nry I. to
the monks of Tavistock; at the Dissolution the abbey reverted to the
Crown, and passed to the Godolphins, whose name survives at Dolphin
Town. It is likely that the private history of the isles was romantic
and exciting enough, but there is little to record until the days of
the Civil War, when they became a last refuge of the fugitive Charles
II. before his escape to France. In the meantime the Governor, Sir
John Grenville, had fortified the isles and held them for the King;
they became a centre of active privateering. The Royalist garrison did
not limit themselves to attacking Parliamentary vessels; they molested
Dutch shipping as well; so that the Admiral, Van Tromp, made an attack
on them, but without result. It is said that he parleyed with
Grenville, trying to induce that gallant soldier to yield Scilly into
Dutch hands; but Grenville was too loyal an Englishman for such
treachery--he would rather the Parliament took the isles than that
they should become Dutch. It was with no disgrace that he was forced
to yield, at last, to such worthy opponents as Blake and Sir George
Ascue. In the days of our French wars, a century since, the islands
were garrisoned, and became a port of supply for British ships, as
well as a rendezvous for vessels waiting convoy. A great deal of
smuggling was done here, and it has been said some wrecking; but, here
as elsewhere in Cornwall, the lights that were thought to be exposed
with such wicked intent were often merely meant as signals to those
who were watching for an opportunity to run a cargo. There was little
need indeed at Scilly for any artificial increase of wrecks; Nature
did her part far too well in this particular, from the disaster to Sir
Cloudesley Shovel to that of the _Minnehaha_ in the present year. A
small detachment of Royal Artillery and some engineers are stationed
here. Beyond this, the islands are practically defenceless, except for
the protection of their rough seas, fierce inter-channel currents, and
the off-lying deadly fangs of rock.

The event of chief moment to modern Scilly was certainly the arrival
of Mr. Augustus Smith in 1834. The isles at that time were in a bad
way; the kelp industry had failed, fishing was poor and precarious,
smuggling could not longer be depended on for a living. Previous
"lords of the isles" had been absentees, taking little interest in the
welfare of the inhabitants; and the population had become too large to
support itsel