The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

liENT. 207
all Christendom. Canterbury no longer holds its ancient rank as a place of
commerce and industry, notwithstanding the navigable river upon which it stands
and the five railways which converge upon it. As a wool and hop market it is
still of some importance, but the industries introduced by French or Flemish
refugees in the sixteenth century have ceased to be carried on, and the population
diminishes. But notwithstanding this, Canterbury, with its many churches and
ancient walls, now converted into ijublic walks, remains one of the most interestin"-
and picturesque towns of England.
The smiling town of Deal rises on the east coast of Kent, opposite the dreaded
Goodwin Sands, and is separated from them by the roadstead of the Downs. The
boatmen of Deal are renowned for their daring, and only too frequently are their
services called into requisition by vessels in distress. Of the three castles which
Henry VIII. built for the defence of the town, that of Sandown was puUed down
in 1862, owing to the inroads made by the sea, that of Deal is now in private
occupation, whilst Walmer Castle continues the official residence of the Lord
Warden of the Cinque Ports—an honorary office, held in succession by some of
the most distinguished men of the kingdom. The great Duke of Wellington died
in this castle in 1852.
Dover, which retains in French its ancient Celtic appellation of Douvres,
occupies a commanding position directly opposite to the cliffs rising along the coast
of France. It is one of those towns which, notwithstanding historical vicissitudes,
the shifting of sandbanks, and the changes of currents, are able to maintain their
rank as places of commerce. Its port, at the mouth of the Dour, which enters
the sea between steep clifFs, offers the gi-eatest facilities to vessels crossing the
strait. Dover is the only one of the Cinque Ports which has not merely retained its
traffic, but increased it, and this is exclusively due to the mail-steamers which
several times daily place it in communication with Calais and Ostend.* Dover
Harbour scarcely suffices for the many vessels which fly to it during stress of
weather, and proposals for its enlargement are under discussion. The Admiralty
Pier is a noble work, extending 700 feet into the sea. It is composed of
enormous rectangular blocks, formed into a wall rising perpendicularly from the
sea. A vertical pier like this is exposed to all the fury of the waves lashed by a
storm, but the recoiling waves enable vessels to keep at a safe distance. A
powerful fort has been erected at the termination of the pier ; for Dover is a
fortress, no less than a place of trade. A picturesque castle occupies a command-
ing site to the north. It consists of structures of many different ages, including
even a Roman jiharos, or watch-tower. Other heights, crowned with batteries and
forts, command the castle. Only a short distance to the north of Dover, near
St. Margaret's Bay and the South Foreland, preliminary works, with a view to the
construction of a railway timnel between France and England, have been carried
out. It can no longer be doubted that this great work is capable of realisation.
The rocks through which the tunnel is to pass are regularly bedded, and without
* Over 180,000 passengers annually cross from Dover to Calais, as compared with 136,000 who go
from Folkestone to Boulogne.
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