The regular carriage-road between Chale and Niton used to be over this down previous to the year 1838:  and we in some measure regret (although celerity in travelling be now the order of the day), that it is superseded by the road then made to Blackgang:  to the admirers of illimitable prospect it afforded a rich treat, “for language is scarcely adequate to describe the various beauties which present themselves from this elevated spot.”

On the northern extremity of St. Catharine’s down is an elegant and most conspicuous object (72 feet high,) called the ALEXANDRIAN PILLAR:  the purpose of its erection is perhaps best told by the inscription itself: 

“In commemoration of the visit of his Imperial Majesty Alexander I, Emperor of all the Russias, to Great Britain in the year 1814—­and in remembrance of the many happy years’ residence in his dominions—­this Pillar was erected by Michael Hoy.”

On the slope is a seat called the MEDINA HERMITAGE (formerly the summer-residence of the gentleman named on the pillar):  the house is characterized by simplicity and neatness:  and its greatest ornament is a large verandah, having a broad trellis roof, beautifully intertwined with the sweetest varieties of climbing plants.  From its very elevated situation, it commands a rich display of the country from Niton to Newport.

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CHALE CHURCH

Must be passed in the regular tour, going to or returning from Blackgang; stands close to the road; and though simple in its architecture, has a venerable and rather picturesque appearance—­especially its square tower, which proves a great relief to the flatness of the view looking westward to the Freshwater cliffs:  dates its erection in the 12th century; and exposed as it is to the rage of the elements, affords an instance of the stability which characterizes the structures of antiquity.

The cemetery of Chale incloses many a shipwrecked mariner—­no doubt some hundreds who were deposited, in the course of ages, without any memento whatever:  but the public are now more interested, from the circumstance of the unfortunate sufferers in the wreck of the ship Clarendon being here interred,—­to whose memory tombstones are erected, on which the date and other particulars of their melancholy fate are recorded.

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     WRECKS ON THE SOUTHERN COAST.

We have already stated how dangerous this part of the coast is during a south or south-west wind, to vessels unmanageable in a storm:  and previously to the erection of the new Light-house, few winters passed without two or more wrecks occurring between Niton and Freshwater Bay.  In former times, the waifs, or possession of such remains of ships or their cargoes as were washed ashore, seems to have been a valued right