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ter, which would appear to have been a place of importance from the earliest period of our history.

The coast line of Kent runs eastward until we reach the North Foreland, when it turns southward to the South Foreland, and then bends away to the south-west. The point of land which ends in the North Foreland is called the Isle of Thanet. When the Romans were in England it was an island. The Stour divides into two branches, one of which runs to the north, and the other to the south, cutting off this corner of Kent from the mainland. These branches were formerly from one to four miles wide, and formed the ordinary route for vessels entering the Thames from the south. In the course of time, however, this channel has become choked with sand, and Thanet can scarcely now be called an island.

Before reaching the North Foreland we pass Margate, and to the south of the same promontory you see Ramsgate. These are favourite watering-places, crowded all the summer with multitudes of people from London, who leave the city to enjoy the cool sea-breeze that blows from the German Ocean.

Opposite to the coast which extends from the Isle of Thanet to the South Foreland lie the Goodwin Sands. These sand-banks are about ten or eleven miles long from north to south, and their greatest breadth is from three to four miles. They are said to have been once joined to the mainland, and to have formed part of the estates of the powerful Earl of Goodwin, who played so important a part in the history of England at the close of the Saxon period; and whose son, Harold, crowned king in 1066, was defeated and slain in the same year at the battle of Hastings. The Goodwin Sands are in many places laid bare at low water, and are one of the most dangerous spots for vessels on the whole English coast.

Between the Goodwin Sands and the coast of Kent is the well-known roadstead of the "Downs." The Downs are about eight miles in length and six miles in width, and afford a safe anchorage for shipping. Here all the ships that sail from London, or that are bound to that city, generally anchor. Many hundred sail are frequently seen here at one time. During war time, the Downs was the appointed station for fleets of merchant vessels under the protection of the King's ships, or of expeditions intended for foreign service; and when, having waited for a favourable wind, they obtained their wish, the sight of such a vast moving city of vessels of all sizes, all getting under sail at one time, was a scene which, though unknown in our days, filled our fathers with admiration, and gave them a deep sense of the power of England.

There are many allusions to the Downs in our literature. John Gay, who was born in 1688 and died in 1732, has a song called "Black-eyed Susan," the first stanza of which is :

"All in the Downs the fleet was moored, The streamers waving in the wind, When black-eyed Susan came on board, 'Oh! where shall I my true love find? Tell me, ye jovial sailors, tell me true,

Does my sweet William sail among your crew?'

In the neighbourhood of Dover, high chalk cliffs appear. It was somewhere in this neighbourhood that Julius Cæsar, the first Roman invader of Great Britain, landed his troops in the autumn of 55 B.C. When he came near the island, he anchored his own vessel, until all the ships should come up. He tells us in his account of this descent upon our shores that the sea shore was so hemmed in by

narrow and lofty hills that a dart could easily be thrown from the summit on to the shore. And Shakespeare in his "King Lear" has some famous lines on the Dover cliffs :"How fearful

And dizzy 'tis to cast one's eyes so low!

The crows and choughs that wing the midday air
Show scarce so gross as beetles. Half way down
Hangs one that gathers samphire: dreadful trade!
Methinks he seems no bigger than his bead.

--:

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The fishermen that walk upon the beach
Appear like mice; and yon tall anchoring bark
Diminished to her cock-her cock a buoy
Almost too small for sight. The murmuring surge,
That on the unnumbered idle pebbles chafes,
Cannot be heard so high. I'll look no more
Lest my brain turn, and the deficient sight
Topple down headlong."

The aspect of the shore has changed considerably since these lines were written. The cliffs have been undermined

by the sea and have fallen towards the sea, so as to present an under cliff, along which the South-Eastern Railway is now carried.

LESSON IX.

Dover to Dungeness.

THAT portion of the English coast which we are now examining lies nearer than any other portion to the Continent, and accordingly from the earliest times great precautions were taken to have it carefully protected.

William the Conqueror, after his successful invasion of England in 1066, was compelled to build and fit out a fleet to defend his kingdom from the attacks of the Danes and other enemies, who were instigated by the sons and followers of Harold. He hit upon a new plan for raising a fleet. He exempted five of the principal ports of the kingdom from all taxes and burdens, on condition that each should fit out, man, and support a certain number of vessels for a certain time. They were Dover, Romney, Sandwich, Hastings, and Rye, which were thence called the Cinque (five) Ports. To these there were afterwards added Deal, Folkestone, Hythe, and Winchelsea, but the name was not altered, and they are still called the Cinque Ports. These towns were placed under the governorship of a Lord Warden, an office which still exists, and which carries with it the residence of Walmer Castle. This office is in the gift of the Prime Minister, and is usually conferred on some distinguished statesman. The Duke of Wellington held the office for several years, and it was in Walmer Castle that he died suddenly in 1852.

The only one of these towns that retains much of its old importance is Dover. When Napoleon threatened to invade England, and had collected an army at Boulogne

for that purpose, Dover was strongly fortified, and accommodation provided for a garrison of from 3000 to 4000 men. Happily these fortifications have never been required, and Dover is now more of a watering-place than a garrison town. There is constant communication between Dover and the Continent. Folkestone also has regular communication with Boulogne.

The town of Hastings, beautifully situated on the sea coast of Sussex in a hollow, sheltered on every side, except the south, by lofty hills, is famous in the annals of English history. A few miles west of it is Pevensey Bay, where William the Conqueror landed in 1066, and to the northwest is the small town of Battle, where, on the 14th of October, was fought the battle commonly called the battle of Hastings, which transferred the crown of England from Saxon to Norman kings. All traces of the battle have long since passed away, and Hastings, with St. Leonards-on-the Sea, to which it is now practically joined, forms one of the most attractive watering-places on the south coast of England. The climate is remarkably mild, and during the bathing season it is much resorted to by invalids and others.

Between Romney and Rye lies a low marshy tract, termed Romney Marsh, which terminates in the headland of Dungeness. This word is a contraction for dangerous ness, and the ness or promontory was so called because of the numerous shipwrecks that took place here previous to the erection of the lighthouse.

IF

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you examine the coast line of Sussex, you will see that it sweeps in a south-west direction from Dungeness to Beachy Head—a bold chalk cliff rising perpendicularly to

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