78 THE HERD TAKE ALARM. 



would advise you to - By the powers ! I see him now ; 

 he is sitting down above the deer and examining them 

 with his glass. What a capital fellow ! he has not been 

 more than half an hour. Now he is looking at us for a 

 signal : open your waistcoat, and shew your shirt, Peter. 

 He sees it : now he is going forward behind the hill, 

 and will soon start them." 



" Lightfoot, come you here, and observe the beautiful 

 motions of these animals, which to me are as entertaining 

 as any part of the sport ; but should the deer come near 

 us, pray be mute as a fish, and as quiet as the most magnani- 

 mous mouse ; keeping your hair smoothed down like unto 

 those fair nymphs at Portsmouth beloved of the sailors 

 who comb it straight in front, and cut it to the pattern 

 of a bowl-dish." 



" Now take my glass ; one of Dollond's best it is stay, 

 I will direct it to the proper spot : look intently a little 

 more to the right keep the glass as steady as possible 

 and when the deer are in motion, and group together, you 

 will be sure to distinguish them, though they are not so 

 easily seen at present." 



" Now, indeed, I do actually see them : what beautiful 

 creatures ! They are all standing up, and gazing at the 

 summit of the hill. How stately the stags look with their 

 jutting necks and towering antlers! Are you sure they 

 are not elks ? By Hercules, I think they are. Now 

 they are moving forward to the hind in advance, which 

 you seemed to have such an antipathy to. What in the 

 world makes them shift their quarters ? " 



" Why Maclaren is nearly opposite to them, but at a 

 great distance above, behind the swell of the hill, and, 



