till within a few fathoms of the cliffs,
under the shadow of which he afterwards held a steady course till
we opened the bay of St. Aubin.

The fantastic and inconstant outline of the Corbiere, as we were
hurried swiftly past it, was a subject of surprise and admiration.
When first seen through the haze of morning, it resembled a huge
elephant supporting an embattled tower; a little after, it assumed
the similitude of a gigantic warrior in a recumbent posture, armed
_cap-a-pie;_ anon, this apparition vanished, and in its stead rose a
fortalice in miniature, with pigmy sentinels stationed on its ramparts.
The precipices between the Corbiere and the bay of St. Aubin, are no
less worthy of notice than that promontory. They slope down to the
water-edge in enormous protuberances, resembling billows of frozen
lava, intersected by wide sinuous rifts, and present a most interesting
field for geological research.

The bay of St. Aubin is embraced by a crescent of smiling eminences
thickly sprinkled with villas and orchards. St. Helier crouches at the
base of a lofty rock that forms the eastern cape: the village of St.
Aubin is similarly placed near Noirmont Point, the westward promontory,
and between the two, stretches a sandy shelving beach, studded with
martello towers. The centre of the bay is occupied by Elizabeth
Castle--a fortress erected on a lofty insulated rock, the jagged
pinnacles of which shoot up in grotesque array round the battlements.
The harbour is artificial, but capacious and safe, and so completely
commanded by the castle, as to be nearly inaccessible to an enemy. The
jetties and quays, which had only been recently constructed, are of
great extent and superior masonry. The majority of the vessels in port
were colliers from England; but summer is not the season to look for
crowded harbours. The merchants of St. Helier engage deeply in the
Newfoundland fishery, and are otherwise distinguished for maritime
enterprise; consequently there is no reason to infer that the vast sum
of money which must of necessity have been expended in the improvement
of the harbour, has been unprofitably sunk. During the late war the
islanders rapidly increased in opulence, as the island was filled with
troops and emigrants, who greatly enhanced the value of home produce;
but the cessation of hostilities restored matters to their natural
order, and the Jerseymen bewail the return of peace and plenty with
as much sincerity as any h