364 NETHER LOCHABER. 



the other we took a nip out of the silvery flank of the herring 

 nearest us. It was a mouthful for a king, sir ! "We have in our 

 day a thousand times dined well and heartily both at home and 

 abroad, but we greatly question if we ever enjoyed a dinner 

 half so much as that. The savouriness of that potato and herring 

 feast will haunt us till our dying day. What struck us was simply 

 this : A new potato and fresh herring as usually served is some- 

 thing terribly insipid ; as we got it that day it was a meal for an 

 emperor. We actually felt inclined to lick our fingers after every 

 mouthful, than which surely there could be no higher praise of any 

 food whatever. Let such of our readers as have the opportunity 

 just try a potato and herring cooked in the manner stated, eating 

 it digitally, with their own proper fingers, and they will thank us, 

 if they are honest, for bringing so savoury and delicious a dish to 

 their knowledge. 



One of the finest glens in all the West Highlands is Glen Nevis, 

 which, opening out in the direction of the old Castle of Inverlochy, 

 extends eastwards and inland, the valley gradually narrowing into 

 glen and gorge as you proceed, for nine or ten miles, presenting at 

 every turn and standpoint throughout its many windings a succes- 

 sion of the most striking and beautiful pictures imaginable, so 

 striking and startling at times, and new at least in some of their 

 details, that a genuine lover of mountain scenery wishes that he 

 could devote an entire day to every separate mile of its extent, 

 rather than have to hurry through it all in something like half a 

 dozen hours, which is the way the thing is usually done. It is 

 like being dragged, as happened to us once, by a nervous and 

 impatient lady friend of ours, at a sort of half trot through a 

 picture gallery, where, if you had your own way, you would gladly 

 lounge and linger till the custodier of the place, perhaps, came 

 respectfully to hint that the afternoon was far advanced, and that 

 shutting-up time was at hand. With the entrance to Glen Nevis, 



