Imágenes de página
PDF
ePub

When we had ascended about three miles, we sat down upon a large stone, to survey the view which had widely expanded itself as we had been gradually ascending. At this instant a transient gleam of the sun escaped through the clouds. This enlivened the scene, and suddenly inspired us with a hope of a favourable change in the weather; but the clouds soon destroyed this hope, and during the remainder of our ramble we were total strangers to the sun. The day was considered by our guide as most unpropitious; by me, however, who had never beheld any landscape at all to be compared to the one I then gazed upon, the badness of the day was almost disregarded.

We now discovered Dhu Loch, or the Black Lake, a small sheet of water, enclosed by some rising ground, near Rowardennan, which, until then, had been unobserved by us. Dhu is a gaelic word signifying black. All persons, in these parts, who have black hair, are distinguished by the name of Dhu, and are generally addressed by this name. Besides this little loch, there was nothing in the view which I had not seen during the former part of my walk; yet it was far from being devoid of interest, as I beheld at once all the beauties that I hitherto had only separately viewed. To describe it I am totally unable; and, following the powerful example of the author of Rob Roy, when he conducts Baillie Jarvie by this route to Glasgow, I will not attempt a description, least I might mar these indescribable beauties.

Our guide assured us it would be mispent labour to ascend to the top, as we were already entering the clouds; and had the weather been more favourable, our time, he said, would not have been sufficient. I and another of the party were rather inclined to suspect the lad of laziness, and accordingly left our companions, in hopes that they would follow when they found we were determined to reach the top. In this manner we proceeded nearly a quarter of a mile, with the rest of our companions bawling after us most lustily. We for a moment beheld the summit of the mountain through an opening of the clouds, but we were soon arrested in our course by Mr. T. who overtook us, and persuaded us to return. Towards my companions this was most ungrateful behaviour

1

on my part, after having forced my company upon them but the evening before. So great, however, was my cockney-like desire to behold the other side of the clouds, that I could not refrain from committing this breach in my manners.

We now discontinued ascending, and proceeded along the side of the mountain, losing by degrees the view of the lake. It was not long before we arrived at the descent, on the eastern side, into a cheerless valley, formed by the Grampians on the south, and a range of hills on the north, stretching from Ben Lomond. Snow was lying thick on the side. We descended down it at a quick pace, and were soon at the foot of the mountain, where a narrow and shallow branch of the Forth was running athwart our path, or rather way, for path there was none. I had heard that, by keeping the feet wet, blisters are entirely prevented, and being aware, from the quantity of melted snow which was streaming down the sides of the valley, that it would be impossible to keep them dry, I splashed through the middle of the brook, whilst my companions picked their way from stone to stone. I should have mentioned, that in our descent we enjoyed a fine view of Loch Dunky and Stirling, between the opening at the termination of this valley. We tried to measure the depth of the snow by our walking-sticks, but found them all too short.

Our walk through this valley would have been most tedious had not the ground been in a slimy and slippery state, which caused several of us to measure our length upon the earth, and afforded a topic for amusement until we came to the end of this uninteresting part of our journey. Here we found two cottages, bedaubed with all the filth which universally accompanies the country cottages in Scotland. We obtained some poor thin milk, full of peat and dirt. The only objects near these miserable hovels, at all decent in appearance, were a number of young lambs, whose white wool appeared beautifully white in comparison with the dirt which surrounded them. We now pursued our way a mile or two, through a more open country, and, dismissing our guide, turned towards the left, and came to Loch Ard; the scene where Morris is represented to have terminated his despicable

life. I had not then read the novel, but on perusing it since, had the same ideas with my companion, who eagerly glanced over the sides of this loch, to find a spot where the scene could have taken place, but could no where discover any eminence where Morris could be hurled into the lake. About half a mile from the northern shore are some abrupt hills, but these are much too distant, and the little risings on the oppo site shore are not near so lofty or precipitous as those described by the novelist.

With a strong remembrance of the grandeur of the Loch we had just left, the placid scenery of Loch Ard offered an agreeable repose to the eye, which had lately been wandering over scenery that was truly sublime. Through its transparent water, I could perceive the rich brownish green moss and weeds at the bottom, which seemed from their abundance to have been the undisturbed growth of many years. Behind us Ben Lomond appeared now proudly to have assumed his station amidst his less lofty brethren, and presented one entire sheet of snow, terminating in the clouds. To our right lay a tract of cultivated country, and before us lay our picturesque road, soon lost amidst the dwarfish trees and unevenness of land, at the extremity of the Loch. A farm-house here and there was to be seen. Meeting a fine stout damsel, riding on the back of an unsaddled cart-horse, we enquired the distance to Aberfoyle. She immediately informed us; and, in her turn, asked us if we had come from Luss. This, I understand, is the invariable custom of the Highlanders, who, if asked respecting a place you are going to, certainly question you respecting the place you have left. It was now past four; for, although from Rowardennan to Aberfoyle it is only about twelve miles over the mountain, yet it took us nearly six hours, on account of the ascent and bad walking. With keen appetites, therefore, we hurried along our romantic road, with the Forth by its side, forcing a way through a very abrupt and sometimes even precipitous channel; and we soon arrived at the inn in the Clachan of Aberfoyle.

TO BE RESUMED.

NATURAL PHENOMENA.

No. 15.-ACCOUNT OF A SINGULAR STORM.

"ON Sunday, the 26th of April, 1818," says Colonel Beaufoy, "about half past 12 o'clock, the neighbourhood of Stanmore was visited by a tremendous storm of hail, wind, and rain, accompanied by some unusual phenomena. The elevated situation of Bushey Heath afforded me peculiar facilities for viewing its progress and effects, which occupied in space about five miles in a direct line, and in time about twenty minutes. The morning had been close and sultry, the heavens sufficiently clear to enable me to observe the transit of the sun over the meridian, the wind variable, the barometer 29.000 inches, the thermometer 61°, the hygrometer 52°, and the variation of the needle 24° 41' 46" W. I shortly observed the heavens in the south-east quarter much overcast, and some dense black clouds forming in that direction, which immediately discharged rain in torrents, followed by tremendous hail, lightning, and thunder.

In about half an hour the fury of the storm had somewhat abated, when my attention was attracted to the south-east, by an amazing commotion among the clouds, which appeared to roll over and into each other with considerable rapidity. Beneath these dark clouds, there appeared a small white one, moving with surprising velocity towards the north-west, at the same time whirling round in a horizontal direction with prodigious quickness, accompanied with a horrid noise, which I can only compare to a stunning and most discordant whistle. The form of this white cloud was in the first instance that of a very obtuse cone with its apex downwards, which, during its rotatory motion, occasionally approached and retired from the earth; the tail of the cone elongating continually as it receded, but on approaching the surface of the ground expanding like the lower part of an hour-glass; when it appeared to collect all the surrounding air into its immediate vortex, as it rebounded with such violence as to root up trees, unroof houses and hay-ricks, throw down walls, and, in short,

every thing that impeded its progress. The effects were, however, exceedingly partial and irregular, depending apparently on the distance of the mouth of the funnel from such objects as chanced to come in the course of direction; as also on the area, included within the vortex, at the times it exerted its powers of destruction.

This whirlwind appears to have commenced near Mrs. Dickson's farm, situated about one mile to the west of the village of Kenton in Middlesex; and from thence proceeded in a north by west direction by the compass, over Bellemont, through the orchard adjoining the widow Woodbridge's cottage, over Mr. Roberts's field, Mr. Riddock's nursery, Mr. Martin's pleasure grounds, Mr. Utterson's plantations, and the Marquis of Abercorn's gardens, to Mr. Blackwell's premises, where it changed its direction from north by west, to north by east, passing over Bushey village, through Mr. Bellas's farm and orchard, and finally exhausting its fury about a mile and a half further. At Mr. Dickson's farm it removed some ridge tiles, and part of the thatch of out-houses and ricks; and on reaching the widow Woodbridge's orchard, it had obtained much greater force, as it levelled the fruit trees and tore away a greater part of the tiling of the cottage, against which it carried a wooden building several feet with great violence. In passing through Mr. Roberts's field, it blew down eleven large elms, the breadth of the tornado at this place not exceeding one hundred yards, as was evident from the trifling injury sustained by the other trees to the right and left. Crossing the road leading to Stanmore, it entered Mr. Riddock's nursury, where it did considerble injury to the young trees, and almost entirely stripped one side of the house, carrying away the thatch of the hay-ricks, and unroofing some of the out-houses. In the adjoining premises of Mr. Martin, ten trees were torn up, and his house and buildings much injured. A large may-bush, that stood not twenty yards in front of the green-house, was rooted up; but neither the building nor glass received the smallest injury; while a shed at the back, and likewise the cow-house, which almost adjoined, had many tiles

« AnteriorContinuar »