following description of the appearance the rock presented to the charmed senses of King Arthur:

"With toil the King his way pursued
By lonely Threlkeld's waste and wood,
Till on his course obliquely shone
The narrow valley of SAINT JOHN,
Down sloping to the western sky,
Where lingering sunbeams love to lie.

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Paled in by many a lofty hill,
The narrow dale lay smooth and still,
And, down its verdant bosom led,
A winding brooklet found its bed.
But, midmost of the vale, a mound
Arose with airy turrets crown'd,
Buttress, and rampire's circling bound
And mighty keep and tower;
Seem'd some primeval giant's hand
The castle's massive walls had plann'd,
A ponderous bulwark to withstand
Ambitious Nimrod's power.
Above the moated entrance slung,
The balanced drawbridge trembling hung,
As jealous of a foe;
Wicket of oak, as iron hard,

With iron studded, clench'd, and barr'd;
And prong'd portcullis, join'd to guard
The gloomy pass below.

But the grey walls no banners crown'd,
Upon the watch tower's airy round
No warder stood his horn to sound,
No guard beside the bridge was found,
And, where the Gothic gateway frown'd,
Glanced neither bill nor bow."

And even now, when faith in preternatural appearances has well nigh passed away, the poet tells us that still

"when a pilgrim strays,

In morning mist or evening maze,
Along the mountain lone,

That fairy fortress often mocks
His gaze upon the castled rocks
Of the valley of St. John."

Keswick is nine miles and a half from Threlkeld by way of the Vale of St. John. The ridge of Castlerigg, whence there is the splendid prospect already noticed, is crossed one mile from Keswick.

CIRCUIT OF BASSENTHWAITE LAKE.

A drive round the LAKE OF BASSENTHWAITE is frequently taken by tourists whilst making Keswick their head-quarters. This lake lies three miles to the north of Derwentwater, from which it is separated by low meadows that in wet weather are flooded to some extent. It is four miles long, and about one mile broad. The pleasant village of Portinscale is a mile and a quarter from Keswick. Two miles beyond, the road which must be pursued quits the old Cockermouth road near the village of Braithwaite,-between the two villages the tourist has Grisedale Pike directly before him. The road then becomes elevated, forming a fine terrace whence the beautiful vales of Thornthwaite, Braithwaite, and Keswick, are beheld, with all their luxuriance of wood. Skirting the base of Lord's Seat and Barf, and after making many ascents and descents, disclosing delightful views of the lake backed by Skiddaw, Ouse Bridge is crossed, nine miles and a half from Keswick, and about four miles and a half from Cockermouth. The bridge spans the Derwent soon after it issues from the lake. A quarter of a mile beyond is Armathwaite Hall, the seat of Lady Vane. The Castle Inn, where refreshment may be taken, is ten miles from Keswick, which town the tourist reaches by a road eight miles in length, passing under Skiddaw. Bassenthwaite Church is seen on the right near the margin of the lake.

The last excursion from Keswick which we shall detail is that by way of Borrowdale to

BUTTERMERE, CRUMMOCK WATER, AND
LOWES WATER.

The road has been already described as far as Bowder Stone, a little beyond which it is joined by the road out of the Head of Watendlath. The valley of Borrowdale may be said to commence at Grange Bridge. The low

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grounds, which are chiefly pasture lands, contain about 2000 acres; there is little timber, but the coppice woods and thickets add greatly to the delightful nature of the scenery. The valley was formerly a possession of Furness Abbey. A mile above Bowder Stone is Rosthwaite, where there is a small inn, at which a guide may be procured to any of the points of interest in the neighbourhood. A short distance further a road strikes on the left through Stonethwaite to Langdale, passing under a fine rock called Eagle Crag, and then over the ridge called the Stake. Eagle Crag is seen from the Borrowdale road on passing the mouth of the Stonethwaite Glen. One mile from Rosthwaite the road into Wastdale by the pass of Sty Head, described on a subsequent page, continues up Borrowdale on the left. Near the deviation is Seatollar, the residence of Abraham Fisher, Esq., in the neighbourhood of which is the celebrated mine of plumbago, or black-lead, as it is usually called. It has been worked at intervals for upwards of two centuries; but being now less productive, the ore has been excavated for several years consecutively. This is the only mine of the kind in England, and there are only one or two places in Scotland where plumbago has been discovered, but the lead obtained there is of an inferior quality. The best ore procured at the Borrowdale mine sells for thirty shillings a pound. All the ore extracted from the mine is sent direct to London before a particle is sold. In the vicinity of the lead mine are four yew trees of extraordinary size. Wordsworth, having mentioned the large yew which is “the pride of Lorton vale," commemorates these trees :—

"But worthier still of note

Are those fraternal four of Borrowdale,
Join'd in one solemn and capacious grove;
Huge trunks!-and each particular trunk a growth
Of intertwisted fibres, serpentine,
Upcoiling and inveterately convolved,
Nor uninform'd with phantasy, and looks
That threaten the profane; a pillar'd shade,
Upon whose grassless floor of red-brown hue,
By sheddings from the pining umbrage tinged