54 THE ORDNANCE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CHAP, n 



the summer of 1841, he sang in the Cathedral choir, 

 for he had an ardent love of music, could with facility 

 read music at sight, and possessed a good voice. 

 One of his early experiences he used sometimes to 

 recount : how, having been benighted among the hills, 

 he found his way in the dark to a stream-course, and 

 in descending it came to a cottage where he was 

 known. The shepherd brought him in out of the 

 darkness, and his wife, seeing the famished look of the 

 wanderer, set a large dish of food before him. Eating 

 with all the passion of a twelve hours fast, Ramsay 

 soon emptied the dish, and then to his dismay dis 

 covered that he had eaten up the supper of the family. 

 From his pocket diary for 1842, which has survived, 

 we get a few further glimpses into his proceedings. 

 Instead of going up to London he remained at his 

 field-quarters all winter, and went out among the hills 

 when the weather permitted. He continued his active 

 pedestrianism, sometimes covering 30 miles in a day. 

 When the distances from his station got too far to be 

 easily reached on foot, he would ride out to his 

 ground, put up his horse at a farm, spend all day in 

 mapping, and ride back to his quarters in the evening. 

 On wet days and in the evenings he had always 

 plenty of occupation indoors. He was a regular corre 

 spondent with his family in the north, and with many 

 of his old Glasgow companions, now scattered over the 

 world. In the brief jottings of his memorandum books 

 he always inserted the names of those to whom he had 

 written. Hardly any of these early letters have been 

 recovered. Besides writing to his mother and sister, 

 who were now all that remained in the old home, from 

 the very beginning of his Survey life he remitted 

 money out of his income to them, and he continued 



