Sztnset and Sunrise on Ben Nevis 



waning moon struggled, just above the horizon, to pierce 

 the mist with her silvery rays. 



By dawn the entire face of the landscape had changed. 

 During the brief hours of darkness a pall of white mist, 

 whose place of origin was the cold waters of the North 

 Sea, had crept silently and rapidly over the hundreds of 

 miles of country dominated by the hilltop. From this 

 va'st sea of mist the tops of the highest hills stood clear 

 and sharp in the morning air. Such a sight as I was 

 privileged to look down upon is one which is extremely rare 

 in this country, and during extensive and varied wanderings 

 on the Cairngorms at every season of the year, I had never 

 once experienced like conditions, during which, more than at 

 any other time, the lover of the grand and lofty in Nature 

 has instilled into him the charm of the hills in its most 

 inspiring form. Prior to the rising of the sun the mist 

 was of a cold grey tinge. Then, gradually, almost im- 

 perceptibly, a rosy hue was imparted to the clouds beneath, 

 and soon after sunrise the shadow of the Ben was pro- 

 jected on the mists for many miles to the south-west. 



Scarcely a breath of wind stirred on the summit of 

 the hill, but far below me the clouds were being guided 

 westwards, and during their gentle progress assumed in 

 places the forms of gigantic billows, rising above the 

 average level as they slipped over some less prominent hill 

 which barred their way. By ten o'clock the sea of cloud 

 was as yet unbroken, and now reflected the rays of the 

 sun with dazzling brilliance. High above the mist to the 

 eastward the Cairngorm Hills were visible, Cairn Toul 

 (4,241 feet) being specially prominent across the fifty miles 

 of intervening country. Its contour was clearly seen 

 even the corrie of Clais an-t-sabhail, and, farther north, the 

 slopes of Braeriach, with the large snowfield in the Horse- 

 man's Corrie. Across the valley of the Dee, Ben Muich Dhui 

 was made out, the cairn on its summit being distinctly 

 visible. To the south'ard of that hill Lochnagar held its 



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