232 History of the 



of hills, with all the associations connected with their venerable 

 antiquity, is an ever-abiding source of interest and wonder to the 

 thoughtful dweller in their midst. As the scars and ridges on the 

 human face lend character to the man, so do the hills and valleys 

 give character to a district. We feel that there is such of history 

 there as no extent of level plain, however interminable, can 

 contribute. 



It is somewhat of a reflection on many people living in the 

 district, that they do not realise what Kossendale really is. They 

 burrow and grub in the valleys, cribbed, cabined and confined, 

 all unconscious of the glory of the hills and wide breezy moorlands 

 by which they are environed. A gusty day on the uplands is an 

 experience not to be lightly appreciated. Wind on the hills is 

 altogether different to wind in the valleys. On the high, broad 

 moorlands it revels in its strength. It is a living presence which 

 commands respect. With its giant arms it turns you and bends 

 you and twists you about like a withered stick. For an instant it 

 holds you in its grasp as though blowing from every point of the 

 compass at once ; then it gives you a push, and away — away you 

 can hear it whisper, and carol, and sing, and laugh as it careers 

 over the heather and bent. Now again you listen to it raving and 

 blustering in the near distance, and with a spring it again suddenly 

 pounces upon you unawares. But though it buffets and smites, 

 it is always with a gloved hand, and there is health in its blows 

 and bufifetings that cannot be had for the buying ! 



But if the hills, always beautiful objects in themselves, rising on 

 each side of the valley, serve to create purifying currents of air, 

 healthful and invigorating in their action, they entail certain disad- 

 vantages upon the residents in their locality — disadvantages which 

 are common to most mountainous districts — they bring down the 

 rain in plentiful abundance. This, combined with the heavy 

 nature of the soil, and its thick substratum of clay, renders the 

 climate damp and foggy, and, in certain directions of the wind, 

 exceptionally cold, anything but congenial to delicate organisations. 

 A healthy and strong constitution will thrive and grow stronger 



