539 



course, in fruit. Before reaching the top I passed over a long mossy 

 level, and again gathered Sibbaldia procumbens, which was here of 

 larger size : Luzula spicata and Carex rigida abounded. I tore up a 

 few specimens of Salix herbacea, both male and female ; and also 

 gathered Festuca vivipara, which ascends to the very summit of the 

 mountain, and which, I may add, finds its way down the Dee as far 

 as Banchory, seventeen miles from the sea. My ascent ended on the 

 top of the natural pile of huge stones that forms the peak. I thought 

 of rhyming — but I remembered that this was Byron's own " dark 

 Loch-na-gar." Indeed, my thoughts on the subject, by a sort of in- 

 genious anticipation, had occurred long before 1 ascended the moun- 

 tain ; and when actually " at the utmost top," I was so occupied with 

 sheltering myself from the wind, with taking care of my hat, with the 

 contemplation of the prospect around me, and with the very interest- 

 ing exercise of demolishing some eatables, — that I had at the moment 

 far more reason than rhyme in my pate. 



After seeing all I could see, I began to descend on the north side, 

 which is excessively steep, and strewed with large blocks of stone. 

 Both at this time, and throughout the day, the wind blew with such 

 violence, and in gusts so sudden, that I was frequently under the ne- 

 cessity of throwing myself on the ground, to avoid being driven along 

 rather faster than was agi-eeable. I descended in a direction which 

 brought me to the foot of the stupendous rocks which face the north. 

 My time did not permit me to examine this locality ; and although I 

 scrambled round the end of the small lake that lies below, my path 

 lying partly over sloping rocks, where a very small slip might have 

 procured me a tolerable ducking, all I found was a variety of Melam- 

 pyrum pratense with very pale yellow or white flowers, having the lip 

 externally purple and the throat yellow. It is now so black, that one 

 can scarcely say whether it has flowers or not. I ascended once more 

 for a short distance in an easterly direction, crossed a low ridge over 

 which I was partly blown by the wind, and then commenced my final 

 descent towards the water of Muick, which I reached about 6 o'clock 

 in the evening, at the distance of about two miles from the lake whence 

 it issues. The only other plant worth picking with which I met after 

 1 was fairly away from Loch-na-gar, was a species of Hieracium which 

 I take to be H. Halleri.* My friend Mr. Adams informs me, that in 

 ascending towards Loch-na-gar from the same locality to which I de- 

 scended, Dr. Murray and himself gathered the species last named ; I 



* Apparently just coining into flower; it nearly corresponds with our own spe- 

 cimens of this plant from Ben-na-bourde, collected in August, 1831. — Ed. 



