A SPKING WEEK IN THE WEST HIGHLANDS. 299 



pont. It naturally struck me, was his barefooted Scotch lassie 

 worthy of such a courtship ? Does she, now a Highland dame, 

 feel a secret pride when, sitting at her cottage door on a sum- 

 mer evening, she catches a glimpse of the serene surface of her 

 native loch ? Or when the winter storm has raised the white 

 wave, and the snowdrift has sent her stalwart shepherd to the 

 hill, does she breathe the silent prayer of a thankful heart to 

 the Preserver of his days when their love was young ? With 

 such thoughts, I scarcely felt disappointment at the termina- 

 tion of my delicious night-walk ; and when I considered the 

 many night-swims the shepherd had taken for it, I felt glad 

 that he had gained his prize, though he had lost me mine. 



