The gardens of Ulubra.

This edifice, which looks more like a fmall gothic cathedral, than a house, ftands in the middle of large gardens, which are not only very fine, but uncommon, and different from all the gardens I have been in. There is no more rule obferved in them, than in the house; but the plantations of trees, and plots of flowers, the raifed hills, the artificial vallies, the ftreams that water these vales, and the large pieces of water, and lakes, they have brought in, and formed, are inexpreffibly charming and fine. Wild and natural they feem, and are a beautiful imitation of the most beautiful fcenes of nature. The wilderness, the openings, the parterres, the gardens, the ftreams, the lakes, the cafcades, the valleys, and the rifing grounds, in the most various difpofition, and as if art had little, or no hand in the defigns, have an admirable effect upon the eye.

The paffages from valley to valley, between the hills they have made, are not by formal ftraight walks, but by windings in various ways, which are decorated with little grotto's, and diverfified in the manner of laying out the ground: the ftreams and canals fometimes ferpent, and fometimes fpread away. Rocks artfully placed, feem to push the waters off, and on the banks are seeming wild productions of flowers. As the hills and rifings are fprinkled with flowery trees,

fo

fo are these banks with all the fweets that grow. Small boats are on the running streams, and over them in many places, are winding bridges of wood, moft ingeniously and finely made. These streams which they have from the mountains, fupply the larger pieces of water; and in the largeft of thofe lakes they had raised a rock, in the most natural manner. On this is a fummer-house of great beauty. It is the reverfe of the manfion, and has every charm that pure architecture could give it. It is large enough for a small family.

count of

fophers of Stanemore.

7th day.

58. When I came up to this feat, which An acthe owners of it call Ulubræ, fome gentle- the philomen, who were in the gardens, faw me, and faved me the trouble of afking admif- 1725. fion, by inviting me in with the greatest ci- June 19. vility; but they feemed under a vaft furprize at my arrival; and much more fo, when I gave them an account of the way I had travelled. It appeared almost incredible. They had not a notion of fuch a journey. They told me I was in Yorkshire now, and had been fo, when I afcended the high mountains. that are fome miles behind the hills that furround their houfe; but they did not imagine there was any travelling over those mountains, and the alps upon alps beyond them, to Brugh under Stanemore. The way (they faid) was very bad from their houfe to Eggleston,

Y 4

glefton, or Bowes, on account of hills, waters, and wet bottoms; it was worse to tra vel northward to Bishoprick; and fcarce passable to the north-east to Cumberland:-What then must it be to journey as I had done over the northern fells of Westmoreland, and the bad part of Yorkshire-Stanemore I had paffed.

It was a terrible way (I replied), and what I often defpaired of coming through, even at the hazard of my life. Frequently we were locked in by chains of precipices, and thought we should never find a pass: fome of the mountains were fo fteep, that it was with the greatest difficulty we could lead the horfes up and down them: and many rivers were fo rapid, and rocky at bottom, that we were often in danger of being loft: befide, if fortune had not conducted us to the habitations of people we little expected to find, we might have perifhed for want of food, as my fervant could not bring from Brugh provifions fufficient for fo long and uncertain a way.

All these difficulties I faw very foon; in less than a day's ride to the north from the Bell on the fouthern-edge of Stanemore; a little lone public-house, that lies half way the turnpike-road, on the left hand, as the traveller goes from Bowes to Brugh, Penrith, and Carlile: but friendship and curiofity were too many for all the obftacles in the way; and in hopes of finding a beloved

friend,

friend, who lives fomewhere towards the northern edge of Yorkshire, or Westmoreland, or on the neighbouring confines of Bishoprick, or Cumberland; and that I might fee a part of England, which even the borderers on it are strangers to, and of which Camden had not an idea (27); I went on, and have had fuccefs thus far. The journey has been worth my pains. I have beheld the most delightful scenes, and met with very extraordinary things: and fhould I find my friend at laft, my labours will be highly rewarded indeed.

The gentlemen I was talking to, feemed to wonder very much at me and my difcourfe; and as the reft of the fociety by this time came into the parlour, they introduced me to them, and then related what I had

(27) I obferved before, that Camden, and every other defcriber of England, had not the least notion of Stanemore, that is, the north fells of Weftmoreland, and the northern mountains of Richmondshire: and as to the people who live on the borders of Stanemore, I could not find fo much as one man in Richmond, Gretabridge, Bowes, and Brugh, that had been any length of way up the mountains. When I asked Railton, the quaker, a very knowing man, who keeps the George at Bowes, what fort of a country Stanemore was? He answered, it is, after a few miles riding, more wild and mountainy than the highlands of Scotland, and unpaffable: nay, my landlord at Eggleston, fome miles within Stanemore, knew nothing of the mountains upon mountains that are far beyond his houfe.

330

faid. They all allowed it was very extraor-
dinary, and requested I would oblige them
with fome particulars that occurred. I did
other
immediately. I told them, among
things, of my reception at Burcot-Lodge-
and the skeleton of John Orton, which I found
in the cottage on the fide of a woody hill:
I let them know the goods and conveniencies
I saw there, and that I was fo pleased with
the beauties of the place, the little manfion,
the once fine gardens, and the useful things
on the premiffes, that I intended to return to
it, and make it my fummer retreat: that I
had left a man there to that purpose, who was
at work in the garden, and expected to be
back in a month's time, with fuch things as
were wanting to make it an agreeable and
comfortable little country-house.

The philofophers wondered not a little at what they heard. If they were furprised at feeing me as a traveller in fuch a place, they were much more astonished at my relation. They could not enough admire Mrs. Burcot and Mrs. Fletcher. The hiftory of the penitent Orton, they thought very strange. They told me they were glad I had a thought of making Orton-Lodge a fummer retreat, and hoped it would occafion my calling upon them many times: that I fhould always be heartily welcome to their house, and might with lefs difficulty go backwards and for

wards,