IN THE HIGHLANDS 147 



he attended in the thirties, soon after his arrival from 

 England, he wore one so long that it reached nearly 

 down to his ankles ! Some good friends having ventured 

 to hint that the kilt would have been more becoming 

 to his figure had it been made shorter, he had another 

 one made for a Stornoway ball which reached down a 

 very short distance, to the great consternation and 

 scandal of the assembled company ! 



I think I got twelve stags in all that season. I might 

 have killed a lot more, but I did not like to overdo it 

 when I thought of the rent ! I got one very big stag, 

 the biggest, I fancy, I ever killed, though we had no 

 possible means of weighing him at Carn Mor, as he had 

 to be cut up in bits and packed in the creels on each side 

 of Billy's back; but he had a grand wide head of eight 

 points. He was evidently the master stag on Beinn a 

 Chaisgan Mhor, and we were after him a good many 

 days before I downed him on the flat, smooth top 2,800 

 feet up, where a coach and four might have driven for 

 a long distance. I think T was in front when I saw 

 the ears of a lot of hinds coming along down wind, 

 probably moved by one of the shepherds, and we had 

 just time to throw our two selves down behind a small 

 boulder which happened, fortunately, to push its head 

 through the otherwise smooth, mossy turf. We both 

 at once guessed that the big stag would be bringing 

 up the rear, and luckily managed to let the long line of 

 hinds file past without their seeing us. When the stag 

 came in sight I got him. 



One day in October my stalker and I had crossed 

 the Fionn Loch, so famous for its big trout, and landed 



