solidated into a compact mass with lime, thrown down to form the slantings of the cliff. A great quantity of this chalk, it may be observed,

was obtained from the blasting of Roundown-cliff, which was effected with consummate skill by the use of 19,000 lbs. of gunpowder, causing the disintegration of no less than 400,000 cubic yards of rock, which in ten seconds, without noise or accident, were distributed over eighteen acres, causing a saving to the Railway Company of about £7,000. The viaduct on the Dover side, though of a different and less stupendous character, is no less interesting as a result of engineering science; it is about half a mile long, and formed of heavy beams of timber securely framed and bolted together, but left open so as to offer less resistance to the waves in stormy weather and spring-tides. The station at the Dover terminus is a double one, like those at Reigate, Tunbridge, and other leading stations; besides which it is provided with ample accommodation for goods, and waiting-rooms for passengers while awaiting the trains, or the examination of their luggage by the Custom-house

officers when arriving by the packets from the Continent. All the arrangements, too, are admirably made here, as well as at Folkestone, for shortening the delays to which travellers are usually subjected in leaving or arriving at our outports; and on this score the greatest credit is due to the South-Eastern Company, who first brought them into operation.

Dover (population in 1851, 22,244) (or, as it is vulgarly called, Dovor) is, as all the world knows, a great seaport and point de départ for foreigners leaving England for France and Belgium; besides which it is the principal of the Cinque Ports, and as such received vast improvements under the energetic superintendence of the late Lord Warden— our lamented Iron Duke. It is situated in a deep valley of depression in the chalk ridges that form this line of coast, which depression also runs a considerable distance inward, forming the bed of the River Dour, which empties itself into the harbour. From the position of the town, in a picturesque bay, Dover presents a singularly open and agreeable appearance. The bay is bordered by a beach composed of loose,

small pebbles, so moveable that formerly the force of the waves was continually changing their position. Sometimes they rose in large hilllocks near the entrance of the harbour, or extended in ridges along the shore, presenting an apparently fixed barrier to the ocean and a

perpetual barrier to the town. These, in a few tides, were demolished and rebuilt at another place, to be again removed at the caprice of wind and weather. The harbour of refuge now prevents the beach from entering the bay. The old town consists of one principal thoroughfare, called Snargate-street, which extends upwards of a mile in a semicircular direction, following that of the valley on which it is built shorter streets branching from it in both directions, together with ranges of modern-built houses along the shore. The older part is very irregularly built, narrow, and ill-kept; but vast improvements have been made within the last few years-several new streets and terraces, lined with well-appointed shops and splendid mansions, have been erected-and the private residences for the summer visitors on the Marine-parade, Waterloo-crescent, Esplanade, &c., form, with other streets, a continuous range of imposing buildings that extend from the north pier to the foot of the Castle-cliff. Several of the older streets have likewise been considerably widened; and Dover has, on the whole, made wonderful progress during the last ten or fifteen years. The buildings also have extended so much inwards along the valley of the Dour, that the villages of Charlton and Buckland have become continuous parts of the town.

Dover boasted in former times of a large number of churches and conventual establishments; but most of these have long disappeared. The oldest extant churches are St. James's and St. Mary's; the former being an Anglo-Saxon structure, the latter early Norman, recently restored in excellent taste at an expense of nearly £6,000. St. Mary's deserves notice, also, as containing the tomb of Foote, the English Aristophanes. This church was erected in the eleventh century. The west end of the building has a fine old arch, highly ornamented, and in digging a vault, many years since, it was discovered that the foundation of the tower had been laid upon the remains of a Roman bath. Trinity Church is a modern erection in the ornamental English style, and was built at a cost of £8,000. In the adjacent hamlets, also, of Charlton, Buckland, and Hougham, there are four churches, nearly all either rebuilt or modern. The only conventual building now remaining is St. Martin's Priory, in the churchyard of which lie the remains of the poet Churchill, who died in 1764, and whose monument was restored by the late Lord Byron. The Priory itself is now a

mere ruin, and is occupied as a farm-house; but the refectory and gate

DOVER HARBOUR.

way are well worthy of a visit from the antiquarian; and the old church of the Maison Dieu, erected
in the reign of King John, to supply a temporary accommodation to such pilgrims as might be passing
by it, now turned into a town-hall and gaol, merits similar attention. Dover has likewise places of
worship for Dissenters, including a Roman Catholic chapel and Jews' synagogue, with chapels for

Independents, Baptists, Wesleyan Methodists, and Unitarians; to all of which, as well as the churches, large Sunday-schools are attached, furnishing religious instruction to upwards of 5,000 children. There is also a large foundation-school, conducted on the national principle, and another at Charlton; beside which, there are Lancastrian schools, schools of industry, and infant schools, which furnish on the whole ample means of instruction for the poorer classes. Dover possesses also a military hospital, a dispensary, savings bank, and several minor charities. The principal public buildings are the town-hall and gaol, already mentioned; the theatre, erected in 1790, and post-office in Snargate-street, the market-house (above which is the Museum), the Assembly-rooms, and the Custom-house near the harbour.

A Sailors' Home was erected in 1856; from a small, though comfortable receptacle for shipwrecked and distressed sailors, it has become a permanently useful institution. The "Home" is a handsome edifice externally, and what is of much more importance, its internal resources are all that can be desired. Besides having forty beds, it comprises a refreshment-room, reading-room, smoking-room, bath, a good kitchen, &c.

The Pilot's Watch-house, a lofty and convenient building, was erected in 1847. This respectable body of men are intrusted with the care and direction of vessels, as they pass up the channel to the Thames, and find it necessary to be watching for their appearance as they approach Dover.

The harbour, which may be said to be almost literally enclosed by the town, is worthy of the ancient reputation of the port, the entrance to it being now easily accessible during rough weather. It has no longer a bar of shingles at its entrance, which was a constant cause of accumulations inside. Great improvements have been made within the last few years, especially during the wardenship of the late Duke of Wellington. The harbour consists, in its present state, of an outer and inner basin, the former containing an area of 7 acres, the latter of 64 acres, both being kept clear by a pent, or backwater, of 11 acres, with an entrance 60 feet wide. On the west side of the outer harbour is a wet dock, with an adjoining graving dock; the entrance between the pier-heads, which opens towards the S.S.E., being 110 feet wide, formed of stone and brickwork, faced with wooden piles: the depth at high