The majestic appearance of _St. Michael’s Mount_, which has for ages past been so much extolled for its singularity and beauty, cannot fail to arrest the attention and admiration of every traveller.[24] Regarding the origin of this wonderful object, much dispute has arisen among antiquarians; but the circumstance that the mount was partly, if not wholly, covered with wood, seems to be generally credited. When the mount first became a religious spot, is uncertain; but a _Priory of Benedictine Monks_ was founded by Edward the Confessor, which after the conquest was augmented by Robert Earl of Mortaign, and continued until the dissolution of religious houses in the reign of Henry VIII., when its revenues were valued at £110 12s. per annum! The monks however were frequently disturbed in their religious avocations, during the turbulent state of early reigns; particularly by one Henry de la Pomeroy, who treacherously took possession of this priory, during the imprisonment of Richard I. in Germany, but who fearing the king’s anger, is said shortly after to have died through grief.[25] From this and other circumstances, the mount was fortified in a castellated manner, and in after times became a place of considerable notoriety, particularly during the contentions in the reign of Charles I.[26] After the dissolution, it was granted to Humphrey Arundell, of Lanherne. In the reign of Edward VI. it was leased to Job Milliton, Esq. Sheriff of Cornwall, and passed through the hands of several persons, until it became the property of the St. Aubyn family, and now belongs to Sir John St. Aubyn, Bart., of Clowance, who has converted the remains of the priory into an occasional summer residence. Attached to it is a very pretty _Chapel_, in which divine service is occasionally performed; the seats are extremely well carved and ranged on each side, much in the manner of stalls in cathedrals. At the western end, an organ has been recently erected, and may be considered one of the finest instruments in the county. In the alterations which have taken place, great attention has been paid to preserve the original character of the buildings, and the dining room (which was the refectory of the convent) has a curious frieze in stucco, displaying the mode of hunting several wild animals. The mount is chiefly composed of granite, and the passage to its summit, which is on the north side, is extremely steep and craggy. At high water it appears a complete insulated mass of rock, gradually diminishing in size from the base, until it forms a pyramid, nearly 240 feet high. The prospects from the summit cannot fail to raise the most lively emotions, as the eye ranges over a vast range of the ocean, and which appears the more noble, when contrasted with the humble dwellings of the poor fishermen beneath.