28 
THE SHEEP. 
THE CHEVIOT BREED. 
two or three 4 gathered winds,’ as they are called by shepherds, the storm raged there with redoubled fury. It began all at once, 
with such a tremendous roar, that I imagined it was a peal of thunder, until I felt the house trembling to its foundation. In a 
few minutes I thrust my naked arm through a hole in the roof, in order, if possible, to ascertain what was going on without, for 
not a ray of light could I see. I could not then, nor can I yet, express my astonishment: so completely was the air overloaded 
with falling and driving snow, that, but for the force of the wind, I felt as if I had thrust my arm into a wreath of snow. I 
deemed it a judgment sent from Heaven upon us, and went to bed again, trembling with agitation.” 44 I kept my bed for about 
three quarters of an hour longer; and then rose, and on reaching the house with much difficulty, found our master, the plough¬ 
man, Borthwick, and the two servant maids, sitting round the kitchen fire, with looks of dismay, I may almost say despair. We 
all agreed at once, that the sooner we were able to reach the sheep, the better chance we had to save a remnant; and as there 
were eight hundred excellent ewes, all in one lot, but a long way distant, and the most valuable lot of any on the farm, we re¬ 
solved to make a bold effort to reach them. Our master made family worship, a duty he never neglected; but that morning the 
manner in which he expressed our trust and confidence in Heaven was particularly affecting. We took our breakfast—filled our 
pockets with bread and cheese'—sewed our plaids around us—tied down our hats with napkins coming below our chins—and each 
taking a strong staff in his hand, we set out on the attempt. 
“ No sooner was the door closed behind us than we lost sight of each other : seeing there was none—it was impossible for a 
man to see his hand held up before him—and it was still two hours till day. We had no means of keeping together but by fol¬ 
lowing to one another’s voices, nor of working our way save by groping before us with our staves. It soon appeared to me a 
hopeless concern, for, ere ever we got clear of the houses and hay-stacks, we had to roll ourselves over two or three wreaths which 
it was impossible to wade through; and all the while the wind and drift were so violent, that every three or four minutes we were 
obliged to hold our faces down between our knees to recover our breath. We soon got into an eddying wind that was altogether 
insufferable, and, at the same time, we were struggling among snow so deep, that our progress in the way we proposed going was 
very equivocal indeed, for we had by this time lost all idea of east, west, north, or south. Still we were as busy as men deter¬ 
mined on an enterprise of moment could be, and persevered on we knew not whither, sometimes rolling over the snow, and some¬ 
times weltering in it up to the chin. The following instance of our successful exertions marks our progress to a tittle : There was 
an enclosure around the house to the westward, which we denominated 4 the Park,’ as was customary in Scotland at that period, 
and in that quarter, where a farm seldom boasted more than one enclosed piece of ground. When we went away we calculated that 
it was two hours until day; the park did not extend above three hundred yards; and we were still engaged in it when day-light ap¬ 
peared. When we got free of the park, we also got free of the eddy of the wind. It was now straight in our faces; we went in a 
line before each other, and changed places every three or four minutes, and at length, after great fatigue, reached a long ridge of 
a hill where the snow was thinner, having been blown off by the force of the wind, and by this we had hopes of reaching within a 
short space of the ewes, which were still a mile and a half distant. Our master had taken the lead; I was next him, and soon 
began to suspect, from the depth of the snow, that he was leading us quite wrong; but as we always trusted implicitly to the per¬ 
son that was foremost for the time, I said nothing for a good while, until satisfied that we were going in a direction very nearly 
right opposite to that we intended. I then tried to expostulate with him; but he did not seem to understand what I said; and, 
on getting a glimpse of his countenance, I perceived that it was quite altered. Not to alarm the others, nor even himself, I 
said I was becoming terribly fatigued, and proposed that we should lean on the snow and take each a little whisky (for I had 
brought a small bottle in my pocket for fear of the worst), and some bread and cheese. This was unanimously agreed to, and I 
noted that he swallowed the spirits rather eagerly, a thing not usual with him, and when he tried to eat, it was long before he 
could eat any thing. I was convinced that he would fail altogether, but, as it would have been easier to have got him to the shep¬ 
herd’s house, which was before us, than home again, I made no proposal for him to return. On the contrary, I said, if they would 
trust themselves entirely to me, I would engage to lead them to the ewes without going a foot out of the way. The other two 
agreed to this, and acknowledged that they knew not where they were; but he never opened his mouth, nor did he speak for two 
hours thereafter. It had only been a temporary exhaustion, however, for he afterwards recovered, and wrought till night as well 
as any of us; though he never could recollect a single circumstance that occurred during that part of our way, nor a word that 
was said nor of having got any refreshment whatever. At about half an hour past ten we reached the flock, and just in time to 
save them.” 
Again : 44 It was now wearing towards mid-day, and there were occasionally short intervals in which we could see round us 
for perhaps a score of yards; but we got only one momentary glance of the hills around us all that day. I grew quite impatient 
to be at my own charge, and leaving the rest I went away to them by myself, that is, I went to the division that was left far out on 
the hills, while our master and the ploughman volunteered to rescue those that were down on the lower ground. I found mine in 
