the Low Wood Hotel is Dove's Nest, the chosen abode, in the summer of 1830, of Mrs. Hemans, who here

"Sought from the gazing throng to hide," and not a few of the visiters direct their steps to the spot, which the most delightful of all our English poetesses selected for her habitation. Proceeding onward several elegant mansions are passed about the head of the lake, a mile from which Ambleside, the reputed emporium of the district, is entered.

To pedestrians or horsemen an excursion through the vale of Troutbeok would be found highly interesting. The valley may be entered from the Bowness road at Cook's House, which crosses that to Kendal, or from Ambleside, by a road branching off near to the Low Wood Hotel, either of which enables the tourist to procure perhaps finer prospects of Windermere and its islands than are to be had from any other quarter. The road from Bowness along the eastern bank of the river passes St. Catherine's (the Earl of Bradford), and The Howe (Capt. J. Wilson, R.N.), and is connected with that on the western side at the chapel, about two miles up the valley. The latter road, however, is generally preferred, as it passes through the long village, with its picturesque houses, so much admired by the artist. Half a mile from the chapel is an inn, called the "Mortal Man," where the traveller can rest and regale himself. The road from here northward leads to Patterdale and Ullswater, leaving on the right High Street, Hill Bell, and other mountains, and passing close to Brothers' Water. The river, which rises in High Street, is enriched by deep sylvan banks, and near to Troutbeck Bridge, meeting many rough impediments, rolls furiously down a deep ravine." The inhabitants of Trout

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beck retain many of those customs which may be said to be indigenous, and their unaffected manners and generous hospitality bear some resemblance to that displayed by their progenitors, the ancient yeomanry of this country. Troutbeck is the birthplace of the father of Hogarth, the painter.

Should the tourist have an opportunity, he would be highly delighted by a sail on the lake by moonlight. On such an occasion he seems suspended between two skies, moon and stars shining as brilliantly in the firmament below as in that above, and the natural beauties by which he is surrounded are reflected in the translucent depths beneath. And not unfrequently at such times does the sound of music-artless, perhaps, but not less thrilling-fall upon the ear; perchance some mild vocal strain from the shore, echoing through the exuberant woods which deck the hills on each side, or the more sonorous tones of instruments from the bosom of the lake, rebounding from one mountain top to another, until they die away in the distance. By listening to music in such a situation, and gazing awhile on the enchanting scenery, the mind becomes embued with something like that holy calm which pervades all around, and the soul is led to yearn for something higher and purer than exists in worldly appetites and cravings. It leaves the mean and sordid, and soars aloft amid images of beauty, purity, and perfection.

The tourist desirous of visiting Cartmel, Ulverston, Furness Abbey, &c., might do so from New by Bridge, first going to Cartmel, then crossing the sands to Ulverston, and afterwards returning to Ambleside by way of Coniston. We will here give

a concise description of this route.

The distance from Newby Bridge to Cartmel is about five miles. The town is only remarkable for

its church or priory, a noble edifice, founded by William Mareschall, the elder, Earl of Pembroke, in 1188, and then displacing the parish church which stood here before the conquest. Formerly it belonged to a priory of the regular canons of St. Augustine. It is constructed in the perpendicular style of architecture, and is of a cruciform shape. The interior is supported by four clustered pillars, and the choir has a number of stalls, beautifully carved, and exhibiting at the top the instruments of our Saviour's passions. There are some ancient monuments also in the interior, and the library possesses a few antique tomes, amongst the rest a fine copy of the interesting letters of King Charles I. At the general suppression of the monastic institutions by Henry VIII., being a parochial as well as conventual church, it was purchased by the inhabitants for a trifling consideration, and hence was preserved from the general wreck, and remains an honour and ornament to the place.

Not far from Cartmel is the medicinal spring called Holywell; the village of Flookburgh, made a chartered town in the reign of Edward I.; the village of Grange, which, on account of its proximity to the sea shore, and the beauty of its position, is a {favourite resort in the summer season; as well as other places interesting to the lovers of landscape and to the antiquarian. A short distance to the north of Grange is Blawith Cottage, the seat of Mrs. Maude, opposite which, about half a mile from the shore, is Holme Island, a beautiful spot, adorned by a gentleman's seat and ornamental grounds.

From Cartmel to Ulverston, over the sands, is somewhere about six miles, the road passing near to Holker Hall, the seat of the Earl of Burlington, at which place there is a good collection of paintings, and the fine park and surrounding grounds will not

fail to attract the visiter's attention. Ulverston contains a population of about 5,000; has a short canal, which, at ebb-tide, enables vessels of small burden to approach close to the town; possesses two episcopal churches, with other places of public worship; a theatre, assembly room, savings' bank, and other public buildings; and has several inns noted for their hospitality and attention to strangers, the principal of which are the Sun and Braddyll's Arms. Being situated in the centre of a fertile country, its market, which is held on Thursdays, is considerable, and it may in every respect be regarded as the capital of Furness. Two miles south of the town is Conishead Priory, decidedly one of the most superb buildings in the country. A little further is the village of Bardsea, to which place steamers from Fleetwood ply daily during the summer months.

*

From Ulverston to Furness Abbey, by way of Dalton (the ancient emporium of Furness), is upwards of six miles, passing on the way some extensive iron ore mines. The abbey is situated in the narrow and secluded "Glen of Deadly Nightshade,” and the extent of the magnificent ruins bears ample testimony of the vast size it has once been, having taken up the whole breadth of the valley, and measures at the present time 500 feet from north to south, and about 300 from east to west. It was founded in 1127, by Stephen Earl of Mortaign and Boulogne, and afterwards King of England, and is said to have been second in point of magnitude among the monastic establishments belonging to the Cistercians. At the dissolution of monasteries it shared the fate of others, and fell a sacrifice to the

* Romney, the distinguished painter, whose works grace many of the gentlemen's seats in this part, was born near this place, and for some time followed the profession of his father, who was a cabinet-maker.