Page:Once a Week Volume 8.djvu/174

166 weight and power of these seas: a short time ago, a schooner of about eighty tons was lying near the lock-gates in the little channel, waiting for high-water; her boat lay alongside her; a heavy swell was rolling in; and the run of one of the waves was so great that both schooner and boat were floated, and when the wave retired both were again left aground.

These ground seas never come with a north wind, or to the north of west; but they frequently occur, in autumn, right in the teeth of a strong easterly breeze. You will then see another sight: as each wave breaks at last, the foam is tossed high up in the air, twenty or thirty feet, and blown back, a perfect arch, towards the sea again. And in the early morning, against a brilliant sun, these arches are covered in all directions with dazzling prismatic colours; often with a distinct spray-bow over every wave.

If our space allowed, we would speak long of the glorious sunsets which are enjoyed at Bude. There, over the great Western Ocean, as evening comes on, the clouds may be seen to gather, in long lines or fleecy strips, or rolling up in heavy masses with the threatenings of a storm, and the sun, breaking through them as he sinks, lighting up the whole sea and cliffs with the most brilliant and blazing colour.

Or, we would have given a dissertation on the healthiness of the place and the excellence of its climate; but, on this point, it is enough to say that it may challenge comparison with any place, however famous, in the south. Not so cold as Ilfracombe or Weymouth, nor so relaxing as Torquay, nor so damp as Penzance, it unites the bracing qualities of the one with the mildness of the others. With a more equal temperature than either, it is also less subject to rain. From whatever cause it may be, it is well known that the West of England may have a succession of rainy days, and yet the district which lies between Bideford, Launceston, and Tintagel may escape them. It is a large basin surrounded by lofty hills. Row Tor and Brown Willy, Dartmoor and Exmoor, these seem to attract the clouds; and many a time when not a drop has fallen near Bude, the heavy showers may be seen hanging all day long and pouring down over the whole country in the distance towards Exeter and Plymouth. More than all, this part of the coast is, from some cause which we cannot explain, entirely free from those depressing sea-fogs which are so common along ththe [sic] southern shores of England. Misty and gloomy skies must come in their due course; but, we may truly assert, never the thick overwhelming dreary fog which continues hour after hour, sometimes day after day, as if it would never lift again and let a ray of sunshine through.

It is probably to this clearness and purity of the atmosphere upon the western coast of Cornwall that we must attribute, after all, the chief cause of the great partiality which so many visitors feel for Bude. People, utter strangers, have often been known to come there; and for the first two or three days, the apparent sameness and solitude of the place weary them. There is no reading-room; no public amusement of any kind; no esplanade or mall to lounge along; no balls, no regattas. But a few days go by, and the seeming