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TOURS 
 
 TO THE 
 
 BRITISH MOUNTAINS, 
 
 WITH THE 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE POEMS 
 
 OF 
 
 LOWTHER, AND EMONT VALE. 
 
 By THOMAS WILKINSON. 
 
 The Power that spread the seas, the heavens sublime, 
 Bade round our vales majestic mountains rise ! 
 
 With interest high the fearful steeps we climb, 
 Whose low'ring summits seem to reach the skies. 
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED FOR TAYLOR AND HESSEY, 
 
 93, FLEET STREET, 
 AND 13, WATERLOO PLACE, PALL MALL. 
 
 1824. 
 
 J?0 
 
■ ortij y N 
 
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED BY S. AND R. BENTLEY, DORSET STREET. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 From the difficulty of communicating with 
 the Author at a distance of nearly 300 miles, 
 a slight mistake has arisen in the printing 
 of the English Tours: from p. 118 to p. 137, 
 from p. 138 to p. 159, from p. 160 top. 167, and 
 from p. 197 to p. 207, they have been divided into 
 small chapters or sections, under separate heads, 
 instead of being continued through an uninter- 
 rupted succession of mere paragraphs from the 
 beginning to the end of each Tour respectively. 
 As this is a mistake which would perhaps be 
 noticed by the Reader, the Publishers take this 
 opportunity of stating its extent, and the cause 
 to which it is to be attributed. 
 
 London, 18th May, 1824. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 From early life I have been an admirer of the 
 sublime in Nature. Mountains and their accom- 
 paniments are amongst the finest specimens of the 
 sublime. Hence, when circumstances allowed, I 
 availed myself of the opportunity of exploring 
 their recesses and ascending their summits. This 
 at the time afforded me enjoyment. 1 made me- 
 morandums of my excursions, which have accumu- 
 lated on my hands. They have now undergone 
 an arrangement ; and their perusal may afford 
 entertainment to those with inclinations like my 
 own. 
 
 Besides their ordinary avocations, mankind have 
 their favourite pursuits. Some collect spars and 
 plants ; others are in their element amid a flower- 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 garden, or in the fields of antiquity. Mountains 
 are my flower-garden, or my museum ; and they 
 exhibit the oldest and most magnificent specimens 
 of pristine grandeur. 
 
 It would be unbecoming a highly gifted being 
 like man to look with an eye of indifference on the 
 wonderful works of creation, their variety, and 
 their beauty. Now, Mountains may be said to 
 be among the most conspicuous and imperishable 
 monuments of the Creator's power that we behold. 
 Piety, perhaps, will not be hurt at the delineations 
 of Nature. — Mountains, rocks, woods, and waters, 
 are innocent objects in themselves, and are the 
 productions of a Divine hand : they impress us 
 with awe, as the works of Almighty Power. It 
 will, then, heighten our enjoyment in surveying 
 them, to reflect that these great designs were con- 
 ceived in Heaven. 
 
 Though Mountains are the prominent features 
 of this Work, yet perhaps the reader will not 
 think its title censurably defective, though he 
 may find journeys through the valleys and over 
 the plains of his country. These he will see are 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 at times the connecting links between mountain 
 and mountain. The contrast of plains and valleys 
 is also necessary to the altitude of Mountains; 
 and it may relieve attention occasionally to repose 
 on their surface; to behold their woods, their 
 lakes, and their rivers ; to see a few of their cities, 
 their castles, and their cottages, and to talk a 
 little with their inhabitants. 
 
TOURS 
 
 TO THE 
 
 BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Living in the midst of an extensive valley, with 
 lofty mountains rising in the distance^ I have some- 
 times treated myself with a tour to their sum- 
 mits ; and as in the pursuit o/ pleasure, or the ac- 
 quisition of what we wish for, one enjoyment leads 
 to the desire of obtaining another, thus from time 
 to time, as occasions offered, I extended my ex- 
 cursions into other mountainous districts. But as 
 in our favourite pursuits we raise in our minds an 
 imaginary point of excellence, though we may never 
 come there; so that point, in my mind, was in the 
 Highlands of Scotland : indeed, I had long felt 
 something of a fascination in the sound of The 
 Highlands. 
 
2 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Thus for several years the Highlands with me 
 had been present in imagination; but an unex- 
 pected and agreeable circumstance occurred that 
 brought us together, and they became an interest- 
 ing reality. The reader will therefore forgive me, 
 if I first solicit (as I was solicited) his company to 
 Scotland ; and I shall be glad of the continuance 
 of his society, when returned to England. 
 
 A citizen of the United States, eminent for his 
 piety, his benevolence, and disinterestedness, re- 
 quested my company through the Highlands and 
 Lowlands of Scotland. The proposal, backed by 
 his worth and my own inclination, was irresistible. 
 Ought I to withhold the name of John Pemberton? 
 — a name widely known through America, and one 
 which will be long remembered in Philadelphia. I 
 was not able to join my friend immediately, there- 
 fore was left in the rear. I had travelled little. 
 We are weak without the aid of habit, and apt to 
 be dismayed by inexperience. Perhaps the reader 
 will smile when I tell him, that, being alone, I some- 
 times travelled with my handkerchief in my hand, 
 which I lifted to my eyes on looking back and be- 
 holding the lessening mountains of Cumberland. 
 
 I begin my remarks on Scotland at Gretna 
 Green, perhaps the most famous village in Scot- 
 land. When we hear how people hurry to it from 
 the uttermost parts of England, we are apt to think 
 
SCOTLAND. 
 
 they believe it the point at which felicity is to com- 
 mence. Love is the ostensible object in their flight. 
 Innocent, honourable, and mutual affection is the 
 foundation of virtuous society ; but if inexperience 
 get ensnared by artifice, and it end in a Scotch wed- 
 ding, the road to happiness is often lost at Gretna ; 
 and the parties get entangled in a labyrinth of 
 perplexities, in which they may moil on to the end 
 of their journey. 
 
 An attachment to country is a general feeling. 
 I have that feeling in no slight degree for Old Eng- 
 land ; yet novelty has a powerful influence. Being 
 now on the Borders of Scotland, it is like treading 
 in a new region : if my attention is more on the 
 alert, and my remarks are more numerous than 
 they would have been in my own country, perhaps 
 I may be forgiven. 
 
 Passed the quiet little town of Annan ; also a 
 seat of the Douglases, once the most powerful 
 family (except that of royalty) in Scotland. I 
 have been told of an earl of Douglas riding to par- 
 liament with eight thousand men in his train, i 
 
 Here I deviated a little from the Port-Patrick 
 road, and visited Caerlaverock Castle, a singular 
 ruin, once the residence of the chief of the clan of 
 Maxwell, and where James the Fifth went melan- 
 choly and died soon after. The track of my friends 
 was not difficult to unravel. I overtook them at 
 b2 
 
4 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Kirkpatrick's, of Conheath : our meeting was mu- 
 tually gratifying, and heightened by the hospitality 
 of our host. 
 
 I admired the easy motion and fine countenances 
 of many of the people in these parts ; but it was 
 amusing to observe the different habits of different 
 places, not very remote from one another. It would 
 appear singular in England for those who had their 
 floors spread with carpets, and kept their carriages, 
 to have their genteel daughters going bare-foot and 
 bare-leg through the mud : yet when they sat with 
 their friends in an evening, their dress was becoming 
 and elegant. The voices of the females here ap- 
 peared to me powerful and sonorous, yet not desti- 
 tute of feminine sweetness. During our stay in this 
 neighbourhood, I took my walk alone by the sea- 
 shore, and lay down on the banks of Nithsdale. 
 I saw the dim heads of mountains in England, and 
 a gush of tenderness passed over my bosom. 
 
 We now passed Dumfries, a pretty considerable 
 town, situate in rather a beautiful country, with 
 an uneven but cultivated surface. As we rode 
 along I observed in various places the roots of large 
 oak-trees, given to daylight by the removal of peat- 
 moss. 
 
 Passed Thornhill, towards which the country- 
 people were advancing to . a fair. In our progress 
 we saw rising on our left Drumlanrig Castle, the 
 
SCOTLAND. 
 
 ancient and noble residence of the Dukes of Queens- 
 bury. I have not seen many ducal palaces . this is 
 situate in a mountainous and solitary region. The 
 fabric is large and massy, ornamented with turrets, 
 and standing at the summit of an extensive lawn, 
 shaded with trees of great magnitude and beauty. 
 The present owner might be invited, by this vene- 
 rable seat of his ancestors, to hospitality and the 
 homage of his country. From his absence, the 
 country is thinly peopled and poorly cultivated : 
 his presence and his bounty might scatter cottages 
 along his sloping mountains, and cheer his lonely 
 valleys with the voice of increasing population. 
 In the centre of his estate, which is twenty miles 
 square, is situate the little borough of Sanquhar: 
 it is going to decay, and its castle is in ruins. 
 
 The females in this part of Scotland dress very 
 lightly : their clothing consists of a jacket, a petti- 
 coat, and a handkerchief; in common they wear 
 nothing on their heads or feet : the hair on their 
 foreheads is turned over to behind, and, fastened 
 with a comb or clasp of metal, flows round their 
 shoulders. Perhaps their appearance brought the 
 Indians to the recollection of John Pemberton, who 
 now entertained me with many interesting anecdotes 
 of that people, whom he represented as a sincere 
 and noble-minded race of men, excelling in their 
 sense of justice, courage, generosity, and eloquence. 
 
6 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 He had assisted at different treaties, and repre- 
 sented Tedyuskin, who used to manage on the part 
 of the Indians, as a remarkably active, clear-sighted 
 man. When business was ended, and the different 
 parties were dining together, Tedyuskin took the 
 lead even in wit, and in saying shrewd things : yet 
 he used to go very shabby ; and if any person had 
 given him a fine cloak or mantle, and he saw any 
 one that wanted it more than himself, he would 
 give it away. But of all men for universal benevo- 
 lence and giving away, his friend Antony Benizet, 
 the powerful advocate of the negroes, excelled. 
 When he had got a little money, it would not stay 
 with him, so he used to place it in the hands of 
 John Pemberton ; and when he had occasion for a 
 small sum, he used to come in an humble manner 
 and ask for five shillings of his own money. When 
 he saw an object of charity, he could not withhold, 
 or even stop to consider of the likeliest manner to 
 afford relief. A poor woman coming one day into 
 his house, and her clothes being insufficient to keep 
 out the cold, the first thing he saw was his wife's 
 best broad-cloth cloak, so he took it down and grave 
 it her. Yet, after all his giving away, to the utter 
 surprise of his friends, he died worth a thousand 
 pounds, half of which he left to the school for edu- 
 cating black children. When he died, the streets of 
 Philadelphia were filled with people at his funeral : 
 
SCOTLAND. 
 
 a general officer arriving in the city at the juncture, 
 inquired the cause of such a crowd ; and when he 
 was told that it was Antony Benizefs burial, he 
 replied " Well, I had rather be Antony Benizet in 
 his coffin, than the greatest general upon earth." 
 
 We now entered into the shire of Ayr, passed 
 New and Old Cumnock, and rode by a small lake 
 that sends out streams which run in contrary direc- 
 tions — one North, the other South. On halting 
 after dinner, I took a walk to the Earl of Dum- 
 fries's, a handsome modern building, and rambled 
 through his well-wooded park till I almost lost 
 myself: when in the thickest part of the wood, 
 I was surprised by the striking of a loud clock. 
 
 The weather was now remarkably wet and cold, 
 the roads very miry, and the poor women in ge- 
 neral without shoes and stockings. Remarking on 
 these hardships, I was told it is no uncommon 
 thins: in the severe frosts of winter to see the roads 
 tinged with drops of blood from the naked feet of 
 the inhabitants. Perhaps these sufferings are gone 
 past in the course of above twenty years ; but it 
 may not be amiss for us to remember to what 
 hardships our fellow-creatures have been exposed. 
 
 Passed Auchinleck, the seat of J. Boswell, emi- 
 nent for his intimacy with Dr. Johnson, for whom 
 he was a passport to society in the Highlands and 
 Hebrides. Crossed the river Ayr, on whose bor- 
 
8 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 ders are some very singular and romantic rocks. 
 Passed Mauchline : we inquired for the abode of 
 Burns, and were shown Mossgill, where he lived, 
 a simple thatched cottage, commanding an exten- 
 sive prospect. He was the favourite poet of Scot- 
 land, and his neighbours praised his generosity, 
 independence, and kindness ; but were fearful of 
 his falling a sacrifice to the temptations laid for 
 his company. 
 
 Passed the Irvine, and rode through Kilmarnock, 
 a fine town in a fine cultivated country. Rode on 
 to Kilmaurs; where, after dinner, we were visited by 
 Major Monro, who was acquainted with John Pem- 
 berton, having served in America under Colonel 
 Montgomery (Earl of Eglinton). We accompa- 
 nied the Major to tea at Kilmaurs Place, where 
 once dwelt the beautiful Countess of Eglinton, 
 who, at upwards of eighty, presided at her table 
 with such elegance of manners and mental accom- 
 plishments, that she was the delight of her admir- 
 ing company. We passed two days at Kilmaurs ; 
 during which the Major took us to see an old 
 neighbour of his, J. Cameron, who had been left 
 among the dead on the plains of Minden : a ball 
 had passed through his body, and another through 
 a part of his head, which entirely deprived him of 
 sight ; yet he has survived all, and lived to a good 
 old age. The morning we left Kilmaurs, the Major 
 
SCOTLAND. 9 
 
 attended us to the inn ; and as we were riding on 
 the opposite side of a valley from the house, his 
 wife and daughter came oat and beckoned to us 
 as we passed. Such kindness from strangers cheer- 
 ed me in an unknown land. 
 
 Saw in this day's ride, to the left, a remarkable 
 cluster of mountains called the Hills of Arran, 
 which I was told are on the Duke of Hamilton's 
 estate in the Isle of Arran. Passed Stewarton, 
 remarkable for the manufactory of Scotch bonnets. 
 
 We now entered Glasgow, the second city of 
 Scotland. Our stay was but for a few hours : I 
 therefore availed myself of a hurried view for the 
 present. It is always pleasant to contemplate a 
 flourishing population : the spacious streets and 
 handsome houses of Glasgow indicate opulence and 
 comfort. I glanced at the exterior, but did not 
 enter its noble buildings ; therefore am not able to 
 give even a slight sketch of this celebrated city. 
 After dinner we proceeded towards Dumbarton. 
 But I cannot part with Glasgow without remark- 
 ing its delightful environs : — its hills are laid out 
 in gardens, and country-seats crown their summits. 
 Donalds of Dunmoor particularly attracted my at- 
 tention. 
 
 In the ride to Dumbarton, on our right flowed 
 the Clyde ; while, on our left, streams, running 
 down deep glens, gave motion to a variety of 
 
10 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 manufactories. These works give employment 
 and bread to thousands of our fellow-creatures ; 
 they are, therefore, if well regulated, worthy of 
 our commendation: but I conceive employment in 
 the field is full as much on the side of content- 
 ment and health ; therefore it should stand as 
 high in our approbation. 
 
 Visited Dumbarton Castle, the most singular 
 fortress I have ever seen. This fortress is on a 
 rock, which may be compared to two large 
 sugar-loaves united ; or rather, to a bishop's 
 mitre. It is of great height, considering its stand- 
 ing distinct on a plain. In many places it appears 
 perpendicular, and in some it overhangs. A wind- 
 ing staircase is cut out of the solid rock, and it 
 affords water, which is essential in a fortification : 
 a never-failing spring issues out pretty high in 
 the rock, and is conveyed in pipes to different 
 parts of the garrison. Dumbarton Castle com- 
 mands the passage of the Clyde. The names of 
 the visitors are taken to the deputy-governor, and 
 entered in a book. They shew in the guard- 
 room a large sword of the famous Sir William 
 Wallace : whatever it might be to him, it seemed 
 to me a two-handed weapon. Part of this rock is 
 covered with grass, and a few sheep and several 
 white rabbits pasture thereon. From its summit 
 may be seen Glasgow, Greenock, Port-Glasgow, 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 11 
 
 Renfrew, Dunglass, Dumbarton, Lord Glencairn's, 
 Lord Semple^s, Lord Erskine\s, Lord Stonefield's, 
 Campbell's Place, Smollett's Monument, Leven- 
 Water, Loch-Lomond, Ben-Lomond, &c, with 
 the beautiful windings of the Clyde. I talked a 
 little with the old soldiers of the garrison, whose 
 conversation, as usual, partook of the air of their 
 profession : it was nevertheless manly, and often 
 interesting. 
 
 Having become pretty familiar with the side 
 of Scotland next England, I am now on the point 
 of entering the part that is more remote. He 
 who is about to change his life is full of glowing 
 hopes and lively expectations : with feelings some- 
 thing similar to these I enter the Highlands of 
 Scotland. I rode through Dumbarton (the key of 
 the Highlands), a pretty, agreeable little town; 
 and then proceeded on the banks of the Leven, a 
 stream celebrated in verse. Many beautiful seats 
 ornament its banks, and a tall plain monument 
 to the memory of Smollett (perhaps forty feet high) 
 is erected on the spot where he is said to have 
 first drawn breath. Many of the family of Smollett 
 still inhabit this neighbourhood. 
 
 Rode on to Loch Lomond. I was surprised that 
 I should so soon arrive at the glory of the High- 
 land lakes ! What less can I denominate an ex- 
 pansion of water thirty miles long, and from one 
 
]2 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 to seven miles broad ? Thirty islands rise above 
 its surface, some of them large — the Duke of 
 Montrose's and Sir James Colquhoun's two miles 
 long : one of them, I was told, contains three 
 hundred deer. On one of the islands was ripe 
 corn : last week, in the shire of Ayr, we saw oats 
 that had not arrived in the ear. Passed a female 
 who was reaping alone : she sung in Erse as she 
 bended over her sickle ; the sweetest human voice 
 I ever heard : her strains were tenderly melancholy, 
 and felt delicious, long after they were heard no 
 more. 
 
 Took a boat and sailed into the shire of Stirling : 
 a great swell on Loch Lomond : four Highlanders 
 attended me ; they spoke better English than most 
 I had heard in Scotland, yet conversed in Gaelic 
 among themselves, and seemed deeply engaged : 
 but this gave me no concern, for I had a confidence 
 in them as if they had been my acquaintance. 
 Landed, and, lest I should not be there again, 
 went a little up the side of the gloomy and aspiring- 
 Ben Lomond. Re-crossed the lake, and found at 
 the Boat-house a medical man, sociable and intel- 
 ligent. We entered freely into conversation. He 
 was waiting to cross the lake for Drymen ; but we 
 became so engaged in discourse, that he mounted his 
 horse and rode twenty miles with me another way, 
 for my permanent companion had not yet advanced 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 13 
 
 much beyond Glasgow. I derived agreeable in- 
 formation from the company of my new acquaint- 
 ance, both as to persons and places. He gave me 
 the names of the islands on Loch Lomond, on 
 some of which are forts and castles : he also inte- 
 rested me with some anecdotes of Edmund Burke's 
 visit to the Highlands : they fell in together at 
 Luss ; our dignified senator was quite familiar, 
 and talked as broad Scotch as any of them. In 
 this day^ excursion I was too much limited for 
 time, having but eight hours to make my observa- 
 tions and ride above forty miles. 
 
 The second time I rode up the side of Loch 
 Lomond it was a delightful day : the roads were 
 excellent, and afforded peculiar variety, not only 
 in the wonderful survey of Nature, but also among 
 my own species. The nobility and gentry of Great 
 Britain were rolling along in their carriages, or 
 sailing from island to island : little boys would 
 frequently run by our sides and hold converse with 
 us a long way : 'tis the manner of the country. 
 Many groups of the poor but happy Highlanders 
 were sitting eating their humble messes bv the 
 road-side : troops of them were coming to the Low 
 Countries against harvest : in one place was a 
 number of that gentle race resting themselves by 
 the way. These poor inhabitants of the northern 
 mountains had brought their wives with them to 
 
14 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 partake their labours ; and though their naked 
 limbs were exposed, yet their chaste and modest 
 countenances gave an innocence to their appear- 
 ance that would hardly have been known in the 
 southern parts of the island. 
 
 At Luss, took a young Highlander up with me 
 on an eminence ; and there I saw one of the most 
 interesting scenes I ever remember to have beheld. 
 Twenty-one islands rising from the lake in a va- 
 riety of forms, and beautifully shaded with trees. 
 The points of the islands run past one another in 
 the most picturesque manner, hichmarion, two 
 miles long: Inchtava?ioch, covered with oak and 
 rising in three cones like Dunmorlet : lnchevanacan, 
 a fir island : Inchmone, a peat island : Inchcalig ; 
 in this Island is an ancient burying-place, which is 
 still used by the inhabitants of these romantic 
 regions: Inchfad, a corn island: Inchtonick and 
 Inchgalbreath, small islands, with old castles upon 
 them. Near Luss is Inchfrochland, the prison of 
 Luss, where delinquents in remote times were 
 conveyed, and left, it is said, to shift for them- 
 selves as well as they could. 
 
 When I came opposite Ben Lomond, I took a 
 boat and sailed over the lake, but could not meet 
 with a guide : the day being fine, the people were 
 engaged in their hay-harvest. From the shore we 
 beheld, far up the mountain, something white, in 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 15 
 
 motion, and concluded it to be a party. I now 
 conceived the idea of making my way directly up 
 the breast of the mountain, and not winding round, 
 as is usually the case. I left the shore alone : I 
 lightened myself of a portion of my clothes, which 
 I hid in the heath, and thus became a light-robed 
 mountaineer. Fearing neither spoliation below, 
 nor starvation on high, I set off. Two hours and 
 a half, or two hours and twenty minutes, I was 
 told, was a usual time for the ascent. I could not 
 learn that it had been climbed in a less time than 
 two hours. However, having much before me to 
 do to-day, I made the most of my time, and reached 
 the summit in an hour and thirty-eight minutes. 
 When I arrived, a light cloud encircled the brow 
 of Ben Lomond : several clouds were passing be- 
 low me over the deep valleys, but so thin, that the 
 lakes, the rivers, and sunshine, were discernible 
 through them, which gave things in the lower re- 
 gions a magical, mysterious appearance. At length 
 the mountain cleared, and the clouds passed away, 
 save from the points of two or three of the lof- 
 tiest surrounding peaks, which gave a grandeur to 
 the scene and suggested the idea of the smoke from 
 volcanoes. How interesting, even though alone, 
 was it to stand in the midst of such a sublime scene ! 
 Perhaps the reader may be somewhat surprised^ 
 when informed, that on the top of Ben Lomond 
 
16 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 I received a few lines addressed to me, though I 
 saw no man. The fact was, I found on the summit 
 of the mountain a paper fastened to the ground, 
 addressed to the finder, importing that two gentle- 
 men, one from Edinburgh, the other from Glas- 
 gow, had visited it the day before: they requested 
 to have it returned, specifying by whom and when 
 found : the request was borne in mind and the 
 paper in my pocket-book, till I fell in with a 
 friend of one of my brother mountaineers. In 
 about half an hour, the party seen from the shore 
 arrived ; a genteel company, consisting of twelve 
 persons, (six of either sex,) two guides, a black 
 servant, and a pony with provisions. Their ar- 
 rival in the upper regions was truly welcome to 
 a stranger, for from them I obtained the names of 
 lakes, mountains, and distant objects. The sky 
 became perfectly clear, and it was to me a scene 
 of astonishment. Five considerable lakes winded 
 through different valleys, — Loch Lomond, Loch 
 Katrine, Loch Chon, Loch Ard, and Loch Foerl. 
 Visible, parts of the counties of Ayr, Lanark, Stir- 
 ling, Dumbarton, Perth, Renfrew, Lothian, Inver- 
 ness, and Argyle. Might be seen, the castles of 
 Edinburgh, Stirling, Dumbarton, and Monteith. 
 But, above all, the tremendous assemblage of moun- 
 tains ! To compare them to any thing below, 
 would diminish their magnificence : but we are in- 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 17 
 
 clined not to forget our own species, when it may 
 be brought forward to advantage. Shall I not say, 
 they seemed like mighty giants, emulously vying 
 with each other in pressing forward to approach 
 Ben Lomond ? Their looks indeed were terrible, 
 and their strongly-marked and prominent features 
 designated the family to which they belonged. 
 Descended in an hour and two minutes. Total of 
 the time employed in the expedition, three hours 
 and seventeen minutes : after which, six little fel- 
 lows rowed me merrily over Loch Lomond. 
 
 The sun was set, and I had yet nineteen miles 
 to ride — five by Loch Lomond, which became 
 much narrowed, but was still bordered by majestic 
 mountains : this gave it the appearance of a soli- 
 tary river. The day was gone, and I saw the 
 moon rise as I turned my back on Loch Lomond ; 
 but saw it no more for ten miles, owing to the 
 narrow passage between high mountains. Passed 
 Arroquhar, finely situated amid woods and moun- 
 tains at the head of Loch Long, and once the 
 seat of MacFarlane, chief of the clan of Mac- 
 Farlane. 
 
 It now became the most solemn night-scene I 
 ever beheld. The stripe of sky over my head was 
 perfectly clear. The night was without noise, save 
 falls of water from the mountains. The tops of 
 the mountains were illuminated bv the moon, their 
 
18 THK BKITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 sides dark and shadowy : I often saw awful 
 rocks hanging between me and the light. I 
 was a stranger in Glencroe, but every apprehen- 
 sion of danger was lost in admiration and astonish- 
 ment : — in short, I was wrapt in a sort of solemn 
 enthusiasm, and felt something of an awful 
 tranquillity in exploring by moonlight the majestic 
 wonders of Nature. — Came up with my compa- 
 nions at Cairndow, where I lodged. I had travelled 
 this day, in one direction or another, about fifty 
 miles. 
 
 Next morning we turned the head of Loch Fyne, 
 a salt-water lake seventy miles long. I observed, 
 on the side of a mountain, a burying-ground un- 
 inclosed, without any place of worship near it : it 
 reminded me of a sepulchre in the wilderness. A 
 grave-yard continually open in the heart of a city, 
 and one unfenced and unprotected on the side of a 
 solitary waste, are neither of them scenes that pay 
 sufficient respect to the dead. 
 
 As we journeyed forward, we saw a number 
 of fishing-boats along Loch Fyne : I think they 
 told us three hundred had rendezvoused the night 
 before near Cairndow. The morning was fine, and 
 it was agreeable to move slowly along, sometimes 
 looking up to the hills on our right, where the 
 sheep were quietly feeding, and sometimes to the 
 useful labours of the fishermen on our left who 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 19 
 
 were drying their nets in the sun, or rowing down 
 Loch Fyne. Meditating on these humble scenes, 
 we kept journeying slowly forward, when, lo ! at 
 three steps opened out Inverary, the princely resi- 
 dence of the Duke of Argyle. Inverary is situate 
 by Loch Fyne, at the foot of majestic mountains, 
 whose sides are clothed with the dark verdure of 
 oaks and pines, or the lighter shade of the elm, 
 the ash, and the beech, while the grey foreheads 
 of rocks overtop the groves. 
 
 Inver in Gaelic signifies the foot of a river. The 
 town, at an agreeable distance from the castle, 
 stands at the foot of the Aray : hence Inverary. 
 From its peculiar situation, the castle of Inverary 
 bids defiance to imitation. It stands low ; a charm- 
 ing expansion of water lies before it ; behind and 
 on either side, for many miles, extend the boldest 
 prominences, and these are finely shaded with 
 wood. The firs, elms, and beeches of Inverary, I 
 have not seen excelled. The beeches round the 
 burying-ground and the elms in the park cannot 
 fail of being' admired for their magnitude and 
 beauty ; and I was told the Duke of Argyle has 
 oak-wood on his estate sufficient to build the royal 
 navy of Great Britain, but it grows in such inac- 
 cessible glens, that it is thought impracticable to 
 bring it to the sea. 
 
 The Castle is a square building five stories high, 
 c 2 
 
20 THK BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 built of pale blue stone, which gives it an appear- 
 ance of antiquity : it has a round tower at each 
 corner : above the third story is a battlement, and 
 above the fourth another. A square tower rises 
 in the middle, with twelve windows, which light 
 the centre of the building to the first-floor. There 
 is one story below the level of the park, with a 
 spacious sunk court all round : I wished this story 
 had also been above the surface, as the extent of 
 the building and high surrounding mountains 
 make it appear rather low ; but I know not whe- 
 ther the height of the mountains would not always 
 diminish the apparent height of the building, even 
 if it was raised a good deal higher. I was told the 
 Duke had some thoughts of raising it another 
 story, and had it surveyed, when the cost was 
 estimated at thirty thousand pounds. I was shewn 
 the inside of the Castle of Inverary, and thought 
 the rooms and furniture truly magnificent. There 
 is a plain elegance in the dining-room which I ad- 
 mired : two large arched mirrors face each other 
 from opposite ends of the room, which by the laws 
 of reflection multiply the arches to a great number. 
 The drawing-room is ornamented with beautiful 
 French tapestry : all the subjects rural scenes : 
 shepherds and shepherdesses, country pastimes, 
 sheep, goats, dogs, lambs, poultry, boys and girls 
 playing with one another, hiding themselves among; 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 21 
 
 corn, &c. &c. The staircase winds round the 
 dome from the first-floor to the top, and is as 
 light as day. Round the great hall is a large 
 quantity of armour, characteristic of a Highland 
 chief. One room is finished with the needle- 
 work of the Duchess and Lady Augusta : in other 
 rooms were pictures of most of the Argyle family ; 
 and one of the King, another of the Queen, for 
 which they had themselves sat, were presented by 
 the King and Queen to the Duke and Duchess 
 of Argyle. The chamberlain told me the Castle 
 of Inverary had been above twenty years in hand ; 
 and, though not yet finished, had cost above two 
 hundred thousand pounds. 
 
 Through the Park, grazed with sheep, flows 
 the Arai/, whose borders are shaded with beautiful 
 trees ; a number of cascades are formed on the 
 river, that yield a soothing murmur. Many fine 
 bridges are lately built over different streams, that 
 have a good effect. The gardens, offices, &c. are 
 all hidden in the recesses of the park. A curious 
 building covers a natural bason of water in one of 
 the thickest woods ; — the water supplies the town 
 of Inverary. The chief amusement of the Duke 
 seems the improvement of his castle and its en- 
 virons : nothing fanciful appears in his plan ; all 
 is natural and judicious, and therefore will last. 
 
 An amiable, intelligent young Highlander ac- 
 
22 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 companied me to a building on one of the highest 
 eminences, from whence we saw many of the beau- 
 ties of this romantic spot. We also extended our 
 view to several high mountains, and saw Ben- 
 emm, Ben-burg, Cruachan, and the Peaks of Beri- 
 lavy, preside over distant valleys. They call the 
 hill we ascended Danqueach : and what will not 
 human industry effect ? — a coach-way has been 
 made to wind to its summit. 
 
 Saw the Duke and Duchess of Argyle several 
 times. The present Duke was son to General 
 Campbell, who distinguished himself in the Re- 
 bellion in 1745: he appears a manly but unos- 
 tentatious character. The Duchess makes a grave 
 and majestic appearance : she was first the Duchess 
 of Hamilton, and then married John Duke of 
 Argyle ; so that she has been wife to two dukes, 
 and is likely to be mother to two dukes also. 
 The Duke and Duchess have two sons and two 
 daughters : the Marquess of Lorn was on his tra- 
 vels ; the others, engaging in their persons and 
 filled with youthful vivacity, we saw. One even- 
 ing the Duke and Duchess, their family and 
 friends, came a-walking to our quarters. They 
 entered into conversation with John Pemberton, 
 who opened the subject of the Slave Trade to the 
 Duke, and desired him to use his influence in 
 Parliament for its abolition. Among other respect- 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 
 
 ful attentions, the Duke bid his daughter Lady 
 Augusta pack us up some wheat-bread, for we 
 were going into a poor country, where we should 
 hardly find any. In another of their walks, after 
 passing our quarters, the Duchess sat down on a 
 camp-stool in the middle of the road, when the 
 younger part of the company danced round her, 
 literally kicking up a dust. John Pemberton 
 smiled at what was going on, saying it made him 
 think of their Indians, for it was usual for them 
 to skip about on the ground in such a manner. 
 
 We passed the Sabbath-day at Inverary. Many 
 hundred Highlanders were collected in their holi- 
 day trim : their appearance was noble, but be- 
 coming the occasion. The minister preached to 
 two congregations, the English and the Gaelic. 
 While he addressed the former, the latter pre- 
 served a reverent silence in the yard. When the 
 family of Argyle passed their ranks, the Duke^ 
 chamberlain preceded the Duchess, with his hat in 
 his hand; which waving to the crowd, they imme- 
 diately made an opening, (perhaps five yards wide,) 
 through which moved the venerable Duchess, her 
 family and friends. 
 
 The ancestors of the family of Argyle were 
 formerly the Knights of Loch Awe, and came 
 over with William the Conqueror. The Camp- 
 bells are now the most numerous and powerful 
 
24 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 clan in the Highlands. The present Duke is a 
 benefactor to his country, and a good example to 
 the rest of the Scotch nobility. I was told he em- 
 ploys no less than five hundred labourers daily on 
 his estate. The Duke had lately a trial for a con- 
 siderable tract of land, and produced a witness 123 
 years old, who was perfect in his faculties, and in- 
 telligent. The Duke won the trial. 
 
 It is remarkable that the last winter was so open 
 in these parts, that the Duke could get no ice for his 
 ice-house ; it was of course exhausted of that in- 
 gredient in modern cookery. However, this year, 
 within two weeks of Midsummer, there Avas so 
 strong a frost in the Highlands, that the ice-house 
 was completely filled. 
 
 John Pemberton and I visited the gaol of In- 
 verary, which is the prison for the county of 
 Argyle. Though the assizes were to be held the 
 week following, there were no persons to take 
 their trials for any offence. It is very remarkable, 
 and much to the credit of Argyleshire, (the largest 
 county in Scotland,) that there has not been one 
 person executed for more than forty vears. 
 
 After staying three days, we left Inverary, and 
 rode to Lochgilp-head. We had a man of the law 
 and Captain MacLauchlane, whom we had seen at 
 Inverary, for our companions. Both were sociable 
 and intelligent men. The Captain pressed us much 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 25 
 
 to go and stay a few days at his house. As we 
 jogged along we were shewn a farm, where the land 
 Avas so barren, that, though fifteen miles long, it only 
 lets for twenty pounds a-year : the surface ap- 
 peared to be composed of rock and mountain. Not 
 far distant, we were also shewn the place of Lauch- 
 lane MacLauchlane of Strath Lauchlane, at Castle 
 Lauchlane, in Strath Lauchlane. 
 
 Dined at Lochgilp-head, and set forward on an 
 excursion of discoveries. Arrived at the little town 
 of Drum, where I counted nineteen dwellings, 
 which I suppose would not cost much above 
 twenty pounds building. No inclosures like gar- 
 dens, no chimneys, in the whole village ; and but six 
 panes of glass ; one light-hole to a hut : their roofs 
 were composed of turf or heath, or a very poor 
 thin cover of straw, tied down with ropes of the 
 same. I have now, at a very short distance, seen 
 the two extremities of human habitations — the 
 palace and the hovel ; at least, the castle and the 
 hut : both have attracted my serious attention, 
 and I cannot look with contempt on the one, any 
 more than with envy on the other. If antiquity is 
 to decide the claim of preference, the hut first 
 lent its shelter from the storm ; therefore I am now 
 inclined to cultivate an acquaintance with its in- 
 mates ; they are my brethren and my sisters ; and 
 I already know, that those who inhabit the most 
 
26 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 princely mansions, feel for the poverty and cheer- 
 fully relieve the suffering of the cot, the hut, and 
 the hovel. — But to return. The people in the 
 simple village of Drum seemed shy and fearful : 
 few of them could speak English ; and as I could 
 not get acquainted with them by my words, I was 
 inclined to try to do it with my actions ; so I sat 
 myself down on a stone among them, and took an 
 old woman's stocking and began to knit : they then 
 smiled and drew about me. I now spoke to an 
 agreeable young woman, who answered me ; but 
 with such a confusion of modesty, that I repented 
 I had so embarrassed her. At length I met with 
 an old man, who seemed bolder than the rest : on 
 telling him I had a companion who came from Ame- 
 rica, he inquired what news from the wars : I told 
 him they were over several years ago, and he seemed 
 glad at the information. 
 
 The interior of the Highland huts is often- 
 times more comfortless than their exterior. I want 
 not to libel or lower them, but to excite a sympathy 
 for their fellow-creatures in those who are better 
 lodged, and to caution them against a spirit of 
 repining, if they have not every thing that they 
 wish. The smoke arising from a small fire of peats, 
 in the middle of the apartment, makes it difficult 
 at first to distinguish what it contains: it is indeed 
 some time before one's eyes are accommodated to 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 27 
 
 the medium. I have been in several huts where 
 I neither saw bed, table, nor chair : sometimes, 
 indeed, lay a little straw or a few rushes by the side 
 of the hut, by way of a bed : — sometimes in a morn- 
 ing I found three or four children standing naked 
 round a dim fire, and they would come around me, 
 gazing with looks of surprise ; — dear children! our 
 surprise was mutual. I now walked about till 
 they kindled up their evening fires. A small spire of 
 smoke rose from each joint in the wall, and each 
 crevice in the roof. Such a sight, to one unac- 
 quainted with the circumstances, might have ex- 
 cited painful ideas : had a stranger to their habits 
 been told of a family within, he might naturally 
 enough have supposed they had been cooped up 
 there to be stifled to death. I was sorry to find the 
 inhabitants of any part of Great Britain thus poorly 
 accommodated : — after all, these simple cottagers are 
 in some degree contented, and in a great degree 
 innocent. I cannot leave this solitary race without 
 thoughtful apprehensions for their safety, in the 
 deep snows and severe frosts of winter: will not their 
 low abodes be sometimes almost overwhelmed with 
 snow? will not their naked limbs be sometimes almost 
 frozen to the ground? — But may my fears prove un- 
 founded ! — may the hope of future protection never 
 forsake them, and may the hope of happiness in fu- 
 turity be realized ! With these wishes for their wel- 
 
28 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 fare, I take leave of the citizens of Drum : but this 
 description, and these sentiments, do not belong 
 exclusively to that poor village. 
 
 That novelty has a powerful effect on the mind, 
 is apparent from the observations just made on 
 Highland cottages. If I now look at their roads 
 and rural economy, the influence of novelty will 
 still further appear. But though what I see has 
 the air of novelty to myself, it is the novelty of 
 ancient habits and accommodations, which sounds 
 a little uncouth. In setting forward again on our 
 journey, we left the main road, in consequence 
 of the pressing invitation of Captain MacLauch- 
 lane; and had now a specimen, for perhaps ten 
 miles, of ancient Highland road, which was rugged 
 indeed : much of it was rock sticking through the 
 soil, and sometimes rocks standing on edge. We 
 were obliged to travel one before another, which 
 my companion said was the practice of Indians ; 
 adding, if twenty of them should be together, 
 they would all be silent in their march. We were 
 received with genuine Highland hospitality at 
 Captain MacLauchlane's. Having imbibed a pry- 
 ing disposition in this journey, I got into a High- 
 land hay-field ; and off went my coat, and to work 
 I fell. The hay-makers stood wondering at my 
 motions, but none of them could speak English. 
 Captain MacLauchlane said they were pleased 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 29 
 
 with my exhibition ; but I found they knew nothing 
 of either foot-cock or great-cock with the rake, so 
 I shewed them that method, and found myself 
 rising into consequence in coming to the High- 
 lands of Scotland and teaching them to make hay. 
 Their rake is unhandy : its head is about fourteen 
 inches long, with nine teeth thicker than my 
 finger. The Highland scythe is about two feet 
 and a half long, turned up at the point ; and has a 
 prodigious long shaft, which they hold in the crook 
 of their left arm, and use it without bending the 
 body : — when it wants sharpening, they take up a 
 stone and whet it as we do a spade. The Highland 
 spade is about four inches broad ; a heavy, straight, 
 flat piece of iron, with a socket, into which they 
 drive a strong wooden handle ; with a piece of wood 
 on one side, by which they force it into the 
 ground with their foot. The Highland cart is 
 of a very simple construction ; no wheels, or iron, 
 or leather about it or its harness : even what sup- 
 ports it on the horse's back is often twisted rods. 
 The cart consists of two poles for the sides, with 
 half-a-dozen or eight small cross-bars for a bottom, 
 and four or five of the same standing up behind. 
 I suppose it might be made for a couple of shil- 
 lings. It is dragged along the ground, and they 
 heap the hay upon it : when they want to bring- 
 home their peats, they add a hurdle. I here met a 
 
30 THE JJUITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 procession of eight or ten Highland carters, which 
 was more interesting to me than as many cavalry. 
 
 The family of our generous host consisted of 
 three brothers, all military men, and four amiable 
 sisters. The youngest officer and myself went upon 
 an eminence, and saw over Locheulesport, one of the 
 dreariest prospects I ever beheld : it was so barren, 
 black, and gloomy, that I know not how to convey 
 an idea of it, unless by comparing it to the distant 
 appearances of a consumed wilderness. We saw 
 also, along the rocky shores of Argyleshire, " the 
 stormy Hebrides. 1 ' From one station, eleven of the 
 Western Isles arose to our view : Mull, Jura, Isla, 
 Scarba, Cara, Gigha, &c. He also pointed out 
 where roared the fearful gulf of Corryvichan ; where 
 five tides meet, making a dangerous whirlpool and 
 a dreadful navigation. He also obligingly offered 
 to procure a boat, and accompany me to the cele- 
 brated Iona or Icolmkill. 
 
 Though we were quite strangers to Captain Mac- 
 Lauchlane when we met, before we took our leave 
 he told us we had been long from home ; that we 
 were out of the way of procuring money ; that tra- 
 velling was expensive ; that if we wanted any, we 
 were quite welcome to have what sum we pleased. 
 We acknowledged the extraordinary confidence and 
 kindness of this generous stranger, but were suffi- 
 ciently furnished with the means of travelling. 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 31 
 
 The youngest Captain now called out his three 
 dogs, and tripped alongside of us in his Highland 
 dress to Lauchlane MacNeiPs, where we met with 
 a continuation of Highland hospitality. 
 
 Came to the small town of Tarbet. Nature 
 here has formed a complete little harbour ; a cir- 
 cular bason of water entirely surrounded with rock, 
 save a narrow entrance. Indeed, this is the region 
 of rocks ; yet it is admirable how cultivation spreads 
 among them. Wherever a little soil has covered 
 the rocks, it is turned up by the spade or the 
 plough : narrow stripes of corn turn up among 
 them in every direction ; many of these stripes, not 
 above two or three yards broad, twining round 
 rocks and turning among the woods. I know not 
 whether I can convey the appearance better than 
 by mentioning the branches of a tree. 
 
 Rode from Tarbet to Tynelane. Had a full 
 prospect of several of the Western Isles. Vessels 
 sailing by the points of several of them, appearing 
 and disappearing, had a singular effect. The sea- 
 son was remarkably fine ; but it must be a very 
 dangerous navigation in rough weather. A little 
 beyond Tynelane, by the sea-shore, I observed 
 some remarkable rocks : many of them had more 
 the appearance of the ruins of art than the works 
 of nature. In one place they took the appearance 
 of a thick wall, running far into the sea. Near it is 
 
32 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 a high green rock called Dun Donald, where, it is 
 said, MacDonald, King of the Isles, in remote 
 times used to receive his rents. Beside it is Stacki- 
 cager, or the Whispering Rock. I did not stop to 
 discover the propriety of its name. 
 
 Reached Campbelton, the most populous town in 
 Argyleshire. It stands in a fine country. We 
 have now left rocks, mountains, and barren wastes 
 behind us ; and it is refreshing to sojourn once 
 more among green meadows and yellow harvests. 
 But we must also remember, we are now amongst 
 sailors, a race of men that encompass Great Britain 
 with strength, and furnish it with many comforts. 
 Campbelton sends out a number of vessels in the 
 fishing-trade : perhaps a sailor would say it has a 
 good harbour ; it is a circular bason of water, I 
 should think two or three miles round. A round 
 island rises in the middle of the entrance, but 
 leaves room enough for ships to go in and out. 
 The Cross is a tall blue stone, of curious workman- 
 ship, brought from Icolmkill. I should like to 
 have gone and examined what is left of the works 
 of man in that celebrated island. 
 
 Though quite a stranger, I soon became ac- 
 quainted at Campbelton : by their minister Robert- 
 son and his family I was kindly received ; perhaps, 
 being cousins to Major Munro, we became more 
 readily acquainted. But Campbelton may be said to 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 33 
 
 be the town of Campbells. When absent on my 
 rambles, my companion had engaged us to break- 
 fast with Major Campbell. From our quarters we 
 were wrongly directed, and shewn to the Duke of 
 Argyle's factor's of the name of Campbell. A ra- 
 ther large and genteel company assembled at break- 
 fast : we were respectfully and hospitably received, 
 but I did not observe that engaging urbanity and 
 freedom of manners which had hitherto prevailed 
 through the Highlands. After we had taken leave, 
 John Pemberton observed, " The Major never ap- 
 peared ; I wish we may not have made a mistake :" 
 and truly a mistake we had made indeed, setting 
 ourselves down to breakfast among genteel stran- 
 gers, and going there uninvited ! In our absence the 
 real Major Campbell had kindly come to conduct 
 us to his house. I now went in the first place to 
 him, to apologise for our omission ; but was shewn 
 to a Captain Campbell's, who received me in a 
 manner that I did not understand. It now became 
 us to make an apology to the family where we did 
 breakfast ; but succeeding so ill in the business 
 of apology-making, I gave it up ; and some one 
 else, I believe, did that business. 
 
 We stayed some days at Campbelton, and I pro- 
 secuted my excursions in its environs. I called 
 at Rose-Hill on the minister Thomson, venerable 
 with years, but open, affable, and intelligent. He 
 
 D 
 
34 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 led me into his parlour, and introduced me to his 
 wife and daughter. During our conversation he 
 told me he had preached the day before, in Gaelic, 
 to seven hundred people. 
 
 When we left Campbelton, and were proceeding 
 to the point of Scotland next to Ireland, Ave met 
 Major Campbell and his wife in their carriage, who 
 turned round and introduced us to their father, 
 David Campbell, minister at Southend. Though 
 blind and advanced in years, he was liberal, hos- 
 pitable, and communicative. His unmarried daugh- 
 ter Margaret presided at his table, — easy, open, 
 courteous, and intelligent. There is an interest- 
 ing sv/eetness in their manner of speaking, in these 
 parts, especially in their asking questions. They 
 are inquisitive, but their questions are pertinent. 
 An agreeable intercourse subsists among them ; 
 an elegant familiarity, which takes away restraint, 
 but leaves respect. Their meeting is without cere- 
 mony, and their parting affectionate. The worthy 
 old minister related to me many circumstances in 
 the history of his country, anecdotes of the nobi- 
 lity, &c. In the times of persecution, many of the 
 Lowlanders fled for protection under the wings of 
 the Argyle family : they settled in these parts; 
 and, he was sorry to say, there still subsists a dis- 
 tinction and spirit of jealousy between the original 
 inhabitants and these people : though they meet at 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 35 
 
 the same place of worship, they are not unanimous, 
 and scarcely ever intermarry. He related of the 
 Earl of Bute, that, when young, he was wild and 
 dissipated, with not very strict principles as to 
 Christianity ; but that an instantaneous turn of 
 mind took place from an affecting circumstance in 
 his family. His valet, one night lighting him to 
 bed, dropped down at his feet, and instantly ex- 
 pired. The Earl exclaimed, " Oh ! Lord, why 
 not I P 11 and from that time became more sober 
 and pious. 
 
 I visited Dunaverty Castle, memorable for a 
 siege and massacre in Oliver's days. The minister 
 told me, the white bones of the poor sufferers are 
 sometimes washed bare by the sea : he has himself 
 found them in the sand. I was told Dunaverty 
 Castle was once a Danish fortress. The Marquis 
 of Argyle was at the siege above mentioned, and 
 saved the young chief of the clan of MacDowel, 
 under his cloak, from the sword. Happy change 
 of times ! . I now sit unmolested on the top of this 
 green rock, while the ocean roars below, and harm- 
 less sheep are feeding around me, with a poor 
 fisherman angling; from a cliff at a little distance. 
 The Castle of Dunaverty is on a high rock that 
 projects into, or rather overhangs the sea : its 
 black visage frowns on the ocean, and is one of 
 the ugliest places I ever beheld. 
 d 2 
 
36 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Being within two hours 1 sail of Ireland, I was 
 told, if that little voyage had been accomplished, 
 I should have been not far from that wonder of 
 Ireland, the Giant's Causeway. Seeing the fields 
 of Ireland and receiving this information, a temp- 
 tation was before me ; but I was obliged to turn 
 from it, and retrace the scenes of Cantyre. 
 
 The ancient Highlanders are said to be very 
 tenacious of the customs of their ancestors; so 
 much so, as almost to exclude all modern improve- 
 ments, which they consider as innovations. Some 
 years ago the country gentlemen, with the Duke 
 of Argyle at their head, subscribed a considerable 
 sum of money for making the public roads. Be- 
 tween Tarbet and Inverneil, at a great expense, 
 they cut the road through a rock by the shore, 
 to avoid a very rugged and mountainous passage. 
 When the road was completed, two Highlanders 
 from the same village were travelling together: 
 when they came to the place where the roads sepa- 
 rated, one of them proposed going the new road; 
 the other replied smartly, " He would have none 
 of their new roads ; he would go the way his 
 fathers had gone before him ;"" and so ascended 
 the mountain. 
 
 During our stay in these parts, we lodged one 
 night at Tynelane. The landlord had not a suffi- 
 cient supply of candles ; nor was it supposed any 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 3/ 
 
 could be had in the neighbourhood except of an 
 old woman, who, it was feared, could not be pre- 
 vailed on to part with any. I was inclined to go 
 and try my success. I found her sitting on the 
 ground, near the entrance of her dwelling, lighted 
 by the setting sun, doing something with flax. 
 She was bent with age, and cast at me a piercing 
 look. Had imagination been disposed to fancy 
 the idea of a witch, this was the place and this was 
 the person ; but I have no doubt all was innocence 
 here. I preferred my suit in the mildest manner 
 I could ; and, after some preliminary treaty, she 
 agreed to let me have some candles, with the air 
 of conferring an obligation on necessity. I now 
 entered her habitation, which occupied a more than 
 usual space of ground, and consisted of various 
 apartments, or rather one long continued apart- 
 ment, with many windings and turnings, which 
 could not be seen all at once from any one point 
 of view. She now proceeded with me along her 
 habitation : we kept in the middle ; the sides could 
 not receive us erect, being crowded with various 
 furniture (for she was a woman of property and 
 distinction), — wheels, stools, sable chests, &c. But 
 I most frequently cast my eyes to the roof : it was 
 supported by the branches of trees in various di- 
 rections, all glossy jet, rendered so by the smoke 
 of half a century. We now came to the further 
 
38 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 end of the habitation, where was a large peat fire, 
 which, sending forth a thick smoke, gave every 
 thing a mysterious appearance. She now unlocked 
 her treasures, and drew forth the precious tapers ; 
 and, after some conversation, she reconducted me 
 into daylight, when we looked a friendly farewell. 
 
 On our return towards Inverary, we intended 
 to have lodged one night at White House. It was 
 dark when we arrived; and Colonel Campbell, 
 (whom we had visited at Barr), with other officers, 
 was going to Inverary to celebrate the Marquis of 
 Lorn's coming of age, and they occupied the whole 
 inn. The Colonel came to the door, and hand- 
 somely offered John Pemberton his bed ; but would 
 not answer for his comfort, fearing the rest would 
 sit drinking all night, and then there would be a 
 noisy time of it ; so we proceeded in the dark to 
 Tarbet. 
 
 The road from Tarbet to Inverneil is very re- 
 markable ; much of it cut through solid stone, 
 and along the shore ; and at a vast expense, as in 
 many places the passage of the rocks has been 
 opened with gunpowder. The rocks are in some 
 places eight or ten yards high. It was a romantic 
 ride : a high stony mountain, covered with shrubs, 
 arose on our right. It was a tempestuous day ; 
 little white torrents were leaping from the rocks 
 among the bushes, above our heads ; the foaming 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 39 
 
 surges of Loch Fyne thundered on our \e&. I rode 
 forward to Lochgilp-head, to secure accommodations 
 and beds, knowing Ave were pursued by Colonel 
 Campbell and his train. The Colonel and his reti- 
 nue filled the White House last night. We first 
 took possession of Lochgilp-head to-day. 
 
 In the afternoon it blew a violent storm. An 
 affecting scene ensued. Boats and tackle came on 
 shore : two vessels were riding at anchor within 
 sight ; one of them broke loose, but struck on a 
 sandbank and filled. The seamen belonging to 
 the other were all on shore, but a little boy : they 
 had come to look after some rum casks that had 
 been washed overboard ; to go to their own vessel 
 seemed impracticable. They often attempted to 
 fetch the hands from the other, but the waves as 
 often heaved the boat on shore again. Many peo- 
 ple were on the beach. The lamentations of the 
 women were pitiable. We all did what we could ; 
 and, after dragging the boat along the shore to 
 another point, the seamen were able to bring off 
 the hands from the nearest vessel. All our con- 
 cern was now for, in the pathetic language of the 
 people, " the wee, wee boy /" I proposed that we 
 should drag the boat along the shore — perhaps a 
 mile — till they could come in with the waves to 
 their vessel. A gentleman also offered to risk his 
 person with me in going to the ship ; but the sea- 
 
40 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 men did not seem inclined to adopt our plan, and 
 we, not knowing much of sea matters, did not press 
 it : so the dark shades of the tempestuous night 
 closed on the poor boy and his vessel. I rose early 
 in the morning, but she was gone down ! The boy 
 perished, and a dog swam on shore. 
 
 As we rode towards Inverary, the wrecks of 
 last night's tempest were scattered along the shore. 
 We called on Joseph Latham (superintendant of 
 Argyle furnace), who pressed our stay. His wife 
 and he were from England. I do not know whe- 
 ther I ever saw more beautiful or better-ordered 
 children than his four little daughters : or whe- 
 ther I ever wished more for children of my own, 
 than while playing with these lovely innocents, 
 who sometimes instructed me in the rules of pro- 
 priety. My companion here entertained us with 
 some pleasant anecdotes of Doctor Franklin, his 
 brother Israel, and others. About thirty years 
 ago, Benjamin Franklin and Israel Pemberton pro- 
 jected the founding of a hospital for sick and 
 aged seamen. They went round the city of Phi- 
 ladelphia to procure subscriptions : many were for 
 waving the subject by different excuses. Benja- 
 min, seeing they were not likely to get very well 
 forward, provided a book, and for some time wrote 
 down each particular person's excuse. They then 
 proceeded; and when others were beginning to 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 41 
 
 make excuses, he pleasantly produced his book, 
 telling them he had already a sufficient quantity, 
 and could furnish any of them with plenty, read- 
 ing some of them as specimens. This piece of 
 raillery succeeded : the inhabitants began to sub- 
 scribe freely, and they got the hospital built and 
 established ; which is now maintained on a large 
 scale, to the great advantage of those who are its 
 objects. 
 
 As we passed Inverary, I alighted to bid farewell 
 to those whose kindness we had experienced. On 
 our retreat we passed the head of Loch Fyne, having 
 twice measured its length, which is above sixtv 
 miles. In the afternoon I had a view of those 
 mountains which composed my night-scene after 
 climbing Ben Lomond. The features of nature 
 were delineated here in dark sublimity, and great 
 variety. From the foot to the summit of one 
 mountain is a continued scene of gloomy precipices, 
 whose heads, all the way up the mountain, are co- 
 vered with beautiful verdure. In one place we 
 were so completely surrounded with awful moun- 
 tains, and the prospect around us was so black and 
 silent, that the man who had been in quest of a si- 
 tuation for an appropriate abode for Melancholy, 
 might here have been accommodated. On the top 
 of one mountain was a rock, perhaps from fifty to 
 a hundred yards high, that formed to our imagina- 
 
42 THE BllITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 tions an excellent profile of an old man, even to the 
 eye-lash. As we passed along, many little cascades 
 came tumbling down the mountains : their noise and 
 fretful foam amused us. After several windings, we 
 came to a seat, on the back of which is this charac- 
 teristic inscription, — Rest and be thankful. From 
 this seat we look down the dark and solitary valley 
 of Glencroe, made to us still more gloomy by a 
 very heavy rain. 
 
 We now took up our abode at Arroquhar ; from 
 whence we have a view of a high mountain, whose 
 remarkable summit gives the mountain its name of 
 The Cobbler. Some people imagine the figure of an 
 old man mending shoes : I could imagine no such 
 thing. Had I been for creating, I should have fan- 
 cied the gigantic figure of a hooded nun : but, 
 altogether, it has most the appearance of the ruins 
 of some ancient castle. I felt a wish to visit the re- 
 puted Cobbler : I inquired of the people about Ar- 
 roquhar, but found none that had been there, except 
 an old man now almost blind. It rained, and a cloud 
 covered the object of my wishes : but remembering 
 that sunshine and clouds supplant each other in 
 quick succession, I set off, and reached the top of 
 the mountain in about two hours. I rested, and 
 the mists went and came, till they finally departed. 
 It was now art entertaining but awful scene. At 
 the two corners of the mountain rise two perpendi- 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 43 
 
 eular rocks, perhaps between fifty and a hundred 
 yards high ; several lesser rocks appear along the 
 heights between, among which rises something of a 
 connecting wall, made by art ; and, if with no mili- 
 tary intent, it might be for hindering sheep, when 
 they stray so high, from going down the front of the 
 steep. Down that steep, however, for a little I un- 
 wisely descended ; but, with much difficulty and 
 some danger, I got back quietly again on my hands 
 and knees. I had now spirits, and experienced feel- 
 ings that I do not remember to have known before : 
 perhaps the summits of mountains, with such an 
 atmosphere as the present, gave birth to what I 
 felt. I do not wonder that hermits sometimes 
 choose the tops of mountains for their solitary ha- 
 bitations. If I could have been supplied with pro- 
 visions and fine weather, I should have liked to 
 tarry a month in my exalted situation. 
 
 I seemed now arrived at the highest points of the 
 earth, which appeared to support the foundation of 
 the sky. A solid grey cloud, of even elevation, 
 seemed but a few yards above my head. From 
 where I now stood, I beheld a remarkable scene. 
 The sky was covered with a cloud, which rested on 
 the tops of the highest mountains ; the valleys be- 
 low were distinctly seen to an immense distance, 
 which gave me the idea of an astonishing pavilion 
 with innumerable apartments, — the cloud the roof, 
 
44 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 and the mountains the supporters ; woods, fields, 
 roads, hedges, plains, villages, men, beasts, the 
 ocean and the sky — all that I had been accustomed 
 to — made no part of this scene. 
 
 I changed my position, and beheld the waving 
 course of Loch Long, like a beautiful river winding 
 to the sea ; while a conical rock of great height arose 
 at its mouth. A calm sea, like an expanse of silver, 
 stretched as far as the eye could follow it. Valleys 
 in different directions sloped down into narrow no- 
 things ; sometimes their sides were studded with 
 rocks, sometimes spread with verdure, and some- 
 times covered with purple heath. 
 
 I wandered to a little distance, and beheld Loch 
 Sloy. The MacFarlanes were knights of Loch 
 Sloy ; their motto, We will guard this Loch. In 
 the progress of time, human institutions arise, sur- 
 rounded by distinctions and power, but the hand of 
 Time throws them down : they disappear and are 
 forgotten. I can imagine the knights of Loch Sloy 
 marching in armour on the summits of these moun- 
 tains ; or standing by Loch Sloy, their martial figures 
 reflected in their lake : but the pageantry is passed 
 like the breeze that sighs on the mountains, and 
 other habits and other men have succeeded : — all 
 things change, but that Being which is unchange- 
 able and eternal ! 
 
 We lodged one night at Tarbet by Loch Lo- 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 45 
 
 mond. As we rode along its banks in the morning, 
 the trees in many places met over our heads, and 
 formed a covered way. We crossed the water of 
 Uglass ; we heard its roar, but saw little of its 
 waters, for woods and rocks. In our progress we 
 saw several beautifully shaded islands on Loch Lo- 
 mond : on one of them, near Inveruglass, stands 
 the Castle of Inveruglass ; a fine ruin, that almost 
 covers the whole island, which is indeed but small. 
 Large yews and other trees grow now among the 
 ruins : it is a most picturesque and pleasing spot. 
 Perhaps the chief of these hills, when invaded, 
 might there defend himself a few days, for seldom 
 sieges lasted longer ; but while they lasted, they 
 were indeed violent. What a change now ! May 
 I not say, what an improvement ? We can now, un- 
 disturbed by martial alarms, examine the interest- 
 ing features of Nature, while these vestiges of other 
 times brin a- with them the ideas of terrible men and 
 terrible manners. But the bitterness that subsisted 
 between rival chiefs and rival clans is now on public 
 occasions happily softened down into modes of 
 courtesy ; yet in confidential circles the heart-burn- 
 ings of individuals will be more apparent. It is 
 becoming us all to lend our help to the removal of 
 animosity from the earth ; and if every one did all in 
 his power to accomplish that great object, I believe 
 we should not find it a hopeless case. I am willing 
 
46 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 to furnish my quota ; which I shall bring forward as 
 a general prescription, as follows : 
 
 A warranted, safe, and efficacious Remedy for 
 Animosity. 
 
 The Inventor believes it will be universally 
 allowed, that there is nothing which undermines 
 the health of society and constitution of happiness 
 like the gnawing bitterness of fostered Ill-will. It 
 hence follows, that the discoverer of a prescription 
 that would remove this baneful malady from the 
 earth, would deserve well of his country, and 
 ought to be classed among the benefactors of man- 
 kind. The writer has thought much on this malig- 
 nant evil, has seen its lamentable effects in society, 
 has had experience in many cases, and a cure for 
 the complaint has occupied his meditations by 
 night and by day ; he has now the satisfaction to 
 announce to the public his grand discovery, the 
 effect of much deep reflection and patient investi- 
 gation; and he entertains no doubt, if his directions 
 are strictly adhered to, that the application in seven 
 times using will work an effectual cure. However, 
 as we are all sensible that, in some stubborn dis- 
 orders which have great hold of the system, more 
 than usual time is necessary for a radical effect, 
 thus the disease in question, in some inveterate 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 47 
 
 cases, may require application for the length of 
 seven weeks. The writer is no disciple of the ca- 
 balistical school, neither has he much faith in odd 
 numbers ; yet, to come to the point, he must at 
 once frankly own, that the grand specific consists 
 in pronouncing, with a sincere heart and solemn 
 voice, three times three words, always as a part 
 using the name of his antagonist. The writer 
 does not mean to charge three guineas for his fee; 
 but, in some cases, the ease to be obtained will be 
 worth three times that sum. It must be observed, 
 that the right time for performing the process is 
 when the person to be cured hears the character of 
 his adversary traduced. The words are, " Hush ! I 
 will hear no evil of Simon Frazer, 11 if that is his 
 name. This will act like a charm ; and if repeated 
 on all occasions under the above-named circum- 
 stances, the writer will undertake that the cure 
 shall be as certain as the repetition of the words. 
 And might not this mode of treatment be applied 
 to the evil-mindedness of countries as well as indi- 
 viduals ? — To be a little more serious, though I do 
 not expect to see any thing like what has been pro- 
 posed introduced into general practice, yet I be- 
 lieve it would have its use, and bespeak a gene- 
 rous and forgiving mind, if the party, on hearing 
 the person Avith whom he has been at variance evil- 
 
48 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 spoken of, should observe in something like the 
 following manner: " I have been long enough ac- 
 customed to look at the shades in the character 
 just mentioned; I now feel inclined to look on its 
 brighter parts ; and if he and I are ever to partici- 
 pate in the happiness of Heaven together, it is neces- 
 sary we should not continue so estranged on earth." 
 We must now pursue our journey. As we rode 
 along, the road in one place was cut through a 
 very high rock, rising perhaps some hundred yards 
 above our heads, and descending almost as much 
 beneath our feet. In a valley a little beyond stood 
 the largest stone I remember to have seen : I 
 found it sixty paces round, and suppose it was ten 
 yards high. I called at Campbell's, the laird of 
 Glenfallack ; opposite to which I saw waterfalls so 
 high and so small, that they seemed like ropes of 
 silver dangling from the mountains. Over rugged 
 channels many streams were here carrying their 
 stores to Loch Lomond. As we proceeded, high 
 mountains rose on either hand, up several of which 
 climbs to a great height the solitary, (I suppose) 
 self-planted pine. 
 
 After riding about sixteen miles, and looking 
 upward to the mountains till my neck ached, I 
 was surprised by the opening of a sweet, narrow 
 vale, with many cottages, several lots of corn, and 
 green meadows, bordering the beautifully-winding 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 49 
 
 water of Strathfillan. After faring along for 
 many days amid the rugged turbulence of Nature, 
 this scene of pastoral repose was delectable and 
 refreshing. 
 
 We had now entered Perthshire, and the estate 
 of the Earl of Breadalbane. We dined at Tyne- 
 drum, where I met with the melancholy physio- 
 gnomy of poor Captain Colin Campbell. , He was 
 sitting in a corner, and hung down his head. He 
 seldom looked up ; but when he did, his counte- 
 nance was sad and disturbed ; and, I was told, his 
 nights are more distressful than his days. If we 
 had it in our power to choose the most delectable 
 society, would it not be that of amiable, innocent, 
 and intelligent females ? These his distorted ima- 
 gination has converted into squalling ghosts in the 
 night. Alas ! the wreck of reason, after all, is the 
 most humiliating spectacle we meet with in our 
 journey through life.* 
 
 I now sallied forth alone to explore new scenes 
 
 * We met with another instance of derangement on this 
 journey. Sleeping one night in a two-bedded room, about 
 two o'clock we heard a rumbling at our door ; when pre- 
 sently a short, thick, quick man, with a cocked hat and a 
 pigtail, bolted in, and placed a candle on the table. We re- 
 monstrated at his proceedings, and he withdrew. On in- 
 quiring in the morning concerning the intrusion, we were 
 told it was only Sir John G . 
 
50 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 in the Highlands. The scenes I explored were of a 
 softer character than those to which I had lately 
 been accustomed ; but wherever I turned my steps, 
 solitude predominated. I visited the minister of 
 Strathfillan : he received me with courtesy, and 
 offered me refreshment. We conversed together 
 not like strangers, yet had to inquire each other's 
 name : his was David Mac Ullock. He took me 
 to see his place of worship, built among the ruins 
 of a cathedral, dedicated to St. Fillan: hence this 
 pastoral district is denominated Strath-Fillan. 
 We parted, and I Avandered out of the sight of 
 human habitations. I was affected with the lone- 
 liness around me : I thought on those that I had 
 left behind ; and perhaps I may be excused for 
 essaying something like the following lines, in one 
 of the most solitary spots of this journey. 
 
 TO EMMA, FROM STRATH-FILLAN. 
 
 Where all is lonely, desolate, and drear, 
 I look around, no human being near : 
 What wonder, then, I stretch the wings of mind, 
 And fly to her whom I have left behind, — 
 Salute thee, Emma, with a simple lay — 
 Welcome, I trust, from him that "s far away ? 
 
 How shall I tell thee of the cataract's roar, 
 The gloom of Lomond, and the rough rock hoar ; 
 
 The mountains of Breadalbane and Argyle 
 
 Where, but the sun, no works of nature smile ? 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 51 
 
 How shall I tell thee of these regions drear, 
 Where harvest never waves the golden ear? 
 No stately herds o'er verdant pastures stray, 
 No thrush to warble, and no lamb to play ; 
 No road, no clustering cottages I see, 
 No hedge for shelter, and for shade no tree : 
 Yet here, ev'n here, has man a dwelling found, 
 In narrow glens with mountains piled around ; 
 Ev'n here the streams of sweet affection spring, 
 Love lights his torches, and the Muses sing. 
 
 Alone, unknown, 'mong Campbell's hills I wind, 
 But I have left my happiness behind ; 
 And I could ask these hills, if they could tell, 
 Where strays my Emma, and if she is well. — 
 
 ! would'st thou act, dear maid, so kind a part 
 As use thy pen to raise a sinking heart, 
 
 Then I would sit upon a Highland stone, 
 And read aloud, unlisten'd and alone ! — 
 Emma ! thou see'st what weakness is in me, 
 Nor while below canst thou an angel be. 
 
 1 cannot flatter, — no ; but I can love : 
 Ev'n now its sweet solicitude I prove. 
 Let's not repine that we are human here ; 
 Our wants unite us — weaknesses endear. 
 Confiding Love ! thine is the secret power 
 To soothe our woes — to sweeten every hour ! 
 Love is respectful, tender, generous, true — 
 Professed by many, but possessed by few. 
 Dear, distant maid ! what joy it would convey, 
 rr o grasp thy hand as down these steeps I stray ! 
 
 E 2 
 
52 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 To feel thee, Emma, leaning on my arm, 
 Would give to Highland hills a tender charm : 
 To see thee, hear thy voice — to have thee near — 
 Would these wild wastes of desolation cheer ! 
 Thus in Strath- Fillan, Emma is my theme, 
 While wanderer wrapt in Highland clouds I seem. 
 Involved in Highland clouds and mists awhile, 
 The sun breaks forth — I think on Emma's smile ! 
 
 It was a drizzly morning when we went from 
 Tynedrum to Dalmally. Of the scenery bound- 
 ing the ride I can say little, for I saw little : all 
 was enveloped in mist and fog, save when the 
 passing cloud for a moment uncurtained the sunny 
 summits of the mountains. Glimpses of sun- 
 shine on the summits of mountains, seen through 
 the waving drapery of rolling mists, have a novel 
 and magical appearance. Dalmally is pleasantly 
 situate in the fine vale of Glenorchy, which gives 
 title of Lord to the eldest son of the Earl of Bread- 
 albanc, who is next, in the family of Campbell, to 
 the Duke of Argyle. I visited the fine ruin of 
 Killchurn Castle, the ancient seat of the Breadal- 
 banes. situate on an island at the head of Loch Awe, 
 and at the foot of the sublime Ben Cruachan. 
 These scenes are celebrated in the poems of Ossian : 
 such scenes might well inspire such poems. 
 
 In my walks I became acquainted with the re- 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 53 
 
 spectable minister of Glenorchy, J. Maclntire, 
 who was polite, sensible, and friendly. A stranger 
 is desirous of information, and this engaging and 
 accomplished man gave it cheerfully. When people 
 meet with those they do not know, there is some- 
 thing of a hedge between them ; but this bar be- 
 tween us was instantly removed : we had a long 
 walk together, and our conversation turned on 
 different subjects, each asking the questions that 
 occurred, and the replies were as spontaneous as the 
 inquiries. He had in the morning received a letter 
 from the tourist Pennant, and appeared to be his 
 intimate friend. During our walk the subject 
 turned on religion ; and I do not remember to have 
 met with one in Scotland, out of my own profession, 
 whose sentiments more accorded with my own. 
 He told me he had been in England, and had fre- 
 quently gone to their places of worship there ; ^at 
 he had been shocked at the levity of their congre- 
 gations; but that the greatest solemnity prevailed 
 in a Highland assembly, when met to worship the 
 Almighty. He engaged us to tea, where the con- 
 versation was pleasantly renewed, and in which his 
 wife agreeably bore a part. I afterwards went, 
 with the eldest son, among their reapers : it was, 
 indeed, customary with me to go into the harvest 
 field and hold conversation with the amiable High- 
 landers ; I generally found one at least that under- 
 
54 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 stood English, and he was my interpreter. I 
 would often try their sickles, and reap and talk 
 with them. By means of the interpreter we be- 
 came familiar, and often laughed together; and I 
 did not see much difference between laughing in 
 Gaelic and in English. I may add, that a band of 
 young Highland reapers is a graceful exhibition : 
 erect, tall, and athletic, — their yellow hair shining 
 in the sun, and their countenances sparkling with 
 animation. 
 
 We now left Dalmally, and rode along Loch- 
 Awe to Bunaw. This loch is about twenty 
 miles long, and very beautiful ; rising above its sur- 
 face are several islands : many of them are covered 
 with wood, and some of them contain the interest- 
 ing ruins of ancient castles ; on one of them is the 
 scene of a poem in Ossian. As we rode forward, 
 Cruachan arose on our left ; its side was covered 
 with wood to a height I do not remember to have 
 seen before. Cruachan abounds with variety ; the 
 soft, the sublime, and the terrible, are alternately 
 exhibited. Here the visages of rocks are softened 
 by trees; there yawns a dark and gloomy glen, 
 down which foams a remarkable cascade. Oppo- 
 site and across the river stretches a high, terrible, 
 and almost perpendicular wall of rocks : their foun- 
 dations are in the water; many a dark cavern is 
 lurking in their sides, and many a little stream is 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 55 
 
 gushing from their foreheads ; while many a massy 
 fragment breaks from their frowning summits, and 
 is heard plunging into the sable waters of Bunaw. 
 
 Cruachan deserves most particular notice : it is, I 
 should think, the second in height of all the moun- 
 tains of Scotland ; its base is ten or twelve miles in 
 diameter. On the side towards Glenorchy it is 
 concave; on that towards Lorn, it rises with a 
 bold convexity to a great height. By its appear- 
 ance from beneath, there is something of a plain 
 up two-thirds of its ascent ; it then rises with an- 
 other high hill that terminates in a peak, so that it 
 seems a mountain placed upon a mountain ; but I 
 found, on further inspection, that it has two lofty 
 pyramids, so that its crown is forked. I projected 
 its ascent, but was drawn off from my purpose, so 
 that I made but little progress towards its summit. 
 From its colour it seems to have little grass upon 
 it, and in some of its deep cavities are lodged the 
 snows of former years. The day was fine when I 
 surveyed it ; light clouds often passed far above 
 the heads of attendant mountains, but the sum-^ 
 mit of Cruachan arrested their march. For eleva- 
 tion, magnitude, and magnificence, I do not any 
 where recollect a mountain superior to Cruachan. 
 
 We lodged two nights in Lorn. Lorn gives the 
 title of Marquis to the Duke of Argyle's eldest 
 son. They here generally speak Gaelic. A person 
 
5t> THE BllITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 came to our quarters, and something like the fol- 
 lowing dialogue ensued : — I said he talked like an 
 Englishman : he said he was an Englishman. I 
 replied, I was an Englishman too : he inquired, 
 from what part ? I said, from Westmorland : he 
 answered, he was a Westmorlandman too. I 
 asked, from what part of Westmorland ? — he re- 
 plied, from the parish of Barton. I said, I was a 
 Bartonman too. So we shook hands, he invited 
 me to his house, and I went to see him. 
 
 We passed the Sabbath-day in Lorn. Here 
 lakes and arms of the sea run up among the moun- 
 tains in various directions : these the people were 
 seen crossing in boats from different quarters, 
 which to me was a novel and interesting sight ; and 
 the interest was heightened by the white foam of 
 descending waters, flashing beneath dark and sullen 
 rocks and projecting precipices. Their gaiety 
 amid these dangers reconciled me to Avhat I saAv; 
 and it was another confirmation how much we poor 
 mortals are the creatures of habit, both in perils 
 and in indulgences. 
 
 We now crossed Loch Etive, twenty miles long ; 
 and we and our horses were rowed over by a wo- 
 man. She plunged into the water to push off the 
 boat, and then sprang on board, seized her oars, 
 and raised her song. I applied for one of her oars, 
 and my request was not refused; nor was I dis- 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 57 
 
 placed from my post till we touched the further 
 shore. We made a considerable circuit this day, 
 and in the evening found ourselves in a part of the 
 country not likely to afford us accommodation, save 
 at Loch Nell, the beautiful seat of the late Sir 
 Duncan Campbell. We had no introduction there : 
 however, there we lodged; and our access deserves 
 to be mentioned, both as another testimony to 
 Highland hospitality, and as shewing the easy 
 courage of John Pemberton : — I say courage, be- 
 cause I would rather have slept out all night under 
 a hedge, wrapt in my great coat, than have made 
 such an application, and in such a manner. We 
 rode up to the place and gave our horses to the 
 groom, by whom we understood his mistress was at 
 home ; the footman then shewed us, through seve- 
 ral windings in a wood, to where she was overlook- 
 ing her work-people. John Pemberton accosted 
 her, and said, " We have a favour to ask." She 
 courteously inquired, " What favour ?" He re- 
 plied, " Only a night's lodging."" She answered, 
 smiling, " You are very welcome to that ;" and 
 ordered us to be shewn into the drawing-room, 
 where she soon followed us. There was in this 
 venerable gentlewoman a happy union of majesty 
 and kindness. She told us she was niece to Lord- 
 Provost Drummond of Edinburgh, and had often 
 stayed with her aunt, the noted May Drummond. 
 
58 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Her son was on his travels, and now at the Court 
 of Spain. John Pemberton requested, if ever he 
 came to Philadelphia, that he would make a home 
 of his house. 
 
 Our kind hostess directed me for prospects to a 
 high tower, built on a lofty shaded rock, to which 
 there was a walk from the house. From hence I 
 counted seventeen of The Western Islands, among 
 which were Lismore and Mull, both very near : by 
 the corner of the latter is Icolmkill or Iona, that 
 ancient seminary of learning and royal sepulchres. 
 Full in view also lay Morvern, — rocky, mountainous, 
 memorable Morvern ! The prospect from this sta- 
 tion is full of variety. The sea, several lakes, in- 
 numerable bays, mountains and rocks, many of 
 them crowned with castles, opened an interesting 
 scene on every side. The most distinguished castles 
 were Dunstaffhage and Brycaklin ; at the former of 
 which, tradition says, sixteen kings reigned and are 
 buried. 
 
 Having found in the map the ruins ofBeregonium, 
 the first city in Scotland, built by Fergus, the first 
 king in Scotland, I sought it along the shore, but 
 could find no traces of its remains. I applied to our 
 intelligent hostess, and she directed me to the spot, 
 which is on their estate. Having found what I 
 sought, the peasants told me Beregonium once con- 
 sisted of seven castles, that rose on as many small 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 
 
 59 
 
 rocks ; and they shewed me where they stood : but 
 it seems as if they had been reduced by fire, for, on 
 tearing up the surface, I found in different places 
 the effect of that element. Having rambled for 
 fourteen or fifteen hours without breaking bread, I 
 returned ; when our generous hostess said she had 
 often been thinking of me, for I had been wander- 
 ing in a poor country, where I should hardly find 
 any refreshment, so that I must indeed have been 
 in want. But this was not the first time with me, 
 when a strongly-excited attention has superseded 
 the desire of food. 
 
 Crossed Loch Cranan with four horses; and, 
 though a mile broad, were rowed over by a woman 
 and a boy. Passed Castle Ards, once the seat of a 
 rebel chief. After dinner I got a boat and two 
 rowers, and went on several islands, the chief of 
 which was Lismore : it is reckoned the most fruitful 
 of all the Hebrides ; its foundation is a limestone 
 rock, which is covered with a fine soil ; much of it 
 is ploughed, or in pasturage for sheep and cattle. 
 It is twelve miles long, and seldom above a mile 
 broad, and without mountains. It contains about 
 five hundred inhabitants; among whom, I was told, 
 there were five persons each a hundred years old. 
 I talked with those I met, and they seemed a 
 hearty, cheerful race. I remarked, what I thought 
 extraordinary, that in several places there runs 
 
60 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 across the island a kind of pavement of large, square, 
 white stones, which rise perhaps a foot above the 
 surface, as if placed there by art ; but I rather think 
 the hand of Nature has fixed them where they are. 
 However, many castles crown the tops of rocks in 
 these parts ; I saw five from Lismore. We are cer- 
 tain who has placed these. I was told they used 
 to kindle up a fire in them on the approach of an 
 enemy, bv which means they spread intelligence 
 very quickly, and for a long way. I landed on one 
 island almost totally covered by a castle ; it was 
 entire, and perhaps fifteen yards high. Lismore 
 was formerly the residence of the Bishop of the 
 Isles. 
 
 In these parts I found a number of monuments, 
 as I supposed, — a single, tall, plain stone : also 
 many cairns, being prodigious heaps of small stones 
 with cavities in them, in which are sometimes found 
 urns, filled with ashes, &c. The largest, I remem- 
 ber, was called Cairn Bann : on viewing it I observed 
 a cavity, and put off my coat and hat for the pur- 
 pose of penetrating;— I did indeed crawl into it, but 
 was still more glad to crawl out again. 
 
 Passed Appin, formerly the seat of the chief of 
 the Stewarts. We now proceeded forward for Fort 
 William ; and as we travelled by the side of Loch 
 Lhynne, ten miles broad, we had many fine views 
 of Morvern. Crossed Loch Leven : the mountain 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 61 
 
 scenery that surrounds it is truly noble. Here I 
 went a little out of my way, and looked into the 
 sad and solitary valley of Glencoe, made pitiably 
 memorable by the massacre of the MacDonalds 
 in King William's days. The mournful transaction 
 is recorded, and would be affecting to repeat. The 
 planners, perpetrators, and victims of this fearful 
 scene all lie now alike low. On rewards and pu- 
 nishmentSj and the justice of the Eternal, I pre- 
 sume not now to write ; but I felt interested at 
 Fort William in conversing with the great grand- 
 daughter of the aged MacDonald, who fell on the 
 bloody night : her father, then two years old, was 
 on another part of the estate, and was the means of 
 preserving the line. The MacDonalds now again 
 enjoy the estate, and I rejoiced to see the young 
 and beautiful wife of the present chief of Glencoe : 
 looking on her, I forgot the stupendous scenery of 
 her solitary valley. One feels something like an 
 attachment to the descendants of the injured, and 
 in proportion to the magnitude of the injury : 
 though perfect strangers, we seem to take them into 
 our affections. 
 
 Fort William stands in the centre of Lochaber, 
 which we entered when we crossed Loch Leven. 
 But of all the objects around me, Ben Nevis most 
 attracted my attention. There are three passions 
 or propensities with which mankind are assailed, 
 
62 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 which are more or less injurious to society ; to wit, 
 pride, vanity, and ambition. Pride is the most dis- 
 gusting, vanity is the most despicable, and ambi- 
 tion the most dangerous to mankind. I wish to 
 judge impartially, even in my own cause; therefore, 
 to ambition I must plead guilty. I have an ambi- 
 tion to trample on the heads of the highest moun- 
 tains in Great Britain ; and Ben Nevis is the high- 
 est. My desire was strong to ascend it. I sought 
 for a guide, but found none fond of the expedition : 
 I therefore set off alone. Necessary precaution sel- 
 dom accompanies rashness, and I was soon humbled 
 by the discovery that I was on the wrong side of 
 the river Nevis. But what are rivers in the way of 
 great achievements ? However, having once made 
 an erroneous advance, I began carefully to recon- 
 noitre the difficulties I had to encounter. The 
 Nevis, though no inconsiderable stream, did not 
 appear deep, and had a fine pebbly bottom ; so I put 
 off my shoes and stockings, and in I plunged. But 
 the stream was so excessively cold, it damped my 
 ardour, and I looked to the shore from whence I 
 came : but remembering, when Caesar invaded Bri- 
 tain, that his troops might not turn home again 
 he burned his ships, so I threw my shoes to the 
 further shore, and on I rushed through the waters 
 of starvation. 
 
 Ben Nevis is a vast heap of rock, not appearing 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 63 
 
 from below to terminate in a pyramid, but broad, 
 bold, and majestic. Its summit commands a pro- 
 spect of wondrous extent : a considerable part of 
 the Highlands, the Orkney Isles, with those of the 
 Hebrides, and some of the mountains of Ireland, 
 are within the compass of observation. The base 
 of Ben Nevis is covered with soil; grass, shrubs, 
 and trees climb up its sides to a considerable 
 height : but its lofty summit is composed of grey 
 rocks that seem to leave vegetation below. The 
 north side of the mountain may be said to be hung 
 with terrors. Perpendicular and projecting rocks, 
 gulphy glens and awful precipices, gloomy and 
 tremendous caverns, the vast repositories of snow 
 from age to age ; these, with blue mists gauzing 
 the grey rocks of the mountain, and terrible cata- 
 racts thundering from Ben Nevis, made altogether 
 a scene sublimely dreadful. This stupendous 
 mountain belongs to Captain Cameron, after the 
 manner of the country called Glen Nevis. He is 
 a descendant of the Barclays of Urie, by the fe- 
 male side, and invited us kindly to his house. I 
 congratulated him on being the possessor of the 
 highest ground in Great Britain. How interesting 
 to stand on the highest mountain, in the most cele- 
 brated island in the world, beholding above a vast 
 extent of sky ; and below, the earth and a multitude 
 of mountains, extending far and wide ; the sky 
 
64 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 stretching and descending till it meets the boun- 
 daries of the earth and the ocean, while the earth 
 and the ocean appear to rise in the remotest distance 
 to receive it! How awful to behold the vast ob- 
 jects that compose this stupendous scene, all sur- 
 rounding a solitary individual in impressive silence ! 
 I think the silence still adds to the solemnity. If 
 clouds should gather from below, and thunder 
 burst from the sides of the mountain, the scene, I 
 believe, would hardly be more sublime. I walk 
 backwards and forwards, and again exclaim, " How 
 glorious it is to look upwards* and to see nothing 
 above us but the sun — to behold nothing between 
 us and the sky I 11 Then, with what self-complacency 
 we look down on the august figures of sublime 
 mountains, standing around us with their naked 
 foreheads and noble countenances, like the great 
 officers of state in the courts of the most illustrious 
 monarchs ; while, far beneath these elevated person- 
 ages, the waving forests, the lowly valleys, and the 
 humble dwellings of men, sink into insignificance ! 
 
 Comparing afterwards my ascent to Ben Nevis 
 with that of an accomplished friend, (William 
 Smith, Member for Norwich,) I found his arrival 
 on its summit attended with very peculiar circum- 
 stances, far more extraordinary than those of mine. 
 On the crown of the mountain there is a hollow, 
 from whence issued something of a vapour ; in the 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 65 
 
 midst of which appeared dimly a human figure in 
 motion. My friend held up his hands (I suppose 
 in something of astonishment) ; and the figure re- 
 plied, in holding up its hands also. The reader 
 will perceive, that the man in the mist was the 
 shadow of the real man, created by his coming 
 between the vapour and the sun. Perhaps the 
 aerial beings, that have been said to people the 
 Highland mountains, may be traced to some such 
 origin. 
 
 On leaving Fort William, we passed Inverlochy 
 Castle, a ruin of great antiquity : it appears to 
 have been a square building, with a round tower 
 at each of the four corners. It is said that a 
 considerable town stood here many centuries ago. 
 
 As we rode forward, we saw large quantities of 
 snow in the cliffs of Ben Nevis. We also saw fine 
 flocks of the large grey goat of the mountain. I 
 rode towards a numerous group, which I saw 
 lying among the heath ; when I believe fifty got 
 up and set forward towards the hills ; but about 
 half-a-dozen seemed to maintain their ground with 
 an air of defiance, so I retreated in safety, and be- 
 gan ruminating on other times. 
 
 Accommodations are mightily improved since 
 man first set his foot on this island; and man's pur- 
 suits are multiplied in proportion to his numbers : 
 some keep cows, and some keep shops ; some build 
 
 F 
 
66 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 castles, and some build cottages ; some go to sea, 
 and some go to the mountains ; some make hay, and 
 some make speeches; some hold the plough, and 
 some hold the reins of government : so each may 
 be in a situation that may benefit his neighbour, 
 and may benefit himself. And the cow-keeper looks 
 with as much complacency on his domestic animals, 
 as the shopkeeper on his new oranges and jars of 
 raisins ; the cottage-builder contemplates a man- 
 sion of his own, for himself and friends, with as 
 much consequence as he that builds castles; and 
 the former stays more at his homely residence than 
 the latter at his noble retirement. The shepherd 
 drives his bleating flock down the mountain, and 
 the sailor brings his gallant ship into port with 
 equal exultation. The hay-maker and public 
 speaker are both warmed with their vocations: 
 the hay-maker, perhaps, does more uniform good; 
 but the other, perhaps, greater good or ill. The 
 ploughman and the statesman, if masters of their 
 work, are both graceful in their employment ; but 
 the ploughman is often put to it in stony ground, 
 to keep the furrows in their places; and the go- 
 vernor has often enough to do in governing a tur- 
 bulent population. Now all this leads to the con- 
 sideration of general exchange, which tends to 
 general comfort ; for each may exchange with the 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 67 
 
 other what he has got to spare of his own : hence 
 one gives money, and another gives labour ; one 
 gives food, and another gives raiment. I cannot 
 here go into the vast system of mutual exchange 
 and mutual accommodation, where there is some- 
 thing to suit every body ; but will just say, that 
 hence the matron of Caledonia has her camlet, and 
 the maiden her dimity, and the good wife has her 
 nutmeg, and her chip of cinnamon to put into her 
 frumety. 
 
 But to return to our journey. In this day's 
 ride, I saw many of as poor huts as surely ever 
 covered human beings : they seemed entirely built 
 of earth, and covered with the same. If ever I, 
 have looked with a sigh to the ranks above me, 
 what I now saw might surely cure me : indeed, to 
 make a true estimate of our situations, we ought to 
 look both ways — above and below. Yet I met with 
 elegant forms and cheerful countenances among the 
 humble habitations of poverty : and in a harvest- 
 field to-day I saw seventeen reapers, and finer 
 human figures, so employed, I do not remember to 
 have seen together. The mothers, in the High- 
 lands, yet speak with some exultation of having 
 " sons to grace a clan. 1 '' 
 
 Rode by the side of Loch Lochy, fourteen miles 
 long : the day was cloudy, and the deep shadows 
 
 f 2 
 
68 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 of high mountains gave the waters a dark appear- 
 ance. Baited at Letter Findlay. Rode afterwards 
 through a long, open, pleasant, and fruitful valley ; 
 in the centre of which, by a beautiful little lake, 
 two miles long, stands Glengary, the seat of a 
 chieftain of the MacDonalds. This lovely spot 
 is a modern building, rising with much simplicity 
 among trees : the lake, with two sweet little islands 
 covered with wood, lies in its front ; and a high, old 
 tower, at a small distance, on a perpendicular rock, 
 suggests antiquity, and gives the whole a vene- 
 rable air. This scene, surrounded with dark rugged 
 mountains, is a peculiar spot : it extorted a sigh, 
 as I rode along, to think that its former owner 
 should leave such tranquillity to march for de- 
 throning kings : and who but would have after- 
 wards lamented to see fire, sword, and desolation, 
 carried through these lovely solitudes ? But these 
 days are gone past, I hope, never to return. 
 
 We arrived at Fort Augustus in the dark, I 
 waited on the Governor in the morning, a friendly 
 officer, who engaged us to drink tea with him in 
 the afternoon. The fort stands at the head of 
 Loch Ness, and is an agreeable residence: the Go- 
 vernor took me through the different apartments, 
 and shewed Us particular respect. 
 
 After staying two nights at Fort Augustus, we 
 set off for Inverness. There was some appearance 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 69 
 
 of rain, and the Highlanders were busy in collect- 
 ing their corn : the men with their ponies dragged 
 it along the ground, but the poor women bore it 
 on their backs. On the top of a barren mountain 
 we met with Loch Tarro, a considerable lake, with 
 four islands beautifully covered with wood. As 
 we rode along we saw a vast number of little huts : 
 in one place I counted fifty, and but one chimney 
 in the whole that rose above the roof. They stood 
 near together in a bottom, and their apparent equa- 
 lity seemed to exclude envy. I was inclined to 
 suppose, that perhaps few places exhibit fifty fami- 
 lies living together in greater harmony : if such 
 is the reality, it more than makes up for their hum- 
 ble appearance. 
 
 We had now entered Strath-Errick, the Frazer 
 country, that belonged to Lord Lovat, chief of the 
 clan of Frazer. It is a tolerably cultivated dis- 
 trict, more so than most we met with in the High- 
 lands. From the higher grounds we winded down 
 towards Loch Ness, among romantic woods, over- 
 topped with white rocks. There was here an uncom- 
 mon variety of prospect. The road twisted down 
 the shaded mountain in all directions, presenting 
 at every turn some bold rock or awful precipice, 
 its bottom covered with beautiful verdure, and its 
 top like some light grey tower glittering in the sun. 
 Frequently a rapid river tumbled over a rugged 
 
70 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 channel by our side, and frequently Loch Ness 
 was seen through an opening in the wood. But 
 a strange rumbling was now heard on our left, 
 and I was desirous of ascertaining the cause; so I 
 alighted from my horse, and pursuing the increas- 
 ing sound, presently found it to be the Falls of 
 Fyers. Of these I had heard, but read no de- 
 scription, and had no one to lead me to the scene 
 and point out the best stations : but I beheld a 
 furious stream, and followed it with my eye and 
 my ear through ragged rocks, and woods inacces- 
 sible to the axe, till at last I came to a place where 
 I beheld it burst, as from the mouth of a vast oven, 
 and fall headlong many a fathom : then another 
 rock received it, and gave it another course. Thus, 
 between a quarter and half a mile, are these gloomy 
 waters thundered among these as gloomy rocks, 
 and hardly seen for twenty yards together in any 
 one direction. I could never encompass any thing 
 like the whole at a time ; and every part is so ter- 
 rible, that the mind in combining is almost over- 
 whelmed: — and, indeed, who could calculate the 
 different descents, and the descent of the Avhole, 
 and reduce them with any degree of accuracy into 
 yards and fathoms, under the impressions of terror 
 and amazement ? Therefore, it is easier with me to 
 describe the effect than the cause. But, though I 
 could not take dimensions, I could enjoy the 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 71 
 
 hideous wonders ; and must own, that rocks, trees, 
 foam, spray, the deafening rumble of falling cata- 
 racts, and the terrible confusion of the scene — all 
 added to its sublimity. 
 
 I crept to the brink of these zigzag precipices, 
 and peeping down, saw the dismal waters boiling 
 below. One creeps to scenes of this kind with a 
 sort of dreadful pleasure, hard to be described — 
 with something of a fascination that would lead 
 one to one's ruin. I crawled on my hands and 
 knees with more curiosity than courage ; and when 
 I looked down, I felt something of a horror, as if 
 somebody had been pushing me in. I know not, 
 but on closing my eyes the feelings would have 
 been still more terrible. The noise would have 
 been like the continual grinding of a hundred 
 mills, or the loud sounds of everlasting thunder. 
 
 But I am not competent to accumulate the 
 energy of language adequate to describe this tre- 
 mendous scene. To ruminate on the motion of 
 waters in, on, and round this world of ours, is an 
 amusing and interesting theme. These terrifying 
 waters have, no doubt, continued their fearful fray, 
 night and day, for several thousand years; and, in 
 that space of time, to have had the grand exhibition 
 for half an hour all to myself, might furnish the 
 mind of a poor pilgrim like me with a little self- 
 complacency. 
 
72 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Such to me seemed the Falls of Fyers ; from 
 which, after the river has escaped, it glides smoothly 
 into Loch Ness, as if nought had happened. I 
 turned away, confirmed in the conclusion, that tur- 
 bulence and tranquillity give an interesting va- 
 riety to the journey of life. I was not put past 
 my breakfast by my morning entertainment, but 
 took it at General's Hut, erected for Wade when 
 he superintended the making these roads, after the 
 Rebellion. 
 
 We now proceeded along the banks of Loch 
 Ness, and had many excellent views. It is indeed, 
 except Loch Lomond, the finest lake in Scotland. 
 It is twenty-four miles long ; and so straight, that 
 I expect one may see from one end to the 
 other. It is almost always agitated, so that it has 
 the appearance of a very noble river. I was told 
 it has been sounded in some places with a line of 
 w six hundred yards, without finding the bottom :— 
 then, if its bason were a dry valley, how high must 
 be some of the adjoining mountains ? Though a 
 fresh-water lake, and so far north, I was told it 
 never freezes ; neither doth snow lie on its banks. 
 
 As we passed along, saw the ruins of Urquhart 
 Castle : a large square tower is still pretty entire. It 
 belongs to the chief of the clan of Grant, and is 
 built on a bleak rock projecting into Loch Ness. 
 Many of the old castles in the Highlands stand on 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 73 
 
 formidable rocks, which shew they were places of 
 defence against powerful enemies. It does not 
 cause an uncomfortable reflection to see th«rm demo- 
 lished, for they are no longer wanted. 
 
 The mountains by Loch Ness were not now very 
 high, were often skirted with wood down to the 
 water, and their tops either rocky or covered with 
 plantations. In some places we saw villages above 
 the rocks and woods, scattered along the summits 
 of the mountains : being covered with earth or 
 heath, they might by strangers have been mistaken 
 for small ricks of peats. Yesterday I had been 
 much among: these sort of habitations. In the 
 afternoon I made a circuit of several miles through 
 a pretty populous district around Fort Augustus ; 
 and the people all inhabited such like huts. In 
 one place, indeed, I observed a new house with five 
 windows in front ; and was told it had been built 
 by an officer, who had taken a large tract of 
 ground, comprehending a number of these huts, 
 which, perhaps, next year might be removed ; and 
 what would become of the families was not known. 
 Perhaps they may take their few implements on 
 their backs, and remove to the side of another hill, 
 or to the border of another lake. This is one of the 
 trials of the Highlanders. 
 
 It was Sabbath-day when I made my excursion 
 round Fort Augustus, and all wore a serious cast. 
 
74 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 I remember no children playing about. There ap- 
 peared little communication between the cottages. 
 The parents were sitting decently and gravely by 
 pairs at their doors, or were engaged within at their 
 worship : I sometimes heard the fervour of their 
 devotions. What a contrast between these humble 
 regions and the nourishing towns of England ! yet 
 the comparison is in favour of the former. While, 
 in populous cities and the capital of Great Britain, 
 thousands are wasting a great part of this day in 
 idle trifling — in drunkenness and debauchery — per- 
 haps in blaspheming the awful name of the Most 
 High ! — He is sincerely worshipped by thousands 
 of devout hearts in the solitary valleys of the High- 
 lands. 
 
 In pursuing our journey by Loch Ness we had a 
 pleasing ride ; our road winding for miles through 
 fine woods, the trees occasionally meeting over our 
 heads. Sometimes I stopped to admire the prospect, 
 and sometimes to gather nuts. It was more like 
 rambling than travelling. — It was like being again 
 in England ; and that was like recovering a long-lost 
 joy. My enjoyments have been many in the High- 
 lands, but I yet love England. 
 
 I do not remember that I have mentioned the 
 Highland dress : — though it may appear immodest 
 to an Englishman at first sight, the Highlanders 
 are, notwithstanding, a modest people ; and so 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 75 
 
 much had six or seven weeks familiarized me to it, 
 that I began to think it rather genteel. I was told 
 that, in times gone past, some of the poor High- 
 landers wore nothing but their plaids : — how they 
 could then keep from starving in severe winters, or 
 how they could preserve decency in the heats of 
 summer, is not easy to conceive. However, we 
 are not to disbelieve every thing that appears diffi- 
 cult, for we are told by historians that the English 
 once went naked. The Highland dress at present 
 consists of a bonnet, a very short jacket and waist- 
 coat, checked with various colours, the trews, or 
 philibeg, a sort of a short petticoat, which must be 
 very easy when climbing their mountains, and is 
 made of the same quality and colours with the 
 jacket : — their stockings are checked, and do not 
 come to the knee ; their shoes are the same as ours. 
 The dress of the gentleman and peasant differs but 
 in fineness. The poor women go without hats, or 
 caps, or stays, barefoot and bareleg, yet preserve 
 their modesty : but modesty is in the heart, not 
 in the apparel. 
 
 We now came to the foot of Loch Ness. The 
 mountains began to sink gently away, and a plain 
 extended to the sea-shore. Between Loch Ness and 
 Inverness we saw vast plantations of firs belonging 
 to the Frazers. Casting my eyes in every direction, 
 I saw by the road-side a very singular piece of anti- 
 
76 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 quity — three circles of stones one within another: 
 the outermost circle were the largest stones, the in- 
 nermost the least. I met with these (I suppose) 
 Druidical circles of stones, in different parts of Scot- 
 land; but this seemed the most remarkable. Per- 
 haps our rude forefathers were led, by a glimmering 
 light, to worship the Almighty within these circles 
 of stones : how thankful ought we to be that " the 
 Dayspring from on high' 1 '' has now arisen on the 
 world ! 
 
 We came in the evening to Inverness. Here we 
 took our final leave of the Highlands, — a country 
 sunk in valleys, and towering with mountains ; 
 rugged with rocks, and frowning with precipices ; 
 shining with lakes, and glittering with waterfalls ; — 
 a country at once barren and sublime, dreadful and 
 delightful ; and, I believe, scarce more than one- 
 hundredth part of it capable of cultivation. Other 
 countries that I have seen, have in proportion their 
 moors and their meadows, their fields and their 
 plains, their valleys and their forests ; but in the 
 Highlands it is mountain after mountain, mountain 
 after mountain, for ever and ever. 
 
 Having traced Glenmore, or the great glen, 
 perhaps sixty or seventy miles in extent, we en- 
 tered the town of Inverness. A town was now a 
 rarity ; and such a town, near three hundred miles 
 north into Scotland, excited some surprise. In- 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 77 
 
 verness has its modern improvements and its 
 treasures of antiquity : it has its lamps and hotels, 
 and its castle of Macbeth ; and it has a number of 
 genteel inhabitants. Could we collect a specimen 
 of the stationary inhabitants from the different 
 parts of Great Britain, we should be surprised at 
 the variety of dialects spoken in our mother-tongue 
 through the island : 1 was highly gratified at the 
 elegant and interesting sweetness with which they 
 spoke English at Inverness. 
 
 On leaving Inverness I crossed Culloden Moor, 
 and met with old men who remembered the mili- 
 tary conflict that terminated the Rebellion in 1745. 
 They seemed to take an interest in pointing out 
 where the "red soldiers'''' were drawn up, and 
 where Charles and his men stood ; where his clans 
 came down and were broken by the Duke of Cum- 
 berland's troops, while the French wheeled off. 
 Culloden Moor is covered with short heath. Many 
 little green hills, the graves of the slain, rise above 
 its surface : their contents were on fire that day, 
 animated with the fury of battle ; how quiet they 
 are now, mouldered into and incorporated with their 
 mother-earth ! Whatever party was victorious, one 
 treads with sadness the soil that has been bathed 
 with human blood. 
 
 On our way from Culloden, rode through a fine 
 champaign country. Passed by Tagus, the ancient 
 
78 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 seat of the Macintoshes, a high old building. 
 Breakfasted at Nairn, and then proceeded to Forres, 
 through a country abounding with the seats of 
 noblemen and gentlemen ; the chief of which is Dar- 
 naway, belonging to the Earl of Moray. I did not 
 visit it, but was told it contained a room whose 
 size I hesitate to mention : — it may, or may not be 
 true, that a thousand men in arms can stand in 
 one room at Darnaway. Near Forres stands 
 Sueno's stone. Sueno was son of Harold King of 
 Denmark ; and we are told he here defeated Mal- 
 colm King of Scotland, in 1 008. Sueno's stone is 
 twenty-three feet above ground, and said to be 
 twelve feet below : it is four feet broad, and per- 
 haps a foot and a half thick. Though rather 
 defaced by time, it appears to have been curiously 
 carved with figures of men, beasts, armies, colours 
 flying, &c, and is considered the finest Danish 
 monument in Great Britain. 
 
 From Forres we passed on to Elgin, through a 
 fine corn country, where we saw many old castles, 
 most of them having the appearance of decay. 
 About Elgin, though far north, I observed re- 
 markably fine husbandry. Elgin in appearance is 
 a very ancient town : its cathedral is a most beau- 
 tiful ruin, though now useless and abandoned ; its 
 arches, its columns and its spires, suggest its former 
 splendour. Many of its carvings are so curious, that 
 
THE HIGHLANDS. 79 
 
 one may say, what in other places is wrought in 
 wood, is here wrought in stone. 
 
 Dined at Elgin, and rode to Fochabers. We were 
 ferried over the rapid and impetuous Spey, now 
 swollen with heavy rains. Saw Gordon Castle, 
 the seat of the Duke of Gordon ; a very large pile 
 of building, surrounded with vast plantations ; and 
 I was told he could ride a hundred and twenty V* 
 miles on his own ground. 
 
 Slept at Cullen, and viewed in the morning the 
 Earl of Findlater's seat. Passed on to the rather 
 genteel town of Banff, and lodged at Macduff. 
 Visited Duff House, the elegant seat of the Earl 
 of Fife : it stands in a bottom, and, within a mile 
 on either hand, has the towns of Banff and Mac- 
 duff. The ocean spreads in front, between which 
 and the EarFs mansion is a high mound of earth 
 in the form of a terrace, against which the sea 
 bellows unseen ; which, perhaps, magnifies the 
 sublimity of the sound. Passed an old ruin called 
 the Castle of King Edward, situate on a high 
 round rock ; also Lord Banff's place, Turrif, and 
 the old Castle of Towy. Refreshed ourselves at 
 Old Meldrum ; saw the Earl of Kintore's and 
 Lord Aberdeen's : also was near Glenbucket, the 
 name borne by Gordon a humorous cripple in 
 Charles's army. 
 
 In this part of the country the oxen and cattle 
 
80 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 seem under uncommon regulation : it is frequent 
 to see a large stock of cattle feeding among the 
 reaped corn with only a boy to attend them ; I 
 was told, for a day together they will not touch a 
 sheaf. 
 
 They here make a singular addition to many of 
 their respectable names ; perhaps it was with a 
 view to make them sound more respectably that 
 they add their y or ie. I '11 own it had with me 
 a contrary effect ; as in Doggie, Horsey, Housey, 
 Wifey. 
 
 On approaching Aberdeen, we crossed the Don, 
 over a bridge of one arch, I was told twenty 
 yards high. Aberdeen stands between two rivers, 
 the Don and the Dee. I was told it contains 
 20,000 inhabitants. Viewed Marshal's College 
 and Gordon's Hospital, for boys of the name of 
 Gordon and Mackenzie, the latter being the name 
 of the founder's mother. The hospital is very 
 large, and was built and endowed by the fortune 
 of a Gordon, of whom they relate anecdotes so 
 singular that I forbear to insert them. Though 
 honestly stating in these pages what has been re- 
 ported to me, I may have sometimes already been 
 imposed on ; but the good that has been done by 
 such bequests as Gordon's can be no imposition. 
 Doctor Beattie was gone to Peterhead waters, or I 
 might have been introduced to him : I had an offer 
 
SCOTLAND. • 81 
 
 to that effect ; and if there is any thing I regret in 
 my circuit through Scotland, it is my not seeing 
 the Isle of Staffa and Dr. Beattie. 
 
 On leaving Aberdeen, crossed the beautiful river 
 Dee ; visited Urie ; rode through Inverbervie to 
 Montrose, an agreeable town, with a fine open 
 street : it stands, like Aberdeen, between two con- 
 siderable rivers, both, I believe, called Esk. Went 
 to Brechin in Forfar ; walked round its castle, the 
 seat of the Earl of Dalhousie, finely situate on the 
 steep banks of the Esk. Also viewed their place 
 of worship, which is of great antiquity. Man, 
 and the works of man, are all tending to decay ; 
 man from his birth, and castles and cathedrals 
 from their building : but one surveys an ancient 
 structure entire with something of the same interest 
 as one would see a man who had entered into his 
 second hundredth. Perhaps what is most remark- 
 able here, is a high round tower, so tall and so 
 slender, that, I was told, it sometimes moves with 
 the wind. 
 
 My course here was in various directions ; and, 
 riding along the sea-shore, I spied something like 
 an old ruined fort, which I found afterwards was 
 called The Kame of Mathers. An arched rock, 
 perhaps thirty or forty yards high, supports the 
 fort, which, I was told, was built by the Barclays 
 in very remote times, that they might defend them- 
 
 G 
 
82 THE BllITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 selves against a family they had grievously offend- 
 ed ; and no Scotch law would then take cognizance 
 of those whose dwelling the sea flowed round. The 
 fort being built on the arches of a rock, the sea 
 flows round its foundation. It is a terrible place. 
 I descended, and found various lofty arches in the 
 rock, and one of them so wide, that a couple of 
 coaches might drive abreast beneath, if the bottom 
 was level. I also found a cavern into which the 
 tide flows ; but being out, I went on exploring till 
 all was solid darkness before me, and but a dim 
 twilight behind : so I returned and found another 
 cave, but so very rugged, both above and beneath, 
 and the sea glutting within, that I was discouraged 
 from making any more adventures. 
 
 Our journey was now bounded on the right by 
 the Grampian Hills, and on the left by the Ger- 
 man Ocean. When we arrived at Aberbrothwick, 
 generally called Arbroath, I went to view the 
 very remarkable ruins of their once famous Abbey, 
 built by William the Lion. The roof is all gone, 
 and one side-wall is removed ; but the grand entry 
 is pretty complete, and enough is still standing to 
 shew the extent and magnificence of this once noble 
 edifice ; in whose area, among brambles and bushes, 
 women were now hanging their clothes. 
 
 In our way to Dundee, passed Penmure, the seat 
 of Lord Penmure. Dundee possesses several pub- 
 
SCOTLAND. 06 
 
 lie buildings, and is rather a genteel town. Its old 
 Cathedral is large, and, I believe, has the highest 
 steeple in Scotland. I here inquired after one of 
 the friends of ray youth, and found that he was 
 remembered with respect. I had a guide to his 
 grave, over which I hung my head in silent sad- 
 ness. 
 
 The Tay is a noble river near Dundee : we 
 crossed it in a gale of wind : the ferry-boat tossed 
 bravely, and the waves broke over our heads. 
 There is something interesting in being on the 
 water when the wind blows. We saw Huntly 
 Castle and Balmerino in our way to St. Andrew's. 
 
 St. Andrew's stands by the sea, on a bleak point 
 of land : it is difficult to suppose why so famous a 
 place found so mean a situation. Three parallel 
 streets principally compose this ancient town, where 
 almost at every step the mind is affected with 
 scenes of decay : indeed, St. Andrew's seems a city 
 wearing the garment of melancholy. Its ruins ap- 
 pear, at a distance, like the masts of men-of-war ; 
 but, on a nearer approach, shew an affecting in- 
 stance of the change of things. The walls of the 
 city are now the walls of simple inclosures. 
 Watch towers surround a field of peas, and ram- 
 parts are now round a yard of cabbages. Our 
 horses were lodged in the spacious apartments of 
 a college, with lofty ceilings and stucco cornices. 
 
 g 2 
 
84 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Wandering pensively among the ruins of the 
 Archbishop's Palace, and pausing by turns on little 
 green hills, I observed smoke arising from beneath 
 my feet : I looked round for the cause ; and finding 
 on one side an arch almost sunk into the earth, 
 stooping low, I entered a dark vault, and was sur- 
 prised to find it inhabited by a family of poor 
 people. I congratulated them on the safety of 
 their dwelling. On further inspection, I found 
 other poor people had crept into these desolated 
 cells, as habitations ready formed to their hands. 
 The steeple of the Chapel of St. Rule alone re- 
 mains entire of all these famous structures ; and it 
 . has lately been repaired, to answer the purpose of 
 a watch-tower. The Castle has been a strong 
 place with double walls, but is now sinking fast 
 into oblivion : its fragments, falling into the sea, 
 are washed away for ever. 
 
 The Cathedral seems to have been a noble and 
 extensive building : through some impediment, it is 
 said, it was a hundred years from the time it was 
 begun, to its completion. It was roofed with cop- 
 per, and one part of it was once demolished by 
 lightning, but was soon rebuilt. The Castle, 
 the Cathedral, the Archbishop's Palace, the Cha- 
 pel of St. Rule, — all have been shaken by the hand 
 of Desolation ; yet something remains of all these 
 
SCOTLAND. 85 
 
 noble structures, that suggests to the mind their 
 former magnificence. 
 
 I now took a ride to Cupar-in-Fife : and, on the 
 Perth road, just glanced at Perth, but did not 
 visit it. But I visited the seats of Lord Crawford, 
 Lord Hopeton, and Melville the seat of the Earl 
 of Leven. On returning to St. Andrew's, met with 
 Lord Monboddo, a tall, mild, plain old man : he 
 had a beautiful daughter along with him, whom, I 
 was told, he takes annually with him on horseback 
 to London. 
 
 We now rode forwards towards the capital of 
 Scotland. Saw in our way the seats of the Earl of 
 Kellie, Balcarras, the Wemyses, &c. ; and the an- 
 cient building of Lundy Castle ; near which, in a 
 triangle, stand three remarkable stones, perhaps 
 from ten to fifteen feet high. Tradition says a 
 Danish king was buried near one, his son near 
 another, and his son-in-law near the third. What 
 disasters attend on war ! These strangers fell in 
 battle, and Denmark might mourn their fall. 
 
 We passed through Kirkcaldy and Kinghorn, 
 and sailed over to Leith, a seven miles 1 voyage. 
 The bustle of a crowded port, the confused noise 
 of shouting sailors, and the creaking of the tackle 
 of shipping, was altogether something so fearfully 
 new, especially in the night, that I was glad to get 
 
86 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 rid of it, and set my foot on dry land again ; though 
 I was well aware, if I had any thing of self-impor- 
 tance about me, it would be completely annihilated 
 when I mingled in the streets of a crowded city. 
 
 I rose with the morning to view Edinburgh. A 
 situation more singular, I believe, has not been 
 given to any of the cities of Europe. It rises from 
 two valleys, and spreads upon three hills. Its most 
 considerable street runs, I believe, a mile on the 
 ridge of the highest hill, from the Castle to Holy- 
 rood House, the palace of Scotland's kings. The 
 fronts of many of the houses that compose this 
 street are five or six stories high ; and being built 
 against the ridge, their other fronts are ten or 
 twelve. From this street to the streets in the val- 
 leys, run very steep and very narrow lanes ; but a 
 communication by bridges over the valleys is now 
 opened between different parts of the city. These 
 communications by bridges form spacious streets, 
 with handsome houses ; so that now, in some places, 
 there is street above street ; and it is amusing to 
 survey, from (if I may be allowed the expression) 
 the upper story of streets, houses standing and 
 chimneys smoking below one's feet, as well as above 
 one's head. The street on the North Bridge leads 
 to the Register Office ; a noble structure, two hun- 
 dred feet in front, with a tower at each end, and a 
 dome in the middle : it stands at the entrance of 
 
SCOTLAND. 87 
 
 the New Town. The New Town is built of white 
 hewn stone, according to a regular plan, and for 
 elegance and beauty may vie with any city in the 
 island, if not in Europe. It is rising in its dignity ; 
 but the palace of Holyrood House is verging to 
 decay. Nothing now remains of a court, but two 
 sentinels, who guard a large square from the in- 
 truding feet of visitors : but the royal apartments 
 are accessible, and have once been splendid, after 
 the taste of the times. However, now, the furni- 
 ture, tapestry, paintings, &c, are fading under the 
 hand of Time. I do not know but decaying gran- 
 deur affects one more than absolute ruins, as we 
 feel more for the dying than for the dead. One 
 long room contains the dusty pictures of many 
 crowned heads ; my guide told me, from Fergus 
 the First, down to James the Sixth of Scotland. I 
 thought the character of that of Mary was sweet- 
 ness and innocence. Lovely, lamented Mary ! 
 Though thou hadst thy errors, yet, thou wast not 
 cruel like thy enemies. The Dukes of Argyle 
 and Hamilton, and the Earl of Breadalbane, have 
 apartments in Holyrood House. 
 
 The Parliament House in the Old Town is lofty 
 and spacious — well calculated for a popular assem- 
 bly. They have several hospitals in Edinburgh : 
 the most noted is Heriot's, where from one hun- 
 dred to a hundred and forty boys are maintained 
 
83 THK BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 and educated. How noble ! where one person is such 
 a father for a number of poor boys ! They have 
 other hospitals for different species of poverty. 
 Human wants ought to be relieved ; but I am 
 against itinerant begging ; it leads to lying, and 
 other temptations, and it is a bad way of spend- 
 ing time. 
 
 The Castle, perhaps, is the most conspicuous 
 object at Edinburgh. It stands on a high perpen- 
 dicular rock, inaccessible on every side but that 
 next the town ; and commands, from its top, one of 
 the most remarkable prospects I remember to have 
 seen. Directly opposite, on the other side of the 
 city, is Arthur's Seat, a high romantic hill. A 
 little lower, and a little nearer, is Salisbury Crags, 
 a bold range of rocks : and, at some distance from 
 it, is another rock, on which stands the observa- 
 tory. We see on the south or east a fine country, 
 beautifully ornamented with noblemen and gentle- 
 men's seats. On' the north is part of the sea, with 
 pyramids of rock rising above its surface, and ships 
 waving their canvass, while passing and re-passing 
 to and from the harbour of Leith ; over which is the 
 coast of Fife ; while on the west lies a fine champaign 
 country, where is seen narrowing the Frith of 
 Forth, which terminates among the gloomy High- 
 lands. Having thus looked, if the eye descends to 
 
SCOTLAND. 89 
 
 objects beneath oiWs feet, it beholds the venerable 
 metropolis of an ancient monarchy, still extending 
 itself into streets and squares of modern magnifi- 
 cence. What a contrast this to the Frazers', Grants 1 , 
 and Camerons' countries, where the Highland 
 huts stand as irregularly as the whin-bushes on a 
 common ! But here, order, comfort, and even 
 elegance, are conspicuous. It is to be regretted, 
 that, at no very great distance from these scenes, 
 large bodies of our fellow-creatures are far, very 
 far behind, as to the comforts and accommodations 
 of life. The natural result of this is a wish, that the 
 lowest classes in the Highlands were taken by the 
 hand, and led to an industry tending to something 
 of permanent comfort. There is a tendency in man 
 to better his condition ; but I do not see how these 
 people can better theirs, without help at starting. 
 I would not by any means be understood as de- 
 scribing them comfortless : they enjoy the pure 
 air and the breezes of health on their native moun- 
 tains. They drink at the clear spring, climb their 
 rugged rocks, and bound over their wastes, with a 
 vigour that our citizens cannot equal ; and perhaps 
 these simple feelings of our nature, the foundation 
 of our enjoyments, are as lively in them as in the 
 rest of mankind. Then, who could wish to change 
 their situations ? Indeed, to put the accomplished 
 
90 THE BIIITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 inhabitants of the Lowland cities into the High- 
 land cabins, and to make the Highland hutters the 
 occupiers of the New Town of Edinburgh, would be 
 to make both miserable. Having seen the High- 
 lands, and having seen Edinburgh, I am satisfied. 
 I therefore feel inclined, for the present, to lay 
 down my pen. 
 
ENGLAND. 
 
ENGLAND. 
 
 A DAY'S TOUR TO LANGDALE PIKES. 
 
 Being on a visit to the worthy family of Smith 
 at Coniston, and enjoying the pleasure of a fine 
 summer evening's ramble amid their delightful 
 scenery, a sail on their beautiful lake was proposed 
 for the next morning. My young female friends 
 had learned the use of the oar, and they offered to 
 row me themselves down the lake ; but having 
 seen Langdale Pikes rising amid the clouds, I 
 rather preferred visiting them : the proposal was 
 readily agreed to, as the journey would be as new 
 to them as to me. My female companions rose at 
 three in the morning, but it rained : however, by 
 six it cleared up. We soon collected, and, in the 
 stile of Queen Elizabeth, breakfasted on bread 
 and beef. We made a hearty, but not a long meal ; 
 and, with our provisions in our pockets and our 
 staves in our hands, we departed, tripping along the 
 road as light-heeled and light-hearted as the roes of 
 the mountains. 
 
94 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Silver clouds were thinly scattered over the 
 heavens, while their shadows beautifully chequered 
 the earth ; numerous white cottages were smoking 
 in the valleys below, or on sundry little eminences 
 around us ; the peasants were going forth to their 
 labour ; the cattle, relieved of their milk, were re- 
 turning to their pastures ; the sun was warm, the 
 air was still ; while the Lake of Coniston, reflect- 
 ing the blooming landscape, seemed slumbering in 
 native beauty. Through such scenery we pro- 
 ceeded, our minds exulting amid the glories of 
 Nature, and glowing with benevolence. Our con- 
 versation was cheerful and simply sentimental ; yet, 
 like a group of Indians, we sometimes passed on 
 in silence. We had no servants following nor 
 lap-dogs sporting around us ; yet we were occa- 
 sionally accompanied by a sociable butterfly, which 
 winged her way before us, then perched on a peb- 
 ble till we came up, and then set off again. 
 
 Having ascended an eminence, we made a halt 
 to look both ways ; and few stations, by turning on 
 the heel, afforded so strong a contrast. If we 
 looked back, we saw below us the Lake of Coniston, 
 with its bays and woody points, stretching a long 
 way : if we looked forward, we had Raven Crag 
 right before us ; an immense assemblage of not 
 very lofty mountains, — rather of clustering crags, — 
 rugged and broken in the finest manner. We 
 
 
LANGDALE PIKES. 95 
 
 pursued our journey along its base ; but our eyes 
 were often turned towards its summit, till at length 
 we had left it in our rear, and other mountains 
 offered themselves to our inspection, some of them 
 of savage aspect, which to a stranger might suggest 
 savage inhabitants, and portend danger ; but here 
 all was peace and pastoral tranquillity. Yet the 
 tranquillity of these pastoral regions is often dis- 
 turbed, and the ear of the stranger is often startled, 
 by the blowing up of the slate-rocks; while the 
 tremendous echoes are thundered through the 
 mountains. 
 
 We now descended into a valley, and traversed 
 the level shores of Elter-Water. After various 
 windings we passed a bridge, and entered Lang- 
 dale. Here we paused in admiration of the objects 
 before us, which formed a very noble scene for the 
 pencil. In the foreground was a rapid river, 
 foaming over a rugged channel ; on the right was 
 Langdale Chapel, whose humble roof was scarce 
 distinguished from a few scattered cottages that 
 surrounded it, which assimilated with the workings 
 of the slate. These contrasted well with a beautiful 
 woody eminence on the left. In the centre, in 
 solemn majesty rose a stupendous mountain, that 
 bore on its frowning forehead The Pikes of Lang- 
 dale, which seemed like pillars to support the 
 heavens. 
 
96 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 We pursued our route through the Vale of Lang- 
 dale, which we found more considerable than we 
 had supposed. Yet we sometimes turned aside to 
 explore the slate quarries, which, had it not been 
 for the implements of labour they contained, would 
 hardly have been conceived to be the works of man, 
 but rather huge caverns and grottoes scooped out of 
 the mountains by the hand of Nature. In some 
 places they rose in rugged and lofty arches, that 
 almost excluded daylight : in others, with shaggy, 
 rifted, perpendicular walls, that seemed like prodi- 
 gious castles or dungeons with their roofs fallen in. 
 Some of these immense caverns were of pale blue, 
 the native colour of the new-wrought rocks : over 
 others, that had been long left, Time had thrown a 
 reddish tint, which added to their solemnity. 
 
 As we passed along, the road became elevated, and 
 near a respectable looking house a very sublime 
 scene opened before us. Beneath our feet lay the 
 Vale of Langdale, with its river, its green fields, and 
 scattered cottages smoking amid their tufts of trees. 
 On either hand, particularly to the east, far up 
 the sides of lofty mountains, were beautiful en- 
 closures : right before us rose an immense moun- 
 tain, (before described, but much nearer,) that 
 seemed a termination to this part of the world, 
 crowned with the Pikes of Langdale that shoot 
 into the clouds. We entered a gate and sat us 
 
LANGDALE PIKES. 97 
 
 down beneath some trees, when these noble fea- 
 tures of Nature were delineated by my com- 
 panions. We rose to pursue our journey, and were 
 admiring the situation of the just-mentioned house, 
 when, to our utter surprise, not a glimpse of the 
 mountain or valley was to be seen ! I feel some- 
 thing of a respect for the hand that plants a tree ; 
 but to have raised such an impenetrable cloud of 
 wood before such an interesting prospect, was 
 among the tasteless occurrences of human actions 
 that could hardly have been conceived. 
 
 Arrived at the foot of the mountain, I entered a 
 cottage to enquire concerning the ascent. I met 
 with an aged woman, whose countenance was sor- 
 rowful, and she little noticed my enquiries. I 
 advanced a little farther, and saw in the parlour an 
 old man propped up in his chair, pale and languid, 
 and breathing with great difficulty, with some 
 younger persons standing pensively beside him. I 
 conceived him to be her dying husband. Alas ! at 
 that moment how different were his views and ours ! 
 — yet the moment at which he is arrived will as- 
 suredly arrive to us. I retired, sorry at the in- 
 trusion. 
 
 We now began to ascend. Juliet and I traversed 
 the surface of the mountain : her sisters ascended in 
 a straight direction ; but on our recommendation 
 they adopted our plan, and certainly in such an 
 ascent the waving walk is easiest and best. We 
 
 pi 
 
98 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 sometimes turned round to survey the sinking vales 
 and diminished objects beneath us, and found that 
 objects that appeared great when we were among 
 them, were, from the point we now surveyed them, 
 dwindled into mere nothings; while rocks and 
 points of mountains, that were scarce discernible 
 from the plains, were now grown into mighty and 
 overwhelming masses. 
 
 The time was now approaching when we were to 
 make our election what peak was to be visited in 
 preference to the rest ; but while we were thus 
 debating and slowly ascending, we found on our 
 right a great body of water lodged in the bosom 
 of the mountain. Its surface was calm, and re- 
 flected the dark and towering crags that rose from 
 its margin ; which crags seemed to be the base of 
 the eastern pyramid. With these impenetrable 
 bars on our right, Ave turned to the left and kept 
 still ascending, till we came to the foot of another 
 prodigious rock, which we deemed the base of the 
 middle Pike. The summit of the stupendous 
 mountain we had ascended is crowned with three 
 lofty Pikes, all composed of terrific and perpendi- 
 cular rocks, frowning with dreadful majesty. Seen 
 from the valleys below, they appear to rise at no 
 great distance from each other ; but when the 
 mountain is ascended, the traveller may toil with 
 many a weary step ere his labours reach from one 
 to another ; and he may look with alarm on many a 
 
LANGDALE PIKES. 99 
 
 frightful precipice ere he ascend to the summit of 
 their terrific pinnacles. That to the north-west 
 seems the lowest, but most regular and conical ; 
 that to the south is next in elevation, but more 
 broken and rugged. That to the east overlooks the 
 rest, and indeed all these mountainous regions ; and 
 rises in masses of immense rocks that are beheld 
 with horror, and whose forms cannot be ascertained. 
 At a distance, the eye shapes them into some- 
 what regular forms ; but exploring their tremendous 
 recesses, the traveller is alarmed and bewildered. 
 To these sublime and dreadful regions I ascended 
 with my intrepid maids, and was the first to express 
 any thing like fear. Catherine, who feels a kind- 
 ness for the whole creation, offered me her hand ; 
 while Elizabeth, with a courage I had never met 
 with before, proposed to explore what remained, 
 and, winding round the corner of a rock, presently 
 ascended out of sight. I have felt pain from the 
 absence of those I value ; the absence of Elizabeth 
 was terribly extended, and was accompanied with 
 feelings of distress, From some situations at a 
 great distance, Langdale Pikes had appeared like 
 prodigious pillars : it somehow or other suddenly 
 impressed me as if we were high up on the side of 
 one of these pillars, and in danger of slipping 
 down. Under these impressions, Elizabeth's ab- 
 sence was a period of dreadful suspense : I knew not 
 
 h 2 
 
100 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 whether she might be clambering up the cliffs above 
 us, or falling down the precipices below; — her sisters, 
 too, began to think her long. But we were at length 
 relieved by her calling to us from the cliffs over our 
 heads. In her descent she had missed her way, and 
 got on a shelf of rocks higher than that on which 
 we sat. However, we soon got all together again, 
 and joyfully eat our dinners amid these aerial halls 
 of Nature. Who is there that need be discouraged 
 at undertakings, however apparently arduous ? For 
 perhaps ten years I had projected an expedition to 
 this alpine mountain, and this day it was accom- 
 plished : but who would ever have conceived that 
 I should have been led on by such amiable con- 
 ductors ? 
 
 The clouds were now collecting in the south, 
 which hastened our descent down the mountain; 
 yet the threatened rain did not prevent our visiting 
 the waterfall in Dungeon Gill ; where, in a fissure of 
 the mountain, and inclosed by gloomy rocks, a 
 considerable stream is discovered tumbling from a 
 lofty precipice into a deep and dark bason. Near 
 the summit of, and over this cataract, a natural 
 bridge is elegantly suspended. From the tremen- 
 dous wall of rock, two lofty and pointed rocks pro- 
 ject, between which an enormous mass of the same, 
 in the form of a wedge, has found its way, and 
 completes this sublime arch, which the stranger 
 
LANGDALE PIKES. 101 
 
 surveys with admiration, but shudders at the idea 
 of passing. 
 
 When we arrived in the valley we turned to the 
 high end of Langdale, and beheld it surrounded 
 by a magnificent assemblage of mountains towering 
 among the mists, and magnified by the rain. We 
 returned through Little Langdale ; through Yew- 
 dale, with its venerable yew-tree; and through the 
 delightful valley of Tilberthwaite, with its hundred 
 woody knolls. 
 
 The skies were now pouring down upon us, and 
 the brooks were rising as we passed along : — the 
 scenes must have been beautiful, and we must have 
 had a disposition to enjoy them, for, drenched as 
 we were with rain, we were still pleased and inte- 
 rested. If hedges and rivulets crossed our way, 
 and I lamented our difficulties, there was never 
 any thing worse than a smile on the part of my fe- 
 male companions : the walls were climbed and the 
 rivulets were waded ; and after being eleven hours 
 on our feet, and walking between twenty and thirty 
 miles, we arrived in safety; and our return was 
 crowned with no light felicity in seeing Captain 
 Smith again among his family: in the morning it 
 was not known but that he might be gone with his 
 regiment to Egypt. 
 
102 THE BUITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 THE MAN MOUNTAIN. 
 
 The Man Mountain of Coniston, called in the 
 neighbourhood Coniston Old Man, rises majesti- 
 cally on the opposite side of the lake. This we had 
 often talked of ascending ; and paying my annual 
 visit to this truly estimable family, several years 
 after our former journey, I proposed it. Two of 
 my companions to Langdale Pikes could tread no 
 more mountains with me ! Excellent Elizabeth, it is 
 known, died in 1806; and the amiable Catherine 
 died on the borders of Italy, where her husband had 
 taken her for the recovery of her health. The sub- 
 ject of my enterprize being under consideration, 
 Juliet Smith, who excels in planning this sort of 
 operations, observed, that two servants from Tent 
 Lodge had ascended the day before, and the 
 stronger of them (from Bath) might go again and 
 be my guide. On being called up, he declared he 
 would not undertake such a journey again upon 
 any consideration ; for, if it had not been for a 
 guide from the slate quarries, they would never 
 have got to the top ; so I was recommended to take 
 my aim at the slate quarries, for a guide. 
 
THE MAN MOUNTAIN. 103 
 
 I had rode nineteen miles in the morning ; and, 
 having dined, set off at three o'clock, no way discou- 
 raged at my great object full before me. The Man 
 Mountain of Coniston is a fine stately British Alp ; 
 at its base lies the beautiful village of Coniston, 
 scattered among groves and green fields : the 
 white cottages contrast well with the woods and 
 inclosures. The form of the mountain on the left 
 is a gradual ascent from its base to its summit. On 
 the right ascends a secondary mountain, steep and 
 rugged : ridges, furrows of rocks, like a ploughed 
 field, compose its front ; and its summit is crowned 
 with grandeur and wildness. Between this and the 
 Man Mountain is a deep valley, from which the 
 majestic mountain rises very abrupt, if not in 
 some places perpendicular. The side of the moun- 
 tain to the right is also terribly steep ; so to scale 
 it in these directions seemed to me impracticable. 
 
 When about to leave the inclosures, I met 
 the last workman from the slate-quarries ; so I 
 could obtain no guide there : and I came up with 
 a man and woman ; so I had three counsellors, and 
 asked their advice how I might best accomplish my 
 object. The men answered me gravely and judi- 
 ciously ; the woman seemed to take more interest 
 in my undertaking ; but some of her observations 
 were so odd, that I should not like to see them 
 standing on paper, much less to have them verified. 
 
104 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 They ended emphatically with this opinion, " You 
 will never get there to-night !" There is a toil in 
 travelling that induces depression ; consequently, it 
 may not be amiss in our exertions to introduce a 
 little cheerfulness : but there are bounds even to 
 this , therefore I shall not quote farther my honest 
 female adviser. 
 
 Deep chasms and awful precipices made the at- 
 tempt rather appalling ; but I thought I might 
 pursue my project while there was a path. Having 
 no guide, I cautiously reconnoitred the ground, 
 and chose mostly to ascend where rocks rose on 
 either hand ; so that I was generally walled in from 
 danger. I think at least half of the surface of the 
 mountain is covered with rocks and stones, the other 
 half with vegetation ; and I do not remember to 
 have climbed a mountain whose ascent was so plea- 
 sant, safe, and comfortable ; for if my foot had 
 slipped, I could not have fallen more than two 
 or three yards till 1 should have been lodged 
 against a rock : — then tumbling adds to the variety of 
 such a tour; and if one tumble, one has the pleasure 
 of getting up again. I steadily proceeded, and to 
 a considerable height, when two human figures with 
 spades on their shoulders crossed my way ; but 
 they immediately vanished, and I saw them no 
 more. 
 
 My way now became less and less steep, till I 
 
THE MAN MOUNTAIN. 105 
 
 stood on the summit of the Man Mountain : but it 
 moved not beneath me. A vast quantity of stones 
 are scattered on its crown, from which a Pike 
 (perhaps from beneath called The Old Man) is 
 rudely formed on the brink of a precipice towards 
 Coniston. I added seven stones to the fabric, but 
 declined looking down, for I wished not my present 
 tranquillity to be disturbed by giddiness. In like 
 manner I declined looking down the precipice on 
 Lever Tarn ; but I directed my attention to the 
 west, where the progeny of mountains was nume- 
 rous, and exhibited great variety. Some of the 
 nearest neighbours of the Man Mountain attempted 
 to look as loftily as himself: others exhibited them- 
 selves like the ridges of houses ; on which, seeing 
 their steep sides, I should not have trusted myself 
 to walk. But black clouds now came rolling 
 among them, and interrupted the prospect in that 
 direction ; so I looked to the south, and saw lakes, 
 lower mountains, and the cheering effects of thriv- 
 ing cultivation. 
 
 We all know how delightful it is to sit down to 
 rest after a long walk in a warm day : this I did, 
 and enjoyed it in perfection, though not in an ar- 
 bour of roses. But though I had not the hues or 
 the fragrance of gardens around me, yet the objects 
 with which I v/as surrounded were not the less in- 
 teresting. It is but few that spend many days of 
 
106 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 their lives on the highest points of high mountains ; 
 therefore, such a situation, under a serene sky and 
 above a varied landscape, could not fail to fasten 
 the attention. 
 
 Clouds now came between the sun and me ; yet 
 its declining beams illuminated the scenes that I 
 had left : towards these I again descended. Hav- 
 ing succeeded so well in my ascent, I was less care- 
 ful in my return, and got involved among the rocks ; 
 but it was not amiss to have a little sprinkling of 
 terror in the expedition. I joined my friends to 
 tea at seven o'clock in the evening. 
 
BLACK COMB. 107 
 
 BLACK COMB. 
 
 Being on a visit to some friends on the north- 
 west shore of Lancashire, and being under a pro- 
 mise to visit an old neighbour of mine settled in 
 Milham, I passed over into Cumberland at Brough- 
 ton, where I met with an instance of the inaccurate 
 description of distances, which is often inconvenient 
 to strangers. I had been told that Po-House was 
 three miles beyond Broughton : when I arrived 
 there in the dusk of the evening, I was informed it 
 was seven. I was a stranger, and alone ; but endea- 
 voured to follow my direction, till every object 
 around me was hid in darkness, and I was utterly 
 at a loss. A glimmering light, however, from a cot- 
 tage window revived a little hope : I rode up to it ; 
 and calling out, a man and his family came to the 
 door. I enquired the way and the distance to Po- 
 House: — I was told it was four miles ; but all direc- 
 tions in total darkness were utterly useless. The 
 answers I received to my questions, and the manner 
 in which they were given, gained my confidence ; 
 so I requested the master of the cottage to go 
 with me, and I would satisfy him for his trouble. 
 
108 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 We set off: finding he was a labouring man, I 
 desired he would get up behind me ; which he did. 
 He amused me with anecdotes of his country as we 
 jogged soberly on ; and when we were silent, I 
 amused myself with thinking that, if I had taken up 
 a robber, I was totally in his power. But the reader 
 will remember that, when we made the agreement, 
 there was ten times greater risk that I should be 
 lost, than that I should be robbed : so that, perhaps, 
 he may allow that I did not act unwisely ; and I 
 will cheerfully certify that my guide conducted me 
 in safety to where I wanted to be. 
 
 I found next morning that the dwelling of my 
 friend was at the foot of a tremendous rock, and 
 that Black Comb towered over the landscape. I 
 was desirous of ascending this distinguished moun- 
 tain ; but when I made known my inclination, I 
 was prevailed on to defer the attempt, by what 
 I was convinced was an erroneous statement of the 
 length of the way, and the length of the time neces- 
 sary to ascend and return from the mountain. But 
 it was an error unlike that which I had experienced 
 last evening : there the distance was greatly dimi- 
 nished, here it was much magnified ; for I was told 
 that if we set off at eight in the morning to visit 
 Black Comb, it would be six in the evening before 
 we returned. So, unconvinced, I gave way for the 
 present. 
 
 We now turned our backs on Black Comb, and 
 
BLACK COMB. 109 
 
 visited Milham Castle. This ancient mansion is 
 situate among fine woods, has an extensive park, 
 and a beautiful solitary place of worship not many 
 paces from its walls. The afternoon was spent in 
 reading and conversation, and in reviving the me- 
 mory of those that are departed, and days that are 
 over and gone. 
 
 The second morning was as inviting as the first, 
 and I renewed my proposals of visiting Black 
 Comb. The difficulty and distance had not dimi- 
 nished in the minds of those who opposed me, and 
 the undertaking grew less and less formidable in my 
 view. My kind host had never been there, so he 
 spoke not with decision either way ; but the oppo- 
 sition was so strong that I gave it up for the morn- 
 ing. The sky was clear at mid-day, so I deter- 
 mined to go ; and the kindness of hospitality gave 
 us an early dinner, and we set off at one o'clock. As 
 ardour is not always coupled with wisdom, we did 
 not seek by a circuitous path the easiest ascent, but 
 aimed at the summit of the mountain in a right 
 line : yet when we got on its steeps, though not 
 rocky, we were obliged to meander. The afternoon 
 was warm ; my companions often sat down. In that 
 I was not sociable : perhaps, having heard so much 
 about our long journey, and being all strangers, I 
 thought of taking care that we should not be left on 
 the mountain in the dark. 
 
 After several pauses, and perhaps twenty rests, 
 
110 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 which did not take up much time, we fell into a 
 commodious path which conducted us to the sum- 
 mit of the mountain. If we had entered this path 
 on leaving the valley, we should have had the gen- 
 tlest ascent that I remember up the sides of any 
 mountain, — except, perhaps, that of Pendle-Hill. 
 
 It is said that, coming from Ireland, Black Comb 
 is the first object that is seen by the mariner. Hav- 
 ing travelled little by sea, I do not know what cir- 
 cumstances make mountains most distinguishable : 
 if it is from the darkness of their hue, Black Comb 
 is likely to be seen first ; for, from the gloomy heath 
 on its upper surface, the mountain seems rightly 
 called. The base of the mountain being on the sea- 
 shore, the prospect from its summit abounds with 
 great variety. The sublime ocean occupies one 
 half of the circumference : rising from its surface, 
 on the south, are seen Peel Castle and the Isle of 
 Wallney. The Isle of Man is a conspicuous ob- 
 ject in the west. A fine indented coast is the bul- 
 wark of Cumberland against the sea ; on which are 
 seen Egremont, Bootle, Mulcaster, Ravenglass, 
 Broughton, and the peculiarly beautiful shores of 
 Duddon. Far in the east is an assemblage of 
 mountains that we supposed to be those of Conis- 
 ton and Ambleside : perhaps Hardknot and Wry- 
 nose, Langdale Pikes, and Helvellyn. 
 
 After satisfying ourselves with these scenes, we 
 
BLACK COMB, 111 
 
 began to descend. The sun lay below us as a vast 
 mirror of silver, save that it was divided in twain 
 by a pitchy cloud that overshadowed a third of its 
 expanse. This gave a dark solemnity to the scene, 
 that seemed ominous of coming storms. We were 
 again in the vales before sun-set, and at our tea be- 
 tween five and six o'clock. 
 
 I rose early next morning to take my leave, but 
 the cloud that hung over the sea had been a true 
 sign of what was in progress, for the day was so 
 tempestuous I hardly crossed the threshold. I 
 approached Po-House in darkness, and left it next 
 morning before it was light. I had a certain dis- 
 tance to go in a given time, and the time was too 
 short : I rode quick, and did not know the way, 
 though I had travelled it before. On a sudden my 
 mare went on unwillingly, and leaned to one side. 
 The sagacity of animals is sometimes worthy of 
 being recorded. I urged her forward, but she 
 grew no better : I let her have her way : she 
 turned round, bounded from the road, hurried 
 back to the place where she became uneasy, 
 took a different direction, and went on pleasantly 
 after in the right way. 
 
 I arrived at Fell-Foot at the foot of Winander- 
 mere. There I found Mary Dixon at the head of 
 her table, carving for between forty and fifty juve- 
 nile guests. She had established a school ; these 
 
112 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 were her scholars, and she was giving them a fare- 
 well dinner. It was a cheering sight : but when I 
 accompanied her to her school, and saw her make 
 them presents and bid them farewell, it was touch- 
 ing to see them shed tears on resigning their 
 benefactor. Mary Dixon was the daughter of 
 Smeaton who built the Edystone Lighthouse, and 
 was an uncommon woman. I have some happy 
 specimens of her poetic talent ; and her eight draw- 
 ings of the Hebride Isles, and one general view of 
 these islands rising above a turbulent sea, also 
 shew how she excelled with her pencil. 
 
PENDLE-HILL. 11.3 
 
 PENDLE-HILL. 
 
 When we leave home, our leading object is 
 sometimes the visiting of our friends; but in our 
 excursions it frequently happens that other objects 
 lay hold of our attention. I had been under promise 
 for years to visit a friend with whom I had long 
 been acquainted : with that view I went into Lan- 
 cashire. After passing their handsome though an- 
 cient capital, I turned into Wiersdale, and rode 
 along what appeared to me rather a solitary country: 
 — modern refinement seemed not to have reached it, 
 but in lieu thereof I met with native character, 
 which is generally as interesting. I passed the 
 Trough-of-Bollan, Browsholme, and Clithero, and 
 then rested at Reedyford. In paying visits after- 
 wards, the most conspicuous object in our walks 
 was Pendle-Hill ; and it was presently proposed 
 that we should ascend it. 
 
 It has frequently been my lot on mountain excur- 
 sions to go from the valleys alone ; but here a party 
 was soon formed, and not a very small one : neither 
 
 i 
 
114 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 was there any lack of conveyances for the expedi- 
 tion; so we set forward, and 
 
 Along the lanes, along the vales, 
 
 A pleasant ride it was; 
 And, driving through the villages, 
 
 They look'd to see us pass. 
 
 With sober steps we climb the hill ; 
 
 We climb — ascending slow : 
 And oft we look above our heads, 
 
 And oft we look below. 
 
 Though we did not ride to the summit of Pen- 
 dle-Hill, yet we did not leave our conveyances till 
 labour and effort seemed overcome : and if, indeed, 
 we had been rather exhausted with the ascent, our 
 spirits and vigour would have been restored by the 
 plenty that accompanied us ; and I am not sure that 
 a higher relish is experienced by parties dining 
 sumptuously in cities, than with simpler fare on the 
 tops of lofty mountains. 
 
 Pendle-Hill is not surrounded by other moun- 
 tains : Ingleborough and Penegant, indeed, are seen 
 rising at a distance ; but these do not interrupt the 
 prospect of the plains. We looked around us from 
 different sides of Pendle-Hill : the site of towns 
 was determined by their smoke, and the situation 
 of villages by tufts of trees ; but as we do not see 
 
FENDLE-HILL. 115 
 
 the features of a man at the distance of a mile, we 
 could not distinguish the characters of objects in 
 our extensive prospects ; yet we were gratified in 
 looking over such a wide tract of country. We 
 were pleased with our sociable excursion, and we 
 were pleased to return to those comforts we had 
 left in the morning. 
 
 i 2 
 
116 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 HARDROW WATERFALL. 
 
 Having been in Wensley Dale,— perhaps the 
 finest vale in Yorkshire, and one of the finest valleys 
 in England, — when about to leave it and my friends, 
 with whom I had passed a little time, we were re- 
 commended to visit Hardrow Waterfall. Two lofty 
 rocks, perhaps near a hundred yards high, and 
 some hundred yards apart, announced its vicinity. 
 People were seen labouring on their summits in the 
 occupations of husbandry. Scattered at their base 
 lay numerous fragments of rocks, which had been 
 precipitated from time to time from their sides, or 
 from their summits ; and a stream over a rugged 
 channel complained at our feet. 
 
 This wild valley narrowed as we went on; and, 
 winding in its direction, we were soon completely 
 enclosed. We now heard a loud rumbling sound, 
 and anon saw a stream of water falling from on 
 high into a dark bason, without interruption. The 
 rocks terminated the vale in a semicircle, and de- 
 livered from their summit this column of water, 
 said to be ninety-six yards high. The face of these 
 
HARDROW WATERFALL. 117 
 
 rocks shewed us a great variety of strata : their 
 projecting summits were limestone ; but below was 
 of a softer texture, and had mouldered away in the 
 course of ages : hence it was not difficult to make 
 one's way beneath overhanging rocks, and beneath 
 this lofty waterfall. 
 
118 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 1NGLEBOROUGH. 
 
 I now parted with my companions ; and a promise 
 long unfulfilled, and founded in friendship, drew 
 me towards Settle. The day was fine ; and, wind- 
 ing among the hills, Ingleborough soon caught my 
 attention, and almost instantly awakened in me an 
 ambition to get upon its summit. — Ingleborough 
 is a vast mass of mountain, very abrupt towards In- 
 gleton and Chapel-in-the-Dale. On other sides its 
 ascent is from hill to hill, till its summit is attained. 
 The last stage of the mountain bears in the distance 
 the air of a fortification ; or, with an allusion to the 
 human figure, we may say, when arrived on the 
 shoulders of the mountain, we have then a steep 
 and formidable neck to ascend ere we are safe ar- 
 rived on its crown. In fact, seen from a distance, 
 Ingleborough has something of the appearance of 
 art about its summit. 
 
 Though a stranger, and without a guide, I soon 
 determined to try my strength in treading on the 
 sides and summit of this noble mountain. I left 
 my horse at a cottage, and in my ascent was sur- 
 prised to find, that while many of the fertile plains 
 
INGLEBOROUGH. 119 
 
 of England were withering under long-continued 
 drought, the lower steeps of Ingleborough were 
 luxuriant with verdure, and even afforded spoils for 
 the scythe. In my ascent I disturbed many a 
 homely couple of moor-game, who, in return, loudly 
 scolded me for the intrusion, and hurried indig- 
 nantly out of my sight : their rage was like the 
 scolding of hens, but far louder. 
 
 I now came to my difficulties ; and, as a child 
 learning to walk, and afraid of falling, creeps on his 
 hands and knees, thus, to gratify my ambition, I 
 crawled among: the rocks fallen from the summit of 
 the mountain. I durst not look behind me, lest 
 my head should become giddy ; so with alternate 
 glimpses to what was above me, I looked right 
 down to the earth : consequently, my prospect ex- 
 tended but a few yards. 
 
 When I nearly arrived at the top, I fell into a 
 path, which, if I had entered at the beginning, my 
 ascent would have been comparatively easy. I now 
 stood on a plain, and I walked without apprehen- 
 sion. Two respectable persons that I joined, told 
 me I had come up the worst way. Ingleborough 
 may be said to take precedence of all the Yorkshire 
 mountains : it stands prominent before the rest, 
 and forms on its summit a spacious plain (said to be 
 a mile in circumference), whereon might almost stand 
 the adult population of the county. I should not 
 
120 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 now have any objection to see it so assembled ; but 
 not to hold races, as I have been informed was 
 sometimes the case. What would please me better, 
 would be to see the population of Yorkshire so as- 
 sembled around their late representative Wilber- 
 force, and him on horseback addressing the multi- 
 tude 
 
 This interesting landscape exhibits in the dis- 
 tance the mountains of Cumberland and Westmor- 
 land. Those of Yorkshire and Lancashire are 
 more contiguous: amongst the most distinguished 
 of these are Wernside, Penegant, and Pendle-Hill. 
 Little Ingleborough is attached to its parent, on 
 whom I now stand. Sunshine and shade now fur- 
 nished the beauties of contrast. The sun shining 
 on a full sea from Lancaster to Mi 11 thorp and Ul- 
 verston appeared to spread a plain, or rather to 
 form a swell, of glittering silver. The towers of 
 Lancaster Castle, and its adjoining steeple, rose 
 venerably in the distance. Clustering villages and 
 white cottages, amid green fields and yellow har- 
 vests, spoke of peace and of comfort to the ad- 
 miring beholder. 
 
 In the Yorkshire part of the landscape was a 
 peculiar trait. Far below where I stood, at another 
 season of the year, would have appeared considera- 
 ble districts of snow : indeed they now, when the 
 sun shone, seemed to glitter like fields of ice, and 
 
INGLEBOROUGH. 121 
 
 they literally appeared to be divided like fields in 
 the landscape. The fact is, a species of white rock 
 spreads over many scores of acres in this neighbour- 
 hood, and rises so little above the earth, and is so 
 uniform on its surface, that a stranger might at 
 first sight be so deceived as to pronounce it 
 snow, ice, or fields spread with lime. I now looked 
 over a limestone country to a great distance ; and 
 the thought occurred to me, that if all that ingre- 
 dient in the composition of the earth now beneath 
 ray survey were to be burned into lime, it would 
 furnish that article for the whole world for many 
 ages. 
 
 Persons unacquainted in the valleys, when meet- 
 ing in the higher regions, are not inclined to keep 
 aloof from one another. One of the persons before 
 mentioned kindly offered me his arm, that I might 
 look with courage from the brink of the mountain, 
 as we made the circuit of its summit. Weak 
 heads on a high mountain, forsaking their forti- 
 tude, and joining their fears, are but in a poor 
 way. The fiftieth in the ascent is as safe as the 
 fifth on a sound ladder : but if we forget the 
 safety of our standing, and only think of the con- 
 sequences of our falling from such a height, we 
 begin to totter ; and if we are dashed to pieces in 
 imagination, it weakens our defence against being 
 so in reality. If we part with our presence of 
 
122 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 mind, we are in danger of falling a prey to our 
 fears, though standing on a rock. — But to return. 
 Beacons have been erected here, and even human 
 habitations in remote times ; and whether human 
 industry and the stimulus of self-defence have not 
 once led the rampart-wall round the summit of 
 Ingleborough, I will not take upon me to 
 determine. 
 
 I now descended from this animating excur- 
 sion, and rode down Ribblesdale to Settle. Re- 
 freshment and rest succeed well to exertion, and 
 the kindness of friendship is a cordial when our 
 spirits and our strength are below par : this cor- 
 dial I received from those whom I had prosecuted 
 my ride to visit. 
 
SETTLE. 123 
 
 SETTLE. 
 
 Settle is a pleasant place. I do not remember 
 a town of its extent, which, with its environs, has 
 so much comfort, beauty, and variety. The most 
 extraordinary feature in the Settle scene is a 
 lofty rock, Castlebar, that apparently overhangs 
 the town. This rock I wished to examine, and, if 
 practicable, to ascend. My kind host encouraged 
 the attempt, led me to its base, generously offered me 
 his arm, and supported me from terrace to terrace, 
 till, timidly admiring, I arrived at its summit. I 
 stood without trembling, and the apprehension of 
 giddiness left me in the descent ; so that perhaps, 
 if I had practised climbing, and taken a lesson 
 twice a day on this rock, it might have been the 
 school of courage for me. We are different at 
 different times : I was here more put to it than on 
 Ingleborough. 
 
124 
 
 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 GORDALE. 
 
 The neighbourhood of Settle has stores for the 
 admirer of Nature. We rambled to see Gordale ; 
 and in our way, in a high, wide, pastoral situation, 
 we met with Malham Tarn, a sheet of water per- 
 haps two or three miles in circumference. Swans 
 were sailing on its surface, which seemed to add to 
 its tranquillity. Lord Ribblesdale has built a 
 handsome hunting and fishing-seat on its margin. 
 This little lake ought to be recorded for having 
 the best Alpine trout to be met with in England :— 
 tradition says, the monks of Fountain Abbey 
 went to Switzerland and brought over the breed ; 
 and that they put them in possession of Malham 
 Tarn: which possession they have kept ever since, 
 and thrive as well as any family of fishes that is 
 known. 
 
 We now went to explore Gordale, of which I 
 had formed a very erroneous idea ; but that idea is 
 cast out by the reality, and utterly forgotten. Its 
 first appearance from an eminence was that of two 
 vast rocks, perhaps more at their summits than a 
 quarter of a mile asunder, and at least a hun- 
 
GORDALE. 125 
 
 dred yards high : their foreheads were finely tur- 
 reted with rock ; and, far up these stupendous 
 masses, I saw magnanimous sheep feeding and in 
 motion, their size and appearance like moving 
 mushrooms. 
 
 We now entered between these enormous 
 masses, which more and more approached each 
 other, and became more and more perpendicular. 
 The colour of things also changed : we were re- 
 tiring from a verdant world into a contracted 
 region, and that region was of darker hue. I 
 advanced till I was at length involved in a laby- 
 rinth of dark rocks : they seemed closed behind 
 me, and apparently inclined to meet over my head ; 
 for though, perhaps, almost a hundred yards high, 
 they did not seem more than eight or ten yards 
 asunder at their summits. 
 
 I now met the diminished Waterfall, and was 
 glad of the absence of its streams : though the 
 drought had deprived me of the foam and the fury 
 of a rushing torrent, and had bereft me of the thun- 
 der of its descent amid opposing rocks and their 
 scattered fragments, yet the absence of so animated 
 a feature in Gordale afforded me an opportunity of 
 scrambling up its channel, which at other times, 
 even if I had been sujish, I could not have effected. 
 The day was warm, and I left my hat and my staff, 
 and proceeded ; for I could not afford to lose a 
 
126 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 glimpse of any object, seeing the lower world was 
 shut out, and I saw but a small portion of the sky ; 
 and as to my staff, my hands were more to be de- 
 pended upon among the rocks than it. 
 
 I was soon lost to my guide, who hallooed after 
 me, and I shouted a reply. I had now scrambled 
 to where the cataract first bursts on the solemn 
 scene from its dark prison, which event is said 
 to have first taken place about sixty years ago. I 
 kept ascending, when a black rock (perhaps eight or 
 ten yards high) now rose before me, and, leaning 
 forward, appeared to frown on my approach : his 
 menacing attitude seemed to say, Proceed no far- 
 ther. However, as he would not give way to me, 
 I therefore, like a reasonable being, gave way to 
 him, and quietly passed on one side ; and verily 
 believe I should have made my way through this 
 interesting chaos quite out at the top, but I did 
 not know how my guide and I could then have 
 got together again : — besides, I was scrambling 
 among small stones which had fallen from above ; 
 and they and I all came down together. I was 
 amused with the turmoil: but when the fray ceased, 
 I looked around me, and began to contemplate the 
 vast masses of dark rock with which I was sur- 
 rounded. These massy columns were entire from 
 their base ; not built of different strata, as by the 
 hand of art. The character of the objects where- 
 
GORDALE. 127 
 
 with I was now surrounded, was that of gloomy 
 grandeur : I seemed imprisoned on either hand by 
 a vast wall of dark adamant. The frowning rock 
 before mentioned appeared to bar my escape up- 
 ward ; and below me, these awful rocks seemed to 
 wind precipitately into some profound unknown 
 abyss. If I had been brought here in my sleep, 
 and had awoke within the jaws of these terrible 
 monsters before my scattered spirits could have 
 been duly rallied, I should have been sadly frigh- 
 tened ! — I now beheld Gordale without dread; and, 
 with higher feelings than tranquillity, I surveyed 
 its terrible magnificence. 
 
128 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 MALHAM COVE. 
 
 On our return from Gordale we visited Malham 
 Cove ; where, without danger or apprehension, I 
 set my foot at the base of a perpendicular rock 
 ninety-six yards high, whose summit extended per- 
 haps to the width of three or four hundred yards, 
 while its bottom was not more than a fourth of that 
 compass. The surface of this vast rock is bordered 
 on each side by green hills, which might suggest 
 the idea of a narrow valley, in some of the convul- 
 sions of Nature, or in her more gradual processes, 
 having been filled with this mighty mass of marble. 
 The front of this bold rock is a singular scene : 
 arches bend over marble doors, perhaps some ten, 
 some twenty yards high. Imagination might sup- 
 pose these doors would be the entrances to subter- 
 raneous wonders; but all is solid, impenetrable rock: 
 and though a decanter, apparently ten yards high, 
 offers itself to the observation of the traveller, yet 
 I believe it does not contain a thimbleful of any 
 cheering beverage that we know of. However, it is 
 worthy of remark, that the river Air (whose wind- 
 ing course I once traced from Leeds) first issues from 
 
MALHAM COVE. 129 
 
 the foot of this rock, and perhaps its reservoir is 
 Malham Tarn. 
 
 When we again approached Settle, we descended 
 into a beautiful verdant vale, surrounded with pic- 
 turesque hills — or more properly rocks — whose sides 
 were covered with herbage that afforded rich pas- 
 turage for sheep. Their summits were finely 
 broken, while caves at their base invited our search. 
 Settle is, indeed, the region of rocks and the land of 
 caves, which add an interesting variety to the 
 scenes scattered over our happy island. 
 
 On my returning north from Settle, an abrupt 
 rock of some miles' extent stretched on my right. 
 I alighted at the ebbing and flowing spring ; but 
 having inspected it before, I did not remain long 
 enough to ascertain how high it arose, and how low 
 it fell. 
 
130 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 CHAPEL-IN-THE-DALE. 
 
 I rode towards Ingleton ; but, instead of en- 
 tering it, I turned to the right. When I came to 
 Chapel-in-the-Dale, I found it standing low amid 
 lofty mountains. Trie humble edifice corresponded 
 with the humility of its site, and an adjoining cot- 
 tage was in unison with the simplicity of the place 
 of worship : both were beautifully weather-stained, 
 and appeared to have stood side by side for a 
 number of years, much beyond that of the age of 
 man. In the grave-yard I found a fellow-creature 
 reading the inscriptions on the tomb-stones : sadness 
 was on his countenance when he told me a burial 
 was to be there that day. I could not find in my 
 heart to ask him whether it was a friend or a rela- 
 tion of his that was coming to his long home. 
 
WEATHERCOTE CAVE. 131 
 
 WEATHERCOTE CAVE. 
 
 I passed on, and now inquired for Weathercote 
 Cave, and was led by my guides to the entrance of 
 a grove. We had proceeded but a few paces among 
 the trees, when a singular hollow presented itself, 
 with a precipitate descent. The solitary region 
 into which we were now descending was an oblong 
 crater, perhaps sixty yards in circumference: un- 
 like others, it was without fire; but its sides were 
 composed of the most interesting materials — pro- 
 jecting rocks, whose points were beautifully fringed 
 with moss, and from whose crevices trees and shrubs 
 were ascending ; while numerous little springs 
 trickled downward as the trees shot upward. 
 
 As we began to go down, imagination was start- 
 led with the rushing sound of unseen waters. I 
 do not remember when I have been more impressed 
 with the dread sublime, than when now, descending 
 into the bowels of the earth, I heard the loud 
 rumbling of a subterraneous torrent ; but terror 
 could hardly be admitted on the occasion, when a 
 child of four years old played up and down the 
 k 2 
 
132 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 precipices before me. To have familiarized myself 
 by degrees with what appeared so appalling, the 
 Lesser Cave, as it is called, offered me an apart- 
 ment near its summit, on the right : my guide 
 pointed it out, and informed me that the descent 
 into the lower cavern is forty-five yards; this I 
 effected without difficulty or danger. Athwart 
 this beautiful pit, perhaps ten yards from its 
 summit, a rock is suspended, that seems accident- 
 ally to have fallen from above. Again, perhaps 
 eight or ten yards below this, rushes a noble column 
 of water, that falls twenty-five yards. To pause, in 
 accompanying its descent, is highly interesting: its 
 rushing noise and silver foam are accompanied with 
 dignity and beauty : and to stand at its base and 
 look upward to such a powerful column of water 
 falling from on high, whose weight would have 
 laid prostrate the strength of man, filled the 
 mind with conflicting images of grandeur and ap- 
 prehension. The waters did not accumulate at 
 my feet, or they would have hastened my escape. 
 My guide told me that the summer before last a 
 mountain thunder-storm sent down such a flood, 
 that the cave was immediately overflowed, and it 
 deluged the adjoining lands. 
 
 Where I now stood, though forty-five yards 
 below the surface, an almost vertical sun illumined 
 
WEATHERC0TE CAVE. 133 
 
 the scene : it shone on the rocks above my head, 
 and turned their mosses into gold ; while the trees, 
 gilt by his beams, seemed growing in the skies : — 
 it might be said that, looking from a pit, I beheld 
 a heavenly prospect. 
 
134 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 KINGSDALE. 
 
 Filled with a new train of ideas, I now wound 
 my solitary way round the base of Wernside, and 
 entered Kingsdale ; but why it is so called I do 
 not know, for I can hardly conceive any king 
 ever took up his abode in Kingsdale, or ever will, 
 unless as a hiding-place from his enemies, for a dale 
 more barren and desolate I have hardly ever seen. 
 The higher sides of this wild valley are covered with 
 white rocks ; — no corn, and hardly any hay, grows 
 in the lower situations. I saw but two cottages in 
 the whole valley ; one of ancient date, the other 
 unfinished. The Earl of Lonsdale is lord over a 
 number of beautiful manors ; and he is lord over 
 Kingsdale. There are gradations of beauty and 
 of sterility ; and I should not wonder, notwith- 
 standing its imposing name, that Kingsdale is 
 more barren than all the rest : I have looked over 
 its vale and over its bordering mountains, but not 
 with the pleasure I should do over Patterdale or 
 Crosby-Ravensworth. 
 
 I was now desirous of ascertaining whether 
 there might not be in Kingsdale something more 
 
KINGSDALE. 136 
 
 interesting beneath the surface than above it ; but 
 I shall sacrifice to the experiment the light of the 
 sun and a beautiful sky. This is the way of us 
 unstable mortals : we will risk a change, though 
 it is from better to worse. 
 
 I overtook the farmer of these poor domains, 
 and enquired for Yorda's Cave, and where I could 
 get lights to explore its gloomy recesses. He said 
 I need not seek for lights, for I should be amused 
 without them : he had often been in it without 
 light ; and he would hold my horse. So, through 
 his recommendation, I now entered alone this dark 
 dungeon of nature. Pendant rocks, at the entrance, 
 pointed their terrors from the roof; some of them 
 came as low as my knee : they seemed like the pe- 
 trified trunks of men hanging over one's head, and 
 some of them almost touched the floor. Between 
 these I entered into darkness and silence ; save 
 that I heard the sound of water to the right, and 
 that I was followed by a dim twilight, which here 
 and there shewed me the walls of my prison, I 
 threw stones into the deepest darkness ; but they 
 did not reach the boundaries. I made the same 
 experiments above my head, and with the like 
 success : so I winked, and stood still, and then 
 looked above and around me ; but could discern 
 nothing clearly, either of the height of this vast 
 cavern or of its utmost boundaries : but imagina- 
 
136 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 tion, I believe, made it more awful than it really 
 was, and helped me to people it with appropriate 
 inhabitants ; to wit, vagabonds and banditti. I 
 now wandered, well pleased, among imaginary 
 beings; but if the neighbourhood had been in- 
 fested with smugglers and sheep-stealers, I should 
 have hesitated 
 
 To grope my way round Yorda's dreary den, 
 The dismal haunt of fierce and lawless men. 
 
 My next visit was to a different scene, which 
 introduced a train of very different reflections to 
 these I have last made. I took up my abode in 
 the evening with a relation ninety-four years of 
 age. I had known him for twenty or thirty years, 
 and he received me with unabated kindness. Dur- 
 ing my stay he read me a chapter in the New 
 Testament, and two from Isaiah, in very small 
 print : this he did without spectacles, and read 
 audibly and distinctly. In his conversation he 
 shewed a mind possessed of probity, piety, and 
 intelligence, which apparently may be continued to 
 him for several years to come. How venerable is 
 old age, adorned with piety and intelligence ! 
 How cheering is the prospect, in the otherwise 
 cheerless situation, when, while the body is de- 
 
KINGSDALE. 137 
 
 scending to the earth, the aspirations of the soul 
 are ascending to heaven. 
 
 I have now been nearly a week conversant with 
 the dales of Yorkshire. I have visited Kingsdale, 
 Chapel-in-the-Dale, Wensleydale, Dibdale, Dens- 
 dale, Garsdale, Grisdale, Gordale, Raydale, Itib- 
 blesdale, and Ravenstonedale. On entering the 
 last, I came again into my native county ; where I 
 shall relieve the reader from pursuing me further 
 at present. 
 
138 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 It is a pleasant circumstance when an examina- 
 tion of the beauties of nature and art can conveniently 
 be coupled with necessary pursuits. In consequence 
 of an omission, twenty-eight years ago, by a person 
 who had left me a trustee, which omission involved 
 difficulty, and, if it could not be overcome, would 
 eventually injure helpless children — under these 
 circumstances, I took the coach for York Gate as 
 it entered Westmorland. We were four inside 
 passengers ; one, a gentlewoman from London. 
 During the first stage I did not hear her voice : 
 she seemed a grave and silent character, and held 
 something on her knee with great care, which I 
 discovered to be a canary-bird. When it became 
 the subject of conversation, she launched forth 
 freely in its praise, both with respect to the me- 
 lody of its notes and the beauty of its plumage. 
 She had been along with her husband to see their 
 friends in the North ; and she told us her canary- 
 bird had twice been one of the party in that jour- 
 ney ; so that, when returned again to London, it 
 will have travelled twelve hundred miles by land 
 
YORKSHIRE. 139 
 
 in one part of the kingdom. Concerning its other 
 journeys I did not inquire. 
 
 On our arrival at Leeming Lane at ten o'clock at 
 night, I was pressed to stay there ; for I was told 
 they would be in bed at York Gate, and I should 
 not get entrance : however, I was determined to 
 try ; and when we got there, all was in a bustle. 
 A company of gentlemen had been holding their 
 closing hunt for the season : I was introduced 
 among them ; and, though cheerful with wine, they 
 behaved kindly. I called for some supper, and one 
 of them requested to join me at my beefsteak. 
 The hounds afterwards came into the room — not 
 very unfit companions on the occasion. On looking 
 at my watch, and observing it was after twelve 
 o'clock, the hunters immediately separated with 
 much good-nature. 
 
 I found next morning I was five miles from 
 Rippon ; and that Peatley Bridge, the place of my 
 destination, was " twelve long miles beyond."" I 
 was now out of the line of coaches ; and they had 
 no licensed horses to let at the inn ; so the morning- 
 being fine, I took up my staff and departed. On 
 my way to Rippon I passed a number of fine teams, 
 going with their grain to market ; and a number of 
 genteel men, mounted on good horses, passed me. 
 I entered Rippon, surveyed its spacious market- 
 place crowded with stalls, glanced at the lofty 
 
140 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 obelisk, crossed Studley Park, and turned a little to 
 the right to see the exterior of the hall, whose cha- 
 racteristics seemed to me to be those of neatness 
 and comfort. Perhaps greater expectations might 
 be formed of the chief residence of one who I was 
 told possesses seventy thousand pounds a-year ; but 
 comfort is no inconsiderable ingredient in human 
 happiness. 
 
 I passed the village of Aldfield, but missed my 
 way, and went on till I came to the edge of a thick 
 wood filling a narrow valley. I heard the water 
 below, and ploughmen shouting to their horses on 
 the other side, but neither saw the one nor the other. 
 I believe the right way for me was over the valley, 
 but I could not see where to penetrate the wood. I 
 followed its border, watching for a descent : at 
 length I discovered one, and was almost astonished 
 to find myself in a valley so narrow and so deep, 
 with woods so thick and so lofty. I was plea- 
 santly bewildered, for I did not know what way 
 to go : and if time had allowed, I should have wan- 
 dered with delight, though I did not know where I 
 was. It seemed one of Nature's solitary retire- 
 ments, where Art had not intruded, save in turn- 
 ing up a narrow strip of rich soil that bordered the 
 winding rivulet. The stately woods seemed to wind 
 with the stream ; and, while I followed it, I found 
 no end of either. I concluded with myself, that 
 
YORKSHIRE. 141 
 
 surely such woods must be possessed by a wealthy 
 owner; and wished that owner would give direc- 
 tions that these lonely beauties might be more 
 accessible. 
 
 At length I made my escape ; but it was from 
 shade and from shelter to storm and sterility. My 
 way lay over a bleak and barren moor ; and I was 
 met and roughly handled by the pelting rain. As 
 I descended a hill I saw a house : I approached it, 
 and have seldom seen a sign hanging with more sa- 
 tisfaction. Here I ordered a little dinner ; and, 
 while it was preparing, my clothes smoked profusely 
 before the fire. My hostess was attentive and silent 
 in setting out her provisions. I observed on the 
 table riddle-bread : it is made of oatmeal, and ma- 
 nufactured something like pancakes. The reader 
 will perhaps wonder when I say I could eat nothing 
 else. It is now twenty years since my mother left 
 this world : she liked riddle-bread, and baked it : 
 I do not remember eating of it since her days. On 
 tasting it, a number of long-forgotten ideas crowded 
 on my mind ; — her looks, the sound of her voice, 
 and her care for me, all came into my thoughts. 
 These recollections melted my heart, and were the 
 sauce that sweetened my repast. I attempted to 
 maintain the conversation, but often could hardly 
 articulate. 
 
 I now asked the landlord to accommodate me 
 
142 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 with a great coat. He left the house for a few mi- 
 nutes, and returned with one of the best I ever put 
 on s I told him I was a stranger, and ought to 
 leave its value with him till I returned. This he 
 would not hear of : so I departed, as I thought, to 
 encounter further difficulties. I went to the best 
 inn at Peatley Bridge, and sent for the person I 
 wanted. On opening the business to him, he said 
 he could not give me an answer till he had con- 
 suited with a friend. I desired him to do so, for 
 I wanted not to mislead him. In half an hour he 
 returned with his attorney, who heard my state- 
 ments, and examined the papers I produced, with 
 attention. He said my statements were correct ; 
 and though the law leaned in favour of his neigh- 
 bour, yet, as an equitable and honourable transac- 
 tion, he must recommend his friend to do as I 
 proposed. He expressed his willingness. I then 
 said, their conduct was highly honourable ; that 
 what I sought for had been omitted, either from ig- 
 norance or family confidence : that I might be sup- 
 posed to have considered the subject more fully 
 than they could have done in the short time we had 
 been together ; and that I would present him with 
 a sum that I named, which I thought would be 
 reasonable on all sides. With this they both ex- 
 pressed their entire satisfaction ; and we separated 
 
YORKSHIRE. 143 
 
 as friends, not as men who had been contending for 
 separate interests. 
 
 I had now parted with my cares, and returned in 
 the dark to the sign of the Star, where I had bor- 
 rowed the great coat. I spent a pleasant evening 
 with the company present. On desiring the land- 
 lord to make my acknowledgments to the owner of 
 the coat for his kindness, he replied, — " This is 
 the owner.'" 
 
144 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 ROCKS OF BRIMHAM. 
 
 Next morning, looking accidentally out of the 
 window while at breakfast, I inquired, — " What are 
 the buildings on that dark mountain ?"" The landlord 
 replied, " Oh ! there are no buildings. Have you 
 not heard of the Rocks of Brimham, and the rock- 
 ing- stones there ? People come from Rippon and 
 from Leeds, and from Harrowgate, and far and 
 near, to see them.'''' This speech spread an unex- 
 pected temptation before me, and I gave way to it. 
 The landlord was my guide, and entertained me, as 
 we walked along, with their custom of driving bees. 
 — In Autumn they turn their replenished hives the 
 wrong side up, over which they set an empty one. 
 The bees ascend into their new apartments; they 
 then take them into their solitudes of heath, now in 
 full bloom. The industrious little people become 
 wonderfully rich in a short time ; quarts of honey 
 being obtained in one day. 
 
 We now ascended to the rampart Rocks of 
 Brimham, steep on different sides ; and soon found 
 ourselves on a spacious plain, perhaps thirty or 
 forty acres in extent. If we had carried back our 
 
ROCKS OF BRIMHAM. 145 
 
 ideas a thousand years, and added a little imagina- 
 tion, we might now have supposed ourselves among 
 the ruins of a city in the wilderness ; for, waste as 
 it looked now, the surrounding country then would 
 have been still more dreary. If we looked on the 
 numerous objects around us as ruins, here were 
 turrets and rifted towers, there were prostrate 
 columns and fallen battlements, and every where 
 large masses that might be supposed to have once 
 braved the attacks of man and the storms of Na- 
 ture. But these remains of antiquity are far more 
 ancient than the perishable works of man. Amid 
 these solemn objects Lord Grantley has built a 
 dwelling for a guide. I inquired his age, and he 
 shewed me his Bible, where he was registered in 
 1724. Though far past ninety, he did not seem en- 
 tered into extreme old age ; so that he may con- 
 tinue the guide for several years to come. 
 
 Looking at the Rocks of Brimham, I give up 
 the idea of the ruins of art, and contemplate them 
 as the remains of Nature ; for I conceive here even 
 rocks have had a change. These rocks are of a 
 soft, gritty freestone ; and the imperceptible hand of 
 time has wrought wonders. We were conducted 
 by our guide to the entrance of what I think were 
 called Divers Chambers. We were cautioned at 
 the entrance, and then left to make our way, which 
 was by scrambling into one lofty apartment after 
 
146 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 another. These, though not the least surprising, 
 were the least gratifying of all we saw ; for pleasure 
 was at an end when the apprehension of sticking 
 between two rocks was entertained. As perhaps I 
 could not allow myself more than a hour, I can but 
 attempt the description of a few particulars. 
 
 In one place, where the rocks assumed a lofty 
 appearance, stood two mighty masses, placed there 
 by the powers of Nature, and but just separated by 
 her potent hand. Anon my attention encountered 
 leaning columns and mishapen towers ; and in one 
 place I saw something like the strong tube, with'the 
 hopper bent to one side, which admits air into a coal- 
 pit. All these objects were of stone of a dark colour, 
 and beautifully weather-stained. At a distance, by 
 itself, I saw the Tea-table Rock, which from certain 
 stations had an appropriate name, — the stalk and 
 top being proportionate, and having that appearance. 
 When I came to it, its top was not circular, but 
 oval : I did not measure its dimensions, but suppose 
 it might be six or eight yards in circumference. 
 
 The Rocking-stones, however, have given the 
 greatest celebrity to these scenes; and such are 
 their mighty masses, that they might be as well de- 
 nominated the rocking Rocks as the rocking Stones of 
 Brimham. In one place four of these vast bodies 
 lay side by side, on other rocks of the same dimen- 
 sions. I regretted not having measured them. My 
 
ROCKS OF BRIMHAM. . 147 
 
 old friend spoke of some of them being twenty tons : 
 I have seen two of them stated in print to be of a 
 weight I hesitate to mention. But, whatever their 
 weight, I moved them one by one in a rocking mo- 
 tion ; and from one that I had clambered upon, 
 the day being windy, I was very glad to get down 
 again, it seemed so unmercifully agitated. To be 
 upon a wall tumbling beneath one's feet is not de- 
 sirable ; but to be upon falling rocks has something 
 horrible in it. I did not believe these rocks were 
 falling with their burthen; but they were so unsta- 
 ble beneath my feet, that I experienced an uneasy 
 sensation as I paced backward and forward on my 
 restless inanimate. The largest of these sleeping 
 monsters lay by himself : I awakened him with my 
 hand, and he moved his head and tail at least a foot 
 up and down. Having ascertained the fact, per- 
 haps I did not sufficiently examine into the cause of 
 this surprising motion. It would seem to me that 
 the air, acting on a very soft substance through a 
 long series of ages, has undermined these ponderous 
 blocks at their extremities, and less and less to their 
 centres on which they rest : hence a motion is easily 
 given at their extremities to the whole. 
 
 But the most interesting object to me was, if I 
 
 may use the expression, a stone tree. It must have 
 
 been so to the former owner of Studley, who said 
 
 he wouJd give ten thousand guineas to have it 
 
 l 2 
 
148 ' THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 standing perfect in Studley Park. It bears his 
 name, by being called The Aislabie Rock. Now, 
 suppose a tree of a similar outline, with an impene- 
 trable foliage of dark green, crowned with purple 
 blossoms, and you have the Aislabie Rock, or the 
 Stone Tree of Brimham. The stalk of the tree, 
 which I measured with my garters knotted to a 
 handkerchief, was eight feet, or rather more than 
 two yards and a half, in circumference. The girth 
 of its shade above was forty-eight feet, or sixteen 
 yards ; and this surprising bulk was perhaps about 
 six yards high. The heath grows luxuriantly on 
 its summit : I now beheld it with admiration and 
 with wonder. How magnificent an object must it 
 be in Autumn, illuminated with the sun, and 
 crowned with its purple turban ! If the incon- 
 gruity of the idea and expression of a wood of stone 
 could be tolerated, I would say, a forest of forty 
 acres of such like stone trees would be the most 
 wonderful wood in the world. But, Nature ! thy 
 lofty, luxuriant, and waning forests introduce more 
 pleasurable and elevated ideas into the mind, than 
 could be received from what we are now contem- 
 plating ; for an assemblage of stone trees would be 
 like the grove of Death. 
 
STUETLEY. 149 
 
 STUDLEY. 
 
 In a somewhat different direction from that by 
 which I came, I now bent my course towards 
 Studley. I inquired where and how I could enter 
 the grounds ; but was told I could not enter the 
 pleasure-grounds of Studley and Fountains'' Abbey 
 without proper recommendation. This threw a 
 cloud over my fair prospects, and I wished to 
 know the cause of such prohibition ; and was in- 
 formed that " Miss Laurance had, been insulted 
 when sitting alone on a bench in her grounds, and 
 that since then the pleasure-grounds of Studley and 
 Fountains 1 Abbey have been locked up. 11 
 
 Pursuing my course alone, and perhaps holding 
 rather too much to the left, I found myself again 
 entangled in the beautiful, bewildering valley from 
 which I had yesterday escaped. At this I was not 
 sorry: I began to discover that at a respectful dis- 
 tance Skelldale (for that is its name) seems a vast 
 moat, that in a circuit of many miles winds nearly 
 round the princely domains of Studley. I crossed 
 the accompanying stream, and was soon animated by 
 a view of the top of the Great Tower of Fountains' 
 
150 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Abbey, rising majestically among lofty trees. I 
 passed Fountains 1 Hall, as sheltered an abode as I 
 remember to have seen : backed by high grounds, 
 and flanked with wood, few of the winds of heaven 
 can touch its repose. It was built from the ruins 
 of Fountains 1 Abbey : its front bespeaks its anti- 
 quity; and three tier of crowned heads look forward 
 from its walls. I passed on : but during a shower 
 I sheltered beneath a rock, and was noting with 
 my pen the progress of my walk, when a gentleman 
 on horseback passed by. I hurried up my papers 
 and pursued, and signified the desire of a stranger 
 to see Studley. He readily offered to introduce 
 me : — the gates were unlocked : he said I might 
 ramble where I pleased, amusing myself till he sent 
 me a guide ; and told me at parting, the Earl of 
 Darlington that day hunted in Studley. 
 
 I ascended a walk to the left. The sun now 
 broke forth from the clouds. I sat down on a 
 bench, and never remember before to have been 
 surrounded with such refreshing and blissful 
 scenes. The melody of birds — the beauty of walks 
 — the verdure of lawns — the elegance of buildings 
 — the sublimity of woods— the resounding of cata- 
 racts and tranquillity of waters — all heightened by 
 the rare enjoyment of solitary surprise, seemed to 
 make a whole of pleasure long to be remembered. 
 Yet I will not say but one might have chosen a 
 companion whose society would have heightened 
 
STUDLEY. 151 
 
 the pleasure of these delectable scenes. I mused 
 on the objects around me. The parent of these 
 peaceful waters is a vigorous stream, rushing with 
 its white foam underneath the arch of an ancient 
 rustic bridge, and spreading its various little lakes, 
 whereon silent swans were enjoying themselves. If 
 these waters had an easy, winding margin, they 
 would be more natural; consequently still more 
 pleasing. These lakes are surrounded with lovely 
 lawns of the softest velvet, whereon other swans 
 on pedestals might be supposed to be rest- 
 ing; but they are Grecian or Roman figures of 
 similar whiteness ; such as Roman wrestlers, Her- 
 cules destroying Antaeus, &c. On the declivities 
 were ample slopes of dwarf laurel, above which rose 
 ancient oaks, whose withered arms were clasped 
 round with dark ivy. I occasionally left my seat ; 
 and in one place found a dead tree, which I should 
 not like to be removed : the bark and the branches 
 were indeed gone, but there was a solemnity in the 
 figure of its remaining trunk that I was inclined to 
 contemplate. I was still alone, and knew not the 
 names of many objects that surrounded me, but 
 learnt them afterwards. Here the Octagon Tower, 
 from a stately climbing wood, rose sublimely over 
 the scene ; there the Temple of Piety, with its roof 
 supported by plain pillars, and with a plain white 
 front, took its humble station by the still waters. 
 I now left my seat, and the scene and character 
 
152 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 of Studley was changed in an instant ; for to the 
 eastern gate of the garden came the Earl of Dar- 
 lington, with many gentlemen, dressed in scarlet. 
 The gate opened to him, and closed again on the 
 others. I inquired concerning the distinction, and 
 found he is commander-in-chief, or rather hunter- 
 in-chief in this part of the kingdom : but whether 
 he holds under the king; or under the owner of 
 Studley, I cannot say ; only I was told he has ham- 
 mer and pincers with him, and if the gates are fast 
 when he comes, he breaks them open. What unex- 
 pected changes take place ! An hour ago I was ex- 
 cluded these beautiful regions : now, besides ser- 
 vants, there were none in the gardens of Studley 
 but the Earl of Darlington and myself; the gen- 
 tlemen of the county of York were excluded : and I 
 have no doubt but that I was as high up in enjoy- 
 ment as the Earl of Darlington. I was amidst 
 a novel and sublime scene, and the Earl and his 
 troops contributed to my amusement There were 
 large parties of horse (I counted about fifty) sta- 
 tioned at the foot of the lake ; some upon emi- 
 nences, some under the trees of the park. There 
 was also a due portion of foot. Single gentlemen, 
 like aides-de-camp, also were seen frequently at full 
 gallop between the parties — now standing still, then 
 all in an instant at full speed ; the groves of Stud- 
 ley sometimes echoing with the cry of the hounds; 
 
STUDLEY. 153 
 
 and at one time came the hounds themselves after 
 reynard, but could not get out ; — the fox had been 
 more artful ; — so the porter opened the gate for them . 
 The whole hunting-party now vanished like an ap- 
 parition ; but I found it afterwards to be a reality, 
 for we met with the foot-marks of the dogs and 
 reynard in the sand ; and also the print of the 
 hoofs of Lord Darlington's horse on the gravel and 
 the turf. I inquired after the strange proceeding 
 of hunting in gardens and pleasure-grounds : they 
 replied, " We are not sorry to see Lord Darlington 
 hunt here, for we cannot keep our poultry from 
 the fox ; he goes with our ducks and geese, and our 
 guinea-hens, and even our young swans too :" — so 
 I was reconciled. 
 
 The gardener now ferried me over at the water- 
 fall above the lowest lake, which is eleven acres ; 
 and I inspected the objects I had seen in the dis- 
 tance from the opposite banks. The first building 
 I entered was the Temple of Piety, where the Gre- 
 cian daughter was supporting her father. This 
 humble temple does not rise above the surrounding- 
 objects that ornament the lawn and adorn the mar- 
 gin of the lake. We ascended from this temple, 
 through a subterraneous passage sixty yards in 
 length, to the Octagon Tower. From this sublime 
 elevation are seen the house, the obelisk, and other 
 objects with unremembered names. As we went 
 
154 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 on we passed a cave, the kitchen of the groves, 
 where the meat is prepared for rural festivals, when 
 cities are left to enjoy these charming solitudes. 
 We arrived next at the Temple of Fame, and from 
 thence looked down on the scenes below ; which, 
 though sunk far beneath us, had a sweet solemnity 
 in their appearance. This prepared us for our ap- 
 proach to the Gothic Seat ; which, on unfolding its 
 doors, opens in an instant on the fading glories of 
 Fountains 1 Abbey. 
 
fountain's abbey. 155 
 
 FOUNTAINS' ABBEY. 
 
 The venerable pile almost fills the whole valley, 
 to which we now readily descended, the Shell ac- 
 companying with its murmurs our approach. 
 When we arrived we found it issuing; from the foun- 
 dations of the Abbey, part of which had rose on 
 arches over its surface ; and, indeed, I now observed 
 the singular circumstance of a tall tree, thus sup- 
 ported, growing on the surface of a river. We now 
 entered the Sanctum Sanctorum, or Holy of Holies, 
 forty-four yards long and twelve broad. The walls 
 were standing, but the roofs gone ; while the sun 
 and the shower have nursed up a sublime grove in 
 that once sacred place. Indeed, in various apart- 
 ments, tall trees, twined round with ivy, beautify 
 the finest ruins I ever entered. I was beholden to 
 my guide for the dimensions of the place ; which he 
 told me once occupied ten acres, and yet occupies 
 two. The boldest feature of the whole is the Great 
 Tower, fifty -five yards high and eight yards square. 
 The body of the Abbey, between the fine-arched 
 east and west windows, is one hundred and seven- 
 teen yards long, and twenty-one yards wide. What 
 
156 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 a room when its roof was entire ! — and now how 
 sublime would be the splendours of moonlight 
 through these arches ! The Altar is removed ; 
 whether by human hands or the sacrilege of time, 
 I know not, but the Mosaic pavement round it is 
 preserved. Near it is a stone coffin, said once to 
 have contained the remains of Lord Henry Percy ; 
 and at no great distance, in stone armour, lies the 
 figure of the Earl of Mowbray . The Refectory, or 
 room for refreshment, is thirty-six yards long and 
 fifteen yards broad. The gloomy Kitchen has an 
 air of great antiquity, and its singularly arched 
 fire-place cannot fail to be interesting to the anti- 
 quary. The Cloisters, made for the gloomy retire- 
 ment of the inmates of this solemn mansion, are 
 in length one hundred yards, in width fourteen : 
 twenty-one pillars support the low-arched som- 
 bre roof. The whole apartment seems to Avear 
 a twilight gloom. The inhabitants are gone ; but 
 imagination can restore them sitting in coarse attire, 
 and with saddened looks, musing over the mysteries, 
 handling the traditions, or advocating the ceremo- 
 nies, of their religion. Above is the Dormitory : 
 its dimensions similar to those of the Cloisters. 
 Here forty-eight beds received the weary monks till 
 they arose to new labours. The roof is now gone, 
 and the grass grows where they slept. The length 
 and the width of these large apartments would have 
 appeared still more extensive if covered in : exposed 
 
fountains' abbey. 157 
 
 to the open air, their apparent magnitude is dimi- 
 nished. 
 
 We have seen the decline of these venerable edi- 
 fices ; — let us look a little at their beginning. En- 
 amoured of the Cistercian sanctity of Rivaulx, 
 eleven monks, with Richard their prior, withdrew 
 from St. Mary's at York to Skelldale, there to 
 build a Cistercian monastery. Tradition says, 
 Skelldale had then all the wildness of Nature, and 
 was an impenetrable wilderness. These zealous 
 men lodged under the shelter of seven yew-trees ; 
 six of which are still standing ; and one of them, at 
 three feet from the earth, is near nine yards round. 
 Their food was often simple ; they boiled and eat 
 wild herbs and salt. The work was at length com- 
 pleted by human industry, and bears the date of 
 1292. 
 
 We now left Fountains 1 Abbey, and re-entered 
 the pleasure-grounds of Studley. We descended 
 to the Banqueting House, sixteen yards long and 
 eight yards wide. Various figures appeared before 
 us ; a bronze Venus de 1 Medicis occupies one end ; 
 but stone beauties look cold. This apartment, 1 
 conceive, is often animated with elegance and hila- 
 rity. I have just come from the secluded haunts 
 of religious orders, and I now seem in the gay 
 world : but in leaving the pleasure-grounds of 
 Studley (which I was told are two hundred acres), 
 I bade adieu both to one and the other. 
 
158 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 STUDLEY PARK. 
 
 I now entered the Park, which, I was informed, 
 contains one thousand acres. Studley Park, when 
 one gets fairly into it, gives the idea of a world of 
 wood. Varying sometimes the direction, one may 
 wander for miles amid full-grown trees without per- 
 ceiving a building or a boundary. The trees, of 
 lofty growth, are all genuine English. No Scotch 
 fir, no sullen evergreens, which, by adding to the 
 variety, might be a beauty to pleasure-grounds, are 
 seen here. I like the Scotch fir and his brethren in 
 compartments by themselves, or as a shelter for the 
 ancient farmhouse : I admire the solemn music of 
 the wind blowing through their branches ; but in a 
 park they remind me of black and white people liv- 
 ing together. I love them both, but would have 
 them live apart. In Studley Park this distinction 
 is preserved : neither are the stately trees disposed 
 in lines or in groups ; but, as if acorns had been 
 scattered on the plain by the hand of Nature, and 
 animals had been prohibited the touching of then- 
 growth, they have sprung up with regularity, yet 
 without exactness. Animals are not now restricted. 
 
STUDLEY PARK. 159 
 
 Deer are now seen feeding under their shadows, 
 which are neither too thickly blended, nor left in too 
 wide spaces of verdure, that might suggest separate 
 lawns and distinct woods ; but all is natural and 
 graceful, on an easy undulating surface. 
 
 Taking leave of Studley, I explored the vene- 
 rable interior of Rippon Minster, arrived at the 
 New Inn, Leeming Lane, in the dark, and retired 
 to rest, in a stage-coach. 
 
160 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 BAMPTON.— HAWS-WATER. 
 
 Many of my little journeys are alone. One 
 morning, about Midsummer, I took my course 
 through the Vale of Bampton. The lanes were 
 bordered by wild roses, some of them pale as the 
 lily, and others blushed warm in the mountain 
 air. I began to wind among mountains : — clouds 
 of wood on one side contrasted well with the shadow 
 of clouds on the other. As I approached the vici- 
 nity of Haws- Water I entered among sheep-farms, 
 and was gratified in seeing the inhabitants of these 
 valleys preparing for or busy with sheep-shearing; 
 which is an occasion of exertion and of merriment, 
 and may be compared to the time of vintage among 
 the southern countries of Europe. Gathering from 
 the mountains is the employment of the preceding 
 day ; when the timid inhabitants of the higher 
 regions and their offspring hurry down the steeps 
 from their pursuers, the rocks and caverns echoing 
 to the clamour of dogs and the shouts of shepherds. 
 The poor sheep, when parting with its fleece, lies 
 mute as the victim for slaughter. When released 
 
HAWS-WATER. 161 
 
 from their bonds, the clamour and confusion of 
 anxious mothers in search of their infant offspring, 
 and the cries of numerous offspring for their lost 
 mothers, are musically plaintive : but as they 
 ascend the mountain, the storm of affection is over 
 in five minutes, the young lambs pacing contentedly 
 by the sides of their parents. 
 
 M 
 
lfc>2 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 KIDSTY-PIKE. 
 
 I alighted at Riggindale, surrounded by sheep- 
 folds in abundance ; and purposing to ascend Kid- 
 sty-Pike, had my horse put into the stable. On 
 discovering what I intended, my kind hostess op- 
 posed my going alone : however, alone I set off; 
 but had not gone far up the mountain when I heard 
 a shrill whistle, and, turning round, saw a young 
 female following me at full speed : — it was her 
 daughter who had come after me to be my guide : 
 she had often been a shepherdess on Kidsty-Pike ; 
 her father's sheep fed there in summer ; and now 
 her information respecting their pastoral employ- 
 ment, the names of the valleys, the rocks, and the 
 mountains, enlivened our ascent. 
 
 In a rock, a few yards from the highest point of 
 the mountain, is a spring. They tell us in the 
 neighbourhood, that a few years ago a thunderbolt 
 struck the rock, and that the spring since has not 
 been so copious. Kidsty-Pike descends in the mid- 
 dle, and at the extremities rises in two peaks, per- 
 haps half a mile asunder. Riding near Shap this 
 
KIDSTY-PIKE. 163 
 
 day twelvemonth with a young woman that lived at 
 the foot of Saddleback, I pointed her attention to 
 Kidsty-Pike, and she exclaimed, " Saddleback I 11 
 The summits of the two mountains are formed 
 alike. I was amused with the mistake, and en- 
 joyed it for some time: but the real Saddleback 
 rising in the distance, and seen near Burns for a 
 couple of hundred yards, settled his claim to the 
 appellation. 
 
 A gauze in the atmosphere magnified the altitude 
 of mountains : the lowest contents of the valleys 
 could not be seen. I saw nothing to a great dis- 
 tance but a world of dark mountains; Nanbield, 
 Highstreet, Harterfell, Catchedicam, were pointed 
 out to me by Jane Greenhow. But I am not now 
 contemplating altogether a world of shade : on 
 favoured spots the sun broke forth, and on grey 
 rocks shone with great beauty. These rocks were 
 fringed with green, and it altogether seemed a dark 
 ground set with brilliants. 
 
 M 'J 
 
164 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 CHAPEL HILL. 
 
 Descending from Kidsty-Pike, my attention is 
 directed to the valleys. Lake and mountain-scenery 
 is unvarying in the progress of time, save occa- 
 sionally in the introduction of wood, and the beau- 
 tiful accompaniments of cottages and farmhouses. 
 In the valleys through which I am now advancing, 
 the cottages, sheltered by a few sycamores, are 
 built from and assimilate well with the grey rocks 
 of the mountains ; and their rustic architecture has 
 not changed for ages. This suggests contentment 
 in the inhabitants ; and contentment is a pleasing 
 idea to entertain of one's fellow-creatures. How- 
 ever, two exceptions have just arisen in these val- 
 leys to their ancient modes of building : but the 
 one is by a resident in a great commercial town, 
 therefore does not apply to the natives. The other 
 I regret ; for the change is wrought on a scene that 
 I have admired from my youth, for cottage in- 
 terest, simple magnificence, and picturesque beauty. 
 At Chapel Hill, in a corner of the world, stood a 
 simple cottage among rocks, woods, and solitary 
 
CHAPEL HILL. 165 
 
 mountains : it bore on its varied roofs and nume- 
 rous gable-ends the marks of former centuries ; its 
 owners had lived there in succession for many gene- 
 rations. A few paces took them to Madale Chapel, 
 their place of worship ; and when they died, their 
 long home was on their own premises. They were 
 surrounded by woody knolls ; and these knolls 
 were surrounded by lofty mountains. Most of these 
 remain, and will remain. I only regret that the 
 ancient cottage, with its accompaniments, is super- 
 seded by the modern house, with its five windows 
 in front. I should have preferred at Madale Hill 
 the ancient cottage, with its antiquated windows, 
 its lowly roof fringed with moss, and its chimneys 
 smoking through the trees, as the abode of quiet 
 and the home of solitude. 
 
166 
 
 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 LONG SLEDDALE. 
 
 After pursuing my winding way overHarterfeli 
 I came down on the valley of Long Sleddale; 
 which, on an average, may be half a mile wide, 
 mostly a level mixture of arable and meadow 
 ground : then hanging woods and rising pastures 
 ascend from the vale, and terminate in sheep-walks 
 on the mountains. Perhaps this beautiful valley is 
 pretty much divided into similar estates. At the 
 foot of the rising ground, every quarter of a mile, is 
 placed a farmhouse, with its out-offices ; and on an 
 eminence midway in the valley stands a place of 
 worship, and near it a school, round which a num- 
 ber of healthy black-eyed children were playing. 
 In one place, and almost out of sight, is a cluster 
 of cottages ; perhaps about thirty cottages accom- 
 modate its inhabitants ; and it was pleasant to de- 
 scend down this pastoral valley, where the river and 
 the road wind together for four or five miles. 
 
 Coming out of Long Sleddale, I found myself 
 among a different race of people. I met carriages 
 and horsemen, and was passed by post-chaises and 
 mail-coaches; and all this in situations not naturally 
 
LONG SLEDDALE. 16? 
 
 superior to those that I had left. But roads have 
 wonderfully wound their way through all the na- 
 tions of Europe ; and Westmorland is not now 
 behind in bringing her efforts to the common stock 
 of accommodation. The people of Westmorland 
 are likely to beat the Romans ; they are bringing 
 to a level, vales twenty yards deep and a hundred 
 yards across, at two thousand pounds' expense. 
 Hills are sinking before them, and valleys rising; 
 so that, on the road between Penrith and Kendal, 
 once one of the most uneven in the kingdom, the 
 man may walk without being out of breath, and 
 the horse may draw his load without oppression. 
 A Roman road, when now met with, is viewed as 
 a piece of curious antiquity ; but this road, except 
 the island is visited by some great convulsion of 
 nature or some strange revolution in human affairs, 
 will continue a monument of the industry of the 
 present generation, and an accommodation to man- 
 kind through future ages. 
 
168 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 HELVELLYN. 
 
 Perhaps it may now be time to introduce the 
 reader to Helvellyn, who, amid the mountainous 
 regions by which she is surrounded, may not im- 
 properly be designated their Mountain Queen ; 
 both from her situation, the stern dignity of her 
 appearance, and the crowd of mountain-courtiers 
 with whom she is surrounded. Helvellyn stands 
 between the peculiarly interesting valleys of Pat- 
 terdale and Grassmere; looking down on the for- 
 mer, and on the winding glories of Ullswater. On 
 her head is a tiara, with three points : her two 
 handmaids, Stridon-edge and Swirril-edge, stand 
 on her right hand and on her left ; while her page, 
 Catchedicam, stands at a little distance. Many 
 noble eminences, beautiful valleys, and sweet habi- 
 tations, may be said to be within her dominions ; 
 yet, like those of other monarchs, some of her 
 dominions may be out of sight. 
 
 I remember once, in the Spring, being under an 
 engagement with three sisters to ascend Helvellyn : 
 they more than once reminded me of my promise ; 
 but, not liking the idea of encountering wreaths of 
 
HELVELLYN. 1 69 
 
 snow and sheets of ice, I delayed attending their 
 summons, in hopes of a more genial season, when 
 the sheep would shew us the way. When next 
 we met, they chid me for my want of punctuality. 
 I defended my conduct on the ground of prudence, 
 and proceeded with pleasant anticipations of our 
 mountain journey some sunny day, as the snows 
 were now dissolving. They triumphantly replied, 
 that the week before they had shod their staffs 
 with iron, and made their journey Avithout me. 
 I now addressed them in the language of pity for 
 cold fingers and frozen toes. They ridiculed my 
 effeminacy, telling me that they had all three made 
 the summit of Helvellyn without a guide; and 
 that they were so delighted with their excursion, 
 that two of them repeated their journey the next 
 day. I now willingly relinquished the palm of 
 hardihood to these intrepid maids ; and it will not 
 be likely to be regained by some of my degenerate 
 countrymen, whom I found not long after hunting 
 with umbrellas in their hands. 
 
 Not having had the pleasure of ascending this 
 celebrated mountain (at least to its summit) in 
 female society, I have at different times wound up 
 its lofty steeps with intelligent companions of my 
 own sex. In one of our excursions the day was 
 calm as we ascended the eastern side of the moun- 
 tain; but as we approached the summit, the wind 
 
170 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 grew violent from the west : we tightened our 
 hatbands, and, for safety, walked to windward of 
 the narrow ridge, as the other side seemed a stu- 
 pendous, though not a perpendicular precipice. 
 A sudden puff now rudely uncovered one of my 
 companions, and set off with his hat : he imme- 
 diately commenced the pursuit ; his hands were 
 outspread, his hair and his clothes flew on the 
 wind, and he seemed at times lifted from the earth 
 by the strength of the blast, while his hat took 
 long strides like a person in a dream. We fol- 
 lowed the chase, which seemed diverting enough, 
 till it was out of sight ; then it became terribly 
 alarming, lest it should terminate in a downfal : 
 but we understood our poor friend got his foot 
 upon the runaway vagabond just before it went 
 down the precipice. 
 
 Having attained the summit of the mountain, 
 six lakes of different forms and magnitude were 
 presented to our view ; — Windermere, Ullswater, 
 Coniston, Bassenthwaite, Esthwaite, and Wyth- 
 burn; with many smaller plots of water, fifty or 
 sixty acres, that would be ornamental in pleasure- 
 grounds. The sea is also seen near Ulverston, 
 Cartmel, Millthorp, and at Solway Firth. Many 
 mountains also rise in distant prospect; amongst 
 which are Crossfell, Skiddaw, Langdale Pikes, 
 Ingleborough, and Saddleback. 
 
 ?5 
 
HELVELLYN. 171 
 
 While we were surveying the vast variety 
 around us, the scene vanished, the skies became 
 hlack, and the valleys below were suddenly filled 
 with rain. However, there was one exception to 
 the general darkness. In the west, between the 
 lofty summits of two dimly-seen mountains, ap- 
 peared a soft, shining, silvery light : at first we 
 seemed rather at a loss to account for so beautiful 
 a phenomenon ; but soon concluded it was the sun 
 shining on the ocean, beyond the clouds of these 
 mountains. The transitions from light to darkness, 
 and from darkness to light, are often sudden in 
 these regions : the sun again soon illumined our 
 elevations, and we soon beheld again the natural 
 magnificence of this world : we beheld the majesty 
 of rocks, the terror of precipices, and the towering- 
 altitude of mountains. Standing on Helvellyn, we 
 look over a vast tract of mountainous country ; but 
 the most prominent objects, and those which we 
 see with the greatest distinctness, are the loftv 
 summits of mountains, as they point towards the 
 sky. Behind them are many interesting scenes 
 that are hid from us by the vast masses of inter- 
 vening mountains ; while beneath are long vistas 
 of variously mingled landscape, the objects indis- 
 tinctly seen. Indeed, our powers of vision are so 
 diminished by distance, that stately edifices often 
 appear on the landscape, from these elevations, 
 
172 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 only like white peas : and again, the magnitude of 
 nature reduces so far the works of art, that if 
 Paul's Cathedral were placed in Patterdale, and 
 we descending down the mountain to survey it, its 
 dome would only appear like a bee-hive on a hors- 
 ing-stone. 
 
 Then, again, we are as limited in the objects of 
 sound as of sight. The silence of mountains is 
 unbroken by the sweet sounds of the plains and 
 the valleys. The ardent conversations and busy 
 hums of mankind in their cities, their towns, and 
 their villages, are unknown there. And it is as well 
 that we are not all-seeing and all-hearing ; for an 
 extension of these senses would but, perhaps, lead 
 to confusion, and tempt us to neglect our own bu- 
 siness. Yet as the object of these pages was in the 
 first instance to record my own enjoyments when 
 travelling through the works of Nature, and then, 
 as the idea is now entertained, to spread them be- 
 fore others ; perhaps to put the reader in possession 
 of some of the names that occur in these lofty soli- 
 tudes will not be unacceptable to him, whether 
 they be ranged in rhyme or appear promiscuously 
 in prose. If the former is preferred, would it not 
 be in character for the reader and me just to step 
 a little down the mountain together and drink at the 
 Helicon of Helvellyn ? 
 
HELVELLYN. 173 
 
 Amid a vast circumference around 
 Sleeps many a name of high poetic sound — 
 Ruffell and Rosegill, Celleren, are here; 
 Sharrah, Carthannack, and Carhullan there ; 
 Threlkeld and Thulbar, Mardale, Bodale, Whale, 
 Glenwyn, Glenridding, Gunnerkell, and Gale ; 
 Watinlath, Hallin, Lowther, Lyulph's Tower, 
 Howgowen's fairy -hill, and Gillian's bower; 
 Blencarn, Blencathra, Beula, Wolfa cold, 
 Penrith, Penruddock, and Pendragon old. — 
 
 But bundling up names in rhyme is an unnatural 
 business ; therefore I shall again betake myself to 
 plain prose, in which the reader will perhaps like 
 as well to see the respectable names of Calder, 
 Rydal, Derwent, Sizergh, Egremont, Elleray, Ul- 
 pha, Uldale, Colddale, Deepdale, Fuscdale, Enner- 
 dale, Embleton, Brathay, Rothay, Gabel, Glara- 
 mara, Trover, &c. 
 
 In our descent from Helvellyn we joined a 
 mountain-maid, conducting a hurdle of peats into 
 the valley. She set a foot on each corner of the 
 sledge behind the hurdle, which she steadied with 
 one hand, and with the other held the reins that 
 guided her horse. Thus stationed, with the bloom 
 of health on her countenance, she drove with as 
 much agility and spirit down the mountain as the 
 fair citizen does her curricle along the level streets 
 of London 
 
174 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Looking from beneath, the barren altitudes of 
 mountains may seem useless specks on the surface 
 of this world ; but, on nearer inspection, they will 
 be found to bear marks of wisdom and goodness in 
 the divine mind of the Creator. Even man finds 
 many accommodations on mountains : they furnish 
 him with fuel ; they furnish him with clothing 
 from the fleeces of the sheep ; and they furnish him 
 with a luxury for his table, in the birds that inhabit 
 the heath. They furnish a lasting and beautiful 
 cover for his houses in a sky-coloured slate : and 
 then the precious metals and brilliant stones are 
 often drawn from the recesses of mountains. Then 
 they also furnish the plains and the valleys with 
 noble rivers; and perhaps they contribute to the 
 salubrity of the air, which might become stagnant 
 and even putrid, if the world was a dead flat. 
 Then, among the inferior orders of creation, the 
 mountains are their happy dwellings. They are a 
 paradise for sheep, who, as summer advances, will 
 escape from the valleys to range their highest 
 summits. Even the noblest birds are at home on 
 the summits of mountains, alternately visiting one 
 another in their airy halls, or sporting in the clouds 
 and sailing in the sunbeams. 
 
CROSRFKLL. 175 
 
 CROSSFELL. 
 
 Eastward and alone, as if retiring from the so- 
 ciety of other mountains, stands Crossfell, which I 
 ascended without difficulty ; though by some it has 
 been placed highest on the list of English moun- 
 tains ; and standing so far inland, and on so high a 
 base, it may not be much their inferior. It is the 
 centre and summit of a long and magnificent chain 
 of mountains. The mighty chain is nowhere 
 divided by valleys, but little dips in the mountain 
 distinguish different parts, to which are given dif- 
 ferent names. On one side Crossfell is supported 
 by Dunfell ; on the other by Hartside. At its base 
 stand three verdant sugar-loaves; to wit, Knock, 
 Murton, and Dufton Pikes. This vast wall of 
 mountain stretches perhaps forty or fifty miles ; it 
 might seem to be the boundary of a principality. 
 Not being broken into distinct mountains, there are 
 no winding valleys where retiring taste might ex- 
 plore human habitations in all their loneliness : but 
 from its summit, assisted by a perspective-glass, 
 more villages might be discovered rising in the dis- 
 
176 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 tance, than perhaps are seen from any mountain in 
 England. 
 
 From the summit of Crossfell is seen an exten- 
 sive, though not a level plain. It stretches south 
 and westward in many places, perhaps twenty or 
 thirty miles, till it is intercepted by the bold Wild- 
 boarfell, the majestic Helvellyn, the mighty Blen- 
 cathra, and the circumscribing ocean. Rising on 
 an eminence, in the centre of the plain, is seen the 
 obelisk of Penrith Beacon. The city of Carlisle, 
 the town of Penrith, and the numerous villages of 
 Westmorland and Cumberland, are not distinctly 
 visible ; but the eye stretches over a prospect that 
 comprehends perhaps forty or fifty thousand inha- 
 bitants. Their labours are seen in their smoking 
 towns and villages, their corn-fields, and their green 
 inclosures. 
 
 Crossfell, though not remote from the neighbour- 
 hood of the Lakes, belongs to a different order of 
 mountains than those that surround Windermere, 
 Ullswater, Derwent, and Wastwater : it runs on 
 in a long continuity through different counties, 
 while these mighty masses are mostly distinct 
 mountains, between which wind up narrow valleys, 
 peopled by gentlemen, yeomen, and shepherds, who 
 live amicably together, save that they have some- 
 times a few high words about their sheep-walks. 
 Even shepherds are sometimes as jealous of en- 
 
CROSSFELL. 177 
 
 croachments on their ancient sheep-feedings, as mo- 
 narchs are about the limits of their seas, and the 
 boundaries of their dominions. Perhaps in these 
 pastoral brawls one of the combatants, with his back 
 against a rock, commences the attack with a loud 
 volley of opprobrious epithets, while his antagonist, 
 from a trembling peatmoss, repels the onset with per- 
 sonal implications and family allusions; the dogs all 
 the while with loud clamours manoeuvring the fleecy 
 troops over the debatable ground. Having ex- 
 hausted their ammunition they separate, each strid- 
 ing homeward with an air of triumph and defiance. 
 The family collected, they narrate, over their pot- 
 tage, their exploits in abuse. Now all this is an 
 exception to pastoral simplicity and kindness. 
 However, when the lost sheep is discovered on the 
 distant mountain, the intelligence runs through a 
 line of ready shepherds to the owner, and they wil- 
 lingly assist him in recovering the wanderer. It is 
 but by the free sheep-walks that there is so little of 
 loving our neighbours as ourselves. 
 
 A singular phenomenon, called The Helm Winds, 
 attaches to Crossfell. An assemblage of pale clouds 
 extends on the summit of the mountain ; and, when 
 all is calm on the plains, a roaring like the sea is 
 heard to a considerable distance. I was once in- 
 volved in the Helm Winds : — if I advanced, it was 
 with my head inclined to the ground, and at a slow 
 
 N 
 
178 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 pace ; if I retreated and leaned against it with all 
 my might, I could hardly keep erect ; if I did not 
 resist it, I was blown over. A wind from the east 
 rushed down the mountain with incredible fury : it 
 broke the boughs from the trees, and tore the 
 thatch from cottages at Mellerby and Gamelsby. 
 But when I had left this elemental tumult about 
 two miles, all was perfectly calm, and a little farther 
 a gentle breeze sprung up from the west, while be- 
 hind me the Helm Winds continued raging with 
 unabated fury. Having heard uproars among man- 
 kind, and uproars among the elements, I prefer the 
 latter, as having more sublimity. 
 
 No mountain that I know of, especially from the 
 distance I view it, exhibits such a variety of tints 
 as that of Crossfell. There is first the pure white 
 when the mountain is smooth with snow ; and when 
 the white is passed away there are the various shades 
 of green, and of light and of deep blue. Then 
 from an absent sun, and the lowering gloom of dark 
 clouds, comes the sable garb of these mountains, 
 which has given them the name of The Black Fells. 
 
 From this range of mountains issues the Tyne ; 
 which, after passing Alston, celebrated for its lead- 
 mines, winds along Northumberland, contributing 
 to the wealth of Newcastle, and the warmth of 
 London, by bearing on its bosom the keels from 
 the numerous collieries which enrich that neigh- 
 
CROSSFELL. 179 
 
 bourhood, giving bread and comfort to many de- 
 partments in society. 
 
 My thoughts having rambled from the summit 
 of Crossfell, I seem inclined to pursue my way 
 over its less elevated connexions ; and the reader 
 will perhaps accompany my descent from the 
 heights of Stanemore, especially when he finds me 
 in company with a female emigrant and her five 
 children. They were going to Liverpool, and 
 from thence intended sailing for New York. Two 
 of her friends, having just taken their leave, 
 sat down under a wall and looked after her. Her 
 goods and her three youngest children were all 
 in one cart ; her eldest walked on foot. Her bro- 
 ther, who was about to return, held her in his 
 arms: they kissed each other and walked on; they 
 wept and were silent. They again embraced, but 
 could not part. The sorrowing scene was too 
 sacred for me to interfere. I kept at a respectful 
 distance. They stopped and embraced again, and 
 with much struggle they parted. I alighted from 
 my horse, and took her hand under my arm. She 
 trembled and she wept, and I did all I could to 
 comfort her. When she was able to converse, she 
 told me she had parted with a brother who had 
 been a father to her ; that she was going with her 
 little ones to her husband, three hundred miles in- 
 land of New York; and that they meant to settle 
 x 2 
 
180 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 on Lake Champlain. I sketched a few lines for 
 her to America. I walked with her till her sor- 
 rows rather abated ; but she was sad, for when I 
 took my leave she never lifted her eyes from the 
 ground. 
 
HARTSIDE. 181 
 
 HARTSIDE. 
 
 I now seem inclined to go north of Crossfell, 
 and to take a morning tour over Hartside. While 
 we tread the earth, we can hardly be indifferent to 
 the beauty and grandeur that appear on its sur- 
 face, or even to the changes effected by the 
 variety of seasons. Somewhat of the first has been 
 introduced in these pages, and it may not be amiss 
 to give an instance or two of the latter. When I 
 came to the top of this part of the mountain (per- 
 haps the highest carriage-road in England) the sun 
 was not risen, but the pointed spangles of his rays, 
 sparkling in all the colours of the rainbow, an- 
 nounced his approach : anon, a pin-point of fire stood 
 on the corner of a hill at no great distance. The 
 next moment his broad orb was fully up, and ap- 
 parently within a few stone-throws. I now be- 
 held the county of Cumberland and part of West- 
 morland, a circumference of perhaps 150 miles, 
 all swallowed up in an ocean of mist : not a smooth 
 ocean, but rolling its immense waves from the base 
 of where I stood, to the mountains of Galloway. 
 
182 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Penrith Beacon, like a naked ship-mast, stood alone 
 in the sea. The mountains of Patterdale and 
 Scotland were covered with snow. — I have some- 
 times seen an interesting snow-scene, when the sun 
 rising clear shone on snowy mountains with a pale 
 light, the deep shadows from the hollows of the 
 mountains finely contrasting with the pure white- 
 ness of the snow. The sun now stood like a globe 
 of fire on Crossfell; the mountains of Scotland and 
 Patterdale catching his fiery beams, seemed like 
 mountains in flames. The scene was fearfully sub- 
 lime ; but remembering the inhabitants were all 
 safe beneath the fog, I enjoyed it. 
 
 I recollect once, when all the mountains were 
 perfectly clear, that a similar fog lay on all our 
 valleys ; and that fog was frozen ; when the trees 
 and the hedges were indescribably beautiful. 
 Every plant and every tree, and all that sprung 
 from the earth, was hung with fringes of the 
 purest white. But for the cold, how delightful 
 would it have been to have wandered through 
 groves of virgin purity, or to have stood gazing on 
 a solitary tree, magnified by the richness of the 
 drapery with which it was clothed ! This lovely 
 scene continued eight days : but how fragile is 
 beauty ! a gentle breeze began to stir the woods, 
 and all was gone in half an hour. 
 
KIRKSTONE SNOWS. 183 
 
 KIRKSTONE SNOWS. 
 
 Having seen a little of fogs and mists, and con- 
 templated snow-scenes in the distance, I seem in- 
 clined to introduce the reader to a more intimate 
 acquaintance with the regions of snow. Being at 
 Ambleside, not long after a heavy load of snow 
 had encumbered the mountains, and intending to 
 cross Kirkstone, I was told it was impracticable ; 
 that no person had crossed it since the snow fell; that 
 the lanes and hollows of the mountains were filled; 
 and that if I was bent on home I must go by Threl- 
 keld. I did not like the idea of fifteen additional 
 miles to my day's ride, so I determined to attempt 
 the passage pronounced impracticable ; but not to 
 advance farther than I could make good my re- 
 treat, if the passage were really impossible. I as- 
 cended the lane slowly, which was pretty well 
 filled with snow, but did not stick, though fre- 
 quently up to the girths : but when I had effected 
 a passage through the lane, and was struggling 
 with my difficulties through a hollow in the moun- 
 
184 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 tain, my horse stood still, and being nearly up to 
 the neck, could advance no farther. I alighted, 
 and treading the snow down from his sides, he 
 turned round, and I clambered upon stones which 
 appeared like the top of a broad wall, he following, 
 for we appeared truly united ; and thus we got 
 clear of this difficulty : but others soon came upon 
 us ; drifts, higher than my horse, rose before us ; 
 I therefore scrambled up the side of the mountain 
 where the wind had swept away the snow, and 
 thus picked my path as well as I was able, my 
 horse following. When an opposing drift made 
 the passage doubtful, I thrust in my stick and 
 my arm, to ascertain its depth, and discover 
 whether the earth was sound beneath, for I some- 
 times heard the rumbling of unseen waters. One 
 favourable circumstance was, that I had no wind 
 to contend with ; and again the summit of the pass 
 of Kirkstone may be about half the height of the 
 sublime mountains which rose in succession on my 
 right and left ; so that I was surrounded by a mag- 
 nificent snow-scene, with a due portion of the 
 terrific to keep up the higher attentions. Thus 
 slowly proceeding with all the prudence and cau- 
 tion I was master of, (though perhaps the reader 
 will not give me much credit for either,) I per- 
 ceived a man advancing as I descended. He was 
 on foot ; I hallooed to him : we soon got together ; 
 
KIRKSTONE SNOWS. 185 
 
 and two human beings meeting in such a scene of 
 desolation had something cheering in it. We con- 
 versed on our difficulties, and encouraging one 
 another we parted. I soon afterwards arrived 
 safe in the vallev. 
 
186" THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 SHAP FELLS. 
 
 Having just come out of a quiet snow-scene, the 
 reader, perhaps, may not be unwilling to enter upon 
 a stormy one, provided he is not very long detained. 
 I was going to Kendal. The road between Shap 
 and Kendal is mountainous. A considerable fall 
 of snow had taken place, and the wind blew vehe- 
 mently : it was so strong that when I alighted to 
 walk I could not stand. The sides of the moun- 
 tains seemed to be in motion with the driving of 
 the snow, which the wind was sweeping into the 
 valleys. In some places torrents of snow were 
 streaming over the rocks ; the sun shone faintly 
 through the motley atmosphere, which considerably 
 magnified the mountains : but in the bottom of the 
 valleys all seemed an invisible tumult. The howl- 
 ing of the winds, and the barking of the shepherds' 
 dogs, labouring to collect the scattered flock, but 
 distant or near equally unseen, gave a bewildering 
 animation to one hardly knows what. There was 
 a strange wildness in the clouds, which bordered on 
 the terrific ; and one of them exhibited a beautiful 
 appearance that I had never before observed: it 
 
SHAP FELLS. 187 
 
 was a small cloud that appeared suspended on the 
 top of a high mountain, and seemed enriched with 
 all the colours of the rainbow ; red, yellow, green, 
 blue, were all distinctly seen in this light cloud, but 
 nothing of the circle of Iris's bow. In a few mi- 
 nutes it began to enlarge, and the colours to dimi- 
 nish ; and in a little time took the appearance of 
 the rest of its aerial companions. As I descended 
 into the valleys I expected shelter and something of 
 tranquillity ; but there it was that confusion drove 
 over confusion. I was completely immersed in a 
 most perplexing vortex of snow, and assailed in 
 every direction : the particles of snow, flying from 
 the furious winds, strove who should first enter 
 my eyes, ears, mouth, button-holes, boot-tops, &c. 
 If I put my hand into my pocket for warmth, it 
 was rather provoking to find my pocket full of snow. 
 The reader will perhaps here allow me, by way 
 of a little variety, to present him with a Night- 
 Scene; or, perhaps he will say, and with some de- 
 gree of propriety, with no scene at all. Well ; but 
 it is allowed that contrast heightens effect : then 
 there can hardly be a greater contrast than that of 
 the shining white of snow and that of total darkness, 
 The reader will be fearful that I am growing quite 
 eccentric ; but if a little eccentricity lead to a little 
 utility, perhaps I may for once be forgiven. Night- 
 scenes are sometimes interesting; but to be immured 
 
188 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 in total darkness has something so like privation in 
 it, that one would think, under such circumstances, 
 there is no room for description. On the other 
 hand, I have sometimes thought that in every 
 portion of our lives there is something interesting. 
 Under the latter consideration I shall introduce the 
 following Night Walk : — On entering a thick and 
 solitary wood the night was uncommonly dark ; and 
 though I was well accustomed to the way, I was 
 soon out of my path, and found myself entangled in 
 the bushes ; when, partly to make an experiment, 
 and partly to amuse myself with my forlorn situa- 
 tion, I formed the resolution to make my way 
 through the wood (between half a mile and a mile) 
 with my eyes closed. Accordingly I winked and 
 went on, with my staff in my hand, enjoying my 
 fancy, and met with no interruption, save once 
 coming down on a knee, till I nearly got through 
 the wood ; when, lo ! I suddenly heard the tread of 
 a man's foot, which instantly occasioned a singular 
 sensation, and threw my musing tranquillity into a 
 kind of a thrill, or even a chill. I instantly opened 
 my eyes, and saw the man and I were passing one 
 another. I spoke to him : — he replied ; — and I 
 found by his accent he was an Irishman. I before 
 mentioned I wanted to make an experiment ; which 
 was to ascertain the difference, if any, in perception 
 between a very dark night, and having one^ eyes 
 
SHAP FELL. 189 
 
 fully closed. I now found the difference was most 
 manifest. I clearly distinguished the trees around 
 me, as by a faint moonlight, and had not the least 
 difficulty the rest of my way home. Since the 
 above I have found it of advantage, in going from 
 candlelight into a dark night, to shut my eyes for 
 a few minutes. 
 
 Another powerful instance of the effects of dark- 
 ness occurred nearly in the same place. I was 
 making my way through the same wood in darkness 
 and in silence, when I suddenly heard above my 
 head a sound like a very mournful human voice. 
 This threw an instant horror through my frame ; 
 which was, however, but of short continuance, for I 
 instantly heard above my head the flapping of a pro- 
 digious number of wings. The fact was, at certain 
 times of the year many thousand crows roost in 
 this wood ; and I believe the sound I heard was one 
 of the crows on watch, giving the alarm ; so I went 
 on smiling at my fright. If I had not made the 
 discovery, I should not have been well off with my 
 imagination the rest of my way home. 
 
 The above temporary terror was from objects of 
 sound. I could give instances of objects of sight 
 equally appalling. Take the following as not the 
 most striking, but the first that occurs : — Travelling 
 in a cloudy night, and no moon, along a shady 
 lane, about a mile from my own house, I saw, as I 
 
190 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 thought, at a small distance, a pale coffin move 
 slowly along the side of a hedge. I stopped, and 
 it stopped ; and then it proceeded forward, unat- 
 tended and unsupported by any thing that I could 
 see. After sacrificing long enough to fear, I col- 
 lected all the courage that I could muster, and 
 advanced slowly towards the strange sight ; when 
 it proved to be a poor horse, whose head and neck, 
 and tail and legs, were black ; but its body was 
 white : and it was innocently seeking its food by the 
 highway-side. I believe many of the objects of 
 mysterious fear, if duly examined, would thus relax 
 their terrors. 
 
 Visible appearance of supernatural agency has 
 something of terror in it ; for we are so far intro- 
 duced into the world of spirits ; and it is some- 
 what connected with religion : but it is a religious 
 excrescence that ought to be removed. 
 
 To grow up under these unhappy impressions 
 may be a serious affliction to many a sweet dis- 
 position and amiable mind. This harassing mental 
 slavery ought to be got rid of; and I know no 
 way more likely than for mothers, grandmothers, 
 aunts, and those that have the care of children, 
 to follow the example of a venerable matron, 
 whose countenance was marked by a dignity and 
 intelligence continued beyond eighty years of age. 
 I lodged at her house and two of her grand- 
 
SHAr FELLS. 191 
 
 children playing at the door in the dark, came 
 in with looks of great concern, and seriously 
 announced they had seen a bogle ! The grand- 
 mother, with due attention to so grave a repre- 
 sentation, replied, " No; the frost killed them 
 all last winter.' 1 '' The decision was conclusive ; and 
 our pretty innocents, with satisfied countenances, 
 went out again to renew their play in the dark. 
 
192 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 BLENCATHRA. 
 
 Having long solicited and obtained the company 
 of the reader from mountain to mountain, and 
 having lately left my province for the regions of 
 cold and darkness, I now seem very willing to 
 return to it again. I leave Crossfell behind me, 
 with its numerous flocks basking in the afternoon 
 sun, and cross a plain, twenty miles over, to the 
 rugged Blencathra. I seek for no authorities ; but 
 it occurs to me while writing, that our ancestors, 
 when they gave this magnificent mountain its name, 
 might think the name appropriate for a mountain 
 with cataracts. Of late times the name it has 
 holden is Saddleback ; but the idea and the sound 
 are both humbled by the appellation. 
 
 Ardent energies are not always crowned with 
 wise achievements. I was once spending a few 
 days at the foot of Blencathra. A party of six of 
 us, on a midsummer morning, set off at four o'clock. 
 To two of these individuals the ascent of such a 
 high and rugged mountain might have seemed im- 
 practicable. The lame and the blind, without 
 extraordinary minds, would not have hazarded the 
 
BLE!S!CATHRA. 193 
 
 attempt amid the rocky steeps of this mountain; 
 but the company of genius and science was courted, 
 and not withheld on the occasion : and the first that 
 was seen standing on the summit of the mountain, 
 was the lame leaning on his crutch and staff. To 
 the blind I attempted a description of the fearful 
 precipices beneath us ; but it was the first thing I 
 repented of that day, — when I. saw him fall on the 
 ground with dizziness, and cling to the earth, and 
 scream out, with the apprehension of tumbling 
 down the rocks into the abyss below. Till then I 
 thought the idea of giddiness must be received at 
 the eye ; certainly it was as vivid in the mind of our 
 learned and accomplished companion, from what he 
 heard, as if he had seen the terrors around him. 
 But we now moderated our descriptions, and only 
 talked of extent and the appearance of distant 
 objects. 
 
 We broke our fasts when we arose in the morn- 
 ing ; and we breakfasted on Blencathra. We then 
 descended into the valley between it and Skiddaw ; 
 and the descent was less steep and less rugged than 
 the ascent we had surmounted. Before we dined we 
 began to ascend the second mountain ; and though 
 ascending Skiddaw here was a long, toilsome busi- 
 ness ; yet difficulty and danger, and alarm, were on 
 the other side of the mountain. I think it is on 
 every side much less magnificent than the sun-rising 
 o 
 
194 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 side of Blencathra : yet to the north it rises a noble 
 pyramid from a plain of great extent ; in the centre 
 of which smokes the ancient city of Carlisle. On 
 the summit of Skiddaw we spread our table-cloth ; 
 and we sat on the ground. Our appetites were not 
 defective ; neither did we leave fragments to carry 
 forward. It would have required a well-stored 
 basket to furnish six meals twice over for six men 
 with our exertions. Ardent beings, with interest- 
 ing objects before them, do not always compute 
 accurately for the necessaries of life. 
 
 We now descended into the depth of the valley 
 between these two celebrated mountains. We held 
 a conference ; and we should have enjoyed a meal 
 together, but we had not wherewithal to furnish 
 one : — the barley-loaf and the bowl of milk would 
 have been a welcome repast. Being in a situation 
 where there was no food, it behoved us to consider 
 in what direction it would be likeliest to obtain it. 
 Some were for winding round the base of Blen- 
 cathra : I proposed going directly over its summit. 
 The company was equally divided in sentiment : so 
 we parted without animosity. 
 
 Perhaps it would have been more to my credit 
 not to have reported the result ; but if the reader 
 learn caution and profit by my folly, it is some 
 consolation for my being obliged to acknowledge, 
 that it turned out that I was the foolish leader of a 
 
BLENCATHRA. 195 
 
 foolish party; among whom, he that did the greatest 
 wonders was he that reascended the mountain with 
 his crutch and staff. Indeed, this was in fact 
 ascending three mountains in one day : and from 
 this extraordinary exertion he did not shrink. But 
 having attained the summit of the mountain, he 
 sunk to the ground. He trembled, and his speech 
 failed him, The sun was set, and a cold wind rose 
 from the north. He had perspired much through 
 excessive exertion ; and though perhaps he was once 
 the most animated of us all in conversation, he 
 could not now make answers to an enquiry. Our 
 third companion now left us, and hurried down the 
 mountain for help. With aching heart I hung 
 over my poor friend. I sometimes lay down upon 
 him to keep him warm ; sometimes got him on my 
 back and bore him where the descent was rugged ; 
 and sometimes dragged him down by the feet, 
 where I met with a green slope. Perhaps anguish 
 of mind, and the hope of saving life, aided my exer- 
 tions ; for by the time our other companion arrived 
 with assistance, refreshment, and a horse, I believe 
 I had got him a third part of the way down the 
 mountain. Proper attention, refreshment, and rest, 
 in a little while restored him. 
 
 I live about ten miles from Blencathra. It was 
 on a perfectly still afternoon in the fore-part of 
 summer, when I looked towards this magnificent 
 o 2 
 
196 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 mountain. The firmament was of a pale orange, 
 and there appeared something dreadful going on 
 in that direction : daggers of fire seemed shaken 
 by unseen hands towards the horizon, and one 
 almost imagined the sharp sound of encountering 
 weapons. The sky became dark ; and by and by, 
 thunder announced the conflict of the elements. 
 There are mighty chasms in Blencathra, down each 
 of which, in ordinary seasons, tinkles a solitary 
 stream, which has a plaintive effect. The burst- 
 ing of the mountain thunder-storm converted 
 these rivulets into tremendous torrents of stones, 
 which roared down the mountain, filled up the 
 old channel, and deluged the fields below with 
 stones and gravel, many thousand cart-loads of 
 which are still remaining on the once pleasant 
 meadows. If I could have crept under a crag ' 
 and beheld the pouring down of the heavens, and 
 the roaring cataracts of shiver, I might have 
 formed an idea of the descent of the deluge in the 
 time of Noah. 
 
LOWSWATEK. 197 
 
 LOWS WATER. 
 
 From the turbulence of Blencathra, the reader 
 may perhaps enjoy a transition to the tranquillity 
 of Keswick. We will suppose Keswick the centre, 
 from which we are to make two or three excur- 
 sions, beginning with Lowswater, which we enter 
 from the west. Descending from an eminence, 
 we beheld that beautiful lake, perhaps two miles 
 long and more than half a mile broad. The water 
 is bordered with little cultivated estates ; the 
 dwelling-houses and other conveniences in the 
 centre, and green enclosures lying round, which 
 produce an agreeable idea of happiness in the 
 mind of a stranger, and might seem to make him 
 covet the silent valley of rural life. But it may 
 be feared that all here will not accord through 
 the year with the smiling prospect of a summer's 
 day. The lake will be ruffled, storms at times 
 will thunder down the mountains, and the passions 
 of the inhabitants of these farms will be agitated. 
 At the farther end of the lake was a dark brown 
 
198 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 mountain of no mean altitude : near the foot of 
 which we passed among very narrow lanes, that 
 led up to different neat houses, sheltered with 
 trees, through which their white fronts made a 
 beautiful appearance. 
 
BUTTERMERE. 199 
 
 BUTTERMERE. 
 
 The still larger lake of Buttermere was now 
 opened before us ; many lofty mountains rose 
 from its margin on each side, and near the outlet 
 on an uneven surface grew some finajforests : some 
 of them had been felled not long ago, but they 
 had already recovered the scale of beauty. The 
 length of the lake is perhaps four miles, its 
 breadth one. We rode two miles on the south- 
 west side of this lake to examine the water-fall of 
 Scale Force : as we approached it, from appear- 
 ance, my expectations were not very high as to 
 its grandeur or beauty, but I was deceived. We 
 entered an opening of perpendicular rocks six 
 yards wide, and perhaps forty yards high. Our 
 road was over pointed rocks, which, however, 
 the frequent feet of strangers had somewhat 
 blunted. From the rock-walks of this stupendous 
 lane, which extended perhaps sixty yards, trees 
 shot out and hung over our heads. I put off my 
 under-coat and replaced it with my upper one, as 
 I was soon immersed in a shower from the spray 
 
200 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 of the fall. We had got a line, intending to mea- 
 sure it, as I disputed the account I heard of its 
 height. My companion winded round a hill, and 
 with much intrepidity placed himself at the top, 
 appearing to me at the bottom like a crow : he 
 began to wind off, and we hallooed to one another ; 
 but we might as well have whispered ; the tre- 
 mendous bellowing of this vast surge suffered 
 nothing to be heard but itself. We were quite 
 baffled in our attempts to measure it ; but from 
 trees growing above the tops of trees thrice told, 
 I was convinced that the accounts of its being 
 fifty yards high, was no exaggeration. Now, a 
 considerable body of water falling unbroken that 
 height, with a gloomy wall of perpendicular rock 
 on each hand, certainly ranks high among the sub- 
 lime and terrific exhibitions of Nature. I stood a 
 long time at the bottom of the cataract, contem- 
 plating the grandeur of the scene, and my own 
 insignificance. 
 
KESWICK. 201 
 
 MELFELL. 
 
 Being at Keswick again, when I rose in the 
 morning the sky was clear, and. the sunrise from 
 my window was to me a new and singular scene. 
 A ball of bu rning gold filled the space between two 
 mountains : these verdant mountains were a frame 
 to the globe of light ; which frame was tinged 
 with the splendour it enclosed : but the whole, 
 though luminous, might be beheld without pain. 
 In mountainous regions the variety of changes in 
 the scenes, from the state of the atmosphere, are 
 almost innumerable. I will leave the vale of Kes- 
 wick for a few moments, to say, that looking lately 
 around me one morning after sunrise, a dark 
 cloud overspread the skies, and a sullen gloom 
 seemed to cover the earth : all, but where, through 
 a chink in the sombre canopy, the sun shone in 
 full splendour on a conical mountain, and that 
 mountain was Melfell ; it seemed like a pyramid of 
 brilliants in a frame of sable. 
 
202 
 
 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 SKIDDAW. 
 
 I now return to Keswick, and belonging to a 
 party. The sky was clear when we sallied forth : 
 but a vapour was rising from Bassenthwaite Lake, 
 which ascended Skiddaw, and rested on its sum- 
 mit. Before we arrived, it had travelled over the 
 valley between them, and covered the crown of 
 Blencathra : yet it did not long remain there, 
 but, during our mountain-journey, travelled east- 
 ward and settled on Crossfell. The journeys of 
 mists, of vapours, and of clouds, when far above 
 our heads, are little attended to ; but when they 
 are moving beneath, or around us, they are pe- 
 culiarly interesting. Few objects in Nature afford 
 a greater or more pleasing variety than the 
 phenomena of clouds ; and the mountainous 
 country we were now exploring, affords a won- 
 derful variety of specimens. The manufacturing 
 and march of clouds, their revolutions and varie- 
 ties, have often been subjects to me of interesting 
 observation: I have beheld with attention the 
 fleeting forms of these shadowy inhabitants of the 
 hills, from the light silver clouds of the morn- 
 
SKIDDAW. 203 
 
 ing, till the sun edged his curtains in the west 
 with crimson and gold. I know not in Nature of 
 any greater transformation in a little time, than 
 what takes place among these light passengers of 
 the sky. 
 
 I remember spending one morning on an emi- 
 nence (Warnelfell) in the centre of Cumberland. 
 Over the spacious plain northward to Carlisle, and 
 westward to Solway Firth, the sun rose on a sea 
 of mist : as the sun ascended, the vapours divided 
 and left the earth ; the sky was of a clear blue, 
 but by ten o'clock was scattered over, at equal 
 distances, apparently by an immense fleet. The 
 clouds uniformly took the appearance of large 
 vessels : they were of a triangular form, and 
 their colour was like that of ship-sails. A scene 
 more magnificent of its kind I do not remember to 
 have beheld. — The colour of clouds depends on the 
 state of the atmosphere. I remember once being 
 where I could just discern Skiddaw and Blen- 
 cathra, with two or three secondary mountains. 
 I do not remember a day more gloomy. If the 
 hue of these mountains was not as black as pitch, 
 it certainly belonged to no other colour than black. 
 In the front of the scene I am now describing, 
 were three enormous clouds, which in colour and 
 in height were not distinguishable from the 
 secondary mountains ; only they were in motion, 
 
204 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 which showed them to be clouds : but the scene 
 altogether had something of a dismal magnificence, 
 which it was interesting to contemplate in safety. 
 
 I will now return from clouds to the earth. To 
 ascend such a mountain as Skiddaw on such a day, 
 and in the society of interesting companions, was 
 no common gratification ; and it cannot be supposed 
 but that I enjoyed it. I did enjoy it, but quietly : 
 no enthusiastic eulogiums. Perhaps sublime, unal- 
 loyed enjoyment is a quiet thing. I do not say at 
 this period I had made the high attainment. I saw 
 those for whose safety I was interested ascending 
 cheerfully on horseback with less apprehension 
 than I felt myself. Riding up mountains was to 
 me a new way of visiting them ; and my courage 
 does not lie in my head. So when we arrived near 
 the summit I alighted. Riding on the top of a 
 narrow mountain, covered with shiver, and steep 
 on either side, was not quite in unison with what I 
 felt ; and I could not well leave my horse. Per- 
 haps I was a fit companion for Skiddaw Old Wo- 
 man ; so I staid by her, and laid myself down. I 
 long heard with attention the trampling of the 
 horses of my friends along the stones, and I saw 
 them encircle a little pyramid on the utmost point 
 of the mountain. I looked in various directions, 
 meditating on what I saw, and enjoyed myself as 
 much as one left behind, and having the toothache, 
 
SKTDDAW. 205 
 
 might be supposed to do. This circumstance I did 
 not mention ; for, with the pain I feel myself, I do 
 not wish to assail others. I looked into deep val- 
 leys ; over inferior mountains ; and saw one in a 
 southern direction, proudly eminent above his bre- 
 thren : but he that is not quite at ease may be ex- 
 cused description. 
 
206 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 LATRIG. 
 
 My friends now returned, and we began to de- 
 scend. Coming upon a green slope, we sat down by 
 the side of a spring, and made our mountain-meal 
 in pastoral simplicity. Descending from aerial 
 heights and aerial musings, what if we again settle 
 down on substantial ? Bread has been called the 
 staff of life : — if the position be true, the interests 
 of agriculture may be said to be connected with 
 human existence. The first step to Skiddaw is 
 Latrig, which is perhaps a third of its height. This 
 third-rate mountain William Calvert has cultivated. 
 It might not be prudent, generally, to follow such 
 an example in mountainous districts ; yet, what he 
 has done, ought to operate as an encouragement 
 not to sink under common agricultural difficulties. 
 Perhaps be has led the plough along steeper heights 
 than has hitherto been done in this island. I have 
 been told that the uprises of the roofs of many 
 houses are about eight inches in the yard ; and, 
 judging of the ploughed parts of Latrig from the 
 ascent of many roads, which is known occasionally 
 to be five or six inches, he must have ploughed 
 
LATRIG. 207 
 
 grounds as steep as the roofs of houses. Yet the 
 surface of his steep mountain was alternately 
 whitened with lime, or white with ripe grain. Lime 
 could not be brought on these heights but by a 
 winding road up the back of the mountain, then 
 over its summit, and finally sledged down its brow. 
 The rays of the afternoon sun (which are the hot- 
 test) shooting direct on the breast of the mountain, 
 have ripened its grain more early than any I have 
 seen this year. On the summit of Latrig is a pretty 
 level plain, where the corn is some weeks behind, 
 but where I was surprised to see eleven stacks 
 standing of last year's grain. Indeed Latrig is a 
 singular specimen of what may be done by perse- 
 verance. 
 
208 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 KESWICK. 
 
 Belonging to a bridal party, I was again at Kes- 
 wick, where we lodged ; and next morning steered 
 our course towards Borrowdale. On our right lay 
 the level vale of Keswick, enlivened by Derwent- 
 water, which once gave title to an earl. I should 
 like to hear of its being again revived in the person 
 of some virtuous loyal subject. Lord Derwent- 
 water would have sounded as well as Lord Ellen- 
 borough ; yet Lord Chief Justice Law belonged 
 more to Westmorland than Cumberland. I should 
 have liked to have had him Lord Carhullan, the 
 name of the abode of his ancestors. But we are in 
 quest of more permanent objects than the perishable 
 distinctions of men. 
 
 Soon after we left Keswick there arose on our 
 right a vast range of mountain-rocks, or rocky 
 mountains, stretching four or five miles without in- 
 terruption. Sometimes they came forward majesti- 
 cally erect ; sometimes they retired, and leaned to 
 the east. Their grey fronts were often enlivened 
 by green woods; and if it were not that any allusion 
 
WATINLATH. 209 
 
 to the works of man would lower the grandeur of 
 Nature, we should talk of castles perched on high, 
 entire or in ruins, their shattered fragments often 
 scattered round their base. 
 
 We drew the rein at Lodore ; and having heard 
 of Watinlath, and that it was situate above the 
 summits of these precipices, we began our ascent 
 to the higher regions. The ascent was steep, and 
 slippery with the heat of the sun ; and some of the 
 party failed in the attempt. The bride was the 
 first that arrived in sight of Watinlath. It is a so- 
 litary village in a solitary valley, situate, I believe, 
 three hundred yards above the valleys around; 
 and the approach to it is so steep that it is difficult 
 to conceive how the implements and materials for 
 building could arrive there : yet houses there are, 
 in number four, which may contain from twenty to 
 thirty inhabitants ; and we saw the plough going, 
 and concluded there may also be carts : so that 
 Watinlath may be considered an upper story of 
 society. 
 
 A native of London or Bath, transplanted to 
 Watinlath, might sicken for society. But this 
 lonely valley is not destitute of life and animation. 
 The barns and out-offices suggest a proportion of 
 cattle ; and I counted from one point sixty-three 
 fields, (not indeed large ones,) and afterwards 
 counted on to a hundred. The family we visited 
 
 p 
 
210 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 talked of having seven hundred sheep, and that 
 there were above twelve hundred belonging: to 
 Watinlath. But its chief population consists in 
 ants, which I believe are more numerous than the 
 whole population of England; and they seemed 
 well-fed ants too. We came to their London, round 
 which they were travelling by thousands in various 
 directions. I hope the reader will not be offended 
 at my introducing such company : a man in pursuit 
 of the productions of Nature should not overlook 
 any of the inhabitants of the earth, whether men, 
 lions, eagles, or ants. 
 
 At the village of Watinlath we met with hos- 
 pitality : we were offered refreshment; white linen 
 was spread on the table ; and the delicacy of rum- 
 butter was set before us, which is a favourite prepa- 
 ration on the addition to a family. I counted thir- 
 teen legs of mutton hanging over our heads ; toge- 
 ther with a well-stored bookshelf, from which I 
 took down a volume, and was pleased to find that 
 my friend Lindley Murray was read in Watinlath. 
 
 I was told that in a half-mile walk I could see 
 into Borrowdale. This was an excitement : I 
 walked and I ran, and I saw what I wanted. But 
 in my absence my friends had played me a trick. 
 They were gone, and had represented me as a spy, 
 and I do not know what : so I had my way to 
 make again with the good woman of the house. 
 
WATINLATH. 211 
 
 which I did not find very difficult. I dare say we 
 parted without thinking any thing bad of one 
 another. 
 
 The valley of Watinlath is walled in, particu- 
 larly to the west, by a chain of rocks two or three 
 hundred yards high. These rocks sometimes lean 
 forward, sometimes are perpendicular, and some- 
 times sloping to their summits. When thus inclin- 
 ing they are covered with a little soil, and conse- 
 quently with a little verdure, and are pastured 
 with sheep. But some of these naked rocks take 
 the form of round towers, some of them of square 
 battlements, and some of them are like no human 
 buildings we have ever seen. 
 
 In this mountain-solitude all was silence and 
 repose. The air was warm, the sun shone bright ; 
 and in this pastoral stillness we heard the cuckoo 
 for the first time this season. Our guide was an 
 acute mountain lass of twenty-one. She was born 
 at Keswick, and had lived five years in Borrowdale. 
 She told us, when she now went to Keswick, they 
 shouted cuckoo ; the people of Keswick joking 
 their neighbours of Borrowdale with hedging in the 
 cuckoo, but she flew over the fence. 
 
 The midst of this valley, and nearly its whole 
 length, is a smooth level meadow. I paced its 
 breadth, and found it to be ninety or a hundred 
 yards wide. In one place a wall runs nearly across, 
 
 r 2 
 
212 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 with ten openings in it to receive the passing waters, 
 which we saw from the wreck sometimes fill the 
 valley. When the Lake of Watinlath overflows ; 
 when the rocks on high, visited by a mountain 
 thunder-storm, send down their waters on the 
 deluged vale ; when they all rush together down 
 the fearful Gulph of Lodore ; then, who but would 
 like to see the tremendous cataract in all its glory ? 
 
 Who but would wish to hear the dreadful roar — 
 Watinlath's waters thundering down Lodore ? 
 
 Leaving the level valley, its bordering stream 
 shapes its descending course into a gloomy abyss, 
 shaded with brushwood and with trees. It had now 
 been a long drought, and I was desirous of accom- 
 panying the diminished stream down its fearful de- 
 scent. I was told by our guide, and those that were 
 with me, it was impossible. I persisted in urging 
 the attempt, but was at length overpowered by the 
 opposition. Our guide said we might go on the 
 top and look down ; but the path was very narrow. 
 Left by the rest, I went cautiously onward with our 
 guide, who soon saw I was afraid, and offered me 
 assistance. I heard the water sounding beneath, 
 but was fearful of looking down the throat of the 
 growling monster, and shrunk from the idea of 
 being devoured by a mountain-shark, whose wide 
 
LODORE. 213 
 
 open jaws stretched perhaps fifty or sixty yards 
 high ; so I timidly turned away, and crept quietly 
 to the bottom of the hill by the way that I came. 
 
 Sometimes an inveterate obstinacy lurks under a 
 simple appearance. I had not been permitted to 
 descend the Waterfall of Lodore, so I was deter- 
 mined to make an effort to ascend it. Our guide 
 conducted me to its base, and accompanied me till 
 she said, " You can go no farther." 1 '' Terrible rocks, 
 perhaps eighty or a hundred yards high, rose on 
 either hand. The cataract was bedded with a 
 thousand fragments from their sides, several of 
 them, perhaps, twenty tons weight — all of them 
 smoothed by the weight and rapidity of the falling 
 torrent. Though it might be said to be arduous 
 and perilous ascending among these sleeping gentry, 
 yet this I effected to the summit of the fall. I did 
 not, indeed, go by this gravel-walk all the way to 
 Watinlath, for I had not time ; but I descended 
 again in safety, though it was the more difficult 
 journey of the two. The reader may remember 
 how fearful I was in looking down into this terrible 
 abyss; but with looking down was coupled the 
 idea of falling down, and I became almost dizzy. 
 If we are dizzy in our elevations, there is consider- 
 able danger. We may be in greater difficulties 
 below ; but if we are relieved from the apprehension 
 of falling, the danger will be less. 
 
214 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 We now approached Borrowdale ; but the en- 
 trance seemed barred by sublime impassable rocks, 
 perhaps four or five hundred yards high; their 
 summits finely curved or pointed, and their sides 
 adorned with green woods and grey projections. 
 These rocks, or mountains, (for these barriers of 
 Borrowdale partake of the properties of both,) 
 shoot quite across the valleys, and shewed us no 
 opening for an entrance ; and to drive our carriages 
 over them was impossible. What shall we do ! 
 Borrowdale must be entered, for our wishes are 
 there already. We drove up to them ; and, lo ! 
 Nature had, in one place, been so kind to us and 
 other travellers, that she had set the corner of one 
 mountain behind and a little past another ; so we 
 slipped in between them, and one of the first things 
 we saw was Bowderstone. I have seen men so 
 enormous, that their exhibition was accompanied by 
 other men, and their arrival was announced by 
 handbills, &c. Bowderstone partakes of these at- 
 tentions : — a handsome cottage is built for the 
 keeper, and handbills are distributed. Bowder- 
 stone has been not inaptly compared to the hull of 
 a ship ; and surely it is no small one. When we 
 came alongside several people were on deck, and 
 its keel was but little sunk below the surface ; so 
 that, resting on so narrow a base, it seemed in dan- 
 ger of toppling over. The launching of a first-rate 
 
BOWDERSTONE. 215 
 
 man-of-war would be an inferior operation to the 
 launching of Bowderstone from its native mountain; 
 for all the men of Keswick — nay, all the men of 
 Cumberland — could not have stopped it in its 
 right place. 
 
 We now go on exploring these lovely and sub- 
 lime solitudes. Fenced round with majestic moun- 
 tains, how shall we escape from them ? Nay, but 
 Ave do not wish it : we long to linger, and wander 
 from valley to valley, while the sun performs his 
 journey over our heads. Rosthwaite, Sethwaite, 
 Stonethwaite, and Grange ! your undulating sum- 
 mits here ascend with pointed peaks, there decline 
 like inverted rainbows ; your features always vary- 
 ing, and always interesting. 
 
 On a level with the dwellings in Borrowdale 
 are fields and meadows of sweet fertility. These 
 fields and meadows are stretching to the borders of 
 the mountains. The bases of these mountains 
 are covered with wood, and sheep are feeding on 
 their sloping sides and aspiring summits. The sun 
 shone bright, yet clouds were in the sky ; and where 
 their deep shadows rested in the hollows of the 
 mountains, it added a solemnity to the scene. Per- 
 haps there are few situations in which the extremi- 
 ties of seasons are more conspicuous than in Bor- 
 rowdale. The wintry tempest and the summer 
 thunder-storm, with its loud tumult of echoes 
 
216 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 among the mountains, will here be in perfection. 
 Then, when all these have subsided and are gone 
 past, where shall we meet with more comfort and 
 repose ? 
 
 Being limited for time, we did not examine (I 
 think it was) Stonethwaite, the approach to which 
 is singularly striking. A beautiful cluster of hills 
 standing one behind another, seems to fill the en- 
 trance, amongst which the imagination is left to 
 make its way. 
 
 As we approached the Wad-mines, we left beauty 
 behind us. We drove by the broad stony channel 
 of a river ; but water there was none. We tra- 
 velled in our carriages as far as carriages had ever 
 travelled. We alighted ; and in our steep ascent 
 we passed a fine grove of yews. On our arrival 
 we looked into the Wad-mines ; but interest was 
 exhausted by what we had this day seen, so we 
 returned. 
 
WANTHWAITE CRAGS. 217 
 
 WANTHWAITE CRAGS. 
 
 An inviting season, about midsummer 1821, 
 drew forth my friend and me to a ramble among 
 the mountains. We mounted our horses a little 
 after sunrise, and followed the Keswick road past 
 Threlkeld ; then turned down the Vale of St . 
 John's, when Wanthwaite Crags soon roused our 
 attention. Huge, sullen, and severe, they are flnelv 
 contrasted with the soft scenes of the valley. 
 Having much in prospect before us, we did not 
 quit our horses; but the yawning caverns and 
 hoary masses of Wanthwaite Crags seemed well 
 worthy of being explored ; they seemed like the 
 citadels of the mountains. 
 
 We now approached the Castle-Rock of St. John. 
 Its dark grey walls, and its turrets waving with 
 green shrubs, gave it a solemn appearance ; and 
 imagination and the idea of enchantment have 
 rendered it famous. But as we drew near, it shrunk 
 out of sight ; and, when it re-appeared, it was me- 
 tamorphosed into meanness. 
 
 Having rode above twenty miles, we sent back 
 our horses at Wythburn, and betook ourselves to 
 
218 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 our feet on the mountains. We exchanged smooth 
 roads, green fields, woods, steeps, and lovely lakes, 
 for brown heath, rugged wastes, slippery hills, 
 bogs, and peatmosses ; and, to our comfort, as we 
 rose higher and higher, the mountains rose higher 
 and higher before us, till Ave beheld a company of 
 mountains around us at once lofty and formidable : 
 pre-eminent among which were two that seemed to 
 face one another with an air of defiance, as disputing 
 their right to some interesting vale ; or, with allu- 
 sion to a human assembly, each held up his hand as 
 beckoning for obedience. These, we were told by 
 two anglers at a solitary tarn, were Scawfell and 
 Great Gable. 
 
 Descending on Borrowdale, we saw two men 
 and a woman at a distance, and sought their society 
 and counsel. They were sledging peats, with one 
 horse, from the higher mountains, to a precipice 
 down which a horse could not go. Here lay their 
 reservoir of peats, and here again their hurdle is 
 reloaded ; which being done, a man appears before 
 it, his shoe-heels shod with iron, which with sturdy 
 tramp he drives against the ground. The man's 
 shoulders being now opposed to the hurdle, the 
 hurdle rushes on the man, the man arresting its 
 overwhelming progress with all his might ; and 
 thus they go jostling one another all the way down 
 the mountain without, however, any intention of 
 
EOREOWDALE. 219 
 
 a total overthrow; for, should that unhappily take 
 place, the hurdle's contents would be distributed 
 in hurry and confusion down the declivity. But 
 arrived in the valley, it ends in an upset, for the 
 man tumbles down the hurdle. Yet how uncer- 
 tain are the ups and downs that we see around us ! 
 The hurdle gets again on the man's shoulders, and 
 rides in triumph up the mountain to renew the 
 conflict. The reader would excuse my thinking so 
 much about getting peats down these precipices, if 
 he had seen with what difficulty I got down myself. 
 — I am yet disposed to say a few words more, 
 x^greeably to sound policy, before I left home I 
 considered and counted on the ease of old shoes in 
 a long walk : but I had not duly examined these 
 interesting subjects — old shoes; for I this day found 
 to my loss that the heels of those I had on were 
 worn off, so that I could hardly go or stand in my 
 descent into Borrowdale : — therefore, as a well- 
 wisher to these kind of undertakings, I would 
 recommend the reader, before he commences a 
 pedestrian journey among the mountains, to have 
 his shoe-heels spurroiv-billed. 
 
 We were now fairly got into the level fields of 
 Borrowdale ; and we turned round to look on the 
 heights whence we had come, when our wonder 
 was not diminished in contemplating the dex- 
 terity that must be possessed by the inhabitants of 
 
220 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 these valleys. I would have cheerfully stopped 
 half an hour to see the descent of a cavalcade 
 of peat-carriers : — would it not have been like a 
 cataract of men and peat-hurdles tumbling down 
 the mountains ? 
 
 We now turned our attention in various direc- 
 tions, and found the surrounding mountains of 
 Stonethwaite the loftiest and most beautiful in Bor- 
 rowdale : but beauty is seldom an attribute of 
 mountains, yet it comes in for its share here. The 
 stern Eagle-Crag terminates the vale, on each side of 
 which are lofty mountains, nobly wooded almost to 
 their summits, shining with white rocks. The sky 
 was clear ; the sun shone bright, save on the steeps 
 that rose on our left, where a vertical sun could not 
 shine : hence the appearance of huge caverns was 
 seen among the richest groves. In different places 
 fine conical rocks projected from the mountains, 
 and were richly covered with trees. These are 
 called by the inhabitants " hay-stacks," and bear 
 different names. We conversed with some of the 
 inhabitants, and they seemed a serious, obliging, 
 and intelligent people. 
 
 We now wound our way out of Borrowdale. 
 Compared with the way we entered into it, the road 
 was commodious, if a road could be said to be com- 
 modious- where there was no road at all. In a 
 drought the appearance of water is cheering ; and 
 
WASTDALE MOUNTAINS. 221 
 
 we were refreshed with the sight of Sprinkling 
 Tarn. 
 
 The Wastdale Mountains now began to rise 
 before us : they were of a character entirely dif- 
 ferent from those we had left behind or any that I 
 had seen. They seem composed of solid rock; 
 neither smooth, rugged, nor sprinkled with ver- 
 dure: they appeared pure, unmixed, impene- 
 trable sterility, inclining rather to a light than a 
 dark hue. It was the heat of summer, and a hot 
 day; but the summits of these original mountains 
 appeared as if they were whitened by a hoar frost. 
 
 I had enjoyed our ascent : it had been without 
 fear or difficulty. We had hitherto seen no human 
 being, and were longing for a look into Wastdale, 
 when we met with a man driving his ass, loaden 
 with hardware and other goods. He was the mer- 
 chant of these mountains and valleys. We inquired 
 where we should see into Wastdale ? He said, 
 " Just before you." I bounded forward with joy- 
 ful anticipation ; when, lo ! a turn in the mountain 
 presented a tremendous abyss. We saw indeed, at 
 a vast distance, level land and green fields; but to 
 come at these the dreadful side of Great Gable 
 must be descended. If I had been alone I should 
 instantly have returned; I should have hardly 
 dared to look into the lower regions : yet it was not 
 so much from the apprehension of real danger, as 
 
222 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 by the fear of dizziness, that I was annoyed. But 
 my companion abounded in the sort of courage in 
 which I was deficient ; so Ave began to descend ; 
 my friend on the side towards the precipice, and I 
 towards the mountain, changing sides as we went 
 down at every turn of our steep and stony road. 
 The road, indeed, seemed to crawl down the moun- 
 tain like ourselves ; for Great Gable was too steep 
 and too like a pillar to admit the road for any 
 length of time in one direction. However, to keep 
 up my courage, and show my companion that I 
 was not an arrant coward on all occasions, I told 
 him how I had followed a mad dog (that had made 
 sad havock in our village) long after every body 
 else had given up the chase, and killed it, poor 
 creature ! with my club. 
 
 When we are humbled, we hang down our 
 heads : thus my eyes were directed to the ground. 
 I indeed once glanced at what was below, and clung 
 closer to my companion ; and I then looked aloft 
 and caught a glimpse of a canopy of rocks, perhaps 
 a quarter of a mile above our heads. This added 
 another terror to the stock already in my posses- 
 sion. To me these may be said to be tours of im- 
 pressions ; and here I was under the impression of 
 terror. Here I might properly be classed among 
 the creeping things of the earth ; and here I might 
 well have cried out, — O for the head and the heels of 
 
WAST WATER. 223 
 
 a shepherd, or the airy agility of Borrowdale peat- 
 carriers ! However, at last we arrived safe in the 
 valley, and looked back with something of self-com- 
 placency on the mountain from which we had de- 
 scended. Though attended with difficulty, who 
 would regret that once in his life he had come 
 down Great Gable to explore the wonders of Wast 
 Water ? 
 
 When people go forth to see the world, they are 
 sometimes in search of beauty. If beauty is the 
 leading object of their search, they need not go to 
 Wast Water. The prominent features round 
 Wast Water are sternness and sterility. Unlike 
 the mountains of Borrowdale, no climbing groves 
 wave on the first stages of these mountains. The 
 mountains of Wast Water are naked to their base : 
 — their sides and their summits are uniform : their 
 summits shoot up into lofty points, and end in the 
 form of pyramids. We have heard of the Pyra- 
 mids of Egypt, built by the hand of man ; but these 
 are the Pyramids of the world, built by the Archi- 
 tect of the universe. 
 
 When we entered again among the dwellings of 
 men, we inquired for an inn, or for a place where 
 we could get refreshment. We were told, that by 
 walking five miles to the opposite end of the lake, 
 we might be accommodated. This determined our 
 route, and we continued our course on the borders 
 
224 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 of the lake. A range of lofty mountains lined our 
 right, from which, and behind which, the sun alter- 
 nately rose and set, as we pursued our evening 
 journey. Our apprehensions at rest, we now con- 
 templated the mountains with admiration, and the 
 valley with tranquillity. A group of lofty moun- 
 tains rose on our right ; they formed a vast cove, 
 from which the sun had withdrawn. The sun, in- 
 deed, takes an early leave of the northern sides of 
 these mountains : to us they were 'already dark, 
 though his journey in the sky was far from finished. 
 I should have liked to wind along the base of 
 these mountains ; but to what they led I do not 
 know : indeed it seemed like an entrance into the 
 regions of night. 
 
 When we are engaged with interesting exertions, 
 the feelings of weariness and want of refreshment 
 are suspended : but when the day is done, and our 
 exertions terminate, the transition is agreeable to 
 refreshment and rest. These we met with in per- 
 fection at the little inn a mile below Wast Water. 
 Though but on a small scale, we experienced the 
 three gratifying qualities of a good inn : — kind at- 
 tention, comfortable refreshment, and a moderate 
 charge. 
 
 We breakfasted in the morning between five and 
 six o'clock, and renewed our labours. The sun 
 last evening seemed drowsy like ourselves— he 
 
SCAW-FELL. 225 
 
 sometimes winked behind a mountain : he had now 
 risen with fresh vigour, and we with renovated 
 strength ; so that we each pursued our journey 
 with the alacrity of the morning. As we retraced 
 the road we had walked last evening, the mountains 
 rose more magnificently before us. The names 
 of some of them were, Kepple-Crag, Green Crag, 
 Kirkfell, Longmell, Bowfell, and Scaw-Fell. We 
 sometimes paused, and beheld four or five of these 
 majestic mountains standing distinctly before us ; 
 and they have so stood unimpaired for four or five 
 thousand years. But we cannot say so much for 
 the celebrated mountain over the lake. The Screes 
 seems going to decay : its foundation is in Wast 
 Water ; its surface and its soil are gone ; torrents 
 of rocks and of stones are sometimes rolling down 
 its sides. The lake receives the roaring current, and 
 boils with its fury. The boatmen keep aloof: — the 
 bottom of the lake is rising, and the mountain is 
 diminishing. I only speak from information, for 
 the mountain was at rest when we beheld it. 
 
 Having again paced the length of the lake, we 
 were opposite the base of the mighty Scaw-Fell, the 
 highest, of all the English mountains. The sight 
 of its far-distant summit elevated my spirits, but 
 depressed those of my companion : I am not sure 
 that he was quite well. We crossed the feeder 
 of the lake over one of the slenderest wooden 
 
 Q 
 
226 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 bridges that ever accommodated human passengers : 
 it shuddered like the ague. We sat down in a 
 shady lane, and held our consultation, which ended 
 in amicably parting for a few hours ; he winding 
 round the base, and, as ambition has no resting- 
 place, I over the summit of Scaw-Fell. 
 
 Scaw-Fell has a broad base : it extends several 
 miles on the side I ascended. I began to climb 
 swifter than I had lately descended from other 
 mountains ; and I often looked and beheld my 
 friend, till he was diminished to the size of his hat, 
 and at last totally vanished. The day was de- 
 lightful to my utmost wishes. As I ascended, the 
 sea began to appear in the south-west, and a stately 
 assemblage of mountains crowded the western he- 
 misphere : there was a great variety in their forms, 
 and one of the loftiest of them, if he had had a 
 head, would have done for a Man-mountain, for 
 he seemed to hold up both his hands. 
 
 I ascended to the last story of the mountain, 
 which seemed superior to those I had before visited. 
 I looked down on Langdale Pikes, the Man Moun- 
 tain of Coniston, and others of my old acquaint- 
 ances. I have ascended the easy and commodious 
 side of Scaw-Fell : I should have liked to explore 
 the terrors of its tremendous precipices : but these 
 fearful exhibitions would be better seen by me 
 from below; my terrors are in precipices and per- 
 
SCAW-FELL. 227 
 
 pendiculars. Looking from below, we only lose 
 of terrific grandeur what is gained in tranquil, sub- 
 lime admiration. There are many fearful and ma- 
 jestic forms amid these mountains yet unexplored 
 by me : perhaps I may some time ascend to favour- 
 able points, and treat myself with a sight of their 
 solitary magnificence. 
 
 How delightful to look round and meditate on 
 these serene regions-^-the loftiest mountains our 
 next neighbours, and the valleys their gardens and 
 domains ! How interesting to contrast these scenes 
 with their circumstances, when they are involved 
 with driving snows, with rolling mists, and with 
 thunder-storms ! 
 
 At the highest point of my elevation I was 
 pleased to find that I was not out of the reach of 
 all living things; — a modest butterfly hovered 
 round me, and shewed by her attentions she was 
 not displeased with my visit. The reader may smile, 
 but a butterfly is a respectable personage where 
 there is no other. I sat down, and saw an aerial 
 visitant approaching : a light silver cloud for a few 
 moments rested itself above me, then went off and 
 pursued its journey through the sky. 
 
 I seem here in the regions of innocence. Inno- 
 cent sheep are feeding far beneath me : they are 
 all the living creatures I now behold. Their lambs 
 
 a 2 
 
228 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 are pacing or playing round their parents : their 
 gaiety inspires me with gladness, and I am willing 
 to record the cheerfulness of solitude. 
 
 Scaw-Fell may be said to be the Goliath of our 
 northern mountains, or the first of the British Alps. 
 No doubt for many centuries after the creation it 
 would remain wrapped up in primeval solitude ; 
 perhaps it might remain unvisited even by birds 
 and beasts for a thousand years; and it still remains 
 a labour for the shepherd, or a pilgrimage for taste, 
 to ascend its lofty summit. Perhaps it was not till 
 after two millenniums that the first human being 
 trod the path I have done this morning. I muse 
 till there seems a loneliness and silence around me 
 that gives me the idea of the world before it was 
 peopled. 
 
 I am alone on the mountains, and there is no- 
 thing but majesty and innocence around me. — I am 
 alone on the mountains. — I have been alone in the 
 midst of populous cities : — I have walked their 
 crowded streets when no one knew me, and no one 
 cared for me ; — yet then I was not dejected; I was 
 under the protection of society : and here I am not 
 sad ; here is nothing to tempt or injure me. I see 
 the mighty works of Almighty Power rising around 
 me, not a particle of which is directed to my hurt. 
 Can I then repress adoration to the Maker Omni- 
 
SCAW-FELL. 229 
 
 potent? Can I withhold thanksgiving and grati- 
 tude from Him who brought messages of love and 
 of mercy from the bosom of his Father ? 
 
 It may be thought, that in climbing mountains 
 I am building up my Babel to climb to Heaven : 
 ah, no ! far from it ! I only look on mountains as 
 the most stupendous specimens of Almighty Power 
 that we see around us. The glories of Heaven I 
 dare not attempt to describe — I hardly dare antici- 
 pate : yet from the richness and glory of the visible 
 creation ; from what passed on Sinai between the 
 Almighty and Moses ; from the descent of An- 
 gels at the birth of Our Saviour ; from his trans- 
 figuration on the Mount, and from the writings of 
 John — we may conclude that the courts of Heaven 
 are filled with a holy splendour : but to the nature 
 of that holy splendour I dare not presume to raise 
 my feeble conceptions ; and I am here willing to 
 own, that if ever there is a moment when I am not 
 afraid to die, it is when tears fill my eyes, and my 
 spirit, clad in sackcloth, can say, " Lord, dispose of 
 me as thou seest meet : I am helpless before thee. r> 
 
 There is a solemn silence on the summits of 
 mountains that I have not found on the plains or 
 in the valleys. The air is still, and the earth seems 
 at rest : the sound of water is not heard. The 
 voice of man, the notes of birds, and the noise of 
 beasts, do not reach these serene regions. Social 
 
230 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 worship is enjoined, and it is a duty ; but may I 
 not here in deep silence worship Jehovah ? 
 
 I now descended from the steeps of Scaw-Fell ; 
 but my eyes sometimes reverted to its summit, as a 
 spot where I had been gratified, and Avhich I might 
 never visit again. My pace was accelerated by the 
 apprehension that my companion might be far 
 before me, or that, through indisposition, he might 
 be lingering behind: but I reflected, that he was 
 among human habitations, and that my fears might 
 be unfounded ; so I trotted swiftly down the moun- 
 tain till I got involved in peat-mosses. When I 
 began to ascend Scaw-Fell in the morning, I antici- 
 pated an expedition of pleasure ; but the black bogs 
 with which I am surrounded are the reverse of plea- 
 sure-grounds. However, I could not find in my heart 
 to be out of humour with them, when I contem- 
 plated a winter's day, when the snow was coming 
 on, and cheerful cottagers conversing round the 
 comforts of a peat-fire. Some may think these are 
 objects beneath the attention of the reader ; but to 
 be well acquainted with the world, one should see 
 tempests and hurricanes, as well as sunshine and 
 tranquillity ; one should be introduced to preci- 
 pices and peat-mosses, as well as to drawing-rooms, 
 parlours, and nurseries. 
 
 As I descended farther towards the valleys, the 
 prospects became more dreary, and the way grew 
 
HARDKNOT. 231 
 
 worse; till at last I was glad to see again (with 
 rings about them) the things they call fields; and, 
 in a lonely spot, rejoiced to meet with two solitary 
 thorns. Plodding through such scenery, at length 
 I beheld in prospect the luxury of a road. Com- 
 forts now began to unfold themselves, for 1 came to 
 a house ! and it had a front and a back door ; at 
 both of which I knocked, but all was silence 
 within. I turned away, but not without hope, for 
 another house appeared over the valley, at which 
 when I knocked, the mistress came to the door and 
 led me in. Here I saw the delectable sight of a 
 large family sitting comfortably at their dinner, 
 while a pie smoked munificently before them. I 
 now made my inquiries, when the master of the 
 family rose from the table and left his dinner to 
 shew me the way. 
 
 At the foot of Hardknot I entered again on a 
 road : and here I found my companion lying on 
 the ground, where he had been ten minutes. He 
 instantly rose ; and we began climbing the moun- 
 tain pleasantly together. In his circuit through 
 the valleys he had met with his inn and his refresh- 
 ment ; my refreshment had been the pure moun- 
 tain air, and I looked for nothing more for ten or 
 a dozen miles to come. We wound up and down 
 Hardknot, and then accompanied the course of the 
 Duddon through the long Valley of Sethwaite, 
 
232 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 whose characteristic is lonely sterility. For ten 
 miles we met but one person, and he was from So- 
 mersetshire ! What a contrast between these dreary 
 regions and the county of Somerset ! The person 
 was a fine young man in search of work, and a 
 stranger. The beggar has his rounds and his 
 evening accommodations; but to meet a fellow- 
 creature travelling, without a home and without 
 a prospect, is affecting. 
 
 We now came to Wrynose, and began to de- 
 scend the mountain ; but we missed the three stones 
 on Wrynose, where we were told a man might lie 
 quietly in three counties at once. While I was a 
 boy I frequently heard of the wild mountain-passes 
 of Hardknot and Wrynose ; and now that I have 
 seen them, I believe strangers from level countries 
 will pronounce them difficult and dreary, if not 
 dangerous. I have also beheld their towering fore- 
 heads in distant prospect, and think that the fine 
 curved outline of their summits nearly assimilates 
 with those of Crinkle-Fells. 
 
 Looking to the left at the foot of Wrynose I 
 beheld a singular scene, — a valley filled with rocks 
 of different forms and of different magnitudes. My 
 companion thought one of them looked like a slum- 
 bering lion, while I seemed to see the vast horn of 
 some elephant-mountain. But our imaginations 
 were in full operation with our pursuits. The ap- 
 
VALLEY OF ROCKS. 233 
 
 pearance of these rocks was something like that of 
 the tops of the Wast- Water mountains. Indeed, 
 fancy might suppose that lofty mountains, like 
 those seen yesterday, had deposited their rocky 
 crowns in this valley ; or that Nature kept here her 
 laboratory to furnish rocky summits for unfinished 
 mountains. With whimsical ideas like these I left 
 the Vale of Rocks, intending soon to come to it 
 again. I called at the first respectable house I saw, 
 to make some inquiries after my new acquaintances ; 
 but was mortified that the otherwise intelligent 
 young woman, of whom I inquired, knew nothing 
 of my Valley of Rocks, though she lived within 
 half a mile of these wonders.* 
 
 * For some days the Valley of Rocks kept occasional pos- 
 session of my musings ; so I returned to it with high antici- 
 pations of stores for description. I expected winding ave- 
 nues of rocks that would scarcely admit my horse and mej 
 I expected rocks rising like shattered towers, or reposing like 
 prostrate mountains ; I expected pillars and pinnacles, and 
 projections and arches, and caverns and monsters, aud no- 
 body knows what. But when I entered, the rocks were all 
 gone! However, 1 determined to look after them. 1 rode 
 by a tarn, a farm-house, among fields of grain, of meadow 
 and of pasture, but no rocks ! I descended into a deep valley, 
 and saw the perpendicular Pikes of Langdale towering above 
 my head ; a scene more solemn than any they have to shew 
 at Rome. Still I was not satisfied at the flight of my run- 
 away rocks : but as I turned my horse's head about to return 
 
234 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Drank tea at my friend William Wordsworth's, 
 amid the roses and the beauties of Rydal Mount. 
 We closed the long walk of this day at Ambleside. 
 Ambleside is the little Jerusalem of our hilly 
 country, where on a sloping hill-side human hands 
 have raised a number of human habitations, as 
 various in their appearance as the appearance and 
 
 I began to suspect that I might have been duped by the 
 position of objects, or the endless fluctuations of light and 
 shade ; so I hastened back to the foot of Wrynose., to rein- 
 vestigate the scene that set me a-going. When I first looked 
 on the Valley of Rocks, a long drought made them appear 
 brown and barren ; a clear sky had also lowered their apparent 
 height; and now a dark lowering sky and two days' rain 
 had greatly heightened their appearance, and given a tinge of 
 green to their summits. Then the nearest of these rocky 
 hills was the lowest; and they rose like benches one above 
 another, till they terminated with Langdale Pikes. — This 
 was a lesson to me, that if 1 wanted to get a true idea of 
 any object, I must examine it from different points of view. 
 May not this hold in estimating human character? Let us 
 not, then, too hastily determine against our fellow-creatures, 
 till we have seen them in their various relations in society 
 and in solitude. May it not be found in experience, that 
 the same person is stern or mild, lofty or lowly, according to 
 the circumstances with which he is surrounded ? When 1 
 informed my companion that the Valley of Rocks had 
 turned out an illusion, he could hardly believe me, for he 
 was as strongly impressed with their first appearance as 
 myself. 
 
PATTERDALE. 235 
 
 pursuits of their various occupiers. But Nature 
 has done still more for Ambleside : her stately 
 mountains crowd around her, and are woody, 
 rocky, steep, and high. Her various approaches, 
 or outlets, wind interestingly in various directions. 
 In the compass of seven miles, more or less, they 
 lead to as many lakes : — Windermere, the largest 
 lake in England ; Esthwaite- Water, Etterwater, 
 Coniston, Rydal, Grassmere, and Ullswater. To- 
 wards the last in the following morning we set off. 
 On ascending the summit of Kirkstone, we arrived 
 in my native parish, about tAventy miles long, and 
 perhaps, on an average, two miles broad. 
 
 We descended from the steeps of Kirkstone 
 down a winding lane of rugged mountains. We 
 breakfasted at Patterdale, whose level meads are 
 watered by the gold rill, collected as an offering to 
 Ullswater from many mountains. We called at 
 sweet Glenridding ; and a spot more lovely is not 
 in my remembrance. We wandered in a beautiful 
 sunshine, amid the fragrance of flowers. If we 
 went on the lawn, an amphitheatre of mountains 
 rose around us : their pointed summits and finely 
 curved outlines, seen through the thin gauze of a 
 sunny atmosphere, had a delectable effect. If we 
 walked north, Ullswater spread her waters on our 
 right ; while on our left, in savage wildness and 
 hoary grandeur, rose Styborough-Crag, muffled 
 
236 THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS. 
 
 up in British oak. If we sat still, we were in a 
 bower of roses. Our first parents began the world 
 in the Garden of Eden ; I shall end my excursions 
 to the British Mountains in a Paradise of flowers. 
 
THE EDEN. 237 
 
 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 Having paid some attention to the stationary 
 mountain, I will now for a while accompany the 
 travelling river. I have often thought that there 
 is something peculiarly interesting in the source 
 and course of rivers, and that they may be com- 
 pared to the beginning of life and the progress of 
 time. The high origin of some rivers is among 
 such inaccessible mountains, that we might almost 
 as well attempt to trace the beginning of time as 
 the beginnings of such streams. Others come 
 trickling from the earth in such small and feeble 
 rivulets, that they may be compared to the weak- 
 ness of infants before they go alone ; but, like the 
 progress of man, they gain strength and distinction 
 as they go on : villages spring up on their sides ; 
 even towns and cities prefer their society : and, 
 like distinguished personages ere they enter eter- 
 nity, rivers are often accompanied by all the glory 
 of the earth before they descend into the ocean. 
 
 I think I have heard it observed, that they only 
 are rivers that bear their names to the sea : then 
 the reader will perhaps allow me to accompany 
 
238 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 the Eden (our nearest river) in its windings from 
 the mountains of Yorkshire to the sea that divides 
 Cumberland from Scotland. I have devoted these 
 pages principally to mountains, and may lay down 
 my pen after tracing the course of one river, and 
 glancing at the objects on its borders. Perhaps 
 then some other writer more competent may take 
 up his pen, and trace the course and delineate the 
 banks of British Rivers ; and many may think 
 it a more fruitful field for enjoyment than to wan- 
 der on the tops of barren mountains. 
 
 Being at Grisdale, an island of cultivation among 
 barren mountains, and perhaps the highest inha- 
 bited ground in Yorkshire, if not in England, I 
 took an afternoon ramble with a relation ; and 
 being told that the Eden and the Ure, called at 
 York the Ouse, issue from these mountains at 
 no great distance, I was desirous of visiting their 
 sources. The evening was mild and clear, the sun 
 o-ilt with his beams the cottages on the elevations 
 around us, while the deep shadows of the moun- 
 tains filled the valleys beneath our feet. Into 
 these we rapidly descended, and soon found our- 
 selves on the awful borders of Hellbeck. Ah, 
 Eden ! little did I think that thou, that in laving 
 the lovely scenes of Westmorland and Cumberland 
 takest the name of that happy garden which held 
 our first parents, shouldst here from thy terrors de- 
 
SOURCE OF THE EDEN. 239 
 
 rive a name so dreadful ! The channel of Hellbeck, 
 though one might almost leap over it, is terrifying : 
 perpendicular and overhanging rocks thirty feet 
 high enclose the imprisoned waters. I peeped 
 down with apprehension : I should have liked in a 
 dry season to have peeped up from beneath, and 
 have seen the blue heavens reduced to a ragged 
 riband. I drank at its source ; then stepped over 
 into Yorkshire, and in ten minutes drank of the 
 Ure : indeed, in little more than an hour I drank, 
 near their source, of three celebrated British rivers, 
 the Eden, the Ouse, and the Lune ; thus depriving 
 them of a portion of their waters, which they might 
 otherwise have taken to the East, West, and North 
 Seas. 
 
 The shades of night now fell upon us, and we 
 reascended the mountains. Perhaps one of the 
 most melancholy scenes in British landscape is a 
 peatmoss under the shades of evening : but a com- 
 panion in gloom lightens the dreariness. We lost 
 ourselves in a labyrinth of peatmosses. The night 
 was dark ; the heath was dark ; the sides of the 
 peat-pits were dark, and they communicated their 
 colour to the water ; so that all was black toge- 
 ther. Perhaps these peat-pits might be filled with 
 water four or five feet deep, where a plunge would 
 have been most undesirable. Our care was exerted 
 to the utmost ; but as every earthly object is 
 
240 
 
 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 bounded, so was this doleful common, and our tri- 
 bulation among the peatmosses was not of long 
 continuance. 
 
 We now came to a wall, and climbed over it. A 
 dim light sprang up, which we followed to a cot- 
 tage, where two sisters gave us a dish of tea. On 
 our relating our difficulties among the peatmosses, 
 one of our female friends narrated what had be- 
 fallen her five weeks before. Returning in the 
 dark from a visit in Luns, she lost herself on the 
 same dreary heights. She wandered about till she 
 found herself at the place from which she first set 
 off; but would not discover her situation to the 
 friends she had visited. Setting off again, again 
 she lost her way. She walked sorrowfully among 
 the peatmosses till she fell, and her clothes were 
 black with mud. She got up again, and wandered 
 till she came a second time to the cottage she had 
 left. She now made known her distress ; and the 
 good woman of the house took her lantern, her 
 grandaughter, and her pet-lamb, and conducted 
 her young friend safe over the moors into Grisdale. 
 
 We now rose to pursue our journey, and our 
 young friend rose with her lantern, volunteered 
 her services, and lighted us over many a little 
 brook and many a little bridge, to the confines of 
 Grisdale. Here a dispute arose who should now 
 possess the lantern ; she insisting that its services 
 
THE RIVER EDEN. 241 
 
 would still be useful ; and we, that she was alone, 
 had brooks and bridges to pass in the dark, and 
 that if it had not been for her light we should not 
 have escaped falling into the water. We obliged 
 her to keep the lantern; but I verily believe, if I 
 had been alone, female generosity would have been 
 too many for me. 
 
 It would be interesting to accompany the Eden 
 as he journeys along, collecting his tributary waters 
 till he pours his accumulated wealth into the sea. 
 The Venet, the Emont, the Lowther, the Croglin, 
 the Pettrel, the Irthern, the Gelt, the Cadow, and 
 many more winding streams, rush from their native 
 mountains to attend his march, till he joins the 
 ocean with his riches. The wealthy ocean repays 
 this bounty when he sends his majestic clouds 
 laden with the treasures of rain, which they scat- 
 ter with equity on the plains and the mountains : 
 this is succeeded by the beauty and the riches of 
 vegetation. The vast processes of the laboratories 
 of water round the surface of this globe offord a 
 subject of sublime meditation. 
 
 I first entertained the idea of exploring the beau- 
 tiful banks of the Eden ; but beauty having de- 
 serted its banks, I shall leave it for a time; yet 
 the Forest of Mollerstang, down which it winds, 
 having its attractions, I shall soon return to it 
 again. 
 
 li 
 
242 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 Towards the foot of Mollerstang Forest appear 
 the ruins of Pendragon Castle, surrounded by a 
 deep moat and fine terrace, and on a beautiful 
 knoll, round which the Eden forms a semicircle. 
 These ruins stand in an interesting valley, scat- 
 tered with groves and surrounded with sloping 
 mountains ; amongst which Wildboar-Fell is con- 
 spicuous. (I went on its side, but had not time to 
 attain its summit.) The roofs of Pendragon Cas- 
 tle, its towers, its turrets, and its battlements, are 
 fallen in ; over which the green turf is rising, and 
 cattle are feeding within its walls half way to their 
 summits. The earth is burying the windows, into 
 the arch of one of which there was barely room to 
 thrust my arm ; so that annihilation may be said to 
 be on its way to this ancient edifice, and future 
 ages may only see a green hill where it stood. 
 
 Pendragon Castle may be said to be a ruin of 
 ruins, and the history of its first owner is as much 
 in ruins as the mouldering Castle itself. When I 
 went to visit it, I conceived it to have been the chief 
 residence of Uther Pendragon; and thatUther Pen- 
 dragon must have been a person of the first conse- 
 quence, as I have somewhere seen that he was bu- 
 ried at Stonehenge. Sir Humphrey Davy told me 
 there is a Pendragon Castle in Cornwall, and that 
 there may be other Pendragon Castles in England; 
 
WHARTON PARKS. 243 
 
 and that Uther Pendragon was said to be the father 
 of King Arthur ; but perhaps the father and son 
 were as much known in their day in Westmorland 
 as in any part of England, as we have in West- 
 morland Pendragon Castle and King Arthur's 
 Round Table. 
 
 But I leave Pendragon Castle and enter Whar- 
 ton Parks, the spacious domains of a more recent 
 character. Here the first object that drew my 
 attention was Lamised Castle, where into four of its 
 apartments my mare and I entered. Afterwards, 
 through a great extent of fine grazing ground, 
 I approached Wharton Hall, which before its for- 
 feiture was the residence of the Duke of Wharton, 
 eminent for his talents and profligacy. Wharton 
 Hall, though in decay as a noble residence, is 
 highly respectable as a farm-house. I went through 
 its numerous apartments, and then joined the vene- 
 rable farmer in his parlour, where he was exercis- 
 ing his hospitality among his friends. He alluded 
 affectionately to his landlord, the Earl of Lonsdale ; 
 and then told me how the Duke of Wharton 
 hunted the buck on the Sabbath-day ; and that one 
 of our company's grandfather dragged the poor 
 animal from a deep pool in the Eden, and after its 
 death brought it in triumph to Wharton Hall. 
 Perhaps the pious Lord Wharton was of the same 
 
 r 2 
 
244 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 family, who left an annual distribution of the Holy 
 Scriptures to youth of certain descriptions in the 
 North. 
 
 The general character of the Eden is that of a 
 temperate, tranquil stream, steering its course with- 
 out turbulence. But at Stenkerith Bridge the 
 stranger will find it sorely disturbed : if he ramble 
 above the bridge, he will find boiling cauldrons of 
 cold water ; if he stray below, he will find the Eden 
 so agitated and distressed, that his ears will be 
 filled with the loud growlings of that angry ele- 
 ment. Here the Eden rushes in different direc- 
 tions through the crevices of dark perpendicular 
 rocks, eight or ten yards high, with a solemn and 
 appalling sound, till its congregated waters pass 
 under projecting rocks, whereon once the heel of 
 my shoe rested on one side and the toe on another. 
 But these points have been wantonly broken off, 
 and are now half a yard asunder. It is a singular 
 circumstance, but there are here two bridges, one 
 over another : the first is the work of Nature, with 
 all its original wildness ; the other has been built 
 by human industry for human accommodation. 
 
 I now accompanied my favourite stream through 
 a more fruitful country ; it divided the green fields 
 of Kirkby Stephen, the first market-town that 
 rises on its margin ; it then pursues its course 
 through a fertile soil, among the pleasant villages 
 
THE RIVER EDEN. 245 
 
 of Warcop, Sandford, and Ormside. Increasing in 
 its strength and beauty, it now embraces Appleby, 
 with its ancient towers, on a high and woody emi- 
 nence. Here the virtuous Ann, Countess of Pem- 
 broke, exercised her hospitality, and in person her 
 office (Appleby being the county-town) of high- 
 sheriff of Westmorland. 
 
 The Eden now winds its meandering way by 
 Crackenthorpe, Bolton, Temple Sowerby, Acorn- 
 bank, Newbiggen-Hall, to Eden-Hall, the ancient 
 seat of the Musgraves. Perhaps it takes the deno- 
 mination of Eden-Hall from its contiguous situa- 
 tion and the extent of its fine domains : indeed, 
 Sir Philip Musgrave possesses a distinguished por- 
 tion of wealth and beauty on the banks of the 
 Eden. 
 
 The descent of the Eden is gentle from Eden- 
 Hall to Kirk-Oswald, the residence of the Feather- 
 stonehaughs. Round Kirk-Oswald ancient oaks 
 and ancient buildings, on eminences, suggest ancient 
 distinction. I am unacquainted with the history, 
 but the uneven surface, broad extent, and rich ver- 
 dure of Kirk-Oswald Parks, bordered by the Eden, 
 lead to the conclusion that wealth and consequence 
 might have here had their dwelling ; and in future 
 ages, on some of these knolls, wealth, consequence, 
 and taste may build the castle, and overlook there- 
 from the valley and the Eden, 
 
246 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 I now leave the beautiful vale of Kirk-Oswald, 
 and ascend the barren plain of Little Salkald ; in 
 doing which I have still an interesting object be- 
 fore me. I am going to look after the works of 
 our forefathers, performed perhaps two thousand 
 years ago. I see at a distance a pillar or an obelisk 
 rising over the hedges before me. I hook my 
 horse to a gate, and do not stop till I am in the 
 area of Long Meg. If I had visited it when a 
 youth, I might have thought the monsters I saw 
 around me were under a spell, for I have often 
 been told they could not be counted twice to a 
 number ; and what we are often told of when 
 young, however improbable, sometimes becomes an 
 object of belief. I counted the mighty stones I 
 saw around me to seventy-five, but I did not repeat 
 the operation. Disposing of them and their gover- 
 ness, for this strange assembly is still called ' Long 
 Meg and her daughters,' must have been a work of 
 immense labour : and where such masses could be 
 had, and, when found, how they could be conveyed, 
 baffles conjecture. But here they are ! some of 
 them lurking lialf-overhead in the earth, others of 
 them more exposed ; and I amused myself with 
 contrasting the time, when these mighty works were 
 performed, with this afternoon, when a solitary in- 
 dividual surveys them alone. At the time those 
 labours were going on, the congregated strength of 
 
LONG MEG. 247 
 
 Cumberland would be called forth ; but Cumber- 
 land was perhaps then a name unknown. How- 
 ever, it was amusing to imagine the multitude col- 
 lected, the strength and robust figures of those 
 engaged, the resolution in their looks while they 
 put their shoulders to the work, their manly 
 voices while they animated one another, and the 
 venerable Druid superintending and directing the 
 whole. All these are vanished for ever, but their 
 works will remain as long as the Pyramids. 
 
 The sun had descended ; and I now left these 
 monuments of ancient strength. Our autumnal 
 sunsets have been the most brilliant this season 
 that can be remembered. Pen and ink cannot 
 draw their effulgence ; but I feel tempted to try to 
 record what I have seen. The sun is retired be- 
 hind Blencathra : — that mighty mountain appears 
 in dark majesty, rising amid a firmament of pale 
 orange ; his brows are encircled with a diadem of 
 gold, or rather a glory of the softest gold shoots 
 from his exalted forehead ; and all the West par- 
 takes of the parting splendour. If I look back on 
 Crossfell, one of the highest mountains in England, 
 the sun is not set on its summit : his base and his 
 bosom are dark, but his forehead is yet bright with 
 the last smile of the sun, about to hide himself be- 
 hind the western hills. 
 
 I now cross the Eden, and bend my course 
 
248 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 homeward. Night is now falling on the landscape, 
 and my observations for the present must close 
 with the closing day. 
 
NUNNERY. 249 
 
 THE RIVER EDEN.— NUNNERY. 
 
 When an active day's work is closed, we are 
 willing to resign the world for rest, little anxious 
 about renewing our toils as we enter the quiet 
 precincts of sleep. But when the morning returns 
 with its freshness and vigour, we look with some 
 ardour to our unfinished engagements, and shake 
 off the shackles of home as we proceed to our 
 favourite pursuits. 
 
 I travelled with grateful anticipations towards 
 Nunnery, once the seat of the Eglonbyes, over 
 whose retired domains a venerable female presides. 
 To the inspection of this once sacred place only 
 one day in the week is allotted : it was not that 
 favoured day when I arrived ; but I mustered what 
 courage I could, sent in my name, and a request 
 to the owner that I, though a stranger, might be 
 permitted to enter; and my request was readily 
 complied with. 
 
 The name of Nunnery shows the nature of its 
 ancient appropriation ; and, truly, I could hardly 
 conceive a place better calculated for female seclu- 
 sion. Here are no intrusions of art rising around 
 
250 
 
 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 us ; our paths, wherever we wander, are through 
 the wild solitudes of Nature ; and these solitudes 
 are heightened, as will appear, by alternate turbu- 
 lence and tranquillity. This at one time might be 
 the varying picture of its female inhabitants : a 
 transient turbulence of passion might at one time 
 agitate their bosoms, which would be succeeded by 
 a solemn tranquillity, all unperceived by the rest 
 of mankind : and now, if the wild uproar of our 
 species disturb nations, Nunnery hears not and 
 sees not the turmoil ; its turbulence and its tran- 
 quillity are all in its own bosom : — and all this looks 
 on a stream of delight — the beautiful Eden. So, in 
 former ages, its solitary inmates might look in hope 
 from their solitude to the joys of Paradise. 
 
 Of the establishments and occupations of the 
 nuns, I do not feel inclined to say much. I do 
 not blame sincere piety, under whatever garb, if it 
 injure not its neighbour, though I cannot join its 
 ordinances. Education often gives a turn to our 
 devotions. Our first duty is our duty to God ; it 
 would seem in the order of nuns to comprise all 
 duties: yet, in journeying towards Heaven, I should 
 think male and female pilgrims might strengthen 
 one another's steps. I shall here leave the nuns, 
 and now look at Nunnery ; and own I enjoy its 
 solitudes, though alone, but should enjoy them still 
 more with a companion. 
 
barons' 1 wood. 251 
 
 Looking over the surface of the country, and 
 passing by these scenes, the stranger contemplates 
 no hidden wonders at Nunnery ; but on entering the 
 Long Walk he sees a vast range of rocks, extend- 
 ing perhaps a mile, and these rocks, covered with 
 a variety of thriving trees, constitute a delightful 
 umbrage gently descending to the Eden. Yet the 
 secrets of these lofty rocks are hidden from the eye : 
 indeed, while wandering in these solemn groves, 
 our minds are impressed as if something was mys- 
 teriously concealed. At times on our left a subter- 
 raneous grumbling is heard, which, however, is soon 
 again hushed into silence : then, again, castellated 
 and cathedral rocks have perhaps slept within 
 their curtain of wood for a thousand years. To 
 arouse and introduce them into public view, would 
 give a new interest to these scenes. I should not 
 covet to hear the axe in these solitudes of Nunnery ; 
 but if the strokes could be applied in silence and 
 unseen, I should not regret the fall of trees, that 
 would discover towers, castles, and abbeys, built by 
 the hand of Nature in these majestic solitudes. In 
 truth, they are but just seen glimmering through 
 the thick wood ; and if sparingly introduced, and 
 with a judicious hand, what a noble effect would 
 he given to what remains in obscurity ! 
 
 This range of walk and of wood terminates at 
 the Eden. Barons 1 Wood rises on its opposite shore. 
 
252 THE EIVER EDEN. 
 
 and lofty rocks front the river with hoary magni- 
 ficence. The trees, the shrubs, the mosses, and the 
 wild plants of Nature, live here uninterrupted and 
 unseen : even the solitary heron can here enter un- 
 disturbed into society with his kind. I saw several 
 of these birds perched on the white stones of this 
 peaceful river, and regretted that they flew from 
 me on my approach. Birds, when they behold 
 man, fly from him as an enemy ; but not all of 
 them, and at all times. Wanting to form a bul- 
 wark by the side of our river, I plunged in with 
 my workmen; and we wrought several days. We 
 dined on warm pies in our wet clothes, when a little 
 bird began to accompany our meals. I desired 
 that it might not be disturbed. It picked the 
 crumbs around us, and perched on my shoulders 
 and knees. I had finished my dinner one day be- 
 fore the rest, and laying back my head, it perched 
 on my lips : — I laughed; and whether it was afraid 
 or offended, it flew away. 
 
 To return to Nunnery, whose greatest wonders 
 are contained in a chink, a creek, or crevice of 
 the earth; that crevice imprisoning the thunder- 
 ing Croglin. Mankind are in general disposed to 
 sail with the stream ; but ease and enthusiasm 
 move in different directions. Without a portion of 
 the latter it would be as well not to encounter the 
 Croglin; for, as far as we could see, the stream 
 
THE CROGLIN. 253 
 
 seemed now rushing towards us, as if it would 
 overwhelm us. However, we are obliged to those 
 who have lived before us, for some kind hand has 
 furnished a path from which we may survey its 
 turbulence in safety and in peace. The prison- 
 walls of Croglin also abound with interesting ob- 
 jects. Here are recesses in the rock, on which the 
 sun never shines ; there the rock projects over the 
 Croglin; and from its projection grows the lofty 
 oak, which, seen from beneath, seems growing in 
 the sky. Other oaks are seen by our side growing 
 out of stone, their roots for several yards bending 
 like the folds of serpents. It surprises us to think 
 of trees drawing their sustenance from stone ; but 
 with the secret processes of Nature we are often 
 unacquainted. 
 
 The dark Croglin foams and thunders down a 
 narrow avenue of stupendous rocks, richly fes- 
 tooned with branches of oak, and filled with life 
 and motion. Four cataracts display their white 
 foam and their fury in its dark passage. These 
 waterfalls in magnitude may contain a weight of 
 water somewhere between that of the Falls of Nia- 
 gara and that descending from the spout of a tea- 
 kettle; but with their accompanying rocks and 
 woods, they would make a far more interesting- 
 picture than either the one or the other. 
 
 Perhaps the winding walls of this imprisoned 
 
254 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 stream may be thirty or forty feet high, rugged 
 and ragged, and weather-stained in perfection; and 
 sometimes so nearly meeting one another, that 
 the proprietors of the different banks might almost 
 shake hands over the abyss below. As we pass 
 along, birds are singing over head, or hopping from 
 tree to tree; while the Croglin is tumbling, grum- 
 bling, and rumbling below for about half a mile, in 
 animated and continued confusion. I have talked 
 of sailing with the stream, which conveys the idea 
 of a quiet passage without opposition or danger; 
 but I should not like to ride down the rugged 
 channel of the Croglin, filled with the wild torrents 
 of neighbouring mountains, for it would be soon 
 seen that my little bark and I would make more 
 haste than good speed: and yet I should not grudge 
 to ride twenty miles to see the burst of a thunder- 
 storm on the Black Fells, rushing into the Croglin : 
 then rage, and fury, and madness, would be words 
 wanted in the description. On leaving Nunnery I 
 may say that I have met with what is hardly ever 
 seen, — sublimity condensed, and magnificence in 
 miniature. 
 
 I retired musing on the attractions of the 
 Eden ; and said to myself as I rode along, How 
 many seats of human happiness decorate this dis- 
 tinguished stream ! Taste and fortune settle down 
 in its neighbourhood, and have many means of con- 
 
CORBY CASTLE. 255 
 
 tentment in their power. However, I withdrew 
 for the present from its borders, for steep ascend- 
 ing woods on either bank so inclose its course that 
 it would here be difficult to accompany the Eden 
 by land. I now came to Armathwaite, which vil- 
 lage the Eden divides. The Milburns are owners 
 of its Castle, whose foundations are in the bed of 
 the river, while the waters wash its side. On the 
 opposite bank is a seat of the De Whelpdales, 
 whose walks command the solitudes of the woods 
 and the beauties of the bay. 
 
 I now wound my way through a less fruitful 
 country, never deviating far from the course of my 
 favourite river till I halted on its banks at Corby 
 Castle, a seat of the Howards, a distinguished fa- 
 mily in Cumberland. The Castle has been built 
 by the present owner, and does credit to his judg- 
 ment. I had visited the walks- of Corby when a 
 boy, and found them peopled with fabulous gentry 
 whom I beheld with astonishment and awe. But 
 Polypheme and his companions are now gone, I 
 hope never to return ; and if any thing of awe now 
 impresses the mind while traversing the walks of 
 Corby, it is the majesty of Nature. A majestic 
 swell, crowned with noble oak, rises in the park; 
 while a swift descent to the river, whose steep 
 banks are clothed with luxuriant woods, affords a 
 rich variety to the taste of the stranger. Walks 
 
256 
 
 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 undulate under the shade of forests by the side of 
 smooth waters. Surely this is the region and 
 reign of tranquillity ! 
 
 On the lower margin of the Eden stands We- 
 therall Abbey, once the residence, no doubt, of a 
 religious order : contiguous to which, and difficult 
 of access, is Wetherall- Safeguard, where cham- 
 bers hewn in the rock were places of defence 
 from lawless invaders, or they were places of con- 
 finement for delinquents from Wetherall Abbey. 
 
 The course of the Eden increases in richness of 
 soil by Warwick, Scotby, Botcherby, Rickerby, 
 to the ancient city of Carlisle. I have just men- 
 tioned a few villages whose names end with by: 
 in the course of the Eden, within ten miles of its 
 sides, I believe one might find fifty towns and vil- 
 lages whose names have that ending, and several of 
 whose derivations would be rather amusing. 
 
 Winding through level meadows with a smooth 
 and silent course, the Eden seems to stay at Car- 
 lisle as the metropolis of its dominions. At Sten- 
 kerith, from the points of projecting rocks, I stood 
 with a foot on either side of the river, while the 
 watery element growled beneath me. The shelving 
 rocks at Carlisle are no more; but the Eden has its 
 bridge a quarter of a mile long, with nine or 
 ten arches, which, in a flood, are not too many to 
 receive its increased waters. 
 
GILSLAND SPAW. 257 
 
 I visited Carlisle, but lodged with near connec- 
 tions at Stanwix, the most commanding village for 
 prospect in the neighbourhood. I rose early, and 
 beheld the Eden beautifully winding beneath me 
 through fields of the richest verdure. The morn- 
 ing sun shone full on the ancient city of Carlisle : 
 its elegant bridges, its massy Castle, its venerable 
 Cathedral, its stately Court-houses, rose prominent 
 in the scene : crowds of lower buildings filled up 
 the intervening spaces. An extensive prospect 
 for more than twenty miles, bounded by moun- 
 tains, lay before me ; and I saw objects that sug- 
 gested the ideas of city and of rural life. 
 
 We left this animated scene for an excursion 
 into the Barony of Gilsland and on the borders of 
 the Irthing, a stream that falls into the Eden. I 
 should have liked a ramble on the borders of Gelt, 
 but that was left to a future time. We saw places 
 of distinction on the right and on the left. We 
 passed Brampton, and alighted, and were enter- 
 tained at Temon. Our intelligent hostess refreshed 
 us with her kindness, and amused us with anec- 
 dotes of her country ; while her daughters seemed 
 to converse with their modest countenances, and 
 her son Nicholas mounted his horse and rode with 
 us as a guide and companion. 
 
 Gilsland Spaw was our first object. At the 
 base of a high perpendicular rock a gush of light 
 
258 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 clear water falls into a cistern. I tasted it, but it 
 was not to my taste, so I left it, and meeting with 
 Major Mouncey, the owner, congratulated him on 
 being the proprietor of such a vast store of medi- 
 cine, Gilsland Wells, as it is familiarly called, is 
 a spaw of great resort, and has good accommoda- 
 tions. Nature has furnished this celebrated spring 
 and surrounded it with rocks, and Art has reared 
 her plantations and conducted her walks, from 
 which and in which the invalid may become again 
 acquainted with health. 
 
 I have been often told of Meg of Mump's Hall, 
 and heard much of her doings : I now saw where 
 she resided. Were I inclined to weave the tale of , 
 horror and of woe, I have the materials, yet shall 
 not use them ; but certainly it was to her credit 
 what I now heard of her, that she entertained and 
 lodged the judges, when they used to ride on horse- 
 back from Newcastle to Carlisle. The reader may 
 wish to know something of the end of Poor Meg : 
 our kind hostess told us she was informed by two 
 women who lived with her till the last, that after 
 her death, she was never more seen ! yet strange ap- 
 pearances took place. But it is not to be wondered 
 at, that imagination and superstition would both of 
 them be at work on the demise of such a noted 
 personage as Meg of Mump's Hall. 
 
 The matron at Temon was born at and married 
 
THE ROMAN WALL. 259 
 
 from Triermain. From that circumstance, and its 
 antiquity, I was desirous of visiting it. But its 
 apartments are gone, and its towers are fallen and 
 removed : only one of its masses remains; perhaps 
 the materials of the rest appear again in cottages 
 and farm-houses. For their fronts, I believe, the 
 Roman or Pict Wall has also been pillaged. We 
 turned to the left, and were on its line for some 
 miles. We saw, but did not narrowly inspect, 
 Burdoswald, though one of the most distinguished 
 of the eighteen stations on this immense fortifica- 
 tion, which extended sixty-eight miles, from the 
 East to the West Sea, dividing England from Scot- 
 land, and was garrisoned by ten thousand men. 
 The Scotch drovers could not then bring up their 
 black cattle to the English fairs, nor the English 
 drive their mail-coaches to the capital of Scotland. 
 The Roman or Severus 1 Wall did not run in a 
 level direction : I was shown in two places where 
 it ascended the points of mountains. It was ten or 
 twelve feet high, and its fronts were built of fine 
 square stones, filled up between with smaller, pro- 
 miscuously thrown in, and cemented together with 
 a mortar hard and imperishable. Though it has 
 been exposed to the wear and tear of time for six- 
 teen hundred years, yet it is as hard to break as 
 the stones themselves. Near Hare-hill I found a 
 few yards of this vast work pretty entire : it now 
 
 s 2 
 
260 THE RIVEIl EDEN. 
 
 figures in a garden-wall. I there obtained a pretty 
 massy fragment ; and no doubt I was as intent 
 in bearing away the precious relic as the Roman 
 builders were in carrying the stones and mortar to 
 Severus"* Wall. When we could find no traces of 
 this great work of human industry, we turned our 
 attention to other objects. We beheld on our 
 right the dreary wastes of Bewcastle and Spade- 
 Adam ; also Cassonbury-Crags, rising in the west. 
 In former ages the mountain rovers and banditti of 
 the plains fled to these fastnesses. I should like to 
 have visited them, though surrounded by their 
 quagmires. From the Roman Wall, at the dis- 
 tance of thirty or forty miles, I beheld Blencathra, 
 Skiddaw, and Helvellyn : I beheld, and was glad 
 to see my neighbouring mountains ! 
 
 It was not uninteresting to contemplate that we 
 were treading the earth that was once trod by Ro- 
 man emperors ; that we were now tracing the 
 course of Hadrian's Rampart and Severus 1 Wall. 
 But, like the perishable works of man, they are now 
 almost obliterated ; they are passed away, and 
 scarce a trace remains to tell of their ancient mag- 
 nitude. How feeble also is tradition J Few now, 
 either in England or Scotland, have heard of Ha- 
 drian's Dyke or the Wall of Severus. All this to 
 the antiquary may be mortifying ; but it is pleas- 
 ing to humanity to contemplate, that where on 
 
NAW0RTH CASTLE. 261 
 
 either side of these defences dwelt enemies, now 
 that they are removed, society is softened down to 
 relatives, neighbours, and friends. 
 
 We now descended into the vale of Lannercost, 
 fertile in soil, luxuriant in verdure, and watered by 
 the Irthing. We entered the spacious grave-yard 
 of its religious edifice, and surveyed the numerous 
 tomb-stones ; while Nicholas applied at the Parson- 
 age for the keys that introduced us to Lannercost 
 Priory. Here Art in past ages began to contend 
 with Nature, and finally triumphed in her stately 
 Abbey. But Nature has now renewed the contest, 
 and is scaling the walls of her foe with troops of 
 ivy and of mountain ashes: and while the lofty win- 
 dows and noble arches are decorated with the dark- 
 green leaves of the former, the stately pillars and 
 columns are ornamented with festoons of briers and 
 of nightshade ; so that Nature will eventually 
 prevail. 
 
 From this venerable ruin we ascended to Na- 
 worth Castle. I had seen its stately towers from 
 above and beneath rising over its woods, but con- 
 ceived little of its extent or its strength. We en- 
 tered its outer and inner gates, and explored its 
 apartments ; but they were under repair. The 
 British kings in the Great Hall were taken down 
 and deposited in Lord William's bed-chamber: 
 his bed was going to decay, and so was his hat, but 
 
262 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 I put it on. The kings of Israel and Judea looked 
 dim from the ceiling of the chapel : but there was 
 one animated figure in this ancient castle. At the 
 head of the staircase, in complete armour, stood 
 Lord William Howard. He appeared in the prime 
 of life, and, looking through the bars of his helmet, 
 he seemed to me to have a penetrating, resolute, 
 yet rather an agreeable countenance. 
 
 From the part Lord William Howard acted 
 among his turbulent neighbours, I had thought his 
 castle stood too low; but I found all but the ap- 
 proach surrounded by the deepest, steepest, and 
 narrowest dell I remember to have seen. At the 
 bottom of this dell runs a stream of water, and its 
 whole width from top to bottom is crowded with 
 wood ; so that his enemies would have the greatest 
 difficulty in getting at him when their bosoms 
 burned with envy, hatred, indignation, and re- 
 venge. All is peace now round Naworth Castle ; 
 yet it was from these towers that Lord William 
 Howard awed these wild regions, and reduced to 
 something of order the last parts of England that 
 remained uncivilized. His measures were severe, 
 not to say cruel ; but by such measures a lawless 
 spirit was subdued to obedience. Yet to that end I 
 cannot but prefer the labours of Bernard Gilpin : 
 he, too, in his day might be said to be ' The Great 
 Man of the North ;? but by the spirit of Chris- 
 
NAWORTH CASTLE. 263 
 
 tianity he subdued the turbulent passions of hi& 
 fellow-creatures. 
 
 We did not descend into the gloomy dungeons 
 of Naworth Castle, once peopled with captives and 
 with felons: but if we remember the time, and 
 amongst what a fierce people this castle was built* 
 we may believe that indignation and revenge were 
 around, and bitter bewailings were beneath the 
 dwelling of Lord William Howard. If we are 
 inclined to entertain ideas of horror for a moment, 
 let us suppose Lord William Howard with his 
 torches and armed attendants going down into his 
 damp cells among his chained prisoners, perhaps to 
 order executions. There we should see Man in the 
 plenitude of his power looking with stern and un- 
 pitying authority on his fellow-creatures, while they, 
 in their turn, scowled with agony and indignation 
 on his mandates. But let us not dwell here : let 
 us look on another Howard, travelling through 
 Europe from dungeon to dungeon as an angel of 
 mercy, soothing the afflictions of prisoners, and la- 
 bouring for their comfort. Next to royalty, the 
 Howards take precedence of all the families of 
 England. This is the first of all the Howards, 
 and he has left successors. I am acquainted with 
 some of the moral daughters of Howard, who have 
 repeated these visits to prisons, and begun their 
 reformation. Surely these labours of love with 
 
264 
 
 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 human depravity are emanations of Divine goodness 
 flowing through channels of virtue. May the glory 
 and the praise revert to their Divine origin ! 
 
 I now approached Irthington, built on the 
 banks of the Irthing ; which, like a faithful branch 
 of a family, is hurrying to the Eden. Exploring 
 the course of rivers, we meet with specimens of 
 human society unknown to the summits of moun- 
 tains. It has been a sentiment that has remained 
 unchangeable among mankind, thai age ought to 
 be reverenced. I approached the house of Robert 
 Bowman with something more than respect. I 
 found him in bed, and told him I had tidings from 
 his son, whom he had not heard of for a consider- 
 able time ; and he was pleased at the information I 
 brought. Finding him cheerful, open, and intelli- 
 gent at one hundred and sixteen years of age, I en- 
 quired of him, what thing he could think of that 
 happened first ? Hesitating with his answer, I 
 asked him, if he remembered his play-fellows when 
 a boy ? He said, he remembered them well, but 
 could not tell me their names ; intimating that they 
 used to slide on ice and seek bird-nests. I enquired 
 of him, whether people seemed happier when he 
 was young, or now ? He replied, learning had 
 made them more crafty, and there were more dis- 
 turbances now ; but he remembered the two rebel- 
 lions. Talking with one whose memory could go 
 
IRTHINGTON. 265 
 
 so far back, was like looking into the ancient 
 records of society. On being asked if he remem- 
 bered any thing of an early attachment ? he said, 
 he married her he liked, and married but once. 
 It appeared that he had had six sons, and that they 
 are all alive. 
 
 I now asked him, if he had ever learned to read 
 and write ? He said, he had been a hard-work- 
 ing man, and had little learning. I told him, if he 
 could hold a pen, I should like to have his name 
 written by his own hand. He said, his right 
 hand had been disabled, but he could hold his pen 
 in his left. I then said, I had the name of George 
 the Third in my pocket, written by his own hand ; 
 and that if he would write, his name should stand 
 on paper next the king. At this he laughed 
 heartily, rose in his bed, took the pen in his left 
 hand, and, with the assistance of my nephew Tho- 
 mas Brockbank, wrote his name. The whole family 
 was merry on the occasion: his daughter-in-law 
 called out, " Mind you do not sign away your land." 
 I hardly remember any thing more pleasant than 
 to see an old man of one hundred and sixteen laugh 
 with the cheerfulness of two-and-twenty. When 
 this process was over, his family told me he used to 
 be on the stacks after he was one hundred years of 
 age ; that he wrought in the harvest-field after he 
 was one hundred and seven; and I was further 
 
266 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 informed, that even at a more advanced period he 
 used to attend the market at Brampton to make 
 purchases for the family. On my taking leave of 
 him we shook hands, and he wished me to call and 
 see him if ever I came that way again. He said, 
 that he could not now be expected to live long, 
 but that he was content. Visits to Robert Bow- 
 man ought not to centre in idle curiosity : his 
 sobriety and industry are a moral lesson in humble 
 life, shewing how health may be preserved and 
 comfort obtained ; while his peaceful allusion to his 
 latter end is a proof that death is not a stranger 
 to his thoughts. 
 
 A few weeks after my return I called to see my 
 old neighbour Mary Noble, of Penrith, one hun- 
 dred and six years of age. Her hearing has failed, 
 but it is the only faculty that is much impaired. 
 She lives with judicious people ; and I wished 
 them to inform her that I had been to see Robert 
 Bowman, at one hundred and sixteen, and that 
 I should like to have seen them together. It 
 would have been interesting to be present at 
 an interview between these ancient people : one 
 would have liked to see how they looked at 
 one another, especially if they remembered each 
 other a century ago : even their countenances 
 might have been a little re-animated to think that 
 they were the only survivors of all the people 
 
MARY NOBLE. 267 
 
 they had ever seen. Mary Noble was spinning 
 when I called to see her, and she gave to her 
 wheel an easy, agreeable, and not a loitering mo- 
 tion. She spins her thread of superior fineness 
 and quality : she had just finished a web for the 
 Countess of Lonsdale, and it would be wrought 
 into ornamental table-linen. I enquired at what 
 age she might be supposed to learn to spin ? and 
 was answered, she had been spinning between 
 ninety and one hundred years : yet the thread of 
 life spins on. Her sight is good. On Sabbath- 
 day last she was sitting in her chair : a pin was 
 lying on the floor, and she took it up. Two 
 years ago she was in company with a party of 
 females : one of them was hemming a cap border : 
 her small needle, with its small eye, wanted thread- 
 ing : her young friends were unsuccessful in the 
 attempt ; she ridiculed their want of dexterity, and 
 taking the needle and the thread, threaded it with- 
 out difficulty, and without spectacles, at one hundred 
 and four. On my taking leave she rose to shake 
 hands with me, and grasping my hand so cordi- 
 ally, I took hers into my arm ; so we walked gently 
 together back and forward, arm in arm, over 
 the floor. 
 
 The reader will excuse this digression to Mary 
 Noble, for the sake of presenting an ancient Cum- 
 berland couple, whose lives have been long and 
 
268 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 useful, and whose old age is more comfortable than 
 that of most of their fellow-creatures. Mary was 
 the mother of three children, whom, with her hus- 
 band, she has long survived ; but instead of sitting- 
 disconsolate in her widowhood, she is rapidly 
 extending her acquaintance in her second century : 
 her labours are in increasing request, and it may 
 be some, even several years, before Nature says to 
 Mary, " It is time to wind up." 
 
 Night brought us to Stanwix, and I renewed 
 my observations with the morning. Perhaps Stan- 
 wix was the finest station on all the Roman Wall ; 
 but whether Severus -1 soldiers had taste for the 
 beauties of Nature, I cannot say : however, the 
 Eden here, as a river, is rarely excelled, and its 
 verdant borders are unmarred by Art. But in a 
 flood it becomes an ocean ; beautiful groves appear . 
 waving over the vast expanse of waters, and it is 
 then a sublime scene. For fifty or sixty miles the 
 Eden flows on, gathering additional strength : 
 Crossfell, Skiddaw, and Helvellyn, with many of 
 the eminent mountains of Westmorland and Cum- 
 berland, furnish their portion of supplies. These, 
 when the heavens have been pouring down upon us, 
 form a vast body of waters. From Stanwix, in a 
 flood, Carlisle seems like a city rising from the sea, 
 only the sea is above the bridge. The Castle, 
 Court-houses, &c. and various plantations, seem 
 
THE RIVER EDEN. 269 
 
 like woody islands rising from the surface of the 
 ocean. 
 
 This mighty accumulation flows into the sea at 
 Rockcliff; but this additional acquisition makes 
 little difference with the ocean. This leads to the 
 reflection, that Time makes little difference with 
 Eternity. 
 
 The reader will now have seen how I have been 
 interested with the Eden. The Eden is but one 
 river in our island : — this leads us to think on the 
 progress of the great rivers of the world. How- 
 ever, rivers are but a small part of the globe, and 
 this globe is but a small part of the universe. 
 This brings us to ruminate on the universe as a 
 mighty whole, and on man as a favoured part. 
 Man is certainly superior to all the beings that 
 
 ad the earth, and has wrought the greatest 
 wouders on its surface : but the views of en- 
 lightened man are not bounded to this world ; he 
 looks for a more happy and eternal existence. 
 The human mind, no doubt, possesses the greatest 
 variety of all beings below ; but what wisdom, 
 power, and goodness, must be possessed by the 
 Divine Mind that formed and supports the whole! 
 The human mind is a favoured part: then, hu- 
 mility, gratitude, love, fear, and adoration be- 
 come us who are permitted to approach the 
 Almighty with our prayers and our praise. 
 
270 THE RIVER EDEN. 
 
 I now lay down my pen, and the hour is on 
 its way when I shall lay down my life. When a 
 helpless infant on the lap of my parent, that period 
 was before me, and the progress of each returning 
 day has shortened the distance. Life ought to be 
 a preparation for that period ; but I feel doubtful 
 whether I am more prepared than in infant inno- 
 cence.' — I have accompanied the progress of the 
 Eden from its source to the sea. I have some- 
 times seen it shining with the reflection of sun- 
 beams, and sometimes seen it scowling under the 
 gloom of hanging tempests ; I have seen it fret- 
 ful, turbulent, and tranquil ; and I have seen the 
 ocean send out its waves to meet it, when, mingling 
 their waters together, they returned as one to the 
 great deep. I have seen man, like the Eden, fretful, 
 turbulent, and tranquil; and I have seen man, 
 when his course was nearly run, under dismay : — 
 then well will it be for him if the current of 
 Divine bounty flows to his relief; a prospect will 
 then open before him far beyond any of these 
 scenes we have been contemplating. 
 
GILSLAND. 271 
 
 GILSLAND WATERS. 
 
 I am here inclined to give testimony to the be- 
 neficial effects of the waters of Gilsland. Few 
 have enjoyed a more uninterrupted state of good 
 health, till the early part of this year, 1823, when 
 my stomach became disordered. I loathed my 
 usual food, lost strength, and looked ill. I was 
 advised, and even pressed by my friends, to go to 
 Gilsland. I took their advice, went, and became a 
 copious water-drinker. My relish for food re- 
 turned, my stomach recovered its tone, and my 
 health has been for several months confirmed. 
 Leisure is sometimes the parent of poetry, and it 
 may not be unwelcome to some of my readers if I 
 record in verse my gratitude to Gilsland. 
 
 In Irthing's solitary dell 
 There is a cool and limpid well, 
 From lofty rocks for ever flowing, — 
 Rocks, where the waving pines are growing. 
 No idler of the summer's day, 
 From home and friends I took my way, 
 To see this beauteous spring, and know 
 If healing in its waters flow. 
 
272 GItATITUDE TO GILSLAND. 
 
 Fresh from its source the stream I tried 
 Time after time, till satisfied ; 
 For while I drank the waters clear, 
 More pleasant, Gilsland, grew thy cheer ! 
 And lighter seem'd my step each morn, 
 As winding through thy fields of corn. 
 
 Then day by day how it would please 
 To see, with kindness and with ease, 
 A train from many a distant land 
 At Nature's healing fountain stand ! 
 The sickly youth with aged dame, 
 The sire with drooping beauty came ; 
 The gushing spring is free to all 
 That for its bounteous waters call : 
 And then so plenteous ! one may think 
 All England's invalids might drink. 
 We come, and drink, and fill, and pass 
 The full, refreshing, courteous glass ; 
 Then climb the hill, or to and fro 
 Perambulate the scenes below. 
 Strangers unite in social talk, 
 And slowly trace the winding walk : 
 Returning health comes gliding by, 
 And looks aside with playful eye. 
 
 When morning redness streaks the skies, 
 Ambitious of the spring, I rise 
 To drink the foremost, and be gone, 
 While Nature looks in silence on. 
 Oh could my heart but overflow, 
 Like this reviving stream below, 
 
GRATITUDE TO GILSLAND. 273 
 
 With gratitude to Him above, 
 
 Who cheers us thus with works of love ! 
 
 The sun illumed the world below : 
 I left the shady banks of Spaw ; 
 O'er sunny heath I took my way, 
 And hills where Roman legions lay : 
 Glenwhelt and Triermain I saw, 
 And Thirlwall Castle, standing low, 
 Burdoswald and Caervoran view, 
 And stormy heights of proud Wardrew: 
 There relics, altars, idols sought, 
 And home the precious lumber brought ; 
 Wrapp'd close with hose and linen round, 
 I brought them with me safe and sound. 
 Oh, care of cares ! — Alas ! alas ! 
 But man is man ; — so let it pass. 
 
 Thy ruins, Lanercost sublime ! 
 Fringed with the climbing shrubs of time ; 
 Thee, Naworth ! where in hall and hold 
 Lord William Howard ruled of old, 
 I saw; from whence the chiefs of yore 
 Survey'd afar each wildering moor, — 
 Bewcastle and Spade- Adam, lands 
 That once sent forth marauding bands. 
 
 Thus England's borders met my view, 
 Where once the Roman eagles flew, 
 Where Scotland's hardy clans from far 
 Pour'd on these plains the tide of war. 
 But now we live in happier times, 
 Unmenaced by surrounding crimes : — 
 
 T 
 
274 GRATITUDE TO GILSLAND. 
 
 I ramble tranquil far and near, 
 
 Through unknown regions bleak and drear, 
 
 O'er mountain surge, through moorland glen, 
 
 Unshot-at by moss-trooper men ; 
 
 I wander back to Gilsland-Well, 
 
 And doff my shoes in Great Hotel. 
 
LOWTHER: 
 
 ADDRESSED WITH TRUE ESTEEM TO THE 
 
 EARL OF LONSDALE. 
 
 While public cares my noble friend employ, 
 Relieved and sweeten' d by domestic joy, 
 Or while retired within that beauteous vale, 
 Whose woods wave gently in the mountain gale, 
 He views his Lowther in her pensive shade, 
 And soothes with kind concern the drooping maid ■; 
 With gentle hand her lovely face reveals, 
 Till ev'ry breast the power of beauty feels : 
 While Lonsdale thus our pleased attention draws, 
 I leave my cot, round which the Emont flows, 
 And pass those meads with many a wild flower gay, 
 The Muse companion of my fragrant way. — 
 
 The Muse, not sparing of her humble powers, 
 Oft visits, Lowther ! thy luxuriant bowers, 
 Where lib'ral Nature o'er the favour'd ground 
 Waves her full hand, and spreads profusion round ; 
 Where hill and valley, wood and plain, we see, 
 And rock and water bring their gifts to thee. 
 These dress'd and modell'd with a skilful air, 
 Will make thee rise majestic, lovely fair ! 
 t 2 
 
276 
 
 LOWTHER. 
 
 Till the pleased visitant shall bear in mind 
 These beauties, left mid northern hills behind. 
 
 When man was form'd in Eden's happy grove, 
 The blissful seat of innocence and love, 
 He had his Maker's mild commands to dress 
 His beauteous bower, his lovely wilderness ! 
 So in these latter days continued toil 
 Must still reclaim the oft-relapsing soil, 
 Must curb the wand'ring foliage wildly gay, 
 Renew the mansion hastening to decay, 
 And, with a studious eye and fostering hand, 
 Enlarge the reign of beauty through the land. 
 
 Much has been done : successive chiefs, we find, 
 Have left memorials of their taste behind. 
 Here the first Lonsdale sought his native air, 
 When Britain's councils could his wisdom spare ; 
 Preferr'd his books, his garden, and his pen, 
 To the pursuits of proud aspiring men: 
 And while to Truth and Virtue he resign'd 
 The guidance of a wise and pious mind, 
 Beneath his care these venerable trees 
 First waved their branches in the summer breeze. 
 He fixed these columns of cathedral yew, 
 Whose spiral stems in former cent'ries grew ; 
 Bent their green arches o'er the lengthen'd aisle, 
 Through whose deep gloom the evening sunbeams smile. 
 Where vales beneath and cheerful hamlets lie, 
 He form'd yon terrace fair, commanding, high ; 
 From Nature's loom the lovely carpet spread, 
 Her softest velvet, yielding to the tread. 
 
LOWTHER. 277 
 
 Succeeding chiefs enrich'd the wide domain, 
 And clothed with infant woods the naked plain ; 
 The birds flew round, to people every spray, 
 And hills stood wond'ring at the novel lay. 
 They bade the limestone leave its native bed, 
 And rise to screen the poor mechanic's head ; 
 Beneath their hands new villages appear'd, 
 And human tongues the lonely forests cheer'd. 
 
 The Muse prophetic sees the hand of taste 
 Conduct new beauties through the wild- wood- waste ; 
 Through deepening groves she sees her footsteps stray, 
 And where she moves the smooth walk winds away ; 
 Sees the rude dome above yon forest grow, 
 The sparkling grotto hide its wealth below ; 
 Sees, Phoenix-like, the mansion rise again, 
 And look majestic o'er her native plain. 
 'Tis done — already, glittering from afar, 
 Lowther's white towers salute the morning star, 
 Day's evening splendour, the refulgent moon, 
 And all the glories of a summer noon. 
 
 I cannot speak from architectural lore 
 Of arched hall, saloon, and corridor; 
 Of buttress, arrowslits, and ramparts high — 
 Of towers and pinnacles that reach the sky ; 
 But I can mount these battlements, behold 
 On Carrick's brow a diadem of gold — 
 See from these lofty turrets light and fair, 
 The woods shoot upwards in the heights of air, 
 Stretch their green boughs in all their pomp of shade, 
 And form the bowers for heavenly musing made. 
 
278 LOWTHER. 
 
 But ere descending from these sunny towers, 
 I turn my steps to yonder greenwood bowers, 
 Attracted by the venerable place,* 
 I go among the wise of human race ; 
 Muse, where those noble sentiments are spread, 
 That raised so high the living and the dead. 
 Here stately Science lifts to heaven her eyes, 
 And measures orbs of light in distant skies ; 
 Or, sinking to the humbler earth, explores 
 The central fire that through her caverns roars — 
 The beauteous gems that slumber in her veins, 
 And winds that rush around her realms explains ; 
 Computes the speed of light, and weighs the air, 
 Measures the ocean, lays her wonders bare ; 
 Rides round the world triumphant on her waves, 
 Dives in her deeps, and storms her coral caves. 
 Here ancient sages, pious or profound, 
 Look from their seats, dispensing wisdom round ; 
 There stand th' immortal advocates of Truth, 
 Immoveable, in the full prime of youth : 
 Here playful Wit, light-hearted, smiling, gay, 
 Scatters with wreaths of flowers her varied way ; 
 There cool Research, with metaphysic skill, 
 Dissects the mind, the reason, and the will ; 
 There Pathos leads through labyrinths of woe, 
 The heart to pity — sweetest stream below! 
 Here British Bards, or those of earlier days, 
 Pour their sweet songs, their high impassioned lays ; 
 
 * The Library. 
 
LOWTHEB. 279 
 
 There Revelation's sacred pages shine 
 With steady light,— pure, holy, and divine ! 
 
 Pride of the North ! where fostering virtues reign, 
 And shed their influence o'er the smiling plain ; 
 Where Piety, with Purity allied, 
 Alike disclaims the bigot's fiery pride, 
 And the chill sophist's creed, his sceptic air 
 Too proudly wise to bow to Heaven in pray'r. 
 O'er public good here kind Attention bends — 
 Here Comfort hovers, and her hand extends ; 
 The swain with vigour tills his native soil, 
 His children reap the fruits of all his toil ; 
 The recent widow sees in tears no more 
 The favourite heifer leave her humble door ; 
 The feudal bonds, touch'd by a hand benign, 
 On yon green fields their ancient hold resign; 
 While a glad yeomanry the change surveys, 
 And feels begun a train of happier days.* 
 
 When good Sir Richard held these fair domains, 
 With pensive state along the silent plains, 
 From distant scenes a beauteous stranger came. 
 In meek distress appear'd the lovely dame : 
 Her tender griefs seem'd kindly felt by all ; 
 No sprightly airs resounded through the hall; 
 The rural sports beneath the greenwood shade 
 Were all suspended while the stranger stay'd. 
 Yet form'd for all that in her sex is found, 
 She pour'd the rays of peerless beauty round ; 
 
 * Alluding to the Earl of Lonsdale's enfranchising his nu- 
 merous manors round Lowther. 
 
280 
 
 LOWTHEK. 
 
 While polish'd sense and wit's attractive light, 
 Prolong'd the pleasure of the social night. 
 Her condescension spoke her high degree, 
 But more her sweet and serious dignity. 
 Such temper' d grace the wond'ring menials saw — 
 Their lord's attention touch'd their minds with awe ; 
 The fairest seat the honour'd stranger press'd, 
 The first apartment lodged th' exalted guest. 
 
 Oft when the sun a mellow radiance threw, 
 Her pensive steps to silent shades withdrew; 
 With lambs and floAvers she breathed the balmy air, 
 And thus discoursed : " Ye simple wild flowers fair, 
 " That here unseen, far from the public eye, 
 " Unenvied live, and unmolested die ; 
 " Far happier you than the distinguish'd flower 
 " That on the bosom flaunts its transient hour ; 
 " For soon its beauty fades, its fragrance flies — 
 " Then scorn'd and trodden in the dust it lies." 
 Now to the lambs she turns, that o'er the ground 
 With youthful speed in frolic circles bound : 
 Her sad, presaging bosom seem'd to say, 
 " Sport, happy race ! your little hour away : 
 " A common lot perhaps our lives may close, 
 " But your blind innocence no sorrow knows." 
 
 At eventide her chamber oft she sought, 
 And by the window linger'd lost in thought. 
 Far to the North she turn'd her wistful eyes, 
 That seem'd to say, " 'Tis there my treasure lies." 
 At length these peaceful scenes she must forego, 
 And journey onward through untrodden woe. 
 
LOWTHER. 281 
 
 Through folding- doors her sorrowing host attends; 
 But ere she down the Avinding stairs descends, 
 Low on her knees the pious mourner fell, 
 Pray'd for her host, then took her last farewell : 
 The generous Richard turn'd to weep unseen, 
 While from his door went Mary, Scotland's queen ! 
 
 Impatient now surrounding beauty calls ; 
 For her we leave these hospitable halls. 
 The sun effulgent pours his cheering beams 
 O'er plains, o'er golden groves, and silver streams. 
 Say, shall we wander where th' inviting glade 
 Sinks in a vast immensity of shade ? 
 Or climb yon airy summit rising fair, 
 And mark the wonders that await us there ? 
 Near, distant, and around, what objects rise ! 
 Mountains that hide their foreheads in the skies, 
 Or frown amid their wreaths of summer snow ; 
 Umbrageous vales where winding rivers flow; 
 Broad cultured slopes and village fields appear, 
 That wave with grass, or bend the golden ear ; 
 And plains immense, and smoking towns are seen, 
 And numerous hills with whiten'd cots between ; 
 Reposing herds abundant pastures press, 
 Or wander round in summer idleness. 
 But, lo ! a lovely apparition 's near — 
 Beneath yon tall trees stand the silent deer, 
 A fearful race, that shun th' abodes of men, 
 To dwell retired within the hawthorn glen. 
 Children of solitude ! haste not away : 
 On these green lawns as on your birthright stay ; 
 
282 
 
 LOWTHEK. 
 
 Pace round the scene — connect these princely towers 
 With woods sublime, wild wastes, and shadowy bowers ; 
 Then burst impetuous down the sunny glade, 
 Or lightly gambol to the hazel shade. 
 
 Now stript of summer's load the meads are seen, 
 Lovely as youth array'd in tender green ; 
 While troorjs of village maids, alert and gay, 
 Stretch their light rakes and toss the fragrant hay, 
 Or build the grassy cone — a welcome store 
 When the green meadows shall be green no more. 
 
 At the dark entrance of yon solemn Avood 
 An ancient bridge commands the rolling ilood : 
 We pass the rustic arch, and wind along 
 Where woodland warblers swell the choral song ; — 
 The lark exulting climbs the front of day, 
 The tuneful linnet pours her softest lay, 
 The louder thrush the leafy thickets hold, 
 The finch in raptures beats her plumes of gold : 
 But whence that noise at every tuneful close, 
 And why these strokes that break the sweet repose 
 Of this fair wood ? Ah, why with crashing sound 
 Falls the tall ash a ruin on the ground ? 
 But hark again ! Wild sounds foreboding woe 
 Rise fearful from the midwood gloom below. 
 As creeping beagles shake the corn, yet green, 
 The forest trembles by a force unseen ; 
 The op'ning groves at length the power display, 
 That o'er these realms of shade has long borne sway : 
 His shaggy beard, wild eyes, and raven hair, 
 The sullen Genius of these woods declare. 
 
LOWTHER. 283 
 
 Far in the gloomy wilderness he keeps 
 His solemn court : on golden moss he sleeps. 
 The fragrant bramble and sweet-blossomed thorn 
 Perfume his dark pavilion eve and morn ; 
 While round his couch a thousand oaks attend 
 Their slumbering monarch, and his rest defend. 
 Through ages long he lay in sleep profound, 
 While his green woods grew unmolested round; 
 But roused to action by this gathering fray, 
 Through his dark realms he takes his hurried way, 
 And, with a voice that reach' d the distant plains, 
 Thus sternly his imagined foes arraigns: — 
 " What deeds are these ! Who dare with hands profane 
 a Disturb the sabbath of my ancient reign ? 
 " My faithful trees shall foreign troops invade, 
 " And alien hands despoil their reverend shade ? 
 " Ill-judging race ! shall your repeated strokes 
 " Dislodge my gallant elms and vet'ran oaks ? 
 " Avaunt betimes ! forego your fruitless rage, 
 " Nor further war with my green people wage. 
 " Should on your heads their mighty arms descend, 
 " Stunn'd, crush' d, and mangled, to the earth you bend.' 
 Before the Chief three beauteous wood-maids stand, 
 Thus softly speak, and softly touch his hand : — ■ 
 " We come, thy duteous handmaids, to assuage 
 " Thy rising wrath, and soothe thine honour'd age ; 
 " We come in peace, the ministers of Taste, 
 " To dress and cheer this solitary waste ; 
 " To smoothe a passage through this wide domain, 
 " And shew the wonders of thy ancient reign. 
 
284 LOWTHER. 
 
 " Permit the toils thy suppliant daughters share." 
 His features soften'd, spoke by maids so fair ; 
 He nods assent, and to his shades withdrew. 
 The woodland train their sylvan toils renew ; 
 Umbrageous walks round pathless valleys twine, 
 Descending streams through nodding alders shine, 
 And the deep midwood gloom now first receives 
 The sunbeams on its solitary leaves ; 
 While lovely, o'er its dark and sombre green, 
 The passing light and tints of gold are seen. 
 
 See Lonsdale's Countess, Lonsdale's daughter fair, 
 To 'tangled brakes, and briers, and thorns repair. 
 But thorns and briers and 'tangled brakes obey, 
 The smooth walk follows where they lead the way ; 
 The river's verge we trace, the mount Ave climb, 
 Where Lowther rises mid her woods sublime ; 
 And o'er her lovely lawns we now behold 
 Her presence more majestic than of old. 
 We see the sun that held his course on high 
 Descend from his bright journey through the sky, 
 Pour on her walls th' artillery of his rays, 
 Till all seems wrapp'd in one rich golden blaze ! 
 
 Here from this world of shade a track of light 
 Leads to the towers of Lowther, rising white ; 
 They seem to stand high on the topmost grove, 
 Green woods beneath, cerulean heaven above. 
 Seven paces on, the apparition 's fled, 
 And endless woods are waving o'er our head. 
 
 To deeper shades Ave go, and hills more high, 
 Where silent Avoods seem reaching to the sky : 
 
LOWTHER. 285 
 
 A solitary pleasure marks our way, 
 As slowly through surrounding gloom we stray : 
 We seem imprison'd by a mighty wood. 
 Our bondage soothed by a murmuring flood. 
 While these sweet solitudes our steps detain, 
 We wish not forests o'er the western main ; 
 For who would Yanwath's* tow'ring oaks resign, 
 Or Buckham's tall elms, for Canadian pine ? 
 
 Far in the vast recesses of the shade, 
 Shelter'd and warm in Nature's green lap laid, 
 Are beauteous holms and fields, elysian fair, 
 Far from the world's inquietude and care : 
 Conflicting tongues, loud sports, and noisy toil 
 Break not the quiet of this peaceful soil. 
 And farther still a lovely region lies. 
 Where num'rous trees o'er all the surface rise ; 
 Grotesque their forms; their branches wide extend, 
 Rise high in air, or drooping downward bend ; 
 Their spreading foliage mitigates the day, 
 And o'er the ground their trembhng shadows play. 
 
 With gentle joy through these loved tracks I rove, 
 And mark the varying scenes from grove to grove ; 
 The wither'd trunk, the mossy stone survey, 
 The silent monitors of man's decay ! 
 The elm's wide-woven roots diffusely spread, 
 The river restless on its stony bed, 
 The beauteous beech that waves with silver rind, 
 The ivy'd ash o'er the dark pool inclined, 
 
 * The two noble woods that border the river Lowther are 
 Yanwath Wood and Buckham. 
 
286 LOWTHER. 
 
 The giant oak — and here my foot I stay, 
 Its rising stem, its spreading boughs survey — 
 Its waving boughs with verdant honours crown' d, 
 And trunk that measures many a fathom round. 
 
 I love the forest ; and with pleasure view 
 Its varied foliage and its varied hue : 
 But who amid the crowded scene can trace 
 Peculiar loveliness, selected grace ? 
 Yet partial fondness may a favorite bring 
 To public view, and of that favorite sing. 
 The weeping birch, like some majestic fair, 
 In sorrow drown' d, with long dishevell'd hair, 
 Its beauteous branches drooping from on high, 
 Waves in the breeze, and sighs, or seems to sigh. 
 
 In silent woods retired, the ancient thorn 
 Spreads his white locks before the op'ning morn ; 
 His mossy beard bespeaks him very old, 
 And much he muffles from the pinching cold : 
 Yet as the sun advances on his way 
 His robe he changes, and looks young and gay ; 
 And when the spring her vernal freshness pours, 
 His fragrant blossoms sweeten all the bowers : 
 Thus grey and old he meets the wintry scene, 
 Then bursts in summer with the loveliest green. 
 Thou pruning woodman, his wild branches spare, 
 His snowy blossoms, and his silver hair ! 
 
 The stately oak with greater awe behold, 
 Nor touch one honour of the monarch old : 
 Lo ! how he tow'rs on yonder rising ground, 
 And spreads his arms with dignity around ! 
 
LOWTHER. 287 
 
 Thrice has the race of men been swept away 
 Since on these hills he first bore sov'reign sway. 
 Then let no thoughtless hand, no random blow, 
 Untimely bring his hoary honours low. 
 
 On yon fair knoll that lifts its groves on high, 
 Seven aged brothers meet the wand'ring eye : 
 Rugged and vast each awful form appear? ; 
 Like chiefs they stand, the chiefs of other years ! 
 Shorn of meridian pride, the ancient race 
 Stretch their long arms as anxious to embrace ; 
 But wither'd, stiff, their rigid arms decline, 
 As wont of old, in cordial grasp to twine. 
 Majestic oaks ! what changes have you seen 
 Since, saplings young, you waved your branches green ! 
 Stricken in years, could you to us relate 
 What frequent storms have shook your forest state ; 
 What feather'd tribes have sought your friendly shade, 
 When nimble light'nings round your foreheads play'd ; 
 How, roused by dreadful winds in ev'ry grove, 
 Th' enraged trees in furious conflict strove ; 
 What kindred plants have flourish'd by your side, 
 And neighb'ring trees in former cent'ries died ! 
 These could you show, an interesting tale 
 From this fair mount might spread along the vale. 
 
 Five hundred years these aged oaks have stood, 
 The guardians of this venerable wood : 
 We now their mutilated arms behold 
 Pointing to where the Castle rose of old. 
 Fallen, forsaken Castle, now no more ! 
 Rude trees, rank weeds, wild brambles, hide thy floor ! 
 
288 LOWTHER. 
 
 Imagination, wand'ring round and round, 
 Peoples again the solitary ground 
 With dauntless men and maids, a hardy race, 
 That rush'd at morn promiscuous to the chase : 
 But now their names seem scatter'd on the wind — 
 For them Tradition hardly stays behind. 
 
 I love the rivers, rolling full and wide ; 
 I love to stand, an atom, on their side ; 
 And mark their depth, their strength and speed survey 
 And onward course through all its length of way. 
 Lowther ! thy streams run down a rugged vein ; 
 Mangled on rocks, they to the woods complain : 
 But such complaints the Muse delights to hear ; 
 The sound of water 's music in her ear. 
 As when two lovers whose affections glide 
 Faithful and full in one harmonious tide, 
 If saunt'ring through some woody vale they stray, 
 And part in sport, but parting lose their way, 
 Soon serious at their loss, the anxious swain 
 Calls out aloud, intent to meet again ; 
 In softer tone replies the timid maid, 
 And straight they pass the intervening shade. 
 Thus, generous river ! rising o'er thy tide 
 Green woody isles thy winding course divide ; 
 Thy sever'd streams, uneasy thus to flow, 
 Here foam and thunder on the rocks below, 
 There plaintive tones of murmuring sweetness rise, 
 Deep calls to deep, and stream to stream replies. 
 
 Melodious stream ! that wind'st thy crystal floods 
 Through op'ning rocks, and dark enclosing woods ; 
 
LOWTHER. 289 
 
 Thou hold'st thy steady progress day by day, 
 While months, and years, and ages pass away ! 
 Unchanged thyself, say, didst thou take thy name 
 Or when the Roman or the Norman came ? 
 Was such thy name when the bold Briton stood 
 A painted warrior by the gloomy flood, 
 In the clear pool his martial form to see? 
 Or did the Lowthers give their name to thee ? 
 Distinguish'd stream ! along thy banks sublime 
 Still may they flourish through advancing time ; 
 Still o'er these vales their kindly influence shed, 
 Long as thy waters seek the ocean's bed ! 
 
 Continuing stream ! ah, could these transient rhymes, 
 Like thy sure waves, flow on to future times, 
 Then, when this tongue is mute, it might be told 
 On thy fair banks, how one in days of old, 
 That in sweet solitude a pleasure knew, ") 
 
 Oft to thy side from busier scenes withdrew, V 
 
 And with thy rocks and woods familiar grew. 1 
 
 Yes ! and the faithful numbers might record 
 The passing hour shared with thy virtuous lord, 
 When, senates, courts, and public cares resign'd, 
 He gave to rural joys his thoughtful mind ; 
 While murmuring waters, meads as em'ralds green, 
 Majestic woods, delicious vales between — 
 All fill'd with living harmony — inspired 
 What Tully felt in Tusculum retired. 
 
EMONT VALE. 
 
 Emont ! to thee I pour the grateful lay, 
 Who saw my childhood on thy borders play ; 
 Who felt the stone oft break thy placid wave, 
 And kiss'd my shrinking foot irresolute to lave. 
 Emont, I come ! — Thy murmurs seem for me ; 
 I stop by turns, and muse, and look on thee. 
 I count white pebbles through thy clear expanse, 
 And view the spring-flies on thy bosom dance ; 
 Or, one by one, the finny race behold 
 Dart through thy waves in ebony and gold. 
 Again I move : I meet thee in thy haste 
 Swift posting onward to the watery waste. 
 We meet and pass ; but still I have thee near, 
 Tuning thy murmurs in my partial ear. 
 Advancing still, I find thee calm, at rest, 
 A sylvan landscape painted on thy breast. 
 Anon with turbulence I see thee flow 
 Through woody isles — an archipelago ! 
 
 Meandering Emont ! to thy wailings wild 
 
 I 've listen'd long — have listen'd from a child. 
 
 Oft, when the weary winds have sunk to rest, 
 
 I 've heard thy voice prophetic from the west 
 
 u 2 
 
292 EMONT VALE. 
 
 Foretell the coming snow, th' approaching rains ; 
 But when the thaws had deluged all the plains, 
 Mild from the east I 've heard thy songs arise, 
 Portending vanquish'd clouds and azure skies. 
 Delightful stream ! what lovely bowers are thine ! 
 How fair thy banks with peaceful beauties shine ! 
 What purple flowers thy sinking meads adorn ! 
 How soft the verdure of thy rising corn ! 
 While stately trees in noble masses stand, 
 That seem the guardians of this fruitful land. 
 
 On Hartshope's heights, led by their sprightly sound, 
 Two lovely springs a wand'ring shepherd found. 
 Burst from contiguous hills in youthful play, 
 This sought the north, and that its eastern way ; 
 Leap'd from the rocks, sung to the mountain-gale, 
 Then crept in silence through the quiet vale. 
 Their strength increasing as they onward pass'd, 
 Each softly slumber'd in a lake at last. 
 The mighty Ullse, and solitary Hawse, 
 Saw in their floods their mountain friends repose. 
 Enlarged, invigorated, now again 
 They leave their rest, and wash the fruitful plain: 
 Their copious waves the gladden'd peasants view, 
 And Lowther call the stream of darker hue — 
 The fairer Emont ; and as on they wind, 
 In their embrace a lovely vale they bind: 
 Their liquid stores the thirsty herds invite, 
 And to the labouring mills they lend their might. 
 Thus having toil'd apart for many a mile, 
 And seen fair hamlets on their borders smile. 
 
EMONT VALE. 293 
 
 To beauteous Lowther Emont winds his tidey 
 Salutes her waves, and courts her to his side. 
 " Come, gentle stream ! On yon blue hills afar, 
 Where evening twilight hangs her silver star, 
 We had our being ; but asunder cast, 
 Through distant valleys, here we meet at last ! — 
 Thus having met, oh ! let us part no more, 
 But roll as one along the willowy shore." 
 The proffer'd union pleased the generous dame ; 
 She joins her treasures, and resigns her name ; 
 With pleasant sounds of mutual joy they go 
 To meet the Eden in his holmes below. 
 
 Much favour'd stream ! at evening's shadowy hour 
 The modest maiden seeks thy quiet bower ; 
 And, all unseen, her virgin softness laves 
 In the cool crystal of thy limpid waves. 
 The youths more daring — when the sun on high 
 Looks down in triumph from a glowing sky, 
 Along thy shores they seek the gloomy pool, 
 With headlong plunge their heated limbs to cool. 
 But, oh ! beware ; nor tempt with desperate leap 
 The unknown waters spreading dark and deep ! — 
 As lone and ling'ring on thy banks I stray'd, 
 While silver sunbeams on thy waters play'd, 
 Five heedless youths on thy green margin stood ; 
 Each cheering each, they plunged into the flood. — 
 I look'd no further, till the shrieks of woe 
 Roused my attention, — when, alarm'd, I saw 
 A struggling victim eddying round and round, 
 While flying comrades' frantic cries resound. 
 
294 EMONT VALE. 
 
 Yet on I rush'd, a brother's life to save, 
 Though thrice I saw him sink beneath the wave. 
 With eager grasp his nerveless arm I caught ; 
 From the dark pool his helpless form I brought, 
 And laid him gently on the quiet shore. 
 The airs of heaven his vital breath restore: 
 Escaped in safety from a watery grave. 
 He saw again the sunbeams on thy Avave ! 
 
 I am no Solitary, but repair 
 To woods and streams Avhat time my duties spare : 
 Musing my fancies, silent and unseen, 
 I build my hovel 'mong thy alders green ! — 
 Emont ! I wish — I will not say I pray — 
 Thou would' st not wash my little works away ! — 
 My hovel seem'd a quiet Hermitage, 
 For pacing there I met the Man of Age, 
 With shaggy beard, with visage long and spare, 
 Seen indistinctly through a shade of hair : 
 All hermit-like I 've seen him oft and long, 
 Wandering with downcast eyes these woods among. 
 He held his passage through the hedge of thorn, 
 And by his foot the verdant path was worn. 
 Oft when from eastern steeps the sun's first beam 
 Shone on the topmost grove with golden gleam, 
 I 've seen him search these solitudes profound, 
 For his spare meal to gather herbs around. 
 It has been said, that once in realms afar, 
 He mingled in the glittering ranks of war : 
 Shook by these fearful scenes, he came again, 
 A harmless maniac wandering o'er the plain ; 
 
EMONT VALE. 295 
 
 And spoke of troubles brooding in the skies, 
 
 Too strange to tell — too big for human eyes. 
 
 Poor Somerville ! — not in thy woes alone, — 
 
 From many a noble mind oft Reason's light 's withdrawn. 
 
 But now I leave my puny toils, to trace 
 Works that are worthier of the human race. — 
 Beneath the shadow of yon grove behold 
 Where peerless Clifford dwelt in days of old ! — 
 Clifford, that sprung from noble Cumberland, 
 And gave to Pembroke's earl her plighted hand. 
 But early widow'd, the distinguish'd dame 
 Preserved her independence and her fame ; 
 Gay Charles's court and Cromwell's power withstood, 
 And dared be simple, dignified, and good. 
 
 There dwells respect in every generous mind 
 For virtue, for th' illustrious t)f our kind. 
 Among the scenes where the bright virtues shone, 
 We feel a homage e'en for mouldering stone ; 
 A tower, a walk, a cottage, or a tree, 
 Haunts of the wise, with interest deep we see. 
 Then long these spots will be by genius sought, 
 Where ruled a Clifford, or where Cowper thought ; 
 And Meditation here, with sandal'd feet, 
 Will hold with long-past times communion sweet-— 
 Will pensive sit beneath the yawning wall, 
 Where Pembroke's towers seem bending to their fall. 
 
 Majestic ruins ! venerable pile ! 
 Where studious art and long laborious toil, 
 United, strove to rear these domes on high, 
 Pride of the valley, towering to the sky ! 
 
296 EMONT VALE. 
 
 But what avails the arch expanding wide, 
 The stately column, or the turret's pride ! 
 Now bare of all, save where yon cliffs between 
 The wild ash waves her solitary green. 
 
 Was it for this the Master- Builder strove, 
 Unlock' d the quarry, and disrobed the grove, 
 And dug the deep foundations in the ground, 
 And piled the timber and the stones around? 
 No more is heard the mason's rustic lay, 
 No more his chisel sounds the live-long day; 
 No more in crowds the ready menials wait, 
 Or pawing coursers thunder at the gate. 
 Alas ! Avith weeds and brambles cover'd o'er, 
 The genial hall resounds with joy no more I 
 For ever vanish'd are the glittering train, 
 That gaily rode along this fair domain; 
 While the thin grass the simple field-flower waves, 
 Unheeded o'er their long- forgotten graves ! 
 
 Thus fare the works of man ! the fading strength 
 Of ancient grandeur sinks subdued at length. 
 But though the fortress falls, the cottage fair 
 Cheers with its simple front the morning air ! 
 Yet can we pass the Dudley's hoary tower,* 
 Where once protection dwelt with feudal power; 
 Or ardent Dacre's,+ seen with hope and awe, 
 Ere Reason's scatter'd rays were organized in law. 
 
 Now up the long dark avenue of time, 
 In Mayborough's grove I hear the mystic rhyme. 
 
 * Yanwatli Hall. f Dacre Castle. 
 
EMONT VALE. 297 
 
 Imagination fills the circling space 
 
 With Druid-Bards — a long-forgotten race ! 
 
 Their oral songs a fearful import bear, 
 
 Which listening crowds in reverent silence hear. 
 
 The Druid-Oak, that reigns o'er every tree, 
 
 Seems in its gloom to hold their deity, 
 
 Whom Britons think by human sacrifice 
 
 To gain — their altars smoking to the skies. 
 
 Round yon white stone that in the centre stands, 
 The Druids stretch their consecrating hands; 
 Loose fleecy robes their aged limbs enfold, 
 And Avreaths of sacred misletoe they hold ; 
 Their flaxen beards down their full bosoms stream, 
 Their ardent eyes emit a living gleam : 
 While smooth and bright each silver head appears, 
 Crown'd with the deep solemnity of years. 
 See man, the victim of a barbarous creed, 
 In worship by his fellow-creatures bleed ; 
 See him amid a savage crowd expire, 
 And buried in a pyramid of fire ! 
 
 'Twas thus of old a monstrous worship grew 
 On human passion, horrible to view ! 
 'Twas thus of old that Superstition's hand 
 With gloom and terror hung the darken'd land : 
 To fix her reign with barbarous rites she strove ; 
 Her gods were local, and their shrines the grove. 
 But now effulgent from her native sky 
 Breaks heavenly Truth — the Pagan symbols fly ; 
 While pure devotion centres in the mind, 
 In love to God and love to human kind. 
 
298 EMONT VALE. 
 
 From hoary Druid in his solemn bower, 
 From Pembroke's Countess in her Brougham Tower, 
 I turn to other times, and there behold 
 The Table Round of Arthur, monarch old ! 
 His knights advance, and dames of high degree 
 Behold their various feats of chivalry. — 
 The knights grow dim, the vision melts away, 
 But the Round Table and deep trenches stay. 
 
 On yon fair hill, see Brougham with gentle grace 
 Look forth complacent from her wood's embrace ! 
 Of many a pleasing trait the Muse could tell ; 
 The straw- roof 'd cot, the mossy-lined cell, 
 The lightsome green, the pine-surrounded glade, 
 The sun-gilt terrace and the gloomy shade, 
 Seen through the trees the modest house of prayer, 
 Where man may change for heavenly, earthly care. 
 
 And now we turn to yonder tranquil scene, 
 Where Spring's first visit marks her steps with green. 
 Beneath the shade of Carleton's secret bowers, 
 How sweet to rest upon a bank of flowers ! 
 Or wander onward by the Emont's side, 
 Whose silver waves these beauteous lawns divide ! — 
 Delicious lawns ! the mountains that surround 
 Your happy scenes — to have these mountains crown'd 
 With morning blushes or Avith evening gold — 
 Delicious lawns ! 'twere lovely to behold ! 
 These peaceful scenes lay unobserv'd and waste, 
 Till Wallace saw them with the eye of taste : 
 Obnoxious brushwood, odious weeds he found ; — 
 They fled, and fragrant roses blush 'd around : 
 
EMONT VALE. 299 
 
 On naked uplands infant forests sprung, 
 
 While birds flew round and on their green boughs sung; 
 
 Umbrageous walks through pathless valleys run, 
 
 From crowds retired, and from a cloudless sun. 
 
 In these cool walks, these scenes of calm delight, 
 
 Oft have I seen (and kindled at the sight) 
 
 On summer eve the youths, the maidens stray, 
 
 And, smiling, pass their fellows on the way. 
 
 Sweet Carleton ! ere my wand'ring I renew, 
 
 Accept the tribute that to thee is due ! 
 
 Oft has thy welcome met me when I stray 'd, 
 
 Thy social kindness my return delay'd. 
 
 With lingering steps advancing on my way, 
 At every turn new objects I survey. 
 Say, who is she that with a stately air 
 Stands on thy banks, and views the landscape fair ? 
 'Tis Skirsgill ! yonthful maid ! these scenes she loves ; 
 Hers are the fields, the meadows, and the groves : 
 She looks benignly o'er thy winding tide, 
 And as they pass she hears thy waters chide. 
 
 But more retired, yon Lady of the Dale* 
 Courts the cool freshness of the mountain gale — 
 Sees the green hills in pleasing prospect rise, 
 And distant mountains meet the bending skies ; 
 And while she hears a thousand warblers sing, 
 And while her lambs are racing in a ring, 
 
 * Dalemain. — Main signifies chief: hence Dalemain, the Chief 
 of the Dale. 
 
300 
 
 EMONT VALE. 
 
 She, sweet and peaceful, from her rising bowers 
 Smiles o'er her lovely lawn of native flowers. 
 
 Yonder Dunmallet, lofty, steep, and fair, 
 Lifts from the vale a forest in the air, 
 Where rival trees, contending side by side, 
 Display in Nature's theatre their pride — 
 A hill of harmony ! The Ides of spring 
 Hear sweet and loud a thousand warblers sing ; 
 The finch, the linnet, blackbird, and the thrush, 
 Pour their rich songs from every bough and bush. 
 Attractive mount ! the stranger on his way 
 Beholds thy towering cone, thy foliage gay, 
 And journeys onward with uplifted eyes, 
 Till England's favourite lake before him lies, 
 A flood of silver, on whose margin green 
 Are fields, and woods, and scatter'd mansions seen. 
 
 Such, beauteous Emont ! thy fair banks disclose, 
 And such the fields through which thy current flows ! 
 Pleased with the scenes, along thy shores I 'm led 
 To where thou risest from thy watery bed ; 
 Thy crystal bed, in mountain-forests deep, 
 Round which unnumber'd murmuring streamlets weep ! 
 Fair Ullse receives their tributary store, 
 And while her waves repose against the shore. 
 She bids the genii of her realms display 
 The circling scene in all its colours gay. 
 Sudden as thought, in just proportions rise 
 The sun, the clouds impending from the skies ; 
 While mountains, rocks, and solitary woods 
 Shoot their tall honours downward in the floods. 
 
EMONT VALE. 301 
 
 Above the lake, in majesty sublime, 
 
 (Their strength uninjured by the lapse of time,) 
 
 The Giant Sons of Earth exalted stand, 
 
 A savage, frowning, formidable band ; 
 
 While Man, and all his works of puny might, 
 
 Dwindle and sink to nothing in their sight. 
 
 Of adverse character these chiefs appear — 
 
 A wild attire of woods and rocks they wear. 
 
 Here heaves the Peak its high undaunted form, 
 
 And braves the rage of every angry storm ; 
 
 There the white Cliff, projecting o'er its base, 
 
 Shows the strong features of its veteran face. 
 
 Here the proud Mountain, towering, bold, and steep, 
 
 Its head in heaven, its footsteps in the deep, 
 
 Frowns like a sultan, destined to command 
 
 Th' obedient waters and the subject land ; 
 
 While the rough cataract roaring in its sides, 
 
 In darkest shades its headlong fury hides. 
 
 Ye towering heights in gorgeous pomp array' d, 
 Oft have I mark'd your various light and shade ; 
 Beheld thick darkness fill the vales below, 
 While noontide light would on your summits glow"! 
 F ve seen light vapours from your base ascend, 
 And in wild forms from point to point extend ; 
 Climb up your sides, and with o'erwhelming sweep, 
 Hang all the neighbouring realms with shadows deep. 
 When sable clouds involve the evening skies, 
 With what tremendous gloom the mountains rise ! 
 But when the morn's unsullied beams extend, 
 In pure ethereal blue their sunny summits end. 
 
302 EMONT VALE. 
 
 Or swollen with rage, or smooth as polish'd glass,, 
 Winding around a scene I cannot pass, 
 Beneath the shade of old oaks, we survey 
 Ullswater hold its everlasting way. 
 Long as the world has vast Helvellyn stood, 
 And thrown his evening shadows o'er the flood ; 
 The march of darkness from his towering height, 
 With heavy pace o'erpowers the troops of light. 
 But from the East, where glows the orb of day, 
 Wave the green woods, glitter the rough rocks grey, 
 Tower the tall hills, the streams with silver shine ; 
 These, more than these, are, modest Hallsteads, thine ! 
 
 Amid these towering rocks, these dells profound, 
 With woody steeps and mountains rising round, 
 A lovely bower in sweet seclusion stands, 
 Its native trees unrear'd by mortal hands ; 
 Its tangled walks, and slopes of simple green, 
 By thoughtless crowds unvisited, unseen. 
 Folly might well be fearful to intrude 
 On thy repose, Celestial Solitude ! 
 Yet, modest fair ! thou It not deny the few 
 To print their footsteps in thy silver dew, 
 To gaze enamour'd on thy lake serene, 
 Against the trunk of some old alder lean, 
 And view in silent ecstasy the scene ! 
 
 Blest Solitude ! that from the haunts of men 
 Retires to live within the narrow glen ; 
 There wanders round her own sequester'd bowers, 
 Where lambs unsullied crop the tender flowers ! 
 
EMONT VALE. 303 
 
 Immersed in sober thought I see thee stray- 
 Where chirps the white-throat from her briery spray : 
 I see thee, pensive matron ! sit alone, 
 Listening the cuckoo on a mossy stone, 
 Or the shrill bell that tinkles from the rocks, 
 Borne by the leader of the climbing flocks. 
 
 Sweet Solitude ! whose native charms inspire 
 Thy votary's breast with innocent desire ; 
 Sure alien Art can nought on thee bestow ! 
 On thy fair cheek no mimic roses blow : 
 Pure is thy breath as zephyrs on the wing, 
 Who fragrance from their purple heathbeds bring. 
 I see thee lift thy sweet expressive eyes, 
 Where round thy bowers encircling mountains rise, 
 That, with their marble bulwarks huge and strong, 
 Wall out the world and all its busy throng ; 
 But spread within, a solitary sea 
 Rolls innocent, from war and rapine free ; 
 And winding far, its liquid treasure bears 
 To many a vale, and many a village cheers. 
 Yet oft its fluttering waves thy borders greet 
 With plaintive chidings, and with whispers sweet ; 
 While gentle Naiads o'er the surface smile, 
 And sun their tresses on yon rocky isle. 
 
 Let Eastern kings their barbarous pomp unfold, 
 And bid their temples flame Avith fretted gold ; 
 Let Western taste with milder beauty shine ; 
 Majestic Matron ! higher claims are thine! 
 Thy lone dominions rise, in every part, 
 Beyond the labour'd littleness of Art: — 
 
304 EMONT VALE. 
 
 Tall mountains, dipt in heaven's ethereal blue, 
 Whose stately summits stretch beyond our view ; 
 Primeval hills, on whose white foreheads play 
 The lunar light, and glittering beams of day ; 
 Dark shadowy forests bending o'er the floods, 
 And pointed cliffs that pierce the towering woods ; 
 And stony wastes, where nodding hollies grow, 
 Moss dangling high, and junipers below; 
 And oaks depending from their heights sublime, 
 Whose blasted honours mark the course of time. 
 Thus round thy bowers, while matchless wonders stand, 
 Heaven adds its favours with no sparing hand ; 
 While lucid raindrops cheer the fields below, 
 Athwart thy vale she rears her shining bow, 
 Or pours her sunbeams down thy glittering steeps, 
 Or throws her lustre o'er the trembling deeps ; 
 While dimly seen, thy solemn mountains tower, 
 Hung with the weeping-willows of a shower. 
 
 Steep are thy hills, and o'er their foreheads high 
 Appears by day a narrow- vaulted sky ; 
 By night a starry canopy is seen, 
 Shot like an arch the mountain-tops between. 
 And when to rest the summer suns retire, 
 They seem to set the mountain-tops on fire ; 
 The transient blaze illumes their summits hoar — 
 A moment, and the brilliant light is o'er. 
 
 Nor less sublime, when the clear winter nights 
 Have kindled at the pole their northern lights. 
 Scarce seen, at first, the feeble splendours rise ; 
 But gaining on the centre of the skies, 
 
EMONT VALE. 305 
 
 They form a lofty dome with banners spread;, 
 That wave with gold, with purple, green, and red; 
 While glittering spears, by unseen armies driven, 
 Flash, dart, and combat through the vault of heaven. 
 
 Oft on thy tranquil vale and summer sides, 
 Thou seest aloft the gathering storm arise ; 
 Unmoved thou mark'st its progress through the air, 
 While frighted flocks to sheltering walls repair. 
 Now breaks the surge on thy indented shores, 
 Down the deep valley the black tempest roars ; 
 The maddening torrent foams the cliffs between, 
 And raging forests fight amid the scene. 
 
 More dreadful still, when through the livid air 
 With silent haste the rapid lightnings glare ; , 
 On wings of tire they speed their course afar, 
 To rouse the slumbering elements to war. 
 Now unseen hosts, embattled on the steeps, 
 Launch their loud thunders o'er the shuddering deeps; 
 Opposing hills return the volleying sound, 
 The caves rebellow and the cliffs rebound ; 
 Wood, rocks, and mountains mingle in the fray, 
 And ancient Chaos hopes again her prey. 
 
 Another hue this Alpine scene unfolds, 
 When Winter here his iron sceptre holds — 
 Enslaves the fountains, binds in chains the floods, 
 And hangs with pendent icicles the woods ; 
 While, towering o'er the dread abyss below, 
 Ascends the lofty pyramid of snow. 
 
 Through the long evening, cowering o'er the fire, 
 The cottage children listen to their sire, 
 
 
306 
 
 ExVIONT VALE. 
 
 Who now relates adventures odd and old. 
 That in his youth to him his father told. 
 Thus many a wild and interesting tale 
 Is chronicled within the lonely vale. 
 
 A stranger once, as ancient story goes, 
 By night came wandering down the mountain snows. 
 The moon was dark, and lonely was the way, 
 No cottage window lent its kindly ray ; 
 No village cur a watchful guardian stood, 
 To bay the prowler in the neighbouring wood. 
 So on he journey'd through the fields below, 
 Clad in their wintry robes of new-fall'n snow, 
 Till in his course a level plain he found, 
 That far among aspiring mountains wound. 
 The sheeted mountains, through the gloom of night, 
 Like shapeless spectres awful rose in white ; 
 While o'er their heads a solitary star 
 Peep'd frequent from the sombre clouds afar. 
 Speechless and cold, all dismal to his eye, 
 In her white shroud he saw Creation lie. 
 His faithful steed made signs of inward fear, 
 Fill'd with a sense of hidden danger near ; 
 Yet still he rode, and rode, and rode along, 
 With silent speed the snowy hills among. 
 
 While hurrying onward in a course unknown, 
 Benighted, weary, desolate, alone. 
 The surface trembles, and a hollow sound 
 Rose from below, and fill'd the regions round. 
 The stranger started now in wild surprise ; 
 But soon the sound among the mountains dies. 
 
EMONT VALE. 307 
 
 Still inly pondering where his course might end, 
 He Avistful saw the barrier hills ascend, 
 And asks his eyes, if now, what mountains seem, 
 Be not the effort of a dubious dream ? 
 At length with joy the village-clock he hears, 
 And the dim dawn on Eastern hills appears ; 
 The fire is shining through the cottage pane, 
 He hears the sound of human voice again ; 
 Of kitchen hearth he feels the temperate glow, 
 Recounts his long, long progress through the snow : 
 On Lengthen'd Plain, by night still lengthen'd more, 
 He loves to dwell, and tell its wonders o'er. 
 
 The generous host attentive heard his guest, 
 And thus replied : — " Now, stranger, take thy rest ! 
 How kind is Heaven ! Did hapless mortals view 
 The dangers near, what misery would ensue ? 
 Sable and deep, beneath the vale of snow, 
 Of ancient Ullse the mighty waters flow, 
 Whose fatal springs dissolve the frozen plain, 
 Where he who sinks must never rise again !" — 
 The stranger listen'd, trembling and aghast, 
 And died in terror of the dangers past. 
 
 With eyes of poesy and breasts of flame, 
 Here Wordsworth, Southey, Scott, and Coleridge came. 
 Touch'd with these scenes, the living minstrels strung 
 Their various lyres, and by your caverns sung ! 
 With silent wonder from their rocky towers, 
 The mountain virgins lean'd and heard the tuneful 
 powers. 
 
 x 2 
 
308 EMONT VALE. 
 
 To these lone regions came melodious Gray : 
 Here wander'd Burke familiar on his way, — 
 Left stormy scenes of public life behind, 
 To add fresh treasures to his copious mind : 
 He saw the landscape savage, sweet, or wild, 
 Rocks piled on rocks, on mountains mountains piled : 
 With kindly views he sought the peasant's cot, 
 Broke bread with shepherds,* and enjoy'd his lot. 
 When public duty calFd him from the plain, 
 And senates saw him in their turn again, 
 The heights of eloquence his genius found, — 
 He looked as from Helvellyn's steeps around, 
 On Heaven and earth ; — his splendid figures brought 
 From Nature's works, and the rich mines of thought. 
 In British hearts he touch'd the springs of woe, 
 Till sighs broke forth and tears began to flow : 
 His port was noble, yet his heart was kind, 
 His mind a chieftain in the ranks of mind! 
 
 Here Wilberforce from listening senates came, 
 His bosom glowing with a holy flame. 
 He viewed a quarter of this goodly earth 
 Cradled in chains the moment of their birth ; 
 
 * Some years afterwards the writer bad the satisfaction of 
 breakfasting with Edmund Burke, at his house in London, when 
 his recollection of these scenes was accurate and strong; and so 
 true was the circumstance of his breaking bread by our Lake, 
 that alighting at a cottage, he found an old woman baking oat- 
 bread, — he immediately joined her in her employment, baked his 
 cake also, and ate it afterwards. 
 
EMONT VALE. 309 
 
 From bad to worse he saw a people hurl'd, 
 The tortured slaves of an unfeeling world. — 
 With views like these he entertained the plan 
 To raise th' unequal scale of suffering man. 
 Conviction heard his voice, and Britain rose 
 A host of partners in the righteous cause. 
 Go, Wilberforce ! assist the labouring state, 
 Where British wisdom leads the high debate ! 
 Perform thy part ; — then far, in mountains rude, 
 Come to the pure delights of solitude ! 
 
 Here indefatigable Clarkson stay'd 
 His weary foot, and slept in Enismere's shade. 
 For wrong'd humanity long toils he bore, 
 Sought slumbering Truth around from shore to shore ; 
 Brought such a scene of wickedness to light, 
 Astonish'd England shudder' d at the sight. — 
 Though here awhile he found a place of rest, 
 Sad Afric's woes still linger'd in his breast : 
 Yet, as he took his solitary rounds, 
 The mountain breezes soothed his inward wounds. 
 
 And last, to remedy the crying wrong, 
 With propositions vigorous and strong 
 Brougham moved the Senate, that a Briton found 
 Dragging; for sale his fellow-creature bound, 
 The odious being should at once be hurl'd 
 To till the furthest confines of the world. 
 The ready Senate ratified each clause: — 
 Thus Britain gains new triumphs by her laws ! 
 
 Through these lone wilds with female worth I 've 
 stray'd, 
 With virtuous mother, or with studious maid. — 
 
310 
 
 EMONT VALE. 
 
 Here modest Smith in blest retirement dwelt. 
 Though pious, she the charms of Nature felt : — 
 In these green vales she was a lovely light 
 Around our dwellings, innocently bright ! 
 Divine compassion ever dwelt on high ; 
 Descending now, it warms the breast of Fry ! 
 She feels its influence through her lowly mind ; 
 She seeks in love the lowest of her kind ; 
 She opes the prison-doors to yield relief, 
 And soothe the wretched family of grief ! 
 She speaks in peace the audience of woe, — 
 Vice hangs its head, and tears begin to flow : 
 Despair is tender' d ere she comes away, 
 And scowling blasphemy is heard to pray. — 
 The scene how changed from the felon's den, 
 To where the cottage smokes in greenwood glen ! 
 To where the beetling rocks of Styb'rough join 
 The solitary valley of Glencoyn ! 
 To where Glenridding's thousand roses blow, 
 Around the mountain base, its summit crown'd with 
 snow !* 
 All-welcome strangers ! wheresoe'er your home, 
 If scenes like ours allure you forth to roam. 
 Nature for you unfolds her countless stores, 
 From the high cliff the endless cataract roars, 
 The headlong Arey thunders from on high, 
 And rears for you her rainbow in the sky, 
 
 * It is not very unusual to see snow remaining on Helvellyn 
 while roses blow in the valley beneath. 
 
EMONT VALE. 311 
 
 Shakes her deep woodland dell with ceaseless fray, 
 Then steals by Lyulph's Tower unseen away. 
 Come, generous strangers ! (while, at leisure laid, 
 I muse unheeded in the hawthorn shade,) 
 Ascend our mountains, penetrate our woods, 
 Explore our valleys, navigate our floods, 
 Suggest improvements to the listening hind, — 
 But, oh ! in morals leave no taint behind ! 
 
 And you, dear maids ! the Muse's tender care, 
 If led by taste you to these steeps repair, 
 With cautious valour up the mountain wind, 
 And look by turns on all you leave behind ! 
 Hill above hill surmounting as you rise, 
 Pursue your journey gaining on the skies, 
 Till on the extremest mountain-point you stand, 
 And seem to see a world at your command ! — 
 But you must yet descend, adventurous fair ! 
 Oh ! then, of rock, and bog, and fog beware ; 
 Restrain your downward speed — you are not deer ; — 
 E'en they and you might use a wholesome fear. 
 
 A gallant stag, the favourite of his race, 
 On Gowb'rough's heights would lead the playful chase — 
 The rocks his terrace, — and with many a bound 
 From cliff to cliff he gaily gambol'd round : 
 Now to the summit of the steep he goes, — 
 Like arms of wither'd oak his antlers rose ; 
 Now down the rugged hills he bursts amain, 
 Nor woods nor mountain-streams his speed detain. 
 He rushes on, till from a dell profound, 
 Buried in shade, he heard a rumbling sound : 
 
312 KMONT VALE. 
 
 He pierced the gloom, and, piteous to relate, 
 Down the tremendous Arey met his fate ! 
 Low on her rocks the beauteous victim lay, 
 And long she laved him with her silver spray ! 
 
 But most of all delusive vapours dread, 
 Curling their white locks round the mountain's head. 
 When roll the mists on high, oh ! stay below, 
 Lest o'er the dreadful precipice you go ! 
 
 When Gough look'd upward from sweet Patterdale, 
 He saw the clouds round high Helvellyn sail ; 
 To the blue lake he saw the Goldrill wind, 
 But left the Goldrill and the lake behind. 
 His dog (a true companion day by day) 
 Thro' fern, thro' heath, thro' rushes, led the way. 
 The sun smiled sweetly through the opening cloud 
 On the green mountain, and the lark sang loud. 
 Above the rock's stupendous height he rose — 
 Around his head the rolling vapours close. 
 Of giant size each shapeless object grew, 
 Nor up from down, nor right from left he knew : 
 Bewildering mists confound his doubtful way ; 
 He stands — he staggers on in deep dismay, 
 Till headlong o'er the fearful steep he pass'd, 
 And falling many a fathom, breathed his last ! — 
 His faithful dog pursued him as he fell, 
 Paced round his lord with many a mournful yell ; 
 Then at his feet his weary head he laid, 
 Moan'd in his sleep, and till the morning stay'd. 
 
 Thus passed the nights : — and when the rosy dawn 
 On Swirril's rocks and Stri den's horrors shone, 
 
EMONT VALE. 313 
 
 To his dead lord the faithful servant crept, 
 Pull'd his damp robe, and wonder'd why he slept ; 
 Or with loud barkings hurried round and round — 
 Alas ! his master 'woke not at the sound. 
 
 Thus night by night he watch' d, and day by day, 
 Till all his former lord dissolved away. 
 Yet still the same : — for many a month gone by, 
 By his bleach'd bones the loyal dog would lie ; 
 And he would tarry wistful and forlorn, 
 Beside the coat by his loved master worn. — 
 What wonderous power this faithful dog possess'd ! 
 Say, could it enter his half-human breast, 
 That while his bones were scatter'd on the ground, 
 His master's mournful spirit hover'd round ? 
 Or could he think, his homely garments near, 
 His lord would rising from the heath appear ; 
 And dress'd again, o'er mountains take his way, 
 Marking with kind encouragement his play ? 
 
 The moon had thrice revolved through the sky, 
 When a lone shepherd heard a wailful cry, 
 Far in Helvellyn : — following the sound, 
 The dog, the robes, the owner's name were found. 
 His scattered bones a train of shepherds brought 
 Down the steep mountain, and the valley sought ; — 
 By Ladybeck his light remains we bore,* 
 Dug his sepulchre on her peaceful shore, 
 
 * 1 attended the interment of the remains of litis poor young 
 man, when they appeared so light that it would not have been 
 difficult to have borne them to the grave under one's arm. 
 
314 EMONT VALE. 
 
 And low in earth his gather'd relics laid,, 
 
 Where weeps o'er many a grave the lime-tree shade. 
 
 On yon proud hill * of old the torch of war 
 Was seen, a signal blazing wide and far. 
 Accustom'd to alarms, the people rose 
 With fiery speed to combat with their foes. — 
 These feuds are past, these angry feelings cease ; 
 O'er this green valley spread the wings of Peace : 
 The public mind is turned to milder cares ; 
 The husbandman the yielding soil prepares ; 
 Or on the evening of that holy day 
 For toil to rest and piety to pray, 
 He with his mate among the cattle roves. 
 Through open pastures and retiring groves. 
 Thus happy Jacob with his Rachel stray'd 
 In Haran, and their feeding flocks survey 'd. 
 Hail, wedded pair ! with feelings of delight 
 I follow you who arm in arm unite. — 
 But, ah ! I 've known, when early joys are o'er, 
 The wedded pair walk arm in arm no more ! 
 And yet I 've seen, when health and strength were past, 
 Attentions kind shine brighter to the last ! 
 This is the silver cord that virtue binds, — 
 The power of love — the union of minds. 
 
 Where bluish smoke from tufts of wood aspires, 
 The dame is kindling up her cottage fires. 
 With ready foot she hurries o'er the floor, 
 At the loud rap of stranger at the door ; 
 
 * Penrith Beacon Hill. 
 
EMONT VALE. 315 
 
 Now spreads her board with hospitable grace, 
 Joy in her Avords and gladness in her face ; 
 Then from th' adjoining field she calls her lord, 
 While mantling pleasure crowns the cottage board. 
 
 And yet the scene is not exempt from woe : 
 We can't forget the heart that aches below ; 
 That mourns with many a tear the long-lost son. 
 The buried wife, or beauteous maid undone ; 
 The pang of toiling, — innocent distress, 
 That finds, do what it can, its little less ! 
 
 You, who the brilliant scenes of cities fire, 
 You who to lonely solitude retire ! 
 Come climb with me : — the pointed summit won. 
 Then let us lead the terrace of the sun, 
 The surface smoothe, in gently-waving line, 
 And scatter on its verge the mountain-pine. 
 The work complete, then you who dwell below 
 May join on high the maid of rosy glow, 
 Sweet smiling Health ! as innocent as fair, 
 
 And find her favours worthy of your care. 
 With culture gay yon Southern fields behold. 
 
 Where rung the Muses' silver harps of old. 
 
 'Twas there a Langhorn's verse began to flow. 
 
 That sang so sweet of hapless Owen's woe ! 
 
 'Twas there, great Addison ! thy fathers stray'd. 
 
 And still thy kindred flourish in the shade. 
 
 Pure moralist ! thy animated page 
 
 Was form'd to please, to teach, to mend the age : 
 
 The Muse, the valley, glory in the plea, 
 
 E'en to prefer a distant claim to thee. 
 
316 EMONT VALE. 
 
 Where lights the sun on yon far-distant fane,, 
 
 There Carlisle listen'd to her Percy's* strain, — 
 
 Bard of the simple lay and ancient lyre, 
 
 Who fann'd in my young breast the Muse's fire. — 
 
 Hail, gentle race ! when Time has swept away 
 
 The names of men distinguish'd in their day, — 
 
 Men who with loftier port once strode along, — 
 
 Eyes yet unopen'd shall peruse your song, 
 
 And bathe your leaves with tears, — a tribute meet 
 
 To mental worth — affectionate and sweet ! 
 
 High in the East, see purple mountains rise; 
 Far North, a shower hangs waving in the skies; 
 And where behind remotest hills ascend, 
 Their milk-white flocks the Caledonians tend : — 
 A hardy race, inured to want and cold, 
 On barren hills their stormy seats they hold; 
 Wrapt in their plaids, in open air they lie, 
 And count the stars till sleep withdraws the sky. 
 
 Round this sweet vale what barrier mountains rise ! 
 From where the dayspring opens in the skies, 
 To where the sun descending sinks to rest 
 Amid the glories of the golden West ! 
 Here broad majestic Crossfell heaves on high 
 A wall immense that seems to bear the sky ; 
 There lofty Skiddaw, rising from afar, 
 Sustains the shock of elemental war : 
 Around his head the rapid lightnings play, 
 While down his sides the thunder rolls aAvay ! 
 
 * Doctor Percy, Dean of Carlisle, afterwards Bishop of 
 Dromore. 
 
EMONT VALE. 317 
 
 But chief of Cumbrian hills, Blencathra* rears 
 
 His forky crown, associate with the spheres. 
 
 A thousand flocks his purple sides adorn; 
 
 Green meadows at his feet, and fields of ripen'd corn. 
 
 Here marble gulphs yawn hideous on the sight, 
 
 Where wintry tempests bellow through the night : 
 
 There herbage climbs the precipice's head, — 
 
 Herbage where never mountain-browser fed ! 
 
 Here clouds, the beauteous rock-Avork of the sky, 
 
 In towers of silver meet the wondering eye; 
 
 While their deep shadows seem from Heaven to show 
 
 Tremendous caverns to the world below ! 
 
 There the vast fragment on the mountain-side 
 
 Reclines as if its fetters were untied, 
 
 And waited but the hand to launch amain, 
 
 Bound from the steep, and plough the smoking plain ! 
 
 It moves ; — but slowly is its course begun, 
 
 As loath to quit these regions of the sun : 
 
 Then, irritated by the rough descent, 
 
 It spurns the cliffs, in headlong fury bent: — 
 
 And now it springs and darts, and bounds and flies, 
 
 And tears the earth, and fills with dust the skies ; 
 
 Now stalks with weary step, — now bursts amain, 
 
 And draws the shiver'd mountain in its train ! 
 
 The trembling flocks in consternation fly 
 
 Before the rude rock thundering from on high : 
 
 * The ancient name of Saddleback : not higher than Skiddaw, 
 but it has more of terrific grandeur. 
 
318 EMONT VALE. 
 
 At length it plunges in the gulf profound. 
 And all the marble caverns groan around ! 
 
 From airy heights, now down the mountain-breast 
 I seek the lowly vale — the place of rest : — 
 That quiet spot in Yanwath have I found, 
 E'en while the moral storms were gathering round. 
 Dear village ! while thy peaceful scenes I see, 
 I think of what I daily owe to thee ! 
 Soft smiling farms, Math woods encircled fair ! 
 Sweet sunny fields, of many a hind the care ! 
 Oft have thy friendly roofs indulgent spread 
 Amid the storm a shelter for my head; 
 Oft, when the year in all its rigours frown'd, 
 Thy flocks came clustering, and protection found ; 
 Oft, when mild Summer chased the storms away, 
 The landscape smiled, the fields again were gay. 
 Oft, when the sun return'd with kindly rains, 
 I sought thy meadows, or I trod thy plains; 
 Oft in thy shady solitudes reclined, 
 Through thy tall trees I heard the passing wind ! 
 
 At even-tide how lovely is the scene, 
 To see thy ruddy children spread the green, 
 Like lambs disporting on the flowery soil, — 
 A pleasing solace to their father's toil ! 
 E'en while I write, the evening cry ascends, 
 And wildly o'er the dusky plain extends. 
 The happy parents long defer the call, 
 Till on the sportive group the shadows fall. 
 Ah ! how unwelcome comes the close of day 
 To those whose greatest happiness is play ! 
 
EMONT VALE. 319 
 
 Such scenes as these, dear village, long be thine ! 
 And long, as life, to taste such scenes he mine ! 
 From sire to son, long may thy fields descend, 
 And Virtue's shield thy blameless maids defend ! 
 And thou, Content, fair daughter of the sky ! 
 Descend, a smiling seraph from on high ! 
 Soften the hand of Toil (for toils I share), 
 And smoothe the forehead of expedient Care ! 
 Teach me that surer happiness we find 
 In the small circle of a tranquil mind, 
 Than the wide range for pleasure and for power, 
 Whose dazzling charms oft pall within the hour ! 
 
 Teach me, Immortal Power, who dwellst on high, 
 And rulest o'er men and angels, earth and sky ! 
 That sordid cares arrest our course below, 
 Or dash our vessels on the rocks of woe: 
 That piety, and purity, and love, 
 Begun below, will reach the blest above ! 
 There every throb of sorrow will be o'er, 
 And peace will dwell with man for evermore ! 
 
 Teach me with humble confidence to bear 
 The weight of life allotted me while here. 
 Ah, sure the pressure lightens, when I see 
 As if the earth and heavens were spread for me ! 
 Amid th' autumnal landscape I behold 
 The golden harvests and the groves of gold ; 
 Refulgent clouds the azure arch adorn, 
 The crimson evening and the brilliant morn. 
 But while from hence I view the earth and skies, 
 Far in the soul a nobler prospect lies, — 
 
320 EMONT V4-LE. 
 
 Which Paul and John in raptured vision saw 
 In Heaven's high courts, where seraph ardours glow,- 
 Where holy strains from hallow'd lips ascend, 
 And angel-forms in shining robes attend 
 The dear Messiah, and the dread Most High, 
 Among the bright pavilions of the sky, — 
 Where Goodness — Glory — Happiness sublime — 
 Too wide for Nature, and too long for Time, — 
 Too vast for Thought — for human powers to tell, — 
 Yet there at last the innocent will dwell ! 
 Oh ! happy prospects of immortal bliss ! — 
 Rich the exchange, — e'en for a world like this ! 
 
 THE END. 
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED BY S. AND R. BENTLF.Y, DORSET STREET.