CHAPTER X. 



DULL AND UNEVENTFUL. HOPE WARD DEPRECATES 

 ADVICE-GIVING, AND IS ENCOURAGED THEREIN. 



A MISERABLY wet morning ; that was plain even 

 before rising. And on getting up and looking 

 through the bleared window, I saw it was likely to 

 be a Highland rainy day of the most persistent 

 type. 



The low leaden clouds were charged with moisture, 

 and the dense rain was driven in gusts of south- 

 west wind, while the mists hung heavily down to the 

 very base of the hills. 



On going down to breakfast, I was pleased to find 

 a bright wood fire crackling on the hearth ; this, with 

 the drowned look of the shrubs outside, and the 

 twittering of birds in the eaves, gave quite an 

 autumnal feeling to this summer morning. No one 

 but Fred seemed to mind much, as we had plenty of 



