Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume II.djvu/97

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those distaint mountains to whose deep recesses we were hastening, where the celebrated features of Cumberland and Westmoreland their lakes re- pose amid indescribable scenes of picturesque beauty. Anxious to catch a distant view of these grand sheets of water, we hastened, on reaching Penrith, to the lofty eminence at the back of the town, called Beacon-Hill, from the small tower on whose summit an august prospect presents itself to the eye, astonishing to those who have been unaccus- tomed to the scenery of mountains, which rise one above another in grand succession, and include all the most remarkable ones of Cumberland, West- moreland, and the borders of Scotland. At the foot of one of the most majestic of these lofty heights, the proud and rugged, Helvellyn, the beau- tiful blue expanse called Ulswater stretched itself in peacefid majesty, its glass-like surface contrasting finely with the shaggy sides of its mighty protector. The magnificence of the distant objects absorbs the whole attention, and almost prevents the eye from regarding those which lie immediate]} beneath ii; the neat town ol Penrith, and the naked walls of its dilapidated castle; Charlton-Hall, and its beau- tiful woods; Brougham-Castle; Broughton-IIall; and a wide expanse of luxuriant meadow, watered by the rivers Lowther and Kmmont, which play

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