PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. 



It is with real diffidence that I offer these 

 volumes to the public. I am induced to do 

 so by the wishes of many of my friends and 

 companions in the woods and fields, who, 

 having received with indulgence my former 

 volume on Highland Sports, have persuaded 

 me to launch another barque laden with a 

 similar cargo of odds and ends. That it 

 should have as favourable a voyage as its 

 predecessor is more than I can venture to 

 hope. If, however, these pages serve to 

 entertain for a few hours any of my fellow- 

 lovers of nature, or if any whose occupations 

 in life are of a graver and more laborious 

 kind, find relaxation and amusement in their 

 perusal, my object is fully gained. 



