“Oh! mamma, don’t talk of shipwrecks,” cried Agnes, shuddering.
They had now reached a little terrace, raised to a considerable height above the beach, where there was a little shop, the proprietor of which sold fruit, and also engravings of various kinds, in the manner which seems fashionable at Shanklin; as the shops there generally contain articles of the most heterogeneous kinds. Here Mrs. Merton inquired the way to the Chine, and they were directed to apply at a little cottage a good way farther up the beach. They did so; and a most uncivil person came out, who, unlocking a gate, told them to go through there, and then left them to find their way how they could. They went straight on along a narrow path, which was exceedingly slippery and disagreeable from the recent rains, and they soon came to a place where the road divided into two, and they did not know which way to take. As Mrs. Merton was very much fatigued by the want of sleep the previous night, Agnes ran forward along one of the paths, while Mrs. Merton waited her return. She soon came back, saying that the path merely led to a seat; but, as she descended the hill, Mrs. Merton noticed that her shoe had burst open behind, and that she had great difficulty in keeping it on her foot.
“My dear Agnes,” said her mother, “these shoes were never intended for walking along such roads as these. Why did you not put on your walking-shoes?”
Agnes looked at her feet in dismay; for, alas! the walking-shoes had been left at Black Gang Chine. They had been very wet the preceding evening; and when they were brought up after being cleaned, they felt so damp that Agnes begged to have them dried, intending to put them on just before she came away; but this she had forgotten to do; and her present shoes, being totally unfit for walking on wet clayey soil, had burst open in the manner described.
“What shall I do, mamma?” said Agnes: “I think I must try to fasten my shoe together with a pin.”
Mrs. Merton smiled and shook her head; but, as no better means presented themselves, the pin was obliged to be used.
They now walked on very uncomfortably; the pin pricked Agnes every step she took; and her shoe was so loose that she had the greatest difficulty to prevent it from falling off. She was, besides, encumbered with her sea-weed, and some engravings they had purchased at the little shop on the beach for aunt Jane, though of these last her mamma soon relieved her. Mrs. Merton, on her part, did not feel much more inclined to enjoy the beauties of the Chine than her poor little daughter, for the path was very narrow, and was not only wet and slippery from the recent rains, but in some places had given way altogether, and been rudely propped up with the branch of a tree, apparently just cut down for the purpose. Several other paths also branched off from that which appeared the principal one, and thus the constant fear of having to retrace their steps was mingled with their other troubles. What is called a Chine in the Isle of Wight, means a cleft in the rocks, which has been produced by the action of a stream running through them, and thus, wherever there is a Chine, there is always a stream of water running into the sea. At Shanklin Chine the cleft has penetrated to a considerable depth into the rocks; and thus a deep ravine is formed, on one side of which the rock is almost perpendicular, while on the other it shelves gently downward, and is covered with trees and bushes, among which are a few cottages very picturesquely placed. The cascade is somewhat larger than that at Black Gang Chine; but still it possessed very little grandeur, and Mrs. Merton and Agnes were both very glad when they reached it to see a girl approaching with a key in her hand to let them out, as it was a proof that they had nearly reached the end of the Chine. They had still, however, a flight of broken, slippery steps to ascend, after which they found themselves once more on solid ground. Mrs. Merton’s object was now to get her little daughter a pair of shoes, or boots; as, though she generally wished Agnes to suffer a little when she left anything behind from want of care, she considered the melancholy scene they had witnessed at Black Gang Chine was sufficient to excuse a little forgetfulness. They therefore walked into the village to find a shoe-shop; but this was a very difficult task. They were first directed to a shop where the people sold eggs and bacon, cheese and butter, intermixed with articles of haberdashery, and boots and shoes; but, unfortunately, there were none there that fitted Agnes; and they had to walk a long way on the dusty road, and even to pass through a turnpike, before Agnes could obtain a pair of boots to suit her; but she could not help sighing as they retraced their steps back to the inn, and frequently exclaiming, “How glad I am, mamma, that we do not live at Shanklin!”
CHAPTER VIII.
Shanklin continued.—Siphonia, or Sea-Tulip.—Zoophytes.—Sponges. —Corals.—Shells—Anomia—Scallop-shell—Cockle-shell—Whelk—Solen, or Razor-shell—Mactra, or Kneading Trough—Mya.
The first thing Agnes thought of the following morning was her mamma’s promise to take her again to the beach to pick up the shells and sea-weed which she had been compelled to leave behind her the preceding day. Mrs. Merton thought it prudent to stay till the tide was in and had begun to turn, in order that they might explore the cliffs as far as they felt inclined without danger; and it may be easily guessed that Agnes grew rather impatient at the length of time she had to wait. Fortunately, however, there was a beautiful little garden attached to the inn, in which, with the aid of two or three dogs, a kitten, and, what was better than all, a little girl of about her own age, who was also travelling with her parents through the island, Agnes contrived to amuse herself till her mamma was ready. Before proceeding to the beach it was necessary to purchase a basket, and for this purpose they entered the bazaar which they had seen the day before. Agnes had some difficulty in finding a basket to suit her, as the pretty ones were all far too small to hold the quantity of sea-weed and other things she intended to bring from the beach; and it was with the greatest difficulty that her mamma could persuade her to be satisfied with a basket of moderate size, though even that Mrs. Merton feared when full would be much too heavy for the little girl to carry. Just as they were leaving the bazaar the woman showed them a curious specimen of the Siphonia, or Sea-Tulip, which she said had been picked up on the beach. The siphonia was intermixed with various fossil remains, and the whole presented so singular an appearance that Agnes, who had never seen any thing of the kind before, could talk of nothing else while they were descending to the beach.