Some TKHtmblefcon "focroes 653 



at so early an age, for he was unquestionably a remark- 

 ably fine small-bore shot, and would, I do not doubt, 

 have made himself a great name. Previously to winning 

 the Queen's Prize at Wimbledon in 1869 he had carried 

 off from all Scotland the Caledonian Challenge Shield. 



One notable result of the spread of rifle-shooting 

 amongst the Volunteers was to prove that there were in 

 the ranks tradesmen and mechanics men who could handle 

 a rifle as deftly as the crack shots among the gentlemen 

 who made deer-stalking their pastime or the soldiers who 

 had to make musketry their business. Tradesmen who 

 knew nothing of sport or soldiering, who had never fired 

 gun or rifle until they became Volunteers, suddenly 

 sprang to the front as first-rate marksmen. When I was 

 in the Midlands in 1865, two of the best shots there were 

 Whiteman, a hair-dresser of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and 

 Kelsey, a draper of Leicester. And here was this little 

 Highland jeweller of Kingussie towering a very King 

 among marksmen above sportsmen and soldiers who 

 had been used to guns and rifles from their boyhood ! 

 But greatest of all Scotsmen whom the Volunteer 

 movement brought to light is MacVittie, of Dumfries, 

 whose name is familiar as a household word among 

 riflemen not only in the United Kingdom but in the 

 United States. MacVittie would not have refused the 

 proffered goblet of the " Victorias " if it had ever been 

 his luck to win the Queen's Prize, for he is no 

 teetotaller, but an honest Scot who believes that " a 

 dram " at times, and especially in damp weather, 

 steadies the hand and quickens the eye. But Mac- 

 Vittie has never had the good fortune to win the Queen's 



