feet. Each of the piers expands into a wide platform
at the outer end, that of the West Pier being one hundred and forty feet
wide, and here bands play and there are brilliant illuminati