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SHIRLEY HEIGHTS.
tiers, and the balls were so prettily packed in the form of pyramids—the day was so fine, the sea so blue, and the buildings themselves so spruce, in their uniform of light yellow picked out with black, that I was quite enraptured with the picture—forgot the use they were intended for, nor thought how many heart-broken wives and desolate orphans had wept, with tears like blood, the carnage such instruments had effected. The road wound up the ascent, which is continued until the Ridge is gained. On one side stands a very pretty residence, known as "Clarence House," belonging to the queen, and one of the dwellings the superintendent of the naval yard has under his control ; and on the other side of the road rises " Dow's Hill," surmounted by the country-seat of the governor. In this part of the road, a stone, marked with an anchor, points out the boundary of the naval ground ; and on the other side of the stone, the land appropriated to the military commences. Still following the ascent, in process of time we gained the engineers' quarters, the first building which marks the Ridge; and opposite to it is the victualling office. Passing by the officers' quarters, the barracks for the privates, the several storehouses, and the iron hospital, for the reception of invalid soldiers, we stood upon the utmost verge of the place bearing the title of Shirley Heights, so named after one of the former governors, Sir Thomas Shirley, Bart. A very beautiful view may be obtained from this spot, well worthy of a painter's study. Hills and dales clothed in tropical luxuriance; rocky precipices and lonely glens, where nature sits enthroned ; steep mountains and ample solitudes, that look as if the foot of man never disturbed their primeval silence ; and gentle slopes, dotted here and there with neat-looking dwellings. Below, on your right, lies the dockyard, with its uniform buildings, and the lovely harbour, forming a complete basin, encircled with its white sands ; while beyond, the ocean presents one level sheet of burnished gold, over which the