TARN 95 



entirely melted away into the heather, 

 and the latter was honeycombed with 

 deep holes half-filled with slimy water, 

 while here and there the gurgle of a tiny 

 brook could be heard deep down in the 

 peat. In some places these brooklets 

 are entirely concealed by thin turf, but 

 the narrow channel through which the 

 water flows is often three or four feet 

 deep, and an unwary step might easily 

 be followed by a broken leg. 



The lake breaks suddenly into view 

 when the last ridge is topped, and its 

 dark waters involuntarily repel one at 

 first sight. It is only accessible from one 

 side, all others being walled in by rugged 

 crags that rise three hundred feet above 

 the inky water. There the snow often 

 lies in the deep hollows until June, and 

 scarcely a thing but the raven and the 

 parsley fern can find in those bare rocks 

 a home. 



Usually so dark and forbidding even 



