The above rules concerning the toilet will hold good for the fair sex, _mutatis mutandis_. Only in addition, ladies should engage some stalwart arm to lean upon; and should on no account venture themselves among slippery rocks. As for those knights and esquires who accompany the gentle dames on such a quest, they must look to themselves. I cannot now stop to warn them of their peculiar peril; but they know what I mean. It was among the Ocean-isles that Briseis led captive the stern son of Peleus. Above all, let the Pebble-searcher have nothing on his mind when he sets forth: no broken engagements, no crying debts. Otherwise, he may look in vain for moss-agates. Shakspeare, when he has to account for a valiant warrior and politic general, a crowned king to boot, losing the great battle of Bosworth-field, ascribes it all to the ghosts who sat heavy on his soul. Any neglected or injured creature may prove on such occasions a vengeful ghost. Supposing your hours free, the best are those in which the daylight is most powerful: say, from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon; or, to take things in moderation, from eleven to three. A beaching expedition made thus with determinate purpose, once or twice in the course of six days, I hold to be reasonable diversion; and for matter of interest, I know of no out-door pursuit which excels it, not even Insect-catching, or Fly-fishing. The above hints being attended to, one important point remains still to be considered. It is absolutely necessary to understand pebbles in the rough. The more peculiar a beach is in its contents, the less will it exhibit to catch the eyes of one who has never learnt to appreciate them. Coloured seaweeds are enticingly bright; pearly shells are as evident as trinkets; but the external coat of a genuine pebble differs widely from its internal structure, and may yield to the uninitiated no indication whatever of the value of the latter. A crust of hardened lime or sandstone is a frequent envelope of the best specimens in one kind of zoophyte. The stone itself is very likely mis-shapen, and perhaps lies more than half buried in sand or shingle. Without knowing anything of the nature of these fossils, you may occasionally pick up such “darkies” at a venture; but you will never feel assured of them, you will never be able to glean them from the multitudinous gravel, as the determined Fly-fisher gets the best trout out of a pool, if you have not the pleasure of an intimate acquaintance with their species. The readiest way of acquiring this, and it is not born with anybody, is to spend a wakeful half-hour, once and again, at the board of any civil lapidary, and there thoroughly to inspect his casual store. A trifling purchase will abundantly content him in return, the more as he hopes to cut several pebbles for you.