20 ON THE GRAMPIAN HILLS. 



keepers, gillies, and a', and we were off again to in- 

 crease our store. Nothing could exceed the beauty 

 of the scenery. Meandering through the vale was 

 seen the rippling stream, fed by many small acces- 

 sories trickling from the mossy sides of the adjoining 

 hills ; whilst the alteration in the lights and shades of 

 these historic hills was something wonderful to note, 

 varying, as they did, with the alternations of sunshine^ 

 gloomy clouds, and passing showers, which followed 

 in rapid succession. Still, we were adding to our bag, 

 notwithstanding the strong wind, my companion hitting 

 eight out of every ten shots, the dogs working superbly, 

 Kobertson showing the utmost skill in their manage- 

 ment and wonderful judgment in selecting the best 

 places to find game, all of which would have been 

 of little avail had not the shooter been well up to the 

 work, for the ground is severe, and requires to be 

 thoroughly well worked. 



I have been accustomed all my life to participate, 

 whenever I had a chance, in shooting game of all 

 descriptions the quail in the sugar plantations, the 

 snipe, teal, widgeon, wild ducks in the low grounds, 

 and the "bald pate" and the ground pigeon of the 

 West Indies. I have seen battues of pheasants, drives 

 of partridges, and all the various modes of capturing 

 game, but I never saw sport equalling that of this 

 day at any rate, to my taste, for I love to witness the 

 working of well-trained dogs, to see a long shot bring 

 down a strong bird ; and I care little for an enormous 

 bag, though I like a good score which is won by hard 

 work such as I joined in on this occasion, the grand 

 total of two guns amounting to no less than a hundred 

 and sixty-four head of grouse and one hare. 



