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at Brown-Bcck with his wife, son, and daughter, in the year 1779. 



No doubt the changes which had taken place in the twentyyears 

 which had elapsed, would force themselves upon his notice. No 

 longer the old Lonnings Hke "Castle" and "Cuddy" Lonnings for 

 a King's highway, but a new turnpike road, made under an Act of 

 Parliament passed in 1760. The Derwentwater Estates had been 

 covered with majestic oaks. Every one of them had fallen beneath 

 the woodman's axe, leaving Crow-Park, Strand's Hagg, Deer-Close, 

 and Water-house Banks, with only the young trees which have 

 been allowed to spring up from the roots of the ancient forest 

 trees. For twelve months only he rested at Brown-Beck. No 

 doubt he thoroughly enjoyed that year. His son, then only four 

 years old, well remembered in after life how his father took the 

 family out on a Sunday morning to one of his fields, called "The 

 Hills," to hsten to the ringing of the Crosthwaite Church bells, 

 before going to St. John's Chapel. The little estate was too small 

 a holding. He let it, and took a house in the Square at Keswick 

 in 1780, and at once commenced his Museum. 



It required the man to have some confidence in his own fore- 

 sight to think of establishing a Museum for tourists, who were only 

 just then beginning to visit the Lakes. It was but seven years 

 before that Hutchinson had pubUshed his "Excursion," and Gray, 

 the poet, his "Journal." But he saw that the Lake District only 

 required to be made known to become the holiday place of the 

 many, as the Continent had been for the few. Keswick had then 

 only 1078 inhabitants, with one main street seven hundred yards 

 in length. The first step which he took to increase the number 

 of tourists was to pubHsh maps of the Lakes : — Dervvent, Winder- 

 mere, Ullswater, Coniston, and also of Pocklington's Island; to 

 which he subsequently added Bassenthwaite, and on another 

 sheet, Bultermere, Crummock, and Loweswater. These accurate 

 drawings, with neat vignettes, soundings, West's fine stations, and 

 others of the author's own choice, met with an extraordinary sale, 

 enabling him to enlarge his museum, which now became the 

 treasure and solace of his life. He notes ordering 3370 sheets in 

 1786, aud 4450 in 1789. The Museum House (as we still call it) 



