38 HAPPY HUNTING-GROUNDS 



rifle which Sir John allowed me to use. Old black- 

 cocks used to feed all round the inn, and even in the 

 garden ; and the patient had a looking-glass so 

 arranged that he could see their reflection as he 

 lay in bed. His convalescence dated from the day 

 when he was tempted to creep out of bed, and put a 

 bullet through the glossy ebony neck of one which 

 tempted him beyond endurance. Our stay was pro- 

 longed into December, and I was able to see something 

 of bird life in winter when the great flocks of Brent, 

 Barnacle, and Lag geese used to pass over my head in 

 wedge-shaped cohorts. What pleasure may be de- 

 rived from watching the life of bird and beast under 

 natural conditions, and yet how unobservant some 

 are ! We had a maid-servant who said to my wife one 

 evening when brushing her hair, " I saw a gull to-day." 

 This was about the third week of our second autumn 

 at Killoran, and it is hardly an exaggeration to say 

 that the eye could never sweep the horizon without 

 encountering the sight of many gulls. Another of 

 her quaint remarks ran as follows : " The young 

 gentlemen brought in a funny bird to-day. I think 

 they called it a handrail ! " But to those that have 

 eyes to see, the pages of the book of Nature are 

 everywhere open, and full of ever fresh interests and 

 delights. 



Gaelic was the prevailing language, and those 

 linguists who could understand and speak the Sassen- 

 ach tongue were obviously translating as they went 

 on. Witch, spectre, and fairy had not been altogether 

 driven away by the advance of civilisation, and the 

 votive offerings of devotees on the stone at the side 

 of the well of St. Columba testify that passers-by still 



