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    RAMBLES NORTHWARD. 325

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  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    I ^ I. Grazed And Impressive As The Scen...

    tax and -cart nearer which till _Macgregor looked indeed triump " like hantl business y drove , ' * into 7 the si mare ght with trotting , a strong 1 out *

    with a long * full swing . Once more under Tray _Macgregor desiring * to inspire us with confidence in his horse told us how she had been " head-lashing" with other horses on the mountain that morning * ,

    how it had taken him two hours to catch her , ( hence the lateness of his arrival , ) and that we should find her as good a beast as had eyer

    carried us . Whether modestly anxious to stop lier master ' s encomiumsor mischievously disposed to disprove them , we cannot

    venture to , determine , but certain it is that the dun mare at that moment , and many times after , came to a sudden and abrupt halt , no

    matter whether up hill or down , or on level ground , something * seemed suddenly to possess her , and move she would not till her

    master went to her head , and by blandishments and caresses induced her to go on . A light hazel wand was all that Macgregor

    carried in the shape of a whip , and even this was never used . Won - derful were the patience and gentleness with which he treated the

    provoking animal , saying all the time that she was " a good beast and we should say so before we parted . "

    True enough , up hill and down dale , over mountains and precipitous pathsby roads hewn out of the solid rock , through sandy

    defiles and across , bleak moors , did the gallant animal convey us that day , over fifty-seven miles of hard and difficult road , forgetting her

    tricks as the day wore on , going better and better and bringing us to shelter late at night having scarcely turned a hair the whole

    time , winding up with a hearty feed of corn after such a day ' s work as no southern horse could have accomplished .

    _Macgregor proved better than his word : never was there a more careful driver or a more intelligent guide , not only did he know every

    inch of the country from Ullapool to Garve , where we finally parted company , but he knew , and was known by . every man , woman , and

    child we met , and told us more of the country and the people than we could have learnt , for ourselves under a life time . Many a halt

    did we make in that long day's journey , now to bivouac by a mountain stream while the dun mare baited , for the road was lonely and

    houses of refreshment few ; now to peep down rocky glens with brawling torrents below , or to gaze at lofty craigs , the abode of

    eagles , and inaccessible to the foot of man ; while mid-day found us in the midst of an elevated and desolate moor where stood a lone inn 9

    and the very recollection of the eggs , potatoes , and milk we there partook of , to say nothing of a drop of " mountain dew , " sets one ' s

    mouth watering ! It is quite impossible to describe the scenery through which we

    passed in that long day ' s drive , one . of the most interesting and exciting it has ever been our experience to take . A hard day ' s

    work it was for man and beast , for though the gallant dun could carry the cart , it could not carry the passengers also , and many a

    mile of walking fell to our share . Indeed , this tour is practicable

    Rambles Northward. 325

    RAMBLES NORTHWARD . 325

• Citation
  • English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Jan. 1, 1860, page 325, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01011860/page/37/