Is it not strange to think that human passions will so soon transform such a tranquil scene as this into one of devastation and confusion ?' It was indeed a scene of exquisite stillness; so much so, that the restless waves of the Solway seemed, if not absolutely to sleep, at least to slumber; on the shore no night-bird was heard--the cock had not sung his first matins, and we ourselves walked more lightly than by day, as if to suit the sounds of our own paces to the serene tranquillity around us.

At length, the plaintive cry of a dog broke the silence, and on our return to the cottage, we found that the younger of the three animals which had gone along with John Davies, unaccustomed, perhaps, to distant journeys, and the duty of following to heel, had strayed from the party, and, unable to rejoin them, had wandered back to the place of its birth.
'Another feeble addition to our feeble garrison,' said Mr.Geddes, as he caressed the dog, and admitted it into the cottage.

'Poor thing! as thou art incapable of doing any mischief, I hope thou wilt sustain none.

At least thou mayst do us the good service of a sentinel, and permit us to enjoy a quiet repose, under the certainty that thou wilt alarm us when the enemy is at hand.' There were two beds in the superintendent's room, upon which we threw ourselves.

Mr.Geddes, with his happy equanimity of temper, was asleep in the first five minutes.