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Page 44
Two miles further on we enter BRIXTON, a populous village in the heart
of a rich tract of cultivation: is one mile from the shore, and screened
from the north by a range of lofty downs. The Church is rather spacious,
and not unpicturesque; many of the cottages are neat, some few furnished
for lodgings: and there is a comfortable small inn. This place is
commonly called Brison, and one clergyman names it Brightstone.
MOTTISTONE succeeds: a pretty hamlet nearly shrouded in wood, with a
very picturesque church. On an elevated part of the farm are the remains
of some small druidical temple called LONGSTONE, which is a rude piece
of rock of a quadrangular figure, evidently erected by art, and rears
itself about twelve feet above the ground; near it another large stone
lies partly buried in the earth, of not less than eight feet long.
BROOK is the last village we pass till we reach Freshwater: much the
same character as the others: the Mansion-house, which is surrounded
with wood, being the only object to notice, besides the little church,
which we shall presently pass, posted solitarily on an eminence near the
foot of the down.
* * * * *
CHAPTER IV.
THE WESTERN QUARTER OF THE ISLAND, DISTINGUISHED
FOR ITS
SUBLIME SCENERY.
* * * * *
_The Road over the Downs from Brooke to Freshwater-gate._
We shall now leave the familiar scenes of cultivation and of
village life for a time, to enjoy the charms of unbounded prospect,
as we journey for four miles over a succession of pasturing downs,
where in many parts our road will be upon a natural carpet of the
finest turf.
Tasteless indeed must be those who can travel over these lofty and
_beautiful_ downs, without experiencing the most lively
gratification from the checquered and magnificent prospects which
invite their contemplation on every side: but to enjoy the pleasure
in perfection we must occasionally pause, to discriminate (by
reference to a friend or a map,) some of the more remarkable
features.--Looking to the westward, the high cliffs of Freshwater
stretch away in a noble promontory of three miles, forming the
foreground to the soft azure perspective of the coast of Dorset:
but to the north, so diversified is the extensive landscape with
towns and villages, hills, woods, forests, sea, and river, as to
mock our most ardent wishes to convey even a faint idea of the
grandeur of the composition.
Another source of no inconsiderable pleasure, when traversing these
beautiful downs,--soaring as it were in the higher regions--is
feeling that we actually breathe the purest atmosphere, so
exhilarating to the human frame. Nor is the reverse of this
desirable clearness of the weather without its share of
amusement--to witness the formation of clouds, as the vapors are
drawn up from the sea, and gradually condensed; rolling by, and
enveloping us in their misty volumes. It is true indeed, that these
exhibitions are not without danger to the traveller, lest he
unwarily approach too near the fatal precipice: but this
circumstance imposing the necessity of caution, excites an
_interest_--and interest is the very zest of adventure. [Footnote:
Near the edge of the cliffs about half a mile eastward of
Freshwater-gate, a small tablet has lately been erected, to
commemorate the unfortunate fate of a youth who slipped over and
perished on the rocks beneath.--Some years ago two successive
keepers of the Needles Light-house lost their lives in a similar
manner over the precipices on which that establishment is located.]
In short, whether for the splendor of the prospects, the refreshing
purity of the air, or the novelty of literally walking in the
clouds, we esteem the journey over these downs, as pleasurable as
any portion of the tour.
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