1811.1 T'alue of Siramonium* S(c, SI 7 
biting the sublimity of uncultivated na¬ 
ture in its most majestic form, attract 
she Rttention of all strangers, and the 
admiration of every one who has taste to 
admire nature in those forms, where the 
grand, the sublime, the romantic, and 
slie beautiful, are ail united. Torrents 
roll roaring down the mountains into 
distinct streams; and separated as it is 
from the busy haunts of men, the most 
rigid enthusiast could not have chosen a 
spot more recluse, or better suited for 
the purposes of devotion and retirement. 
I cannot close the account of these walks 
better, than with the observation of one 
of the first landscape-painters of the age: 
Here are some of the finest forest scenes 
in England.” 
I returned to Penrith by the banks of the 
river Eden, a most delightful ride. After 
partaking a hasty repast,! took the road to 
Keswick; the first view of the beauties of 
the Lake and Vale of Keswick, is com¬ 
manded on the Penrith road, about two 
miles from Keswick. As I approached it, 
its verdant bf>rders were lighted up with 
all the splendor of an evening sun, which 
brilliantly illuminated the beautiful fea¬ 
tures of this charming vale; while the 
lofty mountains were partially shrouded 
with a mist, that, whilst it added to their 
sublimity, veiled them in that rich and 
purple hue which it is the utmost effort 
of the pencil to imitate with success. 
The glowing sun shone from behind a 
cloud, threw his rays over tlie beautiful 
expanse of water as we approached its 
variegated shores, ar\d illuminated the 
craggy and broken precipices that envi¬ 
ron the head of the lake, and the beau¬ 
tiful islands which rise on its bosom. 
As I approached nearer, the beaming 
tints of daylight gradually receded, and 
the whole became spread with the softest 
tints of twilight. I stood admiring, till 
the landscape had lost its colour, the 
outlines of the mountains, intersecting 
each other in a variety of lines against 
the still bright iiorizon, attracted notice, 
and the utmost surface of the lake yet 
gleamed with the last rays of departing 
day. As the enjoyments of the table, 
after a day spent in the manner I have 
attempted to describe, may not amuse 
your readers, I will here conclude this 
tetter.—Adieu! 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
sia, 
N all aites of the world, superstition 
and ignorance have been united by 
the strongest bonds, and, much to the 
injury of science, possessed of an un¬ 
bounded intiuence over the human mind. 
Their tendency has uniformly been to 
oppose all kinds of reformation, to ob¬ 
struct the progress of Iigl;t and know¬ 
ledge, and to keep the world in a state 
of heathen darkness. No wonder then 
that priestcraft, bigotry, and intolerance, 
have so boldly usurped the standard of 
reason and truth; that famine, pestilence, 
and disease, continue to rob life of its 
dearest enjoyments; and that the world 
so slowly advances towards perfection. 
How great was the opposition whicii 
the introduction of Jesuit's bark received, 
about the middle of the seventeenth 
century ! Its virtues required only to be 
known, in order that they might be 
properly appreciated: accordingly, when 
the season of alarm was passed, it was 
generally accounted one of the most 
valuable remedies which was to be found 
in the whole province of medici.’ie. 
Other instances might easily be ad¬ 
duced, each of w-hich would, ot itself, {>e 
sufficient to establish the principle which 
I have been attempting to lay down. 
Caetera de genere hoc, (adco sunt multa,) 
loquacem, 
Delassare valent Fabium. Hor, 
It has been with no inconsiderable 
degree of pleasure that I have lately read 
in your Magazine, of the beneficial 
effects derived l»y persons subject to 
asthnmtic complaints, from the smoking 
of Stramonium. Two or three cases 
have come under Jiiy own observation, 
in which the greatest possible relief has 
followed the useoFit. But thougli every 
day’s experience shews it to be an af- 
STKJSt infallible cure for asthma, rnanv, X 
doubt not, are to be found throughout 
the kingdom, whom a superstitious dread 
of its poisonous effects would deter from 
making trial of its healing qualities. Let 
such be reminded, however, that a fear 
like this has proved fatal to thousands. 
What unmerited abuse did Mr. Sutton 
incur, when he introduced a method of 
preventing patients in the small-pox from 
falling victims to the ignorance of phy¬ 
sicians; and how reluctantly did parents, 
whose tender apprehensions had got the 
better of their judgtnent, yield up the 
prejudices which they had imbibed on 
the subject! Witis what difficulty was 
it too that Mr. Baldwin ‘got his first 
patient; cu, apply oil as a remedy for tlie 
plague. 
