4 THE REDE URN. 



of retrograde motion, become terrified, and either throw 

 themselves headlong down the face of the cliff or quietly 

 await a death of starvation, unless rescued by a cool 

 intrepidity worthy of the greatest hero, or again in 

 following up a wounded stag, with such skill and per- 

 severance that it is said he would in time overtake 

 one, even though only wounded in the foot, and 

 indeed in all trials of strength, patience, and nerve, he 

 is without a rival. Add to this a considerable supply 

 of natural shrewdness, together with an education far 

 above the average, at least among our English peasantry 

 (for he v can read his newspaper with a relish, and dis- 

 cuss many general topics of conversation, besides a 

 smattering of Latin, which he acquired as a foster 

 child at the laird's house), and you have, as near as I 

 can give it, a description of my juvenile fidus Achates. 

 But to return. Donald led the way ; and we found 

 it no easy task to keep pace with him, as he strode 

 along, or rather sprang, from one "moss-hagg" to 

 another, by which name you must understand the 

 tufted lumps of dry earth which rise from the bogs, 

 and, like so many islets, or, as we call them here, 

 " inches," in a sea of peat, often afford the only safe 

 footing to be had in such localities; the spaces between 

 being a black deposit, frequently of so great a depth 

 and so soft and moist, that one false step may involve 

 an immersion to the neck. After some four miles of 

 such travelling, we were not sorry, as you may suppose, 

 to arrive at our destination for the day, the river Ked- 

 burn. In consequence of recent rain in the hill whence 

 the river takes its rise, we found a tolerable body of 

 water, and so far matters were in our favour ; but the 

 Bedburn is a sluggish stream, and requires a brisk 

 wind to produce a ripple on its surface, or the fish will 



