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tremendous chasms, where the torrent, heard roaring long before
it was seen, had worked itself a deep channel, and fell from
ledge to ledge, foaming and shining amidst the dark rock. These
streams are sublime, from the length and precipitancy of their
course, which, hurrying the sight with them into the abyss, act
as it were in sympathy upon the nerves, and, to save ourselves
from following, we recoil from the view with involuntary horror.
Of such, however, we saw only two, and those by some departure
from the usual course up the mountain; but every where met
gushing springs, till we were within two miles of the summit,
when our guide added to the rum in his bottle what he said was
the last water we should find in our ascent.
The air now became very thin, and the steeps still more difficult
of ascent; but it was often delightful to look down into tho
(sic) green hollows of the mountain, among pastoral scenes, that
wanted only some mixture of wood to render them enchanting.-
About a mile from the summit, the way was indeed dreadfully
sublime, lying, for nearly half a mile, along the edge of a
precipice, that passed with a swift descent, for probably near a
mile, into a glen within the heart of Skiddaw; and not a bush nor
a hillock interrupted its vast length, or, by offering a midway
check in the descent, diminished the fear it inspired. The ridgy
steeps of Saddleback formed the opposite boundary of the glen;
and though really at a considerable distance, had, from the
height of the two mountains, such an appearance of nearness, that
it almost seemed as if could spring to its side. How much, too,
did simplicity increase the sublimity of this scene, in which
nothing but mountain, heath, and sky appeared!- But our situation
was too critical, or too unusual, to permit the just impressions
of such sublimity. The hill rose so closely above the precipice,
as scarcely to allow a ledge wide enough for a single horse. We
followed the guide in silence, and, till we regained the more
open wild, had no leisure for exclamation. After this, the ascent
appeared easy and secure, and we were
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