Excerpt from A Trip to the English Lakes: In May, 1864

19th May. - Yesterday we arranged with Atkinson to have an early fishing excursion upon what he called an out-and eut grand scale. Of course, he promised everything, and to guarantee success would engage a noted sportsman. Named Bowe, I think, who never failed, and provide 180 trimmers at least 1 The man might just as well have said 365 when he was at it, but perhaps he wished to be moderate. However, after a ticket from the Vale of Derwentwater angling company had been obtained, for which the charge was the moderate sum of Is, we changed our minds, not liking the trouble of being down by 5 a. M. At latest, with the probability of disappointment similar to my own it was far better as it turned out, for we were all three a little ragged with the unusual heat, and one was amiss. I am ashamed to confess that nine o'clock found me in bed, though the morning was just as glorious as yesterday's. Our mutual friend, with the old head on young shoulders, alas! Was suffering the excruciating disturbance a wisdom tooth often occasions. His illness threw a damper over us, so Banting and myself waited upon the doctor and called him in. He was a very intelligent, pleasant, and even common-sense man, too, though in that condition of extravagant bliss which is said immediately to precede matrimony. Going to be married, are you we said. Lucky birds - we'll chalk you out a tour. Banting then became as excited as his idiosyncrasy would permit but, ever ready to make happy people happier, and dull ones too, he observed, referring in the most impertinent way to me, Drybones will help us, I know. Where's your Bradshaw? So at it we went, chapter and verse, for 16 days in and out of London. The hotels were all spotted, and what to see in Paris, Basle, Lucerne, Strasbourg, Cologne, Brussels, and Antwerp, &c., and, of course, how long to remain in each place. At two o'clock, our patient being somewhat recovered, we were on horseback, and passing the house in which Southey lived, and the mother church, his honoured resting place, we marched through rich valleys, nestled among beautiful mountain ranges, by the blue and placid waters of sunny Bassenthwaite calmly sleeping at the base of big Skiddaw, bound for Peel Wyke, where the bog myrtle casts its spicy fragrance on the air. The wise tooth having become intolerable, we left its unfortunate owner to rest at The Swan with Two Necks, where that quaintly comfortable specimen of humanity and kindness, the landlady, whom we called after her own sign, tho' unlike a swan of any variety conceivable, earnestly recommended a poultice made of porridge l Alas, poor Yorick l The new railway to Cooker mouth follows in great measure the old road a distance of 15 miles, and the line running by the very edge of Bassenthwaite, presents another most beautiful avenue to Keswick. Banting.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.