24 AUTUMNS ON THE SPEY. 



flowers of every imaginable colour and variety, 

 in the midst of which magnificent fountains 

 threw their lofty jets of the clearest water high 

 into air, or poured it, in mimic cascades, into 

 wide basins below ; while the lines of balustrade 

 that separated this fairy land from the park on 

 either side, were broken at intervals by urns of 

 various sizes and forms, and statues of stags, or 

 gigantic dogs, standing off in relief from the 

 dense foliage of the lime-trees. Bounding the 

 view in this direction, and contrasting powerfully 

 with the Southern character of this home scene, 

 rose the pine-covered hills, nearly two miles off, 

 which were to be the scene of our sport in a few 

 hours ; while a narrow cutting, exposing the tall 

 stems, could be seen ascending from the base of 

 the rising ground, like a clearing in an American 

 forest. These fir-woods extended for miles far 

 away towards the east, and round to the north- 

 east, the "saw-edge" profile of their outline 

 being backed by the sky, or, occasionally, by the 

 heathery heights of more distant moorland. 



When assembled at the appointed hour, we 

 numbered about eight guns, and proceeded to the 

 rendezvous on the outskirts of the wood. Here 

 were already collected several keepers, clad in 

 shooting dresses of Gordon tartan, and numerous 



