178 STUDIES OF NATURE 



crimson ; but the strangest thing is the shore. 

 That is still deep black; but the pools left by 

 the receding tide are bright as silver. At six 

 o'clock, after many tender adieux, we have 

 begun our homeward journey, and are driving 

 along the road to catch the steamer at Brodick. 

 The morning is fine and clear. We see the 

 porpoises rolling in the blue water ; the hares 

 are frisking across the highway; the deer 

 scamper through the wood when the coachman 

 cracks his whip, and the pair of herons which 

 have their nest in the high beeches near the 

 Castle are standing, as usual, on a big stone 

 by the edge of the sea. 



And so ends the story of our pleasant holi- 

 day in Arran, of whose shores we take farewell 

 in the words of a poet-friend (from whom I 

 have already quoted), who, although he knows 

 intimately some of the best scenery in Europe, 

 has abated nothing of his admiration for the 

 wonderfully varied Island in the Clyde. 



