212 AUTUMNS IN ARGYLESHIRE 



a strange nondescript, so singed by a hundred 

 candles that, were it not for the claws on the 

 shield beside it, it would be difficult to recognise 

 it for the " old man " kangaroo which turned 

 desperately to bay after a sharp breather in 

 South Australia. At the far end, African ante- 

 lopes' horns surmount a trophy of South Sea 

 clubs, which have an historical interest as well 

 as a decorative value, for they were a gift from 

 Captain Cook to his friend Dr. Orme the great- 

 grandfather of the present laird presented just 

 before he sailed on his last fatal voyage on July 

 11, 1776. In the corner are a confused bundle 

 of old bows and arrows, a narwhal horn, and 

 the weapon of a swordfish ; while above the 

 cupboard two miserable little red deers' heads 

 from the island of Jura testify by contrast to 

 the care with which the breed has been improved 

 by Mr. Evans, the present lessee of the forest, 

 to enable him to show the splendid trophies 

 which now decorate his dining-room walls. How 

 many a jolly evening have I spent in that dear 

 old gunroom ! What pleasant companions used 

 to gather there for their sociable cigars and 

 pipes seated, some of them, on cartridge boxes 

 and cane chairs ; for the old prejudice against a 

 regular smoking-room still existed. As I write, 

 I still seem to sniff the scent of the cocoanut 

 matting and to hear the drip of the rain from 

 the eaves into the balcony outside a welcome 



