SCAWFELL. 207 



on the verge of a chasm, and compelled to " try 

 round " many times before they succeed. If dark- 

 ness comes on, there is nothing to be done but to 

 wait for daylight where they are. Another reason 

 for having a guide is that the mountains around 

 are not recognisable by their forms, — so great is 

 the change caused by their being looked at from 

 above. By map and compass they may be made 

 out ; but the summit is usually windy, and much 

 time and trouble are saved by the information 

 needed being ready at one's elbow. 



The summit is bare of everything that grows, 

 except moss. Not a blade of grass is to be seen ■ 



and it follows that the herdsman and 

 top of shepherd never have to come here after 



their charge. Blocks and inclined 

 planes of slate-rock, cushioned and draped with 

 mosses, compose the peak. As for what is seen 

 from it, — the best service to a stranger is still to 

 copy portions of that " Letter to a Friend " which 

 Mr. Wordsworth published many years ago, and 

 which is the best account we have of the greatest 

 mountain-excursion in England. The weather was, 

 however, unusual. The guide said, when on the 

 summit, ' ■ I do not know that in my whole life, I 

 was ever, at any season of the year, so high upon 

 the mountains on so calm a day." It was the 

 seventh of October. 



" On the summit of the Pike," says the letter, 

 " which we gained after much toil, though without 

 difficulty, there was not a breath of air to stir even 

 the papers containing our refreshment, as they lay 

 spread out upon a rock. The stillness seemed to 

 be not of this world. We paused, and kept silence 



