used to rest upon the hill-side,
though well contented with the quiet every-day sounds--the lowing of
cattle, bleating of sheep, and the very gentle murmuring of the valley
stream, we could not but think what a grand effect the music of the
bugle-horn would have among these mountains. It is still heard once
every year, at the chase I have spoken of; a day of festivity for the
inhabitants of this district except the poor deer, the most ancient of
them all. Our ascent even to the top was very easy; when it was
accomplished we had exceedingly fine views, some of the lofty Fells
being resplendent with sunshine, and others partly shrouded by clouds.
Ullswater, bordered by black steeps, was of dazzling brightness; the
plain beyond Penrith smooth and bright, or rather gleamy, as the sea or
sea sands. Looked down into Boardale, which, like Stybarrow, has been
named from the wild swine that formerly abounded here; but it has now no
sylvan covert, being smooth and bare, a long, narrow, deep,
cradle-shaped glen, lying so sheltered that one would be pleased to see
it planted by human hands, there being a sufficiency of soil; and the
trees would be sheltered almost like shrubs in a green-house.--After
having walked some way along the top of the hill, came in view of
Glenriddin and the mountains at the head of Grisdale.--Before we began
to descend turned aside to a small ruin, called at this day the chapel,
where it is said the inhabitants of Martindale and Patterdale were
accustomed to assemble for worship. There are now no traces from which
you could infer for what use the building had been erected; the loose
stones and the few which yet continue piled up resemble those which lie
elsewhere on the mountain; but the shape of the building having been
oblong, its remains differ from those of a common sheep-fold; and it has
stood east and west. Scarcely did the Druids, when they fled to these
fastnesses, perform their rites in any situation more exposed to
disturbance from the elements. One cannot pass by without being reminded
that the rustic psalmody must have had the accompaniment of many a
wildly-whistling blast; and what dismal storms must have often drowned
the voice of the preacher! As we descend, Patterdale opens upon the eye
in grand simplicity, screened by mountains, and proceeding from two
heads, Deep-dale and Hartshope, where lies the little lake of
Brotherswater, named in old maps Broaderwater, and probably rightly so;
for B