through the chinks in the earth upon the hot substance below. An attempt was then made to bore as near as possible to the largest apertures, but the calcareous fragments threw such obstacles in the way of the labourers that it was speedily abandoned.

Towards the end of April, however, it was resolved to try a second experiment, when on the first day their efforts only elicited the appearance of a few sparks. On the second they were more successful, the workmen suddenly coming upon a vast body of fire that resembled a smelter's furnace; but when they had dragged out a quantity of this ignited matter, they were obliged to desist by the heat and effluvia it emitted, and left it exposed on the ground, where it continued to burn till the following morning.

From this time the appearances of smoke and fire continued to increase with little intermission, till about the fifth of September the ground opened in three places, eastward of the original fissure. These crevices were of some magnitude, and, the outer coating of mould being removed, vivid fire was seen amidst the interstices of the lime-stone. In a few days the earth cracked open in seven more places, from each of which a thick smoke poured forth, while the heat proceeding from the fissures was so intense as in a few minutes to ignite any inflammable matter that was applied to them. By the first of October the fire had so much extended its sphere of action that the surface of red hot stone in one of the apertures occupied a space full three feet square; and the entire limit of the smoking crevices, which at first was limited to about six feet, had now spread in length from east to west, till it reached very nearly a hundred feet.

It would seem that after this time no excavations of any magnitude were made, the inhabitants of Weymouth

being wiser than the old lady who destroyed the goose to learn the mystery of its laying golden eggs. It is likely enough that the cause of the fire was not very deeply seated, and had they dug much lower they would have destroyed their phenomenon altogether. The magnates of Weymouth adopted a much better course; they cut away an angular projection of the hill, that stood between the town and their new Vesuvius, so that at night-fall they could enjoy the sight in all its glory without the trouble of going to seek it. As if to reward their prudent forbearance, smoke was soon observed to issue from this point also, and in a short time afterwards, flames burst forth at intervals, and almost to the same extent as at the original fissure.

And here it may be necessary to enter into some explanation for the benefit of those who have never been at Weymouth. At first the Burning Cliff lay upon an elevation of about eighty-five feet from the beach, but it was chiefly on a sort of shelf half way up the southern side that the flames made their appearance. During the spring tides in the latter part of 1827 and in the commencement of the year following, when the water rose to an unusual height and was followed by neap-tides almost equal to them, immense masses slid down at intervals with a terrific uproar; the position of the apertures was thus gradually altered so as to present an arch-like form, the extremities having sunk full thirty feet below their former level. In this state for awhile the mass rested, till at length in the middle of February, the whole being saturated and softened by high tides and heavy rains, it sank down within ten feet of the level of the beach, and there lay like a heap of smoking ruins.

The two principal cliffs stand, one to the north, and the other to the north-east, of the mass that has thus been dissevered from the parent rock. Of these the

former consists of a dark mould, strongly impregnated with bitumen; the latter is mostly composed of chalk, flint, and limestone. In the various strata below may be found the Cornu Ammonis, pyrites, or fire-stones, and a grey stony concretion, studded thickly with small shells. The inflammable material would seem to consist, in a great degree, of Fossile Wood-Lignum Fossile-which in its burning emits a most nauseous stench, yet does not affect the eyes, and is even sometimes used by the poorer classes for fuel.

It may also be mentioned, though totally unconnected with the combustion or its causes, that a vertebral bone, supposed to have formed part of the skeleton of an ichthyosaurus, has been found amongst the other matters, a little way below the surface. On a level with the burning apertures, and only a short distance inland, is a pond, from which a small stream runs; but, though so near to the seat of the fire, it has not the slightest taste or smell of sulphur, whence it may be inferred that the combustible materials are confined to a very narrow limit.

Various hypotheses have been suggested in explanation of this phenomenon. Many, with more imagination than philosophy, have maintained that the first ignition of the soil arose from a flash of lightning skimming over a surface that was previously charged with inflammable matter; while others have attributed it to the agency of frost. The most rational theory is that which supposes the flame was spontaneously generated by the union of the gasses produced from the matter of the two cliffs, saturated as they were with salt water, and receiving a current of external air through the numerous clefts and fissures. With so obvious and sufficient a cause it would be useless to seek any farther.

NATURAL PHENOMENON IN CORNWALL.

In the parish of Saint Austle there is a singular phenomenon, which seems to have mightily puzzled the wits of the good neighbourhood, and in earlier times would certainly have given rise to some legend of Robin Goodfellow, or of hidden treasures. In the present day folks having grown wiser, or less imaginative, are contented to wonder at what they cannot comprehend.

The phenomenon in question is the appearance of a light near the turnpike road at Hill-Head, about three quarters of a mile west of the town. In the summer it is not often visible, dry weather being most probably incompatible with the causes of the meteor; but in the winter, and more particularly in the months of November and December, scarcely a dark night passes, in which it may not be seen. Its appearance is that of a small flame, of a yellowish hue, and for the most part stationary; even when moving, it wanders very little from its usual spot, but alternately rises and descends over the same place. As it has existed from time immemorial, it has at length become so familiar to the people of the vicinity as to excite no attention, but at one period many

attempts were made to discover its cause and nature, though without success. On approaching the spot where according to previous observation it should be, the flame invariably became invisible to the enquirer, even while remaining perfectly luminous to those who watched it at a distance. A level was then taken during its appearance, by which the curious were guided in their researches, and still the phenomenon was pronounced to be as great a mystery as ever. There can be little doubt, however, notwithstanding its stationary character, that it was neither more nor less than a Will-o'-the-Wisp, and produced by the same causes, even though the soil was not actually marshy,