155 



purpose. It is at least as important as the 

 manufacture and consumption of dolls' eyes. 

 From Broughton to Conistone Waterhead 

 the direct road is ten miles ; but the angler 

 ought to proceed by Seathwaite, on the 

 banks of the Duddon, as well for the sake of 

 fishing in the river, as to have an opportunity 

 of viewing and admiring the wild and beau- 

 tiful scenery through which it flows. Above 

 Seathwaite, in the solitude of grey crags and 

 russet hills, where no sound is heard save 

 the fall of the river, and where no wealthy 

 trader's fantastic mansion mars the simpli- 

 city and grandeur of the scene, Nature speaks 

 with a sweetly solemn voice to the heart and 

 to the imagination of her children. Man, 

 proud man, come here and feel that thou are 

 but as the insect of a day, and that thy 

 works, compared with the imperishable and 

 ever-beautiful productions of Nature, are but 

 as the slightness and foulness of a spider's 

 web ! That rock, which rears its bold and 

 rugged front in stern and simple majesty, 



