SNOWED UP 51 



baker in Thurso ; a rival shop had been set up, and 

 competition became keen. One day the steamer 

 from Leith took the bar of Thurso in a storm. She 

 carried a consignment of flour for Dick, which was 

 badly spoilt by salt water. It was not insured; 

 poor Dick could not afford to buy any more, and 

 just worked the damaged stuff into loaves. The 

 result was more than his remaining customers could 

 stand ; they all went off to the new shop, and Dick 

 was ruined. To meet his liabilities, he had to part 

 with his noble collection of fossils the work of his 

 life. Murchison secured it for a hundred pounds, 

 and it may still be seen in the Geological Museum 

 in Jermyn Street. 



Had Eobert Dick baked better loaves, his name 

 had borne no significance for this generation; as 

 it is, every foot of the way between Dunnet Head 

 and Morven is enriched with memories of the baker 

 naturalist of Thurso. 



XIX 



Even Avignon is not buffeted more persistently by 



the winds than Halkirk, If north, south, 



Snowed up 

 and west fail to produce a gale, then it 



blows hard and steady from the east. But when, as 



