The Land of the Hills and the Glens 



out and the distant waters of the ocean can be seen spark- 

 ling in the sunlight beneath, stands the dwelling of a 

 stalker. In the dead of winter, when the hills are covered 

 in unbroken snow and frosts hold the low ground, 

 many deer gather, at the close of day, outside his house. 

 The grass is thick and fresh here even in January I have 

 seen it green and at times the stags receive a portion of 

 maize from the stalker's hands. At this season of the year, 

 deer, when hand fed, are quite fearless, and one stag used 

 to follow the stalker's small daughter with such persist- 

 ence, and his attentions became so wearying, that one day 

 a bucket of water thrown over him taught him, for a time 

 at all events, that there is a limit to the patience of even 

 the most kind-hearted human. 



It was on a wild and stormy evening in mid-autumn that 

 I crossed through the glen for the last time for a season. 

 For many days heavy rain had fallen steadily. The burns 

 were big, and were rising; but as I passed, along with a 

 companion who also loved the glen, through the birch 

 wood and emerged to the open moor, the air was still. 

 Mist hung low on the hills, and even below the mist line 

 the quickly falling rain rendered their appearance blurred 

 and indistinct. Towards dusk, ahead of us appeared a 

 thick white cloud approaching from the west, and as it 

 reached us it brought with it a westerly wind, at first 

 faint, but quickly increasing till it blew with the strength 

 of a gale. 



Even the smallest watercourses were running full to the 

 brim. From out the mist-cap dozens of such white streaks 

 of water poured down the hillsides, and the rushing sound 

 of the waters mingled with that of the wind. And yet, 

 though the spate was unusually heavy, the water of the 

 burns remained as clear as during the finest summer days, 

 for the hills here are rocky, and no peat discolours the 

 water even during the greatest flood. It was dark before 

 we reached the western end of the glen. The tide was high 



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