Great Britain as it is ... Illustrated. Photographs by J. A. Spencer, on stone by E. Dolby

Front matter

T _U li ,■■':.: rc ia Part 1. Peice 3 s. [SUBSCRIPTION COPY.] \> AS IT IS; *f* GEOGRAPHICAL, TOPOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL, AND COMMERCIAL. ILLUSTRATED WITH VIEWS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS, IN THE FIRST STYLE OF TINTED LITHOGRAPHY: COMPRISING THE PORTS, HARBOURS, ARSENALS, WATERING PLACES, CITIES, TOWNS, AND THEIR VICINITIES; PALACES, CASTLES, NOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN'S SEATS AND MANSIONS, PUBLIC BUILDINGS ; COAST AND INLAND SCENERY; WITH NOTICES OF MANUFACTORIES, TRADING ESTABLISHMENTS, HOTELS, MEANS OF CONVEYANCE, AND EVERY OBJECT OF INTEREST. BY E; H. NOLAN, Ph.D., LL.D., AUTHOR OF THE CONTINUATION OF "HUME AND SMOLLETT'S HISTOEY OF ENGLAND," "THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA AND THE EAST," " THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA," &C, &C. LONDON : PUBLISHED FOE. THE PB.OPBIETORS ET JOHN LANE & CO., 21. FEATHERSTONE BUILDINGS, HOLBORN; AND KELLY & CO., 26, CRESCENT PLACE, BROMPTON CRESCENT, BROMPTON. wat; i; --v*1-' Bufttey, pm-sitkes, hew strbet 3qu__ke.

Introduction

. Peobablt no books are so popular in Great Britain as English and Scottish histories. This arises partly from the patriotism of the British people, and partly from the striking events which fill the narratives of our country's progress and renown. There is, however, an opinion generally prevalent, that too little appears in such works about the country itself. This opinion does not arise from any invidious nationality, nor merely from that love of country for which the greatest men on the Continent have given the British people credit, but from a conviction that Great Britain, as a territory, is amongst the most interesting portions of the globe. Its geological phenomena are more varied than are to be found elsewhere in an equal area; its productions are more valuable than those of other countries of similar extent.

Taking Great Britain as a whole, there is no portion of the earth's surface, of similar limits, which contains scenery more beautiful or diversified. From the gracefully undulated landscapes of Southern England, to the rugged grandeur of the Scottish mountains, almost every form of cultivated and wild country, of soft and reposeful, of bold and impressive scenes may be traced. The artists of the present clay have done much to make the public familiar with the beauty of our fair island, but the pen has done so little that a good description of Great Britain is felt to be a desideratum. The crude statements of school geographies and of dry statistical publications, and the meagre descriptions accompanying volumes of cheap prints, do not supply what is so extensively desired. It is necessary to depict what may be called the living scenery of our glorious isle — the landscape "as it is," not only in its natural features, but as cultivation has adorned it.

One of the peculiar beauties of British landscape consists in the transitions of light and shadow produced by the changeful sky characteristic of our climate, and of which many foreigners, with first impressions, complain. Men of taste from the Continent admire our cloud scenery, which, especially in the west of Scotland, and Ireland, whether beheld at rosy morn or sunlit eve, or when the pale moon sheds her silvery li°ht around, presents aspects marvellously beautiful, and such as nowhere can be seen in Europe, except along the northern coasts of Spain. The ever altering and infinitely diversified grouping of the masses of cloud which pass over our coasts makes the expression of the poet "the solitary heaven" not at all appropriate to our isles. Shakspere, B so observant of every dress with which Nature invests herself, had our majestic cloud scenery in his mind when he wrote the celebrated passage — "The cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great glohe itself, Tea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, And, like this unsubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind."

The word rack, not wreck, photographs, as it were, the image which filled the poet's mind; the former word meaning "a light fleecy cloud," that which evanishes faintly, when the darker masses have been swept along the heavens, or dissolved, and spread, and gradually melted away. The traveller is delighted with the variety thus afforded by our cloud-filled skies, as well as from the constant verdure with which thensoft and refreshing showers cover the country. He is also gratified by the contrast of this verdure, the rapid passage of light and shadow, and the tossed clouds above, to the parched aspect of continental fields beneath a sky filled with glaring and unchequered sun-light, ever presenting a dazzling and monotonous azure. The scenery of northern Europe is cold and dull, except when at night the corruscations of the Aurora Borealis stream in their glory from the pole.

In Holland and Belgium, and parts of Germany, the country often bears a colourless and gloomy aspect. In " lonely, solitary Spain," as Borrow calls it, amidst much that is bold, and attractive, and where the vine, the olive, and the orange-tree shed their beauty and their sweetness, there is a dull and sombre air in the aspects which the country assumes ; although of course in the Iberian Peninsula, as in all lands, there are many scenes of great natural beauty, and where civilization and taste have also lent their enchantment. In no country, however, do so many attributes of interest enter into the combination which makes the landscape agreeable, as in Great Britain. The quality of cultivation of course depends upon the geological character of each district, upon the aspect of such district as to the points of the compass, upon the relative situation, face of the land, elevation above the sea-level, the industrial occupations of the people in the vicinity, the proximity of a great manufacturing town or sea-port, and in some measure upon the skill of the cultivators ; but in almost every direction Art aids and Nature facilitates the creation of landscapes of much loveliness.

The park-like aspect of England strikes all foreigners who visit it. Our neighbours from la belle France never fail to express their admiration of this peculiar feature of the scene. The Frenchman who lands in Kent, or Sussex, or Hampshire, from the bare, level, and badly cultivated plains of France, or even from "pleasante Normandie" where the picturesque Seine rolls by old Rouen, and through many a soft vale from the grand capital to Havre de Grace, views with amazement the wide-spread parks which cover valley and upland, as the country in its wavy beauty stretches away in ever-varying undulations. He is at first probably impressed with the simdarity of the chalk cliffs on either coast, and, even if not a geologist, will speculate upon the by-past phenomena of the country, ere the sea washed in over the lower level now covered by it, separating the land which after ages made the nations of the Briton and the Gaul.

As he enters the country he is struck by the appearance of forest tree and foliage, the neat trimmed hedge, the tastefully arranged domain, often of vast extent; and he perceives

INTRODUCTION.

. that he is among a people who excel his own in the love of rural beauty, and in the desire to impress the hand of cultivated Art upon the fair forms of Nature. If he land upon such part of our coast as brings him in the first instance upon the downs where naked uplands are presented, he is not less impressed by its peculiarities as contrasted with the country he has left behind. He looks over the undulated downs, hears the tinkling of the sheep bell, observes the superior breed of the sheep to that of his own country, sees in the distance the woods and parks umbrageous with the foliage of indigenous trees of fine elevation, or of those which, not natives of our isle, have become naturalized, and form so large a proportion of " the sons of the forest." If he look back upon the sea, he is again impressed by prospects that are characteristic.

Tlie coast scenery of Britain is Useful and beautiful exceedingly ; the coast itself presents every form, by its numerous sinuosities — the bay, the estuary, the "mulls," the "mouths" of large rivers; and everywhere the water is dotted with boats or ships. How silent and lonely is the coast scenery of Europe generally, compared with that of Britain ; although English ships present life upon the ocean, along the channel coasts of France and the western shores of Spain, and even the Mediterranean coasts of these countries, which, but for British commerce, power, and love of sea adventure, would never be contemplated there. The stranger can hardly look down from any elevation upon our coast scenery without observing the dotted deep, expressive of the enterprise of the British people. The well-trimmed boat, manned by the hardy rower, sweeps by the shore ; the fishing smack glides on with swelling sail ; the revenue cruiser pries into every creek as if conscious of her calling, and fitted by her acuteness to be the detective of the sea ; the large merchantmen, with crowded canvass, seek the port, or leave it, bound for every realm, freighted with the produce of far-off climes, or bearing away the industrial productions of Britain to exchange for the material of manufactures, or the luxuries of tropical lands.

The horizon is marked by the long train of increasing or diminishing smoke, sent forth by commercial steamers, or the mighty war-ships by which England rules the seas. Amidst all these, and if possible more beautiful still than any, may be seen the yacht, which superior wealth and a natural love of the sea induce so many English gentlemen to maintain. As one of these beautiful objects catches the stranger's eye, "walking the ocean as a thing of life," he cannot fad to be impressed with the naval tastes, habits, aptitudes, and resources of the English, more than by even the bulky merchantman that rolls into harbour, or the man-of-war that " looms in the distance," and, with quick lightning and heavy booming thunder, gives forth its signal. The yachts of England attracted, at the great naval gathering at Cherbourg, in 1858, more attention from Frenchmen, than the war squadron which escorted English Majesty thither.

The observant men of France, her litterateurs, her seamen, her men of science, were more convinced of England's natural and actual superiority on the sea by the swift fleet of private yachts, -which lent their beauty and variety to the scene, than by anything witnessed in the build, or adaptation for their purpose, of our men of war. The continental traveller in England has his attention always arrested by these beautiful objects along our coasts, especially in the south, when he beholds our sea scenery, and wonders at the activity and variety which it exhibits. How entrancing it is to sail among the little bays and inlets of South Devon — to wander along the shores of its beautiful watering-places — to roam among its verdant hills and vales — to pass along its rural roads, overhung by blossoming trees, b2 or the apple orchards glowing in the tints of their mellowed fruits!

How luxurious the enjoyment in chiving over the wider and more sweeping undulations of sunny Somerset, adorned also with the foliage, or blossom, or overhanging fruit of orchards ! How deep the delight experienced from the aspects of rich meadow; upland pasturage; umbrageous park ; long-stretching, sandy, and pebbly shore ; retired bay and inlet ; fair havens; fortress; city; sea-side villas ; inland mansions ; churches; spires peeping above the tall branches of the elm, or oak, or poplar; the cottage, clad with the vine or honey suckle, shaded by the ldac or laburnum ; which one sees in travelling through the south of England ! There is in all a beauty exclusively English. Sea, shore, city, sheep walk, orchard, garden, cornfields, and meads, seem all instinct with a pecidiarly Useful characteristic, seen in no other land.

There is also an appearance of great order, social comfort, and blooming health, which inspires at once with joyousness and serenity. Happy Britain! her fair landscapes are not trodden by the hoofs of invading squadrons ; the heavy artdlery of war does not break through her beautiful hedgerows, or crush her rich cereal fields ; the tramp of long marshalled lines of infantry does not press down her waving meadows ; the hands of insolent foreign soldiery pluck not the roses which bloom by her cottage doors ; her smooth lawns and grassy parks are not scathed by the fires of the bivouac ; she is free as well as beautiful, and she is beautiful for she is free. Surely if men of other climes find a response in their hearts to the Scottish poet's stirring words, the son of Britain may exultingly say, as he looks upon his country, "Lives there a man with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land!"

The city life of England is an important element of its social condition. The appearance of its metropolis and many large provincial cities has engaged the criticism, generally unfavourable, of foreign reviewers and authors ; yet the sites of most of the cities of Great Britain are not only judiciously chosen for the purposes of manufacture or commerce, but are also picturesque. The metropolis exemplifies this. On the north of the Thames it is built up the acclivity of a range of hills, which, rising at first gently and then by a more steep ascent, the situation is made favourable to health and cleanliness; and in the higher suburbs prospects of considerable beauty are afforded. On the southern side of the Thames the site is below the river level for some distance ; the ascent only begins near the suburban districts, at first by a very gentle incline, but afterwards, sweeping upwards to the Surrey hills, and highlands of the adjoining district of Kent, affords neighbourhoods as picturesque as the elevated positions of the north.

In the western suburbs there is all that sort of beauty afforded by a fine river, passing through rich lowlands. By boat-loving Fulham and Putney, "watery Wands worth," pleasant Kew, more elevated Richmond, and regal Hampton, " The river gently glideth ever, Glideth by meadows that the greenest he : " and if the Londoner, fond of such scenery, still presses further up the current, he will find rich sylvan scenes to repay his wanderings, as " Silver Thames reflects its wooded hanks In many a graceful winding of its course."

INTRODUCTION.

. Another exemplification of the natural beauty characterising the sites of English cities may be found where the distant reader would least expect it — in smoky Man chester. The country around the great metropolis of manufactures is very diversified : within a short distance fine views of the Lancashire and Yorkshire hills, and of the lower group of what may be called the Cheshire Highlands, are obtained ; the valley of the Irwell is famed for beauty ; the Irk and the Medlock wind their way through a very varied and unequal country before they pour then streams through the mdl-ways of Manchester into the Irwell, itself rolling with rapid and increasing volume, untd within a few miles it rests, as it were, its weary breast upon the bosom of the Mersey. So unequal is the surface of the country all around Manchester for many miles within the county of Lancashire, and so numerous are the springs which issue from the hills, that the whole neighbourhood is irrigated, and remarkable for its verdant aspect, where not exposed to the sootfall from the factories.

Probably no city, or neighbourhood of a great city, in the British Islands, is so intersected by numerous streams and rivulets as Manchester and its vicinity. However remarkable in this respect Dublin may be, Manchester is still more so. In the olden times, before steam effected such wonders, when water-power turned the mills, and the manufactures of the district were in the hands of persons of comparatively small capital, and with simple appliances, these numerous streams promoted largely the rising trade of the district by the facdities for turning wheels, washing, and bleaching, which they furnished. The great manufacturing towns of the north are not, as is so frequently supposed in the other parts of the empire and abroad, built on sites surrounded by level plains, the country seamed by pits and excavations, and covered with mineral refuse, or blazing forges and smoking chimneys.

Some such districts there are; but generally these towns are built in pleasant vales, or on hill-sides, or amidst groups of picturesque knolls. In those portions of this work where the cities of Great Britain, and the avoca tions pursued in them, shall be described, notice will be taken in each individual instance of the character of the surrounding country : it is here only designed to deny the impression extensively prevading, that the cities of Great Britain are unpicturesque in their sites and in themselves. Dr. Vaughan has written a work entitled, "The Age of Great Cities." If the language be universally applied, and the present be compared with some ages of the past, the appropriateness of the expression may be doubted. Applied to England, it is true and expressive: this is an "age of great cities;" and great achievements, industrial, intellectual, and moral, have been effected by them.

The progress of improvement in our cities is obvious and rapid; a taste for sculp ture and painting, for the fine arts generally, for music, and for literature in its more elegant as well as useful forms, has sprung up, and is being cultivated to maturity. A wonderful aptitude for the increase of material wealth and power has been developed, and is still putting forth its force. The faculty of associating for great intellectual and moral objects, of uniting in purpose, and combining in action for the accomplishment of social and moral ends of vast magnitude and deep interest, distinguishes the cities of the British Isles from all others in the world, except those of the United States, whose people display kindred qualities. To portray justly the aspects of our large cities, their peculiar occupations and resources, their customs and moral peculiarities, may be a difficult task, but it is also one most interesting, and, for the reader, one most useful.

It is the conviction of the author of this work, that the prospects of Great Britain are as great and glorious as is her position. The day is far distant, if it ever arrive, when Lord Macaulay's idea wdl be realised, of the New Zealander sitting on a broken arch of London bridge, and, amidst surrounding desolation, sketching the ruins of St. Paul's. If Great Britain be true to herself, and to the sacred principles of truth which predominate in the land, whatever is in the way of her progress will either aid it, or perish before its might, as the lightning finds, in the objects that intervene, conductors to guide it, or obstacles to be stricken and destroyed. Great Britain never was inhabited by a race of men more quick to know, more prompt to do, more fearless to dare, more patient to endure, more confiding in the energy and power of one another, more hopeful as to the destiny of the glorious country which gave them birth.

The future, however, does not appear to be overhung with clouds, and only to be entered upon with a brave defiance of gathering storms ; on the contrary, the horizon is filling with light as the distant east grows refulgent with the day. Whde it is the duty of Britons, viewing the social and political prospect of their country, to obey the inspired mandate — " Quit you like men, be strong" — it is also their privdege to go forth in the way of duty and progress, believing that " Great Britain as it is " may be the pedestal upon which a glorious people shall erect, in their own times and by their own deeds, a noble monu ment of material and moral greatness, a renown for ever. To be well acquainted with the actual condition of our country wdl aid in the prosecution of such patriotic and honourable aims : in the humble hope of conducing to this, the author of this work presents to the reading public a faithful delineation of " Great Britain as it is."

CHAPTER L GEOGRAPHY OF GREAT BRITAIN.

— AREA.— ISLANDS.— FORM.— MOUNTAINS AND HILL RANGES. —LAKES.— RIVER SYSTEMS.— SAIL ROUND THE ISLAND, FROM THE NORE, SHOWING THE LEADING FEATURES OF ITS OUTLINE. Great Britain, the largest island in Europe, and lying off the north-west coast of its continent, is bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean ; on the east by the German Ocean, or North Sea; on the west by the Lish Sea, St. George's and the North Channels, by which it is separated from Ireland ; and on the south by the English Channel. In latitude it extends from 49° 57' in the south to 58° 47' in the north, the dependant islands reaching as far as 60° 49/ north. In longitude it extends from 1|° east to nearly 8° west, including the Hebrides. Owing to the difference of latitude between the northern and southern portions of the island, there is a corresponding difference of about two hours and forty minutes between the length of the days in the northern and southern parts ; the longest day in the south being about 16 hours 18 minutes, whde in the extreme north it reaches 18 horns 48 minutes.

Tlie whole island forms a rude representation of a triangle, of which Dunnet's Head, in Caithness, is the apex, and the coast line from the Land's End, in Cornwall, to the North Foreland, in Kent, is the base ; the western side being about 600 mdes long, the eastern 540, and the base 320. If these boundaries were mathematical lines, the included area could be determined with undisputed accuracy; but, owing to their departure from a perfectly rectdinear form, we are obliged to be satisfied with approximative measures, and can give the area only as something between 83,000 and 87,000 square miles. The greatest breadth of England, measured from St. David's Head, in Pembrokeshire, to the Naze, in Essex, is about 280 mdes; and that of Scotland, measured from Point Rownamoun, in Ross-shire, to Buchan Ness, in Aberdeenshire, is a little more than 150 miles.

The length of the whole island cannot be measured in one straight line, as the meridian of 2°, which would divide England longitudinally into two nearly equal parts, scarcely touches any part of Scotland. We therefore must measure each portion separately ; England, from Berwick on Tweed to the Dorset coast, being 362 miles in length ; and Scotland, measuring in length about 270 miles; making in the whole about 632 miles. In the neighbouring waters there are several isles, more or less important, and of which the monarch of Great Britain is the sovereign. Beginning on the north-east and passing round to the north-west of England, we have off the coast of Northumberland, Holy Island, Fam and Staple groups, Coquet Island; at the mouth of the Thames, the Isle of Sheppey ; the Isle of Wight off the coast of Hampshire ; the Channel Isles — Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and other isles which are smaller than these; the Scilly Islands, 30 miles W. S. W. of the Land's End, of which only six are inhabited, although the group counts above a hunched ; Lundy Island, at the entrance of the Bristol Channel, and the Holmes, nearer to Bristol; Anglesea and Holyhead, forming one of the Welsh counties ; and the Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea.

The Scottish islands are more numerous, and are divided into — 1. Tlie inner western isles, near the coast: Skye, Raasy, Rum, and Eig, Mull, Coll, Staffa, Iona, Colonsay, Isla, Jura, Bute, Arran, Cumbraes, the three latter forming the county of Bute; Staflh, containing Fingal's Cave. 2. Tlie outer western isles, separated by the Minch Channel, and standing out in the Atlantic, are : Lewis, North Uist, South Uist, Benbecula, Barra, and Long Island, so designated though composed of a number of separate isles closely grouped ; and St. Kilda, the most westerly. The Orkneys include as many as 67 isles : Pomona, or Mainland, the largest; Stonsa, Ronaldsha, and Hoy; all lying to the N. by E. of Caithness. The Shetlands, about 40 miles N. E. of the Orkneys, comprise about a hundred isles and islets.

Five hundred islands and rocks have been enumerated around the British coasts, of which only 175 had inhabitants on the 31st of March, 1851. The numbers ranged from 57,318 in Anglesea, down to 1 in Little Papa, and 1 in Inchcolm. The whole island is divided into North and South Britain, or Scotland and England, by a line from Solway Frith, running along the Cheviot Hills to the river Tweed; while South Britain is again divided into England and Wales, by a line passing nearly north and south from the estuary of the Dee to Chepstow, leaving Monmouthshire and Herefordshire on the English side, and Wales to the west of the third degree of longitude. The form of the island is considerably modified by the remarkable indentations of the coast, of which the principal are the estuaries of the Tees and Humber, the Wash, the Stour, the Blackwater, and the Thames, on the east; the Southampton Water, Poole Harboiu, Portland Roads, Torbay, Start Bay, Plymouth Sound, Falmouth Harbour, and Mount's Bay, on the south; Barnstaple Bay, the Bristol Channel, Swansea, Caermarthen, St. Bride's, Cardigan and Caernarvon Bays, the estuaries of the Dee, Mersey, and the Ribble, Morecambe Bay, and Solway Frith, on the west.

Scotland presents, on its eastern coast, the Frith of Forth, Tay, Murray, Cromarty and Dornoch; Lochs Broom, Torridon, Sunart, Linnhe, Fine, Byan, and the Frith of Clyde, on its west; and Luce Bay, Wigton Bay, and the Solway, on the south. The ports of Great Britain, natural and artificial, amount to 122, which are divided into 253 sub-ports. These configurations of the coast modify the form of omisland so considerably, that the triangle is converted into the grotesque but well-known figure of an old woman riding on a dolphin, just as a very little imagination gives to Denmark and Sweden the likeness of a bear, and to Italy the shape of a boot. Tlie surface of our island is as varied as its horizontal outline, as we shall see on noticing its mountains and hills, its lakes and rivers. GEOGRAPHY. 9 Tlie highest mountain of Great Britain is Ben Nevis, its height being 4,368 feet; the highest in Wales is Snowdon, 3,571 feet; while the Sea-Fell Pikes give the highest point in England at 3,166 feet.

The hills of South Britain are principally: 1. The Pennine chain, extending from the Cheviot Hills through the northern counties into Derbyshire, and known as the Backbone of England, giving rise on the west side to the Mersey and Dee, and on the east to the Tyne and Tees, the Ouse and Trent. 2. The Cumbrian range, starting from the Pennine chain, and running due west nearly as far as Whitehaven. This group covers above one-third of Cumberland, a fifth of Westmoreland, and a small part of North Lancashire. 3. The Cambrian group, including Snowdon, already noticed, extends over Wales, and claims the Malvern Hills for an outlying member. 4. The Devonian group extends from the Land's End to the centre of Devonshire, sending out its ranges, the Brendon and Quentock Hills, along the coast of the Bristol Channel, and continued, under the name of the Mendip Hills, through Somersetshire, on to the Cotswold Hills, in Gloucestershire.

Then we have the Downs (so called from Dun, a hill) both North and South, the southern ridge running from Salisbury Plain through the south of Hampshire into Sussex, and terminating at Beechy Head; the North Downs, passing through the north of Hampshire and Surrey. To these two ranges of chalk hills must be added another, traversing the counties of Berks, Oxford, Bucking ham, Bedford, Cambridge, and reaching to Norfolk. Scotland is famous for its Highlands, of which there are three divisions: 1. The Southern Highlands, which, as we have already noticed, form part of the English border. They run westward to the Lowthers, the lofty ridge bounding the county of Dumfries on the north. 2. The Central Highlands, including the range of the Grampian Hills, running from the coast of Aberdeenshire to the opposite coast of Inverness-shire, and to the south over Argyle and Western Perth, near to Dumbarton.

It includes, besides Ben Nevis (the mountain of death), already noticed, Ben Mac Dui (the black boar mountain), and Cairngorm, whose fame is widely extended for the precious stone that bears its name. 3. The Northern Highlands are irregularly distributed masses in the north, and presenting a great elevation. Ben Wyvis is 3,720 feet, Ben Attow 4,000 feet, retaining the snow in some places throughout the year. Scotland has, besides, the smaller ranges of the Pentland Hills, extending south-west from the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, the Lammermuir and Muirfoot Hills, stretching south-west from St. Abb's Head, on the coast of Berwickshire, into Peebleshire; and the Sidlaw, Ochill, and Campsie Hdls, running from Forfarshire to the western boundary of Stirlingshire. The lakes of Great Britain are among its most interesting features, and, bearing as they do a fair proportion to the size of the island, add much to its picturesque beauty.

The largest are those of Scotland, which, taking their form from the mountains between which they run, are narrow but of considerable length. The largest is Loch Lomond, covering an area of above 45 square miles. Loch Aven is enclosed by some of the highest mountains in the country ; Ben Mac Dui and Ben Main, the Cairngorm and Ben Buinac, giving to it a secluded and somewhat savage character. The lakes of Scotland cover an area of 290 square mdes, and add greatly to the romantic interest with which the country is invested. The lakes of England are found chiefly in Cumberland and Westmoreland, which have acquired the name of "the Lake district." The Red Tarn, on Helvellyn, is 2,400 feet above the level of the sea. Winandermere, on the borders of Westmoreland c and Lancashire, and the largest of our English lakes, is but one mile in breadth, but it is nearly ten miles long.