THE NORTH OF ENGLAND. 



281 



The torrents which run down the impermeable sides of these craggy moun- 

 tains are the feeders of lakes which occupy deep cavities, reaching in several 

 instances below the level of the sea. A slight subsidence of the land would 

 convert these lakes into lochs or firths, such as we see at the present day along 

 the coast of Scotland, and it is the opinion of geologists that previously to the 

 last upheaval of the land they actually were firths, and ramified in the same 

 manner as Morecarabe Bay does to the present day. But it is not their geological 

 genesis which renders these lakes so great an attraction. They are one of the 

 glories of England not only because they are filled with translucent water, 

 reflecting the islets which stud and the crags which enclose them, and are fringed 

 with rich meadow lands backed by woods, but also because of their association 

 with the poets who have sung their beauties. The lakes of Cumberland have 



Fig. 139.— The Cumbrian Mountains. 

 Scale 1 : 700,000. 



Depth under 5J 

 Fathoms. 



Over 1 1 

 Fathoms. 



10 Miles. 



given birth to a literary " school," that of the Lakists, which, like all schools, 

 includes, by the side of true poets who have given expression to that which they 

 felt, a crowd of tedious imitators, who merely look to the verses of their predecessors 

 for a revelation of nature. The names of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey, De 

 Quincey, and Martineau will for ever remain associated with "Windermere, 

 Grasmere, Thirlemere, Derwentwater, and Ulleswater. All these lakes are drained 

 by rivers, either into the Eden or Derwent, or direct into the sea, for precipita- 

 tion is far in excess of evaporation. Manufactories have not yet sprung up on 

 their banks and defiled their water, but the artists who have settled down 

 in the district, and the devout visitors who explore the scenery described in the 

 verses of their favourite poets, may not be able much longer to defend them 

 against avaricious speculators. Already factories have teen established in the 

 127 



