Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume II.djvu/25

 upon a knoll at the south end of the town, it bears its turrets high above all the humble dwellings around, looking over their crouching heads upon the beautiful fringed banks of the Cocquet, that, pursuing a winding course, almost insulates the town at high tides. Half a mile up this romantic river is found the Hermitage to be visited in a boat, which is kept by a man who lives in and shews the castle. The introduction to this sequestered spot, over the still surface of a gently winding river hemmed in by banks, where rock and wood, meadow and glade, present themselves in most picturesque combination, is extremely happy, and well calculated to encourage those tender emotions which the perusal of Percy's beautiful poem, that we carried in our hands, had awakened, Slowly rowing up the stream, (for it; beauties were not to be passed hastily by) we at length landed on the holy ground, under a perpendicular face of rock, approaching so closely to the stream as to admit only a narrow path between the two. This is darkened by thickly-planted trees, through whose shades we proceeded about one hundred yards, and found ourselves at the foot of a rude flight of Stone steps, over which a huge ash thrives, its broad shade, adding solemnity to the natures around. Ascending them, we were conduct cries of