Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume II.djvu/112

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stupendous whole is formed by the mighty mass of rushing element, which presents a most magnificent scene to the eye, and an uproar is raised that shakes the surrounding mountains to their foundation.

Penetrating into the awful recesses of Borrodale at the southern extremity of the lake, we took a view of the Bowther stone, a vast mass of rock, torn by some natural convulsion from the aerial brow of the adjoining mountain, and rolled into the flat below. It measures in height thirty-six feet, and in circumference eighty-nine feet, and weighs one thousand seven hundred and seventy-one tons thirteen hundred weight. Beyond this a most pleasing walk, through peaceful hamlets, embo- somed by the rudest mountains, brought us to the black-Jead mines, the most famous of the kind in the world. Amongst the crags and precipices here which tower on every side, the effects of a loud sound suddenly emitted are truly astonishing, and it is utterly impossible for a lively imagination unused to the delusion, to experience it without a momentary belief that he is surrounded by the unseen spirits of the mountain, reproving his in- trusion into their adyfa, in vocal thunder.

The animated, enthusiastic, and accomplished Coleridge, whose residence at Keswick gives ad- ditional charms and interest to its impressiv -

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