30 AUTUMNS ON THE SPEY. 



I should have mentioned that, during the time 

 occupied in placing us at our different stations, 

 the hounds had been taken, by a circuitous route, 

 through the woods to a considerable distance, 

 accompanied by an army of beaters, and as soon 

 as all was ready, the report of a single gun an- 

 nounced the fact to the huntsman, who, at once, 

 with all his assistants, human and canine the 

 former drawn out in a line commenced opera- 

 tions. The denseness and great extent of the 

 pine-forest, and the undulating nature of the 

 ground, for a long time prevented my hearing 

 any sounds proceeding from that direction, but 

 presently the distant report of a gun, quickly fol- 

 lowed by another, told me that a roe was alread} T 

 on the move, and that some fortunate sportsman 

 had not been long kept in suspense. The day, 

 like so many that had preceded it of late, was 

 close and sultry, and the persecution that I en- 

 dured from gnats and midges far beyond any- 

 thing of the kind I had previously experienced. 

 Their attacks, indeed, as I found on many sub- 

 sequent occasions, constitute the standard plague 

 of a roedeer drive in these woods. When seated 

 on the ground, the victim is most severely 

 punished. The retreat among the boughs above 

 furnished somewhat of a sanctuary, but even here 



