Untitled - Beeldbibliotheek

TO JOHN O' GROAT'S: III 79We got a fine dish of trout from the hotel atMelvich, which were most grateful, as I had beenreduced to makingbricks without straw atBettyhill. The shop at Tongue, though wellsupplied with stamps and note-paper, exercisebooks, Shetland shawls, kettles, sou'wester hats,bars of soap, candles, pencils, clogs, red flanneland many other delightful things, had provedafter all to be not quite like London. And as eveneggs were difficultto obtain supplies were verylow." For my pairt I like a mad contrast," to quotean old Scotch gardener of my acquaintance, whohad been remonstrated with fordecorating hisparlour in a colour scheme of purple and palegreen. And it would not be easy to conceive amadder contrast than that which met us on thefollowing day. We had a last ridge to cross, butit was but a feeble one, sweeping up with agradient of i in 20. All the sting had gone outof the thing by now. And after that we left themoor behind and passed on into a fertile land,with rich crops and fine cattle, well populatedand flat as a table, as far as the eye could reach.The rough and narrow tracks of the last fortnightgave place to a broad highway of magnificentsurface. Even the weather moderated. It was