CLIMBING TEE CAIENWALL. 27 



down the mountainside, and were speedily lost to 

 view. Half the distance upwards being surmounted, 

 I found myself amongst the gray old granite boulders 

 amidst which the ptarmigan delight to dwell. Up 

 rises a covey of six brace, wheeling about and dis- 

 appearing round the hillside. 



Eesting for a minute or two I contemplated the 

 summit which my ambition inclined me to surmount. 

 This height, whilst appearing so near, yet proved to 

 be far away, as I wended my steps upwards. The 

 higher I rose the less trouble it was, and when I 

 reached the summit, which, to be accurate in the 

 highest degree, is a height of 3059 feet, I had not 

 a symptom or feeling of fatigue. Sadly did I 

 interfere with the quiet and comfort of the numerous 

 coveys of ptarmigan who dwell amidst these granite 

 stones, their plumage assimilating so closely to them 

 that they are not discovered until they rise suddenly 

 from their lurking-places and mount high in the air 

 until lost to view in some more remote hiding-place. 



From the very topmost ridge of Cairnwall, I look 

 down upon the winding road along which crawls the 

 four-horse coach which plies between Blairgowrie 

 and Braemar, toiling to reach the Devil's Elbow, as 

 sharp a turning as ever a vehicle of that description 

 was called upon to twist round. Right down the 

 glen the road to the Spital of Glen Shee is visible, a 

 winding stream running between the rugged hillsides, 

 dotted with countless sheep and lambs, which are 

 merely so many white specks when seen at this 

 height. 



Looking around me, as far as the eye can reach 

 I behold the vast range of the Grampian Hills. 



