n the west side of the river. On a height, on the
east side, we could distinguish an obelisk raised to the memory of
Admiral Sir Harry Burrard Neale. He was a great favourite of George the
Third, as he was with all his family, including William the Fourth. He
was a very excellent officer and a good, kind man, and was looked upon
as the father of his crew. At the mouth of the river is a high post
with a basket on the top of it known as Jack-in-the-basket. Whether or
not a sailor ever did get in there when wrecked, or whether on some
occasion a real Jack was placed there to shout out to vessels coming
into the river, I am not certain.

Passing the pleasant little town of Yarmouth, the wind once more
shifting enabled us to lay our course direct for Hurst Castle. We
passed the village of Freshwater, with several very pretty villas
perched on the hill on the west side of it. Here also is the
commencement of a line of batteries which extend alone: the shore
towards the Needles. The ground is high and broken, and very
picturesque, with bays, and points, and headlands. On our starboard, or
northern side, appeared the long spit of sand at the end of which Hurst
Castle stands, with two high red lighthouses like two giant skittles.
Besides the old castle, a line of immensely strong fortifications extend
along the beach, armed with the heaviest guns, so that from the
batteries of the two shores an enemy's ship attempting to enter would be
sunk, or would be so shattered as to be unable to cope with any vessel
of inferior force sent against her.

The old castle is a cheese-like structure of granite, and was
considered, even when it stood alone, of great strength. Its chief
historical interest is derived from its having been the prison of
Charles the First when he was removed from Carisbrook Castle. After the
failure of the treaty of Newport, Charles was brought from Carisbrook,
which is almost in the centre of the Isle of Wight, to a small fort
called Worsley Tower, which stood above Sconce Point, to the westward of
the village of Freshwater. Here a vessel was in waiting, which carried
him and a few attendants over to Hurst, where he was received by the
governor, Colonel Eure, and kept under strict guard, though not treated
unkindly. From thence he was removed to Windsor, and afterwards to
London, where his execution took place.

As we were examining with our glasses the powerful line of
fortifications, both on the Hu