CH. II. FERRY OF KYLESKU. 23 



I was amused by my friend's good-natured 

 philosophy : when I lamented loudly the curtain 

 of mist which was entirely shutting out the mag- 

 nificent hill under which we were then passing, he 

 comforted me by saying that he preferred almost 

 the scene as it then was (the mist occasionally 

 giving us a momentary peep at some gray rock, 

 and then shutting it out), as it added a kind of 

 mysterious interest to the wild scenery through 

 which we were passing. 



After working our weary way up hill for some 

 time we crossed the highest ridge of our road and 

 began to descend towards the ferry of Kylesku, by 

 which we were to pass an arm of the sea that runs 

 a considerable distance inland. As we came lower 

 the mist gradually disappeared, and at last we were 

 fairly out of it, although it remained as dense as 

 ever above us, quite concealing all the higher 

 grounds. I never saw such a confusion of rock 

 and stone as we passed through for some two or 

 three miles. The rocks seemed to have been 

 splintered and broken up by some great convulsion 

 of the earth ; all looking broken and angular, none 

 of them wearing a round weather-worn appearance, 

 or being much overgrown with heather or herbage. 

 Eagles are by no means scarce in this part of 

 the country, but as they hunt principally in the 



