TO THE HUNTING GROUNDS 79 



alarmed as to the result of the infatuation, for the 

 average Scotchman in love, unless matters take a 

 very unusual turn, may be trusted to think his thoughts 

 and refrain from expressing them. Very different from 

 the Irish lover, who says things he does not think, and 

 still more unlike the Enghsh swain, who merely implies 

 and neither says nor thinks. 



After a lot of quibbling and changing of minds, we 

 forced Kenneth into an expedition, taking us in the 

 first place to the mountains above the Kakheti valle^^ 

 and from thence into Daghestan after ibex ; but our 

 start was still further delayed the while my cousin 

 helped the Powers that Were to evolve an easily 

 worked scheme for finding our pubHsher acquaintance, 

 who, in persistently hunting for the original of a scene 

 in his last issued colour-book, had lost himself some- 

 where in the mountains of the Laila. A small ex- 

 pedition was being detailed to retrieve our country- 

 man, and a description of the wanderer compiled. It 

 was read over to us for approval, and I did feel glad 

 the pubHsher was missing and could not hear it. The 

 pen portrait would not have pleased the great man at 

 all. 



" Does he answer to this ? " queried an official, 

 dweUing on the size, shape, and style of the lost one. 



" I think so," said Kenneth. " He always answered 

 to everything." 



Our prince of the railway train dined with us the 

 night before we left Tiflis, and his description of the 

 sport to be obtained in the beautiful Kuban valley 

 which environed his home on the skirts of Karbarda 



