40 REMINISCENCES OF THE LEWS. 



did well. One lesson I learnt from her, and 

 that was, that no yacht is of the least use in 

 those parts that is not a steamer ; then one 

 is most useful. Indeed, if I had the world 

 to begin over again, and had a shooting in 

 one of those far-off regions, I should never 

 bother myself with a land establishment, but 

 make my ship my home, keeping my dogs on 

 shore. 



I remained three seasons at Aline, passing 

 my time most pleasantly ; but certainly, at that 

 time, though there was ground, there was not 

 game enough for three guns. The ground got 

 up slowly to be what it was when F. M. performed 

 his great feat of killing one hundred brace of 

 grouse to his own gun in one day. It was not 

 all at once that the improvements made began 

 to tell. There was then neither road nor path 

 across the Park, and really the stiff walks 

 across the hills there, either for fishing or 

 shooting purposes — for each day's sport there 

 necessitated an expedition entailing crossing 

 Loch Seaforth — were not repaid by the sport 

 obtained. F. M. had not then made a good 

 walking - path for nearly four miles up to 

 Benmore, which greatly facilitated operations 

 there ; neither had he so increased the size of 

 the house at Aline, and so improved it in every 



