[Illustration: HEAD OF THE ICHTHYOSAURUS.]
Charmouth practically consisted of one long street rising up the hill
from the river, and on reaching the top after getting clear of the town
we had to pass along a curved road cut deeply through the rock to
facilitate coach traffic. In stormy weather the wind blew through this
cutting with such terrific fury that the pass was known as the "Devil's
Bellows," and at times even the coaches were unable to pass through. The
road now descended steeply on the other side, the town of Lyme Regis
spread out before us, with its white houses and the blue sea beyond,
offering a prospect that dwelt in our memories for many years. No town
in all England is quite like it, and it gave us the impression that it
had been imported from some foreign country. In the older part of the
town the houses seemed huddled together as if to protect each other, and
many of them adjoined the beach and were inhabited by fishermen, while a
newer and larger class of houses was gradually being built on the hill
which rose rather abruptly at the rear of what might be called the old
town.
[Illustration: REMAINS OF ICHTHYOSAURUS DISCOVERED AT CHARMOUTH.
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