LETTER XX.

RIDE FROM KESWICK TO ULLSWATER--DESCRIPTION OF THE

LAKE-PENRITH-CARLISLE.

September, 1825.-On the 18th we once more put in requisition the services of our old guide, and rode on horseback from Keswick to Patterdale, for the purpose of visiting Ullswater. The route lies in an easterly direction, along the base of Saddleback, and to the north of Helvellyn. Two miles from Keswick, we left our horses and walked some distance from the path to see the remains of a Druidical Temple. Large and rude blocks of granite, about fifty in number, and some of them weighing several tons, stand endwise round a circle two hundred feet in diameter. It is impossible to ascertain the precise use of these massive pillars. The stone must have been brought from some other region, as there is none of the same kind in the vicinity. It is difficult to conceive of a more magnificent location for a temple than this, situated in the midst of a vast amphitheatre of mountains, which inspire religious awe.

The remainder of our ride, over a barren and gloomy fell, and by one or two little villages, was not remarkably interesting, till we reached the shore of Ullswater, which is one of the largest and most beautiful of the lakes. It is nine or ten miles long, and something more than a mile wide, comprehended by the eye in three reaches, and winding among the hills in the shape of the letter S. Our first view was from the shore, three miles from its head, from which distance we rode close along its margin to Patterdale. It began to rain soon after our departure from Keswick, and before arriving at Ullswater, the storm raged with unusual violence. The lake was lashed into a perfect fury, and afforded no mean image of a tumultuous sea. Its waves were whitened with foam and dashed with violence against the dark rocks rising along the beach. The din of billows, the roar of torrents crossing our path at the distance of almost every rod, the whistling of the wind, and the pattering of the rain upon the leaves over our heads, produced a confusion of sounds, and presented a

scene of grandeur, which might have startled the imagination of Mrs. Radcliff.

The rain continued all night, and the beating of the storm against the rugged, gloomy, and desolate sides of Place Fell, a lofty mountain rising from the head of the lake, within a few rods of the hotel, and the outlines of hills and crags around us, dimly discerned among the clouds, presented some of the grandest imagery, which a visit to the lakes has afforded. But I am weary of description, and will therefore hasten to a conclusion, as fast as the winds and waves will waft us.

We rose at daylight next morning, and as it was doubtful how long the fair weather might continue, embarked in a row-boat for Pooley Bridge, at the foot of the lake, a distance of nine miles. Our oarsman claimed the honour of having rowed Mr. Canning, Sir Walter Scott, and other great men, in their late visit to this romantic region. Doubling a bold and rocky promontory, formed by a projection of Place Fell, extending nearly half across the lake, the little boat scud merrily before a stiff breeze, under the impending cliffs forming the southern shore of Ullswater, which is here extremely wild and picturesque. Mr. Wordsworth thinks it decidedly the finest of the lakes; a preference which he would not be likely to yield, except upon good grounds, since his partialities would naturally incline in favour of those, near which he has fixed his residence. As it respects the lake itself, we were disposed to concur in his opinion; but its shores are certainly inferior to some of the others. Nothing has struck us so forcibly as Wastwater, owing perhaps to the peculiar circumstances under which it was seen. The lower part of Ullswater becomes tame, and although its shores are soft and rural, there is nothing very striking except the odd, conical, wooded hill called Dunmallet, which Gray climbed and has extolled for its beauty.

Reaching the foot of the lake in about two hours from the time of embarking, and with some difficulty effecting a landing, owing to a high wind and rough water, we crossed the Eamont, a large, rapid stream which forms the outlet, and walked half a mile to the small inn at Pooley Bridge, where a crowd of people assembled at a Fair had well nigh deprived us of a breakfast. Here a cart, without springs, and drawn by one horse, the only carriage to be had, was chartered to take us to Penrith. A pretty daughter of the land

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lord, standing in the mud and holding the horse till the cart was laden, said with a significant smile, that we should find it shaky. The full import of the epithet was not understood, till the driver set out upon a smart trot, and we began to tremble in every timb.

In our ride to Penrith, we passed Lowther Hall, the seat of Lord Lonsdale, who owns immense estates in Westmoreland embracing no inconsiderable part of the county; also, Brougham Castle, the residence of the celebrated jurist and statesman, beautifully situated upon the banks of the Eamont, and finely shaded with trees. It is a place of some antiquity, and has interesting associations. But the talents of its present proprietor have given it still greater notoriety. He has been at great expense in repairing and embellishing the castle.

Just before entering the town, we paused a moment to examine a curious mound, called Arthur's Round Table, situated on a little eminence by the side of the road. It is of a circular form, perhaps two hundred feet in diameter, surrounded by a moat, and covered with smooth green turf. Its origin and object are both uncertain. The most rational conjecture seems to be, that it was a theatre for tilts and tournaments, or some kind of martial exercises.

Penrith is a neat and pretty town, standing on a gentle acclivity, and built of red sand-stone, which gives it a peculiar, but not a disagreeable aspect. Its population does not exceed three or four thousand, and its trade is inconsiderable. Our first visit was to the parish church, a large edifice, standing in a high and conspicuous situation. The dusky complexion of the material, deepened by exposure to the weather, as well as the style of architecture, renders its appearance venerable. In the church-yard, Mr. Fenton, the vicar, joined us, and inquired if we were sketching. He politely directed our attention to the Giant's Grave, the Giant's Thumb, and other curiosities in the enclosure. The former of these consists of two pillars, ten or twelve feet in height, in the shape of pyramids, standing at the distance of fifteen feet from each other. Between them are two semi-circular thin stone slabs, placed edgewise and longitudinally in the earth. Tradition says, that a giant, whose name was Owen Cæsarius, and who was a modern Hercules, destroying all the wild beasts in Inglewood Forest, was here buried, and that his enormous size filled the space between the two

columns. The Giant's Thumb is another fantastic pillar, somewhat in the form of a female.

From the church, our walk was extended to the castle, standing on an eminence in the suburbs of the town, and commanding an extensive prospect of the environs. It

is now in ruins. Large fragments of the wall have tumbled down, and strew the ground. A small house and granary have been erected within the precincts, and the sound of the flail echoed through the crumbling remnants of a fortress, which in its day possessed great strength, and in which Richard III. while Duke of Gloucester, once slept.

On the 19th we rode to Carlisle. Just before our departure from Penrith, Lord Montague and family arrived at the same hotel, on their way to Scotland, affording us an opportunity to look at the style of some of the nobility. The carriage and equipage were neat, but not splendid, and nothing very remarkable was observed in the appearance of these great personages. In leaving the town, the Earl of Lonsdale passed us on horseback with a servant in livery at his heels. He is a short, thick, round-faced, heavy man, who looks as if his head never troubled the rest of his body; but for all that, he may be clever.

On a high hill near the road, and two miles from Penrith, stands a circular tower called the Beacon, which has been there for centuries, and was used in the time of the rebellion, for giving the alarm to the neighbouring country. It is a conspicuous object for a circuit of many miles. In climbing the long hill opposite this structure, we had a farewell view of Dunmallet, Place Fell, Helvellyn, and other mountains about the lakes, illumined by bright sun. Their distant summits, seen in connexion with the woods at the foot of Ullswater, and the town just left behind, made a splendid landscape.

We reached Carlisle at evening, and the next morning set about seeing the town with all possible despatch. Its streets, which are sometimes handsome, often narrow, and generally dirty, breathing all sorts of odours but such as are grateful, were extensively perambulated. A walk to the noble bridge across the Eden, and thence along the bank of the river to the castle standing upon an eminence near its margin, gave us a good idea of the outlines of Carlisle and its environs.

Had not our recent visit to the lakes spoiled for a time the relish of ordinary scenery, a view from the battlements

of the ancient castle, on a fine morning, would have afforded us unusual delight; for it is wide, diversified, and picturesque. To the north and east, the hills of Scotland and Northumberland rise in the distance, and to the south, our old acquaintances about Keswick once more bade us good morrow. The Eden is a fine river, sweeping down with a broad, rapid, and majestic current from its inhospitable source in the Cumbrian hills, and watering a fertile alluvial tract between Carlisle and the Solway, five miles below. It rolls close under the walls of the castle, and its banks present a rich landscape. Nor is the town itself, mean or unsightly. It is the capital of Cumberland, containing a population of fifteen or twenty thousand, and possessing a liberal share of public buildings. The two lofty round towers,

of a singular form and neatly constructed of red sand-stone, occupying the site of the old citadel, and appropriated to the courts of justice, together with the weather-worn turrets of the Cathedral, built of the same material, give to the place quite a stately appearance.

Independent of its location and its eligibility as an observatory, the castle possesses some interest. It is an ancient fortress, and has its full share of historical associations. At present it is garrisoned by a regiment, which was on drill at the time of our visit. One of the subalterns conducted us over every part of it. He and his wife occupy the room, which was appropriated to Mary, the fugitive and itinerant Queen of Scots, during her residence in this castle. The apartment has undergone few alterations since. Here is still seen the little recess in which she slept-the pantry, not for her luxuries, but her allowanced fare-and her narrow and darkened windows looking out upon the Eden. In its best estate, her prison could have furnished but mean and miserable accommodations for a personage, accustomed to palaces and pillows of down.

There is one appendage to this fortress which was new to me, although it may be familiar to others. For the security of the magazine against the effects of lightning, a well has been sunk to the depth of sixty or eighty feet, and the conductor descends to the bottom, being constantly surrounded by water. It doubtless furnishes an additional safe-guard. Most of the accidents, which happen to buildings supplied with a rod, arise from its interruption, or from an inattention to its termination at the ground.