Stream that these sources of fertilisation and warmth contribute their vast stores. Restless forces of ocean are ever wearing away its bed, by the resistless power of attrition and dredging, from which processes the earth's armour above its various beds of molten lava becomes thinner, and those waters which cover them are freed by the repellant power of their own steam, to swell the tide and volumes of hot ocean currents. Such is, doubtless, the condition of the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, which were formed by a vast cataclysm, produced by volcanic power.

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When the latter expended its force, the earth, which then occupied that now covered by these waters, subsided into their present depths. But those fires are not extinct, for earthquakes and vast areas of hot water are often tangibly apparent in that region, where those submerged caldrons of seething sulphur burn and glow for ever unquenchable.

"The same chemical force and dynamic conditions which produced mountains in the primal days of earth are at work now, and in the course of time will bring about like changes of place and locations of seas and continents. As the volcanic plateaux in ocean become denuded and attenuated, they will continually be ruptured, and ridges will arise, and islands and mountains appear. Where water now covers earth, new-made continents will lift their faces to the light of sun, and moon, and stars. Our fertile valleys and low hill slopes rich with fruits, of trees, flowers, vines, and cereals, will be deluged. The now submerged beds of seas will appear, and the deposits which those subterranean rivers have been gathering for countless ages will become fertile and inhabited continents. Each is disappearing by denudation; hemispheres are contracting beneath the condensing processes which are eternally operating on this globe; altitudes, that place us above the deluge, are dwindling into the depths of ocean; mountains are being carried bodily into encroaching waters; the plains are being perpetually washed into the restless, surging tide; and continents are drifting to be submerged again beneath requiembeating waves. This eternal change goes on and on for ever, yet, hardly with sufficient rapidity to satisfy the destructive and insatiate spirit of unrest, which makes mankind ever hovering between hopes and fears, the strangest paradox which the human mind can study."

NOTES ON THE SHETLAND ISLANDS.

IN a former paper we spoke of our arrival within view of the wave-washed walls of Lerwick, and this description of the little northern town is no mere figure of speech, for though it might be supposed that of land there was plenty without encroaching on the sea and shore to find a site for the town, yet it is in its own way quite as dependent on its watery highway as are the cities of Holland, or even Venice herself. The town follows the curve of an irregular bay

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and consists principally-almost, it might be said, wholly-of one street, the causeway of which has evidently been intended for foot-passengers only, no provision being made for wheeled traffic, of which so little exists. Merchandise is, therefore, waterborne, and most of the older houses on the side of the street nearest the water will be seen to have exits either to a quay or directly to the

some

water. The houses are erected in the most extraordinary positions, seeming to stand half-way across the street, some far back in all sorts of unexpected corners and at every conceivable angle-many with the gable end abutting on this primitive street, but with here and there evident signs of the inroad of modern taste where new buildings have been erected. The shops

LERWICK, FROM BRESSAY SOUND.

of the "merchants," though from outside, as a rule, not particularly inviting, on a visit within are found to contain an astonishing variety of goods in great quantities, prominent among them being the beautiful knitted work now so well known in more southerly towns, and valued for the softness and warmth of the wool as well as the beauty of the work. Rising upwards from the principal street are a number of narrow lanes, and crowning the ridge some of the more important buildings, including the churches, Fort Charlotte, and the County Buildings. In the neighbourhood also are the Widows' Asylum and the Court-house. The general effect of all this medley of buildings, though from the utilitarian point of view perhaps leaving much to be desired, is anything but displeasing to the eye, with the accessories of crag and cliff and sea, and, as may often be seen on a summer evening, the light skiffs of the Shetlanders hastening hither and thither, the numerous Dutch fishing busses dotting the sunny water, and the larger vessels lying at anchor, or making the harbour; across the Sound the Isle of Bressay, in a gilded mist, and overhead a sky "like a poet's dream when earth and sea put on the glory of the clouds." Then a pleasant thing it is to wander on the neighbouring heights, or seated in a skiff to enjoy the cooling breeze, and watch the flight of the sea-birds while the fishermen are getting their boats ready for sea, and from the shore comes the tinkle of a bell. And as evening creeps on and night approaches, such as is the summer night of these northern islands, it becomes plain that there is no darkness at all; but when the glitter dies away out of the sky, and the shadows have lengthened to their furthest, there succeeds a long twilight when darkness has no real sway, neither has light, scarcely even a mingling of the two so much as a distinctive shading of its own, when all nature seems bathed in a new beauty, and the world is at rest.

Lerwick constitutes a most important branch of the Shipwrecked Mariners' Society's operations. The Institution is represented by no fewer than five agencies, including some of the principal firms in the islands. There are every year enrolled upwards of 800 members, whose families, when these their breadwinners are removed by death, come upon its funds for a measure of support, and the Lerwick agencies expend somewhat over £300 a year in relief of this and other kinds. Nor is this humane work confined to Lerwick, there being fourteen other agencies in the islands conducted by the principal merchants and fish-curers in the most efficient manner, some 1,250 members being annually enrolled, and a large sum distributed among destitute widows and orphans of seafaring men.

Scalloway, which is only six miles from Lerwick, was in ancient times the capital of the islands, and still lays claim to that distinction, though its dimensions only give it the right to be termed a village. Close to the margin of the bay is situated the ruin of Scalloway Castle, the ancient stronghold of the infamous Earl Patrick Stewart, whose oppressions and extortions, though they

occurred well nigh 300 years ago, have left an indelible impression and are still handed down from generation to generation; and his ultimate capture and punishment are used by the old wives to "point a moral or adorn a tale." The mention of Lerwick and Scalloway exhausts the list of towns boasted by Shetland; the other centres of population consist generally of the establish

ment of some extensive fish-curer, perhaps also a church, the minister's manse, and a few cottages in the immediate vicinity, while scattered over a wide district are numbers more. To many minds there is little attractive in the country generally, its aspect being barren and bare to the last degree: the very rise and fall of the country has something monotonous in its similarity,

'A SHETLAND VILLAGE--REAWICK.

and the utter absence of trees and shrubs gives a harsh and bleak look to everything. Occasionally may be seen plots of cultivated land, but only in small patches for the most part. Peat mosses are frequently met with, affording a plentiful supply of fuel to the islanders, but their black and unsightly appearance is certainly anything but attractive or pleasing to the eye. But when approaching the rocky and indented shores the scene becomes full of interest, and nothing of their kind can be more charming than the numerous voes or fiords which are constantly met with. The barren, rocky, and precipitous sides or green-covered slopes, reflected in the glassy water of these voes, are a beautiful sight, and whether seen in the tranquil repose of a summer day with a serene and cloudless sky, or in the sullen grandeur of the storm when the waves dash high upon the rocks and the birds fly screaming to their nests, is a mere question of taste. On the shores will be found the most stupendous caves, excavated by nature's powerful weapons from the face of the mighty cliffs, and against the rocky shore or pebbly strand, or dashing in clouds of spray against some great detached rock, the ocean hurls its giant forces. The best known, because most accessible from Lerwick, are the rocks and, caves of Bressay and the Holm of Noss, famous for its cradle, now removed. Bressay is a long narrow island, and forms an admirable natural breakwater, so that the Sound between it and Lerwick is a fine anchorage and harbour. As we have, when visiting Shetland, never found time to see these caves and rocks, we borrow the following description of them from Mr. Peace's Handbook to Shetland:-" Embarking at Lerwick in a smart skiff, with a couple of trusty men, and favoured by a fresh breeze, Lerwick is soon left behind. Steering southwards along the shore, the point of Kirkabister, with its beautiful lighthouse which points out the opening into the harbour, is reached, and one of the finest natural archways brought into view. Passing through this arch, and sailing close by the face of the Ord, the dip of the rocks and the action of the weather thereon come into view, and arrest attention until the Bard is reached, when we come to the cave and lofty archway. Advancing into the cavern, the visitor is struck with the remarkable brilliancy and variety of the colours displayed on the roof and walls. At a short distance from the entrance the passage becomes narrow, and taking a sudden turn, effectually excludes all daylight; recourse must therefore be had to torches, and with their assistance advancing somewhat further, we reach a large and spacious hall, from the lofty ceiling of which hang innumerable stalactites of various shapes and sizes, while pilasters of the same material ornament the walls.”

Near this cavern is the Orkneyman's cave, in which an Orkney sailor took refuge in the old days of pressgang tyrannies, but from which, after two days' imprisonment, he effected his escape. "Leaving the cave and passing the Giant's Leg at the point of the Bard, Noss Sound opens up, and the