not sent through the usual local channels,
there was no leakage of the commander's intentions, and having received
no warning of the expedition, the smugglers were taken completely by
surprise. As soon as the hostile intentions of the cutter were revealed,
Carter opened a heavy fire on the small boats that conveyed the landing
party; but after a fierce fight, in which there were heavy casualties on
both sides, a landing was effected, and the fortress carried by storm.
The work of dismantling the fort was considered of more importance than
the immediate capture of the smugglers, and nothing seems to be known as
to whether they were ever arrested and tried.

For the exploration of the Lizard and Kynance districts there is no
better centre than Helston, although those who find little to interest
them in the interior of the peninsula may be advised to proceed direct
to Lizard Town, as being in closer proximity to such attractive spots as
Mullion and Cadgwith. Helston itself is an oldfashioned town that has
not many attractions for the modern tourist. It is a borough of some
antiquity, and once possessed a Norman castle which fell into ruin in
the reign of Edward IV. The annual festival known as Helston Flora Day
is generally considered to be a survival of an old Roman custom. It was
originally held on the 8th of May, but in recent years has taken place
on any convenient date. The greatest attraction of the place to-day is
the Loo or Loe Pool, a large sheet of water two miles in length and five
in circumference. This is quite one of the largest natural lakes in the
south of England, and is a favourite resort for anglers. It is separated
from the sea by a bar of shingle, scarcely three hundred yards wide at
low tide. On this bar, in 1807, the _Anson_, a 40-gun ship, was wrecked,
with a loss of sixty lives. One of the small inlets of this lake,
Penrose Creek, is well known to botanists as the home of the little
plant _Nitella hyalina_. The weed is found in four feet of water,
occupying less than twelve square yards, and is not known to exist in
any other locality in Great Britain.

Mullion Cove is considered by many people to be the most beautiful spot
along the Cornish Riviera. It certainly has many attractions for the
artist, and its caves and crags have been photographed, sketched, and
painted _ad nauseam_.

No one with antiquarian tastes should neglect to visit the church of
Mullion Church-town, a good Perpendicular bui