walked up, in mercy to his horses) he leaves the Troutbeck road to the left, and descends rapidly upon Ambleside, which is between three and four miles from the house. On the left, is the valley or ravine of the Stock, whose waters are concealed by wood. The road runs along the slopes of the Scandale Fells. Below, Windermere opens more and more; and at length, the pretty little town of Ambleside appears, nestling at the foot of Wansfell, and the valley of the Rotha opens at the gazer's feet. On the opposite margin of this green recess, and on the skirts of Loughrigg, he sees Fox How, the residence and favourite retirement of the late Dr. Arnold, and now inhabited by his family. Near the pass which opens between Loughrigg and Fairfield, he is told that the residence of Wordsworth may be seen from below. Just under him to the left is the old church; and near the centre of the valley is the new church, more of a blemish than an adornment, unhappily, from its size and clumsiness, and the bad taste of its architecture. Though placed in a valley, it has a spire, the appropriate form of churches in a level country; and the spire is of a different colour from the rest of the building; and the east window is remarkably ugly. There have been various reductions of the beauty of the valley within twenty years or so; and this latest is the worst, because the most conspicuous. The old church, though not beautiful, is suitable to the position, and venerable by its ancient aspect. It is abundantly large enough for the place, except for a few weeks in summer: but its burial ground, inclosed by roads on three sides, has for many years been overcrowded. Ten

years ago, the state of the churchyard, and the health of the people who lived near it, was such as to make the opening of a new burial-ground a pressing matter; and hence, no doubt, arose the new church, though a larger and more beautiful cemetery might easily have been formed in the neighbourhood.

The descent to all the Ambleside inns is steep, past the old church, and through a narrow street, and into the space dignified with the name of the marketplace, and actually exhibiting an ancient market-cross. Half-a-dozen of the few shops of the town are in or about the market-place, and the Salutation and Commercial Inns and the White Lion, the three principal inns, are all conspicuous in it. If there happens to be a moon to go home by, the stranger may use the sunset or twilight hour for seeing Stockghyll Force, while his horses are refreshing for the remaining five miles. He is directed or guided through the stable-yard of the Salutation Inn, when he passes under a tall grove of old trees on the right hand, and the stream on the left. On the opposite bank is the bobbin mill, the one industrial establishment of Ambleside, placed there on account of the abundant supply of coppice wood obtainable in the neighbourhood. The stacks of wood are seen, high up on the bank; and the ivy-clad dwelling of the proprietor; and then the great water-wheel, with its attendant spouts and weir, and sound of gushing and falling waters. Where the path forks towards and away from the stream, the visitor must take the left-hand one. The other is the way up Wansfell. His path leads him under trees, and up and up through a

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charming wood, with the water dashing and brawling further and further below, till his ear catches the sound of the fall: and presently after, the track turns to the left, and brings him to a rocky station whence he has a full view of the force. It is the fashion to speak lightly of this waterfall, - it being within half a mile of the inn, and so easily reached; but it is, in our opinion, a very remarkable fall, (from the symmetry of its parts,) and one of the most graceful that can be seen. Its leap, of about seventy feet, is split by a rocky protrusion, and intercepted by a ledge running across; so that there are four falls, -two smaller ones above, answering precisely to each other, and two larger leaps below, no less exactly resembling. The rock which parts them is feathered with foliage; and so are the sides of the ravine. Below, the waters unite in a rocky basin, whence they flow down to the mill, and on, in a most picturesque torrent, through a part of Ambleside, and into the meadows, where they make their last spring down a rock near Millar Bridge, and join the Rothay about a mile from the lake.

The remaining five miles are mailroad; so the tourist is within an hour of his inn, making allowance for hills, as it is necessary to do in this region. If it is light enough, he will see how beautifully the Brathay valley, graced with its pretty church, opens to the right. He will not pass by the field at Waterhead, where remains of a Roman encampment exist: but his driver can point out the spot. By the time he reaches the tollbar, the scenery will be familiar to him; Clappersgate along the head of the lake; and the pier

where the steamers stop; and then Wray Castle on the opposite shore; and, on his left-hand, Wansfell Holme, and the gate to Dove's Nest; and then, Lowwood Inn; and soon after, Ecclerigg; and then Calgarth, Bishop Watson's house, now inhabited by Edward Swinburne, Esq.; then, on the left, Ibbotsholme, the residence of Samuel Taylor, Esq.: and, over Troutbeck bridge (the outlet of the stream he first skirted in the morning), and on to Cook's House, and up the last steep ascent to Windermere. His landlord has a hospitable welcome for him, at his comfortable hotel; and he has earned his good meal and night's rest by an arduous day's work. Every stage of it, however, has been full of delights.

THIRD TOUR.

BY THE FERRY, AND THE WRAY, AND BRATHAY VALLEY, TO HIGH CLOSE, AND DOWN RED BANK ΤΟ GRASMERE AND EASEDALE, AND THENCE BY RYDAL TO AMBLESIDE.

The stranger had better take an entire day for this tour also, if he can spare the time, and means to see Easedale at his ease. The distance in miles is not a day's journey; but there are things to see which deserve a pause.

First, the car must cross to the Ferry House; and then the road lies along the shore of the lake. In our opinion, this is the most beautiful portion of the whole thirty miles of circuit. The road ascends and descends under the wooded bank, traverses fields and meadows and little white beaches; passing promontories, coves, boat-houses and little piers, and obtaining fine views of the opposite shore, and the Troutbeck hills behind. After three or four miles of this, the road turns somewhat inland, and passes the entrance-gates of Wray Castle. The view in the rear of the castle is very wild and dreary. There is much draining going on; and this affords promise of future cultivation: but at present the nearer landscape is made up of wet moorland, with fir plantations on the slopes; and Blelham Tarn lying cold and unlovely in the midst. Soon, however, Pullwyke Bay comes into view, with the well