Sunday 2nd March 1808

Dear Diary,
March most certainly arrived like a lion, such a howling and roaring I have never witnessed. It kept me up most of the night and I feared my casement was to come in.
This morn we went to Chapel and there were many branches strewn across the path. After the service I slipped out and stood awhile by Collette's grave in silent thought then after lunch I mounted the Knob and gazed out upon the familiar view I have missed of late. I had not been sitting long when I heard a crackling of twigs behind me and turned to find a pair of eyes upon me, a pair of eyes I had gazed into before. Standing less than twenty feet away was the 'wolf'. I suddenly became aware of a loud thumping sound and realised it was my heart. I had nowhere to go except over the precipice if it chose to attack me, but it did not. It just stood and looked at me with it's tongue lolling out of the side of it's mouth. I noticed it was very thin and it's fur badly matted. I remembered I had packed some titbits, should I feel peckish, so carefully I pulled out a cold sausage and tossed it towards the emaciated beast. At first it did nothing, but continued to stare, then after a few moments edged forward carefully and sniffed the food upon the ground. It's head came up again and it's eyes bored into me. My beating heart grew louder in the silence then it made a sudden move and I cried out. It snapped up the meat and turned and headed back into the trees but stopped and looked back at me for a moment before it vanished in the thicket. I do not believe it is a wolf, more so, some abandoned hound living wild upon this hill.
On my way home I encountered a very talkative fellow, whose name I did not ask, but let me tell you I have encountered sweeter smelling sheep on these slopes. He would have given Mr Wynde a run for his money in an incessant chatter match. At least Mr Wynde was intelligible, for much of what this fellow spoke was indecipherable. What odd folk there are hereabouts!