176 THE MOOES AND THE MOUNTAINS. 



" I mentioned in my Inst letter that we had ascended Ben 

 Loyal, as it is called (it is spelt Layghal). It was a heavy 

 pull, being very steep and about three thousand feet high — 

 a respectable mountain when you consider that the ocean 

 waters lave its base, and that consequently it does not 

 rise, as many others do, from an elevated plain. There 

 are some tremendous precipices on its sides, where eagles 

 build, ' and ravens spread their plumy vans at ease,' and on 

 the summit are several large lumps of rock, each about 

 as large as St George's Church. I took five specimens of 

 Carabus glahratus, during the ascent, and found several 

 specimens of a small Golymbetes in pools of rain water 

 on the very summit. I also caught a large and beautiful 

 barred Musca, but he escaped through the flappers. 



" The chief ornithological feature of this neighbourhood, 

 is the immense number of thrushes which inhabit the 

 little birch woods, and render musical the else silent and 

 solitary valleys. To-day when I was catching insects, a 

 beautiful robin came and watched me with curious eye, 

 and seemed to take me for some large mysterious bird. 

 I also saw a sweet little gold-finch preening himself upon 

 a birken spray, and in the uplands you cannot walk a 

 hundred yards without a pair of golden plovers flying 

 around you, and uttering their wild and wayward cries. 

 Waders and water-fowl are numerous, and we yesterday 

 found a widgeon's nest with six eggs, which we harried} 



