160 BALINCGT BRITISH ANIMALS. 
Ferguhard II., who died A.D, 668, is said to have 
proved so bad a king that Colman, Bishop of Lindis- 
farne, declured the vengeance of God would overtake 
him. ‘And sure his wordes proved true ; for within 
a moneth after, as the same Ferquhard followed in 
chase of a Wolfe, the beast being enraged by pursuite 
of the houndes, flew back uppon the king, and 
snatching at him, did wounde and byte him righte 
sore in one of his sides, immediately where- © 
upon, whether through anguishe of his hurt, or 
by some other occasion, he fell into a most filthie 
disease.” 
The sport enjoyed in Scotland in former days 
must have been incomparable. Bellenden, the trans- 
lator of Hector Boece, says, that in the forests of 
Caledonia there were “gret plente of haris, hartis, 
hindis, dayis, rais, Wo/fis, wild hors, and toadis,” 
(foxes), and he particularly mentions “the Wolfs” as 
being “rycht noysum to the tame bestiall in all 
partis of Scotland.” 
In the reign of Malcolm IV. (1153-1165) Robert 
de Avenel granted to the monks of Melrose the right 
of pasturage in his lands in Eskdale, reserving to 
himself the privileges of the feudal baron, to pursue 
the wild boar, the deer, and the stag. One of his 
successors questioned several of the claims to which 
the grantees considered themselves entitled, and it 
was ultimately decided in 1235, in presence of King 
Alexander II., that they had no right to hunt over the 
lands in question, and were restricted from setting 
* Holinshed, p. 148. 
