214: FIELD-NOTES FOR THE YEAR. CH. XV. 



full of tricks and as vicious as a monkey. The 

 only bad habit of which I could never break ours 

 was opening every gate which hindered his getting 

 out. There was scarcely any common fastening 

 which he would not undo with his teeth, and if he 

 found a weak place in railings he would push 

 against it till he broke it, and then gallop away 

 for an hour or two where he chose. He also had 

 a peculiar knack of finding out and opening the 

 oat-chest in any stable. When out on a marauding 

 excursion of this kind he knew perfectly that he 

 was doing wrong, and would not allow me to catch 

 him, although at home he would follow me any- 

 where, putting his nose into my hand to ask for 

 apples or bread. At all times, however, he allowed 

 any one of the children, particularly my little girl, 

 to catch him, and when caught always came back 

 as quietly as possible. There was a great deal of 

 fun and conscious roguery in the little fellow's 

 style of mischief which one could never help laugh- 

 ing at. When idle in his field nothing seemed to 

 please him so much as a game of romps with any 

 dog who would play with him. 



When I lived close to Nairn, as soon as ever he 

 heard the horn of the mail-coach, which was blown 

 on its arrival at the inn, he invariably ran to an 

 elevated part of the field, from which he could see 



