MANAGEMENT OF MOORS 71 



side, who, it was easy to see from her admiring 

 and affectionate glances, must he his wife. 



" No signs of them ? " said she (that, at least, 

 is the best English translation of her inquiry). 



" Kuk, kuk ! 11 replied her lord, with a slightly 

 nervous assumption of contempt. " It's far too 

 early to expect 'em, I was merely looking at the 

 weather. An unusually fine 12th, I venture to 

 predict.'" 



Nevertheless, he scanned the sweep of moor- 

 land as though he expected the weather to come 

 out of the ground. 



" Cheep, cheep ! " said a voice behind them 

 (this remark is less easy to translate). 



" Cheep, cheep ! " said another ; and in a minute 

 seven well-conditioned young grouse were round 

 the tuft, all evidently a little affected by the excite- 

 ment. Their father surveyed them complacently. 



"An uncommonly fine covey " he said to him- 

 self; "not a bad cheeper among 'em. 11 



They crowded about him, all that you could 

 see of them looking like long-necked bottles, with 

 little inquisitive heads on the top. He regarded 

 them more gravely, and then in an unusually 

 serious voice began this address : — 



" You are aware that you have come to the 

 most momentous occasion in a grouse's life ? ,1 



They became instantly solemn, and looked at 

 him respectfully. 



" To-day," he went on, "you will experience 

 your first 12th, a prerogative not enjoyed by any 



