incumbent into quiet possession of his pulpit.
But so long as Sidestrand, its church, and its
incumbent, are fated to be struck very shortly
out of the Clergy List, what does it matter
how they are made to disappear ? The
discredit of yielding them still attaches to us,
so long as we say to the aggressor, "Pray
come and help yourself to that which best
pleases you."

Two methods only have been adopted to
prevent the spoiler from excavating a most
tremendous hollow into this goodly county.
One is by cutting the face of the cliff into
a smooth slope, and facing it with stone
cemented by mortar (as has been done at
Brighton), taking care at the same time to
drain off the land-springs, and prevent them
from nibbling at and forcing out of place the
foundations of the work. The wells in the
neighbourhood require special attention. Great
benefit would be derived from sinking wells
on the inner or land-side of the cliffs,
subjected to the influence of the land-springs;
for the loss of the four-and-a-half acres before
mentioned is attributed primarily to a foolish
individual, who a few months before filled up
three wells close by. The town of Cromer has
been kept standing by well-sinking; so also
have a single house and grounds at Mundesley.
It seems to be quite forgotten that these
fortifications, as the sea eats away the cliffs on each
side of them, right and left, will first become
promontories, and then islands, unless the
whole line of twenty miles is similarly encased
with stone-work—a costly scheme, which is
not likely, although it ought, to be
undertaken by the nation; for Kent, Sussex, and
Hampshire, as well as Norfolk and Suffolk,
are also yearly becoming less and less.

In 1844, a surgeon resident near the seat
of mischief, invited public attention by a
remarkable "Essay on the Encroachments of
the German Ocean," which met with the
usual attention bestowed upon Cassandric
warnings. The second mode of checking
injury from the waves, is that advocated by
Mr. Hewitt; namely, to fix on the beach
break-waters, or groins, of boards and stakes,
running straight into the sea as far as
or beyond low water mark, and commencing
above high water, to meet the case of unusually
high tides. The more of these, and the more
substantial they are, the better; but it is
surprising what a resistance to evil is given
even by a frail and paltry barrier, so long as
it lasts. Until a sea-wall shall save our
contracting shores, groins are clearly the only
possible conservators of the entire coast—the
sole preventers of the further deepening of
the crescent of the bay. And yet, there are
not half-a-score of them, on the whole line
threatened with destruction. All these I
have made a point of inspecting at various
seasons. At such points, the cliff falls less, if
it do not cease to fall entirely. A set of groins,
planted at small intervals, would, I believe,
be perfectly effectual. In every case, an
accumulation of sand and pebbles takes place
on the north-west side of the groin, as high as
itself. Make a higher groin, and you get a
higher accumulation, and of course a more
solid and effectual barrier. Upon sand
heaped on the beach by any agent, the
Marram grass grows, and binds the whole
into a firm mass. The French plant this
wonderful herb in such situations, and forbid
its injury under a penalty. The cliff thus
protected at its base, would, by the influence
of winds and rains be worn into a grassy
slope, and the sea would at last meet with a
firm denial to his exactions.

But, who is to pay the cost of this multitude
of groins, or long length of sea-wall, and
bear the burden of keeping them in repair?
The answer is simple; nothing will do it but
some national measure, for which there are
patterns and precedents abroad, if not at
home. Tens of thousands of pounds are
forthcoming for vast projects of reclaiming
land from the sea, as at the Lynn estuary
and the talked-of Morcombe bay scheme; but
hundreds are hardly to be raised for saving
terra firma from inglutition by the vastest
of boa-constrictors. Even at Cromer, the
local rate is paid reluctantly by many whom
it saves. A voluntary rate for the general
protection of the coast of England would be
gathered with about the same amount of
uncertainty and trouble to the collector, as
would a voluntary subscription for the raising
of an army or a navy;—that is, it would
remain most unscrupulously unpaid.

"Of course," says Upper to Lower Sheringham
(and I beg that this may be considered
as a general, rather than an individual utterance);
"Of course, we are very sorry for
you! We are truly grieved to see your
bowling-green and your cottages drop, one
after another, into the sea, especially as you
are such clever, industrious fishermen, and
supply our uplands with most excellent
manure—dogfish and seaweed—not to
mention the ingredient without which lobster-salad
does not deserve to be named. Yours
is a hard case. But you cannot expect us to
pay for your breakwaters, at the present
prices of corn. Certainly not! The sea
must eat you up entirely, before it can get at
us; and that will be a long while hence.
Things will last our time. We should be
Lower Sheringham then, and might approve
of the rate. Still, we like to see you doing
your best as well as you can, without asking
for assistance. You know, self-dependence is
a virtue much respected by near relations."

Upper Sheringham can afford to be the
mouth-piece of the selfish interior; for Upper
Sheringham is good and kind. She gives a
church to her lower neighbours, a fountain to
her upper brethren, visits sailors' wives that
have been shipwrecked, and sends them on
their way in private carriages. But, for want of
national aid, the coast is sinking by rapid
consumption, and is fast falling into a watery grave.