Weymouth

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A sketch of Weymouth

Jonathan Strange has a strong prejudice against the seaside town of Weymouth, where he once suffered a reverse in love. He debates its merits with Major Colquhoun Grant[31].

This picture (it is by an artist called Constable) perhaps does but doubtful justice to Weymouth's natural charms. Certainly it does not look a very inviting scene, but those who esteem the splendours of an open sea prospect speak very highly of the Dorset coast. Just such another town as Weymouth, Charmouth near Lyme, once called forth this rapturous effusion from a lady novelist:

"...its high grounds and extensive sweeps of country, and still more its sweet retired bay, backed by dark cliffs, where fragments of low rock among the sands make it the happiest spot for watching the flow of the tide, for sitting in unwearied contemplation..." (From Miss Austen's Persuasion)

It is a matter of taste. Not everyone finds pleasure in the notion of sitting on an exposed beach observing the waves come and go.