BROWN PTAR:\iIGA>r. 177 



tured with wild Imaginings and the pangs of a sprained foot. 

 ' In such a place, at such a time,' and in such a mood, what are 

 the vanities of the world, the pomp of powder, the pride of renown, 

 and even the pleasures of bird-nesting ! Having in a short time 

 become keenly sensible that a great portion of vital heat had 

 oozed out of me, I looked out for a warmer situation ; but, alas, 

 with little success ; for although I pulled some stunted heath and 

 white moss, with which I covered my feet, and laid me down 

 by another crag that afforded more shelter, I could not sleep. 

 After a while, having experienced a fit of shivering, I got up to 

 gather more heath, with which I formed a sort of bed, and lay 

 down again. But even heath was not to be obtained in suffi- 

 cient quantity, so that for a covering I was obliged to bury 

 myself in moss and turf, with the soil adhering. At long, long 

 length, the sky began to brighten in what I supposed to be 

 the north-east, and I was anxiously looking for the approach of 

 morn, when gradually the pale unwelcome moon rose over a 

 distant hill. It was piercing cold, and I perceived that a strol- 

 ling naturalist, however fervid his temperament, could hardly, 

 if scantily clad, feel comfortable even among moss, in a bog of 

 the Grampians. What a blessing a jug of hot water would have 

 been to such a stomach as mine, aching with emptiness, and 

 nothing, not even tripe-de-roche, to be got to thrust into it. 

 However, morning actually came at last, and I started up to re- 

 new my journey. It was now that I got a view of my lodging, 

 which was an amphitheatre formed of bare craggy hills, covered 

 with fragments of stone and white moss, and separated by patches 

 of peat bog. Not a house was to be seen, nor a sheep, nor even 

 a tree, nor so much as a blade of green grass. Not a vestige of 

 life can be found here, thought I ; but I was reproved by a cry 

 that startled me. The scarlet crest and bright eye of a moor- 

 cock were suddenly protruded from a tuft of heather, and I heard 

 with delight the well-known hoh^ hok^ of the ' blessed bird,^ 

 as the Highlanders call him. It was a good omen ; the 

 night and dulness had fled, and I limped along as cheerily as I 

 could. My half frozen blood soon regained its proper tempera- 

 ture ; ere long I reached the base of the rocky ridge, and after 

 passing some hills, traversing a long valley, and ascending a 



