Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-05-03
FROM SKIDDAW'S TOP.
The Vast Panorama of the English
Lake District Seen From It.
CURIOSITIES In NOMENCLATURE.
Memories of Great Men of Letters That
Hover Near the Mount.
ONE OF ENGLANUs OLD CHURCHES
,connrspoNpEsor OF THE DISPATCH.


KEsw1oK, ENGLAND, April 20.-Fron
the ridge of Helvellyn or the peak Of Skid
daw one can secure on a clear day a cyclic
ramic view of the entire English lake
region. With the one grand prospect u havt
enjoyed from Helvellyn's summit, and ths
several ascents of Skiddaw have made,
feel safe in asserting that there is not ac
cessible in the whole world another so salts
flying feast for visual sense and mental de-
light
The natural elements of sublimity and
beauty, diversified and blended splendidly,
are surely here in remarkable degree.
Finer and sweeter still, the heart and soul
are thrilled and uplifted through endless
recognitions. have stood at the edge ol
Etna and seen far over Calabrian. Italy, to
the east as the suns disk burst above the
Ionian sea, and the whole length of Sicily
to the west, when that mighty mountain 3
shadow lay all that distance upon its dark
and misty valleys. Thrilling as is that
scene, it has in il, for the dolor of associa-
tions, indescribable sadness for the beholder.
Here are no buried cities; no dreadful
history; no Malta and brigandage; no
with weather vanes and church towers with
crosses stand friendlily side by side. Shin
ing towns lie upon mountain sides, or
creep to the edge OF CLASSY meres,
in every mood and token Of peace.
Gray old hamlets and verdure-
softened villages speck the lovely dales with
hints OF happiness in homes. And every
"statesman's" lichened cottage, high in up.
land dale, or perched along the braes of
fells, tells brave old tales Of independence,
home-building labor aud hsaven-given con-
tent. No wonder the poets sang here in this
grand, broad paradise.
Beautiful Mountains and Lakes.
Geographically speaking. the Lake dis
trict comprises Cumberland, Westmore-
land.and the northern part Of Lancashire.
It possesses between 100 and 200 mountains.
The best known OF these are Coniston
Old Man, Scafell Pike, Crinkle Crags
Saddleback, Skiddaw and Helvellyn.
There are a hundred other 'crags,"
"pikes" and "fells" which almost equal
these in height, and, in my Judgment, fire.
quently equal them in scenic impressive
ness. The principal and widest-known
lakes are Ullswater, Bassenthwaite Water,
Derwentwater, Thirlmere, Grasmere, Ry-
dal Water, Windermere, Coniston Water,
Crummock Water. loves Water, Vast
Water, Clearwater and Buttermere. These
are exclusive of very many tiny lakes and
countless tarns. Many of the latter lie
beneath the shadows of majestic crags, more
than 1000 feet above the sea level. Aside
from these mountains and lakes are fully 30
noted dales; as many ghylls of great beauty;
several famous waterfalls; and quaint and
beautiful towns with Keswiek Us the me-
tropolis.
Some knowledge of local nomenclature
is needed by stranger among English
lakes. Every lake in the region has the
terminal "water" or "mere." Thirlmere,
Or Thorolff's mere; Grasmere, from the old
Saxon "grise," swine. the lake of the swine;
and Derwentwater, from the Cam bro Celtic
"derwent," beautiful; are sufficient for ILL.,
ustration. The word holne is invariably
applied to the islands Of the English lakes,
and is from the Danish 'holmi," little
island; while tsrn, from the Morse "tiorn,"
a tiny lake, is used to define the silent pool
within the highest mountain swails and
crags. These are countless in the lake
region.
Derivation of Mountain Names.
In the nomenclature Of mountains are
many curious derivations. Skaw or sea,
from the Danish "skov," means o wood Of
range of mountains, and provincial English
for any rocky, barren hill or height, gives
Scaw Fell, the mountain of the forest. The
word "fell" is comprised in the name OF
nearly every Cumbrian mountain. The de.
rivation of "pike," as in Langdals pixies,
Scaw Fell pike, etc., is not 80 clear. It is
applied here to peaks Of great elevation and
rugged prominence; but there seems to be
curious link between the term and the an
cient fires kindled on these heights for
pagan worship and sacrifice. To an Amer
lean the appellations OF the beautiful noun
tain streams and waterfalls are peculiar and
often confusing. A gill, or ghyll, is q swift
stream running through gorge or glen
with very rapid descent, and where it breaks
into waterfall il Is always called "iorce."
Thus Stock GhyA Force, the famous water
fall of Ambleside, which has its source among
the romantic crags about Kirkstone Pass, is
the waterfall of the stream which descends
the glen of Stock.
If one enters the Lake region from the
north the first impulse 10 to ascend Skiddaw,
the second highest mountain of the region
which is almost as near Keswick, to the
north, as the slightly loftier Helvellyn 10
to the south. Keswick lies in the noble
vale Of Derwentwater between these two
monarch sentinels of the lakes. The ascent
of Skiddaw is no severe task upon the pow
ers of one accustomed to mountain climbing,
and can be easily reached in, three hours
time from Keswick. Unlike that Of Hell
velIyn it is unattended with bodily risk, but
the view is a vaster and more varied one.
In three different ascents have only been
able to secure one perfect view, owing to
the interference of fog and mist upon which
no absolute calculation can be made.
The Pen Powerless to Describe.
To attempt an adequate description of
what perfect day will reveal from the sum-.
NIT of Skiddaw, would require q catalo-
guing of every majestic and beautiful object
among the lakes and camera-like exposi-
tion of every exultant emotion OF the human
heart. The vastpess of the panorama may
be family suggested when its circumference
is stated. It IS known to exceed 800 miles.
and Westmoreland, with their
majestic clusters of mountains. lakes and
rivers, are. as it were, at ones feet.
To the eastward. the eye ranges over the
backbone" of England, the billowy Pen
nine Hills, and through verdureless dips,
Northumberland and Yorkshire can be
myriads OF fells and dales in wildjprofusion.
Then the Irish Sea, and with glass, the
mighty walls Of Antrim, with the sunlight
upon them a shining thread upon the hor-
izon. To the southwest, across turbulent
mass of peaks and fells and silyery reach
of the sea, lone Snaefell, the giant OF the Isle
of Man, seems to float upon the, waves. To
the south and southeast, where huge Hell
yellyn does not shut out the sight, Cumber-
land, Westmoreland and Lancashire seem
an interminable maze of billowy scenic
splendor. To the north across the Solway,
those sweet old shires, wherein Burns lived,
sang and died, spread their. sunny dales