368 MAN OF SCIENCE. 



sand, however fine, could have taken the impressions so 

 finely. I picked up to-day a cast of a piece of decayed 

 wood on which not only the yearly rings but even the 

 longitudinal fibres were visible. It has preserved even 

 microscopic peculiarities. And as only the white sand- 

 stone remains, the fossils have all the appearance of being 

 pieces of beautiful sculpture. One might almost 

 imagine among the debris of these quarries for there are 

 two opened in the hill that he had before him the 

 rubbish of one of our old cathedrals after the rascal 

 multitude had reformed all the carved work with their 

 pickaxes and hammers, only the workmanship is much 

 finer than was ever yet fashioned for Scottish cathedral. 

 I found two masons at work in one of the quarries, and 

 showed them that by some unaccountable means or other 

 I had learned to hew. Good-night, dearest, it is eleven 

 o'clock/ 



' Thursday. Golspie. 



' Another stage in advance. Taking an early break- 

 fast at Brora I set out along the shore about half-past 

 seven, and arrived here about ten. There is not a great 

 deal to be seen by the way, but the walk was pleasant, 

 and when I entered on the bounds of the Dunrobin 

 Policies, very much so. Imagine a selvage of lawn with 

 the beach on one side, and a continuous line of bank on 

 the other, the bank planted and presenting the appear- 

 ance of a tall screen of wood. Behind this screen there 

 is a bold undulating outline of hills, with the tall hill 

 crested by the late Duke of Sutherland's monument, 

 conspicuous in the midst. In the centre of the land- 

 scape rises Dunrobin, a square, white, many-windowed 

 pile with a round tower at each corner, and a square 

 detached tower, turreted and battlemented, projecting 

 from one of the sides. The woods close thick around it, 



