SCARDROY. 161 



with his regiment in the East, carried him into 

 the swamps and jungles of Indostan, in spite of 

 Thugs, tigers, and fever, and rewarded him with 

 the acquisition of many a sporting trophy. 



Some years ago he rented Scardroy, an im- 

 mense mountain district in Rosshire, near Strath- 

 connan, comprising an area of thirty -five thousand 

 acres. This vast tract of wild ground adjoined, or 

 ' marched with,' as the Highlanders have it 

 another beat of similar extent, over which he had 

 free permission to pursue his sport. The whole 

 was well stocked with grouse, black-game, and 

 ptarmigan, while even red-deer were found within 

 its limits ; but although a good shot and a 

 practised stalker, the gun and the rifle were gene- 

 rally laid aside for the far more exciting sport of 

 falconry. Would that others could be tempted 

 to follow his example! But this is more than 

 can be expected. I cannot however persuade 

 myself that a short sketch of his hawking experi- 

 ences will prove wholly uninteresting, even to 

 those who prefer to take the field with the 

 weapons of modern warfare. I therefore avail 

 myself of his permission to embody from recollec- 

 tion a few of his notes and observations, sincerely 

 regretting that I cannot add 



" quseque ipse vidi 



Et quorum pars magna fui." 



