Whilst this party was busy searching the tower, the rest of the company had proceeded, in parties of two and three, to the cool retreats of the woods. The Earl, accompanied by his sister the Marchioness, and Ellen, began rambling up the burn, along a rough footpath, in order to show Ellen a waterfall at the top of the wood. Before they had proceeded far they were met by the Marquis, with whom Lady Edith walked another way, leaving the lovers alone. Taking Ellen's hand, the Earl helped her to climb the path, rough with the roots of fir trees protruding from the soil, and exceedingly steep. As they got still higher the acclivity became more and more perpendicular, and the stones they loosened from the hill side went thundering down below, crashing among the trees, till they at last plunged into the brown waters. It was hot work as well as arduous, and often they paused to rest on the fallen trees that now and then lay across the pathway. Their footsteps on the withered fir branches that strewed the ground, often started the denizens of the wood,--the weasel, the rabbit, and the timid hare, that fled past them like a shadow, stopped a moment, with ears erect, and then started off again; and the wild pigeons, or cushats, as they are called in Scotland, flew off their nests with a loud noise, as if one clapped his hands together. As they neared the summit of the wood, the fall of the water became more and more distinct, and soon they emerged from the dark trees into sunshine and open air, and beheld the cascade they had so long heard. The top of the wood opened on a rushy dell, surrounded on either side by a half circle of high banks, on which blossomed the whin and flowering broom. In front rose high rocks, over which raved and foamed the black moss waters, lashed into foam by their descent; the troubled waves then found a way through the centre of the dell, and were almost hidden by reeds and bracken,--or, as the English call it, fern. Beneath the cascade, on either side, grew several nut trees, and as the sun shone brightly, their light green stood out boldly relieved against the black rocks behind; through these trees were caught glimpses of the flashing waters as they heaped themselves into a dark lynn that eddied below. Countless insects,--dragon flies, azure wings, fritillaries, and other butterflies sported in the sunshine over the rushes, and from them the dell took its name of "Butterfly Dell." Half hid by the waterfall in the sides of the rock, a large dark hollow was just visible, over which danced the iris painted by the sunshine on the silvery spray,--now faint and dimly distinguishable, now radiant and bright as the bow in the day of rain. A few steps, rudely cut in the naked rock, led to the cavern, towards which the lovers directed their steps. The Earl guided his fair companion's footsteps up the rough stairs, assisting her with his arm, and in another moment they were both inside the cool retreat. The air of