The increase of Weymouth within the last forty or fifty years is chiefly owing to the number of persons who take up a temporary residence there to enjoy the benefit of sea-bathing, for which the excellent beach affords the greatest convenience. It is said that the place first began to obtain celebrity on this account about 1763, in consequence of Ralph Allen, Esq., of Prior Park, near Bath, having derived great benefit while residing there, and recommending it to his friends. Weymouth was visited, in 1789, by George III., who resided there for about ten weeks, and was so much pleased with the place that in several succeeding years it was honoured with a royal visit. [4] Leland's Itinerary, vol. iii., p. 79. Edition 1769. [Illustration: HURST CASTLE. _THE PRISON OF KING CHARLES I._] HURST CASTLE "Here Walter Scott has woo'd the Northern muse; Here he with me has joyed to walk or cruise; Hence have we ranged by Celtic camps and barrows, Or climb'd the expectant bank, to thread the Narrows Of HURST, bound westward to the gloomy bower Where CHARLES was prisoned in yon island-tower." W. STEWART ROSE. Among the numerous objects which confer particular interest and beauty on the neighbourhood of Lymington, the most prominent is Hurst Castle, of which a striking view is presented in the annexed Engraving. It was erected by Henry the Eighth, as a fortress for the protection of this part of the Channel from piratical inroads and hostile aggression, and to give his "loving subjects" a strong and lasting pledge of his "paternal solicitude" for their welfare. It is situated near the extremity of a remarkable, natural causeway, or point of land, which runs boldly into the sea to a distance of nearly two miles, and exhibits these massive battlements to great advantage. Its works of defence consist of a circular tower, strengthened by semicircular bastions; and when armed and garrisoned in a manner becoming the important trust confided to it, must have presented a very formidable appearance. Lymington, to whose neighbourhood this formidable stronghold serves as an attractive feature, is now well known and much frequented as a delightful watering-place. It stands about a mile from the narrow channel which separates the main land from the Isle of Wight. Owing to the daily increasing facilities of communication, the picturesque scenery of the New Forest, the various objects of interest and notoriety with which the vicinity abounds, and the delightful prospects which may be enjoyed from the windows of the apartments as well as from the adjoining walks, Lymington is well deserving of the commendation which it has uniformly received from all strangers.[5]