82 WESTBOTIILAND. 



bridle I had only a rope, which was tied 

 to the animaFs under jaw. In this trim I 

 proceeded on my journey. 



Here and there, in the heart of the forest, 

 were level heathy spots, as even as if they 

 had been made so by a line, consisting of 

 barren sand (Arena Glarea), on which 

 grew a few straggling firs, and some scat- 

 tered plants of ling. Some places afforded 

 the perforated coralline Lichen (L.^mcialis), 

 which the inhabitants, in rainy weather 

 when it is tough, rake together into large 

 heaps, and carry home for the winter pro- 

 vender of their cattle. These sandy spots 

 were in extent three quarters of a mile or 

 a mile, encompassed as it were with a 

 rampart, or very steep bank, fifteen or 

 twenty ells in height, so nearly perpendi- 

 cular that it was not to be ascended or de- 

 scended without extreme difficulty. They 

 might be compared to the mountain which 

 Alexander the Great ascended with so much 

 labour. It often happened that above one 

 of these sandy heaths lay another equally 



