376 NIMROD'S NORTHERN TOUR. 



seventy-six miles, on horseback and on foot, between breakfast and din- 

 ner ! Major Wemyss returned the next morning, per Defiance, to hunt 

 the following day with Mr. Dalyell, and I and the Captain were 

 booked by it in the evening, as far as Aberdeen, on our way to Cask, 

 to pay a second visit to Lord Kintore. 



Wednesday, 11. At my last visit to Ury, the Captain had a Marquess 

 for his guest, and this day a butcher from Aberdeen had the honour of a 

 seat at his board, having arrived at Ury, in the morning, on business. 

 But observe, reader ! there are grades in the class of butchers, as well as 

 in other ranks, and Mr. Williamson the butcher of Aberdeen — for such 

 is his name and domicile — is one of the archons of that celebrated city, 

 a man of large means, of high character, and as intelligent a companion 

 as I ever met with in my travels. He is also a capital customer to the 

 Captain, having, that year, paid him a thousand pounds for grass only, 

 on the Ury domain, besides having, at that time, two hundred sheep 

 eating his turnips. But what a noble farm must that of Ury be, to ad- 

 mit of all this, after the quantity of stock which the Captain keeps on it, 

 of his own ; and at this very time, besides his hundred neat cattle 

 he had 400 Leicester ewes, and 800 sheep of various sorts, eating 

 turnips. 



We dined at the good old fashioned hour of two, and as we were not 

 called upon to go to Stonehaven to take the coach till six, we had plenty 

 of time for chat. As may be supposed, ^wsiness was now and then 

 alluded to, and amongst the many questions I put to Mr. Williamson, 

 was his opinion of Lord Kintore's black ox, which was purchased by one 

 of his fraternity at Aberdeen, for a hundred pounds, or guineas, and 

 whose portrait, from a painting by Cooper, was given to me by his 



