PRINCES OF THE AIR. 179 



on the opposite side of the strath, a third made his 

 appearance, both of them soon following in the line 

 taken by the first. 



This, Gillespie assures us, was an omen foreboding 

 no good. It was quite clear that these " winged 

 princes of the air " anticipated something more than a 

 passing fall of snow, or why should all three have 

 unanimously betaken themselves down to the neigh- 

 bourhood of the sea, where snow never lies long, 

 unless it were that instinct had taught them that their 

 usual haunts in the mountain would shortly be 

 untenantable ? However we were not to be easily 

 intimidated ; and, thinking that it was scarcely yet late 

 enough in the season for the snow to fall in great 

 quantity, we still hoped for better things and held on 

 our way. 



On reaching the top of the ridge, the scene which 

 presented itself was both novel and extremely beautiful. 

 The highest parts of all the hills around were robed in 

 a veil of snow, so dazzlingly pure that the eye sought 

 relief after dwelling upon it for a moment, and yet so 

 thin and gauze-like that the rocks were still visible 

 peeping through it in countless points. The effect pro- 

 duced altogether reminded me very much, on a large 

 scale, of those beautiful copper-coloured photographic 

 views of mountain scenery which you see gracing the 

 artists' windows in almost every town. 



As we began to descend the further side of the hill, 

 a sharp shower of sleet, came pelting in our faces, and, 

 thus forced to run for it, we were not long in reaching 

 the shelter of the cottage. As we arrived, the shep- 

 herd, who lived close by, had just come in from a long 

 ramble, and he assured us that there were no deer 

 within four or five miles of the cottage. Accordingly, 

 as it was now too late in the day to admit of our going 



