ake, a mile in length, and surrounded by mountains,
forms one of the most beautiful scenes in England. Wordsworth afterwards
removed to Rydal Mount (two or three miles off), which place remains
especially associated with his memory. It is a somewhat remarkable fact
that this quiet and thoughtful interpreter of nature was in the early
years of his life, while going on a pedestrian tour through France,
thrust into the early fervours of its great Revolution. Wordsworth's
sympathy with the aims of the Gironde party might have cost him his
life, for many of his friends in Paris suffered death, but happily
circumstances caused him to return to England. It was his noble sister
Dorothy, his constant and devoted companion, who met him on his return
from Paris, broken-hearted, and induced him to return to nature.

Wordsworth's poetry was not appreciated for a considerable time, but he
calmly wrote on, undismayed by the ridicule poured forth on the "Lake
School of Poets," which included Coleridge and Southey, and gradually
his calm and dignified descriptions of nature asserted their rightful
influence. After publishing his greatest poem, _The Excursion_, the tide
of generous appreciation set in. In 1843, Wordsworth was made Poet
Laureate. His pure and fervent poetry was a protest against the diseased
sentimentality of the age.

[Illustration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._

RYDAL WATER.]

THE LAKE DISTRICT

=How to get there.=--Train to Ambleside from Euston. London and
N.W. Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Ambleside (for visiting Coniston, Grasmere, Hawkshead,
Patterdale, and Windermere).
=Distance from London.=--260 miles.
=Average Time.=--Varies between 6 to 8 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 39s. 0d. 25s. 2d. 23s. 0d.
Return 76s. 4d. 49s. 4d. 45s. 0d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--At Ambleside--"Queen's Hotel,"
"White Lion Hotel," "Royal Oak Inn," "Robinson's Temperance
Hotel."
=Alternative Route.=--Train from St. Pancras. Midland Railway.

Ambleside, situated in the very centre of the Lake District, is by many
regarded as the most tempting spot in the whole region.

It is a long and straggling town of about 2000 inhabitants. The old
church stands up the hill, in the more picturesque part of the town. The
old ceremony of "rush-bearing," dating from the time of Gregory IV., is
still, in a modified form, an annual function in Ambleside, which, with
one or two W