IN SUMMER FIELDS. 31 



timid mountain animals, and they have never 

 been accustomed to face a foe, as cows and 

 buffaloes are wont to do, especially when in 

 a herd together. You cannot see many traces 

 of the original mountain life among sheep, 

 and yet there are still a few remaining to 

 mark their real pedigree. Mr. Herbert 

 Spencer has noticed the fondness of lambs 

 for frisking on a hillock, however small ; and 

 when I come to my little knoll here, I gene- 

 rally find it occupied by a couple, who rush 

 away on my approach, but take their stand 

 instead on the merest ant-hill which they can 

 find in the field. I once knew three young 

 goats, kids of a mountain breed, and the only 

 elevated object in the paddock where they 

 were kept was a single old elm stump. For 

 the possession of this, stump the goats fought 

 incessantly ; and the victor would proudly 

 perch himself on the top, with all four legs 

 inclined inward (for the whole diameter of the 

 tree was but some fifteen inches), maintaining 

 himself in his place with the greatest diffi- 



