88 STUDIES OF NATURE 



comes out of the dark, sings with unaffected 

 simplicity a few bars of 'Home, sweet home/ 

 We know the lad, and give him a cheery good- 

 night. He has far to go and along a lonely 

 road, for his home is at the shepherd's farm on 

 the hill side, beyond North Sannox. He will 

 have to skirt the shore, then past the kirk and 

 across the moorland, where the track is dim 

 and uncertain ; but worse than that, he must 

 cross two burns thickly embowered with wood, 

 where superstitious fears may well make him 

 tremble. ' Keep a brave heart, my little man, 

 and a sure foot, for the stepping-stones are 

 wide apart and the water runs deep in the 

 second burn.' 



To-day we have great heat and hardly any 

 wind. The sea is purple in colour and shore- 

 less, for hot-looking clouds hide all the land 

 north and east. In the afternoon we take the 

 steamer to Brodick and venture to explore Glen 



