We trust that the appeal made by the National Trust
for funds to purchase a portion of the shore of Derwentwater which appears in another column will meet with a prompt response. We congratulate the National Trust most heartily on having taken up the matter, for a better object for its special work- i.e., the preserving of beautiful pieces of natural scenery for the enjoyment and use of the public—could not have been found. The Lakes are, or, we fear we must say, ought to be, the priceless heritage of the English people, for they possess not only everything which goes to make up natural beauty, but their associations strike a thousand chords of sympathy. Theirs is not only the enchantment that is cast by noble hill forms, by shifting clouds, by shining plains of water, by head- long streams and waterfalls, and by an atmosphere at once limpid and lustrous. It is not only that Skiddaw's head is "shrouded in Atlantic clouds," but that the whole land and all its woods, waters, wastes, are consecrated by the touch of the greatest of modern English poets. But if the Lakes are among the most sacred things in English scenery, Derwent- water is among the most beautiful of the Lakes. Yet here, as in so many of the Lakes, the public has no secure right of landing on its shores. If, however, the National Trust succeeds in raising the necessary funds, as we devoutly trust it will, a large piece of foreshore will be secured for ever to the public.
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