alone by the cormorant and the sea-mew: it is smaller than the Flat Holme.
The following lines are so beautifully descriptive of this lonely and
desolate spot, that we cannot resist transcribing them:

"The sea-bird claims that solitary spot,
And around, loud screaming, wheels
In undisturbed possession: other sounds,
Save those of shrieking winds and battling cliffs.
Are seldom heard in that deserted isle.
The spirit of desolation seems to dwell
Within it; and although the sun is high,
And Nature is at holy peace, it has
An aspect wild and dreary.
But in the wint'ry storm, when all that sea--
The terrible Atlantic--breasts its rocks
In thund'ring conflict, the unearthly howl
Might almost wake the dead."

_N.T. Carrington_.

But to proceed with our voyage:--Almost opposite the Holmes there is an
extensive view on your right of Bridgewater Bay, receding inland; and on
the left, Pennarth Roads, with the forest of shipping and town of Cardiff
elevated in the distance, present themselves. On this side the Channel
there is nothing more to mention--the thriving and very extensive port of
Newport on the Uske, in Monmouthshire, about twelve miles above Cardiff,
not being visible. This town has risen almost entirely within the present
century. It owes its prosperity partly to the excellent quality and
hardness of its coal, which is almost equal to that of Newcastle, and
partly to an unjust and exclusive act of parliament, which enacts that all
coals shipped eastward of the Holmes shall be free of duty, to the great
injury of Cardiff, Swansea, and other ports to the westward. The annual
shipments to the port of Bridgewater alone, in consequence, are 100,000
tons. You now stretch nearer the Somersetshire coast; and after passing
that beautiful and much-frequented little watering-place,
Weston-supra-mare, clustering on the side of a romantic declivity along
shore, the flood-tide reaches you on arriving in the far-famed King-Road
at the mouth of the Avon, which, in addition to the natural beauty of the
surrounding scenery, generally presents an animating scene of shipping and
steamers, lying off till there is sufficient tide up the river. But we
have progressed gently amidst a crowd of small craft past Pill, a fishing
village at its mouth; and after being entranced for five miles with the
magnificent and varied scenery of that lovely river, the classic and
palatial buildings of Clifton, cresting the