254 TJic Ichneumon or Mungoos. [Sess. 



rival establishment close by, with the result that the herons, 

 disgusted at having such a noisy and mischievous set of 

 neighbours, broke up their establishment and winged their 

 royal flight — following the rule in like fashionable society — 

 to a more aristocratic centre. Tliis portion of the river where 

 the herons bred and mustered was called the " heronry," and 

 many persons came from far distances to see these beautiful 

 birds in their native habitat ; for the heron, though ungainly 

 in appearance when the surroundings are uncongenial, is an 

 elegant bird when seen standing knee-deep near the edge of 

 some lone, rocky pool, and its presence used to add an 

 additional charm to what is acknowledged to be the finest 

 river scenery in Scotland. The herons built their nests in 

 some old and decayed trees which grew out of the face of 

 what appeared, to any one unacquainted with the high value 

 set upon his existence by the average schoolboy, to be a wholly 

 inaccessible cliff. That this was not the case, however, is 

 evident from the fact that several heron's eggs were freely 

 bartered in the district, and I myself have now in my possession 

 one of the large blue eggs of the bird, taken from a nest at 

 the heronry. Shortly before the departure of the herons, 

 a company of ladies and gentlemen hired a machine in Forres, 

 for what may be called the chief end of visitors to the district, 

 namely, a drive up the banks of the Findhorn. As the party 

 drove past the heronry, the birds took wing, and flew, or 

 rather sailed, in all directions round their nests, to the great 

 delight of the visitors, not one of whom, however, knew what 

 the birds were, and the driver was in consequence eagerly 

 appealed to. With a patronising wave of liis whip, he thus 

 addressed the leading lady : " Them's the gooses, mum ! " 



A few months ago, I had a call from a friend who resides in 

 London, and in the course of conversation he mentioned 

 incidentally that he had lately come into possession of a most 

 entertaining pet, namely, a mungoos. I have to confess that 

 visions of my old friends the herons, mixed up with the well- 

 remembered rubicund face of the said driver, flitted across my 

 imagination, and it was only by carefully sticking to general- 

 ities that I managed to preserve the respect of my friend. 

 Luckily, however, for my slight reputation as a lover and 

 friend of animals, the mungoos took shape and substance, and 



