Page:A protest against the extension of railways in the Lake District - Somervell (1876).djvu/49



Mr. Ruskin has taught us all to delight in the 'mountain glory and the mountain gloom,' and therefore he has a right to a hearing when he thinks that these beauties of nature are endangered. It appears that there has been some talk of constructing a railway between Ambleside and Keswick, and Mr. Ruskin is distressed at the prospect. He has asked every one who shares his fears to oppose the projected railway. Many people will be ready with the ordinary sneer at sickly sentimentalism, exclusiveness, and the rest of it. The question, however, whether or no Mr. Ruskin has good reason to dislike the driving of a railway through such valleys as those of Ambleside and Grasmere is by no means to be settled in this easy way. An impression, or an opinion, may spring from sentiment without being sickly, and the sentiment which desires to keep a lovely corner of England free from noises which are hideous and sights which are certainly out of keeping with natural beauty is a