of the Thames, the White Cliffs" of England commence, and again rise prominently in the South Foreland, on the south-east coast of Kent. There are no large islands, and only a few small ones, on the East Coast. These are:-Holy Island or Lindisfarne, the Farne Islands, and Coquet Island, off the Northumbrian coast; Thanet and Sheppey, on the Kentish side of the estuary of the Thames-both " 'islands" only in name, the formerly wide passages having silted up, and these islands are now separated from the mainland only by narrow streams, kept open for drainage. The South Coast of England is remarkable for its magnificent natural harbours and lofty chalk cliffs. Lofty chalk cliffs fringe the eastern, and tolerably regular portion of the south coast; the western half is sinuous and deeply indented by numerous inlets, many of which form safe and commodious harbours. Of the greater inlets on the South Coast, the most important are Portsmouth Harbour, a splendid natural harbour, and strongly fortified naval station, capacious enough to hold the entire British navy at one time; Southampton Water, an important commercial waterway, traversed by steamers to and from all parts of the world; Weymouth Bay, a harbour of refuge protected by Portland breakwater; Plymouth Sound, protected by a breakwater a mile in length, and large enough to hold the British fleet; and Falmouth Bay and Mount's Bay, on the southern coast of Cornwall. The chief capes on the South Coast are the South Foreland and Dungeness, in Kent; Beachy Head and Selsey Bill, in Sussex; St. Catherine's Point and the Needles, in the Isle of Wight; St. Alban's Head and Portland Bill, on the Dorsetshire coast; Start Point in Devon; and the Lizard, the most southerly point of England, in Cornwall. The only noteworthy island on the South Coast is the Isle of Wight, which is extremely beautiful and fertile. The lovely scenery and genial climate of the island, well named the "Garden of England," attract thousands to cross the narrow channel which divides it from the mainland. The eastern part of this channel is called Spithead; the western, the Solent. The West Coast of England is far more irregular and deeply indented than the east, or even the south coast. The Cornish and Welsh coasts are bold and rocky, those of Lancashire and Cumberland are flat and sandy. The larger inlets on the West Coast are:-Barnstaple Bay, on the north coast of Devon; the Bristol Channel, an important waterway leading into the estuary of the Severn, and forming, as it were, the outer harbour of the three great ports of Bristol, Cardiff, and Swansea. The largest indentation on the coast of Wales is Cardigan Bay: other notable inlets are St. Bride's Bay; Milford Haven, the finest natural harbour in England, capable of accommodat ing the entire British navy at one time; Carmarthen Bay and Swansea Bay, on the south coast of South Wales. In North Wales, Carnarvon Bay leads into the Menai Strait, which separates Anglesey from the mainland. Further north the coast is indented by three river estuaries-those of the Dee, the Mersey, and the Ribble-and two great inlets, Morecambe Bay and the Solway Firth. The approaches to, and navigation within all these inlets are impeded by sandbanks, and they can only be entered by large vessels at high water. The bar at the mouth of the Mersey is now being dredged, and ulti mately a permanent deep water channel may be formed, so that the "Atlantic liners" and other large vessels will no longer have to wait outside the bar, but will be able to enter the river at all states of the tide. The chief headlands on the West Coast are the Land's End, in Cornwall, the most westerly point of England; Hartland Point, in Devonshire; Worms Head, in Glamorganshire; St. David's Head, in Pembrokeshire; Great Orme's Head, the loftiest headland in England and Wales, in Carnarvonshire; Point of Aire, in Flintshire; Formby Point, in Lancashire; and St. Bees Head, on the coast of Cumberland. The chief islands on the West Coast are the Scilly Isles, a numerous group of islands and islets off the Cornish coast; Lundy, off the coast of Devon; Anglesey, Holyhead, and Bardsey, off the Carnarvonshire const; Walney, off the Furness coast; and, 70 miles out from the coast, the Isle of Man, The Scilly Isles lie 30 miles south-west of Land's End. Of the 145 islands and islets only the six largest are inhabited. St. Mary, 10 miles in circumference, is the largest island. Anglesey is a large island separated from the mainland of North Wales by the narrow Menai Strait, across which two famous bridges--the Suspension Bridge and the Tubular Railway Bridgehave been thrown. Holyhead Island is connected with Anglesey by two huge embankments. The Isle of Man is in the middle of the Irish Sea, about midway between England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. the island is hilly, rising in Sn refell to 2,000 feet above the sea Lead and safe are the chief mineral products. The climate is healthy and inv gerating, and, during the summer, thousands of people from the manufacturing towns of Lancashire and Yorkshire visit the island, to which large steamers run from Liverpool, Fleetwood, and Barrow. The interior of STRAITS AND ROADSTEADS: The straits and roadsteads on the coasts of England and Wales are few in number, but are nearly all of the highest commercial importance. The principal straits are the Strait of Dover, 21 miles in width, between the south-eastern coast of Kent and the northern coast of France, the chief waterway for most of the foreign and colonial trade of London; Spithead and Solent, the eastern and western parts of the channel which separates the Isle of Wight from the mainland, both affording safe anchorage for men-of-war and merchant vessels; and the Menai Strait, a beautiful channel, 14 miles long, between Anglesey and Carnarvonshire, crossed by Telford's Suspension Bridge and Stephenson's Tubular Railway Bridge. The principal roadsteads are the Downs, between the Kentish coast and the Goodwin Sands, the largest natural harbour of refuge in the world, and, during severe storms especially, crowded with shipping; Yarmouth Roads, between the coast of Norfolk and a line of sandbanks, the only safe anchorage between the Thames and the Humber. Spithead, the Solent, Portland Roads, Plymouth Sound, and the Menai Strait are all resorted to as roadsteads, and in stormy weather, vessels of all kinds may be seen riding safely at anchor. ... The coasts of England are, of course, minutely mapped out; the Admir. alty Charts show not only the configuration of the coast, but also every rock, shoal, or sandbank on or near the coast, with the landmarks, lighthouses, lightships, and buoys, which enable the mariner to pursue his course from port to port in safety. But in spite of all these "aids" to navigation, the number of shipwrecks which occur every year on the coasts of England is appalling, and the loss of life and property is very great. SURFACE: England exhibits generally a gently-sloping or undulating surface, which, however, rises in some places into lofty hills. Wales is chiefly mountainous. The high grounds of England and Wales lie principally upon the western side of the island, and form a succession of elevated regions which stretch nearly from the borders of Scotland to the Land's End, and are seldom far removed from the western coasts. The eastern slope of England is thus longer than the western slope, which is so short and rapid that, with the exception of the Severn, not a single river flowing west attains a length of 100 miles, while several streams on the eastern side of England have a course of between 150 and 200 miles. "It is important to realise how low and level a great part of the country really is. If the island were sunk 500 feet below its present level, England would be reduced to a scattered group of islands, the largest of which would extend from near Derby to Hexham. Wales would form a second island of about the same size. The uplands of eastern Yorkshire would make a third, and a scattered archipelago would run from Cornwall eastwards to Kent, northwards to Shropshire, and north-eastwards to Lincolnshire. If the depression were only to the extent of 250 feet, the sea would spread over all the low grounds from the Tees to the Thames, and from Westmoreland to Shropshire." 1 MOUNTAIN-SYSTEMS: The mountains of England may be divided into three sections or systems, namely, the Northern, Cambrian, and Devonian. The Northern System includes the Cheviot Hills, Pennine Range, and the Cumbrian Group. The Cheviot Hills are on the borders of England and Scotland; Cheviot Peak, in Northumberland, is 2,676 feet above the sea. The Pennine Range extends from the Cheviot Hills to the Peak, nearly along the dividing line between the six northern counties, and constitutes the most continuous elevated tract in England. This range, the longest in the island south of the Tweed, and locally known as the back-bone of England," has no well-defined continuous ridge-line, but consists of a series of huge moorlands, from 10 to 20 miles broad, cut up with valleys, and interspersed with mountainous masses. The highest points are:-Cross Fell,3 in Cumberland, 2,892 feet; Whernside, 2,414 feet; Ingleborough, 2,373 feet, and Pen-y-gant, 2,273 feet, in Yorkshire. The Pennines are, for the most part, bleak and treeless, but the wild and romantic district of the Peak, in Derbyshire, one of the most picturesque in Britain. The Cumbrian Mountains, a group in the counties of Cumberland, Westmoreland, and northern Lancashire, near the coast of the Irish Sea, are more rugged and somewhat loftier than the adjoining Pennine Range, and contain the highest elevation in England-Scaw Fell, situated in the centre of the group, and reaching 3,203 feet above the level of the sea. Skiddaw, 3,054 feet, and Helvellyn, 3,118 feet, are in the same group. The Cumbrian mountain-region includes the beautiful and much-fre quented "Lake District." The Cumbrian lakes-Windermere, Ulleswater, Derwent Water, &c.-picturesquely embosomed in long and narrow valleys, are celebrated for their beauty. 1. Geikie: Geography of the British Isles (Mac- 3. Cross Fell, Danish, fell, a hill. 2 Pennine, from Celtic, p, a hill. 4. Cumbrian, from Cumba, the old nune of Cumberland. The Cambrian' System includes all those mountains situated between the basin of the Severn and the Irish Sea, and spread over the greater part of the surface of Wales, reaching in their highest point a greater elevation than any of the English mountains. The mountains of Wales consist neither of a single range nor a succession of mountain-chains. They form rather a high mountain-region, in some places spreading into broad masses of tableland, intersected by deep valleys, and in others forming huge mountain-summits, which rise conspicuously above the surrounding ground.' The culminating point of the system is Snowdon, in the county of Carnarvon, which rises to a height of 3.560 feet above the sea, and is thus the highest mountain in England and Wales. The spurs from the main range rise Cader Idris' to 2,929 feet, and in Plinlimmon to 2,469 feet. In South Wales, the heather-covered Black Mountains culminate in the Beacons of Brecknock, two majestic summits over 2,900 feet in height. The magnificent scenery of the Snowdon Range surpasses, in some respects, the finest mountain scenery in other parts of the island. Words can scarcely convey an adequate idea of the beauty and sublimity of the scene revealed from the summit of Snowdon. In fine weather the view is extensive; in stormy weather, mists and fogs gather round the Wyddfa. Pennant witnessed it under both aspects. "I saw," he observes, the county of Chester, the high hills of Yorkshire, part of the north of England, Scotland, and Ireland; a plain view of the Isle of Man, and that of Anglesey, lay extended like a map beneath us, with every rill visible." Of his second ascent he remarks: "On this day the sky was obscured very soon after I got up. A vast mist enveloped the whole circuit of the mountain, The prospect down was horrible. It gave the idea of a number of abysses, concealed by a thick smoke, furiously circulating round us. Very often a gust of wind formed an opening in the clouds, which gave a fine and distinct vista of lake and valley. Sometimes they opened only in one place; at others in many places at once, exhibiting a most strange and per plexing sight of water, fields, rocks, or chasms, in fifty different places. They then closed at once, and left us involved in darkness." The Devonian System includes the hills and highlands of Devonshire and Cornwall. They are less elevated than the Welsh hills, but still impart a varied and often rugged surface to the south-west corner of the island. Brown Willy, in Cornwall, 1,368 feet; High Willhays, 2,039 feet; Yes Tor, 2,028 feet; Cawsand B acon, 1,802 feet, on Dartmoor, in Devonshire; and Dunkerry Beacon, 1,707 feet, on Exmoor, in Somerset, are the highest points in this system. . To the eastward of the above tracts the elevations are much less con. spicuous; few points reach more than a thousand feet above the sea-level, and most of them are considerably below that altitude. HILLS: These lower heights may be arranged in two groups, according to their formation, namely, the chalk hills, and the limestone or oolitic ranges. 1. Cambrian, from Cambria, the ancient name of Wales. The native name is Cymru. 2. Snowdon, snow and dun (A.-S.), a hill; its Welsh name is Y Wyddfa, which means the conspicuous place. 3. Cader Idris, Welsh for Arthur's Seat. 127 The chief chalk ranges are the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Wolds, the East Anglian Heights, which extend from the Chiltern Hills to the coast of Norfolk, and terminate in Hunstanton Cliffs, near to the Wash; Gog Magog Hills, in Cambridgeshire; the North and South Downs, with the Salisbury Plain, the Marlborough Downs, and other lower heights, to the south of the Thames. Of the oolitic hills, the principal are the Cotswold Hills, in Gloucestershire, between the head-waters of the Thames and the lower course of the Severn; the Malvern Hills, between the Severn and the Wye; the Mendip, Quantock, and Blackdown Hills, in Somersetshire; the Clee Hills and the Wrekin, in Shropshire; and the Clent Hills, in Worcestershire. MOORS: Bleak and treeless wastes of sterile land still cover considerable areas, although large tracts of moorland have been reclaimed and rendered available for cultivation. The most extensive moors and moorlands are the bleak and barren North York Moors, in the north-east of Yorkshire; the boggy, peat-covered Lancashire Moorlands, between the Irwell and the Wyre; the wild and elevated waste of Exmoor, in Somerset and Devon; and the granitic, "Tor-" crowned tableland of Dartmoor, in Devon. PLAINS: The most extensive plains in England are the York Plain, the Cumbrian and Cheshire Plains, the Central Plain, the district of the Fens, and the Eastern Plain. The York Plain, between the Pennine Range and the Yorkshire Wolds, is the most extensive in England. The Cumbrian and Cheshire Plains lie to the north and south of the Cumbrian Group, and on the west side of the Pennine Range. Both are fertile, the latter, especially, being admirably adapted for grazing and dairy-farming. The Central Plain is from 200 to 400 feet above the sea, and extends from the Thames on the south to the Ouse on the north, and from the Severn on the west to the Trent on the east. The district of the Fens,' which lies round the shores of the Wash, includes parts of the counties of Lincoln, Northampton, Huntingdon, Cambridge, Norfolk, and Suffolk, and forms the lowest and most perfectly level portion of the island. The whole tract has been converted by drainage into a highly productive district. The Eastern Plain includes the sea-board of Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, and is separated from the Fens by the East Anglian Heights. The so-called Salisbury Plain,' in Wiltshire, is a treeless expanse of moderate elevation (400 feet). VALLEYS: Most English river valleys are beautiful and fertile, and many of them are the seats of great industries and a world-wide commerce. The dales of the north of England, and the vales of the southern counties, are famous for their quiet beauty and extreme fertility. The valley of the upper Thames displays all the charms of rural beauty; the lower valley is the scene of an industrial and commercial activity unsurpassed in any part of the world. In England, as in all countries, manufacturing towns and commercial centres naturally gravitate to the river valleys and estuaries. 1. Wold, A.-S. weald, a forest. wald. 2. Moor, A.-S. mor, waste land. C. German it in the reign of Charles II. 3 Also called the "Bedford Level," from the Duke of Bedford, who reclaimed Large portions of is Stonehenge, a Druidical or a Danish Circle. 4. On this plain, about eight miles from Salisbury, |