K E S W I C K. 
692 
Kefwick, has nothing remarkable to engage the travel 
ler’s attention but a long canal of water; around which, 
mountains piled on mountains form an awful circle, and 
teem to Ihut them in from all the reft of the world. 
Uls-water is iituated a few miles to the eaft of Kefwick, 
and is a flieet of water in the form of an S, nine miles in 
extent, and above a mile in width. As you look thereon 
from an eminence, you difeern all its bays, fhores, and 
promontories, and in the extenlive landfcape take in a 
variety of objects, thrown together with all that beaut)’-, 
which wood and water, lawns, rifing fweeps of corn, vil¬ 
las, villages,.and cots, furmounted by immenfe mountains 
and rude cliffs, can form to the eye. The country to the 
right, for many miles, is variegated in the fineft manner, 
by inclofures, woods, and villas, among which Gray- 
ftock, Dacre, and Delmain, are feen, whilft to the left no¬ 
thing but 'ltupendous mountains, and rude projefting 
rocks, prefent themfelves, vying with each other for gran¬ 
deur and eminence. 
Defcending to the village of Pooley, and from thence 
by a winding road on the margin of the lake, you pals on 
near a mile to a fmall inn, where you leave your hories, 
and take to your boat. As you enter the boat, there 
Hands to the right a mountain almoft circular, covered 
with verdure to the crown, rifing fwiftly from the edge 
of the water many hundred feet in height, and ftiadowing 
you from the fun. To the left, the lake fpreads out its 
agitated bol'om, whitened with innumerable breakers above 
a mile in breadth ; whofe oppofite Ihore, in one part, af- 
cends gradually with cultivated lands, from the village of 
Pooley, Ikirting the hills : over which fome Scattered 
woods are happily difpofed in irregular groves and wind¬ 
ing lines, whilft, all above, the brown heath reaches to 
the fummit. This land adjoins a mountain much iuperior 
in height to that on your right, rifing almoft perpendicu¬ 
larly from the lake with naked cliffs. On its rugged fide, 
through the grey rocks, is torn a paflage for a rivulet, 
whofe waters fall precipitate with a mighty noile into the 
deep below. The ground more diftant, which is feen 
Hill upwards over, an expanfe of water not lefs than four 
miles, confifts of lofty rocks and bold promontories, here 
and there fliowing naked and ftorm-bleaked cliffs; and, in 
other places, fcattered over with the fpringing of young 
oaks, arifing from the ftocks of trees which the unrelent¬ 
ing axe has flain. As you pafs along, having doubled 
two fmall capes, you fall into a bay. From the very 
margin of the lake, in this part, the grafs-ground afeends 
gradually in an ealy Hope, where are difpoled, in agreea¬ 
ble irregularity, pretty groves of afh ; above which, the 
eafy inclining hills difplav yellow fields of corn, over-top¬ 
ped by the white front of a venerable manfion, more noted 
for hofpitality than the elegance of its ftruGure. “While 
we fat here to regale ourfelves, (fays Mr. Hutchinfon,) 
the barge put off from Ihore, to a ftation where the fineft 
echoes were to be obtained from the furrounding moun¬ 
tains. On'difcharging one of their cannon, the report was 
echoed from the oppofite rocks, where by reverberation it 
feemed to roll from cliff to cliff, and return through every 
cave and valley, till the decreafing tumult gradually died 
away upon the ear. The inftant-it had ceafed, the found 
of every diftant waterfall was heard, but for an inftant 
only ; for the momentary ftillnefs was interrupted by the 
returning echo on the hill behind, where the report was 
repeated like a peal of thunder burfting over our heads, 
continuing for feveral feconds, flying from haunt to haunt, 
till once more the found gradually declined % Again the 
voice of waterfalls poflefled the interval, till to the right 
the more diftant thunder arofe from other mountains, and 
feemed to take its way up every winding dell and creek, 
fometimes behind, on this fide, or on that fide, running 
its dreadful courfe in wonderful fpeed. When the echo 
reached the mountains within the line and channel of the 
breezes, it was heard at once on the right and left, at the 
extremities of the lake. In this manner was the report 
«f every difeharge re-echoed (even times diftindly. At 
intervals we were relieved from this entertainment, which 
confifted of a kind of wondrous tumult and grandeur of 
confufion, by the mufic of two French horns, whofe har¬ 
mony was repeated from every recefs which echo haunted 
on the borders of the lake. Here the breathings of the 
organ were imitated, there the balloon with the clarionets; 
in this place, from the harfher-founding cliffs, the cor¬ 
net ; in that, from the wooded creek among the caverns 
and the trilling waterfalls, we heard the foft-toned lute, 
accompanied with the languiihing ftfains of enamoured 
nymphs ; whilft in the copfe and grove was ftill retained 
the mufic of the horns. All this vaft theatre was pofleff- 
ed by innumerable aerial beings, who breathed ce'eftial 
harmony. As we finilhed our repaft, a general difeharge 
of fix brafs cannon roufed us to new aftonifliment. Though 
we had heard with great furprife the former echoes, this 
exceeded them fo much that it feemed incredible ; for on 
every hand the. founds were reverberated and returned 
from fide to tide, fo as to give an idea of that confufion 
and horrid uproar which the falling of thefe ftupendous 
rocks would occafion, if by fome internal combuftion they 
were rent to pieces and hurled into the lake. During 
the time of our repaft, the wind was bullied ; and the lake, 
which on our firlt entrance was troubled and foaming, 
now became a fhining mirror, reflecting reverfed moun¬ 
tains, rocks, groves, meads, and vales. The water was fo 
tranfparent, that we could perceive the fifli and pebbles 
at the depth of fix or eight fathoms. We now doubled a 
woody promontory, and, palling by the foot of Gobery 
Park, attended into the narrow part of the lake, leaving 
the g rally margins and fcattered copfe which had bordered 
the water as we palled by Water Mellock. All around 
us was one feene of mountains, which hemmed 11s in, 
arifing with awful-and precipitate fronts. Here the white 
cliffs railed their pointed heads ; there the fliaken and 
rifted rocks were fplit and cavated into vaft {helves, chafins, 
and dreary cells, which yawned upon the lhadowed lake ; 
whilft other fteeps, lefs rugged, were decked with Ihrubs, 
which grew on every plain and chink, their fummits be¬ 
ing embrowned with fun-parched mofs and fcanty her¬ 
bage, The feene was nobly awful as we approached 
Starberry Crag. At every winding of our paflage, new 
hills and rocks were feen to overlook thofe, which had 
but the minute before been new upon our profpeft. The 
clouds hung heavily upon the mountains rolling in gloomy 
volumes over their heads, in fome places'dragging their 
ragged ikirts along the fides of fteeps, giving them a deep 
and melancholy lhade; in others admitting the fun- 
beams, which illuminated the winding dells with a grey- 
ifh light.” They fometimes take a trout peculiar to this 
water, of thirty pounds weight and upwards, and eels of 
eight or nine pounds. 
Great and Little Salkeld are villages near Kefwick. 
At Great Salkeld there is a charity-fchool. Near Little 
Salkeld, on the fummit of a large hill, a little towards 
the north, is a large and perfect druidical monument, 
called by the country people Long Meg and her Daugh¬ 
ters. A circle of about eighty yards in diameter is formed 
by malfy ftones, moll of which remain Handing upright. 
Thefe are fixty-feven in number, of various qualities, un¬ 
hewn or touched with any tool, and feem by their form 
to have been gathered from the furface of the earth. 
Some are of blue and grey lime-ftone, fome of granite, 
and fome of Hints. Many of fuch of them as are Hand¬ 
ing meafure from twelve to fifteen feet in girt and ten 
feet in height; others are of an inferior fize. At thefouth 
fide of this circle, at the diftance of eighty-five feet from 
its neareft member, is placed an upright Hone naturally 
of a fquare form, being a red freeftone, with which the 
country abounds. This Hone is placed with one of its 
angles towards the circle, is near fifteen feet in girt and 
eighteen feet high, each angle of its fquare anfwering to 
a cardinal point. In that part of the circle moll conti¬ 
guous to the column, four large ftones are placed in a 
iquare form, as'if they had conftrufted or fupported ai> 
altar; 
