Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume II.djvu/131

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Conishead, the seat of Wilson Bradyll, esq; is naturally taken in on returning from Furness- Abbey. The wooded hills of the park afforded us from their summit a beautiful home sylvan scene, and a more extraordinary distance, composed of sea, and moun- tain, and interminable sands. These were made up of the lesser Syrtis, called Leven sands, and the greater called Cartmel sands ; over both which we were to pass in our way to Lancaster, a distance of twenty miles. The novelty of this expedition and the possible danger attending it, (fur many have perished in the passage) gave a particular interest to this journey, and rendered us more than commonly attentive to its peculiarities. As soon as the sea had sufficiently receded from the sands, (which is a little before half ebb) we proceeded to the carter-house, about a mile from Ulverstone, standing upon the margin of the sands. Here we met with several other vehicles of different de- scriptions, waiting for the recess of the waters, and having joined the caravan, descended to the im- mense flat before us, which presented a picture ai once awful, new, and magnificent. To the right the horizon was marked by a silver line, the distant sea, who had already retired several miles from the expanse which he lately covered, and over which he was shortly again to roll his waters. A small

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