306 NETHER LOCHABER. 



show that, according to my limited experience, the hedgehog is not 

 quite such a harmless and innocent creature as you endeavour to make 

 him, and further, that your practical experiments with the hungry 

 animals and the eggs are not sufficiently satisfactory to establish 

 and set at rest once and for ever the hedgehog's innocency. To be 

 brief : two or three summers ago, while living in the Highlands of 

 Scotland, and within one hundred and fifty miles of the Highland 

 capital, about ten o'clock on a beautiful Sunday evening in the 

 month of June, and shortly after a most genial shower of rain had 

 fallen to refreshen the young crops, my attention was attracted by 

 the most alarming and violent cackling of a hen that had just 

 begun to incubate on two or three addled eggs, or ' nest eggs ' as 

 they are called. Wondering what would be the cause of this noisy 

 demonstration on the part of the hen, and thinking that probably 

 a thief might be at hand, I at once repaired to where the hen was. 

 I could see no one about, but there the hen was, as noisy as ever, 

 looking towards her nest, advancing apparently to charge some 

 unseen enemy, and then suddenly making a retrograde movement 

 in the most frantic manner, without attacking her enemy. On 

 stooping down and peeping into the corner where the nest was (for 

 by this time it was almost dark), I observed a round dark object 

 in comfortable possession of the nest ; this was a hedgehog. If I 

 remember well, one of the eggs was broken, and there was very 

 little of the contents left. This, I am almost sure, was the case, 

 though I would hardly go so far as to swear to it at this 

 distance of time. Probably in these circumstances you will say, 

 * Then, if you can't actually swear to it, your information deserves 

 no attention.' However, bear with me a little longer. On another 

 occasion, on a similar fine evening, about the same hour, and about 

 four weeks after the above, I heard another hen, which, with a 

 brood of some eight or ten fine young chickens, had taken up its 

 night quarters quite near the scene of the first row, making a like 



