NIMROD'S NORTHERN TOUR. 193 



gave a blast that, aided by its subterraneous force, soon did the business. 

 The cry of hounds must have been sweet music to it. 



One more word or two of this Gordon country, which is becoming 

 notorious from the sport it has shown; for when I was at Gask, Lord 

 Kintore received a letter from Captain Barclay of Ury, to which the fol- 

 lowing P. S. was appended. '* The duke has had another brilliant thing of 

 fifty-seven minutes from East Gordon, and killed in the open. Pace, 

 tremendous ; out of a field of forty, eight only saw any thing of it." West 

 Gordon, where the hounds met on the day I have been just speaking of, 

 is also renowned in the domestic history of Scotland. ''The parish of 

 Gordon," says the author of the Beauties of Scotland*, " is said to have 

 derived its name from a person, or his descendant, that came to England 

 with William the Conqueror." Having visited Scotland during the reign 

 of Malcolm Canmore, and killed a wild boar that infested the neighbour- 

 hood of the parish alluded to, he received a grant of certain lands there, 

 and gave them his own name of Gordon. The Dukes of Gordon are 

 descended from him ; and in memory of this exploit, the white boar 

 makes a part of the family arms. 



Although we were deprived of our sport with the hounds by untoward 

 circumstances, several little incidents occurred to make the morning of 

 this day agreeable. One was the recapitulation of some of those which 

 took place at the dinner given to Mr. Listen, at Edinburgh, to which I 

 have before alluded, as also to Williamson's presence at it He was 

 asked by several of the field why he did not make a speech upon the 

 occasion — particularly when the duke and his fox-hounds was drunk 



* Vol. II. p. U. 



2 c 



