en planted within the circle, for the purpose of protecting an oak in
the centre, the owner of the field having wished to rear one there with a
commendable feeling, because that tree was held sacred by the Druids, and
therefore, he supposed, might be appropriately placed there. The whole
plantation, however, has been so miserably storm-stricken that the poor
stunted trees are not even worth the trouble of cutting them down for
fuel, and so they continue to disfigure the spot. In all other respects
this impressive monument of former times is carefully preserved; the soil
within the enclosure is not broken, a path from the road is left, and in
latter times a stepping-stile has been placed to accommodate Lakers with
an easier access than by striding over the gate beside it.

The spot itself is the most commanding which could be chosen in this part
of the country, without climbing a mountain. Derwentwater and the Vale
of Keswick are not seen from it, only the mountains which enclose them on
the south and west. Lattrigg and the huge side of Skiddaw are on the
north; to the east is the open country towards Penrith expanding from the
Vale of St. John's, and extending for many miles, with Mellfell in the
distance, where it rises alone like a huge tumulus on the right, and
Blencathra on the left, rent into deep ravines. On the south-east is the
range of Helvellyn, from its termination at Wanthwaite Crags to its
loftiest summits, and to Dunmailraise. The lower range of Nathdalefells
lies nearer, in a parallel line with Helvellyn; and the dale itself, with
its little streamlet, immediately below. The heights above Leatheswater,
with the Borrowdale mountains, complete the panorama.

While I was musing upon the days of the Bards and Druids, and thinking
that Llywarc Hen himself had probably stood within this very circle at a
time when its history was known, and the rites for which it was erected
still in use, I saw a person approaching, and started a little at
perceiving that it was my new acquaintance from the world of spirits. "I
am come," said he, "to join company with you in your walk: you may as
well converse with a ghost as stand dreaming of the dead. I dare say you
have been wishing that these stones could speak and tell their tale, or
that some record were sculptured upon them, though it were as
unintelligible as the hieroglyphics, or as an Ogham inscription."

"My ghostly friend," I replied, "they tell me something