Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume I.djvu/144

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.

[132]

emotion of wonder in the mind, which is found to arise on the contemplation of regularity blended with vastness.

The village of Thorp lay one mile from the public-house above-mentioned, and surprized us with one of the most agreeable objects we had long noticed; its small church, seated upon the brow of a hill, and so circumstanced with trees as to be rendered highly picturesque. Taking a guide from this place, we crossed the fields to Dove-Dale; from the first of which the scene backward is extremely beautiful, and of a character entirely distinct from the savage wildness of that immediately before us; which is composed of a deep hollow, having the steep ascent of Thorp-Cloud to the left, and another mountain, little inferior in magnitude, to the right. Passing through this narrow ravine, (where the eye is prevented from excursion, and the mind thrown back upon itself) for half a mile, a sudden turn introduced us to the southern termination of Dove-Dale, a name it has received from the circumstance of the Dove pouring its waters through the valley. Here a change of scenery instantly took place, and rocks abrupt and vast, their grey sides harmonized by mosses, lichens, and yew-trees, and their tops sprinkled with mountain ash-trees, rose on each side of us, instead of the