120 Sporting Sketches in Pen and Pencil. 



being entered upon with the shepherds — who looked on us, by the way, 

 with very different eyes, as " the laird's friends ye ken," from what they 

 would if we had only been Egyptians from the South for the Highland 

 tribes to make spuilzie on. Though each man had his two pounds of 

 choice negrohead, a pair of stout shoes, and a gallon of whisky down — 

 which vastly assisted the obstetrics of the grouse, and prevented coUeys 

 from indulging too freely in an omelette diet — Jock not only made his 

 will known on this head, which was omnipotent, but he took on himself to 

 see everything comfortable for us in and about the lodge besides, which 

 saved us a lot of trouble ; and on the 9th of August next Charley, Chiffens, 

 Ned Soper, and myself found ourselves in a compartment of the night 

 mail, performing a sociable rubber round a board of green cloth, whereby, 

 as I remember, I was some five or six yellow rascal counters the richer. 

 At Keepsoaken Station Jock's waggonette and pair, with a cart for the 

 luggage, awaited us, and in an hour and a bittock the gleaming loch 

 burst on our view, though old Ben still had his nightcap on. A tub 

 and a hearty breakfast refreshed us. The others loafed about on sofas, 

 and took various forty winks. As for me, I got Donald to row me over 

 the loch with a couple of trolling rods over the stern, and there, upon 

 comfortable cushions, I snoozed away the summer noon, while Donald 

 slowly progressed along some seventy or eighty yards from the shore, 

 giving me his estimate of the chances of sport which we had. 



" There was a gran' show in the wee glens o' Ben Darroch, and he 

 never kent siccan a congregation o'm on the Hill o' Darroch, and the 

 grooses were gey and Strang, for the season was just a graund ane — he 

 never remembered a graunder — and wi' luck mayhap we'd get a staig or 

 twa." 



We got only one run, but, happening to be asleep, I did not wake 

 up soon enough to turn it to account, " and so," as Pepys says, 

 "home." 



By dinner time we were all pretty fresh again, and had a very jolly 

 evening and another rubber, though we got to bed early. The next 

 day, after due inspection of the kennels and the usual critical discussion 

 of Don, Bell, Dash, Bomp, and Co., we took a good long stretch, just 



