HIGHLAND MOORS. 127 



yesterday was buried in the pajp of his ledger, 

 amid the smoke of Threadneedle Street, may 

 find himself to-morrow regularly located in his 

 Highland lodge, bracing his relaxed nerves with 

 the mountain breeze, or despatching baskets full 

 of grouse for the hospitable tables of his less 

 fortunate friends in ( the city.' It may be 

 observed, however, that bitter disappointment 

 not unfrequently follows in the track even of 

 the wealthy Saxon. The right of sporting may 

 comprise many thousand acres, yet not contain 

 as many score of grouse, which perhaps have 

 been shot down to the very verge of extinction 

 by the former tenant, who has probably availed 

 himself of his right to reap the reward of a 

 long period of care and protection during the last 

 season of his occupation. Such a result however 

 may generally be avoided by a previous inquiry 

 on the spot, while to obtain a ' well stocked 

 moor ' in the modern acceptation of the term, 

 it is advisable to secure the tenancy for several 

 successive seasons. But with the nature of High- 

 land shooting almost every young sportsman 

 is familiar, if not by actual experience, still 

 by general report. In the sister island, however, 

 the case is somewhat different. The system of 

 letting the manors has not yet been introduced. 

 The admixture of woodcocks, snipe, plover, and 



