In one of those glens that lay
nearest the mountains, or rather indeed among them, was a spot which
from its peculiar position would appear to have been designed from the
very beginning as a perfect paradise for the illicit distiller. It was a
kind of back chamber in the mountains, that might, in fact, have escaped
observation altogether, as it often did. The approach to it was by a
long precipitous glen, that could be entered only at its lower end, and
seemed to terminate against the abrupt side of the mountain, like a
cul de sac. At the very extremity, however, of this termination, and a
little on the right-hand side, there was a steep, narrow pass leading
into a recess which was completely encompassed by precipices. From this
there was only one means of escape independently of the gut through
which it was entered. The moors on the side most approachable were
level, and on a line to the eye with that portion of the mountains which
bounded it on the opposite side, so that as one looked forward the space
appeared to be perfectly continuous, and consequently no person could
suspect that there lay so deep and precipitous a glen between them.
In the northern corner of this remarkable locality, a deep cave, having
every necessary property as a place for private distillation, ran under
the rocks, which met over it in a kind of gothic arch.
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