8 REMARKS OX OOI.OGICAL SPECIMEN'S, 



gaged in his favourite pursuit; take, for example, the beauties wiiich the 

 fells and hills of some of our northern counties present: — • 



It is early morning, in the month of May or June, and we will sup- 

 pose the reader to be standing by our side on the slope of one of the 

 mountainous eminences which are so frequent on the borders of Westmore- 

 land and Yorkshire. A heavy grey mist hangs over the surrounding country, 

 through which the rising sun is endeavouring, ineflfectually at present, to 

 penetrate. Unable to see three yards before or on either side of us, we 

 rest for a short time on a fragment of stone, and whilst in this situation 

 we hoar the crow of the cock Grouse within a few feet of us; suddenly 

 his cry is hushed^a sure sign that our presence has become known to 

 him; almost at the same moment the sea of mist is violently agitated, the 

 grey pinnacles of rock above our heads, as if striving to shake off the 

 embrace of some huge giant, are visible for an instant, and then quickly 

 disappear. 



Again and again is the struggle renewed, until at length, with one vast 

 shudder the mist recoils, and slowly rising, discloses a scene which for a 

 moment compels us to pause and gaze in admiration. Far beneath stretches 

 one of those long expanses of meadow-land, which painters love so well to 

 delineate, unbroken in every direction, save by the tiny course of some 

 small mountain rill, which hurries along with innumerable windings, until 

 it is lost in the far distance. Behind us rises the steep slope of the moun- 

 tain, faced by immense masses of rock, fringed with numerous ferns and 

 long tendrils of ivy. Whilst we are yet gazing on them, suddenly shoots 

 forth, on almost silent wing, a large and handsome bird; for a moment 

 he seems inclined to dash onward far into the open country, but catching 

 sight of us as we stand motionless, he hangs suspended high in air, uttering 

 at the same time a low complaining wail, which is almost immediately 

 answered from the summit of the crag, and he is joined by another of his 

 species. We now perceive that they are a pair of Buzzards — a bird which, 

 though annually becoming more rare, is still not uncommon in some parts 

 of Westmoreland and Yorkshire. Together they float at a great elevation, 

 uttering at short intervals their mournful cry; but as we slowly retire 

 from the spot which they have fixed upon for their abode, they become 

 fainter and fainter, till at length the bird last observed turns, and again 

 seeks the shelter of the cliffs. 



We pursue our rout along the steep mountain side, meeting with various 

 members of the winged tribes. The Snipe starts from his nest at our feet 

 with that peculiar cry which has earned him the name of Heather Gort; 

 Curlews wheel around in abundance, and occasionally we catch a sight of 

 the sprightly little Dunlin (which is much more abundant on the fells than 

 is generally supposed,) as he quits the shelter of a tuft of rushes or hea- 



