31 
DESCENT TO STRATHSPEY 
proceed, at least to attempt the ascent. Before I 
reached the base of the rocks, I felt very weak, and 
was obliged to halt every now and then. However, 
I proceeded, and at length, being well accustomed 
to rock-climbing, found myself on the very summit 
of this vast mass of rock. It was covered with 
mist, which rolled rapidly along the ridges. The 
sun now and then appeared through it. The view 
through the corrie, which I had just ascended, was 
delightful dreadful it might have been to some— 
the whole glen, the deep corrie just beneath, with 
its fearful rocks, the opposite mountains with an 
Alpine lake before me. The scene was truly 
sublime, and I contemplated it with great 
delight. 
. “ 1 liad now reached the rounded summit of the 
ridge, and proceeding along the streamlet, which 
was the principal object of my research, I traced it 
to two fountains and several smaller springs. I 
took a glassful from each of the larger, and drank 
it to the health of my friends. Near these 
fountains, which were among coarse granite sand, I 
saw a covey of ptarmigans, and a small bird, 
which I took for Alauda pratensis. The only 
phaenogamous plants which grew on the summit of 
the mountain were Silene acaulis and Salix herbacea 
both in abundance, the former still in flower. * 
“ Descending on the northern side of the 
mountain, I came upon a precipitous corrie, down 
which I did not venture, and farther on found 
myself on a precipice, from which I had a view of 
a deep valley, with a lake and a stream, ending in a 
plain partially covered with fir. The view from 
this place was vast, and I thought I distinguished 
the sea; but of this I was not certain, as the mist 
obscured the view at times. In my descent I saw 
a considerable number of ptarmigans, and some 
specimens of crystallised quartz, though not very 
