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As I am aware of the curiosity which most persons have to
know any small particulars of the life of an eminent man, I
shall here insert a genuine anecdote of Mr Gray. This
gentleman, who was no less remarkable for his timidity than
his poetry, went (by land) to Bowness: Here he
was told, that the best point of view was on the opposite
shore, a little above Nab-Gate, (see plate X.) Curiosity and
a love for natural beauty, were strong incitements on the
one hand; but the reflection that there was no convenient
way of attaining his desire, unless by crossing the Lake in
a boat, was a reason almost equally strong for staying where
he was. Being told, however, that not only horses and
carriages frequently were ferried over there, but that the
common carriers from Kendale to Hawkshead used that
conveyance, he ventured to set forward blindfolded.
He was accordingly landed near Nab-Gate, had viewed the
landscape, and taken out his mirror in order to view it in
miniature, when he saw the boat returning for more
passengers; then asking his guide if any persons had ever
been lost in crossing the ferry? the guide told him, that
about the year 1634, forty-seven passengers were lost, owing
to their own imprudence, by oversetting the boat as they
were returning from Hawkshead fair.
This at once determined Mr Gray not to embark a second time,
and he accordingly began to look about for some road to take
him to Bowness by land; lifting up his eyes, he saw
impending precipices on every side, (except the Lake,) a
sight as alarming to him as a second voyage; he was so
agitated at the prosect, that he trembled for fear, and had
just command enough of himself to say to his guide, "Get me
to Bowness any way;" nor did he utter another word, or ever
look up, till he arrived there. He then set off immediately
for Kendale; but has, in his account of his tour, entirely
suppressed every hint of this curious journey. He says, "I
reached Ambleside October 8th, meaning to sleep there, but
not liking my bed-chamber, which was dark and damp as a
cellar, I resolved to go to Kendale, and did so." He betrays
himself, however, when he afterwards says he travelled from
Ambleside, full five miles, along the banks of
Winandermere to Bowness, (which is not the direct road to
Kendale, see plate X.) and adds, that the Lake is ten miles
long, and that Bowness is about the middle.
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The Lake of Winandermere is the largest in England, and
contains, below the Ferry, two thousand acres at low water,
and 2574 above the Ferry, (including islands;) deduct for
islands forty acres, and there then remain 4534 acres of
water in the whole: The length down the middle ten miles and
a half; from Ambleside along the road by Troutbeck
Bridge and Bowness to Fell-Foot, is eleven
miles and a half. This Lake having been reported by the
fishermen and others to be in many places 70 and 80 fathoms
deep, I determined to try it by experiment: I therefore got
a line made up of hair, 90 fathoms long, to which I put an
iron weight of eight pounds, hollow up the middle: I then
sounded this and all the other Lakes, and found the depths
as marked upon the plans where taken. It had also been
reported, that these Lakes had gravelly bottoms of clear,
white, and red pebbles, &c.; but I found no rocky or
pebbly bottom; at two fathoms the weight generally sunk into
the mud at the bottom, and the tube came up filled with very
small sand like dust; by letting it stay one minute at the
bottom, it would have sunk a foot into the mud, which might
be easily distinguished by the line; indeed at four fathoms
deep, near Fryer Cragg in Derwentwater, I found a rock,
which was the only one I ever found; I tried them at many
more places than are marked on the plans.
The fishery in this Lake is a freehold belonging to several
men, which together pay a quit-rent of six pounds to the
lord of the manor, but is not very valuable; for the pike,
the most voracious of all fresh water fish is in plenty here
the whole year, and destroys the other fish: Here are also
trout, eels, perch, and charr; the trouts are scarce and
bad, though some are pretty large; they are, however, ill
fed, owing as I suppose, to not venturing to seek food for
fear of their natural enemy the pike.
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