10 ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY LIFE [ch. ii. 
black masses of the granite hills rising to heaven 
like the giant barriers of an enchanted land ; above, 
the cloudless sky, spangled with stars; beneath, a 
cold bed of wet turf; within, a human spirit 
tortured with wild imaginings and the pangs of 
a sprained foot. ‘ In such a place, at such a time, 
and in such a mood, what are the vanities of the 
world, the pomp of power, the pride of renown, 
and even the pleasures of bird-nesting! Having 
in a short time become keenly sensible that a great 
portion of vital heat had oozed out of me, I looked 
out for a warmer situation; but, alas, with little 
success; for although I pulled some stunted heath 
and white moss, with which I covered my feet, 
and laid me down by another crag that afforded 
more shelter, I could not sleep. After a while, 
having experienced a fit of shivering, I got up to 
gather more heath, with which I formed a sort of 
bed and lay down again. But even heath was not 
to be obtained in sufficient quantity, so that for a 
covering I was obliged to bury myself in moss and 
turf, with the soil adhering. At long, long length, 
the sky began to brighten in what I supposed to 
be the north-east, and I was anxiously looking for 
the approach of morn, when gradually the pale 
unwelcome moon rose over a distant hill. It was 
piercing cold, and I perceived that a strolling 
naturalist, however fervid his temperament, could 
hardly, if scantily clad, feel comfortable even among 
moss, in a bog of the Grampians. What a blessing 
a jug of hot water would have been to such a 
stomach as mine, aching with emptiness, and 
nothing, not even tripe-de-roche, to be got to 
thrust into it. However, morning actually came 
at last, and I started up to renew my journey. It 
was now that I got a view of my lodging, which 
was an amphitheatre formed of bare craggy hills, 
covered with fragments of stone and white moss 
