RED DEER. •',%,'..' iqI 



by directly crossing the heights, to arrive at the cabin 

 before the night shut in. He took this perilous direc- 

 tion accordingly ; but the rain was still falling fast, 

 and when he topped the ridge of the hills, the valley 

 beneath was covered by a dense mist. Presently the 

 mountain streams rose, the light failed — ^to advance or 

 retreat was impossible ; and the isolated peasant had no 

 choice left but to seek a shelter in the rocks, and remain 

 there until morning dawned. He easily discovered 

 a fissure in the steep bank above the river, crept in — 

 " blessed himselj " — and lay down to sleep upon his 

 cold and rugged bed. 



What situation could be more desolate and heart- 

 sinking than this ? Imprisoned among savage moun- 

 tains, perched in a wild rock far-above the rest of mankind, 

 separated from human help by an impassable torrent, 

 cold, hungry, and exhausted ; yet all these dejecting 

 circumstances were unheeded by the hardy mountaineer. 

 He had but one source of terror : the otter-hunter had 

 often described this glen as a favourite haunt of fairies ; 

 and *' what would become of him if the gentle-people 

 caught him there ? " 



The midnight hour passed, however, without any 

 supernatural visitation. No fairy revelry disturbed the 

 peasant's slumbers ; the rain ceased ; the flood was 

 falling ; the chough and raven were preparing to take 

 wing ; and while the first faint light was breaking through 

 the mountain mists, Cormac, anxious to quit his cheerless 

 bivouac^ crawled out from his cold retreat. 



Suddenly, from above, an indistinct noise alarmed 

 him. Feet clattered down the rocky path ; a rush, 

 a snorting, announced their near approach, and a herd 

 of deer appeared within half a stone's cast. They 



