252 WILD SPORTS OF THE WEST. 



certainly a clever fellow, and could I but forget that he 

 has finished a few of " the finest peasantry upon earth,'* 

 the man would stand as high in my estimation as he 

 does in his foster brother's, " our loving cousin." 



When breakfast was ended, at which, to do them 

 justice, the Colonel and the Priest did their devoir most 

 gallantly, and were occupied in debating what should 

 be the order of the morning's amusement, and to fish, 

 or not to fish, appeared the question, an incident such as 

 in this wild and sylvan state of things every day produces, 

 occurred. It was the arrival of a young lad, who brought 

 an otter-skin of unusual size as a present to " the master," 

 and a wounded hand, whereon Antony was required to 

 exercise his leechcraft. He had been bitten by a wild- 

 cat, and I had the curiosity to examine the wound. 

 The hand was already in a state of high inflammation ; 

 and the ferocity of the creature must indeed have been 

 extraordinary, to judge from the extent of the injuries 

 it had inflicted. The flesh was sadly lacerated, and in 

 two places the bone was completely exposed. 



The sufferer, it appeared, was not unknown to Antony, 

 and, from the free-masonry which passed between them, 

 I discovered that he is of the same craft, and the person 

 upon whom the otter-killer's mantle is likely to descend, 

 when he, Antony, shall have gone the way of all flesh. 

 The chief occupation of the wounded man is digging 

 out foxes in the mountains, which he brings afterwards 

 for sale to the interior, and disposes of at a good price 

 to the masters of hounds. This morning he had gone 

 to a cover in the hills, in his usual avocation, when, 

 from some traces he observed beneath a rock, he con- 

 cluded that an animal was earthed there. Having put 

 a terrier in, his suspicions were confirmed, as the dog 



