Page:The Cornwall coast.djvu/200

19i THE CORNWALL COAST her ; they are all considerably smaller. The first to come into definite view from a vessel making the isles is St. Martin's, with its day-mark standing at a height of about IGO feet. It must be confessed that, for their beauty, the islands depend very largely on sunshine and atmo- spheric effect ; without the sun they can become very dreary. Meteorologic figures prove that the average summer temperature is only 58° Fahren- heit and the winter about 45° ; so that there is little oppressive heat, and frost is very rare. But in spite of these figures the islands can become sultry under a blaze of sunshine ; and in winter the winds are sometimes piercingly keen. No trees will grow unless protected from this wind ; yet the tropical vegetation that flourishes in the open air conclusively proves the remarkable equability of the climate ; while rainfall, which is seldom ex- cessive, is quickly absorbed or evaporated. To the lover of history, legend, and romance the Scillies are a rich mine of treasure, and their inaccessibility keeps them immune from the spoiling tenden- cies of fashion. At one time this inaccessibility was far greater, and only those came to Scilly who had business there. It is claimed by tradition that these islets are a portion of the lost land of Lyonesse, the old-world haunt of Arthur and Tris- tram — a land of villages, pastures, smiling vales, now buried beneath the waves. Persons sometimes apply the name of Lyonesse to the whole of Corn- wall, but this is a mistake ; the true Lyonesse of legend was a tract of country lying to the south- west of Land's End, which we may connect, racially or otherwise, with the Leon of Brittany. There are many traces of submerged forest in Mount's Bay and elsewhere along the southern coast ; and