EUTHANASIA. 461 



Though life-duration, regarded as to the individual, is 

 most uncertain, nobody being able to form the vaguest notion 

 of the hour of his decease, yet considered as to the species, 

 the period of life-duration can be estimated with much cer- 

 tainty. Were it otherwise, the practice of remunerative life- 

 assurance could not obtain. In a general way the rule has 

 been established, that the normal life-duration of an animal 

 is directly proportionate to the time occupied by it in coming 

 to the extreme of growth. To this, however, there are so 

 many exceptions, that they almost invalidate the rule. Thus 

 ravens die extremely old ; so do parrots ; both having been 

 known to attain ages beyond a hundred years; yet neither 

 parrots nor ravens are slow of growth. 



From very ancient times there has been a traditionary 

 belief in the long life of deer even hundreds of years. The 

 Egyptians in their hieroglyphic code chose the deer for their 

 symbol of longevity. From the Egyptians the belief passed 

 down to the Romans, and thence to our own times. 



In no part of the world is belief in the longevity of deer 

 more firmly fixed than in the Highlands. It is not asserted 

 by Scottish Highlanders that the lives of deer in general are 

 immoderately long, something like twenty-five years being 

 assigned for the usual term of existence of a red deer. The 

 Highland belief is, that certain old stags are endowed with 

 a magic vitality ; that they are a sort of wizard stags. Of 

 these weird creatures numerous tales are told. Take, for 

 example, the following : 



In the year 1826, the late Glengarry, when hunting in 

 the garth of Glengarry, shot a fine stag, which was seen to 

 have a certain mark on the left ear. A gillie coming up 

 said it was the mark of Ewen-Mac-Ian Og. Five other 

 gillies coincided, and they all agreed that Ewen-Mac-Ian Og 

 had been dead one hundred and fifty years. The tradition 

 had been handed down, that this old chieftain for thirty years 

 before his death had marked with this particular brand all 



