and respective places, should have and enjoy full liberty in their profession of the true Protestant religion, professed and vowed by both Houses of this present Parliament in their first grand protestation," &c. Also, "that the fort should not be known by any other name than Fort Charles, as it now is, or any coat of arms in the dining-room defaced, or anything belonging to the said fort."

By the eighth article they provide that "the governor (Sir E. Fortescue), Sir Chr. Luckner, their servants and soldiers in the fort, shall have full liberty to march from thence to Fallapit, with their usual arms, drums beating and colours flying, with bondelars full of powder, and muskets appertainable, and after three values to yield up their arms to those whom Corronal Weldon shall appoint to receive them; the governor, Sir C. Luckner, with both their servants, likewise the officers in common, excepted."

One cannot help wishing that poor King Charles had always had equally brave and wise men to defend his cause, for it is very certain that had Cromwell's forces everywhere met with the same stout resistance, his fate would have been very different.

From observations in the account book of Sir E. Fortescue, still preserved in the family, it appears that the Castle had sustained two investments previous to the one of which we are now speaking—a sufficient proof of the strength of its fortifications and the skill and courage of its defenders.

A large key said to have belonged to this fort is in the possession of Sir E. Fortescue's descendants at Fallapit, with a portrait of the worthy old soldier himself; who, after the surrender of the Castle, sought refuge in Holland, where he died and was buried at Delft, in which place there is a monument erected to his memory.

Although mere ancestry cannot confer any distinction upon those who have nothing better to be proud of, I should not be inclined to think well of any one who is so far indifferent to it as

to be careless of preserving its honour untarnished; and were I of Sir E. Fortescue's descendants, the key of Salcombe Castle would be kept amongst my most cherished possessions. There are plenty of people now-a-days of the go-ahead persuasion, who talk very grandly about making a name for one's self, but I suspect that some of our boasted great deeds would shrink into insignificance by comparison with some which are nearly forgotten, or only brought to light, like the present, by the curious and interested stranger.

I do not think that the former glories of their fortress are even now lost upon the Salcombe people, for they are proud enough of it to have named one of their own beautiful little schooners the "Salcombe Castle"; but as it now stands, the building is a mere shell, over the lower part of which the water dashes at every tide. A few hardy plants grow on the scanty soil of the top, and the base is covered with sea-weeds, limpets, sea anemones, and other molluscous animals, whilst the rock, smoothed in places, shows where once the floor of the lower stories existed.

NOTE. It is only right to acknowledge the assistance I have derived from a former History of Salcombe whilst compiling this chapter.

CHAPTER III.

THE INHABITANTS.

IT is time to introduce my readers to some of the Salcombe worthies, though they have many of them departed to their rest since we knew them.

A great character was Jacob Clarke; so old and infirm from exposure in his sea-faring life that he could hardly manage to get about with the help of two sticks: yet was he a genuine naturalist, and could tell where every rare shell or mollusk was to be found, and would go out and poke about the rocks and bring in a lobster, when no one else could find anything. He would have been invaluable to Mr. Gosse or Mr. Lewes, or any of our accomplished marine naturalists, and I have a theory of my own that he was related somehow to Mr. Gosse's hero of the Turritella. Certainly if old Jacob did not know a Turritella by name, he would have known it by sight, and would have brought that or any other marine production to order, had there been any one who would pay for it.

One of the Salcombe characters must not be omitted, for it is he who would have delighted to assist in the composition of this little work, and would have given information which now, alas! cannot be obtained-Mr. Strong. His name was truly significant of his nature, for his wit was keen and piercing, and his sound sense and fearlessness of expression made him dreaded by many, for he prided himself on "standing no nonsense." But this rough exterior wore off on better acquaintance, and

when fully satisfied that he was understood he displayed an accomplished and even a refined mind, with a great love for literature, poetry, and music, and what, if cultivated, would have been a fine taste for art. During the time of our stay he was entering into what proved to be his last illness, and as we found that our visits were a comfort to him, we generally managed to see him several times in the week.

It was a great amusement to myself and the two young friends I have mentioned to rout out his books, under pretence of calling upon him. How he scolded us, and declared we should have but one at a time! which was only a device to get us to call on him the oftener. I think I see him now. His feet on the fender, his hands in his pockets, always, propped up in his arm chair, with his favourite books on the table, and telescope within reach, the more readily to scrutinize every ship which passed his windows on her way to Kingsbridge; a microscope at hand, and his violin where he could look at it. With what delight he used to turn over his portfolio containing drawings of the various rare plants which grew in the neighbouring gardens, of which he was an accomplished delineator, and how delighted he was if any one recognised the rarer specimens! His great pleasure, however, was in seeing me draw, or finish up some of the hasty sketches which a winter's day would allow me to take. Already a good linguist, he was commencing the study of German, in which he flattered himself he should derive some assistance from her who now records these characteristics of a lost friend. I fancy how people must have been mistaken in him who judged only from externals, which certainly were far from imposing.

His dwelling was on a piece with himself. Down-ever so far down a long passage which led to the sea, was a door which seemed to have no particular business there, but to have been put in by the builder on the principle of blank windows, to take off the sameness of the long wall which preceded it. Once having

obtained admission into a large sort of hall, which was always a matter of difficulty till you became possessed of the secret, your eyes were greeted with a vast quantity of fishing tackle and other objects belonging to a boat, which was suspended at the further end outside, and over the water. Large Spanish wine jars, of the same material as that exhibited in the Crystal Palace of 1851, reminded one of the Forty Thieves, who, however, would have fared badly had they ventured to attack Mr. Strong, who possessed a whole armoury of "pikes, and guns, and bows." Then you passed a large flock of stuffed birds of different climates, arranged on some peculiar principle known only to their proprietor. Next, "an alligator stuffed and empty fishes," and on the top of the stairs, the very albatross which the merciless Ancient Mariner killed with his cross-bow!

Advancing in the dark by rather an awkward staircase, we reached the presence chamber, where sat the master himself in a kind of grim state, relaxing, however, his assumed sternness at the approach of any one whom he really liked. The first greetings over, he used to dash away into his subject at once, and greatly delighted was he if he could puzzle us as to the author of any of his queer out-of-the-way quotations. A young lady who was staying at Salcombe, and who rather set up for a "blue,” began unluckily to try her skill upon Mr. Strong. He quietly asked her if she had ever read Paradise Lost, which so discomfited her that she did not venture into his den again in a hurry. The fact was, he had just been refreshing his memory by reading it after the lapse of some years, and he told me he was astonished to observe the root it had taken in our language, so many phrases and turns of thought being distinctly traceable to it. This, no doubt, is true of many of our great writers, and I often think it would be worth while to peruse in chronological order all our great national authors, for the purpose of ascertaining how much of our daily vocabulary is enriched by them. A Northamptonshire