EDITOR'S PREFACE 



industry, which Mr Murray brought out in the popular volume of Wild 

 Sports and Natural History of the Highlands." 



Thus a new interest was brought into St John's life and 

 a source of profit opened to him, just when the educational 

 requirements of three little boys made it most desirable. 

 To meet those requirements, the house at Invererne was 

 given up in 1847 and a move was made to a little villa near 

 Nairn. Again in 1849 the household moved, and for the 

 last time, to the beautiful old cathedral town of Elgin, 

 where, if St John was further from his beloved Findhorn, 

 he was much nearer to the Loch of Spynie, that famous 

 resort of many kinds of wild fowl. 



Whether his abode at Elgin might have proved less 

 transient than elsewhere, may never be known now. For 

 some years he had suffered grievously from occasional 

 violent headache, and in the early days of December 1853 

 he was afflicted in that way. Having recovered, as he 

 thought, he started on the morning of the 6th to shoot at 

 Pluscardine with Major Gordon-Cumming and Major 

 Pitcairn-Campbell; but, before reaching the ground, he 

 was seized with paralysis affecting the whole of his leftside, 

 and it was with the utmost difficulty that his friends con- 

 veyed him back to Elgin. He was but four and forty years 

 of age; his mind was unimpaired, and his family had good 

 encouragement to share his own belief that time would re- 

 store him to his wonted activity. They took him to his nat- 

 ive Sussex for change of air — to Brighton first, and then 

 to Southampton; but the months lengthened into years, 

 and there came no change for the better. To the last, he 

 talked confidently of returning "to some place between 

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