ded to their town, that they possessed but one carpet and one cart,
and had not heard of silver forks; while the _Sherborne Mercury_ was the
only newspaper which circulated among them. When a stranger approached,
the boys in the town invariably armed themselves with stones to fling at
him, shouting out, "Whar do you come from? Be off, now!" John Wesley
did much to introduce the pure gospel among the inhabitants; and we saw
several fine churches, in addition to a number of houses in which the
floors were undoubtedly carpeted.

Next morning we put off in our two boats to visit Saint Michael's Mount,
on which we landed on a stone pier, with a few houses near it. As we
gazed upwards at the pile of buildings which crowns the summit of the
mount, we expected to find much interest in exploring its ancient halls
and passages. We were somewhat disappointed when, having made our way
up to the top, we found that it had been so greatly renovated as to be
deprived of much of its antique look. But it is a grand old pile--the
tower, which rises in the centre, and is the most ancient portion,
having been built in the fifteenth century. Although used as a
monastery, it was strongly fortified; and guns round the walls still
remain, notwithstanding that they would be of little use in the present
day. We saw, just above the edge of a cliff, a curious and ancient
cross, richly carved. The monks' refectory was, after the Reformation,
turned into a banqueting hall; and the cornice which runs round it
represents hunting scenes of boars, stags, wolves, and bulls. Obtaining
a light, we descended by a flight of stairs, through a small door in the
side of the wall, down to a low, dark vault, in which it was said the
bones of a man were discovered when the vault was found, some years ago.
Whether he had been shut up there by the monks, or had been a prisoner
of war, it was difficult to determine. The vault was evidently used for
the purpose of concealing the treasure of the monastery.

We afterwards climbed up by a narrow spiral staircase to the top of the
tower, from whence we had a fine view over the whole of the bay and the
surrounding shores. On the summit are the remnants of a lantern which
was formerly used as a beacon for the benefit of mariners entering the
bay. This monastic castle, for such it should be called, has frequently
been besieged. On the last occasion it was held by Sir Francis Bassett,
for Charles the First, when