The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1877-10-11
Among the Scottish Hills.

In some parts of Scotland there are
great many high hills or mountains,
crowded together, only divided from
each other by deep valleys. They all
grow out of one root-that is, the earth.
The tops of these hills are high up and
lonely, with the stars above them; and
the wind roaring and Iaving among them
makes such a noise against the hard
rocks, running into the holes in them
and out again, that their steep sides are
sometimes very awful places. But in
the sunshine, although they do look
lonely, they are so bright and beautiful,
that all the boys and girls fancy the way
to heaven lies up those hills.
In the winter, on the other hand, they
are such wild, bowling places, with the
hard hailstones beating upon them, and
the solt, smothering snow-flakes heaping
up dreadful wastes of wilderness upon
them, that if ever there was a child out
on them he would die with fear, if he did
not die with cold. But there are only
sheep there, and as soon as the winter
comes over the tops of the hills the sheep
come down their sides, because it is
warmer the lower down you come; even
foot thick of wool on their backs and
sides could not keep out the terrible cold
up there.
But the sheep are not very knowing
creatures, so they are something better
instead. They are wise-that is, they are
obedent-creatures,o obedience often be-
ing the very best wisdom. Because they
are not very knowing they have a man to
take care of them, who knows where to
take them, especially when storm comes
on. Not that the sheep are SO very silly
as not to know where to go to get out Of
the wind, but they don't and can't think
that some ways of getting out of danger
are more dangerous still. They would
lie down in quiet place, and stay there
till the snow settled down over them and
smothered them. Or they would tumble
down steep places and be killed, or car
ried away by the stream at the bottom.
So, though they know little, they don't
know enough, and therefore need shep-
herd to take care of them.
Now the shepherd, though he is wise,
is not quite clever enough for all that is
wanted of him up in those strange, ter
rible hills, and he needs his dog to help
him.
Well, the shepherd tells the dog what
he wants done, and off the dog runs to
do it /; for he can run three times as fast
as the shepherd, and can get up and down
places much better. / am not sure that
he can see better than the shepherd, but
/ know he can smell better. So that he
is just four legs and a long nose to the
shepherd, besides the love he gives him.
which would comfort any good man,
even if it were offered him by a hedge
hog or hen.
One evening, in the beginning of April,
the weakly sun Of the season bad gone
down with pale face behind the shoulder
of hill in the background of my story
And because he was gone down, the peat
fires upon the hearths of the cottages all
began to glow more brightly, as if they
were glad he was gone at last, aud had
left them their work to do, - or, rather,
as if they wanted to do all they could to
make up for his absence. And on one
hearth in particular the peat-fre glowed
very brightly. There was pot hanging
over it, with supper in it ; and there was
a little girl sitting by it, with a sweet,
thoughtful face. Her hair was done up
in a silken net, for it was the custom
with Scotch girls TO have their hair so ar
ranged, many years before it became a
fashion in other lands. She was busy
with q blue ribbed stocking, which she
was knitting for her father.
He was out on the hills. He had that
morning taken his sheep higher up than
before, and Ellen knew this (; but it could
not be long now before she would hear
his footsteps, and measure the long stride
between which brought him and bsppi-
ness home together.
Us,f hadn't shs anv mother