EARLY RECOLLECTIONS. 9 



was, I was much interested by witnessing its 

 practical application on a national scale. Here 

 and there only was a horseman to be seen, and 

 he almost invariably turned out to be an English- 

 man who had brought his own cattle and eccen- 

 tricities across the Channel wherewith to astonish 

 the natives. 



A happy interlude of travel and sport in the 

 Scottish Highlands occurred in 1837, and this 

 started again my natural bent for adventure. 



I never cared for the usual school games, such 

 as cricket, football, or, indeed, any pastime in- 

 volving disciplined action. Boating I delighted 

 in, and could manage a small craft under sail or 

 oar to perfection. At the University I occasionally 

 pulled an oar in our college boat, and participated 

 in several winning races (bumps), but much pre- 

 ferred solitary excursions. Of archery I was 

 passionately fond not in the shape of formal 

 target-shooting, but when roaming away over the 

 fields, practising at any tempting mark, and doing 

 a little poaching when opportunity offered. A 

 pheasant or two, or a hare, killed with my bow 

 afforded more pleasure than a whole bagful 

 obtained with the gun. Sometimes a little mischief 



