64 AUTUMNS IN AKGYLESHIRE 



occasion my disappointment was unmixed with 

 any flavour of self-reproach. I did not expect 

 to hit the beast, and indeed it would have been 

 more or less of a fluke if I had. Moreover I 

 solaced myself with the thought that, if I had 

 been allowed to shoot earlier, when I had wished 

 to do so, the result might have been different. 



Here I pause for a moment to discuss the 

 question whether the advice invariably given 

 by experts to beginners to wait for a deer to 

 rise is always sound. There can of course be 

 no doubt that a deer lying down presents a 

 much smaller mark than one standing up and 

 feeding ; but I question whether the delay, often 

 tedious and protracted, does not more than 

 counterbalance this advantage. Of course it is 

 to some extent a question of temperament ; a 

 phlegmatic man may be able to contemplate a 

 fine stag reposing at a short distance from his 

 rifle for an hour or more with an absolute assur- 

 ance of success ; but, for myself, I always feel 

 my confidence waning as time passes ; and if 

 the wait is a long one, I am very apt to dis- 

 grace myself when the critical moment arrives. 

 I cannot, however, pose as an authority upon 

 the subject. I have never rented a forest, al- 

 though I have killed a fair number of stags in 

 the course of my autumnal wanderings ; and a 

 rule so universally observed by the most skilful 

 and practised sportsmen must be right in the 



