IQO WILD FLOWERS OF SCOTLAND 



raw and ragged, as if the ploughing glacier had 

 passed over so recently that the lapse of time was 

 too short for mellowing away the effects. 



The close, however, is dramatic enough. From 

 the signs of fierce conflict scattered about, there 

 might have been a tussle to force a way through to 

 Aberdeenshire. Wildness has broken loose, and 

 yet the scene is not savage. Picturesqueness 

 is scarcely the word ; it is too awe-inspiring for 

 that. One scarce likes to be left alone in its midst, 

 and is all the better of a companion. 



The walk is not tiring. No need is there to 

 squeeze into the narrow margin of midday shadow, 

 nor to cool the feet in the somewhat swollen 

 stream. 



Wild flowers are even more distinctly sub-alpine 

 than those of Clova. The turf is lit with eye- 

 bright, as gaily as ever Lowland meadow with 

 daisies; while alpine lady's - mantle carpets long 

 stretches of the road. 



Through a peat bog I approach the tremendous 

 gateway of the glen, or caen, whose left pillar 

 stands nearly four thousand feet high. I do not 

 enter by the gate, but essay to scale the mighty 

 wall. Turning up the hillside, I ascend into the 

 alpine country. Trailing azalea and other early 



