LETTER VIII.

CENTRAL RIDGE OF HILLS IN THE ISLE OF WIGHT.

DEAR Sir, Yarmouth, June 3, 1812.

It was with great pleasure that I hastened to perform yourrequest that I Would examine the central ridge of hills in theIsle of Wight, and also pursue the vertical chalk of Dorsetshire to the place of its termination.

The geological singularities of these countries, which havealready so forcibly impressed me, afford the strongest groundfor hope that a farther survey will be attended with interest:and should I in the course of my journey be obliged to visit thesame places a second time, it will afford me an opportunity ofcorrecting any errors which I may have committed in my formerstatements.

With this view, having crossed what has been called the greatsouthern denudation, where the chalk stratum is wanting, in thecounties of Kent and Surrey, I arrived at Portsmouth; and adelightful passage of an hour carried me to Ryde in the Isle ofWight.

Ryde, formerly described as a place of much picturesquebeauty, now presents but little for the admiration of the artist.Instead of the fine woods which it formerly possessed, the sideof the hill is covered with numerous naked brick houses, builtchiefly for the accommodation of those who frequent this place