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From Derby, still journeying northwards, we passed two months in

Cumberland and Westmorland. I could now almost fancy myself among

the Swiss mountains. The little patches of snow which yet

lingered on the northern sides of the mountains, the lakes, and

the dashing of the rocky streams were all familiar and dear

sights to me. Here also we made some acquaintances, who almost

contrived to cheat me into happiness. The delight of Clerval was

proportionably greater than mine; his mind expanded in the

company of men of talent, and he found in his own nature greater

capacities and resources than he could have imagined himself to

have possessed while he associated with his inferiors. "I could

pass my life here," said he to me; "and among these mountains I

should scarcely regret Switzerland and the Rhine."