168 THE MOOES AND THE MOUNTAINS. 



" Lairg, by Golspie, 

 '3d June 1834. 



"Although I have been disappointed in receiving my 

 Saturday's letter, which I fear has not been sent to the 

 post-office in time for the north mail of that day. yet I 

 shall not retaliate by allowing an opportunity likely to 

 occur to-morrow to escape. I wrote to you on Saturday 

 morning somewhat hurriedly, for we are generally all pent 

 up in one little room about the size of my thumb, and our 

 occupations are so various and so numerous, that I have 

 scarcely time to collect my senses. The change of life is 

 indeed great, and to a monomaniac like myself who re- 

 quires some time to shift his ideas, the effect produced is 

 like that of a waking or rather walking dream. Our 

 chief object here was to fish Loch Shin for the great lake 

 trout, and Loch Craggie for another kind, remarkable for 

 beauty of shape and colour and excellence of condition 

 for the purposes of the table. In Loch Shin we have not 

 done much, but in the other loch we have been extremely 

 successful. Selby has made a drawing of one which I 

 killed, a very fine fellow, weighing two pounds and a-half. 

 While fishing Loch Craggie on Saturday, I found a nest 

 of the black-throated diver. The parents made off when 

 they saw me wading towards their little isle, but they left 

 behind them two little black powder-puffs, about the size 

 of your hand, which fuffed and bit at me when I came 



