at night. A compact group of stable buildings and barns stands on the
opposite side of the road, and there are two or three lonely-looking
cottages, but everywhere else the world is purple and brown with ling
and heather. The morning sun has just climbed high enough to send a
flood of light down the steep hill at the back of the barns, and we can
hear the hum of the bees in the heather. In the direction of Levisham is
Gallows Dyke, the great purple bluff we passed in the darkness, and a
few yards off the road makes a sharp double bend to get up Saltersgate
Brow, the hill that overlooks the enormous circular bowl of Horcum Hole,
where Levisham Beck rises. The farmer whose buildings can be seen down
below contrives to paint the bottom of the bowl a bright green, but the
ling comes hungrily down on all sides, with evident longings to absorb
the scanty cultivation. The Dwarf Cornel, a little mountain-plant which
flowers in July, is found in this 'hole.' A few patches have been
discovered in the locality, but elsewhere it is not known south of
the Cheviots.

Away to the north the road crosses the desolate country like a
pale-green ribbon. It passes over Lockton High Moor, climbs to 700 feet
at Tom Cross Rigg, and then disappears into the valley of Eller Beck, on
Goathland Moor, coming into view again as it climbs steadily up to
Sleights Moor, nearly 1,000 feet above the sea. An enormous stretch of
moorland spreads itself out towards the west. Near at hand is the
precipitous gorge of Upper Newton Dale, backed by Pickering Moor, and
beyond are the heights of Northdale Rigg and Rosedale Common, with the
blue outlines of Ralph Cross and Danby Head right on the horizon.

The smooth, well-built road, with short grass filling the crevices
between the stones, urges us to follow its straight course northwards;
but the sternest and most remarkable portion of Upper Newton Dale lies