SEPTEMBER 225 



down as disgraceful indulgence of the worst passions 

 there would be no more stalking, no sanctuary, no red 

 deer on our hills at all. Wherein lies the offence ? I sup- 

 pose I saw six hundred deer of sorts that day ; of these 

 I shot two a fair toll to take in return for the care 

 bestowed by man upon these wild animals, which, 

 moreover, he has delivered from their hereditary 

 enemies, the wolves. 



LIII 



For weeks Highland weather has been at its fairest : 

 morning after morning the mists had rolled The First 



Breath of 



away on the breeze or melted before the face winter 

 of Phoabus, leaving that delicious briskness in the air 

 suggestive of gentle effervescence. One had almost for- 

 gotten the feeling of being soaked and blown upon. 

 * Crawling ' a stratagem inseparable from stalking 

 had ceased to be more than agreeable exercise over a 

 fragrant surface as dry and soft as a drawing-room 

 carpet ; what wind there was we courted as a refresh- 

 ment, instead of cowering before it as a chastisement. 



But the change came at last. Kising one morning 

 early it was the eve of S. Michael and All Angels 

 my eyes were greeted with streaming panes, my ears by 

 the whistling of a mighty wind among the chimney-pots. 

 My beat for the day was a high one, rising 2500 feet 

 above the lodge, which, it should be indicated, stands 

 1200 feet above the sea. Yet it was not perceptibly 

 colder, and a stranger might have been beguiled out in 



p 



