OVER HARDKNOT. 163 



and the lady was weary; and she was not aware 

 what she was undertaking 1 . After a long struggle, 

 she fainted. The old man was afraid to leave her, 

 lest he should not find her again : hut he succeeded 

 in reaching water without losing sight of her white 

 dress. He dipped his crust and brought water in 

 his hat to bathe her face. She revived, ate the 

 crust, and strove onwards, — persevering on her 

 weary way till between one and two in the morning, 

 when she met her sister and a party coming from 

 Se ithwaite in Borrowdale, with a dozen lanterns, to 

 search for her. She gave her guide " a one pound 

 note " (it was so long ago as that) ; and afterwards 

 sent him two more. The whole family connexion 

 of that lady will remember for ever that there is a 

 Seathwaite on each side of Esk Hause. 



From Cockley Beck, the road climbs the side of 

 Hardknot, and from the highest point commands a 

 view of the sea. The descent into 

 Eskdale is charming, — the ravine to 

 the left, in which the infant river flows down, being 

 beautifully wooded, and the whole valley, with its 

 few hamlets and many sheep, lying open as far as 

 the sea. In three miles from Cockley Beck, the 

 bridge over the Esk is passed ; and Stanley Ghyll 

 is less than three miles further. Sea wf ell, and all 

 that group of summits, are in view to the right, 

 during the descent : and to the left, Birker Force 

 is seen dashing over the rocks. Bout comes next, 

 and then Dalegarth and Stanley Ghyll, where our 

 travellers will join their party, after a walk of six- 

 teen miles from Ambleside. 



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