THE WILD -CAT. 327 



precipice they at once saw him seated on a rock quite 

 dead ! His shepherd's staffj with his gully-knife tied on 

 the end of it, was lying by his side, and a full pinch of 

 snuff between his fingers. They traced a stream of blood 

 to the wild-cats' rock, and upon looking at the knife it was 

 dyed red also. The whole was soon apparent. The farmer, 

 in endeavouring to stab the cats with his spear-knife, had 

 stnmbled upon it, and divided the femoral artery. His 

 first natural impulse was to run home ; but immediately 

 getting faint, he had attempted to refresh himself with a 

 pinch, when his hand fell powerless for ever. The man's 

 face was familiar to me : I had often exchanged with him 

 the friendly greeting when rowing up Loch Lubnaig for a 

 few hours' fly-fishing ; and I could hardly realise that he 

 whom I had seen working at his peats a few days before, 

 in full health and vigour, was now stiff and cold as the 

 rocks of his mountain. The lesson was strange and start- 

 ling, that he who had prepared the weapon of death, should 

 so suddenly have perished by it himself. Full of life's 

 hopes and cares, with an eye undimmed and his natural 

 force unabated, he had gained the ridge of the Hill of 

 God,* there all unwarned and unattended to die. 



* Ben Ledi signifies in English " the hill of God ; " and, I believe, 

 takes its name from the old tradition of pilgrims crossing the mountain 

 to sacrifice on the other side. 



