price upon porridge and milk, to such as we, at
least, when we asked her she did not know what to say; but, seeing that
we were travelling for pleasure, no doubt she concluded we were rich, and
that what was a small gain to her could be no great loss to us.

When we had gone a little way we saw before us a young man with a bundle
over his shoulder, hung on a stick, bearing a great boy on his back:
seeing that they were travellers, we offered to take the boy on the car,
to which the man replied that he should be more than thankful, and set
him up beside me. They had walked from Glasgow, and that morning from
Inverary; the boy was only six years old, 'But,' said his father, 'he is
a stout walker,' and a fine fellow he was, smartly dressed in tight clean
clothes and a nice round hat: he was going to stay with his grandmother
at Dalmally. I found him good company; though I could not draw a single
word out of him, it was a pleasure to see his happiness gleaming through
the shy glances of his healthy countenance. Passed a pretty chapel by
the lake-side, and an island with a farm-house upon it, and corn and
pasture fields; but, as we went along, we had frequent reason to regret
the want of English hedgerows and English culture; for the ground was
often swampy or moorish near the lake where comfortable dwellings among
green fields might have been. When we came near to the end of the lake
we had a steep hill to climb, so William and I walked; and we had such
confidence in our horse that we were not afraid to leave the car to his
guidance with the child in it; we were soon, however, alarmed at seeing
him trot up the hill a long way before us; the child, having raised
himself up upon the seat, was beating him as hard as he could with a
little stick which he carried in his hand; and when he saw our eyes were
on him he sate down, I believe very sorry to resign his office: the horse
slackened his pace, and no accident happened.

When we had ascended half-way up the hill, directed by the man, I took a
nearer footpath, and at the top came in view of a most impressive scene,
a ruined castle on an island almost in the middle of the last compartment
of the lake, backed by a mountain cove, down which came a roaring stream.
The castle occupied every foot of the island that was visible to us,
appearing to rise out of the water; mists rested upon the mountain side,
with spots of sunshine between; there was a mild desolation in the low
gro