30 BOTANICAL TOUR IN THE 



Our nearest way home led us through a very dense and steep 

 pine-wood, in which we indulged ourselves with the vain hope of 

 collecting Linnaa borealis, which does grow in fir-woods, or 

 rather in a fir-wood, at Finlarig. A soaking rain however soon 

 compelled us to abandon all our expectations, and we reached 

 home in a non-enviable plight. Woe betide the imprudent 

 wight who ventures into the Highlands without a good supply of 

 warm clothing, considerably more than he can comfortably wear 

 at one time ! The trouble, and eke the expense, of conveying an 

 important part of the contents of an ordinary wardrobe, are no 

 slight impediments to travelling. Anciently, in military phrase, 

 these and other necessaries were called, and properly called, im- 

 pediments (impedimenta), because they hindered or impeded the 

 movements of the army. But the comfort of dry and warm 

 clothing, a change of raiment from the feet up to the head, from 

 the subecula, the innermost tegument, to the tunica, the outer- 

 most, is cheaply purchased at the cost of a few shillings. Some 

 pedestrians are seen there with their well-assorted packs, which 

 are conveniently and comfortably disposed between their shoul- 

 ders ; and these trudge along as independently as if their baggage 

 was no impediment to them, but a part of themselves. Pedes- 

 trians however who have seen sixty summers can rarely spare so 

 much corporeal strength as is requisite for burden-carrying, and 

 therefore are fain to ease their backs and shoulders at the ex- 

 pense of their pockets. During our three or four weeks' tour in 

 the Highlands we were often wet, sometimes soaked through ; yet 

 we never suffered perceptibly from colds and rheumatism, which 

 often follow these involuntary applications of the hydropathic 

 system. If the tourist have no change of clothes, or only an in- 

 adequate change (which is next-door to none at all), let him take 

 our advice, which is, to go to bed, and there remain till all his 

 things are completely dry. If the weather clears up, one may 

 walk in his wet toggery till quite dry, without any risk. But 

 sitting in wet clothes, either with or without a fire, is fraught 

 with peril to the health of the tourist. 



The 13th was Sunday, and we rested and attended divine ser- 

 vice in the churches of Killin. 



We spent three Sundays in Scotland, not in populous towns, 

 but in large country villages, and remarked that this holyday was 

 uniformly observed with great solemnity. People accustomed to 



