424 Iktnas of tbe TCofc, IRifle, an& 6un 



collected from the hill-men, and partly from my own 

 observation ; for when this grand affair took place I 

 heard and saw all. 



He is a French noble, who has had the merit of 

 bringing himself into notice as a famous shot ; not, as 

 I conceive, from any feats of skill that he has actually 

 performed, but simply from his excellent soi disant 

 qualities. He is, as you see, beautifully equipped ; 

 that, indeed, no one can deny ; dressed too in the 

 most elaborate fashion. See how knowingly his rifle 

 is slung in the German fashion. I assure you that, what 

 with his gay good humour, and foreign singularity, 

 he has attracted a considerable degree of observation. 

 " His discourse is sweet and voluble " ; but aged ears 

 by no means " played truant with his tales" ; for John 

 Crerar and the older sportsmen discovered properties 

 in him quite adequate, they said, to destroy the sport 

 of a whole season. What was to be done? If he 

 remained in the glen, it was imperative on him to be 

 totally silent : singing French airs was out of the 

 question. The deer, said the Duke, were not to be had 

 as in the time of Orpheus ; on the contrary, it was 

 more becoming to be mute, and to lie concealed like 

 Marius in the marshes of Minturnae, and somewhat 

 better. But it seemed quite evident that nothing short 

 of the combined powers of laudanum and a strait- 

 waistcoat could effect any restraint upon our gentle- 

 man. These were not at hand, and if they had been 

 so, it might perhaps have been thought somewhat 

 inhospitable to have used them ; so that idea was 

 dropped, at once. In this dilemma it was deemed 



