PLEASANT PLACES 21 



as the interesting invalid was already quite con- 

 valescent, and some twenty years later enjoyed the 

 hospitality of Braemore and, like his father, killed his 

 first stag there. 



The visitors' book was a most interesting and valu- 

 able possession, as the most distinguished artists and 

 literary and scientific celebrities had enriched it 

 with their contributions. Sir Edwin Landseer, Millais, 

 and General Crealoch had sketched various incidents 

 of the sport in the forest, and Sir William Harcourt 

 had celebrated the delights of a holiday in verse. 

 The pen-and-ink sketches of Millais were especially 

 interesting. One exaggerated the drawbacks of a 

 wet season. An ark of the well-known Lowther 

 Arcade type floated over a dreary expanse of water, 

 a black-cock perched upon its chimney. The legend 

 inscribed below recorded that it contained " Braemore 

 and his family," but it would have needed a deluge 

 greater even than the historical spate on the Findhorn 

 to submerge the eagle's nest from which the Laird 

 looked down upon the valley. In another sketch 

 Sir John's partner was depicted landing his first 

 salmon, and a Cupid fluttering above an admirable 

 likeness of Harcourt crowned him with a laurel 

 wreath on the occasion of his shooting his first stag. 

 Another sketch by the same hand portrayed an 

 angler casting from the narrow platform beside the 

 boiling foss at the top of the river Broom, his gillie 

 supporting him by a gaff firmly fixed through his 

 nether garments. This bore the legend, " A necessary 

 precaution when fishing the Lynn pool." 



Some of these sketches were reproduced as illustra- 

 tions to an article on "The Game Book of a Famous 



