The junction of the Dart and the sea (1825)

Daniell, William. A voyage round Great Britain, undertaken in the summer of the year 1813 and commencing from the Land's-End, Cornwall. London: Longman & Co and W. Daniell, 1825. Vol. VIII. pp. 22 - 23.For the purpose of exhibiting the rich scenery of this harbour in a different aspect, it has been thought proper to introduce another view of DARTMOUTH, including the junction of the river with the sea, and presenting a very fine combination of wood and rock.[…]The river, which rushes by Dartmouth to the sea, owes its name to the swiftness of its stream, like the Tigris of Armenia, which, in common with the most impetuous of wild beasts, was characterised by the Persians with that word in their language which signifies a dart. The appellation, in the present instance, must have been bestowed by the early Saxon settlers, whose vocabulary being scanty, was necessarily metaphorical; and Mr. Skrine, in his interesting History of the Rivers of Great Britain, has applauded its propriety. After tracing the stream to its source among the mountainous regions of Dartmoor, he observes that rapidity is its primary characteristic, not only in its descent from the uplands, but in its course through the rich plains of South Devon. "[…] The eminences which enclose the channel of the Dart become at last almost mountainous, forming on the west a barrier to the southern peninsula of Devonshire, and on the east to the road of Torbay; while the river, winding between their rocky bases, passes the very striking position occupied by the hamlet of Kingswear on its eastern bank, and the singularly irregular town of Dartmouth on its western. The ivied walls of Dartmouth Castle, with a rustic spire pointing from the slope of a bold rocky hill, close the prospect with great majesty, and strongly mark the proud exit of the Dart towards the British Channel." This is the language of enthusiasm, and perhaps a little too fine; but it is free from affectation, and affords a proof that the topographer had seen what he described, and that he wrote in earnest.[Text may be taken from a different source or edition than that listed as the source by Somers Cocks.]

Aquatint

164x238mm

S40. DANIELL William (text by AYTON, Richard): A VOYAGE
ROUND GREAT BRITAIN UNDERTAKEN IN THE SUMMER OF THE YEAR 1813 AND COMMENCING FROM THE LAND'S END, CORNWALL.

As in year 1813