neighbouring streams, still unseen, send forth their murmurs, and fill the air with melody. After a short pause, we descended by a steep and narrow path, and clambering over a rocky mound, the view from which is exquisitely beautiful, we entered a deep dale, apparently impassable at one extremity, and guarded by craggy projections at the other; in the midst of which, in majestic solitude, stands CHEE TOR. In magnitude, form, and feature, this perpendicular rock is unequalled in any other part of Derbyshire; and the picturesque materials which nature has scattered with a lavish hand around this Giant of the Dell, present a variety of objects and combinations to the eye, some of which are wild and terrific, and some of a softer and a milder character. Having passed the mound which guards the entrance into Chee-dale, we seated ourselves on a mossy bank, by the side of one of the most clear and beautiful streams that ever flowed, and silently indulged in the delightful train of thought and feeling, which a contemplation of the scenery of nature is peculiarly calculated to inspire. We now saw nothing beyond the deep glen in which we were: the noise and bustle of the world, with all its cares and pleasures, were for a while forgotten, and Chee-dale was itself a world to us. It is not easy to conceive a place more entirely sequestered, and cut off from every thing around it, than is this quiet dell; its solitude is but rarely disturbed by human footsteps: with the exception of the angler, and occasionally a stray traveller, it is almost unvisited by man. No prospect, but what is included within the contracted limits of the dell, salutes the eye, except "The summer heaven's delicious blue;" and no sounds but what are native here the lapse of the passing stream, the hum of bees, and the song of birds, reach the ear. In such a place, unseeing and unseen, the mind is naturally disposed to commune with itself, and enjoy the luxury of undisturbed reflection, until every unworthy thought and unhallowed sensation are subdued, and every feeling is in harmony with the scene. The views in Chee-dale, though impressed with the same general character, are agreeably diversified: the rocks on the right are thrown into the form of a vast crescent, and their summits are fringed with trees. This noble amphitheatre spans the whole dale, and forms an impassable rampart-round CHEE TOR. - 85 the broad breast of the Tor, which, like an immense semicircular tower, broken and rent with age, and marked with weather-stains, rises in sullen grandeur from the deep recess. Round the base of this rock flows the river Wye. The darkgreen mosses, and variously-coloured lichens which cover the stones that form its bed-the long smooth weeds that wave their slender stems between the variety of intermingling hues all in motion - the sparkle of the limestone rock-the vivid transparency of the stream, everywhere giving an additional splendour to the objects over which it flows-all conspire to render this secluded dell one of the most imposing scenes in any part of Derbyshire: it abounds in pictures, every change of place exhibits a new one, and every one that occurs is marked with a peculiar beauty. Near, the boldest projection of the Tor, a view admirably adapted to the pencil is presented. The foreground is enlivened by the lustre and the motion of the stream, which is here occasionally interrupted in its progress by insulated rocky fragments that divide and break it into foam, as it rushes over its rude channel into the levels below. The opposite bank is a gently rising mound, gradually sloping to the foot of the rock, and ornamented with lofty and well foliaged ash; beyond appears Chee Tor, towering above every surrounding object, and lifting his ample front to the height of near four hundred feet. Looking down the river, which widens as it winds round the Tor, an islet adorned with light trees and underwood, occupies the middle of the river. On the left the view is diversified with masses of rock, piled upon each other until they close in the prospect. Their jutting crags are partly covered with overhanging branches, and the hazel, the aspen, the wild rose, and the mountain ash, adorn their summits. Turning round, and looking up the dale, a different picture, but yet equally beautiful and interesting, is displayed: the widest part of the dell opens immediately before you, and the river, with its innumerable miniature cascades, is seen to greater advantage than in the contrary direction. Chee Tor is still the grand object, and though it gradually loses its feature of vastness, it assumes a greater portion of picturesque beauty. The regularity of its receding outline is broken with light and graceful foliage, which hanging like wreaths upon its brow, plays along the side of the rock in tasteful sportiveness, until it mingles with the ascending branches of the ash and the elm that decorate its base. On the right, a chain of rock sweeps round the Tor 86 COMPARISON WITH LOCH KATRINE. in a regularly curved line, at the distance of from one to two hundred paces, forming a magnificent natural crescent. These rocks beetle over their base; so far they are unadorned: their upper strata are covered with wood, which happily combines with the scenery of which it forms so beautiful a part. Almost every circumstance, even the most minute, in the following extract from Sir Walter Scott's description of Loch Katrine, is peculiarly applicable to Chee-dale. "Here eglantine embalm'd the air, stain "With boughs that quaked at every breath, "Cast anchor in the rifted rock, "And higher yet the pine-tree hung "His shattered trunk, and frequent flung, SECTION II. Observations on the river Wye.-Blackwell Mill. Topley Pike. -Stage-coach. Wye Dale. Romantic Dell and Cascade Arrival at Buxton. near Lover's Leap. THE upper part of the confined dell, which is dignified with the stately presence of Chee Tor, is extremely contracted. The rocks rise high and precipitately from both sides of the river, which they here form into a narrow channel, and the traveller, who is not disposed to wade through the shallows of the stream, must necessarily return by the path he came. a long dry season, the Wye is but a scanty rivulet; it may then be crossed with little difficulty; at other times its passage is almost impracticable. Few individuals indeed ever attempt to penetrate beyond this part of Chee-dale. In From this place to Blackwell-Mill, about a mile higher up the river, many beautiful scenes occur, all differing in detail, but everywhere exhibiting the same general character. A brilliant and rapid stream sometimes winding round the huge fragments of stone that form its channel, then curling and circling into a thousand eddies—sometimes leaping precipitously from one bold shelving of rock to another, and breaking into the whitest foam; then gliding smoothly though rapidly along, until another obstruction to its peaceful and unruffled progress produces the recurrence of a similar picture. Such is the river Wye in this sequestered place: its banks are everywhere composed of a continued chain of perpendicular rocks of a greater or lesser altitude, which in some places are naked and unadorned, and in others finely covered with foliage. It. may easily be imagined, that these materials must, occasionally if not frequently, be so thrown together and combined as to produce pleasing compositions. I have only once crossed the river from the upper extremity of Chee-dale, which I did with the intention of perambulating its banks from thence to Buxton: when this can be accomplished, it must several times be forded from one side to the 88 PICTURESQUE SCENE ON THE WYE. other: indeed the channel of the stream, when occasions are taken of thus threading its course, is almost the only path that can be pursued without apprehension, as the sides and summits of the rocks are precipitous and craggy, and in many places even dangerous to pass. My companion was equally anxious with myself to explore this hidden part of the Wye: we therefore, after passing the stream at the top of Chee-dale, wound our way up and down the steep acclivities, as a narrow and devious path-way led us, amongst bushes and brambles, until we came by a rugged and abrupt descent to a more open situation on the brink of the river. The scene here presented is one of the finest of its kind I ever beheld. A high rock, richly crested with oak and ash, occupies each side of the Wye. The branches of the trees throw themselves across the chasm, and produce a mass of shadow, deep, broad, and sombre: below, a smooth bed of water sleeps in unbroken tranquillity; beyond, seen through the rocky vista, the luxuriant foliage caught a stream of light, and all the upper and remoter parts of the scene were brightly illumined with the warm effulgence of a declining sun, which, contrasted with opposing shadows, produced an effect that would have delighted a Rembrandt. The rock under which we stood, and the whole foreground of the picture, were finely broken: huge fragments of stone had been detached from above, and interrupted the progress of the stream, as it flowed and babbled along: the water, occasionally runs nearly over them, and had left behind an earthy sediment, that nurtured the richly-coloured mosses with which they were invested: water docks, fern, and fox-glove, mingled their variety of leaf and tint to adorn and diversify this beauteous landscape: all the forms were fine, the colouring rich and harmonious, and the light and shadow most happily disposed. It was one of those fascinating scenes which memory treasures, and recurs to with delight. Leaving this retired spot, we again recrossed the river along the cragged sides of which we clambered with some interruptions, until we had attained the summit of the highest rock. Over this we had to pass or recede. The gulf that yawned below could not be contemplated without emotions of horror. We stood on a steep shelving bank, covered with a thin slippery grass, unsafe, and even dangerous to tread upon. A sheep track was the only path that lay before us, and this was carried so near the brink of the precipice, that I could not have beheld a goat or any thing that had life placed in so perilous a |