168 MOONLIGHT AT CANISBAY. CHAP, xm, 



Mey and Canisbay, a long sea-exposed road. From near 

 Canisbay church he saw the moon overhead, and the 

 Skerry lights shimmering in the distance at the mouth 

 of the Pentland Firth. 



The man who walks by moonlight travels among 

 enchantments. Everything he sees is different from 

 what it is in daylight. Roadside knolls are mountains 

 along the horizon ; the little cottages by the roadside are 

 palatial ; and the distant sea is full of glory. We tell 

 the story of Dick's journey to Freswick in his own words. 

 They are full of interest : 



" It is a sad drawback to my long rambles," he says, 

 " that I am under the necessity of returning home by 

 four o'clock in the same day. The distance to Freswick 

 is twenty-four miles. It took me six hours to walk 

 there, six hours to walk back, leaving about three hours 

 for investigation on the spot, thus making about fifteen 

 hours in all. 



" To accomplish this I started at midnight. I passed 

 over the town's bridge at a quarter to twelve, under the 

 favour of as lovely a moon as ever blessed an unthank- 

 ful world. Though I walked alone, I walked cheerily. 



" About a quarter to six in the morning I found 

 myself gazing up at the droll windows of the old castle 

 of Freswick, while daylight and moonlight were yet 

 struggling for the mastery. 



" It was too dim, too queer a light to enable me to 

 scrutinise the boulder clay sections, so I passed over the 

 burn and along the shore, on the top of a high ridge of 

 sand and recent shells, blown up, I suppose, by stormy 



