The hermitage of St. Elericus, the patron saint of Jersey, a holy man
who suffered martyrdom at the time the pagan Normans invaded the island,
is said to have occupied an isolated peak, quite detached from the
fortifications, which commands a noble seaward view of the bay. A small
arched building of rude masonry, having the semblance of a watch-tower,
covers a sort of crypt excavated in the rock, into which, by dint of
perseverance, a man might introduce himself; and this, if we are to
credit tradition, is the cave and bed of the ascetic. Here, like the
inspired seer of Patmos, he could congratulate himself on having shaken
off communion with mankind. Cliffs shattered by the warfare of the
elements--a restless and irresistible sea, intersected by perilous
reefs--and the blue firmament--were the only visible objects to distract
the solemn contemplations of his soul.

An abbey, dedicated to St. Elericus, once occupied the site of Elizabeth
Castle. The fortress was founded on the ruins of this edifice in 1551,
in the reign of Edward VI., and according to tradition, all the bells in
the island, with the reservation of one to each church, were seized by
authority, and ordered to be sold, to defray in part the expense of its
erection. The confiscated metal was shipped for St. Malo, where it was
expected to bring a high price, but the vessel foundered in leaving the
harbour, to the triumph of all good Catholics, who regarded the disaster
as a special manifestation of divine wrath at the sacrilegious
spoliation.

The works of Fort Regent occupy the precipitous hill that overhangs the
harbour, and completely command Elizabeth Castle, and indeed the whole
bay. They are of great strength, and immense masses of rock have been
blown away from the cliff in order to render it impregnable. The