ON THE ASCENT OF CADER IDRIS. 13 



To the west of Durness lies the beautiful bay of Balnakiel, with its 

 old church and churchyard close on the margin of white sand. Here 

 live numbers of Oystercatchers, and on the moorlands above the sea, 

 further to the west, lives the Golden Plover, while in the lochs that are 

 scattered about in such profusion are to be found Eels, Trout, and (in 

 Loch Borley) Oharr, (Salrao umbla.) Around the margins of some of 

 them grow, to the height of two and three feet, Equisetum limosum. 

 At the south end of Loch Crosspool, near the Manse, I picked off the 

 limestone rocks A. ruta-muraria and A. trichomancs, and from the same 

 rocks I procured some specimens of Clausilia nigricans. Among the rocks 

 close to the water's edge grows Equisetum palustre, and a little further 

 up, in a path leading to the Manse, Equisetum arvense in great richness. 



(To be continued.) 



ON THE ASCENT OP CADER IDRIS, PROM BARMOUTH. 



This morn I heard a strain among the hills, 



So sweet and yet so wild, it seemed 



To fill my inmost soul with ecstaey, 



And listening to its melody, my spirit swelled, 



As if 't would burst the massive circling folds 



Of some vast tangent cloud that pressed upon it: 



And yet there were no outward sounds; 



The voice that spake was that of Nature, 



Or of Nature's God. 



A fresh breeze, springing from the Western Sea, 



Danced lightly o'er the blades of heathy grass, 



Blending their gentle heads one way, 



While patchy shadows of the sailing clouds, 



That scarce along the valley seemed to creep, 



Shot up the mountain's smooth and slanted sides, 



And o'er its barren summit disappeared. 



The wild bee, soaring from the plains below, 



And wheeling past with rapid droning flight, 



Scarce caught the ear with sound, ere it was gone. 



Save this, and echoing from the upland meads 



The faint and lazy tinklings of the bells 



Worn by some vagrant leaders of the herd, 



Uninterrupted silence reigned supreme. 



Above, clear out against the sky, two buzzards sailed, 



And crowned the loftiest peak with circling curves; 



While stealthily, in contrast to their graceful flight, 



A solitary raven, full of dire intent, 



Slow flapped with lagging wings from space to space. 



[I have inserted the above at the request of a correspondent, but I have on hand a 

 superabundance of "plain prose" for the time to come.] 



