176 ODD HOURS WITH NATURE 



one. When I pressed my friend, the .keeper, to 

 tell me, really and truly, if the very tame and 

 trustful animals before us would become wild and 

 watchful as grey-lag" geese in the course of two 

 months' time, he slowly dropped one eyelid, and 

 speaking with thoughtful deliberation, said : 

 " Gentlemen who come to the Highlands for deer- 

 stalking expect deer-stalking, and a keeper who 

 knows his business knows very well what they 

 are looking for. It is possible he might take 

 them within shooting distance of a stag ,with less 

 trouble than he puts them to, but they would not 

 think half so much of themselves. And to tell 

 you the truth, considering what sort of shots some 

 of our fine gentry are, the deer would not need to 

 be a very difficult animal to approach. I would 

 not like to tell you the number of times I have 

 brought a sportsman within eighty yards of a 

 stag and seen him miss it, though it gave him a 

 mark like a barn door. As for the wild goose," 

 he went on, " the deer -stalking sportsman who 

 could get near enough to one to shoot it would 

 have some reason to be proud of himself, both as 

 a shot and as a stalker. Compared with the wild 

 goose the deer is a stupid brute." 



