SOMERSET, Oxford. B. 1870. Au. of Hayle (Mills & Boon), 1917; Quine (do.), 1918; An Odd Man's Marrying (Bale & Danielsson), 1922. THE PASSAGE HOUSE, TOPSHAM, DEVON. Club: AUTHORS'.

HAYLE. By Oxford Somerset. Mills and Boon, Ltd. 6s.
Mr. Hayle was a Church of England vicar in "the great tropic city of Mootah," and he fell a victim to the passion of a lady of questionable reputation in spite of his engagement to the girl who would have made him an ideal wife— as far as could be foretold. He was a dear, unsophisticated, sporty, jolly fellow, and the reader will like him immensely; his adventures along the hilly road of true love are told racily and well, with good taste ; and without any exaggeration we can say that this novel is exceptionally good. "Victim" we hardly ought to call him, perhaps, since both "he" and "she" won through to happiness by the way of trouble and  sorrow; he was manly enough to give up the position which he felt he could no longer honestly hold, and she, forced in her girlhood into the world's shadier paths, was womanly enough to resist his appeal, and to exchange her role of temptress for that of friend and philosopher. Of the solving of the problem we shall not tell; the author has done his work excellently, and no lover of high-class fiction will easily set the story down before the end is reached.
- To-day, Volume 1, 1917, page 155

HAYLE
There is someone to reckon with in a novelist in Oxford Somerset, whose book, "Hayle," stands apart from the multitude of passable stories published as a rule.
   It is a love story of the triangle order. We have the woman already fixed up, loving the man she ought not to love and beloved by him, and the little girl to whom he engages himself in order that he may be anchored to rectitude. It is a familiar problem, capable of being worked out in a variety of familiar ways. But Oxford Somerset avoids the completely obvious, and by doing so compels the attention of the critical reader.
   It was clever of him to set his story in "the great tropic city of Mootah," for such a setting relieves the monotony of the eternal triangle plot. There is local colour as a relief. and so forth Then, by making a secret at the first of his herione's [sic] true status in society he strengthens his hand considerably. The hero is unaware of it ; the people around seem to be also, a fact one finds some difficulty in believing possible, but then in a great tropic city no doubt such things are possible.
   Of course if one set to work seriously to find flaws they might be found in "Hayle," but the broad principle would remain predominant over all, that this is an uncommon novel, in the midst of novels, and interesting from cover to cover.
- London Evening News, Aug 17, 1917, page 4

This novel attempts to present an impartial view of the pros and cons of marriage versus "free-love." The heroine is a young woman who lives by her own choice as the mistress of an elderly barrister in India, for whom she feels no  particular sentiment beyond an easy tolerance. She meets a young clergyman whose views of her status are of the conventional order, and whose efforts to patch up a marriage between her and the barrister have the effect of severing their relationship. After a good deal of unnecessarily protracted argument, the clergyman and the heroine settle down as husband and wife.
- The Athenaeum, Issues 4613-4624, 1917, page 312

Quine is a weakling of literary aspirations, whom circumstances oblige to follow a military career in the East. He gets into debt, and forges a fellow-officer's signature, is discovered, forgiven, and encouraged to begin afresh, his path of extravagance being unexpectedly smoothed through a handsome legacy. He next tries matrimony as a means of reformation, but his inherent faults of character lead to discord, and the end is tragedy.
- The Athenaeum, Issues 4613-4624, 1917, page 681

"Was I the kind of man," says Mr. Postlethwaite, the hero of this book, " out of whom could be made what could properly be called a partner ? . . . I had long doubted it." The reader doubts it, too. "The sight of twenty or thirty girls gave my mind direction. Why not look for what I wanted among these?" The book is an account of his search for a woman who should be worthy of him. It was unnecessary to heighten the interest with hidden gold. Mr. Postlethwaite is sufficient in himself.
- The Spectator, Feb 24 192, page 22

The protagonist of "An Odd Man's Marrying" is one Postlethwalte, a somewhat self-conscious individual, by whom the story is told. He certainly justifies the epithet in the title. He is by way of being a recluse and a wanderer on the face of the earth, but he is extremely susceptible to female influence, and much of the book relates to his manifold adventures in sentiment. Another character, the uncle of one of his inamorata, is equally unconventional. He attempts, unsuccessfully, to kill Postlethwaite, but continues to be on excellent terms with him. The greater part of the action takes place in a novel setting-emdash-the Island of Perim, near Aden; excitement ls provided by a hunt for treasure and the tale is quite interesting, though lt would have been improved if the author had used the blue pencil on some of Postlethwaite's protracted monologues on the subject of Postlethwaite.
- The Sydney Morning Herald, Apr 14, 1923, page 10

Mr George Leach, landlord of the Passage Inn. It was Mr Leach who extended the inn to these premises next door.

Passage House Inn, Topsham - from Geograph - © Copyright N Chadwick Licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Like many others who loved the rugged beauty of the spot and enjoyed its seaward views and the little grassy slopes so ideal for picnics, I was sorry to see the grim effects of the landslide at Blackgang last week. Another long stretch of the famous Undercliff Drive has been obliterated, as if by an earthquake. When I visited the spot on Sunday trees and bushes torn from their settings were withering in the heat, and the scene was one of ruthless destruction. The subsidence is not so awe-inspiring as that which occurred a little to the eastward in July, 1928, leaving a gaping chasm where the road ran round Windy Corner, but it is extensive, and I fear that further movement of this unstable land will follow. It was interesting to see the weird effects of the pressure of the moving mass on the surface of the road where it was not completely carried away. Huge blocks of tarmac and sandstone were pushed up at all angles, and corrugations formed where the surface is left unbroken. This once popular marine drive is obviously gone forever.
* * *
Fortunately no houses are threatened by the subsidence, although its western edge is perilously near to Southview, the residence of the late Sir Frederick Ely. That fine stone-built house still stands securely on a rocky promontory, and it is to be hoped that it will be many years before it shares the fate of two other houses, a little to the westward, which have disappeared in the last 70 years or so.
* * *
One was Lowcliff, which stood just to the west of The Terrace at Chale. It was a lovely house with a walled garden, the home of Mrs Catherine Swift, who provided the money to build the first lifeboat to be stationed at Atherfield in 1891, and which bore her name. The house was pulled down when the cliff had fallen away to within a few feet of its walls, and the only trace of it which remains are the two massive stone pillars which flanked the entrance to the drive. Where its garden used to be is now a knoll of blue slipper clay and sandstone, gradually being eaten into by the sea. The other house was called Southlands, and this stood on the other side of Blackgang Chine. Its last occupant was a Capt. Harvey, who sold it when it appeared to be doomed to similar destruction, but, as a matter of fact, its foundations still remain on the clifftop. The building was pulled down nearly half a century ago and the stones used to build walls near the Clarendon Hotel. The iron railings which formerly bordered the drive can still be seen in the undergrowth.
* * *
I am told that within the last century a road ran along the cliffs on the seaward side of these two houses, from near Southview to The Terrace at Chale, passing Blackgang Chine, which was crossed by a bridge. Not a trace of this road remains, save a few yards on the Chale side where it linked up with The Terrace Road.
- An Islander’s Notes, by Vectensis, IWCP, Saturday May 24, 1952, page 6, (reproduced as fair usage, Isle of Wight County Press Archive archive.iwcp.co.uk).

Low-resolution image reproduced in accordance with dissemination statement: McInnes, R. 2008. Art as a tool in support of the understanding of coastal change. The Crown Estate, 106 pages, ISBN: 978-1-906410-08-7 First published 2008. Click to enlarge

Isle of Wight
Gothic Villa residence, on the Coast near St. Catherines and the Undercliff.
To be sold by Auction, by
MR. F. PITTIS at the Bugle Inn, in Newport, on Wednesday, September 22nd, 1847, at Four o’clock in the afternoon, the very beautiful Property known as
LOWECLIFFE LODGE,
situate in the most romantic and delightful part of the Island,
BLACKGANG, near Chale;
consisting of an elegant stone-built Residence, replete with comfort and convenience, erected and finished in the most substantial manner, regardless of expense, and surrounded by about
FIVE ACRES
of highly picturesque grounds, formed at considerable cost and with acknowledged taste, into Pleasure Grounds, undulated Lawns, Terrace Walks, and Kitchen Gardens, forming one of the most delightful retreats to be fond in the Isle of Wight.
The house comprises handsome drawing and dining rooms, kitchen, servant’s hall, housekeeper’s room, butler’s pantry, larder, dairy, brew and bake house, and offices. On the first floor – five best bedchambers and two dressing rooms, water closet, &c. and three servants’ bedrooms.
There is also excellent stabling and carriage houses with man’s room over same, harness room, cow stable, poultry pens, &c.
- Hampshire Advertiser & Salisbury Guardian (Southampton, England), Saturday, August 28, 1847; pg. [1]

click to enlarge

Isle of Wight, - Desirable Freehold Marine Residence, with about 15 acres of Land, in the most romantic and beautiful part of the Undercliff, and well-adapted for a first-rate Hotel or Boarding House.
MR. F. PITTIS has been favoured with instructions from the Proprietor,Thomas Willis Fleming, esq., who is about to remove, to submit to Sale by Public Auction, (unless previously disposed of by Private Contract, of which notice will be given) at the Blackgang Hotel, on Friday, the 22nd of June, 1849, at two o’clock in the afternoon; the attractive and desirable PROPERTY called Southlands, situate near Blackgang Chine, in the parish of Chale, and surrounded by the most romantic and magnificent scenery of the famed Undercliff of the Isle of Wight; within a short distance of the shore, and embracing a grand and uninterrupted view, with the Isles of Purbeck and Portland in the distance.
The House is a most substantial and elegant structure, recently erected and in excellent repair, adapted to the requirements of a gentleman’s family:- Comprising entrance hall, spacious and elegant drawing-room, dining-room, library, housekeeper’s room, butler’s pantry, servants’ hall, kitchens, numerous offices, and good cellarage, three principal bed-rooms, with dressing-rooms adjoining, and nine secondary, and servants’ sleeping rooms, closets, &c., &c. Also, a 4-stall stable, coach house, harness room, with man’s room and lofts over. Also, 15 ACRES OF PASTURE LAND, part of which is disposed in terraced walks, pleasure grounds, and gardens, and includes the most valuable and desirable building sites, in this delightful locality.
- Hampshire Advertiser & Salisbury Guardian (Southampton, England), Saturday, May 26, 1849, page 1

Southlands was built on part of Chale Common, belonging to the Manor of Chale, and at one time the property of the Worsley family. It was bought by Sir Henry Johnson in 1858, and in 1865 was sold by his widow to the Rev. E.D. Pusey, the well-known divine. It was later owned by Capt. Douglas, then by the Ravenscroft family until it became unsafe to live there. 
- An Islander’s Notes, by Vectensis, IWCP, Saturday April 6, 1963, page 10, (reproduced as fair usage, Isle of Wight County Press Archive archive.iwcp.co.uk).

We understand that the Rev. Dr. Pusey is about the leave the Isle of Wight, and that his residence is to be sold. The original name of the property was Southlands, but when Dr. Pusey purchased it he called it the Foreign Mission House. It has been occupied for some years by the Lady Superior, several Sisters of Mercy, the young Princess Polama, and two daughters of chiefs from the Sandwich Islands, the rev. doctor coming down when his duties at Oxford would allow.
- Blackgang, Isle of Wight Observer (Ryde, England), Saturday, May 21, 1870; pg. 5

ISLE OF WIGHT SANATORIUM.
A New health-resort has just been opened at Blackgang, in the Isle of Wight, which seems calculated to supply a long-felt want. The establishment consists of a mansion with out-houses erected upon an estate of some forty acres. The property, which was formerly known as Southlands, belonged to the late Rev. E. B. Puzey, D.D. It was transferred in April to its present occupiers, who have since kept numbers of workmen employed upon it, in order to adapt it for its future purpose. It will at present accommodate about twenty inmates; but with the addition of other premises which are shortly to be built, between sixty and seventy persons will be able to be received. It is intended for invalids requiring change of air and scene, who object to the monotony of ordinary seaside lodgings with their small variety in diet, and to hotels with their attendant excitement and irregularities of all kinds, which are so unsuited to the convalescent or to the fatigued and dyspeptic dweller in towns. But if the sanatorium is not an ordinary hotel, neither, on the other hand, is it a hydropathic establishment; it is to combine the advantages of the two, and to be conducted in such a manner as to make it a suitable site for those who desire a quick return to health and strength. Rest and fresh sea-breezes, with the surroundings of splendid coast-scenery, will be at all times obtainable, and those by whom such adjuvants to convalescence are required should here be able to satisfy completely their very natural longings.

The sanatorium, being situated between six and seven miles from Ventnor, is approached from London by train to Portsmouth, thence by steamer to Ryde, by train again to Ventnor, and finally by coach to the destination. The train leaving Waterloo Station at 11.35 Am. seems well suited to the would-be traveller; as it lands him at Blackgang at about 5 P.M., and allows him to take a luncheon at Ryde Pier Head, after the arrival of the boat from Portsmouth and before the departure of the train for Ventnor. The route from Ventnor follows the well-known road through the Undercliffby Steephill Castle, the Royal National Hospital for Consumption, and St. Catherine's Point. At this stage of the journey, on a fine day, the southern coast of the Wight is seen ahead to the west, trending away to Freshwater Bay and the Needles; on the right hand is the high cliff extending to St. Catherine's Down; while to the left, between the roadway and the sea, nestles the sanatorium. From this description it will be obvious that the locality is thoroughly protected by the uplands from all northerly and easterly winds; at the same time it is open to the south and to the sea.

The roadway conducts one down the cliff to the lawn and the house, which are situated on a plateau about 150 feet above the shore. The residence has been fitted with all the newest sanitary appliances, including the ventilation of soil-pipes, Tobin's airshafts in the bedrooms, the best flushing system in the water-closets, a Jennings' bath, electric bells, and a liberal use of asbestos non-inflammable paint over all woodwork employed in the building. The amusement of the inmates has been liberally provided for, there being a billiard-room, lawn tennis and croquet ground, bowling green, archery ground, and other sources of recreation on the property itself, whilst the adjoining cliffs, shore, and downs can be utilised for most varied walks and excursions of all kinds. There is close to the grounds the widely-known Sandrock aluminous chalybeate spring, to which the inmates of the sanatorium will have free access at all times. The general water supply of the establishment is irreproachable, and issues as a spring from the cliff far from all fear of any contamination whatsoever. There is a good kitchen garden well stocked with vegetables, and the grounds are generally bright with flower beds and masses of bright evergreen and other shrubs. The kitchen department, it is promised, shall be well attended to, and altogether the establishment seems likely to prove highly restorative to those who seek renewal of strength and vigour within its walls. There is an honorary medical council, which includes about thirty medical practitioners, metropolitan and provincial. The terms seem to be moderate, and are inclusive, so that the cost of residence can be exactly reckoned beforehand. Mr. Anthony Pulbrook, of 20 St. Helen's Place, London, E.C., is the managing director, and will gladly furnish all particulars that may be required.

- The Sanitary Record , Sep 15 1884

ISLE OF WIGHT.- BLACKGANG
To Contractors, Builders, and others.
FRANCIS PITTIS AND SON will Sell by Auction, on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1895, at 2 o’clock precisely, the MATERIALS of the residence known as Lowecliffe, comprising a quantity of bricks, slates, rafters, joists, flood boards, doors, stair-cases, sashes and frames, Portland and other stone, stoves, marble mantel-pieces, &c. The above will be sold in numerous lots, stacked on the ground, conveniently placed for removal.
IWCP, Saturday, February 2, 1895, page 4 (reproduced as fair usage, Isle of Wight County Press Archive archive.iwcp.co.uk).

'Convent of the Belgravians' - Punch

On February 25th [1834], Dr. Wootten sent him to the Isle of  Wight, where he remained until the middle of April. They first settled at Ventnor. 'But,' writes Mrs. Pusey, 'the distance from churches, and the difficulty of getting seats, induced us to emigrate.' They exchanged the noise and publicity of the small lodgings at Ventnor for a 'retired house, with five acres of pleasure ground,' belonging to Mr. Johnson, near Niton. The day was chiefly spent in the open air: Pusey delighting in the sea breezes, and his wife reading Silvio Pellico to herself, and Bonwell's life to him, — 'not very admirable, perhaps, as a piece of biography, but his meditations and prayers are strikingly good.'
- page 288, Life of Edward Bouverie Pusey (Henry Parry Liddon, Vol 1, Longman's, Green and Co., 1893, Internet Archive lifeedwardbouve02johngoog).

Dr Pusey bought the property in the autumn of 1865 when Mother Lydia's persistent cough and other signs of a "weakness of the lungs" caused her medical advisers to prescribe "change of air and rest from her ordinary labours at a retired at a retired sea-side watering place". Such a place was Southlands. Here the Sisters and others who came to share the Mother's rest occupied a wooden building adjoining the mansion, called the "Annexe" and "The Sanitarium" and, eventually, "the Foreign Mission House".
- page 237, Priscilla Lydia Sellon: the restorer after three centuries of the religious life in the English church, Thomas Jay Williams, S. P. C. K., 1965

We understand that the Rev. Dr. Pusey is about the leave the Isle of Wight, and that his residence is to be sold. The original name of the property was Southlands, but when Dr. Pusey purchased it he called it the Foreign Mission House. It has been occupied for some years by the Lady Superior, several Sisters of Mercy, the young Princess Polama [sic], and two daughters of chiefs from the Sandwich Islands, the rev. doctor coming down when  his duties at Oxford would allow.
- Blackgang, Isle of Wight Observer (Ryde, England), Saturday, May 21, 1870; pg. 5

THE HAWAIIAN MISSION.
SOME ACCOUNT OF FOUR LITTLE NATIVE GIRLS OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS, NOW IN ENGLAND
It is not usually known that when Miss Sellon returned, in 1865, from Honolulu, after establishing two institutions for female education, under the Sisters of Mercy at that city, and Lahaina, she brought with her to this country, with the consent and even to the delight of their parents, several little Hawaiian girls. At present they are in the Isle of Wight, in one of that lady's institutions. The climate of that island seems to agree with them, and hitherto they have been exempt from any physical disabilities. They are all under eleven years of age, of the genuine Polynesian colour, nothing of the negro type about them of course—large full eyes, long black hair, and a bright, loving expression. Happier faces we never saw. Affectionate, docile, gentle, sweet-tempered, their mental capabilities are good, while they are not only quick in apprehension, but with a taste for learning. The youngest, Palemo, was only two years old when she was brought to England by Queen Emma, in 1865, at the request of that benevolent lady, under whose care she has ever since been. When afterwards Miss Sellon visited the islands, she most thoughtfully took this little girl in her suite, for the sake of showing her friends how greatly she had improved in England, and to prevent the extinction of those natural feelings towards her relatives, which it was so desirable and right to maintain, though in a foreign land. This little girl then came back with her adopted mother—one who had truly merited that endearing title—but with three little companions to share with her the same privileges of England. Palemo's paternal uncle, Kamakau, is one of the House of Nobles, a man of some cultivation, one of the judges of the islands, and capable to speak with power and eloquence in the House of Assembly, while her father possessed some hereditary office at the king's court. He died the year after his little girl left him, having been a consistent confirmed communicant of the Reformed Catholic Church since its establishment. Palemo, we should add, is goddaughter of Halakana, a high chief of royal blood, and Queen Emma, who takes a most warm and kindly interest in her welfare.
- Mission Life, July 1, 1869 (read full article for details of the others)

A little Hawaiian girl, who was often with Dr. Pusey, and to whom he was much attached. He used to lead her pony about in the Isle of Wight. He tried in vain to teach her to read. 

The child's health began to break under the rigour of the English winters as early as 1870. She died in mid-March 1872, in Dr Pusey's house in Tom Quad, Christ Church. "Palemo has gone to Jesus whom she loved and longed to see", Dr. Pusey wrote soon after.
-  page 280, Williams, ibid.

... these little Hawaiians brought to Ascot in 1865, and others who came in 1867, strongly appealed to Dr. Pusey's affection and sympathy, particularly little Palemo Kekeekaakapu, the fiery-spirited grand-daughter of a warrior chieftainess who led her forces against the enemy on horseback, and gentle Manoanoa Rose Shaw, both in due course received as Child Oblates of the Love of Jesus, both early victims of la maladie des élus, both laid to rest in the Sisters' cemetery at Ascot. Only one of these children returned to Hawaii, Keomailani Lily Shaw, sister of Manoanoa, who after her return to Honolulu was married to Mr. Wray Taylor, organist of St. Andrew's Cathedral.
-  page 244, Williams, ibid.

In the following pages an attempt is made to provide the visitor to the "Garden Isle" with a handy book of reference to its most salient features. The descriptions are necessarily brief: the places to be visited and the objects of interest are so numerous that a more lengthy notice of them would swell the volume to proportions altogether out of keeping with its character. It has, therefore, been the object of the compiler rather to glance at than to describe in detail the various scenes of which he treats, so as to provide a useful vade mecum to the Tourist. In his efforts to do this he has consulted every authority to which he has access, and has made use of a store of matériel accumulated during a residence of some length in the Island, during which his daily avocation gave him peculiar opportunities of acquiring information on its history and geography, and of visiting every spot to which he has directed attention.
      If his efforts prove, as he trusts they will, of use to any visiting fair Vectis, either on business or pleasure, they will not have been in vain, and he will feel himself amply rewarded for the trouble and anxiety which the production of even so small a volume as the present has entailed.
- E. S. C., May 1873

Shanklin Chine

West Cowes

Osborne House, the marine residence of Her Majesty

Newsport and valley of the Medina

Carisbrooke Castle

Ryde Pier

Ventnor

Bonchurch Pond

Old Church, Bonchurch

Blackgang Chine

The Needles, with Lighthouse

Freshwater Bay

Parachute Petticoat trope

Cripple Path - postcard by AR Quinton

The tourist, if unfortunately encumbered with a carriage, may do well to quit it here, and ascending the cliff, continue along its edge to Cripple Path (taking care to avoid the fate of Kerenhappuch Newnham, who, some forty years since, was blown over the cliff in this place, lest he should not be so lucky as she was, and reach the ground unhurt); where he can again descend, and regain his vehicle. The view of the rough slopes below, the headlands dividing the little bays, and the expanse of ocean beyond is very striking, and should not be missed.
- page 256, The Isle of Wight, a Guide (Edmund Venables, 1860, Google Books shMHAAAAQAAJ).

On the right is the foot-track which leads to Cripple Path, "a way cut by steps in the side of the cliff, and affording seats about half-way down, composed of projecting ledges of the rock, which, though of Nature's forming, are almost artificial in their aspect." We now gain Orchard Cottage (Lady Willoughby Gordon), a semi-brick, semi-stone villa, irregular, but picturesque, with terraced gardens of great beauty; and nearly opposite stands Beauchamp, originally named from the Beauchamps of Ancaster. Near this spot, in the summer of 1831, was blown from the cliff a young girl, named "Karanheippuck Newnham," but afterwards popularly called "Happie Ninham." She fell upon the shore below without receiving any injury save the momentary alarm.
- page 138, The Environs of Ventnor, Nelson's Handbook to the Isle of Wight, (WH Davenport Adams, 1866, Google Books 36hbAAAAQAAJ).

Near this spot, in the summer of 1831, was blown from the cliff a young girl, named "Kerenhappuch Newnham," but afterwards popularly called "Happie Ninham," who still lives in Ventnor. She fell upon the Terrace below without receiving any injury save the momentary alarm.
- page 140, Nelson's Handbook to the Isle of Wight, (WH Davenport Adams, 1870 edition).

Care must be taken not to walk thoughtlessly too near the edge of the precipice. A man once stepped over the cliff in the dark, and though badly injured shortly afterwards recovered; and in 1831 a young girl, of about fourteen, was proceeding along the path on a windy day when she dropped a basket which she was carrying, and in her anxiety to save it from going over the height, she fell over herself, but fortunately alighted on some soft brushwood, and was so little injured that she was able to walk home.
- page 118, Jenkinson's Smaller Practical Guide to the Isle of Wight (Henry Irwin Jenkinson, 1879, Internet Archive jenkinsonssmall02jenkgoog).

And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Kerenhappuch.
- Job 42:14, King James Bible

A few weeks afterwards “Happy” was trying on a new lavender bonnet before the critical eyes of her mother. She turned from the looking-glass and smiled archly at her parent.
    “Mother,” she said; “be I what you’d call ‘purty?’”
    “Don’t stand there lookin’ like a Poll Parrot!” answered Eliza. “Purty? Yes; purty enough in a jineral way. Why do ‘ee ask that?”
    “I was wonderin’ who I be likely to marry. I raly do think that I shall be some gennleman’s wife—a rale somebody. Then I shall be ‘membered long after I be dead and gone!”
    “’Membered! You’ll be ‘membered for one thing, mark me! Only as the stupid maid that fell over clift, and lived to tell the tale, and not for naught else!”

that comforter of my childhood, Lamplough’s pyretic saline.
- The Dynamiter, Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny Van de Grift Stevenson

As was not unnatural, the advertisements in this particular line of cars were objects of his frequent contemplation, and, with the possible exception of the brilliant and convincing dialogue between Mr. Lamplough and an eminent K.C. on the subject of Pyretic Saline, none of them afforded much scope to his imagination.
- Casting the Runes, MR James

As its principal ingredients were a mixture of laudanum (an alcoholic solution of opium), tincture of cannabis, and chloroform, it readily lived up to its claims of relieving pain, as a sedative, and for the treatment of diarrhea.
- Wikipedia / Chlorodyne / 18 May 2014 revision

became associated with the Wool ley brothers, fishermen, of Sidmouth, 1903; worked for one of them for several years, but gradually drifted from fishing into fishery affairs and controversies.

He thus familiarized himself with fishing and the fisherman's point of view so far as to become a recognised authority on the subject and a medium of communication between fishermen and the government. He was a member of the committee of inquiry into Devon and Cornwall fisheries (1912), and of the departmental committee on inshore fisheries (1913), and in that year he was appointed adviser on inshore fisheries to the Development Commission. In 1914 he became also resident inspector of fisheries for the S.W. area.
- Wikipedia, Stephen Reynolds (writer), retrieved 10 Nov 2014

• Stephen Reynolds (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry) 
• Letters of Stephen Reynolds, ed. H. Wright (1923)
• C. Scoble, Fisherman's friend: a life of Stephen Reynolds (2000)
• A Poor Man's House (1908, Project Gutenberg #26126)
• The Holy Mountain: A Satire on Tendencies(1909)
• Autobiografiction (1909) - Reynolds' essay on the fictionalised autobiography as a literary form
• Alongshore, where man and the sea face one another (1910, Internet Archive alongshorewherem01reyn) 
• Seems so! A working-class view of politics (co-written with Bob and Tom Woolley, 1911, Internet Archive seemssoworkingcl00reyniala) 
• The Lower Deck, the Navy and the Nation (1912)
• How 'twas; short stories and small travels (1912, Internet Archive howtwasshortstor00reyniala)

A longshoreman

Broad Ebb

'Our own Beacon Light'

They there Kids

'A Moonglade that Stretched to the End of Sight'

'The Shoal Water of Low Tide froths, tosses and cries upon the Sand'

Broken Rocks at Low Tide

'The Heavy Reluctant Break of the Ground-swell'

image from ALEXANDER HISLOP & COMPANY edition

We now approached Arreton, the village, in the churchyard of which lie interred the mortal remains of Elizabeth 'Wallbridge, the sainted daughter of the dairyman. About a mile from it, we stopped before the cottage from which her soul ascended to its rest, and were kindly received by her surviving brother, a man now advanced in years, and still a resident in the cot of his birth. He showed us Elizabeth's Bible, in which was simply written, Elizabeth Wallbridge, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Wallbridge; born 1771, died 1801.' He also took us up stairs into the room in which she expired. We added our names to a long list, in a book kept by her brother for the purpose, and then took our leave, Mr. Wallbridge in a very respectful manner thanking us for our visit.
-page 392, A Memoir of the Life of James Milnor, D.D. (John Seely Stone, 1848, Google Books Pu8tAAAAYAAJ).

As the inhabitants of the cottage were not poor, but seemingly thriving, I requested them to let me leave a trifle for the first case of poverty or distress that might come to their knowledge.

The clergyman meets the dairyman

The dairyman's daughter

Not well ...

Going ...

Gone.

The omission of all proper names in the "Annals Of The Poor," renders it very difficult for a stranger in the Isle of Wight to trace and identify on the face of Nature, the various features which compose the splendid delineations of Mr. Richmond: a little Work therefore like the present, answering the purposes of a Guide and Key, cannot be considered altogether an useless publication; for it has been a thousand times regretted by visiting parties, that, having no plain directions how to proceed, they left the Island without examining those particular scenes and objects, which now possess an increasing importance, in reference to the above most popular tracts.

The Dairyman's Cottage, Arreton, Isle of Wight

Arreton Church, Isle of Wight

Abbey sea-mark, Isle of Wight

Brading Parsonage and Haven

"Little Jane's" cottage, Brading, Isle of Wight

Brading Church, Isle of Wight

Yaverland Church, Isle of Wight

White Cliff Bay, Bembridge, Isle of Wight

Shanklin Chine, Isle of Wight

Image from Shaw's Tourist's Picturesque Guide to the Isle of Wight

Though ruined, Carlen Castle sat proudly upon its steep acclivity, its dismantled and crumbling keep on the seaward summit, its fine, towered gateway facing landward with stately defiance, and looking up a long valley between chalk hills. It made a good point of view from Carlen House, a modern white mansion on the opposite hill slope, half hidden by thick beech woods that, screened by each hill from the salt sea winds, climbed both hills, the slopes of which, meeting in a broad V, allowed a glimpse of sea from the level highroad running through the village at the foot of the castled hill.
    These ruins were among the show places of the country, and the object of many excursions and picnics all the year long; but chiefly in the autumn season, when Carlen folk gathered a double harvest—one from the fields and another from visitors, whose four-horse coaches, wagonettes, and chars-abanc clustered thickly outside the Carlen Arms and the Castle Inn, in company with innumerable bicycles, the riders of which found it easier to climb the precipitous wooded road to the castle gate without wheels. Though of steep ascent it was a fair road, screened by beech and ash, offering lovely prospects, and passing at its termination on arches over a dry moat. A groove for a portcullis showed what once had been, and loopholes in each beautifully rounded turret by the vaulted entrance recalled days when the bows of English yeomen were feared by the world.
- Sweet Revenge, from The World's Mercy, Maxwell Gray, 1899 (see An Old Song).

Governor's House (left), Well House (right), with Keep beyond

... so came to a square building of stone with a high roof like the large dovecots that you may see in old stackyards.

Here our guide took another key, and, while the door was being opened, Elzevir whispered to me, 'It is the well-house,' and my pulse beat quick to think we were so near our goal.

The building was open to the roof, and the first thing to be seen in it was that tread-wheel of which Elzevir had spoken. It was a great open wheel of wood, ten or twelve feet across, and very like a mill-wheel, only the space between the rims was boarded flat, but had treads nailed on it to give foothold to a donkey. The patient beast was lying loose stabled on some straw in a corner of the room, and, as soon as we came in, stood up and stretched himself, knowing that the day's work was to begin. 'He was here long before my time,' the turnkey said, 'and knows the place so well that he goes into the wheel and sets to work by himself.' At the side of the wheel was the well-mouth, a dark, round opening with a low parapet round it, rising two feet from the floor.
- Moonfleet

I have discovered however that in 1632 Elizabeth Ruffin, the young daughter of the Mayor of Newport, "threw herself down a well at the castle." Oglander, the Island's 17th century diarist who recorded this in his papers, assumed this was the well in the Keep. It would appear that he assumed wrongly...
- Gay Baldwin, Isle of Wight Ghosts Book 4, 1996

"Jill" gets groomed after work

Steps up to keep

View from top of Keep steps

View from Keep over Carisbrooke

View from Keep over Mount Joy Cemetery, Carisbrooke

View from Keep over Newport, Spinnaker Tower in distance

View from Keep, downs beyond

Looking toward Keep from ramparts

Looking from ramparts toward chapel (left) and gatehouse (right)

Keep and Governor's House (now Museum) from ramparts

Looking from ramparts over Princess Beatrice Garden

...there are recorded over two hundred different versions known to exist in more than fifty languages, and three-fourths of these languages are extra-Indian. As early as the eleventh century this work reached Europe, and before 1600 it existed in Greek, Latin, Spanish, Italian, German, English, Old Slavonic, Czech, and perhaps other Slavonic languages. Its range has extended from Java to Iceland... [In India,] it has been worked over and over again, expanded, abstracted, turned into verse, retold in prose, translated into medieval and modern vernaculars, and retranslated into Sanskrit. And most of the stories contained in it have "gone down" into the folklore of the story-loving Hindus, whence they reappear in the collections of oral tales gathered by modern students of folk-stories.
- Edgerton, Franklin (1924), The Panchatantra Reconstructed 

• The jackal that tried to eat a drum(some things are all show and no substance)
  
• The crab cuts off the heron's head(an overconfident trickster gets his comeuppance)
  
• How the greedy jackal died eating a bowstring(be cautious when something looks too much of a good thing)
  
• The bird who dropped golden turds(don't follow arbitrary advice)
  
• The barber who killed the monks (when good fortune comes your way, don't get greedy)
• The jackal waits for the bull's testicles to fall (about the futility of waiting for things that will never happen).

cover mage from 2001 comic book

How Supersmart ate the Elephant

There was once a jackal named Supersmart in a part of a forest. One day he came upon an elephant that had died a natural death in the wood. But he could only stalk about the body; he could not cut through the tough hide.

At this moment a lion, in his wanderings to and fro, came to the spot. And the jackal, spying him, obsequiously rubbed his scalp in the dust, clasped his lotus paws, and said: "My lord and king, I am merely a cudgel-bearer, guarding this elephant in the king's interest. May the king deign to eat it."

Then the lion said: "My good fellow, under no circumstances do I eat what another has killed. I graciously bestow this elephant upon you." And the jackal joyfully replied: "It is only what our lord and king has taught his servants to expect."

When the lion was gone, a tiger arrived. And the jackal thought when he saw him: "Well, I sent one rascal packing by doing obeisance. Now, how shall I dispose of this one? To be sure, he is a hero, and therefore can be managed only by intrigue. For there is a saying:

Where bribes and flattery would fail,
Intrigue is certain to avail.

And indeed, all creatures are held in bondage by heart-piercing intrigue. As the saying goes:

Even a pearl, so smoothly hard and round,
Is fastened by a thread and safely bound,
After a way to pierce its heart is found."

So he took his decision, went to meet the tiger, and slightly stiffening his neck, he said in an agitated tone: "Uncle, how could you venture into the jaws of death? This elephant was killed by a lion, who put me on guard while he went to bathe. And as he went, he gave me my orders. 'If any tiger comes this way,' he said, 'creep up and tell me. I have to clear this forest of tigers, because once, when I had killed an elephant, a tiger helped himself while my back was turned, and I had the leavings. From that day I have been death on tigers.'"

On hearing this, the tiger was terrified, and said: "My dear nephew, make me a gift of my life. Even if he is slow in returning, don't give him any news of me." With these words he decamped.

When the tiger had gone, a leopard appeared. And the jackal thought when he saw him: "Here comes Spot. He has powerful teeth. So I will use him to cut into this elephant-hide."

With this in mind, he said: "Well, nephew, where have you been this long time? And why do you seem so hungry? You come as my guest, according to the proverb:

A guest in need
Is a guest indeed.

Now here lies this elephant, killed by a lion who appointed me its guardian. But for all that, you may enjoy a square meal of elephant-meat, provided you cut and run before he gets back."

"No, uncle," said the leopard, "if things stand so, this meat is not healthy for me. You know the saying:

A man to thrive
Must keep alive.

Never eat a thing that doesn't sit well on the stomach. So I will be off;"

"Don't be timid," said the jackal. "Pluck up courage and eat. I will warn you of his coming while he is yet a long way off." So the leopard did as suggested, and the jackal, as soon as he saw the hide cut through, called out: "Quick, nephew, quick! Here comes the lion." Hearing this, the leopard vanished also.

Now while the jackal was eating meat through the opening cut by the leopard, a second jackal came on the scene in a great rage. And Supersmart, esteeming him an equal whose prowess was a known quantity, recited the stanza:

Sway patrons with obeisance;
In heroes raise a doubt;
Fling petty bribes to flunkeys;
With equals, fight it out -

made a dash at him, tore him with his fangs, made him seek the horizon, and himself comfortably enjoyed elephant-meat for a long time.

"Just so you, too, should fight it out with a natural enemy, one of your own race, and send him to the horizon. If you don't, he will presently strike his roots deep and will destroy you. You know the saying:

From cows expect subsistence;
From Brahmans, self-denial;
From women, fickle conduct;
From relatives, a trial.

 "And the further saying:

The food is very good to eat
And does not lack variety;
While easy-going women meet
You in the town's society:
But kinsmen in that foreign street
Are wanting in sobriety."

"How was that?" asked the crocodile. And the monkey told the story of  ...
- Arthur Ryder translation

A wild night. Pandemonium broken loose. A war of the elements. The flood-gates of heaven opened, and the deluge of waters, driven hither and thither by furious winds, beating down upon the storm-rent earth.
    Confusion and tumult without as the tempest dashed madly against the unyielding ramparts of the grand old castle, that from the vantage ground of a rising hill had for centuries frowned defiance on all assailants.
    How it mocked the violence of those rushing blasts! Yet how little it availed to protect those within the shelter of its massive walls.
    For, as though borne to earth upon the winds of the storm, heralded by the lightning flash and the thunder roll, came the dread messenger of death.
    A mother, young and lovely in the tender grace of her matronly beauty, was giving her life for that of her babes.
    A lurid light had shone out from the western sky, and the rumblings of the storm were already in the air, when, as the sun was setting, the had raised the flag to proclaim, far and wide, the birth of a daughter of the House, that from the earliest feudal times had owned that ancient castle.
    The wind blew a hurrican and the tempest was at its height when, a little later, an old retainer, striving in vain to reach the flagstaff on that topmost tower, so that another flag might tell of the birth of a twin-brother, was caught by the furoious gale and driven with crushing force against the battlements, receiving injuries that left him a cripple for life.
    The night slowly wore itself on, and in the early morning, as the first streaks of dawn tinged the distant horizon with glowing colour, the mother passed away.
    The tempest had spent its force, and a calm, deep and profound, had succeeded. And again the tower was ascended to lower the flag, so that flying at half-mast it might make known to all the tragic story of death.
    But the raging wind had shattered the strong staff, and the flag lay at its foot.
    And on the flag, staining it with blood, was lying a bird, with plumage black and glossy as a raven—a bird maimed and wounded, with broken beak and wing. Dashed, as it had evidently been by the frightful force of the raging wind, against the staff, it was, even as they found it, in the throes of death.

Such was the story of Rupert Kestyn’s birth.

A fine old gateway flanked by two enormous towers, gives entrance to the quadrangle in the centre of the castle.

Our readers will be interested to hear that “Maxwell Gray,” the author of “The Silence of Dean Maitland,” has expressed a very high opinion of Mr. Robery F. Eldridge’s new novel, “The Kestyns of Cather Castle.” She says she has read it with great pleassure, and she predicts that it will be popular with many readers. The diction, she adds, is remarkably good; the description of the ancient city of Sethora is extremely fascinating; and the story gives proof throughout of much imaginative power.
- Town and Country Notes,  IWCP, Saturday, May 1, 1897, page 5, (reproduced as fair usage, Isle of Wight County Press Archive archive.iwcp.co.uk). 

AN ISLAND NOVELIST
“The Kestyns of Cather Castle.”
Not content with being a member of the Isle of Wight County Council, a Justice of the Peace, and an ex-Mayor and leading solicitor of Newport, Mr, Robey F. Eldridge has looked round for other worlds to conquer. The world of romance has attracted his eye, and he has entered it armed with a novel of formidable proportions entitled “The Kestyns of Cather Castle.” Messrs. Digby, Long, and Co., of 18, Bouverie-street, Fleet-street, E.C., are the publishers of the work, which leaves nothing to be desired in point of printing and binding. The publishers have done their duty to the author, a she has done his duty to the reader. For the book is a very readable one, full of imagination and variety, as a well-written romance should be. If the author has a fault it is that he errs too much on the side of elaboration, explaining motives rather than allowing them to be inferred from action, and to that end lavishing the introspective faculty somewhat too freely among his characters. From this point of view, readers who like a romantic story to swing breathlessly along may be found urging that the 510 pages of the book might with advantage have been condensed into, say 300. There is still plenty of action in it; tragedy, comedy, lovemaking and adventure—all of there, supplemented by graphics descriptions of places and scenery. The plot turns on the mystery of heredity and destiny, as exemplified in the modern representatives of the ancient and noble family of the Kestyns. There is a legend in the family that a terrible curse rests on one of its members in each generation, and that the birth of a “wicked Kestyn” is heralded by ominous portents. The story opens with the ushering into the world of a twin son and daughter to Sir Alfred Kestyn, their birth being attended by omens which are regarded by the superstitious characters in the book as being of the direst import. How far these omens are justified by the development of the story we will leave the author himself to tell, merely remarking that bloodshed and horror attend the career of one of the twins to its terrible close. This tracing out of destiny or coincidence—according as one views it—in the history of the latest of the “wicked Kestyns” constitutes the tragedy of the book. Its humour, love-making, and adventure are not so concentrated on any particular character. Mr. Eldridge needs a large stage for his puppets, since they are numerous, and now and again he gives us a rapid and complete change of scene. At one stage of the story most of the characters are assembled together in the ruined city of Sethora, whose mysterious shrines and caverns, now deserted save for a holy brotherhood of monks which has taken up its abode among them, form a fitting background for the striking scenes there enacted. Death is freely dealt out in the course of the story, and the love-making is so extensive that no fewer than eight of the principal characters are happily mated to each other before the end of the book is reached.
…
One more word about the book. Its tone is healthy, and it may be placed with confidence in the hands of the most innocent girl.
- AN ISLAND NOVELIST, Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle etc (Portsmouth, England), Saturday, May 15, 1897; Issue 6035.

The Kestyns of Cather Castle. By Robey F. Eldridge. (Digby, Long & Co.)
This is a tale of youth and love, but there is neither laugh nor smile from gloomy cover to gloomy cover. The shadows of fate hang black round the ill-omened family of Kestyn; portents, and omens, and prophecies all conspire to its undoing. It is a very, very long book, all written with the heart's blood, and with the sad result that it is wearisome and fatiguing. Not that there are not good ideas in it—there are many; but the writer does not know how to write a novel—does not even appear to know that there is an art of storytelling. It is a long, diffuse, badly written tale, -without construction of any sort, without charm, without light and shadow. Yet these gloomy Kestyns have a certain life and personality. The wretched Netta is far from being a badly conceived character, and in the hands of a master this hag-ridden, unhappy girl might have appeared a fine creation. But in these days it is rare to find a tale told so drearily, and we fear that few will be the highcouraged readers who will follow the family of Kestyn through 510 closely printed pages. Yet the book is not common; it shows no facility, but it has something in it; only we question whether the thoughtfulness and observation which make that something are wisely spent in writing tales. Books such as this drain the vitality of the writer, and only when he has genius can they bring him any compensation. Worse books may have success; this and its like are doomed to failure, for such merits as they have are buried under a mountain of cumbrous verbosity, and the thought, care, industry, and perseverance lavished on them could hardly be less profitably employed. 'The Kestyns of Cather Castle' is the strongest argument we have met in favour of a school of fiction. It is grievous to feel how utterly and completely it has failed through the author's ignorance of the first principles of his craft.
- The Athenaeum, No. 3628, May 8, 1897

The chief feature of this book consists in the effort the author makes to show the marvellous power which a strong-minded woman can exercise over others. Agatha Kenrick and her husband are introduced to the reader in a very tragic manner. It is at the gaming saloon of Monte Carlo. Reginald and Agatha have gambled away every farthing they possessed in the world. He has run through her fortune as well as his own, and in almost a frenzy of excitement the pair return to their hotel. He is a poor specimen of a man, and after some bitterly insulting reproaches to his wife, he hurries out of the hotel and shoots himself, just as his wife receives a letter informing them that a lottery ticket she has purchased has taken the first prize, thereby placing riches again within their grasp. But all Agatha’s passionate love for her husband has been extinguished by this coward’s mode of exit from “a sea of troubles,” leaving her to face the world alone. She is a handsome woman, “with all the voluptuous, sensuous beauty which mean find so enamouring,” but is of a passionate nature, and she has given her whole love to a man who has proved unworthy of it. Agatha rises from her first outbreak of grief a different woman. In her subsequent career she is pourtrayed [sic] as clever, unprincipled, and revengeful. Her early life has been embittered, and she takes a pleasure in wrecking the lives of others, and this she succeeds in doing. The central figure of the story is Ruby Saxton, a weak-minded but beautiful girl, who has lost her first husband. Over her Agatha obtains considerable influence, and out of revenge for a Dr. Langley’s refusing her advance, Mrs. Kenrick is successful in bringing about a marriage between the doctor and Ruby, knowing that it is bound to prove an unhappy union. And she has the miserable satisfaction of watching the troubles in the lives  of her victims. But the great point of a somewhat too long story is the very clever manner in which Mr. Eldridge delineates the various types of character he introduces. The novel is well written, and interests the reader throughout.
- BOOKS AND BOOKMEN, Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle etc (Portsmouth, England), Saturday, May 20, 1899; Issue 6139. 

“The Scheming of Agatha Kenrick” … is one of the novels of which it is difficult to see the reason for their being written. This particular novel is neither better nor worse than scores more novels of brisk dialogue and involved sentiment, and though readable enough has not a strong page in it. The tale is wholesome, and here and there lively, but one lays it down without pronounced opinions of any kind about it.
LITERARY NOTICES, The Sheffield & Rotherham Independent (Sheffield, England), Friday, May 12, 1899; pg. 2; Issue 13884. 19th Century British Library Newspapers: Part II

The Scheming of Agatha Kenrick, by Robert F. Eldridge [sic], is an overwrought work of fiction. The heroine, or rather the female villain, is a monstrosity born of the author's imagination. Still, there is some really clever description in the book. If Mr. Eldridge were more natural and unaffected he might do much better work.
- The Westminster Review, 1899

In his new story Mr. Eldridge provides us with many of the elements which go to the making of old-fashioned melodrama. There is the hysterical, totally uninteresting heroine, the victim of a scheming adventuress and of two ill-considered marriages. There are also the obdurate father, the good and the bad sister (the latter by far the most promising character in the book), the stern husband, and, of course, Agatha Kenrick herself, the villain of the piece. "We note suicide, murder, and sudden death sufficient with better handling to fill the stage of the Adelphi, where perhaps the grandeur of the language employed and the mawkishness of the sentiments might arouse a smile. As it is, nothing but profound weariness can accrue to the average reader of any education after a perusal of these many and closely printed pages. Nothing but immense relief can be felt by the same when Mrs. Kenrick, after much needless delay, at length chooses an Alpine height as the scene in which to "immolate herself in the sight of all Europe." Marriages, as is only proper in such a story, abound, and there are an infinite number of side situations and characters which have little or nothing to do with the plot. At the same time it is a book which, issued in - a humbler form, might appeal to quite a large class of readers. Produced in a series of novelettes, for which there is ample material in this one volume, it might, one imagines, delight the hearts of many third-class railway passengers, without in any way impairing their morals.
- The Athenaeum, 1899

I have been reading Mr. Robey Eldridge’s new novel, “The Scheming of Agatha Kenrick.” How delightful for the author to be able thus to escape from the engrossments of the law and the dreariness of County Council routine! What a relief to get away from Gurnard annexation questions and wander at will in that enchanted region of romance which no grasping Council can ever selfishly appropriate! I had an impression that Mr. Eldridge won his spurs as an author with his “Kestyns of Cather Castle,” but if he did not quite compass the achievement then, he has done it now with “Agatha Kenrick.” I do not like that lady, and I do not suppose that anybody outside Whitecroft * will like her; but all must admit that the character is drawn and sustained with great power. I have no claim to pose as a critic, but it seems to me that in imagination and characterisation Mr. Eldridge conspicuously excels, and I metaphorically raise my hat to him as one who has made a notable and welcome addition to the literary associations of the Isle of Wight.
- Casual Jottings, IWCP, Saturday, June 24, 1899 , page 5 (reproduced as fair usage, Isle of Wight County Press Archive archive.iwcp.co.uk). 

On the day I arrived at Ryde I was assured that there was not a bed to be had in the whole town, and that only a few nights before strangers had been glad to take up their lodging in bathing machines, and even then a considerable number were wandering about the town all night.
...
Shanklin Chine—the great curiosity of the island. It is simply a cleft in the land, with its widest part towards the sea, and narrowing upwards to the end, where the so-called waterfall trickles over the cliff. This waterfall is a delusion, and those who conceive an image of it in their minds from the picture given of it in those exaggerated publications to which I have already referred, will be disappointed, as the volume of water which falls under ordinary circumstances is about equal to what would fall from the cistern of a shower-bath if seven-tenths of its holes were stopped up.
- The Isle of Wight from a Photographic Point of View, Photographic News, August 19 1859, pages 284-285.

The adjoining building, said to have been the governor's house, in which Charles was confined subsequent to his attempt, is included in the negative, but there is nothing very interesting in its appearance. It is inside this you see that travellers have indulged the mania for writing their names to its fullest extent. Every inch of the wall is covered with the names, and sometimes the addresses, of persons who have visited it, one lady from America having inscribed hers about ten times; others have added to their names a scrap of doggrel poetry like the following, written by an individual who modestly subscribes himself as the Queen's Osborne poet:—

"Dear old Kingsland, though far from thee we roam,
Yet me and old Chapman will soon be at home."

The inscriptions, though, which are peculiarly adapted to send a thrill of envy through the bachelor bosom, when he finds himself reading them alone and solitary on a bright sunshiny day, are those which inform all comers that Edwin and Emma Ringdove, or Edwin and Angelina Turtle, visited this place in the course of their wedding tour. Inscriptions like these are very numerous, and would seem to prove that the Isle of Wight is a favourite resort for newly-married couples; probably from their feeling that they will be moreisolated from the world in a little island than they would be on the mainland.

- The Isle of Wight from a Photographic Point of View, Photographic News, August 26 1859, pages 294-296.

To see them to advantage they must be seen from the sea, and to photograph them from this direction would require Mr. Skaife's gun camera, and a subsequent enlargement of the negative by means of Mr. Woodward's solar camera—which, by the way, must give a better picture than the only one I have seen printed by it, or I should not attach much value to its possession.
-  The Isle of Wight from a Photographic Point of View (part 1), Photographic News, September 16, 1859, pages 22-23.

The village of Brading is a miserable-looking place in reality, but it makes a very good picture. I took a stereoscopic negative of a part of it where the street widens out, and among the pictures I propose to send you, you will perceive this, the most remarkable thing in it being the massive iron ring let into the ground, which ring was placed there in the good old times for the purpose of attaching the bull to it when baiting him. This has long been disused; but there is another relic of antiquity which is still occasionally used in the baiting of drunken and riotous individuals, via., the stocks. I was assured that during the time that the fair is held it is very common to see a couple of individuals, guilty of drunkenness and disorderly conduct, thus compelled to give leg bail; they being liberated without further punishment when the constable considers they had been imprisoned long enough. In spite of all that has been said on the subject of the barbarity of using this ancient instrument of punishment, it may very well be questioned whether it is not on the whole a more satisfactory method of punishing such delinquencies than sending a man to prison, and throwing the burden of supporting his family on the ratepayers during his incarceration.
-  The Isle of Wight from a Photographic Point of View (part 1), Photographic News, September 23, 1859, pages 33-34.

I was introduced to a certain eccentric major, one of the most ardent and successful followers of our art, of whom I heard the following good story :— It seems he had built a van of most professional appearance, to aid his favourite pursuit, and when at Shanklin one day, was accosted by a party, "I say, governor, what do you charge for taking likenesses?" The major, it was said, looked unutterable things; but the party still persisting in his request, was at last answered as follows: "— it, sir," said the irate man of war, "do you think, because you look like a tailor, it would be any excuse for my asking you what you charge for making breeches?" The roars of laughter this anecdote was received with are still ringing in my ears, but the easy, cool way our eccentric friend took the joke, I must say, excited my envy; he merely twirled his long moustache, -and quietly asked the narrator, "Well, old fellow, and what would you have done?""Why," replied his friend, "taken the man's likeness, and charged him five bob.""And spent it in brandy and water, I suppose," returned the major.
- "Photographic Tourist" - a photographic visit to the Isle of Wight in 1860, Photographic News, December 14, 1860, pages 389-390.

But this appreciative stranger is a little at sea in freely dashing into his sketch a background of "seats and parks of nobility and gentry," which seems somewhat of an American exaggeration for the villaed skirts of Ventnor. The most lordly "seat" about Ventnor is Steephill Castle, at the west end, from the tower of which flaunts his own Stars and Stripes to proclaim it the home of a compatriot who must have reason to chuckle, as he does in a volume of memoirs, that slow, simple, honest John Bull now wakes up to let himself be exploited by Transatlantic enterprise.

The structure [Whippingham Church], finely situated, has a singularly un-English look, its German Romanesque features understood to have been inspired by the taste of the Prince Consort, on which account her late Majesty's loyal subjects would fain have admired the effect, as many of them could not honestly do. A wicked tale is told of a gentleman well known in the architectural world, who, on a visit at Whippingham, was surprised by a summons to Osborne. Unfortunately, this stranger had not been furnished with a carte du pays, and when the Queen led the conversation to Whippingham Church, asking advice what should be done with it, he bluntly gave his opinion : " The only thing to be done, madam, is to pull it all down!" whereupon the uncourtly adviser found his audience soon brought to an end.

Other stories or legends are locally current, illustrating the difficulties of etiquette that hampered her Majesty's desire to be on friendly terms with her less august neighbours. One hears of guests scared off by the sight of a red cloth on the steps to mark how royalty would be taking tea or counsel within; and of others suddenly bundled out of the way, when the Queen's unpretentious equipage was announced as approaching. It seems that majesty's neighbours were not all neighbourly. A lady of title here is said to have closed her gates to the Queen's carriage, which never again took that direction. Such an assertion of private rights would have astonished that high-titled Eastern potentate, of whom it is told that, being entertained at the seat of one of our greatest dukes, he advised the then Prince of Wales to have their host executed without delay as much too powerful a subject!

1 - The Needles

4 - Newport

5 - Carisbrooke Castle

2 - Ryde - Moonrise

3 - Newchurch - the mother church of Ryde

6 - Godshill Missing from cited edition; I found a duplicate in Gerald Edith Mitton's 1911 The Isle of Wight

7 - Water meadows of the Yar near Alverstone

8- Sandown Bay

9 - Shanklin Village - moonlight after rain

10 - Shanklin Chine

11 - Bonchurch Old Church near Ventnor

12 - The Landslip near Ventnor

13 - The Undercliff near Ventnor This is a well-known view at Windy Corner; the pinnacle at left, Chad Rock, no longer exists

14 - Blackgang Chine

15 - Shorwell

16 - Farringford House

17 - Freshwater Bay

18 - Totland Bay

19 - Yarmouth

20 - Shalfleet

21 - Calbourne Missing from cited edition: found (book source uncredited) online

22 - Yachting at Cowes

23 - Osborne House

24 - Whippingham Church

The Undercliff near Ventnor Isle of Wight, 1908, Internet Archive isleofwight00moncuoft).

Windy Corner - Rambles in the Isle of Wight II, Marcus B Huish. The Art Journal, Vol. 54, 1892

We drove a little further and saw a mould of earth hanging over the road. They call it Lord Salisbury's face, because one edge of this earthy projection forms an exact profile, the mere work of wind and weather, which resembles very strikingly, with its pointed nose and flowing bird, the facial front of one of the great Salisbury Lords.
- Padma Desai, From England with Love: An Indian Student Writes from Cambridge (1926–27), Penguin UK, 1 Nov 2014.

Gore Cliff - The Geological Story of the Isle of Wight, Rev. J. Cecil Hughes, B.A., 1922

Several minor slips have taken place during the last 30 or 40 years. Beneath Gore Cliff, between Niton and Blackgang, is an enormous mass of rock, as large as a good-sized cottage. It once formed part of a large pinnacle which had become loosened from the cliff and overhung in a manner extremely threatening to the safety of the public. The authorities decided on its removal by means of gunpowder,. In its fall it carried with it tons of adjacent rock and debris. entirely blocking and destroying the roadway made round the landslip of 1799. A new road has since been constructed, and the rock alone remains as evidence of the past destruction.
- A popular guide to the Geology of the Isle of Wight, Mark William Norman, Ventnor: Knight's Library, 1887

Many years ago there was a very serious fall in the old Commissioners’ time. It was then considered to be dangerous as it was considered now, and as the result of blasting some hundreds of tons were brought down, and the big rock still remaining there was part of that which came down.
- Safeguarding a great asset, IWCP, Saturday, February 25, 1928, page 10 (reproduced as fair usage, Isle of Wight County Press Archive archive.iwcp.co.uk).

Mr. George G Young … recollects the blasting away of the big rock at Windy-corner, the Undercliff, and thinks it was in 1853.
- An Islander’s Notes, by Vectensis, IWCP, Saturday, August 18th, 1928, page 5 (reproduced as fair usage, Isle of Wight County Press Archive archive.iwcp.co.uk).

It is somewhat remarkable that the only portion of land beneath the inner cliff fall which shows no sign of movement at present is that on which rests the Big Rock, but how long this familiar landmark will escape the surrounding upheaval is problematical.
- Huge landslide on progress at Blackgang, IWCP, Saturday, September 22nd, 1928, page 8 (reproduced as fair usage, Isle of Wight County Press Archive archive.iwcp.co.uk).

On Easter Monday it was my delight to re-visit that charming spot, Blackgang Chine. It was a relief to find that it has escaped damage by enemy action. The fell work of the blue slipper clay has gone on, but fortunately cliff falls have not affected any of the chief attractions of the place, and the work of restoring the chine to its former careless-ordered beauty is well in hand. Quite a number of visitors, including some American naval officers, were among those enjoying its pleasures. Walking along to the scene of the great landslide in July, 1928, my impressions were not so pleasing. Nature had healed many of the wounds before the war, but the area has been used by the military as a training ground, and it now lies torn and shattered again, with gaping craters, blasted trees, and splintered rocks. More regrettable still is the fact that the big rock by the roadside, on the western lip of the chasm caused by the landslide, which for centuries had been an impressive landmark, has gone. “Big Rock,” or “Chad Rock” as it was known locally, was formerly the outstanding object in views of the Undercliff at this point, and its loss will be regretted by thousands who have visited the district. Apparently it was made the victim of an experiment with explosives, and it has been shattered out of all semblance to its former noble shape—a wanton and almost sacrilegious act when there were so many other rocks about on which to test explosive power.
- An Islander’s Notes, by Vectensis, IWCP, Saturday April 7th, 1945, page 5 (reproduced as fair usage, Isle of Wight County Press Archive archive.iwcp.co.uk).

Mr [GF Mew’s] records also contain a quotation from "The Year Book of Facts" for 1854, which reads:

The Blackgang cliff, in the Isle of Wight, has been blown up, and the process was an interesting one. Eight holes were bored and filled with about 2 cwt. of powder, seven of which were fired, and caused a vast quantity to fall; but the most prominent part and the most mighty still remained. This piece, in which was bored the eighth hole, was rent away from the body of the cliff at the top about 5 yards. Mr. Dennis placed his life in most imminent danger, by putting an iron bar across, and crawling on it to set fire to the charge; and in about two minutes a very loud report warned the bystanders, of whom there were about 150 present, that it would fall ; and it certainly was a grand sight, for some hundredweights seemed for a time  suspended in the air, and then fell with a tremendous crash. One piece measured 4992 cubic feet, which, reckoning the usual weight of 14 feet to a ton, would weigh upwards of 350 tons. Several other pieces, of from 50 to 150 tons weight, also fell, and are lying on the ground. This tremendous weight, on land which was completely saturated with water, as most of the land in the Undercliff is, so shook it, that about 250 yards of the high-road is entirely gone, and the common, for some distance round, is completely rent in pieces. - see original, which has slightly different wording.
- An Islander’s Notes, by Vectensis, IWCP, Saturday June 28th 1952, page 6 (reproduced as fair usage, Isle of Wight County Press Archive archive.iwcp.co.uk).

It being understood that the piece of cliff, near Blackgang, which had been considered dangerous to persons passing, was to be blown down with gunpowder on Monday last, a vast number of people, from all parts of the island, were attracted to the spot. The wind, which had blown a perfect hurricane the whole night, continued so high during the morning that it was impossible for the men to stand on the cliff to work; and about two o’clock the rain came down so heavily that it was obliged to be postponed till Tuesday. About fifty took luncheon at the Hotel, but many of them left early, much annoyed with their disappointment; some, however, remained till a late hour, enjoying such good things as Host Jones is noted for providing.
    On Tuesday, the morning being very fine, between 200 and 300 persons again assembled to witness what, as was supposed, about 5000 tones of cliff blown down; but as man is doomed to disappointment, they were obliged again, after seeing a few tons only blown down, to return. At two o’clock, Mr. Dennis, the contractor, signalled, by firing off a gun for every person to get out of the way, when himself, along with three others, were to fire the four holes which had been bored, and charged with about 160lbs of powder. One of the men, however, from timidity, ran away before the fusee caught, and in one hole the powder blowed up through, leaving only two to do the work, which, of course, was not sufficient. Had they all been properly secured and lighted, there is no doubt but the cliff would have fallen, as the two holes shook it very much. Mr. Dennis then fired the fourth hole, and that blew down the quantity before mentioned. One of the holes was again filled with about 80lbs of powder, and the fusee set fire to, but from some unknown cause, the powder did not catch, and it was against postponed till Wednesday morning at 12 o’clock, when Mr. Dennis added about 20lbs more powder to the 80lbs left the night before; but unfortunately it all blew up through the hole, instead of blowing the cliff down. Having no more powder, it was then decided that another hole should be bored in the solid part of the rock near the edge, and filled with a large quantity of powder, as soon as it could be obtained, as the whole of the back part is so shook, that it is impossible to find a solid piece of rock to bore a hole in. There can be no doubt whatever as to this being effectual, and it will be a sight worth seeing. It is supposed to take place on Monday next,  but that could not be settled on Wednesday, as they had to get the powder from Portsmouth, and it was uncertain exactly what day it would be ready.
- BLACKGANG, Isle of Wight Observer (Ryde, England), Saturday, January 01, 1853; Issue 18. 19th Century British Newspapers: Part II

* * *
Mr. Mew is of the opinion that these blasting operations caused the former well-known landmark at Windy Corner—a high block of pointed rock known as “Big Rock”, which was a familiar sight to all who travelled on the Undercliff Road. It survived the landslip of 1928, which occurred just to the east of it, but by a strange coincidence it was demolished during the last war by American soldiers, who experimented on it with high explosives, much to the disgust of local residents, who valued it as a notable and singular feature of the wild landscape, and also as a welcome shelter for anyone caught in a sudden shower in this very exposed spot.
- An Islander’s Notes, by Vectensis, IWCP, Saturday June 28th 1952, page 6 (reproduced as fair usage, Isle of Wight County Press Archive archive.iwcp.co.uk).

I am indebted to Mrs. Sylvia Prendergast, of Windcliffe, Niton Undercliff, for the following letter, correcting some of the records I published in the issue of June 28th, and adding further interesting particulars about the “Big Rock” at Blackgang.

“With regard to the blowing up, or rather down, of the Big Rock at Windy Corner in 1854, the account that I have heard numberless times from my father, who was 22 years of age at that date, is as follows. Captain Kerr, who then lived at Westcliff, Niton, came to my great-uncle, George Kirkpatrick, and said that he and others considered the bit of overhanging rock at Windy Corner a public danger, and that he had come to ask my uncle to have it blasted down. My uncle replied that he was sure the rock was safe, but as the question had been raised, he was willing to give them leave to do what they considered necessary, but would have nothing to do with it himself, nor hold himself responsible, for any damage that might occur. They put in a heavy charge of gunpowder and exploded it, and the rock remained unmoved. However, my uncle than said that the rock was now undoubtedly shaken, and now had become a danger, and that they most go on till they had got it down. So they put in a much heavier charge of powder and got the rock down.  Half an hour later, the whole road and much of the surrounding land slipped away in consequence, and the rock poised at the edge of the declivity on the south side of the road was known for long as “Kerr’s Folly,” a name now forgotten.

With regard to its final demolition during the late war, it was, I regret to say, wantonly destroyed, not by the Americans camping here, but by our own military, who had leave to use the land for gun practice at targets on land or sea, but had no authority to destroy the scenery. We put in a very strong protest to the military authorities in question, but of course that could not restore the Big Rock.
- An Islander’s Notes, by Vectensis, IWCP, Saturday, July 12, 1952, page 6 (reproduced as fair usage, Isle of Wight County Press Archive archive.iwcp.co.uk).

Gore Cliff, 2012 - the rubble in the foreground is talus from the 1928 slip

Uprising in the sea-girt Isle, bedecked with verdure round,
Sweet Osborne ! is thy palace-pile, with every beauty crowned ;
Erected for Victoria, and for Her pleasure planned,
Her favorite residence who sways, the sceptre of the land.  

"Osborne, Isle of Wight" - artist/engraver uncredited

"The Keep of Carisbrook Castle" Drawn by WL Walton, engraved by JC Varrall

"Pulpit Rock, Bonchurch - from a sketch by WB Cooke, engraved by Sam Bradshaw"

"Black Gang Chine - drawn by WL Leitch, engraved by J Godfrey"

Bonchurch Pond - "WL Leitch / J Godfrey"

"Shanklin Chine, Isle of Wight - drawn by WL Leitch, engraved by A Willmore"

"Chale Bay, Isle of Wight, during the tremendous storm of 1836 - engraved by A Willmore

St. Lawrence Well - "drawn by WL Walton, engraved by JB Kernot [?]

"Freshwater Cliffs - drawn by WL Leitch, engraved by J Godfrey"

"The Great Landslip at Rockenend, with the bold termination of the Undercliff near Black Gang, drawn by WL Leitch, engraved by Sam Bradshaw

"Isolated rocks in Freshwater Bay - WL Leitch, J Godfrey"

"Tomb of the Rev. W. Adams at Bonchurch, Isle of Wight" Author of "The Shadow of the Cross, "The Old Man's Home,"&c. Died 1848, Aged 33 Years. drawn by WL Walton, from a Sketch by WB Cooke, engraved by JC Varrell

similar elsewhere

THE DROPPING ROCK,
On St. George's Down.

"Nature, throwing aside
Her veil opaque, discloses with a smile
The Author of her beauties, who, retired
Behind His own creation, works unseen."—Cowper.

Dropping, and dropping, through fern and through heather,
E'en in the summer noon's sultriest weather;
Still the hard rock is its water bestowing,
Where the rank weeds germ, and the rushes are growing.

Gently and evenly falls the clear shower,
The work of a mighty, invisible power;
Streaming not, running not—dropping alone,
Through the centuries past, and the long ages flown.

It is as though Nature were shedding a tear,
Of sorrow o'er waste and o'er barrenness near ;
For Ceres has spread not her stores on its breast
With wild shrubs alone are its environs drest.

Like Horeb's famed Rock, which to Israel of old,
Its volume of water through desert lands rolled;
The rock of St. George's its moisture supplies,
Where a rude sterile landscape alone meets the eyes.

In the rambles of childhood I hither would stray,
To list in its shade to the thrushes' sweet lay;
And to view the loved songsters with gladsome wing haste,
In fancied seclusion, its waters to taste.

Still give of thy freshness, sweet Rock of the Down
Which ere long, peradventure, rich plenty may crown;
When thy drops shall be prized as the dew of the morn,
And thy rushes give place to the ripe golden corn.

- pages 22-23, The Vecta Garland, and Isle of Wight souvenir (London: Griffin, 1860, Internet Archive vectagarlandisle00midl).

But now I must come to the Rocks of my native Isle, and the first I shall describe to you is, the "Dropping Rock.'' It is situated on the declivity of St. George's Down, and is hardly discoverable from the large quantity of furze and rushes, which the continued moisture nourishes, and which grow so luxuriantly here.

Strange it is that, in the midst of so much barrenness, there should be such a source of refreshment, as it were, an oasis in the desert." It is not an impenetrable mass of stone, but of a gravelly nature, and its peculiarity consists in this, that, unlike other springs, it is continually dropping. It is a beautiful object after a hard frost; the icicles forming a sight of much interest.
- Remarkable Rocks, Albert Midlane, The Baptist Children's Magazine, ed. Joseph Foulkes Winks, 1853

The cementing of the gravel into blocks by a ferruginous cement has already been noticed. These blocks occur in abundance all along the southern boundary of the outlier, and are found also in several distant spots, having probably been carried off for rockeries, or building. The rain which is absorbed by the gravel naturally travels down the northerly slope, and is given off in the springs previously alluded to, but there is one spring on the south side, close to the house which is so conspicuous on the brow of the hill, known as the Dropping Well. The water oozes from a layer of cemented gravel, and is never known to fail.
- page 213, The Geology of the Isle of Wight (HMSO, 1889, Internet Archive geologyofisleofw00bris).

MOUNT MISERY,* NEAR WHIPPINGHAM.

"How lovely, from this hill's superior height
Spreads the wide view before my straining sight !"— H. K. White.

What means this gloomy name,
And wherefore was it given?
"Why should fair Vecta's fame
From this sole spot be driven?
Misnomer! changed its name shall be,
"We will not have "Mount Misery!"

Does want here make abode,
And squalid wretchedness?
Does pain its inmates goad—
And anxious cares oppress?
That thus miscalled the spot should be,
By that dread name, "Mount Misery?"

Is barrenness around?
Does not a floweret bloom
Upon the parched ground
To cheer the heart of gloom?
Is all confirmed sterility
Upon the "Mount of Misery?"

Away with thoughts like these!
Ill brooks it such a name;
The spot if seen must please
And may in justice claim
To be the "Mount Fertility,"—
"Mount Pleasant," not "Mount Misery!"

The homes which here are found,
Are homes where joys abide;
The trees which here abound
Are waving in their pride;
And all around the eye can see
Pictures, reverse of "Misery."

If time will not erase,
This old forbidding name,
Yet shall its smiling face
Exalt our Island's fame—
For sweet all other spots must be
If this be called "Mount Misery!"

• This property has lately been purchased by His Royal Highness the Prince Consort, and is undergoing improvements of a very extensive and decided character.

- pages 56-58, The Vecta Garland, and Isle of Wight souvenir (London: Griffin, 1860, Internet Archive vectagarlandisle00midl). 

... Stapler's Heath, an unproductive ridge of sand and clay, of whose former sterility the names Smallgain's Farm and Mount Misery bear evidence. The view from Stapler's is one of the most celebrated in the island; it commands the whole valley of the Medina from Newport to Cowes, the Solent, and the Hampshire coast.
- The Isle of Wight, a Guide, Edwin Venables, 1860

MAP OF THE OSBORNE ESTATE Mount Misery (i) is at the southern extreme

From the fixed engine, erected by Messrs. Easton and Amos, shafting, fixed wherever necessary, conveys power and motion to Clayton and Shuttleworth's thrashing-machine with straw-elevator, Garrett's chaff-cutter, Burgess and Key's oscillating turnip-cutter, Biddell's cake-crusher, Ransome's corn-crusher, and Hughes' mill-stones on one side, and on the other to Parssons' saw-bench in the carpenter's shed close by.