On Thursday the Gowbarrow Estate, purchased by the National Trust
for 212,800, was formally dedicated to the use of the nation by the Speaker of the House of Commons. Mr. Lowther, who sits foi Mid-Cumberland, acquitted himself of his agreeable task in a speech at once genial and witty. After congratulating all concerned on securing so magnificent an estate, he appealed to the public, as widely as possible, to respect their own possession and not treat it as though it belonged to other people. They had all beard, be went on, how the mountain in labour had once brought forth a mouse, but on this occasion it was the mice which had been in labour, and they bad brought forth a mountain. The Gowbarrow Estate, which includes Aira Force, and is immortalised in more than one of Wordsworth's poems, is one of the most romantic and beautiful spots in all Lakeland. Not the least interesting feature of the purchase is the fact that rich and poor have assisted in raising the funds, contributions to which have ranged from thousands of pounds down to the pence of working men. The National Trust in general, and Miss Octavia Hill and Canon Rawnsley in particular, are indeed to be congratulated on the result of their efforts, in which the Spectator has been all along keenly and actively interested.
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