Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume I.djvu/141

 Dove rolls his waters, stocked with a species of trout of the most delicious flavour. Its fame for cheese it is unnecessary to mention; an article supplied by the dairy farms in its neighbourhood, which are chiefly converted to this purpose. The old church is a fine specimen of Gothic building; and a noble monument of philanthropy presents itself in the free-school, which an old writer tells us, "Divers well-disposed citizens of London being borne in or near to Ashbourne on the Peak, combining their loving benevolence together, built there, with convenient lodging for a master, and liberal maintenance allowed thereto."

Our curiosity having been excited by the report of some valuable pictures at Oakover, the ancient seat of the family of that name, we wound up the long hill to the north of Ashbourne, and directed our course to Mappleton, three miles from thence; a most picturesque village, a little to the left of which lies the mansion above-mentioned, a substantial brick family-house, built about a century since, snugly situated in a broad flat, on the banks of the Dove. Deep woods shelter it on one side; and Thorp-Cloud, a truncated conoidal mountain, rears itself in front. The visitor is permitted to see one room only in the house; but this is a jewel. It contains the following exquisite pictures: