228 EXTRACTS FROM NOTE-BOOKS. CH. XXXIV. 



I. " 'Deed ay, sir ! do you mind those that we 

 saw at first starting ? they all came up this gate, 

 and we've seen none of them. I'd like weel to 

 get a good shot at them." We therefore went 

 quietly on to the place, the crows being quite 

 concealed from us by the bank. On looking over 

 it cautiously, there they were, indeed, a whole 

 flock of those most mischievous of all vermin. 

 " Now then, Donald, take care, and kill all you 

 can," said I. " 'Deed ay," was his answer, with a 

 quiet chuckle. The next moment our four charges 

 of shot were driving through the midst of the 

 crows, and such a family shot at these cunning 

 birds was not often made, as we killed or maimed 

 no less than seven. But the next instant, to our 

 mortification, a magnificent white-tailed eagle rose 

 not twenty yards from us, out of the bed of the 

 river, where he had been feeding on another 

 drowned sheep which had grounded there. He 

 was so gorged that he could scarcely get clear of 

 the banks. After a few wheels, however, he got 

 well launched, and was soon wending his way 

 towards the cliffs of the mountain ahead of us. 

 Donald almost wept with vexation, but for my 

 own part I did not regret the escape of the noble 

 bird so much. 



Turning round a bend of the river, we came 



