GROUSE. 133 



until approached when the spaces open out, giving fresh 

 views of new aisles. Here and there the monotony of grey 

 is broken by the low thick branches of a spruce fir coming 

 down to the ground, where they spread in an ever green 

 canopy, forming snug hiding-places against chance showers ; 

 or perhaps one of these trees has been blown completely 

 over, and, lying along the ground, forms just such a sort of 

 shelter as the capercailzie loves. 



Amidst such a forest of stems we found ourselves now, 

 nothing to guide us to our direction but the slope of the 

 land, which was, it must be confessed, very decided," and we 

 were soon scrambling upwards hand over hand through 

 broken masses of rocks, tumbled about like the ruins of a 

 great city, the spaces between them filled up with deep snow, 

 through which here and there appeared the tall stalk of a 

 withered foxglove and masses of amber and golden fern. 

 Scrambling over such stuff in the semi-twilight, with a 

 heavy gun, a game bag, and supply of cartridges is decidedly 

 warm work, tending to make the climber a little careless as 

 to where he is going. Thus it was that the best chance of 

 this morning was lost, a young roebuck upon which I came 

 suddenly in a little natural hollow, vanishing almost as 

 silently as a ghost before I could get my gun ready, leaving 

 me not a memento but his spoor 011 the fresh snow, and 

 the remembrance of his tawny hide as he glided down the 

 valley. We did not pursue, being but too well aware of the 

 uselessness of such a proceeding. These roebuck are most 

 fascinating little deer, and many a bright summer morning 

 when the blackcock have been calling and fighting all round, 

 and the world has been wringing wet with dew, have I been 

 after them. They are much harder to find than red deer, 

 owing to close keeping to the shelter of coppices and forest 

 glades, where a chance shot is all that can be got now and 

 again. The only sure way of obtaining a shot is to lie up 

 outside a plantation, long before dawn, and wait patiently 

 for their coming out to feed ; and they won't do that if you 



