TO THE DEER FOREST. 115 



further and further from his way by the spectral river, 

 which either continues ever at the same distance, 

 receding as he advances, or melts into nothingness just 

 as he fondly thinks he is about to be refreshed. For 

 though here there was water enough and to spare, I had 

 learnt by unpleasant experience that in climbing among 

 the mountains it is the worst thing in the world to 

 gratify one's thirst by constantly taking a draught, 

 however small; and the utmost I dare allow myself 

 was to moisten my lips, and occasionally to rinse out 

 my mouth. But to everything there is an end, and two 

 hours' hard climbing brought us to the brow of the hill. 

 Here we paused, to drink in eagerly the refreshing 

 breeze that crept up from the strath beyond, and com- 

 mencing the descent, three quarters of an hour's tumbling 

 and scrambling brought us to the cottage. 



Our load of provisions deposited, there being yet two 

 hours before sunset, we took out our telescopes, and 

 subjected the opposite side of the strath to a most 

 careful scrutiny, but in vain ; after running our eyes 

 up every ravine and gully, and slowly traversing each 

 open stretch of moorland, we each returned our glass 

 to its case, and proceeded to take a stroll along the 

 banks of the river which wound through the bottom 

 of the valley. 



'Twas a lovely evening, and the sun sank to the 

 horizon, tipping the summits of the hills with gold, and 

 tiugeing the cliffs around to a copper hue, here and 

 there, when a ray still shot down some gorge, the rocks 

 looked like one stream of burning lava, while the light 

 and shade, everywhere thrown out in bold relief, pro- 

 duced a very striking effect. The flies, which were 

 floating sleepily in small nebulae over the surface of the 

 water, were occasionally roused into quicker motion by 

 the lazy flap of a salmon's tail, as he engulphed two or 



