Mr. Rhodes, the elegant topographer of _the Peak_, observes, "there
are but few individuals in this country, possessing the means and the
opportunities of travel, who have not, either from curiosity or some
other motive, visited the Peak of Derbyshire." This remark is correct;
and to it we may add, that the "few" who have not personally visited
the Peak, have become familiar with its wonders through the pencils
of artists, or the graphic pens of accomplished tourists. Yet their
attractions are not of that general character which delights an
untravelled eye: they belong rather to the wonderful than what is,
in common parlance, the beautiful. Mr. Rhodes says, "Travellers
accustomed to well-wooded and highly-cultivated scenes only, have
frequently expressed a feeling bordering on disgust, at the bleak and
barren appearance of the mountains in the Peak of Derbyshire; but to
the man whose taste is unsophisticated by a fondness for artificial
adornments, they possess superior interest, and impart more pleasing
sensations. Remotely seen, they are often beautiful; many of their
forms, even when near, are decidedly good; and in distance, the
features of rudeness, by which they are occasionally marked, are
softened down into general and sometimes harmonious masses. The
graceful and long-continued outline which they present, the breadth of
light and shadow that spreads over their extended surfaces, and the
delightful colouring with which they are often invested, never fail to
attract the attention of the picturesque traveller."

Our present road, however, lies through the dales rather than the
mountainous portion of this district. To enjoy the picturesque variety
of the former we must leave the cloud-capped peaks, and ramble with
the reader through "cultivated meadows, luxuriant foliage, steep
heathy hills, and craggy rocks, while the eye is enchanted with