148 iL^c^'alkg; at ©^rastnere. 



WALKS AT GRASMERE. 

 As the visitor will at once see, there must be many tempt- 

 ing Walks about the lanes, fields, and copses of ©^rasmere 

 which cannot be conveniently embraced in tours from Amble- 

 side. Indeed the valley has, within the last few years, become 

 such an important resort that, were it not so near to Amble- 

 side, we should have been tempted to make it a centre from 

 which to make excursions ; but, we think all purposes will 

 be served by here indicating the Walks which seem to be 

 the special property of those sojourning at Grasmere. 



I. The Walk round by the conspicuous white inn, the 

 Swan, will often be taken. That inn had the honour of 

 providing Scott with a daily draught of something good, 

 when he was, in his early days, the guest of Wordsworth and 

 his sister at Grasmere, whose board was conscientiously 

 humble to a degree, which, as they used to tell, did not suit 

 the taste of their guest. By some device or another, Scott 

 managed to pay a daily visit to the Swan without the know- 

 ledge of his friends. But, when he, Wordsworth, and Southey, 

 were one day mounting their ponies at the Swan, with the in- 

 tention of ascending Helvellyn, the host cried out to Scott, 

 ' Why, sir, yev come see-en for yer glass teh-day.' It was a 

 complete escape of the cat out of the bag; but Words- 

 worth was not one to be troubled by such a discovery. No 

 doubt he took the unlucky speech more serenely than his 

 guest. 



The tourist must not, however, take it for granted that the 

 natives here are constantly guilty of making mistakes of that 

 kind ; well-considered plans which might astonish our great 

 folks, being sometimes matured in these vales. 



