178 A MOUNTAIN-SIDE RAMBLE. 



turned out to be too late. The path was 

 lost entirely. I must fall back upon the 

 sun ; and if the truth is to be told, I 

 commenced feeling slightly uncomfortable. 

 The bushes were wet ; my clothing was 

 drenched ; I had neither compass nor 

 matches; it certainly would be anything 

 but agreeable to spend the night in the 

 forest. 



Happily there was, for the present, no 

 great danger of matters coming to such a 

 pass. If the sun would only shine for half 

 an hour longer I could reach the brook (I 

 could probably reach it without the sun), 

 and even if I missed the bridge I could 

 follow the stream out of the woods before 

 dark. I was not frightened, but I was be- 

 ginning to tremble lest I should be. The 

 loss of the path was in itself little to worry 

 about. But what if I should lose my wits 

 also, as many a man had done in circum- 

 stances no worse, and with consequences 

 most disastrous ? Unpleasant stories came 

 into my head, and I remember repeating to 

 myself more than once (candor is better 

 than felicity of phrase), " Be careful, now ; 

 don't get rattled ! " Then, having thus 



