140 WITH NATURE AND A' CAMERA. 



not command a view of the eyrie from any point 

 at which he could use his telephoto lens. 



One day, whilst out with an old game-watcher, 

 he espied an Adder basking in the sunshine close 

 to the path along which they were walking. His 

 companion waxed so loudly eloquent about his 

 prowess in having slain a reptile of the same species 

 a few days before that he was asked to speak low 

 lest the Adder should hear him and be off before 

 he could photograph it. This heathenish admission 

 of ignorance was most unfortunate, and stirred 

 poor Sandy's theological sentiments to their pro- 

 foundest depths. Affecting a great air of surprise 

 he puffed in his beard, and with a fine mixture of 

 scorn and sorrow exclaimed " Och, mon, did ye 

 niver read the Scriptures ? Talk of an Adder 

 hearing ye, indeed ! " doubtless having the natural 

 history of the fourth and fifth verses of the fifty- 

 eighth Psalm in his mind : " The deaf adder that 

 stoppeth her ear; which will not hearken to the 

 voice of the charmer, charming never so wisely." 



The foregoing picture of the reptile was made 

 before it was added to a long list of victims in 

 our friend's mental calendar of destruction. 



On the occasion of this second visit a pair of 

 Peregrine Falcons were breeding at the far end of 

 the beat, eleven miles away across the mountains ; 

 and as the gamekeeper and his watcher were going 

 to pay the place a visit in order to try to shoot 

 the depredators, my brother volunteered to accom- 

 pany them on their expedition. Accordingly they 

 all started out at three o'clock one fine morning 

 for the scene of action. 



When they arrived at the cliff they discovered 

 that the female would not be driven from her charge 

 by any noise they could make by hand-clapping 



