told, the scenery is still more magnificent. At first I was
inclined to wonder where the sheep live amid all this picturesque
but mountainous country: however, I find that between and among
these hills stretch immense valleys (or "flats," as they are called
here), which are warm and sheltered in winter, and afford plenty of
food for them; then, in summer, they go up to the mountains: but it
is very difficult to "muster" these ranges. I am almost ashamed to
confess to another meal before we returned home, but there was a
lovely tempting spot in a little harbour, and so we landed and
boiled some water and had a capital cup of tea. You require to be
out as we were from morning till night in such an air as this to
know what it is to feel either hungry or sleepy in perfection! The
next day we made a similar excursion, exploring the opposite shore
of the lake; but, before we started, our host distrusted the
appearance of certain clouds, and sent round horses to meet us at
the point where we were going to lunch; and it was just as well he
did so, for a stiff breeze sprang up from the south-west, which
would have kept us out all night. So we mounted the horses instead
of re-embarking, having first secured the boat, and cantered home.
We passed several smaller lakes; there is a perfect chain of them
among these hills, and I was much amused at the names bestowed on
them, according to the tastes or caprice of the station-owners whose
runs happen to include them: for instance, two are called
respectively "Geraldine" and "Ida," whilst three, which lie close
together, rejoice in the somewhat extraordinary names of "the
World," "the Flesh," and "the Devil."



Letter XVII: My first and last experience of "camping out."