8 AUTUMNS ON THE SPEY. 



woods, and mounting higher and higher in such 

 numerous and eccentric ramifications, that the 

 eye would occasionally fail to detect their course, 

 but for the zig-zag red lines that peep out every 

 now and then, and the remarkable arenaceous 

 cones of the same colour, which contrast beauti- 

 fully with the dark verdure of the forest.* 



This may give you a faint idea of the scenery at 

 the mouth of the gorge known as " Alt Derg," or 

 the red burn, about three miles above Gordon 

 Castle, on the right bank of the Spey, immediately 

 opposite to what used to be one of the best salmon 

 pools in the river, but although those which occur 

 " above bridge"! are not subject to such complete 

 annual metamorphosis or total destruction, as 

 affect almost all the others below it and through 

 the whole extent of three or four miles which may 

 be said to comprise the delta of the Spey yet 

 such is the tremendous power of the winter floods, 

 that the depth of the water and the character of 

 the stream is liable to constant change, even here; 

 pools being occasionally filled up with shingle, 

 rocks, gravel, and ddbris of all kinds, and a con- 

 siderable extent of the meadows and cultivated 



* Readers who take an interest in tlie scenery of Scotland, 

 viewed in connection with its physical geology, should consult the 

 charming volume of Professor Archibald (ieikic on this subject. 



f The great bridge crossing the Spey near Foehabers. 



