154 REMINISCENCES OF THE LEWS. 



been a grouse, I should not have minded them 

 much at thirty- five yards ; but they mended 

 wonderfully, and one of them, T. D., has since 

 become a very good shot. My two comrades 

 were the two most unexacting creatures that 

 ever existed in the way of slaughter. They 

 were always satisfied with their day's sport, 

 good or bad, and would not even shoot their 

 number if they thought the season would not 

 bear it. The consequence was, our grouse 

 increased ; and latterly, when one of the com- 

 rades, to my great sorrow, departed, the re- 

 maining one and I got on so well together 

 that we eschewed a third, who might have 

 unknown qualities, shot together for the rest 

 of my tenure at Soval, and consequently had 

 very good sport. 



It was after the departure of the comrades, 

 however, that my season began. Till the end 

 of October I devoted myself to looking after 

 the few deer that were to be found on my 

 ground, and which, for the first few years I 

 held Soval, did not entirely desert it. There 

 were always a few hinds on the ground that 

 I never molested, and occasionally stags came 

 to visit them, or crossed the ground from the 

 forest to the Monach Hills to the north of 

 Stornoway, where there is very good feeding 



