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  APPENDIX. 
  

  

  by 
  a 
  trail 
  — 
  broken, 
  rough, 
  and 
  circuitous 
  in 
  a 
  strange 
  degree, 
  and 
  so 
  

   encumbered 
  by 
  rocks 
  and 
  insulated 
  masses 
  of 
  granite 
  and 
  huge 
  tortuous 
  

   roots 
  of 
  trees, 
  that 
  a 
  stranger 
  from 
  the 
  Lowlands, 
  and 
  without 
  experience 
  

   in 
  such 
  districts, 
  finds 
  it 
  not 
  a 
  little 
  difficult 
  to 
  persuade 
  himself 
  that 
  he 
  

   is 
  not 
  in 
  some 
  strange 
  and 
  savage 
  country. 
  

  

  ' 
  It 
  was 
  my 
  fortune 
  to 
  pass 
  through, 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  time, 
  alone, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  

   close 
  of 
  the 
  evening, 
  and 
  will 
  not 
  likely 
  forget 
  the 
  impression. 
  The 
  trees 
  

   having 
  all 
  been 
  cut 
  over 
  below 
  the 
  main 
  branches, 
  and 
  these 
  being 
  

   often 
  of 
  great 
  size, 
  and 
  left 
  to 
  remain 
  where 
  they 
  fell, 
  and 
  the 
  timber 
  

   being 
  of 
  the 
  hardest 
  and 
  most 
  imperishable 
  kind, 
  the 
  ruins 
  of 
  a 
  hundred 
  

   years, 
  small 
  and 
  large, 
  of 
  decay 
  were 
  crowding 
  the 
  intervals 
  between 
  the 
  

   standing 
  trees, 
  until 
  of 
  late, 
  stripped 
  of 
  their 
  bark 
  by 
  time, 
  and 
  bleached 
  

   white 
  by 
  the 
  stormy 
  weather, 
  they 
  looked 
  like 
  the 
  ribs 
  and 
  bones 
  of 
  im- 
  

   mense 
  animals, 
  the 
  owners 
  of 
  which 
  had 
  long 
  perished 
  from 
  the 
  earth. 
  

   Moreover, 
  as 
  none 
  of 
  the 
  hollow 
  or 
  diseased 
  (crooked) 
  trees 
  had 
  ever 
  

   been 
  cut, 
  these 
  had 
  died, 
  and 
  their 
  grey 
  and 
  fantastic 
  form 
  added 
  very 
  

   much 
  to 
  the 
  loneliness 
  and 
  dreariness 
  of 
  this 
  strange 
  scene 
  of 
  desolation. 
  

  

  1 
  Since 
  that 
  time 
  it 
  happened 
  to 
  me 
  to 
  be 
  upon 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  lochs 
  in 
  a 
  

   boat, 
  and, 
  while 
  observing 
  the 
  grandeur 
  of 
  such 
  a 
  mass 
  of 
  gloomy 
  forest, 
  

   and 
  the 
  effect 
  of 
  the 
  broad 
  masses 
  of 
  light 
  and 
  shade, 
  varying 
  from 
  tufted 
  

   ridge 
  to 
  hollow 
  glen, 
  I 
  was 
  greatly 
  surprised 
  to 
  observe 
  hundreds 
  of 
  

   Swifts 
  (Hirundo 
  apus) 
  skimming 
  over 
  the 
  tops 
  of 
  the 
  trees, 
  after 
  their 
  

   usual 
  manner 
  while 
  hunting 
  for 
  flies. 
  No 
  old 
  castle 
  was 
  nearer 
  than 
  

   thirty 
  miles, 
  and 
  as 
  Inverness 
  was 
  more 
  than 
  forty 
  — 
  the 
  only 
  place 
  indeed 
  

   from 
  which 
  I 
  could 
  suppose 
  such 
  an 
  unusual 
  number 
  to 
  come 
  from, 
  — 
  I 
  was 
  

   forced 
  to 
  conclude 
  that 
  city 
  to 
  be 
  their 
  home, 
  and 
  was 
  musing 
  upon 
  the 
  

   remarkable 
  power 
  of 
  locomotion 
  peculiar 
  to 
  these 
  birds 
  and 
  the 
  enjoyment 
  

   arising 
  from 
  it 
  — 
  for 
  I 
  considered 
  that 
  twenty 
  or 
  thirty 
  minutes 
  of 
  their 
  

   ordinary 
  rate 
  of 
  flying 
  would 
  carry 
  them 
  to 
  their 
  roost, 
  — 
  when 
  the 
  noise 
  

   of 
  a 
  woodpecker, 
  seeking 
  his 
  sustenance 
  after 
  quite 
  a 
  different 
  manner, 
  

   drew 
  an 
  observation 
  from 
  one 
  of 
  my 
  friends, 
  a 
  resident 
  in 
  the 
  neighbour- 
  

   hood. 
  He 
  remarked 
  that 
  the 
  loud 
  tapping 
  of 
  the 
  woodpecker 
  was 
  not 
  

   so 
  often 
  heard 
  when 
  they 
  were 
  searching 
  the 
  bark 
  for 
  insects, 
  as 
  when 
  

   they 
  were 
  boring 
  holes 
  in 
  the 
  large 
  decayed 
  trees 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  made 
  

   their 
  nests, 
  and 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  generally 
  said 
  that 
  they 
  never 
  made 
  use 
  of 
  an 
  

   old 
  hole, 
  but 
  gave 
  themselves 
  the 
  trouble 
  of 
  perforating 
  a 
  new 
  one 
  every 
  

   time 
  they 
  hatched. 
  It 
  immediately 
  occurred 
  (to 
  me) 
  that 
  the 
  prodigious 
  

   number 
  of 
  Swifts 
  could 
  be 
  better 
  accounted 
  for 
  than 
  by 
  supposing 
  them 
  

   to 
  come 
  either 
  from 
  the 
  old 
  monastery 
  at 
  Beauly 
  or 
  Inverness, 
  besides 
  

   leaving 
  their 
  young 
  for 
  a 
  longer 
  period. 
  I 
  immediately 
  requested 
  that 
  

   one 
  of 
  the 
  shepherds 
  who 
  had 
  most 
  turn 
  for 
  inquiries 
  anent 
  such 
  sort 
  of 
  

   things 
  might 
  be 
  set 
  to 
  examine 
  whether 
  the 
  Swifts 
  did 
  not 
  occupy 
  the 
  

  

  