342 THE HILL POACHER. 



as soon as they approached the shore, he fired ball at 

 them, and manfully kept them at bay for three days. 

 On the fourth morning, the half-starved wretch came to 

 the lodge, and delivered himself up. 



In remote situations, however, the Lowland poacher 

 often engages in the pursuit of game with the same zest 

 as a gentleman, piques himself upon the excellence of 

 some half-bred cur of a dog, and astonishes his acquain- 

 tance by bouncing anecdotes of his wonderful gun. In 

 such out-of-the-way places an amateur like this has often 

 considerable opportunity for indulging his love of sport. 

 Scotch gamekeepers (unlike gardeners) are not to be com- 

 pared to those of England. A great proportion of them 

 have been poachers themselves, and turning them into 

 gamekeepers is not a sovereign specific against their old 

 propensities. Many know literally nothing of their busi- 

 ness but how to shoot in a bungling manner ; and, 

 provided the master is not much of a sportsman himself, 

 and sees game now and then upon his table, he makes few 

 inquiries about the dogs, vermin, poachers, &c. The 

 consequence is, that the single game-7^7/er, not keeper, 

 troubles himself as little about these unimportant parti- 

 culars, and goes lounging about with his badge of dignity 

 (i. e. his gun,) summer and winter, occasionally bringing 

 home some game ; while the sly poacher, and slyer vermin, 

 are welcome to the overplus for anything he cares ! The 

 poacher, therefore, not only has the free run of the 

 shooting-ground by night, but makes it his business to 

 find out when the gamekeeper is despatched upon an 



