THE CHANNEL ISLANDS

HAVE belonged to the crown of England since the Conquest ; and the unsophisticated islanders still speak the pure Norman dialect as it was spoken at the court of Rom). The islands lie in sight and within a few hours sail of the coast of France; we arrive from Southampton in little more than twelve hours. During the last war, they cost us nearly a million of money annually ; its peace they are not unexpensive. They furnish England with " Col- chester" oysters, Alderney cows, and capital buttei, besides fruits and smuggled brandy. Jersey alone enrols among her inhabi- tants three thousand resident English, three-fourths of whom de- rive their subsistence from the Deadweight ; she possesses ship- ping " reaching 21,000 tons," and renders to Lord BERESFORD a sinecure income of some 15001. a year. The population of the islands exceeds 65,000 souls: they have no poor, no paupers, and though under English rule, they are exempt (lucky people!) from English taxes. " Yet," said Mr. Isrous to himself, in April 1832, " more is actually known respecting the smallest of the colonies which lie in the Atlantic or Indian Oceans, than respecting Jersey or Guernsey. This ignorance shall exist no longer. I will visit the Channel Islands, and 1 will write a book about them." And a very pleasant book he has written : an elegant and superior Tourists' Guide, containing moreover a great deal of information which the mere "gaping tourist" would not care to learn and could not perhaps comprehend.

The Channel Islands are eight in number. (1.) Jersey; distin- guished for the natural beauty of its prospects, the natural ugli- ness of its people, and their love of money, of cows, and of inde- pendence; the absence of an aristocracy, and of fish both in the markets and the rivers ; the presence of local feuds; and the im- portance attached to local matters,—foraJerseyman has improved upon the notion of Louts the Fourteenth, and may exclaim, the world !—it is Jersey. (2.) Guernsey ; whose beauties are rather created by art than by nature; whose floriculture is unrivalled; whose property-tax is peculiar; and whose upper classes are more polished and more idle than those of Jersey,yet still with a smack of colonial gad. (3.) Alderney, immortal throughout the rest of the world for its cows, is an object of terror near home for the dan- gers of its " Race " and its " Swinge," the Scylla and Charybdis of the Channel. (4.) Serk ; singular for its natural rampart, a per- pendiCular wall of rock rising up from the ocean, and forbidding access save through a narrow tunnel formed in the solid rock, or by a venturous ascent up the cliff, assisted by a rope and toe- holes. Yet is the table land, when once reached, delightful, and well worthy of a visit ; the soil rich in grain, and sufficiently wooded' the surface intersected by " deep romantic vallies, watered by little tumbling brooks ;" the air redolent of the wood- bine, and resounding with the notes of " abundance of singing- birds." These things, however, may lie found elsewhere; but where else is there to be seen such a social state? feudalism unchanged, and almost in its pristine glory. The lord of Serk is seigneur of time island; in him and in his " forty tenants" is vested the local government; this parliament is presided over by a se- neschal appointed by the lord, who has a veto on the acts of the forty—" he seigneur s'avisera." And not only does he rule them in peace, but he heads them in war: the lord is commander of the island militia, one hundred strong. On the islet of Herm (5.) there are but few inhabitants, and but one gentleman,—who is given to solitude, and the working of stone quarries ; but even this speck in the waste of waters has a natural curiosity—a shell beach. (6.) Jelhou is still smaller than IIerm : a wealthy man (but whose wealth does not arise from his possession of Jethou), resides upon it and never leaves it except to paddle across to Hem. (7.) Brechnou till lately was a rabbit-warren only ; but the seigneur of Serk has settled it, and located two families on the islet. (8.) Berhou, adjoining Alderney, is uninhabited save by the bee, the stormy petrel, and a colony of rabbits. Such are the names and number of the Channel Islands, and their most striking characteristics as compared with each other; and such are the regions which Mr. INoms has undertaken to describe. In performing his task, he has adopted a uniform plan, though varied by the nature of the islands and the degree of their importance. He first presents us with a view of the general aspect of the island; describing the impression it makes on approaching it seaward, its inland prospects, its towns, its churches, its show- sights, and its traditions : the houses, the villas, the hamlets, the gardens, are also placed before the mind's eye, intermingled with practical directions for the tourist in quest of excursions or of the picturesque. The inhabitants are next brought under considera- tion, both high and low, gentle and simple, native and " resident;' after which• follow accounts of their manners and mode of life;

with the prevailing diseases, the prices of provisions, and all the oiler statistics of living. The civil government and constitution- altriculture and commerce--are not neglected ; sometimes a dis- quisition on the climate as affecting health appears; and useful miscellaneous observations or pleasant pictures are met in almost every page. The execution is as good as the plan is complete. Mr. INGLIS is indeed an English WAsuiNG-ToN InvING, with less of glace but more of matter than the original. His sketches are quite as distinct, though they want the felicity of touch which brings out the minutest tarts, and the taste which introduces the elegant accessories. On the other hand, Mr. INGLIS grapples with sterner subjects than the American disciple of GOLDSMITH; and is not above attending to the philosophy of the purse and the creature comforts of the poor gentleman. Many of our readers are now perhaps turning their thoughts to- wards a migration, long or short ; and they may feel inclined to ask what impression has Mr. I SIGLIS's account of all these matters made upon ourselves? How do we regard the Channel Islands for a temporary sojourn, or for a long residence ? To such a query our prudent answer would be, that every thing must depend upon circumstances. To the keen social observer, the inhabitalits, and especially the lower classes, offer an image of a feudal and almost primitive state of s day : the same remark may more truly be applied to their laws and institutions: both have a much closer connexion with England than other social conditions equally cu- rious; they can be studied with greater ease, and got at much cheaper. To the lover of nature, they offer a variety of charms ; to the student, almost all the productions of England, with very many fruits and flowers of more genial climes. A Manly party, pretty well tired of watering-places, would do well, (if " the head" could spare the time) to study Mr. INGLis's book, and sojourn at Jersey or Guernsey; making trips to the other islands. The ex- pense, especially to lovers of the social glass, will perhaps be less than usual ; but some of the usual accommodations will, we con- jecture, be missed. Persons, however, who only live in what is called " life "—who place their happiness in plays and concerts, rattles and promenades, must eschew the Isles. Let not those, either, who contemplate a trip to a Continental city, be induced by the eloquence of Mr. INGLIS to abandon their design. A capital displays the best average examples of the state of the fine and useful arts, both past and present : it draws as it were to a focus the national spirit of the age; and if not so curious as some secluded province, is much more useful,—affording more topics for conversation, more food for thought, and giving us more prac- tical experience of the world.

The advantages of the Channel Islands as a residence are soon tool,—the climate is genial, especially for consumptive patients; English society, or something very closely approaching it, can be had without English taxation,—this is all. The rent of land is fully as high as in England; but tithe is the only deduction after rent. House-rent is very much higher than in secluded towns at home; but then, there are no poor-rates, no house or window duties. Mr. INGLIS concludes that the prices of the more substantial ne- cessaries—such as meat, bread, poultry, eggs, cheese (butter is an exception)—are not by any means lower than in many places in England, or even than in London itself; though upon this latter point his data seem to tell against him. Time gain is upon com- modities subject to excise or custom duties. All the articles which come under the formidable head of grocery—tea, sugar, coffee, spices, preserves, and fruits for the table or the dessert—are far cheaper; so are wines and spirits; and the same observation applies to furniture, especially of the more ornamental kind, wages being lower, and the materials imported duty-free. Of the English resident society, Mr. INGLIS specks favourably, but guardedly. We opine it is none of the best—applying the phrase to mind and amusements to hazard a guess, pcople vegetate rather than live ; thrming cliques rather than a community, and dreaming over the past instead of using the present. A doubt too must always hang over a spot wherein a writ from England cannot be backed; or, in the softer phraseology of Mr. I NGLI s, where there is "an inopera- tiveness of all writs from British courts of judicature." It should be added, that a letter of introduction would seem useful, if nut necessary, to a visitor whether for a long period or a short one. In looking over the memoranda for extracts, we are bewildered at the number of references. We must therefore make a selection from the selected, though in reality we might pick at random. First we will take

A GENERAL VIEW OF JERSEY.

The general aspect of Jersey is wooded fertility; and the general character of

its scenery is beauty. The scenery, even upon the coast, nowhere rises into the sublime; and al:hough sonic of its vilifies and coves exhibit glimpses of the picturesque, beauty and softness ere the prevailing features. One would scarcely expect to find, in an island hardly forty miles in circumference, any great diver- sity of seenery, or variety of surface ; upon which, indeed, the former is dependent. But Jersey iseverywhere undulating, broken into hollows and acclivities, and in- tersected by numerous wallies, ',reacrally running north and south ; most of them watered by a rivulet, and as rife in beauty, as wood, pasturage, orchard, a tinkling stream, and glimpses of t w sea can make them. 'I here is one picturesque feature which eaters into every view in Jersey; it is, that the trriaks of the trees, are, I may say without exception, entirely covered with ivy ; which not only adds to the beauty of the scenery when the trees are in leaf, but which greatly softens the sterility of a winter prospect, and gives a cep tain greenness to the landscape throughout the year. Nor is the luxuriant growth of the ivy in Jersey confined to the trees; it covers the banks by the sway-side, creeps over the walls, and even climbs upon the rocks by the sea- shore. About two miles to the east of St. Helier's, there are several elevated rocks, the bases of which are washed at high- water; and which, higher up, are entirely overgrown with ivy; and from the natural outline of these rocks, and their green covering, they have all the ap-

Pearance of ruins. *

It is fortunate, however, since nature has refused the means of obtaining •.a view over the island, that art has supplied the defect : and indeed I do not' know any district, in any country, where one can post oneself more advantage- °ply for obtaining a correct idea of the general aspect of its surface. The chief elevation of this kind is called La Hougue Bie ; but more generally known by the name of Prince's Tower ; from the summit of which the eye embraces al- most the whole island. I have never failed to be delighted with the view front this spot, which is not only interesting, as at once laying open the whole cha- racter and extent of the island, but as being in itself inexpressibly beautiful. Jersey appears like an extensive pleasure-ground,—one immense park, thickly studded with trees, beautifully undulating and dotted with cottages. Fertility is on every side seen meeting the sea; the tine curves of several of the bays may be distinctly traced, with their martello towers and other more imposing de- fences; several of the larger valleys may be distinguished by the shadow which is thrown upon one side ; while all around, the horizon is bounded by the blue sea, excepting towards the cast, where the French coast is seen stretching in a wide curve towards the south and north ; and in one direction, approaches sts near to Jersey, that the white sea beach is distinctly seen ; and in clear weather even the towns that lie near to the coast. The prospect is altogether most charming ; and among the many I have seen in my day, I know few that please. Ice more.

NNY W S DOM OF J E RSEY3IF N.

I have beard it said, that a Jerseyman will do any thing rather than put hist. hand in his pocket : and judging by facts which have come to my knowledge, I incline to put some faith in the saying. It frequently happens, for example, that rather than lay out money for inferior grain, to feed poultry, it small Jersey farmer will use his best wheat for this purpose: and several instances have come within my knowledge, in which COWS have been all but starved—fed on the most miserable offals, or sold, at any loss, rather than go to market and purchase proper food for them. In these exanmles, which I am far front asserting to be universally applicable, but which are certainly not unusual, we recognize avarice carried so far as to Is feat its own ends.

The strong disinclination to part with money, or, which is the same thing, the disinclination to consume that part of their farm produce which is readily convertible into money (unless by consuming it, a greater expenditure is pre- vented), is strongly exhibited in case of illness. In case, for exantple, of a nou- rishing broth diet being ordered by a medical man, it is scarcely possible to pte- rail with the patient to sacrifice a barn-door fowl, which next Saturday would fetch eighteenpence in the market : he would rather run tip a doctor's bill, and swallow physic.

The difficulty of the approach to Alderney has been:hinted at. Mr. INGLIS started several times, and was driven back: at length_ he reached it, and his voyage gives rise to the following

SEA VIEW.

The whole expanse of the sea was one field of crystal, slightly undulating and perfectly smooth, unless where here and there a little wandering air jest' rumpled the surface into almost imperceptible wavy lines, and then dying away, again left it like a mirror. Sometimes these little airs travelled across our path, fluttering in our sails, which we kept up to catch every help; and then for a a few moments the gurgling sound would tell that we were making alittle way, and the sailors would rest on their oars and wipe their foreheads and whistle to the Winds, which, as our poet says, " came not." Alderney, yet a far way off, presenting a bold square front, lay before us; yet further behind, and scarcely perceptible,Guernsoy and Serk. To the right, in a long low curve, stretched the French coast, terminating. in Cape La Hague; and about six miles to the left, were seen the Casket light houses, whose white towers, erected on the formi- dable rocks against whose perils they are the guarantee, seemed like dwellings resting ou the ocean. There is a feeling of great solitariness, and even of solennity, begotten in looking around from the cross bench of a small boat al- most out of sight of land. I dare say the boatmen felt nothing of this. As the sun got lower, they tugged the harder, anxious, as they said, to make Alderney before dark, not on; their account, but on mine ; for, supposing I had heard a good deal of the dangers of Alderney, they probably concluded that I was not perfectly at my ease; and they kept now and then repeating to me, in their own indifferent French, "Monsieur, juror et nuit c'est la metne chose pour nous ;" that was to say, that they knew the navigation so well, that it signified nothing whether it was dark or light when they got into the swinge. For my part, never having seen the swinge, I felt no great dread of it ; and it was so calm and mild and beautiful, that darkness seemed scarcely to have any thing of terror in it. Notwithstanding all the exertions we mule, it fell almost dark before we reached the coast ; and when we entered the swinge, there was just light enough to see that its dangers hod not been exaggerated. Suddenly, from the calmest water, we were plunged into an ugly piashy sea, dancing and breaking as if there were rocks nut a filet from the surface. I was just able to see that in some places there were currents like cataracts; and in others, singular wide hollows and eddies like whirlpools, while at no great distance, I could occasionally per- ceive the black heads of rocks appearing and disappearing as the swell of the troubled sea lose and fell among them and still the boatmen continued conso- latory sentence, "Jour et unit c'est It meme chose pour nuns." It soon became as dark as it is on any March moonless night, but I felt secure in the knowledge and skill of the boatmen ; and about an hour after dark, something black and square and WI appeared on our bow, which turned out to ire the back of the harbour, which we soon after, but apparently with great straining at the oars,. safely entered.

The penuriousness of Jerseymen has been seen : the men of . Alderney are more jovial souls; which Mr. INGLIS attributes to the effects of the contraband trade, cn the principle of " light come light go." Yet the rough sea and the social state prevent any outrageous protrusion; as one may see by

A SX ETCH OF SOCIETY IN ALDF.RNEY.

Although, however, the business of life in Alderney is not to heap up

wealth, and although profuseness is more common than parsimony, it is impos- sible to spend much. With the exception of the Governor, nobody spends e.00/. per annum ; and among the most respectable classes, the more usual expenditure is from 100/. to 130/. per annum. Even this limited expenditure can C011111CIIII! a great deal in Alderney. A tolerable house may be had for 10/., or at most 15/. a year. Meat and poultry are both somewhat trader Guernsey prises ; and the article of dress costs little, where nobody thinks of dress, and where there are no critics on the cut of a coat, and where the milliner has no cuetomere. There is no doubt emulation in Alderney, however, as well as elsewhere; and a smart bonnet, though home-made, will doubless create a sensation in the street, or in the church of St. Anne. There are a few English residents in Alderney—oft-hers on half-pay—who contrive to vegetate in this- remote spot, apart from the din of the world, and only solicitous to get through life, on the pittance which they have earned in the service of their country. Singular contrast, between the stirring scenes of a camp, and the quiet mono- tony of this remote and primitive isle! The chief resource of those who are not wholly occupied with agricultural pursuits, and who belong to the upper class, is the club. There, at most hours of the day, little coteries of the male population of Alderney may be.:

found, smoking. drinking brandy and water, and talking of such topics as island events afford ; or, if a mail chance to have arrived, of the events that agitate larger communities. Reading is almost unknown. There is not a library or a book society in the island,—and but few books.

Some passages descriptive of Serk the Singular should at a time of less pressure have graced our columns. But we must close; observing that we have confined ourselves to the lighter portion of the volumes, but that the chapters on the constitution and com- merce of the islands ale well worth the attention of the economist and politician, as are the remarks on the doubful utility of the possessions to Great Britain.