, in a swashing rain, which continued off and on for a
good while. Of the 21 miles, I should think that 15 were across the
New Forest. I do not much admire it. As for Norman William's
destruction of houses and churches to make it hunting ground, that is
utter nonsense which never could have been written by anybody that
ever saw it: but as to hunting, except his horses wore something like
mud-pattens or snow-shoes, it is difficult to conceive it. Almost the
whole Forest is like a great sponge, water standing in every part. In
the part nearer to Xchurch forest trees, especially beeches, seem to
grow well. We stopped to bait at Lyndhurst, a small place high up in
the Forest: a good view, such as it is, from the churchyard. The
hills of the Isle of Wight occasionally in sight. On approaching
Xchurch the chalk cliffs of the west end of the Isle of Wight (leading
to the Needles) were partly visible; and, as the sun was shining on
them, they fairly blazed. Xchurch is a small place with a
magnificent-looking church (with lofty clerestory, double transept,
&c., but with much irregularity) which I propose to visit
to-morrow. Also a ruin which looks like an abbey, but the people call
it a castle. There is a good deal of low land about it, and the part
between the town and the sea reminded me a good deal of the estuary
above Cardigan, flat ill-looking bogs (generally islands) among the
water. I walked to the mouth of the river (more than two miles)
passing a nice little place called Sandford, with a hotel and a lot of
lodgings for summer sea-people. At the entrance of the river is a
coastguard station, and this I find is the place to which I must go in
the morning to observe the tide. I had some talk with the coastguard
people, and they assure me that the tide is really double as
reported. As I came away the great full moon was rising, and I could
read in her unusually broad face (indicating her nearness to the
earth) that there will be a powerful tide. I came in and have had
dinner and tea, and am now going to bed, endeavouring to negociate for
a breakfast at six o'clock to-morrow morning. It is raining cats and
dogs.

* * * * *

LUCE'S HOTEL, WEYMOUTH,
_1842, Feb. 27_.

This morning when I got up I found that it was blowing fresh from
S.W. and the sea was bursting over the wall of the eastern extrem