rim fort, and here in the last century came the noted John Wilkes to
recuperate after his contests with the House of Commons, which vainly
tried to keep him out of his seat.

[Illustration: SHANKLIN CHINE.]

[Illustration: THE UNDERCLIFF.]

The chalk-ranges to the southward provide magnificent scenery, and two
miles from Sandown, but on higher ground, is Shanklin, from which its
celebrated chine descends to the sea. This little ravine is about four
hundred and fifty yards long and at its mouth about two hundred feet
deep. It has been gradually worn in the brown sandstone rock by the
action of a diminutive brook that bubbles over a little cascade at the
upper end. The rich colors of the crags, the luxuriant foliage of the
slopes, and the rhapsodies of guide books combine to give the Shanklin
Chine a world-wide fame. It was here that a party of French under the
Chevalier d'Eulx landed in 1545 to get some fresh water. The process was
tedious, the stream being so small, and the chevalier and some of his
party, wandering inland, were caught in an ambuscade. He and most of the
others were killed, though they defended themselves bravely. South of
Shanklin the chalk-cliffs are bold and lofty, and off these pretty
shores the "Eurydice" was lost in a squall, March 24, 1878, when
returning from her training-cruise in the West Indies. It was at four
o'clock on Sunday afternoon, and her ports being open when the squall
struck her, she capsized and almost immediately foundered, only two
survivors remaining out of the three hundred persons on board. Climbing
the cliffs south of Shanklin and crossing the summit, we reach Bonchurch
on the southern coast, described by Dr. Arnold as the most beautiful
thing on the sea-coast north of Genoa. Here villas are dotted and the
villages are spreading into towns, for the coast of the Undercliff is
becoming one of the most fashionable resorts the English have. Already
complaints are made that a too general extension of settlements is
interfering with the picturesque wildness of scenery and luxuriant
vegetation that are the great charm of this delightful region. The
Undercliff stretches along the southern coast for several miles to the
westward of Bonchurch--an irregular terrace formed by the sliding
forward of the chalk-downs, which dip gently towards the sea. This makes
a lofty natural terrace, backed by cliffs to the northward and open to
the full influence of the southern sun. It has the clima