Page:The Cornwall coast.djvu/216

 210 THE CORNWALL COAST drifted on Scilly, and have found its loveliness like that of the " ishmd-valley of AviHon." Some small concession must be made to actuality. Large portions of the isles are treeless down, salt- marshes, sand-hills ; we must not look for the wondrous native vegetation of an English country- side. Sub-tropic plants cannot wholly compensate for such a lack. But if trees are scarce, plants like the fuchsia grow^ to tree-like luxuriance ; there is a rich abundance of ferns, while both the land and the marine flora are very rich. There is much to come for, and those who come must be willing to brave a passage that may be exceed- ingly unpleasant. When Dr. Benson, then Bishop of Truro, and afterwards Archbishop, paid his single visit to the Scillies, his episcopal dignity was entirely overwhelmed by the direst woes of sea- sickness. On landing, he is reported to have said that before he started he feared he would be drowned ; when half-way across he prayed that he might be ; and now his one thought was how in the world should he get back again.